“That’s how I play safe. But there won’t be any slip. I’m walking down to Suite 600, and when I go out, Miss Lois Grantham will be carried along like a sack of wheat.
“Easy, eh? Looks easy, but it takes brains. That’s all, Shifter. Slide along down to the pier, or I’m liable to beat you there. We’re going to load that jane into a closed rolling chair, and give her a nice easy ride right out to your dockyard—”
HERBERT CARPENTER was no longer listening. He was back in the room, breathlessly waiting by the door. He knew that it must be after nine fifteen now. The kidnapping squad was at work. Soon, Hooks Borglund would be with them.
This called for quick action. Carpenter knew that he must surprise the kidnapers. A swift attack — a big alarm — a getaway — that was the game. Then, if luck stayed with him, he could warn Mayor Cruikshank against Wheels Bryant’s plot!
Carpenter heard a door close in the hall. That was Shifter Reeves, leaving for the pier. No chance to do anything there. Let Shifter wait. A full minute went by. Cautiously, Carpenter opened the door and started down the hall.
There was no strange shadow in the corridor, now. But Carpenter would not have seen it had it still been there. He was thinking only of his mission.
Suite 600 was at the front of the Hotel Pavilion. Carpenter knew of its location. He also had heard of Lois Grantham. She was here with her father, a man of tremendous wealth.
Evidently, some arrangement had been made to decoy the father away; also, the crooks must have made sure that the heiress would be in the suite at the desired time.
Reaching the sixth floor, Carpenter found himself in a perfect location. He had come down by the front stairs. He faced a broad hall. It had two doors, one for each side. On the left was the door numbered 600. The other was numbered 690.
Carpenter was familiar with the arrangement. These two palatial suites each occupied half of the hotel front. The doors evidently led into anterooms, side by side.