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diff --git a/old/69845-0.txt b/old/69845-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 1287a15..0000000 --- a/old/69845-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9169 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The club of masks, by Allen Upward - -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 -www.gutenberg.org. 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. - -Title: The club of masks - -Author: Allen Upward - -Release Date: January 20, 2023 [eBook #69845] -Last updated: March 5, 2023 - -Language: English - -Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was - produced from images made available by the HathiTrust - Digital Library.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CLUB OF MASKS *** - - - - - -THE CLUB OF MASKS - - - - - The Club of Masks - - By ALLEN UPWARD - - [Illustration] - - A. L. BURT COMPANY - - Publishers New York - - Published by arrangement with J. B. Lippincott Company - Printed in U. S. A. - - - - -COPYRIGHT, 1926, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY - -_Copyright in Great Britain under the title of The Domino Club_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - I ON HIS MAJESTY’S SERVICE 7 - - II THE EVIDENCE OF MADAME BONNELL 22 - - III THE EVIDENCE OF THE DEAD 38 - - IV THE OPENED SAFE 53 - - V DR. WEATHERED’S PATIENTS 69 - - VI THE BOOKS OF THE DOMINO CLUB 84 - - VII THE CAUSE OF DEATH 99 - - VIII THE LEOPARD’S CLAWS 111 - - IX SARAH NEOBARD SPEAKS OUT 125 - - X THE CASE AGAINST LADY VIOLET 140 - - XI WHAT THE CIPHER MEANT 154 - - XII PSYCHO-ANALYSIS 170 - - XIII THE EARL OF LEDBURY INTERVENES 185 - - XIV THE UNKNOWN POISON 201 - - XV THE LADY OF THE LEOPARD SKIN 216 - - XVI THE RED LIGHT 233 - - XVII A SINGULAR DISMISSAL 247 - - XVIII MOTHER AND DAUGHTER 263 - - XIX THE MEANS TO DO ILL DEEDS 279 - - XX THE FINGER-PRINT 295 - - - - -THE CLUB OF MASKS - - - - -CHAPTER I - -ON HIS MAJESTY’S SERVICE - - -I had only just let myself into the hall of the quiet house in the -respectable street beside the British Museum when my ear was startled -by the subdued shrilling of the telephone bell overhead. Whether this -was the first time it had sounded, or whether that alarming call was -being repeated for the second or third time, I had no means of knowing, -as I turned hurriedly to fasten the front door behind me. Cautiously, -and yet as swiftly as I dared, I shot the bolts and began speeding -on tiptoe up the two flights of stairs between me and safety from -detection. The night telephone was placed beside my bed on the second -floor, but Sir Frank Tarleton slept on the same landing; and unless -I could reach my room and still that persistent ringing before it -penetrated through his slumber I ran the risk of meeting him coming out -to find why it was not answered. And not for much, not for very much, -would I have had the great consultant see me returning to his house at -an hour when daylight was already flooding the deserted streets of the -still sleeping city. - -There was something ominous in the continuous peal that sounded louder -and louder in my ears with every step I made towards it. It seemed as -though the unknown caller must know of my predicament and be bent on -exposing me. I clutched the rail of the banisters to steady myself as I -panted up those interminable stairs in the darkness, and my feet felt -clogged like those of one in a nightmare as I lifted them from step to -step; all the while racking my brains for some excuse to offer for the -breach of duty I had been guilty of in spending the night elsewhere. -For my real excuse, the only one that could have tempted me to betray -my chief’s confidence, could never be disclosed. - -The darkness all around me seemed to be vibrating with the merciless -clamour overhead as I toiled through those tense moments. My knees -trembled under me, and my heart well-nigh stopped beating, as my head -reached the level of the last landing and I turned my eyes desperately -to the physician’s door in search of any sign that he had been aroused. - -No sign as yet, thank Heaven! Five more stairs, three lightning strides -to my own door, and he would never know of the secret errand that had -taken me away from my post that night. - -At last my agony was ended. I stood breathless on the topmost stair, -darted past Sir Frank’s room, not daring to pause and listen for any -movement from within, and clutched the handle of my own door, summoning -all my nerve to open and close it again so rapidly as to permit the -least possible sound to escape. An instant later and I had reached the -telephone and silenced its urgent voice, and was beginning to draw my -breath freely for the first time since I had reached the house. - -Then, after a few deep gasps, I hailed the caller. - -“Inspector Charles of Scotland Yard speaking,” came grimly over the -wire. “Who is there?” - -There was nothing to startle me in the fact that the police were -calling so imperatively. Tarleton was the greatest living authority on -poisons; it was to pursue his researches in their mysterious history -that he lived in the unfashionable neighbourhood of the Museum; and -the Home Office treated him with a confidence which they placed in no -other of their advisers. Neither was there any cause for uneasiness in -the Inspector’s cautious question. Very many of the calls that came to -that unpretending house in that quiet corner of London had a certain -character of furtiveness, and the callers showed the same anxiety to -make sure whom they were speaking with. - -My usual response came to my lips mechanically. “This is Dr. Cassilis, -Sir Frank Tarleton’s confidential assistant. The doctor is asleep.” - -There was a pause before the caller spoke again. There was nothing -alarming to me in that, either. I had grown accustomed to the pause -during my first few weeks under the roof of the great consultant. Few -of those who needed his services liked to disclose their business to a -deputy. - -“Please have him waked immediately. He is wanted as soon as -possible--on His Majesty’s service.” - -The request was peremptory, nevertheless I was not inclined to give -way to it at once. The police formula made no difference to me. I was -His Majesty’s servant as much as my chief, and it was for me, and not -for the Inspector, to decide which of us was to take the case. At the -same time I began casting off my clothes so as to be ready to go in and -rouse Tarleton if it became necessary; and one hand was busy with my -necktie and collar while the other held the telephone mouthpiece to my -lips. - -“My instructions are not to disturb Sir Frank unless I am satisfied -that the case is urgent, and that I can’t deal with it myself,” I said -firmly. “I must ask you to tell me something more.” - -There was another pause before the caller spoke again, and I took -advantage of it to wrench off my collar and throw my waistcoat after my -coat onto the floor. When the wire buzzed again the first words that -reached my ear nearly caused me to drop the tube from my fingers. - -“I am speaking from the Domino Club, Vincent Studios, Tarifa Road, -Chelsea. There was a masked dance here this night, and one of the -dancers has been found dead, apparently poisoned.” - -And now I might well find myself trembling all over, and have to lean -against the wall to recover myself. I only just succeeded in keeping -back a cry of consternation. For it was to go to that underground -club, with its dark reputation, and its strange character of mingled -fashion and depravity, that I had been tempted to quit my post that -night. I had been one of those masked dancers, jostling with I knew -not whom under the shadowy lights and in the curtained recesses of the -pretended studio in London’s nearest approach to a Quartier Latin. I -could recall the scene in the after-midnight hours, the sea of black -silk-covered faces thronging under the crimson lamp-shades, the bizarre -confusion of costumes, monks and Crusaders, columbines and queens, the -swish of silk and tinkling of swords and bracelets, and the incessant -flood of whispers that had made me think of the scene in Milton’s -pandemonium when the assembly of fallen angels are suddenly deprived of -speech and changed into hissing serpents. - -I had used the greatest precautions in coming and going. I had no -reason to think that there was any real likelihood of my presence -there being discovered. But a cold fear laid hold of me as I steadied -my nerves to deal with the Police Inspector who had so unexpectedly -conjured up a spectre on the scene of that past revelry. It was doubly -imperative now that I should make no mistake, and above all that I -should get rid of every sign that I had not passed the night in my own -bed. - -I was fast unbuttoning my shirt as I spoke again to the waiting police -officer. - -“I’m afraid I can’t awake Sir Frank for that. It seems to be a case -that he will expect me to attend myself. Is there anything peculiar -about the medical symptoms? What does your local surgeon say?” - -Inspector Charles at last revealed the true reason for his persistence -in demanding the attendance of my chief. - -“I haven’t called in our local surgeon. There doesn’t seem anything -mysterious about the cause of death. It looks to me like a simple -case of opium-poisoning, very likely a suicide. But the case must be -disposed of _in camera_ if possible, for the sake of the people in high -places connected with the club. My information is that there was a -royalty present at this dance, the Crown Prince of----” - -Whether purposely or not, the speaker let his voice drop so low that I -failed to catch the final word. But I had heard enough. There could be -no more doubt that Tarleton must be informed. It was a bare possibility -that the victim might prove to be the foreign Royal Highness himself. -Failing that, it might at least be someone who had been mistaken -for him by the assassin. In any case I could thank my stars for the -intimation that the case was likely to be hushed up on his account. -Provided that I could efface every sign of my nocturnal expedition, I -ought to have nothing now to dread. - -I bade the officer wait, and tore off my remaining garments, slipped -into my sleeping-suit and dressing-gown, and rumpled my hair to give -myself the look of one just roused from sleep. Then and not before, I -ventured out upon the landing to face my chief. - -As I did so I was chilled by another shock. I saw a thin line of light -under the door in front of me. Sir Frank Tarleton was awake. - -I don’t think I can be accused of cowardice for feeling as I did during -those desperate moments. It was not only my worldly fortune that was at -stake; there were peculiar circumstances which made it doubly shameful -on my part to be false to the trust put in me by the great specialist. -They went back to the day when I began to attend his lectures on -forensic medicine at the University College in Gower Street. I had -already taken my medical degree in the University of London with a view -to becoming a public analyst, and I had been anxious to profit by the -Professor’s unique knowledge of poisons. From the first I had attracted -his favourable notice; my papers had won his praise; and he had invited -me to call on him, and admitted me to his friendship. Then, at the end -of the year’s course, he had overwhelmed me by an offer so much beyond -my hopes that I could scarcely yet believe in my good luck. - -I can see him now, the whole scene is clear before me, the brisk figure -with its face of intense thought, crowned by a shock of unkempt gray -hair, standing over me on the hearth-rug of his dingy consulting-room -on the ground floor in Montague Street. He was following his quaint -habit of swinging his magnificent gold repeater in front of him by its -shabby scrap of ribbon, while he gave me the amazing news. - -“I’ve decided to take an assistant, Cassilis. I have passed my sixtieth -birthday, and though my work interests me as much as ever, I mean to -spare myself a little more in future. I don’t intend to turn out in the -middle of the night because a bilious duchess fancies that someone has -bribed her French maid to poison her. And I’ve told them at the Home -Office--I suppose you know I’m their principal consultant--that I won’t -be sent down to Cornwall one day and to Cumberland the next every time -a coroner lets himself be puzzled by a simple case of strychnine or -arsenic. It’s work for a younger man.” - -He waved the watch towards me as he went on. - -“Sir James Ponsonby--that’s the Permanent Under Secretary--has -consented to my having a deputy, and I’m submitting your name.” - -I recall my sensations as he stopped abruptly and bent his keen eyes -on me from beneath their bushy roof of eyebrow to see how the proposal -struck me. I had gasped for breath then as I was gasping now. At the -age of twenty-five, only just qualified for my profession, I was to be -lifted at one step out of the struggling crowd into a position which -was already success, and which I should only have to make proper use of -to attain in time the same eminence as my patron. - -My answer must have been incoherent. But Tarleton interrupted it with a -jerk of his gold repeater, which, I can remember, almost made me duck -my head. - -“I’m paying you what most of the men in our profession would consider -a doubtful compliment when I tell you that you seem to me to be a -young man with imagination, Cassilis. And that is what’s wanted in my -work. It isn’t doctor’s work really so much as detective’s. It’s not -only symptoms I have to look for, but motives. There was a touch in -your very first paper that showed me you could think for yourself, and -speculate. And speculation is the master key of science, although all -your second-rate men decry it. It’s the old fable of the fox who had -lost his tail. Not having any imagination themselves, they would like -to forbid it to everyone. The Trade Unions rule the world to-day, and -they are all trying to reduce the intelligence of mankind to the lowest -common denominator.” - -He had spoken with a certain bitterness which it was easy for me to -understand. Eminent as he was, unquestioned as his authority had -now become, I knew that Tarleton was not popular with the medical -profession. His baronetcy had been given late, and given grudgingly. -Perhaps he had recognized in me something that reminded him of his own -youth, and had taken a generous resolution to help me in consequence. -Certainly his treatment of me since had been more like that of a father -than an employer. - -He had said a good deal more that I hadn’t forgotten and that I was -least likely to forget just then. His manner had been very grave as he -dwelt upon the confidential character of a great deal of his work. - -“If you are to assist me in my most important cases, and to qualify -yourself for succeeding me later on, as I hope you will, you must -learn to be more discreet than in almost any other line of life. -You will find yourself in possession of secrets that compromise the -honour of great families; men in the highest positions will hold their -reputations at your mercy; the safety of the State itself may sometimes -depend on your silence. I know of at least one man sitting in the House -of Lords who owes his peerage to an undiscovered murder; and what is -more, he knows of my knowledge. I make it a rule if possible never to -go into any company where he is likely to be present, and he takes -the same care to avoid me. But if he ever thought it necessary to his -safety, that man would no more hesitate about taking my life than he -did about taking his nephew’s--a boy twelve years old.” - -No doubt Tarleton had gauged my disposition pretty well before he chose -me for his assistant, and he knew that I should be more attracted -than repelled by such hints as that. My blood tingled at the prospect -opening before me. The days of Richard III and the Bloody Tower seemed -to have come again. And I was to be behind the scenes tracing the -midnight assassin at his work in the heart of modern London, and in -the very purlieus of her palaces. It was enough to sate the greediest -imagination. - -“I mustn’t conceal from you,” my kindly chief had gone on to tell me, -“that I have had to overcome strong objections to your appointment. Sir -James Ponsonby considers that you are very young to be entrusted with -such serious responsibilities. You can’t wonder if the Home Office has -taken some precautions. I submitted your name a month ago, and I only -received permission to make you the offer yesterday. I have very little -doubt that you have been under observation most of the time between.” - -This was the part of the conversation that had come back to me most -vividly that night when I was struggling frantically towards the -accusing bell. - -For the whole sting in the communication that my memory thrust so -pitilessly before me was in the last condition, the very condition I -had been driven to break that night. - -I had been less dismayed than most men of my age perhaps--particularly -most medical students--would have been by learning that my life had -been under the microscope for a month. I had nothing very serious to -reproach myself with. The memory of a secret love affair, an unhappy -one, alas! had served to keep me clear of the most dangerous of all -the snares that life sets for youth. It was my good luck never to have -tasted, and never to have felt the wish to taste, anything in the way -of alcohol, and to be able to sit with nothing stronger than a cup of -strong coffee in front of me in the midst of the most riotous company. -I believe it was this exceptional merit that turned the scale in my -favour with Sir James Ponsonby. Gambling had equally little appeal for -me, and I took no interest whatever in that noble animal the horse. -My real vice was love of excitement for its own sake. One prize-fight -had more attraction for me than a hundred cricket-matches. It was in -search of sensation that I was drawn into the night life of London. -I was haunted by the mystery of silent streets and shadowed courts. -Like Stevenson, I felt that life ought to be a series of adventures -beginning in Leicester Square. The Press Club and the Chelsea Art Club -were the two poles of my romantic sphere, and I revelled in the society -of men who seemed to me to be leading lives more mysterious than mine. - -It appeared that this was the weakness which stood in my way with the -Government Department I was to serve. Tarleton had ceased to swing -his watch, and had given me a very meaning glance as he came to the -decisive point. - -“Sir James has made it a condition of your appointment that it shall -be a resident one. You will have to take up your quarters with me. I -shall have a telephone installed in your room for you to take the night -calls. And I shall depend on you not to trouble me with them unless I -am really wanted.” - -My face must have fallen as I listened to this stipulation, for I saw -an answering shade on the doctor’s brow. I felt that a good deal of -the gilt would be taken off the gingerbread if I had to surrender my -personal freedom and abandon my favourite haunts to lead a regular life -under my employer’s roof, and under his surveillance; for, of course, -that was what it came to. My chief inducement to take up the career -of an analyst instead of a general practitioner had been the greater -freedom I should enjoy. I had dreaded the idea of having to settle in -a provincial town or a prim residential suburb, where I should have -to keep regular hours, go to church in a black coat on Sundays, act -as sidesman, and generally put on all the airs of respectability. It -would be almost as great a wrench to give up my artist and journalist -friends, in whose company I had had such jolly times, and go to bed -every night just as the real day was beginning, under the watchful eyes -of my chief. - -I fancy Sir Frank himself felt some sympathy with me, though he was too -wise to express it. - -“A man must expect to be judged to some extent by the company he -keeps,” he had hinted. “You can’t expect the head of a Department -like the Home Office to feel easy at the idea of entrusting important -secrets to a young man who spends his nights, I won’t say in -disreputable company, but at all events in circles where a good many -adventurers are found. These people”--the bitter note came back into -his voice--“these people hate the shoulders on which they have climbed. -They govern the empire which the Raleighs and the Clives have gained -for them, but they don’t want any more Clives and Raleighs. They threw -Burton away; they wouldn’t use Gordon till it was too late--Faugh!” He -swallowed his disgust with an effort, and became almost stern. “Now, -my boy, this is a great opportunity for you, and you must take it. You -must forget that you are a genius, and put your neck into the collar -for a few years. At the end of that time you will have a reputation, -and you can do what you like within reasonable limits. I expect you to -trust yourself to me.” - -And, of course, I had. He had taken me to the Home Office and formally -presented me to the Under Secretary, and I found myself appointed an -Assistant Medical Adviser, detailed for duty under the orders of Sir -Frank Tarleton, with a salary that seemed riches in advance. - -Perhaps I had found my work a little disappointing since. The night -calls had not been numerous, and they had grown fewer after the first -month or two, as though Tarleton’s clients or patients, I hardly know -which to call them, had found out that it was no use expecting him to -turn out any longer, if the case was one that I could deal with. Most -of my time was passed in the laboratory in Montague Street, carrying -out analyses under his directions, and improving my knowledge of rare -poisons, of which he had formed what was probably the finest collection -in the world. But of really sensational cases, involving criminal -suspicion and mystery, there had not been one before that fateful -summons from the Domino Club. - -But I dared not hesitate longer in delivering it. Every moment now -would only make matters worse. I crossed the landing and knocked firmly -on the closed door. - -The answer was instantaneous--“Come in!” - -I obeyed, to find myself in the full glare of the electric light over -the bed, in which Tarleton was sitting upright, his beloved repeater in -one hand, while he gazed at me questioningly from beneath his knitted -brows. - -“I first heard the telephone nine minutes ago. You have taken some time -to answer it.” - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE EVIDENCE OF MADAME BONNELL - - -Instead of excusing myself I thought it the best plan to plunge into -the account of what had taken place at the Domino Club, in the hope -that it would absorb his mind. The alert physician made only one -comment as I finished. - -“A case for Inspector Charles is pretty sure to be a case for me; but -you didn’t know that.” He was out of bed the next moment. - -“Please tell him I am coming at once, and order round my car. And be -ready yourself as soon as you can.” - -I needed no injunction to make haste. I was in a fever to be back -at the scene of that masked revel, and find out what had happened -there. I congratulated myself on the care I had taken to cover my own -tracks. I had left the doctor’s house and returned to it in my ordinary -clothes. Not a soul in the Domino Club, except the member from whom I -had obtained a ticket of admission, could have the least idea of my -identity. So far as I could see I was absolutely secure from discovery. -But it had been a dangerous game to play, and Tarleton was a dangerous -man to play against. With all his kindness for me I trembled at the -thought of coming within the range of his uncanny powers of detection. - -As soon as I had dispatched his messages, and put a pot of coffee on to -boil over a little spirit stove, I sluiced my head in cold water, and -got into my clothes again as quickly as I had got out of them. I was -ready with a steaming cup of coffee for my chief as he came out of his -room, and was rewarded by the heartiness with which he gulped it down. -His square leather bag, fitted with everything likely to be needed -for the treatment of a poisoning case, was always kept ready in his -bedroom, and he had it in his hand. I relieved him of it not presuming -to bring my own; and we found the car waiting for us when we opened the -front door. - -As we rolled through the streets, just beginning to show signs of life, -Tarleton acquainted me with the personality of Inspector Charles. - -“He’s a retired Army man; he likes to be called Captain Charles. He’s -also the younger son of a peer but he doesn’t like that noticed. His -family are silly enough to object to his being in the police, and he -drops the Honourable on their account. But of course it’s known in the -Yard, and he gets most of the society jobs in consequence. I suppose -they think he’s more likely to know his way about among the big people. -But if you ask me, I think an experienced valet knows ten times more. -You’ll find Charles straight, and you’ll find him thorough, but you -needn’t expect him to see an inch beyond his own nose.” - -This was comfortable for me. But the next words of my chief gave me an -awkward jar. - -“By the way, you ought to be able to tell me something about the place -we’re going to--what is it?--the Domino Club. It sounds like the sort -of night haunt the Home Office objected to so much when I asked for you -as my assistant.” - -I had to make up my mind in a hurry. To tell the truth was out of -the question. It was not only my own honour and safety that were at -stake; there was another for whose sake my presence at that fatal dance -must be concealed. I was on the point of denying all knowledge of the -club when it struck me that I might be betrayed into some unconscious -movement in going through the premises, or some thoughtless remark, -which would reveal to a keen intelligence like Tarleton’s that I had -been there before. - -I made an effort to seem as if I had been searching my memory. - -“Yes,” I said slowly, “now you speak of it I remember having been -there. But I am not sure that I am free to say anything about it. My -impression is that there was an implied pledge of secrecy. Everyone -wore a mask and a disguise of some sort. It was supposed to be a -place where people in very high positions could let themselves go in -security. I was told there were sometimes judges present, and I rather -think Cabinet Ministers, as well as peeresses, and so forth.” - -The specialist nodded gravely. “I expect the authorities knew what they -were doing when they told Charles to call for me. We shall see whether -he has found out who the man is that has been poisoned.” - -“He didn’t say it was a man,” I ventured to suggest. - -Sir Frank pursed his lips, but made no answer. He took out his gold -repeater and began swinging it slowly, a sure sign that he was -following out some train of thought. - -In another quarter of an hour the car drew up in one of the -old-fashioned streets of Chelsea between King Street and the Fulham -Road, at the entrance to the curious building or group of buildings -that bore the name of Vincent Studios. - -The place resembled a rabbit warren. A short flight of steps led down -from the street pavement into a dark, cavernous hall with doors opening -out of it on three sides. Behind most of these doors were the studios -of artists--one or two of them known to me--studios as cavernous if -not as dark as the hall, and ending in glass doors that opened on -mysterious gardens or garden yards overgrown with nasturtiums and other -plants that seem to love the grime and cinders of suburban London. In -the background one was aware of gray piles of timber, as of a mountain -range closing a landscape. Some forgotten builder, perhaps, had died, -leaving those stacks behind him, and his heirs had never discovered -their existence, so that they had been left to the possession of the -rats. - -At the far end of the entrance cavern two doors side by side still -bore the name of artists, one of whom had lately blossomed into an -Academician and been transplanted to the sunnier region of Bedford -Park, while the other had exchanged the brush for some more promising -weapon in what, I fear, had been a losing fight with Fortune. Only -the initiated knew that the door still bearing the name of J. Loftus, -A.R.A., was now that of the Domino Club; while its companion, from -which the name of Yelverton had been roughly effaced, served as a -back door for the use of the tradesmen and servants of the club, and -also for such members as had reasons of their own for not coming -through the streets in fancy costume. For their benefit a row of small -dressing-rooms had been fitted up, in which they could transform -themselves from sober moths into bright artificial butterflies and back -again. - -In front of the club entrance an officer in plain clothes was stationed -who recognized Sir Frank with a respectful salute. - -“You will find Inspector Charles inside, sir,” he said, opening the -door for us. - -We found ourselves in a dark narrow passage empty of everything but -cloak- and hat-pegs. A door at the further end opened straight into -the dancing-room. - -The former studio had been decorated in a fashion evidently meant to -recall the Arabian Nights Entertainment. Vistas of Moorish arches and -fountains playing among palms and oleanders had been painted on the -walls. At intervals wooden columns had been set up to support curtains -of gauze embroidered so as to afford a half concealment to the nooks -that they enclosed. The whole place was still suffused with the lurid -glow of a series of red lanterns hanging from the roof. But a glass -door at the further end had been thrown open to admit the daylight, and -where it reached the crimson glow became haggard and spectral and the -whole place had the air of an old woman’s face from which the paint had -peeled in streaks, revealing the wrinkles and sharp bones beneath. - -Inspector Charles, tall, upright, and looking the personification of -law and order, stood beside one of the curtained alcoves close to the -garden door, and invited us with a solemn gesture to approach. - -This was the moment I had been dreading. I endeavoured to keep my face -passive, and give no sign of recognition, as I came behind my chief and -took my first glance at the spectacle the Inspector had to show us. - -Within the curtains, stretched at full length on a low divan, was a -figure attired as an Inquisitor. The black robe was folded carefully -round him, but the peaked hood with its two eye-slits had been thrust -back over the head, so that the face was fully exposed. It was a -striking face in every way, the face of a man of fifty or thereabout -in the full possession of his powers. The forehead was intellectual; -the eyes, wide open but glazed in the death stare, must have been full -and penetrating in life; the nose and chin were strongly carved; only -the lips showed a certain looseness, as of over-ripened fruit, that -seemed to hint at something evil underlying the dignity and strength -manifested in the rest of the face. - -I scanned that prostrate figure with painful curiosity. The costume -was only too familiar; I had had ample opportunity of observing it -during the night that had just elapsed. But the face was as strange to -me as it was to either of the other two who stood and gazed beside me. -Even the eyes, unnaturally dilated by the drug, seemed to bear little -likeness to those that had peered through the holes in the black hood -when I last looked on the sombre shape in life. - -The Inspector spoke briefly, addressing himself to my companion. - -“This is how he was found when they came in to put out the lights -after everyone was gone as they supposed. They thought at first that -he was in a drunken sleep, and tried to rouse him by shaking. When -they failed, they went to bring Madame Bonnell, the proprietress of -the club. They dared not uncover the face without her authority; the -rules of the club are so strict on that point. She laid back the hood -herself, and saw at once that he was dead. After that she rang us up, -and saw that the body was not touched till I got here. I thought it -best not to touch it myself till you came.” - -Clear, succinct, containing the bare facts and nothing more, such -was the report of Inspector Charles. It was evident that no better -man could have been put in charge of an affair in dealing with which -prudence was the most essential requisite. - -The great physician received the statement with a nod of satisfaction. - -“You suggested to Dr. Cassilis over the wire that it looked like a case -of opium-poisoning,” was his first remark. - -Captain Charles favoured me with a cautious glance, in which I read -some disapproval of my youthful appearance. - -“I thought an opiate must have been the cause of death, Sir Frank, -because there was no sign of a struggle nor of any suffering. He seemed -to have died in his sleep.” - -Again the consultant gave an approving nod. All this time he had not -once removed his eyes from the pallid face on which a leaden tinge had -become visible. Now he turned to me. - -“What do you say, Cassilis?” - -I shook my head. There was something in the case that puzzled me. - -“I agree with Captain Charles to some extent. The appearances -are consistent with opium-poisoning. But----” I turned to the -Inspector--“can you tell us the hour at which the body was found with -life extinct?” - -Captain Charles consulted his watch. Tarleton’s fingers were already -pinching the shabby ribbon of his repeater, and it was going to and fro -with the slow movement of a pendulum. - -“It is now half-past six. I got here soon after five. It must have been -about half-past four when the body was found.” - -I looked questioningly at the great specialist. - -“Unless the opiate was given very early, in which case the effect would -surely have been noticed by someone, it must have been a very powerful -dose to produce death so soon. I should be inclined to suspect some -weakness in the heart, or some other derangement, to account for such -rapid action. I don’t like the colour of the skin.” - -“Ah! You see that?” Tarleton bent over the dead face in grave scrutiny -for some moments. Then he straightened himself up. - -“And now, who is this man?” he asked the Inspector. - -“His name is Wilson, so the proprietress says. But she seems to know -very little about him.” - -“Wilson?” The doctor repeated the name with a sceptical intonation. -“That is the sort of name that man would be likely to give himself in a -place of this kind, I should think. Can I see the proprietress?” - -Captain Charles went out in quest of her. He was no sooner gone than my -chief whispered quickly in my ear, “Not another word about the cause of -death before anybody else. I blame myself for asking your opinion. I -underrated your powers of observation. Hush!” - -I looked round to see a capable middle-aged Frenchwoman dressed in -black silk, emerging from a portière across the room. Very capable and -businesslike she looked, with her well-arranged hair and commanding -black eyes, and well-preserved face and figure, and that amazing air of -respectability which only a Frenchwoman can keep up in an atmosphere -charged with evil. In Madame Bonnell’s presence vice was deprived of -its impropriety, and even murder took on the character of a business -mischance about which the less fuss made the better. - -Madame had obviously employed her time since the discovery of this -particular mischance in making the best of her personal appearance. She -greeted us with affability. - -Even Tarleton, I thought, was softened by her graceful and yet -dignified deportment. In a moment we seemed to become four friends -engaged in a confidential talk over a matter of common interest. It was -Madame who induced me to sit down. - -“You understand, no doubt, Madame, that we are not here with any -hostile purpose,” the representative of the Home Office began. “If it -is possible to dispose of this matter privately, without involving you -or your establishment in any scandal, I shall be glad.” - -The explanation seemed unnecessary. Madame Bonnell by her manner -refused to perceive the possibility of her being involved in scandal, -or in anything else inconsistent with the character of a respectable -business woman. - -“You have identified the deceased, I understand, by the name of Wilson. -Have you any idea whether that was his real name, or an assumed one?” - -Madame Bonnell had no idea. Madame Bonnell was desolated by having -no idea, since the amiable Sir Frank seemed to wish her to have one. -Monsieur the late Wilson had introduced himself to her originally under -that name, and she had never inquired if he had any other. - -Madame succeeded in conveying to us that she was not in the habit of -inconveniencing her patrons by inquiries of any sort, or of distracting -her own mind by curiosity on any subject except their ability to pay -her. - -Under the polished surface of indifference I nevertheless thought I -could detect in the proprietress of the Domino Club a consciousness -that she was being examined by the representatives of the law about -a serious business, and that it would not be prudent on her part to -withhold any material information. It must have been clear to her that -candour was her best policy, up to a certain point at all events. - -To Tarleton’s next question, how she came to make the acquaintance -of the dead man, she made a pretty full reply. Monsieur Wilson had -introduced himself to her a year or two before, when she was managing -a small restaurant in Soho, in a street in which there is more than -one small restaurant, and the restaurants are patronized by more than -one class of customers. It was Monsieur Wilson who had proposed to her -that she should exchange her position there for the more profitable one -of proprietress of a fashionable night club. Monsieur had offered to -provide the funds required for starting such a club, and had undertaken -to make it fashionable, and in both respects he had kept his word. All -the first members of the club had been brought by him, and he had gone -on introducing others since. Madame avowed that she was under a debt to -Monsieur Wilson, which she could not easily repay. She made an effort -to repay it, as she spoke, with tears for his fate, but the dividend -forthcoming did not strike me as a heavy one. By this time, doubtless, -the Domino Club was fairly on its feet, and in no great need of the -dead man’s further support. - -Madame Bonnell’s evidence so far had only served to deepen the mystery -instead of lightening it. Who was this unknown Wilson? Why should he -have wanted to start a night club, and what was the influence that had -enabled him to fill it with so many members drawn from the highest -social ranks? The chief part in the examination had been taken by the -physician, Inspector Charles intervening mostly to secure dates and -addresses for his note-book after the meticulous fashion of the law. At -length I took advantage of a break to put a question which had been in -my mind for some time. - -“These people whom Wilson, if that was his name, brought into the club -must have been his friends, apparently. So far as one can see the club -was entirely composed of his personal friends and other friends of -theirs. Doesn’t that make it more probable that he took poison himself -than that anyone else gave it to him?” - -I threw out the suggestion generally, and my three companions all -turned and stared at me as though it took them by surprise, although -it was an obvious alternative. The physician said nothing, but the -compression of his brows told me plainly that he had rejected such a -theory. Captain Charles made a fatal objection. - -“After he had founded the club and done everything to make it a -success, why should he have come to it to commit suicide--the very -thing that would damage it most?” - -Madame Bonnell became genuinely agitated for the first time. - -“But of course that will not be known!” she exclaimed sharply. “You -sir,” she appealed to Tarleton, “you will know how to contrive that -this unfortunate shall be taken elsewhere. Think of the scandal if it -should be known that a crime was committed in the presence of the Crown -Prince!” - -Evidently His Royal Highness was a strong card in Madame’s estimation, -and one which she could rely on to win her game. Perhaps it was not -the first time in her business experience that she had found the -police disposed to shut their eyes to awkward incidents in which great -personages were involved. - -The consultant of the Home Office looked by no means yielding. - -“I have not yet decided what course I shall recommend the authorities -to take,” he said. “Have you anything to say in answer to Dr. Cassilis? -Is he right in assuming that everyone present here last night must have -been Wilson’s friend?” - -Thus pressed, Madame Bonnell presented the appearance of an unwilling -witness, who hesitates to speak for fear of the consequences to himself. - -“As long as I believe that no proceedings will be taken against the -Club, which is my property, everything I know, my suspicions even, are -at the service of the police,” she replied cautiously. - -It was a bargain which the astute Frenchwoman was proposing openly to -the authorities. Tarleton shrugged his shoulders. He was the last man -to commit himself to anything of the kind. - -“The moment I am satisfied that you are withholding any information -that bears on the case I shall advise the police to close this place, -and apply for your deportation as an alien, Madame Bonnell.” - -The capable Frenchwoman saw that she had made a false step. She -retracted it immediately in admirable distress. - -“But Monsieur must pardon me! I am bewildered by the situation in which -I find myself. I do not understand the Britannic law. I am ready to -throw myself on Monsieur’s consideration. What is it that he would have -me say?” - -The physician looked at his watch. - -“I am waiting for your answer to Dr. Cassilis.” - -Madame Bonnell gave me an appealing look, of which I thought it best to -take no notice. I had seen nothing of her during the time I had spent -at the dance, and I was confident that she was quite ignorant of my -presence at it. She found herself compelled to speak without assistance. - -“The Doctor Cassilis is mistaken,” she said at last, with an air -of weighing each word before she uttered it. “Monsieur Wilson was -acquainted with the people whom he introduced here, undoubtedly, but -they were not all his friends. On the contrary, some of them were his -enemies, and he went in fear of them. Even in mortal fear.” - -It was the revelation Tarleton seemed to have been anticipating. He -gave the short, satisfied nod I knew so well. - -“Go on,” he commanded. “Explain how you knew this.” - -“In effect I knew it because he told me so himself. He took me into his -confidence in order to ask for my protection. He feared this very thing -that has happened. He instructed me to pour out everything he was to -drink with my own hands, and to send it to him by the waiter he thought -he could trust--Gerard.” - -“Now I think we have some real information,” the specialist observed. -“Be good enough to send for Gerard, if you please.” - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE EVIDENCE OF THE DEAD - - -At this point I began to feel a touch of nervousness. I had faced the -proprietress of the Domino Club without any, because she had not seen -me even in my disguise. But the waiters had been going to and fro -throughout the night. I had given orders once or twice, and I could -not feel certain that my voice would not be recognized. I told myself -that my fear was fanciful, and that the last thing that could occur to -anyone’s mind was that a representative of the Home Office, engaged in -the investigation, had himself been present on the scene of the crime, -if crime it was. But none the less I resolved to do nothing to attract -the waiter’s notice, if I could help it. - -I saw Tarleton frown as Madame Bonnell returned with her servant. He -gave her an authoritative nod. - -“Thank you, Madame. I won’t detain you while I am questioning this man.” - -The prudent Frenchwoman concealed any vexation she may have felt, and -instantly retired, leaving Gerard alone with us. - -He was as much the type of the discreet waiter as Madame was of the -discreet manageress. If he had only possessed side-whiskers he would -have been the perfect waiter of the French stage. But he was a good -deal younger than Madame, and showed less self-possession. His eyes -searched us nervously in turn as though he were looking for someone to -propitiate. The physician read his rather white face with one swift -glance, and came to his relief. - -“You are not under any suspicion, Gerard. Provided you tell the truth, -you have nothing to fear.” - -The waiter braced himself up with a visible effort. Not, I fancied, -that he had any objection to tell the truth, but that it was a rather -novel exercise for him. From that moment he neglected the Inspector and -me to concentrate his efforts to propitiate on Sir Frank. - -“I hear that the man who is dead trusted you. Did he trust you with his -real name?” - -“Never, sir.” Gerard spread out his two hands to show their emptiness -of knowledge. “I knew nothing of him except what I learned from Madame.” - -“And that was?” - -The waiter looked apprehensive. No doubt the idea crossed his mind that -it might be awkward if his account contradicted hers. - -“That was very little indeed, sir. She told me to treat him as -proprietor. He never paid for what he consumed. I supposed that he was -Madame’s partner.” - -“Were you the only man who waited on him?” - -“For the last four months or six months, yes, sir. He made it his -request to Madame and to me that I should bring him everything he -ordered.” - -“Did he tell you why?” - -“Yes, he said to me that I was to carry his glass of wine or his cup -of coffee very carefully. ‘See that you do not spill it, and see that -nothing is spilled into it by the way’--those were his words, sir, as -nearly as I can recollect.” - -“What did you think when he said that?” - -Gerard’s expressive hands mutely protested that it was not their -business to think. - -“I do what I am ordered to do, sir, without thinking too much. But -Monsieur Wilson himself explained his motive to me. He said, ‘I do not -like to have practical jokes played on me, and I fancy there are some -practical jokers in the _cercle_.’” - -“Did he say _cercle_ or club?” - -“Monsieur, he always spoke to me in French. He had spent much time in -Paris, he told me once. I believe----” Gerard interrupted himself, as -though doubtful whether his belief would be acceptable as evidence. It -struck me that he had been a witness in a court of law at some time or -other. - -Tarleton threw him a friendly nod. “Go on; tell me what you believe.” - -“I think,” Gerard corrected himself, “that perhaps Monsieur Wilson -founded this club in order to escape the necessity for going to Paris -to amuse himself.” - -The examiner moved his head doubtfully. - -“You think he had some business, then, which made it necessary for him -to remain in London.” - -“But I am sure of it!” The waiter’s tone became confident. “Business -that assisted him in establishing the club, even. The great people who -came here were his customers rather than his personal friends; such is -my idea.” - -Tarleton turned an approving face to us. - -“I think that this man knows what he is talking about. We are dealing -with something very daring and very dark. Did you ever guess what the -business was?” - -The question was darted out suddenly. But the little Frenchman -manifested no uneasiness. The doctor’s praise seemed to have given him -confidence. - -“I supposed sometimes that it was not a lawful business, sir.” He -lowered his voice a little and glanced behind him as if to make sure -that his employer was not within hearing. “I fancied that Monsieur -Wilson might be the proprietor of an establishment for the reception of -ladies who did not wish to become mothers.” - -I could not resist a slight shudder as the gruesome hint came -glibly from the lips of the pasty-faced waiter. He did not look the -kind of man who would have made any objection to a post in such an -establishment. - -“Some of the ladies whom he introduced here had the air of being afraid -of him, I thought,” Gerard added by way of confirmation. - -Inspector Charles had begun to take notes of this evidence. He now -straightened himself up, and looked at Tarleton. - -“Wouldn’t it be well to search his clothes, Sir Frank? We might find an -address, perhaps?” - -“In another minute. Is there any question you would like to put, -Cassilis?” - -I had to make a call on my courage, as Gerard faced towards me in -readiness to be addressed. His figure was not less familiar to me than -that of the masked Inquisitor had been. I was now to see whether my -voice would sound familiar to him. I dared not modify my usual tone -with Tarleton’s keen ears listening. - -“We have heard that a royal personage was here last night,” I said -slowly and distinctly, and then paused to note the effect. - -At my first words Gerard’s watery eyes grew wider for an instant and -I feared the worst. Some note must have been struck in the echoing -cells of his memory. But the next moment reassured me. Out of the many -hundred voices with which a waiter’s memory must be stored, how should -he be able to identify one which he had heard say scarcely a dozen -words? The man’s face was a perfect blank again before I went on. - -“Can you tell us if there were any other strangers present?” I asked -boldly. And turning to my chief and the Inspector, I explained, “It -seems to me just possible that an attempt may have been planned on the -life of the Crown Prince, and that this man may have been mistaken for -him.” - -Tarleton did not reject this suggestion so decidedly as the theory of -suicide. I saw a thoughtful expression come on his face, as though he -was engaged in trying to adjust the idea with another one previously in -his mind. Captain Charles took up the scent quite eagerly. - -“Do you know what disguise His Royal Highness was wearing?” he demanded. - -The waiter hesitated and then shook his head. - -“I had my suspicion, sir, but Madame can tell you for certain.” - -The Inspector was satisfied with the answer. But Tarleton’s voice rang -out sharply. - -“Let us have your suspicion, please.” - -Gerard had the air of a man who had committed himself, and regrets it. - -“Milor,”--he had been sharp enough to notice the Inspector’s use of a -title in addressing the consultant--“I particularly noticed one person -who appeared to me a stranger who did not very well know his way about -the club, and who appeared to have some business with Monsieur Wilson.” - -“Ah!” Tarleton’s deep breath told me that he felt himself on a real -trail. “And how was this person disguised?” - -“The disguise was an extraordinary one, milor. It was that which first -attracted my notice. It was at once the costume of a man and of a -woman. That is to say, the upper part was that of a warrior in armour, -and the lower part was a woman’s skirt.” - -“Joan of Arc,” exclaimed Charles. - -The Frenchman shrank in horror. “But, monsieur, it could not have been -Sainte Jeanne! For instance, the helmet was Roman.” - -“Neither did she wear a skirt with her armour,” the physician added -quietly. “It must have been meant for Zenobia.” - -The Inspector’s face showed so clearly that he had never heard of the -famous Queen of Palmyra that I should have been amused if I had not -been on the rack of suspense. Fortunately, Tarleton was now engrossed -in his new line of inquiry. - -“In spite of this feminine disguise, in spite of the skirt, you -recognized that this stranger was a man, it seems?” - -The eloquent hands protested again. “But no, milor; I said I had my -suspicion, that is all. Madame----” - -The doctor cut him short. - -“You thought this person, Zenobia, had some business with Wilson. Tell -me, how many persons knew that Wilson wore that disguise last night?” - -He turned and pointed to the dead body which lay full in view from -where we were seated. Gerard let his eyes follow the gesture and -withdrew them with a sickly twinge. - -“Everyone knew it, I think. It was the disguise he wore invariably in -the club. It was as if he came here to meet his clients, and it was -necessary for them to know that they were speaking to him.” - -Sir Frank Tarleton nodded more than once this time. He evidently -felt himself to be getting a firm grip on the problem. I admired -the sagacity he had shown in transferring his examination from the -proprietress of the club to the waiter. Gerard was proving a much -easier witness to deal with than Madame Bonnell. He had not so much at -stake. - -“And now,” the consultant pursued, “perhaps you can tell us if there -were any other persons who showed a desire to meet Wilson last night?” - -Gerard brightened up visibly. - -“But certainly, milor. There was one in particular who never seemed to -take her eyes off him. She danced with him time after time, and when -she was not dancing with him herself she watched those who did.” - -“And how was she dressed?” - -“Milor, she was hardly dressed at all.” Gerard may have feared another -irreverent guess from Captain Charles, for he added quickly: “I heard -Monsieur address her as Salome.” - -The Inspector was again busy with his note-book. But Sir Frank struck -me as not being quite so deeply interested in Salome as he had been in -Zenobia. - -“And there was also a lady whose costume it is not easy to describe.” -Gerard was going on of his own accord now, as though his interest had -been kindled in the inquiry. “Part of it was a leopard skin. And she -wore a necklace composed of claws of the same beast, as I imagined. In -my own mind I called her the Leopardess. Without doubt, her costume was -that of an East Indian princess.” - -Tarleton’s interest seemed to revive again at the description of the -Leopardess. Yet it was impossible to be sure that he was not playing a -part to conceal his true opinion of all this from the witness. - -“And this lady, did she dance much with Wilson?” - -Gerard gave his head an emphatic shake. - -“She did not dance with him at all, although he asked her more than -once. I am sure of it. I was surprised, for it was not often that -he was refused. I saw him speaking to her very earnestly, even -threateningly, but it was no use. And she left early, long before the -dance was over.” - -The examiner shrugged his shoulders. I wondered that he did not point -out to the man that a woman who had left early could hardly have played -any part in the tragedy. But I was beginning to grasp that it was his -method to listen much and speak little when he was face to face with a -mystery. - -The next moment he had dismissed Gerard abruptly, and risen to his -feet. He crossed over to the corpse, followed by Charles and myself, -and gazed intently on the exposed face. The slight leaden tinge I had -remarked was more noticeable already, and in addition there was a -slight roughness of the skin which I understood still less. I took -care this time not to make any remark on it. - -The specialist’s attention was concentrated on the features and -expression of the dead man. After a moment or two he slowly shook his -head. - -“No,” he pronounced, “that is not the face of a man degraded enough -for such a business as the waiter supposed. It is not the face of an -adventurer. This was a man of the world, in a good position, able to -meet with the people whom he brought to this place on a footing of -equality. His motives were not sordid, perhaps, in the first place. We -are dealing with a Tiberius rather than a Tigellinus, I think.” - -I don’t fancy those names had much more meaning for Captain Charles -than Zenobia’s. But he acquiesced respectfully in the judgment. - -“From all that we have heard about the Domino Club at Scotland Yard -there has never been the slightest suggestion of crime about it,” he -observed. “One of the judges of the High Court is a member of it. He -has the reputation of being pretty fond of women, but he certainly -wouldn’t be mixed up with anything shady.” - -“Shaded, but not shady, eh?” Tarleton returned with a curl of the lip. -“But come, it is time to see if the dead has any evidence to give about -himself.” - -Thrusting his gold repeater carelessly into his pocket, he deftly -stripped the body of its long Inquisitor’s robe. Underneath was -revealed an evening suit of fine material and faultless cut with a -white silk waistcoat and soft-fronted shirt. They were the clothes of -a man of good position, as Sir Frank had said, and a man accustomed -to respect himself. A Bohemian would scarcely have troubled to dress -himself so carefully beneath a domino. - -Captain Charles viewed this correct attire with the approval of a -military man. “A gentleman as you guessed, Sir Frank.” - -“As I inferred,” the doctor responded sharply, “I never guess.” His -capable fingers were already exploring the pockets of the corpse. -Most of them seemed to be empty, but presently he extracted a silver -matchbox from the waistcoat, and opened it. A low sound like a -suppressed whistle came from his tight lips as he shook out on the palm -of his hand two pellets the size of small peas. - -Of all my experiences on that eventful night, or rather morning, this -was the most amazing. Only by a strong effort was I able to keep -my astonishment within due bounds. Although I had thrown out the -suggestion of suicide, the last thing I had expected was to find poison -on the dead man’s person. - -My chief passed me one of the pellets, and put the other first to his -nostrils and then to the tip of his tongue. - -“Well?” He motioned to me to imitate his action. - -There could be no doubt about the result of the test. “Opium in a -highly concentrated form, and soluble,” I whispered hoarsely. - -We exchanged looks of intense surprise. The Inspector on his part was -evidently surprised by our attitude. - -“Then Dr. Cassilis was right after all,” he said, staring at us. “It -was suicide?” - -The great consultant smiled at him indulgently. - -“I am sure that this discovery has made Dr. Cassilis renounce that -theory,” he answered. “A man who was accustomed to take opium in such -doses as these would have to take a terrible quantity to kill himself. -And this box, is nearly full.” - -My brain was buzzing while he spoke. Utter darkness seemed to be -settling down on my mind. I gazed at my chief in stupefaction greater -than the Inspector’s. - -“The problem for Dr. Cassilis and myself is this,” he continued, -addressing his explanation to Captain Charles, although I realized that -he was speaking at least as much for my benefit. “The corpse shows -all the usual symptoms of poisoning by opium. But if the deceased had -accustomed his system to opium it is not easy to understand how anyone -could have given him enough to produce death. The dose must have been -enormous, and he must have detected the taste at once in any ordinary -medium such as a cup of coffee.” - -I just managed to nod my head with assent. - -“The inference I am inclined to draw at the moment,” the specialist -concluded, “is that Wilson was not a taker of the drug and that these -pellets were not intended for himself. I think it is more probable -that he carried them as weapons of self-defense. Perhaps Salome would -have been given one last night if her jealousy had carried her too far, -perhaps Zenobia. And perhaps the Leopardess left so early because she -had been given one.” - -My brain seemed to resume its normal clearness as the doctor spoke. -There was really nothing very extraordinary in the coincidence, if -he was right. After all, opium was the drug which it was natural for -anyone to use in such circumstances. It was practically tasteless, its -effects were easily mistaken for those of alcohol even by the victim, -till it was too late for him to resist them. And the character of the -Domino Club was such, and its members came to it in such secrecy, that -one of them might be carried home in a narcotic sleep, and die before -wakening from it, without his death ever being traced to the place -where he had been. - -While these reflections were coming to compose my mind Tarleton was -renewing his investigation of the dead man’s pockets. This time the -result was negative, so far as I could see. It gave a start to me and -to the Inspector when the doctor suddenly raised himself with a look of -triumph and exclaimed, “I see it!” - -Charles bent forward with a bewildered gaze. I held my breath. The next -sentence was decisive. - -“There are no keys--not even a latchkey. Whoever drugged him took -his keys, and took them for a purpose.” He turned on the startled -Inspector, and issued his commands like a general on a battlefield -ordering an advance all along the line. “Ring up your people and find -out if they have received a report of any house being entered during -the night or early this morning. And ask them to send a man round the -theatrical costumiers to find out if any of them have supplied costumes -lately of a Zenobia and a Salome and an Eastern one with a leopard -skin. Though I doubt if you will hear anything about the last. It -sounds like one made up privately. Meanwhile we will ask Madame Bonnell -to give us some breakfast.” - -Madame was charmed to give us breakfast. Gerard’s report of his -examination must have impressed her favourably. It was clear by this -time that the great Sir Frank Tarleton could be trusted to conduct the -investigation with prudence, and not to bring any unnecessary publicity -on the Domino Club. She beamed satisfaction when he informed her that -he hoped to learn Wilson’s address within the next few minutes, and to -have the body removed thither for the inquest. In her absence he added -to his instructions to Charles: - -“I think, Captain Charles that it will be well if you can go yourself -to the Foreign Office and ascertain through them if this Crown Prince -actually was present last night. They will feel more confidence in you -than in one of the ordinary police.” - -The Honourable Captain looked pleased. “Do you think it is possible -that his life was aimed at, after all, Sir Frank?” he added with -deference. - -Sir Frank shook his head. “That possibility is disposed of by the -abstraction of the keys. The solution of the mystery lies there. But it -is just possible that the thief chose his occasion; that he relied on -the Prince’s presence to screen him from too close an inquiry. At all -events I find it difficult to accept too many coincidences in the case.” - -I thought I might venture to raise a different point. - -“Madame Bonnell had ample time to search the body and remove anything -she pleased before Captain Charles came.” - -My chief shook his head good-naturedly. - -“I haven’t too high an opinion of Madame’s ethical code, but I think -sufficiently well of her intelligence to feel pretty sure that if she -had had any use for her partner’s keys they would have been back in his -pocket before Captain Charles heard that he was dead.” - -The remark was unanswerable as far as I was concerned. A moment later -the expected message came through from Scotland Yard. - -The house of Doctor Weathered, of Warwick Street, Cavendish Square, had -been entered during the night, and his safe had been found open, with -his bunch of keys in it. And the doctor himself was missing. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE OPENED SAFE - - -Inspector Charles, I could see, was deeply impressed by the sagacity -with which Tarleton had solved the riddle of the dead man’s identity. -It was a very simple step, but it is precisely the simple ideas that -generally escape the trained mind of the official. - -“Doctor Weathered,” the Captain pronounced slowly. “I suppose there is -no doubt of that being Wilson’s real name.” - -“Very little doubt, I should say,” my chief responded. “What do you -think, Cassilis?” - -I endeavoured to take a judicial tone. - -“I don’t see much room for hesitation. Here is a man without his keys, -and there are the keys without the man. Besides, it all corresponds -with what you said, Sir Frank, about the dead man’s appearance. A -fashionable West End physician is just what I should expect him to be. -And no one would be in a better position to introduce people of good -position to a club of this kind.” - -The Inspector’s face had become overcast with doubt while I was -speaking. - -“That’s all very well,” he demurred, “but we have been hearing a lot -about Wilson’s being afraid of enemies, and taking precautions about -what he drank; and now it turns out to be a simple case of burglary.” - -Tarleton consulted me by a look. I just lifted my shoulders in answer -without speaking. Mine was a difficult part to play just then. On the -one hand, I did not wish my chief to think me wanting in brains; on the -other, I dreaded above all things betraying any previous knowledge of -anything connected with the mystery. - -Fortunately he appeared to approve of my reserve. “We may be able to -understand that better when we get to Warwick Street,” he said to -Charles. “The next thing for us to do is to go round there and send -some member of the household here to identify the deceased.” - -To this course there could be no opposition. The plain-clothes man was -called in and placed in charge of the corpse with strict instructions -to let no one approach it unless he came with a written authority from -Sir Frank or the Inspector. Then the three of us entered the doctor’s -car and drove towards Cavendish Square. - -On the way my chief said to me, “It is curious that I can’t call to -mind ever having heard of a Dr. Weathered. He must have been a man of -high standing in the profession, apparently; probably a consultant; and -yet his name is quite strange to me. Do you happen to have heard it at -any time?” - -It was a difficult question for me. I dared not tell a lie which -accident might expose at any moment; but still less dared I tell the -whole truth. - -“I have heard the name,” I replied, speaking as slowly as possible to -give myself time to frame the least compromising answer. “Perhaps I -ought to say that I heard it from one of his patients in the course -of a confidential communication, so that I hardly know how far I am -justified in making any use of what I heard.” - -Tarleton promptly raised his hand. - -“Not another word,” he enjoined to my intense relief. But my relief was -qualified when he proceeded. “A confidence made to a medical man is as -sacred in my view as a confession made to a priest. You will understand -that, Captain Charles, I am sure. We must not ask Dr. Cassilis to tell -us anything more.” - -Captain Charles assented rather reluctantly I thought. His original -disapproval of me seemed to revive at the same time. He stole furtive -glances at me now and then, as though he were wondering whether it was -prudent on his part to keep such doubtful company. - -The gold repeater in Tarleton’s fingers kept time to his meditations -till the car drew up in front of a smart house in a smart street in -the region most favoured by Court physicians and the big-wigs of the -medical profession, a class for whom I knew that my eccentric chief -felt a very moderate respect. The house was brightly painted, and -the windows were garnished with boxes of scarlet geraniums and blue -lobelias. The brass plate on the door was burnished to shine like -glass, and the steps were a dazzling white. Nothing could have been -further removed from any suggestion of secret practices or unhallowed -consultations. - -The man who opened the door to us matched the exterior of the house as -far as his own exterior was concerned. He was young and clean-shaven, -his hair was beautifully brushed, and his neat clothes were as new and -well-fitting as those of the man whom we had left lying in the alcove -at the Domino Club. The face itself was that of a simple, harmless -young man, incapable of suspecting either his master or his master’s -patients. It was impossible to think that he had ever been aware of -anything strange or doubtful in his environment, so innocent and fresh -was his whole aspect. The very nervousness with which he received us -was the nervousness of youth and inexperience finding itself in the -presence of unexpected trouble. - -Inspector Charles briefly announced his name and official character, -and those of my chief, not deeming me worthy of individual mention. -Tarleton promptly took the youthful butler in hand. - -“Have the police been here before?” was his first question. - -Simmons, as he turned out to be named, said that they had. The -constable on the beat had noticed that the front door was ajar about -five o’clock that morning, and had promptly roused the household. He, -Simmons, had been first on the spot, and had begun by supposing that -his master had omitted to make the door fast on his return. He knew -that the doctor had gone out overnight, though he had no idea where. -He went out pretty often, and was generally rather late in coming -home. However, the policeman had insisted on his going to see if Dr. -Weathered was upstairs; and he had found his room empty and the bed -undisturbed. - -On that, the officer had come in to search the premises, beginning with -the doctor’s consulting-room, in which there was a safe. There the -first sight that met their eyes was the door of the safe standing wide -open. The key was in the keyhole, with the whole bunch, including the -latchkey, dangling from it. - -“And what had been taken from the safe?” Tarleton asked, calling my -attention with a significant glance. - -“Nothing,” was the surprising answer. “I mean nothing as far as we -could see. We opened the drawers in which the doctor used to put his -fees till he paid them into the bank, and they were full, one full -of notes and the other of silver. The doctor’s lowest fee was three -guineas,” the doctor’s man added with some pride. - -“Take us to that room,” my chief commanded. - -Simmons obeyed without hesitation. My heart was beating so loudly in -my ears that I could not overcome the childish fear that it might be -heard by others, in spite of my medical knowledge to the contrary. I -fell back and let my companions go into the room without me while I -collected myself before joining them. - -Yet there was nothing in Dr. Weathered’s professional sanctum to -inspire dismay. - -The room in which he received his patients was as bright and as well -appointed as everything else in the establishment. A handsome walnut -writing-table was lightly strewn with medical books and papers, -relieved by a handsome china bowl full of roses. The patient’s chair -was luxuriously cushioned with yellow silk, and the doctor’s own chair -was a handsome one upholstered in tooled morocco leather. There was -only one bookcase, and its appearance was more suited to a drawing-room -than a professional man’s study. The frame was richly inlaid with -ornamental woods, and the glass doors were protected by gilt wires. -A small marble group of Eros and Psyche stood on the top, flanked -by Chinese dragons. Elsewhere the walls of the room were hung with -charming water-colours, most of them of a rather sensuous description, -depicting youths and maidens bathing in pools, and scenes of love and -jealousy. - -Tarleton took in every detail with one of those swift, searching looks -of his which seemed to penetrate to some inner meaning beneath the -surface of all he saw. Finally, his eye rested on the corner in which a -safe about three feet high, painted to look like oxydized silver, was -clamped on a supporting stand of ebony. - -“You have locked the safe, I see. Where are the keys?” - -The sudden demand agitated the nervous butler. - -“Miss Sarah has them,” he stuttered. “At least she took them away when -she locked up the safe. Perhaps she’s given them to her mother--to Mrs. -Weathered.” - -Sir Frank opened his eyes. I think we all did. Somehow it seemed -incongruous that the founder of the Domino Club should be a married man. - -“Is there a Mrs. Weathered then?” - -“Why, yes, sir.” Simmons showed as much surprise as we had. “Would you -like to see her, Sir Frank?” He seemed rather eager to get away and -fetch his mistress to deal with us. - -The consultant restrained him by an imperative gesture. - -“One moment, if you please. You haven’t told us what happened after you -had found the safe open. Did you go to call Mrs. Weathered?” - -“I should have gone, sir, but Miss Sarah came down and found us looking -into the safe. So I left it to her.” - -Again the man made a movement as if to escape, and again the specialist -arrested him. - -“What brought her down? Did she know what had happened?” - -Simmons seemed honestly confused. “I really can’t tell you, sir. I -suppose one of the servants must have gone upstairs and told her. They -were all about.” - -Tarleton nodded. “Go on. When she came in what did she do?” - -“She was rather angry sir, at first. She thought the doctor had come -home in a great hurry to fetch something for someone who was ill, and -had rushed off again, and forgotten to lock the safe and take his keys. -She said we had no business to look inside in his absence. And she -locked the safe herself, and sent the policeman away, saying no doubt -Dr. Weathered would be back again presently. But that was more than -four hours ago, and there’s been no sign of him yet, sir.” - -It was evident that Simmons considered his young mistress had been -over-confident. We, who knew it so much better than he did could only -sympathize with his feelings. Sir Frank made no further effort to -detain him. - -“Very well. You can let Mrs. Weathered know we are here, and say that I -shall be glad to speak with her as soon as possible.” - -When the butler had gone he turned to me. - -“What do you make of this room, Cassilis? What sort of diseases do you -think were treated here?” - -I thought it best to glance at the pictures and the marble group before -expressing my opinion. - -“Not very serious ones I should say,” I answered lightly. - -My chief frowned. - -“And yet one of them has proved pretty serious in its consequences,” he -observed. “You don’t agree with Miss Weathered that it was her father -who left that bunch of keys in the door of the open safe?” - -I did my best to control myself as I shook my head. - -“Rather curious that she should have interfered, though, instead of her -mother,” Captain Charles put in with an air of sagacity. - -Tarleton threw himself into the doctor’s own chair, and taking out his -watch, began to swing it gently. - -“I expect to meet with more than one curious circumstance in the course -of this inquiry,” he said lazily. “It is just possible that Weathered’s -daughter knew more about him than his wife did.” He sat up suddenly. -“But I am wasting your valuable time, Captain Charles. There is nothing -here that Cassilis and I cannot deal with. It is simply a question of -having the body identified, and brought round here, if the authorities -decide to keep the case private. You had better lose no time in -communicating with the Foreign Office and the Home Office, and letting -me know their decision. And don’t forget there are the costumes to be -traced.” - -The Captain was already on the move. I fancied he was not sorry to be -released. Tarleton was too big a personality for anyone else to find -himself much more than a dummy in his company, and the Inspector’s -sense of self-importance must have suffered as long as he was in the -physician’s train. - -My chief was good enough to offer me a private explanation as soon as -we were alone. - -“I have every confidence in Charles’s honesty, but very little in his -tact. And this is a case that calls for very careful handling. These -people won’t tell us more than they can help if they are afraid of a -public scandal. And, on the other hand, if they know that the whole -affair is going to be hushed up they won’t tell us anything at all.” -Tarleton let his eyes rove round the walls of the room as he proceeded. -“I don’t want Charles to see the direction in which I am feeling my -way. You see, he is not my subordinate. He isn’t responsible to me for -his actions. He is quite at liberty to go to the Chief Commissioner -behind my back, and tell him whatever is in his mind, and the -Commissioner can go to Sir James Ponsonby in the same way. We must walk -warily Cassilis.” - -I tried in vain to catch the doctor’s eye while he was speaking. How -much did he mean to convey by that singular warning? Was he referring -to my admission that I had heard Dr. Weathered’s name before, and -cautioning me to make no more such admissions in the Inspector’s -hearing? I felt a sick apprehension which I dared not show. - -Sir Frank seemed quite unconscious of my distress. “You and I,” he -went on in a confidential way, “know that it wasn’t Weathered who -crept into this room last night, and crept out again, leaving the keys -behind. And we also know that whoever came here didn’t come for money. -I think we can both guess what he did come for--he or she.” - -He darted a sudden glance at me as he uttered the last word, and he -must have seen me start. But at that instant the door opened, and we -both rose to our feet to receive the ladies coming in. - -There were two of them. Mrs. Weathered was a woman of about the same -age as the man whom we had left lying in the Domino Club, but of a very -different social type. She was not vulgar in any offensive sense of -the word, but her appearance and manner were those of a woman such as -one would expect to meet in the back parlour of a shop in a provincial -town, rather than in a West End drawing-room. Her features were plain -as well as homely; her gray hair showed no trace of a skilful maid’s -art, and her fashionable dress only exposed her unfitness to wear -it. Such a wife could only be a serious handicap to an ambitious man -making his way upward in London society. It was possible to at least -understand one of the doctor’s temptations to lead a secret life which -brought him into more congenial company than his homely wife’s. Yet -there was something touching in her pale, worn face; and her mild blue -eyes searched our faces with a pitiful anxiety that convinced me that -her husband still had a hold on her affection. - -Her daughter was as little like her as it was possible to be. Young -enough in years--I put her down as little more than twenty--her face -and figure were those of a ripe woman. Both were queenly. Her sombre -crown of hair and flashing eyes made me think of Judith and the tragic -heroines of old who were driven to avenge themselves on the men who -had done them wrong. She betrayed none of her mother’s anxiety. Stern, -self-possessed and courageous, she faced Sir Frank and myself with the -demeanour of the accuser rather than the accused. - -Mrs. Weathered was the first to speak. Although addressing my chief as -the elder of us two, I found her turning her eyes towards me as though -more hopeful of sympathy from my youth. Her daughter on the contrary -kept her intent gaze fixed on Tarleton and seemed barely conscious of -my presence in the room. - -“Have you any news for me, sir? Dr. Weathered hasn’t come back yet--not -since he was here in the early morning, and left his keys behind.” - -The physician shook his head with a grave air. - -“I am not sure that you are right in thinking that it was your husband -who came here and left those keys. Before I say anything more I should -like to look inside the safe.” - -Mrs. Weathered turned a wondering look on her daughter, who frowned in -return. - -“Why?” She demanded. “Nothing has been taken. I looked myself, and the -money was all there untouched. No burglar would have gone away without -helping himself to it, surely?” - -“Perhaps it was not a burglar. It was someone who had been in your -father’s company, or he could not have obtained possession of his bunch -of keys.” - -The girl drew herself up in wrath. - -“Dr. Weathered is not my father sir. My mother has only been married to -him five years. My name is Neobard.” - -A glimmering of the true situation came to me. The dead man had married -a widow, an unattractive one, with a daughter old enough to resent -her mother’s action and show it. There could be no reasonable doubt -that she must have had money, probably a good deal, and that her -daughter’s fortune had gone to enrich the step-father. I could pretty -well guess the whole story. A provincial doctor with more brains than -wealth had courted his rich patient to obtain the means of coming -to London and setting up as a consultant in the West End. That was -why neither Tarleton nor I had heard of him as a man distinguished -in the profession. He had risen, not by scientific merit, but by the -possession of money and an imposing manner. There were too many such -cases in the medical world. - -By this time Mrs. Weathered had sat down and invited us to do the -same. But Miss Neobard remained standing, still with the same air of -suppressed indignation. Tarleton appeared not to be aware of anything -strange in her manner. - -“Your step-father, then,” he corrected himself amiably. “Dr. Cassilis -and I are better acquainted with the usual contents of a doctor’s safe -than you are, I expect; and perhaps we shall be better able to judge if -anything has been taken than you.” - -“I don’t think he kept any drugs in it, if that’s what you’re thinking -of,” the girl said obstinately. It was clear that she resented our -being there and was disposed to help us as little as possible. - -“Indeed!” The specialist turned to Mrs. Weathered, whose face showed -some bewilderment at her daughter’s attitude. “Perhaps you can tell me, -ma’am, if your husband specialized in any particular disease, or class -of diseases.” - -The pale widow glanced at her daughter as though for permission to -answer, and was met by a smile of scorn. - -“I know that he takes nervous cases,” Mrs. Weathered said with a -certain hesitation. “He is a psychological expert.” - -She pronounced the phrase in the tone of a person who had learnt it by -heart, and expected us to understand it better than she did herself. -Miss Neobard’s gall overflowed at the sound. - -“He called himself that to begin with,” she put in sharply. “Now it is -a psychical analyst. Women come and tell him their secrets as if he -were a priest.” - -A quiver in the eyelashes told me that this was the information my -chief had been expecting to receive. But his tone showed no animation -when he spoke. - -“In that case I dare say Miss Neobard may be right about the drugs. -However, I must ask you to be good enough to let me have Dr. -Weathered’s keys.” - -The mother was evidently divided between fear of us and fear of her -daughter to whom she appealed with another helpless look. - -“By what right do you ask for them, Sir Frank? My mother is not -entitled to give up her husband’s keys without his consent. He may be -back at any moment--and then you can ask him.” - -At last it was necessary to speak out. The girl’s position was -perfectly right if she was ignorant of her step-father’s fate. - -“I am deeply sorry to be the bearer of bad news,” Tarleton said to the -widow. “I’m afraid you must prepare yourself to hear the worst.” He -paused for a moment. The ready tears that began to stream from the poor -woman’s eyes showed that she had not been altogether unprepared, and -the swift flash of silent exultation in her daughter’s told plainly -who it was that had prepared her. I was pleased to see her throw a -caressing arm round her mother’s neck before she spoke again. - -“You mean that Dr. Weathered is dead?” - -“A body has been found on certain premises in Chelsea which there is -reason to fear is his. It is part of our business here to find someone -to come round and identify him.” - -A moan from the widow drew her daughter’s arm more tightly round her. -She thrust her free hand into a pocket and drew out a bunch of keys. - -“Take these. And excuse me. I must take my mother to her room. I will -come back in a few minutes and go round with you to the Club.” - -I was quick to open the door as the strange girl supported her mother -out of the room. I had no sooner closed it again than my chief repeated -her last words. - -“The Club!--I fancy that young woman could tell us a good deal about -her step-father if she chose. And now!” - -He stepped towards the safe, found the right key, and threw open the -door. - -“What do you say has been taken, Cassilis?” - -There could be no doubt as to the answer, although I went through the -form of looking carefully inside before I gave it. - -It was the doctor’s case-book that was missing, the book containing the -secrets of the women. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -DR. WEATHERED’S PATIENTS - - -My chief made a swift search through the safe. The cash drawers were -empty, and he gave me a significant nod. - -“Miss Sarah has been through the safe since the policeman left. A -remarkable girl that, Cassilis! How did she come to know of the Domino -Club?” - -I was as little able to answer the question as he was. Still, I had -formed a vague theory in my own mind. - -“She rather gave me the impression of hating her step-father on her -mother’s account,” I threw out. “Mightn’t she have watched him on her -mother’s behalf?” - -“That is a possible explanation, certainly,” my chief was good enough -to respond. “We are dealing with one of those family tragedies which -so seldom come to light. The ambitious man has married for money, as -the girl has seen from the first, and the woman won’t see. Then he has -found his wife in the way, and begun to neglect her. She, poor thing, -has tried to hide the situation from her child, but Sarah has found it -out for herself, and resented it. She has tried to open her mother’s -eyes, and failed; or rather the mother has concealed the fact that she -is no longer blind. Then in desperation, perhaps, the girl has gone -secretly to work to obtain proof of her step-father’s infidelity, proof -that will leave her mother no excuse for keeping her eyes shut any -longer; that will compel her to leave the man....” - -The speech trailed off into a soliloquy, which became a silent one. -Suddenly he stood up grasping in his hand a square glass bottle half -full of pellets like those we had found on the corpse. - -“No need for further evidence of identity than this!” he exclaimed -in triumph. “But this must be between you and me, Cassilis; I don’t -think Charles can have been altogether satisfied with the theory that -Weathered only carried these pellets to give to his enemies and this -discovery makes it still less probable. He may have administered them -for other purposes.” - -I shuddered at the hint. The Domino Club took on a darker shade in my -imagination and I scarcely dared ask myself what horrors might have -been concealed by those embroidered curtains that screened its Moorish -alcoves. - -Tarleton slipped the glass bottle into his coat pocket, and locked the -safe. Then he turned to survey the doctor’s table. - -“Now let us reconstruct the crime provisionally,” he said. “A patient -of Weathered finds that he is in the doctor’s power and finds that -Weathered is disposed to take some base advantage of him. He has seen -the doctor recording his confession in a book, and he determines to -release himself by getting hold of that book and destroying it. He is a -member of the Domino Club; most likely he has been tempted or compelled -to join it by Weathered. He may or may not know of these pellets -and the purpose for which they are used. At all events he conceives -the plan of drugging Weathered, obtaining his keys, and coming here -to destroy the incriminating record. He carries out his purpose -successfully, so far. But in his haste and excitement he overlooks one -thing. And it is here.” - -For the life of me I could not repress a start as the consultant -brought his hand down sharply on a small book that lay beside the -inkstand on the writing-table. Little need to say what it was! The -moment after Weathered’s appointment-book was lying open, and my -chief’s keen eyes were rapidly searching the pages. - -I ought not to have felt so intensely anxious as I watched those bushy -eyebrows knitting themselves over a meagre list of names and dates. -The dead man’s patients had been numerous, and most of them no doubt -had come and gone without the least suspicion of anything irregular -in the doctor’s practice, and without compromising themselves by any -indiscrete confidences. What evidence could such a book afford against -anyone? Still, I was uneasy. My instinct warned me that Tarleton would -find some information that he needed in those pages. And my observation -told me presently that he had found it. - -“Listen, Cassilis. Most of these appointments seem to be perfectly -innocent and normal. But there are certain names occurring more than -once that have numbers attached to them. What do you make of this?--Sir -George Castleton, 17; he has been coming once a fortnight. Mrs. -Worboise, 21; about once a month. Miss Julia Sebright, 8; she seems to -have dropped off. Colonel Gravelinas, 26; h’m. Mrs. Baker, 35; rather -more recent than the others. Lady Violet Bredwardine--what is the -matter?” - -I jerked myself round towards the door of the room. “I thought I heard -someone outside.” - -By a stroke of good luck someone was. The door opened as I spoke, and -Sarah Neobard appeared with a hat on ready to go out. - -Tarleton quietly closed the book and placed it in his pocket under her -eyes. - -“I am taking Dr. Weathered’s appointment-book, Miss Neobard. I shall -have to make inquiries about some of his patients.” - -The stately Sarah’s eyes flashed vindictively. “You are welcome to any -information I can give you about them, Sir Frank. One of them is at the -bottom of this crime, you may be sure.” - -Tarleton lifted his eyebrows. “We don’t yet know that it is a crime--in -that sense,” he said with an air of doubt. “Dr. Weathered seems to have -been drugged by someone who wanted to get his keys. But whoever did it -may not have meant to give a fatal dose.” - -I listened anxiously. I was puzzled to understand the specialist’s -theory. Did he consider that Weathered had succumbed to a dose that -would not have killed a man in ordinary health? And if so, was his -death due to some organic weakness, as I had myself suggested when we -were viewing the corpse? Or was it possible that Weathered was in the -habit of taking the pellets found upon him, after all, and that he had -just absorbed such a quantity of the poison into his system that the -extra dose proved mortal in consequence? My experience was not enough -to enable me to form a decided opinion of my own on either of these -alternatives. - -While these thoughts were passing through my mind Miss Neobard was -scrutinizing my companion’s face with suspicion. - -“You are not saying what you really think, Sir Frank,” she pronounced -boldly. “He has been murdered, and you know it, but you are afraid of -shocking me by saying so outright. You needn’t mind. I look on this as -a judgment, and I have seen it coming.” - -The physician gazed at her as steadily as she was gazing at him. - -“Have you any objection to telling me why?” - -“No. Now that my mother isn’t here I don’t care what I tell you. Dr. -Weathered never loved her, but she loved him. She wouldn’t believe -anything bad of him while he was alive, and now he’s dead I don’t want -her to hear anything that would grieve her for nothing.” She seemed -to consider for a moment what to say next. “You mustn’t think he was -altogether wicked, at all events at first. He was very clever, and he -knew that he could do well in London with my mother’s money. And he -was really interested in science. He had studied psychology for years -before he started as a nerve specialist. I believe that he meant to -practise quite respectably when he began here. It was the women who led -him astray.” - -A singular statement to be made by the step-daughter who had so much -reason to hate him, and who every now and then gave me the impression -that she had hated him. - -“Half the women who came to consult him, I believe, had nothing the -matter with them except a craving for excitement. He told us that -himself, though, of course, he didn’t say what kind of excitement -they craved for. He used to talk about his practice at first, and -tell us the names of some of his patients, when they were big people. -One was a duchess, another was a famous author. But after a time he -stopped talking about them. That was when he began to fall under their -influence. They sent him invitations to dinner without inviting my -mother. And he accepted them.” - -One could see, as it were, the rift opening, and this keen-eyed, -strong-minded girl taking precocious notice of everything and watching -her step-father’s downward progress. - -“Then he took up with this psycho-analysis, pretending he could cure -people of their troubles and change their dispositions by encouraging -them to talk to him freely. I knew he didn’t really believe in it. He -had sneered at it often enough when it first came up. He took to it -simply because it was the way to make money. I fancy the other doctors -looked down on him because of it. At all events they seemed to boycott -him. None of them ever came here, and their wives left off calling on -us. I soon saw there was something wrong. - -“I tried to get my mother to do something, but she wouldn’t or -couldn’t. She had no influence over him apart from her money, and he -was making so much that he was independent of her. And she wouldn’t -leave him. She had no legal grounds, of course. Whatever went on -was carefully concealed from her. He couldn’t have afforded an open -rupture. That would have frightened off his patients.” - -Sarah paused for breath, and my chief and I exchanged looks. It was -a curious revelation, and the strangest part of it was the manner in -which it was being made. The accuser seemed to be also the defender. -There was a very thoughtful wrinkle on Tarleton’s brow, as though he -was listening to more than the words that reached his ear. - -All this time there had been no reference to the Domino Club. I think -we were both rather eager to learn something about that. But Miss -Neobard didn’t appear to need prompting. She came to the subject of her -own accord. - -“At last we almost ceased to see anything of him. He went out night -after night, and didn’t come home till the early morning. He was a -strong man, but his health began to suffer, and I think he was taking -to drink latterly. At one time he kept nothing in the house, but lately -there was brandy in a cupboard, and I have seen him going to it in the -morning as soon as he came down. This was after he had gone to that -abominable club.” - -“The Domino Club?” my chief put in quietly. - -“Yes, I dare say you wonder how I came to know of it. Perhaps you think -I oughtn’t to have taken any notice of what was going on. It was my -mother’s business, really, but she was determined to see nothing, and I -had to protect her.” - -The explanation was given with a touch of defiance. Was it the true -one? Was it solely zeal on her mother’s behalf that had inspired -the girl of nineteen or twenty to play the part of a detective? Or -had other motives mingled with the avowed one? A touch of feminine -curiosity, perhaps? A subtle temptation to look down into the gulf in -which the man was disappearing? Or else?... - -She saw no need to tell us how she had obtained her knowledge, -apparently. I didn’t think her the kind of girl to employ an agent. She -was quite capable, I felt sure, of searching her step-father’s papers, -or following him secretly. Her object, as far as we were concerned, was -evidently to inculpate his patients even more than himself. - -“It was the women,” she repeated with bitterness, “who dragged him into -it. They wanted a place in which they could have all the excitement of -a night club without the risk of meeting low-class people. There was a -Mrs. Worboise----” I glanced at my chief as I recalled the No. 21 of -the appointment-book, but his lips were firmly compressed----“I feel -convinced that she provided some of the money. But there were others, -too, plenty of them.” - -I was thankful that she stopped there without mentioning more names. My -chief also seemed to think that she had said enough for the present. - -“Very well, Miss Neobard. I am sure that you have acted for the best -in giving me this information, and I’m very much obliged to you. Now -suppose we drive round to the Club for you to identify the body.” - -The sight of Evans, the doctor’s chauffeur, in front dried up the -girl’s flow of speech, and the drive was a silent one. Arrived at -Vincent Studios I noticed that Tarleton stood back to let the young -lady go in front, and that she took her way without hesitation towards -the door bearing the name of Loftus, A.R.A. The policeman we had -left in charge opened the door to us, and my chief again tested Miss -Neobard’s knowledge by waiting for her to precede us. But this time the -test failed. - -“Where is the body?” she asked in a whisper, coming to a stand in the -narrow passage. - -“This way.” Sir Frank gravely took the girl’s arm in his own and led -her straight to the spot. Whether she quivered as they approached the -alcove I could not tell, but there was no mistaking her agitation when -she caught sight of the stiff form and pallid face. A stifled cry -escaped her lips. She leaned forward impulsively, almost as if she had -been going to embrace the corpse, and then straightened herself up with -a shudder. - -“How dreadful he looks!” she gasped. - -There was some excuse for the exclamation, out of place as it seemed at -such a moment, and from her lips. The leaden tinge that had struck my -attention earlier in the day had deepened and spread over the face and -neck, and had become noticeable in the hands as well. The roughness was -also accentuated, giving the skin the look of crude parchment in need -of scraping before it could be written on. My experience was not enough -to tell me whether these were unusual symptoms, and remembering the -caution my chief had given me, I was careful to make no remark on them. -I watched the great expert’s face, but I might as well have watched the -dead man’s for any information it gave me. He had drawn out his golden -mascot, as it were unconsciously, and was swinging it with more than -usual deliberation as he scanned the ghastly features with an air of -the deepest abstraction. - -Sarah Neobard was less successful in hiding her emotions. In spite of -the constraint she was evidently putting on herself I detected a tear -edging its way down her cheek. Perhaps her memories of the dead were -not all bitter ones. Perhaps there had been a time when he had treated -her with kindness. Perhaps--but my speculations were cut short by a -self-assertive step behind us. - -All three of us turned round to see Captain Charles striding down -the deserted room. By this time the red lights had been put out. The -daylight reached everywhere, and gave the whole place an inexpressibly -dreary, discomforting look. The gauze curtains showed bare and shabby, -and the cushioned divans and couches revealed wine and coffee stains. -The floor was dusty and discoloured. A comparison occurred to me -between the dismal scene of revelry and the feelings of the revellers -themselves as they awoke next day with jaded nerves and scorched -palates and guilty recollections of their orgy. - -Captain Charles was bursting with self-importance. - -“I have just come from the Foreign Office,” he began, when Sir Frank -pulled him up rather peremptorily. - -“Be good enough to wait a moment, Inspector.” He turned to the -distressed girl. “You identify this as the body of your step-father, -Dr. Weathered?” - -She bowed faintly. “Yes--though it is fearfully changed!” - -“That is sufficient. Do you feel able to go back by yourself, or would -you rather have someone to escort you?” - -“I would rather be alone,” she murmured. - -“Very well; then I need not keep you.” He looked away towards the -outer door of the room, but the girl stood hesitating. - -“Will it--shall you--the body?” she inquired in a broken voice. - -“The body must be removed to my house first for me to ascertain the -cause of death,” Tarleton said kindly. “After that I hope to arrange -for it to be buried from your house privately. Meanwhile, the less you -say to anyone the better.” - -She bent her head gratefully, and I took her as far as the door of the -studios, and saw her walk away. When I got back the Inspector was in -the full flood of his report. - -“I have never seen the Foreign Office more upset about anything,” he -was saying. “And the Slavonian Embassy is in a regular turmoil. It -appears that the Ambassador had no idea of where His Royal Highness -was last night. He slipped out quietly without saying anything, with -the Chancellor of Legation, Baron Novara. Baron Novara is a member of -the Domino Club; he has always looked on it as a perfectly reputable -place, a fashionable resort--in fact, like Hurlingham or the Prince’s -skating-rink; and he had no idea that he was risking anything in -bringing the Crown Prince here. At least so he says. The Ambassador -is furious and has ordered him to go home by to-night’s express and -explain matters to the King, if he can.” - -My chief listened to the excited Charles with a good deal of -indifference, I thought. - -“The sum and substance of it all is that they want the affair hushed -up, I suppose?” - -I listened for the Inspector’s answer with an eagerness which I did my -very best to hide. I am not sure that I did hide the relief with which -I heard it. - -“It _must_ be hushed up,” he cried with positive indignation. “The -Chancellor was fool enough to put in the official circular to the Press -of the Crown Prince’s movements that he was present at a dance at the -Domino Club last night.” - -“That will be good news for Madame Bonnell,” the consultant observed -dryly. “Is there any idea at the Embassy that the Prince’s life was -aimed at?” - -Captain Charles glanced round cautiously and lowered his voice. - -“That’s the worst of it. The Bolsheviks are working their hardest to -upset the monarchy in Slavonia, and it is believed that one of their -agents in this country obtained admission to the club last night -disguised as a woman.” - -“Zenobia!” I could no more keep in the ejaculation than I could still -the beating of my heart as I gave it vent. - -My two companions turned sharply and looked at me, the Inspector with -a certain grudging respect, my chief with a slight frown of something -very like disdain. I bit my tongue too late. - -“Zenobia seems to have made a bad guess at the Prince’s identity,” -Tarleton said mercilessly. “Unless His Royal Highness wore an -Inquisitor’s costume, too?” - -The Captain’s face fell as he responded to the question. - -“I didn’t inquire about that, Sir Frank,” he admitted. “I’ll go round -again and find out.” - -“Do, please. It will be time enough to consider Zenobia’s part in -the mystery when we have heard from the theatrical costumiers. One -moment----” Captain Charles had taken a step towards the exit--“I -should like you to wait till I have put a question to Madame Bonnell.” - -He touched the nearest bell-push as he spoke, and the Inspector and I -looked at each other with curiosity as to his purpose. The bell was -promptly answered by Gerard, and within a few moments the proprietress -of the club sailed into the room. - -She was decidedly more at ease than she had been when we interviewed -her first. Touches of mourning had been added to her elegant dress, -and her whole manner had been toned down to that of a dignified lady -in distress. Tarleton appeared to meet this assumption by an added -roughness in addressing her. - -“Will you be good enough to tell me the rules of the Domino Club as to -the admission of visitors?” - -Madame Bonnell put her head on one side for a moment, giving herself -the air of a person who was considering whether to grant a favour. - -“I see no objection to that, Sir Frank. You are Sir Frank Tarleton, are -you not?” - -The question was almost impudent. The physician ignored it with a sharp -“Well?” - -“Every member was entitled to one card of admission for a friend for -each dance. He was required to enter the name of the friend, and the -costume he was coming in, in the club register.” - -“Let me see the register, please.” - -Madame had evidently expected this demand. She drew herself up. - -“The register is confidential. It contains the names of all the -members. I keep it for my private information, and I can’t show it to -anyone else.” - -Tarleton turned to the Police Inspector with a shrug. “I must ask you -to do your duty, after all, I’m afraid.” - -The Frenchwoman turned red with excitement. - -“But what does this mean? Have you seen the papers?” She produced an -evening paper from her dress, one of those evening papers that come out -early in the forenoon. “Here it is announced that His Royal Highness -the Crown Prince of Slavonia honoured me by his presence here last -night. My club is under royal patronage, you see, gentlemen. This is -not an affair for the police.” - -My chief had described Captain Charles as thorough. He showed his -quality as soon as the angry woman had spoken. First setting a whistle -to his lips, he stepped forward and placed a firm hand on her arm. - -“I arrest you in the King’s name.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE BOOKS OF THE DOMINO CLUB - - -It was at once evident that Sir Frank Tarleton had taken the measure of -his opponent accurately. As soon as she felt the police officer’s touch -Madame Bonnell’s confidence deserted her, and she collapsed in a state -of mingled panic and bewilderment. - -“_Mon Dieu!_ But what have I done? What is it that I am accused of?” -She looked imploringly from Charles to Tarleton and from him to me. - -It was the Inspector who answered. - -“Obstructing the officers of the law in the course of their duty is the -charge at present. There may be others later on. Meanwhile I have to -caution you that anything you say will be taken down and may be used in -evidence against you.” - -Madame’s reception of the stereotyped warning convinced me that this -was the first occasion on which she had come into collision with the -English law. It appeared to impress her favourably, and to dispel her -first terrors. - -“But there is some mistake,” she protested. “I did not understand. I -have no wish to resist the law. I thought there was an understanding -that this misfortune should not be dealt with by the police.” - -“Nonsense,” my chief interjected roughly. “It is being dealt with by -the police. They have been in possession of these premises since five -o’clock this morning--since you called them in yourself. Do you intend -to produce the register, or must we search for it?” - -Madame Bonnell gave a last sigh of reluctance. Then she was all -submission. She led the way out of the dancing-hall into the adjoining -premises. Her private apartment was between the kitchen and the row of -dressing-rooms for the accommodation of the dancers who preferred to -assume their costumes on the spot. Drawn curtains on one side concealed -what was no doubt Madame’s bed; the rest of the room having the aspect -of a business man’s parlour, furnished with a roll-top desk, a typing -machine and shelves for books and correspondence. In one corner was a -cupboard with a stout door which the proprietress unlocked with a show -of eagerness, and threw open for our inspection. - -The contents of the cupboard seemed innocent enough. A private ledger, -a file of accounts, a cash-box into whose contents Tarleton forbore -to pry, and, more important for our purpose, two thin volumes bound -in black leather, one of which was labelled “_Members_” and the other -“_Visitors_.” It would have been unchivalrous to speculate as to the -contents of certain little bottles and boxes on a lower shelf which had -a look of feminine elegance. - -My chief pointed to the two black-bound volumes. - -“Will you take charge of these books, Cassilis. We can examine them at -our leisure.” - -The Frenchwoman uttered a faint groan as I stretched out my hand to -obey. I could have groaned in sympathy with her. And yet I was not in -any fear on my own account. I had no reason to think that my name would -be found in the Visitors’-book. I had been too careful for that. But -there was another name which I had only too much reason for expecting -to see in the other volume. And I cursed the proprietress in my heart -for not destroying the dangerous record while it was in her power. She -had fancied herself secure, and had cared nothing for the security of -her patrons. What did it matter to her who might be incriminated, as -long as her livelihood was not threatened? True, she had done her best -at the last moment to prevent the authorities from gaining access to -these books. But it was easy to see her self-interest in that. Those -records were part of her stock-in-trade. They gave her a hold on the -members of the club, who might be disposed to forsake it as soon as -any hint of the tragedy got abroad. In that case she had only to say -to them, “Leave the club, throw me over, and I take my books to the -newspaper offices, and sell them for what they will fetch.” - -Such was the situation, so far as I could see it. Either the reputation -of the Domino Club was to be saved, and all was to go on as before; -or it would be for Madame’s benefit that the scandal should be as -widespread as possible, and that every member and visitor should pay -heavily for having his or her name kept out of it. In parting with -these two volumes she was parting with her most valuable weapons as a -blackmailer. - -Whether any such considerations as these influenced my chief, I could -not tell. Outwardly he seemed to have only one end in view--the tracing -of the crime to its perpetrator. As soon as I had possessed myself of -the two books he made a sign to Captain Charles. - -“It will be as well for you to lock this cupboard and keep the key for -the present. Unless there is anything that Madame Bonnell particularly -wishes to remove first.” - -Madame glanced longingly at the row of mysterious little boxes and -bottles, but she prudently shook her head. - -“_Merci, monsieur._ I will take nothing. I wish to have no secrets from -the police. I prefer to replace my perfumes from the shop.” - -Tarleton smiled with a grudging respect. This was an adversary after -his own heart, one who knew every point in the game, and knew when -to play for safety. The Inspector locked the door and pocketed the -key with the same wooden precision with which he would have taken the -number of a taxi or arrested the Crown Prince of Slavonia. - -“Is Madame Bonnell still under arrest?” he inquired stolidly. - -“Not as far as I am concerned,” the physician said lightly. “My -business with Madame is over. All I have to do now is to make the -medical examination, and to wait for the result of your inquiries -elsewhere.” - -A significant nod conveyed to the Inspector that there was no occasion -to let the Frenchwoman know of the search that had been set on foot -among the costumiers. It was not unlikely that the proprietress of the -club could have thrown some light on the identity of Salome and the -mysterious Leopardess, and could have told us whether the Crown Prince -had masqueraded as Zenobia, if she had chosen. But it was a good deal -more likely that any question put to her on the subject would result in -the parties being privately warned. - -Inspector Charles formally released his prisoner who affected to take -the step as a matter of course. I had remarked, however, a light of -intense gratification in her black eyes when Sir Frank announced that -he had dismissed her from the case. She impressed me as the sort of -woman who could never breathe quite easily in the near neighbourhood of -the police. - -The arrangements for the removal of the body were soon made. A covered -police-van was requisitioned to convey it to the retired house in -Montague Street, and the consultant and I drove on in advance, taking -the black-covered volumes with us. He talked to me quite cheerfully on -the way. - -“An interesting woman, that. Her mind would be a curious study for a -psychologist--a real one, I mean, not a charlatan like this wretched -Weathered. The words right and wrong have no meaning at all for her, I -should say. She must find it difficult to understand our point of view. -In her opinion, I expect, the only thing that matters is that the name -of the Crown Prince should be kept clear of scandal. If he has chosen -to commit a murder, all that is necessary is that the King of Slavonia -should send me the Order of Saint Somebody or other, and of course the -investigation will be dropped.” - -We reached the house in good time for lunch, and my kindly chief -pressed me to make a good meal. - -“You are looking fagged,” he observed. “If you weren’t a teetotaller I -should prescribe a half-bottle of Burgundy. Our work is only beginning. -As soon as lunch is over I am going through the Members’-book, -comparing the names in it with those in Weathered’s appointment-book. -In that way we may get a key to the mysterious numbers.” - -I did my best to conceal the apprehension with which I heard of this -intention. I could see the search narrowing by degree, and gradually -isolating a few names among which I had too much reason to fear -that one would be found which I would have given all I possessed to -exclude. I made an effort to brighten up and eat the good things before -me. The doctor knew how to make the best of life, and an excellent -digestion enabled him to enjoy the lobster mayonnaise and the tender -cutlets provided by his accomplished cook. He drank nothing stronger -than claret, but it was such claret as is not often found in private -cellars, and its perfume reached my nostrils across the table like the -breath of roses. - -As soon as I thought he was sufficiently warmed and cheered to relax -a little I ventured to put the question that had been trembling on my -lips for hours. - -“Is it too soon to ask if you have formed any opinion as to the cause -of death, Sir Frank?” - -He looked at me rather sharply, and his bushy eyebrows drew together. - -“I can form no opinion till I have made an autopsy. If you mean have I -made any conjecture, I have made several, any one of which may be right -or may be wrong. Up to a certain point I am inclined to agree with your -theory.” - -“With my theory!” I was surprised into repeating. - -“Yes. If you recollect, you suggested that whoever administered opium -to Weathered had no intention of causing death. The object seems to -have been to send him off into a state of unconsciousness so as to -obtain possession of his keys; and we know what the keys were wanted -for.” - -“To suppress the evidence against some patient, you mean?” I faltered. - -“That is one view. Another possible view is that the person who stole -the case-book wanted to obtain evidence for his own purposes. He may -have wanted to put pressure on some patient--or patients.” - -“Oh, no!” The protest escaped from me almost unawares. A slight lifting -of Tarleton’s brows caused me to qualify it the next moment. “I mean -that wasn’t my theory.” I pulled myself together as I went on. “Putting -together everything we learnt from Madame Bonnell and from the waiter -and from Miss Neobard, I suspect that Weathered had become a thorough -scoundrel. My view is that he was taking advantage of the confessions -made to him as a medical man to blackmail his patients, and that one of -them was driven to desperation. She thought she could deliver herself -by obtaining access to his safe, and destroying the documents. But she -never dreamed that she was giving him a fatal dose.” - -“I needn’t tell you that would be no defence in the eye of the law if -it actually was fatal,” the specialist put in grimly. “So you think it -was the work of a woman, do you?” - -“The evidence, Gerard’s evidence, is to that effect, surely? He -described three women in connection with the masked Inquisitor--not one -man.” - -“He described one woman as being rather like a man. He suspected -Zenobia of being His Royal Highness.” - -I hardly knew what to say. If there were any chance of the waiter’s -theory being adopted by my chief, the relief to me would be as great as -to Madame Bonnell herself. But dare I hope anything of the kind? The -situation was so critical that I feared to commit myself one way or the -other. I fell back on the other point in doubt. - -“Do you consider it possible, sir, that an otherwise harmless dose -of morphia might prove fatal if the person to whom it was given had -already saturated his system with opium?” - -Again the specialist’s voice had a note of surprise. - -“I should have thought your own knowledge was amply sufficient to -answer that question, Cassilis. In ordinary circumstances, no; quite -the contrary, the dose would fail even to produce the effect intended; -it would hardly render the victim insensible. But suppose that he had -just taken his maximum dose, and the extra quantity was administered -immediately after, then the effect might be very serious, indeed.” - -Somehow I felt that I was being fenced with. Tarleton must have -perceived a lack of candour on my part in discussing the problem, and -decided to withhold his confidence for the time being. I had to remind -myself of the admissions I had been driven to make in the course of the -morning. My chief knew that I had been a visitor to the Domino Club on -one occasion. He knew that I had heard something of Dr. Weathered, and -heard it in confidence, as he supposed, or affected to believe, from a -patient of my own. He must have put two and two together by this time. -Some inkling of the truth must be in his mind. It did not call for very -much acuteness on his part to see in me the confidential adviser of -one of Weathered’s patients--perhaps one of his victims--possibly of -the very one who had administered the fatal dose, and carried off the -incriminating book. - -I resolved to hold my tongue for the future. I would make no more -attempts to sound Sir Frank, and would trust to his respect for -professional secrecy to protect me from any awkward questions from him. -The resolution was easier to take than to keep. - -As soon as lunch was over the consultant led the way upstairs to his -study. It appeared that the autopsy was to be postponed; the first -business was to be the examination of the books that Madame Bonnell had -been so unwilling to give up. - -The physician seated himself at his massive bureau, a combination of -desk and cabinet, and drew the volume labelled “_Members_” in front of -him, while I placed myself respectfully on a chair at the side. - -“The list of members isn’t a very large one,” was his first -observation. “One could hardly expect it to be. The Domino Club has -more the character of a secret society than a club; a society for the -pursuit of illicit pleasures, let us say. Whom have we here?” He opened -the book as he spoke, and ran his eye slowly down the first page. “The -Duke of Altringham--I am not surprised at seeing his name; General Sir -Francis Uppingham, K.C.B.; the Countess of Eardisley; Honourable Janet -Wilbraham; Mrs. Worboise; Sir George Castleton, Bart.--h’m, we are -beginning to come across some of the names in the appointment-book, but -I don’t see anything to account for the numbers attached to them. And -I shall be very much surprised if those numbers don’t contain the true -key to the mystery.” - -He paused in reflection, and took Weathered’s diary from his pocket. -“The first thing, it seems to me, is to make out a list of the members -who were also patients, and to underline the names of those who had a -number as well. It is among them that we may expect to find Zenobia -and Salome and possibly the Leopardess as well, though her behaviour -suggests that she can hardly have been a patient. She may have been one -formerly.” - -I listened anxiously. Every moment I was expecting the name which -I foresaw too surely would be found in the final list of suspects. -Suddenly Tarleton turned to me with an unexpected order. - -“While I am comparing these two books you can go through the -Visitors’-book It may interest you to find the entry of your own name.” - -I could not tell whether my dismay was visible to the gray eyes that -seemed to look at me with such perfect indifference. My dilemma was -truly critical. I knew, of course, that my name did not appear in the -volume I was required to search. And if I pretended to look for it -I should land myself in a series of traps. My chief would want some -explanation of its absence; and what explanation could I give? If I -said that I had been present under a false name he would naturally -expect me to tell him that name. And he would expect me to tell him -at once, before I opened the book and began the mock search. I had -barely a second in which to make up my mind. If only my own reputation, -or even my own life, had been at stake, I think I should have thrown -myself on his mercy, and come out with the whole truth. But I was held -as in an iron vice. The knowledge that the police were actively engaged -in tracing the purchasers of the costumes which had been described to -us by Gerard haunted my consciousness. I was driven in despair to tell -my first direct falsehood to my chief. - -I opened the volume hurriedly as I spoke. - -“I don’t think I shall find my own name here.” - -“Why not?” The question came instantly, though it came in a quiet, -friendly tone. - -“My recollection is that I gave some other name. I am trying to -remember what. I was rather doubtful about the character of the place, -and didn’t want to run the risk of it being known that I had been -there. I considered the name didn’t matter; I thought it was merely a -form.” I was glancing feverishly through the pages as I talked, trying -to pick out some name too common to be easily identified. “Ah, yes, I -remember now--Carter.” - -I placed my finger on an entry nine months old. A Mr. Robert Carter had -been introduced on that date by a Captain Smethwick. - -Much to my relief Tarleton accepted the explanation readily. - -“I dare say a good many of the names in that book are equally -fictitious,” he said with good humour. “Look and see what name the -Crown Prince took last night.” - -It was easily found. A Count Donau had been introduced by the -Chancellor of the Slavonian Embassy. - -“Any other visitors?” the consultant asked lightly. - -I read aloud one or two masculine names, but he pulled me up. - -“Any ladies?” - -There were two lady visitors. I read out both their names without -misgiving. One was a Lady Greatorex, the other a Mrs. Antrobus, both of -them assumed names for aught I knew. - -The specialist paid little attention for the moment. He was busy with -his duplicate list. I watched him with increasing anxiety as he ticked -off name after name. At the end of half an hour he had completed his -task for the time being. - -“I have here thirty-eight names of people who were both patients of -Weathered and members of the Domino Club. And all of them, without -exception, were patients first. It is clear that he started the club -for their benefit, at once to keep them under his influence, and -to confirm them in the very inclinations he pretended to relieve -them from. The man was a moral monster. If ever Satan had an active -instrument on earth this Weathered was the man. And I doubt if the law -could have touched him.” - -His words almost invited me to say, “In that case the law can very well -afford to shut its eyes to his fate.” - -The adviser of the Home Office shook his head. “That depends. The law -must first know what was his fate. It looks to me as though we were as -far off from knowing that as ever. We know neither how he died, nor at -whose hands, nor the motive of the assassin at present.” - -“Doesn’t everything point to his death being more or less an accident?” -I ventured to plead. - -“On the contrary, I should say that everything points to its being a -deliberate and deeply-planned murder.” - -I gave a horrified gasp. Before I could collect myself sufficiently to -take in this formidable judgment I was saved from exposing myself by -the familiar sound of the telephone bell. - -In our hasty departure from the house that morning I had neglected to -disconnect the receiver in my bedroom, and connect the one downstairs. -I sprang out of the room and upstairs, thankful for the interruption. -I was destined to receive a second shock, though a less unnerving one. -The call again came from Inspector Charles, who had just received a -report from one of his subordinates engaged on the case. - -The costumier who had supplied the dress of Salome had just been found. -The costume had been delivered two days before to Miss Sarah Neobard, -Warwick Street, Cavendish Square. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE CAUSE OF DEATH - - -I waited with sickening apprehension for a few instants. - -“And the others?--the Zenobia costume, has that been traced?” I was -driven to ask. - -“Not yet. There are several more places to be visited.” - -The respite gave me time to breathe. As I slowly descended the stairs, -my mind became absorbed in pondering the news I had just received, and -the use to which it might be put. - -The figure of Salome came before me as I had seen her the night before, -pursuing the hooded Inquisitor, luring him to dance with her, and -keeping a jealous eye on his movements when he was engaged with other -partners. Astounded as I was to learn that the mysterious dancer was -no other than the dead man’s step-daughter, it did not take me long to -reconcile the intelligence with her remarkable character, as revealed -in the course of the morning’s investigations. - -I began to see depths in the strange girl’s nature of which she herself -had hardly been aware. It was not only indignation on her mother’s -behalf that had prompted her to trace her step-father’s doings. It was -not merely curiosity that had brought her to the Domino Club to watch -his movements. Her fierce denunciation of the women patients whom she -had accused of depraving him had been inspired by a secret feeling of -which she was herself unconscious. The man had fascinated her unawares. -Without knowing it she had been jealous on her own account as well as -her mother’s. In a strange ignorance of her own feelings which was yet -a natural result of the relationship in which she had been brought up, -she had continued to believe herself his enemy. She had imagined that -hatred was the passion that inspired her to disguise herself and come -to watch him, to dance with him time after time, and to pursue him with -restless vigilance when he transferred his attentions to anyone else. - -Meanwhile it seemed to me that this discovery offered me a chance of -diverting inquiry from myself and from one in whom I was far more -deeply interested than in Sarah Neobard. I must try to concentrate Sir -Frank Tarleton’s suspicions on Salome, and induce him to pass over the -other characters to whom his attention had been drawn by the evidence -of the waiter Gerard and the entries in the books. - -I entered his study again to find him engaged in drawing up a list of -names. I let my eye steal towards the paper as I approached and my -heart sank as I read the one just written--“_Lady Violet Bredwardine_.” - -“The mystery is solved, apparently,” I announced in a tone of -confidence. “The Salome costume has been traced to Miss Neobard.” - -To my discomfiture the consultant merely gave the nod of one who hears -what he expected. - -“Poor girl; I was afraid of it.” - -He went on writing without further remark, while I dropped into a chair -and looked on with sickly apprehension. At last he looked up. - -“Listen, Cassilis. I have made a complete list of the names which -appear in the members’ roll and also in the appointment-book with -numbers attached to them. We have still to find out what the numbers -mean, of course. Have you formed any theory on that point?” - -I shook my head. I was honestly ignorant, and if I had been able to -make any guess I should have refrained, for fear of leading Tarleton in -the very direction I was anxious to turn him away from. - -“All I can conjecture at this stage is that the numbers refer to pages -in the book that has been abstracted from the safe,” the physician said -thoughtfully. “But I confess that that explanation doesn’t satisfy -myself. My instinct tells me that these names are the names of persons -with whom Weathered had some peculiar relation, perhaps financial, -perhaps....” He paused and shook his head. “At all events, if Madame -Bonnell told us the truth in saying that he went in mortal fear of some -of his fellow-members, I am convinced that the names of those whom he -feared are in this list.” - -He passed it over to me. Of the dozen names it contained more than half -were those of women. But I had no eyes for more names than one. I was -racking my brain for some convincing argument against the course which -my chief was evidently bent on following. - -“Miss Neobard’s name is not in this list,” I objected. “And yet we -know now that she was present last night, and passed more time in -Weathered’s company than anyone else. And she had very strong motives -for regarding him with hatred.” - -Again Tarleton exhibited signs of surprise, almost of impatience. - -“It seems to me, Cassilis, that you have a good deal to learn in the -analysis of human nature, or at all events of feminine nature, if you -consider that hatred was the motive that inspired that young woman to -follow her step-father to the Domino Club last night. Hatred of the -other women who were there, if you like, but certainly not hatred of -him.” - -It was difficult for me to keep up the pretence of believing in a -theory which my own judgment had already discarded. I fell back on -another point. - -“What strikes me, sir, that all the persons whose names appear in your -list were old frequenters of the club. They had had many previous -opportunities of drugging Weathered. Last night was the first occasion -on which his step-daughter was present, and last night was the first -time he was attacked.” - -Tarleton accepted this argument more amicably. - -“Now you have made a real point. It might be a good point if there -were no other suspicious features in the case. But it is open to this -objection that your argument cuts both ways. Sarah Neobard lived in -her step-father’s house, and had every opportunity of administering -drugs to him there. Why should she have chosen the Domino Club for -such a purpose? And if her object was to obtain his keys, she might -have managed that when he was asleep at home far more easily than -anywhere else. That’s the one point we mustn’t lose sight of in this -affair--that the motive was to gain access to Weathered’s safe. Revenge -was a secondary consideration.” - -I felt myself fairly cornered. Prudence compelled me to assent to my -chief’s reasoning. - -“I will ask you to make a copy of this final list and send it round to -Captain Charles,” he went on to say. “The police may be able to find -out something about these twelve persons which will narrow the inquiry -down to one or two.” - -I held out a hand that almost trembled for the paper, and hastened -to fold it up and slip it into my pocket. The thought had instantly -occurred to me that I might omit one name in the copy to be sent to the -police without much risk. If the omission were discovered it would be -put down to carelessness, and meanwhile time would have been gained. - -Tarleton had risen to his feet. - -“And now it is time to examine the body,” he said gravely. - -I followed him out of the room and into the laboratory, where the -corpse lay stretched on a marble slab, ready for the surgical knife. -The sight distracted me for a time from my other anxiety. I was -profoundly puzzled by the symptoms I have described already. The -grayness I had remarked had grown deeper, and the whole surface of -the skin was corrugated by tiny wrinkles, so that it presented the -appearance of a mummy dried by the embalmer. It was impossible to -attribute these signs to the action of opium in any quantity of which I -had experimental knowledge. My heart sank as I remembered the ominous -pronouncement of my chief. If he were right, and another drug, more -deadly than opium, had been administered by an unknown hand to the -masked Inquisitor during last night’s revel, the situation would be -terrible indeed. The murder, the deeply-planned murder, as Sir Frank -had termed it in advance, would be attributed to the same hand that had -abstracted the keys and carried off the case-book from the safe. - -The proceedings in which I had now to play the part of assistant were -of too gruesome a nature to be described in anything but a medical -report. It is enough to say that the general result was negative as far -as my medical knowledge went. There was no sign of any organic injury. -There was nothing in the condition of the heart to explain the fatal -event. The internal symptoms corresponded closely with the external -ones. Everything pointed to death having been brought about by the -action of a poison similar in some of its effects to opium, yet having -a peculiar influence on the interior membranes as well as on the outer -cuticle. But what that poison was I was at a loss to tell. - -The specialist seemed to be as completely baffled as myself. He pursued -the examination almost in silence, only speaking from time to time to -ask me to hand him the different reagents used in testing for poisons. -It was quickly evident that none of the common poisons was present. -Anything like strychnine or arsenic was out of the question from the -first. The rapidity with which death had taken place eliminated the -possibility of germs. More subtle agents, such as belladonna and -aconite, were tested for in vain. In the midst of my overpowering -anxiety I was moved to admiration by the expert’s extraordinary skill. -All kinds of tests of which I had never heard were brought to bear; -drugs unknown to me even by name were called into requisition; minute -discolorations were examined by a powerful microscope; a galvanic -battery was applied to one organ, and the X-ray to another. And still -there was no positive result. - -Hours passed away unnoticed in the laborious search. It was nearly -dinner-time when Tarleton at length straightened himself up with a look -of finality, walked across the room, and began washing his hands. - -“I have now tried for every agent known to the British Pharmacopœia -that might possibly have produced death with such symptoms as those, -and not one is present,” he said with extreme gravity. - -I felt myself shivering. If anyone else had been speaking I should have -thought he was attributing the death to a supernatural cause. - -“There are only two possibilities left, so far as I can see,” he -continued. “One is that I am dealing with a murderer whose knowledge of -poisons is more extensive than my own.” - -I shook my head in protest. - -“In that case,” Tarleton went on deliberately, “he must be a foreigner. -And we must be prepared to find that the life of the Crown Prince was -aimed at, after all. The Bolsheviks are in close relation with a party -among the Chinese. It may well be that the Chinese possess the secret -of treating opium in such a way as to make it produce effects unknown -to Western science. I shall have to ask Charles to find out what -costume the Prince wore last night, and to learn a little more about -the Chancellor of the Slavonian Legation.” - -He broke off for a few moments, and I breathed more freely than I had -done for many hours. He finished drying his hands before he spoke again. - -“There is a second possibility. There is one drug known to me which -does in fact produce appearances exactly like those we have seen. -But it is a drug not mentioned in the Pharmacopœia, and I had every -reason to believe that I was the only person in this part of the world -who had any of it in his possession. I keep it in a sealed bottle in -my private safe, and I am now going to see if that bottle has been -tampered with, and any of the poison is missing.” - -The consultant was facing me as he spoke, and his keen gray eyes were -fixed on me with an expression which might have been merely meant to -impress me with the gravity of the situation. But my conscience took -the alarm. For the first time a sickening conviction seized me that -I was being watched. I told myself that my chief had noticed signs -of confusion and dread in my behaviour, and had begun to entertain -a suspicion that I knew more about the tragedy than I had chosen to -reveal. - -Now it seemed his suspicion had gone deeper. He was actually asking -himself if I had taken advantage of my opportunities as an inmate -of his house to search for a more subtle drug than morphia, and had -stooped to rob him. And although I knew myself to be innocent of any -such action, I trembled at the idea. If the bottle or any of its -contents should be missing, how could I possibly hope to exculpate -myself? - -I dared not to open my lips. Tarleton, with something like a sigh, -went towards the cabinet in which his drugs were stored, took out his -bunch of keys and applied one of them to a small steel safe on an -inner shelf. I held my breath as the door swung open. He put in his -hand, took out a square glass bottle of the size known to chemists as -four-ounce, and held it up to the light. - -The bottle appeared to be full of a gray powder. The glass stopper was -covered with black sealing-wax, and he bent his head over it, minutely -scrutinizing the edges of the wax, and the impression of a seal on the -flat top. - -“Thank Heaven!” - -I echoed the ejaculation in my thoughts as he raised his head and -looked round at me with a smile of unmistakable relief. - -“It is exactly as I left it I sealed it with my own signet ring.” He -extended his little finger for me to see. “The seal is intact. If this -was the poison used, it wasn’t obtained here.” - -I had reason to feel satisfied. I knew my chief’s generous nature -well enough to feel sure that he would feel remorse for his momentary -suspicion of me, and would be disposed to atone for it by shutting his -eyes to whatever else might point to my being concerned in the case. In -fact he now proceeded to give me a short holiday. - -“I shan’t want you for the rest of the day, Cassilis, if you want to -go out. I think we have done all we can till we hear further from the -police. I am now going to think quietly over the problem as it stands.” - -I was thankful to be released. I had certain pressing business to -attend to. But first of all I went to my own room and made a copy of -the list of names I had been charged to send to Inspector Charles. And -although the paper entrusted to me contained twelve names, the one -which I posted to Scotland Yard only contained eleven. - -My own business took me to a little street within a stone’s throw of -Piccadilly Circus in which I had rented a room ever since I had taken -up my abode with Sir Frank Tarleton. It was my private retreat in which -I kept up a few friendships that I did not want my chief to know of; an -asylum in which I could resume my independence for a few hours when I -was tired of the regular life I was compelled to lead under my senior’s -eye. I had taken the room under my Christian name of Bertrand for -greater security. It was from this room that I had gone in disguise to -the Domino Club, and it was here that I had dropped my disguise again, -little dreaming that before twelve hours had passed it would have -become a precious possession. - -Luckily I had taken the precaution to leave it under lock and key in an -old suit-case that I kept under the bed. As soon as I had let myself -into the room and fastened the door securely, I dragged out the case -and opened it with feverish haste. So far all was well. The costume lay -exactly as I had left it. And now what was to be done with it? - -I thought out the problem carefully. I followed out in imagination the -search of the police among the theatrical costumiers. At any moment -they might come to a certain little Jew in Wardour Street, and force -him to disclose the name and address to which this very costume had -been sent more than a year ago. And the next step would surely be for -them to inquire what had become of it. - -I thought then, and I think now, that I took the most prudent course in -the circumstances. I first wrote a letter. Then I locked up the case -again, labelled it, and carried it up Shaftesbury Avenue to the post -office. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE LEOPARD’S CLAWS - - -Inspector Charles presented himself at the house in Montague Street -while Sir Frank and I were at breakfast the next morning. My chief -ordered him to be shown in to us. - -The Inspector’s manner struck me as rather more reserved than it had -been yesterday. It very quickly appeared that he was acting under -instructions not received from the medical adviser of the Home Office. - -“The Chief Commissioner is anxious to know if you have any report to -make as to the cause of death in this Domino Club affair,” he began by -saying, as soon as he had sat down. - -Tarleton frowned slightly. Then he laid down his knife and fork and -faced the Inspector. - -“I don’t expect to complete my report for some time yet. I have certain -inquiries to make which may take anything from a few days to several -months.” - -Captain Charles looked astonished, as he well might. - -“Then it isn’t a simple case of opium-poisoning?” - -“It isn’t a simple case, certainly. I don’t say that opium was not -administered. By the way, I should be glad if you could find out for me -what disguise the Crown Prince was wearing when he went to the Club.” - -The Captain drew himself up. - -“I ascertained that yesterday. He wore a plain black domino with a -hood.” - -“Ah! Rather like Weathered’s costume, then?” - -I could have answered that question better than Charles, I thought. -There had been more than one black domino worn at the fatal dance, but -none that had any real semblance to Weathered’s remarkable costume. -The pointed peak with the two eye-slits in the cloth instead of a mask -had plainly distinguished the founder of the Club from everyone else -present. Of course I dared not offer my testimony as a witness. I did -not think it prudent even to make a remark. Tarleton might have an -object in putting forward this particular view. - -It quickly appeared what his object was. - -“I don’t think the Commissioner is much inclined to follow up that -clue,” Captain Charles said coldly. “They seem to think in the Foreign -Office that it would do harm to let any idea get abroad that the Crown -Prince was aimed at. It would look as if London wasn’t a safe place for -foreign royalties to visit.” - -The physician shrugged his shoulders impatiently. - -“That has nothing to do with me, Captain Charles. It will be time -enough for the Foreign Office to make their view prevail when we have -something definite to go upon. At present I am dealing with the cause -of death. I want the police, if they can, to find out if the Bolshevik -authorities have ever resorted to poison, and if so, what poison they -use. I imagine they have no restrictions on opium, and I should be -particularly glad to get hold of samples of the opium that is coming -into Russia from China just now.” - -The Inspector pulled a long face. - -“I’ll tell the Commissioner what you say, Sir Frank, of course. But I’m -afraid he won’t much like the idea of the inquiry being dragged out. -His theory is that death was accidental, the only object being to get -hold of the keys of the safe. And if there isn’t going to be any public -prosecution, he wants to close the Club as soon as possible, and send -the woman Bonnell out of the country.” - -For once I saw Tarleton really angry. - -“I trust Sir Hercules will recognize that it is for me to decide -whether the death was accidental, and that he will take no such steps -until he has received my report through the Home Office. Unless you can -undertake that he will hold his hand for the present I must communicate -with Sir James Ponsonby at once.” - -Charles gave way instantly. - -“There’s no need for that, Sir Frank, I’m sure. Sir Hercules McNaught -wouldn’t think of acting contrary to your opinion without consulting -you first. It doesn’t look to him as if the case could be carried much -further; that’s all.” - -“We are only at the beginning of the inquiry,” was the firm answer. -“You haven’t yet completed your search among the costumiers.” - -The Inspector shook his head despondently. - -“We have pretty well exhausted the list of costumiers, and there is -nothing worth reporting, sir. At least the Commissioner thinks it -absurd to attach any importance to Miss Neobard’s presence. He says -she would have had much better opportunities of getting hold of her -step-father’s keys at home.” - -My chief glanced at me. It was the same objection that he had made -himself. - -“We can’t hear anything of a leopard skin,” Charles pursued. “You may -remember, sir, that you expressed the opinion that the leopardess -costume would turn out to be a private one. And the only Zenobia -costume we can trace was furnished a year ago.” - -I stole a glance at the consultant. His keen eyes were no longer on me. - -“To whom was it furnished?” he asked quietly. - -The Inspector took out a note-book and opened it. - -“To the Lady Violet Bredwardine, Grosvenor Place.” - -At last the name had been pronounced, the name that I had so much -dreaded to hear on the lips of the police. Fortunately I had known that -it was coming. I had braced my nerves to meet the shock, and I managed -to preserve an air of complete indifference while I faced the speaker. - -“Well?” - -Tarleton spoke a little sharply. Captain Charles looked at him in mild -wonder. - -“Well?” the specialist repeated impatiently. “What have you ascertained -about Lady Violet Bredwardine?” - -Charles was plainly put out by the question. - -“Her ladyship is the daughter of the Earl of Ledbury. She is quite -young--hardly of age. Sir Hercules McNaught has met her in society.” -His manner conveyed that there was some impropriety in making Lady -Violet’s name the subject of discussion. The day before I had been -inclined to feel some contempt for the worthy Captain, but now I was -only grateful for his stolid front. - -My chief took a very different view, unfortunately. - -“And is that all you have thought it worth while to find out? A peerage -would have told us as much as that. I have no doubt that Sir Hercules -has met many members of the Domino Club in society. It doesn’t follow -that they are to be excluded from the investigation.” - -This time the Inspector did not attempt to conceal his mortification. - -“I beg your pardon, Sir Frank. Do you mean that Lady Violet Bredwardine -is a member of the Domino Club? I hadn’t the slightest reason to -suppose so.” - -It was the consultant’s turn to show surprise. He stared at me. - -“Surely her name was on the list I asked you to furnish to Captain -Charles? I have a distinct recollection of it.” - -I received the question, for which I had been waiting, with perfect -coolness. - -“I seem to recollect it too, sir.” - -The Inspector was already turning over the pages of his note-book. He -looked up at us in triumph. - -“I made a copy of the list exactly as I received it, Sir Frank, and the -name is not here. I am prepared to swear that her ladyship’s name was -not included.” - -Tarleton turned to me. - -“Will you be good enough to bring me the list I gave you to copy. It -looks as though some slip had been made.” - -I had not ventured to destroy the document. To have done so would -have been to expose myself to a serious rebuke, without serving any -useful purpose. Tarleton was not the man to forget such a name as Lady -Violet’s--one of the first that had attracted his attention among those -that appeared in Weathered’s appointment-book with a number attached to -them. All I had hoped to do was to keep the police off her track for a -few hours, and that object had now been achieved. - -The list was actually in my breast pocket, but I went up to my room as -though to fetch it, and returned, carrying it in my hand. I put on an -apologetic air as I handed it to my chief. - -“The name is certainly here, sir. I can only suppose that I must have -left it out of the copy I made for Captain Charles.” - -Tarleton let me off more lightly than I expected. - -“Either you or the Captain left it out, that’s clear,” he said gruffly. -“The point is that Lady Violet was not only a member of the Club; she -was also one of Weathered’s patients, which means that she may have -been in his power, and she was one of those to whom he had given a -special number for some reason that we have still to find out. Perhaps -she may be able to tell us.” - -I could scarcely suppress a shiver. This point had never occurred to -me. I pictured to myself the question being put to the unhappy girl, -and tortured myself with wondering what would be her reply. - -The Inspector’s attitude had undergone a considerable change as he -listened to Tarleton’s information. Evidently he realized that the -police authorities had been rather hasty in coming to the conclusion -that the inquiry was at an end. - -“What you tell me makes a great difference, sir,” he observed -regretfully. “I’ve no doubt the Commissioner will see the necessity of -going further into the case, on this evidence.” - -“There are many reasons for going into it further,” the specialist -returned. “You may tell the Commissioner from me that I suspect a -book has been taken from Dr. Weathered’s safe containing the names -and confidential confessions of his patients, and it is of the utmost -importance that that book should be traced. Until we know that it is -destroyed the reputations of innocent people will be in danger. You may -also tell him that there is grave reason to fear that some unscrupulous -person in London is in possession of a supply of deadly poison, unknown -to science at present; and unless that person can be discovered and the -poison taken out of his or her possession, it may be used to commit -more murders than one.” - -Captain Charles’s expression was almost humble. - -“You may rely on the Commissioner’s giving you all the assistance -in his power, Sir Frank, I’m certain. I’ll follow up Lady Violet -Bredwardine without delay, if that will meet your views.” - -“Thank you. There are two things I should like you to report to me the -moment you know them: Lady Violet’s present address, and where she was -yesterday night.” - -The Inspector scribbled two lines in his note-book, and hurried off. - -Meanwhile my position was becoming more difficult every hour. I had to -look on and see the toils closing round one whom I would have given -my life to protect, without daring to show the least sign of personal -interest in her fate. My own peril, serious as it was, affected me but -little in comparison with hers. I can honestly say that I should have -been ready to draw suspicion on myself if I could have screened her by -so doing. But the very reverse was the case, as I knew too well. The -only course open to me was to hold my tongue, to keep a strict guard -on myself, and to watch for any chance that might present itself of -diverting suspicion from either of us. - -I was afraid to commit myself by any expression of opinion on the case -as it stood against Lady Violet, but I thought I might venture to -remind my chief that she was not the only person implicated. He had -dismissed Sarah Neobard altogether from the inquiry, or so it seemed, -but the mysterious Leopardess remained to be identified. I ventured on -a question. - -“Do you think, Sir Frank, there is any chance of the police getting -on the trail of the woman who wore the leopard skin? According to -the waiter’s evidence she was the one who showed most hostility to -Weathered. She refused to dance with him, you may remember. Somehow -Gerard gave me the impression that she was his only real enemy.” - -I was gratified by Tarleton’s quick response. - -“You are perfectly right, Cassilis. That is the very point I was -considering before you spoke. In my opinion there is very little -likelihood of Charles tracing that woman. I think you and I must try -our hand.” - -I need scarcely say how delighted I was at this prospect. At last I -should be able to devote myself to serving my chief without any dread -of the result. - -“Will it be possible to trace the leopard skin?” I asked. “There are -not many taxidermists in London, are there? I have only heard of one. -We might go round to them, and find out if any skins have passed -through their hands recently. What strikes me is that all the skins I -have seen have been mounted as rugs. I shouldn’t think that unmounted -skins could be very common--skins that could be made part of a costume.” - -My chief had punctuated these suggestions with a series of approving -nods. At the close he spoke. - -“Very good indeed, Cassilis. You have the makings of a detective, I can -see. And now let me explain to you where I see a chance of success. -You may put the taxidermists on one side. Leopard skins are such -perishable things, and the climates in which leopards are killed are -so treacherous, that the skins have to be roughly cured on the spot if -they are to be preserved. And they are too common to be the object of -much care afterwards as a rule. The chances are against any particular -skin having passed through the hands of a taxidermist in London unless -it was to be mounted as a rug.” - -I felt very small as I listened to this reduction of my ideas to -nothing. The specialist had not done. - -“I don’t think it would be at all hopeful to try to trace the skin, -therefore. But I think it quite possible to trace something else. Do -you remember what else about the costume the man Gerard described?” - -“Do you mean the necklace--of leopard’s claws?” I responded in doubt. - -“Yes. I see you don’t grasp the significance of the claws. I must tell -you that the natives of the countries where leopards are found look -upon the claws as having a magical virtue. They place a great value on -them, and take them from the dead leopard at the first opportunity they -find. It is almost impossible for the white man who shoots a leopard to -secure the claws. I doubt if more than one entire set of claws comes to -England in a year. Now you see that in my opinion we have a very much -greater chance of tracing the claws than the skin.” - -I was fairly puzzled. I could follow Tarleton’s reasoning, of course, -but I could not imagine how he meant to proceed. - -“These claws must have been brought home, according to my idea, by -a sportsman and traveller of experience, who knew the ways of the -natives, and was able to baffle them. Men of that class are not very -numerous, and most of them have published books of their travels. I am -going to spend the rest of the morning in going to the libraries and -publishers; and I want you to spend it in the Natural History Museum at -South Kensington.” - -There was no occasion for me to express the admiration I sincerely felt -for my chief’s knowledge and resource. I waited in silent wonder for -his instructions. - -“I am not an expert in zoölogy,” he said modestly. “I know, of course, -that leopards, or animals closely resembling leopards, are found along -the tropical zone. They are called jaguars in South America, I believe, -and panthers elsewhere. At all events their skins are sufficiently like -the true leopard’s to be called leopard skins by an ignorant man like -Gerard. What I want you to do is to ascertain if such animals occur in -the East Indian archipelago, and particularly in the Island of Sumatra.” - -It was a curious direction. What was there in the circumstances of the -case to turn Sir Frank’s mind to one part of the tropics rather than -another, and to one particular island? Perhaps it showed some dullness -on my part; I can only confess that I had not the least idea of his -motive. - -“Sumatra,” he repeated in a meditative tone, “almost the largest -island in the world, and yet the least known. Nominally it is a Dutch -possession, but the Dutch have never subjugated it. They have never -thoroughly penetrated the interior. The natives have been too fierce -for them to subdue. They occupy one or two points on the coast, I -fancy, but that is all. There was a Sultan of Acheen who fought with -them at one time. I don’t think he was really conquered. A very -interesting field for an explorer willing to take his life in his hand.” - -And still I failed to grasp the mysterious connection between the -vast unknown island lying on the Equator and the tragedy I had all but -witnessed in a night club of London. - -“You can take my card,” the specialist added. “You will find the people -at the Museum most obliging. If they have the information they will -give it to you willingly.” - -I took the card, and the Piccadilly Tube from Russell Square soon -landed me at South Kensington. As Sir Frank Tarleton had foretold, the -staff of the Natural History Museum received it with all respect, and -showed themselves ready to give all the information they possessed. The -gentleman who took me in hand was confident that there were leopards -in Sumatra; nevertheless, when it came to the question of positive -evidence he found some difficulty in putting his hand on any. - -“You have struck the least-known area in the world, you see,” he -pointed out. “We know the fauna of the Malay Peninsula, and of Java and -all the other East Indian islands as far as the Philippines, and one -has always taken it for granted that the fauna of Sumatra corresponded -with that of the neighbouring area north of the Wallace line. But if -you ask me for an official declaration that leopards are to be found in -the island I don’t think I can give it off-hand. We might be able to -get the information by writing to The Hague. Or you might find it in -some book of travels in the British Museum Library.” - -“Sir Frank Tarleton is searching in the Library at this moment, I -believe,” I said incautiously. - -My guide opened his eyes. - -“You surprise me. I had no idea that Sir Frank was so much interested -in natural history. I have always associated his name with toxicology.” - -The light burst on me at last. I understood the true reason for my -chief’s extreme interest in following up the clue of the leopard’s -claws, and for his turning his special attention to the region of the -earth least known to science. He had perceived a connection overlooked -by me between the rare necklace worn by the unknown woman in the Domino -Club and the gray powder contained in the small glass bottle in his -private safe. He was on the search for some other product of Sumatra -besides its leopards. He expected to trace the secret drug whose -presence the effects of the opium had concealed. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -SARAH NEOBARD SPEAKS OUT - - -When I returned to Montague Street to lunch, my host was still out, and -I had to sit down to the meal without him. No uncommon incident this, -in the case of any member of the medical profession, and especially -one liable to be summoned at any moment to cases of the most desperate -nature. Yet I was uneasy at losing sight of the great man for so -long just then. The investigation had reached a point at which I was -desperately anxious to follow his every move, in order that I might -guard the threatened girl towards whom so many signs already seemed to -point. - -My lunch was nearly over when I was summoned to the telephone. I -answered the call with the expectation that Captain Charles had -obtained the information he had been asked for; and I was not -disappointed. - -“You can tell Sir Frank that Lady Violet Bredwardine is down in -Herefordshire at her father’s seat, Tyberton Castle. She left London -for the Castle the day before yesterday by the noon train, so that she -can’t have been present at the Domino Club.” - -I was careful to receive this intelligence as though it were news to -me. I even asked the Inspector if he was perfectly sure that his -informants were to be trusted. - -“I’m perfectly sure as far as this end is concerned,” he answered in -a tone of surprise. “There is no doubt that she left by that train, -and that she hasn’t returned. And her letters are being forwarded to -Tyberton Castle. But, of course, I can’t answer for her being there -without sending someone down to make inquiries on the spot. Would Sir -Frank like me to do that?” - -I hesitated. I had no reason to fear the result of such inquiries, but -I distrusted the tact of Charles and his men, and felt afraid lest -their proceedings should come to Lady Violet’s ears and frighten her. -On the whole, I thought it best to apply the brake. - -“Sir Frank is out just now. I will let him have your report as soon as -he comes in, and let you know what he says. I shouldn’t think he would -want you to do anything more. It looks as though Lady Violet had a -complete alibi.” - -“Oh, but----” the voice through the wire objected, “but Sir Frank’s -instructions were that I was to follow up Lady Violet. The police -were to follow up everyone on the list you sent me, and find out all -they could about them. I have a man detailed for each already. We -have ascertained that Julia Sebright is dead. Sir George Castleton is -abroad; he was last heard of in Naples, in very queer company....” - -This was the sort of thing I had dreaded. At all risks I must try to -call the hounds off the trail of Violet Bredwardine’s past. - -“That’s all right, so far,” I interrupted. “Of course, Sir Frank wishes -you to follow them all up as long as there is any possibility of their -being involved in the case. But when they are clearly out of it I -feel sure he wouldn’t think it right to pry into their private lives -for nothing. It would be taking an improper advantage of information -obtained from the books of their doctor. Medical etiquette is very -strict on that point, I can assure you. Sir Frank Tarleton himself -might get into trouble if it were known that he had made use of Dr. -Weathered’s books for such a purpose.” - -“What is that about Sir Frank Tarleton getting into trouble?” said a -voice in my ear. - -The receiver fell from my hand. I looked round to see my chief standing -at my elbow. I am a poor dissembler, I fear. I was conscious of a deep -flush as I lowered my eyes before the reproachful look in those keen -gray ones beneath their frowning brows. - -“I beg your pardon, sir,” I stammered. “I was trying to explain to -Inspector Charles that it wouldn’t do to annoy Weathered’s patients -with inquiries into their private lives unless there were some grounds -for suspicion against them.” - -Tarleton stepped to the telephone. - -“You have heard what Dr. Cassilis said? He is perfectly right. We have -no concern with any patient of Weathered’s who is not implicated in -the murder. The moment we can dismiss them from the case they must be -let alone.” - -I hardly know whether I was more astonished or delighted at this -handsome endorsement of my words. But I was not yet out of the wood. My -chief made the Inspector repeat the information he had just given to -me, and Charles naturally took the opportunity to defend himself. - -Apparently the Inspector explained to Tarleton that I had not seemed -satisfied at first with his report about Lady Violet having gone to -Herefordshire before the night of the dance. - -It was the physician’s turn to show surprise. - -“Why did you question Lady Violet Bredwardine’s alibi, Cassilis?” - -It gratified me to feel that the Inspector had done me a good turn -unawares. - -“I merely thought it right to ask Captain Charles if he was quite -satisfied before I took the responsibility of reporting the alibi to -you. He offered to send a man down to make inquiries at Lord Ledbury’s -seat, and I asked him to take no further steps without your sanction.” - -My chief smiled with the utmost amiability. - -“Dr. Cassilis has exactly understood my views,” he said through the -telephone. “There is not the least necessity for you to trouble -yourself further about Lady Violet for the present. The person in whom -I am interested just now is Captain Armstrong, R.A. He is a Fellow -of the Royal Geographical Society, and a well-known traveller and -explorer. I shall be glad if you can let me have his present address.” - -There was a brief pause. It was evident that the Inspector had been -consulting his note-book, for his reply, which I failed to catch, -provoked Tarleton to say testily, “I know, I know. He is not on the -books of the Club. I want to get in touch with him for another reason. -I think he may be of help in enabling me to decide on the cause of -death.” - -As soon as Captain Charles had been disposed of, the physician came -to the luncheon table and made a hasty meal. I reported my failure to -obtain any definite proof of the existence of leopards in Sumatra, and -found that the point had lost its importance in his eyes. - -“I have been to the British Museum Reading Room,” he told me. “I met -Captain Armstrong about two years ago, after reading his book on -Sumatra, but I had forgotten his name, and I had to look through the -subject index under the head of Sumatra to find it. Then I got out his -book, _Across Sumatra_, and saw from the title-page that he had also -written a book on West Africa, where everyone knows there are leopards, -so that he had plenty of opportunities of procuring skins and claws.” - -The situation was becoming clearer and clearer. There was no need for -me to ask the specialist where he had procured the contents of the -glass bottle. I could see what must have happened. The explorer’s -narrative must have contained some account of an unknown poison -peculiar to the Island of Sumatra; the expert’s attention had been -drawn to it; he had approached the author, found that he had some of -the poison in his possession, and induced him to part with it. His -object now must be to find out whether Armstrong had kept any himself, -or allowed it to get into other hands. - -I was so relieved at the turn the investigation was taking that I had -ceased to worry about my own connection with the tragedy. It gave me a -disagreeable shock to be reminded that there were other points to be -cleared up, when my chief spoke again. - -“I think our next step now must be to interview Sarah Neobard. I -doubt if she has told us all she knows about Weathered and his woman -patients. She may be able to throw some light on the mysterious -numbers.” - -The numbers in the appointment-book were as mysterious to me as -they were to him. I had been able to form no theory as to their -significance; nevertheless, I felt that danger lay in that direction. -I could not forget that a number had been attached to Violet -Bredwardine’s name, and I dreaded to learn why. - -The physician was provided with a good excuse for presenting himself -again at the house in Warwick Street. It was necessary to make -arrangements for the interment of the body. He had decided, he told me, -to give a certificate that would dispense with the necessity for an -inquest, and permit of the funeral taking place without delay. For that -purpose the body was to be conveyed to the house in the small hours -when nobody was likely to be about. - -It was a strong thing to do before it had yet been determined whether -the murder was to be made the subject of a public prosecution, and the -murderer brought to justice. So far as I could see, the authorities -both of the Home Office and the Foreign Office were placing entire -confidence in my chief, and had given him a free hand. I hoped -accordingly that his decision to let the funeral proceed quietly meant -that he had made up his mind against any public exposure. But on that -point he had been careful not to commit himself, and I was afraid to -show too much curiosity. - -He took me round with him in the car to Warwick Street, and asked -to see Mrs. Weathered. The youthful butler eyed us with the utmost -apprehension, and showed us into the patients’ waiting-room. There we -were joined presently by the widow and her daughter. - -Mrs. Weathered was in deep black. Her manner showed that she was -resigned to her husband’s fate by this time, but she was evidently -in a state of extreme nervousness, as she well might be while the -mystery was unsolved. Sarah, on the other hand, at the beginning of the -interview, was as cold and self-possessed as though her part was over, -and she had ceased to feel any personal interest in the sequel. - -“I have called on you,” Tarleton explained, “to let you know officially -that I have examined into the cause of Dr. Weathered’s death, and am -prepared to certify that it was due to heart failure.” - -I stared. In one sense, of course, almost every death may be said to -be due to heart failure. The question generally is what has caused the -heart to fail; and I knew perfectly well that the burial certificate -would have to be more explicit. But Mrs. Weathered showed herself quite -satisfied. - -“Then it was a natural death, after all?” she exclaimed in relief. - -“There is no reason why you shouldn’t regard it so,” was the answer. “I -should advise you to accept that view, and refrain from discussing the -matter with anyone. I wish to spare you the trouble and unpleasantness -of an inquest, if possible. I propose to have the body brought round -here some time to-night, or rather in the early morning; and you can -then make your own arrangements for the funeral.” - -The widow clasped her hands in gratification. - -“That is good of you, Sir Frank. I don’t know how to thank you.” She -looked up at her daughter, whose face was overcast. “My dear, we -couldn’t have asked for anything better. I have been dreading the -inquest more than I can say.” - -Sarah’s expression was troubled. She tried to return her mother’s -pleading look with one of sympathy. Then she lifted her head, and let -her eyes rest on the consultant with quiet scorn. - -“My mother has every reason to be grateful to you, Sir Frank,” she said -ungraciously. “But you haven’t told us what caused the heart to fail.” - -Tarleton returned her gaze with quiet forbearance. It was in his power -to crush her with an allusion to her presence at the Domino Club in the -character of Salome, but he generously refrained from doing so in her -mother’s hearing. Already the poor woman’s face was downcast again, and -she glanced anxiously from her daughter to us. - -“That is a question which Mrs. Weathered is entitled to raise if she -pleases,” the doctor said gravely. “You have just heard me advise -her not to do so. At the same time if you would like to go into the -question with me privately I am quite willing.” - -“Oh, no, no!” The protest broke from the widow’s lips. She caught hold -of her daughter’s hand. “Don’t say anything more, dear. I’m sure Sir -Frank Tarleton knows best. We must do what he tells us.” - -The girl compressed her lips with a strong effort. Her eye sought -Tarleton’s and I thought a signal was exchanged between them. Then he -rose to his feet. - -“Very well, ma’am. I think you are acting wisely. By the way, there is -one question which you may be able to answer. In looking through Dr. -Weathered’s diary of appointments with his patients I have noticed that -some of their names are followed by numbers, and I should like to know -what that means.” - -The widow received the question with an air of complete surprise. -It was impossible to doubt her declaration that she had no idea of -the existence of the curious ciphers, much less of their use. But -Sarah gave the questioner a quick look, and again I thought a secret -understanding was established between them. - -The first words uttered by my chief, when we were in the car driving -away, told me what the understanding was. - -“That girl means to come and see me. She isn’t satisfied; and she won’t -be without vengeance on the woman she hates.” - -The prediction was promptly fulfilled. The girl must have found some -excuse for leaving the house within a few minutes after us. We had been -back less than half an hour when she was announced. She burst in upon -us like a fury. - -“Sir Frank Tarleton, what does this mean? My step-father was murdered, -and you know it. You are trying to hush up the case, I suppose, because -some of the people involved in it are so high up that the police want -to let them off. There seems to be one law for the rich and another for -the poor. It’s the high-up people, the people with titles, who are the -worst. I’ve seen those numbers in the diary, and I can guess pretty -well what they mean. They’re the guilty patients, the ones who were in -his power, and had the greatest motive to murder him. If you want to -know more you had better apply to Lady Violet Bredwardine.” - -It was an appalling shock. Just as I had reached the comforting -conclusion that Lady Violet’s alibi had put an end to the investigation -as far as she was concerned, this passionate girl had launched a -denunciation that threatened to drag everything to light. I turned in -consternation to my chief. - -He had taken out his gold repeater and begun to swing it to and fro at -the end of its scrap of ribbon in a way that told me he was pondering -deeply on this new development of the case. He made a motion with his -hand towards me. - -“Dr. Cassilis, here, can tell you that you are mistaken in thinking -that the police are trying to hush up the case, or to screen anyone -connected with it. Tell Miss Neobard what they reported to you.” - -The indignant Sarah faced me in some surprise. My own surprise was -greater than hers. I was at a loss to understand Tarleton’s motive for -handing over the vindication of the police to me. Did he expect my word -to carry more weight with the excited girl than his own? Or was he -simply testing my ability to deal with a critical situation? And if so, -how far did he mean me to go? Was I to let the accuser know that the -police had been on her track as well as Lady Violet’s? I spoke in some -confusion. - -“The police have made full inquiries about Lady Violet Bredwardine. -She was a patient of Dr. Weathered’s and a member of the Domino Club, -apparently. But they have ascertained that she wasn’t in London on the -night when he met his death. She was down at her father’s place in -Herefordshire.” - -“I don’t believe it,” was the angry reply. “I don’t mean that you are -trying to deceive me, but the police haven’t told you the truth. I am -as certain that she was there that night as I am that I am in this -room. She was with him in the very alcove where he was found dead.” - -In her wrath she had given herself away. Her statement almost amounted -to saying that she had seen them together. I looked at my chief in the -hope that he would pounce on the admission, but he contented himself -with nodding to me to go on. - -“You speak very positively, Miss Neobard. May I ask you how you know -that?” - -The question plainly disconcerted her. It must have opened her eyes to -the fact that she was saying too much. - -“I don’t see what that has to do with it,” she answered stubbornly. -“You can ask anyone who was there. Ask them if they saw someone wearing -a Roman helmet and breastplate with a skirt underneath. That was her -disguise.” - -I was staggered. The girl’s persistence irritated me, and I spoke -sharply. - -“You can’t possibly know that, when she was more than a hundred miles -away at the time. Did you speak to her--to whoever it was that was -wearing that costume?” - -It appeared that I had let myself go too far this time. I saw Tarleton -frown disapprovingly. Sarah Neobard gazed at me in alarm. - -“I speak to her?” she echoed. “What do you mean? I wasn’t--I’m not a -member of the Club.” - -A warning glance from my chief stopped the retort that was on my lips. -I was longing to tell the accuser that she had been under suspicion -herself, but I saw that in Tarleton’s opinion I was taking the wrong -line. My indignation on Violet Bredwardine’s behalf had betrayed me -into showing our cards too soon. - -The girl herself seemed to feel that some explanation was needed for -her confident assertions. - -“If you want to know who was wearing that disguise, ask Madame Bonnell. -She is the manager of the Club, and she can tell you everything that -went on there.” - -A swift movement of the physician’s eyebrows told me that this was the -sort of admission he had been watching for. He intervened, I had little -doubt, to prevent my drawing attention to it. - -“I think Miss Neobard ought to be told that the wearer of the Zenobia -costume was not the only one whose movements attracted attention on -that night.” - -I was eager to take the cue. It was time to give Lady Violet’s enemy a -taste of her own medicine. - -“Yes,” I said sternly, “the dancer who was seen oftenest in company -with Dr. Weathered that night wore the costume of Salome. Can you tell -us anything about her?” - -For an instant Salome blanched. She was quite intelligent enough to -see the red light. She didn’t need to be told that if her movements -had attracted the notice of the police her identity could hardly fail -to come out before very long, if it hadn’t come out already. Yet she -struggled against what was coming. - -“She had nothing to do with the crime. She was a friend of Dr. -Weathered’s. Her only motive for being there was to protect him from -the other women.” She spoke almost in a whisper. - -“To protect him from being poisoned, do you mean? Or do you mean that -she was jealous, and wanted to prevent him from dancing with anyone but -herself?” - -At last Tarleton had fired the shot which he had had in preparation. -Its effect was startling indeed. A dark red flood overspread the girl’s -face; for a moment she fought with her emotions, and the next she broke -down in a flood of tears. - -“You know it was I,” she sobbed out. “You have been playing with me. -You think I am a bad woman, I suppose. But I’m not. I take Heaven to -witness that I only meant to do what was right. I never dreamed that -I had any feeling for him that--that wasn’t--that wasn’t right. I was -angry with him for the way he treated my mother. When he began to -neglect her and go after other women, pretending that they were only -his patients, I hated them. I never thought of anything else. I thought -I was doing my duty to my mother in watching him. But he found me out. -He knew everything about women. He saw that I was jealous on my own -account as well; and he set himself to soothe me. He could fascinate -any woman if he tried. He pretended to confide in me. He told me about -his patients, and complained that they wouldn’t leave him alone. -Sometimes I believed him, and thought it was their fault, and then I -thought it was his. I didn’t know what to think at last. I went there -that night to see if I could find out....” - -The broken utterance ended in a wail of grief. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE CASE AGAINST LADY VIOLET - - -I felt honestly sorry for the poor girl in spite of the vindictive -attitude she had taken up just before. I had no doubt that she was -quite sincere, and that she had unconsciously deceived herself as to -her real feelings up to the last moment. - -Tarleton remained calm in the face of her outburst; when he spoke again -his tone was courteous but businesslike--perhaps the most considerate -one to adopt in the circumstances. - -“You have told Dr. Cassilis and me very little that we weren’t prepared -to hear, and nothing that we aren’t able to understand and allow for. -But now we have to ask you for some information. In the first place I -should like to know how you obtained admission to the Domino Club.” - -Sarah made an effort to collect herself. As far as I could judge she -was telling the truth, up to a certain point at all events. - -“I bought a ticket of admission from Madame Bonnell.” - -We both started and exchanged looks of surprise. - -“Do you mean to say that anybody could get in by paying?” the -consultant asked. - -Sarah shook her head. - -“I don’t know that anybody could. But there didn’t seem to be much -difficulty. I think it was pretty well known, in Chelsea and in -Kensington, that you could buy a ticket from Madame Bonnell. She made a -great favour of it, but I expect that was only to keep up the price.” - -“What was the price?” - -“Five pounds. She entered your name in a book, and the name of some -member of the Club who was supposed to be introducing you; but whether -it was a real name or not I don’t know.” - -Tarleton smiled grimly. - -“I’m beginning to understand why Madame made so much fuss over giving -up her books. She must have made a good thing out of the Club in one -way and another. Did she know who you were?” - -“Oh, no! At least, I didn’t tell her. I gave my name as Mrs. Antrobus.” - -“I remember that name in the Visitors’-book,” I put in. - -My chief nodded. “Did she say anything to you about the disguise you -were to come in?” - -“Yes. She asked me what I was going to wear. I told her I hadn’t made -up my mind, and she recommended me to go to a place in Coventry Street -where I should be able to see some costumes.” - -“Another little side line,” the shrewd examiner commented. “There’s not -much doubt she got a commission there. She struck me as a good woman of -business.” His face became grave once more. “And now, Miss Neobard, I -must ask you to tell us what you know about Lady Violet Bredwardine?” - -It was the question I had been dreading. I dreaded the answer still -more. - -The accuser flushed. “I know that she was more than a patient,” she -said in a low voice. “I know that he met her away from the house, at -other places besides the Club.” - -“I’m afraid I must ask you to tell us more than that. You have -practically accused her of poisoning him. I think you must see that I -am entitled to know whether you have any grounds for throwing suspicion -on her beyond personal ill-will.” - -The answer came slowly. It was with a painful effort that the girl -confessed how far her jealousy had carried her. - -“I knew that he was neglecting my mother for other women. I had -known that for some time. He was almost always out at night, and he -never told us where he had been. I wanted my mother to apply for a -separation, and I thought I ought to get evidence. I followed him.” - -She stopped short, her face burning and her eyes lowered towards the -ground. - -“Yes? You have told us already that you followed him to the Club that -night. But you must have seen them together at other places before?” - -The girl nodded. “I have seen them walking in Regent’s Park. And I -have seen them dining together at....” She whispered the name of a -restaurant in a little side street not far from Piccadilly, which is -well known to Londoners as a place to which men more often take other -people’s wives and daughters than their own. - -Tarleton prudently refrained from asking his witness anything about her -own proceedings. It looked to me as though she must have placed herself -in the hands of a private inquiry agent, but if so it was evident that -she had insisted on going with him on the trail. - -“Didn’t that seem as if they were friends?” was the next question. - -“No!” The denial was emphatic. “He was making love to her, anyone could -see that, but she was resisting him. You could see that she hated him.” - -“And yet she went about with him.” - -“It was against her will, I am certain of it. She had the air of a -prisoner.” - -Poor, unhappy Violet! It was hard work to control myself as I listened, -and pictured her sitting in that doubtful resort, tormented by the -vile wooing of the monster who had her in his power, while her jealous -rival, with a hired spy in attendance, gloated over her distress. - -The merciless accuser went on. - -“That night they dined together. I saw him try to slip a bracelet on to -her wrist. She snatched her hand away so fiercely that it fell on the -floor, and he dropped his napkin over it so as to pick it up without -the waiter seeing.” - -The scene was as vividly before me as though it was passing on the -screen. The eyes of jealousy had been sharper than the waiter’s. - -“Well, let us come to yesterday night. We knew before you told us that -one of the dancers wore the dress you have described. What makes you so -confident that she was Lady Violet?” - -And now indeed I had reason to listen with all my ears. If this girl -convinced my chief that she was right, the position would be one of -deadly danger. - -Sarah Neobard didn’t seem to understand the doubt in his mind. - -“Madame Bonnell told me so.” - -Tarleton gave me a stare which I returned with interest. In my -excitement I was rash enough to speak. - -“She told you so? Why? How could she know herself?” - -“I don’t know.” Sarah looked a little puzzled. “I suppose she knew -everything that went on in the Club. Before selling me the ticket she -asked if I knew any member. I thought the question was only put for -form’s sake, and I gave Lady Violet’s name. Afterwards I asked her if -Lady Violet was likely to be there, and if she knew what costume she -was likely to wear. She told me that she was pretty sure to come, and -that she always wore the same costume. She made me give her an extra -guinea for telling me. I could see she was the sort of woman who would -do anything for money.” - -There could be no doubt that this last opinion was sound. -Unfortunately it was too late for me to act on it. I held my tongue -again, and let my chief put the next question. - -“You watched her, I suppose, during the night? Did you notice nothing -peculiar about her? One of the waiters seems to have thought it was a -man.” - -“A man!” The girl’s surprise was unmistakable. Her jealousy had blinded -her that time as much as it had sharpened her sight the other. “No, I -never thought of noticing anything of that sort. I hadn’t any reason -for it. I believed what I was told. And she behaved just like Lady -Violet. And he certainly believed it was she. I tried to keep them -apart, but it was no use. I saw him make her come into the alcove. -She went unwillingly, just as I should have expected. I got near, and -watched them through the curtain. He ordered coffee for both....” - -She seemed to pull herself up. Was she telling a carefully framed -story, and hesitating at the last fatal point? Or was she only -shrinking from uttering the words that might condemn a fellow creature -to death? - -“And?” the physician breathed gently. - -Sarah braced herself up with a visible effort. - -“_I saw her drop something into his cup._” - -I believed it was a lie. To this hour I believe it. Sarah Neobard -and I are never likely to meet again on this earth, and I may do her -an injustice. Yet on her showing, if she was to be believed, she had -looked on at what must have seemed to her an attempt to murder, and -had not lifted a finger to save the life of the man she half hated and -half loved. - -Meanwhile the charge had been made, a charge which the adviser of the -Home Office was bound to act upon, as the look he gave me clearly -showed. I seized on it as an invitation to speak. - -“Did you believe that the person, whoever it was, meant to poison him?” -I asked, trying to suppress my indignation. - -“What else could I believe?” She gave the answer almost rudely, so as -to show that she resented my presuming to question her. - -“And you did nothing? You didn’t interfere?” - -The accuser flushed angrily. She stumbled over her reply. - -“What could I do? If I had made a scene she would have denied it, and -he would have taken her part. Besides, it was all over in a moment. He -had drunk his coffee before I had time to do anything.” - -“Think again,” I said earnestly. “You are not on your oath. Are you -certain of what you saw? Remember that you are bringing a charge of -murder against a fellow creature, a young woman who has done you no -wrong, who, you admit yourself, was your step-father’s innocent victim.” - -“I didn’t say that. I said she hated him. She can’t be innocent if she -poisoned him.” - -“_If_ she poisoned him,” I repeated with emphasis. “You have heard -that she was more than a hundred miles away, according to the police -evidence. But the same evidence shows that you were there, and you -have told us as much.” - -“What?” The girl almost leaped from her seat “Are you suggesting that I -had anything to do with it?” - -I glanced at my chief for permission to go on. He was lying back on his -chair, his timepiece twisting between his fingers, apparently listening -with the detachment of an impartial judge. - -“You compel me to point out to you the situation you are in, Miss -Neobard,” I continued. “A death has taken place, the police have -inquired into it, and they have found cause for suspicion against -certain persons. Lady Violet Bredwardine was one of those persons; you -were another. Her innocence has now been proved. Yours only rests on -your own assertion--or rather it may rest, because so far you haven’t -actually asserted it. Therefore, you have the strongest possible motive -for trying to throw suspicion on someone else; and you have been doing -so all along. Now at last you have made a direct charge, and backed it -up by stating what you say you saw through a curtain. I ask you again -if you are certain of what you say, and I ask you to be careful.” - -Sarah Neobard’s face underwent a succession of changes while she -listened, from amazement to wrath and from wrath to abject fear. -Tarleton put the crown on her discomfiture. - -“Although we are not policemen, and this is not a formal charge, Dr. -Cassilis is right to caution you,” he said firmly. “I shall feel at -liberty to report whatever you say to the police.” - -The tables were completely turned. The triumphant accuser found herself -all at once standing in the dock. She gave us both a long deep look of -despairing hatred and dread. Then, with lips tightly closed, she got up -and walked out of the room and out of the house. - -My chief gratified me with a nod and smile of approval. - -“You did that very well, Cassilis; I congratulate you. I think that -young woman’s teeth have been drawn pretty effectually. It would never -have done for her to be going about accusing the police of trying to -hush up the case. She would have got some paper to take up her story, -and there would have been the devil to pay.” - -“Do you think there is any chance that she was mixed up in the -business?” I asked with hesitation. - -Evidently the specialist was displeased by the question. - -“It is not my practice to speculate, as I think I have told you. I -prefer to confine myself to reasoning on the evidence before me. At -present the evidence points to this death being due to a certain -drug, which must have been administered during the dance by some -person who was present, and who had a motive for rendering Weathered -insensible--the death may have been due to his or her ignorance of -the power of the drug. We now have direct evidence, which may be -true, that the drug was put into his coffee by the dancer disguised as -Zenobia, and we have further evidence that that costume was supplied to -Lady Violet Bredwardine about a year ago, and was regularly worn by her -in the Domino Club. - -“Add to that the appearance of her name in the list of suspects -compiled from Weathered’s diary and the Club register, and the story we -have just heard of her being pursued by Weathered and persecuted with -attentions which she resented. It is a case on which very few juries -would hesitate to convict. - -“Against that we have nothing but an idle suspicion on the part of a -waiter that the wearer of the Zenobia costume on this particular night -was a man, and the police information that Lady Violet left London by -a midday train. Of course she may have got out anywhere, and been back -long before night.” - -What was I to say? What ought I to do? Had the time come for me to make -the confession I had held back even more for Violet Bredwardine’s sake -than for my own? I shuddered at the thought that what I had to tell -might not exonerate her--that it might deepen the suspicion against -her, if it were believed. And suppose it should not be believed? What -excuse could I make for having put it off so long? Would not Sir Frank -Tarleton have every right to doubt me, and to think that my story was a -false one invented at the eleventh hour to save the true culprit? - -There was one slender plank to cling to. I was confident that Lady -Violet’s alibi was genuine. If the question of her guilt or innocence -could be made to depend on that, I had no fear of the result. - -“In that case, sir, wouldn’t it be best for the police to go down to -Herefordshire, and make sure whether she was there or not?” - -To my surprise Tarleton raised the objection that had held me back -before. - -“I think not. Captain Charles isn’t a particularly tactful man himself, -and we can’t trust to his employing a very tactful agent. Whether Lady -Violet is innocent or guilty she ought not to be alarmed. It seems -to me far the best course for me to go down myself, and call on her -openly.” - -I was startled by the proposal. I hardly knew whether to welcome it or -not. Certainly the consultant was less likely to frighten Violet than -the police were, but on the other hand he was much more likely to find -out whatever was to be found. - -“Won’t that come to the same thing?” I objected feebly. “If she knows -you have come to question her about Weathered’s death?” - -“I may not have to question her about his death,” the specialist put -in sharply. “Have you forgotten the numbers in the appointment-book? I -propose to ask Lady Violet if she can explain what they signify!” - -I was silenced. I could think of no possible objection to such a -course. It was clear that the explanation must be obtained from -someone, and equally clear that Lady Violet was most likely to be able -to give it. My chief’s plan was worthy of his shrewdness. He would be -killing two birds with one stone,--gaining information he needed, and -at the same time quietly testing the information of the police. - -Tarleton gave me no time for further reflection. - -“Just look up the trains for Hereford,” he said briskly. - -I hastened to obey. “Am I coming with you, sir?” - -I put the question almost without hope. I was overjoyed by the answer. - -“Why, yes, I think you ought to, in fairness to the poor girl. You have -defended her very well from her enemy. I look on you as her advocate. I -think you ought to be present and help her if you can.” - -He spoke with a mixture of seriousness and playfulness that left me in -doubt whether he had really noticed anything to suggest that I took a -personal interest in Lady Violet’s defence. I was glad to feel that in -any case he had no animosity against her. Even if he thought her guilty -of Weathered’s death, it was probable that he saw some excuse for the -deed. - -Nothing more passed between us on the subject till we were in the -train for Hereford. During a great part of the journey the consultant -sat silent in his corner seat, with his golden pendulum swinging softly -in his hand, to the evident astonishment of the solitary passenger who -shared our compartment. - -I sat opposite him, filled with bitter-sweet reflections and memories -that became more intense as we neared the little city on its rushing -river beyond the Malvern Hills. How every feature in the landscape -recalled the passionate days of yore, when I had made that journey for -the first time! Then I had travelled third-class with a knapsack on -my back, and the hopes of youth in my heart, on my way to explore the -romantic hills and vales of the borderland, the Golden Valley and the -untrodden Beacons that looked down on Breconshire. I recalled every -step of the way, from the morning on which I had turned my face to the -west and tramped out towards the wooded slopes of Blakemere, to the -hour when I had encountered in its romantic setting that figure which -became for me all that Queen Guinevere had been for Lancelot. - -Less than four years had passed since then, and now I was returning to -the scene of my wrecked romance, my unforgotten secret agony; returning -in official dignity as a representative of the law charged to examine -the partner of my secret on a fearful accusation from which perhaps -only I could save her, and only at the cost of my own life. - -That night I did not sleep. I passed it in wrestling with the problem, -as I tossed from side to side on my bed in the hotel where we had put -up. But before retiring for the night I had managed to escape from my -chief’s observation for a few minutes, just long enough to scribble a -brief note and despatch it to Tyberton Castle. It ran: - -_Be out to-morrow morning when Sir Frank Tarleton arrives. The barn at -twelve if possible. Zenobia._ - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -WHAT THE CIPHER MEANT - - -Tyberton Castle was less than an hour’s drive from Hereford by motor. -I had to conceal my knowledge of the neighbourhood from Tarleton, who -left the arrangements in my hands, and question the man who waited on -us at breakfast as if I were entirely ignorant of where the Castle lay, -and how to reach it. - -“No breakfast, no man,” was a favourite maxim of the physician’s, and -he did full justice to the fresh trout, the kidneys and bacon, and the -new-laid eggs put before us, while I had to force myself to swallow a -few mouthfuls. However, the meal was over at last, and at ten o’clock -we were seated in the car provided by the hotel, speeding along the -road I had last trodden backward with despair in my heart. - -It seemed to me that every tree was eloquent and that every cottage -on the way remembered me, and wondered at my coming back. As we came -near the village I was tempted to shrink back in my corner of the car -and hide my face, lest the villagers should recognize it and greet me. -I had to tell myself that the real test would come presently. I had -never crossed the threshold of the Castle; I had never ventured into -the park in the daytime; but there is no such thing as privacy on the -country-side; every hedge has eyes and ears; and it was certain that -my comings and goings had been watched, and that every child on the -Earl of Ledbury’s estate and every servant in his house knew more about -me than his lordship did. - -Tarleton was delighted with the scenery. What pleased him still more -was the absence of all traffic. We did not meet one vehicle in the -road, except a farmer’s cart. - -“This is the least-known beauty spot in England,” he cried with -enthusiasm. “Those hills yonder must be in Radnorshire, a county whose -existence I have always doubted. This is the old Welsh March, where the -Britons stayed the Saxon advance at last, and kept their freedom in -Wild Wales. What a contrast between this and Tarifa Road, Chelsea!” - -The reminder came just in time. I had been on the point of telling him -that King Arthur’s tomb stood on the crest of one of the hills that -overlooked the Golden Valley. I bit my lip, thankful that I hadn’t -betrayed myself. - -We went through the sleepy village, bringing out one or two women with -babies in their arms to their garden gates. Then we turned into the -park and saw the rabbits scampering to the right and left as we crossed -the fern-covered slopes. - -“This is a true ‘haunt of ancient peace,’” murmured the consultant -wistfully. “This is the sort of place I want to end my days in. And we -have come to disturb it, perhaps to bring disaster and disgrace. I -should be glad if we could turn back now and go away again.” - -I turned to him expectantly. His words had echoed my own thoughts so -closely that I half hoped to find him ready to act upon them. But the -frown on his brow and the stern set of his mouth told me that I was -deluding myself. - -The car drew up at the main entrance to the Castle. The ivy-clad ruins -to which the building owed its name were almost screened from view by -the huge red-brick front of a dull edifice dating from the reign of -George the Second. The mansion had been put up out of ostentation at -a cost from which the estate had never recovered, and every Earl of -Ledbury since had cursed his ancestor’s extravagance. I know that the -present Earl found it hard to pay the interest on his mortgages, and -that he lived in one corner of the vast house, leaving long corridors -and whole suites of rooms to the spiders and rats. - -We got out, and Sir Frank Tarleton gave his card and mine to the -man who came down the steps to receive us. His suit of black was -threadbare, and his coat looked as if it had been thrust on hastily at -the sound of our approach. - -“Please take our cards to Lady Violet Bredwardine, and ask her ladyship -if we can see her in private, on urgent business.” - -The servant stared at the message. His eyes wandered from Tarleton to -me, and I thought there was a vague recognition in them when they met -mine. But his manner was respectful and demure. - -“I’m sorry, sir, but I believe her ladyship is out. I will inquire if -you wish.” - -He seemed to be hesitating whether to ask us inside. Sir Frank seized -on the opening. - -“I shall be glad if you will find out when she is likely to be in. Her -ladyship is staying in the Castle, I suppose?” - -“Oh, yes, sir.” The answer was given readily. - -“We have come down from London on purpose to see her. They told us at -Grosvenor Place that her ladyship had come here--I think it was on -Wednesday.” - -The man bowed. “That is quite right, sir. Her ladyship arrived on -Wednesday evening.” - -I stole an anxious glance at my chief. It was a complete confirmation -of the Inspector’s report. If Lady Violet had arrived at the Castle in -the evening, she could not have been back in town the same night. The -alibi stood firm. - -Tarleton drew out his watch as though to consult it before deciding -what to do next. Suddenly he snapped out, “There is no mistake, I -suppose? Her ladyship couldn’t have been in London on Wednesday night?” - -The man was taken off his guard, and if he had been lying he could -hardly have failed to show some confusion. But the only feeling he -manifested was one of resentment at the question. - -“I’m positive of what I say, sir. But her ladyship hasn’t authorized me -to answer questions about her movements.” - -The consultant put on the air of a man who has made a slip. - -“No, no; of course not. I meant to ask her ladyship herself.” He turned -to me. “What do you say, Cassilis? Shall we wait inside, or shall we go -for a stroll and come back again?” - -I had laid my plans in the expectation that Lady Violet would be out, -and I was ready with a suggestion. I made it with my heart in my mouth. - -“I think one of us ought to wait here, Sir Frank. The other might walk -round the park, and perhaps meet Lady Violet.” - -Sir Frank seemed to find the proposal quite natural. - -“Very good. I shall be glad to stretch my legs for an hour, so I’ll -leave you here and come back again.” - -This was an unforeseen check. I had been so sure of being the one to go -out into the grounds, if I could effect the separation, that I hadn’t -thought of the alternative. My only chance now was to slip out as soon -as Tarleton’s back was turned. I looked at the servant, and fancied -that his eye rested on me with a more friendly air than on my companion. - -“Would you like to wait inside, sir?” he asked. - -I hesitated. But I had to choose between trusting him and trusting the -chauffeur who had driven us out from Hereford; and he had impressed me -favourably. I followed him into the Castle, while Tarleton moved off -down an avenue of beeches in the park. - -The servant brought me through a dreary hall full of old suits of -armour and ancient high-backed chairs, but lacking in those little -touches of modern comfort that are needed to make such a place -home-like and attractive to the eye. He opened a door towards the -inner end, and ushered me into a gloomy library, fitted up with great -bookcases that looked as if they were never opened, stuffed with huge -leather-bound volumes of the kind that no human being any longer wants -to read. The whole room reminded me of the fairy tale of the Sleeping -Beauty in the Wood. It seemed to breathe of the eighteenth century, -as though its life had been arrested then, and no one had trodden the -faded carpet or taken down one of the dusty tomes for a hundred long -years since. - -The manservant had taken up a silver plate as we passed through the -hall, and laid our cards on it. He now asked, “Shall I take these cards -to his lordship, sir?” - -He must have seen me start at the question. I put my hand into my -pocket, searching his face carefully the while. - -“There is no occasion for that,” I said. “Our business with her -ladyship is private, and she may not wish his lordship to be troubled -with it.” I took out a note before adding, “Perhaps you remember my -face?” - -The man looked pleased. His chances of adding to his wages can’t have -been very many in that lonely mansion. It seemed to me, moreover, that -he was genuinely attached to his young mistress. - -“Why, yes, sir. I did have a thought as I had seen you here before. You -were staying at the Moorfield Farm, if I rec’lect rightly, sir, three -years ago or might be four.” - -I nodded, and the piece of paper passed silently from my hand to his. - -“I’ve come to do a service to Lady Violet, if I can,” I told him. “Her -ladyship knows I am coming, and she has gone out to meet me. I want you -to let me out at the back of the Castle, so that I can join her; and -say nothing to the friend who has come with me, or anybody else.” - -He gave me a quick look of intelligence. “I understand, sir.” - -He led the way out of the library again, and along a corridor still -more deserted and dismal than the hall. It ended at a locked and barred -door which he unfastened with some effort. - -“This is the way into the ruins,” he explained. “You can pass out -from them into a path that leads through the home meadows up to the -Moorfield Farm. It’s a public footpath, and if anyone sees you they’ll -think you’ve been exploring the ruins from outside.” - -Nothing could have suited better with my plans. I knew the path, and -knew that at a certain point another diverged from it and led through a -well-remembered wood to the barn where I had asked Violet Bredwardine -to meet me. - -I passed out into the Castle grounds and clambered over the crumbling -walls and fallen stones till I found myself on the path. And now every -step became tragical. I was treading on the ashes of the fire in which -two hearts had been scorched and branded with a mark that could never -be effaced. The grass beside the narrow footway seemed to be stained -with blood. I drew my breath in pain as I mounted the slope towards the -lonely little farm-house in which I had passed the most glorious and -the most miserable hours of my life. When I came to the gate into the -wood, I stopped and leant upon it panting, and hardly able to proceed. - -The wood was haunted by ghosts more dreadful to me than any spirits -of the dead; the ghosts of passion and of pain, the ghosts of love -and hatred, of that most terrible of all hatred which is born of love -betrayed. - -I shuddered as I thrust open the gate and stepped beneath the trees. A -sombre fir drooped like a weeping willow over one spot where the way -was crossed by a trickling spring that plunged and disappeared down -a steep gully choked with brambles and dark ferns. But there was a -worse point than that to pass. A tall beech sent out its roots on to -the path, and on the smooth rind of its trunk were cut two initial -letters entwined--a V and B. The very knife that had scored them there -lay in my pocket; I had never parted with it. What madness had tempted -me to blazon our secret to the inquisitive country-side? I had used -one precaution: I had cut the proclamation of our love on the side of -the trunk that was hidden from the public way. Now, when I reached -the tree, I forced a passage through the undergrowth to see how time -and weather had dealt with that vain memorial. A bitter shock awaited -me. Every vestige of the monogram had been destroyed by deep cuts and -slashes in the bark. Only a confused web of scars and scratches marked -the place. The tree’s wounds seemed to reproduce the wounds upon two -hearts. - -My head drooped as I dragged myself up the rest of the ascent, and came -out of the wood on the open hillside. The view was exquisite. The hills -of three fair counties stretched away to the horizon, and at their feet -the silver Wye clasped the rich cornfields and pastures in its shining -arms. But the whole prospect was darkened over for my eyes by an -invisible cloud. I turned to the spot where, scarcely a hundred yards -away, there rose out of the bracken the high gray walls of the forsaken -barn. - -Its desolation seemed symbolical. When it was built centuries ago -the surrounding land had borne crops worth harvesting instead of the -thin grass and waste of bracken that now surrounded it on all sides. -Tradition spoke of a time not remote when the hill swarmed with folk -engaged in tilling the hard soil. Their ruined cottages still lined -the lanes that crept along the crest, and peeped out of the sheltered -nooks. The virgin prairies of the New World had tempted some of them -away; others had migrated to the mining valleys whose smoke could -almost be seen from where I stood. - -So the gray ancient barn stood empty, its wooden doors dangling -helpless from their rusty staples, and the wind whistling through the -narrow slits that showed like the arrow holes of a Norman keep. I made -my way across the standing bracken that rose up to my shoulders, and -gained the open doorway. But there was no one within. A solitary sheep -started up from the litter of chaff that strewed the floor, and bounded -out through an opening in the opposite wall, leaving me alone. - -And now I began to repent that I had named as the meeting-place the -spot where we had parted in such misery those three years ago. I turned -with a pang from the scene, and advanced slowly towards the brow of the -hill. Just below the crest, seated on a moss-covered stone beside a -spring, I found her. - -Violet Bredwardine rose and stood where she was, more like a statue -than a living woman. Her light ringlets, breaking from beneath a -quaint straw helmet, surrounded her face like a halo, and made it seem -more than ever like the face of the child angel she had seemed to me -when I saw her first. Even then there had been a wistful look in her -innocent blue eyes, as though the child angel had lost her way in this -troubled earth of ours, and was seeking pitifully for some escape. And -I dreamt--in my madness I had dreamt--that I could offer her the help -she needed, and change the sadness of her life into joy. - -I strode towards her, all the old, passionate impulses of the past -flooding my heart like wine, and cried, “Violet!” - -She shrank back as if I had struck her and the soft eyes flashed with -anger. - -“How dare you! How dare you ask me to meet you like this?” - -I stopped ashamed. In an instant my sudden emotion was chilled. I felt -myself a criminal facing my judge. - -“Forgive me,” I stammered. “I was obliged to speak to you before you -saw Sir Frank Tarleton. I had to explain to you who he was and what he -was going to ask you.” - -She interrupted me with a gesture of scorn. She pointed to the roof of -the barn, just visible over the crest of the slope from where we stood. - -“How dared you ask me to meet you _there_? Was there no other place?” -Her voice shook. “How could you be so brutal? To remind me! To drag me -back to the one spot on earth that I was trying to forget!” - -The reproach pierced me like a knife. She was right. What was I but a -brute? What else is any man in dealing with the mystery of a woman’s -heart--with those delicate fibres which our rude touch so often bruises -and rends unawares? - -I could have thrown myself at her feet and begged her to trample the -life out of me. But there would have been no reparation in that; there -was none in anything that I could think of doing. It was a case of -least said soonest mended. I had to leave the wound I had given her to -heal itself, and meanwhile try to render her the only service that was -in my power. - -“You can say nothing to me that I don’t deserve, nothing that is -severe enough,” I answered. “I can only plead that I was distracted by -anxiety, on your account.” - -The indignation in her face turned to terror. - -“What do you mean? You wrote to me that I had nothing more to fear.” - -“I said, nothing more to fear from Dr. Weathered. That was all I -thought it safe to put in a letter. And when I wrote it I hoped that -I could protect you from any further trouble. But other things have -happened since. There are complications in the case that I couldn’t -explain without seeing you, and Sir Frank Tarleton has come down here -to see if you can throw light on them.” - -“Sir Frank Tarleton? Who is he?” - -“He is the principal medical adviser to the Home Office. I am his -assistant.” - -“But I don’t understand!” She stared at me in natural wonder. “Why -should he be mixed up in it? Have you told him anything?” - -“Nothing; you may be assured of that. But I must tell you what has -happened. Weathered is dead.” - -“Dead.” The blue eyes expanded for a moment in a gleam of relief, -almost of exultation. The instant after they froze dreadfully. -“Bertrand! You killed him!” she whispered. - -I shook my head earnestly. - -“No. I should have killed him, if there had been no other way to -save you from him. And I don’t believe any honest man or woman would -have blamed me if I had. But it wasn’t necessary. My only object was -to destroy the record of your confession, the statement that had -placed you in his power. All I did was to drug him enough to make him -insensible, and take his keys. When I left the Club at three o’clock in -the morning he was still alive. He was found dead where I left him two -hours afterwards.” - -Violet hardly seemed to be listening. Her eyes were still fixed on me -like two blue stones. - -“You did it,” she repeated dully. “You killed him--for my sake!” - -Even in the midst of the intense strain those last three words thrilled -me with secret joy. Heaven forgive me for wishing for an instant that -they were true. I could have brought myself to accept the terrible -possibility which had been haunting me ever since the voice of -Inspector Charles had told me through the telephone that Weathered was -a corpse, the possibility that I had administered a fatal dose. But I -saw that Violet was on the verge of breaking down. For her sake, far -more than for my own, I must banish that theory from the field. - -“No,” I assured her again. “That is out of the question. Sir Frank -Tarleton is the greatest living authority on poisons, and he has been -engaged for the last three days in trying to ascertain the cause of -death. I have been by his side the whole time, assisting him, and I -know that his suspicions point in another direction altogether.” - -I broke off to catch her in my arms as she swayed forward. I was just -in time. I laid her gently on the moss and sprinkled her face with -water from the spring, the sweet face that I would have given all I -possessed to sprinkle with kisses instead. Luckily the collapse was -only momentary. While I was still bending over her she opened her lips -to say, “Go on. Tell me everything.” - -I waited till she had recovered strength enough to sit up. It would -have done harm to wait longer. It was necessary for her to know exactly -how matters stood. - -“Dr. Weathered had other victims beside you, and other enemies beside -me. The police are on the trail of some of them and Sir Frank has -obtained an important clue which may lead us to the true cause of -death. But meanwhile notice has been attracted to the costume in which -I went to the Domino Club that night.” - -Violet began to look frightened. - -“The one I lent you?--you ought to have destroyed it!” she said -excitedly. - -“It is very fortunate I didn’t,” I returned soothingly. “It has come -out that it was the costume you generally wore; and you remember that -was why you lent it to me, so that Weathered should think I was you. -Anyhow, it has been traced to you, and if you couldn’t produce it you -would be called on to account for its disappearance. Do you see that?” - -“Yes, I see that. But surely if they know the costume was mine they -must believe that I was there that night. My God, do they suspect me of -the murder?” - -I was agonized by her terror. - -“They know you to be innocent. Your innocence has been proved,” I cried -out fiercely. “You have what the law calls an alibi; you were more -than a hundred miles away when the crime was committed--if there was -a crime. Good heavens, Violet, can you believe that I shouldn’t have -given myself up to justice the very moment it was necessary to clear -you?” - -Her expression softened more than I could have hoped. - -“I know that, Bertrand,” she said in a low voice. “Only I don’t -understand why you are here. What does Sir Frank Tarleton want with me?” - -“He wanted two things. One was to make sure that you really were here -on Wednesday night. He is now quite satisfied of that. The other is to -ask you if you can explain something that has puzzled us in Weathered’s -appointment-book. Whenever your name appears it is followed by a -number, and we don’t know why.” - -Violet lowered her eyes with a frown. - -“He gave me that number to sign my letters by when I wrote to him. He -told me that it would help me to write more freely if I used a number -instead of a name.” - -I started in alarm. “But why should you need that? What were the -letters about?” - -The poor girl’s eyes still refused to meet mine. - -“He made me tell him the whole story in letters. He said that was the -only way to get it off my mind.” - -I clenched my teeth together to keep myself from uttering a word. The -doctor’s safe had been opened and his case-book destroyed uselessly. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -PSYCHO-ANALYSIS - - -It was one of those moments in which life seems to cast away the mask -of convention and spring upon us like a giant fanged and armed for our -destruction; one of those moments in which the bravest heart quails and -the strongest hope withers to despair. - -My crime had been committed for nothing. Whether the death of that -despicable villain lay at my door or not, I did not know, and it hardly -seemed to matter any longer. Somewhere there was still in existence the -weapon with which he had terrorized his unhappy victim, and I could not -tell in what hands, nor when it might be employed to ruin her and me -together. - -Weathered’s cunning scheme stood revealed in its full atrocity. His -patients had been divided into two classes. Those who had nothing -serious on their consciences, and those whom it was not worth his while -to blackmail received the ordinary treatment given to nervous patients -by respectable physicians. Those who came to him to be cured of vicious -propensities, on the other hand, were encouraged to indulge them -under his eye, under the pretence that they would thus be gradually -overcome; and those who sought relief from evil memories were bidden -to rid their mind of its secret burden in correspondence which could be -preserved for future use. - -So far as I could judge he had fallen into those evil courses by -degrees. Sarah Neobard’s defence of her step-father might not be far -from the truth. I thought it likely that such a man as Weathered, -with no strong principle to keep him straight, might naturally have -deteriorated under the influence of his patients. All the precautions -with which the confessional is surrounded in Catholic churches were -wanting in this case. The doctor was probably a man without any -religious feeling, and without any real scruples on the subject of -morality. Instead of curing his patients he had let himself become -infected with their disease. The confessions he had listened to had -inflamed his own imagination, and made evil familiar to his thoughts. -In the end he had come to take a fiendish pleasure in gloating over -tales of guilty indulgence and innocence betrayed. He had delighted -in the analysis of women’s hearts; he had learned to play upon their -sensitive natures like instruments, and draw the notes of passion and -pain. The devils in hell must soothe their own torments with such music. - -It was torture enough for me to think of my own tragedy, as well as -Violet’s, profaned by the coarse curiosity of a blackmailer. If I had -sinned--and I never could admit that she had sinned at all--if I had -sinned, at least I had not done so wilfully and basely, but swept away -on the overpowering flood of that tremendous impulse by which all -the planets move in heaven, and all the earth is wrapped in her green -garment, and all the birds burst into song, and all the race of man is -renewed for ever. - -Our sad romance began in the purest innocence. I did not know of her -existence on that morning when I set out with a knapsack on my back -to explore the old borderland of England and Wales. I had formed no -fixed plans; I meant to walk where fancy took me, and stop when I felt -inclined; and the last thing I expected was that I should pass all -my holiday on one spot. It was not till I reached the village that I -heard of the ruins that lay hidden at the back of the Earl of Ledbury’s -stately seat, and was persuaded to turn aside and see them. - -I was told that a footpath leading from the churchyard up the hill -would bring me past them, and, as far as I could make out, his lordship -had laid down no absolute rule against strangers going over them. I was -young and irresponsible enough to take the risk of being turned out as -a trespasser. I climbed over a gate padlocked and fortified with barbed -wire, crossed a meadow, and passed through a gap in the outer wall. I -had spent half an hour in scrambling over heaps of fallen masonry, and -was just beginning to descend a broken stairway up which I had climbed -for the sake of the view, when I saw standing on the grass near its -foot the loveliest girl I had ever seen. - -She was watching me with the shy wonder of a child, and I came down -slowly, scarcely daring to breathe, lest she should turn and run away. -But no such thought was in her head. I seemed to her a boy, very little -older than herself, and it turned out that she had come to take me -under her protection. - -When I lifted my cap, and expressed a hope that I wasn’t trespassing, -she gave me a cordial smile of a comrade in mischief. - -“Yes, you are trespassing,” she said frankly, “but they won’t take any -notice if they see me speaking to you. I saw you from my window and I -came to prevent any of the servants driving you away.” - -I hardly knew which was more delicious, the simplicity or the -friendliness of the child angel, as she was named already in my -thoughts. That night I heard her story from the good mistress of -the farm. She had lost her mother as soon as she was born, and, as -sometimes happens, she had lost her place in her father’s heart in -consequence. He was then a middle-aged man, his wife had been the only -woman he had ever cared for, and she had borne him no other child. Life -for him was closed. He resigned himself to let the earldom and the -encumbered estate pass to his brother, and shut himself up with his -grief in the one habitable corner of his desolate house. - -Of Violet he took no more notice than he could help. His sense of -duty bade him engage a strict governess, and direct that his daughter -should be brought up to marry money, since he could leave her none. -The governess conceived that the way to attain this end was to keep -the girl in absolute seclusion till a suitable bridegroom was found, -and then to thrust her into his arms. The result was that her life had -actually been very much like that of a princess in a fairy tale who is -immured in a tower and kept from the sight of men. And I had been cast -unconsciously for the part of the fairy hero who scales the tower and -wins the maiden’s heart. - -In the first confusion of the meeting I was far more tongue-tied than -she. I guessed, of course, that she must be the daughter of Lord -Ledbury, and this was the first time I had ever spoken to anyone of her -rank. I was in doubt whether to address her with the word ladyship. I -think the awe with which her rank inspired me had a great deal to do -with what followed. It lifted her so far above me in my own mind, that -I was blind to her growing love, and at first mistook my own love for -the devotion of a vassal to his queen. - -She talked to me about the ruins, holding me there spell-bound till -neither of us could find more to say. At last, when I felt obliged -to come away, she asked me wistfully where I was going. And I, who -had made up my mind already not to go, if I could find any excuse for -staying in the neighbourhood, with any chance of meeting her again, -answered vaguely that I didn’t know. I was looking, I told her, for -some place where I could put up. - -Her whole face brightened when I said that, and she cried eagerly, -“There is a farm-house on the hill where they take visitors in the -summer, and I don’t think they have anyone yet. I often go past it in -my walks, and I haven’t seen any strangers about.” - -My heart exulted within me. There was to be no walking tour for me that -summer. When one has come within the gates of Paradise how can he want -to wander more? - -And so I took off my knapsack in the honeysuckle porch of the little -farm-house, and stayed on. It chanced for our undoing that the strict -governess had gone away for her own holiday a day or two before I came, -and did not return till it was time for me to exile myself from Eden. -Violet was left alone. No callers had come to the Castle for many -years. There were no neighbours in her own station of life within many -miles. The clergyman was an old bachelor interested only in butterflies -and moths, of which he had a wonderful collection, and blind to -everything that went on in his parish. If our romance was watched, and -I have no doubt that it was watched by many curious eyes unknown to us, -none of the watchers dared to carry tales of his daughter to the Earl -of Ledbury. Violet saw her father twice a day at meals, and he never -dreamed of asking her how she spent her time between. - -The golden month rolled by. The first few days each of us made believe -that our meetings were accidental. But soon we ceased to pretend that -it was chance that had led her steps up the hill and led mine down -them to the wood in which we came together. We explored the hills in -company, rousing the partridges from the corn and rabbits from the -fern. The wood-pigeons cooed and wheeled above our heads; the robins -peeped at us from the hedges and the squirrels from the trees. We stood -beside the lonely cromlech named after the mythical hero who held the -Saxon hosts at bay, and we looked down into the Golden Valley and saw -the peaks of the Welsh mountains far away. And we were happy.... - -Lightly, O lightly, broke upon me the knowledge that she loved me. What -I had never hoped for had come to pass. I had been content to worship -her in silence. Endymion might so have worshipped Artemis if he had -been the first to see her. Bottom, the weaver, might so have worshipped -Titania if the magic juice had touched his eyelids before hers. She -had been as unapproachable in my eyes as any inhabitant of the moonlit -world of sleep. It was with almost a pang, with a strange shrinking -of the heart, that I first perceived that she was mortal like myself, -and that I had awakened her. I seemed to have broken into a temple and -profaned the shrine. - -I do not recollect that we said anything. One day when we were walking -side by side along a sunken lane that led to a little waterfall I -stooped suddenly and kissed her. - -From that day we were sweethearts as openly as any rustic pair. To -her it was all as natural as the romances she had read, and she can -never have had the least suspicion of the misgivings that had vexed my -soul. She seemed surprised even when I touched on the social gulf that -separated us. She owned sorrowfully that her father would never hear of -such a match, but she evidently took it for granted that I should not -heed his opposition. I was her knight, and it was for me to overcome -every obstacle in the way. Her faith in me was perfect. All affection -for her father had been crushed out of her in childhood. She had loved -me more easily, and she loved me more passionately, because she had no -one else to love. - -And what were we to do? I was barely of age. I was not qualified; I had -no means of support except a dwindling legacy that would be exhausted -by the time I was able to earn my first fee. The knights of old seem -never to have been troubled by such hindrances as these; the dragons -they vanquished were creatures who could be subdued by strength of arm; -they never had to ride into anything worse than an ogre’s castle or a -wizard’s cave. The terrors of the bank parlour and the house-agent’s -office were unknown to them; and they never had to face a baker or a -butcher armed with his weekly bill. - -I put off as long as I could the pain of confessing to Violet that -these dragons in the way must take years to vanquish. And at first she -hardly grasped what it would mean to her. The mere waiting, I could -see, would cost her less than me. After all, courtship is the supreme -time of womanhood. Then she is queen indeed, and marriage is for her -dethronement. Her bridal is like the glorious pyre on which the Hindu -widow once expired in religious ecstasy. It was not until she realized -that I was going that Violet broke down. - -There the burden was shifted to the other side. Delay is the suffering -of man, separation the suffering of woman. I had my work to go back to; -I had my friends and all the distractions of life in London. She had -nothing before her but her remote and solitary prison. - -We had fallen into the way of meeting most often in the deserted barn. -Its situation assured us of a privacy more secure than that of the -lanes and woods. No one could approach us without being seen, and -no one ever did approach. No one could see through the openings--a -bare two inches wide in the thick wall; and no one could overhear. A -pile of bracken made our seat, and there we rested many a long summer -afternoon, the battered door thrown wide to let us count the windings -of the river far below, while we talked of all the coming years might -bring. - -So it was there we met on that last afternoon to say good-bye. We had -put off till the last moment any consideration of what was to happen -next. We had made no plans to meet again. I did not even know that -Lord Ledbury had a house in London, to which Violet was taken at rare -intervals, when it happened to be without a tenant, but always under -strict guard and more for business than for pleasure. We had not even -discussed any plans for correspondence, though it was evident that I -could not write to her at her father’s house without everything coming -out. It was understood between us that my very existence must be kept -secret if it were possible. Beyond that we had not found courage to -face the situation. - -And now we had to face it at last, and it was too much for us to bear. -It seemed to both of us like death. It was idle to think that we could -part like that, uncertain if ever we should meet again. It was a waste -of breath to pronounce the word good-bye when we were clinging to each -other in the desperation of young life in travail with its destiny. I -dare not try to recall that agony.... I stole across with the footstep -of a felon and closed the battered door. - -When I had slain my love I understood too late what I had done. Her -anguish was a revelation to me of what her utter purity had been. We -passed out from that brief frenzy into a strange world. The sun had -fallen from our sky, and Joshua could not have called it back again. We -were two spectres in each other’s sight. I did not ask her to forgive -me--I could not forgive myself. Rather would I have begged her to -reproach me. But no such thought was in her mind. Her whole feeling was -one of horror at what she had destroyed in herself; and I was only -hateful to her as the mirror in which she had seen her unknown self. -She moved her lips to implore me never to let her see me again. She -shuddered past me, and went down the hill with the stumbling gait of a -wounded bird. - -I know there are some men, and there may be some women, who will think -that I was a fool to let her go. They will tell me that I ought not to -have taken her at her word; that if I had waited, in a short time she -would have recovered, and the breach might have been patched up, and -the wound healed. I cannot tell if they are right; I only know that I -obeyed her, and fled from her neighbourhood with no hope of ever coming -back. - -And so the lonely girl, left to herself with no one to confide in, -brooded over her secret till it became like a viper gnawing at her -heart. How she came to hear of the charlatan she had not told me. -Somehow or other during one of her stays in her father’s house in town, -the news reached her of the new science of psycho-analysis, and of -the practitioner who undertook to do what Macbeth longed for in vain, -to pluck from memory a rooted sorrow, and erase the writing from the -tablets of the brain. - -She went to him, of course, without consulting those about her, and -from that moment she became his helpless prey. What arts he used to -beguile her it is easy to guess. At first she believed in him, and when -her suspicion began to be aroused she was already in his power, and -dared not break with him. - -By this time the Earl of Ledbury and the duenna had put their heads -together and decided that Lady Violet must pass a season in London, and -be seen in the great world. In consequence she had much more liberty. -She made some girl friends whom she was allowed to go about with, and -among them were not a few who held modern notions on the rights of -girlhood, and were ready to encourage and to screen her in the courses -into which she was compelled by her taskmaster. Her most intimate -comrade willingly became a member of the Domino Club. - -But not even to her most intimate friend dared Violet disclose the true -situation. While she still trusted in Weathered and believed in his -power to heal her soul of sin, she had written the whole story of our -love in letters which the scoundrel now refused to give up, except as -the price of a far worse surrender. There was only one being in the -world whom she could appeal to without the risk of further shame. And -thus we met again. - -The medical directory gave her my address, and she wrote to me at -Sir Frank Tarleton’s. But her letter begged for a strictly private -interview in such urgent language that I thought it safer not to let -her come there. I asked her to meet me at the corner of Shaftesbury -Avenue, as though by accident, and I took her to the little room which -I could call my own. - -Nearly four years had gone by since our tragic parting, but when we -stood face to face again they did not seem four hours. Violet’s -face changed from red to white and back again as she half held out a -trembling hand and dropped it woefully; and my hand trembled too as I -raised it to my hat. I thought it best to say nothing except the few -words necessary to explain where we were going, and she seemed glad to -keep silent till we were safely there. - -The story she had to tell was so appalling, and the effort of telling -it cost her so much, that naturally a good deal was left out. Certainly -I quite failed to gather from her that Weathered had induced her -to make her confession to him in letters. I supposed that he had -taken it down from her lips. It is the familiar practice of West End -consultants, who see their patients at long intervals, to make a -careful entry of all the particulars of the case for future reference; -and I supposed that Weathered had taken advantage of this to make a -damning record in his case-book, which would be quite sufficient to -enable him to blast his victims’ reputation, although it might not be -evidence in a lawyer’s eyes. - -The truth is that I was myself too agitated to go into the matter -carefully even if Violet had been in a state to be cross-examined. The -whole interview resolved itself into a series of wild outbreaks on her -part, and attempts to assure her on mine. Indeed, I hardly know that -we arrived at any clear understanding of what she was asking of me, or -what I was promising her. The one thing clear to me was that the only -way to save her would be for me to get at the doctor’s case-book and -destroy it. And to do that I must obtain his keys. - -What Violet had told me about the Domino Club and their meetings in -that accursed place gave me my plan. I would do what I could not ask -her to do. All that was necessary was that I should be able to approach -Weathered without putting him on his guard. I must disguise myself in a -costume with which he was familiar, one which would allure him, and in -which I could play the part of the sought rather than the seeker. And -so the fatally easy plot took shape. - -There was barely an inch between Violet and me in height, and that inch -would be concealed by the Zenobia helmet. It would not be too difficult -for me to imitate for an hour or two the lighter movements of a woman. -Weathered would be quite unsuspicious; the dress, the artificial light, -the noise and excitement of the revel would all be in my favour. The -doctor, I gathered, drank freely on these occasions; I had only to wait -till the night was advanced and the wine had done its work. - -I told the distressed girl as little as possible of what I meant to -do, or to attempt. I said merely that I must meet Weathered, and that -it would be the best way for me to impersonate her for one night. She -consented readily enough--what else could she do? She told me the date -of the next dance, and undertook to send the mask and costume to my -room some days beforehand, so that I should have time to see that it -fitted, and to practice moving about with it on. - -We did not bid each other any formal farewell. Nothing was said about -our next meeting, indeed I felt no confidence that there would be -another. She had been driven to appeal to me in her extremity, but she -showed no sign of having forgiven me. Rather she seemed to find every -moment painful that she passed with me. All the time she was struggling -with herself, trying to speak to me as if I were a stranger whom she -found herself obliged to trust, but continually faltering and letting -her voice die down to a broken whisper. - -When I had let her out at the street door she hurried away blindly like -an escaping prisoner. And as soon as she was out of sight I hastened -round to Montague Street, and locked myself up in Tarleton’s arsenal of -poisons. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE EARL OF LEDBURY INTERVENES - - -My first thought, when I knew that Violet’s confession was still -undestroyed, was to hide the fact from her. I must spare her the -torturing apprehensions that I felt myself. Fortunately she did not -seem to be thinking of her own danger; at all events, she put no -questions to me about the letters. Perhaps she took it for granted that -I had secured them, or that they were no longer in existence. At all -events, the possibility that they might be in other hands as dangerous -as Weathered’s did not seem to strike her at the moment. The idea that -I had murdered Weathered overpowered all her faculties. - -Again and again I went over with her all that had happened. - -“I don’t believe that I killed him,” I told her with the utmost -earnestness. “Surely you can trust me to know what I was doing. I am -not an ordinary doctor. I have made a special study of poisons, as the -pupil, I may say the favourite pupil, of the greatest expert alive. I -am prepared to swear to you or in any court of justice that the dose -I gave him would not have killed any man in a normal condition of -health. Sir Frank Tarleton and I both observed symptoms that point to -some other drug having been administered to Weathered. Remember that -you were not his only patient, and you are not likely to have been the -only one whose confidence he abused. The Domino Club probably swarmed -with his enemies, in fact the manageress as good as told us so. His -own step-daughter asserts that there were other women with whom he had -mysterious relations----” - -“Other women!” She interrupted me with a cry of dismay. “Do you -mean--does she know anything about me?” - -I recollected Sarah Neobard’s fierce denunciation, and the scene she -had described, when she sat with her hired spy in the restaurant -watching the persecuted girl. I tried to explain away my unlucky slip. - -“No, no; I didn’t mean that for a moment. She told us that her -step-father had dealings with some of his women patients, and one of -the waiters in the Club described some women who were there that night. -He described me among others; that is to say, he described the costume -I was wearing. But he suspected that it was worn by a man. He must have -keen eyes.” - -“Then you are under suspicion!” Her anxiety was instantly diverted from -herself to me again. - -“Not at all,” I answered. “No one has the least suspicion who the -wearer of the costume really was. The police made inquiries, and all -they learned was that a similar costume had been supplied to you a year -ago. They followed up the clue, and found that you were down here on -the night, so that it must have been someone else in the Club. Now -you see why I sent it back to you. If Sir Frank Tarleton says anything -about it, all you have to do is to say that you remember having such -a costume, and offer to find it and show it to him. He and the police -will naturally believe that the one worn at the Club that night was a -duplicate.” - -Violet looked a little uncertain, as she had some excuse for being. I -thought I might venture now to ask her to come back to the house to -meet my formidable chief. - -“Sir Frank will be there by the time that we get down,” I said. “He has -gone for an hour’s stroll in the park.” - -She put her hand to her head as she stood up and prepared to come with -me. - -“Will he ask me anything else? What were you going to tell me just now?” - -“The numbers,” I reminded her. “He will ask you if you know what they -meant.” - -“Ah! Must I tell him that? Must he know about the letters? Will -everything come out?--O Bertrand!” - -Her gasp of anguish wrung my very heart-strings. - -“No!” I cried. “Don’t give way to such thoughts. You don’t know -Tarleton. He is the soul of honour. He is delicacy itself. He won’t ask -you one word more than he can help. You need tell him nothing more than -that Weathered gave you a number to use in writing to him. You can -trust Sir Frank not to ask you what the letters were about.” - -“But he will know--he will know!” she sighed despairingly. And I could -say little in reply. - -We found the door unlocked that led from the house into the ruins, and -we parted in the corridor, Violet going upstairs to her room while I -made my way back to the library into which I had been shown at first. -Waiting for me outside the door I found my friendly manservant. - -“You’ll find the other gentleman inside,” he whispered. “He’s been back -about five minutes.” - -I went in trying to look unconcerned, and found Tarleton comfortably -seated in an armchair engaged in the familiar rite of waving his mascot -to and fro as if it were a censer with which he was offering invisible -incense to the Sphinx. - -“I hope I haven’t kept you waiting, sir. I have been taking a look at -the ruins of the old Castle.” - -“I have had a look at them, too,” was the enigmatic answer. “Twelfth -century, I should think. One of the first castles put up by the Normans -when they began penetrating South Wales.” - -I could only hope that that was the extent of his observations. I could -not bring myself to ask. - -There was silence between us till Violet came into the room. The -change in her amazed me. She was rather pale but perfectly composed. -Her manner was full of courteous dignity. It was the first time that I -had seen her as the Lady Violet Bredwardine, the daughter of a noble -house, conscious of her claims to deference from strangers. - -The consultant rose from his seat with every mark of respect and -consideration, and I clumsily imitated him. She was the first to speak. - -“Sir Frank Tarleton?--I am told that you wish to see me on urgent -business. I am sorry that you have been kept waiting, but I had gone -out for a walk. Won’t you sit down?” - -She included me in the invitation by a slight, distant bow, as she -seated herself facing us. - -“It is very good of you to see me, Lady Violet.--Dr. Cassilis is my -assistant.” Another distant bow. “I have been called in as a physician -in the case of another medical man who had the honour to include you -among his patients, I believe--Dr. Weathered.” - -A bow in the affirmative, still colder, if possible. - -“I regret to have to inform you that Dr. Weathered has died--of heart -failure.” - -A little gasp, natural enough in the circumstances. A gasp of relief in -my ears, relief at hearing the death described as natural. A gasp of -surprise, I could only hope, in the keen ears of my chief. - -“Dr. Weathered’s death was rather sudden. It is desirable for the sake -of his family to dispense with an inquest if possible, but it has been -necessary to make some inquiries into his affairs, and I have had to go -through his appointment-book, the book in which he entered the names -of his patients who came to see him, you understand.” - -“I understand.” Just a tremor, immediately subdued. - -“Naturally your name appears in the book among others. And it happens -to be one of several that have numbers attached to them, as if for -purposes of identification. If you know, or can suggest, the reason for -that, I shall be very much obliged by your telling me.” - -Violet straightened herself up and spoke very distinctly. It was clear -to me that she had prepared her answer carefully. - -“I can tell you exactly. When Dr. Weathered’s patients had to write to -him about whatever he was treating them for, he gave them a number to -use instead of their own names. The letters were confidential.” - -Tarleton’s face told me that he had grasped the full situation, as I -had grasped it half an hour before. He looked at me instead of her, but -he failed to hide his consternation altogether. - -“What is the matter? Why do you look like that?” the startled girl -exclaimed. - -The specialist pulled himself together. - -“There is nothing the matter, Lady Violet. I was staggered for a moment -at the thought of what might have happened if I hadn’t taken the -precaution of coming here and questioning you. I will see that this -correspondence is destroyed unread as soon as I get back to town. -Unless, that is, it has been destroyed already. Dr. Weathered may have -burnt the letters as soon as he had read them.” - -The explanation was not very happy. Poor Violet’s dignity forsook her -as she realized for the first time that the outpouring of her heart, -the record of her secret shame, were at the mercy of whatever stranger -first gained access to the dead man’s repository. She did her best to -keep her eyes from straying in my direction, but the half turn of her -head towards me before she spoke to Tarleton was enough to tell me what -she felt. - -“Do you mean,” she faltered, “that there is a danger of someone finding -these letters?--someone who might make use of them?” - -I had not often seen my chief at a loss, but he was plainly put out now. - -“My dear young lady, there isn’t the least fear of that. It may ease -your mind if I tell you more than I intended. Dr. Weathered’s death -occurred in a club in Chelsea, and the proprietress or manager, -whichever she really is, sent for the police. They thought the death -might be due to foul play, and they have been making some inquiries. -Meanwhile, they have had their eyes on everyone who would be at all -likely to have anything to do with the case, and you may be sure that -if the doctor left any secret correspondence it will be secured and -burnt immediately.” - -Violet had glanced at my face while he was speaking, and had read in -it, no doubt, that it would be her best course to appear satisfied. She -murmured a “Thank you.” - -“There is one other question I should like to ask you, but I hope you -won’t think it concerns you personally. The doctor’s death took place -on Wednesday night, and as you were more than a hundred miles away, no -one supposes that you can throw any light on what took place in the -Club that night.” - -He paused for a moment, as if to give her a chance of asking how he -came to know that she was so far away. But of course I had already -given her the information, and she was afraid to speak. - -“But it seems that you have a double, or rather that someone was -impersonating you that night. The attention of the police was drawn to -the presence of a dancer wearing a fancy dress which the costumiers -consider to represent Zenobia, the famous Queen of Palmyra who fought -against the Romans in the third century. They made inquiries, and heard -that a similar costume had been supplied to you about a year ago.--Can -you tell me what has become of it?” - -The final question was put abruptly. It was well that Violet had been -prepared for it. She kept perfectly cool; if anything, too cool. I -should have liked her to show a little more disturbance. - -“I have no idea. I suppose my maid has put it away somewhere among my -things. But I will ring for her, and ask.” - -“Permit me, Lady Violet.” Tarleton sprang to the bell before she was -out of her chair. It was answered by the manservant, whom her ladyship -dispatched in quest of her maid. - -I watched my chief while we were waiting. I flattered myself that I had -outmanœuvred him in this direction. His lowered brows told me that he -was puzzled. He must have come down to Tyberton expecting to find the -costume missing, and to receive some made-up story to account for its -disappearance. - -A woman came into the room, an elderly person, of very plain -appearance, whom I put down as Lord Ledbury’s housekeeper. I didn’t -think his lordship’s means were sufficient to provide his daughter with -a lady’s maid. - -“Oh, Henderson, do you know what has become of that fancy dress of mine -with the helmet and breastplate? Can you put your hands on it?” - -Henderson showed no surprise. - -“Certainly, my lady. It is in the drawer at the bottom of your -ladyship’s wardrobe.” - -“Just go and fetch it, will you?” - -“Yes, my lady.” - -She went out with the movement of a well-drilled actor, leaving me -with the uncomfortable impression that the scene had been rehearsed, -and that Tarleton could hardly miss coming to the same conclusion. He -muttered some vague expression of regret for the trouble he was giving -to Lady Violet, and then sat with his lips pursed up in rather ominous -fashion, and his eyes fixed on the door. - -Henderson reappeared rather too quickly. She carried all the articles -that made up the much-talked-of costume, the paste-board armour coated -with silver paint, the flowing shirt, even the sandals which the -Wardour Street Israelite had deemed appropriate footwear for a desert -queen. - -Tarleton gave them the barest glance, as they were spread out on the -table, and bowed to Violet. - -“I have to thank your ladyship.” - -He was in the act of rising when the door of the room was thrown open -abruptly. - -The figure on the threshold presented the appearance of a man just -roused from sleep and inclined to resent the interruption of his -dreams. He was tall and thin, and seemed to hold himself upright -with an effort. His gray hairs straggled over his head in unbrushed -disorder, and his clothes hung on him as though they had been dropped -where they were in a fit of absence of mind. In spite of these signs of -neglect there was an air of dignity about him that left me in no doubt -as to his identity. - -The Earl of Ledbury advanced into the room, turning a glance of -disapproval from Sir Frank Tarleton to myself, and addressed his -daughter. - -“Violet, what business have you with these gentlemen?” - -What excuse she would have made if it had been left to her to answer, -I don’t know. Tarleton instantly took the burden on himself. - -“My business with Lady Violet is official, my lord. I am right, no -doubt, in thinking that you are the Earl of Ledbury?” - -“Official?” The word sounded like a snarl. “Who are you, sir?” - -“I am the principal medical adviser to the Home Office. My name is Sir -Frank Tarleton, and this gentleman is my assistant, Dr. Cassilis.” - -I was already on my feet. I gave the Earl a deferential bow which only -seemed to increase his irritation. - -“And may I ask what you mean, gentlemen, by coming into my house and -interviewing my daughter behind my back?” - -Tarleton was not the man to let himself be addressed in that fashion. - -“I think you forget yourself, my lord. The Lady Violet is of age, I -believe. We are here in the discharge of our duty, and I need not -remind your lordship that the law is not a respecter of persons.” - -Lord Ledbury’s look of anger changed to one of amazement and alarm. - -“Good heavens, what do you mean, sir? What has the law to do with Lady -Violet Bredwardine?” - -“Very little, I hope, but it was necessary for us to see her ladyship -and put a few questions to her, for her own sake.” - -The Earl turned suddenly. “Henderson, leave the room.” - -“One moment, please.” The physician detained the woman by a gesture. -“Can you tell me if this costume has been where you just found it -during the whole of last week? Would it have been possible for anyone -to take it without your knowledge, send it away, and put it back again -afterwards?” - -It was a fatal question, the one question I ought to have anticipated -and prepared for. Violet’s face must have betrayed her to a duller eye -than my shrewd chief’s. As for Henderson, she gazed stupidly at her -mistress in the evident need of prompting. - -The irascible father could see this as plainly as ourselves. - -“The truth, woman!” he thundered. “Tell the truth this instant.” - -Henderson turned very red. - -“I had no wish to tell anything else, my lord. The drawer wasn’t -locked, that’s all I can say. I can’t tell whether anyone might have -taken the costume out and put it back again, I’m sure.” - -“Thank you. That is all I have to ask of you at present.” Nothing in -Tarleton’s tone or look showed what amount of importance he attached to -the answer he had received; and the woman, after gazing uneasily round -at us all in turn, went out of the room with a subdued mien. - -What the effect was on me, I need scarcely say. The whole question -of Violet’s connection with the case had been reopened. If the astute -investigator chose to follow up the clue he would not find it difficult -to obtain evidence through the post office that a parcel large enough -to contain the incriminating costume had been received by Lady Violet -since the discovery of the crime. It might not be possible to trace it -to me as the sender, but she might be placed in such a position that -only a full confession on my part could clear her. That confession, of -course, I had been ready to make all along, the moment it could do her -the least service. My difficulty had been to make it without involving -her as what the law calls an accessory before the fact. How could my -chief, how could Inspector Charles, fail to draw the inference that we -had acted in collusion, and that she had lent me her disguise knowing -the use I meant to make of it? - -The torturing problem racked my brain the whole time that Sir Frank was -explaining the situation to Lord Ledbury. The explanation was a painful -one. He did his best to soften the ugliest features, but it could -not be concealed that Lady Violet had consulted a doctor without the -knowledge of her father or her chaperon, that the doctor had died in -suspicious circumstances, and that some suspicion had attached to the -wearer of a fancy dress similar to the one spread out before us. - -The shock would have been a terrible one for any father. It must have -been doubly so for a man who had lived for so many years out of the -world, ignoring the changes that had come about since his youth. The -whole story must have taken him out of his bearings. The society in -which night clubs flourish, and girls as young as Violet are found in -them, was as strange to him as it would have been to any parent of the -Victorian age. - -I could see his mood turning from surprise and bewilderment into -growing fury as he listened. And his anger was no longer directed -against Tarleton and myself. - -“It comes to this, that my daughter’s name is mixed up with a murder -case,” he exploded at last. “If she is not actually under suspicion her -clothes are. Violet!” The stricken girl turned beseeching eyes on him. -“Unless you can assure me that you had no more to do with this business -than I had, you shan’t pass another night under this roof.” - -The injustice of it nearly stung me into speech. The Earl had done -nothing to deserve his daughter’s confidence. He had let her grow -up a stranger to him. He had handed her over to a mercenary with no -qualifications beyond those of a drill-sergeant or a prison warder. And -he was ablaze with wrath because she had grown into a living creature -with blood in her veins, instead of a wooden doll. - -Violet’s eyes filled with tears. - -“What do you want me to say?” she implored. “I didn’t even know that -Dr. Weathered was dead till these gentlemen told me.” - -“You knew him, it seems. What did you go to him for? You haven’t been -ill.” - -I began to feel anxious for myself as well as her. But she replied with -unexpected spirit. - -“I went to him as a doctor. He was a nerve specialist, and I went to -him about my nerves.” - -“Nerves!” His lordship spat out the word in scorn. “A girl of your age -has no business with nerves. Did you tell Miss Pollexfen that you were -suffering from nerves?” - -“No.” Violet flared up with a touch of her father. “Why should I? Miss -Pollexfen is no friend of mine. I didn’t choose her for a companion. -I am old enough to decide for myself whether I want to see a doctor, -without consulting her.” - -Lord Ledbury was clearly taken aback. He can have had no real suspicion -that his daughter had done anything seriously wrong, or he would hardly -have cross-examined her before us. Little as he loved her, regard for -his own good name would have made him refrain from going on. - -“So you consider yourself independent, do you?” He pointed to the -clothes. “Have you lent these things--to anyone?” - -I held my breath. I dared not make the least sign to Violet. And if I -had, she would not have seen it. She kept her eyes steadily fixed on -her father’s. - -“Yes.” It was the wisest answer to give now that so much had come out. -A falsehood must have been detected in a few hours. - -“Tell me her name.” - -My heart seemed to stop beating. There was a tense pause in which the -air of the room vibrated with suspense. Then the girl slowly shook her -head. - -“I cannot.” - -“You mean you won’t. I command you, Violet. Do you hear?” - -Her head sunk obstinately on her breast. - -“I shall never tell.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE UNKNOWN POISON - - -I sat fascinated. This was not the Violet Bredwardine I had known. The -girl had sprung up into a woman, and the woman was making a brave fight -for me more than herself. If my name came out she would be no worse off -than she was already, as far as her connection with the death in the -Domino Club was concerned. Her father would have to know that she and -I had been friends in the past, but he need know nothing more. It was -I who stood in danger. It would be useless for me to deny that I had -drugged Weathered, and had carried off the case-book. His death would -lie at my door unless it could be proved that something had been given -to him that night in addition to opium. And it would take very strong -evidence to convince a jury that there had been anyone else concerned -in that night’s business besides me. - -Whether her refusal to betray me was due only to loyalty, or to a faint -survival or revival of the love I had forfeited, I could not tell. I -only knew that my own heart was touched anew, and I longed more than -ever to redeem myself in her eyes and wipe out the past. - -The Earl of Ledbury controlled his wrath with an effort. He may have -seen that it would be useless to persist just then. He may have feared -to press his daughter too far in our presence lest she should make some -admission that would bring her within reach of the law. - -“Very well; if that is your attitude, you have ceased to be my -daughter. You will pack up your things and go to London by the -afternoon train. I shall wire to Miss Pollexfen to meet you, and -you can stay in my house till she has found you a home with some -respectable family; and I shall pay for your board as long as you -choose to remain with them. Beyond that I have done with you. Now go.” - -Violet got up, shivering all over, to obey. Her misery was too acute -for me to indulge in selfish thoughts of what her forced emancipation -might mean for me. - -The Earl turned to Sir Frank as if by an afterthought. - -“Have you gentlemen anything else to ask Lady Violet before she goes?” - -My chief passed on the question to me by a nod. His own expression was -one of pity. I caught at the opportunity. - -“Nothing for the moment, but I presume your lordship will be willing to -let us have Lady Violet’s new address if we should want it later on.” - -It was the first time I had spoken since Lord Ledbury came into the -room, and he glared at me as though resenting my presumption. - -“Lady Violet is of age,” he said shortly. “I have just been reminded -of that. She is her own mistress; you had better ask her.” - -Violet slowly turned and faced me. I threw all I dared of longing and -pleading for forgiveness into the look I gave her. The despair in her -eyes found a dull echo in her tone. - -“I will send you my address as soon as I know it. But it will make no -difference. I....” - -Her voice choked. The next moment the door had closed on her. - -And now Tarleton proceeded to astonish me. I think he astonished the -Earl of Ledbury as well. - -“My lord,” he said in a tone of deep gravity, “it is clear to me that -you have no idea of the danger in which your daughter stands.” - -“Danger!” The Earl fairly started. - -“Danger,” the consultant repeated firmly. “The man whose death has -brought us down here was an unscrupulous scoundrel. He laid traps for -women. Under the pretence of soothing their nerves he induced them -to tell him their secrets, and to write him letters containing their -inmost thoughts. There is every likelihood that he met his death at the -hands of some woman whom he had entrapped in that way, and whom he was -attempting to blackmail.” - -“But what has that to do with my daughter?” his lordship burst out. -“You don’t suppose that she knew he was going to be murdered?” - -“I haven’t suggested it. The evidence is to the contrary, I am glad to -see. But your daughter has been beguiled into writing to this man, -and in her innocence she has very likely written a good many things -that you would not care to see published. Those letters are still in -existence, probably, and we don’t know in whose hands. Until they are -found and destroyed Lady Violet will be at the mercy of the holder.” - -“Wretched girl!” Even now the selfish father could find nothing better -to do than to blame his child. - -“Who made her wretched?” Tarleton’s face wore the stern look of a -judge passing sentence. “Who drove her to confide in a stranger and -a charlatan? Who handed her over to a hired companion whom she seems -to have disliked and distrusted? Who taught her to look for sympathy -anywhere except from her own parent and in her own home?” - -Never have I witnessed a rebuke better administered or with better -effect. Lord Ledbury was utterly subdued. If the condemnation had come -from a young man like myself, or from a professed preacher, he might -have tried to defend himself. But from a man of his own age, and a man -in authority, the representative of law and public opinion, it was an -unanswerable charge. - -For the best part of a minute he sat silent. His face worked. Memories -of the past must have come back to him; perhaps he asked himself what -account he could give to Violet’s mother of her only child. His voice -was altered and broken when he spoke again. - -“You have been very plain with me, Sir Frank. I recognize that you have -spoken as a friend--as my daughter’s friend at least, if not mine. It -may be that my treatment of her has been mistaken, although I meant it -for the best; at all events, it has turned out unfortunately. But her -good name is the first consideration now. These letters--what do you -advise me to do?” - -The physician considered for a time before he spoke. - -“I didn’t know of the existence of these letters when I came down here, -and the problem is one that requires thinking out. It may be that -they will give us a clue to the whole mystery. As far as I can see at -present, three things may have happened to them.” - -He turned from Lord Ledbury to me as he went on. - -“Weathered may have kept them in the same safe with his case-book. -In that case the person who opened the safe and carried off the book -ought to have found the letters as well. But according to my present -theory the person who took the book was the wearer of this costume--” -he pointed to the dress in front of us. “In other words, he or she was -Lady Violet’s friend. And if her friend had found any such documents -he would have destroyed them and let her know at once. In my opinion, -therefore, either he overlooked them, or they were kept in some more -secret receptacle.” - -As Tarleton seemed to expect my opinion I nodded in confirmation. I -could have sworn that the safe contained no such correspondence, but -that, of course, I dared not tell him. - -“The next person who seems to have had access to the safe,” said the -consultant, “was Weathered’s step-daughter. And if he had some other -hiding-place in the house she is the most likely person to have known -of it, and to have opened it since his death. Her mother, no doubt, -would have a better right to examine her husband’s papers, but she -impressed me as a weak woman, very much in her daughter’s hands. We -have to face the possibility that Lady Violet’s letters have been -found by a young woman of very determined character who has actually -denounced her ladyship to Dr. Cassilis and myself as guilty of this -man’s death.” - -The Earl showed himself greatly shaken. - -“But this is terrible. You, sir, and you”--he appealed to each of us in -turn--“don’t believe anything so hideous.” - -“Not for one moment.” It was my chief who answered. “Our presence here -is the best proof of that. We found ourselves accused by this young -woman of hushing up the case and screening the criminal, and we came -down to obtain proof of Lady Violet’s absence from the scene of the -crime. You have nothing to fear on that score, I hope and believe. You -can trust us both not to let anyone know of the admission Lady Violet -has just made to you that she lent her costume to someone else.” - -“To the actual murderer, do you mean?” the father gasped. - -“Not necessarily. That point is still in doubt. As I have said, the -crime may have been committed by a woman--or a man--who had been driven -to desperation. I should be glad to think so, and to think that he or -she had seized the secret correspondence.” - -“Why?” It was Lord Ledbury who put the question, but I waited for the -answer with equal curiosity. - -“Because in that case we might have every hope that it would be -promptly destroyed. Such a victim would have no motive to injure her -fellow victims, and we might credit her with a sense of honour. Whereas -the step-daughter has shown a strong animus against Lady Violet, and we -know that she is not too scrupulous when her feelings are aroused. If -Miss Neobard has found these letters it may take some pressure to make -her give them up.” - -The Earl wrung his hands. “My means are not large, but if any sum -within my power--” he began. - -Tarleton cut him short with decision. - -“That is one means which must not be resorted to, my lord. I must -make that an absolute condition. The one thing I have to ask of you -is that you will protect your daughter from any attempt that may -be made to blackmail her. Try, if you can, to win her confidence. I -strongly advise you to come up to town with her yourself. Her chaperon -has shown herself to be incompetent, and I shouldn’t let her into your -house again. Look out for some bright, sympathetic woman of the world, -and don’t engage her unless Lady Violet takes to her as a friend. And -let it be seen that your daughter is under your personal protection. -A blackmailer who would find a solitary girl an easy prey will think -twice before he threatens one who is guarded by a father in your -position. Take her with you to the theatres and picture galleries. -Believe me, as a doctor, she is in need of distraction just now. I -won’t answer for her sanity unless she can be cheered up and taken out -of herself. I will call on her, with your permission, and keep an eye -on her for a time.” - -The change in the Earl of Ledbury was great indeed by now. He thanked -the consultant with emotion, and undertook to carry out all his -recommendations. He pressed us both to stay and lunch with him, but my -chief decided that we could not spare the time. - -“We must get back to town as soon as possible,” he declared. “The -sooner we get on the track of the missing letters the better chance -there will be of our recovering them.” - -He shook hands with the Earl very cordially at parting and his -lordship seemed to include me in his expressions of gratitude and -good-will. - -When we were seated in the car going back to Hereford my chief summed -up the situation for my benefit. - -“There was a possibility that Lady Violet had lent her old disguise to -a friend as a blind and come to the dance in a new one. I thought it -was on the cards that she might prove to be the Leopardess. Now I think -we may rule that out, and I am very glad of it. She is a dear girl, and -I confess she has won my heart.” - -I glanced at him a little uneasily. In spite of his age, Tarleton was a -fascinating man. I had seen enough of him to know that he was popular -with women of all ages. Young women seemed to regard him as an uncle, -and became familiar with him at very short notice; and I could not be -sure that he always regarded them strictly as nieces. Glad as I was -that my chief had acquitted Violet in his mind, I was not altogether -pleased by the warmth with which he spoke. - -“We may take it that she lent her dress to a friend who meant to -impersonate her. We don’t know whether the friend had a grievance of -her own against Weathered, or whether she was acting as Lady Violet’s -champion. And in the second case we can’t say whether Lady Violet knew -or guessed what her champion intended to do. You see, there is still a -serious case against the poor girl. If the police knew that she was in -Weathered’s power, and that she had lent her costume to his murderer, -they might come to a very ugly conclusion.” - -“I am certain she had no idea that any crime was going to be -committed,” I spoke earnestly. - -“Quite so; you feel certain of that, but Captain Charles might feel -certain of the opposite. You see now why I thought it better for us to -come down here instead of one of his men.” - -I did indeed see it, and inwardly I thanked Sir Frank with all my heart. - -“I think we will tell Charles that we obtained satisfactory proof that -Lady Violet was at Tyberton Castle on Wednesday night, and that her -maid found the Zenobia costume for us in her wardrobe. That ought to -make him dismiss her from the case.” - -I could have asked for nothing better, so far. “And the letters?” I put -in anxiously. - -“Ah! I didn’t care to tell Lord Ledbury all I feared about them. I -shouldn’t be surprised if Weathered had stored them in the Domino Club.” - -I could not restrain a cry of alarm. - -“Yes,” Tarleton went on, “that would be the worst case of all. Because -by this time they must be in the hands of Madame Bonnell.” - -The smooth, smiling face of the Frenchwoman with its shrewd black eyes -and thin lips rose before me. As my chief had said, this was the worst -case of all. - -“If that woman has them it may be some time before we hear of them,” -the specialist pursued in a meditative tone. “She may wait till the -inquiry into the death is over, and the case disposed of as far as the -police are concerned. Then the victims will each receive a discreet -letter, probably from an agent, informing them that certain letters -which appear to be in their handwriting have been found, and asking if -they wish to have them returned. There won’t be a word about money in -the first communication, you may be sure. The victims will simply be -invited to call on the agents and inspect the letters. That woman knows -her business, I fancy.” - -It was horrible to think of Violet being slowly drawn into the -serpent’s coils. There would be less mercy to look for in such a woman -than in Weathered himself. - -The physician moved his shoulders as if to shake off an unpleasant -burden. - -“We will put that aside for the moment, and consider the question of -the murder. Everything now depends on the information I expect to find -waiting for me when we get back. If my diagnosis is correct, Weathered -died from a poison described in the book I have told you of, _Across -Sumatra_, by Captain Armstrong. The natives have some name for it which -I forget, but I have called it _Upasine_.” - -“Upasine!” I repeated the name in stupefaction. - -“Yes. You have heard, no doubt--everybody has heard--of the famous -upas tree. According to the tales of the old explorers, it was a tree -that exhaled a deadly vapour, so that the traveller who went to sleep -beneath its shelter never woke again. The bones of animals were found -scattered round the trunk, and they were supposed to have perished in -the same way, by going to sleep within the deadly radius.” - -“But surely,” I said in astonishment, “surely no one believes that any -longer? I thought it had been proved to be a fable.” - -The great expert shook his head. - -“There are not many fables that haven’t some truth in them,” he -pronounced. “The legendary glories of Timbuktu were dismissed at one -time as travellers’ tales, but it turned out there was a city called -Timbuktu on the southern edge of the desert of Sahara; that it was the -great market to which the caravans from the Mediterranean coast made -their way, and even that it once possessed something like a university, -when it became a refuge for the Moors who were driven out of Spain. -The accounts of the upas tree and its fatal shadow were dismissed in -the same shallow way without any inquiry as to how they originated. -Armstrong happened to be an intelligent man, and he told me that one -of the objects of his exploration of Sumatra had been to find out the -truth about the upas.” - -My incredulity began to give way before my chief’s sober words. - -“He started out with the conviction that bones and corpses had been -found under some trees by some explorers, who had accepted the native -theory that the tree cast a deadly spell on all within its range. Other -travellers had tested the theory and found that it was possible to -sleep under the tree in perfect safety. And so they had treated the -whole thing as a pure fancy, without inquiring further. Armstrong did -inquire further, and perhaps you can guess what he found?” - -For some moments I was hopelessly puzzled. “The leaves are poisonous, -perhaps, and the sleepers die because they have eaten them?” - -“Not a bad guess. No; Armstrong discovered a minute fungus that grows -in the soil round the root of the upas tree, and apparently nowhere -else. The animals that browse on this fungus are overcome by sleep, and -die without waking. It contains a soporific poison which acts rather -like opium at first, but has a peculiar effect on the skin, which it -dries up like parchment. You were the first to draw my attention to the -parchment-like appearance of Weathered’s face, you may remember.” - -I did remember. A burden was lifted from my heart by the recollection. -Whatever peril I might stand in from the law, I could assure myself at -last that I was not a murderer. The drug I had administered to Violet’s -persecutor had contained no grain of any other poison than opium. And -now I need not fear that I had given him an overdose of that. He had -died, he must have died, from the poison discovered by the explorer of -Sumatra. And that meant that he had died by some other hand than mine. - -The specialist continued his explanation. - -“You see now why I asked you to make no more remarks on what you saw. -Whoever used this poison probably believes that he is the only person -who possesses any, or even knows of its existence. Armstrong’s book -attracted very little notice. It was badly written, for one thing, and -there were no illustrations, a fatal omission in a book of travels -nowadays. I don’t think there was a word about this discovery in any -of the reviews. Naturally the murderer thinks that he is safe from -detection.” - -“How did you come to hear of the poison?” I ventured to ask. - -“In the simplest way. Captain Armstrong himself brought me a sample to -analyse.” - -Of course! I could have kicked myself. Tarleton was the one man to whom -any such discoverer would be certain to come for an opinion. - -“He had picked and dried a handful or two of the toadstools, as he -called them, but they had crumbled on the voyage home, and what he -brought me was dust. I detected the presence of an agent not yet known -to science, and I gave it the name of upasine. It seemed to me so -dangerous that an unknown poison should be in the hands of anyone but a -man like myself, that I asked Armstrong to sell me all he had brought -home, and he agreed to do it.” - -“But in that case--your bottle was untouched?” I objected. - -“True. It is clear that he deceived me. Either he had parted with some -of the poison before coming to me, and didn’t like to admit it, or else -he kept some for himself as a curiosity. If it isn’t in his possession, -I expect to hear of it in the same quarter as the leopard skin and -claws.” - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -THE LADY OF THE LEOPARD SKIN - - -I got little more out of my chief during the rest of the journey to -town. The gold repeater came into action as soon as we were seated in -the train, and I could only wonder what was the problem that was still -baffling that keen intelligence. - -To me, I confess, the solution of the mystery seemed now to be well in -sight. On our return to town I expected to find that Inspector Charles -had ascertained the present whereabouts of the explorer of Sumatra. -From him it should not be difficult to learn the identity of the -Leopardess, as I called her in my own mind; and I took it for granted -that she was a victim of Weathered’s who had delivered herself out of -his power by the use of the deadly fungus of the upas. - -My one anxiety at present was the thought of the missing letters. I -wearied myself with speculating as to whose hands they had passed -into since the murder, and by what means they could be recovered and -destroyed without their contents becoming known. I was as far as ever -from seeing my way clearly when we arrived in Montague Street that -evening. - -A serious disappointment waited for us there. An official envelope -stamped with the seal of New Scotland Yard lay on the table in the -hall. Before I had closed the front door Tarleton had pounced upon it, -torn it open, and scanned the note inside with an impatient scowl. - -“Fool!” - -He almost flung the Inspector’s communication in my face. It stated -briefly that Captain Armstrong had met his death by malarial fever -in Yucatan six months ago; and that was all. I hardly know what more -Charles could have said, since he was quite ignorant why the explorer’s -address was wanted. Tarleton sometimes failed to allow for the fact -that his assistants were not all gifted with his own quickness of -apprehension. However, I didn’t venture to defend the delinquent. - -My chief’s irritation soon subsided, and as soon as we were seated at a -well-spread table he acquitted the Inspector handsomely. - -“After all, I didn’t take Charles into my confidence, as I have taken -you, Cassilis. But now we must set to work in earnest. What do you -suggest as the next step?” - -The question was too much for me, as I had to confess. Perhaps I was -too much worried about the letters to be able to give my mind to -anything else. - -The consultant smiled good-naturedly. - -“Our only clue to Captain Armstrong’s friend is his book. Books are -produced by publishers, and publishers pay royalties. By this time the -publisher of _Across Sumatra_ ought to have heard from Armstrong’s -executor. And the executor should be able to put us on the track of the -person who has come into possession of his effects.” - -He paused to let this reasoning sink into my mind before he added, “I -think this greatly simplifies matters. It is much more likely that -Armstrong kept some of the upasine himself among his trophies than that -he gave it away, to a woman, above all. Depend upon it, we shall find -that it passed on his death to the lady of the leopard’s claws.” - -He seemed about to say more but broke off abruptly, as though a new -thought had struck him. “She will have to be handled carefully,” was -all he said after a short silence. - -It was impossible for me to listen any longer without reminding him of -the other task before us. - -“Have you made any plans yet for the recovery of the letters?” I asked -anxiously. - -“Ah!” He gave me a shrewd look. “You are quite right to interest -yourself in that business, my boy. It is more important to protect Lady -Violet than even to detect Weathered’s murderer. The living come before -the dead, eh? I am inclined to trust that part of the work to you.” - -I suppose I must have shown some dismay. My kindly chief proceeded to -explain himself. - -“We must begin with the assumption that everything that Weathered left -behind him, including his correspondence, has become the property of -his widow. If he kept these letters in his house they must be now -in her possession, unless her daughter has annexed them. I think you -should go round to Warwick Street to-morrow morning, and ask to see -Mrs. Weathered.” - -I thought of the rather commonplace widow, who had appeared to be -completely dominated by her daughter, and I did not hope much from the -interview. - -“I doubt if she will part with them without Miss Neobard’s consent,” I -said with hesitation. “Even if she has them.” - -“Try,” the physician urged. “I should not be surprised if that woman, -quiet as she looked, was deeper in her husband’s secrets than Sarah -Neobard was, in spite of her jealousy. Still waters run deep, remember. -See her alone, if you can, and put the matter to her as a woman and a -mother. Ask her how she would feel if her own daughter had been enticed -to writing very confidential letters to a doctor, and those letters -were now in a stranger’s hands. I fancy you will get something out of -Mrs. Weathered.” - -“And if I fail?” - -Tarleton compressed his lips rather grimly. “In that case, one of us -may have to show her that her own daughter is not yet out of the wood. -We have both heard a confession from Sarah Neobard, and it was not made -under any pledge of secrecy.” - -There the matter rested that night. The next day soon after breakfast -my chief set off to make inquiries at the publishers of _Across -Sumatra_, and I started on my difficult errand to Warwick Street. - -Only my knowledge of the desperate position in which Violet had placed -herself could have nerved me to the task in front of me. It was painful -enough to have to plead for mercy from a stranger; the prospect of -having to threaten the mother with her daughter’s prosecution for a -crime of which I did not believe her guilty was so repugnant to me -that I made up my mind beforehand not to act on Tarleton’s hint. My -confidence in his sense of justice was very strong, but I felt that I -was too much in the dark myself to accept such a responsibility. - -The blinds of the house were down, a circumstance which I attributed -to the presence of a corpse inside. But there was a long delay in -answering my ring, and when the youthful butler opened the door to me -his untidy dress and rough hair suggested that he did not consider -himself on duty. - -“Mrs. Weathered isn’t here,” he told me, without ceremony, as soon as I -asked to see her. “The funeral took place yesterday and the ladies have -gone out of town.” - -“Where have they gone?” I demanded in dismay. - -The youth put on a stolid look. - -“My instructions are to say that letters will be forwarded,” he -answered, with a touch of sullenness. - -And I could get no more out of him. To all appearances Sarah Neobard -and her mother had fled. - -As soon as I had got over my first surprise, I felt more relief than -disappointment. Tarleton himself would now have to take the matter in -hand, and I had more confidence in his power to deal with it than in -my own. When we met again at lunch time I reported my failure to him, -and he heard me with a tightening of the jaws that boded no good to the -fugitives. - -“Our friend Sarah has made a mistake,” he commented. “She ought to have -known that she could not hide herself very long if the police really -wanted her. I think we can trust Captain Charles to let us know where -she is before many days have passed. I wonder what she told her mother -to persuade her to run away like that.” - -Again some thought seemed to strike him which he did not see fit to -disclose to me. He shook his head doubtfully, and then sprang to his -feet and hurried to the telephone. - -When he came back it was to tell me that the police had been put on the -trail of the two women. “I have told them nothing about the letters,” -he added for my consolation. “We don’t want them to get on the files of -Scotland Yard if we can help it. I have given them a hint that I have -something up my sleeve.” - -He poured himself out a glass of wine and sipped it with a relish. - -“I have been more fortunate than you this morning,” he resumed. “It -appears that Armstrong had another book in the press when he died, -so that his publishers have been in active communication with his -executor--or rather his executrix.” - -The correction startled me. Tarleton had laid some emphasis on the -feminine termination. - -“She is Armstrong’s sister, his only one. He had no other near -relations, so far as the publishers could tell me, and with his -solitary, wandering life he is not likely to have had any intimate -friends. At all events, he left everything he possessed to his sister. -I have made sure of that by looking up the will at Somerset House.” - -The atmosphere seemed to become heavier as he spoke. At last the quarry -was almost in sight. If the explorer had kept any of the mysterious -poison it must have passed into his sister’s possession on his death. - -“The publisher couldn’t tell me whether she was a married woman or a -widow,” the specialist continued, “but he gave me her name and address: -Mrs. Amelia Baker, Carlyle Square, Chelsea.” - -“Carlyle Square!” I ejaculated. “That is within a stone’s throw of the -Domino Club.” - -My chief gave me a look of mild disappointment. - -“Is that the only thing that strikes you? What about the name?” - -“Amelia Baker.” I repeated the name to myself. “Baker”--surely one of -the commonest of English surnames. There must be hundreds of Bakers -in the London Directory. And yet I had a dim consciousness of some -association with it that I couldn’t quite fix. Tarleton’s patience gave -out before my helplessness. - -“Think? Where did you come across that name last?” He snatched out a -slip of paper from his breast pocket and passed it across the table. - -It was the list of names he had given me to copy three days before, -the list of Weathered’s patients who had given numbers under which, as -we had learned since from Violet, they could write to him. And at the -bottom of the list there stood, “Mrs. Baker, 35.” - -To me it looked like proof conclusive. This was Weathered’s latest -victim, to all appearance, and in making her his enemy he had at last -met his match. I remembered the waiter’s description of her at the -dance in her savage dress and savage ornaments, as though she meant -by her attire to signify that she was bent on vengeance. And now we -knew that she was in possession of a deadly drug which could be given -without fear of detection, as she might well suppose if her brother -had not told her of his dealings with the great expert. Gerard had -testified to her showing a repugnance for Weathered that looked like -hatred. The case appeared to be complete. - -Something like this I said to Tarleton, carried away by my delight -at the thought that I had now no more to dread. But he did not show -himself altogether satisfied. - -“There is such a thing as having too complete a case,” he remarked in -a meditative voice. “Even if we are right in believing that we have -found the Leopardess, as Gerard called her, we have still to prove that -she murdered Weathered. The waiter himself told us that she left early, -hours before he showed any symptoms of being poisoned. My instinct -tells me that there is something in this business that I don’t yet -know. There is no crime so difficult to detect as one in which a woman -is concerned. In this case I find myself surrounded by women, and every -woman is an enigma to the wisest man.--Now listen to this.” - -He took out another paper from his pocket, and read aloud from it. - -“This is the report of the Inspector. He has had men engaged in -looking up all the names on that list, and the moment it struck me -that Armstrong’s executrix might be the Mrs. Baker who figures there, -I asked Charles to let me know what his man had found out. Here is -what he writes: ‘Widow with independent means. Perfectly respectable. -Favourably known to local tradesmen. Keeps two servants. Interested in -scientific movements. Sister of well-known traveller. Visits freely -in Chelsea. Has friends among literary men and artists. Also fond of -animals, cats and birds. Not known to suffer from any serious form -of illness. Has been attended by local doctor for small ailments. No -connection can be traced with Weathered.’--That is the police report.” - -It was a deeply disappointing one to me. My vision of the enraged woman -in her leopard costume engaged in a murderous plot against a sinister -blackmailer faded as I listened. This harmless, middle-aged woman, -living quietly on her income in a good neighbourhood, and amusing -herself with animal pets and such artistic and intellectual society as -was within her reach, failed altogether to come up to the portrait my -imagination had drawn. - -Tarleton folded up the report and replaced it in his pocket. “You and I -will call on this lady presently, and see if we can find out something -more.” - -I wondered what we should find. I was wondering still when the -physician’s car drew up before a house in the pleasant little square -named after Chelsea’s most famous resident since the time of Sir Thomas -More. The house was only distinguished from its neighbours by an air -of dinginess which seemed due to neglect. In spite of the two servants -kept by the owner or tenant, there was a lack of neatness both outside -and inside. The steps looked in need of scrubbing, and the paint on the -door was disfigured with blisters. The door was opened to Tarleton’s -vigorous knock and ring by a housemaid who had evidently not changed -her dress since her morning’s work was done, and the hall into which we -passed was more like an ill-kept lumber-room than the ordinary entrance -to a lady’s house. - -The explorer had evidently left many treasures picked up on his travels -which his sister had taken no great pains to arrange to the best -advantage. Savage weapons of various kinds were nailed up anyhow on the -walls, one hiding another. Horns of different strange animals, either -deer or oxen, surmounted such doors as we could see. Our feet were -entangled in a draggled buffalo skin spread on the floor. The maiden -who let us in took no notice of our trouble in following her, and -offered no apology for the untidiness of the surroundings. She led the -way upstairs to the first landing and threw open the door of a front -room which was no doubt dignified with the title of drawing-room. - -“I’ll tell the missus you’re here.” - -With this ungracious promise, and without suggesting that we should sit -down, she shut us in and left us. Tarleton glanced round him with a -humorous expression. - -“I am reminded of what someone said of a famous explorer--‘Sir ---- -is admirably qualified to deal with savages because he is just as -savage as they are.’ Captain Armstrong seems to have shared the same -qualification with his sister, judging from her household.” - -The drawing-room resembled a museum as ill-arranged as the hall. Cases -of stuffed birds met the eye in every corner. A badly preserved fish -of enormous size, lacking an eye, monopolized one wall; I inclined -to think it was a tarpon. The space was choked with rickety small -tables, and those pieces of furniture dear to the past generation as -chiffoniers and what-nots, every one laden with curiosities in the -way of shells, savage ornaments, beads and rude knives in sheaths of -coloured leather. But what naturally drew our attention most were -the skins that strewed the floor and made all movement well-nigh -impossible, unless by way of skips and jumps. Every known species of -Africa, I should think, was represented, except perhaps the elephant. -Two of those in sight were leopards, and my chief gave me a quick look -of triumph as he pointed them out. Neither of them, none of the skins -in fact, were mounted on cloth in the common fashion. The owner of this -weird collection could have picked one up and fastened it across her -shoulders without the least difficulty. - -Mrs. Baker took some time to appear. Although we had postponed our -call till four o’clock, it is probable that her siesta had been -interrupted. Certainly she had the air of having only been roused from -sleep long enough to make a rather imperfect toilet. Her hair could -best be described as touzled, but it was of that light straw colour -that lends itself to a pleasing disorder. The face beneath was bright -and birdlike, animated by an expression of lively interest amounting -to perkiness. The dress, I can only suppose, was intended to rank as -a tea-gown, although it was strongly suggestive of a dressing-gown. -But whatever impressions of slovenliness and neglect were produced by -Mrs. Baker’s appearance and surroundings, they were almost instantly -dissipated by her manner, which was the perfection of genuine -cordiality and ease. - -“I’m ashamed to have kept you waiting, Sir Frank!” she exclaimed, -grasping me warmly by the hand. “But dear me,” she proceeded before I -could speak, “if I haven’t mistaken the son for the father! How are -_you_, Sir Frank! I declare the likeness would deceive anybody.” - -My chief extricated his hand from her friendly clutch with a smile. - -“You flatter me, madam. Dr. Cassilis, I regret to say, is no relation -to me, though he is good enough to assist me.” - -Mrs. Baker was not in the least embarrassed. Her smile at the mistake -was heartier than either of ours. - -“Just like me,” she avowed good-naturedly. “If there’s a chance for me -to put my foot in it, I’m sure to do it. And I know you so well, by -name, of course. To think of all our diseases being due just to tiny -weeny insects! I’m sure everybody ought to be grateful to you.” - -It was apparent that there was some slight confusion in the mind of -our hostess between Tarleton and some other scientist of equal if not -greater eminence--possibly the immortal Pasteur. Meanwhile, one thought -possessed my mind to an extent that made me indifferent to everything -else. This chatty, blundering, good-natured creature could by no -conceivable possibility be connected with the tragedy in the Domino -Club. Whatever part she had played and whether she had or had not been -present on the fateful night, it was no less than absurd to credit her -with any responsibility for Weathered’s death. - -With an agility which I could only envy she skipped lightly over the -many pitfalls that bestrewed the floor, and stage-managed us both into -comfortable chairs, while she took up an attitude on a couch smothered -in cushions, which faintly recalled Thorwaldsen’s statue of Ariadne. - -“I hope you will accept my condolences on Captain Armstrong’s death, if -it’s not too late,” the consultant contrived to slip in presently. - -The bereaved sister brightened up. Doubtless this was the clue she had -wanted to our reason for calling on her. - -“To be sure!” she exclaimed. “You knew my brother, of course. Everybody -knew him. What a man he was! The greatest explorer who ever lived, so I -think. He would have discovered America, and Livingstone, and the North -Pole, if only those other people hadn’t done it first.” Her face fell -for a moment, as she added, “He was careless in money matters, I know. -It was his open, generous nature. Did he borrow from either of you -gentlemen?” - -The question was put in a tone of resignation which I understood as -soon as we had both disclaimed any such transaction with the late -Captain Armstrong. - -“I am so thankful,” the loyal sister sighed. “So many of his friends -have come to me since his death was announced in the papers, and they -all brought I O U’s for money that he owed them. I have paid them all, -of course, but I had to do it out of my own money. Poor Edgar left -nothing.” - -I glanced at my chief in some surprise. But he knew the world better -than I did, as his answer showed. - -“I was afraid that his books hadn’t brought him in very much, valuable -as they were to science.” - -Mrs. Baker shook her head. “Not one of them paid its expenses. I had to -advance the money to publish them, and I don’t suppose I shall ever get -it back.” - -“You have some things to remember him by, at all events,” Tarleton -suggested. “Those leopard skins are very fine.” - -“Ah, yes.” The sister brightened up again. “Everything he brought home -he gave to me. It’s a wonderful collection, isn’t it? People tell me I -ought to give it to the nation. I think I shall leave this house and -its contents to trustees as a memorial, like Carlyle’s house in Cheyne -Row, you know.” - -We could only express approval of this pious intention. My chief now -came to the object of our visit. - -“Captain Armstrong did me the honour to come to me some time ago, after -his return from Sumatra. He had heard of me as a student of poisons, -and he brought me a sample of one he had discovered.” - -“I know the one you mean, the toadstool that grows round the upas tree. -Wasn’t that a wonderful discovery? I can tell you----” She checked -herself rather sharply, and said no more. - -“I persuaded him to sell me all he had brought to England,” the -specialist remarked, without appearing to notice anything. “But it has -occurred to me since that he might have kept a little as a specimen, -and if that is so, and you are disposed to part with it, I shall be -glad.” - -Mrs. Baker eyed us with a touch of uneasiness, I thought. - -“I know I can trust you, Sir Frederick; and if Dr. Castle is your -assistant I suppose I can trust him too. Dear Edgar did leave me a -little bottleful, but he told me not to part with it to anyone, and not -even to let anyone know I had it.” - -This was disconcerting news. I saw Tarleton’s thick eyebrows go up and -down. - -“That was very sound advice,” he responded quietly. “However, your -brother trusted me, as I have said, and I hope you can do the same. I -shall be very greatly obliged if you will let me see the bottle.” - -The little woman got nimbly off the couch. “After all, it will be a -relief to me to get rid of it,” she murmured. “I have always taken care -to keep it under lock and key.” - -She produced a bunch of about two dozen keys from her pocket, all of -them of that common design that will open each other’s locks with ease, -and advanced to a chiffonier. “It is in here,” she informed us as she -threw back the flimsy door and thrust her head inside. - -The next moment we heard a startled cry. - -“The bottle is gone!” - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -THE RED LIGHT - - -Sir Frank and I both sprang to our feet to go to the chiffonier. But -it was useless to turn over the rubbish it contained. The bottle of -upasine was not there. And either the sister of the explorer was a -very perfect actress or she was as much surprised as I was by its -disappearance. - -“Whoever can have taken it?” she cried, gazing at us as if not quite -certain that we were beyond suspicion of the theft. “Both my maids have -been with me for years, and I have never missed anything before.” - -It was at moments like these that I most admired my chief. The -encounter with a new perplexity seemed to afford him the keenest -pleasure. He was like an angler who finds that he has hooked a trout -where he only expected a chub. I could see from the knitting of his -brows that he was already readjusting his ideas to this new factor in -the case, and working out a different solution. - -His first step was to soothe the mistress of the house. - -“If you will allow me to help you I think we may be able to get on the -track of the thief. Shall we sit down and talk it over quietly?” - -Mrs. Baker, still rather distrustful, let herself be led back to her -couch. But this time she did not attempt a statuesque pose. She sat -bolt upright, turning her head from one to the other of us like a -nervous robin. - -“You haven’t missed anything else, you say,” Tarleton began, “so that -it looks as though the thief must have been someone who knew what he -was taking. The question is how many of your friends knew about this -poison?” - -“Not one of them,” was the positive answer. “I have never mentioned it -to a soul.” - -“Think,” the doctor persisted courteously. “Remember that Captain -Armstrong mentions his discovery of it in his book, _Across Sumatra_. -Surely some of your acquaintances must have read the book and talked to -you about it?” - -The little woman began to show signs of misgiving. - -“I can’t remember,” she confessed. - -She had shown us both already that memory was not her strong point. The -consultant prompted her gently. - -“The person most likely to be interested in such a thing as a new -poison would be a scientist or a medical man.” - -Mrs. Baker’s eyes sought the floor. “I am positive that my doctor -knew nothing about it. Besides, I haven’t seen him for the last six -months--not since my brother’s death.” The disclaimer was made in a -rather shaken voice, however. - -“But a lady like you must have some acquaintances in the scientific -world,” the examiner insinuated. “I was under the impression that I had -heard of you as a patroness of science.” - -The flattery did its work. Mrs. Baker lifted her head again and repaid -it with a gracious smile. - -“I am interested in science,” she admitted. “When my poor brother -was alive I used to give At Homes for him to show his curiosities to -people. I have had as many as six Fellows of the Royal Geographical -Society at one time before now.” - -“I felt sure of it. And you see your brother may easily have mentioned -this bottle, or shown it, to someone without your knowledge.” - -The birdlike head wavered. “But I am certain that it hadn’t been taken -when he died. I had to make a list of everything he left for probate, -and I should have missed it if it hadn’t been there. And I have had no -At Homes since.” - -It struck me that this was said rather unwillingly, under the stress of -conscience. Tarleton seemed to think the same. The look he gave to the -little woman showed me that he believed she was keeping something back. - -His next question was a bombshell. - -“May I ask if you have taken any interest in the science of -psycho-analysis?” - -Mrs. Baker’s collapse was pitiful. If the specialist had suddenly -changed into a cobra before her eyes she could not have looked at him -with greater terror. - -“What do you mean, Sir Roderick?” she faltered. - -Tarleton slowly shook his head. - -“My dear madam, it is time for us to leave off fencing with one -another. Dr. Cassilis and I are both incapable of betraying your -confidence and neither of us has the slightest desire to injure you. -This dangerous poison has been stolen from you, and you cannot feel -easy in your mind till you know that it has been recovered, and is in -safe hands. All we ask is your help in tracing it, and that help I am -sure you feel that you ought to give.” - -He had struck the right note this time. The poor little woman took out -her handkerchief and dabbed her forehead in a distracted manner as she -nerved herself to speak. - -“You are quite right, Sir Robert. I know I ought to tell you -everything, but it isn’t at all pleasant. Have you ever heard of a Dr. -Wycherley?” - -The situation was too grave for these erratic names to provoke a smile. -“I have heard of Dr. Weathered,” the specialist said gravely. - -“Weathered, of course! How could I have forgotten it. But I never can -remember names, Sir Herbert. He isn’t a friend of yours, I hope?” - -“He never was.” Evidently she hadn’t heard of the death in the Domino -Club, and my chief didn’t think the time had yet come to tell her of -it. - -Mrs. Baker gave a sigh of relief before plunging into her tale. - -“It all began with my going to hear him give a lecture on -psycho-analysis at the Caxton Hall. He looked quite a distinguished -man, and he lectured beautifully. I was fascinated by the things he -said. He told us that he could look inside our minds, and see things -there that we had never dreamt of--in our subconscience, he called it.” - -“Subconsciousness, yes,” Tarleton put in with the least touch of -impatience. - -“I dare say that was it. He said we might have murderous propensities -without knowing it. Think of that! I might be secretly longing to kill -my dear brother, and if the propensity wasn’t found out and removed in -time, I might end by doing it. I was horrified.” - -I confess I was horrified, too, as I grasped the methods by which -Weathered had drawn this harmless little creature into his toils. - -“I couldn’t sleep for thinking of all the dreadful things that my -subconscience might be planning and plotting behind my back. I felt -I must know the worst, so as to be on my guard against it. I went to -consult Dr. Weathered at his house, and it was a dreadful experience. -He found out that I had a murderous propensity. And he told me that the -only way for me to rid myself of it was to write letters to him telling -him every evil thought that came into my mind.” - -My chief and I looked at each other. There was no need of words to -express the idea we had in common. There could be little doubt as -to Weathered’s line of action. He had found himself dealing with a -credulous weak-minded simpleton, and he had proceeded to use the -power of suggestion. He had simply put into the poor woman’s mind -the thoughts he pretended to be driving out. The only question that -remained was whether he had gone so far as to instigate her to the -commission of a crime. - -“I wrote him letter after letter,” Mrs. Baker continued. “Every time -I felt angry with one of the maids I had to let him know. Sometimes -he answered the letters, and sometimes he didn’t. When he did write -he generally asked me questions about how I was tempted to commit the -murder. That was how he found out about the poison.” - -Even I had seen this coming. Tarleton no doubt had seen it some time -before, and worked up to it deliberately; but he let no sign of -satisfaction appear. - -“Did he ever ask you to let him have it?” he asked. The answer -surprised me. - -“No, never. He told me to be very careful never to part with it.” - -“Ah, I understand. He told you to take the greatest care of it, and you -told him exactly where you kept it?” - -“Yes, yes.” The explorer’s sister gazed at him in admiration. “How did -you guess that?” - -“I think it is quite plain, ma’am. He didn’t want you or anyone else -to be in a position to say that he had obtained the poison from you. -With the information you gave him he could walk into the house at any -time, and take it--secretly.” - -This was a development I hadn’t foreseen. Was the mystery going to -resolve itself into a case of suicide, after all? After failing to put -an end to himself by means of opium, had Weathered finally resorted -to a more certain drug? But then, in that case, why shouldn’t he have -demanded it openly from his deceived patient? Truly the riddle was -becoming more insoluble as we advanced. - -Mrs. Baker was rather indignant at the suggestion that her precautions -for the security of the dangerous bottle had not been sufficient; but -the consultant brushed aside her objections almost irritably. - -“Nonsense, my dear woman, that lock of yours could be picked by a -clever child of twelve. All that the thief had to do was to come to -the house when he knew you were out, give a false name to the servant, -and ask to be allowed to wait. As soon as he found himself alone in -this room he could help himself to what he wanted, and then remember an -engagement, and come away. Very likely the maid who would let him in -wouldn’t even trouble to tell you a visitor had called.” - -The mistress of the house was reluctantly obliged to admit this -possibility. Tarleton folded his arms, a sign that the interview was -over as far as his interest in it was concerned, but he was good -enough to give me a chance of satisfying my curiosity. - -“What do you say, Cassilis? Do you think we ought to ask Mrs. Baker to -tell us anything more?” - -I thought our hostess looked as little willing as I was to leave her -story unfinished. - -“Oh, but you must hear the end,” she protested. “And you mustn’t go -away without so much as a cup of tea.” She hopped lightly to the -electric bell. “I want you to know that I’m not a patient of Dr. -Weathered any longer; and I think I ought to tell you why--when the -maid is gone.” - -The saving clause was prompted by a rough bang at the door, followed by -the entrance of the untidy servant. She had anticipated her mistress’s -orders, and brought in a huge tray laden with food sufficient to -satisfy a large party of hungry people. The variety of sandwiches was -amazing. Mrs. Baker’s popularity with the local tradesmen and the -success of her At Homes seemed to be fully explained. - -“You will hardly believe it,” she resumed as soon as we had settled -down to a serious attack on this provender, “but Dr. Willoughby ended -by actually tempting me to commit a crime.” - -It was easier for us to believe than she supposed, but I did my best to -look incredulous. - -“Yes, Dr. Carstairs, he told me that the only way to get rid of my -murderous propensities was to give way to them. He advised me to kill -Samuel.” - -This really was beyond my power to believe. “Samuel?” I repeated. - -“Yes, my beautiful black cat, the one that slept at the foot of my bed -every night.” - -Tarleton raised his head quickly. - -“Did he suggest that you should give him the poison from Sumatra?” he -put in. - -The explorer’s sister nodded. - -The object of the advice she had received was plain enough. The -scoundrel wanted to test the effect of the poison; perhaps he felt some -doubt if it was still active. Beyond that his intentions were dark. -Such a man was quite capable of committing a murder by deputy, and he -might have designed to make an instrument of this deluded patient of -his. But, if so, there was nothing to tell us whose life he had been -aiming at. He had felt himself to be surrounded by enemies, according -to Madame Bonnell’s statement. He may have wished to provide himself -with a weapon for use in case of need. - -The worthy owner of Samuel told us that she had refused to slay her pet. - -“I sent him away for fear I should be tempted to kill him,” she said -with tears in her eyes. “I found him a happy home with a former maid of -mine who is married and living in the country. She writes me about him -once a month, when I send her a postal order. I shall never dare to -have him back again.” - -My youthful indignation became too much for me. - -“There is not the slightest reason why you shouldn’t have your cat back -to-morrow,” I said bluntly. “You are no more likely to kill it than -I am. The man was telling you a pack of lies from the beginning. Sir -Frank Tarleton will tell you the same. We have been finding out a good -deal about this man during the last few days; and you were not his only -victim.” - -Mrs. Baker opened her eyes in a way that showed more offence than -gratitude. I had gone the wrong way to work to disabuse her. - -“I am much obliged to you, Dr. Cassidy,” she said stiffly, “but I much -prefer to be on the safe side. We none of us know the secrets of our -own hearts, it seems to me. I consider Dr. Witheredge a cruel man, and -I have done with him; but he was extremely clever; and I am satisfied -that there is something in the science of psycho-analysis.” - -Tarleton came to my rescue. “The more there is in it the more dangerous -it may be in the hands of a clever man without scruples. If you’ll -allow me to say so, I think you acted very wisely in deciding to have -nothing more to do with Dr. Weathered.” - -The lady accepted this graciously, and smoothed down her ruffled -feathers. I thought I might venture on a fresh question. - -“Did you know that he was the real proprietor of the Domino Club?” - -“Never! You don’t say so? I understood it was run by a -Frenchwoman--Madame Bonnet.” - -“You have been there, I suppose?” - -“Only once. I heard so much about it that I thought I must go and see -what it was like. I was there only last Wednesday. But I didn’t stay -more than an hour. Dr. Weathell was there, disguised as an Inquisitor, -and I was so afraid of his recognizing me that I came away.” - -There could be no doubt, as far as I could see, that this was the -truth. And if it was the truth the lady of the leopard skin and claws -was now ruled out of the case. Her part in it had been confined to -supplying the poison, or rather in innocently letting it be known where -it could be found. To clinch the matter I said: - -“I wasn’t there, but we heard that a lady had been present who left -early. She wore the skin of a leopard, and a necklace of leopard’s -claws.” - -“Yes, that was me; I went as a Leopardess,” our amiable hostess -responded with a frankness which put an end to the last doubt. She -added in a tone of quiet triumph, “I can see now that that was where my -murderous propensities came out. Why else should I have gone as a beast -of prey?” - -I had to admit that she had scored off me. Anything less like a beast -of prey or a potential murderess than the bright and birdlike little -woman I have never seen. - -My chief picked out one point that I had overlooked. - -“Did Weathered mention the Club to you, ma’am? Or did you know this -Madame Bonnell?” - -Mrs. Baker drew herself up. - -“I didn’t _know_ her,” she said with emphasis. “Such a person is not -in my social circle. I knew of her. A friend of mine in Chelsea gave -me her card when I went to buy a ticket for the dance, but she was a -friend of Madame Bunner’s. It was only a form.” - -The answer was equally decisive. It seemed clear to me that the only -person who could have known of the existence of the poison, and -abstracted it, was the man who had perished by it. I saw Tarleton’s -watch come out of his pocket, and its slow, steady motion told me that -his brain was already at work on the last winding of the mystery. - -When we had done full justice to the refreshments put before us we -came away pledged to attend the first At Home given by our hostess, -which she explained would be as soon as she was out of mourning for -her brother. I think she had won both our hearts in spite of her -eccentricities, and we entertained no serious dread that her murderous -propensities would be indulged at our expense. - -Tarleton was very silent till we were back at Montague Street. Even -when we were in his study again he did not seem much disposed to -discuss the new situation with me. For the first time since the -beginning of the investigation I had the impression that I was not -entirely in his confidence. - -When I expressed my curiosity as to Weathered’s motive for stealing the -bottle of upasine he lifted his bushy eyebrows and looked at me almost -as if he were annoyed. - -“We don’t know that he did steal it,” he growled. “Everyone who read -Armstrong’s book knew of his discovery, and would expect to find some -of the new poison among his belongings. And as for that little woman, -she has probably babbled about it to a dozen persons whom she has -forgotten. Her memory is like a sieve.” - -The judgment struck me as harsh. Mrs. Baker certainly had a genius -for forgetting names, but so have many people whose memories are good -enough in other respects. It seemed to me that she had shown a pretty -fair recollection of her dealings with Weathered at all events; and I -said so. - -Tarleton hunched himself up in his favourite armchair and growled again. - -“You ask me to believe that a doctor who had stolen what he knew to -be a deadly drug, and who was actually taking precautions to prevent -himself being poisoned at the time, was careless enough to let it be -taken from him?--Well, I don’t.” - -I had never known him to speak so irritably before. I sat dumb, asking -myself what was in his mind. And all at once the explanation flashed -upon me. - -If he didn’t believe that Weathered had taken the fatal bottle he must -have been searching for the probable thief among Weathered’s enemies. -The last question he had put to Mrs. Baker showed that his thoughts had -turned for a moment in the direction of the Frenchwoman, who of all -others had the best opportunity to administer the poison. Who else was -left? - -The one enemy of Weathered’s whom we both knew of, the one person who -had not only a reason but, it might be said, a moral right to take his -life in self-defence was Violet Bredwardine. And she had confessed to -having lent the disguise worn on the night of the murder by one who -must have been her friend, and probable champion. A dozen trifling -incidents rushed back into my mind; the specialist’s anxiety lest his -own bottle should have been tampered with; the way he had contrived--it -looked like contrivance to me now--to give me a chance of meeting -Violet alone. There could be only one meaning in it all. - -My chief suspected me, had suspected me from the very first, of being -the murderer. The red light was in my eyes at last. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -A SINGULAR DISMISSAL - - -Perhaps it may be wondered why I didn’t at once make a frank statement -of my part in the mystery to my kind-hearted chief and throw myself on -his mercy. - -I was withheld by more than one reason. In the first place I couldn’t -feel sure that I should be believed. I had no means of proving my -innocence. The circumstantial evidence against me was as strong as -it could be. I had the strongest motive to kill the monster who was -trying to put my secret to the basest use; I had been on the spot, and -been there in disguise; and I had given him a drug which was only less -dangerous than the one that had caused his death. Who would believe -that I had stopped short there? And Sir Frank Tarleton had shown by -this time that he did not believe me. To him, as to everyone else, it -must appear evident that the man who was prepared to commit a crime in -defence of a woman would be prepared to tell a lie as well. - -Then, again, the relations between my chief and me were not merely -private ones. Both of us were Government officials, and I owed my own -post to his recommendation. His official conscience might well be -different from his private one. He might be willing to make excuses for -me personally, and yet feel it his duty to report to the Department we -both served that I was no longer worthy of its confidence. - -And, lastly, there was the consideration that had controlled my action -all along. My secret was Violet’s secret. To no living being had I -a right to tell it without her consent. That consent I need not say -no peril to myself would have tempted me to ask. The only question I -now put to myself was whether I ought not to put her on her guard by -letting her know what I had come to fear. - -I slept, or tried to sleep, that night without coming to my decision. -In the morning Sir Frank extracted from the pile of letters beside his -plate on the breakfast-table one with an earl’s coronet on the flap of -the envelope. - -He did not show me the contents, but said carelessly, “I shall be out -to lunch. Lord Ledbury is anxious to see me in John Street.” - -The news decided me. Before Violet was exposed to any further -questioning from my shrewd chief she must be warned how things stood. -I couldn’t complain of not being included in the invitation. In Lord -Ledbury’s eyes naturally I was a mere subordinate, only acting under -Tarleton’s orders. - -There was another letter that interested the consultant more than the -Earl’s. It came from New Scotland Yard. - -“Sarah Neobard and her mother have gone abroad,” he remarked with -something like satisfaction. “Charles has sent a man after them. They -seem to have gone to Paris. You must have frightened that young woman -rather badly.” - -I forced my wandering mind back to the subject of the letters. Had they -come into Sarah’s hands, and, if so, had she taken them with her? After -all, this was a more pressing matter than any danger of mine. - -“Will it be possible for them to hide in Paris?” I asked anxiously. - -The specialist shook his head. - -“Charles knows his business--up to a certain point. Depend on it a -smart officer will have been there to meet them at the Gare du Nord, if -the French police were notified in time. I don’t think there is much -chance of two Englishwomen slipping between the fingers of the Paris -detective force.” - -“Then what will be the next step?” I inquired vaguely. - -“I shall leave for Paris by to-night’s mail.” - -The announcement was made curtly. The day before it was I who had -been charged with this part of the case. I was to have interviewed -Mrs. Weathered and appealed to her womanly feelings on behalf of her -husband’s victims. Now it seemed that my chief had changed his mind, -and intended to see her himself. I dared not even ask if I was to go -with him. A shadow had fallen between us which it was not for me to -pierce. - -I held my tongue, and went on quietly with my breakfast. The -consultant went through his mail, passing on to me such letters as I -was accustomed to deal with on his behalf--requests for appointments -and consultations with other doctors, and so forth. There was no sign -that he had withdrawn his confidence in me except when the mystery of -the Domino Club was concerned. - -The meal was just over when a loud summons at the front door was -followed by the entrance of Tarleton’s man showing in Inspector Charles. - -The Inspector was in a state of excitement. In his hand he carried a -newspaper which he waved at us both. - -“Have you seen this morning’s paper?” he called out before the door was -closed. “The advertisement in the Agony Column?” - -Tarleton glanced at me before answering, and I remembered his -prediction to Lord Ledbury as he spoke. - -“What, have they got to work already? What does it say?” - -Captain Charles read out from the paper in a round, commanding voice: - -“Dr. Weathered, deceased. Any patients of the late Dr. Weathered -desiring to have their letters to him returned are requested to apply, -mentioning number, to Messrs. James, Halliday and James, Solicitors, -Carmichael House, Chancery Lane, E.C.4.” He did not spare us even the 4. - -Sir Frank nodded approvingly. “Very well worded, very well worded, -indeed. It sounds like a perfectly respectable offer.” - -It sounded so to me. But the Inspector was puzzled. - -“What does it mean?” he exclaimed. “Why should they advertise? Why not -return the letters at once, or write to the patients? And why should -they want to know the exact numbers?” - -“Ah, that is part of the case that I haven’t had an opportunity of -going into with you yet, Charles. Won’t you sit down. The fact is, I -have been rather expecting some approach of this kind. Dr. Cassilis and -I have ascertained that Weathered induced some of his patients to write -him letters of a rather compromising kind. The arrangement was that the -letters should be signed with a number instead of a name, probably they -bore no address. The object of this advertisement is to find out who -the writers are. The demand for money will come later.” - -“Blackmail!” the Inspector gasped in horror. - -“I’m afraid so. An honest person who had found such a correspondence -would have burnt it. You see now one of my reasons for not dropping the -case to oblige that Crown Prince of Slavonia.” - -One of the reasons only. I had little doubt as to another. Captain -Charles looked extremely subdued. - -“I had no idea of anything like this in the background, I needn’t -say, Sir Frank. I will look up these solicitors at once. Chancery -Lane--there are better addresses than that, and there are worse. -Unless you have anything else to advise.” - -“I should advise you to find out what you can about the solicitors, -certainly. But I doubt if they are in possession of the letters. I -shouldn’t be surprised if the letters were in Paris by this time.” - -Captain Charles struck his forehead. - -“Of course! The widow has carried them abroad to be out of reach in -case of trouble. It was fortunate that we heard of their flight so -soon. We know where they are already. They have some smart men in the -Rue Jerusalem.” - -“I shall be glad if you will write me a line of introduction to the -French police,” Tarleton responded. “By the way, have you secured me -that finger-print yet?” - -“I have it here, Sir Frank.” The Inspector took out a substantial -pocket-book and extracted a mounted photograph, which my chief slipped -into his own pocket without giving it a glance. Charles looked as if he -were as much in the dark as I was as to the meaning of this proceeding. - -“It may come in useful,” was all the consultant said. “But you were -going to tell us where Mrs. Weathered and her daughter were hiding.” - -“They don’t seem to be hiding, that’s the curious part of it. Perhaps -they don’t understand the law about extradition. They’ve put up at -a respectable hotel on Cook’s list, a hotel swarming with English -tourists, the Hotel St. Catherine in the Rue Tivoli.” - -Tarleton knitted his brows at this intelligence. “We don’t know yet the -reason for their flight, if it is a flight,” he observed thoughtfully. -“We have nothing against either of them so far, remember.” - -He drew out his mascot and played with it gently for a minute while -Charles and I watched him in keen suspense. Suddenly he looked up and -spoke to the Inspector in a brisk voice. - -“We mustn’t lose time. Some unfortunate victim may be answering that -advertisement already. Luckily, I have come across one of Weathered’s -correspondents whose letters to him were quite innocent,--that Mrs. -Baker your man reported on for me. I want you to see her at once, -using my name if necessary, and get her authority to deal with these -solicitors on her behalf. Ask for the letters first, and if they make -some excuse for not parting with them, ask who is instructing them. If -they refuse to give you their client’s name we shall know the worst.” - -It seemed to me that we knew the worst already, if my chief was right. -As he had said, an honest woman, finding such letters after her -husband’s death, would have put them in the fire. It was more than ever -imperative that I should see Violet at once. She might have read the -advertisement by now, and taken it in good faith. - -Directly after Captain Charles had left us I made some excuse for going -out on business, and hailed the first taxi I saw. It was still early -when I got to John Street, Mayfair, where the Earl of Ledbury’s modest -town house stood. The door was opened by the same man whom I had made a -friend of down at Tyberton, and I was careful to confirm the friendship -in the surest way. He was much more smartly dressed on this occasion, -and everything about the house indicated that Lord Ledbury had taken -Tarleton’s advice to heart, and was preparing to give his daughter her -proper position in the fashionable world. - -Violet, too, was changed. Her dress was still a little lacking in those -touches which only the most expensive houses can impart, but she bore -herself quite differently. Her father’s new-born care for her had given -her confidence, and done something to banish the look of hopelessness -and resignation I had last seen on her face. I hate to confess it, but -glad as I was on her account I felt a little sorry on my own. The old -gulf between us I was beginning to hope had shrunk, but now a new one -seemed to have opened. Who was I, what was plain Bertrand Cassilis, -M.D., that he should venture to go on loving the bright star set high -above him in the social firmament? - -“I think I know why you have come,” was her greeting. She did not offer -me her white hand. “They are offering to return those letters. I can’t -tell you how thankful I shall be.” - -It was what I had feared. I would have given anything to leave her in -ignorance, but the risk was too great. - -“Have you answered the advertisement yet?” I asked. - -“Not yet. I was tempted to go there at once, but I thought I had better -consult you first. Why, is there anything wrong?” - -She must have seen there was by this time from my air. Yet at that very -moment the knowledge that she had thought of me, that she had put her -trust in me and no one else, made my courage rise; and I answered her -with a boldness that surprised myself. - -“Thank Heaven for that! I came here the first moment I could to warn -you to take no notice of that advertisement. It shows that they don’t -know whom the letters are from, or they would have written to you -direct. Trust me; the matter is in good hands; those letters shall -either be returned to you or destroyed unread, I swear it.” - -“Thank you, Bertrand. I do trust you. I know it isn’t your fault if -they haven’t been destroyed already.” - -The words rolled a great burden from my heart. I was on the point of -murmuring that I hadn’t deserved her trust, but some instinct bade me -refrain from the least reference to the past. I believed that the sad -old wound was beginning to heal, and that the best chance for both of -us was to bury the past in silence, and never to conjure up its ghost -by one single word. - -Already Violet was forgetting her own trouble to think of mine. She -went on before I had found anything to say. - -“But what about yourself? Has anything more been discovered about the -murder?” - -It was necessary for me to tell her what I feared. “We have found what -caused Weathered’s death,” I answered. “It was a poison that only Sir -Frank Tarleton knew of. He recognized the symptoms from the first, and -now he has found out where it was obtained from.” And I briefly related -the story of the stolen bottle. - -Violet looked relieved when she had heard it. - -“Then he must have stolen the bottle himself. Did he commit suicide, do -you think?” - -“I’m afraid that’s not what Sir Frank thinks. Unless I am mistaken he -suspects me of having taken the bottle from Mrs. Baker. His manner -towards me has quite changed. He is going to Paris to-night on the -track of the letters, but he isn’t taking me with him.” - -I had alarmed her more than I meant. She uttered a cry of despair. - -“Bertrand! It isn’t true! Will he have you arrested? Shall you be----” -She began to sob. - -“No, no; it isn’t as bad as that. There’s not going to be any arrest if -the police can help it. Any way, I don’t believe Sir Frank would let -them arrest me. But I shall have to resign my post, I expect, and I -may have to leave the country.” - -She looked at me through her tears. “That will be almost as bad, won’t -it?” - -It was all I could do to keep from answering, “Not if you come with -me.” But I could not take advantage of her like that. - -“I shall always have my profession,” I said. “Sir Frank has confidence -in me as a doctor, I know. But I didn’t mean to distress you like this. -I shouldn’t have said anything to you about it, but Sir Frank is coming -here to lunch to-day, and I was afraid he might find out something from -you.” - -“Surely you didn’t think that,” she protested. “You don’t think I -should betray you. If you had killed that villain it would have been -for my sake. And he deserved to be killed.” - -My heart glowed within me. I spoke out. - -“And I would have killed him if I had seen no other way. No, I -didn’t think for a moment that you would give me away knowingly; but -Tarleton is a past master in the art of sounding people and extracting -information from them unawares. I only wanted to put you on your guard, -lest you should think that you could trust him as a friend of mine.” - -“I certainly thought he was. He looked so kind and good,” Violet said -thoughtfully. - -Perhaps I was a little irritated. “He impresses all women in that way,” -I said with a touch of jealousy. “I could see that he admired you.” - -Violet’s eyes brightened. “I must try to make a friend of him. If I let -him see that--that I should be sorry if any harm came to anyone through -me, perhaps that may influence him.” - -I ought to have been very grateful, but I’m afraid my response was -lacking in warmth. - -“Don’t tell him I have been here,” I said as I rose to go. And she -smiled at me rather pathetically as she promised. - -I had a rather dismal lunch by myself, wondering what was passing at -Lord Ledbury’s. When I saw Tarleton again I was staggered by his gay -appearance. He had blossomed out in a new coat and a white waistcoat -and a fancy tie. Most wonderful of all, the shabby black ribbon by -which he was so fond of swinging his watch had been replaced by a -brilliant gold chain that I had never seen before. It was evident that -he had decked himself to make an impression in John Street. - -He had not long been back when we had another call from Captain -Charles. He came in looking grave, and greeted my chief with increased -respect. - -“I have been to Chancery Lane, as you advised, Sir Frank, and seen the -principal. There is only one. The names in the advertisement are bogus -ones, unless he bought the good-will of some old firm going out of -business. The man’s real name is Stillman. I saw it on his notepaper. -And he strikes me as hot stuff.” - -“What did he say?” - -“It was just what you expected. Made an excuse for not giving me Mrs. -Baker’s letters. Said he was only authorized to hand them over to the -writer in person. And when I asked who was instructing him, said he -wasn’t authorized to give his client’s name.” - -Tarleton shrugged his shoulders. - -“Clever, very clever,” he repeated. “There’s nothing for you to take -hold of, so far. If you go back again with Mrs. Baker you will put him -in a corner, and very likely her letters will be given up, as they -contain nothing serious. It’s a nasty business.” - -“What had we better do?” - -“Do nothing till you hear from me again. I am off to Paris to-night, -and when I come back I shall know where the letters are, if I don’t -bring them back with me.” - -The Inspector bowed himself out quite meekly. My curiosity prompted me -to venture on a rash question. - -“Do you think it possible that Miss Neobard has the letters?” - -My chief swung himself slowly round in his chair and gave me a steady -look, under which I quailed inwardly. - -“I don’t think I ought to tell you, Cassilis. It seems to me that you -are an interested party.” - -So my fear had been well grounded. I listened breathlessly for more. - -“From the beginning of this investigation you have shown a bias that -is fatal in one who is playing the part of a detective, or aspiring -to play it. A man in your position should be absolutely impartial. He -should not let himself be swayed for a moment by personal prejudices -or personal preferences. Now you have all along showed a disposition -to screen Lady Violet Bredwardine. You have made excuses for her to -me, and you have defended her to others. At the same time you have -shown an inclination to think the worst of Sarah Neobard. And your -animus against her came out most strongly when she showed herself Lady -Violet’s enemy.” - -What could I say? I was only too thankful that he had spared me any -reference to the omission of Violet’s name from the list I had copied -for Inspector Charles. That was a clear breach of duty, as I had to -admit to myself. - -Sir Frank’s voice was perfectly bland as he continued: - -“Lady Violet is worthy of any man’s admiration, and I am quite as -determined as you are to protect her from any dastardly use of her -correspondence. I should not have blamed you severely for anything you -might have done for her protection if you had been acting in a private -capacity. But you are here in a responsible position. You owe it to the -Home Office and to me to conduct the inquiry into this murder without -fear or favour, whatever may be the consequences, and whoever may be -guilty. You must ask yourself if you have done so.” - -I am afraid I asked myself instead how much he really knew. So far he -had made no definite accusation. He had charged me with nothing but a -display of personal sympathy and antipathy, a charge which it would -have been foolish to deny. - -“It is a question of temperament, it seems to me,” pursued the -consultant in the same even tones. “Sympathy is a valuable quality in -a doctor, but it is fatal in a criminal investigator. I think I made a -mistake in inviting you to enter the Government service. You would get -on better in private practice.” - -The blow had fallen and I had only to make the best of it. “Of course, -I am in your hands, sir. If that is your opinion I will send in my -resignation.” - -Australia, Canada, South Africa passed before my mind’s eye as I spoke, -as possible refuges for a penniless medico. I could not hope for -anything in England after being practically dismissed from the Home -Office. - -My prompt offer, however, seemed to have greatly softened my judge. - -“We will talk of that after I have come back from Paris,” he said -kindly. “For your own sake I don’t advise any sudden step. And there -is Lady Violet to consider. As I said before, you have acted as her -champion. Anything like a public slur on you, or an admission on your -part that you were to blame, would be certain to give her pain, even if -it didn’t reflect on her. She spoke of you to me this morning in a very -friendly way.” - -Poor Violet. So she had done the very worst thing she could have done -in my interest. To praise a young man to an elderly admirer--what other -result could it have but to ensure his being driven from the field? - -I was too much cast down to make any response to Sir Frank’s well-meant -advice, beyond a silent bow. He was as friendly as ever the next -minute, invited me to come to Charing Cross to see him off, and shook -my hand cordially at parting. I preferred to walk home afterwards, -dreading the dull hours till bedtime. So miserable was I that, when I -came in, I should have gone straight upstairs without looking to see -if there were any letters for me if I had not been arrested by a faint -fragrance that had many memories for me. - -I looked down, and there was a delicate blue envelope beckoning me by -name. - - DEAR BERTRAND, - - I write at once to tell you that you have nothing to fear from dear - Sir Frank. He spoke of you most highly to my father, said you had a - distinguished career before you, and that he would not take £3,000 a - year for your practice in a few years’ time. - Yours, - VIOLET. - - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -MOTHER AND DAUGHTER - - -Sir Frank Tarleton had not given me all his reasons for not taking me -with him to Paris. One of them, as he told me afterwards, was that I -had made an enemy of Sarah Neobard, or, to put it the other way, I had -made her regard me as an enemy. My chief believed that my presence -would prevent him from obtaining any information from her or her -mother. They would think he had come on a hostile errand, and they -would obstinately hold their tongues, for fear lest anything they said -might be used by me against her. - -Tarleton’s intention was to appear in the character of a friend of -Sarah’s, who did not share my suspicions and only wanted to be able to -clear her from them. He was quite frank with me about the way in which -he had spoken of me in my absence, and about everything else in which I -was interested. - -He put up at his favourite hotel, the Saint Lazare, on his arrival, one -that suited him because it was near the centre of everything without -being overrun by English and Americans. He liked to be among French -people when he was in France. After the “little breakfast,” that first -delicious taste of French coffee and French bread which atones for the -stuffiness of the French railway carriage, he made his way round to -the Rue Jerusalem, where he was received with high distinction by the -head of the French police to whom his name and official standing were -well known. - -The Chief presented to him Brigadier Samson, the detective who had the -two fugitives under supervision, and he undertook, at the doctor’s -request, that a formidable-looking gendarme in the showy uniform of the -French police should be stationed opposite the Hotel Saint Catherine, -in full sight from the windows, till further notice. - -Another small piece of business was transacted. Tarleton laid before -the Chief the photograph he had obtained from Inspector Charles, -and invited him to find out if it corresponded with anything in his -register of finger-prints. - -The hour now being reached at which the ladies might be expected to -show themselves, the visitor next went on to their hotel in the Rue -Tivoli. In the hall he found the English detective who had followed -them from London, and who had taken a room on the same floor, in the -unsuspicious character of a tourist who found himself in Paris for the -first time and was unwilling to venture far from his hotel. - -“The birds are in their cage, Sir Frank,” he reported as soon as he -recognized the specialist. “I’ve been hanging about here since the -early morning and I’ve arranged with the management that they shan’t be -allowed to go out by any other way.” - -Tarleton, in reply, explained why he had asked for a gendarme to be -posted across the way. “I don’t want them to know that you’re a police -officer, of course; but I may want them to know that they are being -watched by the police.” - -He had hardly finished speaking when the representative of French law -appeared on the scene, a truly imposing figure with a huge moustache, -who began pacing the pavement opposite like a man who was not to be -trifled with. - -The consultant asked if Mrs. Weathered had taken a private sitting-room -and finding that she had, sent up his card, on which he had scribbled -the words “_Official Confidential_.” When he was handing it into the -office, however, the detective followed him to make a correction. - -“She’s not staying here under her own name. She has taken the name of -Neobard.” - -He had to wait some minutes for a response. When at length he was taken -upstairs and shown into the room he found, as he had expected, Miss -Neobard alone. - -“My mother asks you to excuse her, Sir Frank. She is not yet well -enough to see anyone on business. May I ask the meaning of those words -on your card?” - -Sarah spoke with the utmost coolness. If she was frightened she had -evidently resolved to hide her fright under a mask of defiance. -Tarleton’s manner was one of entire friendliness. - -“They mean that although I have come to see Mrs. Weathered as a -Government official, on official business, our interview will be -strictly confidential. I shall not make use of any information she may -give me, without her consent.” - -The daughter looked at him doubtfully. - -“Does that apply to me as well?” - -Sir Frank purposely hesitated before answering. - -“There is no reason why I shouldn’t have a confidential talk with you -as well, if you desire it. But at present I have only asked to see Mrs. -Weathered.” - -The name seemed to irritate the girl. - -“My mother has dropped the name of Weathered,” she said sharply. “In -future she desires to be known as Mrs. Neobard.” - -Tarleton was struck by her tone. It conveyed to him that the change of -name had not been made with a view to concealment, but was due to some -deeper cause. - -Up to now Miss Neobard had made no reference to the whereabouts of -the travellers having been so soon discovered. She now threw out the -question scornfully. - -“I suppose the police are on our track, as we came here without giving -anyone our address. Is that confidential?” - -“Certainly not.” The doctor was getting a little irritated by this -time. “Your leaving London while the mystery of Dr. Weathered’s death -was still unsolved was enough to provoke the suspicion of the police. -They were bound to keep you in sight.” - -Sarah couldn’t very well contradict this. She lifted her head more -defiantly than ever. - -“My mother can’t see you,” she repeated. “Anything you want to say to -her can be said to me.” - -Sir Frank admired her courage. He tried to soften her. - -“My dear Miss Neobard, I wish you would let me speak to you as a -friend. You can’t think I have come here as an enemy. If I had I should -have brought Dr. Cassilis with me. Or rather I should have sent him -instead of coming myself.” - -This shot told as he had expected. It was evident that Sarah cherished -a strong resentment against me. It was a new light to her that my chief -might take a different view of the case. For the first time she looked -at him as if she thought it possible that he might be sincere. - -“Dr. Cassilis has practically accused me of murder,” she said. - -“Dr. Cassilis is a young man without much experience. He has let -himself become interested in the young lady you seemed to suspect. He -spoke in her defence; I don’t believe that he really thinks you had -anything to do with Dr. Weathered’s death. He went too far, of course, -and I have told him so. In fact, I have now taken him off the case.” - -The defiance began to die out of Miss Neobard’s eyes. They were fine -eyes and she knew how to use them with effect. - -“Does that mean that I am not under suspicion any longer?” she inquired -in a more gracious voice. - -“You never have been under suspicion as far as I am concerned,” the -doctor answered a little evasively. “I feel sure you are a truthful -woman, and whatever you choose to tell me in confidence I shall -believe.” - -Sarah was fairly conquered. Her voice broke down as she replied. - -“I am a wicked girl, Sir Frank. I did have thoughts at one time that he -ought to die. But I never went farther than that. I swear to you on my -oath that I have no more idea how he was murdered, or who murdered him, -than you have--I mean, I have no idea at all.” - -The consultant thanked her with a grave bow. “The evidence I have -obtained so far points to suicide,” he said quietly. “But I only tell -you that in confidence, to relieve your mind. Dr. Weathered carried -poison about with him.” - -The step-daughter looked even more relieved than Tarleton had expected, -but a good deal surprised as well. - -“I knew that he took opium sometimes,” she whispered back, “but I never -guessed that he meant to take his own life. I was afraid....” She -stopped short and shuddered. - -The specialist took no notice of the suppressed hint. - -“You will see now, I hope, that I haven’t come here to try and get -your mother to tell me anything about you. As a matter of fact, my -business with her has nothing to do with the murder, or whatever it -was, except indirectly. I have come in the interest of some of Dr. -Weathered’s patients and I think Mrs. Neobard may be able to help me to -obtain certain information on their behalf. I am sure you won’t wish -any evil he has done to go on after his death.” - -This way of putting it appealed to what was best in Sarah Neobard. -She looked puzzled but not disposed to resist. She made another -half-hearted attempt to extract from the visitor what it was that he -had to ask her mother, but when she found him firm in insisting that he -must see Mrs. Neobard herself, she gave way, and went to fetch her. - -A quarter of an hour, half an hour, passed. There must have been a -severe struggle going on in the next room, although no sounds reached -the consultant through the wall. He had laid his hand on the bell to -summon a waiter and send a peremptory message when the door at last -opened and the widow came in. - -Tarleton felt convinced from the first moment that she had guessed his -business with her. Her eyes were red and her naturally pale cheeks -showed a feverish flush. She was hardly able to walk and her daughter -supported her tenderly till she was in a chair. Sarah herself was -clearly ignorant of the cause of her mother’s emotion. She glanced -wonderingly from her to Sir Frank and back again, and seemed to -be holding herself in readiness to defend her parent or to back up -Tarleton’s demand, according to her judgment of what was the right -course. - -The examiner came to the point quickly. - -“Miss Neobard has explained to you that this is a confidential -interview, I hope. Whatever you say to me will be a secret between -ourselves, unless you authorize me to make use of it. It is for you to -decide whether your daughter is to remain in the room, of course.” - -The mother stretched out a hand and took hold of one of her -protector’s, who answered for her. “I have promised my mother to -remain.” - -“Very good. I had better begin by reading you this advertisement. It -appeared in the paper yesterday.” - -He read out the invitation from Messrs. James, Halliday and James to -the patients of the late Dr. Weathered to apply for the return of their -correspondence and continued: - -“The solicitor who put in this advertisement refused to give the name -of the client who is instructing him. Will you tell me if it is you?” - -Mrs. Neobard shook her head faintly without speaking. - -“Can you tell me if your late husband left a will, and who is his -executor?” - -“I can answer that question,” Sarah put in. “My mother is sole executor -and he has left everything to her. She wanted to renounce execution; -but the lawyer told her that it would be no use, as the law would make -her administrator. She is not going to take a farthing of his money, if -there is any.” - -“Quite so; then Mrs. Neobard is the only person who is lawfully -entitled to deal with any papers Dr. Weathered left behind him. Can you -explain to me how these letters came to be in the possession of this -solicitor, or the person for whom he is acting?” - -The flush had faded from the widow’s cheeks, leaving her very pale. - -“I can’t explain,” she said in a whisper. - -“Does it matter?” her daughter asked. “As long as these people get -their letters back again, what does it matter who they got them from?” - -“They won’t get them; that is what matters,” the physician said -gravely. “There is a criminal behind this advertisement. I must explain -to you and to Mrs. Neobard, if she doesn’t know already, what these -letters were about.” - -Very deliberately and keeping his eyes fixed on the agitated woman -all the time, Tarleton outlined the story of his discoveries. He was -careful not to mention names. He explained why the doctor’s case-book -had been taken from the safe, and why that precaution had proved -useless. The dead man’s real hold over his victims had been through the -letters he had persuaded them to write to him; those letters had been -signed with a cipher, and the object of the advertisement was to make -the writers disclose their identity so that they might be blackmailed -by the holder of their secret confessions. - -The widow’s distress became pitiable as the explanation proceeded. -There could be no doubt that she was no party to the plot and hardly a -doubt that its revelation had come to her as a complete shock. As for -Sarah Neobard, her fine eyes fairly blazed with indignation. - -“I never knew that such things were possible,” she exclaimed. “I don’t -believe--I can’t believe--that my step-father ever meant to use the -letters in such a way.” - -At this point the consultant saw Mrs. Neobard open her eyes and look -at him wistfully, as if to ask him to take no notice of her daughter’s -tenderness for the scoundrel who had passed to his account. - -“Surely you can’t think,” the girl pursued, “that my mother knew -anything about this? Mother!”--she turned to the shrinking woman--“do -you hear? You must do everything you can to help Sir Frank Tarleton to -stop this iniquity.” - -Now Sir Frank knew perfectly well that it could be stopped pretty -easily by the simple step of Mrs. Neobard’s solicitors taking -proceedings in her name for the recovery of the letters. The legal -property in them, of course was vested in the writers, but until they -claimed them the executrix was entitled to their possession; and if the -Chancery Lane sharper refused to give them up or to disclose their -whereabouts he was pretty sure to be struck off the Rolls and stood -a good chance of being indicted for conspiracy. All this the adviser -of the Home Office had known from the first, but he took care to keep -the knowledge up his sleeve. For him the question of the letters was -a secondary one and he was only using it as a means of opening the -widow’s lips. - -Miss Neobard suddenly stopped pleading with her mother to say to the -specialist, “I think I can guess who has those letters--Madame Bonnell!” - -This was another thing about which Tarleton had entertained no doubt -since seeing the advertisement. But he received the suggestion with -every sign of disbelief. - -“Madame Bonnell is the last person to whom I should think Dr. Weathered -would have trusted them,” he answered. - -“She may have stolen them,” the girl persisted. “Perhaps he kept them -at the Club and she has found them since his death.” - -“He kept nothing whatever at the Club except the disguise he wore at -the Club dances. I have had the premises searched carefully by the -police, and they have questioned the staff. The letters are not there -now, and there is no receptacle in which they could have been stored.” - -Mrs. Neobard had been listening anxiously to this discussion. Now she -spoke. - -“Who else do you think can have them?” - -“That is what I want you to tell me. And I think you can.” - -The widow shivered again. Her daughter looked at her with a dawning -comprehension that something was wrong. - -“Mother, you must tell if you know.” - -“Your husband kept these letters in a concealed cupboard of his -dressing-room,” Tarleton told her. “Your house has been searched for -a secret hiding-place and the cupboard has been found.” It was a bold -shot, but the widow’s face showed that it had hit the mark. “That -cupboard is empty now. The law presumes that you opened it, as you were -entitled and bound to do, after his death, and that you took possession -of its contents as executrix. I am here to ask you in the name of the -law what you have done with them.” - -He watched Dr. Weathered’s relict very closely while he was speaking. -She seemed to be wrenched by conflicting fears. At one moment her lips -parted as if to speak, at the next they closed again more tightly than -before. - -“Tell him, mother!” pleaded the girl. - -The mother turned to her despairingly. - -“I can’t! I daren’t! Don’t ask me to,” she cried hopelessly. - -The representative of the law looked at his watch. - -“If that is your last answer you must be prepared to take the -consequences, Mrs. Weathered.” He pointed dramatically to a window of -the room. “Look out of that window, Miss Neobard, and tell your mother -what you see.” - -Sarah rushed to the window and gave a sharp cry. “Mother, there is -a gendarme watching the hotel!” She looked reproachfully at the -physician. “And you told me you came here as a friend!” - -“I am trying to act as one. Your mother has only to tell me the truth -and I will open the window and send that man away.” - -“Do you hear, mother? You won’t let me be arrested?” - -Mrs. Weathered--Tarleton had meant to remind her that she was passing -under a name not legally hers--had merely shivered again when she heard -who was outside. Now she sprang out of her chair, a different woman. - -“You! Arrest you! What do you mean, Sarah? What have you to do with it? -The police have come for me.” - -Sarah was not less amazed and horrified than her mother. - -“Nonsense; they can’t touch you,” she exclaimed. “You weren’t at the -dance that night!” - -“And you were? My girl, my poor girl, what have you been doing?” - -“Sir Frank Tarleton knows. I have told him everything. I think he means -to be friendly, but he can’t save me unless you speak out. She can -speak safely, can’t she?” the daughter asked imploringly. “My mother -isn’t in any danger?” - -It was a question difficult to answer either way. Tarleton felt the -eyes of both women searching his face, each with the same anxiety, -though each on the other’s behalf. - -“It is only right that I should let you know that Mrs. Weathered may be -in danger. The letters which ought to be in her possession may contain -the clue to your step-father’s murder.” - -And now the scene became painful indeed to witness, as the mother and -daughter stood facing each other with the questions in their eyes that -they were too terrified to put. Both of them at some time had loved -the murdered man; both of them, perhaps, had come to hate him. And now -each had been shaken by a sudden revelation of the other’s hidden side. -The mother had just caught an appalling glimpse into her daughter’s -unknown relations with her step-father; the daughter had been staggered -by the suggestion that her mother might have been his mortal enemy. And -all the time, beneath these mutual dreads and suspicions it might be, -these unconscious jealousies, there prevailed, stronger than any other -feeling, that blind, unselfish love between mother and child which made -both of them eager to thrust themselves into danger in the other’s -place. - -The parts had been reversed. It was Sarah who was now anxious to close -her mother’s mouth and Mrs. Weathered who showed herself determined to -speak. The skilful manipulator of human nature who had wrought up this -dramatic situation knew that he had only to wait for the _dénouement_ -at which he had aimed. - -He had not to wait long. - -“If you have trusted Sir Frank Tarleton I can do the same,” the elder -woman said at last. “I have more to tell him than he knows. He thinks -that I only found those letters in the cupboard after my husband’s -death. I have been reading every one of them for more than a year.” - -If the consultant had not quite expected to hear this he had been -expecting something more than he thought it wise to indicate just -then. He let no sign of his thoughts appear outwardly. The two women, -exhausted by the tempest of emotion they had passed through, sat down -side by side; but they kept their eyes averted from one another, -and only raised them from time to time to watch the effect of Mrs. -Weathered’s narrative on him. - -“You mustn’t think that I am an inquisitive woman, Sir Frank. I didn’t -discover my husband’s secrets by prying. I never knew the existence of -the cupboard or the letters till one of the women who had been led into -writing to him came to me.” - -This was news to the doctor. He pricked up his ears for the name. - -“She was a Miss Sebright--Miss Julia Sebright.” - -“Ah! She is dead.” Tarleton thought it sound policy to show that he -was able to check the statements made to him. - -“Yes. She died soon afterwards, of a broken heart, I think. She came to -me in despair and appealed to me as Dr. Weathered’s wife to protect her -from him.” - -Sir Frank got up, walked to the window, opened it and waved his hand. -The gendarme outside saluted respectfully and marched away. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -THE MEANS TO DO ILL DEEDS - - -The pale, weak woman had suddenly been transformed in Tarleton’s eyes -into a heroine. He saw in her someone greater than himself. He was the -official, salaried guardian of society, called upon to run no risks -that a brave man ought to fear. But this forlorn woman, without a -friend in whom she could confide, without support from public opinion -or from the law, had taken into her trembling hands the task of -delivering her sister women from a wretch whom neither opinion nor the -law could reach. - -Mrs. Neobard--she had surely earned her right to be called that -now--thanked the doctor for his impulsive action with a look. But it -was not a look of triumph. She proceeded with her story in the tone of -a loser rather than a victor. - -“Miss Sebright told me that she had felt a longing to become a mother, -which she had no hope of satisfying because she suffered from a -depravity, a club foot. She had been told as a child that no man would -ever want to marry her, except for her money, and the result had been -to make her distrust every man who came near her. It was a sad story -and I’m afraid it is true of other women. Their self-distrust robs them -of the happiness within their reach, if they only knew it.” - -The speaker sighed as though contrasting their fate with her own -opposite mistake. - -“She told me she had come to my husband to have the longing driven out -of her mind; instead of which he had persuaded her to become the mother -of an illegitimate child, by a man whose name was not told her. The -child was never born, happily--or unhappily; I daren’t say which. But -she had written letters that disclosed what she had done, and now the -doctor was holding them over her. He hadn’t gone so far as to demand -money, but he was compelling her to come or write to him every week and -charging her high fees. She would rather have paid a lump sum to end -it. The persecution was driving her out of her mind. The poor thing -actually offered me a thousand pounds.” - -It was a sickening story. Hardened as he was to the ways of criminals, -Tarleton listened to it with nausea. - -“I promised to find the letters and return them to her if I could. -I had to go to work secretly. If I had said anything to my husband -it would have put him on his guard, and he would have placed the -letters somewhere out of my reach. I spied on him till I saw him -one day through the keyhole going to a cupboard in the wall of his -dressing-room,--the one you found.” - -The consultant forbore to correct her by saying that the discovery had -been made by Inspector Charles. - -“Of course, it was locked and I had no key that would open it. So -I went to an ironmonger’s one day when the doctor was away for the -week-end, and asked him to send a confidential man to open it. I -pretended that my husband had lost the key while he was away on a -holiday, and wanted something in the cupboard to be sent to him. I -don’t know if they believed me, but they said nothing, and they made me -a new key.” - -In the same quiet way she went on, seeming to see nothing extraordinary -in the patient contrivance by which she had outwitted the schemer -who most probably looked down upon her as a simple piece of domestic -furniture. - -In the cupboard she had found a mass of correspondence, by no means -all of it from women, but in almost every case containing painful and -sometimes hideous revelations of depraved and distorted natures. The -horrified woman had been obliged to leave a good deal unread. The -letters from each correspondent were neatly kept on a separate file, -marked with the number under which he or she wrote. These numbers -puzzled her at first, as they puzzled Tarleton himself, but she had -only to ask Miss Sebright for the explanation. Several numbers were -missing from the series. Either the writers must have redeemed their -rash confessions, or else they had gone abroad or died, and the papers -had become valueless. - -The real difficulty before Mrs. Neobard had been to keep her promise -to Miss Sebright without the doctor’s knowing that his cupboard had -been opened. Now she saw her way. If the poor victim defied him and he -went to look for her file and found it gone, he would probably think he -had destroyed it himself by mistake. - -“He wasn’t always sober when he came in at night,” the unfortunate wife -said in a tone that breathed of her past sufferings. “I felt sure he -couldn’t suspect me or anyone of taking one set of letters and leaving -all the rest. Anyhow, I decided to risk it. I took Miss Sebright’s -letters and sent them to her by registered post. She wrote thanking me -very gratefully, but telling me that she was dying and asking me to go -and see her. I went more than once. It was the sight of her sinking -into her grave under my husband’s cruelty that nerved me to go on.” - -“I should have returned all the other letters now, without caring what -happened, if I had known where to send them. But I had no key to whom -the numbers stood for.” - -“You would have found that if you had looked in Dr. Weathered’s -appointment-book,” Sir Frank told her. - -The widow opened her eyes. - -“I never thought of that! I see you know how to find out everything, -Sir Frank. Stop me if I am telling you anything you know already.” - -The consultant waved his hand courteously for her to go on. Her story -had held one surprise for him already, and he foresaw that others were -to come. - -“I waited. I now went to the cupboard every day when I knew I was -safe from interruption, to read any fresh letters that had arrived, -in the hope of finding something in them that would give me a clue to -the writer’s identity. At last I found one in which the writer had -put her address at the head in the usual way. I suppose she did it in -forgetfulness.” - -Tarleton breathed softly while he waited for the name he was pretty -certain of hearing. - -“The address was Carlyle Square, Chelsea. I looked it up in the -Directory and found she was a Mrs. Baker. Have you heard of her -before?” Mrs. Neobard gave him an imploring look. - -“I knew her brother, the late Captain Armstrong,” the specialist said, -without answering the question directly. “Please tell me everything.” - -Mrs. Neobard made an effort and went on. - -“I was disappointed, in a sense, to find that her letters weren’t worth -returning to her. There was nothing in them that anyone could make use -of to harm her, as far as I could see. She was simply a very foolish -woman with fads. She had come to my husband out of mere curiosity, -I should think, and he had played on her weakness. He had pretended -that she was secretly longing to commit a murder; and the silly woman -believed him. She seemed rather proud of it than otherwise. I suppose -it gave her a feeling of self-importance to think of herself as a -possible Mrs. Maybrick. In one of her letters she compared herself with -Miladi in the ‘Three Musketeers.’” - -It was so exactly in keeping with his own impression of the queer -little woman in Carlyle Square that Tarleton gave a nod of satisfaction. - -“Ah! I see you do know her. But I suppose you won’t tell me how much -you know?” - -The physician was obliged to shake his head. “You could not trust me -yourself, ma’am, if I did.” - -“I suppose you are right,” she admitted regretfully. “Well, I went on -reading this Mrs. Baker’s letters on the chance of finding something -serious in them; and at last there was. He had prompted her to think -out plans for committing a murder, and she was actually sending them to -him.” - -A gasp drew Tarleton’s attention to Sarah Neobard, who had sat hitherto -listening in silence. Now she seemed roused to a sense of impending -tragedy, and gazed at her mother with dilated eyes. - -The widow directed a swift glance at her, and withdrew it instantly. - -“You can understand my terrible position, Sir Frank. My eyes had been -opened to my husband’s character. I don’t say that he had always been -a bad man, but he had become one by now. I had the proof under my -eyes that he was a criminal, and a danger to society. And here he was -discussing plots of murder with a weak, silly woman who seemed to be -under his thumb. Judging from her letters she was quite capable of -committing a murder out of vanity, just to give herself the feeling -that she was an extraordinary person.” - -The consultant did not credit this. But he was not there to defend Mrs. -Baker, and he did not want to interrupt. - -“I felt that if she did commit a crime she would be doing it as my -husband’s instrument, as much as if he had hypnotized her, and that I -must find some way to prevent it. Then, while I was wondering how to -interfere, a letter came in which she said she had a bottle of poison -in her possession, a poison unknown to the medical profession, that her -brother had brought with him from Sumatra. But I expect you know about -that?” - -“I know the poison you speak of, certainly. The brother sold me a -quantity of it. He professed it was all he had brought to England.” - -“He deceived you, then. In the next letter she described exactly where -she kept the poison, in a chiffonier in her drawing-room within reach -of the first caller. She boasted that she kept it under lock and key, -but almost anyone could pick a lock like that, as even I could see. Of -course, I knew from that moment that the poison was within my husband’s -reach, and I felt sure he meant to take it. Why else should he have -asked about it so particularly? What did it matter to him where it was -kept, unless he wanted it himself?” - -“I quite agree with you,” said the specialist, seeing that he was -expected to reply. - -“Now you see where I stood. I knew that my husband was capable of -committing a murder, if he had anything to gain by it, and now I knew -that he was actually scheming to obtain a poison that couldn’t be -detected. I don’t think Mrs. Baker had an idea that her brother had -parted with some to you. She wrote as though her bottle held all there -was. And who was it that he was thinking of murdering? I couldn’t see -anyone but myself.” - -“Mother!” The word burst from Sarah’s agonized lips. If she had -retained any lingering softness for the dead man it must have expired -in that cry. Her mother did not turn her head. - -“I had to defend myself. I couldn’t prevent him from taking the poison -in any other way that I could think of. I went to Mrs. Baker’s house -and stole the bottle.” - -“You were quite right,” the physician agreed again. - -“I had no difficulty. I took a bunch of all the keys I could find in -the house, keys of wardrobes and drawers and boxes of different sizes, -and went round to the Square. I walked up and down till I had seen a -woman who looked like the mistress of the house come out, and then I -knocked, and asked to be allowed to wait upstairs. I gave some common -name.” She put her hand to her forehead. “That’s strange! I can’t -remember the name. Well, almost the first key I tried opened the -chiffonier and there stood the bottle just as she had described it I -put it into my pocket and came away.” - -Whatever theory Sir Frank had formed as to the case, it had certainly -not included this incident. He had thought it possible that after -Weathered had carried off the bottle his wife had found it and taken -it in turn from him. He had never conjectured that the feeble-looking -woman had been brave and cool enough to checkmate her husband in -advance like this. - -“For the moment I felt safe,” Mrs. Neobard went on steadily. “But how -long could I expect to be from such a husband as mine? He was a doctor, -and it was easy for him to obtain other poisons. He would have had to -do that in any case, I think, as it turned out. Mrs. Baker quarrelled -with him soon after, because he had advised her to kill a favourite -cat. She refused to have anything more to do with him, and as her -letters were more damaging to him than to her he had no hold on her. I -soon found that he had destroyed them.” - -This was another new light for the consultant. And it prepared him for -what was to come next. - -“It seemed to me that my only chance of escape was to leave him. But -what reason could I give to the world for doing so? I had nothing to -complain of as far as his treatment of me was concerned. He was always -perfectly courteous. We were on friendly terms outwardly. I couldn’t -prove that he had been unfaithful to me; I wasn’t even sure in my own -mind that he had been, yet, although the letters showed me that he was -pursuing one of his victims. What could I say? Was I to denounce him -publicly as a scoundrel, and produce the letters? I might have ruined -dozens of innocent men and women. And I might fail. I might find that -the world sided with him instead of me. I knew him well enough to -know exactly what he would do. He would say that I had spied on his -professional work, that I had pried into the secrets of his patients -and that jealousy had made me insane. And he would have found plenty of -people to believe him. A wife who betrays her husband is not likely to -be forgiven. - -“If I left him I doubted if my own daughter would have come with me.” - -This was the first allusion the mother had made to her daughter’s -unhappy infatuation. And it was the last one. Sarah had begun to cry -quietly. Now Mrs. Neobard put out her hand again and took her child’s. - -“You won’t expect me to give you _all_ my reasons for deciding that -I must act as I did, Sir Frank. Perhaps you will think I really was -insane. I don’t know--after reading some of those letters that I found -I sometimes feel it difficult to say who is sane and who isn’t. I can -only say I thought over everything time after time, as quietly as I -could, and I always came to the same conclusion. I think what stuck -in my mind most of all was the death of poor Miss Sebright. There was -no doubt that he had murdered her, as surely as if he had given her -arsenic. I thought he ought to die.” - -She said it without an effort, as though it were the most natural -conclusion in the world. - -“It looked like a providence to me that I had the poison ready. It -was his own doing, you see. He had helped me to it through wanting it -himself for his own wicked ends. I had taken it in self-defence, and -there it was, ready to be used.” - -The listener remembered Shakespeare’s lines, though he refrained from -quoting them: - - “How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds makes ill deeds done.” - -The master of human nature had anticipated the excuse of many King -Johns. And in this case the excuse seemed genuine. In fact, the widow -did not speak as though she meant to excuse herself; she seemed to be -simply explaining the sequence of her thoughts. - -“Then I came to a new difficulty, that I had never expected. I found I -couldn’t do it.” - -It sounded like confession. There was far more of apology in the tone -with which she said this than there had been in her whole previous -statement. For the first time there was moisture in her eyes. - -“I had believed in him once.... I had loved him.” - -She broke down and ceased for a few moments. Tarleton watched her with -real pity. - -“I dare say you will find it difficult to understand me, Sir Frank, but -I think most wives would. I hadn’t changed my mind. I was still quite -firm in believing that it was right to put an end to my husband, but I -had to find someone else to do it.” - -The consultant nodded. It was all plain to him now. His theory had not -been very far wrong, after all. - -“I decided that I must try to discover one of his victims, one of -the men who had confessed their secrets to him and were suffering -in consequence, and give the poison to him. I didn’t think of the -appointment-book, unfortunately. The only way that occurred to me of -getting in touch with the writers of the letters was to go to the -Domino Club.” - -Tarleton felt astray again for the moment. There were more -complications in the case than he had even yet grasped. - -“I expect you know all about the Club. My husband had started it as -a means of getting money out of his patients, but it caught on, and -became quite a fashionable resort. It brought him something like £1,000 -a year. Of course, his name didn’t appear, but everyone knew he was to -be met there regularly. He never missed a dance. The nominal proprietor -of the Club was the woman who managed it for him, Madame Bonnell.” - -“Yes. I knew all that. And I know Madame Bonnell.” - -Mrs. Neobard’s face betrayed some apprehension. - -“Know her as a friend, do you mean?” she ventured. - -“I know her well enough to think she could be a very dangerous one.” - -“Ah, then you _do_ know her. I wish I had!... I went to her to buy a -ticket of admission to the Club, as I wasn’t a member. I didn’t mean to -tell her who I was, but she knew somehow.” - -“Madame Bonnell knew a good deal.” - -“Yes, I found that out, too, before I had done with her. She was all -politeness; she pretended to think I was coming out of curiosity and -treated it as a sort of joke. She promised of her own accord not to let -Dr. Weathered know. Promised it playfully, you understand, as if it -were of no consequence whether he did or not. What she really thought I -can’t tell, but she must have suspected something and meant to get me -in her power. - -“She deceived me completely. I asked her some questions about the -people who came, especially the patients. I wanted to find out which of -them came against their will, but I hoped she wouldn’t see what I was -driving at.” - -A sheep might as well have tried to hoodwink a wolf, was Tarleton’s -inward comment, but he thought he had interrupted enough. - -“She answered all my questions so glibly and seemed so anxious to -oblige that I was led on further and further. At last she said, ‘You -can see I am a friend, madam; why not trust me? I see you want to know -your husband’s enemies and I am willing to help you. This Club is full -of them. Every time the doctor comes here I consider he takes his life -in his hands.’ - -“I tried to draw back, but it was too late. She refused to let me go. -She said, ‘I must choose between you and your husband, madam. He is -my employer, he pays me well, and if anything happens to him you may -engage another manageress, and I shall lose my daily bread. If it is -your object to preserve him from danger we can work together.’ - -“She must have guessed pretty well by this time that I had a different -object, because she hardly waited for me to answer. Before I could -make up my mind what to say, she went on: ‘On the other hand, I have -no friendship for Dr. Weathered. Of late I have sometimes wished that -he were out of the way. The Club would do better without him in my -opinion. He is unpopular. And always I am afraid of some terrible -_esclandre_--some frightful scene or some exposure that would ruin the -Club and perhaps injure my character.’” - -In spite of the gravity of the situation Sir Frank Tarleton relished -Madame’s regard for her character, though he kept his enjoyment to -himself. - -“She meant me to feel that she was on my side, I could see. It seemed -to be a pure matter of business with her. She was ready to help me to -save my husband or to kill him--it didn’t matter which, provided it was -made worth her while. At the same time she let me see that I was in -her power. ‘It comes to this,’ she said at last, ‘that if you are not -going to trust me I can’t afford to trust you. You may have come here -to pump me, to find out if I deserve your husband’s confidence. In that -case I must report this conversation to him for my own protection; I -expect you to see that, madam.’” - -It was all so clever, as clever as the advertisement about the letters, -Tarleton reflected. He did not wonder that Mrs. Neobard had been -overmatched. - -“In the end I had to give in to her. I saw no way out, and it looked -as if she would be perfectly willing to help me on her own terms. I -undertook to transfer the whole property in the Domino Club to her on -my husband’s death, and she undertook to find one of his victims who -hated him enough to kill him, if he could do it safely, and give him -the secret poison. No one was to know where she had obtained it. - -“I took the bottle to her the next day. The moment it was in her hands -she said to me, ‘I must have more than this, madam. I must have the -letters you have found. They are your justification for planning your -husband’s death, and I must have them to show in my defence if I get -into trouble for assisting you.’ - -“I had been weak enough to tell her nearly everything I have told -you, because I couldn’t bear to let her think that I was a bad woman -acting from evil motives. Now I repented too late. As usual, she had -a perfect answer to everything I could say. ‘It comes to this, madam, -that you have given me the means to commit a murder, and you have made -these letters your excuse. If you decline to produce them I must doubt -if they exist, and as an honest woman I shall hand this bottle over to -the police.’” - -Tarleton got out of his chair. If he did not yet know all he wanted to -know, he knew all that this poor woman could tell him. - -“Thank you. If I have your permission to use this information in my own -way neither you nor your daughter need fear anything more.” - -The astonished woman stopped him on the way to the door. - -“But after Madame Bonnell had got the letters she turned round and -refused to go on with the plot. How did my husband die?” - -“I am going to ask her that.” - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -THE FINGER-PRINT - - -When Sir Frank Tarleton walked into the room on his return from Paris -the first thing he did was to put his gold repeater to his ear and make -it ring out its musical notes. It was the sign of triumph. - -He told me everything just as I have described it. Then he transfixed -me with a question. - -“I expect you to be as candid with me as Mrs. Neobard has been. Did you -put this poison into Wethered’s cup along with the opium?” - -It was no more than I ought to have expected; no more than I had -deserved. But it gave me a greater shock than I could have thought -possible. - -“Before God I am innocent of that!” I swore. - -My chief received my oath without any indication of belief or disbelief. - -“I don’t blame you for anything else you did on behalf of Lady Violet,” -he said gravely. “Even if you hadn’t been in love with her, as a man -you could do no less than you did to save her from such a scoundrel. -You were right to drug him and right to destroy his case-book. But you -had no right to take his life.” - -I looked him in the face. I was too proud to repeat my denial. - -“That has been my greatest anxiety in the whole business, Cassilis. I -liked you; you knew it, and I think you should have confided in me.” - -“It wasn’t my secret,” I pleaded. - -“I suppose that was the reason: yes, I accept that. It was a mistake, -though, because you had no chance of keeping the secret. That is partly -why I think it better for you to drop this kind of work and go in for -private practice. You lack the first essential for a detective, my dear -fellow; you can hold your tongue, but you can’t hold your face.” - -I’m afraid I couldn’t hold it then. It blushed in spite of me. - -“I am a light sleeper, Cassilis, as you ought to know. The telephone -bell woke me some minutes before you came into the house that first -night. You moved as quietly as a mouse as soon as you heard it, but you -see I was listening before it rang the second time and I had heard you -come up to the front door and open it.” - -How silly all my precautions seemed now! My chief rubbed it into me -with a touch of good humour. - -“I gave you a hint that you might as well make a clean breast of it at -once, but you didn’t take it. When you came in to me with Charles’s -message your face showed me that you had something more on your mind -than having gone out without letting me know. And you gave yourself -away when you told me that you had been taken to the Domino Club by a -Captain Smethwick. There is no such name in the Army List.” - -Blunder after blunder, he recounted them all. The theft of the -case-book had pointed to the thief being a doctor. The omission of -Violet’s name from the list I had copied supplied the key to my -motives, and my attack on Sarah Neobard left no doubt that I was -in love with the girl she had denounced. My kind-hearted chief had -willingly lent himself to my plans for meeting Violet at Tyberton, -though he had tried to let me see he was not quite blind. He had -followed the history of the Zenobia costume easily enough. And Violet’s -refusal to give up the name of her champion had told him more than it -had told poor, dull-witted me. - -“That is my best reason for advising you to start in practice for -yourself, my boy. Consider what your prospects are with me. I am at -the top of the tree now and my salary is a bare £1,500 a year. And if -I make another £500 by my private work it’s as much as I make. That’s -not enough for an earl’s daughter to look forward to. You will make -double as a fashionable doctor. You have the most valuable gift of all -for the medical profession. You are a good listener. The people who -will come to you, the patients who really bring in money, don’t want to -be cured. They like to fancy they are ill and they want to talk about -themselves. Let ’em do it and charge them for it. With my influence and -Lord Ledbury’s you won’t have long to wait.” - -I could only shake my head sorrowfully. “You are very good, sir; you -are kinder to me than I deserve. But I have no right to think that Lady -Violet will ever marry me.” - -Sir Frank gave me a queer look. - -“Then I tell you this--if you don’t marry her, _I will_.” - -Before I could recover from the start given me by this threat he was -consulting his watch again. - -“Charles ought to be here by this time. And I think he is. I shall be -glad if you will come with us, Cassilis. We are going to the Domino -Club.” - -I followed him thankfully into the hall, to meet Inspector Charles -and a quietly dressed Frenchman who was briefly introduced to me as -Brigadier Samson. I took the invitation to go with them as a token that -my chief had acquitted me in his own mind at least. I was ignorant -whether I ever had been under suspicion in the Inspector’s, and I am so -still. - -We drove to the Club in the taxi that had brought the two police -officers. We found it looking much more cheerful than on the last -occasion. The new proprietress had evidently determined to make it a -greater success than ever, in spite of the little cloud that had fallen -on it. There were signs of renovation going on in the hall and new -decorations had been put up in the ball-room. - -The door was opened to us by the waiter Gerard, who looked as amiable -as ever, but rather more subdued. The respectful glance he gave to -Captain Charles seemed to tell of some intelligence between them. -Gerard was closely followed by another man whose salute showed me that -he was one of the Inspector’s staff, in charge of the premises. - -When Gerard, who had left us in the ball-room, returned to say that -Madame Bonnell was ready to receive us, the French detective retained -his seat. The other three of us were conducted into a smartly furnished -parlour in which we found Madame enthroned in all the dignity of her -new position. She had put on mourning for her late employer, but it was -the sort of mourning a good modiste knows how to make a softener of -grief rather than a perpetuation of it. - -Madame Bonnell showed no trace of nervousness at our appearance. Like a -good general, she had gauged her enemy in advance, she had anticipated -his attack, and her plans of defence had been skilfully laid out. She -received us in the manner of a courteous business woman who was only -anxious to do whatever was asked of her. - -I was conscious that my chief’s keen eyes were on the look-out for any -sign of recognition between Madame and me, as I came into the room. -Fortunately she scarcely noticed me, and I think her indifference must -have finally satisfied him that we were strangers to each other. - -He came straight to the point. - -“We have called on you, Madame, in consequence of the advertisement -from Messrs. James, Halliday & James.” - -She heard this with composure. “What advertisement is that?” - -Tarleton ignored the affectation of ignorance. - -“It may save time to tell you that every person known to have been in -correspondence with Dr. Weathered has been warned to take no notice of -that advertisement.” It was evidently news to her that the names of the -correspondents were known to the police, and she looked less confident -already. “Mr. Stillman has been informed that Dr. Weathered’s executrix -is the sole person entitled to deal with the letters, and he has now -consented to allow a detective officer to sit in his outer office and -refer any persons who may answer the advertisement to me. The same -officer is opening all letters addressed to the firm.” - -By this time Madame Bonnell must have made up her mind that she had -little chance of making anything out of the letters and that it was -better for her to sacrifice them if she could do so without damage to -herself. - -“What has all this to do with me?” she asked cautiously. - -“Mrs. Weathered informs me that she placed the letters in your -possession and I am here to ask you for them.” - -Madame Bonnell did some hard thinking and did it quickly, too. - -“Mrs. Weathered is a madwoman. She is not responsible for her actions, -and her word is not to be believed. I am surprised that you should -expect me to take such a story seriously. If you believe I have the -letters, look for them.” - -It was a gallant last stand. She must have known that every inch of the -premises had been searched already. - -Tarleton smiled at her. He was beginning to warm to his work. - -“If I am to take advantage of that permission, Madame, I shall have -to ask you to accompany me to Newgate Street, where there is a female -searcher. You probably carry the letters about with you.” - -A sudden spark, a very ugly and dangerous spark, was kindled in the -woman’s eyes at the mention of a female searcher. It went out again -instantly. Madame folded her arms. - -“If you believe what you say, it makes no difference. You say that Mrs. -Weathered gave me those letters. Why isn’t she here to ask for them -back? I have a right to keep them till she does.” - -This was true, unfortunately. But Madame had just been betrayed into -revealing her weak point, about which the representative of the Home -Office had been pretty confident before. He now turned to Inspector -Charles. - -“I am afraid I must leave the matter to you, Inspector.” - -Captain Charles was quite ready. - -“I must ask you to consider yourself my prisoner, Madame. The charge is -one of conspiring with Arthur Stillman to obtain money from various -persons by threats. Whatever you may say will be taken down and may be -used in evidence against you.” - -She didn’t wait for the production of the official note-book. Her hands -were at the bosom of her dress. - -“That charge is false and you know it. It is you who are using threats -to obtain these letters, to which you have no claim. You are breaking -the law, not I.” - -She was right, that was the amazing part of it, entirely right. But she -handed over the letters. And she contrived to look rather anxious. - -“Let me tell you that I only consented to receive those letters from -Mrs. Weathered because I saw she was a dangerous woman and I wanted to -prevent her from doing mischief. I meant to return them to the writers -the moment I knew who they were. In my position I couldn’t afford to do -otherwise. I had to think of the reputation of the Club.” - -Against this there was nothing to be said. It was the second line of -defence, of course. Tarleton was not the man to waste time in assailing -it. - -“Mrs. Weathered tells me she gave you something else beside those -letters.” - -Madame Bonnell needed no preparation to meet this blow, which she had -clearly been expecting. She heaved a sigh, apparently one of relief. - -“Ah, I am glad she has confessed that! It has been a burden on my mind. -I ought to have denounced her, I suppose, but I saw she was out of her -mind, and I was sorry for her. I thought it would be enough if I took -the poison from her and kept it in a safe place.” - -This was neater than even Tarleton had expected. I saw positive respect -in his eyes. - -“Then you have the poison still, Madame, untouched?” - -“But yes. I placed it among my little aids to the toilet. You will find -it in the cupboard you locked up, you remember.” - -“Perhaps you will oblige me by fetching it. Inspector Charles will -unlock the door for you.” - -The Inspector’s face fell as he rose to escort her. Perhaps he thought -that Sir Frank was being deceived. They came back together, Charles -carrying the little bottle, which he silently handed to the specialist. - -Tarleton went through the form of wetting his forefinger, taking up a -few grains of the gray powder and tasting it. His face told nothing. - -“The powder now in this bottle is a harmless mixture of charcoal and -common salt. The poison that killed Dr. Weathered was upasine.” - -Madame Bonnell raised her hands in admirable despair. - -“_Mille tonnorres!_ That wretched woman was more mad than I thought. -She mistook this stuff for--what did you say, sir?” - -The physician shook his head. “You do her an injustice. I have tested -her story and I feel no doubt that she placed the real poison in your -hands. I have seen the person from whom she took it and from whose -brother I obtained some of it myself.” - -Again the first line of defence, a rather flimsy one, had been broken -through. The second line was instantly unveiled. - -“I have been robbed, then, that is what you mean? Some wretch has -stolen the drug and filled up the bottle again to deceive me.” - -“It looks like that, certainly.” Could I believe that this was -Tarleton speaking? His voice remained perfectly steady as he went on. -“Unfortunately, one of the Club servants, named Gerard, has told the -police a different tale.” - -All at once Madame Bonnell turned very white. She began breathing in -spasms. - -“His story is that you threw out hints to him that Dr. Weathered was -in danger of being poisoned, as you pretended, by enemies of his in -the Club. At a later time you bribed Gerard to say that the doctor -himself was afraid, and had given him instructions to watch over his -drinks. What really happened was that your continued hints made Gerard -watchful, and on the fatal night he did see something dropped in the -doctor’s cup by a dancer whom he described correctly. We know that it -was a harmless dose of opium, a drug to which Weathered was immune, -because he was taking it. Gerard reported what he had seen to you and -you thereupon told him that it was what you had feared but that you -had an antidote. You put this antidote, as you called it, into a fresh -cup of coffee, and made him take it to the doctor. There is no doubt in -my mind that he died in consequence of drinking it.” - -Madame Bonnell’s perfect composure was gone. That angry spark had come -back into her eyes to remain there. She clenched her teeth, and her -words came through them like the click of castanets. - -“Gerard is a bloody liar.” - -The next instant she recollected herself. She had still a third line of -defence, a really good one this time. - -“Are you going to tell that story to the world? Aha! I can tell -stories, too. I shall have a fine tale to tell about His Royal Highness -the Crown Prince of Slavonia; yes, yes. I shall tell how His Highness -came to dance with poisoners and prostitutes, and people whose minds -were fouler than any sink; and saw a murder committed under his eyes by -his partner in the dance. Is it not so? And I shall recite much from -all those letters I have read. I have a good memory, and I recite well.” - -Tarleton acknowledged the strength of this position. - -“You are correct in thinking that the British authorities have reasons -for not taking proceedings against you. Therefore, they propose to let -you return to your own country.” - -“And give up my Club? Abandon my good fortune at its height? I am not -a very great fool, Sir Frank Tarleton.” - -My chief raised a finger. Captain Charles sounded his whistle and -Brigadier Samson stepped through the door. - -Slowly the woman recoiled on herself, seeming actually to grow smaller -in the act. The Brigadier gave her a careless nod. - -“You have dyed your hair, Leonie Marchand, since I saw you last, but -you haven’t changed your finger-print, you know. And you are still -wanted for the murder in the Rue Lausanne.” - -It was not a woman, it was a wild cat that sprang at Sir Frank with -tearing nails and spitting teeth. I was just too late, but the French -detective who knew the nature of the animal, was just in time; and -he wasn’t hampered by any false sentiment. His methods were not -particularly pleasant to watch, but they were effective. I think -Charles rather envied him. - -The methods of the French criminal courts also seem to be effective. -At all events when I read the newspaper report of the trial at which -Leonie Marchand was sentenced to imprisonment for life, it contained no -hint of any scandal about any royal personage. - -Sir Frank Tarleton was none the worse for the little shock he had -experienced, and for which he rather blamed himself afterwards. He -ought not to have waited to see the arrest, he admitted to me, but -he couldn’t resist the temptation to see the real woman come out. He -hadn’t liked the sight. - -“It lay between Madame and you from the first, as far as I could see,” -he explained to me, as we were walking away together down Tarifa Road. -“I never believed the waiter’s story for a moment. The idea that a -man who knew his life to be in danger would go on coming to the Club -and trust to a foreign waiter to prevent him from being poisoned, was -ridiculous in my eyes. It was clear that the story had been put into -his mouth by someone; and when Madame told a similar story, about -Weathered having asked her to pour out his drinks herself, it was easy -to see who was the inventor. It was a case of cleverness over-reaching -itself. The theory that Weathered had been poisoned by one of his -patients whom he was blackmailing was quite plausible in itself; as -we know, it was very nearly being the true theory. If she had left it -there and confined herself to saying what she said to Mrs. Weathered, -that she knew he had enemies in the Club who would be glad of his -death, I might not have suspected her. But when she took such pains -to represent the whole place as a nest of assassins with herself and -Gerard as guardian angels watching over the threatened man, I began to -smell a rat. - -“I had no suspicion of Mrs. Weathered; I don’t see how I could have had -at that stage. Madame Bonnell’s motives were just what would make a -woman of her stamp commit a crime. Sarah Neobard put it in a nutshell -when she said she was a woman who would do anything for money. The -Domino Club was doing well, and Weathered wasn’t necessary to it any -longer. In fact, he was beginning to be in the way. She spoke the -truth, probably, in saying that she lived in fear of a scene of some -kind. At the same time, I doubt if she would ever have ventured to -poison him herself if the means hadn’t been put into her hands. Here is -the real murderer.” - -He took out the little bottle, which he had brought away with him. It -was square-shaped and made of ground glass, the sort of bottle in which -smelling salts are sold. - -“I look on this case throughout as one of murder by suggestion. -Armstrong did very wrong to leave this bottle in his sister’s -possession. The very precautions she took to keep it safely, as she -thought, show that her mind was exercised by it. I shouldn’t wonder -at all if Weathered, who was a clever man in his way, actually did -detect some latent fancies in the little woman’s head as to how it -might be used, and worked on them till he convinced her that they were -serious. Then no sooner does he hear of the existence of the bottle -than it fascinates him. An unknown drug, one whose effects will defy -analysis--what a prize for a man who is fast sinking into a hardened -criminal! Remember that if Armstrong had not happened to bring a sample -of his find to me you might now be under sentence for the murder.” - -I shook as I recognized the truth of what he said. Even Tarleton’s -skill might have failed to demonstrate the presence of a strange drug -unknown to the whole medical world. - -“This accursed bottle next has the same effect on Mrs. Weathered. -She is a good woman and she has been a faithful wife and a forgiving -one. I believe every word of her story. I fully believe that she took -the bottle with no intention to do anything but destroy it and its -contents. But no sooner is it in her keeping than she succumbs to its -temptation. She is fascinated by the idea of the invisible death it -can deal. All kinds of motives and excuses spring up in her mind like -spectres conjured up by a magician. So she becomes a murderess in -intention, a murderess by proxy, one may say. - -“Even Madame Bonnell, I think it most likely, had no idea of killing -Weathered before this bottle came into her hands. She had committed one -murder already and she seems to have had a narrow escape that time. -She was a prudent woman, too, a woman to weigh risks carefully before -taking them. I think it quite probable that her only idea at first -was to use this bottle to extort money from Mrs. Weathered. But very -quickly she was in its power. Then it was that she began weaving the -romance of Weathered’s revengeful patients, a picture only too well -founded on fact. She may have hoped to find an enemy of Weathered’s to -do the job for her; however, you saved her the trouble. She saw her -chance, and that night she had a double security. From first to last -it is evident that she trusted to the Crown Prince’s name to pull her -through everything, and in a way it did.” - -“What made you think she had committed a crime in France, sir?” - -“I didn’t. It was a mere shot in the dark. I asked Charles to get -her finger-print without her knowing, and I took it over to Paris on -the bare chance that she might be known to the French police. It is -fortunate that she was.” - -We were in Eaton Square by this time, after coming along the King’s -Road. My chief seemed to know where he was going, but he did not tell -me till we had gone round the back of the Palace and come out in -Piccadilly. When we crossed the road my heart began to beat quicker. - -The dear old man had made up his mind to pull me through, and I suspect -he did it as much for Violet’s sake as mine. He must have seen that -there was some obstacle between us, but he never asked what it was. He -only gave me one hint before we reached the house. - -“No man ever won a woman yet by making the worst of himself, Cassilis. -If you haven’t anything else to be proud of, be proud of being loved -and show it.” - -The Earl, whom we found at home, was more than half prepared to listen -to us. He had changed for the better, too, since he had taken Sir -Frank’s advice. He showed that he felt he owed a debt to him and -another to his daughter, and was not unwilling to discharge both. It -was my advocate who did most of the talking. He surprised and delighted -me by telling my prospective father-in-law that I needn’t throw up my -post under him just yet. “Not till he is on his feet comfortably,” he -put it. - -In the end the Earl said, “Well, I will see what my daughter has to -say, Dr. Cassilis.” And he rang the bell. - -When Violet came in she saw why she had been sent for, before her -father spoke. She had her answer ready when he put the question. “This -young gentleman has come here to ask me for your hand, Violet. What am -I to say to him?” - -“He hasn’t asked me yet,” she whispered. - -My dear chief sprang to his feet. “I think we had better leave these -young people together, my lord.” - -We are together still. - - -THE END - - - - -_The greatest pleasure in life is that of reading. Why not then own the -books of great novelists when the price is so small_ - - -¶ _Of all the amusements which can possibly be imagined for a -hard-working man, after his daily toil, or, in its intervals, there -is nothing like reading an entertaining book. It calls for no bodily -exertion. It transports him into a livelier, and gayer, and more -diversified and interesting scene, and while he enjoys himself there he -may forget the evils of the present moment. Nay, it accompanies him to -his next day’s work, and gives him something to think of besides the -mere mechanical drudgery of his every-day occupation--something he can -enjoy while absent, and look forward with pleasure to return to._ - - _Ask your dealer for a list of the titles in Burt’s Popular Priced - Fiction_ - - -_In buying the books bearing the A. L. Burt Company imprint you are -assured of wholesome, entertaining and instructive reading_ - - - - -_THE BEST OF RECENT FICTION_ - - - =Adventures of Jimmie Dale, The.= Frank L. Packard. - =Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.= A. Conan Doyle. - =Affair at Flower Acres, The.= Carolyn Wells. - =Affinities and Other Stories.= Mary Roberts Rinehart. - =After House, The.= Mary Roberts Rinehart. - =Against the Winds.= Kate Jordan. - =Alcatraz.= Max Brand. - =Alias Richard Power.= William Allison. - =All the Way by Water.= Elizabeth Stancy Payne. - =Amateur Gentleman, The.= Jeffery Farnol. - =Amateur Inn, The.= Albert Payson Terhune. - =Anna the Adventuress.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Anne’s House of Dreams.= L. M. Montgomery. - =Anybody But Anne.= Carolyn Wells. - =Are All Men Alike, and The Lost Titian.= Arthur Stringer. - =Around Old Chester.= Margaret Deland. - =Arrant Rover, The.= Berta Ruck. - =Athalie.= Robert W. Chambers. - =At the Mercy of Tiberius.= Augusta Evans Wilson. - =At Sight at Gold.= Cynthia Lombardi. - =Auction Block, The.= Rex Beach. - =Aunt Jane of Kentucky.= Eliza C. Hall. - =Awakening of Helena Ritchie.= Margaret Deland. - - =Bab: a Sub-Deb.= Mary Roberts Rinehart. - =Bar 20.= Clarence E. Mulford. - =Bar 20 Days.= Clarence E. Mulford. - =Bar-20 Three.= Clarence E. Mulford. - =Barrier, The.= Rex Beach. - =Bars of Iron, The.= Ethel M. Dell. - =Bat Wing.= Sax Rohmer. - =Beasts of Tarzan, The.= Edgar Rice Burroughs. - =Beautiful and Damned, The.= F. Scott Fitzgerald. - =Beauty.= Rupert Hughes. - =Behind Locked Doors.= Ernest M. Poate. - =Bella Donna.= Robert Hichens. (Photoplay Ed.). - =Beloved Traitor, The.= Frank L. Packard. - =Beloved Vagabond, The.= Wm. J. Locke. - =Beloved Woman, The.= Kathleen Norris. - =Beltane the Smith.= Jeffery Farnol. - =Betrayal, The.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Beyond the Frontier.= Randall Parrish. - =Big Timber.= Bertrand W. Sinclair. - =Black Bartlemy’s Treasure.= Jeffery Farnol. - =Black Buttes.= Clarence E. Mulford. - =Black Cæsar’s Clan.= Albert Payson Terhune. - =Black Gold.= Albert Payson Terhune. - =Black Is White.= George Barr McCutcheon. - =Black Oxen.= Gertrude Atherton. (Photoplay Ed.). - =Blue Circle, The.= Elizabeth Jordan. - =Bob, Son of Battle.= Alfred Olivant. - =Box With Broken Seals, The.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Brandon of the Engineers.= Harold Bindloss. - =Breaking Point, The.= Mary Roberts Rinehart. - =Bridge of Kisses.= Berta Ruck. - =Bring Me His Ears.= Clarence E. Mulford. - =Broad Highway, The.= Jeffery Farnol. - =Broken Barriers.= Meredith Nicholson. - =Brown Study, The.= Grace S. Richmond. - =Buck Peters, Ranchman.= Clarence E. Mulford. - =Bush-Rancher, The.= Harold Bindloss. - - =Cabbages and Kings.= O. Henry. - =Cabin Fever.= B. M. Bower. - =Calling of Dan Matthews, The.= Harold Bell Wright. - =Cape Cod Stories.= Joseph C. Lincoln. - =Cap’n Dan’s Daughter.= Joseph C. Lincoln. - =Cap’n Eri.= Joseph C. Lincoln. - =Cap’n Warren’s Wards.= Joseph C. Lincoln. - =Carnac’s Folly.= Gilbert Parker. - =Cat’s Paw, The.= Natalie Sumner Lincoln. - =Cattle.= Winnifred Eaton. - =Certain People of Importance.= Kathleen Norris. - =Chief Legatee, The.= Anna Katharine Green. - =Cinema Murder, The.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =City of Lilies, The.= Anthony Pryde and R. K. Weekes. - =City of Peril, The.= Arthur Stringer. - =Clipped Wings.= Rupert Hughes. - =Clue of the New Pin, The.= Edgar Wallace. - =Colorado Jim.= George Goodchild. - =Coming of Cassidy, The.= Clarence E. Mulford. - =Coming of the Law, The.= Chas. A. Seltzer. - =Communicating Door, The.= Wadsworth Camp. - =Comrades of Peril.= Randall Parrish. - =Conquest of Canaan, The.= Booth Tarkington. - =Contraband.= Clarence Budington Kelland. - =Court of Inquiry, A.= Grace S. Richmond. - =Crimson Blotter, The.= Isabel Ostrander. - =Crimson Gardenia, The, and Other Tales of Adventure.= Rex Beach. - =Crimson Tide, The.= Robert W. Chambers. - =Cross Currents.= Author of “Pollyanna.” - =Cross Pull, The.= Hal G. Evarts. - =Cry in the Wilderness, A.= Mary E. Waller. - =Cry of Youth, A.= Cynthia Lombardi. - =Cup of Fury, The.= Rupert Hughes. - =Curious Quest, The.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Curved Blades, The.= Carolyn Wells. - =Cytherea.= Joseph Hergesheimer. - - =Damsel in Distress, A.= Pelham G. Wodehouse. - =Dancing Star, The.= Berta Ruck. - =Danger and Other Stories.= A. Conan Doyle. - =Dark Hollow.= Anna Katharine Green. - =Daughter Pays, The.= Mrs. Baillie Reynolds. - =Depot Master, The.= Joseph C. Lincoln. - =Desert Healer, The.= E. M. Hull. - =Destroying Angel, The.= Louis Joseph Vance. (Photoplay Ed.). - =Devil’s Paw, The.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Diamond Thieves, The.= Arthur Stringer. - =Disturbing Charm, The.= Berta Ruck. - =Donnegan.= George Owen Baxter. - =Door of Dread, The.= Arthur Stringer. - =Doors of the Night.= Frank L. Packard. - =Dope.= Sax Rohmer. - =Double Traitor, The.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Dust of the Desert.= Robert Welles Ritchie. - - =Empty Hands.= Arthur Stringer. - =Empty Pockets.= Rupert Hughes. - =Empty Sack, The.= Basil King. - =Enchanted Canyon.= Honoré Willsie. - =Enemies of Women.= V. B. Ibanez. (Photoplay Ed.). - =Eris.= Robert W. Chambers. - =Erskine Dale, Pioneer.= John Fox, Jr. - =Evil Shepherd, The.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Extricating Obadiah.= Joseph C. Lincoln. - =Eye of Zeitoon, The.= Talbot Mundy. - =Eyes of the Blind.= Arthur Somers Roche. - =Eyes of the World.= Harold Bell Wright. - - =Fair Harbor.= Joseph C. Lincoln. - =Family.= Wayland Wells Williams. - =Fathoms Deep.= Elizabeth Stancy Payne. - =Feast of the Lanterns.= Louise Jordan Miln. - =Fighting Chance, The.= Robert W. Chambers. - =Fighting Shepherdess, The.= Caroline Lockhart. - =Financier, The.= Theodore Dreiser. - =Fire Tongue.= Sax Rohmer. - =Flaming Jewel, The.= Robert W. Chambers. - =Flowing Gold.= Rex Beach. - =Forbidden Trail, The.= Honoré Willsie. - =Forfeit, The.= Ridgwell Cullum. - =Four Million, The.= O. Henry. - =Foursquare.= Grace S. Richmond. - =Four Stragglers, The.= Frank L. Packard. - =Free Range Lanning.= George Owen Baxter. - =From Now On.= Frank L. Packard. - =Fur Bringers, The.= Hulbert Footner. - =Further Adventures of Jimmie Dale.= Frank L. Packard. - - =Galusha the Magnificent.= Joseph C. Lincoln. - =Gaspards of Pine Croft, The.= Ralph Connor. - =Gay Year, The.= Dorothy Speare. - =Gift of the Desert.= Randall Parrish. - =Girl in the Mirror, The.= Elizabeth Jordan. - =Girl from Kellers, The.= Harold Bindloss. - =Girl Philippa, The.= Robert W. Chambers. - =Girls at His Billet, The.= Berta Ruck. - =Glory Rides the Range.= Ethel and James Dorrance. - =God’s Country and the Woman.= James Oliver Curwood. - =God’s Good Man.= Marie Corelli. - =Going Some.= Rex Beach. - =Gold Girl, The.= James B. Hendryx. - =Gold-Killer.= John Prosper. - =Golden Scorpion, The.= Sax Rohmer. - =Golden Slipper, The.= Anna Katherine Green. - =Golden Woman, The.= Ridgwell Cullum. - =Gray Phantom, The.= Herman Landon. - =Gray Phantom’s Return, The.= Herman Landon. - =Great Impersonation, The.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Great Prince Shan, The.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Greater Love Hath No Man.= Frank L. Packard. - =Green Eyes of Bast, The.= Sax Rohmer. - =Green Goddess, The.= Louise Jordan Miln. (Photoplay Ed.). - =Greyfriars Bobby.= Eleanor Atkinson. - =Gun Brand, The.= James B. Hendryx. - =Gun Runner, The.= Arthur Stringer. - =Guns of the Gods.= Talbot Mundy. - - =Hand of Fu-Manchu, The.= Sax Rohmer. - =Hand of Peril, The.= Arthur Stringer. - =Harbor Road, The.= Sara Ware Bassett. - =Harriet and the Piper.= Kathleen Norris. - =Havoc.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Head of the House at Coombe, The.= Frances Hodgson Burnett. - =Heart of the Desert, The.= Honoré Willsie. - =Heart at the Hills, The.= John Fox. Jr. - =Heart of the Range, The.= William Patterson White. - =Heart of the Sunset.= Rex Beach. - =Heart of Unaga, The.= Ridgwell Cullum. - =Helen of the Old House.= Harold Bell Wright. - =Hidden Places, The.= Bertrand W. Sinclair. - =Hidden Trails.= William Patterson White. - =Hillman, The.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Hira Singh.= Talbot Mundy. - =His Last Bow.= A. Conan Doyle. - =His Official Fiancee.= Berta Ruck. - =Homeland.= Margaret Hill McCarter. - =Homestead Ranch.= Elizabeth G. Young. - =Honor of the Big Snows.= James Oliver Curwood. - =Hopalong Cassidy.= Clarence E. Mulford. - =Hound from the North, The.= Ridgwell Cullum. - =House of the Whispering Pines, The.= Anna Katharine Green. - =Humoresque.= Fannie Hurst. - - =Illustrious Prince, The.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =In Another Girl’s Shoes.= Berta Ruck. - =Indifference of Juliet, The.= Grace S. Richmond. - =Infelice.= Augusta Evans Wilson. - =Initials Only.= Anna Katharine Green. - =Innocent.= Marie Corelli. - =Innocent Adventuress, The.= Mary Hastings Bradley. - =Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu, The.= Sax Rohmer. - =In the Brooding Wild.= Ridgwell Cullum. - =In the Onyx Lobby.= Carolyn Wells. - =Iron Trail, The.= Rex Beach. - =Iron Woman, The.= Margaret Deland. - =Ishmael.= (Ill.) Mrs. Southworth. - =Isle of Retribution.= Edison Marshall. - =I’ve Married Marjorie.= Margaret Widdemer. - =Ivory Trail, The.= Talbot Mundy. - - =Jacob’s Ladder.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Jean of the Lazy A.= B. M. Bower. - =Jeanne of the Marshes.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Jeeves.= P. G. Wodehouse. - - =Lynch Lawyers.= William Patterson White. - - =McCarty Incog.= Isabel Ostrander. - =Major, The.= Ralph Connor. - =Maker of History, A.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Malefactor, The.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Man and Maid.= Elinor Glyn. - =Man from Bar 20, The.= Clarence E. Mulford. - =Man from the Bitter Roots, The.= Caroline Lockhart. - =Man in the Moonlight, The.= Rupert S. Holland. - =Man in the Twilight, The.= Ridgwell Cullum. - =Man Killers, The.= Dane Coolidge. - =Man Who Couldn’t Sleep, The.= Arthur Stringer. - =Man’s Country.= Peter Clark Macfarlane. - =Marqueray’s Duel.= Anthony Pryde. - =Martin Conisby’s Vengeance.= Jeffery Farnol. - =Mary-Gusta.= Joseph C. Lincoln. - =Mary Wollaston.= Henry Kitchell Webster. - =Mason of Bar X Ranch.= H. Bennett. - =Master of Man.= Hall Caine. - =Master Mummer, The.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.= A. Conan Doyle. - =Men Who Wrought, The.= Ridgwell Cullum. - =Meredith Mystery, The.= Natalie Sumner Lincoln. - =Midnight of the Ranges.= George Gilbert. - =Mine with the Iron Door, The.= Harold Bell Wright. - =Mischief Maker, The.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Missioner, The.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Miss Million’s Maid.= Berta Ruck. - =Money, Love and Kate.= Eleanor H. Porter. - =Money Master, The.= Gilbert Parker. - =Money Moon, The.= Jeffery Farnol. - =Moonlit Way, The.= Robert W. Chambers. - =More Limehouse Nights.= Thomas Burke. - =More Tish.= Mary Roberts Rinehart. - =Moreton Mystery, The.= Elizabeth Dejeans. - =Mr. and Mrs. Sen.= Louise Jordan Miln. - =Mr. Grex of Monte Carlo.= E. Phillips Oppenheim. - =Mr. Pratt.= Joseph C. Lincoln. - =Mr. Pratt’s Patients.= Joseph C. Lincoln. - =Mrs. Red Pepper.= Grace S. Richmond. - =Mr. Wu.= Louise Jordan Miln. - =My Lady of the North.= Randall Parrish. - =My Lady of the South.= Randall Parrish. - =Mystery Girl, The.= Carolyn Wells. - - =Rider of the Golden Bar, The.= William Patterson White. - =Rider of the King Log, The.= Holman Day. - =Rider o’ the Stars.= R. J. Horton. - =Riders of the Silences.= John Frederick. - =Rilla of Ingleside.= L. M. Montgomery. - =Rimrock Trail.= J. Allan Dunn. - =Rise of Roscoe Paine, The.= Joseph C. Lincoln. - =River Trail, The.= Laurie Y. Erskine. - =Robin.= Frances Hodgson Burnett. - =Rocks of Valpre, The.= Ethel M. Dell. - =Rogues of the North.= Albert M. Treynor. - =Romance of a Million Dollars, The.= Elizabeth Dejeans. - =Rosa Mundi.= Ethel M. Dell. - =Rose of Santa Fe, The.= Edwin L. Sabin. - =Round the Corner in Gay Street.= Grace S. Richmond. - =Round-Up, The.= Oscar J. Friend. - =Rung Ho!= Talbot Mundy. - =Rustler of Wind River, The.= G. W. Ogden. - - =St. Elmo.= (Ill. Ed.) Augusta J. Evans. - =Sand.= Olive Wadsley. - =Scarlet Iris, The.= Vance Thompson. - =Scattergood Baines.= Clarence Budington Kelland. - =Second Violin, The.= Grace S. Richmond. - =Secret Power, The.= Marie Corelli. - =Self-Raised.= (Ill.) Mrs. Southworth. - =Settling of the Sage.= Hal G. Evarts. - =Seven Ages of Woman, The.= Compton Mackenzie. - =Seven Darlings, The.= Gouverneur Morris. - =Seventh Man, The.= Max Brand. - =Shadow of the East, The.= E. M. Hull. (Photoplay Ed.). - =Shadow on the Glass, The.= Charles J. Dutton. - =Shavings.= Joseph C. Lincoln. - =Sheik, The.= E. M. Hull. - =Sheila of Big Wreck Cove.= James H. Cooper. - =Shepherd of the Hills, The.= Harold Bell Wright. - =Shepherds of the Wild.= Edison Marshall. - =Sheriff of Dyke Hole, The.= Ridgwell Cullum. - =Sherry.= George Barr McCutcheon. - =Shoe-Bar Stratton.= Joseph B. Ames. - =Sight Unseen, and The Confession.= Mary Roberts Rinehart. - =Silver Horde, The.= Rex Beach. - =Silver Poppy, The.= Arthur Stringer. - =Singing Bone, The.= R. Austin Freeman. - =Singing Wells, The.= Roland Pertwee. - - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - - - Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Emboldened text is surrounded by equals signs: =bold=. - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. - - Archaic or variant spelling has been retained. - - The list of books at the end has been rearranged so that the titles - are in alphabetical order. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CLUB OF MASKS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -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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