“Sure. We looked for the other kid and couldn’t find him, and then went back to see that Gagnon and the kid was o.k.”
“Gallagher, I guess you can take over the job now. The other kid must be on the Island somewheres. They probably landed from that black sloop of theirs. We’ll have the Island circled from daybreak by our runabouts and nab that boat wherever it is. In the meantime we’ll get the dark-haired Tallman kid. You do what you think best with the Sandborn kid. You kin get rid of him now or——”
“I’ll rub ’em both out to onc’t, Cowboy!” said Gallagher, wiping his lips with his dry tongue. “It’s like drowning kittens, ya know. I’ll take ’em both to onc’t, like I said!”
“Get going, then.”
Sullenly Dago led the new trigger-man up the path to the tunnel entrance. Mr. Sandborn knew that this tunnel ended in the “waiting room,” where a party of heavily armed mobsters could wait in safety till such time as their presence was needed to counter attack any gang circling the main system of tunnels about the cabin. In time, Nevada planned to have tunnel connections from the cabin to the waiting room, but in the meantime it was isolated. The G-man was not unduly nervous at what lay ahead, for he had no intention of course of letting harm come to either John or his own son, Stanley. He only hoped now that Stan would not give away the G-man’s identity by any unexpected outburst of emotion.
“The kid’s pretty scared, Gallagher,” Dago said. “I don’t-a envy you none!”
“Probably ain’t half as scared as you are of him, Dago!” chuckled Gallagher.
Butch roared at that.
“The kid’s o.k., Gallagher. It’s Dago what’s scared like a hen on a railway crossing! Arrows ain’t so hot, be they, Dago?”
“Here we are,” said Dago, displaying a flashlight now which illuminated the door while he opened it to the passage. They went down and along the way to the room. The lights at the other end glimmered round the corner. There was a rustle in a side aisle!