begin and that you, Garrick, are the one to begin it for us, while
I carry on the regular work I am doing. The gang is growing bolder
and more clever every day. And then, here's a murder, too, in all
likelihood. If we don't round them up, there is no limit to what
they may do in terrorizing the city."

"How does this gang, as you call it, operate?" asked Garrick.

"Most of the cars that are stolen," explained McBirney, "are taken
from the automobile district, which embraces also not a small
portion of the new Tenderloin and the theatre district. Actually,
Garrick, more than nine out of ten cars have disappeared between
Forty-second and Seventy-second Streets."

Garrick was listening, without comment.

"Some of the thefts, like this one of Warrington's car," continued
McBirney, warming up to the subject, "have been so bold that you
would be astonished. And it is those stolen cars, I believe, that
are used in the wave of taxicab and motor car robberies, hold-ups,
and other crimes that is sweeping over the city. The cars are
taken to some obscure garage, without doubt, and their identity is
destroyed by men who are expert in the practice."

"And you have no confidence in the police?" I inquired cautiously,
mindful of his former manner.

"We have frequently had occasion to call on the police for
assistance," he answered, "but somehow or other it has seldom
worked. They don't seem to be able to help us much. If anything is