CHAPTER V
_Mysterious Meeting_
"Ah, Grant--have you enjoyed yourself?" He dismissed his subordinate. "Iwas detained. Sorry."
He was smoothly imperturbable. "Have you seen everything? Quite a littleplant I have here? We shut down early to-day. I will make ready toclose."
I followed him about while he arranged for the termination of the day'sactivities. The clatter of the smelter house was presently still; themen departing. Spawn and I were the last to leave, save for the eightmen who were the mine's night guards. They were stalwart, silentfellows, armed with electronic needle projectors.
The lights of the mine went low until they were mere pencil points ofblue illumination in the gloom. The eery look of the place wasintensified by the darkness and silence of the abnormally earlynightfall. The fantastic crags stood dark with formless shadow.
Spawn stopped to speak to one of the guards. The men wore agold-trimmed, but now dirty, white linen uniform, wilted by theheat--the uniform of Nareda's police. I remarked it to him.
"The government lent me the men," Spawn explained. "Of an ordinary timeI have only one guard."
"But this then, is not an ordinary time?" I hinted.
He looked at me sharply. And upon sudden impulse, I added:
"President Markes said something about you having a treasure here.Radiumized quicksilver."
It was evidently Spawn's desire to appear thoroughly frank with me. Helaughed. "Well, then, if Markes has told you, then might I not as welladmit it? The treasure is here, indeed yes. Will you like to see it?"
* * * * *
He led me into a little strong room adjoining the smeltercoil-rectifiers. He flashed his hand searchlight. On the floor, piledcrosswise, were small moulded bars of refined quicksilver--dull,darkened silver ingots of this world's most precious metal.
"Quite a treasure, Grant, here to-night. See, it is radiumized."
He snapped off his torch. In the darkness the little bars glowedirridescent.
"To-morrow I will divide with our Nareda government. One-third for them.And my own share I will export: to Great New York, this shipment.Already I have the order for it."
He added calmly, "The duty is high, Grant. Too bad your big New Yorkmarket is protected by so large a duty. With my cost ofproduction--these accursed Lowland workmen who demand so much for theirlabor, and a third of all I produce taken by Nareda--there is not muchin it for me."
He had re-lighted the room. I could feel his eyes on me, but I saidnothing. It was obvious to me now that he knew I was a governmentcustoms agent.
I said, "This certainly interests me, friend Spawn. I'll tell you whysome other time."
We exchanged significant glances, both of us smiling.
"Well can I guess it, young Grant. So here is my treasure. Without theduty I would soon be wealthy. Chut! Why should I roll in a pity formyself? There is a duty and I am an honest man, so I pay it."
I said, "Aren't you afraid to leave this stored here?" I knew that thispile of ingots--the quicksilver in its radiumized form--was worth fouror five hundred thousand dollars in American gold-coin at the veryleast.
* * * * *
Spawn shrugged. "Who would attack it? But of course I will be glad to berid of it. It is a great responsibility--even though it carriesinternational insurance, to protect my and the Nareda Government share."
He was sealing up the heavy barred portals of the little strong-room.There was an alarm-detector, connected with the office of Nareda'spolice commander. Spawn set the alarm carefully.
"I have every safeguard, Grant. There is really no danger." He added, asthough with sudden thought. "Except possibly one--a depth bandit namedDe Boer. Ever you have heard of him?"
"Yes. I have."
We climbed into Spawn's small automatic vehicle. The lights of the minefaded behind us as we coasted the winding road down to the village.
"De Boer," said Spawn. "A fellow who lives by his wits in the depths.Near here, perhaps: who knows? They say he has many followers--fifty--ahundred, perhaps--outlaws: a cut-belly band it must be."
"Didn't he once take a hand in Nareda's politics?" I suggested.
Spawn guffawed. "That is so. He was once what they called a patriothere. He thought he might be made President. But Markes ran him out. Nowhe is a bandit. I have believe that American mail-ship which sank lastyear in the cauldron north of the Nares Sea--you remember how it wasattacked by bandits?--I have always believe that was De Boer's band."
* * * * *
We rolled back to Nareda. Spawn's manner had again changed. He seemedeven more friendly than before. More at his ease with me. We had supper,and smoked together in his living room for half an hour afterward. Butmy thoughts were more on Jetta than on her father. There was still noevidence of her about the premises. Ah, if I only had known what hadtaken place there at Spawn's that afternoon while I was at the mine!
Soon after supper Spawn yawned. "I think I shall go to bed." His glancewas inquiring. "What are you going to do?"
I stood up. "I'll go to bed, too. Markes wants to see me early in themorning. You'll be there, Spawn?"
"Yes. We will go together."
It was still no more than eight o'clock in the evening. Spawn followedme to my bedroom, and left me at its door.
"Sleep well. I will call you in time."
"Thanks, Spawn."
I wondered if there were irony in his voice as he said good night. Noone could have told.
* * * * *
I did not go to bed. I sat listening to the silence of my room and thegarden, and Spawn's retreating footsteps. He had said he was sleepy, butnevertheless I presently heard him across the patio. He was apparentlyin the kitchen, cleaning away our meal, to judge by the rattling of hispans. It was as yet not much after hour eight of the evening. The hoursbefore my tryst with Jetta seemed an interminable time to wait. Shemight not come, though, I was afraid, until midnight.
At all events I felt that I had some hours yet. And it occurred to methat the evening was not yet too far advanced for me to call uponPerona. He lived not far from here, I had learned. I wanted to see thisberibboned old Minister of Nareda's Internal Affairs.
I would use as my excuse a desire to discuss further the possibility ofsmuggler being here in Nareda.
I put on my hat and a light jacket, verified that my dirk was readilyaccessible and sealed up my room. Spawn apparently was still in thekitchen. I got out of the house, I felt sure, without him being aware ofit.
* * * * *
The Nareda streets were quiet. There was a few pedestrians, and none ofthem paid much attention to me. It was no more than ten minutes walk toPerona's home.
His house was set back from the road, surrounded by luxuriousvegetation. There was a gate in front of the garden, and another, ahundred feet or to along a small alleyway which bordered the ground tomy left. I was about to enter the front gate when sight of a figurepassing under the garden foliage checked me. It was a man, evidentlycoming from the house and headed toward the side gate. He went through ashaft of light that slanted from one of the lower windows of the house.
Perona! I was sure it was he. His slight figure, with a gay,tri-cornered hat. A short tasseled cloak hanging from his shoulders. Hewas alone; walking fast. He evidently had not seen me. I crouchedoutside the high front wall, and through its lattice bars I saw himreach the side gate, open it swiftly, pass through, and close it afterhim. There was something furtive about his manner, for all he wasundisguised. I decided to follow him.
The front street fortunately was deserted at the moment. I waited longenough for him to appear. But he did not; and when I ran to the alleycorner--chancing bumping squarely into him--I saw him far down its dim,narrow length where it opened into the back street which bordered hisgrounds to the rear. He turned to the left and shot a swift glance upthe alley, which I a
nticipated, provided for by drawing back. When Ilooked again, he was gone.
* * * * *
I have had some experience at playing the shadow. But it was not easyhere along the almost deserted and fairly bright Nareda streets. Peronawas walking swiftly down the slope toward the outskirts of the villagewhere it bordered upon the Nares Sea. For a time I thought he was headedfor the landing field, but at a cross-path he turned sharply to theright, away from the field, whose sheen of lights I could now see downthe rocky defile ahead of me. There was nothing but broken, precipitousrocky country ahead of him, into which this path he had taken waswinding. What could Perona, a Minister, be engaged in, wandering offalone into this black, deserted region?
It was black indeed, by now. The village was soon far behind us. A stormwas in the night air; a wind off the sea; solid black clouds overheadblotted out the moon and stars. The crags and buttes and gullies of thistumbled area loomed barely visible about me. There were times when onlymy feel of the path under my feet kept me from straying, to fall into aravine or crevice.
I prowled perhaps two hundred yards behind Perona. He was using a tinyhand-flash now; it bobbed and winked in the darkness ahead, vanishingsometimes when a curve in the path hid him, or when he plunged down intoa gully and up again. I had no search-beam. Nor would I have dared useone: Perona could too obviously have seen that someone was followinghim.
There was half a mile of this, I think, though it seemed interminable. Icould hear the sea, rising with the wind, pounding against the rocks tomy left. Then, a distance ahead, I saw lights moving. Perona's--andothers. Three or four of them. Their combined glow made a radiance whichillumined the path and rocks. I could see the figures of several menwhom Perona had joined. They stood a moment and then moved off. To theright a ragged cliff wall towered the path. The spots of light bobbedtoward it. I caught the vague outline of a huge broken opening, like acave mouth in the cliff. The lights were swallowed by it.
I crept cautiously forward.