Verbeck handed the letter to Riley, and faced the sergeant again.
“No doubt the chief means well, but I don’t need so much police protection,” he said. “There are three of us here, and all of us will not sleep at once.”
“My orders, Mr. Verbeck.”
“Telephone the chief,” Riley suggested.
Verbeck hurried to the telephone, and called headquarters and got the chief.
“I don’t want this squad of men out here, chief,” he said.
“The orders come direct from the mayor, Mr. Verbeck, and he’ll not countermand them. That threat of the Black Star’s is too strong to be ignored. I didn’t call you up before I sent the men out because I knew you’d object. Those men will not bother you. They’ll surround the block and stay out of your way, and be relieved at stated intervals. They’ll serve to keep the curious away, and they’ll be there to guard the house in case you three men rush out on a chase or anything like that.”
“But——” Verbeck began.
“I insist, Mr. Verbeck. We cannot afford to run chances. If anything happened to you, and we hadn’t given you protection after receiving those threats, we’d never hear the last of it. You’re a prominent young man, remember. Just let the men stay. You haven’t heard anything, have you?”
“Not a thing,” Verbeck replied, “and we can’t make a move until we do.”