The League of Frightened Men

I was doing pretty well with my eight, having hooked five of them in a little over half an hour, when, at a quarter to four, while I was looking in the book for the number of the Players' Club, on the trail of Roland Erskine, the phone rang. I answered, and it was Wolfe. As soon as I heard his voice I thought to myself, uh-huh, here we go, the party's up the flue. But it didn't appear that that was the idea. He said to me:

"Archie? What luck at Mrs. Burton's?"

"All negatives. Burton didn't phone, and nobody took any gloves."

"But perhaps the maid saw them?"

"Oh. You knew that too. She did. She saw Mrs. Chapin pick them up and put them down again."

A A t

"Excellent. I am telephoning because

I have just made a promise and I wish to redeem it without delay. Take Mr.

Chapin's box from the cabinet, wrap it carefully, and convey it to his apartment and deliver it to Mrs. Chapin. I shall probably be at home by your return."

"Okay. You got any news?"

"Nothing startling."

"I wouldn't expect anything startling.

Let's try a plain straightforward question.

Did you get the confession signed or didn't you?" u "I did."

"It's really signed?"

"It is. But I forgot to say: before you wrap Mr. Chapin's box take out a pair of gloves, gray leather, and keep them.

Please get the box to Mrs. Chapin at once." ttr\^»-.r» 'Okay."

I hung up. The fat devil had put it over.

I had no idea what items of ammunition he had procured from Dora Chapin, and ^ of course he had the advantage that Chapin was already in the Tombs with a » first degree murder charge glued on him, but even so I handed it to him. I would say that that cripple was the hardest guy to deal with I had ever run across, except I the perfume salesman up in New Rochelle who used to drown kittens in the bathtub and one day got hold of his wife by mistake. I would have loved to see Wolfe inserting the needle in him.

Wolfe had said without delay, so I let the last three victims wait. I wrapped the box up and drove down to Perry Street with it, removing a pair of gloves first in accordance with instructions and putting them in a drawer of my desk. I parked across the street from 203 and got out. I had decided on the proper technique for that delivery. I went across to where the elevator man was standing inside the entrance and said to him:

"Take this package up to Mrs. Chapin on the fifth floor. Then come back here and I'll give you a quarter."