Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 189, No. 4 — page 161: what you’re looking at

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

THE OFF He specialized in such items as the sort of music a criminal preferred, his manner of speaking, the brand of cigarettes or cigars he smoked, the color he fancied in a cravat, his taste in gloves—oh, a lot of things that might appear silly to his competitors. Still—well, take the Burky case, Jack had trapped his man simply because he knew that Dan’s favorite cigar was the Devil’s Delight. But, to get on with the story, Jack went into action the minute he learned of the Pyle robbery and the big reward the spark plug king had offered. So that along about ten o’clock of the same evening, the young man presented himself at the Long Island house and was referred to Captain Schmidt. The captain was not inclined to be over cordial, but he knew all about Jack Tem- pest’s reputation, and hesitated to treat the other curtly. So he mustered a smile and said: “Ive heard of you, Mr. Tempest. | Always admired your work in that Shel- burne Water case. I suppose now you will walk in and grab off the cream in this job.” “hanks for your good opinion, cap- tain,” Jack replied with the touch of defer- ence that made him popular with regular police officials everywhere. “It goes with- out saying that Id like to skim the cream, but I dare say your people have got the case all sewed up by this time. Still, I suppose I shall be free to ramble about and look things over.” “'That’s up to Mr. Pyle, of course. He will not object, I guess. | Here he comes now.” The spark plug king expressed pleasure at meeting Mr. Tempest. Certainly. He would be given every facility in his in- vestigation of the robbery, and good luck! Whereupon Jack quickly skimmed over the ground already covered by Chief Perry and his aids. He found Trent in good humor, and whistling: ‘‘ The Long, Long Trail.” Which caused Jack to remark amusedly: “ That’s what I’m on, Mr. Trent. T hope you won’t mind helping me all you can.” “T ’ope it proves to be a short, short trail, sir,” Trent said. “ And at the finish I ’ope to be allowed a bash—just one single bash —at the beggar ’0o crowned me, sir.” 631 “Perhaps that could be CHANCE. Jack laughed. arranged.” Trent proved an eager helper. The car in which the robbers had come, he ex- plained, was a new Diana coach, gray in color, with a silver bathing girl on the radiator cap. His assailant was a man about five feet eight inches in height, stocky, wearing a short black mustache. His clothes were brown, he wore tan shoes and a gray soft hat. That was as much as Trent had been able to see in the few seconds available. He had not seen the man’s companions except for the fleeting glimpse as they sped past in the car. He believed that one of them wore a light-colored motoring cap. Tempest jotted down this information, questioned Mrs. Pyle and her guests about the flying man, and took himself off to the headquarters of the Amalgamated Airways, near Hempstead. There, to his surprise, he found Chief Perry, Detective Williams, together with several local officers, seated in the company office and glaring at a harassed looking in- dividual in flying regalia who stared sul- lenly back at his tormentors. Jack joined the group of policemen, and in three minutes had the substance of what had been going on. The flyer, who gave his name as George Anson, and whose license was in that name, admitted that he was the man who had been forced down on the Pyle golf course that afternoon. His rudder wires had fouled during the flight, he contended, but he had adjusted them and flown back to his own field. That was all he had to say, and he stood pat on it. He denied having anything to co with the crooks who had robbed the Pyle home, and he defied the officers to pin any- thing on him. After the bullying had continued for an- other fifteen minutes, it looked to Jack very much like a stalemate. He glanced at Anson, who sat stolidly, drawing little pic- tures on a pad before him and refusing to look up any more. His set jaw convinced Jack that nothing was to be gained by » remaining. Jack yawned and started to rise from his Gomichbooks (E(0)