“There’s another thing we’ve got to consider,” pointed out Joe. “If we go easy we can probably find out what the plans of the fellows are. If we can find some way to listen in on them and learn what they’re up to, we’d have evidence that would put them out of harm’s way for a few years.”
“That’s the idea, exactly,” said Robson approvingly. “That’s just about what I was going to say when you beat me to it, Matson. Get the evidence first, and then it will do some good to round them up. How does that sound to you, Mac?”
“Why, all right, I suppose,” said the manager irascibly. “As long as we get that bunch of crooks behind bars, it doesn’t matter much to me what methods we use. But if we don’t let the police in on the game, how do you propose to capture the bunch? There’s apt to be a pretty lively scrap, and if anybody gets hurt, you and I will get the blame for it.”
“Oh, well, we’re used to getting blamed for things that aren’t our fault,” said the genial trainer, with a touch of his usually cheerful philosophy. “You ought to be used to having the can tied to you by this time, Mac.”
“You’re right enough there,” admitted the manager. “Let’s get down to brass tacks on this proposition, though. We haven’t got much time to make our plans, so we’d better get busy right away. Who’s got something to suggest?” and he looked inquiringly from one to the other.
They were all silent for a few moments, as they thought of and rejected various plans. Of the four, Joe was the first to break the meditative silence.
“I don’t imagine there will be very many in the gang at Davendorp’s to-night,” he said, speaking slowly. “Probably not more than fifteen altogether, if there’s that many. The rascals will know that they are in a bad position, due to having let Jim and me get away from them, and there won’t be any one but the ringleaders at the conference, it’s likely. It seems to me that if we got all the men on our team together and put the thing up to them, they’d all volunteer for the job. They’re as anxious as we are to clean up the game and throw out the crooked ones.”
“It’s probably true, as you say, Matson, that only the leaders will be in at conference,” said Robson. “We know, though, that Davendorp’s place has a pretty shady reputation, and probably a lot of the gamblers’ hangers-on will be loafing about the place. I should say we’d need more men than the team can muster, to be on the safe side. We’ve got to count out McCarney and Hupft, and even with the rookies we would have only about fifteen men.”
“Yes, but they all know how to handle themselves in a scrap,” said Jim.