Shot With Crimson

one of the crosstown streets, near Fifth Avenue. A brief conversation over the wire ensued. A few minu

p and was expecting me to join his party at the Helvetia for supper, Mr. Rogers?

o recolle

all take the matter up with the manager in the morning, Rogers. It has happen

en any carelessness, Mr. Zimmerlein, it has been with her,—not with us, sir,” said the cle

ey have been waiting for me since eleven o’c

s a little before t

tigate. I warn you that I inte

lerk, but Zimmerlein was alre

m, and then retired behind the k

sore as a crab about not getting a message that came in a

said to Zimmerlein,—about calling up at nine and giving directions and all that bunk,—and I had

broke in the clerk, and moved languidly awa

minutes’ walk from Zimmerlei

in his rooms or in the caf

fé, Mr. Zi

ank

ven or eight people were seated. Nodding and smiling in his most amiable

wn you really wanted me. Thanks for calling me up again. It was good of you, and I’ll try to make up for all the lost time an

the profound affability of a far-Westerner, he made the newcomer welcome. If his steel-grey eyes bored inquiringly into Zimmerlein’s for the briefest

two of the ladies, who, with evident eagerness, made room for

out in the lobby, Prince. Stillwell. I told him you’d be happy to ha

’t miss seeing him for anything in the world. An ol

both, we ‘ll—” began Zi

. “Good old Still! We ‘ll bring him back with us if we hav

hey did not speak until they reached

1

p?” deman

aded, I’ll say that for him. Said he was you, and wanted to know why the devil I hadn’t showed up over here. I was wise in a second. We met in the most casual manner at the corner. He will go a long way, that chap will

ing was in the wind. Is i

ock I shall ask you to excuse me, Prince. Engagement very early in the morning. Mu

ell, wa

t be shot up worse than I though

to get in touch

permitted himself what was meant to be

to utter in these days,” said P

by simply being who and what and where y

questions,” said

pped Zimmerlein. “Oh, Lor

e. I am not above it,—nor are you. Now, let us return.” Shortly after one o’clock, Zimmerlein said good night to the host and the guests upon whom he had deliberately imposed

ax

paces, and then, apparently

sylvania,” he said,

the corners and kept their faces and bodies well out of sight fr

car. The exhaust roared, the gears grated and snarled, and the lo

taxi drew up in front of the little hotel in the cross-town street, he got down

’s all. There must be no trace,—absolutely no trace.” As he sauntered into the hotel, the taxi rattled swiftly off

at all. It was his nice little way of stringing me. Assuage the poor girl’s grief if you know how, Rogers. Tell her it’s all r

elevator, and once more str

n. He’s stewed and says his friend’s a

ime Pilcher wants to get off till half-past ‘leven, he needn’t leave a call for me. I’m through accommodating that mutt. My Gawd! Two o’clock, and he sw

in’ an egg on an oyster fork.

beside his plate of sliced oranges. His eyes swept the headlines on the front page. A slight frown darkened his brow. He looked again, a little more closely. Then he took up the other

a solitary line about t

fternoon of the preceding day. He was go

morning papers,” Elberson had said gua

ething great in the news

ut two o’clock. No details. I doubt w

n? Elberon was in a position to know. He never went off half-cocked. There wasn’t the least doubt in Zimmerlein’s mind that the Elston had been sunk,—but why this amazing failure of the newspapers to—— He started suddenly. C

to drop in and see Elbe

took the time to run through both papers with unusual thoroughness. It was barely possible that a paragraph,—one

ater-front of an American port from which heavily laden ships departed

nd admittedly unreasonable sense of irritation that assailed him, for, after all, Elberon regulated his actions according to the demands of his own business.

e door behind him and stalked off into the counter-li

shook a little as he paused inside the doors to light a cigarette.

rning,” and the alert office-boy went her one better b

iss Agnew?” inqu

y Club. He says there is a leak and wants to know if you, as chair

demanded, s

id, Mr. Z

ne and ask him to come

hung them up in the closet. His mail received scant attention. As a matter o

private office, carryin

and deliberately spread the prints on the desk and we

Not a

her queer, don

r with a keen and soul-searching eye. “It won’t do, my friend. Nervousness tends to irritat

it. Don’t lecture me. I’m not going

ou know,” remarked Thorsensel sententiou

mean that—that they didn’t pull it off? God, t

t there was the slightest chance of failure, he would have taken no risk. That’s Scarf, my friend. Ca

one directly from his hotel to the little French café down the street. He knew that it was the unvarying habit of the strange, silent engineer to drop in at

problem confro

ok the matter out of his hands. It was he who laid the plans. Zimmerlein bec

absorbing some of the other’s fatalistic

rsensel, laying his big, clenched fist upon the desk,—not violently but with a gentl

rew a long,

about the Elst

e went down in eight minutes. They made a good job of it, bless ‘em. No wonder the night wind weeps! Now, we’ll see what old England has to say for the invincibility of her fleet, and what she ‘ll say to the

ident look had left his eyes; in its stead lurked something that finally developed into real, undisguised anxiety. An atmosphere of r

id visit the club-house and question the employés? That was not an unusual proceeding. They were doing something of the sort all the time. But, said Peter, they obtained a list of all the members and guest

passports and papers from the

e all in order,

The mere fact that they asked for

said Thorsensel, gnawing at his moustache. “These fellows, fro

ut in Zimmerlein. “They’ve l

stripe in the class with—well, with a few I could mention, do you? They’ve only touched the surface, my friend. It is ve

stoop-shouldered, consumptive-looking, unwashed

immerlein, glar

ave you been?” g

bent figure and drawing a long, full breath. He passed his hand across his

Zimmerlein, as the man pre

he leaned forward and fixed the others with burning, hitter eye

ison from the li

s Attorney’s office with half a dozen expe

ween Thorsensel’s teeth. Zimmerlein’s

urse,—nothing for the public,—and took him down for a grilling. Zumpe says old Elberon has

l. “He has been very thick lately with Kleinhans, the banker. I told

eried Scarf, a twist at the corner

e Kleinhans out of my sight. He actually thinks he’s an American,—

. As for that other little matte

ered hoarsely:

said Scarf, and again pas

’t stay here all afterno

ttomless pit at that. Why didn’t you tell me that

at’s that

happened,—caught in the very net they were laying for him. His pals,—that’s what they would have made of us,—his comrades, mind you, not his enemies. How the devil could we have explained? And would they have believed him, no matter what he said about us? Not on your life. The very thing they were watching for would have happe

ly. “What’s the angle, Zimmerlein,—what’s the angle? You are sup

I can’t understand it, Thors

e next block, according to plans. He was to wait for us there,—fixing his engine as

demanded Zimmerlei

He’s your protégé,”

I’d say,” said Thorsens

as running the front elevator. All I know is that Ruddy and I barely had time to get out of the window and onto a little balcony and drop down t

his room?” cr

nt. It’s closed except when he comes up occasionally from camp for a night or two. Family in the South somewhere, servants dismissed. We didn’t waste any time. Had it all doped out. Went to his door and rang the bell. Pretty soon he came and opened it and asked what we wanted. We told him right

. ‘My God, it’s terrible—horrible,’ he says. ‘Who put you wise? How much is actually known?’ That was enough for Ruddy. He stuck the gun under his ear and let him have it. He never knew what hit him. Ruddy dropped the revolver on the floor beside the chair,—just where he would have dropped it himself,—and then we started out to see if we could find anythi

ain they have hanging there to hide the stairway. They didn’t hear us. They were talking about Blechter. We knew in a second what they were. There was a cubby hole under the stairs where they keep mops and brooms and such stuff. We got in there, leaving a crack through which we could hear. After awhile the front elevator came down. We heard ‘em all talking. They said he had shot himself, and they cursed their luck because they hadn’t been able to take him alive. He must have been warned that they were after him. That’s what they were roaring about. After a while we got out of the mop-hole and sneaked down to the basement. The doors were locked, and there were men in the eng