Sheriff Taussig was quick to catch the woman’s statement. He stared at Carma as he waved the paper which he held in his hand.
“You mean you were married before you met Wellerton?” quizzed Taussig. “I see — married to this crook” — Taussig nudged his head at Wolf — “and working with him to put young Wellerton in bad. Well, I’m going to pinch both of you — and it will be lucky for you, woman, if that other license don’t show up.”
The sheriff turned to the masked men at the door. With an air of authority, he addressed the vigilantes.
“We don’t need you fellows,” asserted Taussig. “I’ll grab these two crooks. I’ll see that Wellerton sticks around until this whole matter is thrashed out.”
“Hold on, sheriff!” announced Harwin Dowser. “We’re not through with Wellerton. yet. You forget why we brought him here. Delkin’s daughter is missing. Wellerton threatened Delkin. Just because you’ve spotted two crooks is no proof of Wellerton’s innocence. He is as bad as the others. We’ve got to find that girl!”
Threatening tones came from the vigilantes at the door. Two men were advancing with drawn guns. Taussig stood stock-still. His revolver was in his pocket.
“We’ve waited long enough,” growled one of the masked men. “We’re going to grab Wellerton and make him talk. He kidnaped the girl sure enough. He’s going to tell us where she is.”
“Stay where you are!” ordered Taussig.
“Nothing doing,” growled the vigilante. “We’re handling Wellerton from now on. If he don’t tell us what he’s done with the girl, we’ll string him up to a tree.”
Graham Wellerton realized his helplessness. These vigilantes, like every group that dealt in lynch law, were probably men who did not care to waste time in listening to reason. The issue had been diverted. Sheriff Taussig intended to arrest Carma and Wolf. But that would not help Graham’s situation.
Taussig was helpless; Delkin was horrified. There was only one man who might be able to appease the wrath of these masked vigilantes. That one was Dowser. Graham turned to the old lawyer in appeal.
“This is your house,” he said. “You may have some authority over those who have come here. If these men will wait—”
DOWSER’S warning hand seemed to hold back the vigilantes. They did not relax their tenseness. Four men in this room; four in the room beyond; all were ready with their revolvers. Dowser’s decision was all that they awaited.
“Tell what you know, Wellerton,” suggested the old attorney. “If you can lead these men to Eunice Delkin, they will not harm you. Where is the girl?”
“I don’t know,” blurted Graham.
“You must tell,” insisted Dowser. “If Eunice Delkin is alive and well, your life will be spared. There is no one else in Southwark who would have had cause to steal her — no one but yourself. Where is she?”
“I don’t know,” repeated Graham.
“You’ve killed her, eh?” came the suggestion from the leading vigilante. “That’s why you’re keeping mum? Well — if that’s the case, we’ll string you up in a hurry!”
Harwin Dowser shook his head sadly. Ralph Delkin, his face pale, was pleading with the masked men to use discretion. Ellis Taussig placed his hand upon his pocket.
“If you grab Wellerton,” thundered the sheriff, “I’ll draw—”
“Don’t!” warned Dowser. “These men would kill you, Taussig! If Wellerton will only speak and tell the truth, there is a chance for him.”
“Help us out, Wellerton!” exclaimed the sheriff. “Do you know where the girl is? Can you give us any clew? We want to save your life. If only we could find a trace of Eunice Delkin and—”
The sheriff’s tones ended. Taussig, his face registering astonishment, was staring toward the side door of the study. Someone was entering there, and as the figure came into the light, others, beside the sheriff, uttered cries of amazement.
Coming into this room where death threatened, brought to this place just in time to avert a crisis, was Eunice Delkin!
Pale, the girl was advancing, her eyes filled with horror. She did not notice her father. She could see only Graham Wellerton, threatened by a group of armed masked men. With a sob, the girl sprang forward and threw her arms around Graham Wellerton. Dazedly, the young man realized that deliverance had arrived, then came a thought of gladness that brightened above all his worries.
His past was cleared. Eunice Delkin had commended him for leaving paths of crime. He loved this girl; now that his marriage to Carma Urstead had been proven nonexistent, he would be free to tell Eunice of his love.
The vigilantes would release him. Perhaps the penalties of past crimes could be avoided. Yet even a jail sentence seemed trivial in the knowledge which Graham Wellerton had gained. He knew now that Eunice Delkin loved him as he loved her.
With the happy girl still sobbing in his arms, Graham turned to Harwin Dowser, confident that now the old lawyer could dismiss the threatening vigilantes. When he saw the expression in the attorney’s eyes, Graham Wellerton’s blood turned cold.
Harwin Dowser had become a glaring fiend. His kindly mask had vanished. In one quick instant, Graham Wellerton realized that all this evil business had been of the old man’s making!
CHAPTER XXIV
GUNS SPEAK
WHILE Graham Wellerton still stared at Harwin Dowser, Eunice Delkin realized that something was amiss. Drawing away from the man whose life she had saved, the girl saw her father and turned to him. As she told her story, she pointed an accusing finger at persons whom she named.
“Harwin Dowser is responsible for my abduction!” exclaimed the girl. “He and these two!” Eunice indicated Wolf and Carma. “Last night, this woman called me on the telephone. She said that she was Graham Wellerton’s wife; that she would like to talk to me. I met her outside our house. The man was driving the car. They brought me here and imprisoned me.
“Until tonight, I had no opportunity for escape. The door was locked; two men were on guard outside. Then I was mysteriously released. Harwin Dowser was the one who kept me prisoner, so he could blame Graham Wellerton!”
Harwin Dowser broke into an evil chuckle.
“What Eunice says is true,” he asserted coldly. “What difference does it make? Now that facts are known, I can stifle them. The outcome will be the same — since Graham Wellerton has made his will!”
There was evil triumph in the old man’s tone. Graham sensed a tremendous menace. He listened tensely while Dowser continued.
“Originally,” stated the lawyer, “I planned blackmail. Then came a better opportunity. I was working with Wolf Daggert. Carma Urstead played her part. Graham Wellerton made his will. It became easier to kill him than blackmail him.
“These masked men are not vigilantes. They are mobsters, brought here through Daggert. Their job is to slay Graham Wellerton. They will do so. Unfortunately, we will have to dispose of Sheriff Taussig also — now that he has learned too much. He will die protecting Wellerton from the vigilantes.
“I was going to let Delkin out of it. He will have to die also. His daughter also stands in our way. She will die. The two will be found murdered in their home, apparently victims of Graham Wellerton’s wrath.”
Still persistently malicious, Harwin Dowser stared at those who were to be the victims of his evil vengeance. He pointed to the documents in Sheriff Taussig’s hand.
“That old marriage license,” asserted Dowser, “arrived here by some mysterious mistake. We will discover the one we want — wherever it has been placed. The old license will be destroyed and forgotten. The will, however, will remain. Through it, I and my friends will gain Graham Wellerton’s entire estate.”