The Girl and The Bill Part 24

"It is well that you communicated with me, sir," he said, "we were working at cross-purposes when, in reality, our interests were identical."

Alcatrante bowed. "I came to that conclusion late last night," he said.

"I do not deny that it would have pleased me to carry the affair through by myself."

"Yes, your position would then have been stronger." The j.a.panese smiled faintly.

"But," continued Alcatrante, with a slight grimace, "the activity of your men made that impossible. I have no lieutenants such as yours." He shot an ugly gleam at Poritol, whose sudden a.s.sumption of fearsome humility was in strange contrast to his usual self-a.s.surance.

"As we hold the doc.u.ments"--the j.a.panese spoke with great distinctness-- "you will necessarily admit our advantage. That means, you will understand, a smaller commission on the next contract."

Alcatrante twisted his face into the semblance of a smile. "Not too small, or we cannot undertake the work," he said.

"No, not too small," the stranger agreed calmly, "but smaller than the last. You must not forget that there are others who would gladly do the same work."

"Yes, but at best they cannot get the terms we get."

"Possibly. That is a matter still to be determined. Meantime we have a.s.sumed that our interests in this doc.u.ment are identical. Let us test it."

"One word first," said Alcatrante. "I take it that, if our interests are sympathetic with yours, we may count on your protection?"

"Most a.s.suredly."

"Then----?"

"Then we shall see. My fairness is clear in that I give you a sight of the doc.u.ment with myself. I might have denied all knowledge of it."

Alcatrante smiled as if to say: "I already knew so much that you could not risk that."

The stranger turned to Arima and said something in j.a.panese. Arima replied, and the stranger explained to Alcatrante: "I asked about my man Maku. The American struck him on the head last night, and injured him.

But he is recovering. He is troublesome--that American."

Orme started. His head b.u.mped against the table.

"What's that?" exclaimed Poritol, advancing. "There's something under that table!" He stooped to lift the cover.

One chance flashed into Orme's mind. Quickly he seized the cat, which was still sleeping against his knee, and pushed it under the table-cover. It walked out into the room, mewing plaintively.

"A cat," said Poritol, drawing back.

Arima explained in English: "It belongs to lady upstairs. Comes down fire-escape. Shoo! Shoo!" He clapped his hands and the animal bounded to the window-sill and disappeared up the iron steps.

"And now," began the stranger, "shall we examine the doc.u.ments?"

"One moment," said Alcatrante. "I should first like a clear understanding with you--some words in private." He moved to a corner, and there the stranger joined him. They talked in an undertone for several minutes, Alcatrante gesturing volubly, the stranger nodding now and then, and interjecting a few brief words.

What was going on was more than ever a mystery to Orme. The stranger's reference to "the next contract" strengthened the surmise that the doc.u.ments in the envelope were connected with a South American trade concession. Alcatrante had plainly concluded that his interests and those of the j.a.panese were identical. He must have communicated with the strange j.a.panese the first thing in the morning. That would account for his failure to call at the Pere Marquette at ten o'clock. Learning that the bill had been taken from Orme, and that the coveted doc.u.ments were in the possession of the j.a.panese, he had no object in keeping his appointment. As for Poritol, he had become a figure of minor importance.

But Orme did not let these questions long engage him, for he had made a discovery. Where his head b.u.mped against the table, the board above him--solid, as he had supposed--rattled strangely. At the moment he could not investigate, but as soon as the cat had satisfied the suspicions of Poritol, and Alcatrante and the stranger had retired to their corner, he twisted his head back and examined the wood above him.

The table had a drawer. From the room outside this drawer was concealed by the cloth cover, and Orme had not suspected its existence.

Now, the table was cheaply made. The drawer was shallow and narrow, and it was held in position, under the table, by an open framework of wood.

When it was pushed in, it was stopped at the right place by two cleats; there was no solid strip to prevent its being pushed in too far.

Orme put his hand to the back of the drawer. There was a s.p.a.ce between it and the table-top.

Cautiously he pushed his hand through the opening. His fingers touched a flat object--a pad of paper, or--the thought made his heart beat--a large, thick envelope. Could Arima have used the drawer as a hiding-place?

Slowly he got the edge of the object between his first and second fingers and drew it a little way toward the back of the drawer. A moment later he had it under his eyes.

Yes, it was a long envelope of heavy linen, and there were bulky papers within. The gummed flap was toward him. He was interested to note that, important though the doc.u.ments seemed to be, the envelope was not sealed with wax.

He remembered what the girl had said: her father's name was written on the address side. He had only to turn it over to learn who she was. In the circ.u.mstances such an act might be justified. But she had not wished him to know--and he would even now respect her wish and keep his own promise to her.

His first thought was to slip the envelope into his pocket, but it occurred to him in time that, if it did indeed contain the doc.u.ments concerning which Alcatrante and the stranger were disputing, it would be sought and missed long before he could escape from the room. So, taking a pencil from his pocket, he inserted it under the corner of the flap and slowly worked the flap free. The strength of the linen prevented any tearing.

He removed the contents of the envelope--two folded sheets of parchment paper, held together by an elastic band--and thrust them into the inside pocket of his coat. All this was done swiftly and noiselessly.

It now remained to find something to take the place of the abstracted doc.u.ments. In his pocket were some printed prospectuses of the mine which he had come to Chicago to investigate. In shape and thickness they were not dissimilar to the doc.u.ments which he had taken. He slipped the prospectuses into the envelope and, wetting his finger, rubbed it along the gummed surface of the flap. Enough glue remained to make the flap adhere, after a little pressure. The job was by no means perfect, but it was not likely to be detected.

At that moment Alcatrante raised his voice and said, still in French: "You are sure, then, that this will not only delay the game, but end it."

"Quite sure," said the j.a.panese. "Unless the doc.u.ments are signed before midnight to-night nothing can be done for sometime. We have the Germans fixed. They will do what they have thus far agreed to do, but if any technical hitch arises, such as a failure to sign within the time-limit, they will decline to renew negotiations. That was all we could get from them, but it is enough--now."

"And for other s.h.i.+ps," said Alcatrante, "the commission shall be five hundred thousand."

"Five hundred thousand. Seven hundred and fifty was too much."

"Five hundred thousand in gold."

"In gold."

Orme slipped the envelope back into the drawer and put his eye to the hole in the cover. His position was now more and more critical, for to open the drawer and get the envelope, Arima would have to lift the table cover.

The stranger turned to Arima. "Give us the envelope," he said.

Arima approached the table. Orme crowded back against the wall as far as he could, knowing that the chances of escaping discovery were strongly against him. But he was saved by the very eagerness of the others. They all crowded about Arima, as he lifted the cover, opened the drawer, and took out the envelope. So close did they stand that Orme was out of their angle of vision. The table-cover fell again, and he was safe. He resumed his position at the peep-hole.

The stranger stepped to the middle of the room, the others gathering around him. With a quick jerk he tore the envelope open, and taking out the papers, ran his eye over them rapidly. He uttered an exclamation.

"What is it?" said Alcatrante. The South American's hand was shaking, and perspiration stood out on his forehead.

The j.a.panese snarled. "Tricked! They've fooled us. That honorable burglar of yours got the wrong envelope."

Alcatrante s.n.a.t.c.hed the papers. "'Prospectus,'" he read, "'of the Last Dare Mining Company.' But I do not understand."

The j.a.panese glared at him angrily. "If you had kept out of this business," he snapped, "and let Maku attend to it, everything would have been right. Now your burglars have spoiled it." He s.n.a.t.c.hed back the harmless prospectuses and tore them in two, throwing the fragments to the floor and grinding them under his heel.

Arima spoke. "Pardon, honorable sir, Maku say the right envelope was taken from the safe. Maku know."