The Million Dollar Mystery: Novelized from the Scenario of F. LonerganMacGrath, Harold
Philosophy
The Million Dollar Mystery: Novelized from the Scenario of F. Lonergan
MacGrath, Harold
Detective and mystery stories
"Then how is it that some one is watching from up there? No
excitement. I'm going to bid every one good night, then I'm going to
investigate. When I leave you will quietly send men to all exits to
the building. I want the man who sneezed, and I want him badly."
Olga departed with Braine, only she immediately sought the taxi that
brought her and was driven home. It was always understood that when
any serious exploit was under way hereabouts she was to make her
departure at once.
Vroon stationed his men at the several exits and Braine went up-stairs.
The man who had sneezed, however, had vanished as completely as if he
had worn that invisible cloak one reads about in the Persian tales. As
a matter of fact, after the second sneeze he had gone up to the roof,
got out by the trap, and jumped--rather risky business, too--to the
next roof and had clambered down the fire-escape of the second
building. He was swearing inaudibly. After all these days of care and
planning, after all his cleverness in locating the rendezvous of the
Black Hundred, and now to lose his advantage because of an
uncontrollable sneeze! He would never dare go back, and just when he
was beginning to pick up fine bits of information! So Florence
Hargreave was going to have a new father in a day or so? There were
some clever rogues among this band of theirs; but their cleverness was
well offset by an equal number of fools.
Yes, there were some clever rogues, and to prove this assertion Braine
secured a taxicab and drove furiously away, his destination the home of
his ancient enemy. He dropped the cab a block or two away and
presently stowed himself away in the summer house at the left of the
lawn. It would have been a capital idea--that is, if the other man had
not thought of and anticipated this very thing. So he used a public
pay station telephone; and Braine waited in vain, waited till the
lights in the Hargreave house went out one by one and it became wrapped
in darkness within and moonshine without.
Braine was a philosopher. He returned to his waiting taxicab, drove
home, paid the bill, smiling grimly, and went to bed. It was going to
be a wonderful game of blind man's buff, and it was going to be sport
to watch this fool Paroff blunder into a pit.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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