The Chinese Tapestry

CHAPTER III. AT THE CLUB

IT was twenty minutes after eight when Colin Eldreth had left Weldon Dryer’s office. Fifteen minutes later, an expensive coupe drew up in front of the pretentious Club Monterey. The driver of the coupe was Colin Eldreth. He was glancing at his watch when he alighted.

Ascending a flight of stone steps, Colin entered the portals of the gambling casino. As soon as he was out of sight, a stocky observer stepped into view from a doorway across the street. This lurker followed the path that Colin had taken.

Only privileged persons were allowed admittance to the Club Monterey. The stocky man was evidently one of these, for when he rang at an inner door, an eye observed him through a peephole and bolts unclicked immediately afterward.

But when the stocky man stepped past the inner portal, he was stopped by a big husky who drew him into a corner of the little anteroom.

“Listen, Durling,” whispered the husky, “I’m takin’ a chance on lettin’ you in here. If the boss knowed you was a dick—”

“Forget it, Pete,” returned the stocky man. “You know I’m not working with the force. I’m a private investigator.”

“But that don’t mean you won’t be makin’ trouble—”

“Who for?”

“For the boss, or maybe some of the boys—”

“Not a chance, Pete. Listen: Stew Randler is welcome to all the dough he can make out of this joint. The more suckers he takes over, the better.”

“Then you ain’t tryin’ to drag nobody out o’ here?”

“Not by a long shot. I’m watching that guy Eldreth, who just came in; but he don’t know it. Where he goes, I go — that is, when he’s loose around town. When he comes here, I’ve got to come here, too. That’s all, Pete.”

“All right. Go on in.”

DURLING shoved a bill into Pete’s fist. The husky grinned and pocketed the money. He unlocked an inner door. Durling strolled into a room where a crowd was thronged at tables and a bar.

This was the direct route to the roulette room, but before proceeding, Durling looked about for Colin Eldreth. He spied his man near the end of a bar.

Colin was talking to a tuxedoed roue whom he addressed as Reggie. Apparently the fellow was a wealthy young man of Colin’s social set. Durling approached and ordered a drink. He listened to the conversation. Reggie was talking in maudlin fashion.

“Wish I had money like you have,” announced Reggie. “Wish I did, Colin. You know what I’d do?”

Leaning half over the bar, Reggie stared at Colin, gesturing with a glass from which liquid spilled.

“You know what I’d do?” Reggie cocked his head as he repeated the question. “I’d clean up. Clean up, right here in this good old Club Monterey, at that good old roulette table. Yes, sir.

“I’ve picked up a system, Colin. Good system, too, but it takes money. If I had a piece of paper and a pencil, I’d show you the system. It works, it does.”

Colin was smiling, shaking his head, to indicate his disbelief. Reggie grabbed the lapel of Colin’s tuxedo.

“You have a million dollars,” he announced. “A couple of million, Colin Eldreth”

“Certainly. But my cousin and I did not receive much of the money. The rest all went to colleges, museums and what not.”

“That’s too bad, Colin. Too bad, old fellow. Still, you have enough money to gamble with.”

“I know it. That is what I have been doing, Reggie.”

“Winning a lot of money?”

“No. Losing too much.”

Reggie eyed his companion in disbelief. Colin strolled away, apparently anxious to end the conversation.

Durling watched his quarry. He saw Colin stop and look toward the door. Following the direction of the young man’s gaze, Durling observed a new entrant.

THIS was a man of medium height, broad-shouldered and hard-faced. Like Colin, he was wearing a tuxedo, and the smooth fit of his garb served well to modify his tough appearance. Durling knew the newcomer by sight. The fellow was “Hype” Mellick, a gambler of notorious repute.

More than that, Hype was a man of many connections, none of which were too definitely known. He had gained his nickname from a shady past in which he had been recognized as an ace at the “hype” game, a specialty among short-change artists.

Hype was looking for someone. It turned out to be Colin Eldreth. Watching both men, Durling saw a gesture pass between them. Colin swung about and strolled toward the roulette room. Hype approached the bar, loitered there a few moments and then followed. Durling waited a half minute before taking up the trail.

The dick had no trouble in looking for the faces that he wanted. A brief inspection showed him that Colin Eldreth and Hype Mellick were absent, although the pair had certainly come into this room. Durling stared about at curtained walls and doorways.

A man was entering the roulette room from a door at the opposite side. It was “Stew” Randler, the proprietor, a big, red-faced man with short-clipped hair.

Durling had met Randler and did not want the man to see him. Accordingly, the dick edged off past one of the roulette tables.

As soon as Randler had gone through to the barroom, Durling headed toward the door from which the proprietor had come. Entering, he found a passage, with doors on both sides. One barrier was ajar.

Durling approached it and peered into a lighted room. He saw Colin Eldreth seated opposite Hype Mellick, a card table between the two.

Durling had arrived too late to catch the opening conversation. However it had started, the matter was apparently reaching a settlement, for Colin had taken a roll of crisp bills from his pocket and was counting off bank notes of one-hundred-dollar denomination.

“Thirty-three — thirty-four—”

Colin stopped to add one more bill to the lot. He passed the cash to Hype with the comment:

“Thirty-five hundred.”

Hype crinkled the bills as he received them, then eyed the money that Colin still held. Hype growled a reminder.

“It was supposed to be five grand coming to Zack and me.”

“What of it?” queried Colin. “You know that I’ll have the rest of the money for you.”

“You’ve got it now. Right there in your fist.”

“Only five hundred dollars. I need that much.”

HYPE stroked his chin. His expression was dubious. Colin arose and clapped the man’s chunky left shoulder.

“You remember how we arranged it, Hype,” said the young man. “Right here in this room, two weeks ago. You, Zack Ruggey and myself. I paid you a thousand dollars apiece and told you there would be more in two weeks.”

“You said you’d have the rest of it. Five grand all together. I was to collect Zack’s part and pay off the rest of the crowd, too.”

“I expected to have five thousand, Hype; but I had to pay more bills and that left me flat. Four thousand was all I could collect tonight. That was what I had coming from Dryer.”

“Why didn’t you talk the old geezer into giving you an advance?”

“On my next month’s allowance? Say — he crabbed enough about passing over the whole four thousand. He wanted to invest it for me. Look here, Hype. Two weeks ago, you and Zack were willing to wait for payment, weren’t you?”

“Yeah. It was the only thing we could do.”

“All right. I’ve come through with thirty-five hundred, which proves I was good for the money. Another month and you’ll have the rest of it. But I have to live in the meantime and put up a proper front.”

“On account of Dryer?”

“Sure. The old boy’s kind of suspicious. He thinks I’ve been gambling all my money. But as long as I don’t touch him for a loan, I can keep him guessing. I can even tell him that I have a lot of cash tucked away.

“But once I try to get extra money, he will know that I am broke. Of course, he has to keep on giving me the payments that I am supposed to get. But if he thinks I’m flat, he’s likely to snoop into my past affairs. That is something that none of us want. It wouldn’t be healthy for either of us, Hype. Nor for Zack.”

Hype considered; then shrugged his shoulders.

“Guess you’re right, Eldreth,” he agreed. “Old Dryer might make trouble.”

“He certainly would,” assured Colin. “Suppose he found out that I had been seen here with you and Zack. Suppose he learned that the two of you took money from me. What alibi could I give him? All I could say was that the pair of you trimmed me in a couple of poker sessions.

“That would pass with the average person. But old Dryer is death on gambling. He would come up here after Stew Randler’s scalp. He would call the mayor and make him stage a police raid. He has influence, Dryer has, and he’s a great believer in reform.

“A raid would put you in wrong with Stew. It would link your name with Zach’s. That would give you a bad reputation, Hype. The police wouldn’t figure that you and Zack were friends only at the card table.”

HYPE MELLICK was rising. Durling scurried away from the door and sought refuge in a room across the hall. He was spying from a crack of the opposite door when the two men came from the room. Hype caught the final words.

“Two friends owe me money,” Colin was saying. “Both of them have promised to pay me before the end of the month. Two thousand dollars. You and Zack will get the fifteen hundred that’s still true. I’ll have five hundred for myself. That fixes all of us.”

“It’s not Zack, so much,” Durling heard Hype say. “It’s the other mugs. They’re not due for much dough, but they’re squawking just the same. I’ll pay ‘em off, Eldreth. Then I can collect on my own from you—”

The conversation faded. Durling crept out from behind his hiding place. He went along the hall, peered from the door and edged out into the roulette room after making sure that neither Colin nor Hype had stopped there.

Durling continued through to the barroom. There he saw Colin Eldreth, cornered by his friend Reggie.

Hype Mellick had gone. Durling decided to stay around and see if Colin met other acquaintances.

PERHAPS the private dick would have learned more had he continued through to a side room beyond this thronged place, for it was in that direction that Hype Mellick had gone. The hard-faced man had not left the Club Monterey; instead, he was making a telephone call from a booth secluded in an alcove.

Hype was speaking in a low voice. He was talking to the very man whom he and Colin had discussed, namely, “Zack” Ruggey. Hype’s lips were wearing a pleased, yet ugly grin.

“Sure…” Hype uttered a guttural chuckle. “Eldreth passed me the dough… Not all of the five grand, but most of it… Yeah… He’s good for the rest…

“I’m sticking here a while… Sure… A good place for an alibi… Yeah, I’ll be in with Stew Randler… Don’t call me, though. I’ll see you later… Yeah. Tell the crew I’ll pay ‘em… Plenty…

“Sure… Stick close there… Something’s due to break and it may be tonight… Don’t worry about the lay. I’m telling you, it’s a set-up, once we find the bird we want… You’ll get the tip-off when he comes to Ku Luan’s… Yeah… Snatch him before he gets away from the place…”

Hype ended the call. He strolled out from the telephone booth. His grin gone, Hype was wearing a poker-faced expression. His was an air of confidence, a proof that he considered his plans to be close to the verge of success.

For Hype Mellick and his pal Zack Ruggey were engaged in crafty crime. While Hype was establishing an alibi, Zack was holding a paid crew in readiness.

Events were shaping to an evil climax. Strangely, the place where crime was pointing was none other than the abode of Ku Luan, the very house in Chinatown that The Shadow had chosen as his own objective!