The Argosy, April 1912 — page 100: what you’re looking at

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

26 THE ARGOSY. gently with the situation—if there was any situation to deal with. Mary’s suspicions were still rather vague, but the man’s ap- pearance inspired confidence. ‘Anyway, this was no time to worry about © etiquette and propriety. She would speak to him, tell him what was puzzling her, and ask his opinion. So she touched him upon the’ arm as the best way of attracting his attention, for his eyes were riveted upon the game, and the crowd was very noisy. “I beg your pardon,” she said, “but would you mind taking these glasses and looking at that open window over there where the man is standing with that shiny. thing?” “Certainly, miss,” replied the man, evi- dently a trifle surprised, but taking her field-glasses and looking in the direction she indicated. In a second he let out a startled oath, what he saw making him forget for the mo- ment that he was in the presence of a lady. “Pardon me, miss,” he said, “ but that’s ? a queer looking arrangement up there, and it surprised me. I’m glad you called my attention to it. How did you come to notice it yourself?” “A strong light flashed in my eyes,” she replied, “which seemed to come from: there.”’ The man whistled softly. “This may be a big thing,” he went on, impressively. ‘You may have dug up the biggest kind of a scandal. Anyway, we'll look into it. I’m a detective. My name is Kennedy, and my friend here is Kid Gro- ver,” (indicating a small, flashily dressed young fellow at his side). ‘Take a slant up at that window, Kid,” he went on, after Miss Truesdell had acknowledged the in- troduction. “What do you make of it?” Mr. Grover took one look through the glasses and said simply: ce Gee! PB) “Don’t that look queer to you?” asked the detective. “Betcher life, cap.” “Then we'll get busy and look into it. You deserve all the credit for discovering this game, miss,” Kennedy added, turning to Mary, “and if you’ll come with us we'll guarantee to see that everything is done smooth and polite, and that you won’t be scared or in any kind of danger.”’ “Of course I'll come,” she said eagerly. “Let’s hurry.” The three of them slipped quietly out of the grand stand, around the corner, down a side street, and five minutes later Kennedy _ was unlocking, with a skeleton key, the front door of a vacant house a block from the ball-park, while Kid Grover guarded the back. The latter joined them in the lower hallway, and they tiptoed up the stairs to the third floor. They could hear voices in a back room, the door of which was closed. Carefully trying this door, they found it to be un- locked, and, opening it cautiously about a foot, they looked in upon a strange scene. A small, light-haired fellow, wearing heavy spectacles, was bending over an in- genious arrangement of mirrors, while be- side him, watching the ball game from the window, through a pair of field-glasses, and directing the movements of the smaller man, stood Curley McGrath’s rival, Joe Stand- ing. The two were evidently not in the slight- est fear of any interruption, and were so intent on the business in hand that they did not notice the arrival of the newcomers, who had now carefully pushed the door half-way open, and stood silently watching them. If there had been any doubt about the game they were playing, their conversa- tion would have been sufficient to convict them. “Now get ready,” said Standing. “ Mc- Grath is at the bat again. Now—flash! That’s it. Strike one. He missed it by a yard. Now—again! Ha,ha! Strike two. He nearly broke his back. Once more— now! Fine. He’s out. Listen to the crowd.” From the bleachers and grand _ stand arose the angry hoots and groans of disap- pointed fans. “Vell, I guess diss vill about finish dot catcher, yes?” said the small man with the spectacles. “He’s to be taken out, I heard, if he doesn’t make good to-day, and he certainly isn’t making good,” replied Standing. “ The whole team is rattled now, anyway, and it’s a cinch the Buccaneers won’t have much trouble getting that pennant. If they do, however, all we have to do is throw our lit- tle light in some other player’s eyes. The day the pennant goes to the Buccaneers you and I, and some others, will be on ‘ Easy Street.’ ” No wonder poor McGrath had been able to play only on cloudy days. The listeners had heard enough to re- comicaoolkks