The unknown seven A detective story
resentment.”
“You are not at all gallant. Lots of other men would have replied to
that question with a flowery compliment.”
“They would have been fools. You would have secretly despised them for
it.”
A little pause. “Thank you,” she whispered, but the words sounded so
faint that Cole was not sure he was expected to hear them.
The car had ceased its zigzagging course and was traveling in a
straight line. Presently Miss Brown produced the scarf with which she
had covered his eyes the previous night.
“I hope this is the last time I shall have to blindfold you,” she
murmured, as she folded the cloth into a bandage and covered the upper
portion of his face. “Perhaps the next time——”
She did not finish the sentence. Just then the car stopped, and she
guided him across the sidewalk and up the stone steps. In a few moments
they were darting upward in the elevator. Again the wall opened at Miss
Brown’s touch on a hidden spring. As it closed behind them Cole had
a hazy feeling of being shut off from the world. They walked a short
distance down the corridor. Then a door opened, and once more he found
himself in the room with the circular table. The girl vanished, and a
voice bade him step forward.
He walked up to the table. The masked men seated around it looked gray
and ghostly in the dusk. He scanned the veiled faces closely as his
eyes responded to the dim light. The black beard was not there; yet he
counted seven faces. Evidently the surgeon was not wearing his disguise
to-night.
“Very glad to see you, Mr. Cole,” said a voice which he recognized.
“The fact that you have returned is additional proof that we were not
mistaken in you. Sit down.”
Cole seated himself at the spokesman’s side. His ears were keyed to
catch any suspicious sound, while his eyes cautiously explored the dusk
about him. His right hand hung loosely over the side of the chair, but
it was ready to reach for his pistol at the slightest sign of danger.
He was far from certain in regard to the intentions of the seven men,
and he was determined not to be caught off his guard.
“Perhaps it will give you some satisfaction to know,” the spokesman
went on, “that you sent one of our men to the hospital last night.”
Cole smiled faintly as he recalled the fight in the dark. His knuckles
still showed bruises from the blows he had showered on his opponent
before he was overwhelmed by superior numbers.
“He is a big, husky chap, and he knows how to put a lot of steam into
his punch,” the spokesman continued. “You pounded his face to a jelly.
I don’t think Sam will ever get over the humiliation. His mortification
ought to soften the bitterness you naturally feel toward us. By the
way, you called on Doctor Latham, as I suggested. Did the interview
prove satisfactory?”
“It wasn’t conclusive,” said Cole guardedly.
“We didn’t expect that. The doctor is too wily to permit himself to
be caught so easily. But didn’t your talk with him leave a strong
presumption of guilt in your mind?”
“It convinced me that Doctor Latham knows something of what happened to
Mr. Reeves.”
“And to that extent it modified your skepticism in regard to us?”
“I am here,” said Cole with a shrug. “Isn’t that answer enough?”
“It is. You wouldn’t have come back to-night unless something had
happened to counteract the bad impression which you derived from your
first visit. No doubt the balance is still against us, but you are
willing to listen to what we have to say. Will you pay close attention
while I state a hypothetical case?”
“My ears are wide open.”
“Very well, then. First let me state a general principle. It must have
occurred to you, Mr. Cole, that there is something radically wrong with
the enforcement of our laws and the administration of justice. The
jails are doing a thriving business, and many criminals are convicted
every day in the year. With rare exceptions, however, they are the
smaller fry. Too often the big rascals go unpunished, while the little
fellows get it in the neck. The agencies of law and order are often
powerless when dealing with criminals who perpetrate their malefactions
on a large scale. Are you with me so far?”
“Go on,” said Cole.
“The cause of this deplorable situation is obvious. The big rascal
evades the law and goes scot-free, while the little fellow breaks the
law and lands in jail. Or else the big rascal violates the law in such
a clever manner that conviction is impossible. He has the best legal
talent on his side. Brilliant and unscrupulous lawyers lie awake nights
scheming how a powerful client might commit crimes with impunity. Often
the big rogue has unlimited resources at his command. If he is in
danger of getting caught a substantial bribe frequently lets him out,
or he uses political or social influence to get clear of the danger.
True, isn’t it?”
“Unfortunately it is,” said Cole, “but I don’t see what all this——”
“Just a moment. I am getting to the point as fast as I can. You
must have noticed that the police and other agencies are seriously
handicapped in trying to cope with crime on a large scale. They are
hampered by a number of things, inefficiency, corruption, political
patronage, sometimes indifference on the part of the public. There are
many honest and capable men among them, but their number is too small.
Besides, the machinery of justice is too ponderous and cumbersome. In
its competition with crime it has the same handicap as a truck trying
to compete with a roadster. But that isn’t the worst of it.”
“You’re painting a gloomy picture,” Cole observed.
“But you know as well as I do that it is true to life. The most serious
phase of the situation is the fact that the law, in effect if not
in theory, is punitive rather than preventive. Our administrators
of justice are too often content with locking the stable after the
horse is gone. It may be a satisfaction to you, when your pocketbook
is stolen and the money squandered, to see the thief go to jail, but
it isn’t doing you any material good. It may be gratifying to you to
know that that particular thief won’t steal any more pocketbooks for a
while, but that isn’t going to compensate you for your loss. The time
to stop the crook is before the damage is done, and that’s exactly
where our police system falls down on the job.”
“True enough,” Cole admitted. “But what are you going to do about it?”
He fancied the spokesman was smiling, but he could not be sure. The
others at the table had not spoken a word.
“There is the Carmody case, for instance,” the other went on, without
answering Cole’s question directly. “It shouldn’t be called that, for
the professor is only a puppet, a dwarf in comparison with the men who
are pulling the strings. You have barely scratched the surface of the
case, so, no doubt, you are amazed at what I say. The so-called Carmody
case is in reality one of the biggest swindles ever projected. It is
being engineered by a group of brilliant and very powerful men who have
enormous resources in brains and cash at the tips of their fingers.
They are working in the dark, with the utmost secrecy and astounding
cleverness. If the authorities at Washington knew what was going on,
there would be a panic all along Pennsylvania Avenue.”
“Why doesn’t some one tell them?”
The spokesman chuckled deprecatingly. “If I should go to them with the
story to-morrow they would demand proof, and I haven’t any. That is,
nothing that is tangible. I am positive of my facts, but proving them
is another matter. In a case like this the proof can’t be produced
until the damage is already done. Having no evidence, I should probably
be met with indifference or skepticism. Even if an investigation were
made, it would be purely perfunctory. The investigators would kick up
just enough dust to blind themselves and tip the conspirators off to
their danger.”
“But, if things are as bad as you say, something should be done.”
“Something is being done, Mr. Cole, and that brings me to the
hypothetical case I was about to state. Imagine a group of wealthy
and public-spirited citizens, men of brains, aggressiveness, and
imagination, who have banded themselves together for the purpose of
correcting the condition I have just described. Let us say they have
built up a small, compact and marvelously efficient organization, in
comparison with which the government’s ponderous machinery is like
the truck trying to out-distance the roadster. This organization,
unhampered by graft, political patronage, and red tape, and having
unlimited resources at its command, becomes the secret ally of the
police, the department of justice, and similar agencies. Its existence
is practically unknown to all but its own members. Like the criminal
whom it is endeavoring to combat, it works in the dark and silently.
This in itself gives it a tremendous advantage. You are beginning to
understand?”
Cole nodded.
“This organization has a corps of brilliant operatives, each one tested
and tried and found one hundred per cent honest and efficient. At its
head is an executive of exceptional ability. All the resources of the
organization are placed at his disposal. He is paid a salary so large
that it should render him immune to all sorts of corruption and amply
compensate him for the fact that his achievements never become known to
the outside world.”
“For a time all goes well. Now and then the police, or the authorities
at Washington, receive a package from an anonymous source. They open
it and dazedly peruse the contents. It is evidence gathered by some of
the shrewdest detectives in the country and put into shape by the best
lawyers obtainable. It is so thoroughly prepared that it will stand
every legal test. All the authorities have to do is to hale the culprit
into court and read the evidence to the jury. In all cases but one the
verdict has been guilty.”
“The exception,” the spokesman went on in gritty tones, “was due to
the dereliction of the executive at the head of the corps. Contrary to
expectations and despite all the incentives which he had for remaining
loyal to the organization, the man was corrupted by the other side. No
doubt he sold his honor for a fortune. At all events he disappeared,
and the case collapsed. It was necessary to find some one to take
his place. This time the men at the head of the organization were
determined to make no mistake. The next executive must be not only
efficient and fearless, but incorruptible as well. For once the leaders
decided to let the ends justify the means and go the limit in testing
their candidate. Well, they did go the limit. They tried him in acid,
and he assayed twenty-four carats.”
Murmurs of approval went around the circle. Every face was leveled
intently in Cole’s direction. For several minutes he had anticipated
the trend of the spokesman’s remarks, yet he started a little at the
last sentence.
“Now you understand,” the other continued. “For some time we have been
satisfied in regard to your ability. Our secret investigation left
us in no doubt on that point. Last night we learned that you could
resist three of the most powerful forms of temptation imaginable—fear,
greed, and a charming woman’s tears. And not only that, but you also
proved your superiority in a physical encounter, in addition to showing
presence of mind and quickness of wit in a most terrifying situation.
You scored one hundred per cent on every point. I am only sorry the
test had to be so severe.”
Cole sat silent for a time; then he shook the spokesman’s outreached
hand. “It’s worth a lot to me to know that I am a twenty-four-carat
man,” he declared.
“Then you accept?”
Cole pondered while his glance swept the masked faces.
“Who are you?” he asked.