Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 149: what you’re looking at

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

REFLEX, - uncovering every spot where it might have -been misplaced by a careless porter. But the bag was gone. “My suit case is here. I brought it in when I came back from my week-end. You can use it if it “Il do,” Evans suggested. Morrison considered, that new uneasiness increasing with a sharp restless tension. “ Let’s see it,” he said. Evans drew the suit case from his locker. It was large, heavily framed, and what most attracted Morrison, fitted with two heavy straps completely encircling it. He pulled these off and tied one about his shoulders and the other wrapped round and round his wrist. “Tt ‘ll do,” he decited: adjusting this second strap. It would do as a makeshift, but who had removed the bag and why? Had _ they done so deliberately, or for some less sig- nificant reason? A score of wonderings and possibilities rose out of that new uneasiness, but it was nine fifty-five. Putting the pre- pared checks and passbooks in the suit case, _- and taking his hat from his locker, he gave ‘Evans a parting instruction or two and went out. The headquarters of the Atlas police de- partment were on the ground floor, and on his trips to the bank Morrison stopped there, procured a pistol from the arms sup- ply, and returned it on his homeward trips. So now as he reached the foot of the stairs, he turned and entered the big room. As usual, the headquarters sergeant was there behind the desk, and, as he often was, Frank Higgins, the chief, was also there, a big man with a big imperturbable face, but a certain resilience about him and blue eyes so steady they seemed almost contem- plative. He looked up from his newspaper as Morrison as in and nodded. “ ’Morn- ing, Bruce/’ he said. “ Good morning, Frank,” Morrison re- plied. The sergeant turned to the arms cabinet, drew out a pistol, and was handing it across the desk to Morrison when Higgins inter- ‘rupted. “ Just a minute,” he said, and putting down his paper, took the weapon. 619 Pulling out the clip, he thumbed the cartridges rapidly into his big palm, eyed them, tried the action, examined the clip, © and then replacing clip and cartridges, handed the weapon over to Morrison. “¢ Just wanted to be sure everything was right on pay day, Bruce,” he said quietly, but with a leok, a curious searching in his blue eyes that brought an added uneasiness surging suddenly up in Morrison. The cashier took the pistol and slid it into his pocket. ‘“ All right, Frank,” he replied, and turning, walked out and down Se corri- dor to the front of the building. — - The car was there. That — uncertainty was removed, he saw, as he found the ma- chine drawn up against the curb, a plain- ‘clothes company policeman in the tonneau. But what had that look of Higgins’s meant? “Good morning, Mr. Morrison,” the po- liceman said, swinging open the door. “Good morning,” Morrison replied, and stepping in, sat down, the suit case between himself and the guard. “ Damp, isn’t te “Yes, I wish it would rain or clear up,” the guard replied, and began a desultory conversation. Morrison took up his share while the car Swung around the office building toward the main gate, but his conscious attention was striving to probe Higgins’s look. What did it mean? Did it have any relation to the Bele cash bag and Camp’s reluctance to promise a car? The car headed enc the city, and Morrison continued talking. He had been over this route too many times in the past eight years to be diverted now. But what had Higgins meant? That uneasy tension twanged sharply taut and a confusion of doubts and possibilities swept upon him. Did Higgins have reason to suspect? He could see no flaw in their — plan, detect no weak link, but it was pos- sible that Higgins was preparing a trap for him and Vance and Greenway. He did not know what he said during the next five miles. Should he avert that swift- ly approaching scene before the Common- wealth National? He could not-communi- cate with Vance and Greenway.. They were already moving the big black touring car— into an inconspicuous position two blocks (EO AMIELOOOL KS con