“I’m pretty sure he’d help us, if we paid him,” said Larry. “But I don’t know for sure whether he knows all about the place.”
“We can soon find out,” remarked Mr. Newton. “I’ll see him right away, and offer him a good sum.”
It was several hours before Mr. Newton returned. Larry was anxiously waiting for him, and when the older reporter entered the room in Larry’s house where the planning was going on, Larry burst out with:
“Will Ah Moy do it?”
“He surely will!” said Mr. Newton. “I had to argue with him a good while, though. It seems he is afraid of the gang, as he once belonged to it, but got out of it for some reason or other. But, luckily enough, he knows the layout of the rooms as well as he knows how to read a Chinese laundry ticket, which is no joke. He drew a rough sort of a plan for me, and with that I think I can get ahead of the gang. Now, Larry, I’ll tell you what I think we’d better do. When I get through, if you have anything better to propose, don’t hesitate to say so.
“In the first place, now that I know where all the exits are, and they are seven in number, I can arrange to have a detective placed at each one. Luckily, they are some distance apart, so stationing men in plain clothes at them will not attract attention. As I surmised, there is one exit on a separate block from the one where the building is.
“At the appointed time you’ll start for the gang’s headquarters. You’ll go all alone, but I’ll be close behind you,” went on Mr. Newton.
“Won’t they see you?”
“I think not. For the first time in my life I’m going to disguise myself a bit. I’ll wear a false beard. Well, you’ll enter the room, just as their note tells you. What will happen inside, of course, I can’t say. You’ll have to be governed by circumstances. But don’t be afraid, and don’t forget that help will be near. When you call out I’ll break in the door, and give the signal for the detectives to close in.”
“Maybe you’ll not be able to hear me shout,” Larry suggested. “It’s quite a ways to the street.”