The Bombay Boomerang (14 page)

“Not a suspicious character in sight,” Tony complained. As he started to walk away from the doorway, a truck lumbered slowly up the street.

Frank seized Tony's elbow and pulled him back. “That truck is similar to the one that hauled away the empty flasks from Precious Metals!” he said tensely. “We've got to find out whether this one is carting mercury!”

The truck rolled to a stop across from the doorway, at a spot where the pavement widened out along a fence with a gate nearby. Frank and Tony peered across the intervening distance, to see if they could spot a mercury flask.

Two men got out of the truck and opened the tailgate. Using a block and tackle, with a winch for power in leverage, they lifted their load into the air, swung it out of the back, and deposited it on the pavement. Releasing the hooks, the men swung the block and tackle back into place and returned to the front seat. Then they drove off.

Frank and Tony watched the whole procedure in utter amazement, for the load was the wreckage of what once had been a car. Like the Chevy they had seen earlier on the dock, this hulk had been stripped clean of every usable part. Motor, wheels, fenders, lights, doors—all were gone. Little more than a skeleton remained, battered metal that seemed hardly worth the attention of a junk dealer.

“Why would these characters bother to transport this unholy mess?” Tony asked.

“Perhaps a once-over will tell us. Come on!”

Frank was already moving, with Tony on his heels. They stealthily crossed the open space to the derelict car.

Close up it looked even worse. All the windows were smashed, and slivers of broken glass littered the interior. The upholstery dangled in shreds and tatters. The back seat was piled with junk—bolts, hubcaps, twisted wire, a rusty jack handle, and various other useless odds and ends.

Tony surveyed the scene with complete disgust. “There isn't anything here to help with the mercury case. I'd say—”

He broke off as slow footsteps approached the gate from the direction of the dock. Hastily the two boys regained their vantage spot in the doorway, where they could survey the scene with no fear of discovery.

They were barely ensconced there when a man came through the gate. He was hunched way over, his hands cupped together at the waist, suggesting that he carried a heavy burden concealed under his coat. Two more, similarly bent forward, followed him in single file up to the wreck.

Gingerly the first man looked around, lowered a mercury flask to the pavement, and took a funnel from his pocket. He placed it in the opening to the gas tank, heaved his flask into the air, and turned it upside down over the funnel. The mercury ran out, down into the interior of the car.

As soon as he stepped away with the empty flask, the next one took his place, then the third. After they were finished, they walked back through the gate toward the dock, only to be replaced by three more who went through the same motions. The two groups alternated for quite some time.

“Say,” Tony marveled, “that heap must have a gigantic gas tank!”

“A gigantic tank, anyway. No car holds that much. They must have put a special tank in to use for this operation. What a gimmick! Who's going to challenge the battered wreck of a defunct car? They could waltz down Main Street in Bayport in total safety!”

The men were still pouring mercury into the tank when a policeman came strolling along, swinging his nightstick, glancing alertly around.

The men at the wreck caught his eye. Curious, he moved in their direction to investigate. At precisely that moment the sounds of a heated dispute broke the stillness. Two sailors lurched out of the shadows.

“All right! All right!” one yelled. “Put 'em up and we'll settle this here and now! No need of a referee to pick the winner!”

“You're on!” screamed the other. “I may be drunk, but I can sure finish you off!”

As the sailors appeared about to pummel one another fiercely, the officer hustled over. “Break it up! You guys have had too much to drink. Better sleep it off!” Taking each by the arm, he pushed them down an alley toward a flophouse for seamen at the opposite end.

“Decoys?” Tony asked Frank in a subdued tone of voice.

“Yes,” Frank replied. “Those two were a couple of good-luck charms for the mercury mugs. Gangsters working this kind of a job don't leave much to chance. They must have kept tabs on the timetable of the police patrolling the waterfront. And they were prepared to lure unwelcome representatives of the law away from the center of operations.”

“Their plan succeeded brilliantly,” Tony commented, pointing to the wreck. No one was to be seen. The men with the flasks had finished their work and had melted away in the darkness. Silence, and shadows rendered sharper by the fitful glare of the street lights, had descended over the area.

“Too bad we didn't have a chance to warn that policeman,” Tony remarked. “Still, one man couldn't very well have taken on all of those guys.”

“Not only that, but we'd have alerted the ring-leaders. If they knew that we saw the derelict auto, and how it figures in their plans, they would have disappeared by now. And we'd only have netted a few underlings at best.”

“True. What's our next step?”

Frank looked at his watch. “Just past midnight. I'm sure they won't do anything with this wreck until the activity starts around here in the early-morning hours, or even later! If they carted it away in the middle of the night, it would alert the harbor police.”

“We might have to go after Joe and the others on the ship,” Tony said.

“True. Tell you what. You wait here and keep an eye on the car, while I get the police. They can stake out this area and wait for those thieves, in case we have to leave.”

Frank left Tony in the doorway and walked around the block until he met a policeman. He explained the situation and the officer went to a call box and phoned his report to Captain Stein.

Fifteen minutes later the captain and a patrol car full of police arrived at the spot. Frank showed them the wreck and the doorway where he and Tony had hidden out.

Captain Stein praised the boys' detective work. “That was a great job! We'll give those crooks a real reception when they come back for the stuff.”

He issued orders to stake out the area. Frank and Tony took their places and everyone settled down to wait for their prey to walk into the trap. Hours ticked by. Frank's eyelids began to droop due to the lack of sleep, and Tony, sitting in the doorway, fell into a short and fitful slumber.

Finally dawn broke. Activity began along the waterfront and the noise jolted the boys into a tense alert. Cars and trucks drove up and down the street. By early morning the tasks of loading and unloading the many ships were in full swing.

Tony spotted the quarry, a wrecker, trundling toward the car. The driver pulled up ahead of it. He and his partner climbed out, went around to the rear, and started fastening ropes to the battered vehicle they had come to fetch.

Then a figure appeared out of nowhere. “Hold it!” Captain Stein ordered. “Police! Stand where you are!”

Instead of standing where they were, the pair took to their heels, bolting in opposite directions. The driver ran directly into the arms of three officers at the corner of a warehouse. They quickly overpowered him and snapped on handcuffs.

His partner was hitting top speed when Tony downed him with a tackle. Frank piled on to make sure of the capture. After being hauled to their feet, the two fugitives stood panting and glowering beside a patrol car.

“So we meet once again!” Frank addressed the pair sarcastically.

 

 

 

 

CAPTAIN Stein confronted the pair. “What are your names?” he demanded.

The beefy member of the duo nudged his partner to remain silent while he handled the situation. “We're not saying a thing!” he grated with a sullen stare. “We want to see a lawyer. We got our rights, and we'll have your badge for false arrest. You can't push innocent people around!”

“We'll see how innocent you are! Turn around and put your hands on the hood of the car!”

The men were frisked. Papers they had on them gave their names as Clyde Cheever and Russ Bucko. They insisted that they were in the towing business, and that their only interest in the wreck was for scrap.

“Nothing incriminating, Captain?” Frank inquired as the officer shuffled the papers taken from the two.

“Nothing, except the fact that they were trying to make off with a shipment of stolen mercury. That's enough to book them. Then I can have their story about the towing business checked out.”

“We know they're lying, Captain,” Tony remarked. “They tried to scare Frank and Joe off the mercury case several times. Why would they do that if they're on the up-and-up?”

“You've put it in a nutshell, young man.” Cheever and Bucko were taken away in the patrol car. The last the boys saw of them they were scowling menacingly.

Frank turned to Captain Stein. “Our friends and my brother are on the Bombay Batarang and were supposed to meet us here at dawn. We assume they ran into trouble.”

“Would you like us to board the ship?”

“Tony and I will try it alone first.”

“What'll be our strategy, Frank?” Tony asked.

“Level with the ship's captain and tell him what's up.”

“Suppose he's in with the gang?”

“Then we're sunk. But we haven't much choice. Captain Stein, suppose you send a backup squad if you don't hear from us in a couple of hours?”

“Sure thing. I wouldn't let you go if I wasn't convinced that the captain is an honest man. I've met him a few times, and he has a fine reputation. I think you'll be all right. Someone on his ship is in league with the gang, though, and we'll have to check out the whole crew if you don't come up with something. Good luck!”

Frank and Tony hustled down to the dock, climbed aboard the freighter, and asked to be taken to the captain. He was on the bridge.

Frank recounted the story of the mercury that had been stolen from the cargo.

“This is preposterous!” the captain fumed. “How could so many flasks be removed without anyone on the ship being aware of it?”

“Somebody must have seen the thieves,” Frank agreed. “The operation could not have succeeded without assistance from someone on this freighter!”

The captain looked startled. “Do you suspect any member of my crew? Rest assured, I'll find out who he is before we leave Baltimore!”

Tony inquired about Joe, Phil, and Nathoo Keeka.

The captain chuckled. “We have an American boy on board. He is in my cabin, resting.”

Frank tensed. “Is there something wrong with him?”

“He suffered a blow on the head that rendered him unconscious yesterday. And he told me that he lost his two companions on the ship. We searched everywhere but did not find them.”

Frank and Tony looked at each other apprehensively. “They must have followed a lead and left the ship,” Frank said.

“But where did they go?” Tony queried.

Frank heaved a sigh. “That's anybody's guess. When did you look for them, Captain?”

“Yesterday evening.”

“Can we see our friend in your cabin now?” Frank asked.

“Certainly.” The captain signaled a crewman. “Jawal will take you there.”

Was it Joe or Phil? both boys wondered as they followed the Indian down a narrow corridor.

Seconds later they had the answer. “Phil!” cried Tony as he pushed the cabin door open.

“Boy, I'm glad you're here,” Phil said. He looked pale and still suffered a severe headache. Quickly he explained the events of the previous day.

“We'd better start searching for Joe and Nathoo right away,” Phil suggested. “Matter of fact, I was just on my way to the captain to tell him I was leaving the ship.”

“Do you feel up to it?” Frank inquired.

“Oh, sure. But getting rapped on the head with a blunt instrument is something I don't recommend for a rest cure.”

“Do you have any leads to work on? Anything you may have noticed while casing the ship before you got conked?”

“One thing. I think the assistant engineer is one of the gang. Fellow named Luckman Kann. He was pretty put out when we came aboard. Didn't want us to see anything on the ship, least of all the mercury. I suspect he's the one who am-bushed me on the bridge!”