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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Max Carrados, by Ernest Bramah
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Max Carrados
+
+Author: Ernest Bramah
+
+Release Date: December 23, 2010 [EBook #34732]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAX CARRADOS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Suzanne Shell, Megan Miller and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  MAX CARRADOS
+
+
+  By
+
+  Ernest Bramah
+
+
+  Methuen & Co., Ltd.
+
+  1914
+
+
+
+
+  CONTENTS
+
+
+                                          PAGE
+
+  THE COIN OF DIONYSIUS                      1
+
+  THE KNIGHT'S CROSS SIGNAL PROBLEM         25
+
+  THE TRAGEDY AT BROOKBEND COTTAGE          66
+
+  THE CLEVER MRS STRAITHWAITE               99
+
+  THE LAST EXPLOIT OF HARRY THE ACTOR      138
+
+  THE TILLING SHAW MYSTERY                 187
+
+  THE COMEDY AT FOUNTAIN COTTAGE           224
+
+  THE GAME PLAYED IN THE DARK              262
+
+
+
+
+MAX CARRADOS
+
+
+
+
+THE COIN OF DIONYSIUS
+
+
+It was eight o'clock at night and raining, scarcely a time when a
+business so limited in its clientele as that of a coin dealer could hope
+to attract any customer, but a light was still showing in the small shop
+that bore over its window the name of Baxter, and in the even smaller
+office at the back the proprietor himself sat reading the latest _Pall
+Mall_. His enterprise seemed to be justified, for presently the door
+bell gave its announcement, and throwing down his paper Mr Baxter went
+forward.
+
+As a matter of fact the dealer had been expecting someone and his manner
+as he passed into the shop was unmistakably suggestive of a caller of
+importance. But at the first glance towards his visitor the excess of
+deference melted out of his bearing, leaving the urbane, self-possessed
+shopman in the presence of the casual customer.
+
+"Mr Baxter, I think?" said the latter. He had laid aside his dripping
+umbrella and was unbuttoning overcoat and coat to reach an inner pocket.
+"You hardly remember me, I suppose? Mr Carlyle--two years ago I took up
+a case for you----"
+
+"To be sure. Mr Carlyle, the private detective----"
+
+"Inquiry agent," corrected Mr Carlyle precisely.
+
+"Well," smiled Mr Baxter, "for that matter I am a coin dealer and not an
+antiquarian or a numismatist. Is there anything in that way that I can
+do for you?"
+
+"Yes," replied his visitor; "it is my turn to consult you." He had taken
+a small wash-leather bag from the inner pocket and now turned something
+carefully out upon the counter. "What can you tell me about that?"
+
+The dealer gave the coin a moment's scrutiny.
+
+"There is no question about this," he replied. "It is a Sicilian
+tetradrachm of Dionysius."
+
+"Yes, I know that--I have it on the label out of the cabinet. I can tell
+you further that it's supposed to be one that Lord Seastoke gave two
+hundred and fifty pounds for at the Brice sale in '94."
+
+"It seems to me that you can tell me more about it than I can tell you,"
+remarked Mr Baxter. "What is it that you really want to know?"
+
+"I want to know," replied Mr Carlyle, "whether it is genuine or not."
+
+"Has any doubt been cast upon it?"
+
+"Certain circumstances raised a suspicion--that is all."
+
+The dealer took another look at the tetradrachm through his magnifying
+glass, holding it by the edge with the careful touch of an expert. Then
+he shook his head slowly in a confession of ignorance.
+
+"Of course I could make a guess----"
+
+"No, don't," interrupted Mr Carlyle hastily. "An arrest hangs on it and
+nothing short of certainty is any good to me."
+
+"Is that so, Mr Carlyle?" said Mr Baxter, with increased interest.
+"Well, to be quite candid, the thing is out of my line. Now if it was a
+rare Saxon penny or a doubtful noble I'd stake my reputation on my
+opinion, but I do very little in the classical series."
+
+Mr Carlyle did not attempt to conceal his disappointment as he returned
+the coin to the bag and replaced the bag in the inner pocket.
+
+"I had been relying on you," he grumbled reproachfully. "Where on earth
+am I to go now?"
+
+"There is always the British Museum."
+
+"Ah, to be sure, thanks. But will anyone who can tell me be there now?"
+
+"Now? No fear!" replied Mr Baxter. "Go round in the morning----"
+
+"But I must know to-night," explained the visitor, reduced to despair
+again. "To-morrow will be too late for the purpose."
+
+Mr Baxter did not hold out much encouragement in the circumstances.
+
+"You can scarcely expect to find anyone at business now," he remarked.
+"I should have been gone these two hours myself only I happened to have
+an appointment with an American millionaire who fixed his own time."
+Something indistinguishable from a wink slid off Mr Baxter's right eye.
+"Offmunson he's called, and a bright young pedigree-hunter has traced
+his descent from Offa, King of Mercia. So he--quite naturally--wants a
+set of Offas as a sort of collateral proof."
+
+"Very interesting," murmured Mr Carlyle, fidgeting with his watch. "I
+should love an hour's chat with you about your millionaire
+customers--some other time. Just now--look here, Baxter, can't you give
+me a line of introduction to some dealer in this sort of thing who
+happens to live in town? You must know dozens of experts."
+
+"Why, bless my soul, Mr Carlyle, I don't know a man of them away from
+his business," said Mr Baxter, staring. "They may live in Park Lane or
+they may live in Petticoat Lane for all I know. Besides, there aren't so
+many experts as you seem to imagine. And the two best will very likely
+quarrel over it. You've had to do with 'expert witnesses,' I suppose?"
+
+"I don't want a witness; there will be no need to give evidence. All I
+want is an absolutely authoritative pronouncement that I can act on. Is
+there no one who can really say whether the thing is genuine or not?"
+
+Mr Baxter's meaning silence became cynical in its implication as he
+continued to look at his visitor across the counter. Then he relaxed.
+
+"Stay a bit; there is a man--an amateur--I remember hearing wonderful
+things about some time ago. They say he really does know."
+
+"There you are," exclaimed Mr Carlyle, much relieved. "There always is
+someone. Who is he?"
+
+"Funny name," replied Baxter. "Something Wynn or Wynn something." He
+craned his neck to catch sight of an important motor car that was
+drawing to the kerb before his window. "Wynn Carrados! You'll excuse me
+now, Mr Carlyle, won't you? This looks like Mr Offmunson."
+
+Mr Carlyle hastily scribbled the name down on his cuff.
+
+"Wynn Carrados, right. Where does he live?"
+
+"Haven't the remotest idea," replied Baxter, referring the arrangement
+of his tie to the judgment of the wall mirror. "I have never seen the
+man myself. Now, Mr Carlyle, I'm sorry I can't do any more for you. You
+won't mind, will you?"
+
+Mr Carlyle could not pretend to misunderstand. He enjoyed the
+distinction of holding open the door for the transatlantic
+representative of the line of Offa as he went out, and then made his way
+through the muddy streets back to his office. There was only one way of
+tracing a private individual at such short notice--through the pages of
+the directories, and the gentleman did not flatter himself by a very
+high estimate of his chances.
+
+Fortune favoured him, however. He very soon discovered a Wynn Carrados
+living at Richmond, and, better still, further search failed to unearth
+another. There was, apparently, only one householder at all events of
+that name in the neighbourhood of London. He jotted down the address and
+set out for Richmond.
+
+The house was some distance from the station, Mr Carlyle learned. He
+took a taxicab and drove, dismissing the vehicle at the gate. He prided
+himself on his power of observation and the accuracy of the deductions
+which resulted from it--a detail of his business. "It's nothing more
+than using one's eyes and putting two and two together," he would
+modestly declare, when he wished to be deprecatory rather than
+impressive, and by the time he had reached the front door of "The
+Turrets" he had formed some opinion of the position and tastes of the
+man who lived there.
+
+A man-servant admitted Mr Carlyle and took in his card--his private card
+with the bare request for an interview that would not detain Mr Carrados
+for ten minutes. Luck still favoured him; Mr Carrados was at home and
+would see him at once. The servant, the hall through which they passed,
+and the room into which he was shown, all contributed something to the
+deductions which the quietly observant gentleman was half unconsciously
+recording.
+
+"Mr Carlyle," announced the servant.
+
+The room was a library or study. The only occupant, a man of about
+Carlyle's own age, had been using a typewriter up to the moment of his
+visitor's entrance. He now turned and stood up with an expression of
+formal courtesy.
+
+"It's very good of you to see me at this hour," apologized the caller.
+
+The conventional expression of Mr Carrados's face changed a little.
+
+"Surely my man has got your name wrong?" he exclaimed. "Isn't it Louis
+Calling?"
+
+The visitor stopped short and his agreeable smile gave place to a sudden
+flash of anger or annoyance.
+
+"No, sir," he replied stiffly. "My name is on the card which you have
+before you."
+
+"I beg your pardon," said Mr Carrados, with perfect good-humour. "I
+hadn't seen it. But I used to know a Calling some years ago--at St
+Michael's."
+
+"St Michael's!" Mr Carlyle's features underwent another change, no less
+instant and sweeping than before. "St Michael's! Wynn Carrados? Good
+heavens! it isn't Max Wynn--old 'Winning' Wynn?"
+
+"A little older and a little fatter--yes," replied Carrados. "I _have_
+changed my name, you see."
+
+"Extraordinary thing meeting like this," said his visitor, dropping into
+a chair and staring hard at Mr Carrados. "I have changed more than my
+name. How did you recognize me?"
+
+"The voice," replied Carrados. "It took me back to that little
+smoke-dried attic den of yours where we----"
+
+"My God!" exclaimed Carlyle bitterly, "don't remind me of what we were
+going to do in those days." He looked round the well-furnished, handsome
+room and recalled the other signs of wealth that he had noticed. "At all
+events, you seem fairly comfortable, Wynn."
+
+"I am alternately envied and pitied," replied Carrados, with a placid
+tolerance of circumstance that seemed characteristic of him. "Still, as
+you say, I am fairly comfortable."
+
+"Envied, I can understand. But why are you pitied?"
+
+"Because I am blind," was the tranquil reply.
+
+"Blind!" exclaimed Mr Carlyle, using his own eyes superlatively. "Do you
+mean--literally blind?"
+
+"Literally.... I was riding along a bridle-path through a wood about a
+dozen years ago with a friend. He was in front. At one point a twig
+sprang back--you know how easily a thing like that happens. It just
+flicked my eye--nothing to think twice about."
+
+"And that blinded you?"
+
+"Yes, ultimately. It's called amaurosis."
+
+"I can scarcely believe it. You seem so sure and self-reliant. Your eyes
+are full of expression--only a little quieter than they used to be. I
+believe you were typing when I came.... Aren't you having me?"
+
+"You miss the dog and the stick?" smiled Carrados. "No; it's a fact."
+
+"What an awful infliction for you, Max. You were always such an
+impulsive, reckless sort of fellow--never quiet. You must miss such a
+fearful lot."
+
+"Has anyone else recognized you?" asked Carrados quietly.
+
+"Ah, that was the voice, you said," replied Carlyle.
+
+"Yes; but other people heard the voice as well. Only I had no
+blundering, self-confident eyes to be hoodwinked."
+
+"That's a rum way of putting it," said Carlyle. "Are your ears never
+hoodwinked, may I ask?"
+
+"Not now. Nor my fingers. Nor any of my other senses that have to look
+out for themselves."
+
+"Well, well," murmured Mr Carlyle, cut short in his sympathetic
+emotions. "I'm glad you take it so well. Of course, if you find it an
+advantage to be blind, old man----" He stopped and reddened. "I beg your
+pardon," he concluded stiffly.
+
+"Not an advantage perhaps," replied the other thoughtfully. "Still it
+has compensations that one might not think of. A new world to explore,
+new experiences, new powers awakening; strange new perceptions; life in
+the fourth dimension. But why do you beg my pardon, Louis?"
+
+"I am an ex-solicitor, struck off in connexion with the falsifying of a
+trust account, Mr Carrados," replied Carlyle, rising.
+
+"Sit down, Louis," said Carrados suavely. His face, even his incredibly
+living eyes, beamed placid good-nature. "The chair on which you will
+sit, the roof above you, all the comfortable surroundings to which you
+have so amiably alluded, are the direct result of falsifying a trust
+account. But do I call you 'Mr Carlyle' in consequence? Certainly not,
+Louis."
+
+"I did not falsify the account," cried Carlyle hotly. He sat down,
+however, and added more quietly: "But why do I tell you all this? I have
+never spoken of it before."
+
+"Blindness invites confidence," replied Carrados. "We are out of the
+running--human rivalry ceases to exist. Besides, why shouldn't you? In
+my case the account _was_ falsified."
+
+"Of course that's all bunkum, Max," commented Carlyle. "Still, I
+appreciate your motive."
+
+"Practically everything I possess was left to me by an American cousin,
+on the condition that I took the name of Carrados. He made his fortune
+by an ingenious conspiracy of doctoring the crop reports and unloading
+favourably in consequence. And I need hardly remind you that the
+receiver is equally guilty with the thief."
+
+"But twice as safe. I know something of that, Max.... Have you any idea
+what my business is?"
+
+"You shall tell me," replied Carrados.
+
+"I run a private inquiry agency. When I lost my profession I had to do
+something for a living. This occurred. I dropped my name, changed my
+appearance and opened an office. I knew the legal side down to the
+ground and I got a retired Scotland Yard man to organize the outside
+work."
+
+"Excellent!" cried Carrados. "Do you unearth many murders?"
+
+"No," admitted Mr Carlyle; "our business lies mostly on the conventional
+lines among divorce and defalcation."
+
+"That's a pity," remarked Carrados. "Do you know, Louis, I always had a
+secret ambition to be a detective myself. I have even thought lately
+that I might still be able to do something at it if the chance came my
+way. That makes you smile?"
+
+"Well, certainly, the idea----"
+
+"Yes, the idea of a blind detective--the blind tracking the alert----"
+
+"Of course, as you say, certain faculties are no doubt quickened," Mr
+Carlyle hastened to add considerately, "but, seriously, with the
+exception of an artist, I don't suppose there is any man who is more
+utterly dependent on his eyes."
+
+Whatever opinion Carrados might have held privately, his genial exterior
+did not betray a shadow of dissent. For a full minute he continued to
+smoke as though he derived an actual visual enjoyment from the blue
+sprays that travelled and dispersed across the room. He had already
+placed before his visitor a box containing cigars of a brand which that
+gentleman keenly appreciated but generally regarded as unattainable, and
+the matter-of-fact ease and certainty with which the blind man had
+brought the box and put it before him had sent a questioning flicker
+through Carlyle's mind.
+
+"You used to be rather fond of art yourself, Louis," he remarked
+presently. "Give me your opinion of my latest purchase--the bronze lion
+on the cabinet there." Then, as Carlyle's gaze went about the room, he
+added quickly: "No, not that cabinet--the one on your left."
+
+Carlyle shot a sharp glance at his host as he got up, but Carrados's
+expression was merely benignly complacent. Then he strolled across to
+the figure.
+
+"Very nice," he admitted. "Late Flemish, isn't it?"
+
+"No. It is a copy of Vidal's 'Roaring lion.'"
+
+"Vidal?"
+
+"A French artist." The voice became indescribably flat. "He, also, had
+the misfortune to be blind, by the way."
+
+"You old humbug, Max!" shrieked Carlyle, "you've been thinking that out
+for the last five minutes." Then the unfortunate man bit his lip and
+turned his back towards his host.
+
+"Do you remember how we used to pile it up on that obtuse ass Sanders
+and then roast him?" asked Carrados, ignoring the half-smothered
+exclamation with which the other man had recalled himself.
+
+"Yes," replied Carlyle quietly. "This is very good," he continued,
+addressing himself to the bronze again. "How ever did he do it?"
+
+"With his hands."
+
+"Naturally. But, I mean, how did he study his model?"
+
+"Also with his hands. He called it 'seeing near.'"
+
+"Even with a lion--handled it?"
+
+"In such cases he required the services of a keeper, who brought the
+animal to bay while Vidal exercised his own particular gifts.... You
+don't feel inclined to put me on the track of a mystery, Louis?"
+
+Unable to regard this request as anything but one of old Max's
+unquenchable pleasantries, Mr Carlyle was on the point of making a
+suitable reply when a sudden thought caused him to smile knowingly. Up
+to that point he had, indeed, completely forgotten the object of his
+visit. Now that he remembered the doubtful Dionysius and Mr Baxter's
+recommendation he immediately assumed that some mistake had been made.
+Either Max was not the Wynn Carrados he had been seeking or else the
+dealer had been misinformed; for although his host was wonderfully
+expert in the face of his misfortune, it was inconceivable that he could
+decide the genuineness of a coin without seeing it. The opportunity
+seemed a good one of getting even with Carrados by taking him at his
+word.
+
+"Yes," he accordingly replied, with crisp deliberation, as he recrossed
+the room; "yes, I will, Max. Here is the clue to what seems to be a
+rather remarkable fraud." He put the tetradrachm into his host's hand.
+"What do you make of it?"
+
+For a few seconds Carrados handled the piece with the delicate
+manipulation of his finger-tips while Carlyle looked on with a
+self-appreciative grin. Then with equal gravity the blind man weighed
+the coin in the balance of his hand. Finally he touched it with his
+tongue.
+
+"Well?" demanded the other.
+
+"Of course I have not much to go on, and if I was more fully in your
+confidence I might come to another conclusion----"
+
+"Yes, yes," interposed Carlyle, with amused encouragement.
+
+"Then I should advise you to arrest the parlourmaid, Nina Brun,
+communicate with the police authorities of Padua for particulars of the
+career of Helene Brunesi, and suggest to Lord Seastoke that he should
+return to London to see what further depredations have been made in his
+cabinet."
+
+Mr Carlyle's groping hand sought and found a chair, on to which he
+dropped blankly. His eyes were unable to detach themselves for a single
+moment from the very ordinary spectacle of Mr Carrados's mildly
+benevolent face, while the sterilized ghost of his now forgotten
+amusement still lingered about his features.
+
+"Good heavens!" he managed to articulate, "how do you know?"
+
+"Isn't that what you wanted of me?" asked Carrados suavely.
+
+"Don't humbug, Max," said Carlyle severely. "This is no joke." An
+undefined mistrust of his own powers suddenly possessed him in the
+presence of this mystery. "How do you come to know of Nina Brun and Lord
+Seastoke?"
+
+"You are a detective, Louis," replied Carrados. "How does one know these
+things? By using one's eyes and putting two and two together."
+
+Carlyle groaned and flung out an arm petulantly.
+
+"Is it all bunkum, Max? Do you really see all the time--though that
+doesn't go very far towards explaining it."
+
+"Like Vidal, I see very well--at close quarters," replied Carrados,
+lightly running a forefinger along the inscription on the tetradrachm.
+"For longer range I keep another pair of eyes. Would you like to test
+them?"
+
+Mr Carlyle's assent was not very gracious; it was, in fact, faintly
+sulky. He was suffering the annoyance of feeling distinctly unimpressive
+in his own department; but he was also curious.
+
+"The bell is just behind you, if you don't mind," said his host.
+"Parkinson will appear. You might take note of him while he is in."
+
+The man who had admitted Mr Carlyle proved to be Parkinson.
+
+"This gentleman is Mr Carlyle, Parkinson," explained Carrados the moment
+the man entered. "You will remember him for the future?"
+
+Parkinson's apologetic eye swept the visitor from head to foot, but so
+lightly and swiftly that it conveyed to that gentleman the comparison
+of being very deftly dusted.
+
+"I will endeavour to do so, sir," replied Parkinson, turning again to
+his master.
+
+"I shall be at home to Mr Carlyle whenever he calls. That is all."
+
+"Very well, sir."
+
+"Now, Louis," remarked Mr Carrados briskly, when the door had closed
+again, "you have had a good opportunity of studying Parkinson. What is
+he like?"
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"I mean as a matter of description. I am a blind man--I haven't seen my
+servant for twelve years--what idea can you give me of him? I asked you
+to notice."
+
+"I know you did, but your Parkinson is the sort of man who has very
+little about him to describe. He is the embodiment of the ordinary. His
+height is about average----"
+
+"Five feet nine," murmured Carrados. "Slightly above the mean."
+
+"Scarcely noticeably so. Clean-shaven. Medium brown hair. No
+particularly marked features. Dark eyes. Good teeth."
+
+"False," interposed Carrados. "The teeth--not the statement."
+
+"Possibly," admitted Mr Carlyle. "I am not a dental expert and I had no
+opportunity of examining Mr Parkinson's mouth in detail. But what is
+the drift of all this?"
+
+"His clothes?"
+
+"Oh, just the ordinary evening dress of a valet. There is not much room
+for variety in that."
+
+"You noticed, in fact, nothing special by which Parkinson could be
+identified?"
+
+"Well, he wore an unusually broad gold ring on the little finger of the
+left hand."
+
+"But that is removable. And yet Parkinson has an ineradicable mole--a
+small one, I admit--on his chin. And you a human sleuth-hound. Oh,
+Louis!"
+
+"At all events," retorted Carlyle, writhing a little under this
+good-humoured satire, although it was easy enough to see in it
+Carrados's affectionate intention--"at all events, I dare say I can give
+as good a description of Parkinson as he can give of me."
+
+"That is what we are going to test. Ring the bell again."
+
+"Seriously?"
+
+"Quite. I am trying my eyes against yours. If I can't give you fifty out
+of a hundred I'll renounce my private detectorial ambition for ever."
+
+"It isn't quite the same," objected Carlyle, but he rang the bell.
+
+"Come in and close the door, Parkinson," said Carrados when the man
+appeared. "Don't look at Mr Carlyle again--in fact, you had better stand
+with your back towards him, he won't mind. Now describe to me his
+appearance as you observed it."
+
+Parkinson tendered his respectful apologies to Mr Carlyle for the
+liberty he was compelled to take, by the deferential quality of his
+voice.
+
+"Mr Carlyle, sir, wears patent leather boots of about size seven and
+very little used. There are five buttons, but on the left boot one
+button--the third up--is missing, leaving loose threads and not the more
+usual metal fastener. Mr Carlyle's trousers, sir, are of a dark
+material, a dark grey line of about a quarter of an inch width on a
+darker ground. The bottoms are turned permanently up and are, just now,
+a little muddy, if I may say so."
+
+"Very muddy," interposed Mr Carlyle generously. "It is a wet night,
+Parkinson."
+
+"Yes, sir; very unpleasant weather. If you will allow me, sir, I will
+brush you in the hall. The mud is dry now, I notice. Then, sir,"
+continued Parkinson, reverting to the business in hand, "there are dark
+green cashmere hose. A curb-pattern key-chain passes into the left-hand
+trouser pocket."
+
+From the visitor's nether garments the photographic-eyed Parkinson
+proceeded to higher ground, and with increasing wonder Mr Carlyle
+listened to the faithful catalogue of his possessions. His
+fetter-and-link albert of gold and platinum was minutely described. His
+spotted blue ascot, with its gentlemanly pearl scarfpin, was set forth,
+and the fact that the buttonhole in the left lapel of his morning coat
+showed signs of use was duly noted. What Parkinson saw he recorded but
+he made no deductions. A handkerchief carried in the cuff of the right
+sleeve was simply that to him and not an indication that Mr Carlyle was,
+indeed, left-handed.
+
+But a more delicate part of Parkinson's undertaking remained. He
+approached it with a double cough.
+
+"As regards Mr Carlyle's personal appearance; sir----"
+
+"No, enough!" cried the gentleman concerned hastily. "I am more than
+satisfied. You are a keen observer, Parkinson."
+
+"I have trained myself to suit my master's requirements, sir," replied
+the man. He looked towards Mr Carrados, received a nod and withdrew.
+
+Mr Carlyle was the first to speak.
+
+"That man of yours would be worth five pounds a week to me, Max," he
+remarked thoughtfully. "But, of course----"
+
+"I don't think that he would take it," replied Carrados, in a voice of
+equally detached speculation. "He suits me very well. But you have the
+chance of using his services--indirectly."
+
+"You still mean that--seriously?"
+
+"I notice in you a chronic disinclination to take me seriously, Louis.
+It is really--to an Englishman--almost painful. Is there something
+inherently comic about me or the atmosphere of The Turrets?"
+
+"No, my friend," replied Mr Carlyle, "but there is something
+essentially prosperous. That is what points to the improbable. Now what
+is it?"
+
+"It might be merely a whim, but it is more than that," replied Carrados.
+"It is, well, partly vanity, partly _ennui_, partly"--certainly there
+was something more nearly tragic in his voice than comic now--"partly
+hope."
+
+Mr Carlyle was too tactful to pursue the subject.
+
+"Those are three tolerable motives," he acquiesced. "I'll do anything
+you want, Max, on one condition."
+
+"Agreed. And it is?"
+
+"That you tell me how you knew so much of this affair." He tapped the
+silver coin which lay on the table near them. "I am not easily
+flabbergasted," he added.
+
+"You won't believe that there is nothing to explain--that it was purely
+second-sight?"
+
+"No," replied Carlyle tersely; "I won't."
+
+"You are quite right. And yet the thing is very simple."
+
+"They always are--when you know," soliloquized the other. "That's what
+makes them so confoundedly difficult when you don't."
+
+"Here is this one then. In Padua, which seems to be regaining its old
+reputation as the birthplace of spurious antiques, by the way, there
+lives an ingenious craftsman named Pietro Stelli. This simple soul, who
+possesses a talent not inferior to that of Cavino at his best, has for
+many years turned his hand to the not unprofitable occupation of
+forging rare Greek and Roman coins. As a collector and student of
+certain Greek colonials and a specialist in forgeries I have been
+familiar with Stelli's workmanship for years. Latterly he seems to have
+come under the influence of an international crook called--at the
+moment--Dompierre, who soon saw a way of utilizing Stelli's genius on a
+royal scale. Helene Brunesi, who in private life is--and really is, I
+believe--Madame Dompierre, readily lent her services to the enterprise."
+
+"Quite so," nodded Mr Carlyle, as his host paused.
+
+"You see the whole sequence, of course?"
+
+"Not exactly--not in detail," confessed Mr Carlyle.
+
+"Dompierre's idea was to gain access to some of the most celebrated
+cabinets of Europe and substitute Stelli's fabrications for the genuine
+coins. The princely collection of rarities that he would thus amass
+might be difficult to dispose of safely but I have no doubt that he had
+matured his plans. Helene, in the person of Nina Bran, an Anglicised
+French parlourmaid--a part which she fills to perfection--was to obtain
+wax impressions of the most valuable pieces and to make the exchange
+when the counterfeits reached her. In this way it was obviously hoped
+that the fraud would not come to light until long after the real coins
+had been sold, and I gather that she has already done her work
+successfully in several houses. Then, impressed by her excellent
+references and capable manner, my housekeeper engaged her, and for a few
+weeks she went about her duties here. It was fatal to this detail of
+the scheme, however, that I have the misfortune to be blind. I am told
+that Helene has so innocently angelic a face as to disarm suspicion, but
+I was incapable of being impressed and that good material was thrown
+away. But one morning my material fingers--which, of course, knew
+nothing of Helene's angelic face--discovered an unfamiliar touch about
+the surface of my favourite Euclideas, and, although there was doubtless
+nothing to be seen, my critical sense of smell reported that wax had
+been recently pressed against it. I began to make discreet inquiries and
+in the meantime my cabinets went to the local bank for safety. Helene
+countered by receiving a telegram from Angiers, calling her to the
+death-bed of her aged mother. The aged mother succumbed; duty compelled
+Helene to remain at the side of her stricken patriarchal father, and
+doubtless The Turrets was written off the syndicate's operations as a
+bad debt."
+
+"Very interesting," admitted Mr Carlyle; "but at the risk of seeming
+obtuse"--his manner had become delicately chastened--"I must say that I
+fail to trace the inevitable connexion between Nina Brun and this
+particular forgery--assuming that it is a forgery."
+
+"Set your mind at rest about that, Louis," replied Carrados. "It is a
+forgery, and it is a forgery that none but Pietro Stelli could have
+achieved. That is the essential connexion. Of course, there are
+accessories. A private detective coming urgently to see me with a
+notable tetradrachm in his pocket, which he announces to be the clue to
+a remarkable fraud--well, really, Louis, one scarcely needs to be blind
+to see through that."
+
+"And Lord Seastoke? I suppose you happened to discover that Nina Brun
+had gone there?"
+
+"No, I cannot claim to have discovered that, or I should certainly have
+warned him at once when I found out--only recently--about the gang. As a
+matter of fact, the last information I had of Lord Seastoke was a line
+in yesterday's _Morning Post_ to the effect that he was still at Cairo.
+But many of these pieces----" He brushed his finger almost lovingly
+across the vivid chariot race that embellished the reverse of the coin,
+and broke off to remark: "You really ought to take up the subject,
+Louis. You have no idea how useful it might prove to you some day."
+
+"I really think I must," replied Carlyle grimly. "Two hundred and fifty
+pounds the original of this cost, I believe."
+
+"Cheap, too; it would make five hundred pounds in New York to-day. As I
+was saying, many are literally unique. This gem by Kimon is--here is his
+signature, you see; Peter is particularly good at lettering--and as I
+handled the genuine tetradrachm about two years ago, when Lord Seastoke
+exhibited it at a meeting of our society in Albemarle Street, there is
+nothing at all wonderful in my being able to fix the locale of your
+mystery. Indeed, I feel that I ought to apologize for it all being so
+simple."
+
+"I think," remarked Mr Carlyle, critically examining the loose threads
+on his left boot, "that the apology on that head would be more
+appropriate from me."
+
+
+
+
+THE KNIGHT'S CROSS SIGNAL PROBLEM
+
+
+"Louis," exclaimed Mr Carrados, with the air of genial gaiety that
+Carlyle had found so incongruous to his conception of a blind man, "you
+have a mystery somewhere about you! I know it by your step."
+
+Nearly a month had passed since the incident of the false Dionysius had
+led to the two men meeting. It was now December. Whatever Mr Carlyle's
+step might indicate to the inner eye it betokened to the casual observer
+the manner of a crisp, alert, self-possessed man of business. Carlyle,
+in truth, betrayed nothing of the pessimism and despondency that had
+marked him on the earlier occasion.
+
+"You have only yourself to thank that it is a very poor one," he
+retorted. "If you hadn't held me to a hasty promise----"
+
+"To give me an option on the next case that baffled you, no matter what
+it was----"
+
+"Just so. The consequence is that you get a very unsatisfactory affair
+that has no special interest to an amateur and is only baffling because
+it is--well----"
+
+"Well, baffling?"
+
+"Exactly, Max. Your would-be jest has discovered the proverbial truth. I
+need hardly tell you that it is only the insoluble that is finally
+baffling and this is very probably insoluble. You remember the awful
+smash on the Central and Suburban at Knight's Cross Station a few weeks
+ago?"
+
+"Yes," replied Carrados, with interest. "I read the whole ghastly
+details at the time."
+
+"You read?" exclaimed his friend suspiciously.
+
+"I still use the familiar phrases," explained Carrados, with a smile.
+"As a matter of fact, my secretary reads to me. I mark what I want to
+hear and when he comes at ten o'clock we clear off the morning papers in
+no time."
+
+"And how do you know what to mark?" demanded Mr Carlyle cunningly.
+
+Carrados's right hand, lying idly on the table, moved to a newspaper
+near. He ran his finger along a column heading, his eyes still turned
+towards his visitor.
+
+"'The Money Market. Continued from page 2. British Railways,'" he
+announced.
+
+"Extraordinary," murmured Carlyle.
+
+"Not very," said Carrados. "If someone dipped a stick in treacle and
+wrote 'Rats' across a marble slab you would probably be able to
+distinguish what was there, blindfold."
+
+"Probably," admitted Mr Carlyle. "At all events we will not test the
+experiment."
+
+"The difference to you of treacle on a marble background is scarcely
+greater than that of printers' ink on newspaper to me. But anything
+smaller than pica I do not read with comfort, and below long primer I
+cannot read at all. Hence the secretary. Now the accident, Louis."
+
+"The accident: well, you remember all about that. An ordinary Central
+and Suburban passenger train, non-stop at Knight's Cross, ran past the
+signal and crashed into a crowded electric train that was just beginning
+to move out. It was like sending a garden roller down a row of
+handlights. Two carriages of the electric train were flattened out of
+existence; the next two were broken up. For the first time on an English
+railway there was a good stand-up smash between a heavy steam-engine and
+a train of light cars, and it was 'bad for the coo.'"
+
+"Twenty-seven killed, forty something injured, eight died since,"
+commented Carrados.
+
+"That was bad for the Co.," said Carlyle. "Well, the main fact was plain
+enough. The heavy train was in the wrong. But was the engine-driver
+responsible? He claimed, and he claimed vehemently from the first and he
+never varied one iota, that he had a 'clear' signal--that is to say, the
+green light, it being dark. The signalman concerned was equally dogged
+that he never pulled off the signal--that it was at 'danger' when the
+accident happened and that it had been for five minutes before.
+Obviously, they could not both be right."
+
+"Why, Louis?" asked Mr Carrados smoothly.
+
+"The signal must either have been up or down--red or green."
+
+"Did you ever notice the signals on the Great Northern Railway, Louis?"
+
+"Not particularly. Why?"
+
+"One winterly day, about the year when you and I were concerned in being
+born, the engine-driver of a Scotch express received the 'clear' from a
+signal near a little Huntingdon station called Abbots Ripton. He went on
+and crashed into a goods train and into the thick of the smash a down
+express mowed its way. Thirteen killed and the usual tale of injured. He
+was positive that the signal gave him a 'clear'; the signalman was
+equally confident that he had never pulled it off the 'danger.' Both
+were right, and yet the signal was in working order. As I said, it was a
+winterly day; it had been snowing hard and the snow froze and
+accumulated on the upper edge of the signal arm until its weight bore it
+down. That is a fact that no fiction writer dare have invented, but to
+this day every signal on the Great Northern pivots from the centre of
+the arm instead of from the end, in memory of that snowstorm."
+
+"That came out at the inquest, I presume?" said Mr Carlyle. "We have had
+the Board of Trade inquiry and the inquest here and no explanation is
+forthcoming. Everything was in perfect order. It rests between the word
+of the signalman and the word of the engine-driver--not a jot of direct
+evidence either way. Which is right?"
+
+"That is what you are going to find out, Louis?" suggested Carrados.
+
+"It is what I am being paid for finding out," admitted Mr Carlyle
+frankly. "But so far we are just where the inquest left it, and, between
+ourselves, I candidly can't see an inch in front of my face in the
+matter."
+
+"Nor can I," said the blind man, with a rather wry smile. "Never mind.
+The engine-driver is your client, of course?"
+
+"Yes," admitted Carlyle. "But how the deuce did you know?"
+
+"Let us say that your sympathies are enlisted on his behalf. The jury
+were inclined to exonerate the signalman, weren't they? What has the
+company done with your man?"
+
+"Both are suspended. Hutchins, the driver, hears that he may probably be
+given charge of a lavatory at one of the stations. He is a decent,
+bluff, short-spoken old chap, with his heart in his work. Just now
+you'll find him at his worst--bitter and suspicious. The thought of
+swabbing down a lavatory and taking pennies all day is poisoning him."
+
+"Naturally. Well, there we have honest Hutchins: taciturn, a little
+touchy perhaps, grown grey in the service of the company, and
+manifesting quite a bulldog-like devotion to his favourite 538."
+
+"Why, that actually was the number of his engine--how do you know it?"
+demanded Carlyle sharply.
+
+"It was mentioned two or three times at the inquest, Louis," replied
+Carrados mildly.
+
+"And you remembered--with no reason to?"
+
+"You can generally trust a blind man's memory, especially if he has
+taken the trouble to develop it."
+
+"Then you will remember that Hutchins did not make a very good
+impression at the time. He was surly and irritable under the ordeal. I
+want you to see the case from all sides."
+
+"He called the signalman--Mead--a 'lying young dog,' across the room, I
+believe. Now, Mead, what is he like? You have seen him, of course?"
+
+"Yes. He does not impress me favourably. He is glib, ingratiating, and
+distinctly 'greasy.' He has a ready answer for everything almost before
+the question is out of your mouth. He has thought of everything."
+
+"And now you are going to tell me something, Louis," said Carrados
+encouragingly.
+
+Mr Carlyle laughed a little to cover an involuntary movement of
+surprise.
+
+"There is a suggestive line that was not touched at the inquiries," he
+admitted. "Hutchins has been a saving man all his life, and he has
+received good wages. Among his class he is regarded as wealthy. I
+daresay that he has five hundred pounds in the bank. He is a widower
+with one daughter, a very nice-mannered girl of about twenty. Mead is a
+young man, and he and the girl are sweethearts--have been informally
+engaged for some time. But old Hutchins would not hear of it; he seems
+to have taken a dislike to the signalman from the first and latterly he
+had forbidden him to come to his house or his daughter to speak to him."
+
+"Excellent, Louis," cried Carrados in great delight. "We shall clear
+your man in a blaze of red and green lights yet and hang the glib,
+'greasy' signalman from his own signal-post."
+
+"It is a significant fact, seriously?"
+
+"It is absolutely convincing."
+
+"It may have been a slip, a mental lapse on Mead's part which he
+discovered the moment it was too late, and then, being too cowardly to
+admit his fault, and having so much at stake, he took care to make
+detection impossible. It may have been that, but my idea is rather that
+probably it was neither quite pure accident nor pure design. I can
+imagine Mead meanly pluming himself over the fact that the life of this
+man who stands in his way, and whom he must cordially dislike, lies in
+his power. I can imagine the idea becoming an obsession as he dwells on
+it. A dozen times with his hand on the lever he lets his mind explore
+the possibilities of a moment's defection. Then one day he pulls the
+signal off in sheer bravado--and hastily puts it at danger again. He may
+have done it once or he may have done it oftener before he was caught in
+a fatal moment of irresolution. The chances are about even that the
+engine-driver would be killed. In any case he would be disgraced, for it
+is easier on the face of it to believe that a man might run past a
+danger signal in absentmindedness, without noticing it, than that a man
+should pull off a signal and replace it without being conscious of his
+actions."
+
+"The fireman was killed. Does your theory involve the certainty of the
+fireman being killed, Louis?"
+
+"No," said Carlyle. "The fireman is a difficulty, but looking at it from
+Mead's point of view--whether he has been guilty of an error or a
+crime--it resolves itself into this: First, the fireman may be killed.
+Second, he may not notice the signal at all. Third, in any case he will
+loyally corroborate his driver and the good old jury will discount
+that."
+
+Carrados smoked thoughtfully, his open, sightless eyes merely appearing
+to be set in a tranquil gaze across the room.
+
+"It would not be an improbable explanation," he said presently.
+"Ninety-nine men out of a hundred would say: 'People do not do these
+things.' But you and I, who have in our different ways studied
+criminology, know that they sometimes do, or else there would be no
+curious crimes. What have you done on that line?"
+
+To anyone who could see, Mr Carlyle's expression conveyed an answer.
+
+"You are behind the scenes, Max. What was there for me to do? Still I
+must do something for my money. Well, I have had a very close inquiry
+made confidentially among the men. There might be a whisper of one of
+them knowing more than had come out--a man restrained by friendship, or
+enmity, or even grade jealousy. Nothing came of that. Then there was the
+remote chance that some private person had noticed the signal without
+attaching any importance to it then, one who would be able to identify
+it still by something associated with the time. I went over the line
+myself. Opposite the signal the line on one side is shut in by a high
+blank wall; on the other side are houses, but coming below the butt-end
+of a scullery the signal does not happen to be visible from any road or
+from any window."
+
+"My poor Louis!" said Carrados, in friendly ridicule. "You were at the
+end of your tether?"
+
+"I was," admitted Carlyle. "And now that you know the sort of job it is
+I don't suppose that you are keen on wasting your time over it."
+
+"That would hardly be fair, would it?" said Carrados reasonably. "No,
+Louis, I will take over your honest old driver and your greasy young
+signalman and your fatal signal that cannot be seen from anywhere."
+
+"But it is an important point for you to remember, Max, that although
+the signal cannot be seen from the box, if the mechanism had gone wrong,
+or anyone tampered with the arm, the automatic indicator would at once
+have told Mead that the green light was showing. Oh, I have gone very
+thoroughly into the technical points, I assure you."
+
+"I must do so too," commented Mr Carrados gravely.
+
+"For that matter, if there is anything you want to know, I dare say
+that I can tell you," suggested his visitor. "It might save your time."
+
+"True," acquiesced Carrados. "I should like to know whether anyone
+belonging to the houses that bound the line there came of age or got
+married on the twenty-sixth of November."
+
+Mr Carlyle looked across curiously at his host.
+
+"I really do not know, Max," he replied, in his crisp, precise way.
+"What on earth has that got to do with it, may I inquire?"
+
+"The only explanation of the Pont St Lin swing-bridge disaster of '75
+was the reflection of a green bengal light on a cottage window."
+
+Mr Carlyle smiled his indulgence privately.
+
+"My dear chap, you mustn't let your retentive memory of obscure
+happenings run away with you," he remarked wisely. "In nine cases out of
+ten the obvious explanation is the true one. The difficulty, as here,
+lies in proving it. Now, you would like to see these men?"
+
+"I expect so; in any case, I will see Hutchins first."
+
+"Both live in Holloway. Shall I ask Hutchins to come here to see
+you--say to-morrow? He is doing nothing."
+
+"No," replied Carrados. "To-morrow I must call on my brokers and my time
+may be filled up."
+
+"Quite right; you mustn't neglect your own affairs for
+this--experiment," assented Carlyle.
+
+"Besides, I should prefer to drop in on Hutchins at his own home. Now,
+Louis, enough of the honest old man for one night. I have a lovely thing
+by Eumenes that I want to show you. To-day is--Tuesday. Come to dinner
+on Sunday and pour the vials of your ridicule on my want of success."
+
+"That's an amiable way of putting it," replied Carlyle. "All right, I
+will."
+
+Two hours later Carrados was again in his study, apparently, for a
+wonder, sitting idle. Sometimes he smiled to himself, and once or twice
+he laughed a little, but for the most part his pleasant, impassive face
+reflected no emotion and he sat with his useless eyes tranquilly fixed
+on an unseen distance. It was a fantastic caprice of the man to mock his
+sightlessness by a parade of light, and under the soft brilliance of a
+dozen electric brackets the room was as bright as day. At length he
+stood up and rang the bell.
+
+"I suppose Mr Greatorex isn't still here by any chance, Parkinson?" he
+asked, referring to his secretary.
+
+"I think not, sir, but I will ascertain," replied the man.
+
+"Never mind. Go to his room and bring me the last two files of _The
+Times_. Now"--when he returned--"turn to the earliest you have there.
+The date?"
+
+"November the second."
+
+"That will do. Find the Money Market; it will be in the Supplement. Now
+look down the columns until you come to British Railways."
+
+"I have it, sir."
+
+"Central and Suburban. Read the closing price and the change."
+
+"Central and Suburban Ordinary, 66-1/2 - 67-1/2, fall 1/8. Preferred
+Ordinary, 81 - 81-1/2, no change. Deferred Ordinary, 27-1/2 - 27-3/4, fall
+1/4. That is all, sir."
+
+"Now take a paper about a week on. Read the Deferred only."
+
+"27 - 27-1/4, no change."
+
+"Another week."
+
+"29-1/2 - 30, rise 5/8."
+
+"Another."
+
+"31-1/2 - 32-1/2, rise 1."
+
+"Very good. Now on Tuesday the twenty-seventh November."
+
+"31-7/8 - 32-3/4, rise 1/2."
+
+"Yes. The next day."
+
+"24-1/2 - 23-1/2, fall 9."
+
+"Quite so, Parkinson. There had been an accident, you see."
+
+"Yes, sir. Very unpleasant accident. Jane knows a person whose sister's
+young man has a cousin who had his arm torn off in it--torn off at the
+socket, she says, sir. It seems to bring it home to one, sir."
+
+"That is all. Stay--in the paper you have, look down the first money
+column and see if there is any reference to the Central and Suburban."
+
+"Yes, sir. 'City and Suburbans, which after their late depression on the
+projected extension of the motor bus service, had been steadily
+creeping up on the abandonment of the scheme, and as a result of their
+own excellent traffic returns, suffered a heavy slump through the
+lamentable accident of Thursday night. The Deferred in particular at one
+time fell eleven points as it was felt that the possible dividend, with
+which rumour has of late been busy, was now out of the question.'"
+
+"Yes; that is all. Now you can take the papers back. And let it be a
+warning to you, Parkinson, not to invest your savings in speculative
+railway deferreds."
+
+"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir, I will endeavour to remember." He lingered
+for a moment as he shook the file of papers level. "I may say, sir, that
+I have my eye on a small block of cottage property at Acton. But even
+cottage property scarcely seems safe from legislative depredation now,
+sir."
+
+The next day Mr Carrados called on his brokers in the city. It is to be
+presumed that he got through his private business quicker than he
+expected, for after leaving Austin Friars he continued his journey to
+Holloway, where he found Hutchins at home and sitting morosely before
+his kitchen fire. Rightly assuming that his luxuriant car would involve
+him in a certain amount of public attention in Klondyke Street, the
+blind man dismissed it some distance from the house, and walked the rest
+of the way, guided by the almost imperceptible touch of Parkinson's arm.
+
+"Here is a gentleman to see you, father," explained Miss Hutchins, who
+had come to the door. She divined the relative positions of the two
+visitors at a glance.
+
+"Then why don't you take him into the parlour?" grumbled the ex-driver.
+His face was a testimonial of hard work and general sobriety but at the
+moment one might hazard from his voice and manner that he had been
+drinking earlier in the day.
+
+"I don't think that the gentleman would be impressed by the difference
+between our parlour and our kitchen," replied the girl quaintly, "and it
+is warmer here."
+
+"What's the matter with the parlour now?" demanded her father sourly.
+"It was good enough for your mother and me. It used to be good enough
+for you."
+
+"There is nothing the matter with it, nor with the kitchen either." She
+turned impassively to the two who had followed her along the narrow
+passage. "Will you go in, sir?"
+
+"I don't want to see no gentleman," cried Hutchins noisily.
+"Unless"--his manner suddenly changed to one of pitiable
+anxiety--"unless you're from the Company, sir, to--to----"
+
+"No; I have come on Mr Carlyle's behalf," replied Carrados, walking to a
+chair as though he moved by a kind of instinct.
+
+Hutchins laughed his wry contempt.
+
+"Mr Carlyle!" he reiterated; "Mr Carlyle! Fat lot of good he's been.
+Why don't he _do_ something for his money?"
+
+"He has," replied Carrados, with imperturbable good-humour; "he has sent
+me. Now, I want to ask you a few questions."
+
+"A few questions!" roared the irate man. "Why, blast it, I have done
+nothing else but answer questions for a month. I didn't pay Mr Carlyle
+to ask me questions; I can get enough of that for nixes. Why don't you
+go and ask Mr Herbert Ananias Mead your few questions--then you might
+find out something."
+
+There was a slight movement by the door and Carrados knew that the girl
+had quietly left the room.
+
+"You saw that, sir?" demanded the father, diverted to a new line of
+bitterness. "You saw that girl--my own daughter, that I've worked for
+all her life?"
+
+"No," replied Carrados.
+
+"The girl that's just gone out--she's my daughter," explained Hutchins.
+
+"I know, but I did not see her. I see nothing. I am blind."
+
+"Blind!" exclaimed the old fellow, sitting up in startled wonderment.
+"You mean it, sir? You walk all right and you look at me as if you saw
+me. You're kidding surely."
+
+"No," smiled Carrados. "It's quite right."
+
+"Then it's a funny business, sir--you what are blind expecting to find
+something that those with their eyes couldn't," ruminated Hutchins
+sagely.
+
+"There are things that you can't see with your eyes, Hutchins."
+
+"Perhaps you are right, sir. Well, what is it you want to know?"
+
+"Light a cigar first," said the blind man, holding out his case and
+waiting until the various sounds told him that his host was smoking
+contentedly. "The train you were driving at the time of the accident was
+the six-twenty-seven from Notcliff. It stopped everywhere until it
+reached Lambeth Bridge, the chief London station of your line. There it
+became something of an express, and leaving Lambeth Bridge at
+seven-eleven, should not stop again until it fetched Swanstead on
+Thames, eleven miles out, at seven-thirty-four. Then it stopped on and
+off from Swanstead to Ingerfield, the terminus of that branch, which it
+reached at eight-five."
+
+Hutchins nodded, and then, remembering, said: "That's right, sir."
+
+"That was your business all day--running between Notcliff and
+Ingerfield?"
+
+"Yes, sir. Three journeys up and three down mostly."
+
+"With the same stops on all the down journeys?"
+
+"No. The seven-eleven is the only one that does a run from the Bridge to
+Swanstead. You see, it is just on the close of the evening rush, as they
+call it. A good many late business gentlemen living at Swanstead use
+the seven-eleven regular. The other journeys we stop at every station to
+Lambeth Bridge, and then here and there beyond."
+
+"There are, of course, other trains doing exactly the same journey--a
+service, in fact?"
+
+"Yes, sir. About six."
+
+"And do any of those--say, during the rush--do any of those run non-stop
+from Lambeth to Swanstead?"
+
+Hutchins reflected a moment. All the choler and restlessness had melted
+out of the man's face. He was again the excellent artisan, slow but
+capable and self-reliant.
+
+"That I couldn't definitely say, sir. Very few short-distance trains
+pass the junction, but some of those may. A guide would show us in a
+minute but I haven't got one."
+
+"Never mind. You said at the inquest that it was no uncommon thing for
+you to be pulled up at the 'stop' signal east of Knight's Cross Station.
+How often would that happen--only with the seven-eleven, mind."
+
+"Perhaps three times a week; perhaps twice."
+
+"The accident was on a Thursday. Have you noticed that you were pulled
+up oftener on a Thursday than on any other day?"
+
+A smile crossed the driver's face at the question.
+
+"You don't happen to live at Swanstead yourself, sir?" he asked in
+reply.
+
+"No," admitted Carrados. "Why?"
+
+"Well, sir, we were _always_ pulled up on Thursday; practically always,
+you may say. It got to be quite a saying among those who used the train
+regular; they used to look out for it."
+
+Carrados's sightless eyes had the one quality of concealing emotion
+supremely. "Oh," he commented softly, "always; and it was quite a
+saying, was it? And _why_ was it always so on Thursday?"
+
+"It had to do with the early closing, I'm told. The suburban traffic was
+a bit different. By rights we ought to have been set back two minutes
+for that day, but I suppose it wasn't thought worth while to alter us in
+the time-table, so we most always had to wait outside Three Deep tunnel
+for a west-bound electric to make good."
+
+"You were prepared for it then?"
+
+"Yes, sir, I was," said Hutchins, reddening at some recollection, "and
+very down about it was one of the jury over that. But, mayhap once in
+three months, I did get through even on a Thursday, and it's not for me
+to question whether things are right or wrong just because they are not
+what I may expect. The signals are my orders, sir--stop! go on! and it's
+for me to obey, as you would a general on the field of battle. What
+would happen otherwise! It was nonsense what they said about going
+cautious; and the man who started it was a barber who didn't know the
+difference between a 'distance' and a 'stop' signal down to the minute
+they gave their verdict. My orders, sir, given me by that signal, was
+'Go right ahead and keep to your running time!'"
+
+Carrados nodded a soothing assent. "That is all, I think," he remarked.
+
+"All!" exclaimed Hutchins in surprise. "Why, sir, you can't have got
+much idea of it yet."
+
+"Quite enough. And I know it isn't pleasant for you to be taken along
+the same ground over and over again."
+
+The man moved awkwardly in his chair and pulled nervously at his
+grizzled beard.
+
+"You mustn't take any notice of what I said just now, sir," he
+apologized. "You somehow make me feel that something may come of it; but
+I've been badgered about and accused and cross-examined from one to
+another of them these weeks till it's fairly made me bitter against
+everything. And now they talk of putting me in a lavatory--me that has
+been with the company for five and forty years and on the foot-plate
+thirty-two--a man suspected of running past a danger signal."
+
+"You have had a rough time, Hutchins; you will have to exercise your
+patience a little longer yet," said Carrados sympathetically.
+
+"You think something may come of it, sir? You think you will be able to
+clear me? Believe me, sir, if you could give me something to look
+forward to it might save me from----" He pulled himself up and shook his
+head sorrowfully. "I've been near it," he added simply.
+
+Carrados reflected and took his resolution.
+
+"To-day is Wednesday. I think you may hope to hear something from your
+general manager towards the middle of next week."
+
+"Good God, sir! You really mean that?"
+
+"In the interval show your good sense by behaving reasonably. Keep
+civilly to yourself and don't talk. Above all"--he nodded towards a
+quart jug that stood on the table between them, an incident that filled
+the simple-minded engineer with boundless wonder when he recalled it
+afterwards--"above all, leave that alone."
+
+Hutchins snatched up the vessel and brought it crashing down on the
+hearthstone, his face shining with a set resolution.
+
+"I've done with it, sir. It was the bitterness and despair that drove me
+to that. Now I can do without it."
+
+The door was hastily opened and Miss Hutchins looked anxiously from her
+father to the visitors and back again.
+
+"Oh, whatever is the matter?" she exclaimed. "I heard a great crash."
+
+"This gentleman is going to clear me, Meg, my dear," blurted out the old
+man irrepressibly. "And I've done with the drink for ever."
+
+"Hutchins! Hutchins!" said Carrados warningly.
+
+"My daughter, sir; you wouldn't have her not know?" pleaded Hutchins,
+rather crest-fallen. "It won't go any further."
+
+Carrados laughed quietly to himself as he felt Margaret Hutchins's
+startled and questioning eyes attempting to read his mind. He shook
+hands with the engine-driver without further comment, however, and
+walked out into the commonplace little street under Parkinson's
+unobtrusive guidance.
+
+"Very nice of Miss Hutchins to go into half-mourning, Parkinson," he
+remarked as they went along. "Thoughtful, and yet not ostentatious."
+
+"Yes, sir," agreed Parkinson, who had long ceased to wonder at his
+master's perceptions.
+
+"The Romans, Parkinson, had a saying to the effect that gold carries no
+smell. That is a pity sometimes. What jewellery did Miss Hutchins wear?"
+
+"Very little, sir. A plain gold brooch representing a merry-thought--the
+merry-thought of a sparrow, I should say, sir. The only other article
+was a smooth-backed gun-metal watch, suspended from a gun-metal bow."
+
+"Nothing showy or expensive, eh?"
+
+"Oh dear no, sir. Quite appropriate for a young person of her position."
+
+"Just what I should have expected." He slackened his pace. "We are
+passing a hoarding, are we not?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"We will stand here a moment. Read me the letterpress of the poster
+before us."
+
+"This 'Oxo' one, sir?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"'Oxo,' sir."
+
+Carrados was convulsed with silent laughter. Parkinson had infinitely
+more dignity and conceded merely a tolerant recognition of the
+ludicrous.
+
+"That was a bad shot, Parkinson," remarked his master when he could
+speak. "We will try another."
+
+For three minutes, with scrupulous conscientiousness on the part of the
+reader and every appearance of keen interest on the part of the hearer,
+there were set forth the particulars of a sale by auction of superfluous
+timber and builders' material.
+
+"That will do," said Carrados, when the last detail had been reached.
+"We can be seen from the door of No. 107 still?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"No indication of anyone coming to us from there?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+Carrados walked thoughtfully on again. In the Holloway Road they
+rejoined the waiting motor car. "Lambeth Bridge Station," was the order
+the driver received.
+
+From the station the car was sent on home and Parkinson was instructed
+to take two first-class singles for Richmond, which could be reached by
+changing at Stafford Road. The "evening rush" had not yet commenced and
+they had no difficulty in finding an empty carriage when the train came
+in.
+
+Parkinson was kept busy that journey describing what he saw at various
+points between Lambeth Bridge and Knight's Cross. For a quarter of a
+mile Carrados's demands on the eyes and the memory of his remarkable
+servant were wide and incessant. Then his questions ceased. They had
+passed the "stop" signal, east of Knight's Cross Station.
+
+The following afternoon they made the return journey as far as Knight's
+Cross. This time, however, the surroundings failed to interest Carrados.
+"We are going to look at some rooms," was the information he offered on
+the subject, and an imperturbable "Yes, sir" had been the extent of
+Parkinson's comment on the unusual proceeding. After leaving the station
+they turned sharply along a road that ran parallel with the line, a dull
+thoroughfare of substantial, elderly houses that were beginning to sink
+into decrepitude. Here and there a corner residence displayed the brass
+plate of a professional occupant, but for the most part they were given
+up to the various branches of second-rate apartment letting.
+
+"The third house after the one with the flagstaff," said Carrados.
+
+Parkinson rang the bell, which was answered by a young servant, who took
+an early opportunity of assuring them that she was not tidy as it was
+rather early in the afternoon. She informed Carrados, in reply to his
+inquiry, that Miss Chubb was at home, and showed them into a melancholy
+little sitting-room to await her appearance.
+
+"I shall be 'almost' blind here, Parkinson," remarked Carrados, walking
+about the room. "It saves explanation."
+
+"Very good, sir," replied Parkinson.
+
+Five minutes later, an interval suggesting that Miss Chubb also found it
+rather early in the afternoon, Carrados was arranging to take rooms for
+his attendant and himself for the short time that he would be in London,
+seeing an oculist.
+
+"One bedroom, mine, must face north," he stipulated. "It has to do with
+the light."
+
+Miss Chubb replied that she quite understood. Some gentlemen, she added,
+had their requirements, others their fancies. She endeavoured to suit
+all. The bedroom she had in view from the first _did_ face north. She
+would not have known, only the last gentleman, curiously enough, had
+made the same request.
+
+"A sufferer like myself?" inquired Carrados affably.
+
+Miss Chubb did not think so. In his case she regarded it merely as a
+fancy. He had said that he could not sleep on any other side. She had
+had to turn out of her own room to accommodate him, but if one kept an
+apartment-house one had to be adaptable; and Mr Ghoosh was certainly
+very liberal in his ideas.
+
+"Ghoosh? An Indian gentleman, I presume?" hazarded Carrados.
+
+It appeared that Mr Ghoosh was an Indian. Miss Chubb confided that at
+first she had been rather perturbed at the idea of taking in "a black
+man," as she confessed to regarding him. She reiterated, however, that
+Mr Ghoosh proved to be "quite the gentleman." Five minutes of affability
+put Carrados in full possession of Mr Ghoosh's manner of life and
+movements--the dates of his arrival and departure, his solitariness and
+his daily habits.
+
+"This would be the best bedroom," said Miss Chubb.
+
+It was a fair-sized room on the first floor. The window looked out on to
+the roof of an outbuilding; beyond, the deep cutting of the railway
+line. Opposite stood the dead wall that Mr Carlyle had spoken of.
+
+Carrados "looked" round the room with the discriminating glance that
+sometimes proved so embarrassing to those who knew him.
+
+"I have to take a little daily exercise," he remarked, walking to the
+window and running his hand up the woodwork. "You will not mind my
+fixing a 'developer' here, Miss Chubb--a few small screws?"
+
+Miss Chubb thought not. Then she was sure not. Finally she ridiculed the
+idea of minding with scorn.
+
+"If there is width enough," mused Carrados, spanning the upright
+critically. "Do you happen to have a wooden foot-rule convenient?"
+
+"Well, to be sure!" exclaimed Miss Chubb, opening a rapid succession of
+drawers until she produced the required article. "When we did out this
+room after Mr Ghoosh, there was this very ruler among the things that he
+hadn't thought worth taking. This is what you require, sir?"
+
+"Yes," replied Carrados, accepting it, "I think this is exactly what I
+require." It was a common new white-wood rule, such as one might buy at
+any small stationer's for a penny. He carelessly took off the width of
+the upright, reading the figures with a touch; and then continued to run
+a finger-tip delicately up and down the edges of the instrument.
+
+"Four and seven-eighths," was his unspoken conclusion.
+
+"I hope it will do, sir."
+
+"Admirably," replied Carrados. "But I haven't reached the end of my
+requirements yet, Miss Chubb."
+
+"No, sir?" said the landlady, feeling that it would be a pleasure to
+oblige so agreeable a gentleman, "what else might there be?"
+
+"Although I can see very little I like to have a light, but not any kind
+of light. Gas I cannot do with. Do you think that you would be able to
+find me an oil lamp?"
+
+"Certainly, sir. I got out a very nice brass lamp that I have specially
+for Mr Ghoosh. He read a good deal of an evening and he preferred a
+lamp."
+
+"That is very convenient. I suppose it is large enough to burn for a
+whole evening?"
+
+"Yes, indeed. And very particular he was always to have it filled every
+day."
+
+"A lamp without oil is not very useful," smiled Carrados, following her
+towards another room, and absentmindedly slipping the foot-rule into his
+pocket.
+
+Whatever Parkinson thought of the arrangement of going into second-rate
+apartments in an obscure street it is to be inferred that his devotion
+to his master was sufficient to overcome his private emotions as a
+self-respecting "man." At all events, as they were approaching the
+station he asked, and without a trace of feeling, whether there were any
+orders for him with reference to the proposed migration.
+
+"None, Parkinson," replied his master. "We must be satisfied with our
+present quarters."
+
+"I beg your pardon, sir," said Parkinson, with some constraint. "I
+understood that you had taken the rooms for a week certain."
+
+"I am afraid that Miss Chubb will be under the same impression.
+Unforeseen circumstances will prevent our going, however. Mr Greatorex
+must write to-morrow, enclosing a cheque, with my regrets, and adding a
+penny for this ruler which I seem to have brought away with me. It, at
+least, is something for the money."
+
+Parkinson may be excused for not attempting to understand the course of
+events.
+
+"Here is your train coming in, sir," he merely said.
+
+"We will let it go and wait for another. Is there a signal at either end
+of the platform?"
+
+"Yes, sir; at the further end."
+
+"Let us walk towards it. Are there any of the porters or officials about
+here?"
+
+"No, sir; none."
+
+"Take this ruler. I want you to go up the steps--there are steps up the
+signal, by the way?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"I want you to measure the glass of the lamp. Do not go up any higher
+than is necessary, but if you have to stretch be careful not to mark on
+the measurement with your nail, although the impulse is a natural one.
+That has been done already."
+
+Parkinson looked apprehensively around and about. Fortunately the part
+was a dark and unfrequented spot and everyone else was moving towards
+the exit at the other end of the platform. Fortunately, also, the signal
+was not a high one.
+
+"As near as I can judge on the rounded surface, the glass is four and
+seven-eighths across," reported Parkinson.
+
+"Thank you," replied Carrados, returning the measure to his pocket,
+"four and seven-eighths is quite near enough. Now we will take the next
+train back."
+
+Sunday evening came, and with it Mr Carlyle to The Turrets at the
+appointed hour. He brought to the situation a mind poised for any
+eventuality and a trenchant eye. As the time went on and the
+impenetrable Carrados made no allusion to the case, Carlyle's manner
+inclined to a waggish commiseration of his host's position. Actually, he
+said little, but the crisp precision of his voice when the path lay open
+to a remark of any significance left little to be said.
+
+It was not until they had finished dinner and returned to the library
+that Carrados gave the slightest hint of anything unusual being in the
+air. His first indication of coming events was to remove the key from
+the outside to the inside of the door.
+
+"What are you doing, Max?" demanded Mr Carlyle, his curiosity overcoming
+the indirect attitude.
+
+"You have been very entertaining, Louis," replied his friend, "but
+Parkinson should be back very soon now and it is as well to be prepared.
+Do you happen to carry a revolver?"
+
+"Not when I come to dine with you, Max," replied Carlyle, with all the
+aplomb he could muster. "Is it usual?"
+
+Carrados smiled affectionately at his guest's agile recovery and touched
+the secret spring of a drawer in an antique bureau by his side. The
+little hidden receptacle shot smoothly out, disclosing a pair of
+dull-blued pistols.
+
+"To-night, at all events, it might be prudent," he replied, handing one
+to Carlyle and putting the other into his own pocket. "Our man may be
+here at any minute, and we do not know in what temper he will come."
+
+"Our man!" exclaimed Carlyle, craning forward in excitement. "Max! you
+don't mean to say that you have got Mead to admit it?"
+
+"No one has admitted it," said Carrados. "And it is not Mead."
+
+"Not Mead.... Do you mean that Hutchins----?"
+
+"Neither Mead nor Hutchins. The man who tampered with the signal--for
+Hutchins was right and a green light _was_ exhibited--is a young Indian
+from Bengal. His name is Drishna and he lives at Swanstead."
+
+Mr Carlyle stared at his friend between sheer surprise and blank
+incredulity.
+
+"You really mean this, Carrados?" he said.
+
+"My fatal reputation for humour!" smiled Carrados. "If I am wrong,
+Louis, the next hour will expose it."
+
+"But why--why--why? The colossal villainy, the unparalleled audacity!"
+Mr Carlyle lost himself among incredulous superlatives and could only
+stare.
+
+"Chiefly to get himself out of a disastrous speculation," replied
+Carrados, answering the question. "If there was another motive--or at
+least an incentive--which I suspect, doubtless we shall hear of it."
+
+"All the same, Max, I don't think that you have treated me quite
+fairly," protested Carlyle, getting over his first surprise and passing
+to a sense of injury. "Here we are and I know nothing, absolutely
+nothing, of the whole affair."
+
+"We both have our ideas of pleasantry, Louis," replied Carrados
+genially. "But I dare say you are right and perhaps there is still time
+to atone." In the fewest possible words he outlined the course of his
+investigations. "And now you know all that is to be known until Drishna
+arrives."
+
+"But will he come?" questioned Carlyle doubtfully. "He may be
+suspicious."
+
+"Yes, he will be suspicious."
+
+"Then he will not come."
+
+"On the contrary, Louis, he will come because my letter will make him
+suspicious. He _is_ coming; otherwise Parkinson would have telephoned
+me at once and we should have had to take other measures."
+
+"What did you say, Max?" asked Carlyle curiously.
+
+"I wrote that I was anxious to discuss an Indo-Scythian inscription with
+him, and sent my car in the hope that he would be able to oblige me."
+
+"But is he interested in Indo-Scythian inscriptions?"
+
+"I haven't the faintest idea," admitted Carrados, and Mr Carlyle was
+throwing up his hands in despair when the sound of a motor car wheels
+softly kissing the gravel surface of the drive outside brought him to
+his feet.
+
+"By gad, you are right, Max!" he exclaimed, peeping through the
+curtains. "There is a man inside."
+
+"Mr Drishna," announced Parkinson, a minute later.
+
+The visitor came into the room with leisurely self-possession that might
+have been real or a desperate assumption. He was a slightly built young
+man of about twenty-five, with black hair and eyes, a small, carefully
+trained moustache, and a dark olive skin. His physiognomy was not
+displeasing, but his expression had a harsh and supercilious tinge. In
+attire he erred towards the immaculately spruce.
+
+"Mr Carrados?" he said inquiringly.
+
+Carrados, who had risen, bowed slightly without offering his hand.
+
+"This gentleman," he said, indicating his friend, "is Mr Carlyle, the
+celebrated private detective."
+
+The Indian shot a very sharp glance at the object of this description.
+Then he sat down.
+
+"You wrote me a letter, Mr Carrados," he remarked, in English that
+scarcely betrayed any foreign origin, "a rather curious letter, I may
+say. You asked me about an ancient inscription. I know nothing of
+antiquities; but I thought, as you had sent, that it would be more
+courteous if I came and explained this to you."
+
+"That was the object of my letter," replied Carrados.
+
+"You wished to see me?" said Drishna, unable to stand the ordeal of the
+silence that Carrados imposed after his remark.
+
+"When you left Miss Chubb's house you left a ruler behind." One lay on
+the desk by Carrados and he took it up as he spoke.
+
+"I don't understand what you are talking about," said Drishna guardedly.
+"You are making some mistake."
+
+"The ruler was marked at four and seven-eighths inches--the measure of
+the glass of the signal lamp outside."
+
+The unfortunate young man was unable to repress a start. His face lost
+its healthy tone. Then, with a sudden impulse, he made a step forward
+and snatched the object from Carrados's hand.
+
+"If it is mine I have a right to it," he exclaimed, snapping the ruler
+in two and throwing it on to the back of the blazing fire. "It is
+nothing."
+
+"Pardon me, I did not say that the one you have so impetuously disposed
+of was yours. As a matter of fact, it was mine. Yours is--elsewhere."
+
+"Wherever it is you have no right to it if it is mine," panted Drishna,
+with rising excitement. "You are a thief, Mr Carrados. I will not stay
+any longer here."
+
+He jumped up and turned towards the door. Carlyle made a step forward,
+but the precaution was unnecessary.
+
+"One moment, Mr Drishna," interposed Carrados, in his smoothest tones.
+"It is a pity, after you have come so far, to leave without hearing of
+my investigations in the neighbourhood of Shaftesbury Avenue."
+
+Drishna sat down again.
+
+"As you like," he muttered. "It does not interest me."
+
+"I wanted to obtain a lamp of a certain pattern," continued Carrados.
+"It seemed to me that the simplest explanation would be to say that I
+wanted it for a motor car. Naturally I went to Long Acre. At the first
+shop I said: 'Wasn't it here that a friend of mine, an Indian gentleman,
+recently had a lamp made with a green glass that was nearly five inches
+across?' No, it was not there but they could make me one. At the next
+shop the same; at the third, and fourth, and so on. Finally my
+persistence was rewarded. I found the place where the lamp had been
+made, and at the cost of ordering another I obtained all the details I
+wanted. It was news to them, the shopman informed me, that in some parts
+of India green was the danger colour and therefore tail lamps had to
+show a green light. The incident made some impression on him and he
+would be able to identify their customer--who paid in advance and gave
+no address--among a thousand of his countrymen. Do I succeed in
+interesting you, Mr Drishna?"
+
+"Do you?" replied Drishna, with a languid yawn. "Do I look interested?"
+
+"You must make allowance for my unfortunate blindness," apologized
+Carrados, with grim irony.
+
+"Blindness!" exclaimed Drishna, dropping his affectation of unconcern as
+though electrified by the word, "do you mean--really blind--that you do
+not see me?"
+
+"Alas, no," admitted Carrados.
+
+The Indian withdrew his right hand from his coat pocket and with a
+tragic gesture flung a heavy revolver down on the table between them.
+
+"I have had you covered all the time, Mr Carrados, and if I had wished
+to go and you or your friend had raised a hand to stop me, it would have
+been at the peril of your lives," he said, in a voice of melancholy
+triumph. "But what is the use of defying fate, and who successfully
+evades his destiny? A month ago I went to see one of our people who
+reads the future and sought to know the course of certain events. 'You
+need fear no human eye,' was the message given to me. Then she added:
+'But when the sightless sees the unseen, make your peace with Yama.' And
+I thought she spoke of the Great Hereafter!"
+
+"This amounts to an admission of your guilt," exclaimed Mr Carlyle
+practically.
+
+"I bow to the decree of fate," replied Drishna. "And it is fitting to
+the universal irony of existence that a blind man should be the
+instrument. I don't imagine, Mr Carlyle," he added maliciously, "that
+you, with your eyes, would ever have brought that result about."
+
+"You are a very cold-blooded young scoundrel, sir!" retorted Mr Carlyle.
+"Good heavens! do you realize that you are responsible for the death of
+scores of innocent men and women?"
+
+"Do _you_ realise, Mr Carlyle, that you and your Government and your
+soldiers are responsible for the death of thousands of innocent men and
+women in my country every day? If England was occupied by the Germans
+who quartered an army and an administration with their wives and their
+families and all their expensive paraphernalia on the unfortunate
+country until the whole nation was reduced to the verge of famine, and
+the appointment of every new official meant the callous death sentence
+on a thousand men and women to pay his salary, then if you went to
+Berlin and wrecked a train you would be hailed a patriot. What Boadicea
+did and--and Samson, so have I. If they were heroes, so am I."
+
+"Well, upon my word!" cried the highly scandalized Carlyle, "what next!
+Boadicea was a--er--semi-legendary person, whom we may possibly admire
+at a distance. Personally, I do not profess to express an opinion. But
+Samson, I would remind you, is a Biblical character. Samson was mocked
+as an enemy. You, I do not doubt, have been entertained as a friend."
+
+"And haven't I been mocked and despised and sneered at every day of my
+life here by your supercilious, superior, empty-headed men?" flashed
+back Drishna, his eyes leaping into malignity and his voice trembling
+with sudden passion. "Oh! how I hated them as I passed them in the
+street and recognized by a thousand petty insults their lordly English
+contempt for me as an inferior being--a nigger. How I longed with
+Caligula that a nation had a single neck that I might destroy it at one
+blow. I loathe you in your complacent hypocrisy, Mr Carlyle, despise and
+utterly abominate you from an eminence of superiority that you can never
+even understand."
+
+"I think we are getting rather away from the point, Mr Drishna,"
+interposed Carrados, with the impartiality of a judge. "Unless I am
+misinformed, you are not so ungallant as to include everyone you have
+met here in your execration?"
+
+"Ah, no," admitted Drishna, descending into a quite ingenuous frankness.
+"Much as I hate your men I love your women. How is it possible that a
+nation should be so divided--its men so dull-witted and offensive, its
+women so quick, sympathetic and capable of appreciating?"
+
+"But a little expensive, too, at times?" suggested Carrados.
+
+Drishna sighed heavily.
+
+"Yes; it is incredible. It is the generosity of their large nature. My
+allowance, though what most of you would call noble, has proved quite
+inadequate. I was compelled to borrow money and the interest became
+overwhelming. Bankruptcy was impracticable because I should have then
+been recalled by my people, and much as I detest England a certain
+reason made the thought of leaving it unbearable."
+
+"Connected with the Arcady Theatre?"
+
+"You know? Well, do not let us introduce the lady's name. In order to
+restore myself I speculated on the Stock Exchange. My credit was good
+through my father's position and the standing of the firm to which I am
+attached. I heard on reliable authority, and very early, that the
+Central and Suburban, and the Deferred especially, was safe to fall
+heavily, through a motor bus amalgamation that was then a secret. I
+opened a bear account and sold largely. The shares fell, but only
+fractionally, and I waited. Then, unfortunately, they began to go up.
+Adverse forces were at work and rumours were put about. I could not
+stand the settlement, and in order to carry over an account I was
+literally compelled to deal temporarily with some securities that were
+not technically my own property."
+
+"Embezzlement, sir," commented Mr Carlyle icily. "But what is
+embezzlement on the top of wholesale murder!"
+
+"That is what it is called. In my case, however, it was only to be
+temporary. Unfortunately, the rise continued. Then, at the height of my
+despair, I chanced to be returning to Swanstead rather earlier than
+usual one evening, and the train was stopped at a certain signal to let
+another pass. There was conversation in the carriage and I learned
+certain details. One said that there would be an accident some day, and
+so forth. In a flash--as by an inspiration--I saw how the circumstance
+might be turned to account. A bad accident and the shares would
+certainly fall and my position would be retrieved. I think Mr Carrados
+has somehow learned the rest."
+
+"Max," said Mr Carlyle, with emotion, "is there any reason why you
+should not send your man for a police officer and have this monster
+arrested on his own confession without further delay?"
+
+"Pray do so, Mr Carrados," acquiesced Drishna. "I shall certainly be
+hanged, but the speech I shall prepare will ring from one end of India
+to the other; my memory will be venerated as that of a martyr; and the
+emancipation of my motherland will be hastened by my sacrifice."
+
+"In other words," commented Carrados, "there will be disturbances at
+half-a-dozen disaffected places, a few unfortunate police will be
+clubbed to death, and possibly worse things may happen. That does not
+suit us, Mr Drishna."
+
+"And how do you propose to prevent it?" asked Drishna, with cool
+assurance.
+
+"It is very unpleasant being hanged on a dark winter morning; very cold,
+very friendless, very inhuman. The long trial, the solitude and the
+confinement, the thoughts of the long sleepless night before, the
+hangman and the pinioning and the noosing of the rope, are apt to prey
+on the imagination. Only a very stupid man can take hanging easily."
+
+"What do you want me to do instead, Mr Carrados?" asked Drishna
+shrewdly.
+
+Carrados's hand closed on the weapon that still lay on the table between
+them. Without a word he pushed it across.
+
+"I see," commented Drishna, with a short laugh and a gleaming eye.
+"Shoot myself and hush it up to suit your purpose. Withhold my message
+to save the exposures of a trial, and keep the flame from the torch of
+insurrectionary freedom."
+
+"Also," interposed Carrados mildly, "to save your worthy people a good
+deal of shame, and to save the lady who is nameless the unpleasant
+necessity of relinquishing the house and the income which you have just
+settled on her. She certainly would not then venerate your memory."
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"The transaction which you carried through was based on a felony and
+could not be upheld. The firm you dealt with will go to the courts, and
+the money, being directly traceable, will be held forfeit as no good
+consideration passed."
+
+"Max!" cried Mr Carlyle hotly, "you are not going to let this scoundrel
+cheat the gallows after all?"
+
+"The best use you can make of the gallows is to cheat it, Louis,"
+replied Carrados. "Have you ever reflected what human beings will think
+of us a hundred years hence?"
+
+"Oh, of course I'm not really in favour of hanging," admitted Mr
+Carlyle.
+
+"Nobody really is. But we go on hanging. Mr Drishna is a dangerous
+animal who for the sake of pacific animals must cease to exist. Let his
+barbarous exploit pass into oblivion with him. The disadvantages of
+spreading it broadcast immeasurably outweigh the benefits."
+
+"I have considered," announced Drishna. "I will do as you wish."
+
+"Very well," said Carrados. "Here is some plain notepaper. You had
+better write a letter to someone saying that the financial difficulties
+in which you are involved make life unbearable."
+
+"But there are no financial difficulties--now."
+
+"That does not matter in the least. It will be put down to an
+hallucination and taken as showing the state of your mind."
+
+"But what guarantee have we that he will not escape?" whispered Mr
+Carlyle.
+
+"He cannot escape," replied Carrados tranquilly. "His identity is too
+clear."
+
+"I have no intention of trying to escape," put in Drishna, as he wrote.
+"You hardly imagine that I have not considered this eventuality, do
+you?"
+
+"All the same," murmured the ex-lawyer, "I should like to have a jury
+behind me. It is one thing to execute a man morally; it is another to do
+it almost literally."
+
+"Is that all right?" asked Drishna, passing across the letter he had
+written.
+
+Carrados smiled at this tribute to his perception.
+
+"Quite excellent," he replied courteously. "There is a train at
+nine-forty. Will that suit you?"
+
+Drishna nodded and stood up. Mr Carlyle had a very uneasy feeling that
+he ought to do something but could not suggest to himself what.
+
+The next moment he heard his friend heartily thanking the visitor for
+the assistance he had been in the matter of the Indo-Scythian
+inscription, as they walked across the hall together. Then a door
+closed.
+
+"I believe that there is something positively uncanny about Max at
+times," murmured the perturbed gentleman to himself.
+
+
+
+
+THE TRAGEDY AT BROOKBEND COTTAGE
+
+
+"Max," said Mr Carlyle, when Parkinson had closed the door behind him,
+"this is Lieutenant Hollyer, whom you consented to see."
+
+"To hear," corrected Carrados, smiling straight into the healthy and
+rather embarrassed face of the stranger before him. "Mr Hollyer knows of
+my disability?"
+
+"Mr Carlyle told me," said the young man, "but, as a matter of fact, I
+had heard of you before, Mr Carrados, from one of our men. It was in
+connexion with the foundering of the _Ivan Saratov_."
+
+Carrados wagged his head in good-humoured resignation.
+
+"And the owners were sworn to inviolable secrecy!" he exclaimed. "Well,
+it is inevitable, I suppose. Not another scuttling case, Mr Hollyer?"
+
+"No, mine is quite a private matter," replied the lieutenant. "My
+sister, Mrs Creake--but Mr Carlyle would tell you better than I can. He
+knows all about it."
+
+"No, no; Carlyle is a professional. Let me have it in the rough, Mr
+Hollyer. My ears are my eyes, you know."
+
+"Very well, sir. I can tell you what there is to tell, right enough, but
+I feel that when all's said and done it must sound very little to
+another, although it seems important enough to me."
+
+"We have occasionally found trifles of significance ourselves," said
+Carrados encouragingly. "Don't let that deter you."
+
+This was the essence of Lieutenant Hollyer's narrative:
+
+"I have a sister, Millicent, who is married to a man called Creake. She
+is about twenty-eight now and he is at least fifteen years older.
+Neither my mother (who has since died), nor I, cared very much about
+Creake. We had nothing particular against him, except, perhaps, the
+moderate disparity of age, but none of us appeared to have anything in
+common. He was a dark, taciturn man, and his moody silence froze up
+conversation. As a result, of course, we didn't see much of each other."
+
+"This, you must understand, was four or five years ago, Max," interposed
+Mr Carlyle officiously.
+
+Carrados maintained an uncompromising silence. Mr Carlyle blew his nose
+and contrived to impart a hurt significance into the operation. Then
+Lieutenant Hollyer continued:
+
+"Millicent married Creake after a very short engagement. It was a
+frightfully subdued wedding--more like a funeral to me. The man
+professed to have no relations and apparently he had scarcely any
+friends or business acquaintances. He was an agent for something or
+other and had an office off Holborn. I suppose he made a living out of
+it then, although we knew practically nothing of his private affairs,
+but I gather that it has been going down since, and I suspect that for
+the past few years they have been getting along almost entirely on
+Millicent's little income. You would like the particulars of that?"
+
+"Please," assented Carrados.
+
+"When our father died about seven years ago, he left three thousand
+pounds. It was invested in Canadian stock and brought in a little over a
+hundred a year. By his will my mother was to have the income of that for
+life and on her death it was to pass to Millicent, subject to the
+payment of a lump sum of five hundred pounds to me. But my father
+privately suggested to me that if I should have no particular use for
+the money at the time, he would propose my letting Millicent have the
+income of it until I did want it, as she would not be particularly well
+off. You see, Mr Carrados, a great deal more had been spent on my
+education and advancement than on her; I had my pay, and, of course, I
+could look out for myself better than a girl could."
+
+"Quite so," agreed Carrados.
+
+"Therefore I did nothing about that," continued the lieutenant. "Three
+years ago I was over again but I did not see much of them. They were
+living in lodgings. That was the only time since the marriage that I
+have seen them until last week. In the meanwhile our mother had died and
+Millicent had been receiving her income. She wrote me several letters
+at the time. Otherwise we did not correspond much, but about a year ago
+she sent me their new address--Brookbend Cottage, Mulling Common--a
+house that they had taken. When I got two months' leave I invited myself
+there as a matter of course, fully expecting to stay most of my time
+with them, but I made an excuse to get away after a week. The place was
+dismal and unendurable, the whole life and atmosphere indescribably
+depressing." He looked round with an instinct of caution, leaned forward
+earnestly, and dropped his voice. "Mr Carrados, it is my absolute
+conviction that Creake is only waiting for a favourable opportunity to
+murder Millicent."
+
+"Go on," said Carrados quietly. "A week of the depressing surroundings
+of Brookbend Cottage would not alone convince you of that, Mr Hollyer."
+
+"I am not so sure," declared Hollyer doubtfully. "There was a feeling of
+suspicion and--before me--polite hatred that would have gone a good way
+towards it. All the same there _was_ something more definite. Millicent
+told me this the day after I went there. There is no doubt that a few
+months ago Creake deliberately planned to poison her with some
+weed-killer. She told me the circumstances in a rather distressed
+moment, but afterwards she refused to speak of it again--even weakly
+denied it--and, as a matter of fact, it was with the greatest difficulty
+that I could get her at any time to talk about her husband or his
+affairs. The gist of it was that she had the strongest suspicion that
+Creake doctored a bottle of stout which he expected she would drink for
+her supper when she was alone. The weed-killer, properly labelled, but
+also in a beer bottle, was kept with other miscellaneous liquids in the
+same cupboard as the beer but on a high shelf. When he found that it had
+miscarried he poured away the mixture, washed out the bottle and put in
+the dregs from another. There is no doubt in my mind that if he had come
+back and found Millicent dead or dying he would have contrived it to
+appear that she had made a mistake in the dark and drunk some of the
+poison before she found out."
+
+"Yes," assented Carrados. "The open way; the safe way."
+
+"You must understand that they live in a very small style, Mr Carrados,
+and Millicent is almost entirely in the man's power. The only servant
+they have is a woman who comes in for a few hours every day. The house
+is lonely and secluded. Creake is sometimes away for days and nights at
+a time, and Millicent, either through pride or indifference, seems to
+have dropped off all her old friends and to have made no others. He
+might poison her, bury the body in the garden, and be a thousand miles
+away before anyone began even to inquire about her. What am I to do, Mr
+Carrados?"
+
+"He is less likely to try poison than some other means now," pondered
+Carrados. "That having failed, his wife will always be on her guard. He
+may know, or at least suspect, that others know. No.... The
+common-sense precaution would be for your sister to leave the man, Mr
+Hollyer. She will not?"
+
+"No," admitted Hollyer, "she will not. I at once urged that." The young
+man struggled with some hesitation for a moment and then blurted out:
+"The fact is, Mr Carrados, I don't understand Millicent. She is not the
+girl she was. She hates Creake and treats him with a silent contempt
+that eats into their lives like acid, and yet she is so jealous of him
+that she will let nothing short of death part them. It is a horrible
+life they lead. I stood it for a week and I must say, much as I dislike
+my brother-in-law, that he has something to put up with. If only he got
+into a passion like a man and killed her it wouldn't be altogether
+incomprehensible."
+
+"That does not concern us," said Carrados. "In a game of this kind one
+has to take sides and we have taken ours. It remains for us to see that
+our side wins. You mentioned jealousy, Mr Hollyer. Have you any idea
+whether Mrs Creake has real ground for it?"
+
+"I should have told you that," replied Lieutenant Hollyer. "I happened
+to strike up with a newspaper man whose office is in the same block as
+Creake's. When I mentioned the name he grinned. 'Creake,' he said, 'oh,
+he's the man with the romantic typist, isn't he?' 'Well, he's my
+brother-in-law,' I replied. 'What about the typist?' Then the chap shut
+up like a knife. 'No, no,' he said, 'I didn't know he was married. I
+don't want to get mixed up in anything of that sort. I only said that
+he had a typist. Well, what of that? So have we; so has everyone.' There
+was nothing more to be got out of him, but the remark and the grin
+meant--well, about as usual, Mr Carrados."
+
+Carrados turned to his friend.
+
+"I suppose you know all about the typist by now, Louis?"
+
+"We have had her under efficient observation, Max," replied Mr Carlyle,
+with severe dignity.
+
+"Is she unmarried?"
+
+"Yes; so far as ordinary repute goes, she is."
+
+"That is all that is essential for the moment. Mr Hollyer opens up three
+excellent reasons why this man might wish to dispose of his wife. If we
+accept the suggestion of poisoning--though we have only a jealous
+woman's suspicion for it--we add to the wish the determination. Well, we
+will go forward on that. Have you got a photograph of Mr Creake?"
+
+The lieutenant took out his pocket-book.
+
+"Mr Carlyle asked me for one. Here is the best I could get."
+
+Carrados rang the bell.
+
+"This, Parkinson," he said, when the man appeared, "is a photograph of a
+Mr----What first name, by the way?"
+
+"Austin," put in Hollyer, who was following everything with a boyish
+mixture of excitement and subdued importance.
+
+"--of a Mr Austin Creake. I may require you to recognize him."
+
+Parkinson glanced at the print and returned it to his master's hand.
+
+"May I inquire if it is a recent photograph of the gentleman, sir?" he
+asked.
+
+"About six years ago," said the lieutenant, taking in this new actor in
+the drama with frank curiosity. "But he is very little changed."
+
+"Thank you, sir. I will endeavour to remember Mr Creake, sir."
+
+Lieutenant Hollyer stood up as Parkinson left the room. The interview
+seemed to be at an end.
+
+"Oh, there's one other matter," he remarked. "I am afraid that I did
+rather an unfortunate thing while I was at Brookbend. It seemed to me
+that as all Millicent's money would probably pass into Creake's hands
+sooner or later I might as well have my five hundred pounds, if only to
+help her with afterwards. So I broached the subject and said that I
+should like to have it now as I had an opportunity for investing."
+
+"And you think?"
+
+"It may possibly influence Creake to act sooner than he otherwise might
+have done. He may have got possession of the principal even and find it
+very awkward to replace it."
+
+"So much the better. If your sister is going to be murdered it may as
+well be done next week as next year so far as I am concerned. Excuse my
+brutality, Mr Hollyer, but this is simply a case to me and I regard it
+strategically. Now Mr Carlyle's organization can look after Mrs Creake
+for a few weeks but it cannot look after her for ever. By increasing the
+immediate risk we diminish the permanent risk."
+
+"I see," agreed Hollyer. "I'm awfully uneasy but I'm entirely in your
+hands."
+
+"Then we will give Mr Creake every inducement and every opportunity to
+get to work. Where are you staying now?"
+
+"Just now with some friends at St Albans."
+
+"That is too far." The inscrutable eyes retained their tranquil depth
+but a new quality of quickening interest in the voice made Mr Carlyle
+forget the weight and burden of his ruffled dignity. "Give me a few
+minutes, please. The cigarettes are behind you, Mr Hollyer." The blind
+man walked to the window and seemed to look out over the cypress-shaded
+lawn. The lieutenant lit a cigarette and Mr Carlyle picked up _Punch_.
+Then Carrados turned round again.
+
+"You are prepared to put your own arrangements aside?" he demanded of
+his visitor.
+
+"Certainly."
+
+"Very well. I want you to go down now--straight from here--to Brookbend
+Cottage. Tell your sister that your leave is unexpectedly cut short and
+that you sail to-morrow."
+
+"The _Martian_?"
+
+"No, no; the _Martian_ doesn't sail. Look up the movements on your way
+there and pick out a boat that does. Say you are transferred. Add that
+you expect to be away only two or three months and that you really want
+the five hundred pounds by the time of your return. Don't stay in the
+house long, please."
+
+"I understand, sir."
+
+"St Albans is too far. Make your excuse and get away from there to-day.
+Put up somewhere in town, where you will be in reach of the telephone.
+Let Mr Carlyle and myself know where you are. Keep out of Creake's way.
+I don't want actually to tie you down to the house, but we may require
+your services. We will let you know at the first sign of anything doing
+and if there is nothing to be done we must release you."
+
+"I don't mind that. Is there nothing more that I can do now?"
+
+"Nothing. In going to Mr Carlyle you have done the best thing possible;
+you have put your sister into the care of the shrewdest man in London."
+Whereat the object of this quite unexpected eulogy found himself
+becoming covered with modest confusion.
+
+"Well, Max?" remarked Mr Carlyle tentatively when they were alone.
+
+"Well, Louis?"
+
+"Of course it wasn't worth while rubbing it in before young Hollyer,
+but, as a matter of fact, every single man carries the life of any other
+man--only one, mind you--in his hands, do what you will."
+
+"Provided he doesn't bungle," acquiesced Carrados.
+
+"Quite so."
+
+"And also that he is absolutely reckless of the consequences."
+
+"Of course."
+
+"Two rather large provisos. Creake is obviously susceptible to both.
+Have you seen him?"
+
+"No. As I told you, I put a man on to report his habits in town. Then,
+two days ago, as the case seemed to promise some interest--for he
+certainly is deeply involved with the typist, Max, and the thing might
+take a sensational turn any time--I went down to Mulling Common myself.
+Although the house is lonely it is on the electric tram route. You know
+the sort of market garden rurality that about a dozen miles out of
+London offers--alternate bricks and cabbages. It was easy enough to get
+to know about Creake locally. He mixes with no one there, goes into town
+at irregular times but generally every day, and is reputed to be
+devilish hard to get money out of. Finally I made the acquaintance of an
+old fellow who used to do a day's gardening at Brookbend occasionally.
+He has a cottage and a garden of his own with a greenhouse, and the
+business cost me the price of a pound of tomatoes."
+
+"Was it--a profitable investment?"
+
+"As tomatoes, yes; as information, no. The old fellow had the fatal
+disadvantage from our point of view of labouring under a grievance. A
+few weeks ago Creake told him that he would not require him again as he
+was going to do his own gardening in future."
+
+"That is something, Louis."
+
+"If only Creake was going to poison his wife with hyoscyamine and bury
+her, instead of blowing her up with a dynamite cartridge and claiming
+that it came in among the coal."
+
+"True, true. Still----"
+
+"However, the chatty old soul had a simple explanation for everything
+that Creake did. Creake was mad. He had even seen him flying a kite in
+his garden where it was bound to get wrecked among the trees. 'A lad of
+ten would have known better,' he declared. And certainly the kite did
+get wrecked, for I saw it hanging over the road myself. But that a sane
+man should spend his time 'playing with a toy' was beyond him."
+
+"A good many men have been flying kites of various kinds lately," said
+Carrados. "Is he interested in aviation?"
+
+"I dare say. He appears to have some knowledge of scientific subjects.
+Now what do you want me to do, Max?"
+
+"Will you do it?"
+
+"Implicitly--subject to the usual reservations."
+
+"Keep your man on Creake in town and let me have his reports after you
+have seen them. Lunch with me here now. 'Phone up to your office that
+you are detained on unpleasant business and then give the deserving
+Parkinson an afternoon off by looking after me while we take a motor run
+round Mulling Common. If we have time we might go on to Brighton, feed
+at the 'Ship,' and come back in the cool."
+
+"Amiable and thrice lucky mortal," sighed Mr Carlyle, his glance
+wandering round the room.
+
+But, as it happened, Brighton did not figure in that day's itinerary. It
+had been Carrados's intention merely to pass Brookbend Cottage on this
+occasion, relying on his highly developed faculties, aided by Mr
+Carlyle's description, to inform him of the surroundings. A hundred
+yards before they reached the house he had given an order to his
+chauffeur to drop into the lowest speed and they were leisurely drawing
+past when a discovery by Mr Carlyle modified their plans.
+
+"By Jupiter!" that gentleman suddenly exclaimed, "there's a board up,
+Max. The place is to be let."
+
+Carrados picked up the tube again. A couple of sentences passed and the
+car stopped by the roadside, a score of paces past the limit of the
+garden. Mr Carlyle took out his notebook and wrote down the address of a
+firm of house agents.
+
+"You might raise the bonnet and have a look at the engines, Harris,"
+said Carrados. "We want to be occupied here for a few minutes."
+
+"This is sudden; Hollyer knew nothing of their leaving," remarked Mr
+Carlyle.
+
+"Probably not for three months yet. All the same, Louis, we will go on
+to the agents and get a card to view, whether we use it to-day or not."
+
+A thick hedge, in its summer dress effectively screening the house
+beyond from public view, lay between the garden and the road. Above the
+hedge showed an occasional shrub; at the corner nearest to the car a
+chestnut flourished. The wooden gate, once white; which they had passed,
+was grimed and rickety. The road itself was still the unpretentious
+country lane that the advent of the electric car had found it. When
+Carrados had taken in these details there seemed little else to notice.
+He was on the point of giving Harris the order to go on when his ear
+caught a trivial sound.
+
+"Someone is coming out of the house, Louis," he warned his friend. "It
+may be Hollyer, but he ought to have gone by this time."
+
+"I don't hear anyone," replied the other, but as he spoke a door banged
+noisily and Mr Carlyle slipped into another seat and ensconced himself
+behind a copy of _The Globe_.
+
+"Creake himself," he whispered across the car, as a man appeared at the
+gate. "Hollyer was right; he is hardly changed. Waiting for a car, I
+suppose."
+
+But a car very soon swung past them from the direction in which Mr
+Creake was looking and it did not interest him. For a minute or two
+longer he continued to look expectantly along the road. Then he walked
+slowly up the drive back to the house.
+
+"We will give him five or ten minutes," decided Carrados. "Harris is
+behaving very naturally."
+
+Before even the shorter period had run out they were repaid. A
+telegraph-boy cycled leisurely along the road, and, leaving his machine
+at the gate, went up to the cottage. Evidently there was no reply, for
+in less than a minute he was trundling past them back again. Round the
+bend an approaching tram clanged its bell noisily, and, quickened by the
+warning sound, Mr Creake again appeared, this time with a small
+portmanteau in his hand. With a backward glance he hurried on towards
+the next stopping-place, and, boarding the car as it slackened down, he
+was carried out of their knowledge.
+
+"Very convenient of Mr Creake," remarked Carrados, with quiet
+satisfaction. "We will now get the order and go over the house in his
+absence. It might be useful to have a look at the wire as well."
+
+"It might, Max," acquiesced Mr Carlyle a little dryly. "But if it is, as
+it probably is, in Creake's pocket, how do you propose to get it?"
+
+"By going to the post office, Louis."
+
+"Quite so. Have you ever tried to see a copy of a telegram addressed to
+someone else?"
+
+"I don't think I have ever had occasion yet," admitted Carrados. "Have
+you?"
+
+"In one or two cases I have perhaps been an accessory to the act. It is
+generally a matter either of extreme delicacy or considerable
+expenditure."
+
+"Then for Hollyer's sake we will hope for the former here." And Mr
+Carlyle smiled darkly and hinted that he was content to wait for a
+friendly revenge.
+
+A little later, having left the car at the beginning of the straggling
+High Street, the two men called at the village post office. They had
+already visited the house agent and obtained an order to view Brookbend
+Cottage, declining, with some difficulty, the clerk's persistent offer
+to accompany them. The reason was soon forthcoming. "As a matter of
+fact," explained the young man, "the present tenant is under _our_
+notice to leave."
+
+"Unsatisfactory, eh?" said Carrados encouragingly.
+
+"He's a corker," admitted the clerk, responding to the friendly tone.
+"Fifteen months and not a doit of rent have we had. That's why I should
+have liked----"
+
+"We will make every allowance," replied Carrados.
+
+The post office occupied one side of a stationer's shop. It was not
+without some inward trepidation that Mr Carlyle found himself committed
+to the adventure. Carrados, on the other hand, was the personification
+of bland unconcern.
+
+"You have just sent a telegram to Brookbend Cottage," he said to the
+young lady behind the brasswork lattice. "We think it may have come
+inaccurately and should like a repeat." He took out his purse. "What is
+the fee?"
+
+The request was evidently not a common one. "Oh," said the girl
+uncertainly, "wait a minute, please." She turned to a pile of telegram
+duplicates behind the desk and ran a doubtful finger along the upper
+sheets. "I think this is all right. You want it repeated?"
+
+"Please." Just a tinge of questioning surprise gave point to the
+courteous tone.
+
+"It will be fourpence. If there is an error the amount will be
+refunded."
+
+Carrados put down a coin and received his change.
+
+"Will it take long?" he inquired carelessly, as he pulled on his glove.
+
+"You will most likely get it within a quarter of an hour," she replied.
+
+"Now you've done it," commented Mr Carlyle, as they walked back to their
+car. "How do you propose to get that telegram, Max?"
+
+"Ask for it," was the laconic explanation.
+
+And, stripping the artifice of any elaboration, he simply asked for it
+and got it. The car, posted at a convenient bend in the road, gave him a
+warning note as the telegraph-boy approached. Then Carrados took up a
+convincing attitude with his hand on the gate while Mr Carlyle lent
+himself to the semblance of a departing friend. That was the inevitable
+impression when the boy rode up.
+
+"Creake, Brookbend Cottage?" inquired Carrados, holding out his hand,
+and without a second thought the boy gave him the envelope and rode away
+on the assurance that there would be no reply.
+
+"Some day, my friend," remarked Mr Carlyle, looking nervously towards
+the unseen house, "your ingenuity will get you into a tight corner."
+
+"Then my ingenuity must get me out again," was the retort. "Let us have
+our 'view' now. The telegram can wait."
+
+An untidy workwoman took their order and left them standing at the door.
+Presently a lady whom they both knew to be Mrs Creake appeared.
+
+"You wish to see over the house?" she said, in a voice that was utterly
+devoid of any interest. Then, without waiting for a reply, she turned to
+the nearest door and threw it open.
+
+"This is the drawing-room," she said, standing aside.
+
+They walked into a sparsely furnished, damp-smelling room and made a
+pretence of looking round, while Mrs Creake remained silent and aloof.
+
+"The dining-room," she continued, crossing the narrow hall and opening
+another door.
+
+Mr Carlyle ventured a genial commonplace in the hope of inducing
+conversation. The result was not encouraging. Doubtless they would have
+gone through the house under the same frigid guidance had not Carrados
+been at fault in a way that Mr Carlyle had never known him fail before.
+In crossing the hall he stumbled over a mat and almost fell.
+
+"Pardon my clumsiness," he said to the lady. "I am, unfortunately, quite
+blind. But," he added, with a smile, to turn off the mishap, "even a
+blind man must have a house."
+
+The man who had eyes was surprised to see a flood of colour rush into
+Mrs Creake's face.
+
+"Blind!" she exclaimed, "oh, I beg your pardon. Why did you not tell me?
+You might have fallen."
+
+"I generally manage fairly well," he replied. "But, of course, in a
+strange house----"
+
+She put her hand on his arm very lightly.
+
+"You must let me guide you, just a little," she said.
+
+The house, without being large, was full of passages and inconvenient
+turnings. Carrados asked an occasional question and found Mrs Creake
+quite amiable without effusion. Mr Carlyle followed them from room to
+room in the hope, though scarcely the expectation, of learning something
+that might be useful.
+
+"This is the last one. It is the largest bedroom," said their guide.
+Only two of the upper rooms were fully furnished and Mr Carlyle at once
+saw, as Carrados knew without seeing, that this was the one which the
+Creakes occupied.
+
+"A very pleasant outlook," declared Mr Carlyle.
+
+"Oh, I suppose so," admitted the lady vaguely. The room, in fact, looked
+over the leafy garden and the road beyond. It had a French window
+opening on to a small balcony, and to this, under the strange influence
+that always attracted him to light, Carrados walked.
+
+"I expect that there is a certain amount of repair needed?" he said,
+after standing there a moment.
+
+"I am afraid there would be," she confessed.
+
+"I ask because there is a sheet of metal on the floor here," he
+continued. "Now that, in an old house, spells dry rot to the wary
+observer."
+
+"My husband said that the rain, which comes in a little under the
+window, was rotting the boards there," she replied. "He put that down
+recently. I had not noticed anything myself."
+
+It was the first time she had mentioned her husband; Mr Carlyle pricked
+up his ears.
+
+"Ah, that is a less serious matter," said Carrados. "May I step out on
+to the balcony?"
+
+"Oh yes, if you like to." Then, as he appeared to be fumbling at the
+catch, "Let me open it for you."
+
+But the window was already open, and Carrados, facing the various points
+of the compass, took in the bearings.
+
+"A sunny, sheltered corner," he remarked. "An ideal spot for a
+deck-chair and a book."
+
+She shrugged her shoulders half contemptuously.
+
+"I dare say," she replied, "but I never use it."
+
+"Sometimes, surely," he persisted mildly. "It would be my favourite
+retreat. But then----"
+
+"I was going to say that I had never even been out on it, but that would
+not be quite true. It has two uses for me, both equally romantic; I
+occasionally shake a duster from it, and when my husband returns late
+without his latchkey he wakes me up and I come out here and drop him
+mine."
+
+Further revelation of Mr Creake's nocturnal habits was cut off, greatly
+to Mr Carlyle's annoyance, by a cough of unmistakable significance from
+the foot of the stairs. They had heard a trade cart drive up to the
+gate, a knock at the door, and the heavy-footed woman tramp along the
+hall.
+
+"Excuse me a minute, please," said Mrs Creake.
+
+"Louis," said Carrados, in a sharp whisper, the moment they were alone,
+"stand against the door."
+
+With extreme plausibility Mr Carlyle began to admire a picture so
+situated that while he was there it was impossible to open the door more
+than a few inches. From that position he observed his confederate go
+through the curious procedure of kneeling down on the bedroom floor and
+for a full minute pressing his ear to the sheet of metal that had
+already engaged his attention. Then he rose to his feet, nodded, dusted
+his trousers, and Mr Carlyle moved to a less equivocal position.
+
+"What a beautiful rose-tree grows up your balcony," remarked Carrados,
+stepping into the room as Mrs Creake returned. "I suppose you are very
+fond of gardening?"
+
+"I detest it," she replied.
+
+"But this _Glorie_, so carefully trained----?"
+
+"Is it?" she replied. "I think my husband was nailing it up recently."
+By some strange fatality Carrados's most aimless remarks seemed to
+involve the absent Mr Creake. "Do you care to see the garden?"
+
+The garden proved to be extensive and neglected. Behind the house was
+chiefly orchard. In front, some semblance of order had been kept up;
+here it was lawn and shrubbery, and the drive they had walked along.
+Two things interested Carrados: the soil at the foot of the balcony,
+which he declared on examination to be particularly suitable for roses,
+and the fine chestnut-tree in the corner by the road.
+
+As they walked back to the car Mr Carlyle lamented that they had learned
+so little of Creake's movements.
+
+"Perhaps the telegram will tell us something," suggested Carrados. "Read
+it, Louis."
+
+Mr Carlyle cut open the envelope, glanced at the enclosure, and in spite
+of his disappointment could not restrain a chuckle.
+
+"My poor Max," he explained, "you have put yourself to an amount of
+ingenious trouble for nothing. Creake is evidently taking a few days'
+holiday and prudently availed himself of the Meteorological Office
+forecast before going. Listen: '_Immediate prospect for London warm and
+settled. Further outlook cooler but fine._' Well, well; I did get a
+pound of tomatoes for _my_ fourpence."
+
+"You certainly scored there, Louis," admitted Carrados, with humorous
+appreciation. "I wonder," he added speculatively, "whether it is
+Creake's peculiar taste usually to spend his week-end holiday in
+London."
+
+"Eh?" exclaimed Mr Carlyle, looking at the words again, "by gad, that's
+rum, Max. They go to Weston-super-Mare. Why on earth should he want to
+know about London?"
+
+"I can make a guess, but before we are satisfied I must come here again.
+Take another look at that kite, Louis. Are there a few yards of string
+hanging loose from it?"
+
+"Yes, there are."
+
+"Rather thick string--unusually thick for the purpose?"
+
+"Yes; but how do you know?"
+
+As they drove home again Carrados explained, and Mr Carlyle sat aghast,
+saying incredulously: "Good God, Max, is it possible?"
+
+An hour later he was satisfied that it was possible. In reply to his
+inquiry someone in his office telephoned him the information that "they"
+had left Paddington by the four-thirty for Weston.
+
+It was more than a week after his introduction to Carrados that
+Lieutenant Hollyer had a summons to present himself at The Turrets
+again. He found Mr Carlyle already there and the two friends awaiting
+his arrival.
+
+"I stayed in all day after hearing from you this morning, Mr Carrados,"
+he said, shaking hands. "When I got your second message I was all ready
+to walk straight out of the house. That's how I did it in the time. I
+hope everything is all right?"
+
+"Excellent," replied Carrados. "You'd better have something before we
+start. We probably have a long and perhaps an exciting night before us."
+
+"And certainly a wet one," assented the lieutenant. "It was thundering
+over Mulling way as I came along."
+
+"That is why you are here," said his host. "We are waiting for a certain
+message before we start, and in the meantime you may as well understand
+what we expect to happen. As you saw, there is a thunderstorm coming on.
+The Meteorological Office morning forecast predicted it for the whole of
+London if the conditions remained. That was why I kept you in readiness.
+Within an hour it is now inevitable that we shall experience a deluge.
+Here and there damage will be done to trees and buildings; here and
+there a person will probably be struck and killed."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"It is Mr Creake's intention that his wife should be among the victims."
+
+"I don't exactly follow," said Hollyer, looking from one man to the
+other. "I quite admit that Creake would be immensely relieved if such a
+thing did happen, but the chance is surely an absurdly remote one."
+
+"Yet unless we intervene it is precisely what a coroner's jury will
+decide has happened. Do you know whether your brother-in-law has any
+practical knowledge of electricity, Mr Hollyer?"
+
+"I cannot say. He was so reserved, and we really knew so little of
+him----"
+
+"Yet in 1896 an Austin Creake contributed an article on 'Alternating
+Currents' to the American _Scientific World_. That would argue a fairly
+intimate acquaintanceship."
+
+"But do you mean that he is going to direct a flash of lightning?"
+
+"Only into the minds of the doctor who conducts the post-mortem, and
+the coroner. This storm, the opportunity for which he has been waiting
+for weeks, is merely the cloak to his act. The weapon which he has
+planned to use--scarcely less powerful than lightning but much more
+tractable--is the high voltage current of electricity that flows along
+the tram wire at his gate."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Lieutenant Hollyer, as the sudden revelation struck him.
+
+"Some time between eleven o'clock to-night--about the hour when your
+sister goes to bed--and one-thirty in the morning--the time up to which
+he can rely on the current--Creake will throw a stone up at the balcony
+window. Most of his preparation has long been made; it only remains for
+him to connect up a short length to the window handle and a longer one
+at the other end to tap the live wire. That done, he will wake his wife
+in the way I have said. The moment she moves the catch of the
+window--and he has carefully filed its parts to ensure perfect
+contact--she will be electrocuted as effectually as if she sat in the
+executioner's chair in Sing Sing prison."
+
+"But what are we doing here!" exclaimed Hollyer, starting to his feet,
+pale and horrified. "It is past ten now and anything may happen."
+
+"Quite natural, Mr Hollyer," said Carrados reassuringly, "but you need
+have no anxiety. Creake is being watched, the house is being watched,
+and your sister is as safe as if she slept to-night in Windsor Castle.
+Be assured that whatever happens he will not be allowed to complete his
+scheme; but it is desirable to let him implicate himself to the fullest
+limit. Your brother-in-law, Mr Hollyer, is a man with a peculiar
+capacity for taking pains."
+
+"He is a damned cold-blooded scoundrel!" exclaimed the young officer
+fiercely. "When I think of Millicent five years ago----"
+
+"Well, for that matter, an enlightened nation has decided that
+electrocution is the most humane way of removing its superfluous
+citizens," suggested Carrados mildly. "He is certainly an
+ingenious-minded gentleman. It is his misfortune that in Mr Carlyle he
+was fated to be opposed by an even subtler brain----"
+
+"No, no! Really, Max!" protested the embarrassed gentleman.
+
+"Mr Hollyer will be able to judge for himself when I tell him that it
+was Mr Carlyle who first drew attention to the significance of the
+abandoned kite," insisted Carrados firmly. "Then, of course, its object
+became plain to me--as indeed to anyone. For ten minutes, perhaps, a
+wire must be carried from the overhead line to the chestnut-tree. Creake
+has everything in his favour, but it is just within possibility that the
+driver of an inopportune tram might notice the appendage. What of that?
+Why, for more than a week he has seen a derelict kite with its yards of
+trailing string hanging in the tree. A very calculating mind, Mr
+Hollyer. It would be interesting to know what line of action Mr Creake
+has mapped out for himself afterwards. I expect he has half-a-dozen
+artistic little touches up his sleeve. Possibly he would merely singe
+his wife's hair, burn her feet with a red-hot poker, shiver the glass of
+the French window, and be content with that to let well alone. You see,
+lightning is so varied in its effects that whatever he did or did not do
+would be right. He is in the impregnable position of the body showing
+all the symptoms of death by lightning shock and nothing else but
+lightning to account for it--a dilated eye, heart contracted in systole,
+bloodless lungs shrunk to a third the normal weight, and all the rest of
+it. When he has removed a few outward traces of his work Creake might
+quite safely 'discover' his dead wife and rush off for the nearest
+doctor. Or he may have decided to arrange a convincing alibi, and creep
+away, leaving the discovery to another. We shall never know; he will
+make no confession."
+
+"I wish it was well over," admitted Hollyer. "I'm not particularly
+jumpy, but this gives me a touch of the creeps."
+
+"Three more hours at the worst, Lieutenant," said Carrados cheerfully.
+"Ah-ha, something is coming through now."
+
+He went to the telephone and received a message from one quarter; then
+made another connection and talked for a few minutes with someone else.
+
+"Everything working smoothly," he remarked between times over his
+shoulder. "Your sister has gone to bed, Mr Hollyer."
+
+Then he turned to the house telephone and distributed his orders.
+
+"So we," he concluded, "must get up."
+
+By the time they were ready a large closed motor car was waiting. The
+lieutenant thought he recognized Parkinson in the well-swathed form
+beside the driver, but there was no temptation to linger for a second on
+the steps. Already the stinging rain had lashed the drive into the
+semblance of a frothy estuary; all round the lightning jagged its course
+through the incessant tremulous glow of more distant lightning, while
+the thunder only ceased its muttering to turn at close quarters and
+crackle viciously.
+
+"One of the few things I regret missing," remarked Carrados tranquilly;
+"but I hear a good deal of colour in it."
+
+The car slushed its way down to the gate, lurched a little heavily
+across the dip into the road, and, steadying as it came upon the
+straight, began to hum contentedly along the deserted highway.
+
+"We are not going direct?" suddenly inquired Hollyer, after they had
+travelled perhaps half-a-dozen miles. The night was bewildering enough
+but he had the sailor's gift for location.
+
+"No; through Hunscott Green and then by a field-path to the orchard at
+the back," replied Carrados. "Keep a sharp look out for the man with the
+lantern about here, Harris," he called through the tube.
+
+"Something flashing just ahead, sir," came the reply, and the car slowed
+down and stopped.
+
+Carrados dropped the near window as a man in glistening waterproof
+stepped from the shelter of a lich-gate and approached.
+
+"Inspector Beedel, sir," said the stranger, looking into the car.
+
+"Quite right, Inspector," said Carrados. "Get in."
+
+"I have a man with me, sir."
+
+"We can find room for him as well."
+
+"We are very wet."
+
+"So shall we all be soon."
+
+The lieutenant changed his seat and the two burly forms took places side
+by side. In less than five minutes the car stopped again, this time in a
+grassy country lane.
+
+"Now we have to face it," announced Carrados. "The inspector will show
+us the way."
+
+The car slid round and disappeared into the night, while Beedel led the
+party to a stile in the hedge. A couple of fields brought them to the
+Brookbend boundary. There a figure stood out of the black foliage,
+exchanged a few words with their guide and piloted them along the
+shadows of the orchard to the back door of the house.
+
+"You will find a broken pane near the catch of the scullery window,"
+said the blind man.
+
+"Right, sir," replied the inspector. "I have it. Now who goes through?"
+
+"Mr Hollyer will open the door for us. I'm afraid you must take off
+your boots and all wet things, Lieutenant. We cannot risk a single spot
+inside."
+
+They waited until the back door opened, then each one divested himself
+in a similar manner and passed into the kitchen, where the remains of a
+fire still burned. The man from the orchard gathered together the
+discarded garments and disappeared again.
+
+Carrados turned to the lieutenant.
+
+"A rather delicate job for you now, Mr Hollyer. I want you to go up to
+your sister, wake her, and get her into another room with as little fuss
+as possible. Tell her as much as you think fit and let her understand
+that her very life depends on absolute stillness when she is alone.
+Don't be unduly hurried, but not a glimmer of a light, please."
+
+Ten minutes passed by the measure of the battered old alarum on the
+dresser shelf before the young man returned.
+
+"I've had rather a time of it," he reported, with a nervous laugh, "but
+I think it will be all right now. She is in the spare room."
+
+"Then we will take our places. You and Parkinson come with me to the
+bedroom. Inspector, you have your own arrangements. Mr Carlyle will be
+with you."
+
+They dispersed silently about the house. Hollyer glanced apprehensively
+at the door of the spare room as they passed it but within was as quiet
+as the grave. Their room lay at the other end of the passage.
+
+"You may as well take your place in the bed now, Hollyer," directed
+Carrados when they were inside and the door closed. "Keep well down
+among the clothes. Creake has to get up on the balcony, you know, and he
+will probably peep through the window, but he dare come no farther. Then
+when he begins to throw up stones slip on this dressing-gown of your
+sister's. I'll tell you what to do after."
+
+The next sixty minutes drew out into the longest hour that the
+lieutenant had ever known. Occasionally he heard a whisper pass between
+the two men who stood behind the window curtains, but he could see
+nothing. Then Carrados threw a guarded remark in his direction.
+
+"He is in the garden now."
+
+Something scraped slightly against the outer wall. But the night was
+full of wilder sounds, and in the house the furniture and the boards
+creaked and sprung between the yawling of the wind among the chimneys,
+the rattle of the thunder and the pelting of the rain. It was a time to
+quicken the steadiest pulse, and when the crucial moment came, when a
+pebble suddenly rang against the pane with a sound that the tense
+waiting magnified into a shivering crash, Hollyer leapt from the bed on
+the instant.
+
+"Easy, easy," warned Carrados feelingly. "We will wait for another
+knock." He passed something across. "Here is a rubber glove. I have cut
+the wire but you had better put it on. Stand just for a moment at the
+window, move the catch so that it can blow open a little, and drop
+immediately. Now."
+
+Another stone had rattled against the glass. For Hollyer to go through
+his part was the work merely of seconds, and with a few touches Carrados
+spread the dressing-gown to more effective disguise about the extended
+form. But an unforeseen and in the circumstances rather horrible
+interval followed, for Creake, in accordance with some detail of his
+never-revealed plan, continued to shower missile after missile against
+the panes until even the unimpressionable Parkinson shivered.
+
+"The last act," whispered Carrados, a moment after the throwing had
+ceased. "He has gone round to the back. Keep as you are. We take cover
+now." He pressed behind the arras of an extemporized wardrobe, and the
+spirit of emptiness and desolation seemed once more to reign over the
+lonely house.
+
+From half-a-dozen places of concealment ears were straining to catch the
+first guiding sound. He moved very stealthily, burdened, perhaps, by
+some strange scruple in the presence of the tragedy that he had not
+feared to contrive, paused for a moment at the bedroom door, then opened
+it very quietly, and in the fickle light read the consummation of his
+hopes.
+
+"At last!" they heard the sharp whisper drawn from his relief. "At
+last!"
+
+He took another step and two shadows seemed to fall upon him from
+behind, one on either side. With primitive instinct a cry of terror and
+surprise escaped him as he made a desperate movement to wrench himself
+free, and for a short second he almost succeeded in dragging one hand
+into a pocket. Then his wrists slowly came together and the handcuffs
+closed.
+
+"I am Inspector Beedel," said the man on his right side. "You are
+charged with the attempted murder of your wife, Millicent Creake."
+
+"You are mad," retorted the miserable creature, falling into a desperate
+calmness. "She has been struck by lightning."
+
+"No, you blackguard, she hasn't," wrathfully exclaimed his
+brother-in-law, jumping up. "Would you like to see her?"
+
+"I also have to warn you," continued the inspector impassively, "that
+anything you say may be used as evidence against you."
+
+A startled cry from the farther end of the passage arrested their
+attention.
+
+"Mr Carrados," called Hollyer, "oh, come at once."
+
+At the open door of the other bedroom stood the lieutenant, his eyes
+still turned towards something in the room beyond, a little empty bottle
+in his hand.
+
+"Dead!" he exclaimed tragically, with a sob, "with this beside her. Dead
+just when she would have been free of the brute."
+
+The blind man passed into the room, sniffed the air, and laid a gentle
+hand on the pulseless heart.
+
+"Yes," he replied. "That, Hollyer, does not always appeal to the woman,
+strange to say."
+
+
+
+
+THE CLEVER MRS STRAITHWAITE
+
+
+Mr Carlyle had arrived at The Turrets in the very best possible spirits.
+Everything about him, from his immaculate white spats to the choice
+gardenia in his buttonhole, from the brisk decision with which he took
+the front-door steps to the bustling importance with which he had
+positively brushed Parkinson aside at the door of the library,
+proclaimed consequence and the extremely good terms on which he stood
+with himself.
+
+"Prepare yourself, Max," he exclaimed. "If I hinted at a case of
+exceptional delicacy that will certainly interest you by its romantic
+possibilities----?"
+
+"I should have the liveliest misgivings. Ten to one it would be a jewel
+mystery," hazarded Carrados, as his friend paused with the point of his
+communication withheld, after the manner of a quizzical youngster with a
+promised bon-bon held behind his back. "If you made any more of it I
+should reluctantly be forced to the conclusion that the case involved a
+society scandal connected with a priceless pearl necklace."
+
+Mr Carlyle's face fell.
+
+"Then it _is_ in the papers, after all?" he said, with an air of
+disappointment.
+
+"What is in the papers, Louis?"
+
+"Some hint of the fraudulent insurance of the Hon. Mrs Straithwaite's
+pearl necklace," replied Carlyle.
+
+"Possibly," admitted Carrados. "But so far I have not come across it."
+
+Mr Carlyle stared at his friend, and marching up to the table brought
+his hand down on it with an arresting slap.
+
+"Then what in the name of goodness are you talking about, may I ask?" he
+demanded caustically. "If you know nothing of the Straithwaite affair,
+Max, what other pearl necklace case are you referring to?"
+
+Carrados assumed the air of mild deprecation with which he frequently
+apologized for a blind man venturing to make a discovery.
+
+"A philosopher once made the remark----"
+
+"Had it anything to do with Mrs Straithwaite's--the Hon. Mrs
+Straithwaite's--pearl necklace? And let me warn you, Max, that I have
+read a good deal both of Mill and Spencer at odd times."
+
+"It was neither Mill nor Spencer. He had a German name, so I will not
+mention it. He made the observation, which, of course, we recognize as
+an obvious commonplace when once it has been expressed, that in order to
+have an accurate knowledge of what a man will do on any occasion it is
+only necessary to study a single characteristic action of his."
+
+"Utterly impracticable," declared Mr Carlyle.
+
+"I therefore knew that when you spoke of a case of exceptional interest
+to _me_, what you really meant, Louis, was a case of exceptional
+interest to _you_."
+
+Mr Carlyle's sudden thoughtful silence seemed to admit that possibly
+there might be something in the point.
+
+"By applying, almost unconsciously, the same useful rule, I became aware
+that a mystery connected with a valuable pearl necklace and a beautiful
+young society belle would appeal the most strongly to your romantic
+imagination."
+
+"Romantic! I, romantic? Thirty-five and a private inquiry agent! You
+are--positively feverish, Max."
+
+"Incurably romantic--or you would have got over it by now: the worst
+kind."
+
+"Max, this may prove a most important and interesting case. Will you be
+serious and discuss it?"
+
+"Jewel cases are rarely either important or interesting. Pearl necklace
+mysteries, in nine cases out of ten, spring from the miasma of social
+pretence and vapid competition and only concern people who do not matter
+in the least. The only attractive thing about them is the name. They are
+so barren of originality that a criminological Linnæus could classify
+them with absolute nicety. I'll tell you what, we'll draw up a set of
+tables giving the solution to every possible pearl necklace case for the
+next twenty-one years."
+
+"We will do any mortal thing you like, Max, if you will allow Parkinson
+to administer a bromo-seltzer and then enable me to meet the officials
+of the Direct Insurance without a blush."
+
+For three minutes Carrados picked his unerring way among the furniture
+as he paced the room silently but with irresolution in his face. Twice
+his hand went to a paper-covered book lying on his desk, and twice he
+left it untouched.
+
+"Have you ever been in the lion-house at feeding-time, Louis?" he
+demanded abruptly.
+
+"In the very remote past, possibly," admitted Mr Carlyle guardedly.
+
+"As the hour approaches it is impossible to interest the creatures with
+any other suggestion than that of raw meat. You came a day too late,
+Louis." He picked up the book and skimmed it adroitly into Mr Carlyle's
+hands. "I have already scented the gore, and tasted in imagination the
+joy of tearing choice morsels from other similarly obsessed animals."
+
+"'Catalogue des monnaies grecques et romaines,'" read the gentleman.
+"'To be sold by auction at the Hotel Drouet, Paris, salle 8, April the
+24th, 25th, etc.' H'm." He turned to the plates of photogravure
+illustration which gave an air to the volume. "This is an event, I
+suppose?"
+
+"It is the sort of dispersal we get about once in three years," replied
+Carrados. "I seldom attend the little sales, but I save up and then have
+a week's orgy."
+
+"And when do you go?"
+
+"To-day. By the afternoon boat--Folkestone. I have already taken rooms
+at Mascot's. I'm sorry it has fallen so inopportunely, Louis."
+
+Mr Carlyle rose to the occasion with a display of extremely gentlemanly
+feeling--which had the added merit of being quite genuine.
+
+"My dear chap, your regrets only serve to remind me how much I owe to
+you already. _Bon voyage_, and the most desirable of Eu--Eu--well,
+perhaps it would be safer to say, of Kimons, for your collection."
+
+"I suppose," pondered Carrados, "this insurance business might have led
+to other profitable connexions?"
+
+"That is quite true," admitted his friend. "I have been trying for some
+time--but do not think any more of it, Max."
+
+"What time is it?" demanded Carrados suddenly.
+
+"Eleven-twenty-five."
+
+"Good. Has any officious idiot had anyone arrested?"
+
+"No, it is only----"
+
+"Never mind. Do you know much of the case?"
+
+"Practically nothing as yet, unfortunately. I came----"
+
+"Excellent. Everything is on our side. Louis, I won't go this
+afternoon--I will put off till the night boat from Dover. That will give
+us nine hours."
+
+"Nine hours?" repeated the mystified Carlyle, scarcely daring to put
+into thought the scandalous inference that Carrados's words conveyed.
+
+"Nine full hours. A pearl necklace case that cannot at least be left
+straight after nine hours' work will require a column to itself in our
+chart. Now, Louis, where does this Direct Insurance live?"
+
+Carlyle had allowed his blind friend to persuade him into--as they had
+seemed at the beginning--many mad enterprises. But none had ever, in the
+light of his own experience, seemed so foredoomed to failure as when, at
+eleven-thirty, Carrados ordered his luggage to be on the platform of
+Charing Cross Station at eight-fifty and then turned light-heartedly to
+the task of elucidating the mystery of Mrs Straithwaite's pearl necklace
+in the interval.
+
+The head office of the Direct and Intermediate Insurance Company proved
+to be in Victoria Street. Thanks to Carrados's speediest car, they
+entered the building as the clocks of Westminster were striking twelve,
+but for the next twenty minutes they were consigned to the general
+office while Mr Carlyle fumed and displayed his watch ostentatiously. At
+last a clerk slid off his stool by the speaking-tube and approached
+them.
+
+"Mr Carlyle?" he said. "The General Manager will see you now, but as he
+has another appointment in ten minutes he will be glad if you will make
+your business as short as possible. This way, please."
+
+Mr Carlyle bit his lip at the pompous formality of the message but he
+was too experienced to waste any words about it and with a mere nod he
+followed, guiding his friend until they reached the Manager's room.
+But, though subservient to circumstance, he was far from being
+negligible when he wished to create an impression.
+
+"Mr Carrados has been good enough to give us a consultation over this
+small affair," he said, with just the necessary touches of deference and
+condescension that it was impossible either to miss or to resent.
+"Unfortunately he can do little more as he has to leave almost at once
+to direct an important case in Paris."
+
+The General Manager conveyed little, either in his person or his manner,
+of the brisk precision that his message seemed to promise. The name of
+Carrados struck him as being somewhat familiar--something a little
+removed from the routine of his business and a matter therefore that he
+could unbend over. He continued to stand comfortably before his office
+fire, making up by a tolerant benignity of his hard and bulbous eye for
+the physical deprivation that his attitude entailed on his visitors.
+
+"Paris, egad?" he grunted. "Something in your line that France can take
+from us since the days of--what's-his-name--Vidocq, eh? Clever fellow,
+that, what? Wasn't it about him and the Purloined Letter?"
+
+Carrados smiled discreetly.
+
+"Capital, wasn't it?" he replied. "But there is something else that
+Paris can learn from London, more in your way, sir. Often when I drop in
+to see the principal of one of their chief houses or the head of a
+Government department, we fall into an entertaining discussion of this
+or that subject that may be on the tapis. 'Ah, monsieur,' I say, after
+perhaps half-an-hour's conversation, 'it is very amiable of you and
+sometimes I regret our insular methods, but it is not thus that great
+businesses are formed. At home, if I call upon one of our princes of
+industry--a railway director, a merchant, or the head of one of our
+leading insurance companies--nothing will tempt him for a moment from
+the stern outline of the business in hand. You are too complaisant; the
+merest gossip takes advantage of you.'"
+
+"That's quite true," admitted the General Manager, occupying the
+revolving chair at his desk and assuming a serious and very determined
+expression. "Slackers, I call them. Now, Mr Carlyle, where are we in
+this business?"
+
+"I have your letter of yesterday. We should naturally like all the
+particulars you can give us."
+
+The Manager threw open a formidable-looking volume with an immense
+display of energy, sharply flattened some typewritten pages that had
+ventured to raise their heads, and lifted an impressive finger.
+
+"We start here, the 27th of January. On that day Karsfeld, the Princess
+Street jeweller, y'know, who acted as our jewellery assessor, forwards a
+proposal of the Hon. Mrs Straithwaite to insure a pearl necklace against
+theft. Says that he has had an opportunity of examining it and passes it
+at five thousand pounds. That business goes through in the ordinary way;
+the premium is paid and the policy taken out.
+
+"A couple of months later Karsfeld has a little unpleasantness with us
+and resigns. Resignation accepted. We have nothing against him, you
+understand. At the same time there is an impression among the directors
+that he has been perhaps a little too easy in his ways, a little
+too--let us say, expansive, in some of his valuations and too
+accommodating to his own clients in recommending to us business of
+a--well--speculative basis; business that we do not care about and which
+we now feel is foreign to our traditions as a firm. However"--the
+General Manager threw apart his stubby hands as though he would shatter
+any fabric of criminal intention that he might be supposed to be
+insidiously constructing--"that is the extent of our animadversion
+against Karsfeld. There are no irregularities and you may take it from
+me that the man is all right."
+
+"You would propose accepting the fact that a five-thousand-pound
+necklace was submitted to him?" suggested Mr Carlyle.
+
+"I should," acquiesced the Manager, with a weighty nod. "Still--this
+brings us to April the third--this break, so to speak, occurring in our
+routine, it seemed a good opportunity for us to assure ourselves on one
+or two points. Mr Bellitzer--you know Bellitzer, of course; know _of_
+him, I should say--was appointed _vice_ Karsfeld and we wrote to certain
+of our clients, asking them--as our policies entitled us to do--as a
+matter of form to allow Mr Bellitzer to confirm the assessment of his
+predecessor. Wrapped it up in silver paper, of course; said it would
+certify the present value and be a guarantee that would save them some
+formalities in case of ensuing claim, and so on. Among others, wrote to
+the Hon. Mrs Straithwaite to that effect--April fourth. Here is her
+reply of three days later. Sorry to disappoint us, but the necklace has
+just been sent to her bank for custody as she is on the point of leaving
+town. Also scarcely sees that it is necessary in her case as the
+insurance was only taken so recently."
+
+"That is dated April the seventh?" inquired Mr Carlyle, busy with pencil
+and pocket-book.
+
+"April seventh," repeated the Manager, noting this conscientiousness
+with an approving glance and then turning to regard questioningly the
+indifferent attitude of his other visitor. "That put us on our
+guard--naturally. Wrote by return regretting the necessity and
+suggesting that a line to her bankers, authorizing them to show us the
+necklace, would meet the case and save her any personal trouble.
+Interval of a week. Her reply, April sixteenth. Thursday last.
+Circumstances have altered her plans and she has returned to London
+sooner than she expected. Her jewel-case has been returned from the
+bank, and will we send our man round--'our man,' Mr Carlyle!--on
+Saturday morning not later than twelve, please."
+
+The Manager closed the record book, with a sweep of his hand cleared his
+desk for revelations, and leaning forward in his chair fixed Mr Carlyle
+with a pragmatic eye.
+
+"On Saturday Mr Bellitzer goes to Luneburg Mansions and the Hon. Mrs
+Straithwaite shows him the necklace. He examines it carefully, assesses
+its insurable value up to five thousand, two hundred and fifty pounds,
+and reports us to that effect. But he reports something else, Mr
+Carlyle. It is not the necklace that the lady had insured."
+
+"Not the necklace?" echoed Mr Carlyle.
+
+"No. In spite of the number of pearls and a general similarity there are
+certain technical differences, well known to experts, that made the fact
+indisputable. The Hon. Mrs Straithwaite has been guilty of
+misrepresentation. Possibly she has no fraudulent intention. We are
+willing to pay to find out. That's your business."
+
+Mr Carlyle made a final note and put away his book with an air of
+decision that could not fail to inspire confidence.
+
+"To-morrow," he said, "we shall perhaps be able to report something."
+
+"Hope so," vouchsafed the Manager. "'Morning."
+
+From his position near the window, Carrados appeared to wake up to the
+fact that the interview was over.
+
+"But so far," he remarked blandly, with his eyes towards the great man
+in the chair, "you have told us nothing of the theft."
+
+The Manager regarded the speaker dumbly for a moment and then turned to
+Mr Carlyle.
+
+"What does he mean?" he demanded pungently.
+
+But for once Mr Carlyle's self-possession had forsaken him. He
+recognized that somehow Carrados had been guilty of an appalling lapse,
+by which his reputation for prescience was wrecked in that quarter for
+ever, and at the catastrophe his very ears began to exude embarrassment.
+
+In the awkward silence Carrados himself seemed to recognize that
+something was amiss.
+
+"We appear to be at cross-purposes," he observed. "I inferred that the
+disappearance of the necklace would be the essence of our
+investigation."
+
+"Have I said a word about it disappearing?" demanded the Manager, with a
+contempt-laden raucity that he made no pretence of softening. "You don't
+seem to have grasped the simple facts about the case, Mr Carrados.
+Really, I hardly think----Oh, come in!"
+
+There had been a knock at the door, then another. A clerk now entered
+with an open telegram.
+
+"Mr Longworth wished you to see this at once, sir."
+
+"We may as well go," whispered Mr Carlyle with polite depression to his
+colleague.
+
+"Here, wait a minute," said the Manager, who had been biting his
+thumb-nail over the telegram. "No, not you"--to the lingering
+clerk--"you clear." Much of the embarrassment that had troubled Mr
+Carlyle a minute before seemed to have got into the Manager's system. "I
+don't understand this," he confessed awkwardly. "It's from Bellitzer. He
+wires: '_Have just heard alleged robbery Straithwaite pearls. Advise
+strictest investigation._'"
+
+Mr Carlyle suddenly found it necessary to turn to the wall and consult a
+highly coloured lithographic inducement to insure. Mr Carrados alone
+remained to meet the Manager's constrained glance.
+
+"Still, _he_ tells us really nothing about the theft," he remarked
+sociably.
+
+"No," admitted the Manager, experiencing some little difficulty with his
+breathing, "he does not."
+
+"Well, we still hope to be able to report something to-morrow.
+Good-bye."
+
+It was with an effort that Mr Carlyle straightened himself sufficiently
+to take leave of the Manager. Several times in the corridor he stopped
+to wipe his eyes.
+
+"Max, you unholy fraud," he said, when they were outside, "you knew all
+the time."
+
+"No; I told you that I knew nothing of it," replied Carrados frankly. "I
+am absolutely sincere."
+
+"Then all I can say is, that I see a good many things happen that I
+don't believe in."
+
+Carrados's reply was to hold out a coin to a passing newsboy and to hand
+the purchase to his friend who was already in the car.
+
+"There is a slang injunction to 'keep your eyes skinned.' That being out
+of my power, I habitually 'keep my ears skinned.' You would be surprised
+to know how very little you hear, Louis, and how much you miss. In the
+last five minutes up there I have had three different newsboys' account
+of this development."
+
+"By Jupiter, she hasn't waited long!" exclaimed Mr Carlyle, referring
+eagerly to the headlines. "'PEARL NECKLACE SENSATION. SOCIETY LADY'S
+£5000 TRINKET DISAPPEARS.' Things are moving. Where next, Max?"
+
+"It is now a quarter to one," replied Carrados, touching the fingers of
+his watch. "We may as well lunch on the strength of this new turn.
+Parkinson will have finished packing; I can telephone him to come to us
+at Merrick's in case I require him. Buy all the papers, Louis, and we
+will collate the points."
+
+The undoubted facts that survived a comparison were few and meagre, for
+in each case a conscientious journalist had touched up a few vague or
+doubtful details according to his own ideas of probability. All agreed
+that on Tuesday evening--it was now Thursday--Mrs Straithwaite had
+formed one of a party that had occupied a box at the new Metropolitan
+Opera House to witness the performance of _La Pucella_, and that she had
+been robbed of a set of pearls valued in round figures at five thousand
+pounds. There agreement ended. One version represented the theft as
+taking place at the theatre. Another asserted that at the last moment
+the lady had decided not to wear the necklace that evening and that its
+abstraction had been cleverly effected from the flat during her absence.
+Into a third account came an ambiguous reference to Markhams, the
+well-known jewellers, and a conjecture that their loss would certainly
+be covered by insurance.
+
+Mr Carlyle, who had been picking out the salient points of the
+narratives, threw down the last paper with an impatient shrug.
+
+"Why in heaven's name have we Markhams coming into it now?" he demanded.
+"What have they to lose by it, Max? What do you make of the thing?"
+
+"There is the second genuine string--the one Bellitzer saw. That belongs
+to someone."
+
+"By gad, that's true--only five days ago, too. But what does our lady
+stand to make by that being stolen?"
+
+Carrados was staring into obscurity between an occasional moment of
+attention to his cigarette or coffee.
+
+"By this time the lady probably stands to wish she was well out of it,"
+he replied thoughtfully. "Once you have set this sort of stone rolling
+and it has got beyond you----" He shook his head.
+
+"It has become more intricate than you expected?" suggested Carlyle, in
+order to afford his friend an opportunity of withdrawing.
+
+Carrados pierced the intention and smiled affectionately.
+
+"My dear Louis," he said, "one-fifth of the mystery is already solved."
+
+"One-fifth? How do you arrive at that?"
+
+"Because it is one-twenty-five and we started at eleven-thirty."
+
+He nodded to their waiter, who was standing three tables away, and paid
+the bill. Then with perfect gravity he permitted Mr Carlyle to lead him
+by the arm into the street, where their car was waiting, Parkinson
+already there in attendance.
+
+"Sure I can be of no further use?" asked Carlyle. Carrados had
+previously indicated that after lunch he would go on alone, but, because
+he was largely sceptical of the outcome, the professional man felt
+guiltily that he was deserting. "Say the word?"
+
+Carrados smiled and shook his head. Then he leaned across.
+
+"I am going to the opera house now; then, possibly, to talk to Markham a
+little. If I have time I must find a man who knows the Straithwaites,
+and after that I may look up Inspector Beedel if he is at the Yard. That
+is as far as I can see yet, until I call at Luneburg Mansions. Come
+round on the third anyway."
+
+"Dear old chap," murmured Mr Carlyle, as the car edged its way ahead
+among the traffic. "Marvellous shots he makes!"
+
+In the meanwhile, at Luneburg Mansions, Mrs Straithwaite had been
+passing anything but a pleasant day. She had awakened with a headache
+and an overnight feeling that there was some unpleasantness to be gone
+on with. That it did not amount to actual fear was due to the enormous
+self-importance and the incredible ignorance which ruled the butterfly
+brain of the young society beauty--for in spite of three years'
+experience of married life Stephanie Straithwaite was as yet on the
+enviable side of two and twenty.
+
+Anticipating an early visit from a particularly obnoxious sister-in-law,
+she had remained in bed until after lunch in order to be able to deny
+herself with the more conviction. Three journalists who would have
+afforded her the mild excitement of being interviewed had called and
+been in turn put off with polite regrets by her husband. The
+objectionable sister-in-law postponed her visit until the afternoon and
+for more than an hour Stephanie "suffered agonies." When the visitor had
+left and the martyred hostess announced her intention of flying
+immediately to the consoling society of her own bridge circle,
+Straithwaite had advised her, with some significance, to wait for a
+lead. The unhappy lady cast herself bodily down upon a couch and asked
+whether she was to become a nun. Straithwaite merely shrugged his
+shoulders and remembered a club engagement. Evidently there was no need
+for him to become a monk: Stephanie followed him down the hall, arguing
+and protesting. That was how they came jointly to encounter Carrados at
+the door.
+
+"I have come from the Direct Insurance in the hope of being able to see
+Mrs Straithwaite," he explained, when the door opened rather suddenly
+before he had knocked. "My name is Carrados--Max Carrados."
+
+There was a moment of hesitation all round. Then Stephanie read
+difficulties in the straightening lines of her husband's face and rose
+joyfully to the occasion.
+
+"Oh yes; come in, Mr Carrados," she exclaimed graciously. "We are not
+quite strangers, you know. You found out something for Aunt Pigs; I
+forget what, but she was most frantically impressed."
+
+"Lady Poges," enlarged Straithwaite, who had stepped aside and was
+watching the development with slow, calculating eyes. "But, I say, you
+are blind, aren't you?"
+
+Carrados's smiling admission turned the edge of Mrs Straithwaite's
+impulsive, "Teddy!"
+
+"But I get along all right," he added. "I left my man down in the car
+and I found your door first shot, you see."
+
+The references reminded the velvet-eyed little mercenary that the man
+before her had the reputation of being quite desirably rich, his queer
+taste merely an eccentric hobby. The consideration made her resolve to
+be quite her nicest possible, as she led the way to the drawing-room.
+Then Teddy, too, had been horrid beyond words and must be made to suffer
+in the readiest way that offered.
+
+"Teddy is just going out and I was to be left in solitary bereavement if
+you had not appeared," she explained airily. "It wasn't very compy only
+to come to see me on business by the way, Mr Carrados, but if those are
+your only terms I must agree."
+
+Straithwaite, however, did not seem to have the least intention of
+going. He had left his hat and stick in the hall and he now threw his
+yellow gloves down on a table and took up a negligent position on the
+arm of an easy-chair.
+
+"The thing is, where do we stand?" he remarked tentatively.
+
+"That is the attitude of the insurance company, I imagine," replied
+Carrados.
+
+"I don't see that the company has any standing in the matter. We haven't
+reported any loss to them and we are not making any claim, so far. That
+ought to be enough."
+
+"I assume that they act on general inference," explained Carrados. "A
+limited liability company is not subtle, Mrs Straithwaite. This one
+knows that you have insured a five-thousand-pound pearl necklace with
+it, and when it becomes a matter of common knowledge that you have had
+one answering to that description stolen, it jumps to the conclusion
+that they are one and the same."
+
+"But they aren't--worse luck," explained the hostess. "This was a string
+that I let Markhams send me to see if I would keep."
+
+"The one that Bellitzer saw last Saturday?"
+
+"Yes," admitted Mrs Straithwaite quite simply.
+
+Straithwaite glanced sharply at Carrados and then turned his eyes with
+lazy indifference to his wife.
+
+"My dear Stephanie, what are you thinking of?" he drawled. "Of course
+those could not have been Markhams' pearls. Not knowing that you are
+much too clever to do such a foolish thing, Mr Carrados will begin to
+think that you have had fraudulent designs upon his company."
+
+Whether the tone was designed to exasperate or merely fell upon a
+fertile soil, Stephanie threw a hateful little glance in his direction.
+
+"I don't care," she exclaimed recklessly; "I haven't the least little
+objection in the world to Mr Carrados knowing exactly how it happened."
+
+Carrados put in an instinctive word of warning, even raised an arresting
+hand, but the lady was much too excited, too voluble, to be denied.
+
+"It doesn't really matter in the least, Mr Carrados, because nothing
+came of it," she explained. "There never were any real pearls to be
+insured. It would have made no difference to the company, because I did
+not regard this as an ordinary insurance from the first. It was to be a
+loan."
+
+"A loan?" repeated Carrados.
+
+"Yes. I shall come into heaps and heaps of money in a few years' time
+under Prin-Prin's will. Then I should pay back whatever had been
+advanced."
+
+"But would it not have been better--simpler--to have borrowed purely on
+the anticipation?"
+
+"We have," explained the lady eagerly. "We have borrowed from all sorts
+of people, and both Teddy and I have signed heaps and heaps of papers,
+until now no one will lend any more."
+
+The thing was too tragically grotesque to be laughed at. Carrados turned
+his face from one to the other and by ear, and by even finer
+perceptions, he focussed them in his mind--the delicate, feather-headed
+beauty, with the heart of a cat and the irresponsibility of a kitten,
+eye and mouth already hardening under the stress of her frantic life,
+and, across the room, her debonair consort, whose lank pose and
+nonchalant attitude towards the situation Carrados had not yet
+categorized.
+
+Straithwaite's dry voice, with its habitual drawl, broke into his
+reflection.
+
+"I don't suppose for a moment that you either know or care what this
+means, my dear girl, but I will proceed to enlighten you. It means the
+extreme probability that unless you can persuade Mr Carrados to hold his
+tongue, you, and--without prejudice--I also, will get two years' hard.
+And yet, with unconscious but consummate artistry, it seems to me that
+you have perhaps done the trick; for, unless I am mistaken, Mr Carrados
+will find himself unable to take advantage of your guileless confidence,
+whereas he would otherwise have quite easily found out all he wanted."
+
+"That is the most utter nonsense, Teddy," cried Stephanie, with petulant
+indignation. She turned to Carrados with the assurance of meeting
+understanding. "We know Mr Justice Enderleigh very well indeed, and if
+there was any bother I should not have the least difficulty in getting
+him to take the case privately and in explaining everything to him. But
+why should there be? Why indeed?" A brilliant little new idea possessed
+her. "Do you know any of these insurance people at all intimately, Mr
+Carrados?"
+
+"The General Manager and I are on terms that almost justify us in
+addressing each other as 'silly ass,'" admitted Carrados.
+
+"There you see, Teddy, you needn't have been in a funk. Mr Carrados
+would put everything right. Let me tell you exactly how I had arranged
+it. I dare say you know that insurances are only too pleased to pay for
+losses: it gives them an advertisement. Freddy Tantroy told me so, and
+his father is a director of hundreds of companies. Only, of course, it
+must be done quite regularly. Well, for months and months we had both
+been most frightfully hard up, and, unfortunately, everyone else--at
+least all our friends--seemed just as stony. I had been absolutely
+racking my poor brain for an idea when I remembered papa's wedding
+present. It was a string of pearls that he sent me from Vienna, only a
+month before he died; not real, of course, because poor papa was always
+quite utterly on the verge himself, but very good imitation and in
+perfect taste. Otherwise I am sure papa would rather have sent a silver
+penwiper, for although he had to live abroad because of what people
+said, his taste was simply exquisite and he was most romantic in his
+ideas. What do you say, Teddy?"
+
+"Nothing, dear; it was only my throat ticking."
+
+"I wore the pearls often and millions of people had seen them. Of course
+our own people knew about them, but others took it for granted that
+they were genuine for me to be wearing them. Teddy will tell you that I
+was almost babbling in delirium, things were becoming so ghastly, when
+an idea occurred. Tweety--she's a cousin of Teddy's, but quite an aged
+person--has a whole coffer full of jewels that she never wears and I
+knew that there was a necklace very like mine among them. She was going
+almost immediately to Africa for some shooting, so I literally flew into
+the wilds of Surrey and begged her on my knees to lend me her pearls for
+the Lycester House dance. When I got back with them I stamped on the
+clasp and took it at once to Karsfeld in Princess Street. I told him
+they were only paste but I thought they were rather good and I wanted
+them by the next day. And of course he looked at them, and then looked
+again, and then asked me if I was certain they were imitation, and I
+said, Well, we had never thought twice about it, because poor papa was
+always rather chronic, only certainly he did occasionally have fabulous
+streaks at the tables, and finally, like a great owl, Karsfeld said:
+
+"'I am happy to be able to congratulate you, madam. They are undoubtedly
+Bombay pearls of very fine orient. They are certainly worth five
+thousand pounds.'"
+
+From this point Mrs Straithwaite's narrative ran its slangy, obvious
+course. The insurance effected--on the strict understanding of the lady
+with herself that it was merely a novel form of loan, and after
+satisfying her mind on Freddy Tantroy's authority that the Direct and
+Intermediate could stand a temporary loss of five thousand pounds--the
+genuine pearls were returned to the cousin in the wilds of Surrey and
+Stephanie continued to wear the counterfeit. A decent interval was
+allowed to intervene and the plot was on the point of maturity when the
+company's request for a scrutiny fell like a thunderbolt. With many
+touching appeals to Mr Carrados to picture her frantic distraction, with
+appropriate little gestures of agony and despair, Stephanie described
+her absolute prostration, her subsequent wild scramble through the jewel
+stocks of London to find a substitute. The danger over, it became
+increasingly necessary to act without delay, not only to anticipate
+possible further curiosity on the part of the insurance, but in order to
+secure the means with which to meet an impending obligation held over
+them by an inflexibly obdurate Hebrew.
+
+The evening of the previous Tuesday was to be the time; the opera house,
+during the performance of _La Pucella_, the place. Straithwaite, who was
+not interested in that precise form of drama, would not be expected to
+be present, but with a false moustache and a few other touches which his
+experience as an amateur placed within his easy reach, he was to occupy
+a stall, an end stall somewhere beneath his wife's box. At an agreed
+signal Stephanie would jerk open the catch of the necklace, and as she
+leaned forward the ornament would trickle off her neck and disappear
+into the arena beneath. Straithwaite, the only one prepared for
+anything happening, would have no difficulty in securing it. He would
+look up quickly as if to identify the box, and with the jewels in his
+hand walk deliberately out into the passage. Before anyone had quite
+realized what was happening he would have left the house.
+
+Carrados turned his face from the woman to the man.
+
+"This scheme commended itself to you, Mr Straithwaite?"
+
+"Well, you see, Stephanie is so awfully clever that I took it for
+granted that the thing would go all right."
+
+"And three days before, Bellitzer had already reported misrepresentation
+and that two necklaces had been used!"
+
+"Yes," admitted Straithwaite, with an air of reluctant candour, "I had a
+suspicion that Stephanie's native ingenuity rather fizzled there. You
+know, Stephanie dear, there _is_ a difference, it seems, between Bombay
+and Californian pearls."
+
+"The wretch!" exclaimed the girl, grinding her little teeth vengefully.
+"And we gave him champagne!"
+
+"But nothing came of it; so it doesn't matter?" prompted Straithwaite.
+
+"Except that now Markhams' pearls have gone and they are hinting at all
+manner of diabolical things," she wrathfully reminded him.
+
+"True," he confessed. "That is by way of a sequel, Mr Carrados. I will
+endeavour to explain that part of the incident, for even yet Stephanie
+seems unable to do me justice."
+
+He detached himself from the arm of the chair and lounged across the
+room to another chair, where he took up exactly the same position.
+
+"On the fatal evening I duly made my way to the theatre--a little late,
+so as to take my seat unobserved. After I had got the general hang I
+glanced up occasionally until I caught Stephanie's eye, by which I knew
+that she was there all right and concluded that everything was going
+along quite jollily. According to arrangement, I was to cross the
+theatre immediately the first curtain fell and standing opposite
+Stephanie's box twist my watch chain until it was certain that she had
+seen me. Then Stephanie was to fan herself three times with her
+programme. Both, you will see, perfectly innocent operations, and yet
+conveying to each other the intimation that all was well. Stephanie's
+idea, of course. After that, I would return to my seat and Stephanie
+would do her part at the first opportunity in Act II.
+
+"However, we never reached that. Towards the end of the first act
+something white and noiseless slipped down and fell at my feet. For the
+moment I thought they were the pearls gone wrong. Then I saw that it was
+a glove--a lady's glove. Intuition whispered that it was Stephanie's
+before I touched it. I picked it up and quietly got out. Down among the
+fingers was a scrap of paper--the corner torn off a programme. On it
+were pencilled words to this effect:
+
+     "'Something quite unexpected. Can do nothing to-night. Go back
+     at once and wait. May return early. Frightfully worried.--S.'"
+
+"You kept the paper, of course?"
+
+"Yes. It is in my desk in the next room. Do you care to see it?"
+
+"Please."
+
+Straithwaite left the room and Stephanie flung herself into a charming
+attitude of entreaty.
+
+"Mr Carrados, you will get them back for us, won't you? It would not
+really matter, only I seem to have signed something and now Markhams
+threaten to bring an action against us for culpable negligence in
+leaving them in an empty flat."
+
+"You see," explained Straithwaite, coming back in time to catch the
+drift of his wife's words, "except to a personal friend like yourself,
+it is quite impossible to submit these clues. The first one alone would
+raise embarrassing inquiries; the other is beyond explanation.
+Consequently I have been obliged to concoct an imaginary burglary in our
+absence and to drop the necklace case among the rhododendrons in the
+garden at the back, for the police to find."
+
+"Deeper and deeper," commented Carrados.
+
+"Why, yes. Stephanie and I are finding that out, aren't we, dear?
+However, here is the first note; also the glove. Of course I returned
+immediately. It was Stephanie's strategy and I was under her orders. In
+something less than half-an-hour I heard a motor car stop outside. Then
+the bell here rang.
+
+"I think I have said that I was alone. I went to the door and found a
+man who might have been anything standing there. He merely said: 'Mr
+Straithwaite?' and on my nodding handed me a letter. I tore it open in
+the hall and read it. Then I went into my room and read it again. This
+is it:
+
+     "'DEAR T.,--Absolutely ghastly. We simply must put off
+     to-night. Will explain that later. Now what do you think?
+     Bellitzer is here in the stalls and young K. D. has asked him
+     to join us at supper at the Savoy. It appears that the creature
+     is Something and I suppose the D.'s want to borrow off him. I
+     can't get out of it and I am literally quaking. Don't you see,
+     he will spot something? Send me the M. string at once and I
+     will change somehow before supper. I am scribbling this in the
+     dark. I have got the Willoughby's man to take it. Don't, don't
+     fail.--S.'"
+
+"It is ridiculous, preposterous," snapped Stephanie. "I never wrote a
+word of it--or the other. There was I, sitting the whole evening. And
+Teddy--oh, it is maddening!"
+
+"I took it into my room and looked at it closely," continued the
+unruffled Straithwaite. "Even if I had any reason to doubt, the internal
+evidence was convincing, but how could I doubt? It read like a
+continuation of the previous message. The writing was reasonably like
+Stephanie's under the circumstances, the envelope had obviously been
+obtained from the box-office of the theatre and the paper itself was a
+sheet of the programme. A corner was torn off; I put against it the
+previous scrap and they exactly fitted." The gentleman shrugged his
+shoulders, stretched his legs with deliberation and walked across the
+room to look out of the window. "I made them up into a neat little
+parcel and handed it over," he concluded.
+
+Carrados put down the two pieces of paper which he had been minutely
+examining with his finger-tips and still holding the glove addressed his
+small audience collectively.
+
+"The first and most obvious point is that whoever carried out the scheme
+had more than a vague knowledge of your affairs, not only in general but
+also relating to this--well, loan, Mrs Straithwaite."
+
+"Just what I have insisted," agreed Straithwaite. "You hear that,
+Stephanie?"
+
+"But who is there?" pleaded Stephanie, with weary intonation.
+"Absolutely no one in the wide world. Not a soul."
+
+"So one is liable to think offhand. Let us go further, however, merely
+accounting for those who are in a position to have information. There
+are the officials of the insurance company who suspect something; there
+is Bellitzer, who perhaps knows a little more. There is the lady in
+Surrey from whom the pearls were borrowed, a Mr Tantroy who seems to
+have been consulted, and, finally, your own servants. All these people
+have friends, or underlings, or observers. Suppose Mr Bellitzer's
+confidential clerk happens to be the sweetheart of your maid?"
+
+"They would still know very little."
+
+"The arc of a circle may be very little, but, given that, it is possible
+to construct the entire figure. Now your servants, Mrs Straithwaite? We
+are accusing no one, of course."
+
+"There is the cook, Mullins. She displayed alarming influenza on Tuesday
+morning, and although it was most frightfully inconvenient I packed her
+off home without a moment's delay. I have a horror of the influ. Then
+Fraser, the parlourmaid. She does my hair--I haven't really got a maid,
+you know."
+
+"Peter," prompted Straithwaite.
+
+"Oh yes, Beta. She's a daily girl and helps in the kitchen. I have no
+doubt she is capable of any villainy."
+
+"And all were out on Tuesday evening?"
+
+"Yes. Mullins gone home. Beta left early as there was no dinner, and I
+told Fraser to take the evening after she had dressed me so that Teddy
+could make up and get out without being seen."
+
+Carrados turned to his other witness.
+
+"The papers and the glove have been with you ever since?"
+
+"Yes, in my desk."
+
+"Locked?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And this glove, Mrs Straithwaite? There is no doubt that it is yours?"
+
+"I suppose not," she replied. "I never thought. I know that when I came
+to leave the theatre one had vanished and Teddy had it here."
+
+"That was the first time you missed it?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"But it might have gone earlier in the evening--mislaid or lost or
+stolen?"
+
+"I remember taking them off in the box. I sat in the corner farthest
+from the stage--the front row, of course--and I placed them on the
+support."
+
+"Where anyone in the next box could abstract one without much difficulty
+at a favourable moment."
+
+"That is quite likely. But we didn't see anyone in the next box."
+
+"I have half an idea that I caught sight of someone hanging back,"
+volunteered Straithwaite.
+
+"Thank you," said Carrados, turning towards him almost gratefully. "That
+is most important--that you think you saw someone hanging back. Now the
+other glove, Mrs Straithwaite; what became of that?"
+
+"An odd glove is not very much good, is it?" said Stephanie. "Certainly
+I wore it coming back. I think I threw it down somewhere in here.
+Probably it is still about. We are in a frantic muddle and nothing is
+being done."
+
+The second glove was found on the floor in a corner. Carrados received
+it and laid it with the other.
+
+"You use a very faint and characteristic scent, I notice, Mrs
+Straithwaite," he observed.
+
+"Yes; it is rather sweet, isn't it? I don't know the name because it is
+in Russian. A friend in the Embassy sent me some bottles from
+Petersburg."
+
+"But on Tuesday you supplemented it with something stronger," he
+continued, raising the gloves delicately one after the other to his
+face.
+
+"Oh, eucalyptus; rather," she admitted. "I simply drenched my
+handkerchief with it."
+
+"You have other gloves of the same pattern?"
+
+"Have I? Now let me think! Did you give them to me, Teddy?"
+
+"No," replied Straithwaite from the other end of the room. He had
+lounged across to the window and his attitude detached him from the
+discussion. "Didn't Whitstable?" he added shortly.
+
+"Of course. Then there are three pairs, Mr Carrados, because I never let
+Bimbi lose more than that to me at once, poor boy."
+
+"I think you are rather tiring yourself out, Stephanie," warned her
+husband.
+
+Carrados's attention seemed to leap to the voice; then he turned
+courteously to his hostess.
+
+"I appreciate that you have had a trying time lately, Mrs Straithwaite,"
+he said. "Every moment I have been hoping to let you out of the
+witness-box----"
+
+"Perhaps to-morrow----" began Straithwaite, recrossing the room.
+
+"Impossible; I leave town to-night," replied Carrados firmly. "You have
+three pairs of these gloves, Mrs Straithwaite. Here is one. The other
+two----?"
+
+"One pair I have not worn yet. The other--good gracious, I haven't been
+out since Tuesday! I suppose it is in my glove-box."
+
+"I must see it, please."
+
+Straithwaite opened his mouth, but as his wife obediently rose to her
+feet to comply he turned sharply away with the word unspoken.
+
+"These are they," she said, returning.
+
+"Mr Carrados and I will finish our investigation in my room," interposed
+Straithwaite, with quiet assertiveness. "I should advise you to lie down
+for half-an-hour, Stephanie, if you don't want to be a nervous wreck
+to-morrow."
+
+"You must allow the culprit to endorse that good advice, Mrs
+Straithwaite," added Carrados. He had been examining the second pair of
+gloves as they spoke and he now handed them back again. "They are
+undoubtedly of the same set," he admitted, with extinguished interest,
+"and so our clue runs out."
+
+"I hope you don't mind," apologized Straithwaite, as he led his guest to
+his own smoking-room. "Stephanie," he confided, becoming more cordial as
+two doors separated them from the lady, "is a creature of nerves and
+indiscretions. She forgets. To-night she will not sleep. To-morrow she
+will suffer." Carrados divined the grin. "So shall I!"
+
+"On the contrary, pray accept my regrets," said the visitor. "Besides,"
+he continued, "there is nothing more for me to do here, I suppose...."
+
+"It is a mystery," admitted Straithwaite, with polite agreement. "Will
+you try a cigarette?"
+
+"Thanks. Can you see if my car is below?" They exchanged cigarettes and
+stood at the window lighting them.
+
+"There is one point, by the way, that may have some significance."
+Carrados had begun to recross the room and stopped to pick up the two
+fictitious messages. "You will have noticed that this is the outside
+sheet of a programme. It is not the most suitable for the purpose; the
+first inner sheet is more convenient to write on, but there the date
+appears. You see the inference? The programme was obtained before----"
+
+"Perhaps. Well----?" for Carrados had broken off abruptly and was
+listening.
+
+"You hear someone coming up the steps?"
+
+"It is the general stairway."
+
+"Mr Straithwaite, I don't know how far this has gone in other quarters.
+We may only have a few seconds before we are interrupted."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"I mean that the man who is now on the stairs is a policeman or has worn
+the uniform. If he stops at your door----"
+
+The heavy tread ceased. Then came the authoritative knock.
+
+"Wait," muttered Carrados, laying his hand impressively on
+Straithwaite's tremulous arm. "I may recognize the voice."
+
+They heard the servant pass along the hall and the door unlatched; then
+caught the jumble of a gruff inquiry.
+
+"Inspector Beedel of Scotland Yard!" The servant repassed their door on
+her way to the drawing-room. "It is no good disguising the fact from
+you, Mr Straithwaite, that you may no longer be at liberty. But I am.
+_Is there anything you wish done?_"
+
+There was no time for deliberation. Straithwaite was indeed between the
+unenviable alternatives of the familiar proverb, but, to do him justice,
+his voice had lost scarcely a ripple of its usual sang-froid.
+
+"Thanks," he replied, taking a small stamped and addressed parcel from
+his pocket, "you might drop this into some obscure pillar-box, if you
+will."
+
+"The Markham necklace?"
+
+"Exactly. I was going out to post it when you came."
+
+"I am sure you were."
+
+"And if you could spare five minutes later--if I am here----"
+
+Carrados slid his cigarette-case under some papers on the desk.
+
+"I will call for that," he assented. "Let us say about half-past eight."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"I am still at large, you see, Mr Carrados; though after reflecting on
+the studied formality of the inspector's business here, I imagine that
+you will scarcely be surprised."
+
+"I have made it a habit," admitted Carrados, "never to be surprised."
+
+"However, I still want to cut a rather different figure in your eyes.
+You regard me, Mr Carrados, either as a detected rogue or a repentant
+ass?"
+
+"Another excellent rule is never to form deductions from uncertainties."
+
+Straithwaite made a gesture of mild impatience.
+
+"You only give me ten minutes. If I am to put my case before you, Mr
+Carrados, we cannot fence with phrases.... To-day you have had an
+exceptional opportunity of penetrating into our mode of life. You will,
+I do not doubt, have summed up our perpetual indebtedness and the easy
+credit that our connexion procures; Stephanie's social ambitions and
+expensive popularity; her utterly extravagant incapacity to see any
+other possible existence; and my tacit acquiescence. You will, I know,
+have correctly gauged her irresponsible, neurotic temperament, and
+judged the result of it in conflict with my own. What possibly has
+escaped you, for in society one has to disguise these things, is that I
+still love my wife.
+
+"When you dare not trust the soundness of your reins you do not try to
+pull up a bolting horse. For three years I have endeavoured to guide
+Stephanie round awkward comers with as little visible restraint as
+possible. When we differ over any project upon which she has set her
+heart Stephanie has one strong argument."
+
+"That you no longer love her?"
+
+"Well, perhaps; but more forcibly expressed. She rushes to the top of
+the building--there are six floors, Mr Carrados, and we are on the
+second--and climbing on to the banister she announces her intention of
+throwing herself down into the basement. In the meanwhile I have
+followed her and drag her back again. One day I shall stay where I am
+and let her do as she intends."
+
+"I hope not," said Carrados gravely.
+
+"Oh, don't be concerned. She will then climb back herself. But it will
+mark an epoch. It was by that threat that she obtained my acquiescence
+to this scheme--that and the certainty that she would otherwise go on
+without me. But I had no intention of allowing her to land herself--to
+say nothing of us both--behind the bars of a prison if I could help it.
+And, above all, I wished to cure her of her fatuous delusion that she is
+clever, in the hope that she may then give up being foolish.
+
+"To fail her on the occasion was merely to postpone the attempt. I
+conceived the idea of seeming to cooperate and at the same time
+involving us in what appeared to be a clever counter-fraud. The thought
+of the real loss will perhaps have a good effect; the publicity will
+certainly prevent her from daring a second 'theft.' A sordid story, Mr
+Carrados," he concluded. "Do not forget your cigarette-case in reality."
+
+The paternal shake of Carrados's head over the recital was neutralized
+by his benevolent smile.
+
+"Yes, yes," he said. "I think we can classify you, Mr Straithwaite. One
+point--the glove?"
+
+"That was an afterthought. I had arranged the whole story and the first
+note was to be brought to me by an attendant. Then, on my way, in my
+overcoat pocket I discovered a pair of Stephanie's gloves which she had
+asked me to carry the day before. The suggestion flashed--how much more
+convincing if I could arrange for her to seem to drop the writing in
+that way. As she said, the next box _was_ empty; I merely took
+possession of it for a few minutes and quietly drew across one of her
+gloves. And that reminds me--of course there was nothing in it, but your
+interest in them made me rather nervous."
+
+Carrados laughed outright. Then he stood up and held out his hand.
+
+"Good-night, Mr Straithwaite," he said, with real friendliness. "Let me
+give you the quaker's advice: Don't attempt another conspiracy--but if
+you do, don't produce a 'pair' of gloves of which one is still
+suggestive of scent, and the other identifiable with eucalyptus!"
+
+"Oh----!" said Straithwaite.
+
+"Quite so. But at all hazard suppress a second pair that has the same
+peculiarity. Think over what it must mean. Good-bye."
+
+Twelve minutes later Mr Carlyle was called to the telephone.
+
+"It is eight-fifty-five and I am at Charing Cross," said a voice he
+knew. "If you want local colour contrive an excuse to be with Markham
+when the first post arrives to-morrow." A few more words followed, and
+an affectionate valediction.
+
+"One moment, my dear Max, one moment. Do I understand you to say that
+you will post me on the report of the case from Dover?"
+
+"No, Louis," replied Carrados, with cryptic discrimination. "I only said
+that I will post you on _a_ report of the case from Dover."
+
+
+
+
+THE LAST EXPLOIT OF HARRY THE ACTOR
+
+
+The one insignificant fact upon which turned the following incident in
+the joint experiences of Mr Carlyle and Max Carrados was merely this:
+that having called upon his friend just at the moment when the private
+detective was on the point of leaving his office to go to the safe
+deposit in Lucas Street, Piccadilly, the blind amateur accompanied him,
+and for ten minutes amused himself by sitting quite quietly among the
+palms in the centre of the circular hall while Mr Carlyle was occupied
+with his deed-box in one of the little compartments provided for the
+purpose.
+
+The Lucas Street depository was then (it has since been converted into a
+picture palace) generally accepted as being one of the strongest places
+in London. The front of the building was constructed to represent a
+gigantic safe door, and under the colloquial designation of "The Safe"
+the place had passed into a synonym for all that was secure and
+impregnable. Half of the marketable securities in the west of London
+were popularly reported to have seen the inside of its coffers at one
+time or another, together with the same generous proportion of family
+jewels. However exaggerated an estimate this might be, the substratum of
+truth was solid and auriferous enough to dazzle the imagination. When
+ordinary safes were being carried bodily away with impunity or
+ingeniously fused open by the scientifically equipped cracksman, nervous
+bond-holders turned with relief to the attractions of an establishment
+whose modest claim was summed up in its telegraphic address:
+"Impregnable." To it went also the jewel-case between the lady's social
+engagements, and when in due course "the family" journeyed north--or
+south, east or west--whenever, in short, the London house was closed,
+its capacious storerooms received the plate-chest as an established
+custom. Not a few traders also--jewellers, financiers, dealers in
+pictures, antiques and costly bijouterie, for instance--constantly used
+its facilities for any stock that they did not requite immediately to
+hand.
+
+There was only one entrance to the place, an exaggerated keyhole, to
+carry out the similitude of the safe-door alluded to. The ground floor
+was occupied by the ordinary offices of the company; all the
+strong-rooms and safes lay in the steel-cased basement. This was reached
+both by a lift and by a flight of steps. In either case the visitor
+found before him a grille of massive proportions. Behind its bars stood
+a formidable commissionaire who never left his post, his sole duty being
+to open and close the grille to arriving and departing clients. Beyond
+this, a short passage led into the round central hall where Carrados was
+waiting. From this part, other passages radiated off to the vaults and
+strong-rooms, each one barred from the hall by a grille scarcely less
+ponderous than the first one. The doors of the various private rooms put
+at the disposal of the company's clients, and that of the manager's
+office, filled the wall-space between the radiating passages. Everything
+was very quiet, everything looked very bright, and everything seemed
+hopelessly impregnable.
+
+"But I wonder?" ran Carrados's dubious reflection; as he reached this
+point.
+
+"Sorry to have kept you so long, my dear Max," broke in Mr Carlyle's
+crisp voice. He had emerged from his compartment and was crossing the
+hall, deed-box in hand. "Another minute and I will be with you."
+
+Carrados smiled and nodded and resumed his former expression, which was
+merely that of an uninterested gentleman waiting patiently for another.
+It is something of an attainment to watch closely without betraying
+undue curiosity, but others of the senses--hearing and smelling, for
+instance--can be keenly engaged while the observer possibly has the
+appearance of falling asleep.
+
+"Now," announced Mr Carlyle, returning briskly to his friend's chair,
+and drawing on his grey suede gloves.
+
+"You are in no particular hurry?"
+
+"No," admitted the professional man, with the slowness of mild surprise.
+"Not at all. What do you propose?"
+
+"It is very pleasant here," replied Carrados tranquilly. "Very cool and
+restful with this armoured steel between us and the dust and scurry of
+the hot July afternoon above. I propose remaining here for a few
+minutes longer."
+
+"Certainly," agreed Mr Carlyle, taking the nearest chair and eyeing
+Carrados as though he had a shrewd suspicion of something more than met
+the ear. "I believe some very interesting people rent safes here. We may
+encounter a bishop, or a winning jockey, or even a musical comedy
+actress. Unfortunately it seems to be rather a slack time."
+
+"Two men came down while you were in your cubicle," remarked Carrados
+casually. "The first took the lift. I imagine that he was a middle-aged,
+rather portly man. He carried a stick, wore a silk hat, and used
+spectacles for close sight. The other came by the stairway. I infer that
+he arrived at the top immediately after the lift had gone. He ran down
+the steps, so that the two were admitted at the same time, but the
+second man, though the more active of the pair, hung back for a moment
+in the passage and the portly one was the first to go to his safe."
+
+Mr Carlyle's knowing look expressed: "Go on, my friend; you are coming
+to something." But he merely contributed an encouraging "Yes?"
+
+"When you emerged just now our second man quietly opened the door of his
+pen a fraction. Doubtless he looked out. Then he closed it as quietly
+again. You were not his man, Louis."
+
+"I am grateful," said Mr Carlyle expressively. "What next, Louis?"
+
+"That is all; they are still closeted."
+
+Both were silent for a moment. Mr Carlyle's feeling was one of
+unconfessed perplexity. So far the incident was utterly trivial in his
+eyes; but he knew that the trifles which appeared significant to Max had
+a way of standing out like signposts when the time came to look back
+over an episode. Carrados's sightless faculties seemed indeed to keep
+him just a move ahead as the game progressed.
+
+"Is there really anything in it, Max?" he asked at length.
+
+"Who can say?" replied Carrados. "At least we may wait to see them go.
+Those tin deed-boxes now. There is one to each safe, I think?"
+
+"Yes, so I imagine. The practice is to carry the box to your private
+lair and there unlock it and do your business. Then you lock it up again
+and take it back to your safe."
+
+"Steady! our first man," whispered Carrados hurriedly. "Here, look at
+this with me." He opened a paper--a prospectus--which he pulled from his
+pocket, and they affected to study its contents together.
+
+"You were about right, my friend," muttered Mr Carlyle, pointing to a
+paragraph of assumed interest. "Hat, stick and spectacles. He is a
+clean-shaven, pink-faced old boy. I believe--yes, I know the man by
+sight. He is a bookmaker in a large way, I am told."
+
+"Here comes the other," whispered Carrados.
+
+The bookmaker passed across the hall, joined on his way by the manager
+whose duty it was to counterlock the safe, and disappeared along one of
+the passages. The second man sauntered up and down, waiting his turn. Mr
+Carlyle reported his movements in an undertone and described him. He was
+a younger man than the other, of medium height, and passably well
+dressed in a quiet lounge suit, green Alpine hat and brown shoes. By the
+time the detective had reached his wavy chestnut hair, large and rather
+ragged moustache, and sandy, freckled complexion, the first man had
+completed his business and was leaving the place.
+
+"It isn't an exchange lay, at all events," said Mr Carlyle. "His inner
+case is only half the size of the other and couldn't possibly be
+substituted."
+
+"Come up now," said Carrados, rising. "There is nothing more to be
+learned down here."
+
+They requisitioned the lift and on the steps outside the gigantic
+keyhole stood for a few minutes discussing an investment as a couple of
+trustees or a lawyer and a client who were parting there might do. Fifty
+yards away, a very large silk hat with a very curly brim marked the
+progress of the bookmaker towards Piccadilly.
+
+The lift in the hall behind them swirled up again and the gate clashed.
+The second man walked leisurely out and sauntered away without a
+backward glance.
+
+"He has gone in the opposite direction," exclaimed Mr Carlyle, rather
+blankly. "It isn't the 'lame goat' nor the 'follow-me-on,' nor even the
+homely but efficacious sand-bag."
+
+"What colour were his eyes?" asked Carrados.
+
+"Upon my word, I never noticed," admitted the other.
+
+"Parkinson would have noticed," was the severe comment.
+
+"I am not Parkinson," retorted Mr Carlyle, with asperity, "and, strictly
+as one dear friend to another, Max, permit me to add, that while
+cherishing an unbounded admiration for your remarkable gifts, I have the
+strongest suspicion that the whole incident is a ridiculous mare's nest,
+bred in the fantastic imagination of an enthusiastic criminologist."
+
+Mr Carrados received this outburst with the utmost benignity. "Come and
+have a coffee, Louis," he suggested. "Mehmed's is only a street away."
+
+Mehmed proved to be a cosmopolitan gentleman from Mocha whose shop
+resembled a house from the outside and an Oriental divan when one was
+within. A turbaned Arab placed cigarettes and cups of coffee spiced with
+saffron before the customers, gave salaam and withdrew.
+
+"You know, my dear chap," continued Mr Carlyle, sipping his black coffee
+and wondering privately whether it was really very good or very bad,
+"speaking quite seriously, the one fishy detail--our ginger friend's
+watching for the other to leave--may be open to a dozen very innocent
+explanations."
+
+"So innocent that to-morrow I intend taking a safe myself."
+
+"You think that everything is all right?"
+
+"On the contrary, I am convinced that something is very wrong."
+
+"Then why----?"
+
+"I shall keep nothing there, but it will give me the _entrée_. I should
+advise you, Louis, in the first place to empty your safe with all
+possible speed, and in the second to leave your business card on the
+manager."
+
+Mr Carlyle pushed his cup away, convinced now that the coffee was really
+very bad.
+
+"But, my dear Max, the place--'The Safe'--is impregnable!"
+
+"When I was in the States, three years ago, the head porter at one hotel
+took pains to impress on me that the building was absolutely fireproof.
+I at once had my things taken off to another hotel. Two weeks later the
+first place was burnt out. It _was_ fireproof, I believe, but of course
+the furniture and the fittings were not and the walls gave way."
+
+"Very ingenious," admitted Mr Carlyle, "but why did you really go? You
+know you can't humbug me with your superhuman sixth sense, my friend."
+
+Carrados smiled pleasantly, thereby encouraging the watchful attendant
+to draw near and replenish their tiny cups.
+
+"Perhaps," replied the blind man, "because so many careless people were
+satisfied that it was fireproof."
+
+"Ah-ha, there you are--the greater the confidence the greater the risk.
+But only if your self-confidence results in carelessness. Now do you
+know how this place is secured, Max?"
+
+"I am told that they lock the door at night," replied Carrados, with
+bland malice.
+
+"And hide the key under the mat to be ready for the first arrival in the
+morning," crowed Mr Carlyle, in the same playful spirit. "Dear old chap!
+Well, let me tell you----"
+
+"That force is out of the question. Quite so," admitted his friend.
+
+"That simplifies the argument. Let us consider fraud. There again the
+precautions are so rigid that many people pronounce the forms a
+nuisance. I confess that I do not. I regard them as a means of
+protecting my own property and I cheerfully sign my name and give my
+password, which the manager compares with his record-book before he
+releases the first lock of my safe. The signature is burned before my
+eyes in a sort of crucible there, the password is of my own choosing and
+is written only in a book that no one but the manager ever sees, and my
+key is the sole one in existence."
+
+"No duplicate or master-key?"
+
+"Neither. If a key is lost it takes a skilful mechanic half-a-day to cut
+his way in. Then you must remember that clients of a safe-deposit are
+not multitudinous. All are known more or less by sight to the officials
+there, and a stranger would receive close attention. Now, Max, by what
+combination of circumstances is a rogue to know my password, to be able
+to forge my signature, to possess himself of my key, and to resemble me
+personally? And, finally, how is he possibly to determine beforehand
+whether there is anything in my safe to repay so elaborate a plant?" Mr
+Carlyle concluded in triumph and was so carried away by the strength of
+his position that he drank off the contents of his second cup before he
+realized what he was doing.
+
+"At the hotel I just spoke of," replied Carrados, "there was an
+attendant whose one duty in case of alarm was to secure three iron
+doors. On the night of the fire he had a bad attack of toothache and
+slipped away for just a quarter of an hour to have the thing out. There
+was a most up-to-date system of automatic fire alarm; it had been tested
+only the day before and the electrician, finding some part not
+absolutely to his satisfaction, had taken it away and not had time to
+replace it. The night watchman, it turned out, had received leave to
+present himself a couple of hours later on that particular night, and
+the hotel fireman, whose duties he took over, had missed being notified.
+Lastly, there was a big riverside blaze at the same time and all the
+engines were down at the other end of the city."
+
+Mr Carlyle committed himself to a dubious monosyllable. Carrados leaned
+forward a little.
+
+"All these circumstances formed a coincidence of pure chance. Is it not
+conceivable, Louis, that an even more remarkable series might be
+brought about by design?"
+
+"Our tawny friend?"
+
+"Possibly. Only he was not really tawny." Mr Carlyle's easy attitude
+suddenly stiffened into rigid attention. "He wore a false moustache."
+
+"He wore a false moustache!" repeated the amazed gentleman. "And you
+cannot see! No, really, Max, this is beyond the limit!"
+
+"If only you would not trust your dear, blundering old eyes so
+implicitly you would get nearer that limit yourself," retorted Carrados.
+"The man carried a five-yard aura of spirit gum, emphasized by a warm,
+perspiring skin. That inevitably suggested one thing. I looked for
+further evidence of making-up and found it--these preparations all
+smell. The hair you described was characteristically that of a wig--worn
+long to hide the joining and made wavy to minimize the length. All these
+things are trifles. As yet we have not gone beyond the initial stage of
+suspicion. I will tell you another trifle. When this man retired to a
+compartment with his deed-box, he never even opened it. Possibly it
+contains a brick and a newspaper. He is only watching."
+
+"Watching the bookmaker."
+
+"True, but it may go far wider than that. Everything points to a plot of
+careful elaboration. Still, if you are satisfied----"
+
+"I am quite satisfied," replied Mr Carlyle gallantly. "I regard 'The
+Safe' almost as a national institution, and as such I have an implicit
+faith in its precautions against every kind of force or fraud." So far
+Mr Carlyle's attitude had been suggestive of a rock, but at this point
+he took out his watch, hummed a little to pass the time, consulted his
+watch again, and continued: "I am afraid that there were one or two
+papers which I overlooked. It would perhaps save me coming again
+to-morrow if I went back now----"
+
+"Quite so," acquiesced Carrados, with perfect gravity. "I will wait for
+you."
+
+For twenty minutes he sat there, drinking an occasional tiny cup of
+boiled coffee and to all appearance placidly enjoying the quaint
+atmosphere which Mr Mehmed had contrived to transplant from the shore of
+the Persian Gulf.
+
+At the end of that period Carlyle returned, politely effusive about the
+time he had kept his friend waiting but otherwise bland and
+unassailable. Anyone with eyes might have noticed that he carried a
+parcel of about the same size and dimensions as the deed-box that fitted
+his safe.
+
+The next day Carrados presented himself at the safe-deposit as an
+intending renter. The manager showed him over the vaults and
+strong-rooms, explaining the various precautions taken to render the
+guile or force of man impotent: the strength of the chilled-steel walls,
+the casing of electricity-resisting concrete, the stupendous isolation
+of the whole inner fabric on metal pillars so that the watchman, while
+inside the building, could walk above, below, and all round the outer
+walls of what was really--although it bore no actual relationship to the
+advertising device of the front--a monstrous safe; and, finally, the
+arrangement which would enable the basement to be flooded with steam
+within three minutes of an alarm. These details were public property.
+"The Safe" was a showplace and its directors held that no harm could
+come of displaying a strong hand.
+
+Accompanied by the observant eyes of Parkinson, Carrados gave an
+adventurous but not a hopeful attention to these particulars. Submitting
+the problem of the tawny man to his own ingenuity, he was constantly
+putting before himself the question: How shall I set about robbing this
+place? and he had already dismissed force as impracticable. Nor, when it
+came to the consideration of fraud, did the simple but effective
+safeguards which Mr Carlyle had specified seem to offer any loophole.
+
+"As I am blind I may as well sign in the book," he suggested, when the
+manager passed to him a gummed slip for the purpose. The precaution
+against one acquiring particulars of another client might well be deemed
+superfluous in his case.
+
+But the manager did not fall into the trap.
+
+"It is our invariable rule in all cases, sir," he replied courteously.
+"What word will you take?" Parkinson, it may be said, had been left in
+the hall.
+
+"Suppose I happen to forget it? How do we proceed?"
+
+"In that case I am afraid that I might have to trouble you to establish
+your identity," the manager explained. "It rarely happens."
+
+"Then we will say 'Conspiracy.'"
+
+The word was written down and the book closed.
+
+"Here is your key, sir. If you will allow me--your key-ring----"
+
+A week went by and Carrados was no nearer the absolute solution of the
+problem he had set himself. He had, indeed, evolved several ways by
+which the contents of the safes might be reached, some simple and
+desperate, hanging on the razor-edge of chance to fall this way or that;
+others more elaborate, safer on the whole, but more liable to break down
+at some point of their ingenious intricacy. And setting aside complicity
+on the part of the manager--a condition that Carrados had satisfied
+himself did not exist--they all depended on a relaxation of the forms by
+which security was assured. Carrados continued to have several occasions
+to visit the safe during the week, and he "watched" with a quiet
+persistence that was deadly in its scope. But from beginning to end
+there was no indication of slackness in the business-like methods of the
+place; nor during any of his visits did the "tawny man" appear in that
+or any other disguise. Another week passed; Mr Carlyle was becoming
+inexpressibly waggish, and Carrados himself, although he did not abate a
+jot of his conviction, was compelled to bend to the realities of the
+situation. The manager, with the obstinacy of a conscientious man who
+had become obsessed with the pervading note of security, excused himself
+from discussing abstract methods of fraud. Carrados was not in a
+position to formulate a detailed charge; he withdrew from active
+investigation, content to await his time.
+
+It came, to be precise, on a certain Friday morning, seventeen days
+after his first visit to "The Safe." Returning late on the Thursday
+night, he was informed that a man giving the name of Draycott had called
+to see him. Apparently the matter had been of some importance to the
+visitor for he had returned three hours later on the chance of finding
+Mr Carrados in. Disappointed in this, he had left a note. Carrados cut
+open the envelope and ran a finger along the following words:--
+
+     "DEAR SIR,--I have to-day consulted Mr Louis Carlyle, who
+     thinks that you would like to see me. I will call again in the
+     morning, say at nine o'clock. If this is too soon or otherwise
+     inconvenient I entreat you to leave a message fixing as early
+     an hour as possible.
+     Yours faithfully,
+                                   HERBERT DRAYCOTT."
+
+     "_P.S._--I should add that I am the renter of a safe at the
+     Lucas Street depository.      H. D."
+
+A description of Mr Draycott made it clear that he was not the West-End
+bookmaker. The caller, the servant explained, was a thin, wiry,
+keen-faced man. Carrados felt agreeably interested in this development,
+which seemed to justify his suspicion of a plot.
+
+At five minutes to nine the next morning Mr Draycott again presented
+himself.
+
+"Very good of you to see me so soon, sir," he apologized, on Carrados at
+once receiving him. "I don't know much of English ways--I'm an
+Australian--and I was afraid it might be too early."
+
+"You could have made it a couple of hours earlier as far as I am
+concerned," replied Carrados. "Or you either for that matter, I
+imagine," he added, "for I don't think that you slept much last night."
+
+"I didn't sleep at all last night," corrected Mr Draycott. "But it's
+strange that you should have seen that. I understood from Mr Carlyle
+that you--excuse me if I am mistaken, sir--but I understood that you
+were blind."
+
+Carrados laughed his admission lightly.
+
+"Oh yes," he said. "But never mind that. What is the trouble?"
+
+"I'm afraid it means more than just trouble for me, Mr Carrados." The
+man had steady, half-closed eyes, with the suggestion of depth which one
+notices in the eyes of those whose business it is to look out over great
+expanses of land or water; they were turned towards Carrados's face with
+quiet resignation in their frankness now. "I'm afraid it spells
+disaster. I am a working engineer from the Mount Magdalena district of
+Coolgardie. I don't want to take up your time with outside details so I
+will only say that about two years ago I had an opportunity of acquiring
+a share in a very promising claim--gold, you understand, both reef and
+alluvial. As the work went on I put more and more into the
+undertaking--you couldn't call it a venture by that time. The results
+were good, better than we had dared to expect, but from one cause and
+another the expenses were terrible. We saw that it was a bigger thing
+than we had bargained for and we admitted that we must get outside
+help."
+
+So far Mr Draycott's narrative had proceeded smoothly enough under the
+influence of the quiet despair that had come over the man. But at this
+point a sudden recollection of his position swept him into a frenzy of
+bitterness.
+
+"Oh, what the blazes is the good of going over all this again!" he broke
+out. "What can you or anyone else do anyhow? I've been robbed, rooked,
+cleared out of everything I possess," and tormented by recollections and
+by the impotence of his rage the unfortunate engineer beat the oak table
+with the back of his hand until his knuckles bled.
+
+Carrados waited until the fury had passed.
+
+"Continue, if you please, Mr Draycott," he said. "Just what you thought
+it best to tell me is just what I want to know."
+
+"I'm sorry, sir," apologized the man, colouring under his tanned skin.
+"I ought to be able to control myself better. But this business has
+shaken me. Three times last night I looked down the barrel of my
+revolver, and three times I threw it away.... Well, we arranged that I
+should come to London to interest some financiers in the property. We
+might have done it locally or in Perth, to be sure, but then, don't you
+see, they would have wanted to get control. Six weeks ago I landed here.
+I brought with me specimens of the quartz and good samples of extracted
+gold, dust and nuggets, the clearing up of several weeks' working, about
+two hundred and forty ounces in all. That includes the Magdalena
+Lodestar, our lucky nugget, a lump weighing just under seven pounds of
+pure gold.
+
+"I had seen an advertisement of this Lucas Street safe-deposit and it
+seemed just the thing I wanted. Besides the gold, I had all the papers
+to do with the claims--plans, reports, receipts, licences and so on.
+Then when I cashed my letter of credit I had about one hundred and fifty
+pounds in notes. Of course I could have left everything at a bank but it
+was more convenient to have it, as it were, in my own safe, to get at
+any time, and to have a private room that I could take any gentlemen to.
+I hadn't a suspicion that anything could be wrong. Negotiations hung on
+in several quarters--it's a bad time to do business here, I find. Then,
+yesterday, I wanted something. I went to Lucas Street, as I had done
+half-a-dozen times before, opened my safe, and had the inner case
+carried to a room.... Mr Carrados, it was empty!"
+
+"Quite empty?"
+
+"No." He laughed bitterly. "At the bottom was a sheet of wrapper paper.
+I recognized it as a piece I had left there in case I wanted to make up
+a parcel. But for that I should have been convinced that I had somehow
+opened the wrong safe. That was my first idea."
+
+"It cannot be done."
+
+"So I understand, sir. And, then, there was the paper with my name
+written on it in the empty tin. I was dazed; it seemed impossible. I
+think I stood there without moving for minutes--it was more like hours.
+Then I closed the tin box again, took it back, locked up the safe and
+came out."
+
+"Without notifying anything wrong?"
+
+"Yes, Mr Carrados." The steady blue eyes regarded him with pained
+thoughtfulness. "You see, I reckoned it out in that time that it must be
+someone about the place who had done it."
+
+"You were wrong," said Carrados.
+
+"So Mr Carlyle seemed to think. I only knew that the key had never been
+out of my possession and I had told no one of the password. Well, it did
+come over me rather like cold water down the neck, that there was I
+alone in the strongest dungeon in London and not a living soul knew
+where I was."
+
+"Possibly a sort of up-to-date Sweeney Todd's?"
+
+"I'd heard of such things in London," admitted Draycott. "Anyway, I got
+out. It was a mistake; I see it now. Who is to believe me as it is--it
+sounds a sort of unlikely tale. And how do they come to pick on me? to
+know what I had? I don't drink, or open my mouth, or hell round. It
+beats me."
+
+"They didn't pick on you--you picked on them," replied Carrados. "Never
+mind how; you'll be believed all right. But as for getting anything
+back----" The unfinished sentence confirmed Mr Draycott in his gloomiest
+anticipations.
+
+"I have the numbers of the notes," he suggested, with an attempt at
+hopefulness. "They can be stopped, I take it?"
+
+"Stopped? Yes," admitted Carrados. "And what does that amount to? The
+banks and the police stations will be notified and every little
+public-house between here and Land's End will change one for the
+scribbling of 'John Jones' across the back. No, Mr Draycott, it's
+awkward, I dare say, but you must make up your mind to wait until you
+can get fresh supplies from home. Where are you staying?"
+
+Draycott hesitated.
+
+"I have been at the Abbotsford, in Bloomsbury, up to now," he said, with
+some embarrassment. "The fact is, Mr Carrados, I think I ought to have
+told you how I was placed before consulting you, because I--I see no
+prospect of being able to pay my way. Knowing that I had plenty in the
+safe, I had run it rather close. I went chiefly yesterday to get some
+notes. I have a week's hotel bill in my pocket, and"--he glanced down
+at his trousers--"I've ordered one or two other things unfortunately."
+
+"That will be a matter of time, doubtless," suggested the other
+encouragingly.
+
+Instead of replying Draycott suddenly dropped his arms on to the table
+and buried his face between them. A minute passed in silence.
+
+"It's no good, Mr Carrados," he said, when he was able to speak; "I
+can't meet it. Say what you like, I simply can't tell those chaps that
+I've lost everything we had and ask them to send me more. They couldn't
+do it if I did. Understand, sir. The mine is a valuable one; we have the
+greatest faith in it, but it has gone beyond our depth. The three of us
+have put everything we own into it. While I am here they are doing
+labourers' work for a wage, just to keep going ... waiting, oh, my God!
+waiting for good news from me!"
+
+Carrados walked round the table to his desk and wrote. Then, without a
+word, he held out a paper to his visitor.
+
+"What's this?" demanded Draycott, in bewilderment. "It's--it's a cheque
+for a hundred pounds."
+
+"It will carry you on," explained Carrados imperturbably. "A man like
+you isn't going to throw up the sponge for this set-back. Cable to your
+partners that you require copies of all the papers at once. They'll
+manage it, never fear. The gold ... must go. Write fully by the next
+mail. Tell them everything and add that in spite of all you feel that
+you are nearer success than ever."
+
+Mr Draycott folded the cheque with thoughtful deliberation and put it
+carefully away in his pocket-book.
+
+"I don't know whether you've guessed as much, sir," he said in a queer
+voice, "but I think that you've saved a man's life to-day. It's not the
+money, it's the encouragement ... and faith. If you could see you'd know
+better than I can say how I feel about it."
+
+Carrados laughed quietly. It always amused him to have people explain
+how much more he would learn if he had eyes.
+
+"Then we'll go on to Lucas Street and give the manager the shock of his
+life," was all he said. "Come, Mr Draycott, I have already rung up the
+car."
+
+But, as it happened, another instrument had been destined to apply that
+stimulating experience to the manager. As they stepped out of the car
+opposite "The Safe" a taxicab drew up and Mr Carlyle's alert and cheery
+voice hailed them.
+
+"A moment, Max," he called, turning to settle with his driver, a
+transaction that he invested with an air of dignified urbanity which
+almost made up for any small pecuniary disappointment that may have
+accompanied it. "This is indeed fortunate. Let us compare notes for a
+moment. I have just received an almost imploring message from the
+manager to come at once. I assumed that it was the affair of our
+colonial friend here, but he went on to mention Professor Holmfast
+Bulge. Can it really be possible that he also has made a similar
+discovery?"
+
+"What did the manager say?" asked Carrados.
+
+"He was practically incoherent, but I really think it must be so. What
+have you done?"
+
+"Nothing," replied Carrados. He turned his back on "The Safe" and
+appeared to be regarding the other side of the street. "There is a
+tobacconist's shop directly opposite?"
+
+"There is."
+
+"What do they sell on the first floor?"
+
+"Possibly they sell 'Rubbo.' I hazard the suggestion from the legend
+'Rub in Rubbo for Everything' which embellishes each window."
+
+"The windows are frosted?"
+
+"They are, to half-way up, mysterious man."
+
+Carrados walked back to his motor car.
+
+"While we are away, Parkinson, go across and buy a tin, bottle, box or
+packet of 'Rubbo.'"
+
+"What is 'Rubbo,' Max?" chirped Mr Carlyle with insatiable curiosity.
+
+"So far we do not know. When Parkinson gets some, Louis, you shall be
+the one to try it."
+
+They descended into the basement and were passed in by the
+grille-keeper, whose manner betrayed a discreet consciousness of
+something in the air. It was unnecessary to speculate why. In the
+distance, muffled by the armoured passages, an authoritative voice
+boomed like a sonorous bell heard under water.
+
+"What, however, are the facts?" it was demanding, with the causticity of
+baffled helplessness. "I am assured that there is no other key in
+existence; yet my safe has been unlocked. I am given to understand that
+without the password it would be impossible for an unauthorized person
+to tamper with my property. My password, deliberately chosen, is
+'anthropophaginian,' sir. Is it one that is familiarly on the lips of
+the criminal classes? But my safe is empty! What is the explanation? Who
+are the guilty persons? What is being done? Where are the police?"
+
+"If you consider that the proper course to adopt is to stand on the
+doorstep and beckon in the first constable who happens to pass, permit
+me to say, sir, that I differ from you," retorted the distracted
+manager. "You may rely on everything possible being done to clear up the
+mystery. As I told you, I have already telephoned for a capable private
+detective and for one of my directors."
+
+"But that is not enough," insisted the professor angrily. "Will one mere
+private detective restore my £6000 Japanese 4-1/2 per cent. bearer
+bonds? Is the return of my irreplaceable notes on 'Polyphyletic Bridal
+Customs among the mid-Pleistocene Cave Men' to depend on a solitary
+director? I demand that the police shall be called in--as many as are
+available. Let Scotland Yard be set in motion. A searching inquiry must
+be made. I have only been a user of your precious establishment for six
+months, and this is the result."
+
+"There you hold the key of the mystery, Professor Bulge," interposed
+Carrados quietly.
+
+"Who is this, sir?" demanded the exasperated professor at large.
+
+"Permit me," explained Mr Carlyle, with bland assurance. "I am Louis
+Carlyle, of Bampton Street. This gentleman is Mr Max Carrados, the
+eminent amateur specialist in crime."
+
+"I shall be thankful for any assistance towards elucidating this
+appalling business," condescended the professor sonorously. "Let me put
+you in possession of the facts----"
+
+"Perhaps if we went into your room," suggested Carrados to the manager,
+"we should be less liable to interruption."
+
+"Quite so; quite so," boomed the professor, accepting the proposal on
+everyone else's behalf. "The facts, sir, are these: I am the unfortunate
+possessor of a safe here, in which, a few months ago, I deposited--among
+less important matter--sixty bearer bonds of the Japanese Imperial
+Loan--the bulk of my small fortune--and the manuscript of an important
+projected work on 'Polyphyletic Bridal Customs among the mid-Pleistocene
+Cave Men.' To-day I came to detach the coupons which fall due on the
+fifteenth, to pay them into my bank a week in advance, in accordance
+with my custom. What do I find? I find the safe locked and apparently
+intact, as when I last saw it a month ago. But it is far from being
+intact, sir. It has been opened; ransacked, cleared out. Not a single
+bond; not a scrap of paper remains."
+
+It was obvious that the manager's temperature had been rising during the
+latter part of this speech and now he boiled over.
+
+"Pardon my flatly contradicting you, Professor Bulge. You have again
+referred to your visit here a month ago as your last. You will bear
+witness of that, gentlemen. When I inform you that the professor had
+access to his safe as recently as on Monday last you will recognize the
+importance that the statement may assume."
+
+The professor glared across the room like an infuriated animal, a
+comparison heightened by his notoriously hircine appearance.
+
+"How dare you contradict me, sir!" he cried, slapping the table sharply
+with his open hand. "I was not here on Monday."
+
+The manager shrugged his shoulders coldly.
+
+"You forget that the attendants also saw you," he remarked. "Cannot we
+trust our own eyes?"
+
+"A common assumption, yet not always a strictly reliable one,"
+insinuated Carrados softly.
+
+"I cannot be mistaken."
+
+"Then can you tell me, without looking, what colour Professor Bulge's
+eyes are?"
+
+There was a curious and expectant silence for a minute. The professor
+turned his back on the manager and the manager passed from
+thoughtfulness to embarrassment.
+
+"I really do not know, Mr Carrados," he declared loftily at last. "I do
+not refer to mere trifles like that."
+
+"Then you can be mistaken," replied Carrados mildly yet with decision.
+
+"But the ample hair, the venerable flowing beard, the prominent nose and
+heavy eyebrows----"
+
+"These are just the striking points that are most easily counterfeited.
+They 'take the eye.' If you would ensure yourself against deception,
+learn rather to observe the eye itself, and particularly the spots on
+it, the shape of the fingernails, the set of the ears. These things
+cannot be simulated."
+
+"You seriously suggest that the man was not Professor Bulge--that he was
+an impostor?"
+
+"The conclusion is inevitable. Where were you on Monday, Professor?"
+
+"I was on a short lecturing tour in the Midlands. On Saturday I was in
+Nottingham. On Monday in Birmingham. I did not return to London until
+yesterday."
+
+Carrados turned to the manager again and indicated Draycott, who so far
+had remained in the background.
+
+"And this gentleman? Did he by any chance come here on Monday?"
+
+"He did not, Mr Carrados. But I gave him access to his safe on Tuesday
+afternoon and again yesterday."
+
+Draycott shook his head sadly.
+
+"Yesterday I found it empty," he said. "And all Tuesday afternoon I was
+at Brighton, trying to see a gentleman on business."
+
+The manager sat down very suddenly.
+
+"Good God, another!" he exclaimed faintly.
+
+"I am afraid the list is only beginning," said Carrados. "We must go
+through your renters' book."
+
+The manager roused himself to protest.
+
+"That cannot be done. No one but myself or my deputy ever sees the book.
+It would be--unprecedented."
+
+"The circumstances are unprecedented," replied Carrados.
+
+"If any difficulties are placed in the way of these gentlemen's
+investigations, I shall make it my duty to bring the facts before the
+Home Secretary," announced the professor; speaking up to the ceiling
+with the voice of a brazen trumpet.
+
+Carrados raised a deprecating hand.
+
+"May I make a suggestion?" he remarked. "Now; I am blind. If,
+therefore----?"
+
+"Very well," acquiesced the manager. "But I must request the others to
+withdraw."
+
+For five minutes Carrados followed the list of safe-renters as the
+manager read them to him. Sometimes he stopped the catalogue to reflect
+a moment; now and then he brushed a finger-tip over a written signature
+and compared it with another. Occasionally a password interested him.
+But when the list came to an end he continued to look into space without
+any sign of enlightenment.
+
+"So much is perfectly clear and yet so much is incredible," he mused.
+"You insist that you alone have been in charge for the last six months?"
+
+"I have not been away a day this year."
+
+"Meals?"
+
+"I have my lunch sent in."
+
+"And this room could not be entered without your knowledge while you
+were about the place?"
+
+"It is impossible. The door is fitted with a powerful spring and a
+feather-touch self-acting lock. It cannot be left unlocked unless you
+deliberately prop it open."
+
+"And, with your knowledge, no one has had an opportunity of having
+access to this book?"
+
+"No," was the reply.
+
+Carrados stood up and began to put on his gloves.
+
+"Then I must decline to pursue my investigation any further," he said
+icily.
+
+"Why?" stammered the manager.
+
+"Because I have positive reason for believing that you are deceiving
+me."
+
+"Pray sit down, Mr Carrados. It is quite true that when you put the last
+question to me a circumstance rushed into my mind which--so far as the
+strict letter was concerned--might seem to demand 'Yes' instead of 'No.'
+But not in the spirit of your inquiry. It would be absurd to attach any
+importance to the incident I refer to."
+
+"That would be for me to judge."
+
+"You shall do so, Mr Carrados. I live at Windermere Mansions with my
+sister. A few months ago she got to know a married couple who had
+recently come to the opposite flat. The husband was a middle-aged,
+scholarly man who spent most of his time in the British Museum. His
+wife's tastes were different; she was much younger, brighter, gayer; a
+mere girl in fact, one of the most charming and unaffected I have ever
+met. My sister Amelia does not readily----"
+
+"Stop!" exclaimed Carrados. "A studious middle-aged man and a charming
+young wife! Be as brief as possible. If there is any chance it may turn
+on a matter of minutes at the ports. She came here, of course?"
+
+"Accompanied by her husband," replied the manager stiffly. "Mrs Scott
+had travelled and she had a hobby of taking photographs wherever she
+went. When my position accidentally came out one evening she was carried
+away by the novel idea of adding views of a safe-deposit to her
+collection--as enthusiastic as a child. There was no reason why she
+should not; the place has often been taken for advertising purposes."
+
+"She came, and brought her camera--under your very nose!"
+
+"I do not know what you mean by 'under my very nose.' She came with her
+husband one evening just about our closing time. She brought her camera,
+of course--quite a small affair."
+
+"And contrived to be in here alone?"
+
+"I take exception to the word 'contrived.' It--it happened. I sent out
+for some tea, and in the course----"
+
+"How long was she alone in here?"
+
+"Two or three minutes at the most. When I returned she was seated at my
+desk. That was what I referred to. The little rogue had put on my
+glasses and had got hold of a big book. We were great chums, and she
+delighted to mock me. I confess that I was startled--merely
+instinctively--to see that she had taken up this book, but the next
+moment I saw that she had it upside down."
+
+"Clever! She couldn't get it away in time. And the camera, with
+half-a-dozen of its specially sensitized films already snapped over the
+last few pages, by her side!"
+
+"That child!"
+
+"Yes. She is twenty-seven and has kicked hats off tall men's heads in
+every capital from Petersburg to Buenos Aires! Get through to Scotland
+Yard and ask if Inspector Beedel can come up."
+
+The manager breathed heavily through his nose.
+
+"To call in the police and publish everything would ruin this
+establishment--confidence would be gone. I cannot do it without further
+authority."
+
+"Then the professor certainly will."
+
+"Before you came I rang up the only director who is at present in town
+and gave him the facts as they then stood. Possibly he has arrived by
+this. If you will accompany me to the boardroom we will see."
+
+They went up to the floor above, Mr Carlyle joining them on the way.
+
+"Excuse me a moment," said the manager.
+
+Parkinson, who had been having an improving conversation with the hall
+porter on the subject of land values, approached.
+
+"I am sorry, sir," he reported, "but I was unable to procure any
+'Rubbo.' The place appears to be shut up."
+
+"That is a pity; Mr Carlyle had set his heart on it."
+
+"Will you come this way, please?" said the manager, reappearing.
+
+In the boardroom they found a white-haired old gentleman who had obeyed
+the manager's behest from a sense of duty, and then remained in a
+distant corner of the empty room in the hope that he might be
+overlooked. He was amiably helpless and appeared to be deeply aware of
+it.
+
+"This is a very sad business, gentlemen," he said, in a whispering,
+confiding voice. "I am informed that you recommend calling in the
+Scotland Yard authorities. That would be a disastrous course for an
+institution that depends on the implicit confidence of the public."
+
+"It is the only course," replied Carrados.
+
+"The name of Mr Carrados is well known to us in connexion with a
+delicate case. Could you not carry this one through?"
+
+"It is impossible. A wide inquiry must be made. Every port will have to
+be watched. The police alone can do that." He threw a little
+significance into the next sentence. "I alone can put the police in the
+right way of doing it."
+
+"And you will do that, Mr Carrados?"
+
+Carrados smiled engagingly. He knew exactly what constituted the great
+attraction of his services.
+
+"My position is this," he explained. "So far my work has been entirely
+amateur. In that capacity I have averted one or two crimes, remedied an
+occasional injustice, and now and then been of service to my
+professional friend, Louis Carlyle. But there is no reason at all why I
+should serve a commercial firm in an ordinary affair of business for
+nothing. For any information I should require a fee, a quite nominal fee
+of, say, one hundred pounds."
+
+The director looked as though his faith in human nature had received a
+rude blow.
+
+"A hundred pounds would be a very large initial fee for a small firm
+like this, Mr Carrados," he remarked in a pained voice.
+
+"And that, of course, would be independent of Mr Carlyle's professional
+charges," added Carrados.
+
+"Is that sum contingent on any specific performance?" inquired the
+manager.
+
+"I do not mind making it conditional on my procuring for you, for the
+police to act on, a photograph and a description of the thief."
+
+The two officials conferred apart for a moment. Then the manager
+returned.
+
+"We will agree, Mr Carrados, on the understanding that these things are
+to be in our hands within two days. Failing that----"
+
+"No, no!" cried Mr Carlyle indignantly, but Carrados good-humouredly put
+him aside.
+
+"I will accept the condition in the same sporting spirit that inspires
+it. Within forty-eight hours or no pay. The cheque, of course, to be
+given immediately the goods are delivered?"
+
+"You may rely on that."
+
+Carrados took out his pocket-book, produced an envelope bearing an
+American stamp, and from it extracted an unmounted print.
+
+"Here is the photograph," he announced. "The man is called Ulysses K.
+Groom, but he is better known as 'Harry the Actor.' You will find the
+description written on the back."
+
+Five minutes later, when they were alone, Mr Carlyle expressed his
+opinion of the transaction.
+
+"You are an unmitigated humbug, Max," he said, "though an amiable one, I
+admit. But purely for your own private amusement you spring these things
+on people."
+
+"On the contrary," replied Carrados, "people spring these things on me."
+
+"Now this photograph. Why have I heard nothing of it before?"
+
+Carrados took out his watch and touched the fingers.
+
+"It is now three minutes to eleven. I received the photograph at twenty
+past eight."
+
+"Even then, an hour ago you assured me that you had done nothing."
+
+"Nor had I--so far as result went. Until the keystone of the edifice was
+wrung from the manager in his room, I was as far away from demonstrable
+certainty as ever."
+
+"So am I--as yet," hinted Mr Carlyle.
+
+"I am coming to that, Louis. I turn over the whole thing to you. The man
+has got two clear days' start and the chances are nine to one against
+catching him. We know everything, and the case has no further interest
+for me. But it is your business. Here is your material.
+
+"On that one occasion when the 'tawny' man crossed our path, I took from
+the first a rather more serious view of his scope and intention than you
+did. That same day I sent a cipher cable to Pierson of the New York
+service. I asked for news of any man of such and such a
+description--merely negative--who was known to have left the States; an
+educated man, expert in the use of disguises, audacious in his
+operations, and a specialist in 'dry' work among banks and
+strong-rooms."
+
+"Why the States, Max?"
+
+"That was a sighting shot on my part. I argued that he must be an
+English-speaking man. The smart and inventive turn of the modern Yank
+has made him a specialist in ingenious devices, straight or crooked.
+Unpickable locks and invincible lock-pickers, burglar-proof safes and
+safe-specializing burglars, come equally from the States. So I tried a
+very simple test. As we talked that day and the man walked past us, I
+dropped the words 'New York'--or, rather, 'Noo Y'rk'--in his hearing."
+
+"I know you did. He neither turned nor stopped."
+
+"He was that much on his guard; but into his step there came--though
+your poor old eyes could not see it, Louis--the 'psychological pause,'
+an absolute arrest of perhaps a fifth of a second; just as it would have
+done with you if the word 'London' had fallen on your ear in a distant
+land. However, the whys and the wherefores don't matter. Here is the
+essential story.
+
+"Eighteen months ago 'Harry the Actor' successfully looted the office
+safe of M'Kenkie, J. F. Higgs & Co.; of Cleveland, Ohio. He had just
+married a smart but very facile third-rate vaudeville actress--English
+by origin--and wanted money for the honeymoon. He got about five hundred
+pounds, and with that they came to Europe and stayed in London for some
+months. That period is marked by the Congreave Square post office
+burglary, you may remember. While studying such of the British
+institutions as most appealed to him, the 'Actor's' attention became
+fixed on this safe-deposit. Possibly the implied challenge contained in
+its telegraphic address grew on him until it became a point of
+professional honour with him to despoil it; at all events he was
+presumedly attracted by an undertaking that promised not only glory but
+very solid profit. The first part of the plot was, to the most skilful
+criminal 'impersonator' in the States, mere skittles. Spreading over
+those months he appeared at 'The Safe' in twelve different characters
+and rented twelve safes of different sizes. At the same time he made a
+thorough study of the methods of the place. As soon as possible he got
+the keys back again into legitimate use, having made duplicates for his
+own private ends, of course. Five he seems to have returned during his
+first stay; one was received later, with profuse apologies, by
+registered post; one was returned through a leading Berlin bank. Six
+months ago he made a flying visit here, purely to work off two more. One
+he kept from first to last, and the remaining couple he got in at the
+beginning of his second long residence here, three or four months ago.
+
+"This brings us to the serious part of the cool enterprise. He had funds
+from the Atlantic and South-Central Mail-car coup when he arrived here
+last April. He appears to have set up three establishments; a home, in
+the guise of an elderly scholar with a young wife, which, of course, was
+next door to our friend the manager; an observation point, over which he
+plastered the inscription 'Rub in Rubbo for Everything' as a reason for
+being; and, somewhere else, a dressing-room with essential conditions of
+two doors into different streets.
+
+"About six weeks ago he entered the last stage. Mrs Harry, with quite
+ridiculous ease, got photographs of the necessary page or two of the
+record-book. I don't doubt that for weeks before then everyone who
+entered the place had been observed, but the photographs linked them up
+with the actual men into whose hands the 'Actor's' old keys had
+passed--gave their names and addresses, the numbers of their safes,
+their passwords and signatures. The rest was easy."
+
+"Yes, by Jupiter; mere play for a man like that," agreed Mr Carlyle,
+with professional admiration. "He could contrive a dozen different
+occasions for studying the voice and manner and appearance of his
+victims. How much has he cleared?"
+
+"We can only speculate as yet. I have put my hand on seven doubtful
+callers on Monday and Tuesday last. Two others he had ignored for some
+reason; the remaining two safes had not been allotted. There is one
+point that raises an interesting speculation."
+
+"What is that, Max?"
+
+"The 'Actor' has one associate, a man known as 'Billy the Fondant,' but
+beyond that--with the exception of his wife, of course--he does not
+usually trust anyone. It is plain, however, that at least seven men must
+latterly have been kept under close observation. It has occurred to
+me----"
+
+"Yes, Max?"
+
+"I have wondered whether Harry has enlisted the innocent services of one
+or other of our clever private inquiry offices."
+
+"Scarcely," smiled the professional. "It would hardly pass muster."
+
+"Oh, I don't know. Mrs Harry, in the character of a jealous wife or a
+suspicious sweetheart, might reasonably----"
+
+Mr Carlyle's smile suddenly faded.
+
+"By Jupiter!" he exclaimed. "I remember----"
+
+"Yes, Louis?" prompted Carrados, with laughter in his voice.
+
+"I remember that I must telephone to a client before Beedel comes,"
+concluded Mr Carlyle, rising in some haste.
+
+At the door he almost ran into the subdued director, who was wringing
+his hands in helpless protest at a new stroke of calamity.
+
+"Mr Carrados," wailed the poor old gentleman in a tremulous bleat, "Mr
+Carrados, there is another now--Sir Benjamin Gump. He insists on seeing
+me. You will not--you will not desert us?"
+
+"I should have to stay a week," replied Carrados briskly, "and I'm just
+off now. There will be a procession. Mr Carlyle will support you, I am
+sure."
+
+He nodded "Good-morning" straight into the eyes of each and found his
+way out with the astonishing certainty of movement that made so many
+forget his infirmity. Possibly he was not desirous of encountering
+Draycott's embarrassed gratitude again, for in less than a minute they
+heard the swirl of his departing car.
+
+"Never mind, my dear sir," Mr Carlyle assured his client, with
+impenetrable complacency. "Never mind. _I_ will remain instead. Perhaps
+I had better make myself known to Sir Benjamin at once."
+
+The director turned on him the pleading, trustful look of a cornered
+dormouse.
+
+"He is in the basement," he whispered. "I shall be in the boardroom--if
+necessary."
+
+Mr Carlyle had no difficulty in discovering the centre of interest in
+the basement. Sir Benjamin was expansive and reserved, bewildered and
+decisive, long-winded and short-tempered, each in turn and more or less
+all at once. He had already demanded the attention of the manager,
+Professor Bulge, Draycott and two underlings to his case and they were
+now involved in a babel of inutile reiteration. The inquiry agent was at
+once drawn into a circle of interrogation that he did his best to
+satisfy impressively while himself learning the new facts.
+
+The latest development was sufficiently astonishing. Less than an hour
+before Sir Benjamin had received a parcel by district messenger. It
+contained a jewel-case which ought at that moment to have been securely
+reposing in one of the deposit safes. Hastily snatching it open, the
+recipient's incredible forebodings were realized. It was empty--empty of
+jewels, that is to say, for, as if to add a sting to the blow, a neatly
+inscribed card had been placed inside, and on it the agitated baronet
+read the appropriate but at the moment rather gratuitous maxim: "Lay not
+up for yourselves treasures upon earth----"
+
+The card was passed round and all eyes demanded the expert's
+pronouncement.
+
+"'--where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and
+steal.' H'm," read Mr Carlyle with weight. "This is a most important
+clue, Sir Benjamin----"
+
+"Hey, what? What's that?" exclaimed a voice from the other side of the
+hall. "Why, damme if I don't believe you've got another! Look at that,
+gentlemen; look at that. What's on, I say? Here now, come; give me my
+safe. I want to know where I am."
+
+It was the bookmaker who strode tempestuously in among them, flourishing
+before their faces a replica of the card that was in Mr Carlyle's hand.
+
+"Well, upon my soul this is most extraordinary," exclaimed that
+gentleman, comparing the two. "You have just received this, Mr--Mr
+Berge, isn't it?"
+
+"That's right, Berge--'Iceberg' on the course. Thank the Lord Harry, I
+can take my losses coolly enough, but this--this is a facer. Put into my
+hand half-an-hour ago inside an envelope that ought to be here and as
+safe as in the Bank of England. What's the game, I say? Here, Johnny,
+hurry and let me into my safe."
+
+Discipline and method had for the moment gone by the board. There was no
+suggestion of the boasted safeguards of the establishment. The manager
+added his voice to that of the client, and when the attendant did not at
+once appear he called again.
+
+"John, come and give Mr Berge access to his safe at once."
+
+"All right, sir," pleaded the harassed key-attendant; hurrying up with
+the burden of his own distraction. "There's a silly fathead got in what
+thinks this is a left-luggage office, so far as I can make out--a
+foreigner."
+
+"Never mind that now," replied the manager severely. "Mr Berge's safe:
+No. 01724."
+
+The attendant and Mr Berge went off together down one of the brilliant
+colonnaded vistas. One or two of the others who had caught the words
+glanced across and became aware of a strange figure that was drifting
+indecisively towards them. He was obviously an elderly German tourist of
+pronounced type--long-haired, spectacled, outrageously garbed and
+involved in the mental abstraction of his philosophical race. One hand
+was occupied with the manipulation of a pipe, as markedly Teutonic as
+its owner; the other grasped a carpet-bag that would have ensured an
+opening laugh to any low comedian.
+
+Quite impervious to the preoccupation of the group, the German made his
+way up to them and picked out the manager.
+
+"This was a safety deposit, _nicht wahr_?"
+
+"Quite so," acquiesced the manager loftily, "but just now----"
+
+"Your fellow was dense of gomprehension." The eyes behind the clumsy
+glasses wrinkled to a ponderous humour. "He forgot his own business.
+Now this goot bag----"
+
+Brought into fuller prominence, the carpet-bag revealed further details
+of its overburdened proportions. At one end a flannel shirt cuff
+protruded in limp dejection; at the other an ancient collar, with the
+grotesque attachment known as a "dickey," asserted its presence. No
+wonder the manager frowned his annoyance. "The Safe" was in low enough
+repute among its patrons at that moment without any burlesque interlude
+to its tragic hour.
+
+"Yes, yes," he whispered, attempting to lead the would-be depositor
+away, "but you are under a mistake. This is not----"
+
+"It was a safety deposit? Goot. Mine bag--I would deposit him in safety
+till the time of mine train. _Ja?_"
+
+"_Nein, nein!_" almost hissed the agonized official. "Go away, sir, go
+away! It isn't a cloakroom. John, let this gentleman out."
+
+The attendant and Mr Berge were returning from their quest. The inner
+box had been opened and there was no need to ask the result. The
+bookmaker was shaking his head like a baffled bull.
+
+"Gone, no effects," he shouted across the hall. "Lifted from 'The Safe,'
+by crumb!"
+
+To those who knew nothing of the method and operation of the fraud it
+seemed as if the financial security of the Capital was tottering. An
+amazed silence fell, and in it they heard the great grille door of the
+basement clang on the inopportune foreigner's departure. But, as if it
+was impossible to stand still on that morning of dire happenings, he was
+immediately succeeded by a dapper, keen-faced man in severe clerical
+attire who had been let in as the intruder passed out.
+
+"Canon Petersham!" exclaimed the professor, going forward to greet him.
+
+"My dear Professor Bulge!" reciprocated the canon. "You here! A most
+disquieting thing has happened to me. I must have my safe at once." He
+divided his attention between the manager and the professor as he
+monopolized them both. "A most disquieting and--and outrageous
+circumstance. My safe, please--yes, yes, Rev. Henry Noakes Petersham. I
+have just received by hand a box, a small box of no value but one that I
+_thought_, yes, I am convinced that it was the one, a box that was used
+to contain certain valuables of family interest which should at this
+moment be in my safe here. No. 7436? Very likely, very likely. Yes, here
+is my key. But not content with the disconcerting effect of that,
+professor, the box contained--and I protest that it's a most unseemly
+thing to quote _any_ text from the Bible in this way to a clergyman of
+my position--well, here it is. 'Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon
+earth----' Why, I have a dozen sermons of my own in my desk now on that
+very verse. I'm particularly partial to the very needful lesson that it
+teaches. And to apply it to _me_! It's monstrous!"
+
+"No. 7436, John," ordered the manager, with weary resignation.
+
+The attendant again led the way towards another armour-plated aisle.
+Smartly turning a corner, he stumbled over something, bit a profane
+exclamation in two, and looked back.
+
+"It's that bloomin' foreigner's old bag again," he explained across the
+place in aggrieved apology. "He left it here after all."
+
+"Take it upstairs and throw it out when you've finished," said the
+manager shortly.
+
+"Here, wait a minute," pondered John, in absent-minded familiarity.
+"Wait a minute. This is a funny go. There's a label on that wasn't here
+before. '_Why not look inside?_'"
+
+"'Why not look inside?'" repeated someone.
+
+"That's what it says."
+
+There was another puzzled silence. All were arrested by some intangible
+suggestion of a deeper mystery than they had yet touched. One by one
+they began to cross the hall with the conscious air of men who were not
+curious but thought that they might as well see.
+
+"Why, curse my crumpet," suddenly exploded Mr Berge, "if that ain't the
+same writing as these texts!"
+
+"By gad, but I believe you are right," assented Mr Carlyle. "Well, why
+not look inside?"
+
+The attendant, from his stooping posture, took the verdict of the ring
+of faces and in a trice tugged open the two buckles. The central
+fastening was not locked, and yielded to a touch. The flannel shirt,
+the weird collar and a few other garments in the nature of a
+"top-dressing" were flung out and John's hand plunged deeper....
+
+Harry the Actor had lived up to his dramatic instinct. Nothing was
+wrapped up; nay, the rich booty had been deliberately opened out and
+displayed, as it were, so that the overturning of the bag, when John the
+keybearer in an access of riotous extravagance lifted it up and strewed
+its contents broadcast on the floor, was like the looting of a
+smuggler's den, or the realization of a speculator's dream, or the
+bursting of an Aladdin's cave, or something incredibly lavish and
+bizarre. Bank-notes fluttered down and lay about in all directions,
+relays of sovereigns rolled away like so much dross, bonds and scrip for
+thousands and tens of thousands clogged the downpouring stream of
+jewellery and unset gems. A yellow stone the size of a four-pound weight
+and twice as heavy dropped plump upon the canon's toes and sent him
+hopping and grimacing to the wall. A ruby-hilted kris cut across the
+manager's wrist as he strove to arrest the splendid rout. Still the
+miraculous cornucopia deluged the ground, with its pattering, ringing,
+bumping, crinkling, rolling, fluttering produce until, like the final
+tableau of some spectacular ballet, it ended with a golden rain that
+masked the details of the heap beneath a glittering veil of yellow sand.
+
+"My dust!" gasped Draycott.
+
+"My fivers, by golly!" ejaculated the bookmaker, initiating a plunge
+among the spoil.
+
+"My Japanese bonds, coupons and all, and--yes, even the manuscript of my
+work on 'Polyphyletic Bridal Customs among the mid-Pleistocene Cave
+Men.' Hah!" Something approaching a cachinnation of delight closed the
+professor's contribution to the pandemonium, and eyewitnesses afterwards
+declared that for a moment the dignified scientist stood on one foot in
+the opening movement of a can-can.
+
+"My wife's diamonds, thank heaven!" cried Sir Benjamin, with the air of
+a schoolboy who was very well out of a swishing.
+
+"But what does it mean?" demanded the bewildered canon. "Here are my
+family heirlooms--a few decent pearls, my grandfather's collection of
+camei and other trifles--but who----?"
+
+"Perhaps this offers some explanation," suggested Mr Carlyle, unpinning
+an envelope that had been secured to the lining of the bag. "It is
+addressed 'To Seven Rich Sinners.' Shall I read it for you?"
+
+For some reason the response was not unanimous, but it was sufficient.
+Mr Carlyle cut open the envelope.
+
+     "MY DEAR FRIENDS,--Aren't you glad? Aren't you happy at this
+     moment? Ah yes; but not with the true joy of regeneration that
+     alone can bring lightness to the afflicted soul. Pause while
+     there is yet time. Cast off the burden of your sinful lusts,
+     for what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole
+     world and lose his own soul? (Mark, chap. viii., v. 36.)
+
+     "Oh, my friends, you have had an all-fired narrow squeak. Up
+     till the Friday in last week I held your wealth in the hollow
+     of my ungodly hand and rejoiced in my nefarious cunning, but on
+     that day as I with my guilty female accomplice stood listening
+     with worldly amusement to the testimony of a converted brother
+     at a meeting of the Salvation Army on Clapham Common, the
+     gospel light suddenly shone into our rebellious souls and then
+     and there we found salvation. Hallelujah!
+
+     "What we have done to complete the unrighteous scheme upon
+     which we had laboured for months has only been for your own
+     good, dear friends that you are, though as yet divided from us
+     by your carnal lusts. Let this be a lesson to you. Sell all you
+     have and give it to the poor--through the organization of the
+     Salvation Army by preference--and thereby lay up for yourselves
+     treasures where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where
+     thieves do not break through and steal. (Matthew, chap, vi., v.
+     20.)
+
+     "Yours in good works,
+
+                                   "PRIVATE HENRY, THE SALVATIONIST.
+
+     "_P.S._ (in haste).--I may as well inform you that no crib is
+     really uncrackable, though the Cyrus J. Coy Co.'s Safe Deposit
+     on West 24th Street, N.Y., comes nearest the kernel. And even
+     that I could work to the bare rock if I took hold of the job
+     with both hands--that is to say I could have done in my sinful
+     days. As for you, I should recommend you to change your T. A.
+     to 'Peanut.'
+
+                                   "U. K. G."
+
+"There sounds a streak of the old Adam in that postscript, Mr Carlyle,"
+whispered Inspector Beedel, who had just arrived in time to hear the
+letter read.
+
+
+
+
+THE TILLING SHAW MYSTERY
+
+
+"I will see Miss George now," assented Carrados. Parkinson retired and
+Greatorex looked round from his chair. The morning "clearing-up" was
+still in progress.
+
+"Shall I go?" he inquired.
+
+"Not unless the lady desires it. I don't know her at all."
+
+The secretary was not unobservant and he had profited from his
+association with Mr Carrados. Without more ado, he began to get his
+papers quietly together.
+
+The door opened and a girl of about twenty came eagerly yet half
+timorously into the room. Her eyes for a moment swept Carrados with an
+anxious scrutiny. Then, with a slight shade of disappointment, she
+noticed that they were not alone.
+
+"I have come direct from Oakshire to see you, Mr Carrados," she
+announced, in a quick, nervous voice that was evidently the outcome of a
+desperate resolution to be brave and explicit. "The matter is a
+dreadfully important one to me and I should very much prefer to tell it
+to you alone."
+
+There was no need for Carrados to turn towards his secretary; that
+discriminating young gentleman was already on his way. Miss George
+flashed him a shy look of thanks and filled in the moment with a timid
+survey of the room.
+
+"Is it something that you think I can help you with?"
+
+"I had hoped so. I had heard in a roundabout way of your wonderful
+power--ought I to tell you how--does it matter?"
+
+"Not in the least if it has nothing to do with the case," replied
+Carrados.
+
+"When this dreadful thing happened I instinctively thought of you. I
+felt sure that I ought to come and get you to help me at once. But I--I
+have very little money, Mr Carrados, only a few pounds, and I am not so
+childish as not to know that very clever men require large fees. Then
+when I got here my heart sank, for I saw at once from your house and
+position that what seemed little even to me would be ridiculous to
+you--that if you did help me it would be purely out of kindness of heart
+and generosity."
+
+"Suppose you tell me what the circumstances are," suggested Carrados
+cautiously. Then, to afford an opening, he added: "You have recently
+gone into mourning, I see."
+
+"See!" exclaimed the girl almost sharply. "Then you are not blind?"
+
+"Oh yes," he replied; "only I use the familiar expression, partly from
+custom, partly because it sounds unnecessarily pedantic to say, 'I
+deduce from certain observations.'"
+
+"I beg your pardon. I suppose I was startled not so much by the
+expression as by your knowledge. I ought to have been prepared. But I am
+already wasting your time and I came so determined to be business-like.
+I got a copy of the local paper on the way, because I thought that the
+account in it would be clearer to you than I could tell it. Shall I read
+it?"
+
+"Please; if that was your intention."
+
+"It is _The Stinbridge Herald_," explained the girl, taking a closely
+folded newspaper from the handbag which she carried. "Stinbridge is our
+nearest town--about six miles from Tilling Shaw, where we live. This is
+the account:
+
+            "'MYSTERIOUS TRAGEDY AT TILLING
+
+     "'WELL-KNOWN AGRICULTURALIST ATTEMPTS MURDER
+                  AND COMMITS SUICIDE
+
+     "'The districts of Great Tilling, Tilling Shaw and the
+     immediate neighbourhood were thrown into a state of unusual
+     excitement on Thursday last by the report of a tragedy in their
+     midst such as has rarely marked the annals of our law-abiding
+     country-side.
+
+     "'A _Herald_ representative was early on the scene, and his
+     inquiries elucidated the fact that it was only too true that in
+     this case rumour had not exaggerated the circumstances, rather
+     the reverse indeed.
+
+     "'On the afternoon of the day in question, Mr Frank Whitmarsh,
+     of High Barn, presented himself at Barony, the residence of his
+     uncle, Mr William Whitmarsh, with the intention of seeing him
+     in reference to a dispute that was pending between them. This
+     is understood to be connected with an alleged trespass in
+     pursuit of game, each relative claiming exclusive sporting
+     rights over a piece of water known as Hunstan Mere.
+
+     "'On this occasion the elder gentleman was not at home and Mr
+     Frank Whitmarsh, after waiting for some time, departed, leaving
+     a message to the effect that he would return, and, according to
+     one report, "have it out with Uncle William," later in the
+     evening.
+
+     "'This resolution he unfortunately kept. Returning about
+     eight-forty-five P.M. he found his uncle in and for some time
+     the two men remained together in the dining-room. What actually
+     passed between them has not yet transpired, but it is said that
+     for half-an-hour there had been nothing to indicate to the
+     other occupants of the house that anything unusual was in
+     progress when suddenly two shots rang out in rapid succession.
+     Mrs Lawrence, the housekeeper at Barony, and a servant were the
+     soonest on the spot, and, conquering the natural terror that
+     for a moment held them outside the now silent room, they
+     summoned up courage to throw open the door and to enter. The
+     first thing that met their eyes was the body of Mr Frank
+     Whitmarsh lying on the floor almost at their feet. In their
+     distressed state it was immediately assumed by the horrified
+     women that he was dead, or at least seriously wounded, but a
+     closer examination revealed the fact that the gentleman had
+     experienced an almost miraculous escape. At the time of the
+     tragedy he was wearing a large old-fashioned silver watch; and
+     in this the bullet intended for his heart was found, literally
+     embedded deep in the works. The second shot had, however,
+     effected its purpose, for at the other side of the room, still
+     seated at the table, was Mr William Whitmarsh, already quite
+     dead, with a terrible wound in his head and the weapon, a
+     large-bore revolver of obsolete pattern, lying at his feet.
+
+     "'Mr Frank Whitmarsh subsequently explained that the shock of
+     the attack, and the dreadful appearance presented by his uncle
+     when, immediately afterwards, he turned his hand against
+     himself, must have caused him to faint.
+
+     "'Readers of _The Herald_ will join in our expression of
+     sympathy for all members of the Whitmarsh family, and in our
+     congratulations to Mr Frank Whitmarsh on his providential
+     escape.
+
+     "'The inquest is fixed for Monday and it is anticipated that
+     the funeral will take place on the following day.'"
+
+"That is all," concluded Miss George.
+
+"All that is in the paper," amended Carrados.
+
+"It is the same everywhere--'attempted murder and suicide'--that is what
+everyone accepts as a matter of course," went on the girl quickly. "How
+do they know that my father tried to kill Frank, or that he killed
+himself? How can they know, Mr Carrados?"
+
+"Your father, Miss George?"
+
+"Yes. My name is Madeline Whitmarsh. At home everyone looks at me as if
+I was an object of mingled pity and reproach. I thought that they might
+know the name here, so I gave the first that came into my head. I think
+it is a street I was directed along. Besides, I don't want it to be
+known that I came to see you in any case."
+
+"Why?"
+
+Much of the girl's conscious nervousness had stiffened into an attitude
+of unconscious hardness. Grief takes many forms, and whatever she had
+been before, the tragic episode had left Miss Whitmarsh a little hurt
+and cynical.
+
+"You are a man living in a town and can do as you like. I am a girl
+living in the country and have therefore to do largely as my neighbours
+like. For me to set up my opinion against popular feeling would
+constitute no small offence; to question its justice would be held to be
+adding outrageous insult to enormous injury."
+
+"So far I am unable to go beyond the newspaper account. On the face of
+it, your father--with what provocation of course I do not know--did
+attempt this Mr Frank Whitmarsh's life and then take his own. You imply
+another version. What reason have you?"
+
+"That is the terrible part of it," exclaimed the girl, with rising
+distress. "It was that which made me so afraid of coming to you,
+although I felt that I must, for I dreaded that when you asked me for
+proofs and I could give you none you would refuse to help me. We were
+not even in time to hear him speak, and yet I know, _know_ with absolute
+conviction, that my father would not have done this. There are things
+that you cannot explain, Mr Carrados, and--well, there is an end of it."
+
+Her voice sank to an absent-minded whisper.
+
+"Everyone will condemn him now that he cannot defend himself, and yet he
+could not even have had the revolver that was found at his feet."
+
+"What is that?" demanded Carrados sharply. "Do you mean that?"
+
+"Mean what?" she asked, with the blankness of one who has lost the
+thread of her own thoughts.
+
+"What you said about the revolver--that your father could not have had
+it?"
+
+"The revolver?" she repeated half wearily; "oh yes. It was a heavy,
+old-fashioned affair. It had been lying in a drawer of his desk for more
+than ten years because once a dog came into the orchard in broad
+daylight light and worried half-a-dozen lambs before anyone could do
+anything."
+
+"Yes, but why could he not have it on Thursday?"
+
+"I noticed that it was gone. After Frank had left in the afternoon I
+went into the room where he had been waiting, to finish dusting. The
+paper says the dining-room, but it was really papa's business-room and
+no one else used it. Then when I was dusting the desk I saw that the
+revolver was no longer there."
+
+"You had occasion to open the drawer?"
+
+"It is really a very old bureau and none of the drawers fit closely.
+Dust lies on the ledges and you always have to open them a little to
+dust properly. They were never kept locked."
+
+"Possibly your father had taken the revolver with him."
+
+"No. I had seen it there after he had gone. He rode to Stinbridge
+immediately after lunch and did not return until nearly eight. After he
+left I went to dust his room. It was then that I saw it. I was doing the
+desk when Frank knocked and interrupted me. That is how I came to be
+there twice."
+
+"But you said that you had no proof, Miss Whitmarsh," Carrados reminded
+her, with deep seriousness. "Do you not recognize the importance--the
+deadly importance--that this one shred of evidence may assume?"
+
+"Does it?" she replied simply. "I am afraid that I am rather dull just
+now. All yesterday I was absolutely dazed; I could not do the most
+ordinary things. I found myself looking at the clock for minutes
+together, yet absolutely incapable of grasping what time it was. In the
+same way I know that it struck me as being funny about the revolver but
+I always had to give it up. It was as though everything was there but
+things would not fit in."
+
+"You are sure, absolutely sure, that you saw the revolver there after
+your father had left, and missed it before he returned?"
+
+"Oh yes," said the girl quickly; "I remember realizing how curious it
+was at the time. Besides there is something else. I so often had things
+to ask papa about when he was out of the house that I got into the way
+of making little notes to remind me later. This morning I found on my
+dressing-table one that I had written on Thursday afternoon."
+
+"About this weapon?"
+
+"Yes; to ask him what could have become of it."
+
+Carrados made a further inquiry, and this was Madeline Whitmarsh's
+account of affairs existing between the two branches of the family:
+
+Until the time of William Whitmarsh, father of the William Whitmarsh
+just deceased, the properties of Barony and High Barn had formed one
+estate, descending from a William senior to a William junior down a
+moderately long line of yeomen Whitmarshes. Through the influence of his
+second wife this William senior divided the property, leaving Barony
+with its four hundred acres of good land to William junior, and High
+Barn, with which went three hundred acres of poor land, to his other
+son, father of the Frank implicated in the recent tragedy. But though
+divided, the two farms still had one common link. Beneath their growing
+corn and varied pasturage lay, it was generally admitted, a seam of coal
+at a depth and of a thickness that would render its working a paying
+venture. Even in William the Divider's time, when the idea was new,
+money in plenty would have been forthcoming, but he would have none of
+it, and when he died his will contained a provision restraining either
+son from mining or exploiting his land for mineral without the consent
+and co-operation of the other.
+
+This restriction became a legacy of hate. The brothers were only
+half-brothers and William having suffered unforgettably at the hands of
+his step-mother had old scores to pay off. Quite comfortably prosperous
+on his own rich farm, and quite satisfied with the excellent shooting
+and the congenial life, he had not the slightest desire to increase his
+wealth. He had the old dour, peasant-like instinct to cling to the house
+and the land of his forefathers. From this position no argument moved
+him.
+
+In the meanwhile, on the other side of the new boundary fence, Frank
+senior was growing poorer year by year. To his periodical entreaties
+that William would agree to shafts being sunk on High Barn he received
+an emphatic "Never in my time!" The poor man argued, besought,
+threatened and swore; the prosperous one shook his head and grinned.
+Carrados did not need to hear the local saying: "Half brothers: whole
+haters; like the Whitmarshes," to read the situation.
+
+"Of course I do not really understand the business part of it," said
+Madeline, "and many people blamed poor papa, especially when Uncle Frank
+drank himself to death. But I know that it was not mere obstinacy. He
+loved the undisturbed, peaceful land just as it was, and his father had
+wished it to remain the same. Collieries would bring swarms of strange
+men into the neighbourhood, poachers and trespassers, he said. The smoke
+and dust would ruin the land for miles round and drive away the game,
+and in the end, if the work did not turn out profitable, we should all
+be much worse off than before."
+
+"Does the restriction lapse now; will Mr Frank junior be able to mine?"
+
+"It will now lie with Frank and my brother William, just as it did
+before with their fathers. I should expect Willie to be quite
+favourable. He is more--modern."
+
+"You have not spoken of your brother."
+
+"I have two. Bob, the younger, is in Mexico," she explained; "and Willie
+in Canada with an engineering firm. They did not get on very well with
+papa and they went away."
+
+It did not require preternatural observation to deduce that the late
+William Whitmarsh had been "a little difficult."
+
+"When Uncle Frank died, less than six months ago, Frank came back to
+High Barn from South Africa. He had been away about two years."
+
+"Possibly he did not get on well with his father?"
+
+Madeline smiled sadly.
+
+"I am afraid that no two Whitmarsh men ever did get on well together,"
+she admitted.
+
+"Your father and young Frank, for instance?"
+
+"Their lands adjoin; there were always quarrels and disputes," she
+replied. "Then Frank had his father's grievance over again."
+
+"He wished to mine?"
+
+"Yes. He told me that he had had experience of coal in Natal."
+
+"There was no absolute ostracism between you then? You were to some
+extent friends?"
+
+"Scarcely." She appeared to reflect. "Acquaintances.... We met
+occasionally, of course, at people's houses."
+
+"You did not visit High Barn?"
+
+"Oh no."
+
+"But there was no particular reason why you should not?"
+
+"Why do you ask me that?" she demanded quickly, and in a tone that was
+quite incompatible with the simple inquiry. Then, recognizing the fact,
+she added, with shamefaced penitence: "I beg your pardon, Mr Carrados. I
+am afraid that my nerves have gone to pieces since Thursday. The most
+ordinary things affect me inexplicably."
+
+"That is a common experience in such circumstances," said Carrados
+reassuringly. "Where were you at the time of the tragedy?"
+
+"I was in my bedroom, which is rather high up, changing. I had driven
+down to the village, to give an order, and had just returned. Mrs
+Lawrence told me that she had been afraid there might be quarrelling,
+but no one would ever have dreamed of this, and then came a loud shot
+and then, after a few seconds, another not so loud, and we rushed to the
+door--she and Mary first--and everything was absolutely still."
+
+"A loud shot _and then another not so loud_?"
+
+"Yes; I noticed that even at the time. I happened to speak to Mrs
+Lawrence of it afterwards and then she also remembered that it had been
+like that."
+
+Afterwards Carrados often recalled with grim pleasantry that the two
+absolutely vital points in the fabric of circumstantial evidence that
+was to exonerate her father and fasten the guilt upon another had
+dropped from the girl's lips utterly by chance. But at the moment the
+facts themselves monopolized his attention.
+
+"You are not disappointed that I can tell you so little?" she asked
+timidly.
+
+"Scarcely," he replied. "A suicide who could not have had the weapon he
+dies by, a victim who is miraculously preserved by an opportune watch,
+and two shots from the same pistol that differ materially in volume, all
+taken together do not admit of disappointment."
+
+"I am very stupid," she said. "I do not seem able to follow things. But
+you will come and clear my father's name?"
+
+"I will come," he replied. "Beyond that who shall prophesy?"
+
+It had been arranged between them that the girl should return at once,
+while Carrados would travel down to Great Tilling late that same
+afternoon and put up at the local fishing inn. In the evening he would
+call at Barony, where Madeline would accept him as a distant connexion
+of the family. The arrangement was only for the benefit of the domestics
+and any casual visitor who might be present, for there was no
+possibility of a near relation being in attendance. Nor was there any
+appreciable danger of either his name or person being recognized in
+those parts, a consideration that seemed to have some weight with the
+girl, for, more than once, she entreated him not to disclose to anyone
+his real business there until he had arrived at a definite conclusion.
+
+It was nine o'clock, but still just light enough to distinguish the
+prominent features of the landscape, when Carrados, accompanied by
+Parkinson, reached Barony. The house, as described by the man-servant,
+was a substantial grey stone building, very plain, very square, very
+exposed to the four winds. It had not even a porch to break the flat
+surface, and here and there in the line of its three solid storeys a
+window had been built up by some frugal, tax-evading Whitmarsh of a
+hundred years ago.
+
+"Sombre enough," commented Carrados, "but the connexion between
+environment and crime is not yet capable of analysis. We get murders in
+brand-new suburban villas and the virtues, light-heartedness and
+good-fellowship, in moated granges. What should you say about it, eh,
+Parkinson?"
+
+"I should say it was damp, sir," observed Parkinson, with his wisest
+air.
+
+Madeline Whitmarsh herself opened the door. She took them down the long
+flagged hall to the dining-room, a cheerful enough apartment whatever
+its exterior might forebode.
+
+"I am glad you have come now, Mr Carrados," she said hurriedly, when the
+door was closed. "Sergeant Brewster is here from Stinbridge police
+station to make some arrangements for the inquest. It is to be held at
+the schools here on Monday. He says that he must take the revolver with
+him to produce. Do you want to see it before he goes?"
+
+"I should like to," replied Carrados.
+
+"Will you come into papa's room then? He is there."
+
+The sergeant was at the table, making notes in his pocket-book, when
+they entered. An old-fashioned revolver lay before him.
+
+"This gentleman has come a long way on hearing about poor papa," said
+the girl. "He would like to see the revolver before you take it, Mr
+Brewster."
+
+"Good-evening, sir," said Brewster. "It's a bad business that brings us
+here."
+
+Carrados "looked" round the room and returned the policeman's greeting.
+Madeline hesitated for a moment, and then, picking up the weapon, put it
+into the blind man's hand.
+
+"A bit out of date, sir," remarked Brewster, with a nod. "But in good
+order yet, I find."
+
+"An early French make, I should say; one of Lefaucheux's probably," said
+Carrados. "You have removed the cartridges?"
+
+"Why, yes," admitted the sergeant, producing a matchbox from his pocket.
+"They're pin-fire, you see, and I'm not too fond of carrying a thing
+like that loaded in my pocket as I'm riding a young horse."
+
+"Quite so," agreed Carrados, fingering the cartridges. "I wonder if you
+happened to mark the order of these in the chambers?"
+
+"That was scarcely necessary, sir. Two, together, had been fired; the
+other four had not."
+
+"I once knew a case--possibly I read of it--where a pack of cards lay on
+the floor. It was a murder case and the guilt or innocence of an accused
+man depended on the relative positions of the fifty-first and
+fifty-second cards."
+
+"I think you must have read of that, sir," replied Brewster,
+endeavouring to implicate first Miss Whitmarsh and then Parkinson in his
+meaning smile. "However, this is straightforward enough."
+
+"Then, of course, you have not thought it worth while to look for
+anything else?"
+
+"I have noted all the facts that have any bearing on the case. Were you
+referring to any particular point, sir?"
+
+"I was only wondering," suggested Carrados, with apologetic mildness,
+"whether you, or anyone, had happened to find a wad lying about
+anywhere."
+
+The sergeant stroked his well-kept moustache to hide the smile that
+insisted, however, on escaping through his eyes.
+
+"Scarcely, sir," he replied, with fine irony. "Bulleted revolver
+cartridges contain no wad. You are thinking of a shot-gun, sir."
+
+"Oh," said Carrados, bending over the spent cartridge he was examining,
+"that settles it, of course."
+
+"I think so, sir," assented the sergeant, courteously but with a quiet
+enjoyment of the situation. "Well, miss, I'll be getting back now. I
+think I have everything I want."
+
+"You will excuse me a few minutes?" said Miss Whitmarsh, and the two
+callers were left alone.
+
+"Parkinson," said Carrados softly, as the door closed, "look round on
+the floor. There is no wad lying within sight?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Then take the lamp and look behind things. But if you find one don't
+disturb it."
+
+For a minute strange and gigantic shadows chased one another across the
+ceiling as Parkinson moved the table-lamp to and fro behind the
+furniture. The man to whom blazing sunlight and the deepest shade were
+as one sat with his eyes fixed tranquilly on the unseen wall before him.
+
+"There is a little pellet of paper here behind the couch, sir,"
+announced Parkinson.
+
+"Then put the lamp back."
+
+Together they drew the cumbrous old piece of furniture from the wall and
+Carrados went behind. On hands and knees, with his face almost to the
+floor, he appeared to be studying even the dust that lay there. Then
+with a light, unerring touch he carefully picked up the thing that
+Parkinson had found. Very gently he unrolled it, using his long,
+delicate fingers so skilfully that even at the end the particles of dust
+still clung here and there to the surface of the paper.
+
+"What do you make of it, Parkinson?"
+
+Parkinson submitted it to the judgment of a single sense.
+
+"A cigarette-paper to all appearance, sir. I can't say it's a kind that
+I've had experience of. It doesn't seem to have any distinct watermark
+but there is a half-inch of glossy paper along one edge."
+
+"Amber-tipped. Yes?"
+
+"Another edge is a little uneven; it appears to have been cut."
+
+"This edge opposite the mouthpiece. Yes, yes."
+
+"Patches are blackened, and little holes--like pinpricks--burned
+through. In places it is scorched brown."
+
+"Anything else?"
+
+"I hope there is nothing I have failed to observe, sir," said Parkinson,
+after a pause.
+
+Carrados's reply was a strangely irrelevant question.
+
+"What is the ceiling made of?" he demanded.
+
+"Oak boards, sir, with a heavy cross-beam."
+
+"Are there any plaster figures about the room?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Or anything at all that is whitewashed?"
+
+"Nothing, sir."
+
+Carrados raised the scrap of tissue paper to his nose again, and for the
+second time he touched it with his tongue.
+
+"Very interesting, Parkinson," he remarked, and Parkinson's responsive
+"Yes, sir" was a model of discreet acquiescence.
+
+"I am sorry that I had to leave you," said Miss Whitmarsh, returning,
+"but Mrs Lawrence is out and my father made a practice of offering
+everyone refreshment."
+
+"Don't mention it," said Carrados. "We have not been idle. I came from
+London to pick up a scrap of paper, lying on the floor of this room.
+Well, here it is." He rolled the tissue into a pellet again and held it
+before her eyes.
+
+"The wad!" she exclaimed eagerly. "Oh, that proves that I was right?"
+
+"Scarcely 'proves,' Miss Whitmarsh."
+
+"But it shows that one of the shots was a blank charge, as you suggested
+this morning might have been the case."
+
+"Hardly even that."
+
+"What then?" she demanded, with her large dark eyes fixed in a curious
+fascination on his inscrutable face.
+
+"That behind the couch we have found this scrap of powder-singed paper."
+
+There was a moment's silence. The girl turned away her head.
+
+"I am afraid that I am a little disappointed," she murmured.
+
+"Perhaps better now than later. I wished to warn you that we must prove
+every inch of ground. Does your cousin Frank smoke cigarettes?"
+
+"I cannot say, Mr Carrados. You see ... I knew so little of him."
+
+"Quite so; there was just the chance. And your father?"
+
+"He never did. He despised them."
+
+"That is all I need ask you now. What time to-morrow shall I find you
+in, Miss Whitmarsh? It is Sunday, you remember."
+
+"At any time. The curiosity I inspire doesn't tempt me to encounter my
+friends, I can assure you," she replied, her face hardening at the
+recollection. "But ... Mr Carrados----"
+
+"Yes?"
+
+"The inquest is on Monday afternoon.... I had a sort of desperate faith
+that you would be able to vindicate papa."
+
+"By the time of the inquest, you mean?"
+
+"Yes. Otherwise----"
+
+"The verdict of a coroner's jury means nothing, Miss Whitmarsh. It is
+the merest formality."
+
+"It means a very great deal to me. It haunts and oppresses me. If they
+say--if it goes out--that papa is guilty of the attempt of murder, and
+of suicide, I shall never raise my head again."
+
+Carrados had no desire to prolong a futile discussion.
+
+"Good-night," he said, holding out his hand.
+
+"Good-night, Mr Carrados." She detained him a moment, her voice vibrant
+with quiet feeling. "I already owe you more than I can ever hope to
+express. Your wonderful kindness----"
+
+"A strange case," moralized Carrados, as they walked out of the
+quadrangular yard into the silent lane. "Instructive, but I more than
+half wish I'd never heard of it."
+
+"The young lady seems grateful, sir," Parkinson ventured to suggest.
+
+"The young lady is the case, Parkinson," replied his master rather
+grimly.
+
+A few score yards farther on a swing gate gave access to a field-path,
+cutting off the corner that the high road made with the narrow lane.
+This was their way, but instead of following the brown line of trodden
+earth Carrados turned to the left and indicated the line of buildings
+that formed the back of one side of the quadrangle they had passed
+through.
+
+"We will investigate here," he said. "Can you see a way in?"
+
+Most of the buildings opened on to the yard, but at one end of the range
+Parkinson discovered a door, secured only by a wooden latch. The place
+beyond was impenetrably dark, but the sweet, dusty smell of hay, and,
+from beyond, the occasional click of a horse's shoe on stone and the
+rattle of a head-stall chain through the manger ring told them that they
+were in the chaff-pen at the back of the stable.
+
+Carrados stretched out his hand and touched the wall with a single
+finger.
+
+"We need go no farther," he remarked, and as they resumed their way
+across the field he took out a handkerchief to wipe the taste of
+whitewash off his tongue.
+
+Madeline had spoken of the gradual decay of High Barn, but Carrados was
+hardly prepared for the poverty-stricken desolation which Parkinson
+described as they approached the homestead on the following afternoon.
+He had purposely selected a way that took them across many of young
+Whitmarsh's ill-stocked fields, fields in which sedge and charlock wrote
+an indictment of neglected drains and half-hearted tillage. On the land,
+the gates and hedges had been broken and unkempt; the buildings, as they
+passed through the farmyard, were empty and showed here and there a
+skeletonry of bare rafters to the sky.
+
+"Starved," commented the blind man, as he read the signs. "The thirsty
+owner and the hungry land: they couldn't both be fed."
+
+Although it was afternoon the bolts and locks of the front door had to
+be unfastened in answer to their knock. When at last the door was opened
+a shrivelled little old woman, rather wicked-looking in a comic way,
+and rather begrimed, stood there.
+
+"Mr Frank Whitmarsh?" she replied to Carrados's polite inquiry; "oh yes,
+he lives here. Frank," she called down the passage, "you're wanted."
+
+"What is it, mother?" responded a man's full, strong voice rather
+lazily.
+
+"Come and see!" and the old creature ogled Carrados with her beady eyes
+as though the situation constituted an excellent joke between them.
+
+There was the sound of a chair being moved and at the end of the passage
+a tall man appeared in his shirt sleeves.
+
+"I am a stranger to you," explained Carrados, "but I am staying at the
+Bridge Inn and I heard of your wonderful escape on Thursday. I was so
+interested that I have taken the liberty of coming across to
+congratulate you on it."
+
+"Oh, come in, come in," said Whitmarsh. "Yes ... it was a sort of
+miracle, wasn't it?"
+
+He led the way back into the room he had come from, half kitchen, half
+parlour. It at least had the virtue of an air of rude comfort, and some
+of the pewter and china that ornamented its mantelpiece and dresser
+would have rejoiced a collector's heart.
+
+"You find us a bit rough," apologized the young man, with something of
+contempt towards his surroundings. "We weren't expecting visitors."
+
+"And I was hesitating to come because I thought that you would be
+surrounded by your friends."
+
+This very ordinary remark seemed to afford Mrs Whitmarsh unbounded
+entertainment and for quite a number of seconds she was convulsed with
+silent amusement at the idea.
+
+"Shut up, mother," said her dutiful son. "Don't take any notice of her,"
+he remarked to his visitors, "she often goes on like that. The fact is,"
+he added, "we Whitmarshes aren't popular in these parts. Of course that
+doesn't trouble me; I've seen too much of things. And, taken as a
+boiling, the Whitmarshes deserve it."
+
+"Ah, wait till you touch the coal, my boy, then you'll see," put in the
+old lady, with malicious triumph.
+
+"I reckon we'll show them then, eh, mother?" he responded bumptiously.
+"Perhaps you've heard of that, Mr----?"
+
+"Carrados--Wynn Carrados. This is my man, Parkinson. I have to be
+attended because my sight has failed me. Yes, I had heard something
+about coal. Providence seems to be on your side just now, Mr Whitmarsh.
+May I offer you a cigarette?"
+
+"Thanks, I don't mind for once in a way."
+
+"They're Turkish; quite innocuous, I believe."
+
+"Oh, it isn't that. I can smoke cutty with any man, I reckon, but the
+paper affects my lips. I make my own and use a sort of paper with an end
+that doesn't stick."
+
+"The paper is certainly a drawback sometimes," agreed Carrados. "I've
+found that. Might I try one of yours?"
+
+They exchanged cigarettes and Whitmarsh returned to the subject of the
+tragedy.
+
+"This has made a bit of a stir, I can tell you," he remarked, with
+complacency.
+
+"I am sure it would. Well, it was the chief topic of conversation when I
+was in London."
+
+"Is that a fact?" Avowedly indifferent to the opinion of his neighbours,
+even Whitmarsh was not proof against the pronouncement of the
+metropolis. "What do they say about it up there?"
+
+"I should be inclined to think that the interest centres round the
+explanation you will give at the inquest of the cause of the quarrel."
+
+"There! What did I tell you?" exclaimed Mrs Whitmarsh.
+
+"Be quiet, mother. That's easily answered, Mr Carrados. There was a bit
+of duck shooting that lay between our two places. But perhaps you saw
+that in the papers?"
+
+"Yes," admitted Carrados, "I saw that. Frankly, the reason seemed
+inadequate to so deadly a climax."
+
+"What did I say?" demanded the irrepressible dame. "They won't believe
+it."
+
+The young man cast a wrathful look in his mother's direction and turned
+again to the visitor.
+
+"That's because you don't know Uncle William. _Any_ reason was good
+enough for him to quarrel over. Here, let me give you an instance. When
+I went in on Thursday he was smoking a pipe. Well, after a bit I took
+out a cigarette and lit it. I'm damned if he didn't turn round and start
+on me for that. How does that strike you for one of your own family, Mr
+Carrados?"
+
+"Unreasonable, I am bound to admit. I am afraid that I should have been
+inclined to argue the point. What did you do, Mr Whitmarsh?"
+
+"I hadn't gone there to quarrel," replied the young man, half sulky at
+the recollection. "It was his house. I threw it into the fireplace."
+
+"Very obliging," said Carrados. "But, if I may say so, it isn't so much
+a matter of speculation why he should shoot you as why he should shoot
+himself."
+
+"The gentleman seems friendly. Better ask his advice, Frank," put in the
+old woman in a penetrating whisper.
+
+"Stow it, mother!" said Whitmarsh sharply. "Are you crazy? Her idea of a
+coroner's inquest," he explained to Carrados, with easy contempt, "is
+that I am being tried for murder. As a matter of fact, Uncle William was
+a very passionate man, and, like many of that kind, he frequently went
+beyond himself. I don't doubt that he was sure he'd killed me, for he
+was a good shot and the force of the blow sent me backwards. He was a
+very proud man too, in a way--wouldn't stand correction or any kind of
+authority, and when he realized what he'd done and saw in a flash that
+he would be tried and hanged for it, suicide seemed the easiest way out
+of his difficulties, I suppose."
+
+"Yes; that sounds reasonable enough," admitted Carrados.
+
+"Then you don't think there will be any trouble, sir?" insinuated Mrs
+Whitmarsh anxiously.
+
+Frank had already professed his indifference to local opinion, but
+Carrados was conscious that both of them hung rather breathlessly on to
+his reply.
+
+"Why, no," he declared weightily. "I should see no reason for
+anticipating any. Unless," he added thoughtfully, "some clever lawyer
+was instructed to insist that there must be more in the dispute than
+appears on the surface."
+
+"Oh, them lawyers, them lawyers!" moaned the old lady in a panic. "They
+can make you say anything."
+
+"They can't make me say anything." A cunning look came into his
+complacent face. "And, besides, who's going to engage a lawyer?"
+
+"The family of the deceased gentleman might wish to do so."
+
+"Both of the sons are abroad and could not be back in time."
+
+"But is there not a daughter here? I understood so."
+
+Whitmarsh gave a short, unpleasant laugh and turned to look at his
+mother.
+
+"Madeline won't. You may bet your bottom tikkie it's the last thing she
+would want."
+
+The little old creature gazed admiringly at her big showy son and
+responded with an appreciative grimace that made her look more
+humorously rat-like than ever.
+
+"He! he! Missie won't," she tittered. "That would never do. He! he!"
+Wink succeeded nod and meaning smile until she relapsed into a state of
+quietness; and Parkinson, who had been fascinated by her contortions,
+was unable to decide whether she was still laughing or had gone to
+sleep.
+
+Carrados stayed a few more minutes and before they left he asked to see
+the watch.
+
+"A unique memento, Mr Whitmarsh," he remarked, examining it. "I should
+think this would become a family heirloom."
+
+"It's no good for anything else," said Whitmarsh practically. "A famous
+time-keeper it was, too."
+
+"The fingers are both gone."
+
+"Yes; the glass was broken, of course, and they must have caught in the
+cloth of my pocket and ripped off."
+
+"They naturally would; it was ten minutes past nine when the shot was
+fired."
+
+The young man thought and then nodded.
+
+"About that," he agreed.
+
+"Nearer than 'about,' if your watch was correct. Very interesting, Mr
+Whitmarsh. I am glad to have seen the watch that saved your life."
+
+Instead of returning to the inn Carrados directed Parkinson to take the
+road to Barony. Madeline was at home, and from the sound of voices it
+appeared that she had other visitors, but she came out to Carrados at
+once, and at his request took him into the empty dining-room while
+Parkinson stayed in the hall.
+
+"Yes?" she said eagerly.
+
+"I have come to tell you that I must throw up my brief," he said. "There
+is nothing more to be done and I return to town to-night."
+
+"Oh!" she stammered helplessly. "I thought--I thought----"
+
+"Your cousin did not abstract the revolver when he was here on Thursday,
+Miss Whitmarsh. He did not at his leisure fire a bullet into his own
+watch to make it appear, later in the day, as if he had been attacked.
+He did not reload the cartridge with a blank charge. He did not
+deliberately shoot your father and then fire off the blank cartridge. He
+_was_ attacked and the newspaper version is substantially correct. The
+whole fabric so delicately suggested by inference and innuendo falls to
+pieces."
+
+"Then you desert me, Mr Carrados?" she said, in a low, bitter voice.
+
+"I have seen the watch--the watch that saved Whitmarsh's life," he
+continued, unmoved. "It would save it again if necessary. It indicates
+ten minutes past nine--the time to a minute at which it is agreed the
+shot was fired. By what prescience was he to know at what exact minute
+his opportunity would occur?"
+
+"When I saw the watch on Thursday night the fingers were not there."
+
+"They are not, but the shaft remains. It is of an old-fashioned pattern
+and it will only take the fingers in one position. That position
+indicates ten minutes past nine."
+
+"Surely it would have been an easy matter to have altered that
+afterwards?"
+
+"In this case fate has been curiously systematic, Miss Whitmarsh. The
+bullet that shattered the works has so locked the action that it will
+not move a fraction this way or that."
+
+"There is something more than this--something that I do not understand,"
+she persisted. "I think I have a right to know."
+
+"Since you insist, there is. There is the wad of the blank cartridge
+that you fired in the outbuilding."
+
+"Oh!" she exclaimed, in the moment of startled undefence, "how do
+you--how can you----"
+
+"You must leave the conjurer his few tricks for effect. Of course you
+naturally would fire it where the precious pellet could not get
+lost--the paper you steamed off the cigarette that Whitmarsh threw into
+the empty fire-grate; and of course the place must be some distance from
+the house or even that slight report might occasion remark."
+
+"Yes," she confessed, in a sudden abandonment to weary indifference, "it
+has been useless. I was a fool to set my cleverness against yours. Now,
+I suppose, Mr Carrados, you will have to hand me over to justice?
+
+"Well; why don't you say something?" she demanded impatiently, as he
+offered no comment.
+
+"People frequently put me in this embarrassing position," he explained
+diffidently, "and throw the responsibility on me. Now a number of years
+ago a large and stately building was set up in London and it was
+beautifully called 'The Royal Palace of Justice.' That was its official
+name and that was what it was to be; but very soon people got into the
+way of calling it the Law Courts, and to-day, if you asked a Londoner to
+direct you to the Palace of Justice he would undoubtedly set you down as
+a religious maniac. You see my difficulty?"
+
+"It is very strange," she said, intent upon her own reflections, "but I
+do not feel a bit ashamed to you of what I have done. I do not even feel
+afraid to tell you all about it, although of some of that I must
+certainly be ashamed. Why is it?"
+
+"Because I am blind?"
+
+"Oh no," she replied very positively.
+
+Carrados smiled at her decision but he did not seek to explain that when
+he could no longer see the faces of men the power was gradually given to
+him of looking into their hearts, to which some in their turn--strong,
+free spirits--instinctively responded.
+
+"There is such a thing as friendship at first sight," he suggested.
+
+"Why, yes; like quite old friends," she agreed. "It is a pity that I had
+no very trusty friend, since my mother died when I was quite little.
+Even my father has been--it is queer to think of it now--well, almost a
+stranger to me really."
+
+She looked at Carrados's serene and kindly face and smiled.
+
+"It is a great relief to be able to talk like this, without the
+necessity for lying," she remarked. "Did you know that I was engaged?"
+
+"No; you had not told me that."
+
+"Oh no, but you might have heard of it. He is a clergyman whom I met
+last summer. But, of course, that is all over now."
+
+"You have broken it off?"
+
+"Circumstances have broken it off. The daughter of a man who had the
+misfortune to be murdered might just possibly be tolerated as a vicar's
+wife, but the daughter of a murderer and suicide--it is unthinkable! You
+see, the requirements for the office are largely social, Mr Carrados."
+
+"Possibly your vicar may have other views."
+
+"Oh, he isn't a vicar yet, but he is rather well-connected, so it is
+quite assured. And he would be dreadfully torn if the choice lay with
+him. As it is, he will perhaps rather soon get over my absence. But, you
+see, if we married he could never get over my presence; it would always
+stand in the way of his preferment. I worked very hard to make it
+possible, but it could not be."
+
+"You were even prepared to send an innocent man to the gallows?"
+
+"I think so, at one time," she admitted frankly. "But I scarcely thought
+it would come to that. There are so many well-meaning people who always
+get up petitions.... No, as I stand here looking at myself over there, I
+feel that I couldn't quite have hanged Frank, no matter how much he
+deserved it.... You are very shocked, Mr Carrados?"
+
+"Well," admitted Carrados, with pleasant impartiality, "I have seen the
+young man, but the penalty, even with a reprieve, still seems to me a
+little severe."
+
+"Yet how do you know, even now, that he is, as you say, an innocent
+man?"
+
+"I don't," was the prompt admission. "I only know, in this astonishing
+case, that so far as my investigation goes, he did not murder your
+father by the act of his hand."
+
+"Not according to your Law Courts?" she suggested. "But in the great
+Palace of Justice?... Well, you shall judge."
+
+She left his side, crossed the room, and stood by the square, ugly
+window, looking out, but as blind as Carrados to the details of the
+somnolent landscape.
+
+"I met Frank for the first time after I was at all grown-up about three
+years ago, when I returned from boarding-school. I had not seen him
+since I was a child, and I thought him very tall and manly. It seemed a
+frightfully romantic thing in the circumstances to meet him
+secretly--of course my thoughts flew to Romeo and Juliet. We put
+impassioned letters for one another in a hollow tree that stood on the
+boundary hedge. But presently I found out--gradually and incredulously
+at first and then one night with a sudden terrible certainty--that my
+ideas of romance were not his.... I had what is called, I believe, a
+narrow escape. I was glad when he went abroad, for it was only my
+self-conceit that had suffered. I was never in love with him: only in
+love with the idea of being in love with him.
+
+"A few months ago Frank came back to High Barn. I tried never to meet
+him anywhere, but one day he overtook me in the lanes. He said that he
+had thought a lot about me while he was away, and would I marry him. I
+told him that it was impossible in any case, and, besides, I was
+engaged. He coolly replied that he knew. I was dumbfounded and asked him
+what he meant.
+
+"Then he took out a packet of my letters that he had kept somewhere all
+the time. He insisted on reading parts of them up and telling me what
+this and that meant and what everyone would say it proved. I was
+horrified at the construction that seemed capable of being put on my
+foolish but innocent gush. I called him a coward and a blackguard and a
+mean cur and a sneaking cad and everything I could think of in one long
+breath, until I found myself faint and sick with excitement and the
+nameless growing terror of it.
+
+"He only laughed and told me to think it over, and then walked on,
+throwing the letters up into the air and catching them.
+
+"It isn't worth while going into all the times he met and threatened me.
+I was to marry him or he would expose me. He would never allow me to
+marry anyone else. And then finally he turned round and said that he
+didn't really want to marry me at all; he only wanted to force father's
+consent to start mining and this had seemed the easiest way."
+
+"That is what is called blackmail, Miss Whitmarsh; a word you don't seem
+to have applied to him. The punishment ranges up to penal servitude for
+life in extreme cases."
+
+"Yes, that is what it really was. He came on Thursday with the letters
+in his pocket. That was his last threat when he could not move me. I can
+guess what happened. He read the letters and proposed a bargain. And my
+father, who was a very passionate man, and very proud in certain ways,
+shot him as he thought, and then, in shame and in the madness of
+despair, took his own life.... Now, Mr Carrados, you were to be my
+judge."
+
+"I think," said the blind man, with a great pity in his voice, "that it
+will be sufficient for you to come up for Judgment when called upon."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Three weeks later a registered letter bearing the Liverpool postmark was
+delivered at The Turrets. After he had read it Carrados put it away in a
+special drawer of his desk, and once or twice in after years, when his
+work seemed rather barren, he took it out and read it. This is what it
+contained:
+
+     "DEAR MR CARRADOS,--Some time after you had left me that Sunday
+     afternoon, a man came in the dark to the door and asked for me.
+     I did not see his face for he kept in the shade, but his figure
+     was not very unlike that of your servant Parkinson. A packet
+     was put into my hands and he was gone without a word. From this
+     I imagine that perhaps you did not leave quite as soon as you
+     had intended.
+
+     "Thank you very much indeed for the letters. I was glad to have
+     the miserable things, to drop them into the fire, and to see
+     them pass utterly out of my own and everybody else's life. I
+     wonder who else in the world would have done so much for a
+     forlorn creature who just flashed across a few days of his busy
+     life? and then I wonder who else could.
+
+     "But there is something else for which I thank you now far, far
+     more, and that is for saving me from the blindness of my own
+     passionate folly. When I look back on the abyss of meanness,
+     treachery and guilt into which I would have wilfully cast
+     myself, and been condemned to live in all my life, I can
+     scarcely trust myself to write.
+
+     "I will not say that I do not suffer now. I think I shall for
+     many years to come, but all the bitterness and I think all the
+     hardness have been drawn out.
+
+     "You will see that I am writing from Liverpool. I have taken a
+     second-class passage to Canada and we sail to-night. Willie,
+     who returned to Barony last week, has lent me all the money I
+     shall need until I find work. Do not be apprehensive. It is not
+     with the vague uncertainty of an indifferent typist or a
+     downtrodden governess that I go, but as an efficient domestic
+     servant--a capable cook, housemaid or 'general,' as need be. It
+     sounds rather incredible at first, does it not, but such things
+     happen, and I shall get on very well.
+
+     "Good-bye, Mr Carrados; I shall remember you very often and
+     very gratefully.
+
+                                   "MADELINE WHITMARSH.
+
+     "_P.S._--Yes, there is friendship at first sight."
+
+
+
+
+THE COMEDY AT FOUNTAIN COTTAGE
+
+
+Carrados had rung up Mr Carlyle soon after the inquiry agent had reached
+his office in Bampton Street on a certain morning in April. Mr Carlyle's
+face at once assumed its most amiable expression as he recognized his
+friend's voice.
+
+"Yes, Max," he replied, in answer to the call, "I am here and at the top
+of form, thanks. Glad to know that you are back from Trescoe. Is
+there--anything?"
+
+"I have a couple of men coming in this evening whom you might like to
+meet," explained Carrados. "Manoel the Zambesia explorer is one and the
+other an East-End slum doctor who has seen a few things. Do you care to
+come round to dinner?"
+
+"Delighted," warbled Mr Carlyle, without a moment's consideration.
+"Charmed. Your usual hour, Max?" Then the smiling complacence of his
+face suddenly changed and the wire conveyed an exclamation of annoyance.
+"I am really very sorry, Max, but I have just remembered that I have an
+engagement. I fear that I must deny myself after all."
+
+"Is it important?"
+
+"No," admitted Mr Carlyle. "Strictly speaking, it is not in the least
+important; this is why I feel compelled to keep it. It is only to dine
+with my niece. They have just got into an absurd doll's house of a
+villa at Groat's Heath and I had promised to go there this evening."
+
+"Are they particular to a day?"
+
+There was a moment's hesitation before Mr Carlyle replied.
+
+"I am afraid so, now it is fixed," he said. "To you, Max, it will be
+ridiculous or incomprehensible that a third to dinner--and he only a
+middle-aged uncle--should make a straw of difference. But I know that in
+their bijou way it will be a little domestic event to Elsie--an added
+anxiety in giving the butcher an order, an extra course for dinner,
+perhaps; a careful drilling of the one diminutive maid-servant, and she
+is such a charming little woman--eh? Who, Max? No! No! I did not say the
+maid-servant; if I did it is the fault of this telephone. Elsie is such
+a delightful little creature that, upon my soul, it would be too bad to
+fail her now."
+
+"Of course it would, you old humbug," agreed Carrados, with sympathetic
+laughter in his voice. "Well, come to-morrow instead. I shall be alone."
+
+"Oh, besides, there is a special reason for going, which for the moment
+I forgot," explained Mr Carlyle, after accepting the invitation. "Elsie
+wishes for my advice with regard to her next-door neighbour. He is an
+elderly man of retiring disposition and he makes a practice of throwing
+kidneys over into her garden."
+
+"Kittens! Throwing kittens?"
+
+"No, no, Max. Kidneys. Stewed k-i-d-n-e-y-s. It is a little difficult to
+explain plausibly over a badly vibrating telephone, I admit, but that is
+what Elsie's letter assured me, and she adds that she is in despair."
+
+"At all events it makes the lady quite independent of the butcher,
+Louis!"
+
+"I have no further particulars, Max. It may be a solitary diurnal
+offering, or the sky may at times appear to rain kidneys. If it is a
+mania the symptoms may even have become more pronounced and the man is
+possibly showering beef-steaks across by this time. I will make full
+inquiry and let you know."
+
+"Do," assented Carrados, in the same light-hearted spirit. "Mrs
+Nickleby's neighbourly admirer expressed his feelings by throwing
+cucumbers, you remember, but this man puts him completely in the shade."
+
+It had not got beyond the proportions of a jest to either of them when
+they rang off--one of those whimsical occurrences in real life that
+sound so fantastic in outline. Carrados did not give the matter another
+thought until the next evening when his friend's arrival revived the
+subject.
+
+"And the gentleman next door?" he inquired among his greetings. "Did the
+customary offering arrive while you were there?"
+
+"No," admitted Mr Carlyle, beaming pleasantly upon all the familiar
+appointments of the room, "it did not, Max. In fact, so diffident has
+the mysterious philanthropist become, that no one at Fountain Cottage
+has been able to catch sight of him lately, although I am told that
+Scamp--Elsie's terrier--betrays a very self-conscious guilt and
+suspiciously muddy paws every morning."
+
+"Fountain Cottage?"
+
+"That is the name of the toy villa."
+
+"Yes, but Fountain something, Groat's Heath--Fountain Court: wasn't that
+where Metrobe----?"
+
+"Yes, yes, to be sure, Max. Metrobe the traveller, the writer and
+scientist----"
+
+"Scientist!"
+
+"Well, he took up spiritualism or something, didn't he? At any rate, he
+lived at Fountain Court, an old red-brick house in a large neglected
+garden there, until his death a couple of years ago. Then, as Groat's
+Heath had suddenly become a popular suburb with a tube railway, a land
+company acquired the estate, the house was razed to the ground and in a
+twinkling a colony of Noah's ark villas took its place. There is Metrobe
+Road here, and Court Crescent there, and Mansion Drive and what not, and
+Elsie's little place perpetuates another landmark."
+
+"I have Metrobe's last book there," said Carrados, nodding towards a
+point on his shelves. "In fact he sent me a copy. 'The Flame beyond the
+Dome' it is called--the queerest farrago of balderdash and metaphysics
+imaginable. But what about the neighbour, Louis? Did you settle what we
+might almost term 'his hash'?"
+
+"Oh, he is mad, of course. I advised her to make as little fuss about it
+as possible, seeing that the man lives next door and might become
+objectionable, but I framed a note for her to send which will probably
+have a good effect."
+
+"Is he mad, Louis?"
+
+"Well, I don't say that he is strictly a lunatic, but there is obviously
+a screw loose somewhere. He may carry indiscriminate benevolence towards
+Yorkshire terriers to irrational lengths. Or he may be a food specialist
+with a grievance. In effect he is mad on at least that one point. How
+else are we to account for the circumstances?"
+
+"I was wondering," replied Carrados thoughtfully.
+
+"You suggest that he really may have a sane object?"
+
+"I suggest it--for the sake of argument. If he has a sane object, what
+is it?"
+
+"That I leave to you, Max," retorted Mr Carlyle conclusively. "If he has
+a sane object, pray what is it?"
+
+"For the sake of the argument I will tell you that in half-a-dozen
+words, Louis," replied Carrados, with good-humoured tolerance. "If he is
+not mad in the sense which you have defined, the answer stares us in the
+face. His object is precisely that which he is achieving."
+
+Mr Carlyle looked inquiringly into the placid, unemotional face of his
+blind friend, as if to read there whether, incredible as it might seem,
+Max should be taking the thing seriously after all.
+
+"And what is that?" he asked cautiously.
+
+"In the first place he has produced the impression that he is eccentric
+or irresponsible. That is sometimes useful in itself. Then what else has
+he done?"
+
+"What else, Max?" replied Mr Carlyle, with some indignation. "Well,
+whatever he wishes to achieve by it I can tell you one thing else that
+he has done. He has so demoralized Scamp with his confounded kidneys
+that Elsie's neatly arranged flower-beds--and she took Fountain Cottage
+principally on account of an unusually large garden--are hopelessly
+devastated. If she keeps the dog up, the garden is invaded night and day
+by an army of peregrinating feline marauders that scent the booty from
+afar. He has gained the everlasting annoyance of an otherwise charming
+neighbour, Max. Can you tell me what he has achieved by that?"
+
+"The everlasting esteem of Scamp probably. Is he a good watch-dog,
+Louis?"
+
+"Good heavens, Max!" exclaimed Mr Carlyle, coming to his feet as though
+he had the intention of setting out for Groat's Heath then and there,
+"is it possible that he is planning a burglary?"
+
+"Do they keep much of value about the house?"
+
+"No," admitted Mr Carlyle, sitting down again with considerable relief.
+"No, they don't. Bellmark is not particularly well endowed with worldly
+goods--in fact, between ourselves, Max, Elsie could have done very much
+better from a strictly social point of view, but he is a thoroughly good
+fellow and idolizes her. They have no silver worth speaking of, and for
+the rest--well, just the ordinary petty cash of a frugal young couple."
+
+"Then he probably is not planning a burglary. I confess that the idea
+did not appeal to me. If it is only that, why should he go to the
+trouble of preparing this particular succulent dish to throw over his
+neighbour's ground when cold liver would do quite as well?"
+
+"If it is not only that, why should he go to the trouble, Max?"
+
+"Because by that bait he produces the greatest disturbance of your
+niece's garden."
+
+"And, if sane, why should he wish to do that?"
+
+"Because in those conditions he can the more easily obliterate his own
+traces if he trespasses there at nights."
+
+"Well, upon my word, that's drawing a bow at a venture, Max. If it isn't
+burglary, what motive could the man have for any such nocturnal
+perambulation?"
+
+An expression of suave mischief came into Carrados's usually
+imperturbable face.
+
+"Many imaginable motives surely, Louis. You are a man of the world. Why
+not to meet a charming little woman----"
+
+"No, by gad!" exclaimed the scandalized uncle warmly; "I decline to
+consider the remotest possibility of that explanation. Elsie----"
+
+"Certainly not," interposed Carrados, smothering his quiet laughter.
+"The maid-servant, of course."
+
+Mr Carlyle reined in his indignation and recovered himself with his
+usual adroitness.
+
+"But, you know, that is an atrocious libel, Max," he added. "I never
+said such a thing. However, is it probable?"
+
+"No," admitted Carrados. "I don't think that in the circumstances it is
+at all probable."
+
+"Then where are we, Max?"
+
+"A little further than we were at the beginning. Very little.... Are you
+willing to give me a roving commission to investigate?"
+
+"Of course, Max, of course," assented Mr Carlyle heartily. "I--well, as
+far as I was concerned, I regarded the matter as settled."
+
+Carrados turned to his desk and the ghost of a smile might possibly have
+lurked about his face. He produced some stationery and indicated it to
+his visitor.
+
+"You don't mind giving me a line of introduction to your niece?"
+
+"Pleasure," murmured Carlyle, taking up a pen. "What shall I say?"
+
+Carrados took the inquiry in its most literal sense and for reply he
+dictated the following letter:--
+
+     "'MY DEAR ELSIE,'--
+
+"If that is the way you usually address her," he parenthesized.
+
+"Quite so," acquiesced Mr Carlyle, writing.
+
+     "'The bearer of this is Mr Carrados, of whom I have spoken to
+     you.'
+
+"You have spoken of me to her, I trust, Louis?" he put in.
+
+"I believe that I have casually referred to you," admitted the writer.
+
+"I felt sure you would have done. It makes the rest easier.
+
+     "'He is not in the least mad although he frequently does things
+     which to the uninitiated appear more or less eccentric at the
+     moment. I think that you would be quite safe in complying with
+     any suggestion he may make.
+
+     "'Your affectionate uncle,
+
+                                   "'LOUIS CARLYLE.'"
+
+He accepted the envelope and put it away in a pocket-book that always
+seemed extraordinarily thin for the amount of papers it contained.
+
+"I may call there to-morrow," he added.
+
+Neither again referred to the subject during the evening, but when
+Parkinson came to the library a couple of hours after midnight to know
+whether he would be required again, he found his master rather deeply
+immersed in a book and a gap on the shelf where "The Flame beyond the
+Dome" had formerly stood.
+
+It is not impossible that Mr Carlyle supplemented his brief note of
+introduction with a more detailed communication that reached his niece
+by the ordinary postal service at an earlier hour than the other. At all
+events, when Mr Carrados presented himself at the toy villa on the
+following afternoon he found Elsie Bellmark suspiciously disposed to
+accept him and his rather gratuitous intervention among her suburban
+troubles as a matter of course.
+
+When the car drew up at the bright green wooden gate of Fountain Cottage
+another visitor, apparently a good-class working man, was standing on
+the path of the trim front garden, lingering over a reluctant departure.
+Carrados took sufficient time in alighting to allow the man to pass
+through the gate before he himself entered. The last exchange of
+sentences reached his ear.
+
+"I'm sure, marm, you won't find anyone to do the work at less."
+
+"I can quite believe that," replied a very fair young lady who stood
+nearer the house, "but, you see, we do all the gardening ourselves,
+thank you."
+
+Carrados made himself known and was taken into the daintily pretty
+drawing-room that opened on to the lawn behind the house.
+
+"I do not need to ask if you are Mrs Bellmark," he had declared.
+
+"I have Uncle Louis's voice?" she divined readily.
+
+"The niece of his voice, so to speak," he admitted. "Voices mean a great
+deal to me, Mrs Bellmark."
+
+"In recognizing and identifying people?" she suggested.
+
+"Oh, very much more than that. In recognizing and identifying their
+moods--their thoughts even. There are subtle lines of trouble and the
+deep rings of anxious care quite as patent to the ear as to the
+sharpest eye sometimes."
+
+Elsie Bellmark shot a glance of curiously interested speculation to the
+face that, in spite of its frank, open bearing, revealed so marvellously
+little itself.
+
+"If I had any dreadful secret, I think that I should be a little afraid
+to talk to you, Mr Carrados," she said, with a half-nervous laugh.
+
+"Then please do not have any dreadful secret," he replied, with quite
+youthful gallantry. "I more than suspect that Louis has given you a very
+transpontine idea of my tastes. I do not spend all my time tracking
+murderers to their lairs, Mrs Bellmark, and I have never yet engaged in
+a hand-to-hand encounter with a band of cut-throats."
+
+"He told us," she declared, the recital lifting her voice into a tone
+that Carrados vowed to himself was wonderfully thrilling, "about this:
+He said that you were once in a sort of lonely underground cellar near
+the river with two desperate men whom you could send to penal servitude.
+The police, who were to have been there at a certain time, had not
+arrived, and you were alone. The men had heard that you were blind but
+they could hardly believe it. They were discussing in whispers which
+could not be overheard what would be the best thing to do, and they had
+just agreed that if you really were blind they would risk the attempt to
+murder you. Then, Louis said, at that very moment you took a pair of
+scissors from your pocket, and coolly asking them why they did not have
+a lamp down there, you actually snuffed the candle that stood on the
+table before you. Is that true?"
+
+Carrados's mind leapt vividly back to the most desperate moment of his
+existence, but his smile was gently deprecating as he replied:
+
+"I seem to recognize the touch of truth in the inclination to do
+_anything_ rather than fight," he confessed. "But, although he never
+suspects it, Louis really sees life through rose-coloured opera glasses.
+Take the case of your quite commonplace neighbour----"
+
+"That is really what you came about?" she interposed shrewdly.
+
+"Frankly, it is," he replied. "I am more attracted by a turn of the odd
+and grotesque than by the most elaborate tragedy. The fantastic conceit
+of throwing stewed kidneys over into a neighbour's garden irresistibly
+appealed to me. Louis, as I was saying, regards the man in the romantic
+light of a humanitarian monomaniac or a demented food reformer. I take a
+more subdued view and I think that his action, when rightly understood,
+will prove to be something quite obviously natural."
+
+"Of course it is very ridiculous, but all the same it has been
+desperately annoying," she confessed. "Still, it scarcely matters now. I
+am only sorry that it should have been the cause of wasting your
+valuable time, Mr Carrados."
+
+"My valuable time," he replied, "only seems valuable to me when I am,
+as you would say, wasting it. But is the incident closed? Louis told me
+that he had drafted you a letter of remonstrance. May I ask if it has
+been effective?"
+
+Instead of replying at once she got up and walked to the long French
+window and looked out over the garden where the fruit-trees that had
+been spared from the older cultivation were rejoicing the eye with the
+promise of their pink and white profusion.
+
+"I did not send it," she said slowly, turning to her visitor again.
+"There is something that I did not tell Uncle Louis, because it would
+only have distressed him without doing any good. We may be leaving here
+very soon."
+
+"Just when you had begun to get it well in hand?" he said, in some
+surprise.
+
+"It is a pity, is it not, but one cannot foresee these things. There is
+no reason why you should not know the cause, since you have interested
+yourself so far, Mr Carrados. In fact," she added, smiling away the
+seriousness of the manner into which she had fallen, "I am not at all
+sure that you do not know already."
+
+He shook his head and disclaimed any such prescience.
+
+"At all events you recognized that I was not exactly light-hearted," she
+insisted. "Oh, you did not say that _I_ had dark rings under my eyes, I
+know, but the cap fitted excellently.... It has to do with my husband's
+business. He is with a firm of architects. It was a little venturesome
+taking this house--we had been in apartments for two years--but Roy was
+doing so well with his people and I was so enthusiastic for a garden
+that we did--scarcely two months ago. Everything seemed quite assured.
+Then came this thunderbolt. The partners--it is only a small firm, Mr
+Carrados--required a little more capital in the business. Someone whom
+they know is willing to put in two thousand pounds, but he stipulates
+for a post with them as well. He, like my husband, is a draughtsman.
+There is no need for the services of both and so----"
+
+"Is it settled?"
+
+"In effect, it is. They are as nice as can be about it but that does not
+alter the facts. They declare that they would rather have Roy than the
+new man and they have definitely offered to retain him if he can bring
+in even one thousand pounds. I suppose they have some sort of
+compunction about turning him adrift, for they have asked him to think
+it over and let them know on Monday. Of course, that is the end of it.
+It may be--I don't know--I don't like to think, how long before Roy gets
+another position equally good. We must endeavour to get this house off
+our hands and creep back to our three rooms. It is ... luck."
+
+Carrados had been listening to her wonderfully musical voice as another
+man might have been drawn irresistibly to watch the piquant charm of her
+delicate face.
+
+"Yes," he assented, almost to himself, "it is that strange, inexplicable
+grouping of men and things that, under one name or another, we all
+confess ... just luck."
+
+"Of course you will not mention this to Uncle Louis yet, Mr Carrados?"
+
+"If you do not wish it, certainly not."
+
+"I am sure that it would distress him. He is so soft-hearted, so kind,
+in everything. Do you know, I found out that he had had an invitation to
+dine somewhere and meet some quite important people on Tuesday. Yet he
+came here instead, although most other men would have cried off, just
+because he knew that we small people would have been disappointed."
+
+"Well, you can't expect me to see any self-denial in that," exclaimed
+Carrados. "Why, I was one of them myself."
+
+Elsie Bellmark laughed outright at the expressive disgust of his tone.
+
+"I had no idea of that," she said. "Then there is another reason. Uncle
+is not very well off, yet if he knew how Roy was situated he would make
+an effort to arrange matters. He would, I am sure, even borrow himself
+in order to lend us the money. That is a thing Roy and I are quite
+agreed on. We will go back; we will go under, if it is to be; but we
+will not borrow money, not even from Uncle Louis."
+
+Once, subsequently, Carrados suddenly asked Mr Carlyle whether he had
+ever heard a woman's voice roll like a celestial kettle-drum. The
+professional gentleman was vastly amused by the comparison, but he
+admitted that he had not.
+
+"So that, you see," concluded Mrs Bellmark, "there is really nothing to
+be done."
+
+"Oh, quite so; I am sure that you are right," assented her visitor
+readily. "But in the meanwhile I do not see why the annoyance of your
+next-door neighbour should be permitted to go on."
+
+"Of course: I have not told you that, and I could not explain it to
+uncle," she said. "I am anxious not to do anything to put him out
+because I have a hope--rather a faint one, certainly--that the man may
+be willing to take over this house."
+
+It would be incorrect to say that Carrados pricked up his ears--if that
+curious phenomenon has any physical manifestation--for the sympathetic
+expression of his face did not vary a fraction. But into his mind there
+came a gleam such as might inspire a patient digger who sees the first
+speck of gold that justifies his faith in an unlikely claim.
+
+"Oh," he said, quite conversationally, "is there a chance of that?"
+
+"He undoubtedly did want it. It is very curious in a way. A few weeks
+ago, before we were really settled, he came one afternoon, saying he had
+heard that this house was to be let. Of course I told him that he was
+too late, that we had already taken it for three years."
+
+"You were the first tenants?"
+
+"Yes. The house was scarcely ready when we signed the agreement. Then
+this Mr Johns, or Jones--I am not sure which he said--went on in a
+rather extraordinary way to persuade me to sublet it to him. He said
+that the house was dear and I could get plenty, more convenient, at less
+rent, and it was unhealthy, and the drains were bad, and that we should
+be pestered by tramps and it was just the sort of house that burglars
+picked on, only he had taken a sort of fancy to it and he would give me
+a fifty-pound premium for the term."
+
+"Did he explain the motive for this rather eccentric partiality?"
+
+"I don't imagine that he did. He repeated several times that he was a
+queer old fellow with his whims and fancies and that they often cost him
+dear."
+
+"I think we all know that sort of old fellow," said Carrados. "It must
+have been rather entertaining for you, Mrs Bellmark."
+
+"Yes, I suppose it was," she admitted. "The next thing we knew of him
+was that he had taken the other house as soon as it was finished."
+
+"Then he would scarcely require this?"
+
+"I am afraid not." It was obvious that the situation was not disposed
+of. "But he seems to have so little furniture there and to live so
+solitarily," she explained, "that we have even wondered whether he might
+not be there merely as a sort of caretaker."
+
+"And you have never heard where he came from or who he is?"
+
+"Only what the milkman told my servant--our chief source of local
+information, Mr Carrados. He declares that the man used to be the butler
+at a large house that stood here formerly, Fountain Court, and that his
+name is neither Johns nor Jones. But very likely it is all a mistake."
+
+"If not, he is certainly attached to the soil," was her visitor's
+rejoinder. "And, apropos of that, will you show me over your garden
+before I go, Mrs Bellmark?"
+
+"With pleasure," she assented, rising also. "I will ring now and then I
+can offer you tea when we have been round. That is, if you----?"
+
+"Thank you, I do," he replied. "And would you allow my man to go through
+into the garden--in case I require him?"
+
+"Oh, certainly. You must tell me just what you want without thinking it
+necessary to ask permission, Mr Carrados," she said, with a pretty air
+of protection. "Shall Amy take a message?"
+
+He acquiesced and turned to the servant who had appeared in response to
+the bell.
+
+"Will you go to the car and tell my man--Parkinson--that I require him
+here. Say that he can bring his book; he will understand."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+They stepped out through the French window and sauntered across the
+lawn. Before they had reached the other side Parkinson reported himself.
+
+"You had better stay here," said his master, indicating the sward
+generally. "Mrs Bellmark will allow you to bring out a chair from the
+drawing-room."
+
+"Thank you, sir; there is a rustic seat already provided," replied
+Parkinson.
+
+He sat down with his back to the houses and opened the book that he had
+brought. Let in among its pages was an ingeniously contrived mirror.
+
+When their promenade again brought them near the rustic seat Carrados
+dropped a few steps behind.
+
+"He is watching you from one of the upper rooms, sir," fell from
+Parkinson's lips as he sat there without raising his eyes from the page
+before him.
+
+The blind man caught up to his hostess again.
+
+"You intended this lawn for croquet?" he asked.
+
+"No; not specially. It is too small, isn't it?"
+
+"Not necessarily. I think it is in about the proportion of four by five
+all right. Given that, size does not really matter for an
+unsophisticated game."
+
+To settle the point he began to pace the plot of ground, across and then
+lengthways. Next, apparently dissatisfied with this rough measurement,
+he applied himself to marking it off more exactly by means of his
+walking-stick. Elsie Bellmark was by no means dull but the action sprang
+so naturally from the conversation that it did not occur to her to look
+for any deeper motive.
+
+"He has got a pair of field-glasses and is now at the window,"
+communicated Parkinson.
+
+"I am going out of sight," was the equally quiet response. "If he
+becomes more anxious tell me afterwards."
+
+"It is quite all right," he reported, returning to Mrs Bellmark with the
+satisfaction of bringing agreeable news. "It should make a splendid
+little ground, but you may have to level up a few dips after the earth
+has set."
+
+A chance reference to the kitchen garden by the visitor took them to a
+more distant corner of the enclosure where the rear of Fountain Cottage
+cut off the view from the next house windows.
+
+"We decided on this part for vegetables because it does not really
+belong to the garden proper," she explained. "When they build farther on
+this side we shall have to give it up very soon. And it would be a pity
+if it was all in flowers."
+
+With the admirable spirit of the ordinary Englishwoman, she spoke of
+the future as if there was no cloud to obscure its prosperous course.
+She had frankly declared their position to her uncle's best friend
+because in the circumstances it had seemed to be the simplest and most
+straightforward thing to do; beyond that, there was no need to whine
+about it.
+
+"It is a large garden," remarked Carrados. "And you really do all the
+work of it yourselves?"
+
+"Yes; I think that is half the fun of a garden. Roy is out here early
+and late and he does all the hard work. But how did you know? Did uncle
+tell you?"
+
+"No; you told me yourself."
+
+"I? Really?"
+
+"Indirectly. You were scorning the proffered services of a horticultural
+mercenary at the moment of my arrival."
+
+"Oh, I remember," she laughed. "It was Irons, of course. He is a great
+nuisance, he is so stupidly persistent. For some weeks now he has been
+coming time after time, trying to persuade me to engage him. Once when
+we were all out he had actually got into the garden and was on the point
+of beginning work when I returned. He said he saw the milkmen and the
+grocers leaving samples at the door so he thought that he would too!"
+
+"A practical jester evidently. Is Mr Irons a local character?"
+
+"He said that he knew the ground and the conditions round about here
+better than anyone else in Groat's Heath," she replied. "Modesty is not
+among Mr Irons's handicaps. He said that he----How curious!"
+
+"What is, Mrs Bellmark?"
+
+"I never connected the two men before, but he said that he had been
+gardener at Fountain Court for seven years."
+
+"Another family retainer who is evidently attached to the soil."
+
+"At all events they have not prospered equally, for while Mr Johns seems
+able to take a nice house, poor Irons is willing to work for
+half-a-crown a day, and I am told that all the other men charge four
+shillings."
+
+They had paced the boundaries of the kitchen garden, and as there was
+nothing more to be shown Elsie Bellmark led the way back to the
+drawing-room. Parkinson was still engrossed in his book, the only change
+being that his back was now turned towards the high paling of
+clinker-built oak that separated the two gardens.
+
+"I will speak to my man," said Carrados, turning aside.
+
+"He hurried down and is looking through the fence, sir," reported the
+watcher.
+
+"That will do then. You can return to the car."
+
+"I wonder if you would allow me to send you a small hawthorn-tree?"
+inquired Carrados among his felicitations over the teacups five minutes
+later. "I think it ought to be in every garden."
+
+"Thank you--but is it worth while?" replied Mrs Bellmark, with a touch
+of restraint. As far as mere words went she had been willing to ignore
+the menace of the future, but in the circumstances the offer seemed
+singularly inept and she began to suspect that outside his peculiar
+gifts the wonderful Mr Carrados might be a little bit obtuse after all.
+
+"Yes; I think it is," he replied, with quiet assurance.
+
+"In spite of----?"
+
+"I am not forgetting that unless your husband is prepared on Monday next
+to invest one thousand pounds you contemplate leaving here."
+
+"Then I do not understand it, Mr Carrados."
+
+"And I am unable to explain as yet. But I brought you a note from Louis
+Carlyle, Mrs Bellmark. You only glanced at it. Will you do me the favour
+of reading me the last paragraph?"
+
+She picked up the letter from the table where it lay and complied with
+cheerful good-humour.
+
+"There is some suggestion that you want me to accede to," she guessed
+cunningly when she had read the last few words.
+
+"There are some three suggestions which I hope you will accede to," he
+replied. "In the first place I want you to write to Mr Johns next
+door--let him get the letter to-night--inquiring whether he is still
+disposed to take this house."
+
+"I had thought of doing that shortly."
+
+"Then that is all right. Besides, he will ultimately decline."
+
+"Oh," she exclaimed--it would be difficult to say whether with relief or
+disappointment--"do you think so? Then why----"
+
+"To keep him quiet in the meantime. Next I should like you to send a
+little note to Mr Irons--your maid could deliver it also to-night, I
+dare say?"
+
+"Irons! Irons the gardener?"
+
+"Yes," apologetically. "Only a line or two, you know. Just saying that,
+after all, if he cares to come on Monday you can find him a few days'
+work."
+
+"But in any circumstances I don't want him."
+
+"No; I can quite believe that you could do better. Still, it doesn't
+matter, as he won't come, Mrs Bellmark; not for half-a-crown a day,
+believe me. But the thought will tend to make Mr Irons less restive
+also. Lastly, will you persuade your husband not to decline his firm's
+offer until Monday?"
+
+"Very well, Mr Carrados," she said, after a moment's consideration. "You
+are Uncle Louis's friend and therefore our friend. I will do what you
+ask."
+
+"Thank you," said Carrados. "I shall endeavour not to disappoint you."
+
+"I shall not be disappointed because I have not dared to hope. And I
+have nothing to expect because I am still completely in the dark."
+
+"I have been there for nearly twenty years, Mrs Bellmark."
+
+"Oh, I am sorry!" she cried impulsively.
+
+"So am I--occasionally," he replied. "Good-bye, Mrs Bellmark. You will
+hear from me shortly, I hope. About the hawthorn, you know."
+
+It was, indeed, in something less than forty-eight hours that she heard
+from him again. When Bellmark returned to his toy villa early on
+Saturday afternoon Elsie met him almost at the gate with a telegram in
+her hand.
+
+"I really think, Roy, that everyone we have to do with here goes mad,"
+she exclaimed, in tragi-humorous despair. "First it was Mr Johns or
+Jones--if he is Johns or Jones--and then Irons who wanted to work here
+for half of what he could get at heaps of places about, and now just
+look at this wire that came from Mr Carrados half-an-hour ago."
+
+This was the message that he read:
+
+     _Please procure sardine tin opener mariner's compass and bottle
+     of champagne. Shall arrive 6.45 bringing Crataegus
+     Coccinea._--CARRADOS.
+
+"Could anything be more absurd?" she demanded.
+
+"Sounds as though it was in code," speculated her husband. "Who's the
+foreign gentleman he's bringing?"
+
+"Oh, that's a kind of special hawthorn--I looked it up. But a bottle of
+champagne, and a compass, and a sardine tin opener! What possible
+connexion is there between them?"
+
+"A very resourceful man might uncork a bottle of champagne with a
+sardine tin opener," he suggested.
+
+"And find his way home afterwards by means of a mariner's compass?" she
+retorted. "No, Roy dear, you are not a sleuth-hound. We had better have
+our lunch."
+
+They lunched, but if the subject of Carrados had been tabooed the meal
+would have been a silent one.
+
+"I have a compass on an old watch-chain somewhere," volunteered
+Bellmark.
+
+"And I have a tin opener in the form of a bull's head," contributed
+Elsie.
+
+"But we have no champagne, I suppose?"
+
+"How could we have, Roy? We never have had any. Shall you mind going
+down to the shops for a bottle?"
+
+"You really think that we ought?"
+
+"Of course we must, Roy. We don't know what mightn't happen if we
+didn't. Uncle Louis said that they once failed to stop a jewel robbery
+because the jeweller neglected to wipe his shoes on the shop doormat,
+as Mr Carrados had told him to do. Suppose Johns is a desperate
+anarchist and he succeeded in blowing up Buckingham Palace because
+we----"
+
+"All right. A small bottle, eh?"
+
+"No. A large one. Quite a large one. Don't you see how exciting it is
+becoming?"
+
+"If you are excited already you don't need much champagne," argued her
+husband.
+
+Nevertheless he strolled down to the leading wine-shop after lunch and
+returned with his purchase modestly draped in the light summer overcoat
+that he carried on his arm. Elsie Bellmark, who had quite abandoned her
+previous unconcern, in the conviction that "something was going to
+happen," spent the longest afternoon that she could remember, and even
+Bellmark, in spite of his continual adjurations to her to "look at the
+matter logically," smoked five cigarettes in place of his usual Saturday
+afternoon pipe and neglected to do any gardening.
+
+At exactly six-forty-five a motor car was heard approaching. Elsie made
+a desperate rally to become the self-possessed hostess again. Bellmark
+was favourably impressed by such marked punctuality. Then a Regent
+Street delivery van bowled past their window and Elsie almost wept.
+
+The suspense was not long, however. Less than five minutes later another
+vehicle raised the dust of the quiet suburban road, and this time a
+private car stopped at their gate.
+
+"Can you see any policemen inside?" whispered Elsie.
+
+Parkinson got down and opening the door took out a small tree which he
+carried up to the porch and there deposited. Carrados followed.
+
+"At all events there isn't much wrong," said Bellmark. "He's smiling all
+the time."
+
+"No, it isn't really a smile," explained Elsie; "it's his normal
+expression."
+
+She went out into the hall just as the front door was opened.
+
+"It is the 'Scarlet-fruited thorn' of North America," Bellmark heard the
+visitor remarking. "Both the flowers and the berries are wonderfully
+good. Do you think that you would permit me to choose the spot for it,
+Mrs Bellmark?"
+
+Bellmark joined them in the hall and was introduced.
+
+"We mustn't waste any time," he suggested. "There is very little light
+left."
+
+"True," agreed Carrados. "And Coccinea requires deep digging."
+
+They walked through the house, and turning to the right passed into the
+region of the vegetable garden. Carrados and Elsie led the way, the
+blind man carrying the tree, while Bellmark went to his outhouse for the
+required tools.
+
+"We will direct our operations from here," said Carrados, when they were
+half-way along the walk. "You told me of a thin iron pipe that you had
+traced to somewhere in the middle of the garden. We must locate the end
+of it exactly."
+
+"My rosary!" sighed Elsie, with premonition of disaster, when she had
+determined the spot as exactly as she could. "Oh, Mr Carrados!"
+
+"I am sorry, but it might be worse," said Carrados inflexibly. "We only
+require to find the elbow-joint. Mr Bellmark will investigate with as
+little disturbance as possible."
+
+For five minutes Bellmark made trials with a pointed iron. Then he
+cleared away the soil of a small circle and at about a foot deep exposed
+a broken inch pipe.
+
+"The fountain," announced Carrados, when he had examined it. "You have
+the compass, Mr Bellmark?"
+
+"Rather a small one," admitted Bellmark.
+
+"Never mind, you are a mathematician. I want you to strike a line due
+east."
+
+The reel and cord came into play and an adjustment was finally made from
+the broken pipe to a position across the vegetable garden.
+
+"Now a point nine yards, nine feet and nine inches along it."
+
+"My onion bed!" cried Elsie tragically.
+
+"Yes; it is really serious this time," agreed Carrados. "I want a hole a
+yard across, digging here. May we proceed?"
+
+Elsie remembered the words of her uncle's letter--or what she imagined
+to be his letter--and possibly the preamble of selecting the spot had
+impressed her.
+
+"Yes, I suppose so. Unless," she added hopefully, "the turnip bed will
+do instead? They are not sown yet."
+
+"I am afraid that nowhere else in the garden will do," replied Carrados.
+
+Bellmark delineated the space and began to dig. After clearing to about
+a foot deep he paused.
+
+"About deep enough, Mr Carrados?" he inquired.
+
+"Oh, dear no," replied the blind man.
+
+"I am two feet down," presently reported the digger.
+
+"Deeper!" was the uncompromising response.
+
+Another six inches were added and Bellmark stopped to rest.
+
+"A little more and it won't matter which way up we plant Coccinea," he
+remarked.
+
+"That is the depth we are aiming for," replied Carrados.
+
+Elsie and her husband exchanged glances. Then Bellmark drove his spade
+through another layer of earth.
+
+"Three feet," he announced, when he had cleared it.
+
+Carrados advanced to the very edge of the opening.
+
+"I think that if you would loosen another six inches with the fork we
+might consider the ground prepared," he decided.
+
+Bellmark changed his tools and began to break up the soil. Presently the
+steel prongs grated on some obstruction.
+
+"Gently," directed the blind watcher. "I think you will find a
+half-pound cocoa tin at the end of your fork."
+
+"Well, how on earth you spotted that----!" was wrung from Bellmark
+admiringly, as he cleared away the encrusting earth. "But I believe you
+are about right." He threw up the object to his wife, who was risking a
+catastrophe in her eagerness to miss no detail. "Anything in it besides
+soil, Elsie?"
+
+"She cannot open it yet," remarked Carrados. "It is soldered down."
+
+"Oh, I say," protested Bellmark.
+
+"It is perfectly correct, Roy. The lid is soldered on."
+
+They looked at each other in varying degrees of wonder and speculation.
+Only Carrados seemed quite untouched.
+
+"Now we may as well replace the earth," he remarked.
+
+"Fill it all up again?" asked Bellmark.
+
+"Yes; we have provided a thoroughly disintegrated subsoil. That is the
+great thing. A depth of six inches is sufficient merely for the roots."
+
+There was only one remark passed during the operation.
+
+"I think I should plant the tree just over where the tin was," Carrados
+suggested. "You might like to mark the exact spot." And there the
+hawthorn was placed.
+
+Bellmark, usually the most careful and methodical of men, left the tools
+where they were, in spite of a threatening shower. Strangely silent,
+Elsie led the way back to the house and taking the men into the
+drawing-room switched on the light.
+
+"I think you have a tin opener, Mrs Bellmark?"
+
+Elsie, who had been waiting for him to speak, almost jumped at the
+simple inquiry. Then she went into the next room and returned with the
+bull-headed utensil.
+
+"Here it is," she said, in a voice that would have amused her at any
+other time.
+
+"Mr Bellmark will perhaps disclose our find."
+
+Bellmark put the soily tin down on Elsie's best table-cover without
+eliciting a word of reproach, grasped it firmly with his left hand, and
+worked the opener round the top.
+
+"Only paper!" he exclaimed, and without touching the contents he passed
+the tin into Carrados's hands.
+
+The blind man dexterously twirled out a little roll that crinkled
+pleasantly to the ear, and began counting the leaves with a steady
+finger.
+
+"They're bank-notes!" whispered Elsie in an awestruck voice. She caught
+sight of a further detail. "Bank-notes for a hundred pounds each. And
+there are dozens of them!"
+
+"Fifty, there should be," dropped Carrados between his figures.
+"Twenty-five, twenty-six----"
+
+"Good God," murmured Bellmark; "that's five thousand pounds!"
+
+"Fifty," concluded Carrados, straightening the edges of the sheaf. "It
+is always satisfactory to find that one's calculations are exact." He
+detached the upper ten notes and held them out. "Mrs Bellmark, will you
+accept one thousand pounds as a full legal discharge of any claim that
+you may have on this property?"
+
+"Me--I?" she stammered. "But I have no right to any in any
+circumstances. It has nothing to do with us."
+
+"You have an unassailable moral right to a fair proportion, because
+without you the real owners would never have seen a penny of it. As
+regards your legal right"--he took out the thin pocket-book and
+extracting a business-looking paper spread it open on the table before
+them--"here is a document that concedes it. 'In consideration of the
+valuable services rendered by Elsie Bellmark, etc., etc., in causing to
+be discovered and voluntarily surrendering the sum of five thousand
+pounds deposited and not relinquished by Alexis Metrobe, late of, etc.,
+etc., deceased, Messrs Binstead & Polegate, solicitors, of 77a Bedford
+Row, acting on behalf of the administrator and next-of-kin of the said
+etc., etc., do hereby'--well, that's what they do. Signed, witnessed and
+stamped at Somerset House."
+
+"I suppose I shall wake presently," said Elsie dreamily.
+
+"It was for this moment that I ventured to suggest the third requirement
+necessary to bring our enterprise to a successful end," said Carrados.
+
+"Oh, how thoughtful of you!" cried Elsie. "Roy, the champagne."
+
+Five minutes later Carrados was explaining to a small but enthralled
+audience.
+
+"The late Alexis Metrobe was a man of peculiar character. After seeing a
+good deal of the world and being many things, he finally embraced
+spiritualism, and in common with some of its most pronounced adherents
+he thenceforward abandoned what we should call 'the common-sense view.'
+
+"A few years ago, by the collation of the Book of Revelations, a set of
+Zadkiel's Almanacs, and the complete works of Mrs Mary Baker Eddy,
+Metrobe discovered that the end of the world would take place on the
+tenth of October 1910. It therefore became a matter of urgent importance
+in his mind to ensure pecuniary provision for himself for the time after
+the catastrophe had taken place."
+
+"I don't understand," interrupted Elsie. "Did he expect to survive it?"
+
+"You cannot understand, Mrs Bellmark, because it is fundamentally
+incomprehensible. We can only accept the fact by the light of cases
+which occasionally obtain prominence. Metrobe did not expect to survive,
+but he was firmly convinced that the currency of this world would be
+equally useful in the spirit-land into which he expected to pass. This
+view was encouraged by a lady medium at whose feet he sat. She kindly
+offered to transmit to his banking account in the Hereafter, without
+making any charge whatever, any sum that he cared to put into her hands
+for the purpose. Metrobe accepted the idea but not the offer. His plan
+was to deposit a considerable amount in a spot of which he alone had
+knowledge, so that he could come and help himself to it as required."
+
+"But if the world had come to an end----?"
+
+"Only the material world, you must understand, Mrs Bellmark. The spirit
+world, its exact impalpable counterpart, would continue as before and
+Metrobe's hoard would be spiritually intact and available. That is the
+prologue.
+
+"About a month ago there appeared a certain advertisement in a good many
+papers. I noticed it at the time and three days ago I had only to refer
+to my files to put my hand on it at once. It reads:
+
+     "'Alexis Metrobe. Any servant or personal attendant of the late
+     Alexis Metrobe of Fountain Court, Groat's Heath, possessing
+     special knowledge of his habits and movements may hear of
+     something advantageous on applying to Binstead & Polegate, 77a
+     Bedford Row, W.C.'
+
+"The solicitors had, in fact, discovered that five thousand pounds'
+worth of securities had been realized early in 1910. They readily
+ascertained that Metrobe had drawn that amount in gold out of his bank
+immediately after, and there the trace ended. He died six months later.
+There was no hoard of gold and not a shred of paper to show where it had
+gone, yet Metrobe lived very simply within his income. The house had
+meanwhile been demolished but there was no hint or whisper of any lucky
+find.
+
+"Two inquirers presented themselves at 77a Bedford Row. They were
+informed of the circumstances and offered a reward, varying according to
+the results, for information that would lead to the recovery of the
+money. They are both described as thoughtful, slow-spoken men. Each
+heard the story, shook his head, and departed. The first caller proved
+to be John Foster, the ex-butler. On the following day Mr Irons,
+formerly gardener at the Court, was the applicant.
+
+"I must now divert your attention into a side track. In the summer of
+1910 Metrobe published a curious work entitled 'The Flame beyond the
+Dome.' In the main it is an eschatological treatise, but at the end he
+tacked on an epilogue, which he called 'The Fable of the Chameleon.' It
+is even more curious than the rest and with reason, for under the guise
+of a speculative essay he gives a cryptic account of the circumstances
+of the five thousand pounds and, what is more important, details the
+exact particulars of its disposal. His reason for so doing is
+characteristic of the man. He was conscious by experience that he
+possessed an utterly treacherous memory, and having had occasion to move
+the treasure from one spot to another he feared that when the time came
+his bemuddled shade would be unable to locate it. For future reference,
+therefore, he embodied the details in his book, and to make sure that
+plenty of copies should be in existence he circulated it by the only
+means in his power--in other words, he gave a volume to everyone he knew
+and to a good many people whom he didn't.
+
+"So far I have dealt with actualities. The final details are partly
+speculative but they are essentially correct. Metrobe conveyed his gold
+to Fountain Court, obtained a stout oak coffer for it, and selected a
+spot _west_ of the fountain. He chose a favourable occasion for burying
+it, but by some mischance Irons came on the scene. Metrobe explained the
+incident by declaring that he was burying a favourite parrot. Irons
+thought nothing particular about it then, although he related the fact
+to the butler, and to others, in evidence of the general belief that
+'the old cock was quite barmy.' But Metrobe himself was much disturbed
+by the accident. A few days later he dug up the box. In pursuance of his
+new plan he carried his gold to the Bank of England and changed it into
+these notes. Then transferring the venue to one due _east_ of the
+fountain, he buried them in this tin, satisfied that the small space it
+occupied would baffle the search of anyone not in possession of the
+exact location."
+
+"But, I say!" exclaimed Mr Bellmark. "Gold might remain gold, but what
+imaginable use could be made of bank-notes after the end of the world?"
+
+"That is a point of view, no doubt. But Metrobe, in spite of his foreign
+name, was a thorough Englishman. The world might come to an end, but he
+was satisfied that somehow the Bank of England would ride through it all
+right. I only suggest that. There is much that we can only guess."
+
+"That is all there is to know, Mr Carrados?"
+
+"Yes. Everything comes to an end, Mrs Bellmark. I sent my car away to
+call for me at eight. Eight has struck. That is Harris announcing his
+arrival."
+
+He stood up, but embarrassment and indecision marked the looks and
+movements of the other two.
+
+"How can we possibly take all this money, though?" murmured Elsie, in
+painful uncertainty. "It is entirely your undertaking, Mr Carrados. It
+is the merest fiction bringing me into it at all."
+
+"Perhaps in the circumstances," suggested Bellmark nervously--"you
+remember the circumstances, Elsie?--Mr Carrados would be willing to
+regard it as a loan----"
+
+"No, no!" cried Elsie impulsively. "There must be no half measures. We
+know that a thousand pounds would be nothing to Mr Carrados, and he
+knows that a thousand pounds are everything to us." Her voice reminded
+the blind man of the candle-snuffing recital. "We will take this great
+gift, Mr Carrados, quite freely, and we will not spoil the generous
+satisfaction that you must have in doing a wonderful and a splendid
+service by trying to hedge our obligation."
+
+"But what can we ever do to thank Mr Carrados?" faltered Bellmark
+mundanely.
+
+"Nothing," said Elsie simply. "That is it."
+
+"But I think that Mrs Bellmark has quite solved that," interposed
+Carrados.
+
+
+
+
+THE GAME PLAYED IN THE DARK
+
+
+"It's a funny thing, sir," said Inspector Beedel, regarding Mr Carrados
+with the pensive respect that he always extended towards the blind
+amateur, "it's a funny thing, but nothing seems to go on abroad now but
+what you'll find some trace of it here in London if you take the trouble
+to look."
+
+"In the right quarter," contributed Carrados.
+
+"Why, yes," agreed the inspector. "But nothing comes of it nine times
+out of ten, because it's no one's particular business to look here or
+the thing's been taken up and finished from the other end. I don't mean
+ordinary murders or single-handed burglaries, of course, but"--a modest
+ring of professional pride betrayed the quiet enthusiast--"real
+First-Class Crimes."
+
+"The State Antonio Five per cent. Bond Coupons?" suggested Carrados.
+
+"Ah, you are right, Mr Carrados." Beedel shook his head sadly, as though
+perhaps on that occasion someone ought to have looked. "A man has a fit
+in the inquiry office of the Agent-General for British Equatoria, and
+two hundred and fifty thousand pounds' worth of faked securities is the
+result in Mexico. Then look at that jade fylfot charm pawned for
+one-and-three down at the Basin and the use that could have been made
+of it in the Kharkov 'ritual murder' trial."
+
+"The West Hampstead Lost Memory puzzle and the Baripur bomb conspiracy
+that might have been smothered if one had known."
+
+"Quite true, sir. And the three children of that Chicago
+millionaire--Cyrus V. Bunting, wasn't it?--kidnapped in broad daylight
+outside the New York Lyric and here, three weeks later, the dumb girl
+who chalked the wall at Charing Cross. I remember reading once in a
+financial article that every piece of foreign gold had a string from it
+leading to Threadneedle Street. A figure of speech, sir, of course, but
+apt enough, I don't doubt. Well, it seems to me that every big crime
+done abroad leaves a finger-print here in London--if only, as you say,
+we look in the right quarter."
+
+"And at the right moment," added Carrados. "The time is often the
+present; the place the spot beneath our very noses. We take a step and
+the chance has gone for ever."
+
+The inspector nodded and contributed a weighty monosyllable of
+sympathetic agreement. The most prosaic of men in the pursuit of his
+ordinary duties, it nevertheless subtly appealed to some half-dormant
+streak of vanity to have his profession taken romantically when there
+was no serious work on hand.
+
+"No; perhaps not 'for ever' in one case in a thousand, after all,"
+amended the blind man thoughtfully. "This perpetual duel between the Law
+and the Criminal has sometimes appeared to me in the terms of a game of
+cricket, inspector. Law is in the field; the Criminal at the wicket. If
+Law makes a mistake--sends down a loose ball or drops a catch--the
+Criminal scores a little or has another lease of life. But if _he_ makes
+a mistake--if he lets a straight ball pass or spoons towards a steady
+man--he is done for. His mistakes are fatal; those of the Law are only
+temporary and retrievable."
+
+"Very good, sir," said Mr Beedel, rising--the conversation had taken
+place in the study at The Turrets, where Beedel had found occasion to
+present himself--"very apt indeed. I must remember that. Well, sir, I
+only hope that this 'Guido the Razor' lot will send a catch in our
+direction."
+
+The 'this' delicately marked Inspector Beedel's instinctive contempt for
+Guido. As a craftsman he was compelled, on his reputation, to respect
+him, and he had accordingly availed himself of Carrados's friendship for
+a confabulation. As a man--he was a foreigner: worse, an Italian, and if
+left to his own resources the inspector would have opposed to his
+sinuous flexibility those rigid, essentially Britannia-metal, methods of
+the Force that strike the impartial observer as so ponderous, so
+amateurish and conventional, and, it must be admitted, often so
+curiously and inexplicably successful.
+
+The offence that had circuitously brought "il Rasojo" and his "lot"
+within the cognizance of Scotland Yard outlines the kind of story that
+is discreetly hinted at by the society paragraphist of the day,
+politely disbelieved by the astute reader, and then at last laid
+indiscreetly bare in all its details by the inevitable princessly
+"Recollections" of a generation later. It centred round an impending
+royal marriage in Vienna, a certain jealous "Countess X." (here you have
+the discretion of the paragrapher), and a document or two that might be
+relied upon (the aristocratic biographer will impartially sum up the
+contingencies) to play the deuce with the approaching nuptials. To
+procure the evidence of these papers the Countess enlisted the services
+of Guido, as reliable a scoundrel as she could probably have selected
+for the commission. To a certain point--to the abstraction of the
+papers, in fact--he succeeded, but it was with pursuit close upon his
+heels. There was that disadvantage in employing a rogue to do work that
+implicated roguery, for whatever moral right the Countess had to the
+property, her accomplice had no legal right whatever to his liberty. On
+half-a-dozen charges at least he could be arrested on sight in as many
+capitals of Europe. He slipped out of Vienna by the Nordbahn with his
+destination known, resourcefully stopped the express outside Czaslau and
+got away across to Chrudim. By this time the game and the moves were
+pretty well understood in more than one keenly interested quarter.
+Diplomacy supplemented justice and the immediate history of Guido became
+that of a fox hunted from covert to covert with all the familiar earths
+stopped against him. From Pardubitz he passed on to Glatz, reached
+Breslau and went down the Oder to Stettin. Out of the liberality of his
+employer's advances he had ample funds to keep going, and he dropped and
+rejoined his accomplices as the occasion ruled. A week's harrying found
+him in Copenhagen, still with no time to spare, and he missed his
+purpose there. He crossed to Malmo by ferry, took the connecting night
+train to Stockholm and the same morning sailed down the Saltsjon,
+ostensibly bound for Obo, intending to cross to Revel and so get back to
+central Europe by the less frequented routes. But in this move again
+luck was against him and receiving warning just in time, and by the
+mysterious agency that had so far protected him, he contrived to be
+dropped from the steamer by boat among the islands of the crowded
+Archipelago, made his way to Helsingfors and within forty-eight hours
+was back again on the Frihavnen with pursuit for the moment blinked and
+a breathing-time to the good.
+
+To appreciate the exact significance of these wanderings it is necessary
+to recall the conditions. Guido was not zigzagging a course about Europe
+in an aimless search for the picturesque, still less inspired by any
+love of the melodramatic. To him every step was vital, each tangent or
+rebound the necessary outcome of his much-badgered plans. In his pocket
+reposed the papers for which he had run grave risks. The price agreed
+upon for the service was sufficiently lavish to make the risks worth
+taking time after time; but in order to consummate the transaction it
+was necessary that the booty should be put into his employer's hand.
+Half-way across Europe that employer was waiting with such patience as
+she could maintain, herself watched and shadowed at every step. The
+Countess X. was sufficiently exalted to be personally immune from the
+high-handed methods of her country's secret service, but every approach
+to her was tapped. The problem was for Guido to earn a long enough
+respite to enable him to communicate his position to the Countess and
+for her to go or to reach him by a trusty hand. Then the whole fabric of
+intrigue could fall to pieces, but so far Guido had been kept
+successfully on the run and in the meanwhile time was pressing.
+
+"They lost him after the _Hutola_," Beedel reported, in explaining the
+circumstances to Max Carrados. "Three days later they found that he'd
+been back again in Copenhagen but by that time he'd flown. Now they're
+without a trace except the inference of these 'Orange peach blossom'
+agonies in _The Times_. But the Countess has gone hurriedly to Paris;
+and Lafayard thinks it all points to London."
+
+"I suppose the Foreign Office is anxious to oblige just now?"
+
+"I expect so, sir," agreed Beedel, "but, of course, my instructions
+don't come from that quarter. What appeals to _us_ is that it would be a
+feather in our caps--they're still a little sore up at the Yard about
+Hans the Piper."
+
+"Naturally," assented Carrados. "Well, I'll see what I can do if there
+is real occasion. Let me know anything, and, if you see your chance
+yourself, come round for a talk if you like on--to-day's Wednesday?--I
+shall be in at any rate on Friday evening."
+
+Without being a precisian, the blind man was usually exact in such
+matters. There are those who hold that an engagement must be kept at all
+hazard: men who would miss a death-bed message in order to keep literal
+faith with a beggar. Carrados took lower, if more substantial, ground.
+"My word," he sometimes had occasion to remark, "is subject to
+contingencies, like everything else about me. If I make a promise it is
+conditional on nothing which seems more important arising to counteract
+it. That, among men of sense, is understood." And, as it happened,
+something did occur on this occasion.
+
+He was summoned to the telephone just before dinner on Friday evening to
+receive a message personally. Greatorex, his secretary, had taken the
+call, but came in to say that the caller would give him nothing beyond
+his name--Brebner. The name was unknown to Carrados, but such incidents
+were not uncommon, and he proceeded to comply.
+
+"Yes," he responded; "I am Max Carrados speaking. What is it?"
+
+"Oh, it is you, sir, is it? Mr Brickwill told me to get to you direct."
+
+"Well, you are all right. Brickwill? Are you the British Museum?"
+
+"Yes. I am Brebner in the Chaldean Art Department. They are in a great
+stew here. We have just found out that someone has managed to get access
+to the Second Inner Greek Room and looted some of the cabinets there. It
+is all a mystery as yet."
+
+"What is missing?" asked Carrados.
+
+"So far we can only definitely speak of about six trays of Greek
+coins--a hundred to a hundred and twenty, roughly."
+
+"Important?"
+
+The line conveyed a caustic bark of tragic amusement.
+
+"Why, yes, I should say so. The beggar seems to have known his business.
+All fine specimens of the best period. Syracuse--Messana--Croton--
+Amphipolis. Eumenes--Evainetos--Kimons. The chief quite wept."
+
+Carrados groaned. There was not a piece among them that he had not
+handled lovingly.
+
+"What are you doing?" he demanded.
+
+"Mr Brickwill has been to Scotland Yard, and, on advice, we are not
+making it public as yet. We don't want a hint of it to be dropped
+anywhere, if you don't mind, sir."
+
+"That will be all right."
+
+"It was for that reason that I was to speak with you personally. We are
+notifying the chief dealers and likely collectors to whom the coins, or
+some of them, may be offered at once if it is thought that we haven't
+found it out yet. Judging from the expertness displayed in the
+selection, we don't think that there is any danger of the lot being
+sold to a pawnbroker or a metal-dealer, so that we are running very
+little real risk in not advertising the loss."
+
+"Yes; probably it is as well," replied Carrados. "Is there anything that
+Mr Brickwill wishes me to do?"
+
+"Only this, sir; if you are offered a suspicious lot of Greek coins, or
+hear of them, would you have a look--I mean ascertain whether they are
+likely to be ours, and if you think they are communicate with us and
+Scotland Yard at once."
+
+"Certainly," replied the blind man. "Tell Mr Brickwill that he can rely
+on me if any indication comes my way. Convey my regrets to him and tell
+him that I feel the loss quite as a personal one.... I don't think that
+you and I have met as yet, Mr Brebner?"
+
+"No, sir," said the voice diffidently, "but I have looked forward to the
+pleasure. Perhaps this unfortunate business will bring me an
+introduction."
+
+"You are very kind," was Carrados's acknowledgment of the compliment.
+"Any time ... I was going to say that perhaps you don't know my
+weakness, but I have spent many pleasant hours over your wonderful
+collection. That ensures the personal element. Good-bye."
+
+Carrados was really disturbed by the loss although his concern was
+tempered by the reflection that the coins would inevitably in the end
+find their way back to the Museum. That their restitution might involve
+ransom to the extent of several thousand pounds was the least poignant
+detail of the situation. The one harrowing thought was that the booty
+might, through stress or ignorance, find its way into the melting-pot.
+That dreadful contingency, remote but insistent, was enough to affect
+the appetite of the blind enthusiast.
+
+He was expecting Inspector Beedel, who would be full of his own case,
+but he could not altogether dismiss the aspects of possibility that
+Brebner's communication opened before his mind. He was still concerned
+with the chances of destruction and a very indifferent companion for
+Greatorex, who alone sat with him, when Parkinson presented himself.
+Dinner was over but Carrados had remained rather longer than his custom,
+smoking his mild Turkish cigarette in silence.
+
+"A lady wishes to see you, sir. She said you would not know her name,
+but that her business would interest you."
+
+The form of message was sufficiently unusual to take the attention of
+both men.
+
+"You don't know her, of course, Parkinson?" inquired his master.
+
+For just a second the immaculate Parkinson seemed tongue-tied. Then he
+delivered himself in his most ceremonial strain.
+
+"I regret to say that I cannot claim the advantage, sir," he replied.
+
+"Better let me tackle her, sir," suggested Greatorex with easy
+confidence. "It's probably a sub."
+
+The sportive offer was declined by a smile and a shake of the head.
+Carrados turned to his attendant.
+
+"I shall be in the study, Parkinson. Show her there in three minutes.
+You stay and have another cigarette, Greatorex. By that time she will
+either have gone or have interested me."
+
+In three minutes' time Parkinson threw open the study door.
+
+"The lady, sir," he announced.
+
+Could he have seen, Carrados would have received the impression of a
+plainly, almost dowdily, dressed young woman of buxom figure. She wore a
+light veil, but it was ineffective in concealing the unattraction of the
+face beneath. The features were swart and the upper lip darkened with
+the more than incipient moustache of the southern brunette. Worse
+remained, for a disfiguring rash had assailed patches of her skin. As
+she entered she swept the room and its occupant with a quiet but
+comprehensive survey.
+
+"Please take a chair, Madame. You wished to see me?"
+
+The ghost of a demure smile flickered about her mouth as she complied,
+and in that moment her face seemed less uncomely. Her eye lingered for a
+moment on a cabinet above the desk, and one might have noticed that her
+eye was very bright. Then she replied.
+
+"You are Signor Carrados, in--in the person?"
+
+Carrados made his smiling admission and changed his position a
+fraction--possibly to catch her curiously pitched voice the better.
+
+"The great collector of the antiquities?"
+
+"I do collect a little," he admitted guardedly.
+
+"You will forgive me, Signor, if my language is not altogether good.
+When I live at Naples with my mother we let boardings, chiefly to
+Inglish and Amerigans. I pick up the words, but since I marry and go to
+live in Calabria my Inglish has gone all red--no, no, you say, rusty.
+Yes, that is it; quite rusty."
+
+"It is excellent," said Carrados. "I am sure that we shall understand
+one another perfectly."
+
+The lady shot a penetrating glance but the blind man's expression was
+merely suave and courteous. Then she continued:
+
+"My husband is of name Ferraja--Michele Ferraja. We have a vineyard and
+a little property near Forenzana." She paused to examine the tips of her
+gloves for quite an appreciable moment. "Signor," she burst out, with
+some vehemence, "the laws of my country are not good at all."
+
+"From what I hear on all sides," said Carrados, "I am afraid that your
+country is not alone."
+
+"There is at Forenzana a poor labourer, Gian Verde of name," continued
+the visitor, dashing volubly into her narrative. "He is one day digging
+in the vineyard, the vineyard of my husband, when his spade strikes
+itself upon an obstruction. 'Aha,' says Gian, 'what have we here?' and
+he goes down upon his knees to see. It is an oil jar of red earth,
+Signor, such as was anciently used, and in it is filled with silver
+money.
+
+"Gian is poor but he is wise. Does he call upon the authorities? No, no;
+he understands that they are all corrupt. He carries what he has found
+to my husband for he knows him to be a man of great honour.
+
+"My husband also is of brief decision. His mind is made up. 'Gian,' he
+says, 'keep your mouth shut. This will be to your ultimate profit.' Gian
+understands, for he can trust my husband. He makes a sign of mutual
+implication. Then he goes back to the spade digging.
+
+"My husband understands a little of these things but not enough. We go
+to the collections of Messina and Naples and even Rome and there we see
+other pieces of silver money, similar, and learn that they are of great
+value. They are of different sizes but most would cover a lira and of
+the thickness of two. On the one side imagine the great head of a pagan
+deity; on the other--oh, so many things I cannot remember what." A
+gesture of circumferential despair indicated the hopeless variety of
+design.
+
+"A biga or quadriga of mules?" suggested Carrados. "An eagle carrying
+off a hare, a figure flying with a wreath, a trophy of arms? Some of
+those perhaps?"
+
+"_Si, si bene_," cried Madame Ferraja. "You understand, I perceive,
+Signor. We are very cautious, for on every side is extortion and an
+unjust law. See, it is even forbidden to take these things out of the
+country, yet if we try to dispose of them at home they will be seized
+and we punished, for they are _tesoro trovato_, what you call treasure
+troven and belonging to the State--these coins which the industry of
+Gian discovered and which had lain for so long in the ground of my
+husband's vineyard."
+
+"So you brought them to England?"
+
+"_Si_, Signor. It is spoken of as a land of justice and rich nobility
+who buy these things at the highest prices. Also my speaking a little of
+the language would serve us here."
+
+"I suppose you have the coins for disposal then? You can show them to
+me?"
+
+"My husband retains them. I will take you, but you must first give
+_parola d'onore_ of an English Signor not to betray us, or to speak of
+the circumstance to another."
+
+Carrados had already foreseen this eventuality and decided to accept it.
+Whether a promise exacted on the plea of treasure trove would bind him
+to respect the despoilers of the British Museum was a point for
+subsequent consideration. Prudence demanded that he should investigate
+the offer at once and to cavil over Madame Ferraja's conditions would be
+fatal to that object. If the coins were, as there seemed little reason
+to doubt, the proceeds of the robbery, a modest ransom might be the
+safest way of preserving irreplaceable treasures, and in that case
+Carrados could offer his services as the necessary intermediary.
+
+"I give you the promise you require, Madame," he accordingly declared.
+
+"It is sufficient," assented Madame. "I will now take you to the spot.
+It is necessary that you alone should accompany me, for my husband is so
+distraught in this country, where he understands not a word of what is
+spoken, that his poor spirit would cry 'We are surrounded!' if he saw
+two strangers approach the house. Oh, he is become most dreadful in his
+anxiety, my husband. Imagine only, he keeps on the fire a cauldron of
+molten lead and he would not hesitate to plunge into it this treasure
+and obliterate its existence if he imagined himself endangered."
+
+"So," speculated Carrados inwardly. "A likely precaution for a simple
+vine-grower of Calabria! Very well," he assented aloud, "I will go with
+you alone. Where is the place?"
+
+Madame Ferraja searched in the ancient purse that she discovered in her
+rusty handbag and produced a scrap of paper.
+
+"People do not understand sometimes my way of saying it," she explained.
+"_Sette_, Herringbone----"
+
+"May I----?" said Carrados, stretching out his hand. He took the paper
+and touched the writing with his finger-tips. "Oh yes, 7 Heronsbourne
+Place. That is on the edge of Heronsbourne Park, is it not?" He
+transferred the paper casually to his desk as he spoke and stood up.
+"How did you come, Madame Ferraja?"
+
+Madame Ferraja followed the careless action with a discreet smile that
+did not touch her voice.
+
+"By motor bus--first one then another, inquiring at every turning. Oh,
+but it was interminable," sighed the lady.
+
+"My driver is off for the evening--I did not expect to be going out--but
+I will 'phone up a taxi and it will be at the gate as soon as we are."
+He despatched the message and then, turning to the house telephone,
+switched on to Greatorex.
+
+"I'm just going round to Heronsbourne Park," he explained. "Don't stay,
+Greatorex, but if anyone calls expecting to see me, they can say that I
+don't anticipate being away more than an hour."
+
+Parkinson was hovering about the hall. With quite novel officiousness he
+pressed upon his master a succession of articles that were not required.
+Over this usually complacent attendant the unattractive features of
+Madame Ferraja appeared to exercise a stealthy fascination, for a dozen
+times the lady detected his eyes questioning her face and a dozen times
+he looked guiltily away again. But his incongruities could not delay for
+more than a few minutes the opening of the door.
+
+"I do not accompany you, sir?" he inquired, with the suggestion plainly
+tendered in his voice that it would be much better if he did.
+
+"Not this time, Parkinson."
+
+"Very well, sir. Is there any particular address to which we can
+telephone in case you are required, sir?"
+
+"Mr Greatorex has instructions."
+
+Parkinson stood aside, his resources exhausted. Madame Ferraja laughed a
+little mockingly as they walked down the drive.
+
+"Your man-servant thinks I may eat you, Signor Carrados," she declared
+vivaciously.
+
+Carrados, who held the key of his usually exact attendant's
+perturbation--for he himself had recognized in Madame Ferraja the
+angelic Nina Brun, of the Sicilian tetradrachm incident, from the moment
+she opened her mouth--admitted to himself the humour of her audacity.
+But it was not until half-an-hour later that enlightenment rewarded
+Parkinson. Inspector Beedel had just arrived and was speaking with
+Greatorex when the conscientious valet, who had been winnowing his
+memory in solitude, broke in upon them, more distressed than either had
+ever seen him in his life before, and with the breathless introduction:
+"It was the ears, sir! I have her ears at last!" poured out his tale of
+suspicion, recognition and his present fears.
+
+In the meanwhile the two objects of his concern had reached the gate as
+the summoned taxicab drew up.
+
+"Seven Heronsbourne Place," called Carrados to the driver.
+
+"No, no," interposed the lady, with decision, "let him stop at the
+beginning of the street. It is not far to walk. My husband would be on
+the verge of distraction if he thought in the dark that it was the
+arrival of the police;--who knows?"
+
+"Brackedge Road, opposite the end of Heronsbourne Place," amended
+Carrados.
+
+Heronsbourne Place had the reputation, among those who were curious in
+such matters, of being the most reclusive residential spot inside the
+four-mile circle. To earn that distinction it was, needless to say, a
+cul-de-sac. It bounded one side of Heronsbourne Park but did not at any
+point of its length give access to that pleasance. It was entirely
+devoted to unostentatious little houses, something between the villa and
+the cottage, some detached and some in pairs, but all possessing the
+endowment of larger, more umbrageous gardens than can generally be
+secured within the radius. The local house agent described them as
+"delightfully old-world" or "completely modernized" according to the
+requirement of the applicant.
+
+The cab was dismissed at the corner and Madame Ferraja guided her
+companion along the silent and deserted way. She had begun to talk with
+renewed animation, but her ceaseless chatter only served to emphasize to
+Carrados the one fact that it was contrived to disguise.
+
+"I am not causing you to miss the house with looking after me--No. 7,
+Madame Ferraja?" he interposed.
+
+"No, certainly," she replied readily. "It is a little farther. The
+numbers are from the other end. But we are there. _Ecco!_"
+
+She stopped at a gate and opened it, still guiding him. They passed into
+a garden, moist and sweet-scented with the distillate odours of a dewy
+evening. As she turned to relatch the gate the blind man endeavoured
+politely to anticipate her. Between them his hat fell to the ground.
+
+"My clumsiness," he apologized, recovering it from the step. "My old
+impulses and my present helplessness, alas, Madame Ferraja!"
+
+"One learns prudence by experience," said Madame sagely. She was
+scarcely to know, poor lady, that even as she uttered this trite
+aphorism, under cover of darkness and his hat, Mr Carrados had just
+ruined his signet ring by blazoning a golden "7" upon her garden step to
+establish its identity if need be. A cul-de-sac that numbered from the
+closed end seemed to demand some investigation.
+
+"Seldom," he replied to her remark. "One goes on taking risks. So we are
+there?"
+
+Madame Ferraja had opened the front door with a latchkey. She dropped
+the latch and led Carrados forward along the narrow hall. The room they
+entered was at the back of the house, and from the position of the road
+it therefore overlooked the park. Again the door was locked behind them.
+
+"The celebrated Mr Carrados!" announced Madame Ferraja, with a sparkle
+of triumph in her voice. She waved her hand towards a lean, dark man who
+had stood beside the door as they entered. "My husband."
+
+"Beneath our poor roof in the most fraternal manner," commented the dark
+man, in the same derisive spirit. "But it is wonderful."
+
+"The even more celebrated Monsieur Dompierre, unless I am mistaken?"
+retorted Carrados blandly. "I bow on our first real meeting."
+
+"You knew!" exclaimed the Dompierre of the earlier incident
+incredulously. "Stoker, you were right and I owe you a hundred lire. Who
+recognized you, Nina?"
+
+"How should I know?" demanded the real Madame Dompierre crossly. "This
+blind man himself, by chance."
+
+"You pay a poor compliment to your charming wife's personality to
+imagine that one could forget her so soon," put in Carrados. "And you a
+Frenchman, Dompierre!"
+
+"You knew, Monsieur Carrados," reiterated Dompierre, "and yet you
+ventured here. You are either a fool or a hero."
+
+"An enthusiast--it is the same thing as both," interposed the lady.
+"What did I tell you? What did it matter if he recognized? You see?"
+
+"Surely you exaggerate, Monsieur Dompierre," contributed Carrados. "I
+may yet pay tribute to your industry. Perhaps I regret the circumstance
+and the necessity but I am here to make the best of it. Let me see the
+things Madame has spoken of, and then we can consider the detail of
+their price, either for myself or on behalf of others."
+
+There was no immediate reply. From Dompierre came a saturnine chuckle
+and from Madame Dompierre a titter that accompanied a grimace. For one
+of the rare occasions in his life Carrados found himself wholly out of
+touch with the atmosphere of the situation. Instinctively he turned his
+face towards the other occupant of the room, the man addressed as
+"Stoker," whom he knew to be standing near the window.
+
+"This unfortunate business _has_ brought me an introduction," said a
+familiar voice.
+
+For one dreadful moment the universe stood still round Carrados. Then,
+with the crash and grind of overwhelming mental tumult, the whole
+strategy revealed itself, like the sections of a gigantic puzzle falling
+into place before his eyes.
+
+There had been no robbery at the British Museum! That plausible
+concoction was as fictitious as the intentionally transparent tale of
+treasure trove. Carrados recognized now how ineffective the one device
+would have been without the other in drawing him--how convincing the two
+together--and while smarting at the humiliation of his plight he could
+not restrain a dash of admiration at the ingenuity--the accurately
+conjectured line of inference--of the plot. It was again the familiar
+artifice of the cunning pitfall masked by the clumsily contrived trap
+just beyond it. And straightway into it he had blundered!
+
+"And this," continued the same voice, "is Carrados, Max Carrados, upon
+whose perspicuity a government--only the present government, let me in
+justice say--depends to outwit the undesirable alien! My country; O my
+country!"
+
+"Is it really Monsieur Carrados?" inquired Dompierre in polite sarcasm.
+"Are you sure, Nina, that you have not brought a man from Scotland Yard
+instead?"
+
+"_Basta!_ he is here; what more do you want? Do not mock the poor
+sightless gentleman," answered Madame Dompierre, in doubtful sympathy.
+
+"That is exactly what I was wondering," ventured Carrados mildly. "I am
+here--what more do you want? Perhaps you, Mr Stoker----?"
+
+"Excuse me. 'Stoker' is a mere colloquial appellation based on a
+trifling incident of my career in connection with a disabled liner. The
+title illustrates the childish weakness of the criminal classes for
+nicknames, together with their pitiable baldness of invention. My real
+name is Montmorency, Mr Carrados--Eustace Montmorency."
+
+"Thank you, Mr Montmorency," said Carrados gravely. "We are on opposite
+sides of the table here to-night, but I should be proud to have been
+with you in the stokehold of the _Benvenuto_."
+
+"That was pleasure," muttered the Englishman. "This is business."
+
+"Oh, quite so," agreed Carrados. "So far I am not exactly complaining.
+But I think it is high time to be told--and I address myself to
+you--why I have been decoyed here and what your purpose is."
+
+Mr Montmorency turned to his accomplice.
+
+"Dompierre," he remarked, with great clearness, "why the devil is Mr
+Carrados kept standing?"
+
+"Ah, oh, heaven!" exclaimed Madame Dompierre with tragic resignation,
+and flung herself down on a couch.
+
+"_Scusi_," grinned the lean man, and with burlesque grace he placed a
+chair for their guest's acceptance.
+
+"Your curiosity is natural," continued Mr Montmorency, with a cold eye
+towards Dompierre's antics, "although I really think that by this time
+you ought to have guessed the truth. In fact, I don't doubt that you
+have guessed, Mr Carrados, and that you are only endeavouring to gain
+time. For that reason--because it will perhaps convince you that we have
+nothing to fear--I don't mind obliging you."
+
+"Better hasten," murmured Dompierre uneasily.
+
+"Thank you, Bill," said the Englishman, with genial effrontery. "I won't
+fail to report your intelligence to the Rasojo. Yes, Mr Carrados, as you
+have already conjectured, it is the affair of the Countess X. to which
+you owe this inconvenience. You will appreciate the compliment that
+underlies your temporary seclusion, I am sure. When circumstances
+favoured our plans and London became the inevitable place of meeting,
+you and you alone stood in the way. We guessed that you would be
+consulted and we frankly feared your intervention. You were consulted.
+We know that Inspector Beedel visited you two days ago and he has no
+other case in hand. Your quiescence for just three days had to be
+obtained at any cost. So here you are."
+
+"I see," assented Carrados. "And having got me here, how do you propose
+to keep me?"
+
+"Of course that detail has received consideration. In fact we secured
+this furnished house solely with that in view. There are three courses
+before us. The first, quite pleasant, hangs on your acquiescence. The
+second, more drastic, comes into operation if you decline. The
+third--but really, Mr Carrados, I hope you won't oblige me even to
+discuss the third. You will understand that it is rather objectionable
+for me to contemplate the necessity of two able-bodied men having to use
+even the smallest amount of physical compulsion towards one who is blind
+and helpless. I hope you will be reasonable and accept the inevitable."
+
+"The inevitable is the one thing that I invariably accept," replied
+Carrados. "What does it involve?"
+
+"You will write a note to your secretary explaining that what you have
+learned at 7 Heronsbourne Place makes it necessary for you to go
+immediately abroad for a few days. By the way, Mr Carrados, although
+this is Heronsbourne Place it is _not_ No. 7."
+
+"Dear, dear me," sighed the prisoner. "You seem to have had me at every
+turn, Mr Montmorency."
+
+"An obvious precaution. The wider course of giving you a different
+street altogether we rejected as being too risky in getting you here.
+To continue: To give conviction to the message you will direct your man
+Parkinson to follow by the first boat-train to-morrow, with all the
+requirements for a short stay, and put up at Mascot's, as usual,
+awaiting your arrival there."
+
+"Very convincing," agreed Carrados. "Where shall I be in reality?"
+
+"In a charming though rather isolated bungalow on the south coast. Your
+wants will be attended to. There is a boat. You can row or fish. You
+will be run down by motor car and brought back to your own gate. It's
+really very pleasant for a few days. I've often stayed there myself."
+
+"Your recommendation carries weight. Suppose, for the sake of curiosity,
+that I decline?"
+
+"You will still go there but your treatment will be commensurate with
+your behaviour. The car to take you is at this moment waiting in a
+convenient spot on the other side of the park. We shall go down the
+garden at the back, cross the park, and put you into the car--anyway."
+
+"And if I resist?"
+
+The man whose pleasantry it had been to call himself Eustace Montmorency
+shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Don't be a fool," he said tolerantly. "You know who you are dealing
+with and the kind of risks we run. If you call out or endanger us at a
+critical point we shall not hesitate to silence you effectively."
+
+The blind man knew that it was no idle threat. In spite of the cloak of
+humour and fantasy thrown over the proceedings, he was in the power of
+coolly desperate men. The window was curtained and shuttered against
+sight and sound, the door behind him locked. Possibly at that moment a
+revolver threatened him; certainly weapons lay within reach of both his
+keepers.
+
+"Tell me what to write," he asked, with capitulation in his voice.
+
+Dompierre twirled his mustachios in relieved approval. Madame laughed
+from her place on the couch and picked up a book, watching Montmorency
+over the cover of its pages. As for that gentleman, he masked his
+satisfaction by the practical business of placing on the table before
+Carrados the accessories of the letter.
+
+"Put into your own words the message that I outlined just now."
+
+"Perhaps to make it altogether natural I had better write on a page of
+the notebook that I always use," suggested Carrados.
+
+"Do you wish to make it natural?" demanded Montmorency, with latent
+suspicion.
+
+"If the miscarriage of your plan is to result in my head being
+knocked--yes, I do," was the reply.
+
+"Good!" chuckled Dompierre, and sought to avoid Mr Montmorency's cold
+glance by turning on the electric table-lamp for the blind man's
+benefit. Madame Dompierre laughed shrilly.
+
+"Thank you, Monsieur," said Carrados, "you have done quite right. What
+is light to you is warmth to me--heat, energy, inspiration. Now to
+business."
+
+He took out the pocket-book he had spoken of and leisurely proceeded to
+flatten it down upon the table before him. As his tranquil, pleasant
+eyes ranged the room meanwhile it was hard to believe that the shutters
+of an impenetrable darkness lay between them and the world. They rested
+for a moment on the two accomplices who stood beyond the table, picked
+out Madame Dompierre lolling on the sofa on his right, and measured the
+proportions of the long, narrow room. They seemed to note the positions
+of the window at the one end and the door almost at the other, and even
+to take into account the single pendent electric light which up till
+then had been the sole illuminant.
+
+"You prefer pencil?" asked Montmorency.
+
+"I generally use it for casual purposes. But not," he added, touching
+the point critically, "like this."
+
+Alert for any sign of retaliation, they watched him take an
+insignificant penknife from his pocket and begin to trim the pencil. Was
+there in his mind any mad impulse to force conclusions with that puny
+weapon? Dompierre worked his face into a fiercer expression and touched
+reassuringly the handle of his knife. Montmorency looked on for a
+moment, then, whistling softly to himself, turned his back on the table
+and strolled towards the window, avoiding Madame Nina's pursuant eye.
+
+Then, with overwhelming suddenness, it came, and in its form altogether
+unexpected.
+
+Carrados had been putting the last strokes to the pencil, whittling it
+down upon the table. There had been no hasty movement, no violent act to
+give them warning; only the little blade had pushed itself nearer and
+nearer to the electric light cord lying there ... and suddenly and
+instantly the room was plunged into absolute darkness.
+
+"To the door, Dom!" shouted Montmorency in a flash. "I am at the window.
+Don't let him pass and we are all right."
+
+"I am here," responded Dompierre from the door.
+
+"He will not attempt to pass," came the quiet voice of Carrados from
+across the room. "You are now all exactly where I want you. You are both
+covered. If either moves an inch, I fire--and remember that I shoot by
+sound, not sight."
+
+"But--but what does it mean?" stammered Montmorency, above the
+despairing wail of Madame Dompierre.
+
+"It means that we are now on equal terms--three blind men in a dark
+room. The numerical advantage that you possess is counterbalanced by the
+fact that you are out of your element--I am in mine."
+
+"Dom," whispered Montmorency across the dark space, "strike a match. I
+have none."
+
+"I would not, Dompierre, if I were you," advised Carrados, with a short
+laugh. "It might be dangerous." At once his voice seemed to leap into a
+passion. "Drop that matchbox," he cried. "You are standing on the brink
+of your grave, you fool! Drop it, I say; let me hear it fall."
+
+A breath of thought--almost too short to call a pause--then a little
+thud of surrender sounded from the carpet by the door. The two
+conspirators seemed to hold their breath.
+
+"That is right." The placid voice once more resumed its sway. "Why
+cannot things be agreeable? I hate to have to shout, but you seem far
+from grasping the situation yet. Remember that I do not take the
+slightest risk. Also please remember, Mr Montmorency, that the action
+even of a hair-trigger automatic scrapes slightly as it comes up. I
+remind you of that for your own good, because if you are so ill-advised
+as to think of trying to pot me in the dark, that noise gives me a fifth
+of a second start of you. Do you by any chance know Zinghi's in Mercer
+Street?"
+
+"The shooting gallery?" asked Mr Montmorency a little sulkily.
+
+"The same. If you happen to come through this alive and are interested
+you might ask Zinghi to show you a target of mine that he keeps. Seven
+shots at twenty yards, the target indicated by four watches, none of
+them so loud as the one you are wearing. He keeps it as a curiosity."
+
+"I wear no watch," muttered Dompierre, expressing his thought aloud.
+
+"No, Monsieur Dompierre, but you wear a heart, and that not on your
+sleeve," said Carrados. "Just now it is quite as loud as Mr
+Montmorency's watch. It is more central too--I shall not have to allow
+any margin. That is right; breathe naturally"--for the unhappy Dompierre
+had given a gasp of apprehension. "It does not make any difference to
+me, and after a time holding one's breath becomes really painful."
+
+"Monsieur," declared Dompierre earnestly, "there was no intention of
+submitting you to injury, I swear. This Englishman did but speak within
+his hat. At the most extreme you would have been but bound and gagged.
+Take care: killing is a dangerous game."
+
+"For you--not for me," was the bland rejoinder. "If you kill me you will
+be hanged for it. If I kill you I shall be honourably acquitted. You can
+imagine the scene--the sympathetic court--the recital of your
+villainies--the story of my indignities. Then with stumbling feet and
+groping hands the helpless blind man is led forward to give evidence.
+Sensation! No, no, it isn't really fair but I can kill you both with
+absolute certainty and Providence will be saddled with all the
+responsibility. Please don't fidget with your feet, Monsieur Dompierre.
+I know that you aren't moving but one is liable to make mistakes."
+
+"Before I die," said Montmorency--and for some reason laughed
+unconvincingly in the dark--"before I die, Mr Carrados, I should really
+like to know what has happened to the light. That, surely, isn't
+Providence?"
+
+"Would it be ungenerous to suggest that you are trying to gain time? You
+ought to know what has happened. But as it may satisfy you that I have
+nothing to fear from delay, I don't mind telling you. In my hand was a
+sharp knife--contemptible, you were satisfied, as a weapon; beneath my
+nose the 'flex' of the electric lamp. It was only necessary for me to
+draw the one across the other and the system was short-circuited. Every
+lamp on that fuse is cut off and in the distributing-box in the hall you
+will find a burned-out wire. You, perhaps--but Monsieur Dompierre's
+experience in plating ought to have put him up to simple electricity."
+
+"How did you know that there is a distributing-box in the hall?" asked
+Dompierre, with dull resentment.
+
+"My dear Dompierre, why beat the air with futile questions?" replied Max
+Carrados. "What does it matter? Have it in the cellar if you like."
+
+"True," interposed Montmorency. "The only thing that need concern us
+now----"
+
+"But it is in the hall--nine feet high," muttered Dompierre in
+bitterness. "Yet he, this blind man----"
+
+"The only thing that need concern us," repeated the Englishman, severely
+ignoring the interruption, "is what you intend doing in the end, Mr
+Carrados?"
+
+"The end is a little difficult to foresee," was the admission. "So far,
+I am all for maintaining the _status quo_. Will the first grey light of
+morning find us still in this impasse? No, for between us we have
+condemned the room to eternal darkness. Probably about daybreak
+Dompierre will drop off to sleep and roll against the door. I,
+unfortunately mistaking his intention, will send a bullet through----
+Pardon, Madame, I should have remembered--but pray don't move."
+
+"I protest, Monsieur----"
+
+"Don't protest; just sit still. Very likely it will be Mr Montmorency
+who will fall off to sleep the first after all."
+
+"Then we will anticipate that difficulty," said the one in question,
+speaking with renewed decision. "We will play the last hand with our
+cards upon the table if you like. Nina, Mr Carrados will not injure you
+whatever happens--be sure of that. When the moment comes you will
+rise----"
+
+"One word," put in Carrados with determination. "My position is
+precarious and I take no risks. As you say, I cannot injure Madame
+Dompierre, and you two men are therefore my hostages for her good
+behaviour. If she rises from the couch you, Dompierre, fall. If she
+advances another step Mr Montmorency follows you."
+
+"Do nothing rash, _carissima_," urged her husband, with passionate
+solicitude. "You might get hit in place of me. We will yet find a better
+way."
+
+"You dare not, Mr Carrados!" flung out Montmorency, for the first time
+beginning to show signs of wear in this duel of the temper. "He dare
+not, Dompierre. In cold blood and unprovoked! No jury would acquit you!"
+
+"Another who fails to do you justice, Madame Nina," said the blind man,
+with ironic gallantry. "The action might be a little high-handed, one
+admits, but when you, appropriately clothed and in your right
+complexion, stepped into the witness-box and I said: 'Gentlemen of the
+jury, what is my crime? That I made Madame Dompierre a widow!' can you
+doubt their gratitude and my acquittal? Truly my countrymen are not
+all bats or monks, Madame." Dompierre was breathing with perfect freedom
+now, while from the couch came the sounds of stifled emotion, but
+whether the lady was involved in a paroxysm of sobs or of laughter it
+might be difficult to swear.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was perhaps an hour after the flourish of the introduction with which
+Madame Dompierre had closed the door of the trap upon the blind man's
+entrance.
+
+The minutes had passed but the situation remained unchanged, though the
+ingenuity of certainly two of the occupants of the room had been
+tormented into shreds to discover a means of turning it to their
+advantage. So far the terrible omniscience of the blind man in the dark
+and the respect for his markmanship with which his coolness had inspired
+them, dominated the group. But one strong card yet remained to be
+played, and at last the moment came upon which the conspirators had
+pinned their despairing hopes.
+
+There was the sound of movement in the hall outside, not the first about
+the house, but towards the new complication Carrados had been strangely
+unobservant. True, Montmorency had talked rather loudly, to carry over
+the dangerous moments. But now there came an unmistakable step and to
+the accomplices it could only mean one thing. Montmorency was ready on
+the instant.
+
+"Down, Dom!" he cried, "throw yourself down! Break in, Guido. Break in
+the door. We are held up!"
+
+There was an immediate response. The door, under the pressure of a human
+battering-ram, burst open with a crash. On the threshold the
+intruders--four or five in number--stopped starkly for a moment, held in
+astonishment by the extraordinary scene that the light from the hall,
+and of their own bull's-eyes, revealed.
+
+Flat on their faces, to present the least possible surface to Carrados's
+aim, Dompierre and Montmorency lay extended beside the window and behind
+the door. On the couch, with her head buried beneath the cushions,
+Madame Dompierre sought to shut out the sight and sound of violence.
+Carrados--Carrados had not moved, but with arms resting on the table and
+fingers placidly locked together he smiled benignly on the new arrivals.
+His attitude, compared with the extravagance of those around him, gave
+the impression of a complacent modern deity presiding over some
+grotesque ceremonial of pagan worship.
+
+"So, Inspector, you could not wait for me, after all?" was his greeting.
+
+
+
+
+THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITED, EDINBURGH
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
+
+Minor punctuation errors have been repaired. An inconsistency
+in the spelling of Messina/Messana (pages 269 and 274) has been
+retained.
+
+The following amendments have been made:
+
+    Page 250--Carados amended to Carrados--""True," agreed
+    Carrados."
+    Page 251--urning amended to turning--"They walked through the
+    house, and turning to the right ..."
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Max Carrados, by Ernest Bramah
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Max Carrados, by Ernest Bramah
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+Title: Max Carrados
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+Author: Ernest Bramah
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+
+<h1><a name="MAX_CARRADOS" id="MAX_CARRADOS">MAX CARRADOS</a></h1>
+<h2>By Ernest Bramah</h2>
+<h3 class="padtop">Methuen &amp; Co., Ltd.</h3>
+<h3>1914</h3>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2>
+<p class="toc_chapter"><span class="smcap"><a href=
+"#THE_COIN_OF_DIONYSIUS">The Coin of Dionysius</a></span></p>
+<p class="toc_chapter"><span class="smcap"><a href=
+"#THE_KNIGHT8217S_CROSS_SIGNAL_PROBLEM">The Knight&rsquo;s Cross
+Signal Problem</a></span></p>
+<p class="toc_chapter"><span class="smcap"><a href=
+"#THE_TRAGEDY_AT_BROOKBEND_COTTAGE">The Tragedy at Brookbend
+Cottage</a></span></p>
+<p class="toc_chapter"><span class="smcap"><a href=
+"#THE_CLEVER_MRS_STRAITHWAITE">The Clever Mrs
+Straithwaite</a></span></p>
+<p class="toc_chapter"><span class="smcap"><a href=
+"#THE_LAST_EXPLOIT_OF_HARRY_THE_ACTOR">The Last Exploit of Harry
+the Actor</a></span></p>
+<p class="toc_chapter"><span class="smcap"><a href=
+"#THE_TILLING_SHAW_MYSTERY">The Tilling Shaw Mystery</a></span></p>
+<p class="toc_chapter"><span class="smcap"><a href=
+"#THE_COMEDY_AT_FOUNTAIN_COTTAGE">The Comedy at Fountain
+Cottage</a></span></p>
+<p class="toc_chapter"><span class="smcap"><a href=
+"#THE_COMEDY_AT_FOUNTAIN_COTTAGE">The Game played in the
+Dark</a></span></p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>MAX CARRADOS</h2>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="THE_COIN_OF_DIONYSIUS" id=
+"THE_COIN_OF_DIONYSIUS"></a>THE COIN OF DIONYSIUS</h2>
+<p>It was eight o&rsquo;clock at night and raining, scarcely a time
+when a business so limited in its clientele as that of a coin
+dealer could hope to attract any customer, but a light was still
+showing in the small shop that bore over its window the name of
+Baxter, and in the even smaller office at the back the proprietor
+himself sat reading the latest <i>Pall Mall</i>. His enterprise
+seemed to be justified, for presently the door bell gave its
+announcement, and throwing down his paper Mr Baxter went
+forward.</p>
+<p>As a matter of fact the dealer had been expecting someone and
+his manner as he passed into the shop was unmistakably suggestive
+of a caller of importance. But at the first glance towards his
+visitor the excess of deference melted out of his bearing, leaving
+the urbane, self-possessed shopman in the presence of the casual
+customer.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Baxter, I think?&rdquo; said the latter. He had laid
+aside his dripping umbrella and was unbuttoning overcoat and coat
+to reach an inner pocket. &ldquo;You hardly remember me, I suppose?
+Mr Carlyle&mdash;two years ago I took up a case for
+you&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To be sure. Mr Carlyle, the private
+detective&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Inquiry agent,&rdquo; corrected Mr Carlyle precisely.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; smiled Mr Baxter, &ldquo;for that matter I
+am a coin dealer and not an antiquarian or a numismatist. Is there
+anything in that way that I can do for you?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied his visitor; &ldquo;it is my turn to
+consult you.&rdquo; He had taken a small wash-leather bag from the
+inner pocket and now turned something carefully out upon the
+counter. &ldquo;What can you tell me about that?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The dealer gave the coin a moment&rsquo;s scrutiny.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is no question about this,&rdquo; he replied.
+&ldquo;It is a Sicilian tetradrachm of Dionysius.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, I know that&mdash;I have it on the label out of the
+cabinet. I can tell you further that it&rsquo;s supposed to be one
+that Lord Seastoke gave two hundred and fifty pounds for at the
+Brice sale in &lsquo;&lsquo;94.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It seems to me that you can tell me more about it than I
+can tell you,&rdquo; remarked Mr Baxter. &ldquo;What is it that you
+really want to know?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I want to know,&rdquo; replied Mr Carlyle, &ldquo;whether
+it is genuine or not.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Has any doubt been cast upon it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Certain circumstances raised a suspicion&mdash;that is
+all.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The dealer took another look at the tetradrachm through his
+magnifying glass, holding it by the edge with the careful touch of
+an expert. Then he shook his head slowly in a confession of
+ignorance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course I could make a guess&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, don&rsquo;t,&rdquo; interrupted Mr Carlyle hastily.
+&ldquo;An arrest hangs on it and nothing short of certainty is any
+good to me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is that so, Mr Carlyle?&rdquo; said Mr Baxter, with
+increased interest. &ldquo;Well, to be quite candid, the thing is
+out of my line. Now if it was a rare Saxon penny or a doubtful
+noble I&rsquo;d stake my reputation on my opinion, but I do very
+little in the classical series.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle did not attempt to conceal his disappointment as he
+returned the coin to the bag and replaced the bag in the inner
+pocket.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I had been relying on you,&rdquo; he grumbled
+reproachfully. &ldquo;Where on earth am I to go now?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is always the British Museum.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ah, to be sure, thanks. But will anyone who can tell me
+be there now?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now? No fear!&rdquo; replied Mr Baxter. &ldquo;Go round
+in the morning&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But I must know to-night,&rdquo; explained the visitor,
+reduced to despair again. &ldquo;To-morrow will be too late for the
+purpose.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Baxter did not hold out much encouragement in the
+circumstances.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You can scarcely expect to find anyone at business
+now,&rdquo; he remarked. &ldquo;I should have been gone these two
+hours myself only I happened to have an appointment with an
+American millionaire who fixed his own time.&rdquo; Something
+indistinguishable from a wink slid off Mr Baxter&rsquo;s right eye.
+&ldquo;Offmunson he&rsquo;s called, and a bright young
+pedigree-hunter has traced his descent from Offa, King of Mercia.
+So he&mdash;quite naturally&mdash;wants a set of Offas as a sort of
+collateral proof.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very interesting,&rdquo; murmured Mr Carlyle, fidgeting
+with his watch. &ldquo;I should love an hour&rsquo;s chat with you
+about your millionaire customers&mdash;some other time. Just
+now&mdash;look here, Baxter, can&rsquo;t you give me a line of
+introduction to some dealer in this sort of thing who happens to
+live in town? You must know dozens of experts.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, bless my soul, Mr Carlyle, I don&rsquo;t know a man
+of them away from his business,&rdquo; said Mr Baxter, staring.
+&ldquo;They may live in Park Lane or they may live in Petticoat
+Lane for all I know. Besides, there aren&rsquo;t so many experts as
+you seem to imagine. And the two best will very likely quarrel over
+it. You&rsquo;ve had to do with &lsquo;expert witnesses,&rsquo; I
+suppose?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want a witness; there will be no need to
+give evidence. All I want is an absolutely authoritative
+pronouncement that I can act on. Is there no one who can really say
+whether the thing is genuine or not?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Baxter&rsquo;s meaning silence became cynical in its
+implication as he continued to look at his visitor across the
+counter. Then he relaxed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Stay a bit; there is a man&mdash;an amateur&mdash;I
+remember hearing wonderful things about some time ago. They say he
+really does know.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There you are,&rdquo; exclaimed Mr Carlyle, much
+relieved. &ldquo;There always is someone. Who is he?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Funny name,&rdquo; replied Baxter. &ldquo;Something Wynn
+or Wynn something.&rdquo; He craned his neck to catch sight of an
+important motor car that was drawing to the kerb before his window.
+&ldquo;Wynn Carrados! You&rsquo;ll excuse me now, Mr Carlyle,
+won&rsquo;t you? This looks like Mr Offmunson.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle hastily scribbled the name down on his cuff.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Wynn Carrados, right. Where does he live?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Haven&rsquo;t the remotest idea,&rdquo; replied Baxter,
+referring the arrangement of his tie to the judgment of the wall
+mirror. &ldquo;I have never seen the man myself. Now, Mr Carlyle,
+I&rsquo;m sorry I can&rsquo;t do any more for you. You won&rsquo;t
+mind, will you?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle could not pretend to misunderstand. He enjoyed the
+distinction of holding open the door for the transatlantic
+representative of the line of Offa as he went out, and then made
+his way through the muddy streets back to his office. There was
+only one way of tracing a private individual at such short
+notice&mdash;through the pages of the directories, and the
+gentleman did not flatter himself by a very high estimate of his
+chances.</p>
+<p>Fortune favoured him, however. He very soon discovered a Wynn
+Carrados living at Richmond, and, better still, further search
+failed to unearth another. There was, apparently, only one
+householder at all events of that name in the neighbourhood of
+London. He jotted down the address and set out for Richmond.</p>
+<p>The house was some distance from the station, Mr Carlyle
+learned. He took a taxicab and drove, dismissing the vehicle at the
+gate. He prided himself on his power of observation and the
+accuracy of the deductions which resulted from it&mdash;a detail of
+his business. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s nothing more than using one&rsquo;s
+eyes and putting two and two together,&rdquo; he would modestly
+declare, when he wished to be deprecatory rather than impressive,
+and by the time he had reached the front door of &ldquo;The
+Turrets&rdquo; he had formed some opinion of the position and
+tastes of the man who lived there.</p>
+<p>A man-servant admitted Mr Carlyle and took in his card&mdash;his
+private card with the bare request for an interview that would not
+detain Mr Carrados for ten minutes. Luck still favoured him; Mr
+Carrados was at home and would see him at once. The servant, the
+hall through which they passed, and the room into which he was
+shown, all contributed something to the deductions which the
+quietly observant gentleman was half unconsciously recording.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Carlyle,&rdquo; announced the servant.</p>
+<p>The room was a library or study. The only occupant, a man of
+about Carlyle&rsquo;s own age, had been using a typewriter up to
+the moment of his visitor&rsquo;s entrance. He now turned and stood
+up with an expression of formal courtesy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very good of you to see me at this
+hour,&rdquo; apologized the caller.</p>
+<p>The conventional expression of Mr Carrados&rsquo;s face changed
+a little.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Surely my man has got your name wrong?&rdquo; he
+exclaimed. &ldquo;Isn&rsquo;t it Louis Calling?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The visitor stopped short and his agreeable smile gave place to
+a sudden flash of anger or annoyance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, sir,&rdquo; he replied stiffly. &ldquo;My name is on
+the card which you have before you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I beg your pardon,&rdquo; said Mr Carrados, with perfect
+good-humour. &ldquo;I hadn&rsquo;t seen it. But I used to know a
+Calling some years ago&mdash;at St Michael&rsquo;s.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;St Michael&rsquo;s!&rdquo; Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s features
+underwent another change, no less instant and sweeping than before.
+&ldquo;St Michael&rsquo;s! Wynn Carrados? Good heavens! it
+isn&rsquo;t Max Wynn&mdash;old &lsquo;Winning&rsquo;
+Wynn?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A little older and a little fatter&mdash;yes,&rdquo;
+replied Carrados. &ldquo;I <i>have</i> changed my name, you
+see.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Extraordinary thing meeting like this,&rdquo; said his
+visitor, dropping into a chair and staring hard at Mr Carrados.
+&ldquo;I have changed more than my name. How did you recognize
+me?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The voice,&rdquo; replied Carrados. &ldquo;It took me
+back to that little smoke-dried attic den of yours where
+we&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My God!&rdquo; exclaimed Carlyle bitterly,
+&ldquo;don&rsquo;t remind me of what we were going to do in those
+days.&rdquo; He looked round the well-furnished, handsome room and
+recalled the other signs of wealth that he had noticed. &ldquo;At
+all events, you seem fairly comfortable, Wynn.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am alternately envied and pitied,&rdquo; replied
+Carrados, with a placid tolerance of circumstance that seemed
+characteristic of him. &ldquo;Still, as you say, I am fairly
+comfortable.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Envied, I can understand. But why are you
+pitied?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Because I am blind,&rdquo; was the tranquil reply.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Blind!&rdquo; exclaimed Mr Carlyle, using his own eyes
+superlatively. &ldquo;Do you mean&mdash;literally blind?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Literally.... I was riding along a bridle-path through a
+wood about a dozen years ago with a friend. He was in front. At one
+point a twig sprang back&mdash;you know how easily a thing like
+that happens. It just flicked my eye&mdash;nothing to think twice
+about.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And that blinded you?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, ultimately. It&rsquo;s called amaurosis.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I can scarcely believe it. You seem so sure and
+self-reliant. Your eyes are full of expression&mdash;only a little
+quieter than they used to be. I believe you were typing when I
+came.... Aren&rsquo;t you having me?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You miss the dog and the stick?&rdquo; smiled Carrados.
+&ldquo;No; it&rsquo;s a fact.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What an awful infliction for you, Max. You were always
+such an impulsive, reckless sort of fellow&mdash;never quiet. You
+must miss such a fearful lot.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Has anyone else recognized you?&rdquo; asked Carrados
+quietly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ah, that was the voice, you said,&rdquo; replied
+Carlyle.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; but other people heard the voice as well. Only I had
+no blundering, self-confident eyes to be hoodwinked.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a rum way of putting it,&rdquo; said
+Carlyle. &ldquo;Are your ears never hoodwinked, may I
+ask?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not now. Nor my fingers. Nor any of my other senses that
+have to look out for themselves.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, well,&rdquo; murmured Mr Carlyle, cut short in his
+sympathetic emotions. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad you take it so well. Of
+course, if you find it an advantage to be blind, old
+man&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo; He stopped and reddened. &ldquo;I beg your
+pardon,&rdquo; he concluded stiffly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not an advantage perhaps,&rdquo; replied the other
+thoughtfully. &ldquo;Still it has compensations that one might not
+think of. A new world to explore, new experiences, new powers
+awakening; strange new perceptions; life in the fourth dimension.
+But why do you beg my pardon, Louis?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am an ex-solicitor, struck off in connexion with the
+falsifying of a trust account, Mr Carrados,&rdquo; replied Carlyle,
+rising.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Sit down, Louis,&rdquo; said Carrados suavely. His face,
+even his incredibly living eyes, beamed placid good-nature.
+&ldquo;The chair on which you will sit, the roof above you, all the
+comfortable surroundings to which you have so amiably alluded, are
+the direct result of falsifying a trust account. But do I call you
+&lsquo;Mr Carlyle&rsquo; in consequence? Certainly not,
+Louis.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I did not falsify the account,&rdquo; cried Carlyle
+hotly. He sat down, however, and added more quietly: &ldquo;But why
+do I tell you all this? I have never spoken of it
+before.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Blindness invites confidence,&rdquo; replied Carrados.
+&ldquo;We are out of the running&mdash;human rivalry ceases to
+exist. Besides, why shouldn&rsquo;t you? In my case the account
+<i>was</i> falsified.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course that&rsquo;s all bunkum, Max,&rdquo; commented
+Carlyle. &ldquo;Still, I appreciate your motive.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Practically everything I possess was left to me by an
+American cousin, on the condition that I took the name of Carrados.
+He made his fortune by an ingenious conspiracy of doctoring the
+crop reports and unloading favourably in consequence. And I need
+hardly remind you that the receiver is equally guilty with the
+thief.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But twice as safe. I know something of that, Max.... Have
+you any idea what my business is?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You shall tell me,&rdquo; replied Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I run a private inquiry agency. When I lost my profession
+I had to do something for a living. This occurred. I dropped my
+name, changed my appearance and opened an office. I knew the legal
+side down to the ground and I got a retired Scotland Yard man to
+organize the outside work.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Excellent!&rdquo; cried Carrados. &ldquo;Do you unearth
+many murders?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; admitted Mr Carlyle; &ldquo;our business lies
+mostly on the conventional lines among divorce and
+defalcation.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a pity,&rdquo; remarked Carrados. &ldquo;Do
+you know, Louis, I always had a secret ambition to be a detective
+myself. I have even thought lately that I might still be able to do
+something at it if the chance came my way. That makes you
+smile?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, certainly, the idea&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, the idea of a blind detective&mdash;the blind
+tracking the alert&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course, as you say, certain faculties are no doubt
+quickened,&rdquo; Mr Carlyle hastened to add considerately,
+&ldquo;but, seriously, with the exception of an artist, I
+don&rsquo;t suppose there is any man who is more utterly dependent
+on his eyes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Whatever opinion Carrados might have held privately, his genial
+exterior did not betray a shadow of dissent. For a full minute he
+continued to smoke as though he derived an actual visual enjoyment
+from the blue sprays that travelled and dispersed across the room.
+He had already placed before his visitor a box containing cigars of
+a brand which that gentleman keenly appreciated but generally
+regarded as unattainable, and the matter-of-fact ease and certainty
+with which the blind man had brought the box and put it before him
+had sent a questioning flicker through Carlyle&rsquo;s mind.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You used to be rather fond of art yourself, Louis,&rdquo;
+he remarked presently. &ldquo;Give me your opinion of my latest
+purchase&mdash;the bronze lion on the cabinet there.&rdquo; Then,
+as Carlyle&rsquo;s gaze went about the room, he added quickly:
+&ldquo;No, not that cabinet&mdash;the one on your left.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carlyle shot a sharp glance at his host as he got up, but
+Carrados&rsquo;s expression was merely benignly complacent. Then he
+strolled across to the figure.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very nice,&rdquo; he admitted. &ldquo;Late Flemish,
+isn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No. It is a copy of Vidal&rsquo;s &lsquo;Roaring
+lion.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Vidal?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A French artist.&rdquo; The voice became indescribably
+flat. &ldquo;He, also, had the misfortune to be blind, by the
+way.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You old humbug, Max!&rdquo; shrieked Carlyle,
+&ldquo;you&rsquo;ve been thinking that out for the last five
+minutes.&rdquo; Then the unfortunate man bit his lip and turned his
+back towards his host.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do you remember how we used to pile it up on that obtuse
+ass Sanders and then roast him?&rdquo; asked Carrados, ignoring the
+half-smothered exclamation with which the other man had recalled
+himself.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied Carlyle quietly. &ldquo;This is very
+good,&rdquo; he continued, addressing himself to the bronze again.
+&ldquo;How ever did he do it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;With his hands.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Naturally. But, I mean, how did he study his
+model?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Also with his hands. He called it &lsquo;seeing
+near.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Even with a lion&mdash;handled it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In such cases he required the services of a keeper, who
+brought the animal to bay while Vidal exercised his own particular
+gifts.... You don&rsquo;t feel inclined to put me on the track of a
+mystery, Louis?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Unable to regard this request as anything but one of old
+Max&rsquo;s unquenchable pleasantries, Mr Carlyle was on the point
+of making a suitable reply when a sudden thought caused him to
+smile knowingly. Up to that point he had, indeed, completely
+forgotten the object of his visit. Now that he remembered the
+doubtful Dionysius and Mr Baxter&rsquo;s recommendation he
+immediately assumed that some mistake had been made. Either Max was
+not the Wynn Carrados he had been seeking or else the dealer had
+been misinformed; for although his host was wonderfully expert in
+the face of his misfortune, it was inconceivable that he could
+decide the genuineness of a coin without seeing it. The opportunity
+seemed a good one of getting even with Carrados by taking him at
+his word.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; he accordingly replied, with crisp
+deliberation, as he recrossed the room; &ldquo;yes, I will, Max.
+Here is the clue to what seems to be a rather remarkable
+fraud.&rdquo; He put the tetradrachm into his host&rsquo;s hand.
+&ldquo;What do you make of it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>For a few seconds Carrados handled the piece with the delicate
+manipulation of his finger-tips while Carlyle looked on with a
+self-appreciative grin. Then with equal gravity the blind man
+weighed the coin in the balance of his hand. Finally he touched it
+with his tongue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well?&rdquo; demanded the other.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course I have not much to go on, and if I was more
+fully in your confidence I might come to another
+conclusion&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, yes,&rdquo; interposed Carlyle, with amused
+encouragement.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then I should advise you to arrest the parlourmaid, Nina
+Brun, communicate with the police authorities of Padua for
+particulars of the career of Helene Brunesi, and suggest to Lord
+Seastoke that he should return to London to see what further
+depredations have been made in his cabinet.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s groping hand sought and found a chair, on to
+which he dropped blankly. His eyes were unable to detach themselves
+for a single moment from the very ordinary spectacle of Mr
+Carrados&rsquo;s mildly benevolent face, while the sterilized ghost
+of his now forgotten amusement still lingered about his
+features.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good heavens!&rdquo; he managed to articulate, &ldquo;how
+do you know?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Isn&rsquo;t that what you wanted of me?&rdquo; asked
+Carrados suavely.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t humbug, Max,&rdquo; said Carlyle severely.
+&ldquo;This is no joke.&rdquo; An undefined mistrust of his own
+powers suddenly possessed him in the presence of this mystery.
+&ldquo;How do you come to know of Nina Brun and Lord
+Seastoke?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are a detective, Louis,&rdquo; replied Carrados.
+&ldquo;How does one know these things? By using one&rsquo;s eyes
+and putting two and two together.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carlyle groaned and flung out an arm petulantly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is it all bunkum, Max? Do you really see all the
+time&mdash;though that doesn&rsquo;t go very far towards explaining
+it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Like Vidal, I see very well&mdash;at close
+quarters,&rdquo; replied Carrados, lightly running a forefinger
+along the inscription on the tetradrachm. &ldquo;For longer range I
+keep another pair of eyes. Would you like to test them?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s assent was not very gracious; it was, in
+fact, faintly sulky. He was suffering the annoyance of feeling
+distinctly unimpressive in his own department; but he was also
+curious.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The bell is just behind you, if you don&rsquo;t
+mind,&rdquo; said his host. &ldquo;Parkinson will appear. You might
+take note of him while he is in.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The man who had admitted Mr Carlyle proved to be Parkinson.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This gentleman is Mr Carlyle, Parkinson,&rdquo; explained
+Carrados the moment the man entered. &ldquo;You will remember him
+for the future?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Parkinson&rsquo;s apologetic eye swept the visitor from head to
+foot, but so lightly and swiftly that it conveyed to that gentleman
+the comparison of being very deftly dusted.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I will endeavour to do so, sir,&rdquo; replied Parkinson;
+turning again to his master.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I shall be at home to Mr Carlyle whenever he calls. That
+is all.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very well, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now, Louis,&rdquo; remarked Mr Carrados briskly, when the
+door had closed again, &ldquo;you have had a good opportunity of
+studying Parkinson. What is he like?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In what way?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I mean as a matter of description. I am a blind
+man&mdash;I haven&rsquo;t seen my servant for twelve
+years&mdash;what idea can you give me of him? I asked you to
+notice.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I know you did, but your Parkinson is the sort of man who
+has very little about him to describe. He is the embodiment of the
+ordinary. His height is about average&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Five feet nine,&rdquo; murmured Carrados. &ldquo;Slightly
+above the mean.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Scarcely noticeably so. Clean-shaven. Medium brown hair.
+No particularly marked features. Dark eyes. Good teeth.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;False,&rdquo; interposed Carrados. &ldquo;The
+teeth&mdash;not the statement.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Possibly,&rdquo; admitted Mr Carlyle. &ldquo;I am not a
+dental expert and I had no opportunity of examining Mr
+Parkinson&rsquo;s mouth in detail. But what is the drift of all
+this?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;His clothes?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, just the ordinary evening dress of a valet. There is
+not much room for variety in that.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You noticed, in fact, nothing special by which Parkinson
+could be identified?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, he wore an unusually broad gold ring on the little
+finger of the left hand.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But that is removable. And yet Parkinson has an
+ineradicable mole&mdash;a small one, I admit&mdash;on his chin. And
+you a human sleuth-hound. Oh, Louis!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;At all events,&rdquo; retorted Carlyle, writhing a little
+under this good-humoured satire, although it was easy enough to see
+in it Carrados&rsquo;s affectionate intention&mdash;&ldquo;at all
+events, I dare say I can give as good a description of Parkinson as
+he can give of me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is what we are going to test. Ring the bell
+again.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Seriously?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite. I am trying my eyes against yours. If I
+can&rsquo;t give you fifty out of a hundred I&rsquo;ll renounce my
+private detectorial ambition for ever.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t quite the same,&rdquo; objected Carlyle,
+but he rang the bell.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Come in and close the door, Parkinson,&rdquo; said
+Carrados when the man appeared. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t look at Mr
+Carlyle again&mdash;in fact, you had better stand with your back
+towards him, he won&rsquo;t mind. Now describe to me his appearance
+as you observed it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Parkinson tendered his respectful apologies to Mr Carlyle for
+the liberty he was compelled to take, by the deferential quality of
+his voice.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Carlyle, sir, wears patent leather boots of about size
+seven and very little used. There are five buttons, but on the left
+boot one button&mdash;the third up&mdash;is missing, leaving loose
+threads and not the more usual metal fastener. Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s
+trousers, sir, are of a dark material, a dark grey line of about a
+quarter of an inch width on a darker ground. The bottoms are turned
+permanently up and are, just now, a little muddy, if I may say
+so.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very muddy,&rdquo; interposed Mr Carlyle generously.
+&ldquo;It is a wet night, Parkinson.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, sir; very unpleasant weather. If you will allow me,
+sir, I will brush you in the hall. The mud is dry now, I notice.
+Then, sir,&rdquo; continued Parkinson, reverting to the business in
+hand, &ldquo;there are dark green cashmere hose. A curb-pattern
+key-chain passes into the left-hand trouser pocket.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>From the visitor&rsquo;s nether garments the photographic-eyed
+Parkinson proceeded to higher ground, and with increasing wonder Mr
+Carlyle listened to the faithful catalogue of his possessions. His
+fetter-and-link albert of gold and platinum was minutely described.
+His spotted blue ascot, with its gentlemanly pearl scarfpin, was
+set forth, and the fact that the buttonhole in the left lapel of
+his morning coat showed signs of use was duly noted. What Parkinson
+saw he recorded but he made no deductions. A handkerchief carried
+in the cuff of the right sleeve was simply that to him and not an
+indication that Mr Carlyle was, indeed, left-handed.</p>
+<p>But a more delicate part of Parkinson&rsquo;s undertaking
+remained. He approached it with a double cough.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;As regards Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s personal appearance;
+sir&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, enough!&rdquo; cried the gentleman concerned hastily.
+&ldquo;I am more than satisfied. You are a keen observer,
+Parkinson.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have trained myself to suit my master&rsquo;s
+requirements, sir,&rdquo; replied the man. He looked towards Mr
+Carrados, received a nod and withdrew.</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle was the first to speak.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That man of yours would be worth five pounds a week to
+me, Max,&rdquo; he remarked thoughtfully. &ldquo;But, of
+course&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think that he would take it,&rdquo; replied
+Carrados, in a voice of equally detached speculation. &ldquo;He
+suits me very well. But you have the chance of using his
+services&mdash;indirectly.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You still mean that&mdash;seriously?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I notice in you a chronic disinclination to take me
+seriously, Louis. It is really&mdash;to an Englishman&mdash;almost
+painful. Is there something inherently comic about me or the
+atmosphere of The Turrets?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, my friend,&rdquo; replied Mr Carlyle, &ldquo;but
+there is something essentially prosperous. That is what points to
+the improbable. Now what is it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It might be merely a whim, but it is more than
+that,&rdquo; replied Carrados. &ldquo;It is, well, partly vanity,
+partly <i>ennui</i>, partly&rdquo;&mdash;certainly there was
+something more nearly tragic in his voice than comic
+now&mdash;&ldquo;partly hope.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle was too tactful to pursue the subject.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Those are three tolerable motives,&rdquo; he acquiesced.
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll do anything you want, Max, on one
+condition.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Agreed. And it is?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That you tell me how you knew so much of this
+affair.&rdquo; He tapped the silver coin which lay on the table
+near them. &ldquo;I am not easily flabbergasted,&rdquo; he
+added.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You won&rsquo;t believe that there is nothing to
+explain&mdash;that it was purely second-sight?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; replied Carlyle tersely; &ldquo;I
+won&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are quite right. And yet the thing is very
+simple.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They always are&mdash;when you know,&rdquo; soliloquized
+the other. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what makes them so confoundedly
+difficult when you don&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here is this one then. In Padua, which seems to be
+regaining its old reputation as the birthplace of spurious
+antiques, by the way, there lives an ingenious craftsman named
+Pietro Stelli. This simple soul, who possesses a talent not
+inferior to that of Cavino at his best, has for many years turned
+his hand to the not unprofitable occupation of forging rare Greek
+and Roman coins. As a collector and student of certain Greek
+colonials and a specialist in forgeries I have been familiar with
+Stelli&rsquo;s workmanship for years. Latterly he seems to have
+come under the influence of an international crook called&mdash;at
+the moment&mdash;Dompierre, who soon saw a way of utilizing
+Stelli&rsquo;s genius on a royal scale. Helene Brunesi, who in
+private life is&mdash;and really is, I believe&mdash;Madame
+Dompierre, readily lent her services to the enterprise.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite so,&rdquo; nodded Mr Carlyle, as his host
+paused.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You see the whole sequence, of course?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not exactly&mdash;not in detail,&rdquo; confessed Mr
+Carlyle.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dompierre&rsquo;s idea was to gain access to some of the
+most celebrated cabinets of Europe and substitute Stelli&rsquo;s
+fabrications for the genuine coins. The princely collection of
+rarities that he would thus amass might be difficult to dispose of
+safely but I have no doubt that he had matured his plans. Helene,
+in the person of Nina Bran, an Anglicised French
+parlourmaid&mdash;a part which she fills to perfection&mdash;was to
+obtain wax impressions of the most valuable pieces and to make the
+exchange when the counterfeits reached her. In this way it was
+obviously hoped that the fraud would not come to light until long
+after the real coins had been sold, and I gather that she has
+already done her work successfully in several houses. Then,
+impressed by her excellent references and capable manner, my
+housekeeper engaged her, and for a few weeks she went about her
+duties here. It was fatal to this detail of the scheme, however,
+that I have the misfortune to be blind. I am told that Helene has
+so innocently angelic a face as to disarm suspicion, but I was
+incapable of being impressed and that good material was thrown
+away. But one morning my material fingers&mdash;which, of course,
+knew nothing of Helene&rsquo;s angelic face&mdash;discovered an
+unfamiliar touch about the surface of my favourite Euclideas, and,
+although there was doubtless nothing to be seen, my critical sense
+of smell reported that wax had been recently pressed against it. I
+began to make discreet inquiries and in the meantime my cabinets
+went to the local bank for safety. Helene countered by receiving a
+telegram from Angiers, calling her to the death-bed of her aged
+mother. The aged mother succumbed; duty compelled Helene to remain
+at the side of her stricken patriarchal father, and doubtless The
+Turrets was written off the syndicate&rsquo;s operations as a bad
+debt.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very interesting,&rdquo; admitted Mr Carlyle; &ldquo;but
+at the risk of seeming obtuse&rdquo;&mdash;his manner had become
+delicately chastened&mdash;&ldquo;I must say that I fail to trace
+the inevitable connexion between Nina Brun and this particular
+forgery&mdash;assuming that it is a forgery.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Set your mind at rest about that, Louis,&rdquo; replied
+Carrados. &ldquo;It is a forgery, and it is a forgery that none but
+Pietro Stelli could have achieved. That is the essential connexion.
+Of course, there are accessories. A private detective coming
+urgently to see me with a notable tetradrachm in his pocket, which
+he announces to be the clue to a remarkable fraud&mdash;well,
+really, Louis, one scarcely needs to be blind to see through
+that.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And Lord Seastoke? I suppose you happened to discover
+that Nina Brun had gone there?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, I cannot claim to have discovered that, or I should
+certainly have warned him at once when I found out&mdash;only
+recently&mdash;about the gang. As a matter of fact, the last
+information I had of Lord Seastoke was a line in yesterday&rsquo;s
+<i>Morning Post</i> to the effect that he was still at Cairo. But
+many of these pieces&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo; He brushed his finger
+almost lovingly across the vivid chariot race that embellished the
+reverse of the coin, and broke off to remark: &ldquo;You really
+ought to take up the subject, Louis. You have no idea how useful it
+might prove to you some day.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I really think I must,&rdquo; replied Carlyle grimly.
+&ldquo;Two hundred and fifty pounds the original of this cost, I
+believe.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Cheap, too; it would make five hundred pounds in New York
+to-day. As I was saying, many are literally unique. This gem by
+Kimon is&mdash;here is his signature, you see; Peter is
+particularly good at lettering&mdash;and as I handled the genuine
+tetradrachm about two years ago, when Lord Seastoke exhibited it at
+a meeting of our society in Albemarle Street, there is nothing at
+all wonderful in my being able to fix the locale of your mystery.
+Indeed, I feel that I ought to apologize for it all being so
+simple.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think,&rdquo; remarked Mr Carlyle, critically examining
+the loose threads on his left boot, &ldquo;that the apology on that
+head would be more appropriate from me.&rdquo;</p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="THE_KNIGHT8217S_CROSS_SIGNAL_PROBLEM" id=
+"THE_KNIGHT8217S_CROSS_SIGNAL_PROBLEM"></a>THE KNIGHT&rsquo;S CROSS
+SIGNAL PROBLEM</h2>
+<p>&ldquo;Louis,&rdquo; exclaimed Mr Carrados, with the air of
+genial gaiety that Carlyle had found so incongruous to his
+conception of a blind man, &ldquo;you have a mystery somewhere
+about you! I know it by your step.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Nearly a month had passed since the incident of the false
+Dionysius had led to the two men meeting. It was now December.
+Whatever Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s step might indicate to the inner eye it
+betokened to the casual observer the manner of a crisp, alert,
+self-possessed man of business. Carlyle, in truth, betrayed nothing
+of the pessimism and despondency that had marked him on the earlier
+occasion.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You have only yourself to thank that it is a very poor
+one,&rdquo; he retorted. &ldquo;If you hadn&rsquo;t held me to a
+hasty promise&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To give me an option on the next case that baffled you,
+no matter what it was&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Just so. The consequence is that you get a very
+unsatisfactory affair that has no special interest to an amateur
+and is only baffling because it
+is&mdash;well&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, baffling?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Exactly, Max. Your would-be jest has discovered the
+proverbial truth. I need hardly tell you that it is only the
+insoluble that is finally baffling and this is very probably
+insoluble. You remember the awful smash on the Central and Suburban
+at Knight&rsquo;s Cross Station a few weeks ago?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied Carrados, with interest. &ldquo;I
+read the whole ghastly details at the time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You read?&rdquo; exclaimed his friend suspiciously.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I still use the familiar phrases,&rdquo; explained
+Carrados, with a smile. &ldquo;As a matter of fact, my secretary
+reads to me. I mark what I want to hear and when he comes at ten
+o&rsquo;clock we clear off the morning papers in no
+time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And how do you know what to mark?&rdquo; demanded Mr
+Carlyle cunningly.</p>
+<p>Carrados&rsquo;s right hand, lying idly on the table, moved to a
+newspaper near. He ran his finger along a column heading, his eyes
+still turned towards his visitor.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;The Money Market. Continued from page 2. British
+Railways,&rsquo;&rdquo; he announced.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Extraordinary,&rdquo; murmured Carlyle.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not very,&rdquo; said Carrados. &ldquo;If someone dipped
+a stick in treacle and wrote &lsquo;Rats&rsquo; across a marble
+slab you would probably be able to distinguish what was there,
+blindfold.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Probably,&rdquo; admitted Mr Carlyle. &ldquo;At all
+events we will not test the experiment.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The difference to you of treacle on a marble background
+is scarcely greater than that of printers&rsquo; ink on newspaper
+to me. But anything smaller than pica I do not read with comfort,
+and below long primer I cannot read at all. Hence the secretary.
+Now the accident, Louis.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The accident: well, you remember all about that. An
+ordinary Central and Suburban passenger train, non-stop at
+Knight&rsquo;s Cross, ran past the signal and crashed into a
+crowded electric train that was just beginning to move out. It was
+like sending a garden roller down a row of handlights. Two
+carriages of the electric train were flattened out of existence;
+the next two were broken up. For the first time on an English
+railway there was a good stand-up smash between a heavy
+steam-engine and a train of light cars, and it was &lsquo;bad for
+the coo.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Twenty-seven killed, forty something injured, eight died
+since,&rdquo; commented Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That was bad for the Co.,&rdquo; said Carlyle.
+&ldquo;Well, the main fact was plain enough. The heavy train was in
+the wrong. But was the engine-driver responsible? He claimed, and
+he claimed vehemently from the first and he never varied one iota,
+that he had a &lsquo;clear&rsquo; signal&mdash;that is to say, the
+green light, it being dark. The signalman concerned was equally
+dogged that he never pulled off the signal&mdash;that it was at
+&lsquo;danger&rsquo; when the accident happened and that it had
+been for five minutes before. Obviously, they could not both be
+right.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, Louis?&rdquo; asked Mr Carrados smoothly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The signal must either have been up or down&mdash;red or
+green.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Did you ever notice the signals on the Great Northern
+Railway, Louis?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not particularly. Why?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One winterly day, about the year when you and I were
+concerned in being born, the engine-driver of a Scotch express
+received the &lsquo;clear&rsquo; from a signal near a little
+Huntingdon station called Abbots Ripton. He went on and crashed
+into a goods train and into the thick of the smash a down express
+mowed its way. Thirteen killed and the usual tale of injured. He
+was positive that the signal gave him a &lsquo;clear&rsquo;; the
+signalman was equally confident that he had never pulled it off
+the &lsquo;danger.&rsquo; Both were right, and yet the signal was
+in working order. As I said, it was a winterly day; it had been
+snowing hard and the snow froze and accumulated on the upper edge
+of the signal arm until its weight bore it down. That is a fact
+that no fiction writer dare have invented, but to this day every
+signal on the Great Northern pivots from the centre of the arm
+instead of from the end, in memory of that snowstorm.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That came out at the inquest, I presume?&rdquo; said Mr
+Carlyle. &ldquo;We have had the Board of Trade inquiry and the
+inquest here and no explanation is forthcoming. Everything was in
+perfect order. It rests between the word of the signalman and the
+word of the engine-driver&mdash;not a jot of direct evidence either
+way. Which is right?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is what you are going to find out, Louis?&rdquo;
+suggested Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is what I am being paid for finding out,&rdquo;
+admitted Mr Carlyle frankly. &ldquo;But so far we are just where
+the inquest left it, and, between ourselves, I candidly can&rsquo;t
+see an inch in front of my face in the matter.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nor can I,&rdquo; said the blind man, with a rather wry
+smile. &ldquo;Never mind. The engine-driver is your client, of
+course?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; admitted Carlyle. &ldquo;But how the deuce
+did you know?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let us say that your sympathies are enlisted on his
+behalf. The jury were inclined to exonerate the signalman,
+weren&rsquo;t they? What has the company done with your
+man?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Both are suspended. Hutchins, the driver, hears that he
+may probably be given charge of a lavatory at one of the stations.
+He is a decent, bluff, short-spoken old chap, with his heart in his
+work. Just now you&rsquo;ll find him at his worst&mdash;bitter and
+suspicious. The thought of swabbing down a lavatory and taking
+pennies all day is poisoning him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Naturally. Well, there we have honest Hutchins: taciturn,
+a little touchy perhaps, grown grey in the service of the company,
+and manifesting quite a bulldog-like devotion to his favourite
+538.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, that actually was the number of his engine&mdash;how
+do you know it?&rdquo; demanded Carlyle sharply.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It was mentioned two or three times at the inquest,
+Louis,&rdquo; replied Carrados mildly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And you remembered&mdash;with no reason to?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You can generally trust a blind man&rsquo;s memory,
+especially if he has taken the trouble to develop it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then you will remember that Hutchins did not make a very
+good impression at the time. He was surly and irritable under the
+ordeal. I want you to see the case from all sides.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He called the signalman&mdash;Mead&mdash;a &lsquo;lying
+young dog,&rsquo; across the room, I believe. Now, Mead, what is he
+like? You have seen him, of course?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes. He does not impress me favourably. He is glib,
+ingratiating, and distinctly &lsquo;greasy.&rsquo; He has a ready
+answer for everything almost before the question is out of your
+mouth. He has thought of everything.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And now you are going to tell me something, Louis,&rdquo;
+said Carrados encouragingly.</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle laughed a little to cover an involuntary movement of
+surprise.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is a suggestive line that was not touched at the
+inquiries,&rdquo; he admitted. &ldquo;Hutchins has been a saving
+man all his life, and he has received good wages. Among his class
+he is regarded as wealthy. I daresay that he has five hundred
+pounds in the bank. He is a widower with one daughter, a very
+nice-mannered girl of about twenty. Mead is a young man, and he and
+the girl are sweethearts&mdash;have been informally engaged for
+some time. But old Hutchins would not hear of it; he seems to have
+taken a dislike to the signalman from the first and latterly he had
+forbidden him to come to his house or his daughter to speak to
+him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Excellent, Louis,&rdquo; cried Carrados in great delight.
+&ldquo;We shall clear your man in a blaze of red and green lights
+yet and hang the glib, &lsquo;greasy&rsquo; signalman from his own
+signal-post.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is a significant fact, seriously?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is absolutely convincing.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It may have been a slip, a mental lapse on Mead&rsquo;s
+part which he discovered the moment it was too late, and then,
+being too cowardly to admit his fault, and having so much at stake,
+he took care to make detection impossible. It may have been that,
+but my idea is rather that probably it was neither quite pure
+accident nor pure design. I can imagine Mead meanly pluming himself
+over the fact that the life of this man who stands in his way, and
+whom he must cordially dislike, lies in his power. I can imagine
+the idea becoming an obsession as he dwells on it. A dozen times
+with his hand on the lever he lets his mind explore the
+possibilities of a moment&rsquo;s defection. Then one day he pulls
+the signal off in sheer bravado&mdash;and hastily puts it at danger
+again. He may have done it once or he may have done it oftener
+before he was caught in a fatal moment of irresolution. The chances
+are about even that the engine-driver would be killed. In any case
+he would be disgraced, for it is easier on the face of it to
+believe that a man might run past a danger signal in
+absentmindedness, without noticing it, than that a man should pull
+off a signal and replace it without being conscious of his
+actions.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The fireman was killed. Does your theory involve the
+certainty of the fireman being killed, Louis?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Carlyle. &ldquo;The fireman is a
+difficulty, but looking at it from Mead&rsquo;s point of
+view&mdash;whether he has been guilty of an error or a
+crime&mdash;it resolves itself into this: First, the fireman may be
+killed. Second, he may not notice the signal at all. Third, in any
+case he will loyally corroborate his driver and the good old jury
+will discount that.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados smoked thoughtfully, his open, sightless eyes merely
+appearing to be set in a tranquil gaze across the room.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It would not be an improbable explanation,&rdquo; he said
+presently. &ldquo;Ninety-nine men out of a hundred would say:
+&lsquo;People do not do these things.&rsquo; But you and I, who
+have in our different ways studied criminology, know that they
+sometimes do, or else there would be no curious crimes. What have
+you done on that line?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>To anyone who could see, Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s expression conveyed
+an answer.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are behind the scenes, Max. What was there for me to
+do? Still I must do something for my money. Well, I have had a very
+close inquiry made confidentially among the men. There might be a
+whisper of one of them knowing more than had come out&mdash;a man
+restrained by friendship, or enmity, or even grade jealousy.
+Nothing came of that. Then there was the remote chance that some
+private person had noticed the signal without attaching any
+importance to it then, one who would be able to identify it still
+by something associated with the time. I went over the line myself.
+Opposite the signal the line on one side is shut in by a high blank
+wall; on the other side are houses, but coming below the butt-end
+of a scullery the signal does not happen to be visible from any
+road or from any window.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My poor Louis!&rdquo; said Carrados, in friendly
+ridicule. &ldquo;You were at the end of your tether?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I was,&rdquo; admitted Carlyle. &ldquo;And now that you
+know the sort of job it is I don&rsquo;t suppose that you are keen
+on wasting your time over it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That would hardly be fair, would it?&rdquo; said Carrados
+reasonably. &ldquo;No, Louis, I will take over your honest old
+driver and your greasy young signalman and your fatal signal that
+cannot be seen from anywhere.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But it is an important point for you to remember, Max,
+that although the signal cannot be seen from the box, if the
+mechanism had gone wrong, or anyone tampered with the arm, the
+automatic indicator would at once have told Mead that the green
+light was showing. Oh, I have gone very thoroughly into the
+technical points, I assure you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I must do so too,&rdquo; commented Mr Carrados
+gravely.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;For that matter, if there is anything you want to know, I
+dare say that I can tell you,&rdquo; suggested his visitor.
+&ldquo;It might save your time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;True,&rdquo; acquiesced Carrados. &ldquo;I should like to
+know whether anyone belonging to the houses that bound the line
+there came of age or got married on the twenty-sixth of
+November.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle looked across curiously at his host.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I really do not know, Max,&rdquo; he replied, in his
+crisp, precise way. &ldquo;What on earth has that got to do with
+it, may I inquire?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The only explanation of the Pont St Lin swing-bridge
+disaster of &rsquo;75 was the reflection of a green bengal light on
+a cottage window.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle smiled his indulgence privately.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My dear chap, you mustn&rsquo;t let your retentive memory
+of obscure happenings run away with you,&rdquo; he remarked wisely.
+&ldquo;In nine cases out of ten the obvious explanation is the true
+one. The difficulty, as here, lies in proving it. Now, you would
+like to see these men?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I expect so; in any case, I will see Hutchins
+first.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Both live in Holloway. Shall I ask Hutchins to come here
+to see you&mdash;say to-morrow? He is doing nothing.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; replied Carrados. &ldquo;To-morrow I must call
+on my brokers and my time may be filled up.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite right; you mustn&rsquo;t neglect your own affairs
+for this&mdash;experiment,&rdquo; assented Carlyle.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Besides, I should prefer to drop in on Hutchins at his
+own home. Now, Louis, enough of the honest old man for one night. I
+have a lovely thing by Eumenes that I want to show you. To-day
+is&mdash;Tuesday. Come to dinner on Sunday and pour the vials of
+your ridicule on my want of success.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s an amiable way of putting it,&rdquo; replied
+Carlyle. &ldquo;All right, I will.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Two hours later Carrados was again in his study, apparently, for
+a wonder, sitting idle. Sometimes he smiled to himself, and once or
+twice he laughed a little, but for the most part his pleasant,
+impassive face reflected no emotion and he sat with his useless
+eyes tranquilly fixed on an unseen distance. It was a fantastic
+caprice of the man to mock his sightlessness by a parade of light,
+and under the soft brilliance of a dozen electric brackets the room
+was as bright as day. At length he stood up and rang the bell.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose Mr Greatorex isn&rsquo;t still here by any
+chance, Parkinson?&rdquo; he asked, referring to his secretary.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think not, sir, but I will ascertain,&rdquo; replied
+the man.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Never mind. Go to his room and bring me the last two
+files of <i>The Times</i>. Now&rdquo;&mdash;when he
+returned&mdash;&ldquo;turn to the earliest you have there. The
+date?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;November the second.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That will do. Find the Money Market; it will be in the
+Supplement. Now look down the columns until you come to British
+Railways.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have it, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Central and Suburban. Read the closing price and the
+change.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Central and Suburban Ordinary, 66-1/2-67-1/2, fall 1/8.
+Preferred Ordinary, 81-81-1/2, no change. Deferred Ordinary,
+27-1/2-27-3/4, fall 1/4. That is all, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now take a paper about a week on. Read the Deferred
+only.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;27-27-1/4, no change.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Another week.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;29-1/2-30, rise 5/8.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Another.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;31-1/2-32-1/2, rise 1.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very good. Now on Tuesday the twenty-seventh
+November.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;31-7/8-32-3/4, rise 1/2.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes. The next day.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;24-1/2-23-1/2, fall 9.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite so, Parkinson. There had been an accident, you
+see.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, sir. Very unpleasant accident. Jane knows a person
+whose sister&rsquo;s young man has a cousin who had his arm torn
+off in it&mdash;torn off at the socket, she says, sir. It seems to
+bring it home to one, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is all. Stay&mdash;in the paper you have, look down
+the first money column and see if there is any reference to the
+Central and Suburban.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, sir. &lsquo;City and Suburbans, which after their
+late depression on the projected extension of the motor bus
+service, had been steadily creeping up on the abandonment of the
+scheme, and as a result of their own excellent traffic returns,
+suffered a heavy slump through the lamentable accident of Thursday
+night. The Deferred in particular at one time fell eleven points as
+it was felt that the possible dividend, with which rumour has of
+late been busy, was now out of the question.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; that is all. Now you can take the papers back. And
+let it be a warning to you, Parkinson, not to invest your savings
+in speculative railway deferreds.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, sir. Thank you, sir, I will endeavour to
+remember.&rdquo; He lingered for a moment as he shook the file of
+papers level. &ldquo;I may say, sir, that I have my eye on a small
+block of cottage property at Acton. But even cottage property
+scarcely seems safe from legislative depredation now,
+sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The next day Mr Carrados called on his brokers in the city. It
+is to be presumed that he got through his private business quicker
+than he expected, for after leaving Austin Friars he continued his
+journey to Holloway, where he found Hutchins at home and sitting
+morosely before his kitchen fire. Rightly assuming that his
+luxuriant car would involve him in a certain amount of public
+attention in Klondyke Street, the blind man dismissed it some
+distance from the house, and walked the rest of the way, guided by
+the almost imperceptible touch of Parkinson&rsquo;s arm.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here is a gentleman to see you, father,&rdquo; explained
+Miss Hutchins, who had come to the door. She divined the relative
+positions of the two visitors at a glance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then why don&rsquo;t you take him into the
+parlour?&rdquo; grumbled the ex-driver. His face was a testimonial
+of hard work and general sobriety but at the moment one might
+hazard from his voice and manner that he had been drinking earlier
+in the day.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think that the gentleman would be impressed
+by the difference between our parlour and our kitchen,&rdquo;
+replied the girl quaintly, &ldquo;and it is warmer here.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the matter with the parlour now?&rdquo;
+demanded her father sourly. &ldquo;It was good enough for your
+mother and me. It used to be good enough for you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is nothing the matter with it, nor with the kitchen
+either.&rdquo; She turned impassively to the two who had followed
+her along the narrow passage. &ldquo;Will you go in,
+sir?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to see no gentleman,&rdquo; cried
+Hutchins noisily. &ldquo;Unless&rdquo;&mdash;his manner suddenly
+changed to one of pitiable anxiety&mdash;&ldquo;unless you&rsquo;re
+from the Company, sir, to&mdash;to&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No; I have come on Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s behalf,&rdquo;
+replied Carrados, walking to a chair as though he moved by a kind
+of instinct.</p>
+<p>Hutchins laughed his wry contempt.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Carlyle!&rdquo; he reiterated; &ldquo;Mr Carlyle! Fat
+lot of good he&rsquo;s been. Why don&rsquo;t he <i>do</i> something
+for his money?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He has,&rdquo; replied Carrados, with imperturbable
+good-humour; &ldquo;he has sent me. Now, I want to ask you a few
+questions.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A few questions!&rdquo; roared the irate man. &ldquo;Why,
+blast it, I have done nothing else but answer questions for a
+month. I didn&rsquo;t pay Mr Carlyle to ask me questions; I can get
+enough of that for nixes. Why don&rsquo;t you go and ask Mr Herbert
+Ananias Mead your few questions&mdash;then you might find out
+something.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>There was a slight movement by the door and Carrados knew that
+the girl had quietly left the room.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You saw that, sir?&rdquo; demanded the father, diverted
+to a new line of bitterness. &ldquo;You saw that girl&mdash;my own
+daughter, that I&rsquo;ve worked for all her life?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; replied Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The girl that&rsquo;s just gone out&mdash;she&rsquo;s my
+daughter,&rdquo; explained Hutchins.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I know, but I did not see her. I see nothing. I am
+blind.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Blind!&rdquo; exclaimed the old fellow, sitting up in
+startled wonderment. &ldquo;You mean it, sir? You walk all right
+and you look at me as if you saw me. You&rsquo;re kidding
+surely.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; smiled Carrados. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s quite
+right.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then it&rsquo;s a funny business, sir&mdash;you what are
+blind expecting to find something that those with their eyes
+couldn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; ruminated Hutchins sagely.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There are things that you can&rsquo;t see with your eyes,
+Hutchins.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps you are right, sir. Well, what is it you want to
+know?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Light a cigar first,&rdquo; said the blind man, holding
+out his case and waiting until the various sounds told him that his
+host was smoking contentedly. &ldquo;The train you were driving at
+the time of the accident was the six-twenty-seven from Notcliff. It
+stopped everywhere until it reached Lambeth Bridge, the chief
+London station of your line. There it became something of an
+express, and leaving Lambeth Bridge at seven-eleven, should not
+stop again until it fetched Swanstead on Thames, eleven miles out,
+at seven-thirty-four. Then it stopped on and off from Swanstead to
+Ingerfield, the terminus of that branch, which it reached at
+eight-five.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Hutchins nodded, and then, remembering, said:
+&ldquo;That&rsquo;s right, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That was your business all day&mdash;running between
+Notcliff and Ingerfield?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, sir. Three journeys up and three down
+mostly.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;With the same stops on all the down journeys?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No. The seven-eleven is the only one that does a run from
+the Bridge to Swanstead. You see, it is just on the close of the
+evening rush, as they call it. A good many late business gentlemen
+living at Swanstead use the seven-eleven regular. The other
+journeys we stop at every station to Lambeth Bridge, and then here
+and there beyond.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There are, of course, other trains doing exactly the same
+journey&mdash;a service, in fact?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, sir. About six.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And do any of those&mdash;say, during the rush&mdash;do
+any of those run non-stop from Lambeth to Swanstead?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Hutchins reflected a moment. All the choler and restlessness had
+melted out of the man&rsquo;s face. He was again the excellent
+artisan, slow but capable and self-reliant.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That I couldn&rsquo;t definitely say, sir. Very few
+short-distance trains pass the junction, but some of those may. A
+guide would show us in a minute but I haven&rsquo;t got
+one.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Never mind. You said at the inquest that it was no
+uncommon thing for you to be pulled up at the &lsquo;stop&rsquo;
+signal east of Knight&rsquo;s Cross Station. How often would that
+happen&mdash;only with the seven-eleven, mind.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps three times a week; perhaps twice.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The accident was on a Thursday. Have you noticed that you
+were pulled up oftener on a Thursday than on any other
+day?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>A smile crossed the driver&rsquo;s face at the question.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t happen to live at Swanstead yourself,
+sir?&rdquo; he asked in reply.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; admitted Carrados. &ldquo;Why?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, sir, we were <i>always</i> pulled up on Thursday;
+practically always, you may say. It got to be quite a saying among
+those who used the train regular; they used to look out for
+it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados&rsquo;s sightless eyes had the one quality of
+concealing emotion supremely. &ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; he commented
+softly, &ldquo;always; and it was quite a saying, was it? And
+<i>why</i> was it always so on Thursday?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It had to do with the early closing, I&rsquo;m told. The
+suburban traffic was a bit different. By rights we ought to have
+been set back two minutes for that day, but I suppose it
+wasn&rsquo;t thought worth while to alter us in the time-table, so
+we most always had to wait outside Three Deep tunnel for a
+west-bound electric to make good.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You were prepared for it then?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, sir, I was,&rdquo; said Hutchins, reddening at some
+recollection, &ldquo;and very down about it was one of the jury
+over that. But, mayhap once in three months, I did get through even
+on a Thursday, and it&rsquo;s not for me to question whether things
+are right or wrong just because they are not what I may expect. The
+signals are my orders, sir&mdash;stop! go on! and it&rsquo;s for me
+to obey, as you would a general on the field of battle. What would
+happen otherwise! It was nonsense what they said about going
+cautious; and the man who started it was a barber who didn&rsquo;t
+know the difference between a &lsquo;distance&rsquo; and a
+&lsquo;stop&rsquo; signal down to the minute they gave their
+verdict. My orders, sir, given me by that signal, was &lsquo;Go
+right ahead and keep to your running time!&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados nodded a soothing assent. &ldquo;That is all, I
+think,&rdquo; he remarked.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;All!&rdquo; exclaimed Hutchins in surprise. &ldquo;Why,
+sir, you can&rsquo;t have got much idea of it yet.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite enough. And I know it isn&rsquo;t pleasant for you
+to be taken along the same ground over and over again.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The man moved awkwardly in his chair and pulled nervously at his
+grizzled beard.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You mustn&rsquo;t take any notice of what I said just
+now, sir,&rdquo; he apologized. &ldquo;You somehow make me feel
+that something may come of it; but I&rsquo;ve been badgered about
+and accused and cross-examined from one to another of them these
+weeks till it&rsquo;s fairly made me bitter against everything. And
+now they talk of putting me in a lavatory&mdash;me that has been
+with the company for five and forty years and on the foot-plate
+thirty-two&mdash;a man suspected of running past a danger
+signal.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You have had a rough time, Hutchins; you will have to
+exercise your patience a little longer yet,&rdquo; said Carrados
+sympathetically.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You think something may come of it, sir? You think you
+will be able to clear me? Believe me, sir, if you could give me
+something to look forward to it might save me
+from&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo; He pulled himself up and shook his head
+sorrowfully. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been near it,&rdquo; he added
+simply.</p>
+<p>Carrados reflected and took his resolution.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To-day is Wednesday. I think you may hope to hear
+something from your general manager towards the middle of next
+week.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good God, sir! You really mean that?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In the interval show your good sense by behaving
+reasonably. Keep civilly to yourself and don&rsquo;t talk. Above
+all&rdquo;&mdash;he nodded towards a quart jug that stood on the
+table between them, an incident that filled the simple-minded
+engineer with boundless wonder when he recalled it
+afterwards&mdash;&ldquo;above all, leave that alone.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Hutchins snatched up the vessel and brought it crashing down on
+the hearthstone, his face shining with a set resolution.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve done with it, sir. It was the bitterness and
+despair that drove me to that. Now I can do without it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The door was hastily opened and Miss Hutchins looked anxiously
+from her father to the visitors and back again.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, whatever is the matter?&rdquo; she exclaimed.
+&ldquo;I heard a great crash.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This gentleman is going to clear me, Meg, my dear,&rdquo;
+blurted out the old man irrepressibly. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;ve done
+with the drink for ever.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Hutchins! Hutchins!&rdquo; said Carrados warningly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My daughter, sir; you wouldn&rsquo;t have her not
+know?&rdquo; pleaded Hutchins, rather crest-fallen. &ldquo;It
+won&rsquo;t go any further.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados laughed quietly to himself as he felt Margaret
+Hutchins&rsquo;s startled and questioning eyes attempting to read
+his mind. He shook hands with the engine-driver without further
+comment, however, and walked out into the commonplace little street
+under Parkinson&rsquo;s unobtrusive guidance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very nice of Miss Hutchins to go into half-mourning,
+Parkinson,&rdquo; he remarked as they went along.
+&ldquo;Thoughtful, and yet not ostentatious.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, sir,&rdquo; agreed Parkinson, who had long ceased to
+wonder at his master&rsquo;s perceptions.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Romans, Parkinson, had a saying to the effect that
+gold carries no smell. That is a pity sometimes. What jewellery did
+Miss Hutchins wear?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very little, sir. A plain gold brooch representing a
+merry-thought&mdash;the merry-thought of a sparrow, I should say,
+sir. The only other article was a smooth-backed gun-metal watch,
+suspended from a gun-metal bow.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nothing showy or expensive, eh?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh dear no, sir. Quite appropriate for a young person of
+her position.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Just what I should have expected.&rdquo; He slackened his
+pace. &ldquo;We are passing a hoarding, are we not?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We will stand here a moment. Read me the letterpress of
+the poster before us.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This &lsquo;Oxo&rsquo; one, sir?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Oxo,&rsquo; sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados was convulsed with silent laughter. Parkinson had
+infinitely more dignity and conceded merely a tolerant recognition
+of the ludicrous.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That was a bad shot, Parkinson,&rdquo; remarked his
+master when he could speak. &ldquo;We will try another.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>For three minutes, with scrupulous conscientiousness on the part
+of the reader and every appearance of keen interest on the part of
+the hearer, there were set forth the particulars of a sale by
+auction of superfluous timber and builders&rsquo; material.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That will do,&rdquo; said Carrados, when the last detail
+had been reached. &ldquo;We can be seen from the door of No. 107
+still?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No indication of anyone coming to us from
+there?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados walked thoughtfully on again. In the Holloway Road they
+rejoined the waiting motor car. &ldquo;Lambeth Bridge
+Station,&rdquo; was the order the driver received.</p>
+<p>From the station the car was sent on home and Parkinson was
+instructed to take two first-class singles for Richmond, which
+could be reached by changing at Stafford Road. The &ldquo;evening
+rush&rdquo; had not yet commenced and they had no difficulty in
+finding an empty carriage when the train came in.</p>
+<p>Parkinson was kept busy that journey describing what he saw at
+various points between Lambeth Bridge and Knight&rsquo;s Cross. For
+a quarter of a mile Carrados&rsquo;s demands on the eyes and the
+memory of his remarkable servant were wide and incessant. Then his
+questions ceased. They had passed the &ldquo;stop&rdquo; signal,
+east of Knight&rsquo;s Cross Station.</p>
+<p>The following afternoon they made the return journey as far as
+Knight&rsquo;s Cross. This time, however, the surroundings failed
+to interest Carrados. &ldquo;We are going to look at some
+rooms,&rdquo; was the information he offered on the subject, and an
+imperturbable &ldquo;Yes, sir&rdquo; had been the extent of
+Parkinson&rsquo;s comment on the unusual proceeding. After leaving
+the station they turned sharply along a road that ran parallel with
+the line, a dull thoroughfare of substantial, elderly houses that
+were beginning to sink into decrepitude. Here and there a corner
+residence displayed the brass plate of a professional occupant, but
+for the most part they were given up to the various branches of
+second-rate apartment letting.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The third house after the one with the flagstaff,&rdquo;
+said Carrados.</p>
+<p>Parkinson rang the bell, which was answered by a young servant,
+who took an early opportunity of assuring them that she was not
+tidy as it was rather early in the afternoon. She informed
+Carrados, in reply to his inquiry, that Miss Chubb was at home, and
+showed them into a melancholy little sitting-room to await her
+appearance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I shall be &lsquo;almost&rsquo; blind here,
+Parkinson,&rdquo; remarked Carrados, walking about the room.
+&ldquo;It saves explanation.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very good, sir,&rdquo; replied Parkinson.</p>
+<p>Five minutes later, an interval suggesting that Miss Chubb also
+found it rather early in the afternoon, Carrados was arranging to
+take rooms for his attendant and himself for the short time that he
+would be in London, seeing an oculist.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One bedroom, mine, must face north,&rdquo; he stipulated.
+&ldquo;It has to do with the light.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Miss Chubb replied that she quite understood. Some gentlemen,
+she added, had their requirements, others their fancies. She
+endeavoured to suit all. The bedroom she had in view from the first
+<i>did</i> face north. She would not have known, only the last
+gentleman, curiously enough, had made the same request.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A sufferer like myself?&rdquo; inquired Carrados
+affably.</p>
+<p>Miss Chubb did not think so. In his case she regarded it merely
+as a fancy. He had said that he could not sleep on any other side.
+She had had to turn out of her own room to accommodate him, but if
+one kept an apartment-house one had to be adaptable; and Mr Ghoosh
+was certainly very liberal in his ideas.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ghoosh? An Indian gentleman, I presume?&rdquo; hazarded
+Carrados.</p>
+<p>It appeared that Mr Ghoosh was an Indian. Miss Chubb confided
+that at first she had been rather perturbed at the idea of taking
+in &ldquo;a black man,&rdquo; as she confessed to regarding him.
+She reiterated, however, that Mr Ghoosh proved to be &ldquo;quite
+the gentleman.&rdquo; Five minutes of affability put Carrados in
+full possession of Mr Ghoosh&rsquo;s manner of life and
+movements&mdash;the dates of his arrival and departure, his
+solitariness and his daily habits.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This would be the best bedroom,&rdquo; said Miss
+Chubb.</p>
+<p>It was a fair-sized room on the first floor. The window looked
+out on to the roof of an outbuilding; beyond, the deep cutting of
+the railway line. Opposite stood the dead wall that Mr Carlyle had
+spoken of.</p>
+<p>Carrados &ldquo;looked&rdquo; round the room with the
+discriminating glance that sometimes proved so embarrassing to
+those who knew him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have to take a little daily exercise,&rdquo; he
+remarked, walking to the window and running his hand up the
+woodwork. &ldquo;You will not mind my fixing a
+&lsquo;developer&rsquo; here, Miss Chubb&mdash;a few small
+screws?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Miss Chubb thought not. Then she was sure not. Finally she
+ridiculed the idea of minding with scorn.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If there is width enough,&rdquo; mused Carrados, spanning
+the upright critically. &ldquo;Do you happen to have a wooden
+foot-rule convenient?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, to be sure!&rdquo; exclaimed Miss Chubb, opening a
+rapid succession of drawers until she produced the required
+article. &ldquo;When we did out this room after Mr Ghoosh, there
+was this very ruler among the things that he hadn&rsquo;t thought
+worth taking. This is what you require, sir?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied Carrados, accepting it, &ldquo;I
+think this is exactly what I require.&rdquo; It was a common new
+white-wood rule, such as one might buy at any small
+stationer&rsquo;s for a penny. He carelessly took off the width of
+the upright, reading the figures with a touch; and then continued
+to run a finger-tip delicately up and down the edges of the
+instrument.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Four and seven-eighths,&rdquo; was his unspoken
+conclusion.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I hope it will do, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Admirably,&rdquo; replied Carrados. &ldquo;But I
+haven&rsquo;t reached the end of my requirements yet, Miss
+Chubb.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, sir?&rdquo; said the landlady, feeling that it would
+be a pleasure to oblige so agreeable a gentleman, &ldquo;what else
+might there be?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Although I can see very little I like to have a light,
+but not any kind of light. Gas I cannot do with. Do you think that
+you would be able to find me an oil lamp?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Certainly, sir. I got out a very nice brass lamp that I
+have specially for Mr Ghoosh. He read a good deal of an evening and
+he preferred a lamp.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is very convenient. I suppose it is large enough to
+burn for a whole evening?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, indeed. And very particular he was always to have it
+filled every day.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A lamp without oil is not very useful,&rdquo; smiled
+Carrados, following her towards another room, and absentmindedly
+slipping the foot-rule into his pocket.</p>
+<p>Whatever Parkinson thought of the arrangement of going into
+second-rate apartments in an obscure street it is to be inferred
+that his devotion to his master was sufficient to overcome his
+private emotions as a self-respecting &ldquo;man.&rdquo; At all
+events, as they were approaching the station he asked, and without
+a trace of feeling, whether there were any orders for him with
+reference to the proposed migration.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;None, Parkinson,&rdquo; replied his master. &ldquo;We
+must be satisfied with our present quarters.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I beg your pardon, sir,&rdquo; said Parkinson, with some
+constraint. &ldquo;I understood that you had taken the rooms for a
+week certain.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am afraid that Miss Chubb will be under the same
+impression. Unforeseen circumstances will prevent our going,
+however. Mr Greatorex must write to-morrow, enclosing a cheque,
+with my regrets, and adding a penny for this ruler which I seem to
+have brought away with me. It, at least, is something for the
+money.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Parkinson may be excused for not attempting to understand the
+course of events.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here is your train coming in, sir,&rdquo; he merely
+said.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We will let it go and wait for another. Is there a signal
+at either end of the platform?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, sir; at the further end.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let us walk towards it. Are there any of the porters or
+officials about here?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, sir; none.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Take this ruler. I want you to go up the
+steps&mdash;there are steps up the signal, by the way?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I want you to measure the glass of the lamp. Do not go up
+any higher than is necessary, but if you have to stretch be careful
+not to mark on the measurement with your nail, although the impulse
+is a natural one. That has been done already.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Parkinson looked apprehensively around and about. Fortunately
+the part was a dark and unfrequented spot and everyone else was
+moving towards the exit at the other end of the platform.
+Fortunately, also, the signal was not a high one.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;As near as I can judge on the rounded surface, the glass
+is four and seven-eighths across,&rdquo; reported Parkinson.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thank you,&rdquo; replied Carrados, returning the measure
+to his pocket, &ldquo;four and seven-eighths is quite near enough.
+Now we will take the next train back.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Sunday evening came, and with it Mr Carlyle to The Turrets at
+the appointed hour. He brought to the situation a mind poised for
+any eventuality and a trenchant eye. As the time went on and the
+impenetrable Carrados made no allusion to the case, Carlyle&rsquo;s
+manner inclined to a waggish commiseration of his host&rsquo;s
+position. Actually, he said little, but the crisp precision of his
+voice when the path lay open to a remark of any significance left
+little to be said.</p>
+<p>It was not until they had finished dinner and returned to the
+library that Carrados gave the slightest hint of anything unusual
+being in the air. His first indication of coming events was to
+remove the key from the outside to the inside of the door.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What are you doing, Max?&rdquo; demanded Mr Carlyle, his
+curiosity overcoming the indirect attitude.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You have been very entertaining, Louis,&rdquo; replied
+his friend, &ldquo;but Parkinson should be back very soon now and
+it is as well to be prepared. Do you happen to carry a
+revolver?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not when I come to dine with you, Max,&rdquo; replied
+Carlyle, with all the aplomb he could muster. &ldquo;Is it
+usual?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados smiled affectionately at his guest&rsquo;s agile
+recovery and touched the secret spring of a drawer in an antique
+bureau by his side. The little hidden receptacle shot smoothly out,
+disclosing a pair of dull-blued pistols.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To-night, at all events, it might be prudent,&rdquo; he
+replied, handing one to Carlyle and putting the other into his own
+pocket. &ldquo;Our man may be here at any minute, and we do not
+know in what temper he will come.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Our man!&rdquo; exclaimed Carlyle, craning forward in
+excitement. &ldquo;Max! you don&rsquo;t mean to say that you have
+got Mead to admit it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No one has admitted it,&rdquo; said Carrados. &ldquo;And
+it is not Mead.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not Mead.... Do you mean that
+Hutchins&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Neither Mead nor Hutchins. The man who tampered with the
+signal&mdash;for Hutchins was right and a green light <i>was</i>
+exhibited&mdash;is a young Indian from Bengal. His name is Drishna
+and he lives at Swanstead.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle stared at his friend between sheer surprise and blank
+incredulity.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You really mean this, Carrados?&rdquo; he said.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My fatal reputation for humour!&rdquo; smiled Carrados.
+&ldquo;If I am wrong, Louis, the next hour will expose
+it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But why&mdash;why&mdash;why? The colossal villainy, the
+unparalleled audacity!&rdquo; Mr Carlyle lost himself among
+incredulous superlatives and could only stare.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Chiefly to get himself out of a disastrous
+speculation,&rdquo; replied Carrados, answering the question.
+&ldquo;If there was another motive&mdash;or at least an
+incentive&mdash;which I suspect, doubtless we shall hear of
+it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;All the same, Max, I don&rsquo;t think that you have
+treated me quite fairly,&rdquo; protested Carlyle, getting over his
+first surprise and passing to a sense of injury. &ldquo;Here we are
+and I know nothing, absolutely nothing, of the whole
+affair.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We both have our ideas of pleasantry, Louis,&rdquo;
+replied Carrados genially. &ldquo;But I dare say you are right and
+perhaps there is still time to atone.&rdquo; In the fewest possible
+words he outlined the course of his investigations. &ldquo;And now
+you know all that is to be known until Drishna arrives.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But will he come?&rdquo; questioned Carlyle doubtfully.
+&ldquo;He may be suspicious.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, he will be suspicious.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then he will not come.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;On the contrary, Louis, he will come because my letter
+will make him suspicious. He <i>is</i> coming; otherwise Parkinson
+would have telephoned me at once and we should have had to take
+other measures.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What did you say, Max?&rdquo; asked Carlyle
+curiously.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wrote that I was anxious to discuss an Indo-Scythian
+inscription with him, and sent my car in the hope that he would be
+able to oblige me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But is he interested in Indo-Scythian
+inscriptions?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t the faintest idea,&rdquo; admitted
+Carrados, and Mr Carlyle was throwing up his hands in despair when
+the sound of a motor car wheels softly kissing the gravel surface
+of the drive outside brought him to his feet.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;By gad, you are right, Max!&rdquo; he exclaimed, peeping
+through the curtains. &ldquo;There is a man inside.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Drishna,&rdquo; announced Parkinson, a minute
+later.</p>
+<p>The visitor came into the room with leisurely self-possession
+that might have been real or a desperate assumption. He was a
+slightly built young man of about twenty-five, with black hair and
+eyes, a small, carefully trained moustache, and a dark olive skin.
+His physiognomy was not displeasing, but his expression had a harsh
+and supercilious tinge. In attire he erred towards the immaculately
+spruce.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Carrados?&rdquo; he said inquiringly.</p>
+<p>Carrados, who had risen, bowed slightly without offering his
+hand.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This gentleman,&rdquo; he said, indicating his friend,
+&ldquo;is Mr Carlyle, the celebrated private detective.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Indian shot a very sharp glance at the object of this
+description. Then he sat down.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You wrote me a letter, Mr Carrados,&rdquo; he remarked,
+in English that scarcely betrayed any foreign origin, &ldquo;a
+rather curious letter, I may say. You asked me about an ancient
+inscription. I know nothing of antiquities; but I thought, as you
+had sent, that it would be more courteous if I came and explained
+this to you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That was the object of my letter,&rdquo; replied
+Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You wished to see me?&rdquo; said Drishna, unable to
+stand the ordeal of the silence that Carrados imposed after his
+remark.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When you left Miss Chubb&rsquo;s house you left a ruler
+behind.&rdquo; One lay on the desk by Carrados and he took it up as
+he spoke.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t understand what you are talking
+about,&rdquo; said Drishna guardedly. &ldquo;You are making some
+mistake.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The ruler was marked at four and seven-eighths
+inches&mdash;the measure of the glass of the signal lamp
+outside.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The unfortunate young man was unable to repress a start. His
+face lost its healthy tone. Then, with a sudden impulse, he made a
+step forward and snatched the object from Carrados&rsquo;s
+hand.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If it is mine I have a right to it,&rdquo; he exclaimed,
+snapping the ruler in two and throwing it on to the back of the
+blazing fire. &ldquo;It is nothing.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Pardon me, I did not say that the one you have so
+impetuously disposed of was yours. As a matter of fact, it was
+mine. Yours is&mdash;elsewhere.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Wherever it is you have no right to it if it is
+mine,&rdquo; panted Drishna, with rising excitement. &ldquo;You are
+a thief, Mr Carrados. I will not stay any longer here.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>He jumped up and turned towards the door. Carlyle made a step
+forward, but the precaution was unnecessary.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One moment, Mr Drishna,&rdquo; interposed Carrados, in
+his smoothest tones. &ldquo;It is a pity, after you have come so
+far, to leave without hearing of my investigations in the
+neighbourhood of Shaftesbury Avenue.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Drishna sat down again.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;As you like,&rdquo; he muttered. &ldquo;It does not
+interest me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wanted to obtain a lamp of a certain pattern,&rdquo;
+continued Carrados. &ldquo;It seemed to me that the simplest
+explanation would be to say that I wanted it for a motor car.
+Naturally I went to Long Acre. At the first shop I said:
+&lsquo;Wasn&rsquo;t it here that a friend of mine, an Indian
+gentleman, recently had a lamp made with a green glass that was
+nearly five inches across?&rsquo; No, it was not there but they
+could make me one. At the next shop the same; at the third, and
+fourth, and so on. Finally my persistence was rewarded. I found the
+place where the lamp had been made, and at the cost of ordering
+another I obtained all the details I wanted. It was news to them,
+the shopman informed me, that in some parts of India green was the
+danger colour and therefore tail lamps had to show a green light.
+The incident made some impression on him and he would be able to
+identify their customer&mdash;who paid in advance and gave no
+address&mdash;among a thousand of his countrymen. Do I succeed in
+interesting you, Mr Drishna?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do you?&rdquo; replied Drishna, with a languid yawn.
+&ldquo;Do I look interested?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You must make allowance for my unfortunate
+blindness,&rdquo; apologized Carrados, with grim irony.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Blindness!&rdquo; exclaimed Drishna, dropping his
+affectation of unconcern as though electrified by the word,
+&ldquo;do you mean&mdash;really blind&mdash;that you do not see
+me?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Alas, no,&rdquo; admitted Carrados.</p>
+<p>The Indian withdrew his right hand from his coat pocket and with
+a tragic gesture flung a heavy revolver down on the table between
+them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have had you covered all the time, Mr Carrados, and if
+I had wished to go and you or your friend had raised a hand to stop
+me, it would have been at the peril of your lives,&rdquo; he said,
+in a voice of melancholy triumph. &ldquo;But what is the use of
+defying fate, and who successfully evades his destiny? A month ago
+I went to see one of our people who reads the future and sought to
+know the course of certain events. &lsquo;You need fear no human
+eye,&rsquo; was the message given to me. Then she added: &lsquo;But
+when the sightless sees the unseen, make your peace with
+Yama.&rsquo; And I thought she spoke of the Great
+Hereafter!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This amounts to an admission of your guilt,&rdquo;
+exclaimed Mr Carlyle practically.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I bow to the decree of fate,&rdquo; replied Drishna.
+&ldquo;And it is fitting to the universal irony of existence that a
+blind man should be the instrument. I don&rsquo;t imagine, Mr
+Carlyle,&rdquo; he added maliciously, &ldquo;that you, with your
+eyes, would ever have brought that result about.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are a very cold-blooded young scoundrel, sir!&rdquo;
+retorted Mr Carlyle. &ldquo;Good heavens! do you realize that you
+are responsible for the death of scores of innocent men and
+women?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do <i>you</i> realise, Mr Carlyle, that you and your
+Government and your soldiers are responsible for the death of
+thousands of innocent men and women in my country every day? If
+England was occupied by the Germans who quartered an army and an
+administration with their wives and their families and all their
+expensive paraphernalia on the unfortunate country until the whole
+nation was reduced to the verge of famine, and the appointment of
+every new official meant the callous death sentence on a thousand
+men and women to pay his salary, then if you went to Berlin and
+wrecked a train you would be hailed a patriot. What Boadicea did
+and&mdash;and Samson, so have I. If they were heroes, so am
+I.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, upon my word!&rdquo; cried the highly scandalized
+Carlyle, &ldquo;what next! Boadicea was
+a&mdash;er&mdash;semi-legendary person, whom we may possibly admire
+at a distance. Personally, I do not profess to express an opinion.
+But Samson, I would remind you, is a Biblical character. Samson was
+mocked as an enemy. You, I do not doubt, have been entertained as a
+friend.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And haven&rsquo;t I been mocked and despised and sneered
+at every day of my life here by your supercilious, superior,
+empty-headed men?&rdquo; flashed back Drishna, his eyes leaping
+into malignity and his voice trembling with sudden passion.
+&ldquo;Oh! how I hated them as I passed them in the street and
+recognized by a thousand petty insults their lordly English
+contempt for me as an inferior being&mdash;a nigger. How I longed
+with Caligula that a nation had a single neck that I might destroy
+it at one blow. I loathe you in your complacent hypocrisy, Mr
+Carlyle, despise and utterly abominate you from an eminence of
+superiority that you can never even understand.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think we are getting rather away from the point, Mr
+Drishna,&rdquo; interposed Carrados, with the impartiality of a
+judge. &ldquo;Unless I am misinformed, you are not so ungallant as
+to include everyone you have met here in your
+execration?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ah, no,&rdquo; admitted Drishna, descending into a quite
+ingenuous frankness. &ldquo;Much as I hate your men I love your
+women. How is it possible that a nation should be so
+divided&mdash;its men so dull-witted and offensive, its women so
+quick, sympathetic and capable of appreciating?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But a little expensive, too, at times?&rdquo; suggested
+Carrados.</p>
+<p>Drishna sighed heavily.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; it is incredible. It is the generosity of their
+large nature. My allowance, though what most of you would call
+noble, has proved quite inadequate. I was compelled to borrow money
+and the interest became overwhelming. Bankruptcy was impracticable
+because I should have then been recalled by my people, and much as
+I detest England a certain reason made the thought of leaving it
+unbearable.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Connected with the Arcady Theatre?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You know? Well, do not let us introduce the lady&rsquo;s
+name. In order to restore myself I speculated on the Stock
+Exchange. My credit was good through my father&rsquo;s position and
+the standing of the firm to which I am attached. I heard on
+reliable authority, and very early, that the Central and Suburban,
+and the Deferred especially, was safe to fall heavily, through a
+motor bus amalgamation that was then a secret. I opened a bear
+account and sold largely. The shares fell, but only fractionally,
+and I waited. Then, unfortunately, they began to go up. Adverse
+forces were at work and rumours were put about. I could not stand
+the settlement, and in order to carry over an account I was
+literally compelled to deal temporarily with some securities that
+were not technically my own property.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Embezzlement, sir,&rdquo; commented Mr Carlyle icily.
+&ldquo;But what is embezzlement on the top of wholesale
+murder!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is what it is called. In my case, however, it was
+only to be temporary. Unfortunately, the rise continued. Then, at
+the height of my despair, I chanced to be returning to Swanstead
+rather earlier than usual one evening, and the train was stopped at
+a certain signal to let another pass. There was conversation in the
+carriage and I learned certain details. One said that there would
+be an accident some day, and so forth. In a flash&mdash;as by an
+inspiration&mdash;I saw how the circumstance might be turned to
+account. A bad accident and the shares would certainly fall and my
+position would be retrieved. I think Mr Carrados has somehow
+learned the rest.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Max,&rdquo; said Mr Carlyle, with emotion, &ldquo;is
+there any reason why you should not send your man for a police
+officer and have this monster arrested on his own confession
+without further delay?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Pray do so, Mr Carrados,&rdquo; acquiesced Drishna.
+&ldquo;I shall certainly be hanged, but the speech I shall prepare
+will ring from one end of India to the other; my memory will be
+venerated as that of a martyr; and the emancipation of my
+motherland will be hastened by my sacrifice.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In other words,&rdquo; commented Carrados, &ldquo;there
+will be disturbances at half-a-dozen disaffected places, a few
+unfortunate police will be clubbed to death, and possibly worse
+things may happen. That does not suit us, Mr Drishna.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And how do you propose to prevent it?&rdquo; asked
+Drishna, with cool assurance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is very unpleasant being hanged on a dark winter
+morning; very cold, very friendless, very inhuman. The long trial,
+the solitude and the confinement, the thoughts of the long
+sleepless night before, the hangman and the pinioning and the
+noosing of the rope, are apt to prey on the imagination. Only a
+very stupid man can take hanging easily.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What do you want me to do instead, Mr Carrados?&rdquo;
+asked Drishna shrewdly.</p>
+<p>Carrados&rsquo;s hand closed on the weapon that still lay on the
+table between them. Without a word he pushed it across.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I see,&rdquo; commented Drishna, with a short laugh and a
+gleaming eye. &ldquo;Shoot myself and hush it up to suit your
+purpose. Withhold my message to save the exposures of a trial, and
+keep the flame from the torch of insurrectionary
+freedom.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Also,&rdquo; interposed Carrados mildly, &ldquo;to save
+your worthy people a good deal of shame, and to save the lady who
+is nameless the unpleasant necessity of relinquishing the house and
+the income which you have just settled on her. She certainly would
+not then venerate your memory.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What is that?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The transaction which you carried through was based on a
+felony and could not be upheld. The firm you dealt with will go to
+the courts, and the money, being directly traceable, will be held
+forfeit as no good consideration passed.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Max!&rdquo; cried Mr Carlyle hotly, &ldquo;you are not
+going to let this scoundrel cheat the gallows after all?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The best use you can make of the gallows is to cheat it,
+Louis,&rdquo; replied Carrados. &ldquo;Have you ever reflected what
+human beings will think of us a hundred years hence?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, of course I&rsquo;m not really in favour of
+hanging,&rdquo; admitted Mr Carlyle.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nobody really is. But we go on hanging. Mr Drishna is a
+dangerous animal who for the sake of pacific animals must cease to
+exist. Let his barbarous exploit pass into oblivion with him. The
+disadvantages of spreading it broadcast immeasurably outweigh the
+benefits.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have considered,&rdquo; announced Drishna. &ldquo;I
+will do as you wish.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; said Carrados. &ldquo;Here is some
+plain notepaper. You had better write a letter to someone saying
+that the financial difficulties in which you are involved make life
+unbearable.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But there are no financial
+difficulties&mdash;now.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That does not matter in the least. It will be put down to
+an hallucination and taken as showing the state of your
+mind.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But what guarantee have we that he will not
+escape?&rdquo; whispered Mr Carlyle.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He cannot escape,&rdquo; replied Carrados tranquilly.
+&ldquo;His identity is too clear.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have no intention of trying to escape,&rdquo; put in
+Drishna, as he wrote. &ldquo;You hardly imagine that I have not
+considered this eventuality, do you?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;All the same,&rdquo; murmured the ex-lawyer, &ldquo;I
+should like to have a jury behind me. It is one thing to execute a
+man morally; it is another to do it almost literally.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is that all right?&rdquo; asked Drishna, passing across
+the letter he had written.</p>
+<p>Carrados smiled at this tribute to his perception.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite excellent,&rdquo; he replied courteously.
+&ldquo;There is a train at nine-forty. Will that suit
+you?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Drishna nodded and stood up. Mr Carlyle had a very uneasy
+feeling that he ought to do something but could not suggest to
+himself what.</p>
+<p>The next moment he heard his friend heartily thanking the
+visitor for the assistance he had been in the matter of the
+Indo-Scythian inscription, as they walked across the hall together.
+Then a door closed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I believe that there is something positively uncanny
+about Max at times,&rdquo; murmured the perturbed gentleman to
+himself.</p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="THE_TRAGEDY_AT_BROOKBEND_COTTAGE" id=
+"THE_TRAGEDY_AT_BROOKBEND_COTTAGE"></a>THE TRAGEDY AT BROOKBEND
+COTTAGE</h2>
+<p>&ldquo;Max,&rdquo; said Mr Carlyle, when Parkinson had closed
+the door behind him, &ldquo;this is Lieutenant Hollyer, whom you
+consented to see.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To hear,&rdquo; corrected Carrados, smiling straight into
+the healthy and rather embarrassed face of the stranger before him.
+&ldquo;Mr Hollyer knows of my disability?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Carlyle told me,&rdquo; said the young man,
+&ldquo;but, as a matter of fact, I had heard of you before, Mr
+Carrados, from one of our men. It was in connexion with the
+foundering of the <i>Ivan Saratov</i>.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados wagged his head in good-humoured resignation.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And the owners were sworn to inviolable secrecy!&rdquo;
+he exclaimed. &ldquo;Well, it is inevitable, I suppose. Not another
+scuttling case, Mr Hollyer?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, mine is quite a private matter,&rdquo; replied the
+lieutenant. &ldquo;My sister, Mrs Creake&mdash;but Mr Carlyle would
+tell you better than I can. He knows all about it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, no; Carlyle is a professional. Let me have it in the
+rough, Mr Hollyer. My ears are my eyes, you know.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very well, sir. I can tell you what there is to tell,
+right enough, but I feel that when all&rsquo;s said and done it
+must sound very little to another, although it seems important
+enough to me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We have occasionally found trifles of significance
+ourselves,&rdquo; said Carrados encouragingly. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t
+let that deter you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This was the essence of Lieutenant Hollyer&rsquo;s
+narrative:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have a sister, Millicent, who is married to a man
+called Creake. She is about twenty-eight now and he is at least
+fifteen years older. Neither my mother (who has since died), nor I,
+cared very much about Creake. We had nothing particular against
+him, except, perhaps, the moderate disparity of age, but none of us
+appeared to have anything in common. He was a dark, taciturn man,
+and his moody silence froze up conversation. As a result, of
+course, we didn&rsquo;t see much of each other.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This, you must understand, was four or five years ago,
+Max,&rdquo; interposed Mr Carlyle officiously.</p>
+<p>Carrados maintained an uncompromising silence. Mr Carlyle blew
+his nose and contrived to impart a hurt significance into the
+operation. Then Lieutenant Hollyer continued:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Millicent married Creake after a very short engagement.
+It was a frightfully subdued wedding&mdash;more like a funeral to
+me. The man professed to have no relations and apparently he had
+scarcely any friends or business acquaintances. He was an agent for
+something or other and had an office off Holborn. I suppose he made
+a living out of it then, although we knew practically nothing of
+his private affairs, but I gather that it has been going down
+since, and I suspect that for the past few years they have been
+getting along almost entirely on Millicent&rsquo;s little income.
+You would like the particulars of that?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Please,&rdquo; assented Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When our father died about seven years ago, he left three
+thousand pounds. It was invested in Canadian stock and brought in a
+little over a hundred a year. By his will my mother was to have the
+income of that for life and on her death it was to pass to
+Millicent, subject to the payment of a lump sum of five hundred
+pounds to me. But my father privately suggested to me that if I
+should have no particular use for the money at the time, he would
+propose my letting Millicent have the income of it until I did want
+it, as she would not be particularly well off. You see, Mr
+Carrados, a great deal more had been spent on my education and
+advancement than on her; I had my pay, and, of course, I could look
+out for myself better than a girl could.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite so,&rdquo; agreed Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Therefore I did nothing about that,&rdquo; continued the
+lieutenant. &ldquo;Three years ago I was over again but I did not
+see much of them. They were living in lodgings. That was the only
+time since the marriage that I have seen them until last week. In
+the meanwhile our mother had died and Millicent had been receiving
+her income. She wrote me several letters at the time. Otherwise we
+did not correspond much, but about a year ago she sent me their new
+address&mdash;Brookbend Cottage, Mulling Common&mdash;a house that
+they had taken. When I got two months&rsquo; leave I invited myself
+there as a matter of course, fully expecting to stay most of my
+time with them, but I made an excuse to get away after a week. The
+place was dismal and unendurable, the whole life and atmosphere
+indescribably depressing.&rdquo; He looked round with an instinct
+of caution, leaned forward earnestly, and dropped his voice.
+&ldquo;Mr Carrados, it is my absolute conviction that Creake is
+only waiting for a favourable opportunity to murder
+Millicent.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Go on,&rdquo; said Carrados quietly. &ldquo;A week of the
+depressing surroundings of Brookbend Cottage would not alone
+convince you of that, Mr Hollyer.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am not so sure,&rdquo; declared Hollyer doubtfully.
+&ldquo;There was a feeling of suspicion and&mdash;before
+me&mdash;polite hatred that would have gone a good way towards it.
+All the same there <i>was</i> something more definite. Millicent
+told me this the day after I went there. There is no doubt that a
+few months ago Creake deliberately planned to poison her with some
+weed-killer. She told me the circumstances in a rather distressed
+moment, but afterwards she refused to speak of it again&mdash;even
+weakly denied it&mdash;and, as a matter of fact, it was with the
+greatest difficulty that I could get her at any time to talk about
+her husband or his affairs. The gist of it was that she had the
+strongest suspicion that Creake doctored a bottle of stout which he
+expected she would drink for her supper when she was alone. The
+weed-killer, properly labelled, but also in a beer bottle, was kept
+with other miscellaneous liquids in the same cupboard as the beer
+but on a high shelf. When he found that it had miscarried he poured
+away the mixture, washed out the bottle and put in the dregs from
+another. There is no doubt in my mind that if he had come back and
+found Millicent dead or dying he would have contrived it to appear
+that she had made a mistake in the dark and drunk some of the
+poison before she found out.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; assented Carrados. &ldquo;The open way; the
+safe way.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You must understand that they live in a very small style,
+Mr Carrados, and Millicent is almost entirely in the man&rsquo;s
+power. The only servant they have is a woman who comes in for a few
+hours every day. The house is lonely and secluded. Creake is
+sometimes away for days and nights at a time, and Millicent, either
+through pride or indifference, seems to have dropped off all her
+old friends and to have made no others. He might poison her, bury
+the body in the garden, and be a thousand miles away before anyone
+began even to inquire about her. What am I to do, Mr
+Carrados?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He is less likely to try poison than some other means
+now,&rdquo; pondered Carrados. &ldquo;That having failed, his wife
+will always be on her guard. He may know, or at least suspect, that
+others know. No.... The common-sense precaution would be for your
+sister to leave the man, Mr Hollyer. She will not?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; admitted Hollyer, &ldquo;she will not. I at
+once urged that.&rdquo; The young man struggled with some
+hesitation for a moment and then blurted out: &ldquo;The fact is,
+Mr Carrados, I don&rsquo;t understand Millicent. She is not the
+girl she was. She hates Creake and treats him with a silent
+contempt that eats into their lives like acid, and yet she is so
+jealous of him that she will let nothing short of death part them.
+It is a horrible life they lead. I stood it for a week and I must
+say, much as I dislike my brother-in-law, that he has something to
+put up with. If only he got into a passion like a man and killed
+her it wouldn&rsquo;t be altogether incomprehensible.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That does not concern us,&rdquo; said Carrados. &ldquo;In
+a game of this kind one has to take sides and we have taken ours.
+It remains for us to see that our side wins. You mentioned
+jealousy, Mr Hollyer. Have you any idea whether Mrs Creake has real
+ground for it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should have told you that,&rdquo; replied Lieutenant
+Hollyer. &ldquo;I happened to strike up with a newspaper man whose
+office is in the same block as Creake&rsquo;s. When I mentioned the
+name he grinned. &lsquo;Creake,&rsquo; he said, &lsquo;oh,
+he&rsquo;s the man with the romantic typist, isn&rsquo;t he?&rsquo;
+&lsquo;Well, he&rsquo;s my brother-in-law,&rsquo; I replied.
+&lsquo;What about the typist?&rsquo; Then the chap shut up like a
+knife. &lsquo;No, no,&rsquo; he said, &lsquo;I didn&rsquo;t know he
+was married. I don&rsquo;t want to get mixed up in anything of that
+sort. I only said that he had a typist. Well, what of that? So have
+we; so has everyone.&rsquo; There was nothing more to be got out of
+him, but the remark and the grin meant&mdash;well, about as usual,
+Mr Carrados.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados turned to his friend.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose you know all about the typist by now,
+Louis?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We have had her under efficient observation, Max,&rdquo;
+replied Mr Carlyle, with severe dignity.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is she unmarried?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; so far as ordinary repute goes, she is.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is all that is essential for the moment. Mr Hollyer
+opens up three excellent reasons why this man might wish to dispose
+of his wife. If we accept the suggestion of poisoning&mdash;though
+we have only a jealous woman&rsquo;s suspicion for it&mdash;we add
+to the wish the determination. Well, we will go forward on that.
+Have you got a photograph of Mr Creake?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The lieutenant took out his pocket-book.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Carlyle asked me for one. Here is the best I could
+get.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados rang the bell.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This, Parkinson,&rdquo; he said, when the man appeared,
+&ldquo;is a photograph of a Mr&mdash;&mdash;What first name, by the
+way?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Austin,&rdquo; put in Hollyer, who was following
+everything with a boyish mixture of excitement and subdued
+importance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&mdash;of a Mr Austin Creake. I may require you to
+recognize him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Parkinson glanced at the print and returned it to his
+master&rsquo;s hand.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;May I inquire if it is a recent photograph of the
+gentleman, sir?&rdquo; he asked.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;About six years ago,&rdquo; said the lieutenant, taking
+in this new actor in the drama with frank curiosity. &ldquo;But he
+is very little changed.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thank you, sir. I will endeavour to remember Mr Creake,
+sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Lieutenant Hollyer stood up as Parkinson left the room. The
+interview seemed to be at an end.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, there&rsquo;s one other matter,&rdquo; he remarked.
+&ldquo;I am afraid that I did rather an unfortunate thing while I
+was at Brookbend. It seemed to me that as all Millicent&rsquo;s
+money would probably pass into Creake&rsquo;s hands sooner or later
+I might as well have my five hundred pounds, if only to help her
+with afterwards. So I broached the subject and said that I should
+like to have it now as I had an opportunity for
+investing.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And you think?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It may possibly influence Creake to act sooner than he
+otherwise might have done. He may have got possession of the
+principal even and find it very awkward to replace it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So much the better. If your sister is going to be
+murdered it may as well be done next week as next year so far as I
+am concerned. Excuse my brutality, Mr Hollyer, but this is simply a
+case to me and I regard it strategically. Now Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s
+organization can look after Mrs Creake for a few weeks but it
+cannot look after her for ever. By increasing the immediate risk we
+diminish the permanent risk.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I see,&rdquo; agreed Hollyer. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m awfully
+uneasy but I&rsquo;m entirely in your hands.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then we will give Mr Creake every inducement and every
+opportunity to get to work. Where are you staying now?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Just now with some friends at St Albans.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is too far.&rdquo; The inscrutable eyes retained
+their tranquil depth but a new quality of quickening interest in
+the voice made Mr Carlyle forget the weight and burden of his
+ruffled dignity. &ldquo;Give me a few minutes, please. The
+cigarettes are behind you, Mr Hollyer.&rdquo; The blind man walked
+to the window and seemed to look out over the cypress-shaded lawn.
+The lieutenant lit a cigarette and Mr Carlyle picked up
+<i>Punch</i>. Then Carrados turned round again.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are prepared to put your own arrangements
+aside?&rdquo; he demanded of his visitor.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Certainly.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very well. I want you to go down now&mdash;straight from
+here&mdash;to Brookbend Cottage. Tell your sister that your leave
+is unexpectedly cut short and that you sail to-morrow.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The <i>Martian</i>?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, no; the <i>Martian</i> doesn&rsquo;t sail. Look up
+the movements on your way there and pick out a boat that does. Say
+you are transferred. Add that you expect to be away only two or
+three months and that you really want the five hundred pounds by
+the time of your return. Don&rsquo;t stay in the house long,
+please.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I understand, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;St Albans is too far. Make your excuse and get away from
+there to-day. Put up somewhere in town, where you will be in reach
+of the telephone. Let Mr Carlyle and myself know where you are.
+Keep out of Creake&rsquo;s way. I don&rsquo;t want actually to tie
+you down to the house, but we may require your services. We will
+let you know at the first sign of anything doing and if there is
+nothing to be done we must release you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t mind that. Is there nothing more that I can
+do now?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nothing. In going to Mr Carlyle you have done the best
+thing possible; you have put your sister into the care of the
+shrewdest man in London.&rdquo; Whereat the object of this quite
+unexpected eulogy found himself becoming covered with modest
+confusion.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, Max?&rdquo; remarked Mr Carlyle tentatively when
+they were alone.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, Louis?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course it wasn&rsquo;t worth while rubbing it in
+before young Hollyer, but, as a matter of fact, every single man
+carries the life of any other man&mdash;only one, mind you&mdash;in
+his hands, do what you will.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Provided he doesn&rsquo;t bungle,&rdquo; acquiesced
+Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite so.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And also that he is absolutely reckless of the
+consequences.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Two rather large provisos. Creake is obviously
+susceptible to both. Have you seen him?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No. As I told you, I put a man on to report his habits in
+town. Then, two days ago, as the case seemed to promise some
+interest&mdash;for he certainly is deeply involved with the typist,
+Max, and the thing might take a sensational turn any time&mdash;I
+went down to Mulling Common myself. Although the house is lonely it
+is on the electric tram route. You know the sort of market garden
+rurality that about a dozen miles out of London
+offers&mdash;alternate bricks and cabbages. It was easy enough to
+get to know about Creake locally. He mixes with no one there, goes
+into town at irregular times but generally every day, and is
+reputed to be devilish hard to get money out of. Finally I made the
+acquaintance of an old fellow who used to do a day&rsquo;s
+gardening at Brookbend occasionally. He has a cottage and a garden
+of his own with a greenhouse, and the business cost me the price of
+a pound of tomatoes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Was it&mdash;a profitable investment?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;As tomatoes, yes; as information, no. The old fellow had
+the fatal disadvantage from our point of view of labouring under a
+grievance. A few weeks ago Creake told him that he would not
+require him again as he was going to do his own gardening in
+future.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is something, Louis.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If only Creake was going to poison his wife with
+hyoscyamine and bury her, instead of blowing her up with a dynamite
+cartridge and claiming that it came in among the coal.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;True, true. Still&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;However, the chatty old soul had a simple explanation for
+everything that Creake did. Creake was mad. He had even seen him
+flying a kite in his garden where it was bound to get wrecked among
+the trees. &lsquo;A lad of ten would have known better,&rsquo; he
+declared. And certainly the kite did get wrecked, for I saw it
+hanging over the road myself. But that a sane man should spend his
+time &lsquo;playing with a toy&rsquo; was beyond him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A good many men have been flying kites of various kinds
+lately,&rdquo; said Carrados. &ldquo;Is he interested in
+aviation?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I dare say. He appears to have some knowledge of
+scientific subjects. Now what do you want me to do, Max?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Will you do it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Implicitly&mdash;subject to the usual
+reservations.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Keep your man on Creake in town and let me have his
+reports after you have seen them. Lunch with me here now.
+&rsquo;Phone up to your office that you are detained on unpleasant
+business and then give the deserving Parkinson an afternoon off by
+looking after me while we take a motor run round Mulling Common. If
+we have time we might go on to Brighton, feed at the
+&lsquo;Ship,&rsquo; and come back in the cool.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Amiable and thrice lucky mortal,&rdquo; sighed Mr
+Carlyle, his glance wandering round the room.</p>
+<p>But, as it happened, Brighton did not figure in that day&rsquo;s
+itinerary. It had been Carrados&rsquo;s intention merely to pass
+Brookbend Cottage on this occasion, relying on his highly developed
+faculties, aided by Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s description, to inform him
+of the surroundings. A hundred yards before they reached the house
+he had given an order to his chauffeur to drop into the lowest
+speed and they were leisurely drawing past when a discovery by Mr
+Carlyle modified their plans.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;By Jupiter!&rdquo; that gentleman suddenly exclaimed,
+&ldquo;there&rsquo;s a board up, Max. The place is to be
+let.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados picked up the tube again. A couple of sentences passed
+and the car stopped by the roadside, a score of paces past the
+limit of the garden. Mr Carlyle took out his notebook and wrote
+down the address of a firm of house agents.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You might raise the bonnet and have a look at the
+engines, Harris,&rdquo; said Carrados. &ldquo;We want to be
+occupied here for a few minutes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This is sudden; Hollyer knew nothing of their
+leaving,&rdquo; remarked Mr Carlyle.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Probably not for three months yet. All the same, Louis,
+we will go on to the agents and get a card to view, whether we use
+it to-day or not.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>A thick hedge, in its summer dress effectively screening the
+house beyond from public view, lay between the garden and the road.
+Above the hedge showed an occasional shrub; at the corner nearest
+to the car a chestnut flourished. The wooden gate, once white;
+which they had passed, was grimed and rickety. The road itself was
+still the unpretentious country lane that the advent of the
+electric car had found it. When Carrados had taken in these details
+there seemed little else to notice. He was on the point of giving
+Harris the order to go on when his ear caught a trivial sound.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Someone is coming out of the house, Louis,&rdquo; he
+warned his friend. &ldquo;It may be Hollyer, but he ought to have
+gone by this time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t hear anyone,&rdquo; replied the other, but
+as he spoke a door banged noisily and Mr Carlyle slipped into
+another seat and ensconced himself behind a copy of <i>The
+Globe</i>.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Creake himself,&rdquo; he whispered across the car, as a
+man appeared at the gate. &ldquo;Hollyer was right; he is hardly
+changed. Waiting for a car, I suppose.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>But a car very soon swung past them from the direction in which
+Mr Creake was looking and it did not interest him. For a minute or
+two longer he continued to look expectantly along the road. Then he
+walked slowly up the drive back to the house.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We will give him five or ten minutes,&rdquo; decided
+Carrados. &ldquo;Harris is behaving very naturally.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Before even the shorter period had run out they were repaid. A
+telegraph-boy cycled leisurely along the road, and, leaving his
+machine at the gate, went up to the cottage. Evidently there was no
+reply, for in less than a minute he was trundling past them back
+again. Round the bend an approaching tram clanged its bell noisily,
+and, quickened by the warning sound, Mr Creake again appeared, this
+time with a small portmanteau in his hand. With a backward glance
+he hurried on towards the next stopping-place, and, boarding the
+car as it slackened down, he was carried out of their
+knowledge.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very convenient of Mr Creake,&rdquo; remarked Carrados,
+with quiet satisfaction. &ldquo;We will now get the order and go
+over the house in his absence. It might be useful to have a look at
+the wire as well.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It might, Max,&rdquo; acquiesced Mr Carlyle a little
+dryly. &ldquo;But if it is, as it probably is, in Creake&rsquo;s
+pocket, how do you propose to get it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;By going to the post office, Louis.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite so. Have you ever tried to see a copy of a telegram
+addressed to someone else?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I have ever had occasion yet,&rdquo;
+admitted Carrados. &ldquo;Have you?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In one or two cases I have perhaps been an accessory to
+the act. It is generally a matter either of extreme delicacy or
+considerable expenditure.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then for Hollyer&rsquo;s sake we will hope for the former
+here.&rdquo; And Mr Carlyle smiled darkly and hinted that he was
+content to wait for a friendly revenge.</p>
+<p>A little later, having left the car at the beginning of the
+straggling High Street, the two men called at the village post
+office. They had already visited the house agent and obtained an
+order to view Brookbend Cottage, declining, with some difficulty,
+the clerk&rsquo;s persistent offer to accompany them. The reason
+was soon forthcoming. &ldquo;As a matter of fact,&rdquo; explained
+the young man, &ldquo;the present tenant is under <i>our</i> notice
+to leave.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Unsatisfactory, eh?&rdquo; said Carrados
+encouragingly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a corker,&rdquo; admitted the clerk,
+responding to the friendly tone. &ldquo;Fifteen months and not a
+doit of rent have we had. That&rsquo;s why I should have
+liked&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We will make every allowance,&rdquo; replied
+Carrados.</p>
+<p>The post office occupied one side of a stationer&rsquo;s shop.
+It was not without some inward trepidation that Mr Carlyle found
+himself committed to the adventure. Carrados, on the other hand,
+was the personification of bland unconcern.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You have just sent a telegram to Brookbend
+Cottage,&rdquo; he said to the young lady behind the brasswork
+lattice. &ldquo;We think it may have come inaccurately and should
+like a repeat.&rdquo; He took out his purse. &ldquo;What is the
+fee?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The request was evidently not a common one. &ldquo;Oh,&rdquo;
+said the girl uncertainly, &ldquo;wait a minute, please.&rdquo; She
+turned to a pile of telegram duplicates behind the desk and ran a
+doubtful finger along the upper sheets. &ldquo;I think this is all
+right. You want it repeated?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Please.&rdquo; Just a tinge of questioning surprise gave
+point to the courteous tone.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It will be fourpence. If there is an error the amount
+will be refunded.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados put down a coin and received his change.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Will it take long?&rdquo; he inquired carelessly, as he
+pulled on his glove.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You will most likely get it within a quarter of an
+hour,&rdquo; she replied.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now you&rsquo;ve done it,&rdquo; commented Mr Carlyle, as
+they walked back to their car. &ldquo;How do you propose to get
+that telegram, Max?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ask for it,&rdquo; was the laconic explanation.</p>
+<p>And, stripping the artifice of any elaboration, he simply asked
+for it and got it. The car, posted at a convenient bend in the
+road, gave him a warning note as the telegraph-boy approached. Then
+Carrados took up a convincing attitude with his hand on the gate
+while Mr Carlyle lent himself to the semblance of a departing
+friend. That was the inevitable impression when the boy rode
+up.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Creake, Brookbend Cottage?&rdquo; inquired Carrados,
+holding out his hand, and without a second thought the boy gave him
+the envelope and rode away on the assurance that there would be no
+reply.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Some day, my friend,&rdquo; remarked Mr Carlyle, looking
+nervously towards the unseen house, &ldquo;your ingenuity will get
+you into a tight corner.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then my ingenuity must get me out again,&rdquo; was the
+retort. &ldquo;Let us have our &lsquo;view&rsquo; now. The telegram
+can wait.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>An untidy workwoman took their order and left them standing at
+the door. Presently a lady whom they both knew to be Mrs Creake
+appeared.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You wish to see over the house?&rdquo; she said, in a
+voice that was utterly devoid of any interest. Then, without
+waiting for a reply, she turned to the nearest door and threw it
+open.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This is the drawing-room,&rdquo; she said, standing
+aside.</p>
+<p>They walked into a sparsely furnished, damp-smelling room and
+made a pretence of looking round, while Mrs Creake remained silent
+and aloof.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The dining-room,&rdquo; she continued, crossing the
+narrow hall and opening another door.</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle ventured a genial commonplace in the hope of inducing
+conversation. The result was not encouraging. Doubtless they would
+have gone through the house under the same frigid guidance had not
+Carrados been at fault in a way that Mr Carlyle had never known him
+fail before. In crossing the hall he stumbled over a mat and almost
+fell.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Pardon my clumsiness,&rdquo; he said to the lady.
+&ldquo;I am, unfortunately, quite blind. But,&rdquo; he added, with
+a smile, to turn off the mishap, &ldquo;even a blind man must have
+a house.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The man who had eyes was surprised to see a flood of colour rush
+into Mrs Creake&rsquo;s face.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Blind!&rdquo; she exclaimed, &ldquo;oh, I beg your
+pardon. Why did you not tell me? You might have fallen.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I generally manage fairly well,&rdquo; he replied.
+&ldquo;But, of course, in a strange house&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>She put her hand on his arm very lightly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You must let me guide you, just a little,&rdquo; she
+said.</p>
+<p>The house, without being large, was full of passages and
+inconvenient turnings. Carrados asked an occasional question and
+found Mrs Creake quite amiable without effusion. Mr Carlyle
+followed them from room to room in the hope, though scarcely the
+expectation, of learning something that might be useful.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This is the last one. It is the largest bedroom,&rdquo;
+said their guide. Only two of the upper rooms were fully furnished
+and Mr Carlyle at once saw, as Carrados knew without seeing, that
+this was the one which the Creakes occupied.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A very pleasant outlook,&rdquo; declared Mr Carlyle.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, I suppose so,&rdquo; admitted the lady vaguely. The
+room, in fact, looked over the leafy garden and the road beyond. It
+had a French window opening on to a small balcony, and to this,
+under the strange influence that always attracted him to light,
+Carrados walked.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I expect that there is a certain amount of repair
+needed?&rdquo; he said, after standing there a moment.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am afraid there would be,&rdquo; she confessed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I ask because there is a sheet of metal on the floor
+here,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;Now that, in an old house, spells
+dry rot to the wary observer.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My husband said that the rain, which comes in a little
+under the window, was rotting the boards there,&rdquo; she replied.
+&ldquo;He put that down recently. I had not noticed anything
+myself.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It was the first time she had mentioned her husband; Mr Carlyle
+pricked up his ears.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ah, that is a less serious matter,&rdquo; said Carrados.
+&ldquo;May I step out on to the balcony?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh yes, if you like to.&rdquo; Then, as he appeared to be
+fumbling at the catch, &ldquo;Let me open it for you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>But the window was already open, and Carrados, facing the
+various points of the compass, took in the bearings.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A sunny, sheltered corner,&rdquo; he remarked. &ldquo;An
+ideal spot for a deck-chair and a book.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>She shrugged her shoulders half contemptuously.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I dare say,&rdquo; she replied, &ldquo;but I never use
+it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Sometimes, surely,&rdquo; he persisted mildly. &ldquo;It
+would be my favourite retreat. But then&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I was going to say that I had never even been out on it,
+but that would not be quite true. It has two uses for me, both
+equally romantic; I occasionally shake a duster from it, and when
+my husband returns late without his latchkey he wakes me up and I
+come out here and drop him mine.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Further revelation of Mr Creake&rsquo;s nocturnal habits was cut
+off, greatly to Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s annoyance, by a cough of
+unmistakable significance from the foot of the stairs. They had
+heard a trade cart drive up to the gate, a knock at the door, and
+the heavy-footed woman tramp along the hall.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Excuse me a minute, please,&rdquo; said Mrs Creake.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Louis,&rdquo; said Carrados, in a sharp whisper, the
+moment they were alone, &ldquo;stand against the door.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>With extreme plausibility Mr Carlyle began to admire a picture
+so situated that while he was there it was impossible to open the
+door more than a few inches. From that position he observed his
+confederate go through the curious procedure of kneeling down on
+the bedroom floor and for a full minute pressing his ear to the
+sheet of metal that had already engaged his attention. Then he rose
+to his feet, nodded, dusted his trousers, and Mr Carlyle moved to a
+less equivocal position.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What a beautiful rose-tree grows up your balcony,&rdquo;
+remarked Carrados, stepping into the room as Mrs Creake returned.
+&ldquo;I suppose you are very fond of gardening?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I detest it,&rdquo; she replied.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But this <i>Glorie</i>, so carefully
+trained&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is it?&rdquo; she replied. &ldquo;I think my husband was
+nailing it up recently.&rdquo; By some strange fatality
+Carrados&rsquo;s most aimless remarks seemed to involve the absent
+Mr Creake. &ldquo;Do you care to see the garden?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The garden proved to be extensive and neglected. Behind the
+house was chiefly orchard. In front, some semblance of order had
+been kept up; here it was lawn and shrubbery, and the drive they
+had walked along. Two things interested Carrados: the soil at the
+foot of the balcony, which he declared on examination to be
+particularly suitable for roses, and the fine chestnut-tree in the
+corner by the road.</p>
+<p>As they walked back to the car Mr Carlyle lamented that they had
+learned so little of Creake&rsquo;s movements.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps the telegram will tell us something,&rdquo;
+suggested Carrados. &ldquo;Read it, Louis.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle cut open the envelope, glanced at the enclosure, and
+in spite of his disappointment could not restrain a chuckle.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My poor Max,&rdquo; he explained, &ldquo;you have put
+yourself to an amount of ingenious trouble for nothing. Creake is
+evidently taking a few days&rsquo; holiday and prudently availed
+himself of the Meteorological Office forecast before going. Listen:
+&lsquo;<i>Immediate prospect for London warm and settled. Further
+outlook cooler but fine.</i>&rsquo; Well, well; I did get a pound
+of tomatoes for <i>my</i> fourpence.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You certainly scored there, Louis,&rdquo; admitted
+Carrados, with humorous appreciation. &ldquo;I wonder,&rdquo; he
+added speculatively, &ldquo;whether it is Creake&rsquo;s peculiar
+taste usually to spend his week-end holiday in London.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Eh?&rdquo; exclaimed Mr Carlyle, looking at the words
+again, &ldquo;by gad, that&rsquo;s rum, Max. They go to
+Weston-super-Mare. Why on earth should he want to know about
+London?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I can make a guess, but before we are satisfied I must
+come here again. Take another look at that kite, Louis. Are there a
+few yards of string hanging loose from it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, there are.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Rather thick string&mdash;unusually thick for the
+purpose?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; but how do you know?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>As they drove home again Carrados explained, and Mr Carlyle sat
+aghast, saying incredulously: &ldquo;Good God, Max, is it
+possible?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>An hour later he was satisfied that it was possible. In reply to
+his inquiry someone in his office telephoned him the information
+that &ldquo;they&rdquo; had left Paddington by the four-thirty for
+Weston.</p>
+<p>It was more than a week after his introduction to Carrados that
+Lieutenant Hollyer had a summons to present himself at The Turrets
+again. He found Mr Carlyle already there and the two friends
+awaiting his arrival.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I stayed in all day after hearing from you this morning,
+Mr Carrados,&rdquo; he said, shaking hands. &ldquo;When I got your
+second message I was all ready to walk straight out of the house.
+That&rsquo;s how I did it in the time. I hope everything is all
+right?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Excellent,&rdquo; replied Carrados. &ldquo;You&rsquo;d
+better have something before we start. We probably have a long and
+perhaps an exciting night before us.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And certainly a wet one,&rdquo; assented the lieutenant.
+&ldquo;It was thundering over Mulling way as I came
+along.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is why you are here,&rdquo; said his host. &ldquo;We
+are waiting for a certain message before we start, and in the
+meantime you may as well understand what we expect to happen. As
+you saw, there is a thunderstorm coming on. The Meteorological
+Office morning forecast predicted it for the whole of London if the
+conditions remained. That was why I kept you in readiness. Within
+an hour it is now inevitable that we shall experience a deluge.
+Here and there damage will be done to trees and buildings; here and
+there a person will probably be struck and killed.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is Mr Creake&rsquo;s intention that his wife should be
+among the victims.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t exactly follow,&rdquo; said Hollyer,
+looking from one man to the other. &ldquo;I quite admit that Creake
+would be immensely relieved if such a thing did happen, but the
+chance is surely an absurdly remote one.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yet unless we intervene it is precisely what a
+coroner&rsquo;s jury will decide has happened. Do you know whether
+your brother-in-law has any practical knowledge of electricity, Mr
+Hollyer?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I cannot say. He was so reserved, and we really knew so
+little of him&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yet in 1896 an Austin Creake contributed an article on
+&lsquo;Alternating Currents&rsquo; to the American <i>Scientific
+World</i>. That would argue a fairly intimate
+acquaintanceship.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But do you mean that he is going to direct a flash of
+lightning?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Only into the minds of the doctor who conducts the
+post-mortem, and the coroner. This storm, the opportunity for which
+he has been waiting for weeks, is merely the cloak to his act. The
+weapon which he has planned to use&mdash;scarcely less powerful
+than lightning but much more tractable&mdash;is the high voltage
+current of electricity that flows along the tram wire at his
+gate.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; exclaimed Lieutenant Hollyer, as the sudden
+revelation struck him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Some time between eleven o&rsquo;clock
+to-night&mdash;about the hour when your sister goes to
+bed&mdash;and one-thirty in the morning&mdash;the time up to which
+he can rely on the current&mdash;Creake will throw a stone up at
+the balcony window. Most of his preparation has long been made; it
+only remains for him to connect up a short length to the window
+handle and a longer one at the other end to tap the live wire. That
+done, he will wake his wife in the way I have said. The moment she
+moves the catch of the window&mdash;and he has carefully filed its
+parts to ensure perfect contact&mdash;she will be electrocuted as
+effectually as if she sat in the executioner&rsquo;s chair in Sing
+Sing prison.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But what are we doing here!&rdquo; exclaimed Hollyer,
+starting to his feet, pale and horrified. &ldquo;It is past ten now
+and anything may happen.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite natural, Mr Hollyer,&rdquo; said Carrados
+reassuringly, &ldquo;but you need have no anxiety. Creake is being
+watched, the house is being watched, and your sister is as safe as
+if she slept to-night in Windsor Castle. Be assured that whatever
+happens he will not be allowed to complete his scheme; but it is
+desirable to let him implicate himself to the fullest limit. Your
+brother-in-law, Mr Hollyer, is a man with a peculiar capacity for
+taking pains.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He is a damned cold-blooded scoundrel!&rdquo; exclaimed
+the young officer fiercely. &ldquo;When I think of Millicent five
+years ago&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, for that matter, an enlightened nation has decided
+that electrocution is the most humane way of removing its
+superfluous citizens,&rdquo; suggested Carrados mildly. &ldquo;He
+is certainly an ingenious-minded gentleman. It is his misfortune
+that in Mr Carlyle he was fated to be opposed by an even subtler
+brain&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, no! Really, Max!&rdquo; protested the embarrassed
+gentleman.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Hollyer will be able to judge for himself when I tell
+him that it was Mr Carlyle who first drew attention to the
+significance of the abandoned kite,&rdquo; insisted Carrados
+firmly. &ldquo;Then, of course, its object became plain to
+me&mdash;as indeed to anyone. For ten minutes, perhaps, a wire must
+be carried from the overhead line to the chestnut-tree. Creake has
+everything in his favour, but it is just within possibility that
+the driver of an inopportune tram might notice the appendage. What
+of that? Why, for more than a week he has seen a derelict kite with
+its yards of trailing string hanging in the tree. A very
+calculating mind, Mr Hollyer. It would be interesting to know what
+line of action Mr Creake has mapped out for himself afterwards. I
+expect he has half-a-dozen artistic little touches up his sleeve.
+Possibly he would merely singe his wife&rsquo;s hair, burn her feet
+with a red-hot poker, shiver the glass of the French window, and be
+content with that to let well alone. You see, lightning is so
+varied in its effects that whatever he did or did not do would be
+right. He is in the impregnable position of the body showing all
+the symptoms of death by lightning shock and nothing else but
+lightning to account for it&mdash;a dilated eye, heart contracted
+in systole, bloodless lungs shrunk to a third the normal weight,
+and all the rest of it. When he has removed a few outward traces of
+his work Creake might quite safely &lsquo;discover&rsquo; his dead
+wife and rush off for the nearest doctor. Or he may have decided to
+arrange a convincing alibi, and creep away, leaving the discovery
+to another. We shall never know; he will make no
+confession.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wish it was well over,&rdquo; admitted Hollyer.
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not particularly jumpy, but this gives me a touch
+of the creeps.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Three more hours at the worst, Lieutenant,&rdquo; said
+Carrados cheerfully. &ldquo;Ah-ha, something is coming through
+now.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>He went to the telephone and received a message from one
+quarter; then made another connection and talked for a few minutes
+with someone else.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Everything working smoothly,&rdquo; he remarked between
+times over his shoulder. &ldquo;Your sister has gone to bed, Mr
+Hollyer.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Then he turned to the house telephone and distributed his
+orders.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So we,&rdquo; he concluded, &ldquo;must get
+up.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>By the time they were ready a large closed motor car was
+waiting. The lieutenant thought he recognized Parkinson in the
+well-swathed form beside the driver, but there was no temptation to
+linger for a second on the steps. Already the stinging rain had
+lashed the drive into the semblance of a frothy estuary; all round
+the lightning jagged its course through the incessant tremulous
+glow of more distant lightning, while the thunder only ceased its
+muttering to turn at close quarters and crackle viciously.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One of the few things I regret missing,&rdquo; remarked
+Carrados tranquilly; &ldquo;but I hear a good deal of colour in
+it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The car slushed its way down to the gate, lurched a little
+heavily across the dip into the road, and, steadying as it came
+upon the straight, began to hum contentedly along the deserted
+highway.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We are not going direct?&rdquo; suddenly inquired
+Hollyer, after they had travelled perhaps half-a-dozen miles. The
+night was bewildering enough but he had the sailor&rsquo;s gift for
+location.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No; through Hunscott Green and then by a field-path to
+the orchard at the back,&rdquo; replied Carrados. &ldquo;Keep a
+sharp look out for the man with the lantern about here,
+Harris,&rdquo; he called through the tube.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Something flashing just ahead, sir,&rdquo; came the
+reply, and the car slowed down and stopped.</p>
+<p>Carrados dropped the near window as a man in glistening
+waterproof stepped from the shelter of a lich-gate and
+approached.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Inspector Beedel, sir,&rdquo; said the stranger, looking
+into the car.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite right, Inspector,&rdquo; said Carrados. &ldquo;Get
+in.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have a man with me, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We can find room for him as well.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We are very wet.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So shall we all be soon.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The lieutenant changed his seat and the two burly forms took
+places side by side. In less than five minutes the car stopped
+again, this time in a grassy country lane.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now we have to face it,&rdquo; announced Carrados.
+&ldquo;The inspector will show us the way.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The car slid round and disappeared into the night, while Beedel
+led the party to a stile in the hedge. A couple of fields brought
+them to the Brookbend boundary. There a figure stood out of the
+black foliage, exchanged a few words with their guide and piloted
+them along the shadows of the orchard to the back door of the
+house.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You will find a broken pane near the catch of the
+scullery window,&rdquo; said the blind man.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Right, sir,&rdquo; replied the inspector. &ldquo;I have
+it. Now who goes through?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Hollyer will open the door for us. I&rsquo;m afraid
+you must take off your boots and all wet things, Lieutenant. We
+cannot risk a single spot inside.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They waited until the back door opened, then each one divested
+himself in a similar manner and passed into the kitchen, where the
+remains of a fire still burned. The man from the orchard gathered
+together the discarded garments and disappeared again.</p>
+<p>Carrados turned to the lieutenant.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A rather delicate job for you now, Mr Hollyer. I want you
+to go up to your sister, wake her, and get her into another room
+with as little fuss as possible. Tell her as much as you think fit
+and let her understand that her very life depends on absolute
+stillness when she is alone. Don&rsquo;t be unduly hurried, but not
+a glimmer of a light, please.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Ten minutes passed by the measure of the battered old alarum on
+the dresser shelf before the young man returned.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had rather a time of it,&rdquo; he reported,
+with a nervous laugh, &ldquo;but I think it will be all right now.
+She is in the spare room.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then we will take our places. You and Parkinson come with
+me to the bedroom. Inspector, you have your own arrangements. Mr
+Carlyle will be with you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They dispersed silently about the house. Hollyer glanced
+apprehensively at the door of the spare room as they passed it but
+within was as quiet as the grave. Their room lay at the other end
+of the passage.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You may as well take your place in the bed now,
+Hollyer,&rdquo; directed Carrados when they were inside and the
+door closed. &ldquo;Keep well down among the clothes. Creake has to
+get up on the balcony, you know, and he will probably peep through
+the window, but he dare come no farther. Then when he begins to
+throw up stones slip on this dressing-gown of your sister&rsquo;s.
+I&rsquo;ll tell you what to do after.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The next sixty minutes drew out into the longest hour that the
+lieutenant had ever known. Occasionally he heard a whisper pass
+between the two men who stood behind the window curtains, but he
+could see nothing. Then Carrados threw a guarded remark in his
+direction.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He is in the garden now.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Something scraped slightly against the outer wall. But the night
+was full of wilder sounds, and in the house the furniture and the
+boards creaked and sprung between the yawling of the wind among the
+chimneys, the rattle of the thunder and the pelting of the rain. It
+was a time to quicken the steadiest pulse, and when the crucial
+moment came, when a pebble suddenly rang against the pane with a
+sound that the tense waiting magnified into a shivering crash,
+Hollyer leapt from the bed on the instant.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Easy, easy,&rdquo; warned Carrados feelingly. &ldquo;We
+will wait for another knock.&rdquo; He passed something across.
+&ldquo;Here is a rubber glove. I have cut the wire but you had
+better put it on. Stand just for a moment at the window, move the
+catch so that it can blow open a little, and drop immediately.
+Now.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Another stone had rattled against the glass. For Hollyer to go
+through his part was the work merely of seconds, and with a few
+touches Carrados spread the dressing-gown to more effective
+disguise about the extended form. But an unforeseen and in the
+circumstances rather horrible interval followed, for Creake, in
+accordance with some detail of his never-revealed plan, continued
+to shower missile after missile against the panes until even the
+unimpressionable Parkinson shivered.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The last act,&rdquo; whispered Carrados, a moment after
+the throwing had ceased. &ldquo;He has gone round to the back. Keep
+as you are. We take cover now.&rdquo; He pressed behind the arras
+of an extemporized wardrobe, and the spirit of emptiness and
+desolation seemed once more to reign over the lonely house.</p>
+<p>From half-a-dozen places of concealment ears were straining to
+catch the first guiding sound. He moved very stealthily, burdened,
+perhaps, by some strange scruple in the presence of the tragedy
+that he had not feared to contrive, paused for a moment at the
+bedroom door, then opened it very quietly, and in the fickle light
+read the consummation of his hopes.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;At last!&rdquo; they heard the sharp whisper drawn from
+his relief. &ldquo;At last!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>He took another step and two shadows seemed to fall upon him
+from behind, one on either side. With primitive instinct a cry of
+terror and surprise escaped him as he made a desperate movement to
+wrench himself free, and for a short second he almost succeeded in
+dragging one hand into a pocket. Then his wrists slowly came
+together and the handcuffs closed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am Inspector Beedel,&rdquo; said the man on his right
+side. &ldquo;You are charged with the attempted murder of your
+wife, Millicent Creake.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are mad,&rdquo; retorted the miserable creature,
+falling into a desperate calmness. &ldquo;She has been struck by
+lightning.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, you blackguard, she hasn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; wrathfully
+exclaimed his brother-in-law, jumping up. &ldquo;Would you like to
+see her?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I also have to warn you,&rdquo; continued the inspector
+impassively, &ldquo;that anything you say may be used as evidence
+against you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>A startled cry from the farther end of the passage arrested
+their attention.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Carrados,&rdquo; called Hollyer, &ldquo;oh, come at
+once.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At the open door of the other bedroom stood the lieutenant, his
+eyes still turned towards something in the room beyond, a little
+empty bottle in his hand.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dead!&rdquo; he exclaimed tragically, with a sob,
+&ldquo;with this beside her. Dead just when she would have been
+free of the brute.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The blind man passed into the room, sniffed the air, and laid a
+gentle hand on the pulseless heart.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; he replied. &ldquo;That, Hollyer, does not
+always appeal to the woman, strange to say.&rdquo;</p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="THE_CLEVER_MRS_STRAITHWAITE" id=
+"THE_CLEVER_MRS_STRAITHWAITE"></a>THE CLEVER MRS STRAITHWAITE</h2>
+<p>Mr Carlyle had arrived at The Turrets in the very best possible
+spirits. Everything about him, from his immaculate white spats to
+the choice gardenia in his buttonhole, from the brisk decision with
+which he took the front-door steps to the bustling importance with
+which he had positively brushed Parkinson aside at the door of the
+library, proclaimed consequence and the extremely good terms on
+which he stood with himself.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Prepare yourself, Max,&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;If I
+hinted at a case of exceptional delicacy that will certainly
+interest you by its romantic
+possibilities&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should have the liveliest misgivings. Ten to one it
+would be a jewel mystery,&rdquo; hazarded Carrados, as his friend
+paused with the point of his communication withheld, after the
+manner of a quizzical youngster with a promised bon-bon held behind
+his back. &ldquo;If you made any more of it I should reluctantly be
+forced to the conclusion that the case involved a society scandal
+connected with a priceless pearl necklace.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s face fell.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then it <i>is</i> in the papers, after all?&rdquo; he said, with
+an air of disappointment.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What is in the papers, Louis?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Some hint of the fraudulent insurance of the Hon. Mrs
+Straithwaite&rsquo;s pearl necklace,&rdquo; replied Carlyle.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Possibly,&rdquo; admitted Carrados. &ldquo;But so far I
+have not come across it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle stared at his friend, and marching up to the table
+brought his hand down on it with an arresting slap.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then what in the name of goodness are you talking about,
+may I ask?&rdquo; he demanded caustically. &ldquo;If you know
+nothing of the Straithwaite affair, Max, what other pearl necklace
+case are you referring to?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados assumed the air of mild deprecation with which he
+frequently apologized for a blind man venturing to make a
+discovery.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A philosopher once made the
+remark&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Had it anything to do with Mrs
+Straithwaite&rsquo;s&mdash;the Hon. Mrs
+Straithwaite&rsquo;s&mdash;pearl necklace? And let me warn you,
+Max, that I have read a good deal both of Mill and Spencer at odd
+times.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It was neither Mill nor Spencer. He had a German name, so
+I will not mention it. He made the observation, which, of course,
+we recognize as an obvious commonplace when once it has been
+expressed, that in order to have an accurate knowledge of what a
+man will do on any occasion it is only necessary to study a single
+characteristic action of his.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Utterly impracticable,&rdquo; declared Mr Carlyle.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I therefore knew that when you spoke of a case of
+exceptional interest to <i>me</i>, what you really meant, Louis,
+was a case of exceptional interest to <i>you</i>.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s sudden thoughtful silence seemed to admit
+that possibly there might be something in the point.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;By applying, almost unconsciously, the same useful rule,
+I became aware that a mystery connected with a valuable pearl
+necklace and a beautiful young society belle would appeal the most
+strongly to your romantic imagination.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Romantic! I, romantic? Thirty-five and a private inquiry
+agent! You are&mdash;positively feverish, Max.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Incurably romantic&mdash;or you would have got over it by
+now: the worst kind.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Max, this may prove a most important and interesting
+case. Will you be serious and discuss it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Jewel cases are rarely either important or interesting.
+Pearl necklace mysteries, in nine cases out of ten, spring from the
+miasma of social pretence and vapid competition and only concern
+people who do not matter in the least. The only attractive thing
+about them is the name. They are so barren of originality that a
+criminological Linn&aelig;us could classify them with absolute nicety.
+I&rsquo;ll tell you what, we&rsquo;ll draw up a set of tables
+giving the solution to every possible pearl necklace case for the
+next twenty-one years.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We will do any mortal thing you like, Max, if you will
+allow Parkinson to administer a bromo-seltzer and then enable me to
+meet the officials of the Direct Insurance without a
+blush.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>For three minutes Carrados picked his unerring way among the
+furniture as he paced the room silently but with irresolution in
+his face. Twice his hand went to a paper-covered book lying on his
+desk, and twice he left it untouched.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Have you ever been in the lion-house at feeding-time,
+Louis?&rdquo; he demanded abruptly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In the very remote past, possibly,&rdquo; admitted Mr
+Carlyle guardedly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;As the hour approaches it is impossible to interest the
+creatures with any other suggestion than that of raw meat. You came
+a day too late, Louis.&rdquo; He picked up the book and skimmed it
+adroitly into Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s hands. &ldquo;I have already
+scented the gore, and tasted in imagination the joy of tearing
+choice morsels from other similarly obsessed animals.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Catalogue des monnaies grecques et
+romaines,&rsquo;&rdquo; read the gentleman. &ldquo;&lsquo;To be
+sold by auction at the Hotel Drouet, Paris, salle 8, April the
+24th, 25th, etc.&rsquo; H&rsquo;m.&rdquo; He turned to the plates
+of photogravure illustration which gave an air to the volume.
+&ldquo;This is an event, I suppose?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is the sort of dispersal we get about once in three
+years,&rdquo; replied Carrados. &ldquo;I seldom attend the little
+sales, but I save up and then have a week&rsquo;s orgy.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And when do you go?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To-day. By the afternoon boat&mdash;Folkestone. I have
+already taken rooms at Mascot&rsquo;s. I&rsquo;m sorry it has
+fallen so inopportunely, Louis.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle rose to the occasion with a display of extremely
+gentlemanly feeling&mdash;which had the added merit of being quite
+genuine.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My dear chap, your regrets only serve to remind me how
+much I owe to you already. <i>Bon voyage</i>, and the most
+desirable of Eu&mdash;Eu&mdash;well, perhaps it would be safer to
+say, of Kimons, for your collection.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose,&rdquo; pondered Carrados, &ldquo;this
+insurance business might have led to other profitable
+connexions?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is quite true,&rdquo; admitted his friend. &ldquo;I
+have been trying for some time&mdash;but do not think any more of
+it, Max.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What time is it?&rdquo; demanded Carrados suddenly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Eleven-twenty-five.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good. Has any officious idiot had anyone
+arrested?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, it is only&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Never mind. Do you know much of the case?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Practically nothing as yet, unfortunately. I
+came&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Excellent. Everything is on our side. Louis, I
+won&rsquo;t go this afternoon&mdash;I will put off till the night
+boat from Dover. That will give us nine hours.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nine hours?&rdquo; repeated the mystified Carlyle,
+scarcely daring to put into thought the scandalous inference that
+Carrados&rsquo;s words conveyed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nine full hours. A pearl necklace case that cannot at
+least be left straight after nine hours&rsquo; work will require a
+column to itself in our chart. Now, Louis, where does this Direct
+Insurance live?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carlyle had allowed his blind friend to persuade him
+into&mdash;as they had seemed at the beginning&mdash;many mad
+enterprises. But none had ever, in the light of his own experience,
+seemed so foredoomed to failure as when, at eleven-thirty, Carrados
+ordered his luggage to be on the platform of Charing Cross Station
+at eight-fifty and then turned light-heartedly to the task of
+elucidating the mystery of Mrs Straithwaite&rsquo;s pearl necklace
+in the interval.</p>
+<p>The head office of the Direct and Intermediate Insurance Company
+proved to be in Victoria Street. Thanks to Carrados&rsquo;s
+speediest car, they entered the building as the clocks of
+Westminster were striking twelve, but for the next twenty minutes
+they were consigned to the general office while Mr Carlyle fumed
+and displayed his watch ostentatiously. At last a clerk slid off
+his stool by the speaking-tube and approached them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Carlyle?&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The General Manager
+will see you now, but as he has another appointment in ten minutes
+he will be glad if you will make your business as short as
+possible. This way, please.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle bit his lip at the pompous formality of the message
+but he was too experienced to waste any words about it and with a
+mere nod he followed, guiding his friend until they reached the
+Manager&rsquo;s room. But, though subservient to circumstance, he
+was far from being negligible when he wished to create an
+impression.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Carrados has been good enough to give us a
+consultation over this small affair,&rdquo; he said, with just the
+necessary touches of deference and condescension that it was
+impossible either to miss or to resent. &ldquo;Unfortunately he can
+do little more as he has to leave almost at once to direct an
+important case in Paris.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The General Manager conveyed little, either in his person or his
+manner, of the brisk precision that his message seemed to promise.
+The name of Carrados struck him as being somewhat
+familiar&mdash;something a little removed from the routine of his
+business and a matter therefore that he could unbend over. He
+continued to stand comfortably before his office fire, making up by
+a tolerant benignity of his hard and bulbous eye for the physical
+deprivation that his attitude entailed on his visitors.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Paris, egad?&rdquo; he grunted. &ldquo;Something in your
+line that France can take from us since the days
+of&mdash;what&rsquo;s-his-name&mdash;Vidocq, eh? Clever fellow,
+that, what? Wasn&rsquo;t it about him and the Purloined
+Letter?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados smiled discreetly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Capital, wasn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo; he replied. &ldquo;But
+there is something else that Paris can learn from London, more in
+your way, sir. Often when I drop in to see the principal of one of
+their chief houses or the head of a Government department, we fall
+into an entertaining discussion of this or that subject that may be
+on the tapis. &lsquo;Ah, monsieur,&rsquo; I say, after perhaps
+half-an-hour&rsquo;s conversation, &lsquo;it is very amiable of you
+and sometimes I regret our insular methods, but it is not thus that
+great businesses are formed. At home, if I call upon one of our
+princes of industry&mdash;a railway director, a merchant, or the
+head of one of our leading insurance companies&mdash;nothing will
+tempt him for a moment from the stern outline of the business in
+hand. You are too complaisant; the merest gossip takes advantage of
+you.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s quite true,&rdquo; admitted the General
+Manager, occupying the revolving chair at his desk and assuming a
+serious and very determined expression. &ldquo;Slackers, I call
+them. Now, Mr Carlyle, where are we in this business?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have your letter of yesterday. We should naturally like
+all the particulars you can give us.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Manager threw open a formidable-looking volume with an
+immense display of energy, sharply flattened some typewritten pages
+that had ventured to raise their heads, and lifted an impressive
+finger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We start here, the 27th of January. On that day Karsfeld,
+the Princess Street jeweller, y&rsquo;know, who acted as our
+jewellery assessor, forwards a proposal of the Hon. Mrs
+Straithwaite to insure a pearl necklace against theft. Says that he
+has had an opportunity of examining it and passes it at five
+thousand pounds. That business goes through in the ordinary way;
+the premium is paid and the policy taken out.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A couple of months later Karsfeld has a little
+unpleasantness with us and resigns. Resignation accepted. We have
+nothing against him, you understand. At the same time there is an
+impression among the directors that he has been perhaps a little
+too easy in his ways, a little too&mdash;let us say, expansive, in
+some of his valuations and too accommodating to his own clients in
+recommending to us business of a&mdash;well&mdash;speculative
+basis; business that we do not care about and which we now feel is
+foreign to our traditions as a firm. However&rdquo;&mdash;the
+General Manager threw apart his stubby hands as though he would
+shatter any fabric of criminal intention that he might be supposed
+to be insidiously constructing&mdash;&ldquo;that is the extent of
+our animadversion against Karsfeld. There are no irregularities and
+you may take it from me that the man is all right.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You would propose accepting the fact that a
+five-thousand-pound necklace was submitted to him?&rdquo; suggested
+Mr Carlyle.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should,&rdquo; acquiesced the Manager, with a weighty
+nod. &ldquo;Still&mdash;this brings us to April the
+third&mdash;this break, so to speak, occurring in our routine, it
+seemed a good opportunity for us to assure ourselves on one or two
+points. Mr Bellitzer&mdash;you know Bellitzer, of course; know
+<i>of</i> him, I should say&mdash;was appointed <i>vice</i>
+Karsfeld and we wrote to certain of our clients, asking
+them&mdash;as our policies entitled us to do&mdash;as a matter of
+form to allow Mr Bellitzer to confirm the assessment of his
+predecessor. Wrapped it up in silver paper, of course; said it
+would certify the present value and be a guarantee that would save
+them some formalities in case of ensuing claim, and so on. Among
+others, wrote to the Hon. Mrs Straithwaite to that
+effect&mdash;April fourth. Here is her reply of three days later.
+Sorry to disappoint us, but the necklace has just been sent to her
+bank for custody as she is on the point of leaving town. Also
+scarcely sees that it is necessary in her case as the insurance was
+only taken so recently.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is dated April the seventh?&rdquo; inquired Mr
+Carlyle, busy with pencil and pocket-book.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;April seventh,&rdquo; repeated the Manager, noting this
+conscientiousness with an approving glance and then turning to
+regard questioningly the indifferent attitude of his other visitor.
+&ldquo;That put us on our guard&mdash;naturally. Wrote by return
+regretting the necessity and suggesting that a line to her bankers,
+authorizing them to show us the necklace, would meet the case and
+save her any personal trouble. Interval of a week. Her reply, April
+sixteenth. Thursday last. Circumstances have altered her plans and
+she has returned to London sooner than she expected. Her jewel-case
+has been returned from the bank, and will we send our man
+round&mdash;&lsquo;our man,&rsquo; Mr Carlyle!&mdash;on Saturday
+morning not later than twelve, please.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Manager closed the record book, with a sweep of his hand
+cleared his desk for revelations, and leaning forward in his chair
+fixed Mr Carlyle with a pragmatic eye.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;On Saturday Mr Bellitzer goes to Luneburg Mansions and
+the Hon. Mrs Straithwaite shows him the necklace. He examines it
+carefully, assesses its insurable value up to five thousand, two
+hundred and fifty pounds, and reports us to that effect. But he
+reports something else, Mr Carlyle. It is not the necklace that the
+lady had insured.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not the necklace?&rdquo; echoed Mr Carlyle.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No. In spite of the number of pearls and a general
+similarity there are certain technical differences, well known to
+experts, that made the fact indisputable. The Hon. Mrs Straithwaite
+has been guilty of misrepresentation. Possibly she has no
+fraudulent intention. We are willing to pay to find out.
+That&rsquo;s your business.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle made a final note and put away his book with an air
+of decision that could not fail to inspire confidence.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To-morrow,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;we shall perhaps be able
+to report something.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Hope so,&rdquo; vouchsafed the Manager.
+&ldquo;&rsquo;Morning.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>From his position near the window, Carrados appeared to wake up
+to the fact that the interview was over.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But so far,&rdquo; he remarked blandly, with his eyes
+towards the great man in the chair, &ldquo;you have told us nothing
+of the theft.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Manager regarded the speaker dumbly for a moment and then
+turned to Mr Carlyle.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What does he mean?&rdquo; he demanded pungently.</p>
+<p>But for once Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s self-possession had forsaken
+him. He recognized that somehow Carrados had been guilty of an
+appalling lapse, by which his reputation for prescience was wrecked
+in that quarter for ever, and at the catastrophe his very ears
+began to exude embarrassment.</p>
+<p>In the awkward silence Carrados himself seemed to recognize that
+something was amiss.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We appear to be at cross-purposes,&rdquo; he observed.
+&ldquo;I inferred that the disappearance of the necklace would be
+the essence of our investigation.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Have I said a word about it disappearing?&rdquo; demanded
+the Manager, with a contempt-laden raucity that he made no pretence
+of softening. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t seem to have grasped the
+simple facts about the case, Mr Carrados. Really, I hardly
+think&mdash;&mdash;Oh, come in!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>There had been a knock at the door, then another. A clerk now
+entered with an open telegram.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Longworth wished you to see this at once,
+sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We may as well go,&rdquo; whispered Mr Carlyle with
+polite depression to his colleague.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here, wait a minute,&rdquo; said the Manager, who had
+been biting his thumb-nail over the telegram. &ldquo;No, not
+you&rdquo;&mdash;to the lingering clerk&mdash;&ldquo;you
+clear.&rdquo; Much of the embarrassment that had troubled Mr
+Carlyle a minute before seemed to have got into the Manager&rsquo;s
+system. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t understand this,&rdquo; he confessed
+awkwardly. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s from Bellitzer. He wires:
+&lsquo;<i>Have just heard alleged robbery Straithwaite pearls.
+Advise strictest investigation.</i>&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle suddenly found it necessary to turn to the wall and
+consult a highly coloured lithographic inducement to insure. Mr
+Carrados alone remained to meet the Manager&rsquo;s constrained
+glance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Still, <i>he</i> tells us really nothing about the
+theft,&rdquo; he remarked sociably.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; admitted the Manager, experiencing some little
+difficulty with his breathing, &ldquo;he does not.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, we still hope to be able to report something
+to-morrow. Good-bye.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It was with an effort that Mr Carlyle straightened himself
+sufficiently to take leave of the Manager. Several times in the
+corridor he stopped to wipe his eyes.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Max, you unholy fraud,&rdquo; he said, when they were
+outside, &ldquo;you knew all the time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No; I told you that I knew nothing of it,&rdquo; replied
+Carrados frankly. &ldquo;I am absolutely sincere.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then all I can say is, that I see a good many things
+happen that I don&rsquo;t believe in.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados&rsquo;s reply was to hold out a coin to a passing
+newsboy and to hand the purchase to his friend who was already in
+the car.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is a slang injunction to &lsquo;keep your eyes
+skinned.&rsquo; That being out of my power, I habitually
+&lsquo;keep my ears skinned.&rsquo; You would be surprised to know
+how very little you hear, Louis, and how much you miss. In the last
+five minutes up there I have had three different newsboys&rsquo;
+account of this development.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;By Jupiter, she hasn&rsquo;t waited long!&rdquo;
+exclaimed Mr Carlyle, referring eagerly to the headlines.
+&ldquo;&lsquo;PEARL NECKLACE SENSATION. SOCIETY LADY&rsquo;S
+&#8356;5000 TRINKET DISAPPEARS.&rsquo; Things are moving. Where
+next, Max?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is now a quarter to one,&rdquo; replied Carrados,
+touching the fingers of his watch. &ldquo;We may as well lunch on
+the strength of this new turn. Parkinson will have finished
+packing; I can telephone him to come to us at Merrick&rsquo;s in
+case I require him. Buy all the papers, Louis, and we will collate
+the points.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The undoubted facts that survived a comparison were few and
+meagre, for in each case a conscientious journalist had touched up
+a few vague or doubtful details according to his own ideas of
+probability. All agreed that on Tuesday evening&mdash;it was now
+Thursday&mdash;Mrs Straithwaite had formed one of a party that had
+occupied a box at the new Metropolitan Opera House to witness the
+performance of <i>La Pucella</i>, and that she had been robbed of a
+set of pearls valued in round figures at five thousand pounds.
+There agreement ended. One version represented the theft as taking
+place at the theatre. Another asserted that at the last moment the
+lady had decided not to wear the necklace that evening and that its
+abstraction had been cleverly effected from the flat during her
+absence. Into a third account came an ambiguous reference to
+Markhams, the well-known jewellers, and a conjecture that their
+loss would certainly be covered by insurance.</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle, who had been picking out the salient points of the
+narratives, threw down the last paper with an impatient shrug.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why in heaven&rsquo;s name have we Markhams coming into
+it now?&rdquo; he demanded. &ldquo;What have they to lose by it,
+Max? What do you make of the thing?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is the second genuine string&mdash;the one
+Bellitzer saw. That belongs to someone.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;By gad, that&rsquo;s true&mdash;only five days ago, too.
+But what does our lady stand to make by that being
+stolen?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados was staring into obscurity between an occasional moment
+of attention to his cigarette or coffee.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;By this time the lady probably stands to wish she was
+well out of it,&rdquo; he replied thoughtfully. &ldquo;Once you
+have set this sort of stone rolling and it has got beyond
+you&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo; He shook his head.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It has become more intricate than you expected?&rdquo;
+suggested Carlyle, in order to afford his friend an opportunity of
+withdrawing.</p>
+<p>Carrados pierced the intention and smiled affectionately.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My dear Louis,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;one-fifth of the
+mystery is already solved.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One-fifth? How do you arrive at that?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Because it is one-twenty-five and we started at
+eleven-thirty.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>He nodded to their waiter, who was standing three tables away,
+and paid the bill. Then with perfect gravity he permitted Mr
+Carlyle to lead him by the arm into the street, where their car was
+waiting, Parkinson already there in attendance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Sure I can be of no further use?&rdquo; asked Carlyle.
+Carrados had previously indicated that after lunch he would go on
+alone, but, because he was largely sceptical of the outcome, the
+professional man felt guiltily that he was deserting. &ldquo;Say
+the word?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados smiled and shook his head. Then he leaned across.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am going to the opera house now; then, possibly, to
+talk to Markham a little. If I have time I must find a man who
+knows the Straithwaites, and after that I may look up Inspector
+Beedel if he is at the Yard. That is as far as I can see yet, until
+I call at Luneburg Mansions. Come round on the third
+anyway.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dear old chap,&rdquo; murmured Mr Carlyle, as the car
+edged its way ahead among the traffic. &ldquo;Marvellous shots he
+makes!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>In the meanwhile, at Luneburg Mansions, Mrs Straithwaite had
+been passing anything but a pleasant day. She had awakened with a
+headache and an overnight feeling that there was some
+unpleasantness to be gone on with. That it did not amount to actual
+fear was due to the enormous self-importance and the incredible
+ignorance which ruled the butterfly brain of the young society
+beauty&mdash;for in spite of three years&rsquo; experience of
+married life Stephanie Straithwaite was as yet on the enviable side
+of two and twenty.</p>
+<p>Anticipating an early visit from a particularly obnoxious
+sister-in-law, she had remained in bed until after lunch in order
+to be able to deny herself with the more conviction. Three
+journalists who would have afforded her the mild excitement of
+being interviewed had called and been in turn put off with polite
+regrets by her husband. The objectionable sister-in-law postponed
+her visit until the afternoon and for more than an hour Stephanie
+&ldquo;suffered agonies.&rdquo; When the visitor had left and the
+martyred hostess announced her intention of flying immediately to
+the consoling society of her own bridge circle, Straithwaite had
+advised her, with some significance, to wait for a lead. The
+unhappy lady cast herself bodily down upon a couch and asked
+whether she was to become a nun. Straithwaite merely shrugged his
+shoulders and remembered a club engagement. Evidently there was no
+need for him to become a monk: Stephanie followed him down the
+hall, arguing and protesting. That was how they came jointly to
+encounter Carrados at the door.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have come from the Direct Insurance in the hope of
+being able to see Mrs Straithwaite,&rdquo; he explained, when the
+door opened rather suddenly before he had knocked. &ldquo;My name
+is Carrados&mdash;Max Carrados.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>There was a moment of hesitation all round. Then Stephanie read
+difficulties in the straightening lines of her husband&rsquo;s face
+and rose joyfully to the occasion.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh yes; come in, Mr Carrados,&rdquo; she exclaimed
+graciously. &ldquo;We are not quite strangers, you know. You found
+out something for Aunt Pigs; I forget what, but she was most
+frantically impressed.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Lady Poges,&rdquo; enlarged Straithwaite, who had stepped
+aside and was watching the development with slow, calculating eyes.
+&ldquo;But, I say, you are blind, aren&rsquo;t you?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados&rsquo;s smiling admission turned the edge of Mrs
+Straithwaite&rsquo;s impulsive, &ldquo;Teddy!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But I get along all right,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;I left
+my man down in the car and I found your door first shot, you
+see.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The references reminded the velvet-eyed little mercenary that
+the man before her had the reputation of being quite desirably
+rich, his queer taste merely an eccentric hobby. The consideration
+made her resolve to be quite her nicest possible, as she led the
+way to the drawing-room. Then Teddy, too, had been horrid beyond
+words and must be made to suffer in the readiest way that
+offered.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Teddy is just going out and I was to be left in solitary
+bereavement if you had not appeared,&rdquo; she explained airily.
+&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t very compy only to come to see me on
+business by the way, Mr Carrados, but if those are your only terms
+I must agree.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Straithwaite, however, did not seem to have the least intention
+of going. He had left his hat and stick in the hall and he now
+threw his yellow gloves down on a table and took up a negligent
+position on the arm of an easy-chair.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The thing is, where do we stand?&rdquo; he remarked
+tentatively.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is the attitude of the insurance company, I
+imagine,&rdquo; replied Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see that the company has any standing in
+the matter. We haven&rsquo;t reported any loss to them and we are
+not making any claim, so far. That ought to be enough.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I assume that they act on general inference,&rdquo;
+explained Carrados. &ldquo;A limited liability company is not
+subtle, Mrs Straithwaite. This one knows that you have insured a
+five-thousand-pound pearl necklace with it, and when it becomes a
+matter of common knowledge that you have had one answering to that
+description stolen, it jumps to the conclusion that they are one
+and the same.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But they aren&rsquo;t&mdash;worse luck,&rdquo; explained
+the hostess. &ldquo;This was a string that I let Markhams send me
+to see if I would keep.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The one that Bellitzer saw last Saturday?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; admitted Mrs Straithwaite quite simply.</p>
+<p>Straithwaite glanced sharply at Carrados and then turned his
+eyes with lazy indifference to his wife.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My dear Stephanie, what are you thinking of?&rdquo; he
+drawled. &ldquo;Of course those could not have been Markhams&rsquo;
+pearls. Not knowing that you are much too clever to do such a
+foolish thing, Mr Carrados will begin to think that you have had
+fraudulent designs upon his company.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Whether the tone was designed to exasperate or merely fell upon
+a fertile soil, Stephanie threw a hateful little glance in his
+direction.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care,&rdquo; she exclaimed recklessly;
+&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t the least little objection in the world to
+Mr Carrados knowing exactly how it happened.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados put in an instinctive word of warning, even raised an
+arresting hand, but the lady was much too excited, too voluble, to
+be denied.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t really matter in the least, Mr Carrados,
+because nothing came of it,&rdquo; she explained. &ldquo;There
+never were any real pearls to be insured. It would have made no
+difference to the company, because I did not regard this as an
+ordinary insurance from the first. It was to be a loan.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A loan?&rdquo; repeated Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes. I shall come into heaps and heaps of money in a few
+years&rsquo; time under Prin-Prin&rsquo;s will. Then I should pay
+back whatever had been advanced.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But would it not have been better&mdash;simpler&mdash;to
+have borrowed purely on the anticipation?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We have,&rdquo; explained the lady eagerly. &ldquo;We
+have borrowed from all sorts of people, and both Teddy and I have
+signed heaps and heaps of papers, until now no one will lend any
+more.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The thing was too tragically grotesque to be laughed at.
+Carrados turned his face from one to the other and by ear, and by
+even finer perceptions, he focussed them in his mind&mdash;the
+delicate, feather-headed beauty, with the heart of a cat and the
+irresponsibility of a kitten, eye and mouth already hardening under
+the stress of her frantic life, and, across the room, her debonair
+consort, whose lank pose and nonchalant attitude towards the
+situation Carrados had not yet categorized.</p>
+<p>Straithwaite&rsquo;s dry voice, with its habitual drawl, broke
+into his reflection.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t suppose for a moment that you either know
+or care what this means, my dear girl, but I will proceed to
+enlighten you. It means the extreme probability that unless you can
+persuade Mr Carrados to hold his tongue, you, and&mdash;without
+prejudice&mdash;I also, will get two years&rsquo; hard. And yet,
+with unconscious but consummate artistry, it seems to me that you
+have perhaps done the trick; for, unless I am mistaken, Mr Carrados
+will find himself unable to take advantage of your guileless
+confidence, whereas he would otherwise have quite easily found out
+all he wanted.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is the most utter nonsense, Teddy,&rdquo; cried
+Stephanie, with petulant indignation. She turned to Carrados with
+the assurance of meeting understanding. &ldquo;We know Mr Justice
+Enderleigh very well indeed, and if there was any bother I should
+not have the least difficulty in getting him to take the case
+privately and in explaining everything to him. But why should there
+be? Why indeed?&rdquo; A brilliant little new idea possessed her.
+&ldquo;Do you know any of these insurance people at all intimately,
+Mr Carrados?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The General Manager and I are on terms that almost
+justify us in addressing each other as &lsquo;silly
+ass,&rsquo;&rdquo; admitted Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There you see, Teddy, you needn&rsquo;t have been in a
+funk. Mr Carrados would put everything right. Let me tell you
+exactly how I had arranged it. I dare say you know that insurances
+are only too pleased to pay for losses: it gives them an
+advertisement. Freddy Tantroy told me so, and his father is a
+director of hundreds of companies. Only, of course, it must be done
+quite regularly. Well, for months and months we had both been most
+frightfully hard up, and, unfortunately, everyone else&mdash;at
+least all our friends&mdash;seemed just as stony. I had been
+absolutely racking my poor brain for an idea when I remembered
+papa&rsquo;s wedding present. It was a string of pearls that he
+sent me from Vienna, only a month before he died; not real, of
+course, because poor papa was always quite utterly on the verge
+himself, but very good imitation and in perfect taste. Otherwise I
+am sure papa would rather have sent a silver penwiper, for although
+he had to live abroad because of what people said, his taste was
+simply exquisite and he was most romantic in his ideas. What do you
+say, Teddy?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nothing, dear; it was only my throat ticking.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wore the pearls often and millions of people had seen
+them. Of course our own people knew about them, but others took it
+for granted that they were genuine for me to be wearing them. Teddy
+will tell you that I was almost babbling in delirium, things were
+becoming so ghastly, when an idea occurred.
+Tweety&mdash;she&rsquo;s a cousin of Teddy&rsquo;s, but quite an
+aged person&mdash;has a whole coffer full of jewels that she never
+wears and I knew that there was a necklace very like mine among
+them. She was going almost immediately to Africa for some shooting,
+so I literally flew into the wilds of Surrey and begged her on my
+knees to lend me her pearls for the Lycester House dance. When I
+got back with them I stamped on the clasp and took it at once to
+Karsfeld in Princess Street. I told him they were only paste but I
+thought they were rather good and I wanted them by the next day.
+And of course he looked at them, and then looked again, and then
+asked me if I was certain they were imitation, and I said, Well, we
+had never thought twice about it, because poor papa was always
+rather chronic, only certainly he did occasionally have fabulous
+streaks at the tables, and finally, like a great owl, Karsfeld
+said:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;I am happy to be able to congratulate you, madam.
+They are undoubtedly Bombay pearls of very fine orient. They are
+certainly worth five thousand pounds.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>From this point Mrs Straithwaite&rsquo;s narrative ran its
+slangy, obvious course. The insurance effected&mdash;on the strict
+understanding of the lady with herself that it was merely a novel
+form of loan, and after satisfying her mind on Freddy
+Tantroy&rsquo;s authority that the Direct and Intermediate could
+stand a temporary loss of five thousand pounds&mdash;the genuine
+pearls were returned to the cousin in the wilds of Surrey and
+Stephanie continued to wear the counterfeit. A decent interval was
+allowed to intervene and the plot was on the point of maturity when
+the company&rsquo;s request for a scrutiny fell like a thunderbolt.
+With many touching appeals to Mr Carrados to picture her frantic
+distraction, with appropriate little gestures of agony and despair,
+Stephanie described her absolute prostration, her subsequent wild
+scramble through the jewel stocks of London to find a substitute.
+The danger over, it became increasingly necessary to act without
+delay, not only to anticipate possible further curiosity on the
+part of the insurance, but in order to secure the means with which
+to meet an impending obligation held over them by an inflexibly
+obdurate Hebrew.</p>
+<p>The evening of the previous Tuesday was to be the time; the
+opera house, during the performance of <i>La Pucella</i>, the
+place. Straithwaite, who was not interested in that precise form of
+drama, would not be expected to be present, but with a false
+moustache and a few other touches which his experience as an
+amateur placed within his easy reach, he was to occupy a stall, an
+end stall somewhere beneath his wife&rsquo;s box. At an agreed
+signal Stephanie would jerk open the catch of the necklace, and as
+she leaned forward the ornament would trickle off her neck and
+disappear into the arena beneath. Straithwaite, the only one
+prepared for anything happening, would have no difficulty in
+securing it. He would look up quickly as if to identify the box,
+and with the jewels in his hand walk deliberately out into the
+passage. Before anyone had quite realized what was happening he
+would have left the house.</p>
+<p>Carrados turned his face from the woman to the man.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This scheme commended itself to you, Mr
+Straithwaite?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, you see, Stephanie is so awfully clever that I took
+it for granted that the thing would go all right.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And three days before, Bellitzer had already reported
+misrepresentation and that two necklaces had been used!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; admitted Straithwaite, with an air of
+reluctant candour, &ldquo;I had a suspicion that Stephanie&rsquo;s
+native ingenuity rather fizzled there. You know, Stephanie dear,
+there <i>is</i> a difference, it seems, between Bombay and
+Californian pearls.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The wretch!&rdquo; exclaimed the girl, grinding her
+little teeth vengefully. &ldquo;And we gave him
+champagne!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But nothing came of it; so it doesn&rsquo;t
+matter?&rdquo; prompted Straithwaite.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Except that now Markhams&rsquo; pearls have gone and they
+are hinting at all manner of diabolical things,&rdquo; she
+wrathfully reminded him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;True,&rdquo; he confessed. &ldquo;That is by way of a
+sequel, Mr Carrados. I will endeavour to explain that part of the
+incident, for even yet Stephanie seems unable to do me
+justice.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>He detached himself from the arm of the chair and lounged across
+the room to another chair, where he took up exactly the same
+position.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;On the fatal evening I duly made my way to the
+theatre&mdash;a little late, so as to take my seat unobserved.
+After I had got the general hang I glanced up occasionally until I
+caught Stephanie&rsquo;s eye, by which I knew that she was there
+all right and concluded that everything was going along quite
+jollily. According to arrangement, I was to cross the theatre
+immediately the first curtain fell and standing opposite
+Stephanie&rsquo;s box twist my watch chain until it was certain
+that she had seen me. Then Stephanie was to fan herself three times
+with her programme. Both, you will see, perfectly innocent
+operations, and yet conveying to each other the intimation that all
+was well. Stephanie&rsquo;s idea, of course. After that, I would
+return to my seat and Stephanie would do her part at the first
+opportunity in Act II.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;However, we never reached that. Towards the end of the
+first act something white and noiseless slipped down and fell at my
+feet. For the moment I thought they were the pearls gone wrong.
+Then I saw that it was a glove&mdash;a lady&rsquo;s glove.
+Intuition whispered that it was Stephanie&rsquo;s before I touched
+it. I picked it up and quietly got out. Down among the fingers was
+a scrap of paper&mdash;the corner torn off a programme. On it were
+pencilled words to this effect:</p>
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Something quite unexpected. Can do nothing
+to-night. Go back at once and wait. May return early. Frightfully
+worried.&mdash;S.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;You kept the paper, of course?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes. It is in my desk in the next room. Do you care to
+see it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Please.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Straithwaite left the room and Stephanie flung herself into a
+charming attitude of entreaty.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Carrados, you will get them back for us, won&rsquo;t
+you? It would not really matter, only I seem to have signed
+something and now Markhams threaten to bring an action against us
+for culpable negligence in leaving them in an empty
+flat.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You see,&rdquo; explained Straithwaite, coming back in
+time to catch the drift of his wife&rsquo;s words, &ldquo;except to
+a personal friend like yourself, it is quite impossible to submit
+these clues. The first one alone would raise embarrassing
+inquiries; the other is beyond explanation. Consequently I have
+been obliged to concoct an imaginary burglary in our absence and to
+drop the necklace case among the rhododendrons in the garden at the
+back, for the police to find.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Deeper and deeper,&rdquo; commented Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, yes. Stephanie and I are finding that out,
+aren&rsquo;t we, dear? However, here is the first note; also the
+glove. Of course I returned immediately. It was Stephanie&rsquo;s
+strategy and I was under her orders. In something less than
+half-an-hour I heard a motor car stop outside. Then the bell here
+rang.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think I have said that I was alone. I went to the door
+and found a man who might have been anything standing there. He
+merely said: &lsquo;Mr Straithwaite?&rsquo; and on my nodding
+handed me a letter. I tore it open in the hall and read it. Then I
+went into my room and read it again. This is it:</p>
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;<span class="smcap">Dear</span>
+T.,&mdash;Absolutely ghastly. We simply must put off to-night. Will
+explain that later. Now what do you think? Bellitzer is here in the
+stalls and young K. D. has asked him to join us at supper at the
+Savoy. It appears that the creature is Something and I suppose the
+D.&rsquo;s want to borrow off him. I can&rsquo;t get out of it and
+I am literally quaking. Don&rsquo;t you see, he will spot
+something? Send me the M. string at once and I will change somehow
+before supper. I am scribbling this in the dark. I have got the
+Willoughby&rsquo;s man to take it. Don&rsquo;t, don&rsquo;t
+fail.&mdash;S.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;It is ridiculous, preposterous,&rdquo; snapped Stephanie.
+&ldquo;I never wrote a word of it&mdash;or the other. There was I,
+sitting the whole evening. And Teddy&mdash;oh, it is
+maddening!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I took it into my room and looked at it closely,&rdquo;
+continued the unruffled Straithwaite. &ldquo;Even if I had any
+reason to doubt, the internal evidence was convincing, but how
+could I doubt? It read like a continuation of the previous message.
+The writing was reasonably like Stephanie&rsquo;s under the
+circumstances, the envelope had obviously been obtained from the
+box-office of the theatre and the paper itself was a sheet of the
+programme. A corner was torn off; I put against it the previous
+scrap and they exactly fitted.&rdquo; The gentleman shrugged his
+shoulders, stretched his legs with deliberation and walked across
+the room to look out of the window. &ldquo;I made them up into a
+neat little parcel and handed it over,&rdquo; he concluded.</p>
+<p>Carrados put down the two pieces of paper which he had been
+minutely examining with his finger-tips and still holding the glove
+addressed his small audience collectively.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The first and most obvious point is that whoever carried
+out the scheme had more than a vague knowledge of your affairs, not
+only in general but also relating to this&mdash;well, loan, Mrs
+Straithwaite.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Just what I have insisted,&rdquo; agreed Straithwaite.
+&ldquo;You hear that, Stephanie?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But who is there?&rdquo; pleaded Stephanie, with weary
+intonation. &ldquo;Absolutely no one in the wide world. Not a
+soul.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So one is liable to think offhand. Let us go further,
+however, merely accounting for those who are in a position to have
+information. There are the officials of the insurance company who
+suspect something; there is Bellitzer, who perhaps knows a little
+more. There is the lady in Surrey from whom the pearls were
+borrowed, a Mr Tantroy who seems to have been consulted, and,
+finally, your own servants. All these people have friends, or
+underlings, or observers. Suppose Mr Bellitzer&rsquo;s confidential
+clerk happens to be the sweetheart of your maid?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They would still know very little.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The arc of a circle may be very little, but, given that,
+it is possible to construct the entire figure. Now your servants,
+Mrs Straithwaite? We are accusing no one, of course.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is the cook, Mullins. She displayed alarming
+influenza on Tuesday morning, and although it was most frightfully
+inconvenient I packed her off home without a moment&rsquo;s delay.
+I have a horror of the influ. Then Fraser, the parlourmaid. She
+does my hair&mdash;I haven&rsquo;t really got a maid, you
+know.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Peter,&rdquo; prompted Straithwaite.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh yes, Beta. She&rsquo;s a daily girl and helps in the
+kitchen. I have no doubt she is capable of any villainy.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And all were out on Tuesday evening?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes. Mullins gone home. Beta left early as there was no
+dinner, and I told Fraser to take the evening after she had dressed
+me so that Teddy could make up and get out without being
+seen.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados turned to his other witness.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The papers and the glove have been with you ever
+since?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, in my desk.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Locked?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And this glove, Mrs Straithwaite? There is no doubt that
+it is yours?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose not,&rdquo; she replied. &ldquo;I never
+thought. I know that when I came to leave the theatre one had
+vanished and Teddy had it here.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That was the first time you missed it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But it might have gone earlier in the
+evening&mdash;mislaid or lost or stolen?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I remember taking them off in the box. I sat in the
+corner farthest from the stage&mdash;the front row, of
+course&mdash;and I placed them on the support.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Where anyone in the next box could abstract one without
+much difficulty at a favourable moment.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is quite likely. But we didn&rsquo;t see anyone in
+the next box.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have half an idea that I caught sight of someone
+hanging back,&rdquo; volunteered Straithwaite.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thank you,&rdquo; said Carrados, turning towards him
+almost gratefully. &ldquo;That is most important&mdash;that you
+think you saw someone hanging back. Now the other glove, Mrs
+Straithwaite; what became of that?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;An odd glove is not very much good, is it?&rdquo; said
+Stephanie. &ldquo;Certainly I wore it coming back. I think I threw
+it down somewhere in here. Probably it is still about. We are in a
+frantic muddle and nothing is being done.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The second glove was found on the floor in a corner. Carrados
+received it and laid it with the other.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You use a very faint and characteristic scent, I notice,
+Mrs Straithwaite,&rdquo; he observed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; it is rather sweet, isn&rsquo;t it? I don&rsquo;t
+know the name because it is in Russian. A friend in the Embassy
+sent me some bottles from Petersburg.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But on Tuesday you supplemented it with something
+stronger,&rdquo; he continued, raising the gloves delicately one
+after the other to his face.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, eucalyptus; rather,&rdquo; she admitted. &ldquo;I
+simply drenched my handkerchief with it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You have other gloves of the same pattern?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Have I? Now let me think! Did you give them to me,
+Teddy?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; replied Straithwaite from the other end of the
+room. He had lounged across to the window and his attitude detached
+him from the discussion. &ldquo;Didn&rsquo;t Whitstable?&rdquo; he
+added shortly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course. Then there are three pairs, Mr Carrados,
+because I never let Bimbi lose more than that to me at once, poor
+boy.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think you are rather tiring yourself out,
+Stephanie,&rdquo; warned her husband.</p>
+<p>Carrados&rsquo;s attention seemed to leap to the voice; then he
+turned courteously to his hostess.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I appreciate that you have had a trying time lately, Mrs
+Straithwaite,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Every moment I have been
+hoping to let you out of the witness-box&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps to-morrow&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo; began
+Straithwaite, recrossing the room.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Impossible; I leave town to-night,&rdquo; replied
+Carrados firmly. &ldquo;You have three pairs of these gloves, Mrs
+Straithwaite. Here is one. The other two&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One pair I have not worn yet. The other&mdash;good
+gracious, I haven&rsquo;t been out since Tuesday! I suppose it is
+in my glove-box.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I must see it, please.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Straithwaite opened his mouth, but as his wife obediently rose
+to her feet to comply he turned sharply away with the word
+unspoken.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;These are they,&rdquo; she said, returning.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Carrados and I will finish our investigation in my
+room,&rdquo; interposed Straithwaite, with quiet assertiveness.
+&ldquo;I should advise you to lie down for half-an-hour, Stephanie,
+if you don&rsquo;t want to be a nervous wreck to-morrow.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You must allow the culprit to endorse that good advice,
+Mrs Straithwaite,&rdquo; added Carrados. He had been examining the
+second pair of gloves as they spoke and he now handed them back
+again. &ldquo;They are undoubtedly of the same set,&rdquo; he
+admitted, with extinguished interest, &ldquo;and so our clue runs
+out.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I hope you don&rsquo;t mind,&rdquo; apologized
+Straithwaite, as he led his guest to his own smoking-room.
+&ldquo;Stephanie,&rdquo; he confided, becoming more cordial as two
+doors separated them from the lady, &ldquo;is a creature of nerves
+and indiscretions. She forgets. To-night she will not sleep.
+To-morrow she will suffer.&rdquo; Carrados divined the grin.
+&ldquo;So shall I!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;On the contrary, pray accept my regrets,&rdquo; said the
+visitor. &ldquo;Besides,&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;there is
+nothing more for me to do here, I suppose....&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is a mystery,&rdquo; admitted Straithwaite, with
+polite agreement. &ldquo;Will you try a cigarette?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thanks. Can you see if my car is below?&rdquo; They
+exchanged cigarettes and stood at the window lighting them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is one point, by the way, that may have some
+significance.&rdquo; Carrados had begun to recross the room and
+stopped to pick up the two fictitious messages. &ldquo;You will
+have noticed that this is the outside sheet of a programme. It is
+not the most suitable for the purpose; the first inner sheet is
+more convenient to write on, but there the date appears. You see
+the inference? The programme was obtained
+before&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps. Well&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo; for Carrados had
+broken off abruptly and was listening.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You hear someone coming up the steps?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is the general stairway.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Straithwaite, I don&rsquo;t know how far this has gone
+in other quarters. We may only have a few seconds before we are
+interrupted.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What do you mean?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I mean that the man who is now on the stairs is a
+policeman or has worn the uniform. If he stops at your
+door&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The heavy tread ceased. Then came the authoritative knock.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Wait,&rdquo; muttered Carrados, laying his hand
+impressively on Straithwaite&rsquo;s tremulous arm. &ldquo;I may
+recognize the voice.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They heard the servant pass along the hall and the door
+unlatched; then caught the jumble of a gruff inquiry.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Inspector Beedel of Scotland Yard!&rdquo; The servant
+repassed their door on her way to the drawing-room. &ldquo;It is no
+good disguising the fact from you, Mr Straithwaite, that you may no
+longer be at liberty. But I am. <i>Is there anything you wish
+done?</i>&rdquo;</p>
+<p>There was no time for deliberation. Straithwaite was indeed
+between the unenviable alternatives of the familiar proverb, but,
+to do him justice, his voice had lost scarcely a ripple of its
+usual sang-froid.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thanks,&rdquo; he replied, taking a small stamped and
+addressed parcel from his pocket, &ldquo;you might drop this into
+some obscure pillar-box, if you will.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Markham necklace?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Exactly. I was going out to post it when you
+came.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am sure you were.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And if you could spare five minutes later&mdash;if I am
+here&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados slid his cigarette-case under some papers on the
+desk.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I will call for that,&rdquo; he assented. &ldquo;Let us
+say about half-past eight.&rdquo;</p>
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+<p>&ldquo;I am still at large, you see, Mr Carrados; though after
+reflecting on the studied formality of the inspector&rsquo;s
+business here, I imagine that you will scarcely be
+surprised.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have made it a habit,&rdquo; admitted Carrados,
+&ldquo;never to be surprised.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;However, I still want to cut a rather different figure in
+your eyes. You regard me, Mr Carrados, either as a detected rogue
+or a repentant ass?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Another excellent rule is never to form deductions from
+uncertainties.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Straithwaite made a gesture of mild impatience.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You only give me ten minutes. If I am to put my case
+before you, Mr Carrados, we cannot fence with phrases.... To-day
+you have had an exceptional opportunity of penetrating into our
+mode of life. You will, I do not doubt, have summed up our
+perpetual indebtedness and the easy credit that our connexion
+procures; Stephanie&rsquo;s social ambitions and expensive
+popularity; her utterly extravagant incapacity to see any other
+possible existence; and my tacit acquiescence. You will, I know,
+have correctly gauged her irresponsible, neurotic temperament, and
+judged the result of it in conflict with my own. What possibly has
+escaped you, for in society one has to disguise these things, is
+that I still love my wife.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When you dare not trust the soundness of your reins you
+do not try to pull up a bolting horse. For three years I have
+endeavoured to guide Stephanie round awkward comers with as little
+visible restraint as possible. When we differ over any project upon
+which she has set her heart Stephanie has one strong
+argument.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That you no longer love her?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, perhaps; but more forcibly expressed. She rushes to
+the top of the building&mdash;there are six floors, Mr Carrados,
+and we are on the second&mdash;and climbing on to the banister she
+announces her intention of throwing herself down into the basement.
+In the meanwhile I have followed her and drag her back again. One
+day I shall stay where I am and let her do as she
+intends.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I hope not,&rdquo; said Carrados gravely.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, don&rsquo;t be concerned. She will then climb back
+herself. But it will mark an epoch. It was by that threat that she
+obtained my acquiescence to this scheme&mdash;that and the
+certainty that she would otherwise go on without me. But I had no
+intention of allowing her to land herself&mdash;to say nothing of
+us both&mdash;behind the bars of a prison if I could help it. And,
+above all, I wished to cure her of her fatuous delusion that she is
+clever, in the hope that she may then give up being foolish.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To fail her on the occasion was merely to postpone the
+attempt. I conceived the idea of seeming to cooperate and at the
+same time involving us in what appeared to be a clever
+counter-fraud. The thought of the real loss will perhaps have a
+good effect; the publicity will certainly prevent her from daring a
+second &lsquo;theft.&rsquo; A sordid story, Mr Carrados,&rdquo; he
+concluded. &ldquo;Do not forget your cigarette-case in
+reality.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The paternal shake of Carrados&rsquo;s head over the recital was
+neutralized by his benevolent smile.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, yes,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I think we can classify
+you, Mr Straithwaite. One point&mdash;the glove?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That was an afterthought. I had arranged the whole story
+and the first note was to be brought to me by an attendant. Then,
+on my way, in my overcoat pocket I discovered a pair of
+Stephanie&rsquo;s gloves which she had asked me to carry the day
+before. The suggestion flashed&mdash;how much more convincing if I
+could arrange for her to seem to drop the writing in that way. As
+she said, the next box <i>was</i> empty; I merely took possession
+of it for a few minutes and quietly drew across one of her gloves.
+And that reminds me&mdash;of course there was nothing in it, but
+your interest in them made me rather nervous.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados laughed outright. Then he stood up and held out his
+hand.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good-night, Mr Straithwaite,&rdquo; he said, with real
+friendliness. &ldquo;Let me give you the quaker&rsquo;s advice:
+Don&rsquo;t attempt another conspiracy&mdash;but if you do,
+don&rsquo;t produce a &lsquo;pair&rsquo; of gloves of which one is
+still suggestive of scent, and the other identifiable with
+eucalyptus!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh&mdash;&mdash;!&rdquo; said Straithwaite.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite so. But at all hazard suppress a second pair that
+has the same peculiarity. Think over what it must mean.
+Good-bye.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twelve minutes later Mr Carlyle was called to the telephone.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is eight-fifty-five and I am at Charing Cross,&rdquo;
+said a voice he knew. &ldquo;If you want local colour contrive an
+excuse to be with Markham when the first post arrives
+to-morrow.&rdquo; A few more words followed, and an affectionate
+valediction.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One moment, my dear Max, one moment. Do I understand you
+to say that you will post me on the report of the case from
+Dover?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, Louis,&rdquo; replied Carrados, with cryptic
+discrimination. &ldquo;I only said that I will post you on <i>a</i>
+report of the case from Dover.&rdquo;</p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="THE_LAST_EXPLOIT_OF_HARRY_THE_ACTOR" id=
+"THE_LAST_EXPLOIT_OF_HARRY_THE_ACTOR"></a>THE LAST EXPLOIT OF HARRY
+THE ACTOR</h2>
+<p>The one insignificant fact upon which turned the following
+incident in the joint experiences of Mr Carlyle and Max Carrados
+was merely this: that having called upon his friend just at the
+moment when the private detective was on the point of leaving his
+office to go to the safe deposit in Lucas Street, Piccadilly, the
+blind amateur accompanied him, and for ten minutes amused himself
+by sitting quite quietly among the palms in the centre of the
+circular hall while Mr Carlyle was occupied with his deed-box in
+one of the little compartments provided for the purpose.</p>
+<p>The Lucas Street depository was then (it has since been
+converted into a picture palace) generally accepted as being one of
+the strongest places in London. The front of the building was
+constructed to represent a gigantic safe door, and under the
+colloquial designation of &ldquo;The Safe&rdquo; the place had
+passed into a synonym for all that was secure and impregnable. Half
+of the marketable securities in the west of London were popularly
+reported to have seen the inside of its coffers at one time or
+another, together with the same generous proportion of family
+jewels. However exaggerated an estimate this might be, the
+substratum of truth was solid and auriferous enough to dazzle the
+imagination. When ordinary safes were being carried bodily away
+with impunity or ingeniously fused open by the scientifically
+equipped cracksman, nervous bond-holders turned with relief to the
+attractions of an establishment whose modest claim was summed up in
+its telegraphic address: &ldquo;Impregnable.&rdquo; To it went also
+the jewel-case between the lady&rsquo;s social engagements, and
+when in due course &ldquo;the family&rdquo; journeyed
+north&mdash;or south, east or west&mdash;whenever, in short, the
+London house was closed, its capacious storerooms received the
+plate-chest as an established custom. Not a few traders
+also&mdash;jewellers, financiers, dealers in pictures, antiques and
+costly bijouterie, for instance&mdash;constantly used its
+facilities for any stock that they did not requite immediately to
+hand.</p>
+<p>There was only one entrance to the place, an exaggerated
+keyhole, to carry out the similitude of the safe-door alluded to.
+The ground floor was occupied by the ordinary offices of the
+company; all the strong-rooms and safes lay in the steel-cased
+basement. This was reached both by a lift and by a flight of steps.
+In either case the visitor found before him a grille of massive
+proportions. Behind its bars stood a formidable commissionaire who
+never left his post, his sole duty being to open and close the
+grille to arriving and departing clients. Beyond this, a short
+passage led into the round central hall where Carrados was waiting.
+From this part, other passages radiated off to the vaults and
+strong-rooms, each one barred from the hall by a grille scarcely
+less ponderous than the first one. The doors of the various private
+rooms put at the disposal of the company&rsquo;s clients, and that
+of the manager&rsquo;s office, filled the wall-space between the
+radiating passages. Everything was very quiet, everything looked
+very bright, and everything seemed hopelessly impregnable.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But I wonder?&rdquo; ran Carrados&rsquo;s dubious
+reflection; as he reached this point.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Sorry to have kept you so long, my dear Max,&rdquo; broke
+in Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s crisp voice. He had emerged from his
+compartment and was crossing the hall, deed-box in hand.
+&ldquo;Another minute and I will be with you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados smiled and nodded and resumed his former expression,
+which was merely that of an uninterested gentleman waiting
+patiently for another. It is something of an attainment to watch
+closely without betraying undue curiosity, but others of the
+senses&mdash;hearing and smelling, for instance&mdash;can be keenly
+engaged while the observer possibly has the appearance of falling
+asleep.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now,&rdquo; announced Mr Carlyle, returning briskly to
+his friend&rsquo;s chair, and drawing on his grey suede gloves.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are in no particular hurry?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; admitted the professional man, with the
+slowness of mild surprise. &ldquo;Not at all. What do you
+propose?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is very pleasant here,&rdquo; replied Carrados
+tranquilly. &ldquo;Very cool and restful with this armoured steel
+between us and the dust and scurry of the hot July afternoon above.
+I propose remaining here for a few minutes longer.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Certainly,&rdquo; agreed Mr Carlyle, taking the nearest
+chair and eyeing Carrados as though he had a shrewd suspicion of
+something more than met the ear. &ldquo;I believe some very
+interesting people rent safes here. We may encounter a bishop, or a
+winning jockey, or even a musical comedy actress. Unfortunately it
+seems to be rather a slack time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Two men came down while you were in your cubicle,&rdquo;
+remarked Carrados casually. &ldquo;The first took the lift. I
+imagine that he was a middle-aged, rather portly man. He carried a
+stick, wore a silk hat, and used spectacles for close sight. The
+other came by the stairway. I infer that he arrived at the top
+immediately after the lift had gone. He ran down the steps, so that
+the two were admitted at the same time, but the second man, though
+the more active of the pair, hung back for a moment in the passage
+and the portly one was the first to go to his safe.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s knowing look expressed: &ldquo;Go on, my
+friend; you are coming to something.&rdquo; But he merely
+contributed an encouraging &ldquo;Yes?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When you emerged just now our second man quietly opened
+the door of his pen a fraction. Doubtless he looked out. Then he
+closed it as quietly again. You were not his man, Louis.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am grateful,&rdquo; said Mr Carlyle expressively.
+&ldquo;What next, Louis?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is all; they are still closeted.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Both were silent for a moment. Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s feeling was
+one of unconfessed perplexity. So far the incident was utterly
+trivial in his eyes; but he knew that the trifles which appeared
+significant to Max had a way of standing out like signposts when
+the time came to look back over an episode. Carrados&rsquo;s
+sightless faculties seemed indeed to keep him just a move ahead as
+the game progressed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is there really anything in it, Max?&rdquo; he asked at
+length.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Who can say?&rdquo; replied Carrados. &ldquo;At least we
+may wait to see them go. Those tin deed-boxes now. There is one to
+each safe, I think?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, so I imagine. The practice is to carry the box to
+your private lair and there unlock it and do your business. Then
+you lock it up again and take it back to your safe.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Steady! our first man,&rdquo; whispered Carrados
+hurriedly. &ldquo;Here, look at this with me.&rdquo; He opened a
+paper&mdash;a prospectus&mdash;which he pulled from his pocket, and
+they affected to study its contents together.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You were about right, my friend,&rdquo; muttered Mr
+Carlyle, pointing to a paragraph of assumed interest. &ldquo;Hat,
+stick and spectacles. He is a clean-shaven, pink-faced old boy. I
+believe&mdash;yes, I know the man by sight. He is a bookmaker in a
+large way, I am told.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here comes the other,&rdquo; whispered Carrados.</p>
+<p>The bookmaker passed across the hall, joined on his way by the
+manager whose duty it was to counterlock the safe, and disappeared
+along one of the passages. The second man sauntered up and down,
+waiting his turn. Mr Carlyle reported his movements in an undertone
+and described him. He was a younger man than the other, of medium
+height, and passably well dressed in a quiet lounge suit, green
+Alpine hat and brown shoes. By the time the detective had reached
+his wavy chestnut hair, large and rather ragged moustache, and
+sandy, freckled complexion, the first man had completed his
+business and was leaving the place.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t an exchange lay, at all events,&rdquo;
+said Mr Carlyle. &ldquo;His inner case is only half the size of the
+other and couldn&rsquo;t possibly be substituted.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Come up now,&rdquo; said Carrados, rising. &ldquo;There
+is nothing more to be learned down here.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They requisitioned the lift and on the steps outside the
+gigantic keyhole stood for a few minutes discussing an investment
+as a couple of trustees or a lawyer and a client who were parting
+there might do. Fifty yards away, a very large silk hat with a very
+curly brim marked the progress of the bookmaker towards
+Piccadilly.</p>
+<p>The lift in the hall behind them swirled up again and the gate
+clashed. The second man walked leisurely out and sauntered away
+without a backward glance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He has gone in the opposite direction,&rdquo; exclaimed
+Mr Carlyle, rather blankly. &ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t the &lsquo;lame
+goat&rsquo; nor the &lsquo;follow-me-on,&rsquo; nor even the homely
+but efficacious sand-bag.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What colour were his eyes?&rdquo; asked Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Upon my word, I never noticed,&rdquo; admitted the
+other.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Parkinson would have noticed,&rdquo; was the severe
+comment.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am not Parkinson,&rdquo; retorted Mr Carlyle, with
+asperity, &ldquo;and, strictly as one dear friend to another, Max,
+permit me to add, that while cherishing an unbounded admiration for
+your remarkable gifts, I have the strongest suspicion that the
+whole incident is a ridiculous mare&rsquo;s nest, bred in the
+fantastic imagination of an enthusiastic criminologist.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carrados received this outburst with the utmost benignity.
+&ldquo;Come and have a coffee, Louis,&rdquo; he suggested.
+&ldquo;Mehmed&rsquo;s is only a street away.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mehmed proved to be a cosmopolitan gentleman from Mocha whose
+shop resembled a house from the outside and an Oriental divan when
+one was within. A turbaned Arab placed cigarettes and cups of
+coffee spiced with saffron before the customers, gave salaam and
+withdrew.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You know, my dear chap,&rdquo; continued Mr Carlyle,
+sipping his black coffee and wondering privately whether it was
+really very good or very bad, &ldquo;speaking quite seriously, the
+one fishy detail&mdash;our ginger friend&rsquo;s watching for the
+other to leave&mdash;may be open to a dozen very innocent
+explanations.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So innocent that to-morrow I intend taking a safe
+myself.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You think that everything is all right?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;On the contrary, I am convinced that something is very
+wrong.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then why&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I shall keep nothing there, but it will give me the
+<i>entr&eacute;e</i>. I should advise you, Louis, in the first
+place to empty your safe with all possible speed, and in the second
+to leave your business card on the manager.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle pushed his cup away, convinced now that the coffee
+was really very bad.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But, my dear Max, the place&mdash;&lsquo;The
+Safe&rsquo;&mdash;is impregnable!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When I was in the States, three years ago, the head
+porter at one hotel took pains to impress on me that the building
+was absolutely fireproof. I at once had my things taken off to
+another hotel. Two weeks later the first place was burnt out. It
+<i>was</i> fireproof, I believe, but of course the furniture and
+the fittings were not and the walls gave way.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very ingenious,&rdquo; admitted Mr Carlyle, &ldquo;but
+why did you really go? You know you can&rsquo;t humbug me with your
+superhuman sixth sense, my friend.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados smiled pleasantly, thereby encouraging the watchful
+attendant to draw near and replenish their tiny cups.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps,&rdquo; replied the blind man, &ldquo;because so
+many careless people were satisfied that it was
+fireproof.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ah-ha, there you are&mdash;the greater the confidence the
+greater the risk. But only if your self-confidence results in
+carelessness. Now do you know how this place is secured,
+Max?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am told that they lock the door at night,&rdquo;
+replied Carrados, with bland malice.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And hide the key under the mat to be ready for the first
+arrival in the morning,&rdquo; crowed Mr Carlyle, in the same
+playful spirit. &ldquo;Dear old chap! Well, let me tell
+you&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That force is out of the question. Quite so,&rdquo;
+admitted his friend.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That simplifies the argument. Let us consider fraud.
+There again the precautions are so rigid that many people pronounce
+the forms a nuisance. I confess that I do not. I regard them as a
+means of protecting my own property and I cheerfully sign my name
+and give my password, which the manager compares with his
+record-book before he releases the first lock of my safe. The
+signature is burned before my eyes in a sort of crucible there, the
+password is of my own choosing and is written only in a book that
+no one but the manager ever sees, and my key is the sole one in
+existence.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No duplicate or master-key?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Neither. If a key is lost it takes a skilful mechanic
+half-a-day to cut his way in. Then you must remember that clients
+of a safe-deposit are not multitudinous. All are known more or less
+by sight to the officials there, and a stranger would receive close
+attention. Now, Max, by what combination of circumstances is a
+rogue to know my password, to be able to forge my signature, to
+possess himself of my key, and to resemble me personally? And,
+finally, how is he possibly to determine beforehand whether there
+is anything in my safe to repay so elaborate a plant?&rdquo; Mr
+Carlyle concluded in triumph and was so carried away by the
+strength of his position that he drank off the contents of his
+second cup before he realized what he was doing.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;At the hotel I just spoke of,&rdquo; replied Carrados,
+&ldquo;there was an attendant whose one duty in case of alarm was
+to secure three iron doors. On the night of the fire he had a bad
+attack of toothache and slipped away for just a quarter of an hour
+to have the thing out. There was a most up-to-date system of
+automatic fire alarm; it had been tested only the day before and
+the electrician, finding some part not absolutely to his
+satisfaction, had taken it away and not had time to replace it. The
+night watchman, it turned out, had received leave to present
+himself a couple of hours later on that particular night, and the
+hotel fireman, whose duties he took over, had missed being
+notified. Lastly, there was a big riverside blaze at the same time
+and all the engines were down at the other end of the
+city.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle committed himself to a dubious monosyllable. Carrados
+leaned forward a little.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;All these circumstances formed a coincidence of pure
+chance. Is it not conceivable, Louis, that an even more remarkable
+series might be brought about by design?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Our tawny friend?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Possibly. Only he was not really tawny.&rdquo; Mr
+Carlyle&rsquo;s easy attitude suddenly stiffened into rigid
+attention. &ldquo;He wore a false moustache.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He wore a false moustache!&rdquo; repeated the amazed
+gentleman. &ldquo;And you cannot see! No, really, Max, this is
+beyond the limit!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If only you would not trust your dear, blundering old
+eyes so implicitly you would get nearer that limit yourself,&rdquo;
+retorted Carrados. &ldquo;The man carried a five-yard aura of
+spirit gum, emphasized by a warm, perspiring skin. That inevitably
+suggested one thing. I looked for further evidence of making-up and
+found it&mdash;these preparations all smell. The hair you described
+was characteristically that of a wig&mdash;worn long to hide the
+joining and made wavy to minimize the length. All these things are
+trifles. As yet we have not gone beyond the initial stage of
+suspicion. I will tell you another trifle. When this man retired to
+a compartment with his deed-box, he never even opened it. Possibly
+it contains a brick and a newspaper. He is only
+watching.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Watching the bookmaker.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;True, but it may go far wider than that. Everything
+points to a plot of careful elaboration. Still, if you are
+satisfied&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am quite satisfied,&rdquo; replied Mr Carlyle
+gallantly. &ldquo;I regard &lsquo;The Safe&rsquo; almost as a
+national institution, and as such I have an implicit faith in its
+precautions against every kind of force or fraud.&rdquo; So far Mr
+Carlyle&rsquo;s attitude had been suggestive of a rock, but at this
+point he took out his watch, hummed a little to pass the time,
+consulted his watch again, and continued: &ldquo;I am afraid that
+there were one or two papers which I overlooked. It would perhaps
+save me coming again to-morrow if I went back
+now&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite so,&rdquo; acquiesced Carrados, with perfect
+gravity. &ldquo;I will wait for you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>For twenty minutes he sat there, drinking an occasional tiny cup
+of boiled coffee and to all appearance placidly enjoying the quaint
+atmosphere which Mr Mehmed had contrived to transplant from the
+shore of the Persian Gulf.</p>
+<p>At the end of that period Carlyle returned, politely effusive
+about the time he had kept his friend waiting but otherwise bland
+and unassailable. Anyone with eyes might have noticed that he
+carried a parcel of about the same size and dimensions as the
+deed-box that fitted his safe.</p>
+<p>The next day Carrados presented himself at the safe-deposit as
+an intending renter. The manager showed him over the vaults and
+strong-rooms, explaining the various precautions taken to render
+the guile or force of man impotent: the strength of the
+chilled-steel walls, the casing of electricity-resisting concrete,
+the stupendous isolation of the whole inner fabric on metal pillars
+so that the watchman, while inside the building, could walk above,
+below, and all round the outer walls of what was
+really&mdash;although it bore no actual relationship to the
+advertising device of the front&mdash;a monstrous safe; and,
+finally, the arrangement which would enable the basement to be
+flooded with steam within three minutes of an alarm. These details
+were public property. &ldquo;The Safe&rdquo; was a showplace and
+its directors held that no harm could come of displaying a strong
+hand.</p>
+<p>Accompanied by the observant eyes of Parkinson, Carrados gave an
+adventurous but not a hopeful attention to these particulars.
+Submitting the problem of the tawny man to his own ingenuity, he
+was constantly putting before himself the question: How shall I set
+about robbing this place? and he had already dismissed force as
+impracticable. Nor, when it came to the consideration of fraud, did
+the simple but effective safeguards which Mr Carlyle had specified
+seem to offer any loophole.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;As I am blind I may as well sign in the book,&rdquo; he
+suggested, when the manager passed to him a gummed slip for the
+purpose. The precaution against one acquiring particulars of
+another client might well be deemed superfluous in his case.</p>
+<p>But the manager did not fall into the trap.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is our invariable rule in all cases, sir,&rdquo; he
+replied courteously. &ldquo;What word will you take?&rdquo;
+Parkinson, it may be said, had been left in the hall.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Suppose I happen to forget it? How do we
+proceed?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In that case I am afraid that I might have to trouble you
+to establish your identity,&rdquo; the manager explained. &ldquo;It
+rarely happens.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then we will say &lsquo;Conspiracy.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The word was written down and the book closed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here is your key, sir. If you will allow me&mdash;your
+key-ring&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>A week went by and Carrados was no nearer the absolute solution
+of the problem he had set himself. He had, indeed, evolved several
+ways by which the contents of the safes might be reached, some
+simple and desperate, hanging on the razor-edge of chance to fall
+this way or that; others more elaborate, safer on the whole, but
+more liable to break down at some point of their ingenious
+intricacy. And setting aside complicity on the part of the
+manager&mdash;a condition that Carrados had satisfied himself did
+not exist&mdash;they all depended on a relaxation of the forms by
+which security was assured. Carrados continued to have several
+occasions to visit the safe during the week, and he
+&ldquo;watched&rdquo; with a quiet persistence that was deadly in
+its scope. But from beginning to end there was no indication of
+slackness in the business-like methods of the place; nor during any
+of his visits did the &ldquo;tawny man&rdquo; appear in that or any
+other disguise. Another week passed; Mr Carlyle was becoming
+inexpressibly waggish, and Carrados himself, although he did not
+abate a jot of his conviction, was compelled to bend to the
+realities of the situation. The manager, with the obstinacy of a
+conscientious man who had become obsessed with the pervading note
+of security, excused himself from discussing abstract methods of
+fraud. Carrados was not in a position to formulate a detailed
+charge; he withdrew from active investigation, content to await his
+time.</p>
+<p>It came, to be precise, on a certain Friday morning, seventeen
+days after his first visit to &ldquo;The Safe.&rdquo; Returning
+late on the Thursday night, he was informed that a man giving the
+name of Draycott had called to see him. Apparently the matter had
+been of some importance to the visitor for he had returned three
+hours later on the chance of finding Mr Carrados in. Disappointed
+in this, he had left a note. Carrados cut open the envelope and ran
+a finger along the following words:&mdash;</p>
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span>,&mdash;I have to-day
+consulted Mr Louis Carlyle, who thinks that you would like to see
+me. I will call again in the morning, say at nine o&rsquo;clock. If
+this is too soon or otherwise inconvenient I entreat you to leave a
+message fixing as early an hour as possible. to leave a message
+fixing as early an hour as possible.<br />
+Yours faithfully,</p>
+<p class="alignright">
+<span class="smcap">Herbert Draycott</span>.&rdquo;<br /></p>
+<p>&ldquo;<i>P.S.</i>&mdash;I should add that I am the renter of a
+safe at the Lucas Street depository. H. D.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>A description of Mr Draycott made it clear that he was not the
+West-End bookmaker. The caller, the servant explained, was a thin,
+wiry, keen-faced man. Carrados felt agreeably interested in this
+development, which seemed to justify his suspicion of a plot.</p>
+<p>At five minutes to nine the next morning Mr Draycott again
+presented himself.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very good of you to see me so soon, sir,&rdquo; he
+apologized, on Carrados at once receiving him. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t
+know much of English ways&mdash;I&rsquo;m an Australian&mdash;and I
+was afraid it might be too early.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You could have made it a couple of hours earlier as far
+as I am concerned,&rdquo; replied Carrados. &ldquo;Or you either
+for that matter, I imagine,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;for I
+don&rsquo;t think that you slept much last night.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t sleep at all last night,&rdquo; corrected
+Mr Draycott. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s strange that you should have
+seen that. I understood from Mr Carlyle that you&mdash;excuse me if
+I am mistaken, sir&mdash;but I understood that you were
+blind.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados laughed his admission lightly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh yes,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But never mind that. What
+is the trouble?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid it means more than just trouble for me,
+Mr Carrados.&rdquo; The man had steady, half-closed eyes, with the
+suggestion of depth which one notices in the eyes of those whose
+business it is to look out over great expanses of land or water;
+they were turned towards Carrados&rsquo;s face with quiet
+resignation in their frankness now. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid it
+spells disaster. I am a working engineer from the Mount Magdalena
+district of Coolgardie. I don&rsquo;t want to take up your time
+with outside details so I will only say that about two years ago I
+had an opportunity of acquiring a share in a very promising
+claim&mdash;gold, you understand, both reef and alluvial. As the
+work went on I put more and more into the undertaking&mdash;you
+couldn&rsquo;t call it a venture by that time. The results were
+good, better than we had dared to expect, but from one cause and
+another the expenses were terrible. We saw that it was a bigger
+thing than we had bargained for and we admitted that we must get
+outside help.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>So far Mr Draycott&rsquo;s narrative had proceeded smoothly
+enough under the influence of the quiet despair that had come over
+the man. But at this point a sudden recollection of his position
+swept him into a frenzy of bitterness.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, what the blazes is the good of going over all this
+again!&rdquo; he broke out. &ldquo;What can you or anyone else do
+anyhow? I&rsquo;ve been robbed, rooked, cleared out of everything I
+possess,&rdquo; and tormented by recollections and by the impotence
+of his rage the unfortunate engineer beat the oak table with the
+back of his hand until his knuckles bled.</p>
+<p>Carrados waited until the fury had passed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Continue, if you please, Mr Draycott,&rdquo; he said.
+&ldquo;Just what you thought it best to tell me is just what I want
+to know.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sorry, sir,&rdquo; apologized the man,
+colouring under his tanned skin. &ldquo;I ought to be able to
+control myself better. But this business has shaken me. Three times
+last night I looked down the barrel of my revolver, and three times
+I threw it away.... Well, we arranged that I should come to London
+to interest some financiers in the property. We might have done it
+locally or in Perth, to be sure, but then, don&rsquo;t you see,
+they would have wanted to get control. Six weeks ago I landed here.
+I brought with me specimens of the quartz and good samples of
+extracted gold, dust and nuggets, the clearing up of several
+weeks&rsquo; working, about two hundred and forty ounces in all.
+That includes the Magdalena Lodestar, our lucky nugget, a lump
+weighing just under seven pounds of pure gold.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I had seen an advertisement of this Lucas Street
+safe-deposit and it seemed just the thing I wanted. Besides the
+gold, I had all the papers to do with the claims&mdash;plans,
+reports, receipts, licences and so on. Then when I cashed my letter
+of credit I had about one hundred and fifty pounds in notes. Of
+course I could have left everything at a bank but it was more
+convenient to have it, as it were, in my own safe, to get at any
+time, and to have a private room that I could take any gentlemen
+to. I hadn&rsquo;t a suspicion that anything could be wrong.
+Negotiations hung on in several quarters&mdash;it&rsquo;s a bad
+time to do business here, I find. Then, yesterday, I wanted
+something. I went to Lucas Street, as I had done half-a-dozen times
+before, opened my safe, and had the inner case carried to a
+room.... Mr Carrados, it was empty!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite empty?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No.&rdquo; He laughed bitterly. &ldquo;At the bottom was
+a sheet of wrapper paper. I recognized it as a piece I had left
+there in case I wanted to make up a parcel. But for that I should
+have been convinced that I had somehow opened the wrong safe. That
+was my first idea.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It cannot be done.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So I understand, sir. And, then, there was the paper with
+my name written on it in the empty tin. I was dazed; it seemed
+impossible. I think I stood there without moving for
+minutes&mdash;it was more like hours. Then I closed the tin box
+again, took it back, locked up the safe and came out.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Without notifying anything wrong?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, Mr Carrados.&rdquo; The steady blue eyes regarded
+him with pained thoughtfulness. &ldquo;You see, I reckoned it out
+in that time that it must be someone about the place who had done
+it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You were wrong,&rdquo; said Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So Mr Carlyle seemed to think. I only knew that the key
+had never been out of my possession and I had told no one of the
+password. Well, it did come over me rather like cold water down the
+neck, that there was I alone in the strongest dungeon in London and
+not a living soul knew where I was.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Possibly a sort of up-to-date Sweeney
+Todd&rsquo;s?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d heard of such things in London,&rdquo; admitted
+Draycott. &ldquo;Anyway, I got out. It was a mistake; I see it now.
+Who is to believe me as it is&mdash;it sounds a sort of unlikely
+tale. And how do they come to pick on me? to know what I had? I
+don&rsquo;t drink, or open my mouth, or hell round. It beats
+me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They didn&rsquo;t pick on you&mdash;you picked on
+them,&rdquo; replied Carrados. &ldquo;Never mind how; you&rsquo;ll
+be believed all right. But as for getting anything
+back&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo; The unfinished sentence confirmed Mr
+Draycott in his gloomiest anticipations.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have the numbers of the notes,&rdquo; he suggested,
+with an attempt at hopefulness. &ldquo;They can be stopped, I take
+it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Stopped? Yes,&rdquo; admitted Carrados. &ldquo;And what
+does that amount to? The banks and the police stations will be
+notified and every little public-house between here and
+Land&rsquo;s End will change one for the scribbling of &lsquo;John
+Jones&rsquo; across the back. No, Mr Draycott, it&rsquo;s awkward,
+I dare say, but you must make up your mind to wait until you can
+get fresh supplies from home. Where are you staying?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Draycott hesitated.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have been at the Abbotsford, in Bloomsbury, up to
+now,&rdquo; he said, with some embarrassment. &ldquo;The fact is,
+Mr Carrados, I think I ought to have told you how I was placed
+before consulting you, because I&mdash;I see no prospect of being
+able to pay my way. Knowing that I had plenty in the safe, I had
+run it rather close. I went chiefly yesterday to get some notes. I
+have a week&rsquo;s hotel bill in my pocket, and&rdquo;&mdash;he
+glanced down at his trousers&mdash;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve ordered one or
+two other things unfortunately.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That will be a matter of time, doubtless,&rdquo;
+suggested the other encouragingly.</p>
+<p>Instead of replying Draycott suddenly dropped his arms on to the
+table and buried his face between them. A minute passed in
+silence.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s no good, Mr Carrados,&rdquo; he said, when he
+was able to speak; &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t meet it. Say what you like,
+I simply can&rsquo;t tell those chaps that I&rsquo;ve lost
+everything we had and ask them to send me more. They couldn&rsquo;t
+do it if I did. Understand, sir. The mine is a valuable one; we
+have the greatest faith in it, but it has gone beyond our depth.
+The three of us have put everything we own into it. While I am here
+they are doing labourers&rsquo; work for a wage, just to keep going
+... waiting, oh, my God! waiting for good news from me!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados walked round the table to his desk and wrote. Then,
+without a word, he held out a paper to his visitor.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s this?&rdquo; demanded Draycott, in
+bewilderment. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s&mdash;it&rsquo;s a cheque for a
+hundred pounds.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It will carry you on,&rdquo; explained Carrados
+imperturbably. &ldquo;A man like you isn&rsquo;t going to throw up
+the sponge for this set-back. Cable to your partners that you
+require copies of all the papers at once. They&rsquo;ll manage it,
+never fear. The gold ... must go. Write fully by the next mail.
+Tell them everything and add that in spite of all you feel that you
+are nearer success than ever.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Draycott folded the cheque with thoughtful deliberation and
+put it carefully away in his pocket-book.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know whether you&rsquo;ve guessed as much,
+sir,&rdquo; he said in a queer voice, &ldquo;but I think that
+you&rsquo;ve saved a man&rsquo;s life to-day. It&rsquo;s not the
+money, it&rsquo;s the encouragement ... and faith. If you could see
+you&rsquo;d know better than I can say how I feel about
+it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados laughed quietly. It always amused him to have people
+explain how much more he would learn if he had eyes.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then we&rsquo;ll go on to Lucas Street and give the
+manager the shock of his life,&rdquo; was all he said. &ldquo;Come,
+Mr Draycott, I have already rung up the car.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>But, as it happened, another instrument had been destined to
+apply that stimulating experience to the manager. As they stepped
+out of the car opposite &ldquo;The Safe&rdquo; a taxicab drew up
+and Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s alert and cheery voice hailed them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A moment, Max,&rdquo; he called, turning to settle with
+his driver, a transaction that he invested with an air of dignified
+urbanity which almost made up for any small pecuniary
+disappointment that may have accompanied it. &ldquo;This is indeed
+fortunate. Let us compare notes for a moment. I have just received
+an almost imploring message from the manager to come at once. I
+assumed that it was the affair of our colonial friend here, but he
+went on to mention Professor Holmfast Bulge. Can it really be
+possible that he also has made a similar discovery?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What did the manager say?&rdquo; asked Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He was practically incoherent, but I really think it must
+be so. What have you done?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nothing,&rdquo; replied Carrados. He turned his back on
+&ldquo;The Safe&rdquo; and appeared to be regarding the other side
+of the street. &ldquo;There is a tobacconist&rsquo;s shop directly
+opposite?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What do they sell on the first floor?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Possibly they sell &lsquo;Rubbo.&rsquo; I hazard the
+suggestion from the legend &lsquo;Rub in Rubbo for
+Everything&rsquo; which embellishes each window.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The windows are frosted?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They are, to half-way up, mysterious man.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados walked back to his motor car.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;While we are away, Parkinson, go across and buy a tin,
+bottle, box or packet of &lsquo;Rubbo.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What is &lsquo;Rubbo,&rsquo; Max?&rdquo; chirped Mr
+Carlyle with insatiable curiosity.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So far we do not know. When Parkinson gets some, Louis,
+you shall be the one to try it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They descended into the basement and were passed in by the
+grille-keeper, whose manner betrayed a discreet consciousness of
+something in the air. It was unnecessary to speculate why. In the
+distance, muffled by the armoured passages, an authoritative voice
+boomed like a sonorous bell heard under water.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What, however, are the facts?&rdquo; it was demanding,
+with the causticity of baffled helplessness. &ldquo;I am assured
+that there is no other key in existence; yet my safe has been
+unlocked. I am given to understand that without the password it
+would be impossible for an unauthorized person to tamper with my
+property. My password, deliberately chosen, is
+&lsquo;anthropophaginian,&rsquo; sir. Is it one that is familiarly
+on the lips of the criminal classes? But my safe is empty! What is
+the explanation? Who are the guilty persons? What is being done?
+Where are the police?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If you consider that the proper course to adopt is to
+stand on the doorstep and beckon in the first constable who happens
+to pass, permit me to say, sir, that I differ from you,&rdquo;
+retorted the distracted manager. &ldquo;You may rely on everything
+possible being done to clear up the mystery. As I told you, I have
+already telephoned for a capable private detective and for one of
+my directors.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But that is not enough,&rdquo; insisted the professor
+angrily. &ldquo;Will one mere private detective restore my #6000
+Japanese 4-1/2 per cent. bearer bonds? Is the return of my
+irreplaceable notes on &lsquo;Polyphyletic Bridal Customs among the
+mid-Pleistocene Cave Men&rsquo; to depend on a solitary director? I
+demand that the police shall be called in&mdash;as many as are
+available. Let Scotland Yard be set in motion. A searching inquiry
+must be made. I have only been a user of your precious
+establishment for six months, and this is the result.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There you hold the key of the mystery, Professor
+Bulge,&rdquo; interposed Carrados quietly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Who is this, sir?&rdquo; demanded the exasperated
+professor at large.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Permit me,&rdquo; explained Mr Carlyle, with bland
+assurance. &ldquo;I am Louis Carlyle, of Bampton Street. This
+gentleman is Mr Max Carrados, the eminent amateur specialist in
+crime.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I shall be thankful for any assistance towards
+elucidating this appalling business,&rdquo; condescended the
+professor sonorously. &ldquo;Let me put you in possession of the
+facts&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps if we went into your room,&rdquo; suggested
+Carrados to the manager, &ldquo;we should be less liable to
+interruption.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite so; quite so,&rdquo; boomed the professor,
+accepting the proposal on everyone else&rsquo;s behalf. &ldquo;The
+facts, sir, are these: I am the unfortunate possessor of a safe
+here, in which, a few months ago, I deposited&mdash;among less
+important matter&mdash;sixty bearer bonds of the Japanese Imperial
+Loan&mdash;the bulk of my small fortune&mdash;and the manuscript of
+an important projected work on &lsquo;Polyphyletic Bridal Customs
+among the mid-Pleistocene Cave Men.&rsquo; To-day I came to detach
+the coupons which fall due on the fifteenth, to pay them into my
+bank a week in advance, in accordance with my custom. What do I
+find? I find the safe locked and apparently intact, as when I last
+saw it a month ago. But it is far from being intact, sir. It has
+been opened; ransacked, cleared out. Not a single bond; not a scrap
+of paper remains.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It was obvious that the manager&rsquo;s temperature had been
+rising during the latter part of this speech and now he boiled
+over.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Pardon my flatly contradicting you, Professor Bulge. You
+have again referred to your visit here a month ago as your last.
+You will bear witness of that, gentlemen. When I inform you that
+the professor had access to his safe as recently as on Monday last
+you will recognize the importance that the statement may
+assume.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The professor glared across the room like an infuriated animal,
+a comparison heightened by his notoriously hircine appearance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How dare you contradict me, sir!&rdquo; he cried,
+slapping the table sharply with his open hand. &ldquo;I was not
+here on Monday.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The manager shrugged his shoulders coldly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You forget that the attendants also saw you,&rdquo; he
+remarked. &ldquo;Cannot we trust our own eyes?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A common assumption, yet not always a strictly reliable
+one,&rdquo; insinuated Carrados softly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I cannot be mistaken.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then can you tell me, without looking, what colour
+Professor Bulge&rsquo;s eyes are?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>There was a curious and expectant silence for a minute. The
+professor turned his back on the manager and the manager passed
+from thoughtfulness to embarrassment.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I really do not know, Mr Carrados,&rdquo; he declared
+loftily at last. &ldquo;I do not refer to mere trifles like
+that.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then you can be mistaken,&rdquo; replied Carrados mildly
+yet with decision.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But the ample hair, the venerable flowing beard, the
+prominent nose and heavy eyebrows&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;These are just the striking points that are most easily
+counterfeited. They &lsquo;take the eye.&rsquo; If you would ensure
+yourself against deception, learn rather to observe the eye itself,
+and particularly the spots on it, the shape of the fingernails, the
+set of the ears. These things cannot be simulated.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You seriously suggest that the man was not Professor
+Bulge&mdash;that he was an impostor?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The conclusion is inevitable. Where were you on Monday,
+Professor?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I was on a short lecturing tour in the Midlands. On
+Saturday I was in Nottingham. On Monday in Birmingham. I did not
+return to London until yesterday.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados turned to the manager again and indicated Draycott, who
+so far had remained in the background.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And this gentleman? Did he by any chance come here on
+Monday?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He did not, Mr Carrados. But I gave him access to his
+safe on Tuesday afternoon and again yesterday.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Draycott shook his head sadly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yesterday I found it empty,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And
+all Tuesday afternoon I was at Brighton, trying to see a gentleman
+on business.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The manager sat down very suddenly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good God, another!&rdquo; he exclaimed faintly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am afraid the list is only beginning,&rdquo; said
+Carrados. &ldquo;We must go through your renters&rsquo;
+book.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The manager roused himself to protest.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That cannot be done. No one but myself or my deputy ever
+sees the book. It would be&mdash;unprecedented.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The circumstances are unprecedented,&rdquo; replied
+Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If any difficulties are placed in the way of these
+gentlemen&rsquo;s investigations, I shall make it my duty to bring
+the facts before the Home Secretary,&rdquo; announced the
+professor; speaking up to the ceiling with the voice of a brazen
+trumpet.</p>
+<p>Carrados raised a deprecating hand.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;May I make a suggestion?&rdquo; he remarked. &ldquo;Now;
+I am blind. If, therefore&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; acquiesced the manager. &ldquo;But I
+must request the others to withdraw.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>For five minutes Carrados followed the list of safe-renters as
+the manager read them to him. Sometimes he stopped the catalogue to
+reflect a moment; now and then he brushed a finger-tip over a
+written signature and compared it with another. Occasionally a
+password interested him. But when the list came to an end he
+continued to look into space without any sign of enlightenment.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So much is perfectly clear and yet so much is
+incredible,&rdquo; he mused. &ldquo;You insist that you alone have
+been in charge for the last six months?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have not been away a day this year.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Meals?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have my lunch sent in.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And this room could not be entered without your knowledge
+while you were about the place?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is impossible. The door is fitted with a powerful
+spring and a feather-touch self-acting lock. It cannot be left
+unlocked unless you deliberately prop it open.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And, with your knowledge, no one has had an opportunity
+of having access to this book?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; was the reply.</p>
+<p>Carrados stood up and began to put on his gloves.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then I must decline to pursue my investigation any
+further,&rdquo; he said icily.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why?&rdquo; stammered the manager.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Because I have positive reason for believing that you are
+deceiving me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Pray sit down, Mr Carrados. It is quite true that when
+you put the last question to me a circumstance rushed into my mind
+which&mdash;so far as the strict letter was concerned&mdash;might
+seem to demand &lsquo;Yes&rsquo; instead of &lsquo;No.&rsquo; But
+not in the spirit of your inquiry. It would be absurd to attach any
+importance to the incident I refer to.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That would be for me to judge.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You shall do so, Mr Carrados. I live at Windermere
+Mansions with my sister. A few months ago she got to know a married
+couple who had recently come to the opposite flat. The husband was
+a middle-aged, scholarly man who spent most of his time in the
+British Museum. His wife&rsquo;s tastes were different; she was
+much younger, brighter, gayer; a mere girl in fact, one of the most
+charming and unaffected I have ever met. My sister Amelia does not
+readily&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Stop!&rdquo; exclaimed Carrados. &ldquo;A studious
+middle-aged man and a charming young wife! Be as brief as possible.
+If there is any chance it may turn on a matter of minutes at the
+ports. She came here, of course?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Accompanied by her husband,&rdquo; replied the manager
+stiffly. &ldquo;Mrs Scott had travelled and she had a hobby of
+taking photographs wherever she went. When my position accidentally
+came out one evening she was carried away by the novel idea of
+adding views of a safe-deposit to her collection&mdash;as
+enthusiastic as a child. There was no reason why she should not;
+the place has often been taken for advertising purposes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She came, and brought her camera&mdash;under your very
+nose!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I do not know what you mean by &lsquo;under my very
+nose.&rsquo; She came with her husband one evening just about our
+closing time. She brought her camera, of course&mdash;quite a small
+affair.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And contrived to be in here alone?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I take exception to the word &lsquo;contrived.&rsquo;
+It&mdash;it happened. I sent out for some tea, and in the
+course&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How long was she alone in here?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Two or three minutes at the most. When I returned she was
+seated at my desk. That was what I referred to. The little rogue
+had put on my glasses and had got hold of a big book. We were great
+chums, and she delighted to mock me. I confess that I was
+startled&mdash;merely instinctively&mdash;to see that she had taken
+up this book, but the next moment I saw that she had it upside
+down.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Clever! She couldn&rsquo;t get it away in time. And the
+camera, with half-a-dozen of its specially sensitized films already
+snapped over the last few pages, by her side!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That child!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes. She is twenty-seven and has kicked hats off tall
+men&rsquo;s heads in every capital from Petersburg to Buenos Aires!
+Get through to Scotland Yard and ask if Inspector Beedel can come
+up.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The manager breathed heavily through his nose.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To call in the police and publish everything would ruin
+this establishment&mdash;confidence would be gone. I cannot do it
+without further authority.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then the professor certainly will.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Before you came I rang up the only director who is at
+present in town and gave him the facts as they then stood. Possibly
+he has arrived by this. If you will accompany me to the boardroom
+we will see.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They went up to the floor above, Mr Carlyle joining them on the
+way.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Excuse me a moment,&rdquo; said the manager.</p>
+<p>Parkinson, who had been having an improving conversation with
+the hall porter on the subject of land values, approached.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am sorry, sir,&rdquo; he reported, &ldquo;but I was
+unable to procure any &lsquo;Rubbo.&rsquo; The place appears to be
+shut up.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is a pity; Mr Carlyle had set his heart on
+it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Will you come this way, please?&rdquo; said the manager,
+reappearing.</p>
+<p>In the boardroom they found a white-haired old gentleman who had
+obeyed the manager&rsquo;s behest from a sense of duty, and then
+remained in a distant corner of the empty room in the hope that he
+might be overlooked. He was amiably helpless and appeared to be
+deeply aware of it.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This is a very sad business, gentlemen,&rdquo; he said,
+in a whispering, confiding voice. &ldquo;I am informed that you
+recommend calling in the Scotland Yard authorities. That would be a
+disastrous course for an institution that depends on the implicit
+confidence of the public.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is the only course,&rdquo; replied Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The name of Mr Carrados is well known to us in connexion
+with a delicate case. Could you not carry this one
+through?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is impossible. A wide inquiry must be made. Every port
+will have to be watched. The police alone can do that.&rdquo; He
+threw a little significance into the next sentence. &ldquo;I alone
+can put the police in the right way of doing it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And you will do that, Mr Carrados?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados smiled engagingly. He knew exactly what constituted the
+great attraction of his services.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My position is this,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;So far
+my work has been entirely amateur. In that capacity I have averted
+one or two crimes, remedied an occasional injustice, and now and
+then been of service to my professional friend, Louis Carlyle. But
+there is no reason at all why I should serve a commercial firm in
+an ordinary affair of business for nothing. For any information I
+should require a fee, a quite nominal fee of, say, one hundred
+pounds.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The director looked as though his faith in human nature had
+received a rude blow.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A hundred pounds would be a very large initial fee for a
+small firm like this, Mr Carrados,&rdquo; he remarked in a pained
+voice.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And that, of course, would be independent of Mr
+Carlyle&rsquo;s professional charges,&rdquo; added Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is that sum contingent on any specific
+performance?&rdquo; inquired the manager.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I do not mind making it conditional on my procuring for
+you, for the police to act on, a photograph and a description of
+the thief.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The two officials conferred apart for a moment. Then the manager
+returned.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We will agree, Mr Carrados, on the understanding that
+these things are to be in our hands within two days. Failing
+that&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, no!&rdquo; cried Mr Carlyle indignantly, but Carrados
+good-humouredly put him aside.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I will accept the condition in the same sporting spirit
+that inspires it. Within forty-eight hours or no pay. The cheque,
+of course, to be given immediately the goods are
+delivered?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You may rely on that.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados took out his pocket-book, produced an envelope bearing
+an American stamp, and from it extracted an unmounted print.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here is the photograph,&rdquo; he announced. &ldquo;The
+man is called Ulysses K. Groom, but he is better known as
+&lsquo;Harry the Actor.&rsquo; You will find the description
+written on the back.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Five minutes later, when they were alone, Mr Carlyle expressed
+his opinion of the transaction.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are an unmitigated humbug, Max,&rdquo; he said,
+&ldquo;though an amiable one, I admit. But purely for your own
+private amusement you spring these things on people.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;On the contrary,&rdquo; replied Carrados, &ldquo;people
+spring these things on me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now this photograph. Why have I heard nothing of it
+before?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados took out his watch and touched the fingers.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is now three minutes to eleven. I received the
+photograph at twenty past eight.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Even then, an hour ago you assured me that you had done
+nothing.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nor had I&mdash;so far as result went. Until the keystone
+of the edifice was wrung from the manager in his room, I was as far
+away from demonstrable certainty as ever.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So am I&mdash;as yet,&rdquo; hinted Mr Carlyle.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am coming to that, Louis. I turn over the whole thing
+to you. The man has got two clear days&rsquo; start and the chances
+are nine to one against catching him. We know everything, and the
+case has no further interest for me. But it is your business. Here
+is your material.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;On that one occasion when the &lsquo;tawny&rsquo; man
+crossed our path, I took from the first a rather more serious view
+of his scope and intention than you did. That same day I sent a
+cipher cable to Pierson of the New York service. I asked for news
+of any man of such and such a description&mdash;merely
+negative&mdash;who was known to have left the States; an educated
+man, expert in the use of disguises, audacious in his operations,
+and a specialist in &lsquo;dry&rsquo; work among banks and
+strong-rooms.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why the States, Max?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That was a sighting shot on my part. I argued that he
+must be an English-speaking man. The smart and inventive turn of
+the modern Yank has made him a specialist in ingenious devices,
+straight or crooked. Unpickable locks and invincible lock-pickers,
+burglar-proof safes and safe-specializing burglars, come equally
+from the States. So I tried a very simple test. As we talked that
+day and the man walked past us, I dropped the words &lsquo;New
+York&rsquo;&mdash;or, rather, &lsquo;Noo Y&rsquo;rk&rsquo;&mdash;in
+his hearing.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I know you did. He neither turned nor stopped.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He was that much on his guard; but into his step there
+came&mdash;though your poor old eyes could not see it,
+Louis&mdash;the &lsquo;psychological pause,&rsquo; an absolute
+arrest of perhaps a fifth of a second; just as it would have done
+with you if the word &lsquo;London&rsquo; had fallen on your ear in
+a distant land. However, the whys and the wherefores don&rsquo;t
+matter. Here is the essential story.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Eighteen months ago &lsquo;Harry the Actor&rsquo;
+successfully looted the office safe of M&rsquo;Kenkie, J. F. Higgs
+&amp; Co.; of Cleveland, Ohio. He had just married a smart but very
+facile third-rate vaudeville actress&mdash;English by
+origin&mdash;and wanted money for the honeymoon. He got about five
+hundred pounds, and with that they came to Europe and stayed in
+London for some months. That period is marked by the Congreave
+Square post office burglary, you may remember. While studying such
+of the British institutions as most appealed to him, the
+&lsquo;Actor&rsquo;s&rsquo; attention became fixed on this
+safe-deposit. Possibly the implied challenge contained in its
+telegraphic address grew on him until it became a point of
+professional honour with him to despoil it; at all events he was
+presumedly attracted by an undertaking that promised not only glory
+but very solid profit. The first part of the plot was, to the most
+skilful criminal &lsquo;impersonator&rsquo; in the States, mere
+skittles. Spreading over those months he appeared at &lsquo;The
+Safe&rsquo; in twelve different characters and rented twelve safes
+of different sizes. At the same time he made a thorough study of
+the methods of the place. As soon as possible he got the keys back
+again into legitimate use, having made duplicates for his own
+private ends, of course. Five he seems to have returned during his
+first stay; one was received later, with profuse apologies, by
+registered post; one was returned through a leading Berlin bank.
+Six months ago he made a flying visit here, purely to work off two
+more. One he kept from first to last, and the remaining couple he
+got in at the beginning of his second long residence here, three or
+four months ago.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This brings us to the serious part of the cool
+enterprise. He had funds from the Atlantic and South-Central
+Mail-car coup when he arrived here last April. He appears to have
+set up three establishments; a home, in the guise of an elderly
+scholar with a young wife, which, of course, was next door to our
+friend the manager; an observation point, over which he plastered
+the inscription &lsquo;Rub in Rubbo for Everything&rsquo; as a
+reason for being; and, somewhere else, a dressing-room with
+essential conditions of two doors into different streets.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;About six weeks ago he entered the last stage. Mrs Harry,
+with quite ridiculous ease, got photographs of the necessary page
+or two of the record-book. I don&rsquo;t doubt that for weeks
+before then everyone who entered the place had been observed, but
+the photographs linked them up with the actual men into whose hands
+the &lsquo;Actor&rsquo;s&rsquo; old keys had passed&mdash;gave
+their names and addresses, the numbers of their safes, their
+passwords and signatures. The rest was easy.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, by Jupiter; mere play for a man like that,&rdquo;
+agreed Mr Carlyle, with professional admiration. &ldquo;He could
+contrive a dozen different occasions for studying the voice and
+manner and appearance of his victims. How much has he
+cleared?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We can only speculate as yet. I have put my hand on seven
+doubtful callers on Monday and Tuesday last. Two others he had
+ignored for some reason; the remaining two safes had not been
+allotted. There is one point that raises an interesting
+speculation.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What is that, Max?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The &lsquo;Actor&rsquo; has one associate, a man known as
+&lsquo;Billy the Fondant,&rsquo; but beyond that&mdash;with the
+exception of his wife, of course&mdash;he does not usually trust
+anyone. It is plain, however, that at least seven men must latterly
+have been kept under close observation. It has occurred to
+me&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, Max?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have wondered whether Harry has enlisted the innocent
+services of one or other of our clever private inquiry
+offices.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Scarcely,&rdquo; smiled the professional. &ldquo;It would
+hardly pass muster.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, I don&rsquo;t know. Mrs Harry, in the character of a
+jealous wife or a suspicious sweetheart, might
+reasonably&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s smile suddenly faded.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;By Jupiter!&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;I
+remember&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, Louis?&rdquo; prompted Carrados, with laughter in
+his voice.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I remember that I must telephone to a client before
+Beedel comes,&rdquo; concluded Mr Carlyle, rising in some
+haste.</p>
+<p>At the door he almost ran into the subdued director, who was
+wringing his hands in helpless protest at a new stroke of
+calamity.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Carrados,&rdquo; wailed the poor old gentleman in a
+tremulous bleat, &ldquo;Mr Carrados, there is another now&mdash;Sir
+Benjamin Gump. He insists on seeing me. You will not&mdash;you will
+not desert us?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should have to stay a week,&rdquo; replied Carrados
+briskly, &ldquo;and I&rsquo;m just off now. There will be a
+procession. Mr Carlyle will support you, I am sure.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>He nodded &ldquo;Good-morning&rdquo; straight into the eyes of
+each and found his way out with the astonishing certainty of
+movement that made so many forget his infirmity. Possibly he was
+not desirous of encountering Draycott&rsquo;s embarrassed gratitude
+again, for in less than a minute they heard the swirl of his
+departing car.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Never mind, my dear sir,&rdquo; Mr Carlyle assured his
+client, with impenetrable complacency. &ldquo;Never mind. <i>I</i>
+will remain instead. Perhaps I had better make myself known to Sir
+Benjamin at once.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The director turned on him the pleading, trustful look of a
+cornered dormouse.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He is in the basement,&rdquo; he whispered. &ldquo;I
+shall be in the boardroom&mdash;if necessary.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle had no difficulty in discovering the centre of
+interest in the basement. Sir Benjamin was expansive and reserved,
+bewildered and decisive, long-winded and short-tempered, each in
+turn and more or less all at once. He had already demanded the
+attention of the manager, Professor Bulge, Draycott and two
+underlings to his case and they were now involved in a babel of
+inutile reiteration. The inquiry agent was at once drawn into a
+circle of interrogation that he did his best to satisfy
+impressively while himself learning the new facts.</p>
+<p>The latest development was sufficiently astonishing. Less than
+an hour before Sir Benjamin had received a parcel by district
+messenger. It contained a jewel-case which ought at that moment to
+have been securely reposing in one of the deposit safes. Hastily
+snatching it open, the recipient&rsquo;s incredible forebodings
+were realized. It was empty&mdash;empty of jewels, that is to say,
+for, as if to add a sting to the blow, a neatly inscribed card had
+been placed inside, and on it the agitated baronet read the
+appropriate but at the moment rather gratuitous maxim: &ldquo;Lay
+not up for yourselves treasures upon earth&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The card was passed round and all eyes demanded the
+expert&rsquo;s pronouncement.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;&mdash;where moth and rust doth corrupt and where
+thieves break through and steal.&rsquo; H&rsquo;m,&rdquo; read Mr
+Carlyle with weight. &ldquo;This is a most important clue, Sir
+Benjamin&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Hey, what? What&rsquo;s that?&rdquo; exclaimed a voice
+from the other side of the hall. &ldquo;Why, damme if I don&rsquo;t
+believe you&rsquo;ve got another! Look at that, gentlemen; look at
+that. What&rsquo;s on, I say? Here now, come; give me my safe. I
+want to know where I am.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It was the bookmaker who strode tempestuously in among them,
+flourishing before their faces a replica of the card that was in Mr
+Carlyle&rsquo;s hand.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, upon my soul this is most extraordinary,&rdquo;
+exclaimed that gentleman, comparing the two. &ldquo;You have just
+received this, Mr&mdash;Mr Berge, isn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s right, Berge&mdash;&lsquo;Iceberg&rsquo; on
+the course. Thank the Lord Harry, I can take my losses coolly
+enough, but this&mdash;this is a facer. Put into my hand
+half-an-hour ago inside an envelope that ought to be here and as
+safe as in the Bank of England. What&rsquo;s the game, I say? Here,
+Johnny, hurry and let me into my safe.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Discipline and method had for the moment gone by the board.
+There was no suggestion of the boasted safeguards of the
+establishment. The manager added his voice to that of the client,
+and when the attendant did not at once appear he called again.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;John, come and give Mr Berge access to his safe at
+once.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;All right, sir,&rdquo; pleaded the harassed
+key-attendant; hurrying up with the burden of his own distraction.
+&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a silly fathead got in what thinks this is a
+left-luggage office, so far as I can make out&mdash;a
+foreigner.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Never mind that now,&rdquo; replied the manager severely.
+&ldquo;Mr Berge&rsquo;s safe: No. 01724.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The attendant and Mr Berge went off together down one of the
+brilliant colonnaded vistas. One or two of the others who had
+caught the words glanced across and became aware of a strange
+figure that was drifting indecisively towards them. He was
+obviously an elderly German tourist of pronounced
+type&mdash;long-haired, spectacled, outrageously garbed and
+involved in the mental abstraction of his philosophical race. One
+hand was occupied with the manipulation of a pipe, as markedly
+Teutonic as its owner; the other grasped a carpet-bag that would
+have ensured an opening laugh to any low comedian.</p>
+<p>Quite impervious to the preoccupation of the group, the German
+made his way up to them and picked out the manager.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This was a safety deposit, <i>nicht wahr</i>?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite so,&rdquo; acquiesced the manager loftily,
+&ldquo;but just now&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Your fellow was dense of gomprehension.&rdquo; The eyes
+behind the clumsy glasses wrinkled to a ponderous humour. &ldquo;He
+forgot his own business. Now this goot bag&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Brought into fuller prominence, the carpet-bag revealed further
+details of its overburdened proportions. At one end a flannel shirt
+cuff protruded in limp dejection; at the other an ancient collar,
+with the grotesque attachment known as a &ldquo;dickey,&rdquo;
+asserted its presence. No wonder the manager frowned his annoyance.
+&ldquo;The Safe&rdquo; was in low enough repute among its patrons
+at that moment without any burlesque interlude to its tragic
+hour.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, yes,&rdquo; he whispered, attempting to lead the
+would-be depositor away, &ldquo;but you are under a mistake. This
+is not&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It was a safety deposit? Goot. Mine bag&mdash;I would
+deposit him in safety till the time of mine train.
+<i>Ja?</i>&ldquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;<i>Nein, nein!</i>&ldquo; almost hissed the agonized
+official. &ldquo;Go away, sir, go away! It isn&rsquo;t a cloakroom.
+John, let this gentleman out.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The attendant and Mr Berge were returning from their quest. The
+inner box had been opened and there was no need to ask the result.
+The bookmaker was shaking his head like a baffled bull.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Gone, no effects,&rdquo; he shouted across the hall.
+&ldquo;Lifted from &lsquo;The Safe,&rsquo; by crumb!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>To those who knew nothing of the method and operation of the
+fraud it seemed as if the financial security of the Capital was
+tottering. An amazed silence fell, and in it they heard the great
+grille door of the basement clang on the inopportune
+foreigner&rsquo;s departure. But, as if it was impossible to stand
+still on that morning of dire happenings, he was immediately
+succeeded by a dapper, keen-faced man in severe clerical attire who
+had been let in as the intruder passed out.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Canon Petersham!&rdquo; exclaimed the professor, going
+forward to greet him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My dear Professor Bulge!&rdquo; reciprocated the canon.
+&ldquo;You here! A most disquieting thing has happened to me. I
+must have my safe at once.&rdquo; He divided his attention between
+the manager and the professor as he monopolized them both. &ldquo;A
+most disquieting and&mdash;and outrageous circumstance. My safe,
+please&mdash;yes, yes, Rev. Henry Noakes Petersham. I have just
+received by hand a box, a small box of no value but one that I
+<i>thought</i>, yes, I am convinced that it was the one, a box that
+was used to contain certain valuables of family interest which
+should at this moment be in my safe here. No. 7436? Very likely,
+very likely. Yes, here is my key. But not content with the
+disconcerting effect of that, professor, the box
+contained&mdash;and I protest that it&rsquo;s a most unseemly thing
+to quote <i>any</i> text from the Bible in this way to a clergyman
+of my position&mdash;well, here it is. &lsquo;Lay not up for
+yourselves treasures upon earth&mdash;&mdash;&rsquo; Why, I have a
+dozen sermons of my own in my desk now on that very verse.
+I&rsquo;m particularly partial to the very needful lesson that it
+teaches. And to apply it to <i>me</i>! It&rsquo;s
+monstrous!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No. 7436, John,&rdquo; ordered the manager, with weary
+resignation.</p>
+<p>The attendant again led the way towards another armour-plated
+aisle. Smartly turning a corner, he stumbled over something, bit a
+profane exclamation in two, and looked back.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s that bloomin&rsquo; foreigner&rsquo;s old bag
+again,&rdquo; he explained across the place in aggrieved apology.
+&ldquo;He left it here after all.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Take it upstairs and throw it out when you&rsquo;ve
+finished,&rdquo; said the manager shortly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here, wait a minute,&rdquo; pondered John, in
+absent-minded familiarity. &ldquo;Wait a minute. This is a funny
+go. There&rsquo;s a label on that wasn&rsquo;t here before.
+&lsquo;<i>Why not look inside?</i>&rsquo;&ldquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Why not look inside?&rsquo;&rdquo; repeated
+someone.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what it says.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>There was another puzzled silence. All were arrested by some
+intangible suggestion of a deeper mystery than they had yet
+touched. One by one they began to cross the hall with the conscious
+air of men who were not curious but thought that they might as well
+see.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, curse my crumpet,&rdquo; suddenly exploded Mr Berge,
+&ldquo;if that ain&rsquo;t the same writing as these
+texts!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;By gad, but I believe you are right,&rdquo; assented Mr
+Carlyle. &ldquo;Well, why not look inside?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The attendant, from his stooping posture, took the verdict of
+the ring of faces and in a trice tugged open the two buckles. The
+central fastening was not locked, and yielded to a touch. The
+flannel shirt, the weird collar and a few other garments in the
+nature of a &ldquo;top-dressing&rdquo; were flung out and
+John&rsquo;s hand plunged deeper....</p>
+<p>Harry the Actor had lived up to his dramatic instinct. Nothing
+was wrapped up; nay, the rich booty had been deliberately opened
+out and displayed, as it were, so that the overturning of the bag,
+when John the keybearer in an access of riotous extravagance lifted
+it up and strewed its contents broadcast on the floor, was like the
+looting of a smuggler&rsquo;s den, or the realization of a
+speculator&rsquo;s dream, or the bursting of an Aladdin&rsquo;s
+cave, or something incredibly lavish and bizarre. Bank-notes
+fluttered down and lay about in all directions, relays of
+sovereigns rolled away like so much dross, bonds and scrip for
+thousands and tens of thousands clogged the downpouring stream of
+jewellery and unset gems. A yellow stone the size of a four-pound
+weight and twice as heavy dropped plump upon the canon&rsquo;s toes
+and sent him hopping and grimacing to the wall. A ruby-hilted kris
+cut across the manager&rsquo;s wrist as he strove to arrest the
+splendid rout. Still the miraculous cornucopia deluged the ground,
+with its pattering, ringing, bumping, crinkling, rolling,
+fluttering produce until, like the final tableau of some
+spectacular ballet, it ended with a golden rain that masked the
+details of the heap beneath a glittering veil of yellow sand.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My dust!&rdquo; gasped Draycott.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My fivers, by golly!&rdquo; ejaculated the bookmaker,
+initiating a plunge among the spoil.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My Japanese bonds, coupons and all, and&mdash;yes, even
+the manuscript of my work on &lsquo;Polyphyletic Bridal Customs
+among the mid-Pleistocene Cave Men.&rsquo; Hah!&rdquo; Something
+approaching a cachinnation of delight closed the professor&rsquo;s
+contribution to the pandemonium, and eyewitnesses afterwards
+declared that for a moment the dignified scientist stood on one
+foot in the opening movement of a can-can.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My wife&rsquo;s diamonds, thank heaven!&rdquo; cried Sir
+Benjamin, with the air of a schoolboy who was very well out of a
+swishing.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But what does it mean?&rdquo; demanded the bewildered
+canon. &ldquo;Here are my family heirlooms&mdash;a few decent
+pearls, my grandfather&rsquo;s collection of camei and other
+trifles&mdash;but who&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps this offers some explanation,&rdquo; suggested Mr
+Carlyle, unpinning an envelope that had been secured to the lining
+of the bag. &ldquo;It is addressed &lsquo;To Seven Rich
+Sinners.&rsquo; Shall I read it for you?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>For some reason the response was not unanimous, but it was
+sufficient. Mr Carlyle cut open the envelope.</p>
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>&ldquo;<span class="smcap">My dear
+Friends</span>,&mdash;Aren&rsquo;t you glad? Aren&rsquo;t you happy
+at this moment? Ah yes; but not with the true joy of regeneration
+that alone can bring lightness to the afflicted soul. Pause while
+there is yet time. Cast off the burden of your sinful lusts, for
+what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and
+lose his own soul? (Mark, chap. viii., v. 36.)</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, my friends, you have had an all-fired narrow squeak.
+Up till the Friday in last week I held your wealth in the hollow of
+my ungodly hand and rejoiced in my nefarious cunning, but on that
+day as I with my guilty female accomplice stood listening with
+worldly amusement to the testimony of a converted brother at a
+meeting of the Salvation Army on Clapham Common, the gospel light
+suddenly shone into our rebellious souls and then and there we
+found salvation. Hallelujah!</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What we have done to complete the unrighteous scheme upon
+which we had laboured for months has only been for your own good,
+dear friends that you are, though as yet divided from us by your
+carnal lusts. Let this be a lesson to you. Sell all you have and
+give it to the poor&mdash;through the organization of the Salvation
+Army by preference&mdash;and thereby lay up for yourselves
+treasures where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where
+thieves do not break through and steal. (Matthew, chap, vi., v.
+20.)</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yours in good works,</p>
+<p class="alignright">&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Private Henry, the
+Salvationist</span>.<br /></p>
+<p>&ldquo;<i>P.S.</i> (in haste).&mdash;I may as well inform you
+that no crib is really uncrackable, though the Cyrus J. Coy
+Co.&rsquo;s Safe Deposit on West 24th Street, N.Y., comes nearest
+the kernel. And even that I could work to the bare rock if I took
+hold of the job with both hands&mdash;that is to say I could have
+done in my sinful days. As for you, I should recommend you to
+change your T. A. to &lsquo;Peanut.&rsquo;</p>
+<p class="alignright">&ldquo;U. K. G.&rdquo;<br /></p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;There sounds a streak of the old Adam in that postscript,
+Mr Carlyle,&rdquo; whispered Inspector Beedel, who had just arrived
+in time to hear the letter read.</p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="THE_TILLING_SHAW_MYSTERY" id=
+"THE_TILLING_SHAW_MYSTERY"></a>THE TILLING SHAW MYSTERY</h2>
+<p>&ldquo;I will see Miss George now,&rdquo; assented Carrados.
+Parkinson retired and Greatorex looked round from his chair. The
+morning &ldquo;clearing-up&rdquo; was still in progress.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Shall I go?&rdquo; he inquired.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not unless the lady desires it. I don&rsquo;t know her at
+all.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The secretary was not unobservant and he had profited from his
+association with Mr Carrados. Without more ado, he began to get his
+papers quietly together.</p>
+<p>The door opened and a girl of about twenty came eagerly yet half
+timorously into the room. Her eyes for a moment swept Carrados with
+an anxious scrutiny. Then, with a slight shade of disappointment,
+she noticed that they were not alone.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have come direct from Oakshire to see you, Mr
+Carrados,&rdquo; she announced, in a quick, nervous voice that was
+evidently the outcome of a desperate resolution to be brave and
+explicit. &ldquo;The matter is a dreadfully important one to me and
+I should very much prefer to tell it to you alone.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>There was no need for Carrados to turn towards his secretary;
+that discriminating young gentleman was already on his way. Miss
+George flashed him a shy look of thanks and filled in the moment
+with a timid survey of the room.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is it something that you think I can help you
+with?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I had hoped so. I had heard in a roundabout way of your
+wonderful power&mdash;ought I to tell you how&mdash;does it
+matter?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not in the least if it has nothing to do with the
+case,&rdquo; replied Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When this dreadful thing happened I instinctively thought
+of you. I felt sure that I ought to come and get you to help me at
+once. But I&mdash;I have very little money, Mr Carrados, only a few
+pounds, and I am not so childish as not to know that very clever
+men require large fees. Then when I got here my heart sank, for I
+saw at once from your house and position that what seemed little
+even to me would be ridiculous to you&mdash;that if you did help me
+it would be purely out of kindness of heart and
+generosity.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Suppose you tell me what the circumstances are,&rdquo;
+suggested Carrados cautiously. Then, to afford an opening, he
+added: &ldquo;You have recently gone into mourning, I
+see.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;See!&rdquo; exclaimed the girl almost sharply.
+&ldquo;Then you are not blind?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh yes,&rdquo; he replied; &ldquo;only I use the familiar
+expression, partly from custom, partly because it sounds
+unnecessarily pedantic to say, &lsquo;I deduce from certain
+observations.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I beg your pardon. I suppose I was startled not so much
+by the expression as by your knowledge. I ought to have been
+prepared. But I am already wasting your time and I came so
+determined to be business-like. I got a copy of the local paper on
+the way, because I thought that the account in it would be clearer
+to you than I could tell it. Shall I read it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Please; if that was your intention.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is <i>The Stinbridge Herald</i>,&rdquo; explained the
+girl, taking a closely folded newspaper from the handbag which she
+carried. &ldquo;Stinbridge is our nearest town&mdash;about six
+miles from Tilling Shaw, where we live. This is the account:</p>
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;MYSTERIOUS TRAGEDY AT TILLING</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;<span class="smcap">Well-known Agriculturalist
+Attempts Murder and Commits Suicide</span></p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;The districts of Great Tilling, Tilling Shaw and
+the immediate neighbourhood were thrown into a state of unusual
+excitement on Thursday last by the report of a tragedy in their
+midst such as has rarely marked the annals of our law-abiding
+country-side.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;A <i>Herald</i> representative was early on the
+scene, and his inquiries elucidated the fact that it was only too
+true that in this case rumour had not exaggerated the
+circumstances, rather the reverse indeed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;On the afternoon of the day in question, Mr Frank
+Whitmarsh, of High Barn, presented himself at Barony, the residence
+of his uncle, Mr William Whitmarsh, with the intention of seeing
+him in reference to a dispute that was pending between them. This
+is understood to be connected with an alleged trespass in pursuit
+of game, each relative claiming exclusive sporting rights over a
+piece of water known as Hunstan Mere.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;On this occasion the elder gentleman was not at
+home and Mr Frank Whitmarsh, after waiting for some time, departed,
+leaving a message to the effect that he would return, and,
+according to one report, &ldquo;have it out with Uncle
+William,&rdquo; later in the evening.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;This resolution he unfortunately kept. Returning
+about eight-forty-five <span class="smcap">p.m.</span> he found his
+uncle in and for some time the two men remained together in the
+dining-room. What actually passed between them has not yet
+transpired, but it is said that for half-an-hour there had been
+nothing to indicate to the other occupants of the house that
+anything unusual was in progress when suddenly two shots rang out
+in rapid succession. Mrs Lawrence, the housekeeper at Barony, and a
+servant were the soonest on the spot, and, conquering the natural
+terror that for a moment held them outside the now silent room,
+they summoned up courage to throw open the door and to enter. The
+first thing that met their eyes was the body of Mr Frank Whitmarsh
+lying on the floor almost at their feet. In their distressed state
+it was immediately assumed by the horrified women that he was dead,
+or at least seriously wounded, but a closer examination revealed
+the fact that the gentleman had experienced an almost miraculous
+escape. At the time of the tragedy he was wearing a large
+old-fashioned silver watch; and in this the bullet intended for his
+heart was found, literally embedded deep in the works. The second
+shot had, however, effected its purpose, for at the other side of
+the room, still seated at the table, was Mr William Whitmarsh,
+already quite dead, with a terrible wound in his head and the
+weapon, a large-bore revolver of obsolete pattern, lying at his
+feet.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Mr Frank Whitmarsh subsequently explained that the
+shock of the attack, and the dreadful appearance presented by his
+uncle when, immediately afterwards, he turned his hand against
+himself, must have caused him to faint.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Readers of <i>The Herald</i> will join in our
+expression of sympathy for all members of the Whitmarsh family, and
+in our congratulations to Mr Frank Whitmarsh on his providential
+escape.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;The inquest is fixed for Monday and it is
+anticipated that the funeral will take place on the following
+day.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;That is all,&rdquo; concluded Miss George.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;All that is in the paper,&rdquo; amended Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is the same everywhere&mdash;&lsquo;attempted murder
+and suicide&rsquo;&mdash;that is what everyone accepts as a matter
+of course,&rdquo; went on the girl quickly. &ldquo;How do they know
+that my father tried to kill Frank, or that he killed himself? How
+can they know, Mr Carrados?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Your father, Miss George?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes. My name is Madeline Whitmarsh. At home everyone
+looks at me as if I was an object of mingled pity and reproach. I
+thought that they might know the name here, so I gave the first
+that came into my head. I think it is a street I was directed
+along. Besides, I don&rsquo;t want it to be known that I came to
+see you in any case.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Much of the girl&rsquo;s conscious nervousness had stiffened
+into an attitude of unconscious hardness. Grief takes many forms,
+and whatever she had been before, the tragic episode had left Miss
+Whitmarsh a little hurt and cynical.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are a man living in a town and can do as you like. I
+am a girl living in the country and have therefore to do largely as
+my neighbours like. For me to set up my opinion against popular
+feeling would constitute no small offence; to question its justice
+would be held to be adding outrageous insult to enormous
+injury.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So far I am unable to go beyond the newspaper account. On
+the face of it, your father&mdash;with what provocation of course I
+do not know&mdash;did attempt this Mr Frank Whitmarsh&rsquo;s life
+and then take his own. You imply another version. What reason have
+you?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is the terrible part of it,&rdquo; exclaimed the
+girl, with rising distress. &ldquo;It was that which made me so
+afraid of coming to you, although I felt that I must, for I dreaded
+that when you asked me for proofs and I could give you none you
+would refuse to help me. We were not even in time to hear him
+speak, and yet I know, <i>know</i> with absolute conviction, that
+my father would not have done this. There are things that you
+cannot explain, Mr Carrados, and&mdash;well, there is an end of
+it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Her voice sank to an absent-minded whisper.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Everyone will condemn him now that he cannot defend
+himself, and yet he could not even have had the revolver that was
+found at his feet.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What is that?&rdquo; demanded Carrados sharply. &ldquo;Do
+you mean that?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mean what?&rdquo; she asked, with the blankness of one
+who has lost the thread of her own thoughts.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What you said about the revolver&mdash;that your father
+could not have had it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The revolver?&rdquo; she repeated half wearily; &ldquo;oh
+yes. It was a heavy, old-fashioned affair. It had been lying in a
+drawer of his desk for more than ten years because once a dog came
+into the orchard in broad daylight light and worried half-a-dozen
+lambs before anyone could do anything.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, but why could he not have it on Thursday?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I noticed that it was gone. After Frank had left in the
+afternoon I went into the room where he had been waiting, to finish
+dusting. The paper says the dining-room, but it was really
+papa&rsquo;s business-room and no one else used it. Then when I was
+dusting the desk I saw that the revolver was no longer
+there.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You had occasion to open the drawer?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is really a very old bureau and none of the drawers
+fit closely. Dust lies on the ledges and you always have to open
+them a little to dust properly. They were never kept
+locked.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Possibly your father had taken the revolver with
+him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No. I had seen it there after he had gone. He rode to
+Stinbridge immediately after lunch and did not return until nearly
+eight. After he left I went to dust his room. It was then that I
+saw it. I was doing the desk when Frank knocked and interrupted me.
+That is how I came to be there twice.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But you said that you had no proof, Miss
+Whitmarsh,&rdquo; Carrados reminded her, with deep seriousness.
+&ldquo;Do you not recognize the importance&mdash;the deadly
+importance&mdash;that this one shred of evidence may
+assume?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Does it?&rdquo; she replied simply. &ldquo;I am afraid
+that I am rather dull just now. All yesterday I was absolutely
+dazed; I could not do the most ordinary things. I found myself
+looking at the clock for minutes together, yet absolutely incapable
+of grasping what time it was. In the same way I know that it struck
+me as being funny about the revolver but I always had to give it
+up. It was as though everything was there but things would not fit
+in.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are sure, absolutely sure, that you saw the revolver
+there after your father had left, and missed it before he
+returned?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh yes,&rdquo; said the girl quickly; &ldquo;I remember
+realizing how curious it was at the time. Besides there is
+something else. I so often had things to ask papa about when he was
+out of the house that I got into the way of making little notes to
+remind me later. This morning I found on my dressing-table one that
+I had written on Thursday afternoon.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;About this weapon?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; to ask him what could have become of it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados made a further inquiry, and this was Madeline
+Whitmarsh&rsquo;s account of affairs existing between the two
+branches of the family:</p>
+<p>Until the time of William Whitmarsh, father of the William
+Whitmarsh just deceased, the properties of Barony and High Barn had
+formed one estate, descending from a William senior to a William
+junior down a moderately long line of yeomen Whitmarshes. Through
+the influence of his second wife this William senior divided the
+property, leaving Barony with its four hundred acres of good land
+to William junior, and High Barn, with which went three hundred
+acres of poor land, to his other son, father of the Frank
+implicated in the recent tragedy. But though divided, the two farms
+still had one common link. Beneath their growing corn and varied
+pasturage lay, it was generally admitted, a seam of coal at a depth
+and of a thickness that would render its working a paying venture.
+Even in William the Divider&rsquo;s time, when the idea was new,
+money in plenty would have been forthcoming, but he would have none
+of it, and when he died his will contained a provision restraining
+either son from mining or exploiting his land for mineral without
+the consent and co-operation of the other.</p>
+<p>This restriction became a legacy of hate. The brothers were only
+half-brothers and William having suffered unforgettably at the
+hands of his step-mother had old scores to pay off. Quite
+comfortably prosperous on his own rich farm, and quite satisfied
+with the excellent shooting and the congenial life, he had not the
+slightest desire to increase his wealth. He had the old dour,
+peasant-like instinct to cling to the house and the land of his
+forefathers. From this position no argument moved him.</p>
+<p>In the meanwhile, on the other side of the new boundary fence,
+Frank senior was growing poorer year by year. To his periodical
+entreaties that William would agree to shafts being sunk on High
+Barn he received an emphatic &ldquo;Never in my time!&rdquo; The
+poor man argued, besought, threatened and swore; the prosperous one
+shook his head and grinned. Carrados did not need to hear the local
+saying: &ldquo;Half brothers: whole haters; like the
+Whitmarshes,&rdquo; to read the situation.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course I do not really understand the business part of
+it,&rdquo; said Madeline, &ldquo;and many people blamed poor papa,
+especially when Uncle Frank drank himself to death. But I know that
+it was not mere obstinacy. He loved the undisturbed, peaceful land
+just as it was, and his father had wished it to remain the same.
+Collieries would bring swarms of strange men into the
+neighbourhood, poachers and trespassers, he said. The smoke and
+dust would ruin the land for miles round and drive away the game,
+and in the end, if the work did not turn out profitable, we should
+all be much worse off than before.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Does the restriction lapse now; will Mr Frank junior be
+able to mine?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It will now lie with Frank and my brother William, just
+as it did before with their fathers. I should expect Willie to be
+quite favourable. He is more&mdash;modern.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You have not spoken of your brother.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have two. Bob, the younger, is in Mexico,&rdquo; she
+explained; &ldquo;and Willie in Canada with an engineering firm.
+They did not get on very well with papa and they went
+away.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It did not require preternatural observation to deduce that the
+late William Whitmarsh had been &ldquo;a little
+difficult.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When Uncle Frank died, less than six months ago, Frank
+came back to High Barn from South Africa. He had been away about
+two years.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Possibly he did not get on well with his
+father?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Madeline smiled sadly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am afraid that no two Whitmarsh men ever did get on
+well together,&rdquo; she admitted.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Your father and young Frank, for instance?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Their lands adjoin; there were always quarrels and
+disputes,&rdquo; she replied. &ldquo;Then Frank had his
+father&rsquo;s grievance over again.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He wished to mine?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes. He told me that he had had experience of coal in
+Natal.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There was no absolute ostracism between you then? You
+were to some extent friends?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Scarcely.&rdquo; She appeared to reflect.
+&ldquo;Acquaintances.... We met occasionally, of course, at
+people&rsquo;s houses.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You did not visit High Barn?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh no.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But there was no particular reason why you should
+not?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why do you ask me that?&rdquo; she demanded quickly, and
+in a tone that was quite incompatible with the simple inquiry.
+Then, recognizing the fact, she added, with shamefaced penitence:
+&ldquo;I beg your pardon, Mr Carrados. I am afraid that my nerves
+have gone to pieces since Thursday. The most ordinary things affect
+me inexplicably.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is a common experience in such circumstances,&rdquo;
+said Carrados reassuringly. &ldquo;Where were you at the time of
+the tragedy?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I was in my bedroom, which is rather high up, changing. I
+had driven down to the village, to give an order, and had just
+returned. Mrs Lawrence told me that she had been afraid there might
+be quarrelling, but no one would ever have dreamed of this, and
+then came a loud shot and then, after a few seconds, another not so
+loud, and we rushed to the door&mdash;she and Mary first&mdash;and
+everything was absolutely still.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A loud shot <i>and then another not so
+loud</i>?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; I noticed that even at the time. I happened to speak
+to Mrs Lawrence of it afterwards and then she also remembered that
+it had been like that.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Afterwards Carrados often recalled with grim pleasantry that the
+two absolutely vital points in the fabric of circumstantial
+evidence that was to exonerate her father and fasten the guilt upon
+another had dropped from the girl&rsquo;s lips utterly by chance.
+But at the moment the facts themselves monopolized his
+attention.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are not disappointed that I can tell you so
+little?&rdquo; she asked timidly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Scarcely,&rdquo; he replied. &ldquo;A suicide who could
+not have had the weapon he dies by, a victim who is miraculously
+preserved by an opportune watch, and two shots from the same pistol
+that differ materially in volume, all taken together do not admit
+of disappointment.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am very stupid,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I do not seem
+able to follow things. But you will come and clear my
+father&rsquo;s name?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I will come,&rdquo; he replied. &ldquo;Beyond that who
+shall prophesy?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It had been arranged between them that the girl should return at
+once, while Carrados would travel down to Great Tilling late that
+same afternoon and put up at the local fishing inn. In the evening
+he would call at Barony, where Madeline would accept him as a
+distant connexion of the family. The arrangement was only for the
+benefit of the domestics and any casual visitor who might be
+present, for there was no possibility of a near relation being in
+attendance. Nor was there any appreciable danger of either his name
+or person being recognized in those parts, a consideration that
+seemed to have some weight with the girl, for, more than once, she
+entreated him not to disclose to anyone his real business there
+until he had arrived at a definite conclusion.</p>
+<p>It was nine o&rsquo;clock, but still just light enough to
+distinguish the prominent features of the landscape, when Carrados,
+accompanied by Parkinson, reached Barony. The house, as described
+by the man-servant, was a substantial grey stone building, very
+plain, very square, very exposed to the four winds. It had not even
+a porch to break the flat surface, and here and there in the line
+of its three solid storeys a window had been built up by some
+frugal, tax-evading Whitmarsh of a hundred years ago.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Sombre enough,&rdquo; commented Carrados, &ldquo;but the
+connexion between environment and crime is not yet capable of
+analysis. We get murders in brand-new suburban villas and the
+virtues, light-heartedness and good-fellowship, in moated granges.
+What should you say about it, eh, Parkinson?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should say it was damp, sir,&rdquo; observed Parkinson,
+with his wisest air.</p>
+<p>Madeline Whitmarsh herself opened the door. She took them down
+the long flagged hall to the dining-room, a cheerful enough
+apartment whatever its exterior might forebode.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am glad you have come now, Mr Carrados,&rdquo; she said
+hurriedly, when the door was closed. &ldquo;Sergeant Brewster is
+here from Stinbridge police station to make some arrangements for
+the inquest. It is to be held at the schools here on Monday. He
+says that he must take the revolver with him to produce. Do you
+want to see it before he goes?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should like to,&rdquo; replied Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Will you come into papa&rsquo;s room then? He is
+there.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The sergeant was at the table, making notes in his pocket-book,
+when they entered. An old-fashioned revolver lay before him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This gentleman has come a long way on hearing about poor
+papa,&rdquo; said the girl. &ldquo;He would like to see the
+revolver before you take it, Mr Brewster.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good-evening, sir,&rdquo; said Brewster.
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a bad business that brings us here.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados &ldquo;looked&rdquo; round the room and returned the
+policeman&rsquo;s greeting. Madeline hesitated for a moment, and
+then, picking up the weapon, put it into the blind man&rsquo;s
+hand.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A bit out of date, sir,&rdquo; remarked Brewster, with a
+nod. &ldquo;But in good order yet, I find.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;An early French make, I should say; one of
+Lefaucheux&rsquo;s probably,&rdquo; said Carrados. &ldquo;You have
+removed the cartridges?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, yes,&rdquo; admitted the sergeant, producing a
+matchbox from his pocket. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re pin-fire, you see,
+and I&rsquo;m not too fond of carrying a thing like that loaded in
+my pocket as I&rsquo;m riding a young horse.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite so,&rdquo; agreed Carrados, fingering the
+cartridges. &ldquo;I wonder if you happened to mark the order of
+these in the chambers?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That was scarcely necessary, sir. Two, together, had been
+fired; the other four had not.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I once knew a case&mdash;possibly I read of
+it&mdash;where a pack of cards lay on the floor. It was a murder
+case and the guilt or innocence of an accused man depended on the
+relative positions of the fifty-first and fifty-second
+cards.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think you must have read of that, sir,&rdquo; replied
+Brewster, endeavouring to implicate first Miss Whitmarsh and then
+Parkinson in his meaning smile. &ldquo;However, this is
+straightforward enough.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then, of course, you have not thought it worth while to
+look for anything else?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have noted all the facts that have any bearing on the
+case. Were you referring to any particular point, sir?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I was only wondering,&rdquo; suggested Carrados, with
+apologetic mildness, &ldquo;whether you, or anyone, had happened to
+find a wad lying about anywhere.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The sergeant stroked his well-kept moustache to hide the smile
+that insisted, however, on escaping through his eyes.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Scarcely, sir,&rdquo; he replied, with fine irony.
+&ldquo;Bulleted revolver cartridges contain no wad. You are
+thinking of a shot-gun, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; said Carrados, bending over the spent
+cartridge he was examining, &ldquo;that settles it, of
+course.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think so, sir,&rdquo; assented the sergeant,
+courteously but with a quiet enjoyment of the situation.
+&ldquo;Well, miss, I&rsquo;ll be getting back now. I think I have
+everything I want.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You will excuse me a few minutes?&rdquo; said Miss
+Whitmarsh, and the two callers were left alone.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Parkinson,&rdquo; said Carrados softly, as the door
+closed, &ldquo;look round on the floor. There is no wad lying
+within sight?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then take the lamp and look behind things. But if you
+find one don&rsquo;t disturb it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>For a minute strange and gigantic shadows chased one another
+across the ceiling as Parkinson moved the table-lamp to and fro
+behind the furniture. The man to whom blazing sunlight and the
+deepest shade were as one sat with his eyes fixed tranquilly on the
+unseen wall before him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is a little pellet of paper here behind the couch,
+sir,&rdquo; announced Parkinson.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then put the lamp back.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Together they drew the cumbrous old piece of furniture from the
+wall and Carrados went behind. On hands and knees, with his face
+almost to the floor, he appeared to be studying even the dust that
+lay there. Then with a light, unerring touch he carefully picked up
+the thing that Parkinson had found. Very gently he unrolled it,
+using his long, delicate fingers so skilfully that even at the end
+the particles of dust still clung here and there to the surface of
+the paper.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What do you make of it, Parkinson?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Parkinson submitted it to the judgment of a single sense.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A cigarette-paper to all appearance, sir. I can&rsquo;t
+say it&rsquo;s a kind that I&rsquo;ve had experience of. It
+doesn&rsquo;t seem to have any distinct watermark but there is a
+half-inch of glossy paper along one edge.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Amber-tipped. Yes?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Another edge is a little uneven; it appears to have been
+cut.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This edge opposite the mouthpiece. Yes, yes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Patches are blackened, and little holes&mdash;like
+pinpricks&mdash;burned through. In places it is scorched
+brown.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Anything else?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I hope there is nothing I have failed to observe,
+sir,&rdquo; said Parkinson, after a pause.</p>
+<p>Carrados&rsquo;s reply was a strangely irrelevant question.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What is the ceiling made of?&rdquo; he demanded.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oak boards, sir, with a heavy cross-beam.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are there any plaster figures about the room?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Or anything at all that is whitewashed?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nothing, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados raised the scrap of tissue paper to his nose again, and
+for the second time he touched it with his tongue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very interesting, Parkinson,&rdquo; he remarked, and
+Parkinson&rsquo;s responsive &ldquo;Yes, sir&rdquo; was a model of
+discreet acquiescence.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am sorry that I had to leave you,&rdquo; said Miss
+Whitmarsh, returning, &ldquo;but Mrs Lawrence is out and my father
+made a practice of offering everyone refreshment.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t mention it,&rdquo; said Carrados. &ldquo;We
+have not been idle. I came from London to pick up a scrap of paper,
+lying on the floor of this room. Well, here it is.&rdquo; He rolled
+the tissue into a pellet again and held it before her eyes.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The wad!&rdquo; she exclaimed eagerly. &ldquo;Oh, that
+proves that I was right?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Scarcely &lsquo;proves,&rsquo; Miss Whitmarsh.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But it shows that one of the shots was a blank charge, as
+you suggested this morning might have been the case.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Hardly even that.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What then?&rdquo; she demanded, with her large dark eyes
+fixed in a curious fascination on his inscrutable face.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That behind the couch we have found this scrap of
+powder-singed paper.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>There was a moment&rsquo;s silence. The girl turned away her
+head.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am afraid that I am a little disappointed,&rdquo; she
+murmured.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps better now than later. I wished to warn you that
+we must prove every inch of ground. Does your cousin Frank smoke
+cigarettes?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I cannot say, Mr Carrados. You see ... I knew so little
+of him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite so; there was just the chance. And your
+father?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He never did. He despised them.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is all I need ask you now. What time to-morrow shall
+I find you in, Miss Whitmarsh? It is Sunday, you
+remember.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;At any time. The curiosity I inspire doesn&rsquo;t tempt
+me to encounter my friends, I can assure you,&rdquo; she replied,
+her face hardening at the recollection. &ldquo;But ... Mr
+Carrados&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The inquest is on Monday afternoon.... I had a sort of
+desperate faith that you would be able to vindicate
+papa.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;By the time of the inquest, you mean?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes. Otherwise&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The verdict of a coroner&rsquo;s jury means nothing, Miss
+Whitmarsh. It is the merest formality.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It means a very great deal to me. It haunts and oppresses
+me. If they say&mdash;if it goes out&mdash;that papa is guilty of
+the attempt of murder, and of suicide, I shall never raise my head
+again.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados had no desire to prolong a futile discussion.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good-night,&rdquo; he said, holding out his hand.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good-night, Mr Carrados.&rdquo; She detained him a
+moment, her voice vibrant with quiet feeling. &ldquo;I already owe
+you more than I can ever hope to express. Your wonderful
+kindness&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A strange case,&rdquo; moralized Carrados, as they walked
+out of the quadrangular yard into the silent lane.
+&ldquo;Instructive, but I more than half wish I&rsquo;d never heard
+of it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The young lady seems grateful, sir,&rdquo; Parkinson
+ventured to suggest.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The young lady is the case, Parkinson,&rdquo; replied his
+master rather grimly.</p>
+<p>A few score yards farther on a swing gate gave access to a
+field-path, cutting off the corner that the high road made with the
+narrow lane. This was their way, but instead of following the brown
+line of trodden earth Carrados turned to the left and indicated the
+line of buildings that formed the back of one side of the
+quadrangle they had passed through.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We will investigate here,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Can you
+see a way in?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Most of the buildings opened on to the yard, but at one end of
+the range Parkinson discovered a door, secured only by a wooden
+latch. The place beyond was impenetrably dark, but the sweet, dusty
+smell of hay, and, from beyond, the occasional click of a
+horse&rsquo;s shoe on stone and the rattle of a head-stall chain
+through the manger ring told them that they were in the chaff-pen
+at the back of the stable.</p>
+<p>Carrados stretched out his hand and touched the wall with a
+single finger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We need go no farther,&rdquo; he remarked, and as they
+resumed their way across the field he took out a handkerchief to
+wipe the taste of whitewash off his tongue.</p>
+<p>Madeline had spoken of the gradual decay of High Barn, but
+Carrados was hardly prepared for the poverty-stricken desolation
+which Parkinson described as they approached the homestead on the
+following afternoon. He had purposely selected a way that took them
+across many of young Whitmarsh&rsquo;s ill-stocked fields, fields
+in which sedge and charlock wrote an indictment of neglected drains
+and half-hearted tillage. On the land, the gates and hedges had
+been broken and unkempt; the buildings, as they passed through the
+farmyard, were empty and showed here and there a skeletonry of bare
+rafters to the sky.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Starved,&rdquo; commented the blind man, as he read the
+signs. &ldquo;The thirsty owner and the hungry land: they
+couldn&rsquo;t both be fed.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Although it was afternoon the bolts and locks of the front door
+had to be unfastened in answer to their knock. When at last the
+door was opened a shrivelled little old woman, rather
+wicked-looking in a comic way, and rather begrimed, stood
+there.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Frank Whitmarsh?&rdquo; she replied to
+Carrados&rsquo;s polite inquiry; &ldquo;oh yes, he lives here.
+Frank,&rdquo; she called down the passage, &ldquo;you&rsquo;re
+wanted.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What is it, mother?&rdquo; responded a man&rsquo;s full,
+strong voice rather lazily.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Come and see!&rdquo; and the old creature ogled Carrados
+with her beady eyes as though the situation constituted an
+excellent joke between them.</p>
+<p>There was the sound of a chair being moved and at the end of the
+passage a tall man appeared in his shirt sleeves.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am a stranger to you,&rdquo; explained Carrados,
+&ldquo;but I am staying at the Bridge Inn and I heard of your
+wonderful escape on Thursday. I was so interested that I have taken
+the liberty of coming across to congratulate you on it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, come in, come in,&rdquo; said Whitmarsh. &ldquo;Yes
+... it was a sort of miracle, wasn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>He led the way back into the room he had come from, half
+kitchen, half parlour. It at least had the virtue of an air of rude
+comfort, and some of the pewter and china that ornamented its
+mantelpiece and dresser would have rejoiced a collector&rsquo;s
+heart.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You find us a bit rough,&rdquo; apologized the young man,
+with something of contempt towards his surroundings. &ldquo;We
+weren&rsquo;t expecting visitors.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And I was hesitating to come because I thought that you
+would be surrounded by your friends.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This very ordinary remark seemed to afford Mrs Whitmarsh
+unbounded entertainment and for quite a number of seconds she was
+convulsed with silent amusement at the idea.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Shut up, mother,&rdquo; said her dutiful son.
+&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t take any notice of her,&rdquo; he remarked to
+his visitors, &ldquo;she often goes on like that. The fact
+is,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;we Whitmarshes aren&rsquo;t popular in
+these parts. Of course that doesn&rsquo;t trouble me; I&rsquo;ve
+seen too much of things. And, taken as a boiling, the Whitmarshes
+deserve it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ah, wait till you touch the coal, my boy, then
+you&rsquo;ll see,&rdquo; put in the old lady, with malicious
+triumph.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I reckon we&rsquo;ll show them then, eh, mother?&rdquo;
+he responded bumptiously. &ldquo;Perhaps you&rsquo;ve heard of
+that, Mr&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Carrados&mdash;Wynn Carrados. This is my man, Parkinson.
+I have to be attended because my sight has failed me. Yes, I had
+heard something about coal. Providence seems to be on your side
+just now, Mr Whitmarsh. May I offer you a cigarette?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thanks, I don&rsquo;t mind for once in a way.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re Turkish; quite innocuous, I
+believe.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, it isn&rsquo;t that. I can smoke cutty with any man,
+I reckon, but the paper affects my lips. I make my own and use a
+sort of paper with an end that doesn&rsquo;t stick.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The paper is certainly a drawback sometimes,&rdquo;
+agreed Carrados. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve found that. Might I try one of
+yours?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They exchanged cigarettes and Whitmarsh returned to the subject
+of the tragedy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This has made a bit of a stir, I can tell you,&rdquo; he
+remarked, with complacency.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am sure it would. Well, it was the chief topic of
+conversation when I was in London.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is that a fact?&rdquo; Avowedly indifferent to the
+opinion of his neighbours, even Whitmarsh was not proof against the
+pronouncement of the metropolis. &ldquo;What do they say about it
+up there?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should be inclined to think that the interest centres
+round the explanation you will give at the inquest of the cause of
+the quarrel.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There! What did I tell you?&rdquo; exclaimed Mrs
+Whitmarsh.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Be quiet, mother. That&rsquo;s easily answered, Mr
+Carrados. There was a bit of duck shooting that lay between our two
+places. But perhaps you saw that in the papers?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; admitted Carrados, &ldquo;I saw that.
+Frankly, the reason seemed inadequate to so deadly a
+climax.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What did I say?&rdquo; demanded the irrepressible dame.
+&ldquo;They won&rsquo;t believe it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The young man cast a wrathful look in his mother&rsquo;s
+direction and turned again to the visitor.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s because you don&rsquo;t know Uncle William.
+<i>Any</i> reason was good enough for him to quarrel over. Here,
+let me give you an instance. When I went in on Thursday he was
+smoking a pipe. Well, after a bit I took out a cigarette and lit
+it. I&rsquo;m damned if he didn&rsquo;t turn round and start on me
+for that. How does that strike you for one of your own family, Mr
+Carrados?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Unreasonable, I am bound to admit. I am afraid that I
+should have been inclined to argue the point. What did you do, Mr
+Whitmarsh?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I hadn&rsquo;t gone there to quarrel,&rdquo; replied the
+young man, half sulky at the recollection. &ldquo;It was his house.
+I threw it into the fireplace.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very obliging,&rdquo; said Carrados. &ldquo;But, if I may
+say so, it isn&rsquo;t so much a matter of speculation why he
+should shoot you as why he should shoot himself.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The gentleman seems friendly. Better ask his advice,
+Frank,&rdquo; put in the old woman in a penetrating whisper.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Stow it, mother!&rdquo; said Whitmarsh sharply.
+&ldquo;Are you crazy? Her idea of a coroner&rsquo;s inquest,&rdquo;
+he explained to Carrados, with easy contempt, &ldquo;is that I am
+being tried for murder. As a matter of fact, Uncle William was a
+very passionate man, and, like many of that kind, he frequently
+went beyond himself. I don&rsquo;t doubt that he was sure
+he&rsquo;d killed me, for he was a good shot and the force of the
+blow sent me backwards. He was a very proud man too, in a
+way&mdash;wouldn&rsquo;t stand correction or any kind of authority,
+and when he realized what he&rsquo;d done and saw in a flash that
+he would be tried and hanged for it, suicide seemed the easiest way
+out of his difficulties, I suppose.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; that sounds reasonable enough,&rdquo; admitted
+Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then you don&rsquo;t think there will be any trouble,
+sir?&rdquo; insinuated Mrs Whitmarsh anxiously.</p>
+<p>Frank had already professed his indifference to local opinion,
+but Carrados was conscious that both of them hung rather
+breathlessly on to his reply.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, no,&rdquo; he declared weightily. &ldquo;I should
+see no reason for anticipating any. Unless,&rdquo; he added
+thoughtfully, &ldquo;some clever lawyer was instructed to insist
+that there must be more in the dispute than appears on the
+surface.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, them lawyers, them lawyers!&rdquo; moaned the old
+lady in a panic. &ldquo;They can make you say anything.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They can&rsquo;t make me say anything.&rdquo; A cunning
+look came into his complacent face. &ldquo;And, besides,
+who&rsquo;s going to engage a lawyer?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The family of the deceased gentleman might wish to do
+so.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Both of the sons are abroad and could not be back in
+time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But is there not a daughter here? I understood
+so.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Whitmarsh gave a short, unpleasant laugh and turned to look at
+his mother.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Madeline won&rsquo;t. You may bet your bottom tikkie
+it&rsquo;s the last thing she would want.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The little old creature gazed admiringly at her big showy son
+and responded with an appreciative grimace that made her look more
+humorously rat-like than ever.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He! he! Missie won&rsquo;t,&rdquo; she tittered.
+&ldquo;That would never do. He! he!&rdquo; Wink succeeded nod and
+meaning smile until she relapsed into a state of quietness; and
+Parkinson, who had been fascinated by her contortions, was unable
+to decide whether she was still laughing or had gone to sleep.</p>
+<p>Carrados stayed a few more minutes and before they left he asked
+to see the watch.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A unique memento, Mr Whitmarsh,&rdquo; he remarked,
+examining it. &ldquo;I should think this would become a family
+heirloom.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s no good for anything else,&rdquo; said
+Whitmarsh practically. &ldquo;A famous time-keeper it was,
+too.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The fingers are both gone.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; the glass was broken, of course, and they must have
+caught in the cloth of my pocket and ripped off.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They naturally would; it was ten minutes past nine when
+the shot was fired.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The young man thought and then nodded.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;About that,&rdquo; he agreed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nearer than &lsquo;about,&rsquo; if your watch was
+correct. Very interesting, Mr Whitmarsh. I am glad to have seen the
+watch that saved your life.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Instead of returning to the inn Carrados directed Parkinson to
+take the road to Barony. Madeline was at home, and from the sound
+of voices it appeared that she had other visitors, but she came out
+to Carrados at once, and at his request took him into the empty
+dining-room while Parkinson stayed in the hall.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes?&rdquo; she said eagerly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have come to tell you that I must throw up my
+brief,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There is nothing more to be done and
+I return to town to-night.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; she stammered helplessly. &ldquo;I
+thought&mdash;I thought&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Your cousin did not abstract the revolver when he was
+here on Thursday, Miss Whitmarsh. He did not at his leisure fire a
+bullet into his own watch to make it appear, later in the day, as
+if he had been attacked. He did not reload the cartridge with a
+blank charge. He did not deliberately shoot your father and then
+fire off the blank cartridge. He <i>was</i> attacked and the
+newspaper version is substantially correct. The whole fabric so
+delicately suggested by inference and innuendo falls to
+pieces.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then you desert me, Mr Carrados?&rdquo; she said, in a
+low, bitter voice.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have seen the watch&mdash;the watch that saved
+Whitmarsh&rsquo;s life,&rdquo; he continued, unmoved. &ldquo;It
+would save it again if necessary. It indicates ten minutes past
+nine&mdash;the time to a minute at which it is agreed the shot was
+fired. By what prescience was he to know at what exact minute his
+opportunity would occur?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When I saw the watch on Thursday night the fingers were
+not there.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They are not, but the shaft remains. It is of an
+old-fashioned pattern and it will only take the fingers in one
+position. That position indicates ten minutes past nine.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Surely it would have been an easy matter to have altered
+that afterwards?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In this case fate has been curiously systematic, Miss
+Whitmarsh. The bullet that shattered the works has so locked the
+action that it will not move a fraction this way or
+that.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is something more than this&mdash;something that I
+do not understand,&rdquo; she persisted. &ldquo;I think I have a
+right to know.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Since you insist, there is. There is the wad of the blank
+cartridge that you fired in the outbuilding.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; she exclaimed, in the moment of startled
+undefence, &ldquo;how do you&mdash;how can
+you&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You must leave the conjurer his few tricks for effect. Of
+course you naturally would fire it where the precious pellet could
+not get lost&mdash;the paper you steamed off the cigarette that
+Whitmarsh threw into the empty fire-grate; and of course the place
+must be some distance from the house or even that slight report
+might occasion remark.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; she confessed, in a sudden abandonment to
+weary indifference, &ldquo;it has been useless. I was a fool to set
+my cleverness against yours. Now, I suppose, Mr Carrados, you will
+have to hand me over to justice?</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well; why don&rsquo;t you say something?&rdquo; she
+demanded impatiently, as he offered no comment.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;People frequently put me in this embarrassing
+position,&rdquo; he explained diffidently, &ldquo;and throw the
+responsibility on me. Now a number of years ago a large and stately
+building was set up in London and it was beautifully called
+&lsquo;The Royal Palace of Justice.&rsquo; That was its official
+name and that was what it was to be; but very soon people got into
+the way of calling it the Law Courts, and to-day, if you asked a
+Londoner to direct you to the Palace of Justice he would
+undoubtedly set you down as a religious maniac. You see my
+difficulty?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is very strange,&rdquo; she said, intent upon her own
+reflections, &ldquo;but I do not feel a bit ashamed to you of what
+I have done. I do not even feel afraid to tell you all about it,
+although of some of that I must certainly be ashamed. Why is
+it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Because I am blind?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh no,&rdquo; she replied very positively.</p>
+<p>Carrados smiled at her decision but he did not seek to explain
+that when he could no longer see the faces of men the power was
+gradually given to him of looking into their hearts, to which some
+in their turn&mdash;strong, free spirits&mdash;instinctively
+responded.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is such a thing as friendship at first
+sight,&rdquo; he suggested.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, yes; like quite old friends,&rdquo; she agreed.
+&ldquo;It is a pity that I had no very trusty friend, since my
+mother died when I was quite little. Even my father has
+been&mdash;it is queer to think of it now&mdash;well, almost a
+stranger to me really.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>She looked at Carrados&rsquo;s serene and kindly face and
+smiled.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is a great relief to be able to talk like this,
+without the necessity for lying,&rdquo; she remarked. &ldquo;Did
+you know that I was engaged?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No; you had not told me that.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh no, but you might have heard of it. He is a clergyman
+whom I met last summer. But, of course, that is all over
+now.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You have broken it off?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Circumstances have broken it off. The daughter of a man
+who had the misfortune to be murdered might just possibly be
+tolerated as a vicar&rsquo;s wife, but the daughter of a murderer
+and suicide&mdash;it is unthinkable! You see, the requirements for
+the office are largely social, Mr Carrados.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Possibly your vicar may have other views.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, he isn&rsquo;t a vicar yet, but he is rather
+well-connected, so it is quite assured. And he would be dreadfully
+torn if the choice lay with him. As it is, he will perhaps rather
+soon get over my absence. But, you see, if we married he could
+never get over my presence; it would always stand in the way of his
+preferment. I worked very hard to make it possible, but it could
+not be.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You were even prepared to send an innocent man to the
+gallows?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think so, at one time,&rdquo; she admitted frankly.
+&ldquo;But I scarcely thought it would come to that. There are so
+many well-meaning people who always get up petitions.... No, as I
+stand here looking at myself over there, I feel that I
+couldn&rsquo;t quite have hanged Frank, no matter how much he
+deserved it.... You are very shocked, Mr Carrados?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; admitted Carrados, with pleasant
+impartiality, &ldquo;I have seen the young man, but the penalty,
+even with a reprieve, still seems to me a little severe.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yet how do you know, even now, that he is, as you say, an
+innocent man?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t,&rdquo; was the prompt admission. &ldquo;I
+only know, in this astonishing case, that so far as my
+investigation goes, he did not murder your father by the act of his
+hand.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not according to your Law Courts?&rdquo; she suggested.
+&ldquo;But in the great Palace of Justice?... Well, you shall
+judge.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>She left his side, crossed the room, and stood by the square,
+ugly window, looking out, but as blind as Carrados to the details
+of the somnolent landscape.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I met Frank for the first time after I was at all
+grown-up about three years ago, when I returned from
+boarding-school. I had not seen him since I was a child, and I
+thought him very tall and manly. It seemed a frightfully romantic
+thing in the circumstances to meet him secretly&mdash;of course my
+thoughts flew to Romeo and Juliet. We put impassioned letters for
+one another in a hollow tree that stood on the boundary hedge. But
+presently I found out&mdash;gradually and incredulously at first
+and then one night with a sudden terrible certainty&mdash;that my
+ideas of romance were not his.... I had what is called, I believe,
+a narrow escape. I was glad when he went abroad, for it was only my
+self-conceit that had suffered. I was never in love with him: only
+in love with the idea of being in love with him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A few months ago Frank came back to High Barn. I tried
+never to meet him anywhere, but one day he overtook me in the
+lanes. He said that he had thought a lot about me while he was
+away, and would I marry him. I told him that it was impossible in
+any case, and, besides, I was engaged. He coolly replied that he
+knew. I was dumbfounded and asked him what he meant.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then he took out a packet of my letters that he had kept
+somewhere all the time. He insisted on reading parts of them up and
+telling me what this and that meant and what everyone would say it
+proved. I was horrified at the construction that seemed capable of
+being put on my foolish but innocent gush. I called him a coward
+and a blackguard and a mean cur and a sneaking cad and everything I
+could think of in one long breath, until I found myself faint and
+sick with excitement and the nameless growing terror of it.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He only laughed and told me to think it over, and then
+walked on, throwing the letters up into the air and catching
+them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t worth while going into all the times he
+met and threatened me. I was to marry him or he would expose me. He
+would never allow me to marry anyone else. And then finally he
+turned round and said that he didn&rsquo;t really want to marry me
+at all; he only wanted to force father&rsquo;s consent to start
+mining and this had seemed the easiest way.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is what is called blackmail, Miss Whitmarsh; a word
+you don&rsquo;t seem to have applied to him. The punishment ranges
+up to penal servitude for life in extreme cases.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, that is what it really was. He came on Thursday with
+the letters in his pocket. That was his last threat when he could
+not move me. I can guess what happened. He read the letters and
+proposed a bargain. And my father, who was a very passionate man,
+and very proud in certain ways, shot him as he thought, and then,
+in shame and in the madness of despair, took his own life.... Now,
+Mr Carrados, you were to be my judge.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think,&rdquo; said the blind man, with a great pity in
+his voice, &ldquo;that it will be sufficient for you to come up for
+Judgment when called upon.&rdquo;</p>
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+<p>Three weeks later a registered letter bearing the Liverpool
+postmark was delivered at The Turrets. After he had read it
+Carrados put it away in a special drawer of his desk, and once or
+twice in after years, when his work seemed rather barren, he took
+it out and read it. This is what it contained:</p>
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Dear Mr Carrados</span>,&mdash;Some
+time after you had left me that Sunday afternoon, a man came in the
+dark to the door and asked for me. I did not see his face for he
+kept in the shade, but his figure was not very unlike that of your
+servant Parkinson. A packet was put into my hands and he was gone
+without a word. From this I imagine that perhaps you did not leave
+quite as soon as you had intended.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thank you very much indeed for the letters. I was glad to
+have the miserable things, to drop them into the fire, and to see
+them pass utterly out of my own and everybody else&rsquo;s life. I
+wonder who else in the world would have done so much for a forlorn
+creature who just flashed across a few days of his busy life? and
+then I wonder who else could.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But there is something else for which I thank you now
+far, far more, and that is for saving me from the blindness of my
+own passionate folly. When I look back on the abyss of meanness,
+treachery and guilt into which I would have wilfully cast myself,
+and been condemned to live in all my life, I can scarcely trust
+myself to write.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I will not say that I do not suffer now. I think I shall
+for many years to come, but all the bitterness and I think all the
+hardness have been drawn out.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You will see that I am writing from Liverpool. I have
+taken a second-class passage to Canada and we sail to-night.
+Willie, who returned to Barony last week, has lent me all the money
+I shall need until I find work. Do not be apprehensive. It is not
+with the vague uncertainty of an indifferent typist or a
+downtrodden governess that I go, but as an efficient domestic
+servant&mdash;a capable cook, housemaid or &lsquo;general,&rsquo;
+as need be. It sounds rather incredible at first, does it not, but
+such things happen, and I shall get on very well.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good-bye, Mr Carrados; I shall remember you very often
+and very gratefully.</p>
+<p class="alignright">&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Madeline Whitmarsh.</span><br /></p>
+<p>&ldquo;<i>P.S.</i>&mdash;Yes, there is friendship at first
+sight.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="THE_COMEDY_AT_FOUNTAIN_COTTAGE" id=
+"THE_COMEDY_AT_FOUNTAIN_COTTAGE"></a>THE COMEDY AT FOUNTAIN
+COTTAGE</h2>
+<p>Carrados had rung up Mr Carlyle soon after the inquiry agent had
+reached his office in Bampton Street on a certain morning in April.
+Mr Carlyle&rsquo;s face at once assumed its most amiable expression
+as he recognized his friend&rsquo;s voice.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, Max,&rdquo; he replied, in answer to the call,
+&ldquo;I am here and at the top of form, thanks. Glad to know that
+you are back from Trescoe. Is there&mdash;anything?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have a couple of men coming in this evening whom you
+might like to meet,&rdquo; explained Carrados. &ldquo;Manoel the
+Zambesia explorer is one and the other an East-End slum doctor who
+has seen a few things. Do you care to come round to
+dinner?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Delighted,&rdquo; warbled Mr Carlyle, without a
+moment&rsquo;s consideration. &ldquo;Charmed. Your usual hour,
+Max?&rdquo; Then the smiling complacence of his face suddenly
+changed and the wire conveyed an exclamation of annoyance. &ldquo;I
+am really very sorry, Max, but I have just remembered that I have
+an engagement. I fear that I must deny myself after all.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is it important?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; admitted Mr Carlyle. &ldquo;Strictly speaking,
+it is not in the least important; this is why I feel compelled to
+keep it. It is only to dine with my niece. They have just got into
+an absurd doll&rsquo;s house of a villa at Groat&rsquo;s Heath and
+I had promised to go there this evening.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are they particular to a day?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>There was a moment&rsquo;s hesitation before Mr Carlyle
+replied.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am afraid so, now it is fixed,&rdquo; he said.
+&ldquo;To you, Max, it will be ridiculous or incomprehensible that
+a third to dinner&mdash;and he only a middle-aged
+uncle&mdash;should make a straw of difference. But I know that in
+their bijou way it will be a little domestic event to
+Elsie&mdash;an added anxiety in giving the butcher an order, an
+extra course for dinner, perhaps; a careful drilling of the one
+diminutive maid-servant, and she is such a charming little
+woman&mdash;eh? Who, Max? No! No! I did not say the maid-servant;
+if I did it is the fault of this telephone. Elsie is such a
+delightful little creature that, upon my soul, it would be too bad
+to fail her now.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course it would, you old humbug,&rdquo; agreed
+Carrados, with sympathetic laughter in his voice. &ldquo;Well, come
+to-morrow instead. I shall be alone.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, besides, there is a special reason for going, which
+for the moment I forgot,&rdquo; explained Mr Carlyle, after
+accepting the invitation. &ldquo;Elsie wishes for my advice with
+regard to her next-door neighbour. He is an elderly man of retiring
+disposition and he makes a practice of throwing kidneys over into
+her garden.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Kittens! Throwing kittens?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, no, Max. Kidneys. Stewed k-i-d-n-e-y-s. It is a
+little difficult to explain plausibly over a badly vibrating
+telephone, I admit, but that is what Elsie&rsquo;s letter assured
+me, and she adds that she is in despair.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;At all events it makes the lady quite independent of the
+butcher, Louis!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have no further particulars, Max. It may be a solitary
+diurnal offering, or the sky may at times appear to rain kidneys.
+If it is a mania the symptoms may even have become more pronounced
+and the man is possibly showering beef-steaks across by this time.
+I will make full inquiry and let you know.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do,&rdquo; assented Carrados, in the same light-hearted
+spirit. &ldquo;Mrs Nickleby&rsquo;s neighbourly admirer expressed
+his feelings by throwing cucumbers, you remember, but this man puts
+him completely in the shade.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It had not got beyond the proportions of a jest to either of
+them when they rang off&mdash;one of those whimsical occurrences in
+real life that sound so fantastic in outline. Carrados did not give
+the matter another thought until the next evening when his
+friend&rsquo;s arrival revived the subject.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And the gentleman next door?&rdquo; he inquired among his
+greetings. &ldquo;Did the customary offering arrive while you were
+there?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; admitted Mr Carlyle, beaming pleasantly upon
+all the familiar appointments of the room, &ldquo;it did not, Max.
+In fact, so diffident has the mysterious philanthropist become,
+that no one at Fountain Cottage has been able to catch sight of him
+lately, although I am told that Scamp&mdash;Elsie&rsquo;s
+terrier&mdash;betrays a very self-conscious guilt and suspiciously
+muddy paws every morning.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Fountain Cottage?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is the name of the toy villa.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, but Fountain something, Groat&rsquo;s
+Heath&mdash;Fountain Court: wasn&rsquo;t that where
+Metrobe&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, yes, to be sure, Max. Metrobe the traveller, the
+writer and scientist&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Scientist!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, he took up spiritualism or something, didn&rsquo;t
+he? At any rate, he lived at Fountain Court, an old red-brick house
+in a large neglected garden there, until his death a couple of
+years ago. Then, as Groat&rsquo;s Heath had suddenly become a
+popular suburb with a tube railway, a land company acquired the
+estate, the house was razed to the ground and in a twinkling a
+colony of Noah&rsquo;s ark villas took its place. There is Metrobe
+Road here, and Court Crescent there, and Mansion Drive and what
+not, and Elsie&rsquo;s little place perpetuates another
+landmark.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have Metrobe&rsquo;s last book there,&rdquo; said
+Carrados, nodding towards a point on his shelves. &ldquo;In fact he
+sent me a copy. &lsquo;The Flame beyond the Dome&rsquo; it is
+called&mdash;the queerest farrago of balderdash and metaphysics
+imaginable. But what about the neighbour, Louis? Did you settle
+what we might almost term &lsquo;his hash&rsquo;?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, he is mad, of course. I advised her to make as little
+fuss about it as possible, seeing that the man lives next door and
+might become objectionable, but I framed a note for her to send
+which will probably have a good effect.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is he mad, Louis?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, I don&rsquo;t say that he is strictly a lunatic,
+but there is obviously a screw loose somewhere. He may carry
+indiscriminate benevolence towards Yorkshire terriers to irrational
+lengths. Or he may be a food specialist with a grievance. In effect
+he is mad on at least that one point. How else are we to account
+for the circumstances?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I was wondering,&rdquo; replied Carrados
+thoughtfully.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You suggest that he really may have a sane
+object?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suggest it&mdash;for the sake of argument. If he has a
+sane object, what is it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That I leave to you, Max,&rdquo; retorted Mr Carlyle
+conclusively. &ldquo;If he has a sane object, pray what is
+it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;For the sake of the argument I will tell you that in
+half-a-dozen words, Louis,&rdquo; replied Carrados, with
+good-humoured tolerance. &ldquo;If he is not mad in the sense which
+you have defined, the answer stares us in the face. His object is
+precisely that which he is achieving.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle looked inquiringly into the placid, unemotional face
+of his blind friend, as if to read there whether, incredible as it
+might seem, Max should be taking the thing seriously after all.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And what is that?&rdquo; he asked cautiously.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In the first place he has produced the impression that he
+is eccentric or irresponsible. That is sometimes useful in itself.
+Then what else has he done?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What else, Max?&rdquo; replied Mr Carlyle, with some
+indignation. &ldquo;Well, whatever he wishes to achieve by it I can
+tell you one thing else that he has done. He has so demoralized
+Scamp with his confounded kidneys that Elsie&rsquo;s neatly
+arranged flower-beds&mdash;and she took Fountain Cottage
+principally on account of an unusually large garden&mdash;are
+hopelessly devastated. If she keeps the dog up, the garden is
+invaded night and day by an army of peregrinating feline marauders
+that scent the booty from afar. He has gained the everlasting
+annoyance of an otherwise charming neighbour, Max. Can you tell me
+what he has achieved by that?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The everlasting esteem of Scamp probably. Is he a good
+watch-dog, Louis?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good heavens, Max!&rdquo; exclaimed Mr Carlyle, coming to
+his feet as though he had the intention of setting out for
+Groat&rsquo;s Heath then and there, &ldquo;is it possible that he
+is planning a burglary?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do they keep much of value about the house?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; admitted Mr Carlyle, sitting down again with
+considerable relief. &ldquo;No, they don&rsquo;t. Bellmark is not
+particularly well endowed with worldly goods&mdash;in fact, between
+ourselves, Max, Elsie could have done very much better from a
+strictly social point of view, but he is a thoroughly good fellow
+and idolizes her. They have no silver worth speaking of, and for
+the rest&mdash;well, just the ordinary petty cash of a frugal young
+couple.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then he probably is not planning a burglary. I confess
+that the idea did not appeal to me. If it is only that, why should
+he go to the trouble of preparing this particular succulent dish to
+throw over his neighbour&rsquo;s ground when cold liver would do
+quite as well?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If it is not only that, why should he go to the trouble,
+Max?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Because by that bait he produces the greatest disturbance
+of your niece&rsquo;s garden.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And, if sane, why should he wish to do that?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Because in those conditions he can the more easily
+obliterate his own traces if he trespasses there at
+nights.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, upon my word, that&rsquo;s drawing a bow at a
+venture, Max. If it isn&rsquo;t burglary, what motive could the man
+have for any such nocturnal perambulation?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>An expression of suave mischief came into Carrados&rsquo;s
+usually imperturbable face.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Many imaginable motives surely, Louis. You are a man of
+the world. Why not to meet a charming little
+woman&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, by gad!&rdquo; exclaimed the scandalized uncle
+warmly; &ldquo;I decline to consider the remotest possibility of
+that explanation. Elsie&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Certainly not,&rdquo; interposed Carrados, smothering his
+quiet laughter. &ldquo;The maid-servant, of course.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Carlyle reined in his indignation and recovered himself with
+his usual adroitness.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But, you know, that is an atrocious libel, Max,&rdquo; he
+added. &ldquo;I never said such a thing. However, is it
+probable?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; admitted Carrados. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think
+that in the circumstances it is at all probable.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then where are we, Max?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A little further than we were at the beginning. Very
+little.... Are you willing to give me a roving commission to
+investigate?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course, Max, of course,&rdquo; assented Mr Carlyle
+heartily. &ldquo;I&mdash;well, as far as I was concerned, I
+regarded the matter as settled.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados turned to his desk and the ghost of a smile might
+possibly have lurked about his face. He produced some stationery
+and indicated it to his visitor.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t mind giving me a line of introduction to
+your niece?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Pleasure,&rdquo; murmured Carlyle, taking up a pen.
+&ldquo;What shall I say?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados took the inquiry in its most literal sense and for
+reply he dictated the following letter:&mdash;</p>
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;<span class="smcap">My dear
+Elsie</span>,&rsquo;&mdash;</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;If that is the way you usually address her,&rdquo; he
+parenthesized.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite so,&rdquo; acquiesced Mr Carlyle, writing.</p>
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;The bearer of this is Mr Carrados, of whom I have
+spoken to you.&rsquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;You have spoken of me to her, I trust, Louis?&rdquo; he
+put in.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I believe that I have casually referred to you,&rdquo;
+admitted the writer.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I felt sure you would have done. It makes the rest
+easier.</p>
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;He is not in the least mad although he frequently
+does things which to the uninitiated appear more or less eccentric
+at the moment. I think that you would be quite safe in complying
+with any suggestion he may make.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Your affectionate uncle,</p>
+<p class="alignright">&ldquo;&lsquo;<span class="smcap">Louis
+Carlyle.</span>&rsquo;&rdquo;<br /></p>
+</div>
+<p>He accepted the envelope and put it away in a pocket-book that
+always seemed extraordinarily thin for the amount of papers it
+contained.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I may call there to-morrow,&rdquo; he added.</p>
+<p>Neither again referred to the subject during the evening, but
+when Parkinson came to the library a couple of hours after midnight
+to know whether he would be required again, he found his master
+rather deeply immersed in a book and a gap on the shelf where
+&ldquo;The Flame beyond the Dome&rdquo; had formerly stood.</p>
+<p>It is not impossible that Mr Carlyle supplemented his brief note
+of introduction with a more detailed communication that reached his
+niece by the ordinary postal service at an earlier hour than the
+other. At all events, when Mr Carrados presented himself at the toy
+villa on the following afternoon he found Elsie Bellmark
+suspiciously disposed to accept him and his rather gratuitous
+intervention among her suburban troubles as a matter of course.</p>
+<p>When the car drew up at the bright green wooden gate of Fountain
+Cottage another visitor, apparently a good-class working man, was
+standing on the path of the trim front garden, lingering over a
+reluctant departure. Carrados took sufficient time in alighting to
+allow the man to pass through the gate before he himself entered.
+The last exchange of sentences reached his ear.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure, marm, you won&rsquo;t find anyone to do
+the work at less.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I can quite believe that,&rdquo; replied a very fair
+young lady who stood nearer the house, &ldquo;but, you see, we do
+all the gardening ourselves, thank you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados made himself known and was taken into the daintily
+pretty drawing-room that opened on to the lawn behind the
+house.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I do not need to ask if you are Mrs Bellmark,&rdquo; he
+had declared.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have Uncle Louis&rsquo;s voice?&rdquo; she divined
+readily.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The niece of his voice, so to speak,&rdquo; he admitted.
+&ldquo;Voices mean a great deal to me, Mrs Bellmark.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In recognizing and identifying people?&rdquo; she
+suggested.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, very much more than that. In recognizing and
+identifying their moods&mdash;their thoughts even. There are subtle
+lines of trouble and the deep rings of anxious care quite as patent
+to the ear as to the sharpest eye sometimes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Elsie Bellmark shot a glance of curiously interested speculation
+to the face that, in spite of its frank, open bearing, revealed so
+marvellously little itself.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If I had any dreadful secret, I think that I should be a
+little afraid to talk to you, Mr Carrados,&rdquo; she said, with a
+half-nervous laugh.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then please do not have any dreadful secret,&rdquo; he
+replied, with quite youthful gallantry. &ldquo;I more than suspect
+that Louis has given you a very transpontine idea of my tastes. I
+do not spend all my time tracking murderers to their lairs, Mrs
+Bellmark, and I have never yet engaged in a hand-to-hand encounter
+with a band of cut-throats.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He told us,&rdquo; she declared, the recital lifting her
+voice into a tone that Carrados vowed to himself was wonderfully
+thrilling, &ldquo;about this: He said that you were once in a sort
+of lonely underground cellar near the river with two desperate men
+whom you could send to penal servitude. The police, who were to
+have been there at a certain time, had not arrived, and you were
+alone. The men had heard that you were blind but they could hardly
+believe it. They were discussing in whispers which could not be
+overheard what would be the best thing to do, and they had just
+agreed that if you really were blind they would risk the attempt to
+murder you. Then, Louis said, at that very moment you took a pair
+of scissors from your pocket, and coolly asking them why they did
+not have a lamp down there, you actually snuffed the candle that
+stood on the table before you. Is that true?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados&rsquo;s mind leapt vividly back to the most desperate
+moment of his existence, but his smile was gently deprecating as he
+replied:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I seem to recognize the touch of truth in the inclination
+to do <i>anything</i> rather than fight,&rdquo; he confessed.
+&ldquo;But, although he never suspects it, Louis really sees life
+through rose-coloured opera glasses. Take the case of your quite
+commonplace neighbour&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is really what you came about?&rdquo; she interposed
+shrewdly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Frankly, it is,&rdquo; he replied. &ldquo;I am more
+attracted by a turn of the odd and grotesque than by the most
+elaborate tragedy. The fantastic conceit of throwing stewed kidneys
+over into a neighbour&rsquo;s garden irresistibly appealed to me.
+Louis, as I was saying, regards the man in the romantic light of a
+humanitarian monomaniac or a demented food reformer. I take a more
+subdued view and I think that his action, when rightly understood,
+will prove to be something quite obviously natural.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course it is very ridiculous, but all the same it has
+been desperately annoying,&rdquo; she confessed. &ldquo;Still, it
+scarcely matters now. I am only sorry that it should have been the
+cause of wasting your valuable time, Mr Carrados.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My valuable time,&rdquo; he replied, &ldquo;only seems
+valuable to me when I am, as you would say, wasting it. But is the
+incident closed? Louis told me that he had drafted you a letter of
+remonstrance. May I ask if it has been effective?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Instead of replying at once she got up and walked to the long
+French window and looked out over the garden where the fruit-trees
+that had been spared from the older cultivation were rejoicing the
+eye with the promise of their pink and white profusion.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I did not send it,&rdquo; she said slowly, turning to her
+visitor again. &ldquo;There is something that I did not tell Uncle
+Louis, because it would only have distressed him without doing any
+good. We may be leaving here very soon.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Just when you had begun to get it well in hand?&rdquo; he
+said, in some surprise.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is a pity, is it not, but one cannot foresee these
+things. There is no reason why you should not know the cause, since
+you have interested yourself so far, Mr Carrados. In fact,&rdquo;
+she added, smiling away the seriousness of the manner into which
+she had fallen, &ldquo;I am not at all sure that you do not know
+already.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>He shook his head and disclaimed any such prescience.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;At all events you recognized that I was not exactly
+light-hearted,&rdquo; she insisted. &ldquo;Oh, you did not say that
+<i>I</i> had dark rings under my eyes, I know, but the cap fitted
+excellently.... It has to do with my husband&rsquo;s business. He
+is with a firm of architects. It was a little venturesome taking
+this house&mdash;we had been in apartments for two years&mdash;but
+Roy was doing so well with his people and I was so enthusiastic for
+a garden that we did&mdash;scarcely two months ago. Everything
+seemed quite assured. Then came this thunderbolt. The
+partners&mdash;it is only a small firm, Mr Carrados&mdash;required
+a little more capital in the business. Someone whom they know is
+willing to put in two thousand pounds, but he stipulates for a post
+with them as well. He, like my husband, is a draughtsman. There is
+no need for the services of both and so&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is it settled?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In effect, it is. They are as nice as can be about it but
+that does not alter the facts. They declare that they would rather
+have Roy than the new man and they have definitely offered to
+retain him if he can bring in even one thousand pounds. I suppose
+they have some sort of compunction about turning him adrift, for
+they have asked him to think it over and let them know on Monday.
+Of course, that is the end of it. It may be&mdash;I don&rsquo;t
+know&mdash;I don&rsquo;t like to think, how long before Roy gets
+another position equally good. We must endeavour to get this house
+off our hands and creep back to our three rooms. It is ...
+luck.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados had been listening to her wonderfully musical voice as
+another man might have been drawn irresistibly to watch the piquant
+charm of her delicate face.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; he assented, almost to himself, &ldquo;it is
+that strange, inexplicable grouping of men and things that, under
+one name or another, we all confess ... just luck.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course you will not mention this to Uncle Louis yet,
+Mr Carrados?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If you do not wish it, certainly not.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am sure that it would distress him. He is so
+soft-hearted, so kind, in everything. Do you know, I found out that
+he had had an invitation to dine somewhere and meet some quite
+important people on Tuesday. Yet he came here instead, although
+most other men would have cried off, just because he knew that we
+small people would have been disappointed.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, you can&rsquo;t expect me to see any self-denial in
+that,&rdquo; exclaimed Carrados. &ldquo;Why, I was one of them
+myself.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Elsie Bellmark laughed outright at the expressive disgust of his
+tone.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I had no idea of that,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Then there
+is another reason. Uncle is not very well off, yet if he knew how
+Roy was situated he would make an effort to arrange matters. He
+would, I am sure, even borrow himself in order to lend us the
+money. That is a thing Roy and I are quite agreed on. We will go
+back; we will go under, if it is to be; but we will not borrow
+money, not even from Uncle Louis.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Once, subsequently, Carrados suddenly asked Mr Carlyle whether
+he had ever heard a woman&rsquo;s voice roll like a celestial
+kettle-drum. The professional gentleman was vastly amused by the
+comparison, but he admitted that he had not.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So that, you see,&rdquo; concluded Mrs Bellmark,
+&ldquo;there is really nothing to be done.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, quite so; I am sure that you are right,&rdquo;
+assented her visitor readily. &ldquo;But in the meanwhile I do not
+see why the annoyance of your next-door neighbour should be
+permitted to go on.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course: I have not told you that, and I could not
+explain it to uncle,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I am anxious not to do
+anything to put him out because I have a hope&mdash;rather a faint
+one, certainly&mdash;that the man may be willing to take over this
+house.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It would be incorrect to say that Carrados pricked up his
+ears&mdash;if that curious phenomenon has any physical
+manifestation&mdash;for the sympathetic expression of his face did
+not vary a fraction. But into his mind there came a gleam such as
+might inspire a patient digger who sees the first speck of gold
+that justifies his faith in an unlikely claim.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; he said, quite conversationally, &ldquo;is
+there a chance of that?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He undoubtedly did want it. It is very curious in a way.
+A few weeks ago, before we were really settled, he came one
+afternoon, saying he had heard that this house was to be let. Of
+course I told him that he was too late, that we had already taken
+it for three years.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You were the first tenants?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes. The house was scarcely ready when we signed the
+agreement. Then this Mr Johns, or Jones&mdash;I am not sure which
+he said&mdash;went on in a rather extraordinary way to persuade me
+to sublet it to him. He said that the house was dear and I could
+get plenty, more convenient, at less rent, and it was unhealthy,
+and the drains were bad, and that we should be pestered by tramps
+and it was just the sort of house that burglars picked on, only he
+had taken a sort of fancy to it and he would give me a fifty-pound
+premium for the term.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Did he explain the motive for this rather eccentric
+partiality?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t imagine that he did. He repeated several
+times that he was a queer old fellow with his whims and fancies and
+that they often cost him dear.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think we all know that sort of old fellow,&rdquo; said
+Carrados. &ldquo;It must have been rather entertaining for you, Mrs
+Bellmark.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, I suppose it was,&rdquo; she admitted. &ldquo;The
+next thing we knew of him was that he had taken the other house as
+soon as it was finished.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then he would scarcely require this?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am afraid not.&rdquo; It was obvious that the situation
+was not disposed of. &ldquo;But he seems to have so little
+furniture there and to live so solitarily,&rdquo; she explained,
+&ldquo;that we have even wondered whether he might not be there
+merely as a sort of caretaker.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And you have never heard where he came from or who he
+is?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Only what the milkman told my servant&mdash;our chief
+source of local information, Mr Carrados. He declares that the man
+used to be the butler at a large house that stood here formerly,
+Fountain Court, and that his name is neither Johns nor Jones. But
+very likely it is all a mistake.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If not, he is certainly attached to the soil,&rdquo; was
+her visitor&rsquo;s rejoinder. &ldquo;And, apropos of that, will
+you show me over your garden before I go, Mrs Bellmark?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;With pleasure,&rdquo; she assented, rising also. &ldquo;I
+will ring now and then I can offer you tea when we have been round.
+That is, if you&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thank you, I do,&rdquo; he replied. &ldquo;And would you
+allow my man to go through into the garden&mdash;in case I require
+him?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, certainly. You must tell me just what you want
+without thinking it necessary to ask permission, Mr
+Carrados,&rdquo; she said, with a pretty air of protection.
+&ldquo;Shall Amy take a message?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>He acquiesced and turned to the servant who had appeared in
+response to the bell.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Will you go to the car and tell my
+man&mdash;Parkinson&mdash;that I require him here. Say that he can
+bring his book; he will understand.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They stepped out through the French window and sauntered across
+the lawn. Before they had reached the other side Parkinson reported
+himself.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You had better stay here,&rdquo; said his master,
+indicating the sward generally. &ldquo;Mrs Bellmark will allow you
+to bring out a chair from the drawing-room.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thank you, sir; there is a rustic seat already
+provided,&rdquo; replied Parkinson.</p>
+<p>He sat down with his back to the houses and opened the book that
+he had brought. Let in among its pages was an ingeniously contrived
+mirror.</p>
+<p>When their promenade again brought them near the rustic seat
+Carrados dropped a few steps behind.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He is watching you from one of the upper rooms,
+sir,&rdquo; fell from Parkinson&rsquo;s lips as he sat there
+without raising his eyes from the page before him.</p>
+<p>The blind man caught up to his hostess again.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You intended this lawn for croquet?&rdquo; he asked.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No; not specially. It is too small, isn&rsquo;t
+it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not necessarily. I think it is in about the proportion of
+four by five all right. Given that, size does not really matter for
+an unsophisticated game.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>To settle the point he began to pace the plot of ground, across
+and then lengthways. Next, apparently dissatisfied with this rough
+measurement, he applied himself to marking it off more exactly by
+means of his walking-stick. Elsie Bellmark was by no means dull but
+the action sprang so naturally from the conversation that it did
+not occur to her to look for any deeper motive.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He has got a pair of field-glasses and is now at the
+window,&rdquo; communicated Parkinson.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am going out of sight,&rdquo; was the equally quiet
+response. &ldquo;If he becomes more anxious tell me
+afterwards.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is quite all right,&rdquo; he reported, returning to
+Mrs Bellmark with the satisfaction of bringing agreeable news.
+&ldquo;It should make a splendid little ground, but you may have to
+level up a few dips after the earth has set.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>A chance reference to the kitchen garden by the visitor took
+them to a more distant corner of the enclosure where the rear of
+Fountain Cottage cut off the view from the next house windows.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We decided on this part for vegetables because it does
+not really belong to the garden proper,&rdquo; she explained.
+&ldquo;When they build farther on this side we shall have to give
+it up very soon. And it would be a pity if it was all in
+flowers.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>With the admirable spirit of the ordinary Englishwoman, she
+spoke of the future as if there was no cloud to obscure its
+prosperous course. She had frankly declared their position to her
+uncle&rsquo;s best friend because in the circumstances it had
+seemed to be the simplest and most straightforward thing to do;
+beyond that, there was no need to whine about it.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is a large garden,&rdquo; remarked Carrados.
+&ldquo;And you really do all the work of it yourselves?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; I think that is half the fun of a garden. Roy is out
+here early and late and he does all the hard work. But how did you
+know? Did uncle tell you?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No; you told me yourself.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I? Really?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Indirectly. You were scorning the proffered services of a
+horticultural mercenary at the moment of my arrival.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, I remember,&rdquo; she laughed. &ldquo;It was Irons,
+of course. He is a great nuisance, he is so stupidly persistent.
+For some weeks now he has been coming time after time, trying to
+persuade me to engage him. Once when we were all out he had
+actually got into the garden and was on the point of beginning work
+when I returned. He said he saw the milkmen and the grocers leaving
+samples at the door so he thought that he would too!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A practical jester evidently. Is Mr Irons a local
+character?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He said that he knew the ground and the conditions round
+about here better than anyone else in Groat&rsquo;s Heath,&rdquo;
+she replied. &ldquo;Modesty is not among Mr Irons&rsquo;s
+handicaps. He said that he&mdash;&mdash;How curious!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What is, Mrs Bellmark?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I never connected the two men before, but he said that he
+had been gardener at Fountain Court for seven years.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Another family retainer who is evidently attached to the
+soil.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;At all events they have not prospered equally, for while
+Mr Johns seems able to take a nice house, poor Irons is willing to
+work for half-a-crown a day, and I am told that all the other men
+charge four shillings.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They had paced the boundaries of the kitchen garden, and as
+there was nothing more to be shown Elsie Bellmark led the way back
+to the drawing-room. Parkinson was still engrossed in his book, the
+only change being that his back was now turned towards the high
+paling of clinker-built oak that separated the two gardens.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I will speak to my man,&rdquo; said Carrados, turning
+aside.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He hurried down and is looking through the fence,
+sir,&rdquo; reported the watcher.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That will do then. You can return to the car.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wonder if you would allow me to send you a small
+hawthorn-tree?&rdquo; inquired Carrados among his felicitations
+over the teacups five minutes later. &ldquo;I think it ought to be
+in every garden.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thank you&mdash;but is it worth while?&rdquo; replied Mrs
+Bellmark, with a touch of restraint. As far as mere words went she
+had been willing to ignore the menace of the future, but in the
+circumstances the offer seemed singularly inept and she began to
+suspect that outside his peculiar gifts the wonderful Mr Carrados
+might be a little bit obtuse after all.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; I think it is,&rdquo; he replied, with quiet
+assurance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In spite of&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am not forgetting that unless your husband is prepared
+on Monday next to invest one thousand pounds you contemplate
+leaving here.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then I do not understand it, Mr Carrados.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And I am unable to explain as yet. But I brought you a
+note from Louis Carlyle, Mrs Bellmark. You only glanced at it. Will
+you do me the favour of reading me the last paragraph?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>She picked up the letter from the table where it lay and
+complied with cheerful good-humour.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is some suggestion that you want me to accede
+to,&rdquo; she guessed cunningly when she had read the last few
+words.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There are some three suggestions which I hope you will
+accede to,&rdquo; he replied. &ldquo;In the first place I want you
+to write to Mr Johns next door&mdash;let him get the letter
+to-night&mdash;inquiring whether he is still disposed to take this
+house.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I had thought of doing that shortly.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then that is all right. Besides, he will ultimately
+decline.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; she exclaimed&mdash;it would be difficult to
+say whether with relief or disappointment&mdash;&ldquo;do you think
+so? Then why&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To keep him quiet in the meantime. Next I should like you
+to send a little note to Mr Irons&mdash;your maid could deliver it
+also to-night, I dare say?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Irons! Irons the gardener?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; apologetically. &ldquo;Only a line or two,
+you know. Just saying that, after all, if he cares to come on
+Monday you can find him a few days&rsquo; work.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But in any circumstances I don&rsquo;t want
+him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No; I can quite believe that you could do better. Still,
+it doesn&rsquo;t matter, as he won&rsquo;t come, Mrs Bellmark; not
+for half-a-crown a day, believe me. But the thought will tend to
+make Mr Irons less restive also. Lastly, will you persuade your
+husband not to decline his firm&rsquo;s offer until
+Monday?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very well, Mr Carrados,&rdquo; she said, after a
+moment&rsquo;s consideration. &ldquo;You are Uncle Louis&rsquo;s
+friend and therefore our friend. I will do what you ask.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thank you,&rdquo; said Carrados. &ldquo;I shall endeavour
+not to disappoint you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I shall not be disappointed because I have not dared to
+hope. And I have nothing to expect because I am still completely in
+the dark.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have been there for nearly twenty years, Mrs
+Bellmark.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, I am sorry!&rdquo; she cried impulsively.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So am I&mdash;occasionally,&rdquo; he replied.
+&ldquo;Good-bye, Mrs Bellmark. You will hear from me shortly, I
+hope. About the hawthorn, you know.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It was, indeed, in something less than forty-eight hours that
+she heard from him again. When Bellmark returned to his toy villa
+early on Saturday afternoon Elsie met him almost at the gate with a
+telegram in her hand.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I really think, Roy, that everyone we have to do with
+here goes mad,&rdquo; she exclaimed, in tragi-humorous despair.
+&ldquo;First it was Mr Johns or Jones&mdash;if he is Johns or
+Jones&mdash;and then Irons who wanted to work here for half of what
+he could get at heaps of places about, and now just look at this
+wire that came from Mr Carrados half-an-hour ago.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This was the message that he read:</p>
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p><i>Please procure sardine tin opener mariner&rsquo;s compass and
+bottle of champagne. Shall arrive 6.45 bringing Crataegus
+Coccinea.</i>&mdash;<span class="smcap">Carrados.</span></p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Could anything be more absurd?&rdquo; she demanded.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Sounds as though it was in code,&rdquo; speculated her
+husband. &ldquo;Who&rsquo;s the foreign gentleman he&rsquo;s
+bringing?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, that&rsquo;s a kind of special hawthorn&mdash;I
+looked it up. But a bottle of champagne, and a compass, and a
+sardine tin opener! What possible connexion is there between
+them?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A very resourceful man might uncork a bottle of champagne
+with a sardine tin opener,&rdquo; he suggested.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And find his way home afterwards by means of a
+mariner&rsquo;s compass?&rdquo; she retorted. &ldquo;No, Roy dear,
+you are not a sleuth-hound. We had better have our
+lunch.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They lunched, but if the subject of Carrados had been tabooed
+the meal would have been a silent one.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have a compass on an old watch-chain somewhere,&rdquo;
+volunteered Bellmark.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And I have a tin opener in the form of a bull&rsquo;s
+head,&rdquo; contributed Elsie.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But we have no champagne, I suppose?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How could we have, Roy? We never have had any. Shall you
+mind going down to the shops for a bottle?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You really think that we ought?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course we must, Roy. We don&rsquo;t know what
+mightn&rsquo;t happen if we didn&rsquo;t. Uncle Louis said that
+they once failed to stop a jewel robbery because the jeweller
+neglected to wipe his shoes on the shop doormat, as Mr Carrados had
+told him to do. Suppose Johns is a desperate anarchist and he
+succeeded in blowing up Buckingham Palace because
+we&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;All right. A small bottle, eh?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No. A large one. Quite a large one. Don&rsquo;t you see
+how exciting it is becoming?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If you are excited already you don&rsquo;t need much
+champagne,&rdquo; argued her husband.</p>
+<p>Nevertheless he strolled down to the leading wine-shop after
+lunch and returned with his purchase modestly draped in the light
+summer overcoat that he carried on his arm. Elsie Bellmark, who had
+quite abandoned her previous unconcern, in the conviction that
+&ldquo;something was going to happen,&rdquo; spent the longest
+afternoon that she could remember, and even Bellmark, in spite of
+his continual adjurations to her to &ldquo;look at the matter
+logically,&rdquo; smoked five cigarettes in place of his usual
+Saturday afternoon pipe and neglected to do any gardening.</p>
+<p>At exactly six-forty-five a motor car was heard approaching.
+Elsie made a desperate rally to become the self-possessed hostess
+again. Bellmark was favourably impressed by such marked
+punctuality. Then a Regent Street delivery van bowled past their
+window and Elsie almost wept.</p>
+<p>The suspense was not long, however. Less than five minutes later
+another vehicle raised the dust of the quiet suburban road, and
+this time a private car stopped at their gate.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Can you see any policemen inside?&rdquo; whispered
+Elsie.</p>
+<p>Parkinson got down and opening the door took out a small tree
+which he carried up to the porch and there deposited. Carrados
+followed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;At all events there isn&rsquo;t much wrong,&rdquo; said
+Bellmark. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s smiling all the time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, it isn&rsquo;t really a smile,&rdquo; explained
+Elsie; &ldquo;it&rsquo;s his normal expression.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>She went out into the hall just as the front door was
+opened.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is the &lsquo;Scarlet-fruited thorn&rsquo; of North
+America,&rdquo; Bellmark heard the visitor remarking. &ldquo;Both
+the flowers and the berries are wonderfully good. Do you think that
+you would permit me to choose the spot for it, Mrs
+Bellmark?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Bellmark joined them in the hall and was introduced.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We mustn&rsquo;t waste any time,&rdquo; he suggested.
+&ldquo;There is very little light left.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;True,&rdquo; agreed Carrados. &ldquo;And Coccinea
+requires deep digging.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They walked through the house, and turning to the right passed
+into the region of the vegetable garden. Carrados and Elsie led the
+way, the blind man carrying the tree, while Bellmark went to his
+outhouse for the required tools.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We will direct our operations from here,&rdquo; said
+Carrados, when they were half-way along the walk. &ldquo;You told
+me of a thin iron pipe that you had traced to somewhere in the
+middle of the garden. We must locate the end of it
+exactly.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My rosary!&rdquo; sighed Elsie, with premonition of
+disaster, when she had determined the spot as exactly as she could.
+&ldquo;Oh, Mr Carrados!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am sorry, but it might be worse,&rdquo; said Carrados
+inflexibly. &ldquo;We only require to find the elbow-joint. Mr
+Bellmark will investigate with as little disturbance as
+possible.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>For five minutes Bellmark made trials with a pointed iron. Then
+he cleared away the soil of a small circle and at about a foot deep
+exposed a broken inch pipe.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The fountain,&rdquo; announced Carrados, when he had
+examined it. &ldquo;You have the compass, Mr Bellmark?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Rather a small one,&rdquo; admitted Bellmark.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Never mind, you are a mathematician. I want you to strike
+a line due east.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The reel and cord came into play and an adjustment was finally
+made from the broken pipe to a position across the vegetable
+garden.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now a point nine yards, nine feet and nine inches along
+it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My onion bed!&rdquo; cried Elsie tragically.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; it is really serious this time,&rdquo; agreed
+Carrados. &ldquo;I want a hole a yard across, digging here. May we
+proceed?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Elsie remembered the words of her uncle&rsquo;s letter&mdash;or
+what she imagined to be his letter&mdash;and possibly the preamble
+of selecting the spot had impressed her.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, I suppose so. Unless,&rdquo; she added hopefully,
+&ldquo;the turnip bed will do instead? They are not sown
+yet.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am afraid that nowhere else in the garden will
+do,&rdquo; replied Carrados.</p>
+<p>Bellmark delineated the space and began to dig. After clearing
+to about a foot deep he paused.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;About deep enough, Mr Carrados?&rdquo; he inquired.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, dear no,&rdquo; replied the blind man.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am two feet down,&rdquo; presently reported the
+digger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Deeper!&rdquo; was the uncompromising response.</p>
+<p>Another six inches were added and Bellmark stopped to rest.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A little more and it won&rsquo;t matter which way up we
+plant Coccinea,&rdquo; he remarked.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is the depth we are aiming for,&rdquo; replied
+Carrados.</p>
+<p>Elsie and her husband exchanged glances. Then Bellmark drove his
+spade through another layer of earth.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Three feet,&rdquo; he announced, when he had cleared
+it.</p>
+<p>Carrados advanced to the very edge of the opening.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think that if you would loosen another six inches with
+the fork we might consider the ground prepared,&rdquo; he
+decided.</p>
+<p>Bellmark changed his tools and began to break up the soil.
+Presently the steel prongs grated on some obstruction.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Gently,&rdquo; directed the blind watcher. &ldquo;I think
+you will find a half-pound cocoa tin at the end of your
+fork.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, how on earth you spotted that&mdash;&mdash;!&rdquo;
+was wrung from Bellmark admiringly, as he cleared away the
+encrusting earth. &ldquo;But I believe you are about right.&rdquo;
+He threw up the object to his wife, who was risking a catastrophe
+in her eagerness to miss no detail. &ldquo;Anything in it besides
+soil, Elsie?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She cannot open it yet,&rdquo; remarked Carrados.
+&ldquo;It is soldered down.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, I say,&rdquo; protested Bellmark.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is perfectly correct, Roy. The lid is soldered
+on.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They looked at each other in varying degrees of wonder and
+speculation. Only Carrados seemed quite untouched.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now we may as well replace the earth,&rdquo; he
+remarked.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Fill it all up again?&rdquo; asked Bellmark.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; we have provided a thoroughly disintegrated subsoil.
+That is the great thing. A depth of six inches is sufficient merely
+for the roots.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>There was only one remark passed during the operation.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think I should plant the tree just over where the tin
+was,&rdquo; Carrados suggested. &ldquo;You might like to mark the
+exact spot.&rdquo; And there the hawthorn was placed.</p>
+<p>Bellmark, usually the most careful and methodical of men, left
+the tools where they were, in spite of a threatening shower.
+Strangely silent, Elsie led the way back to the house and taking
+the men into the drawing-room switched on the light.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think you have a tin opener, Mrs Bellmark?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Elsie, who had been waiting for him to speak, almost jumped at
+the simple inquiry. Then she went into the next room and returned
+with the bull-headed utensil.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here it is,&rdquo; she said, in a voice that would have
+amused her at any other time.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Bellmark will perhaps disclose our find.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Bellmark put the soily tin down on Elsie&rsquo;s best
+table-cover without eliciting a word of reproach, grasped it firmly
+with his left hand, and worked the opener round the top.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Only paper!&rdquo; he exclaimed, and without touching the
+contents he passed the tin into Carrados&rsquo;s hands.</p>
+<p>The blind man dexterously twirled out a little roll that
+crinkled pleasantly to the ear, and began counting the leaves with
+a steady finger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re bank-notes!&rdquo; whispered Elsie in an
+awestruck voice. She caught sight of a further detail.
+&ldquo;Bank-notes for a hundred pounds each. And there are dozens
+of them!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Fifty, there should be,&rdquo; dropped Carrados between
+his figures. &ldquo;Twenty-five,
+twenty-six&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good God,&rdquo; murmured Bellmark; &ldquo;that&rsquo;s
+five thousand pounds!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Fifty,&rdquo; concluded Carrados, straightening the edges
+of the sheaf. &ldquo;It is always satisfactory to find that
+one&rsquo;s calculations are exact.&rdquo; He detached the upper
+ten notes and held them out. &ldquo;Mrs Bellmark, will you accept
+one thousand pounds as a full legal discharge of any claim that you
+may have on this property?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Me&mdash;I?&rdquo; she stammered. &ldquo;But I have no
+right to any in any circumstances. It has nothing to do with
+us.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You have an unassailable moral right to a fair
+proportion, because without you the real owners would never have
+seen a penny of it. As regards your legal right&rdquo;&mdash;he
+took out the thin pocket-book and extracting a business-looking
+paper spread it open on the table before them&mdash;&ldquo;here is
+a document that concedes it. &lsquo;In consideration of the
+valuable services rendered by Elsie Bellmark, etc., etc., in
+causing to be discovered and voluntarily surrendering the sum of
+five thousand pounds deposited and not relinquished by Alexis
+Metrobe, late of, etc., etc., deceased, Messrs Binstead &amp;
+Polegate, solicitors, of 77a Bedford Row, acting on behalf of the
+administrator and next-of-kin of the said etc., etc., do
+hereby&rsquo;&mdash;well, that&rsquo;s what they do. Signed,
+witnessed and stamped at Somerset House.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose I shall wake presently,&rdquo; said Elsie
+dreamily.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It was for this moment that I ventured to suggest the
+third requirement necessary to bring our enterprise to a successful
+end,&rdquo; said Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, how thoughtful of you!&rdquo; cried Elsie.
+&ldquo;Roy, the champagne.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Five minutes later Carrados was explaining to a small but
+enthralled audience.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The late Alexis Metrobe was a man of peculiar character.
+After seeing a good deal of the world and being many things, he
+finally embraced spiritualism, and in common with some of its most
+pronounced adherents he thenceforward abandoned what we should call
+&lsquo;the common-sense view.&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A few years ago, by the collation of the Book of
+Revelations, a set of Zadkiel&rsquo;s Almanacs, and the complete
+works of Mrs Mary Baker Eddy, Metrobe discovered that the end of
+the world would take place on the tenth of October 1910. It
+therefore became a matter of urgent importance in his mind to
+ensure pecuniary provision for himself for the time after the
+catastrophe had taken place.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t understand,&rdquo; interrupted Elsie.
+&ldquo;Did he expect to survive it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You cannot understand, Mrs Bellmark, because it is
+fundamentally incomprehensible. We can only accept the fact by the
+light of cases which occasionally obtain prominence. Metrobe did
+not expect to survive, but he was firmly convinced that the
+currency of this world would be equally useful in the spirit-land
+into which he expected to pass. This view was encouraged by a lady
+medium at whose feet he sat. She kindly offered to transmit to his
+banking account in the Hereafter, without making any charge
+whatever, any sum that he cared to put into her hands for the
+purpose. Metrobe accepted the idea but not the offer. His plan was
+to deposit a considerable amount in a spot of which he alone had
+knowledge, so that he could come and help himself to it as
+required.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But if the world had come to an
+end&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Only the material world, you must understand, Mrs
+Bellmark. The spirit world, its exact impalpable counterpart, would
+continue as before and Metrobe&rsquo;s hoard would be spiritually
+intact and available. That is the prologue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;About a month ago there appeared a certain advertisement
+in a good many papers. I noticed it at the time and three days ago
+I had only to refer to my files to put my hand on it at once. It
+reads:</p>
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Alexis Metrobe. Any servant or personal attendant
+of the late Alexis Metrobe of Fountain Court, Groat&rsquo;s Heath,
+possessing special knowledge of his habits and movements may hear
+of something advantageous on applying to Binstead &amp; Polegate,
+77a Bedford Row, W.C.&rsquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;The solicitors had, in fact, discovered that five
+thousand pounds&rsquo; worth of securities had been realized early
+in 1910. They readily ascertained that Metrobe had drawn that
+amount in gold out of his bank immediately after, and there the
+trace ended. He died six months later. There was no hoard of gold
+and not a shred of paper to show where it had gone, yet Metrobe
+lived very simply within his income. The house had meanwhile been
+demolished but there was no hint or whisper of any lucky find.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Two inquirers presented themselves at 77a Bedford Row.
+They were informed of the circumstances and offered a reward,
+varying according to the results, for information that would lead
+to the recovery of the money. They are both described as
+thoughtful, slow-spoken men. Each heard the story, shook his head,
+and departed. The first caller proved to be John Foster, the
+ex-butler. On the following day Mr Irons, formerly gardener at the
+Court, was the applicant.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I must now divert your attention into a side track. In
+the summer of 1910 Metrobe published a curious work entitled
+&lsquo;The Flame beyond the Dome.&rsquo; In the main it is an
+eschatological treatise, but at the end he tacked on an epilogue,
+which he called &lsquo;The Fable of the Chameleon.&rsquo; It is
+even more curious than the rest and with reason, for under the
+guise of a speculative essay he gives a cryptic account of the
+circumstances of the five thousand pounds and, what is more
+important, details the exact particulars of its disposal. His
+reason for so doing is characteristic of the man. He was conscious
+by experience that he possessed an utterly treacherous memory, and
+having had occasion to move the treasure from one spot to another
+he feared that when the time came his bemuddled shade would be
+unable to locate it. For future reference, therefore, he embodied
+the details in his book, and to make sure that plenty of copies
+should be in existence he circulated it by the only means in his
+power&mdash;in other words, he gave a volume to everyone he knew
+and to a good many people whom he didn&rsquo;t.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So far I have dealt with actualities. The final details
+are partly speculative but they are essentially correct. Metrobe
+conveyed his gold to Fountain Court, obtained a stout oak coffer
+for it, and selected a spot <i>west</i> of the fountain. He chose a
+favourable occasion for burying it, but by some mischance Irons
+came on the scene. Metrobe explained the incident by declaring that
+he was burying a favourite parrot. Irons thought nothing particular
+about it then, although he related the fact to the butler, and to
+others, in evidence of the general belief that &lsquo;the old cock
+was quite barmy.&rsquo; But Metrobe himself was much disturbed by
+the accident. A few days later he dug up the box. In pursuance of
+his new plan he carried his gold to the Bank of England and changed
+it into these notes. Then transferring the venue to one due
+<i>east</i> of the fountain, he buried them in this tin, satisfied
+that the small space it occupied would baffle the search of anyone
+not in possession of the exact location.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But, I say!&rdquo; exclaimed Mr Bellmark. &ldquo;Gold
+might remain gold, but what imaginable use could be made of
+bank-notes after the end of the world?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is a point of view, no doubt. But Metrobe, in spite
+of his foreign name, was a thorough Englishman. The world might
+come to an end, but he was satisfied that somehow the Bank of
+England would ride through it all right. I only suggest that. There
+is much that we can only guess.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is all there is to know, Mr Carrados?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes. Everything comes to an end, Mrs Bellmark. I sent my
+car away to call for me at eight. Eight has struck. That is Harris
+announcing his arrival.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>He stood up, but embarrassment and indecision marked the looks
+and movements of the other two.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How can we possibly take all this money, though?&rdquo;
+murmured Elsie, in painful uncertainty. &ldquo;It is entirely your
+undertaking, Mr Carrados. It is the merest fiction bringing me into
+it at all.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps in the circumstances,&rdquo; suggested Bellmark
+nervously&mdash;&ldquo;you remember the circumstances,
+Elsie?&mdash;Mr Carrados would be willing to regard it as a
+loan&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, no!&rdquo; cried Elsie impulsively. &ldquo;There must
+be no half measures. We know that a thousand pounds would be
+nothing to Mr Carrados, and he knows that a thousand pounds are
+everything to us.&rdquo; Her voice reminded the blind man of the
+candle-snuffing recital. &ldquo;We will take this great gift, Mr
+Carrados, quite freely, and we will not spoil the generous
+satisfaction that you must have in doing a wonderful and a splendid
+service by trying to hedge our obligation.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But what can we ever do to thank Mr Carrados?&rdquo;
+faltered Bellmark mundanely.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nothing,&rdquo; said Elsie simply. &ldquo;That is
+it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But I think that Mrs Bellmark has quite solved
+that,&rdquo; interposed Carrados.</p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="THE_GAME_PLAYED_IN_THE_DARK" id=
+"THE_GAME_PLAYED_IN_THE_DARK"></a>THE GAME PLAYED IN THE DARK</h2>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a funny thing, sir,&rdquo; said Inspector
+Beedel, regarding Mr Carrados with the pensive respect that he
+always extended towards the blind amateur, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s a
+funny thing, but nothing seems to go on abroad now but what
+you&rsquo;ll find some trace of it here in London if you take the
+trouble to look.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In the right quarter,&rdquo; contributed Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, yes,&rdquo; agreed the inspector. &ldquo;But nothing
+comes of it nine times out of ten, because it&rsquo;s no
+one&rsquo;s particular business to look here or the thing&rsquo;s
+been taken up and finished from the other end. I don&rsquo;t mean
+ordinary murders or single-handed burglaries, of course,
+but&rdquo;&mdash;a modest ring of professional pride betrayed the
+quiet enthusiast&mdash;&ldquo;real First-Class Crimes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The State Antonio Five per cent. Bond Coupons?&rdquo;
+suggested Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ah, you are right, Mr Carrados.&rdquo; Beedel shook his
+head sadly, as though perhaps on that occasion someone ought to
+have looked. &ldquo;A man has a fit in the inquiry office of the
+Agent-General for British Equatoria, and two hundred and fifty
+thousand pounds&rsquo; worth of faked securities is the result in
+Mexico. Then look at that jade fylfot charm pawned for
+one-and-three down at the Basin and the use that could have been
+made of it in the Kharkov &lsquo;ritual murder&rsquo;
+trial.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The West Hampstead Lost Memory puzzle and the Baripur
+bomb conspiracy that might have been smothered if one had
+known.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Quite true, sir. And the three children of that Chicago
+millionaire&mdash;Cyrus V. Bunting, wasn&rsquo;t
+it?&mdash;kidnapped in broad daylight outside the New York Lyric
+and here, three weeks later, the dumb girl who chalked the wall at
+Charing Cross. I remember reading once in a financial article that
+every piece of foreign gold had a string from it leading to
+Threadneedle Street. A figure of speech, sir, of course, but apt
+enough, I don&rsquo;t doubt. Well, it seems to me that every big
+crime done abroad leaves a finger-print here in London&mdash;if
+only, as you say, we look in the right quarter.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And at the right moment,&rdquo; added Carrados.
+&ldquo;The time is often the present; the place the spot beneath
+our very noses. We take a step and the chance has gone for
+ever.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The inspector nodded and contributed a weighty monosyllable of
+sympathetic agreement. The most prosaic of men in the pursuit of
+his ordinary duties, it nevertheless subtly appealed to some
+half-dormant streak of vanity to have his profession taken
+romantically when there was no serious work on hand.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No; perhaps not &lsquo;for ever&rsquo; in one case in a
+thousand, after all,&rdquo; amended the blind man thoughtfully.
+&ldquo;This perpetual duel between the Law and the Criminal has
+sometimes appeared to me in the terms of a game of cricket,
+inspector. Law is in the field; the Criminal at the wicket. If Law
+makes a mistake&mdash;sends down a loose ball or drops a
+catch&mdash;the Criminal scores a little or has another lease of
+life. But if <i>he</i> makes a mistake&mdash;if he lets a straight
+ball pass or spoons towards a steady man&mdash;he is done for. His
+mistakes are fatal; those of the Law are only temporary and
+retrievable.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very good, sir,&rdquo; said Mr Beedel, rising&mdash;the
+conversation had taken place in the study at The Turrets, where
+Beedel had found occasion to present himself&mdash;&ldquo;very apt
+indeed. I must remember that. Well, sir, I only hope that this
+&lsquo;Guido the Razor&rsquo; lot will send a catch in our
+direction.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The &lsquo;this&rsquo; delicately marked Inspector
+Beedel&rsquo;s instinctive contempt for Guido. As a craftsman he
+was compelled, on his reputation, to respect him, and he had
+accordingly availed himself of Carrados&rsquo;s friendship for a
+confabulation. As a man&mdash;he was a foreigner: worse, an
+Italian, and if left to his own resources the inspector would have
+opposed to his sinuous flexibility those rigid, essentially
+Britannia-metal, methods of the Force that strike the impartial
+observer as so ponderous, so amateurish and conventional, and, it
+must be admitted, often so curiously and inexplicably
+successful.</p>
+<p>The offence that had circuitously brought &ldquo;il
+Rasojo&rdquo; and his &ldquo;lot&rdquo; within the cognizance of
+Scotland Yard outlines the kind of story that is discreetly hinted
+at by the society paragraphist of the day, politely disbelieved by
+the astute reader, and then at last laid indiscreetly bare in all
+its details by the inevitable princessly
+&ldquo;Recollections&rdquo; of a generation later. It centred round
+an impending royal marriage in Vienna, a certain jealous
+&ldquo;Countess X.&rdquo; (here you have the discretion of the
+paragrapher), and a document or two that might be relied upon (the
+aristocratic biographer will impartially sum up the contingencies)
+to play the deuce with the approaching nuptials. To procure the
+evidence of these papers the Countess enlisted the services of
+Guido, as reliable a scoundrel as she could probably have selected
+for the commission. To a certain point&mdash;to the abstraction of
+the papers, in fact&mdash;he succeeded, but it was with pursuit
+close upon his heels. There was that disadvantage in employing a
+rogue to do work that implicated roguery, for whatever moral right
+the Countess had to the property, her accomplice had no legal right
+whatever to his liberty. On half-a-dozen charges at least he could
+be arrested on sight in as many capitals of Europe. He slipped out
+of Vienna by the Nordbahn with his destination known, resourcefully
+stopped the express outside Czaslau and got away across to Chrudim.
+By this time the game and the moves were pretty well understood in
+more than one keenly interested quarter. Diplomacy supplemented
+justice and the immediate history of Guido became that of a fox
+hunted from covert to covert with all the familiar earths stopped
+against him. From Pardubitz he passed on to Glatz, reached Breslau
+and went down the Oder to Stettin. Out of the liberality of his
+employer&rsquo;s advances he had ample funds to keep going, and he
+dropped and rejoined his accomplices as the occasion ruled. A
+week&rsquo;s harrying found him in Copenhagen, still with no time
+to spare, and he missed his purpose there. He crossed to Malmo by
+ferry, took the connecting night train to Stockholm and the same
+morning sailed down the Saltsjon, ostensibly bound for Obo,
+intending to cross to Revel and so get back to central Europe by
+the less frequented routes. But in this move again luck was against
+him and receiving warning just in time, and by the mysterious
+agency that had so far protected him, he contrived to be dropped
+from the steamer by boat among the islands of the crowded
+Archipelago, made his way to Helsingfors and within forty-eight
+hours was back again on the Frihavnen with pursuit for the moment
+blinked and a breathing-time to the good.</p>
+<p>To appreciate the exact significance of these wanderings it is
+necessary to recall the conditions. Guido was not zigzagging a
+course about Europe in an aimless search for the picturesque, still
+less inspired by any love of the melodramatic. To him every step
+was vital, each tangent or rebound the necessary outcome of his
+much-badgered plans. In his pocket reposed the papers for which he
+had run grave risks. The price agreed upon for the service was
+sufficiently lavish to make the risks worth taking time after time;
+but in order to consummate the transaction it was necessary that
+the booty should be put into his employer&rsquo;s hand. Half-way
+across Europe that employer was waiting with such patience as she
+could maintain, herself watched and shadowed at every step. The
+Countess X. was sufficiently exalted to be personally immune from
+the high-handed methods of her country&rsquo;s secret service, but
+every approach to her was tapped. The problem was for Guido to earn
+a long enough respite to enable him to communicate his position to
+the Countess and for her to go or to reach him by a trusty hand.
+Then the whole fabric of intrigue could fall to pieces, but so far
+Guido had been kept successfully on the run and in the meanwhile
+time was pressing.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They lost him after the <i>Hutola</i>,&rdquo; Beedel
+reported, in explaining the circumstances to Max Carrados.
+&ldquo;Three days later they found that he&rsquo;d been back again
+in Copenhagen but by that time he&rsquo;d flown. Now they&rsquo;re
+without a trace except the inference of these &lsquo;Orange peach
+blossom&rsquo; agonies in <i>The Times</i>. But the Countess has
+gone hurriedly to Paris; and Lafayard thinks it all points to
+London.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose the Foreign Office is anxious to oblige just
+now?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I expect so, sir,&rdquo; agreed Beedel, &ldquo;but, of
+course, my instructions don&rsquo;t come from that quarter. What
+appeals to <i>us</i> is that it would be a feather in our
+caps&mdash;they&rsquo;re still a little sore up at the Yard about
+Hans the Piper.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Naturally,&rdquo; assented Carrados. &ldquo;Well,
+I&rsquo;ll see what I can do if there is real occasion. Let me know
+anything, and, if you see your chance yourself, come round for a
+talk if you like on&mdash;to-day&rsquo;s Wednesday?&mdash;I shall
+be in at any rate on Friday evening.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Without being a precisian, the blind man was usually exact in
+such matters. There are those who hold that an engagement must be
+kept at all hazard: men who would miss a death-bed message in order
+to keep literal faith with a beggar. Carrados took lower, if more
+substantial, ground. &ldquo;My word,&rdquo; he sometimes had
+occasion to remark, &ldquo;is subject to contingencies, like
+everything else about me. If I make a promise it is conditional on
+nothing which seems more important arising to counteract it. That,
+among men of sense, is understood.&rdquo; And, as it happened,
+something did occur on this occasion.</p>
+<p>He was summoned to the telephone just before dinner on Friday
+evening to receive a message personally. Greatorex, his secretary,
+had taken the call, but came in to say that the caller would give
+him nothing beyond his name&mdash;Brebner. The name was unknown to
+Carrados, but such incidents were not uncommon, and he proceeded to
+comply.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; he responded; &ldquo;I am Max Carrados
+speaking. What is it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, it is you, sir, is it? Mr Brickwill told me to get to
+you direct.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, you are all right. Brickwill? Are you the British
+Museum?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes. I am Brebner in the Chaldean Art Department. They
+are in a great stew here. We have just found out that someone has
+managed to get access to the Second Inner Greek Room and looted
+some of the cabinets there. It is all a mystery as yet.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What is missing?&rdquo; asked Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So far we can only definitely speak of about six trays of
+Greek coins&mdash;a hundred to a hundred and twenty,
+roughly.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Important?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The line conveyed a caustic bark of tragic amusement.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, yes, I should say so. The beggar seems to have known
+his business. All fine specimens of the best period.
+Syracuse&mdash;Messana&mdash;Croton&mdash;Amphipolis.
+Eumenes&mdash;Evainetos&mdash;Kimons. The chief quite
+wept.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados groaned. There was not a piece among them that he had
+not handled lovingly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What are you doing?&rdquo; he demanded.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Brickwill has been to Scotland Yard, and, on advice,
+we are not making it public as yet. We don&rsquo;t want a hint of
+it to be dropped anywhere, if you don&rsquo;t mind, sir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That will be all right.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It was for that reason that I was to speak with you
+personally. We are notifying the chief dealers and likely
+collectors to whom the coins, or some of them, may be offered at
+once if it is thought that we haven&rsquo;t found it out yet.
+Judging from the expertness displayed in the selection, we
+don&rsquo;t think that there is any danger of the lot being sold to
+a pawnbroker or a metal-dealer, so that we are running very little
+real risk in not advertising the loss.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; probably it is as well,&rdquo; replied Carrados.
+&ldquo;Is there anything that Mr Brickwill wishes me to
+do?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Only this, sir; if you are offered a suspicious lot of
+Greek coins, or hear of them, would you have a look&mdash;I mean
+ascertain whether they are likely to be ours, and if you think they
+are communicate with us and Scotland Yard at once.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Certainly,&rdquo; replied the blind man. &ldquo;Tell Mr
+Brickwill that he can rely on me if any indication comes my way.
+Convey my regrets to him and tell him that I feel the loss quite as
+a personal one.... I don&rsquo;t think that you and I have met as
+yet, Mr Brebner?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, sir,&rdquo; said the voice diffidently, &ldquo;but I
+have looked forward to the pleasure. Perhaps this unfortunate
+business will bring me an introduction.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are very kind,&rdquo; was Carrados&rsquo;s
+acknowledgment of the compliment. &ldquo;Any time ... I was going
+to say that perhaps you don&rsquo;t know my weakness, but I have
+spent many pleasant hours over your wonderful collection. That
+ensures the personal element. Good-bye.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados was really disturbed by the loss although his concern
+was tempered by the reflection that the coins would inevitably in
+the end find their way back to the Museum. That their restitution
+might involve ransom to the extent of several thousand pounds was
+the least poignant detail of the situation. The one harrowing
+thought was that the booty might, through stress or ignorance, find
+its way into the melting-pot. That dreadful contingency, remote but
+insistent, was enough to affect the appetite of the blind
+enthusiast.</p>
+<p>He was expecting Inspector Beedel, who would be full of his own
+case, but he could not altogether dismiss the aspects of
+possibility that Brebner&rsquo;s communication opened before his
+mind. He was still concerned with the chances of destruction and a
+very indifferent companion for Greatorex, who alone sat with him,
+when Parkinson presented himself. Dinner was over but Carrados had
+remained rather longer than his custom, smoking his mild Turkish
+cigarette in silence.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A lady wishes to see you, sir. She said you would not
+know her name, but that her business would interest you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The form of message was sufficiently unusual to take the
+attention of both men.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t know her, of course, Parkinson?&rdquo;
+inquired his master.</p>
+<p>For just a second the immaculate Parkinson seemed tongue-tied.
+Then he delivered himself in his most ceremonial strain.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I regret to say that I cannot claim the advantage,
+sir,&rdquo; he replied.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Better let me tackle her, sir,&rdquo; suggested Greatorex
+with easy confidence. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s probably a sub.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The sportive offer was declined by a smile and a shake of the
+head. Carrados turned to his attendant.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I shall be in the study, Parkinson. Show her there in
+three minutes. You stay and have another cigarette, Greatorex. By
+that time she will either have gone or have interested
+me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>In three minutes&rsquo; time Parkinson threw open the study
+door.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The lady, sir,&rdquo; he announced.</p>
+<p>Could he have seen, Carrados would have received the impression
+of a plainly, almost dowdily, dressed young woman of buxom figure.
+She wore a light veil, but it was ineffective in concealing the
+unattraction of the face beneath. The features were swart and the
+upper lip darkened with the more than incipient moustache of the
+southern brunette. Worse remained, for a disfiguring rash had
+assailed patches of her skin. As she entered she swept the room and
+its occupant with a quiet but comprehensive survey.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Please take a chair, Madame. You wished to see
+me?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The ghost of a demure smile flickered about her mouth as she
+complied, and in that moment her face seemed less uncomely. Her eye
+lingered for a moment on a cabinet above the desk, and one might
+have noticed that her eye was very bright. Then she replied.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are Signor Carrados, in&mdash;in the
+person?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados made his smiling admission and changed his position a
+fraction&mdash;possibly to catch her curiously pitched voice the
+better.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The great collector of the antiquities?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I do collect a little,&rdquo; he admitted guardedly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You will forgive me, Signor, if my language is not
+altogether good. When I live at Naples with my mother we let
+boardings, chiefly to Inglish and Amerigans. I pick up the words,
+but since I marry and go to live in Calabria my Inglish has gone
+all red&mdash;no, no, you say, rusty. Yes, that is it; quite
+rusty.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is excellent,&rdquo; said Carrados. &ldquo;I am sure
+that we shall understand one another perfectly.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The lady shot a penetrating glance but the blind man&rsquo;s
+expression was merely suave and courteous. Then she continued:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My husband is of name Ferraja&mdash;Michele Ferraja. We
+have a vineyard and a little property near Forenzana.&rdquo; She
+paused to examine the tips of her gloves for quite an appreciable
+moment. &ldquo;Signor,&rdquo; she burst out, with some vehemence,
+&ldquo;the laws of my country are not good at all.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;From what I hear on all sides,&rdquo; said Carrados,
+&ldquo;I am afraid that your country is not alone.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is at Forenzana a poor labourer, Gian Verde of
+name,&rdquo; continued the visitor, dashing volubly into her
+narrative. &ldquo;He is one day digging in the vineyard, the
+vineyard of my husband, when his spade strikes itself upon an
+obstruction. &lsquo;Aha,&rsquo; says Gian, &lsquo;what have we
+here?&rsquo; and he goes down upon his knees to see. It is an oil
+jar of red earth, Signor, such as was anciently used, and in it is
+filled with silver money.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Gian is poor but he is wise. Does he call upon the
+authorities? No, no; he understands that they are all corrupt. He
+carries what he has found to my husband for he knows him to be a
+man of great honour.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My husband also is of brief decision. His mind is made
+up. &lsquo;Gian,&rsquo; he says, &lsquo;keep your mouth shut. This
+will be to your ultimate profit.&rsquo; Gian understands, for he
+can trust my husband. He makes a sign of mutual implication. Then
+he goes back to the spade digging.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My husband understands a little of these things but not
+enough. We go to the collections of Messina and Naples and even
+Rome and there we see other pieces of silver money, similar, and
+learn that they are of great value. They are of different sizes but
+most would cover a lira and of the thickness of two. On the one
+side imagine the great head of a pagan deity; on the
+other&mdash;oh, so many things I cannot remember what.&rdquo; A
+gesture of circumferential despair indicated the hopeless variety
+of design.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A biga or quadriga of mules?&rdquo; suggested Carrados.
+&ldquo;An eagle carrying off a hare, a figure flying with a wreath,
+a trophy of arms? Some of those perhaps?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;<i>Si, si bene</i>,&rdquo; cried Madame Ferraja.
+&ldquo;You understand, I perceive, Signor. We are very cautious,
+for on every side is extortion and an unjust law. See, it is even
+forbidden to take these things out of the country, yet if we try to
+dispose of them at home they will be seized and we punished, for
+they are <i>tesoro trovato</i>, what you call treasure troven and
+belonging to the State&mdash;these coins which the industry of Gian
+discovered and which had lain for so long in the ground of my
+husband&rsquo;s vineyard.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So you brought them to England?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;<i>Si</i>, Signor. It is spoken of as a land of justice
+and rich nobility who buy these things at the highest prices. Also
+my speaking a little of the language would serve us
+here.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose you have the coins for disposal then? You can
+show them to me?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My husband retains them. I will take you, but you must
+first give <i>parola d&rsquo;onore</i> of an English Signor not to
+betray us, or to speak of the circumstance to another.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Carrados had already foreseen this eventuality and decided to
+accept it. Whether a promise exacted on the plea of treasure trove
+would bind him to respect the despoilers of the British Museum was
+a point for subsequent consideration. Prudence demanded that he
+should investigate the offer at once and to cavil over Madame
+Ferraja&rsquo;s conditions would be fatal to that object. If the
+coins were, as there seemed little reason to doubt, the proceeds of
+the robbery, a modest ransom might be the safest way of preserving
+irreplaceable treasures, and in that case Carrados could offer his
+services as the necessary intermediary.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I give you the promise you require, Madame,&rdquo; he
+accordingly declared.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is sufficient,&rdquo; assented Madame. &ldquo;I will
+now take you to the spot. It is necessary that you alone should
+accompany me, for my husband is so distraught in this country,
+where he understands not a word of what is spoken, that his poor
+spirit would cry &lsquo;We are surrounded!&rsquo; if he saw two
+strangers approach the house. Oh, he is become most dreadful in his
+anxiety, my husband. Imagine only, he keeps on the fire a cauldron
+of molten lead and he would not hesitate to plunge into it this
+treasure and obliterate its existence if he imagined himself
+endangered.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So,&rdquo; speculated Carrados inwardly. &ldquo;A likely
+precaution for a simple vine-grower of Calabria! Very well,&rdquo;
+he assented aloud, &ldquo;I will go with you alone. Where is the
+place?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Madame Ferraja searched in the ancient purse that she discovered
+in her rusty handbag and produced a scrap of paper.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;People do not understand sometimes my way of saying
+it,&rdquo; she explained. &ldquo;<i>Sette</i>,
+Herringbone&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;May I&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo; said Carrados, stretching out
+his hand. He took the paper and touched the writing with his
+finger-tips. &ldquo;Oh yes, 7 Heronsbourne Place. That is on the
+edge of Heronsbourne Park, is it not?&rdquo; He transferred the
+paper casually to his desk as he spoke and stood up. &ldquo;How did
+you come, Madame Ferraja?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Madame Ferraja followed the careless action with a discreet
+smile that did not touch her voice.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;By motor bus&mdash;first one then another, inquiring at
+every turning. Oh, but it was interminable,&rdquo; sighed the
+lady.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My driver is off for the evening&mdash;I did not expect
+to be going out&mdash;but I will &rsquo;phone up a taxi and it will
+be at the gate as soon as we are.&rdquo; He despatched the message
+and then, turning to the house telephone, switched on to
+Greatorex.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just going round to Heronsbourne Park,&rdquo;
+he explained. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t stay, Greatorex, but if anyone
+calls expecting to see me, they can say that I don&rsquo;t
+anticipate being away more than an hour.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Parkinson was hovering about the hall. With quite novel
+officiousness he pressed upon his master a succession of articles
+that were not required. Over this usually complacent attendant the
+unattractive features of Madame Ferraja appeared to exercise a
+stealthy fascination, for a dozen times the lady detected his eyes
+questioning her face and a dozen times he looked guiltily away
+again. But his incongruities could not delay for more than a few
+minutes the opening of the door.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I do not accompany you, sir?&rdquo; he inquired, with the
+suggestion plainly tendered in his voice that it would be much
+better if he did.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not this time, Parkinson.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very well, sir. Is there any particular address to which
+we can telephone in case you are required, sir?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr Greatorex has instructions.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Parkinson stood aside, his resources exhausted. Madame Ferraja
+laughed a little mockingly as they walked down the drive.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Your man-servant thinks I may eat you, Signor
+Carrados,&rdquo; she declared vivaciously.</p>
+<p>Carrados, who held the key of his usually exact
+attendant&rsquo;s perturbation&mdash;for he himself had recognized
+in Madame Ferraja the angelic Nina Brun, of the Sicilian
+tetradrachm incident, from the moment she opened her
+mouth&mdash;admitted to himself the humour of her audacity. But it
+was not until half-an-hour later that enlightenment rewarded
+Parkinson. Inspector Beedel had just arrived and was speaking with
+Greatorex when the conscientious valet, who had been winnowing his
+memory in solitude, broke in upon them, more distressed than either
+had ever seen him in his life before, and with the breathless
+introduction: &ldquo;It was the ears, sir! I have her ears at
+last!&rdquo; poured out his tale of suspicion, recognition and his
+present fears.</p>
+<p>In the meanwhile the two objects of his concern had reached the
+gate as the summoned taxicab drew up.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Seven Heronsbourne Place,&rdquo; called Carrados to the
+driver.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, no,&rdquo; interposed the lady, with decision,
+&ldquo;let him stop at the beginning of the street. It is not far
+to walk. My husband would be on the verge of distraction if he
+thought in the dark that it was the arrival of the
+police;&mdash;who knows?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Brackedge Road, opposite the end of Heronsbourne
+Place,&rdquo; amended Carrados.</p>
+<p>Heronsbourne Place had the reputation, among those who were
+curious in such matters, of being the most reclusive residential
+spot inside the four-mile circle. To earn that distinction it was,
+needless to say, a cul-de-sac. It bounded one side of Heronsbourne
+Park but did not at any point of its length give access to that
+pleasance. It was entirely devoted to unostentatious little houses,
+something between the villa and the cottage, some detached and some
+in pairs, but all possessing the endowment of larger, more
+umbrageous gardens than can generally be secured within the radius.
+The local house agent described them as &ldquo;delightfully
+old-world&rdquo; or &ldquo;completely modernized&rdquo; according
+to the requirement of the applicant.</p>
+<p>The cab was dismissed at the corner and Madame Ferraja guided
+her companion along the silent and deserted way. She had begun to
+talk with renewed animation, but her ceaseless chatter only served
+to emphasize to Carrados the one fact that it was contrived to
+disguise.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am not causing you to miss the house with looking after
+me&mdash;No. 7, Madame Ferraja?&rdquo; he interposed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, certainly,&rdquo; she replied readily. &ldquo;It is a
+little farther. The numbers are from the other end. But we are
+there. <i>Ecco!</i>&rdquo;</p>
+<p>She stopped at a gate and opened it, still guiding him. They
+passed into a garden, moist and sweet-scented with the distillate
+odours of a dewy evening. As she turned to relatch the gate the
+blind man endeavoured politely to anticipate her. Between them his
+hat fell to the ground.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My clumsiness,&rdquo; he apologized, recovering it from
+the step. &ldquo;My old impulses and my present helplessness, alas,
+Madame Ferraja!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One learns prudence by experience,&rdquo; said Madame
+sagely. She was scarcely to know, poor lady, that even as she
+uttered this trite aphorism, under cover of darkness and his hat,
+Mr Carrados had just ruined his signet ring by blazoning a golden
+&ldquo;7&rdquo; upon her garden step to establish its identity if
+need be. A cul-de-sac that numbered from the closed end seemed to
+demand some investigation.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Seldom,&rdquo; he replied to her remark. &ldquo;One goes
+on taking risks. So we are there?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Madame Ferraja had opened the front door with a latchkey. She
+dropped the latch and led Carrados forward along the narrow hall.
+The room they entered was at the back of the house, and from the
+position of the road it therefore overlooked the park. Again the
+door was locked behind them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The celebrated Mr Carrados!&rdquo; announced Madame
+Ferraja, with a sparkle of triumph in her voice. She waved her hand
+towards a lean, dark man who had stood beside the door as they
+entered. &ldquo;My husband.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Beneath our poor roof in the most fraternal
+manner,&rdquo; commented the dark man, in the same derisive spirit.
+&ldquo;But it is wonderful.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The even more celebrated Monsieur Dompierre, unless I am
+mistaken?&rdquo; retorted Carrados blandly. &ldquo;I bow on our
+first real meeting.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You knew!&rdquo; exclaimed the Dompierre of the earlier
+incident incredulously. &ldquo;Stoker, you were right and I owe you
+a hundred lire. Who recognized you, Nina?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How should I know?&rdquo; demanded the real Madame
+Dompierre crossly. &ldquo;This blind man himself, by
+chance.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You pay a poor compliment to your charming wife&rsquo;s
+personality to imagine that one could forget her so soon,&rdquo;
+put in Carrados. &ldquo;And you a Frenchman, Dompierre!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You knew, Monsieur Carrados,&rdquo; reiterated Dompierre,
+&ldquo;and yet you ventured here. You are either a fool or a
+hero.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;An enthusiast&mdash;it is the same thing as both,&rdquo;
+interposed the lady. &ldquo;What did I tell you? What did it matter
+if he recognized? You see?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Surely you exaggerate, Monsieur Dompierre,&rdquo;
+contributed Carrados. &ldquo;I may yet pay tribute to your
+industry. Perhaps I regret the circumstance and the necessity but I
+am here to make the best of it. Let me see the things Madame has
+spoken of, and then we can consider the detail of their price,
+either for myself or on behalf of others.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>There was no immediate reply. From Dompierre came a saturnine
+chuckle and from Madame Dompierre a titter that accompanied a
+grimace. For one of the rare occasions in his life Carrados found
+himself wholly out of touch with the atmosphere of the situation.
+Instinctively he turned his face towards the other occupant of the
+room, the man addressed as &ldquo;Stoker,&rdquo; whom he knew to be
+standing near the window.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This unfortunate business <i>has</i> brought me an
+introduction,&rdquo; said a familiar voice.</p>
+<p>For one dreadful moment the universe stood still round Carrados.
+Then, with the crash and grind of overwhelming mental tumult, the
+whole strategy revealed itself, like the sections of a gigantic
+puzzle falling into place before his eyes.</p>
+<p>There had been no robbery at the British Museum! That plausible
+concoction was as fictitious as the intentionally transparent tale
+of treasure trove. Carrados recognized now how ineffective the one
+device would have been without the other in drawing him&mdash;how
+convincing the two together&mdash;and while smarting at the
+humiliation of his plight he could not restrain a dash of
+admiration at the ingenuity&mdash;the accurately conjectured line
+of inference&mdash;of the plot. It was again the familiar artifice
+of the cunning pitfall masked by the clumsily contrived trap just
+beyond it. And straightway into it he had blundered!</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And this,&rdquo; continued the same voice, &ldquo;is
+Carrados, Max Carrados, upon whose perspicuity a
+government&mdash;only the present government, let me in justice
+say&mdash;depends to outwit the undesirable alien! My country; O my
+country!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is it really Monsieur Carrados?&rdquo; inquired Dompierre
+in polite sarcasm. &ldquo;Are you sure, Nina, that you have not
+brought a man from Scotland Yard instead?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;<i>Basta!</i> he is here; what more do you want? Do not
+mock the poor sightless gentleman,&rdquo; answered Madame
+Dompierre, in doubtful sympathy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is exactly what I was wondering,&rdquo; ventured
+Carrados mildly. &ldquo;I am here&mdash;what more do you want?
+Perhaps you, Mr Stoker&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Excuse me. &lsquo;Stoker&rsquo; is a mere colloquial
+appellation based on a trifling incident of my career in connection
+with a disabled liner. The title illustrates the childish weakness
+of the criminal classes for nicknames, together with their pitiable
+baldness of invention. My real name is Montmorency, Mr
+Carrados&mdash;Eustace Montmorency.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thank you, Mr Montmorency,&rdquo; said Carrados gravely.
+&ldquo;We are on opposite sides of the table here to-night, but I
+should be proud to have been with you in the stokehold of the
+<i>Benvenuto</i>.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That was pleasure,&rdquo; muttered the Englishman.
+&ldquo;This is business.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, quite so,&rdquo; agreed Carrados. &ldquo;So far I am
+not exactly complaining. But I think it is high time to be
+told&mdash;and I address myself to you&mdash;why I have been
+decoyed here and what your purpose is.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr Montmorency turned to his accomplice.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dompierre,&rdquo; he remarked, with great clearness,
+&ldquo;why the devil is Mr Carrados kept standing?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ah, oh, heaven!&rdquo; exclaimed Madame Dompierre with
+tragic resignation, and flung herself down on a couch.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;<i>Scusi</i>,&rdquo; grinned the lean man, and with
+burlesque grace he placed a chair for their guest&rsquo;s
+acceptance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Your curiosity is natural,&rdquo; continued Mr
+Montmorency, with a cold eye towards Dompierre&rsquo;s antics,
+&ldquo;although I really think that by this time you ought to have
+guessed the truth. In fact, I don&rsquo;t doubt that you have
+guessed, Mr Carrados, and that you are only endeavouring to gain
+time. For that reason&mdash;because it will perhaps convince you
+that we have nothing to fear&mdash;I don&rsquo;t mind obliging
+you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Better hasten,&rdquo; murmured Dompierre uneasily.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thank you, Bill,&rdquo; said the Englishman, with genial
+effrontery. &ldquo;I won&rsquo;t fail to report your intelligence
+to the Rasojo. Yes, Mr Carrados, as you have already conjectured,
+it is the affair of the Countess X. to which you owe this
+inconvenience. You will appreciate the compliment that underlies
+your temporary seclusion, I am sure. When circumstances favoured
+our plans and London became the inevitable place of meeting, you
+and you alone stood in the way. We guessed that you would be
+consulted and we frankly feared your intervention. You were
+consulted. We know that Inspector Beedel visited you two days ago
+and he has no other case in hand. Your quiescence for just three
+days had to be obtained at any cost. So here you are.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I see,&rdquo; assented Carrados. &ldquo;And having got me
+here, how do you propose to keep me?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course that detail has received consideration. In fact
+we secured this furnished house solely with that in view. There are
+three courses before us. The first, quite pleasant, hangs on your
+acquiescence. The second, more drastic, comes into operation if you
+decline. The third&mdash;but really, Mr Carrados, I hope you
+won&rsquo;t oblige me even to discuss the third. You will
+understand that it is rather objectionable for me to contemplate
+the necessity of two able-bodied men having to use even the
+smallest amount of physical compulsion towards one who is blind and
+helpless. I hope you will be reasonable and accept the
+inevitable.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The inevitable is the one thing that I invariably
+accept,&rdquo; replied Carrados. &ldquo;What does it
+involve?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You will write a note to your secretary explaining that
+what you have learned at 7 Heronsbourne Place makes it necessary
+for you to go immediately abroad for a few days. By the way, Mr
+Carrados, although this is Heronsbourne Place it is <i>not</i> No.
+7.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dear, dear me,&rdquo; sighed the prisoner. &ldquo;You
+seem to have had me at every turn, Mr Montmorency.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;An obvious precaution. The wider course of giving you a
+different street altogether we rejected as being too risky in
+getting you here. To continue: To give conviction to the message
+you will direct your man Parkinson to follow by the first
+boat-train to-morrow, with all the requirements for a short stay,
+and put up at Mascot&rsquo;s, as usual, awaiting your arrival
+there.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very convincing,&rdquo; agreed Carrados. &ldquo;Where
+shall I be in reality?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In a charming though rather isolated bungalow on the
+south coast. Your wants will be attended to. There is a boat. You
+can row or fish. You will be run down by motor car and brought back
+to your own gate. It&rsquo;s really very pleasant for a few days.
+I&rsquo;ve often stayed there myself.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Your recommendation carries weight. Suppose, for the sake
+of curiosity, that I decline?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You will still go there but your treatment will be
+commensurate with your behaviour. The car to take you is at this
+moment waiting in a convenient spot on the other side of the park.
+We shall go down the garden at the back, cross the park, and put
+you into the car&mdash;anyway.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And if I resist?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The man whose pleasantry it had been to call himself Eustace
+Montmorency shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t be a fool,&rdquo; he said tolerantly.
+&ldquo;You know who you are dealing with and the kind of risks we
+run. If you call out or endanger us at a critical point we shall
+not hesitate to silence you effectively.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The blind man knew that it was no idle threat. In spite of the
+cloak of humour and fantasy thrown over the proceedings, he was in
+the power of coolly desperate men. The window was curtained and
+shuttered against sight and sound, the door behind him locked.
+Possibly at that moment a revolver threatened him; certainly
+weapons lay within reach of both his keepers.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Tell me what to write,&rdquo; he asked, with capitulation
+in his voice.</p>
+<p>Dompierre twirled his mustachios in relieved approval. Madame
+laughed from her place on the couch and picked up a book, watching
+Montmorency over the cover of its pages. As for that gentleman, he
+masked his satisfaction by the practical business of placing on the
+table before Carrados the accessories of the letter.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Put into your own words the message that I outlined just
+now.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps to make it altogether natural I had better write
+on a page of the notebook that I always use,&rdquo; suggested
+Carrados.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do you wish to make it natural?&rdquo; demanded
+Montmorency, with latent suspicion.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If the miscarriage of your plan is to result in my head
+being knocked&mdash;yes, I do,&rdquo; was the reply.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good!&rdquo; chuckled Dompierre, and sought to avoid Mr
+Montmorency&rsquo;s cold glance by turning on the electric
+table-lamp for the blind man&rsquo;s benefit. Madame Dompierre
+laughed shrilly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thank you, Monsieur,&rdquo; said Carrados, &ldquo;you
+have done quite right. What is light to you is warmth to
+me&mdash;heat, energy, inspiration. Now to business.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>He took out the pocket-book he had spoken of and leisurely
+proceeded to flatten it down upon the table before him. As his
+tranquil, pleasant eyes ranged the room meanwhile it was hard to
+believe that the shutters of an impenetrable darkness lay between
+them and the world. They rested for a moment on the two accomplices
+who stood beyond the table, picked out Madame Dompierre lolling on
+the sofa on his right, and measured the proportions of the long,
+narrow room. They seemed to note the positions of the window at the
+one end and the door almost at the other, and even to take into
+account the single pendent electric light which up till then had
+been the sole illuminant.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You prefer pencil?&rdquo; asked Montmorency.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I generally use it for casual purposes. But not,&rdquo;
+he added, touching the point critically, &ldquo;like
+this.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Alert for any sign of retaliation, they watched him take an
+insignificant penknife from his pocket and begin to trim the
+pencil. Was there in his mind any mad impulse to force conclusions
+with that puny weapon? Dompierre worked his face into a fiercer
+expression and touched reassuringly the handle of his knife.
+Montmorency looked on for a moment, then, whistling softly to
+himself, turned his back on the table and strolled towards the
+window, avoiding Madame Nina&rsquo;s pursuant eye.</p>
+<p>Then, with overwhelming suddenness, it came, and in its form
+altogether unexpected.</p>
+<p>Carrados had been putting the last strokes to the pencil,
+whittling it down upon the table. There had been no hasty movement,
+no violent act to give them warning; only the little blade had
+pushed itself nearer and nearer to the electric light cord lying
+there ... and suddenly and instantly the room was plunged into
+absolute darkness.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To the door, Dom!&rdquo; shouted Montmorency in a flash.
+&ldquo;I am at the window. Don&rsquo;t let him pass and we are all
+right.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am here,&rdquo; responded Dompierre from the door.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He will not attempt to pass,&rdquo; came the quiet voice
+of Carrados from across the room. &ldquo;You are now all exactly
+where I want you. You are both covered. If either moves an inch, I
+fire&mdash;and remember that I shoot by sound, not
+sight.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But&mdash;but what does it mean?&rdquo; stammered
+Montmorency, above the despairing wail of Madame Dompierre.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It means that we are now on equal terms&mdash;three blind
+men in a dark room. The numerical advantage that you possess is
+counterbalanced by the fact that you are out of your
+element&mdash;I am in mine.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dom,&rdquo; whispered Montmorency across the dark space,
+&ldquo;strike a match. I have none.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I would not, Dompierre, if I were you,&rdquo; advised
+Carrados, with a short laugh. &ldquo;It might be dangerous.&rdquo;
+At once his voice seemed to leap into a passion. &ldquo;Drop that
+matchbox,&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;You are standing on the brink of
+your grave, you fool! Drop it, I say; let me hear it
+fall.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>A breath of thought&mdash;almost too short to call a
+pause&mdash;then a little thud of surrender sounded from the carpet
+by the door. The two conspirators seemed to hold their breath.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is right.&rdquo; The placid voice once more resumed
+its sway. &ldquo;Why cannot things be agreeable? I hate to have to
+shout, but you seem far from grasping the situation yet. Remember
+that I do not take the slightest risk. Also please remember, Mr
+Montmorency, that the action even of a hair-trigger automatic
+scrapes slightly as it comes up. I remind you of that for your own
+good, because if you are so ill-advised as to think of trying to
+pot me in the dark, that noise gives me a fifth of a second start
+of you. Do you by any chance know Zinghi&rsquo;s in Mercer
+Street?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The shooting gallery?&rdquo; asked Mr Montmorency a
+little sulkily.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The same. If you happen to come through this alive and
+are interested you might ask Zinghi to show you a target of mine
+that he keeps. Seven shots at twenty yards, the target indicated by
+four watches, none of them so loud as the one you are wearing. He
+keeps it as a curiosity.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wear no watch,&rdquo; muttered Dompierre, expressing
+his thought aloud.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, Monsieur Dompierre, but you wear a heart, and that
+not on your sleeve,&rdquo; said Carrados. &ldquo;Just now it is
+quite as loud as Mr Montmorency&rsquo;s watch. It is more central
+too&mdash;I shall not have to allow any margin. That is right;
+breathe naturally&rdquo;&mdash;for the unhappy Dompierre had given
+a gasp of apprehension. &ldquo;It does not make any difference to
+me, and after a time holding one&rsquo;s breath becomes really
+painful.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Monsieur,&rdquo; declared Dompierre earnestly,
+&ldquo;there was no intention of submitting you to injury, I swear.
+This Englishman did but speak within his hat. At the most extreme
+you would have been but bound and gagged. Take care: killing is a
+dangerous game.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;For you&mdash;not for me,&rdquo; was the bland rejoinder.
+&ldquo;If you kill me you will be hanged for it. If I kill you I
+shall be honourably acquitted. You can imagine the scene&mdash;the
+sympathetic court&mdash;the recital of your villainies&mdash;the
+story of my indignities. Then with stumbling feet and groping hands
+the helpless blind man is led forward to give evidence. Sensation!
+No, no, it isn&rsquo;t really fair but I can kill you both with
+absolute certainty and Providence will be saddled with all the
+responsibility. Please don&rsquo;t fidget with your feet, Monsieur
+Dompierre. I know that you aren&rsquo;t moving but one is liable to
+make mistakes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Before I die,&rdquo; said Montmorency&mdash;and for some
+reason laughed unconvincingly in the dark&mdash;&ldquo;before I
+die, Mr Carrados, I should really like to know what has happened to
+the light. That, surely, isn&rsquo;t Providence?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Would it be ungenerous to suggest that you are trying to
+gain time? You ought to know what has happened. But as it may
+satisfy you that I have nothing to fear from delay, I don&rsquo;t
+mind telling you. In my hand was a sharp knife&mdash;contemptible,
+you were satisfied, as a weapon; beneath my nose the
+&lsquo;flex&rsquo; of the electric lamp. It was only necessary for
+me to draw the one across the other and the system was
+short-circuited. Every lamp on that fuse is cut off and in the
+distributing-box in the hall you will find a burned-out wire. You,
+perhaps&mdash;but Monsieur Dompierre&rsquo;s experience in plating
+ought to have put him up to simple electricity.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How did you know that there is a distributing-box in the
+hall?&rdquo; asked Dompierre, with dull resentment.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My dear Dompierre, why beat the air with futile
+questions?&rdquo; replied Max Carrados. &ldquo;What does it matter?
+Have it in the cellar if you like.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;True,&rdquo; interposed Montmorency. &ldquo;The only
+thing that need concern us now&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But it is in the hall&mdash;nine feet high,&rdquo;
+muttered Dompierre in bitterness. &ldquo;Yet he, this blind
+man&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The only thing that need concern us,&rdquo; repeated the
+Englishman, severely ignoring the interruption, &ldquo;is what you
+intend doing in the end, Mr Carrados?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The end is a little difficult to foresee,&rdquo; was the
+admission. &ldquo;So far, I am all for maintaining the <i>status
+quo</i>. Will the first grey light of morning find us still in this
+impasse? No, for between us we have condemned the room to eternal
+darkness. Probably about daybreak Dompierre will drop off to sleep
+and roll against the door. I, unfortunately mistaking his
+intention, will send a bullet through&mdash;&mdash;Pardon, Madame,
+I should have remembered&mdash;but pray don&rsquo;t
+move.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I protest, Monsieur&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t protest; just sit still. Very likely it will
+be Mr Montmorency who will fall off to sleep the first after
+all.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then we will anticipate that difficulty,&rdquo; said the
+one in question, speaking with renewed decision. &ldquo;We will
+play the last hand with our cards upon the table if you like. Nina,
+Mr Carrados will not injure you whatever happens&mdash;be sure of
+that. When the moment comes you will rise&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One word,&rdquo; put in Carrados with determination.
+&ldquo;My position is precarious and I take no risks. As you say, I
+cannot injure Madame Dompierre, and you two men are therefore my
+hostages for her good behaviour. If she rises from the couch you,
+Dompierre, fall. If she advances another step Mr Montmorency
+follows you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do nothing rash, <i>carissima</i>,&rdquo; urged her
+husband, with passionate solicitude. &ldquo;You might get hit in
+place of me. We will yet find a better way.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You dare not, Mr Carrados!&rdquo; flung out Montmorency,
+for the first time beginning to show signs of wear in this duel of
+the temper. &ldquo;He dare not, Dompierre. In cold blood and
+unprovoked! No jury would acquit you!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Another who fails to do you justice, Madame Nina,&rdquo;
+said the blind man, with ironic gallantry. &ldquo;The action might
+be a little high-handed, one admits, but when you, appropriately
+clothed and in your right complexion, stepped into the witness-box
+and I said: &lsquo;Gentlemen of the jury, what is my crime? That I
+made Madame Dompierre a widow!&rsquo; can you doubt their gratitude
+and my acquittal? Truly my countrymen are not all bats or monks,
+Madame.&rdquo; Dompierre was breathing with perfect freedom now,
+while from the couch came the sounds of stifled emotion, but
+whether the lady was involved in a paroxysm of sobs or of laughter
+it might be difficult to swear.</p>
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+<p>It was perhaps an hour after the flourish of the introduction
+with which Madame Dompierre had closed the door of the trap upon
+the blind man&rsquo;s entrance.</p>
+<p>The minutes had passed but the situation remained unchanged,
+though the ingenuity of certainly two of the occupants of the room
+had been tormented into shreds to discover a means of turning it to
+their advantage. So far the terrible omniscience of the blind man
+in the dark and the respect for his markmanship with which his
+coolness had inspired them, dominated the group. But one strong
+card yet remained to be played, and at last the moment came upon
+which the conspirators had pinned their despairing hopes.</p>
+<p>There was the sound of movement in the hall outside, not the
+first about the house, but towards the new complication Carrados
+had been strangely unobservant. True, Montmorency had talked rather
+loudly, to carry over the dangerous moments. But now there came an
+unmistakable step and to the accomplices it could only mean one
+thing. Montmorency was ready on the instant.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Down, Dom!&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;throw yourself down!
+Break in, Guido. Break in the door. We are held up!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>There was an immediate response. The door, under the pressure of
+a human battering-ram, burst open with a crash. On the threshold
+the intruders&mdash;four or five in number&mdash;stopped starkly
+for a moment, held in astonishment by the extraordinary scene that
+the light from the hall, and of their own bull&rsquo;s-eyes,
+revealed.</p>
+<p>Flat on their faces, to present the least possible surface to
+Carrados&rsquo;s aim, Dompierre and Montmorency lay extended beside
+the window and behind the door. On the couch, with her head buried
+beneath the cushions, Madame Dompierre sought to shut out the sight
+and sound of violence. Carrados&mdash;Carrados had not moved, but
+with arms resting on the table and fingers placidly locked together
+he smiled benignly on the new arrivals. His attitude, compared with
+the extravagance of those around him, gave the impression of a
+complacent modern deity presiding over some grotesque ceremonial of
+pagan worship.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So, Inspector, you could not wait for me, after
+all?&rdquo; was his greeting.</p>
+<p class="printersnote">THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITED, EDINBURGH</p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h4>TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE</h4>
+<p>Minor punctuation errors have been repaired. An inconsistency
+in the spelling of Messina/Messana (pages 269 and 274) has been
+retained.</p>
+<p>The following amendments have been made:</p>
+<ul>
+<li>Page 250&mdash;Carados amended to Carrados&mdash;&ldquo;&ldquo;True,?&rdquo; agreed Carrados.?&rdquo;</li>
+<li>Page 251&mdash;urning amended to turning&mdash;&ldquo;They walked through the
+house, and turning to the right ...?&rdquo;</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Max Carrados, by Ernest Bramah
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+</body>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Max Carrados, by Ernest Bramah
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
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+
+
+Title: Max Carrados
+
+Author: Ernest Bramah
+
+Release Date: December 23, 2010 [EBook #34732]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAX CARRADOS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Suzanne Shell, Megan Miller and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  MAX CARRADOS
+
+
+  By
+
+  Ernest Bramah
+
+
+  Methuen & Co., Ltd.
+
+  1914
+
+
+
+
+  CONTENTS
+
+
+                                          PAGE
+
+  THE COIN OF DIONYSIUS                      1
+
+  THE KNIGHT'S CROSS SIGNAL PROBLEM         25
+
+  THE TRAGEDY AT BROOKBEND COTTAGE          66
+
+  THE CLEVER MRS STRAITHWAITE               99
+
+  THE LAST EXPLOIT OF HARRY THE ACTOR      138
+
+  THE TILLING SHAW MYSTERY                 187
+
+  THE COMEDY AT FOUNTAIN COTTAGE           224
+
+  THE GAME PLAYED IN THE DARK              262
+
+
+
+
+MAX CARRADOS
+
+
+
+
+THE COIN OF DIONYSIUS
+
+
+It was eight o'clock at night and raining, scarcely a time when a
+business so limited in its clientele as that of a coin dealer could hope
+to attract any customer, but a light was still showing in the small shop
+that bore over its window the name of Baxter, and in the even smaller
+office at the back the proprietor himself sat reading the latest _Pall
+Mall_. His enterprise seemed to be justified, for presently the door
+bell gave its announcement, and throwing down his paper Mr Baxter went
+forward.
+
+As a matter of fact the dealer had been expecting someone and his manner
+as he passed into the shop was unmistakably suggestive of a caller of
+importance. But at the first glance towards his visitor the excess of
+deference melted out of his bearing, leaving the urbane, self-possessed
+shopman in the presence of the casual customer.
+
+"Mr Baxter, I think?" said the latter. He had laid aside his dripping
+umbrella and was unbuttoning overcoat and coat to reach an inner pocket.
+"You hardly remember me, I suppose? Mr Carlyle--two years ago I took up
+a case for you----"
+
+"To be sure. Mr Carlyle, the private detective----"
+
+"Inquiry agent," corrected Mr Carlyle precisely.
+
+"Well," smiled Mr Baxter, "for that matter I am a coin dealer and not an
+antiquarian or a numismatist. Is there anything in that way that I can
+do for you?"
+
+"Yes," replied his visitor; "it is my turn to consult you." He had taken
+a small wash-leather bag from the inner pocket and now turned something
+carefully out upon the counter. "What can you tell me about that?"
+
+The dealer gave the coin a moment's scrutiny.
+
+"There is no question about this," he replied. "It is a Sicilian
+tetradrachm of Dionysius."
+
+"Yes, I know that--I have it on the label out of the cabinet. I can tell
+you further that it's supposed to be one that Lord Seastoke gave two
+hundred and fifty pounds for at the Brice sale in '94."
+
+"It seems to me that you can tell me more about it than I can tell you,"
+remarked Mr Baxter. "What is it that you really want to know?"
+
+"I want to know," replied Mr Carlyle, "whether it is genuine or not."
+
+"Has any doubt been cast upon it?"
+
+"Certain circumstances raised a suspicion--that is all."
+
+The dealer took another look at the tetradrachm through his magnifying
+glass, holding it by the edge with the careful touch of an expert. Then
+he shook his head slowly in a confession of ignorance.
+
+"Of course I could make a guess----"
+
+"No, don't," interrupted Mr Carlyle hastily. "An arrest hangs on it and
+nothing short of certainty is any good to me."
+
+"Is that so, Mr Carlyle?" said Mr Baxter, with increased interest.
+"Well, to be quite candid, the thing is out of my line. Now if it was a
+rare Saxon penny or a doubtful noble I'd stake my reputation on my
+opinion, but I do very little in the classical series."
+
+Mr Carlyle did not attempt to conceal his disappointment as he returned
+the coin to the bag and replaced the bag in the inner pocket.
+
+"I had been relying on you," he grumbled reproachfully. "Where on earth
+am I to go now?"
+
+"There is always the British Museum."
+
+"Ah, to be sure, thanks. But will anyone who can tell me be there now?"
+
+"Now? No fear!" replied Mr Baxter. "Go round in the morning----"
+
+"But I must know to-night," explained the visitor, reduced to despair
+again. "To-morrow will be too late for the purpose."
+
+Mr Baxter did not hold out much encouragement in the circumstances.
+
+"You can scarcely expect to find anyone at business now," he remarked.
+"I should have been gone these two hours myself only I happened to have
+an appointment with an American millionaire who fixed his own time."
+Something indistinguishable from a wink slid off Mr Baxter's right eye.
+"Offmunson he's called, and a bright young pedigree-hunter has traced
+his descent from Offa, King of Mercia. So he--quite naturally--wants a
+set of Offas as a sort of collateral proof."
+
+"Very interesting," murmured Mr Carlyle, fidgeting with his watch. "I
+should love an hour's chat with you about your millionaire
+customers--some other time. Just now--look here, Baxter, can't you give
+me a line of introduction to some dealer in this sort of thing who
+happens to live in town? You must know dozens of experts."
+
+"Why, bless my soul, Mr Carlyle, I don't know a man of them away from
+his business," said Mr Baxter, staring. "They may live in Park Lane or
+they may live in Petticoat Lane for all I know. Besides, there aren't so
+many experts as you seem to imagine. And the two best will very likely
+quarrel over it. You've had to do with 'expert witnesses,' I suppose?"
+
+"I don't want a witness; there will be no need to give evidence. All I
+want is an absolutely authoritative pronouncement that I can act on. Is
+there no one who can really say whether the thing is genuine or not?"
+
+Mr Baxter's meaning silence became cynical in its implication as he
+continued to look at his visitor across the counter. Then he relaxed.
+
+"Stay a bit; there is a man--an amateur--I remember hearing wonderful
+things about some time ago. They say he really does know."
+
+"There you are," exclaimed Mr Carlyle, much relieved. "There always is
+someone. Who is he?"
+
+"Funny name," replied Baxter. "Something Wynn or Wynn something." He
+craned his neck to catch sight of an important motor car that was
+drawing to the kerb before his window. "Wynn Carrados! You'll excuse me
+now, Mr Carlyle, won't you? This looks like Mr Offmunson."
+
+Mr Carlyle hastily scribbled the name down on his cuff.
+
+"Wynn Carrados, right. Where does he live?"
+
+"Haven't the remotest idea," replied Baxter, referring the arrangement
+of his tie to the judgment of the wall mirror. "I have never seen the
+man myself. Now, Mr Carlyle, I'm sorry I can't do any more for you. You
+won't mind, will you?"
+
+Mr Carlyle could not pretend to misunderstand. He enjoyed the
+distinction of holding open the door for the transatlantic
+representative of the line of Offa as he went out, and then made his way
+through the muddy streets back to his office. There was only one way of
+tracing a private individual at such short notice--through the pages of
+the directories, and the gentleman did not flatter himself by a very
+high estimate of his chances.
+
+Fortune favoured him, however. He very soon discovered a Wynn Carrados
+living at Richmond, and, better still, further search failed to unearth
+another. There was, apparently, only one householder at all events of
+that name in the neighbourhood of London. He jotted down the address and
+set out for Richmond.
+
+The house was some distance from the station, Mr Carlyle learned. He
+took a taxicab and drove, dismissing the vehicle at the gate. He prided
+himself on his power of observation and the accuracy of the deductions
+which resulted from it--a detail of his business. "It's nothing more
+than using one's eyes and putting two and two together," he would
+modestly declare, when he wished to be deprecatory rather than
+impressive, and by the time he had reached the front door of "The
+Turrets" he had formed some opinion of the position and tastes of the
+man who lived there.
+
+A man-servant admitted Mr Carlyle and took in his card--his private card
+with the bare request for an interview that would not detain Mr Carrados
+for ten minutes. Luck still favoured him; Mr Carrados was at home and
+would see him at once. The servant, the hall through which they passed,
+and the room into which he was shown, all contributed something to the
+deductions which the quietly observant gentleman was half unconsciously
+recording.
+
+"Mr Carlyle," announced the servant.
+
+The room was a library or study. The only occupant, a man of about
+Carlyle's own age, had been using a typewriter up to the moment of his
+visitor's entrance. He now turned and stood up with an expression of
+formal courtesy.
+
+"It's very good of you to see me at this hour," apologized the caller.
+
+The conventional expression of Mr Carrados's face changed a little.
+
+"Surely my man has got your name wrong?" he exclaimed. "Isn't it Louis
+Calling?"
+
+The visitor stopped short and his agreeable smile gave place to a sudden
+flash of anger or annoyance.
+
+"No, sir," he replied stiffly. "My name is on the card which you have
+before you."
+
+"I beg your pardon," said Mr Carrados, with perfect good-humour. "I
+hadn't seen it. But I used to know a Calling some years ago--at St
+Michael's."
+
+"St Michael's!" Mr Carlyle's features underwent another change, no less
+instant and sweeping than before. "St Michael's! Wynn Carrados? Good
+heavens! it isn't Max Wynn--old 'Winning' Wynn?"
+
+"A little older and a little fatter--yes," replied Carrados. "I _have_
+changed my name, you see."
+
+"Extraordinary thing meeting like this," said his visitor, dropping into
+a chair and staring hard at Mr Carrados. "I have changed more than my
+name. How did you recognize me?"
+
+"The voice," replied Carrados. "It took me back to that little
+smoke-dried attic den of yours where we----"
+
+"My God!" exclaimed Carlyle bitterly, "don't remind me of what we were
+going to do in those days." He looked round the well-furnished, handsome
+room and recalled the other signs of wealth that he had noticed. "At all
+events, you seem fairly comfortable, Wynn."
+
+"I am alternately envied and pitied," replied Carrados, with a placid
+tolerance of circumstance that seemed characteristic of him. "Still, as
+you say, I am fairly comfortable."
+
+"Envied, I can understand. But why are you pitied?"
+
+"Because I am blind," was the tranquil reply.
+
+"Blind!" exclaimed Mr Carlyle, using his own eyes superlatively. "Do you
+mean--literally blind?"
+
+"Literally.... I was riding along a bridle-path through a wood about a
+dozen years ago with a friend. He was in front. At one point a twig
+sprang back--you know how easily a thing like that happens. It just
+flicked my eye--nothing to think twice about."
+
+"And that blinded you?"
+
+"Yes, ultimately. It's called amaurosis."
+
+"I can scarcely believe it. You seem so sure and self-reliant. Your eyes
+are full of expression--only a little quieter than they used to be. I
+believe you were typing when I came.... Aren't you having me?"
+
+"You miss the dog and the stick?" smiled Carrados. "No; it's a fact."
+
+"What an awful infliction for you, Max. You were always such an
+impulsive, reckless sort of fellow--never quiet. You must miss such a
+fearful lot."
+
+"Has anyone else recognized you?" asked Carrados quietly.
+
+"Ah, that was the voice, you said," replied Carlyle.
+
+"Yes; but other people heard the voice as well. Only I had no
+blundering, self-confident eyes to be hoodwinked."
+
+"That's a rum way of putting it," said Carlyle. "Are your ears never
+hoodwinked, may I ask?"
+
+"Not now. Nor my fingers. Nor any of my other senses that have to look
+out for themselves."
+
+"Well, well," murmured Mr Carlyle, cut short in his sympathetic
+emotions. "I'm glad you take it so well. Of course, if you find it an
+advantage to be blind, old man----" He stopped and reddened. "I beg your
+pardon," he concluded stiffly.
+
+"Not an advantage perhaps," replied the other thoughtfully. "Still it
+has compensations that one might not think of. A new world to explore,
+new experiences, new powers awakening; strange new perceptions; life in
+the fourth dimension. But why do you beg my pardon, Louis?"
+
+"I am an ex-solicitor, struck off in connexion with the falsifying of a
+trust account, Mr Carrados," replied Carlyle, rising.
+
+"Sit down, Louis," said Carrados suavely. His face, even his incredibly
+living eyes, beamed placid good-nature. "The chair on which you will
+sit, the roof above you, all the comfortable surroundings to which you
+have so amiably alluded, are the direct result of falsifying a trust
+account. But do I call you 'Mr Carlyle' in consequence? Certainly not,
+Louis."
+
+"I did not falsify the account," cried Carlyle hotly. He sat down,
+however, and added more quietly: "But why do I tell you all this? I have
+never spoken of it before."
+
+"Blindness invites confidence," replied Carrados. "We are out of the
+running--human rivalry ceases to exist. Besides, why shouldn't you? In
+my case the account _was_ falsified."
+
+"Of course that's all bunkum, Max," commented Carlyle. "Still, I
+appreciate your motive."
+
+"Practically everything I possess was left to me by an American cousin,
+on the condition that I took the name of Carrados. He made his fortune
+by an ingenious conspiracy of doctoring the crop reports and unloading
+favourably in consequence. And I need hardly remind you that the
+receiver is equally guilty with the thief."
+
+"But twice as safe. I know something of that, Max.... Have you any idea
+what my business is?"
+
+"You shall tell me," replied Carrados.
+
+"I run a private inquiry agency. When I lost my profession I had to do
+something for a living. This occurred. I dropped my name, changed my
+appearance and opened an office. I knew the legal side down to the
+ground and I got a retired Scotland Yard man to organize the outside
+work."
+
+"Excellent!" cried Carrados. "Do you unearth many murders?"
+
+"No," admitted Mr Carlyle; "our business lies mostly on the conventional
+lines among divorce and defalcation."
+
+"That's a pity," remarked Carrados. "Do you know, Louis, I always had a
+secret ambition to be a detective myself. I have even thought lately
+that I might still be able to do something at it if the chance came my
+way. That makes you smile?"
+
+"Well, certainly, the idea----"
+
+"Yes, the idea of a blind detective--the blind tracking the alert----"
+
+"Of course, as you say, certain faculties are no doubt quickened," Mr
+Carlyle hastened to add considerately, "but, seriously, with the
+exception of an artist, I don't suppose there is any man who is more
+utterly dependent on his eyes."
+
+Whatever opinion Carrados might have held privately, his genial exterior
+did not betray a shadow of dissent. For a full minute he continued to
+smoke as though he derived an actual visual enjoyment from the blue
+sprays that travelled and dispersed across the room. He had already
+placed before his visitor a box containing cigars of a brand which that
+gentleman keenly appreciated but generally regarded as unattainable, and
+the matter-of-fact ease and certainty with which the blind man had
+brought the box and put it before him had sent a questioning flicker
+through Carlyle's mind.
+
+"You used to be rather fond of art yourself, Louis," he remarked
+presently. "Give me your opinion of my latest purchase--the bronze lion
+on the cabinet there." Then, as Carlyle's gaze went about the room, he
+added quickly: "No, not that cabinet--the one on your left."
+
+Carlyle shot a sharp glance at his host as he got up, but Carrados's
+expression was merely benignly complacent. Then he strolled across to
+the figure.
+
+"Very nice," he admitted. "Late Flemish, isn't it?"
+
+"No. It is a copy of Vidal's 'Roaring lion.'"
+
+"Vidal?"
+
+"A French artist." The voice became indescribably flat. "He, also, had
+the misfortune to be blind, by the way."
+
+"You old humbug, Max!" shrieked Carlyle, "you've been thinking that out
+for the last five minutes." Then the unfortunate man bit his lip and
+turned his back towards his host.
+
+"Do you remember how we used to pile it up on that obtuse ass Sanders
+and then roast him?" asked Carrados, ignoring the half-smothered
+exclamation with which the other man had recalled himself.
+
+"Yes," replied Carlyle quietly. "This is very good," he continued,
+addressing himself to the bronze again. "How ever did he do it?"
+
+"With his hands."
+
+"Naturally. But, I mean, how did he study his model?"
+
+"Also with his hands. He called it 'seeing near.'"
+
+"Even with a lion--handled it?"
+
+"In such cases he required the services of a keeper, who brought the
+animal to bay while Vidal exercised his own particular gifts.... You
+don't feel inclined to put me on the track of a mystery, Louis?"
+
+Unable to regard this request as anything but one of old Max's
+unquenchable pleasantries, Mr Carlyle was on the point of making a
+suitable reply when a sudden thought caused him to smile knowingly. Up
+to that point he had, indeed, completely forgotten the object of his
+visit. Now that he remembered the doubtful Dionysius and Mr Baxter's
+recommendation he immediately assumed that some mistake had been made.
+Either Max was not the Wynn Carrados he had been seeking or else the
+dealer had been misinformed; for although his host was wonderfully
+expert in the face of his misfortune, it was inconceivable that he could
+decide the genuineness of a coin without seeing it. The opportunity
+seemed a good one of getting even with Carrados by taking him at his
+word.
+
+"Yes," he accordingly replied, with crisp deliberation, as he recrossed
+the room; "yes, I will, Max. Here is the clue to what seems to be a
+rather remarkable fraud." He put the tetradrachm into his host's hand.
+"What do you make of it?"
+
+For a few seconds Carrados handled the piece with the delicate
+manipulation of his finger-tips while Carlyle looked on with a
+self-appreciative grin. Then with equal gravity the blind man weighed
+the coin in the balance of his hand. Finally he touched it with his
+tongue.
+
+"Well?" demanded the other.
+
+"Of course I have not much to go on, and if I was more fully in your
+confidence I might come to another conclusion----"
+
+"Yes, yes," interposed Carlyle, with amused encouragement.
+
+"Then I should advise you to arrest the parlourmaid, Nina Brun,
+communicate with the police authorities of Padua for particulars of the
+career of Helene Brunesi, and suggest to Lord Seastoke that he should
+return to London to see what further depredations have been made in his
+cabinet."
+
+Mr Carlyle's groping hand sought and found a chair, on to which he
+dropped blankly. His eyes were unable to detach themselves for a single
+moment from the very ordinary spectacle of Mr Carrados's mildly
+benevolent face, while the sterilized ghost of his now forgotten
+amusement still lingered about his features.
+
+"Good heavens!" he managed to articulate, "how do you know?"
+
+"Isn't that what you wanted of me?" asked Carrados suavely.
+
+"Don't humbug, Max," said Carlyle severely. "This is no joke." An
+undefined mistrust of his own powers suddenly possessed him in the
+presence of this mystery. "How do you come to know of Nina Brun and Lord
+Seastoke?"
+
+"You are a detective, Louis," replied Carrados. "How does one know these
+things? By using one's eyes and putting two and two together."
+
+Carlyle groaned and flung out an arm petulantly.
+
+"Is it all bunkum, Max? Do you really see all the time--though that
+doesn't go very far towards explaining it."
+
+"Like Vidal, I see very well--at close quarters," replied Carrados,
+lightly running a forefinger along the inscription on the tetradrachm.
+"For longer range I keep another pair of eyes. Would you like to test
+them?"
+
+Mr Carlyle's assent was not very gracious; it was, in fact, faintly
+sulky. He was suffering the annoyance of feeling distinctly unimpressive
+in his own department; but he was also curious.
+
+"The bell is just behind you, if you don't mind," said his host.
+"Parkinson will appear. You might take note of him while he is in."
+
+The man who had admitted Mr Carlyle proved to be Parkinson.
+
+"This gentleman is Mr Carlyle, Parkinson," explained Carrados the moment
+the man entered. "You will remember him for the future?"
+
+Parkinson's apologetic eye swept the visitor from head to foot, but so
+lightly and swiftly that it conveyed to that gentleman the comparison
+of being very deftly dusted.
+
+"I will endeavour to do so, sir," replied Parkinson, turning again to
+his master.
+
+"I shall be at home to Mr Carlyle whenever he calls. That is all."
+
+"Very well, sir."
+
+"Now, Louis," remarked Mr Carrados briskly, when the door had closed
+again, "you have had a good opportunity of studying Parkinson. What is
+he like?"
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"I mean as a matter of description. I am a blind man--I haven't seen my
+servant for twelve years--what idea can you give me of him? I asked you
+to notice."
+
+"I know you did, but your Parkinson is the sort of man who has very
+little about him to describe. He is the embodiment of the ordinary. His
+height is about average----"
+
+"Five feet nine," murmured Carrados. "Slightly above the mean."
+
+"Scarcely noticeably so. Clean-shaven. Medium brown hair. No
+particularly marked features. Dark eyes. Good teeth."
+
+"False," interposed Carrados. "The teeth--not the statement."
+
+"Possibly," admitted Mr Carlyle. "I am not a dental expert and I had no
+opportunity of examining Mr Parkinson's mouth in detail. But what is
+the drift of all this?"
+
+"His clothes?"
+
+"Oh, just the ordinary evening dress of a valet. There is not much room
+for variety in that."
+
+"You noticed, in fact, nothing special by which Parkinson could be
+identified?"
+
+"Well, he wore an unusually broad gold ring on the little finger of the
+left hand."
+
+"But that is removable. And yet Parkinson has an ineradicable mole--a
+small one, I admit--on his chin. And you a human sleuth-hound. Oh,
+Louis!"
+
+"At all events," retorted Carlyle, writhing a little under this
+good-humoured satire, although it was easy enough to see in it
+Carrados's affectionate intention--"at all events, I dare say I can give
+as good a description of Parkinson as he can give of me."
+
+"That is what we are going to test. Ring the bell again."
+
+"Seriously?"
+
+"Quite. I am trying my eyes against yours. If I can't give you fifty out
+of a hundred I'll renounce my private detectorial ambition for ever."
+
+"It isn't quite the same," objected Carlyle, but he rang the bell.
+
+"Come in and close the door, Parkinson," said Carrados when the man
+appeared. "Don't look at Mr Carlyle again--in fact, you had better stand
+with your back towards him, he won't mind. Now describe to me his
+appearance as you observed it."
+
+Parkinson tendered his respectful apologies to Mr Carlyle for the
+liberty he was compelled to take, by the deferential quality of his
+voice.
+
+"Mr Carlyle, sir, wears patent leather boots of about size seven and
+very little used. There are five buttons, but on the left boot one
+button--the third up--is missing, leaving loose threads and not the more
+usual metal fastener. Mr Carlyle's trousers, sir, are of a dark
+material, a dark grey line of about a quarter of an inch width on a
+darker ground. The bottoms are turned permanently up and are, just now,
+a little muddy, if I may say so."
+
+"Very muddy," interposed Mr Carlyle generously. "It is a wet night,
+Parkinson."
+
+"Yes, sir; very unpleasant weather. If you will allow me, sir, I will
+brush you in the hall. The mud is dry now, I notice. Then, sir,"
+continued Parkinson, reverting to the business in hand, "there are dark
+green cashmere hose. A curb-pattern key-chain passes into the left-hand
+trouser pocket."
+
+From the visitor's nether garments the photographic-eyed Parkinson
+proceeded to higher ground, and with increasing wonder Mr Carlyle
+listened to the faithful catalogue of his possessions. His
+fetter-and-link albert of gold and platinum was minutely described. His
+spotted blue ascot, with its gentlemanly pearl scarfpin, was set forth,
+and the fact that the buttonhole in the left lapel of his morning coat
+showed signs of use was duly noted. What Parkinson saw he recorded but
+he made no deductions. A handkerchief carried in the cuff of the right
+sleeve was simply that to him and not an indication that Mr Carlyle was,
+indeed, left-handed.
+
+But a more delicate part of Parkinson's undertaking remained. He
+approached it with a double cough.
+
+"As regards Mr Carlyle's personal appearance; sir----"
+
+"No, enough!" cried the gentleman concerned hastily. "I am more than
+satisfied. You are a keen observer, Parkinson."
+
+"I have trained myself to suit my master's requirements, sir," replied
+the man. He looked towards Mr Carrados, received a nod and withdrew.
+
+Mr Carlyle was the first to speak.
+
+"That man of yours would be worth five pounds a week to me, Max," he
+remarked thoughtfully. "But, of course----"
+
+"I don't think that he would take it," replied Carrados, in a voice of
+equally detached speculation. "He suits me very well. But you have the
+chance of using his services--indirectly."
+
+"You still mean that--seriously?"
+
+"I notice in you a chronic disinclination to take me seriously, Louis.
+It is really--to an Englishman--almost painful. Is there something
+inherently comic about me or the atmosphere of The Turrets?"
+
+"No, my friend," replied Mr Carlyle, "but there is something
+essentially prosperous. That is what points to the improbable. Now what
+is it?"
+
+"It might be merely a whim, but it is more than that," replied Carrados.
+"It is, well, partly vanity, partly _ennui_, partly"--certainly there
+was something more nearly tragic in his voice than comic now--"partly
+hope."
+
+Mr Carlyle was too tactful to pursue the subject.
+
+"Those are three tolerable motives," he acquiesced. "I'll do anything
+you want, Max, on one condition."
+
+"Agreed. And it is?"
+
+"That you tell me how you knew so much of this affair." He tapped the
+silver coin which lay on the table near them. "I am not easily
+flabbergasted," he added.
+
+"You won't believe that there is nothing to explain--that it was purely
+second-sight?"
+
+"No," replied Carlyle tersely; "I won't."
+
+"You are quite right. And yet the thing is very simple."
+
+"They always are--when you know," soliloquized the other. "That's what
+makes them so confoundedly difficult when you don't."
+
+"Here is this one then. In Padua, which seems to be regaining its old
+reputation as the birthplace of spurious antiques, by the way, there
+lives an ingenious craftsman named Pietro Stelli. This simple soul, who
+possesses a talent not inferior to that of Cavino at his best, has for
+many years turned his hand to the not unprofitable occupation of
+forging rare Greek and Roman coins. As a collector and student of
+certain Greek colonials and a specialist in forgeries I have been
+familiar with Stelli's workmanship for years. Latterly he seems to have
+come under the influence of an international crook called--at the
+moment--Dompierre, who soon saw a way of utilizing Stelli's genius on a
+royal scale. Helene Brunesi, who in private life is--and really is, I
+believe--Madame Dompierre, readily lent her services to the enterprise."
+
+"Quite so," nodded Mr Carlyle, as his host paused.
+
+"You see the whole sequence, of course?"
+
+"Not exactly--not in detail," confessed Mr Carlyle.
+
+"Dompierre's idea was to gain access to some of the most celebrated
+cabinets of Europe and substitute Stelli's fabrications for the genuine
+coins. The princely collection of rarities that he would thus amass
+might be difficult to dispose of safely but I have no doubt that he had
+matured his plans. Helene, in the person of Nina Bran, an Anglicised
+French parlourmaid--a part which she fills to perfection--was to obtain
+wax impressions of the most valuable pieces and to make the exchange
+when the counterfeits reached her. In this way it was obviously hoped
+that the fraud would not come to light until long after the real coins
+had been sold, and I gather that she has already done her work
+successfully in several houses. Then, impressed by her excellent
+references and capable manner, my housekeeper engaged her, and for a few
+weeks she went about her duties here. It was fatal to this detail of
+the scheme, however, that I have the misfortune to be blind. I am told
+that Helene has so innocently angelic a face as to disarm suspicion, but
+I was incapable of being impressed and that good material was thrown
+away. But one morning my material fingers--which, of course, knew
+nothing of Helene's angelic face--discovered an unfamiliar touch about
+the surface of my favourite Euclideas, and, although there was doubtless
+nothing to be seen, my critical sense of smell reported that wax had
+been recently pressed against it. I began to make discreet inquiries and
+in the meantime my cabinets went to the local bank for safety. Helene
+countered by receiving a telegram from Angiers, calling her to the
+death-bed of her aged mother. The aged mother succumbed; duty compelled
+Helene to remain at the side of her stricken patriarchal father, and
+doubtless The Turrets was written off the syndicate's operations as a
+bad debt."
+
+"Very interesting," admitted Mr Carlyle; "but at the risk of seeming
+obtuse"--his manner had become delicately chastened--"I must say that I
+fail to trace the inevitable connexion between Nina Brun and this
+particular forgery--assuming that it is a forgery."
+
+"Set your mind at rest about that, Louis," replied Carrados. "It is a
+forgery, and it is a forgery that none but Pietro Stelli could have
+achieved. That is the essential connexion. Of course, there are
+accessories. A private detective coming urgently to see me with a
+notable tetradrachm in his pocket, which he announces to be the clue to
+a remarkable fraud--well, really, Louis, one scarcely needs to be blind
+to see through that."
+
+"And Lord Seastoke? I suppose you happened to discover that Nina Brun
+had gone there?"
+
+"No, I cannot claim to have discovered that, or I should certainly have
+warned him at once when I found out--only recently--about the gang. As a
+matter of fact, the last information I had of Lord Seastoke was a line
+in yesterday's _Morning Post_ to the effect that he was still at Cairo.
+But many of these pieces----" He brushed his finger almost lovingly
+across the vivid chariot race that embellished the reverse of the coin,
+and broke off to remark: "You really ought to take up the subject,
+Louis. You have no idea how useful it might prove to you some day."
+
+"I really think I must," replied Carlyle grimly. "Two hundred and fifty
+pounds the original of this cost, I believe."
+
+"Cheap, too; it would make five hundred pounds in New York to-day. As I
+was saying, many are literally unique. This gem by Kimon is--here is his
+signature, you see; Peter is particularly good at lettering--and as I
+handled the genuine tetradrachm about two years ago, when Lord Seastoke
+exhibited it at a meeting of our society in Albemarle Street, there is
+nothing at all wonderful in my being able to fix the locale of your
+mystery. Indeed, I feel that I ought to apologize for it all being so
+simple."
+
+"I think," remarked Mr Carlyle, critically examining the loose threads
+on his left boot, "that the apology on that head would be more
+appropriate from me."
+
+
+
+
+THE KNIGHT'S CROSS SIGNAL PROBLEM
+
+
+"Louis," exclaimed Mr Carrados, with the air of genial gaiety that
+Carlyle had found so incongruous to his conception of a blind man, "you
+have a mystery somewhere about you! I know it by your step."
+
+Nearly a month had passed since the incident of the false Dionysius had
+led to the two men meeting. It was now December. Whatever Mr Carlyle's
+step might indicate to the inner eye it betokened to the casual observer
+the manner of a crisp, alert, self-possessed man of business. Carlyle,
+in truth, betrayed nothing of the pessimism and despondency that had
+marked him on the earlier occasion.
+
+"You have only yourself to thank that it is a very poor one," he
+retorted. "If you hadn't held me to a hasty promise----"
+
+"To give me an option on the next case that baffled you, no matter what
+it was----"
+
+"Just so. The consequence is that you get a very unsatisfactory affair
+that has no special interest to an amateur and is only baffling because
+it is--well----"
+
+"Well, baffling?"
+
+"Exactly, Max. Your would-be jest has discovered the proverbial truth. I
+need hardly tell you that it is only the insoluble that is finally
+baffling and this is very probably insoluble. You remember the awful
+smash on the Central and Suburban at Knight's Cross Station a few weeks
+ago?"
+
+"Yes," replied Carrados, with interest. "I read the whole ghastly
+details at the time."
+
+"You read?" exclaimed his friend suspiciously.
+
+"I still use the familiar phrases," explained Carrados, with a smile.
+"As a matter of fact, my secretary reads to me. I mark what I want to
+hear and when he comes at ten o'clock we clear off the morning papers in
+no time."
+
+"And how do you know what to mark?" demanded Mr Carlyle cunningly.
+
+Carrados's right hand, lying idly on the table, moved to a newspaper
+near. He ran his finger along a column heading, his eyes still turned
+towards his visitor.
+
+"'The Money Market. Continued from page 2. British Railways,'" he
+announced.
+
+"Extraordinary," murmured Carlyle.
+
+"Not very," said Carrados. "If someone dipped a stick in treacle and
+wrote 'Rats' across a marble slab you would probably be able to
+distinguish what was there, blindfold."
+
+"Probably," admitted Mr Carlyle. "At all events we will not test the
+experiment."
+
+"The difference to you of treacle on a marble background is scarcely
+greater than that of printers' ink on newspaper to me. But anything
+smaller than pica I do not read with comfort, and below long primer I
+cannot read at all. Hence the secretary. Now the accident, Louis."
+
+"The accident: well, you remember all about that. An ordinary Central
+and Suburban passenger train, non-stop at Knight's Cross, ran past the
+signal and crashed into a crowded electric train that was just beginning
+to move out. It was like sending a garden roller down a row of
+handlights. Two carriages of the electric train were flattened out of
+existence; the next two were broken up. For the first time on an English
+railway there was a good stand-up smash between a heavy steam-engine and
+a train of light cars, and it was 'bad for the coo.'"
+
+"Twenty-seven killed, forty something injured, eight died since,"
+commented Carrados.
+
+"That was bad for the Co.," said Carlyle. "Well, the main fact was plain
+enough. The heavy train was in the wrong. But was the engine-driver
+responsible? He claimed, and he claimed vehemently from the first and he
+never varied one iota, that he had a 'clear' signal--that is to say, the
+green light, it being dark. The signalman concerned was equally dogged
+that he never pulled off the signal--that it was at 'danger' when the
+accident happened and that it had been for five minutes before.
+Obviously, they could not both be right."
+
+"Why, Louis?" asked Mr Carrados smoothly.
+
+"The signal must either have been up or down--red or green."
+
+"Did you ever notice the signals on the Great Northern Railway, Louis?"
+
+"Not particularly. Why?"
+
+"One winterly day, about the year when you and I were concerned in being
+born, the engine-driver of a Scotch express received the 'clear' from a
+signal near a little Huntingdon station called Abbots Ripton. He went on
+and crashed into a goods train and into the thick of the smash a down
+express mowed its way. Thirteen killed and the usual tale of injured. He
+was positive that the signal gave him a 'clear'; the signalman was
+equally confident that he had never pulled it off the 'danger.' Both
+were right, and yet the signal was in working order. As I said, it was a
+winterly day; it had been snowing hard and the snow froze and
+accumulated on the upper edge of the signal arm until its weight bore it
+down. That is a fact that no fiction writer dare have invented, but to
+this day every signal on the Great Northern pivots from the centre of
+the arm instead of from the end, in memory of that snowstorm."
+
+"That came out at the inquest, I presume?" said Mr Carlyle. "We have had
+the Board of Trade inquiry and the inquest here and no explanation is
+forthcoming. Everything was in perfect order. It rests between the word
+of the signalman and the word of the engine-driver--not a jot of direct
+evidence either way. Which is right?"
+
+"That is what you are going to find out, Louis?" suggested Carrados.
+
+"It is what I am being paid for finding out," admitted Mr Carlyle
+frankly. "But so far we are just where the inquest left it, and, between
+ourselves, I candidly can't see an inch in front of my face in the
+matter."
+
+"Nor can I," said the blind man, with a rather wry smile. "Never mind.
+The engine-driver is your client, of course?"
+
+"Yes," admitted Carlyle. "But how the deuce did you know?"
+
+"Let us say that your sympathies are enlisted on his behalf. The jury
+were inclined to exonerate the signalman, weren't they? What has the
+company done with your man?"
+
+"Both are suspended. Hutchins, the driver, hears that he may probably be
+given charge of a lavatory at one of the stations. He is a decent,
+bluff, short-spoken old chap, with his heart in his work. Just now
+you'll find him at his worst--bitter and suspicious. The thought of
+swabbing down a lavatory and taking pennies all day is poisoning him."
+
+"Naturally. Well, there we have honest Hutchins: taciturn, a little
+touchy perhaps, grown grey in the service of the company, and
+manifesting quite a bulldog-like devotion to his favourite 538."
+
+"Why, that actually was the number of his engine--how do you know it?"
+demanded Carlyle sharply.
+
+"It was mentioned two or three times at the inquest, Louis," replied
+Carrados mildly.
+
+"And you remembered--with no reason to?"
+
+"You can generally trust a blind man's memory, especially if he has
+taken the trouble to develop it."
+
+"Then you will remember that Hutchins did not make a very good
+impression at the time. He was surly and irritable under the ordeal. I
+want you to see the case from all sides."
+
+"He called the signalman--Mead--a 'lying young dog,' across the room, I
+believe. Now, Mead, what is he like? You have seen him, of course?"
+
+"Yes. He does not impress me favourably. He is glib, ingratiating, and
+distinctly 'greasy.' He has a ready answer for everything almost before
+the question is out of your mouth. He has thought of everything."
+
+"And now you are going to tell me something, Louis," said Carrados
+encouragingly.
+
+Mr Carlyle laughed a little to cover an involuntary movement of
+surprise.
+
+"There is a suggestive line that was not touched at the inquiries," he
+admitted. "Hutchins has been a saving man all his life, and he has
+received good wages. Among his class he is regarded as wealthy. I
+daresay that he has five hundred pounds in the bank. He is a widower
+with one daughter, a very nice-mannered girl of about twenty. Mead is a
+young man, and he and the girl are sweethearts--have been informally
+engaged for some time. But old Hutchins would not hear of it; he seems
+to have taken a dislike to the signalman from the first and latterly he
+had forbidden him to come to his house or his daughter to speak to him."
+
+"Excellent, Louis," cried Carrados in great delight. "We shall clear
+your man in a blaze of red and green lights yet and hang the glib,
+'greasy' signalman from his own signal-post."
+
+"It is a significant fact, seriously?"
+
+"It is absolutely convincing."
+
+"It may have been a slip, a mental lapse on Mead's part which he
+discovered the moment it was too late, and then, being too cowardly to
+admit his fault, and having so much at stake, he took care to make
+detection impossible. It may have been that, but my idea is rather that
+probably it was neither quite pure accident nor pure design. I can
+imagine Mead meanly pluming himself over the fact that the life of this
+man who stands in his way, and whom he must cordially dislike, lies in
+his power. I can imagine the idea becoming an obsession as he dwells on
+it. A dozen times with his hand on the lever he lets his mind explore
+the possibilities of a moment's defection. Then one day he pulls the
+signal off in sheer bravado--and hastily puts it at danger again. He may
+have done it once or he may have done it oftener before he was caught in
+a fatal moment of irresolution. The chances are about even that the
+engine-driver would be killed. In any case he would be disgraced, for it
+is easier on the face of it to believe that a man might run past a
+danger signal in absentmindedness, without noticing it, than that a man
+should pull off a signal and replace it without being conscious of his
+actions."
+
+"The fireman was killed. Does your theory involve the certainty of the
+fireman being killed, Louis?"
+
+"No," said Carlyle. "The fireman is a difficulty, but looking at it from
+Mead's point of view--whether he has been guilty of an error or a
+crime--it resolves itself into this: First, the fireman may be killed.
+Second, he may not notice the signal at all. Third, in any case he will
+loyally corroborate his driver and the good old jury will discount
+that."
+
+Carrados smoked thoughtfully, his open, sightless eyes merely appearing
+to be set in a tranquil gaze across the room.
+
+"It would not be an improbable explanation," he said presently.
+"Ninety-nine men out of a hundred would say: 'People do not do these
+things.' But you and I, who have in our different ways studied
+criminology, know that they sometimes do, or else there would be no
+curious crimes. What have you done on that line?"
+
+To anyone who could see, Mr Carlyle's expression conveyed an answer.
+
+"You are behind the scenes, Max. What was there for me to do? Still I
+must do something for my money. Well, I have had a very close inquiry
+made confidentially among the men. There might be a whisper of one of
+them knowing more than had come out--a man restrained by friendship, or
+enmity, or even grade jealousy. Nothing came of that. Then there was the
+remote chance that some private person had noticed the signal without
+attaching any importance to it then, one who would be able to identify
+it still by something associated with the time. I went over the line
+myself. Opposite the signal the line on one side is shut in by a high
+blank wall; on the other side are houses, but coming below the butt-end
+of a scullery the signal does not happen to be visible from any road or
+from any window."
+
+"My poor Louis!" said Carrados, in friendly ridicule. "You were at the
+end of your tether?"
+
+"I was," admitted Carlyle. "And now that you know the sort of job it is
+I don't suppose that you are keen on wasting your time over it."
+
+"That would hardly be fair, would it?" said Carrados reasonably. "No,
+Louis, I will take over your honest old driver and your greasy young
+signalman and your fatal signal that cannot be seen from anywhere."
+
+"But it is an important point for you to remember, Max, that although
+the signal cannot be seen from the box, if the mechanism had gone wrong,
+or anyone tampered with the arm, the automatic indicator would at once
+have told Mead that the green light was showing. Oh, I have gone very
+thoroughly into the technical points, I assure you."
+
+"I must do so too," commented Mr Carrados gravely.
+
+"For that matter, if there is anything you want to know, I dare say
+that I can tell you," suggested his visitor. "It might save your time."
+
+"True," acquiesced Carrados. "I should like to know whether anyone
+belonging to the houses that bound the line there came of age or got
+married on the twenty-sixth of November."
+
+Mr Carlyle looked across curiously at his host.
+
+"I really do not know, Max," he replied, in his crisp, precise way.
+"What on earth has that got to do with it, may I inquire?"
+
+"The only explanation of the Pont St Lin swing-bridge disaster of '75
+was the reflection of a green bengal light on a cottage window."
+
+Mr Carlyle smiled his indulgence privately.
+
+"My dear chap, you mustn't let your retentive memory of obscure
+happenings run away with you," he remarked wisely. "In nine cases out of
+ten the obvious explanation is the true one. The difficulty, as here,
+lies in proving it. Now, you would like to see these men?"
+
+"I expect so; in any case, I will see Hutchins first."
+
+"Both live in Holloway. Shall I ask Hutchins to come here to see
+you--say to-morrow? He is doing nothing."
+
+"No," replied Carrados. "To-morrow I must call on my brokers and my time
+may be filled up."
+
+"Quite right; you mustn't neglect your own affairs for
+this--experiment," assented Carlyle.
+
+"Besides, I should prefer to drop in on Hutchins at his own home. Now,
+Louis, enough of the honest old man for one night. I have a lovely thing
+by Eumenes that I want to show you. To-day is--Tuesday. Come to dinner
+on Sunday and pour the vials of your ridicule on my want of success."
+
+"That's an amiable way of putting it," replied Carlyle. "All right, I
+will."
+
+Two hours later Carrados was again in his study, apparently, for a
+wonder, sitting idle. Sometimes he smiled to himself, and once or twice
+he laughed a little, but for the most part his pleasant, impassive face
+reflected no emotion and he sat with his useless eyes tranquilly fixed
+on an unseen distance. It was a fantastic caprice of the man to mock his
+sightlessness by a parade of light, and under the soft brilliance of a
+dozen electric brackets the room was as bright as day. At length he
+stood up and rang the bell.
+
+"I suppose Mr Greatorex isn't still here by any chance, Parkinson?" he
+asked, referring to his secretary.
+
+"I think not, sir, but I will ascertain," replied the man.
+
+"Never mind. Go to his room and bring me the last two files of _The
+Times_. Now"--when he returned--"turn to the earliest you have there.
+The date?"
+
+"November the second."
+
+"That will do. Find the Money Market; it will be in the Supplement. Now
+look down the columns until you come to British Railways."
+
+"I have it, sir."
+
+"Central and Suburban. Read the closing price and the change."
+
+"Central and Suburban Ordinary, 66-1/2 - 67-1/2, fall 1/8. Preferred
+Ordinary, 81 - 81-1/2, no change. Deferred Ordinary, 27-1/2 - 27-3/4, fall
+1/4. That is all, sir."
+
+"Now take a paper about a week on. Read the Deferred only."
+
+"27 - 27-1/4, no change."
+
+"Another week."
+
+"29-1/2 - 30, rise 5/8."
+
+"Another."
+
+"31-1/2 - 32-1/2, rise 1."
+
+"Very good. Now on Tuesday the twenty-seventh November."
+
+"31-7/8 - 32-3/4, rise 1/2."
+
+"Yes. The next day."
+
+"24-1/2 - 23-1/2, fall 9."
+
+"Quite so, Parkinson. There had been an accident, you see."
+
+"Yes, sir. Very unpleasant accident. Jane knows a person whose sister's
+young man has a cousin who had his arm torn off in it--torn off at the
+socket, she says, sir. It seems to bring it home to one, sir."
+
+"That is all. Stay--in the paper you have, look down the first money
+column and see if there is any reference to the Central and Suburban."
+
+"Yes, sir. 'City and Suburbans, which after their late depression on the
+projected extension of the motor bus service, had been steadily
+creeping up on the abandonment of the scheme, and as a result of their
+own excellent traffic returns, suffered a heavy slump through the
+lamentable accident of Thursday night. The Deferred in particular at one
+time fell eleven points as it was felt that the possible dividend, with
+which rumour has of late been busy, was now out of the question.'"
+
+"Yes; that is all. Now you can take the papers back. And let it be a
+warning to you, Parkinson, not to invest your savings in speculative
+railway deferreds."
+
+"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir, I will endeavour to remember." He lingered
+for a moment as he shook the file of papers level. "I may say, sir, that
+I have my eye on a small block of cottage property at Acton. But even
+cottage property scarcely seems safe from legislative depredation now,
+sir."
+
+The next day Mr Carrados called on his brokers in the city. It is to be
+presumed that he got through his private business quicker than he
+expected, for after leaving Austin Friars he continued his journey to
+Holloway, where he found Hutchins at home and sitting morosely before
+his kitchen fire. Rightly assuming that his luxuriant car would involve
+him in a certain amount of public attention in Klondyke Street, the
+blind man dismissed it some distance from the house, and walked the rest
+of the way, guided by the almost imperceptible touch of Parkinson's arm.
+
+"Here is a gentleman to see you, father," explained Miss Hutchins, who
+had come to the door. She divined the relative positions of the two
+visitors at a glance.
+
+"Then why don't you take him into the parlour?" grumbled the ex-driver.
+His face was a testimonial of hard work and general sobriety but at the
+moment one might hazard from his voice and manner that he had been
+drinking earlier in the day.
+
+"I don't think that the gentleman would be impressed by the difference
+between our parlour and our kitchen," replied the girl quaintly, "and it
+is warmer here."
+
+"What's the matter with the parlour now?" demanded her father sourly.
+"It was good enough for your mother and me. It used to be good enough
+for you."
+
+"There is nothing the matter with it, nor with the kitchen either." She
+turned impassively to the two who had followed her along the narrow
+passage. "Will you go in, sir?"
+
+"I don't want to see no gentleman," cried Hutchins noisily.
+"Unless"--his manner suddenly changed to one of pitiable
+anxiety--"unless you're from the Company, sir, to--to----"
+
+"No; I have come on Mr Carlyle's behalf," replied Carrados, walking to a
+chair as though he moved by a kind of instinct.
+
+Hutchins laughed his wry contempt.
+
+"Mr Carlyle!" he reiterated; "Mr Carlyle! Fat lot of good he's been.
+Why don't he _do_ something for his money?"
+
+"He has," replied Carrados, with imperturbable good-humour; "he has sent
+me. Now, I want to ask you a few questions."
+
+"A few questions!" roared the irate man. "Why, blast it, I have done
+nothing else but answer questions for a month. I didn't pay Mr Carlyle
+to ask me questions; I can get enough of that for nixes. Why don't you
+go and ask Mr Herbert Ananias Mead your few questions--then you might
+find out something."
+
+There was a slight movement by the door and Carrados knew that the girl
+had quietly left the room.
+
+"You saw that, sir?" demanded the father, diverted to a new line of
+bitterness. "You saw that girl--my own daughter, that I've worked for
+all her life?"
+
+"No," replied Carrados.
+
+"The girl that's just gone out--she's my daughter," explained Hutchins.
+
+"I know, but I did not see her. I see nothing. I am blind."
+
+"Blind!" exclaimed the old fellow, sitting up in startled wonderment.
+"You mean it, sir? You walk all right and you look at me as if you saw
+me. You're kidding surely."
+
+"No," smiled Carrados. "It's quite right."
+
+"Then it's a funny business, sir--you what are blind expecting to find
+something that those with their eyes couldn't," ruminated Hutchins
+sagely.
+
+"There are things that you can't see with your eyes, Hutchins."
+
+"Perhaps you are right, sir. Well, what is it you want to know?"
+
+"Light a cigar first," said the blind man, holding out his case and
+waiting until the various sounds told him that his host was smoking
+contentedly. "The train you were driving at the time of the accident was
+the six-twenty-seven from Notcliff. It stopped everywhere until it
+reached Lambeth Bridge, the chief London station of your line. There it
+became something of an express, and leaving Lambeth Bridge at
+seven-eleven, should not stop again until it fetched Swanstead on
+Thames, eleven miles out, at seven-thirty-four. Then it stopped on and
+off from Swanstead to Ingerfield, the terminus of that branch, which it
+reached at eight-five."
+
+Hutchins nodded, and then, remembering, said: "That's right, sir."
+
+"That was your business all day--running between Notcliff and
+Ingerfield?"
+
+"Yes, sir. Three journeys up and three down mostly."
+
+"With the same stops on all the down journeys?"
+
+"No. The seven-eleven is the only one that does a run from the Bridge to
+Swanstead. You see, it is just on the close of the evening rush, as they
+call it. A good many late business gentlemen living at Swanstead use
+the seven-eleven regular. The other journeys we stop at every station to
+Lambeth Bridge, and then here and there beyond."
+
+"There are, of course, other trains doing exactly the same journey--a
+service, in fact?"
+
+"Yes, sir. About six."
+
+"And do any of those--say, during the rush--do any of those run non-stop
+from Lambeth to Swanstead?"
+
+Hutchins reflected a moment. All the choler and restlessness had melted
+out of the man's face. He was again the excellent artisan, slow but
+capable and self-reliant.
+
+"That I couldn't definitely say, sir. Very few short-distance trains
+pass the junction, but some of those may. A guide would show us in a
+minute but I haven't got one."
+
+"Never mind. You said at the inquest that it was no uncommon thing for
+you to be pulled up at the 'stop' signal east of Knight's Cross Station.
+How often would that happen--only with the seven-eleven, mind."
+
+"Perhaps three times a week; perhaps twice."
+
+"The accident was on a Thursday. Have you noticed that you were pulled
+up oftener on a Thursday than on any other day?"
+
+A smile crossed the driver's face at the question.
+
+"You don't happen to live at Swanstead yourself, sir?" he asked in
+reply.
+
+"No," admitted Carrados. "Why?"
+
+"Well, sir, we were _always_ pulled up on Thursday; practically always,
+you may say. It got to be quite a saying among those who used the train
+regular; they used to look out for it."
+
+Carrados's sightless eyes had the one quality of concealing emotion
+supremely. "Oh," he commented softly, "always; and it was quite a
+saying, was it? And _why_ was it always so on Thursday?"
+
+"It had to do with the early closing, I'm told. The suburban traffic was
+a bit different. By rights we ought to have been set back two minutes
+for that day, but I suppose it wasn't thought worth while to alter us in
+the time-table, so we most always had to wait outside Three Deep tunnel
+for a west-bound electric to make good."
+
+"You were prepared for it then?"
+
+"Yes, sir, I was," said Hutchins, reddening at some recollection, "and
+very down about it was one of the jury over that. But, mayhap once in
+three months, I did get through even on a Thursday, and it's not for me
+to question whether things are right or wrong just because they are not
+what I may expect. The signals are my orders, sir--stop! go on! and it's
+for me to obey, as you would a general on the field of battle. What
+would happen otherwise! It was nonsense what they said about going
+cautious; and the man who started it was a barber who didn't know the
+difference between a 'distance' and a 'stop' signal down to the minute
+they gave their verdict. My orders, sir, given me by that signal, was
+'Go right ahead and keep to your running time!'"
+
+Carrados nodded a soothing assent. "That is all, I think," he remarked.
+
+"All!" exclaimed Hutchins in surprise. "Why, sir, you can't have got
+much idea of it yet."
+
+"Quite enough. And I know it isn't pleasant for you to be taken along
+the same ground over and over again."
+
+The man moved awkwardly in his chair and pulled nervously at his
+grizzled beard.
+
+"You mustn't take any notice of what I said just now, sir," he
+apologized. "You somehow make me feel that something may come of it; but
+I've been badgered about and accused and cross-examined from one to
+another of them these weeks till it's fairly made me bitter against
+everything. And now they talk of putting me in a lavatory--me that has
+been with the company for five and forty years and on the foot-plate
+thirty-two--a man suspected of running past a danger signal."
+
+"You have had a rough time, Hutchins; you will have to exercise your
+patience a little longer yet," said Carrados sympathetically.
+
+"You think something may come of it, sir? You think you will be able to
+clear me? Believe me, sir, if you could give me something to look
+forward to it might save me from----" He pulled himself up and shook his
+head sorrowfully. "I've been near it," he added simply.
+
+Carrados reflected and took his resolution.
+
+"To-day is Wednesday. I think you may hope to hear something from your
+general manager towards the middle of next week."
+
+"Good God, sir! You really mean that?"
+
+"In the interval show your good sense by behaving reasonably. Keep
+civilly to yourself and don't talk. Above all"--he nodded towards a
+quart jug that stood on the table between them, an incident that filled
+the simple-minded engineer with boundless wonder when he recalled it
+afterwards--"above all, leave that alone."
+
+Hutchins snatched up the vessel and brought it crashing down on the
+hearthstone, his face shining with a set resolution.
+
+"I've done with it, sir. It was the bitterness and despair that drove me
+to that. Now I can do without it."
+
+The door was hastily opened and Miss Hutchins looked anxiously from her
+father to the visitors and back again.
+
+"Oh, whatever is the matter?" she exclaimed. "I heard a great crash."
+
+"This gentleman is going to clear me, Meg, my dear," blurted out the old
+man irrepressibly. "And I've done with the drink for ever."
+
+"Hutchins! Hutchins!" said Carrados warningly.
+
+"My daughter, sir; you wouldn't have her not know?" pleaded Hutchins,
+rather crest-fallen. "It won't go any further."
+
+Carrados laughed quietly to himself as he felt Margaret Hutchins's
+startled and questioning eyes attempting to read his mind. He shook
+hands with the engine-driver without further comment, however, and
+walked out into the commonplace little street under Parkinson's
+unobtrusive guidance.
+
+"Very nice of Miss Hutchins to go into half-mourning, Parkinson," he
+remarked as they went along. "Thoughtful, and yet not ostentatious."
+
+"Yes, sir," agreed Parkinson, who had long ceased to wonder at his
+master's perceptions.
+
+"The Romans, Parkinson, had a saying to the effect that gold carries no
+smell. That is a pity sometimes. What jewellery did Miss Hutchins wear?"
+
+"Very little, sir. A plain gold brooch representing a merry-thought--the
+merry-thought of a sparrow, I should say, sir. The only other article
+was a smooth-backed gun-metal watch, suspended from a gun-metal bow."
+
+"Nothing showy or expensive, eh?"
+
+"Oh dear no, sir. Quite appropriate for a young person of her position."
+
+"Just what I should have expected." He slackened his pace. "We are
+passing a hoarding, are we not?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"We will stand here a moment. Read me the letterpress of the poster
+before us."
+
+"This 'Oxo' one, sir?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"'Oxo,' sir."
+
+Carrados was convulsed with silent laughter. Parkinson had infinitely
+more dignity and conceded merely a tolerant recognition of the
+ludicrous.
+
+"That was a bad shot, Parkinson," remarked his master when he could
+speak. "We will try another."
+
+For three minutes, with scrupulous conscientiousness on the part of the
+reader and every appearance of keen interest on the part of the hearer,
+there were set forth the particulars of a sale by auction of superfluous
+timber and builders' material.
+
+"That will do," said Carrados, when the last detail had been reached.
+"We can be seen from the door of No. 107 still?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"No indication of anyone coming to us from there?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+Carrados walked thoughtfully on again. In the Holloway Road they
+rejoined the waiting motor car. "Lambeth Bridge Station," was the order
+the driver received.
+
+From the station the car was sent on home and Parkinson was instructed
+to take two first-class singles for Richmond, which could be reached by
+changing at Stafford Road. The "evening rush" had not yet commenced and
+they had no difficulty in finding an empty carriage when the train came
+in.
+
+Parkinson was kept busy that journey describing what he saw at various
+points between Lambeth Bridge and Knight's Cross. For a quarter of a
+mile Carrados's demands on the eyes and the memory of his remarkable
+servant were wide and incessant. Then his questions ceased. They had
+passed the "stop" signal, east of Knight's Cross Station.
+
+The following afternoon they made the return journey as far as Knight's
+Cross. This time, however, the surroundings failed to interest Carrados.
+"We are going to look at some rooms," was the information he offered on
+the subject, and an imperturbable "Yes, sir" had been the extent of
+Parkinson's comment on the unusual proceeding. After leaving the station
+they turned sharply along a road that ran parallel with the line, a dull
+thoroughfare of substantial, elderly houses that were beginning to sink
+into decrepitude. Here and there a corner residence displayed the brass
+plate of a professional occupant, but for the most part they were given
+up to the various branches of second-rate apartment letting.
+
+"The third house after the one with the flagstaff," said Carrados.
+
+Parkinson rang the bell, which was answered by a young servant, who took
+an early opportunity of assuring them that she was not tidy as it was
+rather early in the afternoon. She informed Carrados, in reply to his
+inquiry, that Miss Chubb was at home, and showed them into a melancholy
+little sitting-room to await her appearance.
+
+"I shall be 'almost' blind here, Parkinson," remarked Carrados, walking
+about the room. "It saves explanation."
+
+"Very good, sir," replied Parkinson.
+
+Five minutes later, an interval suggesting that Miss Chubb also found it
+rather early in the afternoon, Carrados was arranging to take rooms for
+his attendant and himself for the short time that he would be in London,
+seeing an oculist.
+
+"One bedroom, mine, must face north," he stipulated. "It has to do with
+the light."
+
+Miss Chubb replied that she quite understood. Some gentlemen, she added,
+had their requirements, others their fancies. She endeavoured to suit
+all. The bedroom she had in view from the first _did_ face north. She
+would not have known, only the last gentleman, curiously enough, had
+made the same request.
+
+"A sufferer like myself?" inquired Carrados affably.
+
+Miss Chubb did not think so. In his case she regarded it merely as a
+fancy. He had said that he could not sleep on any other side. She had
+had to turn out of her own room to accommodate him, but if one kept an
+apartment-house one had to be adaptable; and Mr Ghoosh was certainly
+very liberal in his ideas.
+
+"Ghoosh? An Indian gentleman, I presume?" hazarded Carrados.
+
+It appeared that Mr Ghoosh was an Indian. Miss Chubb confided that at
+first she had been rather perturbed at the idea of taking in "a black
+man," as she confessed to regarding him. She reiterated, however, that
+Mr Ghoosh proved to be "quite the gentleman." Five minutes of affability
+put Carrados in full possession of Mr Ghoosh's manner of life and
+movements--the dates of his arrival and departure, his solitariness and
+his daily habits.
+
+"This would be the best bedroom," said Miss Chubb.
+
+It was a fair-sized room on the first floor. The window looked out on to
+the roof of an outbuilding; beyond, the deep cutting of the railway
+line. Opposite stood the dead wall that Mr Carlyle had spoken of.
+
+Carrados "looked" round the room with the discriminating glance that
+sometimes proved so embarrassing to those who knew him.
+
+"I have to take a little daily exercise," he remarked, walking to the
+window and running his hand up the woodwork. "You will not mind my
+fixing a 'developer' here, Miss Chubb--a few small screws?"
+
+Miss Chubb thought not. Then she was sure not. Finally she ridiculed the
+idea of minding with scorn.
+
+"If there is width enough," mused Carrados, spanning the upright
+critically. "Do you happen to have a wooden foot-rule convenient?"
+
+"Well, to be sure!" exclaimed Miss Chubb, opening a rapid succession of
+drawers until she produced the required article. "When we did out this
+room after Mr Ghoosh, there was this very ruler among the things that he
+hadn't thought worth taking. This is what you require, sir?"
+
+"Yes," replied Carrados, accepting it, "I think this is exactly what I
+require." It was a common new white-wood rule, such as one might buy at
+any small stationer's for a penny. He carelessly took off the width of
+the upright, reading the figures with a touch; and then continued to run
+a finger-tip delicately up and down the edges of the instrument.
+
+"Four and seven-eighths," was his unspoken conclusion.
+
+"I hope it will do, sir."
+
+"Admirably," replied Carrados. "But I haven't reached the end of my
+requirements yet, Miss Chubb."
+
+"No, sir?" said the landlady, feeling that it would be a pleasure to
+oblige so agreeable a gentleman, "what else might there be?"
+
+"Although I can see very little I like to have a light, but not any kind
+of light. Gas I cannot do with. Do you think that you would be able to
+find me an oil lamp?"
+
+"Certainly, sir. I got out a very nice brass lamp that I have specially
+for Mr Ghoosh. He read a good deal of an evening and he preferred a
+lamp."
+
+"That is very convenient. I suppose it is large enough to burn for a
+whole evening?"
+
+"Yes, indeed. And very particular he was always to have it filled every
+day."
+
+"A lamp without oil is not very useful," smiled Carrados, following her
+towards another room, and absentmindedly slipping the foot-rule into his
+pocket.
+
+Whatever Parkinson thought of the arrangement of going into second-rate
+apartments in an obscure street it is to be inferred that his devotion
+to his master was sufficient to overcome his private emotions as a
+self-respecting "man." At all events, as they were approaching the
+station he asked, and without a trace of feeling, whether there were any
+orders for him with reference to the proposed migration.
+
+"None, Parkinson," replied his master. "We must be satisfied with our
+present quarters."
+
+"I beg your pardon, sir," said Parkinson, with some constraint. "I
+understood that you had taken the rooms for a week certain."
+
+"I am afraid that Miss Chubb will be under the same impression.
+Unforeseen circumstances will prevent our going, however. Mr Greatorex
+must write to-morrow, enclosing a cheque, with my regrets, and adding a
+penny for this ruler which I seem to have brought away with me. It, at
+least, is something for the money."
+
+Parkinson may be excused for not attempting to understand the course of
+events.
+
+"Here is your train coming in, sir," he merely said.
+
+"We will let it go and wait for another. Is there a signal at either end
+of the platform?"
+
+"Yes, sir; at the further end."
+
+"Let us walk towards it. Are there any of the porters or officials about
+here?"
+
+"No, sir; none."
+
+"Take this ruler. I want you to go up the steps--there are steps up the
+signal, by the way?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"I want you to measure the glass of the lamp. Do not go up any higher
+than is necessary, but if you have to stretch be careful not to mark on
+the measurement with your nail, although the impulse is a natural one.
+That has been done already."
+
+Parkinson looked apprehensively around and about. Fortunately the part
+was a dark and unfrequented spot and everyone else was moving towards
+the exit at the other end of the platform. Fortunately, also, the signal
+was not a high one.
+
+"As near as I can judge on the rounded surface, the glass is four and
+seven-eighths across," reported Parkinson.
+
+"Thank you," replied Carrados, returning the measure to his pocket,
+"four and seven-eighths is quite near enough. Now we will take the next
+train back."
+
+Sunday evening came, and with it Mr Carlyle to The Turrets at the
+appointed hour. He brought to the situation a mind poised for any
+eventuality and a trenchant eye. As the time went on and the
+impenetrable Carrados made no allusion to the case, Carlyle's manner
+inclined to a waggish commiseration of his host's position. Actually, he
+said little, but the crisp precision of his voice when the path lay open
+to a remark of any significance left little to be said.
+
+It was not until they had finished dinner and returned to the library
+that Carrados gave the slightest hint of anything unusual being in the
+air. His first indication of coming events was to remove the key from
+the outside to the inside of the door.
+
+"What are you doing, Max?" demanded Mr Carlyle, his curiosity overcoming
+the indirect attitude.
+
+"You have been very entertaining, Louis," replied his friend, "but
+Parkinson should be back very soon now and it is as well to be prepared.
+Do you happen to carry a revolver?"
+
+"Not when I come to dine with you, Max," replied Carlyle, with all the
+aplomb he could muster. "Is it usual?"
+
+Carrados smiled affectionately at his guest's agile recovery and touched
+the secret spring of a drawer in an antique bureau by his side. The
+little hidden receptacle shot smoothly out, disclosing a pair of
+dull-blued pistols.
+
+"To-night, at all events, it might be prudent," he replied, handing one
+to Carlyle and putting the other into his own pocket. "Our man may be
+here at any minute, and we do not know in what temper he will come."
+
+"Our man!" exclaimed Carlyle, craning forward in excitement. "Max! you
+don't mean to say that you have got Mead to admit it?"
+
+"No one has admitted it," said Carrados. "And it is not Mead."
+
+"Not Mead.... Do you mean that Hutchins----?"
+
+"Neither Mead nor Hutchins. The man who tampered with the signal--for
+Hutchins was right and a green light _was_ exhibited--is a young Indian
+from Bengal. His name is Drishna and he lives at Swanstead."
+
+Mr Carlyle stared at his friend between sheer surprise and blank
+incredulity.
+
+"You really mean this, Carrados?" he said.
+
+"My fatal reputation for humour!" smiled Carrados. "If I am wrong,
+Louis, the next hour will expose it."
+
+"But why--why--why? The colossal villainy, the unparalleled audacity!"
+Mr Carlyle lost himself among incredulous superlatives and could only
+stare.
+
+"Chiefly to get himself out of a disastrous speculation," replied
+Carrados, answering the question. "If there was another motive--or at
+least an incentive--which I suspect, doubtless we shall hear of it."
+
+"All the same, Max, I don't think that you have treated me quite
+fairly," protested Carlyle, getting over his first surprise and passing
+to a sense of injury. "Here we are and I know nothing, absolutely
+nothing, of the whole affair."
+
+"We both have our ideas of pleasantry, Louis," replied Carrados
+genially. "But I dare say you are right and perhaps there is still time
+to atone." In the fewest possible words he outlined the course of his
+investigations. "And now you know all that is to be known until Drishna
+arrives."
+
+"But will he come?" questioned Carlyle doubtfully. "He may be
+suspicious."
+
+"Yes, he will be suspicious."
+
+"Then he will not come."
+
+"On the contrary, Louis, he will come because my letter will make him
+suspicious. He _is_ coming; otherwise Parkinson would have telephoned
+me at once and we should have had to take other measures."
+
+"What did you say, Max?" asked Carlyle curiously.
+
+"I wrote that I was anxious to discuss an Indo-Scythian inscription with
+him, and sent my car in the hope that he would be able to oblige me."
+
+"But is he interested in Indo-Scythian inscriptions?"
+
+"I haven't the faintest idea," admitted Carrados, and Mr Carlyle was
+throwing up his hands in despair when the sound of a motor car wheels
+softly kissing the gravel surface of the drive outside brought him to
+his feet.
+
+"By gad, you are right, Max!" he exclaimed, peeping through the
+curtains. "There is a man inside."
+
+"Mr Drishna," announced Parkinson, a minute later.
+
+The visitor came into the room with leisurely self-possession that might
+have been real or a desperate assumption. He was a slightly built young
+man of about twenty-five, with black hair and eyes, a small, carefully
+trained moustache, and a dark olive skin. His physiognomy was not
+displeasing, but his expression had a harsh and supercilious tinge. In
+attire he erred towards the immaculately spruce.
+
+"Mr Carrados?" he said inquiringly.
+
+Carrados, who had risen, bowed slightly without offering his hand.
+
+"This gentleman," he said, indicating his friend, "is Mr Carlyle, the
+celebrated private detective."
+
+The Indian shot a very sharp glance at the object of this description.
+Then he sat down.
+
+"You wrote me a letter, Mr Carrados," he remarked, in English that
+scarcely betrayed any foreign origin, "a rather curious letter, I may
+say. You asked me about an ancient inscription. I know nothing of
+antiquities; but I thought, as you had sent, that it would be more
+courteous if I came and explained this to you."
+
+"That was the object of my letter," replied Carrados.
+
+"You wished to see me?" said Drishna, unable to stand the ordeal of the
+silence that Carrados imposed after his remark.
+
+"When you left Miss Chubb's house you left a ruler behind." One lay on
+the desk by Carrados and he took it up as he spoke.
+
+"I don't understand what you are talking about," said Drishna guardedly.
+"You are making some mistake."
+
+"The ruler was marked at four and seven-eighths inches--the measure of
+the glass of the signal lamp outside."
+
+The unfortunate young man was unable to repress a start. His face lost
+its healthy tone. Then, with a sudden impulse, he made a step forward
+and snatched the object from Carrados's hand.
+
+"If it is mine I have a right to it," he exclaimed, snapping the ruler
+in two and throwing it on to the back of the blazing fire. "It is
+nothing."
+
+"Pardon me, I did not say that the one you have so impetuously disposed
+of was yours. As a matter of fact, it was mine. Yours is--elsewhere."
+
+"Wherever it is you have no right to it if it is mine," panted Drishna,
+with rising excitement. "You are a thief, Mr Carrados. I will not stay
+any longer here."
+
+He jumped up and turned towards the door. Carlyle made a step forward,
+but the precaution was unnecessary.
+
+"One moment, Mr Drishna," interposed Carrados, in his smoothest tones.
+"It is a pity, after you have come so far, to leave without hearing of
+my investigations in the neighbourhood of Shaftesbury Avenue."
+
+Drishna sat down again.
+
+"As you like," he muttered. "It does not interest me."
+
+"I wanted to obtain a lamp of a certain pattern," continued Carrados.
+"It seemed to me that the simplest explanation would be to say that I
+wanted it for a motor car. Naturally I went to Long Acre. At the first
+shop I said: 'Wasn't it here that a friend of mine, an Indian gentleman,
+recently had a lamp made with a green glass that was nearly five inches
+across?' No, it was not there but they could make me one. At the next
+shop the same; at the third, and fourth, and so on. Finally my
+persistence was rewarded. I found the place where the lamp had been
+made, and at the cost of ordering another I obtained all the details I
+wanted. It was news to them, the shopman informed me, that in some parts
+of India green was the danger colour and therefore tail lamps had to
+show a green light. The incident made some impression on him and he
+would be able to identify their customer--who paid in advance and gave
+no address--among a thousand of his countrymen. Do I succeed in
+interesting you, Mr Drishna?"
+
+"Do you?" replied Drishna, with a languid yawn. "Do I look interested?"
+
+"You must make allowance for my unfortunate blindness," apologized
+Carrados, with grim irony.
+
+"Blindness!" exclaimed Drishna, dropping his affectation of unconcern as
+though electrified by the word, "do you mean--really blind--that you do
+not see me?"
+
+"Alas, no," admitted Carrados.
+
+The Indian withdrew his right hand from his coat pocket and with a
+tragic gesture flung a heavy revolver down on the table between them.
+
+"I have had you covered all the time, Mr Carrados, and if I had wished
+to go and you or your friend had raised a hand to stop me, it would have
+been at the peril of your lives," he said, in a voice of melancholy
+triumph. "But what is the use of defying fate, and who successfully
+evades his destiny? A month ago I went to see one of our people who
+reads the future and sought to know the course of certain events. 'You
+need fear no human eye,' was the message given to me. Then she added:
+'But when the sightless sees the unseen, make your peace with Yama.' And
+I thought she spoke of the Great Hereafter!"
+
+"This amounts to an admission of your guilt," exclaimed Mr Carlyle
+practically.
+
+"I bow to the decree of fate," replied Drishna. "And it is fitting to
+the universal irony of existence that a blind man should be the
+instrument. I don't imagine, Mr Carlyle," he added maliciously, "that
+you, with your eyes, would ever have brought that result about."
+
+"You are a very cold-blooded young scoundrel, sir!" retorted Mr Carlyle.
+"Good heavens! do you realize that you are responsible for the death of
+scores of innocent men and women?"
+
+"Do _you_ realise, Mr Carlyle, that you and your Government and your
+soldiers are responsible for the death of thousands of innocent men and
+women in my country every day? If England was occupied by the Germans
+who quartered an army and an administration with their wives and their
+families and all their expensive paraphernalia on the unfortunate
+country until the whole nation was reduced to the verge of famine, and
+the appointment of every new official meant the callous death sentence
+on a thousand men and women to pay his salary, then if you went to
+Berlin and wrecked a train you would be hailed a patriot. What Boadicea
+did and--and Samson, so have I. If they were heroes, so am I."
+
+"Well, upon my word!" cried the highly scandalized Carlyle, "what next!
+Boadicea was a--er--semi-legendary person, whom we may possibly admire
+at a distance. Personally, I do not profess to express an opinion. But
+Samson, I would remind you, is a Biblical character. Samson was mocked
+as an enemy. You, I do not doubt, have been entertained as a friend."
+
+"And haven't I been mocked and despised and sneered at every day of my
+life here by your supercilious, superior, empty-headed men?" flashed
+back Drishna, his eyes leaping into malignity and his voice trembling
+with sudden passion. "Oh! how I hated them as I passed them in the
+street and recognized by a thousand petty insults their lordly English
+contempt for me as an inferior being--a nigger. How I longed with
+Caligula that a nation had a single neck that I might destroy it at one
+blow. I loathe you in your complacent hypocrisy, Mr Carlyle, despise and
+utterly abominate you from an eminence of superiority that you can never
+even understand."
+
+"I think we are getting rather away from the point, Mr Drishna,"
+interposed Carrados, with the impartiality of a judge. "Unless I am
+misinformed, you are not so ungallant as to include everyone you have
+met here in your execration?"
+
+"Ah, no," admitted Drishna, descending into a quite ingenuous frankness.
+"Much as I hate your men I love your women. How is it possible that a
+nation should be so divided--its men so dull-witted and offensive, its
+women so quick, sympathetic and capable of appreciating?"
+
+"But a little expensive, too, at times?" suggested Carrados.
+
+Drishna sighed heavily.
+
+"Yes; it is incredible. It is the generosity of their large nature. My
+allowance, though what most of you would call noble, has proved quite
+inadequate. I was compelled to borrow money and the interest became
+overwhelming. Bankruptcy was impracticable because I should have then
+been recalled by my people, and much as I detest England a certain
+reason made the thought of leaving it unbearable."
+
+"Connected with the Arcady Theatre?"
+
+"You know? Well, do not let us introduce the lady's name. In order to
+restore myself I speculated on the Stock Exchange. My credit was good
+through my father's position and the standing of the firm to which I am
+attached. I heard on reliable authority, and very early, that the
+Central and Suburban, and the Deferred especially, was safe to fall
+heavily, through a motor bus amalgamation that was then a secret. I
+opened a bear account and sold largely. The shares fell, but only
+fractionally, and I waited. Then, unfortunately, they began to go up.
+Adverse forces were at work and rumours were put about. I could not
+stand the settlement, and in order to carry over an account I was
+literally compelled to deal temporarily with some securities that were
+not technically my own property."
+
+"Embezzlement, sir," commented Mr Carlyle icily. "But what is
+embezzlement on the top of wholesale murder!"
+
+"That is what it is called. In my case, however, it was only to be
+temporary. Unfortunately, the rise continued. Then, at the height of my
+despair, I chanced to be returning to Swanstead rather earlier than
+usual one evening, and the train was stopped at a certain signal to let
+another pass. There was conversation in the carriage and I learned
+certain details. One said that there would be an accident some day, and
+so forth. In a flash--as by an inspiration--I saw how the circumstance
+might be turned to account. A bad accident and the shares would
+certainly fall and my position would be retrieved. I think Mr Carrados
+has somehow learned the rest."
+
+"Max," said Mr Carlyle, with emotion, "is there any reason why you
+should not send your man for a police officer and have this monster
+arrested on his own confession without further delay?"
+
+"Pray do so, Mr Carrados," acquiesced Drishna. "I shall certainly be
+hanged, but the speech I shall prepare will ring from one end of India
+to the other; my memory will be venerated as that of a martyr; and the
+emancipation of my motherland will be hastened by my sacrifice."
+
+"In other words," commented Carrados, "there will be disturbances at
+half-a-dozen disaffected places, a few unfortunate police will be
+clubbed to death, and possibly worse things may happen. That does not
+suit us, Mr Drishna."
+
+"And how do you propose to prevent it?" asked Drishna, with cool
+assurance.
+
+"It is very unpleasant being hanged on a dark winter morning; very cold,
+very friendless, very inhuman. The long trial, the solitude and the
+confinement, the thoughts of the long sleepless night before, the
+hangman and the pinioning and the noosing of the rope, are apt to prey
+on the imagination. Only a very stupid man can take hanging easily."
+
+"What do you want me to do instead, Mr Carrados?" asked Drishna
+shrewdly.
+
+Carrados's hand closed on the weapon that still lay on the table between
+them. Without a word he pushed it across.
+
+"I see," commented Drishna, with a short laugh and a gleaming eye.
+"Shoot myself and hush it up to suit your purpose. Withhold my message
+to save the exposures of a trial, and keep the flame from the torch of
+insurrectionary freedom."
+
+"Also," interposed Carrados mildly, "to save your worthy people a good
+deal of shame, and to save the lady who is nameless the unpleasant
+necessity of relinquishing the house and the income which you have just
+settled on her. She certainly would not then venerate your memory."
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"The transaction which you carried through was based on a felony and
+could not be upheld. The firm you dealt with will go to the courts, and
+the money, being directly traceable, will be held forfeit as no good
+consideration passed."
+
+"Max!" cried Mr Carlyle hotly, "you are not going to let this scoundrel
+cheat the gallows after all?"
+
+"The best use you can make of the gallows is to cheat it, Louis,"
+replied Carrados. "Have you ever reflected what human beings will think
+of us a hundred years hence?"
+
+"Oh, of course I'm not really in favour of hanging," admitted Mr
+Carlyle.
+
+"Nobody really is. But we go on hanging. Mr Drishna is a dangerous
+animal who for the sake of pacific animals must cease to exist. Let his
+barbarous exploit pass into oblivion with him. The disadvantages of
+spreading it broadcast immeasurably outweigh the benefits."
+
+"I have considered," announced Drishna. "I will do as you wish."
+
+"Very well," said Carrados. "Here is some plain notepaper. You had
+better write a letter to someone saying that the financial difficulties
+in which you are involved make life unbearable."
+
+"But there are no financial difficulties--now."
+
+"That does not matter in the least. It will be put down to an
+hallucination and taken as showing the state of your mind."
+
+"But what guarantee have we that he will not escape?" whispered Mr
+Carlyle.
+
+"He cannot escape," replied Carrados tranquilly. "His identity is too
+clear."
+
+"I have no intention of trying to escape," put in Drishna, as he wrote.
+"You hardly imagine that I have not considered this eventuality, do
+you?"
+
+"All the same," murmured the ex-lawyer, "I should like to have a jury
+behind me. It is one thing to execute a man morally; it is another to do
+it almost literally."
+
+"Is that all right?" asked Drishna, passing across the letter he had
+written.
+
+Carrados smiled at this tribute to his perception.
+
+"Quite excellent," he replied courteously. "There is a train at
+nine-forty. Will that suit you?"
+
+Drishna nodded and stood up. Mr Carlyle had a very uneasy feeling that
+he ought to do something but could not suggest to himself what.
+
+The next moment he heard his friend heartily thanking the visitor for
+the assistance he had been in the matter of the Indo-Scythian
+inscription, as they walked across the hall together. Then a door
+closed.
+
+"I believe that there is something positively uncanny about Max at
+times," murmured the perturbed gentleman to himself.
+
+
+
+
+THE TRAGEDY AT BROOKBEND COTTAGE
+
+
+"Max," said Mr Carlyle, when Parkinson had closed the door behind him,
+"this is Lieutenant Hollyer, whom you consented to see."
+
+"To hear," corrected Carrados, smiling straight into the healthy and
+rather embarrassed face of the stranger before him. "Mr Hollyer knows of
+my disability?"
+
+"Mr Carlyle told me," said the young man, "but, as a matter of fact, I
+had heard of you before, Mr Carrados, from one of our men. It was in
+connexion with the foundering of the _Ivan Saratov_."
+
+Carrados wagged his head in good-humoured resignation.
+
+"And the owners were sworn to inviolable secrecy!" he exclaimed. "Well,
+it is inevitable, I suppose. Not another scuttling case, Mr Hollyer?"
+
+"No, mine is quite a private matter," replied the lieutenant. "My
+sister, Mrs Creake--but Mr Carlyle would tell you better than I can. He
+knows all about it."
+
+"No, no; Carlyle is a professional. Let me have it in the rough, Mr
+Hollyer. My ears are my eyes, you know."
+
+"Very well, sir. I can tell you what there is to tell, right enough, but
+I feel that when all's said and done it must sound very little to
+another, although it seems important enough to me."
+
+"We have occasionally found trifles of significance ourselves," said
+Carrados encouragingly. "Don't let that deter you."
+
+This was the essence of Lieutenant Hollyer's narrative:
+
+"I have a sister, Millicent, who is married to a man called Creake. She
+is about twenty-eight now and he is at least fifteen years older.
+Neither my mother (who has since died), nor I, cared very much about
+Creake. We had nothing particular against him, except, perhaps, the
+moderate disparity of age, but none of us appeared to have anything in
+common. He was a dark, taciturn man, and his moody silence froze up
+conversation. As a result, of course, we didn't see much of each other."
+
+"This, you must understand, was four or five years ago, Max," interposed
+Mr Carlyle officiously.
+
+Carrados maintained an uncompromising silence. Mr Carlyle blew his nose
+and contrived to impart a hurt significance into the operation. Then
+Lieutenant Hollyer continued:
+
+"Millicent married Creake after a very short engagement. It was a
+frightfully subdued wedding--more like a funeral to me. The man
+professed to have no relations and apparently he had scarcely any
+friends or business acquaintances. He was an agent for something or
+other and had an office off Holborn. I suppose he made a living out of
+it then, although we knew practically nothing of his private affairs,
+but I gather that it has been going down since, and I suspect that for
+the past few years they have been getting along almost entirely on
+Millicent's little income. You would like the particulars of that?"
+
+"Please," assented Carrados.
+
+"When our father died about seven years ago, he left three thousand
+pounds. It was invested in Canadian stock and brought in a little over a
+hundred a year. By his will my mother was to have the income of that for
+life and on her death it was to pass to Millicent, subject to the
+payment of a lump sum of five hundred pounds to me. But my father
+privately suggested to me that if I should have no particular use for
+the money at the time, he would propose my letting Millicent have the
+income of it until I did want it, as she would not be particularly well
+off. You see, Mr Carrados, a great deal more had been spent on my
+education and advancement than on her; I had my pay, and, of course, I
+could look out for myself better than a girl could."
+
+"Quite so," agreed Carrados.
+
+"Therefore I did nothing about that," continued the lieutenant. "Three
+years ago I was over again but I did not see much of them. They were
+living in lodgings. That was the only time since the marriage that I
+have seen them until last week. In the meanwhile our mother had died and
+Millicent had been receiving her income. She wrote me several letters
+at the time. Otherwise we did not correspond much, but about a year ago
+she sent me their new address--Brookbend Cottage, Mulling Common--a
+house that they had taken. When I got two months' leave I invited myself
+there as a matter of course, fully expecting to stay most of my time
+with them, but I made an excuse to get away after a week. The place was
+dismal and unendurable, the whole life and atmosphere indescribably
+depressing." He looked round with an instinct of caution, leaned forward
+earnestly, and dropped his voice. "Mr Carrados, it is my absolute
+conviction that Creake is only waiting for a favourable opportunity to
+murder Millicent."
+
+"Go on," said Carrados quietly. "A week of the depressing surroundings
+of Brookbend Cottage would not alone convince you of that, Mr Hollyer."
+
+"I am not so sure," declared Hollyer doubtfully. "There was a feeling of
+suspicion and--before me--polite hatred that would have gone a good way
+towards it. All the same there _was_ something more definite. Millicent
+told me this the day after I went there. There is no doubt that a few
+months ago Creake deliberately planned to poison her with some
+weed-killer. She told me the circumstances in a rather distressed
+moment, but afterwards she refused to speak of it again--even weakly
+denied it--and, as a matter of fact, it was with the greatest difficulty
+that I could get her at any time to talk about her husband or his
+affairs. The gist of it was that she had the strongest suspicion that
+Creake doctored a bottle of stout which he expected she would drink for
+her supper when she was alone. The weed-killer, properly labelled, but
+also in a beer bottle, was kept with other miscellaneous liquids in the
+same cupboard as the beer but on a high shelf. When he found that it had
+miscarried he poured away the mixture, washed out the bottle and put in
+the dregs from another. There is no doubt in my mind that if he had come
+back and found Millicent dead or dying he would have contrived it to
+appear that she had made a mistake in the dark and drunk some of the
+poison before she found out."
+
+"Yes," assented Carrados. "The open way; the safe way."
+
+"You must understand that they live in a very small style, Mr Carrados,
+and Millicent is almost entirely in the man's power. The only servant
+they have is a woman who comes in for a few hours every day. The house
+is lonely and secluded. Creake is sometimes away for days and nights at
+a time, and Millicent, either through pride or indifference, seems to
+have dropped off all her old friends and to have made no others. He
+might poison her, bury the body in the garden, and be a thousand miles
+away before anyone began even to inquire about her. What am I to do, Mr
+Carrados?"
+
+"He is less likely to try poison than some other means now," pondered
+Carrados. "That having failed, his wife will always be on her guard. He
+may know, or at least suspect, that others know. No.... The
+common-sense precaution would be for your sister to leave the man, Mr
+Hollyer. She will not?"
+
+"No," admitted Hollyer, "she will not. I at once urged that." The young
+man struggled with some hesitation for a moment and then blurted out:
+"The fact is, Mr Carrados, I don't understand Millicent. She is not the
+girl she was. She hates Creake and treats him with a silent contempt
+that eats into their lives like acid, and yet she is so jealous of him
+that she will let nothing short of death part them. It is a horrible
+life they lead. I stood it for a week and I must say, much as I dislike
+my brother-in-law, that he has something to put up with. If only he got
+into a passion like a man and killed her it wouldn't be altogether
+incomprehensible."
+
+"That does not concern us," said Carrados. "In a game of this kind one
+has to take sides and we have taken ours. It remains for us to see that
+our side wins. You mentioned jealousy, Mr Hollyer. Have you any idea
+whether Mrs Creake has real ground for it?"
+
+"I should have told you that," replied Lieutenant Hollyer. "I happened
+to strike up with a newspaper man whose office is in the same block as
+Creake's. When I mentioned the name he grinned. 'Creake,' he said, 'oh,
+he's the man with the romantic typist, isn't he?' 'Well, he's my
+brother-in-law,' I replied. 'What about the typist?' Then the chap shut
+up like a knife. 'No, no,' he said, 'I didn't know he was married. I
+don't want to get mixed up in anything of that sort. I only said that
+he had a typist. Well, what of that? So have we; so has everyone.' There
+was nothing more to be got out of him, but the remark and the grin
+meant--well, about as usual, Mr Carrados."
+
+Carrados turned to his friend.
+
+"I suppose you know all about the typist by now, Louis?"
+
+"We have had her under efficient observation, Max," replied Mr Carlyle,
+with severe dignity.
+
+"Is she unmarried?"
+
+"Yes; so far as ordinary repute goes, she is."
+
+"That is all that is essential for the moment. Mr Hollyer opens up three
+excellent reasons why this man might wish to dispose of his wife. If we
+accept the suggestion of poisoning--though we have only a jealous
+woman's suspicion for it--we add to the wish the determination. Well, we
+will go forward on that. Have you got a photograph of Mr Creake?"
+
+The lieutenant took out his pocket-book.
+
+"Mr Carlyle asked me for one. Here is the best I could get."
+
+Carrados rang the bell.
+
+"This, Parkinson," he said, when the man appeared, "is a photograph of a
+Mr----What first name, by the way?"
+
+"Austin," put in Hollyer, who was following everything with a boyish
+mixture of excitement and subdued importance.
+
+"--of a Mr Austin Creake. I may require you to recognize him."
+
+Parkinson glanced at the print and returned it to his master's hand.
+
+"May I inquire if it is a recent photograph of the gentleman, sir?" he
+asked.
+
+"About six years ago," said the lieutenant, taking in this new actor in
+the drama with frank curiosity. "But he is very little changed."
+
+"Thank you, sir. I will endeavour to remember Mr Creake, sir."
+
+Lieutenant Hollyer stood up as Parkinson left the room. The interview
+seemed to be at an end.
+
+"Oh, there's one other matter," he remarked. "I am afraid that I did
+rather an unfortunate thing while I was at Brookbend. It seemed to me
+that as all Millicent's money would probably pass into Creake's hands
+sooner or later I might as well have my five hundred pounds, if only to
+help her with afterwards. So I broached the subject and said that I
+should like to have it now as I had an opportunity for investing."
+
+"And you think?"
+
+"It may possibly influence Creake to act sooner than he otherwise might
+have done. He may have got possession of the principal even and find it
+very awkward to replace it."
+
+"So much the better. If your sister is going to be murdered it may as
+well be done next week as next year so far as I am concerned. Excuse my
+brutality, Mr Hollyer, but this is simply a case to me and I regard it
+strategically. Now Mr Carlyle's organization can look after Mrs Creake
+for a few weeks but it cannot look after her for ever. By increasing the
+immediate risk we diminish the permanent risk."
+
+"I see," agreed Hollyer. "I'm awfully uneasy but I'm entirely in your
+hands."
+
+"Then we will give Mr Creake every inducement and every opportunity to
+get to work. Where are you staying now?"
+
+"Just now with some friends at St Albans."
+
+"That is too far." The inscrutable eyes retained their tranquil depth
+but a new quality of quickening interest in the voice made Mr Carlyle
+forget the weight and burden of his ruffled dignity. "Give me a few
+minutes, please. The cigarettes are behind you, Mr Hollyer." The blind
+man walked to the window and seemed to look out over the cypress-shaded
+lawn. The lieutenant lit a cigarette and Mr Carlyle picked up _Punch_.
+Then Carrados turned round again.
+
+"You are prepared to put your own arrangements aside?" he demanded of
+his visitor.
+
+"Certainly."
+
+"Very well. I want you to go down now--straight from here--to Brookbend
+Cottage. Tell your sister that your leave is unexpectedly cut short and
+that you sail to-morrow."
+
+"The _Martian_?"
+
+"No, no; the _Martian_ doesn't sail. Look up the movements on your way
+there and pick out a boat that does. Say you are transferred. Add that
+you expect to be away only two or three months and that you really want
+the five hundred pounds by the time of your return. Don't stay in the
+house long, please."
+
+"I understand, sir."
+
+"St Albans is too far. Make your excuse and get away from there to-day.
+Put up somewhere in town, where you will be in reach of the telephone.
+Let Mr Carlyle and myself know where you are. Keep out of Creake's way.
+I don't want actually to tie you down to the house, but we may require
+your services. We will let you know at the first sign of anything doing
+and if there is nothing to be done we must release you."
+
+"I don't mind that. Is there nothing more that I can do now?"
+
+"Nothing. In going to Mr Carlyle you have done the best thing possible;
+you have put your sister into the care of the shrewdest man in London."
+Whereat the object of this quite unexpected eulogy found himself
+becoming covered with modest confusion.
+
+"Well, Max?" remarked Mr Carlyle tentatively when they were alone.
+
+"Well, Louis?"
+
+"Of course it wasn't worth while rubbing it in before young Hollyer,
+but, as a matter of fact, every single man carries the life of any other
+man--only one, mind you--in his hands, do what you will."
+
+"Provided he doesn't bungle," acquiesced Carrados.
+
+"Quite so."
+
+"And also that he is absolutely reckless of the consequences."
+
+"Of course."
+
+"Two rather large provisos. Creake is obviously susceptible to both.
+Have you seen him?"
+
+"No. As I told you, I put a man on to report his habits in town. Then,
+two days ago, as the case seemed to promise some interest--for he
+certainly is deeply involved with the typist, Max, and the thing might
+take a sensational turn any time--I went down to Mulling Common myself.
+Although the house is lonely it is on the electric tram route. You know
+the sort of market garden rurality that about a dozen miles out of
+London offers--alternate bricks and cabbages. It was easy enough to get
+to know about Creake locally. He mixes with no one there, goes into town
+at irregular times but generally every day, and is reputed to be
+devilish hard to get money out of. Finally I made the acquaintance of an
+old fellow who used to do a day's gardening at Brookbend occasionally.
+He has a cottage and a garden of his own with a greenhouse, and the
+business cost me the price of a pound of tomatoes."
+
+"Was it--a profitable investment?"
+
+"As tomatoes, yes; as information, no. The old fellow had the fatal
+disadvantage from our point of view of labouring under a grievance. A
+few weeks ago Creake told him that he would not require him again as he
+was going to do his own gardening in future."
+
+"That is something, Louis."
+
+"If only Creake was going to poison his wife with hyoscyamine and bury
+her, instead of blowing her up with a dynamite cartridge and claiming
+that it came in among the coal."
+
+"True, true. Still----"
+
+"However, the chatty old soul had a simple explanation for everything
+that Creake did. Creake was mad. He had even seen him flying a kite in
+his garden where it was bound to get wrecked among the trees. 'A lad of
+ten would have known better,' he declared. And certainly the kite did
+get wrecked, for I saw it hanging over the road myself. But that a sane
+man should spend his time 'playing with a toy' was beyond him."
+
+"A good many men have been flying kites of various kinds lately," said
+Carrados. "Is he interested in aviation?"
+
+"I dare say. He appears to have some knowledge of scientific subjects.
+Now what do you want me to do, Max?"
+
+"Will you do it?"
+
+"Implicitly--subject to the usual reservations."
+
+"Keep your man on Creake in town and let me have his reports after you
+have seen them. Lunch with me here now. 'Phone up to your office that
+you are detained on unpleasant business and then give the deserving
+Parkinson an afternoon off by looking after me while we take a motor run
+round Mulling Common. If we have time we might go on to Brighton, feed
+at the 'Ship,' and come back in the cool."
+
+"Amiable and thrice lucky mortal," sighed Mr Carlyle, his glance
+wandering round the room.
+
+But, as it happened, Brighton did not figure in that day's itinerary. It
+had been Carrados's intention merely to pass Brookbend Cottage on this
+occasion, relying on his highly developed faculties, aided by Mr
+Carlyle's description, to inform him of the surroundings. A hundred
+yards before they reached the house he had given an order to his
+chauffeur to drop into the lowest speed and they were leisurely drawing
+past when a discovery by Mr Carlyle modified their plans.
+
+"By Jupiter!" that gentleman suddenly exclaimed, "there's a board up,
+Max. The place is to be let."
+
+Carrados picked up the tube again. A couple of sentences passed and the
+car stopped by the roadside, a score of paces past the limit of the
+garden. Mr Carlyle took out his notebook and wrote down the address of a
+firm of house agents.
+
+"You might raise the bonnet and have a look at the engines, Harris,"
+said Carrados. "We want to be occupied here for a few minutes."
+
+"This is sudden; Hollyer knew nothing of their leaving," remarked Mr
+Carlyle.
+
+"Probably not for three months yet. All the same, Louis, we will go on
+to the agents and get a card to view, whether we use it to-day or not."
+
+A thick hedge, in its summer dress effectively screening the house
+beyond from public view, lay between the garden and the road. Above the
+hedge showed an occasional shrub; at the corner nearest to the car a
+chestnut flourished. The wooden gate, once white; which they had passed,
+was grimed and rickety. The road itself was still the unpretentious
+country lane that the advent of the electric car had found it. When
+Carrados had taken in these details there seemed little else to notice.
+He was on the point of giving Harris the order to go on when his ear
+caught a trivial sound.
+
+"Someone is coming out of the house, Louis," he warned his friend. "It
+may be Hollyer, but he ought to have gone by this time."
+
+"I don't hear anyone," replied the other, but as he spoke a door banged
+noisily and Mr Carlyle slipped into another seat and ensconced himself
+behind a copy of _The Globe_.
+
+"Creake himself," he whispered across the car, as a man appeared at the
+gate. "Hollyer was right; he is hardly changed. Waiting for a car, I
+suppose."
+
+But a car very soon swung past them from the direction in which Mr
+Creake was looking and it did not interest him. For a minute or two
+longer he continued to look expectantly along the road. Then he walked
+slowly up the drive back to the house.
+
+"We will give him five or ten minutes," decided Carrados. "Harris is
+behaving very naturally."
+
+Before even the shorter period had run out they were repaid. A
+telegraph-boy cycled leisurely along the road, and, leaving his machine
+at the gate, went up to the cottage. Evidently there was no reply, for
+in less than a minute he was trundling past them back again. Round the
+bend an approaching tram clanged its bell noisily, and, quickened by the
+warning sound, Mr Creake again appeared, this time with a small
+portmanteau in his hand. With a backward glance he hurried on towards
+the next stopping-place, and, boarding the car as it slackened down, he
+was carried out of their knowledge.
+
+"Very convenient of Mr Creake," remarked Carrados, with quiet
+satisfaction. "We will now get the order and go over the house in his
+absence. It might be useful to have a look at the wire as well."
+
+"It might, Max," acquiesced Mr Carlyle a little dryly. "But if it is, as
+it probably is, in Creake's pocket, how do you propose to get it?"
+
+"By going to the post office, Louis."
+
+"Quite so. Have you ever tried to see a copy of a telegram addressed to
+someone else?"
+
+"I don't think I have ever had occasion yet," admitted Carrados. "Have
+you?"
+
+"In one or two cases I have perhaps been an accessory to the act. It is
+generally a matter either of extreme delicacy or considerable
+expenditure."
+
+"Then for Hollyer's sake we will hope for the former here." And Mr
+Carlyle smiled darkly and hinted that he was content to wait for a
+friendly revenge.
+
+A little later, having left the car at the beginning of the straggling
+High Street, the two men called at the village post office. They had
+already visited the house agent and obtained an order to view Brookbend
+Cottage, declining, with some difficulty, the clerk's persistent offer
+to accompany them. The reason was soon forthcoming. "As a matter of
+fact," explained the young man, "the present tenant is under _our_
+notice to leave."
+
+"Unsatisfactory, eh?" said Carrados encouragingly.
+
+"He's a corker," admitted the clerk, responding to the friendly tone.
+"Fifteen months and not a doit of rent have we had. That's why I should
+have liked----"
+
+"We will make every allowance," replied Carrados.
+
+The post office occupied one side of a stationer's shop. It was not
+without some inward trepidation that Mr Carlyle found himself committed
+to the adventure. Carrados, on the other hand, was the personification
+of bland unconcern.
+
+"You have just sent a telegram to Brookbend Cottage," he said to the
+young lady behind the brasswork lattice. "We think it may have come
+inaccurately and should like a repeat." He took out his purse. "What is
+the fee?"
+
+The request was evidently not a common one. "Oh," said the girl
+uncertainly, "wait a minute, please." She turned to a pile of telegram
+duplicates behind the desk and ran a doubtful finger along the upper
+sheets. "I think this is all right. You want it repeated?"
+
+"Please." Just a tinge of questioning surprise gave point to the
+courteous tone.
+
+"It will be fourpence. If there is an error the amount will be
+refunded."
+
+Carrados put down a coin and received his change.
+
+"Will it take long?" he inquired carelessly, as he pulled on his glove.
+
+"You will most likely get it within a quarter of an hour," she replied.
+
+"Now you've done it," commented Mr Carlyle, as they walked back to their
+car. "How do you propose to get that telegram, Max?"
+
+"Ask for it," was the laconic explanation.
+
+And, stripping the artifice of any elaboration, he simply asked for it
+and got it. The car, posted at a convenient bend in the road, gave him a
+warning note as the telegraph-boy approached. Then Carrados took up a
+convincing attitude with his hand on the gate while Mr Carlyle lent
+himself to the semblance of a departing friend. That was the inevitable
+impression when the boy rode up.
+
+"Creake, Brookbend Cottage?" inquired Carrados, holding out his hand,
+and without a second thought the boy gave him the envelope and rode away
+on the assurance that there would be no reply.
+
+"Some day, my friend," remarked Mr Carlyle, looking nervously towards
+the unseen house, "your ingenuity will get you into a tight corner."
+
+"Then my ingenuity must get me out again," was the retort. "Let us have
+our 'view' now. The telegram can wait."
+
+An untidy workwoman took their order and left them standing at the door.
+Presently a lady whom they both knew to be Mrs Creake appeared.
+
+"You wish to see over the house?" she said, in a voice that was utterly
+devoid of any interest. Then, without waiting for a reply, she turned to
+the nearest door and threw it open.
+
+"This is the drawing-room," she said, standing aside.
+
+They walked into a sparsely furnished, damp-smelling room and made a
+pretence of looking round, while Mrs Creake remained silent and aloof.
+
+"The dining-room," she continued, crossing the narrow hall and opening
+another door.
+
+Mr Carlyle ventured a genial commonplace in the hope of inducing
+conversation. The result was not encouraging. Doubtless they would have
+gone through the house under the same frigid guidance had not Carrados
+been at fault in a way that Mr Carlyle had never known him fail before.
+In crossing the hall he stumbled over a mat and almost fell.
+
+"Pardon my clumsiness," he said to the lady. "I am, unfortunately, quite
+blind. But," he added, with a smile, to turn off the mishap, "even a
+blind man must have a house."
+
+The man who had eyes was surprised to see a flood of colour rush into
+Mrs Creake's face.
+
+"Blind!" she exclaimed, "oh, I beg your pardon. Why did you not tell me?
+You might have fallen."
+
+"I generally manage fairly well," he replied. "But, of course, in a
+strange house----"
+
+She put her hand on his arm very lightly.
+
+"You must let me guide you, just a little," she said.
+
+The house, without being large, was full of passages and inconvenient
+turnings. Carrados asked an occasional question and found Mrs Creake
+quite amiable without effusion. Mr Carlyle followed them from room to
+room in the hope, though scarcely the expectation, of learning something
+that might be useful.
+
+"This is the last one. It is the largest bedroom," said their guide.
+Only two of the upper rooms were fully furnished and Mr Carlyle at once
+saw, as Carrados knew without seeing, that this was the one which the
+Creakes occupied.
+
+"A very pleasant outlook," declared Mr Carlyle.
+
+"Oh, I suppose so," admitted the lady vaguely. The room, in fact, looked
+over the leafy garden and the road beyond. It had a French window
+opening on to a small balcony, and to this, under the strange influence
+that always attracted him to light, Carrados walked.
+
+"I expect that there is a certain amount of repair needed?" he said,
+after standing there a moment.
+
+"I am afraid there would be," she confessed.
+
+"I ask because there is a sheet of metal on the floor here," he
+continued. "Now that, in an old house, spells dry rot to the wary
+observer."
+
+"My husband said that the rain, which comes in a little under the
+window, was rotting the boards there," she replied. "He put that down
+recently. I had not noticed anything myself."
+
+It was the first time she had mentioned her husband; Mr Carlyle pricked
+up his ears.
+
+"Ah, that is a less serious matter," said Carrados. "May I step out on
+to the balcony?"
+
+"Oh yes, if you like to." Then, as he appeared to be fumbling at the
+catch, "Let me open it for you."
+
+But the window was already open, and Carrados, facing the various points
+of the compass, took in the bearings.
+
+"A sunny, sheltered corner," he remarked. "An ideal spot for a
+deck-chair and a book."
+
+She shrugged her shoulders half contemptuously.
+
+"I dare say," she replied, "but I never use it."
+
+"Sometimes, surely," he persisted mildly. "It would be my favourite
+retreat. But then----"
+
+"I was going to say that I had never even been out on it, but that would
+not be quite true. It has two uses for me, both equally romantic; I
+occasionally shake a duster from it, and when my husband returns late
+without his latchkey he wakes me up and I come out here and drop him
+mine."
+
+Further revelation of Mr Creake's nocturnal habits was cut off, greatly
+to Mr Carlyle's annoyance, by a cough of unmistakable significance from
+the foot of the stairs. They had heard a trade cart drive up to the
+gate, a knock at the door, and the heavy-footed woman tramp along the
+hall.
+
+"Excuse me a minute, please," said Mrs Creake.
+
+"Louis," said Carrados, in a sharp whisper, the moment they were alone,
+"stand against the door."
+
+With extreme plausibility Mr Carlyle began to admire a picture so
+situated that while he was there it was impossible to open the door more
+than a few inches. From that position he observed his confederate go
+through the curious procedure of kneeling down on the bedroom floor and
+for a full minute pressing his ear to the sheet of metal that had
+already engaged his attention. Then he rose to his feet, nodded, dusted
+his trousers, and Mr Carlyle moved to a less equivocal position.
+
+"What a beautiful rose-tree grows up your balcony," remarked Carrados,
+stepping into the room as Mrs Creake returned. "I suppose you are very
+fond of gardening?"
+
+"I detest it," she replied.
+
+"But this _Glorie_, so carefully trained----?"
+
+"Is it?" she replied. "I think my husband was nailing it up recently."
+By some strange fatality Carrados's most aimless remarks seemed to
+involve the absent Mr Creake. "Do you care to see the garden?"
+
+The garden proved to be extensive and neglected. Behind the house was
+chiefly orchard. In front, some semblance of order had been kept up;
+here it was lawn and shrubbery, and the drive they had walked along.
+Two things interested Carrados: the soil at the foot of the balcony,
+which he declared on examination to be particularly suitable for roses,
+and the fine chestnut-tree in the corner by the road.
+
+As they walked back to the car Mr Carlyle lamented that they had learned
+so little of Creake's movements.
+
+"Perhaps the telegram will tell us something," suggested Carrados. "Read
+it, Louis."
+
+Mr Carlyle cut open the envelope, glanced at the enclosure, and in spite
+of his disappointment could not restrain a chuckle.
+
+"My poor Max," he explained, "you have put yourself to an amount of
+ingenious trouble for nothing. Creake is evidently taking a few days'
+holiday and prudently availed himself of the Meteorological Office
+forecast before going. Listen: '_Immediate prospect for London warm and
+settled. Further outlook cooler but fine._' Well, well; I did get a
+pound of tomatoes for _my_ fourpence."
+
+"You certainly scored there, Louis," admitted Carrados, with humorous
+appreciation. "I wonder," he added speculatively, "whether it is
+Creake's peculiar taste usually to spend his week-end holiday in
+London."
+
+"Eh?" exclaimed Mr Carlyle, looking at the words again, "by gad, that's
+rum, Max. They go to Weston-super-Mare. Why on earth should he want to
+know about London?"
+
+"I can make a guess, but before we are satisfied I must come here again.
+Take another look at that kite, Louis. Are there a few yards of string
+hanging loose from it?"
+
+"Yes, there are."
+
+"Rather thick string--unusually thick for the purpose?"
+
+"Yes; but how do you know?"
+
+As they drove home again Carrados explained, and Mr Carlyle sat aghast,
+saying incredulously: "Good God, Max, is it possible?"
+
+An hour later he was satisfied that it was possible. In reply to his
+inquiry someone in his office telephoned him the information that "they"
+had left Paddington by the four-thirty for Weston.
+
+It was more than a week after his introduction to Carrados that
+Lieutenant Hollyer had a summons to present himself at The Turrets
+again. He found Mr Carlyle already there and the two friends awaiting
+his arrival.
+
+"I stayed in all day after hearing from you this morning, Mr Carrados,"
+he said, shaking hands. "When I got your second message I was all ready
+to walk straight out of the house. That's how I did it in the time. I
+hope everything is all right?"
+
+"Excellent," replied Carrados. "You'd better have something before we
+start. We probably have a long and perhaps an exciting night before us."
+
+"And certainly a wet one," assented the lieutenant. "It was thundering
+over Mulling way as I came along."
+
+"That is why you are here," said his host. "We are waiting for a certain
+message before we start, and in the meantime you may as well understand
+what we expect to happen. As you saw, there is a thunderstorm coming on.
+The Meteorological Office morning forecast predicted it for the whole of
+London if the conditions remained. That was why I kept you in readiness.
+Within an hour it is now inevitable that we shall experience a deluge.
+Here and there damage will be done to trees and buildings; here and
+there a person will probably be struck and killed."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"It is Mr Creake's intention that his wife should be among the victims."
+
+"I don't exactly follow," said Hollyer, looking from one man to the
+other. "I quite admit that Creake would be immensely relieved if such a
+thing did happen, but the chance is surely an absurdly remote one."
+
+"Yet unless we intervene it is precisely what a coroner's jury will
+decide has happened. Do you know whether your brother-in-law has any
+practical knowledge of electricity, Mr Hollyer?"
+
+"I cannot say. He was so reserved, and we really knew so little of
+him----"
+
+"Yet in 1896 an Austin Creake contributed an article on 'Alternating
+Currents' to the American _Scientific World_. That would argue a fairly
+intimate acquaintanceship."
+
+"But do you mean that he is going to direct a flash of lightning?"
+
+"Only into the minds of the doctor who conducts the post-mortem, and
+the coroner. This storm, the opportunity for which he has been waiting
+for weeks, is merely the cloak to his act. The weapon which he has
+planned to use--scarcely less powerful than lightning but much more
+tractable--is the high voltage current of electricity that flows along
+the tram wire at his gate."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Lieutenant Hollyer, as the sudden revelation struck him.
+
+"Some time between eleven o'clock to-night--about the hour when your
+sister goes to bed--and one-thirty in the morning--the time up to which
+he can rely on the current--Creake will throw a stone up at the balcony
+window. Most of his preparation has long been made; it only remains for
+him to connect up a short length to the window handle and a longer one
+at the other end to tap the live wire. That done, he will wake his wife
+in the way I have said. The moment she moves the catch of the
+window--and he has carefully filed its parts to ensure perfect
+contact--she will be electrocuted as effectually as if she sat in the
+executioner's chair in Sing Sing prison."
+
+"But what are we doing here!" exclaimed Hollyer, starting to his feet,
+pale and horrified. "It is past ten now and anything may happen."
+
+"Quite natural, Mr Hollyer," said Carrados reassuringly, "but you need
+have no anxiety. Creake is being watched, the house is being watched,
+and your sister is as safe as if she slept to-night in Windsor Castle.
+Be assured that whatever happens he will not be allowed to complete his
+scheme; but it is desirable to let him implicate himself to the fullest
+limit. Your brother-in-law, Mr Hollyer, is a man with a peculiar
+capacity for taking pains."
+
+"He is a damned cold-blooded scoundrel!" exclaimed the young officer
+fiercely. "When I think of Millicent five years ago----"
+
+"Well, for that matter, an enlightened nation has decided that
+electrocution is the most humane way of removing its superfluous
+citizens," suggested Carrados mildly. "He is certainly an
+ingenious-minded gentleman. It is his misfortune that in Mr Carlyle he
+was fated to be opposed by an even subtler brain----"
+
+"No, no! Really, Max!" protested the embarrassed gentleman.
+
+"Mr Hollyer will be able to judge for himself when I tell him that it
+was Mr Carlyle who first drew attention to the significance of the
+abandoned kite," insisted Carrados firmly. "Then, of course, its object
+became plain to me--as indeed to anyone. For ten minutes, perhaps, a
+wire must be carried from the overhead line to the chestnut-tree. Creake
+has everything in his favour, but it is just within possibility that the
+driver of an inopportune tram might notice the appendage. What of that?
+Why, for more than a week he has seen a derelict kite with its yards of
+trailing string hanging in the tree. A very calculating mind, Mr
+Hollyer. It would be interesting to know what line of action Mr Creake
+has mapped out for himself afterwards. I expect he has half-a-dozen
+artistic little touches up his sleeve. Possibly he would merely singe
+his wife's hair, burn her feet with a red-hot poker, shiver the glass of
+the French window, and be content with that to let well alone. You see,
+lightning is so varied in its effects that whatever he did or did not do
+would be right. He is in the impregnable position of the body showing
+all the symptoms of death by lightning shock and nothing else but
+lightning to account for it--a dilated eye, heart contracted in systole,
+bloodless lungs shrunk to a third the normal weight, and all the rest of
+it. When he has removed a few outward traces of his work Creake might
+quite safely 'discover' his dead wife and rush off for the nearest
+doctor. Or he may have decided to arrange a convincing alibi, and creep
+away, leaving the discovery to another. We shall never know; he will
+make no confession."
+
+"I wish it was well over," admitted Hollyer. "I'm not particularly
+jumpy, but this gives me a touch of the creeps."
+
+"Three more hours at the worst, Lieutenant," said Carrados cheerfully.
+"Ah-ha, something is coming through now."
+
+He went to the telephone and received a message from one quarter; then
+made another connection and talked for a few minutes with someone else.
+
+"Everything working smoothly," he remarked between times over his
+shoulder. "Your sister has gone to bed, Mr Hollyer."
+
+Then he turned to the house telephone and distributed his orders.
+
+"So we," he concluded, "must get up."
+
+By the time they were ready a large closed motor car was waiting. The
+lieutenant thought he recognized Parkinson in the well-swathed form
+beside the driver, but there was no temptation to linger for a second on
+the steps. Already the stinging rain had lashed the drive into the
+semblance of a frothy estuary; all round the lightning jagged its course
+through the incessant tremulous glow of more distant lightning, while
+the thunder only ceased its muttering to turn at close quarters and
+crackle viciously.
+
+"One of the few things I regret missing," remarked Carrados tranquilly;
+"but I hear a good deal of colour in it."
+
+The car slushed its way down to the gate, lurched a little heavily
+across the dip into the road, and, steadying as it came upon the
+straight, began to hum contentedly along the deserted highway.
+
+"We are not going direct?" suddenly inquired Hollyer, after they had
+travelled perhaps half-a-dozen miles. The night was bewildering enough
+but he had the sailor's gift for location.
+
+"No; through Hunscott Green and then by a field-path to the orchard at
+the back," replied Carrados. "Keep a sharp look out for the man with the
+lantern about here, Harris," he called through the tube.
+
+"Something flashing just ahead, sir," came the reply, and the car slowed
+down and stopped.
+
+Carrados dropped the near window as a man in glistening waterproof
+stepped from the shelter of a lich-gate and approached.
+
+"Inspector Beedel, sir," said the stranger, looking into the car.
+
+"Quite right, Inspector," said Carrados. "Get in."
+
+"I have a man with me, sir."
+
+"We can find room for him as well."
+
+"We are very wet."
+
+"So shall we all be soon."
+
+The lieutenant changed his seat and the two burly forms took places side
+by side. In less than five minutes the car stopped again, this time in a
+grassy country lane.
+
+"Now we have to face it," announced Carrados. "The inspector will show
+us the way."
+
+The car slid round and disappeared into the night, while Beedel led the
+party to a stile in the hedge. A couple of fields brought them to the
+Brookbend boundary. There a figure stood out of the black foliage,
+exchanged a few words with their guide and piloted them along the
+shadows of the orchard to the back door of the house.
+
+"You will find a broken pane near the catch of the scullery window,"
+said the blind man.
+
+"Right, sir," replied the inspector. "I have it. Now who goes through?"
+
+"Mr Hollyer will open the door for us. I'm afraid you must take off
+your boots and all wet things, Lieutenant. We cannot risk a single spot
+inside."
+
+They waited until the back door opened, then each one divested himself
+in a similar manner and passed into the kitchen, where the remains of a
+fire still burned. The man from the orchard gathered together the
+discarded garments and disappeared again.
+
+Carrados turned to the lieutenant.
+
+"A rather delicate job for you now, Mr Hollyer. I want you to go up to
+your sister, wake her, and get her into another room with as little fuss
+as possible. Tell her as much as you think fit and let her understand
+that her very life depends on absolute stillness when she is alone.
+Don't be unduly hurried, but not a glimmer of a light, please."
+
+Ten minutes passed by the measure of the battered old alarum on the
+dresser shelf before the young man returned.
+
+"I've had rather a time of it," he reported, with a nervous laugh, "but
+I think it will be all right now. She is in the spare room."
+
+"Then we will take our places. You and Parkinson come with me to the
+bedroom. Inspector, you have your own arrangements. Mr Carlyle will be
+with you."
+
+They dispersed silently about the house. Hollyer glanced apprehensively
+at the door of the spare room as they passed it but within was as quiet
+as the grave. Their room lay at the other end of the passage.
+
+"You may as well take your place in the bed now, Hollyer," directed
+Carrados when they were inside and the door closed. "Keep well down
+among the clothes. Creake has to get up on the balcony, you know, and he
+will probably peep through the window, but he dare come no farther. Then
+when he begins to throw up stones slip on this dressing-gown of your
+sister's. I'll tell you what to do after."
+
+The next sixty minutes drew out into the longest hour that the
+lieutenant had ever known. Occasionally he heard a whisper pass between
+the two men who stood behind the window curtains, but he could see
+nothing. Then Carrados threw a guarded remark in his direction.
+
+"He is in the garden now."
+
+Something scraped slightly against the outer wall. But the night was
+full of wilder sounds, and in the house the furniture and the boards
+creaked and sprung between the yawling of the wind among the chimneys,
+the rattle of the thunder and the pelting of the rain. It was a time to
+quicken the steadiest pulse, and when the crucial moment came, when a
+pebble suddenly rang against the pane with a sound that the tense
+waiting magnified into a shivering crash, Hollyer leapt from the bed on
+the instant.
+
+"Easy, easy," warned Carrados feelingly. "We will wait for another
+knock." He passed something across. "Here is a rubber glove. I have cut
+the wire but you had better put it on. Stand just for a moment at the
+window, move the catch so that it can blow open a little, and drop
+immediately. Now."
+
+Another stone had rattled against the glass. For Hollyer to go through
+his part was the work merely of seconds, and with a few touches Carrados
+spread the dressing-gown to more effective disguise about the extended
+form. But an unforeseen and in the circumstances rather horrible
+interval followed, for Creake, in accordance with some detail of his
+never-revealed plan, continued to shower missile after missile against
+the panes until even the unimpressionable Parkinson shivered.
+
+"The last act," whispered Carrados, a moment after the throwing had
+ceased. "He has gone round to the back. Keep as you are. We take cover
+now." He pressed behind the arras of an extemporized wardrobe, and the
+spirit of emptiness and desolation seemed once more to reign over the
+lonely house.
+
+From half-a-dozen places of concealment ears were straining to catch the
+first guiding sound. He moved very stealthily, burdened, perhaps, by
+some strange scruple in the presence of the tragedy that he had not
+feared to contrive, paused for a moment at the bedroom door, then opened
+it very quietly, and in the fickle light read the consummation of his
+hopes.
+
+"At last!" they heard the sharp whisper drawn from his relief. "At
+last!"
+
+He took another step and two shadows seemed to fall upon him from
+behind, one on either side. With primitive instinct a cry of terror and
+surprise escaped him as he made a desperate movement to wrench himself
+free, and for a short second he almost succeeded in dragging one hand
+into a pocket. Then his wrists slowly came together and the handcuffs
+closed.
+
+"I am Inspector Beedel," said the man on his right side. "You are
+charged with the attempted murder of your wife, Millicent Creake."
+
+"You are mad," retorted the miserable creature, falling into a desperate
+calmness. "She has been struck by lightning."
+
+"No, you blackguard, she hasn't," wrathfully exclaimed his
+brother-in-law, jumping up. "Would you like to see her?"
+
+"I also have to warn you," continued the inspector impassively, "that
+anything you say may be used as evidence against you."
+
+A startled cry from the farther end of the passage arrested their
+attention.
+
+"Mr Carrados," called Hollyer, "oh, come at once."
+
+At the open door of the other bedroom stood the lieutenant, his eyes
+still turned towards something in the room beyond, a little empty bottle
+in his hand.
+
+"Dead!" he exclaimed tragically, with a sob, "with this beside her. Dead
+just when she would have been free of the brute."
+
+The blind man passed into the room, sniffed the air, and laid a gentle
+hand on the pulseless heart.
+
+"Yes," he replied. "That, Hollyer, does not always appeal to the woman,
+strange to say."
+
+
+
+
+THE CLEVER MRS STRAITHWAITE
+
+
+Mr Carlyle had arrived at The Turrets in the very best possible spirits.
+Everything about him, from his immaculate white spats to the choice
+gardenia in his buttonhole, from the brisk decision with which he took
+the front-door steps to the bustling importance with which he had
+positively brushed Parkinson aside at the door of the library,
+proclaimed consequence and the extremely good terms on which he stood
+with himself.
+
+"Prepare yourself, Max," he exclaimed. "If I hinted at a case of
+exceptional delicacy that will certainly interest you by its romantic
+possibilities----?"
+
+"I should have the liveliest misgivings. Ten to one it would be a jewel
+mystery," hazarded Carrados, as his friend paused with the point of his
+communication withheld, after the manner of a quizzical youngster with a
+promised bon-bon held behind his back. "If you made any more of it I
+should reluctantly be forced to the conclusion that the case involved a
+society scandal connected with a priceless pearl necklace."
+
+Mr Carlyle's face fell.
+
+"Then it _is_ in the papers, after all?" he said, with an air of
+disappointment.
+
+"What is in the papers, Louis?"
+
+"Some hint of the fraudulent insurance of the Hon. Mrs Straithwaite's
+pearl necklace," replied Carlyle.
+
+"Possibly," admitted Carrados. "But so far I have not come across it."
+
+Mr Carlyle stared at his friend, and marching up to the table brought
+his hand down on it with an arresting slap.
+
+"Then what in the name of goodness are you talking about, may I ask?" he
+demanded caustically. "If you know nothing of the Straithwaite affair,
+Max, what other pearl necklace case are you referring to?"
+
+Carrados assumed the air of mild deprecation with which he frequently
+apologized for a blind man venturing to make a discovery.
+
+"A philosopher once made the remark----"
+
+"Had it anything to do with Mrs Straithwaite's--the Hon. Mrs
+Straithwaite's--pearl necklace? And let me warn you, Max, that I have
+read a good deal both of Mill and Spencer at odd times."
+
+"It was neither Mill nor Spencer. He had a German name, so I will not
+mention it. He made the observation, which, of course, we recognize as
+an obvious commonplace when once it has been expressed, that in order to
+have an accurate knowledge of what a man will do on any occasion it is
+only necessary to study a single characteristic action of his."
+
+"Utterly impracticable," declared Mr Carlyle.
+
+"I therefore knew that when you spoke of a case of exceptional interest
+to _me_, what you really meant, Louis, was a case of exceptional
+interest to _you_."
+
+Mr Carlyle's sudden thoughtful silence seemed to admit that possibly
+there might be something in the point.
+
+"By applying, almost unconsciously, the same useful rule, I became aware
+that a mystery connected with a valuable pearl necklace and a beautiful
+young society belle would appeal the most strongly to your romantic
+imagination."
+
+"Romantic! I, romantic? Thirty-five and a private inquiry agent! You
+are--positively feverish, Max."
+
+"Incurably romantic--or you would have got over it by now: the worst
+kind."
+
+"Max, this may prove a most important and interesting case. Will you be
+serious and discuss it?"
+
+"Jewel cases are rarely either important or interesting. Pearl necklace
+mysteries, in nine cases out of ten, spring from the miasma of social
+pretence and vapid competition and only concern people who do not matter
+in the least. The only attractive thing about them is the name. They are
+so barren of originality that a criminological Linnaeus could classify
+them with absolute nicety. I'll tell you what, we'll draw up a set of
+tables giving the solution to every possible pearl necklace case for the
+next twenty-one years."
+
+"We will do any mortal thing you like, Max, if you will allow Parkinson
+to administer a bromo-seltzer and then enable me to meet the officials
+of the Direct Insurance without a blush."
+
+For three minutes Carrados picked his unerring way among the furniture
+as he paced the room silently but with irresolution in his face. Twice
+his hand went to a paper-covered book lying on his desk, and twice he
+left it untouched.
+
+"Have you ever been in the lion-house at feeding-time, Louis?" he
+demanded abruptly.
+
+"In the very remote past, possibly," admitted Mr Carlyle guardedly.
+
+"As the hour approaches it is impossible to interest the creatures with
+any other suggestion than that of raw meat. You came a day too late,
+Louis." He picked up the book and skimmed it adroitly into Mr Carlyle's
+hands. "I have already scented the gore, and tasted in imagination the
+joy of tearing choice morsels from other similarly obsessed animals."
+
+"'Catalogue des monnaies grecques et romaines,'" read the gentleman.
+"'To be sold by auction at the Hotel Drouet, Paris, salle 8, April the
+24th, 25th, etc.' H'm." He turned to the plates of photogravure
+illustration which gave an air to the volume. "This is an event, I
+suppose?"
+
+"It is the sort of dispersal we get about once in three years," replied
+Carrados. "I seldom attend the little sales, but I save up and then have
+a week's orgy."
+
+"And when do you go?"
+
+"To-day. By the afternoon boat--Folkestone. I have already taken rooms
+at Mascot's. I'm sorry it has fallen so inopportunely, Louis."
+
+Mr Carlyle rose to the occasion with a display of extremely gentlemanly
+feeling--which had the added merit of being quite genuine.
+
+"My dear chap, your regrets only serve to remind me how much I owe to
+you already. _Bon voyage_, and the most desirable of Eu--Eu--well,
+perhaps it would be safer to say, of Kimons, for your collection."
+
+"I suppose," pondered Carrados, "this insurance business might have led
+to other profitable connexions?"
+
+"That is quite true," admitted his friend. "I have been trying for some
+time--but do not think any more of it, Max."
+
+"What time is it?" demanded Carrados suddenly.
+
+"Eleven-twenty-five."
+
+"Good. Has any officious idiot had anyone arrested?"
+
+"No, it is only----"
+
+"Never mind. Do you know much of the case?"
+
+"Practically nothing as yet, unfortunately. I came----"
+
+"Excellent. Everything is on our side. Louis, I won't go this
+afternoon--I will put off till the night boat from Dover. That will give
+us nine hours."
+
+"Nine hours?" repeated the mystified Carlyle, scarcely daring to put
+into thought the scandalous inference that Carrados's words conveyed.
+
+"Nine full hours. A pearl necklace case that cannot at least be left
+straight after nine hours' work will require a column to itself in our
+chart. Now, Louis, where does this Direct Insurance live?"
+
+Carlyle had allowed his blind friend to persuade him into--as they had
+seemed at the beginning--many mad enterprises. But none had ever, in the
+light of his own experience, seemed so foredoomed to failure as when, at
+eleven-thirty, Carrados ordered his luggage to be on the platform of
+Charing Cross Station at eight-fifty and then turned light-heartedly to
+the task of elucidating the mystery of Mrs Straithwaite's pearl necklace
+in the interval.
+
+The head office of the Direct and Intermediate Insurance Company proved
+to be in Victoria Street. Thanks to Carrados's speediest car, they
+entered the building as the clocks of Westminster were striking twelve,
+but for the next twenty minutes they were consigned to the general
+office while Mr Carlyle fumed and displayed his watch ostentatiously. At
+last a clerk slid off his stool by the speaking-tube and approached
+them.
+
+"Mr Carlyle?" he said. "The General Manager will see you now, but as he
+has another appointment in ten minutes he will be glad if you will make
+your business as short as possible. This way, please."
+
+Mr Carlyle bit his lip at the pompous formality of the message but he
+was too experienced to waste any words about it and with a mere nod he
+followed, guiding his friend until they reached the Manager's room.
+But, though subservient to circumstance, he was far from being
+negligible when he wished to create an impression.
+
+"Mr Carrados has been good enough to give us a consultation over this
+small affair," he said, with just the necessary touches of deference and
+condescension that it was impossible either to miss or to resent.
+"Unfortunately he can do little more as he has to leave almost at once
+to direct an important case in Paris."
+
+The General Manager conveyed little, either in his person or his manner,
+of the brisk precision that his message seemed to promise. The name of
+Carrados struck him as being somewhat familiar--something a little
+removed from the routine of his business and a matter therefore that he
+could unbend over. He continued to stand comfortably before his office
+fire, making up by a tolerant benignity of his hard and bulbous eye for
+the physical deprivation that his attitude entailed on his visitors.
+
+"Paris, egad?" he grunted. "Something in your line that France can take
+from us since the days of--what's-his-name--Vidocq, eh? Clever fellow,
+that, what? Wasn't it about him and the Purloined Letter?"
+
+Carrados smiled discreetly.
+
+"Capital, wasn't it?" he replied. "But there is something else that
+Paris can learn from London, more in your way, sir. Often when I drop in
+to see the principal of one of their chief houses or the head of a
+Government department, we fall into an entertaining discussion of this
+or that subject that may be on the tapis. 'Ah, monsieur,' I say, after
+perhaps half-an-hour's conversation, 'it is very amiable of you and
+sometimes I regret our insular methods, but it is not thus that great
+businesses are formed. At home, if I call upon one of our princes of
+industry--a railway director, a merchant, or the head of one of our
+leading insurance companies--nothing will tempt him for a moment from
+the stern outline of the business in hand. You are too complaisant; the
+merest gossip takes advantage of you.'"
+
+"That's quite true," admitted the General Manager, occupying the
+revolving chair at his desk and assuming a serious and very determined
+expression. "Slackers, I call them. Now, Mr Carlyle, where are we in
+this business?"
+
+"I have your letter of yesterday. We should naturally like all the
+particulars you can give us."
+
+The Manager threw open a formidable-looking volume with an immense
+display of energy, sharply flattened some typewritten pages that had
+ventured to raise their heads, and lifted an impressive finger.
+
+"We start here, the 27th of January. On that day Karsfeld, the Princess
+Street jeweller, y'know, who acted as our jewellery assessor, forwards a
+proposal of the Hon. Mrs Straithwaite to insure a pearl necklace against
+theft. Says that he has had an opportunity of examining it and passes it
+at five thousand pounds. That business goes through in the ordinary way;
+the premium is paid and the policy taken out.
+
+"A couple of months later Karsfeld has a little unpleasantness with us
+and resigns. Resignation accepted. We have nothing against him, you
+understand. At the same time there is an impression among the directors
+that he has been perhaps a little too easy in his ways, a little
+too--let us say, expansive, in some of his valuations and too
+accommodating to his own clients in recommending to us business of
+a--well--speculative basis; business that we do not care about and which
+we now feel is foreign to our traditions as a firm. However"--the
+General Manager threw apart his stubby hands as though he would shatter
+any fabric of criminal intention that he might be supposed to be
+insidiously constructing--"that is the extent of our animadversion
+against Karsfeld. There are no irregularities and you may take it from
+me that the man is all right."
+
+"You would propose accepting the fact that a five-thousand-pound
+necklace was submitted to him?" suggested Mr Carlyle.
+
+"I should," acquiesced the Manager, with a weighty nod. "Still--this
+brings us to April the third--this break, so to speak, occurring in our
+routine, it seemed a good opportunity for us to assure ourselves on one
+or two points. Mr Bellitzer--you know Bellitzer, of course; know _of_
+him, I should say--was appointed _vice_ Karsfeld and we wrote to certain
+of our clients, asking them--as our policies entitled us to do--as a
+matter of form to allow Mr Bellitzer to confirm the assessment of his
+predecessor. Wrapped it up in silver paper, of course; said it would
+certify the present value and be a guarantee that would save them some
+formalities in case of ensuing claim, and so on. Among others, wrote to
+the Hon. Mrs Straithwaite to that effect--April fourth. Here is her
+reply of three days later. Sorry to disappoint us, but the necklace has
+just been sent to her bank for custody as she is on the point of leaving
+town. Also scarcely sees that it is necessary in her case as the
+insurance was only taken so recently."
+
+"That is dated April the seventh?" inquired Mr Carlyle, busy with pencil
+and pocket-book.
+
+"April seventh," repeated the Manager, noting this conscientiousness
+with an approving glance and then turning to regard questioningly the
+indifferent attitude of his other visitor. "That put us on our
+guard--naturally. Wrote by return regretting the necessity and
+suggesting that a line to her bankers, authorizing them to show us the
+necklace, would meet the case and save her any personal trouble.
+Interval of a week. Her reply, April sixteenth. Thursday last.
+Circumstances have altered her plans and she has returned to London
+sooner than she expected. Her jewel-case has been returned from the
+bank, and will we send our man round--'our man,' Mr Carlyle!--on
+Saturday morning not later than twelve, please."
+
+The Manager closed the record book, with a sweep of his hand cleared his
+desk for revelations, and leaning forward in his chair fixed Mr Carlyle
+with a pragmatic eye.
+
+"On Saturday Mr Bellitzer goes to Luneburg Mansions and the Hon. Mrs
+Straithwaite shows him the necklace. He examines it carefully, assesses
+its insurable value up to five thousand, two hundred and fifty pounds,
+and reports us to that effect. But he reports something else, Mr
+Carlyle. It is not the necklace that the lady had insured."
+
+"Not the necklace?" echoed Mr Carlyle.
+
+"No. In spite of the number of pearls and a general similarity there are
+certain technical differences, well known to experts, that made the fact
+indisputable. The Hon. Mrs Straithwaite has been guilty of
+misrepresentation. Possibly she has no fraudulent intention. We are
+willing to pay to find out. That's your business."
+
+Mr Carlyle made a final note and put away his book with an air of
+decision that could not fail to inspire confidence.
+
+"To-morrow," he said, "we shall perhaps be able to report something."
+
+"Hope so," vouchsafed the Manager. "'Morning."
+
+From his position near the window, Carrados appeared to wake up to the
+fact that the interview was over.
+
+"But so far," he remarked blandly, with his eyes towards the great man
+in the chair, "you have told us nothing of the theft."
+
+The Manager regarded the speaker dumbly for a moment and then turned to
+Mr Carlyle.
+
+"What does he mean?" he demanded pungently.
+
+But for once Mr Carlyle's self-possession had forsaken him. He
+recognized that somehow Carrados had been guilty of an appalling lapse,
+by which his reputation for prescience was wrecked in that quarter for
+ever, and at the catastrophe his very ears began to exude embarrassment.
+
+In the awkward silence Carrados himself seemed to recognize that
+something was amiss.
+
+"We appear to be at cross-purposes," he observed. "I inferred that the
+disappearance of the necklace would be the essence of our
+investigation."
+
+"Have I said a word about it disappearing?" demanded the Manager, with a
+contempt-laden raucity that he made no pretence of softening. "You don't
+seem to have grasped the simple facts about the case, Mr Carrados.
+Really, I hardly think----Oh, come in!"
+
+There had been a knock at the door, then another. A clerk now entered
+with an open telegram.
+
+"Mr Longworth wished you to see this at once, sir."
+
+"We may as well go," whispered Mr Carlyle with polite depression to his
+colleague.
+
+"Here, wait a minute," said the Manager, who had been biting his
+thumb-nail over the telegram. "No, not you"--to the lingering
+clerk--"you clear." Much of the embarrassment that had troubled Mr
+Carlyle a minute before seemed to have got into the Manager's system. "I
+don't understand this," he confessed awkwardly. "It's from Bellitzer. He
+wires: '_Have just heard alleged robbery Straithwaite pearls. Advise
+strictest investigation._'"
+
+Mr Carlyle suddenly found it necessary to turn to the wall and consult a
+highly coloured lithographic inducement to insure. Mr Carrados alone
+remained to meet the Manager's constrained glance.
+
+"Still, _he_ tells us really nothing about the theft," he remarked
+sociably.
+
+"No," admitted the Manager, experiencing some little difficulty with his
+breathing, "he does not."
+
+"Well, we still hope to be able to report something to-morrow.
+Good-bye."
+
+It was with an effort that Mr Carlyle straightened himself sufficiently
+to take leave of the Manager. Several times in the corridor he stopped
+to wipe his eyes.
+
+"Max, you unholy fraud," he said, when they were outside, "you knew all
+the time."
+
+"No; I told you that I knew nothing of it," replied Carrados frankly. "I
+am absolutely sincere."
+
+"Then all I can say is, that I see a good many things happen that I
+don't believe in."
+
+Carrados's reply was to hold out a coin to a passing newsboy and to hand
+the purchase to his friend who was already in the car.
+
+"There is a slang injunction to 'keep your eyes skinned.' That being out
+of my power, I habitually 'keep my ears skinned.' You would be surprised
+to know how very little you hear, Louis, and how much you miss. In the
+last five minutes up there I have had three different newsboys' account
+of this development."
+
+"By Jupiter, she hasn't waited long!" exclaimed Mr Carlyle, referring
+eagerly to the headlines. "'PEARL NECKLACE SENSATION. SOCIETY LADY'S
+L5000 TRINKET DISAPPEARS.' Things are moving. Where next, Max?"
+
+"It is now a quarter to one," replied Carrados, touching the fingers of
+his watch. "We may as well lunch on the strength of this new turn.
+Parkinson will have finished packing; I can telephone him to come to us
+at Merrick's in case I require him. Buy all the papers, Louis, and we
+will collate the points."
+
+The undoubted facts that survived a comparison were few and meagre, for
+in each case a conscientious journalist had touched up a few vague or
+doubtful details according to his own ideas of probability. All agreed
+that on Tuesday evening--it was now Thursday--Mrs Straithwaite had
+formed one of a party that had occupied a box at the new Metropolitan
+Opera House to witness the performance of _La Pucella_, and that she had
+been robbed of a set of pearls valued in round figures at five thousand
+pounds. There agreement ended. One version represented the theft as
+taking place at the theatre. Another asserted that at the last moment
+the lady had decided not to wear the necklace that evening and that its
+abstraction had been cleverly effected from the flat during her absence.
+Into a third account came an ambiguous reference to Markhams, the
+well-known jewellers, and a conjecture that their loss would certainly
+be covered by insurance.
+
+Mr Carlyle, who had been picking out the salient points of the
+narratives, threw down the last paper with an impatient shrug.
+
+"Why in heaven's name have we Markhams coming into it now?" he demanded.
+"What have they to lose by it, Max? What do you make of the thing?"
+
+"There is the second genuine string--the one Bellitzer saw. That belongs
+to someone."
+
+"By gad, that's true--only five days ago, too. But what does our lady
+stand to make by that being stolen?"
+
+Carrados was staring into obscurity between an occasional moment of
+attention to his cigarette or coffee.
+
+"By this time the lady probably stands to wish she was well out of it,"
+he replied thoughtfully. "Once you have set this sort of stone rolling
+and it has got beyond you----" He shook his head.
+
+"It has become more intricate than you expected?" suggested Carlyle, in
+order to afford his friend an opportunity of withdrawing.
+
+Carrados pierced the intention and smiled affectionately.
+
+"My dear Louis," he said, "one-fifth of the mystery is already solved."
+
+"One-fifth? How do you arrive at that?"
+
+"Because it is one-twenty-five and we started at eleven-thirty."
+
+He nodded to their waiter, who was standing three tables away, and paid
+the bill. Then with perfect gravity he permitted Mr Carlyle to lead him
+by the arm into the street, where their car was waiting, Parkinson
+already there in attendance.
+
+"Sure I can be of no further use?" asked Carlyle. Carrados had
+previously indicated that after lunch he would go on alone, but, because
+he was largely sceptical of the outcome, the professional man felt
+guiltily that he was deserting. "Say the word?"
+
+Carrados smiled and shook his head. Then he leaned across.
+
+"I am going to the opera house now; then, possibly, to talk to Markham a
+little. If I have time I must find a man who knows the Straithwaites,
+and after that I may look up Inspector Beedel if he is at the Yard. That
+is as far as I can see yet, until I call at Luneburg Mansions. Come
+round on the third anyway."
+
+"Dear old chap," murmured Mr Carlyle, as the car edged its way ahead
+among the traffic. "Marvellous shots he makes!"
+
+In the meanwhile, at Luneburg Mansions, Mrs Straithwaite had been
+passing anything but a pleasant day. She had awakened with a headache
+and an overnight feeling that there was some unpleasantness to be gone
+on with. That it did not amount to actual fear was due to the enormous
+self-importance and the incredible ignorance which ruled the butterfly
+brain of the young society beauty--for in spite of three years'
+experience of married life Stephanie Straithwaite was as yet on the
+enviable side of two and twenty.
+
+Anticipating an early visit from a particularly obnoxious sister-in-law,
+she had remained in bed until after lunch in order to be able to deny
+herself with the more conviction. Three journalists who would have
+afforded her the mild excitement of being interviewed had called and
+been in turn put off with polite regrets by her husband. The
+objectionable sister-in-law postponed her visit until the afternoon and
+for more than an hour Stephanie "suffered agonies." When the visitor had
+left and the martyred hostess announced her intention of flying
+immediately to the consoling society of her own bridge circle,
+Straithwaite had advised her, with some significance, to wait for a
+lead. The unhappy lady cast herself bodily down upon a couch and asked
+whether she was to become a nun. Straithwaite merely shrugged his
+shoulders and remembered a club engagement. Evidently there was no need
+for him to become a monk: Stephanie followed him down the hall, arguing
+and protesting. That was how they came jointly to encounter Carrados at
+the door.
+
+"I have come from the Direct Insurance in the hope of being able to see
+Mrs Straithwaite," he explained, when the door opened rather suddenly
+before he had knocked. "My name is Carrados--Max Carrados."
+
+There was a moment of hesitation all round. Then Stephanie read
+difficulties in the straightening lines of her husband's face and rose
+joyfully to the occasion.
+
+"Oh yes; come in, Mr Carrados," she exclaimed graciously. "We are not
+quite strangers, you know. You found out something for Aunt Pigs; I
+forget what, but she was most frantically impressed."
+
+"Lady Poges," enlarged Straithwaite, who had stepped aside and was
+watching the development with slow, calculating eyes. "But, I say, you
+are blind, aren't you?"
+
+Carrados's smiling admission turned the edge of Mrs Straithwaite's
+impulsive, "Teddy!"
+
+"But I get along all right," he added. "I left my man down in the car
+and I found your door first shot, you see."
+
+The references reminded the velvet-eyed little mercenary that the man
+before her had the reputation of being quite desirably rich, his queer
+taste merely an eccentric hobby. The consideration made her resolve to
+be quite her nicest possible, as she led the way to the drawing-room.
+Then Teddy, too, had been horrid beyond words and must be made to suffer
+in the readiest way that offered.
+
+"Teddy is just going out and I was to be left in solitary bereavement if
+you had not appeared," she explained airily. "It wasn't very compy only
+to come to see me on business by the way, Mr Carrados, but if those are
+your only terms I must agree."
+
+Straithwaite, however, did not seem to have the least intention of
+going. He had left his hat and stick in the hall and he now threw his
+yellow gloves down on a table and took up a negligent position on the
+arm of an easy-chair.
+
+"The thing is, where do we stand?" he remarked tentatively.
+
+"That is the attitude of the insurance company, I imagine," replied
+Carrados.
+
+"I don't see that the company has any standing in the matter. We haven't
+reported any loss to them and we are not making any claim, so far. That
+ought to be enough."
+
+"I assume that they act on general inference," explained Carrados. "A
+limited liability company is not subtle, Mrs Straithwaite. This one
+knows that you have insured a five-thousand-pound pearl necklace with
+it, and when it becomes a matter of common knowledge that you have had
+one answering to that description stolen, it jumps to the conclusion
+that they are one and the same."
+
+"But they aren't--worse luck," explained the hostess. "This was a string
+that I let Markhams send me to see if I would keep."
+
+"The one that Bellitzer saw last Saturday?"
+
+"Yes," admitted Mrs Straithwaite quite simply.
+
+Straithwaite glanced sharply at Carrados and then turned his eyes with
+lazy indifference to his wife.
+
+"My dear Stephanie, what are you thinking of?" he drawled. "Of course
+those could not have been Markhams' pearls. Not knowing that you are
+much too clever to do such a foolish thing, Mr Carrados will begin to
+think that you have had fraudulent designs upon his company."
+
+Whether the tone was designed to exasperate or merely fell upon a
+fertile soil, Stephanie threw a hateful little glance in his direction.
+
+"I don't care," she exclaimed recklessly; "I haven't the least little
+objection in the world to Mr Carrados knowing exactly how it happened."
+
+Carrados put in an instinctive word of warning, even raised an arresting
+hand, but the lady was much too excited, too voluble, to be denied.
+
+"It doesn't really matter in the least, Mr Carrados, because nothing
+came of it," she explained. "There never were any real pearls to be
+insured. It would have made no difference to the company, because I did
+not regard this as an ordinary insurance from the first. It was to be a
+loan."
+
+"A loan?" repeated Carrados.
+
+"Yes. I shall come into heaps and heaps of money in a few years' time
+under Prin-Prin's will. Then I should pay back whatever had been
+advanced."
+
+"But would it not have been better--simpler--to have borrowed purely on
+the anticipation?"
+
+"We have," explained the lady eagerly. "We have borrowed from all sorts
+of people, and both Teddy and I have signed heaps and heaps of papers,
+until now no one will lend any more."
+
+The thing was too tragically grotesque to be laughed at. Carrados turned
+his face from one to the other and by ear, and by even finer
+perceptions, he focussed them in his mind--the delicate, feather-headed
+beauty, with the heart of a cat and the irresponsibility of a kitten,
+eye and mouth already hardening under the stress of her frantic life,
+and, across the room, her debonair consort, whose lank pose and
+nonchalant attitude towards the situation Carrados had not yet
+categorized.
+
+Straithwaite's dry voice, with its habitual drawl, broke into his
+reflection.
+
+"I don't suppose for a moment that you either know or care what this
+means, my dear girl, but I will proceed to enlighten you. It means the
+extreme probability that unless you can persuade Mr Carrados to hold his
+tongue, you, and--without prejudice--I also, will get two years' hard.
+And yet, with unconscious but consummate artistry, it seems to me that
+you have perhaps done the trick; for, unless I am mistaken, Mr Carrados
+will find himself unable to take advantage of your guileless confidence,
+whereas he would otherwise have quite easily found out all he wanted."
+
+"That is the most utter nonsense, Teddy," cried Stephanie, with petulant
+indignation. She turned to Carrados with the assurance of meeting
+understanding. "We know Mr Justice Enderleigh very well indeed, and if
+there was any bother I should not have the least difficulty in getting
+him to take the case privately and in explaining everything to him. But
+why should there be? Why indeed?" A brilliant little new idea possessed
+her. "Do you know any of these insurance people at all intimately, Mr
+Carrados?"
+
+"The General Manager and I are on terms that almost justify us in
+addressing each other as 'silly ass,'" admitted Carrados.
+
+"There you see, Teddy, you needn't have been in a funk. Mr Carrados
+would put everything right. Let me tell you exactly how I had arranged
+it. I dare say you know that insurances are only too pleased to pay for
+losses: it gives them an advertisement. Freddy Tantroy told me so, and
+his father is a director of hundreds of companies. Only, of course, it
+must be done quite regularly. Well, for months and months we had both
+been most frightfully hard up, and, unfortunately, everyone else--at
+least all our friends--seemed just as stony. I had been absolutely
+racking my poor brain for an idea when I remembered papa's wedding
+present. It was a string of pearls that he sent me from Vienna, only a
+month before he died; not real, of course, because poor papa was always
+quite utterly on the verge himself, but very good imitation and in
+perfect taste. Otherwise I am sure papa would rather have sent a silver
+penwiper, for although he had to live abroad because of what people
+said, his taste was simply exquisite and he was most romantic in his
+ideas. What do you say, Teddy?"
+
+"Nothing, dear; it was only my throat ticking."
+
+"I wore the pearls often and millions of people had seen them. Of course
+our own people knew about them, but others took it for granted that
+they were genuine for me to be wearing them. Teddy will tell you that I
+was almost babbling in delirium, things were becoming so ghastly, when
+an idea occurred. Tweety--she's a cousin of Teddy's, but quite an aged
+person--has a whole coffer full of jewels that she never wears and I
+knew that there was a necklace very like mine among them. She was going
+almost immediately to Africa for some shooting, so I literally flew into
+the wilds of Surrey and begged her on my knees to lend me her pearls for
+the Lycester House dance. When I got back with them I stamped on the
+clasp and took it at once to Karsfeld in Princess Street. I told him
+they were only paste but I thought they were rather good and I wanted
+them by the next day. And of course he looked at them, and then looked
+again, and then asked me if I was certain they were imitation, and I
+said, Well, we had never thought twice about it, because poor papa was
+always rather chronic, only certainly he did occasionally have fabulous
+streaks at the tables, and finally, like a great owl, Karsfeld said:
+
+"'I am happy to be able to congratulate you, madam. They are undoubtedly
+Bombay pearls of very fine orient. They are certainly worth five
+thousand pounds.'"
+
+From this point Mrs Straithwaite's narrative ran its slangy, obvious
+course. The insurance effected--on the strict understanding of the lady
+with herself that it was merely a novel form of loan, and after
+satisfying her mind on Freddy Tantroy's authority that the Direct and
+Intermediate could stand a temporary loss of five thousand pounds--the
+genuine pearls were returned to the cousin in the wilds of Surrey and
+Stephanie continued to wear the counterfeit. A decent interval was
+allowed to intervene and the plot was on the point of maturity when the
+company's request for a scrutiny fell like a thunderbolt. With many
+touching appeals to Mr Carrados to picture her frantic distraction, with
+appropriate little gestures of agony and despair, Stephanie described
+her absolute prostration, her subsequent wild scramble through the jewel
+stocks of London to find a substitute. The danger over, it became
+increasingly necessary to act without delay, not only to anticipate
+possible further curiosity on the part of the insurance, but in order to
+secure the means with which to meet an impending obligation held over
+them by an inflexibly obdurate Hebrew.
+
+The evening of the previous Tuesday was to be the time; the opera house,
+during the performance of _La Pucella_, the place. Straithwaite, who was
+not interested in that precise form of drama, would not be expected to
+be present, but with a false moustache and a few other touches which his
+experience as an amateur placed within his easy reach, he was to occupy
+a stall, an end stall somewhere beneath his wife's box. At an agreed
+signal Stephanie would jerk open the catch of the necklace, and as she
+leaned forward the ornament would trickle off her neck and disappear
+into the arena beneath. Straithwaite, the only one prepared for
+anything happening, would have no difficulty in securing it. He would
+look up quickly as if to identify the box, and with the jewels in his
+hand walk deliberately out into the passage. Before anyone had quite
+realized what was happening he would have left the house.
+
+Carrados turned his face from the woman to the man.
+
+"This scheme commended itself to you, Mr Straithwaite?"
+
+"Well, you see, Stephanie is so awfully clever that I took it for
+granted that the thing would go all right."
+
+"And three days before, Bellitzer had already reported misrepresentation
+and that two necklaces had been used!"
+
+"Yes," admitted Straithwaite, with an air of reluctant candour, "I had a
+suspicion that Stephanie's native ingenuity rather fizzled there. You
+know, Stephanie dear, there _is_ a difference, it seems, between Bombay
+and Californian pearls."
+
+"The wretch!" exclaimed the girl, grinding her little teeth vengefully.
+"And we gave him champagne!"
+
+"But nothing came of it; so it doesn't matter?" prompted Straithwaite.
+
+"Except that now Markhams' pearls have gone and they are hinting at all
+manner of diabolical things," she wrathfully reminded him.
+
+"True," he confessed. "That is by way of a sequel, Mr Carrados. I will
+endeavour to explain that part of the incident, for even yet Stephanie
+seems unable to do me justice."
+
+He detached himself from the arm of the chair and lounged across the
+room to another chair, where he took up exactly the same position.
+
+"On the fatal evening I duly made my way to the theatre--a little late,
+so as to take my seat unobserved. After I had got the general hang I
+glanced up occasionally until I caught Stephanie's eye, by which I knew
+that she was there all right and concluded that everything was going
+along quite jollily. According to arrangement, I was to cross the
+theatre immediately the first curtain fell and standing opposite
+Stephanie's box twist my watch chain until it was certain that she had
+seen me. Then Stephanie was to fan herself three times with her
+programme. Both, you will see, perfectly innocent operations, and yet
+conveying to each other the intimation that all was well. Stephanie's
+idea, of course. After that, I would return to my seat and Stephanie
+would do her part at the first opportunity in Act II.
+
+"However, we never reached that. Towards the end of the first act
+something white and noiseless slipped down and fell at my feet. For the
+moment I thought they were the pearls gone wrong. Then I saw that it was
+a glove--a lady's glove. Intuition whispered that it was Stephanie's
+before I touched it. I picked it up and quietly got out. Down among the
+fingers was a scrap of paper--the corner torn off a programme. On it
+were pencilled words to this effect:
+
+     "'Something quite unexpected. Can do nothing to-night. Go back
+     at once and wait. May return early. Frightfully worried.--S.'"
+
+"You kept the paper, of course?"
+
+"Yes. It is in my desk in the next room. Do you care to see it?"
+
+"Please."
+
+Straithwaite left the room and Stephanie flung herself into a charming
+attitude of entreaty.
+
+"Mr Carrados, you will get them back for us, won't you? It would not
+really matter, only I seem to have signed something and now Markhams
+threaten to bring an action against us for culpable negligence in
+leaving them in an empty flat."
+
+"You see," explained Straithwaite, coming back in time to catch the
+drift of his wife's words, "except to a personal friend like yourself,
+it is quite impossible to submit these clues. The first one alone would
+raise embarrassing inquiries; the other is beyond explanation.
+Consequently I have been obliged to concoct an imaginary burglary in our
+absence and to drop the necklace case among the rhododendrons in the
+garden at the back, for the police to find."
+
+"Deeper and deeper," commented Carrados.
+
+"Why, yes. Stephanie and I are finding that out, aren't we, dear?
+However, here is the first note; also the glove. Of course I returned
+immediately. It was Stephanie's strategy and I was under her orders. In
+something less than half-an-hour I heard a motor car stop outside. Then
+the bell here rang.
+
+"I think I have said that I was alone. I went to the door and found a
+man who might have been anything standing there. He merely said: 'Mr
+Straithwaite?' and on my nodding handed me a letter. I tore it open in
+the hall and read it. Then I went into my room and read it again. This
+is it:
+
+     "'DEAR T.,--Absolutely ghastly. We simply must put off
+     to-night. Will explain that later. Now what do you think?
+     Bellitzer is here in the stalls and young K. D. has asked him
+     to join us at supper at the Savoy. It appears that the creature
+     is Something and I suppose the D.'s want to borrow off him. I
+     can't get out of it and I am literally quaking. Don't you see,
+     he will spot something? Send me the M. string at once and I
+     will change somehow before supper. I am scribbling this in the
+     dark. I have got the Willoughby's man to take it. Don't, don't
+     fail.--S.'"
+
+"It is ridiculous, preposterous," snapped Stephanie. "I never wrote a
+word of it--or the other. There was I, sitting the whole evening. And
+Teddy--oh, it is maddening!"
+
+"I took it into my room and looked at it closely," continued the
+unruffled Straithwaite. "Even if I had any reason to doubt, the internal
+evidence was convincing, but how could I doubt? It read like a
+continuation of the previous message. The writing was reasonably like
+Stephanie's under the circumstances, the envelope had obviously been
+obtained from the box-office of the theatre and the paper itself was a
+sheet of the programme. A corner was torn off; I put against it the
+previous scrap and they exactly fitted." The gentleman shrugged his
+shoulders, stretched his legs with deliberation and walked across the
+room to look out of the window. "I made them up into a neat little
+parcel and handed it over," he concluded.
+
+Carrados put down the two pieces of paper which he had been minutely
+examining with his finger-tips and still holding the glove addressed his
+small audience collectively.
+
+"The first and most obvious point is that whoever carried out the scheme
+had more than a vague knowledge of your affairs, not only in general but
+also relating to this--well, loan, Mrs Straithwaite."
+
+"Just what I have insisted," agreed Straithwaite. "You hear that,
+Stephanie?"
+
+"But who is there?" pleaded Stephanie, with weary intonation.
+"Absolutely no one in the wide world. Not a soul."
+
+"So one is liable to think offhand. Let us go further, however, merely
+accounting for those who are in a position to have information. There
+are the officials of the insurance company who suspect something; there
+is Bellitzer, who perhaps knows a little more. There is the lady in
+Surrey from whom the pearls were borrowed, a Mr Tantroy who seems to
+have been consulted, and, finally, your own servants. All these people
+have friends, or underlings, or observers. Suppose Mr Bellitzer's
+confidential clerk happens to be the sweetheart of your maid?"
+
+"They would still know very little."
+
+"The arc of a circle may be very little, but, given that, it is possible
+to construct the entire figure. Now your servants, Mrs Straithwaite? We
+are accusing no one, of course."
+
+"There is the cook, Mullins. She displayed alarming influenza on Tuesday
+morning, and although it was most frightfully inconvenient I packed her
+off home without a moment's delay. I have a horror of the influ. Then
+Fraser, the parlourmaid. She does my hair--I haven't really got a maid,
+you know."
+
+"Peter," prompted Straithwaite.
+
+"Oh yes, Beta. She's a daily girl and helps in the kitchen. I have no
+doubt she is capable of any villainy."
+
+"And all were out on Tuesday evening?"
+
+"Yes. Mullins gone home. Beta left early as there was no dinner, and I
+told Fraser to take the evening after she had dressed me so that Teddy
+could make up and get out without being seen."
+
+Carrados turned to his other witness.
+
+"The papers and the glove have been with you ever since?"
+
+"Yes, in my desk."
+
+"Locked?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And this glove, Mrs Straithwaite? There is no doubt that it is yours?"
+
+"I suppose not," she replied. "I never thought. I know that when I came
+to leave the theatre one had vanished and Teddy had it here."
+
+"That was the first time you missed it?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"But it might have gone earlier in the evening--mislaid or lost or
+stolen?"
+
+"I remember taking them off in the box. I sat in the corner farthest
+from the stage--the front row, of course--and I placed them on the
+support."
+
+"Where anyone in the next box could abstract one without much difficulty
+at a favourable moment."
+
+"That is quite likely. But we didn't see anyone in the next box."
+
+"I have half an idea that I caught sight of someone hanging back,"
+volunteered Straithwaite.
+
+"Thank you," said Carrados, turning towards him almost gratefully. "That
+is most important--that you think you saw someone hanging back. Now the
+other glove, Mrs Straithwaite; what became of that?"
+
+"An odd glove is not very much good, is it?" said Stephanie. "Certainly
+I wore it coming back. I think I threw it down somewhere in here.
+Probably it is still about. We are in a frantic muddle and nothing is
+being done."
+
+The second glove was found on the floor in a corner. Carrados received
+it and laid it with the other.
+
+"You use a very faint and characteristic scent, I notice, Mrs
+Straithwaite," he observed.
+
+"Yes; it is rather sweet, isn't it? I don't know the name because it is
+in Russian. A friend in the Embassy sent me some bottles from
+Petersburg."
+
+"But on Tuesday you supplemented it with something stronger," he
+continued, raising the gloves delicately one after the other to his
+face.
+
+"Oh, eucalyptus; rather," she admitted. "I simply drenched my
+handkerchief with it."
+
+"You have other gloves of the same pattern?"
+
+"Have I? Now let me think! Did you give them to me, Teddy?"
+
+"No," replied Straithwaite from the other end of the room. He had
+lounged across to the window and his attitude detached him from the
+discussion. "Didn't Whitstable?" he added shortly.
+
+"Of course. Then there are three pairs, Mr Carrados, because I never let
+Bimbi lose more than that to me at once, poor boy."
+
+"I think you are rather tiring yourself out, Stephanie," warned her
+husband.
+
+Carrados's attention seemed to leap to the voice; then he turned
+courteously to his hostess.
+
+"I appreciate that you have had a trying time lately, Mrs Straithwaite,"
+he said. "Every moment I have been hoping to let you out of the
+witness-box----"
+
+"Perhaps to-morrow----" began Straithwaite, recrossing the room.
+
+"Impossible; I leave town to-night," replied Carrados firmly. "You have
+three pairs of these gloves, Mrs Straithwaite. Here is one. The other
+two----?"
+
+"One pair I have not worn yet. The other--good gracious, I haven't been
+out since Tuesday! I suppose it is in my glove-box."
+
+"I must see it, please."
+
+Straithwaite opened his mouth, but as his wife obediently rose to her
+feet to comply he turned sharply away with the word unspoken.
+
+"These are they," she said, returning.
+
+"Mr Carrados and I will finish our investigation in my room," interposed
+Straithwaite, with quiet assertiveness. "I should advise you to lie down
+for half-an-hour, Stephanie, if you don't want to be a nervous wreck
+to-morrow."
+
+"You must allow the culprit to endorse that good advice, Mrs
+Straithwaite," added Carrados. He had been examining the second pair of
+gloves as they spoke and he now handed them back again. "They are
+undoubtedly of the same set," he admitted, with extinguished interest,
+"and so our clue runs out."
+
+"I hope you don't mind," apologized Straithwaite, as he led his guest to
+his own smoking-room. "Stephanie," he confided, becoming more cordial as
+two doors separated them from the lady, "is a creature of nerves and
+indiscretions. She forgets. To-night she will not sleep. To-morrow she
+will suffer." Carrados divined the grin. "So shall I!"
+
+"On the contrary, pray accept my regrets," said the visitor. "Besides,"
+he continued, "there is nothing more for me to do here, I suppose...."
+
+"It is a mystery," admitted Straithwaite, with polite agreement. "Will
+you try a cigarette?"
+
+"Thanks. Can you see if my car is below?" They exchanged cigarettes and
+stood at the window lighting them.
+
+"There is one point, by the way, that may have some significance."
+Carrados had begun to recross the room and stopped to pick up the two
+fictitious messages. "You will have noticed that this is the outside
+sheet of a programme. It is not the most suitable for the purpose; the
+first inner sheet is more convenient to write on, but there the date
+appears. You see the inference? The programme was obtained before----"
+
+"Perhaps. Well----?" for Carrados had broken off abruptly and was
+listening.
+
+"You hear someone coming up the steps?"
+
+"It is the general stairway."
+
+"Mr Straithwaite, I don't know how far this has gone in other quarters.
+We may only have a few seconds before we are interrupted."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"I mean that the man who is now on the stairs is a policeman or has worn
+the uniform. If he stops at your door----"
+
+The heavy tread ceased. Then came the authoritative knock.
+
+"Wait," muttered Carrados, laying his hand impressively on
+Straithwaite's tremulous arm. "I may recognize the voice."
+
+They heard the servant pass along the hall and the door unlatched; then
+caught the jumble of a gruff inquiry.
+
+"Inspector Beedel of Scotland Yard!" The servant repassed their door on
+her way to the drawing-room. "It is no good disguising the fact from
+you, Mr Straithwaite, that you may no longer be at liberty. But I am.
+_Is there anything you wish done?_"
+
+There was no time for deliberation. Straithwaite was indeed between the
+unenviable alternatives of the familiar proverb, but, to do him justice,
+his voice had lost scarcely a ripple of its usual sang-froid.
+
+"Thanks," he replied, taking a small stamped and addressed parcel from
+his pocket, "you might drop this into some obscure pillar-box, if you
+will."
+
+"The Markham necklace?"
+
+"Exactly. I was going out to post it when you came."
+
+"I am sure you were."
+
+"And if you could spare five minutes later--if I am here----"
+
+Carrados slid his cigarette-case under some papers on the desk.
+
+"I will call for that," he assented. "Let us say about half-past eight."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"I am still at large, you see, Mr Carrados; though after reflecting on
+the studied formality of the inspector's business here, I imagine that
+you will scarcely be surprised."
+
+"I have made it a habit," admitted Carrados, "never to be surprised."
+
+"However, I still want to cut a rather different figure in your eyes.
+You regard me, Mr Carrados, either as a detected rogue or a repentant
+ass?"
+
+"Another excellent rule is never to form deductions from uncertainties."
+
+Straithwaite made a gesture of mild impatience.
+
+"You only give me ten minutes. If I am to put my case before you, Mr
+Carrados, we cannot fence with phrases.... To-day you have had an
+exceptional opportunity of penetrating into our mode of life. You will,
+I do not doubt, have summed up our perpetual indebtedness and the easy
+credit that our connexion procures; Stephanie's social ambitions and
+expensive popularity; her utterly extravagant incapacity to see any
+other possible existence; and my tacit acquiescence. You will, I know,
+have correctly gauged her irresponsible, neurotic temperament, and
+judged the result of it in conflict with my own. What possibly has
+escaped you, for in society one has to disguise these things, is that I
+still love my wife.
+
+"When you dare not trust the soundness of your reins you do not try to
+pull up a bolting horse. For three years I have endeavoured to guide
+Stephanie round awkward comers with as little visible restraint as
+possible. When we differ over any project upon which she has set her
+heart Stephanie has one strong argument."
+
+"That you no longer love her?"
+
+"Well, perhaps; but more forcibly expressed. She rushes to the top of
+the building--there are six floors, Mr Carrados, and we are on the
+second--and climbing on to the banister she announces her intention of
+throwing herself down into the basement. In the meanwhile I have
+followed her and drag her back again. One day I shall stay where I am
+and let her do as she intends."
+
+"I hope not," said Carrados gravely.
+
+"Oh, don't be concerned. She will then climb back herself. But it will
+mark an epoch. It was by that threat that she obtained my acquiescence
+to this scheme--that and the certainty that she would otherwise go on
+without me. But I had no intention of allowing her to land herself--to
+say nothing of us both--behind the bars of a prison if I could help it.
+And, above all, I wished to cure her of her fatuous delusion that she is
+clever, in the hope that she may then give up being foolish.
+
+"To fail her on the occasion was merely to postpone the attempt. I
+conceived the idea of seeming to cooperate and at the same time
+involving us in what appeared to be a clever counter-fraud. The thought
+of the real loss will perhaps have a good effect; the publicity will
+certainly prevent her from daring a second 'theft.' A sordid story, Mr
+Carrados," he concluded. "Do not forget your cigarette-case in reality."
+
+The paternal shake of Carrados's head over the recital was neutralized
+by his benevolent smile.
+
+"Yes, yes," he said. "I think we can classify you, Mr Straithwaite. One
+point--the glove?"
+
+"That was an afterthought. I had arranged the whole story and the first
+note was to be brought to me by an attendant. Then, on my way, in my
+overcoat pocket I discovered a pair of Stephanie's gloves which she had
+asked me to carry the day before. The suggestion flashed--how much more
+convincing if I could arrange for her to seem to drop the writing in
+that way. As she said, the next box _was_ empty; I merely took
+possession of it for a few minutes and quietly drew across one of her
+gloves. And that reminds me--of course there was nothing in it, but your
+interest in them made me rather nervous."
+
+Carrados laughed outright. Then he stood up and held out his hand.
+
+"Good-night, Mr Straithwaite," he said, with real friendliness. "Let me
+give you the quaker's advice: Don't attempt another conspiracy--but if
+you do, don't produce a 'pair' of gloves of which one is still
+suggestive of scent, and the other identifiable with eucalyptus!"
+
+"Oh----!" said Straithwaite.
+
+"Quite so. But at all hazard suppress a second pair that has the same
+peculiarity. Think over what it must mean. Good-bye."
+
+Twelve minutes later Mr Carlyle was called to the telephone.
+
+"It is eight-fifty-five and I am at Charing Cross," said a voice he
+knew. "If you want local colour contrive an excuse to be with Markham
+when the first post arrives to-morrow." A few more words followed, and
+an affectionate valediction.
+
+"One moment, my dear Max, one moment. Do I understand you to say that
+you will post me on the report of the case from Dover?"
+
+"No, Louis," replied Carrados, with cryptic discrimination. "I only said
+that I will post you on _a_ report of the case from Dover."
+
+
+
+
+THE LAST EXPLOIT OF HARRY THE ACTOR
+
+
+The one insignificant fact upon which turned the following incident in
+the joint experiences of Mr Carlyle and Max Carrados was merely this:
+that having called upon his friend just at the moment when the private
+detective was on the point of leaving his office to go to the safe
+deposit in Lucas Street, Piccadilly, the blind amateur accompanied him,
+and for ten minutes amused himself by sitting quite quietly among the
+palms in the centre of the circular hall while Mr Carlyle was occupied
+with his deed-box in one of the little compartments provided for the
+purpose.
+
+The Lucas Street depository was then (it has since been converted into a
+picture palace) generally accepted as being one of the strongest places
+in London. The front of the building was constructed to represent a
+gigantic safe door, and under the colloquial designation of "The Safe"
+the place had passed into a synonym for all that was secure and
+impregnable. Half of the marketable securities in the west of London
+were popularly reported to have seen the inside of its coffers at one
+time or another, together with the same generous proportion of family
+jewels. However exaggerated an estimate this might be, the substratum of
+truth was solid and auriferous enough to dazzle the imagination. When
+ordinary safes were being carried bodily away with impunity or
+ingeniously fused open by the scientifically equipped cracksman, nervous
+bond-holders turned with relief to the attractions of an establishment
+whose modest claim was summed up in its telegraphic address:
+"Impregnable." To it went also the jewel-case between the lady's social
+engagements, and when in due course "the family" journeyed north--or
+south, east or west--whenever, in short, the London house was closed,
+its capacious storerooms received the plate-chest as an established
+custom. Not a few traders also--jewellers, financiers, dealers in
+pictures, antiques and costly bijouterie, for instance--constantly used
+its facilities for any stock that they did not requite immediately to
+hand.
+
+There was only one entrance to the place, an exaggerated keyhole, to
+carry out the similitude of the safe-door alluded to. The ground floor
+was occupied by the ordinary offices of the company; all the
+strong-rooms and safes lay in the steel-cased basement. This was reached
+both by a lift and by a flight of steps. In either case the visitor
+found before him a grille of massive proportions. Behind its bars stood
+a formidable commissionaire who never left his post, his sole duty being
+to open and close the grille to arriving and departing clients. Beyond
+this, a short passage led into the round central hall where Carrados was
+waiting. From this part, other passages radiated off to the vaults and
+strong-rooms, each one barred from the hall by a grille scarcely less
+ponderous than the first one. The doors of the various private rooms put
+at the disposal of the company's clients, and that of the manager's
+office, filled the wall-space between the radiating passages. Everything
+was very quiet, everything looked very bright, and everything seemed
+hopelessly impregnable.
+
+"But I wonder?" ran Carrados's dubious reflection; as he reached this
+point.
+
+"Sorry to have kept you so long, my dear Max," broke in Mr Carlyle's
+crisp voice. He had emerged from his compartment and was crossing the
+hall, deed-box in hand. "Another minute and I will be with you."
+
+Carrados smiled and nodded and resumed his former expression, which was
+merely that of an uninterested gentleman waiting patiently for another.
+It is something of an attainment to watch closely without betraying
+undue curiosity, but others of the senses--hearing and smelling, for
+instance--can be keenly engaged while the observer possibly has the
+appearance of falling asleep.
+
+"Now," announced Mr Carlyle, returning briskly to his friend's chair,
+and drawing on his grey suede gloves.
+
+"You are in no particular hurry?"
+
+"No," admitted the professional man, with the slowness of mild surprise.
+"Not at all. What do you propose?"
+
+"It is very pleasant here," replied Carrados tranquilly. "Very cool and
+restful with this armoured steel between us and the dust and scurry of
+the hot July afternoon above. I propose remaining here for a few
+minutes longer."
+
+"Certainly," agreed Mr Carlyle, taking the nearest chair and eyeing
+Carrados as though he had a shrewd suspicion of something more than met
+the ear. "I believe some very interesting people rent safes here. We may
+encounter a bishop, or a winning jockey, or even a musical comedy
+actress. Unfortunately it seems to be rather a slack time."
+
+"Two men came down while you were in your cubicle," remarked Carrados
+casually. "The first took the lift. I imagine that he was a middle-aged,
+rather portly man. He carried a stick, wore a silk hat, and used
+spectacles for close sight. The other came by the stairway. I infer that
+he arrived at the top immediately after the lift had gone. He ran down
+the steps, so that the two were admitted at the same time, but the
+second man, though the more active of the pair, hung back for a moment
+in the passage and the portly one was the first to go to his safe."
+
+Mr Carlyle's knowing look expressed: "Go on, my friend; you are coming
+to something." But he merely contributed an encouraging "Yes?"
+
+"When you emerged just now our second man quietly opened the door of his
+pen a fraction. Doubtless he looked out. Then he closed it as quietly
+again. You were not his man, Louis."
+
+"I am grateful," said Mr Carlyle expressively. "What next, Louis?"
+
+"That is all; they are still closeted."
+
+Both were silent for a moment. Mr Carlyle's feeling was one of
+unconfessed perplexity. So far the incident was utterly trivial in his
+eyes; but he knew that the trifles which appeared significant to Max had
+a way of standing out like signposts when the time came to look back
+over an episode. Carrados's sightless faculties seemed indeed to keep
+him just a move ahead as the game progressed.
+
+"Is there really anything in it, Max?" he asked at length.
+
+"Who can say?" replied Carrados. "At least we may wait to see them go.
+Those tin deed-boxes now. There is one to each safe, I think?"
+
+"Yes, so I imagine. The practice is to carry the box to your private
+lair and there unlock it and do your business. Then you lock it up again
+and take it back to your safe."
+
+"Steady! our first man," whispered Carrados hurriedly. "Here, look at
+this with me." He opened a paper--a prospectus--which he pulled from his
+pocket, and they affected to study its contents together.
+
+"You were about right, my friend," muttered Mr Carlyle, pointing to a
+paragraph of assumed interest. "Hat, stick and spectacles. He is a
+clean-shaven, pink-faced old boy. I believe--yes, I know the man by
+sight. He is a bookmaker in a large way, I am told."
+
+"Here comes the other," whispered Carrados.
+
+The bookmaker passed across the hall, joined on his way by the manager
+whose duty it was to counterlock the safe, and disappeared along one of
+the passages. The second man sauntered up and down, waiting his turn. Mr
+Carlyle reported his movements in an undertone and described him. He was
+a younger man than the other, of medium height, and passably well
+dressed in a quiet lounge suit, green Alpine hat and brown shoes. By the
+time the detective had reached his wavy chestnut hair, large and rather
+ragged moustache, and sandy, freckled complexion, the first man had
+completed his business and was leaving the place.
+
+"It isn't an exchange lay, at all events," said Mr Carlyle. "His inner
+case is only half the size of the other and couldn't possibly be
+substituted."
+
+"Come up now," said Carrados, rising. "There is nothing more to be
+learned down here."
+
+They requisitioned the lift and on the steps outside the gigantic
+keyhole stood for a few minutes discussing an investment as a couple of
+trustees or a lawyer and a client who were parting there might do. Fifty
+yards away, a very large silk hat with a very curly brim marked the
+progress of the bookmaker towards Piccadilly.
+
+The lift in the hall behind them swirled up again and the gate clashed.
+The second man walked leisurely out and sauntered away without a
+backward glance.
+
+"He has gone in the opposite direction," exclaimed Mr Carlyle, rather
+blankly. "It isn't the 'lame goat' nor the 'follow-me-on,' nor even the
+homely but efficacious sand-bag."
+
+"What colour were his eyes?" asked Carrados.
+
+"Upon my word, I never noticed," admitted the other.
+
+"Parkinson would have noticed," was the severe comment.
+
+"I am not Parkinson," retorted Mr Carlyle, with asperity, "and, strictly
+as one dear friend to another, Max, permit me to add, that while
+cherishing an unbounded admiration for your remarkable gifts, I have the
+strongest suspicion that the whole incident is a ridiculous mare's nest,
+bred in the fantastic imagination of an enthusiastic criminologist."
+
+Mr Carrados received this outburst with the utmost benignity. "Come and
+have a coffee, Louis," he suggested. "Mehmed's is only a street away."
+
+Mehmed proved to be a cosmopolitan gentleman from Mocha whose shop
+resembled a house from the outside and an Oriental divan when one was
+within. A turbaned Arab placed cigarettes and cups of coffee spiced with
+saffron before the customers, gave salaam and withdrew.
+
+"You know, my dear chap," continued Mr Carlyle, sipping his black coffee
+and wondering privately whether it was really very good or very bad,
+"speaking quite seriously, the one fishy detail--our ginger friend's
+watching for the other to leave--may be open to a dozen very innocent
+explanations."
+
+"So innocent that to-morrow I intend taking a safe myself."
+
+"You think that everything is all right?"
+
+"On the contrary, I am convinced that something is very wrong."
+
+"Then why----?"
+
+"I shall keep nothing there, but it will give me the _entree_. I should
+advise you, Louis, in the first place to empty your safe with all
+possible speed, and in the second to leave your business card on the
+manager."
+
+Mr Carlyle pushed his cup away, convinced now that the coffee was really
+very bad.
+
+"But, my dear Max, the place--'The Safe'--is impregnable!"
+
+"When I was in the States, three years ago, the head porter at one hotel
+took pains to impress on me that the building was absolutely fireproof.
+I at once had my things taken off to another hotel. Two weeks later the
+first place was burnt out. It _was_ fireproof, I believe, but of course
+the furniture and the fittings were not and the walls gave way."
+
+"Very ingenious," admitted Mr Carlyle, "but why did you really go? You
+know you can't humbug me with your superhuman sixth sense, my friend."
+
+Carrados smiled pleasantly, thereby encouraging the watchful attendant
+to draw near and replenish their tiny cups.
+
+"Perhaps," replied the blind man, "because so many careless people were
+satisfied that it was fireproof."
+
+"Ah-ha, there you are--the greater the confidence the greater the risk.
+But only if your self-confidence results in carelessness. Now do you
+know how this place is secured, Max?"
+
+"I am told that they lock the door at night," replied Carrados, with
+bland malice.
+
+"And hide the key under the mat to be ready for the first arrival in the
+morning," crowed Mr Carlyle, in the same playful spirit. "Dear old chap!
+Well, let me tell you----"
+
+"That force is out of the question. Quite so," admitted his friend.
+
+"That simplifies the argument. Let us consider fraud. There again the
+precautions are so rigid that many people pronounce the forms a
+nuisance. I confess that I do not. I regard them as a means of
+protecting my own property and I cheerfully sign my name and give my
+password, which the manager compares with his record-book before he
+releases the first lock of my safe. The signature is burned before my
+eyes in a sort of crucible there, the password is of my own choosing and
+is written only in a book that no one but the manager ever sees, and my
+key is the sole one in existence."
+
+"No duplicate or master-key?"
+
+"Neither. If a key is lost it takes a skilful mechanic half-a-day to cut
+his way in. Then you must remember that clients of a safe-deposit are
+not multitudinous. All are known more or less by sight to the officials
+there, and a stranger would receive close attention. Now, Max, by what
+combination of circumstances is a rogue to know my password, to be able
+to forge my signature, to possess himself of my key, and to resemble me
+personally? And, finally, how is he possibly to determine beforehand
+whether there is anything in my safe to repay so elaborate a plant?" Mr
+Carlyle concluded in triumph and was so carried away by the strength of
+his position that he drank off the contents of his second cup before he
+realized what he was doing.
+
+"At the hotel I just spoke of," replied Carrados, "there was an
+attendant whose one duty in case of alarm was to secure three iron
+doors. On the night of the fire he had a bad attack of toothache and
+slipped away for just a quarter of an hour to have the thing out. There
+was a most up-to-date system of automatic fire alarm; it had been tested
+only the day before and the electrician, finding some part not
+absolutely to his satisfaction, had taken it away and not had time to
+replace it. The night watchman, it turned out, had received leave to
+present himself a couple of hours later on that particular night, and
+the hotel fireman, whose duties he took over, had missed being notified.
+Lastly, there was a big riverside blaze at the same time and all the
+engines were down at the other end of the city."
+
+Mr Carlyle committed himself to a dubious monosyllable. Carrados leaned
+forward a little.
+
+"All these circumstances formed a coincidence of pure chance. Is it not
+conceivable, Louis, that an even more remarkable series might be
+brought about by design?"
+
+"Our tawny friend?"
+
+"Possibly. Only he was not really tawny." Mr Carlyle's easy attitude
+suddenly stiffened into rigid attention. "He wore a false moustache."
+
+"He wore a false moustache!" repeated the amazed gentleman. "And you
+cannot see! No, really, Max, this is beyond the limit!"
+
+"If only you would not trust your dear, blundering old eyes so
+implicitly you would get nearer that limit yourself," retorted Carrados.
+"The man carried a five-yard aura of spirit gum, emphasized by a warm,
+perspiring skin. That inevitably suggested one thing. I looked for
+further evidence of making-up and found it--these preparations all
+smell. The hair you described was characteristically that of a wig--worn
+long to hide the joining and made wavy to minimize the length. All these
+things are trifles. As yet we have not gone beyond the initial stage of
+suspicion. I will tell you another trifle. When this man retired to a
+compartment with his deed-box, he never even opened it. Possibly it
+contains a brick and a newspaper. He is only watching."
+
+"Watching the bookmaker."
+
+"True, but it may go far wider than that. Everything points to a plot of
+careful elaboration. Still, if you are satisfied----"
+
+"I am quite satisfied," replied Mr Carlyle gallantly. "I regard 'The
+Safe' almost as a national institution, and as such I have an implicit
+faith in its precautions against every kind of force or fraud." So far
+Mr Carlyle's attitude had been suggestive of a rock, but at this point
+he took out his watch, hummed a little to pass the time, consulted his
+watch again, and continued: "I am afraid that there were one or two
+papers which I overlooked. It would perhaps save me coming again
+to-morrow if I went back now----"
+
+"Quite so," acquiesced Carrados, with perfect gravity. "I will wait for
+you."
+
+For twenty minutes he sat there, drinking an occasional tiny cup of
+boiled coffee and to all appearance placidly enjoying the quaint
+atmosphere which Mr Mehmed had contrived to transplant from the shore of
+the Persian Gulf.
+
+At the end of that period Carlyle returned, politely effusive about the
+time he had kept his friend waiting but otherwise bland and
+unassailable. Anyone with eyes might have noticed that he carried a
+parcel of about the same size and dimensions as the deed-box that fitted
+his safe.
+
+The next day Carrados presented himself at the safe-deposit as an
+intending renter. The manager showed him over the vaults and
+strong-rooms, explaining the various precautions taken to render the
+guile or force of man impotent: the strength of the chilled-steel walls,
+the casing of electricity-resisting concrete, the stupendous isolation
+of the whole inner fabric on metal pillars so that the watchman, while
+inside the building, could walk above, below, and all round the outer
+walls of what was really--although it bore no actual relationship to the
+advertising device of the front--a monstrous safe; and, finally, the
+arrangement which would enable the basement to be flooded with steam
+within three minutes of an alarm. These details were public property.
+"The Safe" was a showplace and its directors held that no harm could
+come of displaying a strong hand.
+
+Accompanied by the observant eyes of Parkinson, Carrados gave an
+adventurous but not a hopeful attention to these particulars. Submitting
+the problem of the tawny man to his own ingenuity, he was constantly
+putting before himself the question: How shall I set about robbing this
+place? and he had already dismissed force as impracticable. Nor, when it
+came to the consideration of fraud, did the simple but effective
+safeguards which Mr Carlyle had specified seem to offer any loophole.
+
+"As I am blind I may as well sign in the book," he suggested, when the
+manager passed to him a gummed slip for the purpose. The precaution
+against one acquiring particulars of another client might well be deemed
+superfluous in his case.
+
+But the manager did not fall into the trap.
+
+"It is our invariable rule in all cases, sir," he replied courteously.
+"What word will you take?" Parkinson, it may be said, had been left in
+the hall.
+
+"Suppose I happen to forget it? How do we proceed?"
+
+"In that case I am afraid that I might have to trouble you to establish
+your identity," the manager explained. "It rarely happens."
+
+"Then we will say 'Conspiracy.'"
+
+The word was written down and the book closed.
+
+"Here is your key, sir. If you will allow me--your key-ring----"
+
+A week went by and Carrados was no nearer the absolute solution of the
+problem he had set himself. He had, indeed, evolved several ways by
+which the contents of the safes might be reached, some simple and
+desperate, hanging on the razor-edge of chance to fall this way or that;
+others more elaborate, safer on the whole, but more liable to break down
+at some point of their ingenious intricacy. And setting aside complicity
+on the part of the manager--a condition that Carrados had satisfied
+himself did not exist--they all depended on a relaxation of the forms by
+which security was assured. Carrados continued to have several occasions
+to visit the safe during the week, and he "watched" with a quiet
+persistence that was deadly in its scope. But from beginning to end
+there was no indication of slackness in the business-like methods of the
+place; nor during any of his visits did the "tawny man" appear in that
+or any other disguise. Another week passed; Mr Carlyle was becoming
+inexpressibly waggish, and Carrados himself, although he did not abate a
+jot of his conviction, was compelled to bend to the realities of the
+situation. The manager, with the obstinacy of a conscientious man who
+had become obsessed with the pervading note of security, excused himself
+from discussing abstract methods of fraud. Carrados was not in a
+position to formulate a detailed charge; he withdrew from active
+investigation, content to await his time.
+
+It came, to be precise, on a certain Friday morning, seventeen days
+after his first visit to "The Safe." Returning late on the Thursday
+night, he was informed that a man giving the name of Draycott had called
+to see him. Apparently the matter had been of some importance to the
+visitor for he had returned three hours later on the chance of finding
+Mr Carrados in. Disappointed in this, he had left a note. Carrados cut
+open the envelope and ran a finger along the following words:--
+
+     "DEAR SIR,--I have to-day consulted Mr Louis Carlyle, who
+     thinks that you would like to see me. I will call again in the
+     morning, say at nine o'clock. If this is too soon or otherwise
+     inconvenient I entreat you to leave a message fixing as early
+     an hour as possible.
+     Yours faithfully,
+                                   HERBERT DRAYCOTT."
+
+     "_P.S._--I should add that I am the renter of a safe at the
+     Lucas Street depository.      H. D."
+
+A description of Mr Draycott made it clear that he was not the West-End
+bookmaker. The caller, the servant explained, was a thin, wiry,
+keen-faced man. Carrados felt agreeably interested in this development,
+which seemed to justify his suspicion of a plot.
+
+At five minutes to nine the next morning Mr Draycott again presented
+himself.
+
+"Very good of you to see me so soon, sir," he apologized, on Carrados at
+once receiving him. "I don't know much of English ways--I'm an
+Australian--and I was afraid it might be too early."
+
+"You could have made it a couple of hours earlier as far as I am
+concerned," replied Carrados. "Or you either for that matter, I
+imagine," he added, "for I don't think that you slept much last night."
+
+"I didn't sleep at all last night," corrected Mr Draycott. "But it's
+strange that you should have seen that. I understood from Mr Carlyle
+that you--excuse me if I am mistaken, sir--but I understood that you
+were blind."
+
+Carrados laughed his admission lightly.
+
+"Oh yes," he said. "But never mind that. What is the trouble?"
+
+"I'm afraid it means more than just trouble for me, Mr Carrados." The
+man had steady, half-closed eyes, with the suggestion of depth which one
+notices in the eyes of those whose business it is to look out over great
+expanses of land or water; they were turned towards Carrados's face with
+quiet resignation in their frankness now. "I'm afraid it spells
+disaster. I am a working engineer from the Mount Magdalena district of
+Coolgardie. I don't want to take up your time with outside details so I
+will only say that about two years ago I had an opportunity of acquiring
+a share in a very promising claim--gold, you understand, both reef and
+alluvial. As the work went on I put more and more into the
+undertaking--you couldn't call it a venture by that time. The results
+were good, better than we had dared to expect, but from one cause and
+another the expenses were terrible. We saw that it was a bigger thing
+than we had bargained for and we admitted that we must get outside
+help."
+
+So far Mr Draycott's narrative had proceeded smoothly enough under the
+influence of the quiet despair that had come over the man. But at this
+point a sudden recollection of his position swept him into a frenzy of
+bitterness.
+
+"Oh, what the blazes is the good of going over all this again!" he broke
+out. "What can you or anyone else do anyhow? I've been robbed, rooked,
+cleared out of everything I possess," and tormented by recollections and
+by the impotence of his rage the unfortunate engineer beat the oak table
+with the back of his hand until his knuckles bled.
+
+Carrados waited until the fury had passed.
+
+"Continue, if you please, Mr Draycott," he said. "Just what you thought
+it best to tell me is just what I want to know."
+
+"I'm sorry, sir," apologized the man, colouring under his tanned skin.
+"I ought to be able to control myself better. But this business has
+shaken me. Three times last night I looked down the barrel of my
+revolver, and three times I threw it away.... Well, we arranged that I
+should come to London to interest some financiers in the property. We
+might have done it locally or in Perth, to be sure, but then, don't you
+see, they would have wanted to get control. Six weeks ago I landed here.
+I brought with me specimens of the quartz and good samples of extracted
+gold, dust and nuggets, the clearing up of several weeks' working, about
+two hundred and forty ounces in all. That includes the Magdalena
+Lodestar, our lucky nugget, a lump weighing just under seven pounds of
+pure gold.
+
+"I had seen an advertisement of this Lucas Street safe-deposit and it
+seemed just the thing I wanted. Besides the gold, I had all the papers
+to do with the claims--plans, reports, receipts, licences and so on.
+Then when I cashed my letter of credit I had about one hundred and fifty
+pounds in notes. Of course I could have left everything at a bank but it
+was more convenient to have it, as it were, in my own safe, to get at
+any time, and to have a private room that I could take any gentlemen to.
+I hadn't a suspicion that anything could be wrong. Negotiations hung on
+in several quarters--it's a bad time to do business here, I find. Then,
+yesterday, I wanted something. I went to Lucas Street, as I had done
+half-a-dozen times before, opened my safe, and had the inner case
+carried to a room.... Mr Carrados, it was empty!"
+
+"Quite empty?"
+
+"No." He laughed bitterly. "At the bottom was a sheet of wrapper paper.
+I recognized it as a piece I had left there in case I wanted to make up
+a parcel. But for that I should have been convinced that I had somehow
+opened the wrong safe. That was my first idea."
+
+"It cannot be done."
+
+"So I understand, sir. And, then, there was the paper with my name
+written on it in the empty tin. I was dazed; it seemed impossible. I
+think I stood there without moving for minutes--it was more like hours.
+Then I closed the tin box again, took it back, locked up the safe and
+came out."
+
+"Without notifying anything wrong?"
+
+"Yes, Mr Carrados." The steady blue eyes regarded him with pained
+thoughtfulness. "You see, I reckoned it out in that time that it must be
+someone about the place who had done it."
+
+"You were wrong," said Carrados.
+
+"So Mr Carlyle seemed to think. I only knew that the key had never been
+out of my possession and I had told no one of the password. Well, it did
+come over me rather like cold water down the neck, that there was I
+alone in the strongest dungeon in London and not a living soul knew
+where I was."
+
+"Possibly a sort of up-to-date Sweeney Todd's?"
+
+"I'd heard of such things in London," admitted Draycott. "Anyway, I got
+out. It was a mistake; I see it now. Who is to believe me as it is--it
+sounds a sort of unlikely tale. And how do they come to pick on me? to
+know what I had? I don't drink, or open my mouth, or hell round. It
+beats me."
+
+"They didn't pick on you--you picked on them," replied Carrados. "Never
+mind how; you'll be believed all right. But as for getting anything
+back----" The unfinished sentence confirmed Mr Draycott in his gloomiest
+anticipations.
+
+"I have the numbers of the notes," he suggested, with an attempt at
+hopefulness. "They can be stopped, I take it?"
+
+"Stopped? Yes," admitted Carrados. "And what does that amount to? The
+banks and the police stations will be notified and every little
+public-house between here and Land's End will change one for the
+scribbling of 'John Jones' across the back. No, Mr Draycott, it's
+awkward, I dare say, but you must make up your mind to wait until you
+can get fresh supplies from home. Where are you staying?"
+
+Draycott hesitated.
+
+"I have been at the Abbotsford, in Bloomsbury, up to now," he said, with
+some embarrassment. "The fact is, Mr Carrados, I think I ought to have
+told you how I was placed before consulting you, because I--I see no
+prospect of being able to pay my way. Knowing that I had plenty in the
+safe, I had run it rather close. I went chiefly yesterday to get some
+notes. I have a week's hotel bill in my pocket, and"--he glanced down
+at his trousers--"I've ordered one or two other things unfortunately."
+
+"That will be a matter of time, doubtless," suggested the other
+encouragingly.
+
+Instead of replying Draycott suddenly dropped his arms on to the table
+and buried his face between them. A minute passed in silence.
+
+"It's no good, Mr Carrados," he said, when he was able to speak; "I
+can't meet it. Say what you like, I simply can't tell those chaps that
+I've lost everything we had and ask them to send me more. They couldn't
+do it if I did. Understand, sir. The mine is a valuable one; we have the
+greatest faith in it, but it has gone beyond our depth. The three of us
+have put everything we own into it. While I am here they are doing
+labourers' work for a wage, just to keep going ... waiting, oh, my God!
+waiting for good news from me!"
+
+Carrados walked round the table to his desk and wrote. Then, without a
+word, he held out a paper to his visitor.
+
+"What's this?" demanded Draycott, in bewilderment. "It's--it's a cheque
+for a hundred pounds."
+
+"It will carry you on," explained Carrados imperturbably. "A man like
+you isn't going to throw up the sponge for this set-back. Cable to your
+partners that you require copies of all the papers at once. They'll
+manage it, never fear. The gold ... must go. Write fully by the next
+mail. Tell them everything and add that in spite of all you feel that
+you are nearer success than ever."
+
+Mr Draycott folded the cheque with thoughtful deliberation and put it
+carefully away in his pocket-book.
+
+"I don't know whether you've guessed as much, sir," he said in a queer
+voice, "but I think that you've saved a man's life to-day. It's not the
+money, it's the encouragement ... and faith. If you could see you'd know
+better than I can say how I feel about it."
+
+Carrados laughed quietly. It always amused him to have people explain
+how much more he would learn if he had eyes.
+
+"Then we'll go on to Lucas Street and give the manager the shock of his
+life," was all he said. "Come, Mr Draycott, I have already rung up the
+car."
+
+But, as it happened, another instrument had been destined to apply that
+stimulating experience to the manager. As they stepped out of the car
+opposite "The Safe" a taxicab drew up and Mr Carlyle's alert and cheery
+voice hailed them.
+
+"A moment, Max," he called, turning to settle with his driver, a
+transaction that he invested with an air of dignified urbanity which
+almost made up for any small pecuniary disappointment that may have
+accompanied it. "This is indeed fortunate. Let us compare notes for a
+moment. I have just received an almost imploring message from the
+manager to come at once. I assumed that it was the affair of our
+colonial friend here, but he went on to mention Professor Holmfast
+Bulge. Can it really be possible that he also has made a similar
+discovery?"
+
+"What did the manager say?" asked Carrados.
+
+"He was practically incoherent, but I really think it must be so. What
+have you done?"
+
+"Nothing," replied Carrados. He turned his back on "The Safe" and
+appeared to be regarding the other side of the street. "There is a
+tobacconist's shop directly opposite?"
+
+"There is."
+
+"What do they sell on the first floor?"
+
+"Possibly they sell 'Rubbo.' I hazard the suggestion from the legend
+'Rub in Rubbo for Everything' which embellishes each window."
+
+"The windows are frosted?"
+
+"They are, to half-way up, mysterious man."
+
+Carrados walked back to his motor car.
+
+"While we are away, Parkinson, go across and buy a tin, bottle, box or
+packet of 'Rubbo.'"
+
+"What is 'Rubbo,' Max?" chirped Mr Carlyle with insatiable curiosity.
+
+"So far we do not know. When Parkinson gets some, Louis, you shall be
+the one to try it."
+
+They descended into the basement and were passed in by the
+grille-keeper, whose manner betrayed a discreet consciousness of
+something in the air. It was unnecessary to speculate why. In the
+distance, muffled by the armoured passages, an authoritative voice
+boomed like a sonorous bell heard under water.
+
+"What, however, are the facts?" it was demanding, with the causticity of
+baffled helplessness. "I am assured that there is no other key in
+existence; yet my safe has been unlocked. I am given to understand that
+without the password it would be impossible for an unauthorized person
+to tamper with my property. My password, deliberately chosen, is
+'anthropophaginian,' sir. Is it one that is familiarly on the lips of
+the criminal classes? But my safe is empty! What is the explanation? Who
+are the guilty persons? What is being done? Where are the police?"
+
+"If you consider that the proper course to adopt is to stand on the
+doorstep and beckon in the first constable who happens to pass, permit
+me to say, sir, that I differ from you," retorted the distracted
+manager. "You may rely on everything possible being done to clear up the
+mystery. As I told you, I have already telephoned for a capable private
+detective and for one of my directors."
+
+"But that is not enough," insisted the professor angrily. "Will one mere
+private detective restore my L6000 Japanese 4-1/2 per cent. bearer
+bonds? Is the return of my irreplaceable notes on 'Polyphyletic Bridal
+Customs among the mid-Pleistocene Cave Men' to depend on a solitary
+director? I demand that the police shall be called in--as many as are
+available. Let Scotland Yard be set in motion. A searching inquiry must
+be made. I have only been a user of your precious establishment for six
+months, and this is the result."
+
+"There you hold the key of the mystery, Professor Bulge," interposed
+Carrados quietly.
+
+"Who is this, sir?" demanded the exasperated professor at large.
+
+"Permit me," explained Mr Carlyle, with bland assurance. "I am Louis
+Carlyle, of Bampton Street. This gentleman is Mr Max Carrados, the
+eminent amateur specialist in crime."
+
+"I shall be thankful for any assistance towards elucidating this
+appalling business," condescended the professor sonorously. "Let me put
+you in possession of the facts----"
+
+"Perhaps if we went into your room," suggested Carrados to the manager,
+"we should be less liable to interruption."
+
+"Quite so; quite so," boomed the professor, accepting the proposal on
+everyone else's behalf. "The facts, sir, are these: I am the unfortunate
+possessor of a safe here, in which, a few months ago, I deposited--among
+less important matter--sixty bearer bonds of the Japanese Imperial
+Loan--the bulk of my small fortune--and the manuscript of an important
+projected work on 'Polyphyletic Bridal Customs among the mid-Pleistocene
+Cave Men.' To-day I came to detach the coupons which fall due on the
+fifteenth, to pay them into my bank a week in advance, in accordance
+with my custom. What do I find? I find the safe locked and apparently
+intact, as when I last saw it a month ago. But it is far from being
+intact, sir. It has been opened; ransacked, cleared out. Not a single
+bond; not a scrap of paper remains."
+
+It was obvious that the manager's temperature had been rising during the
+latter part of this speech and now he boiled over.
+
+"Pardon my flatly contradicting you, Professor Bulge. You have again
+referred to your visit here a month ago as your last. You will bear
+witness of that, gentlemen. When I inform you that the professor had
+access to his safe as recently as on Monday last you will recognize the
+importance that the statement may assume."
+
+The professor glared across the room like an infuriated animal, a
+comparison heightened by his notoriously hircine appearance.
+
+"How dare you contradict me, sir!" he cried, slapping the table sharply
+with his open hand. "I was not here on Monday."
+
+The manager shrugged his shoulders coldly.
+
+"You forget that the attendants also saw you," he remarked. "Cannot we
+trust our own eyes?"
+
+"A common assumption, yet not always a strictly reliable one,"
+insinuated Carrados softly.
+
+"I cannot be mistaken."
+
+"Then can you tell me, without looking, what colour Professor Bulge's
+eyes are?"
+
+There was a curious and expectant silence for a minute. The professor
+turned his back on the manager and the manager passed from
+thoughtfulness to embarrassment.
+
+"I really do not know, Mr Carrados," he declared loftily at last. "I do
+not refer to mere trifles like that."
+
+"Then you can be mistaken," replied Carrados mildly yet with decision.
+
+"But the ample hair, the venerable flowing beard, the prominent nose and
+heavy eyebrows----"
+
+"These are just the striking points that are most easily counterfeited.
+They 'take the eye.' If you would ensure yourself against deception,
+learn rather to observe the eye itself, and particularly the spots on
+it, the shape of the fingernails, the set of the ears. These things
+cannot be simulated."
+
+"You seriously suggest that the man was not Professor Bulge--that he was
+an impostor?"
+
+"The conclusion is inevitable. Where were you on Monday, Professor?"
+
+"I was on a short lecturing tour in the Midlands. On Saturday I was in
+Nottingham. On Monday in Birmingham. I did not return to London until
+yesterday."
+
+Carrados turned to the manager again and indicated Draycott, who so far
+had remained in the background.
+
+"And this gentleman? Did he by any chance come here on Monday?"
+
+"He did not, Mr Carrados. But I gave him access to his safe on Tuesday
+afternoon and again yesterday."
+
+Draycott shook his head sadly.
+
+"Yesterday I found it empty," he said. "And all Tuesday afternoon I was
+at Brighton, trying to see a gentleman on business."
+
+The manager sat down very suddenly.
+
+"Good God, another!" he exclaimed faintly.
+
+"I am afraid the list is only beginning," said Carrados. "We must go
+through your renters' book."
+
+The manager roused himself to protest.
+
+"That cannot be done. No one but myself or my deputy ever sees the book.
+It would be--unprecedented."
+
+"The circumstances are unprecedented," replied Carrados.
+
+"If any difficulties are placed in the way of these gentlemen's
+investigations, I shall make it my duty to bring the facts before the
+Home Secretary," announced the professor; speaking up to the ceiling
+with the voice of a brazen trumpet.
+
+Carrados raised a deprecating hand.
+
+"May I make a suggestion?" he remarked. "Now; I am blind. If,
+therefore----?"
+
+"Very well," acquiesced the manager. "But I must request the others to
+withdraw."
+
+For five minutes Carrados followed the list of safe-renters as the
+manager read them to him. Sometimes he stopped the catalogue to reflect
+a moment; now and then he brushed a finger-tip over a written signature
+and compared it with another. Occasionally a password interested him.
+But when the list came to an end he continued to look into space without
+any sign of enlightenment.
+
+"So much is perfectly clear and yet so much is incredible," he mused.
+"You insist that you alone have been in charge for the last six months?"
+
+"I have not been away a day this year."
+
+"Meals?"
+
+"I have my lunch sent in."
+
+"And this room could not be entered without your knowledge while you
+were about the place?"
+
+"It is impossible. The door is fitted with a powerful spring and a
+feather-touch self-acting lock. It cannot be left unlocked unless you
+deliberately prop it open."
+
+"And, with your knowledge, no one has had an opportunity of having
+access to this book?"
+
+"No," was the reply.
+
+Carrados stood up and began to put on his gloves.
+
+"Then I must decline to pursue my investigation any further," he said
+icily.
+
+"Why?" stammered the manager.
+
+"Because I have positive reason for believing that you are deceiving
+me."
+
+"Pray sit down, Mr Carrados. It is quite true that when you put the last
+question to me a circumstance rushed into my mind which--so far as the
+strict letter was concerned--might seem to demand 'Yes' instead of 'No.'
+But not in the spirit of your inquiry. It would be absurd to attach any
+importance to the incident I refer to."
+
+"That would be for me to judge."
+
+"You shall do so, Mr Carrados. I live at Windermere Mansions with my
+sister. A few months ago she got to know a married couple who had
+recently come to the opposite flat. The husband was a middle-aged,
+scholarly man who spent most of his time in the British Museum. His
+wife's tastes were different; she was much younger, brighter, gayer; a
+mere girl in fact, one of the most charming and unaffected I have ever
+met. My sister Amelia does not readily----"
+
+"Stop!" exclaimed Carrados. "A studious middle-aged man and a charming
+young wife! Be as brief as possible. If there is any chance it may turn
+on a matter of minutes at the ports. She came here, of course?"
+
+"Accompanied by her husband," replied the manager stiffly. "Mrs Scott
+had travelled and she had a hobby of taking photographs wherever she
+went. When my position accidentally came out one evening she was carried
+away by the novel idea of adding views of a safe-deposit to her
+collection--as enthusiastic as a child. There was no reason why she
+should not; the place has often been taken for advertising purposes."
+
+"She came, and brought her camera--under your very nose!"
+
+"I do not know what you mean by 'under my very nose.' She came with her
+husband one evening just about our closing time. She brought her camera,
+of course--quite a small affair."
+
+"And contrived to be in here alone?"
+
+"I take exception to the word 'contrived.' It--it happened. I sent out
+for some tea, and in the course----"
+
+"How long was she alone in here?"
+
+"Two or three minutes at the most. When I returned she was seated at my
+desk. That was what I referred to. The little rogue had put on my
+glasses and had got hold of a big book. We were great chums, and she
+delighted to mock me. I confess that I was startled--merely
+instinctively--to see that she had taken up this book, but the next
+moment I saw that she had it upside down."
+
+"Clever! She couldn't get it away in time. And the camera, with
+half-a-dozen of its specially sensitized films already snapped over the
+last few pages, by her side!"
+
+"That child!"
+
+"Yes. She is twenty-seven and has kicked hats off tall men's heads in
+every capital from Petersburg to Buenos Aires! Get through to Scotland
+Yard and ask if Inspector Beedel can come up."
+
+The manager breathed heavily through his nose.
+
+"To call in the police and publish everything would ruin this
+establishment--confidence would be gone. I cannot do it without further
+authority."
+
+"Then the professor certainly will."
+
+"Before you came I rang up the only director who is at present in town
+and gave him the facts as they then stood. Possibly he has arrived by
+this. If you will accompany me to the boardroom we will see."
+
+They went up to the floor above, Mr Carlyle joining them on the way.
+
+"Excuse me a moment," said the manager.
+
+Parkinson, who had been having an improving conversation with the hall
+porter on the subject of land values, approached.
+
+"I am sorry, sir," he reported, "but I was unable to procure any
+'Rubbo.' The place appears to be shut up."
+
+"That is a pity; Mr Carlyle had set his heart on it."
+
+"Will you come this way, please?" said the manager, reappearing.
+
+In the boardroom they found a white-haired old gentleman who had obeyed
+the manager's behest from a sense of duty, and then remained in a
+distant corner of the empty room in the hope that he might be
+overlooked. He was amiably helpless and appeared to be deeply aware of
+it.
+
+"This is a very sad business, gentlemen," he said, in a whispering,
+confiding voice. "I am informed that you recommend calling in the
+Scotland Yard authorities. That would be a disastrous course for an
+institution that depends on the implicit confidence of the public."
+
+"It is the only course," replied Carrados.
+
+"The name of Mr Carrados is well known to us in connexion with a
+delicate case. Could you not carry this one through?"
+
+"It is impossible. A wide inquiry must be made. Every port will have to
+be watched. The police alone can do that." He threw a little
+significance into the next sentence. "I alone can put the police in the
+right way of doing it."
+
+"And you will do that, Mr Carrados?"
+
+Carrados smiled engagingly. He knew exactly what constituted the great
+attraction of his services.
+
+"My position is this," he explained. "So far my work has been entirely
+amateur. In that capacity I have averted one or two crimes, remedied an
+occasional injustice, and now and then been of service to my
+professional friend, Louis Carlyle. But there is no reason at all why I
+should serve a commercial firm in an ordinary affair of business for
+nothing. For any information I should require a fee, a quite nominal fee
+of, say, one hundred pounds."
+
+The director looked as though his faith in human nature had received a
+rude blow.
+
+"A hundred pounds would be a very large initial fee for a small firm
+like this, Mr Carrados," he remarked in a pained voice.
+
+"And that, of course, would be independent of Mr Carlyle's professional
+charges," added Carrados.
+
+"Is that sum contingent on any specific performance?" inquired the
+manager.
+
+"I do not mind making it conditional on my procuring for you, for the
+police to act on, a photograph and a description of the thief."
+
+The two officials conferred apart for a moment. Then the manager
+returned.
+
+"We will agree, Mr Carrados, on the understanding that these things are
+to be in our hands within two days. Failing that----"
+
+"No, no!" cried Mr Carlyle indignantly, but Carrados good-humouredly put
+him aside.
+
+"I will accept the condition in the same sporting spirit that inspires
+it. Within forty-eight hours or no pay. The cheque, of course, to be
+given immediately the goods are delivered?"
+
+"You may rely on that."
+
+Carrados took out his pocket-book, produced an envelope bearing an
+American stamp, and from it extracted an unmounted print.
+
+"Here is the photograph," he announced. "The man is called Ulysses K.
+Groom, but he is better known as 'Harry the Actor.' You will find the
+description written on the back."
+
+Five minutes later, when they were alone, Mr Carlyle expressed his
+opinion of the transaction.
+
+"You are an unmitigated humbug, Max," he said, "though an amiable one, I
+admit. But purely for your own private amusement you spring these things
+on people."
+
+"On the contrary," replied Carrados, "people spring these things on me."
+
+"Now this photograph. Why have I heard nothing of it before?"
+
+Carrados took out his watch and touched the fingers.
+
+"It is now three minutes to eleven. I received the photograph at twenty
+past eight."
+
+"Even then, an hour ago you assured me that you had done nothing."
+
+"Nor had I--so far as result went. Until the keystone of the edifice was
+wrung from the manager in his room, I was as far away from demonstrable
+certainty as ever."
+
+"So am I--as yet," hinted Mr Carlyle.
+
+"I am coming to that, Louis. I turn over the whole thing to you. The man
+has got two clear days' start and the chances are nine to one against
+catching him. We know everything, and the case has no further interest
+for me. But it is your business. Here is your material.
+
+"On that one occasion when the 'tawny' man crossed our path, I took from
+the first a rather more serious view of his scope and intention than you
+did. That same day I sent a cipher cable to Pierson of the New York
+service. I asked for news of any man of such and such a
+description--merely negative--who was known to have left the States; an
+educated man, expert in the use of disguises, audacious in his
+operations, and a specialist in 'dry' work among banks and
+strong-rooms."
+
+"Why the States, Max?"
+
+"That was a sighting shot on my part. I argued that he must be an
+English-speaking man. The smart and inventive turn of the modern Yank
+has made him a specialist in ingenious devices, straight or crooked.
+Unpickable locks and invincible lock-pickers, burglar-proof safes and
+safe-specializing burglars, come equally from the States. So I tried a
+very simple test. As we talked that day and the man walked past us, I
+dropped the words 'New York'--or, rather, 'Noo Y'rk'--in his hearing."
+
+"I know you did. He neither turned nor stopped."
+
+"He was that much on his guard; but into his step there came--though
+your poor old eyes could not see it, Louis--the 'psychological pause,'
+an absolute arrest of perhaps a fifth of a second; just as it would have
+done with you if the word 'London' had fallen on your ear in a distant
+land. However, the whys and the wherefores don't matter. Here is the
+essential story.
+
+"Eighteen months ago 'Harry the Actor' successfully looted the office
+safe of M'Kenkie, J. F. Higgs & Co.; of Cleveland, Ohio. He had just
+married a smart but very facile third-rate vaudeville actress--English
+by origin--and wanted money for the honeymoon. He got about five hundred
+pounds, and with that they came to Europe and stayed in London for some
+months. That period is marked by the Congreave Square post office
+burglary, you may remember. While studying such of the British
+institutions as most appealed to him, the 'Actor's' attention became
+fixed on this safe-deposit. Possibly the implied challenge contained in
+its telegraphic address grew on him until it became a point of
+professional honour with him to despoil it; at all events he was
+presumedly attracted by an undertaking that promised not only glory but
+very solid profit. The first part of the plot was, to the most skilful
+criminal 'impersonator' in the States, mere skittles. Spreading over
+those months he appeared at 'The Safe' in twelve different characters
+and rented twelve safes of different sizes. At the same time he made a
+thorough study of the methods of the place. As soon as possible he got
+the keys back again into legitimate use, having made duplicates for his
+own private ends, of course. Five he seems to have returned during his
+first stay; one was received later, with profuse apologies, by
+registered post; one was returned through a leading Berlin bank. Six
+months ago he made a flying visit here, purely to work off two more. One
+he kept from first to last, and the remaining couple he got in at the
+beginning of his second long residence here, three or four months ago.
+
+"This brings us to the serious part of the cool enterprise. He had funds
+from the Atlantic and South-Central Mail-car coup when he arrived here
+last April. He appears to have set up three establishments; a home, in
+the guise of an elderly scholar with a young wife, which, of course, was
+next door to our friend the manager; an observation point, over which he
+plastered the inscription 'Rub in Rubbo for Everything' as a reason for
+being; and, somewhere else, a dressing-room with essential conditions of
+two doors into different streets.
+
+"About six weeks ago he entered the last stage. Mrs Harry, with quite
+ridiculous ease, got photographs of the necessary page or two of the
+record-book. I don't doubt that for weeks before then everyone who
+entered the place had been observed, but the photographs linked them up
+with the actual men into whose hands the 'Actor's' old keys had
+passed--gave their names and addresses, the numbers of their safes,
+their passwords and signatures. The rest was easy."
+
+"Yes, by Jupiter; mere play for a man like that," agreed Mr Carlyle,
+with professional admiration. "He could contrive a dozen different
+occasions for studying the voice and manner and appearance of his
+victims. How much has he cleared?"
+
+"We can only speculate as yet. I have put my hand on seven doubtful
+callers on Monday and Tuesday last. Two others he had ignored for some
+reason; the remaining two safes had not been allotted. There is one
+point that raises an interesting speculation."
+
+"What is that, Max?"
+
+"The 'Actor' has one associate, a man known as 'Billy the Fondant,' but
+beyond that--with the exception of his wife, of course--he does not
+usually trust anyone. It is plain, however, that at least seven men must
+latterly have been kept under close observation. It has occurred to
+me----"
+
+"Yes, Max?"
+
+"I have wondered whether Harry has enlisted the innocent services of one
+or other of our clever private inquiry offices."
+
+"Scarcely," smiled the professional. "It would hardly pass muster."
+
+"Oh, I don't know. Mrs Harry, in the character of a jealous wife or a
+suspicious sweetheart, might reasonably----"
+
+Mr Carlyle's smile suddenly faded.
+
+"By Jupiter!" he exclaimed. "I remember----"
+
+"Yes, Louis?" prompted Carrados, with laughter in his voice.
+
+"I remember that I must telephone to a client before Beedel comes,"
+concluded Mr Carlyle, rising in some haste.
+
+At the door he almost ran into the subdued director, who was wringing
+his hands in helpless protest at a new stroke of calamity.
+
+"Mr Carrados," wailed the poor old gentleman in a tremulous bleat, "Mr
+Carrados, there is another now--Sir Benjamin Gump. He insists on seeing
+me. You will not--you will not desert us?"
+
+"I should have to stay a week," replied Carrados briskly, "and I'm just
+off now. There will be a procession. Mr Carlyle will support you, I am
+sure."
+
+He nodded "Good-morning" straight into the eyes of each and found his
+way out with the astonishing certainty of movement that made so many
+forget his infirmity. Possibly he was not desirous of encountering
+Draycott's embarrassed gratitude again, for in less than a minute they
+heard the swirl of his departing car.
+
+"Never mind, my dear sir," Mr Carlyle assured his client, with
+impenetrable complacency. "Never mind. _I_ will remain instead. Perhaps
+I had better make myself known to Sir Benjamin at once."
+
+The director turned on him the pleading, trustful look of a cornered
+dormouse.
+
+"He is in the basement," he whispered. "I shall be in the boardroom--if
+necessary."
+
+Mr Carlyle had no difficulty in discovering the centre of interest in
+the basement. Sir Benjamin was expansive and reserved, bewildered and
+decisive, long-winded and short-tempered, each in turn and more or less
+all at once. He had already demanded the attention of the manager,
+Professor Bulge, Draycott and two underlings to his case and they were
+now involved in a babel of inutile reiteration. The inquiry agent was at
+once drawn into a circle of interrogation that he did his best to
+satisfy impressively while himself learning the new facts.
+
+The latest development was sufficiently astonishing. Less than an hour
+before Sir Benjamin had received a parcel by district messenger. It
+contained a jewel-case which ought at that moment to have been securely
+reposing in one of the deposit safes. Hastily snatching it open, the
+recipient's incredible forebodings were realized. It was empty--empty of
+jewels, that is to say, for, as if to add a sting to the blow, a neatly
+inscribed card had been placed inside, and on it the agitated baronet
+read the appropriate but at the moment rather gratuitous maxim: "Lay not
+up for yourselves treasures upon earth----"
+
+The card was passed round and all eyes demanded the expert's
+pronouncement.
+
+"'--where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and
+steal.' H'm," read Mr Carlyle with weight. "This is a most important
+clue, Sir Benjamin----"
+
+"Hey, what? What's that?" exclaimed a voice from the other side of the
+hall. "Why, damme if I don't believe you've got another! Look at that,
+gentlemen; look at that. What's on, I say? Here now, come; give me my
+safe. I want to know where I am."
+
+It was the bookmaker who strode tempestuously in among them, flourishing
+before their faces a replica of the card that was in Mr Carlyle's hand.
+
+"Well, upon my soul this is most extraordinary," exclaimed that
+gentleman, comparing the two. "You have just received this, Mr--Mr
+Berge, isn't it?"
+
+"That's right, Berge--'Iceberg' on the course. Thank the Lord Harry, I
+can take my losses coolly enough, but this--this is a facer. Put into my
+hand half-an-hour ago inside an envelope that ought to be here and as
+safe as in the Bank of England. What's the game, I say? Here, Johnny,
+hurry and let me into my safe."
+
+Discipline and method had for the moment gone by the board. There was no
+suggestion of the boasted safeguards of the establishment. The manager
+added his voice to that of the client, and when the attendant did not at
+once appear he called again.
+
+"John, come and give Mr Berge access to his safe at once."
+
+"All right, sir," pleaded the harassed key-attendant; hurrying up with
+the burden of his own distraction. "There's a silly fathead got in what
+thinks this is a left-luggage office, so far as I can make out--a
+foreigner."
+
+"Never mind that now," replied the manager severely. "Mr Berge's safe:
+No. 01724."
+
+The attendant and Mr Berge went off together down one of the brilliant
+colonnaded vistas. One or two of the others who had caught the words
+glanced across and became aware of a strange figure that was drifting
+indecisively towards them. He was obviously an elderly German tourist of
+pronounced type--long-haired, spectacled, outrageously garbed and
+involved in the mental abstraction of his philosophical race. One hand
+was occupied with the manipulation of a pipe, as markedly Teutonic as
+its owner; the other grasped a carpet-bag that would have ensured an
+opening laugh to any low comedian.
+
+Quite impervious to the preoccupation of the group, the German made his
+way up to them and picked out the manager.
+
+"This was a safety deposit, _nicht wahr_?"
+
+"Quite so," acquiesced the manager loftily, "but just now----"
+
+"Your fellow was dense of gomprehension." The eyes behind the clumsy
+glasses wrinkled to a ponderous humour. "He forgot his own business.
+Now this goot bag----"
+
+Brought into fuller prominence, the carpet-bag revealed further details
+of its overburdened proportions. At one end a flannel shirt cuff
+protruded in limp dejection; at the other an ancient collar, with the
+grotesque attachment known as a "dickey," asserted its presence. No
+wonder the manager frowned his annoyance. "The Safe" was in low enough
+repute among its patrons at that moment without any burlesque interlude
+to its tragic hour.
+
+"Yes, yes," he whispered, attempting to lead the would-be depositor
+away, "but you are under a mistake. This is not----"
+
+"It was a safety deposit? Goot. Mine bag--I would deposit him in safety
+till the time of mine train. _Ja?_"
+
+"_Nein, nein!_" almost hissed the agonized official. "Go away, sir, go
+away! It isn't a cloakroom. John, let this gentleman out."
+
+The attendant and Mr Berge were returning from their quest. The inner
+box had been opened and there was no need to ask the result. The
+bookmaker was shaking his head like a baffled bull.
+
+"Gone, no effects," he shouted across the hall. "Lifted from 'The Safe,'
+by crumb!"
+
+To those who knew nothing of the method and operation of the fraud it
+seemed as if the financial security of the Capital was tottering. An
+amazed silence fell, and in it they heard the great grille door of the
+basement clang on the inopportune foreigner's departure. But, as if it
+was impossible to stand still on that morning of dire happenings, he was
+immediately succeeded by a dapper, keen-faced man in severe clerical
+attire who had been let in as the intruder passed out.
+
+"Canon Petersham!" exclaimed the professor, going forward to greet him.
+
+"My dear Professor Bulge!" reciprocated the canon. "You here! A most
+disquieting thing has happened to me. I must have my safe at once." He
+divided his attention between the manager and the professor as he
+monopolized them both. "A most disquieting and--and outrageous
+circumstance. My safe, please--yes, yes, Rev. Henry Noakes Petersham. I
+have just received by hand a box, a small box of no value but one that I
+_thought_, yes, I am convinced that it was the one, a box that was used
+to contain certain valuables of family interest which should at this
+moment be in my safe here. No. 7436? Very likely, very likely. Yes, here
+is my key. But not content with the disconcerting effect of that,
+professor, the box contained--and I protest that it's a most unseemly
+thing to quote _any_ text from the Bible in this way to a clergyman of
+my position--well, here it is. 'Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon
+earth----' Why, I have a dozen sermons of my own in my desk now on that
+very verse. I'm particularly partial to the very needful lesson that it
+teaches. And to apply it to _me_! It's monstrous!"
+
+"No. 7436, John," ordered the manager, with weary resignation.
+
+The attendant again led the way towards another armour-plated aisle.
+Smartly turning a corner, he stumbled over something, bit a profane
+exclamation in two, and looked back.
+
+"It's that bloomin' foreigner's old bag again," he explained across the
+place in aggrieved apology. "He left it here after all."
+
+"Take it upstairs and throw it out when you've finished," said the
+manager shortly.
+
+"Here, wait a minute," pondered John, in absent-minded familiarity.
+"Wait a minute. This is a funny go. There's a label on that wasn't here
+before. '_Why not look inside?_'"
+
+"'Why not look inside?'" repeated someone.
+
+"That's what it says."
+
+There was another puzzled silence. All were arrested by some intangible
+suggestion of a deeper mystery than they had yet touched. One by one
+they began to cross the hall with the conscious air of men who were not
+curious but thought that they might as well see.
+
+"Why, curse my crumpet," suddenly exploded Mr Berge, "if that ain't the
+same writing as these texts!"
+
+"By gad, but I believe you are right," assented Mr Carlyle. "Well, why
+not look inside?"
+
+The attendant, from his stooping posture, took the verdict of the ring
+of faces and in a trice tugged open the two buckles. The central
+fastening was not locked, and yielded to a touch. The flannel shirt,
+the weird collar and a few other garments in the nature of a
+"top-dressing" were flung out and John's hand plunged deeper....
+
+Harry the Actor had lived up to his dramatic instinct. Nothing was
+wrapped up; nay, the rich booty had been deliberately opened out and
+displayed, as it were, so that the overturning of the bag, when John the
+keybearer in an access of riotous extravagance lifted it up and strewed
+its contents broadcast on the floor, was like the looting of a
+smuggler's den, or the realization of a speculator's dream, or the
+bursting of an Aladdin's cave, or something incredibly lavish and
+bizarre. Bank-notes fluttered down and lay about in all directions,
+relays of sovereigns rolled away like so much dross, bonds and scrip for
+thousands and tens of thousands clogged the downpouring stream of
+jewellery and unset gems. A yellow stone the size of a four-pound weight
+and twice as heavy dropped plump upon the canon's toes and sent him
+hopping and grimacing to the wall. A ruby-hilted kris cut across the
+manager's wrist as he strove to arrest the splendid rout. Still the
+miraculous cornucopia deluged the ground, with its pattering, ringing,
+bumping, crinkling, rolling, fluttering produce until, like the final
+tableau of some spectacular ballet, it ended with a golden rain that
+masked the details of the heap beneath a glittering veil of yellow sand.
+
+"My dust!" gasped Draycott.
+
+"My fivers, by golly!" ejaculated the bookmaker, initiating a plunge
+among the spoil.
+
+"My Japanese bonds, coupons and all, and--yes, even the manuscript of my
+work on 'Polyphyletic Bridal Customs among the mid-Pleistocene Cave
+Men.' Hah!" Something approaching a cachinnation of delight closed the
+professor's contribution to the pandemonium, and eyewitnesses afterwards
+declared that for a moment the dignified scientist stood on one foot in
+the opening movement of a can-can.
+
+"My wife's diamonds, thank heaven!" cried Sir Benjamin, with the air of
+a schoolboy who was very well out of a swishing.
+
+"But what does it mean?" demanded the bewildered canon. "Here are my
+family heirlooms--a few decent pearls, my grandfather's collection of
+camei and other trifles--but who----?"
+
+"Perhaps this offers some explanation," suggested Mr Carlyle, unpinning
+an envelope that had been secured to the lining of the bag. "It is
+addressed 'To Seven Rich Sinners.' Shall I read it for you?"
+
+For some reason the response was not unanimous, but it was sufficient.
+Mr Carlyle cut open the envelope.
+
+     "MY DEAR FRIENDS,--Aren't you glad? Aren't you happy at this
+     moment? Ah yes; but not with the true joy of regeneration that
+     alone can bring lightness to the afflicted soul. Pause while
+     there is yet time. Cast off the burden of your sinful lusts,
+     for what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole
+     world and lose his own soul? (Mark, chap. viii., v. 36.)
+
+     "Oh, my friends, you have had an all-fired narrow squeak. Up
+     till the Friday in last week I held your wealth in the hollow
+     of my ungodly hand and rejoiced in my nefarious cunning, but on
+     that day as I with my guilty female accomplice stood listening
+     with worldly amusement to the testimony of a converted brother
+     at a meeting of the Salvation Army on Clapham Common, the
+     gospel light suddenly shone into our rebellious souls and then
+     and there we found salvation. Hallelujah!
+
+     "What we have done to complete the unrighteous scheme upon
+     which we had laboured for months has only been for your own
+     good, dear friends that you are, though as yet divided from us
+     by your carnal lusts. Let this be a lesson to you. Sell all you
+     have and give it to the poor--through the organization of the
+     Salvation Army by preference--and thereby lay up for yourselves
+     treasures where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where
+     thieves do not break through and steal. (Matthew, chap, vi., v.
+     20.)
+
+     "Yours in good works,
+
+                                   "PRIVATE HENRY, THE SALVATIONIST.
+
+     "_P.S._ (in haste).--I may as well inform you that no crib is
+     really uncrackable, though the Cyrus J. Coy Co.'s Safe Deposit
+     on West 24th Street, N.Y., comes nearest the kernel. And even
+     that I could work to the bare rock if I took hold of the job
+     with both hands--that is to say I could have done in my sinful
+     days. As for you, I should recommend you to change your T. A.
+     to 'Peanut.'
+
+                                   "U. K. G."
+
+"There sounds a streak of the old Adam in that postscript, Mr Carlyle,"
+whispered Inspector Beedel, who had just arrived in time to hear the
+letter read.
+
+
+
+
+THE TILLING SHAW MYSTERY
+
+
+"I will see Miss George now," assented Carrados. Parkinson retired and
+Greatorex looked round from his chair. The morning "clearing-up" was
+still in progress.
+
+"Shall I go?" he inquired.
+
+"Not unless the lady desires it. I don't know her at all."
+
+The secretary was not unobservant and he had profited from his
+association with Mr Carrados. Without more ado, he began to get his
+papers quietly together.
+
+The door opened and a girl of about twenty came eagerly yet half
+timorously into the room. Her eyes for a moment swept Carrados with an
+anxious scrutiny. Then, with a slight shade of disappointment, she
+noticed that they were not alone.
+
+"I have come direct from Oakshire to see you, Mr Carrados," she
+announced, in a quick, nervous voice that was evidently the outcome of a
+desperate resolution to be brave and explicit. "The matter is a
+dreadfully important one to me and I should very much prefer to tell it
+to you alone."
+
+There was no need for Carrados to turn towards his secretary; that
+discriminating young gentleman was already on his way. Miss George
+flashed him a shy look of thanks and filled in the moment with a timid
+survey of the room.
+
+"Is it something that you think I can help you with?"
+
+"I had hoped so. I had heard in a roundabout way of your wonderful
+power--ought I to tell you how--does it matter?"
+
+"Not in the least if it has nothing to do with the case," replied
+Carrados.
+
+"When this dreadful thing happened I instinctively thought of you. I
+felt sure that I ought to come and get you to help me at once. But I--I
+have very little money, Mr Carrados, only a few pounds, and I am not so
+childish as not to know that very clever men require large fees. Then
+when I got here my heart sank, for I saw at once from your house and
+position that what seemed little even to me would be ridiculous to
+you--that if you did help me it would be purely out of kindness of heart
+and generosity."
+
+"Suppose you tell me what the circumstances are," suggested Carrados
+cautiously. Then, to afford an opening, he added: "You have recently
+gone into mourning, I see."
+
+"See!" exclaimed the girl almost sharply. "Then you are not blind?"
+
+"Oh yes," he replied; "only I use the familiar expression, partly from
+custom, partly because it sounds unnecessarily pedantic to say, 'I
+deduce from certain observations.'"
+
+"I beg your pardon. I suppose I was startled not so much by the
+expression as by your knowledge. I ought to have been prepared. But I am
+already wasting your time and I came so determined to be business-like.
+I got a copy of the local paper on the way, because I thought that the
+account in it would be clearer to you than I could tell it. Shall I read
+it?"
+
+"Please; if that was your intention."
+
+"It is _The Stinbridge Herald_," explained the girl, taking a closely
+folded newspaper from the handbag which she carried. "Stinbridge is our
+nearest town--about six miles from Tilling Shaw, where we live. This is
+the account:
+
+            "'MYSTERIOUS TRAGEDY AT TILLING
+
+     "'WELL-KNOWN AGRICULTURALIST ATTEMPTS MURDER
+                  AND COMMITS SUICIDE
+
+     "'The districts of Great Tilling, Tilling Shaw and the
+     immediate neighbourhood were thrown into a state of unusual
+     excitement on Thursday last by the report of a tragedy in their
+     midst such as has rarely marked the annals of our law-abiding
+     country-side.
+
+     "'A _Herald_ representative was early on the scene, and his
+     inquiries elucidated the fact that it was only too true that in
+     this case rumour had not exaggerated the circumstances, rather
+     the reverse indeed.
+
+     "'On the afternoon of the day in question, Mr Frank Whitmarsh,
+     of High Barn, presented himself at Barony, the residence of his
+     uncle, Mr William Whitmarsh, with the intention of seeing him
+     in reference to a dispute that was pending between them. This
+     is understood to be connected with an alleged trespass in
+     pursuit of game, each relative claiming exclusive sporting
+     rights over a piece of water known as Hunstan Mere.
+
+     "'On this occasion the elder gentleman was not at home and Mr
+     Frank Whitmarsh, after waiting for some time, departed, leaving
+     a message to the effect that he would return, and, according to
+     one report, "have it out with Uncle William," later in the
+     evening.
+
+     "'This resolution he unfortunately kept. Returning about
+     eight-forty-five P.M. he found his uncle in and for some time
+     the two men remained together in the dining-room. What actually
+     passed between them has not yet transpired, but it is said that
+     for half-an-hour there had been nothing to indicate to the
+     other occupants of the house that anything unusual was in
+     progress when suddenly two shots rang out in rapid succession.
+     Mrs Lawrence, the housekeeper at Barony, and a servant were the
+     soonest on the spot, and, conquering the natural terror that
+     for a moment held them outside the now silent room, they
+     summoned up courage to throw open the door and to enter. The
+     first thing that met their eyes was the body of Mr Frank
+     Whitmarsh lying on the floor almost at their feet. In their
+     distressed state it was immediately assumed by the horrified
+     women that he was dead, or at least seriously wounded, but a
+     closer examination revealed the fact that the gentleman had
+     experienced an almost miraculous escape. At the time of the
+     tragedy he was wearing a large old-fashioned silver watch; and
+     in this the bullet intended for his heart was found, literally
+     embedded deep in the works. The second shot had, however,
+     effected its purpose, for at the other side of the room, still
+     seated at the table, was Mr William Whitmarsh, already quite
+     dead, with a terrible wound in his head and the weapon, a
+     large-bore revolver of obsolete pattern, lying at his feet.
+
+     "'Mr Frank Whitmarsh subsequently explained that the shock of
+     the attack, and the dreadful appearance presented by his uncle
+     when, immediately afterwards, he turned his hand against
+     himself, must have caused him to faint.
+
+     "'Readers of _The Herald_ will join in our expression of
+     sympathy for all members of the Whitmarsh family, and in our
+     congratulations to Mr Frank Whitmarsh on his providential
+     escape.
+
+     "'The inquest is fixed for Monday and it is anticipated that
+     the funeral will take place on the following day.'"
+
+"That is all," concluded Miss George.
+
+"All that is in the paper," amended Carrados.
+
+"It is the same everywhere--'attempted murder and suicide'--that is what
+everyone accepts as a matter of course," went on the girl quickly. "How
+do they know that my father tried to kill Frank, or that he killed
+himself? How can they know, Mr Carrados?"
+
+"Your father, Miss George?"
+
+"Yes. My name is Madeline Whitmarsh. At home everyone looks at me as if
+I was an object of mingled pity and reproach. I thought that they might
+know the name here, so I gave the first that came into my head. I think
+it is a street I was directed along. Besides, I don't want it to be
+known that I came to see you in any case."
+
+"Why?"
+
+Much of the girl's conscious nervousness had stiffened into an attitude
+of unconscious hardness. Grief takes many forms, and whatever she had
+been before, the tragic episode had left Miss Whitmarsh a little hurt
+and cynical.
+
+"You are a man living in a town and can do as you like. I am a girl
+living in the country and have therefore to do largely as my neighbours
+like. For me to set up my opinion against popular feeling would
+constitute no small offence; to question its justice would be held to be
+adding outrageous insult to enormous injury."
+
+"So far I am unable to go beyond the newspaper account. On the face of
+it, your father--with what provocation of course I do not know--did
+attempt this Mr Frank Whitmarsh's life and then take his own. You imply
+another version. What reason have you?"
+
+"That is the terrible part of it," exclaimed the girl, with rising
+distress. "It was that which made me so afraid of coming to you,
+although I felt that I must, for I dreaded that when you asked me for
+proofs and I could give you none you would refuse to help me. We were
+not even in time to hear him speak, and yet I know, _know_ with absolute
+conviction, that my father would not have done this. There are things
+that you cannot explain, Mr Carrados, and--well, there is an end of it."
+
+Her voice sank to an absent-minded whisper.
+
+"Everyone will condemn him now that he cannot defend himself, and yet he
+could not even have had the revolver that was found at his feet."
+
+"What is that?" demanded Carrados sharply. "Do you mean that?"
+
+"Mean what?" she asked, with the blankness of one who has lost the
+thread of her own thoughts.
+
+"What you said about the revolver--that your father could not have had
+it?"
+
+"The revolver?" she repeated half wearily; "oh yes. It was a heavy,
+old-fashioned affair. It had been lying in a drawer of his desk for more
+than ten years because once a dog came into the orchard in broad
+daylight light and worried half-a-dozen lambs before anyone could do
+anything."
+
+"Yes, but why could he not have it on Thursday?"
+
+"I noticed that it was gone. After Frank had left in the afternoon I
+went into the room where he had been waiting, to finish dusting. The
+paper says the dining-room, but it was really papa's business-room and
+no one else used it. Then when I was dusting the desk I saw that the
+revolver was no longer there."
+
+"You had occasion to open the drawer?"
+
+"It is really a very old bureau and none of the drawers fit closely.
+Dust lies on the ledges and you always have to open them a little to
+dust properly. They were never kept locked."
+
+"Possibly your father had taken the revolver with him."
+
+"No. I had seen it there after he had gone. He rode to Stinbridge
+immediately after lunch and did not return until nearly eight. After he
+left I went to dust his room. It was then that I saw it. I was doing the
+desk when Frank knocked and interrupted me. That is how I came to be
+there twice."
+
+"But you said that you had no proof, Miss Whitmarsh," Carrados reminded
+her, with deep seriousness. "Do you not recognize the importance--the
+deadly importance--that this one shred of evidence may assume?"
+
+"Does it?" she replied simply. "I am afraid that I am rather dull just
+now. All yesterday I was absolutely dazed; I could not do the most
+ordinary things. I found myself looking at the clock for minutes
+together, yet absolutely incapable of grasping what time it was. In the
+same way I know that it struck me as being funny about the revolver but
+I always had to give it up. It was as though everything was there but
+things would not fit in."
+
+"You are sure, absolutely sure, that you saw the revolver there after
+your father had left, and missed it before he returned?"
+
+"Oh yes," said the girl quickly; "I remember realizing how curious it
+was at the time. Besides there is something else. I so often had things
+to ask papa about when he was out of the house that I got into the way
+of making little notes to remind me later. This morning I found on my
+dressing-table one that I had written on Thursday afternoon."
+
+"About this weapon?"
+
+"Yes; to ask him what could have become of it."
+
+Carrados made a further inquiry, and this was Madeline Whitmarsh's
+account of affairs existing between the two branches of the family:
+
+Until the time of William Whitmarsh, father of the William Whitmarsh
+just deceased, the properties of Barony and High Barn had formed one
+estate, descending from a William senior to a William junior down a
+moderately long line of yeomen Whitmarshes. Through the influence of his
+second wife this William senior divided the property, leaving Barony
+with its four hundred acres of good land to William junior, and High
+Barn, with which went three hundred acres of poor land, to his other
+son, father of the Frank implicated in the recent tragedy. But though
+divided, the two farms still had one common link. Beneath their growing
+corn and varied pasturage lay, it was generally admitted, a seam of coal
+at a depth and of a thickness that would render its working a paying
+venture. Even in William the Divider's time, when the idea was new,
+money in plenty would have been forthcoming, but he would have none of
+it, and when he died his will contained a provision restraining either
+son from mining or exploiting his land for mineral without the consent
+and co-operation of the other.
+
+This restriction became a legacy of hate. The brothers were only
+half-brothers and William having suffered unforgettably at the hands of
+his step-mother had old scores to pay off. Quite comfortably prosperous
+on his own rich farm, and quite satisfied with the excellent shooting
+and the congenial life, he had not the slightest desire to increase his
+wealth. He had the old dour, peasant-like instinct to cling to the house
+and the land of his forefathers. From this position no argument moved
+him.
+
+In the meanwhile, on the other side of the new boundary fence, Frank
+senior was growing poorer year by year. To his periodical entreaties
+that William would agree to shafts being sunk on High Barn he received
+an emphatic "Never in my time!" The poor man argued, besought,
+threatened and swore; the prosperous one shook his head and grinned.
+Carrados did not need to hear the local saying: "Half brothers: whole
+haters; like the Whitmarshes," to read the situation.
+
+"Of course I do not really understand the business part of it," said
+Madeline, "and many people blamed poor papa, especially when Uncle Frank
+drank himself to death. But I know that it was not mere obstinacy. He
+loved the undisturbed, peaceful land just as it was, and his father had
+wished it to remain the same. Collieries would bring swarms of strange
+men into the neighbourhood, poachers and trespassers, he said. The smoke
+and dust would ruin the land for miles round and drive away the game,
+and in the end, if the work did not turn out profitable, we should all
+be much worse off than before."
+
+"Does the restriction lapse now; will Mr Frank junior be able to mine?"
+
+"It will now lie with Frank and my brother William, just as it did
+before with their fathers. I should expect Willie to be quite
+favourable. He is more--modern."
+
+"You have not spoken of your brother."
+
+"I have two. Bob, the younger, is in Mexico," she explained; "and Willie
+in Canada with an engineering firm. They did not get on very well with
+papa and they went away."
+
+It did not require preternatural observation to deduce that the late
+William Whitmarsh had been "a little difficult."
+
+"When Uncle Frank died, less than six months ago, Frank came back to
+High Barn from South Africa. He had been away about two years."
+
+"Possibly he did not get on well with his father?"
+
+Madeline smiled sadly.
+
+"I am afraid that no two Whitmarsh men ever did get on well together,"
+she admitted.
+
+"Your father and young Frank, for instance?"
+
+"Their lands adjoin; there were always quarrels and disputes," she
+replied. "Then Frank had his father's grievance over again."
+
+"He wished to mine?"
+
+"Yes. He told me that he had had experience of coal in Natal."
+
+"There was no absolute ostracism between you then? You were to some
+extent friends?"
+
+"Scarcely." She appeared to reflect. "Acquaintances.... We met
+occasionally, of course, at people's houses."
+
+"You did not visit High Barn?"
+
+"Oh no."
+
+"But there was no particular reason why you should not?"
+
+"Why do you ask me that?" she demanded quickly, and in a tone that was
+quite incompatible with the simple inquiry. Then, recognizing the fact,
+she added, with shamefaced penitence: "I beg your pardon, Mr Carrados. I
+am afraid that my nerves have gone to pieces since Thursday. The most
+ordinary things affect me inexplicably."
+
+"That is a common experience in such circumstances," said Carrados
+reassuringly. "Where were you at the time of the tragedy?"
+
+"I was in my bedroom, which is rather high up, changing. I had driven
+down to the village, to give an order, and had just returned. Mrs
+Lawrence told me that she had been afraid there might be quarrelling,
+but no one would ever have dreamed of this, and then came a loud shot
+and then, after a few seconds, another not so loud, and we rushed to the
+door--she and Mary first--and everything was absolutely still."
+
+"A loud shot _and then another not so loud_?"
+
+"Yes; I noticed that even at the time. I happened to speak to Mrs
+Lawrence of it afterwards and then she also remembered that it had been
+like that."
+
+Afterwards Carrados often recalled with grim pleasantry that the two
+absolutely vital points in the fabric of circumstantial evidence that
+was to exonerate her father and fasten the guilt upon another had
+dropped from the girl's lips utterly by chance. But at the moment the
+facts themselves monopolized his attention.
+
+"You are not disappointed that I can tell you so little?" she asked
+timidly.
+
+"Scarcely," he replied. "A suicide who could not have had the weapon he
+dies by, a victim who is miraculously preserved by an opportune watch,
+and two shots from the same pistol that differ materially in volume, all
+taken together do not admit of disappointment."
+
+"I am very stupid," she said. "I do not seem able to follow things. But
+you will come and clear my father's name?"
+
+"I will come," he replied. "Beyond that who shall prophesy?"
+
+It had been arranged between them that the girl should return at once,
+while Carrados would travel down to Great Tilling late that same
+afternoon and put up at the local fishing inn. In the evening he would
+call at Barony, where Madeline would accept him as a distant connexion
+of the family. The arrangement was only for the benefit of the domestics
+and any casual visitor who might be present, for there was no
+possibility of a near relation being in attendance. Nor was there any
+appreciable danger of either his name or person being recognized in
+those parts, a consideration that seemed to have some weight with the
+girl, for, more than once, she entreated him not to disclose to anyone
+his real business there until he had arrived at a definite conclusion.
+
+It was nine o'clock, but still just light enough to distinguish the
+prominent features of the landscape, when Carrados, accompanied by
+Parkinson, reached Barony. The house, as described by the man-servant,
+was a substantial grey stone building, very plain, very square, very
+exposed to the four winds. It had not even a porch to break the flat
+surface, and here and there in the line of its three solid storeys a
+window had been built up by some frugal, tax-evading Whitmarsh of a
+hundred years ago.
+
+"Sombre enough," commented Carrados, "but the connexion between
+environment and crime is not yet capable of analysis. We get murders in
+brand-new suburban villas and the virtues, light-heartedness and
+good-fellowship, in moated granges. What should you say about it, eh,
+Parkinson?"
+
+"I should say it was damp, sir," observed Parkinson, with his wisest
+air.
+
+Madeline Whitmarsh herself opened the door. She took them down the long
+flagged hall to the dining-room, a cheerful enough apartment whatever
+its exterior might forebode.
+
+"I am glad you have come now, Mr Carrados," she said hurriedly, when the
+door was closed. "Sergeant Brewster is here from Stinbridge police
+station to make some arrangements for the inquest. It is to be held at
+the schools here on Monday. He says that he must take the revolver with
+him to produce. Do you want to see it before he goes?"
+
+"I should like to," replied Carrados.
+
+"Will you come into papa's room then? He is there."
+
+The sergeant was at the table, making notes in his pocket-book, when
+they entered. An old-fashioned revolver lay before him.
+
+"This gentleman has come a long way on hearing about poor papa," said
+the girl. "He would like to see the revolver before you take it, Mr
+Brewster."
+
+"Good-evening, sir," said Brewster. "It's a bad business that brings us
+here."
+
+Carrados "looked" round the room and returned the policeman's greeting.
+Madeline hesitated for a moment, and then, picking up the weapon, put it
+into the blind man's hand.
+
+"A bit out of date, sir," remarked Brewster, with a nod. "But in good
+order yet, I find."
+
+"An early French make, I should say; one of Lefaucheux's probably," said
+Carrados. "You have removed the cartridges?"
+
+"Why, yes," admitted the sergeant, producing a matchbox from his pocket.
+"They're pin-fire, you see, and I'm not too fond of carrying a thing
+like that loaded in my pocket as I'm riding a young horse."
+
+"Quite so," agreed Carrados, fingering the cartridges. "I wonder if you
+happened to mark the order of these in the chambers?"
+
+"That was scarcely necessary, sir. Two, together, had been fired; the
+other four had not."
+
+"I once knew a case--possibly I read of it--where a pack of cards lay on
+the floor. It was a murder case and the guilt or innocence of an accused
+man depended on the relative positions of the fifty-first and
+fifty-second cards."
+
+"I think you must have read of that, sir," replied Brewster,
+endeavouring to implicate first Miss Whitmarsh and then Parkinson in his
+meaning smile. "However, this is straightforward enough."
+
+"Then, of course, you have not thought it worth while to look for
+anything else?"
+
+"I have noted all the facts that have any bearing on the case. Were you
+referring to any particular point, sir?"
+
+"I was only wondering," suggested Carrados, with apologetic mildness,
+"whether you, or anyone, had happened to find a wad lying about
+anywhere."
+
+The sergeant stroked his well-kept moustache to hide the smile that
+insisted, however, on escaping through his eyes.
+
+"Scarcely, sir," he replied, with fine irony. "Bulleted revolver
+cartridges contain no wad. You are thinking of a shot-gun, sir."
+
+"Oh," said Carrados, bending over the spent cartridge he was examining,
+"that settles it, of course."
+
+"I think so, sir," assented the sergeant, courteously but with a quiet
+enjoyment of the situation. "Well, miss, I'll be getting back now. I
+think I have everything I want."
+
+"You will excuse me a few minutes?" said Miss Whitmarsh, and the two
+callers were left alone.
+
+"Parkinson," said Carrados softly, as the door closed, "look round on
+the floor. There is no wad lying within sight?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Then take the lamp and look behind things. But if you find one don't
+disturb it."
+
+For a minute strange and gigantic shadows chased one another across the
+ceiling as Parkinson moved the table-lamp to and fro behind the
+furniture. The man to whom blazing sunlight and the deepest shade were
+as one sat with his eyes fixed tranquilly on the unseen wall before him.
+
+"There is a little pellet of paper here behind the couch, sir,"
+announced Parkinson.
+
+"Then put the lamp back."
+
+Together they drew the cumbrous old piece of furniture from the wall and
+Carrados went behind. On hands and knees, with his face almost to the
+floor, he appeared to be studying even the dust that lay there. Then
+with a light, unerring touch he carefully picked up the thing that
+Parkinson had found. Very gently he unrolled it, using his long,
+delicate fingers so skilfully that even at the end the particles of dust
+still clung here and there to the surface of the paper.
+
+"What do you make of it, Parkinson?"
+
+Parkinson submitted it to the judgment of a single sense.
+
+"A cigarette-paper to all appearance, sir. I can't say it's a kind that
+I've had experience of. It doesn't seem to have any distinct watermark
+but there is a half-inch of glossy paper along one edge."
+
+"Amber-tipped. Yes?"
+
+"Another edge is a little uneven; it appears to have been cut."
+
+"This edge opposite the mouthpiece. Yes, yes."
+
+"Patches are blackened, and little holes--like pinpricks--burned
+through. In places it is scorched brown."
+
+"Anything else?"
+
+"I hope there is nothing I have failed to observe, sir," said Parkinson,
+after a pause.
+
+Carrados's reply was a strangely irrelevant question.
+
+"What is the ceiling made of?" he demanded.
+
+"Oak boards, sir, with a heavy cross-beam."
+
+"Are there any plaster figures about the room?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Or anything at all that is whitewashed?"
+
+"Nothing, sir."
+
+Carrados raised the scrap of tissue paper to his nose again, and for the
+second time he touched it with his tongue.
+
+"Very interesting, Parkinson," he remarked, and Parkinson's responsive
+"Yes, sir" was a model of discreet acquiescence.
+
+"I am sorry that I had to leave you," said Miss Whitmarsh, returning,
+"but Mrs Lawrence is out and my father made a practice of offering
+everyone refreshment."
+
+"Don't mention it," said Carrados. "We have not been idle. I came from
+London to pick up a scrap of paper, lying on the floor of this room.
+Well, here it is." He rolled the tissue into a pellet again and held it
+before her eyes.
+
+"The wad!" she exclaimed eagerly. "Oh, that proves that I was right?"
+
+"Scarcely 'proves,' Miss Whitmarsh."
+
+"But it shows that one of the shots was a blank charge, as you suggested
+this morning might have been the case."
+
+"Hardly even that."
+
+"What then?" she demanded, with her large dark eyes fixed in a curious
+fascination on his inscrutable face.
+
+"That behind the couch we have found this scrap of powder-singed paper."
+
+There was a moment's silence. The girl turned away her head.
+
+"I am afraid that I am a little disappointed," she murmured.
+
+"Perhaps better now than later. I wished to warn you that we must prove
+every inch of ground. Does your cousin Frank smoke cigarettes?"
+
+"I cannot say, Mr Carrados. You see ... I knew so little of him."
+
+"Quite so; there was just the chance. And your father?"
+
+"He never did. He despised them."
+
+"That is all I need ask you now. What time to-morrow shall I find you
+in, Miss Whitmarsh? It is Sunday, you remember."
+
+"At any time. The curiosity I inspire doesn't tempt me to encounter my
+friends, I can assure you," she replied, her face hardening at the
+recollection. "But ... Mr Carrados----"
+
+"Yes?"
+
+"The inquest is on Monday afternoon.... I had a sort of desperate faith
+that you would be able to vindicate papa."
+
+"By the time of the inquest, you mean?"
+
+"Yes. Otherwise----"
+
+"The verdict of a coroner's jury means nothing, Miss Whitmarsh. It is
+the merest formality."
+
+"It means a very great deal to me. It haunts and oppresses me. If they
+say--if it goes out--that papa is guilty of the attempt of murder, and
+of suicide, I shall never raise my head again."
+
+Carrados had no desire to prolong a futile discussion.
+
+"Good-night," he said, holding out his hand.
+
+"Good-night, Mr Carrados." She detained him a moment, her voice vibrant
+with quiet feeling. "I already owe you more than I can ever hope to
+express. Your wonderful kindness----"
+
+"A strange case," moralized Carrados, as they walked out of the
+quadrangular yard into the silent lane. "Instructive, but I more than
+half wish I'd never heard of it."
+
+"The young lady seems grateful, sir," Parkinson ventured to suggest.
+
+"The young lady is the case, Parkinson," replied his master rather
+grimly.
+
+A few score yards farther on a swing gate gave access to a field-path,
+cutting off the corner that the high road made with the narrow lane.
+This was their way, but instead of following the brown line of trodden
+earth Carrados turned to the left and indicated the line of buildings
+that formed the back of one side of the quadrangle they had passed
+through.
+
+"We will investigate here," he said. "Can you see a way in?"
+
+Most of the buildings opened on to the yard, but at one end of the range
+Parkinson discovered a door, secured only by a wooden latch. The place
+beyond was impenetrably dark, but the sweet, dusty smell of hay, and,
+from beyond, the occasional click of a horse's shoe on stone and the
+rattle of a head-stall chain through the manger ring told them that they
+were in the chaff-pen at the back of the stable.
+
+Carrados stretched out his hand and touched the wall with a single
+finger.
+
+"We need go no farther," he remarked, and as they resumed their way
+across the field he took out a handkerchief to wipe the taste of
+whitewash off his tongue.
+
+Madeline had spoken of the gradual decay of High Barn, but Carrados was
+hardly prepared for the poverty-stricken desolation which Parkinson
+described as they approached the homestead on the following afternoon.
+He had purposely selected a way that took them across many of young
+Whitmarsh's ill-stocked fields, fields in which sedge and charlock wrote
+an indictment of neglected drains and half-hearted tillage. On the land,
+the gates and hedges had been broken and unkempt; the buildings, as they
+passed through the farmyard, were empty and showed here and there a
+skeletonry of bare rafters to the sky.
+
+"Starved," commented the blind man, as he read the signs. "The thirsty
+owner and the hungry land: they couldn't both be fed."
+
+Although it was afternoon the bolts and locks of the front door had to
+be unfastened in answer to their knock. When at last the door was opened
+a shrivelled little old woman, rather wicked-looking in a comic way,
+and rather begrimed, stood there.
+
+"Mr Frank Whitmarsh?" she replied to Carrados's polite inquiry; "oh yes,
+he lives here. Frank," she called down the passage, "you're wanted."
+
+"What is it, mother?" responded a man's full, strong voice rather
+lazily.
+
+"Come and see!" and the old creature ogled Carrados with her beady eyes
+as though the situation constituted an excellent joke between them.
+
+There was the sound of a chair being moved and at the end of the passage
+a tall man appeared in his shirt sleeves.
+
+"I am a stranger to you," explained Carrados, "but I am staying at the
+Bridge Inn and I heard of your wonderful escape on Thursday. I was so
+interested that I have taken the liberty of coming across to
+congratulate you on it."
+
+"Oh, come in, come in," said Whitmarsh. "Yes ... it was a sort of
+miracle, wasn't it?"
+
+He led the way back into the room he had come from, half kitchen, half
+parlour. It at least had the virtue of an air of rude comfort, and some
+of the pewter and china that ornamented its mantelpiece and dresser
+would have rejoiced a collector's heart.
+
+"You find us a bit rough," apologized the young man, with something of
+contempt towards his surroundings. "We weren't expecting visitors."
+
+"And I was hesitating to come because I thought that you would be
+surrounded by your friends."
+
+This very ordinary remark seemed to afford Mrs Whitmarsh unbounded
+entertainment and for quite a number of seconds she was convulsed with
+silent amusement at the idea.
+
+"Shut up, mother," said her dutiful son. "Don't take any notice of her,"
+he remarked to his visitors, "she often goes on like that. The fact is,"
+he added, "we Whitmarshes aren't popular in these parts. Of course that
+doesn't trouble me; I've seen too much of things. And, taken as a
+boiling, the Whitmarshes deserve it."
+
+"Ah, wait till you touch the coal, my boy, then you'll see," put in the
+old lady, with malicious triumph.
+
+"I reckon we'll show them then, eh, mother?" he responded bumptiously.
+"Perhaps you've heard of that, Mr----?"
+
+"Carrados--Wynn Carrados. This is my man, Parkinson. I have to be
+attended because my sight has failed me. Yes, I had heard something
+about coal. Providence seems to be on your side just now, Mr Whitmarsh.
+May I offer you a cigarette?"
+
+"Thanks, I don't mind for once in a way."
+
+"They're Turkish; quite innocuous, I believe."
+
+"Oh, it isn't that. I can smoke cutty with any man, I reckon, but the
+paper affects my lips. I make my own and use a sort of paper with an end
+that doesn't stick."
+
+"The paper is certainly a drawback sometimes," agreed Carrados. "I've
+found that. Might I try one of yours?"
+
+They exchanged cigarettes and Whitmarsh returned to the subject of the
+tragedy.
+
+"This has made a bit of a stir, I can tell you," he remarked, with
+complacency.
+
+"I am sure it would. Well, it was the chief topic of conversation when I
+was in London."
+
+"Is that a fact?" Avowedly indifferent to the opinion of his neighbours,
+even Whitmarsh was not proof against the pronouncement of the
+metropolis. "What do they say about it up there?"
+
+"I should be inclined to think that the interest centres round the
+explanation you will give at the inquest of the cause of the quarrel."
+
+"There! What did I tell you?" exclaimed Mrs Whitmarsh.
+
+"Be quiet, mother. That's easily answered, Mr Carrados. There was a bit
+of duck shooting that lay between our two places. But perhaps you saw
+that in the papers?"
+
+"Yes," admitted Carrados, "I saw that. Frankly, the reason seemed
+inadequate to so deadly a climax."
+
+"What did I say?" demanded the irrepressible dame. "They won't believe
+it."
+
+The young man cast a wrathful look in his mother's direction and turned
+again to the visitor.
+
+"That's because you don't know Uncle William. _Any_ reason was good
+enough for him to quarrel over. Here, let me give you an instance. When
+I went in on Thursday he was smoking a pipe. Well, after a bit I took
+out a cigarette and lit it. I'm damned if he didn't turn round and start
+on me for that. How does that strike you for one of your own family, Mr
+Carrados?"
+
+"Unreasonable, I am bound to admit. I am afraid that I should have been
+inclined to argue the point. What did you do, Mr Whitmarsh?"
+
+"I hadn't gone there to quarrel," replied the young man, half sulky at
+the recollection. "It was his house. I threw it into the fireplace."
+
+"Very obliging," said Carrados. "But, if I may say so, it isn't so much
+a matter of speculation why he should shoot you as why he should shoot
+himself."
+
+"The gentleman seems friendly. Better ask his advice, Frank," put in the
+old woman in a penetrating whisper.
+
+"Stow it, mother!" said Whitmarsh sharply. "Are you crazy? Her idea of a
+coroner's inquest," he explained to Carrados, with easy contempt, "is
+that I am being tried for murder. As a matter of fact, Uncle William was
+a very passionate man, and, like many of that kind, he frequently went
+beyond himself. I don't doubt that he was sure he'd killed me, for he
+was a good shot and the force of the blow sent me backwards. He was a
+very proud man too, in a way--wouldn't stand correction or any kind of
+authority, and when he realized what he'd done and saw in a flash that
+he would be tried and hanged for it, suicide seemed the easiest way out
+of his difficulties, I suppose."
+
+"Yes; that sounds reasonable enough," admitted Carrados.
+
+"Then you don't think there will be any trouble, sir?" insinuated Mrs
+Whitmarsh anxiously.
+
+Frank had already professed his indifference to local opinion, but
+Carrados was conscious that both of them hung rather breathlessly on to
+his reply.
+
+"Why, no," he declared weightily. "I should see no reason for
+anticipating any. Unless," he added thoughtfully, "some clever lawyer
+was instructed to insist that there must be more in the dispute than
+appears on the surface."
+
+"Oh, them lawyers, them lawyers!" moaned the old lady in a panic. "They
+can make you say anything."
+
+"They can't make me say anything." A cunning look came into his
+complacent face. "And, besides, who's going to engage a lawyer?"
+
+"The family of the deceased gentleman might wish to do so."
+
+"Both of the sons are abroad and could not be back in time."
+
+"But is there not a daughter here? I understood so."
+
+Whitmarsh gave a short, unpleasant laugh and turned to look at his
+mother.
+
+"Madeline won't. You may bet your bottom tikkie it's the last thing she
+would want."
+
+The little old creature gazed admiringly at her big showy son and
+responded with an appreciative grimace that made her look more
+humorously rat-like than ever.
+
+"He! he! Missie won't," she tittered. "That would never do. He! he!"
+Wink succeeded nod and meaning smile until she relapsed into a state of
+quietness; and Parkinson, who had been fascinated by her contortions,
+was unable to decide whether she was still laughing or had gone to
+sleep.
+
+Carrados stayed a few more minutes and before they left he asked to see
+the watch.
+
+"A unique memento, Mr Whitmarsh," he remarked, examining it. "I should
+think this would become a family heirloom."
+
+"It's no good for anything else," said Whitmarsh practically. "A famous
+time-keeper it was, too."
+
+"The fingers are both gone."
+
+"Yes; the glass was broken, of course, and they must have caught in the
+cloth of my pocket and ripped off."
+
+"They naturally would; it was ten minutes past nine when the shot was
+fired."
+
+The young man thought and then nodded.
+
+"About that," he agreed.
+
+"Nearer than 'about,' if your watch was correct. Very interesting, Mr
+Whitmarsh. I am glad to have seen the watch that saved your life."
+
+Instead of returning to the inn Carrados directed Parkinson to take the
+road to Barony. Madeline was at home, and from the sound of voices it
+appeared that she had other visitors, but she came out to Carrados at
+once, and at his request took him into the empty dining-room while
+Parkinson stayed in the hall.
+
+"Yes?" she said eagerly.
+
+"I have come to tell you that I must throw up my brief," he said. "There
+is nothing more to be done and I return to town to-night."
+
+"Oh!" she stammered helplessly. "I thought--I thought----"
+
+"Your cousin did not abstract the revolver when he was here on Thursday,
+Miss Whitmarsh. He did not at his leisure fire a bullet into his own
+watch to make it appear, later in the day, as if he had been attacked.
+He did not reload the cartridge with a blank charge. He did not
+deliberately shoot your father and then fire off the blank cartridge. He
+_was_ attacked and the newspaper version is substantially correct. The
+whole fabric so delicately suggested by inference and innuendo falls to
+pieces."
+
+"Then you desert me, Mr Carrados?" she said, in a low, bitter voice.
+
+"I have seen the watch--the watch that saved Whitmarsh's life," he
+continued, unmoved. "It would save it again if necessary. It indicates
+ten minutes past nine--the time to a minute at which it is agreed the
+shot was fired. By what prescience was he to know at what exact minute
+his opportunity would occur?"
+
+"When I saw the watch on Thursday night the fingers were not there."
+
+"They are not, but the shaft remains. It is of an old-fashioned pattern
+and it will only take the fingers in one position. That position
+indicates ten minutes past nine."
+
+"Surely it would have been an easy matter to have altered that
+afterwards?"
+
+"In this case fate has been curiously systematic, Miss Whitmarsh. The
+bullet that shattered the works has so locked the action that it will
+not move a fraction this way or that."
+
+"There is something more than this--something that I do not understand,"
+she persisted. "I think I have a right to know."
+
+"Since you insist, there is. There is the wad of the blank cartridge
+that you fired in the outbuilding."
+
+"Oh!" she exclaimed, in the moment of startled undefence, "how do
+you--how can you----"
+
+"You must leave the conjurer his few tricks for effect. Of course you
+naturally would fire it where the precious pellet could not get
+lost--the paper you steamed off the cigarette that Whitmarsh threw into
+the empty fire-grate; and of course the place must be some distance from
+the house or even that slight report might occasion remark."
+
+"Yes," she confessed, in a sudden abandonment to weary indifference, "it
+has been useless. I was a fool to set my cleverness against yours. Now,
+I suppose, Mr Carrados, you will have to hand me over to justice?
+
+"Well; why don't you say something?" she demanded impatiently, as he
+offered no comment.
+
+"People frequently put me in this embarrassing position," he explained
+diffidently, "and throw the responsibility on me. Now a number of years
+ago a large and stately building was set up in London and it was
+beautifully called 'The Royal Palace of Justice.' That was its official
+name and that was what it was to be; but very soon people got into the
+way of calling it the Law Courts, and to-day, if you asked a Londoner to
+direct you to the Palace of Justice he would undoubtedly set you down as
+a religious maniac. You see my difficulty?"
+
+"It is very strange," she said, intent upon her own reflections, "but I
+do not feel a bit ashamed to you of what I have done. I do not even feel
+afraid to tell you all about it, although of some of that I must
+certainly be ashamed. Why is it?"
+
+"Because I am blind?"
+
+"Oh no," she replied very positively.
+
+Carrados smiled at her decision but he did not seek to explain that when
+he could no longer see the faces of men the power was gradually given to
+him of looking into their hearts, to which some in their turn--strong,
+free spirits--instinctively responded.
+
+"There is such a thing as friendship at first sight," he suggested.
+
+"Why, yes; like quite old friends," she agreed. "It is a pity that I had
+no very trusty friend, since my mother died when I was quite little.
+Even my father has been--it is queer to think of it now--well, almost a
+stranger to me really."
+
+She looked at Carrados's serene and kindly face and smiled.
+
+"It is a great relief to be able to talk like this, without the
+necessity for lying," she remarked. "Did you know that I was engaged?"
+
+"No; you had not told me that."
+
+"Oh no, but you might have heard of it. He is a clergyman whom I met
+last summer. But, of course, that is all over now."
+
+"You have broken it off?"
+
+"Circumstances have broken it off. The daughter of a man who had the
+misfortune to be murdered might just possibly be tolerated as a vicar's
+wife, but the daughter of a murderer and suicide--it is unthinkable! You
+see, the requirements for the office are largely social, Mr Carrados."
+
+"Possibly your vicar may have other views."
+
+"Oh, he isn't a vicar yet, but he is rather well-connected, so it is
+quite assured. And he would be dreadfully torn if the choice lay with
+him. As it is, he will perhaps rather soon get over my absence. But, you
+see, if we married he could never get over my presence; it would always
+stand in the way of his preferment. I worked very hard to make it
+possible, but it could not be."
+
+"You were even prepared to send an innocent man to the gallows?"
+
+"I think so, at one time," she admitted frankly. "But I scarcely thought
+it would come to that. There are so many well-meaning people who always
+get up petitions.... No, as I stand here looking at myself over there, I
+feel that I couldn't quite have hanged Frank, no matter how much he
+deserved it.... You are very shocked, Mr Carrados?"
+
+"Well," admitted Carrados, with pleasant impartiality, "I have seen the
+young man, but the penalty, even with a reprieve, still seems to me a
+little severe."
+
+"Yet how do you know, even now, that he is, as you say, an innocent
+man?"
+
+"I don't," was the prompt admission. "I only know, in this astonishing
+case, that so far as my investigation goes, he did not murder your
+father by the act of his hand."
+
+"Not according to your Law Courts?" she suggested. "But in the great
+Palace of Justice?... Well, you shall judge."
+
+She left his side, crossed the room, and stood by the square, ugly
+window, looking out, but as blind as Carrados to the details of the
+somnolent landscape.
+
+"I met Frank for the first time after I was at all grown-up about three
+years ago, when I returned from boarding-school. I had not seen him
+since I was a child, and I thought him very tall and manly. It seemed a
+frightfully romantic thing in the circumstances to meet him
+secretly--of course my thoughts flew to Romeo and Juliet. We put
+impassioned letters for one another in a hollow tree that stood on the
+boundary hedge. But presently I found out--gradually and incredulously
+at first and then one night with a sudden terrible certainty--that my
+ideas of romance were not his.... I had what is called, I believe, a
+narrow escape. I was glad when he went abroad, for it was only my
+self-conceit that had suffered. I was never in love with him: only in
+love with the idea of being in love with him.
+
+"A few months ago Frank came back to High Barn. I tried never to meet
+him anywhere, but one day he overtook me in the lanes. He said that he
+had thought a lot about me while he was away, and would I marry him. I
+told him that it was impossible in any case, and, besides, I was
+engaged. He coolly replied that he knew. I was dumbfounded and asked him
+what he meant.
+
+"Then he took out a packet of my letters that he had kept somewhere all
+the time. He insisted on reading parts of them up and telling me what
+this and that meant and what everyone would say it proved. I was
+horrified at the construction that seemed capable of being put on my
+foolish but innocent gush. I called him a coward and a blackguard and a
+mean cur and a sneaking cad and everything I could think of in one long
+breath, until I found myself faint and sick with excitement and the
+nameless growing terror of it.
+
+"He only laughed and told me to think it over, and then walked on,
+throwing the letters up into the air and catching them.
+
+"It isn't worth while going into all the times he met and threatened me.
+I was to marry him or he would expose me. He would never allow me to
+marry anyone else. And then finally he turned round and said that he
+didn't really want to marry me at all; he only wanted to force father's
+consent to start mining and this had seemed the easiest way."
+
+"That is what is called blackmail, Miss Whitmarsh; a word you don't seem
+to have applied to him. The punishment ranges up to penal servitude for
+life in extreme cases."
+
+"Yes, that is what it really was. He came on Thursday with the letters
+in his pocket. That was his last threat when he could not move me. I can
+guess what happened. He read the letters and proposed a bargain. And my
+father, who was a very passionate man, and very proud in certain ways,
+shot him as he thought, and then, in shame and in the madness of
+despair, took his own life.... Now, Mr Carrados, you were to be my
+judge."
+
+"I think," said the blind man, with a great pity in his voice, "that it
+will be sufficient for you to come up for Judgment when called upon."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Three weeks later a registered letter bearing the Liverpool postmark was
+delivered at The Turrets. After he had read it Carrados put it away in a
+special drawer of his desk, and once or twice in after years, when his
+work seemed rather barren, he took it out and read it. This is what it
+contained:
+
+     "DEAR MR CARRADOS,--Some time after you had left me that Sunday
+     afternoon, a man came in the dark to the door and asked for me.
+     I did not see his face for he kept in the shade, but his figure
+     was not very unlike that of your servant Parkinson. A packet
+     was put into my hands and he was gone without a word. From this
+     I imagine that perhaps you did not leave quite as soon as you
+     had intended.
+
+     "Thank you very much indeed for the letters. I was glad to have
+     the miserable things, to drop them into the fire, and to see
+     them pass utterly out of my own and everybody else's life. I
+     wonder who else in the world would have done so much for a
+     forlorn creature who just flashed across a few days of his busy
+     life? and then I wonder who else could.
+
+     "But there is something else for which I thank you now far, far
+     more, and that is for saving me from the blindness of my own
+     passionate folly. When I look back on the abyss of meanness,
+     treachery and guilt into which I would have wilfully cast
+     myself, and been condemned to live in all my life, I can
+     scarcely trust myself to write.
+
+     "I will not say that I do not suffer now. I think I shall for
+     many years to come, but all the bitterness and I think all the
+     hardness have been drawn out.
+
+     "You will see that I am writing from Liverpool. I have taken a
+     second-class passage to Canada and we sail to-night. Willie,
+     who returned to Barony last week, has lent me all the money I
+     shall need until I find work. Do not be apprehensive. It is not
+     with the vague uncertainty of an indifferent typist or a
+     downtrodden governess that I go, but as an efficient domestic
+     servant--a capable cook, housemaid or 'general,' as need be. It
+     sounds rather incredible at first, does it not, but such things
+     happen, and I shall get on very well.
+
+     "Good-bye, Mr Carrados; I shall remember you very often and
+     very gratefully.
+
+                                   "MADELINE WHITMARSH.
+
+     "_P.S._--Yes, there is friendship at first sight."
+
+
+
+
+THE COMEDY AT FOUNTAIN COTTAGE
+
+
+Carrados had rung up Mr Carlyle soon after the inquiry agent had reached
+his office in Bampton Street on a certain morning in April. Mr Carlyle's
+face at once assumed its most amiable expression as he recognized his
+friend's voice.
+
+"Yes, Max," he replied, in answer to the call, "I am here and at the top
+of form, thanks. Glad to know that you are back from Trescoe. Is
+there--anything?"
+
+"I have a couple of men coming in this evening whom you might like to
+meet," explained Carrados. "Manoel the Zambesia explorer is one and the
+other an East-End slum doctor who has seen a few things. Do you care to
+come round to dinner?"
+
+"Delighted," warbled Mr Carlyle, without a moment's consideration.
+"Charmed. Your usual hour, Max?" Then the smiling complacence of his
+face suddenly changed and the wire conveyed an exclamation of annoyance.
+"I am really very sorry, Max, but I have just remembered that I have an
+engagement. I fear that I must deny myself after all."
+
+"Is it important?"
+
+"No," admitted Mr Carlyle. "Strictly speaking, it is not in the least
+important; this is why I feel compelled to keep it. It is only to dine
+with my niece. They have just got into an absurd doll's house of a
+villa at Groat's Heath and I had promised to go there this evening."
+
+"Are they particular to a day?"
+
+There was a moment's hesitation before Mr Carlyle replied.
+
+"I am afraid so, now it is fixed," he said. "To you, Max, it will be
+ridiculous or incomprehensible that a third to dinner--and he only a
+middle-aged uncle--should make a straw of difference. But I know that in
+their bijou way it will be a little domestic event to Elsie--an added
+anxiety in giving the butcher an order, an extra course for dinner,
+perhaps; a careful drilling of the one diminutive maid-servant, and she
+is such a charming little woman--eh? Who, Max? No! No! I did not say the
+maid-servant; if I did it is the fault of this telephone. Elsie is such
+a delightful little creature that, upon my soul, it would be too bad to
+fail her now."
+
+"Of course it would, you old humbug," agreed Carrados, with sympathetic
+laughter in his voice. "Well, come to-morrow instead. I shall be alone."
+
+"Oh, besides, there is a special reason for going, which for the moment
+I forgot," explained Mr Carlyle, after accepting the invitation. "Elsie
+wishes for my advice with regard to her next-door neighbour. He is an
+elderly man of retiring disposition and he makes a practice of throwing
+kidneys over into her garden."
+
+"Kittens! Throwing kittens?"
+
+"No, no, Max. Kidneys. Stewed k-i-d-n-e-y-s. It is a little difficult to
+explain plausibly over a badly vibrating telephone, I admit, but that is
+what Elsie's letter assured me, and she adds that she is in despair."
+
+"At all events it makes the lady quite independent of the butcher,
+Louis!"
+
+"I have no further particulars, Max. It may be a solitary diurnal
+offering, or the sky may at times appear to rain kidneys. If it is a
+mania the symptoms may even have become more pronounced and the man is
+possibly showering beef-steaks across by this time. I will make full
+inquiry and let you know."
+
+"Do," assented Carrados, in the same light-hearted spirit. "Mrs
+Nickleby's neighbourly admirer expressed his feelings by throwing
+cucumbers, you remember, but this man puts him completely in the shade."
+
+It had not got beyond the proportions of a jest to either of them when
+they rang off--one of those whimsical occurrences in real life that
+sound so fantastic in outline. Carrados did not give the matter another
+thought until the next evening when his friend's arrival revived the
+subject.
+
+"And the gentleman next door?" he inquired among his greetings. "Did the
+customary offering arrive while you were there?"
+
+"No," admitted Mr Carlyle, beaming pleasantly upon all the familiar
+appointments of the room, "it did not, Max. In fact, so diffident has
+the mysterious philanthropist become, that no one at Fountain Cottage
+has been able to catch sight of him lately, although I am told that
+Scamp--Elsie's terrier--betrays a very self-conscious guilt and
+suspiciously muddy paws every morning."
+
+"Fountain Cottage?"
+
+"That is the name of the toy villa."
+
+"Yes, but Fountain something, Groat's Heath--Fountain Court: wasn't that
+where Metrobe----?"
+
+"Yes, yes, to be sure, Max. Metrobe the traveller, the writer and
+scientist----"
+
+"Scientist!"
+
+"Well, he took up spiritualism or something, didn't he? At any rate, he
+lived at Fountain Court, an old red-brick house in a large neglected
+garden there, until his death a couple of years ago. Then, as Groat's
+Heath had suddenly become a popular suburb with a tube railway, a land
+company acquired the estate, the house was razed to the ground and in a
+twinkling a colony of Noah's ark villas took its place. There is Metrobe
+Road here, and Court Crescent there, and Mansion Drive and what not, and
+Elsie's little place perpetuates another landmark."
+
+"I have Metrobe's last book there," said Carrados, nodding towards a
+point on his shelves. "In fact he sent me a copy. 'The Flame beyond the
+Dome' it is called--the queerest farrago of balderdash and metaphysics
+imaginable. But what about the neighbour, Louis? Did you settle what we
+might almost term 'his hash'?"
+
+"Oh, he is mad, of course. I advised her to make as little fuss about it
+as possible, seeing that the man lives next door and might become
+objectionable, but I framed a note for her to send which will probably
+have a good effect."
+
+"Is he mad, Louis?"
+
+"Well, I don't say that he is strictly a lunatic, but there is obviously
+a screw loose somewhere. He may carry indiscriminate benevolence towards
+Yorkshire terriers to irrational lengths. Or he may be a food specialist
+with a grievance. In effect he is mad on at least that one point. How
+else are we to account for the circumstances?"
+
+"I was wondering," replied Carrados thoughtfully.
+
+"You suggest that he really may have a sane object?"
+
+"I suggest it--for the sake of argument. If he has a sane object, what
+is it?"
+
+"That I leave to you, Max," retorted Mr Carlyle conclusively. "If he has
+a sane object, pray what is it?"
+
+"For the sake of the argument I will tell you that in half-a-dozen
+words, Louis," replied Carrados, with good-humoured tolerance. "If he is
+not mad in the sense which you have defined, the answer stares us in the
+face. His object is precisely that which he is achieving."
+
+Mr Carlyle looked inquiringly into the placid, unemotional face of his
+blind friend, as if to read there whether, incredible as it might seem,
+Max should be taking the thing seriously after all.
+
+"And what is that?" he asked cautiously.
+
+"In the first place he has produced the impression that he is eccentric
+or irresponsible. That is sometimes useful in itself. Then what else has
+he done?"
+
+"What else, Max?" replied Mr Carlyle, with some indignation. "Well,
+whatever he wishes to achieve by it I can tell you one thing else that
+he has done. He has so demoralized Scamp with his confounded kidneys
+that Elsie's neatly arranged flower-beds--and she took Fountain Cottage
+principally on account of an unusually large garden--are hopelessly
+devastated. If she keeps the dog up, the garden is invaded night and day
+by an army of peregrinating feline marauders that scent the booty from
+afar. He has gained the everlasting annoyance of an otherwise charming
+neighbour, Max. Can you tell me what he has achieved by that?"
+
+"The everlasting esteem of Scamp probably. Is he a good watch-dog,
+Louis?"
+
+"Good heavens, Max!" exclaimed Mr Carlyle, coming to his feet as though
+he had the intention of setting out for Groat's Heath then and there,
+"is it possible that he is planning a burglary?"
+
+"Do they keep much of value about the house?"
+
+"No," admitted Mr Carlyle, sitting down again with considerable relief.
+"No, they don't. Bellmark is not particularly well endowed with worldly
+goods--in fact, between ourselves, Max, Elsie could have done very much
+better from a strictly social point of view, but he is a thoroughly good
+fellow and idolizes her. They have no silver worth speaking of, and for
+the rest--well, just the ordinary petty cash of a frugal young couple."
+
+"Then he probably is not planning a burglary. I confess that the idea
+did not appeal to me. If it is only that, why should he go to the
+trouble of preparing this particular succulent dish to throw over his
+neighbour's ground when cold liver would do quite as well?"
+
+"If it is not only that, why should he go to the trouble, Max?"
+
+"Because by that bait he produces the greatest disturbance of your
+niece's garden."
+
+"And, if sane, why should he wish to do that?"
+
+"Because in those conditions he can the more easily obliterate his own
+traces if he trespasses there at nights."
+
+"Well, upon my word, that's drawing a bow at a venture, Max. If it isn't
+burglary, what motive could the man have for any such nocturnal
+perambulation?"
+
+An expression of suave mischief came into Carrados's usually
+imperturbable face.
+
+"Many imaginable motives surely, Louis. You are a man of the world. Why
+not to meet a charming little woman----"
+
+"No, by gad!" exclaimed the scandalized uncle warmly; "I decline to
+consider the remotest possibility of that explanation. Elsie----"
+
+"Certainly not," interposed Carrados, smothering his quiet laughter.
+"The maid-servant, of course."
+
+Mr Carlyle reined in his indignation and recovered himself with his
+usual adroitness.
+
+"But, you know, that is an atrocious libel, Max," he added. "I never
+said such a thing. However, is it probable?"
+
+"No," admitted Carrados. "I don't think that in the circumstances it is
+at all probable."
+
+"Then where are we, Max?"
+
+"A little further than we were at the beginning. Very little.... Are you
+willing to give me a roving commission to investigate?"
+
+"Of course, Max, of course," assented Mr Carlyle heartily. "I--well, as
+far as I was concerned, I regarded the matter as settled."
+
+Carrados turned to his desk and the ghost of a smile might possibly have
+lurked about his face. He produced some stationery and indicated it to
+his visitor.
+
+"You don't mind giving me a line of introduction to your niece?"
+
+"Pleasure," murmured Carlyle, taking up a pen. "What shall I say?"
+
+Carrados took the inquiry in its most literal sense and for reply he
+dictated the following letter:--
+
+     "'MY DEAR ELSIE,'--
+
+"If that is the way you usually address her," he parenthesized.
+
+"Quite so," acquiesced Mr Carlyle, writing.
+
+     "'The bearer of this is Mr Carrados, of whom I have spoken to
+     you.'
+
+"You have spoken of me to her, I trust, Louis?" he put in.
+
+"I believe that I have casually referred to you," admitted the writer.
+
+"I felt sure you would have done. It makes the rest easier.
+
+     "'He is not in the least mad although he frequently does things
+     which to the uninitiated appear more or less eccentric at the
+     moment. I think that you would be quite safe in complying with
+     any suggestion he may make.
+
+     "'Your affectionate uncle,
+
+                                   "'LOUIS CARLYLE.'"
+
+He accepted the envelope and put it away in a pocket-book that always
+seemed extraordinarily thin for the amount of papers it contained.
+
+"I may call there to-morrow," he added.
+
+Neither again referred to the subject during the evening, but when
+Parkinson came to the library a couple of hours after midnight to know
+whether he would be required again, he found his master rather deeply
+immersed in a book and a gap on the shelf where "The Flame beyond the
+Dome" had formerly stood.
+
+It is not impossible that Mr Carlyle supplemented his brief note of
+introduction with a more detailed communication that reached his niece
+by the ordinary postal service at an earlier hour than the other. At all
+events, when Mr Carrados presented himself at the toy villa on the
+following afternoon he found Elsie Bellmark suspiciously disposed to
+accept him and his rather gratuitous intervention among her suburban
+troubles as a matter of course.
+
+When the car drew up at the bright green wooden gate of Fountain Cottage
+another visitor, apparently a good-class working man, was standing on
+the path of the trim front garden, lingering over a reluctant departure.
+Carrados took sufficient time in alighting to allow the man to pass
+through the gate before he himself entered. The last exchange of
+sentences reached his ear.
+
+"I'm sure, marm, you won't find anyone to do the work at less."
+
+"I can quite believe that," replied a very fair young lady who stood
+nearer the house, "but, you see, we do all the gardening ourselves,
+thank you."
+
+Carrados made himself known and was taken into the daintily pretty
+drawing-room that opened on to the lawn behind the house.
+
+"I do not need to ask if you are Mrs Bellmark," he had declared.
+
+"I have Uncle Louis's voice?" she divined readily.
+
+"The niece of his voice, so to speak," he admitted. "Voices mean a great
+deal to me, Mrs Bellmark."
+
+"In recognizing and identifying people?" she suggested.
+
+"Oh, very much more than that. In recognizing and identifying their
+moods--their thoughts even. There are subtle lines of trouble and the
+deep rings of anxious care quite as patent to the ear as to the
+sharpest eye sometimes."
+
+Elsie Bellmark shot a glance of curiously interested speculation to the
+face that, in spite of its frank, open bearing, revealed so marvellously
+little itself.
+
+"If I had any dreadful secret, I think that I should be a little afraid
+to talk to you, Mr Carrados," she said, with a half-nervous laugh.
+
+"Then please do not have any dreadful secret," he replied, with quite
+youthful gallantry. "I more than suspect that Louis has given you a very
+transpontine idea of my tastes. I do not spend all my time tracking
+murderers to their lairs, Mrs Bellmark, and I have never yet engaged in
+a hand-to-hand encounter with a band of cut-throats."
+
+"He told us," she declared, the recital lifting her voice into a tone
+that Carrados vowed to himself was wonderfully thrilling, "about this:
+He said that you were once in a sort of lonely underground cellar near
+the river with two desperate men whom you could send to penal servitude.
+The police, who were to have been there at a certain time, had not
+arrived, and you were alone. The men had heard that you were blind but
+they could hardly believe it. They were discussing in whispers which
+could not be overheard what would be the best thing to do, and they had
+just agreed that if you really were blind they would risk the attempt to
+murder you. Then, Louis said, at that very moment you took a pair of
+scissors from your pocket, and coolly asking them why they did not have
+a lamp down there, you actually snuffed the candle that stood on the
+table before you. Is that true?"
+
+Carrados's mind leapt vividly back to the most desperate moment of his
+existence, but his smile was gently deprecating as he replied:
+
+"I seem to recognize the touch of truth in the inclination to do
+_anything_ rather than fight," he confessed. "But, although he never
+suspects it, Louis really sees life through rose-coloured opera glasses.
+Take the case of your quite commonplace neighbour----"
+
+"That is really what you came about?" she interposed shrewdly.
+
+"Frankly, it is," he replied. "I am more attracted by a turn of the odd
+and grotesque than by the most elaborate tragedy. The fantastic conceit
+of throwing stewed kidneys over into a neighbour's garden irresistibly
+appealed to me. Louis, as I was saying, regards the man in the romantic
+light of a humanitarian monomaniac or a demented food reformer. I take a
+more subdued view and I think that his action, when rightly understood,
+will prove to be something quite obviously natural."
+
+"Of course it is very ridiculous, but all the same it has been
+desperately annoying," she confessed. "Still, it scarcely matters now. I
+am only sorry that it should have been the cause of wasting your
+valuable time, Mr Carrados."
+
+"My valuable time," he replied, "only seems valuable to me when I am,
+as you would say, wasting it. But is the incident closed? Louis told me
+that he had drafted you a letter of remonstrance. May I ask if it has
+been effective?"
+
+Instead of replying at once she got up and walked to the long French
+window and looked out over the garden where the fruit-trees that had
+been spared from the older cultivation were rejoicing the eye with the
+promise of their pink and white profusion.
+
+"I did not send it," she said slowly, turning to her visitor again.
+"There is something that I did not tell Uncle Louis, because it would
+only have distressed him without doing any good. We may be leaving here
+very soon."
+
+"Just when you had begun to get it well in hand?" he said, in some
+surprise.
+
+"It is a pity, is it not, but one cannot foresee these things. There is
+no reason why you should not know the cause, since you have interested
+yourself so far, Mr Carrados. In fact," she added, smiling away the
+seriousness of the manner into which she had fallen, "I am not at all
+sure that you do not know already."
+
+He shook his head and disclaimed any such prescience.
+
+"At all events you recognized that I was not exactly light-hearted," she
+insisted. "Oh, you did not say that _I_ had dark rings under my eyes, I
+know, but the cap fitted excellently.... It has to do with my husband's
+business. He is with a firm of architects. It was a little venturesome
+taking this house--we had been in apartments for two years--but Roy was
+doing so well with his people and I was so enthusiastic for a garden
+that we did--scarcely two months ago. Everything seemed quite assured.
+Then came this thunderbolt. The partners--it is only a small firm, Mr
+Carrados--required a little more capital in the business. Someone whom
+they know is willing to put in two thousand pounds, but he stipulates
+for a post with them as well. He, like my husband, is a draughtsman.
+There is no need for the services of both and so----"
+
+"Is it settled?"
+
+"In effect, it is. They are as nice as can be about it but that does not
+alter the facts. They declare that they would rather have Roy than the
+new man and they have definitely offered to retain him if he can bring
+in even one thousand pounds. I suppose they have some sort of
+compunction about turning him adrift, for they have asked him to think
+it over and let them know on Monday. Of course, that is the end of it.
+It may be--I don't know--I don't like to think, how long before Roy gets
+another position equally good. We must endeavour to get this house off
+our hands and creep back to our three rooms. It is ... luck."
+
+Carrados had been listening to her wonderfully musical voice as another
+man might have been drawn irresistibly to watch the piquant charm of her
+delicate face.
+
+"Yes," he assented, almost to himself, "it is that strange, inexplicable
+grouping of men and things that, under one name or another, we all
+confess ... just luck."
+
+"Of course you will not mention this to Uncle Louis yet, Mr Carrados?"
+
+"If you do not wish it, certainly not."
+
+"I am sure that it would distress him. He is so soft-hearted, so kind,
+in everything. Do you know, I found out that he had had an invitation to
+dine somewhere and meet some quite important people on Tuesday. Yet he
+came here instead, although most other men would have cried off, just
+because he knew that we small people would have been disappointed."
+
+"Well, you can't expect me to see any self-denial in that," exclaimed
+Carrados. "Why, I was one of them myself."
+
+Elsie Bellmark laughed outright at the expressive disgust of his tone.
+
+"I had no idea of that," she said. "Then there is another reason. Uncle
+is not very well off, yet if he knew how Roy was situated he would make
+an effort to arrange matters. He would, I am sure, even borrow himself
+in order to lend us the money. That is a thing Roy and I are quite
+agreed on. We will go back; we will go under, if it is to be; but we
+will not borrow money, not even from Uncle Louis."
+
+Once, subsequently, Carrados suddenly asked Mr Carlyle whether he had
+ever heard a woman's voice roll like a celestial kettle-drum. The
+professional gentleman was vastly amused by the comparison, but he
+admitted that he had not.
+
+"So that, you see," concluded Mrs Bellmark, "there is really nothing to
+be done."
+
+"Oh, quite so; I am sure that you are right," assented her visitor
+readily. "But in the meanwhile I do not see why the annoyance of your
+next-door neighbour should be permitted to go on."
+
+"Of course: I have not told you that, and I could not explain it to
+uncle," she said. "I am anxious not to do anything to put him out
+because I have a hope--rather a faint one, certainly--that the man may
+be willing to take over this house."
+
+It would be incorrect to say that Carrados pricked up his ears--if that
+curious phenomenon has any physical manifestation--for the sympathetic
+expression of his face did not vary a fraction. But into his mind there
+came a gleam such as might inspire a patient digger who sees the first
+speck of gold that justifies his faith in an unlikely claim.
+
+"Oh," he said, quite conversationally, "is there a chance of that?"
+
+"He undoubtedly did want it. It is very curious in a way. A few weeks
+ago, before we were really settled, he came one afternoon, saying he had
+heard that this house was to be let. Of course I told him that he was
+too late, that we had already taken it for three years."
+
+"You were the first tenants?"
+
+"Yes. The house was scarcely ready when we signed the agreement. Then
+this Mr Johns, or Jones--I am not sure which he said--went on in a
+rather extraordinary way to persuade me to sublet it to him. He said
+that the house was dear and I could get plenty, more convenient, at less
+rent, and it was unhealthy, and the drains were bad, and that we should
+be pestered by tramps and it was just the sort of house that burglars
+picked on, only he had taken a sort of fancy to it and he would give me
+a fifty-pound premium for the term."
+
+"Did he explain the motive for this rather eccentric partiality?"
+
+"I don't imagine that he did. He repeated several times that he was a
+queer old fellow with his whims and fancies and that they often cost him
+dear."
+
+"I think we all know that sort of old fellow," said Carrados. "It must
+have been rather entertaining for you, Mrs Bellmark."
+
+"Yes, I suppose it was," she admitted. "The next thing we knew of him
+was that he had taken the other house as soon as it was finished."
+
+"Then he would scarcely require this?"
+
+"I am afraid not." It was obvious that the situation was not disposed
+of. "But he seems to have so little furniture there and to live so
+solitarily," she explained, "that we have even wondered whether he might
+not be there merely as a sort of caretaker."
+
+"And you have never heard where he came from or who he is?"
+
+"Only what the milkman told my servant--our chief source of local
+information, Mr Carrados. He declares that the man used to be the butler
+at a large house that stood here formerly, Fountain Court, and that his
+name is neither Johns nor Jones. But very likely it is all a mistake."
+
+"If not, he is certainly attached to the soil," was her visitor's
+rejoinder. "And, apropos of that, will you show me over your garden
+before I go, Mrs Bellmark?"
+
+"With pleasure," she assented, rising also. "I will ring now and then I
+can offer you tea when we have been round. That is, if you----?"
+
+"Thank you, I do," he replied. "And would you allow my man to go through
+into the garden--in case I require him?"
+
+"Oh, certainly. You must tell me just what you want without thinking it
+necessary to ask permission, Mr Carrados," she said, with a pretty air
+of protection. "Shall Amy take a message?"
+
+He acquiesced and turned to the servant who had appeared in response to
+the bell.
+
+"Will you go to the car and tell my man--Parkinson--that I require him
+here. Say that he can bring his book; he will understand."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+They stepped out through the French window and sauntered across the
+lawn. Before they had reached the other side Parkinson reported himself.
+
+"You had better stay here," said his master, indicating the sward
+generally. "Mrs Bellmark will allow you to bring out a chair from the
+drawing-room."
+
+"Thank you, sir; there is a rustic seat already provided," replied
+Parkinson.
+
+He sat down with his back to the houses and opened the book that he had
+brought. Let in among its pages was an ingeniously contrived mirror.
+
+When their promenade again brought them near the rustic seat Carrados
+dropped a few steps behind.
+
+"He is watching you from one of the upper rooms, sir," fell from
+Parkinson's lips as he sat there without raising his eyes from the page
+before him.
+
+The blind man caught up to his hostess again.
+
+"You intended this lawn for croquet?" he asked.
+
+"No; not specially. It is too small, isn't it?"
+
+"Not necessarily. I think it is in about the proportion of four by five
+all right. Given that, size does not really matter for an
+unsophisticated game."
+
+To settle the point he began to pace the plot of ground, across and then
+lengthways. Next, apparently dissatisfied with this rough measurement,
+he applied himself to marking it off more exactly by means of his
+walking-stick. Elsie Bellmark was by no means dull but the action sprang
+so naturally from the conversation that it did not occur to her to look
+for any deeper motive.
+
+"He has got a pair of field-glasses and is now at the window,"
+communicated Parkinson.
+
+"I am going out of sight," was the equally quiet response. "If he
+becomes more anxious tell me afterwards."
+
+"It is quite all right," he reported, returning to Mrs Bellmark with the
+satisfaction of bringing agreeable news. "It should make a splendid
+little ground, but you may have to level up a few dips after the earth
+has set."
+
+A chance reference to the kitchen garden by the visitor took them to a
+more distant corner of the enclosure where the rear of Fountain Cottage
+cut off the view from the next house windows.
+
+"We decided on this part for vegetables because it does not really
+belong to the garden proper," she explained. "When they build farther on
+this side we shall have to give it up very soon. And it would be a pity
+if it was all in flowers."
+
+With the admirable spirit of the ordinary Englishwoman, she spoke of
+the future as if there was no cloud to obscure its prosperous course.
+She had frankly declared their position to her uncle's best friend
+because in the circumstances it had seemed to be the simplest and most
+straightforward thing to do; beyond that, there was no need to whine
+about it.
+
+"It is a large garden," remarked Carrados. "And you really do all the
+work of it yourselves?"
+
+"Yes; I think that is half the fun of a garden. Roy is out here early
+and late and he does all the hard work. But how did you know? Did uncle
+tell you?"
+
+"No; you told me yourself."
+
+"I? Really?"
+
+"Indirectly. You were scorning the proffered services of a horticultural
+mercenary at the moment of my arrival."
+
+"Oh, I remember," she laughed. "It was Irons, of course. He is a great
+nuisance, he is so stupidly persistent. For some weeks now he has been
+coming time after time, trying to persuade me to engage him. Once when
+we were all out he had actually got into the garden and was on the point
+of beginning work when I returned. He said he saw the milkmen and the
+grocers leaving samples at the door so he thought that he would too!"
+
+"A practical jester evidently. Is Mr Irons a local character?"
+
+"He said that he knew the ground and the conditions round about here
+better than anyone else in Groat's Heath," she replied. "Modesty is not
+among Mr Irons's handicaps. He said that he----How curious!"
+
+"What is, Mrs Bellmark?"
+
+"I never connected the two men before, but he said that he had been
+gardener at Fountain Court for seven years."
+
+"Another family retainer who is evidently attached to the soil."
+
+"At all events they have not prospered equally, for while Mr Johns seems
+able to take a nice house, poor Irons is willing to work for
+half-a-crown a day, and I am told that all the other men charge four
+shillings."
+
+They had paced the boundaries of the kitchen garden, and as there was
+nothing more to be shown Elsie Bellmark led the way back to the
+drawing-room. Parkinson was still engrossed in his book, the only change
+being that his back was now turned towards the high paling of
+clinker-built oak that separated the two gardens.
+
+"I will speak to my man," said Carrados, turning aside.
+
+"He hurried down and is looking through the fence, sir," reported the
+watcher.
+
+"That will do then. You can return to the car."
+
+"I wonder if you would allow me to send you a small hawthorn-tree?"
+inquired Carrados among his felicitations over the teacups five minutes
+later. "I think it ought to be in every garden."
+
+"Thank you--but is it worth while?" replied Mrs Bellmark, with a touch
+of restraint. As far as mere words went she had been willing to ignore
+the menace of the future, but in the circumstances the offer seemed
+singularly inept and she began to suspect that outside his peculiar
+gifts the wonderful Mr Carrados might be a little bit obtuse after all.
+
+"Yes; I think it is," he replied, with quiet assurance.
+
+"In spite of----?"
+
+"I am not forgetting that unless your husband is prepared on Monday next
+to invest one thousand pounds you contemplate leaving here."
+
+"Then I do not understand it, Mr Carrados."
+
+"And I am unable to explain as yet. But I brought you a note from Louis
+Carlyle, Mrs Bellmark. You only glanced at it. Will you do me the favour
+of reading me the last paragraph?"
+
+She picked up the letter from the table where it lay and complied with
+cheerful good-humour.
+
+"There is some suggestion that you want me to accede to," she guessed
+cunningly when she had read the last few words.
+
+"There are some three suggestions which I hope you will accede to," he
+replied. "In the first place I want you to write to Mr Johns next
+door--let him get the letter to-night--inquiring whether he is still
+disposed to take this house."
+
+"I had thought of doing that shortly."
+
+"Then that is all right. Besides, he will ultimately decline."
+
+"Oh," she exclaimed--it would be difficult to say whether with relief or
+disappointment--"do you think so? Then why----"
+
+"To keep him quiet in the meantime. Next I should like you to send a
+little note to Mr Irons--your maid could deliver it also to-night, I
+dare say?"
+
+"Irons! Irons the gardener?"
+
+"Yes," apologetically. "Only a line or two, you know. Just saying that,
+after all, if he cares to come on Monday you can find him a few days'
+work."
+
+"But in any circumstances I don't want him."
+
+"No; I can quite believe that you could do better. Still, it doesn't
+matter, as he won't come, Mrs Bellmark; not for half-a-crown a day,
+believe me. But the thought will tend to make Mr Irons less restive
+also. Lastly, will you persuade your husband not to decline his firm's
+offer until Monday?"
+
+"Very well, Mr Carrados," she said, after a moment's consideration. "You
+are Uncle Louis's friend and therefore our friend. I will do what you
+ask."
+
+"Thank you," said Carrados. "I shall endeavour not to disappoint you."
+
+"I shall not be disappointed because I have not dared to hope. And I
+have nothing to expect because I am still completely in the dark."
+
+"I have been there for nearly twenty years, Mrs Bellmark."
+
+"Oh, I am sorry!" she cried impulsively.
+
+"So am I--occasionally," he replied. "Good-bye, Mrs Bellmark. You will
+hear from me shortly, I hope. About the hawthorn, you know."
+
+It was, indeed, in something less than forty-eight hours that she heard
+from him again. When Bellmark returned to his toy villa early on
+Saturday afternoon Elsie met him almost at the gate with a telegram in
+her hand.
+
+"I really think, Roy, that everyone we have to do with here goes mad,"
+she exclaimed, in tragi-humorous despair. "First it was Mr Johns or
+Jones--if he is Johns or Jones--and then Irons who wanted to work here
+for half of what he could get at heaps of places about, and now just
+look at this wire that came from Mr Carrados half-an-hour ago."
+
+This was the message that he read:
+
+     _Please procure sardine tin opener mariner's compass and bottle
+     of champagne. Shall arrive 6.45 bringing Crataegus
+     Coccinea._--CARRADOS.
+
+"Could anything be more absurd?" she demanded.
+
+"Sounds as though it was in code," speculated her husband. "Who's the
+foreign gentleman he's bringing?"
+
+"Oh, that's a kind of special hawthorn--I looked it up. But a bottle of
+champagne, and a compass, and a sardine tin opener! What possible
+connexion is there between them?"
+
+"A very resourceful man might uncork a bottle of champagne with a
+sardine tin opener," he suggested.
+
+"And find his way home afterwards by means of a mariner's compass?" she
+retorted. "No, Roy dear, you are not a sleuth-hound. We had better have
+our lunch."
+
+They lunched, but if the subject of Carrados had been tabooed the meal
+would have been a silent one.
+
+"I have a compass on an old watch-chain somewhere," volunteered
+Bellmark.
+
+"And I have a tin opener in the form of a bull's head," contributed
+Elsie.
+
+"But we have no champagne, I suppose?"
+
+"How could we have, Roy? We never have had any. Shall you mind going
+down to the shops for a bottle?"
+
+"You really think that we ought?"
+
+"Of course we must, Roy. We don't know what mightn't happen if we
+didn't. Uncle Louis said that they once failed to stop a jewel robbery
+because the jeweller neglected to wipe his shoes on the shop doormat,
+as Mr Carrados had told him to do. Suppose Johns is a desperate
+anarchist and he succeeded in blowing up Buckingham Palace because
+we----"
+
+"All right. A small bottle, eh?"
+
+"No. A large one. Quite a large one. Don't you see how exciting it is
+becoming?"
+
+"If you are excited already you don't need much champagne," argued her
+husband.
+
+Nevertheless he strolled down to the leading wine-shop after lunch and
+returned with his purchase modestly draped in the light summer overcoat
+that he carried on his arm. Elsie Bellmark, who had quite abandoned her
+previous unconcern, in the conviction that "something was going to
+happen," spent the longest afternoon that she could remember, and even
+Bellmark, in spite of his continual adjurations to her to "look at the
+matter logically," smoked five cigarettes in place of his usual Saturday
+afternoon pipe and neglected to do any gardening.
+
+At exactly six-forty-five a motor car was heard approaching. Elsie made
+a desperate rally to become the self-possessed hostess again. Bellmark
+was favourably impressed by such marked punctuality. Then a Regent
+Street delivery van bowled past their window and Elsie almost wept.
+
+The suspense was not long, however. Less than five minutes later another
+vehicle raised the dust of the quiet suburban road, and this time a
+private car stopped at their gate.
+
+"Can you see any policemen inside?" whispered Elsie.
+
+Parkinson got down and opening the door took out a small tree which he
+carried up to the porch and there deposited. Carrados followed.
+
+"At all events there isn't much wrong," said Bellmark. "He's smiling all
+the time."
+
+"No, it isn't really a smile," explained Elsie; "it's his normal
+expression."
+
+She went out into the hall just as the front door was opened.
+
+"It is the 'Scarlet-fruited thorn' of North America," Bellmark heard the
+visitor remarking. "Both the flowers and the berries are wonderfully
+good. Do you think that you would permit me to choose the spot for it,
+Mrs Bellmark?"
+
+Bellmark joined them in the hall and was introduced.
+
+"We mustn't waste any time," he suggested. "There is very little light
+left."
+
+"True," agreed Carrados. "And Coccinea requires deep digging."
+
+They walked through the house, and turning to the right passed into the
+region of the vegetable garden. Carrados and Elsie led the way, the
+blind man carrying the tree, while Bellmark went to his outhouse for the
+required tools.
+
+"We will direct our operations from here," said Carrados, when they were
+half-way along the walk. "You told me of a thin iron pipe that you had
+traced to somewhere in the middle of the garden. We must locate the end
+of it exactly."
+
+"My rosary!" sighed Elsie, with premonition of disaster, when she had
+determined the spot as exactly as she could. "Oh, Mr Carrados!"
+
+"I am sorry, but it might be worse," said Carrados inflexibly. "We only
+require to find the elbow-joint. Mr Bellmark will investigate with as
+little disturbance as possible."
+
+For five minutes Bellmark made trials with a pointed iron. Then he
+cleared away the soil of a small circle and at about a foot deep exposed
+a broken inch pipe.
+
+"The fountain," announced Carrados, when he had examined it. "You have
+the compass, Mr Bellmark?"
+
+"Rather a small one," admitted Bellmark.
+
+"Never mind, you are a mathematician. I want you to strike a line due
+east."
+
+The reel and cord came into play and an adjustment was finally made from
+the broken pipe to a position across the vegetable garden.
+
+"Now a point nine yards, nine feet and nine inches along it."
+
+"My onion bed!" cried Elsie tragically.
+
+"Yes; it is really serious this time," agreed Carrados. "I want a hole a
+yard across, digging here. May we proceed?"
+
+Elsie remembered the words of her uncle's letter--or what she imagined
+to be his letter--and possibly the preamble of selecting the spot had
+impressed her.
+
+"Yes, I suppose so. Unless," she added hopefully, "the turnip bed will
+do instead? They are not sown yet."
+
+"I am afraid that nowhere else in the garden will do," replied Carrados.
+
+Bellmark delineated the space and began to dig. After clearing to about
+a foot deep he paused.
+
+"About deep enough, Mr Carrados?" he inquired.
+
+"Oh, dear no," replied the blind man.
+
+"I am two feet down," presently reported the digger.
+
+"Deeper!" was the uncompromising response.
+
+Another six inches were added and Bellmark stopped to rest.
+
+"A little more and it won't matter which way up we plant Coccinea," he
+remarked.
+
+"That is the depth we are aiming for," replied Carrados.
+
+Elsie and her husband exchanged glances. Then Bellmark drove his spade
+through another layer of earth.
+
+"Three feet," he announced, when he had cleared it.
+
+Carrados advanced to the very edge of the opening.
+
+"I think that if you would loosen another six inches with the fork we
+might consider the ground prepared," he decided.
+
+Bellmark changed his tools and began to break up the soil. Presently the
+steel prongs grated on some obstruction.
+
+"Gently," directed the blind watcher. "I think you will find a
+half-pound cocoa tin at the end of your fork."
+
+"Well, how on earth you spotted that----!" was wrung from Bellmark
+admiringly, as he cleared away the encrusting earth. "But I believe you
+are about right." He threw up the object to his wife, who was risking a
+catastrophe in her eagerness to miss no detail. "Anything in it besides
+soil, Elsie?"
+
+"She cannot open it yet," remarked Carrados. "It is soldered down."
+
+"Oh, I say," protested Bellmark.
+
+"It is perfectly correct, Roy. The lid is soldered on."
+
+They looked at each other in varying degrees of wonder and speculation.
+Only Carrados seemed quite untouched.
+
+"Now we may as well replace the earth," he remarked.
+
+"Fill it all up again?" asked Bellmark.
+
+"Yes; we have provided a thoroughly disintegrated subsoil. That is the
+great thing. A depth of six inches is sufficient merely for the roots."
+
+There was only one remark passed during the operation.
+
+"I think I should plant the tree just over where the tin was," Carrados
+suggested. "You might like to mark the exact spot." And there the
+hawthorn was placed.
+
+Bellmark, usually the most careful and methodical of men, left the tools
+where they were, in spite of a threatening shower. Strangely silent,
+Elsie led the way back to the house and taking the men into the
+drawing-room switched on the light.
+
+"I think you have a tin opener, Mrs Bellmark?"
+
+Elsie, who had been waiting for him to speak, almost jumped at the
+simple inquiry. Then she went into the next room and returned with the
+bull-headed utensil.
+
+"Here it is," she said, in a voice that would have amused her at any
+other time.
+
+"Mr Bellmark will perhaps disclose our find."
+
+Bellmark put the soily tin down on Elsie's best table-cover without
+eliciting a word of reproach, grasped it firmly with his left hand, and
+worked the opener round the top.
+
+"Only paper!" he exclaimed, and without touching the contents he passed
+the tin into Carrados's hands.
+
+The blind man dexterously twirled out a little roll that crinkled
+pleasantly to the ear, and began counting the leaves with a steady
+finger.
+
+"They're bank-notes!" whispered Elsie in an awestruck voice. She caught
+sight of a further detail. "Bank-notes for a hundred pounds each. And
+there are dozens of them!"
+
+"Fifty, there should be," dropped Carrados between his figures.
+"Twenty-five, twenty-six----"
+
+"Good God," murmured Bellmark; "that's five thousand pounds!"
+
+"Fifty," concluded Carrados, straightening the edges of the sheaf. "It
+is always satisfactory to find that one's calculations are exact." He
+detached the upper ten notes and held them out. "Mrs Bellmark, will you
+accept one thousand pounds as a full legal discharge of any claim that
+you may have on this property?"
+
+"Me--I?" she stammered. "But I have no right to any in any
+circumstances. It has nothing to do with us."
+
+"You have an unassailable moral right to a fair proportion, because
+without you the real owners would never have seen a penny of it. As
+regards your legal right"--he took out the thin pocket-book and
+extracting a business-looking paper spread it open on the table before
+them--"here is a document that concedes it. 'In consideration of the
+valuable services rendered by Elsie Bellmark, etc., etc., in causing to
+be discovered and voluntarily surrendering the sum of five thousand
+pounds deposited and not relinquished by Alexis Metrobe, late of, etc.,
+etc., deceased, Messrs Binstead & Polegate, solicitors, of 77a Bedford
+Row, acting on behalf of the administrator and next-of-kin of the said
+etc., etc., do hereby'--well, that's what they do. Signed, witnessed and
+stamped at Somerset House."
+
+"I suppose I shall wake presently," said Elsie dreamily.
+
+"It was for this moment that I ventured to suggest the third requirement
+necessary to bring our enterprise to a successful end," said Carrados.
+
+"Oh, how thoughtful of you!" cried Elsie. "Roy, the champagne."
+
+Five minutes later Carrados was explaining to a small but enthralled
+audience.
+
+"The late Alexis Metrobe was a man of peculiar character. After seeing a
+good deal of the world and being many things, he finally embraced
+spiritualism, and in common with some of its most pronounced adherents
+he thenceforward abandoned what we should call 'the common-sense view.'
+
+"A few years ago, by the collation of the Book of Revelations, a set of
+Zadkiel's Almanacs, and the complete works of Mrs Mary Baker Eddy,
+Metrobe discovered that the end of the world would take place on the
+tenth of October 1910. It therefore became a matter of urgent importance
+in his mind to ensure pecuniary provision for himself for the time after
+the catastrophe had taken place."
+
+"I don't understand," interrupted Elsie. "Did he expect to survive it?"
+
+"You cannot understand, Mrs Bellmark, because it is fundamentally
+incomprehensible. We can only accept the fact by the light of cases
+which occasionally obtain prominence. Metrobe did not expect to survive,
+but he was firmly convinced that the currency of this world would be
+equally useful in the spirit-land into which he expected to pass. This
+view was encouraged by a lady medium at whose feet he sat. She kindly
+offered to transmit to his banking account in the Hereafter, without
+making any charge whatever, any sum that he cared to put into her hands
+for the purpose. Metrobe accepted the idea but not the offer. His plan
+was to deposit a considerable amount in a spot of which he alone had
+knowledge, so that he could come and help himself to it as required."
+
+"But if the world had come to an end----?"
+
+"Only the material world, you must understand, Mrs Bellmark. The spirit
+world, its exact impalpable counterpart, would continue as before and
+Metrobe's hoard would be spiritually intact and available. That is the
+prologue.
+
+"About a month ago there appeared a certain advertisement in a good many
+papers. I noticed it at the time and three days ago I had only to refer
+to my files to put my hand on it at once. It reads:
+
+     "'Alexis Metrobe. Any servant or personal attendant of the late
+     Alexis Metrobe of Fountain Court, Groat's Heath, possessing
+     special knowledge of his habits and movements may hear of
+     something advantageous on applying to Binstead & Polegate, 77a
+     Bedford Row, W.C.'
+
+"The solicitors had, in fact, discovered that five thousand pounds'
+worth of securities had been realized early in 1910. They readily
+ascertained that Metrobe had drawn that amount in gold out of his bank
+immediately after, and there the trace ended. He died six months later.
+There was no hoard of gold and not a shred of paper to show where it had
+gone, yet Metrobe lived very simply within his income. The house had
+meanwhile been demolished but there was no hint or whisper of any lucky
+find.
+
+"Two inquirers presented themselves at 77a Bedford Row. They were
+informed of the circumstances and offered a reward, varying according to
+the results, for information that would lead to the recovery of the
+money. They are both described as thoughtful, slow-spoken men. Each
+heard the story, shook his head, and departed. The first caller proved
+to be John Foster, the ex-butler. On the following day Mr Irons,
+formerly gardener at the Court, was the applicant.
+
+"I must now divert your attention into a side track. In the summer of
+1910 Metrobe published a curious work entitled 'The Flame beyond the
+Dome.' In the main it is an eschatological treatise, but at the end he
+tacked on an epilogue, which he called 'The Fable of the Chameleon.' It
+is even more curious than the rest and with reason, for under the guise
+of a speculative essay he gives a cryptic account of the circumstances
+of the five thousand pounds and, what is more important, details the
+exact particulars of its disposal. His reason for so doing is
+characteristic of the man. He was conscious by experience that he
+possessed an utterly treacherous memory, and having had occasion to move
+the treasure from one spot to another he feared that when the time came
+his bemuddled shade would be unable to locate it. For future reference,
+therefore, he embodied the details in his book, and to make sure that
+plenty of copies should be in existence he circulated it by the only
+means in his power--in other words, he gave a volume to everyone he knew
+and to a good many people whom he didn't.
+
+"So far I have dealt with actualities. The final details are partly
+speculative but they are essentially correct. Metrobe conveyed his gold
+to Fountain Court, obtained a stout oak coffer for it, and selected a
+spot _west_ of the fountain. He chose a favourable occasion for burying
+it, but by some mischance Irons came on the scene. Metrobe explained the
+incident by declaring that he was burying a favourite parrot. Irons
+thought nothing particular about it then, although he related the fact
+to the butler, and to others, in evidence of the general belief that
+'the old cock was quite barmy.' But Metrobe himself was much disturbed
+by the accident. A few days later he dug up the box. In pursuance of his
+new plan he carried his gold to the Bank of England and changed it into
+these notes. Then transferring the venue to one due _east_ of the
+fountain, he buried them in this tin, satisfied that the small space it
+occupied would baffle the search of anyone not in possession of the
+exact location."
+
+"But, I say!" exclaimed Mr Bellmark. "Gold might remain gold, but what
+imaginable use could be made of bank-notes after the end of the world?"
+
+"That is a point of view, no doubt. But Metrobe, in spite of his foreign
+name, was a thorough Englishman. The world might come to an end, but he
+was satisfied that somehow the Bank of England would ride through it all
+right. I only suggest that. There is much that we can only guess."
+
+"That is all there is to know, Mr Carrados?"
+
+"Yes. Everything comes to an end, Mrs Bellmark. I sent my car away to
+call for me at eight. Eight has struck. That is Harris announcing his
+arrival."
+
+He stood up, but embarrassment and indecision marked the looks and
+movements of the other two.
+
+"How can we possibly take all this money, though?" murmured Elsie, in
+painful uncertainty. "It is entirely your undertaking, Mr Carrados. It
+is the merest fiction bringing me into it at all."
+
+"Perhaps in the circumstances," suggested Bellmark nervously--"you
+remember the circumstances, Elsie?--Mr Carrados would be willing to
+regard it as a loan----"
+
+"No, no!" cried Elsie impulsively. "There must be no half measures. We
+know that a thousand pounds would be nothing to Mr Carrados, and he
+knows that a thousand pounds are everything to us." Her voice reminded
+the blind man of the candle-snuffing recital. "We will take this great
+gift, Mr Carrados, quite freely, and we will not spoil the generous
+satisfaction that you must have in doing a wonderful and a splendid
+service by trying to hedge our obligation."
+
+"But what can we ever do to thank Mr Carrados?" faltered Bellmark
+mundanely.
+
+"Nothing," said Elsie simply. "That is it."
+
+"But I think that Mrs Bellmark has quite solved that," interposed
+Carrados.
+
+
+
+
+THE GAME PLAYED IN THE DARK
+
+
+"It's a funny thing, sir," said Inspector Beedel, regarding Mr Carrados
+with the pensive respect that he always extended towards the blind
+amateur, "it's a funny thing, but nothing seems to go on abroad now but
+what you'll find some trace of it here in London if you take the trouble
+to look."
+
+"In the right quarter," contributed Carrados.
+
+"Why, yes," agreed the inspector. "But nothing comes of it nine times
+out of ten, because it's no one's particular business to look here or
+the thing's been taken up and finished from the other end. I don't mean
+ordinary murders or single-handed burglaries, of course, but"--a modest
+ring of professional pride betrayed the quiet enthusiast--"real
+First-Class Crimes."
+
+"The State Antonio Five per cent. Bond Coupons?" suggested Carrados.
+
+"Ah, you are right, Mr Carrados." Beedel shook his head sadly, as though
+perhaps on that occasion someone ought to have looked. "A man has a fit
+in the inquiry office of the Agent-General for British Equatoria, and
+two hundred and fifty thousand pounds' worth of faked securities is the
+result in Mexico. Then look at that jade fylfot charm pawned for
+one-and-three down at the Basin and the use that could have been made
+of it in the Kharkov 'ritual murder' trial."
+
+"The West Hampstead Lost Memory puzzle and the Baripur bomb conspiracy
+that might have been smothered if one had known."
+
+"Quite true, sir. And the three children of that Chicago
+millionaire--Cyrus V. Bunting, wasn't it?--kidnapped in broad daylight
+outside the New York Lyric and here, three weeks later, the dumb girl
+who chalked the wall at Charing Cross. I remember reading once in a
+financial article that every piece of foreign gold had a string from it
+leading to Threadneedle Street. A figure of speech, sir, of course, but
+apt enough, I don't doubt. Well, it seems to me that every big crime
+done abroad leaves a finger-print here in London--if only, as you say,
+we look in the right quarter."
+
+"And at the right moment," added Carrados. "The time is often the
+present; the place the spot beneath our very noses. We take a step and
+the chance has gone for ever."
+
+The inspector nodded and contributed a weighty monosyllable of
+sympathetic agreement. The most prosaic of men in the pursuit of his
+ordinary duties, it nevertheless subtly appealed to some half-dormant
+streak of vanity to have his profession taken romantically when there
+was no serious work on hand.
+
+"No; perhaps not 'for ever' in one case in a thousand, after all,"
+amended the blind man thoughtfully. "This perpetual duel between the Law
+and the Criminal has sometimes appeared to me in the terms of a game of
+cricket, inspector. Law is in the field; the Criminal at the wicket. If
+Law makes a mistake--sends down a loose ball or drops a catch--the
+Criminal scores a little or has another lease of life. But if _he_ makes
+a mistake--if he lets a straight ball pass or spoons towards a steady
+man--he is done for. His mistakes are fatal; those of the Law are only
+temporary and retrievable."
+
+"Very good, sir," said Mr Beedel, rising--the conversation had taken
+place in the study at The Turrets, where Beedel had found occasion to
+present himself--"very apt indeed. I must remember that. Well, sir, I
+only hope that this 'Guido the Razor' lot will send a catch in our
+direction."
+
+The 'this' delicately marked Inspector Beedel's instinctive contempt for
+Guido. As a craftsman he was compelled, on his reputation, to respect
+him, and he had accordingly availed himself of Carrados's friendship for
+a confabulation. As a man--he was a foreigner: worse, an Italian, and if
+left to his own resources the inspector would have opposed to his
+sinuous flexibility those rigid, essentially Britannia-metal, methods of
+the Force that strike the impartial observer as so ponderous, so
+amateurish and conventional, and, it must be admitted, often so
+curiously and inexplicably successful.
+
+The offence that had circuitously brought "il Rasojo" and his "lot"
+within the cognizance of Scotland Yard outlines the kind of story that
+is discreetly hinted at by the society paragraphist of the day,
+politely disbelieved by the astute reader, and then at last laid
+indiscreetly bare in all its details by the inevitable princessly
+"Recollections" of a generation later. It centred round an impending
+royal marriage in Vienna, a certain jealous "Countess X." (here you have
+the discretion of the paragrapher), and a document or two that might be
+relied upon (the aristocratic biographer will impartially sum up the
+contingencies) to play the deuce with the approaching nuptials. To
+procure the evidence of these papers the Countess enlisted the services
+of Guido, as reliable a scoundrel as she could probably have selected
+for the commission. To a certain point--to the abstraction of the
+papers, in fact--he succeeded, but it was with pursuit close upon his
+heels. There was that disadvantage in employing a rogue to do work that
+implicated roguery, for whatever moral right the Countess had to the
+property, her accomplice had no legal right whatever to his liberty. On
+half-a-dozen charges at least he could be arrested on sight in as many
+capitals of Europe. He slipped out of Vienna by the Nordbahn with his
+destination known, resourcefully stopped the express outside Czaslau and
+got away across to Chrudim. By this time the game and the moves were
+pretty well understood in more than one keenly interested quarter.
+Diplomacy supplemented justice and the immediate history of Guido became
+that of a fox hunted from covert to covert with all the familiar earths
+stopped against him. From Pardubitz he passed on to Glatz, reached
+Breslau and went down the Oder to Stettin. Out of the liberality of his
+employer's advances he had ample funds to keep going, and he dropped and
+rejoined his accomplices as the occasion ruled. A week's harrying found
+him in Copenhagen, still with no time to spare, and he missed his
+purpose there. He crossed to Malmo by ferry, took the connecting night
+train to Stockholm and the same morning sailed down the Saltsjon,
+ostensibly bound for Obo, intending to cross to Revel and so get back to
+central Europe by the less frequented routes. But in this move again
+luck was against him and receiving warning just in time, and by the
+mysterious agency that had so far protected him, he contrived to be
+dropped from the steamer by boat among the islands of the crowded
+Archipelago, made his way to Helsingfors and within forty-eight hours
+was back again on the Frihavnen with pursuit for the moment blinked and
+a breathing-time to the good.
+
+To appreciate the exact significance of these wanderings it is necessary
+to recall the conditions. Guido was not zigzagging a course about Europe
+in an aimless search for the picturesque, still less inspired by any
+love of the melodramatic. To him every step was vital, each tangent or
+rebound the necessary outcome of his much-badgered plans. In his pocket
+reposed the papers for which he had run grave risks. The price agreed
+upon for the service was sufficiently lavish to make the risks worth
+taking time after time; but in order to consummate the transaction it
+was necessary that the booty should be put into his employer's hand.
+Half-way across Europe that employer was waiting with such patience as
+she could maintain, herself watched and shadowed at every step. The
+Countess X. was sufficiently exalted to be personally immune from the
+high-handed methods of her country's secret service, but every approach
+to her was tapped. The problem was for Guido to earn a long enough
+respite to enable him to communicate his position to the Countess and
+for her to go or to reach him by a trusty hand. Then the whole fabric of
+intrigue could fall to pieces, but so far Guido had been kept
+successfully on the run and in the meanwhile time was pressing.
+
+"They lost him after the _Hutola_," Beedel reported, in explaining the
+circumstances to Max Carrados. "Three days later they found that he'd
+been back again in Copenhagen but by that time he'd flown. Now they're
+without a trace except the inference of these 'Orange peach blossom'
+agonies in _The Times_. But the Countess has gone hurriedly to Paris;
+and Lafayard thinks it all points to London."
+
+"I suppose the Foreign Office is anxious to oblige just now?"
+
+"I expect so, sir," agreed Beedel, "but, of course, my instructions
+don't come from that quarter. What appeals to _us_ is that it would be a
+feather in our caps--they're still a little sore up at the Yard about
+Hans the Piper."
+
+"Naturally," assented Carrados. "Well, I'll see what I can do if there
+is real occasion. Let me know anything, and, if you see your chance
+yourself, come round for a talk if you like on--to-day's Wednesday?--I
+shall be in at any rate on Friday evening."
+
+Without being a precisian, the blind man was usually exact in such
+matters. There are those who hold that an engagement must be kept at all
+hazard: men who would miss a death-bed message in order to keep literal
+faith with a beggar. Carrados took lower, if more substantial, ground.
+"My word," he sometimes had occasion to remark, "is subject to
+contingencies, like everything else about me. If I make a promise it is
+conditional on nothing which seems more important arising to counteract
+it. That, among men of sense, is understood." And, as it happened,
+something did occur on this occasion.
+
+He was summoned to the telephone just before dinner on Friday evening to
+receive a message personally. Greatorex, his secretary, had taken the
+call, but came in to say that the caller would give him nothing beyond
+his name--Brebner. The name was unknown to Carrados, but such incidents
+were not uncommon, and he proceeded to comply.
+
+"Yes," he responded; "I am Max Carrados speaking. What is it?"
+
+"Oh, it is you, sir, is it? Mr Brickwill told me to get to you direct."
+
+"Well, you are all right. Brickwill? Are you the British Museum?"
+
+"Yes. I am Brebner in the Chaldean Art Department. They are in a great
+stew here. We have just found out that someone has managed to get access
+to the Second Inner Greek Room and looted some of the cabinets there. It
+is all a mystery as yet."
+
+"What is missing?" asked Carrados.
+
+"So far we can only definitely speak of about six trays of Greek
+coins--a hundred to a hundred and twenty, roughly."
+
+"Important?"
+
+The line conveyed a caustic bark of tragic amusement.
+
+"Why, yes, I should say so. The beggar seems to have known his business.
+All fine specimens of the best period. Syracuse--Messana--Croton--
+Amphipolis. Eumenes--Evainetos--Kimons. The chief quite wept."
+
+Carrados groaned. There was not a piece among them that he had not
+handled lovingly.
+
+"What are you doing?" he demanded.
+
+"Mr Brickwill has been to Scotland Yard, and, on advice, we are not
+making it public as yet. We don't want a hint of it to be dropped
+anywhere, if you don't mind, sir."
+
+"That will be all right."
+
+"It was for that reason that I was to speak with you personally. We are
+notifying the chief dealers and likely collectors to whom the coins, or
+some of them, may be offered at once if it is thought that we haven't
+found it out yet. Judging from the expertness displayed in the
+selection, we don't think that there is any danger of the lot being
+sold to a pawnbroker or a metal-dealer, so that we are running very
+little real risk in not advertising the loss."
+
+"Yes; probably it is as well," replied Carrados. "Is there anything that
+Mr Brickwill wishes me to do?"
+
+"Only this, sir; if you are offered a suspicious lot of Greek coins, or
+hear of them, would you have a look--I mean ascertain whether they are
+likely to be ours, and if you think they are communicate with us and
+Scotland Yard at once."
+
+"Certainly," replied the blind man. "Tell Mr Brickwill that he can rely
+on me if any indication comes my way. Convey my regrets to him and tell
+him that I feel the loss quite as a personal one.... I don't think that
+you and I have met as yet, Mr Brebner?"
+
+"No, sir," said the voice diffidently, "but I have looked forward to the
+pleasure. Perhaps this unfortunate business will bring me an
+introduction."
+
+"You are very kind," was Carrados's acknowledgment of the compliment.
+"Any time ... I was going to say that perhaps you don't know my
+weakness, but I have spent many pleasant hours over your wonderful
+collection. That ensures the personal element. Good-bye."
+
+Carrados was really disturbed by the loss although his concern was
+tempered by the reflection that the coins would inevitably in the end
+find their way back to the Museum. That their restitution might involve
+ransom to the extent of several thousand pounds was the least poignant
+detail of the situation. The one harrowing thought was that the booty
+might, through stress or ignorance, find its way into the melting-pot.
+That dreadful contingency, remote but insistent, was enough to affect
+the appetite of the blind enthusiast.
+
+He was expecting Inspector Beedel, who would be full of his own case,
+but he could not altogether dismiss the aspects of possibility that
+Brebner's communication opened before his mind. He was still concerned
+with the chances of destruction and a very indifferent companion for
+Greatorex, who alone sat with him, when Parkinson presented himself.
+Dinner was over but Carrados had remained rather longer than his custom,
+smoking his mild Turkish cigarette in silence.
+
+"A lady wishes to see you, sir. She said you would not know her name,
+but that her business would interest you."
+
+The form of message was sufficiently unusual to take the attention of
+both men.
+
+"You don't know her, of course, Parkinson?" inquired his master.
+
+For just a second the immaculate Parkinson seemed tongue-tied. Then he
+delivered himself in his most ceremonial strain.
+
+"I regret to say that I cannot claim the advantage, sir," he replied.
+
+"Better let me tackle her, sir," suggested Greatorex with easy
+confidence. "It's probably a sub."
+
+The sportive offer was declined by a smile and a shake of the head.
+Carrados turned to his attendant.
+
+"I shall be in the study, Parkinson. Show her there in three minutes.
+You stay and have another cigarette, Greatorex. By that time she will
+either have gone or have interested me."
+
+In three minutes' time Parkinson threw open the study door.
+
+"The lady, sir," he announced.
+
+Could he have seen, Carrados would have received the impression of a
+plainly, almost dowdily, dressed young woman of buxom figure. She wore a
+light veil, but it was ineffective in concealing the unattraction of the
+face beneath. The features were swart and the upper lip darkened with
+the more than incipient moustache of the southern brunette. Worse
+remained, for a disfiguring rash had assailed patches of her skin. As
+she entered she swept the room and its occupant with a quiet but
+comprehensive survey.
+
+"Please take a chair, Madame. You wished to see me?"
+
+The ghost of a demure smile flickered about her mouth as she complied,
+and in that moment her face seemed less uncomely. Her eye lingered for a
+moment on a cabinet above the desk, and one might have noticed that her
+eye was very bright. Then she replied.
+
+"You are Signor Carrados, in--in the person?"
+
+Carrados made his smiling admission and changed his position a
+fraction--possibly to catch her curiously pitched voice the better.
+
+"The great collector of the antiquities?"
+
+"I do collect a little," he admitted guardedly.
+
+"You will forgive me, Signor, if my language is not altogether good.
+When I live at Naples with my mother we let boardings, chiefly to
+Inglish and Amerigans. I pick up the words, but since I marry and go to
+live in Calabria my Inglish has gone all red--no, no, you say, rusty.
+Yes, that is it; quite rusty."
+
+"It is excellent," said Carrados. "I am sure that we shall understand
+one another perfectly."
+
+The lady shot a penetrating glance but the blind man's expression was
+merely suave and courteous. Then she continued:
+
+"My husband is of name Ferraja--Michele Ferraja. We have a vineyard and
+a little property near Forenzana." She paused to examine the tips of her
+gloves for quite an appreciable moment. "Signor," she burst out, with
+some vehemence, "the laws of my country are not good at all."
+
+"From what I hear on all sides," said Carrados, "I am afraid that your
+country is not alone."
+
+"There is at Forenzana a poor labourer, Gian Verde of name," continued
+the visitor, dashing volubly into her narrative. "He is one day digging
+in the vineyard, the vineyard of my husband, when his spade strikes
+itself upon an obstruction. 'Aha,' says Gian, 'what have we here?' and
+he goes down upon his knees to see. It is an oil jar of red earth,
+Signor, such as was anciently used, and in it is filled with silver
+money.
+
+"Gian is poor but he is wise. Does he call upon the authorities? No, no;
+he understands that they are all corrupt. He carries what he has found
+to my husband for he knows him to be a man of great honour.
+
+"My husband also is of brief decision. His mind is made up. 'Gian,' he
+says, 'keep your mouth shut. This will be to your ultimate profit.' Gian
+understands, for he can trust my husband. He makes a sign of mutual
+implication. Then he goes back to the spade digging.
+
+"My husband understands a little of these things but not enough. We go
+to the collections of Messina and Naples and even Rome and there we see
+other pieces of silver money, similar, and learn that they are of great
+value. They are of different sizes but most would cover a lira and of
+the thickness of two. On the one side imagine the great head of a pagan
+deity; on the other--oh, so many things I cannot remember what." A
+gesture of circumferential despair indicated the hopeless variety of
+design.
+
+"A biga or quadriga of mules?" suggested Carrados. "An eagle carrying
+off a hare, a figure flying with a wreath, a trophy of arms? Some of
+those perhaps?"
+
+"_Si, si bene_," cried Madame Ferraja. "You understand, I perceive,
+Signor. We are very cautious, for on every side is extortion and an
+unjust law. See, it is even forbidden to take these things out of the
+country, yet if we try to dispose of them at home they will be seized
+and we punished, for they are _tesoro trovato_, what you call treasure
+troven and belonging to the State--these coins which the industry of
+Gian discovered and which had lain for so long in the ground of my
+husband's vineyard."
+
+"So you brought them to England?"
+
+"_Si_, Signor. It is spoken of as a land of justice and rich nobility
+who buy these things at the highest prices. Also my speaking a little of
+the language would serve us here."
+
+"I suppose you have the coins for disposal then? You can show them to
+me?"
+
+"My husband retains them. I will take you, but you must first give
+_parola d'onore_ of an English Signor not to betray us, or to speak of
+the circumstance to another."
+
+Carrados had already foreseen this eventuality and decided to accept it.
+Whether a promise exacted on the plea of treasure trove would bind him
+to respect the despoilers of the British Museum was a point for
+subsequent consideration. Prudence demanded that he should investigate
+the offer at once and to cavil over Madame Ferraja's conditions would be
+fatal to that object. If the coins were, as there seemed little reason
+to doubt, the proceeds of the robbery, a modest ransom might be the
+safest way of preserving irreplaceable treasures, and in that case
+Carrados could offer his services as the necessary intermediary.
+
+"I give you the promise you require, Madame," he accordingly declared.
+
+"It is sufficient," assented Madame. "I will now take you to the spot.
+It is necessary that you alone should accompany me, for my husband is so
+distraught in this country, where he understands not a word of what is
+spoken, that his poor spirit would cry 'We are surrounded!' if he saw
+two strangers approach the house. Oh, he is become most dreadful in his
+anxiety, my husband. Imagine only, he keeps on the fire a cauldron of
+molten lead and he would not hesitate to plunge into it this treasure
+and obliterate its existence if he imagined himself endangered."
+
+"So," speculated Carrados inwardly. "A likely precaution for a simple
+vine-grower of Calabria! Very well," he assented aloud, "I will go with
+you alone. Where is the place?"
+
+Madame Ferraja searched in the ancient purse that she discovered in her
+rusty handbag and produced a scrap of paper.
+
+"People do not understand sometimes my way of saying it," she explained.
+"_Sette_, Herringbone----"
+
+"May I----?" said Carrados, stretching out his hand. He took the paper
+and touched the writing with his finger-tips. "Oh yes, 7 Heronsbourne
+Place. That is on the edge of Heronsbourne Park, is it not?" He
+transferred the paper casually to his desk as he spoke and stood up.
+"How did you come, Madame Ferraja?"
+
+Madame Ferraja followed the careless action with a discreet smile that
+did not touch her voice.
+
+"By motor bus--first one then another, inquiring at every turning. Oh,
+but it was interminable," sighed the lady.
+
+"My driver is off for the evening--I did not expect to be going out--but
+I will 'phone up a taxi and it will be at the gate as soon as we are."
+He despatched the message and then, turning to the house telephone,
+switched on to Greatorex.
+
+"I'm just going round to Heronsbourne Park," he explained. "Don't stay,
+Greatorex, but if anyone calls expecting to see me, they can say that I
+don't anticipate being away more than an hour."
+
+Parkinson was hovering about the hall. With quite novel officiousness he
+pressed upon his master a succession of articles that were not required.
+Over this usually complacent attendant the unattractive features of
+Madame Ferraja appeared to exercise a stealthy fascination, for a dozen
+times the lady detected his eyes questioning her face and a dozen times
+he looked guiltily away again. But his incongruities could not delay for
+more than a few minutes the opening of the door.
+
+"I do not accompany you, sir?" he inquired, with the suggestion plainly
+tendered in his voice that it would be much better if he did.
+
+"Not this time, Parkinson."
+
+"Very well, sir. Is there any particular address to which we can
+telephone in case you are required, sir?"
+
+"Mr Greatorex has instructions."
+
+Parkinson stood aside, his resources exhausted. Madame Ferraja laughed a
+little mockingly as they walked down the drive.
+
+"Your man-servant thinks I may eat you, Signor Carrados," she declared
+vivaciously.
+
+Carrados, who held the key of his usually exact attendant's
+perturbation--for he himself had recognized in Madame Ferraja the
+angelic Nina Brun, of the Sicilian tetradrachm incident, from the moment
+she opened her mouth--admitted to himself the humour of her audacity.
+But it was not until half-an-hour later that enlightenment rewarded
+Parkinson. Inspector Beedel had just arrived and was speaking with
+Greatorex when the conscientious valet, who had been winnowing his
+memory in solitude, broke in upon them, more distressed than either had
+ever seen him in his life before, and with the breathless introduction:
+"It was the ears, sir! I have her ears at last!" poured out his tale of
+suspicion, recognition and his present fears.
+
+In the meanwhile the two objects of his concern had reached the gate as
+the summoned taxicab drew up.
+
+"Seven Heronsbourne Place," called Carrados to the driver.
+
+"No, no," interposed the lady, with decision, "let him stop at the
+beginning of the street. It is not far to walk. My husband would be on
+the verge of distraction if he thought in the dark that it was the
+arrival of the police;--who knows?"
+
+"Brackedge Road, opposite the end of Heronsbourne Place," amended
+Carrados.
+
+Heronsbourne Place had the reputation, among those who were curious in
+such matters, of being the most reclusive residential spot inside the
+four-mile circle. To earn that distinction it was, needless to say, a
+cul-de-sac. It bounded one side of Heronsbourne Park but did not at any
+point of its length give access to that pleasance. It was entirely
+devoted to unostentatious little houses, something between the villa and
+the cottage, some detached and some in pairs, but all possessing the
+endowment of larger, more umbrageous gardens than can generally be
+secured within the radius. The local house agent described them as
+"delightfully old-world" or "completely modernized" according to the
+requirement of the applicant.
+
+The cab was dismissed at the corner and Madame Ferraja guided her
+companion along the silent and deserted way. She had begun to talk with
+renewed animation, but her ceaseless chatter only served to emphasize to
+Carrados the one fact that it was contrived to disguise.
+
+"I am not causing you to miss the house with looking after me--No. 7,
+Madame Ferraja?" he interposed.
+
+"No, certainly," she replied readily. "It is a little farther. The
+numbers are from the other end. But we are there. _Ecco!_"
+
+She stopped at a gate and opened it, still guiding him. They passed into
+a garden, moist and sweet-scented with the distillate odours of a dewy
+evening. As she turned to relatch the gate the blind man endeavoured
+politely to anticipate her. Between them his hat fell to the ground.
+
+"My clumsiness," he apologized, recovering it from the step. "My old
+impulses and my present helplessness, alas, Madame Ferraja!"
+
+"One learns prudence by experience," said Madame sagely. She was
+scarcely to know, poor lady, that even as she uttered this trite
+aphorism, under cover of darkness and his hat, Mr Carrados had just
+ruined his signet ring by blazoning a golden "7" upon her garden step to
+establish its identity if need be. A cul-de-sac that numbered from the
+closed end seemed to demand some investigation.
+
+"Seldom," he replied to her remark. "One goes on taking risks. So we are
+there?"
+
+Madame Ferraja had opened the front door with a latchkey. She dropped
+the latch and led Carrados forward along the narrow hall. The room they
+entered was at the back of the house, and from the position of the road
+it therefore overlooked the park. Again the door was locked behind them.
+
+"The celebrated Mr Carrados!" announced Madame Ferraja, with a sparkle
+of triumph in her voice. She waved her hand towards a lean, dark man who
+had stood beside the door as they entered. "My husband."
+
+"Beneath our poor roof in the most fraternal manner," commented the dark
+man, in the same derisive spirit. "But it is wonderful."
+
+"The even more celebrated Monsieur Dompierre, unless I am mistaken?"
+retorted Carrados blandly. "I bow on our first real meeting."
+
+"You knew!" exclaimed the Dompierre of the earlier incident
+incredulously. "Stoker, you were right and I owe you a hundred lire. Who
+recognized you, Nina?"
+
+"How should I know?" demanded the real Madame Dompierre crossly. "This
+blind man himself, by chance."
+
+"You pay a poor compliment to your charming wife's personality to
+imagine that one could forget her so soon," put in Carrados. "And you a
+Frenchman, Dompierre!"
+
+"You knew, Monsieur Carrados," reiterated Dompierre, "and yet you
+ventured here. You are either a fool or a hero."
+
+"An enthusiast--it is the same thing as both," interposed the lady.
+"What did I tell you? What did it matter if he recognized? You see?"
+
+"Surely you exaggerate, Monsieur Dompierre," contributed Carrados. "I
+may yet pay tribute to your industry. Perhaps I regret the circumstance
+and the necessity but I am here to make the best of it. Let me see the
+things Madame has spoken of, and then we can consider the detail of
+their price, either for myself or on behalf of others."
+
+There was no immediate reply. From Dompierre came a saturnine chuckle
+and from Madame Dompierre a titter that accompanied a grimace. For one
+of the rare occasions in his life Carrados found himself wholly out of
+touch with the atmosphere of the situation. Instinctively he turned his
+face towards the other occupant of the room, the man addressed as
+"Stoker," whom he knew to be standing near the window.
+
+"This unfortunate business _has_ brought me an introduction," said a
+familiar voice.
+
+For one dreadful moment the universe stood still round Carrados. Then,
+with the crash and grind of overwhelming mental tumult, the whole
+strategy revealed itself, like the sections of a gigantic puzzle falling
+into place before his eyes.
+
+There had been no robbery at the British Museum! That plausible
+concoction was as fictitious as the intentionally transparent tale of
+treasure trove. Carrados recognized now how ineffective the one device
+would have been without the other in drawing him--how convincing the two
+together--and while smarting at the humiliation of his plight he could
+not restrain a dash of admiration at the ingenuity--the accurately
+conjectured line of inference--of the plot. It was again the familiar
+artifice of the cunning pitfall masked by the clumsily contrived trap
+just beyond it. And straightway into it he had blundered!
+
+"And this," continued the same voice, "is Carrados, Max Carrados, upon
+whose perspicuity a government--only the present government, let me in
+justice say--depends to outwit the undesirable alien! My country; O my
+country!"
+
+"Is it really Monsieur Carrados?" inquired Dompierre in polite sarcasm.
+"Are you sure, Nina, that you have not brought a man from Scotland Yard
+instead?"
+
+"_Basta!_ he is here; what more do you want? Do not mock the poor
+sightless gentleman," answered Madame Dompierre, in doubtful sympathy.
+
+"That is exactly what I was wondering," ventured Carrados mildly. "I am
+here--what more do you want? Perhaps you, Mr Stoker----?"
+
+"Excuse me. 'Stoker' is a mere colloquial appellation based on a
+trifling incident of my career in connection with a disabled liner. The
+title illustrates the childish weakness of the criminal classes for
+nicknames, together with their pitiable baldness of invention. My real
+name is Montmorency, Mr Carrados--Eustace Montmorency."
+
+"Thank you, Mr Montmorency," said Carrados gravely. "We are on opposite
+sides of the table here to-night, but I should be proud to have been
+with you in the stokehold of the _Benvenuto_."
+
+"That was pleasure," muttered the Englishman. "This is business."
+
+"Oh, quite so," agreed Carrados. "So far I am not exactly complaining.
+But I think it is high time to be told--and I address myself to
+you--why I have been decoyed here and what your purpose is."
+
+Mr Montmorency turned to his accomplice.
+
+"Dompierre," he remarked, with great clearness, "why the devil is Mr
+Carrados kept standing?"
+
+"Ah, oh, heaven!" exclaimed Madame Dompierre with tragic resignation,
+and flung herself down on a couch.
+
+"_Scusi_," grinned the lean man, and with burlesque grace he placed a
+chair for their guest's acceptance.
+
+"Your curiosity is natural," continued Mr Montmorency, with a cold eye
+towards Dompierre's antics, "although I really think that by this time
+you ought to have guessed the truth. In fact, I don't doubt that you
+have guessed, Mr Carrados, and that you are only endeavouring to gain
+time. For that reason--because it will perhaps convince you that we have
+nothing to fear--I don't mind obliging you."
+
+"Better hasten," murmured Dompierre uneasily.
+
+"Thank you, Bill," said the Englishman, with genial effrontery. "I won't
+fail to report your intelligence to the Rasojo. Yes, Mr Carrados, as you
+have already conjectured, it is the affair of the Countess X. to which
+you owe this inconvenience. You will appreciate the compliment that
+underlies your temporary seclusion, I am sure. When circumstances
+favoured our plans and London became the inevitable place of meeting,
+you and you alone stood in the way. We guessed that you would be
+consulted and we frankly feared your intervention. You were consulted.
+We know that Inspector Beedel visited you two days ago and he has no
+other case in hand. Your quiescence for just three days had to be
+obtained at any cost. So here you are."
+
+"I see," assented Carrados. "And having got me here, how do you propose
+to keep me?"
+
+"Of course that detail has received consideration. In fact we secured
+this furnished house solely with that in view. There are three courses
+before us. The first, quite pleasant, hangs on your acquiescence. The
+second, more drastic, comes into operation if you decline. The
+third--but really, Mr Carrados, I hope you won't oblige me even to
+discuss the third. You will understand that it is rather objectionable
+for me to contemplate the necessity of two able-bodied men having to use
+even the smallest amount of physical compulsion towards one who is blind
+and helpless. I hope you will be reasonable and accept the inevitable."
+
+"The inevitable is the one thing that I invariably accept," replied
+Carrados. "What does it involve?"
+
+"You will write a note to your secretary explaining that what you have
+learned at 7 Heronsbourne Place makes it necessary for you to go
+immediately abroad for a few days. By the way, Mr Carrados, although
+this is Heronsbourne Place it is _not_ No. 7."
+
+"Dear, dear me," sighed the prisoner. "You seem to have had me at every
+turn, Mr Montmorency."
+
+"An obvious precaution. The wider course of giving you a different
+street altogether we rejected as being too risky in getting you here.
+To continue: To give conviction to the message you will direct your man
+Parkinson to follow by the first boat-train to-morrow, with all the
+requirements for a short stay, and put up at Mascot's, as usual,
+awaiting your arrival there."
+
+"Very convincing," agreed Carrados. "Where shall I be in reality?"
+
+"In a charming though rather isolated bungalow on the south coast. Your
+wants will be attended to. There is a boat. You can row or fish. You
+will be run down by motor car and brought back to your own gate. It's
+really very pleasant for a few days. I've often stayed there myself."
+
+"Your recommendation carries weight. Suppose, for the sake of curiosity,
+that I decline?"
+
+"You will still go there but your treatment will be commensurate with
+your behaviour. The car to take you is at this moment waiting in a
+convenient spot on the other side of the park. We shall go down the
+garden at the back, cross the park, and put you into the car--anyway."
+
+"And if I resist?"
+
+The man whose pleasantry it had been to call himself Eustace Montmorency
+shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Don't be a fool," he said tolerantly. "You know who you are dealing
+with and the kind of risks we run. If you call out or endanger us at a
+critical point we shall not hesitate to silence you effectively."
+
+The blind man knew that it was no idle threat. In spite of the cloak of
+humour and fantasy thrown over the proceedings, he was in the power of
+coolly desperate men. The window was curtained and shuttered against
+sight and sound, the door behind him locked. Possibly at that moment a
+revolver threatened him; certainly weapons lay within reach of both his
+keepers.
+
+"Tell me what to write," he asked, with capitulation in his voice.
+
+Dompierre twirled his mustachios in relieved approval. Madame laughed
+from her place on the couch and picked up a book, watching Montmorency
+over the cover of its pages. As for that gentleman, he masked his
+satisfaction by the practical business of placing on the table before
+Carrados the accessories of the letter.
+
+"Put into your own words the message that I outlined just now."
+
+"Perhaps to make it altogether natural I had better write on a page of
+the notebook that I always use," suggested Carrados.
+
+"Do you wish to make it natural?" demanded Montmorency, with latent
+suspicion.
+
+"If the miscarriage of your plan is to result in my head being
+knocked--yes, I do," was the reply.
+
+"Good!" chuckled Dompierre, and sought to avoid Mr Montmorency's cold
+glance by turning on the electric table-lamp for the blind man's
+benefit. Madame Dompierre laughed shrilly.
+
+"Thank you, Monsieur," said Carrados, "you have done quite right. What
+is light to you is warmth to me--heat, energy, inspiration. Now to
+business."
+
+He took out the pocket-book he had spoken of and leisurely proceeded to
+flatten it down upon the table before him. As his tranquil, pleasant
+eyes ranged the room meanwhile it was hard to believe that the shutters
+of an impenetrable darkness lay between them and the world. They rested
+for a moment on the two accomplices who stood beyond the table, picked
+out Madame Dompierre lolling on the sofa on his right, and measured the
+proportions of the long, narrow room. They seemed to note the positions
+of the window at the one end and the door almost at the other, and even
+to take into account the single pendent electric light which up till
+then had been the sole illuminant.
+
+"You prefer pencil?" asked Montmorency.
+
+"I generally use it for casual purposes. But not," he added, touching
+the point critically, "like this."
+
+Alert for any sign of retaliation, they watched him take an
+insignificant penknife from his pocket and begin to trim the pencil. Was
+there in his mind any mad impulse to force conclusions with that puny
+weapon? Dompierre worked his face into a fiercer expression and touched
+reassuringly the handle of his knife. Montmorency looked on for a
+moment, then, whistling softly to himself, turned his back on the table
+and strolled towards the window, avoiding Madame Nina's pursuant eye.
+
+Then, with overwhelming suddenness, it came, and in its form altogether
+unexpected.
+
+Carrados had been putting the last strokes to the pencil, whittling it
+down upon the table. There had been no hasty movement, no violent act to
+give them warning; only the little blade had pushed itself nearer and
+nearer to the electric light cord lying there ... and suddenly and
+instantly the room was plunged into absolute darkness.
+
+"To the door, Dom!" shouted Montmorency in a flash. "I am at the window.
+Don't let him pass and we are all right."
+
+"I am here," responded Dompierre from the door.
+
+"He will not attempt to pass," came the quiet voice of Carrados from
+across the room. "You are now all exactly where I want you. You are both
+covered. If either moves an inch, I fire--and remember that I shoot by
+sound, not sight."
+
+"But--but what does it mean?" stammered Montmorency, above the
+despairing wail of Madame Dompierre.
+
+"It means that we are now on equal terms--three blind men in a dark
+room. The numerical advantage that you possess is counterbalanced by the
+fact that you are out of your element--I am in mine."
+
+"Dom," whispered Montmorency across the dark space, "strike a match. I
+have none."
+
+"I would not, Dompierre, if I were you," advised Carrados, with a short
+laugh. "It might be dangerous." At once his voice seemed to leap into a
+passion. "Drop that matchbox," he cried. "You are standing on the brink
+of your grave, you fool! Drop it, I say; let me hear it fall."
+
+A breath of thought--almost too short to call a pause--then a little
+thud of surrender sounded from the carpet by the door. The two
+conspirators seemed to hold their breath.
+
+"That is right." The placid voice once more resumed its sway. "Why
+cannot things be agreeable? I hate to have to shout, but you seem far
+from grasping the situation yet. Remember that I do not take the
+slightest risk. Also please remember, Mr Montmorency, that the action
+even of a hair-trigger automatic scrapes slightly as it comes up. I
+remind you of that for your own good, because if you are so ill-advised
+as to think of trying to pot me in the dark, that noise gives me a fifth
+of a second start of you. Do you by any chance know Zinghi's in Mercer
+Street?"
+
+"The shooting gallery?" asked Mr Montmorency a little sulkily.
+
+"The same. If you happen to come through this alive and are interested
+you might ask Zinghi to show you a target of mine that he keeps. Seven
+shots at twenty yards, the target indicated by four watches, none of
+them so loud as the one you are wearing. He keeps it as a curiosity."
+
+"I wear no watch," muttered Dompierre, expressing his thought aloud.
+
+"No, Monsieur Dompierre, but you wear a heart, and that not on your
+sleeve," said Carrados. "Just now it is quite as loud as Mr
+Montmorency's watch. It is more central too--I shall not have to allow
+any margin. That is right; breathe naturally"--for the unhappy Dompierre
+had given a gasp of apprehension. "It does not make any difference to
+me, and after a time holding one's breath becomes really painful."
+
+"Monsieur," declared Dompierre earnestly, "there was no intention of
+submitting you to injury, I swear. This Englishman did but speak within
+his hat. At the most extreme you would have been but bound and gagged.
+Take care: killing is a dangerous game."
+
+"For you--not for me," was the bland rejoinder. "If you kill me you will
+be hanged for it. If I kill you I shall be honourably acquitted. You can
+imagine the scene--the sympathetic court--the recital of your
+villainies--the story of my indignities. Then with stumbling feet and
+groping hands the helpless blind man is led forward to give evidence.
+Sensation! No, no, it isn't really fair but I can kill you both with
+absolute certainty and Providence will be saddled with all the
+responsibility. Please don't fidget with your feet, Monsieur Dompierre.
+I know that you aren't moving but one is liable to make mistakes."
+
+"Before I die," said Montmorency--and for some reason laughed
+unconvincingly in the dark--"before I die, Mr Carrados, I should really
+like to know what has happened to the light. That, surely, isn't
+Providence?"
+
+"Would it be ungenerous to suggest that you are trying to gain time? You
+ought to know what has happened. But as it may satisfy you that I have
+nothing to fear from delay, I don't mind telling you. In my hand was a
+sharp knife--contemptible, you were satisfied, as a weapon; beneath my
+nose the 'flex' of the electric lamp. It was only necessary for me to
+draw the one across the other and the system was short-circuited. Every
+lamp on that fuse is cut off and in the distributing-box in the hall you
+will find a burned-out wire. You, perhaps--but Monsieur Dompierre's
+experience in plating ought to have put him up to simple electricity."
+
+"How did you know that there is a distributing-box in the hall?" asked
+Dompierre, with dull resentment.
+
+"My dear Dompierre, why beat the air with futile questions?" replied Max
+Carrados. "What does it matter? Have it in the cellar if you like."
+
+"True," interposed Montmorency. "The only thing that need concern us
+now----"
+
+"But it is in the hall--nine feet high," muttered Dompierre in
+bitterness. "Yet he, this blind man----"
+
+"The only thing that need concern us," repeated the Englishman, severely
+ignoring the interruption, "is what you intend doing in the end, Mr
+Carrados?"
+
+"The end is a little difficult to foresee," was the admission. "So far,
+I am all for maintaining the _status quo_. Will the first grey light of
+morning find us still in this impasse? No, for between us we have
+condemned the room to eternal darkness. Probably about daybreak
+Dompierre will drop off to sleep and roll against the door. I,
+unfortunately mistaking his intention, will send a bullet through----
+Pardon, Madame, I should have remembered--but pray don't move."
+
+"I protest, Monsieur----"
+
+"Don't protest; just sit still. Very likely it will be Mr Montmorency
+who will fall off to sleep the first after all."
+
+"Then we will anticipate that difficulty," said the one in question,
+speaking with renewed decision. "We will play the last hand with our
+cards upon the table if you like. Nina, Mr Carrados will not injure you
+whatever happens--be sure of that. When the moment comes you will
+rise----"
+
+"One word," put in Carrados with determination. "My position is
+precarious and I take no risks. As you say, I cannot injure Madame
+Dompierre, and you two men are therefore my hostages for her good
+behaviour. If she rises from the couch you, Dompierre, fall. If she
+advances another step Mr Montmorency follows you."
+
+"Do nothing rash, _carissima_," urged her husband, with passionate
+solicitude. "You might get hit in place of me. We will yet find a better
+way."
+
+"You dare not, Mr Carrados!" flung out Montmorency, for the first time
+beginning to show signs of wear in this duel of the temper. "He dare
+not, Dompierre. In cold blood and unprovoked! No jury would acquit you!"
+
+"Another who fails to do you justice, Madame Nina," said the blind man,
+with ironic gallantry. "The action might be a little high-handed, one
+admits, but when you, appropriately clothed and in your right
+complexion, stepped into the witness-box and I said: 'Gentlemen of the
+jury, what is my crime? That I made Madame Dompierre a widow!' can you
+doubt their gratitude and my acquittal? Truly my countrymen are not
+all bats or monks, Madame." Dompierre was breathing with perfect freedom
+now, while from the couch came the sounds of stifled emotion, but
+whether the lady was involved in a paroxysm of sobs or of laughter it
+might be difficult to swear.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was perhaps an hour after the flourish of the introduction with which
+Madame Dompierre had closed the door of the trap upon the blind man's
+entrance.
+
+The minutes had passed but the situation remained unchanged, though the
+ingenuity of certainly two of the occupants of the room had been
+tormented into shreds to discover a means of turning it to their
+advantage. So far the terrible omniscience of the blind man in the dark
+and the respect for his markmanship with which his coolness had inspired
+them, dominated the group. But one strong card yet remained to be
+played, and at last the moment came upon which the conspirators had
+pinned their despairing hopes.
+
+There was the sound of movement in the hall outside, not the first about
+the house, but towards the new complication Carrados had been strangely
+unobservant. True, Montmorency had talked rather loudly, to carry over
+the dangerous moments. But now there came an unmistakable step and to
+the accomplices it could only mean one thing. Montmorency was ready on
+the instant.
+
+"Down, Dom!" he cried, "throw yourself down! Break in, Guido. Break in
+the door. We are held up!"
+
+There was an immediate response. The door, under the pressure of a human
+battering-ram, burst open with a crash. On the threshold the
+intruders--four or five in number--stopped starkly for a moment, held in
+astonishment by the extraordinary scene that the light from the hall,
+and of their own bull's-eyes, revealed.
+
+Flat on their faces, to present the least possible surface to Carrados's
+aim, Dompierre and Montmorency lay extended beside the window and behind
+the door. On the couch, with her head buried beneath the cushions,
+Madame Dompierre sought to shut out the sight and sound of violence.
+Carrados--Carrados had not moved, but with arms resting on the table and
+fingers placidly locked together he smiled benignly on the new arrivals.
+His attitude, compared with the extravagance of those around him, gave
+the impression of a complacent modern deity presiding over some
+grotesque ceremonial of pagan worship.
+
+"So, Inspector, you could not wait for me, after all?" was his greeting.
+
+
+
+
+THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITED, EDINBURGH
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
+
+Minor punctuation errors have been repaired. An inconsistency
+in the spelling of Messina/Messana (pages 269 and 274) has been
+retained.
+
+The following amendments have been made:
+
+    Page 250--Carados amended to Carrados--""True," agreed
+    Carrados."
+    Page 251--urning amended to turning--"They walked through the
+    house, and turning to the right ..."
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Max Carrados, by Ernest Bramah
+
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