ition, John and Brennan
realized that if they were successful the exposure of the
Gibson-Cummings' plot could not be made until Monday or Tuesday at the
earliest, which would be three or four days before the primary election,
scheduled for Thursday.

At Brennan's order the mayor drove the automobile up and down Spring
street, from Second to Eighth and back. Each trip as they passed the
saloon they watched for signs of it being closed for the night. At
half-past eleven they saw that the lights were extinguished, the doors
closed and the steel lattice work drawn across the open front to protect
the cigar stand for the night.

The mayor swung the automobile into the first street intersecting Spring
street, toward Main, stopping it at Brennan's instructions so that it
could be driven into the alley without difficulty. Brennan, Smith,
Murphy and John left the machine and hurried into the alley. Murphy
carried a brace and bit hidden under his coat. John's left arm was
stiff at his side from a steel bar thrust up into the sleeve and Brennan
carried the dictograph in a paper package under his arm.

Holding close to the shadows of the brick wall, they walked rapidly to
the basement door, opening it and entering quickly. Murphy and Smith
were posted at the door to act as guard and to watch for the arrival of
Gibson and Cummings. Brennan and John went directly to the trap door at
the top of the stairs at the front of the basement. Brennan pushed
upward against the door, but it held fast against his strength. John
handed him the steel bar. A thrust, a wrench, a tearing of decayed wood
and the door yielded. They scrambled through to the floor of the saloon,
finding themselves within a few feet of the room where they were to
"plant" the dictograph.

"Luck is with us this time," said Brennan as they saw that the door of
the room was open. He knelt in the open space between the tiers of
drawers on either side of the desk that filled one side of the room. In
half a minute the brace was boring into the wood of the flooring.
Through the hole cut through the floor Brennan pushed the wires of the
dictograph until their entire length disappeared into the basement and
the "ear" of the eavesdropping device was flat over the perforation. He
swept up the shavings from the boring of the hole with his hands as they
hurried back down into the basement, where they found the end of the
wire dangling from the ceiling. Brennan assembled the dictogr