Adventure Magazine, March 1916 — page 77: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Secret of Caprice after a while, he comes up to the ticket- window and knocks and Jim goes to see what he wants. He says, ‘Does this next train stop at Hackett’s?’ and Jim says, ‘Yes, sir. It stops on signal or if there’s any passengers with tickets for there.’ ‘Well,’ the big still says, ‘Give me two tickets for Hackett’s.’ So Jim gives them to him, and him and the fat lady goes out and sits on a bench at the far end of the platform, where they keeps up the argument out of any one’s hearing. But it looked like some argu- ment.” “Go ahent’ Ward exclaimed impatient- ly. “What did you do next?” ~ “7 sneaked out of the ticket-office and around back of the station and come up on them just as though I had come from the hotel. ‘I thought I’d say good-by,’ I says sort of careless. ‘I’m going on back to the camp.’ I see Blaydon turning black, he’s so mad, and he’s about to tell me where to go when Cleopatra grabs him by the sleeve and gives him the high sign, while she says to me as sweet as sugar, ‘Oh, ain’t that nice of you. Won’t you wait and see us off for New York?’ ” Carl’s imitative grimace was_ perfect, even to the venomous glint of his eyes. “And I says, ‘Yes, ma’am, thank you; Pll be that polite, though I ought to get back to camp.’ Well, Chief, I wish you could have seen Blaydon at that. I thought he’d choke, honest.’’ “All right,” Ward said bruskly. ‘So you stayed and saw them get on the train. Is that all?”’ The mechanician looked injured. ““Ve—es,” he admitted in a disappointed tone, ‘but I don’t see what I did for you to get sore about, Chief.” “T’m not sore, Carl,’’ Ward hastened to reassure him. “Only I am in a very great hurry. You have done splendid work. You'll make a great detective yet; see if you don’t. But we require action now. Tellme exactly where Hackett’s is.” Carl reached into his breast-pocket and drew out a printed pamphlet. “‘Here’s one of the hotel’s folders,” he said, turning the leaves. “It’s got a map that shows it. Here it is.” He handed it to Ward, pointing with his finger to the spot where the little way-sta- tion lay on the railroad line from the resort to South Junction where tourists changed cars for the North. “All right,” Ward said. “T’ll look this over. Meantime, you go to the yacht and get Miss Blaydon’s maid. Tell her to call Miss Blaydon from her state-room and ask her to get ready to fly with me at once for Sea View. You are to take the maid on your motorcycle. I see you have an extra seat behind.” Carl flushed with pleasure. “That won’t make me mad,” he said. “You think these fellows are getting ready to clean us up here?”’ “Tt doesn’t look unlike it. They. are playing for tremendously big stakes and they are on the threshold of success. Mr. Conway and John Drummond knew too much for their safety. Therefore they have removed Mr. Conway and Drummond. You and Miss Blaydon and I know too much for their safety. You can draw your own conclusions,” Carl nodded. “T see,” he said. “Hackett’s isn’t so far away. They could get back here easy by tonight.”’ “Exactly,” said Ward. ‘‘Go to the yacht and get them to hustle.’ The mechanician hurried away and Ward went inside his tent, where he spread the map out on the rough table and began to study it. He had not been thus engaged long when he heard quick footsteps on the earth outside and Nellie Blaydon’s voice called him. He went to the flap and met her. Her rest, short as it had been, had evi- dently done her good. Her eyes were brighter and her step more springing, her whole carriage more erect and suggestive of freshness and strength. “Carl tells me we are to fly at once to Sea View,’’ she said as she entered the tent and took a seat at the table. ‘‘What is it?” As briefly as possible, he outlined the see coveries that Carl had made. “Here is Hackett’s,’’ he said, sitting ee side her and pointing to the spot on the map. “You see, the railroad curves from Sea View well to the south to avoid this range of hills and then, where the range ends, sweeps sharply up northward again. Hack- ett’s is at the southernmost point of this sweep. It is——” He stopped suddenly as his fingers fol- lowed a line on the map below the little sta- tion they were discussing. “Look,” he said. ‘‘Do you see that line?” (EO Apiiceloxeye) “S (E(@)