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diff --git a/7884-h/7884-h.htm b/7884-h/7884-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..750706a --- /dev/null +++ b/7884-h/7884-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,3157 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + In the Fog, by Richard Harding Davis + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Fog, by Richard Harding Davis + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: In the Fog + +Author: Richard Harding Davis + +Release Date: July 30, 2009 [EBook #7884] +Last Updated: September 26, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE FOG *** + + + + +Produced by Eric Eldred, and David Widger + + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> <a name="linkimage-0001" id="linkimage-0001"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> + <img src="images/fog-1.jpg" + alt="01 I Cannot Tell You How Much I Have to Thank You For " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + IN THE FOG + </h1> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Richard Harding Davis + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> <a name="linkimage-0002" id="linkimage-0002"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> + <img src="images/fog-2.jpg" + alt="02 the Four Strangers at Supper Were Seated Together " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <big><b>IN THE FOG</b></big> </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>Illustrations</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0001"> 01 I Cannot Tell You How Much I Have to Thank + You For </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0002"> 02 the Four Strangers at Supper Were Seated + Together </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0003"> 03 the Men Around The Table Turned </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0004"> 04 I Would Tumble his Unconscious Form Into a + Hansom Cab </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0005"> 05 “my Name,” he Said, “is Sears.” </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0006"> 06 a Square of Light Suddenly Opened in the + Night </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0007"> 07 at My Feet Was the Body of a Beautiful + Woman </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0008"> 08 the Princess Zichy </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0009"> 09 This Gave the Princess Zichy The Chance + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0010"> 10 She Knew She Would Be Twenty Thousand + Pounds Richer </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0011"> 11 I Threw out Everything on the Bed </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0012"> 12 Threw Everything in the Dressing-case out + on The Floor </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0013"> 13 We Found Him Propped up in Bed </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0014"> 14 We Found the Body of The Princess Zichy + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0015"> 15 Entreating Chetney Not to Leave Her </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0016"> 16 What Was the Object of Your Plot? </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + IN THE FOG + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I + </h2> + <p> + The Grill is the club most difficult of access in the world. To be placed + on its rolls distinguishes the new member as greatly as though he had + received a vacant Garter or had been caricatured in “Vanity Fair.” + </p> + <p> + Men who belong to the Grill Club never mention that fact. If you were to + ask one of them which clubs he frequents, he will name all save that + particular one. He is afraid if he told you he belonged to the Grill, that + it would sound like boasting. + </p> + <p> + The Grill Club dates back to the days when Shakespeare’s Theatre stood on + the present site of the “Times” office. It has a golden Grill which + Charles the Second presented to the Club, and the original manuscript of + “Tom and Jerry in London,” which was bequeathed to it by Pierce Egan + himself. The members, when they write letters at the Club, still use sand + to blot the ink. + </p> + <p> + The Grill enjoys the distinction of having blackballed, without political + prejudice, a Prime Minister of each party. At the same sitting at which + one of these fell, it elected, on account of his brogue and his bulls, + Quiller, Q. C., who was then a penniless barrister. + </p> + <p> + When Paul Preval, the French artist who came to London by royal command to + paint a portrait of the Prince of Wales, was made an honorary member—only + foreigners may be honorary members—he said, as he signed his first + wine card, “I would rather see my name on that, than on a picture in the + Louvre.” + </p> + <p> + At which Quiller remarked, “That is a devil of a compliment, because the + only men who can read their names in the Louvre to-day have been dead + fifty years.” + </p> + <p> + On the night after the great fog of 1897 there were five members in the + Club, four of them busy with supper and one reading in front of the + fireplace. There is only one room to the Club, and one long table. At the + far end of the room the fire of the grill glows red, and, when the fat + falls, blazes into flame, and at the other there is a broad bow window of + diamond panes, which looks down upon the street. The four men at the table + were strangers to each other, but as they picked at the grilled bones, and + sipped their Scotch and soda, they conversed with such charming animation + that a visitor to the Club, which does not tolerate visitors, would have + counted them as friends of long acquaintance, certainly not as Englishmen + who had met for the first time, and without the form of an introduction. + But it is the etiquette and tradition of the Grill, that whoever enters it + must speak with whomever he finds there. It is to enforce this rule that + there is but one long table, and whether there are twenty men at it or + two, the waiters, supporting the rule, will place them side by side. + </p> + <p> + For this reason the four strangers at supper were seated together, with + the candles grouped about them, and the long length of the table cutting a + white path through the outer gloom. + </p> + <p> + “I repeat,” said the gentleman with the black pearl stud, “that the days + for romantic adventure and deeds of foolish daring have passed, and that + the fault lies with ourselves. Voyages to the pole I do not catalogue as + adventures. That African explorer, young Chetney, who turned up yesterday + after he was supposed to have died in Uganda, did nothing adventurous. He + made maps and explored the sources of rivers. He was in constant danger, + but the presence of danger does not constitute adventure. Were that so, + the chemist who studies high explosives, or who investigates deadly + poisons, passes through adventures daily. No, ‘adventures are for the + adventurous.’ But one no longer ventures. The spirit of it has died of + inertia. We are grown too practical, too just, above all, too sensible. In + this room, for instance, members of this Club have, at the sword’s point, + disputed the proper scanning of one of Pope’s couplets. Over so weighty a + matter as spilled Burgundy on a gentleman’s cuff, ten men fought across + this table, each with his rapier in one hand and a candle in the other. + All ten were wounded. The question of the spilled Burgundy concerned but + two of them. The eight others engaged because they were men of ‘spirit.’ + They were, indeed, the first gentlemen of the day. To-night, were you to + spill Burgundy on my cuff, were you even to insult me grossly, these + gentlemen would not consider it incumbent upon them to kill each other. + They would separate us, and to-morrow morning appear as witnesses against + us at Bow Street. We have here to-night, in the persons of Sir Andrew and + myself, an illustration of how the ways have changed.” + </p> + <p> + The men around the table turned and glanced toward the gentleman in front + of the fireplace. He was an elderly and somewhat portly person, with a + kindly, wrinkled countenance, which wore continually a smile of almost + childish confidence and good-nature. It was a face which the illustrated + prints had made intimately familiar. He held a book from him at + arm’s-length, as if to adjust his eyesight, and his brows were knit with + interest. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0003" id="linkimage-0003"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> + <img src="images/fog-3.jpg" alt="03 the Men Around The Table Turned " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “Now, were this the eighteenth century,” continued the gentleman with the + black pearl, “when Sir Andrew left the Club to-night I would have him + bound and gagged and thrown into a sedan chair. The watch would not + interfere, the passers-by would take to their heels, my hired bullies and + ruffians would convey him to some lonely spot where we would guard him + until morning. Nothing would come of it, except added reputation to myself + as a gentleman of adventurous spirit, and possibly an essay in the + ‘Tatler,’ with stars for names, entitled, let us say, ‘The Budget and the + Baronet.’” + </p> + <p> + “But to what end, sir?” inquired the youngest of the members. “And why Sir + Andrew, of all persons—why should you select him for this + adventure?” + </p> + <p> + The gentleman with the black pearl shrugged his shoulders. + </p> + <p> + “It would prevent him speaking in the House to-night. The Navy Increase + Bill,” he added gloomily. “It is a Government measure, and Sir Andrew + speaks for it. And so great is his influence and so large his following + that if he does”—the gentleman laughed ruefully—“if he does, + it will go through. Now, had I the spirit of our ancestors,” he exclaimed, + “I would bring chloroform from the nearest chemist’s and drug him in that + chair. I would tumble his unconscious form into a hansom cab, and hold him + prisoner until daylight. If I did, I would save the British taxpayer the + cost of five more battleships, many millions of pounds.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0004" id="linkimage-0004"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> + <img src="images/fog-4.jpg" + alt="04 I Would Tumble his Unconscious Form Into a Hansom Cab " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + The gentlemen again turned, and surveyed the baronet with freshened + interest. The honorary member of the Grill, whose accent already had + betrayed him as an American, laughed softly. + </p> + <p> + “To look at him now,” he said, “one would not guess he was deeply + concerned with the affairs of state.” + </p> + <p> + The others nodded silently. + </p> + <p> + “He has not lifted his eyes from that book since we first entered,” added + the youngest member. “He surely cannot mean to speak to-night.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes, he will speak,” muttered the one with the black pearl moodily. + “During these last hours of the session the House sits late, but when the + Navy bill comes up on its third reading he will be in his place—and + he will pass it.” + </p> + <p> + The fourth member, a stout and florid gentleman of a somewhat sporting + appearance, in a short smoking-jacket and black tie, sighed enviously. + </p> + <p> + “Fancy one of us being as cool as that, if he knew he had to stand up + within an hour and rattle off a speech in Parliament. I ‘d be in a devil + of a funk myself. And yet he is as keen over that book he’s reading as + though he had nothing before him until bedtime.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, see how eager he is,” whispered the youngest member. “He does not + lift his eyes even now when he cuts the pages. It is probably an Admiralty + Report, or some other weighty work of statistics which bears upon his + speech.” + </p> + <p> + The gentleman with the black pearl laughed morosely. + </p> + <p> + “The weighty work in which the eminent statesman is so deeply engrossed,” + he said, “is called ‘The Great Rand Robbery.’ It is a detective novel, for + sale at all bookstalls.” + </p> + <p> + The American raised his eyebrows in disbelief. + </p> + <p> + “‘The Great Rand Robbery’?” he repeated incredulously. “What an odd + taste!” + </p> + <p> + “It is not a taste, it is his vice,” returned the gentleman with the pearl + stud. “It is his one dissipation. He is noted for it. You, as a stranger, + could hardly be expected to know of this idiosyncrasy. Mr. Gladstone + sought relaxation in the Greek poets, Sir Andrew finds his in Gaboriau. + Since I have been a member of Parliament I have never seen him in the + library without a shilling shocker in his hands. He brings them even into + the sacred precincts of the House, and from the Government benches reads + them concealed inside his hat. Once started on a tale of murder, robbery, + and sudden death, nothing can tear him from it, not even the call of the + division bell, nor of hunger, nor the prayers of the party Whip. He gave + up his country house because when he journeyed to it in the train he would + become so absorbed in his detective stories that he was invariably carried + past his station.” The member of Parliament twisted his pearl stud + nervously, and bit at the edge of his mustache. “If it only were the first + pages of ‘The Rand Robbery’ that he were reading,” he murmured bitterly, + “instead of the last! With such another book as that, I swear I could hold + him here until morning. There would be no need of chloroform to keep him + from the House.” + </p> + <p> + The eyes of all were fastened upon Sir Andrew, and each saw with + fascination that with his forefinger he was now separating the last two + pages of the book. The member of Parliament struck the table softly with + his open palm. + </p> + <p> + “I would give a hundred pounds,” he whispered, “if I could place in his + hands at this moment a new story of Sherlock Holmes—a thousand + pounds,” he added wildly—“five thousand pounds!” + </p> + <p> + The American observed the speaker sharply, as though the words bore to him + some special application, and then at an idea which apparently had but + just come to him, smiled in great embarrassment. + </p> + <p> + Sir Andrew ceased reading, but, as though still under the influence of the + book, sat looking blankly into the open fire. For a brief space no one + moved until the baronet withdrew his eyes and, with a sudden start of + recollection, felt anxiously for his watch. He scanned its face eagerly, + and scrambled to his feet. + </p> + <p> + The voice of the American instantly broke the silence in a high, nervous + accent. + </p> + <p> + “And yet Sherlock Holmes himself,” he cried, “could not decipher the + mystery which to-night baffles the police of London.” + </p> + <p> + At these unexpected words, which carried in them something of the tone of + a challenge, the gentlemen about the table started as suddenly as though + the American had fired a pistol in the air, and Sir Andrew halted abruptly + and stood observing him with grave surprise. + </p> + <p> + The gentleman with the black pearl was the first to recover. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, yes,” he said eagerly, throwing himself across the table. “A mystery + that baffles the police of London. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0005" id="linkimage-0005"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> + <img src="images/fog-5.jpg" alt="05 ‘my Name,’ he Said, ‘is Sears.’ " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “I have heard nothing of it. Tell us at once, pray do—tell us at + once.” + </p> + <p> + The American flushed uncomfortably, and picked uneasily at the tablecloth. + </p> + <p> + “No one but the police has heard of it,” he murmured, “and they only + through me. It is a remarkable crime, to, which, unfortunately, I am the + only person who can bear witness. Because I am the only witness, I am, in + spite of my immunity as a diplomat, detained in London by the authorities + of Scotland Yard. My name,” he said, inclining his head politely, “is + Sears, Lieutenant Ripley Sears of the United States Navy, at present Naval + Attache to the Court of Russia. Had I not been detained to-day by the + police I would have started this morning for Petersburg.” + </p> + <p> + The gentleman with the black pearl interrupted with so pronounced an + exclamation of excitement and delight that the American stammered and + ceased speaking. + </p> + <p> + “Do you hear, Sir Andrew!” cried the member of Parliament jubilantly. “An + American diplomat halted by our police because he is the only witness of a + most remarkable crime—<i>the</i> most remarkable crime, I believe + you said, sir,” he added, bending eagerly toward the naval officer, “which + has occurred in London in many years.” + </p> + <p> + The American moved his head in assent and glanced at the two other + members. They were looking doubtfully at him, and the face of each showed + that he was greatly perplexed. + </p> + <p> + Sir Andrew advanced to within the light of the candles and drew a chair + toward him. + </p> + <p> + “The crime must be exceptional indeed,” he said, “to justify the police in + interfering with a representative of a friendly power. If I were not + forced to leave at once, I should take the liberty of asking you to tell + us the details.” + </p> + <p> + The gentleman with the pearl pushed the chair toward Sir Andrew, and + motioned him to be seated. + </p> + <p> + “You cannot leave us now,” he exclaimed. “Mr. Sears is just about to tell + us of this remarkable crime.” + </p> + <p> + He nodded vigorously at the naval officer and the American, after first + glancing doubtfully toward the servants at the far end of the room, leaned + forward across the table. The others drew their chairs nearer and bent + toward him. The baronet glanced irresolutely at his watch, and with an + exclamation of annoyance snapped down the lid. “They can wait,” he + muttered. He seated himself quickly and nodded at Lieutenant Sears. + </p> + <p> + “If you will be so kind as to begin, sir,” he said impatiently. + </p> + <p> + “Of course,” said the American, “you understand that I understand that I + am speaking to gentlemen. The confidences of this Club are inviolate. + Until the police give the facts to the public press, I must consider you + my confederates. You have heard nothing, you know no one connected with + this mystery. Even I must remain anonymous.” + </p> + <p> + The gentlemen seated around him nodded gravely. + </p> + <p> + “Of course,” the baronet assented with eagerness, “of course.” + </p> + <p> + “We will refer to it,” said the gentleman with the black pearl, “as ‘The + Story of the Naval Attache.’” + </p> + <p> + “I arrived in London two days ago,” said the American, “and I engaged a + room at the Bath Hotel. I know very few people in London, and even the + members of our embassy were strangers to me. But in Hong Kong I had become + great pals with an officer in your navy, who has since retired, and who is + now living in a small house in Rutland Gardens opposite the Knightsbridge + barracks. I telegraphed him that I was in London, and yesterday morning I + received a most hearty invitation to dine with him the same evening at his + house. He is a bachelor, so we dined alone and talked over all our old + days on the Asiatic Station, and of the changes which had come to us since + we had last met there. As I was leaving the next morning for my post at + Petersburg, and had many letters to write, I told him, about ten o’clock, + that I must get back to the hotel, and he sent out his servant to call a + hansom. + </p> + <p> + “For the next quarter of an hour, as we sat talking, we could hear the cab + whistle sounding violently from the doorstep, but apparently with no + result. + </p> + <p> + “‘It cannot be that the cabmen are on strike,’ my friend said, as he rose + and walked to the window. + </p> + <p> + “He pulled back the curtains and at once called to me. + </p> + <p> + “‘You have never seen a London fog, have you?’ he asked. ‘Well, come here. + This is one of the best, or, rather, one of the worst, of them.’ I joined + him at the window, but I could see nothing. Had I not known that the house + looked out upon the street I would have believed that I was facing a dead + wall. I raised the sash and stretched out my head, but still I could see + nothing. Even the light of the street lamps opposite, and in the upper + windows of the barracks, had been smothered in the yellow mist. The lights + of the room in which I stood penetrated the fog only to the distance of a + few inches from my eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Below me the servant was still sounding his whistle, but I could afford + to wait no longer, and told my friend that I would try and find the way to + my hotel on foot. He objected, but the letters I had to write were for the + Navy Department, and, besides, I had always heard that to be out in a + London fog was the most wonderful experience, and I was curious to + investigate one for myself. + </p> + <p> + “My friend went with me to his front door, and laid down a course for me + to follow. I was first to walk straight across the street to the brick + wall of the Knightsbridge Barracks. I was then to feel my way along the + wall until I came to a row of houses set back from the sidewalk. They + would bring me to a cross street. On the other side of this street was a + row of shops which I was to follow until they joined the iron railings of + Hyde Park. I was to keep to the railings until I reached the gates at Hyde + Park Corner, where I was to lay a diagonal course across Piccadilly, and + tack in toward the railings of Green Park. At the end of these railings, + going east, I would find the Walsingham, and my own hotel. + </p> + <p> + “To a sailor the course did not seem difficult, so I bade my friend + goodnight and walked forward until my feet touched the paving. I continued + upon it until I reached the curbing of the sidewalk. A few steps further, + and my hands struck the wall of the barracks. I turned in the direction + from which I had just come, and saw a square of faint light cut in the + yellow fog. I shouted ‘All right,’ and the voice of my friend answered, + ‘Good luck to you.’ The light from his open door disappeared with a bang, + and I was left alone in a dripping, yellow darkness. I have been in the + Navy for ten years, but I have never known such a fog as that of last + night, not even among the icebergs of Behring Sea. There one at least + could see the light of the binnacle, but last night I could not even + distinguish the hand by which I guided myself along the barrack wall. At + sea a fog is a natural phenomenon. It is as familiar as the rainbow which + follows a storm, it is as proper that a fog should spread upon the waters + as that steam shall rise from a kettle. But a fog which springs from the + paved streets, that rolls between solid house-fronts, that forces cabs to + move at half speed, that drowns policemen and extinguishes the electric + lights of the music hall, that to me is incomprehensible. It is as out of + place as a tidal wave on Broadway. + </p> + <p> + “As I felt my way along the wall, I encountered other men who were coming + from the opposite direction, and each time when we hailed each other I + stepped away from the wall to make room for them to pass. But the third + time I did this, when I reached out my hand, the wall had disappeared, and + the further I moved to find it the further I seemed to be sinking into + space. I had the unpleasant conviction that at any moment I might step + over a precipice. Since I had set out I had heard no traffic in the + street, and now, although I listened some minutes, I could only + distinguish the occasional footfalls of pedestrians. Several times I + called aloud, and once a jocular gentleman answered me, but only to ask me + where I thought he was, and then even he was swallowed up in the silence. + Just above me I could make out a jet of gas which I guessed came from a + street lamp, and I moved over to that, and, while I tried to recover my + bearings, kept my hand on the iron post. Except for this flicker of gas, + no larger than the tip of my finger, I could distinguish nothing about me. + For the rest, the mist hung between me and the world like a damp and heavy + blanket. + </p> + <p> + “I could hear voices, but I could not tell from whence they came, and the + scrape of a foot moving cautiously, or a muffled cry as some one stumbled, + were the only sounds that reached me. + </p> + <p> + “I decided that until some one took me in tow I had best remain where I + was, and it must have been for ten minutes that I waited by the lamp, + straining my ears and hailing distant footfalls. In a house near me some + people were dancing to the music of a Hungarian band. I even fancied I + could hear the windows shake to the rhythm of their feet, but I could not + make out from which part of the compass the sounds came. And sometimes, as + the music rose, it seemed close at my hand, and again, to be floating high + in the air above my head. Although I was surrounded by thousands of + householders—13—I was as completely lost as though I had been + set down by night in the Sahara Desert. There seemed to be no reason in + waiting longer for an escort, so I again set out, and at once bumped + against a low iron fence. At first I believed this to be an area railing, + but on following it I found that it stretched for a long distance, and + that it was pierced at regular intervals with gates. I was standing + uncertainly with my hand on one of these when a square of light suddenly + opened in the night, and in it I saw, as you see a picture thrown by a + biograph in a darkened theatre, a young gentleman in evening dress, and + back of him the lights of a hall. I guessed from its elevation and + distance from the side-walk that this light must come from the door of a + house set back from the street, and I determined to approach it and ask + the young man to tell me where I was. But in fumbling with the lock of the + gate I instinctively bent my head, and when I raised it again the door had + partly closed, leaving only a narrow shaft of light. Whether the young man + had re-entered the house, or had left it I could not tell, but I hastened + to open the gate, and as I stepped forward I found myself upon an asphalt + walk. At the same instant there was the sound of quick steps upon the + path, and some one rushed past me. I called to him, but he made no reply, + and I heard the gate click and the footsteps hurrying away upon the + sidewalk. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0006" id="linkimage-0006"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> + <img src="images/fog-6.jpg" + alt="06 a Square of Light Suddenly Opened in the Night " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “Under other circumstances the young man’s rudeness, and his recklessness + in dashing so hurriedly through the mist, would have struck me as + peculiar, but everything was so distorted by the fog that at the moment I + did not consider it. The door was still as he had left it, partly open. I + went up the path, and, after much fumbling, found the knob of the + door-bell and gave it a sharp pull. The bell answered me from a great + depth and distance, but no movement followed from inside the house, and + although I pulled the bell again and again I could hear nothing save the + dripping of the mist about me. I was anxious to be on my way, but unless I + knew where I was going there was little chance of my making any speed, and + I was determined that until I learned my bearings I would not venture back + into the fog. So I pushed the door open and stepped into the house. + </p> + <p> + “I found myself in a long and narrow hall, upon which doors opened from + either side. At the end of the hall was a staircase with a balustrade + which ended in a sweeping curve. The balustrade was covered with heavy + Persian rugs, and the walls of the hall were also hung with them. The door + on my left was closed, but the one nearer me on the right was open, and as + I stepped opposite to it I saw that it was a sort of reception or + waiting-room, and that it was empty. The door below it was also open, and + with the idea that I would surely find some one there, I walked on up the + hall. I was in evening dress, and I felt I did not look like a burglar, so + I had no great fear that, should I encounter one of the inmates of the + house, he would shoot me on sight. The second door in the hall opened into + a dining-room. This was also empty. One person had been dining at the + table, but the cloth had not been cleared away, and a nickering candle + showed half-filled wineglasses and the ashes of cigarettes. The greater + part of the room was in complete darkness. + </p> + <p> + “By this time I had grown conscious of the fact that I was wandering about + in a strange house, and that, apparently, I was alone in it. The silence + of the place began to try my nerves, and in a sudden, unexplainable panic + I started for the open street. But as I turned, I saw a man sitting on a + bench, which the curve of the balustrade had hidden from me. His eyes were + shut, and he was sleeping soundly. + </p> + <p> + “The moment before I had been bewildered because I could see no one, but + at sight of this man I was much more bewildered. + </p> + <p> + “He was a very large man, a giant in height, with long yellow hair which + hung below his shoulders. He was dressed in a red silk shirt that was + belted at the waist and hung outside black velvet trousers which, in turn, + were stuffed into high black boots. I recognized the costume at once as + that of a Russian servant, but what a Russian servant in his native livery + could be doing in a private house in Knightsbridge was incomprehensible. + </p> + <p> + “I advanced and touched the man on the shoulder, and after an effort he + awoke, and, on seeing me, sprang to his feet and began bowing rapidly and + making deprecatory gestures. I had picked up enough Russian in Petersburg + to make out that the man was apologizing for having fallen asleep, and I + also was able to explain to him that I desired to see his master. + </p> + <p> + “He nodded vigorously, and said, ‘Will the Excellency come this way? The + Princess is here.’ + </p> + <p> + “I distinctly made out the word ‘princess,’ and I was a good deal + embarrassed. I had thought it would be easy enough to explain my intrusion + to a man, but how a woman would look at it was another matter, and as I + followed him down the hall I was somewhat puzzled. + </p> + <p> + “As we advanced, he noticed that the front door was standing open, and + with an exclamation of surprise, hastened toward it and closed it. Then he + rapped twice on the door of what was apparently the drawing-room. There + was no reply to his knock, and he tapped again, and then timidly, and + cringing subserviently, opened the door and stepped inside. He withdrew + himself at once and stared stupidly at me, shaking his head. + </p> + <p> + “‘She is not there,’ he said. He stood for a moment gazing blankly through + the open door, and then hastened toward the dining-room. The solitary + candle which still burned there seemed to assure him that the room also + was empty. He came back and bowed me toward the drawing-room. ‘She is + above,’ he said; ‘I will inform the Princess of the Excellency’s + presence.’ + </p> + <p> + “Before I could stop him he had turned and was running up the staircase, + leaving me alone at the open door of the drawing-room. I decided that the + adventure had gone quite far enough, and if I had been able to explain to + the Russian that I had lost my way in the fog, and only wanted to get back + into the street again, I would have left the house on the instant. + </p> + <p> + “Of course, when I first rang the bell of the house I had no other + expectation than that it would be answered by a parlor-maid who would + direct me on my way. I certainly could not then foresee that I would + disturb a Russian princess in her boudoir, or that I might be thrown out + by her athletic bodyguard. Still, I thought I ought not now to leave the + house without making some apology, and, if the worst should come, I could + show my card. They could hardly believe that a member of an Embassy had + any designs upon the hat-rack. + </p> + <p> + “The room in which I stood was dimly lighted, but I could see that, like + the hall, it was hung with heavy Persian rugs. The corners were filled + with palms, and there was the unmistakable odor in the air of Russian + cigarettes, and strange, dry scents that carried me back to the bazaars of + Vladivostock. Near the front windows was a grand piano, and at the other + end of the room a heavily carved screen of some black wood, picked out + with ivory. The screen was overhung with a canopy of silken draperies, and + formed a sort of alcove. In front of the alcove was spread the white skin + of a polar bear, and set on that was one of those low Turkish coffee + tables. It held a lighted spirit-lamp and two gold coffee cups. I had + heard no movement from above stairs, and it must have been fully three + minutes that I stood waiting, noting these details of the room and + wondering at the delay, and at the strange silence. + </p> + <p> + “And then, suddenly, as my eye grew more used to the half-light, I saw, + projecting from behind the screen as though it were stretched along the + back of a divan, the hand of a man and the lower part of his arm. I was as + startled as though I had come across a footprint on a deserted island. + Evidently the man had been sitting there since I had come into the room, + even since I had entered the house, and he had heard the servant knocking + upon the door. Why he had not declared himself I could not understand, but + I supposed that possibly he was a guest, with no reason to interest + himself in the Princess’s other visitors, or perhaps, for some reason, he + did not wish to be observed. I could see nothing of him except his hand, + but I had an unpleasant feeling that he had been peering at me through the + carving in the screen, and that he still was doing so. I moved my feet + noisily on the floor and said tentatively, ‘I beg your pardon.’ + </p> + <p> + “There was no reply, and the hand did not stir. Apparently the man was + bent upon ignoring me, but as all I wished was to apologize for my + intrusion and to leave the house, I walked up to the alcove and peered + around it. Inside the screen was a divan piled with cushions, and on the + end of it nearer me the man was sitting. He was a young Englishman with + light yellow hair and a deeply bronzed face. + </p> + <p> + “He was seated with his arms stretched out along the back of the divan, + and with his head resting against a cushion. His attitude was one of + complete ease. But his mouth had fallen open, and his eyes were set with + an expression of utter horror. At the first glance I saw that he was quite + dead. + </p> + <p> + “For a flash of time I was too startled to act, but in the same flash I + was convinced that the man had met his death from no accident, that he had + not died through any ordinary failure of the laws of nature. The + expression on his face was much too terrible to be misinterpreted. It + spoke as eloquently as words. It told me that before the end had come he + had watched his death approach and threaten him. + </p> + <p> + “I was so sure he had been murdered that I instinctively looked on the + floor for the weapon, and, at the same moment, out of concern for my own + safety, quickly behind me; but the silence of the house continued + unbroken. + </p> + <p> + “I have seen a great number of dead men; I was on the Asiatic Station + during the Japanese-Chinese war. I was in Port Arthur after the massacre. + So a dead man, for the single reason that he is dead, does not repel me, + and, though I knew that there was no hope that this man was alive, still + for decency’s sake, I felt his pulse, and while I kept my ears alert for + any sound from the floors above me, I pulled open his shirt and placed my + hand upon his heart. My fingers instantly touched upon the opening of a + wound, and as I withdrew them I found them wet with blood. He was in + evening dress, and in the wide bosom of his shirt I found a narrow slit, + so narrow that in the dim light it was scarcely discernable. The wound was + no wider than the smallest blade of a pocket-knife, but when I stripped + the shirt away from the chest and left it bare, I found that the weapon, + narrow as it was, had been long enough to reach his heart. There is no + need to tell you how I felt as I stood by the body of this boy, for he was + hardly older than a boy, or of the thoughts that came into my head. I was + bitterly sorry for this stranger, bitterly indignant at his murderer, and, + at the same time, selfishly concerned for my own safety and for the + notoriety which I saw was sure to follow. My instinct was to leave the + body where it lay, and to hide myself in the fog, but I also felt that + since a succession of accidents had made me the only witness to a crime, + my duty was to make myself a good witness and to assist to establish the + facts of this murder. + </p> + <p> + “That it might possibly be a suicide, and not a murder, did not disturb me + for a moment. The fact that the weapon had disappeared, and the expression + on the boy’s face were enough to convince, at least me, that he had had no + hand in his own death. I judged it, therefore, of the first importance to + discover who was in the house, or, if they had escaped from it, who had + been in the house before I entered it. I had seen one man leave it; but + all I could tell of him was that he was a young man, that he was in + evening dress, and that he had fled in such haste that he had not stopped + to close the door behind him. + </p> + <p> + “The Russian servant I had found apparently asleep, and, unless he acted a + part with supreme skill, he was a stupid and ignorant boor, and as + innocent of the murder as myself. There was still the Russian princess + whom he had expected to find, or had pretended to expect to find, in the + same room with the murdered man. I judged that she must now be either + upstairs with the servant, or that she had, without his knowledge, already + fled from the house. When I recalled his apparently genuine surprise at + not finding her in the drawing-room, this latter supposition seemed the + more probable. Nevertheless, I decided that it was my duty to make a + search, and after a second hurried look for the weapon among the cushions + of the divan, and upon the floor, I cautiously crossed the hall and + entered the dining-room. + </p> + <p> + “The single candle was still flickering in the draught, and showed only + the white cloth. The rest of the room was draped in shadows. I picked up + the candle, and, lifting it high above my head, moved around the corner of + the table. Either my nerves were on such a stretch that no shock could + strain them further, or my mind was inoculated to horrors, for I did not + cry out at what I saw nor retreat from it. Immediately at my feet was the + body of a beautiful woman, lying at full length upon the floor, her arms + flung out on either side of her, and her white face and shoulders gleaming + dully in the unsteady light of the candle. Around her throat was a great + chain of diamonds, and the light played upon these and made them flash and + blaze in tiny flames. But the woman who wore them was dead, and I was so + certain as to how she had died that without an instant’s hesitation I + dropped on my knees beside her and placed my hands above her heart. My + fingers again touched the thin slit of a wound. I had no doubt in my mind + but that this was the Russian princess, and when I lowered the candle to + her face I was assured that this was so. Her features showed the finest + lines of both the Slav and the Jewess; the eyes were black, the hair + blue-black and wonderfully heavy, and her skin, even in death, was rich in + color. She was a surpassingly beautiful woman. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0007" id="linkimage-0007"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> + <img src="images/fog-7.jpg" + alt="07 at My Feet Was the Body of a Beautiful Woman " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “I rose and tried to light another candle with the one I held, but I found + that my hand was so unsteady that I could not keep the wicks together. It + was my intention to again search for this strange dagger which had been + used to kill both the English boy and the beautiful princess, but before I + could light the second candle I heard footsteps descending the stairs, and + the Russian servant appeared in the doorway. + </p> + <p> + “My face was in darkness, or I am sure that at the sight of it he would + have taken alarm, for at that moment I was not sure but that this man + himself was the murderer. His own face was plainly visible to me in the + light from the hall, and I could see that it wore an expression of dull + bewilderment. I stepped quickly toward him and took a firm hold upon his + wrist. + </p> + <p> + “‘She is not there,’ he said. ‘The Princess has gone. They have all gone.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Who have gone?’ I demanded. ‘Who else has been here?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘The two Englishmen,’ he said. + </p> + <p> + “‘What two Englishmen?’ I demanded. ‘What are their names?’ + </p> + <p> + “The man now saw by my manner that some question of great moment hung upon + his answer, and he began to protest that he did not know the names of the + visitors and that until that evening he had never seen them. + </p> + <p> + “I guessed that it was my tone which frightened him, so I took my hand off + his wrist and spoke less eagerly. + </p> + <p> + “‘How long have they been here?’ I asked, ‘and when did they go?’ + </p> + <p> + “He pointed behind him toward the drawing-room. + </p> + <p> + “‘One sat there with the Princess,’ he said; ‘the other came after I had + placed the coffee in the drawing-room. The two Englishmen talked together + and the Princess returned here to the table. She sat there in that chair, + and I brought her cognac and cigarettes. Then I sat outside upon the + bench. It was a feast day, and I had been drinking. Pardon, Excellency, + but I fell asleep. When I woke, your Excellency was standing by me, but + the Princess and the two Englishmen had gone. That is all I know.’ + </p> + <p> + “I believed that the man was telling me the truth. His fright had passed, + and he was now apparently puzzled, but not alarmed. + </p> + <p> + “‘You must remember the names of the Englishmen,’ I urged. ‘Try to think. + When you announced them to the Princess what name did you give?’ + </p> + <p> + “At this question he exclaimed with pleasure, and, beckoning to me, ran + hurriedly down the hall and into the drawing-room. In the corner furthest + from the screen was the piano, and on it was a silver tray. He picked this + up and, smiling with pride at his own intelligence, pointed at two cards + that lay upon it. I took them up and read the names engraved upon them.” + </p> + <p> + The American paused abruptly, and glanced at the faces about him. “I read + the names,” he repeated. He spoke with great reluctance. + </p> + <p> + “Continue!” cried the Baronet, sharply. + </p> + <p> + “I read the names,” said the American with evident distaste, “and the + family name of each was the same. They were the names of two brothers. One + is well known to you. It is that of the African explorer of whom this + gentleman was just speaking. I mean the Earl of Chetney. The other was the + name of his brother, Lord Arthur Chetney.” + </p> + <p> + The men at the table fell back as though a trapdoor had fallen open at + their feet. + </p> + <p> + “Lord Chetney!” they exclaimed in chorus. They glanced at each other and + back to the American with every expression of concern and disbelief. + </p> + <p> + “It is impossible!” cried the Baronet. “Why, my dear sir, young Chetney + only arrived from Africa yesterday. It was so stated in the evening + papers.” + </p> + <p> + The jaw of the American set in a resolute square, and he pressed his lips + together. + </p> + <p> + “You are perfectly right, sir,” he said, “Lord Chetney did arrive in + London yesterday morning, and yesterday night I found his dead body.” + </p> + <p> + The youngest member present was the first to recover. He seemed much less + concerned over the identity of the murdered man than at the interruption + of the narrative. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, please let him go on!” he cried. “What happened then? You say you + found two visiting cards. How do you know which card was that of the + murdered man?” + </p> + <p> + The American, before he answered, waited until the chorus of exclamations + had ceased. Then he continued as though he had not been interrupted. + </p> + <p> + “The instant I read the names upon the cards,” he said, “I ran to the + screen and, kneeling beside the dead man, began a search through his + pockets. My hand at once fell upon a card-case, and I found on all the + cards it contained the title of the Earl of Chetney. His watch and + cigarette-case also bore his name. These evidences, and the fact of his + bronzed skin, and that his cheekbones were worn with fever, convinced me + that the dead man was the African explorer, and the boy who had fled past + me in the night was Arthur, his younger brother. + </p> + <p> + “I was so intent upon my search that I had forgotten the servant, and I + was still on my knees when I heard a cry behind me. I turned, and saw the + man gazing down at the body in abject horror. + </p> + <p> + “Before I could rise, he gave another cry of terror, and, flinging himself + into the hall, raced toward the door to the street. I leaped after him, + shouting to him to halt, but before I could reach the hall he had torn + open the door, and I saw him spring out into the yellow fog. I cleared the + steps in a jump and ran down the garden walk but just as the gate clicked + in front of me. I had it open on the instant, and, following the sound of + the man’s footsteps, I raced after him across the open street. He, also, + could hear me, and he instantly stopped running, and there was absolute + silence. He was so near that I almost fancied I could hear him panting, + and I held my own breath to listen. But I could distinguish nothing but + the dripping of the mist about us, and from far off the music of the + Hungarian band, which I had heard when I first lost myself. + </p> + <p> + “All I could see was the square of light from the door I had left open + behind me, and a lamp in the hall beyond it flickering in the draught. But + even as I watched it, the flame of the lamp was blown violently to and + fro, and the door, caught in the same current of air, closed slowly. I + knew if it shut I could not again enter the house, and I rushed madly + toward it. I believe I even shouted out, as though it were something human + which I could compel to obey me, and then I caught my foot against the + curb and smashed into the sidewalk. When I rose to my feet I was dizzy and + half stunned, and though I thought then that I was moving toward the door, + I know now that I probably turned directly from it; for, as I groped about + in the night, calling frantically for the police, my fingers touched + nothing but the dripping fog, and the iron railings for which I sought + seemed to have melted away. For many minutes I beat the mist with my arms + like one at blind man’s buff, turning sharply in circles, cursing aloud at + my stupidity and crying continually for help. At last a voice answered me + from the fog, and I found myself held in the circle of a policeman’s + lantern. + </p> + <p> + “That is the end of my adventure. What I have to tell you now is what I + learned from the police. + </p> + <p> + “At the station-house to which the man guided me I related what you have + just heard. I told them that the house they must at once find was one set + back from the street within a radius of two hundred yards from the + Knightsbridge Barracks, that within fifty yards of it some one was giving + a dance to the music of a Hungarian band, and that the railings before it + were as high as a man’s waist and filed to a point. With that to work + upon, twenty men were at once ordered out into the fog to search for the + house, and Inspector Lyle himself was despatched to the home of Lord Edam, + Chetney’s father, with a warrant for Lord Arthur’s arrest. I was thanked + and dismissed on my own recognizance. + </p> + <p> + “This morning, Inspector Lyle called on me, and from him I learned the + police theory of the scene I have just described. + </p> + <p> + “Apparently I had wandered very far in the fog, for up to noon to-day the + house had not been found, nor had they been able to arrest Lord Arthur. He + did not return to his father’s house last night, and there is no trace of + him; but from what the police knew of the past lives of the people I found + in that lost house, they have evolved a theory, and their theory is that + the murders were committed by Lord Arthur. + </p> + <p> + “The infatuation of his elder brother, Lord Chetney, for a Russian + princess, so Inspector Lyle tells me, is well known to every one. About + two years ago the Princess Zichy, as she calls herself, and he were + constantly together, and Chetney informed his friends that they were about + to be married. The woman was notorious in two continents, and when Lord + Edam heard of his son’s infatuation he appealed to the police for her + record. + </p> + <p> + “It is through his having applied to them that they know so much + concerning her and her relations with the Chetneys. From the police Lord + Edam learned that Madame Zichy had once been a spy in the employ of the + Russian Third Section, but that lately she had been repudiated by her own + government and was living by her wits, by blackmail, and by her beauty. + Lord Edam laid this record before his son, but Chetney either knew it + already or the woman persuaded him not to believe in it, and the father + and son parted in great anger. Two days later the marquis altered his + will, leaving all of his money to the younger brother, Arthur. + </p> + <p> + “The title and some of the landed property he could not keep from Chetney, + but he swore if his son saw the woman again that the will should stand as + it was, and he would be left without a penny. + </p> + <p> + “This was about eighteen months ago, when apparently Chetney tired of the + Princess, and suddenly went off to shoot and explore in Central Africa. No + word came from him, except that twice he was reported as having died of + fever in the jungle, and finally two traders reached the coast who said + they had seen his body. This was accepted by all as conclusive, and young + Arthur was recognized as the heir to the Edam millions. On the strength of + this supposition he at once began to borrow enormous sums from the money + lenders. This is of great importance, as the police believe it was these + debts which drove him to the murder of his brother. Yesterday, as you + know, Lord Chetney suddenly returned from the grave, and it was the fact + that for two years he had been considered as dead which lent such + importance to his return and which gave rise to those columns of detail + concerning him which appeared in all the afternoon papers. But, obviously, + during his absence he had not tired of the Princess Zichy, for we know + that a few hours after he reached London he sought her out. His brother, + who had also learned of his reappearance through the papers, probably + suspected which would be the house he would first visit, and followed him + there, arriving, so the Russian servant tells us, while the two were at + coffee in the drawing-room. The Princess, then, we also learn from the + servant, withdrew to the dining-room, leaving the brothers together. What + happened one can only guess. + </p> + <p> + “Lord Arthur knew now that when it was discovered he was no longer the + heir, the money-lenders would come down upon him. The police believe that + he at once sought out his brother to beg for money to cover the + post-obits, but that, considering the sum he needed was several hundreds + of thousands of pounds, Chetney refused to give it him. No one knew that + Arthur had gone to seek out his brother. They were alone. It is possible, + then, that in a passion of disappointment, and crazed with the disgrace + which he saw before him, young Arthur made himself the heir beyond further + question. The death of his brother would have availed nothing if the woman + remained alive. It is then possible that he crossed the hall, and with the + same weapon which made him Lord Edam’s heir destroyed the solitary witness + to the murder. The only other person who could have seen it was sleeping + in a drunken stupor, to which fact undoubtedly he owed his life. And yet,” + concluded the Naval Attache, leaning forward and marking each word with + his finger, “Lord Arthur blundered fatally. In his haste he left the door + of the house open, so giving access to the first passer-by, and he forgot + that when he entered it he had handed his card to the servant. That piece + of paper may yet send him to the gallows. In the mean time he has + disappeared completely, and somewhere, in one of the millions of streets + of this great capital, in a locked and empty house, lies the body of his + brother, and of the woman his brother loved, undiscovered, unburied, and + with their murder unavenged.” + </p> + <p> + In the discussion which followed the conclusion of the story of the Naval + Attache the gentleman with the pearl took no part. Instead, he arose, and, + beckoning a servant to a far corner of the room, whispered earnestly to + him until a sudden movement on the part of Sir Andrew caused him to return + hurriedly to the table. + </p> + <p> + “There are several points in Mr. Sears’s story I want explained,” he + cried. “Be seated, Sir Andrew,” he begged. “Let us have the opinion of an + expert. I do not care what the police think, I want to know what you + think.” + </p> + <p> + But Sir Henry rose reluctantly from his chair. + </p> + <p> + “I should like nothing better than to discuss this,” he said. “But it is + most important that I proceed to the House. I should have been there some + time ago.” He turned toward the servant and directed him to call a hansom. + </p> + <p> + The gentleman with the pearl stud looked appealingly at the Naval Attache. + “There are surely many details that you have not told us,” he urged. “Some + you have forgotten.” + </p> + <p> + The Baronet interrupted quickly. + </p> + <p> + “I trust not,” he said, “for I could not possibly stop to hear them.” + </p> + <p> + “The story is finished,” declared the Naval Attache; “until Lord Arthur is + arrested or the bodies are found there is nothing more to tell of either + Chetney or the Princess Zichy.” + </p> + <p> + “Of Lord Chetney perhaps not,” interrupted the sporting-looking gentleman + with the black tie, “but there’ll always be something to tell of the + Princess Zichy. I know enough stories about her to fill a book. She was a + most remarkable woman.” The speaker dropped the end of his cigar into his + coffee cup and, taking his case from his pocket, selected a fresh one. As + he did so he laughed and held up the case that the others might see it. It + was an ordinary cigar-case of well-worn pig-skin, with a silver clasp. + </p> + <p> + “The only time I ever met her,” he said, “she tried to rob me of this.” + </p> + <p> + The Baronet regarded him closely. + </p> + <p> + “She tried to rob you?” he repeated. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0008" id="linkimage-0008"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> + <img src="images/fog-8.jpg" alt="08 the Princess Zichy " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “Tried to rob me of this,” continued the gentleman in the black tie, “and + of the Czarina’s diamonds.” His tone was one of mingled admiration and + injury. + </p> + <p> + “The Czarina’s diamonds!” exclaimed the Baronet. He glanced quickly and + suspiciously at the speaker, and then at the others about the table. But + their faces gave evidence of no other emotion than that of ordinary + interest. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, the Czarina’s diamonds,” repeated the man with the black tie. “It + was a necklace of diamonds. I was told to take them to the Russian + Ambassador in Paris who was to deliver them at Moscow. I am a Queen’s + Messenger,” he added. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I see,” exclaimed Sir Andrew in a tone of relief. “And you say that + this same Princess Zichy, one of the victims of this double murder, + endeavored to rob you of—of—that cigar-case.” + </p> + <p> + “And the Czarina’s diamonds,” answered the Queen’s Messenger + imperturbably. “It’s not much of a story, but it gives you an idea of the + woman’s character. The robbery took place between Paris and Marseilles.” + </p> + <p> + The Baronet interrupted him with an abrupt movement. “No, no,” he cried, + shaking his head in protest. “Do not tempt me. I really cannot listen. I + must be at the House in ten minutes.” + </p> + <p> + “I am sorry,” said the Queen’s Messenger. He turned to those seated about + him. “I wonder if the other gentlemen—” he inquired tentatively. + There was a chorus of polite murmurs, and the Queen’s Messenger, bowing + his head in acknowledgment, took a preparatory sip from his glass. At the + same moment the servant to whom the man with the black pearl had spoken, + slipped a piece of paper into his hand. He glanced at it, frowned, and + threw it under the table. + </p> + <p> + The servant bowed to the Baronet. + </p> + <p> + “Your hansom is waiting, Sir Andrew,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “The necklace was worth twenty thousand pounds,” began the Queen’s + Messenger. “It was a present from the Queen of England to celebrate—” + The Baronet gave an exclamation of angry annoyance. + </p> + <p> + “Upon my word, this is most provoking,” he interrupted. “I really ought + not to stay. But I certainly mean to hear this.” He turned irritably to + the servant. “Tell the hansom to wait,” he commanded, and, with an air of + a boy who is playing truant, slipped guiltily into his chair. + </p> + <p> + The gentleman with the black pearl smiled blandly, and rapped upon the + table. + </p> + <p> + “Order, gentlemen,” he said. “Order for the story of the Queen’s Messenger + and the Czarina’s diamonds.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II + </h2> + <p> + “The necklace was a present from the Queen of England to the Czarina of + Russia,” began the Queen’s Messenger. “It was to celebrate the occasion of + the Czar’s coronation. Our Foreign Office knew that the Russian Ambassador + in Paris was to proceed to Moscow for that ceremony, and I was directed to + go to Paris and turn over the necklace to him. But when I reached Paris I + found he had not expected me for a week later and was taking a few days’ + vacation at Nice. His people asked me to leave the necklace with them at + the Embassy, but I had been charged to get a receipt for it from the + Ambassador himself, so I started at once for Nice The fact that Monte + Carlo is not two thousand miles from Nice may have had something to do + with making me carry out my instructions so carefully. Now, how the + Princess Zichy came to find out about the necklace I don’t know, but I can + guess. As you have just heard, she was at one time a spy in the service of + the Russian government. And after they dismissed her she kept up her + acquaintance with many of the Russian agents in London. It is probable + that through one of them she learned that the necklace was to be sent to + Moscow, and which one of the Queen’s Messengers had been detailed to take + it there. Still, I doubt if even that knowledge would have helped her if + she had not also known something which I supposed no one else in the world + knew but myself and one other man. And, curiously enough, the other man + was a Queen’s Messenger too, and a friend of mine. You must know that up + to the time of this robbery I had always concealed my despatches in a + manner peculiarly my own. I got the idea from that play called ‘A Scrap of + Paper.’ In it a man wants to hide a certain compromising document. He + knows that all his rooms will be secretly searched for it, so he puts it + in a torn envelope and sticks it up where any one can see it on his mantel + shelf. The result is that the woman who is ransacking the house to find it + looks in all the unlikely places, but passes over the scrap of paper that + is just under her nose. Sometimes the papers and packages they give us to + carry about Europe are of very great value, and sometimes they are special + makes of cigarettes, and orders to court dressmakers. Sometimes we know + what we are carrying and sometimes we do not. If it is a large sum of + money or a treaty, they generally tell us. But, as a rule, we have no + knowledge of what the package contains; so, to be on the safe side, we + naturally take just as great care of it as though we knew it held the + terms of an ultimatum or the crown jewels. As a rule, my confreres carry + the official packages in a despatch-box, which is just as obvious as a + lady’s jewel bag in the hands of her maid. Every one knows they are + carrying something of value. They put a premium on dishonesty. Well, after + I saw the ‘Scrap of Paper’ play, I determined to put the government + valuables in the most unlikely place that any one would look for them. So + I used to hide the documents they gave me inside my riding-boots, and + small articles, such as money or jewels, I carried in an old cigar-case. + After I took to using my case for that purpose I bought a new one, exactly + like it, for my cigars. But to avoid mistakes, I had my initials placed on + both sides of the new one, and the moment I touched the case, even in the + dark, I could tell which it was by the raised initials. + </p> + <p> + “No one knew of this except the Queen’s Messenger of whom I spoke. We once + left Paris together on the Orient Express. I was going to Constantinople + and he was to stop off at Vienna. On the journey I told him of my peculiar + way of hiding things and showed him my cigar-case. If I recollect rightly, + on that trip it held the grand cross of St. Michael and St. George, which + the Queen was sending to our Ambassador. The Messenger was very much + entertained at my scheme, and some months later when he met the Princess + he told her about it as an amusing story. Of course, he had no idea she + was a Russian spy. He didn’t know anything at all about her, except that + she was a very attractive woman. + </p> + <p> + “It was indiscreet, but he could not possibly have guessed that she could + ever make any use of what he told her. + </p> + <p> + “Later, after the robbery, I remembered that I had informed this young + chap of my secret hiding-place, and when I saw him again I questioned him + about it. He was greatly distressed, and said he had never seen the + importance of the secret. He remembered he had told several people of it, + and among others the Princess Zichy. In that way I found out that it was + she who had robbed me, and I know that from the moment I left London she + was following me and that she knew then that the diamonds were concealed + in my cigar-case. + </p> + <p> + “My train for Nice left Paris at ten in the morning. When I travel at + night I generally tell the <i>chef de gare</i> that I am a Queen’s + Messenger, and he gives me a compartment to myself, but in the daytime I + take whatever offers. On this morning I had found an empty compartment, + and I had tipped the guard to keep every one else out, not from any fear + of losing the diamonds, but because I wanted to smoke. He had locked the + door, and as the last bell had rung I supposed I was to travel alone, so I + began to arrange my traps and make myself comfortable. The diamonds in the + cigar-case were in the inside pocket of my waistcoat, and as they made a + bulky package, I took them out, intending to put them in my hand bag. It + is a small satchel like a bookmaker’s, or those hand bags that couriers + carry. I wear it slung from a strap across my shoulder, and, no matter + whether I am sitting or walking, it never leaves me. + </p> + <p> + “I took the cigar-case which held the necklace from my inside pocket and + the case which held the cigars out of the satchel, and while I was + searching through it for a box of matches I laid the two cases beside me + on the seat. + </p> + <p> + “At that moment the train started, but at the same instant there was a + rattle at the lock of the compartment, and a couple of porters lifted and + shoved a woman through the door, and hurled her rugs and umbrellas in + after her. + </p> + <p> + “Instinctively I reached for the diamonds. I shoved them quickly into the + satchel and, pushing them far down to the bottom of the bag, snapped the + spring lock. Then I put the cigars in the pocket of my coat, but with the + thought that now that I had a woman as a travelling companion I would + probably not be allowed to enjoy them. + </p> + <p> + “One of her pieces of luggage had fallen at my feet, and a roll of rugs + had landed at my side. I thought if I hid the fact that the lady was not + welcome, and at once endeavored to be civil, she might permit me to smoke. + So I picked her hand bag off the floor and asked her where I might place + it. + </p> + <p> + “As I spoke I looked at her for the first time, and saw that she was a + most remarkably handsome woman. + </p> + <p> + “She smiled charmingly and begged me not to disturb myself. Then she + arranged her own things about her, and, opening her dressing-bag, took out + a gold cigarette case. + </p> + <p> + “‘Do you object to smoke?’ she asked. + </p> + <p> + “I laughed and assured her I had been in great terror lest she might + object to it herself. + </p> + <p> + “‘If you like cigarettes,’ she said, ‘will you try some of these? They are + rolled especially for my husband in Russia, and they are supposed to be + very good.’ + </p> + <p> + “I thanked her, and took one from her case, and I found it so much better + than my own that I continued to smoke her cigarettes throughout the rest + of the journey. I must say that we got on very well. I judged from the + coronet on her cigarette-case, and from her manner, which was quite as + well bred as that of any woman I ever met, that she was some one of + importance, and though she seemed almost too good looking to be + respectable, I determined that she was some <i>grande dame</i> who was so + assured of her position that she could afford to be unconventional. At + first she read her novel, and then she made some comment on the scenery, + and finally we began to discuss the current politics of the Continent. She + talked of all the cities in Europe, and seemed to know every one worth + knowing. But she volunteered nothing about herself except that she + frequently made use of the expression, ‘When my husband was stationed at + Vienna,’ or ‘When my husband was promoted to Rome.’ Once she said to me, + ‘I have often seen you at Monte Carlo. I saw you when you won the pigeon + championship.’ I told her that I was not a pigeon shot, and she gave a + little start of surprise. ‘Oh, I beg your pardon,’ she said; ‘I thought + you were Morton Hamilton, the English champion.’ As a matter of fact, I do + look like Hamilton, but I know now that her object was to make me think + that she had no idea as to who I really was. She needn’t have acted at + all, for I certainly had no suspicions of her, and was only too pleased to + have so charming a companion. + </p> + <p> + “The one thing that should have made me suspicious was the fact that at + every station she made some trivial excuse to get me out of the + compartment. She pretended that her maid was travelling back of us in one + of the second-class carriages, and kept saying she could not imagine why + the woman did not come to look after her, and if the maid did not turn up + at the next stop, would I be so very kind as to get out and bring her + whatever it was she pretended she wanted. + </p> + <p> + “I had taken my dressing-case from the rack to get out a novel, and had + left it on the seat opposite to mine, and at the end of the compartment + farthest from her. And once when I came back from buying her a cup of + chocolate, or from some other fool errand, I found her standing at my end + of the compartment with both hands on the dressing-bag. She looked at me + without so much as winking an eye, and shoved the case carefully into a + corner. ‘Your bag slipped off on the floor,’ she said. ‘If you’ve got any + bottles in it, you had better look and see that they’re not broken.’ + </p> + <p> + “And I give you my word, I was such an ass that I did open the case and + looked all through it. She must have thought I <i>was</i> a Juggins. I get + hot all over whenever I remember it. But in spite of my dulness, and her + cleverness, she couldn’t gain anything by sending me away, because what + she wanted was in the hand bag and every time she sent me away the hand + bag went with me. + </p> + <p> + “After the incident of the dressing-case her manner changed. Either in my + absence she had had time to look through it, or, when I was examining it + for broken bottles, she had seen everything it held. + </p> + <p> + “From that moment she must have been certain that the cigar-case, in which + she knew I carried the diamonds, was in the bag that was fastened to my + body, and from that time on she probably was plotting how to get it from + me. Her anxiety became most apparent. She dropped the great lady manner, + and her charming condescension went with it. She ceased talking, and, when + I spoke, answered me irritably, or at random. No doubt her mind was + entirely occupied with her plan. The end of our journey was drawing + rapidly nearer, and her time for action was being cut down with the speed + of the express train. Even I, unsuspicious as I was, noticed that + something was very wrong with her. I really believe that before we reached + Marseilles if I had not, through my own stupidity, given her the chance + she wanted, she might have stuck a knife in me and rolled me out on the + rails. But as it was, I only thought that the long journey had tired her. + I suggested that it was a very trying trip, and asked her if she would + allow me to offer her some of my cognac. + </p> + <p> + “She thanked me and said, ‘No,’ and then suddenly her eyes lighted, and + she exclaimed, ‘Yes, thank you, if you will be so kind.’ + </p> + <p> + “My flask was in the hand bag, and I placed it on my lap and with my thumb + slipped back the catch. As I keep my tickets and railroad guide in the + bag, I am so constantly opening it that I never bother to lock it, and the + fact that it is strapped to me has always been sufficient protection. But + I can appreciate now what a satisfaction, and what a torment too, it must + have been to that woman when she saw that the bag opened without a key. + </p> + <p> + “While we were crossing the mountains I had felt rather chilly and had + been wearing a light racing coat. But after the lamps were lighted the + compartment became very hot and stuffy, and I found the coat + uncomfortable. So I stood up, and, after first slipping the strap of the + bag over my head, I placed the bag in the seat next me and pulled off the + racing coat. I don’t blame myself for being careless; the bag was still + within reach of my hand, and nothing would have happened if at that exact + moment the train had not stopped at Arles. It was the combination of my + removing the bag and our entering the station at the same instant which + gave the Princess Zichy the chance she wanted to rob me. + </p> + <p> + “I needn’t say that she was clever enough to take it. The train ran into + the station at full speed and came to a sudden stop. I had just thrown my + coat into the rack, and had reached out my hand for the bag. In another + instant I would have had the strap around my shoulder. But at that moment + the Princess threw open the door of the compartment and beckoned wildly at + the people on the platform. ‘Natalie!’ she called, ‘Natalie! here I am. + Come here! This way!’ She turned upon me in the greatest excitement. ‘My + maid!’ she cried. ‘She is looking for me. She passed the window without + seeing me. Go, please, and bring her back.’ She continued pointing out of + the door and beckoning me with her other hand. There certainly was + something about that woman’s tone which made one jump. When she was giving + orders you had no chance to think of anything else. So I rushed out on my + errand of mercy, and then rushed back again to ask what the maid looked + like. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0009" id="linkimage-0009"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> + <img src="images/fog-9.jpg" + alt="09 This Gave the Princess Zichy The Chance " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “‘In black,’ she answered, rising and blocking the door of the + compartment. ‘All in black, with a bonnet!’ + </p> + <p> + “The train waited three minutes at Aries, and in that time I suppose I + must have rushed up to over twenty women and asked, ‘Are you Natalie?’ The + only reason I wasn’t punched with an umbrella or handed over to the police + was that they probably thought I was crazy. + </p> + <p> + “When I jumped back into the compartment the Princess was seated where I + had left her, but her eyes were burning with happiness. She placed her + hand on my arm almost affectionately, and said in a hysterical way, ‘You + are very kind to me. I am so sorry to have troubled you.’ + </p> + <p> + “I protested that every woman on the platform was dressed in black. + </p> + <p> + “‘Indeed I am so sorry,’ she said, laughing; and she continued to laugh + until she began to breathe so quickly that I thought she was going to + faint. + </p> + <p> + “I can see now that the last part of that journey must have been a + terrible half hour for her. She had the cigar-case safe enough, but she + knew that she herself was not safe. She understood if I were to open my + bag, even at the last minute, and miss the case, I would know positively + that she had taken it. I had placed the diamonds in the bag at the very + moment she entered the compartment, and no one but our two selves had + occupied it since. She knew that when we reached Marseilles she would + either be twenty thousand pounds richer than when she left Paris, or that + she would go to jail. That was the situation as she must have read it, and + I don’t envy her her state of mind during that last half hour. It must + have been hell. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0010" id="linkimage-0010"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> + <img src="images/fog-10.jpg" + alt="10 She Knew She Would Be Twenty Thousand Pounds Richer " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “I saw that something was wrong, and in my innocence I even wondered if + possibly my cognac had not been a little too strong. For she suddenly + developed into a most brilliant conversationalist, and applauded and + laughed at everything I said, and fired off questions at me like a machine + gun, so that I had no time to think of anything but of what she was + saying. Whenever I stirred she stopped her chattering and leaned toward + me, and watched me like a cat over a mouse-hole. I wondered how I could + have considered her an agreeable travelling companion. I thought I would + have preferred to be locked in with a lunatic. I don’t like to think how + she would have acted if I had made a move to examine the bag, but as I had + it safely strapped around me again, I did not open it, and I reached + Marseilles alive. As we drew into the station she shook hands with me and + grinned at me like a Cheshire cat. + </p> + <p> + “‘I cannot tell you,’ she said, ‘how much I have to thank you for.’ What + do you think of that for impudence! + </p> + <p> + “I offered to put her in a carriage, but she said she must find Natalie, + and that she hoped we would meet again at the hotel. So I drove off by + myself, wondering who she was, and whether Natalie was not her keeper. + </p> + <p> + “I had to wait several hours for the train to Nice, and as I wanted to + stroll around the city I thought I had better put the diamonds in the safe + of the hotel. As soon as I reached my room I locked the door, placed the + hand bag on the table and opened it. I felt among the things at the top of + it, but failed to touch the cigar-case. I shoved my hand in deeper, and + stirred the things about, but still I did not reach it. A cold wave swept + down my spine, and a sort of emptiness came to the pit of my stomach. Then + I turned red-hot, and the sweat sprung out all over me. I wet my lips with + my tongue, and said to myself, ‘Don’t be an ass. Pull yourself together, + pull yourself together. Take the things out, one at a time. It’s there, of + course it’s there. Don’t be an ass.’ + </p> + <p> + “So I put a brake on my nerves and began very carefully to pick out the + things one by one, but after another second I could not stand it, and I + rushed across the room and threw out everything on the bed. But the + diamonds were not among them. I pulled the things about and tore them open + and shuffled and rearranged and sorted them, but it was no use. The + cigar-case was gone. I threw everything in the dressing-case out on the + floor, although I knew it was useless to look for it there. I knew that I + had put it in the bag. I sat down and tried to think. I remembered I had + put it in the satchel at Paris just as that woman had entered the + compartment, and I had been alone with her ever since, so it was she who + had robbed me. But how? It had never left my shoulder. And then I + remembered that it had—that I had taken it off when I had changed my + coat and for the few moments that I was searching for Natalie. I + remembered that the woman had sent me on that goose chase, and that at + every other station she had tried to get rid of me on some fool errand. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0011" id="linkimage-0011"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> + <img src="images/fog-11.jpg" alt="11 I Threw out Everything on the Bed " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “I gave a roar like a mad bull, and I jumped down the stairs six steps at + a time. + </p> + <p> + “I demanded at the office if a distinguished lady of title, possibly a + Russian, had just entered the hotel. + </p> + <p> + “As I expected, she had not. I sprang into a cab and inquired at two other + hotels, and then I saw the folly of trying to catch her without outside + help, and I ordered the fellow to gallop to the office of the Chief of + Police. I told my story, and the ass in charge asked me to calm myself, + and wanted to take notes. I told him this was no time for taking notes, + but for doing something. He got wrathy at that, and I demanded to be taken + at once to his Chief. The Chief, he said, was very busy, and could not see + me. So I showed him my silver greyhound. In eleven years I had never used + it but once before. I stated in pretty vigorous language that I was a + Queen’s Messenger, and that if the Chief of Police did not see me + instantly he would lose his official head. At that the fellow jumped off + his high horse and ran with me to his Chief,—a smart young chap, a + colonel in the army, and a very intelligent man. + </p> + <p> + “I explained that I had been robbed in a French railway carriage of a + diamond necklace belonging to the Queen of England, which her Majesty was + sending as a present to the Czarina of Russia. I pointed out to him that + if he succeeded in capturing the thief he would be made for life, and + would receive the gratitude of three great powers. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0012" id="linkimage-0012"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> + <img src="images/fog-12.jpg" + alt="12 Threw Everything in the Dressing-case out on The Floor " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “He wasn’t the sort that thinks second thoughts are best. He saw Russian + and French decorations sprouting all over his chest, and he hit a bell, + and pressed buttons, and yelled out orders like the captain of a penny + steamer in a fog. He sent her description to all the city gates, and + ordered all cabmen and railway porters to search all trains leaving + Marseilles. He ordered all passengers on outgoing vessels to be examined, + and telegraphed the proprietors of every hotel and pension to send him a + complete list of their guests within the hour. While I was standing there + he must have given at least a hundred orders, and sent out enough + commissaires, sergeants de ville, gendarmes, bicycle police, and + plain-clothes Johnnies to have captured the entire German army. When they + had gone he assured me that the woman was as good as arrested already. + Indeed, officially, she was arrested; for she had no more chance of escape + from Marseilles than from the Chateau D’If. + </p> + <p> + “He told me to return to my hotel and possess my soul in peace. Within an + hour he assured me he would acquaint me with her arrest. + </p> + <p> + “I thanked him, and complimented him on his energy, and left him. But I + didn’t share in his confidence. I felt that she was a very clever woman, + and a match for any and all of us. It was all very well for him to be + jubilant. He had not lost the diamonds, and had everything to gain if he + found them; while I, even if he did recover the necklace, would only be + where I was before I lost them, and if he did not recover it I was a + ruined man. It was an awful facer for me. I had always prided myself on my + record. In eleven years I had never mislaid an envelope, nor missed taking + the first train. And now I had failed in the most important mission that + had ever been intrusted to me. And it wasn’t a thing that could be hushed + up, either. It was too conspicuous, too spectacular. It was sure to invite + the widest notoriety. I saw myself ridiculed all over the Continent, and + perhaps dismissed, even suspected of having taken the thing myself. + </p> + <p> + “I was walking in front of a lighted cafe, and I felt so sick and + miserable that I stopped for a pick-me-up. Then I considered that if I + took one drink I would probably, in my present state of mind, not want to + stop under twenty, and I decided I had better leave it alone. But my + nerves were jumping like a frightened rabbit, and I felt I must have + something to quiet them, or I would go crazy. I reached for my + cigarette-case, but a cigarette seemed hardly adequate, so I put it back + again and took out this cigar-case, in which I keep only the strongest and + blackest cigars. I opened it and stuck in my fingers, but instead of a + cigar they touched on a thin leather envelope. My heart stood perfectly + still. I did not dare to look, but I dug my finger nails into the leather + and I felt layers of thin paper, then a layer of cotton, and then they + scratched on the facets of the Czarina’s diamonds! + </p> + <p> + “I stumbled as though I had been hit in the face, and fell back into one + of the chairs on the sidewalk. I tore off the wrappings and spread out the + diamonds on the cafe table; I could not believe they were real. I twisted + the necklace between my fingers and crushed it between my palms and tossed + it up in the air. I believe I almost kissed it. The women in the cafe + stood tip on the chairs to see better, and laughed and screamed, and the + people crowded so close around me that the waiters had to form a + bodyguard. The proprietor thought there was a fight, and called for the + police. I was so happy I didn’t care. I laughed, too, and gave the + proprietor a five-pound note, and told him to stand every one a drink. + Then I tumbled into a fiacre and galloped off to my friend the Chief of + Police. I felt very sorry for him. He had been so happy at the chance I + gave him, and he was sure to be disappointed when he learned I had sent + him off on a false alarm. + </p> + <p> + “But now that I had found the necklace, I did not want him to find the + woman. Indeed, I was most anxious that she should get clear away, for if + she were caught the truth would come out, and I was likely to get a sharp + reprimand, and sure to be laughed at. + </p> + <p> + “I could see now how it had happened. In my haste to hide the diamonds + when the woman was hustled into the carriage, I had shoved the cigars into + the satchel, and the diamonds into the pocket of my coat. Now that I had + the diamonds safe again, it seemed a very natural mistake. But I doubted + if the Foreign Office would think so. I was afraid it might not appreciate + the beautiful simplicity of my secret hiding-place. So, when I reached the + police station, and found that the woman was still at large, I was more + than relieved. + </p> + <p> + “As I expected, the Chief was extremely chagrined when he learned of my + mistake, and that there was nothing for him to do. But I was feeling so + happy myself that I hated to have any one else miserable, so I suggested + that this attempt to steal the Czarina’s necklace might be only the first + of a series of such attempts by an unscrupulous gang, and that I might + still be in danger. + </p> + <p> + “I winked at the Chief and the Chief smiled at me, and we went to Nice + together in a saloon car with a guard of twelve carabineers and twelve + plain-clothes men, and the Chief and I drank champagne all the way. We + marched together up to the hotel where the Russian Ambassador was + stopping, closely surrounded by our escort of carabineers, and delivered + the necklace with the most profound ceremony. The old Ambassador was + immensely impressed, and when we hinted that already I had been made the + object of an attack by robbers, he assured us that his Imperial Majesty + would not prove ungrateful. + </p> + <p> + “I wrote a swinging personal letter about the invaluable services of the + Chief to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, and they gave him enough + Russian and French medals to satisfy even a French soldier. So, though he + never caught the woman, he received his just reward.” + </p> + <p> + The Queen’s Messenger paused and surveyed the faces of those about him in + some embarrassment. + </p> + <p> + “But the worst of it is,” he added, “that the story must have got about; + for, while the Princess obtained nothing from me but a cigar-case and five + excellent cigars, a few weeks after the coronation the Czar sent me a gold + cigar-case with his monogram in diamonds. And I don’t know yet whether + that was a coincidence, or whether the Czar wanted me to know that he knew + that I had been carrying the Czarina’s diamonds in my pigskin cigar-case. + What do you fellows think?” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III + </h2> + <p> + Sir Andrew rose with disapproval written in every lineament. + </p> + <p> + “I thought your story would bear upon the murder,” he said. “Had I + imagined it would have nothing whatsoever to do with it I would not have + remained.” He pushed back his chair and bowed stiffly. “I wish you good + night,” he said. + </p> + <p> + There was a chorus of remonstrance, and under cover of this and the + Baronet’s answering protests a servant for the second time slipped a piece + of paper into the hand of the gentleman with the pearl stud. He read the + lines written upon it and tore it into tiny fragments. + </p> + <p> + The youngest member, who had remained an interested but silent listener to + the tale of the Queen’s Messenger, raised his hand commandingly. + </p> + <p> + “Sir Andrew,” he cried, “in justice to Lord Arthur Chetney I must ask you + to be seated. He has been accused in our hearing of a most serious crime, + and I insist that you remain until you have heard me clear his character.” + </p> + <p> + “You!” cried the Baronet. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” answered the young man briskly. “I would have spoken sooner,” he + explained, “but that I thought this gentleman”—he inclined his head + toward the Queen’s Messenger—“was about to contribute some facts of + which I was ignorant. He, however, has told us nothing, and so I will take + up the tale at the point where Lieutenant Sears laid it down and give you + those details of which Lieutenant Sears is ignorant. It seems strange to + you that I should be able to add the sequel to this story. But the + coincidence is easily explained. I am the junior member of the law firm of + Chudleigh & Chudleigh. We have been solicitors for the Chetneys for + the last two hundred years. Nothing, no matter how unimportant, which + concerns Lord Edam and his two sons is unknown to us, and naturally we are + acquainted with every detail of the terrible catastrophe of last night.” + </p> + <p> + The Baronet, bewildered but eager, sank back into his chair. + </p> + <p> + “Will you be long, sir!” he demanded. + </p> + <p> + “I shall endeavor to be brief,” said the young solicitor; “and,” he added, + in a tone which gave his words almost the weight of a threat, “I promise + to be interesting.” + </p> + <p> + “There is no need to promise that,” said Sir Andrew, “I find it much too + interesting as it is.” He glanced ruefully at the clock and turned his + eyes quickly from it. + </p> + <p> + “Tell the driver of that hansom,” he called to the servant, “that I take + him by the hour.” + </p> + <p> + “For the last three days,” began young Mr. Chudleigh, “as you have + probably read in the daily papers, the Marquis of Edam has been at the + point of death, and his physicians have never left his house. Every hour + he seemed to grow weaker; but although his bodily strength is apparently + leaving him forever, his mind has remained clear and active. Late + yesterday evening word was received at our office that he wished my father + to come at once to Chetney House and to bring with him certain papers. + What these papers were is not essential; I mention them only to explain + how it was that last night I happened to be at Lord Edam’s bed-side. I + accompanied my father to Chetney House, but at the time we reached there + Lord Edam was sleeping, and his physicians refused to have him awakened. + My father urged that he should be allowed to receive Lord Edam’s + instructions concerning the documents, but the physicians would not + disturb him, and we all gathered in the library to wait until he should + awake of his own accord. It was about one o’clock in the morning, while we + were still there, that Inspector Lyle and the officers from Scotland Yard + came to arrest Lord Arthur on the charge of murdering his brother. You can + imagine our dismay and distress. Like every one else, I had learned from + the afternoon papers that Lord Chetney was not dead, but that he had + returned to England, and on arriving at Chetney House I had been told that + Lord Arthur had gone to the Bath Hotel to look for his brother and to + inform him that if he wished to see their father alive he must come to him + at once. Although it was now past one o’clock, Arthur had not returned. + None of us knew where Madame Zichy lived, so we could not go to recover + Lord Chetney’s body. We spent a most miserable night, hastening to the + window whenever a cab came into the square, in the hope that it was Arthur + returning, and endeavoring to explain away the facts that pointed to him + as the murderer. I am a friend of Arthur’s, I was with him at Harrow and + at Oxford, and I refused to believe for an instant that he was capable of + such a crime; but as a lawyer I could not help but see that the + circumstantial evidence was strongly against him. + </p> + <p> + “Toward early morning Lord Edam awoke, and in so much better a state of + health that he refused to make the changes in the papers which he had + intended, declaring that he was no nearer death than ourselves. Under + other circumstances, this happy change in him would have relieved us + greatly, but none of us could think of anything save the death of his + elder son and of the charge which hung over Arthur. + </p> + <p> + “As long as Inspector Lyle remained in the house my father decided that I, + as one of the legal advisers of the family, should also remain there. But + there was little for either of us to do. Arthur did not return, and + nothing occurred until late this morning, when Lyle received word that the + Russian servant had been arrested. He at once drove to Scotland Yard to + question him. He came back to us in an hour, and informed me that the + servant had refused to tell anything of what had happened the night + before, or of himself, or of the Princess Zichy. He would not even give + them the address of her house. + </p> + <p> + “‘He is in abject terror,’ Lyle said. ‘I assured him that he was not + suspected of the crime, but he would tell me nothing.’ + </p> + <p> + “There were no other developments until two o’clock this afternoon, when + word was brought to us that Arthur had been found, and that he was lying + in the accident ward of St. George’s Hospital. Lyle and I drove there + together, and found him propped up in bed with his head bound in a + bandage. He had been brought to the hospital the night before by the + driver of a hansom that had run over him in the fog. The cab-horse had + kicked him on the head, and he had been carried in unconscious. There was + nothing on him to tell who he was, and it was not until he came to his + senses this afternoon that the hospital authorities had been able to send + word to his people. Lyle at once informed him that he was under arrest, + and with what he was charged, and though the inspector warned him to say + nothing which might be used against him, I, as his solicitor, instructed + him to speak freely and to tell us all he knew of the occurrences of last + night. It was evident to any one that the fact of his brother’s death was + of much greater concern to him, than that he was accused of his murder. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0013" id="linkimage-0013"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> + <img src="images/fog-13.jpg" alt="13 We Found Him Propped up in Bed " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “‘That,’ Arthur said contemptuously, ‘that is damned nonsense. It is + monstrous and cruel. We parted better friends than we have been in years. + I will tell you all that happened—not to clear myself, but to help + you to find out the truth.’ His story is as follows: Yesterday afternoon, + owing to his constant attendance on his father, he did not look at the + evening papers, and it was not until after dinner, when the butler brought + him one and told him of its contents, that he learned that his brother was + alive and at the Bath Hotel. He drove there at once, but was told that + about eight o’clock his brother had gone out, but without giving any clew + to his destination. As Chetney had not at once come to see his father, + Arthur decided that he was still angry with him, and his mind, turning + naturally to the cause of their quarrel, determined him to look for + Chetney at the home of the Princess Zichy. + </p> + <p> + “Her house had been pointed out to him, and though he had never visited + it, he had passed it many times and knew its exact location. He + accordingly drove in that direction, as far as the fog would permit the + hansom to go, and walked the rest of the way, reaching the house about + nine o’clock. He rang, and was admitted by the Russian servant. The man + took his card into the drawing-room, and at once his brother ran out and + welcomed him. He was followed by the Princess Zichy, who also received + Arthur most cordially. + </p> + <p> + “‘You brothers will have much to talk about,’ she said. ‘I am going to the + dining-room. When you have finished, let me know.’ + </p> + <p> + “As soon as she had left them, Arthur told his brother that their father + was not expected to outlive the night, and that he must come to him at + once. + </p> + <p> + “‘This is not the moment to remember your quarrel,’ Arthur said to him; + ‘you have come back from the dead only in time to make your peace with him + before he dies.’ + </p> + <p> + “Arthur says that at this Chetney was greatly moved. + </p> + <p> + “‘You entirely misunderstand me, Arthur,’ he returned. ‘I did not know the + governor was ill, or I would have gone to him the instant I arrived. My + only reason for not doing so was because I thought he was still angry with + me. I shall return with you immediately, as soon as I have said good-by to + the Princess. It is a final good-by. After tonight, I shall never see her + again.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Do you mean that?’ Arthur cried. + </p> + <p> + “‘Yes,’ Chetney answered. ‘When I returned to London I had no intention of + seeking her again, and I am here only through a mistake.’ He then told + Arthur that he had separated from the Princess even before he went to + Central Africa, and that, moreover, while at Cairo on his way south, he + had learned certain facts concerning her life there during the previous + season, which made it impossible for him to ever wish to see her again. + Their separation was final and complete. + </p> + <p> + “‘She deceived me cruelly,’ he said; ‘I cannot tell you how cruelly. + During the two years when I was trying to obtain my father’s consent to + our marriage she was in love with a Russian diplomat. During all that time + he was secretly visiting her here in London, and her trip to Cairo was + only an excuse to meet him there.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Yet you are here with her tonight,’ Arthur protested, ‘only a few hours + after your return.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘That is easily explained,’ Chetney answered. ‘As I finished dinner + tonight at the hotel, I received a note from her from this address. In it + she said she had but just learned of my arrival, and begged me to come to + her at once. She wrote that she was in great and present trouble, dying of + an incurable illness, and without friends or money. She begged me, for the + sake of old times, to come to her assistance. During the last two years in + the jungle all my former feeling for Ziehy has utterly passed away, but no + one could have dismissed the appeal she made in that letter. So I came + here, and found her, as you have seen her, quite as beautiful as she ever + was, in very good health, and, from the look of the house, in no need of + money. + </p> + <p> + “‘I asked her what she meant by writing me that she was dying in a garret, + and she laughed, and said she had done so because she was afraid, unless I + thought she needed help, I would not try to see her. That was where we + were when you arrived. And now,’ Chetney added, ‘I will say good-by to + her, and you had better return home. No, you can trust me, I shall follow + you at once. She has no influence over me now, but I believe, in spite of + the way she has used me, that she is, after her queer fashion, still fond + of me, and when she learns that this good-by is final there may be a + scene, and it is not fair to her that you should be here. So, go home at + once, and tell the governor that I am following you in ten minutes.’ + “‘That,’ said Arthur, ‘is the way we parted. I never left him on more + friendly terms. I was happy to see him alive again, I was happy to think + he had returned in time to make up his quarrel with my father, and I was + happy that at last he was shut of that woman. I was never better pleased + with him in my life.’ He turned to Inspector Lyle, who was sitting at the + foot of the bed taking notes of all he told us. + </p> + <p> + “‘Why in the name of common sense,’ he cried, ‘should I have chosen that + moment of all others to send my brother back to the grave!’ For a moment + the Inspector did not answer him. I do not know if any of you gentlemen + are acquainted with Inspector Lyle, but if you are not, I can assure you + that he is a very remarkable man. Our firm often applies to him for aid, + and he has never failed us; my father has the greatest possible respect + for him. Where he has the advantage over the ordinary police official is + in the fact that he possesses imagination. He imagines himself to be the + criminal, imagines how he would act under the same circumstances, and he + imagines to such purpose that he generally finds the man he wants. I have + often told Lyle that if he had not been a detective he would have made a + great success as a poet, or a playwright. + </p> + <p> + “When Arthur turned on him Lyle hesitated for a moment, and then told him + exactly what was the case against him. + </p> + <p> + “‘Ever since your brother was reported as having died in Africa,’ he said, + ‘your Lordship has been collecting money on post obits. Lord Chetney’s + arrival last night turned them into waste paper. You were suddenly in debt + for thousands of pounds—for much more than you could ever possibly + pay. No one knew that you and your brother had met at Madame Zichy’s. But + you knew that your father was not expected to outlive the night, and that + if your brother were dead also, you would be saved from complete ruin, and + that you would become the Marquis of Edam.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Oh, that is how you have worked it out, is it?’ Arthur cried. ‘And for + me to become Lord Edam was it necessary that the woman should die, too!’ + </p> + <p> + “‘They will say,’ Lyle answered, ‘that she was a witness to the murder—that + she would have told.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Then why did I not kill the servant as well!’ Arthur said. + </p> + <p> + “‘He was asleep, and saw nothing.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘And you believe <i>that?</i>’ Arthur demanded. + </p> + <p> + “‘It is not a question of what I believe,’ Lyle said gravely. ‘It is a + question for your peers.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘The man is insolent!’ Arthur cried. ‘The thing is monstrous! Horrible!’ + </p> + <p> + “Before we could stop him he sprang out of his cot and began pulling on + his clothes. When the nurses tried to hold him down, he fought with them. + </p> + <p> + “‘Do you think you can keep me here,’ he shouted, ‘when they are plotting + to hang me? I am going with you to that house!’ he cried at Lyle. ‘When + you find those bodies I shall be beside you. It is my right. He is my + brother. He has been murdered, and I can tell you who murdered him. That + woman murdered him. She first ruined his life, and now she has killed him. + For the last five years she has been plotting to make herself his wife, + and last night, when he told her he had discovered the truth about the + Russian, and that she would never see him again, she flew into a passion + and stabbed him, and then, in terror of the gallows, killed herself. She + murdered him, I tell you, and I promise you that we will find the knife + she used near her—perhaps still in her hand. What will you say to + that?’ + </p> + <p> + “Lyle turned his head away and stared down at the floor. ‘I might say,’ he + answered, ‘that you placed it there.’ + </p> + <p> + “Arthur gave a cry of anger and sprang at him, and then pitched forward + into his arms. The blood was running from the cut under the bandage, and + he had fainted. Lyle carried him back to the bed again, and we left him + with the police and the doctors, and drove at once to the address he had + given us. We found the house not three minutes’ walk from St. George’s + Hospital. It stands in Trevor Terrace, that little row of houses set back + from Knightsbridge, with one end in Hill Street. + </p> + <p> + “As we left the hospital Lyle had said to me, ‘You must not blame me for + treating him as I did. All is fair in this work, and if by angering that + boy I could have made him commit himself I was right in trying to do so; + though, I assure you, no one would be better pleased than myself if I + could prove his theory to be correct. But we cannot tell. Everything + depends upon what we see for ourselves within the next few minutes.’ + </p> + <p> + “When we reached the house, Lyle broke open the fastenings of one of the + windows on the ground floor, and, hidden by the trees in the garden, we + scrambled in. We found ourselves in the reception-room, which was the + first room on the right of the hall. The gas was still burning behind the + colored glass and red silk shades, and when the daylight streamed in after + us it gave the hall a hideously dissipated look, like the foyer of a + theatre at a matinee, or the entrance to an all-day gambling hell. The + house was oppressively silent, and because we knew why it was so silent we + spoke in whispers. When Lyle turned the handle of the drawing-room door, I + felt as though some one had put his hand upon my throat. But I followed + close at his shoulder, and saw, in the subdued light of many-tinted lamps, + the body of Chetney at the foot of the divan, just as Lieutenant Sears had + described it. In the drawing-room we found the body of the Princess Zichy, + her arms thrown out, and the blood from her heart frozen in a tiny line + across her bare shoulder. But neither of us, although we searched the + floor on our hands and knees, could find the weapon which had killed her. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0014" id="linkimage-0014"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> + <img src="images/fog-14.jpg" alt="We Found the Body of The Princess Zichy " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “‘For Arthur’s sake,’ I said, ‘I would have given a thousand pounds if we + had found the knife in her hand, as he said we would.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘That we have not found it there,’ Lyle answered, ‘is to my mind the + strongest proof that he is telling the truth, that he left the house + before the murder took place. He is not a fool, and had he stabbed his + brother and this woman, he would have seen that by placing the knife near + her he could help to make it appear as if she had killed Chetney and then + committed suicide. Besides, Lord Arthur insisted that the evidence in his + behalf would be our finding the knife here. He would not have urged that + if he knew we would <i>not</i> find it, if he knew he himself had carried + it away. This is no suicide. A suicide does not rise and hide the weapon + with which he kills himself, and then lie down again. No, this has been a + double murder, and we must look outside of the house for the murderer.’ + </p> + <p> + “While he was speaking Lyle and I had been searching every corner, + studying the details of each room. I was so afraid that, without telling + me, he would make some deductions prejudicial to Arthur, that I never left + his side. I was determined to see everything that he saw, and, if + possible, to prevent his interpreting it in the wrong way. He finally + finished his examination, and we sat down together in the drawing-room, + and he took out his notebook and read aloud all that Mr. Sears had told + him of the murder and what we had just learned from Arthur. We compared + the two accounts word for word, and weighed statement with statement, but + I could not determine from anything Lyle said which of the two versions he + had decided to believe. + </p> + <p> + “‘We are trying to build a house of blocks,’ he exclaimed, ‘with half of + the blocks missing. We have been considering two theories,’ he went on: + ‘one that Lord Arthur is responsible for both murders, and the other that + the dead woman in there is responsible for one of them, and has committed + suicide; but, until the Russian servant is ready to talk, I shall refuse + to believe in the guilt of either.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘What can you prove by him!’ I asked. ‘He was drunk and asleep. He saw + nothing.’ + </p> + <p> + “Lyle hesitated, and then, as though he had made up his mind to be quite + frank with me, spoke freely. + </p> + <p> + “‘I do not know that he was either drunk or asleep,’ he answered. + ‘Lieutenant Sears describes him as a stupid boor. I am not satisfied that + he is not a clever actor. What was his position in this house! What was + his real duty here? Suppose it was not to guard this woman, but to watch + her. Let us imagine that it was not the woman he served, but a master, and + see where that leads us. For this house has a master, a mysterious, + absentee landlord, who lives in St. Petersburg, the unknown Russian who + came between Chetney and Zichy, and because of whom Chetney left her. He + is the man who bought this house for Madame Zichy, who sent these rugs and + curtains from St. Petersburg to furnish it for her after his own tastes, + and, I believe, it was he also who placed the Russian servant here, + ostensibly to serve the Princess, but in reality to spy upon her. At + Scotland Yard we do not know who this gentleman is; the Russian police + confess to equal ignorance concerning him. When Lord Chetney went to + Africa, Madame Zichy lived in St. Petersburg; but there her receptions and + dinners were so crowded with members of the nobility and of the army and + diplomats, that among so many visitors the police could not learn which + was the one for whom she most greatly cared.’ + </p> + <p> + “Lyle pointed at the modern French paintings and the heavy silk rugs which + hung upon the walls. + </p> + <p> + “‘The unknown is a man of taste and of some fortune,’ he said, ‘not the + sort of man to send a stupid peasant to guard the woman he loves. So I am + not content to believe, with Mr. Sears, that the servant is a boor. I + believe him instead to be a very clever ruffian. I believe him to be the + protector of his master’s honor, or, let us say, of his master’s property, + whether that property be silver plate or the woman his master loves. Last + night, after Lord Arthur had gone away, the servant was left alone in this + house with Lord Chetney and Madame Zichy. From where he sat in the hall he + could hear Lord Chetney bidding her farewell; for, if my idea of him is + correct, he understands English quite as well as you or I. Let us imagine + that he heard her entreating Chetney not to leave her, reminding him of + his former wish to marry her, and let us suppose that he hears Chetney + denounce her, and tell her that at Cairo he has learned of this Russian + admirer—the servant’s master. He hears the woman declare that she + has had no admirer but himself, that this unknown Russian was, and is, + nothing to her, that there is no man she loves but him, and that she + cannot live, knowing that he is alive, without his love. Suppose Chetney + believed her, suppose his former infatuation for her returned, and that in + a moment of weakness he forgave her and took her in his arms. That is the + moment the Russian master has feared. It is to guard against it that he + has placed his watchdog over the Princess, and how do we know but that, + when the moment came, the watchdog served his master, as he saw his duty, + and killed them both? What do you think?’ Lyle demanded. ‘Would not that + explain both murders?’ + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0015" id="linkimage-0015"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> + <img src="images/fog-15.jpg" alt="15 Entreating Chetney Not to Leave Her " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “I was only too willing to hear any theory which pointed to any one else + as the criminal than Arthur, but Lyle’s explanation was too utterly + fantastic. I told him that he certainly showed imagination, but that he + could not hang a man for what he imagined he had done. + </p> + <p> + “‘No,’ Lyle answered, ‘but I can frighten him by telling him what I think + he has done, and now when I again question the Russian servant I will make + it quite clear to him that I believe he is the murderer. I think that will + open his mouth. A man will at least talk to defend himself. Come,’ he + said, ‘we must return at once to Scotland Yard and see him. There is + nothing more to do here.’ + </p> + <p> + “He arose, and I followed him into the hall, and in another minute we + would have been on our way to Scotland Yard. But just as he opened the + street door a postman halted at the gate of the garden, and began fumbling + with the latch. + </p> + <p> + “Lyle stopped, with an exclamation of chagrin. + </p> + <p> + “‘How stupid of me!’ he exclaimed. He turned quickly and pointed to a + narrow slit cut in the brass plate of the front door. ‘The house has a + private letter-box,’ he said, ‘and I had not thought to look in it! If we + had gone out as we came in, by the window, I would never have seen it. The + moment I entered the house I should have thought of securing the letters + which came this morning. I have been grossly careless.’ He stepped back + into the hall and pulled at the lid of the letterbox, which hung on the + inside of the door, but it was tightly locked. At the same moment the + postman came up the steps holding a letter. Without a word Lyle took it + from his hand and began to examine it. It was addressed to the Princess + Zichy, and on the back of the envelope was the name of a West End + dressmaker. + </p> + <p> + “‘That is of no use to me,’ Lyle said. He took out his card and showed it + to the postman. ‘I am Inspector Lyle from Scotland Yard,’ he said. ‘The + people in this house are under arrest. Everything it contains is now in my + keeping. Did you deliver any other letters here this morning!’ + </p> + <p> + “The man looked frightened, but answered promptly that he was now upon his + third round. He had made one postal delivery at seven that morning and + another at eleven. + </p> + <p> + “‘How many letters did you leave here!’ Lyle asked. + </p> + <p> + “‘About six altogether,’ the man answered. + </p> + <p> + “‘Did you put them through the door into the letter-box!’ + </p> + <p> + “The postman said, ‘Yes, I always slip them into the box, and ring and go + away. The servants collect them from the inside.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘Have you noticed if any of the letters you leave here bear a Russian + postage stamp!’ Lyle asked. + </p> + <p> + “The man answered, ‘Oh, yes, sir, a great many.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘From the same person, would you say!’ + </p> + <p> + “‘The writing seems to be the same,’ the man answered. ‘They come + regularly about once a week—one of those I delivered this morning + had a Russian postmark.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘That will do,’ said Lyle eagerly. ‘Thank you, thank you very much.’ + </p> + <p> + “He ran back into the hall, and, pulling out his penknife, began to pick + at the lock of the letter-box. + </p> + <p> + “‘I have been supremely careless,’ he said in great excitement. ‘Twice + before when people I wanted had flown from a house I have been able to + follow them by putting a guard over their mail-box. These letters, which + arrive regularly every week from Russia in the same handwriting, they can + come but from one person. At least, we shall now know the name of the + master of this house. Undoubtedly it is one of his letters that the man + placed here this morning. We may make a most important discovery.’ + </p> + <p> + “As he was talking he was picking at the lock with his knife, but he was + so impatient to reach the letters that he pressed too heavily on the blade + and it broke in his hand. I took a step backward and drove my heel into + the lock, and burst it open. The lid flew back, and we pressed forward, + and each ran his hand down into the letterbox. For a moment we were both + too startled to move. The box was empty. + </p> + <p> + “I do not know how long we stood staring stupidly at each other, but it + was Lyle who was the first to recover. He seized me by the arm and pointed + excitedly into the empty box. + </p> + <p> + “‘Do you appreciate what that means?’ he cried. ‘It means that some one + has been here ahead of us. Some one has entered this house not three hours + before we came, since eleven o’clock this morning.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘It was the Russian servant!’ I exclaimed. + </p> + <p> + “‘The Russian servant has been under arrest at Scotland Yard,’ Lyle cried. + ‘He could not have taken the letters. Lord Arthur has been in his cot at + the hospital. That is his alibi. There is some one else, some one we do + not suspect, and that some one is the murderer. He came back here either + to obtain those letters because he knew they would convict him, or to + remove something he had left here at the time of the murder, something + incriminating,—the weapon, perhaps, or some personal article; a + cigarette-case, a handkerchief with his name upon it, or a pair of gloves. + Whatever it was it must have been damning evidence against him to have + made him take so desperate a chance.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘How do we know,’ I whispered, ‘that he is not hidden here now?’ + </p> + <p> + “‘No, I’ll swear he is not,’ Lyle answered. ‘I may have bungled in some + things, but I have searched this house thoroughly. Nevertheless,’ he + added, ‘we must go over it again, from the cellar to the roof. We have the + real clew now, and we must forget the others and work only it.’ As he + spoke he began again to search the drawing-room, turning over even the + books on the tables and the music on the piano. “‘Whoever the man is,’ he + said over his shoulder, ‘we know that he has a key to the front door and a + key to the letter-box. That shows us he is either an inmate of the house + or that he comes here when he wishes. The Russian says that he was the + only servant in the house. Certainly we have found no evidence to show + that any other servant slept here. There could be but one other person who + would possess a key to the house and the letter-box—and he lives in + St. Petersburg. At the time of the murder he was two thousand miles away.’ + Lyle interrupted himself suddenly with a sharp cry and turned upon me with + his eyes flashing. ‘But was he?’ he cried. ‘Was he? How do we know that + last night he was not in London, in this very house when Zichy and Chetney + met?’ + </p> + <p> + “He stood staring at me without seeing me, muttering, and arguing with + himself. + </p> + <p> + “‘Don’t speak to me,’ he cried, as I ventured to interrupt him. ‘I can see + it now. It is all plain. It was not the servant, but his master, the + Russian himself, and it was he who came back for the letters! He came back + for them because he knew they would convict him. We must find them. We + must have those letters. If we find the one with the Russian postmark, we + shall have found the murderer.’ He spoke like a madman, and as he spoke he + ran around the room with one hand held out in front of him as you have + seen a mind-reader at a theatre seeking for something hidden in the + stalls. He pulled the old letters from the writing-desk, and ran them over + as swiftly as a gambler deals out cards; he dropped on his knees before + the fireplace and dragged out the dead coals with his bare fingers, and + then with a low, worried cry, like a hound on a scent, he ran back to the + waste-paper basket and, lifting the papers from it, shook them out upon + the floor. Instantly he gave a shout of triumph, and, separating a number + of torn pieces from the others, held them up before me. + </p> + <p> + “‘Look!’ he cried. ‘Do you see? Here are five letters, torn across in two + places. The Russian did not stop to read them, for, as you see, he has + left them still sealed. I have been wrong. He did not return for the + letters. He could not have known their value. He must have returned for + some other reason, and, as he was leaving, saw the letter-box, and taking + out the letters, held them together—so—and tore them twice + across, and then, as the fire had gone out, tossed them into this basket. + Look!’ he cried, ‘here in the upper corner of this piece is a Russian + stamp. This is his own letter—unopened!’ + </p> + <p> + “We examined the Russian stamp and found it had been cancelled in St. + Petersburg four days ago. The back of the envelope bore the postmark of + the branch station in upper Sloane Street, and was dated this morning. The + envelope was of official blue paper and we had no difficulty in finding + the two other parts of it. We drew the torn pieces of the letter from them + and joined them together side by side. There were but two lines of + writing, and this was the message: ‘I leave Petersburg on the night train, + and I shall see you at Trevor Terrace after dinner Monday evening.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘That was last night!’ Lyle cried. ‘He arrived twelve hours ahead of his + letter—but it came in time—it came in time to hang him!’” + </p> + <p> + The Baronet struck the table with his hand. + </p> + <p> + “The name!” he demanded. “How was it signed? What was the man’s name!” + </p> + <p> + The young Solicitor rose to his feet and, leaning forward, stretched out + his arm. “There was no name,” he cried. “The letter was signed with only + two initials. But engraved at the top of the sheet was the man’s address. + That address was ‘THE AMERICAN EMBASSY, ST. PETERSBURG, BUREAU or THE + NAVAL ATTACHE,’ and the initials,” he shouted, his voice rising into an + exultant and bitter cry, “were those of the gentleman who sits opposite + who told us that he was the first to find the murdered bodies, the Naval + Attache to Russia, Lieutenant Sears!” + </p> + <p> + A strained and awful hush followed the Solicitor’s words, which seemed to + vibrate like a twanging bowstring that had just hurled its bolt. Sir + Andrew, pale and staring, drew away with an exclamation of repulsion. His + eyes were fastened upon the Naval Attache with fascinated horror. But the + American emitted a sigh of great content, and sank comfortably into the + arms of his chair. He clapped his hands softly together. + </p> + <p> + “Capital!” he murmured. “I give you my word I never guessed what you were + driving at. You fooled <i>me,</i> I’ll be hanged if you didn’t—you + certainly fooled me.” + </p> + <p> + The man with the pearl stud leaned forward with a nervous gesture. “Hush! + be careful!” he whispered. But at that instant, for the third time, a + servant, hastening through the room, handed him a piece of paper which he + scanned eagerly. The message on the paper read, “The light over the + Commons is out. The House has risen.” + </p> + <p> + The man with the black pearl gave a mighty shout, and tossed the paper + from him upon the table. + </p> + <p> + “Hurrah!” he cried. “The House is up! We’ve won!” He caught up his glass, + and slapped the Naval Attache violently upon the shoulder. He nodded + joyously at him, at the Solicitor, and at the Queen’s Messenger. + “Gentlemen, to you!” he cried; “my thanks and my congratulations!” He + drank deep from the glass, and breathed forth a long sigh of satisfaction + and relief. + </p> + <p> + “But I say,” protested the Queen’s Messenger, shaking his finger violently + at the Solicitor, “that story won’t do. You didn’t play fair—and—and + you talked so fast I couldn’t make out what it was all about. I’ll bet you + that evidence wouldn’t hold in a court of law—you couldn’t hang a + cat on such evidence. Your story is condemned tommy-rot. Now my story + might have happened, my story bore the mark—” + </p> + <p> + In the joy of creation the story-tellers had forgotten their audience, + until a sudden exclamation from Sir Andrew caused them to turn guiltily + toward him. His face was knit with lines of anger, doubt, and amazement. + </p> + <p> + “What does this mean!” he cried. “Is this a jest, or are you mad? If you + know this man is a murderer, why is he at large? Is this a game you have + been playing? Explain yourselves at once. What does it mean?” + </p> + <p> + The American, with first a glance at the others, rose and bowed + courteously. + </p> + <p> + “I am not a murderer, Sir Andrew, believe me,” he said; “you need not be + alarmed. As a matter of fact, at this moment I am much more afraid of you + than you could possibly be of me. I beg you please to be indulgent. I + assure you, we meant no disrespect. We have been matching stories, that is + all, pretending that we are people we are not, endeavoring to entertain + you with better detective tales than, for instance, the last one you read, + ‘The Great Rand Robbery.’” + </p> + <p> + The Baronet brushed his hand nervously across his forehead. + </p> + <p> + “Do you mean to tell me,” he exclaimed, “that none of this has happened? + That Lord Chetney is not dead, that his Solicitor did not find a letter of + yours written from your post in Petersburg, and that just now, when he + charged you with murder, he was in jest?” + </p> + <p> + “I am really very sorry,” said the American, “but you see, sir, he could + not have found a letter written by me in St. Petersburg because I have + never been in Petersburg. Until this week, I have never been outside of my + own country. I am not a naval officer. I am a writer of short stories. And + tonight, when this gentleman told me that you were fond of detective + stories, I thought it would be amusing to tell you one of my own—one + I had just mapped out this afternoon.” + </p> + <p> + “But Lord Chetney <i>is</i> a real person,” interrupted the Baronet, “and + he did go to Africa two years ago, and he was supposed to have died there, + and his brother, Lord Arthur, has been the heir. And yesterday Chetney did + return. I read it in the papers.” “So did I,” assented the American + soothingly; “and it struck me as being a very good plot for a story. I + mean his unexpected return from the dead, and the probable disappointment + of the younger brother. So I decided that the younger brother had better + murder the older one. The Princess Zichy I invented out of a clear sky. + The fog I did not have to invent. Since last night I know all that there + is to know about a London fog. I was lost in one for three hours.” + </p> + <p> + The Baronet turned grimly upon the Queen’s Messenger. + </p> + <p> + “But this gentleman,” he protested, “he is not a writer of short stories; + he is a member of the Foreign Office. I have often seen him in Whitehall, + and, according to him, the Princess Zichy is not an invention. He says she + is very well known, that she tried to rob him.” + </p> + <p> + The servant of the Foreign Office looked unhappily at the Cabinet + Minister, and puffed nervously on his cigar. + </p> + <p> + “It’s true, Sir Andrew, that I am a Queen’s Messenger,” he said + appealingly, “and a Russian woman once did try to rob a Queen’s Messenger + in a railway carriage—only it did not happen to me, but to a pal of + mine. The only Russian princess I ever knew called herself Zabrisky. You + may have seen her. She used to do a dive from the roof of the Aquarium.” + </p> + <p> + Sir Andrew, with a snort of indignation, fronted the young Solicitor. + </p> + <p> + “And I suppose yours was a cock-and-bull story, too,” he said. “Of course, + it must have been, since Lord Chetney is not dead. But don’t tell me,” he + protested, “that you are not Chudleigh’s son either.” + </p> + <p> + “I’m sorry,” said the youngest member, smiling in some embarrassment, “but + my name is not Chudleigh. I assure you, though, that I know the family + very well, and that I am on very good terms with them.” + </p> + <p> + “You should be!” exclaimed the Baronet; “and, judging from the liberties + you take with the Chetneys, you had better be on very good terms with + them, too.” + </p> + <p> + The young man leaned back and glanced toward the servants at the far end + of the room. + </p> + <p> + “It has been so long since I have been in the Club,” he said, “that I + doubt if even the waiters remember me. Perhaps Joseph may,” he added. + “Joseph!” he called, and at the word a servant stepped briskly forward. + </p> + <p> + The young man pointed to the stuffed head of a great lion which was + suspended above the fireplace. + </p> + <p> + “Joseph,” he said, “I want you to tell these gentlemen who shot that lion. + Who presented it to the Grill?” + </p> + <p> + Joseph, unused to acting as master of ceremonies to members of the Club, + shifted nervously from one foot to the other. + </p> + <p> + “Why, you—you did,” he stammered. + </p> + <p> + “Of course I did!” exclaimed the young man. “I mean, what is the name of + the man who shot it! Tell the gentlemen who I am. They wouldn’t believe + me.” + </p> + <p> + “Who you are, my lord?” said Joseph. “You are Lord Edam’s son, the Earl of + Chetney.” + </p> + <p> + “You must admit,” said Lord Chetney, when the noise had died away, “that I + couldn’t remain dead while my little brother was accused of murder. I had + to do something. Family pride demanded it. Now, Arthur, as the younger + brother, can’t afford to be squeamish, but personally I should hate to + have a brother of mine hanged for murder.” + </p> + <p> + “You certainly showed no scruples against hanging me,” said the American, + “but in the face of your evidence I admit my guilt, and I sentence myself + to pay the full penalty of the law as we are made to pay it in my own + country. The order of this court is,” he announced, “that Joseph shall + bring me a wine-card, and that I sign it for five bottles of the Club’s + best champagne.” “Oh, no!” protested the man with the pearl stud, “it is + not for <i>you</i> to sign it. In my opinion it is Sir Andrew who should + pay the costs. It is time you knew,” he said, turning to that gentleman, + “that unconsciously you have been the victim of what I may call a + patriotic conspiracy. These stories have had a more serious purpose than + merely to amuse. They have been told with the worthy object of detaining + you from the House of Commons. I must explain to you, that all through + this evening I have had a servant waiting in Trafalgar Square with + instructions to bring me word as soon as the light over the House of + Commons had ceased to burn. The light is now out, and the object for which + we plotted is attained.” + </p> + <p> + The Baronet glanced keenly at the man with the black pearl, and then + quickly at his watch. The smile disappeared from his lips, and his face + was set in stern and forbidding lines. + </p> + <p> + “And may I know,” he asked icily, “what was the object of your plot!” + </p> + <p> + “A most worthy one,” the other retorted. “Our object was to keep you from + advocating the expenditure of many millions of the people’s money upon + more battleships. In a word, we have been working together to prevent you + from passing the Navy Increase Bill.” + </p> + <p> + Sir Andrew’s face bloomed with brilliant color. His body shook with + suppressed emotion. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0016" id="linkimage-0016"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:60%;"> + <img src="images/fog-16.jpg" alt="16 What Was the Object of Your Plot? " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “My dear sir!” he cried, “you should spend more time at the House and less + at your Club. The Navy Bill was brought up on its third reading at eight + o’clock this evening. I spoke for three hours in its favor. My only reason + for wishing to return again to the House to-night was to sup on the + terrace with my old friend, Admiral Simons; for my work at the House was + completed five hours ago, when the Navy Increase Bill was passed by an + overwhelming majority.” + </p> + <p> + The Baronet rose and bowed. “I have to thank you, sir,” he said, “for a + most interesting evening.” + </p> + <p> + The American shoved the wine-card which Joseph had given him toward the + gentleman with the black pearl. + </p> + <p> + “You sign it,” he said. + </p> + <p> + THE END. <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Fog, by Richard Harding Davis + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE FOG *** + +***** This file should be named 7884-h.htm or 7884-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/7/8/8/7884/ + +Produced by Eric Eldred, and David Widger + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions 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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