“Rifles,” Thornton said through the thickness in his throat.
The colonel nodded. “We’ve been watching him for some time now. The last time it was buttons for uniforms. The time before it was saddles for horses the army doesn’t even use anymore. By the time you discovered that the drafts were worthless, the general would have sold your rifles to the army himself. Let’s go, men.”
The two soldiers shoved the general into motion.
“Vanderslice, do something,” the general cried. “You can’t let them take me.”
Vanderslice turned his stupid face to Bates. “Can’t you do something?”
“I’m afraid not. It’s an army matter,” he said. “Will he be tried in a military court?” he asked the colonel.
“Yes,” the colonel said. “I’m sorry to have shocked you gentlemen like this, but there was no other way. We had to catch him in the act. You’ll all be called to testify, of course.”
“But what about my rifles?” Thornton suddenly realized.
“What about them?” the colonel asked.
“Those papers you’re taking, that’s my bills of sale proving I own them.”
“And you’ll still own them. They’ll be safe and sound wherever you’re keeping them while we get this all settled.”
“But I need to sell them immediately, and I can’t without those papers.”
“As I said, it’s evidence. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until after the trial.”
“But I can’t wait!” Thornton nearly shouted as panic welled in him. He had a mortgage and a loan to pay and only a few hundred dollars left to his name.
“I’m sorry, sir, but there’s nothing I can do. It won’t be long, only a month or two, I’m sure. It’s wartime and the army will want this settled quickly.”
Quickly? A month or two wasn’t quickly! And what was he supposed to do in the meantime? The general and his guards were gone and so was the soldier with the papers and Thornton’s money. Without that, he wouldn’t even be able to pay Fletcher and Lester. Which reminded him. “Fletcher!”
“Was that your man outside?” the colonel asked. “I had to take him into custody. He was threatening my men.” He turned to Vanderslice. “You may call at the armory tomorrow. Ask for me. By then I’ll be able to tell you more. Good day, gentlemen.”
“Good God,” Vanderslice said, sinking back into his chair when the colonel and his men were gone. “I can’t believe it. I had the man as a guest in my home.”
What did that matter when Thornton had lost everything? “You’ve got to get those papers back, Vanderslice.”
“You heard what he said,” Vanderslice said. “They’re evidence.”
“But I need them. I need to sell those rifles or I’m ruined.”
“You heard the colonel,” Bates said. “You can sell them after the trial.”
Thornton closed his hands into fists, wishing he dared use them on the attorney. “I borrowed money against the house and I took out a loan. Both are due in thirty days.”
“Can’t you sell the house to satisfy the mortgage at least?” Vanderslice asked.
“If it sells that quickly, but there’s still the loan.”
“And you don’t have the funds to pay that back?” Bates asked. Was he smirking?
He had to swallow his pride before he could speak. “I put everything I own into those rifles.”
“I’m sure we can work this out,” Vanderslice said with his phony enthusiasm. “The colonel said I should go down to the armory and ask for him tomorrow, so that’s what I’ll do. He can’t possibly object to your selling the rifles yourself. Surely, the army still wants them.”
“And what if you can’t work it out? No, we’re going to the armory right now, before this Inchwood has a chance to do anything. And I want those bank drafts returned. We only have Inchwood’s word that they’re no good.”
Bates and Vanderslice just stared back at him, gaping like the stupid oxen they were. “Fletcher!” he shouted again. Where had that idiot gotten to? Surely, the soldiers hadn’t arrested him, too.
Fletcher came staggering in, straightening his coat and looking dazed.
“Where have you been?” Thornton demanded.
“They grabbed me and dragged me outside.” He rubbed his jaw gingerly. “Roughed me up pretty good. Then they threw that general into one of them ambulance trucks and drove off.”
“Get me a taxicab. We have to go to the armory.”
“Where’s that?”
Thornton realized he had no idea. He turned back to Bates and Vanderslice.
“There’s an armory on Lexington and Twenty-fifth,” Bates offered.
“But isn’t there one on Fort Washington Avenue?” Vanderslice asked.
“What about the one in Sunset Park?” Bates asked.
“Inchwood didn’t say which one we should go to, did he?” Vanderslice asked.
Thornton swore. “Which one is closest?”
In the end, the cab driver took the four men to the 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington, but the idiot private at the front desk knew nothing about a Colonel Inchwood. They finally found a sergeant who sent them to the 7th Regiment Armory on Park Avenue, where a young lieutenant also knew nothing but sent them to the 8th Regiment Armory, where they finally found a colonel who listened to Thornton’s story with a puzzled frown.
“Are you sure these were really soldiers?” the colonel asked when Thornton had finished his story.
What a stupid question! “Of course they were. They had on uniforms, and this Inchwood fellow told us to come to the armory to claim our property,” Thornton said, stretching the truth a bit.
“And he didn’t tell you which armory you should go to?”
“No,” Thornton said, swallowing down his fury because shouting at this martinet wasn’t going to get him what he wanted.
“That’s very suspicious. You see, I’m not aware of any investigation into profiteering at all, and I’ve never heard of a Colonel Inchwood here in the city.”
“What do you mean?” Bates asked. “Do you think this Inchwood was lying?”
“That’s exactly what I think,” the colonel said.
“But he arrested a general,” Thornton nearly shouted. “A retired general, at any rate. And Senator Wadsworth had sent the general to Vanderslice in the first place.”
The colonel frowned beneath his lush mustache. “Did you speak to the senator yourself?”
“Uh, no,” Vanderslice said. “I mean, he’d already sent Thornton to me, so when the general told me the senator had sent him, too . . .”
“So you only had the general’s word,” the colonel said.
Thornton saw it all then. The general wasn’t really a general at all, and he’d tricked Thornton into signing over all of his rifles to him. It was just like Inchwood had said, except Inchwood was in on it, too. They’d stolen his rifles, or at least they would now that they had the signed bills of sale, unless he could get them back . . .
The colonel was telling them there were a few more armories in the city they could visit, but he was sure they wouldn’t find Inchwood at any of them. Thornton didn’t even listen. As the four of them walked out of the armory, Thornton told Fletcher to get a cab.