Tales of the Thinking Machine

ick-click of his type writer went on and on, broken only when he laid aside one sheet to put in another. The finished pages were seized upon one at a time by an office boy and rushed off t

hy young broker, Stanley Francis. An alternative to the abduction had been proposed in the form of a gift to certain persons, identity unknown, of fifty thousand dollars. Francis, not unnaturally, objected t

when there was one to be told. He glanced at the clock, jerked o

e?” called th

agraph,” Ha

minutes and then stopped. The last sheet of copy

at the ‘phone,” an

it?” ask

he boy. “Talks like he

cated. The man at the other en

zed the crabbed, perpetually irritated voice

Hatch?” came

es

me immediately?” he querie

tain

is Randall’s Crossing. Get off there and go to your right until you come to a small white house. In front of this house, a little to the left and across an open fiel

ed The Thinking Machine. “You will find a small hole in it near the level of your eye. Feel in that hole, and see w

for a moment; it sounded lik

about?” he as

” came the co

cert

od-

all’s Crossing. The night was dark — so dark that the road was barely visible. The car whirled on, and as its lights were swallowed up Hatch set out to find the white house.

the wood ran down to the road. Here he climbed a fence and stumbled on through the dark,

lace where decay had eaten its way into the tree trunk. For just a moment he hesitated about puttin

at couldn’t be what was meant. For the second time he thrust in his hand, and after a deal of grabbing about produced

usen will make of th

e another thought, and with that due regard for detail which made him a good reporter he

all-night drug store in Brookline and ‘phoned to The Th

t did you find?”

agine,” replied the reporter g

The Thinking Machine.

ly, “it’s just a piece of white string — c

nots i

till I

e it out, when the startled voice of T

eave it there

ve it in

bly. “That’s bad. Well, has it any knots

“Yes,” he replied after an examination. “It has two k

or doubl

le kn

matter which one — and carefully smooth out the string. Then take it and

toni

immedi

began the asto

n the string. I told you merely to see what was there. But as you have brought it away you must put it

past the door, outward bound. He raced for it and got aboard. Once settled, he untied one of th

ng!” called the c

e, found the hole, and had just thrust in his hand to replace the string when he heard a woman’s voi

nds

for the future; therefore his hands went up without hesi

Steadily poised just a couple of dozen inches from his nose was a revolver. He could see tha

at last, as he stood reachi

woman. Her voice was st

le thing to say just who he was. Somewhere at the end of this thing The Thinking Machine was working on

aid promptly. “Jim Williams

e you do

r; he didn’t know what he was doing there; he was wondering himsel

m,” he said wit

ed the woman

ss to name him,” r

se,” the woman mus

vely interest in it. It had not moved a hair’s breath since he first looked

g?” asked the

s in the mire. The woman herself

he tree?” s

es

knots ar

ne

ut your hand in there and hand

her the impression that there would be no tricks. As she took the string her finge

id he say?”

nything, the reporter was willing to plunge

red without shifting hi

epeated again eage

tangling up somebody’s affairs sadly — he didn’t know whose. Anyhow, it was a m

it?” asked

t from under him. “I don’

e give it

he wouldn’t tr

I get i

assured her soothingly. “I think he

he

er

er tone betrayed deep emotion; but it was

ver seemed the imminent problem. His hands were still in the air, and there was nothing to i

you a

, n

thfu

thfu

the road. Turn to your left there. Don’t look back under any circumstances. I shall be behind you with this

r a moment. “I’m firmly convi

for liberty; but that would mean giving up the adventure, whatever it was. He had no fear for his personal safety as long as he obeyed orders, and he intended to do

ther enlightened. Once he thought he heard the woman sobbing, and started to look back. Then he remembered her warning, and thoug

hey began to arrive somewhere. A hous

!” commanded

light was burning. The woman turned it up. Then almost defiantly she threw aside her veil and hat and stood before him. Hatch gas

I suppose?”

ainly,” Hatch

e knew he had neve

up like that all the time; but I was dreadfully frightened,” the woman went o

only thing,”

she resumed. “And tell him, too, that the other matter must be arra

down. Pen and ink lay before him. He knew now he was trapped. He couldn’t write a letter to that vague “him” of whom

demanded s

te it,” he conf

st that, and he in turn stared at the revolver with a new and vi

!” she blurted out a

r, watching him closely, and rang vigorously several times. After a l

d without giving them a glance, “and lock him up. Keep him und

as a merciless gleam, danger even, in the woman’s eyes, and he submitted to orders. So,

un was high. His guard, wide eyed and alert, still sat beside the door. For several minutes the re

-morn

merely gla

your name?” the

was no

lady’s

ans

I am whe

no a

went on casually, “if I sho

y. The reporter was satisfied. “He is no

asual reflections as to the mental state of his city editor at his failure to appear and follow up the kidnapping st

e next room. First there was a woman’s voice, then the shr

d the child, and agai

be a sort of abbreviated English for “you tickle.” After awhile the merrim

be ho

he woman ex

ou be h

Morris be

You be

but finally even that died away. Hatch yawned away another hour or so under the const

ver going to happ

rd didn

f on your own statement,” Hat

o, and with revolver in hand went to the door, carefully unlocking it. After a few hurriedly whispered words he left the room, and Hatch was meditating an instant rush for a window, when the woman entered. S

now?” asked

lightest sound,” she whispered tensely. “I

change in guard, and the warning. It was because some one was about to enter or had entered

now!” whispe

f the servants answered the knock. After a short wait he

’t be that far,” it

he idea. He didn’t dare call. That would be suicide. Perhaps he could attract attention, though; drop a key, for instance. The sound might r

small feet. The guarded door was pushed op

udly. He ran to the woman

ou done?” she asked piteo

” the chil

id not drop the key. Instead, he gazed at the woman, then dow

the car tr

ch knew that The Thinking Machine had come and gone; yet he was strangely calm about it, q

d, all eyes, and then was convinced. The boy was Walter Francis, the kidnapped boy whose pictures were be

t hammer —” he suggested modestly. “I assure you I c

me, then?”

child there, Walte

ings which stir men, even reporters. Finally the woman dropped the revolver on the floor and swept the boy up in her arms with a gesture of infinite tend

take you!” sob

o came here for that purpose has gone. Meanwhile, if you will tell me

ked at him, star

perhaps I can do somet

hat he had not remembered sooner. It was a story of marital infelicity, and its principals were Stanley Franci

terward she went to Europe. It had been rumored that divorce proceedings would follow, or at least a legal separation, but noth

er, even before I went to Europe, I knew the legal status of the affair; but the thought of my boy lingered, and I resolved t

here, that tigerish ferocity o

ot was that of professional — what would you call it? — kidnappers. But I did not send the letter demanding this until I had perfected all my plans and knew I could ge

by a document of some sort. In that letter I told how he might signify his willingness to do this; but of course I would not give my address. I placed a string, the one you saw, in that tree after having tied two knots in it. It w

gone to The Thinking Machine. The Thinking Machine sent the reporter to untie the knot, which was an answer of “Yes” to Mrs. Francis’s request for th

mention a string in

he could signify ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’ as he did years ago. The string was one of the odd little ideas of my girlho

find a string and instruct him to untie one of the knots in it. The scientist h

st believed it — yet your answers were in a way correct. For fear you were not what you seemed — that y

whirled it in his fingers. The action, a

e so long after you got

steamer on which I planned to sail for Europe with my boy leaves tomo

asleep in his mother’s arms. His tiny hand clung to he

he said. “I’ll go with you t

several hours later that Hatch turn

load that revo

d some one would get hurt wit

, and glanced from time to time at the berth across the aisle where her baby was asleep. Looking upon

is and her boy was remarkably complete; but all the facts were not in it

I was there merely to convince myself that the mother did have the baby. I heard it call her and went away satisfied. I knew you were there, too, because you had failed to ‘phone me the second time as I expected, a

t was ever said abou