The lunches ordered were now brought by the waiter, and the boys fell to, although, as may well be imagined, without much appetite. Max sat with his face turned toward the curtain, evidently trying to discover whether his enemies were using the alcove. He had seen the boys enter the restaurant, but was not quite certain as to which room they had seated themselves in. His face was watchful and vicious.
Half an hour passed and the situation did not change, then Alex plucked Case by the sleeve, motioning toward the outer door.
"We may as well move," he said. "It is getting late, and the streets are now growing more unsafe every minute because of such night prowlers as you see out there. It we've got to fight, we may as well begin."
But it was not necessary for them to start the engagement, as Max came to the alcove directly and drew the curtain roughly aside. The boys remained in their seats, grinning up at him, but their hands under the cover of the table grasped their automatics.
"Hello!" Alex said presently. "We never expected to meet you here."
"Oh, I had an idea you'd be along," Max said with an ugly frown.
"Come on in and set down," Case urged with a chuckle. "I'd like to have you tell me why you disappeared so suddenly."
"That's a nice question to ask!" Max snarled. "You tie me up like a pig in the cabin and then wonder why I get out of your clutches!"
"You had a little swim for it, didn't you?" asked Case.
"Yes," was the reply, "and I'll make you sweat for every drop of water I swallowed during that long dive. I'll show you a thing or two!"
"What was there in that job for you, anyway?" asked Alex. "We've got a new manila cable charged up to you."
"Mark the bill down on ice," snorted Max, "and lay the ice on the stove. You did me dirt there and I'm going to get even!"
"Go as far as you like," said Case. "We are here to answer all questions."
Max, who had been standing in the entrance to the alcove, with the curtain half over his shoulder, now turned and beckoned to the rough-looking boys gathered about the table he had just left.
"Friends of yours?" asked Alex as the others gathered about the alcove. "They look as if they might be."
The boys outside now began jostling each other roughly, as if preparing to start a fake fight among themselves. That, as Alex and Case well knew, is an old, old trick in the underworld. Whenever an enemy is to be attacked, it is common practice for the assailants to start a fight among themselves, being certain that their enemies are dealt most of the blows. Many an apparently innocent bystander has been murdered in that way.