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diff --git a/40484-8.txt b/40484-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index cedf7c7..0000000 --- a/40484-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8560 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Black Star's Campaign, by Johnston McCulley - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Black Star's Campaign - A Detective Story - -Author: Johnston McCulley - -Release Date: August 12, 2012 [EBook #40484] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACK STAR'S CAMPAIGN *** - - - - -Produced by Robert Cicconetti, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - - - Black Star's Campaign - - A DETECTIVE STORY - - By JOHNSTON McCULLEY - - Author of "John Standon of Texas," "Black Star." - - - CHELSEA HOUSE - 79 SEVENTH AVENUE - NEW YORK CITY - - Black Star's Campaign - - Copyright, 1919 by STREET & SMITH - - (Printed in the United States of America) - - All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign - languages, including the Scandinavian. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. NEWS FOR THE SHERIFF 11 - - II. A SHOCK FOR THE CITY 17 - - III. THE NEW HEADQUARTERS 26 - - IV. OVER THE TELEPHONE 36 - - V. TRAILED 47 - - VI. WHAT KOWEN FOUND 56 - - VII. VERBECK INVESTIGATES 63 - - VIII. MYSTERY AND AN ALARM 71 - - IX. ORDERS AND LETTERS 78 - - X. A DOUBLE CRIME 85 - - XI. MORE MYSTERY 94 - - XII. ANOTHER TELEPHONE CALL 101 - - XIII. INSIDE THE MUSEUM 107 - - XIV. MISSING MASTERPIECES 116 - - XV. SOME FISHERMEN 124 - - XVI. HOT BREAD 132 - - XVII. MUGGS SEES HIS MAN 141 - - XVIII. MUGGS MEETS DISASTER 147 - - XIX. IMPORTANT INFORMATION 155 - - XX. ON THE TRAIL 163 - - XXI. A TENSE MOMENT 172 - - XXII. ON THE ROOF 183 - - XXIII. MUGGS GIVES A TIP 192 - - XXIV. ON THE TRAIL 202 - - XXV. END OF THE TRAIL 209 - - XXVI. THE BIG BLOW 218 - - XXVII. MUGGS TAKES A CHANCE 227 - - XXVIII. THE ALARM 235 - - XXIX. CAUGHT IN THE NET 244 - - XXX. MUGGS ARRIVES 249 - - XXXI. AN EMPTY NET 250 - - XXXII. THE LETTER 254 - - - - -BLACK STAR'S CAMPAIGN - - - - -CHAPTER I - -NEWS FOR THE SHERIFF - - -Sheriff Kowen looked up from his desk in amazement as the stenographer -ushered in the woman. The name on her card had told him nothing, and he -had expected to be confronted by some middle-aged, washed-out, tired -wife and mother who would make a request to visit the jail and talk with -an erring relative. - -What he did see when he raised his eyes and cleared his throat -preparatory to indulging in his professional attitude, was a handsomely -gowned, beautiful woman of perhaps thirty years, a woman who appeared to -be exceedingly cultured and refined. - -Sheriff Kowen got out of his chair quickly, and placed one at the end of -the desk for his visitor. Then he seated himself again, and looked -across to her. - -She appeared to be nervous, almost distraught, on the verge of tears. - -"My dear Miss Blanchard," Sheriff Kowen said, glancing at the card the -stenographer had handed to him, and for once forgetting his usual gruff -manner, "is there any way in which I may be of service to you?" - -"I scarcely know how to approach the subject," she replied. The sheriff -noticed that her voice was all that he had expected it would be--a voice -that was modulated to the correct society pitch. "Such a thing as--as -this is--well, I am not used to it." - -"Just take your time, and tell me in your own way," said the sheriff. -"You have--er--some sort of a complaint to make?" - -"Yes, that is it. In the first place, we do not reside in this city -regularly. We have a suite at a private hotel--my mother, my brother and -myself. It is about my brother that I wish to see you." - -"He is--er--in trouble?" - -"Not exactly that, but--please tell me, first, Mr. Kowen, it is against -the law to operate a gambling house, is it not?" - -"It most certainly is!" Kowen exclaimed. "When I was first elected, I -fought gambling houses--got quite a reputation for working along that -line. I fought the cheap ones, and I fought the pretentious dress-suit -establishments--cleaned them out!" - -"Pardon me, Mr. Kowen, but one remains--else it is a new one that has -opened recently." - -"What's that?" the sheriff cried, sitting up straighter in his chair. -"If there is a gambling house running in my section of the country, -it'll not run long!" - -"I--I feel almost like a spy," Miss Blanchard said. "I hate to be an -informer----" - -"That is your duty in such a case, my dear young lady." - -"I feel it so, under the circumstances," she said. "I do not want to -cause my brother trouble--but I have talked it over with mother, and we -decided that I should come and tell you the whole thing." - -"I shall be glad to listen, Miss Blanchard." - -"My brother is twenty-one, just a boy, you might say. When we came to -the city, he happened to make the acquaintance of some other young men -who belonged to a very fast set. He began remaining away from home until -the early morning hours, and drinking too much, and all that." - -"I understand, my dear young lady. Nine young men out of ten sow their -wild oats." - -"And he began spending more money than he could afford to spend. Mother -and I began to fear he would dissipate his share of my father's estate, -for he controls it since he has come of age. We wondered where the money -was going--and finally we found out." - -"Gambling joint?" - -"Yes, sir. A gambling den in a large house in the most exclusive section -of the city." - -"Those are the places I like to smash!" Sheriff Kowen told her. - -"I can give you the address, Mr. Kowen. I understand that a man cannot -get into the place unless he is properly introduced." - -"Naturally, they would be very careful," the sheriff said. - -"It is what you called a dress-suit sort of place. Perhaps I am doing -wrong telling you this----" - -"Not at all. It is your duty," the sheriff assured her. "Nobody ever -will know where I got my information." - -"I'd like to have the place closed up," Miss Blanchard continued, "so -that my brother and other young men will not be robbed of their money -and ruined. I suppose you would have to make a raid--I believe that is -the term? I'd hate to cause my brother trouble, but a little scare -might----" - -"I understand, Miss Blanchard. It is probable that he would be caught in -a raid, placed under arrest for frequenting a gambling resort, and -brought to jail. He would immediately put up bail for his appearance in -court. He would give an assumed name, and not show up in the morning, -forfeiting his bail. So there would be little publicity, but he would -get a scare." - -"Oh, thank you! If it could be done that way----" - -"It can, my dear Miss Blanchard. We are determined to exterminate -gambling houses. The court is in accord with me in this matter. Since -you give me the information, you may be sure I'll protect your brother's -interests to a certain extent. We'll frighten him a bit, but you need -have no fear he will serve a term in jail, or anything like that." - -"I understand," said Miss Blanchard. - -"Simply give me the address--and then forget that you have seen and -spoken to me. I'll do the rest. You must be very careful, of course, not -to let your brother suspect that you have been here. He would inform his -friends, and our raid would fail. Every time a raid fails, it hurts us. -A certain part of the public, antagonistic politicians and newspapers, -you see----" - -"I understand, Mr. Kowen. Here is the address--I have written it on a -card." - -She placed the card before him on the desk. Sheriff Kowen glanced at it. - -"Ah!" he exclaimed. "So! I should say it was in the most exclusive -section of the city. This is very valuable information, Miss Blanchard, -if our investigation bears out your statements. I cannot thank you -enough. There will be more to this than a gambling-house raid; the -owners of the property must give the court a little explanation, I -fear." - -"You are sure that I did not do wrong coming here like this?" - -"I am sure that you did quite right, my dear young lady. You perhaps -have aided us in rounding up sharpers who fleece young men of their -fortunes, and perhaps you have saved your brother. He is at the stage, I -take it, where a little scare will do him a lot of good. You have done -quite right!" - -"Then I must hurry away," she said, rising. "And I shall do as you -said--forget that I have been here. My brother----" - -"I'll watch out for him, Miss Blanchard--a little scare and nothing -more! It is the proprietor of the place and his partners we are after, -more than the victims." - -Sheriff Kowen went as far as the corridor with Miss Blanchard, and then -hurried back to his private office and began pushing buttons. He called -before him certain of his deputies, gave them the information he had -acquired, and certain orders, and sent them away. Then he touched match -to cigar, leaned back in his chair, blew a cloud of fragrant smoke -toward the ceiling, and chuckled softly. Sheriff Kowen had not had a -chance to raid a gambling house of any importance for more than a year; -and raiding a gambling house was his pet sport. He promised himself that -this raid should be sensational in the extreme. Gambling houses were not -going to flourish while Kowen was holding office as sheriff. - -As for Miss Blanchard, she drove in a taxicab to an exclusive private -hotel, ascended in the elevator to the eighth floor, and entered a suite -there. - -A woman of forty was sitting before a window looking down at the busy -street. She was talking to a man of about the same age, a man who -appeared to be a prosperous merchant, or something of the sort, and who -looked up quickly when Miss Blanchard entered. - -"Well, Mamie, how about it?" he growled. - -"It was easy!" Miss Mamie Blanchard replied. "He fell for it so hard -that I could almost see him bounce. He swallowed the bait, hook, sinker -and line. We've played the game just right--that man would rather raid a -gambling joint than eat!" - -"Think he'll get busy right away?" the man asked. - -"Busy? The instant he left me he ran back to his desk. I think that we -can look for action to-night." - -"Well, we'll give him a chance. He'll want to make sure of the evidence -first, of course, and we'll see that he gathers plenty of that without -too much trouble. All the other details have been arranged. I'll issue -orders this afternoon, and have everything in readiness. We can't go -wrong on this." - -"And afterward?" the girl asked. - -"You'll get your reward, all right. If this man's town isn't crazy -within forty-eight hours, it'll be something peculiar. You know your -part, I suppose?" - -"Certainly." - -"Get ready, then. I'll go, now, and get word to all the boys. I'm glad -that the long wait is over, that we are ready to strike!" - - - - -CHAPTER II - -A SHOCK FOR THE CITY - - -The deputies sent forth by Sheriff Kowen did their work well, and -without experiencing much difficulty. Their investigations were -concluded before nightfall, and the sheriff rubbed his hands together in -glee when he received their reports. - -At eleven o'clock that night, he sat at his desk and answered telephone -calls. At a certain place near the gambling house his men had gathered. -Kowen knew from experience that it did not do to have them meet at his -office or the county jail. There always was somebody watching, and any -unusual activity would cause a warning to be flashed to every resort -that had reason to expect a raid. - -"It's all right, boss," one of his deputies telephoned. "We've been on -the watch since eight o'clock. There are about thirty men in the place -now, and more coming all the time. They're pretty bold about it--feel -safe, I reckon." - -"That's because they've been getting away with it for a few months," the -sheriff replied. "We'll make 'em sick before morning." - -He finished smoking his cigar; then left the office and walked down the -street to the corner, as he always did at that hour of the night. That -was to make things appear natural, if anybody happened to be watching. -He waited for a surface car, got aboard, and started home. At a certain -corner, he alighted in order to transfer to another line. - -But Sheriff Kowen did not use his transfer to-night. He made sure that -nobody was watching him, and then darted down a side street. He pulled -his hat over his eyes, bent his shoulders forward, and walked rapidly -down the broad avenue toward the exclusive residential section of the -city. - -He had a mile to walk. He covered three fourths of it at a good pace, -and then slowed down and became more alert. He passed another man on a -corner. - -"All right, boss," the man whispered. - -"All right!" Sheriff Kowen answered. - -Kowen went on up the street. He stopped in a dark spot beneath an -overhanging tree, and looked at a house in the middle of the block. He -knew the property; it belonged to an old estate, and was handled by a -well-known real estate firm. For years it had been without a tenant. The -investigation made by the deputies during the afternoon had resulted in -the information that it had been repaired and leased some three months -before to strangers in the city, but people who had exhibited good -references. - -It was some distance away from the other residences, and the lot was -bordered by a high hedge, except in front. It was an ideal location for -a fashionable gambling resort. - -As Kowen watched, he saw a young man saunter down the street, hesitate a -moment, then enter the gate and hurry toward the house. - -"Another victim!" Kowen told himself. - -Now one of his deputies approached him, keeping in the shadows as much -as possible. - -"Well?" Kowen snapped. - -"Almost forty men in there, boss," the deputy reported. - -"All our crowd ready?" - -"Yes." - -"What time is it?" - -"Quarter after twelve. I looked at my watch as I walked under the light -at the corner." - -"Let's get in action then," Kowen said. "I don't want any slips, now. I -want to gather in the whole lot. Got the autos ready?" - -"They're ready, boss, waiting down the street a couple of blocks." - -"Signal them up, and we'll begin." - -The deputy hurried away. Sheriff Kowen crossed the street, turned in -through the gate, and blew a whistle. - -On every side, deputies rushed toward the house, surrounding it -immediately. Kowen ran up the steps and knocked at the door. An aperture -was opened, a face peered out, there was an exclamation, and the -aperture was closed again. - -"Into it!" Kowen cried. - -Deputies ran forward with axes and attacked the heavy door. The door at -the rear was attacked in the same manner. Some of the men guarded the -entrance to the basement, others watched the windows closely. - -The front door crashed down, and the officers poured into the house. -From the second floor came a chorus of cries and shrieks. The lights had -been extinguished, and electric torches flashed. - -"Watch those stairs!" Kowen cried. "Some of you clean out the -basement--I want the entire crowd! I'll go above!" - -They made their way to the head of the stairs, smashed through another -door, flashed their torches, found the light switch and turned it. The -big room was bathed in light. - -Sheriff Kowen smiled grimly as he surveyed the scene. He saw faro and -roulette layouts, poker tables, almost every gambling device known. Some -two score of men in evening dress were crouching against the walls. A -glance was enough to tell the sheriff the customers and the dealers. He -slapped his hands together. - -"Round 'em up!" he ordered. - -His deputies sprang to obey. One by one, the men in the room were -manacled, despite their protests. When Sheriff Kowen raided a gambling -house, he did not do things by halves. - -A crowd had collected in the street by now. The automobiles Kowen had -ordered were before the house, ready to receive their loads of -prisoners. Kowen received reports from deputies who had searched the -place from cellar to garret. He detailed men to guard the house and the -gambling apparatus it contained, and then the parade began. - -The parade was always a big moment with Kowen. He stood at the curb and -watched the prisoners pass him and go to the automobiles. He enjoyed the -looks of wrath, of fear in the faces of these callow youths. Some of -them he knew, but a very few. For the most part, the prisoners seemed to -be strangers to him, but that did not bother Kowen. The city was a large -one; a new crop of victims appeared every week, the sheriff knew. - -The prisoners were driven to the county jail and taken into the office. -Kowen informed them as to the charges, and announced that bail would be -one hundred dollars in each case, except that of the proprietor of the -place. The jailer and bookkeeper got ready. - -It was then that Sheriff Kowen got his first surprise. With the -exception of the proprietor, none of his prisoners would furnish bail. -The arrest was an outrage, they declared. They had been informed that -the ordinance against gambling was unconstitutional. They were going to -jail, going to fight the case, and then sue for damages. They'd show -Sheriff Kowen and his men that citizens had rights that should be -respected. - -"Are you a bunch of lunatics?" Kowen cried. "Don't you worry about that -gambling law--we've convicted many a man on it, men who had coin to -fight their cases, too. And let me tell you men something--if you go -into cells, your right names go down on the blotter. They'll go into the -newspapers, too; and the people of this city will know just who the men -are who smash laws and waste money!" - -"We're not worrying any about that stuff!" one of the prisoners told -him. - -"Then you'll be searched and slammed into cells, believe me! And you'll -be treated like ordinary prisoners. I have a faint idea that you'll be -dead willing to put up bail by noon. These cells of mine are not -comfortable suites. And you'll miss your baths and grapefruit in the -morning, and your thin toast! Well?" - -None made reply. Kowen glanced around the room at them, and then an -angry flush came into his face. He had half a dozen deputies there, and -the night jailer and the bookkeeper. He had let the other deputies go, -thinking this would be like other raids, that the prisoners would put up -bail immediately or telephone for it, and hurry to their homes. - -"Line up against that wall!" he commanded. "If you are so eager to go to -jail, we can accommodate you, all right. The jailer will search you." - -The jailer appeared before the first man, who started taking things from -his pockets. Sheriff Kowen turned his back and started for his private -office in disgust. Newspapermen were waiting there for him, and the -sheriff did not dislike publicity. - -Then something strange happened! - -With the exceptions of the few men known to the sheriff, every prisoner -drew something from his pocket. Something seemed to crash against the -floor. There was a series of sharp explosions, and the office and rooms -adjoining were filled with clouds of white, pungent smoke. - -The jailer opened his mouth to shout a warning, and toppled over on the -floor without having spoken. Here and there the deputies were dropping, -none of them having time to get out a revolver and fire a shot. Sheriff -Kowen rushed in from his private office to have a cloud of the pungent -vapor strike him full in the face. The newspaper reporters suffered a -like fate. - -The prisoners were holding tiny sponges to their nostrils, and now they -sprang into action. Some rushed to the street door and locked and barred -it. Others drew the shades at the windows. One searched the jailer and -got his keys, and hurried toward the door leading into the corridor. - -This door was opened. Four of the prisoners rushed down the aisle and -came to a certain cell. Inside it a man was sitting on a bunk. - -"Good work!" he exclaimed. - -The door of the cell was unlocked, and the man stepped out. He led the -way back to the office, glanced around it quickly. - -"Everything done?" he asked. - -"Everything done, sir," one of the men replied. - -"Let's go, then!" - -The street door was unlocked. Around the corner came half a dozen -automobiles. They were filled, and darted away, scattering as they came -to the first street corner. - - * * * * * - -Sheriff Kowen groaned and opened his eyes. One of his deputies was just -regaining consciousness. The sheriff tried to get to his feet. - -"What--what----" he began. - -"They're all gone--jail door's open," the deputy gasped. - -"It----I know! Vapor bombs!" Kowen cried. "More Black Star work! -Quick--look----" - -Kowen had managed to get to his feet now, and was rushing into the -corridor of the jail. More deputies were regaining consciousness. The -sheriff pushed past them and ran down the corridor. They heard him cry -out. - -"Gone--gone!" he shrieked. "The Black Star has escaped! It was all a -trick--that woman, the gambling joint--a trick to get all those men in -here so they could do their work----" - -"Here's a note in the cell!" a deputy cried. - -The sheriff took it and ran back to the office. One of the deputies -already was telephoning police headquarters and relating the story. The -Black Star had been rescued! The supercriminal who had been tried and -convicted, who was to start for the State prison on the following day, -had made his escape! - -On the brow of each unconscious man left behind by the band there had -been pasted a tiny black star--the criminal's mark. There was a row of -them on the blotter-sheet. They were on the walls, on the casements. - -The reporters rushed for telephones. Here was news that would startle -the city in the morning. Was the town in for another reign of crime? -Would the notorious Black Star merely make good his escape, or did he -have plans perfected? Was his band reorganized? Would he take vengeance -for his arrest and incarceration? - -The note found in the cell supplied the answer. Sheriff Kowen read it -quickly: - - TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: - - Did you think for an instant that the Black Star would go to prison - to serve twenty years? It was a very clever rescue, was it not? And - for the months I have been held in jail, for the strain and worry - of my trial, I am going to make the city pay. My organization is - more perfect than before. My plans have been well made. The city - shall pay--pay--pay! And tell that fool of a Roger Verbeck, who - was instrumental in catching me before, that he will be helpless - this time. I defy him even to find the location of my headquarters. - - * * * * * - -All the telephones were busy now. The pungent odor that had come from -the vapor bombs had blown out of the room. Word was being flashed over -the city that the Black Star had been rescued by his band, and that he -had promised a wave of crime to pay for his incarceration. - -Nobody doubted that such would be the case. The city knew well that the -Black Star always made good his boasts. Nobody doubted that his -organization was greater than it had been before, and that clever plans -had been made. - -The Black Star, they had reason to suppose, would not wait very long -before striking, for that was not his nature. The city faced the great -question: - -Where would the Black Star strike first? - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE NEW HEADQUARTERS - - -Roger Verbeck was the last of his family, a man who moved in the best -social circles, who had wealth and good looks and friends, and an -athletic body. - -It had been Roger Verbeck who had put the Black Star behind prison bars. -When the supercriminal first began his work in the city, the police -seemed to be unable to do anything against him. Verbeck had made a boast -at a reception one night that he could capture the Black Star himself. -That boast had led to many adventures. - -One of the Black Star's band happened to overhear the boast, for the men -and women working for the Black Star were to be found in all walks of -life, and there was nothing strange in the fact that one of them -happened to be a guest at an exclusive social affair. At one stage of -the game even Verbeck himself had been suspected of being a lieutenant -of the master criminal. - -The Black Star had challenged Verbeck to make good his boast, and there -had ensued a duel of wits. Whereas the master rogue had an organization -at his command, Verbeck had nobody except Muggs. - -Muggs was a peculiar individual. Years before, Muggs had stood on a -bridge over the Seine, in Paris, ready to fling himself into the water -and end an existence that, in a fit of despondency, he had decided was -not worth carrying out to its logical conclusion. - -Roger Verbeck had grasped him by the arm in time to save him, and had -convinced Muggs that life was worth the living. So Muggs became attached -to Roger Verbeck. He was known as Verbeck's valet, but he was a -comrade-in-arms in reality. He shared Verbeck's adventures, and often -turned failure into success. He was ready to fight for Verbeck at any -moment. - -Muggs had worked with Verbeck against the Black Star, and when the -master criminal finally was captured and incarcerated, Muggs had turned -valet again. But Muggs was a man who demanded action, and time hung -heavy on his hands. For Roger Verbeck was thinking of getting married, -and he had small time for adventuring. - -Muggs was a small man, but one of great strength. There was nothing -handsome about him. Some called him repulsive, but not in Roger -Verbeck's hearing. - -Muggs had been a criminal and knew the ways of criminals. He had been of -great value to Verbeck on numerous occasions, and once had saved his -life. Between them they possessed nearly all human qualifications, and -they made an excellent team. - -On the night of the rescue of the Black Star, Roger Verbeck had called -upon his fiancée. He returned to his rooms shortly after the hour of -twelve, and immediately went to bed, Muggs retiring a few minutes later. -There was to be a golf tournament the following day, and Verbeck was a -contestant. - -Both men were asleep almost immediately. Most of the tenants in the big -apartment house had retired. In the office on the ground floor a sleepy -clerk was attempting to keep his eyes open and read a magazine. The -night telephone operator had gone to a restaurant a couple of blocks -away for a midnight cup of coffee, and the sleepy clerk was watching the -switchboard. - -There entered a gentleman from the street--a man whose face was muffled -in his coat collar. He was well-dressed, very much the gentleman, and -the clerk got up and hurried to the desk. Somebody with an important -business message for one of the tenants, the clerk supposed. - -"Something I can do for you, sir?" the clerk asked. - -"Yes--go to sleep!" came the reply. - -The visitor drew a vapor gun and discharged it in the clerk's face. The -latter gasped, and sank to the floor. The one who had used the gun -stepped to the door and gave a signal. Three more men sprang from a -closed car standing at the curb, and hurried into the lobby of the -house. - -"Telephone operator be back in a few minutes," the first man said. "One -of you remain here and get him. Answer any calls on the switchboard, so -things will look natural." - -One remained; the other three ran quickly up the stairs, ignoring the -elevator, which was in the basement, with a sleepy operator hoping that -nobody would call him. - -The three made their way to the floor where Roger Verbeck had his suite. -They listened outside Verbeck's door; then one of them inserted a -skeleton key, pushed out the key on the inside, turned the lock and -opened the door half a dozen inches. - -Again they listened, then opened the door wider and slipped inside. It -was evident that they were well acquainted with the place. While one of -them remained in the big living room, another went to the door of -Verbeck's bedchamber, and a third to the door of the room used by Muggs. - -There came a sharp hiss. The doors were opened. Figures darted across -rooms. Two vapor guns were discharged, and Roger Verbeck and Muggs were -instantly rendered unconscious as they slept. - -"Easy work!" one of the men commented. "Get busy, now!" - -Muggs was gagged and bound and lashed to the bed. Roger Verbeck was -dressed quickly by two of the men, while the third remained in the -living room, listening. When Verbeck had been made ready, the man in the -living room slipped into the hall, saw that nobody was there and that -the elevator was still in the basement. He returned and gave a signal, -and the other two picked up Verbeck and carried him into the hall. - -They went down the stairs, flight by flight, meeting nobody, and finally -came to the office again, where the fourth man was waiting. The -telephone operator had returned and had been rendered unconscious by -means of a vapor gun. - -They carried Verbeck to the automobile, put him in it, got in -themselves, and the machine darted away. Verbeck groaned, and once more -a vapor gun was discharged in his face. He relaxed. - -"That'll do him until we get to headquarters," one of the men said. "We -don't want him sick, and that stuff is pretty strong. What do you -suppose the boss is going to do with him?" - -"It is an excellent plan not to go supposing what the boss is going to -do with anybody," another growled. "I was in the other gang, and I -happen to know that it's a good thing to let the boss attend to his own -affairs." - -"Well, I didn't mean anything," snarled the other. - -The automobile traveled across the city, and after a time reached a -large house that sat far back on a quiet lane. Here the car left the -main thoroughfare, turned into the lane, and presently stopped before -the veranda of the house. Roger Verbeck was carried inside. The -automobile was driven around to the rear, and all its lights -extinguished immediately. - -When Verbeck regained consciousness he was bewildered. He was in a room -that was brilliantly lighted. He was stretched upon a couch, fully -dressed. He could not comprehend it at all. - -He sat up and looked around the room. It was lavishly furnished, and in -excellent taste. In the middle of the room was a long table, and there -were a score of heavy chairs scattered about. There were two doors, one -at either end of the room, but there did not seem to be any windows. -Here and there tapestries hung on the walls. - -He heard a bell tinkle, and one of the doors opened. There entered two -men, both wearing long black robes, and black masks. - -Verbeck knew, then. He had seen the costume of the members of the Black -Star's band often before. He had even worn one once, while gathering -evidence for use against the master criminal. - -So he had been abducted by the Black Star's men, and he had supposed -that they were so scattered that they could make no move. Was he to be -held as hostage, or something like that? Verbeck knew that the Black -Star was to be taken to prison within twenty-four hours. Were these men -going to avenge themselves upon him because he had been instrumental in -sending their leader to prison? - -"Well?" Verbeck growled. - -Neither man answered him, but he really had not expected that. The -members of the Black Star's band did not talk much. One of the men went -to the side of the room, and threw back one of the tapestries, revealing -a small blackboard. - -Why, this was exactly like the old headquarters of the Black Star, for -they had conversed there by means of blackboards! Could it be possible -that the band had gathered again, and were going to continue their -nefarious work without their leader, the master mind that had guided and -controlled them before? - -Verbeck watched as the man wrote: - -"Mr. Verbeck will remain quietly on the couch for the time being. If he -does not, he shall be made unconscious again." - -"What is the idea?" Verbeck asked. - -"One is coming who wishes to hold a conversation with you," the man -wrote on the blackboard. - -"How long shall I have to wait?" Verbeck demanded. - -"Until he comes!" the other wrote, and then dropped the tapestry and -went to stand beside his companion before the door. - -Verbeck sat down on the couch again and regarded them. He felt in his -pocket, found cigarettes and matches, and started smoking. His brain -was not entirely clear yet. - -He wondered what the man had meant. Who was the person for whom he was -waiting? Of course, it couldn't be the Black Star, Verbeck told himself. -The Black Star was to go to prison the following day, to begin serving -his sentence of twenty years. He had lost his last appeal. He had been a -broken man, evidently, for the past two or three months had acted like -one who had given up all hope of escape. - -Verbeck smoked the cigarette and lighted another. Again a bell tinkled -in the distance. Again the door was opened. Roger Verbeck gasped. - -The robed and masked figure that entered was larger than the other men; -and on the front of the hood that enveloped his head was a big, flaming -black star of jet. - -The Black Star! - -Then Verbeck chuckled. He saw it now, of course. The band had elected -another leader, and he had assumed the garb of the Black Star. Probably -they expected to punish Roger Verbeck for what he had done. - -The man who wore the star advanced to the middle of the room. One hand -came from beneath his robe, and Verbeck saw that he held a vapor gun in -it. He made a motion, and the other two men left the room and closed the -door. - -"So we have a new Black Star, have we?" Verbeck said. - -The man before him laughed, then took off his mask and tossed it aside. - -"Not a new one! The same one!" he said. - -Verbeck gave a cry and sprang from the couch. There could be no mistake. -The notorious master rogue stood before him. Verbeck knew his face well -enough. - -"But----" he began. - -"My friends rescued me during the night," the Black Star said. "It was a -very pretty little plot, indeed. I may as well let you know that I am -heading my organization again. My people have been collected by a -lieutenant of mine who never ceased working while I was in your county -jail. My band is stronger than it was before, and we are going to make -the city pay." - -"Well, what about me?" Verbeck asked. - -"I have had you brought here to show you in what contempt I hold you," -the master criminal said. "You caught me before, but you'll not catch me -again! Here is my new headquarters--take a good look. I suppose you'll -be on my trail again?" - -"And I'll catch you again!" Verbeck cried. - -"It will be a pleasure to have you try, Mr. Verbeck. It adds spice to -the game to have a good foe--and I'll admit that you are a good foe. It -will be entertaining to outwit you continually, to make you the -laughingstock of the city." - -"You tried that once before, and I had the last laugh!" - -"Pardon me! It is not time for the last laugh yet--but when the time -does come, I shall have it!" - -"Well, what are you going to do with me?" Verbeck demanded. - -"My dear Mr. Verbeck! Did you imagine you were to be treated with -violence? You know that I abhor violence of all kinds. I merely had you -brought here so that we could have this little conversation. I shall -send a letter to the newspapers telling them how I had you here and let -you see my new headquarters. That will give the city its first laugh at -you." - -"If I get the chance, I'll catch you!" Verbeck declared. - -"I intend you shall have the chance, my dear Mr. Verbeck. I shall render -you unconscious again, and have you taken to a certain place in the city -and left there. When you regain consciousness, start on my trail, if you -can find it. You were unconscious when you came here, and will be when -you depart. You understand? And I don't mind telling you, Roger Verbeck, -that anything done by me and my band before my arrest was insignificant -compared to what we intend doing now. I shall strike within twenty-four -hours, Mr. Verbeck. You need not trouble to warn the city. I already -have sent letters to the papers telling them of my intention." - -"And you can't get away with it!" Verbeck exclaimed. "I'll hunt you -down----" - -"That is your privilege, Mr. Verbeck," the Black Star interrupted. "I -flatter myself that I am a sportsman. I have you in my power at the -present moment, and could keep you where you could cause me no trouble -or annoyance. But I'd rather have you free to use your wits against -mine. As I remarked before, it will add spice to the game. Heaven knows -that the police couldn't even make it interesting for me!" - -"So you are going to stagger the city, are you?" Verbeck asked. - -"I am, Mr. Verbeck. We are going to loot the city more thoroughly than -we did before. We have perfected certain plans, and shall strike soon." - -"Going to play your old game--going to let us know in advance what you -are going to do?" - -"Possibly--at times," said the Black Star, smiling. "And I feel sure -that this time there will be no little accident that will make it -possible for you to take me into custody. By the way, how is your man, -Muggs?" - -"In excellent condition," Verbeck said. - -"My compliments to him, when you see him again, and tell him for me that -it will be a pleasure to clash with him. In a way, I admire Muggs. He is -such a perfect type of a thug." - -"He is not the man to have for an enemy." - -"Bah! I could outwit a score of men like Muggs without calling any of my -organization to my aid. Well, Mr. Verbeck, I am afraid that we shall -have to terminate this interesting conversation. I must get a little -rest, and confer with some of my people." - -He stepped back to the wall and pressed a button. Immediately the door -opened, and the two robed and masked men entered the room. One of them -held a vapor gun in his hand. - -Roger Verbeck was well aware that it would be a losing fight, yet he -fought to his utmost. But the fumes were discharged, the pungent odor -struck into his nostrils and filled his lungs, he was forced to gasp for -breath--and unconsciousness claimed him. - -The last thing he heard was the sarcastic laughter of the Black Star! - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -OVER THE TELEPHONE - - -The chief of police, notified by Sheriff Kowen that the Black Star had -been rescued cleverly by members of his band, dressed quickly and -hurried to police headquarters, there to go into his private office and -rave and fume, and relate to the world that Sheriff Kowen was an -official who knew not the meaning of precaution and efficiency. - -"That's what he gets for being a bug on raiding gambling joints!" the -chief cried. "Anybody would have known it was a plant--anybody with -brains. We fight that fiend of a Black Star for more than a year, Roger -Verbeck finally lands him, we convict the brute and have him handed a -stiff sentence--and then an idiotic sheriff allows him to escape! Now I -suppose we are in for another reign of terror, with every newspaper in -town telling the dear public that the police are fit candidates for some -old lady's home!" - -There was a lot more of this, while captains and lieutenants, sergeants -and roundsmen held their peace and hoped that their superior would not -make this an occasion for reprimanding them for some fancied mistake. -The chief had worked his way up from the ranks; he was endowed with more -brute force than intelligence, and he was a bad man when aroused. - -"Call Roger Verbeck's apartment, and get him on the wire!" the chief -commanded. - -The desk sergeant tried it immediately. He reported that the apartment -house did not answer. The chief made a few remarks about sleeping -telephone operators, and ordered the desk sergeant to try again. Not -getting a reply immediately, the chief called two detectives, ordered -them to hurry to Verbeck's place and acquaint him with the news, and to -have Verbeck get in communication with the chief at once. - -"The first thing the Black Star will do, will be to get hold of -Verbeck!" the chief declared. "He'll probably put Verbeck out of the way -if we don't prevent it. Verbeck caught him before, and he'll have to do -it again. I've got a police force composed of idiots, imbeciles and -blockheads! They couldn't catch a turtle walking across the street!" - - * * * * * - -At about the same moment the chief of police was indulging in this -tirade, Muggs groaned, tried to turn over and found that he could not, -experienced nausea, wondered whether he was being taken down with some -disease--and then made the discovery that he was bound and gagged and -lashed to the bed. - -Having made that discovery, Muggs forced himself to breathe normally, -composed himself, and tried to think. The last he remembered, he had -retired, started to fall asleep, and had dropped into the middle of a -not unpleasant dream. Now it appeared that there had been violence, and -he had known nothing of it. - -"Burglars!" Muggs thought at first. "Doped while I slept, and tied up -like this! I wonder if the boss----" - -The mere thought that something disastrous might have happened to Roger -Verbeck moved Muggs to instant action. He struggled with his bonds, and -at first believed that they could not be slipped; but finally he found a -knot that gave a trifle, and he redoubled his efforts, working in a -frenzy, his imagination picturing Roger Verbeck robbed and slain. - -After a time the knot gave, and Muggs managed to get his hands free. He -removed the gag and started working at the cords about his ankles. - -"Boss! Boss!" he called. - -There came no answer from Verbeck's room. Muggs managed to get off the -last rope, and sprang from the bed. Immediately he reeled and fell back -again. - -"I'm--sick!" Muggs gasped weakly. "That was--some dope! I wonder what -it----" - -And then it came to him. - -"I know that feelin' in my head and that taste in my mouth!" he told -himself. "Vapor gun! I've had enough doses of it before to know! -The--the Black Star----" - -But the Black Star was safe in a cell in the county jail, and due to be -taken to the penitentiary in a few hours, Muggs tried to tell himself. -However, Muggs did not have a lot of faith in jails, having escaped from -them twice himself before Roger Verbeck saved his life and made a man of -him. - -Once more he started to get up from the bed, this time slowly and -cautiously. He did not experience the nausea now, and though he still -felt weak, yet he managed to stagger across the room toward the door. - -He went into Verbeck's bedchamber and snapped on the lights. Verbeck was -not there. The room was in confusion. Verbeck's clothes, that Muggs had -put out for use in the morning, were gone, and his pajamas were on the -floor in a corner. - -Muggs hurried to the bed. It was there, pasted on the headpiece--a tiny -black star! - -"If he hurt my boss----" Muggs began, almost sobbing. - -And then he felt moved to sudden action again. He rushed into the living -room and to the telephone. He rattled the hook frantically, and -presently heard the operator's reply. - -"I want the police!" Muggs cried into the transmitter. "Mr. Verbeck is -gone--been taken away!" - -"Say! There are a couple of detectives here now to see Mr. Verbeck," the -operator replied. "They're coming right up!" - -Muggs darted back into his own room and began dressing with such speed -that he was almost fully clothed when the officers knocked at the door. -Muggs hurried to let them in. - -"What's this about Mr. Verbeck?" one of them asked. - -"The Black Star's got him!" Muggs cried. "They doped us while we slept, -and----" - -"I guess I can tell you all about that," the detective interrupted. -"They put out the night clerk and the telephone operator with those -cursed vapor guns." - -"And Mr. Verbeck is gone! They must have taken him! We've got to find -him! There's a black star--pasted on his bed----" - -"The chief just sent us up to see Verbeck about this business. The Black -Star's gang rescued their leader to-night--turned him loose. He left a -note saying that he was going to raid the town." - -"Well, why stand here and gas about it?" Muggs demanded. "Don't you -understand that the Black Star's got my boss? He put the big crook in -jail before, and you can probably guess what he'll get handed to him for -it now, if the Black Star is loose!" - -"Well, what can we do?" one of the detectives asked. "All we found out -was that there was a closed auto out in front, and three or four men -with it. If they carried Verbeck away, it's a wild guess where they took -him. This town has some size, remember, and the Black Star and his gang -are smooth customers." - -"You're a fine lot of detectives!" Muggs sneered. "You don't know what -to do, huh? Expect to find him by standin' around here smokin' cheap -cigars? Why don't you talk to headquarters and tell what you know? Get -busy!" - -One of the detectives called the station and made his report to the -chief. The police reporters were electrified by the statement that Roger -Verbeck had been abducted by members of the master crook's organization. -At the time the Black Star was arrested, he had sworn to have vengeance -on Verbeck, and though he claimed that he abhorred violence, and seldom -resorted to it, there were fears and misgivings lest Verbeck's body be -found in some lonely spot, a black star pasted on the forehead. - -The chief had not been idle. Every officer in the city was alert. The -police knew that the master criminal must have a headquarters somewhere, -and that it was their duty to locate it. Until he was under arrest -again, and his band broken up, he was a constant menace. He was liable -to strike at any part of the city, at any moment of day or night. The -blow might fall upon one of the big banks, or upon some social gathering -where a fortune in jewels could be obtained. - -News of Verbeck's abduction was flashed to all officers as soon as -possible. Roads leading from the city were under guard, and all vehicles -were being stopped and their occupants questioned. Arrangements had been -made to quiz real estate and rental firms in the morning, ascertain -every recent lease, and investigate it. The chief had given out word -that the headquarters of the master criminal had to be found, and -without delay. - -Muggs journeyed to headquarters with the two detectives, and told all -that he knew. And then he paced the chief's private office, raging, -begging them to do something, to give him only as much as a clew -regarding where Roger Verbeck had been taken, and he, Muggs, would -rescue him alone. - -In vain the chief attempted to quiet Muggs. - -"He's my boss--he ain't yours!" Muggs shrieked. "He saved my life and he -showed me how to make a man of myself! Maybe you don't care what becomes -of him, but I do. And if that big crook harms him, I'll get Mr. Black -Star if it takes me the rest of my life, and I'll choke the life out of -him with my bare hands!" - -"Muggs, we're doing all that we can!" the chief protested. - -"What are you doin'? Yellin' over the telephone to a bunch of cops and -havin' them run around in circles?" - -"But we can't do anything else!" the chief cried. "All we can do is----" - -The bell of his telephone rang. The chief whirled around and took down -the receiver. - -"Hello!" he cried. - -"Hello!" a man's voice answered. "Well, well, it is some time since I -had the pleasure of speaking to you over a telephone wire, chief." - -"Who is this?" the chief cried. "We're pretty busy here to-night, -and----" - -"I suppose that is all my fault. Don't you recognize my voice? I am the -Black Star!" - -"Oh, are you?" the chief shouted. "Well, you put one over on Sheriff -Kowen, but we'll pick you up before long!" - -"You think so?" the Black Star asked, laughing. - -"I know it, you crook! We'll get you, and we'll get the men and women of -that gang of yours!" - -"Well, well! You are talking violently, chief--but you always were -inclined to violence." - -"I'll be violent enough when I get my hands on you, all right!" - -"And I just called you up to give you some information. Are you -concerned about Roger Verbeck? One of my men reported a few minutes ago -that you were. You see, I am keeping in touch with you, chief. I know -every order you issue, every plan you make." - -"What about Verbeck?" - -"Don't worry about him. I had him taken to my headquarters so I could -have a little conversation with him. Half an hour ago he was dropped, -drugged, and unconscious, at the edge of one of the city parks. No doubt -he will be with you soon." - -"Your headquarters, huh?" the chief cried. "We'll locate that little -place within twenty-four hours, if it is in the city!" - -"You think so? I assure you that it is in the city--and perhaps in a -quarter where you'd least expect to find it. I scarcely think you can -find it inside twenty-four hours, chief. Besides, you are going to be -very busy before then." - -"I am, eh?" - -"You are," the Black Star said. "You will be wondering how we did it." - -"Did what?" - -"What it is that we are going to do--the first blow, chief!" - -"Lost your nerve, have you? You used to tell us what you were going to -do, and dare us to catch you at it." - -"Chief, your work is too coarse. Trying to anger me into telling you my -plans, are you? It cannot be done to-night, chief. But I'll tell you -this much--we intend making quite a haul! Expenses have been heavy -recently, you know, and I must have a sort of indemnity." - -"You'll get something worse than that when we get our hands on you!" the -exasperated chief cried. "You'll go up for life when we catch you!" - -"Catch me first!" the Black Star suggested. "By the way, some of my men -left Muggs bound and gagged when they carried Verbeck away. You should -see that he is released." - -"He has been--he's here." - -Muggs thrust the chief aside and grasped the receiver. - -"Yes, he's here, you big crook!" Muggs cried. "He'll be on hand when -you're caught, too, and then you want to look out for yourself! Kidnap -my boss, will you?" - -"Why, Muggs, how violent you are!" - -"You--you----" Muggs sputtered. "When I get hold of you, I'll make you -think you never saw or heard tell of that violence stuff before! I'll -show you some real violence, you crook!" - -"Tut, tut, Muggs! You'll be working yourself into a passion, my dear -boy. By the way, Muggs, tell the chief that he need not bother about -tracing this telephone call. I have tapped a private wire and am talking -over it--understand?" - -A click came over the wire, and it went dead. Muggs put up the receiver -and turned away from the desk, growling. - -The door of the office was thrown open--and Roger Verbeck hurried in. - -"Boss! Boss!" Muggs cried. - -"One minute, Muggs! We haven't time for a demonstration of affection at -present. Well, chief, he had me nabbed, and I've seen the inside of his -new headquarters." - -"Know where they are?" - -"I haven't the slightest idea. I was in an inside room--unconscious when -taken there, and unconscious when they brought me away. I came back to -life up in the park, where they had dropped me, got a taxi and hurried -here. I suppose we have it all to do over again. We've got to catch that -fiend, of course!" - -"Will you help, Verbeck?" the chief cried. "Will you take the time and -trouble?" - -"You know it! Why, the Black Star challenged me again--said I couldn't -catch him." - -"You're in command, Verbeck, as you were the other time. Any orders now? -Where shall we start in?" - -"You're having the roads watched?" - -"Of course." - -"Throw out the dragnet and pick up what you can. Can't tell--might get a -clew of some sort, you know. Get the rental agencies----" - -"I've planned to do that." - -"It probably will do no good, but it won't hurt any to try. The Black -Star is too smooth to be caught in that way. His headquarters probably -is in some house one of his band has owned and occupied for years." - -"He just called up," Muggs put in. "He said we'd be busy within -twenty-four hours." - -"And the Black Star, as we know well, always keeps his word!" Roger -Verbeck declared. "So his message probably means that he will strike his -first blow to-morrow night--or, rather, to-night. But where? And what? -Those are the questions." - -"And all we can do----" the chief began. - -"Is to wait until he strikes, and then take up the trail," Roger Verbeck -added. "I found out one thing--he has some new people in his -organization. He is using the blackboards again." - -"What's that?" the chief asked. - -"Each member of the band has a number and a countersign. Each enters the -headquarters room robed and masked, and carries on the conversation by -means of the blackboards. The Black Star issues his orders the same way. -He handles them by number, and in his other organization the numbers -were issued by one of his lieutenants." - -"What's the use of all that?" the chief asked. - -"It is very simple, chief. The Black Star may know what Number Eight or -Number Ten does, but he doesn't know the identities of the persons with -those numbers. He never could go on the witness stand and swear that a -certain member of his band did a certain share of the work. Understand? -It is a protection all around. On the other hand, the men could not -swear that the Black Star issued the orders--it might be somebody else -wearing the master crook's robe and mask. See?" - -"He's a clever devil!" the chief grunted. - -"He is!" Verbeck agreed. "We discovered that much before, remember. But -we know his methods now, and that is a help. We will not make the -mistake of underestimating him. It's all right to let him think so, and -to talk like it when he calls up by telephone, but in truth we know -we're up against a tough proposition, and we've got to act accordingly." - -"You mean to say you think it's going to be a hard job landing him?" the -chief asked. - -"I mean just that," said Roger Verbeck. "But we'll get him!" - -"You can bet we will!" added Mr. Muggs. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -TRAILED - - -The morning newspapers had some very uncomplimentary things to say, both -in the news columns and on the editorial page, concerning Sheriff Kowen. - -The sheriff, who had had less than three hours' sleep, raged when he -read, and tore the papers into shreds. - -"That's right--blame me!" he shrieked. "Blame a man who was trying to do -his duty! If I don't raid gambling houses, I get blamed, and if I do -raid 'em, I get blamed again. How did I know that place was a plant? It -was a gambling house, wasn't it?" - -Since the sheriff was a bachelor, there was nobody in his apartment to -enjoy this tirade. He went to his favorite restaurant for breakfast, and -sat at a table far back in one corner, refusing to hold conversation -with anybody who approached. - -The sheriff was gathering anger. He did not intend to let Roger Verbeck -and the police get all the credit when the master crook was caught -again. He would go after the Black Star himself, he decided--swear in -more deputies and call upon his men to win. There were certain political -reasons for this. Moreover, the sheriff was a conscientious man; since -the Black Star had escaped through his work, it was his duty, he felt, -to recapture him. - -Sheriff Kowen left the restaurant and walked toward the county jail, -where he maintained his office. He passed countless persons he knew, -both men and women, and saw many smiles that possessed a quality the -sheriff did not relish. But he refused to take a taxicab--he would show -the public that he was not in hiding! - -"If I ever meet that Blanchard woman again----" the sheriff told -himself; and just then he saw her. - -She was on the walk a few feet ahead of him, going slowly toward a -department store. Sheriff Kowen hurried up to her, touched her on the -arm. - -"I want to talk to you!" he said gruffly. - -"Oh, good morning, sheriff!" she said, and smiled. - -The sheriff was disconcerted for an instant, but composure returned to -him quickly. - -"We are only a block from the jail, and my office," he said. "I want to -talk to you there. Shall we walk, or shall I call a cab and charge it to -the county?" - -There was a certain meaning to the last sentence, but she did not seem -to realize it. - -"I should be charmed to talk to you," she said, "but I have some -shopping to do this morning." - -"Your shopping will have to wait, young woman. This is a serious -business." - -"Why, what can you mean?" she asked. - -"Either you walk along with me to my office, or you go as a prisoner!" - -"Are you insane? Arrest me?" - -"In a minute!" said Sheriff Kowen. - -"I--I don't understand this--but I'll go along with you," said Mamie -Blanchard. - -"I thought you would," the sheriff returned. - -He said nothing more as they walked down the street. He took her into -his private office and offered her a chair at one end of his desk. He -closed the door, telling the stenographer that he was not to be -disturbed for the present. - -"Now kindly tell me the meaning of this," said Mamie Blanchard. "I--you -almost frightened me!" - -"What do you know about the Black Star?" Kowen asked. - -"Why, I read this morning that he escaped from your jail last night. You -should be more careful." - -Sheriff Kowen's face turned purple with wrath, but he controlled himself -and bent toward her across the desk. - -"And the cell he formerly occupied is now empty," he said. "Are you -anxious to inhabit it for a time?" - -"What do you mean, sir?" asked Mamie Blanchard. - -"You tipped me off about that gambling house. It was nothing more or -less than a trap whereby the Black Star could get a gang of his men into -the jail and free him. You know it, and I know it, and it won't do you -any good to try to bluff me!" - -"Why, how dare you? How perfectly silly!" - -"Silly, is it?" - -"I never heard of such a thing! This affair must have turned your brain! -I came in here yesterday merely to ask you if you required the services -of a woman detective. I always have wanted to take up detective work, -you know. You told me you did not, and so I left." - -"What sort of nonsense is this?" the sheriff cried. - -"Nonsense? Oh, I am sorry now that there was nobody else in the office -to hear me!" And Miss Mamie Blanchard sat back and smiled at the -official on the other side of the desk. - -"So that's the way of it!" Kowen said. "You'll stick to that story, will -you, because nobody else heard what you said yesterday? Woman detective! -You know what you came in here for yesterday--to carry out the orders of -the Black Star, help frame up that gambling-house deal----" - -"Really, I do not care to listen to any more such talk!" Mamie Blanchard -told him. "I am living with my mother at a respectable private -hotel----" - -"And your brother, the one who was going to the dogs?" - -"Oh, I have no brother! You must be mistaken, sir!" - -"You told me yesterday----" - -"Really, you are mistaken. You are confusing my conversation with that -of some other person, surely. Brother? Oh, no, sir!" - -Sheriff Kowen stared at her. "You are a wonder," he said, "but I am -afraid that you can't get away with it. The best thing for you will be -tell me all you know about the Black Star, where his headquarters are -located, and what he has planned to do. Do that--and do it right--and I -may forget all about what happened yesterday." - -"But I do not understand you! How should I know anything about that -notorious criminal." - -"Want me to throw you into that empty cell?" - -"You dare!" she said, indignantly. "My people have money, sir, and I can -promise you a damage suit that will give you food for thought! Are you -not ridiculous enough in the eyes of the public already?" - -Sheriff Kowen's face purpled again as he glared at her. He did not -doubt, knowing the past history of the Black Star's organization, that -this Blanchard woman would cause him trouble. - -"Well, I'm going to let you get away with it for the time being," he -said. "But don't think for a minute that you're fooling me! You are a -member of the Black Star's gang, and I know it! When we land him and the -others, we'll land you, too! And you'll get a nice, long sentence from -the court!" - -Mamie Blanchard stood up. "I do not care to be insulted further!" she -said. "I regret that there are no witnesses. If you annoy me any more, I -shall bring the matter to my lawyer's attention." - -"I suppose he belongs to the gang also," said the sheriff. - -He got up, too, but before he did, he touched a button beneath his desk. -It caused a buzzer to sound in another office. This told the deputy -there that the person leaving the sheriff's private room was to be -shadowed. - -Kowen opened the door and bowed his visitor out. She held her head high, -and there was an expression of indignation in her face. The sheriff -watched her disappear into the hall, and then reached for his hat. - -On second thought, Kowen had decided to shadow Mamie Blanchard himself, -assisting his deputy. He gave Miss Blanchard time to reach the street, -and then he started. She was already half a block away, making for the -nearest department store, and Kowen saw his faithful deputy trailing -her. - -Mamie Blanchard, under the eyes of the sheriff and deputy, entered the -store and began making purchases in an ordinary manner. Kowen approached -the deputy and engaged him in low conversation. - -"That's the girl that tipped me off about the gambling house," he said, -"and I know blamed well that she belongs to the Black Star's gang. I -tried to get some information out of her just now, but she's pretty -wise. We'll keep out of her sight, work independently, and trail her. -She may lead us to the big crook's headquarters." - -Mamie Blanchard made purchases at several departments, and then left the -store. If she was aware that she was under surveillance, she did not -betray it by her actions. She visited a soda fountain and ate ice cream, -emerged again, and finally engaged a taxicab. Sheriff Kowen engaged -another, and his deputy a third. - -They trailed her to a part of the city where were to be found houses -that once had been the homes of wealthy persons of social prominence. -But now those of wealth and society had moved to another section, and -these relics of other days were rented for various purposes. Here were -to be found small shops, cheap boarding houses, palmists, clairvoyants -and others of their ilk. Here and there were smaller houses back from -the street, some with billboards before them. - -Mamie Blanchard left her taxicab at a corner, glanced around, and walked -down the street. Kowen and the deputy shadowed her. It was not difficult -in this section. - -Mamie Blanchard was acting as if apprehensive now. She glanced around -continually. Once she stood for several minutes in front of a store -window. - -"On the right track!" Sheriff Kowen told himself. "She's going to that -crook's headquarters, all right, and she wants to make sure she isn't -being followed." - -He made a sign to his deputy, and they began to approach each other. -Mamie Blanchard had walked on down the street. Suddenly she darted -through a little gate, and walked swiftly toward one of the smaller -houses that sat back from the street. - -Kowen and his deputy saw her go into the cottage. - -"Go telephone for half a dozen of the men," Kowen ordered the other. -"When they come, scatter them around the block, and then come back here -to me. Either that house is the Black Star's headquarters, or the people -there have something to do with him. I'll watch." - -The deputy hurried away, and Kowen kept his eyes on the house. He -supposed there was a rear door, but behind the house was a high, blank -wall, and he knew that nobody could leave the place without walking -directly toward him. - -Kowen's heart began pounding at his ribs. If he could capture the Black -Star so soon after his escape, he would be the man of the hour. He would -show charity by calling in the police and Roger Verbeck, but theirs -would be reflected glory, and Kowen knew it well. - -The deputy returned at the end of half an hour. Men were posted behind -the alley wall, he explained, and were watching the house from the -buildings on either side. Nobody could get out without being seen and -stopped. - -"Then we'll go in," the sheriff said. - -They walked boldly to the front door of the cottage, and the sheriff -rang the bell. Nobody answered. Three times he rang, and yet nobody came -to the door, nor could they hear the slightest sound inside the house. - -"They're in there, all right; and won't answer!" Sheriff Kowen whispered -to the deputy. "They have spotted us, and know that we have them -cornered. I'm going to signal for the other men, and we'll break into -the place. It's stretching the law a little, maybe, but I'll run the -risk. This isn't like an ordinary case; we're after the Black Star, -remember!" - -The sheriff gave the signal, and then he and the deputy remained on -guard and alert for five minutes, at the end of which time half a dozen -more deputies had come from near-by buildings and joined their superior -officer. Kowen explained the situation to them in a few words. - -"And you want to be ready to go into action!" he concluded. "If the -Black Star or any of his gang are in this house, they'll be prepared to -put up a fight, and don't forget it! Watch out for those vapor guns and -bombs!" - -The sheriff rang the bell again, waited for several minutes, gave those -inside a last chance to come to the door. But he waited in vain. - -"Can't afford to waste any more time," he told his men. "We saw that -Blanchard woman go in there, and, from the way she acted before she did, -I'm sure this is either the big crook's headquarters or where some of -his people are living. Every minute we wait out here, we give them a -chance to get ready for us. Two of you men remain outside and see that -nobody gets away from the place; I'll call you if we need you inside." - -Kowen signaled to one of his biggest deputies. The man advanced, put his -shoulder against the door, pressed against it. - -"Got it bolted, I guess!" he said. - -He backed away, rushed forward, struck the door again with his shoulder, -and burst the door open. - -Sheriff Kowen and his deputies sprawled into the little front hall of -the cottage! - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -WHAT KOWEN FOUND - - -No volley greeted them. - -There was no crash of vapor bombs, no cloud of pungent gas, no clash -with desperate and determined criminals who fought on behalf of their -leader and master! - -There was nothing but silence--a silence broken only by the deep -breathing of the sheriff and his deputies, who had sprawled into that -hall expecting to meet with instant battle, and to whom the unexplained -silence was more trying than combat. - -Again Sheriff Kowen gave a signal, and one of the men opened the door at -the end of the hall. They entered an ordinary living room that was -adorned with cheap furniture; it might have been the living room of the -home of a family in moderate circumstances. - -They passed on to a small dining room, investigating an ordinary -bedchamber. Sheriff Kowen began thinking that he had made a serious -mistake. - -"That woman came in here--and where is she now?" the sheriff said. -"Search the rest of the house--go into the basement--don't leave a -corner untouched. We're in here now, and we might as well do our work. -That woman is here some place, remember that. We saw her come in, and -she hasn't left." - -They searched the kitchen, another small bedroom, and found nothing, -neither a trace of Mamie Blanchard nor anything that would indicate -that the cottage was a den of thieves. They located a trap door, and -opened it, and saw a flight of steps running down into a dark basement. - -"Careful!" Kowen warned his men. "They're probably down there waiting -for us! We'll not all run into the trap!" - -He delegated one man to remain above. He flashed his electric torch, but -could see nothing except the flight of steps and the landing at the -bottom. With some of the others close behind him, with his electric -torch in one hand and his revolver in the other, Sheriff Kowen started -to descend the steps. - -Each instant they expected to hear the sound of a shot, or the explosion -of a vapor bomb, or to encounter one of the traps rumor said the Black -Star always had in his headquarters. Step by step they descended, but -nothing happened. - -They reached the landing, peered around the corner of a concrete -projection. Sheriff Kowen gasped. - -"Careful!" he warned again. "This is the headquarters, all right, and -there doesn't seem to be anybody here--but you never can tell. Watch out -for tricks and traps! Be careful what you touch and where you step. When -he was after the Black Star before, Roger Verbeck found himself in a -trap when he thought he was boss of the situation--don't forget that!" - -The sheriff stepped to the floor, walked a couple of paces away from the -steps. He saw an electric switch on the wall, hesitated a moment, and -then turned it. The basement was bathed in light. - -All the deputies with him were on the floor of the basement now. A -chorus of gasps escaped them. - -The basement was not like the rest of the house. It was furnished -lavishly. In the middle was a long table. At either end was a blackboard -on the wall. There were half a score of heavy chairs scattered about. -There were some papers on the table. - -"Watch the walls," Kowen instructed. "We've found the new headquarters, -all right. We'll beat Roger Verbeck and the police this time, thank -Heaven! Watch the walls--they're liable to open up and let a gang of -thugs in on us any time. I'm going to look at these papers on the -table." - -He posted his deputies where he wished them, and advanced slowly and -carefully across the floor. He was afraid the floor would open and -swallow him, afraid of some clever trap that would turn victory into -defeat and make him a laughingstock. - -He reached the table without accident, and glanced at the papers there. -There was no handwriting in sight. The papers had been printed with tiny -rubber stamps. Kowen remembered that such was the Black Star's method. - -He picked up the nearest and began reading. His eyes bulged and an -exclamation escaped him. - -"Great--great!" he muttered. - -For he was holding in his hands some of the master rogue's orders to his -band. Moreover, they had to do with the campaign of crime the Black Star -had promised. Kowen read it swiftly: - - Number Eleven reports that all is in readiness in his department. - Number Four will be at his post a quarter of an hour before - midnight. Number Ten will have charge of the men opening the - vault. One of the watchmen is a man of ours and will attend to his - companion; he is to be bound and gagged afterward by Number Eight, - as we may need him again and do not want any suspicion attached to - him. Automobiles will be at either end of the alley. Exit through - basement door after work is done. The bags of gold are to be put in - the limousine, which will be driven by Number Twenty. - -"This is great!" Kowen told himself again. "If we only can nab the whole -gang----" - -He picked up another sheet of paper, and started reading that. Once more -an exclamation of satisfaction escaped him. - - Midnight, Tuesday. National Trust Company. Preliminary work - completed. All who have received orders will act accordingly. Must - be no failure in this first case. Loot will be heavy. - -"Going to tap the National Trust, is he?" Sheriff Kowen said. "Well, -we'll be ready for him at midnight! He's going to run into a bunch of -trouble." - -The chief deputy stepped to his side. "Suppose they find out that we -have located their headquarters," he said. - -"Let us hope they won't find it out," replied the sheriff. "Don't touch -another thing here." - -"How about that woman?" - -"That's the one thing that puzzles me," the sheriff admitted. "She came -in here, and we didn't see her leave, and I don't see where she can be. -I suppose she came to get orders, or something like that." - -"You can bet that there's some other way to get out of here," the deputy -told him. "You can bet that the Black Star doesn't let his gang hang -around headquarters much. The way he did before was to have them show up -one or two at a time, at certain intervals. He's probably issued all his -orders and has quit for the day." - -One of the other deputies startled them. - -"Here's a little trap door--and a tunnel!" he said. - -Sheriff Kowen hurried to the corner. The deputy had spoken the truth. -There was a small trap door in the floor, and when it was opened the -mouth of a narrow tunnel was disclosed. Sheriff Kowen issued his orders -rapidly. Into the tunnel they went, flashing their electric torches, -revolvers held ready for instant use. - -They followed it a distance of a hundred feet--a dusty tunnel that -twisted like a serpent. They came to another small door, finally managed -to get it open--and stepped through the thick wall into the alley! - -"So that is it!" the sheriff exclaimed. "That is how the woman got away -from the house without our seeing her! Careful, now! We'll go back and -see that everything is as we found it. I've got a little plan that will -be a winner!" - -Back they went through the tunnel. They closed the door, saw that the -rugs were in place and that everything in the basement was as it should -be, and went up the flight of steps. - -They made sure that nothing in the house had been disturbed, went -outside, and found that the front door had not been much damaged. One of -the deputies locked and bolted it on the inside, then got out through a -window. - -"We'll hope that none of his gang has seen us around here," the sheriff -explained. "I've got to let the police in on this, but we'll get the -credit, all right. I haven't men enough! We'll have deputies and police -scattered all around this place to-night, and we'll nab anybody that -goes into this cottage, either by the front door or the alley tunnel. -We'll be waiting for Mr. Black Star at the National Trust Company's -place, too. The police can help, but we'll get the credit! And when we -get that crook back in jail----" - -Sheriff Kowen did not finish the sentence, but some of his deputies -grinned. They realized that the master crook would be in for a bad hour -when he was once more behind the bars. Sheriff Kowen knew how to punish -prisoners who tried to escape. - -"The big crook isn't as clever as he was before," the sheriff said. "I -guess those few months in jail have dulled his wits. If we can catch -some of those whelps that worked the game on us and got him away, I'll -be highly gratified. I won't need much help when it comes to teaching -them a lesson!" - -Once more his deputies grinned. They walked to the corner, received -fresh orders there, and scattered. Sheriff Kowen engaged a taxicab and -ordered the chauffeur to take him to police headquarters with the -greatest possible speed, traffic regulations notwithstanding. - -He found the chief of police there, and Roger Verbeck in conference with -him. Verbeck's big roadster was at the curb, and Muggs was at the wheel. -Kowen grinned at him as he entered the building. - -"So here you are!" the chief greeted him. "You've got a nerve to show -your face after letting the Black Star get away from you!" - -"Oh, I don't know!" Kowen said, smiling at them. "Have you gentlemen -done anything?" - -"What can we do except wait until he pulls off a stunt, and then go -after him?" the chief demanded. - -"Go after him first! That is what I did." - -"Oh, did you?" asked the chief mildly. - -"With some measure of success," said the sheriff modestly. "I have -discovered the Black Star's headquarters. I have seen some orders to his -gang that he left scattered around his table. I found nobody at home -when I called, and have every reason to believe that the crook and his -gang don't know they have been located." - -"Where is the place?" Verbeck asked. - -The sheriff told him. - -"Possibly you are right," Verbeck said. "But the Black Star is a tricky -individual, remember. And the orders are----" - -"At midnight to-night," said Sheriff Kowen, trying to retain his -modesty, "the Black Star's gang will try to loot the National Trust -Company's vaults. Now, let's get down to business!" - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -VERBECK INVESTIGATES - - -Roger Verbeck and the chief looked at the sheriff aghast. His -announcement had startled them. In his previous career of crime, the -master criminal had raided that establishment, and had almost wrecked it -because he removed so many assets. - -"How do you know that, Kowen?" the chief demanded. - -The sheriff told the story, not sparing himself, for he wanted to -convince the men before him, and now that the recapture of the Black -Star seemed so near, he could afford to speak the truth. - -He related the story of Mamie Blanchard's first visit to his office, and -of how he had trailed her after meeting her on the street. - -"That woman," said Verbeck, after Kowen had described her carefully, "is -a member of the old organization, and is known as The Princess. She -caused us a lot of trouble before." - -"She certainly did!" the chief admitted. "She is almost as clever as the -Black Star, is trusted by him, and handles a lot of his work. We didn't -get her when we caught the Black Star and smashed his old gang, and we -had supposed that she had left the country--possibly had gone to South -America. She came from Brazil, originally." - -Then Kowen continued his story, and told of finding the papers on the -table in the basement. - -"That's the part of it I don't like," Verbeck said. "It isn't like the -master crook to leave papers like those scattered around." - -"Didn't you get into his old headquarters once and find papers and -orders there?" the sheriff demanded. - -"I did, I'll admit. But really I do not like the appearance of this. -Describe that basement room to me again, Kowen." - -The sheriff did so. - -"Well, you seem to have described the room I saw last night," Roger -Verbeck said. "Perhaps you are right; but I think we are assuming too -much when we think the Black Star's people are not aware of the visit of -you and your men there. It would be more like him to have the place -watched continually." - -"It all looks good to me," the chief put in. "I happen to know that the -National Trust Company has a lot of gold in its vault just now--and you -can bet that the Black Star knows it, too. That organization of his is a -wonder. Why, my own secretary might belong to it, for all I know. We -found a police captain in the old one, remember." - -"Well, what are we going to do about it?" the sheriff asked. - -"What have you to suggest? It's your game," the chief reminded him. - -"I've got to have the help of the police, of course," Kowen replied. "I -haven't men enough, and this job calls for trained men. I think we -should combine forces." - -"Certainly," the chief agreed. - -"We ought to have a gang around the block that contains that cottage, -ready to nab anybody that goes in or comes out; and we ought to be -ready for the crook and his gang at the National Trust." - -"How do you want to work it?" the chief asked. "Do you want to watch the -cottage with your men?" - -"I'll send some of my men there, and you do the same," Kowen replied. -"And we'll both have men around the bank. I want to be there when the -big row comes off. Let's figure it out!" - -"Mr. Verbeck is in command of this, as far as I am concerned," the chief -informed him. - -"That suits me," the sheriff replied. - -They spent an hour perfecting their plans, and then the chief began -issuing his orders. Those orders went to officers in all parts of the -city. They were of such a nature that the Black Star, if some -confederate reported them to him, would not be exactly sure what they -meant, except that the chief of police expected him to attempt some -gigantic crime and would have his men in readiness. - -"If you see that Blanchard woman again, put her in the jug!" the chief -told the sheriff. "If you are afraid of a suit for damages, turn her -over to me. I'm not! She's The Princess, and there is a little charge -pending against her right now. Don't forget that." - -"If I had arrested her to-day, I wouldn't have found the crook's -headquarters," Kowen retorted. "But I'll nab her if I see her again, all -right!" - -The sheriff, well pleased with the arrangements that had been made, left -police headquarters and hurried to his own office, to give orders to his -own men. Kowen was exceedingly well pleased with himself. Even the chief -of police, his ancient enemy, admitted that he had done the work. Kowen -could see, in fancy, the newspapers of the following morning, with -their glowing accounts of how, within twenty-four hours after the Black -Star's escape, he had located the crook's headquarters, had learned his -plans, and had captured him again and broken up his band. That should be -political capital, Sheriff Kowen thought. - -He reached his office, called his chief deputy, and gave him -instructions. He warned the man that orders should be issued carefully -so that the Black Star might not learn what was planned. - -"We don't want to let that crook think we are wise to his game," Kowen -said. "If he does, he'll simply move his headquarters and call off this -little robbery. Then we'll have to start all over again--and I want to -get that man back in a cell before to-morrow. Newspapers and public jump -on me, will they? To-morrow they'll be saying how great I am!" - -The chief of police had remained in his office to make further plans. -Roger Verbeck left, and went out to the roadster. He ordered Muggs to -drive to a certain corner across the city. That meant that Roger Verbeck -had some deep thinking to do, for, when he had not, he drove the big -roadster himself. So Muggs, with a thousand questions trembling on his -lips, kept silent, though he looked at Verbeck reproachfully now and -then. - -Muggs reached the corner Verbeck had designated, and glanced around -scornfully. Muggs did not favor this section of the city. It reminded -him too much of certain quarters of Paris where he had existed in years -gone by, when he had been a criminal. - -"Wait here," Verbeck said. - -"Aw, boss, ain't I in on this?" Muggs protested. - -"Want to have the car tagged for being left longer than the law allows -on this street?" Verbeck demanded. "If I am not back in twenty minutes, -drive around the block and wait on the opposite corner--and keep that up -until I do put in an appearance." - -"This ain't a sweet end of town," Muggs said. - -"Are you feeling a certain amount of alarm for me, Muggs? Have you an -idea that I cannot take care of myself, in broad daylight?" - -"Aw!" Muggs exclaimed, in huge disgust. - -"You'll get plenty of action, Muggs, before this thing is over, if that -is what is bothering you," Verbeck said. "What I am going to do just now -calls for one man, and only one." - -Verbeck walked down the street, and Muggs hunched down behind the wheel -and glared at those who passed. - -Verbeck turned the first corner and disappeared, as far as Muggs was -concerned. He journeyed another block, turned another corner, and so -approached the little cottage that Sheriff Kowen had investigated. He -walked past it slowly, and glanced at the building. There was no sign of -life about it. - -Verbeck went on around the block and turned into the alley. He found the -little door in the wall, but there appeared to be no way of opening it -from the outside. He hurried on through the alley and made his way to -the front again. If this was, in reality, the Black Star's headquarters, -Verbeck did not want to spoil things by having some of the band see him -loitering in the neighborhood. - -He returned to the roadster, told Muggs to drive him home, and grinned -at the look of disgust in Muggs' face. - -"Ain't I in on this at all, boss?" Muggs wanted to know. "Gee! When we -was after that big crook before, you let me know everything. Don't you -trust me no more?" - -"Certainly I trust you!" Verbeck told him. "You know that I do! But why -bother you with minor details? In other words, Muggs, I am not sure of -anything yet." - -Reaching his rooms, Roger Verbeck spent the remainder of the day reading -books, as if the Black Star and his band did not exist and call for -thought. He ordered dinner earlier than usual, and then dressed in a -plain dark suit, and put on a soft cap. - -"Into the roadster again, old boy," he told Muggs. "Drive me to the same -corner." - -Muggs did so gladly; but when the corner was reached, he was disgusted -once more to find that Verbeck wanted him to remain with the car. - -"I don't seem to be nothin' but a chauffeur," he complained to the world -at large. "I used to amount to somethin', but I guess I don't any more." - -"Muggs, I told you that this is a one-man job," Verbeck said. "And I am -the one man!" - -He walked on down the street, chuckling at Muggs' grumbling. He passed -the little cottage once more. There seemed to be no lights inside it. -The yard about it was in pitch darkness, for the glare of the street -lights was cut off by the high buildings on either side, by the -billboards in front and the alley wall behind. - -Verbeck slipped inside the yard. For a time he stood against the -billboard and listened, and then he went forward like a shadow, and -finally reached a corner of the cottage. - -He made his way around the building, listening at doors and windows. He -found a window unlatched, and raised it inch by inch, without making the -slightest noise. A moment later, Roger Verbeck was inside the house. - -He held his electric torch ready, and his automatic. Not a sound reached -his ears to indicate the presence of any other human being in the house. -Verbeck flashed the torch, located a door, passed through it, and was in -the kitchen. - -There he found the door leading to the basement, and listened beside it -for some time. Then he opened it, slowly, cautiously, a bit at a time. -There was no light in the basement. - -Verbeck propped the door open with a chair, and descended the steps -carefully, not flashing his torch. He reached the bottom, listened for -some time, and then pressed the button. The shaft of light flashed -across the room. - -"Kowen was right--this is the place!" Verbeck told himself. "The -furniture--everything seems to be the same. But I don't like it. It -doesn't seem right, at all. I never knew the Black Star to be careless -like this before." - -Verbeck flashed his electric torch again and looked carefully around the -room. He even walked across to the table and read the orders Sheriff -Kowen had found there. The house was being watched by the police and -deputies by this time, Verbeck knew, for the men had received orders to -take up their positions soon after nightfall. The officers could be -depended upon to capture anybody who visited the cottage. - -Verbeck went back up the steps, crept through the house, and got out -through the window by which he had entered, and which he now closed -again. As he moved away from the house, an officer spoke to him. - -"I thought that was you, Mr. Verbeck," he said. "Have you been inside?" - -"Yes. There is nobody there now," Verbeck replied. "Is the door in the -alley wall being watched?" - -"Yes, sir," said the officer. "We've got good men scattered all around -the place. If that big crook or any of his people come near here, -they'll be nabbed!" - -Verbeck hurried up the street and sprang into the roadster, smiling at -Muggs' sour look. - -"Drive to police headquarters, Muggs," he directed. "We'll stay there -until a little before midnight, and then we'll go to the National Trust -Company with the chief and his men, and watch for the Black Star. If he -really attempts to rob that place to-night, he is going to be caught in -the act." - -"I'd like to get my two hands on him!" Muggs growled. - -"Perhaps you'll have the chance," Verbeck said. - -"If I do," Muggs said, "you can bet that the big crook will have a sore -throat for a month!" - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -MYSTERY AND AN ALARM - - -Muggs drove the powerful roadster slowly through the streets. The -newsboys were crying extra editions of the evening papers, editions that -had a great deal in them concerning the master crook and his intentions. -Verbeck had Muggs stop, and bought the papers, and was glad to see that -there was no inkling of Kowen's discovery in them. - -Verbeck did not feel satisfied. Remembering the Black Star's methods, he -could not convince himself that the master rogue would let himself be -captured again just as he inaugurated his campaign of crime. If the -National Trust Company was to be robbed, the Black Star would be there -in person, unless he had changed his tactics, for previously he always -had commanded his men during a big crime. - -But even the greatest criminals are wrecked by trivial accidents, -Verbeck knew well, and so he tried to tell himself that it was a -careless woman member of the band who had betrayed the crook's -headquarters and plans. Yet it was foreign to the character of The -Princess, as Mamie Blanchard was called by the members of the -organization, to be careless. - -"Well, we'll know the truth soon!" Roger Verbeck told himself. - -They reached police headquarters and went inside. The chief was waiting -for them. - -"Everything ready!" he announced. "We're going to land that crook quick -this time! I'm taking no chances, you can bet! I'll have every available -man around the National Trust Company's building. I've got some of them -inside right now, and in the adjoining building, and there will be a -crowd in the alley and in the streets." - -"I went up and took a look at that cottage," Verbeck said. - -"So that's what you were up to!" Muggs put in. - -"How did it look?" the chief asked. - -"Well, I can't swear to it, of course, but that basement room looked -like the one where the Black Star had me last night; and the orders -Kowen told us about were on the table. I didn't touch them, but I read -them." - -"Let us hope the crook doesn't get wise to the fact that we are on to -him," said the chief. - -"The chances are," said Verbeck, "that he had completed his work when -Kowen and his men got inside the house, and that the Blanchard woman was -the last of the band to visit there to-day. If the Black Star follows -out his usual method, he'll hurry back there after he pulls off the -robbery, providing we don't get him at the bank." - -"And if he dodges us at the bank, the men will pick him up when he goes -back to the cottage--very pretty!" the chief said. "Verbeck, I have an -idea that we are going to win to-night. The rogue's good luck has -deserted him, that's all." - -The chief opened a box of cigars and passed it around. From time to time -a sergeant came in to report about men being posted. Now and then some -detective telephoned rumors and information he had gathered. - -"The streets are jammed," the chief said, after one of these telephone -calls. "The blamed newspapers are out with big stories of how the Black -Star telephoned them that he would start his campaign of crime at -midnight. Well, somebody in the mob might get hurt, but it helps us, in -a way. It has been easier for us to get our men placed without some of -the crook's gang reporting the fact to him." - -"Oh, the chances are that he knows all about it," Verbeck said. "And he -probably doesn't care. The Black Star is original, don't forget that. -He'll not try to rob that trust company in any usual manner. He'll get -into the building with his men in some way we do not expect, and if -we're not on guard he'll get out again--with bags of gold. Did you -inform the bank officials?" - -"Great Scott, no!" gasped the chief. "They'd light up the place, remove -the gold, give the whole thing away. We want to catch the Black Star. -I'll guarantee that he'll never get away with anything there to-night. -You don't seem to have much confidence, Verbeck." - -"I haven't," Verbeck admitted. "I fought the Black Star before, you -know. I can't make myself think that he will walk into a trap--yet -everything seems to point toward it. Well, I'll be going, I guess. It is -eleven o'clock now." - -Muggs followed him to the curb, and this time Verbeck took the wheel -when they got into the roadster. He drove through the city and toward -the place where he lived, and, when he was sure that he was not being -followed, he circled through the streets and approached the retail -section of the city again. - -Verbeck parked the roadster several blocks away from the National Trust -Company. Then he and Muggs made their way through the crowd in the -street, their caps pulled down over their eyes, Verbeck hoping that he -would escape recognition. - -They went through an alley, and stopped in the darkness just before they -reached the other street. The rear of the trust company building was -just opposite them. - -"A quarter to twelve," Verbeck whispered. "The chief is to meet us here. -The sergeants know where he is to be in case he is needed quickly." - -"Why not get into the bank building?" Muggs asked. "Are we going to stay -here in the alley and let a bunch of policemen do this thing? Gee, boss, -ain't we goin' to handle it ourselves?" - -"We'll be right on hand, Muggs, if anything starts," Verbeck promised -him. "Don't worry about that!" - -Five minutes later, the chief found them there. - -"Now for the big drama!" the chief whispered. "Everybody is set and -ready. That master criminal, as he calls himself, is due to receive the -surprise of his life in a few minutes. I only hope he is on the job -himself--glad to nab any of his crowd, of course, but he is the man we -want in particular." - -"Those orders read 'midnight,'" Verbeck said. "If he carries them out, -we haven't long to wait." - -"Got an idea he won't carry 'em out?" the chief asked. - -"He may know that we are aware of his intention," Verbeck replied. "He -isn't fool enough to walk into a trap when he knows where the trap is, -you know." - -The chief flashed his torch and glanced at his watch. - -"Well, it's three minutes of midnight now," he said. "I wonder how he'll -try it." - -"He certainly will not walk up to the front door and break it down," -said Verbeck, chuckling. - -"I've got men in the basements of the buildings on both sides of the -trust company," the chief said. "If he tries to use a tunnel, he'll find -himself caught." - -"He came down from the sky on one occasion," Verbeck reminded the chief. - -"Look!" Muggs cried. - -He had glanced up at the sky as Verbeck spoke, and now was clutching at -their sleeves and asking them to look up, too. Far above the city a -bright light appeared, a light that traveled in circles. It grew larger -and brighter rapidly. It blazed forth like a monster searchlight, and -bathed in splendor the building of the National Trust Company. - -"Airplane!" Muggs gasped. - -"Then he's a long way up in the air," said the chief. "An airplane makes -considerable noise! It isn't an airplane!" - -"Then what is it?" Verbeck asked. - -"You've got me--but it isn't an airplane, or, if it is, it must be a -couple of miles high. That light doesn't seem to be that high up." - -The crowds in the street were yelling and shrieking now. The searchlight -continued to bathe the trust company's building in brilliance. The -police and deputies posted around the corner were amazed. Sheriff Kowen, -on the other side of the building, ran around like an insane man, -calling upon his men to do something. - -The light was extinguished; and again it blazed forth, and this time it -swept up and down the alley, revealing the chief and Verbeck and Muggs, -and officers who had been posted there. - -"The Black Star has something to do with that!" the chief said. - -"And he's spotted us!" said Verbeck. - -"Then we lose, for he'll not try to rob the trust company." - -"Don't be too sure of that! Some of his band may be in there now, and -this light, wherever it is, may be to attract our attention while other -men carry away the loot." - -"I've got plenty of men in the building," the chief replied, "and -they'll flash a signal the moment they see anybody that doesn't belong -in there. That light gets me. How high do you suppose it is?" - -"It's comin' closer to the ground," said Muggs. - -Once more the light was extinguished, and the crowds in the street grew -silent. Again it blazed forth, and this time it was so bright and near -that a man could not look into it. - -Then they heard a laugh, and the well-known voice of the Black Star. - -"Hello, chief! Hello, Verbeck and Muggs! Watching the trust company, are -you? I'm afraid that'll not do any good!" - -The chief drew his revolver and fired rapidly into the air. The Black -Star's sarcastic laugh reached them, and the light was extinguished -again. The sky was black; they saw nothing, heard nothing. - -"What kind of a thing is this?" the chief gasped. "He wasn't more than -a hundred feet above us when he spoke. What can it be? He can't be in an -airplane, or we'd hear the roar of the engine!" - -"And his band is probably looting the vault of the trust company right -now, or has looted it!" Verbeck said. - -He ran quickly across the street, and Muggs and the chief followed at -his heels. They knocked on a rear door of the building, and it was -opened at once. - -"Everything all right?" the chief asked. - -"Nothing doing yet, chief," replied the detective who had opened the -door. - -"We'll take a look and make sure," the chief said. "I don't like this -business at all!" - -They went through a corridor and found the two watchmen. They had the -lights in the vault room switched on. - -"That vault hasn't been touched," Verbeck said, "unless they have -tunneled from beneath. The door hasn't been opened." - -"That crook was wise," the chief declared. "He knew that we were here -waiting for him. How he found it out is more than I can tell--some of -Sheriff Kowen's carelessness, I suppose." - -A detective came running toward them through the corridor. - -"Chief!" he shrieked. "Sergeant just came from headquarters! He says -that the Black Star's gang is looting the First National--just got the -alarm!" - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -ORDERS AND LETTERS - - -The forces of law and order would have been interested, that day, had -they watched Mamie Blanchard continually. - -When she entered the little cottage, she locked the door on the inside, -hurried through the kitchen and into the basement, and entered the -tunnel. She went through it quickly, reached the door in the alley wall, -listened, opened it, slipped into the alley, and slammed the door shut -again. That door could not be opened from the outside unless a person -knew exactly how to do it. - -Mamie Blanchard hurried through the alley to the street, engaged a -taxicab, and drove to a certain hotel, where she ascended in the -elevator and went directly to a suite. It was not the same hotel she had -visited after telling Sheriff Kowen about the gambling house, but she -found the same people there--a middle-aged woman and a middle-aged man. - -"Well?" the man asked gruffly. - -"Couldn't be better," said Mamie Blanchard. - -"What happened?" - -"I let him see me, and he took me to his office in the jail. Said he -knew that I was a member of the Black Star's band, and threatened to put -me in a cell if I didn't tell all I knew. I bluffed him, of course, and -then he got the wise idea of letting me go and trailing me. You could -almost see it sticking out on his forehead." Miss Blanchard stopped to -laugh. - -"Go on!" the man commanded. - -"The sheriff and a deputy trailed me. When I got near the cottage, I -began acting in a peculiar manner. I hurried inside, locked the door, -and went out through the tunnel and the alley. At the corner, I saw the -sheriff and his deputy still looking at the cottage." - -"Well, you did your part!" the man said. "Now we'll wait to learn -whether the rest of the plan worked out." - -They waited for half an hour. Then the telephone rang, and the man -answered. When he hung up the receiver and turned away, he was grinning. - -"It worked!" he said. "Number Ten has just reported. The sheriff sent -for more men, and broke into the house. They found the basement room and -read the orders, and they found the tunnel, too. Number Ten reports that -the sheriff has gone to police headquarters." - -"And that means," said Mamie Blanchard, "that there'll be half a hundred -cops around that cottage to-night, and all the rest will be at the -National Trust Company." - -"Exactly! And while they are at the National Trust, we'll be looting the -First National. That fake headquarters did the trick--just as the big -boss said it would!" - -"What now, Landers?" Miss Blanchard asked. - -It was the first time she had spoken his name. Like herself, Landers had -been in the Black Star's old organization, and now was one of the master -criminal's shrewd lieutenants. He had helped organize the new band, and -had engineered the Black Star's rescue. - -"I must go and report," he said. "I'll report for you, too. You'd -better stay pretty close to this suite for a few days. They'll be -looking for you now, you know." - -"I might as well be in jail as be a prisoner here," Mamie Blanchard -pouted. - -"It's orders!" Landers told her. "You'll be needed again soon, and -needed badly." - -Landers left the hotel, engaged a taxicab, and drove out along the river -road until he came to a resort. He paid the chauffeur there, and walked -along the shore, watching the bathers, acting like a prosperous man on a -little holiday. - -But after a time he left the resort and walked on along the road. He -turned into a lane, when he was sure that he was not being observed, and -approached a ramshackle farmhouse that was hidden in a grove. - -Landers entered the house, went down a flight of steps to the basement, -and stopped in a little room. There he put on a long black robe and his -black mask, and touched a button. In the distance a bell tinkled. Then a -buzzer sounded, and Landers opened the door and stepped into the Black -Star's headquarters. - -The master rogue was sitting at one end of the table. He got up and -stepped to the nearest blackboard. Landers went to the one at the other -end of the room, and picked up the chalk. - -"Number One," he wrote. - -"Countersign?" wrote the Black Star. - -"Amboy." - -"Report!" the Black Star wrote. - -Landers turned to the blackboard and wrote rapidly. - -"Sheriff decoyed to fake headquarters. Decoy escaped in manner planned. -Sheriff broke in and found room in basement. Number Ten reported to me -that everything was left as it was, and that sheriff went immediately to -police headquarters." - -"Good," wrote the Black Star. - -"Any further orders?" - -"Act to-night in accordance with the orders given you yesterday," the -Black Star wrote. "That is all." - -Landers bowed, and backed from the room. He took off mask and gown and -hung them up, put on his hat and gloves, and made his way from the house -and into the lane again. Once more he was the prosperous gentleman -enjoying a day in the woods and along the river. - -Back in the old farmhouse, the Black Star was receiving another report, -this time by telephone. - -"Number Eight," said the voice. - -"Countersign?" asked the Black Star. - -"Harvard!" - -"Well?" - -"I have been in communication with Number Twelve, who is in police -headquarters. Sheriff Kowen went there and held a conference with the -chief and Roger Verbeck. They fell hard for that fake headquarters -stunt. They are planning to watch the place to-night, and all officers -not there will be in the neighborhood of the National Trust Company, -where they expect us to strike." - -"Very good!" the Black Star said. "You have your orders for to-night?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"Carry them out. There is nothing new!" - -The master rogue hung up the receiver, put the telephone away in a -secret niche in the wall, and sat down at the end of the long table -again. A man entered with a tray containing luncheon, and the Black Star -removed his mask and ate. The servant was a member of the old -organization, and took part in no crimes--it was not necessary for the -Black Star to wear a mask in his presence. - -Having eaten, the master criminal stretched himself on a couch in one -corner of the room, and slept. It was dusk when he awakened. He ate -again, and as he finished the little bell on the wall jangled. The Black -Star put on his mask, and touched a button. - -The robed and masked man who entered was small. He went directly to the -blackboard. - -"Number Sixteen," he wrote. - -"Countersign?" - -"Providence." - -"Report!" - -"First National received shipment of currency to-day as expected," the -other wrote. - -"What amount?" - -"Three hundred thousand." - -"What else have you to report?" - -"One of the watchmen is our man, and he will attend to the other. Number -Twenty has investigated the vault, and reports that he can open it in -twelve or fifteen minutes." - -"How about transportation?" the Black Star wrote. - -"One limousine and three closed autos; all has been arranged." - -"Good!" the Black Star wrote. "That is all--except I want no mistakes -made to-night." - -The other man left the room. The master criminal touched a bell button, -and the servant entered. - -"Has the mechanic reported?" the Black Star asked. - -"Yes, sir. The machine is in perfect working order, sir. He will test it -further after dark." - -"Very well. I want him to be ready to start about eleven thirty, perhaps -a quarter of an hour sooner than that." - -"Yes, sir." - -The servant bowed and left the room. The Black Star took paper out of a -drawer, and a box of rubber stamps, and began composing a letter that -was to cause the chief of police, the sheriff and Roger Verbeck much -chagrin before morning. - - To those poor fools whom it most concerns: - - I was amused at the manner in which you guarded the little cottage - so well. That fake headquarters was placed there in order to have - you send all officers to the National Trust Building. I understand - it fooled even Roger Verbeck. You may place all the blame on the - sheriff, since he responded so well to my decoy. While you guard - the National Trust, I shall be looting the First National of the - shipment of currency it received to-day. It is the first blow in my - campaign. And when you learn that I am looting it, and rush there, - I shall----But you will know what by the time you read this note. - -The Black Star put the folded note into an envelope, and addressed it to -the chief of police. Then he composed another to be mailed to a -prominent newspaper. - - I, the Black Star, begin my campaign to-night. Three nights from - now, I and my men shall steal certain jewels and art objects that - are famous. You may guess what they are, and where. Guard all - jewels and objects of art in the city, if you wish, but that will - not prevent us from getting them. ***** - -The Black Star put the letter into an envelope, addressed it, and then -put both letters into one of his pockets. He glanced at his watch, and -took off his robe, but retained the mask. He donned a heavy ulster, and -rang for the servant again. - -"Tell the mechanic to be ready in ten minutes," he said. - -"Yes, sir." - -"After I have left the house, throw on the protecting current, and do -not turn it off unless you get the proper signal." - -"I understand, sir." - -"The wires were tested this afternoon?" - -"Yes, sir; everything is in excellent condition." - -"Good!" said the Black Star. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -A DOUBLE CRIME - - -At a quarter of twelve that night, a man walked rapidly through the -alley behind the First National Bank. He knocked on the basement door of -the building adjoining. The door was opened by a watchman. - -"Everything's all right," the watchman reported. - -"Did you attend to that other fellow?" - -"He'll sleep for a couple of hours yet." - -"Fine work. You are to disappear after this, of course. Go to the hiding -place arranged for you, and you will be sent ample funds. You are not to -attempt to leave the city until you get orders to do so. Understand?" - -"Sure. I know my business, all right." - -"You'd better! The boss is going to be mighty strict during this -campaign of his. The man who makes a mistake or disobeys orders won't -last very long. Where are the robes?" - -The watchman opened a box, took out a robe, and handed it over. The -other man put it on quickly, affixed the mask, and started toward a door -that opened into the basement of the bank building adjoining. At the -door, he turned again. - -"Let the others in, and tell them that they are to hurry," he told the -watchman. "They'll give the usual signal, of course. Hand them their -masks and gowns." - -He opened the door and hurried into the other basement, went up a flight -of steps, unlocked another door, and was on the first floor of the bank. - -Down in the basement, the watchman admitted other men who arrived two -minutes apart, until twelve in all were in the building, and gave them -robes and masks. They hurried into the other basement and up the stairs, -and took up their positions. - -Some guarded the stairways that led to the second floor. Others were -scattered around the first floor, watching the doors and windows. Two -hurried into the vault room. - -The shades had been drawn at all the windows, and were fastened securely -at the sides and bottoms so that no light could be seen from the -outside. An electric torch was flashed on the door of the vault, and -held there, and one of the men began working on the lock with tools -taken from beneath his robe. - -"It's a cinch!" he whispered. "The more intricate they are, the easier -it is to open them. I didn't work once in a safe factory for nothing!" - -Save for the rasping of tools against steel and the heavy breathing of -the man who worked, there was silence in the vault room and in the rest -of the building. Presently there came a sharp click, the workman gasped -his satisfaction and stood up. The big door was pulled open. - -Both men hurried inside the vault. They began stuffing packages of bills -into canvas bags which had been in the box with the robes. - -"That's all!" one of them whispered to the other. "The boss said for us -not to bother with securities or any of the small stuff. We'll go!" - -"We'd better, or they'll be on us in another minute," the other man -replied nervously. "When you opened that door you sent in an alarm." - -"And it went to a protective agency where the man on night duty is one -of us," the other replied, chuckling. "He'll have to give out the alarm, -of course, but by the time he gives it out, we'll be far away. What time -is it now?" - -"Twelve thirty." - -"Just right! Send the signal to the others. The lieutenant is standing -by the window at the end of the hall." - -A hiss escaped the man's lips, and was carried and echoed through the -building. The men gathered in the corridor, the lieutenant made sure all -of them were there, and then they descended into the basement, and -passed from it to the one adjoining. - -"Signal for the autos," the watchman was ordered. "Then make your own -get-away. And be sure you remember all that you've been told. Obey -orders!" - -The watchman stepped into the dark alley, and flashed an electric torch -five times. A chauffeur at the mouth of the alley counted the flashes, -and honked his horn. A procession of four automobiles started through -the alley. - -They did not stop, but merely slowed down, and into each machine sprang -the men who had been assigned seats there. The automobiles continued -through the alley and turned into the next street, where the chauffeurs -put on speed. - -There were few persons in that particular section of the city at the -time, but those who were on the street saw the automobiles filled with -robed and masked men. They knew what that meant--that the Black Star's -band was working in the vicinity. Their terror kept them dumb until the -automobiles had disappeared, and then they gave the alarm. They knew -that there was but one thing in that section that would attract the -master crook--and that was the vault of the old First National. The -alarm went to police headquarters. - -A few blocks down the street, the automobiles scattered, and one by one -made their way to dark parts of the town, where the men in them took off -their robes and masks, and, one by one, left the machines and darted -away. - -The band was scattered fifteen minutes after the vault had been looted, -and one machine, a closed one, was running out along the river road -toward the resort. The chauffeur drove in a leisurely manner, and the -car attracted no undue attention. - -At the end of the lane running to the old farmhouse, where it was pitch -dark, the door of the closed car was opened, and a man sprang out. The -automobile went on along the river road. The man who had jumped from it -carried two canvas bags stuffed with currency. He was Landers, the Black -Star's trusted lieutenant. - -Landers hurried along the lane, entered the grove about the house, and -took a telephone from its hiding place behind a clump of brush. He -called the house, and the servant who remained on guard at the -headquarters answered. - -Landers gave a password, then put the telephone away and sprang to his -feet. He came to the wire fence that ran around the house, but he did -not touch it. He knew that it was charged with a deadly current. A light -flashed in a window, and Landers opened the gate and went on to the -house. He disappeared inside. His work for the night was done, except -that he had to turn in the swag. - -But the Black Star and his band were not done for the night. The men who -had left the automobiles and scattered, immediately made their way to -the National Trust Company's building, and lost themselves in the throng -of people there. They bumped elbows with policemen and deputies and -detectives, and grinned when they recognized one another in the crowd. - -They were in time to hear the alarm given, and to see policemen spring -into automobiles and hurry away. They saw Muggs drive through the crowd, -and Roger Verbeck spring into the roadster and start for the First -National Bank. Word flashed through the crowd that the master rogue's -band was looting the First National, and the crowd melted away like snow -beneath a blazing sun, hurrying toward the scene of the robbery. - -One by one, and cautiously, the Black Star's men entered the alley -behind the National Trust Company's building. Here, too, a basement door -was opened for them by a watchman. Once more they put on masks and gowns -from a supply that was in readiness, and posted their guards in the -building. Once more two selected men hurried into the vault room. - -They began their work on the door of the vault; and suddenly the Black -Star himself appeared before them, his face masked, the flaming star of -jet on the hood of his robe. - -"Make it as quick as possible!" he ordered. "We don't want to be here -too long. Did things go all right at the other place? Was the get-away -good?" - -"Everything went off as planned, sir," one of the men reported. "The -work was done to the minute, and the get-away was as you had ordered, -sir." - -"Disguise your voice when you speak to me, you fool!" the Black Star -said. "And hurry with that vault! We can't spend all night getting -inside that box!" - -The rasping of tools against steel, the heavy breathing of the workman -told that the man was doing his best to hurry. But the vault of the -National Trust Company was a complicated affair, and it was a quarter of -an hour before the door finally was swung open. - -"Lively, now!" the Black Star commanded. "Those bags of gold are what we -want--and all we want here at this time. Get them to the rear door as -soon as possible, and signal for the autos. All you men get busy!" - -The masked and robed members of the band carried the heavy bags from the -vault, hurried through the corridor with them, went down the stairs, and -to the basement door. - -The Black Star watched the work. When it was completed, he walked across -the room to the nearest telephone, took down the receiver, and gave the -number of police headquarters. - -"Is the chief there?" he asked. - -"He's here, but he's busy. What do you want with him? Who is this?" the -desk sergeant demanded. - -"I think he'll talk to me, all right. This is the Black Star talking." - -There was an exclamation at the other end of the wire, and presently the -chief spoke. - -"Hello! This is the chief!" - -"This is the Black Star! Did my new searchlight puzzle you a bit -to-night, chief? When you know the secret you'll be more startled than -puzzled. Did you wonder where my voice came from, and how I happened to -be in the air just over you? Maybe you got the idea that I was putting -on a ventriloquist's act." - -"We'll get you, you fiend!" the chief cried angrily into the -transmitter. - -"Why, chief, how violent you sound! I am afraid you are working yourself -into a passion." - -"You got away with it this time, but you'll not do it again. And you had -to lie to do it this time!" - -"Indeed? How is that?" - -"You used to boast of what you were going to do, and dare us to catch -you at it, and you always told the truth in those days. You must be -losing your nerve. You said, you crook, that you were going to rob the -National Trust--and then you went after the First National." - -"Oh, that was just a little job on the side!" the Black Star said. "I -told you no falsehood, chief. I said that I would rob the National -Trust, and that is exactly what I have done. I am speaking from the -vault room of the National Trust this very minute. I have just removed -several bags of gold coins!" - -"What's that?" the chief cried. - -"I am leaving a letter here in the vault room for you, chief, and have -just mailed another to a certain newspaper. You'd better come right over -here and get your letter, chief. And thanks so much for rushing all -your silly policemen over to the First National when you got the alarm, -so they would not bother my men here. It was very thoughtful of you!" - -The Black Star laughed, and put up the receiver. He laid the letter -addressed to the chief in the middle of the table, and pasted little -black stars around the room on the marble. He ran to a rear window and -saw three automobiles passing through the alley. In them were his men, -he knew, and also the gold coin taken from the supposedly impregnable -vault of the National Trust. - -The Black Star laughed again, went to the stairs, and began mounting -them, flight by flight, stopping now and then to laugh at a bound and -gagged watchman. Presently he reached the roof by means of a trap door. -He closed the door again, and fastened it securely. Then he took an -electric torch from his pocket, and flashed a signal toward the sky. - -He removed his robe, rolled it up, put it beneath his arm. He picked up -his heavy ulster from the roof, where he had left it before descending -into the bank, and put it on. - -Once more he pointed the electric torch upward and flashed a signal. -Then he touched match to cigarette, walked to the edge of the building, -and glanced over. - -He heard the sirens of police automobiles in the distance. He saw the -machines stop and policemen spring from them. He watched as they gained -entrance to the building, saw a crowd gathering in the street below. The -Black Star chuckled again, took a vapor bomb from the pocket of his -ulster, and hurled it at the street. It struck, exploded, and a cloud of -white, pungent vapor drifted across the pavement. Shrieks and cries of -alarm reached his ears. He saw one policeman stagger and fall, overcome -by the gas. - -The Black Star, still chuckling, walked back to the middle of the roof. -He flashed another signal, and then returned the torch to his pocket. - -He laughed again--and waited! - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -MORE MYSTERY - - -Police headquarters was thrown into a turmoil for the second time that -night when the chief received the master criminal's telephone message. - -Roger Verbeck and Muggs rushed for the roadster, sprang in, and drove -like mad through the streets toward the National Trust Company's -building. - -The chief shrieked his orders, officers tumbled into department -automobiles, and followed Verbeck. They reached their destination, and -sprang out. Verbeck already had ascertained that the front doors of the -bank were locked and bolted. He rushed around to the alley, followed by -Muggs, the chief, and a dozen officers. A detective hurried to telephone -Sheriff Kowen. - -The basement door was open, and they rushed inside. They found the -watchman bound and gagged--he was a member of the Black Star's band, but -they needed him again, and so made the attempt to remove all suspicion. - -"The Black Star!" he gasped when they had removed the gag and bonds. "He -was here with his gang! They carried out gold--went away in autos -and----" - -Verbeck had rushed on to the vault room. The chief and some of the -others followed. They found the door of the vault standing open, money -scattered on the floor, papers in confusion. - -"He cleaned out all the big stuff!" the chief said. "One of you men -telephone the president of the trust company and tell him to hurry down -here." - -"Here's the letter he mentioned, chief," Verbeck said. - -The chief ripped it open and read it, then thrust it into one of his -pockets. As he turned away, there was a sharp explosion in the street, -then a bedlam of shrieks and cries. They rushed to a window and threw it -open. - -"Bomb!" somebody in the street was shouting. "It came from the roof!" - -"One of that crook's gas bombs!" the chief exclaimed. "On the roof, is -he?" - -Verbeck already was running toward the stairs, with Muggs just behind -him, determined to be in the midst of the affair. Muggs had been -complaining again that he was not playing a principal part in this -drama, and that he felt he was entitled to one. - -Half a dozen officers took after them, the chief bellowed orders and -posted guards throughout the bank. He sent other men to the floors above -to release the watchmen. And then he followed Roger Verbeck, running up -the stairs, puffing and panting, wishing that the elevator was running. - -They came to the little steel stairs that led to the trapdoor and the -roof. Verbeck tried to open the door, and found that it was fastened on -the outside. - -"Either the Black Star or some of his men are up there!" Verbeck said. -"The door wouldn't be locked on the outside, otherwise." - -One of the detectives had procured a fire ax from the hall on the floor -below. He ran up the steel stairs and attacked the heavy door -vigorously. The chief sent a man for another ax. - -More officers had come up the stairs now, and stood at the bottom of the -steel steps, waiting for the trapdoor to be opened. - -"As soon as we get through, rush up there and go at them," the chief -directed. "We don't know how many are up there, so be ready to mix it! -Shoot, if you have to, but get him alive if you can. And look out for -vapor guns and gas bombs!" - -"Somebody on the roof is asking for you, chief!" the man with the ax -called down. - -The chief hurried up the steps. "Well, who is it?" he demanded. - -"This is the Black Star. Can't you recognize my voice? Still practicing -violence, I see, and this time on a door!" - -"Well, what do you want?" the chief cried. "Do you want to give yourself -up?" - -"Certainly not, my dear chief. I just wanted to let you know that I was -here." - -"And we're going to get you!" the chief cried. "If it is necessary we'll -get you with a gun! If you start using that vapor stuff when we get the -door open, my men will shoot. Understand that? I'll give you one minute -to surrender and open the door!" - -"Why on earth should I do such a thing as that?" the Black Star wanted -to know. - -"Because you are at the end of your rope, that's why!" the chief -replied. "If you try to go down a fire escape, you'll be plugged. And -that's the only way you can get off the roof." - -"I have no intention of going down a fire escape," the Black Star -replied. "I give you my word of honor--or dishonor, if you prefer it -that way--that I shall descend no fire escape to-night. Does that -satisfy you?" - -"Are you going to give yourself up?" - -"Dear me, no! I couldn't think of it. I have had a very pleasant -evening, chief--very pleasant indeed--and profitable, also. By the way, -did you get your letter?" - -An exasperated chief descended the steps and motioned for the detective -to go to work with the ax again. The heavy blows began raining against -the door. Between them, they could hear the Black Star laughing. - -"Get through that door!" the chief shrieked. "We've got him in a trap!" - -"I wouldn't be too sure of that," said Roger Verbeck. "He seemed to -speak with confidence." - -"But how can he get away?" - -"The Black Star used to be noted for doing some peculiar and seemingly -impossible things," Verbeck reminded the chief. - -"I want to be the second man through that door!" Muggs said. "I got it -comin' to me, boss. You ain't let me do a thing to-day, and I want to -get my hands on that big crook!" - -"That's what we all want to do," the chief remarked. "Get ready, men; -that door will be open in a minute!" - -The detective had succeeded in cutting a hole in it. Now he put his face -close to the aperture and looked out. He could see nothing but darkness. -Cautiously, he extended a hand and felt for the bolt, located it, shot -it back. He whispered the news to those behind him. The officers crowded -the steel stairs, and Muggs got well in the van. Muggs declined to be -sidetracked longer. - -The detective threw the door open, and they stumbled up the steps and to -the roof, their weapons held ready, to dart to either side, expecting a -shot, or a vapor bomb at least. - -Their electric torches flashed, and the roof was bathed in light. There -was nothing behind which a person could hide, except two chimneys. The -officers approached the chimneys, carefully, ready for instant combat. -They circled them--and found nobody. - -"He's here--got to be here!" the chief cried. - -They rushed to all the fire escapes and found that nobody was on them. -They shouted to officers in the street below, and were told that the -fire escapes had not been used. They searched every square foot of the -roof, looked along the parapet, found nobody. - -"I tell you that crook's got to be here!" the chief shouted. "How could -he get away?" - -"Airplane," one of the detectives suggested. - -"Don't be an ass!" the chief shrieked. "An airplane makes a lot of -noise. And it wouldn't be easy to pick up a man from a roof in the dark, -you fool! The only way it could be done would be to trail a rope and let -him grab it, and that would mean a dead man on the pavement below. You -ass, an airplane travels with speed!" - -"Well, he doesn't seem to be here," Verbeck offered. - -"But where could he have gone?" the chief cried. "Even the Black Star -can't make himself invisible at will!" - -Then they heard the Black Star laugh derisively. - -They flashed their torches and again searched the roof. Once more they -heard the laugh. Now it seemed to be to one side of them, and now to -another. Above them, behind them, in front of them they heard it. - -"This thing will drive me crazy!" the chief cried. "Flash those torches -again! That crook is somewhere right here on the roof! Look for another -trapdoor!" - -They searched the roof, and found nothing; but again they heard the -laugh, only it sounded far away now. Suddenly the roof was bathed in -bright light that seemed to come out of the sky. - -"He's up there--on something!" the chief shrieked. - -They emptied their revolvers and automatics toward the sky. The light -died out, flashed forth again and almost blinded them. Once more they -heard the sarcastic laugh of the Black Star, as if far in the -distance--and then the light was gone. - -They stood silent, looking upward. Not the slightest sound came to their -ears, except echoes of the shouts in the street below, where people were -wondering about the peculiar, blinding light. - -"What does it mean?" the chief cried. "Verbeck, what has that devil -done?" - -"I haven't the faintest idea," Roger Verbeck replied. "I don't -understand that laugh, and I can't imagine where that light comes from. -I'd think naturally, that it was an airplane, but, as you said, it would -be almost impossible to pick a man off the roof at night--and an -airplane makes a lot of noise. And we didn't hear a sound--remember -that!" - -Once more the voice of the Black Star reached their ears. He seemed to -be shouting to them, and to be not so very far away. - -"Good night, gentlemen!" he called to them. "It has been a splendid -evening of amusement and profit. Good night--and let me express the hope -that you'll have pleasant dreams!" - -That was all. Though they waited on the roof for half an hour longer, -they heard nothing more from him, saw nothing of him, and finally they -turned and went back down the stairs, puzzled, angry, but determined to -make the master rogue pay. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -ANOTHER TELEPHONE CALL - - -The newspapers the following day were full of the exploits of the Black -Star. They explained that the master crook had inaugurated his campaign -of crime and revenge by looting two of the richest financial -institutions in the city. From the First National his men had obtained -more than three hundred thousand dollars in currency. From the vault of -the National Trust Company had been taken a quarter of a million in gold -coin. - -Banking officials were frantic. They made arrangements to safeguard -their property, fearing to lose the confidence of their depositors. They -engaged extra watchmen, men they knew personally, since to engage a -stranger, no matter how good his references, might be to put one of the -Black Star's men in the place. - -Sheriff Kowen and his deputies were blamed, the chief and his policemen -were declared incompetent and inefficient, and Roger Verbeck and Muggs -were held up to ridicule. - -The mysterious light that had come out of the sky was described at -length, and many speculations made as to its nature. The scene on the -roof of the building, told by one of the detectives, was played up, and -there were many conjectures as to what it meant. - -Had the master criminal come into possession of some wonderful new -invention? Was he able to escape when and as he liked? Some inclined -toward this belief, and others declared that the Black Star had gone -down a fire escape under the noses of the officers, entered the building -through a window at some floor, walked down the stairs and emerged into -the alley and gone his way. The Black Star, one paper stated, was a mere -man and did not call upon the supernatural to aid him. He merely had -better brains than the police. - -Where would he strike next? - -Within three days, he had said in his letter to one of the papers, he -would steal, with the aid of his band, jewels and famous objects of art. -Thousands of persons had valuable jewels, and it was well known that the -master criminal was a gem fiend, that he had a great collection and -gloated over them. Perhaps he meant a jewelry establishment, a wholesale -diamond house. - -When it came to famous objects of art, there was a wealth of them in the -city. Two millionaires had great collections. There was a famous museum -that housed several hundred priceless paintings. Here and there -throughout the city were others. - -Jewels were carried to safe-deposit vaults. The guards at the museum -were doubled. The two millionaires obtained police protection for their -residences. And the city waited. - -Two days passed, during which nothing was heard of the Black Star and -his band. Sheriff Kowen and his deputies searched in vain for Mamie -Blanchard. Roger Verbeck and Muggs drove about in the big roadster -continually, watching people, trying to catch a glimpse of some known -member of the Black Star's old organization. - -The city was gone over, block by block, in an effort to locate the -master crook's headquarters, but to no avail. The search extended to the -suburbs, but nobody thought of the old farmhouse far up the river near -the pleasure resort. - -"Well, it's about time we heard from him again!" the chief said to -Verbeck on the morning of the third day. - -"I look for him to strike to-night," Verbeck said. - -"And where do you think he'll strike?" - -"That is the puzzle," Verbeck admitted. "I scarcely think he will -attempt the museum. It would be a blow to civic pride if he did and -succeeded, of course, but the odds would be against him." - -"He seems to thrive on odds that are against him," the chief replied. - -"Sooner or later, we'll get him!" Verbeck declared. "Sooner or later one -of his people will make a slip that will give us the clew we need. They -can't keep it up forever." - -"But I want to land him right away!" the chief fumed. "Did you happen to -read the morning paper? If this sort of thing keeps up, the mayor will -be asking for my resignation, and I'll go out of office without having -vindicated myself. Confound Kowen, anyway! Why couldn't he keep the -crook when he had him? But for Kowen, the Black Star would be doing time -in the big prison right now!" - -"But he isn't--and it doesn't do any particular good to wail about it," -said Verbeck. "The thing to do is to get him again. Made any plans?" - -"I'm up in the air!" the chief complained. "What plans can I make? I've -got men guarding the museum, and those millionaires' residences, and a -few scattered near the jewelry establishments. And I'll hold men ready -to go to any section of the city when we get an alarm. That is all I can -do. If we knew where he was going to strike----" - -A buzzer sounded, and the chief took up the telephone. - -"Hello!" he called. - -"That you, chief?" - -"Yes." - -"Ah, good morning. This is the Black Star! I have tapped a private line -again, chief, to have a little chat with you! I've been resting for a -couple of days, giving my men and women a holiday. But I'm eager to be -busy again!" - -"When I get my hands on you----" the chief began. - -"Tut, tut! Why do you always grow violent when I do you the honor of -calling you up?" - -"Honor? Insult, you mean! We'll get you, and get you good, one of these -days!" - -"I'll have all the wealth in town if you delay it very long," said the -Black Star laughing. "By the way, chief, I'd suggest that you keep a lot -of your men at headquarters to-night. You are going to need them." - -"Think so?" - -"I know it! And I have a faint idea that the newspapers are going to say -more naughty things about you to-morrow. That was a pretty grilling the -_Herald_ gave you, wasn't it?" - -"I'll give you a grilling when I get my hands on you!" the chief said. -"So you're going to pull off some sort of a stunt to-night, are you?" - -"I am. Inaction bores me, chief. My men are eager to get to work again. -They take great pleasure in helping outwit the stupid men on your -force." - -"We'll see who'll do the final outwitting!" the chief cried. "I'm going -to----" - -"Going to get me, I think you said before. Sorry to dispute you, chief, -but I can't agree. How do you expect to accomplish it?" - -"Tell me one thing," said the chief. "How did you get off that roof, and -where did you go?" - -"Sorry, but that is a sort of state secret for the present," the Black -Star replied. - -"Well, if you didn't go down one of the fire escapes, write a letter to -the newspapers and say so. They're swearing that you walked right out of -that building before our noses." - -"All right, chief, I'll inform the papers that I did nothing of the -kind. But I'll not explain at this time just what I did do. You see, I -might want to do it again soon." - -"If you are so blamed sure of your ability, why not tell me what you are -going to do to-night?" - -"Gladly chief. I am going to collect some jewels and some objects of -art." - -"Oh, are you?" asked the chief. "Going to collect them in any particular -spot?" - -"Naturally; but I do not intend to tell you the spot just now. That -would be running too much of a risk, I am afraid. By the way, is Mr. -Verbeck there?" - -"He is!" - -"I haven't time to speak to him, but will you kindly tell him for me -that I hope he shows more speed in this little duel with me. I was -disgusted with him the other evening--he showed no cleverness at all. -Tell him that I hope he improves. And now, chief, I must end the -conversation for the time being." - -There was a click at the other end of the wire. The chief slammed the -receiver into its hook and whirled around in his chair. - -"Wanted me to tell you to show more cleverness and make the game more -interesting, Verbeck," the chief said. "Make it interesting for him if -we get the chance, all right! Says he's going to collect jewels and -objects of art this evening." - -"Then I suppose he'll do it," Verbeck said. "Have your men ready to jump -out as soon as the alarm comes in. What is the sheriff doing, chief?" - -"Kowen? Sleeping on the job, I suppose. He swears that he and his -deputies will catch the Black Star--beat us to it. I had a row with him -yesterday at luncheon. Kowen makes me tired! He's looking for that -Blanchard woman." - -"The Princess? He's not likely to find her," Verbeck said. "Either the -Black Star has sent her out of the city, or she is in hiding some place -where she'll not be located easily. You can wager that the Black Star -takes good care of The Princess--she is one of the most valuable members -of his band!" - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -INSIDE THE MUSEUM - - -That afternoon, about the hour of three, an elderly gentleman who looked -like a person of culture and refinement, entered the Municipal Museum. - -At the information desk, he asked concerning a certain painting, and was -directed to the second floor. He thanked the woman at the desk and -ascended the stairs, passing the close scrutiny of the guards and the -police stationed there. There was nothing to cause suspicion in the -appearance of an elderly man who evidently was a lover of art. - -He found the painting for which he had asked, and stood before it for -some time, looking at it, now stepping forward and now retreating, now -and then walking to one side to get a better reflection of light on the -canvas. - -"Marvelous!" he said, in a thin voice, to one of the attendants. "Such -coloring! And such technic!" - -"Yes, them old boys knew how to sling the paint," the attendant informed -him. - -"Sling the paint? What a quaint idiom!" the elderly gentleman remarked -and the attendant walked on, calling upon the world to witness that the -crop of maniacs was getting larger every year, and that they all visited -the museum. - -Having inspected that particular picture to his evident satisfaction, -the elderly gentleman went through the galleries, viewing other famous -paintings. All the attendants and guides noticed him and put him down as -a harmless art lover. There was a benevolent appearance about him; he -appeared to be the sort of man who makes donations to museums and -hospitals. - -He finally made his way to the statuary hall. Here, at the time, there -was but one guide, and he was handling a group of four tourists. The -elderly gentleman gave them scant attention. He adjusted his spectacles -and began viewing the statue nearest the door, finished with that and -went on to the next, and to the next. The guide and his tourists left -the hall--and the elderly gentleman was alone there. - -He walked quickly to the other end of the hall, turned and looked back -at the door, and made sure that he was not observed by any of the -attendants or visitors. - -Above his head there was a small trapdoor that opened into the attic of -the building. The elderly gentleman betrayed agility remarkable for his -years. - -He sprang to the nearest window ledge, sprang again and grasped the -heavy molding, hung with one hand, and with the other pushed up the -trapdoor. Then he pulled himself up and disappeared--and the door was -put back in place. - -The attic was seldom entered, it appeared. There was nothing at all -stored there, and the dust was inches deep everywhere. The elderly -gentleman made his way carefully through this dust, obliterating his -tracks behind him, and reached a corner of the attic, near a window. -Here was a dark space in a gable, large enough to accommodate a hiding -man. The elderly gentleman sat down there. - -"This will be the death of me!" he growled. "Dust and heat and foul air! -I wish the Black Star had picked some one else for this part of the -job!" - -He took out a handkerchief and tucked it around the edge of his collar, -then stretched himself between the rafters. - -"Can't smoke--dare not sleep," he grunted. "And it'll be hours before I -can get out of here. This is one sweet game I'm playing! But there'll be -a handsome profit in it, all right!" - -The hours passed. In the big museum below visitors came and went, -passing beneath the scrutiny of the guards and the police. Five o'clock -came, and the rooms were cleared. Guards searched them well, made sure -nobody was inside the building except those who had a right to be there. -The custodian and his assistants left. The big doors were locked. Night -guards and policemen remained, walking through the rooms. Down in the -basement an engineer threw a big electric switch that sent a powerful -current through the frames that guarded the priceless objects of art. - -Much had been made of that scheme of protection in the newspapers. When -that current was turned on, any person touching one of the paintings -would be rendered unconscious immediately. Moreover, an alarm would be -sounded in the building, another flashed to police headquarters, another -to the sheriff's office. - -"The Black Star will never tackle this place," said one of the policemen -to a guard. "He's going after something else. His gang couldn't get -near the building without the men outside spotting them, and we could -put up a scrap and keep them out until help came from headquarters." - -"I think he'll tackle the private collection of some millionaire," -replied the guard. "I don't see how he could hope to get in here and get -away with anything." - -Outside the building, police paced beats beneath bright lights that -illuminated every door and window. Inside, more police and the regular -museum guards talked and smoked and wished the long night was over. - -Up in the attic, a perspiring elderly gentleman, who was elderly no -longer because he had removed a very clever wig, and perspiration had -ruined his make-up, looked at the radium dial of his watch and grunted -that, at last, the time had come. It was nine o'clock. - -He got up and made his way slowly and carefully across the attic through -the dust to the trapdoor. He lifted it a fraction of an inch and looked -down. - -The statuary hall was dark save for a small incandescent light that -glowed in the wall near the door. No guard or policeman was in sight, -and the door leading to the corridor was closed. - -The trapdoor was opened wide, and the man dropped to the floor, making -not the slightest sound as he struck. He had removed his shoes in the -attic, and had put on a pair of rubbers. He darted behind a statue, and -listened, and wiped the perspiration from his face. - -Then, running lightly from statue to statue, he made his way toward the -corridor door, watching it continually, ready to dart into hiding if it -should be opened by guard or policeman. - -At the door, he stopped again to listen, and then he turned the knob and -opened it cautiously. There was nobody in the corridor as far as he -could see in either direction. The guards and policemen, it was evident, -were on the floor below. - -He took one of the Black Star's vapor guns from his pocket and held it -ready. He slipped into the corridor, darted into a niche in the wall, -listened again. He could hear two policemen talking on the floor below. - -A guard entered the corridor and disappeared into one of the rooms. The -man in the niche waited until he came out and started down the hall. The -guard passed within three feet of him. The silent vapor gun was -discharged, the guard gasped and started to cry out, but unconsciousness -claimed him. - -The man who had used the vapor gun drew the unconscious guard back into -the niche. He used a hypodermic needle on the guard's arm, drugging him -so that he would remain senseless for some time to come. - -"No need to worry about you for a few hours," he growled. - -Still he waited, going to another niche on the other side of the wide -corridor. Another guard came from the floor below and started along the -hall. He received the same treatment the first guard had received. - -Then the man who held the vapor gun hurried through the corridor and -came to the head of the wide staircase. - -"Ten men inside, and I've taken care of only two of them," he growled. -"The boss certainly gave me my share of work to do in this little -affair!" - -He saw two policemen sitting at the bottom of the stairs. He saw a guard -in the distance, another just emerging from one of the rooms on the -floor below. - -"Where are George and Fred?" he heard the guard ask. - -"Went to the second floor," one of the policemen replied. - -"Guess I'll go up and help them, and then we won't have to bother about -the second floor until early in the morning. Get the card table ready, -and we'll have a little game. Nothing to worry about. Looks to me as if -the Black Star didn't intend to come here. I guess the boys on the -outside would let us know if there was any danger." - -The guard started up the stairs, and the man lurking at the top darted -into the first niche and crouched there in the semidarkness. The guard -passed, the vapor gun was exploded, and the guard toppled forward as had -the others, and was drugged as the others had been. - -"Seven more, and the engineer," growled the Black Star's man. - -Once more he went to the head of the stairs. Four policemen were putting -out a collapsible card table. Two guards were approaching along the -corridor. The seventh member of the protective squad, the Black Star's -man knew, was at the front door, where the officers outside could see -him. He was supposed to show himself there at the end of each hour, to -let them know that everything was all right inside. - -The Black Star's man darted through the corridor and went softly down -the rear stairs. He made his way through the hall toward the front. He -knew where the light switch was located; he had found this out several -days before, when preparing for this night's events. - -He reached the switch, jerked it down, and plunged the lower floor in -darkness. He darted forward as he heard the exclamations of the six men -in front. He dropped behind a statue just as one of the policemen -flashed his electric torch. - -"Fuse out, I suppose," he heard one of the guards say. "I'll get the -engineer--he attends to all that stuff." - -He hurried toward the basement entrance. The man at the front door -merely shouted to know what was the matter, and remained at his post. - -The five others were clustered about the card table. The Black Star's -man crept forward and took a vapor bomb from beneath his coat. This was -the perilous moment, he knew. This particular bomb was a delicate one -that would make no noise as it exploded. But unless the vapor struck -into the nostrils of the five men, disaster might come. If one of them -escaped unconsciousness for a moment, he would be able to give the -alarm. - -Another bomb came from beneath the coat. The first one was hurled to the -marble floor at the back of the five men. The second followed it. - -Clouds of vapor arose. The Black Star's man held a sponge to his -nostrils, flashed his torch and watched. It had worked--the five men -were staggering--had fallen! - -He had swift work to do now. At any moment the guard might return with -the engineer, or the other guard come from the front door. He knelt -beside the first man, and drove home the point of the needle. He worked -in the dark, for it was safer that way. One by one he drugged them, and -then he darted noiselessly toward the door that led to the basement. - -He was just in time--the guard and engineer were coming up. - -"Guess it's a fuse," the guard was saying. "Lights on the upper floor -are still burning." - -They stepped into the dark corridor, and the guard called for one of the -policemen to flash his torch. The Black Star's man stepped up close, and -again the vapor gun was discharged. They staggered and fell. - -The needle was used again, and then he darted toward the entrance. The -guard there had reported to the one outside, and was returning. - -"Hurry up with those lights!" he shouted. - -He gasped; collapsed. The Black Star's man caught him and let him down -to the floor. He was holding the sponge to his nostrils again. - -"I'll be going asleep from that vapor myself in a minute, if I'm not -careful," he told himself. "I've hardly any more of the stuff. It's a -good thing they're all down and out!" - -He lifted the unconscious guard and carried him to one side, where he -could not be seen from the entrance. Then he ran through the corridor -and threw the light switch again, so that those outside would think -everything was all right in the interior. - -Then he ran to the basement door, hurried down the steps, went to a big -electric switch on the wall, and threw that. The deadly protective -current was shut off all over the building. - -Up the stairs he dashed to the second floor. He hurried to a window on -one side of the building, took an electric torch from his pocket and -flashed it seven times. - -The flashes were observed by a man in a window across the street. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -MISSING MASTERPIECES - - -A half a dozen policemen were on guard outside the museum. They walked -around the building continually, and communicated at the end of each -hour with one of the guards inside. Now and then they gathered near the -entrance to talk and wish their vigil was over. - -Ten minutes after the Black Star's man had flashed his torch from the -window, these six officers were startled by sounds of an altercation in -the street. Two men, their voices raised, were quarreling. Others -passing in the street stopped to listen. Threats were hurled back and -forth. The men grappled, started to fight. - -Two of the policemen left the museum and started running toward the -combatants. When they were halfway one of the fighting men darted -backward, drew a revolver and began firing. - -There was a crowd on the corner now. The quarrelsome one continued to -shoot; the other man fell in the street. - -The four other policemen forgot the museum. They ran toward the corner, -clubs in their hands, to beat back the crowd, to help take charge of the -murderer, to send for an ambulance, if it proved to be necessary. - -The Black Star's man observed this from a window. He flashed his torch -again, and then ran down the stairs and to a little side door of the -museum, which he unlocked. - -Four men darted across the street and through this door. It was locked -again immediately. - -"All of them down and out!" the man who had been inside reported. "We'll -have to work swiftly. They'll be expecting a guard to show his face at -the door at the end of the hour. Come with me--I know the paintings the -boss wants." - -"How about that electric current?" one asked. - -"I turned it off, of course. Hurry!" - -They ran up the stairs and into one of the galleries. The man who had -been inside indicated six paintings. Men crawled beneath the protecting -railings, drew knives and started cutting the paintings from their -frames. - -"No time to waste!" the leader informed them. "We've got about fifteen -minutes more." - -He ran to one of the windows and glanced out at the street. The crowd -was growing larger. The police had ascertained that the man who had -fallen was not shot, but had stumbled in his mad haste to get away. The -two men had been arrested, and the patrol auto called. None of the -police had started back toward the museum, though some of them glanced -in that direction now and then. - -Inside, the paintings had been cut from their frames and made into -rolls. The rolls were tied up with rope and then lashed together. - -"Out you go!" said the man who had hidden inside. - -They hurried down the stairs and to the little side door. The one ahead -opened it and glanced out. - -"Coast all clear!" he announced. - -Two went first, carrying the roll of paintings with them. The others -left one by one, darted across the street, and each went in a different -direction. Those with the paintings had an automobile waiting; they -jumped in and were driven rapidly away. - -The men who had fought were carried away to jail; their part had been -done well. The policemen went back to the museum, joking about the fight -they had witnessed. - -"They'll make it up in the morning and get fined for fighting and -discharging firearms," one of them declared. "Business quarrel, eh? -Pretty vigorous business men, I think!" - -"Suppose everything's all right inside?" another asked. - -"That gang inside is so busy playing cards that they wouldn't know it if -a battle was staged in the street." - -The end of the hour came, but no guard showed himself at the front door -to say that everything was all right. One of the policemen pounded upon -it, but got no response. - -"That's funny!" he said. "They ought to answer--that's their orders!" - -He pounded upon the door again, and still he got no reply from those -inside. - -"Think we'd better go in?" one of the others asked. - -"We've got orders not to do it unless we know there's trouble inside." - -"Well, there may be trouble." - -"Card game--that's all. You listen to me--hand that guard a call down -when he shows up. He's a sort of fresh guy, anyway--thinks he owns the -museum, I guess!" - -Once more he pounded on the door and got no response. The police began -to look serious. - -"Aw, how could anything happen?" one of them asked. "Nobody could get -into the museum, could they? And there was nobody in there when it was -locked up except them that belonged. Ain't we been on watch?" - -"Well, that scrap called all of us across the street for a time, -remember." - -"Yes, and we'd better forget that if there happens to be any trouble -inside. I think we'd better go in and investigate. This doesn't look -exactly good to me." - -He took a key from his pocket--a key to the front door of the museum, -that had been given him for just such an emergency. He unlocked the door -and went in with two of the others, locking the door behind him. - -They hurried through the entrance and started down the corridor toward -the wide stairs that led to the floor above. The one in advance gave a -cry of horror and started forward. Stretched on the marble floor were -policemen and museum guards, unconscious, and plainly drugged in some -manner. - -"Call headquarters!" one of the policemen shrieked. "Get the chief!" - -Another ran to the nearest telephone, which happened to be in the office -of the custodian. Within a short time he had the chief on the wire. - -"This is Officer Riley, at the museum," he said. "There's something -wrong here. No guard showed up at the front door at the end of the hour, -and so we came inside. We found all the guards and officers -unconscious, laid out!" - -"What's that?" the chief cried. "What laid 'em out? What's happened out -there?" - -"We just got inside the building--haven't had time to investigate--don't -know what's been going on!" Officer Riley gasped. "Thought I'd better -call you at once." - -"Keep your eyes open--we'll be right up there!" the chief cried. "Keep -right on the job!" - -"Better bring the police surgeon with you, chief. There seems to be -something wrong with these men." - -That telephone conversation caused another tumult at police -headquarters. The chief bellowed his orders, then ran with Verbeck and -Muggs to the former's roadster, which was in readiness at the curb. With -Verbeck at the wheel, the powerful car dashed through the streets toward -the museum, and behind it came half a dozen police department autos -filled with detectives. - -They reached the museum, left the cars and hurried to the entrance. One -of the men inside unlocked and opened the door. - -"They are still unconscious, chief!" he reported. "Looks to me as if -they had been doped." - -The police surgeon made a swift examination. - -"They have been drugged," he announced, "and pretty badly, at that. I'll -have to get busy on them at once, or we'll have dead men on our hands." - -"Bring them around as soon as you can," the chief said. "I want to hear -what they've got to say. And you men search the entire building! We'll -look into this! One of you call up the superintendent of the museum and -get him down here. Lively!" - -The officers scattered throughout the big building, turned on all the -lights, and began their search. They found the unconscious guards on the -upper floor and carried them below for the police surgeon to work on. -The surgeon sent in a call for his assistants. - -Policemen who searched the statuary hall discovered the open trapdoor. -They got up into the attic, and investigated there, and found nothing -except dust and footprints in it. Down to the first floor they went to -report this. - -Verbeck and Muggs hurried to the attic and investigated for themselves. - -"Very simple," Verbeck said. "Some member or members of the gang got up -here during the day, remained in hiding until night, and then got down -and handled the guards and officers." - -"Yeah, but where are they now?" Muggs wanted to know. - -"Not in the building, you may be sure. They managed to get out in some -manner." - -"And what did they swipe?" - -"The superintendent will have to tell that, I suppose. There are several -thousand things in this place, Muggs, that are almost priceless. The -Black Star has done it again. Let's go downstairs and see if there is -anything in the nature of a clew." - -They hurried down the stairs. The superintendent of the museum had just -arrived--a worried, frantic superintendent who immediately telephoned -for more guards and one of his assistants. - -"I am almost afraid to look," he announced. "Do you suppose anything has -been taken?" - -"That little side door is unlocked," one of the detectives reported to -the chief. - -"It shouldn't be," said the superintendent. "It always is locked except -when we are receiving new exhibits, which are delivered at that -entrance." - -Verbeck grasped one of the officers by the arm. - -"Have you watched closely all night?" he demanded. - -"Yes, sir." - -"Didn't leave the museum at all?" - -"For a few minutes. There was a shooting scrape at the corner----" - -"Did all of you go there? How long were you gone? Speak quickly, man!" - -"Weren't gone more than half an hour. But we watched the museum, just -the same. It's light----" - -"From the corner you couldn't see that little side door!" Verbeck -thundered. "Any of the Black Star's men who had hidden in the museum -could have rendered these guards and officers unconscious, taken what -they wished, and walked right out of that side door with it, while you -were over at the corner. That fight was staged for a certain purpose!" - -"Oh, you fools!" the chief cried. "The newspapers are right--the police -force is a gang of imbeciles! Idiots! You've let him get away with it -again!" - -The superintendent of the museum had been going through the building -with a couple of detectives, and now they heard his cry of surprise and -rage from the upper floor. - -"What is it? Find something missing?" the chief cried. - -"Six famous paintings!" the superintendent shrieked. "Six of them gone! -Six priceless masterpieces--cut from their frames--carried away! The -protective current--it must have been turned off! Six of the most -priceless pictures!" - -"Great Scott!" the chief ejaculated. - -"Now there will be a fine row!" Verbeck said. "We've got to catch the -Black Star and get those paintings back! Every art lover will howl until -we do! And, worst of all, they didn't belong to the museum--they were -merely loaned. And the six are worth more than a million dollars!" - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -SOME FISHERMEN - - -At his headquarters, the Black Star was pacing the floor nervously, his -hands clasped behind his back. A buzzer sounded, and he hurried to the -telephone, taking it from its hiding place in the niche in the wall. - -"Hello!" he said. - -"Number Eleven." - -"Countersign?" - -"Kokomo." - -"Report," ordered the master crook. - -"Everything went off as planned, sir. I got into the attic without much -trouble, and subdued the guards and policemen when the proper time came. -The fight was started as soon as the men received my signal." - -"How about the loot?" - -"We got all six of the paintings, sir, and they are on their way to you -now." - -"Good! That is all for to-night. Report at the usual time in person -to-morrow." - -The Black Star hung up the receiver, rang the bell three times, took the -receiver down again. The ring was heard by men at a telephone instrument -in the woods a quarter of a mile away. - -"Hello!" one of them answered. - -"Start!" the Black Star said; and then he hung up the receiver again and -touched the bell button. The servant came into the headquarters room. - -"Tell the mechanic to be ready to start within five minutes," the master -rogue ordered. - -The servant hurried away, and the Black Star took off his robe and put -on the heavy ulster once more. Presently he hurried from the room, -closing and locking the door behind him. - -In the woods, six men left the hidden telephone and hurried along a -narrow, winding path through the darkness, going toward the bank of the -river. - -They did not speak as they hurried forward, single file, like Indians -following a trail. They reached the shore, and in a little cove came -upon a motor boat hidden beneath overhanging willows. The six got into -the boat. - -They moved the craft out into the stream and pointed its bow toward the -city. The six were dressed as fishermen, in uncouth clothing, stubbles -of beard upon their faces, their sleeves rolled up. In the launch was -fishing gear. There was nothing in the appearance of the craft to create -suspicion, but a mechanic, had he looked at the engine, would have -marveled that common fishermen could possess such a perfect piece of -machinery. - -The regulation lights were burning. The launch made ordinary speed down -the stream. Two of the men were singing raucously. To all appearances -here were six fishermen going to the city to carouse at some cheap -resort on the waterfront. - -At the lower end of town, the launch turned toward the shore. At a small -dock she was moored. But only five of the men left the boat--one -remained curled up in the stern, hidden by a mass of canvas and fishing -gear. - -The five entered a cheap resort and drank, and then went upon the -street again, as if starting to another place. They slipped through a -dark alley, emerged on a side street and hurried along it, maintaining a -conversation that had to do with fish and market prices. - -After a time they came to a public square in an old section of the city. -Here were business houses that had been there for scores of years, -famous establishments that scorned to move to a more modern district of -the town. - -They stopped on a corner and talked loudly, half quarreling, as -intoxicated fishermen might be expected to do. A policeman warned them -to lower their voices and behave, and they went on up the street, -slowly, staggering a bit, laughing now and then. - -On the next corner was a bakery. The basement door was open, and a baker -stood in it. Odors of fresh bread and cakes poured out. - -"Um!" one of the fishermen gasped. "Any chance to get some hot bread?" - -"Do you happen to have the price?" the baker asked. - -"We sure have!" - -A passing pedestrian heard the conversation, smiled, and walked on. - -"Come downstairs, then," the baker said. - -They descended the stairs and entered the oven department. They threw -coins on a table, and each was given a loaf of warm bread, and they -began eating, still laughing and talking. The baker's assistant had -finished his work and washed up, and now was telling his employer good -night. He hurried up the steps and went away. - -The baker led the five fishermen into a rear room to show them more -ovens, where cakes were baking. He closed the door between the two -rooms. Instantly the demeanor of the five men changed. - -"Everything all right?" one of them asked. - -"There is one guard in the diamond room. The others are on the two -floors," the baker replied. - -"How many in all?" - -"Only four." - -"Cinch!" said one of the five. "Let's go!" - -"I'll have the other stuff ready," the baker informed them. - -He opened the door and glanced into the other room, closed the door -again and motioned that everything was all right. The five men hurried -to the other end of the room, and one of them pressed against the wall. -A small door swung open. - -They passed through the wall and into the basement of the building -adjoining. An engineer was asleep in a chair before his table, and he -was rendered unconscious immediately by means of a vapor gun. The five -hurried up a flight of stairs, opened a door, and entered a rear hall. - -They were at the back of a famous jewelry establishment now, one that -had a famous name in the business world, one which scorned to move to -better quarters, but which was protected by every known device. Another -door was opened, and they were in a storeroom. - -They moved with more caution now, for this was dangerous ground. The -Black Star had planned this attack on the assumption that he would be -expected to rob a more pretentious establishment. Few men knew that a -large shipment of gorgeous diamonds had recently been received by this -firm--but the Black Star knew it. One of his band was a trusted clerk in -the house. - -Moreover, at that moment, the Black Star was creating a diversion. In -the principal retail district of the city there was a fashionable -jewelry store housed in a modern building. It was being heavily guarded -this night, for the proprietors had taken cognizance of the master -crook's announcement that he intended to purloin rare jewels, and they -flattered themselves that their establishment would be the one visited. - -More than a score of special watchmen and police officers were in this -building. One of the proprietors himself was on hand, aiding in -safe-guarding the jewels. The entire establishment was brilliantly -lighted. The shades and fire curtains at the windows were raised, and -the door of the vault room stood open so that it could be seen from the -front street. The Pioneer Diamond Company was taking no chances of being -looted. - -And suddenly the building that housed the diamond company was bathed in -brilliant light that seemed to come out of the sky! People in the -streets, remembering what had happened three nights before, began -shrieking that the Black Star and his men were at work. An alarm was -sent to police headquarters, and relayed to the chief at the museum. The -Black Star was robbing the Pioneer Diamond Company! - -Leaving a small police guard at the museum, the chief hurried to the -scene with the remainder of his men. Verbeck and Muggs went ahead in -the roadster, charging through the streets, the horn shrieking a -warning. As they arrived, the bright light had disappeared, but soon -they saw it again. - -"That's the Black Star," Verbeck said. "I can't figure out how he does -it, but I suppose the solution will be simple enough when we learn it." - -"I'd like to beat it out of him!" Muggs said. - -The police had entered the building, and the chief had ascertained that -nothing had happened. As far as they knew, there was nobody in the -establishment who did not have a right to be there. But that did not -mean that the danger was over. - -"I don't like the looks of this!" Verbeck said. "I am inclined to -believe that the gang is doing the real work in some other place." - -"I've got men every place where there is any quantity of precious -stones," the chief said, "and they have orders to send an alarm to -headquarters the instant they see or hear anything that seems to be -suspicious." - -The bright light from the sky had disappeared again. Out in the street -there was a series of explosions, and Verbeck and Muggs and the chief -rushed to a window, and saw clouds of vapor rising from the pavement. - -"He's got some scheme!" the chief declared. "Watch yourselves, you men, -and be ready to go into action! More of you go into the vault room and -watch there!" - -The proprietor was like a maniac, and the chief whirled upon him -angrily. - -"What's the matter with you?" he demanded. "You don't see any of the -crook's gang around here, do you? How can we do anything until they -show up? You give me a pain." - -"There is a fortune in the vault----" - -"And it'll probably remain there!" the chief said. "We are playing a -game that is tough enough without having an insane man raving around -us!" - -Another shower of vapor bombs came from the sky. The people in the -streets were scattering, seeking cover. Once more the bright light -blazed forth. Out into the street rushed Verbeck and Muggs. The light -disappeared, and presently they heard the voice of the Black Star. - -"Better watch those diamonds, gentlemen!" he shouted. "You'll be missing -a lot of them the first thing you know. I love gems, and I happen to -know that there are some glorious ones in the vault of the Pioneer -Diamond Company." - -The voice died away, and they heard no more. Verbeck and Muggs rushed -back into the store. The chief was in the vault room. - -"Are all your diamonds and expensive jewels in that vault?" the chief -asked the member of the firm who was spending the night in the store. - -"All except a few small stones such as the Black Star would not bother -about." - -"Then Mr. Black Star is going to fall down on the job!" the chief -declared. "We'll just pack this vault room full of officers. The only -way those crooks can get in then will be to tunnel through the bottom of -the vault!" - -"They can't do that--the vault is impregnable!" the member of the firm -declared. - -The chief laughed scornfully. "It may be impregnable as far as ordinary -criminals are concerned," he retorted, "but we are dealing with the -Black Star, please remember, and he dotes on supposedly impregnable -things. Vaults do not seem to bother his men much. Open the door of the -vault, and sit in it yourself. We'll watch the inside as well as the -outside." - -The door of the vault was opened. An investigation showed that -everything was all right. And so they waited for the blow that they -expected. - -A telephone bell rang, and the member of the firm hurried to the -instrument to answer. - -"It's a call for you, chief, from your headquarters," he reported. - -The chief rushed to the telephone. He was experiencing a feeling of -apprehension. - -"Hello!" he cried. - -A desk sergeant at headquarters answered him. - -"That you, chief? The Black Star's men are raiding a diamond store -downtown. I just got the tip from a watchmen who dodged them. Wait--I'll -give you the address!" - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -HOT BREAD - - -Far downtown, the five fishermen passed through the storeroom and -entered another hall. They walked through this to the end, making not -the slightest noise. Each man held a vapor gun in his hand and was -prepared to use it if occasion demanded. - -At the end of the hall, another door was opened with a duplicate key one -of the men took from his pocket. The five crept through, and closed the -door again. - -"Two men on each floor, and one in the diamond room," the leader -whispered. "Make sure that we get them all." - -The band scattered. Two remained on the lower floor, two started to the -floor above, and one made his way toward the diamond room in the rear. -Dim lights were burning here and there, and the men moved from shadow to -shadow, noiselessly alert. - -On the lower floor, the two watchmen were eating their night luncheon. -They sat close together, talking in low tones. A light was burning above -the table upon which they had put their lunch boxes, but the spot could -not be seen from the street through the windows. - -The Black Star's two men advanced carefully. One of them made a sign, -transferred the vapor gun to his left hand, and took a bomb out of his -pocket. He hurled it behind the two watchmen. - -They sprang to their feet, gasped, dropped. The two members of the Black -Star's band turned away and darted to the foot of the stairs, ready to -help their companions if help should be needed. - -On the second floor, the two watchmen were found separated and rendered -unconscious immediately. The man who had gone toward the diamond room -stopped just outside the door and peered in. The watchman inside -evidently feared no interruption. He was sitting with his back to the -open door, reading a newspaper. - -A shot from the vapor pistol, and he was unconscious. Three of the other -four men hurried into the room. The other remained below, on guard at -the end of the hall through which they had entered. - -Tools were taken from pockets, and work began on the door of the vault. -Two of the band were experienced workmen in whom the Black Star took -pride. They worked swiftly, yet thoroughly. They knew that opening the -vault would take some time. - -On the lower floor the two watchmen remained stretched on the carpet. -Presently, one of them opened his eyes, then raised his head and looked -around carefully. - -It happened that he had inhaled very little of the vapor from the bomb. -As he fell he had tottered to one side, and the draft from the nearest -ventilator had carried the fumes away from him. He was a man who had -read all the newspapers ever had printed concerning the Black Star's -methods, and he guessed immediately what had occurred. - -He did not know with how many men he had to contend. He supposed they -were raiding the diamond room, and that there were guards posted, but -could not be sure. He listened intently, glanced around again. He saw -nobody, heard nothing except a slight sound that came from the diamond -room, the rasping of tools against steel. - -The watchman had been long in the service of the firm, and was a trusted -man. But he also was an old man, and not very strong. He was not the -sort to combat the Black Star's band single-handed, though he had a -revolver in his pocket. - -But he was the sort who would take a chance to give an alarm. He glanced -at his unconscious companion, looked around the room again, and started -crawling slowly over the floor, a foot at a time. - -He came to the first aisle, and looked down it. There was nobody in -sight. He crept along the counters, behind them, stopping now and then -to listen. He was not making fast progress, but he was afraid to risk -everything in the interests of speed. - -Finally he reached the end of the counter, and once more he looked -around and listened. He could still hear the slight noise in the diamond -room, but that was all. He had an open space of twenty feet to cross -now, and he proceeded faster, and finally reached the door of a private -office. - -He raised himself, opened the door noiselessly and entered. Then he -sprang to his feet, locked the door, and darted to the telephone on the -desk. - -He had expected to find the telephone useless, and was gratified that -such was not the case. Once more he paused to listen, and then lifted -the receiver from the hook, and put his lips close to the transmitter. - -"Number?" asked the girl at central. - -"Police headquarters--quick!" - -It seemed to him that he waited an eternity before the voice of the desk -sergeant came to him over the wire. - -"Robbery!" he gasped. "Black Star's men!" - -"Where, man--where?" demanded the sergeant. - -The watchman gave the address. - -"This is one of the watchmen," he added. "The gas bomb didn't put me -out, and I managed to crawl to the office. Hurry--hurry! They are in the -diamond room now--I don't know how many of them! But hurry!" - -Then the old watchman sank into the chair before the desk, weak and -trembling. He had done his part, and he could not do more. He took out -his revolver, and tried to decide whether he should attack them. It -would be better, he thought, to wait until the police came--they would -not be long. - -Up in the diamond room the Black Star's men had opened the vault door, -finally. They reached for three certain trays, and swept the diamonds -from them. They had orders what to get and what to leave--the master -rogue wanted only some stones recently received, one hundred superior -stones upon which a high valuation had been placed by experts. - -With the gems in their pockets, they left the diamond room and closed -the door behind them. They started down the hall to meet the men who had -remained on guard. - -And suddenly they heard police sirens shrieking, and the front of the -establishment was bathed in light. - -"The cops are on us!" one of them gasped. - -"We needn't worry if we can get through the basement wall and into the -bakeshop. But we'll have to hurry," another replied, rushing along the -hall. - -They darted down the stairs, closing and locking all the doors as they -went, for they did not want the police to guess the manner of their -entrance. The Black Star might have need of the baker in some other -enterprise. - -They came to the wall and tapped upon it. The baker swung the little -door open, and they stepped into the shop. - -"Cops all around the place!" he reported. "Must have been tipped off in -some way. Where are the stones?" - -"Here!" one replied, and tumbled them on the table. - -Before the baker was a pan of dough. He worked swiftly, forming it into -light biscuits--and into each biscuit he put diamonds. He put the -biscuits into a pan, greased the tops of them, put the pan into one of -the ovens. - -"Two bottles of beer there--open them!" he ordered in a whisper. - -One of the five fishermen obeyed. They poured the liquor out, drank a -part of it, put their glasses down upon the table. - -There was bedlam in the streets now. The police had surrounded the -block. They were battering at doors, and the old watchman was letting -them in at the front entrance. A crowd already had started to gather. - -"Tight hole!" one of the fishermen said. - -"Not unless you lose your nerve!" the baker answered. "Beginning to get -scared?" - -"I guess I've got as much nerve as the next man!" - -"Then show it!" the baker said. "Make a wrong plan, and all of us will -be in trouble. They are sure to come in here in a minute or two." - -Verbeck and Muggs had entered the establishment with the chief. The old -watchman told his story in a few words. Lights were turned on, and the -place searched, and the unconscious men found. Then Verbeck hurried to -the diamond room, with the others at his heels. - -The door of the vault was open. Empty trays were on the floor; and at -the bottom of the vault was a sheet of white paper, upon which had been -pasted a row of little black stars. - -"Looted!" the chief gasped. "But where can they be?" - -"Gone before we got here!" Muggs said. - -"The watchman says he heard them just as we came up. There are only two -exits to the ground floor--the front door and the rear one--and no -windows in the back large enough to permit a man to pass through." - -"And the back door is bolted on the inside--I investigated it," Verbeck -said. - -"Then, where have they gone?" the chief cried. "This thing is getting on -my nerves! But we've got the block surrounded, and every man inside the -lines will give an account of himself." - -The search of the block began, and it was a methodical and thorough -one. Building by building, room by room it went on, while the crowds -gathered outside. The chief took up his station on a corner and received -reports that were highly discouraging. It appeared that the master -criminal's men had disappeared into thin air, or else had left the place -before the police arrived. - -Verbeck and Muggs conducted an investigation of their own, but found -nothing to help them. - -"This gets my goat, boss!" Muggs said. "I think it's a hoodoo to work -with the cops." - -"I'm beginning to think that myself, Muggs," Verbeck replied. "The Black -Star tricks the police, and when we are with them we get tricked, too. -Beginning with to-morrow, Muggs, you and I tackle the job on an -independent basis." - -"That's great, boss! And we'll get that big crook, too!" - -"We'll get him!" Verbeck promised. - -"And when we do, you turn your back for about five minutes, and let me -handle him," Muggs begged. "I want to give him the sore throat, and give -it to him bad!" - -"Maybe you'll get the chance," Verbeck said. - -Down in the bakeshop the five fishermen were making merry around the -table. Upon them entered half a dozen policemen, a captain at their -head. - -"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" the officer demanded, -looking at them suspiciously. - -The five fishermen showed alarm in their faces. The baker rushed -forward. - -"Why, they're friends of mine, captain," he said. "They're fishermen, -and come up from the wharf now and then at night to have a little drink -of beer with me. I've known them for years." - -"What are your names, and where do you live and work?" the captain -asked. - -They were ready with that information. They had prepared it in advance; -and, if their answers were investigated, they would stand the test. - -"Well, maybe you're all right, but we can't afford to take any chances," -the captain said. "The Black Star's gang has made a haul in the jewelry -house on the other side of the block, and we're taking a good look at -every man around here. You'll have to stand a search, or be taken in!" - -The five fishermen announced that they were willing to be searched. The -search was carried out immediately. From their pockets were taken -knives, bits of twine, chewing tobacco, soiled handkerchiefs--things one -would expect to find in the pockets of such men. They had, of course, -hidden their vapor guns and their drilling tools in a safe place under -the cellar flagstones before the police came upon them. - -"Well, what are you hanging around here to-night for?" the captain -demanded. - -"They just came up to have a little drink with me, and to get some fresh -bread," the baker explained. "They are waiting for it now--fresh-bread -and light biscuits. Jim, there, is a fiend for my light biscuits." - -As he finished speaking, the baker turned to his oven and opened the -door. A delicious aroma streamed forth, and the men sniffed. Bread and -biscuits were tumbled out, and the baker started wrapping them up. - -"What did that gang get in the jewelry store?" he asked the captain. - -"Don't know exactly--diamonds, I suppose. You men get your stuff and get -out of here. I guess you're all right. How are you going to get home?" - -"We've got a launch down at the wharf," one of them replied. "She ain't -much to look at, and ain't any race horse, but she does manage to get -through the water a bit. Good enough for our business, I reckon." - -"Get your stuff and come along. I'll see you through the lines," the -captain told them. "We'll have to search your shop, baker. I'll leave a -couple of men to do that." - -"All right. But I ain't in the diamond business," the baker said, -grinning. - -The captain opened the door and motioned for the five fishermen to pass -him. He conducted them to the street and across it, and passed them -through the lines. They went on toward the waterfront, talking loudly, -swaggering and staggering a bit, jesting, and now and then singing a -snatch of song. - -Four of them carried a loaf of bread each. The fifth man carried a dozen -light biscuits beneath his arm. - -And in those biscuits was a fortune in diamonds! - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -MUGGS SEES HIS MAN - - -Again the morning newspapers carried full-page stories of the -depredations of the Black Star and his band. Once more the police were -called idiots, and demands were made that the chief resign. Sheriff -Kowen was held up to scorn. - -The newspapers carried another story, too--that Roger Verbeck had had a -quarrel with the chief of police over the way the fight against the -Black Star was being conducted, had left police headquarters with Muggs, -too angry to speak to the reporters, and had declared afterward, when -seen at his apartment, that he was done. Why should he perform the -duties of the police and at the same time submit to the abuse of the -imbecile chief, he was said to have asked? As far as he was concerned, -the Black Star could loot banks and private residences and conduct -himself as he pleased. Roger Verbeck might, within a few days, take -himself out of the city and remain until there was some resemblance of -law and order again. - -The chief of police merely admitted that there had been trouble between -himself and Verbeck, and said that he felt the police force capable of -attending to its own affairs without any help from plain citizens, a -remark that caused more than one caustic editorial. - -The Black Star had sent another letter to the newspapers, and it made -interesting reading. It was as follows: - - TO THE PUBLIC: I said I would purloin famous objects of art and - valuable jewels, and I have kept my word, as I always do. Some day - when I have time, and it will not imperil any of my people to do - so, I shall send a letter telling just how it was done. - - My campaign against the city has been highly successful so far, and - I have no reason to believe it ever will be otherwise. The antics - of the police and the sheriff and his deputies are particularly - amusing to me; it would be more amusing if they were foemen worthy - of my steel. - - I shall rest for a day, and two nights from now shall resume my - campaign. For the trouble I experienced during my incarceration, - the city must pay in full. I do not even care to state the nature - of my next exploit, but I guarantee that it will be sensational. - ***** - -Roger Verbeck and Muggs slept until noon that day, then had breakfast -and read the newspapers. Verbeck's face glowed when he read of the -quarrel between the police and himself. - -"It may work, Muggs, and it may not," he said. "I fixed it up with the -chief, and he certainly has done his part. The Black Star will have us -watched for a few days, anyway, so we must be on our guard. But if he -gets the idea that we are after him no longer, we may be able to pick up -the trail." - -"It's a hoodoo to work with cops!" Muggs declared. He had small respect -for the police, a state of mind that was a relic of the old days when -he had fought against them himself. - -"Well, we'll see what we can do by working alone, Muggs. Have you -anything to suggest?" - -"Only that we find his headquarters, catch the crook in 'em, and give -him all that's comin' to him!" Muggs said. - -"That happens to be a large order, Muggs. If we can do those things, -victory will perch on our banner." - -"I didn't know Victory was a bird," said Muggs. "In pictures they always -make her a woman." - -"Muggs, that was a figure of speech--merely a manner of talking. Victory -always perches on a banner, Muggs--don't forget it. I've read it a -thousand times. Anything more to suggest?" - -"You'd better go and see your girl," Muggs told him. "You ain't been to -see her for almost a week, and she'll be gettin' peeved at you." - -"I thought you hated the idea of me getting married." - -"I do, but it can't be helped," Muggs retorted. "And she's some girl, at -that. Besides, boss, if I drive you over there, and around town a bit, -it is just possible that we might spot somebody who belonged to that -crook's old gang." - -"That's what I've been trying to do since he escaped, Muggs, and haven't -had any luck," Verbeck said. "Get out the roadster." - -"Roadster?" - -"Yes; we shall not take Miss Wendell out with us. I'll visit her for a -short time, and then we'll drive around town." - -Muggs got out the car, and ten minutes later was driving Roger Verbeck -across the city to the apartment house that was the home of Faustina -Wendell, Verbeck's fiancée. Verbeck watched the people on the streets as -they rode along, and Muggs did when it was possible, but they failed to -see anybody for whom they were looking. - -Verbeck hurried inside when the apartment house was reached, and Muggs -crouched down behind the wheel, pulled his cap low over his eyes, and -pretended to be half asleep. But he was scrutinizing every man and woman -who passed the roadster. - -Muggs was rejoicing secretly because Verbeck had elected to work -independently of the police. That meant that Muggs would play a more -active part in the affair, and he was as eager for a large part as an -actor in a stock company. Muggs craved adventure and excitement, and the -lust of combat was strong within him. - -"I'd like to find the big crook!" he growled, as he watched the -passers-by. "I'd like to find him with just the boss, and hand him a few -and lug him off to jail and throw him in! Make fun of my boss in the -newspapers, will he? The big stiff!" - -Muggs glanced toward the apartment house. He supposed that Verbeck would -remain there about two hours instead of a few minutes, as he did -generally. - -"I can't understand this love stuff!" Muggs said. "There's plenty of -chances to fight without gettin' married. I suppose I'll have to keep -dressed up all the time and stand in a corner after the boss gets back -from his honeymoon. It's enough to make a man turn bad again! It's -enough to----" - -Muggs suddenly ceased speculating on marriage and the status of a valet -in a family. He had spotted a man walking along the street, on the -opposite side. He turned his eyes and watched him, and his heart almost -stood still. - -"Landers!" he gasped. "The Black Star's lieutenant--or anyway he was -before. He's done somethin' to his face and hair, and he's fatter--but -he's Landers. He's got a nerve paradin' the streets this way!" - -This was something that Verbeck should know! But Roger Verbeck was -visiting Miss Wendell, and she lived on the tenth floor, and in a rear -apartment, with her mother. It would take Muggs several minutes to get -inside the house and telephone up, and Verbeck several minutes to get -down to the roadster. And Landers was signaling a taxicab! - -Muggs darted inside the house and up to the desk. - -"I'm Mr. Verbeck's chauffeur!" he said. "He's visitin' Miss Wendell. You -phone up that Muggs had to hurry away--that he saw a man. He'll -understand!" - -Then Muggs dashed out to the street again, sprang into the roadster, -started the engine, whirled the big machine around, and pursued the -taxicab. - -"This is tough luck!" Muggs told himself. "It's a cinch that Landers -knows this car. He'll spot it in a minute, if we get out of the heavy -traffic! I wish I had the boss along!" - -The taxicab did not make good speed through the traffic, and Muggs -remained about a third of a block behind it. After a time it turned into -a cross street, and presently stopped before an exclusive hotel. Muggs -swung the roadster to the curb. He saw Landers get out, pay the -chauffeur, and disappear into the hotel. - -Muggs was out of the car instantly, and hurrying forward. He approached -the entrance, and glanced in. Landers had not stopped at the desk, but -had gone directly to an elevator. That meant that he was a guest, or a -frequent visitor. - -When the elevator came down again, Muggs hurried over and spoke to the -boy. - -"The gent that just rode up with you----" he began. - -"Mr. Smith?" - -"Maybe his name's Smith--I don't know. I just wanted to find out where -he went--got a message for him--phoned it from the office over there." - -"He comes here to visit Miss Whaley and her elder sister," the boy -explained. "You just ring up No. 256, and I guess you can get him." - -Muggs went across the lobby and into a telephone booth. But he did not -call room 256. He called Verbeck at Miss Wendell's apartment, and got -him on the wire. - -"I spotted Landers, boss!" he said. "I trailed him to the New Nortonia -Hotel. He calls himself Smith here, and he visits a couple of women who -call themselves Whaley; they're in room 256." - -"Great!" Verbeck cried. "Stay there until I come over, Muggs; I'll start -right away." - -"Suppose he leaves before you get here, boss?" - -"Then trail him, Muggs, and telephone to me as soon as you can. I'll go -back home if I miss you!" - -Muggs went out on the street again and got into the roadster. He moved -the car a bit nearer the hotel, and then thought better of it and -circled to the other side of the street. And there he remained, watching -the entrance of the hotel. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -MUGGS MEETS DISASTER - - -Muggs knew that it would take his master some time to get there from the -apartment house, and he hoped that Landers would remain in the hotel -until Verbeck arrived. Muggs began speculating, too, as to the identity -of the two Misses Whaley. Probably they were members of the Black Star's -organization. - -Muggs was doomed to disappointment. Before ten minutes had passed, he -saw Landers come from the hotel and start walking up the street. Muggs -wheeled the roadster, and followed slowly. Landers was on the opposite -side. - -"I hope he don't look this way and spot me!" Muggs growled. "He sure -would remember this car. There ain't another like it in town, and he saw -plenty of it when we were after the big crook before. I sure hope he -don't look this way!" - -It appeared that Muggs was to have his wish. Landers walked briskly down -the street for three blocks, and then stepped to the curb. A big touring -car was standing there, and Landers spoke to the chauffeur and sprang -in. The car started down the avenue, and Muggs followed in the roadster. - -The touring car cut across the city, following the boulevards and -keeping away from the busy streets, and it appeared to Muggs that the -chauffeur was trying to make speed. After a time it turned into the -street that led to the river drive, and the speed became higher. - -"Drivin' for his health, is he?" Muggs asked himself, and then answered: -"Not any, he ain't. That bird's got all the health he needs. It's coin -he's after--other folks' coin!" - -Mile after mile Muggs followed the car ahead, now creeping up closer -when there was traffic, now dropping behind so there would be no -suspicion that he was deliberately following. Muggs knew that the -roadster he was driving could overhaul the other car at any time. He had -made a note of the other car's number, too. - -Then they reached the pleasure resort, and the car ahead turned in. -Muggs promptly followed. - -"Must be out for his health, after all," he mused. "Maybe he's goin' to -meet some more of the gang out here. It'd be a good place at that, in -all this crowd." - -On seeing Landers get out, he parked the roadster and followed his man. -Landers walked down to the water front and watched the bathers. Muggs -watched him from a corner where he could not be seen. He saw that -Landers glanced around now and then, as if to search for some one, or to -see whether there was an enemy near. - -Then Landers began walking along the shore of the river, and presently -turned into a little grove and made his way toward a road that ran -through the woods. - -"Now we get it!" Muggs said. "Here's where he meets some of the gang. I -wish the boss was here!" - -Muggs followed him cautiously through the woods, careful not to attract -attention. They came to a lane, and Landers turned down it, glanced -around, and then began walking faster. - -Muggs remained in the woods, but followed as swiftly as he could. He -managed to keep Landers in sight. After a time he saw his quarry leave -the lane and plunge into the woods again, cut through them, and come out -where there was a clearing and an old farmhouse in the midst of a grove -of trees. - -Crouching behind a clump of brush, Muggs watched Landers stoop and pick -up something. The man's back was turned and Muggs could not see what he -was doing. Presently he got up, walked to the gate, stood there a -moment, and then opened it and passed inside. He took great care, Muggs -thought, to see that the gate was closed and latched again. - -The valet remained where he was for several minutes, and then crept -forward under the brush until he reached the spot where he had seen -Landers stoop. He felt around there--and found a telephone. - -"Ha!" Muggs said to himself. "This is a funny thing to find around here. -He phoned before he opened that gate, too! I've got an idea that fence -ain't a pleasant thing to touch, and I ain't goin' to try it until I -know. I wish the boss was here!" - -He put the telephone back, crept on through the brush, and watched the -house. There was nobody in sight. - -"I'll bet that's the big crook's headquarters, or one of his branches -where he plans things," Muggs told himself. "And I ain't man enough to -tackle it alone. The thing for me to do is get back and phone the boss, -and get him out here with a gang!" - -Muggs started to back through the brush. He heard a step behind him, -then whirled and tried to get to his feet. He found himself in the -clutches of two men dressed as fishermen. - -In his younger days, Muggs had enjoyed a reputation for being an -excellent rough-and-tumble fighter. He still retained some of his -strength and all his knowledge of how to conduct such a combat. He -uttered no word, but went into action. - -He kicked, struck, tried to bite and to get his thumbs into the eyes of -one of his antagonists, ignoring all rules of fistic combat, striving -only to be victor. But he found that he was fighting men who were used -to such tactics. - -Back and forth across the ground they fought and wrestled, until Muggs' -breath was coming in gasps, he was seeing red, and he felt his strength -going. Another fisherman crashed through the brush and threw himself -into the fray--and Muggs went down from a blow to his chin. - -He came back to consciousness to find two of the fishermen bending over -him, one of them throwing water in his face. He struggled to get up, but -they held him securely. Then he saw that he was not out of doors, but in -the house. - -"No more fightin' for you just now!" one of the fishermen growled at -him. - -"Let me up, and I'll show you!" Muggs said. "What you mean jumpin' me -like you did?" - -"What do you mean by snoopin' around and investigatin' things you ain't -got any business investigatin'?" - -"I don't remember investigatin' anything. Can't a man bum through the -woods any more? Is there a law agin' it?" - -"There is in this particular section of the woods," the fisherman -replied. "And you needn't try to run any bluff, either. We watched you -lookin' at that telephone--and we was watchin' you before that, -trailin' a man." - -"Yeh?" Muggs asked. - -"Yeh! And now you're goin' to do a little explainin'." - -"Let's see you make me!" Muggs exclaimed. - -"We ain't goin' to try to make yeh. There's another man to do that. You -get up and we'll tie your hands behind your back, in case you want to -get violent and beat somebody up. And if you start a fight again, we'll -just wallop the everlastin' face off you. Get me?" - -They lifted Muggs up. He started to struggle, but was no match for them. -They held him, and lashed his wrists together behind his back with fish -cord. Then they thrust him along a narrow hall and to a door. - -One of them pressed a button, and Muggs heard a bell tinkle. Then a -buzzer sounded. - -"In you go!" one of the fishermen said. - -They opened the door and thrust him forward, and he heard the door -slammed behind him. Muggs blinked his eyes rapidly, for the hall had -been half dark, and the apartment in which he now stood was lighted -brilliantly. - -He saw a room with expensive furnishings. A long table was in the middle -of it, heavy chairs were scattered around, and before him was a man -dressed in a black robe, with a black mask on his face, and a flaming -star of jet on his hood. - -"Greetings, my dear Muggs!" the Black Star said. "I regret it if some of -my men handled you roughly, but then you are inclined to violence -yourself." - -"You--you----" Muggs gasped. - -"Be seated, Muggs. You must be fatigued after your recent exertions. I -understand that you put up a good fight." - -"I'll put up a better one if I ever get a chance at you!" Muggs growled. -"I'll show you how to make fun of my boss in the newspapers! You _big_ -crook!" - -"That is not an insult, my dear Muggs, but a compliment. I flatter -myself that I am a big crook. Please sit down." - -Muggs complied. He was still weak from the fight, and he felt that he -wanted to gather what strength he could, for use in case an opportunity -presented itself. - -"I understand that you followed a certain member of my organization," -the Black Star went on. "I have rebuked him for his carelessness. Since -you have discovered my location, I cannot allow you your freedom, of -course, and have you bring the police down upon me. I make it a point, -as perhaps you learned before, to change my headquarters now and then. -But I am very comfortable and safe here, and have no intention of moving -for some time. So you are to be my guest, Muggs, until I do decide to -move." - -"That's what _you_ say!" Muggs exclaimed. - -"I scarcely think you'll escape, Muggs, if that is what is in your mind. -And, if you behave yourself, I may show you some very interesting -things. I shall feed you well, Muggs, and give you plenty of cigarettes. -What more can man desire? I do this because I admire your loyalty to -your employer. Perhaps, if I keep you prisoner, and so inform him, he -will exert himself and add spice to our little game. Mr. Verbeck hasn't -betrayed any great amount of cleverness recently, you know." - -"Is that so?" Muggs retorted. "He could, if he wanted to, I guess! It -looks as if you don't read the newspapers. My boss ain't in the game any -more. He and the chief had a scrap!" - -"Oh, my dear Muggs! Give me credit for having some intelligence, and -some clever people in my organization. I happen to know that it is all a -trick--and not a very clever trick at that. I know the arrangement he -made with the chief. Thought I'd take my eyes off him, didn't he? Utter -rot!" - -"I tell you he had a scrap----" - -"If that is so--if Verbeck is no longer trying to capture me--why do you -betray so much interest in my affairs?" the Black Star demanded. "Why -did you follow my man to-day? Why did you trail him through the woods? -Muggs, your story is weak." - -Muggs saw that it was, but he wasn't willing to admit it. - -"I didn't say I had quit, did I?" he asked. "Maybe I'm after you on my -own hook. There's a fat reward up, ain't there?" - -"That's not at all clever, Muggs. But we need talk along this line no -more. We understand each other, Muggs. You are my enforced guest for a -time, and I trust that you'll appreciate my hospitality. If you start -causing trouble, I shall be forced to descend to means I abhor--and use -violence!" - -"You untie my hands and take off that fool robe, and I'll give you all -the violence you want!" Muggs cried. "Maybe I can't fight half a dozen -thugs of your gang, but I can handle you, all right, without any help!" - -"I fear that I must refuse to accept the challenge, Muggs. I have work -to do, and it would be delayed if you happened to lay me up for a few -days. Perhaps, some other time----" - -"Yellow streak!" Muggs taunted. - -"Take care!" the Black Star thundered angrily. "You may go too far, my -man!" - -"Don't you 'my man' me! Even my boss don't do that, and no crook's goin' -to! Not on your life!" - -"Then do not make me lose my temper," the Black Star said. "Go over to -that couch and make yourself comfortable, Muggs. You may see and hear -some interesting things. Since you are to be my guest for some time, -until a certain thing is accomplished, I do not care how much you learn. -I have an idea that some of my people are about to report." - -Muggs, a sudden gleam in his eye, got up and went over to the couch. It -was like the Black Star to let him overhear orders and commands; and -there always was a chance that he could escape and give the alarm. He -needed rest now to gather his strength. He would wait, learn all that he -could, catch the Black Star off guard as soon as possible, and effect an -escape. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -IMPORTANT INFORMATION - - -The Black Star watched him closely as he sat down on the couch and tried -to make himself comfortable, which was a difficult thing for him to do -with his wrists lashed behind his back. - -"Muggs," he said, "where did you pick up Landers?" - -"What you talkin' about?" - -"You know very well. You followed Landers out here, and some of my men -saw you trailing him, saw you find the telephone. You know Landers well, -for he was one of my old organization and escaped when Verbeck caught me -and scattered my men." - -"What difference does it make?" Muggs asked. "I picked him up, didn't -I?" - -"I give you credit for it, Muggs. But just where did you pick him up? If -any of my men are careless, I want to know it. Was it Landers' -carelessness or your cleverness?" - -"I saw the big stiff walkin' along the street and gettin' into an auto, -and trailed him," Muggs said. - -"Very good!" replied the Black Star. - -Muggs felt sure that there was a note of keen satisfaction in the Black -Star's speech, and he guessed the reason for it. The master crook -thought Muggs meant that he had seen Landers getting into the touring -car. He was worrying for fear Muggs knew of his visit to the hotel. - -"Some more of the gang there--them Whaley women!" Muggs told himself. - -A bell on the wall tinkled, and the Black Star hurried to one end of the -room and pressed a button. - -"I must ask you to remain perfectly quiet, Muggs," he warned. "You may -see all you like, since you'll never be able to give out the information -soon enough to hurt my plans, but you must not speak when any of my -people are in the room. Be good, Muggs, and I'll have your hands untied -after a while." - -The door at the other end of the room was opened, and a robed and masked -man came in and went to the blackboard. He regarded Muggs carefully, but -the Black Star motioned for him to proceed. - -"Number Two," he wrote. - -"Countersign?" - -"Bennington." - -"Report," wrote the Black Star, and as Muggs watched they held their -conversation on the blackboards, writing and erasing, neither speaking a -word. - -"Invitation list includes all prominent and wealthy persons in the city -and some from out of town," wrote Number Two. - -"Date remains the same?" - -"Yes; to-morrow night." - -"How about detectives?" - -"Four--two men and two women--from the usual agency. We cannot handle -any of them by the customary means, but they will not be hard to get out -of the way." - -"Make arrangements for doing so," wrote the Black Star. "If you need -help, ask for it to-morrow morning. What arrangements have been made -about refreshments?" - -"A caterer is to serve them. Two of the waiters are our men." - -"Good! Anything special regarding possible loot?" - -"Since it is such an affair, all the women are likely to wear their most -expensive jewels," wrote Number Two. "Social rivalry that exists at -present will tend toward this." - -"That is all for the present. Retire!" - -Number Two erased what was written, bowed, and backed through the door. -The Black Star glanced at a little clock that stood on the table before -him. - -"I have a few minutes before the next man reports, Muggs," he said, "and -so I'll be glad to explain in part. I presume you have heard of our fair -city's society leader, Mrs. Richard Branniton?" - -"Sure!" said Muggs. - -"She is giving quite an affair to-morrow evening at her palatial -residence, Muggs. Her husband, if you happen to remember, was the -district attorney who prosecuted me when I was on trial recently. At -this reception and ball, she is to entertain two prominent diplomats who -are visiting in the city. The cream of the city's wealth and society -will be present, Muggs. It will be some party!" - -"Well, what about it? I ain't invited," Muggs growled. - -"You may be a guest at that, Muggs; I may take you with me." - -"Oh! You're invited, are you?" Muggs asked sarcastically. - -"No; but I am going. It isn't quite the thing to go to an affair to -which you have received no invitation, yet I intend doing it, Muggs. -There are times when I am not strictly conventional, as you may have -guessed. I am going, Muggs--and I am going to take about twenty or -thirty of my best men with me." - -"It'll sure be some party, then!" - -"There will be a few exciting moments, I doubt not. You see, Muggs, the -ladies will wear fortunes in jewels--and I love jewels. Besides, they -are worth money when properly marketed. I shall strip Mrs. Richard -Branniton's guests of their precious jewels. This will injure that lady -socially to a certain extent, and thereby hurt Mr. Branniton, who was -quite nasty at the time of my trial." - -"He wasn't nasty enough!" - -"Oh, well, you are prejudiced, Muggs. And the jewels are not all, Muggs. -We are going to abduct those two famous diplomats and hold them for -ransom. Is not that a master stroke? I certainly am a big crook, am I -not?" - -"You can't get away with it!" Muggs said. - -"Nonsense! We have a place prepared to which we shall take them. We have -a method of collecting the ransom when it is paid--a safe method. And it -will be paid, Muggs--two hundred thousand dollars for each man. You see, -they are here on international business, and very important business at -that. It will be necessary to secure their release at once. If it is not -accomplished, there might be trouble with a certain other country. Oh, -we have it all planned, Muggs, and the job will not be so difficult as -others I have handled." - -"You go to monkeyin' with the government, and you'll get yours good and -plenty!" Muggs warned him. - -"I fear no government, Muggs! I tell you, our plans are perfect. The -ransom will be paid within three days." - -The Black Star went to the table, opened a drawer, and consulted a -memorandum book. Again the little bell on the wall tinkled. Once more -the Black Star pressed a button and a robed and masked man entered and -stepped up to the blackboard. - -"Number Four," he wrote. - -"Countersign?" - -"Delaware." - -"Report," wrote the Black Star. - -"Lord Sambery and Sir Burton Banks will arrive to-morrow morning at ten -o'clock and be taken at once to the Branniton residence. They will have -luncheon there, and then be taken for a drive through the city." - -"How many will be in the party?" - -"Just the luncheon party--perhaps fifteen." - -"What else?" the Black Star wrote. - -"Diplomats will return to the Branniton residence and remain for the -reception. Arrangements you ordered have been made." - -"Good!" the Black Star wrote. "Report at usual time to-morrow for -additional orders. Retire!" - -The man bowed and backed through the door. The Black Star turned toward -Muggs again. - -"Oh, it is a wonderful organization, my dear Muggs!" he said. "It is far -more wonderful than the one I had before." - -"I ain't carin' much about it!" Muggs said. "These blamed cords are -cuttin' my wrists, and my nose itches and I can't scratch it!" - -"Suppose I untie you?" - -"You'd better watch me, if you do." - -"Ah! That is what I thought," the master crook said. "You retain your -violent nature, I see. One of these days you will realize the futility -of it, Muggs." - -"I'll realize my life ambition by beatin' you up!" Muggs replied. "You -goin' to take off these cords?" - -"Not that. But I'll have your wrists tied in front, so you will be able -to scratch your nose," said the Black Star, chuckling. - -He opened the hall door and called two of the fishermen into the room. -For some reason, it appeared, the fishermen did not wear robes and masks -before the Black Star, and evidently did not care that Muggs saw their -faces. - -The master rogue issued his orders, and the two men untied Muggs' -wrists, lashed them again in front of him, and then hurried away. - -"Now you may scratch your nose," the Black Star said. "I suppose you'll -be trying to free yourself, too. Allow me to tell you, Muggs, that you'd -not get very far if you did." - -"I noticed Landers wait until the current was turned off that fence," -Muggs said. - -"Ah! You know about that, do you? But that is only one thing among many, -my dear Muggs. I'd advise you to be a contented prisoner for the time -being. You'll gain nothing by trying to escape." - -"Well, how long are you goin' to keep me here?" - -"Until I move to my next headquarters, I said." - -"And when'll that be?" - -"In two weeks possibly. Until then, Muggs, you must be one of us. When I -move, I'll have you dropped somewhere in town, and you can tell Verbeck -and the newspapers all you saw and heard. You'll be getting your picture -on the front page, Muggs." - -Again the bell tinkled, and once more a robed and masked man entered and -stepped to the blackboard. He gave his number and countersign. - -"Report," wrote the Black Star. - -"It is as you thought--Verbeck is still after us." - -"Anything more about Verbeck?" - -"He visited his fiancée this afternoon, and afterward took a taxi and -got out at a busy corner. He remained there for some time, and then went -home. He acted as if he was waiting for somebody." - -"Anything else?" - -"Verbeck's roadster is at the resort down the river, and has been there -for several hours. We didn't see Verbeck." - -"His chauffeur left it there; that is his chauffeur on the couch," the -Black Star wrote. - -The man at the other blackboard turned and regarded Muggs through the -slits in his mask. Muggs knew what that meant. Here was a man who was -not acquainted with him, but hereafter he would know Roger Verbeck's -chauffeur when he saw him. - -"Anything else?" the Black Star wrote again. - -"Sheriff Kowen is swearing in more deputies, and some of them are -experienced officers who have retired." - -"Anything from police headquarters?" - -"Nothing, sir, except that the chief is keeping in communication with -Verbeck through some third person. We have not located this person yet." - -"Do so as soon as possible, and let me know the result over the -telephone," the Black Star wrote. "That is all!" - -The masked man bowed and backed through the door. Once more the master -crook faced Muggs. - -"You see, my dear Muggs, I find out everything," he said. "I could tell -you what Roger Verbeck had to eat at breakfast this morning. How can a -man like Verbeck expect to win against an organization such as mine?" - -"He'll win, all right!" Muggs growled. "He'll get you before he quits!" - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -ON THE TRAIL - - -Having received Muggs' startling telephone message that he was trailing -Landers, the master crook's trusted lieutenant, Roger Verbeck left his -fiancée, hurried from the apartment house, engaged a taxicab, and had -the chauffeur drive him to the New Nortonia Hotel as quickly as -possible. - -He got out of the cab half a block away from the hotel entrance, and -looked around for the roadster and Muggs, but failed to find them. -Verbeck's enthusiasm began to die instantly. He had hoped to find Muggs -still there, to join him, possibly to follow Landers until he met more -of the gang. - -For half an hour Verbeck loitered around the corner, and then he decided -that Muggs had been forced to go on alone, that Landers had left the -hotel and Muggs had been afraid to remain behind, lest he lose his man. -So Verbeck went home to await another telephone message, as he had told -Muggs he would do. - -At the end of an hour, he had received no message. He paced the floor, -consumed several cigarettes, and began worrying a bit about it. That -Muggs was the sort of man to rush into trouble, Verbeck knew well. Muggs -was inclined to fight first and think about things afterward. If Muggs -had located Landers, and Landers did not know it, there were several -possibilities. - -Muggs might have followed the Black Star's lieutenant to the master -crook's headquarters, or been decoyed to some other place and made -prisoner. It was the silence of Muggs that bothered Roger Verbeck. -Surely he could have managed to get to a telephone within an hour, -Verbeck thought. - -Verbeck waited for another hour, and still had received no message from -Muggs. He called a certain number himself, and spoke at length to the -man who answered him, and who would relay the message to the chief of -police by word of mouth. - -"Muggs spotted one of the Black Star's men and started to follow him," -Verbeck said. "He hasn't reported to me since. Tell the chief to have -all the men on the force look for my roadster, as Muggs was driving it. -Muggs may need help. And wherever that roadster is found, some of the -Black Star's men may be in the neighborhood. Understand? Possibly Muggs -has not had a chance to communicate with me. He may be a prisoner." - -Roger Verbeck continued to pace the floor of his living room and wait. -Half an hour afterward his telephone bell rang, and he hastened to -answer, hoping that the call was from Muggs, and that it would lead to -the apprehension of the Black Star or some of his people. - -"Mr. Verbeck?" asked a voice. - -"Yes." - -"Good afternoon. I trust that you are in excellent health. This is the -Black Star speaking!" - -"Well, what do you want?" Verbeck growled. - -"Aren't you rather discourteous this afternoon? I have important news -for you, too. Your man, Muggs is making me an extended visit at my -headquarters. That is what I wished to let you know. He followed a -member of my band, and stumbled upon the place. Some more of my men -subdued him. I must keep him here now, of course, but I shall take good -care of him, I assure you." - -"You'd better!" Verbeck said. - -"And your splendid roadster, Mr. Verbeck--Muggs was driving it, as you -know. I have had one of my men take it downtown and leave it in front of -the public library. You'd better hurry there and get it, or you'll be -fined for leaving it standing in the street so long. I couldn't leave it -where Muggs deserted it, you know; that might have given a clew to my -whereabouts." - -Then the Black Star terminated the conversation abruptly, and Roger -Verbeck slammed the receiver into its hook. Verbeck had hoped that the -discovery of his roadster would put the police and himself on the right -trail. - -Once more Verbeck called the go-between, and had the chief of police -informed of his conversation with the Black Star. Then he called the -office of the sheriff. - -"That you, Kowen?" he asked. "This is Roger Verbeck. It has been given -out, as you know, that I am no longer working with the police, and I am -not certain whether the Black Star believes it, or not, though I -scarcely think that he does. So I don't want to call on the police for -help just now. I wish you'd hurry right up here to my place, Kowen. I've -got an important clew. And have one of your men go to the corner by the -New Nortonia Hotel and wait there for us, will you? We may need him." - -"I'll send a good man there, and I'll be with you in fifteen minutes!" -Kowen declared. - -The sheriff was as good as his word. A quarter of an hour later he was -sitting before the table in Verbeck's living room, puffing at a cigar -Verbeck had given him. - -"Well, Verbeck, what's the idea?" he wanted to know. "If you've got a -clew to that crook's whereabouts, for Heaven's sake let's get busy on -it. If we don't land him pretty quick, the dear public will be running -us out of town." - -"I visited my fiancée this afternoon," Verbeck said, "and left Muggs -sitting in the roadster. A few minutes later, the clerk in the apartment -house telephoned up to me that Muggs had said to tell me he had seen a -man, and would call me later. - -"I knew what that meant, of course. We had been watching continually for -some of the Black Star's old people. So I waited eagerly for his -message, and finally it came. The man he had been trailing was Landers, -one of the Black Star's trusted lieutenants. Muggs said he had gone to -the New Nortonia Hotel, and was visiting a couple of women named Whaley, -who had room 256 there." - -"Some clew!" said the sheriff. - -"Wait! I told Muggs I'd be right over, but that if Landers left the -hotel to follow him and call me at home later. When I got over there, -Muggs was gone. I came home, and waited a couple of hours, but got no -message from him. Finally the Black Star called me up. He said he had -Muggs at his headquarters and would keep him a prisoner for a time. -Muggs stumbled into some sort of a trap, it seems. We don't know where -the crook's headquarters are, of course. But I'm inclined to -investigate room 256, at the New Nortonia Hotel, sheriff. What do you -think about it?" - -"I should say we will investigate it!" Kowen declared. "If the Black -Star's lieutenant visits the people in that room, I want to know who -those people are." - -"Muggs said they were two sisters named Whaley. That means nothing, of -course. They probably belong to the Black Star's gang. They may be -important, or they may be merely mediums through whom members of the -band receive messages and orders from one another. Now, we want to go -about this thing carefully, sheriff. We ought to investigate, but we -don't care to have them know of it until we learn all there is to be -learned." - -"I get the idea," the sheriff agreed. "Let's go!" - -"We'll wait until after dark--which will not be more than a couple of -hours," Verbeck said. "I'll have some dinner sent up here, and that will -help kill the time. I visit that hotel now and then myself--have a -bachelor friend who lives there. So the clerk and elevator boy will -think nothing of it if we go right up without being announced. You leave -the little details for me, Kowen. All I want is your official -support--and your good right arm, of course, in case we get into a bit -of trouble." - -"You can have 'em both!" the sheriff said. - -Verbeck ordered the dinner, and the sheriff indulged in a moment of -luxury. Never before had he smoked such cigars or eaten such food. Being -a young man of fortune was a good thing, Kowen decided. He didn't see -why Roger Verbeck should go around trying to round up a master crook -when he was so comfortable at home. - -Night descended, and they left the apartment and the building by means -of a rear stairs. Verbeck explained that it was probable that the Black -Star had somebody watching the place. - -"We don't want them to think we know anything about that hotel," he -said. "We may lose our chance to nab some of them if they get an idea we -are on the right trail." - -They walked through back streets, keeping in the shadows as much as -possible, and finally reached the hostelry. There, of course, they had -to enter boldly. Verbeck nodded to the clerk and hurried to the elevator -with the sheriff at his heels. They ascended to the fourth floor, where -Verbeck's friend, Lawrence, lived. - -"We're here on business connected with a gentleman known to fame as the -Black Star, Lawrence," Verbeck said, finding his friend in his suite. - -"Good Lord! Think I'm a member of his gang?" Lawrence asked. - -"Scarcely, or we'd not be taking you into our confidence," Verbeck -replied. "Be a good boy, now, and help us, will you?" - -"Surely! That big crook nipped my aunt's diamonds the last time he was -on a rampage, and she never got them back. Just give me a chance at him. -Those stones were to have been mine some day." - -"In that case, you probably want revenge," said Verbeck, laughing. "Now, -answer a few questions. You've lived here for three or four years and -should know something about the place." - -"I know all about it," Lawrence said. - -"Where is room 256?" - -"Ah! I had that room when I first came here, before I could get a suite. -It's on the second floor, directly beneath us a couple of stories, with -a fire escape running past its principal window." - -"Of course there would be a fire escape," said Verbeck. "There are times -when fire escapes are handy things. Lawrence, do you know the people who -have that room now? I understand a couple of sisters live there--Whaley -by name." - -"I've seen one of them many times--sour-looking old girl about forty. -Freeze you with a glance, and all that sort of thing--one of those women -a man always dodges." - -"Sure she is about forty?" - -"Great Scott, don't I know the sex? Can't I guess a woman's age nine -times out of ten? Aren't half the girls in town mad at me now because I -always insist on doing it, and telling the truth about my guesses? She's -forty, and she's fat--not plump, but fat--and she always looks as if she -was ready to bite." - -"Well, that description doesn't mean anything in my young life," Verbeck -said. "I had hoped for something different. How about the other sister?" - -"I've glanced at her a couple of times, but I haven't seen her at all -recently. Maybe she's ill." - -"What does she look like--that's what I want to know." - -"Um!" said Lawrence. "Grace of a gazelle, my boy. Would have made -advances, my boy, if the other hadn't frozen me with a glance." - -"Hair?" - -"Auburn--distinct auburn, the shade I most prefer--and plenty of it. -Eyes, a sort of gray--don't know exactly what you'd call 'em. And the -girl can wear clothes. There's a subtle perfume about her, my boy----" - -"And you only glanced at her a couple of times, eh? How old do you say -she is?" Verbeck asked. - -"Thirty," Lawrence replied. "Five feet six; weighs about a hundred and -twenty-five, has magnificent shoulders----" - -"I knew it!" Verbeck cried. - -"Can you place her?" Kowen asked. - -"It is only a guess, of course," said Verbeck. "But I think I know who -she is. And I'm sure you'd be interested in meeting her, Kowen. You'll -take such a fancy to her that you'll probably want to take her to jail -and put her into a cage. Kowen, is that man of yours at the corner, do -you suppose?" - -"If he isn't, he'll be fired pretty quick!" - -"Go out and find him, and plant him beneath that fire escape. Tell him -to nab anybody, man or woman, who tries to go down it. A person can go -down that escape to the parlor on the first floor, you know, step -through a window there, and walk out the front door of the hotel. Then -you hurry right back here, Kowen." - -The sheriff grasped his hat and hurried from the suite. Verbeck lighted -a cigarette, looking toward the ceiling and smiled. - -"I say, what is this all about?" Lawrence demanded. "Let me in on it, -will you? I haven't had a bit of excitement for ages. I'm getting stale, -man." - -"Callow youths such as yourself should not run into danger," Verbeck -explained. - -"Confound it, I'm no callow youth. I'm only three years younger than -you." - -"But I have had experience, Lawrence. Restrain yourself for a few -minutes, and you may see some excitement. But don't ask questions at the -present time. I hate answering questions. We must wait until the sheriff -comes back." - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -A TENSE MOMENT - - -Sheriff Kowen located his deputy instantly, and gave the man his orders. -Then the sheriff showed that there was real stuff in him. He did not -turn around and reënter the hotel by the main door. It had occurred to -him that, if any of the Black Star's men were on watch, they might get -suspicious if they saw him around the place too much. - -Kowen walked down the street, entered a cigar store, made a purchase, -and sauntered on around the block. He darted into the alley and reached -the rear of the hotel building, and went in at the servants' entrance -when he was sure that he was not being observed. - -He exhibited his badge to the first man he met, and was shown how to -reach the rear stairs. By this means he mounted to the fourth floor and -so reached Lawrence's suite again. - -"My man's ready," he reported to Verbeck. "If anybody gets down that -fire escape and away, it'll be peculiar. That man can handle bad ones as -easily as others handle infants." - -"What are you going to do?" Lawrence inquired. - -"The sheriff and I are going to investigate room 256 and the inhabitants -thereof," Verbeck replied. "We are going to walk up to the door and -knock. If we find, when the door is opened, that we have made a -mistake, we shall apologize and say something about knocking at the -wrong door. If we find that we have not made a mistake, there probably -will be fireworks." - -"I always did like fireworks," Lawrence said. "Do I get to see these?" - -"You may look from your window all you please," Verbeck said. "But we -can't have you with us just now. There may be nothing in this, and there -may be a lot. Ready, sheriff?" - -"You know it!" the sheriff answered. - -"Allow me to suggest that you put your revolver in your coat pocket, and -put your hand in the same pocket and grasp the revolver. Don't show the -weapon, of course, until we are sure that we are right. We don't want to -frighten innocent persons, if it can be avoided." - -"Who do you think is in that room, Verbeck?" Kowen asked. - -"Let us see!" Verbeck replied. - -Ignoring Lawrence's demand that he be allowed to accompany them, they -left the suite and walked slowly down the stairs. They reached the -second floor, and went along the hall until they reached No. 256. There -they stopped, listened. They could hear somebody talking inside. - -Verbeck knocked smartly and then stepped close to the door, the sheriff -at his side. The voices within were stilled, but nobody answered. -Verbeck knocked again, and suddenly the door was thrown open. - -Sheriff Kowen gasped, and his revolver was whipped from his pocket. -Roger Verbeck merely chuckled. The woman who had opened the door gave a -little screech and tried to close it again, but Verbeck's foot -prevented. They thrust her back, stepped inside, and closed the door -behind them. - -"Good evening, Miss Blanchard!" said Sheriff Kowen. "I tell the truth -when I say that I am delighted to see you!" - -"And it is some time since I have had the pleasure of greeting The -Princess," Verbeck added. "Pardon the peculiar manner of this call, but -we felt that it was necessary." - -The face of the woman before them had gone white, and now it flushed. -She stepped backward into the room as they advanced. Sitting near the -window was another woman--fat and forty--and she sprang to her feet. - -"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" she cried. "I shall call the -office----" - -"Calm yourself, madam!" Verbeck told her. "I have not the pleasure of -your acquaintance, but I find you in bad company, and that is -sufficient." - -"Yes, and I've got a couple of dandy cells down at the county jail!" the -sheriff said. "They're all cleaned and waiting for you. Hot and cold -water, and eats three times a day. I've stopped raiding gambling dens -for the moment and am taking up another line of work." - -He glared at Mamie Blanchard, who was standing close to the table and -glaring back at him. - -"Sit down, Miss Blanchard!" Verbeck said. "We are going to have a short -conversation. And kindly do not attempt any foolish move. I dislike to -fight a woman, but at times it seems to be necessary." - -Mamie Blanchard sat down. Verbeck could tell, by glancing at her face, -that she had regained her composure--that she was clever, dangerous, a -woman to be watched closely. - -"Well, what is it?" she demanded. - -"I don't suppose you'll do as I ask, but I am going to give you a -chance," Verbeck said. "I want some information about the Black Star." - -"I don't know anything about him. I was in his old gang, as you are -aware. I supposed you had come to arrest me for that. He didn't see fit -to include me in his new organization, because you knew me, I suppose." - -"That statement is not at all clever of you," said Verbeck. "You are -talking to men who know better. You helped engineer his escape, didn't -you?" - -"Since you know, I did. That is, I got the sheriff to raid the gambling -house, and decoyed him to the little cottage. The Black Star gave me -that much to do because I needed money. But that is all." - -"You mean your work for him is done?" Verbeck asked. - -"Yes." - -"You're not in touch with him any more?" - -"No." - -"Um! And yet Landers, his trusted lieutenant, is a frequent visitor -here." - -"Perhaps that is for personal reasons," said Mamie Blanchard. "We saw -each other a great deal when we were in the old gang, and we are--well, -interested in each other to a certain extent." - -"I wish that I could believe your story of a fond romance, but I am -afraid that I cannot," Verbeck said. "Let us put the cards on the table. -You know, Miss Blanchard, that it is only a question of time when the -Black Star will be recaptured and his band scattered or sent to jail. -It will go easier with you personally if you give me the information I -desire; and please do not waste time and breath by saying that you do -not know. Where is the Black Star's headquarters?" - -"I don't know--and that is the truth." - -"Possibly it is the truth, but you report to him through somebody. I -suppose it is Landers, since he calls here so much. When will Landers be -here again?" - -"I don't know." - -"What do you know about the Black Star's plans for the future?" - -"I don't know anything about them," said Mamie Blanchard. - -"She knows, all right, but she'll not talk," the sheriff declared. -"Might as well haul them both to jail, I guess. There's an old charge -against this Blanchard woman, and we can hold the other on suspicion -while we make an investigation." - -"You dare take me to jail!" shouted the fat-and-forty lady. - -"Tut, tut!" said Sheriff Kowen. - -The sheriff did not take his eyes off Mamie Blanchard. He was aware that -she was clever, and he was watching for her to make some move. He -watched her hands particularly. - -Verbeck bent forward in his chair again. "It will be a great deal better -for you to talk," he cautioned. - -"I've said all that I am going to say!" Mamie Blanchard declared. "If -you want to take me to jail, take me! The Black Star will get me out, -and he'll take pay from the city because I was arrested!" - -"You think you can bluff me with a speech like that?" Kowen demanded. -"Not in the least, young woman! You do not seem to appreciate what you -are facing." - -"And you," she said, "do not seem to appreciate what is behind you at -this moment!" - -"Trying to get me to turn around, so you can make some sort of a move, -are you?" the sheriff asked. "That's old stuff--telling a man to look -behind him." - -"There is something behind you, all right," she said. - -A man's voice greeted them from the rear. - -"I've got both of you covered! Drop that gun, sheriff!" - -Both the sheriff and Verbeck suddenly felt something pressing against -the backs of their necks. Each knew what it was--the muzzle of a weapon. - -"Drop it!" said the voice again. - -The sheriff dropped his gun. He knew it was the only thing to do when -another man had the drop on him. - -"Sit still! Don't turn around!" said the voice again. - -Suddenly the air about the two men was filled with pungent fumes. Their -heads dropped forward. Once more a vapor gun had done its work, and done -it instantly and well. - - * * * * * - -Roger Verbeck and Sheriff Kowen returned to consciousness to find that -they were bound and gagged and lashed to chairs placed against the wall. -The two women were still in the room. Landers was there, too. - -"You fail again, Verbeck," he said. "You must be losing your -cleverness, as the Black Star says. You enter a room as you entered -this, and sit down and turn your back upon a closet without examining it -first. It was very easy to overcome you after that. I didn't look for -any brains in the sheriff, of course, but I did in you. - -"The question now is what to do with you. We have been discussing it -while you were unconscious. Had I my way, you'd be put where you'd -bother us no longer, but the Black Star will not countenance that sort -of violence. He is tender-hearted in some things, as you know. - -"It appears that you have discovered our little retreat here, and so we -cannot remain. These ladies will have to go out with me, without even -taking their clothes and toilet articles, and not return. It is a -nuisance to find another hiding place, but there are plenty of them in -the city. We shall have to leave you here, of course. I promise to -telephone the hotel later, and have you released. - -"Thought you'd get some information, did you? Let me tell you, Roger -Verbeck, that you'll never catch the Black Star this time. And he'll -strip the city before he is through. He has planned something for -to-morrow night that will not only startle the city, but the entire -country as well. There is not a chance in the world of you or the police -or the sheriff's force preventing it--or doing anything after it has -been accomplished." - -Landers motioned to the women, and they went to the closet for hats and -cloaks. - -"I don't see the sense of leaving everything," Mamie Blanchard said. "We -can say at the office that I am going away for a few days, but that my -sister will remain. They'll think that you are merely taking me to the -train. At least, I can take a bag. I can put a lot of things in that." - -"Very well; perhaps that would be best," Landers agreed. "Take your -time, my dear. There is no need to rush things. We are not likely to be -disturbed here. You'd better put on a heavy veil, too. There may be a -deputy or two around the hotel, and some of them might recognize you. -I'll telephone for a taxi just before we go down." - -The two women began packing the bag, while Landers turned his back on -his prisoners, went to the window and looked down at the street. - -Verbeck and the sheriff glanced at each other helplessly. There was -small chance that they would be able to trail Landers and the women if -they got away now; and after this they would keep in hiding better. It -appeared that the Black Star's good luck was with him yet. - -Verbeck tugged at his bonds, but knew instantly that there was small -hope of freeing himself. If he did, Landers held the advantage. But it -was Verbeck's idea that he could get free at least soon after the others -left the room, and make an effort to trace them. - -Landers turned away from the window. - -"Verbeck, your man trailed me this afternoon," he said. "He saw me come -into this hotel, I suppose, and found out what room I visited. He's out -at the Black Star's headquarters now, a pampered guest; but when I get a -chance, I'm going to give him what's coming to him. He was the cause of -my getting a rebuke from the Black Star." - -"I wish you'd rap that sheriff on the head," Mamie Blanchard remarked. -"He's a nuisance!" - -"The Black Star will not stand for work like that, and you know it," -Landers replied. "Besides, the sheriff is harmless; we have little to -fear from him." - -Sheriff Kowen's face grew purple with wrath, and he gurgled behind his -gag. - -Mamie Blanchard was packing the bag, and her stout companion was -gathering the things to put into it. Verbeck continued working at the -bonds about his wrists. The cords were cutting through the flesh, but he -did not desist. He knew that every second would be precious as soon as -Landers and the two women left the room. - -He stopped for an instant, because the exertion was tiring him, and his -wrists pained so much. He saw that Kowen was trying to get free, too, -and knew that he was making a failure of it. Landers had done his work -well; it was evident that the man was an expert at binding and gagging. - -Presently Landers came over, inspected their bonds, and laughed. - -"You are only mutilating your wrists, Mr. Verbeck," he said. "I assure -you that you will be unable to get free. I promise to call up the hotel -within an hour or so, and tell them to come up and release you. It will -get into the newspapers, of course--and the public will have another -laugh at your expense--but you should be used to that by this time, you -and the sheriff both. The town should give us credit for handing them a -laugh now and then, as well as thrills." - -The sheriff gurgled behind his gag again. - -Verbeck looked past him to the window at which was the landing of the -fire escape. He saw a shadow there, and looked away. Then he glanced -back again, a new hope born in his breast. Once more he observed a -shadow, and then a man's face showed for an instant as he peered inside. -The man was his friend, Lawrence. - -Lawrence had fussed and fumed for ten minutes after Verbeck and the -sheriff had left. He had opened the window by the fire escape, and had -looked down. The shade at the window in the room on the second floor was -only partially drawn, and Lawrence could see the light streaming out. - -"Wonder what those chaps are up to?" he asked himself. "Mean of Verbeck -not to let me in on it. Ought to hear some sort of an explosion soon, I -fancy. Maybe there'll be a row--give the hotel a bad name--beastly -mess!" - -He waited for half an hour longer, hanging out of the window and -watching below. He saw nothing, heard nothing. At the foot of the fire -escape a man was standing--the sheriff's deputy. - -Then the lust for adventure was born in Lawrence's bosom. He chuckled at -the very idea. He opened the window wider, and got out on the landing of -the fire escape. - -He began slowly descending the ladder, round by round, passed the -landing on the third floor, and continued to the second. He went close -to the window, and looked in. - -He saw the sheriff and Roger Verbeck bound and gagged and lashed in -their chairs. He saw Landers walking around the room, a revolver in his -hand, and the two women packing the bag. - -"Great Scott!" he breathed. "Verbeck and Kowen seem to have come a -cropper! Prisoners, eh? Ought to give them a bit of help, I suppose. -Can't let that other chap get away with this, of course." - -Landers walked toward the window, and Lawrence drew back from it. He -waited a moment, then glanced in again--and met Verbeck's eyes. Lawrence -nodded his head. He went to the end of the fire-escape landing and -looked down at the deputy, who had been watching him carefully, -remembering his orders. He took a notebook from his pocket, and a pencil -from another, and scribbled a message: - - Come up quick! Man and two women in room have Verbeck and sheriff - bound and gagged. They are packing bag and preparing to leave. I - can't tackle this alone. I'm Verbeck's friend, Lawrence. Either - come up the fire escape or go inside and to room 256 and nab them - at the door, and I'll watch here. - -He tossed the note down, and the deputy picked it up and read it. The -deputy was not certain just what to do. If he went inside the hotel he -would disregard the sheriff's orders, which had been to watch the fire -escape. So the deputy decided to climb. - -He sprang up and caught the bottom of the iron ladder, reached the first -landing, and worked his way up, watching Lawrence closely, a weapon held -ready if Lawrence proved to be foe instead of friend. Lawrence glanced -inside the room again, and gestured to Verbeck that he had reason to -hope. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -ON THE ROOF - - -Lawrence peered through the window again, as the deputy made his way up -the fire escape. The two women were putting on their hats and veils. -Landers had stepped before Verbeck and Sheriff Kowen again, and was -speaking to them. - -"I shall report all this to the Black Star," he was saying, "and he will -take great pleasure in relating it to the newspapers. We must give the -dear public another chance to laugh, as I said before. I regret that the -chief of police is not with you." - -Just then the deputy reached the landing of the fire escape, and looked -at Lawrence closely. - -"We haven't any time to lose," Lawrence whispered. "Look inside the -room." - -Lawrence, realizing that the deputy was suspicious of him, stepped back, -and the other man took a step forward and glanced through the window. - -"I want to get in on this; Roger Verbeck is a friend of mine!" Lawrence -declared. "What are we going to do?" - -He looked through the window again as he spoke. Mamie Blanchard had -picked up the bag and stepped to the door. The older woman was following -her. Landers was preparing to leave. - -"Don't worry, gentlemen," he was saying. "I'll notify the hotel to -release you within an hour or so, I'll turn out the lights, of course." - -The deputy waited no longer. He appeared to be convinced now that -Lawrence was acting in good faith. He sprang forward, thrust his foot -through the window, kicked at the glass repeatedly, rolled up the shade -and sprang into the room. Lawrence was only a pace behind him, and eager -for the fray. - -Landers and his companions had whirled around at the first crash of the -glass. One of the women screamed. Landers cursed, sprang to the light -switch, and snapped off the lights. The door was hurled open, and the -two women fled into the hall. Landers fired one shot from the vapor gun, -sprang after them, stopped long enough to turn the key in the lock on -the outside, and hurried after his female confederates to the elevator. - -Lawrence and the deputy charged across the room, trying to keep from -breathing, from inhaling those poisonous fumes. The deputy hurled -himself at the door in an effort to break it down. But it was well -braced against the woodwork outside, and resisted his efforts. - -Lawrence staggered back to the window and took great gulps of the fresh -air. Then he whirled around again, turned on the lights and began -fumbling at Verbeck's bonds. Verbeck and the sheriff were weak, but the -fumes of the vapor gun had not rendered them unconscious. The draft from -the broken window had prevented that. - -Lawrence tore the gags from the mouths of the bound men, and worked at -the fastenings again. - -"Down the fire escape!" Kowen shrieked to his deputy. "They called for a -taxi. If you see a cop, get him to help. We'll be after you in a -minute!" - -The deputy darted to the window, and went down the fire escape with the -agility of a monkey. Verbeck and Kowen, freed of their bonds at last, -got upon their feet. Since it seemed impossible to break down the door -leading to the corridor, Verbeck hurled himself against the one opening -into an adjoining room. It crashed in, and they staggered into the -apartment, startling a man who was dressing there. - -"Officers--after crooks!" Kowen gasped. - -They flung the hall door open, and rushed out. Lawrence was not far -behind them. Verbeck ran at once to the elevators and glanced at the -indicators above the doors. - -"All at the bottom except one--and that is almost at the top," he -gasped. "They surely haven't had time to get to the ground floor, unless -they just happened to catch an elevator on the fly, or else went down -the stairs." - -The sheriff made no reply; already he was dashing down the wide, marble -stairs. He reached the floor below, gave the lobby a single glance, and -then hurried to the elevators. - -"Two women and a man just come down?" he asked. - -"Nobody's come down for the last ten minutes or so," the starter -replied. "What's the row?" - -The deputy had charged in from the street. - -"They haven't come this way!" he said. "The taxicab is still waiting for -them in front." - -"Around to the alley!" the sheriff commanded. "Watch every exit there!" - -The hotel manager was on the scene by this time. - -"What is the disturbance about?" he demanded. - -"We're after some of the Black Star's gang," the sheriff replied. - -"In my house?" - -"Yes; and they've been living here for some time, if you want to know. I -thought this was an exclusive place, where a tenant had to have all -sorts of references. Those two women who call themselves Whaley----" - -"Why, they are all right!" - -"Are they?" asked the sheriff. "One side!" - -He took up a position whence he could watch both the stairs and the -elevators. The deputy had hurried to the alley. Two policemen came in -from the street, and the hotel detective put in an appearance. Kowen -took instant command of the situation. - -"Let nobody leave the building for the present--nobody!" he commanded. -"Let nobody pass out unless either Verbeck or I give them permission!" - -Kowen sprang up the wide stairs again. He reached the second floor, and -stopped to listen. He heard no sound of pursuit or combat. The elevator -came down from above, and the sheriff stopped it. - -"Take two women and a man up?" he asked. - -"Yes, sir," said the operator. - -"Know them?" - -"Miss Whaley and----" - -"That's enough! Where did they go?" - -"To the roof. They said they wanted to take a look at the city, as one -of the ladies was going away." - -"I'll go up and take a look myself!" the sheriff said. "And give us a -little speed!" - -The boy whizzed the elevator to the top floor; he didn't know what it -was all about, but he sensed excitement. - -"You take that flight of stairs to the roof," he explained. "There is a -door at the top." - -Kowen did not wait to thank him. He rushed for the stairs--and ran into -Verbeck and Lawrence. - -"They're on the roof!" Verbeck said. "And the door is locked, of -course!" - -"Then we've got them!" Kowen declared. "It's a cinch they can't get -down!" - -"Don't forget that we had the Black Star on a roof once, and he got -down," Verbeck reminded him. "I just examined that door; it's a strong -one." - -"Why use the door?" Lawrence asked quietly. "I know this building pretty -well, and I can get to the roof without going through the door at all." - -"How?" Verbeck asked. - -"I can get through that window, hang to the cornice, and draw myself -up." - -"You'd fall, man!" Kowen declared. "You'd kill yourself!" - -"I can do it!" Verbeck exclaimed. "It isn't a bit harder than things I'm -doing in the gymnasium all the time." - -He hurried to the window, opened it, and looked at the cornice above. - -"Don't try it!" Kowen said. "It's twelve stories to the pavement below, -Mr. Verbeck." - -"But I'm not going to fall!" - -"They're not worth it----" - -"What? The Black Star's first lieutenant, and the cleverest woman in his -band? I'm going up! You go to the door at the head of the stairs and -pound against it--make them think you are trying to break -through--attract their attention! Do it now!" - -He removed his shoes as he spoke. Kowen made a last protest, which drew -no reply from Verbeck except a grin. Then the sheriff and Lawrence went -back up the steps, and began pounding against the door. - -Verbeck was cool and collected now. He realized the task that was before -him, and he knew the danger he would be running. A fall would mean death -on the pavement twelve floors below. Verbeck was thankful that it was -dark. - -Once more he looked up at the cornice. Then he got through the window, -balanced himself on the sill, and reached up and grasped the edge of the -cornice with his hands. - -He hesitated a moment, took a deep breath, and started to draw himself -up. It was a difficult task, even for a man who always had been known as -an athlete. He managed to get one elbow over the edge of the cornice, -and thus he held himself, and rested, and tried to reduce his breathing -to normal. - -The hardest part of the task was before him, he knew. He had swung away -from the window below. If he was forced to lower himself, he doubted -whether he could swing his legs in enough to brace himself on the sill. - -"Have to do it, now!" Roger Verbeck told himself. - -Again he started drawing himself up. He got his other elbow over the -edge of the cornice, rested again for an instant, and then started to -turn. Now his chest rested against the cornice. He exerted all his -strength and managed to get one leg up. It was not difficult, after -that, to draw up the other. So he remained stretched on a narrow ledge -twelve stories above a busy street, panting, almost exhausted, dizzy. - -Verbeck closed his eyes and stretched himself out to his full length. He -realized that he could not hope to go the remainder of the way until he -had recovered his strength. However, it did not take him long to -recuperate. - -He raised himself on his elbows and glanced upward. The parapet was -above him, and not difficult to scale, but to reach the edge of it he -would have to stand up straight on the narrow ledge upon which he now -was stretched. - -Verbeck took a deep breath and started drawing up his knees. Presently -he was in a kneeling position. Then, inch by inch, he raised his body. -His hands crept up the face of the wall before him, stretched out and -grasped the edge of the parapet. - -Once more he was forced to draw himself up. He was very quiet about it, -too. He did not know but that Landers might be directly above him, ready -to receive him, or to thrust him over. - -He got his elbows over the edge, and stopped to breathe and to listen. -He could hear Kowen and Lawrence pounding on the door, and he found that -Landers and the women were not near. - -Verbeck began to think that good fortune was with him. He continued to -draw himself up, and finally was stretched, panting, on the top of the -parapet. - -He was in no hurry, now. He had no intention of clashing physically with -Landers while in an exhausted condition. There was no way, he thought, -in which Landers and the women could escape from the roof except through -the door at which the sheriff and Lawrence were pounding. - -Verbeck waited until he felt refreshed, and then slipped down to the -roof. Noiselessly he made his way across it toward the door. He came to -a chimney, and stopped beside it, to watch and listen. - -He had no weapon on him, and he knew that Landers had a vapor gun. One -shot from that might render him unconscious, put him out of the fight. -He could hear Landers and the women talking not very far from where he -stood. - -"They can't get through that door for some time," Landers was saying. -"I'm going to telephone." - -"He'll not come!" Mamie Blanchard wailed. "Why didn't we go down the -stairs instead of up? We might have known we would have been caught in a -trap." - -"We'll see whether he'll come or not!" Landers said. "If the telephone -is not out of commission----" - -During the hot summer months, the roof was used as a garden. There was a -little building in one corner of it that was used as a refreshment -stand, and there always was a telephone there. - -Verbeck knew that Landers was rushing across the roof to the building. -He heard him smash against the frail door, heard it crash in. The women, -it was evident, remained near the door leading to the stairs that went -below. - -Leaving the shadow of the chimney, Verbeck crept forward toward the -little structure where Landers had gone to telephone. He hoped to catch -the Black Star's lieutenant at a disadvantage and subdue him. He was -much interested, too, in what Landers' telephone message might be, and -to whom it would be sent. - -Without a sound, Verbeck crossed the roof and came to the side of the -little building. Landers had flashed an electric torch, and was taking -the telephone from beneath the counter. Verbeck saw him take down the -receiver. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -MUGGS GIVES A TIP - - -It was evident that the hotel switchboard operator was surprised to get -a call from the roof. - -"Oh, it's all right!" Verbeck heard Landers say. "I'm up on the roof -with the Misses Whaley. One of the ladies is going to leave the city, -and she wanted to call a friend from here--just a whim. I found the door -unlocked." - -Then he gave a number. Roger Verbeck made a mental note of it. Here -might be a clew that would lead to something important. - -Verbeck crept close to the door, and listened. Presently Landers spoke -again. - -"Hello! This is Landers! I'm trapped on the roof of the New Nortonia -Hotel with Mamie and her sister. Kowen and his crowd are trying to break -the door in now, but I think it'll take them some time, and then I can -stand them off for a while. If you don't come for us, we're caught.... -Yes, Verbeck and the sheriff. They walked in on us. I got them under -control, but some others came. The place is a regular trap.... Thanks! -But hurry!" - -Verbeck slipped to one side as Landers put the receiver on the hook and -hurried out. He followed the Black Star's lieutenant back across the -roof, and watched as he met the women. - -"He'll come for us!" Verbeck heard Landers say. "It'll take him some -time, of course--fifteen minutes at least. We'll have to hold off those -men on the other side of the door. If it comes to the worst, some of -them will get something more than a dose out of a vapor gun. I don't -intend to spend fifteen or twenty years in prison!" - -"If we had only gone downstairs----" Mamie Blanchard began. - -"If we had, we'd have run into a few deputies. I tell you they planned -to trap us! They've shadowed some of us----" - -"Then it must have been you!" Mamie Blanchard told him. "I have not been -out of the hotel, remember. It's your carelessness that got us into this -mess!" - -"Well, we won't quarrel about it," Landers said. "You women go to the -other side of the roof and wait. I'll stay near the door and handle -those men if they manage to break it open." - -Landers approached the door, and Verbeck crept after him. The light was -so faint that he could see little--just a shadow where the master -crook's lieutenant was walking. Verbeck crouched as he advanced, made no -noise, and was ready to stop if Landers betrayed any suspicion. But -Landers, it appeared, did not expect a foe on the roof, and was intent -only upon the door at which the sheriff and Lawrence were pounding. - -Verbeck had picked up a piece of timber beside the little refreshment -stand. It was the only weapon he had. He hated to use it, but he felt -that the situation justified its use. Landers was about a match for him -physically, and it was Verbeck's duty to make a prisoner of him, open -the door, and let the others take the women into custody. - -Landers was stamping upon the door. - -"Get away, or I'll fire through it!" he called, as the pounding ceased -for a moment. - -He sent one shot crashing through the wood and Verbeck could hear a -chorus of shrieks below. He knew Landers' plan--to delay them as much as -he could. And for what? That was what Verbeck could not fathom. - -To whom had Landers telephoned? How could he be rescued from the roof? -Would the Black Star and his band face a battle with police and -deputies, attempt to raid the hotel and save Landers and the two women? - -Landers had stepped back, and was listening to what was being said -below. Verbeck crept forward until he was within six feet of the other -man. He raised the piece of timber. - -He sent but one blow home, but he knew as it struck that it would send -Landers crashing to the roof, even though it did not render him -unconscious. He sprang past him, and fumbled at the heavy bolts on the -door, drew them, and threw the door open. - -"Up--quick!" he cried. - -Glad cries from the sheriff and Lawrence greeted him. They sprang to the -roof, two deputies at their heels. They seized the groaning Landers, and -rushed across the roof toward the women. - -"Torches!" Kowen cried. - -The torches flashed. The women were standing near one of the big -chimneys. Kowen led his deputies toward them. - -"You don't get away this time!" he said. "It's handcuffs and a cell for -you! You've played your last game with the Black Star, you two -beauties!" - -The fair prisoners were led toward the stairs. Landers had been -handcuffed, and was being carried to the floor below. Verbeck and -Lawrence followed them, but when they reached the floor below, Verbeck -called the sheriff aside. - -"Landers telephoned from the refreshment stand on the roof," he said. "I -have made a note of the number; it might lead us to something. But here -is the funny part--he asked somebody to come and rescue him. How they -are going to try it, I do not know; but I think that message went to the -Black Star." - -"Maybe he'll try a raid here," Kowen suggested. - -"Landers estimated, so he told the women, that he would be here in -fifteen minutes, at least. But how could even the Black Star get enough -of his men together to raid a place like this in that length of time? -It's the roof we have to watch. You remember how the Black Star escaped -from the roof of the National Trust Building, don't you? He seems to -have methods of which we know nothing." - -"Some more of that light stuff, and talking to us out of the air, -probably," the sheriff said. "Well, what shall we do?" - -"Have your deputies put the prisoners in a room and guard them. We'll -stay here by the door and watch the roof!" - -Sheriff Kowen gave the orders. He and Verbeck remained by the door, -Lawrence with them. - -"What's the big idea?" Lawrence inquired. - -"Perhaps nothing; we are waiting to see," Verbeck replied. - -"Well, can't you let a fellow in on it? If it hadn't been for me, those -people would be far away by this time; and you'd be bound and gagged in -that room, waiting for the public to laugh at you!" - -"Simply this," Verbeck said; "Landers telephoned to somebody to rescue -him from the roof, and we are waiting to see who comes to do it, and how -he comes." - -They waited for ten minutes without hearing or seeing anything. They -left the door and walked to the nearest chimney, and stood there, -watching, listening, like men who expected something to drop from the -sky. - -And something did come from the sky--that puzzling, brilliant light they -were learning to know so well. It flooded the roof, swept across it, -almost blinding the three men there. Verbeck and Kowen and Lawrence ran -back to the open door, shading their eyes with their hands. - -The light disappeared and they heard the Black Star's voice. "What have -you done with my people?" he shouted. - -"We've put handcuffs on 'em, you crook!" Kowen shrieked. "And we'll do -as much for you one of these days!" - -"Watch out!" Verbeck warned. - -Some sixth sense seemed to tell him what was coming. And it did--a vapor -bomb that burst not ten feet from the doorway. They darted back and away -from it. They saw the bright light flood the roof again. Then the -darkness came once more, and they heard nothing more, saw nothing more. - -"I'd like to know how he does that!" Kowen said. "Does he hang around in -the sky like a star? Well, he didn't rescue anybody, anyway! That's one -comfort!" - -"He hasn't been more than fifteen minutes getting here," Verbeck said. -"But we don't know how he is traveling, and so we can't judge how far -away his headquarters might be. That telephone number----" - -"We can investigate that, at any rate, the first thing in the morning," -Kowen said. "I'll get the telephone people busy. Now I'll take these -prisoners down to the jail and give each of them a nice little room, -American plan." - -The prisoners were taken away, the excitement in the hotel died down, -Verbeck went to Lawrence's suite to smoke a cigarette and get away from -the crowd for a time, and finally started home. - -He was worrying about Muggs, for one thing. He was hoping that the valet -would find some way in which he could be of service, while he was a -prisoner in the Black Star's headquarters. He knew that Muggs could be -depended upon to make every effort. - -The Black Star's threat--about doing something sensational the following -night--also came to his mind. Was the master rogue to win again? Was -there no way in which he could be stopped, recaptured, put behind prison -bars? Already the city was in the grip of terror. No man could tell -where the Black Star would strike next. He might loot another bank, or a -jewelry store, or raid the jail in an effort to rescue his companions -in crime. The public was considering everything--except the thing that -the Black Star had actually planned to do. - -Mrs. Richard Branniton completed her arrangements for entertaining the -distinguished diplomats, Lord Sambery and Sir Burton Banks, and had no -thought that the master criminal might pay her residence a visit while -her guests were enjoying themselves. - -Verbeck reached his rooms and threw himself into an easy-chair to rest. -He did not fear for himself. He did not think that the Black Star would -make an attempt to abduct him again, for prisoners were only in the way -at the master criminal's headquarters. Also, there were half a dozen -plain-clothes men in the apartment house, watching everybody who -entered, ready to act in any emergency that might present itself. - -It was too early to retire, so Verbeck smoked, and tried to read a -magazine, but found that he could not get himself interested. He -disliked to go to one of his clubs, for all the other members would want -to discuss the Black Star and nothing else. - -He started across the room to get a favorite book from the case, but -whirled around and went back, because the telephone had rung. - -"Hello!" he called. - -"Verbeck?" - -"Yes." - -"This is the Black Star. Some of my men have informed me how Landers and -the two women were caught. It took courage to climb to the roof the way -you did, but that is not the point. Those three people are very -necessary members of my organization, and I want them released." - -Verbeck laughed into the telephone. - -"Have you called the sheriff?" he asked. "He seems to be the man in -charge just now." - -"I have not called the sheriff yet. I thought I'd call you first, and -get you to influence him. You see, Verbeck, I have Muggs here with me." - -"What has that to do with it?" - -"Simply this--if I have to descend to violence, I'll do it. Nothing -shall stop me from having my revenge upon the city. Unless those people -of mine are released by noon to-morrow, I'll blow the jail off the -map--and I'll attend to Mr. Muggs." - -"In what way?" Verbeck asked. - -"I'll simply have him knocked on the head and dumped into the river. If -I have to be violent, I'll be a proper thug! What have you to say?" - -"Nothing, except that you have a wonderful nerve to speak as you do." - -"Perhaps you think I can't blow the jail to pieces?" - -"I do not say you can't, but I don't think you'll do it--not with -Landers and The Princess inside it." - -"And maybe you think I'd hesitate about making away with Muggs, do you?" - -"I scarcely think you'll do anything of the sort," Verbeck said. "You -would accomplish nothing, and you'd be hanged for murder after we caught -you." - -"You don't think I am serious," the Black Star replied. "I agreed to -give you until noon to-morrow----" - -"But I couldn't make the sheriff turn them loose! You may be sure that -he'll guard them well, and see that they stand trial. Why, if they were -turned loose----" - -"I'll arrange that. They are to be freed and put in the middle of the -polo field. I'll do the rest. On second thought, I'll give you more -time, Verbeck, if you have to argue with the sheriff. I'm going to be -busy to-morrow night, as I have said. I'll give you until the following -morning. I'll ring you up then for your answer; and it had better be -what I want to hear." - -"You actually think we'd do such a thing?" Verbeck asked. "We'd look -pretty, wouldn't we, turning three criminals loose because another -criminal asked it!" - -"Not an ordinary criminal--but the Black Star! And I don't ask it--I -demand it! Muggs is here, and I am going to let him speak to you. -Perhaps you don't really believe that he is here. He'll tell you that I -am serious and mean what I say." - -Verbeck waited, his heart pounding at his ribs. If Muggs only had the -presence of mind, if he---- - -"Hello, boss!" came Muggs' voice over the wire. - -"Hello, Muggs." - -"I'm sure here in this big crook's headquarters, boss. I don't know what -he intends to hand me, but it'll be plenty." - -"Muggs, what do you want me to do?" Verbeck asked. - -"Well, maybe I'm prejudiced," Muggs said, "but I don't care to be -knocked on the head and thrown in any river. It wouldn't be a hard job -for them--the river ain't far away!" That was a hint, at least. "And it -ain't exactly nice to be croaked with music ringin' in your ears----" - -Verbeck heard an exclamation of rage, the sound of a blow, a gasp, and -then nothing more except a little click that told him the wire was dead. -Muggs had tried to give a tip, and had not been given a chance to -complete it. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -ON THE TRAIL - - -Verbeck tried to remember the exact words that Muggs had spoken. He had -said plainly that the headquarters of the Black Star were not far from -the river. That in itself was a help, but not a very great one. - -There were thousands of places in the city, not far from the river, -where the Black Star could hide and where the members of his band could -visit him. The headquarters might be in a warehouse on the water front, -in some pretentious mansion on the hills overlooking the stream. - -And what else was it that Muggs had said? That he didn't want to die -with music ringing in his ears! Verbeck wondered what that might mean, -for it was the statement, evidently, that had caused such a quick end to -the conversation. - -Verbeck paced the floor and thought it out. He knew the city from one -end to the other. He had been born there, reared there, had watched it -grow. Music ringing in his ears---- - -"The resort park!" Verbeck gasped. "That's what he must have meant! The -Black Star's headquarters will be found near the river and near the -resort park, where the band plays every afternoon and evening!" - -Verbeck rushed to the telephone, called the sheriff, and asked him to -come to his apartment immediately. - -"I've got a tip that's better than the last one," he said. "Muggs gave -it to me." - -"Muggs?" - -"Don't ask me to explain now. Hurry up here. And have the telephone -people investigate that number I gave you, and report to you here about -it." - -Then Verbeck called the chief of police, finally locating him at his -home. - -"Chief, there's no use keeping up the bluff any longer," he said. "The -Black Star knows very well that I am still after him. I wish you'd get -over to my apartment as soon as you can. I've got something important to -tell you. Kowen will be here----" - -"Why did you call Kowen?" the chief demanded. "Couldn't we handle it -alone? I understand Kowen won enough glory to-night to last him a -month." - -"Come over, and do your quarreling here!" Verbeck said. - -Kowen was the first to arrive, fifteen minutes later. - -"What's the big tip?" he asked. "Anything to it?" - -"Wait until the chief gets here." - -"Did you send for the chief? Was that necessary, Verbeck? It seems to me -that we worked pretty well together this evening. Why give the police -some of the credit? I lost the Black Star, remember, and I ought to have -a chance to get him back!" - -"There'll be work enough for all of us--and glory enough," Verbeck -assured him. - -Then the chief came storming in and exchanged glares with the sheriff. - -"Before we begin, it might be well to have an understanding," Verbeck -said. "You gentlemen must stop scrapping and become allies. We have a -big job on hand, and we want to wind it up as quickly as possible." - -Then he told them of his conversation with the Black Star, and of what -Muggs had said. - -"Let them go?" Kowen screeched. "I'd let him wreck the town first! Those -crooks are in jail, and they're going to stay there!" - -"That isn't the point," Verbeck interrupted. "It's the little tip Muggs -gave that interests us. According to what he said, the Black Star's -headquarters are near the river, and I believe, when he spoke of the -music, that he meant the resort park." - -"I think you're right!" the chief exclaimed. - -"But where could the headquarters be in that locality?" the sheriff -wanted to know. - -"It's our job to find out," the chief said, "and we'll start at -daylight. If we can locate it before night, perhaps we can stop whatever -it is that the big crook intends to do." - -The telephone bell rang again. The call was for the sheriff, and he -spent some time listening to the person at the other end of the wire. -When he turned toward them again, his face was beaming. - -"It begins to look good," he said. "That was from the manager of the -telephone company. He looked up that number that Landers called. It is a -little summer cottage far up the river beyond the resort park." - -"Great!" the chief exclaimed. "We'll land 'em yet!" - -"But that isn't the funny thing about it. The manager says he sent a man -out there in a machine. There is nobody living in the cottage, and -there hasn't been for months, yet the telephone bills have been paid -regularly." - -"Meaning," said Verbeck, "that the bills are paid by one of the Black -Star's organization. Of course his headquarters are not in the cottage. -But we'll find the place somewhere in that locality." - -"Where do you get that?" Kowen asked. - -"It means simply that somewhere between the cottage and the next station -on the line, the Black Star has plugged in on the wire. When that number -is called, the bell rings in his own headquarters. When he calls, it -appears to the switchboard operator that the number is calling." - -"I believe you've got it!" the chief cried. - -"In the morning, you can go to that cottage and follow the wire, examine -every foot of it, discover where the other wire is plugged in, follow -it, and find the place that we want. Other men can search through the -neighborhood. We're on the right track!" - -For another hour they worked perfecting their plans, and then the chief -and the sheriff, friendly again, took their departure. Verbeck left a -call at the office for an early hour, and made haste to retire and -fortify himself with sleep. - -He was up soon after break of day, had his bath and breakfast, and went -down to get his roadster from the garage, feeling particularly fit. He -drove immediately to police headquarters and went into the private -office of the chief, who with Sheriff Kowen was waiting for him. - -"I had twenty men out there at daybreak working on that telephone line," -the chief said. "They are scattered, of course--look like linemen. In -fact, they are making a bluff at stringing a new line--but they are -searching for the place where the Black Star taps the wire. It wouldn't -surprise me much to find that the Black Star knows as much about our -plans as we know ourselves--he seems to be able to get all the -information he wants--but maybe we can get the better of the fiend this -time!" - -"Are we going to wait here for that wire squad to report?" Kowen asked. - -"No; there is no use in that," the chief replied. "I have sent twenty -more men out there--all in plain clothes. They went out a couple at a -time; have been going out since midnight. Some are near the resort park -and others are scattered through the woods. Did you send your deputies -to the other side, sheriff?" - -"I did; between us we have men on the north, east and south, and the -river is on the west. Maybe we have that crook's headquarters -surrounded, and maybe we haven't." - -"We may as well start out there," Verbeck put in. - -The chief got into the roadster with him; the sheriff had a car of his -own, driven by a deputy. They drove rapidly through the city and out -along the river road. They came to the resort, and got out and parked -their cars. The sheriff and the chief began receiving reports from their -forces. - -All the buildings in the resort had been searched well, and nothing -found. Men had discovered nothing suspicious in the woods. There was a -large fish cannery near, and it had been investigated thoroughly. The -men scattered around the woods were closing in, drawing the net -tighter. - -The wire squad was at work. They had followed the wire from the little -cottage, after making an investigation there and being sure that the -cottage was not the entrance to a subterranean abode used by the Black -Star. Even while the man in charge of the squad was making his report, -word was flashed down the line that the extra wire had been found. - -The sheriff and chief got into Verbeck's machine, and he drove them a -quarter of a mile down the road. The wire had been tapped in a very -clever manner, as one of the electricians of the department explained. -It was running underground, through a small cable. - -The chief called for more of his men, and they began unearthing the -line. It seemed to run straight toward the east, and through the woods. -The chief sent a captain and half a dozen men ahead of the wire squad. - -"We're getting close to them, I think," the chief declared. "I feel that -this is going to be our lucky day." - -After a time they found a telephone instrument attached to the wire and -hidden beneath a heap of brush. Next they came upon the old farmhouse, -with the wire fence around it. There the telephone wire left the ground -and ran from tree to tree through the grove, to disappear into the -building. - -"There!" the chief said. "We'll get the place surrounded----" - -He gave quick orders, and the force of officers began closing in. Within -a few minutes, the house had a circle of determined men around it. -Verbeck and the chief had been watching it closely, while the sheriff -placed the men. They had seen no sign of life. - -"Probably gone--if this is really the place," Verbeck said. "It wouldn't -have been difficult for the Black Star to learn our plans, and he had -all night in which to get away." - -"Well, we'll get in there, anyway," the chief said. "It may be our luck -that he is still there with some of his gang. If he is gone, and had to -get out in a hurry, he might have left something behind that will give -us a clew as to what he intends doing to-night." - -"And we could put a lot of trust in that, couldn't we?" said Roger -Verbeck. "He won over us before, because we gave considerable attention -to some bogus orders he left on a table in a bogus headquarters--don't -forget that." - -"I'm not liable to; the precious newspapers won't let me," said the -chief. - -The men were creeping through the brush now, approaching the fence. -Verbeck had the chief issue an order for them to stop. - -"I don't like the looks of that fence," he said. "You'll notice that the -house is old and weather-beaten, and about to fall to pieces, from its -appearance; but the fence is a substantial one, and new. I have an idea -that the man who touches that fence will meet with serious trouble." - -"By George, it is a new fence!" the chief admitted. - -"Wait!" Verbeck said. - -He crawled forward alone, foot by foot, stopping now and then to glance -toward the old farmhouse, and made his way toward the fence that held -the deadly current. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -END OF THE TRAIL - - -Half a dozen feet from the fence Verbeck stopped. He watched the house -for a couple of minutes, and then advanced another pace. He was within -three feet of the fence now, and he saw what he had expected--wires and -cables of metal cunningly woven in the mesh of the structure itself, and -in such manner that the whole thing would be charged when a current was -turned on. - -The chief had crawled up behind Verbeck. - -"That fence is deadly!" Verbeck said. "The Black Star used something -like this once before, you'll remember, and half a dozen men were -seriously shocked and burned. We don't dare try to pass it at present. -The current may or may not be running through it. We can't take the -chance. If the gate was open, we probably could pass through without -danger, but the gate is a part of the circuit." - -"Well, are we going to let a fence tie us up?" the chief asked. "If the -Black Star and his band are inside, every minute we spend out here gives -them a chance to get ready for us." - -"Warn the men!" Verbeck said. - -The chief sent the word around the circle of officers--nobody was to -touch the fence, since it probably was charged with a deadly current, -and shocks and burns would result. Sheriff Kowen had crawled up to them -through the brush. - -"Look!" he exclaimed suddenly. - -A dog, attracted by the men in the woods, had been running from one -group to another. Now, chasing a stick one of the men had thrown, he -brushed against the fence. A single yelp came from him; and he was -stretched on the ground, apparently lifeless. - -"You see?" Verbeck said. "Perhaps it wouldn't kill a man, but it would -burn him badly, and put him out of the game." - -"We've got to get through!" the chief declared. "And how are we going to -do it?" - -One of the electricians had crawled forward, and they explained the -situation to him. - -"If the current is that strong, we can't fool with it," he said -earnestly. "Electricity isn't a timid plaything at best, and a dose like -that fence hands out is too much for anybody. You'll notice that the dog -hasn't moved; he's dead. And since we can't get through that fence----" - -"We can go over it!" Verbeck added. - -"How?" the chief and sheriff asked in chorus. - -"Bridge the thing," said Verbeck. "We've got men enough, and there are -trees enough." - -"It'll be one ticklish job," the electrician warned. - -"But it can be done," Verbeck declared. "Chief, have all your men watch -the house closely. If anybody in there tries to interfere with me, -bombard the place." - -Verbeck sprang up and ran parallel to the fence for a distance of half a -hundred feet. He had spotted a big tree there that had a projecting -branch not fifteen feet from the ground--a branch half a foot in -diameter that extended over the fence and into the yard about the house. -He swung himself into the tree, reached the branch, and crept out along -it. He crossed over the deadly fence, hesitated a moment, and dropped. -Roger Verbeck was inside. - -He found that he was partially screened from the house by a clump of -brush. He turned his back upon the house and crept toward the fence -again. The chief and sheriff hurried to meet him. - -"Almost all your men can do as I have done," Verbeck said. "We don't -even have to bridge it. Have them come over, one by one, and have the -others watch the house closely. If the Black Star or any of his men are -in there, they know we are after them and are watching us." - -The chief issued the orders. The men made the perilous trip one at a -time, and dropped to the ground beside Verbeck. Twenty men in all -crossed over, and left the others to guard outside the fence, -maintaining the blockade around the house. - -Not a sign had come from within to show that their presence was known. -But Verbeck and those who had fought against the Black Star before knew -that that did not mean safety. It was like the Black Star to wait for -the proper moment before striking. - -"Be careful, you men!" Verbeck warned. "We are fighting the Black Star, -please remember, and he can be unscrupulous at times. You may consider -yourselves in danger from the moment we start toward the house. In his -old headquarters he had some of the most diabolical traps known to man; -and you always find them where you least expect them. Beware of the -doors and windows. Investigate them before you touch them; and if we -get inside the place, be alert continually. You may expect pitfalls, -vapor bombs--anything!" - -The officers scattered and surrounded the house inside the fence. Those -on the outside crept as close as they dared, weapons held ready, and -watched the doors and windows. - -On and on went those inside the fence, until they were almost against -the walls. The chief, the sheriff, and Verbeck were at the front. - -"Doesn't seem to be anybody around," the chief said. "They got wise and -left, I suppose. Well, we'll investigate the place anyway, since we are -here." - -He started up the steps that led to the small veranda at the front of -the house. His foot struck the lowest step. - -There was a sharp explosion, and half the veranda was torn away. Verbeck -and the others reeled backward. A cloud of smoke filled the air; and it -was not the pungent vapor used by the Black Star in his bombs. - -"That was the real thing!" Verbeck declared. - -The chief was pale and trembling as he retreated. - -"I'll get that fiend!" he declared. "Look at the hole that explosion -made in the porch floor! If a man had been over that----" - -"They set it off too quick!" the sheriff said. "We've got to move -carefully, or we'll be having casualties." - -"We must take that chance!" the chief said. "We've got to get that -fiend, and policemen are paid to run into trouble when it is necessary. -Into the house, men! Get in any way that you can! Try to take care of -yourselves, but get in!" - -The officers cheered and shouted. They plunged toward windows and -doors. They smashed panes of glass in, and hurled themselves against -doors as if they knew no fear. - -Half a dozen explosions came, but no man was injured. Here and there a -policeman made an entrance, and others followed him. Within five minutes -Verbeck and the chief and Kowen found that all were inside, gathered in -the big hall at the front of the house, and that no man had received a -scratch. - -"I guess we're on the right trail, sure enough!" the chief said. - -"And this is where we must be careful," declared Roger Verbeck. "This is -where we are liable to run into traps." - -The search of the house began. There were but two floors and the -basement, and the search started at the top. There the officers found -nothing except unoccupied rooms that were filled with dust. They even -went into the garret, and found nothing except a heap of discarded -clothing that looked as if it had been there for years. - -Next they searched the ground floor. In the rear was a kitchen, almost -immaculate, with its pots and pans and stores of food. There were three -bed-chambers that appeared to be in constant use. And that was all. - -"I suppose it is in the basement, as usual," Verbeck said. - -"Careful, men!" the chief warned. "If they are in the basement, they'll -put up a fight. That big crook knows what is in store for him when he's -caught, so you don't want to bank too much on that old bunk of his that -he abhors violence. A cornered rat will put up a stiff fight!" - -They found the basement door. Roger Verbeck went forward, grasped the -knob, and jerked the door open suddenly. Again there was a rending -explosion, and the panels and framework were shattered. Back through the -hall staggered Verbeck and the others. The vapor the master crook used -was mingled with the smoke of the explosion, and was sweeping through -the hall. - -But the police had been prepared for it. They ran to the open windows -and inhaled the fresh air, remaining there until the poisonous fumes had -been swept out of the open front door. Then they rushed back into the -hall. - -Before them was a stairway shrouded in dense darkness. Verbeck took an -electric torch in one hand and his automatic in the other, and began the -descent, a detective immediately behind him. He flashed the torch on the -stairs, hesitated before treading upon each one, made his way step by -step toward the bottom, expecting every instant to hear the crash of -another explosion. - -He reached the end of the flight, and found himself in a narrow hall. -Along this he went, a file of other men behind him. He came to a door. - -"This seems to be the place," he whispered. "If they are inside, we are -due for a warm reception." - -He grasped the handle and jerked the door open. This time there was no -explosion. He flashed his torch again. In front of the door was a heavy -curtain of some sort. - -Verbeck put out his hand and moved the curtain aside gently. He could -see into the room--could see in the path of the electric torch, and that -was all. - -Verbeck knew that the situation was precarious. It meant something to -enter a dark room in which the Black Star and some of his men might be -waiting. It took courage, the more so since Roger Verbeck was well -acquainted with the master rogue's methods, and realized that the Black -Star was fighting for freedom now. - -"Hold the curtain--and wait!" Verbeck whispered to the man nearest him. - -He slipped inside the curtain and stood with his back against it. He had -extinguished the torch. There was not a glimmer of light, not the -slightest sound. - -Verbeck held his automatic ready, and suddenly flashed the torch in his -left hand. He played it down the length of the room, sweeping the streak -of light from side to side. - -"In!" he cried to the others. "Torches!" - -They crowded into the room, their lights flashing. The room was -thoroughly illuminated. The chief gave a cry that was echoed by the -sheriff and the others. - -Without a doubt, they were in the Black Star's headquarters. Verbeck -knew the room instantly for the one in which he had been prisoner for a -short time. There were the long table, the blackboards, and on the table -a black robe and mask that had been discarded by some member of the -band. - -"Careful!" the chief warned. - -"I don't think there is any need of caution," said Roger Verbeck. "I -have an idea that neither the Black Star nor any of his people are -around the place. He knew we had got on the right trail--and he has -moved. The Black Star always has another headquarters prepared, -remember. He moved half a dozen times the last time we fought against -him. There is a lamp on the table--one of you men light it." - -Verbeck walked across the room to the blackboard, upon which there was -some fine writing. - -"I thought so!" he exclaimed. - -This is what he read: - - GENTLEMEN: I am aware that you are going to locate the place where - I live and work, and so I suppose I am forced to move. Had not that - fool of a Landers telephoned me from the roof of the hotel, had not - Roger Verbeck overheard the number he called, I would have been - safe here as long as I wished to remain. - - I am leaving for a new place that already has been prepared for me. - I am taking Muggs along as a sort of hostage. There is no rush, - since I have all night to make the move. - - When I go, I shall leave bombs attached to some of the windows and - doors, and connected with the veranda steps. They will annoy you, - perhaps, and make you think that you are brave men rushing into - danger. It is just a little joke. - - For this inconvenience, the city shall be made to pay dearly, of - course. It costs me something each time I move my headquarters. I - have to leave furniture behind, and I have to inform all my people - of the new location. But the people of the city shall pay! - To-night, I strike, and I shall strike hard! - -"Fooled again!" the chief shrieked, in rage. "And we were on the right -trail, too!" - -"We'll get him yet!" declared Sheriff Kowen. "Some of his people will -make another slip----" - -"And, in the meantime," Roger Verbeck interrupted, "we'd better be -preparing for to-night and what it may bring forth. After this, the -Black Star will strike with twice his usual strength and cunning. He has -said he would--and the crook always keeps his word!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -THE BIG BLOW - - -Reduced to a state of unconsciousness by means of a vapor gun, Muggs was -moved, some time during the night, to the new headquarters. When he -regained consciousness he found himself in a room similar to the old -one, except that it was somewhat smaller. Muggs did not know in what -section of the city he was. - -The Black Star was speaking over the telephone, and as Muggs sat up on -the couch, he hung up the receiver and turned around. - -"Well, Muggs, we have had a bit of excitement," the master crook said. -"Verbeck risked his life to get to the roof of a certain hotel, but he -managed to get a telephone number that caused us considerable trouble. I -have just received a report from one of my men. He tells me that -Verbeck, and a squad of police and deputies, have surrounded the old -house and are creeping upon it as if it contained a crowd of desperate -characters. They will have some excitement, too, Muggs, and then will -discover nothing but an empty nest." - -"Yeh?" Muggs asked. "They'll discover you, too, one of these days; and -then I hope they give you life!" - -"Inclined toward violence again, Muggs, when I have been treating you so -nicely? I am really ashamed of you." - -"As if I cared!" Muggs scoffed. - -"I am thinking of taking you along to-night, Muggs, when we call upon -Mrs. Richard Branniton and her guests. But if you are not a good boy, I -shall leave you at home." - -The Black Star chuckled and turned toward the end of the table. The bell -on the wall tinkled, and a robed and masked man entered and went to the -blackboard, which here was installed on one side of the room. - -"Number Three," he wrote. - -"Countersign?" - -"Colorado." - -"Report," wrote the Black Star. - -"Lord Sambery and Sir Burton Banks arrived on time and now are at the -Branniton house." - -"Any new developments?" - -"None have been learned. We are watching closely," wrote Number Three. - -"I have decided to seize Branniton himself to-night, with the other two, -and hold him for ransom," the Black Star wrote. "You will have your -squad attend to it, and be sure that they do not fail. The man who -prosecuted me must be punished." - -"I shall attend to it, and warn the men that they must not fail." - -"There have been no changes in transportation means?" - -"None whatever." - -"That is all. Retire," the Black Star wrote. - -The man backed through the door and closed it after him. - -"You're goin' to run against a snag," Muggs told the Black Star. "You're -bitin' off more than you can chew, and it's likely to choke you!" - -"I scarcely think so, Muggs. This little affair is so well planned that -there can be no failure. It is the master stroke of my career. It will -add to my fame, and, at the same time, it will be highly profitable. -When the news gets out, the country will be shocked." - -"You go to monkeyin' with the government, and you'll get yours!" Muggs -told him again. "Them gents are guests of the government, ain't they?" - -"I should think that they were, Muggs. They are here on very important -international business. I may mention that it is so important that I -expect to collect the ransom within forty-eight hours. I understand -there are certain negotiations pending, and that there can be no delay." - -The Black Star sat down at the end of the table and began consulting his -memorandum book again, completely ignoring Muggs, who remained sitting -on the couch. Muggs' hands were lashed together, and he knew that he was -being watched continually. And yet he felt that he had a duty to -perform. - -"I ain't helpin' the boss at all," Muggs mused. "I tried to, once, and I -fell down. If this big crook puts that over to-night, it'll make the -boss a bigger laughingstock than before. Gee, I wish I could do -somethin'!" - -Verbeck was wishing the same thing late that afternoon. When it came to -locating the new headquarters of the master crook, the police and -deputies admitted that they did not know which way to turn. - -Meanwhile the city was in terror. The Black Star had said that he would -strike to-night--and strike hard. Banks and financial institutions were -sending in frantic demands that they be given adequate police -protection. Jewelry establishments were doing the same. Private -detective agencies were swamped with orders for operatives. From one end -of the city to the other, men and women asked the question, where would -the Black Star strike? - -Mrs. Richard Branniton was not thinking of the master rogue. She was -busy entertaining her distinguished guests. Luncheon had been served, -and they were being shown the city. Then they returned to the Branniton -residence, and sought their suites to get some rest before the reception -of the evening. - -Branniton had engaged four more private detectives, making eight in all, -and had planned to have them scattered about the house. But that was the -ordinary safeguard against ordinary jewel thieves, and had nothing to do -with the Black Star. Branniton was not thinking of the master crook, -either. His mind was upon the fact that he was gathering political -influence by entertaining the two famous diplomats. - -Late that afternoon, Roger Verbeck went to police headquarters for a -conference with the chief and Sheriff Kowen. - -"We can't do anything except have our men waiting and ready," the chief -said. "I've received about a thousand reports from my men, and there -isn't one of them worth the paper it's written on. They seem to think -they've got to report something or get into trouble with me. The papers -are right--the police are a gang of fools and court jesters!" - -"Well, what can we do?" Kowen complained. "Did we get credit for getting -on that crook's trail? We did not. The evening papers are roasting us -because we didn't nab him. I'm getting pretty sick of this business!" - -"We wouldn't be in this business if you hadn't been asleep and let that -gang get the Black Star out of jail!" the chief reminded him. - -"Wait!" Verbeck commanded. "Are we going to fight among ourselves? Is -that a way to catch the Black Star?" - -"What's the matter with Muggs?" the chief demanded. - -"The chances are that Muggs is not able to do anything," Verbeck -replied. "I can imagine that he is being watched closely since he gave -me that little tip over the telephone; and I'm hoping that nothing worse -has happened to him. Muggs, you may be sure, will help us if he gets the -chance." - -Nightfall found them still at police headquarters. They had sent out for -something to eat. The police reserves had been gathered. Kowen had his -deputies ready. The Black Star, they knew, might strike at eight in the -evening, at midnight, at three in the morning. They had to be ready. -Their one hope was to get a quick alarm, to reach the scene in time to -capture the master rogue, or at least important members of his band. - -The residence of Richard Branniton was a blaze of light. Guests were -arriving--prominent men, beautiful women, bejeweled leaders of the -city's society. An orchestra was playing in the ballroom. Men and women -were greeting one another, laughing and chatting. - -The Branniton residence was surrounded by wide lawns studded with big -maple trees. Here and there were dark spaces not reached by the lights -from either the house or the street. Two blocks away was a small park. - -At nine thirty o'clock several men approached this park singly, each -acting as if he was going about his business or hurrying to his home. -They followed the walks, and now and then they passed and whispered a -few words to one another. - -More men happened to walk through the alley in the rear of the Branniton -house. Some of these men had bundles beneath their arms. There was a -door in the alley wall, and before it was a caterer's wagon. Men were -carrying refreshments into the house. - -At one of the corners of the residence, in the rear, there was a small -veranda that was shrouded in darkness. While the caterer's men were -carrying in the provisions, several of the other men, who had been in -the alley, slipped through the door and sought the dark veranda. -Crouched there, they waited. - -Here and there a shadow flitted across the lawn from dark spot to dark -spot--but the shadows were men. A big limousine stopped on a side street -half a block away, the shades drawn at all its windows. A truck stalled -on the other side street, apparently, and four men in it worked at the -engine. Finally one left, saying he would telephone for help. - -Across the avenue from the Branniton residence a crowd had gathered to -watch the guests arrive, muttering when two police officers urged them -to move on. In the crowd were several men who gave one another knowing -looks now and then. - -The last guests arrived. The hour of ten struck. Inside the Branniton -house the orchestra was playing and couples were dancing. Mrs. Richard -Branniton was beaming upon her guests, and her husband was seeking to -make an impression upon Sir Burton Banks and Lord Sambery. Branniton had -hopes of receiving an important diplomatic post abroad. - -As the hour of ten struck, the men beside the dark rear veranda -unfastened the bundles they had been carrying, and put on black robes -and masks. More men approached the house from the other side, keeping in -the shadows, and when they reached the darkness near the wall put on -robes and masks. - -At ten minutes after the hour of ten, thirty men had gathered beside the -dark veranda, and fifteen more were scattered near the house, on guard. -In the midst of these thirty men, the Black Star suddenly appeared. - -"I want no mistakes!" he whispered. "Is every man in his proper place?" - -"Yes, sir," one of them replied. - -"One of the waiters is a man of ours. Has he reported?" - -"Not yet, sir." - -They waited a few minutes, and another man slipped around the corner of -the house. - -"Everything is ready, sir," he reported. He was the waiter. - -"How soon can you do your part?" the Black Star asked. - -"In about five minutes." - -"Off for about three minutes, and then on again!" - -"Yes, sir," said the waiter, and he slipped away and reëntered the -house. - -The Black Star whispered a command, and the men scattered, keeping well -in the darkness, but gradually surrounding the house, except in front, -where it was brilliantly lighted. - -And suddenly the lights in the house went out! - -Feminine shrieks, boisterous laughter, jests came from those within. To -them it was a joke--a fuse burned out at a critical time. Branniton -called upon his servants to ascertain the cause of the trouble -immediately and remedy it. - -Then, as suddenly as they had been extinguished, the lights came on -again. The waiter had manipulated the switch in the basement as the -Black Star had instructed. - -Mrs. Richard Branniton's guests shrieked in alarm now. The doors had -been closed; the shades had been drawn at the windows. And before each -door and window stood a man dressed in a black robe, with a black mask -over his face. Each one so dressed held a weapon menacingly before him. - -A voice from the hallway caused them to turn. They saw a tall man -dressed in a robe, his face covered with a mask--and on the hood of his -robe was a flaming star of jet. - -"Do not make a move, ladies and gentlemen!" he cried. "I am the Black -Star, and these are my men! We will use violence if we are forced to do -so, though we'd rather not. I may mention that the few detectives you -had in the house have been taken care of, and you are absolutely at our -mercy. The telephone wires are cut, too. We are here to make a -collection of rare jewels and ornaments, and to carry away with us three -men." - -"You crook!" Branniton cried, rushing toward him. - -The Black Star raised his arm. A vapor gun exploded. Richard Branniton -crashed to the floor. Women screamed. - -"He is not injured--merely rendered unconscious!" the Black Star called -out. "If you faint, ladies, I am afraid that nobody will be able to take -care of you, so please don't do it. Line up against that wall, -ladies--and the gentlemen against this one. Remember--my men will fire -at the first move any of you make!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -MUGGS TAKES A CHANCE - - -It was an evening of varied experiences for Muggs, one that he liked to -remember later as being the acme in adventure and chance taking. - -Muggs had been held a prisoner in the headquarters room at the place to -which he had been moved, listening to the Black Star perfect his -arrangements for his descent upon the Branniton residence--a prisoner -who was allowed to see and to hear, yet was helpless to give a warning. - -Now and then he got up from the couch and walked back and forth across -the room, while the master criminal chuckled behind his mask, and -frequently indulged his taste for sarcastic remarks. - -"My dear Muggs, it would be a feather in your cap, would it not, if you -were able to tell the authorities all that you know now?" the Black Star -asked. "What a sensation you could cause by walking into police -headquarters and shrieking your information into the ears of the chief -and the sheriff and Roger Verbeck! But I am afraid that you will not be -able to do anything of the sort, Muggs. However, we all have our little -disappointments in life." - -"You'll have somethin' worse than a disappointment before this thing is -over!" Muggs snarled. - -"You are still inclined toward violence--eh, Muggs? You should cultivate -a more peaceful nature, such as I possess. Violence merely destroys -itself, my dear Muggs." - -"Yeh, and I'll probably destroy you before we make an end of this!" -Muggs declared. "I tell you that you can't get away with it! You're -about due to strangle on what you've bitten off!" - -The Black Star did not reply to that; he merely chuckled and went back -to the end of the table to consult his memorandum book again. It -appeared to Muggs that the master crook consulted that book to a great -extent this day, acting as if he felt that there was some minor detail -he had forgotten. - -After a time, the little bell on the wall tinkled, and a robed and -masked figure entered the room and went to the blackboard. Muggs glanced -at him in disgust. The Black Star's men had been reporting continually -during the day. - -"Number Five," the man wrote. - -"Countersign?" wrote the Black Star on his blackboard. - -"Everglades." - -"Report." - -"There appears to be no suspicion as to what we really intend to do -to-night. The police reserves are being held in waiting, and the sheriff -has his deputies ready for action, but those seem to be all the -arrangements that have been made." - -"How about Verbeck?" the Black Star wrote. - -"He is at police headquarters now, waiting for the alarm so he can take -the trail." - -"Good. That is all," the Black Star wrote. - -The member of the band bowed and backed through the door. The Black Star -wrote something in the memorandum book, closed it and put it into a -drawer in the table. Then he turned toward Muggs again. - -"Muggs, I have decided to have you remain here this evening," he said, -"I cannot spare the time to watch you, and so shall not take you with -me." - -"Thanks for that much!" Muggs growled. - -"You will remain in this room, Muggs, and I shall have to keep your -wrists lashed together, of course. I know that it will be -uncomfortable--but that is the penalty for discovering my old -headquarters and forcing us to move. I can't have you interfering with -my plans to-night, you know." - -"If I had a chance, I'd interfere with 'em, all right!" - -"But the chance is missing--eh, Muggs? Do you mean you'd try to prevent -me from making a fortune for my band by running away with some jewels -and a couple of diplomats?" - -"You haven't run away with them yet," Muggs told him. - -"It is only a matter of an hour or so, my dear Muggs. Probably I shall -bring those diplomats here. You'll have the chance, Muggs, to associate -with a lord and a knight." - -The Black Star rang, and his servant entered. - -"I am going to leave our prisoner here to-night when I leave," the Black -Star said. "I expect to find him here when I return. You understand?" - -"He'll be here, sir!" the servant promised. - -"As long as he behaves himself, give him the liberty of this room," the -master criminal went on to say. "If he does not behave, handle him in -your own way." - -"Yes, sir." - -"Tell the mechanic to be ready to start in ten minutes." - -The servant hurried out. The Black Star glanced into his memorandum book -again, and paced the floor, now and then looking at the little clock on -the table. After a time, the servant returned. - -"The mechanic is ready, sir," he reported. - -"Good. Take care of Muggs while I am gone, but do not pester him so long -as he is a good boy." - -"He'd better not pester me!" Muggs growled. - -The Black Star wrapped his robe closely around him, and put on the heavy -ulster over it. He looked at Muggs once more, his eyes glittering -through the mask. Then he chuckled, and hurried through the door. - -Muggs threw himself full length on the couch and glared at the man who -acted as the master rogue's servant. - -"I'm gettin' mighty tired of this," he complained. "The eats are all -right, and I suppose I hadn't ought to kick, but it ain't nice to have -your wrists tied together all the time." - -"If you're schemin' to get me to unfasten 'em, you ain't goin' to work -the scheme, I can tell you that!" the servant declared. "Them wrists of -yours stay just as they are, far as I'm concerned." - -"You'd better never let me get 'em loose!" Muggs warned him. - -"You wouldn't do much if they were." - -"Is that so? I could separate you into sections in about ten minutes!" -Muggs told him. - -The servant laughed, sat down at the end of the table, and started to -smoke. Muggs glared at him, rolled over, and turned his back to the -room and the man in it. - -Muggs might not have shown it outwardly, but he was almost frantic. The -Black Star and his men were on their way, he knew. Before long they -would surround the Branniton residence. They would get inside, rob women -guests of their jewels, kidnap the two diplomats and Branniton, and rush -away again before the police could reach the scene. Once more the public -would howl, and the newspapers would ask why the police and Roger -Verbeck did not capture the master criminal who did much as he pleased -with the wealth of the town. - -Muggs did not know, of course, where he was at the present moment. This -new headquarters might be out at the edge of the city, or in the very -heart of it. But Muggs did know that, if he could escape from the -building, there would be a chance of warning the police and Verbeck, -possibly in time for them to do something. - -He tested the cords that lashed his wrists, and told himself for the -hundredth time that they could not be removed. Everything had been taken -from his pockets, including his knife. He had glanced around the -headquarters room whenever he had a chance, and he had failed to see -anything that might help him. - -To get his wrists free--that was the first task. And then he would have -to escape from the place, wherever it was. He did not know whether the -servant was the only man remaining there; the Black Star might have -others around, on guard. Nor were men all that had to be considered. -There might be traps in the house, there might be another deadly fence, -or something like that. - -Muggs was beginning to feel desperate. He knew that every second had its -value now. He rolled over, sat up on the couch, and yawned. - -"I sure hope the Black Star turns me loose to-morrow," he said. "He -hinted that he might, after he pulled off to-night's stunt." - -"Yes, and maybe he won't, unless the sheriff lets Landers and those two -women go," the servant said. - -"Gee, the sheriff won't do that. Even my boss couldn't make him do it. -He's got those three in the jug, and there they'll stay, unless the -Black Star rescues them himself." Muggs got up and walked slowly to the -table. "There ain't any law against me havin' a smoke, is there?" he -asked. - -"Help yourself--anything like that goes as long as you behave," the -servant replied. - -"The Black Star has a good brand of cigarettes, I'll say that much for -him," said Muggs. "My boss smokes the same kind." - -"You're kinder crazy about that boss of yours, ain't you?" the servant -asked. - -"Sure! Why not? He saved my life, and he certainly has helped me since. -He gives me a steady job, good money, and treats me decent." - -"He ain't like the general run of bosses, then." - -"I should say not!" Muggs declared. - -He put a cigarette in his mouth and picked up a match. It was an awkward -task with his bound wrists. He struck the match, held the flame to the -end of the cigarette, and puffed a cloud of smoke. - -"If every man had a boss like mine," Muggs continued, "the world would -be a better place. I had a boss in Paris once that was a terror. I -almost strangled him one day." - -"Why didn't you?" the servant asked. - -Muggs dropped the flaming match--into the filled wastebasket. - -"Oh, somethin' happened to stop me--somebody got his lamps on me, or -somethin'. And I didn't happen to get a chance again. I had to do a -dodge. The cops was after me." - -"Cops?" - -"Say, I've had real cops after me in my day!" Muggs boasted. "I cut out -that line of life a few years ago, when I met Mr. Verbeck, but before -that I was somethin' of a terror--especially in Paris." - -"Paris? I've never had a chance to go there," said the servant. - -"You want to go when you get a roll, some time. It's some town, -boy--_some_ town!" - -Muggs puffed at the cigarette again, and then turned toward the couch. -The servant gave a cry and sprang from his chair. - -"You cursed fool!" he shrieked. "You dropped that match in them papers!" - -Muggs whirled around, astonishment in his face. "Put it out--or the -whole darned place will burn down!" he cried. "If it catches on them -curtains and things----" - -He darted forward himself, snatched a small rug from the floor, and -began beating at the flaming wastebasket. The servant was working on the -other side of the table, trying to watch Muggs at the same time, but -the latter seemed to be eager to put put the fire. - -Muggs smashed at the flaming paper with his rug--and managed to scatter -it. He ran from burning sheet to burning sheet, beating at the flames. -The servant was not so watchful now. Muggs seemed intent only on putting -out the fire and preventing a serious blaze; but as he fought the flames -he managed now and then to thrust his hands and wrists into the fire! - -The flames seared his flesh, but Muggs ignored that. He saw the cords -that bound his wrists begin to smoke. He saw fire attack one of them. He -thrust his wrists into the fire again, as he beat at a sheet of flaming -paper, and tugged at his bonds. The fire was almost out now. He tugged -at his bonds again. - -They gave--they snapped--Muggs was free! - -He gave a cry of relief, whirled around--launched himself straight at -the Black Star's servant! - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII - -THE ALARM - - -The man realized in that instant that he had been tricked. He snarled -like a beast and sprang to one side. - -Muggs was upon him before he could utter a cry. They clashed, each -trying to find the other's throat. Muggs found that this would be no -easy battle. Here was a man who was used to rough tactics, such as did -not meet with the approval of the Black Star. - -Across the room they fought, Muggs trying to get the advantage, trying -to keep the other from shrieking for help, trying to get in a blow that -would silence his adversary for a time. - -The servant fought to carry out his orders that Muggs should be kept -prisoner; but Muggs fought with the knowledge that he was trying to -prevent the Black Star from having success in his latest undertaking, -trying to help Roger Verbeck to victory. - -Back and forth across the room they continued to battle. They fought -fiercely, and both were becoming exhausted. Now they were on their feet, -wrestling, and now they were upon the floor, rolling over and over, -striking at each other, reaching for each other's throat and eyes. - -And finally Muggs managed to get the grasp for which he had been -striving. The servant gave a groan of pain, and his hold on the valet -relaxed. Muggs choked--choked, and finally sprang to his feet and -looked down at the unconscious man. - -He would be unconscious for some time, Muggs knew, as he did not intend -to waste precious time binding and gagging him. He ran to the door -through which the Black Star had gone, and stood there for a moment to -listen. He heard nobody outside--remembered that nobody had been -attracted by the sounds of combat. - -Muggs lifted the curtain, opened the door, and stepped into a dark hall. -He had no weapon, no electric torch, not so much as a match in his -pocket. He ran lightly to the end of the hall and found another door. -This he opened cautiously, an inch at a time. He found that it opened -into a room that was dimly lighted, a room that did not seem to have -seen much use. - -Muggs hurried in and closed and locked the door behind him. On the -opposite side there was another door; Muggs listened at that for a time, -and then opened it. He found himself facing another hall. - -He hurried into it, and went on. He came to a flight of stairs and went -up. He realized, now, that he had been in a basement. At the top of the -stairs was a large room, half filled with rusted machinery and empty -packing cases. - -Muggs stooped and picked up from the floor a short iron bar; he had a -weapon now. On he went, across the big room to a window. He looked out. - -He was in the manufacturing district, he knew. This building was an old, -abandoned factory. He could see the yard filled with scrap iron, the -high fence around it, and, beyond, the empty street. Farther beyond that -was the city, flashing with light. - -Muggs started to raise the window. It stuck, but he managed to pry it up -with the bar of iron, stopping now and then to listen and watch. He -couldn't convince himself that the Black Star had left no guard other -than the servant now unconscious below. That wasn't at all like the -Black Star, Muggs thought. There must be a trap somewhere. - -Then he remembered that the Black Star had been forced to move quickly. -Perhaps this headquarters had not been completed when the master -criminal had taken up his abode there. - -Muggs got the window up, put out his head and looked around. It was -pitch dark beneath the window and along the wall. Muggs got through, -lowered himself and dropped. - -He crouched against the wall, listening, the bar of iron clutched in his -hand, ready for instant fight if occasion demanded it. Then he started -following the wall, going toward where he had noticed a gate in the high -fence. - -He reached the corner of the building, and glanced around it cautiously. -Not far from him, he seemed to see something move. Muggs was not sure at -first whether it was an elusive shadow or a man. He decided an instant -later that it was a man. - -He scarcely breathed now. He had escaped thus far, and he did not intend -to be stopped. He did not intend to waste much time, either. Even now, -perhaps, the Black Star and his followers were surrounding the Branniton -residence. Even now, perhaps, they were robbing women of their jewels, -rendering the three men they had decided to abduct unconscious, and -preparing to carry them away. - -Like a shadow, the iron bar held ready, Muggs crept along the wall in -the direction of the guard. - -He was within ten feet of him when a match glowed. The flame shot up, -and Muggs could see that the match was burning in the man's cupped -hands, and that he was trying to light a cigar. Muggs covered the ten -feet in two springs, the iron bar swept through the air and landed. -There was a little whimper, and the Black Star's guard was stretched on -the ground. - -Muggs turned and ran across the yard. He had decided not to try the -gate, for there might be another guard there. He sprang, grasped the top -of the fence, running the risk that it might be charged and deadly, -found that such was not the case, and drew himself up. A moment later, -he was in the street. - -Muggs never had been much of a runner, but he ran to-night. Up the -street he went, his elbows glued to his sides, head bent forward, -stumbling and staggering over the rough cobblestones, but making -excellent progress. There was no person on the street, no vehicle in -sight. This was an old manufacturing district far down the river, where -there was nothing to attract people. Only a few street lights were -burning, and they were far apart. - -Almost breathless, Muggs ran on. His heart was pounding at his ribs, his -side pained, his breathing was labored. He turned a corner into another -street, and continued running! - -Would he never reach a telephone? Would he never run across a member of -the police force? Was there nobody in that end of town who could help -him? Block after block he ran, always looking for a light, for a dingy -saloon, for some place where he could get into communication with police -headquarters and give the alarm. He was in despair; he felt that he -could not keep up much longer. - -Presently he saw lights ahead of him, and felt hope and joy surge within -him. Ahead, only two blocks away, was one of the barns of the city -street railway. - -Panting, exhausted, Muggs stumbled through the entrance and ran into the -little office. Half a dozen conductors and motormen sprang from their -benches and hurried toward him. - -"Quick--telephone!" Muggs gasped. "Police----" - -He saw the telephone instrument on the wall, and lurched toward it. He -grasped the receiver, tore it from the hook, began calling into the -transmitter. One of the conductors was trying to talk to him; one of the -motormen was trying to stop him from using the instrument until he -explained. Muggs threw out a foot and kicked him away. - -"Police headquarters! Police headquarters!" he shrieked. "This -headquarters? Give me the chief! This is Muggs! Yes--Muggs! -Hurry--hurry!--That you, chief? Mr. Verbeck there? This is Muggs. I -just--got away. Black Star's gang--going to raid--Branniton house--get -jewels--kidnap them swells----" - -And then Muggs sank slowly against the wall. - -His words had electrified the conductors and motormen. They picked him -up, and one of them continued the conversation, telling what had -happened, but he soon found himself talking to nobody. The chief had -recognized Muggs' voice and that had been enough. - -The conductors and motormen threw water into Muggs' face, and he gasped -and sat up. They helped him to a bench and sat him there, while he -fought for breath, grasped his chest where it pained, struggled to -regain his strength. - -"Got--to get there----" he gasped. - -"Where?" one of the men cried. - -"Richard Branniton's house--in the--West End!" - -"The foreman's flivver's out in front; he'll let us use it," a conductor -cried. "I don't go on duty for an hour yet. Come on!" - -He ran toward the curb, and Muggs staggered after him. Muggs got into -the cheap little car. The obliging conductor cranked it and sprang in -beside him. - -"We'll get there quick, or we'll shake every bolt and nut off the blamed -thing!" he said. - -The flivver lurched away down the street. - - * * * * * - -It would have done Muggs good had he been able to see the effect of his -message at police headquarters. The chief sprang from his chair -shrieking the news. Verbeck and the sheriff dashed with him through the -assembly room and out to the street, and as they went, the chief shouted -his orders. The reserves ran out and sprang into the automobiles, the -deputies did the same. - -"Good Muggs!" Verbeck cried, as he drove like a fiend through the -streets. "I knew he'd do it--if he had a chance!" - -Verbeck swung between two street cars, causing two motormen to turn pale -for an instant, and then to curse joy riders. Strung out behind the -powerful roadsters were the police cars. The sirens were not working -now. The chief had issued orders that they were not to be used if it -could be avoided, as it would indicate to the Black Star and his men -that they were coming. - -"Hope we get him this time!" the chief shrieked into Verbeck's ear. -"Drive, man, drive!" - -Verbeck drove. He forced the powerful roadster to do its utmost. He -called upon the expensive engine to pay for itself this night. He swung -around other vehicles, dashed around corners, swept up hills like a -comet. - -They passed through the retail district, and got on a wide avenue where -there was not so much traffic, and where better speed could be made. And -now they were in the section of better residences, speeding on. - -They turned another corner--and the Branniton house was but four blocks -away. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX - -CAUGHT IN THE NET - - -At the Branniton residence, Richard Branniton was stretched on the -floor, unconscious from the effects of a vapor gun. The men were -standing against one wall, the ladies against another. The Black Star's -men guarded the doors and windows and watched the guests. The master -criminal himself was in the center of the room. - -"I must have all your jewels, ladies," he said. "You need not be -alarmed; you shall not be harmed if you conduct yourselves properly. And -you gentlemen will be safer if you indulge in no attempt to better your -present condition. I assure you that you are at the mercy of my band." - -He made a sign, and three of his men took bags from beneath their robes -and started toward the line of women. - -"Take off your jewelry and toss it into the bags," the Black Star -directed. "Married ladies may retain their wedding rings and their -engagement rings, but must give up everything else. That is just to show -that I am not hard-hearted, as some persons would have the world -believe." - -He laughed gleefully as his men began their task. Terrified women -removed their jewels and handed them over. Weeping women, hysterical -women, surrendered necklaces, brooches, rings. The bags were filled -rapidly, and the Black Star's men stepped back again. - -"And now we have something else to do," the Black Star said. "Which of -you gentlemen is Lord Sambery?" - -One of them stepped forward, a dignified man of perhaps fifty. "I have -that honor," he said stiffly. - -"I admire you greatly, sir," the Black Star said. "I have read a great -deal about the work you have done. I admire you so much that I insist -you become my guest for a time." - -"I beg your pardon?" stammered the astonished nobleman. - -"I insist upon it, sir!" the Black Star said. "And where is Sir Burton -Banks?" - -"I am here!" - -"I admire you, too, sir, and you shall be my guest also," the Black Star -declared. - -"Allow me to decline your hospitality," said Sir Burton Banks stiffly. - -"But I cannot allow you to do so," the master criminal said, chuckling. -"You see, you mean money to me." - -"How is that?" Sir Burton Banks demanded. - -"Not your money," the Black Star said. "It has occurred to us that you -two gentlemen are in this country on an important mission, and that your -time is very valuable. We have an idea that, if you should be detained, -certain persons and personages would pay a handsome sum for your -release." - -"Why, confound the fellow! He means to abduct us and hold us for -ransom!" Lord Sambery exclaimed. - -"You have guessed it," the Black Star said. - -"But this is the United States of America, sir, and we are in one of its -greatest cities! I never heard of such a thing! The idea is -preposterous! You can't do it!" - -"Can't we?" asked the Black Star with a laugh. "It's a very simple -thing. We just render you unconscious and carry you away--and you can -never be found." - -"Why, you dare not!" cried Sir Burton Banks. - -"I am not particularly prone to fear," the master criminal said. "I have -dared many things, and accomplished many things harder than kidnaping a -couple of gentlemen. You need fear nothing; you shall be treated with -every courtesy." - -"I--I shall fight!" Lord Sambery declared. - -"You are an elderly man, sir, and, also, I abhor violence," the Black -Star reminded him. "You cannot fight long against one of my vapor guns, -your lordship." - -"I--I--my country will have you punished for this!" - -"The first thing will be to capture me, your lordship," said the master -criminal. "I was captured before, but managed to escape, as perhaps you -know. But we are wasting valuable time in conversation, and I'll have -ample time to talk to you during the next two days. I am forced to have -you gentlemen put to sleep for a short time, but I assure you there are -no bad after effects." - -"You--you----" Sir Burton stammered. - -"It is quite useless to protest, or to attempt to fight," the Black Star -informed him. "By the way, I am going to take Mr. Branniton along, too." - -"You fiend!" Branniton's wife cried. - -"He shall not be harmed, my dear madam, but it will cost him something -to regain his liberty. He caused me considerable annoyance; he was the -prosecuting attorney at my trial." - -"And he shall be again!" Mrs. Branniton retorted. - -"Perhaps--we shall see! I have no idea of standing trial again, my dear -madam. By the time I am captured, your husband probably will be a United -States senator, or an ambassador abroad. I realize that he is a man of -promise." - -The Black Star signaled to two of his men, and they advanced toward Lord -Sambery and Sir Burton Banks. The latter showed that he intended to -fight, regardless of what the master criminal had said. But the Black -Star's men rushed in, discharged their vapor guns, and darted back -again. The two diplomats toppled over on the floor. A woman shrieked. - -"They are not harmed a bit," the Black Star assured them. "They will -simply awake from a sleep, and feel quite fit. Ladies, I regret that I -interrupted your little party. I suggest you continue it after I leave -with my men. In reality, you should thank me. You will have something to -talk about for the remainder of your lives; and women, I have heard, -love to talk!" - -He backed toward the entrance to the hall. - -A shrill whistle came from the lawn outside--another--a third. The Black -Star whirled toward the door. His men stood still, listening. Into the -room rushed a robed and masked member of the band. - -"Police, sir--all around the place!" he cried. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX - -MUGGS ARRIVES - - -Verbeck's roadster was stopped on the corner nearest the Branniton -residence. Verbeck and the chief sprang out and darted across the walk. -The police autos came up and discharged their loads of officers. The -chief issued his orders rapidly. - -"Surround the place! Get into the alley! Pick up everybody that looks -suspicious--and be ready to fight and fight hard! Let's get them this -time!" - -Officers hurried to every side of the house, poured into the alley, -rushed across the lawn. They caught the men with the limousine, and -those with the truck that apparently was stalled, and held them for -investigation later. They drew a close net around the Branniton place, -and the chief and Verbeck, with half a dozen trusted men, started toward -the front veranda. - -But the master criminal had had watchers scattered around the lawn. They -were caught in the police net, too, but they were able to give the -alarm. They rushed inside the house; and the Black Star was informed -that the police were upon him. - -He ordered the guests into one of the smaller rooms, and closed and -locked the door on them. He had the lights turned off all over the -house; the waiter attended to that. He issued his orders rapidly, like a -general conducting a battle, sent men to defend the doors and windows. - -"Violence appears to be necessary," he said. "We must drive them off and -get away, or there'll be more of them upon us within a short time!" - -From a window over the veranda, the Black Star looked at the situation. -Two of the police automobiles were playing searchlights on the sides of -the house. Another was driving across the lawn to do the same on the -front. The Black Star took an automatic from beneath his robe, and fired -one shot across the lawn. - -The shot was a signal. From every window shots were sent at the men -surrounding the house, shots that were not meant to wound or kill, only -to terrify. But the chief's men were not easily frightened. - -They sought refuge behind trees and clumps of brush, and returned the -fire. They shattered windows and made it impossible for the Black Star's -men to remain in them. They poured volleys against the doors. - -But the master criminal and his men were safe so far. The officers were -not able to get inside the house. The Black Star had no wish to stand a -siege, for he knew that there could be but the one outcome. There came a -lull in the battle, and the Black Star shouted from his window. - -"Is the chief there?" - -"He's here!" came a voice from the darkness. - -"This is the Black Star!" - -"Well, what do you want? Are you and your men ready to surrender to us? -We'll get you, and get you good, if you don't!" - -"Surrender?" the Black Star said. "When I hold the advantage?" - -"I don't see it!" the chief shouted. - -"No? My dear chief, there are in this house the most prominent persons -in your fair city. We have with us, also, two diplomats of international -fame. I abhor violence, but in such a case as this, it becomes -necessary. You will withdraw your men. You will take them to the corner, -beneath the electric light, where we can see them plainly. You will keep -them there fifteen minutes, and after that you may do as you please." - -"I see myself!" the chief cried. - -"If you do not, I shall use violence upon those in the house. For every -ten minutes we are forced to remain here, I shall take a human life. For -every one of my men wounded or slain, I shall take another human life. -Think it over, chief!" - -The chief did think it over, with Roger Verbeck to aid him. The Black -Star was at the end of his rope. Captured again, he was certain to be -convicted and sentenced to prison for life. He was the sort who would go -out fighting--the sort to do all the harm he could before he went out. - -"We're not sure that it's not a bluff!" Verbeck said. "But we can't do -as he asks, of course." - -"We'll rush the house!" the sheriff declared. "That's our business in a -case of this kind, isn't it? We may lose a few men, but it must be done. -What else is there to do?" - -"We'll have to rush it!" the chief returned. "Our aim is to get inside -and fight it out as quickly as possible, without letting that fiend have -time to do much damage. I'll give the orders." The chief whispered them -to a captain, and he passed them on. - -The Black Star was shouting from a window again. "'Well, what is the -decision, chief?" - -"You say you want fifteen minutes?" the chief asked, more to gain time -than anything else. - -"Fifteen minutes will be enough, thank you. Remain on that corner with -your men for fifteen minutes, and then do as you please. That is all I -ask." - -"Well, you're asking enough! What do you suppose the public will say -when they know I had you and let you go?" - -"My dear chief, they'll probably give you credit for saving the lives of -some prominent persons. I understand that the mayor is a guest here this -evening. Shall I have him come to the window and decide what you are to -do?" - -"Let him come!" the chief said. - -He knew in advance what the mayor would say. The mayor would tell him to -charge the house, break in, and capture the Black Star and his men. The -mayor happened to be a man of courage. - -Thus the chief had gained a little time, and that was all he -wanted--time enough for his orders to be passed around to all the -officers. Now his men were ready. - -The chief blew his whistle. The searchlights that had been playing on -the house were extinguished; and through the darkness the police and -deputies rushed upon the Branniton residence! - -A volley greeted them from the windows, but the Black Star's men were -firing wildly into the darkness, and their shots had no effect. Officers -and deputies crowded the veranda, attacked the French windows, battered -at the doors. - -A cheap automobile lurched around the corner and stopped in front of the -house. Muggs had arrived! - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI - -AN EMPTY NET - - -Muggs never forgot that wild ride in the flivver. The street-car -conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car. It -lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead -of street cars. The conductor was like a maniac. He always had craved -excitement and adventure. Now it had come to him, and he intended to -make the most of it. - -They dashed up to the Branniton residence, and Muggs, not even thinking -of thanking the conductor, sprang out and rushed across the lawn. - -"Boss! boss!" he shrieked above the din. - -Somebody told him that Verbeck was on the veranda. He rushed there and -found his employer. - -"Boss, was I in time?" he asked. "I got loose as soon as I could!" - -"You bet you were, Muggs. The Black Star's inside, with some of his -gang!" - -"I told the big stiff this was goin' to be his unlucky night! You give -me a chance to get at him, boss! I've got a few scores to settle with -that bird!" - -"We'll all get at him, Muggs! We'll be inside in a minute!" - -The doors and windows were crashing in now. Policemen and deputies were -pouring into the house. Shots greeted them, shots from both automatics -and vapor guns. They struggled through clouds of the pungent vapor, -here and there a man dropping because he had inhaled some of the fumes. -They grappled with men in black robes and masks. Through the house they -fought, while outside were others who watched every exit and caught -those who tried to get away from the place. - -One of the deputies had been an electrician formerly, and he knew where -the light switches were located in the Branniton house. He fought his -way to the kitchen, found them, and turned on the lights. - -Things were better for the policemen and deputies after that. They could -tell friends from foes. The Black Star's men barricaded themselves in -certain rooms. Some of them threw down their weapons and held up their -hands in token of surrender, and were immediately seized and handcuffed. -The others were cleared from the lower floor, fought up the wide stairs, -and continued the battle on the second floor. - -Verbeck and Muggs were in the thick of the fight. They were looking for -the Black Star. So were the chief, and Sheriff Kowen. They searched the -basement and the rooms on the ground floor, but found no trace of him. - -"He's on the second floor!" Verbeck cried. "Up we go!" - -The guests who had been held prisoners were released from the room in -which they had been locked. The women fled to the lawn, and across it to -the street. Some of the men went with them; others joined in the fray. -There was a crowd in the street now and more people were arriving every -minute. Word had flashed throughout the city that the Black Star and his -followers had been cornered in the residence of Richard Branniton. - -The members of the band were being caught rapidly. A few had been -wounded, a few officers also. But the criminals were scattered now, and -here and there one surrendered, or was overpowered. - -Verbeck and Muggs, the chief and the sheriff thought of nothing but the -Black Star. They knew that the policemen and deputies could care for the -others of the band. It was the master criminal himself that they wanted, -to put him behind prison bars once more, to have years added to his -sentence, to send him to the big prison up the river where he no longer -would be a menace to society at large. - -They ran from room to room, searching for him. They shrieked suggestions -to one another above the din of the battle. They found a room at one end -of the upper hall, with the door locked, and hurled themselves against -it and broke it in. - -There they saw the man they wanted. He had thrown off his robe and mask. -He held a bomb in his hand--and stopped them with a gesture. - -"Wait!" he commanded. "This is not a vapor bomb--it is the real thing. -It can blow all of us to bits! So four of you came to get me, eh? Mr. -Verbeck, and the chief and the sheriff--and Muggs. I suppose, since you -are free and here, that you did all this, Muggs?" - -"You bet I did!" Muggs cried. - -"Wait, gentlemen! Don't make a move to raise a weapon, or we all will be -hurled into the hereafter." The Black Star stepped back toward a window. -"I suppose you have me cornered," he said. "I suppose you think you are -going to take me back to jail. But it happens that I have one card yet -to play!" - -He hurled the bomb, and it exploded. It was a vapor bomb, after all. -The cloud of pungent gas assailed them. They whirled to either side, -away from it. There was a crash of glass. - -"He's gone through the window!" Muggs shrieked. - -Trying to keep from breathing, they rushed to the window, got through it -and to the roof of the veranda, where they gulped the fresh air! - -The Black Star had jumped to the ground. They saw him for an instant. -Then he was lost in the darkness. The chief shouted a warning to his -men. - -"Down, and after him!" Verbeck cried. - -"We've got him!" cried the chief. "The entire yard is surrounded. He's -in a trap!" - -Muggs was the first to reach the ground. He did not stop to climb down -one of the posts, but did as the master criminal had done--jumped. - -Verbeck and the chief and Sheriff Kowen were not far behind him. -Officers who had been on the veranda charged after the Black Star in -response to the chief's command. - -The net grew tighter. They were in a corner of the lawn, calling to one -another. A police auto drove across the grass, and the searchlight was -turned on. - -There was the circle of policemen and deputies, with Verbeck and Muggs, -the chief and the sheriff at one side of it. - -But the Black Star was gone! - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII - -THE LETTER - - -"He can't have got away!" Muggs exclaimed. - -"Where did he go?" the chief demanded. - -"He didn't come past us," one of the policemen declared. "I don't see -how he got out of the circle. Why, he hasn't had time to get away; and -the men in the street----" - -The officers in the street already had been warned. The entire block was -surrounded; it seemed impossible that the master criminal could escape. - -"Maybe he dodged the boys here, but he'll never get away from the -block!" the chief declared. "Have more searchlights turned on the lawn, -and tell the men in the alley to keep awake. He can't be far!" - -Out of the sky came a blinding light. It flooded the house and lawn, -turned the night into day. - -"That--that light----" Sheriff Kowen gasped. - -The light disappeared. They waited, watching the sky. They were silent -now. No sound reached their ears except the din from the house. They saw -nothing. - -And then they heard the Black Star's voice. - -"Did you really think you had me?" it said. "I must admit that you have -wrecked my plans and scattered my organization again. Some of my men -will have to go to prison, I suppose, but you haven't caught me, never -will catch me! I shall leave the city, and you cannot prevent it. I have -prepared for this emergency. When my organization is formed again, -perhaps I shall return. My campaign is over for the present, but there -will be another!" - -The voice died away. There was silence for a moment, and then the -brilliant light flashed again, flooded the lawn, almost blinded the men -there. - -"There is a letter by the alley gate!" The voice of the Black Star now -came to them faintly. "Good night, gentlemen!" - -"Gone!" the chief gasped. "Gone!" - -"But how on earth----" Kowen began. - -"That letter!" Verbeck cried. "Let's get it!" They hurried to the alley -gate, and there they found the letter, as the Black Star had said. They -carried it back to the police automobile, and read it in front of the -searchlight. - - GENTLEMEN: If you have this letter, it means that my plans have - been ruined, and that I have been forced to escape. I cannot - neglect this chance to tell you how futile have been your efforts. - - Have you wondered how I spoke to you out of the sky? Have you - worried about the bright light? Are you surprised at the way I - escaped you just now? - - I have in my organization a wonderful man. He is a mechanical - genius gone wrong. He has perfected airplanes as no man dreams they - can be perfected. I have been using an airplane--but it is a - _noiseless_ airplane! Can you imagine what that would mean if the - world had the secret? An airplane, as the public knows it, heralds - its approach. With this, I can sail at night over the city, - without making the slightest noise. I can hover over a certain - spot---- - - Yes, I mean _hover_. For this airplane is so perfected that it can - stand still in the air. It can be raised or lowered straight up or - down. Do you understand now? - - The airplane was hovering over the lawn, a rope ladder dropped from - it. I merely climbed up the ladder as the airplane ascended. I am - writing this in advance, but I know what I shall do, if forced. I - always plan for every emergency, you see. And while you poor fools - bite your nails in your chagrin, I shall be speeding through the - air to a certain refuge I have prepared. There I shall recuperate - and plan some more. ***** - -Roger Verbeck read the letter aloud. A chorus of gasps came from those -who heard. - -"Well, he is gone!" Verbeck said. "But his band is broken up, and that -is something!" - -"And if he ever comes back here, we'll get him, won't we, boss?" Muggs -asked. - -"We'll get him!" Roger Verbeck said. There was determination in his -voice. - - -THE END - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Black Star's Campaign, by Johnston McCulley - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACK STAR'S CAMPAIGN *** - -***** This file should be named 40484-8.txt or 40484-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/4/8/40484/ - -Produced by Robert Cicconetti, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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