“Then why us?” Gladys asked.
“I refused,” said Tolon. “I told him I’d go alone, but I wouldn’t call in any friends. You see I never saw this lad before. But he seems to be carrying the story through, all right. When I refused, he made another suggestion, that we get his car, which was parked on the avenue, and go pick up a couple of girls that —”
Tolon stopped suddenly, and flushed.
“Go on,” prompted Nona.
Tolon rallied, manfully. “It doesn’t matter exactly what he said. He’s drunk, and besides he must have changed his mind, or else the liquor has affected his vision.”
“Nice going,” applauded Nona. Gladys’ blush seemed destined to break all records.
“The car and chauffeur seem to back up his story,” Tolon continued. “But even so I’m a bit leery of him. I suggested the new clothes idea. If he’s really Baron, he’ll have access to his dad’s department store. We’ll get a new outfit apiece. Then I’d advise you two to leave. It would be embarrassing to go through with it. I only agreed to picking you up so that I could suggest the clothes idea and check up on him.”
BOTH girls could guess what was next on the program. When they left, Tolon would take Baron to the party and stage a robbery. He could probably get away with it, once he gained admittance.
Gladys looked at Nona and shook her head. Nona smiled. “I think we’d better leave now,” she said, gently. “While our host is still asleep.”
Tolon looked incredulous. “You mean you don’t want new outfits? In the shape this boy is in, you could pick the best in the house.”
Gladys shook her head again. “It would be stealing unless we went through with the bargain,” she said. “And I don’t think we’d better.”
Tolon scratched his chin ruefully. “I forgot there were such ideas,” he confessed. “It’s up to you, however.”
He turned to order the chauffeur to stop the car, then quickly whirled back again. But it was too late. He stared into the muzzle of his own gun! In the instant he had turned to speak through the division glass, Dene Baron had reached forward and disarmed him. He had acted so quickly that neither of the girls had been able to voice a warning.
“That wasn’t really necessary, of course,” said Baron easily. “I have another gun behind this seat. I just wanted to see if I could do it. You fellows aren’t so clever after all, are you?”
He fished behind him and produced it, not letting the other one waver for an instant. Tolon was effectively covered now.
“What’s the idea?” he asked. “Want your gold back?”
Baron chuckled. “That wasn’t gold,” he informed. “It was bait, and you struck at it. The inference is clear.”
“I’m a fish, eh? Well I was a smart enough fish not to coax my friends to snap at your bait. And incidentally you might as well let these two girls out. They aren’t thieves, you know. You heard them refuse to go to the store.”
Baron shook his head. “No harm to take them along for investigation,” he said. “After all they didn’t say they were going to do anything to stop you, either. For all I know they may be shady characters.”
“Don’t be a fool,” rasped Tolon. “You can see they’re ladies. Why put them through embarrassment?”
Baron laughed harshly. “Who said any thing about a police station? The police aren’t worth much or you’d have been caught long ago. Vargo has picked the cleverest of the young nobles for this job. We use our own methods and hold our own court. And nobody carries word back of what happens. We’ll have your bunch stamped out in no time at all. You see we know what you are!”
Tolon whitened visibly beneath his tan. “You’ve guessed why we are thieves. And you’d imprison two innocent people, rather than risk the others learning how I was captured?”
Baron smiled. “Precisely. But don’t worry about the girls. They’ll be entertained thoroughly. We’ll turn them loose when we’ve caught the last of the seventy-four. I only picked them up as an excuse to get you to bring one of your friends to make a partner for the odd one.”
“You know our number, too,” observed Tolon.
Baron nodded. “We caught one about a week ago. He told us a few things, under pressure. Trouble was that he died too soon.”
THERE was silence for the rest of the drive. Tolon didn’t relax for an instant. But neither did Baron. He sat negligently holding one gun steadily in the direction of Tolon’s stomach and the other at an angle which could be shifted to cover either of the girls in a split second.
He was wedged sideways in the corner of the broad back seat of the car and could easily watch both Tolon and the girls. He may have looked the part of a weak son of nobility, but he certainly handled his guns convincingly.
Nona wasn’t sure whether to be frightened or not. For although she hadn’t bargained for anything like this, it might lead her to Mark. And that was what she wanted most.
On the other hand she didn’t like the idea of prison, and she had a lot less confidence in her own powers since she had noticed that guns were one of the commonplaces of this city. A deceptively powerful body and a knowledge of combat of all sorts were of little value against bullets.
She hadn’t known that they existed until she had seen Baron go into action. All but the butt had been hidden by Tolon’s holster and she hadn’t recognized the gun for what it was. But when the whole weapon came into view she knew instantly, for such things had been adequately described in the ancient books she had read in Hartford.
Gladys, a normal woman, was in no doubt about whether she should be frightened. Reason had nothing to do with it. An icy hand seemed to clutch at the pit of her stomach.
Nona felt her tremble and realized that she was next to panic. She admired the girl’s pluck in not letting any evidence of it escape her lips. Surreptitiously she patted the arm which rested against hers. There was nothing else she could do, and it did seem to steady Gladys.
Tolon caught her eye and thanked her wordlessly. His eyes rested fleetingly on Gladys and then returned to Baron, apparently satisfied that the girl wouldn’t do anything rash, and perhaps precipitate a slaughter.
Tolon was none too sure of the caliber of the man who faced him. He had guessed wrong once, and didn’t intend to guess wrong again. And he suspected, in spite of the efficiency which Baron had already displayed, that it wouldn’t take much to start him shooting wildly.
There was weakness in the man’s face, and a certain indefinable look of cruelty. Tolon suspected that he would welcome the opportunity to use his guns. And most certainly he would use them if he thought his own skin was in danger.
Tolon remained quietly watchful, regretting most mightily the presence of the girls. Without them, he could have risked the noble’s marksmanship. But with them in the car he was helpless.
The driver had apparently been given his instructions long before. He stopped the car in front of a stone building, not far from Vargo’s palace, and opened the door of the tonneau. An automatic in his hand motioned the girls to get out.
A lone pedestrian took notice as the party entered the building. He scowled, but in the darkness neither of the men with the guns saw the expression.
They might have wondered if they had, for people seldom scowled in Detroit when anyone was ushered into a prison. People who went into a prison at the point of a gun were invariably ones who failed to obey the wise rulings of the great Vargo, and therefore, were getting their just deserts.
But neither Dene nor the chauffeur saw the scowl and the man went on his way, speedily and with purpose.
Chapter 16: Chapeau by Vargo
MARK’S mind was far from placid when he sought out Ira, leader of the thieves. As if he hadn’t had enough on his mind, Omega had given him a new worry. Cagily, he hadn’t displayed too strong an opposition to Omega’s plan, but he certainly didn’t think much of it, just the same.
If there was any possible way of solving the problem without accepting Omega’s solution, he int
ended to find it.
Ira seemed pleased when Mark requested that they find a room where they could talk in private. He took Mark to his bedroom, assuring him that they wouldn’t be disturbed.
“Nobody’d ever think of looking for us here,” Ira said, chuckling. “I sleep in the daytime, and very little then.”
They sat at a small table, a bottle of excellent wine between them. A dim ceiling light on the other side of the room cast heavy shadows and illuminated only one side of their faces. Ira’s wide, bony features made that half take on a look of sinister strength, quite at variance with his appearance under a more even light.
For while Ira’s face depicted strength, there was nothing really sinister about it. His was a calm, assured strength, unruffled and unyielding. His lips were wide, capable of portraying expression; yet seldom revealing an emotion. Wideset gray eyes, imperturbably calm, twinkled as they looked into Mark’s.
“That’s a fine set of whiskers you have there,” he observed. “Remarkable growth in so short a time.”
“It’s a gift,” explained Mark. “I hope it doesn’t spread to the ears.”
They talked, and Mark’s hazy plan began to take solid form as he learned more about the organization of the thieves. The fraternity which Ira headed was composed entirely of men who had gone through Vargo’s Vocation Board with a knowledge of its methods. Every man possessed a natural resistance against hypnotic suggestion, and also sufficient mental alertness to have been able to deceive the Board into thinking that he had responded to treatment.
Furthermore each man had rebelled, becoming a thief rather than work at his assigned profession in accordance with Vargo’s planned economy.
Most of them were fairly young men, only recently banded together, though there were some who had undergone the Vocation Board’s training many years ago, and were in their late forties. These older men had formed the earliest nucleus of the fraternity.
There were few of them because in the beginning Vargo had done all of the hypnotic conditioning himself. Few had the resistance to withstand him. It was only in more recent years that he had trained assistants to soften the subjects before he gave them a final treatment.
This latter system had given those with some natural resistance against hypnosis a chance to realize what was coming and to resist even Vargo’s great power. As a result, the ranks of the thieves’ fraternity had begun to swell only in the last few years.
The brotherhood was held together, not only because of the need for mutual protection, but because of a certain esprit de corps which had risen between them, by reason of the fact that they formed a class radically different from other men of Detroit. Out of a population of more than two million, they were almost the only ones in the city who were really free.
This distinction, carrying with it the necessity for secrecy, bound them together as nothing else could. A thief could talk to another thief with a knowledge that the other’s opinions and thoughts hadn’t been molded and conditioned by the hated Vargo. And when arguments arose the participants became even closer to one another than they had been before.
For each knew that the other had expressed his own thoughts, and had a perfect right to them. Differences of opinion bound them closer instead of separating them. They were the recognized marks of free minds. Other citizens seldom expressed any thoughts which weren’t the direct result of the hypnotic influence under which they moved.
“HAVE you made no attempt to nullify any of the works of Vargo?” Mark asked. “Haven’t you tried to do something to stop this impending conquest?”
Ira spread his hands, helplessly. “We are few,” he pointed out. “Two million minds are intent on this war. They can’t be influenced. To try would make us stand out like a damaged thumb. We’d be in jail in no time at all.”
“Sabotage?”
“A mosquito stinging an elephant. It wouldn’t be noticed.”
“The elephant’s hide is thick,” Mark agreed. “We’ll have to poison him. We’ll work on his vitals.”
Ira looked interested. “Don’t forget the minds of those two million,” he cautioned. “You could destroy all their guns, and they’d still want to go out with knives and arrows.”
Mark nodded. “But as long as they’re preparing, we’ll have no trouble from that angle. The war can be delayed. A final solution, of course, will have to provide for knocking the idea out of their minds. But until I can work that out, we’ll have to take steps to delay the war. And there aren’t many days to act.”
Hours went by as Mark’s plan was worked out between them in detail. Ira did most of the figuring, once the essentials were explained to him.
The plan was simple enough.
It was based on the sketchy nature of the army which was shortly to go forth to conquer the world. Vargo’s inexperience with things military had provided the weak spot.
Caravan guards were the mainstay of the army. They were to be its officers; the prime movers in Detroit’s war of conquest. The choice was natural, of course, for these men were hard-bitten fighters, who knew the tricks and habits of the nomads. They also knew the character of the land over which their army would move, and the facilities for defense possessed by the various cities they had visited. They were admirably suited to the task of guiding the destinies of an army. What they lacked in strategy would be more than made up by guns and numbers.
BUT they presented a weak spot, nevertheless. They numbered less than two hundred. Remove them and the army became a body without a brain. Mark’s plan was to remove them.
He and Ira worked out the idea to perfection. Quite a few members of the thieves’ fraternity had, like Tolon, come from the ranks of the caravan guards. They knew where their favorite recreation spots were located. Kidnapping the guards, or at least a large percentage of them, would be easy.
There were houses owned by the thieves which could be used to confine those who were captured, but Mark intended to make their imprisonment of short duration. As fast as the thieves brought in their captives, Mark would erase the hypnotic suggestions of Vargo and replace them with ones of his own. The caravan guards would become members of his own band, whether they wanted to or not.
It wouldn’t suffice merely to free them of Vargo’s spell. There would be some among them who would still like the idea of a war. Fire would have to be fought with fire. And Mark no longer had any compunction about exercising his power.
There would still be some of the younger nobles who were capable and adventurous enough to take part in the leading of an army. Ira already knew of several such, and to try to capture them would be out of the question. But fortunately their number was small, nor were they sufficiently versed to take full command of an army, over the type of country which was to be traversed.
Without the caravan guards to lead the army, the war would be delayed. A lengthy period of reorganization would be necessary, and during that time Mark hoped to be able to formulate a plan which would erase the desire from the minds of Detroit’s people.
As the night wore on, thief after thief stopped at headquarters to report, before proceeding to his separate home for a day’s rest. Ira collared them, one by one, and issued instructions. There would be a meeting in the late afternoon, and after dark the thieves would begin their task of rounding up the caravan guards.
Those of the fraternity who had formerly been with the caravans spent most of the day in planning and preparation. Upon them fell the job of leading small parties to the various places where their quarry could be expected.
There were several favorite stamping grounds of the caravan guards, and most of them were admirably suited to the business of kidnapping. These men were like sailors in the respect that when they returned from hazardous journeys of long duration, most of their time was spent in having a glorious carouse. Few of them were married, for theirs was a bachelor’s business. They lived hard and they played hard.
Even now, when few caravans were being sent out because of the impe
nding war, the guards considered that moment poorly spent which found them completely sober when there was opportunity to be otherwise. Cabarets of the noisier sort were doing a rushing business.
Twice, even before darkness had arrived, caravan guards were brought into headquarters by old friends who were now members of the fraternity. Each time, the guard in question was hilariously drunk, and supposed that he was being guided to a place where liquor was plentiful and the girls agreeable. Mark worked on them immediately, and the fraternity increased by two. Vargo’s army accordingly lost two hard-hitting and cagey officers.
Night came, and several more trickled in. Force was required only once. More than twenty were duly operated upon by Mark’s counter-suggestion. Then there came a lull. Almost an hour went by with no new arrivals.
“I have a little business to attend to,” Mark told Ira. “You can hold any others who come in until I return.”
Ira, so pleased with the way their plan was working that he was actually grinning, promised to take care of things himself until Mark got back.
HIGH over the roof tops, Mark sped toward the palace. His “little business” involved the second portion of his plan. Jan Thomas had a part in it, as well as the rest of the Ancestors. With their help he could strike directly at Vargo, no matter how well he was protected and guarded. Vargo would never suspect that his own tools were being used against him.
Mark perched briefly on the window ledge of Thomas’ room, then floated across the ceiling toward the light switch. Reaching it he paused for a second before turning it on. There was something wrong, he instinctively knew, yet he couldn’t place it.
There was no sound, except for the gentle snores which sounded from the position which he knew the bed occupied. That was all right...
The Best of Argosy #7 - Minions of Mercury Page 12
