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diff --git a/11252-h/11252-h.htm b/11252-h/11252-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..08eb5ac --- /dev/null +++ b/11252-h/11252-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,7175 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Martin Hewitt, Investigator +</title> +<style type="text/css"> + <!-- + body {margin-left: 12%; margin-right: 12%; background-color: white} + H1,H2,H3 {text-align: center; } + hr {align=center; width= 50%;} + .toc { text-align=center;} + .ctr { text-align: center; } + // --> +</style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11252 ***</div> + +<h1> +MARTIN HEWITT, INVESTIGATOR. +</h1> +<p> </p> +<h2> +By<br /> +Arthur Morrison +</h2> +<p> </p> +<h3> +1894 +</h3> +<p> </p> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#CH1">I. THE LENTON CROFT ROBBERIES</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#CH2">II. THE LOSS OF SAMMY CROCKETT</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#CH3">III. THE CASE OF MR. FOGGATT</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#CH4">IV. THE CASE OF THE DIXON TORPEDO</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#CH5">V. THE QUINTON JEWEL AFFAIR</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#CH6">VI. THE STANWAY CAMEO MYSTERY</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#CH7">VII. THE AFFAIR OF THE TORTOISE</a></p> + +<p> </p> +<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-1"> +clues (scraps of paper) +</a> +</p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-2"> +corridor/rooms diagram +</a> +</p> +<p> </p> + +<h2> +MARTIN HEWITT, INVESTIGATOR. +</h2> +<p> </p> +<a name="CH1"></a> +<h3> + I. THE LENTON CROFT ROBBERIES +</h3> +<p> + Those who retain any memory of the great law cases of fifteen or twenty + years back will remember, at least, the title of that extraordinary will + case, "Bartley <i>v</i>. Bartley and others," which occupied the Probate + Court for some weeks on end, and caused an amount of public interest + rarely accorded to any but the cases considered in the other division + of the same court. The case itself was noted for the large quantity + of remarkable and unusual evidence presented by the plaintiff's + side—evidence that took the other party completely by surprise, and + overthrew their case like a house of cards. The affair will, perhaps, be + more readily recalled as the occasion of the sudden rise to eminence in + their profession of Messrs. Crellan, Hunt & Crellan, solicitors for the + plaintiff—a result due entirely to the wonderful ability shown in this + case of building up, apparently out of nothing, a smashing weight of + irresistible evidence. That the firm has since maintained—indeed + enhanced—the position it then won for itself need scarcely be said here; + its name is familiar to everybody. But there are not many of the outside + public who know that the credit of the whole performance was primarily + due to a young clerk in the employ of Messrs. Crellan, who had been given + charge of the seemingly desperate task of collecting evidence in the + case. +</p> +<p> + This Mr. Martin Hewitt had, however, full credit and reward for his + exploit from his firm and from their client, and more than one other firm + of lawyers engaged in contentious work made good offers to entice Hewitt + to change his employers. Instead of this, however, he determined to work + independently for the future, having conceived the idea of making a + regular business of doing, on behalf of such clients as might retain him, + similar work to that he had just done with such conspicuous success for + Messrs. Crellan, Hunt & Crellan. This was the beginning of the private + detective business of Martin Hewitt, and his action at that time has been + completely justified by the brilliant professional successes he has since + achieved. +</p> +<p> + His business has always been conducted in the most private manner, and he + has always declined the help of professional assistants, preferring to + carry out himself such of the many investigations offered him as he could + manage. He has always maintained that he has never lost by this policy, + since the chance of his refusing a case begets competition for his + services, and his fees rise by a natural process. At the same time, no + man could know better how to employ casual assistance at the right time. +</p> +<p> + Some curiosity has been expressed as to Mr. Martin Hewitt's system, and, + as he himself always consistently maintains that he has no system beyond + a judicious use of ordinary faculties, I intend setting forth in detail a + few of the more interesting of his cases in order that the public may + judge for itself if I am right in estimating Mr. Hewitt's "ordinary + faculties" as faculties very extraordinary indeed. He is not a man who + has made many friendships (this, probably, for professional reasons), + notwithstanding his genial and companionable manners. I myself first made + his acquaintance as a result of an accident resulting in a fire at the + old house in which Hewitt's office was situated, and in an upper floor of + which I occupied bachelor chambers. I was able to help in saving a + quantity of extremely important papers relating to his business, and, + while repairs were being made, allowed him to lock them in an old + wall-safe in one of my rooms which the fire had scarcely damaged. +</p> +<p> + The acquaintance thus begun has lasted many years, and has become a + rather close friendship. I have even accompanied Hewitt on some of his + expeditions, and, in a humble way, helped him. Such of the cases, + however, as I personally saw nothing of I have put into narrative form + from the particulars given me. +</p> +<p> + "I consider you, Brett," he said, addressing me, "the most remarkable + journalist alive. Not because you're particularly clever, you know, + because, between ourselves, I hope you'll admit you're not; but because + you have known something of me and my doings for some years, and have + never yet been guilty of giving away any of my little business secrets + you may have become acquainted with. I'm afraid you're not so + enterprising a journalist as some, Brett. But now, since you ask, you + shall write something—if you think it worth while." +</p> +<p> + This he said, as he said most things, with a cheery, chaffing good-nature + that would have been, perhaps, surprising to a stranger who thought of + him only as a grim and mysterious discoverer of secrets and crimes. + Indeed, the man had always as little of the aspect of the conventional + detective as may be imagined. Nobody could appear more cordial or less + observant in manner, although there was to be seen a certain sharpness of + the eye—which might, after all, only be the twinkle of good humor. +</p> +<p> + I <i>did</i> think it worth while to write something of Martin Hewitt's + investigations, and a description of one of his adventures follows. +</p> +<hr> +<p> + At the head of the first flight of a dingy staircase leading up from an + ever-open portal in a street by the Strand stood a door, the dusty + ground-glass upper panel of which carried in its center the single word + "Hewitt," while at its right-hand lower corner, in smaller letters, + "Clerk's Office" appeared. On a morning when the clerks in the + ground-floor offices had barely hung up their hats, a short, well-dressed + young man, wearing spectacles, hastening to open the dusty door, ran into + the arms of another man who suddenly issued from it. +</p> +<p> + "I beg pardon," the first said. "Is this Hewitt's Detective Agency + Office?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, I believe you will find it so," the other replied. He was a + stoutish, clean-shaven man, of middle height, and of a cheerful, round + countenance. "You'd better speak to the clerk." +</p> +<p> + In the little outer office the visitor was met by a sharp lad with inky + fingers, who presented him with a pen and a printed slip. The printed + slip having been filled with the visitor's name and present business, and + conveyed through an inner door, the lad reappeared with an invitation to + the private office. There, behind a writing-table, sat the stoutish man + himself, who had only just advised an appeal to the clerk. +</p> +<p> + "Good-morning, Mr. Lloyd—Mr. Vernon Lloyd," he said, affably, looking + again at the slip. "You'll excuse my care to start even with my + visitors—I must, you know. You come from Sir James Norris, I see." +</p> +<p> + "Yes; I am his secretary. I have only to ask you to go straight to Lenton + Croft at once, if you can, on very important business. Sir James would + have wired, but had not your precise address. Can you go by the next + train? Eleven-thirty is the first available from Paddington." +</p> +<p> + "Quite possibly. Do you know any thing of the business?" +</p> +<p> + "It is a case of a robbery in the house, or, rather, I fancy, of several + robberies. Jewelry has been stolen from rooms occupied by visitors to the + Croft. The first case occurred some months ago—nearly a year ago, in + fact. Last night there was another. But I think you had better get the + details on the spot. Sir James has told me to telegraph if you are + coming, so that he may meet you himself at the station; and I must + hurry, as his drive to the station will be rather a long one. Then I take + it you will go, Mr. Hewitt? Twyford is the station." +</p> +<p> + "Yes, I shall come, and by the 11.30. Are you going by that train + yourself?" +</p> +<p> + "No, I have several things to attend to now I am in town. Good-morning; I + shall wire at once." +</p> +<p> + Mr. Martin Hewitt locked the drawer of his table and sent his clerk for a + cab. +</p> +<p> + At Twyford Station Sir James Norris was waiting with a dog-cart. Sir + James was a tall, florid man of fifty or thereabout, known away from home + as something of a county historian, and nearer his own parts as a great + supporter of the hunt, and a gentleman much troubled with poachers. As + soon as he and Hewitt had found one another the baronet hurried the + detective into his dog-cart. "We've something over seven miles to drive," + he said, "and I can tell you all about this wretched business as we go. + That is why I came for you myself, and alone." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt nodded. +</p> +<p> + "I have sent for you, as Lloyd probably told you, because of a robbery at + my place last evening. It appears, as far as I can guess, to be one of + three by the same hand, or by the same gang. Late yesterday afternoon——" +</p> +<p> + "Pardon me, Sir James," Hewitt interrupted, "but I think I must ask you + to begin at the first robbery and tell me the whole tale in proper order. + It makes things clearer, and sets them in their proper shape." +</p> +<p> + "Very well! Eleven months ago, or thereabout, I had rather a large party + of visitors, and among them Colonel Heath and Mrs. Heath—the lady being + a relative of my own late wife. Colonel Heath has not been long retired, + you know—used to be political resident in an Indian native state. Mrs. + Heath had rather a good stock of jewelry of one sort and another, about + the most valuable piece being a bracelet set with a particularly fine + pearl—quite an exceptional pearl, in fact—that had been one of a heap + of presents from the maharajah of his state when Heath left India. +</p> +<p> + "It was a very noticeable bracelet, the gold setting being a mere + feather-weight piece of native filigree work—almost too fragile to trust + on the wrist—and the pearl being, as I have said, of a size and quality + not often seen. Well, Heath and his wife arrived late one evening, + and after lunch the following day, most of the men being off by + themselves—shooting, I think—my daughter, my sister (who is very + often down here), and Mrs. Heath took it into their heads to go + walking—fern-hunting, and so on. My sister was rather long dressing, + and, while they waited, my daughter went into Mrs. Heath's room, where + Mrs. Heath turned over all her treasures to show her, as women do, you + know. When my sister was at last ready, they came straight away, leaving + the things littering about the room rather than stay longer to pack them + up. The bracelet, with other things, was on the dressing-table then." +</p> +<p> + "One moment. As to the door?" +</p> +<p> + "They locked it. As they came away my daughter suggested turning the key, + as we had one or two new servants about." +</p> +<p> + "And the window?" +</p> +<p> + "That they left open, as I was going to tell you. Well, they went on + their walk and came back, with Lloyd (whom they had met somewhere) + carrying their ferns for them. It was dusk and almost dinner-time. Mrs. + Heath went straight to her room, and—the bracelet was gone." +</p> +<p> + "Was the room disturbed?" +</p> +<p> + "Not a bit. Everything was precisely where it had been left, except the + bracelet. The door hadn't been tampered with, but of course the window + was open, as I have told you." +</p> +<p> + "You called the police, of course?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, and had a man from Scotland Yard down in the morning. He seemed a + pretty smart fellow, and the first thing he noticed on the + dressing-table, within an inch or two of where the bracelet had been, + was a match, which had been lit and thrown down. Now nobody about the + house had had occasion to use a match in that room that day, and, if they + had, certainly wouldn't have thrown it on the cover of the + dressing-table. So that, presuming the thief to have used that match, the + robbery must have been committed when the room was getting + dark—immediately before Mrs. Heath returned, in fact. The thief had + evidently struck the match, passed it hurriedly over the various trinkets + lying about, and taken the most valuable." +</p> +<p> + "Nothing else was even moved?" +</p> +<p> + "Nothing at all. Then the thief must have escaped by the window, although + it was not quite clear how. The walking party approached the house with a + full view of the window, but saw nothing, although the robbery must have + been actually taking place a moment or two before they turned up. +</p> +<p> + "There was no water-pipe within any practicable distance of the window, + but a ladder usually kept in the stable-yard was found lying along the + edge of the lawn. The gardener explained, however, that he had put the + ladder there after using it himself early in the afternoon." +</p> +<p> + "Of course it might easily have been used again after that and put back." +</p> +<p> + "Just what the Scotland Yard man said. He was pretty sharp, too, on the + gardener, but very soon decided that he knew nothing of it. No stranger + had been seen in the neighborhood, nor had passed the lodge gates. + Besides, as the detective said, it scarcely seemed the work of a + stranger. A stranger could scarcely have known enough to go straight to + the room where a lady—only arrived the day before—had left a valuable + jewel, and away again without being seen. So all the people about the + house were suspected in turn. The servants offered, in a body, to have + their boxes searched, and this was done; everything was turned over, from + the butler's to the new kitchen-maid's. I don't know that I should have + had this carried quite so far if I had been the loser myself, but it was + my guest, and I was in such a horrible position. Well, there's little + more to be said about that, unfortunately. Nothing came of it all, and + the thing's as great a mystery now as ever. I believe the Scotland Yard + man got as far as suspecting <i>me</i> before he gave it up altogether, but + give it up he did in the end. I think that's all I know about the first + robbery. Is it clear?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, yes; I shall probably want to ask a few questions when I have seen + the place, but they can wait. What next?" +</p> +<p> + "Well," Sir James pursued, "the next was a very trumpery affair, that I + should have forgotten all about, probably, if it hadn't been for one + circumstance. Even now I hardly think it could have been the work of the + same hand. Four months or thereabout after Mrs. Heath's disaster—in + February of this year, in fact—Mrs. Armitage, a young widow, who had + been a school-fellow of my daughter's, stayed with us for a week or so. + The girls don't trouble about the London season, you know, and I have no + town house, so they were glad to have their old friend here for a little + in the dull time. Mrs. Armitage is a very active young lady, and was + scarcely in the house half an hour before she arranged a drive in a + pony-cart with Eva—my daughter—to look up old people in the village + that she used to know before she was married. So they set off in the + afternoon, and made such a round of it that they were late for dinner. + Mrs. Armitage had a small plain gold brooch—not at all valuable, you + know; two or three pounds, I suppose—which she used to pin up a cloak or + anything of that sort. Before she went out she stuck this in the + pin-cushion on her dressing-table, and left a ring—rather a good one, I + believe—lying close by." +</p> +<p> + "This," asked Hewitt, "was not in the room that Mrs. Heath had occupied, + I take it?" +</p> +<p> + "No; this was in another part of the building. Well, the brooch + went—taken, evidently, by some one in a deuce of a hurry, for, when Mrs. + Armitage got back to her room, there was the pin-cushion with a little + tear in it, where the brooch had been simply snatched off. But the + curious thing was that the ring—worth a dozen of the brooch—was left + where it had been put. Mrs. Armitage didn't remember whether or not she + had locked the door herself, although she found it locked when she + returned; but my niece, who was indoors all the time, went and tried it + once—because she remembered that a gas-fitter was at work on the landing + near by—and found it safely locked. The gas-fitter, whom we didn't know + at the time, but who since seems to be quite an honest fellow, was ready + to swear that nobody but my niece had been to the door while he was in + sight of it—which was almost all the time. As to the window, the + sash-line had broken that very morning, and Mrs. Armitage had propped + open the bottom half about eight or ten inches with a brush; and, when + she returned, that brush, sash, and all were exactly as she had left + them. Now I scarcely need tell <i>you</i> what an awkward job it must have + been for anybody to get noiselessly in at that unsupported window; and + how unlikely he would have been to replace it, with the brush, exactly as + he found it." +</p> +<p> + "Just so. I suppose the brooch, was really gone? I mean, there was no + chance of Mrs. Armitage having mislaid it?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, none at all! There was a most careful search." +</p> +<p> + "Then, as to getting in at the window, would it have been easy?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, yes," Sir James replied; "yes, perhaps it would. It was a + first-floor window, and it looks over the roof and skylight of the + billiard-room. I built the billiard-room myself—built it out from a + smoking-room just at this corner. It would be easy enough to get at the + window from the billiard-room roof. But, then," he added, "that couldn't + have been the way. Somebody or other was in the billiard-room the whole + time, and nobody could have got over the roof (which is nearly all + skylight) without being seen and heard. I was there myself for an hour or + two, taking a little practice." +</p> +<p> + "Well, was anything done?" +</p> +<p> + "Strict inquiry was made among the servants, of course, but nothing came + of it. It was such a small matter that Mrs. Armitage wouldn't hear of my + calling in the police or anything of that sort, although I felt pretty + certain that there must be a dishonest servant about somewhere. A servant + might take a plain brooch, you know, who would feel afraid of a valuable + ring, the loss of which would be made a greater matter of." +</p> +<p> + "Well, yes, perhaps so, in the case of an inexperienced thief, who also + would be likely to snatch up whatever she took in a hurry. But I'm + doubtful. What made you connect these two robberies together?" +</p> +<p> + "Nothing whatever—for some months. They seemed quite of a different + sort. But scarcely more than a month ago I met Mrs. Armitage at Brighton, + and we talked, among other things, of the previous robbery—that of Mrs. + Heath's bracelet. I described the circumstances pretty minutely, and, + when I mentioned the match found on the table, she said: 'How strange! + Why, <i>my</i> thief left a match on the dressing-table when he took my poor + little brooch!'" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt nodded. "Yes," he said. "A spent match, of course?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, of course, a spent match. She noticed it lying close by the + pin-cushion, but threw it away without mentioning the circumstance. + Still, it seemed rather curious to me that a match should be lit and + dropped, in each case, on the dressing-cover an inch from where the + article was taken. I mentioned it to Lloyd when I got back, and he agreed + that it seemed significant." +</p> +<p> + "Scarcely," said Hewitt, shaking his head. "Scarcely, so far, to be + called significant, although worth following up. Everybody uses matches + in the dark, you know." +</p> +<p> + "Well, at any rate, the coincidence appealed to me so far that it struck + me it might be worth while to describe the brooch to the police in order + that they could trace it if it had been pawned. They had tried that, of + course, over the bracelet without any result, but I fancied the shot + might be worth making, and might possibly lead us on the track of the + more serious robbery." +</p> +<p> + "Quite so. It was the right thing to do. Well?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, they found it. A woman had pawned it in London—at a shop in + Chelsea. But that was some time before, and the pawnbroker had clean + forgotten all about the woman's appearance. The name and address she gave + were false. So that was the end of that business." +</p> +<p> + "Had any of the servants left you between the time the brooch was lost + and the date of the pawn ticket?" +</p> +<p> + "No." +</p> +<p> + "Were all your servants at home on the day the brooch was pawned?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, yes! I made that inquiry myself." +</p> +<p> + "Very good! What next?" +</p> +<p> + "Yesterday—and this is what made me send for you. My late wife's sister + came here last Tuesday, and we gave her the room from which Mrs. Heath + lost her bracelet. She had with her a very old-fashioned brooch, + containing a miniature of her father, and set in front with three very + fine brilliants and a few smaller stones. Here we are, though, at the + Croft. I'll tell you the rest indoors." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt laid his hand on the baronet's arm. "Don't pull up, Sir James," he + said. "Drive a little farther. I should like to have a general idea of + the whole case before we go in." +</p> +<p> + "Very good!" Sir James Norris straightened the horse's head again and + went on. "Late yesterday afternoon, as my sister-in-law was changing her + dress, she left her room for a moment to speak to my daughter in her + room, almost adjoining. She was gone no more than three minutes, or five + at most, but on her return the brooch, which had been left on the table, + had gone. Now the window was shut fast, and had not been tampered with. + Of course the door was open, but so was my daughter's, and anybody + walking near must have been heard. But the strangest circumstance, and + one that almost makes me wonder whether I have been awake to-day or not, + was that there lay <i>a used match</i> on the very spot, as nearly as + possible, where the brooch had been—and it was broad daylight!" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt rubbed his nose and looked thoughtfully before him. "Um—curious, + certainly," he said, "Anything else?" +</p> +<p> + "Nothing more than you shall see for yourself. I have had the room locked + and watched till you could examine it. My sister-in-law had heard of your + name, and suggested that you should be called in; so, of course, I did + exactly as she wanted. That she should have lost that brooch, of all + things, in my house is most unfortunate; you see, there was some small + difference about the thing between my late wife and her sister when their + mother died and left it. It's almost worse than the Heaths' bracelet + business, and altogether I'm not pleased with things, I can assure you. + See what a position it is for me! Here are three ladies, in the space of + one year, robbed one after another in this mysterious fashion in my + house, and I can't find the thief! It's horrible! People will be afraid + to come near the place. And I can do nothing!" +</p> +<p> + "Ah, well, we'll see. Perhaps we had better turn back now. By-the-by, + were you thinking of having any alterations or additions made to your + house?" +</p> +<p> + "No. What makes you ask?" +</p> +<p> + "I think you might at least consider the question of painting and + decorating, Sir James—or, say, putting up another coach-house, or + something. Because I should like to be (to the servants) the + architect—or the builder, if you please—come to look around. You + haven't told any of them about this business?" +</p> +<p> + "Not a word. Nobody knows but my relatives and Lloyd. I took every + precaution myself, at once. As to your little disguise, be the architect + by all means, and do as you please. If you can only find this thief and + put an end to this horrible state of affairs, you'll do me the greatest + service I've ever asked for—and as to your fee, I'll gladly make it + whatever is usual, and three hundred in addition." +</p> +<p> + Martin Hewitt bowed. "You're very generous, Sir James, and you may be + sure I'll do what I can. As a professional man, of course, a good fee + always stimulates my interest, although this case of yours certainly + seems interesting enough by itself." +</p> +<p> + "Most extraordinary! Don't you think so? Here are three persons, all + ladies, all in my house, two even in the same room, each successively + robbed of a piece of jewelry, each from a dressing-table, and a used + match left behind in every case. All in the most difficult—one would say + impossible—circumstances for a thief, and yet there is no clue!" +</p> +<p> + "Well, we won't say that just yet, Sir James; we must see. And we must + guard against any undue predisposition to consider the robberies in a + lump. Here we are at the lodge gate again. Is that your gardener—the man + who left the ladder by the lawn on the first occasion you spoke of?" +</p> +<p> + Mr. Hewitt nodded in the direction of a man who was clipping a box + border. +</p> +<p> + "Yes; will you ask him anything?" +</p> +<p> + "No, no; at any rate, not now. Remember the building alterations. I + think, if there is no objection, I will look first at the room that the + lady—Mrs.——" Hewitt looked up, inquiringly. +</p> +<p> + "My sister-in-law? Mrs. Cazenove. Oh, yes! you shall come to her room at + once." +</p> +<p> + "Thank you. And I think Mrs. Cazenove had better be there." +</p> +<p> + They alighted, and a boy from the lodge led the horse and dog-cart away. +</p> +<p> + Mrs. Cazenove was a thin and faded, but quick and energetic, lady of + middle age. She bent her head very slightly on learning Martin Hewitt's + name, and said: "I must thank you, Mr. Hewitt, for your very prompt + attention. I need scarcely say that any help you can afford in tracing + the thief who has my property—whoever it may be—will make me most + grateful. My room is quite ready for you to examine." +</p> +<p> + The room was on the second floor—the top floor at that part of the + building. Some slight confusion of small articles of dress was observable + in parts of the room. +</p> +<p> + "This, I take it," inquired Hewitt, "is exactly as it was at the time the + brooch was missed?" +</p> +<p> + "Precisely," Mrs. Cazenove answered. "I have used another room, and put + myself to some other inconveniences, to avoid any disturbance." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt stood before the dressing-table. "Then this is the used match," he + observed, "exactly where it was found?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes." +</p> +<p> + "Where was the brooch?" +</p> +<p> + "I should say almost on the very same spot. Certainly no more than a very + few inches away." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt examined the match closely. "It is burned very little," he + remarked. "It would appear to have gone out at once. Could you hear it + struck?" +</p> +<p> + "I heard nothing whatever; absolutely nothing." +</p> +<p> + "If you will step into Miss Norris' room now for a moment," Hewitt + suggested, "we will try an experiment. Tell me if you hear matches + struck, and how many. Where is the match-stand?" +</p> +<p> + The match-stand proved to be empty, but matches were found in Miss + Norris' room, and the test was made. Each striking could be heard + distinctly, even with one of the doors pushed to. +</p> +<p> + "Both your own door and Miss Norris' were open, I understand; the window + shut and fastened inside as it is now, and nothing but the brooch was + disturbed?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, that was so." +</p> +<p> + "Thank you, Mrs. Cazenove. I don't think I need trouble you any further + just at present. I think, Sir James," Hewitt added, turning to the + baronet, who was standing by the door——"I think we will see the other + room and take a walk outside the house, if you please. I suppose, by the + by, that there is no getting at the matches left behind on the first and + second occasions?" +</p> +<p> + "No," Sir James answered. "Certainly not here. The Scotland Yard man may + have kept his." +</p> +<p> + The room that Mrs. Armitage had occupied presented no peculiar feature. A + few feet below the window the roof of the billiard-room was visible, + consisting largely of skylight. Hewitt glanced casually about the walls, + ascertained that the furniture and hangings had not been materially + changed since the second robbery, and expressed his desire to see the + windows from the outside. Before leaving the room, however, he wished to + know the names of any persons who were known to have been about the + house on the occasions of all three robberies. +</p> +<p> + "Just carry your mind back, Sir James," he said. "Begin with yourself, + for instance. Where were you at these times?" +</p> +<p> + "When Mrs. Heath lost her bracelet, I was in Tagley Wood all the + afternoon. When Mrs. Armitage was robbed, I believe I was somewhere about + the place most of the time she was out. Yesterday I was down at the + farm." Sir James' face broadened. "I don't know whether you call those + suspicious movements," he added, and laughed. +</p> +<p> + "Not at all; I only asked you so that, remembering your own movements, + you might the better recall those of the rest of the household. Was + anybody, to your knowledge—<i>anybody</i>, mind—in the house on all three + occasions?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, you know, it's quite impossible to answer for all the servants. + You'll only get that by direct questioning—I can't possibly remember + things of that sort. As to the family and visitors—why, you don't + suspect any of them, do you?" +</p> +<p> + "I don't suspect a soul, Sir James," Hewitt answered, beaming genially, + "not a soul. You see, I can't suspect people till I know something about + where they were. It's quite possible there will be independent evidence + enough as it is, but you must help me if you can. The visitors, now. Was + there any visitor here each time—or even on the first and last occasions + only?" +</p> +<p> + "No, not one. And my own sister, perhaps you will be pleased to know, was + only there at the time of the first robbery." +</p> +<p> + "Just so! And your daughter, as I have gathered, was clearly absent from + the spot each time—indeed, was in company with the party robbed. Your + niece, now?" +</p> +<p> + "Why hang it all, Mr. Hewitt, I can't talk of my niece as a suspected + criminal! The poor girl's under my protection, and I really can't + allow——" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt raised his hand, and shook his head deprecatingly. +</p> +<p> + "My dear sir, haven't I said that I don't suspect a soul? <i>Do</i> let me + know how the people were distributed, as nearly as possible. Let me see. + It was your, niece, I think, who found that Mrs. Armitage's door was + locked—this door, in fact—on the day she lost her brooch?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, it was." +</p> +<p> + "Just so—at the time when Mrs. Armitage herself had forgotten whether + she locked it or not. And yesterday—was she out then?" +</p> +<p> + "No, I think not. Indeed, she goes out very little—her health is usually + bad. She was indoors, too, at the time of the Heath robbery, since you + ask. But come, now, I don't like this. It's ridiculous to suppose that + <i>she</i> knows anything of it." +</p> +<p> + "I don't suppose it, as I have said. I am only asking for information. + That is all your resident family, I take it, and you know nothing of + anybody else's movements—except, perhaps, Mr. Lloyd's?" +</p> +<p> + "Lloyd? Well, you know yourself that he was out with the ladies when the + first robbery took place. As to the others, I don't remember. Yesterday + he was probably in his room, writing. I think that acquits <i>him</i>, eh?" + Sir James looked quizzically into the broad face of the affable + detective, who smiled and replied: +</p> +<p> + "Oh, of course nobody can be in two places at once, else what would + become of the <i>alibi</i> as an institution? But, as I have said, I am only + setting my facts in order. Now, you see, we get down to the + servants—unless some stranger is the party wanted. Shall we go outside + now?" +</p> +<p> + Lenton Croft was a large, desultory sort of house, nowhere more than + three floors high, and mostly only two. It had been added to bit by bit, + till it zigzagged about its site, as Sir James Norris expressed it, "like + a game of dominoes." Hewitt scrutinized its external features carefully + as they strolled around, and stopped some little while before the windows + of the two bed-rooms he had just seen from the inside. Presently they + approached the stables and coach-house, where a groom was washing the + wheels of the dog-cart. +</p> +<p> + "Do you mind my smoking?" Hewitt asked Sir James. "Perhaps you will take + a cigar yourself—they are not so bad, I think. I will ask your man for a + light." +</p> +<p> + Sir James felt for his own match-box, but Hewitt had gone, and was + lighting his cigar with a match from a box handed him by the groom. A + smart little terrier was trotting about by the coach-house, and Hewitt + stooped to rub its head. Then he made some observation about the dog, + which enlisted the groom's interest, and was soon absorbed in a chat with + the man. Sir James, waiting a little way off, tapped the stones rather + impatiently with his foot, and presently moved away. +</p> +<p> + For full a quarter of an hour Hewitt chatted with the groom, and, when at + last he came away and overtook Sir James, that gentleman was about + re-entering the house. +</p> +<p> + "I beg your pardon, Sir James," Hewitt said, "for leaving you in that + unceremonious fashion to talk to your groom, but a dog, Sir James—a good + dog—will draw me anywhere." +</p> +<p> + "Oh!" replied Sir James, shortly. +</p> +<p> + "There is one other thing," Hewitt went on, disregarding the other's + curtness, "that I should like to know: There are two windows directly + below that of the room occupied yesterday by Mrs. Cazenove—one on each + floor. What rooms do they light?" +</p> +<p> + "That on the ground floor is the morning-room; the other is Mr. + Lloyd's—my secretary. A sort of study or sitting-room." +</p> +<p> + "Now you will see at once, Sir James," Hewitt pursued, with an affable + determination to win the baronet back to good-humor—"you will see at + once that, if a ladder had been used in Mrs. Heath's case, anybody + looking from either of these rooms would have seen it." +</p> +<p> + "Of course! The Scotland Yard man questioned everybody as to that, but + nobody seemed to have been in either of the rooms when the thing + occurred; at any rate, nobody saw anything." +</p> +<p> + "Still, I think I should like to look out of those windows myself; it + will, at least, give me an idea of what <i>was</i> in view and what was not, + if anybody had been there." +</p> +<p> + Sir James Norris led the way to the morning-room. As they reached the + door a young lady, carrying a book and walking very languidly, came out. + Hewitt stepped aside to let her pass, and afterward said interrogatively: + "Miss Norris, your daughter, Sir James?" +</p> +<p> + "No, my niece. Do you want to ask her anything? Dora, my dear," Sir + James added, following her in the corridor, "this is Mr. Hewitt, who is + investigating these wretched robberies for me. I think he would like to + hear if you remember anything happening at any of the three times." +</p> +<p> + The lady bowed slightly, and said in a plaintive drawl: "I, uncle? + Really, I don't remember anything; nothing at all." +</p> +<p> + "You found Mrs. Armitage's door locked, I believe," asked Hewitt, "when + you tried it, on the afternoon when she lost her brooch?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, yes; I believe it was locked. Yes, it was." +</p> +<p> + "Had the key been left in?" +</p> +<p> + "The key? Oh, no! I think not; no." +</p> +<p> + "Do you remember anything out of the common happening—anything whatever, + no matter how trivial—on the day Mrs. Heath lost her bracelet?" +</p> +<p> + "No, really, I don't. I can't remember at all." +</p> +<p> + "Nor yesterday?" +</p> +<p> + "No, nothing. I don't remember anything." +</p> +<p> + "Thank you," said Hewitt, hastily; "thank you. Now the morning-room, Sir + James." +</p> +<p> + In the morning-room Hewitt stayed but a few seconds, doing little more + than casually glance out of the windows. In the room above he took a + little longer time. It was a comfortable room, but with rather effeminate + indications about its contents. Little pieces of draped silk-work hung + about the furniture, and Japanese silk fans decorated the mantel-piece. + Near the window was a cage containing a gray parrot, and the + writing-table was decorated with two vases of flowers. +</p> +<p> + "Lloyd makes himself pretty comfortable, eh?" Sir James observed. "But it + isn't likely anybody would be here while he was out, at the time that + bracelet went." +</p> +<p> + "No," replied Hewitt, meditatively. "No, I suppose not." +</p> +<p> + He stared thoughtfully out of the window, and then, still deep in + thought, rattled at the wires of the cage with a quill toothpick and + played a moment with the parrot. Then, looking up at the window again, he + said: "That is Mr. Lloyd, isn't it, coming back in a fly?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, I think so. Is there anything else you would care to see here?" +</p> +<p> + "No, thank you," Hewitt replied; "I don't think there is." +</p> +<p> + They went down to the smoking-room, and Sir James went away to speak to + his secretary. When he returned, Hewitt said quietly: "I think, Sir + James—I <i>think</i> that I shall be able to give you your thief presently." +</p> +<p> + "What! Have you a clue? Who do you think? I began to believe you were + hopelessly stumped." +</p> +<p> + "Well, yes. I have rather a good clue, although I can't tell you much + about it just yet. But it is so good a clue that I should like to know + now whether you are determined to prosecute when you have the criminal?" +</p> +<p> + "Why, bless me, of course," Sir James replied, with surprise. "It doesn't + rest with me, you know—the property belongs to my friends. And even if + they were disposed to let the thing slide, I shouldn't allow it—I + couldn't, after they had been robbed in my house." +</p> +<p> + "Of course, of course! Then, if I can, I should like to send a message to + Twyford by somebody perfectly trustworthy—not a servant. Could anybody + go?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, there's Lloyd, although he's only just back from his journey. But, + if it's important, he'll go." +</p> +<p> + "It is important. The fact is we must have a policeman or two here this + evening, and I'd like Mr. Lloyd to fetch them without telling anybody + else." +</p> +<p> + Sir James rang, and, in response to his message, Mr. Lloyd appeared. + While Sir James gave his secretary his instructions, Hewitt strolled to + the door of the smoking-room, and intercepted the latter as he came out. +</p> +<p> + "I'm sorry to give you this trouble, Mr. Lloyd," he said, "but I must + stay here myself for a little, and somebody who can be trusted must go. + Will you just bring back a police-constable with you? or rather two—two + would be better. That is all that is wanted. You won't let the servants + know, will you? Of course there will be a female searcher at the Twyford + police-station? Ah—of course. Well, you needn't bring her, you know. + That sort of thing is done at the station." And, chatting thus + confidentially, Martin Hewitt saw him off. +</p> +<p> + When Hewitt returned to the smoking-room, Sir James said, suddenly: "Why, + bless my soul, Mr. Hewitt, we haven't fed you! I'm awfully sorry. We came + in rather late for lunch, you know, and this business has bothered me so + I clean forgot everything else. There's no dinner till seven, so you'd + better let me give you something now. I'm really sorry. Come along." +</p> +<p> + "Thank you, Sir James," Hewitt replied; "I won't take much. A few + biscuits, perhaps, or something of that sort. And, by the by, if you + don't mind, I rather think I should like to take it alone. The fact is I + want to go over this case thoroughly by myself. Can you put me in a + room?" +</p> +<p> + "Any room you like. Where will you go? The dining-room's rather large, + but there's my study, that's pretty snug, or——" +</p> +<p> + "Perhaps I can go into Mr. Lloyd's room for half an hour or so; I don't + think he'll mind, and it's pretty comfortable." +</p> +<p> + "Certainly, if you'd like. I'll tell them to send you whatever they've + got." +</p> +<p> + "Thank you very much. Perhaps they'll also send me a lump of sugar and a + walnut; it's—it's a little fad of mine." +</p> +<p> + "A—what? A lump of sugar and a walnut?" Sir James stopped for a moment, + with his hand on the bell-rope. "Oh, certainly, if you'd like it; + certainly," he added, and stared after this detective with curious tastes + as he left the room. +</p> +<p> + When the vehicle, bringing back the secretary and the policeman, drew up + on the drive, Martin Hewitt left the room on the first floor and + proceeded down-stairs. On the landing he met Sir James Norris and Mrs. + Cazenove, who stared with astonishment on perceiving that the detective + carried in his hand the parrot-cage. +</p> +<p> + "I think our business is about brought to a head now," Hewitt remarked, + on the stairs. "Here are the police officers from Twyford." The men were + standing in the hall with Mr. Lloyd, who, on catching sight of the cage + in Hewitt's hand, paled suddenly. +</p> +<p> + "This is the person who will be charged, I think," Hewitt pursued, + addressing the officers, and indicating Lloyd with his finger. +</p> +<p> + "What, Lloyd?" gasped Sir James, aghast. "No—not Lloyd—nonsense!" +</p> +<p> + "He doesn't seem to think it nonsense himself, does he?" Hewitt placidly + observed. Lloyd had sank on a chair, and, gray of face, was staring + blindly at the man he had run against at the office door that morning. + His lips moved in spasms, but there was no sound. The wilted flower fell + from his button-hole to the floor, but he did not move. +</p> +<p> + "This is his accomplice," Hewitt went on, placing the parrot and cage on + the hall table, "though I doubt whether there will be any use in charging + <i>him</i>. Eh, Polly?" +</p> +<p> + The parrot put his head aside and chuckled. "Hullo, Polly!" it quietly + gurgled. "Come along!" +</p> +<p> + Sir James Norris was hopelessly bewildered. "Lloyd—Lloyd," he said, + under his breath. "Lloyd—and that!" +</p> +<p> + "This was his little messenger, his useful Mercury," Hewitt explained, + tapping the cage complacently; "in fact, the actual lifter. Hold him up!" +</p> +<p> + The last remark referred to the wretched Lloyd, who had fallen forward + with something between a sob and a loud sigh. The policemen took him by + the arms and propped him in his chair. +</p> +<hr> +<p> + "System?" said Hewitt, with a shrug of the shoulders, an hour or two + after in Sir James' study. "I can't say I have a system. I call it + nothing but common-sense and a sharp pair of eyes. Nobody using these + could help taking the right road in this case. I began at the match, just + as the Scotland Yard man did, but I had the advantage of taking a line + through three cases. To begin with, it was plain that that match, being + left there in daylight, in Mrs. Cazenove's room, could not have been used + to light the table-top, in the full glare of the window; therefore it had + been used for some other purpose—<i>what</i> purpose I could not, at the + moment, guess. Habitual thieves, you know, often have curious + superstitions, and some will never take anything without leaving + something behind—a pebble or a piece of coal, or something like that—in + the premises they have been robbing. It seemed at first extremely likely + that this was a case of that kind. The match had clearly been <i>brought + in</i>—because, when I asked for matches, there were none in the stand, not + even an empty box, and the room had not been disturbed. Also the match + probably had not been struck there, nothing having been heard, although, + of course, a mistake in this matter was just possible. This match, then, + it was fair to assume, had been lit somewhere else and blown out + immediately—I remarked at the time that it was very little burned. + Plainly it could not have been treated thus for nothing, and the only + possible object would have been to prevent it igniting accidentally. + Following on this, it became obvious that the match was used, for + whatever purpose, not <i>as</i> a match, but merely as a convenient splinter + of wood. +</p> +<p> + "So far so good. But on examining the match very closely I observed, as + you can see for yourself, certain rather sharp indentations in the wood. + They are very small, you see, and scarcely visible, except upon narrow + inspection; but there they are, and their positions are regular. See, + there are two on each side, each opposite the corresponding mark of the + other pair. The match, in fact, would seem to have been gripped in some + fairly sharp instrument, holding it at two points above and two below—an + instrument, as it may at once strike you, not unlike the beak of a bird. +</p> +<p> + "Now here was an idea. What living creature but a bird could possibly + have entered Mrs. Heath's window without a ladder—supposing no ladder to + have been used—or could have got into Mrs. Armitage's window without + lifting the sash higher than the eight or ten inches it was already + open? Plainly, nothing. Further, it is significant that only <i>one</i> + article was stolen at a time, although others were about. A human being + could have carried any reasonable number, but a bird could only take one + at a time. But why should a bird carry a match in its beak? Certainly it + must have been trained to do that for a purpose, and a little + consideration made that purpose pretty clear. A noisy, chattering bird + would probably betray itself at once. Therefore it must be trained to + keep quiet both while going for and coming away with its plunder. What + readier or more probably effectual way than, while teaching it to carry + without dropping, to teach it also to keep quiet while carrying? The one + thing would practically cover the other. +</p> +<p> + "I thought at once, of course, of a jackdaw or a magpie—these birds' + thievish reputations made the guess natural. But the marks on the match + were much too wide apart to have been made by the beak of either. I + conjectured, therefore, that it must be a raven. So that, when we arrived + near the coach-house, I seized the opportunity of a little chat with your + groom on the subject of dogs and pets in general, and ascertained that + there was no tame raven in the place. I also, incidentally, by getting a + light from the coach-house box of matches, ascertained that the match + found was of the sort generally used about the establishment—the large, + thick, red-topped English match. But I further found that Mr. Lloyd had a + parrot which was a most intelligent pet, and had been trained into + comparative quietness—for a parrot. Also, I learned that more than once + the groom had met Mr. Lloyd carrying his parrot under his coat, it + having, as its owner explained, learned the trick of opening its + cage-door and escaping. +</p> +<p> + "I said nothing, of course, to you of all this, because I had as yet + nothing but a train of argument and no results. I got to Lloyd's room as + soon as possible. My chief object in going there was achieved when I + played with the parrot, and induced it to bite a quill toothpick. +</p> +<p> + "When you left me in the smoking-room, I compared the quill and the match + very carefully, and found that the marks corresponded exactly. After this + I felt very little doubt indeed. The fact of Lloyd having met the ladies + walking before dark on the day of the first robbery proved nothing, + because, since it was clear that the match had <i>not</i> been used to procure + a light, the robbery might as easily have taken place in daylight as + not—must have so taken place, in fact, if my conjectures were right. + That they were right I felt no doubt. There could be no other + explanation. +</p> +<p> + "When Mrs. Heath left her window open and her door shut, anybody + climbing upon the open sash of Lloyd's high window could have put the + bird upon the sill above. The match placed in the bird's beak for the + purpose I have indicated, and struck first, in case by accident it should + ignite by rubbing against something and startle the bird—this match + would, of course, be dropped just where the object to be removed was + taken up; as you know, in every case the match was found almost upon the + spot where the missing article had been left—scarcely a likely triple + coincidence had the match been used by a human thief. This would have + been done as soon after the ladies had left as possible, and there would + then have been plenty of time for Lloyd to hurry out and meet them before + dark—especially plenty of time to meet them <i>coming back</i>, as they must + have been, since they were carrying their ferns. The match was an article + well chosen for its purpose, as being a not altogether unlikely thing to + find on a dressing-table, and, if noticed, likely to lead to the wrong + conclusions adopted by the official detective. +</p> +<p> + "In Mrs. Armitage's case the taking of an inferior brooch and the leaving + of a more valuable ring pointed clearly either to the operator being a + fool or unable to distinguish values, and certainly, from other + indications, the thief seemed no fool. The door was locked, and the + gas-fitter, so to speak, on guard, and the window was only eight or ten + inches open and propped with a brush. A human thief entering the window + would have disturbed this arrangement, and would scarcely risk discovery + by attempting to replace it, especially a thief in so great a hurry as to + snatch the brooch up without unfastening the pin. The bird could pass + through the opening as it was, and <i>would have</i> to tear the pin-cushion + to pull the brooch off, probably holding the cushion down with its claw + the while. +</p> +<p> + "Now in yesterday's case we had an alteration of conditions. The window + was shut and fastened, but the door was open—but only left for a few + minutes, during which time no sound was heard either of coming or going. + Was it not possible, then, that the thief was <i>already</i> in the room, in + hiding, while Mrs. Cazenove was there, and seized its first opportunity + on her temporary absence? The room is full of draperies, hangings, and + what not, allowing of plenty of concealment for a bird, and a bird could + leave the place noiselessly and quickly. That the whole scheme was + strange mattered not at all. Robberies presenting such unaccountable + features must have been effected by strange means of one sort or + another. There was no improbability. Consider how many hundreds of + examples of infinitely higher degrees of bird-training are exhibited in + the London streets every week for coppers. +</p> +<p> + "So that, on the whole, I felt pretty sure of my ground. But before + taking any definite steps I resolved to see if Polly could not be + persuaded to exhibit his accomplishments to an indulgent stranger. For + that purpose I contrived to send Lloyd away again and have a quiet hour + alone with his bird. A piece of sugar, as everybody knows, is a good + parrot bribe; but a walnut, split in half, is a better—especially if the + bird be used to it; so I got you to furnish me with both. Polly was shy + at first, but I generally get along very well with pets, and a little + perseverance soon led to a complete private performance for my benefit. + Polly would take the match, mute as wax, jump on the table, pick up the + brightest thing he could see, in a great hurry, leave the match behind, + and scuttle away round the room; but at first wouldn't give up the + plunder to <i>me</i>. It was enough. I also took the liberty, as you know, of + a general look round, and discovered that little collection of Brummagem + rings and trinkets that you have just seen—used in Polly's education, no + doubt. When we sent Lloyd away, it struck me that he might as well be + usefully employed as not, so I got him to fetch the police, deluding him + a little, I fear, by talking about the servants and a female searcher. + There will be no trouble about evidence; he'll confess. Of that I'm sure. + I know the sort of man. But I doubt if you'll get Mrs. Cazenove's brooch + back. You see, he has been to London to-day, and by this time the swag is + probably broken up." +</p> +<p> + Sir James listened to Hewitt's explanation with many expressions of + assent and some of surprise. When it was over, he smoked a few whiffs and + then said: "But Mrs. Armitage's brooch was pawned, and by a woman." +</p> +<p> + "Exactly. I expect our friend Lloyd was rather disgusted at his small + luck—probably gave the brooch to some female connection in London, and + she realized on it. Such persons don't always trouble to give a correct + address." +</p> +<p> + The two smoked in silence for a few minutes, and then Hewitt continued: + "I don't expect our friend has had an easy job altogether with that bird. + His successes at most have only been three, and I suspect he had many + failures and not a few anxious moments that we know nothing of. I should + judge as much merely from what the groom told me of frequently meeting + Lloyd with his parrot. But the plan was not a bad one—not at all. Even + if the bird had been caught in the act, it would only have been 'That + mischievous parrot!' you see. And his master would only have been looking + for him." +</p> +<p> </p> +<a name="CH2"></a> +<h3> + II. THE LOSS OF SAMMY CROCKETT +</h3> +<p> + It was, of course, always a part of Martin Hewitt's business to be + thoroughly at home among any and every class of people, and to be able to + interest himself intelligently, or to appear to do so, in their various + pursuits. In one of the most important cases ever placed in his hands he + could have gone but a short way toward success had he not displayed some + knowledge of the more sordid aspects of professional sport, and a great + interest in the undertakings of a certain dealer therein. +</p> +<p> + The great case itself had nothing to do with sport, and, indeed, from a + narrative point of view, was somewhat uninteresting, but the man who + alone held the one piece of information wanted was a keeper, backer, or + "gaffer" of professional pedestrians, and it was through the medium of + his pecuniary interest in such matters that Hewitt was enabled to strike + a bargain with him. +</p> +<p> + The man was a publican on the outskirts of Padfield, a northern town, + pretty famous for its sporting tastes, and to Padfield, therefore, Hewitt + betook himself, and, arrayed in a way to indicate some inclination of + his own toward sport, he began to frequent the bar of the Hare and + Hounds. Kentish, the landlord, was a stout, bull-necked man, of no great + communicativeness at first; but after a little acquaintance he opened out + wonderfully, became quite a jolly (and rather intelligent) companion, and + came out with innumerable anecdotes of his sporting adventures. He could + put a very decent dinner on the table, too, at the Hare and Hounds, and + Hewitt's frequent invitation to him to join therein and divide a bottle + of the best in the cellar soon put the two on the very best of terms. + Good terms with Mr. Kentish was Hewitt's great desire, for the + information he wanted was of a sort that could never be extracted by + casual questioning, but must be a matter of open communication by the + publican, extracted in what way it might be. +</p> +<p> + "Look here," said Kentish one day, "I'll put you on to a good thing, my + boy—a real good thing. Of course you know all about the Padfield 135 + Yards Handicap being run off now?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, I haven't looked into it much," Hewitt replied. "Ran the first + round of heats last Saturday and Monday, didn't they?" +</p> +<p> + "They did. Well"—Kentish spoke in a stage whisper as he leaned over and + rapped the table—"I've got the final winner in this house." He nodded + his head, took a puff at his cigar, and added, in his ordinary voice. + "Don't say nothing." +</p> +<p> + "No, of course not. Got something on, of course?" +</p> +<p> + "Rather! What do you think? Got any price I liked. Been saving him up for + this. Why, he's got twenty-one yards, and he can do even time all the + way! Fact! Why, he could win runnin' back'ards. He won his heat on Monday + like—like—like that!" The gaffer snapped his fingers, in default of a + better illustration, and went on. "He might ha' took it a little easier, + <i>I</i> think; it's shortened his price, of course, him jumpin' in by two + yards. But you can get decent odds now, if you go about it right. You + take my tip—back him for his heat next Saturday, in the second round, + and for the final. You'll get a good price for the final, if you pop it + down at once. But don't go makin' a song of it, will you, now? I'm givin' + you a tip I wouldn't give anybody else." +</p> +<p> + "Thanks, very much; it's awfully good of you. I'll do what you advise. + But isn't there a dark horse anywhere else?" +</p> +<p> + "Not dark to me, my boy, not dark to me. I know every man runnin' like a + book. Old Taylor—him over at the Cop—he's got a very good lad at + eighteen yards, a very good lad indeed; and he's a tryer this time, I + know. But, bless you, my lad could give him ten, instead o' taking three, + and beat him then! When I'm runnin' a real tryer, I'm generally runnin' + something very near a winner, you bet; and this time, mind <i>this</i> time, + I'm runnin' the certainest winner I <i>ever</i> run—and I don't often make a + mistake. You back him." +</p> +<p> + "I shall, if you're as sure as that. But who is he?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, Crockett's his name—Sammy Crockett. He's quite a new lad. I've got + young Steggles looking after him—sticks to him like wax. Takes his + little breathers in my bit o' ground at the back here. I've got a + cinder-sprint path there, over behind the trees. I don't let him out o' + sight much, I can tell you. He's a straight lad, and he knows it'll be + worth his while to stick to me; but there's some 'ud poison him, if they + thought he'd spoil their books." +</p> +<p> + Soon afterward the two strolled toward the taproom. "I expect Sammy'll be + there," the landlord said, "with Steggles. I don't hide him too + much—they'd think I'd got something extra on if I did." +</p> +<p> + In the tap-room sat a lean, wire-drawn-looking youth, with sloping + shoulders and a thin face, and by his side was a rather short, thick-set + man, who had an odd air, no matter what he did, of proprietorship and + surveillance of the lean youth. Several other men sat about, and there + was loud laughter, under which the lean youth looked sheepishly angry. +</p> +<p> + "'Tarn't no good, Sammy, lad," some one was saying, "you a-makin' after + Nancy Webb—she'll ha' nowt to do with 'ee." +</p> +<p> + "Don' like 'em so thread-papery," added another. "No, Sammy, you aren't + the lad for she. I see her——" +</p> +<p> + "What about Nancy Webb?" asked Kentish, pushing open the door. "Sammy's + all right, any way. You keep fit, my lad, an' go on improving, and some + day you'll have as good a house as me. Never mind the lasses. Had his + glass o' beer, has he?" This to Raggy Steggles, who, answering in the + affirmative, viewed his charge as though he were a post, and the beer a + recent coat of paint. +</p> +<p> + "Has two glasses of mild a day," the landlord said to Hewitt. "Never puts + on flesh, so he can stand it. Come out now." He nodded to Steggles, who + rose and marched Sammy Crockett away for exercise. +</p> +<hr> +<p> + On the following afternoon (it was Thursday), as Hewitt and Kentish + chatted in the landlord's own snuggery, Steggles burst into the room in a + great state of agitation and spluttered out: "He—he's bolted; gone + away!" +</p> +<p> + "What?" +</p> +<p> + "Sammy—gone! Hooked it! <i>I</i> can't find him." +</p> +<p> + The landlord stared blankly at the trainer, who stood with a sweater + dangling from his hand and stared blankly back. "What d'ye mean?" Kentish + said, at last. "Don't be a fool! He's in the place somewhere. Find him!" +</p> +<p> + But this Steggles defied anybody to do. He had looked already. He had + left Crockett at the cinder-path behind the trees in his running-gear, + with the addition of the long overcoat and cap he used in going between + the path and the house to guard against chill. "I was goin' to give him a + bust or two with the pistol," the trainer explained, "but, when we got + over t'other side, 'Raggy,' ses he, 'it's blawin' a bit chilly. I think + I'll ha' a sweater. There's one on my box, ain't there?' So in I coomes + for the sweater, and it weren't on his box, and, when I found it and got + back—he weren't there. They'd seen nowt o' him in t' house, and he + weren't nowhere." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt and the landlord, now thoroughly startled, searched everywhere, + but to no purpose. "What should he go off the place for?" asked Kentish, + in a sweat of apprehension. "'Tain't chilly a bit—it's warm. He didn't + want no sweater; never wore one before. It was a piece of kid to be able + to clear out. Nice thing, this is. I stand to win two years' takings over + him. Here—you'll have to find him." +</p> +<p> + "Ah, but how?" exclaimed the disconcerted trainer, dancing about + distractedly. "I've got all I could scrape on him myself. Where can I + look?" +</p> +<p> + Here was Hewitt's opportunity. He took Kentish aside and whispered. What + he said startled the landlord considerably. "Yes, I'll tell you all about + that," he said, "if that's all you want. It's no good or harm to me + whether I tell or no. But can you find him?" +</p> +<p> + "That I can't promise, of course. But you know who I am now, and what I'm + here for. If you like to give me the information I want, I'll go into the + case for you, and, of course, I shan't charge any fee. I may have luck, + you know, but I can't promise, of course." +</p> +<p> + The landlord looked in Hewitt's face for a moment. Then he said: "Done! + It's a deal." +</p> +<p> + "Very good," Hewitt replied; "get together the one or two papers you + have, and we'll go into my business in the evening. As to Crockett, don't + say a word to anybody. I'm afraid it must get out, since they all know + about it in the house, but there's no use in making any unnecessary + noise. Don't make hedging bets or do anything that will attract notice. + Now we'll go over to the back and look at this cinder-path of yours." +</p> +<p> + Here Steggles, who was still standing near, was struck with an idea. "How + about old Taylor, at the Cop, guv'nor, eh?" he said, meaningly. "His + lad's good enough to win with Sammy out, and Taylor is backing him + plenty. Think he knows any thing o' this?" +</p> +<p> + "That's likely," Hewitt observed, before Kentish could reply. "Yes. Look + here—suppose Steggles goes and keeps his eye on the Cop for an hour or + two, in case there's anything to be heard of? Don't show yourself, of + course." +</p> +<p> + Kentish agreed, and the trainer went. When Hewitt and Kentish arrived at + the path behind the trees, Hewitt at once began examining the ground. One + or two rather large holes in the cinders were made, as the publican + explained, by Crockett, in practicing getting off his mark. Behind these + were several fresh tracks of spiked shoes. The tracks led up to within a + couple of yards of the high fence bounding the ground, and there stopped + abruptly and entirely. In the fence, a little to the right of where the + tracks stopped, there was a stout door. This Hewitt tried, and found + ajar. +</p> +<p> + "That's always kept bolted," Kentish said. "He's gone out that way—he + couldn't have gone any other without comin' through the house." +</p> +<p> + "But he isn't in the habit of making a step three yards long, is he?" + Hewitt asked, pointing at the last footmark and then at the door, which + was quite that distance away from it. "Besides," he added, opening the + door, "there's no footprint here nor outside." +</p> +<p> + The door opened on a lane, with another fence and a thick plantation of + trees at the other side. Kentish looked at the footmarks, then at the + door, then down the lane, and finally back toward the house. "That's a + licker!" he said. +</p> +<p> + "This is a quiet sort of lane," was Hewitt's next remark. "No houses in + sight. Where does it lead?" +</p> +<p> + "That way it goes to the Old Kilns—disused. This way down to a turning + off the Padfield and Catton road." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt returned to the cinder-path again, and once more examined the + footmarks. He traced them back over the grass toward the house. + "Certainly," he said, "he hasn't gone back to the house. Here is the + double line of tracks, side by side, from the house—Steggles' ordinary + boots with iron tips, and Crockett's running pumps; thus they came out. + Here is Steggles' track in the opposite direction alone, made when he + went back for the sweater. Crockett remained; you see various prints in + those loose cinders at the end of the path where he moved this way and + that, and then two or three paces toward the fence—not directly toward + the door, you notice—and there they stop dead, and there are no more, + either back or forward. Now, if he had wings, I should be tempted to the + opinion that he flew straight away in the air from that spot—unless the + earth swallowed him and closed again without leaving a wrinkle on its + face." +</p> +<p> + Kentish stared gloomily at the tracks and said nothing. +</p> +<p> + "However," Hewitt resumed, "I think I'll take a little walk now and think + over it. You go into the house and show yourself at the bar. If anybody + wants to know how Crockett is, he's pretty well, thank you. By the by, + can I get to the Cop—this place of Taylor's—by this back lane?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, down to the end leading to the Catton road, turn to the left and + then first on the right. Any one'll show you the Cop," and Kentish shut + the door behind the detective, who straightway walked—toward the Old + Kilns. +</p> +<p> + In little more than an hour he was back. It was now becoming dusk, and + the landlord looked out papers from a box near the side window of his + snuggery, for the sake of the extra light. "I've got these papers + together for you," he said, as Hewitt entered. "Any news?" +</p> +<p> + "Nothing very great. Here's a bit of handwriting I want you to recognize, + if you can. Get a light." +</p> +<p> + Kentish lit a lamp, and Hewitt laid upon the table half a dozen small + pieces of torn paper, evidently fragments of a letter which had been torn + up, here reproduced in fac-simile: +</p> +<a name="image-1"></a> +<p class="ctr"><img src="images/058.jpg" width="231" height="88" +alt="scraps of paper: mmy, throw them ou, right away, + left hi, hate his, lane wr" > +</p> +<p> + The landlord turned the scraps over, regarding them dubiously. "These + aren't much to recognize, anyhow. <i>I</i> don't know the writing. Where did + you find 'em?" +</p> +<p> + "They were lying in the lane at the back, a little way down. Plainly they + are pieces of a note addressed to some one called Sammy or something very + like it. See the first piece, with its 'mmy'? That is clearly from the + beginning of the note, because there is no line between it and the + smooth, straight edge of the paper above; also, nothing follows on the + same line. Some one writes to Crockett—presuming it to be a letter + addressed to him, as I do for other reasons—as Sammy. It is a pity that + there is no more of the letter to be found than these pieces. I expect + the person who tore it up put the rest in his pocket and dropped these by + accident." +</p> +<p> + Kentish, who had been picking up and examining each piece in turn, now + dolorously broke out: +</p> +<p> + "Oh, it's plain he's sold us—bolted and done us; me as took him out o' + the gutter, too. Look here—'throw them over'; that's plain enough—can't + mean anything else. Means throw <i>me</i> over, and my friends—me, after what + I've done for him! Then 'right away'—go right away, I s'pose, as he has + done. Then"—he was fiddling with the scraps and finally fitted two + together—"why, look here, this one with 'lane' on it fits over the one + about throwing over, and it says 'poor f' where its torn; that means + 'poor fool,' I s'pose—<i>me</i>, or 'fathead,' or something like that. That's + nice. Why, I'd twist his neck if I could get hold of him; and I will!" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt smiled. "Perhaps it's not quite so uncomplimentary, after all," he + said. "If you can't recognize the writing, never mind. But, if he's gone + away to sell you, it isn't much use finding him, is it? He won't win if + he doesn't want to." +</p> +<p> + "Why, he wouldn't dare to rope under my very eyes. I'd—I'd——" +</p> +<p> + "Well, well; perhaps we'll get him to run, after all, and as well as he + can. One thing is certain—he left this place of his own will. Further, I + think he is in Padfield now; he went toward the town, I believe. And I + don't think he means to sell you." +</p> +<p> + "Well, he shouldn't. I've made it worth his while to stick to me. I've + put a fifty on for him out of my own pocket, and told him so; and, if he + won, that would bring him a lump more than he'd probably get by going + crooked, besides the prize money and anything I might give him over. But + it seems to me he's putting me in the cart altogether." +</p> +<p> + "That we shall see. Meantime, don't mention anything I've told you to any + one—not even to Steggles. He can't help us, and he might blurt things + out inadvertently. Don't say anything about these pieces of paper, which + I shall keep myself. By-the-by, Steggles is indoors, isn't he? Very well, + keep him in. Don't let him be seen hunting about this evening. I'll stay + here to-night and we'll proceed with Crockett's business in the morning. + And now we'll settle <i>my</i> business, please." +</p> +<hr> +<p> + In the morning Hewitt took his breakfast in the snuggery, carefully + listening to any conversation that might take place at the bar. Soon + after nine o'clock a fast dog-cart stopped outside, and a red-faced, + loud-voiced man swaggered in, greeting Kentish with boisterous + cordiality. He had a drink with the landlord, and said: "How's things? + Fancy any of 'em for the sprint handicap? Got a lad o' your own in, + haven't you?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, yes," Kentish replied. "Crockett. Only a young un not got to his + proper mark yet, I reckon. I think old Taylor's got No. 1 this time." +</p> +<p> + "Capital lad," the other replied, with a confidential nod. "Shouldn't + wonder at all. Want to do anything yourself over it?" +</p> +<p> + "No, I don't think so. I'm not on at present. Might have a little flutter + on the grounds just for fun; nothing else." +</p> +<p> + There were a few more casual remarks, and then the red-faced man drove + away. +</p> +<p> + "Who was that?" asked Hewitt, who had watched the visitor through the + snuggery window. +</p> +<p> + "That's Danby—bookmaker. Cute chap. He's been told Crockett's missing, + I'll bet anything, and come here to pump me. No good, though. As a matter + of fact, I've worked Sammy Crockett into his books for about half I'm in + for altogether—through third parties, of course." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt reached for his hat. "I'm going out for half an hour now," he + said. "If Steggles wants to go out before I come back, don't let him. Let + him go and smooth over all those tracks on the cinder-path, very + carefully. And, by the by, could you manage to have your son about the + place to-day, in case I happen to want a little help out of doors?" +</p> +<p> + "Certainly; I'll get him to stay in. But what do you want the cinders + smoothed for?" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt smiled, and patted his host's shoulder. "I'll explain all my + tricks when the job's done," he said, and went out. +</p> +<hr> +<p> + On the lane from Padfield to Sedby village stood the Plough beer-house, + wherein J. Webb was licensed to sell by retail beer to be consumed on the + premises or off, as the thirsty list. Nancy Webb, with a very fine color, + a very curly fringe, and a wide smiling mouth revealing a fine set of + teeth, came to the bar at the summons of a stoutish old gentleman in + spectacles who walked with a stick. +</p> +<p> + The stoutish old gentleman had a glass of bitter beer, and then said in + the peculiarly quiet voice of a very deaf man: "Can you tell me, if you + please, the way into the main Catton road?" +</p> +<p> + "Down the lane, turn to the right at the cross-roads, then first to the + left." +</p> +<p> + The old gentleman waited with his hand to his ear for some few seconds + after she had finished speaking, and then resumed in his whispering + voice: "I'm afraid I'm very deaf this morning." He fumbled in his pocket + and produced a note-book and pencil. "May I trouble you to write it down? + I'm so very deaf at times that I—Thank you." +</p> +<p> + The girl wrote the direction, and the old gentleman bade her good-morning + and left. All down the lane he walked slowly with his stick. At the + cross-roads he turned, put the stick under his arm, thrust his spectacles + into his pocket, and strode away in the ordinary guise of Martin Hewitt. + He pulled out his note-book, examined Miss Webb's direction very + carefully, and then went off another way altogether, toward the Hare and + Hounds. +</p> +<p> + Kentish lounged moodily in his bar. "Well, my boy," said Hewitt, "has + Steggles wiped out the tracks?" +</p> +<p> + "Not yet; I haven't told him. But he's somewhere about; I'll tell him + now." +</p> +<p> + "No, don't. I don't think we'll have that done, after all. I expect he'll + want to go out soon—at any rate, some time during the day. Let him go + whenever he likes. I'll sit upstairs a bit in the club-room." +</p> +<p> + "Very well. But how do you know Steggles will be going out?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, he's pretty restless after his lost <i>protégé</i>, isn't he? I don't + suppose he'll be able to remain idle long." +</p> +<p> + "And about Crockett. Do you give him up?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, no! Don't you be impatient. I can't say I'm quite confident yet of + laying hold of him—the time is so short, you see—but I think I shall at + least have news for you by the evening." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt sat in the club-room until the afternoon, taking his lunch there. + At length he saw, through the front window, Raggy Steggles walking down + the road. In an instant Hewitt was down-stairs and at the door. The road + bent eighty yards away, and as soon as Steggles passed the bend the + detective hurried after him. +</p> +<p> + All the way to Padfield town and more than half through it Hewitt dogged + the trainer. In the end Steggles stopped at a corner and gave a note to a + small boy who was playing near. The boy ran with the note to a bright, + well-kept house at the opposite corner. Martin Hewitt was interested to + observe the legend, "H. Danby, Contractor," on a board over a gate in the + side wall of the garden behind this house. In five minutes a door in the + side gate opened, and the head and shoulders of the red-faced man + emerged. Steggles immediately hurried across and disappeared through the + gate. +</p> +<p> + This was both interesting and instructive. Hewitt took up a position in + the side street and waited. In ten minutes the trainer reappeared and + hurried off the way he had come, along the street Hewitt had + considerately left clear for him. Then Hewitt strolled toward the smart + house and took a good look at it. At one corner of the small piece of + forecourt garden, near the railings, a small, baize-covered, + glass-fronted notice-board stood on two posts. On its top edge appeared + the words, "H. Danby. Houses to be Sold or Let." But the only notice + pinned to the green baize within was an old and dusty one, inviting + tenants for three shops, which were suitable for any business, and which + would be fitted to suit tenants. Apply within. +</p> +<p> + Hewitt pushed open the front gate and rang the door-bell. "There are some + shops to let, I see," he said, when a maid appeared. "I should like to + see them, if you will let me have the key." +</p> +<p> + "Master's out, sir. You can't see the shops till Monday." +</p> +<p> + "Dear me, that's unfortunate, I'm afraid I can't wait till Monday. Didn't + Mr. Danby leave any instructions, in case anybody should inquire?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, sir—as I've told you. He said anybody who called about 'em must + come again on Monday." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, very well, then; I suppose I must try. One of the shops is in High + Street, isn't it?" +</p> +<p> + "No, sir; they're all in the new part—Granville Road." +</p> +<p> + "Ah, I'm afraid that will scarcely do. But I'll see. Good-day." +</p> +<p> + Martin Hewitt walked away a couple of streets' lengths before he inquired + the way to Granville Road. When at last he found that thoroughfare, in a + new and muddy suburb, crowded with brick-heaps and half-finished streets, + he took a slow walk along its entire length. It was a melancholy example + of baffled enterprise. A row of a dozen or more shops had been built + before any population had arrived to demand goods. Would-be tradesmen + had taken many of these shops, and failure and disappointment stared + from the windows. Some were half covered by shutters, because the + scanty stock scarce sufficed to fill the remaining half. Others were + shut almost altogether, the inmates only keeping open the door for + their own convenience, and, perhaps, keeping down a shutter for the + sake of a little light. Others, again, had not yet fallen so low, but + struggled bravely still to maintain a show of business and prosperity, + with very little success. Opposite the shops there still remained a + dusty, ill-treated hedge and a forlorn-looking field, which an old board + offered on building leases. Altogether a most depressing spot. +</p> +<p> + There was little difficulty in identifying the three shops offered for + letting by Mr. H. Danby. They were all together near the middle of the + row, and were the only ones that appeared not yet to have been occupied. + A dusty "To Let" bill hung in each window, with written directions to + inquire of Mr. H. Danby or at No. 7. Now No. 7 was a melancholy baker's + shop, with a stock of three loaves and a plate of stale buns. The + disappointed baker assured Hewitt that he usually kept the keys of the + shops, but that the landlord, Mr. Danby, had taken them away the day + before to see how the ceilings were standing, and had not returned them. + "But if you was thinking of taking a shop here," the poor baker added, + with some hesitation, "I—I—if you'll excuse my advising you—I + shouldn't recommend it. I've had a sickener of it myself." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt thanked the baker for his advice, wished him better luck in + future, and left. To the Hare and Hounds his pace was brisk. "Come," he + said, as he met Kentish's inquiring glance, "this has been a very good + day, on the whole. I know where our man is now, and I think we can get + him, by a little management." +</p> +<p> + "Where is he?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, down in Padfield. As a matter of fact, he's being kept there against + his will, we shall find. I see that your friend Mr. Danby is a builder as + well as a bookmaker." +</p> +<p> + "Not a regular builder. He speculates in a street of new houses now and + again, that's all. But is he in it?" +</p> +<p> + "He's as deep in it as anybody, I think. Now, don't fly into a passion. + There are a few others in it as well, but you'll do harm if you don't + keep quiet." +</p> +<p> + "But go and get the police; come and fetch him, if you know where they're + keeping him. Why——" +</p> +<p> + "So we will, if we can't do it without them. But it's quite possible we + can, and without all the disturbance and, perhaps, delay that calling in + the police would involve. Consider, now, in reference to your own + arrangements. Wouldn't it pay you better to get him back quietly, without + a soul knowing—perhaps not even Danby knowing—till the heat is run + to-morrow?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, yes, it would, of course." +</p> +<p> + "Very good, then, so be it. Remember what I have told you about keeping + your mouth shut; say nothing to Steggles or anybody. Is there a cab or + brougham your son and I can have for the evening?" +</p> +<p> + "There's an old hiring landau in the stables you can shut up into a cab, + if that'll do." +</p> +<p> + "Excellent. We'll run down to the town in it as soon as it's ready. But, + first, a word about Crockett. What sort of a lad is he? Likely to give + them trouble, show fight, and make a disturbance?" +</p> +<p> + "No, I should say not. He's no plucked un, certainly; all his manhood's + in his legs, I believe. You see, he ain't a big sort o' chap at best, and + he'd be pretty easy put upon—at least, I guess so." +</p> +<p> + "Very good, so much the better, for then he won't have been damaged, and + they will probably only have one man to guard him. Now the carriage, + please." +</p> +<p> + Young Kentish was a six-foot sergeant of grenadiers home on furlough, and + luxuriating in plain clothes. He and Hewitt walked a little way toward + the town, allowing the landau to catch them up. They traveled in it to + within a hundred yards of the empty shops and then alighted, bidding the + driver wait. +</p> +<p> + "I shall show you three empty shops," Hewitt said, as he and young + Kentish walked down Granville Road. "I am pretty sure that Sammy Crockett + is in one of them, and I am pretty sure that that is the middle one. + Take a look as we go past." +</p> +<p> + When the shops had been slowly passed, Hewitt resumed: "Now, did you see + anything about those shops that told a tale of any sort?" +</p> +<p> + "No," Sergeant Kentish replied. "I can't say I noticed anything beyond + the fact that they were empty—and likely to stay so, I should think." +</p> +<p> + "We'll stroll back, and look in at the windows, if nobody's watching us," + Hewitt said. "You see, it's reasonable to suppose they've put him in the + middle one, because that would suit their purpose best. The shops at each + side of the three are occupied, and, if the prisoner struggled, or + shouted, or made an uproar, he might be heard if he were in one of the + shops next those inhabited. So that the middle shop is the most likely. + Now, see there," he went on, as they stopped before the window of the + shop in question, "over at the back there's a staircase not yet + partitioned off. It goes down below and up above. On the stairs and on + the floor near them there are muddy footmarks. These must have been made + to-day, else they would not be muddy, but dry and dusty, since there + hasn't been a shower for a week till to-day. Move on again. Then you + noticed that there were no other such marks in the shop. Consequently + the man with the muddy feet did not come in by the front door, but by the + back; otherwise he would have made a trail from the door. So we will go + round to the back ourselves." +</p> +<p> + It was now growing dusk. The small pieces of ground behind the shops were + bounded by a low fence, containing a door for each house. +</p> +<p> + "This door is bolted inside, of course," Hewitt said, "but there is no + difficulty in climbing. I think we had better wait in the garden till + dark. In the meantime, the jailer, whoever he is, may come out; in which + case we shall pounce on him as soon as he opens the door. You have that + few yards of cord in your pocket, I think? And my handkerchief, properly + rolled, will make a very good gag. Now over." +</p> +<p> + They climbed the fence and quietly approached the house, placing + themselves in the angle of an outhouse out of sight from the windows. + There was no sound, and no light appeared. Just above the ground about a + foot of window was visible, with a grating over it, apparently lighting a + basement. Suddenly Hewitt touched his companion's arm and pointed toward + the window. A faint rustling sound was perceptible, and, as nearly as + could be discerned in the darkness, some white blind or covering was + placed over the glass from the inside. Then came the sound of a striking + match, and at the side edge of the window there was a faint streak of + light. +</p> +<p> + "That's the place," Hewitt whispered. "Come, we'll make a push for it. + You stand against the wall at one side of the door and I'll stand at the + other, and we'll have him as he comes out. Quietly, now, and I'll startle + them." +</p> +<p> + He took a stone from among the rubbish littering the garden and flung it + crashing through the window. There was a loud exclamation from within, + the blind fell, and somebody rushed to the back door and flung it open. + Instantly Kentish let fly a heavy right-hander, and the man went over + like a skittle. In a moment Hewitt was upon him and the gag in his mouth. +</p> +<p> + "Hold him," Hewitt whispered, hurriedly. "I'll see if there are others." +</p> +<p> + He peered down through the low window. Within Sammy Crockett, his bare + legs dangling from beneath his long overcoat, sat on a packing-box, + leaning with his head on his hand and his back toward the window. A + guttering candle stood on the mantel-piece, and the newspaper which had + been stretched across the window lay in scattered sheets on the floor. No + other person besides Sammy was visible. +</p> +<p> + They led their prisoner indoors. Young Kentish recognized him as a + public-house loafer and race-course ruffian, well known in the + neighborhood. +</p> +<p> + "So it's you, is it, Browdie?" he said. "I've caught you one hard clump, + and I've half a mind to make it a score more. But you'll get it pretty + warm one way or another before this job's forgotten." +</p> +<p> + Sammy Crockett was overjoyed at his rescue. He had not been ill-treated, + he explained, but had been thoroughly cowed by Browdie, who had from time + to time threatened him savagely with an iron bar by way of persuading him + to quietness and submission. He had been fed, and had taken no worse harm + than a slight stiffness from his adventure, due to his light under-attire + of jersey and knee-shorts. +</p> +<p> + Sergeant Kentish tied Browdie's elbows firmly together behind, and + carried the line round the ankles, bracing all up tight. Then he ran a + knot from one wrist to the other over the back of the neck, and left the + prisoner, trussed and helpless, on the heap of straw that had been + Sammy's bed. +</p> +<p> + "You won't be very jolly, I expect," Kentish said, "for some time. You + can't shout and you can't walk, and I know you can't untie yourself. + You'll get a bit hungry, too, perhaps, but that'll give you an appetite. + I don't suppose you'll be disturbed till some time to-morrow, unless our + friend Danby turns up in the meantime. But you can come along to jail + instead, if you prefer it." +</p> +<p> + They left him where he lay, and took Sammy to the old landau. Sammy + walked in slippers, carrying his spiked shoes, hanging by the lace, in + his hand. +</p> +<p> + "Ah," said Hewitt, "I think I know the name of the young lady who gave + you those slippers." +</p> +<p> + Crockett looked ashamed and indignant. "Yes," he said, "they've done me + nicely between 'em. But I'll pay her—I'll——" +</p> +<p> + "Hush, hush!" Hewitt said; "you mustn't talk unkindly of a lady, you + know. Get into this carriage, and we'll take you home. We'll see if I can + tell you your adventures without making a mistake. First, you had a note + from Miss Webb, telling you that you were mistaken in supposing she had + slighted you, and that, as a matter of fact, she had quite done with + somebody else—left him—of whom you were jealous. Isn't that so?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, yes," young Crockett answered, blushing deeply under the + carriage-lamp; "but I don't see how you come to know that." +</p> +<p> + "Then she went on to ask you to get rid of Steggles on Thursday afternoon + for a few minutes, and speak to her in the back lane. Now, your running + pumps, with their thin soles, almost like paper, no heels and long + spikes, hurt your feet horribly if you walk on hard ground, don't they?" +</p> +<p> + "Ay, that they do—enough to cripple you. I'd never go on much hard + ground with 'em." +</p> +<p> + "They're not like cricket shoes, I see." +</p> +<p> + "Not a bit. Cricket shoes you can walk anywhere in!" +</p> +<p> + "Well, she knew this—I think I know who told her—and she promised to + bring you a new pair of slippers, and to throw them over the fence for + you to come out in." +</p> +<p> + "I s'pose she's been tellin' you all this?" Crockett said, mournfully. + "You couldn't ha' seen the letter; I saw her tear it up and put the bits + in her pocket. She asked me for it in the lane, in case Steggles saw it." +</p> +<p> + "Well, at any rate, you sent Steggles away, and the slippers did come + over, and you went into the lane. You walked with her as far as the road + at the end, and then you were seized and gagged, and put into a + carriage." +</p> +<p> + "That was Browdie did that," said Crockett, "and another chap I don't + know. But—why, this is Padfield High Street?" He looked through the + window and regarded the familiar shops with astonishment. +</p> +<p> + "Of course it is. Where did you think it was?" +</p> +<p> + "Why, where was that place you found me in?" +</p> +<p> + "Granville Road, Padfield. I suppose they told you you were in another + town?" +</p> +<p> + "Told me it was Newstead Hatch. They drove for about three or four hours, + and kept me down on the floor between the seats so as I couldn't see + where we was going." +</p> +<p> + "Done for two reasons," said Hewitt. "First, to mystify you, and prevent + any discovery of the people directing the conspiracy; and second, to be + able to put you indoors at night and unobserved. Well, I think I have + told you all you know yourself now as far as the carriage. +</p> +<p> + "But there is the Hare and Hounds just in front. We'll pull up here, and + I'll get out and see if the coast is clear. I fancy Mr. Kentish would + rather you came in unnoticed." +</p> +<p> + In a few seconds Hewitt was back, and Crockett was conveyed indoors by a + side entrance. Hewitt's instructions to the landlord were few, but + emphatic. "Don't tell Steggles about it," he said; "make an excuse to get + rid of him, and send him out of the house. Take Crockett into some other + bedroom, not his own, and let your son look after him. Then come here, + and I'll tell you all about it." +</p> +<p> + Sammy Crockett was undergoing a heavy grooming with white embrocation at + the hands of Sergeant Kentish when the landlord returned to Hewitt. "Does + Danby know you've got him?" he asked. "How did you do it?" +</p> +<p> + "Danby doesn't know yet, and with luck he won't know till he sees + Crockett running to-morrow. The man who has sold you is Steggles." +</p> +<p> + "Steggles?" +</p> +<p> + "Steggles it is. At the very first, when Steggles rushed in to report + Sammy Crockett missing, I suspected him. You didn't, I suppose?" +</p> +<p> + "No. He's always been considered a straight man, and he looked as + startled as anybody." +</p> +<p> + "Yes, I must say he acted it very well. But there was something + suspicious in his story. What did he say? Crockett had remarked a + chilliness, and asked for a sweater, which Steggles went to fetch. Now, + just think. You understand these things. Would any trainer who knew his + business (as Steggles does) have gone to bring out a sweater for his man + to change for his jersey in the open air, at the very time the man was + complaining of chilliness? Of course not. He would have taken his man + indoors again and let him change there under shelter. Then supposing + Steggles had really been surprised at missing Crockett, wouldn't he have + looked about, found the gate open, and <i>told</i> you it was open when he + first came in? He said nothing of that—we found the gate open for + ourselves. So that from the beginning I had a certain opinion of + Steggles." +</p> +<p> + "What you say seems pretty plain now, although it didn't strike me at the + time. But, if Steggles was selling us, why couldn't he have drugged the + lad? That would have been a deal simpler." +</p> +<p> + "Because Steggles is a good trainer, and has a certain reputation to keep + up. It would have done him no good to have had a runner drugged while + under his care; certainly it would have cooked his goose with <i>you</i>. It + was much the safer thing to connive at kidnapping. That put all the + active work into other hands, and left him safe, even if the trick + failed. Now, you remember that we traced the prints of Crockett's spiked + shoes to within a couple of yards from the fence, and that there they + ceased suddenly?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes. You said it looked as though he had flown up into the air; and so + it did." +</p> +<p> + "But I was sure that it was by that gate that Crockett had left, and by + no other. He couldn't have got through the house without being seen, and + there was no other way—let alone the evidence of the unbolted gate. + Therefore, as the footprints ceased where they did, and were not repeated + anywhere in the lane, I knew that he had taken his spiked shoes + off—probably changed them for something else, because a runner anxious + as to his chances would never risk walking on bare feet, with a chance of + cutting them. Ordinary, broad, smooth-soled slippers would leave no + impression on the coarse cinders bordering the track, and nothing short + of spiked shoes would leave a mark on the hard path in the lane behind. + The spike-tracks were leading, not directly toward the door, but in the + direction of the fence, when they stopped; somebody had handed, or + thrown, the slippers over the fence, and he had changed them on the spot. + The enemy had calculated upon the spikes leaving a track in the lane that + might lead us in our search, and had arranged accordingly. +</p> +<p> + "So far so good. I could see no footprints near the gate in the lane. You + will remember that I sent Steggles off to watch at the Cop before I went + out to the back—merely, of course, to get him out of the way. I went out + into the lane, leaving you behind, and walked its whole length, first + toward the Old Kilns and then back toward the road. I found nothing to + help me except these small pieces of paper—which are here in my + pocket-book, by the by. Of course this 'mmy' might have meant 'Jimmy' or + 'Tommy' as possibly as 'Sammy,' but they were not to be rejected on that + account. Certainly Crockett had been decoyed out of your ground, not + taken by force, or there would have been marks of a scuffle in the + cinders. And as his request for a sweater was probably an excuse—because + it was not at all a cold afternoon—he must have previously designed + going out. Inference, a letter received; and here were pieces of a + letter. Now, in the light of what I have said, look at these pieces. + First, there is the 'mmy'—that I have dealt with. Then see this 'throw + them ov'—clearly a part of 'throw them over'; exactly what had probably + been done with the slippers. Then the 'poor f,' coming just on the line + before, and seen, by joining up with this other piece, might easily be a + reference to 'poor feet.' These coincidences, one on the other, went far + to establish the identity of the letter, and to confirm my previous + impressions. But then there is something else. Two other pieces evidently + mean 'left him,' and 'right away,' perhaps; but there is another, + containing almost all of the words 'hate his,' with the word 'hate' + underlined. Now, who writes 'hate' with the emphasis of underscoring—who + but a woman? The writing is large and not very regular; it might easily + be that of a half-educated woman. Here was something more—Sammy had been + enticed away by a woman. +</p> +<p> + "Now, I remembered that, when we went into the tap-room on Wednesday, + some of his companions were chaffing Crockett about a certain Nancy Webb, + and the chaff went home, as was plain to see. The woman, then, who could + most easily entice Sammy Crockett away was Nancy Webb. I resolved to find + who Nancy Webb was and learn more of her. +</p> +<p> + "Meantime, I took a look at the road at the end of the lane. It was + damper than the lane, being lower, and overhung by trees. There were many + wheel-tracks, but only one set that turned in the road and went back the + way it came, toward the town; and they were narrow wheels—carriage + wheels. Crockett tells me now that they drove him about for a long time + before shutting him up; probably the inconvenience of taking him straight + to the hiding-place didn't strike them when they first drove off. +</p> +<p> + "A few inquiries soon set me in the direction of the Plough and Miss + Nancy Webb. I had the curiosity to look around the place as I approached, + and there, in the garden behind the house, were Steggles and the young + lady in earnest confabulation! +</p> +<p> + "Every conjecture became a certainty. Steggles was the lover of whom + Crockett was jealous, and he had employed the girl to bring Sammy out. I + watched Steggles home, and gave you a hint to keep him there. +</p> +<p> + "But the thing that remained was to find Steggles' employer in this + business. I was glad to be in when Danby called. He came, of course, to + hear if you would blurt out anything, and to learn, if possible, what + steps you were taking. He failed. By way of making assurance doubly sure + I took a short walk this morning in the character of a deaf gentleman, + and got Miss Webb to write me a direction that comprised three of the + words on these scraps of paper—'left,' 'right,' and 'lane'; see, they + correspond, the peculiar 'f's,' 't's,' and all. +</p> +<p> + "Now, I felt perfectly sure that Steggles would go for his pay to-day. In + the first place, I knew that people mixed up with shady transactions in + professional pedestrianism are not apt to trust one another far—they + know better. Therefore Steggles wouldn't have had his bribe first. But he + would take care to get it before the Saturday heats were run, because + once they were over the thing was done, and the principal conspirator + might have refused to pay up, and Steggles couldn't have helped himself. + Again I hinted he should not go out till I could follow him, and this + afternoon, when he went, follow him I did. I saw him go into Danby's + house by the side way and come away again. Danby it was, then, who had + arranged the business; and nobody was more likely, considering his large + pecuniary stake against Crockett's winning this race. +</p> +<p> + "But now how to find Crockett? I made up my mind he wouldn't be in + Danby's own house. That would be a deal too risky, with servants about + and so on. I saw that Danby was a builder, and had three shops to let—it + was on a paper before his house. What more likely prison than an empty + house? I knocked at Danby's door and asked for the keys of those shops. I + couldn't have them. The servant told me Danby was out (a manifest lie, + for I had just seen him), and that nobody could see the shops till + Monday. But I got out of her the address of the shops, and that was all I + wanted at the time. +</p> +<p> + "Now, why was nobody to see those shops till Monday? The interval was + suspicious—just enough to enable Crockett to be sent away again and cast + loose after the Saturday racing, supposing him to be kept in one of the + empty buildings. I went off at once and looked at the shops, forming my + conclusions as to which would be the most likely for Danby's purpose. + Here I had another confirmation of my ideas. A poor, half-bankrupt baker + in one of the shops had, by the bills, the custody of a set of keys; but + he, too, told me I couldn't have them; Danby had taken them away—and on + Thursday, the very day—with some trivial excuse, and hadn't brought them + back. That was all I wanted or could expect in the way of guidance. The + whole thing was plain. The rest you know all about." +</p> +<p> + "Well, you're certainly as smart as they give you credit for, I must say. + But suppose Danby had taken down his 'To Let' notice, what would you have + done, then?" +</p> +<p> + "We had our course, even then. We should have gone to Danby, astounded + him by telling him all about his little games, terrorized him with + threats of the law, and made him throw up his hand and send Crockett + back. But, as it is, you see, he doesn't know at this moment—probably + won't know till to-morrow afternoon—that the lad is safe and sound here. + You will probably use the interval to make him pay for losing the + game—by some of the ingenious financial devices you are no doubt + familiar with." +</p> +<p> + "Ay, that I will. He'll give any price against Crockett now, so long as + the bet don't come direct from me." +</p> +<p> + "But about Crockett, now," Hewitt went on. "Won't this confinement be + likely to have damaged his speed for a day or two?" +</p> +<p> + "Ah, perhaps," the landlord replied; "but, bless ye, that won't matter. + There's four more in his heat to-morrow. Two I know aren't tryers, and + the other two I can hold in at a couple of quid apiece any day. The third + round and final won't be till to-morrow week, and he'll be as fit as ever + by then. It's as safe as ever it was. How much are you going to have on? + I'll lump it on for you safe enough. This is a chance not to be missed; + it's picking money up." +</p> +<p> + "Thank you; I don't think I'll have anything to do with it. This + professional pedestrian business doesn't seem a pretty one at all. I + don't call myself a moralist, but, if you'll excuse my saying so, the + thing is scarcely the game I care to pick tap money at in any way." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, very well! if you think so, I won't persuade ye, though I don't + think so much of your smartness as I did, after that. Still, we won't + quarrel; you've done me a mighty good turn, that I must say, and I only + feel I aren't level without doing something to pay the debt. Come, now, + you've got your trade as I've got mine. Let me have the bill, and I'll + pay it like a lord, and feel a deal more pleased than if you made a favor + of it—not that I'm above a favor, of course. But I'd prefer paying, and + that's a fact." +</p> +<p> + "My dear sir, you have paid," Hewitt said, with a smile. "You paid in + advance. It was a bargain, wasn't it, that I should do your business if + you would help me in mine? Very well; a bargain's a bargain, and we've + both performed our parts. And you mustn't be offended at what I said just + now." +</p> +<p> + "That I won't! But as to that Raggy Steggles, once those heats are over + to-morrow, I'll—well——" +</p> +<p> + It was on the following Sunday week that Martin Hewitt, in his rooms in + London, turned over his paper and read, under the head "Padfield Annual + 135 Yards Handicap," this announcement: "Final heat: Crockett, first; + Willis, second; Trewby, third; Owen, 0; Howell, 0. A runaway win by + nearly three yards." +</p> +<p> </p> +<a name="CH3"></a> +<h3> + III. THE CASE OF MR. FOGGATT +</h3> +<p> + Almost the only dogmatism that Martin Hewitt permitted himself in regard + to his professional methods was one on the matter of accumulative + probabilities. Often when I have remarked upon the apparently trivial + nature of the clews by which he allowed himself to be guided—sometimes, + to all seeming, in the very face of all likelihood—he has replied that + two trivialities, pointing in the same direction, became at once, by + their mere agreement, no trivialities at all, but enormously important + considerations. "If I were in search of a man," he would say, "of whom I + knew nothing but that he squinted, bore a birthmark on his right hand, + and limped, and I observed a man who answered to the first peculiarity, + so far the clue would be trivial, because thousands of men squint. Now, + if that man presently moved and exhibited a birthmark on his right hand, + the value of that squint and that mark would increase at once a hundred + or a thousand fold. Apart they are little; together much. The weight of + evidence is not doubled merely; it would be only doubled if half the men + who squinted had right-hand birthmarks; whereas the proportion, if it + could be ascertained, would be, perhaps, more like one in ten thousand. + The two trivialities, pointing in the same direction, become very + strong evidence. And, when the man is seen to walk with a limp, that + limp (another triviality), re-enforcing the others, brings the matter + to the rank of a practical certainty. The Bertillon system of + identification—what is it but a summary of trivialities? Thousands of + men are of the same height, thousands of the same length of foot, + thousands of the same girth of head—thousands correspond in any separate + measurement you may name. It is when the measurements are taken + <i>together</i> that you have your man identified forever. Just consider how + few, if any, of your friends correspond exactly in any two personal + peculiarities." Hewitt's dogma received its illustration unexpectedly + close at home. +</p> +<p> + The old house wherein my chambers and Hewitt's office were situated + contained, besides my own, two or three more bachelors' dens, in addition + to the offices on the ground and first and second floors. At the very top + of all, at the back, a fat, middle-aged man, named Foggatt, occupied a + set of four rooms. It was only after a long residence, by an accidental + remark of the housekeeper's, that I learned the man's name, which was + not painted on his door or displayed, with all the others, on the wall of + the ground-floor porch. +</p> +<p> + Mr. Foggatt appeared to have few friends, but lived in something as + nearly approaching luxury as an old bachelor living in chambers can live. + An ascending case of champagne was a common phenomenon of the staircase, + and I have more than once seen a picture, destined for the top floor, of + a sort that went far to awaken green covetousness in the heart of a poor + journalist. +</p> +<p> + The man himself was not altogether prepossessing. Fat as he was, he had a + way of carrying his head forward on his extended neck and gazing widely + about with a pair of the roundest and most prominent eyes I remember to + have ever seen, except in a fish. On the whole, his appearance was rather + vulgar, rather arrogant, and rather suspicious, without any very + pronounced quality of any sort. But certainly he was not pretty. In the + end, however, he was found shot dead in his sitting-room. +</p> +<p> + It was in this way: Hewitt and I had dined together at my club, and late + in the evening had returned to my rooms to smoke and discuss whatever + came uppermost. I had made a bargain that day with two speculative odd + lots at a book sale, each of which contained a hidden prize. We sat + talking and turning over these books while time went unperceived, when + suddenly we were startled by a loud report. Clearly it was in the + building. We listened for a moment, but heard nothing else, and then + Hewitt expressed his opinion that the report was that of a gunshot. + Gunshots in residential chambers are not common things, wherefore I got + up and went to the landing, looking up the stairs and down. +</p> +<p> + At the top of the next flight I saw Mrs. Clayton, the housekeeper. She + appeared to be frightened, and told me that the report came from Mr. + Foggatt's room. She thought he might have had an accident with the pistol + that usually lay on his mantel-piece. We went upstairs with her, and she + knocked at Mr. Foggatt's door. +</p> +<p> + There was no reply. Through the ventilating fanlight over the door it + could be seen that there were lights within, a sign, Mrs. Clayton + maintained, that Mr. Foggatt was not out. We knocked again, much more + loudly, and called, but still ineffectually. The door was locked, and an + application of the housekeeper's key proved that the tenant's key had + been left in the lock inside. Mrs. Clayton's conviction that "something + had happened" became distressing, and in the end Hewitt pried open the + door with a small poker. +</p> +<p> + Something <i>had</i> happened. In the sitting-room Mr. Foggatt sat with his + head bowed over the table, quiet and still. The head was ill to look at, + and by it lay a large revolver, of the full-sized army pattern. Mrs. + Clayton ran back toward the landing with faint screams. +</p> +<p> + "Run, Brett!" said Hewitt; "a doctor and a policeman!" +</p> +<p> + I bounced down the stairs half a flight at a time. "First," I thought, "a + doctor. He may not be dead." I could think of no doctor in the immediate + neighborhood, but ran up the street away from the Strand, as being the + more likely direction for the doctor, although less so for the policeman. + It took me a good five minutes to find the medico, after being led astray + by a red lamp at a private hotel, and another five to get back, with a + policeman. +</p> +<p> + Foggatt was dead, without a doubt. Probably had shot himself, the doctor + thought, from the powder-blackening and other circumstances. Certainly + nobody could have left the room by the door, or he must have passed my + landing, while the fact of the door being found locked from the inside + made the thing impossible. There were two windows to the room, both of + which were shut, one being fastened by the catch, while the catch of the + other was broken—an old fracture. Below these windows was a sheer drop + of fifty feet or more, without a foot or hand-hold near. The windows in + the other rooms were shut and fastened. Certainly it seemed + suicide—unless it were one of those accidents that will occur to people + who fiddle ignorantly with firearms. Soon the rooms were in possession of + the police, and we were turned out. +</p> +<p> + We looked in at the housekeeper's kitchen, where her daughter was + reviving and calming Mrs. Clayton with gin and water. +</p> +<p> + "You mustn't upset yourself, Mrs. Clayton," Hewitt said, "or what will + become of us all? The doctor thinks it was an accident." +</p> +<p> + He took a small bottle of sewing-machine oil from his pocket and handed + it to the daughter, thanking her for the loan. +</p> +<hr> +<p> + There was little evidence at the inquest. The shot had been heard, the + body had been found—that was the practical sum of the matter. No friends + or relatives of the dead man came forward. The doctor gave his opinion as + to the probability of suicide or an accident, and the police evidence + tended in the same direction. Nothing had been found to indicate that any + other person had been near the dead man's rooms on the night of the + fatality. On the other hand, his papers, bankbook, etc., proved him to be + a man of considerable substance, with no apparent motive for suicide. + The police had been unable to trace any relatives, or, indeed, any nearer + connections than casual acquaintances, fellow-clubmen, and so on. The + jury found that Mr. Foggatt had died by accident. +</p> +<p> + "Well, Brett," Hewitt asked me afterward, "what do you think of the + verdict?" +</p> +<p> + I said that it seemed to be the most reasonable one possible, and to + square with the common-sense view of the case. +</p> +<p> + "Yes," he replied, "perhaps it does. From the point of view of the jury, + and on their information, their verdict was quite reasonable. + Nevertheless, Mr. Foggatt did not shoot himself. He was shot by a rather + tall, active young man, perhaps a sailor, but certainly a gymnast—a + young man whom I think I could identify if I saw him." +</p> +<p> + "But how do you know this?" +</p> +<p> + "By the simplest possible inferences, which you may easily guess, if you + will but think." +</p> +<p> + "But, then, why didn't you say this at the inquest?" +</p> +<p> + "My dear fellow, they don't want any inferences and conjectures at an + inquest; they only want evidence. If I had traced the murderer, of course + then I should have communicated with the police. As a matter of fact, it + is quite possible that the police have observed and know as much as I + do—or more. They don't give everything away at an inquest, you know. It + wouldn't do." +</p> +<p> + "But, if you are right, how did the man get away?" +</p> +<p> + "Come, we are near home now. Let us take a look at the back of the house. + He <i>couldn't</i> have left by Foggatt's landing door, as we know; and as he + <i>was</i> there (I am certain of that), and as the chimney is out of the + question—for there was a good fire in the grate—he must have gone out + by the window. Only one window is possible—that with the broken + catch—for all the others were fastened inside. Out of that window, then, + he went." +</p> +<p> + "But how? The window is fifty feet up." +</p> +<p> + "Of course it is. But why <i>will</i> you persist in assuming that the only + way of escape by a window is downward? See, now, look up there. The + window is at the top floor, and it has a very broad sill. Over the window + is nothing but the flat face of the gable-end; but to the right, and a + foot or two above the level of the top of the window, an iron gutter + ends. Observe, it is not of lead composition, but a strong iron gutter, + supported, just at its end, by an iron bracket. If a tall man stood on + the end of the window-sill, steadying himself by the left hand and + leaning to the right, he could just touch the end of this gutter with his + right hand. The full stretch, toe to finger, is seven feet three inches. + I have measured it. An active gymnast, or a sailor, could catch the + gutter with a slight spring, and by it draw himself upon the roof. You + will say he would have to be <i>very</i> active, dexterous, and cool. So he + would. And that very fact helps us, because it narrows the field of + inquiry. We know the sort of man to look for. Because, being certain (as + I am) that the man was in the room, I <i>know</i> that he left in the way I am + telling you. He must have left in some way, and, all the other ways being + impossible, this alone remains, difficult as the feat may seem. The fact + of his shutting the window behind him further proves his coolness and + address at so great a height from the ground." +</p> +<p> + All this was very plain, but the main point was still dark. +</p> +<p> + "You say you <i>know</i> that another man was in the room," I said; "how do + you know that?" +</p> +<p> + "As I said, by an obvious inference. Come, now, you shall guess how I + arrived at that inference. You often speak of your interest in my work, + and the attention with which you follow it. This shall be a simple + exercise for you. You saw everything in the room as plainly as I myself. + Bring the scene back to your memory, and think over the various small + objects littering about, and how they would affect the case. Quick + observation is the first essential for my work. Did you see a newspaper, + for instance?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes. There was an evening paper on the floor, but I didn't examine it." +</p> +<p> + "Anything else?" +</p> +<p> + "On the table there was a whisky decanter, taken from the tantalus-stand + on the sideboard, and one glass. That, by the by," I added, "looked as + though only one person were present." +</p> +<p> + "So it did, perhaps, although the inference wouldn't be very strong. Go + on!" +</p> +<p> + "There was a fruit-stand on the sideboard, with a plate beside it + containing a few nutshells, a piece of apple, a pair of nut-crackers, + and, I think, some orange peel. There was, of course, all the ordinary + furniture, but no chair pulled up to the table, except that used by + Foggatt himself. That's all I noticed, I think. Stay—there was an + ash-tray on the table, and a partly burned cigar near it—only one cigar, + though." +</p> +<p> + "Excellent—excellent, indeed, as far as memory and simple observation + go. You saw everything plainly, and you remember everything. Surely <i>now</i> + you know how I found out that another man had just left?" +</p> +<p> + "No, I don't; unless there were different kinds of ash in the ash-tray." +</p> +<p> + "That is a fairly good suggestion, but there were not—there was only a + single ash, corresponding in every way to that on the cigar. Don't you + remember everything that I did as we went down-stairs?" +</p> +<p> + "You returned a bottle of oil to the housekeeper's daughter, I think." +</p> +<p> + "I did. Doesn't that give you a hint? Come, you surely have it now?" +</p> +<p> + "I haven't." +</p> +<p> + "Then I sha'n't tell you; you don't deserve it. Think, and don't mention + the subject again till you have at least one guess to make. The thing + stares you in the face; you see it, you remember it, and yet you <i>won't</i> + see it. I won't encourage your slovenliness of thought, my boy, by + telling you what you can know for yourself if you like. Good-by—I'm off + now. There's a case in hand I can't neglect." +</p> +<p> + "Don't you propose to go further into this, then?" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not a policeman," he said. "The case + is in very good hands. Of course, if anybody comes to me to do it as a + matter of business, I'll take it up. It's very interesting, but I can't + neglect my regular work for it. Naturally, I shall keep my eyes open and + my memory in order. Sometimes these things come into the hands by + themselves, as it were; in that case, of course, I am a loyal citizen, + and ready to help the law. <i>Au revoir</i>!" +</p> +<hr> +<p> + I am a busy man myself, and thought little more of Hewitt's conundrum for + some time; indeed, when I did think, I saw no way to the answer. A week + after the inquest I took a holiday (I had written my nightly leaders + regularly every day for the past five years), and saw no more of Hewitt + for six weeks. After my return, with still a few days of leave to run, + one evening we together turned into Luzatti's, off Coventry Street, for + dinner. +</p> +<p> + "I have been here several times lately," Hewitt said; "they feed you very + well. No, not that table"—he seized my arm as I turned to an unoccupied + corner—"I fancy it's draughty." He led the way to a longer table where a + dark, lithe, and (as well as could be seen) tall young man already sat, + and took chairs opposite him. +</p> +<p> + We had scarcely seated ourselves before Hewitt broke into a torrent of + conversation on the subject of bicycling. As our previous conversation + had been of a literary sort, and as I had never known Hewitt at any other + time to show the slightest interest in bicycling, this rather surprised + me. I had, however, such a general outsider's grasp of the subject as is + usual in a journalist-of-all-work, and managed to keep the talk going + from my side. As we went on I could see the face of the young man + opposite brighten with interest. He was a rather fine-looking fellow, + with a dark, though very clear skin, but had a hard, angry look of eye, a + prominence of cheek-bone, and a squareness of jaw that gave him a rather + uninviting aspect. As Hewitt rattled on, however, our neighbor's + expression became one of pleasant interest merely. +</p> +<p> + "Of course," Hewitt said, "we've a number of very capital men just now, + but I believe a deal in the forgotten riders of five, ten, and fifteen + years back. Osmond, I believe, was better than any man riding now, and I + think it would puzzle some of them to beat Furnivall as he was, at his + best. But poor old Cortis—really, I believe he was as good as anybody. + Nobody ever beat Cortis—except—let me see—I think somebody beat Cortis + once—who was it now? I can't remember." +</p> +<p> + "Liles," said the young man opposite, looking up quickly. +</p> +<p> + "Ah, yes—Liles it was; Charley Liles. Wasn't it a championship?" +</p> +<p> + "Mile championship, 1880; Cortis won the other three, though." +</p> +<p> + "Yes, so he did. I saw Cortis when he first broke the old 2.46 mile + record." And straightway Hewitt plunged into a whirl of talk of bicycles, + tricycles, records, racing cyclists, Hillier, and Synyer and Noel + Whiting, Taylerson and Appleyard—talk wherein the young man opposite + bore an animated share, while I was left in the cold. +</p> +<p> + Our new friend, it seems, had himself been a prominent racing bicyclist a + few years back, and was presently, at Hewitt's request, exhibiting a neat + gold medal that hung at his watch-guard. That was won, he explained, in + the old tall bicycle days, the days of bad tracks, when every racing + cyclist carried cinder scars on his face from numerous accidents. He + pointed to a blue mark on his forehead, which, he told us, was a track + scar, and described a bad fall that had cost him two teeth, and broken + others. The gaps among his teeth were plain to see as he smiled. +</p> +<p> + Presently the waiter brought dessert, and the young man opposite took an + apple. Nut-crackers and a fruit-knife lay on our side of the stand, and + Hewitt turned the stand to offer him the knife. +</p> +<p> + "No, thanks," he said; "I only polish a good apple, never peel it. It's a + mistake, except with thick-skinned foreign ones." +</p> +<p> + And he began to munch the apple as only a boy or a healthy athlete can. + Presently he turned his head to order coffee. The waiter's back was + turned, and he had to be called twice. To my unutterable amazement Hewitt + reached swiftly across the table, snatched the half-eaten apple from the + young man's plate and pocketed it, gazing immediately, with an abstracted + air, at a painted Cupid on the ceiling. +</p> +<p> + Our neighbor turned again, looked doubtfully at his plate and the + table-cloth about it, and then shot a keen glance in the direction of + Hewitt. He said nothing, however, but took his coffee and his bill, + deliberately drank the former, gazing quietly at Hewitt as he did it, + paid the latter, and left. +</p> +<p> + Immediately Hewitt was on his feet and, taking an umbrella, which stood + near, followed. Just as he reached the door he met our late neighbor, who + had turned suddenly back. +</p> +<p> + "Your umbrella, I think?" Hewitt asked, offering it. +</p> +<p> + "Yes, thanks." But the man's eye had more than its former hardness, and + his jaw muscles tightened as I looked. He turned and went. Hewitt came + back to me. "Pay the bill," he said, "and go back to your rooms; I will + come on later. I must follow this man—it's the Foggatt case." As he went + out I heard a cab rattle away, and immediately after it another. +</p> +<p> + I paid the bill and went home. It was ten o'clock before Hewitt turned + up, calling in at his office below on his way up to me. +</p> +<p> + "Mr. Sidney Mason," he said, "is the gentleman the police will be wanting + to-morrow, I expect, for the Foggatt murder. He is as smart a man as I + remember ever meeting, and has done me rather neatly twice this evening." +</p> +<p> + "You mean the man we sat opposite at Luzatti's, of course?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, I got his name, of course, from the reverse of that gold medal he + was good enough to show me. But I fear he has bilked me over the address. + He suspected me, that was plain, and left his umbrella by way of + experiment to see if I were watching him sharply enough to notice the + circumstance, and to avail myself of it to follow him. I was hasty and + fell into the trap. He cabbed it away from Luzatti's, and I cabbed it + after him. He has led me a pretty dance up and down London to-night, and + two cabbies have made quite a stroke of business out of us. In the end he + entered a house of which, of course, I have taken the address, but I + expect he doesn't live there. He is too smart a man to lead me to his + den; but the police can certainly find something of him at the house he + went in at—and, I expect, left by the back way. By the way, you never + guessed that simple little puzzle as to how I found that this <i>was</i> a + murder, did you? You see it now, of course?" +</p> +<p> + "Something to do with that apple you stole, I suppose?" +</p> +<p> + "Something to do with it? I should think so, you worthy innocent. Just + ring your bell; we'll borrow Mrs. Clayton's sewing-machine oil again. On + the night we broke into Foggatt's room you saw the nutshells and the + bitten remains of an apple on the sideboard, and you remembered it; and + yet you couldn't see that in that piece of apple possibly lay an + important piece of evidence. Of course I never expected you to have + arrived at any conclusion, as I had, because I had ten minutes in which + to examine that apple, and to do what I did with it. But, at least, you + should have seen the possibility of evidence in it. +</p> +<p> + "First, now, the apple was white. A bitten apple, as you must have + observed, turns of a reddish brown color if left to stand long. Different + kinds of apples brown with different rapidities, and the browning always + begins at the core. This is one of the twenty thousand tiny things that + few people take the trouble to notice, but which it is useful for a man + in my position to know. A russet will brown quite quickly. The apple on + the sideboard was, as near as I could tell, a Newtown pippin or other + apple of that kind, which will brown at the core in from twenty minutes + to half an hour, and in other parts in a quarter of an hour more. When we + saw it, it was white, with barely a tinge of brown about the exposed + core. Inference, somebody had been eating it fifteen or twenty minutes + before, perhaps a little longer—an inference supported by the fact that + it was only partly eaten. +</p> +<p> + "I examined that apple, and found it bore marks of very irregular teeth. + While you were gone, I oiled it over, and, rushing down to my rooms, + where I always have a little plaster of Paris handy for such work, took a + mold of the part where the teeth had left the clearest marks. I then + returned the apple to its place for the police to use if they thought + fit. Looking at my mold, it was plain that the person who had bitten that + apple had lost two teeth, one at top and one below, not exactly opposite, + but nearly so. The other teeth, although they would appear to have been + fairly sound, were irregular in size and line. Now, the dead man had, as + I saw, a very excellent set of false teeth, regular and sharp, with none + missing. Therefore it was plain that somebody <i>else</i> had been eating that + apple. Do I make myself clear?" +</p> +<p> + "Quite! Go on!" +</p> +<p> + "There were other inferences to be made—slighter, but all pointing the + same way. For instance, a man of Foggatt's age does not, as a rule, munch + an unpeeled apple like a school-boy. Inference, a young man, and healthy. + Why I came to the conclusion that he was tall, active, a gymnast, and + perhaps a sailor, I have already told you, when we examined the outside + of Foggatt's window. It was also pretty clear that robbery was not the + motive, since nothing was disturbed, and that a friendly conversation had + preceded the murder—witness the drinking and the eating of the apple. + Whether or not the police noticed these things I can't say. If they had + had their best men on, they certainly would, I think; but the case, to a + rough observer, looked so clearly one of accident or suicide that + possibly they didn't. +</p> +<p> + "As I said, after the inquest I was unable to devote any immediate time + to the case, but I resolved to keep my eyes open. The man to look for was + tall, young, strong and active, with a very irregular set of teeth, a + tooth missing from the lower jaw just to the left of the center, and + another from the upper jaw a little farther still toward the left. He + might possibly be a person I had seen about the premises (I have a good + memory for faces), or, of course, he possibly might not. +</p> +<p> + "Just before you returned from your holiday I noticed a young man at + Luzatti's whom I remembered to have seen somewhere about the offices in + this building. He was tall, young, and so on, but I had a client with me, + and was unable to examine him more narrowly; indeed, as I was not exactly + engaged on the case, and as there are several tall young men about, I + took little trouble. But to-day, finding the same young man with a vacant + seat opposite him, I took the opportunity of making a closer + acquaintance." +</p> +<p> + "You certainly managed to draw him out." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, yes; the easiest person in the world to draw out is a cyclist. The + easiest cyclist to draw out is, of course, the novice, but the next + easiest is the veteran. When you see a healthy, well-trained-looking man, + who, nevertheless, has a slight stoop in the shoulders, and, maybe, a + medal on his watch-guard, it is always a safe card to try him first with + a little cycle-racing talk. I soon brought Mr. Mason out of his shell, + read his name on his medal, and had a chance of observing his + teeth—indeed, he spoke of them himself. Now, as I observed just now, + there are several tall, athletic young men about, and also there are + several men who have lost teeth. But now I saw that this tall and + athletic young man had lost exactly <i>two</i> teeth—one from the lower jaw, + just to the left of the center, and another from the upper jaw, farther + still toward the left! Trivialities, pointing in the same direction, + became important considerations. More, his teeth were irregular + throughout, and, as nearly as I could remember it, looked remarkably like + this little plaster mold of mine." +</p> +<p> + He produced from his pocket an irregular lump of plaster, about three + inches long. On one side of this appeared in relief the likeness of two + irregular rows of six or eight teeth, minus one in each row, where a deep + gap was seen, in the position spoken of by my friend. He proceeded: +</p> +<p> + "This was enough at least to set me after this young man. But he gave me + the greatest chance of all when he turned and left his apple (eaten + unpeeled, remember!—another important triviality) on his plate. I'm + afraid I wasn't at all polite, and I ran the risk of arousing his + suspicions, but I couldn't resist the temptation to steal it. I did, as + you saw, and here it is." +</p> +<p> + He brought the apple from his coat-pocket. One bitten side, placed + against the upper half of the mold, fitted precisely, a projection of + apple filling exactly the deep gap. The other side similarly fitted the + lower half. +</p> +<p> + "There's no getting behind that, you see," Hewitt remarked. "Merely + observing the man's teeth was a guide, to some extent, but this is as + plain as his signature or his thumb impression. You'll never find two men + <i>bite</i> exactly alike, no matter whether they leave distinct teeth-marks + or not. Here, by the by, is Mrs. Clayton's oil. We'll take another mold + from this apple, and compare <i>them</i>." +</p> +<p> + He oiled the apple, heaped a little plaster in a newspaper, took my + water-jug, and rapidly pulled off a hard mold. The parts corresponding to + the merely broken places in the apple were, of course, dissimilar; but as + to the teeth-marks, the impressions were identical. +</p> +<p> + "That will do, I think," Hewitt said. "Tomorrow morning, Brett, I shall + put up these things in a small parcel, and take them round to Bow + Street." +</p> +<p> + "But are they sufficient evidence?" +</p> +<p> + "Quite sufficient for the police purpose. There is the man, and all the + rest—his movements on the day and so forth—are simple matters of + inquiry; at any rate, that is police business." +</p> +<hr> +<p> + I had scarcely sat down to my breakfast on the following morning when + Hewitt came into the room and put a long letter before me. +</p> +<p> + "From our friend of last night," he said; "read it." +</p> +<p> + This letter began abruptly, and undated, and was as follows: +</p> +<p> </p> +<p> + "TO MARTIN HEWITT, ESQ. +</p> +<p> + "SIR: I must compliment you on the adroitness you exhibited this evening + in extracting from me my name. The address I was able to balk you of for + the time being, although by the time you read this you will probably have + found it through the <i>Law List</i>, as I am an admitted solicitor. That, + however, will be of little use to you, for I am removing myself, I think, + beyond the reach even of your abilities of search. I knew you well by + sight, and was, perhaps, foolish to allow myself to be drawn as I did. + Still, I had no idea that it would be dangerous, especially after seeing + you, as a witness with very little to say, at the inquest upon the + scoundrel I shot. Your somewhat discourteous seizure of my apple at first + amazed me—indeed, I was a little doubtful as to whether you had really + taken it—but it was my first warning that you might be playing a deep + game against me, incomprehensible as the action was to my mind. I + subsequently reflected that I had been eating an apple, instead of taking + the drink he first offered me, in the dead wretch's rooms on the night he + came to his merited end. From this I assume that your design was in some + way to compare what remained of the two apples—although I do not + presume to fathom the depths of your detective system. Still, I have + heard of many of your cases, and profoundly admire the keenness you + exhibit. I am thought to be a keen man myself, but, although I was able, + to some extent, to hold my own to-night, I admit that your acumen in this + case alone is something beyond me. +</p> +<p> + "I do not know by whom you are commissioned to hunt me, nor to what + extent you may be acquainted with my connection with the creature I + killed. I have sufficient respect for you, however, to wish that you + should not regard me as a vicious criminal, and a couple of hours to + spare in which to offer you an explanation that will convince you that + such is not altogether the case. A hasty and violent temper I admit + possessing; but even now I can not forget the one crime it has led me + into—for it is, I suppose, strictly speaking, a crime. For it was the + man Foggatt who made a felon of my father before the eyes of the world, + and killed him with shame. It was he who murdered my mother, and none the + less murdered her because she died of a broken heart. That he was also a + thief and a hypocrite might have concerned me little but for that. +</p> +<p> + "Of my father I remember very little. He must, I fear, have been a weak + and incapable man in many respects. He had no business abilities—in + fact, was quite unable to understand the complicated business matters in + which he largely dealt. Foggatt was a consummate master of all those arts + of financial jugglery that make so many fortunes, and ruin so many + others, in matters of company promoting, stocks, and shares. He was + unable to exercise them, however, because of a great financial disaster + in which he had been mixed up a few years before, and which made his name + one to be avoided in future. In these circumstances he made a sort of + secret and informal partnership with my father, who, ostensibly alone in + the business, acted throughout on the directions of Foggatt, + understanding as little what he did, poor, simple man, as a schoolboy + would have done. The transactions carried on went from small to large, + and, unhappily from honorable to dishonorable. My father relied on the + superior abilities of Foggatt with an absolute trust, carrying out each + day the directions given him privately the previous evening, buying, + selling, printing prospectuses, signing whatever had to be signed, all + with sole responsibility and as sole partner, while Foggatt, behind the + scenes absorbed the larger share of the profits. In brief, my unhappy and + foolish father was a mere tool in the hands of the cunning scoundrel who + pulled all the wires of the business, himself unseen and irresponsible. + At last three companies, for the promotion of which my father was + responsible, came to grief in a heap. Fraud was written large over all + their history, and, while Foggatt retired with his plunder, my father was + left to meet ruin, disgrace, and imprisonment. From beginning to end he, + and he only, was responsible. There was no shred of evidence to connect + Foggatt with the matter, and no means of escape from the net drawn about + my father. He lived through three years of imprisonment, and then, + entirely abandoned by the man who had made use of his simplicity, he + died—of nothing but shame and a broken heart. +</p> +<p> + "Of this I knew nothing at the time. Again and again, as a small boy, I + remember asking of my mother why I had no father at home, as other boys + had—unconscious of the stab I thus inflicted on her gentle heart. Of her + my earliest, as well as my latest, memory is that of a pale, weeping + woman, who grudged to let me out of her sight. +</p> +<p> + "Little by little I learned the whole cause of my mother's grief, for she + had no other confidant, and I fear my character developed early, for my + first coherent remembrance of the matter is that of a childish design to + take a table-knife and kill the bad man who had made my father die in + prison and caused my mother to cry. +</p> +<p> + "One thing, however, I never knew—the name of that bad man. Again and + again, as I grew older, I demanded to know, but my mother always withheld + it from me, with a gentle reminder that vengeance was for a greater hand + than mine. +</p> +<p> + "I was seventeen years of age when my mother died. I believe that nothing + but her strong attachment to myself and her desire to see me safely + started in life kept her alive so long. Then I found that through all + those years of narrowed means she had contrived to scrape and save a + little money—sufficient, as it afterward proved, to see me through the + examinations for entrance to my profession, with the generous assistance + of my father's old legal advisers, who gave me my articles, and who have + all along treated me with extreme kindness. +</p> +<p> + "For most of the succeeding years my life does not concern the matter in + hand. I was a lawyer's clerk in my benefactors' service, and afterward a + qualified man among their assistants. All through the firm were careful, + in pursuance of my poor mother's wishes, that I should not learn the name + or whereabouts of the man who had wrecked her life and my father's. I + first met the man himself at the Clifton Club, where I had gone with an + acquaintance who was a member. It was not till afterward that I + understood his curious awkwardness on that occasion. A week later I + called (as I had frequently done) at the building in which your office is + situated, on business with a solicitor who has an office on the floor + above your own. On the stairs I almost ran against Mr. Foggatt. He + started and turned pale, exhibiting signs of alarm that I could not + understand, and asked me if I wished to see him. +</p> +<p> + "'No,' I replied, 'I didn't know you lived here. I am after somebody else + just now. Aren't you well?' +</p> +<p> + "He looked at me rather doubtfully, and said he was <i>not</i> very well. +</p> +<p> + "I met him twice or thrice after that, and on each occasion his manner + grew more friendly, in a servile, flattering, and mean sort of way—a + thing unpleasant enough in anybody, but doubly so in the intercourse of a + man with another young enough to be his own son. Still, of course, I + treated the man civilly enough. On one occasion he asked me into his + rooms to look at a rather fine picture he had lately bought, and observed + casually, lifting a large revolver from the mantel-piece: +</p> +<p> + "'You see, I am prepared for any unwelcome visitors to my little den! He! + He!' Conceiving him, of course, to refer to burglars, I could not help + wondering at the forced and hollow character of his laugh. As we went + down the stairs he said: 'I think we know one another pretty well now, + Mr. Mason, eh? And if I could do anything to advance your professional + prospects, I should be glad of the chance, of course. I understand the + struggles of a young professional man—he! he!' It was the forced laugh + again, and the man spoke nervously. 'I think,' he added, 'that if you + will drop in to-morrow evening, perhaps I may have a little proposal to + make. Will you?' +</p> +<p> + "I assented, wondering what this proposal could be. Perhaps this + eccentric old gentleman was a good fellow, after all, anxious to do me a + good turn, and his awkwardness was nothing but a natural delicacy in + breaking the ice. I was not so flush of good friends as to be willing to + lose one. He might be desirous of putting business in my way. +</p> +<p> + "I went, and was received with cordiality that even then seemed a little + over-effusive. We sat and talked of one thing and another for a long + while, and I began to wonder when Mr. Foggatt was coming to the point + that most interested me. Several times he invited me to drink and smoke, + but long usage to athletic training has given me a distaste for both + practices, and I declined. At last he began to talk about myself. He was + afraid that my professional prospects in this country were not great, but + he had heard that in some of the colonies—South Africa, for + example—young lawyers had brilliant opportunities. +</p> +<p> + "'If you'd like to go there,' he said, 'I've no doubt, with a little + capital, a clever man like you could get a grand practice together very + soon. Or you might buy a share in some good established practice. I + should be glad to let you have £500, or even a little more, if that + wouldn't satisfy you, and——' +</p> +<p> + "I stood aghast. Why should this man, almost a stranger, offer me £500, + or even more, 'if that wouldn't satisfy' me? What claim had I on him? It + was very generous of him, of course, but out of the question. I was, at + least, a gentleman, and had a gentleman's self-respect. Meanwhile, he had + gone maundering on, in a halting sort of way, and presently let slip a + sentence that struck me like a blow between the eyes. +</p> +<p> + "'I shouldn't like you to bear ill-will because of what has happened in + the past,' he said. 'Your late—your late lamented mother—I'm + afraid—she had unworthy suspicions—I'm sure—it was best for all + parties—your father always appreciated——' +</p> +<p> + "I set back my chair and stood erect before him. This groveling wretch, + forcing the words through his dry lips, was the thief who had made + another of my father and had brought to miserable ends the lives of both + my parents! Everything was clear. The creature went in fear of me, never + imagining that I did not know him, and sought to buy me off—to buy me + from the remembrance of my dead mother's broken heart for £500—£500 that + he had made my father steal for him! I said not a word. But the memory of + all my mother's bitter years, and a savage sense of this crowning insult + to myself, took a hold upon me, and I was a tiger. Even then I verily + believe that one word of repentance, one tone of honest remorse, would + have saved him. But he drooped his eyes, snuffled excuses, and stammered + of 'unworthy suspicions' and 'no ill-will.' I let him stammer. Presently + he looked up and saw my face; and fell back in his chair, sick with + terror. I snatched the pistol from the mantel-piece, and, thrusting it in + his face, shot him where he sat. +</p> +<p> + "My subsequent coolness and quietness surprise me now. I took my hat and + stepped toward the door. But there were voices on the stairs. The door + was locked on the inside, and I left it so. I went back and quietly + opened a window. Below was a clear drop into darkness, and above was + plain wall; but away to one side, where the slope of the gable sprang + from the roof, an iron gutter ended, supported by a strong bracket. It + was the only way. I got upon the sill and carefully shut the window + behind me, for people were already knocking at the lobby door. From the + end of the sill, holding on by the reveal of the window with one hand, + leaning and stretching my utmost, I caught the gutter, swung myself + clear, and scrambled on the roof. I climbed over many roofs before I + found, in an adjoining street, a ladder lashed perpendicularly against + the front of a house in course of repair. This, to me, was an easy + opportunity of descent, notwithstanding the boards fastened over the face + of the ladder, and I availed myself of it. +</p> +<p> + "I have taken some time and trouble in order that you (so far as I am + aware the only human being beside myself who knows me to be the author of + Foggatt's death) shall have at least the means of appraising my crime at + its just value of culpability. How much you already know of what I have + told you I can not guess. I am wrong, hardened, and flagitious, I make no + doubt, but I speak of the facts as they are. You see the thing, of + course, from your own point of view—I from mine. And I remember my + mother! +</p> +<p> + "Trusting that you will forgive the odd freak of a man—a criminal, let + us say—who makes a confidant of the man set to hunt him down, I beg + leave to be, sir, your obedient servant, +</p> +<p> + "SIDNEY MASON." +</p> +<p> + I read the singular document through and handed it back to Hewitt. +</p> +<p> + "How does it strike you?" Hewitt asked. +</p> +<p> + "Mason would seem to be a man of very marked character," I said. + "Certainly no fool. And, if his tale is true, Foggatt is no great loss to + the world." +</p> +<p> + "Just so—if the tale is true. Personally I am disposed to believe it + is." +</p> +<p> + "Where was the letter posted?" +</p> +<p> + "It wasn't posted. It was handed in with the others from the front-door + letter-box this morning in an unstamped envelope. He must have dropped it + in himself during the night. Paper," Hewitt proceeded, holding it up to + the light, "Turkey mill, ruled foolscap. Envelope, blue, official shape, + Pirie's watermark. Both quite ordinary and no special marks." +</p> +<p> + "Where do you suppose he's gone?" +</p> +<p> + "Impossible to guess. Some might think he meant suicide by the expression + 'beyond the reach even of your abilities of search,' but I scarcely think + he is the sort of man to do that. No, there is no telling. Something may + be got by inquiring at his late address, of course; but, when such a man + tells you he doesn't think you will find him, you may count upon its + being a difficult job. His opinion is not to be despised." +</p> +<p> + "What shall you do?" +</p> +<p> + "Put the letter in the box with the casts for the police. <i>Fiat + justitia</i>, you know, without any question of sentiment. As to the apple, + I really think, if the police will let me, I'll make you a present of it. + Keep it somewhere as a souvenir of your absolute deficiency in reflective + observation in this case, and look at it whenever you feel yourself + growing dangerously conceited. It should cure you." +</p> +<hr> +<p> + This is the history of the withered and almost petrified half apple that + stands in my cabinet among a number of flint implements and one or two + rather fine old Roman vessels. Of Mr. Sidney Mason we never heard another + word. The police did their best, but he had left not a track behind him. + His rooms were left almost undisturbed, and he had gone without anything + in the way of elaborate preparation for his journey, and without leaving + a trace of his intentions. +</p> +<p> </p> +<a name="CH4"></a> +<h3> + IV. THE CASE OF THE DIXON TORPEDO +</h3> +<p> + Hewitt was very apt, in conversation, to dwell upon the many curious + chances and coincidences that he had observed, not only in connection + with his own cases, but also in matters dealt with by the official + police, with whom he was on terms of pretty regular, and, indeed, + friendly, acquaintanceship. He has told me many an anecdote of singular + happenings to Scotland Yard officials with whom he has exchanged + experiences. Of Inspector Nettings, for instance, who spent many weary + months in a search for a man wanted by the American Government, and in + the end found, by the merest accident (a misdirected call), that the man + had been lodging next door to himself the whole of the time; just as + ignorant, of course, as was the inspector himself as to the enemy at the + other side of the party-wall. Also of another inspector, whose name I can + not recall, who, having been given rather meager and insufficient details + of a man whom he anticipated having great difficulty in finding, went + straight down the stairs of the office where he had received + instructions, and actually <i>fell over</i> the man near the door, where he + had stooped down to tie his shoe-lace! There were cases, too, in which, + when a great and notorious crime had been committed, and various persons + had been arrested on suspicion, some were found among them who had long + been badly wanted for some other crime altogether. Many criminals had met + their deserts by venturing out of their own particular line of crime into + another; often a man who got into trouble over something comparatively + small found himself in for a startlingly larger trouble, the result of + some previous misdeed that otherwise would have gone unpunished. The + ruble note-forger Mirsky might never have been handed over to the Russian + authorities had he confined his genius to forgery alone. It was generally + supposed at the time of his extradition that he had communicated with the + Russian Embassy, with a view to giving himself up—a foolish proceeding + on his part, it would seem, since his whereabouts, indeed even his + identity as the forger, had not been suspected. He <i>had</i> communicated + with the Russian Embassy, it is true, but for quite a different purpose, + as Martin Hewitt well understood at the time. What that purpose was is + now for the first time published. +</p> +<hr> +<p> + The time was half-past one in the afternoon, and Hewitt sat in his inner + office examining and comparing the handwriting of two letters by the aid + of a large lens. He put down the lens and glanced at the clock on the + mantel-piece with a premonition of lunch; and as he did so his clerk + quietly entered the room with one of those printed slips which were kept + for the announcement of unknown visitors. It was filled up in a hasty and + almost illegible hand, thus: +</p> +<p> + Name of visitor: <i>F. Graham Dixon</i>. +</p> +<p> + Address: <i>Chancery Lane</i>. +</p> +<p> + Business: <i>Private and urgent</i>. +</p> +<p> + "Show Mr. Dixon in," said Martin Hewitt. +</p> +<p> + Mr. Dixon was a gaunt, worn-looking man of fifty or so, well, although + rather carelessly, dressed, and carrying in his strong, though drawn, + face and dullish eyes the look that characterizes the life-long strenuous + brain-worker. He leaned forward anxiously in the chair which Hewitt + offered him, and told his story with a great deal of very natural + agitation. +</p> +<p> + "You may possibly have heard, Mr. Hewitt—I know there are rumors—of the + new locomotive torpedo which the government is about adopting; it is, in + fact, the Dixon torpedo, my own invention, and in every respect—not + merely in my own opinion, but in that of the government experts—by far + the most efficient and certain yet produced. It will travel at least + four hundred yards farther than any torpedo now made, with perfect + accuracy of aim (a very great desideratum, let me tell you), and will + carry an unprecedentedly heavy charge. There are other advantages—speed, + simple discharge, and so forth—that I needn't bother you about. The + machine is the result of many years of work and disappointment, and its + design has only been arrived at by a careful balancing of principles and + means, which are expressed on the only four existing sets of drawings. + The whole thing, I need hardly tell you, is a profound secret, and you + may judge of my present state of mind when I tell you that one set of + drawings has been stolen." +</p> +<p> + "From your house?" +</p> +<p> + "From my office, in Chancery Lane, this morning. The four sets of + drawings were distributed thus: Two were at the Admiralty Office, one + being a finished set on thick paper, and the other a set of tracings + therefrom; and the other two were at my own office, one being a penciled + set, uncolored—a sort of finished draft, you understand—and the other a + set of tracings similar to those at the Admiralty. It is this last set + that has gone. The two sets were kept together in one drawer in my room. + Both were there at ten this morning; of that I am sure, for I had to go + to that very drawer for something else when I first arrived. But at + twelve the tracings had vanished." +</p> +<p> + "You suspect somebody, probably?" +</p> +<p> + "I can not. It is a most extraordinary thing. Nobody has left the office + (except myself, and then only to come to you) since ten this morning, and + there has been no visitor. And yet the drawings are gone!" +</p> +<p> + "But have you searched the place?" +</p> +<p> + "Of course I have! It was twelve o'clock when I first discovered my loss, + and I have been turning the place upside down ever since—I and my + assistants. Every drawer has been emptied, every desk and table turned + over, the very carpet and linoleum have been taken up, but there is not a + sign of the drawings. My men even insisted on turning all their pockets + inside out, although I never for a moment suspected either of them, and + it would take a pretty big pocket to hold the drawings, doubled up as + small as they might be." +</p> +<p> + "You say your men—there are two, I understand—had neither left the + office?" +</p> +<p> + "Neither; and they are both staying in now. Worsfold suggested that it + would be more satisfactory if they did not leave till something was done + toward clearing the mystery up, and, although, as I have said, I don't + suspect either in the least, I acquiesced." +</p> +<p> + "Just so. Now—I am assuming that you wish me to undertake the recovery + of these drawings?" +</p> +<p> + The engineer nodded hastily. +</p> +<p> + "Very good; I will go round to your office. But first perhaps you can + tell me something about your assistants—something it might be awkward to + tell me in their presence, you know. Mr. Worsfold, for instance?" +</p> +<p> + "He is my draughtsman—a very excellent and intelligent man, a very smart + man, indeed, and, I feel sure, quite beyond suspicion. He has prepared + many important drawings for me (he has been with me nearly ten years + now), and I have always found him trustworthy. But, of course, the + temptation in this case would be enormous. Still, I can not suspect + Worsfold. Indeed, how can I suspect anybody in the circumstances?" +</p> +<p> + "The other, now?" +</p> +<p> + "His name's Ritter. He is merely a tracer, not a fully skilled + draughtsman. He is quite a decent young fellow, and I have had him two + years. I don't consider him particularly smart, or he would have learned + a little more of his business by this time. But I don't see the least + reason to suspect him. As I said before, I can't reasonably suspect + anybody." +</p> +<p> + "Very well; we will get to Chancery Lane now, if you please, and you can + tell me more as we go." +</p> +<p> + "I have a cab waiting. What else can I tell you?" +</p> +<p> + "I understand the position to be succinctly this: The drawings were in + the office when you arrived. Nobody came out, and nobody went in; and + <i>yet</i> they vanished. Is that so?" +</p> +<p> + "That is so. When I say that absolutely nobody came in, of course I + except the postman. He brought a couple of letters during the morning. I + mean that absolutely nobody came past the barrier in the outer + office—the usual thing, you know, like a counter, with a frame of ground + glass over it." +</p> +<p> + "I quite understand that. But I think you said that the drawings were in + a drawer in your <i>own</i> room—not the outer office, where the draughtsmen + are, I presume?" +</p> +<p> + "That is the case. It is an inner room, or, rather, a room parallel with + the other, and communicating with it; just as your own room is, which we + have just left." +</p> +<p> + "But, then, you say you never left your office, and yet the drawings + vanished—apparently by some unseen agency—while you were there in the + room?" +</p> +<p> + "Let me explain more clearly." The cab was bowling smoothly along the + Strand, and the engineer took out a pocket-book and pencil. "I fear," he + proceeded, "that I am a little confused in my explanation—I am naturally + rather agitated. As you will see presently, my offices consist of three + rooms, two at one side of a corridor, and the other opposite—thus." He + made a rapid pencil sketch. +</p> + <a name="image-2"></a> + <p class="ctr"><img src="images/128.jpg" width="198" height="193" + alt="diagram of rooms and corridor" > + </p> +<p> + "In the outer office my men usually work. In the inner office I work + myself. These rooms communicate, as you see, by a door. Our ordinary way + in and out of the place is by the door of the outer office leading into + the corridor, and we first pass through the usual lifting flap in the + barrier. The door leading from the <i>inner</i> office to the corridor is + always kept locked on the inside, and I don't suppose I unlock it once in + three months. It has not been unlocked all the morning. The drawer in + which the missing drawings were kept, and in which I saw them at ten + o'clock this morning, is at the place marked D; it is a large chest of + shallow drawers in which the plans lie flat." +</p> +<p> + "I quite understand. Then there is the private room opposite. What of + that?" +</p> +<p> + "That is a sort of private sitting-room that I rarely use, except for + business interviews of a very private nature. When I said I never left my + office, I did not mean that I never stirred out of the inner office. I + was about in one room and another, both the outer and the inner offices, + and once I went into the private room for five minutes, but nobody came + either in or out of any of the rooms at that time, for the door of the + private room was wide open, and I was standing at the book-case (I had + gone to consult a book), just inside the door, with a full view of the + doors opposite. Indeed, Worsfold was at the door of the outer office most + of the short time. He came to ask me a question." +</p> +<p> + "Well," Hewitt replied, "it all comes to the simple first statement. You + know that nobody left the place or arrived, except the postman, who + couldn't get near the drawings, and yet the drawings went. Is this your + office?" +</p> +<p> + The cab had stopped before a large stone building. Mr. Dixon alighted and + led the way to the first-floor. Hewitt took a casual glance round each of + the three rooms. There was a sort of door in the frame of ground glass + over the barrier to admit of speech with visitors. This door Hewitt + pushed wide open, and left so. +</p> +<p> + He and the engineer went into the inner office. "Would you like to ask + Worsfold and Ritter any questions?" Mr. Dixon inquired. +</p> +<p> + "Presently. Those are their coats, I take it, hanging just to the right + of the outer office door, over the umbrella stand?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, those are all their things—coats, hats, stick, and umbrella." +</p> +<p> + "And those coats were searched, you say?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes." +</p> +<p> + "And this is the drawer—thoroughly searched, of course?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, certainly; every drawer was taken out and turned over." +</p> +<p> + "Well, of course I must assume you made no mistake in your hunt. Now tell + me, did anybody know where these plans were, beyond yourself and your two + men?" +</p> +<p> + "As far as I can tell, not a soul." +</p> +<p> + "You don't keep an office boy?" +</p> +<p> + "No. There would be nothing for him to do except to post a letter now and + again, which Ritter does quite well for." +</p> +<p> + "As you are quite sure that the drawings were there at ten o'clock, + perhaps the thing scarcely matters. But I may as well know if your men + have keys of the office?" +</p> +<p> + "Neither. I have patent locks to each door and I keep all the keys + myself. If Worsfold or Ritter arrive before me in the morning they have + to wait to be let in; and I am always present myself when the rooms are + cleaned. I have not neglected precautions, you see." +</p> +<p> + "No. I suppose the object of the theft—assuming it is a theft—is pretty + plain: the thief would offer the drawings for sale to some foreign + government?" +</p> +<p> + "Of course. They would probably command a great sum. I have been looking, + as I need hardly tell you, to that invention to secure me a very large + fortune, and I shall be ruined, indeed, if the design is taken abroad. I + am under the strictest engagements to secrecy with the Admiralty, and not + only should I lose all my labor, but I should lose all the confidence + reposed in me at headquarters; should, in fact, be subject to penalties + for breach of contract, and my career stopped forever. I can not tell + you what a serious business this is for me. If you can not help me, the + consequences will be terrible. Bad for the service of the country, too, + of course." +</p> +<p> + "Of course. Now tell me this: It would, I take it, be necessary for the + thief to <i>exhibit</i> these drawings to anybody anxious to buy the secret—I + mean, he couldn't describe the invention by word of mouth." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, no, that would be impossible. The drawings are of the most + complicated description, and full of figures upon which the whole thing + depends. Indeed, one would have to be a skilled expert to properly + appreciate the design at all. Various principles of hydrostatics, + chemistry, electricity, and pneumatics are most delicately manipulated + and adjusted, and the smallest error or omission in any part would upset + the whole. No, the drawings are necessary to the thing, and they are + gone." +</p> +<p> + At this moment the door of the outer office was heard to open and + somebody entered. The door between the two offices was ajar, and Hewitt + could see right through to the glass door left open over the barrier and + into the space beyond. A well-dressed, dark, bushy-bearded man stood + there carrying a hand-bag, which he placed on the ledge before him. + Hewitt raised his hand to enjoin silence. The man spoke in a rather + high-pitched voice and with a slight accent. "Is Mr. Dixon now within?" + he asked. +</p> +<p> + "He is engaged," answered one of the draughtsmen; "very particularly + engaged. I am afraid you won't be able to see him this afternoon. Can I + give him any message?" +</p> +<p> + "This is two—the second time I have come to-day. Not two hours ago Mr. + Dixon himself tells me to call again. I have a very important—very + excellent steam-packing to show him that is very cheap and the best of + the market." The man tapped his bag. "I have just taken orders from the + largest railway companies. Can not I see him, for one second only? I will + not detain him." +</p> +<p> + "Really, I'm sure you can't this afternoon; he isn't seeing anybody. But + if you'll leave your name——" +</p> +<p> + "My name is Hunter; but what the good of that? He ask me to call a little + later, and I come, and now he is engaged. It is a very great pity." And + the man snatched up his bag and walking-stick, and stalked off, + indignantly. +</p> +<p> + Hewitt stood still, gazing through the small aperture in the doorway. +</p> +<p> + "You'd scarcely expect a man with such a name as Hunter to talk with that + accent, would you?" he observed, musingly. "It isn't a French accent, + nor a German; but it seems foreign. You don't happen to know him, I + suppose?" +</p> +<p> + "No, I don't. He called here about half-past twelve, just while we were + in the middle of our search and I was frantic over the loss of the + drawings. I was in the outer office myself, and told him to call later. I + have lots of such agents here, anxious to sell all sorts of engineering + appliances. But what will you do now? Shall you see my men?" +</p> +<p> + "I think," said Hewitt, rising—"I think I'll get you to question them + yourself." +</p> +<p> + "Myself?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, I have a reason. Will you trust me with the 'key' of the private + room opposite? I will go over there for a little, while you talk to your + men in this room. Bring them in here and shut the door; I can look after + the office from across the corridor, you know. Ask them each to detail + his exact movements about the office this morning, and get them to recall + each visitor who has been here from the beginning of the week. I'll let + you know the reason of this later. Come across to me in a few minutes." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt took the key and passed through the outer office into the + corridor. +</p> +<p> + Ten minutes later Mr. Dixon, having questioned his draughtsmen, followed + him. He found Hewitt standing before the table in the private room, on + which lay several drawings on tracing-paper. +</p> +<p> + "See here, Mr. Dixon," said Hewitt, "I think these are the drawings you + are anxious about?" +</p> +<p> + The engineer sprang toward them with a cry of delight. "Why, yes, yes," + he exclaimed, turning them over, "every one of them! But where—how—they + must have been in the place after all, then? What a fool I have been!" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt shook his head. "I'm afraid you're not quite so lucky as you + think, Mr. Dixon," he said. "These drawings have most certainly been out + of the house for a little while. Never mind how—we'll talk of that + after. There is no time to lose. Tell me—how long would it take a good + draughtsman to copy them?" +</p> +<p> + "They couldn't possibly be traced over properly in less than two or two + and a half long days of very hard work," Dixon replied with eagerness. +</p> +<p> + "Ah! then it is as I feared. These tracings have been photographed, Mr. + Dixon, and our task is one of every possible difficulty. If they had been + copied in the ordinary way, one might hope to get hold of the copy. But + photography upsets everything. Copies can be multiplied with such amazing + facility that, once the thief gets a decent start, it is almost hopeless + to checkmate him. The only chance is to get at the negatives before + copies are taken. I must act at once; and I fear, between ourselves, it + may be necessary for me to step very distinctly over the line of the law + in the matter. You see, to get at those negatives may involve something + very like house-breaking. There must be no delay, no waiting for legal + procedure, or the mischief is done. Indeed, I very much question whether + you have any legal remedy, strictly speaking." +</p> +<p> + "Mr. Hewitt, I implore you, do what you can. I need not say that all I + have is at your disposal. I will guarantee to hold you harmless for + anything that may happen. But do, I entreat you, do everything possible. + Think of what the consequences may be!" +</p> +<p> + "Well, yes, so I do," Hewitt remarked, with a smile. "The consequences to + me, if I were charged with house-breaking, might be something that no + amount of guarantee could mitigate. However, I will do what I can, if + only from patriotic motives. Now, I must see your tracer, Ritter. He is + the traitor in the camp." +</p> +<p> + "Ritter? But how?" +</p> +<p> + "Never mind that now. You are upset and agitated, and had better not know + more than is necessary for a little while, in case you say or do + something unguarded. With Ritter I must take a deep course; what I don't + know I must appear to know, and that will seem more likely to him if I + disclaim acquaintance with what I do know. But first put these tracings + safely away out of sight." +</p> +<p> + Dixon slipped them behind his book-case. +</p> +<p> + "Now," Hewitt pursued, "call Mr. Worsfold and give him something to do + that will keep him in the inner office across the way, and tell him to + send Ritter here." +</p> +<p> + Mr. Dixon called his chief draughtsman and requested him to put in order + the drawings in the drawers of the inner room that had been disarranged + by the search, and to send Ritter, as Hewitt had suggested. +</p> +<p> + Ritter walked into the private room with an air of respectful attention. + He was a puffy-faced, unhealthy-looking young man, with very small eyes + and a loose, mobile mouth. +</p> +<p> + "Sit down, Mr. Ritter," Hewitt said, in a stern voice. "Your recent + transactions with your friend Mr. Hunter are well known both to Mr. Dixon + and myself." +</p> +<p> + Ritter, who had at first leaned easily back in his chair, started forward + at this, and paled. +</p> +<p> + "You are surprised, I observe; but you should be more careful in your + movements out of doors if you do not wish your acquaintances to be known. + Mr. Hunter, I believe, has the drawings which Mr. Dixon has lost, and, + if so, I am certain that you have given them to him. That, you know, is + theft, for which the law provides a severe penalty." +</p> +<p> + Ritter broke down completely and turned appealingly to Mr. Dixon. +</p> +<p> + "Oh, sir," he pleaded, "it isn't so bad, I assure you. I was tempted, I + confess, and hid the drawings; but they are still in the office, and I + can give them to you—really, I can." +</p> +<p> + "Indeed?" Hewitt went on. "Then, in that case, perhaps you'd better get + them at once. Just go and fetch them in; we won't trouble to observe your + hiding-place. I'll only keep this door open, to be sure you don't lose + your way, you know—down the stairs, for instance." +</p> +<p> + The wretched Ritter, with hanging head, slunk into the office opposite. + Presently he reappeared, looking, if possible, ghastlier than before. He + looked irresolutely down the corridor, as if meditating a run for it, but + Hewitt stepped toward him and motioned him back to the private room. +</p> +<p> + "You mustn't try any more of that sort of humbug," Hewitt said with + increased severity. "The drawings are gone, and you have stolen them; you + know that well enough. Now attend to me. If you received your deserts, + Mr. Dixon would send for a policeman this moment, and have you hauled + off to the jail that is your proper place. But, unfortunately, your + accomplice, who calls himself Hunter—but who has other names besides + that—as I happen to know—has the drawings, and it is absolutely + necessary that these should be recovered. I am afraid that it will be + necessary, therefore, to come to some arrangement with this scoundrel—to + square him, in fact. Now, just take that pen and paper, and write to your + confederate as I dictate. You know the alternative if you cause any + difficulty." +</p> +<p> + Ritter reached tremblingly for the pen. +</p> +<p> + "Address him in your usual way," Hewitt proceeded. "Say this: 'There has + been an alteration in the plans.' Have you got that? 'There has been an + alteration in the plans. I shall be alone here at six o'clock. Please + come, without fail.' Have you got it? Very well; sign it, and address the + envelope. He must come here, and then we may arrange matters. In the + meantime, you will remain in the inner office opposite." +</p> +<p> + The note was written, and Martin Hewitt, without glancing at the address, + thrust it into his pocket. When Ritter was safely in the inner office, + however, he drew it out and read the address. "I see," he observed, "he + uses the same name, Hunter; 27 Little Carton Street, Westminster, is the + address, and there I shall go at once with the note. If the man comes + here, I think you had better lock him in with Ritter, and send for a + policeman—it may at least frighten him. My object is, of course, to get + the man away, and then, if possible, to invade his house, in some way or + another, and steal or smash his negatives if they are there and to be + found. Stay here, in any case, till I return. And don't forget to lock up + those tracings." +</p> +<hr> +<p> + It was about six o'clock when Hewitt returned, alone, but with a smiling + face that told of good fortune at first sight. +</p> +<p> + "First, Mr. Dixon," he said, as he dropped into an easy chair in the + private room, "let me ease your mind by the information that I have been + most extraordinarily lucky; in fact, I think you have no further cause + for anxiety. Here are the negatives. They were not all quite dry when + I—well, what?—stole them, I suppose I must say; so that they have stuck + together a bit, and probably the films are damaged. But you don't mind + that, I suppose?" +</p> +<p> + He laid a small parcel, wrapped in a newspaper, on the table. The + engineer hastily tore away the paper and took up five or six glass + photographic negatives, of a half-plate size, which were damp, and stuck + together by the gelatine films in couples. He held them, one after + another, up to the light of the window, and glanced through them. Then, + with a great sigh of relief, he placed them on the hearth and pounded + them to dust and fragments with the poker. +</p> +<p> + For a few seconds neither spoke. Then Dixon, flinging himself into a + chair, said: +</p> +<p> + "Mr. Hewitt, I can't express my obligation to you. What would have + happened if you had failed, I prefer not to think of. But what shall we + do with Ritter now? The other man hasn't been here yet, by the by." +</p> +<p> + "No; the fact is I didn't deliver the letter. The worthy gentleman saved + me a world of trouble by taking himself out of the way." Hewitt laughed. + "I'm afraid he has rather got himself into a mess by trying two kinds of + theft at once, and you may not be sorry to hear that his attempt on your + torpedo plans is likely to bring him a dose of penal servitude for + something else. I'll tell you what has happened. +</p> +<p> + "Little Carton Street, Westminster, I found to be a seedy sort of + place—one of those old streets that have seen much better days. A good + many people seem to live in each house—they are fairly large houses, by + the way—and there is quite a company of bell-handles on each doorpost, + all down the side like organ-stops. A barber had possession of the + ground floor front of No. 27 for trade purposes, so to him I went. 'Can + you tell me,' I said, 'where in this house I can find Mr. Hunter?' He + looked doubtful, so I went on: 'His friend will do, you know—I can't + think of his name; foreign gentleman, dark, with a bushy beard.' +</p> +<p> + "The barber understood at once. 'Oh, that's Mirsky, I expect,' he said. + 'Now, I come to think of it, he has had letters addressed to Hunter once + or twice; I've took 'em in. Top floor back.' +</p> +<p> + "This was good so far. I had got at 'Mr. Hunter's' other alias. So, by + way of possessing him with the idea that I knew all about him, I + determined to ask for him as Mirsky before handing over the letter + addressed to him as Hunter. A little bluff of that sort is invaluable at + the right time. At the top floor back I stopped at the door and tried to + open it at once, but it was locked. I could hear somebody scuttling about + within, as though carrying things about, and I knocked again. In a little + while the door opened about a foot, and there stood Mr. Hunter—or + Mirsky, as you like—the man who, in the character of a traveler in + steam-packing, came here twice to-day. He was in his shirt-sleeves, and + cuddled something under his arm, hastily covered with a spotted + pocket-handkerchief. +</p> +<p> + "'I have called to see M. Mirsky," I said, 'with a confidential + letter——' +</p> +<p> + "'Oh, yas, yas,' he answered hastily; 'I know—I know. Excuse me one + minute.' And he rushed off down-stairs with his parcel. +</p> +<p> + "Here was a noble chance. For a moment I thought of following him, in + case there might be something interesting in the parcel. But I had to + decide in a moment, and I decided on trying the room. I slipped inside + the door, and, finding the key on the inside, locked it. It was a + confused sort of room, with a little iron bedstead in one corner and a + sort of rough boarded inclosure in another. This I rightly conjectured to + be the photographic dark-room, and made for it at once. +</p> +<p> + "There was plenty of light within when the door was left open, and I made + at once for the drying-rack that was fastened over the sink. There were a + number of negatives in it, and I began hastily examining them one after + another. In the middle of this our friend Mirsky returned and tried the + door. He rattled violently at the handle and pushed. Then he called. +</p> +<p> + "At this moment I had come upon the first of the negatives you have just + smashed. The fixing and washing had evidently only lately been completed, + and the negative was drying on the rack. I seized it, of course, and the + others which stood by it. +</p> +<p> + "'Who are you, there, inside?' Mirsky shouted indignantly from the + landing. 'Why for you go in my room like that? Open this door at once, or + I call the police!' +</p> +<p> + "I took no notice. I had got the full number of negatives, one for each + drawing, but I was not by any means sure that he had not taken an extra + set; so I went on hunting down the rack. There were no more, so I set to + work to turn out all the undeveloped plates. It was quite possible, you + see, that the other set, if it existed, had not yet been developed. +</p> +<p> + "Mirsky changed his tune. After a little more banging and shouting I + could hear him kneel down and try the key-hole. I had left the key there, + so that he could see nothing. But he began talking softly and rapidly + through the hole in a foreign language. I did not know it in the least, + but I believe it was Russian. What had led him to believe I understood + Russian I could not at the time imagine, though I have a notion now. I + went on ruining his stock of plates. I found several boxes, apparently of + new plates, but, as there was no means of telling whether they were really + unused or were merely undeveloped, but with the chemical impress of your + drawings on them, I dragged every one ruthlessly from its hiding-place + and laid it out in the full glare of the sunlight—destroying it thereby, + of course, whether it was unused or not. +</p> +<p> + "Mirsky left off talking, and I heard him quietly sneaking off. Perhaps + his conscience was not sufficiently clear to warrant an appeal to the + police, but it seemed to me rather probable at the time that that was + what he was going for. So I hurried on with my work. I found three dark + slides—the parts that carried the plates in the back of the camera, you + know—one of them fixed in the camera itself. These I opened, and exposed + the plates to ruination as before. I suppose nobody ever did so much + devastation in a photographic studio in ten minutes as I managed. +</p> +<p> + "I had spoiled every plate I could find, and had the developed negatives + safely in my pocket, when I happened to glance at a porcelain + washing-well under the sink. There was one negative in that, and I took + it up. It was <i>not</i> a negative of a drawing of yours, but of a Russian + twenty-ruble note!" +</p> +<p> + This <i>was</i> a discovery. The only possible reason any man could have for + photographing a bank-note was the manufacture of an etched plate for the + production of forged copies. I was almost as pleased as I had been at + the discovery of <i>your</i> negatives. He might bring the police now as soon + as he liked; I could turn the tables on him completely. I began to hunt + about for anything else relating to this negative. +</p> +<p> + "I found an inking-roller, some old pieces of blanket (used in printing + from plates), and in a corner on the floor, heaped over with newspapers + and rubbish, a small copying-press. There was also a dish of acid, but + not an etched plate or a printed note to be seen. I was looking at the + press, with the negative in one hand and the inking-roller in the other, + when I became conscious of a shadow across the window. I looked up + quickly, and there was Mirsky hanging over from some ledge or projection + to the side of the window, and staring straight at me, with a look of + unmistakable terror and apprehension. +</p> +<p> + "The face vanished immediately. I had to move a table to get at the + window, and by the time I had opened it there was no sign or sound of the + rightful tenant of the room. I had no doubt now of his reason for + carrying a parcel down-stairs. He probably mistook me for another visitor + he was expecting, and, knowing he must take this visitor into his room, + threw the papers and rubbish over the press, and put up his plates and + papers in a bundle and secreted them somewhere down-stairs, lest his + occupation should be observed. +</p> +<p> + "Plainly, my duty now was to communicate with the police. So, by the help + of my friend the barber down-stairs, a messenger was found and a note + sent over to Scotland Yard. I awaited, of course, for the arrival of the + police, and occupied the interval in another look round—finding nothing + important, however. When the official detective arrived, he recognized at + once the importance of the case. A large number of forged Russian notes + have been put into circulation on the Continent lately, it seems, and it + was suspected that they came from London. The Russian Government have + been sending urgent messages to the police here on the subject. +</p> +<p> + "Of course I said nothing about your business; but, while I was talking + with the Scotland Yard man, a letter was left by a messenger, addressed + to Mirsky. The letter will be examined, of course, by the proper + authorities, but I was not a little interested to perceive that the + envelope bore the Russian imperial arms above the words 'Russian + Embassy.' Now, why should Mirsky communicate with the Russian Embassy? + Certainly not to let the officials know that he was carrying on a very + extensive and lucrative business in the manufacture of spurious Russian + notes. I think it is rather more than possible that he wrote—probably + before he actually got your drawings—to say that he could sell + information of the highest importance, and that this letter was a reply. + Further, I think it quite possible that, when I asked for him by his + Russian name and spoke of 'a confidential letter,' he at once concluded + that <i>I</i> had come from the embassy in answer to his letter. That would + account for his addressing me in Russian through the key-hole; and, of + course, an official from the Russian Embassy would be the very last + person in the world whom he would like to observe any indications of his + little etching experiments. But, anyhow, be that as it may," Hewitt + concluded, "your drawings are safe now, and if once Mirsky is caught, and + I think it likely, for a man in his shirt-sleeves, with scarcely any + start, and, perhaps, no money about him, hasn't a great chance to get + away—if he is caught, I say, he will probably get something handsome at + St. Petersburg in the way of imprisonment, or Siberia, or what not; so + that you will be amply avenged." +</p> +<p> + "Yes, but I don't at all understand this business of the drawings even + now. How in the world were they taken out of the place, and how in the + world did you find it out?" +</p> +<p> + "Nothing could be simpler; and yet the plan was rather ingenious. I'll + tell you exactly how the thing revealed itself to me. From your original + description of the case many people would consider that an impossibility + had been performed. Nobody had gone out and nobody had come in, and yet + the drawings had been taken away. But an impossibility is an + impossibility, after all, and as drawings don't run away of themselves, + plainly somebody had taken them, unaccountable as it might seem. Now, as + they were in your inner office, the only people who could have got at + them besides yourself were your assistants, so that it was pretty clear + that one of them, at least, had something to do with the business. You + told me that Worsfold was an excellent and intelligent draughtsman. Well, + if such a man as that meditated treachery, he would probably be able to + carry away the design in his head—at any rate, a little at a time—and + would be under no necessity to run the risk of stealing a set of the + drawings. But Ritter, you remarked, was an inferior sort of man. 'Not + particularly smart,' I think, were your words—only a mechanical sort of + tracer. <i>He</i> would be unlikely to be able to carry in his head the + complicated details of such designs as yours, and, being in a subordinate + position, and continually overlooked, he would find it impossible to make + copies of the plans in the office. So that, to begin with, I thought I + saw the most probable path to start on. +</p> +<p> + "When I looked round the rooms, I pushed open the glass door of the + barrier and left the door to the inner office ajar, in order to be able + to see any thing that <i>might</i> happen in any part of the place, without + actually expecting any definite development. While we were talking, as it + happened, our friend Mirsky (or Hunter—as you please) came into the + outer office, and my attention was instantly called to him by the first + thing he did. Did you notice anything peculiar yourself?" +</p> +<p> + "No, really, I can't say I did. He seemed to behave much as any traveler + or agent might." +</p> +<p> + "Well, what I noticed was the fact that as soon as he entered the place + he put his walking-stick into the umbrella-stand over there by the door, + close by where he stood, a most unusual thing for a casual caller to do, + before even knowing whether you were in. This made me watch him closely. + I perceived with increased interest that the stick was exactly of the + same kind and pattern as one already standing there, also a curious + thing. I kept my eyes carefully on those sticks, and was all the more + interested and edified to see, when he left, that he took the <i>other</i> + stick—not the one he came with—from the stand, and carried it away, + leaving his own behind. I might have followed him, but I decided that + more could be learned by staying, as, in fact, proved to be the case. + This, by the by, is the stick he carried away with him. I took the + liberty of fetching it back from Westminster, because I conceive it to be + Ritier's property." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt produced the stick. It was an ordinary, thick Malacca cane, with a + buck-horn handle and a silver band. Hewitt bent it across his knee and + laid it on the table. +</p> +<p> + "Yes," Dixon answered, "that is Ritter's stick. I think I have often seen + it in the stand. But what in the world——" +</p> +<p> + "One moment; I'll just fetch the stick Mirsky left behind." And Hewitt + stepped across the corridor. +</p> +<p> + He returned with another stick, apparently an exact fac-simile of the + other, and placed it by the side of the other. +</p> +<p> + "When your assistants went into the inner room, I carried this stick off + for a minute or two. I knew it was not Worsfold's, because there was an + umbrella there with his initial on the handle. Look at this." +</p> +<p> + Martin Hewitt gave the handle a twist and rapidly unscrewed it from the + top. Then it was seen that the stick was a mere tube of very thin metal, + painted to appear like a Malacca cane. +</p> +<p> + "It was plain at once that this was no Malacca cane—it wouldn't bend. + Inside it I found your tracings, rolled up tightly. You can get a + marvelous quantity of thin tracing-paper into a small compass by tight + rolling." +</p> +<p> + "And this—this was the way they were brought back!" the engineer + exclaimed. "I see that clearly. But how did they get away? That's as + mysterious as ever." +</p> +<p> + "Not a bit of it! See here. Mirsky gets hold of Ritter, and they agree to + get your drawings and photograph them. Ritter is to let his confederate + have the drawings, and Mirsky is to bring them back as soon as possible, + so that they sha'n't be missed for a moment. Ritter habitually carries + this Malacca cane, and the cunning of Mirsky at once suggests that this + tube should be made in outward fac-simile. This morning Mirsky keeps the + actual stick, and Ritter comes to the office with the tube. He seizes the + first opportunity—probably when you were in this private room, and + Worsfold was talking to you from the corridor—to get at the tracings, + roll them up tightly, and put them in the tube, putting the tube back + into the umbrella-stand. At half-past twelve, or whenever it was, Mirsky + turns up for the first time with the actual stick and exchanges them, + just as he afterward did when he brought the drawings back." +</p> +<p> + "Yes, but Mirsky came half an hour after they were—Oh, yes, I see. What + a fool I was! I was forgetting. Of course, when I first missed the + tracings, they were in this walking-stick, safe enough, and I was tearing + my hair out within arm's reach of them!" +</p> +<p> + "Precisely. And Mirsky took them away before your very eyes. I expect + Ritter was in a rare funk when he found that the drawings were missed. He + calculated, no doubt, on your not wanting them for the hour or two they + would be out of the office." +</p> +<p> + "How lucky that it struck me to jot a pencil-note on one of them! I might + easily have made my note somewhere else, and then I should never have + known that they had been away." +</p> +<p> + "Yes, they didn't give you any too much time to miss them. Well, I think + the rest pretty clear. I brought the tracings in here, screwed up the + sham stick and put it back. You identified the tracings and found none + missing, and then my course was pretty clear, though it looked difficult. + I knew you would be very naturally indignant with Ritter, so, as I wanted + to manage him myself, I told you nothing of what he had actually done, + for fear that, in your agitated state, you might burst out with something + that would spoil my game. To Ritter I pretended to know nothing of the + return of the drawings or <i>how</i> they had been stolen—the only things I + did know with certainty. But I <i>did</i> pretend to know all about Mirsky—or + Hunter—when, as a matter of fact, I knew nothing at all, except that he + probably went under more than one name. That put Ritter into my hands + completely. When he found the game was up, he began with a lying + confession. Believing that the tracings were still in the stick and that + we knew nothing of their return, he said that they had not been away, and + that he would fetch them—as I had expected he would. I let him go for + them alone, and, when he returned, utterly broken up by the discovery + that they were not there, I had him altogether at my mercy. You see, if + he had known that the drawings were all the time behind your book-case, + he might have brazened it out, sworn that the drawings had been there all + the time, and we could have done nothing with him. We couldn't have + sufficiently frightened him by a threat of prosecution for theft, because + there the things were in your possession, to his knowledge. +</p> +<p> + "As it was he answered the helm capitally: gave us Mirsky's address on + the envelope, and wrote the letter that was to have got him out of the + way while I committed burglary, if that disgraceful expedient had not + been rendered unnecessary. On the whole, the case has gone very well." +</p> +<p> + "It has gone marvelously well, thanks to yourself. But what shall I do + with Ritter?" +</p> +<p> + "Here's his stick—knock him down-stairs with it, if you like. I should + keep the tube, if I were you, as a memento. I don't suppose the + respectable Mirsky will ever call to ask for it. But I should certainly + kick Ritter out of doors—or out of window, if you like—without delay." +</p> +<p> + Mirsky was caught, and, after two remands at the police-court, was + extradited on the charge of forging Russian notes. It came out that he + had written to the embassy, as Hewitt had surmised, stating that he had + certain valuable information to offer, and the letter which Hewitt had + seen delivered was an acknowledgment, and a request for more definite + particulars. This was what gave rise to the impression that Mirsky had + himself informed the Russian authorities of his forgeries. His real + intent was very different, but was never guessed. +</p> +<hr> +<p> + "I wonder," Hewitt has once or twice observed, "whether, after all, it + would not have paid the Russian authorities better on the whole if I had + never investigated Mirsky's little note factory. The Dixon torpedo was + worth a good many twenty-ruble notes." +</p> +<p> </p> +<a name="CH5"></a> +<h3> + V. THE QUINTON JEWEL AFFAIR +</h3> +<p> + It was comparatively rarely that Hewitt came into contact with members of + the regular criminal class—those, I mean, who are thieves, of one sort + or another, by exclusive profession. Still, nobody could have been better + prepared than Hewitt for encountering this class when it became + necessary. By some means, which I never quite understood, he managed to + keep abreast of the very latest fashions in the ever-changing slang + dialect of the fraternity, and he was a perfect master of the more modern + and debased form of Romany. So much so that frequently a gypsy who began + (as they always do) by pretending that he understood nothing, and never + heard of a gypsy language, ended by confessing that Hewitt could <i>rokker</i> + better than most Romany <i>chals</i> themselves. +</p> +<p> + By this acquaintance with their habits and talk Hewitt was sometimes able + to render efficient service in cases of especial importance. In the + Quinton jewel affair Hewitt came into contact with a very accomplished + thief. +</p> +<p> + The case will probably be very well remembered. Sir Valentine Quinton, + before he married, had been as poor as only a man of rank with an old + country establishment to keep up can be. His marriage, however, with the + daughter of a wealthy financier had changed all that, and now the Quinton + establishment was carried on on as lavish a scale as might be; and, + indeed, the extravagant habits of Lady Quinton herself rendered it an + extremely lucky thing that she had brought a fortune with her. +</p> +<p> + Among other things her jewels made quite a collection, and chief among + them was the great ruby, one of the very few that were sent to this + country to be sold (at an average price of somewhere about twenty + thousand pounds apiece, I believe) by the Burmese king before the + annexation of his country. Let but a ruby be of a great size and color, + and no equally fine diamond can approach its value. Well, this great ruby + (which was set in a pendant, by the by), together with a necklace, + brooches, bracelets, ear-rings—indeed, the greater part of Lady + Quinton's collection—were stolen. The robbery was effected at the usual + time and in the usual way in cases of carefully planned jewelry + robberies. The time was early evening—dinner-time, in fact—and an + entrance had been made by the window to Lady Quinton's dressing-room, the + door screwed up on the inside, and wires artfully stretched about the + grounds below to overset anybody who might observe and pursue the + thieves. +</p> +<p> + On an investigation by London detectives, however, a feature of + singularity was brought to light. There had plainly been only one thief + at work at Radcot Hall, and no other had been inside the grounds. Alone + he had planted the wires, opened the window, screwed the door, and picked + the lock of the safe. Clearly this was a thief of the most accomplished + description. +</p> +<p> + Some few days passed, and, although the police had made various arrests, + they appeared to be all mistakes, and the suspected persons were released + one after another. I was talking of the robbery with Hewitt at lunch, and + asked him if he had received any commission to hunt for the missing + jewels. +</p> +<p> + "No," Hewitt replied, "I haven't been commissioned. They are offering an + immense reward however—a very pleasant sum, indeed. I have had a short + note from Radcot Hall informing me of the amount, and that's all. + Probably they fancy that I may take the case up as a speculation, but + that is a great mistake. I'm not a beginner, and I must be commissioned + in a regular manner, hit or miss, if I am to deal with the case. I've + quite enough commissions going now, and no time to waste hunting for a + problematical reward." +</p> +<p> + But we were nearer a clue to the Quinton jewels than we then supposed. +</p> +<p> + We talked of other things, and presently rose and left the restaurant, + strolling quietly toward home. Some little distance from the Strand, and + near our own door, we passed an excited Irishman—without doubt an + Irishman by appearance and talk—who was pouring a torrent of angry + complaints in the ears of a policeman. The policeman obviously thought + little of the man's grievances, and with an amused smile appeared to be + advising him to go home quietly and think no more about it. We passed on + and mounted our stairs. Something interesting in our conversation made me + stop for a little while at Hewitt's office door on my way up, and, while + I stood there, the Irishman we had seen in the street mounted the stairs. + He was a poorly dressed but sturdy-looking fellow, apparently a laborer, + in a badly-worn best suit of clothes. His agitation still held him, and + without a pause he immediately burst out: +</p> +<p> + "Which of ye jintlemen will be Misther Hewitt, sor?" +</p> +<p> + "This is Mr. Hewitt," I said. "Do you want him?" +</p> +<p> + "It's protecshin I want, sor—protecshin! I spake to the polis, an' they + laff at me, begob. Foive days have I lived in London, an' 'tis nothin' + but battle, murdher, an' suddhen death for me here all day an' ivery day! + An' the polis say I'm dhrunk!" +</p> +<p> + He gesticulated wildly, and to me it seemed just possible that the police + might be right. +</p> +<p> + "They say I'm drunk, sor," he continued, "but, begob, I b'lieve they + think I'm mad. An' me being thracked an' folleyed an' dogged an' waylaid + an' poisoned an' blandandhered an' kidnapped an' murdhered, an' for why I + do not know!" +</p> +<p> + "And who's doing all this?' +</p> +<p> + "Sthrangers, sor—sthrangers. 'Tis a sthranger here I am mesilf, an' fwy + they do it bates me, onless I do be so like the Prince av Wales or other + crowned head they thry to slaughter me. They're layin' for me in the + sthreet now, I misdoubt not, and fwat they may thry next I can tell no + more than the Lord Mayor. An' the polis won't listen to me!" +</p> +<p> + This, I thought, must be one of the very common cases of mental + hallucination which one hears of every day—the belief of the sufferer + that he is surrounded by enemies and followed by spies. It is probably + the most usual delusion of the harmless lunatic. +</p> +<p> + "But what have these people done?" Hewitt asked, looking rather + interested, although amused. "What actual assaults have they committed, + and when? And who told you to come here?" +</p> +<p> + "Who towld me, is ut? Who but the payler outside—in the street below! I + explained to 'um, an' sez he: 'Ah, you go an' take a slape,' sez he; 'you + go an' take a good slape, an' they'll be all gone whin ye wake up.' 'But + they'll murdher me,' sez I. 'Oh, no!' sez he, smilin' behind av his ugly + face. 'Oh, no, they won't; you take ut aisy, me frind, an' go home!' + 'Take it aisy, is ut, an' go home!' sez I; 'why, that's just where + they've been last, a-ruinationin' an' a-turnin' av the place upside down, + an' me strook on the head onsensible a mile away. Take ut aisy, is ut, ye + say, whin all the demons in this unholy place is jumpin' on me every + minut in places promiscuous till I can't tell where to turn, descendin' + an' vanishin' marvelious an' onaccountable? Take ut aisy, is ut?' sez I. + 'Well, me frind,' sez he, 'I can't help ye; that's the marvelious an' + onaccountable departmint up the stairs forninst ye. Misther Hewitt ut + is,' sez he, 'that attinds to the onaccountable departmint, him as wint + by a minut ago. You go an' bother him.' That's how I was towld, sor." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt smiled. +</p> +<p> + "Very good," he said; "and now what are these extraordinary troubles of + yours? Don't declaim," he added, as the Irishman raised his hand and + opened his mouth, preparatory to another torrent of complaint; "just say + in ten words, if you can, what they've done to you." +</p> +<p> + "I will, sor. Wan day had I been in London, sor—wan day only, an' a low + scutt thried to poison me dhrink; next day some udther thief av sin + shoved me off av a railway platform undher a train, malicious and + purposeful; glory be, he didn't kill me! but the very docther that felt + me bones thried to pick me pockut, I du b'lieve. Sunday night I was + grabbed outrageous in a darrk turnin', rowled on the groun', half + strangled, an' me pockuts nigh ripped out av me trousies. An' this very + blessed mornin' av light I was strook onsensible an' left a livin' + corpse, an' my lodgin's penethrated an' all the thruck mishandled an' + bruk up behind me back. Is that a panjandhery for the polis to laff at, + sor?" +</p> +<p> + Had Hewitt not been there I think I should have done my best to quiet the + poor fellow with a few soothing words and to persuade him to go home to + his friends. His excited and rather confused manner, his fantastic story + of a sort of general conspiracy to kill him, and the absurd reference to + the doctor who tried to pick his pocket seemed to me plainly to confirm + my first impression that he was insane. But Hewitt appeared strangely + interested. +</p> +<p> + "Did they steal anything?" he asked. +</p> +<p> + "Divil a shtick but me door-key, an' that they tuk home an' lift in the + door." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt opened his office door. +</p> +<p> + "Come in," he said, "and tell me all about this. You come, too, Brett." +</p> +<p> + The Irishman and I followed him into the inner office, where, shutting + the door, Hewitt suddenly turned on the Irishman and exclaimed sharply: + "<i>Then you've still got it</i>?" +</p> +<p> + He looked keenly in the man's eyes, but the only expression there was one + of surprise. +</p> +<p> + "Got ut?" said the Irishman. "Got fwhat, sor? Is ut you're thinkin' I've + got the horrors, as well as the polis?" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt's gaze relaxed. "Sit down, sit down!" he said. "You've still got + your watch and money, I suppose, since you weren't robbed?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, that? Glory be, I have ut still! though for how long—or me own + head, for that matter—in this state of besiegement, I can not say." +</p> +<p> + "Now," said Hewitt, "I want a full, true, and particular account of + yourself and your doings for the last week. First, your name?" +</p> +<p> + "Leamy's my name, sor—Michael Leamy." +</p> +<p> + "Lately from Ireland?" +</p> +<p> + "Over from Dublin this last blessed Wednesday, and a crooil bad + poundherin' tit was in the boat, too—shpakin'av that same." +</p> +<p> + "Looking for work?" +</p> +<p> + "That is my purshuit at prisint, sor." +</p> +<p> + "Did anything noticeable happen before these troubles of yours + began—anything here in London or on the journey?" +</p> +<p> + "Sure," the Irishman smiled, "part av the way I thraveled first-class by + favor av the gyard, an' I got a small job before I lift the train." +</p> +<p> + "How was that? Why did you travel first-class part of the way?" +</p> +<p> + "There was a station fwhere we shtopped afther a long run, an' I got down + to take the cramp out av me joints, an' take a taste av dhrink. I + over-shtayed somehow, an', whin I got to the train, begob, it was on the + move. There was a first-class carr'ge door opin right forninst me, an' + into that the gyard crams me holus-bolus. There was a juce of a foine + jintleman sittin' there, an' he stares at me umbrageous, but I was not + dishcommoded, bein' onbashful by natur'. We thravelled along a heap av + miles more, till we came near London. Afther we had shtopped at a station + where they tuk tickets we wint ahead again, an' prisintly, as we rips + through some udther station, up jumps the jintleman opposite, swearin' + hard undher his tongue, an' looks out at the windy. 'I thought this + train shtopped here,' sez he." +</p> +<p> + "Chalk Farm," observed Hewitt, with a nod. +</p> +<p> + "The name I do not know, sor, but that's fwhat he said. Then he looks at + me onaisy for a little, an' at last he sez: 'Wud ye loike a small job, me + good man, well paid?' +</p> +<p> + "'Faith,' sez I, ''tis that will suit me well.' +</p> +<p> + "'Then, see here,' sez he, 'I should have got out at that station, havin' + particular business; havin' missed, I must sen' a telegrammer from + Euston. Now, here's a bag,' sez he, 'a bag full of imporrtant papers for + my solicitor—imporrtant to me, ye ondershtand, not worth the shine av a + brass farden to a sowl else—an' I want 'em tuk on to him. Take you this + bag,' he sez, 'an' go you straight out wid it at Euston an' get a cab. I + shall stay in the station a bit to see to the telegrammer. Dhrive out av + the station, across the road outside, an' wait there five minuts by the + clock. Ye ondershtand? Wait five minuts, an, maybe I'll come an' join ye. + If I don't 'twill be bekase I'm detained onexpected, an' then ye'll + dhrive to my solicitor straight. Here's his address, if ye can read + writin',' an' he put ut on a piece av paper. He gave me half-a-crown for + the cab, an' I tuk his bag." +</p> +<p> + "One moment—have you the paper with the address now?" +</p> +<p> + "I have not, sor. I missed ut afther the blayguards overset me + yesterday; but the solicitor's name was Hollams, an' a liberal jintleman + wid his money he was, too, by that same token." +</p> +<p> + "What was his address?" +</p> +<p> + "'Twas in Chelsea, and 'twas Gold or Golden something, which I know by + the good token av fwhat he gave me; but the number I misremember." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt turned to his directory. "Gold Street is the place, probably," he + said, "and it seems to be a street chiefly of private houses. You would + be able to point out the house if you were taken there, I suppose?" +</p> +<p> + "I should that, sor; indade, I was thinkin' av goin' there an' tellin' + Misther Hollams all my throubles, him havin' been so kind." +</p> +<p> + "Now tell me exactly what instructions the man in the train gave you, and + what happened?" +</p> +<p> + "He sez: 'You ask for Misther Hollams, an' see nobody else. Tell him + ye've brought the sparks from Misther W.'" +</p> +<p> + I fancied I could see a sudden twinkle in Hewitt's eye, but he made no + other sign, and the Irishman proceeded. +</p> +<p> + "'Sparks?' sez I. 'Yes, sparks,' sez he. 'Misther Hollams will know; 'tis + our jokin' word for 'em; sometimes papers is sparks when they set a + lawsuit ablaze,' and he laffed. 'But be sure ye say the <i>sparks from + Misther W.</i>,' he sez again, 'bekase then he'll know ye're jinuine an' + he'll pay ye han'some. Say Misther W. sez you're to have your reg'lars, + if ye like. D'ye mind that?' +</p> +<p> + "'Ay,' sez I, 'that I'm to have my reg'lars.' +</p> +<p> + "Well, sor, I tuk the bag and wint out of the station, tuk the cab, an' + did all as he towld me. I waited the foive minuts, but he niver came, so + off I druv to Misther Hollams, and he threated me han'some, sor." +</p> +<p> + "Yes, but tell me exactly all he did." +</p> +<p> + "'Misther Hollams, sor?' sez I. 'Who are ye?' sez he. 'Mick Leamy, sor,' + sez I, 'from Misther W. wid the sparks.' 'Oh,' sez he, 'thin come in.' I + wint in. 'They're in here, are they?' sez he, takin' the bag. 'They are, + sor,' sez I, 'an' Misther W. sez I'm to have me reg'lars.' 'You shall,' + sez he. 'What shall we say, now—afinnip?' 'Fwhat's that, sor?' sez I. + 'Oh,' sez he, 'I s'pose ye're a new hand; five quid—ondershtand that?'" +</p> +<p> + "Begob, I did ondershtand it, an' moighty plazed I was to have come to a + place where they pay five-pun' notes for carryin' bags. So whin he asked + me was I new to London an' shud I kape in the same line av business, I + towld him I shud for certin, or any thin' else payin' like it. 'Right,' + sez he; 'let me know whin ye've got any thin'—ye'll find me all right.' + An' he winked frindly. 'Faith, that I know I shall, sor,' sez I, wid the + money safe in me pockut; an' I winked him back, conjanial. 'I've a smart + family about me,' sez he, 'an' I treat 'em all fair an' liberal.' An', + saints, I thought it likely his family 'ud have all they wanted, seein' + he was so free-handed wid a stranger. Thin he asked me where I was a + livin' in London, and, when I towld him nowhere, he towld me av a room in + Musson Street, here by Drury Lane, that was to let, in a house his fam'ly + knew very well, an' I wint straight there an' tuk ut, an' there I do be + stayin' still, sor." +</p> +<p> + I hadn't understood at first why Hewitt took so much interest in the + Irishman's narrative, but the latter part of it opened my eyes a little. + It seemed likely that Leamy had, in his innocence, been made a conveyer + of stolen property. I knew enough of thieves' slang to know that "sparks" + meant diamonds or other jewels; that "regulars" was the term used for a + payment made to a brother thief who gave assistance in some small way, + such as carrying the booty; and that the "family" was the time-honored + expression for a gang of thieves. +</p> +<p> + "This was all on Wednesday, I understand," said Hewitt. "Now tell me what + happened on Thursday—the poisoning, or drugging, you know?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, sor, I was walking out, an' toward the evenin' I lost mesilf. Up + comes a man, seemin'ly a sthranger, and shmacks me on the showldher. + 'Why, Mick!' sez he; 'it's Mick Leamy, I du b'lieve!' +</p> +<p> + "'I am that,' sez I, 'but you I do not know.' +</p> +<p> + "'Not know me?' sez he. 'Why, I wint to school wid ye.' An' wid that he + hauls me off to a bar, blarneyin' and minowdherin', an' orders dhrinks. +</p> +<p> + "Can ye rache me a poipe-loight?' sez he, an' I turned to get ut, but, + lookin' back suddent, there was that onblushin' thief av the warl' + tippin' a paperful of phowder stuff into me glass." +</p> +<p> + "What did you do?" Hewitt asked. +</p> +<p> + "I knocked the dhirty face av him, sor, an' can ye blame me? A mane + scutt, thryin' for to poison a well-manin' sthranger. I knocked the face + av him, an' got away home." +</p> +<p> + "Now the next misfortune?" +</p> +<p> + "Faith, that was av a sort likely to turn out the last of all + misfortunes. I wint that day to the Crystial Palace, bein' dishposed for + a little sphort, seein' as I was new to London. Comin' home at night, + there was a juce av a crowd on the station platform, consekins of a late + thrain. Sthandin' by the edge av the platform at the fore end, just as + thrain came in, some onvisible murdherer gives me a stupenjus drive in + the back, and over I wint on the line, mid-betwixt the rails. The engine + came up an' wint half over me widout givin' me a scratch, bekase av my + centraleous situation, an' then the porther-men pulled me out, nigh sick + wid fright, sor, as ye may guess. A jintleman in the crowd sings out: + 'I'm a medical man!' an' they tuk me in the waitin'-room, an' he + investigated me, havin' turned everybody else out av the room. There wuz + no bones bruk, glory be! and the docthor-man he was tellin' me so, after + feelin' me over, whin I felt his hand in me waistcoat pockut. +</p> +<p> + "'An' fwhat's this, sor?' sez I. 'Do you be lookin' for your fee that + thief's way?' +</p> +<p> + "He laffed, and said: 'I want no fee from ye, me man, an' I did but feel + your ribs,' though on me conscience he had done that undher me waistcoat + already. An' so I came home." +</p> +<p> + "What did they do to you on Saturday?" +</p> +<p> + "Saturday, sor, they gave me a whole holiday, and I began to think less + of things; but on Saturday night, in a dark place, two blayguards tuk me + throat from behind, nigh choked me, flung me down, an' wint through all + me pockuts in about a quarter av a minut." +</p> +<p> + "And they took nothing, you say?" +</p> +<p> + "Nothing, sor. But this mornin' I got my worst dose. I was trapesing + along distreshful an' moighty sore, in a street just away off the Strand + here, when I obsarved the docthor-man that was at the Crystial Palace + station a-smilin' an' beckonin' at me from a door. +</p> +<p> + "'How are ye now?' sez he. 'Well,' sez I, 'I'm moighty sore an' sad + bruised,' sez I. 'Is that so?' sez he. 'Sthep in here.' So I sthepped in, + an' before I could wink there dhropped a crack on the back av me head + that sent me off as unknowledgable as a corrpse. I knew no more for a + while, sor, whether half an hour or an hour, an' thin I got up in a room + av the place, marked 'To Let.' 'Twas a house full av offices, by the same + token, like this. There was a sore bad lump on me head—see ut, sor?—an' + the whole warl' was shpinnin' roun' rampageous. The things out av me + pockuts were lyin' on the flure by me—all barrin' the key av me room. So + that the demons had been through me posseshins again, bad luck to 'em." +</p> +<p> + "You are quite sure, are you, that everything was there except the key?" + Hewitt asked. +</p> +<p> + "Certin, sor? Well, I got along to me room, sick an' sorry enough, an' + doubtsome whether I might get in wid no key. But there was the key in the + open door, an', by this an' that, all the shtuff in the room—chair, + table, bed, an' all—was shtandin' on their heads twisty-ways, an' the + bedclothes an' every thin' else; such a disgraceful stramash av + conglomerated thruck as ye niver dhreamt av. The chist av drawers was + lyin' on uts face, wid all the dhrawers out an' emptied on the flure. + 'Twas as though an arrmy had been lootin', sor!" +</p> +<p> + "But still nothing was gone?" +</p> +<p> + "Nothin', so far as I investigated, sor. But I didn't shtay. I came out + to spake to the polis, an' two av them laffed at me—wan afther another!" +</p> +<p> + "It has certainly been no laughing matter for you. Now, tell me—have you + anything in your possession—documents, or valuables, or anything—that + any other person, to your knowledge, is anxious to get hold of!" +</p> +<p> + "I have not, sor—divil a document! As to valuables, thim an' me is the + cowldest av sthrangers." +</p> +<p> + "Just call to mind, now, the face of the man who tried to put powder in + your drink, and that of the doctor who attended to you in the railway + station. Were they at all alike, or was either like anybody you have seen + before?" +</p> +<p> + Leamy puckered his forehead and thought. +</p> +<p> + "Faith," he said presently, "they were a bit alike, though one had a + beard an' the udther whiskers only." +</p> +<p> + "Neither happened to look like Mr. Hollams, for instance?" +</p> +<p> + Leamy started. "Begob, but they did! They'd ha' been mortal like him if + they'd been shaved." Then, after a pause, he suddenly added: "Holy + saints! is ut the fam'ly he talked av?" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt laughed. "Perhaps it is," he said. "Now, as to the man who sent + you with the bag. Was it an old bag?" +</p> +<p> + "Bran' cracklin' new—a brown leather bag." +</p> +<p> + "Locked?" +</p> +<p> + "That I niver thried, sor. It was not my consarn." +</p> +<p> + "True. Now, as to this Mr. W. himself." Hewitt had been rummaging for + some few minutes in a portfolio, and finally produced a photograph, and + held it before the Irishman's eye. "Is that like him?" he asked. +</p> +<p> + "Shure it's the man himself! Is he a friend av yours, sor?" +</p> +<p> + "No, he's not exactly a friend of mine," Hewitt answered, with a grim + chuckle. "I fancy he's one of that very respectable <i>family</i> you heard + about at Mr. Hollams'. Come along with me now to Chelsea, and see if you + can point out that house in Gold Street. I'll send for a cab." +</p> +<p> + He made for the outer office, and I went with him. +</p> +<p> + "What is all this, Hewitt?" I asked. "A gang of thieves with stolen + property?" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt looked in my face and replied: "<i>It's the Quinton ruby</i>!" +</p> +<p> + "What! The ruby? Shall you take the case up, then?" +</p> +<p> + "I shall. It is no longer a speculation." +</p> +<p> + "Then do you expect to find it at Hollams' house in Chelsea?" I asked. +</p> +<p> + "No, I don't, because it isn't there—else why are they trying to get it + from this unlucky Irishman? There has been bad faith in Hollams' gang, I + expect, and Hollams has missed the ruby and suspects Leamy of having + taken it from the bag." +</p> +<p> + "Then who is this Mr. W. whose portrait you have in your possession?" +</p> +<p> + "See here!" Hewitt turned over a small pile of recent newspapers and + selected one, pointing at a particular paragraph. "I kept that in my + mind, because to me it seemed to be the most likely arrest of the lot," + he said. +</p> +<p> + It was an evening paper of the previous Thursday, and the paragraph was a + very short one, thus: +</p> +<p> + "The man Wilks, who was arrested at Euston Station yesterday, in + connection with the robbery of Lady Quinton's jewels, has been released, + nothing being found to incriminate him." +</p> +<p> + "How does that strike you?" asked Hewitt. "Wilks is a man well known to + the police—one of the most accomplished burglars in this country, in + fact. I have had no dealings with him as yet, but I found means, some + time ago, to add his portrait to my little collection, in case I might + want it, and to-day it has been quite useful." +</p> +<p> + The thing was plain now. Wilks must have been bringing his booty to town, + and calculated on getting out at Chalk Farm and thus eluding the watch + which he doubtless felt pretty sure would be kept (by telegraphic + instruction) at Euston for suspicious characters arriving from the + direction of Radcot. His transaction with Leamy was his only possible + expedient to save himself from being hopelessly taken with the swag in + his possession. The paragraph told me why Leamy had waited in vain for + "Mr. W." in the cab. +</p> +<p> + "What shall you do now?" I asked. +</p> +<p> + "I shall go to the Gold Street house and find out what I can as soon as + this cab turns up." +</p> +<p> + There seemed a possibility of some excitement in the adventure, so I + asked: "Will you want any help?" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt smiled. "I <i>think</i> I can get through it alone," he said. +</p> +<p> + "Then may I come to look on?" I said. "Of course I don't want to be in + your way, and the result of the business, whatever it is, will be to + your credit alone. But I am curious." +</p> +<p> + "Come, then, by all means. The cab will be a four-wheeler, and there will + be plenty of room." +</p> +<hr> +<p> + Gold Street was a short street of private houses of very fair size and of + a half-vanished pretension to gentility. We drove slowly through, and + Leamy had no difficulty in pointing out the house wherein he had been + paid five pounds for carrying a bag. At the end the cab turned the corner + and stopped, while Hewitt wrote a short note to an official of Scotland + Yard. +</p> +<p> + "Take this note," he instructed Leamy, "to Scotland Yard in the cab, and + then go home. I will pay the cabman now." +</p> +<p> + "I will, sor. An' will I be protected?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, yes! Stay at home for the rest of the day, and I expect you'll be + left alone in future. Perhaps I shall have something to tell you in a day + or two; if I do, I'll send. Good-by." +</p> +<p> + The cab rolled off, and Hewitt and I strolled back along Gold Street. "I + think," Hewitt said, "we will drop in on Mr. Hollams for a few minutes + while we can. In a few hours I expect the police will have him, and his + house, too, if they attend promptly to my note." +</p> +<p> + "Have you ever seen him?" +</p> +<p> + "Not to my knowledge, though I may know him by some other name. Wilks I + know by sight, though he doesn't know me." +</p> +<p> + "What shall we say?" +</p> +<p> + "That will depend on circumstances. I may not get my cue till the door + opens, or even till later. At worst, I can easily apply for a reference + as to Leamy, who, you remember, is looking for work." +</p> +<p> + But we were destined not to make Mr. Hollams' acquaintance, after all. As + we approached the house a great uproar was heard from the lower part + giving on to the area, and suddenly a man, hatless, and with a sleeve of + his coat nearly torn away burst through the door and up the area steps, + pursued by two others. I had barely time to observe that one of the + pursuers carried a revolver, and that both hesitated and retired on + seeing that several people were about the street, when Hewitt, gripping + my arm and exclaiming: "That's our man!" started at a run after the + fugitive. +</p> +<p> + We turned the next corner and saw the man thirty yards before us, + walking, and pulling up his sleeve at the shoulder, so as to conceal the + rent. Plainly he felt safe from further molestation. +</p> +<p> + "That's Sim Wilks," Hewitt explained, as we followed, "the 'juce of a + foine jintleman' who got Leamy to carry his bag, and the man who knows + where the Quinton ruby is, unless I am more than usually mistaken. Don't + stare after him, in case he looks round. Presently, when we get into the + busier streets, I shall have a little chat with him." +</p> +<p> + But for some time the man kept to the back streets. In time, however, he + emerged into the Buckingham Palace Road, and we saw him stop and look at + a hat-shop. But after a general look over the window and a glance in at + the door he went on. +</p> +<p> + "Good sign!" observed Hewitt; "got no money with him—makes it easier for + us." +</p> +<p> + In a little while Wilks approached a small crowd gathered about a woman + fiddler. Hewitt touched my arm, and a few quick steps took us past our + man and to the opposite side of the crowd. When Wilks emerged, he met us + coming in the opposite direction. +</p> +<p> + "What, Sim!" burst out Hewitt with apparent delight. "I haven't piped + your mug<a href="#note-A"><small><sup>[A]</sup></small></a> + for a stretch;<a href="#note-B"><small><sup>[B]</sup></small></a> + I thought you'd fell.<a href="#note-C"><small><sup>[C]</sup></small></a> + Where's your cady?"<a href="#note-D"><small><sup>[D]</sup></small></a> +</p> +<a name="note-A"></a> +<p> +<sup><u>A</u></sup> [Seen your face.] +</p> +<a name="note-B"></a> +<p> +<sup><u>B</u></sup> [A year.] +</p> +<a name="note-C"></a> +<p> +<sup><u>C</u></sup> [Been imprisoned.] +</p> +<a name="note-D"></a> +<p> +<sup><u>D</u></sup> [Hat.] +</p> +<p> + Wilks looked astonished and suspicious. "I don't know you," he said. + "You've made a mistake." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt laughed. "I'm glad you don't know me," he said. "If you don't, + I'm pretty sure the + reelers<a href="#note-E"><small><sup>[E]</sup></small></a> won't. + I think I've faked my mug pretty well, and my + clobber,<a href="#note-F"><small><sup>[F]</sup></small></a> too. + Look here: I'll stand you a new cady. Strange blokes don't do that, eh?" +</p> +<a name="note-E"></a> +<p> +<sup><u>E</u></sup> [Police.] +</p> +<a name="note-F"></a> +<p> +<sup><u>F</u></sup> [Clothes.] +</p> +<p> + Wilks was still suspicious. "I don't know what you mean," he said. Then, + after a pause, he added: "Who are you, then?" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt winked and screwed his face genially aside. "Hooky!" he said. "I've had + a lucky touch<a href="#note-G"><small><sup>[G]</sup></small></a> and + I'm Mr. Smith till I've melted the + pieces.<a href="#note-H"><small><sup>[H]</sup></small></a> You come + and damp it." +</p> +<a name="note-G"></a> +<p> +<sup><u>G</u></sup> [Robbery.] +</p> +<a name="note-H"></a> +<p> +<sup><u>H</u></sup> [Spent the money.] +</p> +<p> + "I'm off," Wilks replied. "Unless you're pal enough to lend me a quid," + he added, laughing. +</p> +<p> + "I am that," responded Hewitt, plunging his hand in his pocket. "I'm + flush, my boy, flush, and I've been wetting it pretty well to-day. I feel + pretty jolly now, and I shouldn't wonder if I went home + cannon.<a href="#note-I"><small><sup>[I]</sup></small></a> Only a + quid? Have two, if you want 'em—or three; there's plenty more, and + you'll do the same for me some day. Here y'are." +</p> +<a name="note-I"></a> +<p> +<sup><u>I</u></sup> [Drunk.] +</p> +<p> + Hewitt had, of a sudden, assumed the whole appearance, manners, and + bearing of a slightly elevated rowdy. Now he pulled his hand from his + pocket and extended it, full of silver, with five or six sovereigns + interspersed, toward Wilks. +</p> +<p> + "I'll have three quid," Wilks said, with decision, taking the money; "but + I'm blowed if I remember you. Who's your pal?" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt jerked his hand in my direction, winked, and said, in a low voice: + "He's all right. Having a rest. Can't stand Manchester," and winked + again. +</p> +<p> + Wilks laughed and nodded, and I understood from that that Hewitt had very + flatteringly given me credit for being "wanted" by the Manchester police. +</p> +<p> + We lurched into a public house, and drank a very little very bad whisky + and water. Wilks still regarded us curiously, and I could see him again + and again glancing doubtfully in Hewitt's face. But the loan of three + pounds had largely reassured him. Presently Hewitt said: +</p> +<p> + "How about our old pal down in Gold Street? Do anything with him now? + Seen him lately?" +</p> +<p> + Wilks looked up at the ceiling and shook his head. +</p> +<p> + "That's a good job. It 'ud be awkward if you were about there to-day, I + can tell you." +</p> +<p> + "Why?" +</p> +<p> + "Never mind, so long as you're not there. I know something, if I <i>have</i> + been away. I'm glad I haven't had any truck with Gold Street lately, + that's all." +</p> +<p> + "D'you mean the reelers are on it?" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt looked cautiously over his shoulder, leaned toward Wilks, and + said: "Look here: this is the straight tip. I know this—I got it from + the very nark<a href="#note-J"><small><sup>[J]</sup></small></a> that's + given the show away: By six o'clock No. 8 Gold + Street will be turned inside out, like an old glove, and everyone in the + place will be——" He finished the sentence by crossing his wrists like + a handcuffed man. "What's more," he went on, "they know all about what's + gone on there lately, and everybody that's been in or out for the last + two moons<a href="#note-K"><small><sup>[K]</sup></small></a> will + be wanted particular—and will be found, I'm told." + Hewitt concluded with a confidential frown, a nod, and a wink, and took + another mouthful of whisky. Then he added, as an after-thought: "So I'm + glad you haven't been there lately." +</p> +<a name="note-J"></a> +<p> +<sup><u>J</u></sup> [Police spy.] +</p> +<a name="note-K"></a> +<p> +<sup><u>K</u></sup> [Months.] +</p> +<p> + Wilks looked in Hewitt's face and asked: "Is that straight?" +</p> +<p> + "<i>Is</i> it?" replied Hewitt with emphasis. "You go and have a look, if you + ain't afraid of being smugged yourself. Only <i>I</i> shan't go near No. 8 + just yet—I know that." +</p> +<p> + Wilks fidgeted, finished his drink, and expressed his intention of going. + "Very well, if you <i>won't</i> have another——" replied Hewitt. But he had + gone. +</p> +<p> + "Good!" said Hewitt, moving toward the door; "he has suddenly developed a + hurry. I shall keep him in sight, but you had better take a cab and go + straight to Euston. Take tickets to the nearest station to + Radcot—Kedderby, I think it is—and look up the train arrangements. + Don't show yourself too much, and keep an eye on the entrance. Unless I + am mistaken, Wilks will be there pretty soon, and I shall be on his + heels. If I <i>am</i> wrong, then you won't see the end of the fun, that's + all." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt hurried after Wilks, and I took the cab and did as he wished. + There was an hour and a few minutes, I found, to wait for the next train, + and that time I occupied as best I might, keeping a sharp lookout across + the quadrangle. Barely five minutes before the train was to leave, and + just as I was beginning to think about the time of the next, a cab dashed + up and Hewitt alighted. He hurried in, found me, and drew me aside into a + recess, just as another cab arrived. +</p> +<p> + "Here he is," Hewitt said. "I followed him as far as Euston Road and + then got my cabby to spurt up and pass him. He had had his mustache + shaved off, and I feared you mightn't recognize him, and so let him see + you." +</p> +<p> + From our retreat we could see Wilks hurry into the booking-office. We + watched him through to the platform and followed. He wasted no time, but + made the best of his way to a third-class carriage at the extreme fore + end of the train. +</p> +<p> + "We have three minutes," Hewitt said, "and everything depends on his not + seeing us get into this train. Take this cap. Fortunately, we're both in + tweed suits." +</p> +<p> + He had bought a couple of tweed cricket caps, and these we assumed, + sending our "bowler" hats to the cloak-room. Hewitt also put on a pair of + blue spectacles, and then walked boldly up the platform and entered a + first-class carriage. I followed close on his heels, in such a manner + that a person looking from the fore end of the train would be able to see + but very little of me. +</p> +<p> + "So far so good," said Hewitt, when we were seated and the train began to + move off. "I must keep a lookout at each station, in case our friend goes + off unexpectedly." +</p> +<p> + "I waited some time," I said; "where did you both go to?" +</p> +<p> + "First he went and bought that hat he is wearing. Then he walked some + distance, dodging the main thoroughfares and keeping to the back streets + in a way that made following difficult, till he came to a little tailor's + shop. There he entered and came out in a quarter of an hour with his coat + mended. This was in a street in Westminster. Presently he worked his way + up to Tothill Street, and there he plunged into a barber's shop. I took a + cautious peep at the window, saw two or three other customers also + waiting, and took the opportunity to rush over to a 'notion' shop and buy + these blue spectacles, and to a hatter's for these caps—of which I + regret to observe that yours is too big. He was rather a long while in + the barber's, and finally came out, as you saw him, with no mustache. + This was a good indication. It made it plainer than ever that he had + believed my warning as to the police descent on the house in Gold Street + and its frequenters; which was right and proper, for what I told him was + quite true. The rest you know. He cabbed to the station, and so did I." +</p> +<p> + "And now perhaps," I said, "after giving me the character of a thief + wanted by the Manchester police, forcibly depriving me of my hat in + exchange for this all-too-large cap, and rushing me off out of London + without any definite idea of when I'm coming back, perhaps you'll tell me + what we're after?" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt laughed. "You wanted to join in, you know," he said, "and you + must take your luck as it comes. As a matter of fact there is scarcely + anything in my profession so uninteresting and so difficult as this + watching and following business. Often it lasts for weeks. When we + alight, we shall have to follow Wilks again, under the most difficult + possible conditions, in the country. There it is often quite impossible + to follow a man unobserved. It is only because it is the only way that I + am undertaking it now. As to what we're after, you know that as well as + I—the Quinton ruby. Wilks has hidden it, and without his help it would + be impossible to find it. We are following him so that he will find it + for us." +</p> +<p> + "He must have hidden it, I suppose, to avoid sharing with Hollams?" +</p> +<p> + "Of course, and availed himself of the fact of Leamy having carried the + bag to direct Hollams's suspicion to him. Hollams found out by his + repeated searches of Leamy and his lodgings, that this was wrong, and + this morning evidently tried to persuade the ruby out of Wilks' + possession with a revolver. We saw the upshot of that." +</p> +<p> + Kedderby Station was about forty miles out. At each intermediate stopping + station Hewitt watched earnestly, but Wilks remained in the train. "What + I fear," Hewitt observed, "is that at Kedderby he may take a fly. To stalk + a man on foot in the country is difficult enough; but you <i>can't</i> follow + one vehicle in another without being spotted. But if he's so smart as I + think, he won't do it. A man traveling in a fly is noticed and remembered + in these places." +</p> +<p> + He did <i>not</i> take a fly. At Kedderby we saw him jump out quickly and + hasten from the station. The train stood for a few minutes, and he was + out of the station before we alighted. Through the railings behind the + platform we could see him walking briskly away to the right. From the + ticket collector we ascertained that Radcot lay in that direction, three + miles off. +</p> +<p> + To my dying day I shall never forget that three miles. They seemed three + hundred. In the still country almost every footfall seemed audible for + any distance, and in the long stretches of road one could see half a mile + behind or before. Hewitt was cool and patient, but I got into a fever of + worry, excitement, want of breath, and back-ache. At first, for a little, + the road zig-zagged, and then the chase was comparatively easy. We waited + behind one bend till Wilks had passed the next, and then hurried in his + trail, treading in the dustiest parts of the road or on the side grass, + when there was any, to deaden the sound of our steps. +</p> +<p> + At the last of these short bends we looked ahead and saw a long, white + stretch of road with the dark form of Wilks a couple of hundred yards in + front. It would never do to let him get to the end of this great stretch + before following, as he might turn off at some branch road out of sight + and be lost. So we jumped the hedge and scuttled along as we best might + on the other side, with backs bent, and our feet often many inches deep + in wet clay. We had to make continual stoppages to listen and peep out, + and on one occasion, happening, incautiously, to stand erect, looking + after him, I was much startled to see Wilks, with his face toward me, + gazing down the road. I ducked like lightning, and, fortunately, he + seemed not to have observed me, but went on as before. He had probably + heard some slight noise, but looked straight along the road for its + explanation, instead of over the hedge. At hilly parts of the road there + was extreme difficulty; indeed, on approaching a rise it was usually + necessary to lie down under the hedge till Wilks had passed the top, + since from the higher ground he could have seen us easily. This improved + neither my clothes, my comfort, nor my temper. Luckily we never + encountered the difficulty of a long and high wall, but once we were + nearly betrayed by a man who shouted to order us off his field. +</p> +<p> + At last we saw, just ahead, the square tower of an old church, set about + with thick trees. Opposite this Wilks paused, looked irresolutely up and + down the road, and then went on. We crossed the road, availed ourselves + of the opposite hedge, and followed. The village was to be seen some + three or four hundred yards farther along the road, and toward it Wilks + sauntered slowly. Before he actually reached the houses he stopped and + turned back. +</p> +<p> + "The churchyard!" exclaimed Hewitt, under his breath. "Lie close and let + him pass." +</p> +<p> + Wilks reached the churchyard gate, and again looked irresolutely about + him. At that moment a party of children, who had been playing among the + graves, came chattering and laughing toward and out of the gate, and + Wilks walked hastily away again, this time in the opposite direction. +</p> +<p> + "That's the place, clearly," Hewitt said. "We must slip across quietly, + as soon as he's far enough down the road. Now!" +</p> +<p> + We hurried stealthily across, through the gate, and into the churchyard, + where Hewitt threw his blue spectacles away. It was now nearly eight in + the evening, and the sun was setting. Once again Wilks approached the + gate, and did not enter, because a laborer passed at the time. Then he + came back and slipped through. +</p> +<p> + The grass about the graves was long, and under the trees it was already + twilight. Hewitt and I, two or three yards apart, to avoid falling over + one another in case of sudden movement, watched from behind gravestones. + The form of Wilks stood out large and black against the fading light in + the west as he stealthily approached through the long grass. A light cart + came clattering along the road, and Wilks dropped at once and crouched on + his knees till it had passed. Then, staring warily about him, he made + straight for the stone behind which Hewitt waited. +</p> +<p> + I saw Hewitt's dark form swing noiselessly round to the other side of + the stone. Wilks passed on and dropped on his knee beside a large, + weather-worn slab that rested on a brick under-structure a foot or so + high. The long grass largely hid the bricks, and among it Wilks plunged + his hand, feeling along the brick surface. Presently he drew out a loose + brick, and laid it on the slab. He felt again in the place, and brought + forth a small dark object. I saw Hewitt rise erect in the gathering dusk, + and with extended arm step noiselessly toward the stooping man. Wilks + made a motion to place the dark object in his pocket, but checked + himself, and opened what appeared to be a lid, as though to make sure of + the safety of the contents. The last light, straggling under the trees, + fell on a brilliantly sparkling object within, and like a flash Hewitt's + hand shot over Wilks' shoulder and snatched the jewel. +</p> +<p> + The man actually screamed—one of those curious sharp little screams that + one may hear from a woman very suddenly alarmed. But he sprang at Hewitt + like a cat, only to meet a straight drive of the fist that stretched him + on his back across the slab. I sprang from behind my stone, and helped + Hewitt to secure his wrists with a pocket-handkerchief. Then we marched + him, struggling and swearing, to the village. +</p> +<p> + When, in the lights of the village, he recognized us, he had a perfect + fit of rage, but afterward he calmed down, and admitted that it was a + "very clean cop." There was some difficulty in finding the village + constable, and Sir Valentine Quinton was dining out and did not arrive + for at least an hour. In the interval Wilks grew communicative. +</p> +<p> + "How much d'ye think I'll get?" he asked. +</p> +<p> + "Can't guess," Hewitt replied. "And as we shall probably have to give + evidence, you'll be giving yourself away if you talk too much." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, I don't care; that'll make no difference. It's a fair cop, and I'm + in for it. You got at me nicely, lending me three quid. I never knew a + reeler do that before. That blinded me. But was it kid about Gold + Street?" +</p> +<p> + "No, it wasn't. Mr. Hollams is safely shut up by this time, I expect, + and you are avenged for your little trouble with him this afternoon." +</p> +<p> + "What did you know about that? Well, you've got it up nicely for me, I + must say. S'pose you've been following me all the time?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, yes; I haven't been far off. I guessed you'd want to clear out of + town if Hollams was taken, and I knew this"—Hewitt tapped his breast + pocket—"was what you'd take care to get hold of first. You hid it, of + course, because you knew that Hollams would probably have you searched + for it if he got suspicious?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, he did, too. Two blokes went over my pockets one night, and + somebody got into my room. But I expected that, Hollams is such a greedy + pig. Once he's got you under his thumb he don't give you half your + makings, and, if you kick, he'll have you smugged. So that I wasn't going + to give him <i>that</i> if I could help it. I s'pose it ain't any good asking + how you got put on to our mob?" +</p> +<p> + "No," said Hewitt, "it isn't." +</p> +<hr> +<p> + We didn't get back till the next day, staying for the night, despite an + inconvenient want of requisites, at the Hall. There were, in fact, no + late trains. We told Sir Valentine the story of the Irishman, much to his + amusement. +</p> +<p> + "Leamy's tale sounded unlikely, of course," Hewitt said, "but it was + noticeable that every one of his misfortunes pointed in the same + direction—that certain persons were tremendously anxious to get at + something they supposed he had. When he spoke of his adventure with the + bag, I at once remembered Wilks' arrest and subsequent release. It was a + curious coincidence, to say the least, that this should happen at the + very station to which the proceeds of this robbery must come, if they + came to London at all, and on the day following the robbery itself. + Kedderby is one of the few stations on this line where no trains would + stop after the time of the robbery, so that the thief would have to wait + till the next day to get back. Leamy's recognition of Wilks' portrait + made me feel pretty certain. Plainly, he had carried stolen property; the + poor, innocent fellow's conversation with Hollams showed that, as, in + fact, did the sum, five pounds, paid to him by way of 'regulars,' or + customary toll, from the plunder of services of carriage. Hollams + obviously took Leamy for a criminal friend of Wilks', because of his use + of the thieves' expressions 'sparks' and 'regulars,' and suggested, in + terms which Leamy misunderstood, that he should sell any plunder he might + obtain to himself, Hollams. Altogether it would have been very curious if + the plunder were <i>not</i> that from Radcot Hall, especially as no other + robbery had been reported at the time. +</p> +<p> + "Now, among the jewels taken, only one was of a very pre-eminent + value—the famous ruby. It was scarcely likely that Hollams would go to + so much trouble and risk, attempting to drug, injuring, waylaying, and + burgling the rooms of the unfortunate Leamy, for a jewel of small + value—for any jewel, in fact, but the ruby. So that I felt a pretty + strong presumption, at all events, that it was the ruby Hollams was + after. Leamy had not had it, I was convinced, from his tale and his + manner, and from what I judged of the man himself. The only other person + was Wilks, and certainly he had a temptation to keep this to himself, and + avoid, if possible, sharing with his London director, or principal; while + the carriage of the bag by the Irishman gave him a capital opportunity to + put suspicion on him, with the results seen. The most daring of Hollams' + attacks on Leamy was doubtless the attempted maiming or killing at the + railway station, so as to be able, in the character of a medical man, to + search his pockets. He was probably desperate at the time, having, I have + no doubt, been following Leamy about all day at the Crystal Palace + without finding an opportunity to get at his pockets. +</p> +<p> + "The struggle and flight of Wilks from Hollams' confirmed my previous + impressions. Hollams, finally satisfied that very morning that Leamy + certainly had not the jewel, either on his person or at his lodging, and + knowing, from having so closely watched him, that he had been nowhere + where it could be disposed of, concluded that Wilks was cheating him, and + attempted to extort the ruby from him by the aid of another ruffian and a + pistol. The rest of my way was plain. Wilks, I knew, would seize the + opportunity of Hollams' being safely locked up to get at and dispose of + the ruby. I supplied him with funds and left him to lead us to his + hiding-place. He did it, and I think that's all." +</p> +<p> + "He must have walked straight away from my house to the churchyard," Sir + Valentine remarked, "to hide that pendant. That was fairly cool." +</p> +<p> + "Only a cool hand could carry out such a robbery single-handed," Hewitt + answered. "I expect his tools were in the bag that Leamy carried, as well + as the jewels. They must have been a small and neat set." +</p> +<p> + They were. We ascertained on our return to town the next day that the + bag, with all its contents intact, including the tools, had been taken by + the police at their surprise visit to No. 8 Gold Street, as well as much + other stolen property. +</p> +<p> + Hollams and Wilks each got very wholesome doses of penal servitude, to + the intense delight of Mick Leamy. Leamy himself, by the by, is still to + be seen, clad in a noble uniform, guarding the door of a well-known + London restaurant. He has not had any more five-pound notes for carrying + bags, but knows London too well now to expect it. +</p> +<p> </p> +<a name="CH6"></a> +<h3> + VI. THE STANWAY CAMEO MYSTERY +</h3> +<p> + It is now a fair number of years back since the loss of the famous + Stanway Cameo made its sensation, and the only person who had the least + interest in keeping the real facts of the case secret has now been dead + for some time, leaving neither relatives nor other representatives. + Therefore no harm will be done in making the inner history of the case + public; on the contrary, it will afford an opportunity of vindicating the + professional reputation of Hewitt, who is supposed to have completely + failed to make anything of the mystery surrounding the case. At the + present time connoisseurs in ancient objects of art are often heard + regretfully to wonder whether the wonderful cameo, so suddenly discovered + and so quickly stolen, will ever again be visible to the public eye. Now + this question need be asked no longer. +</p> +<p> + The cameo, as may be remembered from the many descriptions published at + the time, was said to be absolutely the finest extant. It was a sardonyx + of three strata—one of those rare sardonyx cameos in which it has been + possible for the artist to avail himself of three different colors of + superimposed stone—the lowest for the ground and the two others for the + middle and high relief of the design. In size it was, for a cameo, + immense, measuring seven and a half inches by nearly six. In subject it + was similar to the renowned Gonzaga Cameo—now the property of the Czar + of Russia—a male and a female head with imperial insignia; but in this + case supposed to represent Tiberius Claudius and Messalina. Experts + considered it probably to be the work of Athenion, a famous gem-cutter of + the first Christian century, whose most notable other work now extant is + a smaller cameo, with a mythological subject, preserved in the Vatican. +</p> +<p> + The Stanway Cameo had been discovered in an obscure Italian village by + one of those traveling agents who scour all Europe for valuable + antiquities and objects of art. This man had hurried immediately to + London with his prize, and sold it to Mr. Claridge of St. James Street, + eminent as a dealer in such objects. Mr. Claridge, recognizing the + importance and value of the article, lost no opportunity of making its + existence known, and very soon the Claudius Cameo, as it was at first + usually called, was as famous as any in the world. Many experts in + ancient art examined it, and several large bids were made for its + purchase. +</p> +<p> + In the end it was bought by the Marquis of Stanway for five thousand + pounds for the purpose of presentation to the British Museum. The marquis + kept the cameo at his town house for a few days, showing it to his + friends, and then returned it to Mr. Claridge to be finally and carefully + cleaned before passing into the national collection. Two nights after Mr. + Claridge's premises were broken into and the cameo stolen. +</p> +<p> + Such, in outline, was the generally known history of the Stanway Cameo. + The circumstances of the burglary in detail were these: Mr. Claridge had + himself been the last to leave the premises at about eight in the + evening, at dusk, and had locked the small side door as usual. His + assistant, Mr. Cutler, had left an hour and a half earlier. When Mr. + Claridge left, everything was in order, and the policeman on fixed-point + duty just opposite, who bade Mr. Claridge good-evening as he left, saw + nothing suspicious during the rest of his term of duty, nor did his + successors at the point throughout the night. +</p> +<p> + In the morning, however, Mr. Cutler, the assistant, who arrived first, + soon after nine o'clock, at once perceived that something unlooked-for + had happened. The door, of which he had a key, was still fastened, and + had not been touched; but in the room behind the shop Mr. Claridge's + private desk had been broken open, and the contents turned out in + confusion. The door leading on to the staircase had also been forced. + Proceeding up the stairs, Mr. Cutler found another door open, leading + from the top landing to a small room; this door had been opened by the + simple expedient of unscrewing and taking off the lock, which had been on + the inside. In the ceiling of this room was a trap-door, and this was six + or eight inches open, the edge resting on the half-wrenched-off bolt, + which had been torn away when the trap was levered open from the outside. +</p> +<p> + Plainly, then, this was the path of the thief or thieves. Entrance had + been made through the trap-door, two more doors had been opened, and then + the desk had been ransacked. Mr. Cutler afterward explained that at this + time he had no precise idea what had been stolen, and did not know where + the cameo had been left on the previous evening. Mr. Claridge had himself + undertaken the cleaning, and had been engaged on it, the assistant said, + when he left. +</p> +<p> + There was no doubt, however, after Mr. Claridge's arrival at ten + o'clock—the cameo was gone. Mr. Claridge, utterly confounded at his + loss, explained incoherently, and with curses on his own carelessness, + that he had locked the precious article in his desk on relinquishing + work on it the previous evening, feeling rather tired, and not taking the + trouble to carry it as far as the safe in another part of the house. +</p> +<p> + The police were sent for at once, of course, and every investigation + made, Mr. Claridge offering a reward of five hundred pounds for the + recovery of the cameo. The affair was scribbled off at large in the + earliest editions of the evening papers, and by noon all the world was + aware of the extraordinary theft of the Stanway Cameo, and many people + were discussing the probabilities of the case, with very indistinct ideas + of what a sardonyx cameo precisely was. +</p> +<p> + It was in the afternoon of this day that Lord Stanway called on Martin + Hewitt. The marquis was a tall, upstanding man of spare figure and active + habits, well known as a member of learned societies and a great patron of + art. He hurried into Hewitt's private room as soon as his name had been + announced, and, as soon as Hewitt had given him a chair, plunged into + business. +</p> +<p> + "Probably you already guess my business with you, Mr. Hewitt—you have + seen the early evening papers? Just so; then I needn't tell you again + what you already know. My cameo is gone, and I badly want it back. Of + course the police are hard at work at Claridge's, but I'm not quite + satisfied. I have been there myself for two or three hours, and can't see + that they know any more about it than I do myself. Then, of course, the + police, naturally and properly enough from their point of view, look + first to find the criminal, regarding the recovery of the property almost + as a secondary consideration. Now, from <i>my</i> point of view, the chief + consideration is the property. Of course I want the thief caught, if + possible, and properly punished; but still more I want the cameo." +</p> +<p> + "Certainly it is a considerable loss. Five thousand pounds——" +</p> +<p> + "Ah, but don't misunderstand me! It isn't the monetary value of the thing + that I regret. As a matter of fact, I am indemnified for that already. + Claridge has behaved most honorably—more than honorably. Indeed, the + first intimation I had of the loss was a check from him for five thousand + pounds, with a letter assuring me that the restoration to me of the + amount I had paid was the least he could do to repair the result of what + he called his unpardonable carelessness. Legally, I'm not sure that I + could demand anything of him, unless I could prove very flagrant neglect + indeed to guard against theft." +</p> +<p> + "Then I take it, Lord Stanway," Hewitt observed, "that you much prefer + the cameo to the money?" +</p> +<p> + "Certainly. Else I should never have been willing to pay the money for + the cameo. It was an enormous price—perhaps much above the market value, + even for such a valuable thing—but I was particularly anxious that it + should not go out of the country. Our public collections here are not so + fortunate as they should be in the possession of the very finest examples + of that class of work. In short, I had determined on the cameo, and, + fortunately, happen to be able to carry out determinations of that sort + without regarding an extra thousand pounds or so as an obstacle. So that, + you see, what I want is not the value, but the thing itself. Indeed, I + don't think I can possibly keep the money Claridge has sent me; the + affair is more his misfortune than his fault. But I shall say nothing + about returning it for a little while; it may possibly have the effect of + sharpening everybody in the search." +</p> +<p> + "Just so. Do I understand that you would like me to look into the case + independently, on your behalf?" +</p> +<p> + "Exactly. I want you, if you can, to approach the matter entirely from my + point of view—your sole object being to find the cameo. Of course, if + you happen on the thief as well, so much the better. Perhaps, after all, + looking for the one is the same thing as looking for the other?" +</p> +<p> + "Not always; but usually it is, or course; even if they are not + together, they certainly <i>have</i> been at one time, and to have one is a + very long step toward having the other. Now, to begin with, is anybody + suspected?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, the police are reserved, but I believe the fact is they've nothing + to say. Claridge won't admit that he suspects any one, though he believes + that whoever it was must have watched him yesterday evening through the + back window of his room, and must have seen him put the cameo away in his + desk; because the thief would seem to have gone straight to the place. + But I half fancy that, in his inner mind, he is inclined to suspect one + of two people. You see, a robbery of this sort is different from others. + That cameo would never be stolen, I imagine, with the view of its being + sold—it is much too famous a thing; a man might as well walk about + offering to sell the Tower of London. There are only a very few people + who buy such things, and every one of them knows all about it. No dealer + would touch it; he could never even show it, much less sell it, without + being called to account. So that it really seems more likely that it has + been taken by somebody who wishes to keep it for mere love of the + thing—a collector, in fact—who would then have to keep it secretly at + home, and never let a soul besides himself see it, living in the + consciousness that at his death it must be found and this theft known; + unless, indeed, an ordinary vulgar burglar has taken it without knowing + its value." +</p> +<p> + "That isn't likely," Hewitt replied. "An ordinary burglar, ignorant of + its value, wouldn't have gone straight to the cameo and have taken it in + preference to many other things of more apparent worth, which must be + lying near in such a place as Claridge's." +</p> +<p> + "True—I suppose he wouldn't. Although the police seem to think that the + breaking in is clearly the work of a regular criminal—from the + jimmy-marks, you know, and so on." +</p> +<p> + "Well, but what of the two people you think Mr. Claridge suspects?" +</p> +<p> + "Of course I can't say that he does suspect them—I only fancied from his + tone that it might be possible; he himself insists that he can't, in + justice, suspect anybody. One of these men is Hahn, the traveling agent + who sold him the cameo. This man's character does not appear to be + absolutely irreproachable; no dealer trusts him very far. Of course + Claridge doesn't say what he paid him for the cameo; these dealers are + very reticent about their profits, which I believe are as often something + like five hundred per cent as not. But it seems Hahn bargained to have + something extra, depending on the amount Claridge could sell the carving + for. According to the appointment he should have turned up this morning, + but he hasn't been seen, and nobody seems to know exactly where he is." +</p> +<p> + "Yes; and the other person?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, I scarcely like mentioning him, because he is certainly a + gentleman, and I believe, in the ordinary way, quite incapable of + anything in the least degree dishonorable; although, of course, they say + a collector has no conscience in the matter of his own particular hobby, + and certainly Mr. Wollett is as keen a collector as any man alive. He + lives in chambers in the next turning past Claridge's premises—can, in + fact, look into Claridge's back windows if he likes. He examined the + cameo several times before I bought it, and made several high + offers—appeared, in fact, very anxious indeed to get it. After I had + bought it he made, I understand, some rather strong remarks about people + like myself 'spoiling the market' by paying extravagant prices, and + altogether cut up 'crusty,' as they say, at losing the specimen." Lord + Stanway paused a few seconds, and then went on: "I'm not sure that I + ought to mention Mr. Woollett's name for a moment in connection with such + a matter; I am personally perfectly certain that he is as incapable of + anything like theft as myself. But I am telling you all I know." +</p> +<p> + "Precisely. I can't know too much in a case like this. It can do no harm + if I know all about fifty innocent people, and may save me from the risk + of knowing nothing about the thief. Now, let me see: Mr. Wollett's rooms, + you say, are near Mr. Claridge's place of business? Is there any means of + communication between the roofs?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, I am told that it is perfectly possible to get from one place to + the other by walking along the leads." +</p> +<p> + "Very good! Then, unless you can think of any other information that may + help me, I think, Lord Stanway, I will go at once and look at the place." +</p> +<p> + "Do, by all means. I think I'll come back with you. Somehow, I don't like + to feel idle in the matter, though I suppose I can't do much. As to more + information, I don't think there is any." +</p> +<p> + "In regard to Mr. Claridge's assistant, now: Do you know anything of + him?" +</p> +<p> + "Only that he has always seemed a very civil and decent sort of man. + Honest, I should say, or Claridge wouldn't have kept him so many + years—there are a good many valuable things about at Claridge's. + Besides, the man has keys of the place himself, and, even if he were a + thief, he wouldn't need to go breaking in through the roof." +</p> +<p> + "So that," said Hewitt, "we have, directly connected with this cameo, + besides yourself, these people: Mr. Claridge, the dealer; Mr. Cutler, the + assistant in Mr. Claridge's business; Hahn, who sold the article to + Claridge, and Mr. Woollett, who made bids for it. These are all?" +</p> +<p> + "All that I know of. Other gentlemen made bids, I believe, but I don't + know them." +</p> +<p> + "Take these people in their order. Mr. Claridge is out of the question, + as a dealer with a reputation to keep up would be, even if he hadn't + immediately sent you this five thousand pounds—more than the market + value, I understand, of the cameo. The assistant is a reputable man, + against whom nothing is known, who would never need to break in, and who + must understand his business well enough to know that he could never + attempt to sell the missing stone without instant detection. Hahn is a + man of shady antecedents, probably clever enough to know as well as + anybody how to dispose of such plunder—if it be possible to dispose of + it at all; also, Hahn hasn't been to Claridge's to-day, although he had + an appointment to take money. Lastly, Mr. Woollett is a gentleman of the + most honorable record, but a perfectly rabid collector, who had made + every effort to secure the cameo before you bought it; who, moreover, + could have seen Mr. Claridge working in his back room, and who has + perfectly easy access to Mr. Claridge's roof. If we find it can't be none + of these, then we must look where circumstances indicate." +</p> +<p> + There was unwonted excitement at Mr. Claridge's place when Hewitt and his + client arrived. It was a dull old building, and in the windows there was + never more show than an odd blue china vase or two, or, mayhap, a few old + silver shoe-buckles and a curious small sword. Nine men out of ten would + have passed it without a glance; but the tenth at least would probably + know it for a place famous through the world for the number and value of + the old and curious objects of art that had passed through it. +</p> +<p> + On this day two or three loiterers, having heard of the robbery, + extracted what gratification they might from staring at nothing between + the railings guarding the windows. Within, Mr. Claridge, a brisk, stout, + little old man, was talking earnestly to a burly police-inspector in + uniform, and Mr. Cutler, who had seized the opportunity to attempt + amateur detective work on his own account, was groveling perseveringly + about the floor, among old porcelain and loose pieces of armor, in the + futile hope of finding any clue that the thieves might have + considerately dropped. +</p> +<p> + Mr. Claridge came forward eagerly. +</p> +<p> + "The leather case has been found, I am pleased to be able to tell you, + Lord Stanway, since you left." +</p> +<p> + "Empty, of course?" +</p> +<p> + "Unfortunately, yes. It had evidently been thrown away by the thief + behind a chimney-stack a roof or two away, where the police have found + it. But it is a clue, of course." +</p> +<p> + "Ah, then this gentleman will give me his opinion of it," Lord Stanway + said, turning to Hewitt. "This, Mr. Claridge, is Mr. Martin Hewitt, who + has been kind enough to come with me here at a moment's notice. With the + police on the one hand and Mr. Hewitt on the other we shall certainly + recover that cameo, if it is to be recovered, I think." +</p> +<p> + Mr. Claridge bowed, and beamed on Hewitt through his spectacles. "I'm + very glad Mr. Hewitt has come," he said. "Indeed, I had already decided + to give the police till this time to-morrow, and then, if they had found + nothing, to call in Mr. Hewitt myself." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt bowed in his turn, and then asked: "Will you let me see the + various breakages? I hope they have not been disturbed." +</p> +<p> + "Nothing whatever has been disturbed. Do exactly as seems best. I need + scarcely say that everything here is perfectly at your disposal. You know + all the circumstances, of course?" +</p> +<p> + "In general, yes. I suppose I am right in the belief that you have no + resident housekeeper?" +</p> +<p> + "No," Claridge replied, "I haven't. I had one housekeeper who sometimes + pawned my property in the evening, and then another who used to break my + most valuable china, till I could never sleep or take a moment's ease at + home for fear my stock was being ruined here. So I gave up resident + housekeepers. I felt some confidence in doing it because of the policeman + who is always on duty opposite." +</p> +<p> + "Can I see the broken desk?" +</p> +<p> + Mr. Claridge led the way into the room behind the shop. The desk was + really a sort of work-table, with a lifting top and a lock. The top had + been forced roughly open by some instrument which had been pushed in + below it and used as a lever, so that the catch of the lock was torn + away. Hewitt examined the damaged parts and the marks of the lever, and + then looked out at the back window. +</p> +<p> + "There are several windows about here," he remarked, "from which it might + be possible to see into this room. Do you know any of the people who live + behind them?" +</p> +<p> + "Two or three I know," Mr. Claridge answered, "but there are two + windows—the pair almost immediately before us—belonging to a room or + office which is to let. Any stranger might get in there and watch." +</p> +<p> + "Do the roofs above any of those windows communicate in any way with + yours?" +</p> +<p> + "None of those directly opposite. Those at the left do; you may walk all + the way along the leads." +</p> +<p> + "And whose windows are they?" +</p> +<p> + Mr. Claridge hesitated. "Well," he said, "they're Mr. Woollett's, an + excellent customer of mine. But he's a gentleman, and—well, I really + think it's absurd to suspect him." +</p> +<p> + "In a case like this," Hewitt answered, "one must disregard nothing but + the impossible. Somebody—whether Mr. Woollett himself or another + person—could possibly have seen into this room from those windows, and + equally possibly could have reached this room from that one. Therefore we + must not forget Mr. Woollett. Have any of your neighbors been burgled + during the night? I mean that strangers anxious to get at your trap-door + would probably have to begin by getting into some other house close by, + so as to reach your roof." +</p> +<p> + "No," Mr. Claridge replied; "there has been nothing of that sort. It was + the first thing the police ascertained." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt examined the broken door and then made his way up the stairs with + the others. The unscrewed lock of the door of the top back-room required + little examination. In the room below the trap-door was a dusty table on + which stood a chair, and at the other side of the table sat + Detective-Inspector Plummer, whom Hewitt knew very well, and who bade him + "good-day" and then went on with his docket. +</p> +<p> + "This chair and table were found as they are now, I take it?" Hewitt + asked. +</p> +<p> + "Yes," said Mr. Claridge; "the thieves, I should think, dropped in + through the trap-door, after breaking it open, and had to place this + chair where it is to be able to climb back." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt scrambled up through the trap-way and examined it from the top. + The door was hung on long external barn-door hinges, and had been forced + open in a similar manner to that practiced on the desk. A jimmy had been + pushed between the frame and the door near the bolt, and the door had + been pried open, the bolt being torn away from the screws in the + operation. +</p> +<p> + Presently Inspector Plummer, having finished his docket, climbed up to + the roof after Hewitt, and the two together went to the spot, close under + a chimney-stack on the next roof but one, where the case had been found. + Plummer produced the case, which he had in his coat-tail pocket, for + Hewitt's inspection. +</p> +<p> + "I don't see anything particular about it; do you?" he said. "It shows us + the way they went, though, being found just here." +</p> +<p> + "Well, yes," Hewitt said; "if we kept on in this direction, we should be + going toward Mr. Woollett's house, and <i>his</i> trap-door, shouldn't we!" +</p> +<p> + The inspector pursed his lips, smiled, and shrugged his shoulders. "Of + course we haven't waited till now to find that out," he said. +</p> +<p> + "No, of course. And, as you say, I didn't think there is much to be + learned from this leather case. It is almost new, and there isn't a mark + on it." And Hewitt handed it back to the inspector. +</p> +<p> + "Well," said Plummer, as he returned the case to his pocket, "what's your + opinion?" +</p> +<p> + "It's rather an awkward case." +</p> +<p> + "Yes, it is. Between ourselves—I don't mind telling you—I'm having a + sharp lookout kept over there"—Plummer jerked his head in the direction + of Mr. Woollett's chambers—"because the robbery's an unusual one. + There's only two possible motives—the sale of the cameo or the keeping + of it. The sale's out of the question, as you know; the thing's only + salable to those who would collar the thief at once, and who wouldn't + have the thing in their places now for anything. So that it must be taken + to keep, and that's a thing nobody but the maddest of collectors would + do, just such persons as—" and the inspector nodded again toward Mr. + Woollett's quarters. "Take that with the other circumstances," he added, + "and I think you'll agree it's worth while looking a little farther that + way. Of course some of the work—taking off the lock and so on—looks + rather like a regular burglar, but it's just possible that any one badly + wanting the cameo would like to hire a man who was up to the work." +</p> +<p> + "Yes, it's possible." +</p> +<p> + "Do you know anything of Hahn, the agent?" Plummer asked, a moment later. +</p> +<p> + "No, I don't. Have you found him yet?" +</p> +<p> + "I haven't yet, but I'm after him. I've found he was at Charing Cross a + day or two ago, booking a ticket for the Continent. That and his failing + to turn up to-day seem to make it worth while not to miss <i>him</i> if we can + help it. He isn't the sort of man that lets a chance of drawing a bit of + money go for nothing." +</p> +<p> + They returned to the room. "Well," said Lord Stanway, "what's the result + of the consultation? We've been waiting here very patiently, while you + two clever men have been discussing the matter on the roof." +</p> +<p> + On the wall just beneath the trap-door a very dusty old tall hat hung on + a peg. This Hewitt took down and examined very closely, smearing his + fingers with the dust from the inside lining. "Is this one of your + valuable and crusted old antiques?" he asked, with a smile, of Mr. + Claridge. +</p> +<p> + "That's only an old hat that I used to keep here for use in bad weather," + Mr. Claridge said, with some surprise at the question. "I haven't touched + it for a year or more." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, then it couldn't have been left here by your last night's visitor," + Hewitt replied, carelessly replacing it on the hook. "You left here at + eight last night, I think?" +</p> +<p> + "Eight exactly—or within a minute or two." +</p> +<p> + "Just so. I think I'll look at the room on the opposite side of the + landing, if you'll let me." +</p> +<p> + "Certainly, if you'd like to," Claridge replied; "but they haven't been + there—it is exactly as it was left. Only a lumber-room, you see," he + concluded, flinging the door open. +</p> +<p> + A number of partly broken-up packing-cases littered about this room, with + much other rubbish. Hewitt took the lid of one of the newest-looking + packing-cases, and glanced at the address label. Then he turned to a + rusty old iron box that stood against a wall. "I should like to see + behind this," he said, tugging at it with his hands. "It is heavy and + dirty. Is there a small crowbar about the house, or some similar lever?" +</p> +<p> + Mr. Claridge shook his head. "Haven't such a thing in the place," he + said. +</p> +<p> + "Never mind," Hewitt replied, "another time will do to shift that old + box, and perhaps, after all, there's little reason for moving it. I will + just walk round to the police-station, I think, and speak to the + constables who were on duty opposite during the night. I think, Lord + Stanway, I have seen all that is necessary here." +</p> +<p> + "I suppose," asked Mr. Claridge, "it is too soon yet to ask if you have + formed any theory in the matter?" +</p> +<p> + "Well—yes, it is," Hewitt answered. "But perhaps I may be able to + surprise you in an hour or two; but that I don't promise. By the by," he + added suddenly, "I suppose you're sure the trap-door was bolted last + night?" +</p> +<p> + "Certainly," Mr. Claridge answered, smiling. "Else how could the bolt + have been broken? As a matter of fact, I believe the trap hasn't been + opened for months. Mr. Cutler, do you remember when the trap-door was + last opened?" +</p> +<p> + Mr. Cutler shook his head. "Certainly not for six months," he said. +</p> +<p> + "Ah, very well; it's not very important," Hewitt replied. +</p> +<p> + As they reached the front shop a fiery-faced old gentleman bounced in at + the street door, stumbling over an umbrella that stood in a dark corner, + and kicking it three yards away. +</p> +<p> + "What the deuce do you mean," he roared at Mr. Claridge, "by sending + these police people smelling about my rooms and asking questions of my + servants? What do you mean, sir, by treating me as a thief? Can't a + gentleman come into this place to look at an article without being + suspected of stealing it, when it disappears through your wretched + carelessness? I'll ask my solicitor, sir, if there isn't a remedy for + this sort of thing. And if I catch another of your spy fellows on my + staircase, or crawling about my roof, I'll—I'll shoot him!" +</p> +<p> + "Really, Mr. Woollett——" began Mr. Claridge, somewhat abashed, but the + angry old man would hear nothing. +</p> +<p> + "Don't talk to me, sir; you shall talk to my solicitor. And am I to + understand, my lord"—turning to Lord Stanway—"that these things are + being done with your approval?" +</p> +<p> + "Whatever is being done," Lord Stanway answered, "is being done by the + police on their own responsibility, and entirely without prompting, I + believe, by Mr. Claridge—certainly without a suggestion of any sort from + myself. I think that the personal opinion of Mr. Claridge—certainly my + own—is that anything like a suspicion of your position in this wretched + matter is ridiculous. And if you will only consider the matter calmly——" +</p> +<p> + "Consider it calmly? Imagine yourself considering such a thing calmly, + Lord Stanway. I <i>won't</i> consider it calmly. I'll—I'll—I won't have it. + And if I find another man on my roof, I'll pitch him off!" And Mr. + Woollett bounced into the street again. +</p> +<p> + "Mr. Woollett is annoyed," Hewitt observed, with a smile. "I'm afraid + Plummer has a clumsy assistant somewhere." +</p> +<p> + Mr. Claridge said nothing, but looked rather glum, for Mr. Woollett was a + most excellent customer. +</p> +<p> + Lord Stanwood and Hewitt walked slowly down the street, Hewitt staring at + the pavement in profound thought. Once or twice Lord Stanway glanced at + his face, but refrained from disturbing him. Presently, however, he + observed: "You seem, at least, Mr. Hewitt, to have noticed something that + has set you thinking. Does it look like a clue?" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt came out of his cogitation at once. "A clue?" he said; "the case + bristles with clues. The extraordinary thing to me is that Plummer, + usually a smart man, doesn't seem to have seen one of them. He must be + out of sorts, I'm afraid. But the case is decidedly a most remarkable + one." +</p> +<p> + "Remarkable in what particular way?" +</p> +<p> + "In regard to motive. Now it would seem, as Plummer was saying to me just + now on the roof, that there were only two possible motives for such a + robbery. Either the man who took all this trouble and risk to break into + Claridge's place must have desired to sell the cameo at a good price, or + he must have desired to keep it for himself, being a lover of such + things. But neither of these has been the actual motive." +</p> +<p> + "Perhaps he thinks he can extort a good sum from me by way of ransom?" +</p> +<p> + "No, it isn't that. Nor is it jealousy, nor spite, nor anything of that + kind. I know the motive, I <i>think</i>—but I wish we could get hold of Hahn. + I will shut myself up alone and turn it over in my mind for half an hour + presently." +</p> +<p> + "Meanwhile, what I want to know is, apart from all your professional + subtleties—which I confess I can't understand—can you get back the + cameo?" +</p> +<p> + "That," said Hewitt, stopping at the corner of the street, "I am rather + afraid I can not—nor anybody else. But I am pretty sure I know the + thief." +</p> +<p> + "Then surely that will lead you to the cameo?" +</p> +<p> + "It <i>may</i>, of course; but, then, it is just possible that by this evening + you may not want to have it back, after all." +</p> +<p> + Lord Stanway stared in amazement. +</p> +<p> + "Not want to have it back!" he exclaimed. "Why, of course I shall want to + have it back. I don't understand you in the least; you talk in + conundrums. Who is the thief you speak of?" +</p> +<p> + "I think, Lord Stanway," Hewitt said, "that perhaps I had better not say + until I have quite finished my inquiries, in case of mistakes. The case + is quite an extraordinary one, and of quite a different character from + what one would at first naturally imagine, and I must be very careful to + guard against the possibility of error. I have very little fear of a + mistake, however, and I hope I may wait on you in a few hours at + Piccadilly with news. I have only to see the policemen." +</p> +<p> + "Certainly, come whenever you please. But why see the policemen? They + have already most positively stated that they saw nothing whatever + suspicious in the house or near it." +</p> +<p> + "I shall not ask them anything at all about the house," Hewitt responded. + "I shall just have a little chat with them—about the weather." And with + a smiling bow he turned away, while Lord Stanway stood and gazed after + him, with an expression that implied a suspicion that his special + detective was making a fool of him. +</p> +<hr> +<p> + In rather more than an hour Hewitt was back in Mr. Claridge's shop. "Mr. + Claridge," he said, "I think I must ask you one or two questions in + private. May I see you in your own room?" +</p> +<p> + They went there at once, and Hewitt, pulling a chair before the window, + sat down with his back to the light. The dealer shut the door, and sat + opposite him, with the light full in his face. +</p> +<p> + "Mr. Claridge," Hewitt proceeded slowly, "<i>when did you first find that + Lord Stanway's cameo was a forgery</i>?" +</p> +<p> + Claridge literally bounced in his chair. His face paled, but he managed + to stammer sharply: "What—what—what d'you mean? Forgery? Do you mean to + say I sell forgeries? Forgery? It wasn't a forgery!" +</p> +<p> + "Then," continued Hewitt in the same deliberate tone, watching the + other's face the while, "if it wasn't a forgery, <i>why did you destroy it + and burst your trap-door and desk to imitate a burglary</i>?" +</p> +<p> + The sweat stood thick on the dealer's face, and he gasped. But he + struggled hard to keep his faculties together, and ejaculated hoarsely: + "Destroy it? What—what—I didn't—didn't destroy it!" +</p> +<p> + "Threw it into the river, then—don't prevaricate about details." +</p> +<p> + "No—no—it's a lie! Who says that? Go away! You're insulting me!" + Claridge almost screamed. +</p> +<p> + "Come, come, Mr. Claridge," Hewitt said more placably, for he had gained + his point; "don't distress yourself, and don't attempt to deceive me—you + can't, I assure you. I know everything you did before you left here last + night—everything." +</p> +<p> + Claridge's face worked painfully. Once or twice he appeared to be on the + point of returning an indignant reply, but hesitated, and finally broke + down altogether. +</p> +<p> + "Don't expose me, Mr. Hewitt!" he pleaded; "I beg you won't expose me! I + haven't harmed a soul but myself. I've paid Lord Stanway every penny + back, and I never knew the thing was a forgery till I began to clean it. + I'm an old man, Mr. Hewitt, and my professional reputation has been + spotless until now. I beg you won't expose me." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt's voice softened. "Don't make an unnecessary trouble of it," he + said. "I see a decanter on your sideboard—let me give you a little + brandy and water. Come, there's nothing criminal, I believe, in a man's + breaking open his own desk, or his own trap-door, for that matter. Of + course I'm acting for Lord Stanway in this affair, and I must, in duty, + report to him without reserve. But Lord Stanway is a gentleman, and I'll + undertake he'll do nothing inconsiderate of your feelings, if you're + disposed to be frank. Let us talk the affair over; tell me about it." +</p> +<p> + "It was that swindler Hahn who deceived me in the beginning," Claridge + said. "I have never made a mistake with a cameo before, and I never + thought so close an imitation was possible. I examined it most carefully, + and was perfectly satisfied, and many experts examined it afterward, and + were all equally deceived. I felt as sure as I possibly could feel that I + had bought one of the finest, if not actually the finest, cameos known to + exist. It was not until after it had come back from Lord Stanway's, and I + was cleaning it the evening before last, that in course of my work it + became apparent that the thing was nothing but a consummately clever + forgery. It was made of three layers of molded glass, nothing more nor + less. But the glass was treated in a way I had never before known of, and + the surface had been cunningly worked on till it defied any ordinary + examination. Some of the glass imitation cameos made in the latter part + of the last century, I may tell you, are regarded as marvelous pieces of + work, and, indeed, command very fair prices, but this was something quite + beyond any of those. +</p> +<p> + "I was amazed and horrified. I put the thing away and went home. All that + night I lay awake in a state of distraction, quite unable to decide what + to do. To let the cameo go out of my possession was impossible. Sooner or + later the forgery would be discovered, and my reputation—the highest in + these matters in this country, I may safely claim, and the growth of + nearly fifty years of honest application and good judgment—this + reputation would be gone forever. But without considering this, there was + the fact that I had taken five thousand pounds of Lord Stanway's money + for a mere piece of glass, and that money I must, in mere common honesty + as well as for my own sake, return. But how? The name of the Stanway + Cameo had become a household word, and to confess that the whole thing + was a sham would ruin my reputation and destroy all confidence—past, + present, and future—in me and in my transactions. Either way spelled + ruin. Even if I confided in Lord Stanway privately, returned his money, + and destroyed the cameo, what then? The sudden disappearance of an + article so famous would excite remark at once. It had been presented to + the British Museum, and if it never appeared in that collection, and no + news were to be got of it, people would guess at the truth at once. To + make it known that I myself had been deceived would have availed nothing. + It is my business <i>not</i> to be deceived; and to have it known that my most + expensive specimens might be forgeries would equally mean ruin, whether I + sold them cunningly as a rogue or ignorantly as a fool. Indeed, my pride, + my reputation as a connoisseur, is a thing near to my heart, and it would + be an unspeakable humiliation to me to have it known that I had been + imposed on by such a forgery. What could I do? Every expedient seemed + useless but one—the one I adopted. It was not straightforward, I admit; + but, oh! Mr. Hewitt, consider the temptation—and remember that it + couldn't do a soul any harm. No matter who might be suspected, I knew + there could not possibly be evidence to make them suffer. All the next + day—yesterday—I was anxiously worrying out the thing in my mind and + carefully devising the—the trick, I'm afraid you'll call it, that you by + some extraordinary means have seen through. It seemed the only + thing—what else was there? More I needn't tell you; you know it. I have + only now to beg that you will use your best influence with Lord Stanway + to save me from public derision and exposure. I will do anything—pay + anything—anything but exposure, at my age, and with my position." +</p> +<p> + "Well, you see," Hewitt replied thoughtfully, "I've no doubt Lord Stanway + will show you every consideration, and certainly I will do what I can to + save you in the circumstances; though you must remember that you <i>have</i> + done some harm—you have caused suspicions to rest on at least one honest + man. But as to reputation, I've a professional reputation of my own. If I + help to conceal your professional failure, I shall appear to have failed + in <i>my</i> part of the business." +</p> +<p> + "But the cases are different, Mr. Hewitt. Consider. You are not + expected—it would be impossible—to succeed invariably; and there are + only two or three who know you have looked into the case. Then your other + conspicuous successes——" +</p> +<p> + "Well, well, we shall see. One thing I don't know, though—whether you + climbed out of a window to break open the trap-door, or whether you got + up through the trap-door itself and pulled the bolt with a string through + the jamb, so as to bolt it after you." +</p> +<p> + "There was no available window. I used the string, as you say. My poor + little cunning must seem very transparent to you, I fear. I spent hours + of thought over the question of the trap-door—how to break it open so as + to leave a genuine appearance, and especially how to bolt it inside after + I had reached the roof. I thought I had succeeded beyond the possibility + of suspicion; how you penetrated the device surpasses my comprehension. + How, to begin with, could you possibly know that the cameo was a forgery? + Did you ever see it?" +</p> +<p> + "Never. And, if I had seen it, I fear I should never have been able to + express an opinion on it; I'm not a connoisseur. As a matter of fact, I + <i>didn't</i> know that the thing was a forgery in the first place; what I + knew in the first place was that it was <i>you</i> who had broken into the + house. It was from that that I arrived at the conclusion, after a certain + amount of thought, that the cameo must have been forged. Gain was out of + the question. You, beyond all men, could never sell the Stanway Cameo + again, and, besides, you had paid back Lord Stanway's money. I knew + enough of your reputation to know that you would never incur the scandal + of a great theft at your place for the sake of getting the cameo for + yourself, when you might have kept it in the beginning, with no trouble + and mystery. Consequently I had to look for another motive, and at first + another motive seemed an impossibility. Why should you wish to take all + this trouble to lose five thousand pounds? You had nothing to gain; + perhaps you had something to save—your professional reputation, for + instance. Looking at it so, it was plain that you were <i>suppressing</i> the + cameo—burking it; since, once taken as you had taken it, it could never + come to light again. That suggested the solution of the mystery at + once—you had discovered, after the sale, that the cameo was not + genuine." +</p> +<p> + "Yes, yes—I see; but you say you began with the knowledge that I broke + into the place myself. How did you know that? I can not imagine a + trace——" +</p> +<p> + "My dear sir, you left traces everywhere. In the first place, it struck + me as curious, before I came here, that you had sent off that check for + five thousand pounds to Lord Stanway an hour or so after the robbery was + discovered; it looked so much as though you were sure of the cameo never + coming back, and were in a hurry to avert suspicion. Of course I + understood that, so far as I then knew the case, you were the most + unlikely person in the world, and that your eagerness to repay Lord + Stanway might be the most creditable thing possible. But the point was + worth remembering, and I remembered it. +</p> +<p> + "When I came here, I saw suspicious indications in many directions, but + the conclusive piece of evidence was that old hat hanging below the + trap-door." +</p> +<p> + "But I never touched it; I assure you, Mr. Hewitt, I never touched the + hat; haven't touched it for months——" +</p> +<p> + "Of course. If you <i>had</i> touched it, I might never have got the clue. But + we'll deal with the hat presently; that wasn't what struck me at first. + The trap-door first took my attention. Consider, now: Here was a + trap-door, most insecurely hung on <i>external</i> hinges; the burglar had a + screwdriver, for he took off the door-lock below with it. Why, then, + didn't he take this trap off by the hinges, instead of making a noise and + taking longer time and trouble to burst the bolt from its fastenings? And + why, if he were a stranger, was he able to plant his jimmy from the + outside just exactly opposite the interior bolt? There was only one mark + on the frame, and that precisely in the proper place. +</p> +<p> + "After that I saw the leather case. It had not been thrown away, or some + corner would have shown signs of the fall. It had been put down carefully + where it was found. These things, however, were of small importance + compared with the hat. The hat, as you know, was exceedingly thick with + dust—the accumulation of months. But, on the top side, presented toward + the trap-door, were a score or so of <i>raindrop marks</i>. That was all. They + were new marks, for there was no dust over them; they had merely had time + to dry and cake the dust they had fallen on. <i>Now, there had been no rain + since a sharp shower just after seven o'clock last night</i>. At that time + you, by your own statement, were in the place. You left at eight, and the + rain was all over at ten minutes or a quarter past seven. The trap-door, + you also told me, had not been opened for months. The thing was plain. + You, or somebody who was here when you were, had opened that trap-door + during, or just before, that shower. I said little then, but went, as + soon as I had left, to the police-station. There I made perfectly certain + that there had been no rain during the night by questioning the policemen + who were on duty outside all the time. There had been none. I knew + everything. +</p> +<p> + "The only other evidence there was pointed with all the rest. There were + no rain-marks on the leather case; it had been put on the roof as an + after-thought when there was no rain. A very poor after-thought, let me + tell you, for no thief would throw away a useful case that concealed his + booty and protected it from breakage, and throw it away just so as to + leave a clue as to what direction he had gone in. I also saw, in the + lumber-room, a number of packing-cases—one with a label dated two days + back—which had been opened with an iron lever; and yet, when I made an + excuse to ask for it, you said there was no such thing in the place. + Inference, you didn't want me to compare it with the marks on the desks + and doors. That is all, I think." +</p> +<p> + Mr. Claridge looked dolorously down at the floor. "I'm afraid," he said, + "that I took an unsuitable rôle when I undertook to rely on my wits to + deceive men like you. I thought there wasn't a single vulnerable spot in + my defense, but you walk calmly through it at the first attempt. Why did + I never think of those raindrops?" +</p> +<p> + "Come," said Hewitt, with a smile, "that sounds unrepentant. I am going, + now, to Lord Stanway's. If I were you, I think I should apologize to Mr. + Woollett in some way." +</p> +<p> + Lord Stanway, who, in the hour or two of reflection left him after + parting with Hewitt, had come to the belief that he had employed a man + whose mind was not always in order, received Hewitt's story with natural + astonishment. For some time he was in doubt as to whether he would be + doing right in acquiescing in anything but a straightforward public + statement of the facts connected with the disappearance of the cameo, but + in the end was persuaded to let the affair drop, on receiving an + assurance from Mr. Woollett that he unreservedly accepted the apology + offered him by Mr. Claridge. +</p> +<p> + As for the latter, he was at least sufficiently punished in loss of money + and personal humiliation for his escapade. But the bitterest and last + blow he sustained when the unblushing Hahn walked smilingly into his + office two days later to demand the extra payment agreed on in + consideration of the sale. He had been called suddenly away, he + exclaimed, on the day he should have come, and hoped his missing the + appointment had occasioned no inconvenience. As to the robbery of the + cameo, of course he was very sorry, but "pishness was pishness," and he + would be glad of a check for the sum agreed on. And the unhappy Claridge + was obliged to pay it, knowing that the man had swindled him, but unable + to open his mouth to say so. +</p> +<p> + The reward remained on offer for a long time; indeed, it was never + publicly withdrawn, I believe, even at the time of Claridge's death. And + several intelligent newspapers enlarged upon the fact that an ordinary + burglar had completely baffled and defeated the boasted acumen of Mr. + Martin Hewitt, the well-known private detective. +</p> +<p> </p> +<a name="CH7"></a> +<h3> + VII. THE AFFAIR OF THE TORTOISE +</h3> +<p> + Very often Hewitt was tempted, by the fascination of some particularly + odd case, to neglect his other affairs to follow up a matter that from a + business point of view was of little or no value to him. As a rule, he + had a sufficient regard for his own interests to resist such temptations, + but in one curious case, at least, I believe he allowed it largely to + influence him. It was certainly an extremely odd case—one of those + affairs that, coming to light at intervals, but more often remaining + unheard of by the general public, convince one that, after all, there is + very little extravagance about Mr. R.L. Stevenson's bizarre imaginings of + doings in London in his "New Arabian Nights." "There is nothing in this + world that is at all possible," I have often heard Martin Hewitt say, + "that has not happened or is not happening in London." Certainly he had + opportunities of knowing. +</p> +<p> + The case I have referred to occurred some time before my own acquaintance + with him began—in 1878, in fact. He had called one Monday morning at an + office in regard to something connected with one of those uninteresting, + though often difficult, cases which formed, perhaps, the bulk of his + practice, when he was informed of a most mysterious murder that had taken + place in another part of the same building on the previous Saturday + afternoon. Owing to the circumstances of the case, only the vaguest + account had appeared in the morning papers, and even this, as it chanced, + Hewitt had not read. +</p> +<p> + The building was one of a new row in a partly rebuilt street near the + National Gallery. The whole row had been built by a speculator for the + purpose of letting out in flats, suites of chambers, and in one or two + cases, on the ground floors, offices. The rooms had let very well, and to + desirable tenants, as a rule. The least satisfactory tenant, the + proprietor reluctantly admitted, was a Mr. Rameau, a negro gentleman, + single, who had three rooms on the top floor but one of the particular + building that Hewitt was visiting. His rent was paid regularly, but his + behavior had produced complaints from other tenants. He got uproariously + drunk, and screamed and howled in unknown tongues. He fell asleep on the + staircase, and ladies were afraid to pass. He bawled rough chaff down the + stairs and along the corridors at butcher-boys and messengers, and played + on errand-boys brutal practical jokes that ended in police-court + summonses. He once had a way of sliding down the balusters, shouting: + "Ho! ho! ho! yah!" as he went, but as he was a big, heavy man, and the + balusters had been built for different treatment, he had very soon and + very firmly been requested to stop it. He had plenty of money, and spent + it freely; but it was generally felt that there was too much of the + light-hearted savage about him to fit him to live among quiet people. +</p> +<p> + How much longer the landlord would have stood this sort of thing, + Hewitt's informant said, was a matter of conjecture, for on the Saturday + afternoon in question the tenancy had come to a startling full-stop. + Rameau had been murdered in his room, and the body had, in the most + unaccountable fashion, been secretly removed from the premises. +</p> +<p> + The strongest possible suspicion pointed to a man who had been employed + in shoveling and carrying coals, cleaning windows, and chopping wood for + several of the buildings, and who had left that very Saturday. The crime + had, in fact, been committed with this man's chopper, and the man himself + had been heard, again and again, to threaten Rameau, who, in his brutal + fashion, had made a butt of him. This man was a Frenchman, Victor Goujon + by name, who had lost his employment as a watchmaker by reason of an + injury to his right hand, which destroyed its steadiness, and so he had + fallen upon evil days and odd jobs. +</p> +<p> + He was a little man of no great strength, but extraordinarily excitable, + and the coarse gibes and horse-play of the big negro drove him almost to + madness. Rameau would often, after some more than ordinarily outrageous + attack, contemptuously fling Goujon a shilling, which the little + Frenchman, although wanting a shilling badly enough, would hurl back in + his face, almost weeping with impotent rage. "Pig! <i>Canaille</i>!" he would + scream. "Dirty pig of Africa! Take your sheelin' to vere you 'ave stole + it! <i>Voleur</i>! Pig!" +</p> +<p> + There was a tortoise living in the basement, of which Goujon had made + rather a pet, and the negro would sometimes use this animal as a missile, + flinging it at the little Frenchman's head. On one such occasion the + tortoise struck the wall so forcibly as to break its shell, and then + Goujon seized a shovel and rushed at his tormentor with such blind fury + that the latter made a bolt of it. These were but a few of the passages + between Rameau and the fuel-porter, but they illustrate the state of + feeling between them. +</p> +<p> + Goujon, after correspondence with a relative in France who offered him + work, gave notice to leave, which expired on the day of the crime. At + about three that afternoon a housemaid, proceeding toward Rameau's rooms, + met Goujon as he was going away. Goujon bade her good-by, and, pointing + in the direction of Rameau's rooms, said exultantly: "Dere shall be no + more of the black pig for me; vit 'im I 'ave done for. Zut! I mock me of + 'im! 'E vill never <i>tracasser</i> me no more." And he went away. +</p> +<p> + The girl went to the outer door of Rameau's rooms, knocked, and got no + reply. Concluding that the tenant was out, she was about to use her keys, + when she found that the door was unlocked. She passed through the lobby + and into the sitting-room, and there fell in a dead faint at the sight + that met her eyes. Rameau lay with his back across the sofa and his + head—drooping within an inch of the ground. On the head was a fearful + gash, and below it was a pool of blood. +</p> +<p> + The girl must have lain unconscious for about ten minutes. When she came + to her senses, she dragged herself, terrified, from the room and up to + the housekeeper's apartments, where, being an excitable and nervous + creature, she only screamed "Murder!" and immediately fell in a fit of + hysterics that lasted three-quarters of an hour. When at last she came + to herself, she told her story, and, the hall-porter having been + summoned, Rameau's rooms were again approached. +</p> +<p> + The blood still lay on the floor, and the chopper, with which the crime + had evidently been committed, rested against the fender; but the body had + vanished! A search was at once made, but no trace of it could be seen + anywhere. It seemed impossible that it could have been carried out of the + building, for the hall-porter must at once have noticed anybody leaving + with so bulky a burden. Still, in the building it was not to be found. +</p> +<p> + When Hewitt was informed of these things on Monday, the police were, of + course, still in possession of Rameau's rooms. Inspector Nettings, Hewitt + was told, was in charge of the case, and as the inspector was an + acquaintance of his, and was then in the rooms upstairs, Hewitt went up + to see him. +</p> +<p> + Nettings was pleased to see Hewitt, and invited him to look around the + rooms. "Perhaps you can spot something we have overlooked," he said. + "Though it's not a case there can be much doubt about." +</p> +<p> + "You think it's Goujon, don't you?" +</p> +<p> + "Think? Well, rather! Look here! As soon as we got here on Saturday, we + found this piece of paper and pin on the floor. We showed it to the + housemaid, and then she remembered—she was too much upset to think of it + before—that when she was in the room the paper was laying on the dead + man's chest—pinned there, evidently. It must have dropped off when they + removed the body. It's a case of half-mad revenge on Goujon's part, + plainly. See it; you read French, don't you?" +</p> +<p> + The paper was a plain, large half-sheet of note-paper, on which a + sentence in French was scrawled in red ink in a large, clumsy hand, thus: +</p> +<p> + <i>puni par un vengeur de la tortue</i>. +</p> +<p> + "<i>Puni par un vengeur de la tortue</i>," Hewitt repeated musingly. + "'Punished by an avenger of the tortoise,' That seems odd." +</p> +<p> + "Well, rather odd. But you understand the reference, of course. Have they + told you about Rameau's treatment of Goujon's pet tortoise?" +</p> +<p> + "I think it was mentioned among his other pranks. But this is an extreme + revenge for a thing of that sort, and a queer way of announcing it." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, he's mad—mad with Rameau's continual ragging and baiting," Nettings + answered. "Anyway, this is a plain indication—plain as though he'd left + his own signature. Besides, it's in his own language—French. And there's + his chopper, too." +</p> +<p> + "Speaking of signatures," Hewitt remarked, "perhaps you have already + compared this with other specimens of Goujon's writing?" +</p> +<p> + "I did think of it, but they don't seem to have a specimen to hand, and, + anyway, it doesn't seem very important. There's 'avenger of the tortoise' + plain enough, in the man's own language, and that tells everything. + Besides, handwritings are easily disguised." +</p> +<p> + "Have you got Goujon?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, no; we haven't. There seems to be some little difficulty about + that. But I expect to have him by this time to-morrow. Here comes Mr. + Styles, the landlord." +</p> +<p> + Mr. Styles was a thin, querulous, and withered-looking little man, who + twitched his eyebrows as he spoke, and spoke in short, jerky phrases. +</p> +<p> + "No news, eh, inspector, eh? eh? Found out nothing else, eh? Terrible + thing for my property—terrible! Who's your friend?" +</p> +<p> + Nettings introduced Hewitt. +</p> +<p> + "Shocking thing this, eh, Mr. Hewitt? Terrible! Comes of having anything + to do with these blood-thirsty foreigners, eh? New buildings and + all—character ruined. No one come to live here now, eh? Tenants—noisy + niggers—murdered by my own servants—terrible! <i>You</i> formed any opinion, + eh?" +</p> +<p> + "I dare say I might if I went into the case." +</p> +<p> + "Yes, yes—same opinion as inspector's, eh? I mean an opinion of your + own?" The old man scrutinized Hewitt's face sharply. +</p> +<p> + "If you'd like me to look into the matter——" Hewitt began. +</p> +<p> + "Eh? Oh, look into it! Well, I can't commission you, you know—matter for + the police. Mischief's done. Police doing very well, I think—must be + Goujon. But look about the place, certainly, if you like. If you see + anything likely to serve <i>my</i> interests, tell me, and—and—perhaps I'll + employ you, eh, eh? Good-afternoon." +</p> +<p> + The landlord vanished, and the inspector laughed. "Likes to see what he's + buying, does Mr. Styles," he said. +</p> +<p> + Hewitt's first impulse was to walk out of the place at once. But his + interest in the case had been roused, and he determined, at any rate, to + examine the rooms, and this he did very minutely. By the side of the + lobby was a bath-room, and in this was fitted a tip-up wash-basin, which + Hewitt inspected with particular attention. Then he called the + housekeeper, and made inquiries about Rameau's clothes and linen. The + housekeeper could give no idea of how many overcoats or how much linen + he had had. He had all a negro's love of display, and was continually + buying new clothes, which, indeed, were lying, hanging, littering, and + choking up the bedroom in all directions. The housekeeper, however, on + Hewitt's inquiring after such a garment in particular, did remember one + heavy black ulster, which Rameau had very rarely worn—only in the + coldest weather. +</p> +<p> + "After the body was discovered," Hewitt asked the housekeeper, "was any + stranger observed about the place—whether carrying anything or not?" +</p> +<p> + "No, sir," the housekeeper replied. "There's been particular inquiries + about that. Of course, after we knew what was wrong and the body was + gone, nobody was seen, or he'd have been stopped. But the hall-porter + says he's certain no stranger came or went for half an hour or more + before that—the time about when the housemaid saw the body and fainted." +</p> +<p> + At this moment a clerk from the landlord's office arrived and handed + Nettings a paper. "Here you are," said Nettings to Hewitt; "they've found + a specimen of Goujon's handwriting at last, if you'd like to see it. I + don't want it; I'm not a graphologist, and the case is clear enough for + me anyway." +</p> +<p> + Hewitt took the paper. "This" he said, "is a different sort of + handwriting from that on the paper. The red-ink note about the avenger of + the tortoise is in a crude, large, clumsy, untaught style of writing. + This is small, neat, and well formed—except that it is a trifle shaky, + probably because of the hand injury." +</p> +<p> + "That's nothing," contended Nettings. "handwriting clues are worse than + useless, as a rule. It's so easy to disguise and imitate writing; and + besides, if Goujon is such a good penman as you seem to say, why, he + could all the easier alter his style. Say now yourself, can any fiddling + question of handwriting get over this thing about 'avenging the + tortoise'—practically a written confession—to say nothing of the + chopper, and what he said to the housemaid as he left?" +</p> +<p> + "Well," said Hewitt, "perhaps not; but we'll see. Meantime"—turning to + the landlord's clerk—"possibly you will be good enough to tell me one or + two things. First, what was Goujon's character?" +</p> +<p> + "Excellent, as far as we know. We never had a complaint about him except + for little matters of carelessness—leaving coal-scuttles on the + staircases for people to fall over, losing shovels, and so on. He was + certainly a bit careless, but, as far as we could see, quite a decent + little fellow. One would never have thought him capable of committing + murder for the sake of a tortoise, though he was rather fond of the + animal." +</p> +<p> + "The tortoise is dead now, I understand?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes." +</p> +<p> + "Have you a lift in this building?" +</p> +<p> + "Only for coals and heavy parcels. Goujon used to work it, sometimes + going up and down in it himself with coals, and so on; it goes into the + basement." +</p> +<p> + "And are the coals kept under this building?" +</p> +<p> + "No. The store for the whole row is under the next two houses—the + basements communicate." +</p> +<p> + "Do you know Rameau's other name?" +</p> +<p> + "César Rameau he signed in our agreement." +</p> +<p> + "Did he ever mention his relations?" +</p> +<p> + "No. That is to say, he did say something one day when he was very drunk; + but, of course, it was all rot. Some one told him not to make such a + row—he was a beastly tenant—and he said he was the best man in the + place, and his brother was Prime Minister, and all sorts of things. Mere + drunken rant! I never heard of his saying anything sensible about + relations. We know nothing of his connections; he came here on a banker's + reference." +</p> +<p> + "Thanks. I think that's all I want to ask. You notice," Hewitt + proceeded, turning to Nettings, "the only ink in this place is scented + and violet, and the only paper is tinted and scented, too, with a + monogram—characteristic of a negro with money. The paper that was pinned + on Rameau's breast is in red ink on common and rather grubby paper, + therefore it was written somewhere else and brought here. Inference, + premeditation." +</p> +<p> + "Yes, yes. But are you an inch nearer with all these speculations? Can + you get nearer than I am now without them?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, perhaps not," Hewitt replied. "I don't profess at this moment to + know the criminal; you do. I'll concede you that point for the present. + But you don't offer an opinion as to who removed Rameau's body—which I + think I know." +</p> +<p> + "Who was it, then?" +</p> +<p> + "Come, try and guess that yourself. It wasn't Goujon; I don't mind + letting you know that. But it was a person quite within your knowledge of + the case. You've mentioned the person's name more than once." +</p> +<p> + Nettings stared blankly. "I don't understand you in the least," he said. + "But, of course, you mean that this mysterious person you speak of as + having moved the body committed the murder?" +</p> +<p> + "No, I don't. Nobody could have been more innocent of that." +</p> +<p> + "Well," Nettings concluded with resignation, "I'm afraid one of us is + rather thick-headed. What will you do?" +</p> +<p> + "Interview the person who took away the body," Hewitt replied, with a + smile. +</p> +<p> + "But, man alive, why? Why bother about the person if it isn't the + criminal?" +</p> +<p> + "Never mind—never mind; probably the person will be a most valuable + witness." +</p> +<p> + "Do you mean you think this person—whoever it is—saw the crime?" +</p> +<p> + "I think it very probable indeed." +</p> +<p> + "Well, I won't ask you any more. I shall get hold of Goujon; that's + simple and direct enough for me. I prefer to deal with the heart of the + case—the murder itself—when there's such clear evidence as I have." +</p> +<p> + "I shall look a little into that, too, perhaps," Hewitt said, "and, if + you like, I'll tell you the first thing I shall do." +</p> +<p> + "What's that?" +</p> +<p> + "I shall have a good look at a map of the West Indies, and I advise you + to do the same. Good-morning." +</p> +<p> + Nettings stared down the corridor after Hewitt, and continued staring for + nearly two minutes after he had disappeared. Then he said to the clerk, + who had remained: "What was he talking about?" +</p> +<p> + "Don't know," replied the clerk. "Couldn't make head nor tail of it." +</p> +<p> + "I don't believe there <i>is</i> a head to it," declared Nettings; "nor a tail + either. He's kidding us." +</p> +<hr> +<p> + Nettings was better than his word, for within two hours of his + conversation with Hewitt, Goujon was captured and safe in a cab bound for + Bow Street. He had been stopped at Newhaven in the morning on his way to + Dieppe, and was brought back to London. But now Nettings met a check. +</p> +<p> + Late that afternoon he called on Hewitt to explain matters. "We've got + Goujon," he said, gloomily, "but there's a difficulty. He's got two + friends who can swear an <i>alibi</i>. Rameau was seen alive at half-past one + on Saturday, and the girl found him dead about three. Now, Goujon's two + friends, it seems, were with him from one o'clock till four in the + afternoon, with the exception of five minutes when the girl saw him, and + then he left them to take a key or something to the housekeeper before + finally leaving. They were waiting on the landing below when Goujon spoke + to the housemaid, heard him speaking, and had seen him go all the way up + to the housekeeper's room and back, as they looked up the wide well of + the staircase. They are men employed near the place, and seem to have + good characters. But perhaps we shall find something unfavorable about + them. They were drinking with Goujon, it seems, by way of 'seeing him + off.'" +</p> +<p> + "Well," Hewitt said, "I scarcely think you need trouble to damage these + men's characters. They are probably telling the truth. Come, now, be + plain. You've come here to get a hint as to whether my theory of the case + helps you, haven't you?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, if you can give me a friendly hint, although, of course, I may be + right, after all. Still, I wish you'd explain a bit as to what you meant + by looking at a map and all that mystery. Nice thing for me to be taking + a lesson in my own business after all these years! But perhaps I deserve + it." +</p> +<p> + "See, now," quoth Hewitt, "you remember what map I told you to look at?" +</p> +<p> + "The West Indies." +</p> +<p> + "Right! Well, here you are." Hewitt reached an atlas from his book-shelf. + "Now, look here: the biggest island of the lot on this map, barring Cuba, + is Hayti. You know as well as I do that the western part of that island + is peopled by the black republic of Hayti, and that the country is in a + degenerate state of almost unexampled savagery, with a ridiculous show of + civilization. There are revolutions all the time; the South American + republics are peaceful and prosperous compared to Hayti. The state of the + country is simply awful—read Sir Spenser St. John's book on it. + President after president of the vilest sort forces his way to power and + commits the most horrible and bloodthirsty excesses, murdering his + opponents by the hundred and seizing their property for himself and his + satellites, who are usually as bad, if not worse, than the president + himself. Whole families—men, women, and children—are murdered at the + instance of these ruffians, and, as a consequence, the most deadly feuds + spring up, and the presidents and their followers are always themselves + in danger of reprisals from others. Perhaps the very worst of these + presidents in recent times has been the notorious Domingue, who was + overthrown by an insurrection, as they all are sooner or later, and + compelled to fly the country. Domingue and his nephews, one of whom was + Chief Minister, while in power committed the cruellest bloodshed, and + many members of the opposite party sought refuge in a small island lying + just to the north of Hayti, but were sought out there and almost + exterminated. Now, I will show you that island on the map. What is its + name?" +</p> +<p> + "Tortuga." +</p> +<p> + "It is. 'Tortuga,' however, is only the old Spanish name; the Haytians + speak French—Creole French. Here is a French atlas: now see the name of + that island." +</p> +<p> + "La Tortue!" +</p> +<p> + "La Tortue it is—the tortoise. Tortuga means the same thing in Spanish. + But that island is always spoken of in Hayti as La Tortue. Now, do you + see the drift of that paper pinned to Rameau's breast?" +</p> +<p> + "Punished by an avenger of—or from—the tortoise or La Tortue—clear + enough. It would seem that the dead man had something to do with the + massacre there, and somebody from the island is avenging it. The thing's + most extraordinary." +</p> +<p> + "And now listen. The name of Domingue's nephew, who was Chief Minister, + was <i>Septimus Rameau</i>." +</p> +<p> + "And this was César Rameau—his brother, probably. I see. Well, this <i>is</i> + a case." +</p> +<p> + "I think the relationship probable. Now you understand why I was inclined + to doubt that Goujon was the man you wanted." +</p> +<p> + "Of course, of course! And now I suppose I must try to get a nigger—the + chap who wrote that paper. I wish he hadn't been such an ignorant nigger. + If he'd only have put the capitals to the words 'La Tortue,' I might have + thought a little more about them, instead of taking it for granted that + they meant that wretched tortoise in the basement of the house. Well, + I've made a fool of a start, but I'll be after that nigger now." +</p> +<p> + "And I, as I said before," said Hewitt, "shall be after the person that + carried off Rameau's body. I have had something else to do this + afternoon, or I should have begun already." +</p> +<p> + "You said you thought he saw the crime. How did you judge that?" +</p> +<p> + Hewitt smiled. "I think I'll keep that little secret to myself for the + present," he said. "You shall know soon." +</p> +<p> + "Very well," Nettings replied, with resignation. "I suppose I mustn't + grumble if you don't tell me everything. I feel too great a fool + altogether over this case to see any farther than you show me." And + Inspector Nettings left on his search; while Martin Hewitt, as soon as he + was alone, laughed joyously and slapped his thigh. +</p> +<hr> +<p> + There was a cab-rank and shelter at the end of the street where Mr. + Styles' building stood, and early that evening a man approached it and + hailed the cabmen and the waterman. Any one would have known the + new-comer at once for a cabman taking a holiday. The brim of the hat, the + bird's-eye neckerchief, the immense coat-buttons, and, more than all, + the rolling walk and the wrinkled trousers, marked him out distinctly. +</p> +<p> + "Watcheer!" he exclaimed, affably, with the self-possessed nod only + possible to cabbies and 'busmen. "I'm a-lookin' for a bilker. I'm told + one o' the blokes off this rank carried 'im last Saturday, and I want to + know where he went. I ain't 'ad a chance o' gettin' 'is address yet. Took + a cab just as it got dark, I'm told. Tallish chap, muffled up a lot, in a + long black overcoat. Any of ye seen 'im?" +</p> +<p> + The cabbies looked at one another and shook their heads; it chanced that + none of them had been on that particular rank at that time. But the + waterman said: "'Old on—I bet 'e's the bloke wot old Bill Stammers took. + Yorkey was fust on the rank, but the bloke wouldn't 'ave a 'ansom—wanted + a four-wheeler, so old Bill took 'im. Biggish chap in a long black coat, + collar up an' muffled thick; soft wide-awake 'at, pulled over 'is eyes; + and he was in a 'urry, too. Jumped in sharp as a weasel." +</p> +<p> + "Didn't see 'is face, did ye?" +</p> +<p> + "No—not an inch of it; too much muffled. Couldn't tell if he 'ad a + face." +</p> +<p> + "Was his arm in a sling?" +</p> +<p> + "Ay, it looked so. Had it stuffed through the breast of his coat, like as + though there might be a sling inside." +</p> +<p> + "That's 'im. Any of ye tell me where I might run across old Bill + Stammers? He'll tell me where my precious bilker went to." +</p> +<p> + As to this there was plenty of information, and in five minutes Martin + Hewitt, who had become an unoccupied cabman for the occasion, was on his + way to find old Bill Stammers. That respectable old man gave him full + particulars as to the place in the East End where he had driven his + muffled fare on Saturday, and Hewitt then begun an eighteen, or twenty + hours' search beyond Whitechapel. +</p> +<hr> +<p> + At about three on Tuesday afternoon, as Nettings was in the act of + leaving Bow Street Police Station, Hewitt drove up in a four-wheeler. + Some prisoner appeared to be crouching low in the vehicle, but, leaving + him to take care of himself, Hewitt hurried into the station and shook + Nettings by the hand. "Well," he said, "have you got the murderer of + Rameau yet?" +</p> +<p> + "No," Nettings growled. "Unless—well, Goujon's under remand still, and, + after all, I've been thinking that he may know something——" +</p> +<p> + "Pooh, nonsense!" Hewitt answered. "You'd better let him go. Now, I + <i>have</i> got somebody." Hewitt laughed and slapped the inspector's + shoulder. "I've got the man who carried Rameau's body away!" +</p> +<p> + "The deuce you have! Where? Bring him in. We must have him——" +</p> +<p> + "All right, don't be in a hurry; he won't bolt." And Hewitt stepped out + to the cab and produced his prisoner, who, pulling his hat farther over + his eyes, hurried furtively into the station. One hand was stowed in the + breast of his long coat, and below the wide brim of his hat a small piece + of white bandage could be seen; and, as he lifted his face, it was seen + to be that of a negro. +</p> +<p> + "Inspector Nettings," Hewitt said ceremoniously, "allow me to introduce + Mr. César Rameau!" +</p> +<p> + Netting's gasped. +</p> +<p> + "What!" he at length ejaculated. "What! You—you're Rameau?" +</p> +<p> + The negro looked round nervously, and shrank farther from the door. +</p> +<p> + "Yes," he said; "but please not so loud—please not loud. Zey may be + near, and I'm 'fraid." +</p> +<p> + "You will certify, will you not," asked Hewitt, with malicious glee, "not + only that you were not murdered last Saturday by Victor Goujon, but that, + in fact, you were not murdered at all? Also, that you carried your own + body away in the usual fashion, on your own legs." +</p> +<p> + "Yes, yes," responded Rameau, looking haggardly about; "but is not + zis—zis room publique? I should not be seen." +</p> +<p> + "Nonsense!" replied Hewitt rather testily; "you exaggerate your danger + and your own importance, and your enemies' abilities as well. You're safe + enough." +</p> +<p> + "I suppose, then," Nettings remarked slowly, like a man on whose mind + something vast was beginning to dawn, "I suppose—why, hang it, you must + have just got up while that fool of a girl was screaming and fainting + upstairs, and walked out. They say there's nothing so hard as a nigger's + skull, and yours has certainly made a fool of me. But, then, <i>somebody</i> + must have chopped you over the head; who was it?" +</p> +<p> + "My enemies—my great enemies—enemies politique. I am a great man"—this + with a faint revival of vanity amid his fear—"a great man in my + countree. Zey have great secret club-sieties to kill me—me and my + fren's; and one enemy coming in my rooms does zis—one, two"—he + indicated wrist and head—"wiz a choppa." +</p> +<p> + Rameau made the case plain to Nettings, so far as the actual + circumstances of the assault on himself were concerned. A negro whom he + had noticed near the place more than once during the previous day or two + had attacked him suddenly in his rooms, dealing him two savage blows with + a chopper. The first he had caught on his wrist, which was seriously + damaged, as well as excruciatingly painful, but the second had taken + effect on his head. His assailant had evidently gone away then, leaving + him for dead; but, as a matter of fact, he was only stunned by the shock, + and had, thanks to the adamantine thickness of the negro skull and the + ill-direction of the chopper, only a very bad scalp-wound, the bone being + no more than grazed. He had lain insensible for some time, and must have + come to his senses soon after the housemaid had left the room. Terrified + at the knowledge that his enemies had found him out, his only thought was + to get away and hide himself. He hastily washed and tied up his head, + enveloped himself in the biggest coat he could find, and let himself down + into the basement by the coal-lift, for fear of observation. He waited in + the basement of one of the adjoining buildings till dark and then got + away in a cab, with the idea of hiding himself in the East End. He had + had very little money with him on his flight, and it was by reason of + this circumstance that Hewitt, when he found him, had prevailed on him to + leave his hiding-place, since it would be impossible for him to touch any + of the large sums of money in the keeping of his bank so long as he was + supposed to be dead. With much difficulty, and the promise of ample + police protection, he was at last convinced that it would be safe to + declare himself and get his property, and then run away and hide wherever + he pleased. +</p> +<p> + Nettings and Hewitt strolled off together for a few minutes and chatted, + leaving the wretched Rameau to cower in a corner among several policemen. +</p> +<p> + "Well, Mr. Hewitt," Nettings said, "this case has certainly been a + shocking beating for me. I must have been as blind as a bat when I + started on it. And yet I don't see that you had a deal to go on, even + now. What struck you first?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, in the beginning it seemed rather odd to me that the body should + have been taken away, as I had been told it was, after the written paper + had been pinned on it. Why should the murderer pin a label on the body of + his victim if he meant carrying that body away? Who would read the label + and learn of the nature of the revenge gratified? Plainly, that indicated + that the person who had carried away the body was <i>not</i> the person who + had committed the murder. But as soon as I began to examine the place I + saw the probability that there was no murder, after all. There were any + number of indications of this fact, and I can't understand your not + observing them. First, although there was a good deal of blood on the + floor just below where the housemaid had seen Rameau lying, there was + none between that place and the door. Now, if the body had been dragged, + or even carried, to the door, blood must have become smeared about the + floor, or at least there would have been drops, but there were none, and + this seemed to hint that the corpse might have come to itself, sat up on + the sofa, stanched the wound, and walked out. I reflected at once that + Rameau was a full-blooded negro, and that a negro's head is very nearly + invulnerable to anything short of bullets. Then, if the body had been + dragged out—as such a heavy body must have been—almost of necessity the + carpet and rugs would show signs of the fact, but there were no such + signs. But beyond these there was the fact that no long black overcoat + was left with the other clothes, although the housekeeper distinctly + remembered Rameau's possession of such a garment. I judged he would use + some such thing to assist his disguise, which was why I asked her. <i>Why</i> + he would want to disguise was plain, as you shall see presently. There + were no towels left in the bath-room; inference, used for bandages. + Everything seemed to show that the only person responsible for Rameau's + removal was Rameau himself. Why, then, had he gone away secretly and + hurriedly, without making complaint, and why had he stayed away? What + reason would he have for doing this if it had been Goujon that had + attacked him? None. Goujon was going to France. Clearly, Rameau was + afraid of another attack from some implacable enemy whom he was anxious + to avoid—one against whom he feared legal complaint or defense would be + useless. This brought me at once to the paper found on the floor. If this + were the work of Goujon and an open reference to his tortoise, why should + he be at such pains to disguise his handwriting? He would have been + already pointing himself out by the mere mention of the tortoise. And, if + he could not avoid a shake in his natural, small handwriting, how could + he have avoided it in a large, clumsy, slowly drawn, assumed hand? No, + the paper was not Goujon's." +</p> +<p> + "As to the writing on the paper," Nettings interposed, "I've told you how + I made that mistake. I took the readiest explanation of the words, since + they seemed so pat, and I wouldn't let anything else outweigh that. As to + the other things—the evidences of Rameau's having gone off by + himself—well, I don't usually miss such obvious things; but I never + thought of the possibility of the <i>victim</i> going away on the quiet and + not coming back, as though <i>he'd</i> done something wrong. Comes of starting + with a set of fixed notions." +</p> +<p> + "Well," answered Hewitt, "I fancy you must have been rather 'out of + form,' as they say; everybody has his stupid days, and you can't keep up + to concert pitch forever. To return to the case. The evidence of the + chopper was very untrustworthy, especially when I had heard of Goujon's + careless habits—losing shovels and leaving coal-scuttles on stairs. + Nothing more likely than for the chopper to be left lying about, and a + criminal who had calculated his chances would know the advantage to + himself of using a weapon that belonged to the place, and leaving it + behind to divert suspicion. It is quite possible, by the way, that the + man who attacked Rameau got away down the coal-lift and out by an + adjoining basement, just as did Rameau himself; this, however, is mere + conjecture. The would-be murderer had plainly prepared for the crime: + witness the previous preparation of the paper declaring his revenge, an + indication of his pride at having run his enemy to earth at such a + distant place as this—although I expect he was only in England by + chance, for Haytians are not a persistently energetic race. In regard to + the use of small instead of capital letters in the words 'La Tortue' on + the paper, I observed, in the beginning, that the first letter of the + whole sentence—the 'p' in 'puni'—was a small one. Clearly, the writer + was an illiterate man, and it was at once plain that he may have made the + same mistake with ensuing words. +</p> +<p> + "On the whole, it was plain that everybody had begun with a too ready + disposition to assume that Goujon was guilty. Everybody insisted, too, + that the body had been carried away—which was true, of course, although + not in the sense intended—so I didn't trouble to contradict, or to say + more than that I guessed who <i>had</i> carried the body off. And, to tell you + the truth, I was a little piqued at Mr. Styles' manner, and indisposed, + interested in the case as I was, to give away my theories too freely. +</p> +<p> + "The rest of the job was not very difficult. I found out the cabman who + had taken Rameau away—you can always get readier help from cabbies if + you go as one of themselves, especially if you are after a bilker—and + from him got a sufficiently near East End direction to find Rameau after + inquiries. I ventured, by the way, on a rather long shot. I described my + man to the cabman as having an injured arm or wrist—and it turned out a + correct guess. You see, a man making an attack with a chopper is pretty + certain to make more than a single blow, and as there appeared to have + been only a single wound on the head, it seemed probable that another had + fallen somewhere else—almost certainly on the arm, as it would be raised + to defend the head. At Limehouse I found he had had his head and wrist + attended to at a local medico's, and a big nigger in a fright, with a + long black coat, a broken head, and a lame hand, is not so difficult to + find in a small area. How I persuaded him up here you know already; I + think I frightened him a little, too, by explaining how easily I had + tracked him, and giving him a hint that others might do the same. He is + in a great funk. He seems to have quite lost faith in England as a safe + asylum." +</p> +<p> + The police failed to catch Rameau's assailant—chiefly because Rameau + could not be got to give a proper description of him, nor to do anything + except get out of the country in a hurry. In truth, he was glad to be + quit of the matter with nothing worse than his broken head. Little Goujon + made a wild storm about his arrest, and before he did go to France + managed to extract twenty pounds from Rameau by way of compensation, in + spite of the absence of any strictly legal claim against his old + tormentor. So that, on the whole, Goujon was about the only person who + derived any particular profit from the tortoise mystery. +</p> +<p> </p> + THE END. + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11252 ***</div> +</body> |