Amazing Stories — page 70: what you’re looking at

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

REINA * 8 oe ee ee Mipsis a, See Pa tea See poate ead err ea iS os a SS . 68 AMAZING STORIES “Meet Mr. Fenner and his friend,” said David- son. “Joe, this is Mr. Watson, son of John Watson, who has the ice plant. Fenner here, Mr. Watson, is the man I think you want. Tell him your story. You'll excuse me, for ’m rather busy this morning.” Davidson left us, and as we seated ourselves across the table from Watson, I began studying him covertly, for he was a well-known figure around our town. Son of one of the wealthiest of our citizens, he was prominent in all the big social activities of the “upper set,’ and a member of all the exclusive clubs. His name was constantly appearing in the public prints, and I made the most of this oppor- tunity to get a line on the man. He spoke in low, cultured tones, not looking di- rectly at us, and toying with a paper knife in a nervous fashion as he talked. “T find myself in a most anharmctie situation, Mr. Fenner,” he said, ‘and Davidson tells me that he is unable to give me any assistance, because the matter cannot be considered as legitimately in his line. I suppose he’s right. Also, I admit that I am showing poor sportsmanship in asking aid in this business, but you will understand that it is not the money involved that leads me to unfair play. I am in a fair way to become the laughing stock of the city, and at all costs this must be prevented.” “And what is the difficulty, Mr. Watson?” Fenner asked politely, as the clubman paused. “It is a silly bet that I was foolish enough to make at the Lynx Club with young Fair yesterday afternoon, We were discussing some of the popular books of the day, and finally worked around to a detective story which is having quite a run. Maybe you've read the thing—chap is murdered in a. room to which there is no apparent ingress possible with- out detection—that sort of stuff. 1 remarked that all this kind of business was drivel—that in every- day life such things could not, and did not, take place. Young Fair, with all the romanticism of youth, defended the ‘writer and his clan. Said that things occur in reality that outdo the marvelous happenings of fiction. The dispute grew rather hotter than either of us liked, and—well, we ended in a bet. “Fair offered to bet me five thousand dollars that he personally could demonstrate to a selected com- mittee that the mysterious entrance or exit from a room as described in this book was quite possible. I accepted the wager. - “The committee was selected, and the conditions agreed on. He was to enter a room from which no unaided exit could apparently be made. He was ~to be allowed the entire night in which to effect’ his escape. If he succeeded, I agreed to find him within 48 hours, and to explain how he got away or forfeit the wager. “The arrangements were made, and he entered the chosen room at eight last evening. This morn- ing we forced an entrance to that room. He has disappeared !” Fenner made no effort to conceal his grin. ‘Put one over, eh? Any idea how he managed it? “Not the slightest,” confessed Watson, dejectedly. “Apparently it is impossible. Yet he is gone, My forty-eight hours are shipping away rapidly, and it eems as if Tam slated to lose. I don't regard the cf 1 cee I would give the idea of having the young jackanapod hoodwink me in this fashion that makes me determined to find him if I can. Yet I haven’t any idea where to begin. Now I am making you this offer. Solve this riddle for me, and the money I win you may have. Of course, I rely on you to keep secret the fact that you aided me.” “That’s a pretty stiff condition,” objected Fen- ner, “for how I am to get a look at the scene of this mysterious disappearance without someone not- ing my presence there, and how I aim to trace the movements of Fair without following any trail he may have left without seeing it, is more than I can imagine.” “That you can easily do,” returned Watson. ‘The selected room was in the Commercial House. This morning we forced the door, doing some little dam- age. I told the proprietor that I would send work- men around to make the necessary repairs. You may represent yourselves as locksmiths without arousing any suspicion.” “Right,” Fenner agreed, cheerfully, “and now, Mr. Watson, give me a concise account of Fair’s last movements.” “We finally chose a room on the twelfth floor. Fair accepted this room without comment, and it suited me. It opens into a long corridor, which leads to the elevator. -It is much like the other rooms on that floor. The reason that it appealed to me was that it was situated quite a distance from the fire-escape. In fact, it is inconceivable that Fair passed out through the windows of the rooms.” “Granting that he had nerve to venture out over the abyss, couldn’t he reach the roof?” queried Fen- ner, quietly. Watson shook his head in negation. “Three stor- ies above, is the out-jutting cornice; you know. Prac- tically no hand or foothold on the surface of the wall. I don’t imagine a cat could make it. I think we can eliminate the windows. The hotel proprietor assures me that there are no secret passages, spaces between the walls or anything of that sort in the building. I take his word for it. Now as to the doors, There are two. The one leading into the room from the corridor by which Fair entered, and one within the room in the left wall, leading into an adjoining room, which also has a door opening into the corridor. “Both these doors have ordinary locks, not dead latches. For this reason, I suppose, they have also bolts. There is a bolt on the inside of the door which opens on the corridor, and a bolt on the door within the room. There is a bolt on the other side of that door, by the way, within the adjoining room. I looked this morning. And for the occasion, we put a bolt on the outside of the corridor door. “When Fair entered the room we shot this out- side bolt. He shot the one on the inside. we had to force our way in this morning. That bolt on the inside was still in place. So also were both bolts on the other door. And there you are.” Fenner arose. “Your description of the condi- tions is good, Mr. Watson,” he said, “and now Bill and I will become locksmiths and go down and see if — we can do anything for you. you out, I'll call Davidson on the *phone.” “Do that,” x agreed watson, That’s why -— Tf T am able to help = “and remember, the 5