The Secret Toll

  CHAPTER VI--THE FLAMING HAND

  As Green had told Forrester, he had some theories of his own about thepeople who called themselves the "Friends of the Poor." Like Humphrey,he did not believe that the West Side held any clues. He was moreinclined to believe that the guilty people could be located within acomparatively short distance of the tree in which the victims wereordered to leave their money.

  This theory of Green's, however, had developed solely from the fact thatall activities of the band had ceased as soon as the ground was coveredwith snow. With snow on the ground, according to his hypothesis, itwould be a comparatively easy matter to follow any tracks from thetree--at least for some distance. If similar tracks could be discoverednear any house or houses in the neighborhood, a smart detective wouldhave an excellent clue. On the other hand, Green conjectured that if aWest Side gang were involved they would logically visit the tree in anautomobile, and therefore have little fear of giving the detectives aclue from any tracks which they might leave between the auto and thetree.

  The fact that the detectives who had watched the tree had failed thusfar to hear or see anything, strengthened Green in this conviction.During their watch on the tree it was probable that all the detectiveshad remained at some little distance so as not to frighten off anybodyapproaching it with evil intent. For people living in the country, andfamiliar with the locality, it should be an easy matter to approach thetree noiselessly in the dark and then get away without being observed.In connection with these theories Green had worked out a plan, whichForrester's commission now enabled him to put into effect.

  The murder of George Nevins, and the demand made on Forrester, comingclose together, led Green to believe that the "Friends of the Poor,"made bolder by past success, were now making a big drive on the rich menof the city. It was more than probable, therefore, that other noticeshad been sent out, and that almost any night some victim could beexpected to approach the tree and leave his payment. This, of course,would also mean a visit by the criminals.

  On Wednesday evening, just as dusk was falling, Green dropped off thetrain, carrying a heavy bundle in each hand. He had carefully studied anautomobile road map of the vicinity and found no difficulty in locatingthe oak tree. Jasper lane sloped away in both directions from a pointopposite the tree so that Green could see a considerable distance ineither direction. After a careful inspection of his surroundings, tomake sure that he was not observed, he swiftly plunged into the heavyundergrowth at the side of the road directly facing the tree.

  Green had carefully timed his arrival to give him a few minutes ofdaylight to arrange his apparatus, which consisted of a small storagebattery and a powerful automobile spotlight. He drove a stick into theground and attached the spotlight to it. The light was so arranged thatit could not be seen by anyone passing on the roadway before dark. Atthe same time the light had a clear space through which to throw itsbeam directly on the tree when the current was switched on. Greenconnected the storage battery to the spotlight and tried the switch acouple of times to make sure that it was in working order. Then he satdown beside his apparatus, leaned his back against a tree, and preparedto await developments.

  After darkness fell he found his vigil somewhat tiresome. He dared notsmoke, nor strike a light of any kind, so it was impossible to even takenote of the time. Under such circumstances time seems to stretch to aninterminable length and the nerves get on edge. Green at length feltthese effects from the waiting game he had started to play.

  During his many years on the police force, and since beginning hiscareer as a private detective, his work had been confined towell-lighted city streets. Lately, much of his time had been spent inbrilliantly lighted resorts, keeping an appraising eye on theafter-business-hours amusements of trusted employees. To step from theseplaces to the thick woods on a dark, still night was something of achange, and as time passed Green was willing to admit it.

  He had never before believed that such absolute quiet could be possible.All Nature slept. No chirp of bird voices, or hum of insects, could beheard. There was no sound save the occasional rustling of leavesoverhead, the distant and weird call of locomotives on the railroad, andonce in a great while the snapping of a twig in the underbrush, or thesound of something dropping through the trees. These were just theordinary sounds of the woods at night, but to Green's inexperienced earsthey might mean anything, and many times one hand shot out to the switchon his lighting apparatus while the other grasped the automatic in hispocket. But each sound had stood by itself, and Green's nervousalertness relaxed as time wore on.

  Suddenly Green's ears caught the sound of a stone overturned on theroadway. This was more like the sounds he had been expecting and hisbody stiffened to attention. A moment later he heard the sound again, alittle nearer, and then a third time it came from the road directlyopposite to him. To Green it could mean nothing but the cautiousfootsteps of someone approaching the tree. He continued to listenintently. Sure enough, there was a slight scratching sound in thedirection of the tree. This was Green's long awaited opportunity.Abruptly he threw the switch and a broad beam of light made the greattrunk of the oak stand out against the black background of the woods.

  The sight was not at all what Green had expected to see. He quicklyswitched off the light and swore volubly yet softly. All that he haddiscovered was a night-prowling cat in the act of climbing the tree,probably in search of birds' nests.

  The discovery that this sound had its source in a common, everyday housecat, greatly relieved the tension on Green's nerves. He readjustedhimself to a more comfortable position and for some time paid littleattention to the various sounds about him. Gradually, however, he becameconscious of a sound that he had not heard before. To Green it appearedsomething like the whistling of the wind just before a summerthunderstorm, but looking up, he saw that the sky was unclouded andfilled with a multitude of twinkling stars.

  The sound continued at intervals, growing louder on each occasion, andat last Green realized, with a start, that it was distinctly like ahuman sigh. In a moment Green's phlegmatic constitution was upset. Hebecame conscious of a slight chill in his spine and a peculiar tinglingin his scalp. When, a moment later, he distinctly heard a metallicrattle like a person in heavy chains trying to move about, he sworeaudibly for comfort and promised himself that if he ever got back to thecity alive, he would resign forthwith.

  The sound of his own voice relieved him a little, and reason reasserteditself. Neither victims depositing money, nor the criminals who might beseeking it, would be apt to make noises like that. On the other hand,Green had never believed in the supernatural. He ascribed everything toa human agency, and he now argued that for whatever reason the soundswere made, some human being was back of them. He resolved that the nexttime a sound came to him he would throw on the light.

  But that next sound was more uncanny than anything that had gone before,and as Green listened he temporarily forgot about the light. What heheard was the muffled tolling of a bell. The sound rose and fell on thestill night; now seemingly close at hand; now floating far away.

  Green was sure that it must be very close to midnight, and even thoughit had been earlier in the evening, it was not likely that anyone wouldbe ringing a church or school bell. Moreover, he was confident that thesound he heard originated in his immediate neighborhood. Gradually thesound of the tolling bell grew fainter and seemed to drift away. Greenthrew on the switch again. He could see the tree and the space about itclearly, but there was no sign of anyone, and he could detect nomovement in the undergrowth. Even the cat had silently disappeared.Green allowed the light to remain on for a minute, while he listenedintently, and keenly inspected the scene before him. Then he switchedthe light off once more and resumed his watch. But Green was recallingcertain eerie stories he had heard in years gone by, and there in thedark and silent woods many disturbing doubts besieged him.

  For a time his eyes were blinded by the recent glare of his light, andthe darkness shut him in like a wall. After a whil
e, however, his eyesagain became accustomed to the darkness and he could dimly see the grayroad in the starlight. At the same moment that his vision had adjusteditself to the darkness, Green was conscious of something like a movingshadow in the roadway before him. He heard no sound, yet he wasconfident that someone or something had stopped in front of the tree. Hedid not hesitate this time but instantly threw on his light. It broughtout in bold relief the figure of a woman walking up the path toward thetree. She stopped abruptly at the unexpected burst of light and Greenrealized that she would instinctively turn to see its source, allowinghim to see her face.

  Indeed, she had already begun that turning movement when Green's visionwas suddenly shut off by a broad hand that covered his eyes, and he felta long arm encircle his body. He struggled desperately, but the personwho held him was too powerful. Green was like a child in that vise-likegrasp. He felt a precipitate movement of the body of this person,followed by a crash in the roadway. Green needed nothing more to tellhim that his lighting outfit had been kicked aside and probablydestroyed.

  Then Green felt himself unexpectedly propelled out into the roadway by apair of powerful arms. He lost his balance and fell at full length. Thedust rose in clouds about him, momentarily stifling and blinding him.All thought of the supernatural had now been driven from Green's mind.He had plainly seen a woman who could not possibly be a ghostlyvisitant, and he had been very roughly treated by some other person whocould not for one moment be considered as a misty, disembodied spirit.Green scrambled to his feet, pulling out his automatic as he did so, andstared about him. As far as the darkness would permit his gaze topenetrate Green could see no strange forms or movement anywhere, and thesilence of the woods was unbroken. Whoever had been there had made goodtheir escape during the time Green was stretched in the road.

  Green stood with his back toward the tree. Glancing warily in alldirections he slowly turned to face it. Then, as he looked toward thetree he became aware of a white, or greenish-white, misty glow thatseemed to come from it. Gradually this light increased until he seemedto be able to dimly make out the small hole in the tree. Suddenly a morepronounced mass of light appeared. It was not a bright light; simply ahazy, greenish glow in the darkness, though it seemed to flame and smokein a weird, peculiar manner. Green remembered having read or heardsomewhere that specter forms were supposed to emit just such a light.While he stared, wild-eyed and shaking, the light apparently took theform of a hand pointing at him. And as he continued to look in petrifiedamazement Green realized that it _was_ a hand--a flaming, smoking,ghastly hand. And then he saw also that the hand was slowly turning. Atlast he could perceive quite distinctly that the flaming hand waspointing in the direction from which he had come.

  Green had had enough. He took the hint and started down the road as fastas his legs could carry him.