The Horror at Red Hook

come in steamships, apparently tramp freighters, and had been
unloaded by stealth on moonless nights in rowboats which stole under
a certain wharf and followed a hidden canal and house Malone could
not locate, for the memories of his informants were exceedingly
confused, while their speech was to a great extent beyond even the
ablest interpreters; nor could he gain any real data on the reasons
for their systematic importation.  They were reticent about the exact
spot from which they had come, and were never sufficiently off guard
to reveal the agencies which had sought them out and directed their
course.  Indeed, they developed something like acute fright when
asked the reason for their presence.  Gangsters of other breeds were
equally taciturn, and the most that could be gathered was that some
god or great priesthood had promised them unheard-of powers and
supernatural glories and rulerships in a strange land.

The attendance of both newcomers and old gangsters at Suydam's
closely guarded nocturnal meetings was very regular, and the police
soon learned that the erstwhile recluse had leased additional flats
to accommodate such guests as knew his password; at last occupying