The Bradys and the Girl Smuggler Part 34

"Clara has got zem."

"Don't lie."

"Sairch ze place an' you see."

The Bradys complied, but failed to find the missing diamonds.

"I'll go after her!" cried Harry, hastily, and he rushed out.

A few moments after he had gone, Gibson came in, and a look of mingled surprise, rage and jealousy crossed his face when he saw the situation of affairs.

"How are you, Gibson?" laughed Old King Brady. "I've got La Croix!"

"You've cheated me!" snarled the inspector, furiously.

"Bless your heart, you've got the matter twisted. It was you interfering with our game. We've been after this man two months. And you ain't going to skim the cream off our hard work, I can tell you."

"You lie, Brady--"

An angry light sparkled in the old detective's eyes at this insult and he doubled up his fist, strode over to the inspector and struck him in the face.

"Don't you dare insult me, you cur!" he exclaimed.

Gibson reeled back swearing, and seeing the old detective coming at him again, he rushed from the room shouting wildly:

"I'll pay you off for that blow!"

CHAPTER XVII.

RECOVERING THE DIAMONDS.

When Harry ran from La Croix's room, he pa.s.sed Andrew Gibson in the hall, and smiled when he thought of the man's coming surprise.

Racing downstairs, the boy made inquiries at the different entrances to the hotel, for information about the girl smuggler.

A man had seen her go out the Vesey street door.

As he was interested in her pretty face, he watched her a few moments and had seen her go hurrying over to Broadway.

She had kept on the west side of the street and was evidently going downtown on foot in the dense crowd thronging the street.

With this meagre clew to follow, Harry hurried away.

"She had the gems," he muttered. "Perhaps she had an idea of selling them quick to raise money to aid her parents, both of whom she now knows are in trouble. She's a wise girl, and must certainly know that she would be helpless to aid them without money. Money will give her power. It's possible, therefore, that she's heading for the jewelry district, which is near by. As the street is crowded with vehicles and she'd have to cross to reach Maiden Lane or John street, she must have gone over under the protection of a policeman. He would remember her and might post me. I'll try all the big cops from here down to Wall street, if necessary."

Harry knew that the largest part of the time of these officers was spent at escorting people across the crowded street.

He therefore began with the policeman at Fulton street, giving him an accurate description of Clara, but the officer had not seen her.

On the corner of Dey street he met with the same result.

At Cortlandt street he gained a clew.

The officer there had piloted a girl over who answered her description and said she had gone down the Lane on the north side.

Harry hastened down the great jewelry center.

He scrutinized every one he met.

As a general rule, excepting girls who are employed in the business houses of the downtown section of the city, but few females frequent the side streets.

In fact, so few pa.s.s through these streets, that when they do, they are noticed by the numerous boys and business men thereabouts.

Harry was relying upon this curious, but true fact, to gain some news of the girl he was pursuing.

He therefore did not hesitate to ask everyone with whom he came in contact if they had seen such a girl as Clara was.

In some cases he received a negative answer, while in others, not a few people admitted they had noticed her.

According to the latter information, he traced her to Na.s.sau street, and an Italian apple vender with a push-cart near the corner, said he had seen her turn the corner and proceed toward John street.

Following up this clew, Harry met a man standing near the window of a haberdasher's store who a.s.serted that he had seen such a person go through John street toward Broadway.

He averred that she had gone into a building near the corner and pointed out the place to the young detective.

When Harry reached the building in question, he paused and studied the business men's signs in the doorway.

One in particular attracted his attention, worded this way:

"Cliquot & Co., Diamonds, Second Floor Front."

A curious smile flitted over the young detective's face and he pa.s.sed into the narrow hall and ascended the stairs muttering:

"I wonder if she's in there?"

In the upper hall he saw the name of the dealer in precious stones, painted on the ground-gla.s.s window.

Harry opened the door and strode in.

He found himself in a small office containing two huge Herring safes, guarded with burglar alarm cabinets. A long table covered with blue cloth served as a counter. Near the front windows was a bookkeeper working at his desk. At the rear a small compartment was part.i.tioned off to serve as a private office.

A fat little Frenchman was behind the counter, but Harry did not see any signs of Clara La Croix.

A feeling of disappointment overcame him.