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diff --git a/old/69845-h/69845-h.htm b/old/69845-h/69845-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 0456ad8..0000000 --- a/old/69845-h/69845-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11627 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html> -<html lang="en"> -<head> - <meta charset="UTF-8"> - <title> - The club of masks | Project Gutenberg - </title> - <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> - <style> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - -.tdr {text-align: right;} - -.pagenum { - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; - text-indent: 0; -} - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; -} - -.x-ebookmaker .blockquot { - margin-left: 7.5%; - margin-right: 7.5%; -} - -.bb {border-bottom: 3px solid;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.ph1 {text-align: center; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;} -.ph2 {text-align: center; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: bold;} - -div.titlepage {text-align: center; page-break-before: always; page-break-after: always;} -div.titlepage p {text-align: center; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5; margin-top: 2em;} - -.xxlarge {font-size: 200%;} -.large {font-size: 125%;} - -.x-ebookmaker .hide {display: none; visibility: hidden;} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%; -} - -.gap {padding-left: 10em;} - -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; - padding: 1em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - -</style> -</head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The club of masks, by Allen Upward</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The club of masks</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Allen Upward</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: January 20, 2023 [eBook #69845]<br> -Last updated: March 5, 2023</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: 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.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CLUB OF MASKS ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter hide"><img src="images/cover.jpg" width="450" alt=""></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h1>THE CLUB OF MASKS</h1> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - - -<div class="titlepage"> -<p class="xxlarge">The Club of Masks</p> - -<p><span class="large">By ALLEN UPWARD</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_title.jpg" alt=""></div> - -<p><span class="large">A. L. BURT COMPANY</span><br> -Publishers <span class="gap"> New York</span><br> -<br> -<small>Published by arrangement with J. B. Lippincott Company<br> -Printed in U. S. A.</small></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center">COPYRIGHT, 1926, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Copyright in Great Britain under the title of -The Domino Club</i></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table> - -<tr><td class="tdr">I</td><td>   ON HIS MAJESTY’S SERVICE</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_7"> 7</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">II</td><td>   THE EVIDENCE OF MADAME BONNELL   </td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_22"> 22</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">III</td><td>   THE EVIDENCE OF THE DEAD</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_38"> 38</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">IV</td><td>   THE OPENED SAFE </td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_53"> 53</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">V</td><td>   DR. WEATHERED’S PATIENTS</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_69"> 69</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">VI</td><td>   THE BOOKS OF THE DOMINO CLUB</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_84"> 84</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">VII</td><td>   THE CAUSE OF DEATH</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_99"> 99</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">VIII</td><td>   THE LEOPARD’S CLAWS</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_111"> 111</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">IX</td><td>   SARAH NEOBARD SPEAKS OUT</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_125"> 125</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">X</td><td>   THE CASE AGAINST LADY VIOLET</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_140"> 140</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XI </td><td>   WHAT THE CIPHER MEANT</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_154"> 154</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XII</td><td>   PSYCHO-ANALYSIS</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_170"> 170</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XIII</td><td>   THE EARL OF LEDBURY INTERVENES</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_185"> 185</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XIV</td><td>   THE UNKNOWN POISON</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_201"> 201</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XV</td><td>   THE LADY OF THE LEOPARD SKIN</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_216"> 216</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XVI</td><td>   THE RED LIGHT</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_233"> 233</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XVII</td><td>   A SINGULAR DISMISSAL</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_247"> 247</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XVIII</td><td>   MOTHER AND DAUGHTER </td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_263"> 263</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XIX</td><td>   THE MEANS TO DO ILL DEEDS</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_279"> 279</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XX</td><td>   THE FINGER-PRINT </td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_295"> 295</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span> - -<p class="ph2">THE CLUB OF MASKS</p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER I<br> - -ON HIS MAJESTY’S SERVICE</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">I had</span> 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.</p> - -<p>There was something ominous in the continuous<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>Then, after a few deep gasps, I hailed the caller.</p> - -<p>“Inspector Charles of Scotland Yard speaking,” -came grimly over the wire. “Who is there?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>My usual response came to my lips mechanically. -“This is Dr. Cassilis, Sir Frank Tarleton’s -confidential assistant. The doctor is asleep.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Please have him waked immediately. He is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span> -wanted as soon as possible—on His Majesty’s -service.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>I was fast unbuttoning my shirt as I spoke again -to the waiting police officer.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid I can’t awake Sir Frank for that. -It seems to be a case that he will expect me to attend<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span> -myself. Is there anything peculiar about the medical -symptoms? What does your local surgeon say?”</p> - -<p>Inspector Charles at last revealed the true reason -for his persistence in demanding the attendance of -my chief.</p> - -<p>“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 <i>in camera</i> 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——”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span> -before, I ventured out upon the landing to face -my chief.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span> -gold repeater in front of him by its shabby -scrap of ribbon, while he gave me the amazing news.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>He waved the watch towards me as he went on.</p> - -<p>“Sir James Ponsonby—that’s the Permanent -Under Secretary—has consented to my having a -deputy, and I’m submitting your name.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>My answer must have been incoherent. But -Tarleton interrupted it with a jerk of his gold repeater,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span> -which, I can remember, almost made me duck -my head.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>He had said a good deal more that I hadn’t forgotten<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span> -London, and in the very purlieus of her palaces. It -was enough to sate the greediest imagination.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>My face must have fallen as I listened to this -stipulation, for I saw an answering shade on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>I fancy Sir Frank himself felt some sympathy -with me, though he was too wise to express it.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span> -cases, involving criminal suspicion and mystery, -there had not been one before that fateful summons -from the Domino Club.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The answer was instantaneous—“Come in!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I first heard the telephone nine minutes ago. -You have taken some time to answer it.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER II<br> - -THE EVIDENCE OF MADAME BONNELL</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Instead</span> 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.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“Please tell him I am coming at once, and order -round my car. And be ready yourself as soon as -you can.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span> -within the range of his uncanny powers of -detection.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>As we rolled through the streets, just beginning -to show signs of life, Tarleton acquainted me with -the personality of Inspector Charles.</p> - -<p>“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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span> -but you needn’t expect him to see an inch beyond his -own nose.”</p> - -<p>This was comfortable for me. But the next -words of my chief gave me an awkward jar.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>I made an effort to seem as if I had been searching -my memory.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span> -rather think Cabinet Ministers, as well as peeresses, -and so forth.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“He didn’t say it was a man,” I ventured to -suggest.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>In front of the club entrance an officer in plain -clothes was stationed who recognized Sir Frank with -a respectful salute.</p> - -<p>“You will find Inspector Charles inside, sir,” he -said, opening the door for us.</p> - -<p>We found ourselves in a dark narrow passage -empty of everything but cloak- and hat-pegs. A door<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span> -at the further end opened straight into the dancing-room.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The Inspector spoke briefly, addressing himself -to my companion.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The great physician received the statement with -a nod of satisfaction.</p> - -<p>“You suggested to Dr. Cassilis over the wire -that it looked like a case of opium-poisoning,” was -his first remark.</p> - -<p>Captain Charles favoured me with a cautious -glance, in which I read some disapproval of my -youthful appearance.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“What do you say, Cassilis?”</p> - -<p>I shook my head. There was something in the -case that puzzled me.</p> - -<p>“I agree with Captain Charles to some extent.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span> -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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I looked questioningly at the great specialist.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! You see that?” Tarleton bent over the -dead face in grave scrutiny for some moments. Then -he straightened himself up.</p> - -<p>“And now, who is this man?” he asked the -Inspector.</p> - -<p>“His name is Wilson, so the proprietress says. -But she seems to know very little about him.”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span> -of this kind, I should think. Can I see the proprietress?”</p> - -<p>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!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“You understand, no doubt, Madame, that we -are not here with any hostile purpose,” the representative<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span> -It must have been clear to her that candour -was her best policy, up to a certain point at all events.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>Madame Bonnell became genuinely agitated for -the first time.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span> -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!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The consultant of the Home Office looked by no -means yielding.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>Thus pressed, Madame Bonnell presented the -appearance of an unwilling witness, who hesitates -to speak for fear of the consequences to himself.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“The moment I am satisfied that you are withholding -any information that bears on the case I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span> -shall advise the police to close this place, and apply -for your deportation as an alien, Madame Bonnell.”</p> - -<p>The capable Frenchwoman saw that she had made -a false step. She retracted it immediately in admirable -distress.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>The physician looked at his watch.</p> - -<p>“I am waiting for your answer to Dr. Cassilis.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>It was the revelation Tarleton seemed to have -been anticipating. He gave the short, satisfied nod -I knew so well.</p> - -<p>“Go on,” he commanded. “Explain how you -knew this.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Now I think we have some real information,” -the specialist observed. “Be good enough to send -for Gerard, if you please.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER III<br> - -THE EVIDENCE OF THE DEAD</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">At this</span> 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.</p> - -<p>I saw Tarleton frown as Madame Bonnell returned -with her servant. He gave her an authoritative -nod.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Madame. I won’t detain you while -I am questioning this man.”</p> - -<p>The prudent Frenchwoman concealed any vexation -she may have felt, and instantly retired, leaving -Gerard alone with us.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“You are not under any suspicion, Gerard. Provided -you tell the truth, you have nothing to fear.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I hear that the man who is dead trusted you. -Did he trust you with his real name?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“And that was?”</p> - -<p>The waiter looked apprehensive. No doubt the -idea crossed his mind that it might be awkward if -his account contradicted hers.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Were you the only man who waited on him?”</p> - -<p>“For the last four months or six months, yes,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span> -sir. He made it his request to Madame and to me -that I should bring him everything he ordered.”</p> - -<p>“Did he tell you why?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“What did you think when he said that?”</p> - -<p>Gerard’s expressive hands mutely protested that -it was not their business to think.</p> - -<p>“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 <i>cercle</i>.’”</p> - -<p>“Did he say <i>cercle</i> or club?”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>Tarleton threw him a friendly nod. “Go on; -tell me what you believe.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The examiner moved his head doubtfully.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span>“You think he had some business, then, which -made it necessary for him to remain in London.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Tarleton turned an approving face to us.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>The question was darted out suddenly. But the -little Frenchman manifested no uneasiness. The -doctor’s praise seemed to have given him confidence.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Some of the ladies whom he introduced here -had the air of being afraid of him, I thought,” Gerard -added by way of confirmation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span>Inspector Charles had begun to take notes of this -evidence. He now straightened himself up, and -looked at Tarleton.</p> - -<p>“Wouldn’t it be well to search his clothes, Sir -Frank? We might find an address, perhaps?”</p> - -<p>“In another minute. Is there any question you -would like to put, Cassilis?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“We have heard that a royal personage was here -last night,” I said slowly and distinctly, and then -paused to note the effect.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span> -the life of the Crown Prince, and that this man may -have been mistaken for him.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Do you know what disguise His Royal Highness -was wearing?” he demanded.</p> - -<p>The waiter hesitated and then shook his head.</p> - -<p>“I had my suspicion, sir, but Madame can tell -you for certain.”</p> - -<p>The Inspector was satisfied with the answer. But -Tarleton’s voice rang out sharply.</p> - -<p>“Let us have your suspicion, please.”</p> - -<p>Gerard had the air of a man who had committed -himself, and regrets it.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” Tarleton’s deep breath told me that he -felt himself on a real trail. “And how was this person -disguised?”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span> -is to say, the upper part was that of a warrior in -armour, and the lower part was a woman’s skirt.”</p> - -<p>“Joan of Arc,” exclaimed Charles.</p> - -<p>The Frenchman shrank in horror. “But, monsieur, -it could not have been Sainte Jeanne! For -instance, the helmet was Roman.”</p> - -<p>“Neither did she wear a skirt with her armour,” -the physician added quietly. “It must have been -meant for Zenobia.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“In spite of this feminine disguise, in spite of -the skirt, you recognized that this stranger was a -man, it seems?”</p> - -<p>The eloquent hands protested again. “But no, -milor; I said I had my suspicion, that is all. -Madame——”</p> - -<p>The doctor cut him short.</p> - -<p>“You thought this person, Zenobia, had some -business with Wilson. Tell me, how many persons -knew that Wilson wore that disguise last night?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Everyone knew it, I think. It was the disguise -he wore invariably in the club. It was as if<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span> -he came here to meet his clients, and it was necessary -for them to know that they were speaking to him.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>Gerard brightened up visibly.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“And how was she dressed?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“And this lady, did she dance much with -Wilson?”</p> - -<p>Gerard gave his head an emphatic shake.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span> -skin which I understood still less. I took care this -time not to make any remark on it.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I don’t fancy those names had much more meaning -for Captain Charles than Zenobia’s. But he -acquiesced respectfully in the judgment.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>Captain Charles viewed this correct attire with -the approval of a military man. “A gentleman as -you guessed, Sir Frank.”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>My chief passed me one of the pellets, and put -the other first to his nostrils and then to the tip of -his tongue.</p> - -<p>“Well?” He motioned to me to imitate his -action.</p> - -<p>There could be no doubt about the result of the -test. “Opium in a highly concentrated form, and -soluble,” I whispered hoarsely.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span>We exchanged looks of intense surprise. The -Inspector on his part was evidently surprised by -our attitude.</p> - -<p>“Then Dr. Cassilis was right after all,” he said, -staring at us. “It was suicide?”</p> - -<p>The great consultant smiled at him indulgently.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I just managed to nod my head with assent.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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!”</p> - -<p>Charles bent forward with a bewildered gaze. I -held my breath. The next sentence was decisive.</p> - -<p>“There are no keys—not even a latchkey. Whoever -drugged him took his keys, and took them for a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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:</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The Honourable Captain looked pleased. “Do<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span> -you think it is possible that his life was aimed at, -after all, Sir Frank?” he added with deference.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>I thought I might venture to raise a different -point.</p> - -<p>“Madame Bonnell had ample time to search the -body and remove anything she pleased before Captain -Charles came.”</p> - -<p>My chief shook his head good-naturedly.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The remark was unanswerable as far as I was -concerned. A moment later the expected message -came through from Scotland Yard.</p> - -<p>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.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IV<br> - -THE OPENED SAFE</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Inspector Charles</span>, 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.</p> - -<p>“Doctor Weathered,” the Captain pronounced -slowly. “I suppose there is no doubt of that being -Wilson’s real name.”</p> - -<p>“Very little doubt, I should say,” my chief responded. -“What do you think, Cassilis?”</p> - -<p>I endeavoured to take a judicial tone.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The Inspector’s face had become overcast with -doubt while I was speaking.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span> -drank; and now it turns out to be a simple case of -burglary.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>It was a difficult question for me. I dared not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span> -tell a lie which accident might expose at any moment; -but still less dared I tell the whole truth.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Tarleton promptly raised his hand.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Have the police been here before?” was his -first question.</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“And what had been taken from the safe?” -Tarleton asked, calling my attention with a significant -glance.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“Take us to that room,” my chief commanded.</p> - -<p>Simmons obeyed without hesitation. My heart -was beating so loudly in my ears that I could not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>Yet there was nothing in Dr. Weathered’s professional -sanctum to inspire dismay.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span> -like oxydized silver, was clamped on a supporting -stand of ebony.</p> - -<p>“You have locked the safe, I see. Where are -the keys?”</p> - -<p>The sudden demand agitated the nervous butler.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Is there a Mrs. Weathered then?”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>The consultant restrained him by an imperative -gesture.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“I should have gone, sir, but Miss Sarah came -down and found us looking into the safe. So I left -it to her.”</p> - -<p>Again the man made a movement as if to escape, -and again the specialist arrested him.</p> - -<p>“What brought her down? Did she know what -had happened?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span>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.”</p> - -<p>Tarleton nodded. “Go on. When she came in -what did she do?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>When the butler had gone he turned to me.</p> - -<p>“What do you make of this room, Cassilis? What -sort of diseases do you think were treated here?”</p> - -<p>I thought it best to glance at the pictures and the -marble group before expressing my opinion.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span>“Not very serious ones I should say,” I answered -lightly.</p> - -<p>My chief frowned.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>I did my best to control myself as I shook my -head.</p> - -<p>“Rather curious that she should have interfered, -though, instead of her mother,” Captain Charles put -in with an air of sagacity.</p> - -<p>Tarleton threw himself into the doctor’s own -chair, and taking out his watch, began to swing -it gently.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The Captain was already on the move. I fancied -he was not sorry to be released. Tarleton was too big<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>My chief was good enough to offer me a private -explanation as soon as we were alone.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Sir Frank seemed quite unconscious of my distress.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span> -“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span> -that convinced me that her husband still had a -hold on her affection.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The physician shook his head with a grave air.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Weathered turned a wondering look on her -daughter, who frowned in return.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The girl drew herself up in wrath.</p> - -<p>“Dr. Weathered is not my father sir. My mother -has only been married to him five years. My name -is Neobard.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span> -indignation. Tarleton appeared not to be -aware of anything strange in her manner.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The pale widow glanced at her daughter as though -for permission to answer, and was met by a smile -of scorn.</p> - -<p>“I know that he takes nervous cases,” Mrs. -Weathered said with a certain hesitation. “He is a -psychological expert.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>A quiver in the eyelashes told me that this was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span> -the information my chief had been expecting to -receive. But his tone showed no animation when -he spoke.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The mother was evidently divided between fear -of us and fear of her daughter to whom she appealed -with another helpless look.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“You mean that Dr. Weathered is dead?”</p> - -<p>“A body has been found on certain premises in -Chelsea which there is reason to fear is his. It is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span> -part of our business here to find someone to come -round and identify him.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“The Club!—I fancy that young woman could -tell us a good deal about her step-father if she chose. -And now!”</p> - -<p>He stepped towards the safe, found the right key, -and threw open the door.</p> - -<p>“What do you say has been taken, Cassilis?”</p> - -<p>There could be no doubt as to the answer, although -I went through the form of looking carefully -inside before I gave it.</p> - -<p>It was the doctor’s case-book that was missing, -the book containing the secrets of the women.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER V<br> - -DR. WEATHERED’S PATIENTS</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">My chief</span> made a swift search through the safe. -The cash drawers were empty, and he gave me a -significant nod.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>I was as little able to answer the question as he -was. Still, I had formed a vague theory in my -own mind.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span> -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....”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Tarleton slipped the glass bottle into his coat -pocket, and locked the safe. Then he turned to survey -the doctor’s table.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span>“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?”</p> - -<p>I jerked myself round towards the door of the -room. “I thought I heard someone outside.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Tarleton quietly closed the book and placed it in -his pocket under her eyes.</p> - -<p>“I am taking Dr. Weathered’s appointment-book, -Miss Neobard. I shall have to make inquiries -about some of his patients.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span>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.</p> - -<p>While these thoughts were passing through my -mind Miss Neobard was scrutinizing my companion’s -face with suspicion.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The physician gazed at her as steadily as she was -gazing at him.</p> - -<p>“Have you any objection to telling me why?”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Then he took up with this psycho-analysis, pretending<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span>“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.”</p> - -<p>“The Domino Club?” my chief put in quietly.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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?...</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Where is the body?” she asked in a whisper, -coming to a stand in the narrow passage.</p> - -<p>“This way.” Sir Frank gravely took the girl’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“How dreadful he looks!” she gasped.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Captain Charles was bursting with self-importance.</p> - -<p>“I have just come from the Foreign Office,” he -began, when Sir Frank pulled him up rather peremptorily.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>She bowed faintly. “Yes—though it is fearfully -changed!”</p> - -<p>“That is sufficient. Do you feel able to go back -by yourself, or would you rather have someone to -escort you?”</p> - -<p>“I would rather be alone,” she murmured.</p> - -<p>“Very well; then I need not keep you.” He<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span> -looked away towards the outer door of the room, but -the girl stood hesitating.</p> - -<p>“Will it—shall you—the body?” she inquired in -a broken voice.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>My chief listened to the excited Charles with a -good deal of indifference, I thought.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span>“The sum and substance of it all is that they -want the affair hushed up, I suppose?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“It <i>must</i> 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.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>Captain Charles glanced round cautiously and -lowered his voice.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Zenobia!” I could no more keep in the ejaculation -than I could still the beating of my heart as I -gave it vent.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Zenobia seems to have made a bad guess at the -Prince’s identity,” Tarleton said mercilessly. “Unless<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span> -His Royal Highness wore an Inquisitor’s costume, -too?”</p> - -<p>The Captain’s face fell as he responded to the -question.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t inquire about that, Sir Frank,” he admitted. -“I’ll go round again and find out.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Will you be good enough to tell me the rules of -the Domino Club as to the admission of visitors?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I see no objection to that, Sir Frank. You are -Sir Frank Tarleton, are you not?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span>The question was almost impudent. The physician -ignored it with a sharp “Well?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Let me see the register, please.”</p> - -<p>Madame had evidently expected this demand. -She drew herself up.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Tarleton turned to the Police Inspector with a -shrug. “I must ask you to do your duty, after all, -I’m afraid.”</p> - -<p>The Frenchwoman turned red with excitement.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I arrest you in the King’s name.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VI<br> - -THE BOOKS OF THE DOMINO CLUB</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">It was</span> 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.</p> - -<p>“<i>Mon Dieu!</i> 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.</p> - -<p>It was the Inspector who answered.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense,” my chief interjected roughly. “It<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span> -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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 “<i>Members</i>” and the other “<i>Visitors</i>.” 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.</p> - -<p>My chief pointed to the two black-bound volumes.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span>“Will you take charge of these books, Cassilis. -We can examine them at our leisure.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Madame glanced longingly at the row of mysterious -little boxes and bottles, but she prudently -shook her head.</p> - -<p>“<i>Merci, monsieur.</i> I will take nothing. I wish -to have no secrets from the police. I prefer to replace -my perfumes from the shop.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span>“Is Madame Bonnell still under arrest?” he -inquired stolidly.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span> -taking the black-covered volumes with us. He talked -to me quite cheerfully on the way.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>We reached the house in good time for lunch, -and my kindly chief pressed me to make a good meal.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Is it too soon to ask if you have formed any -opinion as to the cause of death, Sir Frank?”</p> - -<p>He looked at me rather sharply, and his bushy -eyebrows drew together.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“With my theory!” I was surprised into repeating.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“To suppress the evidence against some patient, -you mean?” I faltered.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“The evidence, Gerard’s evidence, is to that -effect, surely? He described three women in connection -with the masked Inquisitor—not one man.”</p> - -<p>“He described one woman as being rather like -a man. He suspected Zenobia of being His Royal -Highness.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span>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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>Again the specialist’s voice had a note of surprise.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The physician seated himself at his massive bureau, -a combination of desk and cabinet, and drew -the volume labelled “<i>Members</i>” in front of him, -while I placed myself respectfully on a chair at the -side.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>I opened the volume hurriedly as I spoke.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think I shall find my own name here.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?” The question came instantly, -though it came in a quiet, friendly tone.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span> -out some name too common to be easily identified. -“Ah, yes, I remember now—Carter.”</p> - -<p>I placed my finger on an entry nine months old. -A Mr. Robert Carter had been introduced on that -date by a Captain Smethwick.</p> - -<p>Much to my relief Tarleton accepted the explanation -readily.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>It was easily found. A Count Donau had been -introduced by the Chancellor of the Slavonian -Embassy.</p> - -<p>“Any other visitors?” the consultant asked -lightly.</p> - -<p>I read aloud one or two masculine names, but -he pulled me up.</p> - -<p>“Any ladies?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I have here thirty-eight names of people who -were both patients of Weathered and members of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>His words almost invited me to say, “In that -case the law can very well afford to shut its eyes to -his fate.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“Doesn’t everything point to his death being -more or less an accident?” I ventured to plead.</p> - -<p>“On the contrary, I should say that everything -points to its being a deliberate and deeply-planned -murder.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VII<br> - -THE CAUSE OF DEATH</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">I waited</span> with sickening apprehension for a few -instants.</p> - -<p>“And the others?—the Zenobia costume, has -that been traced?” I was driven to ask.</p> - -<p>“Not yet. There are several more places to be -visited.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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—“<i>Lady Violet Bredwardine</i>.”</p> - -<p>“The mystery is solved, apparently,” I announced<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span> -in a tone of confidence. “The Salome costume has -been traced to Miss Neobard.”</p> - -<p>To my discomfiture the consultant merely gave -the nod of one who hears what he expected.</p> - -<p>“Poor girl; I was afraid of it.”</p> - -<p>He went on writing without further remark, -while I dropped into a chair and looked on with -sickly apprehension. At last he looked up.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Again Tarleton exhibited signs of surprise, almost -of impatience.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Tarleton accepted this argument more amicably.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span>“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.”</p> - -<p>I felt myself fairly cornered. Prudence compelled -me to assent to my chief’s reasoning.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Tarleton had risen to his feet.</p> - -<p>“And now it is time to examine the body,” he -said gravely.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[104]</span>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I have now tried for every agent known to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span> -British Pharmacopœia that might possibly have produced -death with such symptoms as those, and not -one is present,” he said with extreme gravity.</p> - -<p>I felt myself shivering. If anyone else had been -speaking I should have thought he was attributing -the death to a supernatural cause.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I shook my head in protest.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[108]</span> -glass bottle of the size known to chemists as four-ounce, -and held it up to the light.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Thank Heaven!”</p> - -<p>I echoed the ejaculation in my thoughts as he -raised his head and looked round at me with a smile -of unmistakable relief.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I was thankful to be released. I had certain -pressing business to attend to. But first of all I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>I thought out the problem carefully. I followed -out in imagination the search of the police among<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[110]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VIII<br> - -THE LEOPARD’S CLAWS</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Inspector Charles</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>Tarleton frowned slightly. Then he laid down -his knife and fork and faced the Inspector.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Captain Charles looked astonished, as he well -might.</p> - -<p>“Then it isn’t a simple case of opium-poisoning?”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span> -disguise the Crown Prince was wearing when he -went to the Club.”</p> - -<p>The Captain drew himself up.</p> - -<p>“I ascertained that yesterday. He wore a plain -black domino with a hood.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! Rather like Weathered’s costume, then?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>It quickly appeared what his object was.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The physician shrugged his shoulders impatiently.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>The Inspector pulled a long face.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>For once I saw Tarleton really angry.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Charles gave way instantly.</p> - -<p>“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.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[114]</span> -It doesn’t look to him as if the case could be carried -much further; that’s all.”</p> - -<p>“We are only at the beginning of the inquiry,” -was the firm answer. “You haven’t yet completed -your search among the costumiers.”</p> - -<p>The Inspector shook his head despondently.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>My chief glanced at me. It was the same objection -that he had made himself.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I stole a glance at the consultant. His keen eyes -were no longer on me.</p> - -<p>“To whom was it furnished?” he asked quietly.</p> - -<p>The Inspector took out a note-book and opened it.</p> - -<p>“To the Lady Violet Bredwardine, Grosvenor -Place.”</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span> -and I managed to preserve an air of complete indifference -while I faced the speaker.</p> - -<p>“Well?”</p> - -<p>Tarleton spoke a little sharply. Captain Charles -looked at him in mild wonder.</p> - -<p>“Well?” the specialist repeated impatiently. -“What have you ascertained about Lady Violet -Bredwardine?”</p> - -<p>Charles was plainly put out by the question.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>My chief took a very different view, unfortunately.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>This time the Inspector did not attempt to conceal -his mortification.</p> - -<p>“I beg your pardon, Sir Frank. Do you mean -that Lady Violet Bredwardine is a member of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span> -Domino Club? I hadn’t the slightest reason to -suppose so.”</p> - -<p>It was the consultant’s turn to show surprise. -He stared at me.</p> - -<p>“Surely her name was on the list I asked you -to furnish to Captain Charles? I have a distinct -recollection of it.”</p> - -<p>I received the question, for which I had been -waiting, with perfect coolness.</p> - -<p>“I seem to recollect it too, sir.”</p> - -<p>The Inspector was already turning over the pages -of his note-book. He looked up at us in triumph.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Tarleton turned to me.</p> - -<p>“Will you be good enough to bring me the list -I gave you to copy. It looks as though some slip -had been made.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[117]</span>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Tarleton let me off more lightly than I expected.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“There are many reasons for going into it further,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>Captain Charles’s expression was almost humble.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The Inspector scribbled two lines in his note-book, -and hurried off.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[119]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I was gratified by Tarleton’s quick response.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I need scarcely say how delighted I was at this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span> -prospect. At last I should be able to devote myself -to serving my chief without any dread of the result.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>My chief had punctuated these suggestions with -a series of approving nods. At the close he spoke.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I felt very small as I listened to this reduction -of my ideas to nothing. The specialist had not done.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think it would be at all hopeful to try -to trace the skin, therefore. But I think it quite possible<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span> -to trace something else. Do you remember what -else about the costume the man Gerard described?”</p> - -<p>“Do you mean the necklace—of leopard’s -claws?” I responded in doubt.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I was fairly puzzled. I could follow Tarleton’s -reasoning, of course, but I could not imagine how -he meant to proceed.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>There was no occasion for me to express the admiration -I sincerely felt for my chief’s knowledge<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span> -and resource. I waited in silent wonder for his -instructions.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>And still I failed to grasp the mysterious connection<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[123]</span> -between the vast unknown island lying on the -Equator and the tragedy I had all but witnessed in a -night club of London.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span>“Sir Frank Tarleton is searching in the Library -at this moment, I believe,” I said incautiously.</p> - -<p>My guide opened his eyes.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IX<br> - -SARAH NEOBARD SPEAKS OUT</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">When I</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I was careful to receive this intelligence as though -it were news to me. I even asked the Inspector if<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span> -he was perfectly sure that his informants were to -be trusted.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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....”</p> - -<p>This was the sort of thing I had dreaded. At<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span> -all risks I must try to call the hounds off the trail -of Violet Bredwardine’s past.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“What is that about Sir Frank Tarleton getting -into trouble?” said a voice in my ear.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Tarleton stepped to the telephone.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span> -murder. The moment we can dismiss them from the -case they must be let alone.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>It was the physician’s turn to show surprise.</p> - -<p>“Why did you question Lady Violet Bredwardine’s -alibi, Cassilis?”</p> - -<p>It gratified me to feel that the Inspector had -done me a good turn unawares.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>My chief smiled with the utmost amiability.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[129]</span> -Society, and a well-known traveller and -explorer. I shall be glad if you can let me have his -present address.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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, <i>Across -Sumatra</i>, 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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[130]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Then it was a natural death, after all?” she -exclaimed in relief.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The widow clasped her hands in gratification.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[134]</span> -by numbers, and I should like to know what that -means.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The first words uttered by my chief, when we -were in the car driving away, told me what the understanding -was.</p> - -<p>“That girl means to come and see me. She isn’t -satisfied; and she won’t be without vengeance on the -woman she hates.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span> -and had the greatest motive to murder him. If you -want to know more you had better apply to Lady -Violet Bredwardine.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“The police have made full inquiries about Lady -Violet Bredwardine. She was a patient of Dr.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“You speak very positively, Miss Neobard. May -I ask you how you know that?”</p> - -<p>The question plainly disconcerted her. It must -have opened her eyes to the fact that she was saying -too much.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I was staggered. The girl’s persistence irritated -me, and I spoke sharply.</p> - -<p>“You can’t possibly know that, when she was -more than a hundred miles away at the time. Did<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[137]</span> -you speak to her—to whoever it was that was wearing -that costume?”</p> - -<p>It appeared that I had let myself go too far this -time. I saw Tarleton frown disapprovingly. Sarah -Neobard gazed at me in alarm.</p> - -<p>“I speak to her?” she echoed. “What do you -mean? I wasn’t—I’m not a member of the Club.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The girl herself seemed to feel that some explanation -was needed for her confident assertions.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I was eager to take the cue. It was time to give -Lady Violet’s enemy a taste of her own medicine.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” I said sternly, “the dancer who was seen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[138]</span> -oftenest in company with Dr. Weathered that night -wore the costume of Salome. Can you tell us anything -about her?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span> -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....”</p> - -<p>The broken utterance ended in a wail of grief.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER X<br> - -THE CASE AGAINST LADY VIOLET</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">I felt</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I bought a ticket of admission from Madame -Bonnell.”</p> - -<p>We both started and exchanged looks of surprise.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean to say that anybody could get in -by paying?” the consultant asked.</p> - -<p>Sarah shook her head.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know that anybody could. But there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“What was the price?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Tarleton smiled grimly.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no! At least, I didn’t tell her. I gave my -name as Mrs. Antrobus.”</p> - -<p>“I remember that name in the Visitors’-book,” -I put in.</p> - -<p>My chief nodded. “Did she say anything to you -about the disguise you were to come in?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[142]</span> -what you know about Lady Violet Bredwardine?”</p> - -<p>It was the question I had been dreading. I -dreaded the answer still more.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The answer came slowly. It was with a painful -effort that the girl confessed how far her jealousy -had carried her.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>She stopped short, her face burning and her eyes -lowered towards the ground.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span> -which is well known to Londoners as a place -to which men more often take other people’s wives -and daughters than their own.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Didn’t that seem as if they were friends?” -was the next question.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“And yet she went about with him.”</p> - -<p>“It was against her will, I am certain of it. She -had the air of a prisoner.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The merciless accuser went on.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The scene was as vividly before me as though it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[144]</span> -was passing on the screen. The eyes of jealousy had -been sharper than the waiter’s.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Sarah Neobard didn’t seem to understand the -doubt in his mind.</p> - -<p>“Madame Bonnell told me so.”</p> - -<p>Tarleton gave me a stare which I returned with -interest. In my excitement I was rash enough to -speak.</p> - -<p>“She told you so? Why? How could she know -herself?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>There could be no doubt that this last opinion<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[145]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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....”</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>“And?” the physician breathed gently.</p> - -<p>Sarah braced herself up with a visible effort.</p> - -<p>“<i>I saw her drop something into his cup.</i>”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span> -to murder, and had not lifted a finger to save -the life of the man she half hated and half loved.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Did you believe that the person, whoever it -was, meant to poison him?” I asked, trying to suppress -my indignation.</p> - -<p>“What else could I believe?” She gave the -answer almost rudely, so as to show that she resented -my presuming to question her.</p> - -<p>“And you did nothing? You didn’t interfere?”</p> - -<p>The accuser flushed angrily. She stumbled over -her reply.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t say that. I said she hated him. She -can’t be innocent if she poisoned him.”</p> - -<p>“<i>If</i> she poisoned him,” I repeated with emphasis. -“You have heard that she was more than -a hundred miles away, according to the police evidence.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span> -But the same evidence shows that you were -there, and you have told us as much.”</p> - -<p>“What?” The girl almost leaped from her seat -“Are you suggesting that I had anything to do -with it?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Although we are not policemen, and this is not -a formal charge, Dr. Cassilis is right to caution you,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span> -he said firmly. “I shall feel at liberty to report -whatever you say to the police.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>My chief gratified me with a nod and smile of -approval.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think there is any chance that she was -mixed up in the business?” I asked with hesitation.</p> - -<p>Evidently the specialist was displeased by the -question.</p> - -<p>“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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span>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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>To my surprise Tarleton raised the objection that -had held me back before.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Won’t that come to the same thing?” I objected -feebly. “If she knows you have come to -question her about Weathered’s death?”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>I was silenced. I could think of no possible objection<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[151]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>Tarleton gave me no time for further reflection.</p> - -<p>“Just look up the trains for Hereford,” he said -briskly.</p> - -<p>I hastened to obey. “Am I coming with you, -sir?”</p> - -<p>I put the question almost without hope. I was -overjoyed by the answer.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Nothing more passed between us on the subject<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[152]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[153]</span>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:</p> - -<p><i>Be out to-morrow morning when Sir Frank -Tarleton arrives. The barn at twelve if possible. -Zenobia.</i></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[154]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XI<br> - -WHAT THE CIPHER MEANT</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Tyberton Castle</span> 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.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[155]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[156]</span> -I should be glad if we could turn back now and go -away again.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Please take our cards to Lady Violet Bredwardine, -and ask her ladyship if we can see her -in private, on urgent business.”</p> - -<p>The servant stared at the message. His eyes -wandered from Tarleton to me, and I thought there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[157]</span> -was a vague recognition in them when they met -mine. But his manner was respectful and demure.</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry, sir, but I believe her ladyship is out. -I will inquire if you wish.”</p> - -<p>He seemed to be hesitating whether to ask us -inside. Sir Frank seized on the opening.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, sir.” The answer was given readily.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The man bowed. “That is quite right, sir. Her -ladyship arrived on Wednesday evening.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[158]</span>“I’m positive of what I say, sir. But her ladyship -hasn’t authorized me to answer questions about -her movements.”</p> - -<p>The consultant put on the air of a man who has -made a slip.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I think one of us ought to wait here, Sir Frank. -The other might walk round the park, and perhaps -meet Lady Violet.”</p> - -<p>Sir Frank seemed to find the proposal quite -natural.</p> - -<p>“Very good. I shall be glad to stretch my legs -for an hour, so I’ll leave you here and come back -again.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Would you like to wait inside, sir?” he asked.</p> - -<p>I hesitated. But I had to choose between trusting -him and trusting the chauffeur who had driven<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[159]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>He must have seen me start at the question. I -put my hand into my pocket, searching his face carefully -the while.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[160]</span> -out a note before adding, “Perhaps you remember -my face?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I nodded, and the piece of paper passed silently -from my hand to his.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>He gave me a quick look of intelligence. “I understand, -sir.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[161]</span>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[162]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[163]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[164]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>I strode towards her, all the old, passionate impulses -of the past flooding my heart like wine, and -cried, “Violet!”</p> - -<p>She shrank back as if I had struck her and the -soft eyes flashed with anger.</p> - -<p>“How dare you! How dare you ask me to -meet you like this?”</p> - -<p>I stopped ashamed. In an instant my sudden -emotion was chilled. I felt myself a criminal facing -my judge.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“How dared you ask me to meet you <i>there</i>? -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!”</p> - -<p>The reproach pierced me like a knife. She was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[165]</span> -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?</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The indignation in her face turned to terror.</p> - -<p>“What do you mean? You wrote to me that -I had nothing more to fear.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Sir Frank Tarleton? Who is he?”</p> - -<p>“He is the principal medical adviser to the Home -Office. I am his assistant.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[166]</span>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing; you may be assured of that. But -I must tell you what has happened. Weathered -is dead.”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>I shook my head earnestly.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Violet hardly seemed to be listening. Her eyes -were still fixed on me like two blue stones.</p> - -<p>“You did it,” she repeated dully. “You killed -him—for my sake!”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[167]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[168]</span> -of death. But meanwhile notice has been attracted -to the costume in which I went to the Domino Club -that night.”</p> - -<p>Violet began to look frightened.</p> - -<p>“The one I lent you?—you ought to have destroyed -it!” she said excitedly.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>I was agonized by her terror.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>Her expression softened more than I could have -hoped.</p> - -<p>“I know that, Bertrand,” she said in a low voice.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[169]</span> -“Only I don’t understand why you are here. What -does Sir Frank Tarleton want with me?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Violet lowered her eyes with a frown.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I started in alarm. “But why should you need -that? What were the letters about?”</p> - -<p>The poor girl’s eyes still refused to meet mine.</p> - -<p>“He made me tell him the whole story in letters. -He said that was the only way to get it off my -mind.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[170]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XII<br> - -PSYCHO-ANALYSIS</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">It was</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[171]</span> -to rid their mind of its secret burden in correspondence -which could be preserved for future use.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[172]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>She was watching me with the shy wonder of a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[173]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[174]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Her whole face brightened when I said that, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[175]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[176]</span> -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....</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>From that day we were sweethearts as openly as -any rustic pair. To her it was all as natural as the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[177]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[178]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[179]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[180]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[181]</span>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Nearly four years had gone by since our tragic -parting, but when we stood face to face again they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[182]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[183]</span> -me to get at the doctor’s case-book and destroy it. -And to do that I must obtain his keys.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[184]</span> -to see that it fitted, and to practice moving about -with it on.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[185]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIII<br> - -THE EARL OF LEDBURY INTERVENES</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">My first</span> 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.</p> - -<p>Again and again I went over with her all that -had happened.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[186]</span> -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——”</p> - -<p>“Other women!” She interrupted me with a -cry of dismay. “Do you mean—does she know anything -about me?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Then you are under suspicion!” Her anxiety -was instantly diverted from herself to me again.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[187]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>She put her hand to her head as she stood up and -prepared to come with me.</p> - -<p>“Will he ask me anything else? What were -you going to tell me just now?”</p> - -<p>“The numbers,” I reminded her. “He will ask -you if you know what they meant.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! Must I tell him that? Must he know -about the letters? Will everything come out?—O -Bertrand!”</p> - -<p>Her gasp of anguish wrung my very heart-strings.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[188]</span> -to use in writing to him. You can trust Sir -Frank not to ask you what the letters were about.”</p> - -<p>“But he will know—he will know!” she sighed -despairingly. And I could say little in reply.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“You’ll find the other gentleman inside,” he -whispered. “He’s been back about five minutes.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I hope I haven’t kept you waiting, sir. I have -been taking a look at the ruins of the old Castle.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I could only hope that that was the extent of his -observations. I could not bring myself to ask.</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[189]</span> -the daughter of a noble house, conscious -of her claims to deference from strangers.</p> - -<p>The consultant rose from his seat with every -mark of respect and consideration, and I clumsily -imitated him. She was the first to speak.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>She included me in the invitation by a slight, -distant bow, as she seated herself facing us.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>A bow in the affirmative, still colder, if possible.</p> - -<p>“I regret to have to inform you that Dr. Weathered -has died—of heart failure.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[190]</span> -book in which he entered the names of his patients -who came to see him, you understand.”</p> - -<p>“I understand.” Just a tremor, immediately -subdued.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Violet straightened herself up and spoke very -distinctly. It was clear to me that she had prepared -her answer carefully.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“What is the matter? Why do you look like -that?” the startled girl exclaimed.</p> - -<p>The specialist pulled himself together.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[191]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean,” she faltered, “that there is a -danger of someone finding these letters?—someone -who might make use of them?”</p> - -<p>I had not often seen my chief at a loss, but he -was plainly put out now.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Violet had glanced at my face while he was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[192]</span> -speaking, and had read in it, no doubt, that it would -be her best course to appear satisfied. She murmured -a “Thank you.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I have no idea. I suppose my maid has put it -away somewhere among my things. But I will ring -for her, and ask.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[193]</span>“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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>Henderson showed no surprise.</p> - -<p>“Certainly, my lady. It is in the drawer at the -bottom of your ladyship’s wardrobe.”</p> - -<p>“Just go and fetch it, will you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, my lady.”</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[194]</span> -and then sat with his lips pursed up in rather ominous -fashion, and his eyes fixed on the door.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Tarleton gave them the barest glance, as they -were spread out on the table, and bowed to Violet.</p> - -<p>“I have to thank your ladyship.”</p> - -<p>He was in the act of rising when the door of the -room was thrown open abruptly.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The Earl of Ledbury advanced into the room, -turning a glance of disapproval from Sir Frank -Tarleton to myself, and addressed his daughter.</p> - -<p>“Violet, what business have you with these -gentlemen?”</p> - -<p>What excuse she would have made if it had been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[195]</span> -left to her to answer, I don’t know. Tarleton instantly -took the burden on himself.</p> - -<p>“My business with Lady Violet is official, my -lord. I am right, no doubt, in thinking that you -are the Earl of Ledbury?”</p> - -<p>“Official?” The word sounded like a snarl. -“Who are you, sir?”</p> - -<p>“I am the principal medical adviser to the Home -Office. My name is Sir Frank Tarleton, and this -gentleman is my assistant, Dr. Cassilis.”</p> - -<p>I was already on my feet. I gave the Earl a -deferential bow which only seemed to increase his -irritation.</p> - -<p>“And may I ask what you mean, gentlemen, by -coming into my house and interviewing my daughter -behind my back?”</p> - -<p>Tarleton was not the man to let himself be addressed -in that fashion.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Lord Ledbury’s look of anger changed to one -of amazement and alarm.</p> - -<p>“Good heavens, what do you mean, sir? What -has the law to do with Lady Violet Bredwardine?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[196]</span>The Earl turned suddenly. “Henderson, leave -the room.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The irascible father could see this as plainly as -ourselves.</p> - -<p>“The truth, woman!” he thundered. “Tell the -truth this instant.”</p> - -<p>Henderson turned very red.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>What the effect was on me, I need scarcely say.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[197]</span> -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?</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The shock would have been a terrible one for any -father. It must have been doubly so for a man who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[198]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Violet’s eyes filled with tears.</p> - -<p>“What do you want me to say?” she implored. -“I didn’t even know that Dr. Weathered was dead -till these gentlemen told me.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[199]</span>“You knew him, it seems. What did you go to -him for? You haven’t been ill.”</p> - -<p>I began to feel anxious for myself as well as her. -But she replied with unexpected spirit.</p> - -<p>“I went to him as a doctor. He was a nerve -specialist, and I went to him about my nerves.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“So you consider yourself independent, do -you?” He pointed to the clothes. “Have you lent -these things—to anyone?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Yes.” It was the wisest answer to give now<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[200]</span> -that so much had come out. A falsehood must have -been detected in a few hours.</p> - -<p>“Tell me her name.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I cannot.”</p> - -<p>“You mean you won’t. I command you, Violet. -Do you hear?”</p> - -<p>Her head sunk obstinately on her breast.</p> - -<p>“I shall never tell.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[201]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIV<br> - -THE UNKNOWN POISON</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">I sat</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The Earl of Ledbury controlled his wrath with -an effort. He may have seen that it would be useless<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[202]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The Earl turned to Sir Frank as if by an afterthought.</p> - -<p>“Have you gentlemen anything else to ask Lady -Violet before she goes?”</p> - -<p>My chief passed on the question to me by a nod. -His own expression was one of pity. I caught at -the opportunity.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Lady Violet is of age,” he said shortly. “I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[203]</span> -have just been reminded of that. She is her own -mistress; you had better ask her.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I will send you my address as soon as I know -it. But it will make no difference. I....”</p> - -<p>Her voice choked. The next moment the door -had closed on her.</p> - -<p>And now Tarleton proceeded to astonish me. -I think he astonished the Earl of Ledbury as well.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Danger!” The Earl fairly started.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“I haven’t suggested it. The evidence is to the -contrary, I am glad to see. But your daughter has<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[204]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“Wretched girl!” Even now the selfish father -could find nothing better to do than to blame his -child.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[205]</span> -His voice was altered and broken when he spoke -again.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>The physician considered for a time before he -spoke.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>He turned from Lord Ledbury to me as he -went on.</p> - -<p>“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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[206]</span> -either he overlooked them, or they were kept in some -more secret receptacle.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The Earl showed himself greatly shaken.</p> - -<p>“But this is terrible. You, sir, and you”—he -appealed to each of us in turn—“don’t believe anything -so hideous.”</p> - -<p>“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.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[207]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“To the actual murderer, do you mean?” the -father gasped.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Why?” It was Lord Ledbury who put the -question, but I waited for the answer with equal -curiosity.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The Earl wrung his hands. “My means are -not large, but if any sum within my power—” he -began.</p> - -<p>Tarleton cut him short with decision.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[208]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>He shook hands with the Earl very cordially at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[209]</span> -parting and his lordship seemed to include me in his -expressions of gratitude and good-will.</p> - -<p>When we were seated in the car going back to -Hereford my chief summed up the situation for my -benefit.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[210]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“I am certain she had no idea that any crime -was going to be committed,” I spoke earnestly.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I did indeed see it, and inwardly I thanked Sir -Frank with all my heart.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I could have asked for nothing better, so far. -“And the letters?” I put in anxiously.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I could not restrain a cry of alarm.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“If that woman has them it may be some time<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[211]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The physician moved his shoulders as if to shake -off an unpleasant burden.</p> - -<p>“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, <i>Across Sumatra</i>, by Captain -Armstrong. The natives have some name for -it which I forget, but I have called it <i>Upasine</i>.”</p> - -<p>“Upasine!” I repeated the name in stupefaction.</p> - -<p>“Yes. You have heard, no doubt—everybody -has heard—of the famous upas tree. According to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[212]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“But surely,” I said in astonishment, “surely -no one believes that any longer? I thought it had -been proved to be a fable.”</p> - -<p>The great expert shook his head.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>My incredulity began to give way before my -chief’s sober words.</p> - -<p>“He started out with the conviction that bones<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[213]</span> -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?”</p> - -<p>For some moments I was hopelessly puzzled. -“The leaves are poisonous, perhaps, and the sleepers -die because they have eaten them?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[214]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>The specialist continued his explanation.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“How did you come to hear of the poison?” I -ventured to ask.</p> - -<p>“In the simplest way. Captain Armstrong himself -brought me a sample to analyse.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[215]</span> -me all he had brought home, and he agreed to -do it.”</p> - -<p>“But in that case—your bottle was untouched?” -I objected.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[216]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XV<br> - -THE LADY OF THE LEOPARD SKIN</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">I got</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>A serious disappointment waited for us there. -An official envelope stamped with the seal of New<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[217]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“Fool!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>My chief’s irritation soon subsided, and as soon -as we were seated at a well-spread table he acquitted -the Inspector handsomely.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The consultant smiled good-naturedly.</p> - -<p>“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 <i>Across Sumatra</i> ought to have heard from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[218]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>It was impossible for me to listen any longer -without reminding him of the other task before us.</p> - -<p>“Have you made any plans yet for the recovery -of the letters?” I asked anxiously.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I suppose I must have shown some dismay. My -kindly chief proceeded to explain himself.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[219]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I doubt if she will part with them without Miss -Neobard’s consent,” I said with hesitation. “Even -if she has them.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“And if I fail?”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>There the matter rested that night. The next -day soon after breakfast my chief set off to make<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[220]</span> -inquiries at the publishers of <i>Across Sumatra</i>, and -I started on my difficult errand to Warwick Street.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Where have they gone?” I demanded in -dismay.</p> - -<p>The youth put on a stolid look.</p> - -<p>“My instructions are to say that letters will be -forwarded,” he answered, with a touch of sullenness.</p> - -<p>And I could get no more out of him. To all -appearances Sarah Neobard and her mother had fled.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[221]</span>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>He poured himself out a glass of wine and -sipped it with a relish.</p> - -<p>“I have been more fortunate than you this -morning,” he resumed. “It appears that Armstrong<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[222]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>The correction startled me. Tarleton had laid -some emphasis on the feminine termination.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Carlyle Square!” I ejaculated. “That is within -a stone’s throw of the Domino Club.”</p> - -<p>My chief gave me a look of mild disappointment.</p> - -<p>“Is that the only thing that strikes you? What -about the name?”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[223]</span> -of some association with it that I couldn’t -quite fix. Tarleton’s patience gave out before my -helplessness.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“There is such a thing as having too complete<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[224]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>He took out another paper from his pocket, and -read aloud from it.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[225]</span>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.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The explorer had evidently left many treasures -picked up on his travels which his sister had taken<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[226]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell the missus you’re here.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[227]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[228]</span> -dissipated by her manner, which was the perfection -of genuine cordiality and ease.</p> - -<p>“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 <i>you</i>, Sir Frank! I declare the likeness -would deceive anybody.”</p> - -<p>My chief extricated his hand from her friendly -clutch with a smile.</p> - -<p>“You flatter me, madam. Dr. Cassilis, I regret -to say, is no relation to me, though he is good enough -to assist me.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Baker was not in the least embarrassed. -Her smile at the mistake was heartier than either -of ours.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[229]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>The bereaved sister brightened up. Doubtless -this was the clue she had wanted to our reason for -calling on her.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[230]</span>“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.”</p> - -<p>I glanced at my chief in some surprise. But he -knew the world better than I did, as his answer -showed.</p> - -<p>“I was afraid that his books hadn’t brought him -in very much, valuable as they were to science.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“You have some things to remember him by, at -all events,” Tarleton suggested. “Those leopard -skins are very fine.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>We could only express approval of this pious -intention. My chief now came to the object of our -visit.</p> - -<p>“Captain Armstrong did me the honour to come -to me some time ago, after his return from Sumatra.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[231]</span> -He had heard of me as a student of poisons, and he -brought me a sample of one he had discovered.”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Baker eyed us with a touch of uneasiness, -I thought.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>This was disconcerting news. I saw Tarleton’s -thick eyebrows go up and down.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[232]</span>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.</p> - -<p>The next moment we heard a startled cry.</p> - -<p>“The bottle is gone!”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[233]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XVI<br> - -THE RED LIGHT</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sir Frank</span> 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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>His first step was to soothe the mistress of the -house.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Baker, still rather distrustful, let herself<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[234]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Not one of them,” was the positive answer. -“I have never mentioned it to a soul.”</p> - -<p>“Think,” the doctor persisted courteously. -“Remember that Captain Armstrong mentions his -discovery of it in his book, <i>Across Sumatra</i>. Surely -some of your acquaintances must have read the book -and talked to you about it?”</p> - -<p>The little woman began to show signs of misgiving.</p> - -<p>“I can’t remember,” she confessed.</p> - -<p>She had shown us both already that memory was -not her strong point. The consultant prompted her -gently.</p> - -<p>“The person most likely to be interested in such -a thing as a new poison would be a scientist or a -medical man.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[235]</span>“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.”</p> - -<p>The flattery did its work. Mrs. Baker lifted her -head again and repaid it with a gracious smile.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“I felt sure of it. And you see your brother -may easily have mentioned this bottle, or shown it, -to someone without your knowledge.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>His next question was a bombshell.</p> - -<p>“May I ask if you have taken any interest in the -science of psycho-analysis?”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Baker’s collapse was pitiful. If the specialist -had suddenly changed into a cobra before her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[236]</span> -eyes she could not have looked at him with greater -terror.</p> - -<p>“What do you mean, Sir Roderick?” she -faltered.</p> - -<p>Tarleton slowly shook his head.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>The situation was too grave for these erratic -names to provoke a smile. “I have heard of Dr. -Weathered,” the specialist said gravely.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[237]</span>Mrs. Baker gave a sigh of relief before plunging -into her tale.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Subconsciousness, yes,” Tarleton put in with -the least touch of impatience.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I confess I was horrified, too, as I grasped the -methods by which Weathered had drawn this harmless -little creature into his toils.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[238]</span>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Did he ever ask you to let him have it?” he -asked. The answer surprised me.</p> - -<p>“No, never. He told me to be very careful never -to part with it.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, I understand. He told you to take the -greatest care of it, and you told him exactly where -you kept it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes.” The explorer’s sister gazed at him -in admiration. “How did you guess that?”</p> - -<p>“I think it is quite plain, ma’am. He didn’t want<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[239]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[240]</span> -as his interest in it was concerned, but he was good -enough to give me a chance of satisfying my -curiosity.</p> - -<p>“What do you say, Cassilis? Do you think we -ought to ask Mrs. Baker to tell us anything more?”</p> - -<p>I thought our hostess looked as little willing as -I was to leave her story unfinished.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>It was easier for us to believe than she supposed, -but I did my best to look incredulous.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Dr. Carstairs, he told me that the only<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[241]</span> -way to get rid of my murderous propensities was to -give way to them. He advised me to kill Samuel.”</p> - -<p>This really was beyond my power to believe. -“Samuel?” I repeated.</p> - -<p>“Yes, my beautiful black cat, the one that slept -at the foot of my bed every night.”</p> - -<p>Tarleton raised his head quickly.</p> - -<p>“Did he suggest that you should give him the -poison from Sumatra?” he put in.</p> - -<p>The explorer’s sister nodded.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The worthy owner of Samuel told us that she -had refused to slay her pet.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[242]</span> -a postal order. I shall never dare to have him -back again.”</p> - -<p>My youthful indignation became too much for -me.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>The lady accepted this graciously, and smoothed -down her ruffled feathers. I thought I might venture -on a fresh question.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[243]</span>“Did you know that he was the real proprietor -of the Domino Club?”</p> - -<p>“Never! You don’t say so? I understood it -was run by a Frenchwoman—Madame Bonnet.”</p> - -<p>“You have been there, I suppose?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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:</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>I had to admit that she had scored off me. Anything -less like a beast of prey or a potential murderess<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[244]</span> -than the bright and birdlike little woman I -have never seen.</p> - -<p>My chief picked out one point that I had overlooked.</p> - -<p>“Did Weathered mention the Club to you, -ma’am? Or did you know this Madame Bonnell?”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Baker drew herself up.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t <i>know</i> 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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Tarleton was very silent till we were back at -Montague Street. Even when we were in his study<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[245]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Tarleton hunched himself up in his favourite -armchair and growled again.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I had never known him to speak so irritably before. -I sat dumb, asking myself what was in his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[246]</span> -mind. And all at once the explanation flashed -upon me.</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>My chief suspected me, had suspected me from -the very first, of being the murderer. The red light -was in my eyes at last.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[247]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XVII<br> - -A SINGULAR DISMISSAL</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Perhaps</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[248]</span> -feel it his duty to report to the Department we both -served that I was no longer worthy of its confidence.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>There was another letter that interested the consultant -more than the Earl’s. It came from New -Scotland Yard.</p> - -<p>“Sarah Neobard and her mother have gone -abroad,” he remarked with something like satisfaction.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[249]</span> -“Charles has sent a man after them. They -seem to have gone to Paris. You must have frightened -that young woman rather badly.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Will it be possible for them to hide in Paris?” -I asked anxiously.</p> - -<p>The specialist shook his head.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Then what will be the next step?” I inquired -vaguely.</p> - -<p>“I shall leave for Paris by to-night’s mail.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>I held my tongue, and went on quietly with my<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[250]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The Inspector was in a state of excitement. In -his hand he carried a newspaper which he waved at -us both.</p> - -<p>“Have you seen this morning’s paper?” he -called out before the door was closed. “The advertisement -in the Agony Column?”</p> - -<p>Tarleton glanced at me before answering, and I -remembered his prediction to Lord Ledbury as he -spoke.</p> - -<p>“What, have they got to work already? What -does it say?”</p> - -<p>Captain Charles read out from the paper in a -round, commanding voice:</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>Sir Frank nodded approvingly. “Very well<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[251]</span> -worded, very well worded, indeed. It sounds like a -perfectly respectable offer.”</p> - -<p>It sounded so to me. But the Inspector was -puzzled.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Blackmail!” the Inspector gasped in horror.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>One of the reasons only. I had little doubt as to -another. Captain Charles looked extremely subdued.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[252]</span> -better addresses than that, and there are worse. Unless -you have anything else to advise.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Captain Charles struck his forehead.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[253]</span> -English tourists, the Hotel St. Catherine in the Rue -Tivoli.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Directly after Captain Charles had left us I -made some excuse for going out on business, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[254]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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?</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>It was what I had feared. I would have given<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[255]</span> -anything to leave her in ignorance, but the risk was -too great.</p> - -<p>“Have you answered the advertisement yet?” -I asked.</p> - -<p>“Not yet. I was tempted to go there at once, -but I thought I had better consult you first. Why, -is there anything wrong?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Bertrand. I do trust you. I know -it isn’t your fault if they haven’t been destroyed -already.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">[256]</span> -in silence, and never to conjure up its ghost by one -single word.</p> - -<p>Already Violet was forgetting her own trouble to -think of mine. She went on before I had found -anything to say.</p> - -<p>“But what about yourself? Has anything more -been discovered about the murder?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Violet looked relieved when she had heard it.</p> - -<p>“Then he must have stolen the bottle himself. -Did he commit suicide, do you think?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I had alarmed her more than I meant. She uttered -a cry of despair.</p> - -<p>“Bertrand! It isn’t true! Will he have you arrested? -Shall you be——” She began to sob.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[257]</span> -me. But I shall have to resign my post, I expect, -and I may have to leave the country.”</p> - -<p>She looked at me through her tears. “That will -be almost as bad, won’t it?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>My heart glowed within me. I spoke out.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“I certainly thought he was. He looked so kind -and good,” Violet said thoughtfully.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">[258]</span>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.”</p> - -<p>I ought to have been very grateful, but I’m -afraid my response was lacking in warmth.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“What did he say?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[259]</span>“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.”</p> - -<p>Tarleton shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“What had we better do?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The Inspector bowed himself out quite meekly. -My curiosity prompted me to venture on a rash -question.</p> - -<p>“Do you think it possible that Miss Neobard -has the letters?”</p> - -<p>My chief swung himself slowly round in his -chair and gave me a steady look, under which I -quailed inwardly.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think I ought to tell you, Cassilis. It -seems to me that you are an interested party.”</p> - -<p>So my fear had been well grounded. I listened -breathlessly for more.</p> - -<p>“From the beginning of this investigation you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[260]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Sir Frank’s voice was perfectly bland as he -continued:</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[261]</span>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>My prompt offer, however, seemed to have -greatly softened my judge.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">[262]</span>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?</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>I looked down, and there was a delicate blue -envelope beckoning me by name.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dear Bertrand</span>,</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p class="right">Yours,        <br> -<span class="smcap">Violet</span>.</p> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[263]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XVIII<br> - -MOTHER AND DAUGHTER</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sir Frank Tarleton</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">[264]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Tarleton, in reply, explained why he had asked<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[265]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 -“<i>Official Confidential</i>.” When he was handing it -into the office, however, the detective followed him -to make a correction.</p> - -<p>“She’s not staying here under her own name. -She has taken the name of Neobard.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“They mean that although I have come to see<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">[266]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>The daughter looked at him doubtfully.</p> - -<p>“Does that apply to me as well?”</p> - -<p>Sir Frank purposely hesitated before answering.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The name seemed to irritate the girl.</p> - -<p>“My mother has dropped the name of Weathered,” -she said sharply. “In future she desires to -be known as Mrs. Neobard.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I suppose the police are on our track, as we -came here without giving anyone our address. Is -that confidential?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">[267]</span>Sarah couldn’t very well contradict this. She -lifted her head more defiantly than ever.</p> - -<p>“My mother can’t see you,” she repeated. “Anything -you want to say to her can be said to me.”</p> - -<p>Sir Frank admired her courage. He tried to -soften her.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Dr. Cassilis has practically accused me of murder,” -she said.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The defiance began to die out of Miss Neobard’s -eyes. They were fine eyes and she knew how -to use them with effect.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">[268]</span>“Does that mean that I am not under suspicion -any longer?” she inquired in a more gracious voice.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Sarah was fairly conquered. Her voice broke -down as she replied.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>The step-daughter looked even more relieved -than Tarleton had expected, but a good deal surprised -as well.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>The specialist took no notice of the suppressed -hint.</p> - -<p>“You will see now, I hope, that I haven’t come<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">[269]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">[270]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>The examiner came to the point quickly.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“Very good. I had better begin by reading you -this advertisement. It appeared in the paper yesterday.”</p> - -<p>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:</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Neobard shook her head faintly without -speaking.</p> - -<p>“Can you tell me if your late husband left a will, -and who is his executor?”</p> - -<p>“I can answer that question,” Sarah put in. -“My mother is sole executor and he has left everything<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">[271]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>The flush had faded from the widow’s cheeks, -leaving her very pale.</p> - -<p>“I can’t explain,” she said in a whisper.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">[272]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">[273]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>Miss Neobard suddenly stopped pleading with -her mother to say to the specialist, “I think I can -guess who has those letters—Madame Bonnell!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Madame Bonnell is the last person to whom I -should think Dr. Weathered would have trusted -them,” he answered.</p> - -<p>“She may have stolen them,” the girl persisted. -“Perhaps he kept them at the Club and she has -found them since his death.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Neobard had been listening anxiously to -this discussion. Now she spoke.</p> - -<p>“Who else do you think can have them?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">[274]</span>“That is what I want you to tell me. And I -think you can.”</p> - -<p>The widow shivered again. Her daughter looked -at her with a dawning comprehension that something -was wrong.</p> - -<p>“Mother, you must tell if you know.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Tell him, mother!” pleaded the girl.</p> - -<p>The mother turned to her despairingly.</p> - -<p>“I can’t! I daren’t! Don’t ask me to,” she -cried hopelessly.</p> - -<p>The representative of the law looked at his watch.</p> - -<p>“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.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">[275]</span> -“Look out of that window, Miss Neobard, and tell -your mother what you see.”</p> - -<p>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!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Do you hear, mother? You won’t let me be -arrested?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“You! Arrest you! What do you mean, Sarah? -What have you to do with it? The police have -come for me.”</p> - -<p>Sarah was not less amazed and horrified than -her mother.</p> - -<p>“Nonsense; they can’t touch you,” she exclaimed. -“You weren’t at the dance that night!”</p> - -<p>“And you were? My girl, my poor girl, what -have you been doing?”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">[276]</span>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">[277]</span> -who had wrought up this dramatic situation knew -that he had only to wait for the <i>dénouement</i> at which -he had aimed.</p> - -<p>He had not to wait long.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>This was news to the doctor. He pricked up his -ears for the name.</p> - -<p>“She was a Miss Sebright—Miss Julia Sebright.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! She is dead.” Tarleton thought it sound<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">[278]</span> -policy to show that he was able to check the statements -made to him.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Sir Frank got up, walked to the window, opened -it and waved his hand. The gendarme outside saluted -respectfully and marched away.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">[279]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIX<br> - -THE MEANS TO DO ILL DEEDS</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">[280]</span>The speaker sighed as though contrasting their -fate with her own opposite mistake.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>It was a sickening story. Hardened as he was -to the ways of criminals, Tarleton listened to it -with nausea.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The consultant forbore to correct her by saying -that the discovery had been made by Inspector -Charles.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">[281]</span>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The real difficulty before Mrs. Neobard had been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">[282]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“You would have found that if you had looked -in Dr. Weathered’s appointment-book,” Sir Frank -told her.</p> - -<p>The widow opened her eyes.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The consultant waved his hand courteously for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">[283]</span> -her to go on. Her story had held one surprise for him -already, and he foresaw that others were to come.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Tarleton breathed softly while he waited for the -name he was pretty certain of hearing.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“I knew her brother, the late Captain Armstrong,” -the specialist said, without answering the -question directly. “Please tell me everything.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Neobard made an effort and went on.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">[284]</span> -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.’”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Ah! I see you do know her. But I suppose -you won’t tell me how much you know?”</p> - -<p>The physician was obliged to shake his head. -“You could not trust me yourself, ma’am, if I did.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The widow directed a swift glance at her, and -withdrew it instantly.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">[285]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>The consultant did not credit this. But he was -not there to defend Mrs. Baker, and he did not want -to interrupt.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">[286]</span>“I quite agree with you,” said the specialist, seeing -that he was expected to reply.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“You were quite right,” the physician agreed -again.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">[287]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>This was another new light for the consultant. -And it prepared him for what was to come next.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">[288]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“If I left him I doubted if my own daughter -would have come with me.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“You won’t expect me to give you <i>all</i> 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">[289]</span> -murdered her, as surely as if he had given her arsenic. -I thought he ought to die.”</p> - -<p>She said it without an effort, as though it were -the most natural conclusion in the world.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The listener remembered Shakespeare’s lines, -though he refrained from quoting them:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds -makes ill deeds done.”</p> -</div> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Then I came to a new difficulty, that I had never -expected. I found I couldn’t do it.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I had believed in him once.... I had loved -him.”</p> - -<p>She broke down and ceased for a few moments. -Tarleton watched her with real pity.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">[290]</span>“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.”</p> - -<p>The consultant nodded. It was all plain to him -now. His theory had not been very far wrong, -after all.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Tarleton felt astray again for the moment. There -were more complications in the case than he had even -yet grasped.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I knew all that. And I know Madame -Bonnell.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Neobard’s face betrayed some apprehension.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">[291]</span>“Know her as a friend, do you mean?” she -ventured.</p> - -<p>“I know her well enough to think she could be -a very dangerous one.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, then you <i>do</i> 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.”</p> - -<p>“Madame Bonnell knew a good deal.”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>A sheep might as well have tried to hoodwink a -wolf, was Tarleton’s inward comment, but he -thought he had interrupted enough.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">[292]</span> -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.’</p> - -<p>“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.’</p> - -<p>“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 <i>esclandre</i>—some frightful -scene or some exposure that would ruin the Club and -perhaps injure my character.’”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">[293]</span> -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.’”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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.’</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">[294]</span> -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.’”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Thank you. If I have your permission to use -this information in my own way neither you nor -your daughter need fear anything more.”</p> - -<p>The astonished woman stopped him on the way -to the door.</p> - -<p>“But after Madame Bonnell had got the letters -she turned round and refused to go on with the plot. -How did my husband die?”</p> - -<p>“I am going to ask her that.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">[295]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XX<br> - -THE FINGER-PRINT</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">When</span> 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.</p> - -<p>He told me everything just as I have described -it. Then he transfixed me with a question.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Before God I am innocent of that!” I swore.</p> - -<p>My chief received my oath without any indication -of belief or disbelief.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I looked him in the face. I was too proud to -repeat my denial.</p> - -<p>“That has been my greatest anxiety in the whole<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">[296]</span> -business, Cassilis. I liked you; you knew it, and I -think you should have confided in me.”</p> - -<p>“It wasn’t my secret,” I pleaded.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I’m afraid I couldn’t hold it then. It blushed in -spite of me.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>How silly all my precautions seemed now! My -chief rubbed it into me with a touch of good humour.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">[297]</span>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I could only shake my head sorrowfully. “You<span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">[298]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>Sir Frank gave me a queer look.</p> - -<p>“Then I tell you this—if you don’t marry her, -<i>I will</i>.”</p> - -<p>Before I could recover from the start given me -by this threat he was consulting his watch again.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">[299]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>He came straight to the point.</p> - -<p>“We have called on you, Madame, in consequence -of the advertisement from Messrs. James, -Halliday & James.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">[300]</span>She heard this with composure. “What advertisement -is that?”</p> - -<p>Tarleton ignored the affectation of ignorance.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“What has all this to do with me?” she asked -cautiously.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Weathered informs me that she placed the -letters in your possession and I am here to ask you -for them.”</p> - -<p>Madame Bonnell did some hard thinking and did -it quickly, too.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">[301]</span> -me to take such a story seriously. If you believe -I have the letters, look for them.”</p> - -<p>It was a gallant last stand. She must have known -that every inch of the premises had been searched -already.</p> - -<p>Tarleton smiled at her. He was beginning to -warm to his work.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid I must leave the matter to you, -Inspector.”</p> - -<p>Captain Charles was quite ready.</p> - -<p>“I must ask you to consider yourself my prisoner, -Madame. The charge is one of conspiring -with Arthur Stillman to obtain money from various<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">[302]</span> -persons by threats. Whatever you may say will be -taken down and may be used in evidence against -you.”</p> - -<p>She didn’t wait for the production of the official -note-book. Her hands were at the bosom of her -dress.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Weathered tells me she gave you something -else beside those letters.”</p> - -<p>Madame Bonnell needed no preparation to meet -this blow, which she had clearly been expecting. She -heaved a sigh, apparently one of relief.</p> - -<p>“Ah, I am glad she has confessed that! It has -been a burden on my mind. I ought to have denounced<span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">[303]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>This was neater than even Tarleton had expected. -I saw positive respect in his eyes.</p> - -<p>“Then you have the poison still, Madame, untouched?”</p> - -<p>“But yes. I placed it among my little aids to the -toilet. You will find it in the cupboard you locked -up, you remember.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you will oblige me by fetching it. Inspector -Charles will unlock the door for you.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“The powder now in this bottle is a harmless -mixture of charcoal and common salt. The poison -that killed Dr. Weathered was upasine.”</p> - -<p>Madame Bonnell raised her hands in admirable -despair.</p> - -<p>“<i>Mille tonnorres!</i> That wretched woman was -more mad than I thought. She mistook this stuff -for—what did you say, sir?”</p> - -<p>The physician shook his head. “You do her an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">[304]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>Again the first line of defence, a rather flimsy -one, had been broken through. The second line was -instantly unveiled.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>All at once Madame Bonnell turned very white. -She began breathing in spasms.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">[305]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Gerard is a bloody liar.”</p> - -<p>The next instant she recollected herself. She -had still a third line of defence, a really good one -this time.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Tarleton acknowledged the strength of this -position.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“And give up my Club? Abandon my good fortune<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">[306]</span> -at its height? I am not a very great fool, Sir -Frank Tarleton.”</p> - -<p>My chief raised a finger. Captain Charles -sounded his whistle and Brigadier Samson stepped -through the door.</p> - -<p>Slowly the woman recoiled on herself, seeming -actually to grow smaller in the act. The Brigadier -gave her a careless nod.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">[307]</span> -he couldn’t resist the temptation to see the real -woman come out. He hadn’t liked the sight.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">[308]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I shook as I recognized the truth of what he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">[309]</span> -said. Even Tarleton’s skill might have failed to -demonstrate the presence of a strange drug unknown -to the whole medical world.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">[310]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“What made you think she had committed a -crime in France, sir?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">[311]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>In the end the Earl said, “Well, I will see what -my daughter has to say, Dr. Cassilis.” And he rang -the bell.</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“He hasn’t asked me yet,” she whispered.</p> - -<p>My dear chief sprang to his feet. “I think we -had better leave these young people together, my -lord.”</p> - -<p>We are together still.</p> - -<p class="center">THE END</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="blockquot"> -<p><span class="large"><i>The greatest pleasure in life is -that of reading. Why not then -own the books of great novelists -when the price is so small</i></span></p> - -<p><img src="images/symbol.jpg" alt=""> <i>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.</i></p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ask your dealer for a list of the titles<br> -in Burt’s Popular Priced Fiction</i></p> - -<p><span class="large"><i>In buying the books bearing the -A. L. Burt Company imprint -you are assured of wholesome, entertaining -and instructive reading</i></span></p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph2"><span class="bb"><i>THE BEST OF RECENT FICTION</i></span></p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p><b>Adventures of Jimmie Dale, The.</b> Frank L. Packard.<br> -<b>Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.</b> A. Conan Doyle.<br> -<b>Affair at Flower Acres, The.</b> Carolyn Wells.<br> -<b>Affinities and Other Stories.</b> Mary Roberts Rinehart.<br> -<b>After House, The.</b> Mary Roberts Rinehart.<br> -<b>Against the Winds.</b> Kate Jordan.<br> -<b>Alcatraz.</b> Max Brand.<br> -<b>Alias Richard Power.</b> William Allison.<br> -<b>All the Way by Water.</b> Elizabeth Stancy Payne.<br> -<b>Amateur Gentleman, The.</b> Jeffery Farnol.<br> -<b>Amateur Inn, The.</b> Albert Payson Terhune.<br> -<b>Anna the Adventuress.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Anne’s House of Dreams.</b> L. M. Montgomery.<br> -<b>Anybody But Anne.</b> Carolyn Wells.<br> -<b>Are All Men Alike, and The Lost Titian.</b> Arthur Stringer.<br> -<b>Around Old Chester.</b> Margaret Deland.<br> -<b>Arrant Rover, The.</b> Berta Ruck.<br> -<b>Athalie.</b> Robert W. Chambers.<br> -<b>At the Mercy of Tiberius.</b> Augusta Evans Wilson.<br> -<b>At Sight at Gold.</b> Cynthia Lombardi.<br> -<b>Auction Block, The.</b> Rex Beach.<br> -<b>Aunt Jane of Kentucky.</b> Eliza C. Hall.<br> -<b>Awakening of Helena Ritchie.</b> Margaret Deland.<br> -<br> -<b>Bab: a Sub-Deb.</b> Mary Roberts Rinehart.<br> -<b>Bar 20.</b> Clarence E. Mulford.<br> -<b>Bar 20 Days.</b> Clarence E. Mulford.<br> -<b>Bar-20 Three.</b> Clarence E. Mulford.<br> -<b>Barrier, The.</b> Rex Beach.<br> -<b>Bars of Iron, The.</b> Ethel M. Dell.<br> -<b>Bat Wing.</b> Sax Rohmer.<br> -<b>Beasts of Tarzan, The.</b> Edgar Rice Burroughs.<br> -<b>Beautiful and Damned, The.</b> F. Scott Fitzgerald.<br> -<b>Beauty.</b> Rupert Hughes.<br> -<b>Behind Locked Doors.</b> Ernest M. Poate.<br> -<b>Bella Donna.</b> Robert Hichens. (Photoplay Ed.).<br> -<b>Beloved Traitor, The.</b> Frank L. Packard.<br> -<b>Beloved Vagabond, The.</b> Wm. J. Locke.<br> -<b>Beloved Woman, The.</b> Kathleen Norris.<br> -<b>Beltane the Smith.</b> Jeffery Farnol.<br> -<b>Betrayal, The.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Beyond the Frontier.</b> Randall Parrish.<br> -<b>Big Timber.</b> Bertrand W. Sinclair.<br> -<b>Black Bartlemy’s Treasure.</b> Jeffery Farnol.<br> -<b>Black Buttes.</b> Clarence E. Mulford.<br> -<b>Black Cæsar’s Clan.</b> Albert Payson Terhune.<br> -<b>Black Gold.</b> Albert Payson Terhune.<br> -<b>Black Is White.</b> George Barr McCutcheon.<br> -<b>Black Oxen.</b> Gertrude Atherton. (Photoplay Ed.).<br> -<b>Blue Circle, The.</b> Elizabeth Jordan.<br> -<b>Bob, Son of Battle.</b> Alfred Olivant.<br> -<b>Box With Broken Seals, The.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Brandon of the Engineers.</b> Harold Bindloss.<br> -<b>Breaking Point, The.</b> Mary Roberts Rinehart.<br> -<b>Bridge of Kisses.</b> Berta Ruck.<br> -<b>Bring Me His Ears.</b> Clarence E. Mulford.<br> -<b>Broad Highway, The.</b> Jeffery Farnol.<br> -<b>Broken Barriers.</b> Meredith Nicholson.<br> -<b>Brown Study, The.</b> Grace S. Richmond.<br> -<b>Buck Peters, Ranchman.</b> Clarence E. Mulford.<br> -<b>Bush-Rancher, The.</b> Harold Bindloss.<br> -<br> -<b>Cabbages and Kings.</b> O. Henry.<br> -<b>Cabin Fever.</b> B. M. Bower.<br> -<b>Calling of Dan Matthews, The.</b> Harold Bell Wright.<br> -<b>Cape Cod Stories.</b> Joseph C. Lincoln.<br> -<b>Cap’n Dan’s Daughter.</b> Joseph C. Lincoln.<br> -<b>Cap’n Eri.</b> Joseph C. Lincoln.<br> -<b>Cap’n Warren’s Wards.</b> Joseph C. Lincoln.<br> -<b>Carnac’s Folly.</b> Gilbert Parker.<br> -<b>Cat’s Paw, The.</b> Natalie Sumner Lincoln.<br> -<b>Cattle.</b> Winnifred Eaton.<br> -<b>Certain People of Importance.</b> Kathleen Norris.<br> -<b>Chief Legatee, The.</b> Anna Katharine Green.<br> -<b>Cinema Murder, The.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>City of Lilies, The.</b> Anthony Pryde and R. K. Weekes.<br> -<b>City of Peril, The.</b> Arthur Stringer.<br> -<b>Clipped Wings.</b> Rupert Hughes.<br> -<b>Clue of the New Pin, The.</b> Edgar Wallace.<br> -<b>Colorado Jim.</b> George Goodchild.<br> -<b>Coming of Cassidy, The.</b> Clarence E. Mulford.<br> -<b>Coming of the Law, The.</b> Chas. A. Seltzer.<br> -<b>Communicating Door, The.</b> Wadsworth Camp.<br> -<b>Comrades of Peril.</b> Randall Parrish.<br> -<b>Conquest of Canaan, The.</b> Booth Tarkington.<br> -<b>Contraband.</b> Clarence Budington Kelland.<br> -<b>Court of Inquiry, A.</b> Grace S. Richmond.<br> -<b>Crimson Blotter, The.</b> Isabel Ostrander.<br> -<b>Crimson Gardenia, The, and Other Tales of Adventure.</b> Rex Beach.<br> -<b>Crimson Tide, The.</b> Robert W. Chambers.<br> -<b>Cross Currents.</b> Author of “Pollyanna.”<br> -<b>Cross Pull, The.</b> Hal G. Evarts.<br> -<b>Cry in the Wilderness, A.</b> Mary E. Waller.<br> -<b>Cry of Youth, A.</b> Cynthia Lombardi.<br> -<b>Cup of Fury, The.</b> Rupert Hughes.<br> -<b>Curious Quest, The.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Curved Blades, The.</b> Carolyn Wells.<br> -<b>Cytherea.</b> Joseph Hergesheimer.<br> -<br> -<b>Damsel in Distress, A.</b> Pelham G. Wodehouse.<br> -<b>Dancing Star, The.</b> Berta Ruck.<br> -<b>Danger and Other Stories.</b> A. Conan Doyle.<br> -<b>Dark Hollow.</b> Anna Katharine Green.<br> -<b>Daughter Pays, The.</b> Mrs. Baillie Reynolds.<br> -<b>Depot Master, The.</b> Joseph C. Lincoln.<br> -<b>Desert Healer, The.</b> E. M. Hull.<br> -<b>Destroying Angel, The.</b> Louis Joseph Vance. (Photoplay Ed.).<br> -<b>Devil’s Paw, The.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Diamond Thieves, The.</b> Arthur Stringer.<br> -<b>Disturbing Charm, The.</b> Berta Ruck.<br> -<b>Donnegan.</b> George Owen Baxter.<br> -<b>Door of Dread, The.</b> Arthur Stringer.<br> -<b>Doors of the Night.</b> Frank L. Packard.<br> -<b>Dope.</b> Sax Rohmer.<br> -<b>Double Traitor, The.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Dust of the Desert.</b> Robert Welles Ritchie.<br> -<br> -<b>Empty Hands.</b> Arthur Stringer.<br> -<b>Empty Pockets.</b> Rupert Hughes.<br> -<b>Empty Sack, The.</b> Basil King.<br> -<b>Enchanted Canyon.</b> Honoré Willsie.<br> -<b>Enemies of Women.</b> V. B. Ibanez. (Photoplay Ed.).<br> -<b>Eris.</b> Robert W. Chambers.<br> -<b>Erskine Dale, Pioneer.</b> John Fox, Jr.<br> -<b>Evil Shepherd, The.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Extricating Obadiah.</b> Joseph C. Lincoln.<br> -<b>Eye of Zeitoon, The.</b> Talbot Mundy.<br> -<b>Eyes of the Blind.</b> Arthur Somers Roche.<br> -<b>Eyes of the World.</b> Harold Bell Wright.<br> -<br> -<b>Fair Harbor.</b> Joseph C. Lincoln.<br> -<b>Family.</b> Wayland Wells Williams.<br> -<b>Fathoms Deep.</b> Elizabeth Stancy Payne.<br> -<b>Feast of the Lanterns.</b> Louise Jordan Miln.<br> -<b>Fighting Chance, The.</b> Robert W. Chambers.<br> -<b>Fighting Shepherdess, The.</b> Caroline Lockhart.<br> -<b>Financier, The.</b> Theodore Dreiser.<br> -<b>Fire Tongue.</b> Sax Rohmer.<br> -<b>Flaming Jewel, The.</b> Robert W. Chambers.<br> -<b>Flowing Gold.</b> Rex Beach.<br> -<b>Forbidden Trail, The.</b> Honoré Willsie.<br> -<b>Forfeit, The.</b> Ridgwell Cullum.<br> -<b>Four Million, The.</b> O. Henry.<br> -<b>Foursquare.</b> Grace S. Richmond.<br> -<b>Four Stragglers, The.</b> Frank L. Packard.<br> -<b>Free Range Lanning.</b> George Owen Baxter.<br> -<b>From Now On.</b> Frank L. Packard.<br> -<b>Fur Bringers, The.</b> Hulbert Footner.<br> -<b>Further Adventures of Jimmie Dale.</b> Frank L. Packard.<br> -<br> -<b>Galusha the Magnificent.</b> Joseph C. Lincoln.<br> -<b>Gaspards of Pine Croft, The.</b> Ralph Connor.<br> -<b>Gay Year, The.</b> Dorothy Speare.<br> -<b>Gift of the Desert.</b> Randall Parrish.<br> -<b>Girl in the Mirror, The.</b> Elizabeth Jordan.<br> -<b>Girl from Kellers, The.</b> Harold Bindloss.<br> -<b>Girl Philippa, The.</b> Robert W. Chambers.<br> -<b>Girls at His Billet, The.</b> Berta Ruck.<br> -<b>Glory Rides the Range.</b> Ethel and James Dorrance.<br> -<b>God’s Country and the Woman.</b> James Oliver Curwood.<br> -<b>God’s Good Man.</b> Marie Corelli.<br> -<b>Going Some.</b> Rex Beach.<br> -<b>Gold Girl, The.</b> James B. Hendryx.<br> -<b>Gold-Killer.</b> John Prosper.<br> -<b>Golden Scorpion, The.</b> Sax Rohmer.<br> -<b>Golden Slipper, The.</b> Anna Katherine Green.<br> -<b>Golden Woman, The.</b> Ridgwell Cullum.<br> -<b>Gray Phantom, The.</b> Herman Landon.<br> -<b>Gray Phantom’s Return, The.</b> Herman Landon.<br> -<b>Great Impersonation, The.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Great Prince Shan, The.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Greater Love Hath No Man.</b> Frank L. Packard.<br> -<b>Green Eyes of Bast, The.</b> Sax Rohmer.<br> -<b>Green Goddess, The.</b> Louise Jordan Miln. (Photoplay Ed.).<br> -<b>Greyfriars Bobby.</b> Eleanor Atkinson.<br> -<b>Gun Brand, The.</b> James B. Hendryx.<br> -<b>Gun Runner, The.</b> Arthur Stringer.<br> -<b>Guns of the Gods.</b> Talbot Mundy.<br> -<br> -<b>Hand of Fu-Manchu, The.</b> Sax Rohmer.<br> -<b>Hand of Peril, The.</b> Arthur Stringer.<br> -<b>Harbor Road, The.</b> Sara Ware Bassett.<br> -<b>Harriet and the Piper.</b> Kathleen Norris.<br> -<b>Havoc.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Head of the House at Coombe, The.</b> Frances Hodgson Burnett.<br> -<b>Heart of the Desert, The.</b> Honoré Willsie.<br> -<b>Heart at the Hills, The.</b> John Fox. Jr.<br> -<b>Heart of the Range, The.</b> William Patterson White.<br> -<b>Heart of the Sunset.</b> Rex Beach.<br> -<b>Heart of Unaga, The.</b> Ridgwell Cullum.<br> -<b>Helen of the Old House.</b> Harold Bell Wright.<br> -<b>Hidden Places, The.</b> Bertrand W. Sinclair.<br> -<b>Hidden Trails.</b> William Patterson White.<br> -<b>Hillman, The.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Hira Singh.</b> Talbot Mundy.<br> -<b>His Last Bow.</b> A. Conan Doyle.<br> -<b>His Official Fiancee.</b> Berta Ruck.<br> -<b>Homeland.</b> Margaret Hill McCarter.<br> -<b>Homestead Ranch.</b> Elizabeth G. Young.<br> -<b>Honor of the Big Snows.</b> James Oliver Curwood.<br> -<b>Hopalong Cassidy.</b> Clarence E. Mulford.<br> -<b>Hound from the North, The.</b> Ridgwell Cullum.<br> -<b>House of the Whispering Pines, The.</b> Anna Katharine Green.<br> -<b>Humoresque.</b> Fannie Hurst.<br> -<br> -<b>Illustrious Prince, The.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>In Another Girl’s Shoes.</b> Berta Ruck.<br> -<b>Indifference of Juliet, The.</b> Grace S. Richmond.<br> -<b>Infelice.</b> Augusta Evans Wilson.<br> -<b>Initials Only.</b> Anna Katharine Green.<br> -<b>Innocent.</b> Marie Corelli.<br> -<b>Innocent Adventuress, The.</b> Mary Hastings Bradley.<br> -<b>Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu, The.</b> Sax Rohmer.<br> -<b>In the Brooding Wild.</b> Ridgwell Cullum.<br> -<b>In the Onyx Lobby.</b> Carolyn Wells.<br> -<b>Iron Trail, The.</b> Rex Beach.<br> -<b>Iron Woman, The.</b> Margaret Deland.<br> -<b>Ishmael.</b> (Ill.) Mrs. Southworth.<br> -<b>Isle of Retribution.</b> Edison Marshall.<br> -<b>I’ve Married Marjorie.</b> Margaret Widdemer.<br> -<b>Ivory Trail, The.</b> Talbot Mundy.<br> -<br> -<b>Jacob’s Ladder.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Jean of the Lazy A.</b> B. M. Bower.<br> -<b>Jeanne of the Marshes.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Jeeves.</b> P. G. Wodehouse.<br> -<br> -<b>Lynch Lawyers.</b> William Patterson White.<br> -<br> -<b>McCarty Incog.</b> Isabel Ostrander.<br> -<b>Major, The.</b> Ralph Connor.<br> -<b>Maker of History, A.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Malefactor, The.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Man and Maid.</b> Elinor Glyn.<br> -<b>Man from Bar 20, The.</b> Clarence E. Mulford.<br> -<b>Man from the Bitter Roots, The.</b> Caroline Lockhart.<br> -<b>Man in the Moonlight, The.</b> Rupert S. Holland.<br> -<b>Man in the Twilight, The.</b> Ridgwell Cullum.<br> -<b>Man Killers, The.</b> Dane Coolidge.<br> -<b>Man Who Couldn’t Sleep, The.</b> Arthur Stringer.<br> -<b>Man’s Country.</b> Peter Clark Macfarlane.<br> -<b>Marqueray’s Duel.</b> Anthony Pryde.<br> -<b>Martin Conisby’s Vengeance.</b> Jeffery Farnol.<br> -<b>Mary-Gusta.</b> Joseph C. Lincoln.<br> -<b>Mary Wollaston.</b> Henry Kitchell Webster.<br> -<b>Mason of Bar X Ranch.</b> H. Bennett.<br> -<b>Master of Man.</b> Hall Caine.<br> -<b>Master Mummer, The.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.</b> A. Conan Doyle.<br> -<b>Men Who Wrought, The.</b> Ridgwell Cullum.<br> -<b>Meredith Mystery, The.</b> Natalie Sumner Lincoln.<br> -<b>Midnight of the Ranges.</b> George Gilbert.<br> -<b>Mine with the Iron Door, The.</b> Harold Bell Wright.<br> -<b>Mischief Maker, The.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Missioner, The.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Miss Million’s Maid.</b> Berta Ruck.<br> -<b>Money, Love and Kate.</b> Eleanor H. Porter.<br> -<b>Money Master, The.</b> Gilbert Parker.<br> -<b>Money Moon, The.</b> Jeffery Farnol.<br> -<b>Moonlit Way, The.</b> Robert W. Chambers.<br> -<b>More Limehouse Nights.</b> Thomas Burke.<br> -<b>More Tish.</b> Mary Roberts Rinehart.<br> -<b>Moreton Mystery, The.</b> Elizabeth Dejeans.<br> -<b>Mr. and Mrs. Sen.</b> Louise Jordan Miln.<br> -<b>Mr. Grex of Monte Carlo.</b> E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br> -<b>Mr. Pratt.</b> Joseph C. Lincoln.<br> -<b>Mr. Pratt’s Patients.</b> Joseph C. Lincoln.<br> -<b>Mrs. Red Pepper.</b> Grace S. Richmond.<br> -<b>Mr. Wu.</b> Louise Jordan Miln.<br> -<b>My Lady of the North.</b> Randall Parrish.<br> -<b>My Lady of the South.</b> Randall Parrish.<br> -<b>Mystery Girl, The.</b> Carolyn Wells.<br> -<br> -<b>Rider of the Golden Bar, The.</b> William Patterson White.<br> -<b>Rider of the King Log, The.</b> Holman Day.<br> -<b>Rider o’ the Stars.</b> R. J. Horton.<br> -<b>Riders of the Silences.</b> John Frederick.<br> -<b>Rilla of Ingleside.</b> L. M. Montgomery.<br> -<b>Rimrock Trail.</b> J. Allan Dunn.<br> -<b>Rise of Roscoe Paine, The.</b> Joseph C. Lincoln.<br> -<b>River Trail, The.</b> Laurie Y. Erskine.<br> -<b>Robin.</b> Frances Hodgson Burnett.<br> -<b>Rocks of Valpre, The.</b> Ethel M. Dell.<br> -<b>Rogues of the North.</b> Albert M. Treynor.<br> -<b>Romance of a Million Dollars, The.</b> Elizabeth Dejeans.<br> -<b>Rosa Mundi.</b> Ethel M. Dell.<br> -<b>Rose of Santa Fe, The.</b> Edwin L. Sabin.<br> -<b>Round the Corner in Gay Street.</b> Grace S. Richmond.<br> -<b>Round-Up, The.</b> Oscar J. Friend.<br> -<b>Rung Ho!</b> Talbot Mundy.<br> -<b>Rustler of Wind River, The.</b> G. W. Ogden.<br> -<br> -<b>St. Elmo.</b> (Ill. Ed.) Augusta J. Evans.<br> -<b>Sand.</b> Olive Wadsley.<br> -<b>Scarlet Iris, The.</b> Vance Thompson.<br> -<b>Scattergood Baines.</b> Clarence Budington Kelland.<br> -<b>Second Violin, The.</b> Grace S. Richmond.<br> -<b>Secret Power, The.</b> Marie Corelli.<br> -<b>Self-Raised.</b> (Ill.) Mrs. Southworth.<br> -<b>Settling of the Sage.</b> Hal G. Evarts.<br> -<b>Seven Ages of Woman, The.</b> Compton Mackenzie.<br> -<b>Seven Darlings, The.</b> Gouverneur Morris.<br> -<b>Seventh Man, The.</b> Max Brand.<br> -<b>Shadow of the East, The.</b> E. M. Hull. (Photoplay Ed.).<br> -<b>Shadow on the Glass, The.</b> Charles J. Dutton.<br> -<b>Shavings.</b> Joseph C. Lincoln.<br> -<b>Sheik, The.</b> E. M. Hull.<br> -<b>Sheila of Big Wreck Cove.</b> James H. Cooper.<br> -<b>Shepherd of the Hills, The.</b> Harold Bell Wright.<br> -<b>Shepherds of the Wild.</b> Edison Marshall.<br> -<b>Sheriff of Dyke Hole, The.</b> Ridgwell Cullum.<br> -<b>Sherry.</b> George Barr McCutcheon.<br> -<b>Shoe-Bar Stratton.</b> Joseph B. Ames.<br> -<b>Sight Unseen, and The Confession.</b> Mary Roberts Rinehart.<br> -<b>Silver Horde, The.</b> Rex Beach.<br> -<b>Silver Poppy, The.</b> Arthur Stringer.<br> -<b>Singing Bone, The.</b> R. Austin Freeman.<br> -<b>Singing Wells, The.</b> Roland Pertwee.</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="transnote"> -<p class="ph1">TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:</p> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p> - -<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.</p> - -<p>Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.</p> - -<p>The list of books at the end has been rearranged so that the titles are in alphabetical order.</p> -</div></div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CLUB OF MASKS ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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