Evening Star Newspaper, May 10, 1931, Page 84

FRONT DOES IT! “Keep a Bold Front,” Was This Crook’s Motto, but the Danger L.ay Behind Him. BY WILLIAM J. NEIDIG Hllustrated by Robert Graef. careful. Earlier he ha seen—by the man cn the those bidding. Now he tried to take the of the crowd. “Just a fast fade-out—that's me.” He knew with his mind that he had succeed. ed, that all had gone as he had planned. man who has mapped every road does not his way. The skilled workman does not 3 Manner does it; front does it. Foresight, skill, manner—he them all, and his reward already filled his eyes like fruit on a tree. And yet, for all his assurance, his heart was racing. He imagined that his fellows of the auction room were looking at him. He knew with his mind that they were not, but the feeling persisted. Later, as he drew nearer the door, a woman at his heels was thrown against him by a surge of the crowd. Tachman felt the thrust of her hand on his shoulder as & deliberate shove, and later still, when the surge was repeated, as a second. Stealing a glance over his shoul- der he recognized her as in black who had bid box. Her open desire him to outbid her. Afterward she would have stabbed him dead with her angry eyes if could kill. He had found her rage a relieving touch of comedye Her anger again acted divertingly to steady his nerves. Nevertheless he felt glad to reach the doer. He knew with his mind that the hard lay behind, the easy ahead, but his self-conscious- ness persisted even after he had reached the street. An attendant at the door had given him too much notice. The woman in black had swept by too promptly to join the southbound trafficc. A moment later he headed his own boat northward. S HE floated along with the current, his self-consciousness - began to take other form. He imagined he was attracting the at- tention of strangers. ‘Two girls, overtaking him, looked around and giggledd A man looked around, stopped and hesitantly turned foward him as if he were about to speak. Tachman wheeled haughtily away toward a show window and the stranger moved on. “Pront does it. Steady does it.” Later, as he was crossing the street, a traffic policeman eyed him sharply. Two women saw him and exchanged glances—they were old and did not giggle. A man in a brown hat followed him with his eyes; then a fat man, a lean man, a truck driver, two girls in a taxicab. He reached the farther street car track as a southbound Route 3 rear-enter came to a stop, and he swung aboard. Paying his fare, he slipped into the nearest seat, with his topeoat folded a®oss his arm. He had not intended riding past the auction room. The impulse that now led him to do so led him to glance through the window at its lighted interior. The piece remained as he had left it, with no one rushing about excitedly. Plainly the auctioneer had not yet discovered his loss. “That's that, and me seeing phony ever since that jane poked me with her fist! Everybody I pass! Even the conductor! Boy, cut it out!™ He therefore sat boldly at the window as far ward the front of the car, where he laid his _ topcoat beside him. No one was looking at him. Why should they be? Had he glanced behind him he might have imagined that not only was the conductor look- ing at him, but that the man was about to speak to him. But he did not catch the quick glance and nothing happened. Tachman spent the next five minutes alone with his light fingers, First he cautiously with- drew from the folds of his topcoat, although not intor the light, that which lay concealed there—a woman's diamond necklace. Next, finding a handkerchief, he wrapped it about the stones. When he had made sure of his parcel he slipped it into his inside coat pocket. ¥rom first to last he worked with one hand, by the sense of touch alone, his eyes directed idly out of the window. His topcoat had served its purpose. He now crowded it into the angle at the end of the seat, immediately under the window, and moved over to hide it from view. If he had luck it might He there unnoticed to the end of the run. -~ men?’ know him. "m'l}t does it,” he thought. “Pront and Then he went inside to see if the girl had arrived. IP YOU knew Tom Torley, patrolman, you will know Capt. Thomas Torley of the police de- tective bureau. Capt. Thomas Torley is the same man. He has a red face and fallen arches k traffic officer on duty nearest the robbery. He did not believe that Masters knew any facts of value; the auctioneer did not speak of a pursuit. Still, there might have been an . The loss had been discovered early. do yuh know about this what-is-it?” “And where does he go, man saluted and grinned. “Oh, fore,” said Torley. mutt in a sky-blue bus makes then know why.” crook with a stone face all; not then. All that hap- pens here is a funny guy looking for a mail G~ “What kind of a package?” asked Torley idly. “In a way of speaking. This guy is special delivery, letter mail, but all the address he car- ries is a tan topcoat over his arm. I don't know why I tell you, except it's funny, him slopping along worried over what he don’t know a thing about, and the dames he meets rubber- . ing like April the first.” “Nobody jumps quick into a car?” “Only this guy into a route three.’” And such was Torley’s preoccupation he did not so much as ask exactly what it was about the funny man that was funny, but¢ had to * guess it out lafer on. For all his leisurely manner, Torley was'ed no time in finding the auction room. While Linton, the auctioneer, went for the jewel case, Torley glanced about him at the articles om display. Some of these had already been sold, others would come up later. But all of them, whether the grandfather clock at his left or the Bristol glasses at his right, bore an identification num- ber writ‘en in lead pencil on a tag. “That’s all I have for a clue,” said the auc- tioneer, offering the other a thin box. The detective looked at the tag, unlatched the case, threw back the lid. Embedded in the white satin lining lay a necklace of daz- ‘zling beauty. He pecred down into the shining facets of the stones. “Paste, all right,” he replied. “I can prove that what I sold was diamonds,” Linton went on. Torley looked again at the tag. “Who wrote that tag, Linton?” 2 “Dave wrote it. Why?” “Maybe he didn't. I want him to write me another just like it.” The clerk was called and instructed. Torley watched him closely. Even before the man had completed copying the symbols on the tag he said: “That’s how. Forgery. See that 4 on this tag? The up-and-cown stroke was made first, because it’s underneath the cross-stroke. Your man makes his cross-stroke first. Forgery and sleight of hand.” Linton wiped the sweat from his brow. “Somebody inside?” “Nobody here. If one of your men done it, he would of switched the tag, too. Simpler. Somebody from the outside. What outsider who has the chance? An outsider who is & cus- tomer might of had. I don’t know who else.” “It never left my sight,” said Linton. “No- body was near it except people I knew. Do you think I would bave let a stranger handle & necklace like that?” “Then somebody you know stole it?” “Oh, but captain!” “Somebody steals it. Nobody is near except looked at it?” “Nobody except the bidders,” said Linton. “That’s bringing it down closer. Who are the bidders for the necklace?” “Rubenstein, Conway, s man named Victor, & man named Case, 3 man named Arrowhead, and of course Enockman, who bought it. Cohen ;.'l;d”Ames looked st it in advance, but didn’t g - “They're out, because experts look It over later. Enockman is out. Too rich. Thst leaves five. Conway and Rubenstein ave owt—they're men of old standing. ‘That leaves three,, What do you know about these three <Lye seld them geods many times,” said In - e e > o o “K where they live?* P " THE SUNDAY- STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MAY 10, 1931, He imagined he was astracting the attention of strangers. Tweo girls, overtaking “This is a cash business. We don’t ask our gelstomen for their street and telephone num-~ TS.” “What do they look like—these men?" 11\ /ICTOR is around 35 years old, smooth- shaven, with brown eyes and dark hair, and about my height. Case is about the same height, but he may be a year or two older. He’s smooth-shaven also. I'm not sure about his eyes, but he has light hair. Arrowhead is younger—27 or so. He’s about my height, but darker than Case.” “Clcthes?” “I domn’t remember clothes.” “How does this sound?” Torley threw away the butt of his cigar and bit off the end of another. “First: The thief don’t know long ahead you will sell this necklace. You don’t yourself. Second: He makes his plans since finding out. No other way. Third: He has to make you feel you know him in the time he has. Fourth: The easiest way of doing this is by bidding in stuff you put up. Fifth: Since he has such little time, he shows up in all your late auctions. Sixth: In that case, he buys something today.” “Sounds probable,” said Linton. “All right. Which of these birds do youm I've known him for years!” “He's out. Whieh next?” “Case was buying from me last year this “He’s out, too. That leaves Arrowhead. Try again. Which of these birds shows up oftenest lately?” “Arrowhead, I suppcse.” “Which of them buys from you at your last sale?” “Arrowhead. Neither of the others.” “Which of them buys again from you today, before the stone rope comes up?” “Only Arrowhead.” “Arrowhead is the bird we want"” Torley. Turning abruptly away, he began shufiling absently about the room. After a little he stopped and shot out a question: “What about this Arrowhead is funny?” I % it 41 EX : E[I!' i i ACHMAN knew with great accuracy what he now had to do. He had discarded his tan topcoat. He had replaced his oid gray has with a new green one. All he had to do now was nothing. As long as he did nothing or, a¢ They walked in toward the called the check room girl, gave wraps. Tachman’'s wraps consisted green hat he had just lifted, but checked a reserve green-gray topcoat girl during the noom rush. This check rocom girl now looked at “The same check for both.” “Special delivery to himself,” she remarked to a second girl, as he and his companion passed on. “What did she mean by that?” the guest girl inquired. “Trying to be fresh. I didn't give her a- - big enough tip last night and she’s getting back.” Resting his fingers against the girl’'s arm, he led her across Toom to his table. He had snubbed the check room girl for showing too much inferest in him bef others. As he helped this prettier woma: her chair, he became were openly following his glances in his direction were so had combined to form a kind of their path down the room. Not but waiters were looking at him. He did not mistake the reason. was not conceited, but he had bee Larry Dill Bogan of the pictures. And not himself, the girl, too, might have stepped out of a film, and in addition she was exceedingly pretty. They made a good pair, “People are looking at you,” he whispered into her ear. . “No, at you,” she said. » “I turn my back on them,” he replied. Sinking into his chair, £ n? g‘l’léé gg F5E 80 Hipaet seiked manner of a ezar speaking fo a lackey. The curt manner might have passed. stead of showing resentment at it, the hovered over the table for & moment, burdened by something he wished to say. was the girl who touched the bell that rang. “I'm famished,” she remarked. Whereupon Tachman became conscious of rights ignored. “Let’s see a little supper!” he snepped. “Let’s have a little service!” Whether or not the waiter would have spoken, the man now clamiped his lips together and glided way in silence, ok