"That he never leaves the valley," said Baldwin.
McMurdo nodded. "Good for you, Brother Baldwin," he said. "You and Ihave had our differences, but you have said the true word to-night."
"Where is he, then? Where shall we know him?"
"Eminent Bodymaster," said McMurdo, earnestly, "I would put it to youthat this is too vital a thing for us to discuss in open lodge. Godforbid that I should throw a doubt on anyone here; but if so much as aword of gossip got to the ears of this man, there would be an end ofany chance of our getting him. I would ask the lodge to choose a trustycommittee, Mr. Chairman--yourself, if I might suggest it, and BrotherBaldwin here, and five more. Then I can talk freely of what I know andof what I advise should be done."
The proposition was at once adopted, and the committee chosen. Besidesthe chairman and Baldwin there were the vulture-faced secretary,Harraway, Tiger Cormac, the brutal young assassin, Carter, thetreasurer, and the brothers Willaby, fearless and desperate men whowould stick at nothing.
The usual revelry of the lodge was short and subdued: for there was acloud upon the men's spirits, and many there for the first time beganto see the cloud of avenging Law drifting up in that serene sky underwhich they had dwelt so long. The horrors they had dealt out to othershad been so much a part of their settled lives that the thought ofretribution had become a remote one, and so seemed the more startlingnow that it came so closely upon them. They broke up early and lefttheir leaders to their council.
"Now, McMurdo!" said McGinty when they were alone. The seven men satfrozen in their seats.
"I said just now that I knew Birdy Edwards," McMurdo explained. "I neednot tell you that he is not here under that name. He's a brave man, butnot a crazy one. He passes under the name of Steve Wilson, and he islodging at Hobson's Patch."
"How do you know this?"
"Because I fell into talk with him. I thought little of it at the time,nor would have given it a second thought but for this letter; but nowI'm sure it's the man. I met him on the cars when I went down the lineon Wednesday--a hard case if ever there was one. He said he was areporter. I believed it for the moment. Wanted to know all he couldabout the Scowrers and what he called 'the outrages' for a New Yorkpaper. Asked me every kind of question so as to get something. You betI was giving nothing away. 'I'd pay for it and pay well,' said he, 'ifI could get some stuff that would suit my editor.' I said what Ithought would please him best, and he handed me a twenty-dollar billfor my information. 'There's ten times that for you,' said he, 'if youcan find me all that I want.'"
"What did you tell him, then?"
"Any stuff I could make up."
"How do you know he wasn't a newspaper man?"
"I'll tell you. He got out at Hobson's Patch, and so did I. I chancedinto the telegraph bureau, and he was leaving it.
"'See here,' said the operator after he'd gone out, 'I guess we shouldcharge double rates for this.'--'I guess you should,' said I. He hadfilled the form with stuff that might have been Chinese, for all wecould make of it. 'He fires a sheet of this off every day,' said theclerk. 'Yes,' said I; 'it's special news for his paper, and he's scaredthat the others should tap it.' That was what the operator thought andwhat I thought at the time; but I think differently now."
"By Gar! I believe you are
right," said McGinty. "But what do you allowthat we should do about it?"
"Why not go right down now and fix him?" someone suggested.
"Ay, the sooner the better."
"I'd start this next minute if I knew where we could find him," saidMcMurdo. "He's in Hobson's Patch; but I don't know the house. I've gota plan, though, if you'll only take my advice."
"Well, what is it?"
"I'll go to the Patch to-morrow morning. I'll find him through theoperator. He can locate him, I guess. Well, then I'll tell him that I'ma Freeman myself. I'll offer him all the secrets of the lodge for aprice. You bet he'll tumble to it. I'll tell him the papers are at myhouse, and that it's as much as my life would be worth to let him comewhile folk were about. He'll see that that's horse sense. Let him comeat ten o'clock at night, and he shall see everything. That will fetchhim sure."
"Well?"
"You can plan the rest for yourselves. Widow MacNamara's is a lonelyhouse. She's as true as steel and as deaf as a post. There's onlyScanlan and me in the house. If I get his promise--and I'll let youknow if I do--I'd have the whole seven of you come to me by nineo'clock. We'll get him in. If ever he gets out alive--well, he can talkof Birdy Edwards's luck for the rest of his days!"
"There's going to be a vacancy at Pinkerton's or I'm mistaken. Leave itat that, McMurdo. At nine to-morrow we'll be with you. You once get thedoor shut behind him, and you can leave the rest with us."
Chapter 7
The Trapping of Birdy Edwards
As McMurdo had said, the house in which he lived was a lonely one andvery well suited for such a crime as they had planned. It was on theextreme fringe of the town and stood well back from the road. In anyother case the conspirators would have simply called out their man, asthey had many a time before, and emptied their pistols into his body;but in this instance it was very necessary to find out how much heknew, how he knew it, and what had been passed on to his employers.
It was possible that they were already too late and that the work hadbeen done. If that was indeed so, they could at least have theirrevenge upon the man who had done it. But they were hopeful thatnothing of great importance had yet come to the detective's knowledge,as otherwise, they argued, he would not have troubled to write down andforward such trivial information as McMurdo claimed to have given him.However, all this they would learn from his own lips. Once in theirpower, they would find a way to make him speak. It was not the firsttime that they had handled an unwilling witness.
McMurdo went to Hobson's Patch as agreed. The police seemed to takeparticular interest in him that morning, and Captain Marvin--he who hadclaimed the old acquaintance with him at Chicago--actually addressedhim as he waited at the station. McMurdo turned away and refused tospeak with him. He was back from his mission in the afternoon, and sawMcGinty at the Union House.