CHAPTER XXIV. THE JAPANESE STORE.

When Herc hit the sidewalk he utterly forgot all else in his anxiety to follow and trace out the destination of the two he had so providentially, he felt, sighted from the cab.

He had a feeling that if he could run them down without their observing him, he would be able to discover the whereabouts of Ned, for the more he pondered it, the more the Dreadnought Boy felt certain that the two worthies he was trailing knew what had become of his chum.

He was perfectly correct in his prompt recognition of the two men. A second glance as he cautiously negotiated the corner showed him that.

The pair, who no doubt felt perfectly secure,[Pg 193] were walking along at a moderate gait. From time to time they cast sharp glances at some shabby-looking little shops as if in search of something.

It will, of course, be recalled that the last time we saw Saki and his accomplice they were on the point of being precipitated into the stormy sea, following the death-blow the schooner had dealt the frail motor boat.

How they escaped a grave in the tumbling water rows we shall also learn before long. But just now let us follow Herc as, slipping in and out of doorways and taking advantage of every bit of cover, like a trained detective, he follows them.

As they did not look back, Herc's task was rendered considerably more easy of accomplishment than would otherwise have been the case. He kept, however, some yards to the rear in order to guard against the danger of being recognized.

The fact that he was in "mufti" or citizen's[Pg 194] clothes was in his favor. Young Taylor, in his not very stylish gray suit, was an inconspicuous person compared with the somewhat swaggering air he bore when he was in Uncle Sam's uniform.

They were leaving behind them the street that was crowded with summer-garbed promenaders. The stores were small and of no attraction. Dingy, uncleaned windows and slatternly-looking merchants began to make their appearance.

At the foot of the down-at-heel side street, Herc could catch a glimpse of water and could sight the barn-like outlines of some of the deserted factories already referred to.

"Where in the world can they be bound?" he found himself wondering.

Could he have known the events of the last twelve hours, he would also have wondered at their being there at all. It is not given to everyone to come as close to the grim scythe of death and to escape scot-free as Saki and Kenworth had done.

[Pg 195]

As it happened, Herc was not destined to have to wait long before his curiosity was, at least in part, gratified. The two men came to an abrupt halt in front of a store that was even more dingy in appearance than its neighbors. Grass was sprouting through the cracks in the rickety wooden sidewalk in front of it, and, so far as Herc could see, from the distance he was obliged to keep, the establishment bore no outward and visible sign of the goods for sale within. Yet its big, dirty window showed that it was a store of some sort.

Herc dodged into a doorway as the two men came to a standstill in front of this place. By peeping cautiously out he was able to ascertain that they had apparently reached their destination. At any rate, he saw Saki step up to the door and open it.

Then the portal swallowed them both, and Herc was left alone on the solitary by-street.

"Umph, what's the next move?" he muttered[Pg 196] to himself. "Looks like it's up to me to do something, but I'll be keel-hauled if I can think right now just what that 'something' is."

He paused irresolute. Then suddenly he came to action. He had decided to cross the street and reconnoiter from there, where he could obtain a view of the place the two men he was tracking had entered.

The maneuver did not take long, and was accomplished so far as the lad could see, without his being detected, or indeed the slightest notice being taken of him. So far, so good. Herc gazed across the street at the forlorn-looking place the two men had entered.

It was painted a dirty red, the pigment blistered and peeling off in big patches as if the structure was suffering from some sort of unclean leprosy. A jagged crack ran across the show window, which was too thickly grimed with dirt to permit the goods offered within to be displayed to passers-by, if, indeed, any stock in trade was[Pg 197] on view. Above the lower floor, the second story was equally inscrutable. The windows were veiled like closed eyes, with dark green shades of a faded hue. Above, came the roof, a steep-pitched, shingled affair, which surmounted the house like a battered hat on a shabby man.

"Now what," mused Herc, "now what business can take a midshipman of Uncle Sam's navy into such a place in company with a yellow-skinned deserter of a wardroom steward?"

Although it had not at first attracted his attention, he now became aware that there was a name over the door. It was in letters that had once been gilt but were now almost as black and faded as the board that bore them.

"H. Nagasaki. Dealer in Cigars and Tobacco, Candy and Notions," was what Herc read.

"Sounds innocent enough," he said. "I know that fellow Kenworth is an inveterate cigarette smoker,—which accounts for his narrow chest[Pg 198] and pasty face,—and maybe they went in there to get some."

For an instant or two Herc stood at pause, undetermined what course to pursue, but eying the doorway through which the two men had passed. While he stood thus, hesitant, the figure of another customer appeared in front of the Japanese store and passed within.

This gave Herc, situated as he was, a chance to observe the interior of the place. He saw that within was a counter and at the further end of the store a flight of stairs.

Up this flight of stairs, Herc glimpsed in the brief time the door was open the figures of Kenworth and Saki. They were in the act of ascending the stairway.

"Now what——?" mused Herc, and then he stopped short.

A bold thought had sprung unbidden into his mind. That the tumble-down, blighted store on the opposite side of the street held the secret of[Pg 199] Ned's whereabouts, Herc felt suddenly convinced.

Acting almost without conscious volition, he crossed the street, and the next instant boldly flung open the door of "H. Nagasaki's" place and passed within.