Dangerous Ground; or, The Rival Detectives

by Lawrence L. Lynch

  CHAPTER XXX.

  FRANZ FRANCOISE'S GENERALSHIP.

  When the three had returned to the outer room, Papa turned anxiouslytoward his hopeful son.

  "Franz, my boy," he began, in a quavering voice, "if there should becops outside--"

  "Ye're the same whinin' old coward, ain't ye?" commented Franz, as hefavored his father with a contemptuous glance. "I've seen a good manybad eggs, but blow me if I ever seed one like ye! Why, in the name o'blazes, air ye more afraid of a cop than you'd be o' the hangman?"

  The mention of this last-named public benefactor, caused Papa to shiverviolently, and Mamma bent upon him a look of scorn.

  "Don't be an idiot, Francoise," she said, sharply. "We've got somethin'to do besides shakin' an' shiverin'?"

  "Time enough ter shiver when the hangman gits ye," added Franz,reassuringly. "But ye needn't fret about cops--I ain't no baby; thereain't no backers outside."

  "But, Franzy,--" began Papa.

  "Shet up; I'm runnin' this. If there'd a-been any help outside, wewouldn't a-had it so easy, you old fool! That cove in there ain't nocoward; he'd a taken the chances with us, and blowed his horn when wefirst tackled him, if there'd been help handy."

  "Ah, what a brain the boy has got!" murmured Mamma, with rapturouspride.

  "Look a-here," said Franz, after a moment's consideration, "I'msatisfied that there _ain't_ no cops about; but to set yer mind at rest,old un, so that you kin use it ter help git to the bottom of thisbusiness, I'll go and take a look around, and I'll be back in jest fiveminutes." And he made a quick stride toward the door.

  "Now, Franzy,--" began Mamma, coaxingly.

  But he waved her back, saying: "Shut up, old woman; I'm runnin' this,"and went swiftly out.

  When the sound of his retreating footsteps was lost to their ears, Papaand Mamma drew close together, and looked into each others' faces--heanxiously, she with a leer of shrewd significance.

  "Old man," she said, impressively, "that boy'll be the makin' of us--ifwe don't let him git us down."

  "Eh! what?"

  "He's got your cunnin' an' mine together, and he's got all the grit youlack."

  "Well," impatiently.

  "But he'll want to run us. An' when he knows all _we_ know, he'd put hisfoot on us if we git in his way."

  "Yes," assented the old man, with a cunning wink, "he's like hisma--considerable."

  "On account o' this here cop business," went on Mamma, ignoring thethrust, "he'll have to be told a little about that Siebel affair. Butabout the rest--not a word. We kin run the other business without hisassistance. Franzy's a fine boy, an' I'm proud of him, but 'twon't do,as I told you afore, to give him too much power. I know the lad."

  "Yes," insinuated Papa, with a dry cough, "I reckon you do."

  "Ye kin see by the way he took the lead to-night, that he won't play nosecond part. We'll have to tell him about Siebel--"

  "An' about Nance."

  "It's the same thing; an' ye'll see what he does when we give him anidea about it."

  "I know what he'll do;" with a crafty wink. "I'll tell him _all_ aboutNance."

  "Yes," muttered the old woman, "ye're good at lyin', and all thesneakin' dodges."

  And she turned upon her heel, and went over to the pallet where Nance,undisturbed by the events transpiring around her, still lay as she hadfallen in her drunken stupor.

  "There's another thing," said Mamma, apparently satisfied with hersurvey of the unconscious girl, and returning to Papa as she spoke."We've got to git out of here, of course, as soon as we've settled thatspy in there."

  "We'd a-had to git out anyhow," muttered Papa, "on account of thatcharity minx. Yes, we will; an' we hain't heard from _her_. You'll haveto visit her agin."

  "I s'pose so. An' when I do--that cop's comin' has given me anidea--I'll bring her to time."

  "How?"

  Mamma leaned toward him, and touched his shoulder with her bonyforefinger.

  "Just as that cop 'ud have brought _you_ to time, if it hadn't been forFranzy's comin'."

  Over Papa's wizened face a look of startled intelligence slowly spreaditself.

  "Old woman," he ejaculated, "Satan himself wouldn't a-thought of _that_!The devil will be proud of ye, someday. But Franzy mustn't see thegal."

  "I'll manage that," said Mamma. "It's risky, but it's the only way; I'llmanage it."

  They had heard no sound, although as they talked they also listened, butwhile the last words yet lingered on the old woman's lips, the doorsuddenly opened and Franz entered.

  "There's no danger," he said, closing the door and securing itcarefully. "Ye kin breathe easy, old top; we're a good deal safer jestnow than our 'dark lantern' in there," and he nodded toward the innerroom.

  "Then," put in Mamma, "while we're safe, we'd better make _him_ safe."

  "Don't git in a hurry, old un; we want a better understandin' afore wetackle his case. Come, old rook, git up here, an' let's take ourbearings."

  He perched himself upon the rickety table, and Papa and Mamma drew thestools up close and seated themselves thereon.

  "Now then," began Franz, "who did yon nipped cove come here to see, youor me, old un? He 'pears to know a little about us both."

  "Yes," assented Papa, "so he does."

  "What he knows about me, I reckon he told," resumed Franz. "Now, what'sthe killin' affair mentioned?"

  Papa seemed to ponder a moment, and then lifted his eyes to his son'sface with a look of bland ingenuousness.

  "It's a kind of delicate affair, my boy," he began, in a tone ofconfidential frankness, "but 'twon't do for _us_ to have secrets fromeach other--will it, old woman?"

  "No," said Mamma; "Franzy's our right hand now. You ort to tell him allabout it."

  "Oh, git along," burst in Franz. "Give us the racket, an' cut it mightyshort--time enough for pertikelers later."

  "Quite right, my boy," said Papa, briskly. "Well, here it is: I--I'mwanted, for a witness, in a--a murder case."

  "Oh," groaned Franz, in tones of exaggerated grief, "my heart is broke!"

  "You needn't laugh, Franzy," remonstrated Papa, aggrieved. "It's thebusiness I was tellin' you about--at the other place, you know."

  "Well, see here, old un, my head's been considerable mixed to-night;seems to me ye did tell me a yarn, but tell it agin."

  "Why, there's not much of it. We was doing well; I bought rags an'--an'things."

  "Rags an' things--oh, yes!"

  "An' we was very comfortable. But one night--" and Papa turned his eyestoward Mamma, as if expecting her to confirm all that he said--"onenight, when there was a number there, a fight broke out. We was inanother room, the old woman an' me,--"

  "Yes," interjected Mamma, "we was."

  "An' we ran in, an' tried to stop the fight."

  Mamma nodded approvingly.

  "But we wasn't strong enough. Before we could see who did it, a man waskilled. And in a minute we heard the police coming. Before they gotthere, we had all left, and they found no one but the dead man toarrest. Ever since, they've been tryin' to find out who did thekillin'."

  "Um!" grunted Franz, "and did you tell me they had arrested somebody?"

  "No, my boy. They caught one fellow, a sailor, but he got away."

  "Oh, he got away. How many was there, at the time of the killin'?"

  "There were three in the room, besides the man that was killed, andthere was the old woman and me in the next room."

  "You forgit," interrupts Mamma, "there was Nance."

  "Oh, yes," rejoined Papa, as if grateful for the correction, "there wasNance."

  Franz glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping girl, and then askedsharply: "And what was Nance doin'."

  "Nance was layin' on a pile o' rags in a corner," broke in Mamma, "an' Ihad to drag her out."

  Franz gave utterance to something between a grunt and a chuckle.

  "So you dragged her out, did ye? 'Tain't exactly in your line neither,doin' that sort o' thing. Ye must a-thought
that gal worth savin'."

  "She ain't worth savin' now," broke in Papa, hastily. "She's a stonearound our necks."

  "That's a fact," said Mamma. "An' it's all in consequence of thatwhite-faced charity tramp's meddlin' we've got to get out of here, an'we'll be tracked wherever we go by that drunken gal's bein' along."

  "Well, ye ain't obliged ter take her, are ye?" queried Franz, as if thispart of the subject rather bored him. "Your keepin' _her_ looks all rotto me. She ain't good for nothin' that I kin see, only to spoil goodwhiskey."

  Papa and Mamma exchanged glances, and then Papa said:

  "Jest so, my boy; she spoils good whiskey, but she's safer so thanwithout it. We kin afford to keep her better than we kin afford to turnher loose."

  "D'ye mean ter say," queried Franz, "that if that gal knew anything,she'd know too much?"

  "That's about it, my boy."

  Franz gave vent to a low whistle. "So," he said; "an' _that's_ why yekeep her full o' drugged liquor, eh? I'll lay a pipe that's the oldwoman's scheme. Have I hit the mark, say?"

  "Yes, Franzy."

  "Yes, my boy."

  "Then what the dickens are ye mincin' about? Why don't ye settle the galafore we pad?"

  "Easy, my boy, easy," remonstrates Papa.

  "Just wot _I_ say, Franz," puts in Mamma. "When we leave here, it won'tbe safe for us to take her--nor for you, either."

  "Safe!" cried Franz, springing from the table with excited manner;"safe! It 'ud be ruination! Afore to-morrow we must be out o' this. Iain't goin' to run no chances. If 'twas safe to turn her loose, I'd saydo it. I don't believe in extinguishin' anybody when 'tain't necessary;but when _'tis_, why--" He finishes the sentence with a significantgesture.

  "But, Franz--" begins Mamma, making a feint at remonstrance.

  "You shet up!" he exclaims; "I'm runnin' this. The gal's been tried an'condemned--jest leave her to me, an' pass on to the next pint. Have yegot a hen-roost handy?"

  "D'ye think we're in our dotage, Franzy," said Papa plaintively, "thatye ask us such a question? Did ye ever know us to be without twoperches?"

  "Well, is it _safe_, then?"

  "If we kin git there without bein' tracked, it's safe enough."

  "Well," said Franz, "we kin do that ef we git an early start, afore ourprisoner is missed. As soon as it's still enough, an' late enough, we'llmizzle."

  "Wot's yer plan, Franzy?"

  "Easy as a, b, c. You an' the old woman lead the way, ter make sure thatthere won't be nobody ter bother me, when I come after with the gal."

  "With the gal?"

  "Yes; ye don't want ter leave a dead gal here, do ye? Ye might be wantedagin, _fer a witness_."

  Papa winced and was silent.

  "But, Franz,--" expostulated Mamma.

  "You shet up! I'm no chicken." And Franz drew his dirk and ran hisfinger along the keen edge. "Here's my plan: You two give me thebearings of the new hen-roost, an' then start out, keepin' a littleahead, an' goin' toward the drink. I'll rouse up the gal an' boost heralong, keepin' close enough to ye to have ye on hand, to prove that I'mtakin' home my drunken sister if any one asks questions. When we getnear the drink, you'll be likely to miss me."

  "Oh!"

  "An' after a while I may overtake ye, somewhere about hen-roost,_alone_!"

  "Oh," said Mamma, "you'll finish the job in the drink?"

  "I'll finish _with_ the drink but I'll _begin_ with this." And he poisedthe naked dagger above Mamma's head with a gesture full of significance.

  "But the other," said Papa, with nervous eagerness; "what shall we dowith him?"

  "The other," replied Franz, slowly putting away his knife, "we willleave here."

  "What!" screamed Mamma.

  "But--" objected Papa.

  "Are ye a pack o' fools after all?" snarled Franz. "A dead cop'll makeus more trouble than a livin' one. Ye kin kill ten ordinary mortals an'be safer than if ye kill one cop. Kill ten men, they detail a squad tohunt ye up mebby. Kill one peeler, an' you've got the whole police forceagin ye. No, sir; we bring him out o' that closet, and leave him tertake his chances. Before morning, we'll be where he can't track us; andsomebody'll let him loose by to-morrow. He'll have plenty o' time tomeditate, and mebby it'll do him good."

  There was a look of dissatisfaction in Mamma's eyes; and Papa's assentwas feeble. But already this strong-willed ruffian had gained anascendency over them, and his promptitude in taking Nance so completelyoff their hands, assured them that it would not be well to cross him.

  Nevertheless, as they made their preparations for a midnight flitting,Papa and Mamma, unseen by Franz, exchanged more than one significantglance.