“I have a job for you,” he said.
“That’s welcome news,” replied Harry.
Fellows read from a sheet of paper.
“Remember this?” he said. “Professor Arthur Whitburn. Lake Marrinack, Connecticut. He wants a young man — single — college graduate — to assist him in some experimental work. He was greatly pleased with the letter which you wrote him.”
“Which I wrote him?”
“I attended to that detail for you. I added a letter of recommendation from one of the officials of the Vesuvius Insurance Company. Mr. James Stohlmeyer, one of the vice presidents, had some very nice things to say about you.”
“Did you write that letter, too?” asked Harry, in admiration of the insurance broker’s versatility.
“No,” replied Fellows, with a smile. “Mr. Stohlmeyer sent the letter himself, at my suggestion by long distance. He had never met you, but he knows me well, and he accepted my statement that you were a reliable young man.”
“The Vesuvius Company is located in Connecticut, isn’t it?” asked Harry.
“Yes,” answered Fellows. “That’s why a recommendation from that quarter was of value.”
“When shall I leave for Lake Marrinack?”
“Early to-morrow morning. Your car is ready at the garage on Long Island. You can take the ferry across the Sound to Bridgeport.
“Report to Professor Whitburn in the afternoon. Remember that you are acquainted with Mr. Stohlmeyer of the Vesuvius Insurance Company.”
Fellows handed Harry a newspaper clipping.
“This is the advertisement you answered,” he explained.
HARRY grinned. This was interesting. He had obtained a job by proxy, and had probably been selected in preference to a great number of applicants.
“I wonder,” he said, “what Professor Whitburn is doing in the way of experiments.”
“That is for you to discover,” said Fellows, folding his hands and leaning back in his chair. “I have been instructed to find out as much as possible regarding a man named Whitburn, and to see that he is protected against danger. You have been delegated to the mission.
“You, yourself, are in some danger. You may have suspected that from the note which I sent you this afternoon. If this man is the Whitburn who I believe he is — namely, the one who is in danger — you will have plenty of action ahead of you.
“If he is not the Whitburn whom I have been instructed to protect, you will be out of danger entirely — provided, of course, that you use discretion, and are not followed to Lake Marrinack.
“For if you are in the wrong place, and your presence there is not known, you will be quite safe.”
“I prefer danger to inaction,” remarked Harry.
“Every man to his choice,” said Fellows, with a smile. “For my part, I prefer inaction to danger. But we get a taste of both, in this business; and we have to take whichever comes along.”
Harry nodded in agreement.
“It may be difficult to communicate with us from Lake Marrinack,” observed Claude Fellows. “Your car carries its usual radio equipment. But you may not have a chance to use it.
“If necessary, write a letter, and send it to me; but be careful. A long distance call — only in case of absolute necessity. You have my home phone number. But on this trip, you may receive assistance. A messenger may come to see you.”
“How shall I know him?”
“When he first speaks to you, he will glance at his watch. He will appear to note that the time is wrong. He will ask you the correct time; he will set his watch five minutes in advance of yours.”
Harry waited silently for further instructions.
“Tune in on Station WNX at six and nine — if a radio set is available, and you find it possible. Notify me if you are able to do that, when you send your first report. It may prove valuable later on.
“Find out all you can about Professor Whitburn. Study the personnel of his establishment. Learn who is there, and why they are there. You have a real job ahead of you.”
HARRY made mental notes of all that Fellows had told him. Some of his instructions were familiar because of his previous work in the service of The Shadow.
“Have you seen Bruce Duncan?” questioned the insurance broker. “That is, since the day when you had lunch with him?”
“No. I have not.”
“We must communicate with him. It would be inadvisable for you to see him. I shall attend to the matter. He is at his country home, I suppose?”
“I have called him there, but have received no answer. I suppose he was in the city, and his servant was not at home. You should be able to reach him there. How is he concerned in this matter?”
Fellows shrugged his shoulders.
“I do not know,” he replied. “I have instructions to communicate with him. That is all.”
“Could it involve — Arlette?” Harry’s question was involuntary. It was not addressed to Claude Fellows; but the insurance broker heard it. He studied Harry carefully.
“The girl interests you,” he said.
“She does,” admitted Harry. “I told you how she helped me — that night, in the Pink Rat.”
“You still feel sure that she was the same girl that you saw with Bruce Duncan, the next day.”
“I am certain of it.”
Claude Fellows spread his hands, to indicate that the whole matter was a mystery to him.
“It would be best to forget the girl,” he said. Then, he added, with a smile: “Forget her — as much as possible. Your own work is more important. I told you that you may have been watched lately. Have you observed anything that would indicate that fact?”
Harry mentioned the matter of the man in the lobby of the Hotel Metrolite. The insurance broker made a note of it.
“Why go back to the hotel?” he asked. “You are away now. Stay somewhere else to-night. Go to Long Island in the morning.”
“Good idea,” replied Harry. “I’ll follow that suggestion.”
After leaving the office, Harry visited several stores, and purchased a new wardrobe, as well as a traveling bag.
He registered at the Baronet Hotel, some squares away from the Metrolite. He went to the theater in the evening, and returned to his room shortly before midnight.
Harry had just fallen asleep, when the telephone rang in his room. He sat upright in bed. Who could it be?
He had told no one that he was stopping at the Baronet Hotel. Perhaps they had rung his room by mistake. Harry let the phone ring for fully a minute. Then, more curious than startled, he answered the call.
“Mr. Vincent?” It was the voice of the hotel operator. “We have a call for you.”
Harry acknowledged his name. He had thought of using another name when he had registered, but had finally, signed his own.
Another voice came over the wire. It was a woman’s voice, also; but he did not recognize it for a moment. Then he suddenly realized that Arlette DeLand was speaking to him!
“Mr. Vincent?”
“Yes.”
“I have something important to tell you — “
“Who is calling?” interrupted Harry abruptly.
“Do not ask my name. I cannot tell it to you. Listen, please — “
“Is this Miss DeLand?” questioned Harry.
“I cannot give you my name,” the girl insisted. “You met me once — four nights ago in a place called the Pink Rat — “
“I should like to know your name,” interrupted Harry.
“Please let me give you my message.” The girl’s voice was hurried, and her tones were pleading. “It is very important. Do not leave town to-morrow. Do not go to Lake Marrinack. Promise me that you will not go.”
“I can’t promise — ” Harry began.
“You must not go,” came the insistent voice. “Promise me, Harry.”
The girl’s voice seemed choking from emotion. She seemed unable to continue. Then there came a sudden interruption. The connection was broken; and the voice of the operator intervened.