The train was nearing the station where Cardona must leave. He arose and waited for the stop. Descending the steps from the elevated platform, he turned westward along a narrow street. He walked beneath the glaring light of an electric lamp.
Cardona had no idea whatever that his presence in Chicago was known; nor did he suppose that it might be of interest to anyone other than the spirit medium. Hence, he did not notice the lurking forms that were behind a signboard near the sidewalk.
Cardona, however, did see a darkened car parked on the other side of the street. Professionally, he eyed it with suspicion.
Gangsters were rampant in Chicago. This might be one of their machines. Cardona started his right hand toward his pocket, then stopped abruptly.
Some one had planted the muzzle of a revolver against the center of his back! There was no command to raise his hands. Just a low growl to "keep moving." Cardona, recognizing the threat, obeyed. Simultaneously, the car on the other side of the street approached. Cardona felt himself being urged toward the curb. A minute later, he was between two men in the back seat of the sedan, and the car was heading for parts unknown!
Well did Joe Cardona realize his predicament. He fancied that he had been mistaken for someone whom these gunmen intended to put on the spot.
It was the tightest place in which the sleuth had ever found himself. He could only hope that he might find some way to bluff it out with these intended killers.
He knew well enough that silence was the game for the present. Any attempt at conversation might mean immediate death. No killer would permit the beginning of an outcry. The question lay in what would follow.
When the gunmen found that they had the wrong man, they might let him go. Cardona speculated upon what they would do if he revealed himself as a detective. Gangsters did not go out of their way to war with the police. In that, he might find salvation.
The car traveled a long way. Cardona had lost all sense of direction. They were away from the city now. The detective could hear the waters of Lake Michigan. It was a windy night, and the sound indicated that the waves were high.