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+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: April, 2005 [EBook #7884]
+Posting Date: July 30, 2009
+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
+
+
+
+
+
+IN THE FOG
+
+
+By Richard Harding Davis
+
+
+[Illustration: 01 I cannot tell you how much I have to thank you for]
+
+
+[Illustration: 02 The four strangers at supper were seated together]
+
+
+
+
+IN THE FOG
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+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.”
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.”
+
+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.”
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+“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.”
+
+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.
+
+[Illustration: 03 The men around the table turned]
+
+“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.’”
+
+“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?”
+
+The gentleman with the black pearl shrugged his shoulders.
+
+“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.”
+
+[Illustration: 04 I would tumble his unconscious form into a hansom cab]
+
+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.
+
+“To look at him now,” he said, “one would not guess he was deeply
+concerned with the affairs of state.”
+
+The others nodded silently.
+
+“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.”
+
+“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.”
+
+The fourth member, a stout and florid gentleman of a somewhat sporting
+appearance, in a short smoking-jacket and black tie, sighed enviously.
+
+“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.”
+
+“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.”
+
+The gentleman with the black pearl laughed morosely.
+
+“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.”
+
+The American raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
+
+“‘The Great Rand Robbery’?” he repeated incredulously. “What an odd
+taste!”
+
+“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.”
+
+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.
+
+“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!”
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+The voice of the American instantly broke the silence in a high, nervous
+accent.
+
+“And yet Sherlock Holmes himself,” he cried, “could not decipher the
+mystery which to-night baffles the police of London.”
+
+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.
+
+The gentleman with the black pearl was the first to recover.
+
+“Yes, yes,” he said eagerly, throwing himself across the table. “A
+mystery that baffles the police of London.
+
+[Illustration: 05 “My name,” he said, “is Sears.”]
+
+“I have heard nothing of it. Tell us at once, pray do--tell us at once.”
+
+The American flushed uncomfortably, and picked uneasily at the
+tablecloth.
+
+“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.”
+
+The gentleman with the black pearl interrupted with so pronounced an
+exclamation of excitement and delight that the American stammered and
+ceased speaking.
+
+“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--_the_ most remarkable crime, I
+believe you said, sir,” he added, bending eagerly toward the naval
+officer, “which has occurred in London in many years.”
+
+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.
+
+Sir Andrew advanced to within the light of the candles and drew a chair
+toward him.
+
+“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.”
+
+The gentleman with the pearl pushed the chair toward Sir Andrew, and
+motioned him to be seated.
+
+“You cannot leave us now,” he exclaimed. “Mr. Sears is just about to
+tell us of this remarkable crime.”
+
+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.
+
+“If you will be so kind as to begin, sir,” he said impatiently.
+
+“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.”
+
+The gentlemen seated around him nodded gravely.
+
+“Of course,” the baronet assented with eagerness, “of course.”
+
+“We will refer to it,” said the gentleman with the black pearl, “as ‘The
+Story of the Naval Attache.’”
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“‘It cannot be that the cabmen are on strike,’ my friend said, as he
+rose and walked to the window.
+
+“He pulled back the curtains and at once called to me.
+
+“‘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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+[Illustration: 06 A square of light suddenly opened in the night]
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“The moment before I had been bewildered because I could see no one, but
+at sight of this man I was much more bewildered.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“He nodded vigorously, and said, ‘Will the Excellency come this way? The
+Princess is here.’
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“‘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.’
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.’
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+[Illustration: 07 At my feet was the body of a beautiful woman]
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“‘She is not there,’ he said. ‘The Princess has gone. They have all
+gone.’
+
+“‘Who have gone?’ I demanded. ‘Who else has been here?’
+
+“‘The two Englishmen,’ he said.
+
+“‘What two Englishmen?’ I demanded. ‘What are their names?’
+
+“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.
+
+“I guessed that it was my tone which frightened him, so I took my hand
+off his wrist and spoke less eagerly.
+
+“‘How long have they been here?’ I asked, ‘and when did they go?’
+
+“He pointed behind him toward the drawing-room.
+
+“‘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.’
+
+“I believed that the man was telling me the truth. His fright had
+passed, and he was now apparently puzzled, but not alarmed.
+
+“‘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?’
+
+“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.”
+
+The American paused abruptly, and glanced at the faces about him. “I
+read the names,” he repeated. He spoke with great reluctance.
+
+“Continue!” cried the Baronet, sharply.
+
+“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.”
+
+The men at the table fell back as though a trapdoor had fallen open at
+their feet.
+
+“Lord Chetney!” they exclaimed in chorus. They glanced at each other and
+back to the American with every expression of concern and disbelief.
+
+“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.”
+
+The jaw of the American set in a resolute square, and he pressed his
+lips together.
+
+“You are perfectly right, sir,” he said, “Lord Chetney did arrive in
+London yesterday morning, and yesterday night I found his dead body.”
+
+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.
+
+“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?”
+
+The American, before he answered, waited until the chorus of
+exclamations had ceased. Then he continued as though he had not been
+interrupted.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“That is the end of my adventure. What I have to tell you now is what I
+learned from the police.
+
+“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.
+
+“This morning, Inspector Lyle called on me, and from him I learned the
+police theory of the scene I have just described.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.”
+
+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.
+
+“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.”
+
+But Sir Henry rose reluctantly from his chair.
+
+“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.
+
+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.”
+
+The Baronet interrupted quickly.
+
+“I trust not,” he said, “for I could not possibly stop to hear them.”
+
+“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.”
+
+“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.
+
+“The only time I ever met her,” he said, “she tried to rob me of this.”
+
+The Baronet regarded him closely.
+
+“She tried to rob you?” he repeated.
+
+[Illustration: 08 The Princess Zichy]
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.”
+
+“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.”
+
+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.”
+
+“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.
+
+The servant bowed to the Baronet.
+
+“Your hansom is waiting, Sir Andrew,” he said.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+The gentleman with the black pearl smiled blandly, and rapped upon the
+table.
+
+“Order, gentlemen,” he said. “Order for the story of the Queen’s
+Messenger and the Czarina’s diamonds.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“It was indiscreet, but he could not possibly have guessed that she
+could ever make any use of what he told her.
+
+“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.
+
+“My train for Nice left Paris at ten in the morning. When I travel at
+night I generally tell the _chef de gare_ 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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“As I spoke I looked at her for the first time, and saw that she was a
+most remarkably handsome woman.
+
+“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.
+
+“‘Do you object to smoke?’ she asked.
+
+“I laughed and assured her I had been in great terror lest she might
+object to it herself.
+
+“‘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.’
+
+“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 _grande dame_ 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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.’
+
+“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 _was_ 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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“She thanked me and said, ‘No,’ and then suddenly her eyes lighted, and
+she exclaimed, ‘Yes, thank you, if you will be so kind.’
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+[Illustration: 09 This gave the Princess Zichy the chance]
+
+“‘In black,’ she answered, rising and blocking the door of the
+compartment. ‘All in black, with a bonnet!’
+
+“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.
+
+“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.’
+
+“I protested that every woman on the platform was dressed in black.
+
+“‘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.
+
+“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.
+
+[Illustration: 10 She knew she would be twenty thousand pounds richer]
+
+“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.
+
+“‘I cannot tell you,’ she said, ‘how much I have to thank you for.’ What
+do you think of that for impudence!
+
+“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.
+
+“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.’
+
+“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.
+
+[Illustration: 11 I threw out everything on the bed]
+
+“I gave a roar like a mad bull, and I jumped down the stairs six steps
+at a time.
+
+“I demanded at the office if a distinguished lady of title, possibly a
+Russian, had just entered the hotel.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+[Illustration: 12 Threw everything in the dressing-case out on the floor]
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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!
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.”
+
+The Queen’s Messenger paused and surveyed the faces of those about him
+in some embarrassment.
+
+“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?”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+Sir Andrew rose with disapproval written in every lineament.
+
+“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.
+
+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.
+
+The youngest member, who had remained an interested but silent listener
+to the tale of the Queen’s Messenger, raised his hand commandingly.
+
+“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.”
+
+“You!” cried the Baronet.
+
+“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.”
+
+The Baronet, bewildered but eager, sank back into his chair.
+
+“Will you be long, sir!” he demanded.
+
+“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.”
+
+“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.
+
+“Tell the driver of that hansom,” he called to the servant, “that I take
+him by the hour.”
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“‘He is in abject terror,’ Lyle said. ‘I assured him that he was not
+suspected of the crime, but he would tell me nothing.’
+
+“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.
+
+[Illustration 13  We found him propped up in bed]
+
+“‘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.
+
+“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.
+
+“‘You brothers will have much to talk about,’ she said. ‘I am going to
+the dining-room. When you have finished, let me know.’
+
+“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.
+
+“‘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.’
+
+“Arthur says that at this Chetney was greatly moved.
+
+“‘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.’
+
+“‘Do you mean that?’ Arthur cried.
+
+“‘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.
+
+“‘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.’
+
+“‘Yet you are here with her tonight,’ Arthur protested, ‘only a few
+hours after your return.’
+
+“‘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.
+
+“‘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.
+
+“‘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.
+
+“When Arthur turned on him Lyle hesitated for a moment, and then told
+him exactly what was the case against him.
+
+“‘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.’
+
+“‘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!’
+
+“‘They will say,’ Lyle answered, ‘that she was a witness to the
+murder--that she would have told.’
+
+“‘Then why did I not kill the servant as well!’ Arthur said.
+
+“‘He was asleep, and saw nothing.’
+
+“‘And you believe _that?_’ Arthur demanded.
+
+“‘It is not a question of what I believe,’ Lyle said gravely. ‘It is a
+question for your peers.’
+
+“‘The man is insolent!’ Arthur cried. ‘The thing is monstrous!
+Horrible!’
+
+“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.
+
+“‘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?’
+
+“Lyle turned his head away and stared down at the floor. ‘I might say,’
+he answered, ‘that you placed it there.’
+
+“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.
+
+“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.’
+
+“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.
+
+[Illustration: We found the body of the Princess Zichy]
+
+“‘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.’
+
+“‘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 _not_ 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.’
+
+“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.
+
+“‘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.’
+
+“‘What can you prove by him!’ I asked. ‘He was drunk and asleep. He saw
+nothing.’
+
+“Lyle hesitated, and then, as though he had made up his mind to be quite
+frank with me, spoke freely.
+
+“‘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.’
+
+“Lyle pointed at the modern French paintings and the heavy silk rugs
+which hung upon the walls.
+
+“‘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?’
+
+[Illustration: 15 Entreating Chetney not to leave her]
+
+“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.
+
+“‘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.’
+
+“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.
+
+“Lyle stopped, with an exclamation of chagrin.
+
+“‘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.
+
+“‘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!’
+
+“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.
+
+“‘How many letters did you leave here!’ Lyle asked.
+
+“‘About six altogether,’ the man answered.
+
+“‘Did you put them through the door into the letter-box!’
+
+“The postman said, ‘Yes, I always slip them into the box, and ring and
+go away. The servants collect them from the inside.’
+
+“‘Have you noticed if any of the letters you leave here bear a Russian
+postage stamp!’ Lyle asked.
+
+“The man answered, ‘Oh, yes, sir, a great many.’
+
+“‘From the same person, would you say!’
+
+“‘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.’
+
+“‘That will do,’ said Lyle eagerly. ‘Thank you, thank you very much.’
+
+“He ran back into the hall, and, pulling out his penknife, began to pick
+at the lock of the letter-box.
+
+“‘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.’
+
+“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.
+
+“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.
+
+“‘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.’
+
+“‘It was the Russian servant!’ I exclaimed.
+
+“‘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.’
+
+“‘How do we know,’ I whispered, ‘that he is not hidden here now?’
+
+“‘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?’
+
+“He stood staring at me without seeing me, muttering, and arguing with
+himself.
+
+“‘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.
+
+“‘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!’
+
+“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.’
+
+“‘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!’”
+
+The Baronet struck the table with his hand.
+
+“The name!” he demanded. “How was it signed? What was the man’s name!”
+
+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!”
+
+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.
+
+“Capital!” he murmured. “I give you my word I never guessed what you
+were driving at. You fooled _me,_ I’ll be hanged if you didn’t--you
+certainly fooled me.”
+
+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.”
+
+The man with the black pearl gave a mighty shout, and tossed the paper
+from him upon the table.
+
+“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.
+
+“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--”
+
+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.
+
+“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?”
+
+The American, with first a glance at the others, rose and bowed
+courteously.
+
+“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.’”
+
+The Baronet brushed his hand nervously across his forehead.
+
+“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?”
+
+“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.”
+
+“But Lord Chetney _is_ 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.”
+
+The Baronet turned grimly upon the Queen’s Messenger.
+
+“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.”
+
+The servant of the Foreign Office looked unhappily at the Cabinet
+Minister, and puffed nervously on his cigar.
+
+“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.”
+
+Sir Andrew, with a snort of indignation, fronted the young Solicitor.
+
+“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.”
+
+“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.”
+
+“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.”
+
+The young man leaned back and glanced toward the servants at the far end
+of the room.
+
+“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.
+
+The young man pointed to the stuffed head of a great lion which was
+suspended above the fireplace.
+
+“Joseph,” he said, “I want you to tell these gentlemen who shot that
+lion. Who presented it to the Grill?”
+
+Joseph, unused to acting as master of ceremonies to members of the Club,
+shifted nervously from one foot to the other.
+
+“Why, you--you did,” he stammered.
+
+“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.”
+
+“Who you are, my lord?” said Joseph. “You are Lord Edam’s son, the Earl
+of Chetney.”
+
+“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.”
+
+“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 _you_ 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.”
+
+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.
+
+“And may I know,” he asked icily, “what was the object of your plot!”
+
+“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.”
+
+Sir Andrew’s face bloomed with brilliant color. His body shook with
+suppressed emotion.
+
+[Illustration: 16 What was the object of your plot?]
+
+“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.”
+
+The Baronet rose and bowed. “I have to thank you, sir,” he said, “for a
+most interesting evening.”
+
+The American shoved the wine-card which Joseph had given him toward the
+gentleman with the black pearl.
+
+“You sign it,” he said.
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Fog, by Richard Harding Davis
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+    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 &ldquo;my Name,&rdquo; he Said, &ldquo;is Sears.&rdquo; </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 &ldquo;Vanity Fair.&rdquo;
+     </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&rsquo;s Theatre stood on
+      the present site of the &ldquo;Times&rdquo; office. It has a golden Grill which
+      Charles the Second presented to the Club, and the original manuscript of
+      &ldquo;Tom and Jerry in London,&rdquo; 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&mdash;only
+      foreigners may be honorary members&mdash;he said, as he signed his first
+      wine card, &ldquo;I would rather see my name on that, than on a picture in the
+      Louvre.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      At which Quiller remarked, &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </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>
+      &ldquo;I repeat,&rdquo; said the gentleman with the black pearl stud, &ldquo;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, &lsquo;adventures are for the
+      adventurous.&rsquo; 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&rsquo;s point,
+      disputed the proper scanning of one of Pope&rsquo;s couplets. Over so weighty a
+      matter as spilled Burgundy on a gentleman&rsquo;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 &lsquo;spirit.&rsquo; 
+      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.&rdquo;
+     </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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;Now, were this the eighteenth century,&rdquo; continued the gentleman with the
+      black pearl, &ldquo;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
+      &lsquo;Tatler,&rsquo; with stars for names, entitled, let us say, &lsquo;The Budget and the
+      Baronet.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But to what end, sir?&rdquo; inquired the youngest of the members. &ldquo;And why Sir
+      Andrew, of all persons&mdash;why should you select him for this
+      adventure?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The gentleman with the black pearl shrugged his shoulders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It would prevent him speaking in the House to-night. The Navy Increase
+      Bill,&rdquo; he added gloomily. &ldquo;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&rdquo;&mdash;the gentleman laughed ruefully&mdash;&ldquo;if he does,
+      it will go through. Now, had I the spirit of our ancestors,&rdquo; he exclaimed,
+      &ldquo;I would bring chloroform from the nearest chemist&rsquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </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>
+      &ldquo;To look at him now,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;one would not guess he was deeply
+      concerned with the affairs of state.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The others nodded silently.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He has not lifted his eyes from that book since we first entered,&rdquo; added
+      the youngest member. &ldquo;He surely cannot mean to speak to-night.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes, he will speak,&rdquo; muttered the one with the black pearl moodily.
+      &ldquo;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&mdash;and
+      he will pass it.&rdquo;
+     </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>
+      &ldquo;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 &lsquo;d be in a devil
+      of a funk myself. And yet he is as keen over that book he&rsquo;s reading as
+      though he had nothing before him until bedtime.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, see how eager he is,&rdquo; whispered the youngest member. &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The gentleman with the black pearl laughed morosely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The weighty work in which the eminent statesman is so deeply engrossed,&rdquo;
+       he said, &ldquo;is called &lsquo;The Great Rand Robbery.&rsquo; It is a detective novel, for
+      sale at all bookstalls.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The American raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;The Great Rand Robbery&rsquo;?&rdquo; he repeated incredulously. &ldquo;What an odd
+      taste!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is not a taste, it is his vice,&rdquo; returned the gentleman with the pearl
+      stud. &ldquo;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.&rdquo; The member of Parliament twisted his pearl stud
+      nervously, and bit at the edge of his mustache. &ldquo;If it only were the first
+      pages of &lsquo;The Rand Robbery&rsquo; that he were reading,&rdquo; he murmured bitterly,
+      &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </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>
+      &ldquo;I would give a hundred pounds,&rdquo; he whispered, &ldquo;if I could place in his
+      hands at this moment a new story of Sherlock Holmes&mdash;a thousand
+      pounds,&rdquo; he added wildly&mdash;&ldquo;five thousand pounds!&rdquo;
+     </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>
+      &ldquo;And yet Sherlock Holmes himself,&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;could not decipher the
+      mystery which to-night baffles the police of London.&rdquo;
+     </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>
+      &ldquo;Yes, yes,&rdquo; he said eagerly, throwing himself across the table. &ldquo;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 &lsquo;my Name,&rsquo; he Said, &lsquo;is Sears.&rsquo; "   width="100%" /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have heard nothing of it. Tell us at once, pray do&mdash;tell us at
+      once.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The American flushed uncomfortably, and picked uneasily at the tablecloth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No one but the police has heard of it,&rdquo; he murmured, &ldquo;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,&rdquo; he said, inclining his head politely, &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </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>
+      &ldquo;Do you hear, Sir Andrew!&rdquo; cried the member of Parliament jubilantly. &ldquo;An
+      American diplomat halted by our police because he is the only witness of a
+      most remarkable crime&mdash;<i>the</i> most remarkable crime, I believe
+      you said, sir,&rdquo; he added, bending eagerly toward the naval officer, &ldquo;which
+      has occurred in London in many years.&rdquo;
+     </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>
+      &ldquo;The crime must be exceptional indeed,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The gentleman with the pearl pushed the chair toward Sir Andrew, and
+      motioned him to be seated.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You cannot leave us now,&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;Mr. Sears is just about to tell
+      us of this remarkable crime.&rdquo;
+     </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. &ldquo;They can wait,&rdquo; he
+      muttered. He seated himself quickly and nodded at Lieutenant Sears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you will be so kind as to begin, sir,&rdquo; he said impatiently.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course,&rdquo; said the American, &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The gentlemen seated around him nodded gravely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course,&rdquo; the baronet assented with eagerness, &ldquo;of course.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We will refer to it,&rdquo; said the gentleman with the black pearl, &ldquo;as &lsquo;The
+      Story of the Naval Attache.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I arrived in London two days ago,&rdquo; said the American, &ldquo;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&rsquo;clock,
+      that I must get back to the hotel, and he sent out his servant to call a
+      hansom.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;It cannot be that the cabmen are on strike,&rsquo; my friend said, as he rose
+      and walked to the window.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He pulled back the curtains and at once called to me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You have never seen a London fog, have you?&rsquo; he asked. &lsquo;Well, come here.
+      This is one of the best, or, rather, one of the worst, of them.&rsquo; 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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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 &lsquo;All right,&rsquo; and the voice of my friend answered,
+      &lsquo;Good luck to you.&rsquo; 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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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&mdash;13&mdash;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>
+      &ldquo;Under other circumstances the young man&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;He nodded vigorously, and said, &lsquo;Will the Excellency come this way? The
+      Princess is here.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I distinctly made out the word &lsquo;princess,&rsquo; 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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;She is not there,&rsquo; 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. &lsquo;She is
+      above,&rsquo; he said; &lsquo;I will inform the Princess of the Excellency&rsquo;s
+      presence.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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, &lsquo;I beg your pardon.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;She is not there,&rsquo; he said. &lsquo;The Princess has gone. They have all gone.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Who have gone?&rsquo; I demanded. &lsquo;Who else has been here?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;The two Englishmen,&rsquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;What two Englishmen?&rsquo; I demanded. &lsquo;What are their names?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;I guessed that it was my tone which frightened him, so I took my hand off
+      his wrist and spoke less eagerly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;How long have they been here?&rsquo; I asked, &lsquo;and when did they go?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He pointed behind him toward the drawing-room.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;One sat there with the Princess,&rsquo; he said; &lsquo;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.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You must remember the names of the Englishmen,&rsquo; I urged. &lsquo;Try to think.
+      When you announced them to the Princess what name did you give?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The American paused abruptly, and glanced at the faces about him. &ldquo;I read
+      the names,&rdquo; he repeated. He spoke with great reluctance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Continue!&rdquo; cried the Baronet, sharply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I read the names,&rdquo; said the American with evident distaste, &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The men at the table fell back as though a trapdoor had fallen open at
+      their feet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Lord Chetney!&rdquo; they exclaimed in chorus. They glanced at each other and
+      back to the American with every expression of concern and disbelief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is impossible!&rdquo; cried the Baronet. &ldquo;Why, my dear sir, young Chetney
+      only arrived from Africa yesterday. It was so stated in the evening
+      papers.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The jaw of the American set in a resolute square, and he pressed his lips
+      together.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are perfectly right, sir,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;Lord Chetney did arrive in
+      London yesterday morning, and yesterday night I found his dead body.&rdquo;
+     </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>
+      &ldquo;Oh, please let him go on!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;What happened then? You say you
+      found two visiting cards. How do you know which card was that of the
+      murdered man?&rdquo;
+     </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>
+      &ldquo;The instant I read the names upon the cards,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;s
+      lantern.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is the end of my adventure. What I have to tell you now is what I
+      learned from the police.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;s father, with a warrant for Lord Arthur&rsquo;s arrest. I was thanked
+      and dismissed on my own recognizance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This morning, Inspector Lyle called on me, and from him I learned the
+      police theory of the scene I have just described.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;s infatuation he appealed to the police for her
+      record.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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,&rdquo;
+       concluded the Naval Attache, leaning forward and marking each word with
+      his finger, &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </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>
+      &ldquo;There are several points in Mr. Sears&rsquo;s story I want explained,&rdquo; he
+      cried. &ldquo;Be seated, Sir Andrew,&rdquo; he begged. &ldquo;Let us have the opinion of an
+      expert. I do not care what the police think, I want to know what you
+      think.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But Sir Henry rose reluctantly from his chair.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should like nothing better than to discuss this,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But it is
+      most important that I proceed to the House. I should have been there some
+      time ago.&rdquo; 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.
+      &ldquo;There are surely many details that you have not told us,&rdquo; he urged. &ldquo;Some
+      you have forgotten.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Baronet interrupted quickly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I trust not,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;for I could not possibly stop to hear them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The story is finished,&rdquo; declared the Naval Attache; &ldquo;until Lord Arthur is
+      arrested or the bodies are found there is nothing more to tell of either
+      Chetney or the Princess Zichy.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of Lord Chetney perhaps not,&rdquo; interrupted the sporting-looking gentleman
+      with the black tie, &ldquo;but there&rsquo;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.&rdquo; 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>
+      &ldquo;The only time I ever met her,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;she tried to rob me of this.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Baronet regarded him closely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She tried to rob you?&rdquo; 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>
+      &ldquo;Tried to rob me of this,&rdquo; continued the gentleman in the black tie, &ldquo;and
+      of the Czarina&rsquo;s diamonds.&rdquo; His tone was one of mingled admiration and
+      injury.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Czarina&rsquo;s diamonds!&rdquo; 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>
+      &ldquo;Yes, the Czarina&rsquo;s diamonds,&rdquo; repeated the man with the black tie. &ldquo;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&rsquo;s
+      Messenger,&rdquo; he added.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I see,&rdquo; exclaimed Sir Andrew in a tone of relief. &ldquo;And you say that
+      this same Princess Zichy, one of the victims of this double murder,
+      endeavored to rob you of&mdash;of&mdash;that cigar-case.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And the Czarina&rsquo;s diamonds,&rdquo; answered the Queen&rsquo;s Messenger
+      imperturbably. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not much of a story, but it gives you an idea of the
+      woman&rsquo;s character. The robbery took place between Paris and Marseilles.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Baronet interrupted him with an abrupt movement. &ldquo;No, no,&rdquo; he cried,
+      shaking his head in protest. &ldquo;Do not tempt me. I really cannot listen. I
+      must be at the House in ten minutes.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sorry,&rdquo; said the Queen&rsquo;s Messenger. He turned to those seated about
+      him. &ldquo;I wonder if the other gentlemen&mdash;&rdquo; he inquired tentatively.
+      There was a chorus of polite murmurs, and the Queen&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;Your hansom is waiting, Sir Andrew,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The necklace was worth twenty thousand pounds,&rdquo; began the Queen&rsquo;s
+      Messenger. &ldquo;It was a present from the Queen of England to celebrate&mdash;&rdquo;
+       The Baronet gave an exclamation of angry annoyance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Upon my word, this is most provoking,&rdquo; he interrupted. &ldquo;I really ought
+      not to stay. But I certainly mean to hear this.&rdquo; He turned irritably to
+      the servant. &ldquo;Tell the hansom to wait,&rdquo; 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>
+      &ldquo;Order, gentlemen,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Order for the story of the Queen&rsquo;s Messenger
+      and the Czarina&rsquo;s diamonds.&rdquo;
+     </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>
+      &ldquo;The necklace was a present from the Queen of England to the Czarina of
+      Russia,&rdquo; began the Queen&rsquo;s Messenger. &ldquo;It was to celebrate the occasion of
+      the Czar&rsquo;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&rsquo; 
+      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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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 &lsquo;A Scrap of
+      Paper.&rsquo; 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&rsquo;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 &lsquo;Scrap of Paper&rsquo; 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>
+      &ldquo;No one knew of this except the Queen&rsquo;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&rsquo;t know anything at all about her, except that
+      she was a very attractive woman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was indiscreet, but he could not possibly have guessed that she could
+      ever make any use of what he told her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;As I spoke I looked at her for the first time, and saw that she was a
+      most remarkably handsome woman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Do you object to smoke?&rsquo; she asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I laughed and assured her I had been in great terror lest she might
+      object to it herself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;If you like cigarettes,&rsquo; she said, &lsquo;will you try some of these? They are
+      rolled especially for my husband in Russia, and they are supposed to be
+      very good.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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, &lsquo;When my husband was stationed at
+      Vienna,&rsquo; or &lsquo;When my husband was promoted to Rome.&rsquo; Once she said to me,
+      &lsquo;I have often seen you at Monte Carlo. I saw you when you won the pigeon
+      championship.&rsquo; I told her that I was not a pigeon shot, and she gave a
+      little start of surprise. &lsquo;Oh, I beg your pardon,&rsquo; she said; &lsquo;I thought
+      you were Morton Hamilton, the English champion.&rsquo; 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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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. &lsquo;Your bag slipped off on the floor,&rsquo; she said. &lsquo;If you&rsquo;ve got any
+      bottles in it, you had better look and see that they&rsquo;re not broken.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;She thanked me and said, &lsquo;No,&rsquo; and then suddenly her eyes lighted, and
+      she exclaimed, &lsquo;Yes, thank you, if you will be so kind.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;I needn&rsquo;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. &lsquo;Natalie!&rsquo; she called, &lsquo;Natalie! here I am.
+      Come here! This way!&rsquo; She turned upon me in the greatest excitement. &lsquo;My
+      maid!&rsquo; she cried. &lsquo;She is looking for me. She passed the window without
+      seeing me. Go, please, and bring her back.&rsquo; She continued pointing out of
+      the door and beckoning me with her other hand. There certainly was
+      something about that woman&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;In black,&rsquo; she answered, rising and blocking the door of the
+      compartment. &lsquo;All in black, with a bonnet!&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The train waited three minutes at Aries, and in that time I suppose I
+      must have rushed up to over twenty women and asked, &lsquo;Are you Natalie?&rsquo; The
+      only reason I wasn&rsquo;t punched with an umbrella or handed over to the police
+      was that they probably thought I was crazy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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, &lsquo;You
+      are very kind to me. I am so sorry to have troubled you.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I protested that every woman on the platform was dressed in black.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Indeed I am so sorry,&rsquo; 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>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I cannot tell you,&rsquo; she said, &lsquo;how much I have to thank you for.&rsquo; What
+      do you think of that for impudence!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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, &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t be an ass. Pull yourself together,
+      pull yourself together. Take the things out, one at a time. It&rsquo;s there, of
+      course it&rsquo;s there. Don&rsquo;t be an ass.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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&mdash;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>
+      &ldquo;I gave a roar like a mad bull, and I jumped down the stairs six steps at
+      a time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I demanded at the office if a distinguished lady of title, possibly a
+      Russian, had just entered the hotel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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,&mdash;a smart young chap, a
+      colonel in the army, and a very intelligent man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;He wasn&rsquo;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&rsquo;If.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;I thanked him, and complimented him on his energy, and left him. But I
+      didn&rsquo;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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;s diamonds!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Queen&rsquo;s Messenger paused and surveyed the faces of those about him in
+      some embarrassment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But the worst of it is,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;s diamonds in my pigskin cigar-case.
+      What do you fellows think?&rdquo;
+     </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>
+      &ldquo;I thought your story would bear upon the murder,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Had I
+      imagined it would have nothing whatsoever to do with it I would not have
+      remained.&rdquo; He pushed back his chair and bowed stiffly. &ldquo;I wish you good
+      night,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a chorus of remonstrance, and under cover of this and the
+      Baronet&rsquo;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&rsquo;s Messenger, raised his hand commandingly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir Andrew,&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You!&rdquo; cried the Baronet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; answered the young man briskly. &ldquo;I would have spoken sooner,&rdquo; he
+      explained, &ldquo;but that I thought this gentleman&rdquo;&mdash;he inclined his head
+      toward the Queen&rsquo;s Messenger&mdash;&ldquo;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 &amp; 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.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Baronet, bewildered but eager, sank back into his chair.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will you be long, sir!&rdquo; he demanded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall endeavor to be brief,&rdquo; said the young solicitor; &ldquo;and,&rdquo; he added,
+      in a tone which gave his words almost the weight of a threat, &ldquo;I promise
+      to be interesting.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is no need to promise that,&rdquo; said Sir Andrew, &ldquo;I find it much too
+      interesting as it is.&rdquo; He glanced ruefully at the clock and turned his
+      eyes quickly from it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell the driver of that hansom,&rdquo; he called to the servant, &ldquo;that I take
+      him by the hour.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For the last three days,&rdquo; began young Mr. Chudleigh, &ldquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;clock, Arthur had not returned.
+      None of us knew where Madame Zichy lived, so we could not go to recover
+      Lord Chetney&rsquo;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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;He is in abject terror,&rsquo; Lyle said. &lsquo;I assured him that he was not
+      suspected of the crime, but he would tell me nothing.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There were no other developments until two o&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;That,&rsquo; Arthur said contemptuously, &lsquo;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&mdash;not to clear myself, but to help
+      you to find out the truth.&rsquo; 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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You brothers will have much to talk about,&rsquo; she said. &lsquo;I am going to the
+      dining-room. When you have finished, let me know.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;This is not the moment to remember your quarrel,&rsquo; Arthur said to him;
+      &lsquo;you have come back from the dead only in time to make your peace with him
+      before he dies.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Arthur says that at this Chetney was greatly moved.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You entirely misunderstand me, Arthur,&rsquo; he returned. &lsquo;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.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Do you mean that?&rsquo; Arthur cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Yes,&rsquo; Chetney answered. &lsquo;When I returned to London I had no intention of
+      seeking her again, and I am here only through a mistake.&rsquo; 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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;She deceived me cruelly,&rsquo; he said; &lsquo;I cannot tell you how cruelly.
+      During the two years when I was trying to obtain my father&rsquo;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.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Yet you are here with her tonight,&rsquo; Arthur protested, &lsquo;only a few hours
+      after your return.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;That is easily explained,&rsquo; Chetney answered. &lsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;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,&rsquo; Chetney added, &lsquo;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.&rsquo; 
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;That,&rsquo; said Arthur, &lsquo;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.&rsquo; He turned to Inspector Lyle, who was sitting at the
+      foot of the bed taking notes of all he told us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Why in the name of common sense,&rsquo; he cried, &lsquo;should I have chosen that
+      moment of all others to send my brother back to the grave!&rsquo; 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>
+      &ldquo;When Arthur turned on him Lyle hesitated for a moment, and then told him
+      exactly what was the case against him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Ever since your brother was reported as having died in Africa,&rsquo; he said,
+      &lsquo;your Lordship has been collecting money on post obits. Lord Chetney&rsquo;s
+      arrival last night turned them into waste paper. You were suddenly in debt
+      for thousands of pounds&mdash;for much more than you could ever possibly
+      pay. No one knew that you and your brother had met at Madame Zichy&rsquo;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.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Oh, that is how you have worked it out, is it?&rsquo; Arthur cried. &lsquo;And for
+      me to become Lord Edam was it necessary that the woman should die, too!&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;They will say,&rsquo; Lyle answered, &lsquo;that she was a witness to the murder&mdash;that
+      she would have told.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Then why did I not kill the servant as well!&rsquo; Arthur said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;He was asleep, and saw nothing.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;And you believe <i>that?</i>&rsquo; Arthur demanded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;It is not a question of what I believe,&rsquo; Lyle said gravely. &lsquo;It is a
+      question for your peers.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;The man is insolent!&rsquo; Arthur cried. &lsquo;The thing is monstrous! Horrible!&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Do you think you can keep me here,&rsquo; he shouted, &lsquo;when they are plotting
+      to hang me? I am going with you to that house!&rsquo; he cried at Lyle. &lsquo;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&mdash;perhaps still in her hand. What will you say to
+      that?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Lyle turned his head away and stared down at the floor. &lsquo;I might say,&rsquo; he
+      answered, &lsquo;that you placed it there.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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&rsquo; walk from St. George&rsquo;s
+      Hospital. It stands in Trevor Terrace, that little row of houses set back
+      from Knightsbridge, with one end in Hill Street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As we left the hospital Lyle had said to me, &lsquo;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.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;For Arthur&rsquo;s sake,&rsquo; I said, &lsquo;I would have given a thousand pounds if we
+      had found the knife in her hand, as he said we would.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;That we have not found it there,&rsquo; Lyle answered, &lsquo;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.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;We are trying to build a house of blocks,&rsquo; he exclaimed, &lsquo;with half of
+      the blocks missing. We have been considering two theories,&rsquo; he went on:
+      &lsquo;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.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;What can you prove by him!&rsquo; I asked. &lsquo;He was drunk and asleep. He saw
+      nothing.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Lyle hesitated, and then, as though he had made up his mind to be quite
+      frank with me, spoke freely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I do not know that he was either drunk or asleep,&rsquo; he answered.
+      &lsquo;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.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Lyle pointed at the modern French paintings and the heavy silk rugs which
+      hung upon the walls.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;The unknown is a man of taste and of some fortune,&rsquo; he said, &lsquo;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&rsquo;s honor, or, let us say, of his master&rsquo;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&mdash;the servant&rsquo;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?&rsquo; Lyle demanded. &lsquo;Would not that
+      explain both murders?&rsquo; 
+    </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>
+      &ldquo;I was only too willing to hear any theory which pointed to any one else
+      as the criminal than Arthur, but Lyle&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;No,&rsquo; Lyle answered, &lsquo;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,&rsquo; he
+      said, &lsquo;we must return at once to Scotland Yard and see him. There is
+      nothing more to do here.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;Lyle stopped, with an exclamation of chagrin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;How stupid of me!&rsquo; he exclaimed. He turned quickly and pointed to a
+      narrow slit cut in the brass plate of the front door. &lsquo;The house has a
+      private letter-box,&rsquo; he said, &lsquo;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.&rsquo; 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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;That is of no use to me,&rsquo; Lyle said. He took out his card and showed it
+      to the postman. &lsquo;I am Inspector Lyle from Scotland Yard,&rsquo; he said. &lsquo;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!&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;How many letters did you leave here!&rsquo; Lyle asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;About six altogether,&rsquo; the man answered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Did you put them through the door into the letter-box!&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The postman said, &lsquo;Yes, I always slip them into the box, and ring and go
+      away. The servants collect them from the inside.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Have you noticed if any of the letters you leave here bear a Russian
+      postage stamp!&rsquo; Lyle asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The man answered, &lsquo;Oh, yes, sir, a great many.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;From the same person, would you say!&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;The writing seems to be the same,&rsquo; the man answered. &lsquo;They come
+      regularly about once a week&mdash;one of those I delivered this morning
+      had a Russian postmark.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;That will do,&rsquo; said Lyle eagerly. &lsquo;Thank you, thank you very much.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He ran back into the hall, and, pulling out his penknife, began to pick
+      at the lock of the letter-box.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;I have been supremely careless,&rsquo; he said in great excitement. &lsquo;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.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Do you appreciate what that means?&rsquo; he cried. &lsquo;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&rsquo;clock this morning.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;It was the Russian servant!&rsquo; I exclaimed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;The Russian servant has been under arrest at Scotland Yard,&rsquo; Lyle cried.
+      &lsquo;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,&mdash;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.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;How do we know,&rsquo; I whispered, &lsquo;that he is not hidden here now?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;No, I&rsquo;ll swear he is not,&rsquo; Lyle answered. &lsquo;I may have bungled in some
+      things, but I have searched this house thoroughly. Nevertheless,&rsquo; he
+      added, &lsquo;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.&rsquo; 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. &ldquo;&lsquo;Whoever the man is,&rsquo; he
+      said over his shoulder, &lsquo;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&mdash;and he lives in
+      St. Petersburg. At the time of the murder he was two thousand miles away.&rsquo; 
+      Lyle interrupted himself suddenly with a sharp cry and turned upon me with
+      his eyes flashing. &lsquo;But was he?&rsquo; he cried. &lsquo;Was he? How do we know that
+      last night he was not in London, in this very house when Zichy and Chetney
+      met?&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He stood staring at me without seeing me, muttering, and arguing with
+      himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Don&rsquo;t speak to me,&rsquo; he cried, as I ventured to interrupt him. &lsquo;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.&rsquo; 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>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Look!&rsquo; he cried. &lsquo;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&mdash;so&mdash;and tore them twice
+      across, and then, as the fire had gone out, tossed them into this basket.
+      Look!&rsquo; he cried, &lsquo;here in the upper corner of this piece is a Russian
+      stamp. This is his own letter&mdash;unopened!&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;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: &lsquo;I leave Petersburg on the night train,
+      and I shall see you at Trevor Terrace after dinner Monday evening.&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;That was last night!&rsquo; Lyle cried. &lsquo;He arrived twelve hours ahead of his
+      letter&mdash;but it came in time&mdash;it came in time to hang him!&rsquo;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Baronet struck the table with his hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The name!&rdquo; he demanded. &ldquo;How was it signed? What was the man&rsquo;s name!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The young Solicitor rose to his feet and, leaning forward, stretched out
+      his arm. &ldquo;There was no name,&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;The letter was signed with only
+      two initials. But engraved at the top of the sheet was the man&rsquo;s address.
+      That address was &lsquo;THE AMERICAN EMBASSY, ST. PETERSBURG, BUREAU or THE
+      NAVAL ATTACHE,&rsquo; and the initials,&rdquo; he shouted, his voice rising into an
+      exultant and bitter cry, &ldquo;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!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      A strained and awful hush followed the Solicitor&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;Capital!&rdquo; he murmured. &ldquo;I give you my word I never guessed what you were
+      driving at. You fooled <i>me,</i> I&rsquo;ll be hanged if you didn&rsquo;t&mdash;you
+      certainly fooled me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The man with the pearl stud leaned forward with a nervous gesture. &ldquo;Hush!
+      be careful!&rdquo; 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, &ldquo;The light over the
+      Commons is out. The House has risen.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The man with the black pearl gave a mighty shout, and tossed the paper
+      from him upon the table.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hurrah!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;The House is up! We&rsquo;ve won!&rdquo; 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&rsquo;s Messenger.
+      &ldquo;Gentlemen, to you!&rdquo; he cried; &ldquo;my thanks and my congratulations!&rdquo; He
+      drank deep from the glass, and breathed forth a long sigh of satisfaction
+      and relief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I say,&rdquo; protested the Queen&rsquo;s Messenger, shaking his finger violently
+      at the Solicitor, &ldquo;that story won&rsquo;t do. You didn&rsquo;t play fair&mdash;and&mdash;and
+      you talked so fast I couldn&rsquo;t make out what it was all about. I&rsquo;ll bet you
+      that evidence wouldn&rsquo;t hold in a court of law&mdash;you couldn&rsquo;t hang a
+      cat on such evidence. Your story is condemned tommy-rot. Now my story
+      might have happened, my story bore the mark&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </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>
+      &ldquo;What does this mean!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;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?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The American, with first a glance at the others, rose and bowed
+      courteously.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am not a murderer, Sir Andrew, believe me,&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;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,
+      &lsquo;The Great Rand Robbery.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Baronet brushed his hand nervously across his forehead.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you mean to tell me,&rdquo; he exclaimed, &ldquo;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?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am really very sorry,&rdquo; said the American, &ldquo;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&mdash;one
+      I had just mapped out this afternoon.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But Lord Chetney <i>is</i> a real person,&rdquo; interrupted the Baronet, &ldquo;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.&rdquo; &ldquo;So did I,&rdquo; assented the American
+      soothingly; &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Baronet turned grimly upon the Queen&rsquo;s Messenger.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But this gentleman,&rdquo; he protested, &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The servant of the Foreign Office looked unhappily at the Cabinet
+      Minister, and puffed nervously on his cigar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It&rsquo;s true, Sir Andrew, that I am a Queen&rsquo;s Messenger,&rdquo; he said
+      appealingly, &ldquo;and a Russian woman once did try to rob a Queen&rsquo;s Messenger
+      in a railway carriage&mdash;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.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Sir Andrew, with a snort of indignation, fronted the young Solicitor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And I suppose yours was a cock-and-bull story, too,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Of course,
+      it must have been, since Lord Chetney is not dead. But don&rsquo;t tell me,&rdquo; he
+      protested, &ldquo;that you are not Chudleigh&rsquo;s son either.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sorry,&rdquo; said the youngest member, smiling in some embarrassment, &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You should be!&rdquo; exclaimed the Baronet; &ldquo;and, judging from the liberties
+      you take with the Chetneys, you had better be on very good terms with
+      them, too.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man leaned back and glanced toward the servants at the far end
+      of the room.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It has been so long since I have been in the Club,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;that I
+      doubt if even the waiters remember me. Perhaps Joseph may,&rdquo; he added.
+      &ldquo;Joseph!&rdquo; 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>
+      &ldquo;Joseph,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I want you to tell these gentlemen who shot that lion.
+      Who presented it to the Grill?&rdquo;
+     </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>
+      &ldquo;Why, you&mdash;you did,&rdquo; he stammered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course I did!&rdquo; exclaimed the young man. &ldquo;I mean, what is the name of
+      the man who shot it! Tell the gentlemen who I am. They wouldn&rsquo;t believe
+      me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who you are, my lord?&rdquo; said Joseph. &ldquo;You are Lord Edam&rsquo;s son, the Earl of
+      Chetney.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You must admit,&rdquo; said Lord Chetney, when the noise had died away, &ldquo;that I
+      couldn&rsquo;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&rsquo;t afford to be squeamish, but personally I should hate to
+      have a brother of mine hanged for murder.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You certainly showed no scruples against hanging me,&rdquo; said the American,
+      &ldquo;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,&rdquo; he announced, &ldquo;that Joseph shall
+      bring me a wine-card, and that I sign it for five bottles of the Club&rsquo;s
+      best champagne.&rdquo; &ldquo;Oh, no!&rdquo; protested the man with the pearl stud, &ldquo;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,&rdquo; he said, turning to that gentleman,
+      &ldquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </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>
+      &ldquo;And may I know,&rdquo; he asked icily, &ldquo;what was the object of your plot!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A most worthy one,&rdquo; the other retorted. &ldquo;Our object was to keep you from
+      advocating the expenditure of many millions of the people&rsquo;s money upon
+      more battleships. In a word, we have been working together to prevent you
+      from passing the Navy Increase Bill.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Sir Andrew&rsquo;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>
+      &ldquo;My dear sir!&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;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&rsquo;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.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Baronet rose and bowed. &ldquo;I have to thank you, sir,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;for a
+      most interesting evening.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The American shoved the wine-card which Joseph had given him toward the
+      gentleman with the black pearl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You sign it,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      THE END. <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+
+
+
+
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+</pre>
+  </body>
+</html>
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@@ -0,0 +1,2615 @@
+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: April, 2005 [EBook #7884]
+Posting Date: July 30, 2009
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE FOG ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Eric Eldred
+
+
+
+
+
+IN THE FOG
+
+
+By Richard Harding Davis
+
+
+[Illustration: 01 I cannot tell you how much I have to thank you for]
+
+
+[Illustration: 02 The four strangers at supper were seated together]
+
+
+
+
+IN THE FOG
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+[Illustration: 03 The men around the table turned]
+
+"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.'"
+
+"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?"
+
+The gentleman with the black pearl shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"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."
+
+[Illustration: 04 I would tumble his unconscious form into a hansom cab]
+
+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.
+
+"To look at him now," he said, "one would not guess he was deeply
+concerned with the affairs of state."
+
+The others nodded silently.
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+The fourth member, a stout and florid gentleman of a somewhat sporting
+appearance, in a short smoking-jacket and black tie, sighed enviously.
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+The gentleman with the black pearl laughed morosely.
+
+"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."
+
+The American raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
+
+"'The Great Rand Robbery'?" he repeated incredulously. "What an odd
+taste!"
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"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!"
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+The voice of the American instantly broke the silence in a high, nervous
+accent.
+
+"And yet Sherlock Holmes himself," he cried, "could not decipher the
+mystery which to-night baffles the police of London."
+
+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.
+
+The gentleman with the black pearl was the first to recover.
+
+"Yes, yes," he said eagerly, throwing himself across the table. "A
+mystery that baffles the police of London.
+
+[Illustration: 05 "My name," he said, "is Sears."]
+
+"I have heard nothing of it. Tell us at once, pray do--tell us at once."
+
+The American flushed uncomfortably, and picked uneasily at the
+tablecloth.
+
+"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."
+
+The gentleman with the black pearl interrupted with so pronounced an
+exclamation of excitement and delight that the American stammered and
+ceased speaking.
+
+"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--_the_ most remarkable crime, I
+believe you said, sir," he added, bending eagerly toward the naval
+officer, "which has occurred in London in many years."
+
+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.
+
+Sir Andrew advanced to within the light of the candles and drew a chair
+toward him.
+
+"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."
+
+The gentleman with the pearl pushed the chair toward Sir Andrew, and
+motioned him to be seated.
+
+"You cannot leave us now," he exclaimed. "Mr. Sears is just about to
+tell us of this remarkable crime."
+
+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.
+
+"If you will be so kind as to begin, sir," he said impatiently.
+
+"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."
+
+The gentlemen seated around him nodded gravely.
+
+"Of course," the baronet assented with eagerness, "of course."
+
+"We will refer to it," said the gentleman with the black pearl, "as 'The
+Story of the Naval Attache.'"
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"'It cannot be that the cabmen are on strike,' my friend said, as he
+rose and walked to the window.
+
+"He pulled back the curtains and at once called to me.
+
+"'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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+[Illustration: 06 A square of light suddenly opened in the night]
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"The moment before I had been bewildered because I could see no one, but
+at sight of this man I was much more bewildered.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"He nodded vigorously, and said, 'Will the Excellency come this way? The
+Princess is here.'
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.'
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+[Illustration: 07 At my feet was the body of a beautiful woman]
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"'She is not there,' he said. 'The Princess has gone. They have all
+gone.'
+
+"'Who have gone?' I demanded. 'Who else has been here?'
+
+"'The two Englishmen,' he said.
+
+"'What two Englishmen?' I demanded. 'What are their names?'
+
+"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.
+
+"I guessed that it was my tone which frightened him, so I took my hand
+off his wrist and spoke less eagerly.
+
+"'How long have they been here?' I asked, 'and when did they go?'
+
+"He pointed behind him toward the drawing-room.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"I believed that the man was telling me the truth. His fright had
+passed, and he was now apparently puzzled, but not alarmed.
+
+"'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?'
+
+"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."
+
+The American paused abruptly, and glanced at the faces about him. "I
+read the names," he repeated. He spoke with great reluctance.
+
+"Continue!" cried the Baronet, sharply.
+
+"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."
+
+The men at the table fell back as though a trapdoor had fallen open at
+their feet.
+
+"Lord Chetney!" they exclaimed in chorus. They glanced at each other and
+back to the American with every expression of concern and disbelief.
+
+"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."
+
+The jaw of the American set in a resolute square, and he pressed his
+lips together.
+
+"You are perfectly right, sir," he said, "Lord Chetney did arrive in
+London yesterday morning, and yesterday night I found his dead body."
+
+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.
+
+"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?"
+
+The American, before he answered, waited until the chorus of
+exclamations had ceased. Then he continued as though he had not been
+interrupted.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"That is the end of my adventure. What I have to tell you now is what I
+learned from the police.
+
+"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.
+
+"This morning, Inspector Lyle called on me, and from him I learned the
+police theory of the scene I have just described.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+But Sir Henry rose reluctantly from his chair.
+
+"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.
+
+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."
+
+The Baronet interrupted quickly.
+
+"I trust not," he said, "for I could not possibly stop to hear them."
+
+"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."
+
+"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.
+
+"The only time I ever met her," he said, "she tried to rob me of this."
+
+The Baronet regarded him closely.
+
+"She tried to rob you?" he repeated.
+
+[Illustration: 08 The Princess Zichy]
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+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."
+
+"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.
+
+The servant bowed to the Baronet.
+
+"Your hansom is waiting, Sir Andrew," he said.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+The gentleman with the black pearl smiled blandly, and rapped upon the
+table.
+
+"Order, gentlemen," he said. "Order for the story of the Queen's
+Messenger and the Czarina's diamonds."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"It was indiscreet, but he could not possibly have guessed that she
+could ever make any use of what he told her.
+
+"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.
+
+"My train for Nice left Paris at ten in the morning. When I travel at
+night I generally tell the _chef de gare_ 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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"As I spoke I looked at her for the first time, and saw that she was a
+most remarkably handsome woman.
+
+"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.
+
+"'Do you object to smoke?' she asked.
+
+"I laughed and assured her I had been in great terror lest she might
+object to it herself.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"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 _grande dame_ 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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.'
+
+"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 _was_ 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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"She thanked me and said, 'No,' and then suddenly her eyes lighted, and
+she exclaimed, 'Yes, thank you, if you will be so kind.'
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+[Illustration: 09 This gave the Princess Zichy the chance]
+
+"'In black,' she answered, rising and blocking the door of the
+compartment. 'All in black, with a bonnet!'
+
+"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.
+
+"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.'
+
+"I protested that every woman on the platform was dressed in black.
+
+"'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.
+
+"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.
+
+[Illustration: 10 She knew she would be twenty thousand pounds richer]
+
+"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.
+
+"'I cannot tell you,' she said, 'how much I have to thank you for.' What
+do you think of that for impudence!
+
+"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.
+
+"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.'
+
+"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.
+
+[Illustration: 11 I threw out everything on the bed]
+
+"I gave a roar like a mad bull, and I jumped down the stairs six steps
+at a time.
+
+"I demanded at the office if a distinguished lady of title, possibly a
+Russian, had just entered the hotel.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+[Illustration: 12 Threw everything in the dressing-case out on the floor]
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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!
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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."
+
+The Queen's Messenger paused and surveyed the faces of those about him
+in some embarrassment.
+
+"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?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+Sir Andrew rose with disapproval written in every lineament.
+
+"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.
+
+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.
+
+The youngest member, who had remained an interested but silent listener
+to the tale of the Queen's Messenger, raised his hand commandingly.
+
+"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."
+
+"You!" cried the Baronet.
+
+"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."
+
+The Baronet, bewildered but eager, sank back into his chair.
+
+"Will you be long, sir!" he demanded.
+
+"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."
+
+"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.
+
+"Tell the driver of that hansom," he called to the servant, "that I take
+him by the hour."
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"'He is in abject terror,' Lyle said. 'I assured him that he was not
+suspected of the crime, but he would tell me nothing.'
+
+"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.
+
+[Illustration 13  We found him propped up in bed]
+
+"'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.
+
+"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.
+
+"'You brothers will have much to talk about,' she said. 'I am going to
+the dining-room. When you have finished, let me know.'
+
+"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.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"Arthur says that at this Chetney was greatly moved.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"'Do you mean that?' Arthur cried.
+
+"'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.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"'Yet you are here with her tonight,' Arthur protested, 'only a few
+hours after your return.'
+
+"'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.
+
+"'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.
+
+"'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.
+
+"When Arthur turned on him Lyle hesitated for a moment, and then told
+him exactly what was the case against him.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"'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!'
+
+"'They will say,' Lyle answered, 'that she was a witness to the
+murder--that she would have told.'
+
+"'Then why did I not kill the servant as well!' Arthur said.
+
+"'He was asleep, and saw nothing.'
+
+"'And you believe _that?_' Arthur demanded.
+
+"'It is not a question of what I believe,' Lyle said gravely. 'It is a
+question for your peers.'
+
+"'The man is insolent!' Arthur cried. 'The thing is monstrous!
+Horrible!'
+
+"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.
+
+"'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?'
+
+"Lyle turned his head away and stared down at the floor. 'I might say,'
+he answered, 'that you placed it there.'
+
+"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.
+
+"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.'
+
+"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.
+
+[Illustration: We found the body of the Princess Zichy]
+
+"'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.'
+
+"'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 _not_ 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.'
+
+"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.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"'What can you prove by him!' I asked. 'He was drunk and asleep. He saw
+nothing.'
+
+"Lyle hesitated, and then, as though he had made up his mind to be quite
+frank with me, spoke freely.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"Lyle pointed at the modern French paintings and the heavy silk rugs
+which hung upon the walls.
+
+"'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?'
+
+[Illustration: 15 Entreating Chetney not to leave her]
+
+"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.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"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.
+
+"Lyle stopped, with an exclamation of chagrin.
+
+"'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.
+
+"'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!'
+
+"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.
+
+"'How many letters did you leave here!' Lyle asked.
+
+"'About six altogether,' the man answered.
+
+"'Did you put them through the door into the letter-box!'
+
+"The postman said, 'Yes, I always slip them into the box, and ring and
+go away. The servants collect them from the inside.'
+
+"'Have you noticed if any of the letters you leave here bear a Russian
+postage stamp!' Lyle asked.
+
+"The man answered, 'Oh, yes, sir, a great many.'
+
+"'From the same person, would you say!'
+
+"'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.'
+
+"'That will do,' said Lyle eagerly. 'Thank you, thank you very much.'
+
+"He ran back into the hall, and, pulling out his penknife, began to pick
+at the lock of the letter-box.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"'It was the Russian servant!' I exclaimed.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"'How do we know,' I whispered, 'that he is not hidden here now?'
+
+"'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?'
+
+"He stood staring at me without seeing me, muttering, and arguing with
+himself.
+
+"'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.
+
+"'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!'
+
+"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.'
+
+"'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!'"
+
+The Baronet struck the table with his hand.
+
+"The name!" he demanded. "How was it signed? What was the man's name!"
+
+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!"
+
+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.
+
+"Capital!" he murmured. "I give you my word I never guessed what you
+were driving at. You fooled _me,_ I'll be hanged if you didn't--you
+certainly fooled me."
+
+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."
+
+The man with the black pearl gave a mighty shout, and tossed the paper
+from him upon the table.
+
+"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.
+
+"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--"
+
+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.
+
+"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?"
+
+The American, with first a glance at the others, rose and bowed
+courteously.
+
+"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.'"
+
+The Baronet brushed his hand nervously across his forehead.
+
+"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?"
+
+"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."
+
+"But Lord Chetney _is_ 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."
+
+The Baronet turned grimly upon the Queen's Messenger.
+
+"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."
+
+The servant of the Foreign Office looked unhappily at the Cabinet
+Minister, and puffed nervously on his cigar.
+
+"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."
+
+Sir Andrew, with a snort of indignation, fronted the young Solicitor.
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+The young man leaned back and glanced toward the servants at the far end
+of the room.
+
+"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.
+
+The young man pointed to the stuffed head of a great lion which was
+suspended above the fireplace.
+
+"Joseph," he said, "I want you to tell these gentlemen who shot that
+lion. Who presented it to the Grill?"
+
+Joseph, unused to acting as master of ceremonies to members of the Club,
+shifted nervously from one foot to the other.
+
+"Why, you--you did," he stammered.
+
+"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."
+
+"Who you are, my lord?" said Joseph. "You are Lord Edam's son, the Earl
+of Chetney."
+
+"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."
+
+"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 _you_ 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."
+
+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.
+
+"And may I know," he asked icily, "what was the object of your plot!"
+
+"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."
+
+Sir Andrew's face bloomed with brilliant color. His body shook with
+suppressed emotion.
+
+[Illustration: 16 What was the object of your plot?]
+
+"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."
+
+The Baronet rose and bowed. "I have to thank you, sir," he said, "for a
+most interesting evening."
+
+The American shoved the wine-card which Joseph had given him toward the
+gentleman with the black pearl.
+
+"You sign it," he said.
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Fog, by Richard Harding Davis
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Fog, by Richard Harding Davis
+#36 in our series by Richard Harding Davis
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+Title: In the Fog
+
+Author: Richard Harding Davis
+
+Release Date: April, 2005 [EBook #7884]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on May 30, 2003]
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+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE FOG ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Eric Eldred
+
+
+
+
+
+IN THE FOG
+
+BY
+
+Richard Harding Davis
+
+
+First published MCMI
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"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.'"
+
+"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?"
+
+The gentleman with the black pearl shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"To look at him now," he said, "one would not guess he was deeply
+concerned with the affairs of state."
+
+The others nodded silently.
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+The fourth member, a stout and florid gentleman of a somewhat sporting
+appearance, in a short smoking-jacket and black tie, sighed enviously.
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+The gentleman with the black pearl laughed morosely.
+
+"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."
+
+The American raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
+
+"'The Great Rand Robbery'?" he repeated incredulously. "What an odd
+taste!"
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"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!"
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+The voice of the American instantly broke the silence in a high,
+nervous accent.
+
+"And yet Sherlock Holmes himself," he cried, "could not decipher the
+mystery which to-night baffles the police of London."
+
+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.
+
+The gentleman with the black pearl was the first to recover.
+
+"Yes, yes," he said eagerly, throwing himself across the table. "A
+mystery that baffles the police of London.
+
+"I have heard nothing of it. Tell us at once, pray do--tell us at
+once."
+
+The American flushed uncomfortably, and picked uneasily at the
+tablecloth.
+
+"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."
+
+The gentleman with the black pearl interrupted with so pronounced an
+exclamation of excitement and delight that the American stammered and
+ceased speaking.
+
+"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--_the_ most remarkable crime, I
+believe you said, sir," he added, bending eagerly toward the naval
+officer, "which has occurred in London in many years."
+
+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.
+
+Sir Andrew advanced to within the light of the candles and drew a
+chair toward him.
+
+"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."
+
+The gentleman with the pearl pushed the chair toward Sir Andrew, and
+motioned him to be seated.
+
+"You cannot leave us now," he exclaimed. "Mr. Sears is just about to
+tell us of this remarkable crime."
+
+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.
+
+"If you will be so kind as to begin, sir," he said impatiently.
+
+"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."
+
+The gentlemen seated around him nodded gravely.
+
+"Of course," the baronet assented with eagerness, "of course."
+
+"We will refer to it," said the gentleman with the black pearl, "as
+'The Story of the Naval Attache.'"
+
+"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 Knights-bridge 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.
+
+"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.
+
+"'It cannot be that the cabmen are on strike,' my friend said, as he
+rose and walked to the window.
+
+"He pulled back the curtains and at once called to me.
+
+"'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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"The moment before I had been bewildered because I could see no one,
+but at sight of this man I was much more bewildered.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"He nodded vigorously, and said, 'Will the Excellency come this way?
+The Princess is here.'
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.'
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"'She is not there,' he said. 'The Princess has gone. They have all
+gone.'
+
+"'Who have gone?' I demanded. 'Who else has been here?'
+
+"'The two Englishmen,' he said.
+
+"'What two Englishmen?' I demanded. 'What are their names?'
+
+"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.
+
+"I guessed that it was my tone which frightened him, so I took my hand
+off his wrist and spoke less eagerly.
+
+"'How long have they been here?' I asked, 'and when did they go?'
+
+"He pointed behind him toward the drawing-room.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"I believed that the man was telling me the truth. His fright had
+passed, and he was now apparently puzzled, but not alarmed.
+
+"'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?'
+
+"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."
+
+The American paused abruptly, and glanced at the faces about him. "I
+read the names," he repeated. He spoke with great reluctance.
+
+"Continue!" cried the Baronet, sharply.
+
+"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."
+
+The men at the table fell back as though a trapdoor had fallen open at
+their feet.
+
+"Lord Chetney!" they exclaimed in chorus. They glanced at each other
+and back to the American with every expression of concern and
+disbelief.
+
+"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."
+
+The jaw of the American set in a resolute square, and he pressed his
+lips together.
+
+"You are perfectly right, sir," he said, "Lord Chetney did arrive in
+London yesterday morning, and yesterday night I found his dead body."
+
+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.
+
+"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?"
+
+The American, before he answered, waited until the chorus of
+exclamations had ceased. Then he continued as though he had not been
+interrupted.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"That is the end of my adventure. What I have to tell you now is what
+I learned from the police.
+
+"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.
+
+"This morning, Inspector Lyle called on me, and from him I learned the
+police theory of the scene I have just described.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+But Sir Henry rose reluctantly from his chair.
+
+"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.
+
+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."
+
+The Baronet interrupted quickly.
+
+"I trust not," he said, "for I could not possibly stop to hear them."
+
+"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."
+
+"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.
+
+"The only time I ever met her," he said, "she tried to rob me of
+this."
+
+The Baronet regarded him closely.
+
+"She tried to rob you?" he repeated.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+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."
+
+"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.
+
+The servant bowed to the Baronet.
+
+"Your hansom is waiting, Sir Andrew," he said.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+The gentleman with the black pearl smiled blandly, and rapped upon the
+table.
+
+"Order, gentlemen," he said. "Order for the story of the Queen's
+Messenger and the Czarina's diamonds."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+"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.
+
+"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. Greorge, 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.
+
+"It was indiscreet, but he could not possibly have guessed that she
+could ever make any use of what he told her.
+
+"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.
+
+"My train for Nice left Paris at ten in the morning. When I travel at
+night I generally tell the _chef de gare_ 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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"As I spoke I looked at her for the first time, and saw that she was a
+most remarkably handsome woman.
+
+"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.
+
+"'Do you object to smoke?' she asked.
+
+"I laughed and assured her I had been in great terror lest she might
+object to it herself.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"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 _grande dame_ 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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.'
+
+"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 _was_ 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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"She thanked me and said, 'No,' and then suddenly her eyes lighted,
+and she exclaimed, 'Yes, thank you, if you will be so kind.'
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"'In black,' she answered, rising and blocking the door of the
+compartment. 'All in black, with a bonnet!'
+
+"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.
+
+"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.'
+
+"I protested that every woman on the platform was dressed in black.
+
+"'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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"'I cannot tell you,' she said, 'how much I have to thank you for.'
+What do you think of that for impudence!
+
+"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.
+
+"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.'
+
+"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.
+
+"I gave a roar like a mad bull, and I jumped down the stairs six steps
+at a time.
+
+"I demanded at the office if a distinguished lady of title, possibly a
+Russian, had just entered the hotel.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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!
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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."
+
+The Queen's Messenger paused and surveyed the faces of those about him
+in some embarrassment.
+
+"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?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+Sir Andrew rose with disapproval written in every lineament.
+
+"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.
+
+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.
+
+The youngest member, who had remained an interested but silent
+listener to the tale of the Queen's Messenger, raised his hand
+commandingly.
+
+"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."
+
+"You!" cried the Baronet.
+
+"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."
+
+The Baronet, bewildered but eager, sank back into his chair.
+
+"Will you be long, sir!" he demanded.
+
+"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."
+
+"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.
+
+"Tell the driver of that hansom," he called to the servant, "that I
+take him by the hour."
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"'He is in abject terror,' Lyle said. 'I assured him that he was not
+suspected of the crime, but he would tell me nothing.'
+
+"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.
+
+"'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.
+
+"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.
+
+"'You brothers will have much to talk about,' she said. 'I am going to
+the dining-room. When you have finished, let me know.'
+
+"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.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"Arthur says that at this Chetney was greatly moved.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"'Do you mean that?' Arthur cried.
+
+"'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.
+
+"'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 lore 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.'
+
+"'Yet you are here with her tonight,' Arthur protested, 'only a few
+hours after your return.'
+
+"'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.
+
+"'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.
+
+"'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.
+
+"When Arthur turned on him Lyle hesitated for a moment, and then told
+him exactly what was the case against him.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"'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!'
+
+"'They will say,' Lyle answered, 'that she was a witness to the murder
+--that she would have told.'
+
+"'Then why did I not kill the servant as well!' Arthur said.
+
+"'He was asleep, and saw nothing.'
+
+"'And you believe _that?_' Arthur demanded.
+
+"'It is not a question of what I believe,' Lyle said gravely. 'It is a
+question for your peers.'
+
+"'The man is insolent!' Arthur cried. 'The thing is monstrous!
+Horrible!'
+
+"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.
+
+"'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?'
+
+"Lyle turned his head away and stared down at the floor. 'I might
+say,' he answered, 'that you placed it there.'
+
+"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.
+
+"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.'
+
+"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.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"'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 _not_ 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.'
+
+"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.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"'What can you prove by him!' I asked. 'He was drunk and asleep. He
+saw nothing.'
+
+"Lyle hesitated, and then, as though he had made up his mind to be
+quite frank with me, spoke freely.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"Lyle pointed at the modern French paintings and the heavy silk rugs
+which hung upon the walls.
+
+"'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?'
+
+"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.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"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.
+
+"Lyle stopped, with an exclamation of chagrin.
+
+"'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.
+
+"'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!'
+
+"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.
+
+"'How many letters did you leave here!' Lyle asked.
+
+"'About six altogether,' the man answered.
+
+"'Did you put them through the door into the letter-box!'
+
+"The postman said, 'Yes, I always slip them into the box, and ring and
+go away. The servants collect them from the inside.'
+
+"'Have you noticed if any of the letters you leave here bear a Russian
+postage stamp!' Lyle asked.
+
+"The man answered, 'Oh, yes, sir, a great many.'
+
+"'From the same person, would you say!'
+
+"'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.'
+
+"'That will do,' said Lyle eagerly. 'Thank you, thank you very much.'
+
+"He ran back into the hall, and, pulling out his penknife, began to
+pick at the lock of the letter-box.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"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.
+
+"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.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"'It was the Russian servant!' I exclaimed.
+
+"'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.'
+
+"'How do we know,' I whispered, 'that he is not hidden here now?'
+
+"'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?'
+
+"He stood staring at me without seeing me, muttering, and arguing with
+himself.
+
+"'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.
+
+"'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!'
+
+"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.'
+
+"'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!'"
+
+The Baronet struck the table with his hand.
+
+"The name!" he demanded. "How was it signed? What was the man's name!"
+
+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!"
+
+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.
+
+"Capital!" he murmured. "I give you my word I never guessed what you
+were driving at. You fooled _me,_ I'll be hanged if you didn't--you
+certainly fooled me."
+
+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."
+
+The man with the black pearl gave a mighty shout, and tossed the paper
+from him upon the table.
+
+"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.
+
+"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--"
+
+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.
+
+"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?"
+
+The American, with first a glance at the others, rose and bowed
+courteously.
+
+"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.'"
+
+The Baronet brushed his hand nervously across his forehead.
+
+"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?"
+
+"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."
+
+"But Lord Chetney _is_ 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."
+
+The Baronet turned grimly upon the Queen's Messenger.
+
+"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."
+
+The servant of the Foreign Office looked unhappily at the Cabinet
+Minister, and puffed nervously on his cigar.
+
+"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."
+
+Sir Andrew, with a snort of indignation, fronted the young Solicitor.
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+The young man leaned back and glanced toward the servants at the far
+end of the room.
+
+"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.
+
+The young man pointed to the stuffed head of a great lion which was
+suspended above the fireplace.
+
+"Joseph," he said, "I want you to tell these gentlemen who shot that
+lion. Who presented it to the Grill?"
+
+Joseph, unused to acting as master of ceremonies to members of the
+Club, shifted nervously from one foot to the other.
+
+"Why, you--you did," he stammered.
+
+"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."
+
+"Who you are, my lord?" said Joseph. "You are Lord Edam's son, the
+Earl of Chetney."
+
+"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."
+
+"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 _you_ 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."
+
+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.
+
+"And may I know," he asked icily, "what was the object of your plot!"
+
+"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."
+
+Sir Andrew's face bloomed with brilliant color. His body shook with
+suppressed emotion.
+
+"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."
+
+The Baronet rose and bowed. "I have to thank you, sir," he said, "for
+a most interesting evening."
+
+The American shoved the wine-card which Joseph had given him toward
+the gentleman with the black pearl.
+
+"You sign it," he said.
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Fog, by Richard Harding Davis
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