Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-17
CHAPTER XIII.

"Helen cannot possibly sail tomorrow"
This was the cipher message which flashed
from Samuel Curry to his New Orleans
partner. giving him hurried warning that
the final movement in their cotton coup had
been again postponed for at least another
twenty-four hours. Frances Gambler, keep
Ing watch on the uptown wires. had caught
the first inkling of this relieving news. Az
ter passionate hour of talk and pleading
from Durkin, and after twelve long hours
Of unbroken sleep. much of her spirit of re-
belliousness had passed away. and she had
unwillingly and listlessly taken up the
threads OF what seemed to her sadly tan
gled duty once more.
But with the advent of Curry's climatic
message her DID, more intimate interest in
the game gradually awoke. BY daylight
she had sent word down to Durkin who,
about that time. was having quite trouble
enough Of his own.
For his underground guerilla work. as it
was called. had its risks In even the re-
moter parts of the city. But here. in the
Wall street district, by day the most care
fully guarded area of all New York, just as
by night the Tenderloin is the most watched
here. with hundreds hourly passing to and
fro and central office men buzzing back and
forth. Durkin knew there were unusual per-
lis. and need for unusual care.
Yet early that morning. under the very
hummingly entered the Postal Union con-
duit. by way of the manhole not sixty yards
from Broadway itself. In his hands he
carried his instruments and a bag of tools,
and he nodded with business-like geniaiity
as the patrolman stepped over toward him.
Got guard to stand over this manhole?"
demanded the officer.
"Noper' said Durkin. Three minutes
down here ought to do me!'
You people are gettin' too - careless
about these things" rebuked the officer.
Its me gets the blame. o course, when q
horse sticks his foot in therer
"Oh. cover the hole. Them retorted Dur
kin Genialy. as he let himself down.
Once safely in the covered gloom of the
conduit. he turned on his light and studied
a huIredy made chart of the subway wire
disposition. The leased Curry wires he very
well knew. were already in active service;
and the task before him was not unlike the
difficult and dangerous operation of a sur
geon. Having located and cut open his Ca
bles and in so doing exposed the busy
arteries of most of Wall streets brokerage
business. he carefully adjusted his rheostat,
throwing the resistance coils into circuit one
by one as he turned the graduated pointer.
II was essential that he should remain on
q higher resistance than the circuit into
which he was cutting: In other words, he
must not bleed his patient too much. for
either q heavy leakage or an accidental
short-circuiting. he knew, would lead to
suspicion and an examination. II not q
prompt throwing 1t into the quad" or the
reNersdl 10 tne pfOtectiOn OF some distant
and indirect wire.
When his current had been nicely adjusted
and his sensitive little polarized relay had
broken into 1T of busy and animated chat
tering, he turned his attention to the unused
and rusted end Of gas-pipe which careless
workmen. months. or even years, before,
had hurriedly capped and left protruding q
good quarterback into the conduit. On this
cap he adjusted a pair of pocket pipe
tongues. 1t took all his weight to start the
rusted pipe-head. but once loosened 1t was
only minutes work to unscrew the bit OF
meta! and expose the waiting ends Of the
wires which he had already worked through
from the basement end of the pipe He then
proceeded with great elaboration and eau
ton to make his final connections, taking
infinite care to cover his footsteps as he
went. concealing his wire where possible
and leaving. wherever available no slight.
est trace OF Interference.
When everything was completed. II wa
nothing more than an incision made by Z
skilled and artful surgeon, q surgeon who
had as artfully dressed the wound, and had
left only q slender drainage tube to show
how deep the cutting had been.
Durkin then repacked his tools In his spa'