When he had completed his list of numbers, Carl Walton placed the bonds in the open safe and went back to the desk. There, he made a careful copy of the list. Pushing both papers toward the front of the desk, Walton glanced up idly and was surprised to see Earl Northrup standing watching him.
“Oh, hello!” blurted Walton. “When did you come back, Mr. Northrup?”
“Just now,” declared Northrup quietly. “Where are the bonds?”
“In the safe,” responded Walton. “It’s still open. I’ll get them for you.”
The secretary brought forth the securities and placed them on the desk. Northrup began to study them while Walton strolled about the room. The secretary noted that Hanscom’s friend was examining the lists that had been prepared.
“Sure you took all these numbers correctly?” questioned Northrup suddenly.
“I think so,” replied the secretary.
“I’ll put the bonds away then,” said Northrup.
He picked up the pile of securities and went to the wall safe. He carried the lists of numbers with him. Standing in front of the safe, Northrup made a motion of placing the bonds inside. He closed the door of the safe and turned the knob.
Coming back to the desk, Northrup folded the lists and dropped them in the desk drawer. He picked up his hat from a chair and strolled toward the door.
A DUBIOUS expression came over Carl Walton’s face. A sudden suspicion had come to the secretary’s mind — a suspicion that all was not well. He waited until Northrup had opened the door; then raised a sudden objection.
“You should have let me put those bonds away,” declared Walton. “I’m responsible for them.”
“They’re in the safe,” said Northrup quietly.
“I didn’t see them go in there,” stated Walton.
“Open the safe, then,” volunteered Northrup. “Look them over. I put the lists back in the desk drawer.”
“I don’t have the combination to the safe,” objected Walton. “Mr. Hanscom told me to put the bonds away. I didn’t think you were going to lock the safe.”
Northrup laughed in an indulgent tone and shrugged his shoulders. He started through the door; then paused as he heard Walton’s challenging tone.
“Wait a minute, Mr. Northrup!” called Walton, in a serious tone. “You may be a friend of Mr. Hanscom; but I’m responsible for affairs around here. I don’t like the way you walked in. You must have taken the liberty of coming into the house without ringing; otherwise Mosier would have notified me that you had returned. I’m on duty here, and I want to make sure that everything is right.”
The secretary walked to the desk and drew out the two folded papers that Northrup had placed there. Watching Northrup, Walton unfolded the papers and looked at them. They were blank!
The truth struck home to Carl Walton. He knew the game now. Those bonds were not in the safe; they were in Northrup’s pocket. So were the lists of numbers. Earl Northrup had deliberately stolen Anthony Hanscom’s bonds — securities worth a quarter of a million — and had ingeniously substituted blank sheets of paper for the lists that might have aided in the tracing of the stolen goods!
“You can’t get away with this!” cried Walton hoarsely. “You’ve got those bonds, Northrup, and the lists, too! Give them back to me!”
An evil scowl showed on Northrup’s puffy lips. By the action, the crook virtually confessed his guilt to Carl Walton. The secretary sprang across the room and seized Northrup by the shoulder.
“Give me those bonds, you thief!”
In reply, Northrup hurled the secretary halfway across the room. Walton plunged into the desk and caught himself before he fell to the floor.
But as he stared into the desk drawer, Walton saw the object that he needed. This was a revolver that Anthony Hanscom always had available.
Walton knew that the gun was loaded. He grasped it and swung toward Earl Northrup, holding the weapon in his right hand and steadying himself against the desk with his left.
Carl Walton never realized that in this action he had openly betrayed his intentions to the watchful man beside the door. Before Walton had a chance to aim the revolver, Earl Northrup was upon him. With a quick motion, Northrup seized the secretary’s wrist and twisted the revolver from the hand that held it.
Walton struggled fiercely. Northrup, his evil lips grinning, met the secretary’s attack. Warding off Walton’s gripping hands, Northrup made a vicious swing with the revolver and struck a glancing blow beside Walton’s ear. The secretary collapsed and sprawled upon the floor.
Northrup’s gloating ended suddenly. With a quick turn, the man faced the door, just in time to meet Mosier. Hanscom’s butler had heard the altercation. He had come upstairs. He had seen Northrup strike down the secretary.
Now, a new struggle was coming, and this time Northrup had no weakling as an adversary. Mosier, two hundred pounds in weight and six feet tall, was a powerful antagonist. His face was grim as he hurled himself upon the man with the revolver.
Northrup did not hesitate. He fired point-blank at Mosier’s heart. The bullet reached its mark. Earl Northrup stepped calmly aside as Mosier’s heavy form plunged forward and fell face downward on the floor. The butler’s outstretched hands were within a foot of Carl Walton’s motionless body.
There was no delay in Northrup’s next action. The murderer leaned over Walton and laughed as he carefully wiped the handle of the revolver and placed it in the secretary’s grip. The gun slipped from Walton’s nerveless fingers, and dropped to the floor. Then the secretary’s hand moved feebly. Earl Northrup grinned as he saw that Walton was regaining his senses.
Rising, Earl Northrup walked swiftly to the door of the room. He descended the stairs, found a darkened doorway in the rear hall, and stepped out into the night. The sound of distant shouts could be heard.
UP in the room where Mosier lay dead, Carl Walton was slowly opening his eyes. The secretary rubbed the side of his head in dazed fashion; then a bewildered look appeared upon Walton’s face as he saw the dead form of Mosier.
Walton could not understand. He recalled that Earl Northrup had been here; that was all. He was thinking vaguely of the bonds. What was Mosier’s connection? The butler had not been here.
In the midst of these reflections, Carl Walton saw the revolver beside him. He picked up the weapon and looked at Mosier. For the first time, Walton realized what had happened. Mosier was dead — slain with this weapon!
Earl Northrup! He was the murderer! Grasping the desk with one hand, Carl Walton rose unsteadily and wavered there, near the center of the room. His eyes stared about, noting that the room was empty. His ears could hear cries. The sounds came from outside the house.
Then came footsteps on the stairs. Walton looked up to see two uniformed men rushing into the room. As he tried to steady himself with his hand upon the desk, Walton pointed to the body that lay upon the floor, using the revolver as his indicator.
“Northrup killed Mosier!” he gasped. “Northrup — Earl Northrup — after he stole the bonds — he killed Mosier. Get him! Get Earl Northrup!”
CHAPTER III
WALTON EXPLAINS
CARL WALTON was sitting in a chair in the corner of Anthony Hanscom’s study. Mosier’s body still lay upon the floor. Two uniformed policemen and a physician were in the room; beside them was a stern-faced man in a light-gray business suit. This was Police Chief Culver, who headed Tilson’s small but efficient force.