"Well, how about that foreign contract?" I asks reckless one mornin" as we meets on the train.

"Oh, I have that all sewed up," says Stanley. "One of those young chaps who came to see Polly so much gave me a straight tip on who to see--someone who had visited at his home. Odd way to get it, eh? But I got a lot out of those boys. Rather miss them, you know."

"Eh?" says I, gawpin" at him.

"Been brushing up on my dancing, too," goes on Stanley. "And say, if there"s still a vacancy in that dinner dance club I think Marge and I would like to go in."

"But I thought you said you didn"t dance any more?" says I.

"I didn"t think I could," says Stanley, "until Dot got me at it again the other night. Why, do you know, she quite encouraged me. She said----"

"Uh-huh!" says I. "I know. She said, "Oh, I think you"re a wonderful dancer, simp-ly won-n-n-n-derful!" Didn"t she now?"

First off Stanley stiffens up like he was goin" to be peeved. But then he remembers and lets out chuckle. "Yes," says he, "I believe those were her exact words. Perhaps she was right, too. And if I have such an unsuspected talent as that shouldn"t I exercise it occasionally? I leave it to you."

"You"ve said it, Stanley," says I. "And after all, I guess you"re goin"

to be a help. You had a narrow call, though."

"From what?" asks Stanley.

"Premature old age," says I, givin" him the friendly grin.

CHAPTER XVI

THE MYSTERY OF THE THIRTY-ONE

If I knew how, you ought to be worked up to the proper pitch for this scene. You know--lights dimmed, throbby music from the bull fiddle and kettle drums, and the ushers seatin" n.o.body durin" the act. Belasco stuff. The stage showin" the private office of the Corrugated Trust.

It"s a case of the big four in solemn conclave.

Maybe you can guess the other three. Uh-huh! Old Hickory Ellins, Mr.

Robert, and Piddie. I forget just what important problem we was settlin". But it must have been something weighty and serious. Millions at stake, most likely. Thousands anyway. Or it might have been when we should start the Sat.u.r.day half-holidays.

All I remember is that we was grouped around the big mahogany desk; Old Hickory in the middle chewin" away at the last three inches of a Ca.s.sadora; Mr. Robert at right center, studyin" the doc.u.ments in the case; Piddie standin" respectful at his side weavin" his fingers in and out nervous; and me balanced on the edge of the desk at the left, one shoe toe on the floor, the other foot wavin" easy and graceful. Cool and calm, that"s me. But not sayin" a word. n.o.body was. We"d had our turn. It was up to Old Hickory to give the final decision. We was waitin", almost breathless. He"d let out a grunt or two, cleared his throat, and was about to open in his usual style when--

Cr-r-rash! b.u.mpety-b.u.mp!

Not that this describes it adequate. If I had a mouth that could imitate the smashin" of a 4x6 foot plate gla.s.s window I"d be on my way out to stampede the national convention for some favorite son. For that"s exactly what happens. One of them big panes through which Old Hickory can view the whole southern half of Manhattan Island, not to mention part of New Jersey, has been shattered as neat as if someone had thrown a hammer through it. And havin" that occur not more"n ten feet from your right ear is some test of nerves, I"ll say. I didn"t even fall off the desk. All Old Hickory does is set his teeth into the cigar a little firmer and roll his eyes over one shoulder. Piddie"s the only one who shows signs of sh.e.l.l shock. When he finally lets out a breath it"s like openin" a bottle of home brew to see if the yeast cake is gettin" in its work.

The b.u.mpety-b.u.mp noise comes from something white that follows the crash and rolls along the floor toward the desk. Naturally I makes a grab for it.

"Don"t!" gasps Piddie. "It--it might be a bomb."

"Yes," says I, "it might. But it looks to me more like a golf ball."

"What?" says Old Hickory. "Golf ball! How could it be?"

"I don"t know, sir," says I, modest as usual.

"Let"s see," says he. I hands it over. He takes a glance at it and snorts out: "Impossible, but quite true. It is a golf ball. A Spalldop 31."

"You"re right, Governor," says Mr. Robert. "That"s just what it is."

Piddie takes a cautious squint and nods his head. So we made it unanimous.

"But I don"t quite see, sir," goes on Piddie, "how a----"

"Don"t you?" breaks in Old Hickory. "Well, that"s strange. Neither do I."

"Might it not, sir," adds Piddie, "have been dropped from an airplane?"

"Dropped how?" demands Old Hickory. "Sideways? The law of gravity doesn"t work that way. At least, it didn"t when I met it last."

"Certainly!" says Piddie. "I had not thought of that. It couldn"t have been dropped. Then it must have been driven by some careless golfer."

He"s some grand little suggester, Piddie is. Old Hickory glares at him and snorts. "An amazingly careless golfer," he adds, "considering that the nearest course is in Englewood, N. J., fully six miles away. No, Mr.

Piddie, I fear that even Jim Barnes at his best, relayed by Gil Nichols and Walter Hagen, couldn"t have made that drive."

"They--they never use a--a rifle for such purposes, do they?" asks Piddie.

"Not in the best sporting circles," says Old Hickory.

"I suppose," puts in Mr. Robert, "that some golf enthusiast might have taken it into his head to practice a shot from somewhere in the neighborhood."

"That"s logical," admits Old Hickory, "but from where did he shoot? We are nineteen stories above the sidewalk, remember. I never saw a player who could loft a ball to that height."

Which gives me an idea. "What if it was some golf nut who"d gone out on a roof?" I asks.

"Thank you, Torchy," says Old Hickory. "From a roof, of course. I should have made that deduction myself within the next half hour. The fellow must be swinging away on the top of some nearby building. Let"s see if we can locate him."

n.o.body could, though. Plenty of roofs in sight, from five to ten stories lower than the Corrugated buildin", but no mashie maniac in evidence.

And while they"re scoutin" around I takes another squint at the ball.

"Say, Mr. Ellins," I calls out, "if it was shot from a roof how do you dope out this gra.s.s stain on it?"

"Eh?" says Old Hickory. "Gra.s.s stain! Must be an old one. No, by the green turban of Hafiz, it"s perfectly fresh! Even a bit of moist earth where the fellow took a divot. Young man, that knocks out your roof practice theory. Now how in the name of the Secret Seven could this happen? The nearest turf is in the park, across Broadway. But no golfer would be reckless enough to try out a shot from there. Besides, this came from a southerly direction. Well, son, what have you to offer?"

"Me?" says I, stallin" around a bit and lookin" surprised. "Oh, I didn"t know I"d been a.s.signed to the case of the mysterious golf ball."

"You have," says Old Hickory. "You seem to be so clever in deducing things and the rest of us so stupid. Here take another look at the ball.

I presume that if you had a magnifying gla.s.s you could tell where it came from and what the man looked like who hit it. Eh?"

"Oh, sure!" says I, grinnin". "That is, in an hour or so."

That"s the only way to get along with Old Hickory; when he starts kiddin" you shoot the josh right back at him. I lets on to be examinin"