The final arrangement was that four of the best men of the squad were to hide in a vacant store across from Vincenzo's early in the evening, long before anyone was watching.The signal for them to appear was to be the extinguishing of the lights behind the coloured bottles in the druggist's window.A taxicab was to be kept waiting at headquarters at the same time with three other good men ready to start for a given address the moment the alarm was given over the telephone.
We found Gennaro awaiting us with the greatest anxiety at the opera-house.The bomb at Cesare's had been the last straw.
Gennaro had already drawn from his bank ten crisp one-thousand-dollar bills, and already had a copy of Il Progresso in which he had hidden the money between the sheets.
"Mr.Kennedy," he said, "I am going to meet them tonight.They may kill me.See, I have provided myself with a pistol--I shall fight, too, if necessary for my little Adelina.But if it is only money they want, they shall have it.""One thing I want to say," began Kennedy.
"No, no, no!" cried the tenor."I will go--you shall not stop me.""I don't wish to stop you," Craig reassured him."But one thing --do exactly as I tell you, and I swear not a hair of the child's head will be injured and we will get the blackmailers, too.""How?" eagerly asked Gennaro."What do you want me to do?""All I want you to do is to go to Albano's at the appointed time.
Sit down in the back room.Get into conversation with them, and, above all, Signor, as soon as you get the copy of the Bolletino turn to the third page, pretend not to be able to read the address.Ask the man to read it.Then repeat it after him.
Pretend to be overjoyed.Offer to set up wine for the whole crowd.Just a few minutes, that is all I ask, and I will guarantee that you will be the happiest man in New York to-morrow."Gennaro's eyes filled with tears as he grasped Kennedy's hand.
"That is better than having the whole police force back of me,"he said."I shall never forget, never forget."As we went out Kennedy remarked: "You can't blame them for keeping their troubles to themselves.Here we send a police officer over to Italy to look up the records of some of the worst suspects.He loses his life.Another takes his place.Then after he gets back he is set to work on the mere clerical routine of translating them.One of his associates is reduced in rank.And so what does it come to? Hundreds of records have become useless because the three years within which the criminals could be deported have elapsed with nothing done.Intelligent, isn't it? Ibelieve it has been established that all but about fifty of seven hundred known Italian suspects are still at large, mostly in this city.And the rest of the Italian population is guarded from them by a squad of police in number scarcely one-thirtieth of the number of known criminals.No, it's our fault if the Black Hand thrives."We had been standing on the corner of Broadway, waiting for a car.
"Now, Walter, don't forget.Meet me at the Bleecker Street station of the subway at eleven-thirty.I'm off to the university.I have some very important experiments with phosphorescent salts that I want to finish to-day.""What has that to do with the case?" I asked mystified:
"Nothing," replied Craig."I didn't say it had.At eleven-thirty, don't forget.By George, though, that Paoli must be a clever one--think of his knowing about ricin.I only heard of it myself recently.Well, here's my car.Good-bye."Craig swung aboard an Amsterdam Avenue car, leaving me to kill eight nervous hours of my weekly day of rest from the Star.
They passed at length, and at precisely the appointed time Kennedy and I met.With suppressed excitement, at least on my part, we walked over to Vincenzo's.At night this section of the city was indeed a black enigma.The lights in the shops where olive oil, fruit, and other things were sold, were winking out one by one; here and there strains of music floated out of wine-shops, and little groups lingered on corners conversing in animated sentences.We passed Albano's on the other side of the street, being careful not to look at it too closely, for several men were hanging idly about --pickets, apparently, with some secret code that would instantly have spread far and wide the news of any alarming action.
At the corner we crossed and looked in Vincenzo's window a moment, casting a furtive glance across the street at the dark empty store where the police must be hiding.Then we went in and casually sauntered back of the partition.Luigi was there already.There were several customers still in the store, however, and therefore we had to sit in silence while Vincenzo quickly finished a prescription and waited on the last one.
At last the doors were locked and the lights lowered, all except those in the windows which were to serve as signals.
"Ten minutes to twelve," said Kennedy, placing the oblong box on the table."Gennaro will be going in soon.Let us try this machine now and see if it works.If the wires have been cut since we put them up this morning Gennaro will have to take his chances alone."Kennedy reached over and with a light movement of his forefinger touched a switch.
Instantly a babel of voices filled the store, all talking at once, rapidly and loudly.Here and there we could distinguish a snatch of conversation, a word, a phrase, now and then even a whole sentence above the rest.There was the clink of glasses.Icould hear the rattle of dice on a bare table, and an oath.Acork popped.Somebody scratched a match.
We sat bewildered, looking at Kennedy for an explanation.
