"What does he mean, Chief?" he asked huskily. "What is that _'it'?"_
"Go on!" said Drew tersely.
"I got Morphy off the wire, Chief. I got Frick and then Frick got the
warden. He's a good fellow. He listened to me, then he calls some
guards and they drag Morphy through the prison and down to the coolers.
I guess they're down in the ground, somewhere. Anyway, Chief, he's gone
for good--unless they send him to the chair for his part in the murder
of Stockbridge."
"He'll go! What I want to know now, Delaney, is this fellow's right
name. Morphy said 'Bert,' eh?"
"Sure he did, Chief. 'Bert! Bert! Bert!' That's close to Albert. Albert
Jones, like's in the letter."
"No! That would be a throw-off. He's some other kind of a Bert. Let me
see his cap."
Delaney picked the prisoner's cap from the rug and passed it over to
Drew. The detective examined it, ripped the silk, and looked under the
lining. He straightened and handed it to Harry Nichols.
"Can you make that name out?" he asked. "Your eyes are younger than
mine. Perhaps Miss Stockbridge can read it. It's Spanish, I think.
'Gusta' or 'Gasta.' The rest is obliterated with grease."
"Antofagasta!" declared Loris suddenly. "It's Antofagasta, Chile."
"Fetch the lineman's kit, the Central Office man brought," said Drew to
the operative. "Put it right here by this fellow's side. I--we are
getting close to the truth in this case."
Delaney hurried back with the satchel. It was the same one that Drew
had seen in the library on the evening Stockbridge was murdered. It had
excited no suspicion then.
"A magneto," said the detective. "First comes a ringing magneto which
has seen much service. Put that over there, Delaney. Spread a paper or
something. Ah," Drew added, "here's a set of small dry batteries
arranged in series. Three or four of them. I don't know just what
they're for, but Bert does."
The prisoner's pale eyes blinked and were closed again as the lids
compressed in wrinkled determination. He moved slightly when Drew
pressed a knee against his chest. He coughed with dry catching deep
down in his throat. The detective felt of his pulse. It was faint but
steady--like a tired sleeper's.
"He's coming out of it," Drew said. "He'll talk after awhile. Let's
see, what is this?"
Delaney leaned over the satchel. "Another link," said Drew, drawing out
a telephone receiver without wires attached to it. "And here," he
added, "is the testing set with the sharp clamps. That's for listening
in or talking with other people's connections. I don't doubt that this
fellow knows his business. Here's a micro-volt meter that registers
fractions of volts. Here's an ammeter of the pocket size. I've seen
this kind on automobiles for testing dry-cells. Now, what is this?"
"Looks like a full set of jimmies!" blurted Delaney. "That's a
sectional jimmy!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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