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requests is the one he plays. Exactly. So the Joker must be fixing the selection by having his thugs write hundreds of request letters. Commissioner Gordon s face brightened with hope. You mean the Joker makes sure, in advance, that the song clue will fit the crime? Commissioner Gordon brought the palm of his hand down flat on the desk. Of course! I should have thought of that. It s the only way it could be done! We may be able to trace the letters, Robin said. I suggest we pay a visit to the Gotham City post office. Someone there might be able to tell us from which station a large batch of letters has been mailed daily to the Tune Parade! Commissioner Gordon was up from his desk before Robin had finished speaking. He grabbed his hat. That s the first constructive suggestion I ve heard. Come on! We ve no time to waste! Later, in separate rooms at the post office, Commissioner Gordon, Inspector O Hara, and Robin, the Boy Wonder, questioned postmen as they returned from their rounds. Robin was alone in a small cubicle of an office. At shortly past four o clock, the door opened and still another postman entered. He was a surly-looking man whose gray uniform was wrinkled and stained with perspiration. The postmaster said you wanted to see me, the man said to Robin. What part of the city do you cover, sir? The Water Street station. Robin s interest quickened slightly. Water Street was in a section of the city notorious for its underworld hideouts. Have you noticed an unusual amount of mail being sent from any particular post office box in that region? The surly-looking postman said: There s always plenty of mail. People will write letters, you know. This mail would be different, Robin said patiently. The heavy volume would have occurred only in the last few days. Almost all of the new letters would have been addressed to the Tune Parade program on radio. The surly postman shifted slightly in his chair. Funny you should mention that. The last few days I have picked up a big batch of letters like that. All mailed from a single box at Water Street and Granite Avenue. Robin could barely contain his excitement. But all he said was, Thank you. I d like to make one request. Don t mention to anyone that we had this conversation. The postman shrugged. Why should I? I don t understand what it s all about, anyhow. Robin went to the door of the small office with the postman. This is a routine investigation. But it is important that no word leak out. We intend to keep a special watch on that mailbox. You don t have to worry about me telling anyone. I mind my own business. Things are tough enough without trying to borrow anybody else s trouble, the man said sullenly. Well, Robin thought, things are bound to be unpleasant for anyone with a disposition like yours. But he said nothing more as he watched the postman go off down the marble corridor of the post office building. Robin hurried in the other direction to inform Commissioner Gordon and Inspector O Hara that there was no further need to question anyone. They had found what they were looking for. If Robin had followed the surly postman, though, he would have been surprised to note that as soon as the surly fellow left the post office building he went directly to a public telephone booth and dialed a number. After a moment, he said, This is Frank Moro, Boss. I just finished talking with Robin, the Boy Wonder. Just like you said, he wanted to know about mail being delivered to the Tune Parade program. I rather thought he d get around to that angle about now. Good. Did you tell him the story we agreed on? Right. He s going to keep a check on the Water Street mailbox. I guess he won t find anything mailed there from now on, eh? On the contrary. Tonight at the usual time we will mail another batch of letters at that mailbox. And the man who mails them will be someone that Robin knows is working for me. Frank Moro said in a puzzled tone, But, Boss, that s just asking for trouble. I mean, if Robin follows the guy& Over the phone wires trilled the high hysterical laugh of the Joker. That s just what I expect him to do! The Boy Wonder will walk right into the dandy little trap I ve prepared for him! Shortly before midnight, a man sidled up to the mailbox at the comer of Water Street and Granite Avenue. He was carrying a large satchel full of letters. As he emptied the letters into the box, he cast furtive glances over his shoulder to be sure no one was watching him. Not far distant, someone was watching. Hidden behind a comer of a building, Robin, the Boy Wonder, was standing guard with Commissioner Gordon. Do you recognize that man, Inspector? Scotty Tucker. He s one of the Joker s thugs. Correct. And he s mailing a lot of letters. Shall I arrest him now, Robin? That would be a mistake, Commissioner. Scotty would never tell you where the Joker is. He s much too afraid of the Joker to betray him. What shall we do, then? Follow him. He has to return to the Joker s headquarters. And that s probably where Batman is being held a prisoner. A good idea, Robin. I ll detail some of my best men to shadow him and Scotty Tucker might see them and realize he s being followed. This is one job I must handle completely alone. It s too dangerous, Robin. You can t go up against the Joker and his men alone. I ll be careful, Commissioner. And I won t be alone. Batman will be with me as soon as I can free him. Yes. Yes, of course. I d forgotten that. Commissioner Gordon had not forgotten. It just seemed to him that, after so much time in the Joker s hands, there was a very good chance Batman was no longer alive. Scotty Tucker returned toward the secret hideout of the Joker. Following a trail through narrow streets and criss-crossing alleyways, Scotty could have sworn that he was alone. But above him, in the darkness, he was being trailed by a grim pursuing shadow. Robin the Boy Wonder! At the entrance to an abandoned factory building, Scotty Tucker paused to look carefully about him. No one was in sight. Only a stray alley cat prowled the rusting debris of this long-forgotten site. Scotty reached up to pull a loose board down beside the entrance to the factory. There was a humming noise. The rusted metal of the overhead door slid smoothly upward to reveal a stairway leading to the second floor of the factory building where the windows were painted over with black paint. Scotty entered the building. Moments later, the rusted overhead door slid smoothly back into position. On the second floor landing, in a lushly furnished office, the Joker whirled as the door opened and Scotty Tucker entered. Well? the Joker demanded. Scotty shrugged. Nothing happened, Boss. I mailed the letters like you said. But there was nobody around to see me do it. And nobody followed me here. The Joker snarled. Are you sure of that, Scotty? I been in this business a long time, Boss. Nobody could ve followed me without me knowing it. On the wall, a small control box began to jangle softly. What s that, Boss? Scotty Tucker asked. The Joker rubbed his hands together with satisfaction. So no one was following you, eh, Scotty? That alarm box doesn t agree. It just gave a signal that someone is on the roof of this building at this very moment! I m willing to lay odds that the intruder is none other than Robin, the Boy Wonder! The Joker was right. Robin, after some difficulty, had succeeded at last in prying up the cover to a ventilator shaft on the roof. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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