ptain, the joke's on you. Ha, ha, ha! It's a bully one! Ho, ho!
Ha, ha!"
"What joke?"
"You're working on the Van Cleft case. Oh, sure, you are, don't kid me
back. Well, Captain, you've missed two other perfectly good grafts. This
is the third one!"
There was a click and the speaker, with another merry gurgle, rang off.
"Quick, manager's desk," cried Shirley, jiggling the metal key. "What
call was that? Where did it come from?"
After a little wait, a languid voice answered: "Brooklyn, Main 6969,
Party C."
"Give me the number again--I want to speak on the wire."
After another delay, the voice replied "The line has been discontinued."
"I just had it! What is the name of the subscriber. Hurry, this is a
matter of life and death."
"It's against the rules to give any further information. But our record
shows that the house burned down about two weeks ago. No one else has
been given the number. There's no instrument there!"
CHAPTER II. THE FLEETING PROMPTER
Monty's puzzled smile was in no wise reciprocated by the Captain, whose
red face evidenced a growing resentment.
He began a tirade, but a wink from the club man warned him. Shirley
replaced the receiver, and the regular attendant resumed his place
at the switchboard. The lad was curious at the unusual ability of
the wealthy Mr. Shirley to handle the bewildering maze of telephone
attachments. Monty explained, as he turned to go upstairs.
"Son, that was one of my smart friends trying to play a practical joke
on my guest. I fooled him. Don't let it happen again, until you send in
the party's name first."
"Yes, sir," meekly promised the boy.
"Well, Captain Cronin, as the old paperback novels used to say at the
end of the first instalment, 'The Plot thickens!' At first I thought
this case of stupid badger game--"
"You aren't going to back out, Monty? Here's a whole gang of crooks
which would give you some sport rounding up, and as for money--"
"Money is easy, from both sides of a criminal matter. What interests me
is that ghostly telephone call from a house that burned down, and the
caller's knowledge of Number Three. I'm in this case, have no fear of
that."
Shirley led his guest to the coat room.
"I'll get a taxicab, Monty. We'd better see that girl first and then
have a look at the body."
The Captain turned to the door, as the attendant helped Monty with his
overcoat. The waiter from the grill-room approached. "Excuse me, s
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