CHAPTER XXIII A PROMISE THAT IS A THREAT
The silence in that little gray home out there on the snow-blown prairieslasted for ten long moments. To those who waited time seemed to creep ata snail's pace. Drew Lane, shifting uneasily in his chair, was about tosuggest something--he will never know what--when, sudden as before, allthoughts were drawn to the mysterious talking reflector against the wall.
The instant a voice broke the silence in that corner, Drew Lane leaped tohis feet. Tom Howe, crouching like a cat, remained motionless in hischair. There was something menacing, sinister, altogether terrible aboutthat voice. The words, more spoken than whispered, caused Johnny's bloodto freeze in his veins.
"Listen, you Hell hounds!" Those were the words. "Listen! You whisper, doyou? Well, so do we! You narrow-cast, and you think we can't listen.Well, we can!
"Listen!" The voice became more terrible. "You have been on our traillong enough! Public enemies! Bah!"
As if choked with words, the voice ceased for a second. Everyone in theroom had turned into a statue. Only the cat was unconscious of it all. Hepurred loudly in his place among the cushions. And the windmill, poorthing of rusty steel, it uttered one more unearthly scream.
"Listen!" The voice was hoarse with hate. "We got you, see? Got all ofyou. You'll never leave that place, see? Not one of you all! ChristmasEve. It's a laugh!" There came a hoarse chuckle that was terrible tohear. "Hang up your stockings! Get 'em up quick! We're coming to fill'em, and we'll fill 'em right with machine gun slugs! That's how they'llbe filled!
"Good-night, everyone!" The speaker's voice dropped to a mockingimitation of a radio announcer. "Good-night. And a Merry Christmas toall!"
For a full moment the silence in that little parlor, that through theyears had witnessed so much of joy and sorrow, was profound.
"It's a joke," Spider said hoarsely at last.
"It's no joke!" Drew Lane's lips were white. "I know that voice.
"I only wish," he said slowly, "that you ladies were out of it. Thosefellows have machine guns. If they cut loose, they'll riddle this place."
"I'm a detective's daughter." Joyce Mills stood up square shouldered andslim.
"And I a slain policeman's widow." Madame LeClare stood up at her side.
"And I his child." Alice was not smiling as she joined the two. There wasa glint of fire in her dark eyes.
"Is--is that Iggy the Snake?" Madame LeClare asked.
"Beyond doubt it is." Drew's eyes were gleaming. "He and his gang, themen who killed Jack LeClare, the men we swore to get. And with God's helpwe'll get them yet!" He set his teeth hard.
"You ladies can shoot?" he said in a changed voice.
"As well as any man!" Madame held up her head proudly.
"That's good! Let's see." Drew moved to the cupboard by the stairs. "TheCaptain showed me a new sort of gas bomb. Yes, here it is. Puts 'em outcompletely for a full half hour. Be swell if we could use it."
"But they'll be a respectful distance away," Tom Howe objected. "How canwe?"
"That's right. Have to trust our automatics, I guess. Here!" Drew handedone of his guns to Johnny.
"And you." Tom passed a thing of blue metal to Madame LeClare as if itwere a bouquet of roses. She accepted it with a bow.
"There's no phone--no way of spreading an alarm." Drew spoke calmly. "Noone passes this way at night. They've got till morning. Johnny, has theplace a cellar?"
"Only a hole for vegetables--no windows."
"No use to us. They'd burn the house. Smother us like rats. We'll have tostand our ground, every one at a window. This is the way our forefathersfought savages." His voice had grown husky.
"These are more savage than they!" Madame LeClare added.
"We might make a dash for it. Try getting away in the cars," Tom Howesuggested.
"They may be all set to mow us down as we come out," Drew objected."We've not been watching, you know. But we'd better be, right now!" Histone changed. "We'll set a watch at the windows. There's one on everyside. We'll watch in pairs. Misery loves company. You and you there; youand you--" He pointed them to their places rapidly.
Johnny found himself settled upon a cushion behind the low window in thesmall southwest room. At his side, so close he fancied he felt her heartbeat, was Alice LeClare. He thanked Drew for that. If the watch were tobe long, here was pleasant company. Then, too, he had learned by theglint in her dark eyes that, if worse came to worst, if he were wounded,out of the combat, this splendid girl would fight over him as bravely andsavagely as any Indian fighter's wife had fought over her fallen man.
It was strange, the silence of the place, once they were all settled andthe lights out. The fire in the cracked old stove shone red. The littleclock that had ticked the good Captain's boyhood quite away, as if itwould end the suspense and bring the dawn at once, raced more furiouslythan before. The girl at Johnny's side breathed steadily, evenly, as ifthis were but the night before Christmas and she waiting for Santa Clausin the dark.
"What a girl!" Johnny thought.
His eyes strayed through the open door at his back. Through it he caughtthe square of light from the north window. A semi-circle of shadow aboveits sill he knew to be Spider's head. Spider was watching there alone.His post was an important one. That window looked out upon a small barnand the towering cottonwood tree. The tree was fully six feet through.The Captain had told of swinging from its branches as a child.
"It's strange," Johnny whispered to the girl, "sitting here in this quietlittle gray house where men and women have lived their lives away withouta breath to disturb their calm, waiting for an attack. It--why, it's likethe silence that must have hung over the fields of poppies in Franceduring the Great War."
"Do you think they'll truly come?" Alice whispered back. "Or was it justa scare? They may be in Chicago, you know. The Whisperer is."
"They are not a mile away. They will come. Drew believes they'll come,and Drew seldom makes a mistake."
"Promise me--" She pressed his arm. "If I go to--to--to the Last Round-Upand you--you are spared, you'll look after the boys and--and help Gluckto be a good brave cop when he grows up." There was a little tremor inher voice.
"I promise!" Johnny whispered huskily.
A moment later Johnny's eyes swept the wide white field before him, thenthe narrow road that lay beyond. For a space of seconds his eyes remainedfixed upon a dark spot on that road. "Does it move?" he asked himself. Inthe end he decided that it did not.
Breathing more easily, he turned to look through the door at his back,into the room beyond. He started and stared. Something was missing. Thedark semi-circle that had been Spider's head was gone.
"That's queer!" he muttered low. To Alice he whispered: "Keep a sharpwatch. I'll be back." Next instant he was gliding noiselessly across thefloor.
Ten seconds and he was staring at a vacant spot where the other boy hadbeen. "Spider!" He all but said the name aloud. "Spider! He is gone!"
Instinctively his hand sought the latch to the door close beside thatnorth window. It gave to his hand. "It--it's not locked," he whispered."But it _was_ locked. I locked it myself." Spider was gone, sure enough,not alone from his post, but out of the building.
At once his head was in a whirl. What was he to make of it? Was Spideryellow, after all? Had he decided to make a break all by himself? Withhis uncanny power of climbing, of getting through places unobserved, hewould almost surely escape. "And yet--" he whispered, "is that likeSpider?" He could not feel that it was. He recalled times when the boyhad appeared utterly fearless, absolutely loyal.
"And yet, he was only a boy from the city streets. Supposing--" Doubtassailed him. Supposing Spider had only pretended to be loyal. Supposingthat during all this time he had been in league with Iggy the Snake andhis gang? Supposing it had been he who had tipped off the gang to theirplans for a Christmas party!
"Yes, and suppose it wasn't!" he whispered almost fiercely.
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bsp; One fact stood out clearly. Spider's post was vacant. It must be filledat once.
After locking the door, he slid over to Drew's side.
"Spider's gone," he said.
"Gone? Where?" Drew did not raise his voice.
"Who knows? His place is empty."
"You take it," was Drew's instant command. "Take Alice with you. I'llmove over where you were.
"Gone!" he murmured as Johnny glided away into the darkness. "Spider'sgone!"