Chapter II

A NEW CASE
★

Bob had been waiting in the anteroom less than five minutes when the door banged open and Tully Ross almost catapulted into the room. Tully was about the last person in the world that Bob wanted to see just then but he grinned and made the best of it.

“Hello, Tully. What’s all the hurry?” he asked.

Tully stopped abruptly and stared at Bob. There was no friendliness in the glance that swept Bob from head to foot.

“I didn’t expect to see you here,” he blurted out.

“That goes for me, too,” replied Bob. “That was quite a story you gave the reporters last night.”

A deep flush swept over Tully’s face but he was quick to deny the implications in Bob’s words.

“What story do you mean?” he asked sharply.

“I guess you know what I mean,” said Bob evenly. “I thought it was a rule of this department not to give out news stories.”

“You’re on the wrong track,” Tully insisted; but Bob knew by the expression on Tully’s face that Tully had given out the news story, thereby violating one of the rules of the department.

Tully sat down on a bench on the other side of the room facing Bob. He was silent for less than a minute for he could not check his curiosity.

“Have you been assigned to a case yet?” he asked. There was an envious note in his voice.

“Not yet, but I expect to get an assignment soon,” said Bob. “Have you a new assignment?”

“I’m expecting one this morning,” replied Tully confidently. “In fact, that’s why I’m here.”

The clerk in charge of the room returned and asked Tully’s name and business.

“Mr. Edgar will be ready to see both of you in a minute or two,” the clerk advised them.

A buzzer on the clerk’s desk whirred and the official stepped to the door, opened it and motioned for Bob and Tully to enter the private office.

Waldo Edgar, the slender, wiry head of the bureau of investigation looked up from behind the pile of papers on his desk. Bob saw a copy of one of the morning papers spread out in front of the federal chief and he knew that both he and Tully were quite likely to be in for some unpleasant moments.

“Good morning, boys,” said Mr. Edgar, but there was little warmth in his voice and he left them standing in front of his desk as he pointed to the story in the paper in front of him. His gaze centered on Bob.

“Are you responsible for this story, Bob?” he asked.

The young federal agent’s denial was quick and confident.

“I didn’t know a thing about the story until I read it at breakfast this morning,” he said.

“This seems to be a pretty accurate account of what actually took place in the roundup of the gang responsible for the theft of the radio secrets,” said the federal chief. “The information could have been supplied only by someone in our own department and you know there is a rule against giving out such information.”

“I know there is such a rule,” said Bob, “and I can assure you that I have talked to no one.”

Bob’s straightforward words seemed to satisfy the federal chief and he shifted his gaze to Tully, who was standing uneasily on first one foot and then the other.

“What have you to say for yourself, Tully?”

The question was short and pointed and Bob saw Tully’s eyes shift away from those of Waldo Edgar.

“I guess I’m to blame for the story,” confessed Tully. “You see it was this way—”

But Tully’s explanation was cut short.

“I’m not interested in how you happened to talk,” said the federal chief. “However, I am glad that you have admitted your indiscretion so readily. In the future be sure to keep this rule in mind. It is your job to solve the cases assigned to you and to keep out of the headlines and off the front pages of the newspapers. The less publicity we have the more effective can be our work.”

After delivering that short but pointed lecture Waldo Edgar picked up a file of papers on his desk and skimmed through them hurriedly.

“I called both of you in at this time,” he explained, “because I am assigning you on the same case.”

Bob glanced sharply at Tully and there was a deep scowl on his rival’s face. The exchange of glances was not lost to Waldo Edgar for he was aware of the rivalry between his youngest agents.

“I realize quite well that both of you are intensely interested in winning advancement in this department,” he went on. “For that very reason I know that when I assign you to a case you will leave nothing undone until you find the solution. You may step on one another’s toes in reaching your goal but you get results and that is what I want.”

The federal chief once more consulted the file on his desk.

“The mission I am going to send you on is one which has baffled some of the best men in the customs service. In other words, I am counting on you two youngsters, with your enthusiasm and determination, to get to the bottom of one of the most difficult cases that has been assigned to this department in recent years.”

Bob, looking down at the desk in front of him, saw a number of letters which bore the insignia of the customs service. Several of them were post-marked from cities in Florida. In addition, there were several letters from Paris and London.

“When I tell you that I am assigning you to this case, don’t think I’m altogether foolish, for both Merritt Hughes and Condon Adams will be working with you,” said the federal chief.

Bob knew what that meant. There would be the same rivalry which had marked the radio mystery with Condon Adams and Tully Ross attempting to solve the case before Bob and his uncle could find the solution.

“I have already had Adams and Hughes in here this morning and have explained in detail this case. They have departed on their own assignments and I shall expect both of you to be on your way to Florida early in the afternoon.

“Briefly it will be your task to help bring to justice one of the most daring band of jewel smugglers that has ever operated between Europe and the United States. They are so clever and daring that they have defied the efforts of the best detectives in the customs service and we have been appealed to for aid in solving the case. Actually, we have very little to go upon.

“Apparently this is a small but very versatile band of men. Just how they get the jewels into this country is one of the mysteries which you must solve. One of the few things that we do know is that they apparently are operating off the Florida coast, reaching this country by the means of small, fast boats. It is going to be your task to attempt to find the base along the Florida coast where they center their operations.”

Waldo Edgar swung around in his chair and turned to a large map of the United States which covered the entire wall behind his desk. He picked up a pointer and touched several spots on the Florida section on the map.

“Bob,” he instructed, “you are to proceed as rapidly as possible to Atalissa, a small town on the coast. That is to be your headquarters for we know that somewhere in the territory adjacent to Atalissa these smugglers have been operating. I must warn you now that you must use every precaution to keep your identity secret for this particular section of the Florida coast is not friendly toward federal men.”

The pointer in the hand of the federal chief moved further along the map until it paused once more at a coastal town.

“You are to go to Nira,” he instructed Tully. “I consider that this is as far south as the smugglers are operating while Atalissa is the northern point. Somewhere between these two bases I am sure you will be able to uncover information which will be of real value to us.”

Waldo Edgar turned back from the map and faced his young agents. There was just a trace of a smile on his lips.

“Think you can handle this assignment?” he asked.

Bob was the first to reply.

“I’ll handle it if I have to swim along the whole coast of Florida,” he said.

Waldo Edgar chuckled. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

“How about my uncle and Merritt Hughes?” asked Tully. “Will they be working in the same territory?”

“Yes, they are working on the Florida angle of the case and I expect you to keep them advised of any developments which you are able to uncover. You can reach them in Jacksonville and their telephone number will be given to you before you leave Washington this afternoon. If you call here at one o’clock, your complete transportation and expense money will be ready for you as well as a written file of all the information which we now have about the jewel smugglers. Can you be ready by one o’clock?”

“I can go now,” said Bob.

“Better go home and throw an extra shirt or two and some socks into a traveling bag,” advised the federal chief. “I like to see plenty of enthusiasm, but you may be gone a good many weeks and you should be thoroughly prepared for a strenuous trip. If you have boots and some good heavy clothes, be sure to put them in your bag and by all means do not go unarmed.”

Waldo Edgar stood up and shook hands with each of them.

“I will not see you again before you go, but I expect great things from both of you. I shall watch your reports with interest.”