The Adventures of Jimmie Dale [117]
to have eluded the police for the moment, somehow, but let me tell you I--" "No," interrupted Jimmie Dale softly, "let ME tell you--all there is to be told." He leaned over the desk and stared rudely at the bruise on Mittel's face. "Rather a nasty crack, that," he remarked. Mittel's fists clenched, and an angry flush swept his cheeks. "I'd have made it a good deal harder," said Jimmie Dale, with sudden insolence, "if I hadn't been afraid of putting you out of business and so precluding the possibility of this little meeting. Now then"--the revolver swung upward and held steadily on a line with Mittel's eyes--" I'll trouble you for the diagram of that Alaskan claim that belongs to Mrs. Michael Breen!" Mittel, staring fascinated into the little, round, black muzzle of the automatic, edged back in his chair. So--so that's what you're after, is it?" he jerked out. "Well"--he laughed unnaturally and waved his hand at the disarray of the room-- "it's been stolen already." "I know that," said Jimmie Dale grimly. "By--YOU!" "Me!" Mittel started up in his chair, a whiteness creeping into his face. "Me! I--I--" "Sit down!" Jimmie Dale's voice rang out ominously cold. "I haven't any time to spare. You can appreciate that. But even if the police return before that map is in my possession, they will still be TOO LATE as far as you are concerned. Do you understand? Furthermore, if I am caught--you are ruined. Let me make it quite plain that I know the details of your little game. You are a curb broker, Mr. Mittel--ostensibly. In reality, you run what is nothing better than an exceedingly profitable bucket shop. The Weasel has been a customer and also a stool for you for years. How Hamvert met the Weasel is unimportant--he came East with the intention of getting in touch with a slick crook to help him--the Weasel is the coincidence, that is all. I quite understand that you have never met Hamvert, nor Hamvert you, nor that Hamvert was aware that you and the Weasel had anything to do with one another and were playing in together--but that equally is unimportant. When Hamvert engaged the Weasel for ten thousand dollars to get the map from you for him, the Weasel chose the line of least resistance. He KNEW you, and approached you with an offer to split the money in return for the map. It was not a question of your accepting his offer--it was simply a matter of how you could do it and still protect yourself. The Weasel was well qualified to point the way--a fake robbery of your house would answer the purpose admirably--you could not be held either legally or morally responsible for a document that was placed, unsolicited by you, in your possession, if it were stolen from you." Mittel's face was ashen, colourless. His hands were opening and shutting with nervous twitches on the top of the desk. Jimmie Dale's lips curled. "But"--Jimmie Dale was clipping off his words now viciously-- "neither you nor the Weasel were willing to trust the other implicitly--perhaps you know each other too well. You were unwilling to turn over the map until you had received your share of the money, and you were equally unwilling to turn it over until you were SAFE; that is, until you had engineered your fake robbery even to the point of notifying the police that it had been committed; the Weasel, on the other hand, had some scruples about parting with any of the money without getting the map in one hand before he let go of the banknotes with the other. It was very simply arranged, however, and to your mutual satisfaction. While you robbed your own house this evening, he was to get half the money in advance from Hamvert, giving Hamvert to understand that HE had planned to commit the robbery himself to-night. He was to come out here then, receive the map from you in exchange for your share of the money, return to Hamvert with the map, and receive in turn his own share. I might say that Hamvert actually paid down the advance--and it was perhaps unfortunate for you that you paid such scrupulous attention to details as to cut your own telephone