The small man went quietly into the car and a match scratched and there was light inside.
«Now, gentlemen, you may walk,» Luders said. «Observing, of course, that death walks close behind you and conducting yourselves accordingly.»
We walked.
THIRTEEN
«Take their guns and see if they have any more of them, Charlie.»
We stood backed against a wall near a long wooden table. There were wooden benches on either side of the table. On it was a tray with a bottle of whisky and a couple of glasses, a hurricane lamp and an old-fashioned farmhouse oil lamp of thick glass, both lit, a saucer full of matches and another full of ashes and stubs. In the end of the cabin, away from the table, there was a small stove and two cots, one tumbled, one made up as neat as a pin.
The little Japanese came towards us with the light shining on his glasses.
«Oh having guns,» he purred. «Oh too bad.»
He took the guns and pushed them backwards across the table to Luders. His small hands felt us over deftly. Barron winced and his face reddened, but he said nothing. Charlie said: «No more guns. Pleased to see, gentlemen. Very nice night, I think so. You having picnic in moonlight?»
Barron made an angry sound in his throat. Luders said: «Sit down, please, gentlemen, and tell me what I can do for you.»
We sat down. Luders sat down opposite. The two guns were on the table in front of him and the tommy gun rested on it, his left hand holding it steady, his eyes quiet and hard. His was no longer a pleasant face, but it was still an intelligent face. Intelligent as they ever are.
Barron said: «Guess I’ll chew. I think better that way.» He got his plug out and bit into it and put it away. He chewed silently and then spat on the floor.
«Guess I might mess up your floor some,» he said. «Hope you don’t mind.»
The Jap was sitting on the end of the neat bed, his shoes not touching the floor. «Not liking much,» he said hissingly, «very bad smell.»
Barron didn’t look at him. He said quietly: «You aim to shoot us and make your getaway, Mr. Luders?»
Luders shrugged and took his hand off the machine gun and leaned back against the wall.
Barron said: «You left a pretty broad trail here except for one thing. How we would know where to pick it up. You didn’t figure that out because you wouldn’t have acted the way you did. But you was all staked out for us when we got here. I don’t follow that.»
Luders said: «That is because we Germans are fatalists. When things go very easily, as they did tonight — except for that fool, Weber — we become suspicious. I said to myself, ’I have left no trail, no way they could follow me across the lake quickly enough. They had no boat, and no boat followed me. It would be impossible for them to find me. Quite impossible.’ So I said, ’They will find me just because to me it appears impossible. Therefore, I shall be waiting for them.’
«While Charlie toted the suitcases full of money out to the car,» I said.
«What money?» Luders asked, and didn’t seem to look at either of us. He seemed to be looking inward, searching.
I said: «Those very fine new ten-dollar bills you have been bringing in from Mexico by plane.»
Luders looked at me then, but indifferently. «My dear friend, you could not possibly be serious?» he suggested.
«Phooey. Easiest thing in the world. The border patrol has no planes now. They had a few coast-guard planes a while back, but nothing came over, so they were taken off. A plane flying high over the border from Mexico lands on the field down by the Woodland Club golf course. It’s Mr. Luders’ plane and Mr. Luders owns an interest in the club and lives there. Why should anybody get curious about that? But Mr. Luders doesn’t want half a million dollars’ worth of queer money in his cabin at the club, so he finds himself an old mine over here and keeps the money in this refrigerator car. It’s almost as strong as a safe and it doesn’t look like a safe.»
«You interest me,» Luders said calmly. «Continue.»
I said: «The money is very good stuff. We’ve had a report on it. That means organization — to get the inks and the right paper and the plates. It means an organization much more complete than any gang of crooks could manage. A government organization. The organization of the Nazi government.»
The little Jap jumped up off the bed and hissed, but Luders didn’t change expression. «I’m still interested,» he said laconically.
«I ain’t,» Barron said. «Sounds to me like you’re tryin’ to talk yourself into a vestful of lead.»
I went on: «A few years ago the Russians tried the same stunt. Planting a lot of queer money over here to raise funds for espionage work and, incidentally, they hoped, to damage our currency. The Nazis are too smart to gamble on that angle. All they want is good American dollars to work with in Central and South America. Nice mixed-up money that’s been used. You can’t go into a bank and deposit a hundred thousand dollars in brand-new ten-dollar bills. What’s bothering the sheriff is why you picked this particular place, a mountain resort full of rather poor people.»
«But that does not bother you with your superior brain, does it?» Luders sneered.
«It don’t bother me a whole lot either,» Barron said. «What bothers me is folks getting killed in my territory. I ain’t used to it.»
I said: «You picked the place primarily because it’s a swell place to bring the money into. It’s probably one of hundreds all over the country, places where there is very little law enforcement to dodge but places where in the summertime a lot of strange people come and go all the time. And places where planes set down and nobody checks them in or out. But that isn’t the only reason. It’s also a swell place to unload some of the money, quite a lot of it, if you’re lucky. But you weren’t lucky. Your man Weber pulled a dumb trick and made you unlucky. Should I tell you just why it’s a good place to spread queer money if you have enough people working for you?»
«Please do,» Luders said, and patted the side of the machine gun.
«Because for three months in the year this district has a floating population of anywhere from twenty to fifty thousand people, depending on the holidays and weekends. That means a lot of money brought in and a lot of business done. And there’s no bank here. The result of that is that the hotels and bars and merchants have to cash checks all the time. The result of that is that the deposits they send out during the season are almost all checks and the money stays in circulation. Until the end of the season, of course.»
«I think that is very interesting,» Luders said. «But if this operation were under my control, I would not think of passing very much money up here. I would pass a little here and there, but not much. I would test the money out, to see how well it was accepted. And for a reason that you have thought of. Because most of it would change hands rapidly and, if it was discovered to be queer money, as you say, it would be very difficult to trace the source of it.»
«Yeah,» I said. «That would be smarter. You’re nice and frank about it.»
«To you,» Luders said, «it naturally does not matter how frank I am.»
Barron leaned forward suddenly. «Look here, Luders, killin’ us ain’t going to help you any. If you come right down to it, we don’t have a thing on you. Likely you killed this man Weber, but the way things are up here, it’s going to be mighty hard to prove it. If you been spreading bad money, they’ll get you for it, sure, but that ain’t a hangin’ matter. Now I’ve got a couple pair handcuffs in my belt, so happens, and my proposition is you walk out of here with them on, you and your Japanese pal.»
Charlie the Jap said: «Ha, ha. Very funny man. Some boob I guess yes.»