Black Star's Campaign: A Detective Story

by Johnston McCulley

  CHAPTER XXVII

  MUGGS TAKES A CHANCE

  It was an evening of varied experiences for Muggs, one that he liked toremember later as being the acme in adventure and chance taking.

  Muggs had been held a prisoner in the headquarters room at the place towhich he had been moved, listening to the Black Star perfect hisarrangements for his descent upon the Branniton residence--a prisonerwho was allowed to see and to hear, yet was helpless to give a warning.

  Now and then he got up from the couch and walked back and forth acrossthe room, while the master criminal chuckled behind his mask, andfrequently indulged his taste for sarcastic remarks.

  "My dear Muggs, it would be a feather in your cap, would it not, if youwere able to tell the authorities all that you know now?" the Black Starasked. "What a sensation you could cause by walking into policeheadquarters and shrieking your information into the ears of the chiefand the sheriff and Roger Verbeck! But I am afraid that you will not beable to do anything of the sort, Muggs. However, we all have our littledisappointments in life."

  "You'll have somethin' worse than a disappointment before this thing isover!" Muggs snarled.

  "You are still inclined toward violence--eh, Muggs? You should cultivatea more peaceful nature, such as I possess. Violence merely destroysitself, my dear Muggs."

  "Yeh, and I'll probably destroy you before we make an end of this!"Muggs declared. "I tell you that you can't get away with it! You'reabout due to strangle on what you've bitten off!"

  The Black Star did not reply to that; he merely chuckled and went backto the end of the table to consult his memorandum book again. Itappeared to Muggs that the master crook consulted that book to a greatextent this day, acting as if he felt that there was some minor detailhe had forgotten.

  After a time, the little bell on the wall tinkled, and a robed andmasked figure entered the room and went to the blackboard. Muggs glancedat him in disgust. The Black Star's men had been reporting continuallyduring the day.

  "Number Five," the man wrote.

  "Countersign?" wrote the Black Star on his blackboard.

  "Everglades."

  "Report."

  "There appears to be no suspicion as to what we really intend to doto-night. The police reserves are being held in waiting, and the sheriffhas his deputies ready for action, but those seem to be all thearrangements that have been made."

  "How about Verbeck?" the Black Star wrote.

  "He is at police headquarters now, waiting for the alarm so he can takethe trail."

  "Good. That is all," the Black Star wrote.

  The member of the band bowed and backed through the door. The Black Starwrote something in the memorandum book, closed it and put it into adrawer in the table. Then he turned toward Muggs again.

  "Muggs, I have decided to have you remain here this evening," he said,"I cannot spare the time to watch you, and so shall not take you withme."

  "Thanks for that much!" Muggs growled.

  "You will remain in this room, Muggs, and I shall have to keep yourwrists lashed together, of course. I know that it will beuncomfortable--but that is the penalty for discovering my oldheadquarters and forcing us to move. I can't have you interfering withmy plans to-night, you know."

  "If I had a chance, I'd interfere with 'em, all right!"

  "But the chance is missing--eh, Muggs? Do you mean you'd try to preventme from making a fortune for my band by running away with some jewelsand a couple of diplomats?"

  "You haven't run away with them yet," Muggs told him.

  "It is only a matter of an hour or so, my dear Muggs. Probably I shallbring those diplomats here. You'll have the chance, Muggs, to associatewith a lord and a knight."

  The Black Star rang, and his servant entered.

  "I am going to leave our prisoner here to-night when I leave," the BlackStar said. "I expect to find him here when I return. You understand?"

  "He'll be here, sir!" the servant promised.

  "As long as he behaves himself, give him the liberty of this room," themaster criminal went on to say. "If he does not behave, handle him inyour own way."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Tell the mechanic to be ready to start in ten minutes."

  The servant hurried out. The Black Star glanced into his memorandum bookagain, and paced the floor, now and then looking at the little clock onthe table. After a time, the servant returned.

  "The mechanic is ready, sir," he reported.

  "Good. Take care of Muggs while I am gone, but do not pester him so longas he is a good boy."

  "He'd better not pester me!" Muggs growled.

  The Black Star wrapped his robe closely around him, and put on the heavyulster over it. He looked at Muggs once more, his eyes glitteringthrough the mask. Then he chuckled, and hurried through the door.

  Muggs threw himself full length on the couch and glared at the man whoacted as the master rogue's servant.

  "I'm gettin' mighty tired of this," he complained. "The eats are allright, and I suppose I hadn't ought to kick, but it ain't nice to haveyour wrists tied together all the time."

  "If you're schemin' to get me to unfasten 'em, you ain't goin' to workthe scheme, I can tell you that!" the servant declared. "Them wrists ofyours stay just as they are, far as I'm concerned."

  "You'd better never let me get 'em loose!" Muggs warned him.

  "You wouldn't do much if they were."

  "Is that so? I could separate you into sections in about ten minutes!"Muggs told him.

  The servant laughed, sat down at the end of the table, and started tosmoke. Muggs glared at him, rolled over, and turned his back to theroom and the man in it.

  Muggs might not have shown it outwardly, but he was almost frantic. TheBlack Star and his men were on their way, he knew. Before long theywould surround the Branniton residence. They would get inside, rob womenguests of their jewels, kidnap the two diplomats and Branniton, and rushaway again before the police could reach the scene. Once more the publicwould howl, and the newspapers would ask why the police and RogerVerbeck did not capture the master criminal who did much as he pleasedwith the wealth of the town.

  Muggs did not know, of course, where he was at the present moment. Thisnew headquarters might be out at the edge of the city, or in the veryheart of it. But Muggs did know that, if he could escape from thebuilding, there would be a chance of warning the police and Verbeck,possibly in time for them to do something.

  He tested the cords that lashed his wrists, and told himself for thehundredth time that they could not be removed. Everything had been takenfrom his pockets, including his knife. He had glanced around theheadquarters room whenever he had a chance, and he had failed to seeanything that might help him.

  To get his wrists free--that was the first task. And then he would haveto escape from the place, wherever it was. He did not know whether theservant was the only man remaining there; the Black Star might haveothers around, on guard. Nor were men all that had to be considered.There might be traps in the house, there might be another deadly fence,or something like that.

  Muggs was beginning to feel desperate. He knew that every second had itsvalue now. He rolled over, sat up on the couch, and yawned.

  "I sure hope the Black Star turns me loose to-morrow," he said. "Hehinted that he might, after he pulled off to-night's stunt."

  "Yes, and maybe he won't, unless the sheriff lets Landers and those twowomen go," the servant said.

  "Gee, the sheriff won't do that. Even my boss couldn't make him do it.He's got those three in the jug, and there they'll stay, unless theBlack Star rescues them himself." Muggs got up and walked slowly to thetable. "There ain't any law against me havin' a smoke, is there?" heasked.

  "Help yourself--anything like that goes as long as you behave," theservant replied.

  "The Black Star has a good brand of cigarettes, I'll say that much forhim," said Muggs. "My boss smokes the same kind."

  "You're kinder crazy about that boss of yours, ain't you?" the servan
tasked.

  "Sure! Why not? He saved my life, and he certainly has helped me since.He gives me a steady job, good money, and treats me decent."

  "He ain't like the general run of bosses, then."

  "I should say not!" Muggs declared.

  He put a cigarette in his mouth and picked up a match. It was an awkwardtask with his bound wrists. He struck the match, held the flame to theend of the cigarette, and puffed a cloud of smoke.

  "If every man had a boss like mine," Muggs continued, "the world wouldbe a better place. I had a boss in Paris once that was a terror. Ialmost strangled him one day."

  "Why didn't you?" the servant asked.

  Muggs dropped the flaming match--into the filled wastebasket.

  "Oh, somethin' happened to stop me--somebody got his lamps on me, orsomethin'. And I didn't happen to get a chance again. I had to do adodge. The cops was after me."

  "Cops?"

  "Say, I've had real cops after me in my day!" Muggs boasted. "I cut outthat line of life a few years ago, when I met Mr. Verbeck, but beforethat I was somethin' of a terror--especially in Paris."

  "Paris? I've never had a chance to go there," said the servant.

  "You want to go when you get a roll, some time. It's some town,boy--_some_ town!"

  Muggs puffed at the cigarette again, and then turned toward the couch.The servant gave a cry and sprang from his chair.

  "You cursed fool!" he shrieked. "You dropped that match in them papers!"

  Muggs whirled around, astonishment in his face. "Put it out--or thewhole darned place will burn down!" he cried. "If it catches on themcurtains and things----"

  He darted forward himself, snatched a small rug from the floor, andbegan beating at the flaming wastebasket. The servant was working on theother side of the table, trying to watch Muggs at the same time, butthe latter seemed to be eager to put put the fire.

  Muggs smashed at the flaming paper with his rug--and managed to scatterit. He ran from burning sheet to burning sheet, beating at the flames.The servant was not so watchful now. Muggs seemed intent only on puttingout the fire and preventing a serious blaze; but as he fought the flameshe managed now and then to thrust his hands and wrists into the fire!

  The flames seared his flesh, but Muggs ignored that. He saw the cordsthat bound his wrists begin to smoke. He saw fire attack one of them. Hethrust his wrists into the fire again, as he beat at a sheet of flamingpaper, and tugged at his bonds. The fire was almost out now. He tuggedat his bonds again.

  They gave--they snapped--Muggs was free!

  He gave a cry of relief, whirled around--launched himself straight atthe Black Star's servant!