But a moment later Dan’s hopes nose-dived. The blindman came directly to the cab. He greeted Eddie as an old friend.
“Sorry to be late,” he apologized. “You got the kid, I see.”
“Sure,” Eddie replied, lowering the cab window. “Everything set?”
“The shipment’s in, settin’ out on Dock 23 covered with canvas. All we gotta do is distract the watchman while the sawing goes on.”
As he spoke, the blindman removed his dark glasses. His eyes as they coldly appraised Dan looked perfectly normal. With a shock the boy realized that Joe Matt never had been blind.
“He’s been a spotter for the gang of river pirates!” Dan thought. “All the time he’s kept watch of shipments to learn when valuable ones go through! Hank foolishly told him everything!”
Belatedly, it occurred to him that this was the night of the 24th. The blindman had learned long ago that a valuable shipment of furs or other merchandise was to be sent through on this day.
As Dan figured it out, the boy Jacques undoubtedly had been assigned to relay the information to a member of the gang. The coded message must have referred to the shipment and was in effect “Coming through on the 24th!” But something had gone awry. Either Jacques had rebelled or had met with an accident as he crossed the river.
“That’s why the boy wouldn’t talk,” he thought. “He didn’t dare. He was afraid of what the gang would do to him.”
Dan’s meditation was cut short by a poke in the ribs from Paper Bag Eddie.