June 27, 2023 • 30 mins
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Espionage adventures, Covert operations, Thrilling missions, International intrigue, Spy thriller, Government agents, Undercover work, Secret intelligence, Political espionage, Intriguing conspiracies, High-stakes espionage, Intelligence gathering, Hidden identities, Espionage secrets, Political thrillers, Spy network, Secret missions, Classified operations, Intrigue and suspense, Government secrets
Espionage adventures, Covert operations, Thrilling missions, International intrigue, Spy thriller, Government agents, Undercover work, Secret intelligence, Political espionage, Intriguing conspiracies, High-stakes espionage, Intelligence gathering, Hidden identities, Espionage secrets, Political thrillers, Spy network, Secret missions, Classified operations, Intrigue and suspense, Government secrets
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Chapter four, The Clue on Shelfforty five. Of course, it is
possible that patriotism might have prompted Marymc nillis to locate the clue, which
prevented an explosion that would have seriouslyhampered the munition's industry of the United States.
But the fact remains that she didit principally because she was in love
(00:23):
with Dick Walters, and Dick happenedto be in the Secret Service. It
was one case where a cupid scoredover Mars. Bill Quinn eased the game
leg which he won as the trophyof a counterfeiting raid some years before,
into a more comfortable position, reachedfor his pipe and tobacco pouch, and
(00:46):
settled himself for another reminiscence of theservice with which he had formerly been actively
connected. Mary was, and doubtlessstill is, one of those red headed,
blue eyed Irish beauties whom nature haspeppered with just enough freckles to make
them alluring evidences that the sun itselfcouldn't help kissing her. But from all
(01:10):
I've been able to gather, thesun was in a class by itself until
Dick Walters came upon the scene.Miss mc Nillis held herself strictly aloof from
masculine company, and much preferred tospend an evening with her books than to
take a trip to Coney or anyof the other resorts where a girl's kisses
(01:30):
pass as current coin in payment forthree or four hours outing. Dick was
just the kind of chap that wouldhave appealed to Mary, or to most
any other girl for that matter.Maybe you remember him. He used to
be at the White House during Taft'sregime, but they shifted most of the
(01:51):
four soon after Wilson came in,and Dick was sent out to the coast
on an opium hunt that kept himbusy for more than any year. In
fact, he came east just intime to be assigned to the von Yueld
case, and incidentally to fall foulof Mary and Cupid, a pair that
(02:12):
you couldn't tie, much less beatthe von Yuld case, Quinn continued,
after pausing a moment to repack hispipe. Was one of the many exploits
of the Secret Service that never gotin the papers. To be strictly truthful,
it wasn't as much a triumph forthe s S as it was for
Mary. Mcnillas. And besides,we weren't at war with Germany at that
(02:38):
time, so it had to bekept rather dark. But Germany was at
war with us. You remember theBlack Tom explosion in August nineteen sixteen.
Well, if the plans of vonYuld and his associates hadn't been frustrated by
a little red headed girl with exceptionalpowers of our observation, there would have
(03:00):
been a detonation in Wilmington, Delawarethat would have made the Black Tom affair,
with its damage of thirty millions ofdollars, sound like the college yell
of a deaf and dumb institute.As far back as January nineteen sixteen,
the Secret Service knew that there werea number of Germans in New York who
(03:23):
desired nothing so much as to hinderthe munitions industry of the United States,
despite the fact that we were aneutral nation. From Harry Newton, the
leader in the second plot to destroythe welland Canal, and from Paul Cieb,
who was implicated in the attempt todestroy shipping at Hobuken. They forced
(03:45):
the information that the conspirators received theirorders and drew their pay from a man
of many aliases, known to hisassociates as number eight fifty nine, and
occasionally to the world at large asvon Yuled. This much was known in
Washington, but when you came toanalyze the information, it didn't amount to
(04:11):
a whole lot. It's one thingto know that someone is plotting murder and
arson on a wholesale scale, butdiscovering the identity of that individual is an
entirely different proposition, one which calledfor all the finesse and obstinacy for which
the governmental detective services are famous.Another factor that complicated the situation was that
(04:36):
speed was essential. The problem wasentirely different from a counterfeiting or smuggling case,
where you can be content to letthe people on the other side of
the table make as many moves asthey wish, with the practical certainty that
you will land them sooner or later. Give them plenty of rope and they'll
(04:58):
land in Leavenworth is favorite axiom ofthe service. But here you had to
conserve your rope to the uttermost.Every day that passed meant that some new
plot was that much nearer completion,that millions of dollars in property and the
lives of no one knew how manypeople were still in danger, so the
(05:21):
order went forward from the headquarters ofthe Service, get the man known as
von Yueld, and get him quick. Secret Service men, postal inspectors and
Department of Justice agents were called infrom all parts of the country and rushed
to New York, until the metropolislooked like the headquarters of a convention of
(05:45):
governmental detectives. Grogan, the chapthat landed Perry, the master counterfeiter,
was there, as were George McMastersand Sid Shields, who prevented the revolution
in Cuba three four years ago.Jimmy Reynolds was borrowed from the Internal Revenue
Bureau, and Althaus, who spokeGerman like a native, was brought up
(06:10):
from the border, where he hadbeen working on a propaganda case just across
the line. There must have beenforty men turned loose on this assignment alone,
and in the course of the searchfor von Yuld, there were a
number of other developments scarcely less importantthan the main issue. At least two
of these, the Trenton taxicab tangleand the affair of the Girl at the
(06:35):
Switchboard our exploits worthy of separate mention, but in spite of the great array
of detective talent, no one couldget a line on von Yueld. In
April, when Dick Walter's returned fromthe coast, the other men in the
service were frankly skeptical as to whetherthere was a von Yueld at all.
(07:00):
They had come to look upon himas a myth, a bugaboo. They
couldn't deny that there must be someguiding spirit to the Teutonic plots, but
they rather favored the theory that severalmen, rather than one, were to
blame. Walter's instructions were just likethe rest, to go to New York
and stick on the job until theGerman conspirator was apprehended. Maybe it's one
(07:28):
man, maybe they're half a dozen, the chief admitted, But we've got
to nail em. The very factthat they haven't started anything of consequence since
the early part of the year wouldappear to point to renewed activity very shortly.
It's up to you and the othermen already in New York to prevent
the success of any of these plots. Walters listened patiently to all the dope
(07:54):
that had been gathered and then figured, as had every new man that it
was up to him to do alittle sleothing of his own. The headquarters
of the German agents was supposed tobe somewhere in Greenwich Village, on one
of those half grown alleys that alwaysthreatens to meet itself coming back. But
(08:16):
more than a score of government operativeshad combed that part of the town without
securing a trace of anything tangible.On the average of once a night,
the phone at headquarters would ring,and someone at the other end would send
in a hurry call for help upin the Bronx, or in Harlem or
(08:37):
some other distant part of the citywhere he thought he had turned up a
clue. The men on duty wouldleap into the machine that always waited at
the curb and fracture every speed lawever made, only to find when they
arrived that it was a false alarm. Finally, after several weeks of that
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sort of thing, conditions commenced toget on Dick's nerves. I'm going to
tackle this thing on my own,he announced. Luck is going to play
as much of a part in landingvon Nueld as anything else, and Luck
never hunted with more than one man. Good Bye, see you fellas later.
(09:20):
But it was a good many weeksAugust to be precise, before the
men in the Federal Building had theopportunity of talking to Walter's He would report
over the phone, of course,and drop down there every few days,
but he'd only stay long enough tofind out if there was any real news
(09:41):
or any orders from Washington, thenhe'd disappear uptown. Dick sure had got
a grouch these days, was thecomment that went around after Walters had paid
one of his flying visits. Yeah, grunted Barry, who was undue that
night. Either the Von Yueled casesgot on his nerves or he's found a
(10:05):
girl that can't see him. Neithersupposition missed the mark very far. Walters
was getting sick and tired of theapparently fruitless chase after an elusive German.
He had never known to flinch inthe face of danger, often went out
of his way to find it.In fact, but this constant search for
(10:28):
a man whom nobody knew, aman of whom there wasn't the slightest description,
was nerve racking, to say theleast. Then, too, he
had met Mary mcnillis. He'd wanderedinto the public library one evening just before
closing time, and like many anotherman had fallen victim to Mary's red hair
(10:52):
and Mary's irish eyes. But abrick wall was a soft proposition compared to
Mary mcallis. Snubbing good looking youngmen who thought that the tailors were missing
an excellent model was part of theday's work with a little library girl,
though she secretly admitted to herself thatthis one was a bit above the average.
(11:16):
Dick didn't get a rise that night, though, or for some days
after. Every evening at seven foundhim at the desk, over which Miss
mcnillis presided, framing some almost intelligentquestion about books. In order to prolong
the conversation. Mary would answer politelyand that was all, but almost imperceptibly,
(11:41):
a bond of friendship sprang up betweenthem. Maybe it was the fact
that Dick's mother had been irish too, or possibly it was because he admitted
to himself that this girl was differentfrom the rest, and admitting it laid
the foundation for a deep, souledrespect that couldn't help but show in his
manner. Within the month, Dickwas taking her home, and in six
(12:07):
weeks they were good pals, bummingaround to queer out of the way restaurants
and planning outings which Dick, inhis heart knew could never materialize, not
until von Yuelet had been run tocover at any rate. Several times Mary
tried to find out her companion's profession, diplomatically, of course, but nevertheless
(12:33):
she was curious. Naturally, Dickcouldn't tell her. Said he had just
finished a job on the coast andwas taking a vacation in New York.
But Mary had sense enough to knowthat he wasn't at leisure, also that
he was working on something that kepthis mind constantly active. For several times
(12:56):
he had excused himself in a hurryand then returned anywhere from half an hour
to an hour later with a rathercrestfallen expression. After they had reached the
Dick and Mary stage, she cameright out one night and asked him hon
He told her, that's one thingthat I've got to keep from you for
(13:20):
a while. It's nothing that youwould be ashamed of, though, but
something that will make you mighty proud. At least, he added, it'll
make you proud if I don't falldown in the job all mighty hard.
Meanwhile, all I can do isask you to trust me, will you.
(13:41):
The tips of her fingers rested onthe back of his hand for just
a moment before she said, youknow, I will, Dick, and
neither of them mentioned the subject fromthat time on. On the night of
the Black Tom explosion early in August, Dick didn't show up at the library
at the usual hour, and whilethis didn't worry Mary because it had happened
(14:07):
several times before, she began tobe annoyed when three nights passed the same
way. Of course, she hadno way of knowing that the service had
received a tip from a stool pigeonon the payroll of the New York Police
Force that a bunch of Germans wereplanning a big explosion of some kind just
(14:28):
a few hours before the earth rockedwith the force of the blow up in
Jersey. Every government operative in thecity had been informed of the rumor,
but few of them had taken itseriously, and not one had any reason
to expect that the plot would culminateso close to New York. But the
(14:48):
echo of the first blast had hardlydied away before there were a dozen agents
on the spot, weaving a networkaround the entire district they got for their
pains, however, was a fewsuspects who very evidently didn't know a thing.
So it was a very tired anddisgusted Dick who entered the library four
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nights later and almost shambled up toMary's desk. I'll be off duty in
half an hour, she told him. From the way you look, you
need a little comforting. I dothat, he admitted. Don't make me
wait any longer than you have to, and he amused himself by glancing over
(15:33):
the late secrets after knowledge. Whenthey had finally seated themselves in a cozy
corner of a little restaurant in theupper forties, Dick threw caution to the
winds and told Mary all about histroubles. I haven't the least business to
do it, he confessed, andif the chief found out, Bo'd be
(15:56):
bounced so fast that it would makemy head swim. But in the first
place, I want you to marryme, and I know you wouldn't think
of doing that unless you knew somethingmore about me. There was just the
flicker of a smile around Mary's mouthas she said, almost perfunctorily, No,
(16:18):
of course, not but her intuitiontold her that this wasn't the time
to joke, and before Walters couldgo on, she added, I know
you well enough, Dick, notto worry about that end of it.
So Walters told her everything from thebeginning, and it didn't take more than
(16:40):
five minutes at that. Outside ofthe fact that his people lived in Des
Moines, and that he had beenin the secret service for eight years,
and that he hadn't been able todo a thing toward the apprehension of a
certain German spy that the government wasextremely anxious to locate, it was pitifully
(17:00):
little to tell. The whole thing, he concluded, came to a head
the other night, the night Ididn't show up. We knew that something
was going to break somewhere, butwe couldn't discover where until it was too
late to prevent the explosion across theriver. Now that they've gotten away with
(17:21):
that, they'll probably lay their linesfor something even bigger. Well, now
that I've told you, what doyou think you mean you'd like to marry
me, Mary asked with a smile. I don't know how to put in
any plainer, Dick admitted, andwhat followed caused the waiter to wheel around
(17:44):
and suddenly commenced, dusting off atable that already was bright enough to see
your face in. There wasn't theslightest clue left after the Black Tom affair,
Mary asked, as she straightened herhat. Not one. We did
find two of the bombs that hadn'texploded, devilishly clever arrangements with a new
(18:07):
combination of chemicals. Something was evidentlywrong with the mixture, though, for
they wouldn't go off even when ourexperts started to play with them. The
man who made them evidently wasn't quitesure of his ground. But there wasn't
a thing about the bombs themselves thatwould provide any indication of where they came
(18:30):
from. The man who made themmust have had a pretty thorough knowledge of
chemistry, Mary mused, mighty nearperfect, admitted Walters. At least six
exploded on time, and from whatI understand, they were loaded to the
muzzle with a mixture that no onebut an expert would dare handle, and
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continued Mary, with just a hintof excitement in her voice. The bombmaker
would continue to investigate the subject.He would want to get the latest information.
The most recent books what are youdriving at? Walters interrupted just this,
(19:17):
and Mary leaned across the table sothat there was no possibility of being
overheard. We girls have a gooddeal of time on our hands, so
we get into the habit of makingconjectures and forming theories about the regulars,
the people who come into the library, often enough for us to know them
by sight. Up to a monthago, there was a man who dropped
(19:41):
into the reference room nearly every dayto consult books from shelf forty five.
Naturally, he came up to mydesk, and as he usually arrived during
the slack periods, I had plentyof time to study him. Maybe it
was because I had been reading broso, or possibly it's because I am just
(20:03):
naturally observant, but I noticed that, in addition to each of his ears
being practically lobeless, one of themwas quite pointed at the top, almost
like a fox's. For a weekhe didn't show up, and then one
day another man came in and askedfor a book from shelf forty five.
(20:25):
Just as he turned away, Ihad a shock. Apparently he wasn't in
the least like the other man inanything save height, but neither of his
ears had any lobes to speak of, and the top of them was pointed
when he returned to the book.I looked him over pretty thoroughly and came
to the conclusion that, in spiteof the fact that his general appearance differed
(20:51):
entirely from the other man's, theywere really one and the same. But
what, grumbled Walter, has thatto do with the Black tom explosion.
The last time this man came tothe library, said Mary, was two
days before the night you failed toarrive, two days before the explosion.
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And do you know what books arekept on shelf forty five? No,
what the latest works on the chemistryof explosives. Walter sat up with a
jerk that threatened to overthrow the table. Mary, He said, in a
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whisper, I've a hunch that you'vesucceeded where all the rest of us fell
down. The disguises and the constantreference to books on explosives are certainly worth
looking into. What name did thisman give names? She corrected. I
don't recall what they were or theaddresses either, but it would be easy
(22:00):
to find them on the cards.We don't have very many calls for books
from shelf forty five. It doesn'tmatter, though, and Walters slipped back
into his disconsolate mood. He wouldn'tleave a lead as open as that,
of course, No, certainly not, agreed Mary. But the last time
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he was there he asked for ProfessorStevens's new book. It hadn't come in
then, but I told him weexpected it shortly. So unless you men
have scared him off, he'll beback in a day or two, possibly
in a new disguise. Why don'tyou see the librarian get a place as
(22:45):
a tendant in the reference room,and I'll tip you off the instant I
spot that pointed ear. That's thething he can't hide. The next morning,
there was a new employee in thereference room. No one knew where
he came from, and no onesave the librarian and Mary mcnillis, knew
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what he was there for, becausehis principal occupation appeared to be lounging around
inconspicuously in the neighborhood of the informationdesk. There he stayed for three days,
wondering whether this clue, like allthe rest, would dissolve into thin
air. About five o'clock on theafternoon of the third day, a man
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strolled up to Mary's desk and askedif Professor Stevens's book had come in yet.
It was reposing at that moment onshelf forty five, as Mary well
knew, but she said she didsee and left the room, carefully arranging
her hair at the back of herneck with her left hand, a signal
(23:55):
which she and Dick had agreed uponthe preceding evening. Before she returned,
the new attendant had vanished, butDick Walters in his usual garb, was
loitering around the only entrance to thereference room, watching the suspect out of
the corner of his eye. I'msorry, Mary reported, but the Stevens
(24:19):
book won't be in until tomorrow,and she was barely able to keep the
anxiety out of her voice as shespoke. Had Dick gotten her signal?
Would he be able to trail hisman? Could he capture him without being
injured? These and a score ofother questions rushed through her mind as she
(24:41):
saw the German leave the room.Once outside, well, she'd have to
wait for Dick to tell her whathappened. Then, the man who was
interested in the chemistry of explosives apparentlywasn't in the least afraid of being followed
or He took a bus uptown,alighted at eighty third Street, and vanished
(25:04):
into one of the innumerable small apartmenthouses in that section of the city.
Walters kept close behind him, andhe entered the lobby of the apartment house
in time to hear his quarry ascendingto the fourth floor. Then he signaled
to the four men who had followedhim up the avenue and a government owned
(25:26):
a machine men who had been stationedoutside the library in the event of just
such an occurrence, and instructed twoof them to guard the rear of the
house while the other two remained infront. I'm going to make this hall
myself, Walter stated, but Iwant you boys to cover up in case
(25:47):
anything happens to me. No matterwhat occurs, don't let him get away.
Shoot first, and asked questions afterward. And he had re entered the
house almost before he finished beaking onthe landing at the third floor. He
paused long enough to give the minutethe rear a chance to get located.
(26:08):
Then a quick ring at the bellon the fourth floor, and he waited
for action. Nothing happened. Anotherring and still no response. As he
pressed the button for the third time, the door swung slowly inward, affording
only a glimpse of a dark,uninviting hall. But once he was inside,
(26:33):
the door closed silently, and heheard a bolt slip into place.
Simultaneously, a spotlight arranged over thedoorway flashed on, and Dick was almost
dazzled by the glare. Out ofthe darkness came the guttural inquiry. What
do you want? Not a thingin the world, replied Walters, except
(26:59):
to know if a man named Simpsonlives here. No, came the voice,
he does not get out, SureI will if you'll pull back that
bolt. What's the idea anyhow?You're as mysterious as if you were running
a bomb factory or something. Ashe spoke, he ducked for if the
(27:22):
words had the effect he hoped,the other would realize that he was cornered
and attempt to escape. A gutturalGerman oath, followed by a rapid movement
of a man's hand toward his hippocket, was the reply. In a
flash, Dick slipped forward, bendinglow to avoid the expected attack, and
(27:44):
seized the German and a half nelsonthat defied movement. Backing out of the
circle of light, he held thehelpless man in front of him as a
shelter in case of an attack fromother occupants of the apartment, and called
for assist. The crash of glassat the rear told him that reinforcements had
(28:04):
made their way up the fire escapeand had broken in through the windows.
A moment later came the sound offeet on the stairs, and the two
other operatives were at the door,revolvers drawn and ready for action. But
there wasn't any further struggle. VonYueled or whatever his real name was for
(28:27):
that was never decided, was aloneand evidently realized that the odds were overwhelming.
Meekly, almost placidly, he allowedthe handcuffs to be slipped over his
wrists and stood by as the secretservicemen searched the apartment. Not a line
(28:48):
or record was found to implicate anyoneelse, But what they did discover was
a box filled with bombs precisely likethose picked up on the scene of the
Black tom explosion, proofs sufficient tosend the German to the penitentiary for ten
years. For our laws unfortunately,do not permit of the death penalty for
(29:11):
spies unless caught red handed by themilitary authorities that he was the man for
whom they were searching. The mysteriousnumber eight fifty nine was apparent from the
fact that papers concealed in his deskcontained full details as to the arrangement of
the nemours plant at Wilmington, Delaware, with a dozen red dots indicative of
(29:36):
the best places to plant bombs,of his associates and the manner in which
he managed his organization. There wasn'tthe slightest trace, but the Black Tom
explosion, if you recall, wasthe last big catastrophe of its kind in
America, and the capture of vonYuld was the reason that more of the
(30:00):
German plots didn't succeed. The TreasuryDepartment realized this fact when Mary mcnillus,
on the morning of the day shewas to be married to Dick Walters U.
S. S. S. Receiveda very handsome chest of silver,
including a platter engraved to Miss Marymcnillus, whose cleverness and keen perception saved
(30:26):
property valued at millions of dollars.No one ever found out who sent it,
but it's a safe bet that theorder came from Washington by way of
Wilmington, where the nemours plant stillstands thanks to the quickness of Mary's Irish
eyes. End of Chapter four
Chapter four, The Clue on Shelfforty five. Of course, it is
possible that patriotism might have prompted Marymc nillis to locate the clue, which
prevented an explosion that would have seriouslyhampered the munition's industry of the United States.
But the fact remains that she didit principally because she was in love
(00:23):
with Dick Walters, and Dick happenedto be in the Secret Service. It
was one case where a cupid scoredover Mars. Bill Quinn eased the game
leg which he won as the trophyof a counterfeiting raid some years before,
into a more comfortable position, reachedfor his pipe and tobacco pouch, and
(00:46):
settled himself for another reminiscence of theservice with which he had formerly been actively
connected. Mary was, and doubtlessstill is, one of those red headed,
blue eyed Irish beauties whom nature haspeppered with just enough freckles to make
them alluring evidences that the sun itselfcouldn't help kissing her. But from all
(01:10):
I've been able to gather, thesun was in a class by itself until
Dick Walters came upon the scene.Miss mc Nillis held herself strictly aloof from
masculine company, and much preferred tospend an evening with her books than to
take a trip to Coney or anyof the other resorts where a girl's kisses
(01:30):
pass as current coin in payment forthree or four hours outing. Dick was
just the kind of chap that wouldhave appealed to Mary, or to most
any other girl for that matter.Maybe you remember him. He used to
be at the White House during Taft'sregime, but they shifted most of the
(01:51):
four soon after Wilson came in,and Dick was sent out to the coast
on an opium hunt that kept himbusy for more than any year. In
fact, he came east just intime to be assigned to the von Yueld
case, and incidentally to fall foulof Mary and Cupid, a pair that
(02:12):
you couldn't tie, much less beatthe von Yuld case, Quinn continued,
after pausing a moment to repack hispipe. Was one of the many exploits
of the Secret Service that never gotin the papers. To be strictly truthful,
it wasn't as much a triumph forthe s S as it was for
Mary. Mcnillas. And besides,we weren't at war with Germany at that
(02:38):
time, so it had to bekept rather dark. But Germany was at
war with us. You remember theBlack Tom explosion in August nineteen sixteen.
Well, if the plans of vonYuld and his associates hadn't been frustrated by
a little red headed girl with exceptionalpowers of our observation, there would have
(03:00):
been a detonation in Wilmington, Delawarethat would have made the Black Tom affair,
with its damage of thirty millions ofdollars, sound like the college yell
of a deaf and dumb institute.As far back as January nineteen sixteen,
the Secret Service knew that there werea number of Germans in New York who
(03:23):
desired nothing so much as to hinderthe munitions industry of the United States,
despite the fact that we were aneutral nation. From Harry Newton, the
leader in the second plot to destroythe welland Canal, and from Paul Cieb,
who was implicated in the attempt todestroy shipping at Hobuken. They forced
(03:45):
the information that the conspirators received theirorders and drew their pay from a man
of many aliases, known to hisassociates as number eight fifty nine, and
occasionally to the world at large asvon Yuled. This much was known in
Washington, but when you came toanalyze the information, it didn't amount to
(04:11):
a whole lot. It's one thingto know that someone is plotting murder and
arson on a wholesale scale, butdiscovering the identity of that individual is an
entirely different proposition, one which calledfor all the finesse and obstinacy for which
the governmental detective services are famous.Another factor that complicated the situation was that
(04:36):
speed was essential. The problem wasentirely different from a counterfeiting or smuggling case,
where you can be content to letthe people on the other side of
the table make as many moves asthey wish, with the practical certainty that
you will land them sooner or later. Give them plenty of rope and they'll
(04:58):
land in Leavenworth is favorite axiom ofthe service. But here you had to
conserve your rope to the uttermost.Every day that passed meant that some new
plot was that much nearer completion,that millions of dollars in property and the
lives of no one knew how manypeople were still in danger, so the
(05:21):
order went forward from the headquarters ofthe Service, get the man known as
von Yueld, and get him quick. Secret Service men, postal inspectors and
Department of Justice agents were called infrom all parts of the country and rushed
to New York, until the metropolislooked like the headquarters of a convention of
(05:45):
governmental detectives. Grogan, the chapthat landed Perry, the master counterfeiter,
was there, as were George McMastersand Sid Shields, who prevented the revolution
in Cuba three four years ago.Jimmy Reynolds was borrowed from the Internal Revenue
Bureau, and Althaus, who spokeGerman like a native, was brought up
(06:10):
from the border, where he hadbeen working on a propaganda case just across
the line. There must have beenforty men turned loose on this assignment alone,
and in the course of the searchfor von Yuld, there were a
number of other developments scarcely less importantthan the main issue. At least two
of these, the Trenton taxicab tangleand the affair of the Girl at the
(06:35):
Switchboard our exploits worthy of separate mention, but in spite of the great array
of detective talent, no one couldget a line on von Yueld. In
April, when Dick Walter's returned fromthe coast, the other men in the
service were frankly skeptical as to whetherthere was a von Yueld at all.
(07:00):
They had come to look upon himas a myth, a bugaboo. They
couldn't deny that there must be someguiding spirit to the Teutonic plots, but
they rather favored the theory that severalmen, rather than one, were to
blame. Walter's instructions were just likethe rest, to go to New York
and stick on the job until theGerman conspirator was apprehended. Maybe it's one
(07:28):
man, maybe they're half a dozen, the chief admitted, But we've got
to nail em. The very factthat they haven't started anything of consequence since
the early part of the year wouldappear to point to renewed activity very shortly.
It's up to you and the othermen already in New York to prevent
the success of any of these plots. Walters listened patiently to all the dope
(07:54):
that had been gathered and then figured, as had every new man that it
was up to him to do alittle sleothing of his own. The headquarters
of the German agents was supposed tobe somewhere in Greenwich Village, on one
of those half grown alleys that alwaysthreatens to meet itself coming back. But
(08:16):
more than a score of government operativeshad combed that part of the town without
securing a trace of anything tangible.On the average of once a night,
the phone at headquarters would ring,and someone at the other end would send
in a hurry call for help upin the Bronx, or in Harlem or
(08:37):
some other distant part of the citywhere he thought he had turned up a
clue. The men on duty wouldleap into the machine that always waited at
the curb and fracture every speed lawever made, only to find when they
arrived that it was a false alarm. Finally, after several weeks of that
(08:58):
sort of thing, conditions commenced toget on Dick's nerves. I'm going to
tackle this thing on my own,he announced. Luck is going to play
as much of a part in landingvon Nueld as anything else, and Luck
never hunted with more than one man. Good Bye, see you fellas later.
(09:20):
But it was a good many weeksAugust to be precise, before the
men in the Federal Building had theopportunity of talking to Walter's He would report
over the phone, of course,and drop down there every few days,
but he'd only stay long enough tofind out if there was any real news
(09:41):
or any orders from Washington, thenhe'd disappear uptown. Dick sure had got
a grouch these days, was thecomment that went around after Walters had paid
one of his flying visits. Yeah, grunted Barry, who was undue that
night. Either the Von Yueled casesgot on his nerves or he's found a
(10:05):
girl that can't see him. Neithersupposition missed the mark very far. Walters
was getting sick and tired of theapparently fruitless chase after an elusive German.
He had never known to flinch inthe face of danger, often went out
of his way to find it.In fact, but this constant search for
(10:28):
a man whom nobody knew, aman of whom there wasn't the slightest description,
was nerve racking, to say theleast. Then, too, he
had met Mary mcnillis. He'd wanderedinto the public library one evening just before
closing time, and like many anotherman had fallen victim to Mary's red hair
(10:52):
and Mary's irish eyes. But abrick wall was a soft proposition compared to
Mary mcallis. Snubbing good looking youngmen who thought that the tailors were missing
an excellent model was part of theday's work with a little library girl,
though she secretly admitted to herself thatthis one was a bit above the average.
(11:16):
Dick didn't get a rise that night, though, or for some days
after. Every evening at seven foundhim at the desk, over which Miss
mcnillis presided, framing some almost intelligentquestion about books. In order to prolong
the conversation. Mary would answer politelyand that was all, but almost imperceptibly,
(11:41):
a bond of friendship sprang up betweenthem. Maybe it was the fact
that Dick's mother had been irish too, or possibly it was because he admitted
to himself that this girl was differentfrom the rest, and admitting it laid
the foundation for a deep, souledrespect that couldn't help but show in his
manner. Within the month, Dickwas taking her home, and in six
(12:07):
weeks they were good pals, bummingaround to queer out of the way restaurants
and planning outings which Dick, inhis heart knew could never materialize, not
until von Yuelet had been run tocover at any rate. Several times Mary
tried to find out her companion's profession, diplomatically, of course, but nevertheless
(12:33):
she was curious. Naturally, Dickcouldn't tell her. Said he had just
finished a job on the coast andwas taking a vacation in New York.
But Mary had sense enough to knowthat he wasn't at leisure, also that
he was working on something that kepthis mind constantly active. For several times
(12:56):
he had excused himself in a hurryand then returned anywhere from half an hour
to an hour later with a rathercrestfallen expression. After they had reached the
Dick and Mary stage, she cameright out one night and asked him hon
He told her, that's one thingthat I've got to keep from you for
(13:20):
a while. It's nothing that youwould be ashamed of, though, but
something that will make you mighty proud. At least, he added, it'll
make you proud if I don't falldown in the job all mighty hard.
Meanwhile, all I can do isask you to trust me, will you.
(13:41):
The tips of her fingers rested onthe back of his hand for just
a moment before she said, youknow, I will, Dick, and
neither of them mentioned the subject fromthat time on. On the night of
the Black Tom explosion early in August, Dick didn't show up at the library
at the usual hour, and whilethis didn't worry Mary because it had happened
(14:07):
several times before, she began tobe annoyed when three nights passed the same
way. Of course, she hadno way of knowing that the service had
received a tip from a stool pigeonon the payroll of the New York Police
Force that a bunch of Germans wereplanning a big explosion of some kind just
(14:28):
a few hours before the earth rockedwith the force of the blow up in
Jersey. Every government operative in thecity had been informed of the rumor,
but few of them had taken itseriously, and not one had any reason
to expect that the plot would culminateso close to New York. But the
(14:48):
echo of the first blast had hardlydied away before there were a dozen agents
on the spot, weaving a networkaround the entire district they got for their
pains, however, was a fewsuspects who very evidently didn't know a thing.
So it was a very tired anddisgusted Dick who entered the library four
(15:11):
nights later and almost shambled up toMary's desk. I'll be off duty in
half an hour, she told him. From the way you look, you
need a little comforting. I dothat, he admitted. Don't make me
wait any longer than you have to, and he amused himself by glancing over
(15:33):
the late secrets after knowledge. Whenthey had finally seated themselves in a cozy
corner of a little restaurant in theupper forties, Dick threw caution to the
winds and told Mary all about histroubles. I haven't the least business to
do it, he confessed, andif the chief found out, Bo'd be
(15:56):
bounced so fast that it would makemy head swim. But in the first
place, I want you to marryme, and I know you wouldn't think
of doing that unless you knew somethingmore about me. There was just the
flicker of a smile around Mary's mouthas she said, almost perfunctorily, No,
(16:18):
of course, not but her intuitiontold her that this wasn't the time
to joke, and before Walters couldgo on, she added, I know
you well enough, Dick, notto worry about that end of it.
So Walters told her everything from thebeginning, and it didn't take more than
(16:40):
five minutes at that. Outside ofthe fact that his people lived in Des
Moines, and that he had beenin the secret service for eight years,
and that he hadn't been able todo a thing toward the apprehension of a
certain German spy that the government wasextremely anxious to locate, it was pitifully
(17:00):
little to tell. The whole thing, he concluded, came to a head
the other night, the night Ididn't show up. We knew that something
was going to break somewhere, butwe couldn't discover where until it was too
late to prevent the explosion across theriver. Now that they've gotten away with
(17:21):
that, they'll probably lay their linesfor something even bigger. Well, now
that I've told you, what doyou think you mean you'd like to marry
me, Mary asked with a smile. I don't know how to put in
any plainer, Dick admitted, andwhat followed caused the waiter to wheel around
(17:44):
and suddenly commenced, dusting off atable that already was bright enough to see
your face in. There wasn't theslightest clue left after the Black Tom affair,
Mary asked, as she straightened herhat. Not one. We did
find two of the bombs that hadn'texploded, devilishly clever arrangements with a new
(18:07):
combination of chemicals. Something was evidentlywrong with the mixture, though, for
they wouldn't go off even when ourexperts started to play with them. The
man who made them evidently wasn't quitesure of his ground. But there wasn't
a thing about the bombs themselves thatwould provide any indication of where they came
(18:30):
from. The man who made themmust have had a pretty thorough knowledge of
chemistry, Mary mused, mighty nearperfect, admitted Walters. At least six
exploded on time, and from whatI understand, they were loaded to the
muzzle with a mixture that no onebut an expert would dare handle, and
(18:56):
continued Mary, with just a hintof excitement in her voice. The bombmaker
would continue to investigate the subject.He would want to get the latest information.
The most recent books what are youdriving at? Walters interrupted just this,
(19:17):
and Mary leaned across the table sothat there was no possibility of being
overheard. We girls have a gooddeal of time on our hands, so
we get into the habit of makingconjectures and forming theories about the regulars,
the people who come into the library, often enough for us to know them
by sight. Up to a monthago, there was a man who dropped
(19:41):
into the reference room nearly every dayto consult books from shelf forty five.
Naturally, he came up to mydesk, and as he usually arrived during
the slack periods, I had plentyof time to study him. Maybe it
was because I had been reading broso, or possibly it's because I am just
(20:03):
naturally observant, but I noticed that, in addition to each of his ears
being practically lobeless, one of themwas quite pointed at the top, almost
like a fox's. For a weekhe didn't show up, and then one
day another man came in and askedfor a book from shelf forty five.
(20:25):
Just as he turned away, Ihad a shock. Apparently he wasn't in
the least like the other man inanything save height, but neither of his
ears had any lobes to speak of, and the top of them was pointed
when he returned to the book.I looked him over pretty thoroughly and came
to the conclusion that, in spiteof the fact that his general appearance differed
(20:51):
entirely from the other man's, theywere really one and the same. But
what, grumbled Walter, has thatto do with the Black tom explosion.
The last time this man came tothe library, said Mary, was two
days before the night you failed toarrive, two days before the explosion.
(21:15):
And do you know what books arekept on shelf forty five? No,
what the latest works on the chemistryof explosives. Walter sat up with a
jerk that threatened to overthrow the table. Mary, He said, in a
(21:36):
whisper, I've a hunch that you'vesucceeded where all the rest of us fell
down. The disguises and the constantreference to books on explosives are certainly worth
looking into. What name did thisman give names? She corrected. I
don't recall what they were or theaddresses either, but it would be easy
(22:00):
to find them on the cards.We don't have very many calls for books
from shelf forty five. It doesn'tmatter, though, and Walters slipped back
into his disconsolate mood. He wouldn'tleave a lead as open as that,
of course, No, certainly not, agreed Mary. But the last time
(22:23):
he was there he asked for ProfessorStevens's new book. It hadn't come in
then, but I told him weexpected it shortly. So unless you men
have scared him off, he'll beback in a day or two, possibly
in a new disguise. Why don'tyou see the librarian get a place as
(22:45):
a tendant in the reference room,and I'll tip you off the instant I
spot that pointed ear. That's thething he can't hide. The next morning,
there was a new employee in thereference room. No one knew where
he came from, and no onesave the librarian and Mary mcnillis, knew
(23:08):
what he was there for, becausehis principal occupation appeared to be lounging around
inconspicuously in the neighborhood of the informationdesk. There he stayed for three days,
wondering whether this clue, like allthe rest, would dissolve into thin
air. About five o'clock on theafternoon of the third day, a man
(23:33):
strolled up to Mary's desk and askedif Professor Stevens's book had come in yet.
It was reposing at that moment onshelf forty five, as Mary well
knew, but she said she didsee and left the room, carefully arranging
her hair at the back of herneck with her left hand, a signal
(23:55):
which she and Dick had agreed uponthe preceding evening. Before she returned,
the new attendant had vanished, butDick Walters in his usual garb, was
loitering around the only entrance to thereference room, watching the suspect out of
the corner of his eye. I'msorry, Mary reported, but the Stevens
(24:19):
book won't be in until tomorrow,and she was barely able to keep the
anxiety out of her voice as shespoke. Had Dick gotten her signal?
Would he be able to trail hisman? Could he capture him without being
injured? These and a score ofother questions rushed through her mind as she
(24:41):
saw the German leave the room.Once outside, well, she'd have to
wait for Dick to tell her whathappened. Then, the man who was
interested in the chemistry of explosives apparentlywasn't in the least afraid of being followed
or He took a bus uptown,alighted at eighty third Street, and vanished
(25:04):
into one of the innumerable small apartmenthouses in that section of the city.
Walters kept close behind him, andhe entered the lobby of the apartment house
in time to hear his quarry ascendingto the fourth floor. Then he signaled
to the four men who had followedhim up the avenue and a government owned
(25:26):
a machine men who had been stationedoutside the library in the event of just
such an occurrence, and instructed twoof them to guard the rear of the
house while the other two remained infront. I'm going to make this hall
myself, Walter stated, but Iwant you boys to cover up in case
(25:47):
anything happens to me. No matterwhat occurs, don't let him get away.
Shoot first, and asked questions afterward. And he had re entered the
house almost before he finished beaking onthe landing at the third floor. He
paused long enough to give the minutethe rear a chance to get located.
(26:08):
Then a quick ring at the bellon the fourth floor, and he waited
for action. Nothing happened. Anotherring and still no response. As he
pressed the button for the third time, the door swung slowly inward, affording
only a glimpse of a dark,uninviting hall. But once he was inside,
(26:33):
the door closed silently, and heheard a bolt slip into place.
Simultaneously, a spotlight arranged over thedoorway flashed on, and Dick was almost
dazzled by the glare. Out ofthe darkness came the guttural inquiry. What
do you want? Not a thingin the world, replied Walters, except
(26:59):
to know if a man named Simpsonlives here. No, came the voice,
he does not get out, SureI will if you'll pull back that
bolt. What's the idea anyhow?You're as mysterious as if you were running
a bomb factory or something. Ashe spoke, he ducked for if the
(27:22):
words had the effect he hoped,the other would realize that he was cornered
and attempt to escape. A gutturalGerman oath, followed by a rapid movement
of a man's hand toward his hippocket, was the reply. In a
flash, Dick slipped forward, bendinglow to avoid the expected attack, and
(27:44):
seized the German and a half nelsonthat defied movement. Backing out of the
circle of light, he held thehelpless man in front of him as a
shelter in case of an attack fromother occupants of the apartment, and called
for assist. The crash of glassat the rear told him that reinforcements had
(28:04):
made their way up the fire escapeand had broken in through the windows.
A moment later came the sound offeet on the stairs, and the two
other operatives were at the door,revolvers drawn and ready for action. But
there wasn't any further struggle. VonYueled or whatever his real name was for
(28:27):
that was never decided, was aloneand evidently realized that the odds were overwhelming.
Meekly, almost placidly, he allowedthe handcuffs to be slipped over his
wrists and stood by as the secretservicemen searched the apartment. Not a line
(28:48):
or record was found to implicate anyoneelse, But what they did discover was
a box filled with bombs precisely likethose picked up on the scene of the
Black tom explosion, proofs sufficient tosend the German to the penitentiary for ten
years. For our laws unfortunately,do not permit of the death penalty for
(29:11):
spies unless caught red handed by themilitary authorities that he was the man for
whom they were searching. The mysteriousnumber eight fifty nine was apparent from the
fact that papers concealed in his deskcontained full details as to the arrangement of
the nemours plant at Wilmington, Delaware, with a dozen red dots indicative of
(29:36):
the best places to plant bombs,of his associates and the manner in which
he managed his organization. There wasn'tthe slightest trace, but the Black Tom
explosion, if you recall, wasthe last big catastrophe of its kind in
America, and the capture of vonYuld was the reason that more of the
(30:00):
German plots didn't succeed. The TreasuryDepartment realized this fact when Mary mcnillus,
on the morning of the day shewas to be married to Dick Walters U.
S. S. S. Receiveda very handsome chest of silver,
including a platter engraved to Miss Marymcnillus, whose cleverness and keen perception saved
(30:26):
property valued at millions of dollars.No one ever found out who sent it,
but it's a safe bet that theorder came from Washington by way of
Wilmington, where the nemours plant stillstands thanks to the quickness of Mary's Irish
eyes. End of Chapter four
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