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diff --git a/old/69788-h/69788-h.htm b/old/69788-h/69788-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index fbc0f74..0000000 --- a/old/69788-h/69788-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12032 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Avenger by Edgar Wallace</title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg"/> - <meta name="cover" content="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - body { margin-left:8%;margin-right:10%; } - .it { font-style:italic; } - .bold { font-weight:bold; } - .sc { font-variant:small-caps; } - .gesp { letter-spacing:0.2em; } - p { text-indent:0; margin-top:0.5em; margin-bottom:0.5em; - text-align: justify; } - div.lgc { } - div.lgl { } - div.lgc p { text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; } - div.lgl p { text-indent: -17px; margin-left:17px; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; } - .sub-head { font-size: smaller; } - h1 { text-align:center; font-weight:normal; - font-size:1.2em; margin:2em auto 1em auto} - hr.tbk { border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:30%; margin-left:35%; margin-right:35%; } - hr.tbk100{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:20%; margin-top:0.5em; margin-bottom:0.5em; text-align:center; margin-left:40%; margin-right:40% } - hr.tbk101{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:20%; margin-top:0.5em; margin-bottom:0.5em; text-align:center; margin-left:40%; margin-right:40% } - hr.tbk102{ border:none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width:20%; margin-top:0.5em; margin-bottom:0.5em; text-align:center; margin-left:40%; margin-right:40% } - hr.pbk { border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:100%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em } - .figcenter { text-align:center; margin:1em auto;} - div.blockquote { margin:1em 2em; text-align:justify; } - h1.nobreak { page-break-before: avoid; } - p.line { text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; } - table.center { margin:0.5em auto; border-collapse: collapse; padding:3px; } - table.flushleft { margin:0.5em 0em; border-collapse: collapse; padding:3px; } - table.left { margin:0.5em 1.2em; border-collapse: collapse; padding:3px; } - .tab1c1 { } - .tab1c2 { } - .tab2c1 { } - .tab2c2 { } - .tab2c1-col2 { border-right: 0px solid black; } - .tdStyle0 { -padding: 4px 5px; text-align:right; vertical-align:top; -} - .tdStyle1 { -padding: 4px 5px; text-align:left; vertical-align:top;padding-left:29px; text-indent:-24px; -} - .tdStyle2 { -padding: 0px 5px; text-align:left; vertical-align:top;padding-left:29px; text-indent:-24px; -} - .tdStyle3 { -padding: 0px 5px; text-align:right; vertical-align:top; -} - .tdStyle4 { -padding: 0px 5px; text-align:center; vertical-align:top; -} - .pindent { margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-indent:1.5em; } - .noindent { margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; text-indent:0; } - .hang { padding-left:1.5em; text-indent:-1.5em; } - .literal-container { text-align:center; margin:0 0; } - .literal { display:inline-block; text-align:left; } - </style> - <style type="text/css"> - h1 { font-size:1.2em; text-align:center; line-height:200%; } - .sub-head { font-size:.8em; text-align:center; } - .literal-container { margin-top:.5em; margin-bottom:.5em } - div.lgc { margin-top:.5em; margin-bottom:.5em } - p { margin-top: 0em; margin-bottom: 0em; } - div.blockquote { margin-top:.5em; margin-bottom:.5em; } - body { font-size:100%; } - </style> - </head> - <body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Avenger, by Edgar Wallace</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Avenger</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Edgar Wallace</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: January 14, 2023 [eBook #69788]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Al Haines, Cindy Beyer & the online Distributed Proofreaders Canada team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE AVENGER ***</div> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div class='figcenter'> -<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0000' style='width:335px;height:auto;'/> -</div> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:2em;font-size:1.2em;font-style:italic;'>THE NOVELS OF</p> -<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:1.2em;font-style:italic;'>EDGAR WALLACE</p> - -<div class='literal-container' style=''><div class='literal'> <!-- rend=';fs:.8em;' --> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'> The <span class='it'>Daily Mail</span> says: “It is impossible not to be</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>thrilled by Edgar Wallace. Mr. Wallace has, in an</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>exceptional degree, the capacity to keep his readers on</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>tenter-hooks. His plots are always clever; his resources</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>of imagination unrivalled.”</p> -<p class='line'> </p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>CAPTAINS OF SOULS</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>THE MISSING MILLION</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>ROOM 13</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>THE FACE IN THE NIGHT</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>A KING BY NIGHT</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>THE MAN FROM MOROCCO</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>THE AVENGER</p> -<p class='line'> </p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'> <span class='it'>Other new long representative novels by</span></p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'><span class='it'>Edgar Wallace will appear through the House</span></p> -<p class='line' style='margin-bottom:10em;font-size:.8em;'><span class='it'>of</span> <span style='font-size:larger'>JOHN LONG, <span class='sc'>Ltd.</span> LONDON</span></p> -</div></div> <!-- end rend --> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div class='lgc' style=''> <!-- rend=';' --> -<p class='line' style='margin-top:1em;font-size:2.5em;'>THE AVENGER</p> -<p class='line'> </p> -<p class='line'> </p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>By</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:1.2em;'>EDGAR WALLACE</p> -<p class='line'> </p> -<p class='line'> </p> -<div class='figcenter'> -<img src='images/title.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0001' style='width:80px;height:auto;'/> -</div> -<p class='line'> </p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.6em;'>TENTH EDITION</p> -<p class='line'> </p> -<p class='line'> </p> -<p class='line'> </p> -<p class='line'>London</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:1.2em;'>John Long, Limited</p> -<p class='line'>12, 13 & 14 Norris Street, Haymarket</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>[<span class='it'>All Rights Reserved</span>]</p> -</div> <!-- end rend --> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div class='literal-container' style='margin-top:4em;'><div class='literal'> <!-- rend=';italic;fs:.8em;' --> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;font-style:italic;'>Made and Printed</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;font-style:italic;'>in Great Britain</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;font-style:italic;'>Copyright, 1926, by</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;font-style:italic;'>John Long, Limited</p> -<p class='line' style='margin-bottom:20em;font-size:.8em;font-style:italic;'>All Rights Reserved</p> -</div></div> <!-- end rend --> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:2em;margin-bottom:1em;font-size:1.2em;'>CONTENTS</p> - -<table id='tab1' summary='' class='center' style='font-size:.9em;'> -<colgroup> -<col span='1' style='width: 4em;'/> -<col span='1' style='width: 20em;'/> -</colgroup> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>I.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch1'>THE HEAD-HUNTER</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>II.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch2'>MR. SAMPSON LONGVALE CALLS</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>III.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch3'>THE NIECE</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>IV.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch4'>THE LEADING LADY</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>V.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch5'>MR. LAWLEY FOSS</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>VI.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch6'>THE MASTER OF GRIFF</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>VII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch7'>THE SWORDS AND BHAG</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>VIII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch8'>BHAG</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>IX.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch9'>THE ANCESTOR</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>X.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch10'>THE OPEN WINDOW</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XI.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch11'>THE MARK ON THE WINDOW</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch12'>A CRY FROM A TOWER</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XIII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch13'>THE TRAP THAT FAILED</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XIV.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch14'>MENDOZA MAKES A FIGHT</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XV.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch15'>TWO FROM THE YARD</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XVI.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch16'>THE BROWN MAN FROM NOWHERE</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XVII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch17'>MR. FOSS MAKES A SUGGESTION</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XVIII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch18'>THE FACE IN THE PICTURE</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XIX.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch19'>THE MIDNIGHT VISIT</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XX.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch20'>A NARROW ESCAPE</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXI.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch21'>THE ERASURE</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch22'>THE HEAD</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXIII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch23'>CLUES AT THE TOWER</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXIV.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch24'>THE MARKS OF THE BEAST</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXV.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch25'>THE MAN IN THE CAR</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXVI.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch26'>THE HAND</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXVII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch27'>THE CAVES</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXVIII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch28'>THE TOWER</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXIX.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch29'>BHAG’S RETURN</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXX.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch30'>THE ADVERTISEMENT</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXXI.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch31'>JOHN PERCIVAL LIGGITT</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXXII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch32'>GREGORY’S WAY</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXXIII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch33'>THE TRAP THAT FAILED</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXXIV.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch34'>THE SEARCH</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXXV.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch35'>WHAT HAPPENED TO ADELE</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXXVI.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch36'>THE ESCAPE</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXXVII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch37'>AT THE TOWER AGAIN</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXXVIII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch38'>THE CAVERN OF BONES</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XXXIX.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch39'>MICHAEL KNOWS FOR SURE</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XL.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch40'>“THE WIDOW”</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XLI.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch41'>THE DEATH</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle0'>XLII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle1'><a href='#ch42'>CAMERA!</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:3em;margin-bottom:2em;font-size:2.5em;'>The Avenger</p> - -<div><h1 class='nobreak' id='ch1'>CHAPTER I<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE HEAD-HUNTER</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Captain Mike Brixan</span> had certain mild and -innocent superstitions. He believed, for -example, that if he saw a green crow in a field -he would certainly see another green crow -before the day was out. And when, at the -bookstand on Aix la Chapelle station, he saw -and purchased a dime novel that was comprehensively -intituled “Only an Extra, or the -Pride of Hollywood,” he was less concerned -as to how this thrilling and dog-eared romance -came to be on offer at half a million marks (this -was in the days when marks were worth money) -than as to the circumstances in which he would -again hear or read the word “extras” in the -sense of a supernumerary and unimportant -screen actress.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The novel did not interest him at all. He -read one page of superlatives and turned for -relief to the study of a Belgian time-table. He -was bored, but not so bored that he could -interest himself in the sensational rise of the -fictitious Rosa Love from modest obscurity to -a press agent and wealth.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But “extra” was a new one on Michael, and -he waited for the day to bring its inevitable -companion.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>To say that he was uninterested in crime, -that burglars were less thrilling than golf scores, -and the record of murders hardly worth the -reading, might convey a wrong impression to -those who knew him as the cleverest agent -in the Foreign Office Intelligence Department.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His official life was spent in meeting queer -continentals in obscure restaurants and, in -divers rôles, to learn of the undercurrents that -were drifting the barques of diplomacy to -unsuspected ports. He had twice roamed -through Europe in the guise of an open-mouthed -tourist; had canoed many hundred miles -through the gorges of the Danube to discover, -in little riverside beer-houses, the inward -meanings of secret mobilizations. These were -tasks wholly to his liking.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Therefore he was not unnaturally annoyed -when he was withdrawn from Berlin at a -moment when, as it seemed, the mystery of the -Slovak Treaty was in a way to being solved, -for he had secured, at a cost, a rough but -accurate draft.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I should have had a photograph of the -actual document if you had left me another -twenty-four hours,” he reproached his chief, -Major George Staines, when he reported himself -at Whitehall next morning.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sorry,” replied that unrepentant man, -“but the truth is, we’ve had a heart to heart talk -with the Slovakian Prime Minister, and he has -promised to behave and practically given us the -text of the treaty—it was only a commercial -affair. Mike, did you know Elmer?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The Foreign Office detective sat down on the -edge of the table.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Have you brought me from Berlin to ask -me that?” he demanded bitterly. “Have you -taken me from my favourite café on Unter den -Linden—by the way, the Germans are making -small arm ammunition by the million at a converted -pencil factory in Bavaria—to discuss -Elmer? He’s a clerk, isn’t he?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Major Staines nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He <span class='it'>was</span>,” he said, “in the Accountancy -Department. He disappeared from view three -weeks ago, and an examination of his books -showed that he had been systematically stealing -funds which were under his control.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mike Brixan made a little face.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said. “He -seemed to be a fairly quiet and inoffensive man. -But surely you don’t want me to go after him? -That is a job for Scotland Yard.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t want you to go after him,” said -Staines slowly, “because—well, he has been -found.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was something very significant and -sinister in his tone, and before he could take -the little slip of paper from the portfolio on the -desk, Michael Brixan knew what was coming.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not the Head-Hunter?” he gasped. Even -Michael knew about the Head-Hunter.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Staines nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Here’s the note.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He handed the typewritten slip across to his -subordinate, and Michael read:</p> - -<div class='blockquote'> - -<p class='pindent'>“You will find a box in the hedge by the -railway arch at Esher.</p> - -<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:2em;'>“<span class='sc'>The Head-Hunter.</span>”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='pindent'>“The Head-Hunter!” repeated Michael -mechanically, and whistled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We found the box, and of course we found -the unfortunate Elmer’s head, sliced neatly -from his body,” said Staines. “This is the -twelfth head in seven years,” Staines went on, -“and in almost every case—in fact, in every -case except two—the victim has been a fugitive -from justice. Even if the treaty question had -not been settled, Mike, I should have brought -you back.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But this is a police job,” said the young -man, troubled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Technically you’re a policeman,” interrupted -his chief, “and the Foreign Secretary -wishes you to take this case in hand, and he -does this with the full approval of the Secretary -of State, who of course controls Scotland Yard. -So far, the death of Francis Elmer and the -discovery of his gruesome remains have not -been given out to the press. There was such a -fuss last time that the police want to keep this -quiet. They have had an inquest—I guess the -jury was picked, but it would be high treason -to say so—and the usual verdict has been -returned. The only information I can give you -is that Elmer was seen by his niece a week ago -in Chichester. We discovered this before the -man’s fate was known. The girl, Adele Leamington, -is working for the Knebworth Film -Corporation, which has its studio in Chichester. -Old Knebworth is an American and a very good -sort. The girl is a sort of super-chorus-extra, -that’s the word——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael gasped.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Extra! I knew that infernal word would -turn up again. Go on, sir—what do you wish -me to do?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Go along and see her,” said the chief. -“Here is the address.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is there a Mrs. Elmer?” asked Michael as -he put the slip into his pocket.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The other nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, but she can throw no light upon the -murder. She, by the way, is the only person -who knows he is dead. She had not seen her -husband for a month, and apparently they had -been more or less separated for years. She -benefits considerably by his death, for he was -well insured in her favour.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael read again the gruesome note from -the Head-Hunter.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What is your theory about this?” he -asked curiously.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The general idea is that he is a lunatic -who feels called upon to mete out punishment -to defaulters. But the two exceptions disturb -that theory pretty considerably.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Staines lay back in his chair, a puzzled -frown on his face.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Take the case of Willitt. His head was -found on Clapham Common two years ago. -Willitt was a well-off man, the soul of honesty, -well liked, and he had a very big balance at -his bank. Crewling, the second exception, -who was one of the first of the Hunter’s -victims, was also above suspicion, though in -his case there is no doubt he was mentally -unbalanced a few weeks before his death.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The typewritten notification has invariably -been typed out on the same machine. In -every case you have the half-obliterated ‘u,’ the -faint ‘g,’ and the extraordinary alignment -which the experts are unanimous in ascribing to -a very old and out-of-date Kost machine. -Find the man who uses that typewriter and you -have probably found the murderer. But it is -very unlikely that he will ever be found that -way, for the police have published photographs -pointing out the peculiarities of type, and I -should imagine that Mr. Hunter does not use -this machine except to announce the demise of -his victims.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael Brixan went back to his flat, a little -more puzzled and a little more worried by his -unusual commission. He moved and had his -being in the world of high politics. The -finesses of diplomacy were his peculiar study, -and the normal abnormalities of humanity, the -thefts and murders and larcenies which occupied -the attention of the constabulary, did not come -into his purview.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Bill,” said he, addressing the small terrier -that lay on the hearth-rug before the fireless -grate of his sitting-room, “this is where I fall -down. But whether I do or not, I’m going to -meet an extra—ain’t that grand?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Bill wagged his tail agreeably.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch2'>CHAPTER II<br/> <span class='sub-head'>MR. SAMPSON LONGVALE CALLS</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Adele Leamington</span> waited till the studio was -almost empty before she came to where the -white-haired man sat crouched in his canvas -chair, his hands thrust into his trousers pockets, -a malignant scowl on his forehead.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was not a propitious moment to approach -him: nobody knew that better than she.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Knebworth, may I speak to you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He looked up slowly. Ordinarily he would -have risen, for this middle-aged American in -normal moments was the soul of courtesy. But -just at that moment, his respect for womanhood -was something below zero. His look was -blank, though the director in him instinctively -approved her values. She was pretty, with -regular features, a mop of brown hair in which -the sunshine of childhood still lingered. Her -mouth firm, delicately shaped, her figure slim—perfect -in many ways.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack had seen many beautiful extras in his -career, and had passed through stages of -enthusiasm and despair as he had seen them -translated to the screen—pretty wooden figures -without soul or expression, gauche of movement, -hopeless. Too pretty to be clever, too -conscious of their beauty to be natural. Dolls -without intelligence or initiative—just “extras” -who could wear clothes in a crowd, who could -smile and dance mechanically, fit for extras and -nothing else all the days of their lives.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well?” he asked brusquely.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is there a part I could play in this production, -Mr. Knebworth?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His shaven lips curled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Aren’t you playing a part, Miss—can’t -remember your name—Leamington, is it?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m certainly playing—I’m one of the -figures in the background,” she smiled. “I -don’t want a big part, but I’m sure I could do -better than I have done.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m mighty sure you couldn’t do worse than -some people,” he growled. “No, there’s no -part for you, friend. There’ll be no story to -shoot unless things alter. That’s what!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She was going away when he recalled her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Left a good home, I guess?” he said. -“Thought picture-making meant a million -dollars a year an’ a new automobile every -Thursday? Or maybe you were holding -down a good job as a stenographer and got it -under your toque that you’d make Hollywood -feel small if you got your chance? Go back -home, kid, and tell the old man that a typewriter’s -got a sunlight arc beaten to death as an -instrument of commerce.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The girl smiled faintly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I didn’t come into pictures because I -was stage-struck, if that is what you mean, -Mr. Knebworth. I came in knowing just how -hard a life it might be. I have no parents.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He looked up at her curiously.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“How do you live?” he asked. “There’s -no money in ‘extra’ work—not on this lot, -anyway. Might be if I was one of those -billion dollar directors who did pictures with -chariot races. But I don’t. My ideal picture -has got five characters.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I have a little income from my mother, -and I write,” said the girl.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She stopped as she saw him looking past -her to the studio entrance, and, turning her -head, saw a remarkable figure standing in the -doorway. At first she thought it was an actor -who had made up for a film test.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The newcomer was an old man, but his -great height and erect carriage would not have -conveyed that impression at a distance. The -tight-fitting tail-coat, the trousers strapped -to his boots, the high collar and black satin -stock belonged to a past age, though they were -newly made. The white linen bands that -showed at his wrists were goffered, his double-breasted -waistcoat of grey velvet was fastened -by golden buttons. He might have stepped -from a family portrait of one of those dandies -of the ’fifties. He held a tall hat in one gloved -hand, a hat with a curly brim, and in the -other a gold-topped walking-stick. The face, -deeply lined, was benevolent and kind, and he -seemed unconscious of his complete baldness.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth was out of his chair in a -second and walked toward the stranger.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, Mr. Longvale, I am glad to see you—did -you get my letter? I can’t tell you how -much obliged I am to you for the loan of your -house.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Sampson Longvale, of the Dower House! -She remembered now. He was known in -Chichester as “the old-fashioned gentleman,” -and once, when she was out on location, somebody -had pointed out the big, rambling house, -with its weed-grown garden and crumbling -walls, where he lived.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I thought I would come over and see you,” -said the big man.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His voice was rich and beautifully modulated. -She did not remember having heard -a voice quite as sweet, and she looked at the -eccentric figure with a new interest.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I can only hope that the house and grounds -are suitable to your requirements. I am -afraid they are in sad disorder, but I cannot -afford to keep the estate in the same condition -as my grandfather did.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Just what I want, Mr. Longvale. I was -afraid you might be offended when I told -you——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The old gentleman interrupted him with a -soft laugh.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, no, I wasn’t offended, I was amused. -You needed a haunted house: I could even -supply that quality, though I will not promise -you that my family ghost will walk. The -Dower House has been haunted for hundreds -of years. A former occupant in a fit of frenzy -murdered his daughter there, and the unhappy -lady is supposed to walk. I have never seen -her, though many years ago one of my servants -did. Fortunately, I am relieved of that form -of annoyance: I no longer keep servants in the -house,” he smiled, “though, if you care to -stay the night, I shall be honoured to -entertain five or six of your company.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Knebworth heaved a sigh of relief. He had -made diligent inquiries and found that it was -almost impossible to secure lodgings in the -neighbourhood, and he was most anxious to -take night pictures, and for one scene he -particularly desired the peculiar light value -which he could only obtain in the early hours -of the morning.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m afraid that would give you a lot of -trouble, Mr. Longvale,” he said. “And here -and now I think we might discuss that delicate -subject of——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The old man stopped him with a gesture.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If you are going to speak of money, please -don’t,” he said firmly. “I am interested in -cinematography; in fact, I am interested in -most modern things. We old men are usually -prone to decry modernity, but I find my chiefest -pleasure in the study of those scientific wonders -which this new age has revealed to us.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He looked at the director quizzically.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Some day you shall take a picture of me in -the one rôle in which I think I should have -no peer—a picture of me in the rôle of my -illustrious ancestor.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth stared, half amused, half -startled. It was no unusual experience to -find people who wished to see themselves -on the screen, but he never expected that -little piece of vanity from Mr. Sampson Longvale.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I should be glad,” he said formally. -“Your people were pretty well known, I -guess?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Longvale sighed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It is my regret that I do not come from the -direct line that included Charles Henry, the -most historic member of my family. He was -my great-uncle. I come from the Bordeaux -branch of Longvales, which has made history, -sir.” He shook his head regretfully.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Are you French, Mr. Longvale?” asked -Jack.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Apparently the old man did not hear him. -He was staring into space. Then, with a -start:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, yes, we were French. My great-grandfather -married an English lady whom he -met in peculiar circumstances. We came to -England in the days of the directorate.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Then, for the first time, he seemed aware of -Adele’s presence, and bowed toward her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I think I must go,” he said, taking a huge -gold watch from his fob pocket.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The girl watched them as they passed out -of the hall, and presently she saw the “old-fashioned -gentleman” pass the window, driving -the oldest-fashioned car she had ever seen. -It must have been one of the first motor-cars -ever introduced into the country, a great, -upstanding, cumbersome machine, that passed -with a thunderous sound and at no great speed -down the gravel drive out of sight.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Presently Jack Knebworth came slowly -back.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“This craze for being screened certainly -gets ’em—old or young,” he said. “Good -night, Miss—forget your name—Leamington, -ain’t it? Good night.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She was half-way home before she realized -that the conversation that she had plucked up -such courage to initiate had ended unsatisfactorily -for her, and she was as far away from -her small part as ever.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch3'>CHAPTER III<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE NIECE</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Adele Leamington</span> occupied a small room in -a small house, and there were moments when -she wished it were smaller, that she might be -justified in plucking up her courage to ask -from the stout and unbending Mrs. Watson, -her landlady, a reduction of rent. The extras -on Jack Knebworth’s lot were well paid but -infrequently employed; for Jack was one of -those clever directors who specialized in -domestic stories.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She was dressing when Mrs. Watson brought -in her morning cup of tea.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There’s a young fellow been hanging round -outside since I got up,” said Mrs. Watson. -“I saw him when I took in the milk. Very -polite he was, but I told him you weren’t -awake.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did he want to see me?” asked the -astonished girl.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s what he said,” said Mrs. Watson -grimly. “I asked him if he came from -Knebworth, and he said no. If you want to -see him, you can have the use of the parlour, -though I don’t like young men calling on young -girls. I’ve never let theatrical lodgings before, -and you can’t be too careful. I’ve always -had a name for respectability and I want to -keep it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Adele smiled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I cannot imagine anything more respectable -than an early morning caller, Mrs. Watson,” -she said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She went downstairs and opened the door. -The young man was standing on the side-walk -with his back to her, but at the sound of the -door opening he turned. He was good-looking -and well-dressed, and his smile was quick and -appealing.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I hope your landlady did not bother to -wake you up? I could have waited. You are -Miss Adele Leamington, aren’t you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Will you come in, please?” she asked, and -took him into the stuffy little front parlour, and, -closing the door behind her, waited.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am a reporter,” he said untruthfully, and -her face fell.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’ve come about Uncle Francis? Is -anything really wrong? They sent a detective -to see me a week ago. Have they found him?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, they haven’t found him,” he said -carefully. “You knew him very well, of -course, Miss Leamington?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She shook her head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, I have only seen him twice in my life. -My dear father and he quarrelled before I was -born, and I only saw him once after daddy -died, and once before mother was taken with -her fatal illness.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She heard him sigh, and sensed his relief, -though why he should be relieved that her -uncle was almost a stranger to her, she could -not fathom.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You saw him at Chichester, though?” he -said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, I saw him. I was on my way to -Goodwood Park—a whole party of us in a -char-à-banc—and I saw him for a moment -walking along the side-walk. He looked -desperately ill and worried. He was just -coming out of a stationer’s shop when I saw -him; he had a newspaper under his arm and -a letter in his hand.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where was the store?” he asked quickly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She gave him the address, and he jotted it -down.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You didn’t see him again?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She shook her head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is anything really very badly wrong?” she -asked anxiously. “I’ve often heard mother -say that Uncle Francis was very extravagant, -and a little unscrupulous. Has he been in -trouble?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes,” admitted Michael, “he has been in -trouble, but nothing that you need worry about. -You’re a great film actress, aren’t you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In spite of her anxiety she laughed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The only chance I have of being a great -film actress is for you to say so in your paper.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My what?” he asked, momentarily puzzled. -“Oh yes, my newspaper, of course!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t believe you’re a reporter at all,” -she said with sudden suspicion.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Indeed I am,” he said glibly, and dared to -pronounce the name of that widely-circulated -sheet upon which the sun seldom sets.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Though I’m not a great actress, and fear -I never shall be, I like to believe it is because -I’ve never had a chance—I’ve a horrible -suspicion that Mr. Knebworth knows instinctively -that I am no good.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mike Brixan had found a new interest in the -case, an interest which, he was honest enough -to confess to himself, was not dissociated from -the niece of Francis Elmer. He had never -met anybody quite so pretty and quite so -unsophisticated and natural.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re going to the studio, I suppose?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I wonder if Mr. Knebworth would mind -my calling to see you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She hesitated.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Knebworth doesn’t like callers.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then maybe I’ll call on him,” said Michael, -nodding. “It doesn’t matter whom I call on, -does it?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It certainly doesn’t matter to me,” said the -girl coldly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“In the vulgar language of the masses,” -thought Mike as he strode down the street, “I -have had the bird!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His inquiries did not occupy very much of his -time. He found the little news shop, and the -proprietor, by good fortune, remembered the -coming of Mr. Francis Elmer.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He came for a letter, though it wasn’t -addressed to Elmer,” said the shopkeeper. -“A lot of people have their letters addressed -here. I make a little extra money that way.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did he buy a newspaper?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, sir, he did not buy a newspaper; -he had one under his arm—the <span class='it'>Morning -Telegram</span>. I remember that, because I -noticed that he’d put a blue pencil mark -round one of the agony advertisements on the -front page, and I was wondering what it was -all about. I kept a copy of that day’s -<span class='it'>Morning Telegram</span>: I’ve got it now.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He went into the little parlour at the back -of the shop and returned with a dingy newspaper, -which he laid on the counter.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There are six there, but I don’t know which -one it was.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael examined the agony advertisements. -There was one frantic message from a mother -to her son, asking him to return and saying -that “all would be forgiven.” There was a -cryptogram message, which he had not time to -decipher. A third, which was obviously the -notice of an assignation. The fourth was a -thinly veiled advertisement for a new hair-waver, -and at the fifth he stopped. It ran:</p> - -<div class='literal-container' style=''><div class='literal'> <!-- rend=';' --> -<p class='line'>“Troubled. Final directions at address I</p> -<p class='line'>gave you. Courage. Benefactor.”</p> -</div></div> <!-- end rend --> - -<p class='pindent'>“Some ‘benefactor,’ ” said Mike Brixan. -“What was he like—the man who called? -Was he worried?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, sir: he looked upset—all distracted -like. He seemed like a chap who’d lost his -head.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That seems a fair description,” said Mike.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch4'>CHAPTER IV<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE LEADING LADY</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>In</span> the studio of the Knebworth Picture -Corporation the company had been waiting in -its street clothes for the greater part of an hour.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth sat in his conventional -attitude, huddled up in his canvas chair, -fingering his long chin and glaring from time -to time at the clock above the studio manager’s -office.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was eleven when Stella Mendoza flounced -in, bringing with her the fragrance of wood -violets and a small, unhappy Peke.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Do you work to summer-time?” asked -Knebworth slowly. “Or maybe you thought -the call was for afternoon? You’ve kept fifty -people waiting, Stella.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I can’t help their troubles,” she said with -a shrug of shoulder. “You told me you were -going on location, and naturally I didn’t -expect there would be any hurry. I had to -pack my things.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Naturally you didn’t think there was any -hurry!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth reckoned to have three -fights a year. This was the third. The first -had been with Stella, and the second had been -with Stella, and the third was certainly to be -with Stella.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I wanted you to be here at ten. I’ve had -these boys and girls waiting since a quarter of -ten.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What do you want to shoot?” she asked -with an impatient jerk of her head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You mostly,” said Jack slowly. “Get into -No. 9 outfit and don’t forget to leave your pearl -ear-rings off. You’re supposed to be a half-starved -chorus girl. We’re shooting at Griff -Towers, and I told the gentleman who lent us -the use of the house that I’d be through the -day work by three. If you were Pauline -Frederick or Norma Talmadge or Lillie Gish, -you’d be worth waiting for, but Stella Mendoza -has got to be on this lot by ten—and don’t -forget it!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Old Jack Knebworth got up from his canvas -chair and began to put on his coat with -ominous deliberation, the flushed and angry -girl watching him, her dark eyes blazing with -injured pride and hurt vanity.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Stella had once been plain Maggie Stubbs, -the daughter of a Midland grocer, and old -Jack had talked to her as if she were still -Maggie Stubbs and not the great film star of -coruscating brilliance, idol (or her press agent -lied) of the screen fans of all the world.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“All right, if you want a fuss you can have -it, Knebworth. I’m going to quit—now! -I think I know what is due to my position. -That part’s got to be rewritten to give me -a chance of putting my personality over. -There’s too much leading man in it, anyway. -People don’t pay real money to see men. -You don’t treat me fair, Knebworth: I’m -temperamental, I admit it. You can’t expect -a woman of my kind to be a block of wood.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The only thing about you that’s a block -of wood is your head, Stella,” grunted the -producer, and went on, oblivious to the rising -fury expressed in the girl’s face. “You’ve had -two years playing small parts in Hollywood, -and you’ve brought nothing back to England -but a line of fresh talk, and you could have -gotten that out of the Sunday supplements! -Temperament! That’s a word that means -doctors’ certificates when a picture’s half taken, -and a long rest unless your salary’s put up fifty -per cent. Thank God this picture isn’t a -quarter taken or an eighth. Quit, you mean-spirited -guttersnipe—and quit as soon as you -darn please!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Boiling with rage, her lips quivering so that -she could not articulate, the girl turned and -flung out of the studio.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>White-haired Jack Knebworth glared round -at the silent company.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“This is where the miracle happens,” he -said sardonically. “This is where the extra -girl who’s left a sick mother and a mortgage at -home leaps to fame in a night. If you don’t -know that kinder thing happens on every lot -in Hollywood you’re no students of fiction. -Stand forth, Mary Pickford the second!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The extras smiled, some amused, some -uncomfortable, but none spoke. Adele was -frozen stiff, incapable of speech.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Modesty don’t belong to this industry,” -old Jack sneered amiably. “Who thinks she -can play ‘Roselle’ in this piece—because an -extra’s going to play the part, believe me! -I’m going to show this pseudo-actress that there -isn’t an extra on this lot that couldn’t play her -head off. Somebody talked about playing a -part yesterday—you!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His forefinger pointed to Adele, and with a -heart that beat tumultuously she went toward -him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I had a camera test of you six months ago,” -said Jack suspiciously. “There was something -wrong with her: what was it?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He turned to his assistant. That young -man scratched his head in an effort of memory.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ankles?” he hazarded a guess at random—a -safe guess, for Knebworth had views about -ankles.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Nothing wrong with them—get out the -print and let us see it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Ten minutes later, Adele sat by the old -man’s side in the little projection room and saw -her “test” run through.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Hair!” said Knebworth triumphantly. “I -knew there was something. Don’t like bobbed -hair. Makes a girl too pert and sophisticated. -You’ve grown it?” he added as the lights were -switched on.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, Mr. Knebworth.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He looked at her in dispassionate admiration.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’ll do,” he said reluctantly. “See the -wardrobe and get Miss Mendoza’s costumes. -There’s one thing I’d like to tell you before you -go,” he said, stopping her. “You may be -good and you may be bad, but, good or bad, -there’s no future for you—so don’t get heated -up. The only woman who’s got any chance in -England is the producer’s wife, and I’ll never -marry you if you go down on your knees to me! -That’s the only kind of star they know in -English films—the producer’s wife; and unless -you’re that, you haven’t——!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He snapped his finger.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll give you a word of advice, kid. If you -make good in this picture, link yourself up with -one of those cute English directors that set -three flats and a pot of palms and call it -a drawing-room! Give Miss What’s-her-name -the script, Harry. Say—go out somewhere -quiet and study it, will you? Harry, you see -the wardrobe. I give you half an hour to read -that script!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Like one in a dream, the girl walked out -into the shady garden that ran the length of -the studio building, and sat down, trying -to concentrate on the typewritten lines. It -wasn’t true—it could not be true! And then -she heard the crunch of feet on gravel and -looked up in alarm. It was the young man -who had seen her that morning—Michael -Brixan.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, please—you mustn’t interrupt me!” -she begged in agitation. “I’ve got a part—a -big part to read.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Her distress was so real that he hastened to -take his departure.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m awfully sorry——” he began.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In her confusion she had dropped the loose -sheets of the manuscript, and, stooping with her -to pick them up, their heads bumped.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sorry—that’s an old comedy situation, isn’t -it?” he began.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And then he saw the sheet of paper in his -hand and began to read. It was a page of -elaborate description of a scene.</p> - -<div class='blockquote'> - -<p class='pindent'>“The cell is large, lighted by a swinging -lamp. In centre is a steel gate through which -a soldier on guard is seen pacing to and -fro——”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='pindent'>“Good God!” said Michael, and went -white.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The “u’s” in the type were blurred, the -“g” was indistinct. The page had been -typed on the machine from which the Head-Hunter -sent forth his gruesome tales of death.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch5'>CHAPTER V<br/> <span class='sub-head'>MR. LAWLEY FOSS</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>“What</span> is wrong?” asked Adele, seeing the -young man’s grave face.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where did this come from?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He showed her the sheet of typewritten -script.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t know: it was with the other sheets. -I knew, of course, that it didn’t belong to -‘Roselle.’ ”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is that the play you’re acting in?” he -asked quickly. And then: “Who would -know?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Knebworth.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where shall I find him?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You go through that door,” she said, “and -you will find him on the studio floor.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Without a word, he walked quickly into the -building. Instinctively he knew which of -the party was the man he sought. Jack -Knebworth looked up under lowering brows at -the sight of the stranger, for he was a stickler -for privacy in business hours; but before he -could demand an explanation, Michael was up -to him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Are you Mr. Knebworth?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I surely am,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“May I speak to you for two minutes?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I can’t speak to anybody for one minute,” -growled Jack. “Who are you, anyway, and -who let you in?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am a detective from the Foreign Office,” -said Michael, lowering his voice, and Jack’s -manner changed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Anything wrong?” he asked, as he -accompanied the detective into his sanctum.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack laid down the sheet of paper with its -typed characters on the table.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who wrote that?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth looked at the manuscript -and shook his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve never seen it before. What is it all -about?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’ve never seen this manuscript at all?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, I’ll swear to that, but I dare say my -scenario man will know all about it. I’ll send -for him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He touched a bell, and, to the clerk who -came:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ask Mr. Lawley Foss to come quickly,” -he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The reading of books, plots and material -for picture plays is entirely in the hands of my -scenario manager,” he said. “I never see -a manuscript until he considers it’s worth -producing; and even then, of course, the -picture isn’t always made. If the story -happens to be a bad one, I don’t see it at all. -I’m not so sure that I haven’t lost some good -stories, because Foss”—he hesitated a second—“well, -he and I don’t see exactly eye to -eye. Now, Mr. Brixan, what is the trouble?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In a few words Michael explained the grave -significance of the typewritten sheet.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The Head-Hunter!” Jack whistled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There came a knock at the door, and -Lawley Foss slipped into the room. He was -a thinnish man, dark and saturnine of face, -shifty of eye. His face was heavily lined as -though he suffered from some chronic disease. -But the real disease which preyed on Lawley -Foss was the bitterness of mind that comes to -a man at war with the world. There had been -a time in his early life when he thought that -same world was at his feet. He had written -two plays that had been produced and had run -a few nights. Thereafter, he had trudged -from theatre to theatre in vain, for the -taint of failure was on him, and no manager -would so much as open the brown-covered -manuscripts he brought to them. Like many -another man, he had sought easy ways to -wealth, but the Stock Exchange and the race -track had impoverished him still further.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He glanced suspiciously at Michael as he -entered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I want to see you, Foss, about a sheet of -script that’s got amongst the ‘Roselle’ script,” -said Jack Knebworth. “May I tell Mr. Foss -what you have told me?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael hesitated for a second. Some -cautioning voice warned him to keep the -question of the Head-Hunter a secret. -Against his better judgment he nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Lawley Foss listened with an expressionless -face whilst the old director explained the -significance of the interpolated sheet, then he -took the page from Jack Knebworth’s hand -and examined it. Not by a twitch of his face -or a droop of his eyelid did he betray his -thoughts.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I get a lot of stuff in,” he said, “and I -can’t immediately place this particular play; -but if you’ll let me take it to my office, I will -look up my books.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Again Michael considered. He did not -wish that piece of evidence to pass out of his -hands; and yet without confirmation and -examination, it was fairly valueless. He -reluctantly agreed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What do you make of that fellow?” asked -Jack Knebworth when the door had closed -upon the writer.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t like him,” said Michael bluntly. -“In fact, my first impressions are distinctly -unfavourable, though I am probably doing the -poor gentleman a very great injustice.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth sighed. Foss was one of -his biggest troubles, sometimes bulking larger -than the temperamental Mendoza.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He certainly is a queer chap,” he said, -“though he’s diabolically clever. I never -knew a man who could take a plot and -twist it as Lawley Foss can—but he’s—difficult.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I should imagine so,” said Michael dryly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They passed out into the studio, and -Michael sought the troubled girl to explain his -crudeness. There were tears of vexation in -her eyes when he approached her, for his -startling disappearance with a page of the -script had put all thoughts of the play from -her mind.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am sorry,” he said penitently. “I -almost wish I hadn’t come.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And I quite wish it,” she said, smiling in -spite of herself. “What was the matter with -that page you took—you <span class='it'>are</span> a detective, aren’t -you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I admit it,” said Michael recklessly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did you speak the truth when you said -that my uncle——” she stopped, at a loss for -words.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, I did not,” replied Michael quietly. -“You uncle is dead, Miss Leamington.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Dead!” she gasped.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He was murdered, in extraordinary -circumstances.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Suddenly her face went white.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He wasn’t the man whose head was found -at Esher?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“How did you know?” he asked sharply.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It was in this morning’s newspaper,” she -said, and inwardly he cursed the sleuth-hound -of a reporter who had got on to the track of -this latest tragedy.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She had to know sooner or later: he satisfied -himself with that thought.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The return of Foss relieved him of further -explanations. The man spoke for a while with -Jack Knebworth in a low voice, and then the -director beckoned Michael across.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Foss can’t trace this manuscript,” he said, -handing back the sheet. “It may have been -a sample page sent in by a contributor, or it -may have been a legacy from our predecessors. -I took over a whole lot of manuscript with -the studio from a bankrupt production -company.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He looked impatiently at his watch.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now, Mr. Brixan, if it’s possible I should -be glad if you would excuse me. I’ve got -some scenes to shoot ten miles away, with a -leading lady from whose little head you’ve -scared every idea that will be of the slightest -value to me.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael acted upon an impulse.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Would you mind my coming out with you -to shoot—that means to photograph, doesn’t -it? I promise you I won’t be in the way.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Old Jack nodded curtly, and ten minutes -later Michael Brixan was sitting side by side -with the girl in a char-à-banc which was carrying -them to the location. That he should be -riding with the artistes at all was a tribute to -his nerve rather than to his modesty.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch6'>CHAPTER VI<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE MASTER OF GRIFF</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Adele</span> did not speak to him for a long time. -Resentment that he should force his company -upon her, and nervousness at the coming -ordeal—a nervousness which became sheer -panic as they grew nearer and nearer to their -destination—made conversation impossible.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I see your Mr. Lawley Foss is with us,” -said Michael, glancing over his shoulder, and -by way of making conversation.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He always goes on location,” she said -shortly. “A story has sometimes to be -amended while it’s being shot.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where are we going now?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Griff Towers first,” she replied. She -found it difficult to be uncivil to anybody. -“It is a big place owned by Sir Gregory -Penne.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But I thought we were going to the Dower -House?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She looked at him with a little frown.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why did you ask if you knew?” she -demanded, almost in a tone of asperity.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Because I like to hear you speak,” said -the young man calmly. “Sir Gregory Penne? -I seem to know the name.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She did not answer.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He was in Borneo for many years, wasn’t -he?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s hateful,” she said vehemently. “I -detest him!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She did not explain the cause of her -detestation, and Michael thought it discreet -not to press the question, but presently she -relieved him of responsibility.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve been to his house twice. He has a -very fine garden, which Mr. Knebworth has -used before—of course, I only went as an -extra and was very much in the background. -I wish I had been more so. He has queer -ideas about women, and especially actresses—not -that I’m an actress,” she added hastily, -“but I mean people who play for a living. -Thank heaven there’s only one scene to be -shot at Griff, and perhaps he will not be at -home, but that’s unlikely. He’s always there -when I go.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael glanced at her out of the corner of -his eye. His first impression of her beauty -was more than confirmed. There was a -certain wistfulness in her face which was very -appealing; an honesty in the dark eyes that -told him all he wanted to know about her -attitude toward the admiration of the unknown -Sir Gregory.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s queer how all baronets are villains in -stories,” he said, “and queerer still that most -of the baronets I’ve known have been men of -singular morals. I’m bothering you, being -here, aren’t I?” he asked, dropping his tone -of banter.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She looked round at him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You are a little,” she said frankly. “You -see, Mr. Brixan, this is my big chance. It’s -a chance that really never comes to an extra -except in stories, and I’m frightened to death -of what is going to happen. You make me -nervous, but what makes me more panic-stricken -is that the first scene is to be shot at -Griff. I hate it, I hate it!” she said almost -savagely. “That big, hard-looking house, -with its hideous stuffed tigers and its awful -looking swords——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Swords?” he asked quickly. “What do -you mean?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The walls are covered with them—Eastern -swords. They make me shiver to -see them. But Sir Gregory takes a delight in -them: he told Mr. Knebworth, the last time -we were there, that the swords were as sharp -now as they were when they came from the -hands of their makers, and some of them were -three hundred years old. He’s an extraordinary -man: he can cut an apple in half on -your hand and never so much as scratch you. -That is one of his favourite stunts—do you -know what ‘stunt’ means?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I seem to have heard the expression,” said -Michael absently.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There is the house,” she pointed. “Ugh! -It makes me shiver.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Griff Towers was one of those bleak looking -buildings that it had been the delight of the -early Victorian architects to erect. Its one -grey tower, placed on the left wing, gave it -a lopsided appearance, but even this distortion -did not distract attention from its rectangular -unloveliness. The place seemed all the more -bare, since the walls were innocent of greenery, -and it stood starkly in the midst of a yellow -expanse of gravel.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Looks almost like a barracks,” said -Michael, “with a parade ground in front!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They passed through the lodge gates, and -the char-à-banc stopped half-way up the drive. -The gardens apparently were in the rear of -the building, and certainly there was nothing -that would attract the most careless of -directors in its uninteresting façade.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael got down from his seat and found -Jack Knebworth already superintending the -unloading of a camera and reflectors. -Behind the char-à-banc came the big dynamo -lorry, with three sun arcs that were to enhance -the value of daylight.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, you’re here, are you?” growled Jack. -“Now you’ll oblige me, Mr. Brixan, by not -getting in the way? I’ve got a hard morning’s -work ahead of me.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I want you to take me on as a—what is -the word?—extra,” said Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The old man frowned at him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Say, what’s the great idea?” he asked -suspiciously.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I have an excellent reason, and I promise -you that nothing I do will in any way -embarrass you. The truth is, Mr. Knebworth, -I want to be around for the remainder of the -day, and I need an excuse.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth bit his lip, scratched his -long chin, scowled, and then:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“All right,” he said gruffly. “Maybe -you’ll come in handy, though I’ll have quite -enough bother directing one amateur, and if -you get into the pictures on this trip you’re -going to be lucky!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was a man of the party, a tall young -man whose hair was brushed back from his -forehead, and was so tidy and well arranged -that it seemed as if it had originally been -stuck by glue and varnished over. A tall, -somewhat good-looking boy, who had sat on -Adele’s left throughout the journey and had -not spoken once, he raised his eyebrows at -the appearance of Michael, and, strolling -across to the harassed Knebworth, his hands -in his pockets, he asked with a hurt air:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I say, Mr. Knebworth, who is this -johnny?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Which johnny?” growled old Jack. -“You mean Brixan? He’s an extra.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, an extra, is he?” said the young man. -“I say, it’s pretty desperately awful when -extras hobnob with principals! And this -Leamington girl—she’s simply going to mess -up the pictures, she is, by Jove!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is she, by Jove?” snarled Knebworth. -“Now see here, Mr. Connolly, I ain’t so much -in love with your work that I’m willing to -admit in advance that even an extra is going -to mess up this picture.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve never played opposite to an extra in -my life, dash it all!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then you must have felt lonely,” grunted -Jack, busy with his unpacking.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now, Mendoza is an artiste——” began -the youthful leading man, and Jack Knebworth -straightened his back.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Get over there till you’re wanted, you!” -he roared. “When I need advice from pretty -boys, I’ll come to you—see? For the moment -you’re <span class='it'>de trop</span>, which is a French expression -meaning that you’re standing on ground there’s -a better use for.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The disgruntled Reggie Connolly strolled -away with a shrug of his thin shoulders, which -indicated not only his conviction that the picture -would fail, but that the responsibility was everywhere -but under his hat.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>From the big doorway of Griff Towers, Sir -Gregory Penne was watching the assembly of -the company. He was a thick-set man, and the -sun of Borneo and an unrestricted appetite had -dyed his skin a colour which was between purple -and brown. His face was covered with innumerable -ridges, his eyes looked forth upon -the world through two narrow slits. The -rounded feminine chin seemed to be the only -part of his face that sunshine and stronger -stimulants had left in its natural condition.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael watched him as he strolled down the -slope to where they were standing, guessing his -identity. He wore a golf suit of a loud check -in which red predominated, and a big cap -of the same material was pulled down over -his eyes. Taking the stub of a cigar from -his teeth, with a quick and characteristic -gesture he wiped his scanty moustache on -his knuckles.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Good morning, Knebworth,” he called.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His voice was harsh and cruel; a voice that -had never been mellowed by laughter or made -soft by the tendernesses of humanity.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Good morning, Sir Gregory.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Old Knebworth disentangled himself from -his company.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sorry I’m late.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t apologize,” said the other. “Only -I thought you were going to shoot earlier. -Brought my little girl, eh?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Your little girl?” Jack looked at him, -frankly nonplussed. “You mean Mendoza? -No, she’s not coming.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t mean Mendoza, if that’s the dark -girl. Never mind: I was only joking.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Who the blazes was his little girl, thought -Jack, who was ignorant of two unhappy experiences -which an unconsidered extra girl had had -on previous visits. The mystery, however, -was soon cleared up, for the baronet walked -slowly to where Adele Leamington was making -a pretence of studying her script.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Good morning, little lady,” he said, -lifting his cap an eighth of an inch from his -head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Good morning, Sir Gregory,” she said -coldly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You didn’t keep your promise.” He shook -his head waggishly. “Oh, woman, woman!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t remember having made a promise,” -said the girl quietly. “You asked me to come -to dinner with you, and I told you that that was -impossible.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I promised to send my car for you. Don’t -say it was too far away. Never mind, never -mind.” And, to Michael’s wrath, he squeezed -the girl’s arm in a manner which was intended -to be paternal, but which filled the girl with -indignant loathing.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She wrenched her arm free, and, turning her -back upon her tormentor, almost flew to Jack -Knebworth with an incoherent demand for -information on the reading of a line which was -perfectly simple.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Old Jack was no fool. He watched the play -from under his eyelids, recognizing all the -symptoms.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“This is the last time we shall shoot at Griff -Towers,” he told himself.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>For Jack Knebworth was something of a -stickler on behaviour, and had views on women -which were diametrically opposite to those held -by Sir Gregory Penne.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch7'>CHAPTER VII<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE SWORDS AND BHAG</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>The</span> little party moved away, leaving Michael -alone with the baronet. For a period, Gregory -Penne watched the girl, his eyes glittering; -then he became aware of Michael’s presence and -turned a cold, insolent stare upon the other.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What are you?” he asked, looking the -detective up and down.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m an extra,” said Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“An extra, eh? Sort of chorus boy? Put -paint and powder on your face and all that sort -of thing? What a life for a man!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There are worse,” said Michael, holding -his antagonism in check.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Do you know that little girl—what’s her -name, Leamington?” asked the baronet -suddenly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I know her extremely well,” said Michael -untruthfully.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, you do, eh?” said the master of Griff -Towers with sudden amiability. “She’s a nice -little thing. Quite a cut above the ordinary -chorus girl. You might bring her along to -dinner one night. She’d come with you, -eh?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The contortions of the puffy eyelids suggested -to Michael that the man had winked. There -was something about this gross figure that -interested the scientist in Michael Brixan. He -was elemental; an animal invested with a brain; -and yet he must be something more than that -if he had held a high administrative position -under Government.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Are you acting? If you’re not, you can -come up and have a look at my swords,” said -the man suddenly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael guessed that, for a reason of his -own, probably because of his claim to be -Adele’s friend, the man wished to cultivate the -acquaintance.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, I’m not acting,” replied Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And no invitation could have given him -greater pleasure. Did their owner realize the -fact, Michael Brixan had already made up his -mind not to leave Griff Towers until he had -inspected that peculiar collection.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, she’s a nice little girl.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Penne returned to the subject immediately as -they paced up the slope toward the house.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“As I say, a cut above chorus girls. Young, -unsophisticated, virginal! You can have your -sophisticated girls: there is no mystery to ’em! -They revolt me. A girl should be like a spring -flower. Give me the violet and the snowdrop: -you can have a bushel of cabbage roses for one -petal of the shy dears of the forest.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael listened with a keen sense of nausea, -and yet with an unusual interest, as the man -rambled on. He said things which were -sickening, monstrous. There were moments -when Brixan found it difficult to keep his hands -off the obscene figure that paced at his side; -and only by adopting toward him the attitude -with which the enthusiastic naturalist employs -in his dealings with snakes, was he able to get -a grip of himself.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The big entrance hall into which he was -ushered was paved with earthen tiles, and, looking -up at the stone walls, Michael had his first -glimpse of the famous swords.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There were hundreds of them—poniards, -scimitars, ancient swords of Japan, basket-hilted -hangers, two-handed swords that had -felt the grip of long-dead Crusaders.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What do you think of ’em, eh?” Sir -Gregory Penne spoke with the pride of an -enthusiastic collector. “There isn’t one of -them that could be duplicated, my boy; and -they’re only the rag, tag and bobtail of my -collection.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He led his visitor along a broad corridor, -lighted by square windows set at intervals, and -here again the walls were covered with shining -weapons. Throwing open a door, Sir Gregory -ushered the other into a large room which was -evidently his library, though the books were -few, and, so far as Michael could see at -first glance, the conventional volumes that -are to be found in the houses of the country -gentry.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Over the mantelshelf were two great swords -of a pattern which Michael did not remember -having seen before.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What do you think of those?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Penne lifted one from the silver hook which -supported it, and drew it from its scabbard.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t feel the edge unless you want to cut -yourself. This would split a hair, but it would -also cut you in two, and you would never know -what had happened till you fell apart!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Suddenly his manner changed, and he almost -snatched the sword from Michael’s hand, -and, putting it back in its sheath, he hung -it up.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That is a Sumatran sword, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It comes from Borneo,” said the baronet -shortly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The home of the head-hunters.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Sir Gregory looked round, his brows lowered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No,” he said, “it comes from Dutch -Borneo.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Evidently there was something about this -weapon which aroused unpleasant memories. -He glowered for a long time in silence into the -little fire that was burning on the hearth.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I killed the man who owned that,” he said -at last, and it struck Michael that he was speaking -more to himself than to his visitor. “At -least, I hope I killed him. I hope so!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He glanced round, and Michael Brixan -could have sworn there was apprehension in his -eyes.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sit down, What’s-your-name,” he commanded, -pointing to a low settee. “We’ll have -a drink.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He pushed a bell, and, to Michael’s astonishment, -the summons was answered by an under-sized -native, a little copper-coloured man, naked -to the waist. Gregory gave an order in a -language which was unintelligible to Michael—he -guessed, by its sibilants, it was Malayan—and -the servant, with a quick salaam, disappeared, -and came back almost instantly with -a tray containing a large decanter and two thin -glasses.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I have no white servants—can’t stand ’em,” -said Penne, taking the contents of his glass at -a gulp. “I like servants who don’t steal and -don’t gossip. You can lick ’em if they misbehave, -and there’s no trouble. I got this -fellow last year in Sumatra, and he’s the best -butler I’ve had.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Do you go to Borneo every year?” asked -Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I go almost every year,” said the other. -“I’ve got a yacht: she’s lying at Southampton -now. If I didn’t get out of this cursed country -once a year, I’d go mad. There’s nothing here, -nothing! Have you ever met that dithering -old fool, Longvale? Knebworth said you were -going on to him—pompous old ass, who lives -in the past and dresses like an advertisement -for somebody’s whisky. Have another?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I haven’t finished this yet,” said Michael -with a smile, and his eyes went up to the sword -above the mantelpiece. “Have you had that -very long? It looks modern.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It isn’t,” snapped the other. “Modern! -It’s three hundred years old if it’s a day. I’ve -only had it a year.” Again he changed the -subject abruptly. “I like you, What’s-your-name. -I like people or I dislike them instantly. -You’re the sort of fellow who’d do well in the -East. I’ve made two millions there. The -East is full of wonder, full of unbelievable -things.” He screwed his head round and fixed -Michael with a glittering eye. “Full of good -servants,” he said slowly. “Would you like to -meet the perfect servant?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was something peculiar in his tone, and -Michael nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Would you like to see the slave who never -asks questions and never disobeys, who has no -love but love of me”—he thumped himself on -the chest—“no hate but for the people I hate—my -trusty—Bhag?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He rose, and, crossing to his table, turned a -little switch that Michael had noticed attached -to the side of the desk. As he did so, a part of -the panelled wall at the farther end of the room -swung open. For a second Michael saw nothing, -and then there emerged, blinking into the -daylight, a most sinister, a most terrifying -figure. And Michael Brixan had need for all -his self-control to check the exclamation that -rose to his lips.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch8'>CHAPTER VIII<br/> <span class='sub-head'>BHAG</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>It</span> was a great orang-outang. Crouched as it -was, gazing malignantly upon the visitor with -its bead-like eyes, it stood over six feet in -height. The hairy chest was enormous; the -arms that almost touched the floor were as thick -as an average man’s thigh. It wore, a pair of -workman’s dark blue overalls, held in place by -two straps that crossed the broad shoulders.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Bhag!” called Sir Gregory in a voice so -soft that Michael could not believe it was the -man’s own. “Come here.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The gigantic figure waddled across the room -to where they stood before the fireplace.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“This is a friend of mine, Bhag.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The great ape held out his hand, and for a -second Michael’s was held in its velvet palm. -This done, he lifted his paw to his nose and -sniffed loudly, the only sound he made.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Get me some cigars,” said Penne.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Immediately the ape walked to a cabinet, -pulled open a drawer, and brought out a box.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not those,” said Gregory. “The small -ones.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He spoke distinctly, as if he were articulating -to somebody who was deaf, and, without a -moment’s hesitation, the hideous Bhag replaced -the box and brought out another.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Pour me out a whisky and soda.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The ape obeyed. He did not spill a drop, -and when his owner said “Enough,” replaced -the stopper in the decanter and put it back.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Thank you, that will do, Bhag.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Without a sound the ape waddled back to the -open panelling and disappeared, and the door -closed behind him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, the thing is human,” said Michael in -an awe-stricken whisper.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Sir Gregory Penne chuckled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“More than human,” he said. “Bhag is my -shield against all trouble.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His eyes seemed to go instantly to the sword -above the mantelpiece.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where does he live?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s got a little apartment of his own, and -he keeps it clean. He feeds with the servants.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Good Lord!” gasped Michael, and the -other chuckled again at the surprise he had -aroused.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, he feeds with the servants. They’re -afraid of him, but they worship him: he’s a -sort of god to them, but they’re afraid of him. -Do you know what would have happened if I’d -said ‘This man is my enemy?’ ” He pointed -his stubby finger at Michael’s chest. “He -would have torn you limb from limb. You -wouldn’t have had a chance, Mr. What’s-your-name, -not a dog’s chance. And yet he can be -gentle—yes, he can be gentle.” He nodded. -“And cunning! He goes out almost every -night, and I’ve had no complaints from the -villagers. No sheep stolen, nobody frightened. -He just goes out and loafs around in the woods, -and doesn’t kill as much as a hen partridge.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“How long have you had him?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Eight or nine years,” said the baronet -carelessly, swallowing the whisky that the ape -had poured for him. “Now let’s go out and -see the actors and actresses. She’s a nice girl, -eh? You’re not forgetting you’re going to -bring her to dinner, are you? What is your -name?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Brixan,” said Michael. “Michael Brixan.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Sir Gregory grunted something.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll remember that—Brixan. I ought to -have told Bhag. He likes to know.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Would he have known me again, suppose -you had?” asked Michael, smiling.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Known you?” said the baronet contemptuously. -“He will not only know you, but he’ll -be able to trail you down. Notice him smelling -his hand? He was filing you for reference, my -boy. If I told him ‘Go along and take this -message to Brixan,’ he’d find you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When they reached the lovely gardens at the -back of the house, the first scene had been shot, -and there was a smile on Jack Knebworth’s face -which suggested that Adele’s misgivings had -not been justified. And so it proved.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That girl’s a peach,” Jack unbent to say. -“A natural born actress, built for this scene—it’s -almost too good to be true. What do you -want?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was Mr. Reggie Connolly, and he had the -obsession which is perpetual in every leading -man. He felt that sufficient opportunities had -not been offered to him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I say, Mr. Knebworth,” he said in a grieved -tone, “I’m not getting much of the fat in this -story! So far, there’s about thirty feet of me -in this picture. I say, that’s not right, you -know! If a johnny is being featured——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re not being featured,” said Jack -shortly. “And Mendoza’s chief complaint was -that there was too much of you in it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael looked round. Sir Gregory Penne -had strolled toward where the girl was standing, -and, in her state of elation, she had no -room in her heart even for resentment against -the man she so cordially detested.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Little girl, I want to speak to you before -you go,” he said, dropping his voice, and for -once she smiled at him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, you have a good opportunity now, -Sir Gregory,” she said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I want to tell you how sorry I am for what -happened the other day, and I respect you for -what you said, for a girl’s entitled to keep -her kisses for men she likes. Aren’t I -right?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Of course you’re right,” she said. “Please -don’t think any more about it, Sir Gregory.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’d no right to kiss you against your will, -especially when you’re in my house. Are you -going to forgive me?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I do forgive you,” she said, and would have -left him, but he caught her arm.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re coming to dinner, aren’t you?” He -jerked his head toward the watchful Michael. -“Your friend said he’d bring you along.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Which friend?” she asked, her eyebrows -raised. “You mean Mr. Brixan?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s the fellow. Why do you make -friends with that kind of man? Not that he -isn’t a decent fellow. I like him personally. -Will you come along to dinner?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m afraid I can’t,” she said, her old -aversion gaining ground.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Little girl,” he said earnestly, “there’s -nothing you couldn’t have from me. Why do -you want to trouble your pretty head about this -cheap play acting? I’ll give you a company of -your own if you want it, and the best car that -money can buy.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His eyes were like points of fire, and she -shivered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I have all I want, Sir Gregory,” she said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She was furious with Michael Brixan. How -dared he presume to accept an invitation on her -behalf? How dare he call himself her friend? -Her anger almost smothered her dislike for her -persecutor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You come over to-night—let him bring -you,” said Penne huskily. “I want you to-night—do -you hear? You’re staying at old -Longvale’s. You can easily slip out.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll do nothing of the kind. I don’t think -you know what you’re asking, Sir Gregory,” -she said quietly. “Whatever you mean, it is -an insult to me.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Turning abruptly, she left him. Michael -would have spoken to her, but she passed, her -head in the air, a look on her face which dismayed -him, though, after a moment’s consideration, -he could guess the cause.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When the various apparatus was packed, and -the company had taken their seats in the -char-à-banc, Michael observed that she had very -carefully placed herself between Jack Knebworth -and the sulking leading man, and wisely -himself chose a seat some distance from her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The car was about to start when Sir Gregory -came up to him, and, stepping on the running-board:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You said you’d get her over——” he began.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If I said that,” said Michael, “I must have -been drunk, and it takes more than one glass -of whisky to reduce me to that disgusting condition. -Miss Leamington is a free agent, and -she would be singularly ill-advised to dine alone -with you or any other man.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He expected an angry outburst, but, to his -surprise, the squat man only laughed and waved -him a pleasant farewell. Looking round as -the car turned from the lodge gates, Michael -saw him standing on the lawn, talking to a -man, and recognized Foss, who, for some -reason, had stayed behind.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And then his eyes strayed past the two men -to the window of the library, where the -monstrous Bhag sat in his darkened room, -waiting for instructions which he would carry -into effect without reason or pity. Michael -Brixan, hardened as he was to danger of every -variety, found himself shuddering.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch9'>CHAPTER IX<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE ANCESTOR</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>The</span> Dower House was away from the main -road. A sprawling mass of low buildings, it -stood behind untidy hedges and crumbling -walls. Once the place had enjoyed the services -of a lodge-keeper, but the tiny lodge was -deserted, the windows broken, and there were -gaps in the tiled roof. The gates had not been -closed for generations; they were broken, and -leant crazily against the walls to which they -had been thrust by the last person who had -employed them to guard the entrance to the -Dower House.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>What had once been a fair lawn was now a -tangle of weeds. Thistle and mayweed grew -knee-deep where the gallants of old had played -their bowls; and it was clear to Michael, from -his one glance, that only a portion of the house -was used. In only one of the wings were the -windows whole; the others were broken or so -grimed with dirt, that they appeared to have -been painted.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His amusement blended with curiosity, -Michael saw for the first time the picturesque -Mr. Sampson Longvale. He came out to meet -them, his bald head glistening in the afternoon -sunlight, his strapped fawn-coloured trousers, -velvet waistcoat and old-fashioned stock completely -supporting Gregory Penne’s description -of him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Delighted to see you, Mr. Knebworth. -I’ve a very poor house, but I offer you a very -rich welcome! I have had tea served in my -little dining-room. Will you please introduce -me to the members of your company?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The courtesy, the old-world spirit of dignity, -were very charming, and Michael felt a warm -glow toward this fine old man who brought to -this modern atmosphere the love and the -fragrance of a past age.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I should like to shoot a scene before we -lose the light, Mr. Longvale,” said Knebworth, -“so, if you don’t mind the meal being -a scrambling one, I can give the company a -quarter of an hour.” He looked round. -“Where is Foss?” he asked. “I want to -change a scene.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Foss said he was walking from Griff -Towers,” said one of the company. “He -stopped behind to speak to Sir Gregory.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth cursed his dilatory scenario -man with vigour and originality.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I hope he hasn’t stopped to borrow money,” -he said savagely. “That fellow’s going to ruin -my credit if I’m not careful.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He had overcome his objection to his new -extra; possibly he felt that there was nobody -else in the party whom he could take into his -confidence without hurt to discipline.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is he that way inclined?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s always short of money and always -trying to make it by some fool trick which -leaves him shorter than he was before. When -a man gets that kind of bug in his head he’s -only a block away from prison. Are you going -to stay the night? I don’t think you’ll be able -to sleep here,” he said, changing the subject, -“but I suppose you’ll be going back to -London?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not to-night,” said Michael quickly. -“Don’t worry about me. I particularly do not -wish to give you any trouble.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Come and meet the old man,” said Knebworth -under his breath. “He’s a queer old -devil with the heart of a child.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I like what I’ve seen of him,” said Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Longvale accepted the introduction all -over again.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I fear there will not be sufficient room in -my dining-room for the whole company. I have -had a little table laid in my study. Perhaps -you and your friends would like to have your -tea there?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, that’s very kind of you, Mr. Longvale. -You have met Mr. Brixan?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The old man smiled and nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I have met him without realizing that I’ve -met him. I never remember names—a curious -failing which was shared by my great-great-uncle -Charles, with the result that he fell into -extraordinary confusion when he wrote his -memoirs, and in consequence many of the -incidents he relates have been regarded as -apocryphal.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He showed them into a narrow room that -ran from the front to the back of the house. Its -ceilings were supported by black rafters; the -open wainscoting, polished and worn by generations -of hands, must have been at least five -hundred years old. There were no swords over -this mantelpiece, thought Michael with an -inward smile. Instead, there was a portrait of -a handsome old gentleman, the dignity of -whose face was arresting. There was only one -word with an adequate description: it was -majestic.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He made no comment on the picture, nor -did the old man speak of it till later. The meal -was hastily disposed of, and, sitting on the -wall, Michael watched the last daylight scene -shot, and was struck by the plastic genius of -the girl. He knew enough of motion pictures -and their construction to realize what it meant -to the director to have in his hands one who -could so faithfully reproduce the movements -and the emotions which the old man dictated.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In other circumstances he might have thought -it grotesque to see Jack Knebworth pretending -to be a young girl, resting his elderly cheek -coyly upon the back of his clasped hand, and -walking with mincing steps from one side of -the picture to the other. But he knew that the -American was a mason who was cutting roughly -the shape of the sculpture and leaving it to the -finer artiste to express in her personality the -delicate contours that would delight the eye -of the picture-loving world. She was no longer -Adele Leamington; she was Roselle, the -heiress to an estate of which her wicked cousin -was trying to deprive her. The story itself he -recognized; a half-and-half plagiarism of “The -Cat and the Canary,” with which were blended -certain situations from “The Miracle Man.” -He mentioned this fact when the scene was -finished.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I guess it’s a steal,” said Jack Knebworth -philosophically, “and I didn’t inquire too -closely into it. It’s Foss’s story, and I should -be pained to discover there was anything -original in it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Foss had made a tardy reappearance, -and Michael found himself wondering what was -the nature of that confidential interview which -the writer had had with Sir Gregory.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Going back to the long sitting-room, he stood -watching the daylight fade and speculating -upon the one mystery within a mystery—the -extraordinary effect which Adele had produced -upon him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mike Brixan had known many beautiful -women, women in every class of society. He -had known the best and the worst, he had jailed -a few, and had watched one face a French -firing squad one grey wintry morning at -Vincennes. He had liked many, nearly loved -one, and it seemed, cold-bloodedly analysing -his emotions, that he was in danger of actually -loving a girl whom he had never met before -that morning.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Which is absurd,” he said aloud.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What is absurd?” asked Knebworth, who -had come into the room unnoticed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I also wondered what you were thinking,” -smiled old Mr. Longvale, who had been watching -the young man in silence.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I—er—well, I was thinking of the portrait.” -Michael turned and indicated the picture above -the fireplace, and in a sense he spoke the truth, -for the thread of that thought had run through -all others. “The face seemed familiar,” he -said, “which is absurd, because it is obviously -an old painting.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Longvale lit two candles and carried -one to the portrait. Again Michael looked, -and again the majesty of the face impressed -him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That is my great-great-uncle, Charles -Henry,” said old Mr. Longvale with pride. -“Or, as we call him affectionately in our family, -the Great Monsieur.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael’s face was half-turned toward the -window as the old man spoke. . . . Suddenly -the room seemed to spin before his eyes. Jack -Knebworth saw his face go white and caught -him by the arm.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s the matter?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Nothing,” said Michael unsteadily.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Knebworth was staring past him at the -window.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What was that?” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>With the exception of the illumination from -the two candles and the faint dusk light that -came from the garden, the room was in darkness.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did you see it?” he asked, and ran to the -window, staring out.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What was it?” asked old Mr. Longvale, -joining him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I could have sworn I saw a head in the -window. Did you see it, Brixan?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I saw something,” said Michael unsteadily. -“Do you mind if I go out into the garden?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I hoped you saw it. It looked like a -monkey’s head to me.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael nodded. He walked down the -flagged passage into the garden, and, as he -did so, slipped a Browning from his hip, pressed -down the safety-catch, and dropped the pistol -into his jacket pocket.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He disappeared, and five minutes later Knebworth -saw him pacing the garden path, and -went out to him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did you see anything?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Nothing in the garden. You must have -been mistaken.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But didn’t you see him?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael hesitated.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I thought I saw something,” he said with -an assumption of carelessness. “When are -you going to shoot those night pictures of -yours?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You saw something, Brixan—was it a -face?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mike Brixan nodded.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch10'>CHAPTER X<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE OPEN WINDOW</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>The</span> dynamo wagon was humming as he walked -down the garden path, and with a hiss and a -splutter from the arcs, the front of the cottage -was suddenly illuminated by their fierce light. -Outside on the road a motorist had pulled up -to look upon the unusual spectacle.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What is happening?” he asked curiously.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“They’re taking a picture,” said Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, is that what it is? I suppose it is one -of Knebworth’s outfits?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where are you going?” demanded Michael -suddenly. “Forgive my asking you, but if -you’re heading for Chichester you can render -me a very great service if you give me a lift.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Jump in,” said the man. “I’m going to -Petworth, but it will not be much out of my way -to take you into the city.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Until they came to the town he plied Michael -with questions betraying that universal inquisitiveness -which picture-making invariably -incites amongst the uninitiated.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael got down near the market-place and -made his way to the house of a man he knew, -a former master at his old school, now settled -down in Chichester, who had, amongst other -possessions, an excellent library. Declining -his host’s pressing invitation to dinner, Michael -stated his needs, and the old master laughed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I can’t remember that you were much of a -student in my days, Michael,” he said, “but -you may have the run of the library. Is it some -line of Virgil that escapes you? I may be able -to save you a hunt.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s not Virgil, maestro,” smiled Michael. -“Something infinitely more full-blooded!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was in the library for twenty minutes, and -when he emerged there was a light of triumph -in his eye.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m going to use your telephone if I may,” -he said, and he got London without delay.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>For ten minutes he was speaking with -Scotland Yard, and, when he had finished, he -went into the dining-room where the master, -who was a bachelor, was eating his solitary -dinner.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You can render me one more service, -mentor of my youth,” he said. “Have you in -this abode of peace an automatic pistol that -throws a heavier shell than this?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And he put his own on the table. Michael -knew Mr. Scott had been an officer of the -Territorial Army, and incidentally an instructor -of the Officers’ Training Corps, so that his -request was not as impossible of fulfilment as -it appeared.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, I can give you a heavier one than that. -What are you shooting—elephants?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Something a trifle more dangerous,” said -Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Curiosity was never a weakness of mine,” -said the master, and went out to return with -a Browning of heavy calibre and a box of -cartridges.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They spent five minutes cleaning the pistol, -which had not been in use for some time, and, -with his new weapon weighing down his jacket -pocket, Mike took his leave, carrying a lighter -heart and a clearer understanding than he had -enjoyed when he had arrived at the house.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He hired a car from a local garage and drove -back to the Dower House, dismissing the car -just short of his destination. Jack Knebworth -had not even noticed that he had disappeared. -But old Mr. Longvale, wearing a coat with many -capes, and a soft silk cap from which dangled -a long tassel, came to him almost as soon as -he entered the garden.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“May I speak to you, Mr. Brixan?” he said -in a low voice, and they went into the house -together. “Do you remember Mr. Knebworth -was very perturbed because he thought he saw -somebody peering in at the window—something -with a monkey’s head?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, it is a most curious fact,” said the -old gentleman impressively, “that a quarter of -an hour ago I happened to be walking in the -far end of my garden, and, looking across the -hedge toward the field, I suddenly saw a -gigantic form rise, apparently from the ground, -and move toward these bushes”—he pointed -through the window to a clump in a field on -the opposite side of the road. “He seemed to -be crouching forward and moving furtively.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Will you show me the place?” said Michael -quickly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He followed the other across the road to the -bushes, a little clump which was empty when -they reached it. Kneeling down to make a -new skyline, Michael scanned the limited -horizon, but there was no sign of Bhag. For -that it was Bhag he had no doubt. There -might be nothing in it. Penne told him that -the animal was in the habit of taking nightly -strolls, and that he was perfectly harmless. -Suppose . . .</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The thought was absurd, fantastically absurd. -And yet the animal had been so extraordinarily -human that no speculation in connection with -it was quite absurd.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When he returned to the garden, he went in -search of the girl. She had finished her scene -and was watching the stealthy movements of -two screen burglars, who were creeping along -the wall in the subdued light of the arcs.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Excuse me, Miss Leamington, I’m going -to ask you an impertinent question. Have you -brought a complete change of clothes with -you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why ever do you ask that?” she demanded, -her eyes wide open. “Of course I did! I -always bring a complete change in case the -weather breaks.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s one question. Did you lose anything -when you were at Griff Towers?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I lost my gloves,” she said quickly. “Did -you find them?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No. When did you miss them?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I missed them immediately. I thought for -a moment——” She stopped. “It was a -foolish idea, but——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What did you think?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’d rather not tell you. It is a purely -personal matter.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You thought that Sir Gregory had taken -them as a souvenir?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Even in the half-darkness he saw her colour -come and go.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I did think that,” she said, a little stiffly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then it doesn’t matter very much—about -your change of clothing,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Whatever are you talking about?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She looked at him suspiciously. He -guessed she thought that he had been drinking, -but the last thing in the world he wanted to do -at that moment was to explain his somewhat -disjointed questions.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now everybody is going to bed!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was old Jack Knebworth talking.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Everybody! Off you go! Mr. Foss has -shown you your rooms. I want you up at -four o’clock to-morrow morning, so get as -much sleep as you can. Foss, you’ve marked -the rooms?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes,” said the man. “I’ve put the -names on every door. I’ve given this young -lady a room to herself—is that right?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I suppose it is,” said Knebworth -dubiously. “Anyway, she won’t be there -long enough to get used to it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The girl said good night to the detective -and went straight up to her apartment. It -was a tiny room, smelling somewhat musty, -and was simply furnished. A truckle bed, a -chest of drawers with a swinging glass on top, -and a small table and chair was all that the -apartment contained. By the light of her -candle, the floor showed signs of having been -recently scrubbed, and the centre was covered -by a threadbare square of carpet.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She locked the door, blew out the candle -and, undressing in the dark, went to the -window and threw open the casement. And -then, for the first time, she saw, on the centre -of one of the small panes, a circular disc of -paper. It was pasted on the outside of the -window, and at first she was about to pull it -off, when she guessed that it might be some -indicator placed by Knebworth to mark an -exact position that he required for the morning -picture-taking.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She did not immediately fall asleep, her -mind for some curious reason, being occupied -unprofitably with a tumultuous sense of -annoyance directed towards Michael Brixan. -For a long time a strong sense of justice fought -with a sense of humour equally powerful. He -was a nice man, she told herself; the sixth -sense of woman had already delivered that -information, heavily underlined. He certainly -had nerve. In the end humour brought sleep. -She was smiling when her eyelids closed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She had been sleeping two hours, though it -did not seem two seconds. A sense of impending -danger wakened her, and she sat up in bed, -her heart thumping wildly. She looked round -the room. In the pale moonlight she could -see almost every corner, and it was empty. -Was it somebody outside the door that had -wakened her? She tried the door handle: it -was locked, as she had left it. The window? -It was very near to the ground, she -remembered. Stepping to the window, she -pulled one casement close. She was closing -the other when, out of the darkness below, -reached a great hairy arm and a hand closed -like a vice on her wrist.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She did not scream. She stood breathless, -dying of terror, she felt. Her heart ceased -beating, and she was conscious of a deadly -cold. What was it? What could it be? -Summoning all her courage, she looked out -of the window down into a hideous, bestial -face and two round, green eyes that stared -into hers.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch11'>CHAPTER XI<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE MARK ON THE WINDOW</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>The</span> Thing was twittering at her, soft, bird-like -noises, and she saw the flash of its white -teeth in the darkness. It was not pulling, it -was simply holding, one hand gripping the -tendrils of the ivy up which it had climbed, -the other hand firmly about her wrist. Again -it twittered and pulled. She drew back, but -she might as well have tried to draw back -from a moving piston rod. A great, hairy -leg was suddenly flung over the sill; the -second hand came up and covered her face.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The sound of her scream was deadened in -the hairy paw, but somebody heard it. From -the ground below came a flash of fire and the -deafening ‘tang!’ of a pistol exploding. A -bullet zipped and crashed amongst the ivy, -striking the brickwork, and she heard the -whirr of the ricochet. Instantly the great -monkey released his hold and dropped down -out of sight. Half swooning, she dropped -upon the window-sill, incapable of movement. -And then she saw a figure come out of the -shadow of the laurel bush, and instantly -recognized the midnight prowler. It was -Michael Brixan.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Are you hurt?” he asked in a low voice.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She could only shake her head, for speech -was denied her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I didn’t hit him, did I?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>With an effort she found a husk of a voice -in her dry throat.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, I don’t think so. He dropped.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael had pulled an electric torch from -his pocket and was searching the ground.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No sign of blood. He was rather difficult -to hit—I was afraid of hurting you, too.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A window had been thrown up and Jack -Knebworth’s voice bawled into the night.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s the shooting? Is that you, -Brixan?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It is I. Come down, and I’ll tell you all -about it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The noise did not seem to have aroused Mr. -Longvale, or, for the matter of that, any other -member of the party; and when Knebworth -reached the garden, he found no other audience -than Mike Brixan.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In a few words Michael told him what he -had seen.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The monkey belongs to friend Penne,” -he said. “I saw it this morning.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What do you think—that he was prowling -round and saw the open window?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael shook his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No,” he said quietly, “he came with one -intention and purpose, which was to carry off -your leading lady. That sounds highly -dramatic and improbable, and that is the -opinion I have formed. This ape, I tell you, -is nearly human.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But he wouldn’t know the girl. He has -never seen her.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He could smell her,” said Mike instantly. -“She lost a pair of gloves at the Towers -to-day, and it’s any odds that they were stolen -by the noble Gregory Penne, so that he might -introduce to Bhag an unfailing scent.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I can’t believe it; it is incredible! -Though I’ll admit,” said Jack Knebworth -thoughtfully, “that these big apes do some -amazing things. Did you shoot him?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, sir, I didn’t shoot him, but I can tell -you this, that he’s an animal that’s been -gunned before, or he’d have come for me, in -which case he would have been now fairly -dead.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What were you doing round here, -anyway?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Just watching out,” said the other carelessly. -“The earnest detective has so many -things on his conscience that he can’t sleep -like ordinary people. Speaking for myself, I -never intended leaving the garden, because I -expected Brer Bhag. Who is that?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The door opened, and a slim figure, -wrapped in a dressing-gown, came out into the -open.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Young lady, you’re going to catch a -very fine cold,” warned Knebworth. “What -happened to you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t know.” She was feeling her wrist -tenderly. “I heard something and went to the -window, and then this horrible thing caught -hold of me. What was it, Mr. Brixan?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It was nothing more alarming than a -monkey,” said he with affected unconcern. -“I’m sorry you were so scared. I guess the -shooting worried you more?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You don’t guess anything of the kind. -You know it didn’t. Oh, it was horrible, -horrible!” She covered her face with her -trembling hands.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Old Jack grunted.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I think she’s right, too. You owe something -to our friend here, young lady. -Apparently he was expecting this visit and -watched in the garden.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You expected it?” she gasped.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Knebworth has made rather more of -the part I played than can be justified,” said -Mike. “And if you think that this is a hero’s -natural modesty, you’re mistaken. I did -expect this gentleman, because he’d been seen -in the fields by Mr. Longvale. And you -thought you saw him yourself, didn’t you, -Knebworth?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“In fact, we all saw him,” Mike went on, -“and as I didn’t like the idea of a coming -star (if I may express that pious hope) being -subjected to the annoyance of visiting monkeys, -I sat up in the garden.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>With a sudden impulsive gesture she put -out her little hand, and Michael took it.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Thank you, Mr. Brixan,” she said. “I -have been wrong about you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who isn’t?” asked Mike with an -extravagant shrug.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She returned to her room, and this time she -closed her window. Once, before she went -finally to sleep, she rose and, peeping through -the curtains, saw the little glowing point of -the watcher’s cigar, and went back to bed -comforted, to sleep as if it were only for a few -minutes before Foss began knocking on the -doors to waken the company.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The literary man himself was the first down. -The garden was beginning to show palely in -the dawn light, and he bade Michael Brixan -a gruff good morning.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Good morning to you,” said Michael. -“By the way, Mr. Foss, you stayed behind -at Griff Towers yesterday to see our friend -Penne?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s no business of yours,” growled the -man, and would have passed on, but Michael -stood squarely in his path.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There is one thing which is a business of -mine, and that is to ask you why that little -white disc appears on Miss Leamington’s -window?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He pointed up to the white circle that the -girl had seen the night before.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t know anything about it,” said -Foss with rising anger, but there was also a -note of fear in his voice.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If you don’t know, who will? Because I -saw you put it there, just before it got dark -last night.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, if you must know,” said the man, -“it was to mark a vision boundary for the -camera-man.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>That sounded a plausible excuse. Michael -had seen Jack Knebworth marking out -boundaries in the garden to ensure the actors -being in the picture. At the first opportunity, -when Knebworth appeared he questioned him -on the subject.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, I gave no instructions to put up -marks. Where is it?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael showed him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I wouldn’t have a mark up there, anyway, -should I? Right in the middle of a window! -What do you make of it?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I think Foss put it there with one object. -The window was marked at Gregory’s -request.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But why?” asked Knebworth, staring.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“To show Bhag Adele Leamington’s room. -That’s why,” said Michael, and he was -confident that his view was an accurate one.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch12'>CHAPTER XII<br/> <span class='sub-head'>A CRY FROM A TOWER</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Michael</span> did not wait to see the early morning -scenes shot. He had decided upon a course -of action, and as soon as he conveniently -could, he made his escape from the Dower -House, and, crossing a field, reached the road -which led to Griff Towers. Possessing a -good eye for country, he had duly noted the -field-path which ran along the boundary of -Sir Gregory Penne’s estate, and was, he -guessed, a short cut to Griff; and ten minutes’ -walk brought him to the stile where the path -joined the road. He walked quickly, his eyes -on the ground, looking for some trace of the -beast; but there had been no rain, and, unless -he had wounded the animal, there was little -hope that he would pick up the track.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Presently he came to the high flint wall -which marked the southern end of the baronet’s -grounds, and this he followed until he came to -a postern let in the wall, a door that appeared -to have been recently in use, for it was ajar, -he noted with satisfaction.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Pushing it open, he found himself in a -large field which evidently served as kitchen -garden for the house. There was nobody in -sight. The grey tower looked even more -forbidding and ugly in the early morning -light. No smoke came from the chimneys; -Griff was a house of the dead. Nevertheless, -he proceeded cautiously, and, instead of -crossing the field, moved back into the shadow -of the wall until he reached the high boxwood -fence that ran at right angles and separated -the kitchen garden from that beautiful -pleasaunce which Jack Knebworth had used -the previous morning as a background for his -scenes.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And all the time he kept his eyes roving, -expecting at any moment to see the hideous -figure of Bhag appear from the ground. At -last he reached the end of the hedge. He was -now within a few paces of the gravelled front, -and less than half a dozen yards from the -high, square grey tower which gave the house -its name.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>From where he stood he could see the -whole front of the house. The drawn white -blinds, the general lifelessness of Griff, might -have convinced a less sceptical man than Mike -Brixan that his suspicions were unfounded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was hesitating as to whether he should -go to the house or not, when he heard a crash -of glass, and looked up in time to see -fragments falling from the topmost room of -the tower. The sun had not yet risen, the -earth was still wrapped in the illusory dawn -light, and the hedge made an admirable -hiding-place.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Who was breaking windows at this hour of -the morning? Surely not the careful Bhag—so -far he had reached in his speculations -when the morning air was rent by a shrill -scream, of such fear that his flesh went cold. -It came from the upper room and ended -abruptly, as though somebody had put his hand -over the mouth of the unfortunate from whom -that cry of terror had been wrung.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Hesitating no longer, Michael stepped -from his place of concealment, ran quickly -across the gravel, and pulled at the bell before -the great entrance, which was immediately -under the tower. He heard the clang of the -bell and looked quickly round, to make -absolutely sure that Bhag or some of the -copper-coloured retainers of Griff Towers -were not trailing him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A minute passed—two—and his hand was -again raised to the iron bell-pull, when he -heard heavy feet in the corridor, a shuffle of -slippers on the tiled floor of the hall, and a -gruff voice demanded:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who’s there?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Michael Brixan.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was a grunt, a rattle of chains, a -snapping of locks, and the big door opened -a few inches.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Gregory Penne was wearing a pair of grey -flannel trousers and a shirt, the wristbands of -which were unfastened. His malignant glare -changed to wonder at the sight of the detective.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What do you want?” he demanded, and -opened the door a few more inches.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I want to see you,” said Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Usually call at daybreak?” growled the -man as he closed the door on his visitor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael made no answer, but followed -Gregory Penne to his room. The library had -evidently been occupied throughout the night. -The windows were shuttered, the electroliers -were burning, and before the fire was a table -and two whisky bottles, one of which was -empty.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Have a drink?” said Penne mechanically, -and poured himself out a portion with an -unsteady hand.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is your ape in?” asked Michael, refusing -the preferred drink with a gesture.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What, Bhag? I suppose so. He goes -and comes as he likes. Do you want to see -him?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not particularly,” said Michael. “I’ve -seen him once to-night.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Penne was lighting the stub of a cigar from -the fire as he spoke, and he looked round -quickly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’ve seen him before? What do you -mean?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I saw him at the Dower House, trying to -get into Miss Leamington’s room, and he was -as near to being a dead orang-outang as he -has ever been.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The man dropped the lighted spill on the -hearth and stood up.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did you shoot him?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I shot at him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Gregory nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You shot at him,” he said softly. “That -accounts for it. Why did you shoot him? -He’s perfectly harmless.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He didn’t strike me that way,” said -Michael coolly. “He was trying to pull Miss -Leamington from her room.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The man’s eyes opened.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He got so far, did he? Well?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was a pause.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You sent him to get the girl,” said -Michael. “You also bribed Foss to put a -mark on the window so that Bhag should know -where the girl was sleeping.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He paused, but the other made no reply.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The cave man method is fairly beastly, -even when the cave man does his own -kidnapping. When he sends an anthropoid -ape to do his dirty work, it passes into -another category.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The man’s eyes were invisible now; his face -had grown a deeper hue.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“So that’s your line, is it?” he said. “I -thought you were a pal.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m not responsible for your illusions,” -said Michael. “Only I tell you this”—he -tapped the man’s chest with his finger—“if -any harm comes to Adele Leamington that is -traceable to you or your infernal agent, I -shan’t be contented with shooting Mr. Bhag; -I will come here and shoot you! Do you -understand? And now you can tell me, what -is the meaning of that scream I heard from -your tower?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who the hell do you imagine you’re -cross-questioning?” spluttered Penne, livid -with fury. “You dirty, miserable little -actor!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael slipped a card from his pocket and -put it in the man’s hand.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’ll find my title to question you legibly -inscribed,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The man brought the card to the table-lamp -and read it. The effect was electrical. His -big jaw dropped, and the hand that held the -card trembled so violently that it dropped to -the floor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A detective?” he croaked. “A—a -detective! What do you want here?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I heard somebody scream,” said Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“One of the servants, maybe. We’ve got -a Papuan woman here who’s ill: in fact, she’s -a little mad, and we’re moving her to-morrow. -I’ll go and see if you like?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He looked toward Michael as though -seeking permission. His whole attitude was -one of humility, and Michael required no more -than the sight of that pallid face and those -chattering teeth to turn his suspicion to -certainty. Something was happening in this -house that he must get to the bottom of.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“May I go and see?” asked Penne.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael nodded. The stout man shuffled -out of the room as though he were in a hurry -to be gone, and the lock clicked. Instantly -Michael was at the door, turned the handle -and pulled. It was locked!</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He looked round the room quickly, and, -running to one of the windows, flung back the -curtain and pulled at the shutter. But this, -too, was locked. It was, to all intents and -purposes, a door with a little keyhole at the -bottom. He was examining this when all -the lights in the room went out, the only -illumination being a faint red glow from the -fire.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch13'>CHAPTER XIII<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE TRAP THAT FAILED</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>And</span> then Michael heard a faint creak in one -corner of the room. It was followed by the -almost imperceptible sound of bare feet on -the thick pile carpet, and the noise of quick -breathing.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He did not hesitate. Feeling again for -the keyhole of the shutter, he pulled out his -pistol and fired twice at the lock. The sound -of the explosion was deafening in the confined -space of the room. It must have had an -electrical effect upon the intruder, for when, -with a wrench, the shutter opened, and at -a touch the white blind sprang up, flooding with -light the big, ornate room, it was empty.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Almost immediately afterwards the door -opened through which the baronet had passed. -If he had been panic-stricken before, his -condition was now pitiable.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s that? What’s that?” he whimpered. -“Did somebody shoot?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Somebody shot,” said Michael calmly, -“and I was the somebody. And the gentlemen -you sent into the room to settle accounts -with me are very lucky that I confined my -firing practice to the lock of your shutter, -Penne.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He saw something white on the ground, and, -crossing the room with quick strides, picked it -up. It was a scarf of coarse silk, and he -smelt it.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Somebody dropped this in their hurry,” he -said. “I guess it was to be used.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My dear fellow, I assure you I didn’t -know.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“How is the interesting invalid?” asked -Michael with a curl of his lip. “The lunatic -lady who screams?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The man fingered his trembling lips for -a moment as though he were trying to control -them.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“She’s all right. It was as I—as I thought,” -he said; “she had some sort of fit.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael eyed him pensively.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’d like to see her, if I may,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You can’t.” Penne’s voice was loud, -defiant. “You can’t see anybody! What the -hell do you mean by coming into my house at -this hour of the morning and damaging my -property? I’ll have this matter reported to -Scotland Yard, and I’ll get the coat off your -back, my man! Some of you detectives think -you own the earth, but I’ll show you you -don’t!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The blustering voice rose to a roar. He was -smothering his fear in weak anger, Michael -thought, and looked up at the swords above -the mantelpiece. Following the direction of -his eyes, Sir Gregory wilted, and again his -manner changed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My dear fellow, why exasperate me? I’m -the nicest man in the world if you only treat me -right. You’ve got crazy ideas about me, you -have indeed!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael did not argue. He walked slowly -down the passage and out to meet the first -sector of a blazing sun. As he reached the -door he turned to the man.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I cannot insist upon searching your house -because I have not a warrant, as you know, -and, by the time I’d got a warrant, there would -be nothing to find. But you look out, my -friend!” He waved a warning finger at the -man. “I hate dragging in classical allusions, -but I should advise you to look up a lady in -mythology who was known to the Greeks as -Adrastia!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And with this he left, walking down the drive, -watched with eyes of despair by a pale-faced -girl from the upper window of the tower, whilst -Sir Gregory went back to his library and, -by much diligent searching, discovered that -Adrastia was another name for Nemesis.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael was back at the Dower House in -time for breakfast. It was no great tribute -to his charm that his absence had passed -unnoticed—or so it appeared, though Adele -had marked his disappearance, and had been -the first to note his return.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth was in his most cheery -mood. The scenes had been, he thought, most -successful.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I can’t tell, of course, until I get back -to the laboratory and develop the pictures; but -so far as young Leamington is concerned, -she’s wonderful. I hate predicting at this early -stage, but I believe that she’s going to be a -great artiste.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You didn’t expect her to be?” said Michael -in surprise.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack laughed scornfully.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I was very annoyed with Mendoza, and -when I took this outfit on location, I did so -quite expecting that I should have to return and -retake the picture with Mendoza in the cast. -Film stars aren’t born, they’re made; they’re -made by bitter experience, patience and suffering. -They have got to pass through stages of -stark inefficiency, during which they’re liable -to be discarded, before they win out. Your -girl has skipped all the intervening phases, and -has won at the first time of asking.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“When you talk about ’my girl,’ ” said -Michael carefully, “will you be good enough -to remember that I have the merest and most -casual interest in the lady?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If you’re not a liar,” said Jack Knebworth, -“you’re a piece of cheese!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What chance has she as a film artiste?” -asked Michael, anxious to turn the subject.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Knebworth ruffled his white hair.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Precious little,” he said. “There isn’t a -chance for a girl in England. That’s a horrible -thing to say, but it’s true. You can count the -so-called English stars on the fingers of one -hand; they’ve only a local reputation and -they’re generally married to the producer. -What chance has an outsider got of breaking -into the movies? And even if they break in, -it’s not much good to them. Production in -this country is streets behind production either -in America or in Germany. It is even behind -the French, though the French films are nearly -the dullest in the world. The British producer -has no ideas of his own; he can adopt and -adapt the stunts, the tricks of acting, the -methods of lighting, that he sees in foreign -films at trade shows; and, with the aid of an -American camera-man, he can produce something -which might have been produced a couple -of years ago at Hollywood. It’s queer, because -England has never been left behind as she has -been in the cinema industry. France started -the motor-car industry: to-day, England makes -the finest motor-car in the world. America -started aviation: to-day, the British aeroplanes -have no superior. And yet, with all the -example before them, with all the immense -profits which are waiting to be made, in the past -twenty years England has not produced one -film star of international note, one film picture -with an international reputation.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was a subject upon which he was -prepared to enlarge, and did enlarge, throughout -the journey back to Chichester.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The cinema industry is in the hands of -showmen all the world over, but in England -it is in the hands of peep-showmen, as against -the Barnums of the States. No, there’s no -chance for your little friend, not in this country. -If the picture I’m taking makes a hit in America—yes. -She’ll be playing at Hollywood in -twelve months’ time in an English story—directed -by Americans!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In the outer lobby of his office he found a -visitor waiting for him, and gave her a curt and -steely good morning.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I want to see you, Mr. Knebworth,” said -Stella Mendoza, with a smile at the leading -man who had followed Knebworth into his -office.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You want to see me, do you? Why, you -can see me now. What do you want?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She was pulling at a lace handkerchief with -a pretty air of penitence and confusion. Jack -was not impressed. He himself had taught -her all that handkerchief stuff.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve been very silly, Mr. Knebworth, and -I’ve come to ask your pardon. Of course, it -was wrong to keep the boys and girls waiting, -and I really am sorry. Shall I come in the -morning? Or I can start to-day?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A faint smile trembled at the corner of the -director’s big mouth.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You needn’t come in the morning and you -needn’t stay to-day, Stella,” he said. “Your -substitute has done remarkably well, and I -don’t feel inclined to retake the picture.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She flashed an angry glance at him, a glance -at total variance with her softer attitude.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve got a contract: I suppose you know -that, Mr. Knebworth?” she said shrilly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’d ever so much rather play opposite -Miss Mendoza,” murmured a gentle voice. It -was the youthful Reggie Connolly, he of the -sleek hair. “It’s not easy to play opposite -Miss—I don’t even know her name. She’s so—well, -she lacks the artistry, Mr. Knebworth.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Old Jack didn’t speak. His gloomy eyes -were fixed upon the youth.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s more, I don’t feel I can do myself -justice with Miss Mendoza out of the cast,” -said Reggie. “I really don’t! I feel most -awfully, terribly nervous, and it’s difficult to -express one’s personality when one’s awfully, -terribly nervous. In fact,” he said recklessly, -“I’m not inclined to go on with the picture -unless Miss Mendoza returns.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She shot a grateful glance at him, and then -turned with a slow smile to the silent Jack.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Would you like me to start to-day?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not to-day, or any other day,” roared the -old director, his eyes flaming. “As for you, -you nut-fed chorus boy, if you try to let me -down I’ll blacklist you at every studio in this -country, and every time I meet you I’ll kick -you from hell to Halifax!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He came stamping into the office, where -Michael had preceded him, a raging fury of a -man.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What do you think of that?” he asked -when he had calmed down. “That’s the sort -of stuff they try to get past you! He’s going -to quit in the middle of a picture! Did you -hear him? That cissy-boy! That mouse! -Say, Brixan, would you like to play opposite -this girl of mine? You can’t be worse than -Connolly, and it would fill in your time whilst -you’re looking for the Head-Hunter.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael shook his head slowly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, thank you,” he said. “That is not my -job. And as for the Head-Hunter”—he lit a -cigarette and sent a ring of smoke to the ceiling—“I -know who he is and I can lay my hands -on him just when I want.”</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch14'>CHAPTER XIV<br/> <span class='sub-head'>MENDOZA MAKES A FIGHT</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Jack</span> stared at him in amazement.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re joking!” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“On the contrary, I am very much in earnest,” -said Michael quietly. “But to know the Head-Hunter, -and to bring his crimes home to him, -are quite different matters.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth sat at his desk, his hands -thrust into his trousers pockets, a look of blank -incredulity on the face turned to the detective.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is it one of my company?” he asked, -troubled, and Michael laughed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I haven’t the pleasure of knowing all your -company,” he said diplomatically, “but at any -rate, don’t let the Head-Hunter worry you. -What are you going to do about Mr. Reggie -Connolly?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The director shrugged.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He doesn’t mean it, and I was a fool to get -wild,” he said. “That kind of ninny never -means anything. You wouldn’t dream, to see -him on the screen, full of tenderness and love -and manliness, that he’s the poor little jellyfish -he is! As for Mendoza——” he swept his -hands before him, and the gesture was -significant.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Miss Stella Mendoza, however, was not -accepting her dismissal so readily. She had -fought her way up from nothing, and was -not prepared to forfeit her position without a -struggle. Moreover, her position was a serious -one. She had money—so much money that -she need never work again; for, in addition to -her big salary, she enjoyed an income from a -source which need not be too closely inquired -into. But there was a danger that Knebworth -might carry the war into a wider field.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Her first move was to go in search of Adele -Leamington, who, she learnt that morning for -the first time, had taken her place. Though -she went in a spirit of conciliation, she choked -with anger to discover that the girl was -occupying the star’s dressing-room, the room -which had always been sacred to Stella -Mendoza’s use. Infuriated, yet preserving an -outward calm, she knocked at the door. (That -she, Stella Mendoza, should knock at a door -rightfully hers was maddening enough!)</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Adele was sitting at the bare dressing-table, -gazing, a little awe-stricken, at the array of -mirrors, lights and the vista of dresses down the -long alleyway which served as a wardrobe. At -the sight of Mendoza she went red.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Miss Leamington, isn’t it?” asked Stella -sweetly. “May I come in?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Do, please,” said Adele, hastily rising.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Please <span class='it'>do</span> sit down,” said Stella. “It’s a -very uncomfortable chair, but most of the chairs -here are uncomfortable. They tell me you -have been ‘doubling’ for me?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“ ‘Doubling’?” said Adele, puzzled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, Mr. Knebworth said he was ‘doubling’ -you. You know what I mean: when an -artiste can’t appear, they sometimes put in an -understudy in scenes where she’s not very -distinctly shown—long shots——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But Mr. Knebworth took me close up,” -said the girl quietly. “I was only in one long -shot.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Miss Mendoza masked her anger and sighed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Poor old chap! He’s very angry with me, -and really, I oughtn’t to annoy him. I’m -coming back to-morrow, you know.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The girl went pale.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s fearfully humiliating for you, I realize, -but, my dear, we’ve all had to go through that -experience. And people in the studio will be -very nice to you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But it’s impossible,” said Adele. “Mr. -Knebworth told me I was to be in the picture -from start to finish.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mendoza shook her head smilingly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You can never believe what these fellows -tell you,” she said. “He’s just told me to be -ready to shoot to-morrow morning on the South -Downs.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Adele’s heart sank. She knew that was -the rendezvous, though she was not aware of -the fact that Stella Mendoza had procured -her information from the disgruntled Mr. -Connolly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It <span class='it'>is</span> humiliating,” Stella went on thoughtfully. -“If I were you, I would go up to town -and stay away for a couple of weeks till the -whole thing has blown over. I feel very much -to blame for your disappointment, my dear, -and if money is any compensation——” She -opened her bag and, taking out a wad of -notes, detached four and put them on the -table.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What is this for?” asked Adele coldly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, my dear, you’ll want money for -expenses——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If you imagine I’m going to London -without seeing Mr. Knebworth and finding -out for myself whether you’re speaking the -truth——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mendoza’s face flamed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Do you suggest I’m lying?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She had dropped all pretence of friendliness -and stood, a veritable virago, her hands on her -hips, her dark face thrust down into Adele’s.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t know whether you’re a liar or -whether you are mistaken,” said Adele, who -was less afraid of this termagant than she had -been at the news she had brought. “The -only thing I’m perfectly certain about is that -for the moment this is my room, and I will ask -you to leave it!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She opened the door, and for a moment was -afraid that the girl would strike her; but the -broad-shouldered Irish dresser, a silent but -passionately interested spectator and audience, -interposed her huge bulk and good-humouredly -pushed the raging star into the corridor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll have you out of there!” she screamed -across the woman’s shoulder. “Jack Knebworth -isn’t everything in this company! I’ve -got influence enough to fire Knebworth!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The unrepeatable innuendoes that followed -were not good to hear, but Adele Leamington -listened in scornful silence. She was only too -relieved (for the girl’s fury was eloquent) to -know that she had not been speaking the truth. -For one horrible moment Adele had believed -her, knowing that Knebworth would not hesitate -to sacrifice her or any other member of the -company if, by so doing, the values of the -picture could be strengthened.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Knebworth was alone when his ex-star was -announced, and his first instinct was not to see -her. Whatever his intentions might have been, -she determined his action by appearing in the -doorway just as he was making up his mind what -line to take. He fixed her with his gimlet eyes -for a second, and then, with a jerk of his head, -called her in. When they were alone:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There are many things I admire about you, -Stella, and not the least of them is your nerve. -But it is no good coming to me with any of -that let-bygones-be-bygones stuff. You’re not -appearing in this picture, and maybe you’ll -never appear in another picture of mine.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is that so?” she drawled, sitting down -uninvited, and taking from her bag a little gold -cigarette case.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’ve come in to tell me that you’ve got -influence with a number of people who are -financially interested in this corporation,” said -Jack, to her dismay. She wondered if there -were telephone communication between the -dressing-room and the office, then remembered -there wasn’t.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve handled a good many women in my -time,” he went on, “and I’ve never had to fire -one but she didn’t produce the President, Vice-President -or Treasurer and hold them over my -head with their feet ready to kick out my -brains! And, Stella, none of those hold-ups -have ever got past. People who are financially -interested in a company may love you to death, -but they’ve got to have the money to love you -with; and if I don’t make pictures that sell, -somebody is short of a perfectly good diamond -necklace.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We’ll see if Sir Gregory thinks the same -way,” she said defiantly, and Jack Knebworth -whistled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Gregory Penne, eh? I didn’t know you -had friends in that quarter. Yes, he is a stockholder -in the company, but he doesn’t hold -enough to make any difference. I guess he -told you that he did. And if he held ninety-nine -per cent. of it, Stella, it wouldn’t make -any difference to old Jack Knebworth, because -old Jack Knebworth’s got a contract which -gives him carte blanche, and the only getting -out clause is the one that gets <span class='it'>me</span> out! You -couldn’t touch me, Stella, no, ma’am!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I suppose you’re going to blacklist me?” -she said sulkily.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>This was the one punishment she most feared—that -Jack Knebworth should circulate the -story of her unforgivable sin of letting down a -picture when it was half-shot.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I thought about that,” he nodded, “but I -guess I’m not vindictive. I’ll let you go and -say the part didn’t suit you, and that you -resigned, which is as near the truth as any story -I’ll have to crack. Go with God, Stella. I -guess you won’t, because you’re not that way, -but—behave!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He waved her out of the office and she went, -somewhat chastened. Outside the studio she -met Lawley Foss, and told him the result of -the interview.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If it’s like that you can do nothing,” he -said. “I’d speak for you, Stella, but I’ve got -to speak for myself,” he added bitterly. “The -idea of a man of my genius truckling hat in -hand to this damned old Yankee is very -humiliating.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You ought to have your own company, -Lawley,” she said, as she had said a dozen -times before. “You write the stuff and I’ll be -the leading woman and put it over for you. -Why, you could direct Kneb’s head off. I -<span class='it'>know</span>, Lawley! I’ve been to the only place on -God Almighty’s earth where art is appreciated, -and I tell you that a four-flusher like Jack -Knebworth wouldn’t last a light-mile at Hollywood!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Light-mile” was a term she had acquired -from a scientific admirer. It had the double -advantage of sounding grand and creating a -demand for an explanation. To her annoyance, -Foss was sufficiently acquainted with -elementary physics to know that she meant the -period of time that a ray of light would take to -traverse a mile.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is he in his office now?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She nodded, and without any further word -Lawley Foss, in some trepidation, knocked at -his chief’s door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The truth is, Mr. Knebworth, I want to ask -a favour of you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is it money?” demanded Jack, looking up -from under his bushy brows.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, it was money, as a matter of fact. -There have been one or two little bills I’ve -overlooked, and the bailiffs have been after me. -I’ve got to raise fifty pounds by two o’clock this -afternoon.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack pulled open a drawer, took out a book -and wrote a cheque, not for fifty pounds, but -for eighty.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s a month’s salary in advance,” he -said. “You’ve drawn your pay up to to-day, -and by the terms of your contract you’re entitled -to one month’s notice or pay therefore. You’ve -got it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Foss went an ugly red.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Does that mean I’m fired?” he asked -loudly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re fired, not because you want money, -not because you’re one of the most difficult men -on the lot to deal with, but for what you did -last night, Foss.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What do you mean?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I mean I am taking Mr. Brixan’s view, that -you fastened a white label to the window of -Miss Leamington’s room in order to guide -an agent of Sir Gregory Penne. That agent -came and nearly kidnapped my leading -lady.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The man’s lip curled in a sneer.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’ve got melodrama in your blood, -Knebworth,” he said. “Kidnap your leading -lady! Those sort of things may happen in the -United States, but they don’t happen in -England.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Close the door as you go out,” said Jack, -preparing for his work.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Let me say this——” began Foss.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll let you say nothing,” snarled Knebworth. -“I won’t even let you say ‘good-bye.’ -Get!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And, when the door slammed behind his -visitor, the old director pushed a bell on his -table, and, to his assistant who came:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Get Miss Leamington down here,” he said. -“I’d like contact with something that’s wholesome.”</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch15'>CHAPTER XV<br/> <span class='sub-head'>TWO FROM THE YARD</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Chichester</span> is not famous for its restaurants, -but the dining-room of a little hotel, where three -people foregathered that afternoon, had the -advantage of privacy.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When Mike Brixan got back to his hotel he -found two men waiting to see him, and, after -a brief introduction, he took them upstairs to -his sitting-room.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m glad you’ve come,” he said, when the -inspector had closed the door behind him. -“The fact is that sheerly criminal work is a -novelty to me, and I’m afraid that I’m going to -make it a mystery to you,” he smiled. “At -the moment I’m not prepared to give expression -to all my suspicions.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Detective Inspector Lyle, the chief of the -two, laughed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We have been placed entirely under your -orders, Captain Brixan,” he said, “and neither -of us are very curious. The information you -asked for, Sergeant Walters has brought.” -He indicated his tall companion.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Which information—about Penne? Is he -known to the police?” asked Michael, -interested.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Sergeant Walters nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He was convicted and fined a few years ago -for assaulting a servant—a woman. Apparently -he took a whip to the girl, and he very -narrowly escaped going to prison. That was -the first time our attention was attracted to him, -and we made inquiries both in London and in -the Malay States and found out all about him. -He’s a very rich man, and, being a distant -cousin of the late baronet, you may say he -fluked his title. In Borneo he lived up-country, -practically in the bush, for fifteen or twenty -years, and the stories we have about him aren’t -particularly savoury. There are a few of them -which you might read at your leisure, Mr. -Brixan—they’re in the record.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is anything known of an educated orang-outang -which is his companion?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>To his surprise, the officer answered:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Bhag? Oh yes, we know all about him. -He was captured when he was quite a baby by -Penne, and was brought up in captivity. It -has been rather difficult to trace the man, -because he never returns to England by the -usual steamship line, so that it’s almost impossible -to have a tag on him. He has a yacht, -a fine sea-going boat, the <span class='it'>Kipi</span>, which is -practically officered and manned by Papuans. -What comes and goes with him I don’t know. -There was a complaint came through to us that -the last time he was abroad Penne nearly lost -his life as the result of some quarrel he had -with a local tribesman. Now, Mr. Brixan, -what would you like us to do?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael’s instructions were few and brief. -That evening, when Adele walked home to her -lodgings, she was conscious that a man was -following her, and after her previous night’s -adventure this fact would have played havoc -with her nerves but for the note she found -waiting when she got indoors. It was from -Michael.</p> - -<div class='blockquote'> - -<p class='pindent'>“Would you mind if I put a Scotland Yard -man to watch you, to see that you do not get -into mischief! I don’t think there’s any danger -that you will, but I shall feel ever so much -easier in my mind if you will endure this -annoyance.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='pindent'>She read the letter and her brows knit. So -she was being shadowed! It was an uncomfortable -experience, and yet she could not very -well object, could not indeed feel anything but -a sense of warm gratitude toward this ubiquitous -and pushful young man, who seemed determined -not to let her out of his sight.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch16'>CHAPTER XVI<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE BROWN MAN FROM NOWHERE</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>With</span> a brand-new grievance against life, -Lawley Foss gathered his forces to avenge -himself upon the world that had treated him so -harshly. And first and most powerful of his -forces was Stella Mendoza. There was a -council of war held in the drawing-room of the -pretty little house that Stella had taken when -she joined the Knebworth Corporation. The -third of the party was Mr. Reggie Connolly. -And as they were mutually sympathetic, so -were they mutually unselfish—characteristically -so.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We’ve been treated disgracefully by Knebworth, -Mr. Foss, especially you. I think, -compared with your case, mine is nothing.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It is the way he has handled you that makes -me sore,” said Foss energetically. “An artiste -of your standing!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The work you’ve done for him! And -Reggie—he treated him like a dog!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Personally, it doesn’t matter to me,” said -Reggie. “I can always find a contract—it’s -you——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“For the matter of that, we can <span class='it'>all</span> find -contracts,” interrupted Stella with a taste of -acid in her voice: “I can have my own company -when I please, and I’ve got two directors mad -to direct me, and two men I know would put -up every cent of money to give me my own -company—at least, they’d put up a lot. And -Chauncey Seller is raving to play opposite me, -and you know what a star he is; and he’d let -me be featured and go into small type himself. -He’s a lovely man, and the best juvenile in -this country or any other.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Connolly coughed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The point is, can we get the money <span class='it'>now</span>?” -asked Foss, practical for once.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was no immediate and enthusiastic -assurance from the girl.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Because, if not, I think I can get all I -want,” said Foss surprisingly. “I won’t say -from whom, or how I’m going to get it. But -I’m certain I can get big money, and it will be -easier to get it for some specific object than to -ask for it for myself.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Less risky?” suggested Connolly, with a -desire to be in the conversation.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was an unfortunate remark, the more so -since by chance he had hit the nail on the head. -Foss went a dull red.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What the hell do you mean by ‘less -risky’?” he demanded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Poor Reggie had meant nothing, and -admitted as much in some haste. He had -meant to be helpful, and was ready to sulk at -the storm he had aroused. More ready -because, as the conversation had progressed, -he had faded more and more into the background -as an inconsiderable factor. There is -nothing quite so disheartening to a conspirator -as to find the conspiring taken out of his hands, -and Reggie Connolly felt it was the moment -to make a complete <span class='it'>volte face</span>, and incidentally -assert what he was pleased to call his -“personality.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“This is all very well, Stella,” he said, “but -it looks to me as if I’m going to be left out in -the cold. What with your thinking about -Chauncey Seller—he’s let down more pictures -than any two men I know—and all that sort of -thing, I don’t see that I’m going to be much -use to you. I don’t really. I know you’ll -think I’m a fearful, awful rotter, but I feel that -we owe something to old Jack Kneb, I do -really. I’ve jeopardized my position for your -sake, and I’m prepared to do anything in -reason, but what with pulling Chauncey Seller—who -is a bounder of the worst kind—into your -cast, and what with Foss jumping down my -throat, well, really—really!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They were not inclined to mollify him, having -rather an eye to the future than to the -present, and he had retired in a huff before the -girl realized that the holding of Reggie would -at least have embarrassed Knebworth to the -extent of forcing a retake of those parts of the -picture in which he appeared.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Never mind about Connolly. The picture -is certain to fail with that extra: she’s bad. I -have a friend in London,” explained Foss, after -the discussion returned to the question of ways -and means, “who can put up the money. I’ve -got a sort of pull with him. In fact—well, -anyhow, I’ve got a pull. I’ll go up to-night -and see him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And I’ll see mine,” said Stella. “We’ll -call the company The Stella Mendoza Picture -Corporation——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Lawley Foss demurred. He was inclined to -another title, and was prepared to accept as a -compromise the Foss-Mendoza or F.M. -Company, a compromise agreeable to Stella -provided the initials were reversed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who is Brixan?” she asked as Foss was -leaving.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He is a detective.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She opened her eyes wide.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A detective? Whatever is he doing here?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Lawley Foss smiled contemptuously.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He is trying to discover what no man of his -mental calibre will ever discover, the Head-Hunter. -I am the one man in the world who -could help him. Instead of which,” he smiled -again, “I am helping myself.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>With which cryptic and mystifying statement -he left her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Stella Mendoza was an ambitious woman, -and when ambition is directed toward wealth -and fame it is not attended by scruple. Her -private life and her standard of values were no -better and no worse than thousands of other -women, and no more belonged to her profession -than did her passion for good food and luxurious -environment. The sins of any particular class -or profession are not peculiar to their status or -calling, but to their self-education in the matter -of the permissible. As one woman would die -rather than surrender her self-respect, so -another would lose her self-respect rather than -suffer poverty and hardship, and think little or -nothing of the act or the deceit she practised to -gain her ends.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>After Foss had gone, she went up to her -room to change. It was too early to make the -call she intended, for Sir Gregory did not like -to see her during the daytime. He, who had -not hesitated to send Bhag on a fantastic -mission, was a stickler for the proprieties.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Having some letters to post, she drove into -Chichester late in the afternoon, and saw Mike -Brixan in peculiar circumstances. He was the -centre of a little crowd near the market cross, -a head above the surrounding people. There -was a policeman present: she saw his helmet, -and for a moment was inclined to satisfy her -curiosity. She changed her mind, and when -she returned the crowd had dispersed and -Michael had disappeared, and, driving home, -she wondered whether the detective had been -engaged professionally.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mike himself had been attracted by the crowd -which was watching the ineffectual efforts of a -Sussex policeman to make himself intelligible -to a shock-haired, brown-faced native, an incongruous -figure in an ill-fitting suit of store -clothes and a derby hat which was a little too -large for him. In his hand he carried a bundle -tied up in a bright green handkerchief, and -under his arm a long object, wrapped in linen -and fastened with innumerable strings. At the -first sight of him Michael thought it was one -of Penne’s Malayan servants, but on second -thoughts he realized that Sir Gregory would -not allow any of his slaves to run loose about -the countryside.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Pushing his way through the crowd, he came -up to the policeman, who touched his helmet -rim and grinned.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Can’t make head or tail of this fellow’s -lingo, sir,” he said. “He wants to know something, -but I can’t make out what. He has just -come into the city.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The brown man turned his big dark eyes -upon Mike and said something which was -Greek to the detective. There was a curious -dignity about the native that even his ludicrous -garments could not wholly dissipate, an erectness -of body, a carriage of head, an imponderable -air of greatness that instantly claimed -Michael Brixan’s attention.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Then suddenly he had an inspiration, and -addressed the man in Dutch. Immediately the -native’s eyes lit up.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>Ja, mynheer</span>, I speak Dutch.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mike had guessed that he came from Malaya, -where Dutch and Portuguese are spoken by the -better class natives.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am from Borneo, and I seek a man who is -called Truji, an Englishman. No, <span class='it'>mynheer</span>, -I wish to see his house, for he is a great man in -my country. When I have seen his house I -will go back to Borneo.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mike was watching him as he talked. It was -a particularly good-looking face, except for the -long and ugly scar that ran from his forehead -to the point of his jaw.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A new servant for Gregory Penne, thought -the detective, and gave him directions. Standing -by the policeman’s side, he watched the -queer figure with its bundles till it disappeared.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Queer language, that, sir,” said the officer. -“It was Dutch to me.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And to me,” chuckled Mike, and continued -his way to the hotel.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch17'>CHAPTER XVII<br/> <span class='sub-head'>MR. FOSS MAKES A SUGGESTION</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Immersed</span> in her beloved script, Adele -Leamington sat on her bed, a box of <span class='it'>marron -glacé</span> by her side, her knees tucked up, and a -prodigious frown on her forehead. Try as hard -as she would, she found it impossible to concentrate -upon the intricate directions with -which Foss invariably tortured the pages of his -scenarios. Ordinarily she could have mastered -this handicap, but, for some reason or other, -individual thoughts which belonged wholly to -her and had no association with her art came -flowing forth in such volume that the lines -were meaningless and the page, for all the -instruction it gave to her, might as well have -been blank.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>What <span class='it'>was</span> Michael Brixan? He was not her -idea of a detective, and why was he staying in -Chichester? Could it be . . . ? She flushed -at the thought and was angry with herself. It -was hardly likely that a man who was engaged -in unravelling a terrible crime would linger for -the sake of being near to her. Was the Head-Hunter, -the murderer, living near Chichester? -She dropped her manuscript to her knees at -the appalling thought.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The voice of her landlady aroused her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Will you see Mr. Foss, miss?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She jumped up from the bed and opened the -door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where is he?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve put him in the parlour,” said the -woman, who had grown a little more respectful -of late. Possibly the rise of the extra to -stardom was generally known in that small -town, which took an interest in the fortunes of -its one ewe lamb of a production company.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Lawley Foss was standing by the window, -looking out, when she came into the room.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Good afternoon, Adele,” he said genially. -(He had never called her by her Christian name -before, even if he had known it.)</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Good afternoon, Mr. Foss,” she said with -a smile. “I’m sorry to hear that you have left -us.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Foss lifted his shoulders in a gesture of -indifference.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The scope was a little too limited for my -kind of work,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was wondering if Mike had told her about -the disc of paper on her window, and surmised -rightly that he had not. Foss himself did not -attach any significance to the white disc, accepting -Gregory’s explanation, which was that, -liking the girl, he wished to toss some flowers -and a present, by way of a peace offering, -through a window which he guessed would be -open. Foss had thought him a love-sick fool, -and had obliged him. The story that Knebworth -had told he dismissed as sheer melodrama.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Adele, you’re a foolish little girl to turn -down a man like Gregory Penne,” he said, and -saw by her face that he was on dangerous -ground. “There’s no sense in getting up in -the air; after all, we’re human beings, and it -isn’t unnatural that Penne should have a crush -on you. There’s nothing wrong in that. -Hundreds of girls have dinner with men without -there being anything sinister in it. I’m a -friend of Penne’s, in a way, and I’m seeing -him to-night on a very important and personal -matter—will you come along?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She shook her head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There may be no harm in it,” she said, -“but there is no pleasure in it either.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s a rich man and a powerful man,” said -Foss impressively. “He could be of service -to you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Again she shook her head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I want no other help than my own ability,” -she said. “I nearly said ‘genius,’ but that -would have sounded like conceit. I do not -need the patronage of any rich man. If I cannot -succeed without that, then I am a hopeless -failure and am content to be one!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Still Foss lingered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I think I can manage without you,” he said, -“but I’d have been glad of your co-operation. -He’s crazy about you. If Mendoza knew that, -she’d kill you!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Miss Mendoza?” gasped the girl. “But -why? Does she—she know him?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes: very few people are aware of the -fact. There was a time when he’d have done -anything for her, and she was a wise girl: -she let him help! Mendoza has money to -burn and diamonds enough to fill the Jewel -House.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Adele listened, horror-stricken, incredulous, -and he hastened to insure himself against -Stella’s wrath.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You needn’t tell her I told you—this is -in strict confidence. I don’t want to get on -the wrong side of Penne either,” he shivered. -“That man’s a devil!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Her lips twitched.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And yet you calmly ask me to dine with -him, and hold out the bait of Miss Mendoza’s -diamonds!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I suppose you think she’s awful,” he -sneered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am very sorry for her,” said the girl -quietly, “and I am determined not to be sorry -for myself!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She opened the door to him in silence, and -in silence he took his departure. After all, -he thought, there was no need for any outside -help. In his breast pocket was a sheet of -manuscript, written on the Head-Hunter’s -typewriter. That ought to be worth thousands -when he made his revelation.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch18'>CHAPTER XVIII<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE FACE IN THE PICTURE</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Mr. Sampson Longvale</span> was taking a gentle -constitutional on the strip of path before his -untidy house. He wore, as usual—for he was -a creature of habit—a long, grey silk dressing-gown, -fastened by a scarlet sash. On his -head was his silk nightcap, and between his -teeth a clay churchwarden pipe, which he -puffed solemnly as he walked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He had just bidden a courteous good night -to the help who came in daily to tidy his living-rooms -and prepare his simple meals, when he -heard the sound of feet coming up the drive. -He thought at first it was the woman returning -(she had a habit of forgetting things); but when -he turned, he saw the unprepossessing figure -of a neighbour with whom he was acquainted in -the sense that Sir Gregory Penne had twice -been abominably rude to him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The old man watched with immobile -countenance the coming of his unwelcome -visitor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“ ’Evening!” growled Penne. “Can I -speak to you privately?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Longvale inclined his head courteously.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Certainly, Sir Gregory. Will you come -in?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He ushered the owner of Griff Towers into -the long sitting-room and lit the candles. Sir -Gregory glanced round, his lips curled in -disgust at the worn poverty of the apartment, -and when the old man had pushed up a chair -for him, it was some time before he accepted -the offer.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now, sir,” said Mr. Longvale courteously, -“to what circumstances do I owe the pleasure -of this visit?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You had some actors staying here the -other day?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Longvale inclined his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There was some fool talk about a monkey -of mine trying to get into the house.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A monkey?” said Mr. Longvale in gentle -surprise. “That is the first I have heard of -monkeys.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Which was true. The other looked at him -suspiciously.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is that so?” he asked. “You’re not -going to persuade me you didn’t hear?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The old man stood up, a picture of dignity.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Do you suggest that I am lying, sir?” he -said. “Because, if you do, there is the door! -And though it hurts me to be in the least -degree discourteous to a guest of mine, I am -afraid I have no other course than to ask you -to leave my house.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“All right, all right,” said Sir Gregory -Penne impatiently. “Don’t lose your temper, -my friend. I didn’t come to see you about -that, anyway. You’re a doctor, aren’t you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Longvale was obviously startled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I practised medicine when I was younger,” -he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Poor, too?” Gregory looked round. -“You haven’t a shilling in the world, I’ll -bet!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There you are wrong,” said old Mr. -Longvale quietly. “I am an extremely -wealthy man, and the fact that I do not keep -my house in repair is due to the curious -penchant of mine for decaying things. That -is an unhealthy, probably a morbid predilection -of mine. How did you know I was a -doctor?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I heard through one of my servants. -You set the broken finger of a carter.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I haven’t practised for years,” said Mr. -Longvale. “I almost wish I had,” he added -wistfully. “It is a noble science——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Anyway,” interrupted Penne, “even if -you can’t be bought, you’re a secretive old -devil, and that suits me. There’s a girl up -at my house who is very ill. I don’t want any -of these prying country doctors nosing around -my private affairs. Would you come along -and see her?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The old man pursed his lips thoughtfully.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I should be most happy,” he said, “but -I am afraid my medical science is a little -rusty. Is she a servant?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“In a way,” said the other shortly. “When -can you come?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll come at once,” said Mr. Longvale -gravely, and went out, to return in his greatcoat.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The baronet looked at the ancient garment -with a smile of derision.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why the devil do you wear such old-fashioned -clothes?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“To me they are very new,” said the old -man gently. “The garments of to-day are -without romance, without the thrill which -these bring to me.” He patted the overlapping -cape and smiled. “An old man is -entitled to his fancies: let me be humoured, -Sir Gregory.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At the moment Mr. Sampson Longvale -was driving to Griff Towers, Mike Brixan, -summoned by messenger, was facing Jack -Knebworth in his office.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I hope you didn’t mind my sending for -you, though it was a fool thing to do,” said -the director. “You remember that we shot -some scenes at Griff Towers?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I want you to see one that we took, with -the tower in the background, and tell me what -you think of—something.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Wonderingly, Michael accompanied the -director to the projection room.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My laboratory manager pointed it out to -me in the negative,” explained Jack as they -seated themselves and the room went dark. -“Of course, I should have seen it in the print.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What is it?” asked Michael curiously.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s just what I don’t know,” said the -other, scratching his head, “but you’ll see for -yourself.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was a flicker and a furious clicking, -and there appeared on the small screen which -was used for projection purposes, a picture of -two people. Adele was one and Reggie -Connolly the other, and Michael gazed stolidly, -though with rising annoyance, at a love scene -which was being enacted between the two.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In the immediate background was the wall -of the tower, and Michael saw for the first -time that there was a little window which he -did not remember having seen from the interior -of the hall; it was particularly dark, and was -lighted, even in daytime, by electric lamps.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I never noticed that window before,” he -said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s the window I want you to watch,” said -Jack Knebworth, and, even as he spoke, there -came stealthily into view a face.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At first it was indistinct and blurred, but -later, it came into focus. It was the oval face -of a girl, dark-eyed, her hair in disorder, a -look of unspeakable terror on her face. She -raised her hand as if to beckon somebody—probably -Jack himself, who was directing the -picture. That, at least, was Jack’s view. -They had hardly time to get accustomed to -the presence of the mystery girl when she -disappeared, with such rapidity as to suggest -that she had been dragged violently back.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What do you make of that?” asked -Knebworth.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael bit his lip thoughtfully.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Looks almost as though friend Penne had -a prisoner in his dark tower. Of course, the -woman whose scream I heard, and who he -said was a servant! But the window puzzles -me. There’s no sign of it inside. The -stairway leads out of the hall, but in such a -position that it is impossible that the girl could -have been standing either on the stairs or the -landing. Therefore, there must be a fifth wall -inside, containing a separate staircase. Does -this mean you will have to retake?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack shook his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, we can back her out: she’s only on -fifty feet of the film; but I thought you’d like -to see it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The lights came on again, and they went -back to the director’s office.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t like Penne, for more reasons than -one,” said Jack Knebworth. “I like him less -since I’ve found that he’s better friends with -Mendoza than I thought he was.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who is Mendoza—the deposed star?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The other nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Stella Mendoza—not a bad girl and not a -good girl,” he said. “I’ve been wondering -why Penne always gave us permission to use -his grounds for shooting, and now I know. I -tell you that that house holds a few secrets!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael smiled faintly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“One, at least, of them will be revealed -to-night,” he said. “I am going to explore -Griff Towers, and I do not intend asking -permission of Sir Gregory Penne. And if I -can discover what I believe is there to be -discovered, Gregory Penne will sleep under -lock and key this night!”</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch19'>CHAPTER XIX<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE MIDNIGHT VISIT</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Michael Brixan</span> had had sent down to him -from town a heavy suit-case, which contained -precious little clothing. He was busy with its -contents for half an hour, when the boots of -the hotel announced the arrival of the motor-cycle -that had been hired for him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>With a canvas bag strapped to his back, he -mounted the machine, and was soon clear of -the town, swerving through the twisting lanes -of Sussex until he arrived at the Dower House, -behind which he concealed his machine.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was eleven o’clock when he crossed the -fields to the postern gate, on the alert all the -time for the soft-footed Bhag. The postern -was closed and locked—a contingency for -which he was prepared. Unstrapping his bag, -he took therefrom a bundle of rods, and -screwed three together. To the top he -fastened a big, blunt hook, and, replacing the -remainder of the rods, he lifted the hook till -it rested on the top of the high wall, tested -its stability, and in a few seconds had climbed -his “ladder” and had jumped to the other -side.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He followed the path that he had taken -before, keeping close to the bushes, and all -the time watching left and right for Penne’s -monstrous servant. As he came to the end of -the hedge, the hall door opened and two men -came out. One was Penne, and for a moment -he did not recognize the tall man by his side, -until he heard his voice. Mr. Sampson -Longvale!</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I think she will be all right. The wounds -are very peculiar. It looks almost as if she -had been scratched by some huge claw,” said -Longvale. “I hope I have been of assistance, -Sir Gregory, though, as I told you, it is nearly -fifty years since I engaged in medical work.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>So old Longvale had been a doctor! -Somehow this news did not surprise Michael. -There was something in the old man’s -benevolence of countenance and easy manner -which would have suggested a training in that -profession, to one less analytical than Michael -Brixan.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My car will take you down,” he heard -Sir Gregory say.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, no, thank you; I will walk. It is -not very far. Good night, Sir Gregory.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The baronet growled a good night and went -back into the dimly-lit hall, and Michael -heard the rattle of chains as the door was -fastened.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was no time to be lost. Almost -before Mr. Sampson Longvale had disappeared -into the darkness, Michael had opened his -canvas bag and had screwed on three more -links to his ladder. From each rod projected -a short, light, steel bracket. It was the type -of hook-ladder that firemen use, and Michael -had employed this method of gaining entrance -to a forbidden house many times in his -chequered career.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He judged the distance accurately, for when -he lifted the rod and dropped the hook upon -the sill of the little window, the ladder hung -only a few inches short of the ground. With -a tug to test the hook, he went up hand over -hand, and in a few seconds was prying at the -window sash. It needed little opening, for -the catch was of elementary simplicity, and -in another instant he was standing on the step -of a dark and narrow stairway.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He had provided himself with an electric -torch, and he flashed a beam up and down. -Below, he saw a small door which apparently -led into the hall, and, by an effort of memory, -he remembered that in the corner of the hall -he had seen a curtain hanging, without -attaching any importance to the fact. Going -down, he tried the door and found it locked. -Putting down his lantern, he took out a leather -case of tools and began to manipulate the lock. -In an incredibly short space of time the key -turned. When he had assured himself that -the door would open, he was satisfied. For -the moment his work lay upstairs, and he -climbed the steps again, coming to a narrow -landing, but no door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A second, a third and a fourth flight brought -him, as near as he could guess, to the top of -the tower, and here he found a narrow exit. -Listening, after a while he heard somebody -moving about the room, and by the sound -they made, he supposed they wore slippers. -Presently a door closed with a thud, and he -tried the handle of the wicket. It was -unlocked, and he opened it gently a fraction -of an inch at a time, until he secured a view -of the greater part of the chamber.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was a small, lofty room, unfurnished with -the exception of a low bed in one corner, on -which a woman lay. Her back was toward -him, fortunately; but the black hair and the -ivory yellow of the bare arm that lay on the -coverlet told him that she was not European.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Presently she turned and he saw her face, -recognizing her immediately as the woman -whose face he had seen in the picture. She -was pretty in her wild way, and young. Her -eyes were closed, and presently she began -crying softly in her sleep.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael was half-way in the room when he -saw the handle of the other door turn, and, -quick as a flash, stepped back into the -darkness of the landing.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was Bhag, in his old blue overall, a tray -of food in his great hands. He reached out -his foot and pulled the table toward him, -placing the viands by the side of the bed. -The girl opened her eyes and sank back with -a little cry of disgust; and Bhag, who was -evidently used to these demonstrations of her -loathing, shuffled out of the room.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Again Michael pushed the door and crossed -the room, unnoticed by the girl, looking out -into the passage—not six feet away from him, -Bhag was squatting, glaring in his direction.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael closed the door quickly and flew -back to the secret staircase, pulling the door -behind him. He felt for a key, but there was -none, and, without wasting another second, -he ran down the stairs. The one thing he -wished to avoid was an encounter which would -betray his presence in the house.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He made no attempt to get out of the -window, but continued his way to the foot of -the stairs, and passed through into the hall. -This time he was able to close the door, for -there were two large bolts at the top and the -bottom. Pulling aside the curtain, he stepped -gingerly into the hall. For a while he waited, -and presently heard the shuffle of feet on the -stairs and a sniff beneath the door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His first act was to ensure his retreat. -Noiselessly he drew the bolts from the front -door, slipped off the chain and turned the key. -Then, as noiselessly, he made his way along -the corridor toward Sir Gregory’s room.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The danger was that one of the native -servants would see him, but this he must risk. -He had observed on each of his previous visits -that, short of the library, a door opened into -what he knew must be an ante-room of some -kind. It was unlocked and he stepped into -complete darkness. Groping along the wall, -he found a row of switches, and pulled -down the first. This lit two wall-brackets, -sufficient to give him a general view of the -apartment.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was a small drawing-room, apparently -unused, for the furniture was sheeted with -holland, and the fire-grate was empty. From -here it was possible to gain access to the -library through a door near the window. He -switched off the light, locked the door on the -inside, and tried the shutters. These were -fastened by iron bars and were not, as in the -case of the library, locked. He pulled them -back, let the blind up, and gingerly raised -a window. His second line of retreat was -now prepared, and he could afford to take -risks.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Kneeling down, he looked through the -keyhole. The library was illuminated, and -somebody was talking. A woman! Turning -the handle, he opened the door the fraction of -an inch, and had a view of the interior.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Gregory Penne was standing in his favourite -attitude, with his back to the fire, and before -him was a tray of those refreshments without -which life was apparently insupportable. -Seated on the low settee, drawn up at one -side of the fireplace, was Stella Mendoza. -She was wearing a fur coat, for the night was -chilly, and about her neck was such a sparkle -of gems as Michael had never seen before on -a woman.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Evidently the discussion was not a pleasant -one, for there was a heavy scowl on Gregory’s -face, and Stella did not seem too pleased.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I left you because I had to leave you,” -growled the man, answering some complaint -she had made. “One of my servants is ill -and I brought in the doctor. And if I had -stayed it would have been the same. It’s no -good, my girl,” he said harshly. “The goose -doesn’t lay golden eggs more than once—this -goose doesn’t, at any rate. You were a fool -to quarrel with Knebworth.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She said something which did not reach -Michael’s ears.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I dare say your own company would be -fine,” said Penne sarcastically. “It would be -fine for me, who footed the bill, and finer for -you, who spent the money! No! Stella, that -cat doesn’t jump. I’ve been very good to -you, and you’ve no right to expect me to -bankrupt myself to humour your whims.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s not a whim,” she said vehemently, -“it’s a necessity. You don’t want to see me -going round the studios taking any kind of job -I can get, do you, Gregory?” she pleaded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t want to see you work at all, and -there’s no reason why you should. You’ve -enough to live on. Anyway, you’ve got -nothing against Knebworth. If it hadn’t -been for him, you wouldn’t have met me, and -if you hadn’t met me, you’d have been poorer -by thousands. You want a change.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was a silence. Her head was -drooped, and Michael could not see the girl’s -face, but when she spoke, there was that note -of viciousness in her voice which told him her -state of mind.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You want a change too, perhaps! I -could tell things about you that wouldn’t look -good in print, and you’d have a change too! -Get that in your mind, Gregory Penne! I’m -not a fool—I’ve seen things and heard things, -and I can put two and two together. You -think I want a change, do you—I do! I -want friends who aren’t murderers——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He sprang at her, his big hand covering her -mouth.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You little devil!” he hissed, and at that -instant somebody must have knocked, for he -turned to the door and said something in the -native dialect.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The answer was inaudible to Mike.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Listen.” Gregory was speaking to the -girl in a calmer tone. “Foss is waiting to see -me, and I’ll discuss this little matter with you -afterwards.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He released her, and, going to his -desk, touched the spring that operated the -mechanism of the secret door that led to -Bhag’s quarters.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Go in there and wait,” he said. “I’ll not -keep you longer than five minutes.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She looked suspiciously at the door which -had suddenly opened in the panelling.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No,” she said, “I’ll go home. To-morrow -will do. I’m sorry I got rough, -Gregory, but you madden me sometimes.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Go in there!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He pointed to the den, his face working.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll not!” Her face was white. “You -beast, don’t you think I know? That is -Bhag’s den! Oh, you beast!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His face was horrible to see. It was as -though all the foulness in his mind found -expression in the demoniacal grimace.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Breathless, terrified, the girl stared at him, -shrinking back against the wall. Presently -Gregory mastered himself.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then go into the little drawing-room,” he -said huskily.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mike had time to switch out the lights and -flatten himself against the wall, when the door -of the room was flung open and the girl thrust -in.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It is dark!” she wailed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’ll find the switches!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The door banged.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael Brixan was in a dilemma. He -could see her figure groping along the wall, -and stealthily he moved to avoid her. In -doing so he stumbled over a stool.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who’s there?” she screamed. “Gregory! -Don’t let him touch me, Gregory!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Again the piercing scream.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mike leapt past her and through the open -window, and, the sound of her shrill agony in -his ears, fled along the hedge. Swift as he -was, something sped more quickly in pursuit, -a great, twittering something that ran bent -double on hands and feet. The detective -heard and guessed. From what secret hiding-place -Bhag had appeared, whether he was in -the grounds at the moment Mike jumped, he -had no time even to guess. He felt a curious -lightness of pocket at that moment and thrust -in his hand. His pistol was gone. It must -have fallen when he jumped.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He could hear the pad of feet behind him -as he darted at a tangent across the field, -blundering over the cabbage rows, slipping -in furrows, the great beast growing closer and -closer with every check. Ahead of him the -postern. But it was locked, and, even if it had -not been, the wall would have proved no -obstacle to the ape. The barrier of the wall -held Michael. Breathless, turning to face his -pursuer, in the darkness he saw the green eyes -shining like two evil stars.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch20'>CHAPTER XX<br/> <span class='sub-head'>A NARROW ESCAPE</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Michael Brixan</span> braced himself for the supreme -and futile struggle. And then, to his amazement, -the ape stopped, and his bird noise -became a harsh chatter. Raising himself erect, -he beat quickly on his great hairy chest, and -the sound of the hollow drumming was awful.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Yet through that sound and above it, -Michael heard a curious hiss—it was the faint -note of escaping steam, and he looked round. -On the top of the wall squatted a man, and -Michael knew him at once. It was the brown-faced -stranger he had seen that day in -Chichester.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The drumming and the hissing grew louder -and then Michael saw a bright, curved thing in -the brown man’s hand. It was a sword, the -replica of that which hung above Sir Gregory’s -fireplace.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was still wondering when the brown man -dropped lightly to the ground, and Bhag, with -a squeal that was almost human, turned and -fled. Michael watched the Thing, fascinated, -until it disappeared into the darkness.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My friend,” said Michael in Dutch, “you -came at a good moment.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He turned, but the brown man had vanished -as though the earth had swallowed him. -Shading his eyes against the starlight, he -presently discerned a dark shape moving swiftly -in the shadow of the wall. For a second he -was inclined to follow and question the brown -man, but decided upon another course. With -some difficulty he surmounted the wall and -dropped to the other side. Then, tidying -himself as well as he could, he made the long -circuit to the gate of Griff Towers, and boldly -walked up to the house, whistling as he went.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was nobody in sight as he crossed the -“parade ground,” and his first step was to -search for and find his pistol.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He must know that the girl was safe before -he left the place. He had seen her car waiting -on the road outside. His hand was raised to -the bell when he heard footsteps in the hall, -and listened intently: there was no doubt that -one of the voices was Stella Mendoza’s, and -he drew back again to cover.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The girl came out, followed by Sir Gregory, -and from their tone, a stranger unacquainted -with the circumstances of their meeting might -have imagined that the visit had been a very -ordinary one, in spite of the lateness of the -hour.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Good night, Sir Gregory,” said the girl, -almost sweetly. “I will see you to-morrow.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Come to lunch,” said Gregory’s voice, “and -bring your friend. Shall I walk with you to -the car?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, thank you,” she said hastily.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael watched her till she was out of sight, -but long before then the big door of Griff -Towers had closed, and the familiar rattle of -chains told him that it was closed finally.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Where was Foss? He must have gone -earlier, if Foss it was. Michael waited till all -was quiet, and then, tip-toeing across the gravel, -followed the girl. He looked about for the -little brown man, but he was not in sight. And -then he remembered that he had left the hook -ladder hanging to the window on the stairs, -and went back to retrieve it. He found the -ladder as it had been left, unscrewed and -packed it in the canvas bag, and five minutes -later he was taking his motor-cycle from its -place of concealment.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A yellow light showed in the window of -Mr. Longvale’s dining-room, and Michael had -half a mind to call upon him. He could tell -him, at any rate, something of that oval-faced -girl in the upper room of the tower. Instead, -he decided to go home. He was tired with -the night’s work, a little disappointed. The -tower had not revealed as tremendous a secret -as he had hoped. The girl was a prisoner, -obviously; had been kidnapped for Sir -Gregory’s pleasure, and brought to England -on his yacht. Such things had happened; -there had been a case in the courts on curiously -parallel lines only a few months before. At -any rate, it did not seem worth while to put off -his bedtime.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He had a hot bath, made himself some -chocolate and, before retiring, sat down to sum -up his day’s experience. And in the light of -recent happenings he was less confident that his -first solution of the Head-Hunter mystery was -the correct one. And the more he thought, -the less satisfied he was, till at last, in sheer -disgust at his own vacillation of mind, he turned -out the light and went to bed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was sleeping peacefully and late the -next morning when an unexpected visitor -arrived, and Michael sat up in bed and rubbed -his eyes.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve either got nightmare or it’s Staines,” -he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Major Staines smiled cheerfully.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re awake and normal,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Has anything happened?” asked Michael, -springing out of bed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Nothing, only there was a late dance last -night and an early train this morning, and -I decided to atone for my frivolity by coming -down and seeing how far you had got in the -Elmer case.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Elmer case?” Michael frowned. “Good -Lord! I’d almost forgotten poor Elmer!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Here’s something to remind you,” said -Staines.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He fished from his pocket a newspaper -cutting. Michael took it and read:</p> - -<div class='blockquote'> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is your trouble of mind or body incurable? -Do you hesitate on the brink of the abyss? -Does courage fail you? Write to Benefactor, -Box——”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='pindent'>“What is this?” asked Michael, frowning.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It was found in the pocket of an old -waistcoat that Elmer was wearing a few days -before he disappeared. Mrs. Elmer was -going through his clothes with the idea of -selling them, when she found this. It appeared -in the <span class='it'>Morning Telegram</span> of the fourteenth—that -is to say, three or four days before Elmer -vanished. The box number at the end, of -course, is the box number of the newspaper to -which replies were sent. There is a record -that four letters reached the ‘Benefactor,’ who, -so far as we have been able to discover, had -these particular letters readdressed to a little -shop in Stibbington Street, London. Here -they were collected by a woman, evidently of -the working class, and probably a charlady -from the appearance which has been circulated. -Beyond that, no further trace has been obtainable. -Similar advertisements have been found -by search in other newspapers, but in these -cases the letters were sent to an accommodation -address in South London, where apparently -the same woman collected them. With every -new advertisement the advertiser changes his -address. She was a stranger to each neighbourhood, -by the way; and from what shopkeepers -have told Scotland Yard, she seemed -to be a little off her head, for she was in -the habit of mumbling and talking to herself. -Her name is Stivins—at least, that is the name -she always gave. And the notes she brought -were usually signed ‘Mark’—that is to say, -the notes authorizing the shopkeepers to hand -the letters to her. That she is a native of -London there is no doubt, but so far the police -have not trailed her.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And suppose they do?” asked Michael. -“Do you connect the advertisement with the -murders?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We do and we do not,” replied the other. -“I merely point out that this advertisement is -a peculiar one, and in all the circumstances a -little suspicious. Now what is the theory you -wanted to give me?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>For an hour Michael spoke, interrupted at -intervals by questions which Staines put to him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It is a queer idea, almost a fantastical one,” -said Staines gravely, “but if you feel that you’ve -got so much as one thread in your hands, -go right ahead. To tell you the truth,” in a -burst of confidence, “I had a horrible feeling -that you had fallen down; and since I do not -want our department to be a source of amusement -to Scotland Yard, I thought I’d come -along and give you the result of my own -private investigations. I agree with you,” he -said later, as they sat at breakfast, “that you -want to go very, very carefully. It is a delicate -business. You haven’t told the Scotland Yard -men your suspicions?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael shook his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then don’t,” said the other emphatically. -“They’d be certain to go along and put the -person you suspect under arrest, and probably -that would destroy the evidence that would -convict. You say you have made a search of -the house?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not a search: I’ve made a rough inspection.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Are there cellars?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I should imagine so,” said Michael. “That -type of house usually has.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Outhouses where——?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael shook his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There are none, so far as I have been able -to see.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael walked down to the railway station -with his chief, who told him he was leaving in -a much more cheerful frame of mind than he -had been in when he arrived.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There’s one warning I’ll give to you, -Mike,” said Staines as the train was about to -pull out of the station, “and it is to watch out -for yourself! You’re dealing with a ruthless -and ingenious man. For heaven’s sake do not -underrate his intelligence. I don’t want to -wake up one morning to learn that you have -vanished from the ken of man.”</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch21'>CHAPTER XXI<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE ERASURE</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Mike’s</span> way back did not lead through the -little street where Adele Leamington lived—at -least, not his nearest road. Yet he found -himself knocking at the door, and learnt, with -a sense of disappointment, that the girl had -been out since seven o’clock in the morning. -Knebworth was shooting on the South Downs, -and the studio, when he arrived, was empty, -except for Knebworth’s secretary and the new -scenario editor, who had arrived late on the -previous evening.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t know the location, Mr. Brixan,” -said Dicker, the secretary, “but it’s somewhere -above Arundel. Miss Mendoza was here -this morning, asking the same question. She -wanted Miss Leamington to go out to lunch -with her.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, she did, did she?” said Michael softly. -“Well, if she comes again, you can tell her -from me that Miss Leamington has another -engagement.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The other nodded wisely.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I hope she won’t keep you waiting,” he -said. “You never know, when Jack’s on -location——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I did not say she had an engagement with -me,” said Michael loudly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That reminds me, Mr. Brixan,” said the -secretary suddenly. “Do you remember the -fuss you made—I mean, there was—about a -sheet of manuscript that by some accident had -got into Miss Leamington’s script?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Has the manuscript been found?” he -asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, but the new scenario editor tells me -that he was looking through the book where -Foss kept a record of all the manuscripts that -came in, and he found one entry had been -blacked out with Indian ink.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’d like to see that book,” said the -interested Michael, and it was brought to him, -a large foolscap ledger, ruled to show the name -of the submitted scenario, the author, his -address, the date received and the date -returned. Mike put it down on the table in -Knebworth’s private office and went carefully -through the list of authors.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If he sent one he has probably sent more,” -he said. “There are no other erasures?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The secretary shook his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That is the only one we’ve seen,” he said. -“You’ll find lots of names of local people—there -isn’t a tradesman in the place who hasn’t -written a scenario or submitted an idea since -we’ve been operating.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Slowly Michael’s finger went up the column -of names. Page after page was turned back. -And then his finger stopped at an entry.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The Power of Fear: Sir Gregory Penne,” -he read, and looked round at Dicker.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did Sir Gregory submit scenarios, Mr. -Dicker?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Dicker nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, he sent in one or two,” he said. -“You’ll find his name farther back in the book. -He used to write scenarios which he thought -were suitable for Miss Mendoza. He’s not the -man you’re looking for?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No,” said Michael quickly. “Have you -any of his manuscript?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“They were all sent back,” said Dicker -regretfully. “He wrote awful mush! I read -one of them. I remember Foss trying to -persuade old Jack to produce it. Foss made -quite a lot of money on the side, we’ve -discovered. He used to take fees from -authors, and Mr. Knebworth discovered this -morning that he once took two hundred pounds -from a lady on the promise that he’d get her -into the pictures. He wrote Foss a stinging -letter this morning about it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Presently Michael found Sir Gregory’s name -again. It was not remarkable that the owner -of Griff Towers should have submitted a -manuscript. There was hardly a thinking -man or woman in the world who did not believe -he or she was capable of writing for the films.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He closed the book and handed it back to -Dicker.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It is certainly queer, that erased entry. -I’ll speak to Foss about it as soon as I can find -him,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He went immediately to the little hotel where -Foss was staying, but he was out.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t think he came home last night,” -said the manager. “If he did, he didn’t sleep -in his bed. He said he was going to London,” -he added.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael went back to the studio, for it had -begun to rain, and he knew that that would -drive the company from location. His surmise -was correct: the big yellow char-à-banc came -rumbling into the yard a few minutes after he -got there. Adele saw him, and was passing -with a nod when he called her to him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Thank you, Mr. Brixan, but we lunched on -location, and I have two big scenes to read -for to-morrow.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Her refusal was uncompromising, but -Michael was not the type who readily accepted -a “No.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What about tea? You’ve got to drink -tea, my good lady, though you have fifty scenes -to study. And you can’t read and eat too. -If you do, you’ll get indigestion, and if you get -indigestion——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She laughed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If my landlady will loan me her parlour, -you may come to tea at half-past four,” she -said; “and if you have another engagement at -five o’clock, you’ll be able to meet it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth was waiting for him when -he went into the studio.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Heard about that entry in the scenario -book?” he asked. “I see you have. What do -you think of it?” Without waiting for a -reply: “It looks queer to me. Foss was an -unmitigated liar. That fellow couldn’t see -straight. I’ve got a little bone to pick with -him on the matter of a fee he accepted from a -screen-struck lady who wished to be featured -in one of my productions.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“How’s the girl?” asked Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You mean Adele? Really, she’s wonderful, -Brixan! I’m touching wood all the time”—he -put his hand on the table piously—“because -I know that there’s a big shock -coming to me somewhere and somehow. -Those things do not happen in real life. -The only stars that are born in a night are the -fireworks produced by crazy vice-presidents -who have promised to do something for Mamie -and can’t break their word. And Mamie, -supported by six hundred extras and half a -million dollars’ worth of sets, two chariot races -and the fall of Babylon, all produced regardless -of expense, manages to get over by giving a -fine imitation of what the Queen of Persia -would look like if she’d been born a chorus -girl and trained as a mannequin. And she’s -either got so few clothes that you don’t look at -her face, or so many clothes that you don’t -notice her acting.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Those kind of stars are like the dust of -the Milky Way: there is so much splendour all -round them that it wouldn’t matter if they -weren’t there at all. But this girl Leamington, -she’s getting over entirely and absolutely by -sheer, unadulterated grey matter. I tell you, -Brixan, it’s not right. These things do not -happen except in the imagination of press -agents. There’s something wrong with that -kid.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Wrong?” said Michael, startled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Knebworth nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Something radically wrong. There’s a -snag somewhere. She’s either going to let me -down by vanishing before the picture’s through, -or else she’s going to be arrested for driving a -car along Regent Street in a highly intoxicated -condition!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael laughed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I think she’ll do neither,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Heard about Mendoza’s new company?” -asked old Jack, filling his pipe.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael pulled up a chair and sat down.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, I haven’t.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“She’s starting a new production company. -There’s never a star I’ve fired that hasn’t! It -gets all written out on paper, capital in big type, -star in bigger! It’s generally due to the friends -of the star, who tell her that a hundred thousand -a year is a cruel starvation wage for a woman -of her genius, and she ought to get it all. -Generally there’s a sucker in the background -who puts up the money. As a rule, he puts up -all but enough, and then she selects a story -where she is never off the screen, and wears a -new dress every fifty feet of film. If she -can’t find that sort of story, why, she gets -somebody to write her one. The only time -you ever see the other members of the company -is in the long shots. Half-way through the -picture the money dries up, the company goes -bust, and all the poor little star gets out of -it is the Rolls-Royce she bought to take her on -location, the new bungalow she built to be -nearer the lot, and about twenty-five per cent. -of the capital that she’s taken on account of -royalties.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mendoza will not get a good producer in -England?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“She may,” nodded Jack. “There <span class='it'>are</span> -producers in this country, but unfortunately -they’re not the men on top. They’ve been -brought down by the craze for greatness. A -man who produces with a lot of capital behind -him can get easy money. He doesn’t go after -the domestic stories, where he’d be found out -first time; he says to the money-bags: ‘Let’s -produce the Fall of Jerusalem. I’ve got a -cute idea for building Ezekiel’s temple that’s -never been taken before. It’ll only cost a mere -trifle of two hundred thousand dollars, and we’ll -have five thousand extras in one scene, and -we’ll rebuild the Colosseum and have a hundred -real lions in the arena! Story? What do -you want a story for? The public love -crowds.’ Or maybe he wants to build a new -Vesuvius and an eruption at the rate of fifty -dollars a foot. There’s many a big reputation -been built up on sets and extras. Come in, -Mr. Longvale.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael turned. The cheery old man was at -the door, hat in hand.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am afraid I am rather a nuisance,” he -said in his beautiful voice. “But I came in -to see my lawyer, and I could not deny myself -the satisfaction of calling to see how your -picture is progressing.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It is going on well, Mr. Longvale, thank -you,” said Jack. “You know Mr. Brixan?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The old man nodded and smiled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, I came in to see my lawyer on what -to you will seem to be a curious errand. Many -years ago I was a medical student and took my -final examination, so that I am, to all intents -and purposes, a doctor, though I’ve not -practised to any extent. It is not generally -known that I have a medical degree and I was -surprised last night to be called out by—er—a -neighbour, who wished me to attend a servant -of his. Now, I am so hazy on the subject that -I wasn’t quite sure whether or not I’d broken -the law by practising without registration.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I can relieve your mind there, Mr. -Longvale,” said Michael. “Once you are -registered, you are always registered, and you -acted quite within your rights.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“So my lawyer informed me,” said Longvale -gravely.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Was it a bad case?” asked Michael, who -guessed who the patient was.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, it was not a bad case. I thought there -was blood poisoning, but I think perhaps I may -have been mistaken. Medical science has -made such great advance since I was a young -man that I almost feared to prescribe. Whilst -I am only too happy to render any service that -humanity demands, I must confess that it was -rather a disturbing experience, and I scarcely -slept all night. In fact, it was a very disturbing -evening and night. Somebody, for some -extraordinary reason, put a motor-bicycle in my -garden.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael smiled to himself.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I cannot understand why. It had gone -this morning. And then I saw our friend -Foss, who seemed very much perturbed about -something.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where did you see him?” asked Michael -quickly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He was passing my house. I was standing -at the gate, smoking my pipe, and bade him -good night without knowing who he was. -When he turned back, I saw it was Mr. Foss. -He told me he had been to make a call, -and that he had another appointment in an -hour.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What time was this?” asked Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I think it must have been eleven o’clock.” -The old man hesitated. “I’m not sure. It -was just before I went to bed.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael could easily account for Foss’s -conduct. Sir Gregory had hurried him off and -told him to come back after the girl had gone.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My little place used to be remarkable for -its quietness,” said Mr. Longvale, and shook -his head. “Perhaps,” turning to Knebworth, -“when your picture is finished you will be so -good as to allow me to see it?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, surely, Mr. Longvale.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t know why I’m taking this -tremendous interest,” chuckled the old man. -“I must confess that, until a few weeks ago, -film-making was a mystery to me. And even -to-day it belongs to the esoteric sciences.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Dicker thrust his head in the door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Will you see Miss Mendoza?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth’s expression was one of -utter weariness.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No,” he said curtly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“She says——” began Dicker.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Only the presence of the venerable Mr. -Longvale prevented Jack from expressing his -views on Stella Mendoza and all that she could -say.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There’s another person I saw last night,” -nodded Mr. Longvale. “I thought at first you -must be shooting—is that the expression?—in -the neighbourhood, but Mr. Foss told me that -I was mistaken. She’s rather a charming -girl, don’t you think?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Very,” said Jack dryly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A very sweet disposition,” Longvale went -on, unconscious of the utter lack of sympathy in -the atmosphere. “Nowadays, the confusion -and hurry which modernity brings in its trail do -not make for sweetness of temper, and one is -glad to meet an exception. Not that I am an -enemy of modernity. To me, this is the most -delightful phase of my long life.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sweet disposition!” almost howled Jack -Knebworth when the old man had taken a -dignified farewell. “Did you get that, Brixan? -Say, if that woman’s disposition is sweet, the -devil’s made of chocolate!”</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch22'>CHAPTER XXII<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE HEAD</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>When</span> Mike went out, he found Stella at the -gate of the studio, and remembered, seeing -her, that she had been invited to lunch at -Griff Towers. To his surprise she crossed the -road to him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I wanted to see you, Mr. Brixan,” she said. -“I sent in word to find if you were there.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then your message was wrongly delivered -to Mr. Knebworth,” smiled Mike.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She lifted one of her shoulders in demonstration -of her contempt for Jack Knebworth and -all his works.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, it was you I wanted to see. You’re a -detective, aren’t you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am,” said Michael, wondering what was -coming next.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My car is round the corner: will you come -to my house?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael hesitated. He was anxious, more -than anxious, to speak to Adele, though he had -nothing special to tell her, beyond the thing -which he himself did not know and she could -never guess.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“With pleasure,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She was a skilful motorist, and apparently so -much engrossed in her driving that she did not -speak throughout the journey. In the pretty -little drawing-room from which he had a view -of the lovely South Downs, he waited -expectantly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Brixan, I am going to tell you something -which I think you ought to know.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Her face was pale, her manner curiously -nervous.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t know what you will think of me -when I have told you, but I’ve got to risk that. -I can’t keep silence any longer.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A shrill bell sounded in the hall.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The telephone. Will you excuse me one -moment?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She hurried out, leaving the door slightly -ajar. Michael heard her quick, angry reply -to somebody at the other end of the wire, and -then a long interregnum of silence, when -apparently she listened without comment. It -was nearly ten minutes before she returned, -and her eyes were bright and her cheeks flushed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Would you mind if I told you what I was -going to tell you a little later?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She had been on the telephone to Sir -Gregory: of that Michael was sure, though she -had not mentioned his name.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There’s no time like the present, Miss -Mendoza,” he said encouragingly, and she -licked her dry lips.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, I know, but there are reasons why -I can’t speak now. Would you see me -to-morrow?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, certainly,” said Michael, secretly -glad of his release.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Shall I drive you back?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, thank you, I can walk.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Let me take you to the edge of the town: -I’m going that way,” she begged.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Of course she was going that way, thought -Michael. She was going to Griff Towers. He -was so satisfied on this matter that he did not -even trouble to inquire, and when she dropped -him at his hotel, she hardly waited for him to -step to the side-walk before the car leapt forward -on its way.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There’s a telegram for you, sir,” said the -porter. He went into the manager’s office and -returned with a buff envelope, which Michael -tore open.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>For a time he could not comprehend the -fateful message the telegram conveyed. And -then slowly he read it to himself.</p> - -<div class='blockquote'> - -<p class='pindent'>“A head found on Chobham Common early -this morning. Come to Leatherhead Police -Station at once.</p> - -<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:2em;'>“<span class='sc'>Staines.</span>”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='pindent'>An hour later a fast car dropped him before -the station. Staines was waiting on the step.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Found at daybreak this morning,” he said. -“The man is so far unknown.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He led the way to an outhouse. On a table -in the centre of the room was a box, and he -lifted the lid.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mike took one glance at the waxen face and -turned white.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Good God!” he breathed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was the head of Lawley Foss.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch23'>CHAPTER XXIII<br/> <span class='sub-head'>CLUES AT THE TOWER</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Michael</span> gazed in fascinated horror at the -tragic spectacle. Then reverently he covered -the box with a cloth and walked out into the -paved courtyard.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You know him?” asked Staines.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, it is Lawley Foss, lately scenario -editor of the Knebworth Picture Corporation. -He was seen alive last night at eleven o’clock. -I myself heard, if I did not see him, somewhere -about that time. He was visiting Griff Towers, -Sir Gregory Penne’s place in Sussex. Was -there the usual note?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There was a note, but it was quite unusual.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He showed the typewritten slip: it was in -the station inspector’s office. One characteristic -line, with its ill-aligned letters.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“This is the head of a traitor.” That and -no more.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve had the Dorking police on the ’phone. -It was a wet night, and although several cars -passed none of them could be identified.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Has the advertisement appeared?” asked -Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Staines shook his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, that was the first thing we thought of. -The newspapers have carefully observed, and -every newspaper manager in the country has -promised to notify us the moment such an -advertisement is inserted. But there has been -no ad. of any suspicious character.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I shall have to follow the line of probability -here,” said Michael. “It is clear that this -man was murdered between eleven o’clock and -three in the morning—probably nearer eleven -than three; for if the murderer is located in -Sussex, he would have to bring the head to -Chobham, leave it in the dark and return before -it was light.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His car took Michael back to Chichester at -racing pace. Short of the city he turned -off the main road, his objective being Griff -Towers. It was late when he arrived, and -the Towers presented its usual lifeless appearance. -He rang the bell, but there was no -immediate reply. He rang again, and then the -voice of Sir Gregory hailed him from one of -the upper windows.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who’s there?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He went out of the porch and looked up. -Sir Gregory Penne did not recognize him in -the darkness, and called again:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who’s there?” and followed this with a -phrase which Michael guessed was Malayan.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It is I, Michael Brixan. I want to see -you, Penne.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What do you want?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Come down and I will tell you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve gone to bed for the night. See me in -the morning.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll see you now,” said Michael firmly. “I -have a warrant to search this house.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He had no such warrant, but only because -he had not asked for one.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The man’s head was hastily withdrawn, the -window slammed down, and such a long -interval passed that Michael thought that the -baronet intended denying him admission. -This view, however, was wrong. At the end of -a dreary period of waiting the door was opened, -and, in the light of the hall lamp, Sir Gregory -Penne presented an extraordinary appearance.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was fully dressed: around his waist were -belted two heavy revolvers, but this fact -Michael did not immediately notice. The -man’s head was swathed in bandages; only -one eye was visible; his left arm was stiff -with a surgical dressing, and he limped as he -walked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve had an accident,” he said gruffly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It looks a pretty bad one,” said Michael, -observing him narrowly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t want to talk here: come into my -room,” growled the man.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In Sir Gregory’s library there were signs of -a struggle. A long mirror which hung on one -of the walls was shattered to pieces; and, -looking up, Michael saw that one of the two -swords was missing.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’ve lost something,” he said. “Did -that occur in course of the ‘accident’?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Sir Gregory nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Something in the hang of the second sword -attracted Michael’s attention, and, without -asking permission, he lifted it down from its -hook and drew the blade from the scabbard. It -was brown with blood.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What is the meaning of this?” he asked -sternly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Sir Gregory swallowed something.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A fellow broke into the house last night,” -he said slowly, “a Malayan fellow. He had -some cock and bull story about my having -carried off his wife. He attacked me, and -naturally I defended myself.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And had you carried off his wife?” asked -Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The baronet shrugged.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The idea is absurd. Most of these Borneo -folk are mad, and they’ll run amok on the -slightest provocation. I did my best to pacify -him——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael looked at the stained sword.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“So I see,” he said dryly. “And did you—pacify -him?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I defended myself, if that’s what you mean. -I returned him almost as good as he gave. -You don’t expect me to sit down and be -murdered in my own house, do you? I can -use a sword as well as any man.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And apparently you used it,” said Michael. -“What happened to Foss?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Not a muscle of Penne’s face moved.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Whom do you mean?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I mean Lawley Foss, who was in your house -last night.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You mean the scenario writer? I haven’t -seen him for weeks.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re a liar,” said Michael calmly. “He -was in here last night. I can assure you -on this point, because I was in the next -room.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, it was you, was it?” said the baronet, -and seemed relieved. “Yes, he came to -borrow money. I let him have fifty pounds, -and he went away, and that’s the last I saw -of him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael looked at the sword again.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Would you be surprised to learn that Foss’s -head has been picked up on Chobham -Common?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The other turned a pair of cold, searching -eyes upon his interrogator.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I should be very much surprised,” he said -coolly. “If necessary, I have a witness to -prove that Foss went, though I don’t like -bringing in a lady’s name. Miss Stella -Mendoza was here, having a bit of supper, as -you probably know, if it was you in the next -room. He left before she did.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And he returned,” said Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I never saw him again, I tell you,” said the -baronet violently. “If you can find anybody -who saw him come into this house after his first -visit you can arrest me. Do you think <span class='it'>I</span> killed -him?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael did not answer.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There was a woman upstairs in the tower. -What has become of her?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The other wetted his lips before he replied.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The only woman in the tower was a sick -servant: she has gone.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’d like to see for myself,” said Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Only for a second did the man cast his eyes -in the direction of Bhag’s den, and then:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“All right,” he said. “Follow me.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He went out into the corridor and turned, -not toward the hall but in the opposite direction. -Ten paces farther down he stopped and opened -a door, so cunningly set in the panelling, and -so placed between the two shaded lights that -illuminated the corridor, that it was difficult to -detect its presence. He put in his hand, turned -on a light, and Michael saw a long flight of -stairs leading back toward the hall.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>As he followed the baronet, he realized that -the “tower” was something of an illusion. It -was only a tower if viewed from the front of -the house. Otherwise it was an additional -two narrow storeys built on one wing of the -building.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They passed through a door, up a circular -staircase, and came to the corridor where -Michael had seen Bhag squatting on the -previous night.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“This is the room,” said Penne, opening a -door.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch24'>CHAPTER XXIV<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE MARKS OF THE BEAST</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>“On</span> the contrary, it is not the room,” said -Michael quietly. “The room is at the end of -the passage.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The man hesitated.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Can’t you believe me?” he asked in an -almost affable tone of voice. “What a sceptical -chap you are! Now come, Brixan! I don’t -want to be bad friends with you. Let’s go -down and have a drink and forget our past -animosities. I’m feeling rotten——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I want to see that room,” said Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I haven’t the key.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then get it,” said Michael sharply.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Eventually the baronet found a pass-key in -his pocket, and, with every sign of reluctance, -he opened the door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“She went away in a bit of a hurry,” he said. -“She was taken so ill that I had to get rid of -her.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If she left here because she was ill she -went into an institution of some kind, the name -of which you will be able to give me,” said -Michael, as he turned on the light.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>One glance at the room told him that the -story of her hasty departure may have been -accurate. But that the circumstances were -normal, the appearance of the room denied. -The bed was in confusion; there was blood on -the pillow, and a dark brown stain on the wall. -A chair was broken; the carpet had odd and -curious stains, one like the print of a bare foot. -On a sheet was an indubitable hand-print, but -such a hand as no human being had ever -possessed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The mark of the beast,” said Michael, -pointing. “That’s Bhag!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Again the baronet licked his lips.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There was a bit of a fight here,” he said. -“The man came up and pretended to identify -the servant as his wife——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What happened to him?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was no reply.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What happened to him?” asked Michael -with ominous patience.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I let him go, and let him take the woman -with him. It was easier——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>With a sudden exclamation, Michael stooped -and picked up from behind the bed a bright -steel object. It was the half of a sword, -snapped clean in the middle, and unstained. -He looked along the blade, and presently found -the slightest indent. Picking up the chair, he -examined the leg and found two deeper dents -in one of the legs.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll reconstruct the scene. You and your -Bhag caught the man after he had got into this -room. The chair was broken in the struggle, -probably by Bhag, who used the chair. The -man escaped from the room, ran downstairs into -the library and got the sword from the wall, -then came up after you. That’s when the real -fighting started. I guess some of this blood -is yours, Penne.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Some of it!” snarled the other. “All of -it, damn him!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was a long silence.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did the woman leave this room—alive?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I believe so,” said the other sullenly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did her husband leave your library—alive?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’d better find that out. So far as I -know—I was unconscious for half an hour. -Bhag can use a sword——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael did not leave the house till he had -searched it from attic to basement. He had -every servant assembled and began his interrogation. -Each of them except one spoke -Dutch, but none spoke the language to such -purpose that they made him any wiser than he -had been.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Going back to the library, he put on all the -lights.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll see Bhag,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s out, I tell you. If you don’t believe -me——” Penne went to the desk and turned -the switch. The door opened and nothing -came out.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A moment’s hesitation and Michael had -penetrated into the den, a revolver in one hand, -his lamp in another. The two rooms were -scrupulously clean, though a strange animal -smell pervaded everything. There was a small -bed, with sheets and blankets and feather -pillow, where the beast slept; a small larder, -full of nuts; a running water tap (he found -afterwards that, in spite of his cleverness, Bhag -was incapable of turning on or off a faucet); a -deep, well-worn settee, where the dumb servitor -took his rest; and three cricket balls, which -were apparently the playthings of this hideous -animal.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Bhag’s method of entering and leaving the -house was now apparent. His exit was a -square opening in the wall, with neither window -nor curtain, which was situated about seven feet -from the ground; and two projecting steel -rungs, set at intervals between the window and -the floor, made a sort of ladder. Michael found -corresponding rungs on the garden side of the -wall.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was no sign of blood, no evidence -that Bhag had taken any part in the terrible -scene which must have been enacted the night -before.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Going back to the library, he made a diligent -search, but found nothing until he went into -the little drawing-room where he had hidden -the night before. Here on the window-sill he -found traces enough. The mark of a bare -foot, and another which suggested that a heavy -body had been dragged through the window.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>By this time his chauffeur, who, after dropping -him at Griff Towers, went on to Chichester, -had returned with the two police officers, and -they assisted him in a further search of the -grounds. The trail of the fugitive was easy to -follow: there were bloodstains across the gravel, -broken plants in a circular flower-bed, the soft -loam of which had received the impression of -those small bare feet. In the vegetable field -the trail was lost.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The question is, who carried whom?” said -Inspector Lyle, after Michael, in a few words, -had told him all that he had learnt at the Towers. -“It looks to me as if these people were killed -in the house and their bodies carried away by -Bhag. There’s no trace of blood in his room, -which means no more than that in all probability -he hasn’t been there since the killing,” said -Inspector Lyle. “If we find the monkey we’ll -solve this little mystery. Penne is the Head-Hunter, -of course,” the Inspector went on. “I -had a talk with him the other day, and there’s -something fanatical about the man.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am not so sure,” said Michael slowly, -“that you’re right. Perhaps my ideas are just -a little bizarre; but if Sir Gregory Penne is the -actual murderer, I shall be a very surprised -man. I admit,” he confessed, “that the -absence of any footprints in Bhag’s quarters -staggered me, and probably your theory is -correct. There is nothing to be done but to -keep the house under observation until I -communicate with headquarters.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At this moment the second detective, who -had been searching the field to its farthermost -boundary, came back to say that he had picked -up the trail again near the postern gate, which -was open. They hurried across the field and -found proof of his discovery. There was a -trail both inside and outside the gate. Near -the postern was a big heap of leaves, which had -been left by the gardener to rot, and on this -they found the impression of a body, as though -whoever was the carrier had put his burden -down for a little while to rest. In the field -beyond the gate, however, the trail was -definitely lost.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch25'>CHAPTER XXV<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE MAN IN THE CAR</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Life</span> is largely made up of little things, but -perspective in human affairs is not a gift -common to youth. It had required a great -effort on the part of Adele Leamington to ask -a man to tea, but, once that effort was made, -she had looked forward with a curious pleasure -to the function.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At the moment Michael was speeding to -London, she interviewed Jack Knebworth in -his holy of holies.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Certainly, my dear: you may take the -afternoon off. I am not quite sure what the -schedule was.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He reached out his hand for the written -time-table, but she supplied the information.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You wanted some studio portraits of me—‘stills,’ ” -she said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“So I did! Well, that can wait. Are -you feeling pretty confident about the picture, -eh?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I? No, I’m not confident, Mr. -Knebworth; I’m in a state of nerves about it. -You see, it doesn’t seem possible that I should -make good at the first attempt. One dreams -about such things, but in dreams it is easy -to jump obstacles and get round dangerous -corners and slur over difficulties. Every time -you call ‘camera!’ I am in a state of panic, -and I am so self-conscious that I am watching -every movement I take, and saying to myself -‘You’re raising your hands awkwardly; you’re -turning your head with a jerk.’ ”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But that doesn’t last?” he said sharply, -so sharply that she smiled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No: the moment I hear the camera -turning, I feel that I <span class='it'>am</span> the character I’m -supposed to be.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He patted her on the shoulder.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That is how you <span class='it'>should</span> feel,” he said, and -went on: “Seen nothing of Mendoza, have -you? She isn’t annoying you? Or Foss?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve not seen Miss Mendoza for days—but -I saw Mr. Foss last night.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She did not explain the curious circumstances, -and Jack Knebworth was so incurious -that he did not ask. So that he learnt nothing -of Lawley Foss’s mysterious interview with the -man in the closed car at the corner of -Arundel Road, an incident she had witnessed -on the previous night. Nor of the white and -womanly hand that had waved him farewell, -nor of the great diamond which had sparkled -lustrously on the little finger of the unknown -motorist.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Going home, Adele stopped at a confectioner’s -and a florist’s, collected the cakes and -flowers that were to adorn the table of Mrs. -Watson’s parlour. She wondered more than -a little just what attraction she offered to -this man of affairs. She had a trick of getting -outside and examining herself with an -impartial eye, and she knew that, by self-repression -and almost self-obliteration, she -had succeeded in making of Adele Leamington -a very colourless, characterless young lady. -That she was pretty she knew, but prettiness -in itself attracts only the superficial. Men -who are worth knowing require something -more than beauty. And Michael was not -philandering—he was not that kind. He -wanted her for a friend at least: she had no -thought that he desired amusement during his -enforced stay in a very dull town.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Half-past four came and found the girl -waiting. At a quarter to five she was at the -door, scanning the street. At five, angry but -philosophical, she had her tea and ordered the -little maid of all work to clear the table.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael had forgotten!</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Of course, she made excuses for him, only -to demolish them and build again. She was -hurt, amused and hurt again. Going upstairs -to her room, she lit the gas, took the script -from her bag and tried to study the scenes -that were to be shot on the following day, but -all manner of distractions interposed between -her receptive mind and the typewritten paper. -Michael bulked largely, and the closed car, -and Lawley Foss, and that waving white hand -as the car drove off. Curiously enough, her -speculations came back again and again to the -car. It was new and its woodwork was highly -polished and it moved so noiselessly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At last she threw the manuscript down and -rose, with a doubtful eye on the bed. She -was not tired; the hour was nine. Chichester -offered few attractions by night. There were -two cinemas, and she was not in the mood -for cinemas. She put on her hat and went -down, calling <span class='it'>en route</span> at the kitchen door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am going out for a quarter of an hour,” -she told her landlady, who was in an -approving mood.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The house was situate in a street of small -villas. It was economically illuminated, and -there were dark patches where the light of the -street lamps scarcely reached. In one of -these a motor-car was standing—she saw the -bulk of it before she identified its character. -She wondered if the owner knew that its tail -light was extinguished. As she came up to -the machine she identified the car she had -seen on the previous night—Foss had spoken -to its occupant.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Glancing to the left, she could see nothing -of its interior. The blinds on the road side -were drawn, and she thought it was empty, -and then . . .</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Pretty lady—come with me!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The voice was a whisper: she caught the -flash and sparkle of a precious stone, saw the -white hand on the edge of the half-closed -window, and, in a fit of unreasoning terror, -hurried forward.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She heard a whirr of electric starter and the -purring of engines. The machine was following -her, and she broke into a run. At the -corner of the street she saw a man and flew -toward him, as she made out the helmet of a -policeman.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s wrong, miss?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>As he spoke, the car flashed past, spun -round the corner and was out of sight -instantly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A man spoke to me—in that car,” she -said breathlessly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The stolid constable gazed vacantly at the -place where the car had been.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He didn’t have lights,” he said stupidly. -“I ought to have taken his number. Did he -insult you, miss?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She shook her head, for she was already -ashamed of her fears.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m nervy, officer,” she said with a smile. -“I don’t think I will go any farther.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She turned back and hurried to her lodgings. -There were disadvantages in starring—even -on Jack Knebworth’s modest lot. It was -nervous work, she thought.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She went to sleep that night and dreamt -that the man in the car was Michael Brixan -and he wanted her to come in to tea.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was past midnight when Michael rang -up Jack Knebworth with the news.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Foss!” he gasped. “Good God! You -don’t mean that, Brixan? Shall I come round -and see you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll come to you,” said Michael. “There -are one or two things I want to know about the -man, and it will create less of a fuss than if I -have to admit you to the hotel.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth rented a house on the -Arundel Road, and he was waiting at the -garden door to admit his visitor when Michael -arrived.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael told the story of the discovery of -the head, and felt that he might so far take -the director into his confidence as to retail his -visit to Sir Gregory Penne.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That beats everything,” said Jack in a -hushed tone. “Poor old Foss! You think -that Penne did this? But why? You don’t -cut up a man because he wants to borrow -money.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My views have been switching round a -little,” said Michael. “You remember a -sheet of manuscript that was found amongst -some of your script, and which I told you must -have been written by the Head-Hunter?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m perfectly sure,” Michael went on, -“and particularly after seeing the erasure in -the scenario book, that Foss knew who was the -author of that manuscript, and I’m equally -certain that he resolved upon the desperate -expedient of blackmailing the writer. If that -is the case, and if Sir Gregory is the man—again -I am very uncertain on this point—there -is a good reason why he should be put -out of the way. There is one person who can -help us, and that is——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mendoza,” said Jack, and the two men’s -eyes met.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch26'>CHAPTER XXVI<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE HAND</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Jack</span> looked at his watch.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I guess she’ll be in bed by now, but it’s -worth while trying. Would you like to see -her?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael hesitated. Stella Mendoza was a -friend of Penne’s, and he was loath to commit -himself irretrievably to the view that Penne -was the murderer.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, I think we’ll see her,” he said. -“After all, Penne knows that he is suspected.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth was ten minutes on the -telephone before he succeeded in getting a -reply from Stella’s cottage.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s Knebworth speaking, Miss Mendoza,” -he said. “Is it possible to see you to-night? -Mr. Brixan wants to speak to you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“At this hour of the night?” she said in -sleepy surprise. “I was in bed when the bell -rang. Won’t it do in the morning?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, he wants to see you particularly -to-night. I’ll come along with him if you -don’t mind.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What is wrong?” she asked quickly. “Is -it about Gregory?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack whispered a query to the man who -stood at his side, and Michael nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, it is about Gregory,” said Knebworth.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Will you come along? I’ll have time to -dress.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Stella was dressed by the time they arrived, -and too curious and too alarmed to make the -hour of the call a matter of comment.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What is the trouble?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Foss is dead.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Dead?” She opened her eyes wide. -“Why, I only saw him yesterday. But -how?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He has been murdered,” said Michael -quietly. “His head has been found on -Chobham Common.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She would have fallen to the floor, had not -Michael’s arm been there to support her, -and it was some time before she recovered -sufficiently to answer coherently the questions -which were put to her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, I didn’t see Mr. Foss again after he -left the Towers, and then I only saw him for a -few seconds.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did he suggest he was coming back -again?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She shook her head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did Sir Gregory tell you he was -returning?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No.” She shook her head again. “He -told me he was glad to see the last of him, -and that he had borrowed fifty pounds until -next week, when he expected to make a lot of -money. Gregory is like that—he will tell -you things about people, things which they -ask him not to make public. He is rather -proud of his wealth and what he calls his -charity.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You had a luncheon engagement with -him?” said Michael, watching her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She bit her lip.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You must have heard me talking when I -left him,” she said. “No, I had no luncheon -engagement. That was camouflage, intended -for anybody who was hanging around, and we -knew somebody had been in the house that -night. Was it you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, I’m so relieved!” She heaved a -deep sigh. “Those few minutes in that dark -room were terrible to me. I thought it -was——” She hesitated.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Bhag?” suggested Michael, and she -nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes. You don’t suspect Gregory of -killing Foss?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I suspect everybody in general and nobody -in particular,” said Michael. “Did you see -Bhag?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She shivered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, not that time. I’ve seen him, of -course. He gives me the creeps! I’ve never -seen anything so human. Sometimes, when -Gregory was a little—a little drunk, he used -to bring Bhag out and make him do tricks. -Do you know that Bhag could do all the -Malayan exercises with the sword! Sir -Gregory had a specially made wooden sword -for him, and the way that that awful thing -used to twirl it round his head was terrifying.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael stared at her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Bhag <span class='it'>could</span> use the sword, then? Penne -told me he did, but I thought he was -lying.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, yes, he could use the sword. Gregory -taught him everything.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What is Penne to you?” Michael asked -the question bluntly, and she coloured.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He has been a friend,” she said awkwardly, -“a very good friend of mine—financially, -I mean. He took a liking to me a long -time ago, and we’ve been—very good -friends.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And you are still?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No,” she answered shortly, “I’ve finished -with Gregory, and am leaving Chichester -to-morrow. I’ve put the house in an agent’s -hands to rent. Poor Mr. Foss!” she said, -and there were tears in her eyes. “Poor -soul! Gregory wouldn’t have done it, Mr. -Brixan, I’ll swear that! There’s a whole lot -of Gregory that’s sheer bluff. He’s a coward -at heart, and though he has done dreadful -things, he has always had an agent to do the -dirty work.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Dreadful things like what?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She seemed reluctant to explain, but he -pressed her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, he told me that he used to take -expeditions in the bush and raid the villages, -carrying off girls. There is one tribe that have -very beautiful women. Perhaps he was lying -about that too, but I have an idea that he -spoke the truth. He told me that only a -year ago, when he was in Borneo, he ‘lifted’ -a girl from a wild village where it was death -for a European to go. He always said -‘lifted.’ ”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And didn’t you mind these confessions?” -asked Michael, his steely eye upon her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She shrugged her shoulders.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He was that kind of man,” was all she -said, and it spoke volumes for her understanding -of her “very good friend.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael walked back to Jack Knebworth’s -house.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The story Penne tells seems to fit together -with the information Mendoza has given us. -There is no doubt that the woman at the top -of the tower was the lady he ‘lifted,’ and less -doubt that the little brown man was her -husband. If they have escaped from the -tower, then there should be no difficulty in -finding them. I’ll send out a message to all -stations within a radius of twenty-five miles, -and we ought to get news of them in the -morning.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s morning now,” said Jack, looking -toward the greying east. “Will you come -in? I’ll give you some coffee. This news -has upset me. I was going to have a long -day’s work, but I guess we’ll have to put it off -for a day or so. The company is bound to be -upset by this news. They all knew Foss, -although he was not very popular with them. -It only wants Adele to be off colour to -complete our misery. By the way, Brixan, -why don’t you make this your headquarters? -I’m a bachelor; there’s a ’phone service here, -and you’ll get a privacy at this house which -you don’t get at your hotel.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The idea appealed to the detective, and it -was at Jack Knebworth’s house that he slept -that night, after an hour’s conversation on the -telephone with Scotland Yard.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Early in the morning he was again at the -Towers, and now, with the assistance of daylight, -he enlarged his search, without adding -greatly to his knowledge. The position was -a peculiar one, as Scotland Yard had -emphasized. Sir Gregory Penne was a -member of a good family, a rich man, a -justice of the peace; and, whilst his -eccentricities were of a lawless character, -“you can’t hang people for being queer,” -the Commissioner informed Michael on the -telephone.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was a suspicious fact that Bhag had -disappeared as completely as the brown man -and his wife.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He hasn’t been back all night: I’ve seen -nothing of him,” said Sir Gregory. “And -that’s not the first time he’s gone off on his -own. He finds hiding-places that you’d never -suspect, and he’s probably gone to earth -somewhere. He’ll turn up.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael was passing through Chichester -when he saw a figure that made him bring the -car to a standstill with such a jerk that it was -a wonder the tyres did not burst. In a -second he was out of the machine and walking -to meet Adele.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It seems ten thousand years since I saw -you,” he said with an extravagance which at -any other time would have brought a smile to -her face.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m afraid I can’t stop. I’m on my way -to the studio,” she said, a little coldly, “and -I promised Mr. Knebworth that I would be -there early. You see, I got off yesterday -afternoon by telling Mr. Knebworth that I had -an engagement.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And had you?” asked the innocent -Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I asked somebody to take tea with me,” -and his jaw dropped.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Moses!” he gasped. “I am the villain!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She would have gone on, but he stopped -her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t want to shock you or hurt you, -Adele,” he said gently, “but the explanation -for my forgetfulness is that we’ve had another -tragedy.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She stopped and looked at him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Another?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Foss has been murdered,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She went very white.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“When?” Her voice was calm, almost -emotionless.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Last night.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It was after nine,” she said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His eyebrows went up in surprise.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why do you say that?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Because, Mr. Brixan”—she spoke slowly—“at -nine o’clock I saw the hand of the man -who murdered him!</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Two nights ago,” she went on, “I went -out to buy some wool I wanted. It was just -before the shops closed—a quarter to eight, I -think. In the town I saw Mr. Foss and spoke -to him. He was very nervous and restless, -and again made a suggestion to me which he -had already made when he called on me. -His manner was so strange that I asked him -if he was in any trouble. He told me no, but -he had had an awful premonition that something -dreadful was going to happen, and he -asked me if I’d lived in Chichester for any -length of time, and if I knew about the caves.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The caves?” said Michael quickly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I was surprised. I’d never heard of the -caves. He told me there was a reference to -them in some old history of Chichester. He -had looked in the guide-books without finding -anything about them, but apparently there -were caves at some time or other near -Chellerton, but there was a heavy subsidence -of earth that closed the entrance. He was so -rambling and so disjointed that I thought he -must have been drinking, and I was glad to -get away from him. I went on and did my -shopping and met one of the extra girls I -knew. She asked me to go home with her. -I didn’t want to go a bit, but I thought if I -refused she would think I was giving myself -airs, and so I went. As soon as I could, I -came away and went straight home.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It was then nine o’clock and the streets -were empty. They are not very well lit in -Chichester, but I was able to recognize Mr. -Foss. He was standing at the corner of the -Arundel Road, and was evidently waiting for -somebody. I stopped because I particularly -did not wish to meet Mr. Foss, but I was on -the point of turning round when a car drove -into the road and stopped almost opposite -him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What sort of a car?” asked Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It was a closed landaulette—I think they -call them sedans. As it came round the -corner its lights went out, which struck me -as being curious. Mr. Foss was evidently -waiting for this, for he went up and leant on -the edge of the window and spoke to somebody -inside. I don’t know what made me do it, but -I had an extraordinary impulse to see who was -in the car, and I started walking toward them. -I must have been five or six yards away when -Mr. Foss stepped back and the sedan moved -on. The driver put his hand out of the -window as if he was waving good-bye. It was -still out of the window and the only thing -visible—the interior was quite dark—when it -came abreast of me.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Was there anything peculiar about the -hand?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Nothing, except that it was small and -white, and on the little finger was a large -diamond ring. The fire in it was extraordinary, -and I wondered why a man should -wear a ring of that kind. You will think I -am silly, but the sight of that hand gave me a -terrible feeling of fear—I don’t know why, -even now. There was something unnatural -and abnormal about it. When I looked -round again, Mr. Foss was walking rapidly in -the other direction, and I made no attempt to -overtake him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You saw no number on the car?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“None whatever.” She shook her head. -“I wasn’t so curious.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You didn’t even see the silhouette of the -man inside?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, I saw nothing. His arm was raised.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What size was the diamond, do you -think?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She pursed her lips dubiously.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He passed me in a flash, and I can’t give -you any very accurate information, Mr. Brixan. -It may be a mistake on my part, but I thought -it was as big as the tip of my finger. -Naturally I couldn’t see any details, even -though I saw the car again last night.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She went on to tell him of what happened -on the previous night, and he listened -intently.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The man spoke to you—did you recognize -his voice?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She shook her head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No—he spoke in a whisper. I did not -see his face, though I have an idea that he -was wearing a cap. The policeman said he -should have taken the number of the car.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, the policeman said that, did he?” -remarked Michael sardonically. “Well, -there’s hope for him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>For a minute he was immersed in thought, -and then:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll take you to the studio if you don’t -mind,” said Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He left her to go to her dressing-room, -there to learn that work had been suspended -for the day, and went in search of Jack.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’ve seen everybody of consequence in -this neighbourhood,” he said. “Do you know -anybody who drives a sedan and wears a -diamond ring on the little finger of the right -hand?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The only person I know who has that -weakness is Mendoza,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael whistled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I never thought of Mendoza,” he said, -“and Adele described the hand as ‘small and -womanly.’ ”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mendoza’s hand isn’t particularly small, -but it would look small on a man,” said Jack -thoughtfully. “And her car isn’t a closed -sedan, but that doesn’t mean anything. By -the way, I’ve just sent instructions to tell the -company I’m working to-day. If we let these -people stand around thinking, they’ll get -thoroughly upset.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I thought that too,” said Michael with a -smile, “but I didn’t dare make the suggestion.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>An urgent message took him to London that -afternoon, where he attended a conference of -the Big Five at Scotland Yard. And at the -end of the two-hour discussion, the conclusion -was reached that Sir Gregory Penne was to -remain at large but under observation.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We verified the story about the lifting of -this girl in Borneo,” said the quiet-spoken -Chief. “And all the facts dovetail. I -haven’t the slightest doubt in my mind that -Penne is the culprit, but we’ve got to walk -very warily. I dare say in your department, -Captain Brixan, you can afford to take a few -risks, but the police in this country never make -an arrest for murder unless they are absolutely -certain that a conviction will follow. There -may be something in your other theory, and -I’d be the last man in the world to turn it -down, but you’ll have to conduct parallel -investigations.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael ran down to Sussex in broad -daylight. There was a long stretch of road -about four miles north of Chichester, and he -was pelting along this when he became aware -of a figure standing in the middle of the -roadway with its arms outstretched, and slowed -down. It was Mr. Sampson Longvale, he saw -to his amazement. Almost before the car had -stopped, with an extraordinary display of -agility Mr. Longvale jumped on the running-board.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I have been watching for you this last two -hours, Mr. Brixan,” he said. “Do you mind -if I join you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Come right in,” said Michael heartily.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You are going to Chichester, I know. -Would you mind instead coming to the Dower -House? I have something important to tell -you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The place at which he had signalled the car -to stop was exactly opposite the end of the -road that led to the Dower House and Sir -Gregory’s domain. The old man told him -that he had walked back from Chichester, -and had been waiting for the passing of -the car.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I learnt for the first time, Mr. Brixan, that -you are an officer of the law,” he said, with a -stately inclination of his head. “I need -hardly tell you how greatly I respect one -whose duty it is to serve the cause of justice.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Knebworth told you, I presume?” -said Michael with a smile.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He told me,” agreed the other gravely. -“I went in really to seek you, having an -intuition that you had some more important -position in life than what I had first imagined. -I confess I thought at first that you were one -of those idle young men who have nothing to -do but to amuse themselves. It was a great -gratification to me to learn that I was mistaken. -It is all the more gratifying”—(Michael -smiled inwardly at the verbosity of age)—“because -I need advice on a point of law, -which I imagine my lawyer would not offer to -me. My position is a very peculiar one, in -some ways embarrassing. I am a man who -shrinks from the eye of the public and am -averse from vulgar intermeddling in other -people’s affairs.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>What had he to tell, Michael wondered—this -old man, with his habit of nocturnal strolls, -might have been a witness to something that -had not yet come out.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They stopped at the Dower House, and the -old man got out and opened the gate, not -closing it until Michael had passed through. -Instead of going direct to his sitting-room, he -went upstairs, beckoning Michael to come -after, and stopped before the room which had -been occupied by Adele on the night of her -terrible experience.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I wish you to see these people,” said -Mr. Longvale earnestly, “and tell me whether -I am acting in accordance with the law.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He opened the door, and Mike saw that -there were now two beds in the room. On one, -heavily bandaged and apparently unconscious, -was the brown-faced man; on the other, -sleeping, was the woman Michael had seen in -the tower! She, too, was badly wounded: -her arm was bandaged and strapped into -position.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael drew a long breath.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That is a mystery solved, anyway,” he -said. “Where did you find these people?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At the sound of his voice the woman opened -her eyes and frowned at him fearfully, then -looked across to the man.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You have been wounded?” said Michael -in Dutch, but apparently her education had -been neglected in respect of European -languages, for she made no reply.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She was so uncomfortable at the sight of him -that Michael was glad to go out of the room. -It was not until they were back in his sanctum -that Mr. Longvale told his story.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I saw them last night about half-past -eleven,” he said. “They were staggering -down the road, and I thought at first that they -were intoxicated, but fortunately the woman -spoke, and as I have never forgotten a voice, -even when it spoke in a language that was -unfamiliar to me, I realized immediately that -it was my patient, and went out to intercept -her. I then saw the condition of her -companion, and she, recognizing me, began to -speak excitedly in a language which I could -not understand, though I would have been -singularly dense if I had had any doubt as to -her meaning. The man was on the point of -collapse, but, assisted by the woman, I -managed to get him into the house and to the -room where he now is. Fortunately, in the -expectation of again being called to attend -her, I had purchased a small stock of -surgical dressing and was able to attend to the -man.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is he badly hurt?” asked Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He has lost a considerable quantity of -blood,” said the other, “and, though there -seems to be no arteries severed or bones -broken, the wounds have an alarming appearance. -Now, it has occurred to me,” he went -on, in his oddly profound manner, “that this -unfortunate native could not have received his -injury except as the result of some illegal act, -and I thought the best thing to do was to -notify the police that they were under my care. -I called first upon my excellent friend, Mr. -John Knebworth, and opened my heart to him. -He then told me your position, and I decided -to wait your return before I took any further -steps.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You have solved a mystery that has -puzzled me, and incidentally, you have -confirmed a story which I had received with -considerable scepticism,” said Mike. “I think -you were well advised in informing the police—I -will make a report to headquarters, and -send an ambulance to take these two people -to hospital. Is the man fit to be moved?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I think so,” nodded the old gentleman. -“He is sleeping heavily now, and has the -appearance of being in a state of coma, but -that is not the case. They are quite welcome -to stay here, though I have no convenience, -and must do my own nursing, which is rather -a bother, for I am not fitted for such a strain. -Happily, the woman is able to do a great deal -for him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did he have a sword when he arrived?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Longvale clicked his lips impatiently.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“How stupid of me to forget that! Yes, -it is in here.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He went to a drawer in an old-fashioned -bureau, pulled it open and took out the -identical sword which Michael had seen -hanging above the mantelpiece at Griff -Towers. It was spotlessly clean, and had been -so when Mr. Longvale took it from the brown -man’s hands. And yet he did not expect it -to be in any other condition, for to the -swordsman of the East his sword is his child, -and probably the brown man’s first care had -been to wipe it clean.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael was taking his leave when he -suddenly asked:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I wonder if it would give you too much -trouble, Mr. Longvale, to get me a glass of -water? My throat is parched.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>With an exclamation of apology, the old -man hurried away, leaving Michael in the -hall.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Hanging on pegs was the long overcoat of -the master of Dower House, and beside it the -curly-rimmed beaver and a very prosaic -derby hat, which Michael took down the -moment the old man’s back was turned. It -had been no ruse of his, this demand for a -drink, for he was parched. Only Michael -had the inquisitiveness of his profession.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The old gentleman returned quickly to find -Michael examining the hat.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where did this come from?” asked the -detective.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That was the hat the native was wearing -when he arrived,” said Mr. Longvale.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I will take it with me, if you don’t mind,” -said Michael after a long silence.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“With all the pleasure in life. Our friend -upstairs will not need a hat for a very long -time,” he said, with a whimsical little smile.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael went back to his car, put the -hat carefully beside him, and drove into -Chichester; and all the way he was in a state -of wonder. For inside the hat were the -initials “L. F.” How came the hat of Lawley -Foss on the head of the brown man from -Borneo?</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch27'>CHAPTER XXVII<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE CAVES</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Mr. Longvale’s</span> two patients were removed to -hospital that night, and, with a favourable -report on the man’s condition from the doctors, -Michael felt that one aspect of the mystery was -a mystery no longer.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His old schoolmaster received a visit that -night.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“More study?” he asked good-humouredly -when Michael was announced.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Curiously enough, you’re right, sir,” said -Michael, “though I doubt very much whether -you can assist me. I’m looking for an old -history of Chichester.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I have one published in 1600. You’re the -second man in the last fortnight who wanted -to see it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who was the other?” asked Michael -quickly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A man named Foss——” began Mr. Scott, -and Michael nodded as though he had known -the identity of the seeker after knowledge. -“He wanted to know about caves. I’ve never -heard there were any local caves of any -celebrity. Now, if this were Cheddar, I should -be able to give you quite a lot of information. -I am an authority on the Cheddar caves.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He showed Michael into the library, and -taking down an ancient volume, laid it on the -library table.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“After Foss had gone I looked up the reference. -I find it occurs only on one page—385. -It deals with the disappearance of a troop of -horsemen under Sir John Dudley, Earl of Newport, -in some local trouble in the days of -Stephen. Here is the passage.” He pointed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael read, in the old-fashioned type:</p> - -<div class='blockquote'> - -<p class='pindent'>“The noble Earl, deciding to await hi<span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span> -arrival, carried two <span class='it'>companie</span><span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span> of hor<span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span>e by night -into the great caves which exi<span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span>ted in the<span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span>e -times. By the merciful di<span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span>pen<span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span>ation of God, -in Who<span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span>e Hands we are, there occurred, at -eight o’clock in the forenoon, a great land<span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span>lide -which entombed and de<span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span>troyed all the<span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span>e knights -and <span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span>quires, and <span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span>ir John Dudley, Earl of -Newport, <span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span>o that they were never more <span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span>een. -And the place of this happening is nine miles -in a line from this <span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span>ame city, called by the -Romans Regnum, or Ciffancea<span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span>ter in the Saxon -fa<span style='font-size:smaller'>∫</span>hion.”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='pindent'>“Have the caves ever been located?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Scott shook his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There are local rumours that they were -used a century and a half ago by brandy -smugglers, but then you find those traditions -local to every district.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael took a local map of Chichester from -his pocket, measured off nine miles, and with -a pair of compasses encircled the city. He -noted that the line passed either through or -near Sir Gregory’s estate.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There are two Griff Towers?” he suddenly -said, examining the map.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, there is another besides Penne’s -place, which is named after a famous local -landmark—the real Griffin Tower (as it was -originally called). I have an idea it stands -either within or about Penne’s property—a very -old, circular tower, about twenty feet high, and -anything up to two thousand years old. I’m -interested in antiquities, and I have made a -very careful inspection of the place. The -lower part of the wall is undoubtedly Roman -work—the Romans had a big encampment -here; in fact, Regnum was one of their headquarters. -There are all sorts of explanations -for the tower. Probably it was a keep or -blockhouse. The idea I have is that the -original Roman tower was not more than a few -feet high and was not designed for defence at -all. Successive ages added to its height, without -exactly knowing why.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael chuckled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now if my theory is correct, I shall hear -more about this Roman castle before the night -is out,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He gathered his trunks from the hotel and -took them off to his new home. He found that -the dinner-table was laid for three.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Expecting company?” asked Michael, -watching Jack Knebworth putting the finishing -touches on the table—he had a bachelor’s -finicking sense of neatness, which consists of -placing everything at equal distance from everything -else.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yuh! Friend of yours.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Of mine?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve asked young Leamington to come up. -And when I see a man of your age turning pink -at the mention of a girl’s name, I feel sorry for -him. She’s coming partly on business, partly -for the pleasure of meeting me in a human -atmosphere. She didn’t do so well to-day as -I wanted, but I guess we were all a little short -of our best.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She came soon after, and there was something -about her that was very sweet and appealing; -something that went straight to Michael’s -heart and consolidated the position she had -taken there.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I was thinking as I came along,” she said, -as Jack Knebworth helped her off with her -coat, “how very unreal everything is—I never -dreamt I should be your guest to dinner, Mr. -Knebworth.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And I never dreamt you’d be worthy of -such a distinction,” growled Jack. “And in -five years’ time you’ll be saying, ‘Why on earth -did I make such a fuss about being asked to -a skimpy meal by that punk director Knebworth?’ ”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He put his hand on her shoulder and led her -into the room, and then for the first time she -saw Michael, and that young man had a -momentary sense of dismay when he saw her -face drop. It was only for a second, and, as -if reading his thoughts, she explained her -sudden change of mien.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I thought we were going to talk nothing but -pictures and pictures!” she said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“So you shall,” said Michael. “I’m the best -listener on earth, and the first person to mention -murder will be thrown out of the window.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then I’ll prepare for the flight!” she said -good-humouredly. “For I’m going to talk -murder and mystery—later!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Under the expanding influence of a sympathetic -environment the girl took on a new -aspect, and all that Michael had suspected in -her was amply proven. The shyness, the -almost frigid reserve, melted in the company -of two men, one of whom she guessed was fond -of her, while the other—well, Michael was at -least a friend.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I have been doing detective work this afternoon,” -she said, after the coffee had been -served, “and I’ve made amazing discoveries,” -she added solemnly. “It started by my trying -to track the motor-car, which I guessed must -have come into my street through a lane which -runs across the far end. It is the only motor-car -track I’ve found, and I don’t think there -is any doubt it was my white-handed man who -drove it. You see, I noticed the back tyre, -which had a sort of diamond-shaped design on -it, and it was fairly easy to follow the marks. -Half-way up the lane I found a place where -there was oil in the middle of the road, and -where the car must have stood for some time, -and there—I found this!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She opened her little handbag and took out -a small, dark-green bottle. It bore no label -and was unstoppered. Michael took it from -her hand, examined it curiously and smelt. -There was a distinctive odour, pungent and -not unpleasing.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Do you recognize it?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He shook his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Let me try.” Jack Knebworth took the -bottle from Michael’s hand and sniffed. “Butyl -chloride,” he said quickly, and the girl nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I thought it was that. Father was a -pharmaceutical chemist, and once, when I was -playing in his dispensary, I found a cupboard -open and took down a pretty bottle and opened -it. I don’t know what would have happened -to me, only daddy saw me. I was quite a -child at the time, and I’ve always remembered -that scent.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Butyl chloride?” Michael frowned.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s known as the ‘death drop’ or the -‘knock-out drop,’ ” said Knebworth, “and it’s -a drug very much in favour with sharks who -make a business of robbing sailors. A few -drops of that in a glass of wine and you’re out!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael took the bottle again. It was a -commonplace bottle such as is used for the dispensation -of poisons, and in fact the word -“Poison” was blown into the glass.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There is no trace of a label,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And really there is no connection with the -mysterious car,” admitted the girl. “My -surmise is merely guesswork—putting one -sinister thing to another.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where was it?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“In a ditch, which is very deep there and is -flooded just now, but the bottle didn’t roll down -so far as the water. That is discovery number -one. Here is number two.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>From her bag she took a curious-shaped -piece of steel, both ends of which had the marks -of a break.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Do you know what that is?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It beats me,” said Jack, and handed the -find to Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>I</span> know what it is, because I’ve seen it at -the studio,” said the girl, “and you know too, -don’t you, Mr. Brixan?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mike nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s the central link of a handcuff,” he said, -“the link that has the swivel.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was covered with spots of rust, which had -been cleaned off—by the girl, as she told him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Those are my two finds. I am not going -to offer you my conclusions, because I have -none!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“They may not have been thrown from the -car at all,” said Michael, “but, as you say, -there is a possibility that the owner of the car -chose that peculiarly deserted spot to rid himself -of two articles which he could not afford to -have on the premises. It would have been -safer to throw them into the sea, but this, I -suppose, was the easier, and, to him, the safer -method. I will keep these.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He wrapped them in paper, put them away in -his pocket, and the conversation drifted back -to picture-taking, and, as he had anticipated:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We’re shooting at Griff Tower to-morrow—the -real tower,” said Jack Knebworth. “It -is one of the landmarks—what is there amusing -in Griff Tower?” he demanded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Nothing particularly amusing, except that -you have fulfilled a prediction of mine,” said -Michael. “I knew I should hear of that -darned old tower!”</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch28'>CHAPTER XXVIII<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE TOWER</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Michael</span> was a little perturbed in mind. He -took a more serious view of the closed car than -did the girl, and the invitation to the “pretty -lady” to step inside was particularly disturbing. -Since the events of the past few days it -had been necessary to withdraw the detective -who was watching the girl’s house, and he -decided to re-establish the guard, employing a -local officer for the purpose.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>After he had driven Adele home, he went -to the police station and made his wishes -known; but it was too late to see the chief -constable, and the subordinate officer in charge -did not wish to take the responsibility of -detaching an officer for the purpose. It was -only when Michael threatened to call the chief -on the telephone that he reluctantly drew on -his reserves and put a uniformed officer to -patrol the street.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Back again at Knebworth’s house, Michael -examined the two articles which the girl had -found. Butyl chloride was a drug and a -particularly violent one. What use would the -Head-Hunter have for that, he wondered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>As for the handcuff, he examined it again. -Terrific force must have been employed to snap -the connecting links. This was a mystery to -him, and he gave it up with a sense of annoyance -at his own incompetence.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Before going to bed he received a ’phone -message from Inspector Lyle, who was watching -Griff Towers. There was nothing new to -report, and apparently life was pursuing its -normal round. The inspector had been invited -into the house by Sir Gregory, who had told -him that Bhag was still missing.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll keep you there to-night,” said Michael. -“To-morrow we will lift the watch. Scotland -Yard is satisfied that Sir Gregory had nothing -to do with Foss’s death.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A grunt from the other end of the ’phone -expressed the inspector’s disagreement with -that view.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s in it somehow,” he said. “By the -way, I’ve found a bloodstained derby hat in -the field outside the grounds. It has the name -of Chi Li Stores, Tjandi, inside.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>This was news indeed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Let me see it in the morning,” said -Michael after long cogitation.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Soon after breakfast the next morning the -hat came and was inspected. Knebworth, who -had heard most of the story from Michael, -examined the new clue curiously.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If the coon wore Lawley’s hat when he -arrived at Mr. Longvale’s, where, in the name -of fate, did the change take place? It must -have been somewhere between the Towers and -the old man’s house, unless——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Unless what?” asked Michael. He had a -great respect for Knebworth’s shrewd judgment.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Unless the change took place at Sir -Gregory’s house. You see that, although it is -bloodstained, there are no cuts in it. Which -is rum.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Very rum,” agreed Mike ruefully. “And -yet, if my first theory was correct, the explanation -is simple.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He did not tell his host what his theory was.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Accompanying Knebworth to the studio, he -watched the char-à-banc drive off, wishing that -he had some excuse and the leisure to accompany -them on their expedition. It was a carefree, -cheery throng, and its very association -was a tonic to his spirits.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He put through his usual call to London. -There was no news. There was really no -reason why he should not go, he decided -recklessly; and as soon as his decision was -taken his car was pounding on the trail of the -joy wagon.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He saw the tower a quarter of an hour before -he came up to it: a squat, ancient building, for -all the world like an inordinately high sheepfold. -When he came up to them the char-à-banc -had been drawn on to the grass, and the -company was putting the finishing touches to -its make-up. Adele he did not see at once—she -was changing in a little canvas tent, whilst -Jack Knebworth and the camera man wrangled -over light and position.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael had too much intelligence to butt -in at this moment, and strolled up to the tower, -examining the curious courses which generation -after generation had added to the original -foundations. He knew very little of masonry, -but he was able to detect the Roman portion of -the wall, and thought he saw the place where -Saxon builders had filled in a gap.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>One of the hands was fixing a ladder up -which Roselle was to pass. The story which -was being filmed was that of a girl who, starting -life in the chorus, had become the wife of a -nobleman with archaic ideas. The poor but -honest young man who had loved her in her -youth (Michael gathered that a disconsolate -Reggie Connolly played this part) was ever at -hand to help her; and now, when shut up in a -stone room of the keep, it was he who was to -rescue her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The actual castle tower had been shot in -Arundel. Old Griff Tower was to serve for a -close-up, showing the girl descending from her -prison in the arms of her lover, by the aid of -a rope of knotted sheets.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s going to be deuced awkward getting -down,” said Reggie lugubriously. “Of course, -they’ve got a rope inside the sheet, so there’s -no chance of it breaking. But Miss Leamington -is really fearfully awfully heavy! You try -and lift her yourself, old thing, and see how -you like it!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Nothing would have given Michael greater -pleasure than to carry out the instructions -literally.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s too robust a part for me, it is really,” -bleated Reggie. “I’m not a cave man, I’m -not indeed! I’ve told Knebworth that it isn’t -the job for me. And besides, why do they -want a close-up? Why don’t they make a -dummy that I could carry and sling about? -And why doesn’t she come down by herself?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s dead easy,” said Knebworth, who had -walked up and overheard the latter part of the -conversation. “Miss Leamington will hold -the rope and take the weight off you. All -you’ve got to do is to look brave and pretty.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s all very well,” grumbled Reggie, -“but climbing down ropes is not the job I was -engaged for. We all have our likes and our -dislikes, and that’s one of my dislikes.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Try it,” said Jack laconically.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The property man had fixed the rope to an -iron staple which he had driven to the inside -of the tower, the top of which would not be -shown in the picture. The actual descent had -been acted by “doubles” in Arundel on a -long shot: it was only the close-up that Jack -needed. The first rehearsal nearly ended in -disaster. With a squeak, Connolly let go his -burden, and the girl would have fallen but for -her firm grip on the rope.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Try it again,” stormed Jack. “Remember -you’re playing a man’s part. Young Coogan -would hold her better than that!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They tried again, with greater success, and -after the third rehearsal, when poor Reggie -was in a state of exhaustion—</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Camera!” said Knebworth shortly, and -then began the actual taking of the picture.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Whatever his other drawbacks were, and -whatever his disadvantages, there was no doubt -that Connolly was an artist. Racked with -agony at this unusual exertion though he was, -he could smile sweetly into the upturned face -of the girl, whilst the camera, fixed upon a -collapsible platform, clicked encouragingly as -it was lowered to keep pace with the escaping -lovers. They touched ground, and with one -last languishing look at the girl, Connolly posed -for the final three seconds.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’ll do,” said Jack.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Reggie sat down heavily.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My heavens!” he wailed, feeling his arms -painfully. “I’ll never do that again, I won’t -really. I’ve had as much of that stuff as ever -I’m going to have, Mr. Knebworth. It was -terrible! I thought I should die!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, you didn’t,” said Jack good-humouredly. -“Now have a rest, you boys and -girls, and then we’ll shoot the escape.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The camera was moved off twenty or thirty -yards, and whilst Reggie Connolly writhed in -agony on the ground, the girl walked over to -Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m glad that’s over,” she said thankfully. -“Poor Mr. Connolly! The awful language he -was using inside nearly made me laugh, and -that would have meant that we should have -had to take it all over again. But it wasn’t -easy,” she added.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Her own arm was bruised, and the rope had -rubbed raw a little place on her wrist. Michael -had an insane desire to kiss the raw skin, but -restrained himself.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What did you think of me? Did I look -anything approaching graceful? I felt like a -bundle of straw!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You looked—wonderful!” he said fervently, -and she shot a quick glance at him and dropped -her eyes.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Perhaps you’re prejudiced,” she said -demurely.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I have that feeling too,” said Michael. -“What is inside?” He pointed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Inside the tower? Nothing, except a lot -of rock and wild bush, and a pathetic dwarf -tree. I loved it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He laughed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Just now you said you were glad it was -over. I presume you were referring to the play -and not to the interior of the tower?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She nodded, a twinkle in her eye.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Knebworth says he may have to take -a night shot if he’s not satisfied with the day -picture. Poor Mr. Connolly! He’ll throw up -his part.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At that moment Jack Knebworth’s voice was -heard.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t take the ladder, Collins,” he shouted. -“Put it down on the grass behind the tower. -I may have to come up here to-night, so you -can leave anything that won’t be hurt by the -weather, and collect it again in the morning.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Adele made a little face.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I was afraid he would,” she said. “Not -that I mind very much—it’s rather fun. But -Mr. Connolly’s nervousness communicates itself -in some way. I wish you were playing -that part.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I wish to heaven I were!” said Michael, -with such sincerity in his voice that she -coloured.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth came toward them.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did you leave anything up there, Adele?” -he asked, pointing to the tower.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, Mr. Knebworth,” she said in surprise.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, what’s that?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He pointed to something round that showed -above the edge of the tower top.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, it’s moving!” he gasped.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>As he spoke a head came slowly into view. -It was followed by a massive pair of hairy -shoulders, and then a leg was thrown over the -wall.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was Bhag!</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His tawny hair was white with dust, his face -was powdered grotesquely. All these things -Michael noticed. Then, as the creature put -out his hand to steady himself, Michael saw -that each wrist was encircled by the half of a -broken pair of handcuffs!</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch29'>CHAPTER XXIX<br/> <span class='sub-head'>BHAG’S RETURN</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>The</span> girl screamed and gripped Michael’s arm.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What is that?” she asked. “Is it the -Thing that came to my—my room?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael put her aside gently, and ran toward -the tower. As he did so, Bhag took a leap -and dropped on the ground. For a moment he -stood, his knuckles on the ground, his malignant -face turned in the direction of the man. And -then he sniffed, and, with that queer twittering -noise of his, went ambling across the downs -and disappeared over a nearby crest.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael raced in pursuit. By the time he -came into view, the great ape was a quarter of -a mile away, running at top speed, and always -keeping close to the hedges that divided the -fields he had to cross. Pursuit was useless, -and the detective went slowly back to the -alarmed company.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It is only an orang-outang belonging to Sir -Gregory, and perfectly harmless,” he said. -“He has been missing from the house for two -or three days.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He must have been hiding in the tower,” -said Knebworth, and Michael nodded. “Well, -I’m darned glad he didn’t choose to come out -at the moment I was shooting,” said the -director, mopping his forehead. “You didn’t -see anything of him, Adele?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael guessed that the girl was pale under -her yellow make-up, and the hand she raised -to her lips shook a little.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That explains the mystery of the handcuffs,” -said Knebworth.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did you notice them?” asked Michael -quickly. “Yes, that explains the broken link,” -he said, “but it doesn’t exactly explain the -butyl chloride.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He held the girl’s arm as he spoke, and in -the warm, strong pressure she felt something -more than his sympathy.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Were you a little frightened?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I was badly frightened,” she confessed. -“How terrible! Was that Bhag?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That was Bhag,” he said. “I suppose -he’s been hiding in the tower ever since his -disappearance. You saw nothing when you -were on the top of the wall?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m glad to say I didn’t, or I should have -dropped. There are a large number of bushes -where he might have been hidden.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael decided to look for himself. They -put up the ladder and he climbed to the broad -top of the tower and looked down. At the base -of the stonework the ground sloped away in a -manner curiously reminiscent of the shell-holes -he had seen during the war in France. The -actual floor of the tower was not visible under -the hawthorn bushes which grew thickly at the -centre. He caught a glimpse of the jagged -edges of rock, the distorted branches of an old -tree, and that was all.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was ample opportunity for concealment. -Possibly Bhag had hidden there most -of the time, sleeping off the effects of his labour -and his wounds; for Michael had seen something -that nobody else had noticed—the gashed -skin, and the ear that had been slashed in half.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He came down the ladder again and rejoined -Knebworth.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I think that finishes our work for to-day,” -said Jack dubiously. “I smell hysteria, and it -will be a long time before I can get the girls -to come up for a night picture.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael drove the director back in his car, -and all the way home he was considering this -strange appearance of the ape. Somebody had -handcuffed Bhag: he ought to have guessed -that when he saw the torn link. No human -being could have broken those apart. And -Bhag had escaped—from whom? How? -And why had he not returned to Griff Towers -and to his master?</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When he had dropped the director at the -studio he went straight on to Gregory’s house, -and found the baronet playing clock-golf on a -strip of lawn that ran by the side of the house. -The man was still heavily bandaged, but he -was making good recovery.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, Bhag is back. He returned half an -hour ago. Where he has been, heaven knows! -I’ve often wished that chap could talk, but I’ve -never wished it so much as I do at this moment. -Somebody had put irons on him: I’ve just taken -them off.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Can I see them?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You knew it, did you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I saw him. He came out of the old tower -on the hill.” Michael pointed; from where -they stood, the tower was in sight.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is that so? And what the devil was he -doing there?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Sir Gregory scratched his chin thoughtfully.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s been away before, but mostly he goes -to a shoot of mine about three miles away, -where there’s plenty of cover and no intruders. -I discovered that when a poacher saw him, and, -like a fool, shot at him—that poacher was a -lucky man to escape with his life. Have you -found the body of Foss?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The baronet had resumed his playing, and -was looking at the ball at his feet.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No,” said Michael quietly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Expect to find it?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I shouldn’t be surprised.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Sir Gregory stood, his hands leaning on his -club, looking across the wold.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s the law in this country, suppose a -man accidentally kills a servant who tried to -knife him?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He would have to stand his trial,” said -Michael, “and a verdict of ‘justifiable -homicide’ would be returned and he would be -set free.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But suppose he didn’t reveal it? Suppose -he—well, did away with the body—buried it—and -let the matter slide?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then he would place himself in a remarkably -dangerous position,” said Michael. -“Particularly”—he watched the man closely—“if -a woman friend, who is no longer a woman -friend, happened to be a witness or had knowledge -of the act.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Gregory Penne’s one visible eye blinked -quickly, and he went that curious purple colour -which Michael had seen before when he was -agitated.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Suppose she tried to get money out of him -by threatening to tell the police?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then,” said the patient Michael, “she -would go to prison for blackmail, and possibly -as an accessory to or after the fact.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Would she?” Sir Gregory’s voice was -eager. “She would be an accessory if she saw—him -cut the man down? Mind you, this -happened years ago. There’s a Statute of -Limitations, isn’t there?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not for murder,” said Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Murder! Would you call that murder?” -asked the other in alarm. “In self-defence? -Rot!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Things were gradually being made light to -Michael. Once Stella Mendoza had called the -man a murderer, and Michael’s nimble mind, -which could reconstruct the scene with almost -unerring precision, began to grow active. A -servant, a coloured man, probably, one of his -Malayan slaves, had run amok, and Penne had -killed him—possibly in self-defence—and then -had grown frightened of the consequences. He -remembered Stella’s description—“Penne is a -bluffer and a coward at heart.” That was the -story in a nutshell.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where did you bury your unfortunate -victim?” he asked coolly, and the man started.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Bury? What do you mean?” he blustered. -“I didn’t murder or bury anybody. I was -merely putting a hypothetical case to you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It sounded more real than hypothesis,” said -Michael, “but I won’t press the question.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In truth, crimes of this character bored -Michael Brixan; and, but for the unusual and -curious circumstances of the Head-Hunter’s -villainies, he would have dropped the case -almost as soon as he came on to it.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was yet another attraction, which he -did not name, even to himself. As for Sir -Gregory Penne, the grossness of the man and -his hobbies, the sordid vulgarity of his amours, -were more than a little sickening. He would -gladly have cut Sir Gregory out of life, only—he -was not yet sure.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It is very curious how these questions crop -up,” Penne was saying, as he came out of his -reverie. “A chap like myself, who doesn’t -have much to occupy his mind, gets on an -abstract problem of that kind and never leaves -it. So she’d be an accessory after the fact, -would she? That would mean penal servitude.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He seemed to derive a great deal of satisfaction -from this thought, and was almost amiable -by the time Michael parted from him, after an -examination of the broken handcuffs. They -were British and of an old pattern.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is Bhag hurt very much?” asked Michael -as he put them down.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not very much; he’s got a cut or two,” -said the other calmly. He made no attempt to -disguise the happenings of that night. “He -came to my assistance, poor brute! This fellow -nearly got him. In fact, poor old Bhag was -knocked out, but went after them like a brick.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What hat was that man wearing—the brown -man?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Keji? I don’t know. I suppose he wore -a hat, but I didn’t notice it. Why?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I was merely asking,” said Michael carelessly. -“Perhaps he lost it in the caves.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He watched the other narrowly as he spoke.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Caves? I’ve never heard about those. -What are they? Are there any caves near -by?” asked Sir Gregory innocently. “You’ve -a wonderful grip of the topography of the -county, Brixan. I’ve been living here off and -on for twenty years, and I lose myself every -time I go into Chichester!”</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch30'>CHAPTER XXX<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE ADVERTISEMENT</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>The</span> question of the caves intrigued Michael -more than any feature the case had presented. -He bethought himself of Mr. Longvale, whose -knowledge of the country was encyclopædic. -That gentleman was out, but Michael met him, -driving his antique car from Chichester. To -say that he saw him is to mistake facts. The -sound of that old car was audible long before -it came into sight around a bend of the -road. Michael drew up, Longvale following -his example, and parked his car behind that -ancient ’bus.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, it is rather noisy,” admitted the old -man, rubbing his bald head with a brilliant -bandana handkerchief. “I’m only beginning -to realize the fact of late years. Personally, I -do not think that a noiseless car could give me -as much satisfaction. One feels that something -is happening.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You ought to buy a ——” said Michael -with a smile, as he mentioned the name of a -famous car.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I thought of doing so,” said the other -seriously, “but I love old things—that is my -eccentricity.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael questioned him upon the caves, -and, to his surprise, the old man immediately -returned an affirmative.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, I’ve heard of them frequently. When -I was a boy, my father told me that the country -round was honeycombed with caves, and that, -if anybody was lucky enough to find them, -they would discover great stores of brandy. -Nobody has found them, as far as I know. -There used to be an entrance over there.” -He pointed in the direction of Griff Tower. -“But many years ago——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He retold the familiar story of the landslide -and of the passing out of two companies -of gallant knights and squires, which -probably the old man had got from the same -source of information as Michael had drawn -upon.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The popular legend was that a subterranean -river ran into the sea near Selsey Bill—of -course, some distance beneath the surface of -the water. But, as you know, country people -live on such legends. In all probability it is -nothing but a legend.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Inspector Lyle was waiting for the detective -when he arrived, with news of a startling -character.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The advertisement appeared in this morning’s -<span class='it'>Daily Star</span>,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael took the slip of paper. It was -identically worded with its predecessor.</p> - -<div class='blockquote'> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is your trouble of mind or body incurable? -Do you hesitate on the brink of the abyss? -Does courage fail you? Write to Benefactor, -Box——”</p> - -</div> - -<p class='pindent'>“There will be no reply till to-morrow -morning. Letters are to be readdressed to a -shop in the Lambeth Road, and the chief wants -you to be ready to pick up the trail.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The trail indeed proved to be well laid. At -four o’clock on the following afternoon, a -lame old woman limped into the newsagent’s -shop on the Lambeth Road and inquired for -a letter addressed to Mr. Vole. There were -three waiting for her. She paid the fee, put -the letters into a rusty old handbag and limped -out of the shop, mumbling and talking to -herself. Passing down the Lambeth Road, she -boarded a tramcar <span class='it'>en route</span> for Clapham, and -near the Common she alighted and, passing -out of the region of middle-class houses, -came to a jumble of tenements and ancient -tumble-down dwellings.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Every corner she turned brought her to a -street meaner than the last, and finally to a low, -arched alleyway, the paving of which had not -been renewed for years. It was a little cul-de-sac, -its houses, built in the same pattern, joined -wall to wall, and before the last of these she -stopped, took out a key from her pocket and -opened the door. She was turning to close -it when she was aware that a man stood in the -entrance, a tall, good-looking gentleman, who -must have been on her heels all the time.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Good afternoon, mother,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The old woman peered at him suspiciously, -grumbling under her breath. Only hospital -doctors and workhouse folk, people connected -with charity, called women “mother”; and -sometimes the police got the habit. Her -grimy old face wrinkled hideously at this last -unpleasant thought.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I want to have a little talk with you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Come in,” she said shrilly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The boarding of the passage-way was broken -in half a dozen places and was indescribably -dirty, but it represented the spirit of pure -hygiene compared with the stuffy horror which -was her sitting-room and kitchen.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What are you, horspital or p’lice?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Police,” said Michael. “I want three -letters you’ve collected.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>To his surprise, the woman showed relief.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, is that all?” she said. “Well, that’s -a job I do for a gentleman. I’ve done it for -years. I’ve never had any complaint before.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What is his name?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t know his name. Just whatever name -happens to be on the letters. I send ’em on -to him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>From under a heap of rubbish she produced -three envelopes, addressed in typewritten -characters. The typewriting Michael recognized. -They were addressed to a street in -Guildford.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael took the letters from her handbag. -Two of them he read; the third was a dummy -which he himself had written. The most direct -cross-examination, however, revealed nothing. -The woman did the work, receiving a pound for -her trouble, in a letter from the unknown, who -told her where the letters were to be collected.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“She was a little mad and indescribably -beastly,” said Michael in disgust when he -reported, “and the Guildford inquiries don’t -help us forward. There’s another agent there, -who sends the letters back to London, which -they never reach. That is the mystery of -the proceeding. There simply isn’t such an -address at London, and I can only suggest that -they are intercepted <span class='it'>en route</span>. The Guildford -police have that matter in hand.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Staines was very worried.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Michael, I oughtn’t to have put you on -this job,” he said. “My first thoughts were -best. Scotland Yard is kicking, and say that -the meddling of outsiders is responsible for the -Head-Hunter not being brought to justice. -You know something of inter-departmental -jealousy, and you don’t need me to tell you -that I’m getting more kicks than I’m entitled -to.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael looked down at his chief reflectively.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I can get the Head-Hunter, but more than -ever I’m convinced that we cannot convict him -until we know a little more about—the caves!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Staines frowned.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t quite get you, Mike. Which caves -are these?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There are some caves in the neighbourhood -of Chichester. Foss knew about them -and suspected their association with the Head-Hunter. -Give me four days, Major, and I’ll -have them both. And if I fail”—he paused—“if -I fail, the next time you say good morning -to me, I shall be looking up to you from the -interior of one of the Head-Hunter’s boxes!”</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch31'>CHAPTER XXXI<br/> <span class='sub-head'>JOHN PERCIVAL LIGGITT</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>It</span> was the second day of Michael’s visit to -town, and, for a reason which she could not -analyse, Adele felt “out” with the world. -And yet the work was going splendidly, and -Jack Knebworth, usually sparing of his praise, -had almost rhapsodized over a little scene -which she had acted with Connolly. So -generous was he in his praise, and so -comprehensive, that even Reggie came in for -his share, and was willing and ready to revise -his earlier estimate of the leading lady’s ability.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll be perfectly frank and honest, Mr. -Knebworth,” he said, in this moment of -candour, “Leamington is good. Of course, -I’m always on the spot to give her tips, and -there’s nothing quite so educative—if I may -use the term——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You may,” said Jack Knebworth.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Thanks,” said Connolly. “——as having -a finished artiste playing opposite to you. It -doesn’t do me much good, but it helps her a -lot; it inspires courage and all that sort of -thing. And though I’ve had a perfectly awful, -dreadful time, I feel that she pays for the -coaching.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, do you?” growled the old man. “And -I’d like to say the same about you, Reggie! -But unfortunately, all the coaching you’ve had -or ever will get is not going to improve you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Reggie’s superior smile would have irritated -one less equable than the director.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re perfectly right, Mr. Knebworth,” -he said earnestly. “I can’t improve! I’ve -touched the zenith of my power, and I doubt -whether you’ll ever look upon the like of me -again. I’m certainly the best juvenile lead in -this, and possibly in any country. I’ve had -three offers to go to Hollywood, and you’ll -never believe who is the lady who asked me -to play against her——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t believe any of it,” said Jack even-temperedly, -“but you’re right to an extent -about Miss Leamington. She’s fine. And I -agree that it doesn’t do you much good -playing against her, because she makes you -look like a large glass of heavily diluted beer.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Later in the day, Adele herself asked her -grey-haired chief whether it was true that -Reggie would soon be leaving England for -another and a more ambitious sphere.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I shouldn’t think so,” said Jack. “There -never was an actor that hadn’t a better contract -up his sleeve and was ready to take it. But -when it comes to a show-down, you find that -the contracts they’re willing to tear up in order -to take something better, are locked away in -a lawyer’s office and can’t be got out. In the -picture business all over the world, there are -actors and actresses who are leaving by the first -boat to show Hollywood how it’s done. I -guess these liners would sail empty if they -waited for ’em! That’s all bluff, part of the -artificial life of make-believe in which actors -and actresses have their being.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Has Mr. Brixan come back?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He shook his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, I’ve not heard from him. There was -a tough-looking fellow called at the studio -half an hour ago to ask whether he’d returned.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Rather an unpleasant-looking tramp?” she -asked. “I spoke to him. He said he had a -letter for Mr. Brixan which he would not -deliver to anybody else.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She looked through the window which -commanded a view of the entrance drive to the -studio. Standing outside on the edge of the -pavement was the wreck of a man. Long, -lank black hair, streaked with grey, fell from -beneath the soiled and dilapidated golf cap; -he was apparently shirtless, for the collar of his -indescribable jacket was buttoned up to his -throat; and his bare toes showed through one -gaping boot.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He might have been a man of sixty, but it -was difficult to arrive at his age. It looked as -though the grey, stubbled beard had not met -a razor since he was in prison last. His eyes -were red and inflamed; his nose that crimson -which is almost blue. His hands were thrust -into the pockets of his trousers, and seemed -to be their only visible means of support, until -you saw the string that was tied around his lean -waist; and as he stood, he shuffled his feet -rhythmically, whistling a doleful tune. From -time to time he took one of his hands from his -pockets and examined the somewhat soiled -envelope it held, and then, as if satisfied with -the scrutiny, put it back again and continued -his jigging vigil.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Do you think you ought to see that letter?” -asked the girl, troubled. “It may be very -important.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I thought that too,” said Jack Knebworth, -“but when I asked him to let me see the -note, he just grinned.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Do you know who it’s from?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No more than a crow, my dear,” said -Knebworth patiently. “And now let’s get off -the all-absorbing subject of Michael Brixan, -and get back to the fair Roselle. That shot -I took of the tower can’t be bettered, so I’m -going to cut out the night picture, and from -now on we’ll work on the lot.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The production was a heavy one, unusually -so for one of Knebworth’s; the settings more -elaborate, the crowd bigger than ever he had -handled since he came to England. It was -not an easy day for the girl, and she was -utterly fagged when she started homeward -that night.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ain’t seen Mr. Brixan, miss?” said a -high-pitched voice as she reached the side-walk.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She turned with a start. She had forgotten -the existence of the tramp.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, he hasn’t been,” she said. “You had -better see Mr. Knebworth again. Mr. Brixan -lives with him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t I know it? Ain’t I got all the -information possible about him? I should -say I had!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He is in London: I suppose you know -that?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He ain’t in London,” said the other -disappointedly. “If he was in London, I -shouldn’t be hanging around here, should I? -No, he left London yesterday. I’m going to -wait till I see him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She was amused by his pertinacity, though -it was difficult for her to be amused at anything -in the state of utter weariness into which she -had fallen.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Crossing the market square, she had to -jump quickly to avoid being knocked down by -a car which she knew was Stella Mendoza’s. -Stella could be at times a little reckless, and -the motto upon the golden mascot on her -radiator—“Jump or Die”—held a touch of -sincerity.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She was in a desperate hurry now, and -cursed fluently as she swung her car to avoid -the girl, whom she recognized. Sir Gregory -had come to his senses, and she wanted to get -at him before he lost them again. She pulled -up the car with a jerk at the gates of Griff -Towers, flung open the door and jumped out.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If I don’t return in two hours, you can -go into Chichester and fetch the police,” she -said.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch32'>CHAPTER XXXII<br/> <span class='sub-head'>GREGORY’S WAY</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Stella</span> had left a note to the same effect on -her table. If she did not return by a certain -hour, the police were to read the letter they -would find on her mantelpiece. She had not -allowed for the fact that neither note nor -letter would be seen until the next morning.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>To Stella Mendoza, the interview was one -of the most important and vital in her life. -She had purposely delayed her departure in -the hope that Gregory Penne would take a -more generous view of his obligations, though -she had very little hope that he would change -his mind on the all-important matter of money. -And now, by some miracle, he had relented; -had spoken to her in an almost friendly tone -on the ’phone; had laughed at her reservations -and the precautions which she promised she -would take; and in the end she had overcome -her natural fears.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He received her, not in his library, but in -the big apartment immediately above. It -was longer, for it embraced the space occupied -on the lower floor by the small drawing-room; -but in the matter of furnishing, it differed -materially. Stella had only once been in -“The Splendid Hall,” as he called it. Its -vastness and darkness had frightened her, -and the display which he had organized for -her benefit was one of her unpleasant -memories.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The big room was covered with a thick -black carpet, and the floor space was unrelieved -by any sign of furniture. Divans were set -about, the walls covered with eastern hangings; -there was a row of scarlet pillars up both sides -of the room, and such light as there was -came from three heavily-shaded black lanterns, -which cast pools of yellow light upon the -carpet but did not contribute to the gaiety of -the room.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Penne was sitting cross-legged on a silken -divan, his eyes watching the gyrations of a -native girl as she twirled and twisted to the -queer sound of native guitars played by three -solemn-faced men in the darkened corner of -the room. Gregory wore a suit of flaming red -coloured pyjamas, and his glassy gaze and -brute mouth told Stella all that she wanted to -know about her evil friend.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Sir Gregory Penne was no less and no -more than a slave to his appetites. Born a -rich man, he had never known denial of his -desires. Money had grown to money in a -sort of cellular progression, and when the -normal pleasures of life grew stale, and he was -satiated by the sweets of his possessions, he -found his chiefest satisfaction in taking that -which was forbidden. The raids which his -agents had made from time to time in the -jungles of his second home gave him trophies, -human and material, that lost their value when -they were under his hand.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Stella, who had visions of becoming mistress -of Griff Towers, became less attractive as she -grew more complaisant. And at last her -attraction had vanished, and she was no more -to him than the table at which he sat.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A doctor had told him that drink would -kill him—he drank the more. Liquor brought -him splendid visions, precious stories that -wove themselves into dazzling fabrics of -dreams. It pleased him to place, in the forefront -of his fuddled mind, a slip of a girl who -hated him. A gross bully, an equally gross -coward, he could not or would not argue -a theme to its logical and unpleasant -conclusion. At the end there was always -his money that could be paid in smaller or -larger quantities to settle all grievances -against him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The native who had conducted Stella -Mendoza to the apartment had disappeared, -and she waited at the end of the divan, looking -at the man for a long time before he took -any notice of her. Presently he turned his -head and favoured her with a stupid, vacant -stare.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sit down, Stella,” he said thickly, “sit -down. You couldn’t dance like that, eh? -None of you Europeans have got the grace, -the suppleness. Look at her!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The dancing girl was twirling at a furious -rate, her scanty draperies enveloping her like -a cloud. Presently, with a crash of the -guitars, she sank, face downward, on the -carpet. Gregory said something in Malayan, -and the woman showed her white teeth in a -smile. Stella had seen her before: there -used to be two dancing girls, but one had -contracted scarlet fever and had been hurriedly -deported. Gregory had a horror of disease.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sit down here,” he commanded, laying -his hand on the divan.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>As if by magic, every servant in the room -had disappeared, and she suddenly felt cold.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve left my chauffeur outside, with -instructions to go for the police if I’m not -out in half an hour,” she said loudly, and he -laughed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You ought to have brought your nurse, -Stella. What’s the matter with you nowadays? -Can’t you talk anything but police? -I want to talk to you,” he said in a milder tone.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And I want to talk to you, Gregory. I am -leaving Chichester for good, and I don’t want -to see the place again.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That means you don’t want to see me -again, eh? Well, I’m pretty well through with -you, and there’s going to be no weeping and -wailing and gnashing of teeth on my part.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My new company——” she began, and he -stopped her with a gesture.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If your new company depends upon my -putting up the money, you can forget it,” he -said roughly. “I’ve seen my lawyer—at least, -I’ve seen somebody who knows—and he tells -me that if you’re trying to blackmail me about -Tjarji, you’re liable to get into trouble -yourself. I’ll put up money for you,” he -went on. “Not a lot, but enough. I don’t -suppose you’re a beggar, for I’ve given you -sufficient already to start three companies. -Stella, I’m crazy about that girl.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She looked at him, her mouth open in -surprise.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What girl?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Adele. Isn’t that her name?—Adele -Leamington.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Do you mean the extra girl that took my -place?” she gasped.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He nodded, his sleepy eyes fixed on hers.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s it. She’s my type, more than you -ever were, Stella. And that isn’t meant in -any way disparaging to you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She was content to listen: his declaration -had taken her breath away.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll go a long way to get her,” he went on. -“I’d marry her, if that meant anything to her—it’s -about time I married, anyway. Now -you’re a friend of hers——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A friend!” scoffed Stella, finding her -voice. “How could I be a friend of hers -when she has taken my place? And what if -I were? You don’t suppose I should bring a -girl to this hell upon earth?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He brought his eyes around to hers—cold, -malignant, menacing.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“This hell upon earth has been heaven for -you. It has given you wings, anyway! Don’t -go back to London, Stella, not for a week or -two. Get to know this girl. You’ve got -opportunities that nobody else has. Kid her -along—you’re not going to lose anything by -it. Speak about me; tell her what a good -fellow I am; and tell her what a chance she -has. You needn’t mention marriage, but you -can if it helps any. Show her some of your -jewels—that big pendant I gave you——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He rambled on, and she listened, her -bewilderment giving place to an uncontrollable -fury.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You brute!” she said at last. “To dare -suggest that I should bring this girl to Griff! -I don’t like her—naturally. But I’d go down -on my knees to her to beg her not to come. -You think I’m jealous?” Her lips curled at -the sight of the smile on his face. “That’s -where you’re wrong, Gregory. I’m jealous of -the position she’s taken at the studio, but, so -far as you’re concerned”—she shrugged her -shoulders—“you mean nothing to me. I -doubt very much if you’ve ever meant more -than a steady source of income. That’s -candid, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She got up from the divan and began putting -on her gloves.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“As you don’t seem to want to help me,” -she said, “I’ll have to find a way of making -you keep your promise. And you did promise -me a company, Gregory; I suppose you’ve -forgotten that?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I was more interested in you then,” he -said. “Where are you going?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m going back to my cottage, and -to-morrow I’m returning to town,” she said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He looked first at one end of the room and -then at the other, and then at her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re not going back to your cottage; -you’re staying here, my dear,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She laughed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You told your chauffeur to go for the -police, did you? I’ll tell <span class='it'>you</span> something! -Your chauffeur is in my kitchen at this moment, -having his supper. If you think that he’s -likely to leave before you, you don’t know me, -Stella!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He gathered up the dressing-gown that was -spread on the divan and slipped his arms into -the hanging sleeves. A terrible figure he was -in the girl’s eyes, something unclean, obscene. -The scarlet pyjama jacket gave his face a -demoniacal value, and she felt herself cringing -from him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was quick to notice the action, and his -eyes glowed with a light of triumph.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Bhag is downstairs,” he said significantly. -“He handles people rough. He handled one -girl so that I had to call in a doctor. You’ll -come with me without—assistance?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She nodded dumbly; her knees gave way -under her as she walked. She had bearded -the beast in his den once too often.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Half-way along the corridor he unlocked a -door of a room and pushed it open.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Go there and stay there,” he said. “I’ll -talk to you to-morrow, when I’m sober. I’m -drunk now. Maybe I’ll send you someone -to keep you company—I don’t know yet.” -He ruffled his scanty hair in drunken -perplexity. “But I’ve got to be sober before -I deal with you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The door slammed on her and a key turned. -She was in complete darkness, in a room -she did not know. For one wild, terrified -moment she wondered if she was alone.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was a long time before her palm touched -the little button projecting from the wall. She -pressed it. A lamp enclosed in a crystal -globe set in the ceiling flashed into sparkling -light. She was in what had evidently been -a small bedroom. The bedstead had been -removed, but a mattress and a pillow were -folded up in one corner. There was a -window, heavily barred, but no other exit. -She examined the door: the handle turned in -her grasp; there was not even a keyhole in -which she could try her own key.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Going to the window, she pulled up the -sash, for the room was stuffy and airless. She -found herself looking out from the back of the -house, across the lawn to a belt of trees which -she could just discern. The road ran parallel -with the front of the house, and the shrillest -scream would not be heard by anybody on -the road.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Sitting down in one of the chairs, she -considered her position. Having overcome -her fear, she had that in her possession which -would overcome Gregory if it came to a fight. -Pulling up her skirt, she unbuckled the soft -leather belt about her waist, and from the -Russian leather holster it supported, she took -a diminutive Browning—a toy of a weapon -but wholly business-like in action. Sliding -back the jacket, she threw a cartridge into the -chamber and pulled up the safety-catch; then -she examined the magazine and pressed it -back again.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now, Gregory,” she said aloud, and at -that moment her face went round to the -window, and she started up with a scream.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Two grimy hands gripped the bars; glaring -in at her was the horrible face of a tramp. -Her trembling hand shot out for the pistol, -but before it could close on the butt, the face -had disappeared; and though she went round -to the window and looked out, the bars -prevented her from getting a clear view of -the parapet along which the uncouth figure -was creeping.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch33'>CHAPTER XXXIII<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE TRAP THAT FAILED</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Ten</span> o’clock was striking from Chichester -cathedral when the tramp, who half an hour -ago had been peering and prying into the -secrets of Griff Towers, made his appearance -in the market-place. His clothes were even -more dusty and soiled, and a policeman who -saw him stood squarely in his path.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“On the road?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes,” whined the man.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You can get out of Chichester as quick as -you like,” said the officer. “Are you looking -for a bed?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why don’t you try the casual ward at the -workhouse?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“They’re full up, sir.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s a lie,” said the officer. “Now -understand, if I see you again I’ll arrest you!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Muttering something to himself, the squalid -figure moved on toward the Arundel Road, -his shoulders hunched, his hands hidden in -the depths of his pockets.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Out of sight of the policeman, he turned -abruptly to the right and accelerated his pace. -He was making for Jack Knebworth’s house. -The director heard the knock, opened the door -and stood aghast at the unexpected character -of the caller.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What do you want, bo’?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Brixan come back?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, he hasn’t come back. You’d better -give me that letter. I’ll get in touch with -him by ’phone.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The tramp grinned and shook his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, you don’t. I want to see Brixan.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, you won’t see him here to-night,” -said Jack. And then, suspiciously: “My -idea is that you don’t want to see him at all, -and that you’re hanging around for some -other purpose.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The tramp did not reply. He was whistling -softly a distorted passage from the “Indian -Love Lyrics,” and all the time his right foot -was beating the time.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s in a bad way, is old Brixan,” he said, -and there was a certain amount of pleasure in -his voice that annoyed Knebworth.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What do you know about him?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I know he’s in bad with headquarters—that’s -what I know,” said the tramp. “He -couldn’t find where the letters went to: that’s -the trouble with him. But <span class='it'>I</span> know.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is that what you want to see him about?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The man nodded vigorously.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I know,” he said again. “I could tell -him something if he was here, but he ain’t -here.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If you know he isn’t here,” asked the -exasperated Jack, “why in blazes do you -come?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Because the police are chivvying me, -that’s why. A copper down on the market-place -is going to pinch me next time he sees -me. So I thought I’d come up to fill in the -time, that’s what!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack stared at him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’ve got a nerve,” he said in awe-stricken -tones. “And now you’ve filled in -your time and I’ve entertained you, you can -get! Do you want anything to eat?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not me,” said the tramp. “I live on the -fat of the land, I do!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His shrill Cockney voice was getting on -Jack’s nerves.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, good night,” he said shortly, and -closed the door on his unprepossessing visitor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The tramp waited for quite a long time -before he made any move. Then, from the -interior of his cap, he took a cigarette and lit -it before he shuffled back the way he had come, -making a long detour to avoid the centre of -the town, where the unfriendly policeman was -on duty. A church clock was striking a -quarter past ten when he reached the corner -of the Arundel Road, and, throwing away his -cigarette, moved into the shadow of the fence -and waited.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Five minutes, ten minutes passed, and his -keen eyes caught sight of a man walking -rapidly the way he had come, and he grinned -in the darkness. It was Knebworth. Jack -had been perturbed by the visitor, and was -on his way to the police station to make -inquiries about Michael. This the tramp -guessed, though he had little time to -consider the director’s movements, for a car -came noiselessly around the corner and -stopped immediately opposite him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is that you, my friend?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes,” said the tramp in a sulky voice.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Come inside.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The tramp lurched forward, peering into -the dark interior of the car. Then, with a -turn of his wrist, he jerked open the door, put -one foot on the running-board, and suddenly -flung himself upon the driver.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>Mr. Head-Hunter, I want you!</span>” he -hissed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The words were hardly out of his mouth -before something soft and wet struck him in -the face—something that blinded and choked -him, so that he let go his grip and fought -and clawed like a dying man at the air. A -push of the driver’s foot, and he was flung, -breathless, to the side-walk, and the car -sped on.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth had witnessed the scene -as far as it could be witnessed in the half-darkness, -and came running across. A policeman -appeared from nowhere, and together -they lifted the tramp into a sitting position.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve seen this fellow before to-night,” said -the policeman. “I warned him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And then the prostrate man drew a long, -sighing breath, and his hands went up to his -eyes.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“This is where I hand in my resignation,” -he said, and Knebworth’s jaw dropped.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was the voice of Michael Brixan!</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch34'>CHAPTER XXXIV<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE SEARCH</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>“Yes</span>, it’s me,” said Michael bitterly. “All -right, officer, you needn’t wait. Jack, I’ll -come up to the house to get this make-up off.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“For the Lord’s sake!” breathed Knebworth, -staring at the detective. “I’ve never -seen a man made up so well that he deceived -me.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve deceived everybody, including myself,” -said Michael savagely. “I thought I’d -caught him with a dummy letter, instead of -which the devil caught me.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What was it?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ammonia, I think—a concentrated solution -thereof,” said Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was twenty minutes before he emerged -from the bathroom, his eyes inflamed but -otherwise his old self.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I wanted to trap him in my own way, but -he was too smart for me.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Do you know who he is?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, yes, I know,” he said. “I’ve got a -special force of men here, waiting to effect the -arrest, but I didn’t want a fuss, and I certainly -did not want bloodshed. And bloodshed -there will be, unless I am mistaken.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I didn’t seem to recognize the car, and I -know most of the machines in this city,” said -Jack.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It is a new one, used only for these -midnight adventures of the Head-Hunter. -He probably garages it away from his house. -You asked me if I’d have something to eat -just now, and I lied and told you I was living -on the fat of the land. Give me some food, -for the love of heaven!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack went into the larder and brought out -some cold meat, brewed a pot of coffee, and -sat in silence, watching the famished detective -dispose of the viands.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I feel a man now,” said Michael as he -finished, “for I’d had nothing to eat except -a biscuit since eleven this morning. By the -way, our friend Stella Mendoza is staying at -Griff Towers, and I’m afraid I rather scared -her. I happened to be nosing round there an -hour ago, to make absolutely sure of my bird, -and I looked in upon her—to her alarm!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There came a sharp rap at the door, and -Jack Knebworth looked up.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who’s that at this time of night?” he -asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Probably the policeman,” said Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Knebworth opened the door and found -a short, stout, middle-aged woman standing on -the doorstep with a roll of paper in her hand.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is this Mr. Knebworth’s?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes,” said Jack.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve brought the play that Miss Leamington -left behind. She asked me to bring it to -you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Knebworth took the roll of paper and -slipped off the elastic band which encircled it. -It was the manuscript of “Roselle.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why have you brought this?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“She told me to bring it up if I found it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Very good,” said Jack, mystified. “Thank -you very much.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He closed the door on the woman and went -back to the dining-room.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Adele has sent up her script. What’s -wrong, I wonder?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who brought it?” asked Michael, -interested.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Her landlady, I suppose,” said Jack, -describing the woman.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, that’s she. Adele is not turning in -her part?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack shook his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That wouldn’t be likely.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael was puzzled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What the dickens does it mean? What -did the woman say?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“She said that Miss Leamington wanted -her to bring up the manuscript if she found it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael was out of the house in a second, -and, racing down the street, overtook the -woman.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Will you come back, please?” he said, -and escorted her to the house again. “Just -tell Mr. Knebworth why Miss Leamington -sent this manuscript, and what you mean by -having ‘forgotten’ it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, when she came up to you——” -began the woman.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Came up to me?” cried Knebworth -quickly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A gentleman from the studio called for -her, and said you wanted to see her,” said the -landlady. “Miss Leamington was just going -to bed, but I took up the message. He said -you wanted to see her about the play, and -asked her to bring the manuscript. She had -mislaid it somewhere and was in a great state -about it, so I told her to go on, as you were in -a hurry, and I’d bring it up. At least, she -asked me to do that.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What sort of a gentleman was it who -called?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A rather stout gentleman. He wasn’t -exactly a gentleman, he was a chauffeur. As -a matter of fact, I thought he’d been drinking, -though I didn’t want to alarm Miss -Leamington by telling her so.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And then what happened?” asked Michael -quickly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“She came down and got in the car. The -chauffeur was already in.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A closed car, I suppose?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The woman nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And then they drove off? What time was -this?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Just after half-past ten. I remember, -because I heard the church clock strike just -before the car drove up.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael was cool now. His voice scarcely -rose above a whisper.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Twenty-five past eleven,” he said, looking -at his watch. “You’ve been a long time -coming.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I couldn’t find the paper, sir. It was -under Miss Leamington’s pillow. Isn’t she -here?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, she’s not here,” said Michael quietly. -“Thank you very much; I won’t keep you. -Will you wait for me at the police station?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He went upstairs and put on his coat.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where do you think she is?” asked Jack.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“She is at Griff Towers,” replied the other, -“and whether Gregory Penne lives or dies this -night depends entirely upon the treatment that -Adele has received at his hands.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At the police station he found the landlady, -a little frightened, more than a little tearful.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What was Miss Leamington wearing when -she went out?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Her blue cloak, sir,” whimpered the -woman, “that pretty blue cloak she always -wore.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Scotland Yard men were at the station, and -it was a heavily loaded car that ran out to -Chichester—too heavy for Michael, in a fever -of impatience, for the weight of its human -cargo checked its speed, and every second was -precious. At last, after an eternity of time, -the big car swung into the drive. Michael -did not stop to waken the lodge-keeper, but -smashed the frail gates open with the buffers -of his machine, mounted the slope, crossing -the gravel parade, and halted.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was no need to ring the bell: the door -was wide open, and, at the head of his party, -Mike Brixan dashed through the deserted hall, -along the corridor into Gregory’s library. -One light burnt, offering a feeble illumination, -but the room was empty. With rapid strides -he crossed to the desk and turned the switch. -Bhag’s den opened, but Bhag too was an -absentee.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He pressed the bell by the side of the -fireplace, and almost immediately the brown-faced -servitor whom he had seen before came -trembling into the room.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where is your master?” asked Michael in -Dutch.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The man shook his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t know,” he replied, but instinctively -he looked up to the ceiling.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Show me the way.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They went back to the hall, up the broad -stairway on to the first floor. Along a corridor, -hung with swords, as was its fellow below, he -reached another open door—the great dance -hall where Gregory Penne had held revel that -evening. There was nobody in sight, and -Michael came out into the hall. As he did so, -he was aware of a frantic tapping at one of -the doors in the corridor. The key was in the -lock: he turned it and flung the door wide -open, and Stella Mendoza, white as death, -staggered out.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where is Adele?” she gasped.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I want to ask you that,” said Michael -sternly. “Where is she?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The girl shook her head helplessly, strove -to speak, and then collapsed in a swoon.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He did not wait for her to recover, but -continued his search. From room to room he -went, but there was no sign of Adele or the -brutal owner of Griff Towers. He searched the -library again, and passed through into the little -drawing-room, where a table was laid for two. -The cloth was wet with spilt wine; one glass -was half empty—but the two for whom the -table was laid had vanished. They must have -gone out of the front door—whither?</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was standing tense, his mind concentrated -upon a problem that was more vital -to him than life itself, when he heard a sound -that came from the direction of Bhag’s den. -And then there appeared in the doorway the -monstrous ape himself. He was bleeding -from a wound in the shoulder; the blood fell -drip-drip-drip as he stood, clutching in his two -great hands something that seemed like a -bundle of rags. As Michael looked, the room -rocked before his eyes.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The tattered, stained garment that Bhag -held was the cloak that Adele Leamington had -worn!</p> - -<p class='pindent'>For a second Bhag glared at the man who -he knew was his enemy, and then, dropping -the cloak, he shrank back toward his quarters, -his teeth bared.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Three times Michael’s automatic spat, and -the great, man-like thing disappeared in a flash—and -the door closed with a click.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Knebworth had been a witness of the scene. -It was he who ran forward and picked up the -cloak that the ape had dropped.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, that was hers,” he said huskily, and a -horrible thought chilled him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael had opened the door of the den, -and, pistol in hand, dashed through the -opening. Knebworth dared not follow. He -stood petrified, waiting, and then Michael -reappeared.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There’s nothing here,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Nothing?” asked Jack Knebworth in a -whisper. “Thank God!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Bhag has gone—I think I may have hit -him; there is a trail of blood, but I may not -be responsible for that. He had been shot -recently,” he pointed to stains on the floor. -“He wasn’t shot when I saw him last.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Have you seen him before to-night?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“For three nights he has been haunting -Longvale’s house.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Longvale’s!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Where was Adele? That was the one -dominant question, the one thought uppermost -in Michael Brixan’s mind. And where was the -baronet? What was the meaning of that open -door? None of the servants could tell him, -and for some reason he saw that they were -speaking the truth. Only Penne and the girl—and -this great ape—knew, unless——</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He hurried back to where he had left a -detective trying to revive the unconscious -Stella Mendoza.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“She has passed from one fainting fit to -another,” said the officer. “I can get nothing -out of her except that once she said ‘Kill him, -Adele.’ ”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then she has seen her!” said Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>One of the officers he had left outside to -watch the building had a report to make. He -had seen a dark figure climbing the wall and -disappear apparently through the solid brickwork. -A few minutes later it had come out -again.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That was Bhag,” said Michael. “I knew -he was not here when we arrived. He must -have come in through the opening while we -were upstairs.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The car that had carried Adele had been -found. It was Stella’s, and at first Michael -suspected that the girl was a party to the -abduction. He learnt afterwards that, whilst -the woman’s chauffeur had been in the kitchen, -virtually a prisoner, Penne himself had driven -the car to the girl’s house, and it was the -sight of the machine, which she knew belonged -to Stella, that had lulled any suspicions she -may have had.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael was in a condition bordering upon -frenzy. The Head-Hunter and his capture -was insignificant compared with the safety of -the girl.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If I don’t find her I shall go mad,” he -said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth had opened his lips to -answer when there came a startling interruption. -Borne on the still night air came a -scream of agony which turned the director’s -blood to ice.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Help, help!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Shrill as was the cry, Michael knew that -it was the voice of a man, and knew that that -man was Gregory Penne!</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch35'>CHAPTER XXXV<br/> <span class='sub-head'>WHAT HAPPENED TO ADELE</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>There</span> were moments when Adele Leamington -had doubts as to her fitness for the profession -she had entered; and never were those periods -of doubt more poignant than when she tried -to fix her mind upon the written directions of -the scenario. She blamed Michael, and was -immediately repentant. She blamed herself -more freely; and at last she gave up the -struggle, rolled up the manuscript book, and, -putting an elastic band about it, thrust it under -her pillow and prepared for bed. She had -rid herself of skirt and blouse when the -summons came.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“From Mr. Knebworth?” she said in -surprise. “At this time of night?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, miss. He’s going to make a big -alteration to-morrow and he wants to see you -at once. He has sent his car. Miss Mendoza -is coming into the cast.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh!” she said faintly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Then she had been a failure, after all, and -had lived in a fool’s paradise for these past -days.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll come at once,” she said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Her fingers trembled as she fastened her -dress, and she hated herself for such a display -of weakness. Perhaps Stella was not coming -into the cast in her old part; perhaps some new -character had been written in; perhaps it was -not for “Roselle” at all that she had been -re-engaged. These and other speculations -rioted in her mind; and she was in the -passage and the door was opened when she -remembered that Jack Knebworth would want -the manuscript. She ran upstairs, and, by an -aberration of memory, forgot entirely where -the script had been left. At last, in despair, -she went down to the landlady.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I have left some manuscripts which are -rather important. Would you bring them up -to Mr. Knebworth’s house when you find -them? They’re in a little brown jacket——” -She described the appearance as well as she -could.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was Stella Mendoza’s car; she recognized -the machine with a pang. So Jack and she -were reconciled!</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In a minute she was inside the machine, the -door closed behind her, and was sitting by -the driver, who did not speak.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is Mr. Brixan with Mr. Knebworth?” she -asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He did not reply. She thought he had not -heard her, until he turned with a wide sweep -and set the car going in the opposite direction.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“This is not the way to Mr. Knebworth’s,” -she said in alarm. “Don’t you know the -way?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Still he made no reply. The machine -gathered speed, passed down a long, dark -street, and turned into a country lane.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Stop the car at once!” she said, terrified, -and put her hand on the handle of the door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Instantly her arm was gripped.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My dear, you’re going to injure your -pretty little body, and probably spoil your -beautiful face, if you attempt to get out while -the car is in motion,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sir Gregory!” she gasped.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now don’t make a fuss,” said Gregory. -There was no mistaking the elation in his -voice. “You’re coming up to have a little bit -of supper with me. I’ve asked you often -enough, and now you’re going willy-nilly! -Stella’s there, so there’s nothing to be afraid -of.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She held down her fears with an effort.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sir Gregory, you will take me back at -once to my lodgings,” she said. “This is -disgraceful of you!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He chuckled loudly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Nothing’s going to happen to you; -nobody’s going to hurt you, and you’ll be -delivered safe and sound; but you’re going to -have supper with me first, little darling. And -if you make a fuss, I’m going to turn the car -into the first tree I see and smash us all up!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was drunk—drunk not only with wine, -but with the lust of power. Gregory had -achieved his object, and would stop at nothing -now.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Was Stella there? She did not believe -him. And yet it might be true. She grasped -at the straw which Stella’s presence offered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Here we are,” grunted Gregory, as he -stopped the car before the Towers door and -slipped out on to the gravel.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Before she realized what he was doing, he -had lifted her in his arms, though she -struggled desperately.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If you scream I’ll kiss you,” growled his -voice in her ear, and she lay passive.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The door opened instantly. She looked -down at the servant standing stolidly in the -hall, as Gregory carried her up the wide -stairway, and wondered what help might come -from him. Presently Penne set her down on -her feet and, opening a door, thrust her in.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Here’s your friend, Stella,” he said. -“Say the good word for me! Knock some -sense into her head if you can. I’ll come -back in ten minutes, and we’ll have the -grandest little wedding supper that any -bridegroom ever had.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The door was banged and locked upon her -before she realized there was another woman -in the room. It was Stella. Her heart rose -at the sight of the girl’s white face.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, Miss Mendoza,” she said breathlessly, -“thank God you’re here!”</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch36'>CHAPTER XXXVI<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE ESCAPE</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>“Don’t</span> start thanking God too soon,” said -Stella with ominous calm. “Oh, you little -fool, why did you come here?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He brought me. I didn’t want to come,” -said Adele.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She was half hysterical in her fright. She -tried hard to imitate the calm of her -companion, biting her quivering lips to keep -them still, and after a while she was calm -enough to tell what had happened. Stella’s -face clouded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Of course, he took my car,” she said, -speaking to herself, “and he has caught the -chauffeur, as he said he would. Oh, my -God!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What will he do?” asked Adele in a -whisper.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Stella’s fine eyes turned on the girl.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What do you think he will do?” she -asked significantly. “He’s a beast—the kind -of beast you seldom meet except in books—and -locked rooms. He’ll have no more mercy -on you than Bhag would have on you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If Michael knows, he will kill him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Michael? Oh, Brixan, you mean?” said -Stella with newly awakened interest. “Is he -fond of you? Is that why he hangs around -the lot? That never struck me before. But -what does he care about Michael or any -other man? He can run—his yacht is at -Southampton, and he depends a lot upon his -wealth to get him out of these kind of scrapes. -And he knows that decent women shrink from -appearance in a police court. Oh, he’s got all -sorts of defences. He’s a worm, but a scaly -worm!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What shall I do?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Stella was walking up and down the narrow -apartment, her hands clasped before her, her -eyes sunk to the ground.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t think he’ll hurt me.” And then, -inconsequently, she went off at a tangent: “I -saw a tramp at that window two hours ago.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A tramp?” said the bewildered girl.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Stella nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It scared me terribly, until I remembered -his eyes. They were Brixan’s eyes, though -you’d never guess it, the make-up was so -wonderful.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Michael? Is he here?” asked the girl -eagerly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s somewhere around. That is your -salvation, and there’s another.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She took down from a shelf a small Browning.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did you ever fire a pistol?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The girl nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I have to, in one scene,” she said a little -awkwardly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Of course! Well, this is loaded. That”—she -pointed—“is the safety catch. Push it -down with your thumb before you start to use -it. You had better kill Penne—better for you, -and better for him, I think.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The girl shrank back in horror.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, no, no!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Put it in your pocket—have you a pocket?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was one inside the blue cloak the girl -was wearing, and into this Stella dropped the -pistol.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You don’t know what sort of sacrifice I’m -making,” she said frankly, “and it isn’t as -though I’m doing it for somebody I’m fond of, -because I’m not particularly fond of you, Adele -Leamington. But I wouldn’t be fit to live if I -let that brute get you without a struggle.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And then impulsively she stooped forward -and kissed the girl, and Adele put her arms -about her neck and clung to her for a second.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s coming,” whispered Stella Mendoza, -and stepped back with a gesture.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was Gregory—Gregory in his scarlet -pyjama jacket and purple dressing-gown, his -face aflame, his eyes fired with excitement.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Come on, you!” He crooked his finger. -“Not you, Mendoza: you stay here, eh? You -can see her after, perhaps—after supper.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He leered down at the shrinking girl.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Nobody’s going to hurt you. Leave your -cloak here.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, I’ll wear it,” she said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Her hand went instinctively to the butt of -the pistol and closed upon it.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“All right, come as you are. It makes no -difference to me.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He held her tightly by the hand and marched -by her side, surprised and pleased that she -offered so little resistance. Down into the hall -they went, and then to the little drawing-room -adjoining his study. He flung open the door -and showed her the gaily decorated table, pushing -her into the room before him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Wine and a kiss!” he roared, as he pulled -the cork from a champagne bottle and sent the -amber fluid splashing upon the spotless tablecloth. -“Wine and a kiss!” He splashed the -glass out to her so that it spilt and trickled -down her cloak.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She shook her head mutely.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Drink!” he snarled, and she touched the -glass with her lips.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Then, before she could realize what had -happened, she was in his arms, his great face -pressed down to hers. She tried to escape -from the encirclement of his embrace, successfully -averted her mouth and felt his hot lips -pressing against her cheek.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Presently he let her go, and, staggering to -the door, kicked it shut. His fingers were -closing on the key handle when:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If you turn that key I’ll kill you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He looked up in ludicrous surprise, and, at -the sight of the pistol in the girl’s hand, his -big hands waved before his face in a gesture of -fear.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Put it down, you fool!” he squealed. -“Put it down! Don’t you know what you’re -doing? The damned thing may go off by -accident.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It will not go off by accident,” she said. -“Open that door.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He hesitated for a moment, and then her -thumb tightened on the safety-catch, and he -must have seen the movement.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t shoot, don’t shoot!” he screamed, -and flung the door wide open. “Wait, you -fool! Don’t go out. Bhag is there. Bhag -will get you. Stay with me. I’ll——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But she was flying down the corridor. She -slipped on a loose rug in the hall but recovered -herself. Her trembling hands were working -at the bolts and chains; the door swung open, -and in another instant she was in the open, -free.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Sir Gregory followed her. The shock of her -escape had sobered him, and all the tragic -consequences which might follow came crowding -in upon him, until his very soul writhed in -fear. Dashing back to his study, he opened -his safe, took out a bundle of notes. These he -thrust into the pocket of a fur-lined overcoat -that was hanging in a cupboard and put it on. -He changed his slippers for thick shoes, and -then bethought him of Bhag. He opened the -den, but Bhag was not there, and he raised his -shaking fingers to his lips. If Bhag caught -her!</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Some glimmering of a lost manhood stirred -dully in his mind. He must first be sure of -Bhag. He went out into the darkness in search -of his strange and horrible servant. Putting -both hands to his mouth, he emitted a long and -painful howl, the call that Bhag had never yet -disobeyed, and then waited. There was no -answer. Again he sent forth the melancholy -sound, but, if Bhag heard him, for the first time -in his life he did not obey.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Gregory Penne stood in a sweat of fear, but, -so standing, recovered some of his balance. -There was time to change. He went up to his -ornate bedroom, flung off his pyjamas, and in -a short space of time was down again in the -dark grounds, seeking for the ape.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Dressed, he felt more of a man. A long -glass of whisky restored some of his confidence. -He rang for the servant who was in charge of -his car.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Have the machine by the postern gate,” -he said. “Get it there at once. See that -the gate is open: I may have to leave -to-night.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>That he would be arrested he did not doubt. -Not all his wealth, his position, the pull he -had in the county, could save him. This -latest deed of his was something more than -eccentricity.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Then he remembered that Stella Mendoza -was still in the house, and went up to see her. -A glance at his face told her that something -unusual had happened.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where is Adele?” she asked instantly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t know. She escaped—she had a -pistol. Bhag went after her. God knows what -will happen if he finds her. He’ll tear her limb -from limb. What’s that?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was the faint sound of a pistol shot at a -distance, and it came from the back of the -house.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Poachers,” said Gregory uneasily. “Listen, -I’m going.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where are you going?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s no damned business of yours,” he -snarled. “Here’s some money.” He thrust -some notes into her hand.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What have you done?” she whispered in -horror.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve done nothing, I tell you,” he stormed. -“But they’ll take me for it. I’m going to get -to the yacht. You’d better clear before they -come.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She was collecting her hat and gloves when -she heard the door close and the key turn. -Mechanically he had locked her in, and -mechanically took no heed of her beating hand -upon the panel of the door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Griff Towers stood on high ground and -commanded a view of the by-road from -Chichester. As he stood in the front of the -house, hoping against hope that he would see -the ape, he saw instead two lights come rapidly -along the road.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The police!” he croaked, and went -blundering across the kitchen garden to the -gate.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch37'>CHAPTER XXXVII<br/> <span class='sub-head'>AT THE TOWER AGAIN</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Adele</span> went flying down the drive, intent only -upon one object, to escape from this horrible -house. The gates were closed, the lodge was -in darkness, and she strove desperately to -unfasten the iron catch, but it held.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Looking back toward the oblong of light -which represented the tower door, she was -dimly aware of a figure moving stealthily along -the grass that bordered each side of the roadway. -For a moment she thought it was -Gregory Penne, and then the true explanation -of that skulking shape came to her, and she -nearly dropped. It was Bhag!</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She moved as quietly as she could along the -side of the wall, creeping from bush to bush, -but he had seen her, and came in pursuit, -moving slowly, cautiously, as though he was -not quite sure that she was legitimate prey. -Perhaps there was another gate, she thought, -and continued, glancing over her shoulder from -time to time, and gripping the little pistol in -her hand with such intensity that it was slippery -with perspiration before she had gone a hundred -yards.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Now she left the cover of the wall and came -across a meadow, and at first she thought that -she had slipped her pursuer. But Bhag seldom -went into the open, and presently she saw him -again. He was parallel with her, walking under -the wall, and showing no sign of hurry. -Perhaps, she thought, if she continued, he -would drop his pursuit and go off. It might be -curiosity that kept him on her trail. But this -hope was disappointed. She crossed a stile -and followed a path until she realized it was -bringing her nearer and nearer to the wall -where her watcher was keeping pace with her. -As soon as she realized this, she turned -abruptly from the path, and found herself -walking through dew-laden grasses. She was -wet to the knees before she had gone far, but -she did not even know this—Bhag had left -cover and was following her into the open!</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She wondered if the grounds were entirely -enclosed by a wall, and was relieved when she -came to a low fence. Stumbling down a bank -on to a road which was evidently the eastern -boundary of the property, she ran at full speed, -though where the road led she could not guess. -Glancing back, she saw, to her horror, that -Bhag was following, yet making no attempt to -decrease the distance which separated them.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And then, far away, she saw the lights of a -cottage. They seemed close at hand, but were -in reality more than two miles distant. With -a sob of thankfulness she turned from the road -and ran up a gentle slope, only to discover, to -her dismay, when she reached the crest, that -the lights seemed as far away as ever. Looking -back, she saw Bhag, his green eyes gleaming -in the darkness.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Where was she? Glancing round, she found -an answer. Ahead and to the left was the squat -outline of old Griff Tower.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And then, for some reason, Bhag dropped -his rôle of interested watcher, and, with a dog-like -growl, leapt at her. She flew upward -toward the tower, her breath coming in sobs, -her heart thumping so that she felt every -moment she would drop from sheer exhaustion. -A hand clutched at her cloak and tore it from -her. That gave her a moment’s respite. She -must face her enemy, or she herself must perish.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Spinning round, her shaking pistol raised, -she confronted the monster, who was growling -and tearing at the clothing in his hand. Again -he crouched to spring, and she pressed the -trigger. The unexpected loudness of the -explosion so startled her that she nearly dropped -the pistol. With a howl of anguish he fell, -gripping at his wounded shoulder, but rose -again immediately. And then he began to -move backward, watching her all the time.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>What should she do? In her present position -he might creep from bush to bush and pounce -upon her at any moment. She looked up at -the tower. If she could reach the top! And -then she remembered the ladder that Jack -Knebworth had left behind. But that would -have been collected.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She moved stealthily, keeping her eye upon -the ape, and though he was motionless, she -knew he was watching her. Then, groping in -the grass, her fingers touched the light ladder, -and she lifted it without difficulty and placed -it against the wall. She had heard Jack say -that the ape could not have climbed the tower -from the outside without assistance, though it -had been an easy matter, with the aid of the -trees growing against the wall inside, for him -to get out.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Bhag was still visible; the dull glow of his -eyes was dreadful to see. With a wild run she -reached the top of the ladder and began pulling -it up after her. Bhag crept nearer and nearer -till he came to the foot of the tower, made three -ineffectual efforts to scale the wall and failed. -She heard his twitter of rage, and guided the -ladder to the inside of the tower.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>For a long time they sat, looking at one -another, the orang-outang and the girl. And -then Bhag crept away. She followed him as -far as her keen eyes could distinguish his -ungainly shape, waiting until she was certain -he had gone, and then reached for the ladder. -The lower rung must have caught in one of the -bushes below. She tugged, tugged again, -tugged for the third time, and it came away so -smoothly that she lost her balance. For a -second she was holding the top of the wall with -one hand, the ladder with the other; then, half-sliding, -half-tumbling, she came down with a -run, and picked herself up breathless. She -could have laughed at the mishap but for the -eerie loneliness of her new surroundings. She -tried to erect the ladder again, but in the dark -it was impossible to get a firm foundation.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There must be small stones somewhere about, -and she began to look out for them. She -reached the bottom of the circular depression, -and pushing aside a bush to make further -progress, feeling all the time with her feet for -a suitable prop, suddenly she slipped. She -was dropping down a sloping shaft into the -depths of the earth!</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch38'>CHAPTER XXXVIII<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE CAVERN OF BONES</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Down</span>, down, down she fell, one hand clawing -wildly at the soft earth, the other clenching -unconsciously at the tiny pistol. She was -rolling down a steep slope. Once her feet -came violently and painfully into contact with -an out-jutting rock, and the shock and the pain -of it turned her sick and faint. Whither she -was going she dared not think. It seemed an -eternity before, at last, she struck a level floor -and, rolling over and over, was brought up -against a rocky wall with a jolt that shook the -breath from her body.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Eternity it seemed, yet it could not have been -more than a few seconds. For five minutes she -lay, recovering, on the rock floor. She got up -with a grimace of pain, felt her hurt ankle, and -worked her foot to discover if anything was -broken. Looking up, she saw a pale star -above, and, guessing that it was the opening -through which she had fallen, attempted to -climb back; but with every step she took the -soft earth gave under her feet and she slipped -back again.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She had lost a shoe: that was the first tangible -truth that asserted itself. She groped round -in the darkness and found it after a while, half -embedded in the earth. She shook it empty, -dusted her stockinged foot, and put it on. -Then she sat down to wonder what she should -do next. She guessed that, with the coming -of day, she would be able to examine her -surroundings, and she must wait, with what -philosophy she could summon, for the morning -to break.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was then that she became conscious that -she was still gripping the earth-caked Browning, -and, with a half-smile, she cleaned it as -best she could, pressed down the safety-catch -and, putting the weapon inside her blouse, -thrust its blunt nose into the waistband of her -skirt.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The mystery of Bhag’s reappearance was now -a mystery no longer. He had been hiding in -the cave, though it was her imagination that -supplied the queer animal scent which was -peculiarly his.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>How far did the cave extend? She peered -left and right, but could see nothing; then, -groping cautiously, feeling every inch of her -way, her hand struck a stone pillar, and she -withdrew it quickly, for it was wet and clammy.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And then she made a discovery of the greatest -importance to her. She was feeling along the -wall when her hand went into a niche, and by -the surface of its shelf she knew it was man-fashioned. -She put her hand farther along, -and her heart leapt as she touched something -which had a familiar and homely feel. It was -a lantern. Her other hand went up, and -presently she opened its glass door and felt a -length of candle, and, at the bottom of the -lantern, a small box of matches.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was no miracle, as she was to learn; but -for the moment it seemed that that possibility -of light had come in answer to her unspoken -prayers. Striking a match with a hand that -shook so that the light went out immediately, -she at last succeeded in kindling the wick. The -candle was new, and at first its light was feeble; -but presently the wax began to burn, and, -closing the lantern door, her surroundings came -into view.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She was in a narrow cave, from the roof of -which hung innumerable stalactites; but the -dripping water which is inseparable from this -queer formation was absent at the foot of the -opening where she had tumbled. Farther -along the floor was wet, and a tiny stream of -water ran in a sort of naturally carved tunnel on -one side of the path. Here, where the cave -broadened, the stalactites were many, and left -and right, at such regular intervals and of such -even shape that they seemed almost to have -been sculptured by human agency, were little -caves within caves, narrow openings that -revealed, in the light of her lantern, the -splendour of nature’s treasures. Fairylike -grottos, rich with delicate stone traceries; tiny -lakes that sparkled in the light of the lantern. -Broader and broader grew the cave, until she -stood in a huge chamber that appeared to be -festooned with frozen lace. And here the floor -was littered with queer white sticks. There -were thousands of them, of every conceivable -shape and size. They showed whitely in the -gleam of her lantern, in the crevices of the -rocks. She stooped and picked one up, -dropping it quickly with a cry of horror. They -were human bones!</p> - -<p class='pindent'>With a shuddering gasp she half walked, half -ran across the great cavern, which began to -narrow again and assumed the appearance of -that portion of the cave into which she had -fallen. And here she saw, in another niche, a -second lantern, with new candle and matches. -Who had placed them there? The first lantern -she had not dared to think about: it belonged -to the miraculous category. But the second -brought her up with a jerk. Who had placed -these lanterns at intervals along the wall of the -cave, as if in preparation for an expected -emergency? There must be somebody who -lived down here. She breathed a little more -quickly at the thought.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Going on slowly, she examined every foot -of the way, the second lantern, unlighted, -slung on her arm. At one part, the floor was -flooded with running water; at another, she -had to wade through a little subterranean ford, -where the water came over her ankle. And -now the cave was curving imperceptibly to the -right. From time to time she stopped and -listened, hoping to hear the sound of a human -voice, and yet fearing. The roof of the cave -came lower. There were signs in the roof -that the stalactites had been knocked off to -afford head room for the mysterious person -who haunted these underground chambers.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Once she stopped, her heart thumping -painfully at the sound of footsteps. They -passed over her head, and then came a curious -humming sound that grew in intensity, passed -and faded. A motor-car! She was under the -road! Of course, old Griff Tower stood upon -the hillside. She was now near the road -level, and possibly eight or nine feet above -her the stars were shining. She looked -wistfully at the ragged surface of the roof, -and, steeling herself against the terrors that -rose within her, she went on. She had need -of nerve, need of courage beyond the ordinary.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The cave passage turned abruptly; the little -grotto openings in the wall occurred again. -Suddenly she stopped dead. The light of the -lantern showed into one of the grottos. Two -men lay side by side——</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She stifled the scream that rose to her lips, -pressing her hands tight upon her mouth, her -eyes shut tightly to hide the sight. They -were dead—headless! Lying in a shallow -pool, the petrifying water came dripping down -upon them, as it would drip down for everlasting -until these pitiful things were stone.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>For a long time she dared not move, dared -not open her eyes, but at last her will -conquered, and she looked with outward calm -upon a sight that froze her very marrow. -The next grotto was similarly tenanted, only -this time there was one man. And then, -when she was on the point of sinking under -the shock, a tiny point of light appeared in -the gloom ahead. It moved and swayed, and -there came to her the sound of a fearful -laugh.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She acted instantly. Pulling open the -door of the lantern, she stooped and blew it -out, and stood, leaning against the wall of -the cave, oblivious to the grisly relics that -surrounded her, conscious only of the danger -which lay ahead. Then a brighter light blazed -up and another, till the distant spaces wherein -they burnt were as bright as day. As she -stood, wondering, there came to her a squeal -of mortal agony and a whining voice that -cried:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Help! Oh, God, help! Brixan, I am -not fit to die!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was the voice of Sir Gregory Penne.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch39'>CHAPTER XXXIX<br/> <span class='sub-head'>MICHAEL KNOWS FOR SURE</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>It</span> was that same voice that had brought -Michael Brixan racing across the garden to -the postern gate. A car stood outside, its -lights dimmed. Standing by its bonnet was a -frightened little brown man who had brought -the machine to the place.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where is your master?” asked Michael -quickly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The man pointed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He went that way,” he quavered. “There -was a devil in the big machine—it would not -move when he stamped on the little pedal.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael guessed what had happened. At -the last moment, by one of those queer -mischances which haunt the just and the -unjust, the engine had failed him and he had -fled on foot.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Which way did he go?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Again the man pointed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He ran,” he said simply.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael turned to the detective who was -with him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Stay here: he may return. Arrest him -immediately and put the irons on him. He’s -probably armed, and he may be suicidal; we -can’t afford to take any risks.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He had been so often across what he had -named the “Back Field” that he could find -his way blindfolded, and he ran at top speed -till he came to the stile and to the road. Sir -Gregory was nowhere in sight. Fifty yards -along the road, the lights gleamed cheerily -from an upper window in Mr. Longvale’s -house, and Michael bent his footsteps in that -direction.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Still no sight of the man, and he turned -through the gate and knocked at the door, -which was almost immediately opened by the -old gentleman himself. He wore a silken -gown, tied with a sash about the middle, a -picture of comfort, Michael thought.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who’s that?” asked Mr. Sampson -Longvale, peering out into the darkness. -“Why, bless my life, it’s Mr. Brixan, the -officer of the law! Come in, come in, -sir.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He opened the door wide and Michael -passed into the sitting-room, with its inevitable -two candles, augmented now by a small silver -reading-lamp that burnt some sort of petrol -vapour.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No trouble at the Towers, I trust?” said -Mr. Longvale anxiously.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There was a little trouble,” said Michael -carefully. “Have you by any chance seen -Sir Gregory Penne?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The old man shook his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I found the night rather too chilly for my -usual garden ramble,” he said, “so I’ve seen -none of the exciting events which seem -inevitably to accompany the hours of darkness -in these times. Has anything happened to -him?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I hope not,” said Michael quietly. “I -hope, for everybody’s sake, that—nothing has -happened to him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He walked across and leant his elbows on -the mantelpiece, looking up at the painting -above his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Do you admire my relative?” beamed Mr. -Longvale.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t know that I admire him. He -was certainly a wonderfully handsome old -gentleman.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Longvale inclined his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You have read his memoirs?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael nodded, and the old man did not -seem in any way surprised.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, I have read what purport to be -his memoirs,” said Michael quietly, “but -latter-day opinion is that they are not -authentic.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Longvale shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Personally, I believe every word of them,” -he said. “My uncle was a man of considerable -education.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It would have amazed Jack Knebworth to -know that the man who had rushed hotfoot -from the tower in search of a possible -murderer, was at that moment calmly -discussing biography; yet such was the -incongruous, unbelievable fact.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I sometimes feel that you think too much -about your uncle, Mr. Longvale,” said Michael -gently.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The old gentleman frowned.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You mean——?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I mean that such a subject may become an -obsession and a very unhealthy obsession, and -such hero-worship may lead a man to do things -which no sane man would do.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Longvale looked at him in genuine astonishment.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Can one do better than imitate the deeds -of the great?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not if your sense of values hasn’t got all -tangled up, and you ascribe to him virtues -which are not virtues—unless duty is a virtue—and -confuse that which is great with that -which is terrible.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael turned and, resting his palms on the -table, looked across to the old man who -confronted him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I want you to come with me into Chichester -this evening.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why?” The question was asked bluntly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Because I think you’re a sick man, that -you ought to have care.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The old man laughed and drew himself -even more erect.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sick? I was never better in my life, my -dear sir, never fitter, never stronger!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And he looked all that he said. His height, -the breadth of his shoulders, the healthy glow -of his cheeks, all spoke of physical fitness.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A long pause, and then:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where is Gregory Penne?” asked -Michael, emphasizing every word.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I haven’t the slightest idea.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The old man’s eyes met his without -wavering.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We were talking about my great-uncle. -You know him, of course?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I knew him the first time I saw his -picture, and I thought I had betrayed my -knowledge, but apparently I did not. Your -great-uncle”—Michael spoke deliberately—“was -Sanson, otherwise Longval, hereditary -executioner of France!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Such a silence followed that the ticking of -a distant clock sounded distinctly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Your uncle has many achievements to his -credit. He hanged three men on a gallows -sixty feet high, unless my memory is at fault. -His hand struck off the head of Louis of -France and his consort Marie Antoinette.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The look of pride in the old man’s face was -startling. His eyes kindled, he seemed to -grow in height.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“By what fantastic freak of fate you come -to have settled in England, what queer kink -of mind decided you secretly to carry on the -profession of Sanson and seek far and wide -for poor, helpless wretches to destroy, I do -not know.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael did not raise his voice, he spoke in -a calm, conversational tone; and in the same -way did Longvale reply.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is it not better,” he said gently, “that a -man should pass out of life through no act of -his own, than that he should commit the -unpardonable crime of self-murder? Have I -not been a benefactor to men who dared not -take their own lives?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“To Lawley Foss?” suggested Michael, -his grave eyes fixed on the other.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He was a traitor, a vulgar blackmailer, a -man who sought to use the knowledge which -had accidentally come to him, to extract -money from me.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where is Gregory Penne?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A slow smile dawned on the man’s face.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You will not believe me? That is -ungentle, sir! I have not seen Sir Gregory.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael pointed to the hearth, where a -cigarette was still smouldering.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There is that,” he said. “There are his -muddy footprints on the carpet of this room. -There is the cry I heard. Where is he?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Within reach of his hand was his heavy-calibred -Browning. A move on the old man’s -part, and he would lie maimed on the ground. -Michael was dealing with a homicidal lunatic -of the most dangerous type, and would not -hesitate to shoot.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But the old man showed no sign of -antagonism. His voice was gentleness itself. -He seemed to feel and express a pride in -crimes which, to his brain, were not crimes at -all.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If you really wish me to go into Chichester -with you to-night, of course I will go,” he said. -“You may be right in your own estimation, -even in the estimation of your superiors, but, -in ending my work, you are rendering a cruel -disservice to miserable humanity, to serve -which I have spent thousands of pounds. But -I bear no malice.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He took a bottle from the long oaken buffet -against the wall, selected two glasses with -scrupulous care, and filled them from the -bottle.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We will drink our mutual good health,” he -said with his old courtesy, and, lifting his glass -to his lips, drank it with that show of -enjoyment with which the old-time lovers of -wine marked their approval of rare vintages.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re not drinking?” he said in surprise.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Somebody else has drunk.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was a glass half empty on the buffet: -Michael saw it for the first time.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He did not seem to enjoy the wine.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Longvale sighed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Very few people understand wine,” he -said, dusting a speck from his coat. Then, -drawing a silk handkerchief from his pocket, -he stooped and dusted his boots daintily.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael was standing on a strip of hearth-rug -in front of the fireplace, his hand on his gun, -tense but prepared for the moment of trial. -Whence the danger would come, what form it -would take, he could not guess. But danger -was there—danger terrible and ruthless, -emphasized rather than relieved by the suavity -of the old man’s tone—he felt in the creep of -his flesh.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You see, my dear sir,” Longvale went on, -still dusting his boots.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And then, before Michael could realize what -had happened, he had grasped the end of the -rug on which the detective was standing and -pulled it with a quick jerk toward him. -Before he could balance himself, Michael had -fallen with a crash to the floor, his head -striking the oaken panelling, his pistol sliding -along the polished floor. In a flash, the old -man was on him, had flung him over on his -face and dragged his hands behind him. -Michael tried to struggle, but he was as a child -in that powerful grip, placed at such a -disadvantage as he was. He felt the touch of -cold steel on his wrists, there was a click, and, -exerting all his strength, he tried to pull his -other hand away. But gradually, slowly, it -was forced back, and the second cuff snapped.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There were footsteps on the path outside the -cottage. The old man straightened himself to -pull off his silken gown and wrapped it round -and round the detective’s head, and then a -knock came at the door. One glance to see -that his prisoner was safe, and Longvale -extinguished the lamp, blew out one of the -candles, and carried the other into the passage. -He was in his shirt-sleeves, and the Scotland -Yard officer, who was the caller, apologized for -disturbing a man who had apparently been -brought down from his bedroom to answer the -knock.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Have you seen Mr. Brixan?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Brixan? Yes, he was here a few -minutes ago. He went on to Chichester.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael heard the voices, but could not distinguish -what was being said. The silken -wrapper about his head was suffocating him, -and he was losing his senses when the old man -came back alone, unfastened the gown, and -put it on himself.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If you make a noise I will sew your lips -together,” he said, so naturally and good-naturedly -that it seemed impossible he would -carry his threat into execution. But Michael -knew that he was giving chapter and verse; he -was threatening that which his ancestor had -often performed. That beautiful old man, -nicknamed by the gallants of Louis’ court -“Monsieur de Paris,” had broken and hanged -and beheaded, but he had also tortured men. -There were smoke-blackened rooms in the old -Bastille where that venerable old hangman had -performed nameless duties without blenching.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am sorry in many ways that you must go -on,” said the old man, with genuine regret in -his voice. “You are a young man for whom -I have a great deal of respect. The law to me -is sacred, and its officers have an especially -privileged place in my affections.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He pulled open a drawer of the buffet and -took out a large serviette, folded it with great -care and fixed it tightly about Michael’s mouth. -Then he raised him up and sat him on a chair.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If I were a young and agile man, I would -have a jest which would have pleased my uncle -Charles Henry. I would fix your head on the -top of the gates of Scotland Yard! I’ve -often examined the gates with that idea in my -mind. Not that I thought of you, but that -some day providence might send me a very -high official, a Minister, even a Prime Minister. -My uncle, as you know, was privileged to -destroy kings and leaders of parties—Danton, -Robespierre, every great leader save Murat. -Danton was the greatest of them all.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was an excellent reason why Michael -should not answer. But he was his own cool -self again, and though his head was aching -from the violent knock it had received, his -mind was clear. He was waiting now for the -next move, and suspected he would not be kept -waiting long. What scenes had this long -dining-room witnessed! What moments of -agony, mental and physical! It was the very -antechamber to death.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Here, then, Bhag must have been rendered -momentarily unconscious. Michael guessed -the lure of drugged wine, that butyl chloride -which was part of the murderer’s equipment. -But for once Longvale had misjudged the -strength of his prey. Bhag must have followed -the brown folk to Dower House—the man and -woman whom the old man in his cunning had -spared.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael was soon to discover what was going -to happen. The old man opened the door of -the buffet and took out a great steel hook, at -the end of which was a pulley. Reaching up, -he slipped the end of the hook into a steel bolt, -fastened in one of the overhead beams. -Michael had noticed it before and wondered -what purpose it served. He was now to -learn.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>From the cupboard came a long coil of rope, -one end of which was threaded through the -pulley and fastened dexterously under the -detective’s armpits. Stooping, Longvale -lifted the carpet and rolled it up, and then -Michael saw that there was a small trap-door, -which he raised and laid back. Below he could -see nothing, but there came to him the sound -of a man’s groaning.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now I think we can dispense with that, -sir,” said Mr. Longvale, and untied the -serviette that covered the detective’s mouth.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>This done, he pulled on the rope, seemingly -without an effort, and Michael swung in mid-air. -It was uncomfortable; he had an absurd -notion that he looked a little ridiculous. The -old man guided his feet through the opening -and gradually paid out the rope.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Will you be good enough to tell me when -you touch ground,” he asked, “and I will come -down to you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Looking up, Michael saw the square in the -floor grow smaller and smaller, and for an -unconscionable time he swung and swayed and -turned in mid-air. He thought he was not -moving, and then, without warning, his feet -touched ground and he called out.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Are you all right?” said Mr. Longvale -pleasantly. “Do you mind stepping a few -paces on one side? I am dropping the rope, -and it may hurt you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael gasped, but carried out instructions, -and presently he heard the swish of the falling -line and the smack of it as it struck the ground. -Then the trap-door closed, and there was no -other sound but the groaning near at hand.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is that you, Penne?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who is it?” asked the other in a frightened -voice. “Is it you, Brixan? Where are we? -What has happened? How did I get here? -That old devil gave me a drink. I ran out—and -that’s all I remember. I went to borrow -his car. My God, I’m scared! The magneto -of mine went wrong.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did you shout when you ran from the -house?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I think I did. I felt this infernal -poison taking effect and dashed out—I don’t -remember. Where are you, Brixan? The -police will get us out of this, won’t they?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Alive, I hope,” said Michael grimly, and -he heard the man’s frightened sob, and was -sorry he had spoken.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What is he? Who is he? Are these the -caves? I’ve heard about them. It smells -horribly earthy, doesn’t it? Can you see anything?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I thought I saw a light just then,” said -Michael, “but my eyes are playing tricks.” -And then: “Where is Adele Leamington?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“God knows,” said the other. He was -shivering, and Michael heard the sound of his -chattering teeth. “I never saw her again. I -was afraid Bhag would go after her. But he -wouldn’t hurt her—he is a queer devil. I wish -he was here now.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I wish somebody was here,” said Michael -sincerely.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was trying to work his wrists loose of -the handcuffs, though he knew that bare-handed -he stood very little chance against the -old man. He had lost his pistol, and although, -in the inside of his waistcoat, there remained -intact the long, razor-sharp knife that had -cleared him out of many a Continental scrape, -the one infallible weapon when firearms failed, -he knew that he would have no opportunity -for its employment.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Sitting down, he tried to perform a trick that -he had seen on a stage in Berlin—the trick of -bringing his legs through his manacled hands -and so getting his hands in front of him, but -he struggled without avail. There came the -sound of a door opening, and Mr. Longvale’s -voice.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I won’t keep you a moment,” he said. He -carried a lantern in his hand that swung as he -walked, and seemed to intensify the gloom. -“I don’t like my patients to catch cold.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His laughter came echoing back from the -vaulted roof of the cave, intensified hideously. -Stopping, he struck a match and a brilliant -light appeared. It was a vapour lamp fixed on -a shelf of rock. Presently he lit another, and -then a third and a fourth, and, in the white, -unwinking light, every object in the cave stood -out with startling distinctness. Michael saw -the scarlet thing that stood in the cave’s centre, -and, hardened as he was, and prepared for that -fearsome sight, he shuddered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was a guillotine!</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch40'>CHAPTER XL<br/> <span class='sub-head'>“THE WIDOW”</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>A guillotine!</span></p> - -<p class='pindent'>Standing in the middle of the cave, its -high framework lifted starkly. It was painted -blood-red, and its very simplicity had a horror -of its own.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael looked, fascinated. The basket, -the bright, triangular knife suspended at the -top of the frame, the tilted platform with its -dangling straps, the black-painted lunette -shaped to receive the head of the victim and -hold it in position till the knife fell in its oiled -groove. He knew the machine bolt by bolt, -had seen it in operation on grey mornings -before French prisons, with soldiers holding -back the crowd, and a little group of officials -in the centre of the cleared space. He knew -the sound of it, the “<span class='it'>clop!</span>” as it fell, sweeping -to eternity the man beneath.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“ ‘The Widow’!” said Longvale humorously. -He touched the frame lovingly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh God, I’m not fit to die!” It was -Penne’s agonized wail that went echoing -through the hollow spaces of the cavern.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The Widow,” murmured the old man -again.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was without a hat; his bald head shone -in the light, yet there was nothing ludicrous -in his appearance. His attitude toward this -thing he loved was in a sense pathetic.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who shall be her first bridegroom?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not me, not me!” squealed Penne, -wriggling back against the wall, his face ashen, -his mouth working convulsively. “I’m not -fit to die——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Longvale walked slowly over to him, -stooped and raised him to his feet.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Courage!” he murmured. “It is the -hour!”</p> - -<hr class='tbk'/> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth was pacing the road when -the police car came flying back from Chichester.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s not there, hasn’t been to the station -at all,” said the driver breathlessly as he flung -out of the car.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He may have gone into Longvale’s house.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve seen Mr. Longvale: it was he who -told me that the Captain had gone into -Chichester. He must have made a mistake.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Knebworth’s jaw dropped. A great light -suddenly flashed upon his mind. Longvale! -There was something queer about him. Was -it possible——?</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He remembered now that he had been -puzzled by a contradictory statement the old -man had made; remembered that, not once -but many times, Sampson Longvale had -expressed a desire to be filmed in a favourite -part of his own, one that he had presented, an -episode in the life of his famous ancestor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We’ll go and knock him up. I’ll talk to -him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They hammered at the door without -eliciting a response.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s his bedroom.” Jack Knebworth -pointed to a latticed window where a light -shone, and Inspector Lyle threw up a pebble -with such violence that the glass was broken. -Still there was no response.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t like that,” said Knebworth suddenly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You don’t like it any better than I do,” -growled the officer. “Try that window, -Smith.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Do you want me to open it, sir?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, without delay.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A second later, the window of the long -dining-room was prized open; and then they -came upon an obstacle which could not be so -readily forced.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The shutter is steel-lined,” reported the -detective. “I think I’d better try one of the -upper rooms. Give me a leg up, somebody.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>With the assistance of a fellow, he reached -up and caught the sill of an open window, the -very window from which Adele had looked -down into the grinning face of Bhag. In -another second he was in the room, and was -reaching down to help up a second officer. A -few minutes’ delay, and the front door was -unbarred and opened.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There’s nobody in the house, so far as I -can find out,” said the officer.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Put a light on,” ordered the inspector -shortly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They found the little vapour lamp and lit it.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s that?” The detective officer -pointed to the hook that still hung in the -beam with the pulley beneath, and his eyes -narrowed. “I can’t understand that,” he said -slowly. “What was that for?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth uttered an exclamation.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Here’s Brixan’s gun!” he said, and picked -it up from the floor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>One glance the inspector gave, and then his -eyes went back to the hook and the pulley.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That beats me,” he said. “See if you -fellows can find anything anywhere. Open -every cupboard, every drawer. Sound the -walls—there may be secret doors; there are in -all these old Tudor houses.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The search was futile, and Inspector Lyle -came back to a worried contemplation of the -hook and pulley. Then one of his men came -in to say that he had located the garage.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was an unusually long building, and -when it was opened, it revealed no more than -the old-fashioned car which was a familiar -object in that part of the country. But -obviously, this was only half the accommodation. -The seemingly solid whitewashed wall -behind the machine hid another apartment, -though it had no door, and an inspection of -the outside showed a solid wall at the far end -of the garage.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Jack Knebworth tapped the interior wall.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“This isn’t brickwork at all, it’s wood,” -he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Hanging in a corner was a chain. -Apparently it had no particular function, but -a careful scrutiny led to the discovery that -the links ran through a hole in the roughly -plastered ceiling. The inspector caught the -chain and pulled, and, as he did so, the -“wall” opened inwards, showing the contents -of the second chamber, which was a second car, -so sheeted that only its radiator was visible. -Knebworth pulled off the cover, and:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s the car.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What car?” asked the inspector.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The car driven by the Head-Hunter,” -said Knebworth quickly. “He was in that -machine when Brixan tried to arrest him. I’d -know it anywhere! Brixan is in the Dower -House somewhere, and if he’s in the hands of -the Head-Hunter, God help him!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They ran back to the house, and again the -hook and pulley drew them as a magnet. -Suddenly the police officer bent down and -jerked back the carpet. The trap-door -beneath the pulley was plainly visible. Pulling -it open, he knelt down and gazed through. -Knebworth saw his face grow haggard.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Too late, too late!” he muttered.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch41'>CHAPTER XLI<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE DEATH</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>The</span> shriek of a man half crazy with fear is not -nice to hear. Michael’s nerves were tough, but -he had need to drive the nails into the palms -of his manacled hands to keep his self-control.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I warn you,” he found voice to say, as the -shrieking died to an unintelligible babble of -sound, “Longvale, if you do this, you are -everlastingly damned!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The old man turned his quiet smile upon -his second prisoner, but did not make any -answer. Lifting the half-conscious man in his -arms as easily as though he were a child, he -carried him to the terrible machine, and laid -him, face downwards, on the tilted platform. -There was no hurry. Michael saw, in Longvale’s -leisure, an enjoyment that was unbelievable. -He stepped to the front of the machine -and pulled up one half of the lunette; there -was a click, and it remained stationary.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“An invention of mine,” he said with pride, -speaking over his shoulder.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael looked away for a second, past the -grim executioner, to the farther end of the cave. -And then he saw a sight that brought the blood -to his cheeks. At first he thought he was -dreaming, and that the strain of his ordeal was -responsible for some grotesque vision.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Adele!</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She stood clear in the white light, so grimed -with earth and dust that she seemed to be -wearing a grey robe.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If you move I will kill you!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was she! He twisted over on to his -knees and staggered upright. Longvale heard -the voice and turned slowly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My little lady,” he said pleasantly. “How -providential! I’ve always thought that the -culminating point of my career would be, as -was the sainted Charles Henry’s, that moment -when a queen came under his hand. How -very singular!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He walked slowly toward her, oblivious to -the pointed pistol, to the danger in which he -stood, a radiant smile on his face, his small, -white hands extended as to an honoured guest.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Shoot!” cried Michael hoarsely. “For -God’s sake, shoot!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She hesitated for a second and pressed the -trigger. There was no sound—clogged with -earth, the delicate mechanism did not act.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She turned to flee, but his arm was round -her, and his disengaged hand drew her head -to his breast.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You shall see, my dear,” he said. “The -Widow shall become the Widower, and you -shall be his first bride!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She was limp in his arms now, incapable of -resistance. A strange sense of inertia overcame -her; and, though she was conscious, she -could neither of her own volition, move nor -speak. Michael, struggling madly to release -his hands, prayed that she might faint—that, -whatever happened, she should be spared -a consciousness of the terror.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now who shall be first?” murmured the -old man, stroking his shiny head. “It would -be fitting that my lady should show the way, -and be spared the agony of mind. And -yet——” He looked thoughtfully at the -prostrate figure strapped to the board, and, -tilting the platform, dropped the lunette about -the head of Gregory Penne. The hand went -up to the lever that controlled the knife. He -paused again, evidently puzzling something -out in his crazy mind.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, you shall be first,” he said, unbuckled -the strap and pushed the half-demented man -to the ground.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael saw him lift his head, listening. -There were hollow sounds above, as of people -walking. Again he changed his mind, stooped -and dragged Gregory Penne to his feet. -Michael wondered why he held him so long, -standing so rigidly; wondered why he dropped -him suddenly to the ground; and then -wondered no longer. Something was crossing -the floor of the cave—a great, hairy something, -whose malignant eyes were turned upon the old -man.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was Bhag! His hair was matted with -blood; his face wore the powder mask which -Michael had seen when he emerged from -Griff Towers. He stopped and sniffed at the -groaning man on the floor, and his big paw -touched the face tenderly. Then, without -preliminary, he leapt at Longvale, and the old -man went down with a crash to the ground, his -arms whirling in futile defence. For a second -Bhag stood over him, looking down, twittering -and chattering; and then he raised the man -and laid him in the place where his master had -been, tilting the board and pushing it forward.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael gazed with fascinated horror. The -great ape had witnessed an execution! It was -from this cave that he had escaped, the night -that Foss was killed. His half-human mind -was remembering the details. Michael could -almost see his mind working to recall the -procedure.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Bhag fumbled with the frame, touched the -spring that released the lunette, and it fell -over the neck of the Head-Hunter. And at -that moment, attracted by a sound, Michael -looked up, saw the trap above pulled back. -Bhag heard it also, but was too intent upon his -business to be interrupted. Longvale had -recovered consciousness and was fighting to -draw his head from the lunette. Presently -he spoke. It was as though he realized the -imminence of his fate, and was struggling to -find an appropriate phrase, for he lay quiescent -now, his hands gripping the edge of the narrow -platform on which he lay.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Son of St. Louis, ascend to heaven!” he -said, and at that moment Bhag jerked the -handle that controlled the knife.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Inspector Lyle from above saw the blade -fall, heard the indescribable sound of the thud -that followed, and almost swooned. Then, -from below:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s all right, inspector. You may find a -rope in the buffet. Get down as quickly as -you can and bring a gun.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The buffet cupboard contained another rope, -and a minute later the detective was going -down hand over hand.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There’s no danger from the monkey,” said -Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Bhag was crooning over his senseless -master, as a mother over her child.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Get Miss Leamington away,” said Michael -in a low voice, as the detective began to unlock -the handcuffs.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The girl lay, an inanimate and silent figure, -by the side of the guillotine, happily oblivious -of the tragedy which had been enacted in her -presence. Another detective had descended -the rope, and old Jack Knebworth, despite -his years, was the third to enter the cave. It -was he who found the door, and aided the -detective to carry the girl to safety.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Unlocking the handcuffs from the baronet’s -wrists, Michael turned him over on his back. -One glance at the face told the detective that -the man was in a fit, and that his case, if not -hopeless, was at least desperate. As though -understanding that the man had no ill intent -toward his master, Bhag watched passively, -and then Michael remembered how, the first -time he had seen the great ape, Bhag had -smelt his hands.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s filing you for future reference as a -friend,” had said Gregory at the time.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Pick him up,” said Michael, speaking -distinctly in the manner that Gregory had -addressed the ape.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Without hesitation, Bhag stooped and lifted -the limp man in his arms, and Michael guided -him to the stairway and led him up the stairs.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The house was full of police, who gaped at -the sight of the great ape and his burden.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Take him upstairs and put him on the bed,” -ordered Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Knebworth had already taken the girl off in -his car to Chichester, for she had shown signs -of reviving, and he wanted to get her away -from that house of the dead before she fully -recovered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Michael went down into the cave again and -joined the inspector. Together they made a -brief tour. The headless figures in the niches -told their own story. Farther on, Michael -came to the bigger cavern, with its floor littered -with bones.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Here is confirmation of the old legend,” he -said in a hushed voice, and pointed. “These -are the bones of those warriors and squires who -were trapped in the cave by a landslide. You -can see the horses’ skeletons quite plainly.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>How had Adele got into the cave? He was -not long before he found the slide down which -she had tumbled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Another mystery is explained,” he said. -“Griff Tower was obviously built by the -Romans to prevent cattle and men from falling -through into the cave. Incidentally, it has -served as an excellent ventilator, and I have no -doubt the old man had this way prepared, both -as a hiding-place for the people he had killed -and as a way of escape.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He saw a candle-lantern and matches that -the girl had missed, and this he regarded as -conclusive proof that his view was right.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They came back to the guillotine with its -ghastly burden, and Michael stood in silence -for a long time, looking at the still figure -stretched on the platform, its hands still clutching -the sides.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“How did he persuade these people to come -to their death?” asked the inspector in a voice -little above a whisper.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That is a question for the psychologist,” -said Michael at last. “There is no doubt that -he got into touch with many men who were contemplating -suicide but shrank from the act, and -performed this service for them. I should -imagine his practice of leaving around their -heads for identification arose out of some poor -wretch’s desire that his wife and family should -secure his insurance.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He worked with extraordinary cunning. -The letters, as you know, went to a house of -call and were collected by an old woman, who -posted them to a second address, whence they -were put in prepared envelopes and posted, -ostensibly to London. I discovered that the -envelopes were kept in a specially light-proof -box, and that the unknown advertiser had -stipulated that they should not be taken out of -that box until they were ready for posting. An -hour after those letters were put in the mail the -address faded and became invisible, and -another appeared.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Vanishing ink?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mike nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It is a trick that criminals frequently -employ. The new address, of course, was -Dower House. Put out the lights and let -us go up.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Three lamps were extinguished, and the -detective looked round fearfully at the shadows.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I think we’ll leave this down here,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I think we will,” said Michael, in complete -agreement.</p> - -<div><h1 id='ch42'>CHAPTER XLII<br/> <span class='sub-head'>CAMERA!</span></h1></div> - -<p class='noindent'><span class='sc'>Three</span> months had passed since the Dower -House had yielded up its grisly secrets. A -long enough time for Gregory Penne to recover -completely and to have served one of the six -months’ imprisonment to which he was sentenced -on a technical charge. The guillotine -had been re-erected in a certain Black Museum -on the Thames Embankment, where young -policemen come to look upon the equipment of -criminality. People had ceased to talk about -the Head-Hunter.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It seemed a million years ago to Michael as -he sat, perched on a table, watching Jack -Knebworth, in the last stages of despair, -directing a ruffled Reggie Connolly in the -business of love-making. Near by stood -Adele Leamington, a star by virtue of the -success that had attended a certain trade show.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Out of range of the camera, a cigarette -between her fingers, Stella Mendoza, gorgeously -attired, watched her some time friend -and prospective leading man with good-natured -contempt.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There’s nobody can tell me, Mr. Knebworth,” -said Reggie testily, “how to hold a -girl! Good gracious, heavens alive, have I -been asleep all my life? Don’t you think I -know as much about girls as you, Mr. Knebworth?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t care a darn how you hold your girl,” -howled Jack. “I’m telling you how to hold <span class='it'>my</span> -girl! There’s only one way of making love, -and that’s <span class='it'>my</span> way. I’ve got the patent rights! -Your arm round her waist again, Connolly. -Hold your head up, will you? Now turn it this -way. Now drop your chin a little. Smile, -darn you, smile! Not a prop smile!” he -shrieked. “Smile as if you liked her. Try -to imagine that she loves you! I’ll apologize -to you, afterwards, Adele, but try to imagine -it, Connolly. That’s better. You look as if -you’d swallowed a liqueur of broken glass! -Look down into her eyes—look, I said, -not glare! That’s better. Now do that -again——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He watched, writhing, gesticulating, and at -last, in cold resignation:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Rotten, but it’ll have to do. Lights!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The big Kreisler lights flared, the banked -mercury lamps burnt bluely, and the flood -lamps became blank expanses of diffused -light. Again the rehearsal went through, and -then:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Camera!” wailed Jack, and the handle -began to turn.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s all for you to-day, Connolly,” said -Jack. “Now, Miss Mendoza——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Adele came across to where Michael was -sitting and jumped up on to the table beside -him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Knebworth is quite right,” she said, -shaking her head. “Reggie Connolly doesn’t -know how to make love.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who does?” demanded Michael. “Except -the right man?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s supposed to be the right man,” she -insisted. “And, what’s more, he’s supposed to -be the best lover on the English screen.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ha ha!” said Michael sardonically.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She was silent for a time, and then:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why are you still here? I thought -your work was finished in this part of the -world.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not all,” he said cheerfully. “I’ve still -an arrest to make.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She looked up at him quickly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Another?” she said. “I thought, when -you took poor Sir Gregory——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Poor Sir Gregory!” he scoffed. “He -ought to be a very happy man. Six months’ -hard labour was just what he wanted, and he -was lucky to be charged, not with the killing -of his unfortunate servant but with the concealment -of his death.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Whom are you arresting now?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m not so sure,” said Michael, “whether I -shall arrest her.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is it a woman?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What has she done?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The charge isn’t definitely settled,” he said -evasively, “but I think there will be several -counts. Creating a disturbance will be one; -deliberately endangering public health—at any -rate, the health of one of the public—will be -another; maliciously wounding the feelings——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, <span class='it'>you</span>, you mean?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She laughed softly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I thought that was part of your delirium -that night at the hospital, or part of mine. -But as other people saw you kiss me, it must -have been yours. I don’t think I want to -marry,” she said thoughtfully. “I am——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t say that you are wedded to your art,” -he groaned. “They all say that!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, I’m not wedded to anything, except a -desire to prevent my best friend from making a -great mistake. You’ve a very big career in -front of you, Michael, and marrying me is not -going to help you. People will think you’re -just infatuated, and when the inevitable divorce -comes along——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They both laughed together.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If you have finished being like a maiden -aunt, I want to tell you something,” said -Michael. “I’ve loved you from the moment I -saw you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Of course you have,” she said calmly. -“That’s the only possible way you <span class='it'>can</span> love a -girl. If it takes three days to make up your -mind it can’t be love. That’s why I know I -don’t love you. I was annoyed with you the -first time I met you; I was furious with you the -second time; and I’ve just tolerated you ever -since. Wait till I get my make-up off.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She got down and ran to her dressing-room. -Michael strolled across to comfort an exhausted -Jack Knebworth.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Adele? Oh, she’s all right. She really -has had an offer from America—not Hollywood, -but a studio in the East. I’ve advised her not -to take it until she’s a little more proficient, -but I don’t think she wanted any advice. That -girl isn’t going to stay in the picture business.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What makes you think that, Knebworth?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“She’s going to get married,” said Jack -glumly. “I can recognize the signs. I told -you all along that there was something queer -about her. She’s going to get married and -leave the screen for good—that’s her eccentricity.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And whom do you think she will marry?” -asked Michael.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Old Jack snorted.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It won’t be Reggie Connolly—that I can -promise you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I should jolly well say not!” said that -indignant young man, who had remarkably keen -ears. “I’m not a marrying chap. It spoils an -artist. A wife is like a millstone round his -neck. He has no chance of expressing his -individuality. And whilst we are on that -subject, Mr. Knebworth, are you perfectly sure -that I’m to blame? Doesn’t it strike you—mind -you, I wouldn’t say a word against the -dear girl—doesn’t it strike you that Miss -Leamington isn’t quite—what shall I say?—seasoned -in love—that’s the expression.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Stella Mendoza had strolled up. She had -returned to the scene of her former labours, -and it looked very much as if she were coming -back to her former position.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“When you say ‘seasoned’ you mean -‘smoked,’ Reggie,” she said. “I think you’re -wrong.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I can’t be wrong,” said Reggie complacently. -“I’ve made love to more girls in -this country than any other five leading men, -and I tell you that Miss Leamington is distinctly -and fearfully immature.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The object of their discussion appeared at -the end of the studio, nodded a cheery good -night to the company and went out, Michael -on her heels.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re fearfully immature,” he said, as he -guided her across the road.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who said so? It sounds like Reggie: that -is a favourite word of his.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He says you know nothing whatever about -love-making.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Perhaps I don’t,” she said shortly, and so -baffling was her tone that he was not prepared -to continue the subject, until they reached the -long, dark road in which she lived.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The proper way to make love,” he said, -more than a little appalled at his own boldness, -“is to put one hand on the waist——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Suddenly she was in his arms, her cool face -against his.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There isn’t any way,” she murmured. -“One just does!”</p> - -<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:3em;margin-bottom:4em;font-size:.8em;'>THE END</p> - -<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;'>JOHN LONG, LTD., <span class='sc'>Publishers</span>, LONDON, ENGLAND, 1926</p> - -<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:.6em;'>NORTHUMBERLAND PRESS LIMITED, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;font-size:1.2em;'>THE LATEST</p> -<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:1.2em;'>LIBRARY NOVELS</p> - -<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:.8em;font-style:italic;'>Seven Shillings & Sixpence Net Each</p> - -<table id='tab2' summary='' class='center' style='font-size:.6em;'> -<colgroup> -<col span='1' style='width: 20em;'/> -<col span='1' style='width: 15em;'/> -</colgroup> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>PASSIONATE YOUTH</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Edward Charles Reed</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tab2c1-col2 tdStyle4' colspan='2'><span class='it'>Author of “A Wise Fool,” the Prize-Winning Novel in the John</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tab2c1-col2 tdStyle4' colspan='2'><span class='it'>Long (2nd) £500 Prize Competition for the Best First Novel</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE AVENGER</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Edgar Wallace</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>IT CAME TO PASS</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Vera, Countess Cathcart</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE UNDYING FLAME</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Arthur Applin</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE SLEUTH HOUND</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Gaston Leroux</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>JUDGE NOT</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Cecil H. Bullivant</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE SOLE CONDITION</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Vera Caudwell</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>SALTED DIAMONDS</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>H. M. Egbert</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>A MOTH AT MONTE</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Leslie Beresford</span> (“<span class='sc'>Pan</span>”)</td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>PETER CURTIS . . .</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Helen G. Davies</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE WONDERFUL AWAKENING</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Helen Eastwood</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE HUMMING-TOP</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Louise Heilgers</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE SLAPPED WOMAN</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Frederick Brock</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE MAN FROM MOROCCO</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Edgar Wallace</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>OUR TRESPASSES</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>E. W. Savi</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE ONE STEP</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Amy J. Baker</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>DEFIANCE</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Temple Lane</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE MASTER PASSION</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Halliwell Sutcliffe</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE GREY PHANTOM’S RETURN</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Herman Landon</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>HER LADYSHIP DECIDES</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Cecil H. Bullivant</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE MAJOR’S MASCOT</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Nat Gould</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE OTHER MR. NORTH</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Leslie Beresford</span> (“<span class='sc'>Pan</span>”)</td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE CELLINI PLAQUE</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Harold MacGrath</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE SMOKES OF SPRING</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>A. M. Burrage</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>MINGLED WINE</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Helen G. Davies</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>MRS. ORMESBY’S PROPOSAL</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Edward Charles Reed</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>A KING BY NIGHT</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Edgar Wallace</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>STORM</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Halliwell Sutcliffe</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>A FATEFUL ESCAPADE</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>E. W. Savi</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>NO JUST CAUSE</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Temple Lane</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THIS REPROACH</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Frederick Brock</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>RIDING TO ORDERS</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Nat Gould</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE SLIM OUTLINE</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Amy J. Baker</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle2'>THE RACING ADVENTURES OF BARRY BROMLEY</td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle3'><span class='sc'>Nat Gould</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tab2c1-col2 tdStyle4' colspan='2'><span class='it'>Now for the first time published in volume form, price 3s. 6d. net</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tab2c1-col2 tdStyle4' colspan='2'><span class='it'>The sales of the novels of Nat Gould exceed 24 million copies</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tab2c1-col2 tdStyle4' colspan='2'>* * * * *</td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tab2c1-col2 tdStyle4' colspan='2'><span class='gesp'>JOHN</span> <span class='gesp'>LONG</span>, <span class='gesp'>LTD</span>., <span class='sc'>Publishers</span>, <span class='gesp'>LONDON</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab2c1 tab2c1-col2 tdStyle4' colspan='2'>And at all Libraries and Booksellers everywhere</td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div class='lgc' style=''> <!-- rend=';fs:.8em;' --> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'><span style='font-size:larger'><span class='bold'>£1,000 FOR TWO FIRST NOVELS</span></span></p> -<hr class='tbk100'/> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>The Prize-Winning Novel in the JOHN</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>LONG £500 Prize Competition (1921) for</p> -<p class='line' style='margin-bottom:1em;font-size:.8em;'>the Best First Novel</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'><span style='font-size:x-large'><span class='gesp'>GOOD GRAIN</span></span></p> -<p class='line' style='margin-top:.5em;margin-bottom:.5em;font-size:.8em;'><span style='font-size:larger'>By EMMELINE MORRISON</span></p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'><span style='font-size:x-small'>Author of “<span class='sc'>the measure of youth</span>,” “<span class='sc'>the sins ye</span></span></p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'><span style='font-size:x-small'><span class='sc'>do</span>” (<span class='it'>filmed</span>), “<span class='sc'>there was a veil</span>,” “<span class='sc'>three of a</span></span></p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'><span style='font-size:x-small'><span class='sc'>kind</span>,” “<span class='sc'>there lived a lady</span>,” “<span class='sc'>when the play</span></span></p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'><span style='font-size:x-small'><span class='sc'>began</span>”</span></p> -<p class='line'> </p> -<hr class='tbk101'/> -<p class='line'> </p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>The Prize-Winning-Novel in the JOHN</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>LONG £500 Prize Competition (1924) for</p> -<p class='line' style='margin-bottom:1em;font-size:.8em;'>the Best First Novel</p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'><span style='font-size:x-large'><span class='gesp'>A WISE FOOL</span></span></p> -<p class='line' style='margin-top:.5em;margin-bottom:.5em;font-size:.8em;'><span style='font-size:larger'>By EDWARD CHARLES REED</span></p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'><span style='font-size:x-small'>Author of “<span class='sc'>the mirror</span>,” “<span class='sc'>mrs. ormesby’s proposal</span>,”</span></p> -<p class='line' style='margin-bottom:.5em;font-size:.8em;'><span style='font-size:x-small'>“<span class='sc'>passionate youth</span>” (<span class='it'>Summer</span>, 1926)</span></p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'>⁂ <span class='it'>Would-be authors should get these novels</span></p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'> <span class='it'>and observe the style necessary to ensure</span></p> -<p class='line' style='font-size:.8em;'> <span class='it'>popular success.</span></p> -<hr class='tbk102'/> -<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:.8em;'><span class='sc'>John Long, Ltd., Publishers, London</span></p> -</div> <!-- end rend --> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><h1>TRANSCRIBER NOTES</h1></div> - -<p class='pindent'>Misspelled words and printer errors have been corrected. -Where multiple spellings occur, majority use has been -employed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Punctuation has been maintained except where obvious -printer errors occur.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A cover was created for this eBook.</p> - -<p class='line'> </p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE AVENGER ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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