CHAPTER XIII
AT THE OUTLOOK HOTEL
The news had not been totally unexpected, yet the three lads felt verymuch depressed. They had hoped that some sort of word might have beenreceived concerning their father while they were speeding towards NewYork on the train.
"I wish you would give me all the particulars," went on Dick.
"Here comes the manager,--he can tell you more than I can," repliedthe clerk, and he nodded in the direction of a tall, heavy-setindividual who was approaching.
"So you are Mr. Rover's sons, eh?" said Mr. Garley, as he shook hands."I am sorry for you, indeed I am. This is certainly a puzzle. Come inhere and I will tell you all I know," and he led the way to a smallreception parlor that was, just then, unoccupied. He drew two chairsup to a small sofa, so that all might sit close together.
"I don't suppose any word came from the farm for us?" suggested Sam,as he was about to sit down.
"If anything came in the name of Rover I'd know about it," returnedthe hotel manager. "I am very much interested in this case."
"Have you spoken to the police about it?" asked Tom.
"Not yet. I thought that perhaps you would not like it. Sometimes, youknow, men go away and leave no word, and, later on, they come back,and they don't want anything said about it. So we have to be careful."
"What have you got to tell us?" asked Dick.
"It isn't very much. In the first place, though, I don't think yourfather was in the best of health. I noticed that, and so did one of myclerks and one of the elevator men."
"Did he have an attack while he was here?" cried Sam.
"I don't know about that. But we all noticed that he was feeble attimes--and that he seemed to be very much worried over something. Hewas continually getting his notebook out and doing some writing orfiguring, and then he would shake his head, as if it didn't please himat all."
"Yes, he was worried over some business matters," answered Dick. "Butthat wasn't bad enough to make him go off like this and leave no word.When was he last seen?"
"In the morning, about ten o'clock. He came down in one of theelevators with a small package in his hand--a package, so theelevator man said, that looked like some legal documents. He seemed tobe very much disturbed, and the man said he talked to himself. Hehurried out of the side door of the hotel, but one of the doormen sawhim go to the corner and turn down Broadway--and that was the lastseen of him, so far as we knew."
"And what of the things in his room?" questioned Dick.
"Outside of the usual cleaning up, I have had everything left as itwas," answered the hotel manager. "You may go up there, if you wish."
"We will,--and we'll most likely want rooms, too."
"The room next to his is vacant, you can have that if you wish."
"All right, we'll take it," returned Tom. "Do they connect?"
"Yes. I'll have the hallman unlock the connecting door for you."
They were soon in an elevator, a boy bringing up their baggage. Theypassed to the fourth floor of the hotel and to the rear.
"Your father wanted a quiet room, so we put him on the court,"explained the manager of the Outlook Hotel, as he unlocked the doorand turned on the electric lights.
It was a typical hotel room of the better class, with a brass bed, abureau, a desk, and several chairs. At one side was a small bathroom.
On a chair rested Mr. Rover's suitcase, locked but unstrapped. On thebureau were his comb and brush, a whisk broom, and some other toiletarticles. On some hooks hung a coat and a cap. They glanced into thebathroom, and in a cup on the marble washstand saw his toothbrush.
"He certainly meant to come back," murmured Tom.
"Yes, and that very soon--or else he wouldn't have left these thingslying around," added his younger brother.
Dick passed over to the coat that hung on a hook and felt in thepockets. They contained nothing but some railroad timetables.
"Can't you call up some of your father's business friends oracquaintances?" suggested the hotel manager.
"He had very few acquaintances in the city," answered Dick. "He usedto have some close friends, but they are either dead or have movedaway. As for the business men he had dealings with--I guess I hadbetter see them in the morning."
"Then, if there isn't anything more I can do, I'll leave you,"returned the hotel manager.
"Nothing more at present," answered Dick.
With the hotel manager gone, the boys closed the door leading to thehallway and sat down to discuss the situation. The door between thetwo bedrooms had already been opened by a hallman, so that they wouldhave ample sleeping accommodations when they wished to retire. Butjust now they were too excited and worried to think of sleeping.
"Maybe we had better put the police at work," suggested Sam.
"We surely ought to do something," added Tom.
"What can the police do--with no clews to work on?" asked their bigbrother.
"They might look around in the hospitals for him."
"I don't think we'll find him in any hospital."
"Why not, if he met with an accident?"
"I don't believe there was any accident," continued Dick, earnestly.
"Do you think he met with foul play at the hands of those men he cameto see?" demanded Sam.
"It looks that way to me, Sam."
"Then we ought to have them locked up at once!"
"How can we--when we have no evidence against them?"
"Let us look into dad's suitcase," suggested Tom.
"I'll see if I can unlock it."
Dick had a bunch of keys in his pocket, as did Tom and Sam, and theboys tried the keys one after another. At last they found one whichfitted, and the suitcase came open.
The bag contained the usual assortment of wearing apparel which Mr.Rover was in the habit of carrying when on a trip that was to last buta few days or a week. In addition, there were several letters anddocuments, placed in a thick manila envelope and marked with theowner's name.
The boys read the letters and documents with interest. From them theylearned that Mr. Rover had been requested to come to the cityimmediately, to see about some business connected with the SunsetIrrigation Company. The documents were some transfers of stock whichthey did not quite understand.
"He came down here to see Pelter, Japson & Company, that's certain,"remarked Dick. "It eras evidently the only reason why he came to NewYork. Now the question is, Did he go and see those men, and did theywaylay him, or did they hire somebody to do it?"
"I wish we knew more about those men," said Tom. "You can soon size afellow up when you talk to him."
"Not always," answered Sam. "Sometimes the smoothest talkers are thegreatest rascals. Don't you remember how nicely Josiah Crabtree usedto talk to Mrs. Stanhope, and see what a rascal he turned out to be!"
"I wonder if they have captured him yet," mused Tom.
"Never mind Crabtree now," put in Dick. "What we want to do is to findfather. I don't know exactly how we are going at it, but I think I'llhave some sort of plan by morning."
"We can go down to Pelter, Japson & Company and make them tell whatthey know," said Sam.
"They'll tell what they feel like telling, Sam,--and that might notdo us any good. Mind you, I don't say they did father any harm. But Iknow they didn't like the way he was getting after them, for they knewthat, sooner or later, he might sue them and possibly put one or moreof them in jail for fraud."
For fully an hour the boys talked the situation over, and by that timeSam was so sleepy he could scarcely keep his eyes open. Then theyretired, Dick remaining in the apartment his father had occupied, andSam and Tom taking the next room.
For over half an hour Dick turned and tossed on the bed--his mindfilled with thoughts of his father. What had become of his parent? Hadhe been hurt, or killed, or was he being held a prisoner by hisenemies? What if his father should never be heard of again? The lastthought was so horrible it made the youth shiver.
"We've got to find h
im!" he murmured, as he drew the bedclothes aroundhim. "We've got to do it!"
At last Dick fell into a troubled sleep, following the example of hisbrothers, who had also found difficulty in settling themselves.
Presently the oldest Rover boy awoke with a start. He sat up in bed,wondering what had thus awakened him.
From the next room came the regular breathing of Sam and Tom, showingthat they were still in the land of slumber. Dick listened, but nounusual sound broke the stillness.
"It must have been my nervousness," he thought. "Father'sdisappearance has been too much for me. Well, it's enough to get onanybody's nerves."
He prepared to lie down again, when a faint scraping sound caught hisear. He listened intently.
Somebody was at the hallway door, trying to insert a key in the lock.But the key would not go in, because of the key already there.
"Maybe it's father coming back!" thought the youth, and leaped fromthe bed to the floor. Three steps took him to the door and he quicklyturned the key and caught hold of the handle.
As Dick started to fling the door open he heard a muttered exclamationof dismay in the hall outside. Then came the sound of retreatingfootsteps, and a slight tinkle, as of metal striking metal.
"Hi, stop! Who are you?" called the youth, and the cry aroused Tom andSam. He flung open the door and leaped into the semi-dark hallway. Thefigure of a man was just disappearing around a corner. Dick saw thathe wore a heavy beard and that was all.
The oldest Rover boy was thoroughly aroused now, and calling to Samand Tom to follow, he darted after the flying individual. But by thetime he reached the corner of the corridor the man was out of sight.He heard a distant door shut and then all became quiet.
"Who was it?" asked Tom, as he joined Dick.
"Was the fellow in your room?" asked Sam.
"No, but he was trying to get in," answered Dick. "When I woke up hewas trying to put a key in the lock. When I started to open the door,thinking it might be dad, the fellow ran away."
"Was it a hallman?"
"I don't think so."
"Where did he go to?"
"Somewhere in this part of the hotel. I just heard a door shut."
"Then he must be on this floor," said Tom. "Say, we ought toinvestigate this. Did you get a look at him, Dick?"
"Not much of a look. I saw he had a heavy beard."
By this time one of the hallmen was coming up, and to him the boysexplained what had happened. He was much interested, for he knew aboutthe disappearance of Mr. Rover, and said he would report to theoffice.
"I think I heard something drop," said Dick, as the boys returned tothe rooms, to put on some clothing. "Hello, here they are! A bunch ofkeys!" And he held them up.
"One of 'em is new," said Sam, examining the bunch.
"Maybe it was made for the lock of the door to the room fatheroccupied," suggested Tom.
"It's like the old key," returned Dick, comparing the two. "Thatrascal, whoever he is, must have had the key made for the sole purposeof getting into this room!"
"But for what reason?" questioned Sam.
"To get at dad's private papers," answered his big brother. "Boys, ifwe catch that man maybe we'll be able to find out what has become offather!"