He had thought all that was ended.Only a few short hours before he had hidden away all, everything that was incident to the life of the Gray Seal, the clothes of Larry the Bat, that little metal case with the gray-coloured, adhesive seals, a dozen other things, believing that it only remained for him to return and destroy them at his leisure as a finishing touch to the Gray Seal's career--and now, instead, he was face to face with the gravest and most dangerous problem that she had ever called upon him to undertake!
Well, at least, the odds were not all in the Crime Club's favour.
Where they now certainly believed him to be entirely off his guard, he was thoroughly on his guard; and where they might suspect him, watch him, they would suspect and watch only the character, the person of Jimmie Dale, and count not at all upon either Larry the Bat or--the Gray Seal.
A sort of savage elation fell upon Jimmie Dale.His brain, that had been stagnant, confused, physically sick with pain and suffering, was working now with its old-time vigour and ease, mapping, planning, scheming the way ahead.To strike, and strike quickly--to strike FIRST! It must be his move next--not theirs! And he must act to-night at once, the moment he was given this pretence to liberty that they had in store for him, before they had an opportunity of closing down around him with a network of spies that he could not elude.By morning, Jimmie Dale would be Larry the Bat, and inhabiting the Sanctuary again.And a tip to Jason, his old butler, to the effect, say, that he had gone away for a trip, would account for his disappearance satisfactorily enough; it would not necessarily arouse their suspicions when they eventually discovered he was gone, for against that was always the possible, and quite likely presumption that, where they had succeeded in nothing else, they had at least succeeded in frightening him thoroughly and to the extent of imbuing him with a hasty desire to put a safe distance between himself and them.
And now, with his mind made up to his course of action, an intense impatience to put his plan into effect, an irritation at the useless twistings and turnings of the car that had latterly become more frequent, took hold upon him.How much longer was this to last!
They must have been fully an hour and a half on the road already, and--ah, the car was stopping now!
He straightened up in his seat as the machine came to a halt--but the man at his side laid a restraining hand upon him.The car door opened, and one of the men got out.Jimmie Dale caught an indistinct murmur of voices from without, then the man returned to his seat, and the car went on again.
Another half hour passed, that, curbing his irritation and impatience, was filled with the conjectures and questions that anew came crowding in upon his mind.Why had the car made that stop? It was rather curious.It was certainly a prearranged meeting place.
Why? And these clothes that he now wore--why had they made him change? His own had not been very badly torn.The reason given him was, on the face of it now, in view of what he now knew, mere pretence.What was the ulterior motive behind that pretence? What did this package, that had already cost a man his life to-night, contain? Who was the chauffeur? What was this death feud between the Tocsin and these men? Did she know where the Crime Club was?
Who and where was John Johansson? What was this box that was numbered 428? Could she supply the links that would forge the chain into an unbroken whole?
And then for the second time the car slowed down--and this time the man on the seat beside Jimmie Dale reached up and untied the scarf.
"You get out here," said the man tersely.
