Perhaps his coming interview with Claude Fellows would carry some enlightenment.
“Some one may be following you” — that statement had appeared in the note from the insurance broker. With two hours ahead of him, Harry would have plenty of opportunity to shake the man off his tracks.
He glanced toward the pillar, and made a quick inspection of the individual in the chair. He was a clever-looking chap, who was apparently paying no attention to what was going on about him.
Harry smiled. Here was an excellent opportunity for a get-away. The paper which he had tossed in the wastebasket was bait.
Harry strolled across the lobby, and entered the dining room. He was sure that the man would wait until he was gone; and would then obtain the letter that had been thrown away.
There was a street entrance to the dining room. Harry walked straight through, reached the street, and hailed a cab. A few minutes later he was riding along Broadway.
PICTURING himself in the other man’s place, Harry was positive that his tracker would have preferred obtaining the letter to following him into the dining room, especially as it was lunch time. There was only one danger: that the man might have a companion. So Harry occupied his time with a series of maneuvers that would have thrown the most skillful sleuth from his trail.
He left the taxicab, walked half a block, and took another cab in the opposite direction. He left that cab in the middle of a block, and walked slowly along the street toward an elevated station, loitering occasionally.
Seeing an elevated train approaching from a distance, Harry made a mad dash for the steps. He mounted them two at a time, and caught the train just before the guard closed the gates.
He smiled at the effectiveness of the trick. He was the last person on the train; if another man had followed him up the steps, he would have betrayed himself.