Adventure, December 1914 — page 50: what you’re looking at

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

48 “Six of them—they stole a car—I saw ’em from the hotel-porch—couldn’t get here quick enough!”’ he blurted out. Another moment and the curious crowd had surrounded us, all talking at once, each one with a different plan. None of us said a word. They had escaped! CHAPTER XIII THE WIRELESS WIRE-TAPPER A MOMENT later Burke came dashing around the curve in the road in Sin- clair’s car and the crowd scattered to let him pass. On the front seat with him was Mrs. Hawley. ‘“‘Where are they—have you got them?” he cried. “No,” replied Kennedy, though not in a tone of criticism. It had been a close race and Burke had done his best, for it had been necessary for him to remain at the club to fire the mortar with the calcium bombs. Without them the power-boat might have slipped away unobserved, but the time taken in getting off had been just a minute too much. A hasty parley followed and as many cars as could be pressed into service were started out along the possible routes that the fugitives had taken, while Kennedy and Burke sought the telegraph operator at the hotel to spread an alarm as quickly as they could to the neighboring villages through which they might pass. Sinclair and Mrs. Hawley were engaged in earnest conversation when Craig and Burke returned. She was telling him of the dash they had made from the club, and how she had insisted on accompanying Burke. It was evident that, whatever might be said of the Mexican acquaintances of Sin- clair, Mrs. Hawley had justified Kennedy’s judgment of her and had proved faithful. Craig had thrown off all disguise now, at least before her, and was questioning her frankly about the character and habits of the people in the cottage, whom we had met once at the caberet. I think even Hattie Hawley was surprised at her own ignorance of the intimate life of her acquaintances, before Kennedy had gone very far. She had known them on the surface pretty well, but with ‘characteristic secretiveness they had succeeded in completely concealing Adventure for instance, their domestic arrangements, both in the city and at Seaville. On other visits to Seaville they had spent much of their time at the hotel, especially on the occasion when Madame Valcour had been there and Sinclair had gone out of his way to entertain the fascinating adventuress. But this time they had evidently come pre- pared to live more quietly, for they had brought along two Japanese whom she had seen now and then at the Mexican cabaret. When it was all sifted down, it was practi- cally only at the cabaret and in their dignified mescal debauches that Mrs. Haw- ley knew them. I think Sinclair was rather pleased than otherwise at it, for he saw that she had been in reality working more to protect their mutual interests in southern Mexico than for any other reason. How- ever, that did not do us much good just at present. “While we’re waiting for some report,” cut in Kennedy bruskly, after Mrs. Haw- ley had told what little she could of the story, “suppose we go up the hill and take a look at the cottage.” He had already started ahead, Burke and I following and Sinclair and Mrs. Haw- ley bringing up the rear. We stood for a few moments in the shad- ow of a hedge while Craig sent Burke, as an expert in that sort of thing, scouting about the house to make sure that it was deserted. Burke quickly returned from the shadow of a barn which had been remade into a garage. “There doesn’t seem to be a sign of life in the house,”’ he reported. “Then let’s take a chance,’ decided Craig, who had employed the time in gazing at the wireless mast that was fixed on one of the gables and had interested him the first time he saw the house. We advanced to the door and, as a precau- tion, rang the bell while Burke hastily as- certained that the windows were locked also. No one answered, and together we forced the door and burst into the silent and dark house. IT WAS scantily furnished after the manner of most Summer cot- ~ tages, but it was not the furniture that interested Craig. “I’ve been wondering about that wireless business,’ he remarked, leading us from room to room. Gomiicordook C©