Part 36 (1/2)

When Hanley Cron and his three companions abandoned Penny to her fate, they hurriedly left the building. But in pa.s.sing down the hallway, Hoges carelessly snubbed out a cigarette and dropped it on the floor.

The cigarette smoldered and did not go out. Soon a tiny flame leaped up, igniting the dirty old carpet which stretched the length of the hall. The fire spread rapidly, fed by wood that was very dry and brittle.

Unaware that they had started a disastrous blaze, the four men fled to Hanley Cron's studio apartment to make plans for a hasty departure.

”The game's up,” Cron said to his companions. ”It Christopher Nichols ever finds his daughter, he'll put the heat on us right. We can't get out of this town soon enough.”

”Divide up the money, and we'll skip,” Hoges answered gruffly.

Cron tore the cover from a day bed couch, and with a sharp knife slit open the mattress. He removed a neat, thick roll of bills.

”How much?” Max demanded.

”Forty thousand. Not a bad haul for a little over a week's work.”

Cron laughed triumphantly. ”We sold that picture seven times, and not one of the suckers dared to squawk. If that Nichols girl hadn't horned in, the racket would have been good for another twenty thousand at least.”

”We ought to have kept the picture,” Hoges complained. ”Then we could start up in another city and try the same thing over again.”

Cron shook his head. ”Too dangerous. If that Nichols girl should escape----”

”That's where we made a big mistake,” Lynch cut in. ”We shouldn't have left anything to chance.”

”It's certain enough,” Cron laughed harshly. ”She may be a smart girl, but she's not smart enough to get out of that closet.”

”Let's divide up the money and get out of here,” Lynch said nervously.

”Forty thousand dollars--that's ten grand apiece.”

The men began to argue angrily over the proposed distribution, Hoges insisting that Lynch was not ent.i.tled to any part of the money received from the sale of the pictures.

”It was our racket, and you just horned in,” he protested. ”You took none of the risk.”

”If I pa.s.s the word around, you'll never get out of town with any of the money,” Lynch retorted sneeringly.

”We're willing to divide up,” Hoges said hastily, ”but in return we expect a split on the pearl necklace.”

”That was a deal between Cron and me.”

The argument waxed hotter, the men's voices rising until Hanley Cron feared they could be heard outside.

”Pipe down,” he ordered. ”Do you want to bring the police? The important thing now is to get away from here before we're caught. Why not split everything four ways and no hard feelings?”

”Okay,” Lynch growled. ”We divide even. Where are the pearls?”

”They're safe here,” Cron answered. ”I'll get them.”

He started across the room, but just then a loud knock sounded on the door.

The four froze into tense att.i.tudes.