He turned to the stair well and began to descend. Darkness was here, and he could feel the thick red dust under his shoes as he went down. Fifty-seven ... fifty-eight ... first ... second ... third level. Not until he reached the bottom and stood before the massive door leading into the canal did he switch on his electric torch. Then he stared.
The door yawned open. Twenty feet beyond, drawn up at the near wall of the great ditch, was a tracto-car. And before that car there were three men preparing to board.
Jimmy stared as he recognized the foremost of the three. Hamilton Garth! The Trust Company official stood there calmly in the glare of the torch, waiting for him to approach.
"What the devil are you doing here?" Garth demanded.
It was a tight question, but fortunately Garth was so absorbed in his own plans and movements that he did not wait for an answer. "Sloan and Barker," he said shortly, waving his hand toward his two companions. "I.P. men. We're trailing the Nebula."
"But I thought nothing was stolen from your office," Jimmy said slowly. "You said...."
Garth scowled. "Money, tangibles, no. But prestige, tremendously. Do you realize, sir, what it will mean when the public learns that a cheap cracksman can walk into my vault as if it had a revolving door? I've offered fifty thousand plantoles for the arrest of the Nebula, and I'm going to set an example by being the first to start on his trail."
"I see." Jimmy studied him in thoughtful silence. "And his trail starts here?"
"In the canal, yes. We received an unsigned tip half an hour ago that the Nebula was heading south down Canal Grand. You're coming with us, of course."
As the tracto-car rocketed dizzily down the huge ditch, Jimmy hunkered down in the tonneau seat and let his thoughts run wild. This tip Garth had spoken of.... Could it be that she...?