Show I 1 D HEM ja ro af 0 f J ff aza LAZ ZE 0 aa all 0 my VJ OA T MOM E 1 lul ahr PILL COMPANY COM CHAPTER 1 I the owner of new york percy darrow a young man of scientific training indolent mat manners iners aftem inato appearance hidden energy and absolute courage lounged through the doors of the atlas building since his hili rescue from the volcanic island that had witnessed tho the piratical murder of his old employer doctor schermerhorn mer horn the spectacular dissolution of tho the murderers and lite his own imprisonment in a cave beneath tho the very roar of an eruption he ha had been nursing hla his shattered nerves back bach to their normal strength now he felt that at last he be was able to go to work again therefore he was about to approach a man ot of influence among practical scientists from whom he hoped further occupation As the express ele elevator shot upward ho he passed a long slender hand across hla his eyes the rapid motion confused cont used him still the car stopped and the metallic gates clanged open darrow obediently stepped forth only when the elevator had disappeared did his upward glance bring to him the knowledge that he had bad embarked disembarked dis one floor too soon boon I 1 darrows Darro wB eye tell fell on a lettered sign outside the nearest door IN ho smiled a slow red lipped smile beneath his small silky mustache dropped his bla black eyelashes in a flicker of reminiscence hesitated a moment then stepped languidly forward and opened the door the sign indicated the headquarters of the very modest commis behind which mccarthy chose to work vork mccarthy quite simply at that time owned now new york As darrow entered mccarthy hung up the telephone receiver with a smash and sat eat glaring at the instrument after a moment he turned his small email bright eyes toward the new comer hello pere perc he growled see ee yu say im so mad my skin cracks just now some measly little shrimp called me up from a public booth what ye suppose he wanted now oh not nothing hinl just told me in so BO many words for mo me to pack up my little trunk and sail for europe and never come bacal alit he a give mo me until sunday too mccarthy barked out a short laugh and reached for a cigar box which he be held out to darrow percy shook hla his head SO bo be wants you to go to europe wants me orders met me say bays e I 1 got to mccarthy laughed lovely thought 1 11 lie he puffed out a cloud of smoke says it if I 1 dont obey orders hell send me a sign to convince met me wont went on the boss iles hos got a mean voice lie ho ought to have a tag hung on him and got get carried to the morgue lie he give me the shivers like a dead man I 1 never hear such a unholy thing out outside a graveyard at mid nighal percy darrow was surveying him with leisurely amusement a slight 46 no 0 0 V 0 al mccarthy stumped down a flight of stairs smile mile playing over his narrow dark face his sign he promised Is apt to be a bomb observed darrow hes halo nutty all right mccarthy agreed but when he said that he was doing the tall religious iles hes got A bag th that atway way your affair said raid darrow just the same id have an outer office I 1 outer office rot I 1 said the boss an outer omee office just juat gets get cluttered up with people widding tilting wid n ting here got to say eay nant out cout in meeting esting if I 1 want em to the bod glod word pero lehat what can I 1 do tor for you darrow smiled you know very well my tat fat friend that the only reason you like me at all to la that im the one and only man who comes come into this office who want ono one single thing of you 1 I suppose it agreed mccarthy tho the telephone rung rang lie ho snatched down the receiver listened a moment and thrust forward his heavy jowl not on your eifel lie ho growled in answer to some question while lie he was still occupied with the receiver percy darrow nodded and sauntered out CHAPTER 11 II tho the shadow of mystery darrow walked up the one flight of at steps alepa to the story above ki IU found ills his acquaintance in and at once broached the subject of 0 hla his errand doctor knox promised the matter his bis attention the two men then embarked on an a long discussion ot or professor Schermer horns discovery of super radium and the strange series ot of events that had encompassed his bis death into the midst of the discus start alou burst mccarthy his bis face red with suppressed anger can I 1 use your phone he growled oh yes said he as ho he caught sight of the instrument without awaiting the requested permission he be jerked the receiver from its hook and placed it to his ear car deader than a smelt ill ho he burst burnt out this to Is a nice way to run a public busi business neBal I 1 thanks lie he nodded to doctor knox rind and stormed out darrow rose languidly ill see you again he told knox at present im going to follow the human cyclone it takes more than mere telephones to wake mccarthy up like that lie he found the goes boss in the hall his bis finger against the down button three cars has passed me lie he snarled trying to peer through the ground glass that in the atlas building surrounded rounded Bur the shaft ill tan hide hida down he be bellowed ata at a shadow on the glass have a cigarette proffered percy darrow calm down to the eclen title eye youre out of at condition for such emotions you thick necks are subject to apoplexy oh shut apt growled mccarthy there a phone in order in this building two floors either way ive tried em and there been for twenty and I 1 cant get a messenger to answer a call and that ring tailed star spangled ornament of a janitor wont answer his private bell ill get him bounced so high the blackbirds will build nests in his ear before he comes down again after trying vainly to stop a car on its way up or down mccarthy stumped down a flight of stairs followed more leisurely by the calmly unhurried darrow here the same performance for mance was repeated A half dozen men by now had joined them so they progressed from story to story until an elevator boy attracted by their frantic shouts stopped to see what was the matter immediately the door loor was slid back on its runners mccarthy seized the astonished operator by the collar come out of that you scum of the earth he roared come out of that and tell me why you dont stop for sign signals alst 1 I aint seen no signals signal sl gasped the el elevator evator boy some one punched the button but the little round disk in the car tailed failed to illuminate 1 I wonder if theres anything in order in this miserable hole snarled mccarthy the lights is gone out volunteered ed the boy and indeed tor for the first arst time the men now crowding the car noticed that the Incan descents were dad while mccarthy stormed out to spread abroad impartial threats against two public utility concerns for interfering with his business percy darrow his curiosity arouse aroused interviewed the janitor under that bunc tion arys guidance he examined the points of entrance tor for the different wires used for lighting and communication looked over the private bell installations stal lations and ascended again to the corridor abstractedly dusting his fingers there he found a group of tha th a buildings tenants among whom he distinguished doctor knox s same complaint I 1 suppose no phones no lights no bells bo be remarked seems to be replied knox general condition acts as though the main arteries had bad been cut outside inside bolls house phones suggested darrow the repair men came in double quick time and great confide confidence they went to work in ya an assured manner which soon slackened blackened to a slower bewilderment some one disappeared to return with a box of now new Latter lotteries Lat teries fes the head repair man connected a group of these with a small bell in the executive office the instrument however tailed failed to res respond poria try you ammeter darrow who had followed tho the delicate needle of tile alio instrument n ant did not quiver batteries dead said the repair man jim what the hotel bill do you mean by getting dead batteries go back and bring a now new lot and test teat om in duo due time jim returned these test teal to fifteen said bald lie he go to idill test nil nothing thing roared the repair roan man after a moment these aro are dead too percy darrow left the ensuing argument to its own warmth it was growing late in the corridor a few hastily brought lamps cast a dim light percy collided against doctor knox entering tho the building not fixed yet asked the latter in evident a disappointment the matter 1 I dont know said darrow slowly it puzzles puzzler mo me its more than an ordinary break of connections or short abort circuiting through apparatus if one could imagine a big building like this polarized in some way anyway the electricity is dead look here lie ho pulled an electric flashlight flash light from his pocket bought this fresh on my way hero here tested it of course now theres nothing wonderful about these toys going back on a man but he pressed the button and peered down the lens this Is a funny coincidence ile ho turned the lens lena toward hla his friend the filament was dark CHAPTER ill III the moving finger writes write the condition of affairs in the atlas building lasted long enough to carry the matter up to the experts in the employ of the companies that Is to say until about three the following morning then without reason and all at once the whole building from top to bottom was a blaze of incandescent light the little group of workmen and experts nodded in a competent and satisfied led manner and began leisurely J I 1 an astonishing sight met hla his ey ayea ea to pack their tools as though at the successful completion of a long and difficult job but every man jack of them knew perfectly well that the electrical apparatus of at the building was now in exactly the same condition as aa it had been the evening before no repair work had a futile investigation As the group moved toward the outer air the head repair man quietly dropped behind surreptitiously he applied the slender cords of hla his pocket ammeter to the zinc and carbon of the dead batteries concerning whose freshness ho he and his assistant had argued the delicate needle leaped forward quivered like a snakes tongue and hovered overa number fifteen read the repair man and then after a moment hell haiti tile the dally daily business therefore opened normally the elevator shot from floor to floor the telephones rang the call bells balls buzzed and all was well at six came the scrub woman at half past seven the office domce boys at eight the clerks a little later some of the heads and precisely at nine mal achl mccarthy as was his invariable habit As the bulky form of the tha political boss pushed around the leaves of the revolving door the elevator starter glanced at his watch this was not to determine it mccarthy was on time but to see it if the watch was right alacar mccarthy thy had bad recovered his good humor ile he throw threw a joke at the negro polishing the brass and paused genially to exchange a word with the elevator starter worked until about three the latter answered ft a question got it fixed all right no they eay day what was the matter something to do with the wolret I 1 suppose most likely agreed mccarthy at that moment an elevator dropped from above and came to rest like a swift bird alighting the doors parted to let out a young man wearing the cap of the united wireless good morning mr mccarthy this young man remarked in passing arent going into the sign painting business are you he laughed what yo ye givin u us mike alike demanded mccarthy McCa the young roan man wheeled to include the elevator starter in the joke air was waa full of dope most of last night from some merry little jester working a toy homemade home made lie Hs just kept repeating the same thing something about mccarthy at six you shall have a sign given unto you it works over and over all night some new adver tiOng dodge I 1 bockon know but bist you ou the mccarthy and wre w are re getting a present from crom some admiring admirl mr consult con bent ile he threw back his head and laughed but mccarthys McCar thys ready anger rose where did tile the stuff turf come colue from out of tile tho fresh air replied the inside operator from most anywhere the zone of communication you tell w who 0 sent it signed come com e no way it from quite a distance though illow how can you tell that you can tell by tile the way it sounds say they ought to bo be a law lam about these ama cluttering up tile the air this way sometimes sometime as I 1 got to pick my own dope out of at a dozen or fifteen messages all ticking away in roy my headpiece at once 1 I know the crazy slob what sent cosm efm all right all right growled mccarthy lies iles nutty f for or fair air well it if hes has nutty I 1 wish YOU d hurry lite his little trip to Matte awan complained the operator turning away the boss went to his bis office where lie ho established himself behind his tabletop table top desk there all day he conducted a leisurely business of mysterious import sitting bitting where the cool autumn breeze from the river brought its refreshment there were two other inner offices to mccarthys McCar thys establishment in which sat bat a private secretary and an office boy occasionally mccarthy with somo some especial visitor retired to one of these theao for a more confidential conversation the secretary seemed always very busy the office boy was often in the street at noon mccarthy took lunch at a small round table in the cafe below when he reappeared at the elevator shaft the elevator starter again verified his watch malacha mccarthy had but the one virtue of accuracy and that had to do with matters of time at five minutes of six he reached for his hat at three minutes of six lie he boarded the elevator runs runa all right today sam he remarked genially to the boy whom he had halt throttled the evening before lie stood for a moment in the entrance or of the building enjoying the sight of at the crowds hurrying to their cars the elevated the subway and the terries ferries the clang and roar of tho the city pleased his senses as a vessel vibrates to its master tone mccarthy was feeling largely paternal as he stepped toward the corner for to a grea great t extent the tha destinies of these people were in his hands easy marks was file pl philanthropic illan expression of this sentiment at the corner he stopped for a car ile he glanced up at the clock at the metropolitan tower the bronze hand band pointed to the stroke of six As lie he looked the farst note of the quarter chimes rang out tho the car swung the corner and headed down the street mccarthy stepped forward the sweet chimes ceased their fourfold phrasing and the great bell began its spaced and solemn booming one I 1 two I 1 three I 1 four I 1 five elva I 1 dixi mccarthy counted at the recollection of a crazy message from the unknown he smiled ile he stepped fo forward r to hold up his hand nt at the car somewhat to hla his surprise the car had already stopped some twenty feet away mccarthy picked his way to the car wonder you stop at a crossing he growled juice give out explained the motorman mccarthy clambered aboard and sat down in a comfortably filled car up and down the perspective of the street could be seen other cars also stalled ten minutes slipped by then malachi mccarthy grew impatient with a muttered growl he rose elbowed his way through the strap hangers anaf stepped to the tha street A row of idle I 1 taxicabs stood in front of the atlas I 1 building into the first of these bounced mccarthy throwing his address to the expectant chauffeur the man hopped down from his box threw on the coll coil switch and ran to the front lie he turned the engine over the compression but no explosion followed ile he repeated the effort a dozen times |