“No! No!” he told himself. “I must not. I must be calm. I must remain here. I must watch the play until I have thought what next to do. One thing sure, I must not bungle my chances now. Too much hinges on doing the right thing.”
CHAPTER XXIII
FOREST CITY’S DOOM
Johnny was up against the most puzzling problem of his whole life. A tensely dramatic situation, a novelist would have called it. Having long since abandoned the theory that the pink-eyed man was the firebug, he had fastened upon the hook-nosed man as the real culprit. With this in mind, he had connected past events into an almost unbreakable chain of circumstances. He had now but to find the man. And here he was. He had found him. But under what strange circumstances! What was to be done? If he called upon the revellers to assist him in apprehending the man they would laugh merrily, thinking his request a joke. The man, on the other hand, would not think it a joke. He might choose either to vanish or to put a bullet in Johnny’s heart. That he would do one or the other Johnny did not doubt, for this man was a criminal.
One thing was in Johnny’s favor; since he was masked and there was nothing particularly distinctive about him, it was not probable that he had been recognized.
In vain he looked about him for a passing policeman; in vain racked his brain for a way out.
Then of a sudden there came the flash of a suggestion. He would at least have a picture of the man. Only a few days before he had given a small camera to Tillie McFadden. In his pocket was a film and some flash-light powders he had meant to give her. The camera the stranger had but this moment won was the same size. The films would fit. The man, though not playing now, was still in the crowd. He would borrow or buy it.
Without at all knowing what it was about, the stranger parted with his camera for a five dollar bill, then went back to play.
Johnny gave Mazie the camera, then pressed the film into her hand as he whispered:
“Load the camera. Press my hand when you’re ready.”
She knew about the flash-light powders and appeared to understand, for she squeezed his hand assuringly.