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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Orange-Yellow Diamond, by J. S. Fletcher
+#2 in our series by J. S. Fletcher
+
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+*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
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+
+Title: The Orange-Yellow Diamond
+
+Author: J. S. Fletcher
+
+Release Date: November, 2005 [EBook #9297]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on September 17, 2003]
+[Date last updated: December 21, 2004]
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+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ORANGE-YELLOW DIAMOND ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Suzanne Shell, Richard Prairie and PG Distributed Proofreaders.
+
+
+
+
+                                    THE
+
+                               ORANGE-YELLOW
+
+                                  DIAMOND
+
+                                    BY
+
+                              J. S. FLETCHER
+
+
+                                   1921
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+      I THE PRETTY PAWNBROKER
+     II MRS. GOLDMARK'S EATING-HOUSE
+    III THE DEAD MAN
+     IV THE PLATINUM SOLITAIRE
+      V THE TWO LETTERS
+     VI THE SPANISH MANUSCRIPT
+    VII THE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
+   VIII THE INQUEST
+     IX WHOSE WERE THOSE RINGS?
+      X MELKY INTERVENES
+     XI THE BACK DOOR
+    XII THE FRIEND FROM PEEBLES
+   XIII THE CALL FOR HELP
+    XIV THE PRIVATE LABORATORY
+     XV CONFERENCE
+    XVI THE DETECTIVE CALLS
+   XVII WHAT THE LAMPS SHONE ON
+  XVIII MR. STUYVESANT GUYLER
+    XIX PURDIE STANDS FIRM
+     XX THE PARSLETT AFFAIR
+    XXI WHAT MANNER OF DEATH?
+   XXII MR. KILLICK GOES BACK
+  XXIII MR. KILLICK'S OPINION
+   XXIV THE ORANGE-YELLOW DIAMOND
+    XXV THE DEAD MAN'S PROPERTY
+   XXVI THE RAT
+  XXVII THE EMPTY HOUSE
+ XXVIII THE L500 BANK NOTE
+   XXIX MR. MORI YADA
+    XXX THE MORTUARY
+   XXXI THE MIRANDOLET THEORY
+  XXXII ONE O'CLOCK MIDNIGHT
+ XXXIII SECRET WORK
+  XXXIV BAFFLED
+   XXXV YADA TAKES CHARGE
+  XXXVI PILMANSEY'S TEA ROOMS
+ XXXVII CHANG LI
+XXXVIII THE JEW AND THE JAP
+  XXXIX THE DIAMOND NECKLACE
+
+
+THE ORANGE-YELLOW DIAMOND
+
+
+CHAPTER ONE
+
+
+THE PRETTY PAWNBROKER
+
+On the southern edge of the populous parish of Paddington, in a
+parallelogram bounded by Oxford and Cambridge Terrace on the south, Praed
+Street on the north, and by Edgware Road on the east and Spring Street on
+the west, lies an assemblage of mean streets, the drab dulness of which
+forms a remarkable contrast to the pretentious architectural grandeurs of
+Sussex Square and Lancaster Gate, close by. In these streets the observant
+will always find all those evidences of depressing semi-poverty which are
+more evident in London than in any other English city. The houses look as
+if laughter was never heard within them. Where the window blinds are not
+torn, they are dirty; the folk who come out of the doors wear anxious and
+depressed faces. Such shops as are there are mainly kept for the sale of
+food of poor quality: the taverns at the corners are destitute of
+attraction or pretension. Whoever wanders into these streets finds their
+sordid shabbiness communicating itself: he escapes, cast down, wondering
+who the folk are who live in those grey, lifeless cages; what they do,
+what they think; how life strikes them. Even the very sparrows which fight
+in the gutters for garbage are less lively than London sparrows usually
+are; as for the children who sit about the doorsteps, they look as if the
+grass, the trees, the flowers, and the sunlight of the adjacent Kensington
+Gardens were as far away as the Desert of Gobi. Within this slice of the
+town, indeed, life is lived, as it were, in a stagnant backwash, which
+nothing and nobody can stir.
+
+In an upper room of one of the more respectable houses in one of the
+somewhat superior streets of this neighbourhood, a young man stood looking
+out of the window one November afternoon. It was then five o'clock, and
+the darkness was coming: all day a gentle, never-ceasing rain had been
+bringing the soot down from the dark skies upon the already dingy roofs.
+It was a dismal and miserable prospect upon which the watcher looked out,
+but not so miserable nor so dismal as the situation in which he just then
+found himself. The mean street beneath him was not more empty of
+cheerfulness than his pockets were empty of money and his stomach of food.
+He had spent his last penny on the previous day: it, and two other
+coppers, had gone on a mere mouthful of food and drink: since their
+disappearance he had eaten nothing. And he was now growing faint with
+hunger--and to add to his pains, some one, downstairs, was cooking
+herrings. The smell of the frying-pan nearly drove him ravenous.
+
+He turned from the window presently and looked round at the small room
+behind him. It was a poor, ill-furnished place--cleanliness, though of a
+dingy sort, its only recommendation. There was a bed, and a washstand, and
+a chest of drawers, and a couple of chairs--a few shillings would have
+purchased the lot at any second-hand dealer's. In a corner stood the
+occupant's trunk--all the property he had in the world was in it, save a
+few books which were carefully ranged on the chimney-piece, and certain
+writing materials that lay on a small table. A sharp eye, glancing at the
+books and the writing materials, and at a few sheets of manuscript
+scattered on the blotting-pad, would have been quick to see that here was
+the old tale, once more being lived out, of the literary aspirant who, at
+the very beginning of his career, was finding, by bitter experience, that,
+of all callings, that of literature is the most precarious.
+
+A half-hesitating tap at the door prefaced the entrance of a woman--the
+sort of woman who is seen in those streets by the score--a tallish,
+thinnish woman, old before her time, perpetually harassed, always anxious,
+always looking as if she expected misfortune. Her face was full of anxiety
+now as she glanced at her lodger--who, on his part, flushed all over his
+handsome young face with conscious embarrassment. He knew very well what
+the woman wanted--and he was powerless to respond to her appeal.
+
+"Mr. Lauriston," she said in a half whisper, "when do you think you'll be
+able to let me have a bit of money? It's going on for six weeks now, you
+know, and I'm that put to it, what with the rent, and the rates--"
+
+Andrew Lauriston shook his head--not in denial, but in sheer perplexity.
+
+"Mrs. Flitwick," he answered, "I'll give you your money the very minute I
+get hold of it! I told you the other day I'd sold two stories--well, I've
+asked to be paid for them at once, and the cheque might be here by any
+post. And I'm expecting another cheque, too--I'm surprised they aren't
+both here by this time. The minute they arrive, I'll settle with you. I'm
+wanting money myself--as badly as you are!"
+
+"I know that, Mr. Lauriston," assented Mrs. Flitwick, "and I wouldn't
+bother you if I wasn't right pressed, myself. But there's the landlord at
+me--he wants money tonight. And--you'll excuse me for mentioning it--but,
+till you get your cheques, Mr. Lauriston, why don't you raise a bit of
+ready money?"
+
+Lauriston looked round at his landlady with an air of surprised enquiry.
+
+"And how would I do that?" he asked.
+
+"You've a right good gold watch, Mr. Lauriston," she answered. "Any
+pawnbroker--and there's plenty of 'em, I'm sure!--'ud lend you a few
+pounds on that. Perhaps you've never had occasion to go to a pawnbroker
+before? No?--well, and I hadn't once upon a time, but I've had to, whether
+or no, since I came to letting lodgings, and if I'd as good a watch as
+yours is, I wouldn't go without money in my pocket! If you've money coming
+in, you can always get your goods back--and I should be thankful for
+something, Mr. Lauriston, if it was but a couple o' pounds. My landlord's
+that hard--"
+
+Lauriston turned and picked up his hat.
+
+"All right, Mrs. Flitwick," he said quietly. "I'll see what I can do. I--
+I'd never even thought of it."
+
+When the woman had gone away, closing the door behind her, he pulled the
+watch out of his pocket and looked at it--an old-fashioned, good, gold
+watch, which had been his father's. No doubt a pawnbroker would lend money
+on it. But until then he had never had occasion to think of pawnbrokers.
+He had come to London nearly two years before, intending to make name,
+fame, and fortune by his pen. He had a little money to be going on with--
+when he came. It had dwindled steadily, and it had been harder to replace
+it than he had calculated for. And at last there he was, in that cheap
+lodging, and at the end of his resources, and the cheque for his first two
+accepted stories had not arrived. Neither had a loan which, sorely against
+his will, he had been driven to request from the only man he could think
+of--an old schoolmate, far away in Scotland. He had listened for the
+postman's knock, hoping it would bring relief, for four long days--and not
+one letter had come, and he was despairing and heartsick. But--there was
+the watch!
+
+He went out presently, and on the stair, feebly lighted by a jet of gas,
+he ran up against a fellow-lodger--a young Jew, whom he knew by the name
+of Mr. Melchior Rubinstein, who occupied the rooms immediately beneath his
+own. He was a quiet, affable little person, with whom Lauriston sometimes
+exchanged a word or two--and the fact that he sported rings on his
+fingers, a large pin in his tie, and a heavy watch-chain, which was either
+real gold or a very good imitation, made Lauriston think that he would
+give him some advice. He stopped him--with a shy look, and an awkward
+blush.
+
+"I say!" he said. "I--the fact is, I'm a bit hard up--temporarily, you
+know--and I want to borrow some money on my watch. Could you tell me where
+there's a respectable pawnbroker's?"
+
+Melky--known to every one in the house by that familiar substitute for his
+more pretentious name--turned up the gas-jet and then held out a slender,
+long-fingered hand. "Let's look at the watch," he said curtly, in a soft,
+lisping voice. "I know more than a bit about watches, mister."
+
+Lauriston handed the watch over and watched Melky inquisitively as he
+looked at it, inside and out, in a very knowing and professional way.
+Melky suddenly glanced at him. "Now, you wouldn't like to sell this here
+bit of property, would you, Mr. Lauriston?" he enquired, almost
+wheedlingly. "I'll give you three quid for it--cash down."
+
+"Thank you--but I wouldn't sell it for worlds," replied Lauriston.
+
+"Say four quid, then," urged Melky. "Here!--between friends, I'll give you
+four-ten! Spot cash, mind you!"
+
+"No!" said Lauriston. "It belonged to my father. I don't want to sell--I
+want to borrow."
+
+Melky pushed the watch back into its owner's hand.
+
+"You go round into Praed Street, mister," he said, in business-like
+fashion. "You'll see a shop there with Daniel Multenius over it. He's a
+relation o' mine--he'll do what you want. Mention my name, if you like.
+He'll deal fair with you. And if you ever want to sell, don't forget me."
+
+Lauriston laughed, and went down the stairs, and out into the dismal
+evening. It was only a step round to Praed Street, and within five minutes
+of leaving Melky he was looking into Daniel Multenius's window. He
+remembered now that he had often looked into it, without noticing the odd
+name above it. It was a window in which there were all sorts of curious
+things, behind a grille of iron bars, from diamonds and pearls to old
+ivory and odds and ends of bric-a-brac. A collector of curiosities would
+have found material in that window to delay him for half-an-hour--but
+Lauriston only gave one glance at it before hastening down a dark side-
+passage to a door, over which was a faintly-illuminated sign, showing the
+words: PLEDGE OFFICE.
+
+He pushed open that door and found himself before several small, boxed-off
+compartments, each just big enough to contain one person. They were all
+empty at that moment; he entered one, and seeing nobody about, tapped
+gently on the counter. He expected to see some ancient and Hebraic figure
+present itself--instead, light steps came from some recess of the shop,
+and Lauriston found himself gazing in surprise at a young and eminently
+pretty girl, who carried some fancy needle-work in her hand, and looked
+over it at him out of a pair of large, black eyes. For a moment the two
+gazed at each other, in silence.
+
+"Yes?" said the girl at last. "What can I do for you?"
+
+Lauriston found his tongue.
+
+"Er--is Mr. Multenius in?" he asked. "I--the fact is, I want to see him."
+
+"Mr. Multenius is out," answered the girl. "But I'm in charge--if it's
+business."
+
+She was quietly eyeing Lauriston over, and she saw his fresh-complexioned
+face colour vividly.
+
+"I do my grandfather's business when he's out," she continued. "Do you
+want to borrow some money?"
+
+Lauriston pulled out the watch, with more blushes, and pushed it towards
+her.
+
+"That's just it," he answered. "I want to borrow money on that. A friend
+of mine--fellow-lodger--Mr. Melky Rubinstein--said I could borrow
+something here. That's a real good watch, you know."
+
+The girl glanced at her customer with a swift and almost whimsical
+recognition of his innocence, and almost carelessly picked up the watch.
+
+"Oh, Melky sent you here, did he?" she said, with a smile. "I see!" She
+looked the watch over, and snapped open the case. Then she glanced at
+Lauriston. "How much do you want on this?" she asked.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWO
+
+
+MRS. GOLDMARK'S EATING-HOUSE
+
+Lauriston thrust his hands in his pockets and looked at the girl in sheer
+perplexity. She was a very pretty, dark girl, nearly as tall as himself,
+slender and lissom of figure, and decidedly attractive. There was evident
+sense of fun and humour in her eyes, and about the corners of her lips: he
+suddenly got an idea that she was amused at his embarrassment.
+
+"How much can you lend me?" he asked. "What--what's it worth?"
+
+"No, that's not it!" she answered. "It's--what do you want to borrow?
+You're not used to pledging things, are you?"
+
+"No," replied Lauriston. "This is the first time. Can--can you lend me a
+few pounds?"
+
+The girl picked up the watch again, and again, examined it.
+
+"I'll lend you three pounds fifteen on it," she said suddenly, in
+business-like tones. "That do?"
+
+"Thank you," replied Lauriston. "That'll do very well--I'm much obliged. I
+suppose I can have it back any time."
+
+"Any time you bring the money, and pay the interest," replied the girl.
+"Within twelve calendar months and seven days." She picked up a pen and
+began to fill out a ticket. "Got any copper?" she asked presently.
+
+"Copper?" exclaimed Lauriston. "What for?"
+
+"The ticket," she answered. Then she gave him a quick glance and just as
+quickly looked down again. "Never mind!" she said. "I'll take it out of
+the loan. Your name and address, please."
+
+Lauriston presently took the ticket and the little pile of gold, silver,
+and copper which she handed him. And he lingered.
+
+"You'll take care of that watch," he said, suddenly. "It was my father's,
+you see."
+
+The girl smiled, reassuringly, and pointed to a heavily-built safe in the
+rear.
+
+"We've all sorts of family heirlooms in there," she observed. "Make
+yourself easy."
+
+Lauriston thanked her, raised his hat, and turned away--unwillingly. He
+would have liked an excuse to stop longer--and he did not quite know why.
+But he could think of none, so he went--with a backward look when he got
+to the door. The pretty pawnbroker smiled and nodded. And the next moment
+he was out in the street, with money in his pocket, and a strange sense of
+relief, which was mingled with one of surprise. For he had lived for the
+previous four days on a two-shilling piece--and there, all the time, close
+by him, had been a place where you could borrow money, easily and very
+pleasantly.
+
+His first thought was to hurry to his lodgings and pay his landlady. He
+owed her six weeks' rent, at ten shillings a week--that would take three
+pounds out of the money he had just received. But he would still have over
+fourteen shillings to be going on with--and surely those expected letters
+would come within the next few postal deliveries. He had asked the editor
+who had taken two short stories from him to let him have a cheque for
+them, and in his inexperience had expected to see it arrive by return of
+post. Also he had put his pride in his pocket, and had written a long
+letter to his old schoolmate, John Purdie, in far-away Scotland,
+explaining his present circumstances, and asking him, for old times' sake,
+to lend him some money until he had finished and sold a novel, which, he
+was sure, would turn out to be a small gold-mine. John Purdie, he knew,
+was now a wealthy young man--successor to his father in a fine business;
+Lauriston felt no doubt that he would respond. And meantime, till the
+expected letters came, he had money--and when you have lived for four days
+on two shillings, fourteen shillings seems a small fortune. Certainly,
+within the last half-hour, life had taken on a roseate tinge--all due to a
+visit to the pawnshop.
+
+Hurrying back along Praed Street, Lauriston's steps were suddenly
+arrested. He found himself unconsciously hurrying by an old-fashioned
+eating-house, from whence came an appetizing odour of cooking food. He
+remembered then that he had eaten nothing for four-and-twenty hours. His
+landlady supplied him with nothing: ever since he had gone to her he had
+done his own catering, going out for his meals. The last meal, on the
+previous evening, had been a glass of milk and a stale, though sizable
+bun, and now he felt literally ravenous. It was only by an effort that he
+could force himself to pass the eating-house; once beyond its door, he
+ran, ran until he reached his lodgings and slipped three sovereigns into
+Mrs. Flitwick's hands.
+
+"That'll make us right to this week end, Mrs. Flitwick," he said. "Put the
+receipt in my room."
+
+"And greatly obliged I am to you, Mr. Lauriston," answered the landlady.
+"And sorry, indeed, you should have had to put yourself to the trouble,
+but--"
+
+"All right, all right--no trouble--no trouble at all," exclaimed
+Lauriston. "Quite easy, I assure you!"
+
+He ran out of the house again and back to where he knew there was food. He
+was only one-and-twenty, a well-built lad, with a healthy appetite, which,
+until very recently, had always been satisfied, and just then he was
+feeling that unless he ate and drank, something--he knew not what--would
+happen. He was even conscious that his voice was weakening, when, having
+entered the eating-house and dropped into a seat in one of the little
+boxes into which the place was divided, he asked the waitress for the food
+and drink which he was now positively aching for. And he had eaten a
+plateful of fish and two boiled eggs and several thick slices of bread and
+butter, and drunk the entire contents of a pot of tea before he even
+lifted his eyes to look round him. But by that time he was conscious of
+satisfaction, and he sat up and inspected the place to which he had
+hurried so eagerly. And in the same moment he once more saw Melky.
+
+Melky had evidently just entered the little eating-house. Evidently, too,
+he was in no hurry for food or drink. He had paused, just within the
+entrance, at a desk which stood there, whereat sat Mrs. Goldmark, the
+proprietress, a plump, pretty young woman, whose dark, flashing eyes
+turned alternately from watching her waitresses to smiling on her
+customers as they came to the desk to pay their bills. Melky, his smart
+billy-cock hat cocked to one side, his sporting-looking overcoat adorned
+with a flower, was evidently paying compliments to Mrs. Goldmark as he
+leaned over her desk: she gave him a playful push and called to a waitress
+to order Mr. Rubinstein a nice steak. And Melky, turning from her with a
+well satisfied smile, caught sight of Lauriston, and sauntered down to the
+table at which he sat.
+
+"Get your bit of business done all right?" he asked, confidentially, as he
+took a seat opposite his fellow-lodger and bent towards him. "Find the old
+gent accommodating?"
+
+"I didn't see him," answered Lauriston. "I saw a young lady."
+
+"My cousin Zillah," said Melky. "Smart girl, that, mister--worth a pile o'
+money to the old man--she knows as much about the business as what he
+does! You wouldn't think, mister," he went on in his soft, lisping tones,
+"but that girl's had a college education--fact! Old Daniel, he took her to
+live with him when her father and mother died, she being a little 'un
+then, and he give her--ah, such an education as I wish I'd had--see? She's
+quite the lady--is Zillah--but sticks to the old shop--not half, neither!"
+
+"She seems very business-like," remarked Lauriston, secretly pleased that
+he had now learned the pretty pawnbroker's name. "She soon did what I
+wanted."
+
+"In the blood," said Melky, laconically. "We're all of us in that sort o'
+business, one way or another. Now, between you and me, mister, what did
+she lend you on that bit o' stuff?"
+
+"Three pounds fifteen," replied Lauriston.
+
+"That's about it," assented Melky, with a nod. He leaned a little nearer.
+"You don't want to sell the ticket?" he suggested. "Give you a couple o'
+quid for it, if you do."
+
+"You seem very anxious to buy that watch," said Lauriston, laughing. "No--
+I don't want to sell the ticket--not I! I wouldn't part with that watch
+for worlds."
+
+"Well, if you don't, you don't," remarked Melky. "And as to wanting to
+buy--that's my trade. I ain't no reg'lar business--I buy and sell,
+anything that comes handy, in the gold and silver line. And as you ain't
+going to part with that ticker on no consideration, I'll tell you what
+it's worth, old as it is. Fifteen quid!"
+
+"That's worth knowing, any way," said Lauriston. "I shall always have
+something by me then, while I have that. You'd have made a profit of a
+nice bit, then, if I'd sold it to you?"
+
+"It 'ud be a poor world, mister, if you didn't get no profit, wouldn't
+it?" assented Melky calmly. "We're all of us out to make profit. Look
+here!--between you and me--you're a lit'ry gent, ain't you? Write a bit,
+what? Do you want to earn a fiver--comfortable?"
+
+"I should be very glad," replied Lauriston.
+
+"There's a friend o' mine," continued Melky, "wholesale jeweller, down
+Shoreditch way, wants to get out a catalogue. He ain't no lit'ry powers,
+d'you see? Now, he'd run to a fiver--cash down--if some writing feller 'ud
+touch things up a bit for him, like. Lor' bless you!--it wouldn't take you
+more'n a day's work! What d'ye say to it?"
+
+"I wouldn't mind earning five pounds at that," answered Lauriston.
+
+"Right-oh!" said Melky. "Then some day next week, I'll take you down to
+see him--he's away till then. And--you'll pay me ten per cent. on the bit
+o' business, won't you, mister? Business is business, ain't it?"
+
+"All right!" agreed Lauriston. "That's a bargain, of course."
+
+Melky nodded and turned to his steak, and Lauriston presently left him and
+went away. The plump lady at the desk gave him a smile as she handed him
+his change.
+
+"Hope to see you again, sir," she said.
+
+Lauriston went back to his room, feeling that the world had changed. He
+had paid his landlady, he had silver and copper in his pocket, he had the
+chance of earning five pounds during the coming week--and he expected a
+cheque for his two stories by every post. And if John Purdie made him the
+loan he had asked for, he would be able to devote a whole month to
+finishing his novel--and then, perhaps, there would be fame and riches.
+The dismal November evening disappeared in a dream of hope.
+
+But by the end of the week hope was dropping to zero again with Lauriston.
+No letters had arrived--either from John Purdie or the editor. On the
+Sunday morning he was again face to face with the last half-crown. He laid
+out his money very cautiously that day, but when he had paid for a frugal
+dinner at a cheap coffee-shop, he had only a shilling left. He wandered
+into Kensington Gardens that Sunday afternoon, wondering what he had best
+do next. And as he stood by the railings of the ornamental water, watching
+the water-fowls' doings, somebody bade him good-day, and he turned to find
+the pretty girl of the pawnshop standing at his side and smiling shyly at
+him.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THREE
+
+
+THE DEAD MAN
+
+Lauriston was thinking about Zillah at the very moment in which she spoke
+to him: the memory of her dark eyes and the friendly smile that she had
+given him as he left the pawnshop had come as a relief in the midst of his
+speculations as to his immediate future. And now, as he saw her real self,
+close to him, evidently disposed to be friendly, he blushed like any girl,
+being yet at that age when shyness was still a part of his character.
+Zillah blushed too--but she was more self-possessed than Lauriston.
+
+"I've been talking to my Cousin Melky about you," she said quickly. "Or,
+rather, he's been talking to me. He says he's going to introduce you to a
+man who wants his catalogue put in shape--for five pounds. Don't you do it
+for five pounds! I know that man--charge him ten!"
+
+Lauriston moved away with her down the walk.
+
+"Oh, but I couldn't do that, now!" he said eagerly. "You see I promised
+I'd do it for five."
+
+Zillah gave him a quick glance.
+
+"Don't you be silly!" she said. "When anybody like Melky offers you five
+pounds for anything, ask them double. They'll give it. You don't know much
+about money matters, do you?"
+
+Lauriston laughed, and gaining confidence, gave the girl a knowing look.
+
+"Not much," he admitted, "else I wouldn't have had to do that bit of
+business with you the other day."
+
+"Oh--that!" she said indifferently. "That's nothing. You'd be astonished
+if you knew what sort of people just have to run round to us, now and
+then--I could tell you some secrets! But--I guessed you weren't very well
+up in money matters, all the same. Writing people seldom are."
+
+"I suppose you are?" suggested Lauriston.
+
+"I've been mixed up in them all my life, more or less," she answered.
+"Couldn't help being, with my surroundings. You won't think me inquisitive
+if I ask you something? Were you--hard up--when you came round the other
+night?"
+
+"Hard up's a mild term," replied Lauriston, frankly. "I hadn't a penny!"
+
+"Excepting a gold watch worth twelve or fifteen pounds," remarked Zillah,
+drily. "And how long had you been like that?"
+
+"Two or three days--more or less," answered Lauriston. "You see, I've been
+expecting money for more than a week--that was it."
+
+"Has it come?" she asked.
+
+"No--it hasn't," he replied, with a candid blush. "That's a fact!"
+
+"Will it come--soon?" she demanded.
+
+"By George!--I hope so!" he exclaimed. "I'll be hard up again, if it
+doesn't."
+
+"And then you offer to do for five what you might easily get ten for!" she
+said, almost reproachfully. "Let me give you a bit of advice--never accept
+a first offer. Stand out for a bit more--especially from anybody like my
+cousin Melky."
+
+"Is Melky a keen one, then?" enquired Lauriston.
+
+"Melky's a young Jew," said Zillah, calmly. "I'm not--I'm half-and-half--a
+mixture. My mother was Jew--my father wasn't. Well--if you want money to
+be going on with, and you've got any more gold watches, you know where to
+come. Don't you ever go with empty pockets in London while you've got a
+bit of property to pledge! You're not a Londoner, of course?"
+
+"I'm a Scotsman!" said Lauriston.
+
+"To be sure--I knew it by your tongue," asserted Zillah. "And trying to
+make a living by writing! Well, you'll want courage--and money. Have you
+had any luck?"
+
+"I've sold two stories," answered Lauriston, who by that time was feeling
+as if the girl was an old friend. "They come to twenty pounds for the two,
+at the rate that magazine pays, and I've asked for a cheque--it's that I'm
+waiting for. It ought to come--any time."
+
+"Oh, but I know that game!" said Zillah. "I've two friends--girls--who
+write. I know how they have to wait--till publication, or till next pay-
+day. What a pity that some of you writers don't follow some other
+profession that would bring in a good income--then you could do your
+writing to please yourselves, and not be dependent on it. Haven't you
+thought of that?"
+
+"Often!" answered Lauriston. "And it wouldn't do--for me, anyway. I've
+made my choice. I'll stick to my pen--and swim or sink with it. And I'm
+not going to sink!"
+
+"That's the way to talk--to be sure!" said the girl. "But--keep yourself
+in money, if you can. Don't go without money for three days when you've
+anything you can raise money on. You see how practical I am! But you've
+got to be in this world. Will you tell me something?"
+
+"It strikes me," answered Lauriston, looking at her narrowly and bringing
+the colour to her cheeks, "that I'm just about getting to this--that I'd
+tell you anything! And so--what is it?"
+
+"How much money have you left?" she asked softly.
+
+"Precisely a shilling--and a copper or two," he answered.
+
+"And--if that cheque doesn't arrive?" she suggested.
+
+"Maybe I'll be walking round to Praed Street again," he said, laughing.
+"I've a bit of what you call property, yet."
+
+The girl nodded, and turned towards a side-walk that led across the
+Gardens.
+
+"All right," she said. "Don't think me inquisitive--I don't like to think
+of--of people like you being hard up: I'm not wrapped up in business as
+much as all that. Let's talk of something else--tell me what you write
+about."
+
+Lauriston spent the rest of that afternoon with Zillah, strolling about
+Kensington Gardens. He had lived a very lonely life since coming to
+London, and it was a new and pleasant experience to him to have an
+intelligent companion to talk to. There was a decided sense of
+exhilaration within him when he finally left her; as for Zillah, she went
+homewards in a very thoughtful mood, already conscious that she was more
+than half in love with this good-looking lad who had come so strangely
+into her life. And at the corner of Praed Street she ran up against Mr.
+Melky Rubinstein, and button-holed him, and for ten minutes talked
+seriously to him. Melky, who had good reasons of his own for keeping in
+his cousin's favour, listened like a lamb to all she had to say, and went
+off promising implicit obedience to her commandments.
+
+"Zillah ain't half gone on that chap!" mused Melky, as he pursued his way.
+"Now, ain't it extraordinary that a girl who'll come into a perfect
+fortune should go and fall head over ears in love with a red-headed young
+feller what ain't got a penny to bless hisself with! Not but what he ain't
+got good looks--and brains. And brains is brains, when all's said!"
+
+That night, as Lauriston sat writing in his shabby little room, a knock
+came at his door--the door opened, and Melky slid in, laying his finger to
+the side of his large nose in token of confidence.
+
+"Hope I ain't interrupting," said Melky. "I say, mister, I been thinking
+about that catalogue business. Now I come to sort of reflect on it, I
+think my friend'll go to ten pound. So we'll say ten pound--what? And I'll
+take you to see him next Friday. And I say, mister--if a pound or two on
+account 'ud be of any service--say the word, d'ye see?"
+
+With this friendly assurance, Melky plunged his hand into a hip-pocket,
+and drew out some gold, which he held towards Lauriston on his open palm.
+
+"Two or three pound on account, now, mister?" he said, ingratiatingly.
+"You're welcome as the flowers in May!"
+
+But Lauriston shook his head; he had already decided on a plan of his own,
+if the expected remittance did not arrive next morning.
+
+"No, thank you," he answered. "It's uncommonly good of you--but I can
+manage very well indeed--I can, really! Next Friday, then--I'll go with
+you. I'm very much obliged to you."
+
+Melky slipped his money into his pocket--conscious of having done his
+part. "Just as you like, mister," he said. "But you was welcome, you know.
+Next Friday, then--and you can reckon on cash down for this job."
+
+The Monday morning brought neither of the expected letters to Lauriston.
+But he had not spoken without reason when he said to Zillah that he had a
+bit of property to fall back upon--now that he knew how ready money could
+easily be raised. He had some pledgeable property in his trunk--and when
+the remittances failed to arrive, he determined to avail himself of it.
+Deep down in a corner of the trunk he had two valuable rings--all that his
+mother had left him, with the exception of two hundred pounds, with which
+he had ventured to London, and on which he had lived up to then. He got
+the rings out towards the end of Monday afternoon, determining to take
+them round to Daniel Multenius and raise sufficient funds on them to last
+him for, at any rate, another month or two. He had little idea of the real
+value of such articles, and he had reasons of his own for not showing the
+rings to Melky Rubinstein; his notion was to wait until evening, when he
+would go to the pawnshop at about the same time as on his previous visit,
+in the hope of finding Zillah in charge again. After their meeting and
+talk of the afternoon before, he felt that she would do business with him
+in a sympathetic spirit--and if he could raise twenty pounds on the rings
+he would be free of all monetary anxiety for many a long week to come.
+
+It was half-past five o'clock of that Monday evening when Lauriston, for
+the second time, turned into the narrow passage which led to the pawnshop
+door. He had already looked carefully through the street window, in the
+hope of seeing Zillah inside the front shop. But there was no Zillah to be
+seen; the front shop was empty. Nor did Zillah confront him when he
+stepped into the little boxed-in compartment in the pawnshop. There was a
+curious silence in the place--broken only by the quiet, regular ticking of
+a clock. That ticking grew oppressive during the minute or two that he
+waited expecting somebody to step forward. He rapped on the counter at
+last--gently at first, then more insistently. But nobody came. The clock--
+hidden from his sight--went on ticking.
+
+Lauriston bent over the counter at last and craned his neck to look into
+the open door of a little parlour which lay behind the shop. The next
+instant, with no thought but of the exigencies of the moment, he had leapt
+over the partition and darted into the room. There, stretched out across
+the floor, his head lying on the hearthrug, his hands lying inert and
+nerveless at his sides, lay an old man, grey-bearded, venerable--Daniel
+Multenius, no doubt. He lay very still, very statuesque--and Lauriston,
+bending over and placing a trembling hand on the high, white forehead,
+knew that he was dead.
+
+He started up--his only idea that of seeking help. The whole place was so
+still that he knew he was alone with the dead in it. Instinctively, he ran
+through the front shop to the street door--and into the arms of a man who
+was just entering.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOUR
+
+
+THE PLATINUM SOLITAIRE
+
+The newcomer, an elderly, thick-set man, who, in spite of his plain
+clothes, looked as if he were an official of some sort and carried some
+documents in his hand, at which he was glancing as he entered, started and
+exclaimed as Lauriston, in his haste, ran up against him. "Hullo!" he
+said. "What's the matter? You seem in a hurry, young fellow!"
+
+Lauriston, almost out of breath with excitement, turned and pointed to the
+open door of the little parlour.
+
+"There's an old man--lying in there--dead!" he whispered. "A grey-bearded
+old man--is it the pawn-broker--Mr. Multenius?"
+
+The man stared, craned his neck to glance in the direction which
+Lauriston's shaking finger indicated, and then started forward. But he
+suddenly paused, and motioned Lauriston to go first--and before following
+him he closed the street door.
+
+"Now then, where?" he said. "Dead, do you say?" He followed Lauriston into
+the parlour, uttered a sharp exclamation as he caught sight of the
+recumbent figure, and, bending down, laid a hand on the forehead. "Dead,
+right enough, my lad!" he muttered. "Been dead some minutes, too. But--
+where's the girl--the grand-daughter? Have you seen anybody?"
+
+"Not a soul!" answered Lauriston. "Since I came in, the whole place has
+been as still as--as it is now!"
+
+The man stared at him for a second or two, silently; then, as if he knew
+the ins and outs of the establishment, he strode to an inner door, threw
+it open and revealed a staircase.
+
+"Hullo there!" he called loudly. "Hullo! Miss Wildrose! Are you there?"
+
+This was the first time Lauriston had heard Zillah's surname: even in the
+midst of that startling discovery, it struck him as a very poetical one.
+But he had no time to reflect on it--the man turned back into the parlour.
+
+"She must be out," he said. "Do you say you found him?"
+
+"Yes--I found him," answered Lauriston. "Just now."
+
+"And what were you doing here?" asked the man. "Who are you?"
+
+Lauriston fancied he detected a faint note of suspicion in these
+questions, and he drew himself up, with a flush on his face.
+
+"My name's Andrew Lauriston," he answered. "I live close by. I came in on
+--business. Who are you?"
+
+"Well, if it comes to that, my lad," said the man, "I'm Detective-Sergeant
+Ayscough--known well enough around these parts! I came to see the old
+gentleman about these papers. Now--what was your business, then?"
+
+He was watching Lauriston very keenly, and Lauriston, suddenly realizing
+that he was in an awkward position, determined on candour.
+
+"Well, if you really want to know," he said, "I came to borrow some money
+--on these rings."
+
+And he opened his left hand and showed the detective the two rings which
+he had taken from his trunk--not half-an-hour before.
+
+"Your property?" asked Ayscough.
+
+"Of course they're my property!" exclaimed Lauriston. "Whose else should
+they be?"
+
+Ayscough's glance wandered from the rings to a table which stood, a little
+to one side, in the middle of the parlour. Lauriston turned in that
+direction, also. Two objects immediately met his eye. On the table stood a
+small tray, full of rings--not dissimilar in style and appearance to those
+which he held in his hand: old-fashioned rings. The light from the gas-
+brackets above the mantel-piece caught the facets of the diamonds in those
+rings and made little points of fire; here and there he saw the shimmer of
+pearls. But there was another object. Close by the tray of old rings lay a
+book--a beautifully bound book, a small quarto in size, with much
+elaborate gold ornament on the back and side, and gilt clasps holding the
+heavy leather binding together. It looked as if some hand had recently
+thrown this book carelessly on the table.
+
+But Ayscough gave little, if any, attention to the book: his eyes were
+fixed on the rings in the tray--and he glanced from them to Lauriston's
+rings.
+
+"Um!" he said presently. "Odd that you have a couple of rings, young man,
+just like--those! Isn't it?"
+
+"What do you mean?" demanded Lauriston, flushing scarlet. "You don't
+suggest--"
+
+"Don't suggest anything--just now," answered the detective, quietly. "But
+you must stop here with me, until I find out more. Come to the door--we
+must have help here."
+
+Lauriston saw there was nothing to do but to obey, and he followed
+Ayscough to the street door. The detective opened it, looked out, and
+waiting a few minutes, beckoned to a policeman who presently strolled
+along. After a whispered word or two, the policeman went away, and
+Ayscough beckoned Lauriston back into the shop.
+
+"Now," he said, "there'll be some of our people and a surgeon along in a
+few minutes--before they come, just tell me your story. You're an honest-
+looking young chap--but you must admit that it looks a bit queer that I
+should find you running out of this shop, old Multenius dead inside his
+parlour, and you with a couple of rings in your possession which look
+uncommonly like his property! Just tell me how it came about."
+
+Lauriston told him the plain truth--from the pawning of the watch to the
+present visit. Ayscough watched him narrowly--and at the end nodded his
+head.
+
+"That sounds like a straight tale, Mr. Lauriston," he said. "I'm inclined
+to believe every word you say. But I shall have to report it, and all the
+circumstances, and you'll have to prove that these two rings were your
+mother's, and all that--and you must stay here till the doctor comes with
+our people. Queer that the old man should be alone! I wonder where his
+grand-daughter is?"
+
+But just then the street door opened and Zillah came in, a big bunch of
+flowers under one arm, some small parcels in the other. At the sight of
+the two men she started; crimsoned as she saw Lauriston; paled again as
+she noticed that Ayscough was evidently keeping an eye on him.
+
+"Mr. Ayscough!" she exclaimed. "What's this?--is something the matter?
+What are you doing here?" she went on hurriedly, turning to Lauriston.
+"Inside the shop! What's happened?--tell me, one of you?"
+
+The detective purposely kept himself and Lauriston between Zillah and the
+open door at the rear of the shop. He made a kindly motion of his head
+towards her.
+
+"Now, my dear!" he said. "Don't get upset--your grandfather was getting a
+very old man, you know--and we can't expect old gentlemen to live for
+ever. Take it quietly, now!"
+
+The girl turned and laid her flowers and parcels on the counter.
+Lauriston, watching her anxiously, saw that she was nerving herself to be
+brave.
+
+"That means--he's dead?" she said. "I am quiet--you see I'm quiet. Tell me
+what's happened--you tell me," she added, glancing at Lauriston. "Tell me
+--now!"
+
+"I came in and found no one here, and I looked round through the door into
+the parlour there," answered Lauriston, "and I saw your grandfather lying
+on the floor. So I jumped over the counter and went to him."
+
+Zillah moved forward as if to go into the parlour. But the detective
+stopped her, glancing from her to Lauriston.
+
+"You know this young man, Miss Wildrose?" he asked. "You've met him
+before?"
+
+"Yes," replied Zillah, confidently. "He's Mr. Lauriston. Let me go in
+there, please. Can nothing be done?"
+
+But Ayscough only shook his head. There was nothing to be done--but to
+await the arrival of the doctor. They followed the girl into the parlour
+and stood by while she bent over the dead man. She made no demonstration
+of grief, and when Ayscough presently suggested that she should go
+upstairs until the doctor had come, she went quietly away.
+
+"Hadn't we better lift him on that sofa?" suggested Lauriston.
+
+"Not till our people and the police-surgeon have seen him," answered
+Ayscough, shaking his head. "I want to know all about this--he may have
+died a natural death--a seizure of some sort--and again, he mayn't--
+They'll be here in a minute."
+
+Lauriston presently found himself a passive spectator while a police-
+inspector, another man in plain clothes, and the doctor examined the body,
+after hearing Ayscough's account of what had just happened. He was aware
+that he was regarded with suspicion--the inspector somewhat brusquely bade
+him stay where he was: it would, indeed, have been impossible to leave,
+for there was a policeman at the door, in which, by his superior's orders,
+he had turned the key. And there was a general, uncomfortable sort of
+silence in the place while the doctor busied himself about the body.
+
+"This man has been assaulted!" said the doctor, suddenly turning to the
+inspector. "Look here!--he's not only been violently gripped by the right
+arm--look at that bruise--but taken savagely by the throat. There's no
+doubt of that. Old and evidently feeble as he was, the shock would be
+quite enough to kill him. But--that's how it's been done, without a
+doubt."
+
+The inspector turned, looking hard at Lauriston.
+
+"Did you see anybody leaving the place when you entered?" he asked.
+
+"There was no one about here when I came in--either at the street door or
+at the side door," replied Lauriston, readily. "The whole place was quiet
+--deserted--except for him. And--he was dead when I found him."
+
+The inspector drew Ayscough aside and they talked in whispers for a few
+minutes, eyeing Lauriston now and then; eventually they approached him.
+
+"I understand you're known here, and that you live in the neighbourhood,"
+said the inspector. "You'll not object if the sergeant goes round with you
+to your lodgings--you'll no doubt be able to satisfy him about your
+respectability, and so on. I don't want to suggest anything--but--you
+understand?"
+
+"I understand," replied Lauriston. "I'll show or tell him anything he
+likes. I've told you the plain truth."
+
+"Go with him now," directed the inspector; "you know what to do,
+Ayscough!"
+
+Half an hour later, when the dead man had been carried to his room, and
+the shop and house had been closed, Melky Rubinstein, who had come in
+while the police were still there, and had remained when they had gone,
+stood talking to Zillah in the upstairs sitting-room. Melky was unusually
+grave: Zillah had already gathered that the police had some suspicion
+about Lauriston.
+
+"I'll go round there and see what the detective fellow's doing with him,"
+said Melky. "I ain't got no suspicion about him--not me! But--it's an
+awkward position--and them rings, too! Now, if he'd only ha' shown 'em to
+me, first, Zillah--see?"
+
+"Do go, Melky!" urged Zillah tearfully. "Of course, he'd nothing to do
+with it. Oh!--I wish I'd never gone out!"
+
+Melky went downstairs. He paused for a moment in the little parlour,
+glancing meditatively at the place where the old man had been found dead.
+And suddenly his keen eyes saw an object which lay close to the fender,
+half hidden by a tassel of the hearthrug, and he stooped and picked it up
+--a solitaire stud, made of platinum, and ornamented with a curious
+device.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIVE
+
+
+THE TWO LETTERS
+
+Once outside the shop, Lauriston turned sharply on the detective.
+
+"Look here!" he said. "I wish you'd just tell me the truth. Am I
+suspected? Am I--in some way or other--in custody?"
+
+Ayscough laughed quietly, wagging his head.
+
+"Certainly not in custody," he answered. "And as to the other--well, you
+know, Mr. Lauriston, supposing we put it in this way?--suppose you'd been
+me, and I'd been you, half-an-hour ago? What would you have thought if
+you'd found me in the situation and under the circumstances in which I
+found you? Come, now!"
+
+"Yes," replied Lauriston, after a moment's reflection. "I suppose it's
+natural that you should suspect me--finding me there, alone with the old
+man. But--"
+
+"It's not so much suspicion in a case of this sort, as a wish to satisfy
+one's self," interrupted the detective. "You seem a gentleman-like young
+fellow, and you may be all right. I want to know that you are--I'd like to
+know that you are! It would be no satisfaction to me to fasten this
+business on you, I can assure you. And if you like to tell me about
+yourself, and how you came to go to Multenius's--why, it would be as
+well."
+
+"There's not much to tell," answered Lauriston. "I came from Scotland to
+London, two years ago or thereabouts, to earn my living by writing. I'd a
+bit of money when I came--I've lived on it till now. I've just begun to
+earn something. I've been expecting a cheque for some work for these last
+ten or twelve days, but I was running short last week--so I went to that
+place to pawn my watch--I saw the young lady there. As my cheque hadn't
+arrived today, I went there again to pawn those rings I told you about and
+showed you. And--that's all. Except this--I was advised to go to
+Multenius's by a relation of theirs, Mr. Rubinstein, who lodges where I
+do. He knows me."
+
+"Oh, Melky Rubinstein!" said Ayscough. "I know Melky--sharp chap he is.
+He sold me this pin I'm wearing. Well, that seems quite a straightforward
+tale, Mr. Lauriston. I've no doubt all will be satisfactory. You've
+friends in London, of course?"
+
+"No--none," replied Lauriston. "And scarcely an acquaintance. I've kept to
+myself--working hard: I've had no time--nor inclination, either--to make
+friends. Here's the house where I lodge--it's not much of a place, but
+come in."
+
+They had reached Mrs. Flitwick's house by that time, and Mrs. Flitwick
+herself was in the narrow, shabby passage as they entered. She immediately
+produced two letters.
+
+"Here's two letters for you, Mr. Lauriston," she said, with a sharp glance
+at Ayscough. "One of 'em's a registered--I did sign for it. So I kept 'em
+myself, instead of sending 'em up to your room."
+
+"Thank you, Mrs. Flitwick," said Lauriston. He took the letters, saw that
+the writing on the registered envelope was his old friend John Purdie's,
+and that the other letter was from the magazine to which he had sold his
+stories, and turned to Ayscough. "Come up to my room," he continued.
+"We'll talk up there."
+
+Ayscough followed him up to his room--once inside, and the door shut,
+Lauriston tore open the letter from the magazine, and extracted a printed
+form and a cheque for twenty guineas. He took one look at them and thrust
+them into the detective's hands.
+
+"There!" he said, with a sigh of mingled relief and triumph. "There's a
+proof of the truth of one statement I made to you! That's the expected
+cheque I told you of. Excuse me while I look at the other letter."
+
+Out of the registered letter came a bank-note--for twenty pounds--and a
+hastily scribbled note which Lauriston eagerly read. "Dear old Andie," it
+ran, "I've only just got your letter, for I've been from home for a
+fortnight, and had no letters sent on to me. Of course you'll make me your
+banker until your book's finished--and afterwards, too, if need be. Here's
+something to be going on with--but I'm coming to London in a day or two,
+as it happens, and will go into the matter--I'll call on you as soon as I
+arrive. Excuse this scrawl--post time. Always yours, John Purdie."
+
+Lauriston thrust that letter, too, into Ayscough's hands.
+
+"If I've no friends in London, there's proof of having one in my own
+country!" he exclaimed. "Ah!--if those letters had only come before I went
+off to Praed Street!"
+
+"Just so!" agreed the detective, glancing the letters and their
+accompaniments over. "Well, I'm glad you're able to show me these, Mr.
+Lauriston, anyway. But now, about those rings--between you and me, I wish
+they hadn't been so much like those that were lying in that tray on the
+old man's table. It's an unfortunate coincidence!--because some folks
+might think, you know, that you'd just grabbed a couple of those as you
+left the place. Eh?"
+
+"My rings have been in that trunk for two or three years," asserted
+Lauriston. "They were my mother's, and I believe she'd had them for many a
+year before she died. They may resemble those that we saw in that tray,
+but--"
+
+"Well, I suppose you can bring somebody--if necessary, that is--to prove
+that they were your mother's, can't you?" asked Ayscough. "That'll make
+matters all right--on that point. And as for the rest--it's very lucky you
+know Melky Rubinstein, and that the girl knew you as a customer. But, my
+faith!--I wish you'd caught a glimpse of somebody leaving that shop! For
+there's no doubt the old man met his death by violence."
+
+"I know nothing of it," said Lauriston, "I saw no one."
+
+Just then Melky came in. He glanced at the cheque and the bank-notes lying
+on the table, and nodded to Lauriston as if he understood their presence.
+Then he turned to Ayscough, almost anxiously.
+
+"I say, Mr. Ayscough!" he said, deprecatingly. "You ain't going to be so
+unkind as to mix up this here young fellow in what's happened. S'elp me,
+Mr. Ayscough, I couldn't believe anything o' that sort about him, nohow--
+nor would my cousin, Zillah, what you know well enough, neither; he's as
+quiet as a lamb, Mr. Ayscough, is Mr. Lauriston--ain't I known him,
+lodging here as he does, this many a month? I'll give my word for him,
+anyway, Mr. Ayscough! And you police gentlemen know me. Don't you now, Mr.
+Ayscough?"
+
+"Very well indeed, my boy!" agreed the detective, heartily. "And I'll tell
+you what--I shall have to trouble Mr. Lauriston to go round with me to the
+station, just to give a formal account of what happened, and a bit of
+explanation, you know--I'm satisfied myself about him, and so, no doubt,
+will our people be, but you come with us, Melky, and say a word or two--
+say you've known him for some time, d'ye see--it'll help."
+
+"Anything to oblige a friend, Mr. Ayscough," said Melky. He motioned to
+Lauriston to put his money in his pocket. "Glad to see your letters turned
+up," he whispered as they went downstairs. "I say!--a word in your ear--
+don't you tell these here police chaps any more than you need--I'll stand
+up for you."
+
+The detective's report, a little questioning of Lauriston, and Melky's
+fervent protestations on Lauriston's behalf, served to satisfy the
+authorities at the police-station, and Lauriston was allowed to go--
+admonished by the inspector that he'd be wanted at the inquest, as the
+most important witness. He went out into the street with Melky.
+
+"Come and have a bit o' supper at Mrs. Goldmark's," suggested Melky. "I
+shall have my hands full tonight at the poor old man's, but I ain't had
+nothing since dinner."
+
+Lauriston, however, excused himself. He wanted to go home and write
+letters--at once. But he promised to look round at the pawnshop later in
+the evening, to see if he could be of any use, and to give Melky a full
+account of his finding of the old pawnbroker.
+
+"Ah!" remarked Melky, as they pushed at the door of the eating-house. "And
+ain't it going to be a nice job to find the man that scragged him?--I
+don't think! But I'm going to take a hand at that game, mister!--let alone
+the police."
+
+Mrs. Goldmark was out. She had heard the news, said the waitress who was
+left in charge, and had gone round to do what she could for Miss Zillah.
+So Melky, deprived of the immediate opportunity of talk with Mrs.
+Goldmark, ordered his supper, and while he ate and drank, cogitated and
+reflected. And his thoughts ran chiefly on the platinum solitaire stud
+which he had carefully bestowed in his vest pocket.
+
+It was Melky's firm belief--already--that the stud had been dropped in
+Daniel Multenius's back parlour by some person who had no business there--
+in other words by the old man's assailant. And ever since he had found
+the stud, Melky had been wondering and speculating on his chances of
+finding its owner. Of one thing he was already certain: that the owner,
+whoever he was, was no ordinary person. Ordinary, everyday persons do not
+wear studs or tie-pins on chains made of platinum--the most valuable of
+all the metals. How came a solitaire stud, made of a metal far more
+valuable than gold, and designed and ornamented in a peculiar fashion, to
+be lying on the hearthrug of old Daniel Multenius's room? It was not to be
+believed that the old man had dropped it there--no, affirmed Melky to
+himself, with conviction, that bit of personal property had been dropped
+there, out of a loose shirt-cuff by some man who had called on Daniel not
+long before Andie Lauriston had gone in, and who for some mysterious
+reason had scragged the old fellow. And now the question was--who was that
+man?
+
+"Got to find that out, somehow!" mused Melky. "Else that poor chap'll be
+in a nice fix--s'elp me, he will! And that 'ud never do!"
+
+Melky, in spite of his keenness as a business man, and the fact that from
+boyhood he had had to fight the world by himself, had a peculiarly soft
+heart--he tended altogether to verge on the sentimental. He had watched
+Lauriston narrowly, and had developed a decided feeling for him--moreover,
+he now knew that his cousin Zillah, hitherto adamant to many admirers, had
+fallen in love with Lauriston: clearly, Lauriston must be saved. Melky
+knew police ways and methods, and he felt sure that whatever Ayscough, a
+good-natured man, might think, the superior authorities would view
+Lauriston's presence in the pawnshop with strong suspicion. Therefore--the
+real culprit must be found. And he, Melky Rubinstein--he must have a go at
+that game.
+
+He finished his supper, thinking hard all the time he ate and drank;
+finally he approached the desk to pay his bill. The young woman whom Mrs.
+Goldmark had left in charge lifted the lid of the desk to get some change
+--and Melky's astonished eyes immediately fell on an object which lay on
+top of a little pile of papers. That object was the duplicate of the
+platinum solitaire which Melky had in his pocket. Without ceremony--being
+well known there--he at once picked it up.
+
+"What's this bit of jewellery?" he demanded.
+
+"That?" said the waitress, indifferently. "Oh, one of the girls picked it
+up the other day off a table where a stranger had been sitting--we think
+he'd dropped it. Mrs. Goldmark says it's valuable, so she put it away, in
+case he comes again. But we haven't seen him since."
+
+Melky took a good look at the second stud. Then he put it back in the
+desk, picked up his change, and went away--in significant silence.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIX
+
+
+THE SPANISH MANUSCRIPT
+
+Lauriston, walking back to his room after leaving Melky at the door of the
+eating-house, faced the situation in which an unfortunate combination of
+circumstances had placed him. Ayscough had been placable enough; the
+authorities at the police-station had heard his own version of things with
+attention--but he was still conscious that he was under a certain amount
+of suspicion. More than that, he felt convinced that the police would keep
+an eye on him that night. Ayscough, indeed, had more than hinted that that
+would probably be done. For anything he knew, some plain-clothes man might
+be shadowing him even then--anyway, there had been no mistaking the almost
+peremptory request of the inspector that he should report himself at the
+police station in the morning. It was no use denying the fact--he was
+suspected, in some degree.
+
+He knew where the grounds of suspicion lay--in his possession of two
+rings, which were undoubtedly very similar to the rings which lay in the
+tray that he and the detective had found on the table in the back-parlour
+of the pawnshop. It needed no effort on the part of one who had already
+had considerable experience in the construction of plots for stories, to
+see how the police would build up a theory of their own. Here, they would
+say, is a young fellow, who on his own confession, is so hard up, so
+penniless, indeed, that he has had to pawn his watch. He has got to know
+something of this particular pawnshop, and of its keepers--he watches the
+girl leave; he ascertains that the old man is alone; he enters, probably
+he sees that tray of rings lying about; he grabs a couple of the rings;
+the old man interrupts him in the act; he seizes the old man, to silence
+his outcries; the old man, feeble enough at any time, dies under the
+shock. A clear, an unmistakable case!
+
+What was he, Lauriston, to urge against the acceptance of such a theory?
+He thought over everything that could be said on his behalf. The
+friendliness of Zillah and her cousin Melky towards him could be
+dismissed--that, when it came to it, would weigh little against the cold
+marshalling of facts which a keen legal mind would put into the opposite
+scale. His own contention that it was scarcely probable that he should
+have gone to the pawnshop except to pledge something, and that that
+something was the rings, would also be swept aside, easily enough: his
+real object, the other side would say, had been robbery when the old man
+was alone: what evidence had he that the two rings which he had in his
+hand when Ayscough found him hurrying out of the shop were really his?
+
+Here, Lauriston knew he was in a difficulty. He had kept these two rings
+safely hidden in his old-fashioned trunk ever since coming to London, and
+had never shown them to a single person--he had, indeed, never seen them
+himself for a long time until he took them out that afternoon. But where
+was his proof of that! He had no relations to whom he could appeal. His
+mother had possessed an annuity; just sufficient to maintain her and her
+son, and to give Lauriston a good education: it had died with her, and all
+that she had left him, to start life on, was about two hundred pounds and
+some small personal belongings, of which the rings and his father's watch
+and chain were a part. And he remembered now that his mother had kept
+those rings as securely put away as he had kept them since her death--
+until they came into his hands at her death he had only once seen them;
+she had shown them to him when he was a boy and had said they were very
+valuable. Was it possible that there was any one, far away in Scotland,
+who had known his mother and who would come forward--if need arose--and
+prove that those rings had been her property? But when he had put this
+question to himself, he had to answer it with a direct negative--he knew
+of no one.
+
+There was one gleam of hope in this critical situation. John Purdie was
+coming to London. Lauriston had always felt that he could rely on John
+Purdie, and he had just received proof of the value of his faith in his
+old schoolmate. John Purdie would tell him what to do: he might even
+suggest the names of some of Mrs. Lauriston's old friends. And perhaps the
+need might not arise--there must surely be some clue to the old
+pawnbroker's assailant; surely the police would go deeper into the matter.
+He cheered up at these thoughts, and having written replies to the two
+welcome letters and asked John Purdie to see him immediately on his
+arrival in town, he went out again to the post-office and to fulfil his
+promise to Melky to call at the pawnshop.
+
+Lauriston was naturally of quick observation. He noticed now, as he
+stepped out into the ill-lighted, gloomy street that a man was pacing up
+and down in front of the house. This man took no notice of him as he
+passed, but before he had reached Praed Street, he glanced around, and saw
+that he was following him. He followed him to Spring Street post-office;
+he was in his rear when Lauriston reached the pawnshop. Idly and
+perfunctorily as the man seemed to be strolling about, Lauriston was sure
+that he was shadowing him--and he told Melky of the fact when Melky
+admitted him to the shop by the private door.
+
+"Likely enough, mister," remarked Melky. "But I shouldn't bother myself
+about it if I were you. There'll be more known about this affair before
+long. Now, look here," he continued, leading the way into the little back-
+parlour where Lauriston had found Daniel Multenius lying dead, "here's you
+and me alone--Zillah, she's upstairs, and Mrs. Goldmark is with her. Just
+you tell me what you saw when you came in here, d'you see, Mr. Lauriston--
+never mind the police--just give me the facts. I ain't no fool, you know,
+and I'm going to work this thing out."
+
+Lauriston gave Melky a complete account of his connection with the matter:
+Melky checked off all the points on his long fingers. At the end he turned
+to the table and indicated the finely-bound book which Lauriston had
+noticed when he and the detective had first looked round.
+
+"The police," said Melky, "made Zillah lock up that tray o' rings that was
+there in a drawer what she had to clear out for 'em, and they've put a
+seal on it till tomorrow. They've got those rings of yours, too, mister,
+haven't they?"
+
+"They said it would be best for me to leave them with them," answered
+Lauriston. "Ayscough advised it. They gave me a receipt for them, you
+know."
+
+"All right," remarked Melky. "But there's something they ain't had the
+sense to see the importance of--that fine book there. Mister!--that there
+book wasn't in this parlour, nor in this shop, nor in this house, at a
+quarter to five o'clock this afternoon, when my cousin Zillah went out,
+leaving the poor old man alone. She'll swear to that. Now then, who
+brought it here--who left it here? Between the time Zillah went out,
+mister, and the time you come in, and found what you did find, somebody--
+somebody!--had been in here and left that book behind him! And--mark you!
+--it wasn't pawned, neither. That's a fact! And--it's no common book,
+that. Look at it, Mr. Lauriston--you'd ought to know something about
+books. Look at it!--s'elp me if I don't feel there's a clue in that there
+volume, whoever it belongs to!"
+
+Lauriston took the book in his hands. He had only glanced at it casually
+before; now he examined it carefully, while Melky stood at his elbow,
+watching. The mysterious volume was certainly worthy of close inspection--
+a small quarto, wonderfully bound in old dark crimson morocco leather, and
+ornamented on sides and back with curious gold arabesque work: a heavy
+clasp, also intricately wrought, held the boards together. Lauriston,
+something of a book lover, whose natural inclination was to spend his last
+shilling on a book rather than on beef and bread, looked admiringly at
+this fine specimen of the binder's art as he turned it over.
+
+"That's solid gold, isn't it?" he asked as he unfastened the clasp. "You
+know."
+
+"Solid gold it is, mister--and no error," assented Melky. "Now, what's
+inside? It ain't no blooming account-book, I'll bet!"
+
+Lauriston opened the volume, to reveal leaves of old vellum, covered with
+beautiful fine writing. He had sufficient knowledge of foreign languages
+to know what he was looking at.
+
+"That's Spanish!" he said. "An old Spanish manuscript--and I should say
+it's worth a rare lot of money. How could it have come here?"
+
+Melky took the old volume out of Lauriston's hands, and put it away in a
+corner cupboard.
+
+"Ah, just so, mister!" he said. "But we'll keep that question to
+ourselves--for awhile. Don't you say nothing to the police about that
+there old book--I'll give Zillah the tip. More hangs round that than we
+know of yet. Now look here!--there'll be the opening of the inquest
+tomorrow. You be careful! Take my tip and don't let 'em get more out of
+you than's necessary. I'll go along with you. I'm going to stop here
+tonight--watch-dog, you know. Mrs. Goldmark and another friend's going to
+be here as well, so Zillah'll have company. And I say, Zillah wants a word
+with you--stop here, and I'll send her down."
+
+Lauriston presently found himself alone with Zillah in the little parlour.
+She looked at him silently, with eyes full of anxiety: he suddenly
+realized that the anxiety was for himself.
+
+"Don't!" he said, moving close to her and laying his hand on her arm. "I'm
+not afraid!"
+
+Zillah lifted her large dark eyes to his.
+
+"Those rings?" she said. "You'll be able to account for them? The police,
+oh, I'm so anxious about you!"
+
+"The rings are mine!" he exclaimed. "It doesn't matter what the police say
+or think, or do, either--at least, it shan't matter. And--you're not to be
+anxious I've got a good friend coming from Scotland--Melky told you I'd
+had two lots of good news tonight, didn't he?"
+
+A moment later Lauriston was in the street--conscious that, without a word
+spoken between them, he and Zillah had kissed each other. He went away
+with a feeling of exaltation--and he only laughed when he saw a man detach
+himself from a group on the opposite side of the street and saunter slowly
+after him. Let the police shadow him--watch his lodgings all night, if
+they pleased--he had something else to think of. And presently, not even
+troubling to look out of his window to see if there was a watcher there,
+he went to bed, to dream of Zillah's dark eyes.
+
+But when morning came, and Lauriston realized that a fateful day was
+before him, his thoughts were not quite so rosy. He drew up his blind--
+there, certainly was a man pacing the opposite sidewalk. Evidently, he was
+not to escape surveillance; the official eye was on him! Supposing, before
+the day was out, the official hand was on him, too?
+
+He turned from the window as he heard his newspaper thrust under his door.
+He had only one luxury--a copy of the _Times_ every morning. It was a
+three-penny _Times_ in those days, but he had always managed to find
+his weekly eighteen pence for it. He picked it up now, and carelessly
+glanced at its front page as he was about to lay it aside. The next moment
+he was eagerly reading a prominent advertisement:
+
+"Lost in a Holborn to Chapel Street Omnibus, about 4 o'clock yesterday
+afternoon, a Spanish manuscript, bound in old crimson morocco. Whoever has
+found the same will be most handsomely rewarded on bringing it to Spencer
+Levendale, Esq., M.P., 591, Sussex Square, W."
+
+Lauriston read this twice over--and putting the paper in his pocket,
+finished his dressing and went straight to the police-station.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVEN
+
+
+THE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
+
+Melky Rubinstein came out of the side-passage by Multenius's shop as
+Lauriston neared it; he, too, had a newspaper bulging from his coat
+pocket, and at sight of Lauriston he pulled it out and waved it excitedly.
+
+"What'd I tell you, mister?" exclaimed Melky, as Lauriston joined him, the
+shadowing plain-clothes man in his rear. "D'ye see this?" He pointed to an
+advertisement in his own paper, which he had marked with blue pencil.
+"There y'are, Mr. Lauriston!--that identical old book what's inside the
+parlour--advertised for--handsome reward, too, in the _Daily
+Telegraph_! Didn't I say we'd hear more of it?"
+
+Lauriston pulled out the _Times_ and indicated the Personal Column.
+
+"It's there, too," he said. "This man, Mr. Levendale, is evidently very
+anxious to recover his book. And he's lost no time in advertising for it,
+either! But--however did it get to Multenius's?
+
+"Mister!" said Melky, solemnly. "We'll have to speak to the police--now.
+There's going to be a fine clue in that there book. I didn't mean to say
+nothing to the police about it, just yet, but after this here
+advertisement, t'ain't no use keeping the thing to ourselves. Come on
+round to the police-station."
+
+"That's just where I was going," replied Lauriston. "Let's get hold of
+Ayscough."
+
+Ayscough was standing just inside the police-station when they went up the
+steps; he, too, had a newspaper in his hands, and at sight of them he
+beckoned them to follow him into an office in which two or three other
+police officials were talking. He led Lauriston and Melky aside.
+
+"I say!" he said. "Here's a curious thing! That book we noticed on the
+table in Multenius's back room last night--that finely bound book--it's
+advertised for in the _Daily Mail_--handsome reward offered."
+
+"Yes, and in the _Times_, too--and in the _Daily Telegraph_,"
+said Lauriston. "Here you are--just the same advertisement. It's very
+evident the owner's pretty keen about getting it back."
+
+Ayscough glanced at the two newspapers, and then beckoned to a constable
+who was standing near the door.
+
+"Jim!" he said, as the man came up. "Just slip across to the newsagent's
+over there and get me the _News_, the _Chronicle_, the _Standard_,
+the _Morning Post_. If the owner's as keen as all that," he added,
+turning back to Lauriston, "he'll have put that advertisement in all
+the morning papers, and I'd like to make sure. What's known about
+that book at the shop?" he asked, glancing at Melky. "Does your
+cousin know anything?"
+
+Melky's face assumed its most solemn expression.
+
+"Mister!" he said earnestly. "There ain't nothing known at the shop about
+that there book, except this here. It wasn't there when my cousin Zillah
+left the old man alone at a quarter to five yesterday afternoon. It was
+there when this here gentleman found the old man. But it hadn't been
+pledged, nor yet sold, Mr. Ayscough--There'd ha' been an entry in the
+books if it had been taken in pawn, or bought across the counter--and
+there's no entry. Now then--who'd left it there?"
+
+Another official had come up to the group--one of the men who had
+questioned Lauriston the night before. He turned to Lauriston as Melky
+finished.
+
+"You don't know anything about this book?" he asked.
+
+"Nothing--except that Mr. Ayscough and I saw it lying on the table in the
+back room, close by that tray of rings," replied Lauriston. "I was
+attracted by the binding, of course."
+
+"Where's the book, now?" asked the official.
+
+"Put safe away, mister," replied Melky. "It's all right. But this here
+gentleman what's advertising for it--"
+
+Just then the constable returned with several newspapers and handed them
+over to Ayscough, who immediately laid them on a desk and turned to the
+advertisements, while the others crowded round him.
+
+"In every one of 'em," exclaimed Ayscough, a moment later. "Word for word,
+in every morning newspaper in London! He must have sent that advertisement
+round to all the offices last night. And you'll notice," he added, turning
+to the other official, "that this Mr. Levendale only lost this book about
+four o'clock yesterday afternoon: therefore, it must have been taken to
+Multenius's shop between then and when we saw it there."
+
+"The old man may have found it in the 'bus," suggested a third police
+officer who had come up. "Looks as if he had."
+
+"No, mister," said Melky firmly. "Mr. Multenius wasn't out of the shop at
+all yesterday afternoon--I've made sure o' that fact from my cousin. He
+didn't find no book, gentlemen. It was brought there."
+
+Ayscough picked up one of the papers and turned to Melky and Lauriston.
+
+"Here!" he said. "We'll soon get some light on this. You two come with me
+--we'll step round to Mr. Levendale."
+
+Ten minutes later, the three found themselves at the door of one of the
+biggest houses in Sussex Square; a moment more and they were being ushered
+within by a footman who looked at them with stolid curiosity. Lauriston
+gained a general impression of great wealth and luxury, soft carpets, fine
+pictures, all the belongings of a very rich man's house--then he and his
+companions were ushered into a large room, half study, half library,
+wherein, at a massive, handsomely carved desk, littered with books and
+papers, sat a middle-aged, keen-eyed man, who looked quietly up from his
+writing-pad at his visitors.
+
+"S'elp me!--one of ourselves!" whispered Melky Rubinstein at Lauriston's
+elbow. "Twig him!"
+
+Lauriston was quick enough of comprehension and observation to know what
+Melky meant. Mr. Spencer Levendale was certainly a Jew. His dark hair and
+beard, his large dark eyes, the olive tint of his complexion, the lines of
+his nose and lips all betrayed his Semitic origin. He was evidently a man
+of position and of character; a quiet-mannered, self-possessed man of
+business, not given to wasting words. He glanced at the card which
+Ayscough had sent in, and turned to him with one word.
+
+"Well?"
+
+Ayscough went straight to the point.
+
+"I called, Mr. Levendale, about that advertisement of yours which appears
+in all this morning's newspapers," he said. "I may as well tell you that
+that book of yours was found yesterday afternoon, under strange
+circumstances. Mr. Daniel Multenius, the jeweller and pawnbroker, of Praed
+Street--perhaps you know him, sir?"
+
+"Not at all!" answered Levendale. "Never heard of him."
+
+"He was well known in this part of the town," remarked Ayscough, quietly.
+"Well, sir--Mr. Multenius was found dead in his back-parlour yesterday
+afternoon, about five-thirty, by this young man, Mr. Lauriston, who
+happened to look in there, and I myself was on the spot a few minutes
+later. Your book--for it's certainly the same--was lying on the table in
+the parlour. Now, this other young man, Mr. Rubinstein, is a relation of
+Mr. Multenius's--from enquiries he's made, Mr. Levendale, it's a fact that
+the book was neither pawned nor sold at Multenius's, though it must
+certainly have been brought there between the time you lost it and the
+time we found the old gentleman lying dead. Now, we--the police--want to
+know how it came there. And so--I've come round to you. What can you tell
+me, sir?"
+
+Levendale, who had listened to Ayscough with great--and, as it seemed to
+Lauriston, with very watchful--attention, pushed aside a letter he was
+writing, and looked from one to the other of his callers.
+
+"Where is my book?" he asked.
+
+"It's all right--all safe, mister," said Melky. "It's locked up in a
+cupboard, in the parlour where it was found, and the key's in my pocket."
+
+Levendale turned to the detective, glancing again at Ayscough's card.
+
+"All I can tell you, sergeant," he said, "is--practically--what I've told
+the public in my advertisement. Of course, I can supplement it a bit. The
+book is a very valuable one--you see," he went on, with a careless wave of
+his hand towards his book-shelves. "I'm something of a collector of rare
+books. I bought this particular book yesterday afternoon, at a well-known
+dealer's in High Holborn. Soon after buying it, I got into a Cricklewood
+omnibus, which I left at Chapel Street--at the corner of Praed Street, as
+a matter of fact: I wished to make a call at the Great Western Hotel. It
+was not till I made that call that I found I'd left the book in the 'bus--
+I was thinking hard about a business matter--I'd placed the book in a
+corner behind me--and, of course, I'd forgotten it, valuable though it is.
+And so, later on, after telephoning to the omnibus people, who'd heard
+nothing, I sent that advertisement round to all the morning papers. I'm
+very glad to hear of it--and I shall be pleased to reward you," he
+concluded, turning to Melky. "Handsomely!--as I promised."
+
+But Melky made no sign of gratitude or pleasure. He was eyeing the rich
+man before him in inquisitive fashion.
+
+"Mister!" he said suddenly. "I'd like to ask you a question."
+
+Levendale frowned a little.
+
+"Well?" he asked brusquely. "What is it?"
+
+"This here," replied Melky. "Was that there book wrapped up? Was it brown-
+papered, now, when you left it?"
+
+It seemed to Lauriston that Levendale was somewhat taken aback. But if he
+was, it was only for a second: his answer, then, came promptly enough.
+
+"No, it was not," he said. "I carried it away from the shop where I bought
+it--just as it was. Why do you ask?"
+
+"It's a very fine-bound book," remarked Melky. "I should ha' thought, now,
+that if it had been left in a 'bus, the conductor would ha' noticed it,
+quick."
+
+"So should I," said Levendale. "Anything else?" he added, glancing at
+Ayscough.
+
+"Well, no, Mr. Levendale, thank you," replied the detective. "At least not
+just now. But--the fact is, Mr. Multenius appears to have come to his
+death by violence--and I want to know if whoever took your book into his
+shop had anything to do with it."
+
+"Ah!--however, I can't tell you any more," said Levendale. "Please see
+that my book's taken great care of and returned to me, sergeant. Good-
+morning."
+
+Outside, Ayscough consulted his watch and looked at his companions.
+
+"Time we were going on to the inquest," he remarked. "Come on--we'll step
+round there together. You're both wanted, you know."
+
+"I'll join you at the Coroner's court, Mr. Ayscough," said Melky. "I've
+got a few minutes' business--shan't be long."
+
+He hurried away by a short cut to Praed Street and turned into Mrs.
+Goldmark's establishment.
+
+Mrs. Goldmark herself was still ministering to Zillah, but the young woman
+whom Melky had seen the night before was in charge. Melky drew her aside.
+
+"I say!" he said, with an air of great mystery. "A word with you, miss!--
+private, between you and me. Can you tell me what like was that fellow
+what you believed to ha' lost that there cuff stud you showed me in Mrs.
+Goldmark's desk?--you know?"
+
+"Yes!" answered the young woman promptly. "Tall--dark--clean-shaved--very
+brown--looked like one of those Colonials that you see sometimes--wore a
+slouch hat."
+
+"Not a word to nobody!" warned Melky, more mysteriously than ever. And
+nodding his head with great solemnity, he left the eating-house, and
+hurried away to the Coroner's Court.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHT
+
+
+THE INQUEST
+
+Until he and Ayscough walked into this particular one, Lauriston had never
+been in a Coroner's Court in his life. He knew very little about what went
+on in such places. He was aware that the office of Coroner is of exceeding
+antiquity; that when any person meets his or her death under suspicious
+circumstances an enquiry into those circumstances is held by a Coroner,
+who has a jury of twelve men to assist him in his duties: but what Coroner
+and jury did, what the procedure of these courts was, he did not know. It
+surprised him, accordingly, to find himself in a hall which had all the
+outward appearance of a court of justice--a raised seat, on a sort of
+dais, for the Coroner; a box for the jury; a table for officials and legal
+gentlemen; a stand for witnesses, and accommodation for the general
+public. Clearly, it was evident that when any one died as poor old Daniel
+Multenius had died, the law took good care that everybody should know
+everything about it, and that whatever mystery there was should be
+thoroughly investigated.
+
+The general public, however, had not as yet come to be greatly interested
+in the death of Daniel Multenius. Up to that moment the affair was known
+to few people beyond the police, the relations of the dead man, and his
+immediate neighbours in Praed Street. Consequently, beyond the interested
+few, there was no great assemblage in the court that morning. A reporter
+or two, each with his note-book, lounged at the end of the table on the
+chance of getting some good copy out of whatever might turn up; some of
+the police officials whom Lauriston had already seen stood chatting with
+the police surgeon and a sharp-eyed legal looking man, who was attended by
+a clerk; outside the open door, a group of men, evidently tradesmen and
+householders of the district, hung about, looking as if they would be glad
+to get back to their businesses and occupations. Melky, coming in a few
+minutes after Lauriston had arrived, and sitting down by him, nudged his
+elbow as he pointed to these individuals.
+
+"There's the fellows what sits on the jury, mister!" whispered Melky.
+"Half-a-crown each they gets for the job--and a nice mess they makes of
+it, sometimes. They've the power to send a man for trial for his life, has
+them chaps--all depends on their verdict. But lor' bless yer!--they takes
+their tip from the Coroner--he's the fellow what you've got to watch."
+
+Then Melky looked around more narrowly, and suddenly espied the legal-
+looking man who was talking to the police. He dug his elbow into
+Lauriston.
+
+"Mister!" he whispered. "You be careful what you say when you get into
+that there witness-box. See that man there, a-talking to the detectives?--
+him with the gold nippers on his blooming sharp nose? That's Mr.
+Parminter!--I knows him, well enough. He's a lawyer chap, what the police
+gets when there's a case o' this sort, to ask questions of the witnesses,
+d'ye see? Watch him, Mr. Lauriston, if he starts a-questioning you!--he's
+the sort that can get a tale out of a dead cod-fish--s'elp me, he is! He's
+a terror, he is!--the Coroner ain't in it with him--he's a good sort, the
+Coroner, but Parminter--Lord love us! ain't I heard him turn witnesses
+inside out--not half! And here is the Coroner."
+
+Lauriston almost forgot that he was an important witness, and was tempted
+to consider himself nothing but a spectator as he sat and witnessed the
+formal opening of the Court, the swearing-in of the twelve jurymen, all
+looking intensely bored, and the preliminaries which prefaced the actual
+setting-to-work of the morning's business. But at last, after some opening
+remarks from the Coroner, who said that the late Mr. Daniel Multenius was
+a well-known and much respected tradesman of the neighbourhood, that they
+were all sorry to hear of his sudden death, and that there were
+circumstances about it which necessitated a careful investigation, the
+business began--and Lauriston, who, for professional purposes, had heard a
+good many legal cases, saw, almost at once, that the police, through the
+redoubtable Mr. Parminter, now seated with his clerk at the table, had
+carefully arranged the presenting of evidence on a plan and system of
+their own, all of which, so it became apparent to him, was intended to
+either incriminate himself, or throw considerable suspicion upon him. His
+interest began to assume a personal complexion.
+
+The story of the circumstances of Daniel Multenius's death, as unfolded in
+the witness-box into which one person went after another, appeared to be
+the fairly plain one--looked at from one point of view: there was a
+certain fascination in its unfolding. It began with Melky, who was first
+called--to identify the deceased, to answer a few general questions about
+him, and to state that when he last saw him, a few hours before his death,
+he was in his usual good health: as good, at any rate, as a man of his
+years--seventy-five--who was certainly growing feeble, could expect to be
+in. Nothing much was asked of Melky, and nothing beyond bare facts
+volunteered by him: the astute Mr. Parminter left him alone. A more
+important witness was the police-surgeon, who testified that the deceased
+had been dead twenty minutes when he was called to him, that he had
+without doubt been violently assaulted, having been savagely seized by the
+throat and by the left arm, on both of which significant marks were
+plainly visible, and that the cause of death was shock following
+immediately on this undoubted violence. It was evident, said this witness,
+that the old man was feeble, and that he suffered from a weak heart: such
+an attack as that which he had described would be sufficient to cause
+death, almost instantly.
+
+"So it is a case of murder!" muttered Melky, who had gone back to sit by
+Lauriston. "That's what the police is leading up to. Be careful, mister!"
+
+But there were three witnesses to call before Lauriston was called upon.
+It was becoming a mystery to him that his evidence was kept back so long--
+he had been the first person to find the old man's dead body, and it
+seemed, to his thinking, that he ought to have been called at a very early
+stage of the proceedings. He was about to whisper his convictions on this
+point to Melky, when a door was opened and Zillah was escorted in by
+Ayscough, and led to the witness-box.
+
+Zillah had already assumed the garments of mourning for her grandfather.
+She was obviously distressed at being called to give evidence, and the
+Coroner made her task as brief as possible. It was--at that stage--little
+that he wanted to know. And Zillah told little. She had gone out to do
+some shopping, at half-past-four on the previous afternoon. She left her
+grandfather alone. He was then quite well. He was in the front shop, doing
+nothing in particular. She was away about an hour, when she returned to
+find Detective-Sergeant Ayscough, whom she knew, and Mr. Lauriston, whom
+she also knew, in the shop, and her grandfather dead in the parlour
+behind. At this stage of her evidence, the Coroner remarked that he did
+not wish to ask Zillah any further questions just then, but he asked her
+to remain in court. Mrs. Goldmark had followed her, and she and Zillah sat
+down near Melky and Lauriston--and Lauriston half believed that his own
+turn would now come.
+
+But Ayscough was next called--to give a brief, bald, matter-of-fact
+statement of what he knew. He had gone to see Mr. Multenius on a business
+affair--he was making enquiries about a stolen article which was believed
+to have been pledged in the Edgware Road district. He told how Lauriston
+ran into him as he entered the shop; what Lauriston said to him; what he
+himself saw and observed; what happened afterwards. It was a plain and
+practical account, with no indication of surprise, bias, or theory--and
+nobody asked the detective any questions arising out of it.
+
+"Ain't nobody but you to call, now, mister," whispered Melky. "Mind your
+p's and q's about them blooming rings--and watch that Parminter!"
+
+But Melky was mistaken--the official eye did not turn upon Lauriston but,
+upon the public benches of the court, as if it were seeking some person
+there.
+
+"There is a witness who has volunteered a statement to the police," said
+the Coroner. "I understand it is highly important. We had better hear him
+at this point. Benjamin Hollinshaw!"
+
+Melky uttered a curious groan, and glanced at Lauriston.
+
+"Fellow what has a shop right opposite!" he whispered. "S'elp me!--what's
+he got to say about it?"
+
+Benjamin Hollinshaw came forward. He was a rather young, rather self-
+confident, self-important sort of person, who strode up to the witness-box
+as if he had been doing things of importance and moment all his life, and
+was taking it quite as a matter of course that he should do another. He
+took the oath and faced the court with something of an air, as much as to
+imply that upon what he was about to say more depended than any one could
+conceive. Invited to tell what he knew, he told his story, obviously
+enjoying the telling of it. He was a tradesman in Praed Street: a dealer
+in second-hand clothing, to be exact; been there many years, in succession
+to his father. He remembered yesterday afternoon, of course. About half-
+past-five o'clock he was standing at the door of his shop. It was directly
+facing Daniel Multenius's shop door. The darkness had already come on, and
+there was also a bit of a fog in the street: not much, but hazy, as it
+were. Daniel Multenius's window was lighted, but the light was confined to
+a couple of gas-jets. There was a light in the projecting sign over the
+side entrance to the pawnshop, down the passage. For the first few minutes
+while he stood at his door, looking across to Multenius's, he did not see
+any one enter or leave that establishment. But he then saw a young man
+come along, from the Edgware Road direction, whose conduct rather struck
+him. The young man, after sauntering past Multenius's shop, paused,
+turned, and proceeded to peer in through the top panel of the front door.
+He looked in once or twice in that way. Then he went to the far end of the
+window and looked inside in the same prying fashion, as if he wanted to
+find out who was within. He went to various parts of the window, as if
+endeavouring to look inside. Finally, he stepped down the side-passage and
+entered the door which led to the compartments into which people turned
+who took things to pledge. He, Hollinshaw, remained at his shop door for
+some minutes after that--in fact, until the last witness came along. He
+saw Ayscough enter Multenius's front door and immediately pause--then the
+door was shut, and he himself went back into his own shop, his wife just
+then calling him to tea.
+
+"You saw the young man you speak of quite clearly?" asked the Coroner.
+
+"As clearly as I see you, sir," replied the witness.
+
+"Do you see him here?"
+
+Hollinshaw turned instantly and pointed to Lauriston.
+
+"That's the young man, sir," he answered, with confidence.
+
+Amidst a general craning of necks, Melky whispered to Lauriston.
+
+"You'd ought to ha' had a lawyer, mister!" he said. "S'elp me, I'm a
+blooming fool for not thinking of it! Be careful--the Coroner's a-looking
+at you!"
+
+As a matter of fact, every person in the court was staring at Lauriston,
+and presently the Coroner addressed him.
+
+"Do you wish to ask this witness any questions?" he enquired.
+
+Lauriston rose to his feet.
+
+"No!" he replied. "What he says is quite correct. That is, as regards
+myself."
+
+The Coroner hesitated a moment; then he motioned to Hollinshaw to leave
+the box, and once more turned to Lauriston.
+
+"We will have your evidence now," he said. "And--let me warn you that
+there is no obligation on you to say anything which would seem to
+incriminate you."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINE
+
+
+WHOSE WERE THOSE RINGS?
+
+Paying no attention to another attempted murmur of advice from Melky, who
+seemed to be on pins and needles, Lauriston at once jumped to his feet and
+strode to the witness-box. The women in the public seats glanced at him
+with admiring interest--such a fine-looking young fellow, whispered one
+sentimental lady to another, to have set about a poor old gentleman like
+Mr. Multenius! And everybody else, from the Coroner to the newspaper
+reporter--who was beginning to think he would get some good copy, after
+all, that morning--regarded him with attention. Here, at any rate, was the
+one witness who had actually found the pawnbroker's dead body.
+
+Lauriston, his colour heightened a little under all this attention,
+answered the preliminary questions readily enough. His name was Andrew
+Carruthers Lauriston. His age--nearly twenty-two. He was a native of
+Peebles, in Scotland--the only son of the late Andrew Lauriston. His
+father was a minister of the Free Church. His mother was dead, too. He
+himself had come to London about two years ago--just after his mother's
+death. For the past few weeks he had lodged with Mrs. Flitwick, in Star
+Street--that was his present address. He was a writer of fiction--stories
+and novels. He had heard all the evidence already given, including that of
+the last witness, Hollinshaw. All that Hollinshaw had said was quite true.
+It was quite true that he had gone to Multenius's pawnshop about five-
+thirty of the previous afternoon, on his own business. He had looked in
+through both doors and window before entering the side-door: he wanted to
+know who was in the shop--whether it was Mr. Multenius, or his grand-
+daughter. He wanted to know that for a simple reason--he had never done
+business with Mr. Multenius, never even seen him that he remembered, but
+he had had one transaction with Miss Wildrose, and he wished, if possible,
+to do his business with her. As a matter of fact he saw nobody inside the
+shop when he looked in through the front door and the window--so he went
+round to the side-entrance.
+
+All this had come in answer to questions put by the Coroner--who now
+paused and looked at Lauriston not unkindly.
+
+"I daresay you are already aware that there is, or may be, some amount of
+suspicious circumstances attaching to your visit to this place yesterday
+afternoon," he said. "Do you care to tell the court--in your own way--
+precisely what took place, what you discovered, after you entered the
+pawnshop?"
+
+"That's exactly what I wish to do," answered Lauriston, readily. "I've
+already told it, more than once, to the police and Mr. Multenius's
+relatives--I'll tell it again, as plainly and briefly as I can. I went
+into one of the compartments just within the side-door of the place. I saw
+no one, and heard no one. I rapped on the counter--nobody came. So I
+looked round the partition into the front shop. There was no one there.
+Then I looked round the other partition into the back parlour, the door of
+which was wide open. I at once saw an old man whom I took to be Mr.
+Multenius. He was lying on the floor--his feet were towards the open door,
+and his head on the hearth-rug, near the fender. I immediately jumped over
+the counter, and went into the parlour. I saw at once that he was dead--
+and almost immediately I hurried to the front door, to summon assistance.
+At the door I ran into Mr. Ayscough, who was entering as I opened the
+door. I at once told him of what I had found. That is the plain truth as
+to all I know of the matter."
+
+"You heard nothing of any person in or about the shop when you entered?"
+asked the Coroner.
+
+"Nothing!" replied Lauriston. "It was all perfectly quiet."
+
+"What had you gone there to do?"
+
+"To borrow some money--on two rings."
+
+"Your own property?"
+
+"My own property!"
+
+"Had you been there before, on any errand of that sort?"
+
+"Only once."
+
+"When was that?"
+
+"Last week," answered Lauriston. "I pawned my watch there."
+
+"You have, in fact, been short of money?"
+
+"Yes. But only temporarily--I was expecting money."
+
+"I hope it has since arrived," said the Coroner.
+
+"Mr. Ayscough was with me when it did arrive," replied Lauriston, glancing
+at the detective. "We found it--two letters--at my lodgings when he walked
+round there with me after what I have just told you of."
+
+"You had done your business on that previous occasion with the grand-
+daughter?" asked the Coroner. "You had not seen the old man, then?"
+
+"I never to my knowledge saw Mr. Multenius till I found him lying dead in
+his own parlour," answered Lauriston.
+
+The Coroner turned from the witness, and glanced towards the table at
+which Mr. Parminter and the police officials sat. And Mr. Parminter slowly
+rose and looked at Lauriston, and put his first question--in a quiet,
+almost suave voice, as if he and the witness were going to have a pleasant
+and friendly little talk together.
+
+"So your ambition is to be a writer of fiction?" he asked.
+
+"I am a writer of fiction!" replied Lauriston.
+
+Mr. Parminter pulled out a snuff-box and helped himself to a pinch.
+
+"Have you published much?" he enquired, drily.
+
+"Two or three stories--short stories."
+
+"Did they bring in much money?"
+
+"Five pounds each."
+
+"Have you done anything else for a living but that since you came to
+London two years ago?"
+
+"No, I haven't!"
+
+"How much have you earned by your pen since you came, now?"
+
+"About thirty pounds."
+
+"Thirty pounds in two years. What have you lived on, then?"
+
+"I had money of my own," replied Lauriston. "I had two hundred pounds when
+I left home."
+
+"And that gave out--when?" demanded Mr. Parminter.
+
+"Last week."
+
+"And so--you took your watch to the pawnshop. And--yesterday--your
+expected money not having arrived, you were obliged to visit the pawnshop
+again? Taking with you, you said just now, two rings--your own property.
+Am I correct?"
+
+"Quite correct--two rings--my own property."
+
+Mr. Parminter turned and spoke to a police official, who, lifting aside a
+sheet of brown paper which lay before him, revealed the tray of rings
+which Lauriston and Ayscough had found on the table in Multenius's
+parlour. At the same time, Mr. Parminter, lifting his papers, revealed
+Lauriston's rings. He picked them up, laid them on the palm of his hand,
+and held them towards the witness.
+
+"Are these the rings you took to the pawnshop?" he asked.
+
+"Yes!" replied Lauriston. "They were my mother's."
+
+Mr. Parminter indicated the tray.
+
+"Did you see this tray lying in the parlour in which you found the dead
+man?" he enquired.
+
+"I did."
+
+"Did it strike you that your own rings were remarkably like the rings in
+this tray?"
+
+"No, it did not," answered Lauriston. "I know nothing about rings."
+
+Mr. Parminter quietly passed the tray of rings to the Coroner, with
+Lauriston's rings lying on a sheet of paper.
+
+"Perhaps you will examine these things and direct the attention of the
+jurymen to them?" he said, and turned to the witness-box again. "I want to
+ask you a very particular question," he continued. "You had better
+consider it well before answering it--it is more important--to you--than
+may appear at first hearing. Can you bring any satisfactory proof that
+those two rings which you claim to be yours, really are yours?"
+
+There followed on that a dead silence in court. People had been coming in
+since the proceedings had opened, and the place was now packed to the
+door. Every eye was turned on Lauriston as he stood in the witness-box,
+evidently thinking deeply. And in two pairs of eyes there was deep
+anxiety: Melky was nervous and fidgety; Zillah was palpably greatly
+concerned. But Lauriston looked at neither--and he finally turned to Mr.
+Parminter with a candid glance.
+
+"The rings are mine," he answered. "But--I don't know how I can prove that
+they are!"
+
+A suppressed murmur ran round the court--in the middle of it, the Coroner
+handed the rings to a police official and motioned him to show them to the
+jurymen. And Mr. Parminter's suave voice was heard again.
+
+"You can't prove that they are yours."
+
+"May I explain?" asked Lauriston. "Very well--there may be people, old
+friends, who have seen those two rings in my mother's possession. But I
+don't know where to find such people. If it's necessary, I can try."
+
+"I should certainly try, if I were you," observed Mr. Parminter, drily.
+"Now, when did those two rings come into your possession?"
+
+"When my mother died," replied Lauriston.
+
+"Where have you kept them?"
+
+"Locked up in my trunk."
+
+"Have you ever, at any time, or any occasion, shown them to any person?
+Think!"
+
+"No," answered Lauriston. "I can't say that I ever have."
+
+"Not even at the time of your mother's death?"
+
+"No! I took possession, of course, of all her effects. I don't remember
+showing the rings to anybody."
+
+"You kept them in your trunk until you took them out to raise money on
+them?"
+
+"Yes--that's so," admitted Lauriston.
+
+"How much money had you--in the world--when you went to the pawnshop
+yesterday afternoon?" demanded Mr. Parminter, with a sudden keen glance.
+
+Lauriston flushed scarlet.
+
+"If you insist on knowing," he said. "I'd just nothing."
+
+There was another murmur in court--of pity from the sentimental ladies in
+the public seats, who, being well acquainted with the pawnshops
+themselves, and with the necessities which drove them there were
+experiencing much fellow-feeling for the poor young man in the witness-
+box. But Lauriston suddenly smiled--triumphantly.
+
+"All the same," he added, glancing at Mr. Parminter. "I'd forty pounds, in
+my letters, less than an hour afterwards. Ayscough knows that!"
+
+Mr. Parminter paid no attention to this remark. He had been whispering to
+the police inspector, and now he turned to the Coroner.
+
+"I should like this witness to stand down for a few minutes, sir," he
+said. "I wish to have Miss Wildrose recalled."
+
+The Coroner gently motioned Zillah to go back to the witness-box.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TEN
+
+
+MELKY INTERVENES
+
+Zillah had listened to Lauriston's answers to Mr. Parminter's searching
+questions with an anxiety which was obvious to those who sat near her. The
+signs of that anxiety were redoubled as she walked slowly to the box, and
+the glance she threw at the Coroner was almost appealing. But the Coroner
+was looking at his notes, and Zillah was obliged to turn to Mr. Parminter,
+whose accents became more mellifluous than ever as he addressed her; Mr.
+Parminter, indeed, confronting Zillah might have been taken for a kindly
+benevolent gentleman whose sole object was to administer condolence and
+comfort. Few people in court, however, failed to see the meaning of the
+questions which he began to put in the suavest and softest of tones.
+
+"I believe you assisted your late grandfather in his business?" suggested
+Mr. Parminter.
+
+"Just so! Now, how long had you assisted him in that way?"
+
+"Ever since I left school--three years ago," replied Zillah.
+
+"Three years--to be sure! And I believe you had resided with him for some
+years before that?"
+
+"Ever since I was a little girl," admitted Zillah.
+
+"In fact, the late Mr. Multenius brought you up? Just so!--therefore,
+of course, you would have some acquaintance with his business before
+you left school?"
+
+"Yes--he taught me a good deal about it."
+
+"You were always about the place, of course--yes? And I may take it that
+you gradually got a good deal of knowledge about the articles with which
+your grandfather had to deal? To be sure--thank you. In fact, you are
+entitled to regard yourself as something of an expert in precious stones
+and metals?"
+
+"I know a good deal about them," replied Zillah.
+
+"You could tell the value of a thing as accurately as your grandfather?"
+
+"Ordinary things--yes."
+
+"And you were very well acquainted with your grandfather's stock?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+Mr. Parminter motioned the official who had charge of it to place the tray
+of rings on the ledge of the witness-box.
+
+"Oblige me by looking at that tray and the contents," he said. "You
+recognize it, of course? Just so. Now, do you know where that tray was
+when you went out, leaving your grandfather alone, yesterday afternoon?"
+
+"Yes," replied Zillah, unhesitatingly. "On the table in the back-parlour--
+where I saw it when I came in. My grandfather had taken it out of the
+front window, so that he could polish the rings."
+
+"Do you know how many rings it contained?"
+
+"No. Perhaps twenty-five or thirty."
+
+"They are, I see, laid loosely in the tray, which is velvet-lined. They
+were always left like that? Just so. And you don't know how many there
+were--nor how many there should be there, now? As a matter of fact, there
+are twenty-seven rings there--you can't say that is the right number?"
+
+"No," answered Zillah, "and my grandfather couldn't have said, either. A
+ring might be dropped into that tray--or a ring taken out. They are all
+old rings."
+
+"But--valuable?" suggested Mr. Parminter.
+
+"Some--yes. Others are not very valuable."
+
+"Now what do you mean by that word valuable? What, for instance, is the
+value of the least valuable ring there, and what is that of the most
+valuable?"
+
+Zillah glanced almost indifferently at the tray before her.
+
+"Some of these rings are worth no more than five pounds," she replied.
+"Some--a few--are worth twenty to thirty pounds; one or two are worth
+more."
+
+"And--they are all old?"
+
+"They are all of old-fashioned workmanship," said Zillah. "Made a good
+many years ago, all of them. The diamonds, or pearls, are all right, of
+course."
+
+Mr. Parminter handed over the half-sheet of paper on which Lauriston's
+rings had been exhibited to the Coroner and the jurymen.
+
+"Look at those rings, if you please," he said quietly. "Are they of the
+same sort, the same class, of rings as those in the tray?"
+
+"Yes," admitted Zillah. "Something the same."
+
+"What is the value of those rings--separately?" enquired Mr. Parminter.
+"Please give us your professional opinion."
+
+Zillah bent over the two rings for a while, turning them about.
+
+"This is worth about thirty, and that about fifty pounds," she replied at
+last.
+
+"In other words, these two rings are similar in style and value to the
+best rings in that tray?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Do you recognize those two rings?"
+
+"No--not at all."
+
+Mr. Parminter paused a moment, and caught the jury's attention with a
+sharp glance of his eye before he turned again to the witness.
+
+"Could you have recognized any of the rings in that tray?" he asked.
+
+"No!" said Zillah. "I could not."
+
+"Then you could not possibly say--one way or another, if those rings were
+taken out of that tray?"
+
+"No!"
+
+"The fact is that all those rings--the two on the half-sheet of notepaper,
+and twenty-seven on the tray--are all of the same class as regards age and
+style--all very much of a muchness?"
+
+"Yes," admitted Zillah.
+
+"And you can't--you are on your oath remember!--you can't definitely say
+that those two rings were not picked up from that tray, amongst the
+others?"
+
+"No," replied Zillah. "But I can't say that they were! And--I don't
+believe they were. I don't believe they were our rings!"
+
+Mr. Parminter smiled quietly and again swept the interested jurymen with
+his quick glance.
+
+Then he turned to Zillah with another set of questions.
+
+"How long have you known the last witness--Andrew Lauriston?" he enquired.
+
+"Since one day last week," replied Zillah.
+
+She had flushed at the mention of Lauriston's name, and Mr. Parminter was
+quick to see it.
+
+"How did you get to know him?" he continued.
+
+"By his coming to the shop--on business."
+
+"To pawn his watch, I believe?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"You attended to him?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"You had never seen him before?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Ever seen him since?"
+
+Zillah hesitated for a moment.
+
+"I saw him--accidentally--in Kensington Gardens, on Sunday," she answered
+at last.
+
+"Have any conversation with him?"
+
+"Yes," admitted Zillah.
+
+"About--pawnbroking?"
+
+"No!" retorted Zillah. "About his work--writing."
+
+"Did he tell you he was very hard up?"
+
+"I knew that!" said Zillah. "Hadn't he pawned his watch?"
+
+"Perhaps--you seem to be a very good business woman--perhaps you gave him
+some advice?"
+
+"Yes, I did! I advised him, as long as he'd anything on which he could
+raise money, not to let himself go without money in his pocket."
+
+"Excellent advice!" said Mr. Parminter, with a smile.
+
+He leaned forward, looking at his witness more earnestly. "Now, did
+Lauriston, on Sunday, or when you saw him before, ever mention to you that
+he possessed two rings of some value?"
+
+"No," replied Zillah.
+
+Mr. Parminter paused, hesitated, suddenly bowed to the Coroner, and
+dropping back into his seat, pulled out his snuff-box. And the Coroner,
+motioning Zillah to leave the witness-box, interrupted Mr. Parminter in
+the midst of a pinch of snuff.
+
+"I think it will be best to adjourn at this stage," he said. "It is
+obvious that we can't finish this today." He turned to the jurymen. "I
+propose to adjourn this enquiry for a week, gentlemen," he went on. "In
+the meantime--"
+
+His attention was suddenly arrested by Melky Rubinstein, who, after much
+uneasiness and fidgeting, rose from his seat and made his way to the foot
+of the table, manifestly desiring to speak.
+
+"What is it?" asked the Coroner. "Who are you? Oh!--the witness who
+identified the body. Yes?"
+
+"Mr. Coroner!" said Melky, in his most solemn tones. "This here inquest
+ain't being conducted right, sir! I don't mean by you--but these here
+gentlemen, the police, and Mr. Parminter there, is going off on a wrong
+scent. I know what they're after, and they're wrong! They're suppressing
+evidence, Mr. Coroner." Melky turned on Ayscough. "What about the clue o'
+this here old book?" he demanded. "Why ain't you bringing that forward?
+I'm the late Daniel Multenius's nearest male relative, and I say that
+clue's a deal more important nor what we've been hearing all the morning.
+What about that book, now, Mr. Ayscough? Come on!--what about it!--and its
+owner?"
+
+"What is this?" demanded the Coroner. "If there is anything--"
+
+"Anything, sir!" exclaimed Melky. "There's just this--between the time
+that my cousin there, Miss Zillah Wildrose left the old man alive, and the
+time when Mr. Lauriston found him dead, somebody came into the shop as
+left a valuable book behind him on the parlour table, which book,
+according to all the advertisements in the morning papers, is the property
+of Mr. Spencer Levendale, the Member of Parliament, as lives in Sussex
+Square. Why ain't that matter brought up? Why ain't Mr. Levendale brought
+here? I ask you, Mr. Coroner, to have it seen into! There's more behind
+it--"
+
+The Coroner held up a hand and beckoned the police inspector and Mr.
+Parminter to approach his desk; a moment later, Ayscough was summoned. And
+Lauriston, watching the result of this conference, was quickly aware that
+the Coroner was not particularly pleased; he suddenly turned on the
+inspector with a question which was heard by every one in court.
+
+"Why was not the matter of the book put before the Court at first?" he
+demanded. "It seems to me that there may be a most important clue in it.
+The fact of the book's having been found should most certainly have been
+mentioned, at once. I shall adjourn for a week, from today, and you will
+produce the book and bring Mr. Spencer Levendale here as a witness. This
+day week, gentlemen!"
+
+Melky Rubinstein turned, whispered a hurried word to Zillah and Mrs.
+Goldmark, and then, seizing Lauriston by the elbow, drew him quickly away
+from the court.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ELEVEN
+
+
+THE BACK DOOR
+
+Once outside in the street, Melky turned down the nearest side-street,
+motioning Lauriston to follow him. Before they had gone many yards he
+edged himself close to his companion's side, at the same time throwing a
+cautious glance over his own shoulder.
+
+"There's one o' them blooming detectives after us!" said Melky. "But
+that's just what's to be expected, mister!--they'll never let you out o'
+their sight until one of two things happen!"
+
+"What things?" asked Lauriston.
+
+"Either you'll have to prove, beyond all doubt, that them rings is yours,
+and was your poor mother's before you," answered Melky, "or we shall have
+to put a hand on the chap that scragged my uncle. That's a fact! Mister!--
+will you put your trust and confidence in me, and do what I tell you? It's
+for your own good."
+
+"I don't know that I could do better," responded Lauriston, after a
+moment's thought. "You're a right good fellow, Melky--I'm sure of that!
+What do you want me to do?"
+
+Melky pulled out a handsome gold watch and consulted it.
+
+"It's dinner-time," he said. "Come round to Mrs. Goldmark's and get some
+grub. I'll tell you what to do while we're eating. I've been thinking
+things over while that there Parminter was badgering poor Zillah, and
+s'elp me, there only is one thing for you to do, and you'd best to do it
+sharp! But come on to Praed Street--don't matter if this here chap behind
+does shadow you--I can get the better of him as easy as I could sell this
+watch! It 'ud take all the detectives in London to beat me, if I put my
+mind to it."
+
+They were at Mrs. Goldmark's eating-house in five minutes: Melky, who knew
+all the ins and outs of that establishment, conducted Lauriston into an
+inner room, and to a corner wherein there was comparative privacy, and
+summoned a waitress. Not until he and his companion were half way through
+their meal did he refer to the business which was in his thoughts: then he
+leaned close to Lauriston and began to talk.
+
+"Mister!" he whispered. "Where do you come from?"
+
+"Peebles," answered Lauriston. "You heard me tell them so, in that court."
+
+"I'm no scholar," said Melky. "I ain't no idea where Peebles is, except
+that it's in Scotland. Is it far into that country, or where is it?"
+
+"Not far across the Border," replied Lauriston.
+
+"Get there in a few hours, I reckon?" asked Melky. "You could? Very well,
+then, mister, you take my tip--get there! Get there--quick!"
+
+Lauriston laid down his knife and fork and stared.
+
+"Whatever for?" he exclaimed.
+
+"To find somebody--anybody--as can prove that those rings are yours!"
+answered Melky solemnly and emphatically. "Tain't no use denying it--
+you're in a dangerous position. The police always goes for the straightest
+and easiest line. Their line was clear enough, just now--Parminter give it
+away! They've a theory--they always have a theory--and when once police
+gets a theory, nothing can drive it out o' their heads--their official
+heads, anyway. What they're saying, and what they'll try to establish, is
+this here. That you were hard up, down to less than your last penny. You
+went to Mr. Multenius's--you peeked and peered through the shop window and
+saw him alone, or, perhaps, saw the place empty. You went in--you grabbed
+a couple o' rings--he interrupted you--you scragged him! That's their
+line--and Zillah can't swear that those rings which you claim to be yours
+aren't her grandfather's, and up to now you can't prove that they're yours
+and were once your mother's! Mister!--be off to this here Peebles at once
+--immediate!--and find somebody, some old friend, as can swear that he or
+she--never mind which--knows them rings to be your property beyond a
+shadow of doubt! Bring that friend back--bring him if he has to come in an
+invalid carriage!"
+
+Lauriston was so much struck by Melky's argument and advice that it needed
+no more explanations to convince him of its wisdom.
+
+"But--how could I get away'" he asked. "There'll be that detective chap
+hanging about outside--I know I've been shadowed ever since last evening!
+They'll never let me get away from London, however much I wish. The
+probability is that if they saw me going to a railway station they'd
+arrest me."
+
+"My own opinion, mister, after what's taken place this morning, is that if
+you stop here, you'll be arrested before night," remarked Melky coolly.
+"I'd lay a tenner on it! But you ain't going to stop--you must go! There
+must be somebody in the old spot as can swear that them two rings o' yours
+is family property, and you must find 'em and bring 'em, if you value your
+neck. As to slipping the police, I'll make that right for you, proper!
+Now, then, what money have you about you, Mr. Lauriston?"
+
+"Plenty!" answered Lauriston. "Nearly forty pounds--the money I got last
+night."
+
+"Will you do exactly what I tell you?" asked Melky, "And do it at once,
+without any hesitation, any hanging about, any going home to Mother
+Flitwick's, or anything o' that sort?"
+
+"Yes!" replied Lauriston. "I'm so sure you're right, that I will."
+
+"Then you listen to me--careful," said Melky. "See that door in the
+corner? As soon as you've finished that pudding, slip out o' that door.
+You'll find yourself in a little yard. Go out o' that yard, and you'll
+find yourself in a narrow passage. Go straight down the passage, and
+you'll come out in Market Street. Go straight down Southwick Street--you
+know it--to Oxford and Cambridge Terrace, and you'll see a cab-rank right
+in front of you. Get into a taxi, and tell the fellow to drive you to
+Piccadilly Circus. Leave him there--take a turn round so's he won't see
+what you do--then get into another taxi, and drive to St. Pancras Church.
+Get out there--and foot it to King's Cross Station. You'll catch the 3.15
+for the North easy--and after you're once in it, you're all right. Get to
+Peebles!--that's the thing! S'elp me, Mr. Lauriston, it's the only thing!"
+
+Five minutes later, there being no one but themselves in the little room,
+Lauriston gave Melky a hearty grip of the hand, walked out of the door in
+the corner, and vanished. And Melky, left alone, pulled out his cigarette
+case, and began to smoke, calmly and quietly. When the waitress came back,
+he whispered a word or two to her; the waitress nodded with full
+comprehension--for everybody knew Melky at Goldmark's, and if the
+waitresses wanted a little jewellery now and then, he let them have it at
+cost price.
+
+"So you can give me the checks for both," said Melky. "I'll pay 'em."
+
+But Melky let three-quarters of an hour elapse before he went to the desk
+in the outer shop. He sipped a cup of coffee; he smoked several
+cigarettes; it was quite a long time before he emerged into Praed Street,
+buttoning his overcoat. And without appearing to see anything, he at once
+saw the man who had followed Lauriston and himself from the Coroner's
+Court. Being almost preternaturally observant, he also saw the man start
+with surprise--but Melky showed, and felt, no surprise, when the watcher
+came after him.
+
+"You know me, Mr. Rubinstein," he said, almost apologetically. "You know,
+of course, we're keeping an eye on that young Scotch fellow--we've got to!
+He went in there, to Goldmark's, with you? Is he still there?"
+
+"Strikes me you ain't up to your job!" remarked Melky, coolly. "He went
+out, three-quarters of an hour ago. Gone home, I should say."
+
+The man turned away, evidently puzzled, but just as evidently taking
+Melky's word. He went off in the direction of Star Street, while Melky
+strolled along to the pawnbroker's shop. It was necessary that he should
+tell his cousin of what he had done.
+
+Mrs. Goldmark was still with Zillah--Melky unfolded his story to the two
+of them. Zillah heard it with unfeigned relief; Mrs. Goldmark, who, being
+a young and pretty widow, was inclined to sentiment, regarded Melky with
+admiration.
+
+"My!--if you ain't the cute one, Mr. Rubinstein!" she exclaimed, clapping
+her plump hands. "As for me, now, I wouldn't have thought of that in a
+hundred years! But it's you that's the quick mind."
+
+Melky laid a finger to the side of his nose.
+
+"Do you know what, Mrs. Goldmark?" he said. "I ain't going to let them
+police fellows put a hand on young Lauriston, not me! I've my own ideas
+about this here business--wait till I put my hand on somebody, see? Don't
+it all come out clear to you?--if I find the right man, then there ain't
+no more suspicion attaching to this young chap, ain't it? Oh, I'm no fool,
+Mrs. Goldmark; don't you make no mistake!"
+
+"I'm sure!" asserted Mrs. Goldmark. "Yes, indeed--you don't carry your
+eyes in your head for nothing, Mr. Rubinstein!"
+
+Zillah, who had listened abstractedly to these compliments suddenly turned
+on her cousin.
+
+"What are you going to do then, Melky?" she demanded. "What's all this
+business about that book? And what steps are you thinking of taking?"
+
+But Melky rose and, shaking his head, buttoned up his overcoat as if he
+were buttoning in a multitude of profound secrets.
+
+"What you got to do, just now, Zillah--and Mrs. Goldmark too," he
+answered, "is to keep quiet tongues about what I done with young
+Lauriston. There ain't to be a word said! If any o' them police come round
+here, asking about him, you don't know nothing--see? You ain't seen him
+since he walked out o' that court with me--see? Which, of course--you
+ain't. And as for the rest, you leave that to yours truly!"
+
+"Oh, what it is to have a mind!" exclaimed Mrs. Goldmark "I ain't no mind,
+beyond managing my business."
+
+"Don't you show your mind in managing that?" said Melky, admiringly. "What
+do I always say of you, Mrs. Goldmark? Don't I always say you're the
+smartest business woman in all Paddington? Ain't that having a mind? Oh, I
+think you've the beautifullest mind, Mrs. Goldmark!"
+
+With this compliment Melky left Mrs. Goldmark and Zillah, and went away to
+his lodgings. He was aware of a taxi-cab drawn up at Mrs. Flitwick's door
+as he went up the street; inside Mrs. Flitwick's shabby hall he found that
+good woman talking to a stranger--a well-dressed young gentleman, who was
+obviously asking questions. Mrs. Flitwick turned to Melky with an air of
+relief.
+
+"Perhaps you can tell this gentleman where Mr. Lauriston is, Mr.
+Rubinstein?" she said. "I ain't seen him since he went out first thing
+this morning."
+
+Melky looked the stranger over--narrowly. Then he silently beckoned him
+outside the house, and walked him out of earshot.
+
+"You ain't the friend from Scotland?" asked Melky. "Him what sent the
+bank-note, last night?"
+
+"Yes!" assented the stranger. "I see you're aware of that. My name is
+Purdie--John Purdie. Where is Lauriston? I particularly want to see him."
+
+Melky tapped the side of his nose, and whispered.
+
+"He's on his way to where you come from, mister!" he said. "Here!--I know
+who you are, and you'll know me in one minute. Come up to my sitting-
+room!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWELVE
+
+
+THE FRIEND FROM PEEBLES
+
+Melky, as principal lodger in Mrs. Flitwick's establishment, occupied what
+that lady was accustomed to describe as the front drawing-room floor--a
+couple of rooms opening one into the other. Into one of these, furnished
+as a sitting-room, he now led Lauriston's friend, hospitably invited him
+to a seat, and took a quiet look at him. He at once sized up Mr. John
+Purdie for what he was--a well-to-do, well-dressed, active-brained young
+business man, probably accustomed to controlling and dealing with
+important affairs. And well satisfied with this preliminary inspection,
+he immediately plunged into the affair of the moment.
+
+"Mister," began Melky, pulling up a chair to Purdie's side, and assuming a
+tone and manner of implicit confidence. "I've heard of you. Me and Mr.
+Lauriston's close friends. My name's Mr. Rubinstein--Mr. Melchior
+Rubinstein, commonly called Melky. I know all about you--you're the friend
+that Lauriston asked for a bit of help to see him through, like--ain't it?
+Just so--and you sent him twenty pounds to be going on with--which he got,
+all right, last night. Also, same time, he got another twenty quid for
+two of his lit'ry works--stories, mister. Mister!--I wish he'd got your
+money and the other money just an hour before it come to hand! S'elp me!--
+if them there letters had only come in by one post earlier, it 'ud ha'
+saved a heap o' trouble!"
+
+"I haven't the remotest notion of what you're talking about, you know,"
+said Purdie good-naturedly. "You evidently know more than I do. I knew
+Andie Lauriston well enough up to the time he left Peebles, but I've never
+seen or heard of him since until he wrote to me the other week. What's it
+all about, and why has he gone back to Peebles? I told him I was coming up
+here any day now--and here I am, and he's gone!"
+
+Melky edged his chair still nearer to his visitor, and with a cautious
+glance at the door, lowered his voice.
+
+"I'm a-going to tell you all about it, mister," he said. "I know you
+Scotch gentlemen have got rare headpieces on you, and you'll pick it up
+sharp enough. Now you listen to me, Mr. Purdie, same as if I was one of
+them barrister chaps stating a case, and you'll get at it in no time."
+
+John Purdie, who had already recognized his host as a character, as
+interesting as he was amusing, listened attentively while Melky told the
+story of Lauriston's doings and adventure from the moment of his setting
+out to pawn his watch at Multenius's pledge-office to that in which, on
+Melky's suggestion, he had made a secret and hurried departure for
+Peebles. Melky forgot no detail; he did full justice to every important
+point, and laid particular stress on the proceedings before the Coroner.
+And in the end he appealed confidently to his listener.
+
+"And now I put it up to you, mister--straight!" concluded Melky. "Could I
+ha' done better for him than to give him the advice I did? Wasn't it best
+for him to go where he could get some evidence on his own behalf, than to
+run the risk of being arrested, and put where he couldn't do nothing for
+himself? What d'you say, now, Mr. Purdie?"
+
+"Yes," agreed Purdie, after a moment's further thought. "I think you did
+well. He'll no doubt be able to find some old friends in Peebles who can
+surely remember that his mother did possess those two rings. But you must
+bear this in mind--the police, you say, have shadowed him since yesterday
+afternoon. Well, when they find he's flown, they'll take that as a strong
+presumptive evidence of guilt. They'll say he's flying from justice!"
+
+"Don't matter, mister, if Lauriston comes back with proof of his
+innocence," replied Melky.
+
+"Yes, but they'll not wait for that," said Purdie. "They'll set the hue-
+and-cry on to him--at once. He's not the sort to be easily mistaken or
+overlooked--unless he's changed a lot this late year or two--he was always
+a good-looking lad."
+
+"Is so now, mister," remarked Melky, "is so now!"
+
+"Very well," continued Purdie. "Then I want to make a suggestion to you.
+It seems to me that the wisest course is for you and me to go straight to
+the police authorities, and tell them frankly that Lauriston has gone to
+get evidence that those rings are really his property, and that he'll
+return in a day or two with that evidence. That will probably satisfy
+them--I think I can add a bit more that will help further. We don't want
+it to be thought that the lad's run away rather than face a possible
+charge of murder, you know!"
+
+"I see your point, mister, I see your point!" agreed Melky. "I'm with
+you!--I ain't no objection to that. Of course, there ain't no need to tell
+the police precisely where he has gone--what?"
+
+"Not a bit!" said Purdie. "But I'll make myself responsible to them for
+his re-appearance. Now--did you and he arrange anything about
+communicating with each other?"
+
+"Yes," replied Melky. "If anything turns up this next day or two I'm to
+wire to him at the post-office, Peebles. If he finds what he wants, he'll
+wire to me, here, at once."
+
+"Good!" said Purdie. "Now, here's another matter. You've mentioned Mr.
+Spencer Levendale and this book which was so strangely left at the pledge-
+office. I happen to know Mr. Levendale--pretty well."
+
+"You do, mister!" exclaimed Melky. "Small world, ain't it, now?"
+
+"I met Mr. Spencer Levendale last September--two months ago," continued
+Purdie. "He was staying at an hotel in the Highlands, with his children
+and their governess: I was at the same hotel, for a month--he and I used
+to go fishing together. We got pretty friendly, and he asked me to call on
+him next time I was in town. Here I am--and when we've been to the police,
+I'm going to Sussex Square--to tell him I'm a friend of Lauriston's, that
+Lauriston is in some danger over this business, and to ask him if he can
+tell me more about--that book!"
+
+Melky jumped up and wrung his visitor's hand.
+
+"Mister!--you're one o' the right sort," he said fervently. "That there
+book has something to do with it! My idea is that the man what carried
+that book into the shop is the man what scragged my poor old relative
+--fact, mister! Levendale, he wouldn't tell us anything much this
+morning--maybe he'll tell you more. Stand by Lauriston, mister!--we'll
+pull him through."
+
+"You seem very well disposed towards him," remarked Purdie. "He's
+evidently taken your fancy."
+
+"And my cousin Zillah's," answered Melky, with a confidential grin.
+"Zillah--loveliest girl in all Paddington, mister--she's clear gone on the
+young fellow! And--a word in your ear, mister!--Zillah's been educated
+like a lady, and now that the old man's gone, Zillah'll have--ah! a
+fortune that 'ud make a nigger turn white! And no error about it! See it
+through, mister!"
+
+"I'll see it through," said Purdie. "Now, then--these police. Look here--
+is there a good hotel in this neighbourhood?--I've all my traps in that
+taxi-cab downstairs--I drove straight here from the station, because I
+wanted to see Andie Lauriston at once."
+
+"Money's no object to you, I reckon, mister?" asked Melky, with a shrewd
+glance at the young Scotsman's evident signs of prosperity.
+
+"Not in reason," answered Purdie.
+
+"Then there's the Great Western Hotel, at the end o' Praed Street," said
+Melky. "That'll suit a young gentleman like you, mister, down to the
+ground. And you'll be right on the spot!"
+
+"Come with me, then," said Purdie. "And then to the police."
+
+Half-an-hour's private conversation with the police authorities enabled
+Purdie to put some different ideas into the official heads. They began to
+look at matters in a new light. Here was a wealthy young Scottish
+manufacturer, a person of standing and position, who was able to vouch for
+Andrew Lauriston in more ways than one, who had known him from boyhood,
+had full faith in him and in his word, and was certain that all that
+Lauriston had said about the rings and about his finding of Daniel
+Multenius would be found to be absolutely true. They willingly agreed to
+move no further in the matter until Lauriston's return--and Purdie
+noticed, not without a smile, that they pointedly refrained from asking
+where he had gone to. He came out from that interview with Ayscough in
+attendance upon him--and Melky, waiting without, saw that things had gone
+all right.
+
+"You might let me have your London address, sir," said Ayscough. "I might
+want to let you know something."
+
+"Great Western Hotel," answered Purdie. "I shall stay there until
+Lauriston's return, and until this matter's entirely cleared up, as far as
+he's concerned. Come there, if you want me. All right," he continued, as
+he and Melky walked away from the police-station. "They took my word for
+it!--they'll do nothing until Lauriston comes back. Now then, you know
+this neighbourhood, and I don't--show me the way to Sussex Square--I'm
+going to call on Mr. Levendale at once."
+
+John Purdie had a double object in calling on Mr. Spencer Levendale. He
+had mentioned to Melky that when he met Levendale in the Highlands,
+Levendale, who was a widower, had his children and their governess with
+him. But he had not mentioned that he, Purdie, had fallen in love with the
+governess, and that one of his objects in coming to London just then was
+to renew his acquaintance with her. It was chiefly of the governess that
+he was thinking as he stood on the steps of the big house in Sussex
+Square--perhaps, in a few minutes, he would see her again.
+
+But Purdie was doomed to see neither Mr. Spencer Levendale nor the pretty
+governess that day. Mr. Levendale, said the butler, was on business in the
+city and was to dine out that evening: Miss Bennett had taken the two
+children to see a relative of theirs at Hounslow, and would not return
+until late. So Purdie, having pencilled his London address on them, left
+cards for Mr. Levendale and Miss Bennett, and, going back to his hotel,
+settled himself in his quarters to await developments. He spent the
+evening in reading the accounts of the inquest on Daniel Multenius--in
+more than one of the newspapers they were full and circumstantial, and it
+needed little of his shrewd perception to convince him that his old
+schoolmate stood in considerable danger if he failed to establish his
+ownership of the rings.
+
+He had finished breakfast next morning and was thinking of strolling round
+to Melky Rubinstein's lodgings, to hear if any news had come from
+Lauriston, when a waiter brought him Ayscough's card, saying that its
+presenter was waiting for him in the smoking-room. Purdie went there at
+once: the detective, who looked unusually grave and thoughtful, drew him
+aside into a quiet part of the room.
+
+"There's a strange affair occurred during the night, Mr. Purdie," said
+Ayscough, when they were alone. "And it's my opinion it's connected with
+this Multenius affair."
+
+"What is it?" asked Purdie.
+
+"This," replied Ayscough. "A Praed Street tradesman--in a small way--was
+picked up, dying, in a quiet street off Maida Vale, at twelve o'clock last
+night, and he died soon afterwards. And--he'd been poisoned!--but how, the
+doctors can't yet tell."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTEEN
+
+
+THE CALL FOR HELP
+
+Purdie, whose temperament inclined him to slowness and deliberation in
+face of any grave crisis, motioned the detective to take a seat in the
+quiet corner of the smoking-room, into which they had retreated, and sat
+down close by him.
+
+"Now, to begin with," he said, "why do you think this affair is connected
+with the affair of the old pawn-broker? There must be some link."
+
+"There is a link, sir," answered Ayscough. "The man was old Daniel
+Multenius's next door neighbour: name of Parslett--James Parslett, fruit
+and vegetable dealer. Smallish way of business, but well known enough in
+that quarter. Now, I'll explain something to you. I'm no hand at drawing,"
+continued the detective, "but I think I can do a bit of a rough sketch on
+this scrap of paper which will make clear to you the lie of the land.
+These two lines represent Praed Street. Here, where I make this cross, is
+Daniel Multenius's pawnshop. The front part of it--the jeweller's shop--
+looks out on Praed Street. At the side is a narrow passage or entry: from
+that you get access to the pledge-office. Now then, Multenius's premises
+run down one side of this passage: Parslett's run down the other.
+Parslett's house has a side-door into it, exactly opposite the door into
+Multenius's pledge office. Is that clear, Mr. Purdie?"
+
+"Quite!" answered Purdie. "I understand it exactly."
+
+"Then my theory is, that Parslett saw the real murderer of Daniel
+Multenius come out of Multenius's side-door, while he, Parslett, was
+standing at his own; that he recognized him, that he tried to blackmail
+him yesterday, and that the man contrived to poison him, in such a fashion
+that Parslett died shortly after leaving him," said Ayscough, confidently.
+"It's but a theory--but I'll lay anything I'm not far out in it!"
+
+"What reason have you for thinking that Parslett blackmailed the
+murderer?" asked Purdie.
+
+"This!" answered the detective, with something of triumph in his tone.
+"I've been making some enquiries already this morning, early as it is.
+When Parslett was picked up and carried to the hospital--this St. Mary's
+Hospital, close by here--he was found to have fifty pounds in gold in his
+pocket. Now, according to Parslett's widow, whom I've seen this morning,
+Parslett was considerably hard up yesterday. Trade hasn't been very good
+with him of late, and she naturally knows his circumstances. He went out
+of the house last night about nine o'clock, saying he was going to have a
+stroll round, and the widow says she's certain he'd no fifty pounds on him
+when he left her--it would be a wonder, she says, if he'd as much as fifty
+shillings! Now then, Mr. Purdie, where did a man like that pick up fifty
+sovereigns between the time he went out, and the time he was picked up,
+dying?"
+
+"He might have borrowed it from some friend," suggested Purdie.
+
+"I thought of that, sir," said Ayscough. "It seems the natural thing to
+think of. But Mrs. Parslett says they haven't a friend from whom he could
+have borrowed such an amount--not one! No, sir!--my belief is that
+Parslett saw some man enter and leave Multenius's shop; that he knew the
+man; that he went and plumped him with the affair, and that the man gave
+him that gold to get rid of him at the moment--and contrived to poison
+him, too!"
+
+Purdie considered the proposition for awhile in silence.
+
+"Well," he remarked at last, "if that's so, it seems to establish two
+facts--first, that the murderer is some man who lives in this
+neighbourhood, and second, that he's an expert in poisons."
+
+"Right, sir!" agreed Ayscough. "Quite right. And it would, of course,
+establish another--the innocence of your friend, Lauriston."
+
+Purdie smiled.
+
+"I never had any doubt of that," he said.
+
+"Between ourselves, neither had I," remarked Ayscough heartily. "I told
+our people that I, personally, was convinced of the young fellow's
+complete innocence from the very first--and it was I who found him in the
+shop. It's a most unfortunate thing that he was there, and a sad
+coincidence that those rings of his were much of a muchness with the rings
+in the tray in the old man's parlour--but I've never doubted him. No,
+sir!--I believe all this business goes a lot deeper than that! It's no
+common affair--old Daniel Multenius was attacked by somebody--somebody!--
+for some special reason--and it's going to take a lot of getting at. And
+I'm convinced this Parslett affair is a development--Parslett's been
+poisoned because he knew too much."
+
+"You say you don't know what particular poison was used?" asked Purdie.
+"It would be something of a clue to know that. Because, if it turned out
+to be one of a very subtle nature, that would prove that whoever
+administered it had made a special study of poisons."
+
+"I don't know that--yet," answered Ayscough. "But," he continued, rising
+from his chair, "if you'd step round with me to the hospital, we might get
+to know, now. There's one or two of their specialists been making an
+examination. It's only a mere step along the street."
+
+Purdie followed the detective out and along Praed Street. Before they
+reached the doors of the hospital, a man came up to Ayscough: a solid,
+substantial-looking person, of cautious manner and watchful eye, whose
+glance wandered speculatively from the detective to his companion.
+Evidently sizing Purdie up as some one in Ayscough's confidence, he spoke
+--in the fashion of one who has something as mysterious, as important, to
+communicate.
+
+"Beg your pardon, Mr. Ayscough," he said. "A word with you sir. You know
+me, Mr. Ayscough?"
+
+Ayscough looked sharply at his questioner.
+
+"Mr. Goodyer, isn't it?" he asked. "Oh, yes, I remember. What is it? You
+can speak before this gentleman--it's all right."
+
+"About this affair of last night--Parslett, you know," said Goodyer,
+drawing the detective aside, and lowering his voice, so that passers-by
+might not hear. "There's something I can tell you--I've heard all about
+the matter from Parslett's wife. But I've not told her what I can tell
+you, Mr. Ayscough."
+
+"And--what's that?" enquired the detective.
+
+"I'm Parslett's landlord, you know," continued Goodyer. "He's had that
+shop and dwelling-house of me for some years. Now, Parslett's not been
+doing very well of late, from one cause or another, and to put it in a
+nutshell, he owed me half a year's rent. I saw him yesterday, and told him
+I must have the money at once: in fact, I pressed him pretty hard about
+it.--I'd been at him for two or three weeks, and I could see it was no
+good going on. He'd been down in the mouth about it, the last week or so,
+but yesterday afternoon he was confident enough. 'Now, you needn't alarm
+yourself, Mr. Goodyer,' he said. 'There's a nice bit of money going to be
+paid to me tonight, and I'll settle up with you before I stick my head on
+the pillow,' he said. 'Tonight, for certain?' says I. 'Before even I go to
+bed!' he says. 'I can't fix it to a minute, but you can rely on me calling
+at your house in St. Mary's Terrace before eleven o'clock--with the
+money.' And he was so certain about it, Mr. Ayscough, that I said no more
+than that I should be much obliged, and I'd wait up for him. And,"
+concluded Goodyer, "I did wait up--till half-past twelve--but he never
+came. So this morning, of course, I walked round here--and then I heard
+what happened--about him being picked up dying and since being dead--with
+fifty pounds in gold in his pocket. Of course, Mr. Ayscough, that was the
+money he referred to."
+
+"You haven't mentioned this to anybody?" asked Ayscough.
+
+"Neither to the widow nor to anybody--but you," replied Goodyer.
+
+"Don't!" said Ayscough. "Keep it to yourself till I give you the word. You
+didn't hear anything from Parslett as to where the money was coming from?"
+
+"Not one syllable!" answered Goodyer. "But I could see he was dead sure of
+having it."
+
+"Well--keep quiet about it," continued Ayscough. "There'll be an inquest,
+you know, and what you have to tell'll come in handy, then. There's some
+mystery about all this affair, Mr. Goodyer, and it's going to take some
+unravelling."
+
+"You're right!" said Goodyer. "I believe you!"
+
+He went off along the street, and the detective turned to Purdie and
+motioned him towards the hospital.
+
+"Queer, all that, sir!" he muttered. "Very queer! But it all tends to
+showing that my theory's the right one. Now if you'll just stop in the
+waiting-room a few minutes, I'll find out if these doctors have come to
+any conclusion about the precise nature of the poison."
+
+Purdie waited for ten minutes, speculating on the curiosities of the
+mystery into which he had been so strangely plunged: at last the detective
+came back, shaking his head.
+
+"Can't get a definite word out of 'em, yet," he said, as they went away.
+"There's two or three of 'em--big experts in--what do you call it--oh,
+yes, toxology--putting their heads together over the analysing business,
+and they won't say anything so far--they'll leave that to the inquest. But
+I gathered this much, Mr. Purdie, from the one I spoke to--this man
+Parslett was poisoned in some extremely clever fashion, and by some poison
+that's not generally known, which was administered to him probably half-
+an-hour before it took effect. What's that argue, sir, but that whoever
+gave him that poison is something of an expert? Deep game, Mr. Purdie, a
+very deep game indeed!--and now I don't think there's much need to be
+anxious about that young friend of yours. I'm certain, anyway, that the
+man who poisoned Parslett is the man who killed poor old Daniel Multenius.
+But--we shall see."
+
+Purdie parted from Ayscough outside the hospital and walked along to Mrs.
+Flitwick's house in Star Street. He met Melky Rubinstein emerging from the
+door; Melky immediately pulled out a telegram which he thrust into
+Purdie's hand.
+
+"Just come, mister!" exclaimed Melky. "There's a word for you in it--I was
+going to your hotel. Read what he says."
+
+Purdie unfolded the pink paper and read.
+
+"On the track all right understand Purdie is in town if he comes to Star
+Street explain all to him will wire again later in day."
+
+"Good!" said Purdie. He handed back the telegram and looked meditatively
+at Melky. "Are you busy this morning?" he asked.
+
+"Doing no business whatever, mister," lisped Melky, solemnly. "Not until
+this business is settled--not me!"
+
+"Come to the hotel with me," continued Purdie. "I want to talk to you
+about something."
+
+But when they reached the hotel, all thought of conversation was driven
+out of Purdie's mind for the moment. The hall-porter handed him a note,
+remarking that it had just come. Purdie's face flushed as he recognized
+the handwriting: he turned sharply away and tore open the envelope.
+Inside, on a half-sheet of notepaper, were a few lines--from the pretty
+governess at Mr. Spencer Levendale's.
+
+"Can you come here at once and ask for me? There is something seriously
+wrong: I am much troubled and have no one in London I can consult."
+
+With a hasty excuse to Melky, Purdie ran out of the hotel, and set off in
+quick response to the note.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOURTEEN
+
+
+THE PRIVATE LABORATORY
+
+As he turned down Spring Street towards Sussex Square, Purdie hastily
+reviewed his knowledge of Mr. Spencer Levendale and his family. He had met
+them, only two months previously, at a remote and out-of-the-way place in
+the Highlands, in a hotel where he and they were almost the only guests.
+Under such circumstances, strangers are soon drawn together, and as
+Levendale and Purdie had a common interest in fishing they were quickly on
+good terms. But Purdie was thinking now as he made his way towards
+Levendale's London house that he really knew very little of this man who
+was evidently mixed up in some way with the mystery into which young Andie
+Lauriston had so unfortunately also become intermingled. He knew that
+Levendale was undoubtedly a very wealthy man: there were all the signs of
+wealth about him; he had brought several servants down to the Highlands
+with him: money appeared to be plentiful with him as pebbles are on a
+beach. Purdie learnt bit by bit that Levendale had made a great fortune in
+South Africa, that he had come home to England and gone into Parliament;
+that he was a widower and the father of two little girls--he learnt, too,
+that the children's governess, Miss Elsie Bennett, a pretty and taking
+girl of twenty-two or three, had come with them from Cape Town. But of
+Levendale's real character and self he knew no more than could be gained
+from holiday acquaintance. Certain circumstances told him by Melky about
+the rare book left in old Multenius's parlour inclined Purdie to be
+somewhat suspicious that Levendale was concealing something which he knew
+about that affair--and now here was Miss Bennett writing what, on the face
+of it, looked like an appealing letter to him, as if something had
+happened.
+
+Purdie knew something had happened as soon as he was admitted to the
+house. Levendale's butler, who had accompanied his master to the
+Highlands, and had recognized Purdie on his calling the previous day, came
+hurrying to him in the hall, as soon as the footman opened the door.
+
+"You haven't seen Mr. Levendale since you were here yesterday, sir?" he
+asked, in a low, anxious voice.
+
+"Seen Mr. Levendale? No!" answered Purdie. "Why--what do you mean?"
+
+The butler looked round at a couple of footmen who hung about the door.
+
+"Don't want to make any fuss about it, Mr. Purdie," he whispered, "though
+it's pretty well known in the house already. The fact is, sir, Mr.
+Levendale's missing!"
+
+"Missing?" exclaimed Purdie. "Since when?"
+
+"Only since last night, sir," replied the butler, "but the circumstances
+are queer. He dined out with some City gentlemen, somewhere, last night,
+and he came home about ten o'clock. He wasn't in the house long. He went
+into his laboratory--he spends a lot of time in experimenting in
+chemistry, you know, sir--and he called me in there. 'I'm going out again
+for an hour, Grayson,' he says. 'I shall be in at eleven: don't go to bed,
+for I want to see you for a minute or two.' Of course, there was nothing
+in that, Mr. Purdie, and I waited for him. But he never came home--and no
+message came. He never came home at all--and this morning I've telephoned
+to his two clubs, and to one or two other places in the City--nobody's
+seen or heard anything of him. And I can't think what's happened--it's all
+so unlike his habits."
+
+"He didn't tell you where he was going?" asked Purdie.
+
+"No, sir, but he went on foot," answered the butler. "I let him out--he
+turned up Paddington way."
+
+"You didn't notice anything out of the common about him?" suggested
+Purdie.
+
+The butler hesitated for a moment.
+
+"Well, sir," he said at last, "I did notice something. Come this way, Mr.
+Purdie."
+
+Turning away from the hall, he led Purdie through the library in which
+Levendale had received Ayscough and his companions into a small room that
+opened out of it.
+
+Purdie, looking round him, found that he was standing in a laboratory,
+furnished with chemical apparatus of the latest descriptions. Implements
+and appliances were on all sides; there were rows of bottles on the
+shelves; a library of technical books filled a large book-case; everything
+in the place betokened the pursuit of a scientific investigator. And
+Purdie's keen sense of smell immediately noted the prevalent atmosphere of
+drugs and chemicals.
+
+"It was here that I saw Mr. Levendale last night, sir," said the butler.
+"He called me in. He was measuring something from one of those bottles
+into a small phial, Mr. Purdie--he put the phial in his waistcoat pocket.
+Look at those bottles, sir--you'll see they all contain poison!--you can
+tell that by the make of 'em."
+
+Purdie glanced at the shelf which the butler indicated. The bottles ranged
+on it were all of blue glass, and all triangular in shape, and each bore a
+red label with the word _Poison_ prominently displayed.
+
+"Odd!" he said. "You've some idea?" he went on, looking closely at the
+butler. "Something on your mind about this? What is it?"
+
+The butler shook his head.
+
+"Well, sir," he answered, "when you see a gentleman measuring poison into
+a phial, which he carefully puts in his pocket, and when he goes out, and
+when he never comes back, and when you can't hear of him, anywhere! why,
+what are you to think? Looks strange, now, doesn't it, Mr. Purdie?"
+
+"I don't know Mr. Levendale well enough to say," replied Purdie. "There
+may be some quite good reason for Mr. Levendale's absence. He'd no trouble
+of any sort, had he?"
+
+"He seemed a bit upset, once or twice, yesterday--and the night before,"
+said the butler. "I noticed it--in little things. Well!--I can't make it
+out, sir. You see, I've been with him ever since he came back to England--
+some years now--and I know his habits, thoroughly. However, we can only
+wait--I believe Miss Bennett sent for you, Mr. Purdie?"
+
+"Yes," said Purdie. "She did."
+
+"This way, sir," said the butler. "Miss Bennett's alone, now--the children
+have just gone out with their nurses."
+
+He led Purdie through the house to a sitting-room looking out on the
+garden of the Square, and ushered him into the governess's presence.
+
+"I've told Mr. Purdie all about it, miss," he said, confidentially.
+"Perhaps you'll talk it over with him! I can't think of anything more to
+do--until we hear something."
+
+Left alone, Purdie and Elsie Bennett looked at each other as they shook
+hands. She was a fair, slender girl, naturally shy and retiring; she was
+manifestly shy at renewing her acquaintance with Purdie, and Purdie
+himself, conscious of his own feelings towards her, felt a certain
+embarrassment and awkwardness.
+
+"You sent for me," he said brusquely. "I came the instant I got your note.
+Grayson kept me talking downstairs. You're bothered--about Mr. Levendale?"
+
+"Yes," she answered. Then she pointed to a chair. "Won't you sit down?"
+she said, and took a chair close by. "I sent for you, because--it may seem
+strange, but it's a fact!--I couldn't think of anybody else! It seemed so
+fortunate that you were in London--and close by. I felt that--that I could
+depend on you."
+
+"Thank you," said Purdie. "Well--you can! And what is it?"
+
+"Grayson's told you about Mr. Levendale's going out last night, and never
+coming back, nor sending any message?" she continued. "As Grayson says,
+considering Mr. Levendale's habits, that is certainly very strange! But--I
+want to tell you something beyond that--I must tell somebody! And I know
+that if I tell you you'll keep it secret--until, or unless you think you
+ought to tell it to--the police!"
+
+Purdie started.
+
+"The police!" he exclaimed. "What is it?"
+
+Elsie Bennett turned to a table, and picked up a couple of newspapers.
+
+"Have you read this Praed Street mystery affair?" she asked. "I mean the
+account of the inquest?"
+
+"Every word--and heard more, besides," answered Purdie. "That young
+fellow, Andie Lauriston, is an old schoolmate and friend of mine. I came
+here yesterday to see him, and found him plunged into this business. Of
+course, he's absolutely innocent."
+
+"Has he been arrested?" asked Elsie, almost eagerly.
+
+"No!" replied Purdie. "He's gone away--to get evidence that those rings
+which are such a feature of the case are really his and were his
+mother's."
+
+"Have you noticed these particulars, at the end of the inquest, about the
+book which was found in the pawnbroker's parlour?" she went on. "The
+Spanish manuscript?"
+
+"Said to have been lost by Mr. Levendale in an omnibus," answered Purdie.
+"Yes! What of it?"
+
+The girl bent nearer to him.
+
+"It seems a dreadful thing to say," she whispered, "but I must tell
+somebody--I can't, I daren't keep it to myself any longer! Mr. Levendale
+isn't telling the truth about that book!"
+
+Purdie involuntarily glanced at the door--and drew his chair nearer to
+Elsie's.
+
+"You're sure of that?" he whispered. "Just so! Now--in what way?"
+
+"It says here," answered Elsie, tapping the newspapers with her finger,
+"that Mr. Levendale lost this book in a 'bus, which he left at the corner
+of Chapel Street, and that he was so concerned about the loss that he
+immediately sent advertisements off to every morning newspaper in London.
+The last part of that is true--the first part is not true! Mr. Levendale
+did not lose his book--he did not leave it in the 'bus! I'm sorry to have
+to say it--but all that is invention on his part--why, I don't know."
+
+Purdie had listened to this with a growing feeling of uneasiness and
+suspicion. The clouds centring round Levendale were certainly thickening.
+
+"Now, just tell me--how do you know all this?" he asked. "Rely on me--to
+the full!"
+
+"I'll tell you," replied Elsie, readily. "Because, about four o'clock on
+the afternoon of the old man's death, I happened to be at the corner of
+Chapel Street. I saw Mr. Levendale get out of the 'bus. He did not see me.
+He crossed Edgware Road and walked rapidly down Praed Street. And--he was
+carrying that book in his hand!"
+
+"You're sure it was that book?" asked Purdie.
+
+"According to the description given in this account and in the
+advertisement--yes," she answered. "I noticed the fine binding. Although
+Mr. Levendale didn't see me--there were a lot of people about--I was close
+to him. I am sure it was the book described here."
+
+"And--he went in the direction of the pawnshop?" said Purdie. "What on
+earth does it all mean? What did he mean by advertising for the book,
+when--"
+
+Before he could say more, a knock came at the door, and the butler
+entered, bearing an open telegram in his hand. His face wore an expression
+of relief.
+
+"Here's a wire from Mr. Levendale, Miss Bennett," he said. "It's addressed
+to me. He says, 'Shall be away from home, on business, for a few days. Let
+all go on as usual.' That's better, miss! But," continued Grayson, glancing
+at Purdie, "it's still odd--for do you see, sir, where that wire has been
+sent from? Spring Street--close by!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIFTEEN
+
+
+CONFERENCE
+
+Purdie was already sufficiently acquainted with the geography of the
+Paddington district to be aware of the significance of Grayson's remark.
+The Spring Street Post Office, at which Levendale's wire had been handed
+in, was only a few minutes' walk from the house. It stood, in fact, between
+Purdie's hotel and Sussex Square, and he had passed it on his way to
+Levendale's. It was certainly odd that a man who was within five minutes'
+walk of his own house should send a telegram there, when he had nothing to
+do but walk down one street and turn the corner of another to give his
+message in person.
+
+"Sent off, do you see, sir, twenty minutes ago," observed the butler,
+pointing to some figures in the telegram form. "So--Mr. Levendale must
+have been close by--then!"
+
+"Not necessarily," remarked Purdie. "He may have sent a messenger with
+that wire--perhaps he himself was catching a train at Paddington."
+
+Grayson shook his head knowingly.
+
+"There's a telegraph office on the platform there, sir," he answered.
+"However--there it is, and I suppose there's no more to be done."
+
+He left the room again, and Purdie looked at the governess. She, too,
+looked at him: there was a question in the eyes of both.
+
+"What do you make of that?" asked Purdie after a pause.
+
+"What do you make of it?" she asked in her turn.
+
+"It looks odd--but there may be a reason for it," he answered. "Look
+here!--I'm going to ask you a question. What do you know of Mr. Levendale?
+You've been governess to his children for some time, haven't you?"
+
+"For six months before he left Cape Town, and ever since we all came to
+England, three years ago," she answered. "I know that he's very rich, and
+a very busy man, and a member of Parliament, and that he goes to the City
+a great deal--and that's all! He's a very reserved man, too--of course, he
+never tells me anything. I've never had any conversation with him
+excepting about the children."
+
+"You're upset about this book affair?" suggested Purdie.
+
+"Why should Mr. Levendale say that he left that book in the omnibus, when
+I myself saw him leave the 'bus with it in his hand, and go down Praed
+Street with it?" she asked. "Doesn't it look as if he were the person who
+left it in that room--where the old man was found lying dead?"
+
+"That, perhaps, is the very reason why he doesn't want people to know that
+he did leave it there," remarked Purdie, quietly. "There's more in all
+this than lies on the surface. You wanted my advice? Very well don't say
+anything to anybody till you see me again. I must go now--there's a man
+waiting for me at my hotel. I may call again, mayn't I?"
+
+"Do!" she said, giving him her hand. "I am bothered about this--it's
+useless to deny it--and I've no one to talk to about it. Come--any time."
+
+Purdie repressed a strong desire to stay longer, and to turn the
+conversation to more personal matters. But he was essentially a business
+man, and the matters of the moment seemed to be critical. So he promised
+to return, and then hurried back to his hotel--to find Melky Rubinstein
+pacing up and down outside the entrance.
+
+Purdie tapped Melky's shoulder and motioned him to walk along Praed
+Street.
+
+"Look here!" he said. "I want you to take me to see your cousin--and the
+pawnshop. We must have a talk--you said your cousin's a good business
+woman. She's the sort we can discuss business with, eh?"
+
+"My cousin Zillah Wildrose, mister," answered Melky, solemnly, "is one of
+the best! She's a better headpiece on her than what I have--and that's
+saying a good deal. I was going to suggest you should come there. Talk!--
+s'elp me, Mr. Purdie, it strikes me there'll be a lot of that before we've
+done. What about this here affair of last night?--I've just seen Mr.
+Ayscough, passing along--he's told me all about it. Do you think it's
+anything to do with our business?"
+
+"Can't say," answered Purdie. "Wait till we can discuss matters with your
+cousin."
+
+Melky led the way to the side-door of the pawnshop. Since the old man's
+death, the whole establishment had been closed--Zillah had refused to do
+any business until her grandfather's funeral was over. She received her
+visitors in the parlour where old Daniel had been found dead: after a
+moment's inspection of her, and the exchange of a few remarks about
+Lauriston, Purdie suggested that they should all sit down and talk matters
+over.
+
+"Half-a-mo!" said Melky. "If we're going to have a cabinet council,
+mister, there's a lady that I want to bring into it--Mrs. Goldmark. I know
+something that Mrs. Goldmark can speak to--I've just been considering
+matters while I was waiting for you, Mr. Purdie, and I'm going to tell you
+and Zillah, and Mrs. Goldmark, of a curious fact that I know of. I'll
+fetch her--and while I'm away Zillah'll show you that there book what was
+found there."
+
+Purdie looked with interest at the Spanish manuscript which seemed to be a
+factor of such importance.
+
+"I suppose you never saw this before?" he asked, as Zillah laid it on the
+table before him. "And you're certain it wasn't in the place when you went
+out that afternoon, leaving your grandfather alone?"
+
+"That I'm positive of," answered Zillah. "I never saw it in my life until
+my attention was drawn to it after he was dead. That book was brought in
+here during my absence, and it was neither bought nor pawned--that's
+absolutely certain! Of course, you know whose book it is?"
+
+"Mr. Spencer Levendale's," answered Purdie. "Yes I know all those
+particulars--and about his advertisements for it, and a little more. And I
+want to discuss all that with you and your cousin. This Mrs. Goldmark--she's
+to be fully trusted?"
+
+Zillah replied that Mrs. Goldmark was worthy of entire confidence, and an
+old friend, and Melky presently returning with her, Purdie suggested they
+should all sit down and talk--informally and in strict privacy.
+
+"You know why I'm concerning myself in this?" he said, looking round at
+his three companions. "I'm anxious that Andie Lauriston should be fully
+and entirely cleared! I've great faith in him--he's beginning what I
+believe will be a successful career, and it would be a terrible thing if
+any suspicion rested on him. So I want, for his sake, to thoroughly clear
+up this mystery about your relative's death."
+
+"Mister!" said Melky, in his most solemn tones. "Speaking for my cousin
+there, and myself, there ain't nothing what we wouldn't do to clear Mr.
+Lauriston! We ain't never had one moment's suspicion of him from the
+first, knowing the young fellow as we do. So we're with you in that
+matter, ain't we, Zillah?"
+
+"Mr. Purdie feels sure of that," agreed Zillah, with a glance at
+Lauriston's old schoolmate. "There's no need to answer him, Melky."
+
+"I am sure!" said Purdie. "So--let's put our wits together--we'll consider
+the question of approaching the police when we've talked amongst
+ourselves. Now--I want to ask you some very private questions. They spring
+out of that rare book there. There's no doubt that book belongs to Mr.
+Levendale. Do either of you know if Mr. Levendale had any business
+relations with the late Mr. Rubinstein?"
+
+Zillah shook her head.
+
+"None!--that I know of," she answered. "I've helped my grandfather in this
+business for some time. I never heard him mention Mr. Levendale. Mr.
+Levendale never came here, certainly."
+
+Melky shook his head, too.
+
+"When Mr. Ayscough, and Mr. Lauriston, and me went round to Sussex Square,
+to see Mr. Levendale about that advertisement for his book," he remarked,
+"he said he'd never heard of Daniel Multenius. That's a fact, mister!"
+
+"Had Mr. Multenius any private business relations of which he didn't tell
+you?" asked Purdie, turning to Zillah.
+
+"He might have had," admitted Zillah. "He was out a good deal. I don't
+know what he might do when he went out. He was--close. We--it's no use
+denying it--we don't know all about it. His solicitor's making some
+enquiries--I expect him here, any time, today."
+
+"It comes to this," observed Purdie. "Your grandfather met his death by
+violence, the man who attacked him came in here during your absence. The
+question I want to get solved is--was the man who undoubtedly left that
+book here the guilty man? If so--who is he?"
+
+Melky suddenly broke the silence which followed upon this question.
+
+"I'm going to tell something that I ain't told to nobody as yet!" he said.
+"Not even to Zillah. After this here parlour had been cleared, I took a
+look round. I've very sharp eyes, Mr. Purdie. I found this here--half-
+hidden under the rug there, where the poor old man had been lying." He
+pulled out the platinum solitaire, laid it on the palm of one hand, and
+extended the hand to Mrs. Goldmark. "You've seen the like of that before,
+ain't you?" asked Melky.
+
+"Mercy be upon us!" gasped Mrs. Goldmark, starting in her seat. "I've the
+fellow to it lying in my desk!"
+
+"And it was left on a table in your restaurant," continued Melky, "by a
+man what looked like a Colonial party--I know!--I saw it by accident in
+your place the other night, and one o' your girls told me. Now then, Mr.
+Purdie, here's a bit more of puzzlement--and perhaps a clue. These here
+platinum solitaire cuff-links are valuable--they're worth--well, I'd give
+a good few pounds for the pair. Now who's the man who lost one in this
+here parlour--right there!--and the other in Mrs. Goldmark's restaurant?
+For--it's a pair! There's no doubt about that, mister!--there's that same
+curious and unusual device on each. Mister!--them studs has at some time
+or other been made to special order!"
+
+Purdie turned the solitaire over, and looked at Zillah.
+
+"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" he asked.
+
+"Never!" said Zillah. "It's as Melky says--specially made."
+
+"And you have its fellow--lost in your restaurant?" continued Purdie,
+turning to Mrs. Goldmark.
+
+"Its very marrow," assented Mrs. Goldmark, fervently, "is in my desk! It
+was dropped on one of our tables a few afternoons ago by a man who, as Mr.
+Rubinstein says, looked like one of those Colonials. Leastways, my
+waitress, Rosa, she picked it up exactly where he'd been sitting. So I put
+it away till he comes in again, you see. Oh, yes!"
+
+"Has he been in again?" asked Purdie.
+
+"Never was he inside my door before!" answered Mrs. Goldmark dramatically.
+"Never has he been inside it since! But--I keep his property, just so. In
+my desk it is!"
+
+Purdie considered this new evidence in silence for a moment.
+
+"The question now is--this," he said presently. "Is the man who seems
+undoubtedly to have dropped those studs the same man who brought that book
+in here? Or, had Mr. Multenius two callers here during your absence, Miss
+Wildrose? And--who is this mysterious man who dropped the studs--valuable
+things, with a special device on them? He'll have to be traced! Mrs.
+Goldmark--can you describe him, particularly?"
+
+Before Mrs. Goldmark could reply, a knock came at the side-door, and
+Zillah, going to answer it, returned presently with a middle-aged, quiet-
+looking, gold-spectacled gentleman whom she introduced to Purdie as Mr.
+Penniket, solicitor to the late Daniel Multenius.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIXTEEN
+
+
+THE DETECTIVE CALLS
+
+Mr. Penniket, to whom the two cousins and Mrs. Goldmark were evidently
+very well known, looked a polite enquiry at the stranger as he took the
+chair which Melky drew forward for him.
+
+"As Mr. Purdie is presumably discussing this affair with you," he
+observed, "I take it that you intend him to hear anything I have to tell?"
+
+"That's so, Mr. Penniket," answered Melky. "Mr. Purdie's one of us, so to
+speak--you can tell us anything you like, before him. We were going into
+details when you come--there's some strange business on, Mr. Penniket! And
+we want to get a bit clear about it before we tell the police what we
+know."
+
+"You know something that they don't know?" asked Mr. Penniket.
+
+"More than a bit!" replied Melky, laconically. "This here affair's
+revolving itself into a network, mister, out of which somebody's going to
+find it hard work to break through!"
+
+The solicitor, who had been quietly inspecting Purdie, gave him a sly
+smile.
+
+"Then before I tell you what I have just found out," he said, turning to
+Melky, "I think you had better tell me all you know, and what you have
+been discussing. Possibly, I may have something to tell which bears on our
+knowledge. Let us be clear!"
+
+He listened carefully while Purdie, at Zillah's request, told him briefly
+what had been said before his arrival, and Purdie saw at once that none of
+the facts surprised him. He asked Mrs. Goldmark one or two questions about
+the man who was believed to have dropped one of his cuff-links in her
+restaurant; he asked Melky a question as to his discovery of the other; he
+made no comment on the answers which they gave him. Finally, he drew his
+chair nearer to the table at which they were sitting, and invited their
+attention with a glance.
+
+"There is no doubt," he said, "that the circumstances centring round the
+death of my late client are remarkably mysterious! What we want to get at,
+put into a nut-shell, is just this--what happened in this parlour between
+half-past four and half-past five on Monday afternoon? We might even
+narrow that down to--what happened between ten minutes to five and ten
+minutes past five? Daniel Multenius was left alone--we know that. Some
+person undoubtedly came in here--perhaps more than one person came. Who
+was the person? Were there two persons? If there were two, did they come
+together--or singly, separately? All that will have to be solved before we
+find out who it was that assaulted my late client, and so injured him that
+he died under the shock. Now, Miss Wildrose, and Mr. Rubinstein, there's
+one fact which you may as well get into your minds at once. Your deceased
+relative had his secrets!"
+
+Neither Zillah nor Purdie made any comment on this, and the solicitor,
+with a meaning look at Purdie, went on. "Not that Daniel Multenius
+revealed any of them to me!" he continued. "I have acted for him in legal
+matters for some years, but only in quite an ordinary way. He was a well-
+to-do man, Mr. Purdie--a rich man, in fact, and a considerable property
+owner--I did all his work of that sort. But as regards his secrets, I know
+nothing--except that since yesterday, I have discovered that he certainly
+had them. I have, as Miss Wildrose knows--and by her instructions--been
+making some enquiries at the bank where Mr. Multenius kept his account--
+the Empire and Universal, in Lombard Street--and I have made some curious
+unearthings in the course of them. Now then, between ourselves--Mr. Purdie
+being represented to me as in your entire confidence--I may as well tell
+you that Daniel Multenius most certainly had dealings of a business nature
+completely outside his business as jeweller and pawnbroker in this shop.
+That's positively certain. And what is also certain is that in some of
+those dealings he was, in some way or another, intimately associated with
+the man whose name has already come up a good deal since Monday--Mr.
+Spencer Levendale!"
+
+"S'elp me!" muttered Melky. "I heard Levendale, with my own two ears, say
+that he didn't know the poor old fellow!"
+
+"Very likely," said Mr. Penniket, drily. "It was not convenient to him--we
+will assume--to admit that he did, just then. But I have discovered--from
+the bankers--that precisely two years ago, Mr. Spencer Levendale paid to
+Daniel Multenius a sum of ten thousand pounds. That's a fact!"
+
+"For what, mister?" demanded Melky.
+
+"Can't say--nobody can say," answered the solicitor. "All the same, he
+did--paid it in, himself, to Daniel Multenius's credit, at the Empire and
+Universal. It went into the ordinary account, in the ordinary way, and was
+used by Mr. Multenius as part of his own effects--as no doubt it was.
+Now," continued Mr. Penniket, turning to Zillah, "I want to ask you a
+particular question. I know you had assisted your grandfather a great deal
+of late years. Had you anything to do with his banking account?"
+
+"No!" replied Zillah, promptly. "That's the one thing I never had anything
+to do with. I never saw his pass-book, nor his deposit-book, nor even his
+cheque-book. He kept all that to himself."
+
+"Just so," said Mr. Penniket. "Then, of course, you don't know that he
+dealt with considerable sums--evidently quite outside this business. He
+made large--sometimes very heavy--payments. And--this, I am convinced, is
+of great importance to the question we are trying to solve--most of these
+payments were sent to South Africa."
+
+The solicitor glanced round his audience as if anxious to see that its
+various members grasped the significance of this announcement. And Melky
+at once voiced the first impression of, at any rate, three of them.
+
+"Levendale comes from those parts!" he muttered. "Came here some two or
+three years ago--by all I can gather."
+
+"Just so," said Mr. Penniket. "Therefore, possibly this South African
+business, in which my late client was undoubtedly engaged, is connected
+with Mr. Levendale. That can be found out. But I have still more to tell
+you--perhaps, considering everything, the most important matter of the
+whole lot. On Monday morning last--that would be a few hours before his
+death--Mr. Multenius called at the bank and took from it a small packet
+which he had entrusted to his banker's keeping only a fortnight
+previously. The bankers do not know what was in that packet--he had more
+than once got them to take care of similar packets at one time or another.
+But they described it to me just now. A packet, evidently enclosing a
+small, hard box, some four or five inches square in all directions,
+wrapped in strong cartridge paper, and heavily sealed with red wax. It
+bore Mr. Multenius's name and address--written by himself. Now, then, Miss
+Wildrose--he took that packet away from the bank at about twelve-thirty on
+Monday noon. Have you seen anything of it?"
+
+"Nothing!" answered Zillah with certainty. "There's no such packet here,
+Mr. Penniket. I've been through everything--safes, drawers, chests, since
+my grandfather died, and I've not found anything that I didn't know of. I
+remember that he went out last Monday morning--he was away two hours, and
+came in again about a quarter past one, but I never saw such a packet in
+his possession as that you describe. I know nothing of it."
+
+"Well," said the solicitor, after a pause, "there are the facts. And the
+question now is--ought we not to tell all this to the police, at once?
+This connection of Levendale with my late client--as undoubted as it seems
+to have been secret--needs investigation. According to Mr. Purdie here--
+Levendale has suddenly disappeared--or, at any rate, left home under
+mysterious circumstances. Has that disappearance anything to do with
+Multenius's death? Has it anything to do with the death of this next door
+man, Parslett, last night? And has Levendale any connections with the
+strange man who dropped one platinum solitaire stud in Mrs. Goldmark's
+restaurant, and another in this parlour?"
+
+No one attempted to answer these questions for a moment; then, Melky, as
+if seized with a sudden inspiration, smote the table and leaned over it
+towards the solicitor.
+
+"Mr. Penniket!" he said, glancing around him as if to invite approval of
+what he was about to say. "You're a lawyer, mister!--you can put things in
+order and present 'em as if they was in a catalogue! Take the whole
+business to New Scotland Yard, sir!--let the big men at headquarters have
+a go at it. That's what I say! There's some queer mystery at the bottom of
+all this, Mr. Penniket, and it ain't a one-man job. Go to the Yard,
+mister--let 'em try their brains on it!"
+
+Zillah made a murmured remark which seemed to second her cousin's
+proposal, and Mr. Penniket turned to Purdie.
+
+"I understand you to be a business man," he remarked. "What do you say?"
+
+"As far as I can put things together," answered Purdie, "I fully agree
+that there is some extraordinary mystery round and about Mr. Multenius's
+death. And as the detective force at New Scotland Yard exists for the
+solution of such problems--why, I should certainly tell the authorities
+there everything that is known. Why not?"
+
+"Very good," said Mr. Penniket. "Then it will be well if you two come with
+me. The more information we can give to the heads of the Criminal
+Investigation Department, the better. We'll go there at once."
+
+In a few moments, the three men had gone, and Zillah and Mrs. Goldmark,
+left alone, looked at each other.
+
+"Mrs. Goldmark!" said Zillah, after a long silence. "Did you see that man,
+yourself, who's supposed to have dropped that platinum solitaire in your
+restaurant?"
+
+"Did I see him?" exclaimed Mrs. Goldmark. "Do I see you, Zillah? See him I
+did!--though never before, and never since! And ain't I the good memory
+for faces--and won't I know him again if he comes my way? Do you know
+what?--I ain't never forgotten a face what I've once looked at! Comes from
+keeping an eye on customers who looks as if they might have forgot to
+bring their moneys with 'em!"
+
+"Well, I hope you'll see this man again," remarked Zillah. "I'd give a lot
+to get all the mystery cleared up."
+
+Mrs. Goldmark observed that mysteries were not cleared up in a day, and
+presently went away to see that her business was being conducted properly.
+She was devoting herself to Zillah in very neighbourly fashion just then,
+but she had to keep running into the restaurant every hour or two to keep
+an eye on things. And during one of her absences, later in the early
+evening of that day, Zillah, alone in the house, answered a knock at the
+door, and opening it found Ayscough outside. His look betokened news, and
+Zillah led him into the parlour.
+
+"Alone?" asked Ayscough. "Aye, well, I've something to tell you that I
+want you to keep to yourself--for a bit, anyway. Those rings, you know,
+that the young fellow, Lauriston, says are his, and had been his
+mother's?"
+
+"Well?" said Zillah, faintly, and half-conscious of some coming bad news.
+"What of them?"
+
+"Our people," continued the detective, "have had some expert chap--
+jeweller, or something of that sort, examining those rings, and comparing
+them with the rings that are in your tray. And in that tray there are
+several rings which have a private mark inside them. Now, then!--those two
+rings which Lauriston claims are marked in exactly the same fashion!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
+
+
+WHAT THE LAMPS SHONE ON
+
+Zillah leaned suddenly back against the table by which she was standing,
+and Ayscough, who was narrowly watching the effect of his news, saw her
+turn very pale. She stood staring at him during a moment's silence; then
+she let a sharp exclamation escape her lips, and in the same instant her
+colour came back--heightened from surprise and indignation.
+
+"Impossible!" she said. "I can't believe it; There may be marks inside our
+rings--that's likely enough. But how could those marks correspond with the
+marks in his rings?"
+
+"I tell you it is so!" answered Ayscough. "I've seen the marks in both--
+with my own eyes. It occurred to one of our bosses this evening to have
+all the rings carefully examined by an expert--he got a man from one of
+the jeweller's shops in Edgware Road. This chap very soon pointed out that
+inside the two rings which young Lauriston says are his, and come to him
+from his mother, are certain private marks--jewellers' marks, this man
+called 'em--which are absolutely identical with similar marks which are
+inside some of the rings in the tray which was found on this table. That's
+a fact!--I tell you I've seen 'em--all! And--you see the significance of
+it! Of course, our people are now dead certain that young Lauriston's
+story is false, and that he grabbed those two rings out of that tray.
+See?"
+
+"Are you certain of it--yourself?" demanded Zillah.
+
+Ayscough hesitated and finally shook his head.
+
+"Well, between ourselves, I'm not!" he answered. "I've a feeling from the
+first, that the lad's innocent enough. But it's a queer thing--and it's
+terribly against him. And--what possible explanation can there be?"
+
+"You say you've seen those marks," said Zillah. "Would you know them
+again--on other goods?"
+
+"I should!" replied Ayscough. "I can tell you what they are. There's the
+letter M. and then two crosses--one on each side of the letter. Very
+small, you know, and worn, too--this man I'm talking of used some sort of
+a magnifying glass."
+
+Zillah turned away and went into the shop, which was all in darkness.
+Ayscough, waiting, heard the sound of a key being turned, then of a
+metallic tinkling; presently the girl came back, carrying a velvet-lined
+tray in one hand, and a jeweller's magnifying glass in the other.
+
+"The rings in that tray you're talking about--the one you took away--are
+all very old stock," she remarked. "I've heard my grandfather say he'd had
+some of them thirty years or more. Here are some similar ones--we'll see
+if they're marked in the same fashion."
+
+Five minutes later, Zillah had laid aside several rings marked in the way
+Ayscough had indicated, and she turned from them to him with a look of
+alarm.
+
+"I can't understand it!" she exclaimed. "I know that these rings, and
+those in that tray at the police-station, are part of old stock that my
+grandfather had when he came here. He used to have a shop, years ago, in
+the City--I'm not quite sure where, exactly--and this is part of the stock
+he brought from it. But, how could Mr. Lauriston's rings bear those marks?
+Because, from what I know of the trade, those are private marks--my
+grandfather's private marks!"
+
+"Well, just so--and you can imagine what our people are inclined to say
+about it," said the detective. "They say now that the two rings which
+Lauriston claims never were his nor his mother's, but that he stole them
+out of your grandfather's tray. They're fixed on that, now."
+
+"What will they do?" asked Zillah, anxiously. "Is he in danger?"
+
+Ayscough gave her a knowing look.
+
+"Between you and me," he said, lowering his voice to a whisper, "I came
+around here privately--on my own hook, you know. I should be sorry if this
+really is fixed on the young fellow--there's a mystery, but it may be
+cleared up. Now, he's gone off to find somebody who can prove that those
+rings really were his mother's. You, no doubt, know where he's gone?"
+
+"Yes--but I'm not going to tell," said Zillah firmly. "Don't ask me!"
+
+"Quite right--I don't want to know myself," answered Ayscough. "And you'll
+probably have an idea when he's coming back? All right--take a tip from
+me. Keep him out of the way a bit--stop him from coming into this
+district. Let him know all about those marks--and if he can clear that up,
+well and good. You understand?--and of course, all this is between you and
+me."
+
+"You're very good, Mr. Ayscough," replied Zillah, warmly. "I won't forget
+your kindness. And I'm certain this about the marks can be cleared up--but
+I don't know how!"
+
+"Well--do as I say," said the detective. "Just give the tip to your cousin
+Melky, and to that young Scotch gentleman--let 'em keep Lauriston out of
+the way for a few days. In the meantime--this is a very queer case!--
+something may happen that'll fix the guilt on somebody else--conclusively.
+I've my own ideas and opinions--but we shall see. Maybe we shall see a
+lot--and everybody'll be more astonished than they're thinking for."
+
+With this dark and sinister hint, Ayscough went away, and Zillah took the
+rings back to the shop, and locked them up again. And then she sat down to
+wait for Mrs. Goldmark--and to think. She had never doubted Lauriston's
+story for one moment, and she did not doubt it now. But she was quick to
+see the serious significance of what the detective had just told her and
+she realized that action must be taken on the lines he had suggested. And
+so, having made herself ready for going out, she excused herself to Mrs.
+Goldmark when that good lady returned, and without saying anything to her
+as to the nature of her errand, hurried round to Star Street, to find
+Melky Rubinstein and tell him of the new development.
+
+Mrs. Flitwick herself opened the door to Zillah and led her into the
+narrow passage. But at the mention of Melky she shook her head.
+
+"I ain't set eyes on Mr. Rubinstein not since this morning, miss," said
+she. "He went out with that young Scotch gentleman what come here
+yesterday asking for Mr. Lauriston, and he's never been in again--not even
+to put his nose inside the door. And at twelve o'clock there come a
+telegram for him--which it was the second that come this morning. The
+first, of course, he got before he went out; the one that come at noon's
+awaiting him. No--I ain't seen him all day!"
+
+Zillah's quick wits were instantly at work as soon as she heard of the
+telegram.
+
+"Oh, I know all about that wire, Mrs. Flitwick!" she exclaimed. "It's as
+much for me as for my cousin. Give it to me--and if Mr. Rubinstein comes
+in soon--or when he comes--tell him I've got it, and ask him to come round
+to me immediately--it's important."
+
+Mrs. Flitwick produced the telegram at once, and Zillah, repeating her
+commands about Melky, hurried away with it. But at the first street lamp
+she paused, and tore open the envelope, and pulled out the message. As she
+supposed, it was from Lauriston, and had been handed in at Peebles at
+eleven o'clock that morning.
+
+"Got necessary information returning at once meet me at King's Cross at
+nine-twenty this evening. L."
+
+Zillah looked at her watch. It was then ten minutes to nine. There was
+just half an hour before Lauriston's train was due. Without a moment's
+hesitation, she turned back along Star Street, hurried into Edgware Road
+and hailing the first taxi-cab she saw, bade its driver to get to the
+Great Northern as fast as possible. Whatever else happened, Lauriston must
+be met and warned.
+
+The taxi-cab made good headway along the Marylebone and Euston Roads, and
+the hands of the clock over the entrance to King's Cross had not yet
+indicated a quarter past nine when Zillah was set down close by. She
+hurried into the station, and to the arrival platform. All the way along
+in the cab she had been wondering what to do when she met Lauriston--not
+as to what she should tell him, for that was already settled, but as to
+what to advise him to do about following Ayscough's suggestion and keeping
+out of the way, for awhile. She had already seen enough of him to know
+that he was naturally of high spirit and courage, and that he would hate
+the very idea of hiding, or of seeming to run away. Yet, what other course
+was open if he wished to avoid arrest? Zillah, during her short business
+experience had been brought in contact with the police authorities and
+their methods more than once, and she knew that there is nothing the
+professional detective likes so much as to follow the obvious--as the
+easiest and safest. She had been quick to appreciate all that Ayscough
+told her--she knew how the police mind would reason about it: it would be
+quite enough for it to know that on the rings which Andy Lauriston said
+were his there were marks which were certainly identical with those on her
+grandfather's property: now that the police authorities were in possession
+of that fact, they would go for Lauriston without demur or hesitation,
+leaving all the other mysteries and ramifications of the Multenius affair
+to be sorted, or to sort themselves, at leisure. One thing was certain--
+Andie Lauriston was in greater danger now than at any moment since
+Ayscough found him leaving the shop, and she must save him--against his
+own inclinations if need be.
+
+But before the train from the North was due, Zillah was fated to have yet
+another experience. She had taken up a position directly beneath a
+powerful lamp at the end of the arrival platform, so that Lauriston, who
+would be obliged to pass that way, could not fail to see her. Suddenly
+turning, to glance at the clock in the roof behind her, she was aware of a
+man, young, tall, athletic, deeply bronzed, as from long contact with the
+Southern sun, who stood just behind a knot of loungers, his heavy overcoat
+and the jacket beneath it thrown open, feeling in his waistcoat pockets as
+if for his match-box--an unlighted cigar protruded from the corner of his
+rather grim, determined lips. But it was not at lips, nor at the cigar,
+nor at the searching fingers that Zillah looked, after that first
+comprehensive glance--her eyes went straight to an object which shone in
+the full glare of the lamp above her head. The man wore an old-fashioned,
+double-breasted fancy waistcoat, but so low as to reveal a good deal of
+his shirt-front. And in that space, beneath his bird's-eye blue tie,
+loosely knotted in a bow, Zillah saw a stud, which her experienced eyes
+knew to be of platinum, and on it was engraved the same curious device
+which she had seen once before that day--on the solitaire exhibited by
+Melky.
+
+The girl was instantly certain that here was the man who had visited Mrs.
+Goldmark's eating-house. Her first instinct was to challenge him with the
+fact--but as she half moved towards him, he found his match-box, struck a
+match, and began to light his cigar. And just then came the great engine
+of the express, panting its way to a halt beside them, and with it the
+folk on the platform began to stir, and Zillah was elbowed aside. Her
+situation was perplexing--was she to watch the man and perhaps lose
+Lauriston in the crowd already passing from the train, or--
+
+The man was still leisurely busy with his cigar, and Zillah turned and
+went a few steps up the platform. She suddenly caught sight of Lauriston,
+and running towards him gripped his arm, and drew him to the lamp. But in
+that moment of indecision, the man had vanished.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
+
+
+MR. STUYVESANT GUYLER
+
+Lauriston, surprised beyond a little at seeing Zillah, found his surprise
+turned into amazement as she seized his arm and forced him along the
+platform, careless of the groups of passengers and the porters, crowding
+about the baggage vans.
+
+"What is it?" he demanded. "Has something happened? Where are we going?"
+
+But Zillah held on determinedly, her eyes fixed ahead.
+
+"Quick!" she said, pantingly. "A man I saw just now! He was there--he's
+gone--while I looked for you. We must find him! He must have gone this
+way. Andie!--look for him! A tall, clean-shaven man in a slouched hat and
+a heavy travelling coat--a foreigner of some sort. Oh, look!"
+
+It was the first time she had called Lauriston by his name, and he gave
+her arm an involuntary pressure as they hastened along.
+
+"But why?" he asked. "Who is he--what do you want with him? What's it all
+about?"
+
+"Oh, find him!" she exclaimed. "You don't know how important it is! If I
+lose sight of him now, I'll very likely never see him again. And he must
+be found--and stopped--for your sake!"
+
+They had come to the end of the platform, by that time, and Lauriston
+looked left and right in search of the man described. Suddenly he twisted
+Zillah round.
+
+"Is that he--that fellow talking to another man?" he asked. "See him--
+there?"
+
+"Yes!" said Zillah. She saw the man of the platinum stud again, and on
+seeing him, stopped dead where she was, holding Lauriston back. The man,
+leisurely smoking his cigar, was chatting to another man, who, from the
+fact that he was carrying a small suit-case in one hand and a rug over the
+other arm, had evidently come in by the just-arrived express. "Yes!" she
+continued. "That's the man! And--we've just got to follow him wherever he
+goes!"
+
+"What on earth for?" asked Lauriston. "What mystery's this? Who is he?"
+
+At that moment the two men parted, with a cordial handshake; the man of
+the suit-case and the rug turned towards the stairs which led to the
+underground railway; the other man walked slowly away through the front of
+the station in the direction of the Great Northern Hotel. And Zillah
+immediately dragged Lauriston after him, keeping a few yards' distance,
+but going persistently forward. The man in front crossed the road, and
+strode towards the portico of the hotel--and Zillah suddenly made up her
+mind.
+
+"We've got to speak to that man!" she said. "Don't ask why, now--you'll
+know in a few minutes. Ask him if he'll speak to me?"
+
+Lauriston caught up the stranger as he set foot on the steps leading to
+the hotel door. He felt uncomfortable and foolish--but Zillah's tone left
+him no option but to obey.
+
+"I beg your pardon," said Lauriston, as politely as possible, "but--this
+lady is very anxious to speak to you."
+
+The man turned, glanced at Zillah, who had hurried up, and lifted his
+slouched hat with a touch of old-fashioned courtesy. There was a strong
+light burning just above them: in its glare all three looked at each
+other. The stranger smiled--a little wonderingly.
+
+"Why, sure!" he said in accents that left no doubt of his American origin.
+"I'd be most happy. You're not mistaking me for somebody else?"
+
+Zillah was already flushed with embarrassment. Now that she had run her
+quarry to earth, and so easily, she scarcely knew what to do with it.
+
+"You'll think this very strange," she said, stammeringly, "but if you
+don't mind telling me something?--you see, I saw you just now in the
+station, when you were feeling for your match-box, and I noticed that you
+wore a platinum stud--with an unusual device on it."
+
+The American laughed--a good-natured, genial laugh--and threw open his
+coat. At the same moment he thrust his wrists forward.
+
+"This stud!" he said. "That's so!--it is platinum, and the device is
+curious. And the device is right there, too, see--on those solitaire cuff-
+studs! But--"
+
+He paused looking at Zillah, whose eyes were now fastened on the cuff-
+studs, and who was obviously so astonished as to have lost her tongue.
+
+"You seemed mighty amazed at my studs!" said the stranger, with another
+laugh. "Now, you'll just excuse me if I ask--why?"
+
+Zillah regained her wits with an effort, and became as business-like as
+usual.
+
+"Don't, please, think I'm asking idle and purposeless questions," she
+said. "Have you been long in London?"
+
+"A few days only," answered the stranger, readily enough.
+
+"Have you read of what's already called the Praed Street Murder in the
+papers?" continued Zillah.
+
+"Yes--I read that," the stranger said, his face growing serious. "The
+affair of the old man--the pawnbroker with the odd name. Yes!"
+
+"I'm the old man's granddaughter," said Zillah, brusquely. "Now, I'll tell
+you why I was upset by seeing your platinum stud. A solitaire stud, made
+of platinum, and ornamented with exactly the same device as yours, was
+found in our parlour after my grandfather's death--and another, evidently
+the fellow to it, was found in an eating-house, close by. Now, do you
+understand why I wished to speak to you?"
+
+While Zillah spoke, the American's face had been growing graver and
+graver, and when she made an end, he glanced at Lauriston and shook his
+head.
+
+"Say!" he said. "That's a very serious matter! You're sure the device was
+the same, and the material platinum?"
+
+"I've been reared in the jewellery trade," replied Zillah. "The things I'm
+talking of are of platinum--and the device is precisely the same as that
+on your stud."
+
+"Well!--that's mighty queer!" remarked the American. "I can't tell you why
+it's queer, all in a minute, but I do assure you it's just about the
+queerest thing I ever heard of in my life--and I've known a lot of
+queerness. Look here!--I'm stopping at this hotel--will you come in with
+me, and we'll just get a quiet corner and talk some? Come right in, then."
+
+He led the way into the hotel, through the hall, and down a corridor from
+which several reception rooms opened. Looking into one, a small smoking
+lounge, and finding it empty, he ushered them aside. But on the threshold
+Zillah paused. Her business instincts were by this time fully aroused. She
+felt certain that whoever this stranger might he, he had nothing to do
+with the affair in Praed Street, and yet might be able to throw
+extraordinary light on it, and she wanted to take a great step towards
+clearing it up. She turned to the American.
+
+"Look here!" she said. "I've told you what I'm after, and who I am. This
+gentleman is Mr. Andrew Lauriston. Did you read his name in the paper's
+account of that inquest?"
+
+The American glanced at Lauriston with some curiosity.
+
+"Sure!" he answered. "The man that found the old gentleman dead."
+
+"Just so," said Zillah. "There are two friends of ours making enquiries on
+Mr. Lauriston's behalf at this moment. One of them's my cousin, Mr.
+Rubinstein; the other's Mr. Purdie, an old friend of Mr. Lauriston's. I've
+an idea where'll they'll be, just now--do you mind if I telephone them to
+come here, at once, so that they can hear what you have to tell us?"
+
+"Not in the least!" assented the American heartily. "I'll be glad to help
+in any way I can--I'm interested. Here!--there's a telephone box right
+there--you go in now, and call those fellows up and tell 'em to come right
+along, quick!"
+
+He and Lauriston waited while Zillah went into the telephone box: she felt
+sure that Melky and Purdie would have returned to Praed Street by that
+time, and she rang up Mrs. Goldmark at the Pawnshop to enquire. Within a
+minute or two she had rejoined Lauriston and the American--during her
+absence the stranger had been speaking to a waiter, and he now led his two
+guests to a private sitting-room.
+
+"We'll be more private in this apartment," he observed. "No fear of
+interruption or being overheard. I've told the waiter man there's two
+gentlemen coming along, and they're to be brought in here as soon as they
+land. Will they be long?"
+
+"They'll be here within twenty minutes," answered Zillah. "It's very kind
+of you to take so much trouble!"
+
+The American drew an easy chair to the fire, and pointed Zillah to it.
+
+"Well," he remarked, "I guess that in a fix of this sort, you can't take
+too much trouble! I'm interested in this case--and a good deal more than
+interested now that you tell me about these platinum studs. I reckon I can
+throw some light on that, anyway! But we'll keep it till your friends
+come. And I haven't introduced myself--my name's Stuyvesant Guyler. I'm a
+New York man--but I've knocked around some--pretty considerable, in fact.
+Say!--have you got any idea that this mystery of yours is at all connected
+with South Africa? And--incidentally--with diamonds?"
+
+Zillah started and glanced at Lauriston.
+
+"What makes you think of South Africa--and of diamonds?" she asked.
+
+"Oh, well--but that comes into my tale," answered Guyler. "You'll see in
+due course. But--had it?"
+
+"I hadn't thought of diamonds, but I certainly had of South Africa,"
+admitted Zillah.
+
+"Seems to be working in both directions," said Guyler, meditatively. "But
+you'll see that when I tell you what I know."
+
+Purdie and Melky Rubinstein entered the room within the twenty minutes
+which Zillah had predicted--full of wonder to find her and Lauriston in
+company with a total stranger. But Zillah explained matters in a few
+words, and forbade any questioning until Mr. Stuyvesant Guyler had told
+his story.
+
+"And before I get on to that," said Guyler, who had been quietly
+scrutinizing his two new visitors while Zillah explained the situation,
+"I'd just like to see that platinum solitaire that Mr. Rubinstein picked
+up--if he's got it about him?"
+
+Melky thrust a hand into a pocket.
+
+"It ain't never been off me, mister, since I found it!" he said, producing
+a little packet wrapped in tissue paper. "There you are!"
+
+Guyler took the stud which Melky handed to him and laid it on the table
+around which they were all sitting. After glancing at it for a moment, he
+withdrew the studs from his own wrist-bands and laid them by its side.
+
+"Yes, that's sure one of the lot!" he observed musingly. "I guess there's
+no possible doubt at all on that point. Well!--this is indeed mighty
+queer! Now, I'll tell you straight out. These studs--all of 'em--are parts
+of six sets of similar things, all made of that very expensive metal,
+platinum, in precisely the same fashion, and ornamented with the same
+specially invented device, and given to six men who had been of assistance
+to him in a big deal, as a little mark of his appreciation, by a man that
+some few years ago made a fortune in South Africa. That's so!"
+
+Zillah turned on the American with a sharp look of enquiry.
+
+"Who was he?" she demanded. "Tell us his name!"
+
+"His name," replied Guyler, "was Spencer Levendale--dealer in diamonds."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINETEEN
+
+
+PURDIE STANDS FIRM
+
+The effect produced by this announcement was evidently exactly that which
+the American expected, and he smiled, a little grimly, as he looked from
+one face to another. As for his hearers, they first looked at each other
+and then at him, and Guyler laughed and went on.
+
+"That makes you jump!" he said. "Well, now, at the end of that inquest
+business in the papers the other day I noticed Spencer Levendale's name
+mentioned in connection with some old book that was left, or found in Mr.
+Daniel Multenius's back-parlour. Of course, I concluded that he was the
+same Spencer Levendale I'd known out there in South Africa, five years
+ago. And to tell you the truth, I've been watching your papers, morning
+and evening, since, to see if there was any more news of him. But so far I
+haven't seen any."
+
+Purdie and Melky exchanged glances, and in response to an obvious hint
+from Melky, Purdie spoke.
+
+"We can give you some news, then," he said. "It'll be common property
+tomorrow morning. Levendale has mysteriously disappeared from his house,
+and from his usual haunts!--and nobody knows where he is. And it's
+considered that this disappearance has something to do with the Praed
+Street affair."
+
+"Sure!" assented Guyler. "That's just about a dead certainty. And in the
+Praed Street affair, these platinum stud things are going to play a good
+part, and when you and your police have got to the bottom of it, you'll
+sure find that something else has a big part, too!"
+
+"What?" asked Purdie.
+
+"Why, diamonds!" answered the American, with a quiet smile. "Just
+diamonds! Diamonds'll be at the bottom of the bag--sure!"
+
+There was a moment of surprised silence, and then Melky turned eagerly to
+the American.
+
+"Mister!" he said. "Let's be getting at something! What do you know, now,
+about this here Levendale?"
+
+"Not much," replied Guyler. "But I'm open to tell what I do know. I've
+been a bit of a rolling stone, do you see--knocked about the world, pretty
+considerable, doing one thing and another, and I've falsified the old
+saying, for I've contrived to gather a good bit of moss in my rollings.
+Well, now, I was located in Cape Town for a while, some five years ago,
+and I met Spencer Levendale there. He was then a dealer in diamonds--can't
+say in what way exactly--for I never exactly knew--but it was well known
+that he'd made a big pile, buying and selling these goods, and he was a
+very rich man. Now I and five other men--all of different nationalities--
+were very useful to Levendale in a big deal that he was anxious to carry
+through--never mind what it was--and he felt pretty grateful to us, I
+reckon. And as we were all warmish men so far as money was concerned, it
+wasn't the sort of thing that he could hand out cheques for, so he hit on
+the notion of having sets of studs made of platinum--which is, as you're
+aware, the most valuable metal known, and on every stud he had a device of
+his own invention carefully engraved. Here's my set!--and what Mr.
+Rubinstein's got there is part of another. Now, then, who's the man who's
+been dropping his cuff-links about?"
+
+Purdie, who had listened with deep attention to the American's statement,
+immediately put a question.
+
+"That's but answered by asking you something," he said. "You no doubt know
+the names of the men to whom those sets of studs were given?"
+
+But to Purdie's disappointment, the American shook his head.
+
+"Well, now, I just don't!" he replied. "The fact is--as you would
+understand if you knew the circumstances--this was a queer sort of a
+secret deal, in which the assistance of various men of different
+nationality was wanted, and none of us knew any of the rest. However, I
+did come across the Englishman who was in it--afterwards. Recognized him,
+as a matter of fact, by his being in possession of those studs."
+
+"And who was he?" asked Purdie.
+
+"A man named Purvis--Stephen Purvis," answered Guyler. "Sort of man like
+myself--knocked around, taking up this and that, as long as there was
+money in it. I came across him in Johannesburg, maybe a year after that
+deal I was telling of. He didn't know who the other fellows were,
+neither."
+
+"You've never seen him since?" suggested Purdie. "You don't know where he
+is?"
+
+"Not a ghost of a notion!" said Guyler. "Didn't talk with him more than
+once, and then only for an hour or so."
+
+"Mister!" exclaimed Melky, eagerly. "Could you describe this here Purvis,
+now? Just a bit of a description, like?"
+
+"Sure!" answered the American. "That is--as I remember him. Biggish, raw-
+boned, hard-bitten sort of a man--about my age--clean-shaven--looked more
+of a Colonial than an Englishman--he'd been out in South Africa, doing one
+thing and another, since he was a boy."
+
+"S'elp me if that doesn't sound like the man who was in Mrs. Goldmark's
+restaurant!" said Melky. "Just what she describes, anyhow!"
+
+"Why, certainly--I reckon that is the man," remarked Guyler. "That's what
+I've been figuring on, all through. I tell you all this mystery is around
+some diamond affair in which this lady's grandfather, and Mr. Spencer
+Levendale, and this man Purvis have been mixed up--sure! And the thing--in
+my humble opinion--is to find both of them! Now, then, what's been done,
+and what's being done, in that way?"
+
+Melky nodded at Purdie, as much as to invite him to speak.
+
+"The authorities at New Scotland Yard have the Levendale affair in hand,"
+said Purdie. "We've been in and out there, with Mr. Multenius's solicitor,
+all the afternoon and evening. But, of course, we couldn't tell anything
+about this other man because we didn't know anything, till now. You'll
+have no objection to going there tomorrow?"
+
+"Not at all!" replied Guyler, cheerfully. "I'm located at this hotel for a
+week or two. I struck it when I came here from the North, a few days back,
+and it suits me very well, and I guess I'll just stop here while I'm in
+London this journey. No, I've no objection to take a hand. But--it seems
+to me--there's still a lot of difficulty about this young gentleman here--
+Mr. Lauriston. I read all the papers carefully, and sized up his
+predicament. Those rings, now?"
+
+Zillah suddenly remembered all that Ayscough had told her that evening.
+She had forgotten the real motive of her visit to King's Cross in her
+excitement in listening to the American's story. She now turned to Purdie
+and the other two.
+
+"I'd forgotten!" she exclaimed. "The danger's still there. Ayscough's been
+at the shop tonight. The police have had an expert examining those rings,
+and the rings in the tray. He says there are marks--private, jewellers'
+marks in the two rings which correspond with marks in our rings. In fact,
+there's no doubt of it. And now, the police are certain that the two rings
+did belong to our tray--and--and they're bent on arresting--Andie!"
+
+Lauriston flushed hotly with sheer indignation.
+
+"That's all nonsense--what the police say!" he exclaimed. "I've found out
+who gave those two rings to my mother! I can prove it! I don't care a hang
+for the police and their marks--those rings are mine!"
+
+Purdie laid a quiet hand on Lauriston's arm.
+
+"None of us know yet what you've done or found out at Peebles about the
+rings," he said. "Tell us! Just give us the brief facts."
+
+"I'm going to," answered Lauriston, still indignant. "I thought the whole
+thing over as I went down in the train. I remembered that if there was one
+person living in Peebles who would be likely to know about my mother and
+those rings, it would be an old friend of hers, Mrs. Taggart--you know
+her, John."
+
+"I know Mrs. Taggart--go on," said Purdie.
+
+"I didn't know if Mrs. Taggart was still living," continued Lauriston.
+"But I was out early this morning and I found her. She remembers the rings
+well enough: she described them accurately--what's more she told me what I
+didn't know--how they came into my mother's possession. You know as well
+as I do, John, that my father and mother weren't over well off--and my
+mother used to make a bit of extra money by letting her rooms to summer
+visitors. One summer she had a London solicitor, a Mr. Killick, staying
+there for a month--at least he came for a month, but he was taken ill, and
+he was there more than two months. My mother nursed him through his
+illness--and after he'd returned to London, he sent her those rings. And--
+if there are marks on them," concluded Lauriston, "that correspond with
+marks on the rings in that tray, all I have to say is that those marks
+must have been there when Mr. Killick bought them!--for they've never been
+out of our possession--my mother's and mine--until I took them to pawn."
+
+Zillah suddenly clapped her hands--and she and Melky exchanged significant
+glances which the others did not understand.
+
+"That's it!" she exclaimed. "That's what puzzled me at first. Now I'm not
+puzzled any more. Melky knows what I mean."
+
+"What she means, mister," assented Melky, tapping Purdie's arm, "is
+precisely what struck me at once. It's just as Mr. Lauriston here says--
+them private marks were on the rings when Mr. Killick bought them. Them
+two rings, and some of the rings in the tray what's been mentioned all
+come from the same maker! There ain't nothing wonderful in all that to me
+and my cousin Zillah there!--we've been brought up in the trade, d'ye see?
+But the police!--they're that suspicious that--well, the thing to do,
+gentlemen, is to find this here Mr. Killick."
+
+"Just so," agreed Purdie. "Where is he to be found, Andie?"
+
+But Lauriston shook his head, disappointedly.
+
+"That's just what I don't know!" he answered. "It's five and twenty years
+since he gave my mother those rings, and according to Mrs. Taggart, he was
+then a middle-aged man, so he's now getting on in years. But--if he's
+alive, I can find him."
+
+"We've got to find him," said Purdie, firmly. "In my opinion, he can give
+some evidence that'll be of more importance than the mere identifying of
+those rings--never mind what it is I'm thinking of, now. We must see to
+that tomorrow."
+
+"But in the meantime," broke in Zillah. "Andie must not go home--to Mrs.
+Flitwick's! I know what Ayscough meant tonight--and remember, all of you,
+it was private between him and myself. If he goes home, he may be
+arrested, any minute. He must be kept out of the way of the police for a
+bit, and--"
+
+Purdie rose from the table and shook his head determinedly.
+
+"No," he said. "None of that! We're going to have no running away, no
+hiding! Andie Lauriston's not going to show the least fear of the police,
+or of any of their theories. He's just going to follow my orders--and I'm
+going to take him to my hotel for the night--leave him to me! I'm going to
+see this thing right through to the finish--however it ends. Now, let's
+separate. Mr. Guyler!"
+
+"Sir?" answered the American. "At your service."
+
+"Then meet me at my hotel tomorrow morning at ten," said Purdie. "There's
+a new chapter to open."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY
+
+
+THE PARSLETT AFFAIR
+
+At a quarter past ten o'clock on the morning following Ayscough's
+revelation to Zillah, the detective was closeted with a man from the
+Criminal Investigation Department at New Scotland Yard in a private room
+at the local police station, and with them was the superior official who
+had been fetched to the pawnshop in Praed Street immediately after the
+discovery of Daniel Multenius's body by Andie Lauriston. And this official
+was stating his view of the case to the two detectives--conscious that
+neither agreed with him.
+
+"You can't get over the similarity of the markings of those rings!" he
+said confidently. "To my mind the whole thing's as plain as a pikestaff--
+the young fellow was hard up--he confessed he hadn't a penny on him!--he
+went in there, found the shop empty, saw those rings, grabbed a couple,
+was interrupted by the old man--and finished him off by scragging him!
+That's my opinion! And I advise getting a warrant for him and getting on
+with the work--all the rest of this business belongs to something else."
+
+Ayscough silently glanced at the man from New Scotland Yard--who shook his
+head in a decided negative.
+
+"That's not my opinion!" he said with decision. "And it's not the opinion
+of the people at headquarters. We were at this affair nearly all
+yesterday afternoon with that little Jew fellow, Rubinstein, and the young
+Scotch gentleman, Mr. Purdie, and our conclusion is that there's something
+of a big sort behind old Multenius's death. There's a regular web of
+mystery! The old man's death--that book, which Levendale did not leave in
+the 'bus, in spite of all he says, and of his advertisements!--Levendale's
+unexplained disappearance--the strange death of this man Parslett--the
+mystery of those platinum studs dropped in the pawnbroker's parlour and in
+Mrs. Goldmark's eating house--no!--the whole affair's a highly complicated
+one. That's my view of it."
+
+"And mine," said Ayscough. He looked at the unbelieving official, and
+turned away from him to glance out of the window into the street. "May I
+never!" he suddenly exclaimed. "There's young Lauriston coming here, and
+Purdie with him--and a fellow who looks like an American. I should say
+Lauriston's got proof about his title to those rings--anyway, he seems to
+have no fear about showing himself here--case of walking straight into the
+lions' den, eh?"
+
+"Bring 'em all in!" ordered the superior official, a little surlily.
+"Let's hear what it's all about!"
+
+Purdie presently appeared in Ayscough's rear, preceding his two
+companions. He and the detective from New Scotland Yard exchanged nods;
+they had seen a good deal of each other the previous day. He nodded also
+to the superior official--but the superior official looked at Lauriston.
+
+"Got that proof about those rings?" he enquired. "Of course, if you
+have--"
+
+"Before Mr. Lauriston says anything about that," interrupted Purdie, "I
+want you to hear a story which this gentleman, Mr. Stuyvesant Guyler, of
+New York, can tell you. It's important--it bears right on this affair. If
+you just listen to what he can tell--"
+
+The two detectives listened to Guyler's story about the platinum studs
+with eager, if silent interest: in the end they glanced at each other and
+then at the local official, who seemed to be going through a process of
+being convinced against his will.
+
+"Just what I said a few minutes ago," muttered the New Scotland Yard man.
+"A highly complicated affair! Not going to be got at in five minutes."
+
+"Nor in ten!" said Ayscough laconically. He glanced at Guyler. "You could
+identify this man Purvis if you saw him?" he asked.
+
+"Why, certainly!" answered the American. "I guess if he's the man who was
+seen in that eating-house the other day he's not altered any--or not
+much."
+
+The man at the desk turned to Purdie, glancing at Lauriston.
+
+"About those rings?" he asked. "What's Mr. Lauriston got to say?"
+
+"Let me tell," said Purdie, as Lauriston was about to speak. "Mr.
+Lauriston," he went on, "has been to Peebles, where his father and mother
+lived. He has seen an old friend of theirs, Mrs. Taggart, who remembers
+the rings perfectly. Moreover, she knows that they were given to the late
+Mrs. Lauriston by a Mr. Edward Killick, a London solicitor, who, of
+course, will be able to identify them. As to the marks, I think you'll
+find a trade explanation of that--those rings and the rings in Multenius's
+tray probably came from the same maker. Now, I find, on looking through
+the directory, that this Mr. Edward Killick has retired from practice, but
+I've also found out where he now lives, and I propose to bring him here.
+In the meantime--I want to know what you're going to do about Mr.
+Lauriston? Here he is!"
+
+The superior official glanced at the New Scotland Yard man.
+
+"I suppose your people have taken this job entirely in hand, now?" he
+asked.
+
+"Entirely!" answered the detective.
+
+"Got any instructions about Mr. Lauriston?" asked the official. "You
+haven't? Mr. Lauriston's free to go where he likes, then, as far as we're
+concerned, here," he added, turning to Purdie. "But--he'd far better stay
+at hand till all this is cleared up."
+
+"That's our intention," said Purdie. "Whenever you want Mr. Lauriston,
+come to me at my hotel--he's my guest there, and I'll produce him. Now
+we're going to find Mr. Killick."
+
+He and Lauriston and Guyler walked out together; on the steps of the
+police-station Ayscough called him back.
+
+"I say!" he said, confidentially. "Leave that Mr. Killick business alone
+for an hour or two. I can tell you of something much more interesting than
+that, and possibly of more importance. Go round to the Coroner's Court--
+Mr. Lauriston knows where it is."
+
+"What's on?" asked Lauriston.
+
+"Inquest on that man Parslett," replied Ayscough with a meaning nod.
+"You'll hear some queer evidence if I'm not mistaken. I'm going there
+myself, presently."
+
+He turned in again, and the three young men looked at each other.
+
+"Say!" remarked Guyler, "I reckon that's good advice. Let's go to this
+court."
+
+Lauriston led them to the scene of his own recent examination by Mr.
+Parminter. But on this occasion the court was crowded; it was with great
+difficulty that they contrived to squeeze themselves into a corner of it.
+In another corner, but far away from their own, Lauriston saw Melky
+Rubinstein; Melky, wedged in, and finding it impossible to move, made a
+grimace at Lauriston and jerked his thumb in the direction of the door, as
+a signal that he would meet him there when the proceedings were over.
+
+The inquest had already begun when Purdie and his companions forced their
+way into the court. In the witness-box was the dead man's widow--a
+pathetic figure in heavy mourning, who was telling the Coroner that on the
+night of her husband's death he went out late in the evening--just to take
+a walk round, as he expressed it. No--she had no idea whatever of where he
+was going, nor if he had any particular object in going out at all. He had
+not said one word to her about going out to get money from any one. After
+he went out she never saw him again until she was fetched to St. Mary's
+Hospital, where she found him in the hands of the doctors. He died,
+without having regained consciousness, just after she reached the
+hospital.
+
+Nothing very startling so far, thought Purdie, at the end of the widow's
+evidence, and he wondered why Ayscough had sent them round. But more
+interest came with the next witness--a smart, bustling, middle-aged man,
+evidently a well-to-do business man, who entered the box pretty much as if
+he had been sitting down in his own office, to ring his bell and ask for
+the day's letters. A whisper running round the court informed the
+onlookers that this was the gentleman who picked Parslett up in the
+street. Purdie and his two companions pricked their ears.
+
+Martin James Gardiner--turf commission agent--resident in Portsdown Road,
+Maida Vale. Had lived there several years--knew the district well--did not
+know the dead man by sight at all--had never seen him, that he knew of,
+until the evening in question.
+
+"Tell us exactly what happened, Mr. Gardiner--in your own way," said the
+Coroner.
+
+Mr. Gardiner leaned over the front of the witness-box, and took the court
+and the public into his confidence--genially.
+
+"I was writing letters until pretty late that night," he said. "A little
+after eleven o'clock I went out to post them at the nearest pillar-box. As
+I went down the steps of my house, the deceased passed by. He was walking
+down Portsdown Road in the direction of Clifton Road. As he passed me, he
+was chuckling--laughing in a low tone. I thought he was--well, a bit
+intoxicated when I heard that, but as I was following him pretty closely,
+I soon saw that he walked straight enough. He kept perhaps six or eight
+yards in front of me until we had come to within twenty yards or so of the
+corner of Clifton Road. Then, all of a sudden--so suddenly that it's
+difficult for me to describe it!--he seemed to--well, there's no other
+word for it than--collapse. He seemed to give, you understand--shrank up,
+like--like a concertina being suddenly shut up! His knees gave--his whole
+body seemed to shrink--and he fell in a heap on the pavement!"
+
+"Did he cry out--scream, as if in sudden pain--anything of that sort?"
+asked the Coroner.
+
+"There was a sort of gurgling sound--I'm not sure that he didn't say a
+word or two, as he collapsed," answered the witness. "But it was so sudden
+that I couldn't catch anything definite. He certainly never made the
+slightest sound, except a queer sort of moaning, very low, from the time
+he fell. Of course, I thought the man had fallen in a fit. I rushed to
+him; he was lying, sort of crumpled up, where he had fallen. There was a
+street-lamp close by--I saw that his face had turned a queer colour, and
+his eyes were already closed--tightly. I noticed, too, that his teeth were
+clenched, and his fingers twisted into the palms of his hands."
+
+"Was he writhing at all--making any movement?" enquired the Coroner.
+
+"Not a movement! He was as still as the stones he was lying on!" said the
+witness. "I'm dead certain he never moved after he fell. There was nobody
+about, just then, and I was just going to ring the bell of the nearest
+house when a policeman came round the corner. I shouted to him--he came
+up. We examined the man for a minute; then I ran to fetch Dr. Mirandolet,
+whose surgery is close by there. I found him in; he came at once, and
+immediately ordered the man's removal to the hospital. The policeman got
+help, and the man was taken off. Dr. Mirandolet went with him. I returned
+home."
+
+No questions of any importance were asked of Mr. Gardiner, and the
+Coroner, after a short interchange of whispers with his officer, glanced
+at a group of professional-looking men behind the witness-box.
+
+"Call Dr. Mirandolet!" he directed.
+
+Purdie at that moment caught Ayscough's eye. And the detective winked at
+him significantly as a strange and curious figure came out from the crowd
+and stepped into the witness-box.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
+
+
+WHAT MANNER OF DEATH?
+
+One of the three companions who stood curiously gazing at the new witness
+as he came into full view of the court had seen him before. Lauriston,
+who, during his residence in Paddington, had wandered a good deal about
+Maida Vale and St. John's Wood, instantly recognized Dr. Mirandolet as a
+man whom he had often met or passed in those excursions and about whom he
+had just as often wondered. He was a notable and somewhat queer figure--a
+tall, spare man, of striking presence and distinctive personality--the
+sort of man who would inevitably attract attention wherever he was, and at
+whom people would turn to look in the most crowded street. His aquiline
+features, almost cadaverous complexion, and flashing, deep-set eyes, were
+framed in a mass of raven-black hair which fell in masses over a loosely
+fitting, unstarched collar, kept in its place by a voluminous black silk
+cravat; his thin figure, all the sparer in appearance because of his broad
+shoulders and big head, was wrapped from head to foot in a mighty cloak,
+raven-black as his hair, from the neck of which depended a hood-like cape.
+Not a man in that court would have taken Dr. Mirandolet for anything but a
+foreigner, and for a foreigner who knew next to nothing of England and the
+English, and John Purdie, whose interest was now thoroughly aroused, was
+surprised as he heard the witness's answer to the necessary preliminary
+questions.
+
+Nicholas Mirandolet--British subject--born in Malta--educated in England--
+a licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons and of the Royal College of
+Physicians--in private practice at Portsdown Road, Maida Vale, for the
+last ten years.
+
+"I believe you were called to the deceased by the last witness, Dr.
+Mirandolet?" asked the Coroner. "Just so! Will you tell us what you
+found?"
+
+"I found the deceased lying on the pavement, about a dozen yards from my
+house," answered Dr. Mirandolet, in a sharp, staccato voice. "A policeman
+was bending over him. Mr. Gardiner hurriedly told us what he had seen. My
+first thought was that the man was in what is commonly termed a fit--some
+form of epileptic seizure, you know. I hastily examined him--and found
+that my first impression was utterly wrong."
+
+"What did you think--then?" enquired the Coroner.
+
+Dr. Mirandolet paused and began to drum the edge of the witness-box with
+the tips of his long, slender white fingers. He pursed his clean-shaven
+lips and looked meditatively around him--leisurely surveying the faces
+turned on him. Finally he glanced at the Coroner, and snapped out a reply.
+
+"I do not know what I thought!"
+
+The Coroner looked up from his notes--in surprise.
+
+"You--don't know what you thought?" he asked.
+
+"No!" said Dr. Mirandolet. "I don't. And I will tell you why. Because I
+realized--more quickly than it takes me to tell it--that here was
+something that was utterly beyond my comprehension!"
+
+"Do you mean--beyond your skill?" suggested the Coroner.
+
+"Skill?" retorted the witness, with a queer, twisting grimace. "Beyond my
+understanding! I am a quick observer--I saw within a few seconds that here
+was a man who had literally been struck down in the very flush of life as
+if--well, to put it plainly, as if some extraordinary power had laid a
+blasting finger on the very life-centre within him. I was--dumfounded!"
+
+The Coroner sat up and laid aside his pen.
+
+"What did you do?" he asked quietly.
+
+"Bade the policeman get help, and an ambulance, and hurry the man to St.
+Mary's Hospital, all as quickly as possible," answered Dr. Mirandolet.
+"While the policeman was away, I examined the man more closely. He was
+dying then--and I knew very well that nothing known to medical science
+could save him. By that time he had become perfectly quiet; his body had
+relaxed into a normal position; his face, curiously coloured when I first
+saw it, had become placid and pale; he breathed regularly, though very
+faintly--and he was steadily dying. I knew quite well what was happening,
+and I remarked to Mr. Gardiner that the man would be dead within half-an-
+hour."
+
+"I believe you got him to the hospital within that time?" asked the
+Coroner.
+
+"Yes--within twenty-five minutes of my first seeing him," said the
+witness. "I went with the ambulance. The man died very soon after
+admission, just as I knew he would. No medical power on earth could have
+saved him!"
+
+The Coroner glanced at the little knot of professional men in the rear of
+the witness-box and seemed to be debating within himself as to whether he
+wanted to ask Dr. Mirandolet any more questions. Eventually he turned
+again to him.
+
+"What your evidence amounts to, Dr. Mirandolet, is this," he said. "You
+were called to the man and you saw at once that you yourself could do
+nothing for him, so you got him away to the hospital as quickly as you
+possibly could. Just so!--now, why did you think you could do nothing for
+him?"
+
+"I will tell you--in plain words," answered Dr. Mirandolet. "Because I did
+not recognize or understand one single symptom that I saw! Because,
+frankly, I knew very well that I did not know what was the matter! And so
+--I hurried him to people who ought to know more than I do and are
+reputedly cleverer than I am. In short--I recognized that I was in the
+presence of something--something!--utterly beyond my skill and
+comprehension!"
+
+"Let me ask you one or two further questions," said the Coroner. "Have you
+formed any opinion of your own as to the cause of this man's death?"
+
+"Yes!" agreed the witness, unhesitatingly. "I have! I believe him to have
+been poisoned--in a most subtle and cunning fashion. And"--here Dr.
+Mirandolet cast a side-glance at the knot of men behind him--"I shall be
+intensely surprised if that opinion is not corroborated. But--I shall be
+ten thousand times more surprised if there is any expert in Europe who can
+say what that poison was!"
+
+"You think it was a secret poison?" suggested the Coroner.
+
+"Secret!" exclaimed Dr. Mirandolet. "Aye--secret is the word. Secret--yes!
+And--sure!"
+
+"Is there anything else you can tell us?" asked the Coroner.
+
+"Only this," replied the witness, after a pause. "It may be material. As I
+bent over this man as he lay there on the pavement I detected a certain
+curious aromatic odour about his clothes. It was strong at first; it
+gradually wore off. But I directed the attention of the policeman and Mr.
+Gardiner to it; it was still hanging about him, very faintly, when we got
+him to the hospital: I drew attention to it there."
+
+"It evidently struck you--that curious odour?" said the Coroner.
+
+"Yes," answered Dr. Mirandolet. "It did. It reminded me of the East--I
+have lived in the East--India, Burmah, China. It seemed to me that this
+man had got hold of some Eastern scent, and possibly spilt some on his
+clothes. The matter is worth noting. Because--I have heard--I cannot say I
+have known--of men being poisoned in inhalation."
+
+The Coroner made no remark--it was very evident from his manner that he
+considered Dr. Mirandolet's evidence somewhat mystifying. And Dr.
+Mirandolet stepped down--and in response to the official invitation Dr.
+John Sperling-Lawson walked into the vacated witness-box.
+
+"One of the greatest authorities on poisons living," whispered Lauriston
+to Purdie, while Dr. Sperling-Lawson was taking the oath and answering the
+formal questions. "He's principal pathologist at that hospital they're
+talking about, and he constantly figures in cases of this sort. He's
+employed by the Home Office too--it was he who gave such important
+evidence in that Barnsbury murder case not so long since--don't you
+remember it?"
+
+Purdie did remember, and he looked at the famous expert with great
+interest. There was, however, nothing at all remarkable about Dr.
+Sperling-Lawson's appearance--he was a quiet, self-possessed, plain-faced
+gentleman who might have been a barrister or a banker for all that any one
+could tell to the contrary. He gave his evidence in a matter-of-fact tone
+--strongly in contrast to Dr. Mirandolet's somewhat excited answers--but
+Purdie noticed that the people in court listened eagerly for every word.
+
+He happened to be at the hospital, said Dr. Sperling-Lawson, when the man
+Parslett was brought in, and he saw him die. He fully agreed with Dr.
+Mirandolet that it was impossible to do anything to save the man's life
+when he was brought to the hospital, and he was quite prepared to say that
+the impossibility had existed from the moment in which Gardiner had seen
+Parslett collapse. In other words, when Parslett did collapse, death was
+on him.
+
+"And--the cause of death?" asked the Coroner.
+
+"Heart failure," replied the witness.
+
+"Resulting from--what?" continued the Coroner.
+
+Dr. Sperling-Lawson hesitated a moment--amidst a deep silence.
+
+"I cannot answer that question," he said at last. "I can only offer an
+opinion. I believe--in fact, I am sure!--the man was poisoned. I am
+convinced he was poisoned. But I am forced to admit that I do not know
+what poison was used, and that after a most careful search I have not yet
+been able to come across any trace or sign of any poison known to me. All
+the same, I am sure he died from the effects of poison, but what it was,
+or how administered, frankly, I do not know!"
+
+"You made a post-mortem examination?" asked the Coroner.
+
+"Yes," replied the specialist, "in company with Dr. Seracold. The deceased
+was a thoroughly healthy, well-nourished man. There was not a trace of
+disease in any of the organs--he was evidently a temperate man, and likely
+to live to over the seventy years' period. And, as I have said, there was
+not a trace of poison. That is, not a trace of any poison known to me."
+
+"I want to ask you a particularly important question," said the Coroner.
+"Are there poisons, the nature of which you are unacquainted with?"
+
+"Yes!" answered the specialist frankly. "There are. But--I should not
+expect to hear of their use in London."
+
+"Is there any European expert who might throw some light on this case?"
+asked the Coroner.
+
+"Yes," said Dr. Sperling-Lawson. "One man--Professor Gagnard, of Paris. As
+a matter of fact, I have already sent certain portions of certain organs
+to him--by a special messenger. If he cannot trace this poison, then no
+European nor American specialist can. I am sure of this--the secret is an
+Eastern one."
+
+"Gentlemen," said the Coroner, "we will adjourn for a week. By that time
+there may be a report from Paris."
+
+The crowd surged out into the damp November morning, eagerly discussing
+the evidence just given. Purdie, Lauriston, and Guyler, all equally
+mystified, followed, already beginning to speculate and to theorize.
+Suddenly Melky Rubinstein hurried up to them, waving a note.
+
+"There was a fellow waiting outside with this from Zillah," said Melky.
+"She'd heard you were all here, and she knew I was. We're to go there at
+once--she's found some letters to her grandfather from that man Purvis!
+Come on!--it's another step forward!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
+
+
+MR. KILLICK GOES BACK
+
+Ayscough and the man from New Scotland Yard came out of the court at that
+moment in close and serious conversation: Melky Rubinstein left the other
+three, and hurried to the two detectives with his news; together, the six
+men set off for Praed Street. And Purdie, who by this time was developing
+as much excited interest as his temperament and business habits permitted,
+buttonholed the Scotland Yard man and walked alongside him.
+
+"What's your professional opinion about what we've just heard in there?"
+he asked. "Between ourselves, of course."
+
+The detective, who had already had several long conversations with Purdie
+at headquarters during the previous afternoon and evening, and knew him
+for a well-to-do young gentleman who was anxious to clear his friend
+Lauriston of all suspicion, shook his head. He was a quiet, sagacious,
+middle-aged man who evidently thought deeply about whatever he had in
+hand.
+
+"It's difficult to say, Mr. Purdie," he answered. "I've no doubt that when
+we get to the bottom of this case it'll turn out to be a very simple one--
+but the thing is to get to the bottom. The ways are complicated, sir--
+uncommonly so! At present we're in a maze--seeking the right path."
+
+"Do you think that this Parslett affair has anything to do with the
+Multenius affair?" asked Purdie.
+
+"Yes--undoubtedly!" answered the detective. "There's no doubt whatever in
+my own mind that the man who poisoned Parslett is the man who caused the
+old pawnbroker's death--none! I figure it in this way. Parslett somehow,
+caught a glimpse of that man leaving Multenius's shop--by the side-door,
+no doubt--and knew him--knew him very well, mind you! When Parslett heard
+of what had happened in Multenius's back-parlour, he kept his knowledge to
+himself, and went and blackmailed the man. The man gave him that fifty
+pounds in gold to keep his tongue quiet--no doubt arranging to give him
+more, later on--and at the same time he cleverly poisoned him. That's my
+theory, Mr. Purdie."
+
+"Then--the only question now is--who's the man?" suggested Purdie.
+
+"That's it, sir--who's the man?" agreed the detective. "One thing's quite
+certain--if my theory's correct. He's a clever man--and an expert in the
+use of poisons."
+
+Purdie walked on a minute or two in silence, thinking.
+
+"It's no use beating about the bush," he said at last. "Do you suspect Mr.
+Levendale--after all you've collected in information--and after what I
+told you about what his butler saw--that bottle and phial?"
+
+"I think that Levendale's in it," replied the detective, cautiously. "I'm
+sure he's in it--in some fashion. Our people are making no end of
+enquiries about him this morning, in various quarters--there's half-a-
+dozen of our best men at work in the City and the West End, Mr. Purdie.
+He's got to be found! So, too, has this man Stephen Purvis--whoever he is.
+We must find him, too."
+
+"Perhaps these letters that Melky Rubinstein speaks of may throw some
+light on that," said Purdie. "There must be some way of tracing him,
+somewhere."
+
+They were at the pawnshop by that time, and all six trooped in at the
+side-entrance. Old Daniel Multenius, unconscious of all the fuss and
+bother which his death had caused, was to be quietly interred that
+afternoon, and Zillah and Melky were already in their mourning garments.
+But Zillah had lost none of her business habits and instincts, and while
+the faithful Mrs. Goldmark attended to the funeral guests in the upstairs
+regions, she herself was waiting in the back-parlour for these other
+visitors. On the table before her, evidently placed there for inspection,
+lay three objects to which she at once drew attention--one, an old-
+fashioned, double-breasted fancy waistcoat, evidently of considerable age,
+and much worn, the others, two letters written on foreign notepaper.
+
+"It never occurred to me," said Zillah, plunging into business at once,
+"at least, until an hour or two ago, to examine the clothes my grandfather
+was wearing at the time of his death. As a matter of fact he'd been
+wearing the same clothes for months. I've been through all his pockets.
+There was nothing of importance--except these letters. I found those in a
+pocket in the inside of that waistcoat--there! Read them."
+
+The men bent over the unfolded letters, and Ayscough read them aloud.
+
+"MACPHERSON'S HOTEL, CAPE TOWN,
+
+"_September 17th_, 1912.
+
+"Dear Sir,--I have sent the little article about which I have already
+written you and Mr. L. fully, to your address by ordinary registered post.
+Better put it in your bank till I arrive--shall write you later about date
+of my arrival. Faithfully yours,
+
+"Stephen Purvis."
+
+"That," remarked Ayscough, glancing at the rest, "clearly refers to
+whatever it was that Mr. Multenius took from his bank on the morning of
+his death. It also refers to Mr. Levendale--without doubt."
+
+He drew the other letter to him and read it out.
+
+"CAPE TOWN,
+
+"_October 10th_, 1912.
+
+"Dear Sir,--Just a line to say I leave here by s.s. _Golconda_ in a
+day or two--this precedes me by today's mail. I hope to be in England
+November 15th--due then, anyway--and shall call on you immediately on
+arrival. Better arrange to have Mr. S. L. to meet you and me at once.
+Faithfully,
+
+"Stephen Purvis."
+
+"November 15th?" remarked Ayscough. "Mr. Multenius died on November 19th.
+So--if Purvis did reach here on the 15th he'd probably been about this
+quarter before the 19th. We know he was at Mrs. Goldmark's restaurant on
+the 18th, anyway! All right, Miss Wildrose--we'll take these letters with
+us."
+
+Lauriston stopped behind when the rest of the men went out--to exchange a
+few words alone with Zillah. When he went into the street, all had gone
+except Purdie, who was talking with Melky at the entrance to the side-
+alley.
+
+"That's the sure tip at present, mister," Melky was saying. "Get that
+done--clear that up. Mr. Lauriston," he went on, "you do what your friend
+says--we're sorting things out piece by piece."
+
+Purdie took Lauriston's arm and led him away.
+
+"What Melky says is--go and find out what Mr. Killick can prove," he said.
+"Best thing to do, too, Andie, for us. Now that these detectives are
+fairly on the hunt, and are in possession of a whole multitude of queer
+details and facts, we'll just do our bit of business--which is to clear
+you entirely. There's more reasons than one why we should do that, my
+man!"
+
+"What're you talking about, John?" demanded Lauriston. "You've some idea
+in that head of yours!"
+
+"The idea that you and that girl are in love with each other!" said Purdie
+with a sly look.
+
+"I'll not deny that!" asserted Lauriston, with an ingenuous blush. "We
+are!"
+
+"Well, you can't ask any girl to marry you, man, while there's the least
+bit of suspicion hanging over you that you'd a hand in her grandfather's
+death!" remarked Purdie sapiently. "So we'll just eat a bit of lunch
+together, and then get a taxi-cab and drive out to find this old gentleman
+that gave your mother the rings. Come on to the hotel."
+
+"You're spending a fine lot of money over me, John!" exclaimed Lauriston.
+
+"Put it down that I'm a selfish chap that's got interested, and is
+following his own pleasure!" said Purdie. "Man alive!--I was never mixed
+up in a detective case before--it beats hunting for animals, this hunting
+for men!"
+
+By a diligent search in directories and reference books early that
+morning, Purdie and Lauriston had managed to trace Mr. Edward Killick,
+who, having been at one time a well-known solicitor in the City, had
+followed the practice of successful men and retired to enjoy the fruit of
+his labours in a nice little retreat in the country. Mr. Killick had
+selected the delightful old-world village of Stanmore as the scene of his
+retirement, and there, in a picturesque old house, set in the midst of
+fine trees and carefully trimmed lawns, Purdie and Lauriston found him--a
+hale and hearty old gentleman, still on the right side of seventy, who
+rose from his easy chair in a well-stocked library to look in astonishment
+from the two cards which his servant had carried to him at the persons and
+faces of their presenters.
+
+"God bless my soul!" he exclaimed. "Are you two young fellows the sons of
+old friends of mine at Peebles?"
+
+"We are, sir," answered Purdie. "This is Andrew Lauriston, and I am John
+Purdie. And we're very glad to find that you remember something about our
+people, Mr. Killick."
+
+Mr. Killick again blessed himself, and after warmly shaking hands with his
+visitors, bade them sit down. He adjusted his spectacles, and looked both
+young men carefully over.
+
+"I remember your people very well indeed!" he said. "I used to do a bit of
+fishing in the Tweed and in Eddleston Water with your father, Mr. Purdie--
+and I stopped some time with your father and mother, at their house, Mr.
+Lauriston. In fact, your mother was remarkably kind to me--she nursed me
+through an illness with which I was seized when I was in Peebles."
+
+Lauriston and Purdie exchanged glances--by common consent Purdie became
+spokesman for the two.
+
+"Mr. Killick," he said, "it's precisely about a matter arising out of that
+illness of yours that we came to see you! Let me explain something first--
+Andie Lauriston here has been living in London for two years--he's a
+literary gift, and he hopes to make a name, and perhaps a fortune. I've
+succeeded to my father's business, and I'm only here in London on a visit.
+And it's well I came, for Andie wanted a friend. Now, Mr. Killick, before
+I go further--have you read in the newspapers about what's called the
+Praed Street Mystery?"
+
+The old gentleman shook his head.
+
+"My dear young sir!" he answered, waving his hand towards his books. "I'm
+not a great newspaper reader--except for a bit of politics. I never read
+about mysteries--I've wrapped myself up in antiquarian pursuits since I
+retired. No!--I haven't read about the Praed Street Mystery--nor even
+heard of it! I hope neither of you are mixed up in it?"
+
+"Considerably!" answered Purdie. "In more ways than one. And you can be of
+great help. Mr. Killick--when you left Peebles after your illness, you
+sent Mrs. Lauriston a present of two valuable rings. Do you remember?"
+
+"Perfectly--of course!" replied the old gentleman. "To be sure!"
+
+"Can you remember, too, from whom you bought those rings?" enquired Purdie
+eagerly.
+
+"Yes!--as if it were yesterday!" said Mr. Killick. "I bought them from a
+City jeweller whom I knew very well at that time--a man named Daniel
+Molteno!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
+
+
+MR. KILLICK'S OPINION
+
+The old solicitor's trained eye and quick intelligence saw at once that
+this announcement immediately conveyed some significant meaning to his two
+young visitors. Purdie and Lauriston, in fact, had immediately been struck
+by the similarity of the names Molteno and Multenius, and they exchanged
+another look which their host detected and knew to convey a meaning. He
+leaned forward in his chair.
+
+"Now, that strikes you--both!" he said. "What's all this about? Better
+give me your confidence."
+
+"That's precisely what we came here to do, sir," responded Purdie, with
+alacrity. "And with your permission I'll tell you the whole story. It's a
+long one, and a complicated one, Mr. Killick!--but I daresay you've heard
+many intricate stories in the course of your legal experience, and you'll
+no doubt be able to see points in this that we haven't seen. Well, it's
+this way--and I'll begin at the beginning."
+
+The old gentleman sat in an attitude of patient and watchful attention
+while Purdie, occasionally prompted and supplemented by Lauriston, told
+the whole story of the Praed Street affair, from Lauriston's first visit
+to the pawnshop up to the events of that morning. Once or twice he asked a
+question; one or twice he begged the narrator to pause while he considered
+a point: in the end he drew out his watch--after which he glanced out of
+his window.
+
+"Do I gather that the taxi-cab which I see outside there is being kept by
+you two young men?" he asked.
+
+"It is," answered Purdie. "It's important that we should lose no time in
+getting back to town, Mr. Killick."
+
+"Just so!" agreed Mr. Killick, moving towards his library door. "But I'm
+going with you--as soon as I've got myself into an overcoat. Now!" he
+added, a few minutes later, when all three went out to the cab. "Tell the
+man to drive us straight to that police-station you've been visiting of
+late--and till we get there, just let me think quietly--I can probably say
+more about this case than I'm yet aware of. But--if it will give you any
+relief, I can tell you this at once--I have a good deal to tell. Strange!
+--strange indeed how things come round, and what a small world this is,
+after all!"
+
+With this cryptic utterance Mr. Killick sank into a corner of the cab,
+where he remained, evidently lost in thought, until, nearly an hour later,
+they pulled up at the door of the police-station. Within five minutes they
+were closeted with the chief men there--amongst whom were Ayscough and the
+detective from New Scotland Yard.
+
+"You know me--or of me--some of you?" observed the old solicitor, as he
+laid a card on the desk by which he had been given a chair. "I was very
+well known in the City police-courts, you know, until I retired three
+years ago. Now, these young gentlemen have just told me all the facts of
+this very strange case, and I think I can throw some light on it--on part
+of it, anyway. First of all, let me see those two rings about which there
+has been so much enquiry."
+
+Ayscough produced the rings from a locked drawer; the rest of those
+present looked on curiously as they were examined and handled by Mr.
+Killick. It was immediately evident that he had no doubt about his
+recognition and identification of them--after a moment's inspection of
+each he pushed them back towards the detective.
+
+"Certainly!" he said with a confidence that carried conviction. "Those are
+the rings which I gave to Mrs. Lauriston, this young man's mother. I knew
+them at once. If it's necessary, I can show you the receipt which I got
+with them from the seller. The particulars are specified in that receipt--
+and I know that I still have it. Does my testimony satisfy you?"
+
+The chief official present glanced at the man from New Scotland Yard, and
+receiving a nod from him, smiled at the old solicitor.
+
+"I think we can rely on your evidence, Mr. Killick," he said. "We had to
+make certain, you know. But these marks--isn't that a curious coincidence,
+now, when you come to think of it?"
+
+"Not a bit of it!" replied Mr. Killick. "And I'll tell you why--that's
+precisely what I've come all the way from my own comfortable fireside at
+Stanmore to do! There's no coincidence at all. I've heard the whole story
+of this Praed Street affair now from these two lads. And I've no more
+doubt than I have that I see you, that the old pawnbroker whom you knew
+hereabouts as Daniel Multenius was the same man Daniel Molteno--from whom
+I bought those rings, years ago! Not the slightest doubt!"
+
+None of those present made any remark on this surprising announcement, and
+Mr. Killick went on.
+
+"I was, as some of you may know, in practice in the City--in Moorgate
+Street, as a matter of fact," he said. "Daniel Molteno was a jeweller in
+Houndsditch. I occasionally acted for him--professionally. And
+occasionally when I wanted anything in the way of jewellery, I went to his
+shop. He was then a man of about fifty, a tall, characteristically Hebraic
+sort of man, already patriarchal in appearance, though he hadn't a grey
+hair in his big black beard. He was an interesting man, profoundly learned
+in the history of precious stones. I remember buying those rings from him
+very well indeed--I remember, too, what I gave him for them--seventy-five
+pounds for the two. Those private marks inside them are, of course, his--
+and so they're just the same as his private marks inside those other rings
+in the tray. But that's not what I came here to tell you--that's merely
+preliminary."
+
+"Deeply interesting, anyway, sir," observed Ayscough. "And, maybe, very
+valuable."
+
+"Not half so valuable as what I'm going to tell you," replied Mr. Killick,
+with a dry chuckle, "Now, as I understand it, from young Mr. Purdie's
+account, you're all greatly excited at present over the undoubted
+connection with this Praed Street mystery of one Mr. Spencer Levendale,
+who is, I believe, a very rich man, a resident in one of the best parts of
+this district, and a Member of Parliament. It would appear from all you've
+discovered, amongst you, up to now, that Spencer Levendale has been
+privately mixed up with old Daniel Multenius in some business which seems
+to be connected with South Africa. Now, attend to what I say:--About the
+time that I knew Daniel Molteno in Houndsditch, Daniel Molteno had a
+partner--a junior partner, whose name, however, didn't appear over the
+shop. He was a much younger man than Daniel--in fact, he was quite a young
+man--I should say he was then about twenty-three or four--not more. He was
+of medium height, dark, typically Jewish, large dark eyes, olive skin,
+good-looking, smart, full of go. And his name--the name I knew him by--was
+Sam Levin." The other men in the room glanced at each other--and one of
+them softly murmured what all was thinking.
+
+"The same initials!"
+
+"Just so!" agreed Mr. Killick. "That's what struck me--Sam Levin: Spencer
+Levendale. Very well!--I continue. One day I went to Daniel Molteno's shop
+to get something repaired, and it struck me that I hadn't seen Sam Levin
+the last two or three times I had been in. 'Where's your partner?' I asked
+of Daniel Molteno. 'I haven't seen him lately.' 'Partner no longer, Mr.
+Killick,' said he. 'We've dissolved. He's gone to South Africa.' 'What to
+do there?' I asked. 'Oh,' answered Daniel Molteno, 'he's touched with this
+fever to get at close quarters with the diamond fields! He's gone out
+there to make a fortune, and come back a millionaire.' 'Well!' I said.
+'He's a likely candidate.' 'Oh, yes!' said Daniel. 'He'll do well.' No
+more was said--and, as far as I can remember, I never saw Daniel Molteno
+again. It was some time before I had occasion to go that way--when I did,
+I was surprised to see a new name over the shop. I went in and asked where
+its former proprietor was. The new shopkeeper told me that Mr. Molteno had
+sold his business to him. And he didn't know where Mr. Molteno had gone,
+or whether he'd retired from business altogether; he knew nothing--and
+evidently didn't care, either, so--that part of my memories comes to an
+end!"
+
+"Mr. Spencer Levendale is a man of just under fifty," remarked Ayscough,
+after a thoughtful pause, "and I should say that twenty-five years ago,
+he'd be just such a man as Mr. Killick has described."
+
+"You can take it from me--considering all that I've been told this
+afternoon--" said the old solicitor, "that Spencer Levendale is Sam Levin
+--come back from South Africa, a millionaire. I'm convinced of it! And now
+then, gentlemen, what does all this mean? There's no doubt that old
+Multenius and Levendale were secretly mixed up. What in? What's the
+extraordinary mystery about that book--left in Multenius's back parlour
+and advertised for immediately by Levendale as if it were simply
+invaluable? Why has Levendale utterly disappeared? And who is this man
+Purvis--and what's he to do with it? You've got the hardest nuts to crack
+--a whole basketful of 'em!--that ever I heard of. And I've had some
+little experience of crime!"
+
+"I've had some information on Levendale and Purvis this very afternoon,"
+said Ayscough. He turned to the other officials. "I hadn't a chance of
+telling you of it before," he continued. "I was at Levendale's house at
+three o'clock, making some further enquiries. I got two pieces of news. To
+start with--that bottle out of which Levendale filled a small phial, which
+he put in his waistcoat pocket when he went out for the last time--you
+remember, Mr. Purdie, that his butler told you of that incident--well,
+that bottle contains chloroform--I took a chemist there to examine it and
+some other things. That's item one. The other's a bit of information
+volunteered by Levendale's chauffeur. The morning after Mr. Multenius's
+death, and after you, Mr. Lauriston, Mr. Rubinstein, and myself called on
+Levendale, Levendale went off to the City in his car. He ordered the
+chauffeur to go through Hyde Park, by the Victoria Gate, and to stop by
+the Powder Magazine. At the Powder Magazine he got out of the car and
+walked down towards the bridge on the Serpentine. The chauffeur had him in
+view all the way, and saw him join a tall man, clean-shaven, much browned,
+who was evidently waiting for him. They remained in conversation, at the
+entrance to the bridge, some five minutes or so--then the stranger went
+across the bridge in the direction of Kensington, and Levendale returned
+to his car. Now, in my opinion, that strange man was this Purvis we've
+heard of. And that seems to have been the last time any one we've come
+across saw him. That night, after his visit to his house, and his taking
+the phial of chloroform away with him, Levendale utterly disappeared, too
+--and yet sent a wire to his butler, from close by, next morning, saying
+he would be away for a few days! Why didn't he call with that message
+himself!"
+
+Mr. Killick, who had listened to Ayscough with close attention, laughed,
+and turned to the officials with a sharp look.
+
+"Shall I give you people a bit of my opinion after hearing all this?" he
+said. "Very well, then--Levendale never did send that wire! It was sent in
+Levendale's name--to keep things quiet. I believe that Levendale's been
+trapped--and Purvis with him!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
+
+
+THE ORANGE-YELLOW DIAMOND
+
+His various listeners had heard all that the old solicitor had said, with
+evident interest and attention--now, one of them voiced what all the rest
+was thinking.
+
+"What makes you think that, Mr. Killick?" asked the man from New Scotland
+Yard. "Why should Levendale and Purvis have been trapped?"
+
+Mr. Killick--who was obviously enjoying this return to the arena in which,
+as some of those present well knew, he had once played a distinguished
+part, as a solicitor with an extensive police-court practice--twisted
+round on his questioner with a sly, knowing glance.
+
+"You're a man of experience!" he answered. "Now come!--hasn't it struck
+you that something went before the death of old Daniel Multenius--whether
+that death arose from premeditated murder, or from sudden assault? Eh?--
+hasn't it?"
+
+"What, then?" asked the detective dubiously. "For I can't say that it has
+--definitely. What do you conjecture did go before that?"
+
+Mr. Killick thumped his stout stick on the floor.
+
+"Robbery!" he exclaimed, triumphantly. "Robbery! The old man was robbed of
+something! Probably--and there's nothing in these cases like considering
+possibilities--he caught the thief in the act of robbing him, and lost his
+life in defending his property. Now, supposing Levendale and Purvis were
+interested--financially--in that property, and set their wits to work to
+recover it, and in their efforts got into the hands of--shall we suppose a
+gang?--and got trapped? Or," concluded Mr. Killick with great emphasis and
+meaning, "for anything we know--murdered? What about that theory?"
+
+"Possible!" muttered Ayscough. "Quite possible!"
+
+"Consider this," continued the old solicitor. "Levendale is a well-known
+man--a Member of Parliament--a familiar figure in the City, where he's
+director of more than one company--the sort of man whom, in ordinary
+circumstances, you'd be able to trace in a few hours. Now, you tell me
+that half-a-dozen of your best men have been trying to track Levendale for
+two days and nights, and can't get a trace of him! What's the inference? A
+well-known man can't disappear in that way unless for some very grave
+reason! For anything we know, Levendale--and Purvis with him--may be
+safely trapped within half-a-mile of Praed Street--or, as I say, they may
+have been quietly murdered. Of one thing I'm dead certain, anyway--if you
+want to get at the bottom of this affair, you've got to find those two
+men!"
+
+"It would make a big difference if we had any idea of what it was that
+Daniel Multenius had in that packet which he fetched from his bank on the
+day of the murder," remarked Ayscough. "If there's been robbery, that may
+have been the thief's object."
+
+"That pre-supposes that the thief knew what was in the packet," said
+Purdie. "Who is there that could know? We may take it that Levendale and
+Purvis knew--but who else would?"
+
+"Aye!--and how are we to find that out?" asked the New Scotland Yard man.
+"If I only knew that much--"
+
+But even at that moment--and not from any coincidence, but from the law of
+probability to which Mr. Killick had appealed--information on that very
+point was close at hand. A constable tapped at the door, and entering,
+whispered a few words to the chief official, who having whispered back,
+turned to the rest as the man went out of the room.
+
+"Here's something likely!" he said. "There's a Mr. John Purvis, from
+Devonshire, outside. Says he's the brother of the Stephen Purvis who's
+name's been in the papers as having mysteriously disappeared, and wants
+to tell the police something. He's coming in."
+
+The men in the room turned with undisguised interest as the door opened
+again, and a big, fresh-coloured countryman, well wrapped up in a stout
+travelling coat, stepped into the room and took a sharp glance at its
+occupants. He was evidently a well-to-do farmer, this, and quite at his
+ease--but there was a certain natural anxiety in his manner as he turned
+to the official, who sat at the desk in the centre of the group.
+
+"You're aware of my business, sir?" he asked quietly.
+
+"I understand you're the brother of the Stephen Purvis we're wanting to
+find in connection with this Praed Street mystery," answered the official.
+"You've read of that in the newspaper, no doubt, Mr. Purvis? Take a seat--
+you want to tell us something? As a matter of fact, we're all discussing
+the affair!"
+
+The caller took the chair which Ayscough drew forward and sat down,
+throwing open his heavy overcoat, and revealing a whipcord riding-suit of
+light fawn beneath it.
+
+"You'll see I came here in a hurry, gentlemen," he said, with a smile.
+"I'd no thoughts of coming to London when I left my farm this morning, or
+I'd have put London clothes on! The fact is--I farm at a very out-of-the-
+way place between Moretonhampstead and Exeter, and I never see the daily
+papers except when I drive into Exeter twice a week. Now when I got in
+there this morning, I saw one or two London papers--last night's they
+were--and read about this affair. And I read enough to know that I'd best
+get here as quick as possible!--so I left all my business there and then,
+and caught the very next express to Paddington. And here I am! And now--
+have you heard anything of my brother Stephen more than what's in the
+papers? I've seen today's, on the way up."
+
+"Nothing!" answered the chief official. "Nothing at all! We've purposely
+kept the newspapers informed, and what there is in the morning's papers is
+the very latest. So--can you tell us anything?"
+
+"I can tell you all I know myself," replied John Purvis, with a solemn
+shake of his head. "And I should say it's a good deal to do with Stephen's
+disappearance--in which, of course, there's some foul play! My opinion,
+gentlemen, is that my brother's been murdered! That's about it!"
+
+No one made any remark--but Mr. Killick uttered a little murmur of
+comprehension, and nodded his head two or three times.
+
+"Murdered, poor fellow, in my opinion," continued John Purvis. "And I'll
+tell you why I think so. About November 8th or 9th--I can't be sure to a
+day--I got a telegram from Stephen, sent off from Las Palmas, in the
+Canary Islands, saying he'd be at Plymouth on the 15th, and asking me to
+meet him there. So I went to Plymouth on the morning of the 15th. His
+boat, the _Golconda_, came in at night, and we went to an hotel
+together and stopped the night there. We hadn't met for some years, and of
+course he'd a great deal to tell--but he'd one thing in particular--he'd
+struck such a piece of luck as he'd never had in his life before!--and he
+hadn't been one of the unlucky ones, either!"
+
+"What was this particular piece of luck?" asked Mr. Killick.
+
+John Purvis looked round as if to make sure of general attention.
+
+"He'd come into possession, through a fortunate bit of trading, up country
+in South Africa, of one of the finest diamonds ever discovered!" he
+answered. "I know nothing about such things, but he said it was an orange-
+yellow diamond that would weigh at least a hundred and twenty carats when
+cut, and was worth, as far as he could reckon, some eighty to ninety
+thousand pounds. Anyway, that was what he'd calculated he was going to get
+for it here in London--and what he wanted to see me about, in addition to
+telling me of his luck, was that he wanted to buy a real nice bit of
+property in Devonshire, and settle down in the old country. But--I'm
+afraid his luck's turned to a poor end! Gentlemen!--I'm certain my
+brother's been murdered for that diamond!"
+
+The police officials, as with one consent, glanced at Mr. Killick, and by
+their looks seemed to invite his assistance. The old gentleman nodded and
+turned to the caller.
+
+"Now, Mr. Purvis," he said, "just let me ask you a few questions. Did your
+brother tell you that this diamond was his own, sole property?"
+
+"He did, sir!" answered the farmer. "He said it was all his own."
+
+"Did he tell you where it was--what he had done with it?"
+
+"Yes! He said that for some years he'd traded in small parcels of such
+things with two men here in London--Multenius and Levendale--he knew both
+of them. He'd sent the diamond on in advance to Multenius, by ordinary
+registered post, rather than run the risk of carrying it himself."
+
+"I gather from that last remark that your brother had let some other
+person or persons know that he possessed this stone?" said Mr. Killick.
+"Did he mention that? It's of importance."
+
+"He mentioned no names--but he did say that one or two knew of his luck,
+and he'd an idea that he'd been watched in Cape Town, and followed on the
+_Golconda_," replied John Purvis. "He laughed about that, and said he
+wasn't such a fool as to carry a thing like that on him."
+
+"Did he say if he knew for a fact that the diamond was delivered to
+Multenius?" asked Mr. Killick.
+
+"Yes, he did. He found a telegram from Multenius at Las Palmas,
+acknowledging the receipt. He mentioned to me that Multenius would put the
+diamond in his bank, till he got to London himself."
+
+Mr. Killick glanced at the detective--the detectives nodded.
+
+"Very good," continued Mr. Killick. "Now then--: you'd doubtless talk a
+good deal about this matter--did your brother tell you what was to be done
+with the diamond? Had he a purchaser in view?"
+
+"Yes, he said something about that," replied John Purvis. "He said that
+Multenius and Levendale would make--or were making--what he called a
+syndicate to buy it from him. They'd have it cut--over in Amsterdam, I
+think it was. He reckoned he'd get quite eighty thousand from the
+syndicate."
+
+"He didn't mention any other names than those of Multenius and Levendale?"
+
+"No--none!"
+
+"Now, one more question. Where did your brother leave you--at Plymouth?"
+
+"First thing next morning," said John Purvis. "We travelled together as
+far as Exeter. He came on to Paddington--I went home to my farm. And I've
+never heard of him since--till I read all this in the papers."
+
+Mr. Killick got up and began to button his overcoat. He turned to the
+police.
+
+"Now you know what we wanted to know!" he said. "That diamond is at the
+bottom of everything! Daniel Multenius was throttled for that diamond--
+Parslett's death arose out of that diamond--everything's arisen from that
+diamond! And, now that you police folks know all this--you know what to
+do. You want the man, or men, who were in Daniel Multenius's shop about
+five o'clock on that particular day, and who carried off that diamond. Mr.
+Purvis!--are you staying in town?"
+
+The farmer shook his head--but not in the negative.
+
+"I'm not going out of London, till I know what's become of my brother!" he
+said.
+
+"Then come with me," said Mr. Killick. He said a word or two to the
+police, and then, beckoning Lauriston and Purdie to follow with Purvis,
+led the way out into the street. There he drew Purdie towards him. "Get a
+taxi-cab," he whispered, "and we'll all go to see that American man you've
+told me of--Guyler. And when we've seen him, you can take me to see Daniel
+Multenius's granddaughter."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
+
+
+THE DEAD MAN'S PROPERTY
+
+Old Daniel Multenius had been quietly laid to rest that afternoon, and at
+the very moment in which Mr. Killick and his companions were driving away
+from the police station to seek Stuyvesant Guyler at his hotel, Mr.
+Penniket was closeted with Zillah and her cousin Melky Rubinstein in the
+back-parlour of the shop in Praed Street--behind closed and locked doors
+which they had no intention of opening to anybody. Now that the old man
+was dead and buried, it was necessary to know how things stood with
+respect to his will and his property, and, as Mr. Penniket had remarked as
+they drove back from the cemetery, there was no reason why they should not
+go into matters there and then. Zillah and Melky were the only relations--
+and the only people concerned, said Mr. Penniket. Five minutes would put
+them in possession of the really pertinent facts as regards the provisions
+of the will--but there would be details to go into. And now they were all
+three sitting round the table, and Mr. Penniket had drawn two papers from
+his inner pocket--and Zillah regarding him almost listlessly, and Melky
+with one of his quietly solemn expression. Each had a pretty good idea of
+what was coming and each regarded the present occasion as no more than a
+formality.
+
+"This is the will," said Mr. Penniket, selecting and unfolding one of the
+documents. "It was made about a year ago--by me. That is, I drafted it.
+It's a short, a very short and practical will, drafted from precise
+instructions given to me by my late client, your grandfather. I may as
+well tell you in a few words what it amounts to. Everything that he left
+is to be sold--this business as a going concern; all his shares; all his
+house property. The whole estate is to be realized by the executors--your
+two selves. And when that's done, you're to divide the lot--equally. One
+half is yours, Miss Wildrose; Mr. Rubinstein, the other half is yours.
+And," concluded Mr. Penniket, rubbing his hands, "you'll find you're very
+fortunate--not to say wealthy--young people, and I congratulate you on
+your good fortune! Now, perhaps, you'd like to read the will?"
+
+Mr. Penniket laid the will on the table before the two cousins, and they
+bent forward and read its legal phraseology. Zillah was the first to look
+up and to speak.
+
+"I never knew my grandfather had any house property," she said. "Did you,
+Melky?"
+
+"S'elp me, Zillah, if I ever knew what he had in that way!" answered
+Melky. "He had his secrets and he could be close. No--I never knew of his
+having anything but his business. But then, I might have known that he'd
+invest his profits in some way or other."
+
+The solicitor unfolded the other document.
+
+"Here's a schedule, prepared by Mr. Multenius himself, and handed by him
+to me not many weeks ago, of his property outside this business," he
+remarked. "I'll go through the items. Shares in the Great Western Railway.
+Shares in the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway. Government Stock.
+Certain American Railway Stock. It's all particularized--and all gilt-
+edged security. Now then, about his house property. There's a block of
+flats at Hampstead. There are six houses at Highgate. There are three
+villas in the Finchley Road. The rents of all these have been collected by
+Messrs. Holder and Keeper, estate agents, and evidently paid by them
+direct to your esteemed relative's account at his bank. And then--to wind
+up--there is a small villa in Maida Vale, which he let furnished--you
+never heard of that?"
+
+"Never!" exclaimed Zillah, while Melky shook his head.
+
+"There's a special note about that at the end of this schedule," said Mr.
+Penniket. "In his own hand--like all the rest. This is what he says. 'N.
+B. Molteno Lodge, Maida Vale--all the furniture, pictures, belongings in
+this are mine--I have let it as a furnished residence at L12 a month, all
+clear, for some years past. Let at present, on same terms, rent paid
+quarterly, in advance, to two Chinese gentlemen, Mr. Chang Li and Mr. Chen
+Li--good tenants."
+
+Zillah uttered another sharp exclamation and sprang to her feet. She
+walked across to an old-fashioned standup desk which stood in a corner of
+the parlour, drew a bunch of keys from her pocket, and raised the lid.
+
+"That explains something!" she said. "I looked into this desk the other
+day--grandfather used to throw letters and papers in there sometimes,
+during the day, and then put them away at night. Here's a cheque here that
+puzzled me--I don't know anything about it. But--it'll be a quarter's rent
+for that house. Look at the signatures!"
+
+She laid a cheque before Melky and Mr. Penniket and stood by while they
+looked at it. There was nothing remarkable about the cheque--made out to
+Mr. Daniel Multenius on order for L36--except the two odd looking names at
+its foot--_Chang Li: Chen Li_. Otherwise, it was just like all other
+cheques--and it was on a local bank, in Edgware Road, and duly crossed.
+But Melky instantly observed the date, and put one of his long fingers to
+it.
+
+"November 18th," he remarked. "The day he died. Did you notice that,
+Zillah?"
+
+"Yes," answered Zillah. "It must have come in by post and he's thrown it,
+as he often did throw things, into that desk. Well--that's explained!
+That'll be the quarter's rent, then, for this furnished house, Mr.
+Penniket?"
+
+"Evidently!" agreed the solicitor. "Of course, there's no need to give
+notice to these two foreigners--yet. It'll take a little time to settle
+the estate, and you can let them stay on awhile. I know who they are--your
+grandfather mentioned them--two medical students, of University College.
+They're all right. Well, now, that completes the schedule. As regards
+administering the estate--"
+
+A sudden gentle but firm knock at the side-door brought Zillah to her feet
+again.
+
+"I know that knock," she remarked. "It's Ayscough, the detective. I
+suppose he may come in, now?"
+
+A moment later Ayscough, looking very grave and full of news, had joined
+the circle round the table. He shook his head as he glanced at Mr.
+Penniket.
+
+"I came on here to give you a bit of information," he said. "There's been
+an important development this afternoon. You know the name of this Stephen
+Purvis that's been mentioned as having been about here? Well, this
+afternoon his brother turned up from Devonshire. He wanted to see us--to
+tell us something. He thinks Stephen's been murdered!"
+
+"On what grounds?" asked the solicitor.
+
+"It turns out Stephen had sent Mr. Multenius a rare fine diamond--uncut--
+from South Africa," answered Ayscough. "Worth every penny of eighty
+thousand pounds!"
+
+He was closely watching Zillah and Melky as he gave this piece of news,
+and he was quick to see their utter astonishment. Zillah turned to the
+solicitor; Melky slapped the table.
+
+"That's been what the old man fetched from his bank that day!" he
+exclaimed. "S'elp me if I ain't beginning to see light! Robbery--before
+murder!"
+
+"That's about it," agreed Ayscough. "But I'll tell you all that's come
+out."
+
+He went on to narrate the events of the afternoon, from the arrival of Mr.
+Killick and his companions at the police station to the coming of John
+Purvis, and his three listeners drank in every word with rising interest.
+Mr. Penniket became graver and graver.
+
+"Where's Mr. Killick now--and the rest of them?" he asked in the end.
+
+"Gone to find that American chap--Guyler," answered Ayscough. "They did
+think he might be likely--having experience of these South African
+matters--to know something how Stephen Purvis may have been followed. You
+see--you're bound to have some theory! It looks as if Stephen Purvis had
+been tracked--for the sake of that diamond. The thieves probably tracked
+it to this shop--most likely attacked Mr. Multenius for it. They'd most
+likely been in here just before young Lauriston came in."
+
+"But where does Stephen Purvis come in--then?" asked Mr. Penniket.
+
+"Can't say yet--," replied Ayscough, doubtfully. "But--it may be that he--
+and Levendale--got an idea who the thieves were, and went off after them,
+and have got--well, trapped, or, as John Purvis suggests, murdered. It's
+getting a nicer tangle than ever!"
+
+"What's going to be done?" enquired the solicitor.
+
+"Why!" said Ayscough. "At present, there's little more to be done than
+what is being done! There's no end of publicity in the newspapers about
+both Levendale and Purvis. Every newspaper reporter in London's on the
+stretch for a thread of news of 'em! And we're getting posters and bills
+out, all over, advertising for them--those bills'll be outside every
+police-station in London--and over a good part of England--by tomorrow
+noon. And, of course, we're all at work. But you see, we haven't so far,
+the slightest clue as to the thieves! For there's no doubt, now, that it
+was theft first, and the rest afterwards."
+
+Mr. Penniket rose and gathered his papers together.
+
+"I suppose," he remarked, "that neither of you ever heard of this diamond,
+nor of Mr. Multenius having charge of it? No--just so. An atmosphere of
+secrecy all over the transaction. Well--all I can say, Ayscough, is this
+--you find Levendale. He's the man who knows."
+
+When the solicitor had gone, Ayscough turned to Zillah.
+
+"You never saw anything of any small box, packet, or anything of that
+sort, lying about after your grandfather's death?" he asked. "I'm thinking
+of what that diamond had been enclosed in, when he brought it from the
+bank. My notion is that he was examining that diamond when he was
+attacked, and in that case the box he'd taken it from would be lying
+about, or thrown aside."
+
+"You were in here yourself, before me," said Zillah.
+
+"Quite so--but I never noticed anything," remarked Ayscough.
+
+"Neither have I," replied Zillah. "And don't you think that whoever seized
+that diamond would have the sense to snatch up anything connected with it!
+I believe in what Mr. Penniket said just now--you find Levendale. If
+there's a man living who knows who killed my grandfather, Levendale's that
+man. You get him."
+
+Mrs. Goldmark came in just then, to resume her task of keeping Zillah
+company, and the detective left. Melky snatched up his overcoat and
+followed him out, and in the side-passage laid a hand on his arm.
+
+"Look here, Mr. Ayscough!" he whispered confidentially. "I want you!
+There's something turned up in there, just now, that I ain't said a word
+about to either Penniket or my cousin--but I will to you. Do you know
+what, Mr. Ayscough--listen here;"--and he went on to tell the detective
+the story of the furnished house in Maida Vale, its Chinese occupants, and
+their cheque. "Dated that very day the old man was scragged!" exclaimed
+Melky. "Now, Mr. Ayscough, supposing that one o' those Chinks called here
+with that cheque that afternoon when Zillah was out, and found the old man
+alone, and that diamond in his hand--eh?"
+
+Ayscough started and gave a low, sharp whistle.
+
+"Whew!" he said. "By George, that's an idea! Where's this house, do you
+say? Molteno Lodge, Maida Vale? I know it--small detached house in a
+garden. I say!--let's go and take a look round there!"
+
+"It's what I was going to propose--and at once," responded Melky. "Come
+on--but on the way, we'll pay a bit of a call. I want to ask a question of
+Dr. Mirandolet."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
+
+
+THE RAT
+
+Ayscough and Melky kept silence, until they had exchanged the busy streets
+for the quieter by-roads which lie behind the Paddington Canal--then, as
+they turned up Portsdown Road, the detective tapped his companion's arm.
+
+"What do you know about these two Chinese chaps that have this furnished
+house of yours?" he asked. "Much?--or little?"
+
+"We don't know nothing at all, Mr. Ayscough--me and my cousin Zillah,"
+replied Melky. "Never heard of 'em! Never knew they were there! Never knew
+the old man had furnished house to let in Maida Vale! He was close, the
+old man was, about some things. That was one of 'em. However, Mr.
+Penniket, he knew of this--but only recently. He says they're all right--
+medical students at one of the hospitals--yes, University College. That's
+in Gower Street, ain't it? The old man--he put in a note about there here
+Molteno Lodge that these Chinks were good tenants. I know what he'd mean
+by that!--paid their rent regular, in advance."
+
+"Oh, I know they've always plenty of money, these chaps!" observed
+Ayscough. "I've been wondering if I'd ever seen these two. But Lor' bless
+you!--there's such a lot o' foreigners in this quarter, especially
+Japanese and Siamese--law students and medical students and such like--
+that you'd never notice a couple of Easterns particularly--and I've no
+doubt they wear English clothes. Now, what do you want to see this doctor
+for?" he asked as they halted by Dr. Mirandolet's door. "Anything to do
+with the matter in hand?"
+
+"You'll see in a minute," replied Melky as he rang the bell. "Just a
+notion that occurred to me. And it has got to do with it."
+
+Dr. Mirandolet was in, and received his visitors in a room which was half-
+surgery and half-laboratory, and filled to the last corner with the
+evidences and implements of his profession. He was wearing a white linen
+operating jacket, and his dark face and black hair looked all the darker
+and blacker because of it. Melky gazed at him with some awe as he dropped
+into the chair which Mirandolet indicated and found the doctor's piercing
+eyes on him.
+
+"Just a question or two, mister!" he said, apologetically. "Me and Mr.
+Ayscough there is doing a bit of looking into this mystery about Mr.
+Multenius, and knowing as you was a big man in your way, it struck me
+you'd tell me something. I was at that inquest on Parslett, you know,
+mister."
+
+Mirandolet nodded and waited, and Melky gained courage.
+
+"Mister!" he said, suddenly bending forward and tapping the doctor's knee
+in a confidential fashion. "I hear you say at that inquest as how you'd
+lived in the East?"
+
+"Yes!" replied Mirandolet. "Many years. India--Burmah--China!"
+
+"You know these Easterns, mister, and their little way?" suggested Melky.
+"Now, would it be too much--I don't want to get no professional
+information, you know, if it ain't etiquette!--but would it be too much to
+ask you if them folks is pretty good hands at poisoning?"
+
+Mirandolet laughed, showing a set of very white teeth, and glared at
+Ayscough with a suggestion of invitation to join in his amusement. He
+clapped Melky on the shoulder as if he had said something diverting.
+
+"Good hands, my young friend?" he exclaimed. "The very best in the world!
+Past masters! Adepts. Poison you while they look at you!"
+
+"Bit cunning and artful about it, mister?" suggested Melky.
+
+"Beyond your conception, my friend," replied Mirandolet. "Unless I very
+much mistake your physiognomy, you yourself come of an ancient race which
+is not without cunning and artifice--but in such matters as you refer to,
+you are children, compared to your Far East folk."
+
+"Just so, mister--I believe you!" said Melky, solemnly. "And--which of
+'em, now, do you consider the cleverest of the lot--them as you say you've
+lived amongst, now? You mentioned three lots of 'em, you know--Indians,
+Burmese, Chinese. Which would you consider the artfullest of them three--
+if it came to a bit of real underhand work, now?"
+
+"For the sort of thing you're thinking of, my friend," answered
+Mirandolet, "you can't beat a Chinaman. Does that satisfy you?"
+
+Melky rose and glanced at the detective before turning to the doctor.
+
+"Mister," he said, "that's precisely what I should ha' said myself. Only--
+I wanted to know what a big man like you thought. Now, I know! Much
+obliged to you, mister. If there's ever anything I can do for you, doctor
+--if you want a bit of real good stuff--jewellery, you know--at dead cost
+price--"
+
+Mirandolet laughed and clapping Melky's shoulder again, looked at
+Ayscough.
+
+"What's our young friend after?" he asked, good-humouredly. "What's his
+game?"
+
+"Hanged if I know, doctor!" said Ayscough, shaking his head. "He's got
+some notion in his head. Are you satisfied, Mr. Rubinstein?"
+
+Melky was making for the door.
+
+"Ain't I just said so?" he answered. "You come along of me, Mr. Ayscough,
+and let's be getting about our business. Now, look here!" he said, taking
+the detective's arm when they had left the house. "We're going to take a
+look at them Chinks. I've got it into my head that they've something to do
+with this affair--and I'm going to see 'em, and to ask 'em a question or
+two. And--you're coming with me!"
+
+"I say, you know!" remarked Ayscough. "They're respectable gentlemen--even
+if they are foreigners. Better be careful--we don't know anything against
+'em."
+
+"Never you fear!" said Melky. "I'll beat 'em all right. Ain't I got a good
+excuse, Mr. Ayscough? Just to ask a civil question. Begging their pardons
+for intrusion, but since the lamented death of Mr. Daniel Multenius, me
+and Miss Zillah Wildrose has come into his bit of property, and does the
+two gentlemen desire to continue their tenancy, and is there anything we
+can do to make 'em comfortable--see? Oh, I'll talk to 'em all right!"
+
+"What're you getting at, all the same?" asked the detective. "Give it a
+title!"
+
+Melky squeezed his companion's arm.
+
+"I want to see 'em," he whispered. "That's one thing. And I want to find
+out how that last cheque of theirs got into our back-parlour! Was it sent
+by post--or was it delivered by hand? And if by hand--who delivered it?"
+
+"You're a cute 'un, you are!" observed Ayscough. "You'd better join us."
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Ayscough, but events has happened which'll keep me busy at
+something else," said Melky, cheerfully. "Do you know that my good old
+relative has divided everything between me and my cousin?--I'm a rich man,
+now, Mr. Ayscough. S'elp me!--I don't know how rich I am. It'll take a bit
+o' reckoning."
+
+"Good luck to you!" exclaimed the detective heartily. "Glad to hear it!
+Then I reckon you and your cousin'll be making a match of it--keeping the
+money in the family, what?"
+
+Melky laid his finger on the side of his nose.
+
+"Then you think wrong!" he said. "There'll be marriages before long--for
+both of us--but it'll not be as you suggest! There's Molteno Lodge, across
+the road there--s'elp me, I've often seen that bit of a retreat from the
+top of a 'bus, but I never knew it belonged to the poor old man!"
+
+They had now come to the lower part of Maida Vale, where many detached
+houses stand in walled-in gardens, isolated and detached from each other--
+Melky pointed to one of the smaller ones--a stucco villa, whose white
+walls shone in the November moonlight. Its garden, surrounded by high
+walls, was somewhat larger than those of the neighbouring houses, and was
+filled with elms rising to a considerable height and with tall bushes
+growing beneath them.
+
+"Nice, truly rural sort of spot," said Melky, as they crossed the road and
+approached the gate in the wall. "And--once inside--uncommon private, no
+doubt! What do you say, Mr. Ayscough?"
+
+The detective was examining the gate. It was a curious sort of gate, set
+between two stout pillars, and fashioned of wrought ironwork, the meshes
+of which were closely intertwined. Ayscough peered through the upper part
+and saw a trim lawn, a bit of statuary, a garden seat, and all the rest of
+the appurtenances common to a London garden whose owners wish to remind
+themselves of rusticity--also, he saw no signs of life in the house at the
+end of the garden.
+
+"There's no light in this house," he remarked, trying the gate. "Looks to
+me as if everybody was out. Are you going to ring?"
+
+Melky pointed along the front of the wall.
+
+"There's a sort of alley going up there, between this house and the next,"
+he said. "Come round--sure to be a tradesman's entrance--a side-door--up
+there."
+
+"Plenty of spikes and glass-bottle stuff on those walls, anyhow!" remarked
+Ayscough, as they went round a narrow alley to the rear of the villa.
+"Your grandfather evidently didn't intend anybody to get into these
+premises very easily, Mr. Rubinstein. Six-foot walls and what you might
+call regular fortifications on top of 'em! What are you going to do,
+now?"
+
+Melky had entered a recess in the side-wall and was examining a stout door
+on which, plainly seen in the moonlight, were the words _Tradesman's
+Entrance_. He turned the handle--and uttered an exclamation.
+
+"Open!" he said. "Come on, Mr. Ayscough--we're a-going in! If there is
+anybody at home, all right--if there ain't, well, still all right. I'm
+going to have a look round."
+
+The detective followed Melky into a paved yard at the back of the villa.
+All was very still there--and the windows were dark.
+
+"No lights, back or front," remarked Ayscough. "Can't be anybody in. And I
+say--if either of those Chinese gents was to let himself in with his key
+at the front gate and find us prowling about, it wouldn't look very well,
+would it, now? Why not call again--in broad daylight?"
+
+"Shucks!" said Melky. "Ain't I one o' the landlords of this desirable bit
+o' property? And didn't we find that door open? Come round to the front."
+
+He set off along a gravelled path which ran round the side of the house,
+and ascended the steps to the porticoed front door. And there he rang the
+bell--and he and his companion heard its loud ringing inside the house.
+But no answer came--and the whole place seemed darker and stiller than
+before.
+
+"Of course there's nobody in!" muttered Ayscough. "Come on--let's get out
+of it."
+
+Melky made no answer. He walked down the steps, and across the lawn
+beneath the iron-work gate in the street wall. A thick shrubbery of holly
+and laurel bushes stood on his right--and as he passed it something darted
+out--something alive and alert and sinuous--and went scudding away across
+the lawn.
+
+"Good Lord!" said Ayscough. "A rat! And as big as a rabbit!"
+
+Melky paused, looked after the rat, and then at the place from which it
+had emerged. And suddenly he stepped towards the shrubbery and drew aside
+the thick cluster of laurel branches. Just as suddenly he started back on
+the detective, and his face went white in the moonbeams.
+
+"Mr. Ayscough!" he gasped. "S'elp me!--there's a dead man here! Look for
+yourself!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
+
+
+THE EMPTY HOUSE
+
+Ayscough had manifested a certain restiveness and dislike to the
+proceedings ever since his companion had induced him to enter the back
+door of Molteno Lodge--these doings appeared to him informal and
+irregular. But at Melky's sudden exclamation his professional instincts
+were aroused, and he started forward, staring through the opening in the
+bushes made by Melky's fingers.
+
+"Good Lord!" he said. "You're right. One of the Chinamen!"
+
+The full moon was high in a cloudless sky by that time, and its rays fell
+full on a yellow face--and on a dark gash that showed itself in the yellow
+neck below. Whoever this man was, he had been killed by a savage
+knifethrust that had gone straight and unerringly through the jugular
+vein. Ayscough pointed to a dark wide stain which showed on the earth at
+the foot of the bushes.
+
+"Stabbed!" he muttered. "Stabbed to death! And dragged in here--look at
+that--and that!"
+
+He turned, pointing to more stains on the gravelled path behind them--
+stains which extended, at intervals, almost to the entrance door in the
+outer wall. And then he drew a box of matches from his pocket, and
+striking one, went closer and held the light down to the dead man's face.
+Melky, edging closer to his elbow, looked, too.
+
+"One of those Chinamen, without a doubt!" said Ayscough, as the match
+flickered and died out. "Or, at any rate, a Chinaman. And--he's been dead
+some days! Well!--this is a go!"
+
+"What's to be done?" asked Melky. "It's murder!"
+
+Ayscough looked around him. He was wondering how it was that a dead man
+could lie in that garden, close to a busy thoroughfare, along which a
+regular stream of traffic of all descriptions was constantly passing, for
+several days, undetected. But a quick inspection of the surroundings
+explained matters. The house itself filled up one end of the garden; the
+other three sides were obscured from the adjacent houses and from the
+street by high walls, high trees, thick bushes. The front gate was locked
+or latched--no one had entered--no one, save the owner of the knife that
+had dealt that blow, had known a murdered man lay there behind the
+laurels. Only the rat, started by Melky's footsteps, had known.
+
+"Stay here!" said Ayscough. "Well--inside the gate, then--don't come out--
+I don't want to attract attention. There'll be a constable somewhere
+about."
+
+He walked down to the iron-work gate, Melky following close at his heels,
+found and unfastened the patent latch, and slipped out into the road. In
+two minutes he was back again with a policeman. He motioned the man inside
+and once more fastened the door.
+
+"As you know this beat," he said quietly, as if continuing a conversation
+already begun, "you'll know the two Chinese gentlemen who have this
+house?"
+
+"Seen 'em--yes," replied the policeman. "Two quiet little fellows--seen
+'em often--generally of an evening."
+
+"Have you seen anything of them lately?" asked Ayscough.
+
+"Well, now I come to think of it, no, I haven't," answered the policeman.
+"Not for some days."
+
+"Have you noticed that the house was shut up--that there were no lights in
+the front windows?" enquired the detective.
+
+"Why, as a matter of fact, Mr. Ayscough," said the policeman, "you never
+do see any lights here--the windows are shuttered. I know that, because I
+used to give a look round when the house was empty."
+
+"Do you know what servants they kept--these two?" asked Ayscough.
+
+"They kept none!" answered the policeman. "Seems to me--from what bit I
+saw, you know--they used the house for little more than sleeping in. I've
+seen 'em go out of a morning, with books and papers under their arms, and
+come home at night--similar. But there's no servants there. Anything
+wrong, Mr. Ayscough?"
+
+Ayscough moved toward the bushes.
+
+"There's this much wrong," he answered. "There's one of 'em lying dead
+behind those laurels with a knife-thrust through his throat! And I should
+say, from the look of things, that he's been lying there several days.
+Look here!"
+
+The policeman looked--and beyond a sharp exclamation, remained stolid. He
+glanced at his companions, glanced round the garden--and suddenly pointed
+to a dark patch on the ground.
+
+"There's blood there!" he said. "Blood!"
+
+"Blood!" exclaimed Ayscough. "There's blood all the way down this path!
+The man's been stabbed as he came in at that door, and his body was then
+dragged up the path and thrust in here. Now then!--off you go to the
+station, and tell 'em what we've found. Get help--he'll have to be taken
+to the mortuary. And you'll want men to keep a watch on this house--tell
+the inspector all about it and say I'm here. And here--leave me that lamp
+of yours."
+
+The policeman took off his bull's eye lantern and handed it over. Ayscough
+let him out of the door, and going back to Melky, beckoned him towards the
+house.
+
+"Let's see if there's any way of getting in here," he said. "My
+conscience, Mr. Rubinstein!--you must have had some instinct about coming
+here tonight! We've hit on something--but Lord bless me if I know what it
+is!"
+
+"Mr. Ayscough!" said Melky. "I hadn't a notion of aught like that--it's
+give me a turn! But don't I know what it means, Mr. Ayscough--not half!
+It's all of a piece with the rest of it! Murder, Mr. Ayscough--bloody
+murder! All on account of that orange-yellow diamond we've heard of--at
+last. Ah!--if I'd known there was that at the bottom of this affair, I'd
+ha' been a bit sharper in coming to conclusions, I would so! Diamond worth
+eighty thousand pounds--."
+
+Ayscough, who had been busy at the front door of the house, suddenly
+interrupted his companion's reflections.
+
+"The door's open!" he exclaimed. "Open! Not even on the latch. Come on!"
+
+Melky shrank back at the prospect of the unlighted hall. There was a
+horror in the garden, in that bright moonlight--what might there not be in
+that black, silent house?
+
+"Well, turn that there bull's eye on!" he said. "I don't half fancy this
+sort of exploration. We'd ought to have had revolvers, you know."
+
+Ayscough turned on the light and advanced into the hall. There was nothing
+there beyond what one would expect to see in the hall of a well-furnished
+house, nor was there anything but good furniture, soft carpets, and old
+pictures to look at in the first room into which he and Melky glanced. But
+in the room behind there were evidences of recent occupation--a supper-
+table was laid: there was food on it, a cold fowl, a tongue--one plate had
+portions of both these viands laid on it, with a knife and fork crossed
+above them; on another plate close by, a slice of bread lay, broken and
+crumbled--all the evidences showed that supper had been laid for two, that
+only one had sat down to it: that he had been interrupted at the very
+beginning of his meal--a glass half-full of a light French wine stood near
+the pushed-aside plate.
+
+"Looks as if one of 'em had been having a meal, had had to leave it, and
+had never come back to it," remarked Ayscough. "Him outside, no doubt.
+Let's see the other rooms."
+
+There was nothing to see beyond what they would have expected to see--
+except that in one of the bedrooms, in a drawer pulled out from a
+dressing-table and left open, lay a quantity of silver and copper, with
+here and there a gold coin shining amongst it. Ayscough made a significant
+motion of his head at the sight.
+
+"Another proof of--hurry!" he said. "Somebody's cleared out of this place
+about as quick as he could! Money left lying about--unfinished meal--door
+open--all sure indications. Well, we've seen enough for the present. Our
+people'll make a thorough search later. Come downstairs again."
+
+Neither Ayscough nor Melky were greatly inclined for conversation or
+speculation, and they waited in silence near the gate, both thinking of
+the still figure lying behind the laurel bushes until the police came.
+Then followed whispered consultations between Ayscough and the inspector,
+and arrangements for the removal of the dead man to the mortuary and the
+guardianship and thorough search of the house--and that done, Ayscough
+beckoned Melky out into the road.
+
+"Glad to be out of that--for this time, anyway!" he said, with an air of
+relief. "There's too much atmosphere of murder and mystery--what they call
+Oriental mystery--for me in there, Mr. Rubinstein! Now then, there's
+something we can do, at once. Did I understand you to say these two were
+medical students at University College?"
+
+"So Mr. Penniket said," replied Melky. "S'elp me! I never heard of 'em
+till this afternoon!"
+
+"You're going to hear a fine lot about 'em before long, anyway!" remarked
+Ayscough.
+
+"Well--we'll just drive on to Gower Street--somebody'll know something
+about 'em there, I reckon."
+
+He walked forward until he came to the cab-rank at the foot of St. John's
+Wood Road, where he bundled Melky into a taxi-cab, and bade the driver get
+away to University College Hospital at his best pace. There was little
+delay in carrying out that order, but it was not such an easy task on
+arrival at their destination to find any one who could give Ayscough the
+information he wanted. At last, after they had waited some time in a
+reception room a young member of the house-staff came in and looked an
+enquiry.
+
+"What is it you want to know about these two Chinese students?" he asked a
+little impatiently, with a glance at Ayscough's card. "Is anything wrong?"
+
+"I want to know a good deal!" answered Ayscough. "If not just now, later.
+You know the two men I mean--Chang Li and Chen Li--brothers, I take it?"
+
+"I know them--they've been students here since about last Christmas,"
+answered the young surgeon. "As a matter of fact they're not brothers--
+though they're very much alike, and both have the same surname--if Li is a
+surname. They're friends--not brothers, so they told us."
+
+"When did you see them last?" asked Ayscough.
+
+"Not for some days, now you mention it," replied the surgeon. "Several
+days. I was remarking on that today--I missed them from a class."
+
+"You say they're very much alike," remarked the detective. "I suppose you
+can tell one from the other?"
+
+"Of course! But--what is this? I see you're a detective sergeant. Are they
+in any bother--trouble?"
+
+"The fact of the case," answered Ayscough, "is just this--one of them's
+lying dead at our mortuary, and I shall be much obliged if you'll step
+into my cab outside and come and identify him. Listen--it's a case of
+murder!"
+
+Twenty minutes later, Ayscough, leading the young house-surgeon into a
+grim and silent room, turned aside the sheet from a yellow face.
+
+"Which one of 'em is it?" he asked.
+
+The house-surgeon started as he saw the wound in the dead man's throat.
+
+"This is Chen!" he answered.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
+
+
+THE L500 BANK NOTE
+
+Ayscough drew the sheet over the dead man's face and signed to his
+companion to follow him outside, to a room where Melky Rubinstein, still
+gravely meditating over the events of the evening, was awaiting their
+reappearance.
+
+"So that," said Ayscough, jerking his thumb in the direction of the
+mortuary, "that's Chen Li! You're certain?"
+
+"Chen Li! without a doubt!" answered the house-surgeon. "I know him well!"
+
+"The younger of the two?" suggested Ayscough.
+
+The house-surgeon shook his head.
+
+"I can't say as to that," he answered. "It would be difficult to tell
+which of two Chinese, of about the same age, was the older. But that's
+Chen. He and the other, Chang Li, are very much alike, but Chen was a
+somewhat smaller and shorter man."
+
+"What do you know of them?" inquired Ayscough. "Can you say what's known
+at your hospital?"
+
+"Very little," replied the house-surgeon. "They entered, as students
+there--we have several foreigners--about last Christmas--perhaps at the
+New Year. All that I know of them is that they were like most Easterns--
+very quiet, unassuming, inoffensive fellows, very assiduous in their
+studies and duties, never giving any trouble, and very punctual in their
+attendance."
+
+"And, you say, they haven't been seen at the hospital for some days?"
+continued Ayscough. "Now, can you tell me--it's important--since what
+precise date they've been absent?"
+
+The house-surgeon reflected for a moment--then he suddenly drew out a
+small memorandum book from an inner pocket.
+
+"Perhaps I can," he answered, turning the pages over. "Yes--both these men
+should have been in attendance on me--a class of my own, you know--on the
+20th, at 10.35. They didn't turn up. I've never seen them since--in fact,
+I'm sure they've never been at the hospital since."
+
+"The 20th?" observed Ayscough. He looked at Melky, who was paying great
+attention to the conversation. "Now let's see--old Mr. Multenius met his
+death on the afternoon of the 18th. Parslett was poisoned on the night of
+the 19th. Um!"
+
+"And Parslett was picked up about half-way between the Chink's house and
+his own place, Mr. Ayscough--don't you forget that!" muttered Melky. "I'm
+not forgetting--don't you make no error!"
+
+"You don't know anything more that you could tell us about these two?"
+asked the detective, nodding reassuringly at Melky and then turning to the
+house-surgeon. "Any little thing?--you never know what helps."
+
+"I can't!" said the house-surgeon, who was obviously greatly surprised by
+what he had seen and heard. "These Easterns keep very much to themselves,
+you know. I can't think of anything."
+
+"Don't know anything of their associates--friends--acquaintances?"
+suggested Ayscough. "I suppose they had some--amongst your students?"
+
+"I never saw them in company with anybody--particularly--except a young
+Japanese who was in some of their classes," replied the house-surgeon. "I
+have seen them talking with him--in Gower Street."
+
+"What's his name?" asked Ayscough, pulling out a note-book.
+
+"Mr. Mori Yada," answered the house-surgeon promptly. "He lives in Gower
+Street--I don't know the precise number of the house. Yes, that's the way
+to spell his name. He's the only man I know who seemed to know these two."
+
+"Have you seen him lately?" asked Ayscough.
+
+"Oh, yes--regularly--today, in fact," said the house-surgeon.
+
+He waited a moment in evident expectation of other questions; as the
+detective asked none--"I gather," he remarked, "that Chang Li has
+disappeared?"
+
+"The house these two occupied is empty," replied Ayscough.
+
+"I am going to suggest something," said the house-surgeon. "I know--from
+personal observation--that there is a tea-shop in Tottenham Court Road--a
+sort of quiet, privately-owned place--Pilmansey's--which these two used to
+frequent. I don't know if that's of any use to you?"
+
+"Any detail is of use, sir," answered Ayscough, making another note. "Now,
+I'll tell this taxi-man to drive you back to the hospital. I shall call
+there tomorrow morning, and I shall want to see this young Japanese
+gentleman, too. I daresay you see that this is a case of murder--and
+there's more behind it!"
+
+"You suspect Chang Li?" suggested the house-surgeon as they went out to
+the cab.
+
+"Couldn't say that--yet," replied Ayscough, grimly. "For anything I know,
+Chang Li may have been murdered, too. But I've a pretty good notion what
+Chen Li was knifed for!"
+
+When the house-surgeon had gone away, Ayscough turned to Melky.
+
+"Come back to Molteno Lodge," he said. "They're searching it. Let's see if
+they've found anything of importance."
+
+The house which had been as lifeless and deserted when Melky and the
+detective visited it earlier in the evening was full enough of energy and
+animation when they went back. One policeman kept guard at the front gate;
+another at the door of the yard; within the house itself, behind closed
+doors and drawn shutters and curtains, every room was lighted and the
+lynx-eyed men were turning the place upside down. One feature of the
+search struck the newcomers immediately--the patch of ground whereon Melky
+had found the dead man had been carefully roped off. Ayscough made a
+significant motion of his hand towards it.
+
+"Good!" he said, "that shows they've found footprints. That may be useful.
+Let's hear what else they've found."
+
+The man in charge of these operations was standing within the dining-room
+when Ayscough and Melky walked in, and he at once beckoned them into the
+room and closed the door.
+
+"We've made two or three discoveries," he said, glancing at Ayscough. "To
+start with, there were footprints of a rather unusual sort round these
+bushes where the man was lying--so I've had it carefully fenced in around
+there--we'll have a better look at 'em, in daylight. Very small prints,
+you understand--more like a woman's than a man's."
+
+Ayscough's sharp eyes turned to the hearth--there were two or three pairs
+of slippers lying near the fender and he pointed to them.
+
+"These Chinamen have very small feet, I believe," he said. "The footprints
+are probably theirs. Well--what else?"
+
+"This," answered the man in charge, producing a small parcel from the
+side-pocket of his coat, and proceeding to divest it of a temporary
+wrapping. "Perhaps Mr. Rubinstein will recognize it. We found it thrown
+away in a fire-grate in one of the bedrooms upstairs--you see, it's half
+burnt."
+
+He produced a small, stoutly-made cardboard box, some three inches square,
+the outer surface of which was covered with a thick, glossy-surfaced dark-
+green paper, on which certain words were deeply impressed in gilt letters.
+The box was considerably charred and only fragments of the lettering on
+the lid remained intact--but it was not difficult to make out what the
+full wording had been.
+
+. . . . _enius_,
+  . . ._nd jeweller_,
+    . . _ed Street_.
+
+"That's one of the late Mr. Multenius's boxes," affirmed Melky at once.
+"Daniel Multenius, Pawnbroker and Jeweller, Praed Street--that's the full
+wording. Found in a fireplace, d'ye say, mister? Ah--and what had he taken
+out of it before he threw the box away, now, Mr. Ayscough--whoever it was
+that did throw it away?"
+
+"That blessed orange and yellow diamond, I should think!" said Ayscough.
+"Of course! Well, anything else?"
+
+The man in charge carefully wrapped up and put away the jeweller's box;
+then, with a significant glance at his fellow-detective, he slipped a
+couple of fingers into his waistcoat pocket and drew out what looked like
+a bit of crumpled paper.
+
+"Aye!" he answered. "This! Found it--just there! Lying on the floor, at
+the end of this table."
+
+He opened out the bit of crumpled paper as he spoke and held it towards
+the other two. Ayscough stared, almost incredulously, and Melky let out a
+sharp exclamation.
+
+"S'elp us!" he said. "A five-hundred-pound bank-note!"
+
+"That's about it," remarked the exhibitor. "Bank of England note for five
+hundred of the best! And--a good 'un, too. Lying on the floor."
+
+"Take care of it," said Ayscough laconically. "Well--you haven't found any
+papers, documents, or anything of that sort, that give any clue?"
+
+"There's a lot of stuff there," answered the man in charge, pointing to a
+pile of books and papers on the table, "but it seems to be chiefly
+exercises and that sort of thing. I'll look through it myself, later."
+
+"See if you can find any letters, addresses, and so on," counselled
+Ayscough. He turned over some of the books, all of them medical works and
+text-books, opening some of them at random. And suddenly he caught sight
+of the name which the house-surgeon had given him half-an-hour before,
+written on a fly-leaf: Mori Yada, 491, Gower Street--and an idea came into
+his mind. He bade the man in charge keep his eyes open and leave nothing
+unexamined, and tapping Melky's arm, led him outside. "Look here!" he
+said, drawing out his watch, as they crossed the hall, "it's scarcely ten
+o'clock, and I've got the address of that young Jap. Come on--we'll go and
+ask him a question or two."
+
+So for the second time that evening, Melky, who was beginning to feel as
+if he were on a chase which pursued anything but a straight course, found
+himself in Gower Street again, and followed Ayscough along, wondering what
+was going to happen next, until the detective paused at the door of a tall
+house in the middle of the long thoroughfare and rang the bell. A smart
+maid answered that ring and looked dubiously at Ayscough as he proffered a
+request to see Mr. Mori Yada. Yes--Mr. Yada was at home, but he didn't
+like to see any one, of an evening when he was at his studies, and--in
+fact he'd given orders not to be disturbed at that time.
+
+"I think he'll see me, all the same," said Ayscough, drawing out one of
+his professional cards. "Just give him that, will you, and tell him my
+business is very important."
+
+He turned to Melky when the girl, still looking unwilling, had gone away
+upstairs, and gave him a nudge of the elbow.
+
+"When we get up there--as we shall," whispered Ayscough, "you watch this
+Jap chap while I talk to him. Study his face--and see if anything
+surprises him."
+
+"Biggest order, mister--with a Jap!" muttered Melky. "Might as well tell
+me to watch a stone image--their faces is like wood!"
+
+"Try it!" said Ayscough. "Flicker of an eyelid--twist of the lip--
+anything! Here's the girl back again."
+
+A moment later Melky, treading close on the detective's heels, found
+himself ushered into a brilliantly-lighted, rather over-heated room,
+somewhat luxuriously furnished, wherein, in the easiest of chairs, a cigar
+in his lips, a yellow-backed novel in his hand, sat a slimly-built,
+elegant young gentleman whose face was melting to a smile.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
+
+
+MR. MORI YADA
+
+Ayscough was on his guard as soon as he saw that smile. He had had some
+experience of various national characteristics in his time, and he knew
+that when an Eastern meets you with a frank and smiling countenance you
+had better keep all your wits about you. He began the exercise of his own
+with a polite bow--while executing it, he took a rapid inventory of Mr.
+Mori Yada. About--as near as he could judge--two or three and twenty; a
+black-haired, black-eyed young gentleman; evidently fastidious about his
+English clothes, his English linen, his English ties, smart socks, and
+shoes--a good deal of a dandy, in short--and, judging from his
+surroundings, very fond of English comfort--and not averse to the English
+custom of taking a little spirituous refreshment with his tobacco. A
+decanter stood on the table at his elbow; a syphon of mineral water reared
+itself close by; a tumbler was within reach of Mr. Yada's slender
+yellowish fingers.
+
+"Servant, sir!" said Ayscough. "Detective Sergeant Ayscough of the
+Criminal Investigation Department--friend of mine, this, sir, Mr. Yada, I
+believe--Mr. Mori Yada?"
+
+Mr. Yada smiled again, and without rising, indicated two chairs.
+
+"Oh, yes!" he said in excellent English accents. "Pleased to see you--will
+you take a chair--and your friend! You want to talk to me?"
+
+Ayscough sat down and unbuttoned his overcoat.
+
+"Much obliged, sir," he said. "Yes--the fact is, Mr. Yada, I called to see
+you on a highly important matter that's arisen. Your name, sir, was given
+to me tonight by one of the junior house-surgeons at the hospital up the
+street--Dr. Pittery."
+
+"Oh, yes, Dr. Pittery--I know," agreed Yada. "Yes?"
+
+"Dr. Pittery tells me, sir," continued Ayscough, "that you know two
+Chinese gentlemen who are fellow-students of yours at the hospital, Mr.
+Yada?"
+
+The Japanese bowed his dark head and blew out a mouthful of smoke from his
+cigar.
+
+"Yes!" he answered readily, "Mr. Chang Li--Mr. Chen Li. Oh, yes!"
+
+"I want to ask you a question, Mr. Yada," said Ayscough, bending forward
+and assuming an air of confidence. "When did you see those two gentlemen
+last--either of them?"
+
+Yada leaned back in his comfortably padded chair and cast his quick eyes
+towards the ceiling. Suddenly he jumped to his feet.
+
+"You take a little drop of whisky-and-soda?" he said hospitably, pushing a
+clean glass towards Ayscough. "Yes--I will get another glass for your
+friend, too. Help yourselves, please, then--I will look in my diary for an
+answer to your question. You excuse me, one moment."
+
+He walked across the room to a writing cabinet which stood in one corner,
+and took up a small book that lay on the blotting-pad; while he turned
+over its pages, Ayscough, helping himself and Melky to a drink, winked at
+his companion with a meaning expression.
+
+"I have not seen either Mr. Chang Li or Mr. Chen Li since the morning of
+the 18th November," suddenly said Yada. He threw the book back on the
+desk, and coming to the hearthrug, took up a position with his back to the
+fire and his hands in the pockets of his trousers. He nodded politely as
+his visitors raised their glasses to him. "Is anything the matter, Mr.
+Detective-Sergeant?" he asked.
+
+Ayscough contrived to press his foot against Melky's as he gave a direct
+answer to this question.
+
+"The fact of the case is, Mr. Yada," he said, "one of these two young men
+has been murdered! murdered, sir!"
+
+Yada's well-defined eyebrows elevated themselves--but the rest of his face
+was immobile. He looked fixedly at Ayscough for a second or two--then he
+let out one word.
+
+"Which?"
+
+"According to Dr. Pittery--Chen Li," answered Ayscough. "Dr. Pittery
+identified him. Murdered, Mr. Yada, murdered! Knifed!--in the throat."
+
+The reiteration of the word murdered appeared to yield the detective some
+sort of satisfaction--but it apparently made no particular impression on
+the Japanese. Again he rapped out one word.
+
+"Where?"
+
+"His body was found in the garden of the house they rented in Maida Vale,"
+replied Ayscough. "Molteno Lodge. No doubt you've visited them there, Mr.
+Yada?"
+
+"I have been there--yes, a few times," assented Yada. "Not very lately.
+But--where is Chang Li?"
+
+"That's what we don't know--and what we want to know," said Ayscough.
+"He's not been seen at the hospital since the 20th. He didn't turn up
+there--nor Chen, either, at a class, that day. And you say you haven't
+seen them either since the 18th?"
+
+"I was not at the hospital on the 19th," replied Yada. He threw away the
+end of his cigar, picked up a fresh one from a box which stood on the
+table, pushed the box towards his visitors, and drew out a silver match-
+box. "What are the facts of this murder, Mr. Detective-Sergeant?" he
+asked quietly. "Murder is not done without some object--as a rule."
+
+Ayscough accepted the offered cigar, passed the box to Melky and while he
+lighted his selection, thought quietly. He was playing a game with the
+Japanese, and it was necessary to think accurately and quickly. And
+suddenly he made up his mind and assumed an air of candour.
+
+"It's like this, Mr. Yada," he said. "I may as well tell you all about it.
+You've doubtless read all about this Praed Street mystery in the
+newspapers? Well, now, some very extraordinary developments have arisen
+out of the beginnings of that, it turns out."
+
+Melky sat by, disturbed and uncomfortable, while Ayscough reeled off a
+complete narrative of the recent discoveries to the suave-mannered,
+phlegmatic, calmly-listening figure on the hearthrug. He did not
+understand the detective's doings--it seemed to him the height of folly to
+tell a stranger, and an Eastern stranger at that, all about the fact that
+there was a diamond worth eighty thousand pounds at the bottom of these
+mysteries and murders. But he discharged his own duties, and watched Yada
+intently--and failed to see one single sign of anything beyond ordinary
+interest in his impassive face.
+
+"So there it is, sir," concluded Ayscough. "I've no doubt whatever that
+Chen Li called at Multenius's shop to pay the rent; that he saw the
+diamond in the old man's possession and swagged him for it; that Parslett
+saw Chen Li slip away from that side-door and, hearing of Multenius's
+death, suspected Chen Li of it and tried to blackmail him; that Chen Li
+poisoned Parslett--and that Chen Li himself was knifed for that diamond.
+Now--by whom? Chang Li has--disappeared!"
+
+"You suspect Chang Li?" asked Yada.
+
+"I do," exclaimed Ayscough. "A Chinaman--a diamond worth every penny of
+eighty thousand pounds--Ah!" He suddenly lifted his eyes to Yada with a
+quick enquiry. "How much do you know of these two?" he asked.
+
+"Little--beyond the fact that they were fellow-students of mine," answered
+Yada. "I occasionally visited them--occasionally they visited me--that is
+all."
+
+"Dr. Pittery says they weren't brothers?" suggested Ayscough.
+
+"So I understood," assented Yada. "Friends."
+
+"You can't tell us anything of their habits?--haunts?--what they usually
+did with themselves when they weren't at the hospital?" asked the
+detective.
+
+"I should say that when they weren't at the hospital, they were at their
+house--reading," answered Yada, drily. "They were hard workers."
+
+Ayscough rose from his chair.
+
+"Well, much obliged to you, sir," he said. "As your name was mentioned as
+some sort of a friend of theirs, I came to you. Of course, most of what
+I've told you will be in all the papers tomorrow. If you should hear
+anything of this Chang Li, you'll communicate with us, Mr. Yada?"
+
+The Japanese smiled--openly.
+
+"Most improbable, Mr. Detective-Sergeant!" he answered. "I know no more
+than what I have said. For more information, you should go to the Chinese
+Legation."
+
+"Good idea, sir--thank you," said Ayscough.
+
+He bowed himself and Melky out; once outside the street-door he drew his
+companion away towards a part which lay in deep shadow. Some repairing
+operations to the exterior of a block of houses were going on there;
+underneath a scaffolding which extended over the sidewalk Ayscough drew
+Melky to a halt.
+
+"You no doubt wondered why I told that chap so much?" he whispered.
+"Especially about that diamond! But I had my reasons--and particularly for
+telling him about its value."
+
+"It isn't what I should ha' done, Mr. Ayscough," said Melky, "and it
+didn't ought to come out in the newspapers, neither--so I think! 'Tain't a
+healthy thing to let the public know there's an eighty-thousand pound
+diamond loose somewhere in London--and as to telling that slant-eyed
+fellow in there--"
+
+"You wait a bit, my lad!" interrupted Ayscough. "I had my reasons--good
+'uns. Now, look here, we're going to watch that door awhile. If the Jap
+comes out--as I've an idea he will--we're going to follow. And as you're
+younger, and slimmer, and less conspicuous than I am, if he should emerge,
+keep on the shadowy side of the street, at a safe distance, and follow him
+as cleverly as you can. I'll follow you."
+
+"What new game's this?" asked Melky.
+
+"Never mind!" replied Ayscough. "And, if it does come to following, and he
+should take a cab, contrive to be near--there's a good many people about,
+and if you're careful he'll never see you. And--there, now, what did I
+tell you? He's coming out, now! Be handy--more depends on it than you're
+aware of."
+
+Yada, seen clearly in the moonlight which flooded that side of the street,
+came out of the door which they had left a few minutes earlier. His smart
+suit of grey tweed had disappeared under a heavy fur-collared overcoat; a
+black bowler hat surmounted his somewhat pallid face. He looked neither to
+right nor left, but walked swiftly up the street in the direction of the
+Euston Road. And when he had gone some thirty yards, Ayscough pushed Melky
+before him out of their retreat.
+
+"You go first," he whispered, "I'll come after you. Keep an eye on him as
+far as you can--didn't I tell you he'd come out when we'd left? Be wary!"
+
+Melky slipped away up the street on the dark side and continued to track
+the slim figure quickly advancing in the moonlight. He followed until they
+had passed the front of the hospital--a few yards further, and Yada
+suddenly crossed the road in the direction of the Underground Railway. He
+darted in at the entrance to the City-bound train, and disappeared, and
+Melky, uncertain what to do, almost danced with excitement until Ayscough
+came leisurely towards him. "Quick! quick!" exclaimed Melky. "He's gone
+down there--City trains. He'll be off unless you're on to him!"
+
+But Ayscough remained quiescent and calmly relighted his cigar.
+
+"All right, my lad," he said. "Let him go--just now. I've seen--what I
+expected to see!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY
+
+
+THE MORTUARY
+
+Melky, who had grown breathless in his efforts to carry out his
+companion's wishes, turned and looked at him with no attempt to conceal
+his wonder.
+
+"Well, s'elp me if you ain't a cool 'un, Mr. Ayscough!" he exclaimed.
+"Here you troubles to track a chap to this here Underground Railway, seen
+him pop into it like a rabbit into a hole--and let's him go! What did we
+follow him up Gower Street for? Just to see him set off for a ride?"
+
+"All right, my lad!" repeated Ayscough. "You don't quite understand our
+little ways. Wait here a minute."
+
+He drew one of his cards from his pocket and carrying it into the booking
+office exchanged a few words with the clerk at the window. Presently he
+rejoined Melky. "He took a ticket for Whitechapel," remarked Ayscough as
+he strolled quietly up. "Ah! now what does a young Japanese medical
+student want going down that way at eleven o'clock at night? Something
+special, no doubt, Mr. Rubinstein. However, I'm going westward just now.
+Just going to have a look in at the Great Western Hotel, to see if Mr.
+Purdie heard anything from that American chap--and then I'm for home and
+bed. Like to come to the hotel with me?"
+
+"Strikes me we might as well make a night of it!" remarked Melky as they
+recrossed the road and sought a west-bound train. "We've had such an
+evening as I never expected! Mr. Ayscough! when on earth is this going to
+come to something like a clearing-up?"
+
+Ayscough settled himself in a corner of a smoking-carriage and leaned
+back.
+
+"My own opinion," he said, "is that it's coming to an end. Tomorrow, the
+news of the Chinaman's murder'll be the talk of the town. And if that
+doesn't fetch Levendale out of whatever cranny he's crept into, hanged if
+I know what will!"
+
+"Ah! you think that, do you?" said Melky. "But--why should that news fetch
+him out?"
+
+"Don't know!" replied Ayscough, almost unconcernedly. "But I'm almost
+certain that it will. You see--I think Levendale's looking for Chen Li.
+Now, if Levendale hears that Chen Li's lying dead in our mortuary--what?
+See?"
+
+Melky murmured that Mr. Ayscough was a cute 'un, and relapsed into thought
+until the train pulled up at Praed Street. He followed the detective up
+the streets and across the road to the hotel, dumbly wondering how many
+times that day he had been in and about that quarter on this apparently
+interminable chase. He was getting dazed--but Ayscough who was still
+smoking the cigar which Yada had given him, strode along into the hotel
+entrance apparently as fresh as paint.
+
+Purdie had a private sitting-room in connection with his bedroom, and
+there they found him and Lauriston, both smoking pipes and each evidently
+full of thought and speculation. They jumped to their feet as the
+detective entered.
+
+"I say!" exclaimed Lauriston. "Is this true?--this about the Chinese chap?
+Is it what they think at your police-station?--connected with the other
+affairs? We've been waiting, hoping you'd come in!"
+
+"Ah!" said Ayscough, dropping into a chair. "We've been pretty busy, me
+and Mr. Rubinstein there--we've had what you might call a pretty full
+evening's work of it. Yes--it's true enough, gentlemen--another step in
+the ladder--another brick in the building! We're getting on, Mr. Purdie,
+we're getting on! So you've been round to our place?--they told you,
+there!"
+
+"They gave us a mere outline," answered Purdie. "Just the bare facts. I
+suppose you've heard nothing of the other Chinaman?"
+
+"Not a circumstance--as yet," said Ayscough. "But I'm in hopes--I've done
+a bit, I think, towards it--with Mr. Rubinstein's help, though he doesn't
+quite understand my methods. But you, gentlemen--I came in to hear if
+you'd anything to tell about Guyler. What did he think about what John
+Purvis had to tell us this afternoon?"
+
+"He wasn't surprised," answered Purdie. "Don't you remember that he
+assured us from the very start that diamonds would be found to be at the
+bottom of this. But he surprised us!"
+
+"Aye? How?" asked Ayscough. "Some news?"
+
+"Guyler swears that he saw Stephen Purvis this very morning," replied
+Purdie. "He's confident of it!"
+
+"Saw Stephen Purvis--this very morning!" exclaimed Ayscough. "Where, now?"
+
+"Guyler had business down in the City--in the far end of it," said
+Purdie. "He was crossing Bishopsgate when he saw Stephen Purvis--he swears
+it was Stephen Purvis!--nothing can shake him! He, Purvis, was just
+turning the corner into a narrow alley running out of the street. Guyler
+rushed after him--he'd disappeared. Guyler waited, watching that alley, he
+says, like a cat watches a mouse-hole--and all in vain. He watched for an
+hour--it was no good."
+
+"Pooh!" said Ayscough. "If it was Purvis, he'd walked straight through the
+alley and gone out at the other end."
+
+"No!" remarked Lauriston. "At least, not according to Guyler. Guyler says
+it was a long, narrow alley--Purvis could have reached one end by the time
+he'd reached the other. He says--Guyler--that on each side of that alley
+there are suites of offices--he reckoned there were a few hundred separate
+offices in the lot, and that it would take him a week to make enquiry at
+the doors of each. But he's certain that Purvis disappeared into one block
+of them and dead certain that it was Stephen Purvis that he saw. So--
+Purvis is alive!"
+
+"Where's the other Purvis--the farmer?" asked Ayscough.
+
+"Stopping with Guyler at the Great Northern," answered Lauriston. "We've
+all four been down in the City, looking round, this evening. Guyler and
+John Purvis are going down again first thing in the morning. John Purvis,
+of course, is immensely relieved to know that Guyler's certain about his
+brother. I say!--do you know what Guyler's theory is about that diamond of
+Stephen's?"
+
+"No--and what might Mr. Guyler's theory be, now Mr. Lauriston?" enquired
+the detective. "There's such a lot of ingenious theories about that one
+may as well try to take in another. Mr. Rubinstein there is about weary of
+theories."
+
+But Melky was pricking his ears at the mere mention of anything relating
+to the diamond.
+
+"That's his chaff, Mr. Lauriston," he said. "Never mind him! What does
+Guyler think?"
+
+"Well, of course, Guyler doesn't know yet about the Chinese development,"
+said Lauriston. "Guyler thinks the robbery has been the work of a gang--a
+clever lot of diamond thieves who knew about Stephen Purvis's find of the
+orange-yellow thing and put in a lot of big work about getting it when it
+reached England. And he believes that that gang has kidnapped Levendale,
+and that Stephen Purvis is working in secret to get at them. That's
+Guyler's notion, anyhow."
+
+"Well!" said Ayscough. "And there may be something in it! For this search
+--how do we know that at any rate one of these Chinamen mayn't have had
+some connection with this gang? You never know--and to get a dead straight
+line at a thing's almost impossible. However, we've taken steps to have
+the news about the diamond and about this Chen Li appear in tomorrow
+morning's papers, and if that doesn't rouse the whole town--"
+
+A tap at the door prefaced the entrance of a waiter, who looked
+apologetically at its inmates.
+
+"Beg pardon, gentlemen," he said, "Mr. Ayscough? Gentleman outside would
+like a word with you, if you please, sir."
+
+Ayscough picked up his hat and walked out--there, waiting a little way
+down the corridor, an impressive figure in his big black cloak and wide-
+brimmed hat, stood Dr. Mirandolet. He strode forward as the detective
+advanced.
+
+"I heard you were here, so I came up," he said, leading Ayscough away.
+"Look here, my friend--one of your people has told me of this affair at
+Molteno Lodge--the discovery of the Chinaman's dead body."
+
+"That young fellow, Rubinstein, who called on you early this evening, and
+got me to accompany him discovered it," said Ayscough, who was wondering
+what the doctor was after. "I was with him."
+
+"I have heard, too," continued Mirandolet, "also from one of your people,
+about the strange story of the diamond which came out this afternoon, from
+the owner's brother. Now--I'll tell you why after--I want to see that dead
+Chinaman! I've a particular reason. Will you come with me to the
+mortuary?"
+
+Ayscough's curiosity was aroused by Mirandolet's manner, and without going
+back to Purdie's room, he set out with him. Mirandolet remained strangely
+silent until they came to the street in which the mortuary stood.
+
+"A strange and mysterious matter this, my friend!" he said. "That little
+Rubinstein man might have had some curious premonition when he came to me
+tonight with his odd question about Chinese!"
+
+"Just what I said myself, doctor!" agreed Ayscough.
+
+"It did look as if he'd a sort of foreboding, eh? But--Hullo!"
+
+He stopped short as a taxi-cab driven at a considerable speed, came
+rushing down the street and passing them swiftly turned into the wider
+road beyond. And the sudden exclamation was forced from his lips because
+it seemed to him that as the cab sped by he saw a yellow-hued face within
+it--for the fraction of a second. Quick as that glimpse was, Ayscough was
+still quicker as he glanced at the number on the back of the car--and
+memorized it.
+
+"Odd!" he muttered, "odd! Now, I could have sworn--" He broke off, and
+hurried after Mirandolet who had stridden ahead. "Here we are, doctor," he
+said, as they came to the door of the mortuary. "There's a man on night
+duty here, so there's no difficulty about getting in."
+
+There was a drawing of bolts, a turning of keys; the door opened, and a
+man looked out and seeing Ayscough and Dr. Mirandolet, admitted them into
+an ante-room and turned up the gas.
+
+"We want to see that Chinaman, George," said the detective. "Shan't keep
+you long."
+
+"There's a young foreign doctor just been to see him, Mr. Ayscough," said
+the man. "You'd pass his car down the street--he hasn't been gone three
+minutes. Young Japanese--brought your card with him."
+
+Ayscough turned on the man as if he had given him the most startling news
+in the world.
+
+"What?" he exclaimed, "Japanese? Brought my card?"
+
+"Showed me it as soon as he got here," answered the attendant, surprised
+at Ayscough's amazement. "Said you'd given it to him, so that he could
+call here and identify the body. So, of course, I let him go in."
+
+Ayscough opened his mouth in sheer amazement. But before he could get out
+a word, Mirandolet spoke, seizing the mortuary-keeper by the arm in his
+eagerness.
+
+"You let that man--a Japanese--see the dead Chinaman--_alone_?" he
+demanded.
+
+"Why, of course!" the attendant answered surlily. "He'd Mr. Ayscough's
+card, and--"
+
+Mirandolet dropped the man's arm and threw up his own long white hands.
+
+"Merciful Powers!" he vociferated. "He has stolen the diamond!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
+
+
+THE MIRANDOLET THEORY
+
+The silence that followed on this extraordinary exclamation was suddenly
+broken: the mortuary keeper, who had been advancing towards a door at the
+side of the room, dropped a bunch of keys. The strange metallic sound of
+their falling roused Ayscough, who had started aside, and was staring,
+open-mouthed, at Mirandolet's waving hands. He caught the doctor by the
+arm.
+
+"What on earth do you mean?" he growled. "Speak man--what is it?"
+
+Mirandolet suddenly laughed.
+
+"What is it?" he exclaimed. "Precisely what I said, in plain language!
+That fellow has, of course, gone off with the diamond--worth eighty
+thousand pounds! Your card!--Oh, man, man, whatever have you been doing?
+Be quick!--who is this Japanese?--how came he by your card? Quick, I say!
+--if you want to be after him!"
+
+"Hanged if I know what this means!" muttered Ayscough. "As to who he is--
+if he's the fellow I gave a card to, he's a young Japanese medical
+student, one Yada, that was a friend of those Chinese--I called on him
+tonight, with Rubinstein, to see if we could pick up a bit of information.
+Of course, I sent in my professional card to him. But--we saw him set off
+to the East End!"
+
+"Bah!" laughed Mirandolet. "He has--what you call done you brown, my
+friend! He came--here! And he has got away--got a good start--with that
+diamond in his pocket!"
+
+"What the devil do you mean by that?" said Ayscough, hotly. "Diamond!
+Diamond! Where should he find the diamond--here? In a deadhouse? What are
+you talking about?"
+
+Mirandolet laughed again, and giving the detective a look that was very
+like one of pitying contempt, turned to the amazed mortuary keeper.
+
+"Show us that dead man!" he said.
+
+The mortuary keeper, who had allowed his keys to lie on the floor during
+this strange scene, picked them up, and selecting one, opened, and threw
+back the door by which he was standing. He turned on the light in the
+mortuary chamber, and Mirandolet strode in, with Ayscough, sullen and
+wondering, at his heels.
+
+Chen Li lay where the detective had last seen him, still and rigid, the
+sheet drawn carefully over his yellow face. Without a word Mirandolet drew
+that sheet aside, and motioning his companion to draw nearer, pointed to a
+skull-cap of thin blue silk which fitted over the Chinaman's head.
+
+"You see that!" he whispered. "You know what's beneath it!--something that
+no true Chinaman ever parts with, even if he does come to Europe, and does
+wear English dress and English headgear--his pigtail! Look here!"
+
+He quietly moved the skull-cap, and showed the two astonished men a
+carefully-coiled mass of black hair, wound round and round the back of the
+head. And into it he slipped his own long, thin fingers--to draw them out
+again with an exclamation which indicated satisfaction with his own
+convictions.
+
+"Just as I said," he remarked. "Gone! Mr. Detective--that's where Chen Li
+hid the diamond--and that Japanese man has got it. And now--you'd better
+be after him--half-an-hour's start to him is as good as a week's would be
+to you."
+
+He drew the sheet over the dead face and strode out, and Ayscough
+followed, angry, mystified, and by no means convinced.
+
+"Look here!" he said, as they reached the ante-room; "that's all very
+well, Dr. Mirandolet, but it's only supposition on your part!"
+
+"Supposition that you'll find to be absolute truth, my good friend!"
+retorted Mirandolet, calmly. "I know the Chinese--better than you think.
+As soon as I heard of this affair tonight, I came to you to put you up to
+the Chinese trick of secreting things of value in their pigtails--it did
+not occur to me that the diamond might be there in this case, but I
+thought you would probably find something. But when we reached this
+mortuary, and I heard that a Japanese had been here, presenting your card
+when he had no business to present it, I guessed immediately what had
+happened--and now that you tell me that you told him all about this
+affair, well--I am certain of my assertion. Mr. Detective--go after the
+diamond!"
+
+He turned as if to leave the place, and Ayscough followed.
+
+"He mayn't been after the diamond at all!" he said, still resentful and
+incredulous. "Is it very likely he'd think it to be in that dead chap's
+pigtail when the other man's missing? It's Chang that's got that diamond--
+not Chen."
+
+"All right, my friend!" replied Mirandolet. "Your wisdom is superior to
+mine, no doubt. So--I wish you good-night!"
+
+He strode out of the place and turned sharply up the street, and Ayscough,
+after a growl or two, went back to the mortuary keeper.
+
+"How long was that Jap in there?" he asked, nodding at the death chamber.
+
+"Not a minute, Mr. Ayscough!" replied the man. "In and out again, as you
+might say."
+
+"Did he say anything when he came out?" enquired the detective.
+
+"He did--two words," answered the keeper. "He said, 'That's he!' and
+walked straight out, and into his car."
+
+"And when he came he told you I'd sent him?" demanded Ayscough.
+
+"Just that--and showed me your card," assented the man. "Of course, I'd no
+reason to doubt his word."
+
+"Look here, George!" said Ayscough, "you keep this to yourself! Don't say
+anything to any of our folks if they come in. I don't half believe what
+that doctor said just now--but I'll make an enquiry or two. Mum's the
+word, meanwhile. You understand, George?"
+
+George answered that he understood very well, and Ayscough presently left
+him. Outside, in the light of the lamp set over the entrance to the
+mortuary, he pulled out his watch. Twelve o'clock--midnight. And
+somewhere, that cursed young Jap was fleeing away through the London
+streets--having cheated him, Ayscough, at his own game!
+
+He had already reckoned things up in connection with Yada. Yada had been
+having him--even as Melky Rubinstein had suspected and suggested--all
+through that conversation at Gower Street. Probably, Yada, from his window
+in the drawing-room floor of his lodging-house, had watched him and Melky
+slip across the street and hide behind the hoarding opposite. And then
+Yada had gone out, knowing he was to be followed, and had tricked them
+beautifully, getting into an underground train going east, and, in all
+certainty, getting out again at the next station, chartering a cab, and
+returning west--with Ayscough's card in his pocket.
+
+But Ayscough knew one useful thing--he had memorized the letters and
+numbers of the taxi-cab in which Yada had sped by him and Mirandolet, L.C.
+2571--he had kept repeating that over and over. Now he took out his note-
+book and jotted it down--and that done he set off to the police-station,
+intent first of all on getting in touch with New Scotland Yard by means of
+the telephone.
+
+Ayscough, like most men of his calling in London, had a considerable
+amount of general knowledge of things and affairs, and he summoned it to
+his aid in this instance. He knew that if the Japanese really had become
+possessed of the orange and yellow diamond (of which supposition, in spite
+of Mirandolet's positive convictions, he was very sceptical) he would most
+certainly make for escape. He would be off to the Continent, hot foot.
+Now, Ayscough had a good acquaintance with the Continental train services
+--some hours must elapse before Yada could possibly get a train for Dover,
+or Folkstone, or Newhaven, or the shortest way across, or to any other
+ports such as Harwich or Southampton, by a longer route. Obviously, the
+first thing to do was to have the stations at Victoria, and Charing Cross,
+and Holborn Viaduct, and London Bridge carefully watched for Yada. And for
+two weary hours in the middle of the night he was continuously at work on
+the telephone, giving instructions and descriptions, and making
+arrangements to spread a net out of which the supposed fugitive could not
+escape.
+
+And when all that was at last satisfactorily arranged, Ayscough was
+conscious that it might be for nothing. He might be on a wrong track
+altogether--due to the suspicions and assertions of that queer man,
+Mirandolet. There might be some mystery--in Ayscough's opinion there
+always was mystery wherever Chinese or Japanese or Hindus were concerned.
+Yada might have some good reason for wishing to see Chen Li's dead body,
+and have taken advantage of the detective's card to visit it. This
+extraordinary conduct might be explained. But meanwhile Ayscough could not
+afford to neglect a chance, and tired as he was, he set out to find the
+driver of the taxicab whose number he had carefully set down in his
+notebook.
+
+There was little difficulty in this stage of the proceedings; it was
+merely a question of time, of visiting a central office and finding the
+man's name and address. By six o'clock in the morning Ayscough was at a
+small house in a shabby street in Kentish Town, interviewing a woman who
+had just risen to light her fire, and was surlily averse to calling up a
+husband, who, she said, had not been in bed until nearly four. She was not
+any more pleased when Ayscough informed her of his professional status--
+but the man was fetched down.
+
+"You drove a foreigner--a Japanese--to the mortuary in Paddington last
+night?" said Ayscough, plunging straight into business, after telling the
+man who he was. "I saw him--just a glimpse of him--in your cab, and I took
+your number. Now, where did you first pick him up?"
+
+"Outside the Underground, at King's Cross," replied the driver promptly.
+
+This was precisely what Ayscough had expected; so far, so good; his own
+prescience was proving sure.
+
+"Anything wrong, mister?" asked the driver.
+
+"There may be," said Ayscough. "Well--you picked him up there, and drove
+him straight to the mortuary?"
+
+"No--I didn't," said the man. "We made a call first. Euston. He went in
+there, and, I should say, went to the left luggage office, 'cause he came
+back again with a small suit-case--just a little 'un. Then we went on to
+that mortuary."
+
+Euston! A small suit-case! More facts--Ayscough made notes of them.
+
+"Well," he said, "and when you drove away from the mortuary, where did you
+go then?"
+
+"Oxford Circus," answered the driver, "set him down--his orders--right
+opposite the Tube Station--t'other side of the street."
+
+"Did you see which way he went--then?" enquired Ayscough.
+
+"I did. Straight along Oxford Street--Tottenham Court Road way," said the
+driver, "carrying his suitcase--which it was, as I say, on'y a little 'un
+--and walking very fast. Last I see of him was that, guv'nor."
+
+Ayscough went away and got back to more pretentious regions. He was dead
+tired and weary with his night's work, and glad to drop in at an early-
+opened coffee-shop and get some breakfast. While he ate and drank a boy
+came in with the first editions of the newspapers. Ayscough picked one up
+--and immediately saw staring headlines:--
+
+THE PADDINGTON MYSTERIES.
+NEW AND STARTLING FEATURES.
+DIAMOND WORTH L80,000 BEING LOOKED FOR
+MURDER IN MAIDA VALE
+
+Ayscough laid down the paper and smiled. Levendale--if not dead--could
+scarcely fail to see that!
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
+
+
+ONE O'CLOCK MIDNIGHT
+
+Five minutes after Ayscough had gone away with Dr. Mirandolet the hotel
+servant who had summoned him from Purdie's sitting-room knocked at the
+door for the second time and put a somewhat mystified face inside.
+
+"Beg pardon, sir," he said, glancing at Purdie, who was questioning Melky
+Rubinstein as to the events of the evening in their relation to the house
+in Maida Vale. "Two ladies outside, sir--waiting to see you. But they
+don't want to come in, sir, unless they know who's here--don't want to
+meet no strangers, sir."
+
+Purdie jumped to his feet, and putting the man aside looked into the
+dimly-lighted corridor. There, a few paces away, stood Zillah--and, half
+hidden by her, Mrs. Goldmark.
+
+"Come in--come in!" he exclaimed. "Nobody here but Andie Lauriston and
+Melky Rubinstein. You've something to tell--something's happened?"
+
+He ushered them into the room, sent the hotel servant, obviously in a
+state of high curiosity about these happenings, away, and closed the door.
+
+"S'elp me!" exclaimed Melky, "there ain't no other surprises, Zillah? You
+ain't come round at this time o' night for nothing! What you got to tell,
+Zillah?--another development?"
+
+"Mrs. Goldmark has something to tell," answered Zillah. "We didn't know
+what to do, and you didn't come, Melky--nobody come--and so we locked the
+house and thought of Mr. Purdie. Mrs. Goldmark has seen somebody!"
+
+"Who?" demanded Melky. "Somebody, now? What somebody?"
+
+"The man that came to her restaurant," replied Zillah. "The man who lost
+the platinum solitaire!"
+
+Mrs. Goldmark who had dropped into the chair which Purdie had drawn to the
+side of the table for her, wagged her head thoughtfully.
+
+"This way it was, then," she said, with a dramatic suggestion of personal
+enjoyment in revealing a new feature of the mystery, "I have a friend who
+lives in Stanhope Street--Mrs. Isenberg. She sends to me at half-past-ten
+to tell me she is sick. I go to see her--immediate. I find her very
+poorly--so! I stop with her till past eleven, doing what I can. Then her
+sister, she comes--I can do no more--I come away. And I walk through
+Sussex Square, as my road back to Praed Street and Zillah. But before I am
+much across Sussex Square, I stop--sudden, like that! For what? Because--I
+see a man! That man! Him what drops his cuff-link on my table. Oh, yes!"
+
+"You're sure it was that man, Mrs. Goldmark?" enquired Melky, anxiously.
+"You don't make no mistakes, so?"
+
+"Do I mistake myself if I say I see you, Mr. Rubinstein?" exclaimed Mrs.
+Goldmark, solemnly and with emphasis. "No, I don't make no mistakes at
+all. Is there not gas lamps?--am I not blessed with good eyes? I see him--
+like as I see you there young gentleman and Zillah. Plain!"
+
+"Well--and what was he doing?" asked Purdie, desirous of getting at facts.
+"Did he come out of a house, or go into one, or--what?"
+
+"I tell you," replied Mrs. Goldmark, "everything I tell you--all in good
+time. It is like this. A taxicab comes up--approaching me. It stops--by
+the pavement. Two men--they get out. Him first. Then another. They pay the
+driver--then they walk on a little--just a few steps. They go into a
+house. The other man--he lets them into that house. With a latch-key. The
+door opens--shuts. They are inside. Then I go to Zillah and tell her what
+I see. So!"
+
+The three young men exchanged glances, and Purdie turned to the informant.
+
+"Mrs. Goldmark," he said, "did you know the man who opened the door?"
+
+"Not from another!" replied Mrs. Goldmark. "A stranger to me!"
+
+"Do you know Mr. Levendale--by sight?" asked Purdie.
+
+"Often, since all this begins, I ask myself that question," said Mrs.
+Goldmark, "him being, so to speak, a neighbour. No, that I do not, not
+being able to say he was ever pointed out to me."
+
+"Well, you can describe the man who pulled out his latch-key and opened
+the door, anyhow," remarked Purdie. "You took a good look at him, I
+suppose!"
+
+"And a good one," answered Mrs. Goldmark. "He was one of our people--I saw
+his nose and his eyes. And I was astonished to see so poor-looking a man
+have a latch-key to so grand a mansion as that!--he was dressed in poor
+clothes, and looked dirty and mean."
+
+"A bearded dark man?" suggested Purdie.
+
+"Not at all," said Mrs. Goldmark. "A clean-shaved man--though dark he
+might be."
+
+Purdie looked at Melky and shook his head.
+
+"That's not Levendale!" he said, "Clean-shaven! Levendale's bearded and
+mustached--and I should say a bit vain of his beard. Um! you're dead
+certain, Mrs. Goldmark, about the other man?"
+
+"As that I tell you this," insisted Mrs. Goldmark. "I see him as plain as
+what I see him when he calls at my establishment and leaves his jewellery
+on my table. Oh, yes--I don't make no mistake, Mr. Purdie."
+
+Purdie looked again at Melky--this time with an enquiry in his glance.
+
+"Don't ask me, Mr. Purdie!" said Melky. "I don't know what to say. Sounds
+like as if these two went into Levendale's house. But what man would have
+a latch-key to that but Levendale himself? More mystery!--ain't I full of
+it already? Now if Mr. Ayscough hadn't gone away--"
+
+"Look here!" said Purdie, coming to a sudden decision, "I'm going round
+there. I want to know what this means--I'm going to know. You ladies had
+better go home. If you others like to come as far as the corner of Sussex
+Square, come. But I'm going to Levendale's house alone. I'll find
+something out."
+
+He said no more until, Zillah and Mrs. Goldmark having gone homeward, and
+he and his two companions having reached a side street leading into Sussex
+Square, he suddenly paused and demanded their attention!
+
+"I've particular reasons for wanting to go into that house alone," he
+said. "There's no danger--trust me. But--if I'm not out again in a quarter
+of an hour or so, you can come there and ask for me. My own impression is
+that I shall find Levendale there. And--as you're aware, Andie--I know
+Levendale." He left them standing in the shadow of a projecting portico
+and going up to Levendale's front door, rang the bell. There was no light
+in any of the windows; all appeared to be in dead stillness in the house;
+somewhere, far off in the interior, he heard the bell tinkle. And
+suddenly, as he stood waiting and listening, he heard a voice that sounded
+close by him and became aware that there was a small trap or grille in the
+door, behind which he made out a face.
+
+"Who is that?" whispered the voice.
+
+"John Purdie--wanting to see Mr. Levendale," he answered promptly.
+
+The door was just as promptly opened, and as Purdie stepped within was as
+quickly closed behind him. At the same instant the click of a switch
+heralded a flood of electric light, and he started to see a man standing
+at his side--a man who gave him a queer, deprecating smile, a man who was
+not and yet who was Levendale.
+
+"Gracious me!" exclaimed Purdie, "it isn't--"
+
+"Yes!" said Levendale, quietly. "But it is, though! All right, Purdie--
+come this way."
+
+Purdie followed Levendale into a small room on the right of the hall--a
+room in which the remains of a cold, evidently impromptu supper lay on a
+table lighted by a shaded lamp. Two men had been partaking of that supper,
+but Levendale was alone. He gave his visitor another queer smile, and
+pointed, first to a chair and then to a decanter.
+
+"Sit down--take a drink," he said. "This is a queer meeting! We haven't
+seen each other since--"
+
+"Good God, man!" broke in Purdie, staring at his host. "What's it all
+mean? Are you--disguised?"
+
+Levendale laughed--ruefully--and glanced at the mean garments which Mrs.
+Goldmark had spoken of.
+
+"Necessity!" he said. "Had to! Ah!--I've been through some queer times--
+and in queer places. Look here--what do you know?"
+
+"Know!" cried Purdie. "You want me to tell you all I know--in a sentence?
+Man!--it would take a month! What do you know? That's more like it!"
+
+Levendale passed a hand across his forehead--there was a weariness in his
+gesture which showed his visitor that he was dead beat.
+
+"Aye, just so!" he said. "But--tell me! has John Purvis come looking for
+his brother?"
+
+"He has!" answered Purdie. "He's in London just now."
+
+"Has he told about that diamond?--told the police?" demanded Levendale.
+
+"He has!" repeated Purdie. "That's all known. Stephen Purvis--where is
+he?"
+
+"Upstairs--asleep--dead tired out," said Levendale. "We both are! Night
+and day--day and night--I could fall on this floor and sleep--"
+
+"You've been after that diamond?" suggested Purdie.
+
+"That--and something else," said Levendale.
+
+"Something else?" asked Purdie. "What then?"
+
+"Eighty thousand pounds," answered Levendale. "Just that!"
+
+Purdie stood staring at him. Then he suddenly put a question.
+
+"Do you know who murdered that old man in Praed Street?" he demanded.
+"That's what I'm after."
+
+"No!" said Levendale, promptly. "I don't even know that he was murdered!"
+He, too, stared at his visitor for a moment; then "But I know more than a
+little about his being robbed," he added significantly.
+
+Purdie shook his head. He was puzzled and mystified beyond measure.
+
+"This is getting too deep for me!" he said. "You're the biggest mystery of
+all, Levendale. Look here!" he went on. "What are you going to do? This
+queer disappearance of yours--this being away--coming back without your
+beard and dressed like that!--aren't you going to explain? The police--"
+
+"Yes!" said Levendale. "Ten o'clock this morning--the police-station. Be
+there--all of you--anybody--anybody who likes--I'm going to tell the
+police all I know. Purvis and I, we can't do any more--baffled, you
+understand! But now--go away, Purdie, and let me sleep--I'm dead done
+for!"
+
+Within ten minutes of leaving them, Purdie was back with Lauriston and
+Melky Rubinstein, and motioning them away from Sussex Square.
+
+"That's more extraordinary than the rest!" he said, as they all moved off.
+"Levendale's there, in his own house, right enough! And he's shaved off
+his beard and mustache, and he's wearing tramp's clothes and he and
+Stephen Purvis have been looking night and day, for that confounded
+diamond, and for eighty thousand pounds! And--what's more, Levendale does
+not know who killed Daniel Multenius or that he was murdered! But, by
+George, sirs!" he added, as high above their heads the clock of St.
+James's Church struck one, "he knows something big!--and we've got to wait
+nine hours to hear it!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
+
+
+SECRET WORK
+
+The inner room of the police-station, at ten o'clock that morning, was
+full of men. Purdie, coming there with Lauriston at five minutes before
+the hour, found Melky Rubinstein hanging about the outer door, and had
+only just time to warn his companion to keep silence as to their midnight
+discovery before Guyler and John Purvis drove up in one cab and Mr.
+Killick in another. Inside, Ayscough, refreshed by his breakfast and an
+hour's rest, was talking to the inspector and the man from New Scotland
+Yard--all these looked enquiringly at the group which presently crowded in
+on them.
+
+"Any of you gentlemen got any fresh news?" demanded the inspector, as he
+ran his eye over the expectant faces "No?--well, I suppose you're all
+wanting to know if we have?" He glanced at Ayscough, who was pointing out
+certain paragraphs in one of the morning newspapers to the Scotland Yard
+man. "The fact is," he continued, "there have been queer developments
+since last night--and I don't exactly know where we are! My own opinion is
+that we'd better wait a few hours before saying anything more definite--to
+my mind, these newspapers are getting hold of too much news--giving
+information to the enemy, as it were. I think you'd all better leave
+things to us, gentlemen--for a while." There was rather more than a polite
+intimation in this that the presence of so many visitors was not wanted--
+but John Purvis at once assumed a determined attitude.
+
+"I want to know exactly what's being done, and what's going to be done,
+about my brother!" he said. "I'm entitled to that! That's the job I came
+about--myself--as for the rest--"
+
+"Your brother's here!" said Purdie, who was standing by the window and
+keeping an eye on the street outside. "And Mr. Levendale with him--hadn't
+you better have them straight in?" he went on, turning to the inspector.
+"They both look as if they'd things to tell."
+
+But Ayscough had already made for the door and within a moment was
+ushering in the new arrivals. And Purdie was quick to note that the
+Levendale who entered, a sheaf of morning papers in his hand, was a vastly
+different Levendale to the man he had seen nine hours before, dirty,
+unkempt, and worn out with weariness. The trim beard and mustache were
+hopelessly lost, and there were lines on Levendale's face which they
+concealed, but Levendale himself was now smartly groomed and carefully
+dressed, and business-like, and it was with the air of a man who means
+business that he strode into the room and threw a calm nod to the
+officials.
+
+"Now, Inspector," he said, going straight to the desk, while Stephen
+Purvis turned to his brother. "I see from the papers that you've all been
+much exercised about Mr. Purvis and myself--it just shows how a couple of
+men can disappear and give some trouble before they're found. But here we
+are!--and why we're here is because we're beaten--we took our own course
+in trying to find our own property--and we're done! We can do no more--and
+so we come to you."
+
+"You should have come here at first, Mr. Levendale," said the Inspector, a
+little sourly. "You'd have saved a lot of trouble--to yourselves as well
+as to us. But that's neither here nor there--I suppose you've something to
+tell us, sir?"
+
+"Before I tell you anything," replied Levendale, "I want to know
+something." He pointed to the morning papers which he had brought in.
+"These people," he said, "seem to have got hold of a lot of information--
+all got from you, of course. Now, we know what we're after--let's put it
+in a nutshell. A diamond--an orange-yellow diamond--worth eighty thousand
+pounds, the property of Mr. Stephen Purvis there. That's item one! But
+there's another. Eighty thousand pounds in bank-notes!--my property. Now--
+have any of you the least idea who's got the diamond and my money? Come!"
+
+There was a moment's silence. Then Ayscough spoke.
+
+"Not a definite idea, Mr. Levendale--as yet."
+
+"Then I'll tell you," said Levendale. "A Chinese fellow--one Chang Li.
+He's got them--both! And Stephen Purvis and I have been after him for all
+the days and nights since we disappeared--and we're beaten! Now you'll
+have to take it up--and I'd better tell you the plain truth about what's
+no doubt seemed a queer business from the first. Half-an-hour's talk now
+will save hours of explanation later on. So listen to me, all of you--I
+already see two gentlemen here, Mr. Killick, and Mr. Guyler, who in a
+certain fashion, can corroborate some particulars that I shall give you.
+Keep us free from interruption, if you please, while I tell you my story."
+
+Ayscough answered this request by going to the door and leaning against
+it, and Levendale took a chair by the side of the desk and looked round at
+an expectant audience.
+
+"It's a queer and, in some respects, an involved story," he said, "but I
+shall contrive to make matters plain to you before I've finished. I shall
+have to go back a good many years--to a time when, as Mr. Killick there
+knows, I was a partner with Daniel Molteno in a jewellery business in the
+City. I left him, and went out to South Africa, where I engaged in diamond
+trading. I did unusually well in my various enterprises, and some years
+later I came back to London a very well-to-do man. Not long after my
+return, I met my former partner again. He had changed his name to
+Multenius, and was trading in Praed Street as a jeweller and pawnbroker.
+Now, I had no objection to carrying on a trade with certain business
+connections of mine at the Cape--and after some conversation with
+Multenius he and I arranged to buy and sell diamonds together here in
+London, and I at once paid over a sum of money to him as working capital.
+The transactions were carried out in his name. It was he, chiefly, who
+conducted them--he was as good and keen a judge of diamonds as any man I
+ever knew--and no one here was aware that I was concerned in them. I never
+went to his shop in Praed Street but twice--if it was absolutely necessary
+for him to see me, we met in the City, at a private office which I have
+there. Now you understand the exact relations between Daniel Multenius and
+myself. We were partners--in secret.
+
+"We come, then, to recent events. Early in this present autumn, we heard
+from Mr. Stephen Purvis, with whom I had had some transactions in South
+Africa, that he had become possessed of a rare and fine orange-yellow
+diamond and that he was sending it to us. It arrived at Multenius's--
+Multenius brought it to me at my city office and we examined it, after
+which Multenius deposited it in his bank. We decided to buy it ourselves
+--I finding the money. We knew, from our messages from Stephen Purvis,
+that he would be in town on the 18th November, and we arranged everything
+for that date. That date, then, becomes of special importance--what
+happened at Multenius's shop in Praed Street on the afternoon of November
+18th, between half-past four and half-past five is, of course, the thing
+that really is of importance. Now, what did happen? I can tell you--save
+as regards one detail which is, perhaps, of more importance than the other
+details. Of that detail I can't tell anything--but I can offer a good
+suggestion about it.
+
+"Stephen Purvis was to call at Daniel Multenius's shop in Praed Street
+between five o'clock and half-past on the afternoon of November 18th--to
+complete the sale of his diamond. About noon on that day, Daniel Multenius
+went to the City. He went to his bank and took the diamond away. He then
+proceeded to my office, where I handed him eighty thousand pounds in bank
+notes--notes of large amounts. With the diamond and these notes in his
+possession, Daniel Multenius went back to Praed Street. I was to join him
+there shortly after five o'clock.
+
+"Now we come to my movements. I lunched in the City, and afterwards went
+to a certain well-known book-seller's in Holborn, who had written to tell
+me that he had for sale a valuable book which he knew I wanted. I have
+been a collector of rare books ever since I came back to England. I spent
+an hour or so at the book-seller's shop. I bought the book which I had
+gone to see--paying a very heavy price for it. I carried it away in my
+hand, not wrapped up, and got into an omnibus which was going my way, and
+rode in it as far as the end of Praed Street. There I got out. And--in
+spite of what I said in my advertisement in the newspapers of the
+following morning,--I had the book in my hand when I left the omnibus. Why
+I pretended to have lost it, why I inserted that advertisement in the
+papers, I shall tell you presently--that was all part of a game which was
+forced upon me.
+
+"It was, as near as I can remember, past five o'clock when I turned along
+Praed Street. The darkness was coming on, and there was a slight rain
+falling, and a tendency to fog. However, I noticed something--I am
+naturally very quick of observation. As I passed the end of the street
+which goes round the back of the Grand Junction Canal basin, the street
+called Iron Gate Wharf, I saw turn into it, walking very quickly, a
+Chinaman whom I knew to be one of the two Chinese medical students to whom
+Daniel Multenius had let a furnished house in Maida Vale. He had his back
+to me--I did not know which of the two he was. I thought nothing of the
+matter, and went on. In another minute I was at the pawn-shop. I opened
+the door, walked in, and went straight to the little parlour--I had been
+there just twice before when Daniel Multenius was alone, and so I knew my
+way. I went, I say, straight through--and in the parlour doorway ran into
+Stephen Purvis.
+
+"Purvis was excited--trembling, big fellow though he is, do you see? He
+will bear me out as to what was said--and done. Without a word, he turned
+and pointed to where Daniel Multenius was lying across the floor--dead. 'I
+haven't been here a minute!' said Purvis. 'I came in--found him, like
+that! There's nobody here. For God's sake, where's my diamond?'
+
+"Now, I was quick to think. I formed an impression within five seconds.
+That Chinaman had called--found the old man lying in a fit, or possibly
+dead--had seen, as was likely, the diamond on the table in the parlour,
+the wad of bank-notes lying near, had grabbed the lot--and gone away. It
+was a theory--and I am confident yet that it was the correct one. And I
+tell you plainly that my concern from that instant was not with Daniel
+Multenius, but with the Chinaman! I thought and acted like lightning.
+First, I hastily examined Multenius, felt in his pockets, found that there
+was nothing there that I wanted and that he was dead. Then I remembered
+that on a previous visit of mine he had let me out of his house by a door
+at the rear which communicated with a narrow passage running into Market
+Street, and without a second's delay, I seized Purvis by the arm and
+hurried him out. It was dark enough in that passage--there was not a soul
+about--we crossed Market Street, turned to the right, and were in Oxford
+and Cambridge Terrace before we paused. My instinct told me that the right
+thing to do was to get away from that parlour. And it was not until we
+were quite away from it that I realized that I had left my book behind
+me!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
+
+
+BAFFLED
+
+Levendale paused at this point of his story, and looked round the circle
+of attentive faces. He was quick to notice that two men were watching him
+with particularly close attention--one was Ayscough, the other, the old
+solicitor. And as he resumed his account he glanced meaningly at Mr.
+Killick.
+
+"I daresay some of you would like to question me--and Stephen Purvis, too
+--on what I've already told you?" he said. "You're welcome to ask any
+questions you like--any of you--when I've done. But--let me finish--for
+then perhaps you'll fully understand what we were at.
+
+"Purvis and I walked up and down in Oxford and Cambridge Terrace for some
+time--discussing the situation. The more I considered the matter, the more
+I was certain that my first theory was right--the Chinaman had got the
+diamond and the bank-notes. I was aware of these two Chinamen as tenants of
+Multenius's furnished house--as a matter of fact, I had been present, at
+the shop in Praed Street, on one of my two visits there when they
+concluded their arrangements with him. What I now thought was this--one of
+them had called on the old man to do some business, or to pay the rent,
+and had found him in a fit, or dead, as the result of one, had seen the
+diamond and the money on the table, placed there in readiness for Purvis's
+coming, and had possessed himself of both and made off. Purvis agreed with
+me. And--both Purvis and myself are well acquainted with the
+characteristic peculiarities, and idiosyncrasies of Chinamen!--we knew
+with what we had to deal. Therefore we knew what we had to do. We wanted
+the diamond and my money. And since we were uncomfortably aware of the
+craft and subtlety of the thief who'd got both we knew we should have to
+use craft ourselves--and of no common sort. Therefore we decided that the
+very last thing we should think of would be an immediate appeal to the
+police.
+
+"Now, you police officials may, nay, will!--say that we ought to have gone
+straight to you, especially as this was a case of murder. But we knew
+nothing about it being a case of murder. We had seen no signs of violence
+on the old man--I knew him to be very feeble, and I believed he had been
+suddenly struck over by paralysis, or something of that sort. I reckoned
+matters up, carefully. It was plain that Daniel Multenius had been left
+alone in house and shop--that his granddaughter was out on some errand or
+other. Therefore, no one knew of the diamond and the money. We did not
+want any one to know. If we had gone to the police and told our tale, the
+news would have spread, and would certainly have reached the Chinaman's
+ears. We knew well enough that if we were to get our property back the
+thief must not be alarmed--there must be nothing in the newspapers next
+morning. The Chinaman must not know that the real owners of the diamond
+and the bank-notes suspected him--he must not know that information about
+his booty was likely to be given to the police. He must be left to
+believe--for some hours at any rate--that what he had possessed himself of
+was the property of a dead man who could not tell anything. But there
+was my book in that dead man's parlour! It was impossible to go back and
+fetch it. It was equally impossible that it should not attract attention.
+Daniel Multenius's granddaughter, whom I believed to be a very sharp young
+woman, would notice it, and would know that it had come into the place
+during her absence. I thought hard over that problem--and finally I
+drafted an advertisement and sent it off to an agency with instructions to
+insert it in every morning newspaper in London next day. Why? Because I
+wanted to draw a red herring across the trail!--I wanted, for the time
+being, to set up a theory that some man or other had found that book in
+the omnibus, had called in at Multenius's to sell or pawn it, had found
+the old man alone, and had assaulted and robbed him. All this was with a
+view to hoodwinking the Chinaman. Anything must be done, anything!--to
+keep him ignorant that Purvis and I knew the real truth.
+
+"But--what did we intend to do? I tell you, not being aware that old
+Daniel Multenius had met his death by violence, we did not give one
+second's thought to that aspect and side of the affair--we concentrated on
+the recovery of our property. I knew the house in which these Chinese
+lived. That evening, Purvis and I went there. We have both been
+accustomed, in our time, to various secret dealings and manoeuvres, and we
+entered the grounds of that house without any one being the wiser. It did
+not take long to convince us that the house was empty. It remained empty
+that night--Purvis kept guard over it, in an outhouse in the garden. No
+one either entered or left it between our going to it and Purvis coming
+away from it next morning--he stayed there, watching until it was time to
+keep an appointment with me in Hyde Park. Before I met him, I had been
+called upon by Detective Ayscough, Mr. Rubinstein, and Mr. Lauriston--they
+know what I said to them. I could not at that time say anything else--I
+had my own concerns to think of.
+
+"When Purvis and I met we had another consultation, and we determined, in
+view of all the revelations which had come out and had been published in
+the papers, that the suspicion cast on young Mr. Lauriston was the very
+best thing that could happen for us; it would reassure our Chinaman. And
+we made up our minds that the house in Maida Vale would not be found
+untenanted that night, and we arranged to meet there at eleven o'clock. We
+felt so sure that our man would have read all the news in the papers, and
+would feel safe, and that we should find him. But, mark you, we had no
+idea as to which of the two Chinamen it was that we wanted. Of one fact,
+however, we were certain--whichever it was that I had seen slip round the
+corner of Iron Gate Wharf the previous day, whether it was Chang Li or
+Chen Li, he would have kept his secret to himself! The thing was--to get
+into that house; to get into conversation with both; to decide which was
+the guilty man, and then--to take our own course. We knew what to do--and
+we went fully prepared.
+
+"Now we come to this--our second visit to the house in Maida Vale. To be
+exact, it was between eleven and twelve on the second night after the
+disappearance of the diamond. As on the previous night, we gained access
+to the garden by the door at the back--that, on each occasion, was
+unfastened, while the gate giving access to the road in Maida Vale was
+securely locked. And, as on the previous night, we quickly found that up
+to then at any rate, the house was empty. But not so the garden! While I
+was looking round the further side of the house, Purvis took a careful
+look round the garden. And presently he came to me and drew away to the
+asphalted path which runs from the front gate to the front door. The moon
+had risen above the houses and trees--and in its light he pointed to
+bloodstains. It did not take a second look, gentlemen, to see that they
+were recent--in fact, fresh. Somebody had been murdered in that garden not
+many minutes--literally, minutes!--before our arrival. And within two
+minutes more we found the murdered man lying behind some shrubbery on the
+left of the path. I knew him for the younger of the two Chinese--the man
+called Chen Li.
+
+"This discovery, of course, made us aware that we were now face to face
+with a new development. We were not long in arriving at a conclusion about
+that. Chang Li had found out that his friend had become possessed of these
+valuable--he might have discovered the matter of the diamond, or of the
+bank-notes or both--how was immaterial. But we were convinced, putting
+everything together, that he had made this discovery, had probably laid in
+wait for Chen Li as he returned home that night, had run a knife into him
+as he went up the garden, had dragged the body into the shrubbery,
+possessed himself of the loot, and made off. And now we were face to face
+with what was going, as we knew, to be the stiffest part of our work--the
+finding of Chang Li. We set to work on that without a moment's delay.
+
+"I have told you that Purvis and I have a pretty accurate knowledge of
+Chinamen; we have both had deep and intimate experience of them and their
+ways. I, personally, know a good deal of the Chinese Colony in London: I
+have done business with Chinamen, both in London and South Africa, for
+years. I had a good idea of what Chang Li's procedure would be. He would
+hide--if need be, for months, until the first heat of the hue and cry
+which he knew would be sure to be raised, would have cooled down. There
+are several underground warrens--so to speak--in the East End, in which he
+could go to earth, comfortably and safely, until there was a chance of
+slipping out of the country unobserved. I know already of some of them. I
+would get to know of others.
+
+"Purvis and I got on that track--such as it was, at once. We went along to
+the East End there and then--before morning I had shaved off my beard and
+mustache, disguised myself in old clothes, and was beginning my work.
+First thing next morning I did two things--one was to cause a telegram to
+be sent from Spring Street to my butler explaining my probable absence;
+the other to secretly warn the Bank of England about the bank-notes. But I
+had no expectation that Chang Li would try to negotiate those--all his
+energies, I knew, would be concentrated on the diamond. Nevertheless, he
+might try--and would, if he tried--succeed--in changing one note, and it
+was as well to take that precaution.
+
+"Now then, next day, Purvis and I being, in our different ways, at work in
+the East End, we heard the news about the Praed Street tradesman,
+Parslett. That seemed to me remarkable proof of my theory. As the
+successive editions of the newspapers came out during that day, and next
+day, we learnt all about the Parslett affair. I saw through it at once.
+Parslett, being next-door neighbour to Daniel Multenius, had probably seen
+Chen Li--whom we now believed to have been the actual thief--slip away
+from Multenius's door, and, when the news of Daniel's death came out, had
+put two and two together, and, knowing where the Chinamen lived, had gone
+to the house in Maida Vale to blackmail them. I guessed what had happened
+then--Parslett, to quieten him for the moment, had been put off with fifty
+pounds in gold, and promised more--and he had also been skilfully poisoned
+in such a fashion that he would get safely away from the premises but die
+before he got home. And when he was safe away, Chang Li had murdered Chen
+Li, and made off. So--as I still think--all our theories were correct, and
+the only thing to do was to find Chang."
+
+But here Levendale paused, glanced at Stephen Purvis, and spread out his
+hands with a gesture which indicated failure and disappointment. His
+glance moved from Stephen Purvis to the police officials.
+
+"All no good!" he exclaimed. "It's useless to deny it. I have been in
+every Chinese den and haunt in East London--I'm certain that Chang Li is
+nowhere down there. I have spent money like water--employed Chinese and
+Easterns on whom I could depend--there isn't a trace of him! And so--we
+gave up last night. Purvis and I--baffled. We've come to you police
+people--"
+
+"You should have done that before, Mr. Levendale," said the Inspector
+severely. "You haven't given us much credit, I think, and if you'd told
+all this at first--"
+
+Before the Inspector could say more, a constable tapped at the door and
+put his head into the room. His eyes sought Ayscough.
+
+"There's a young gentleman--foreigner--asking for you, Mr. Ayscough," he
+said. "Wants to see you at once--name of Mr. Yada."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
+
+
+YADA TAKES CHARGE
+
+Ayscough had only time to give a warning look and a word to the others
+before Mr. Mori Yada was ushered in. Every eye was turned on him as he
+entered--some of the men present looking at him with wonder, some with
+curiosity, two, at any rate--Levendale and Stephen Purvis--with doubt. But
+Yada himself was to all outward appearance utterly indifferent to the
+glances thrown in his direction: it seemed to John Purdie, who was
+remembering all he had heard the night before, that the young Japanese
+medical student was a singularly cool and self-possessed hand. Yada,
+indeed, might have been walking in on an assemblage of personal friends,
+specially gathered together in his honour. Melky Rubinstein, who was also
+watching him closely, noticed at once that he had evidently made a very
+careful toilet that morning. Yada's dark overcoat, thrown negligently
+open, revealed a smart grey lounge suit; in one gloved hand he carried a
+new bowler hat, in the other a carefully rolled umbrella. He looked as
+prosperous and as severely in mode as if no mysteries and underground
+affairs had power to touch him, and the ready smile with which he greeted
+Ayscough was ingenuous and candid enough to disarm the most suspicious.
+
+"Good morning, Mr. Detective," he began, as he crossed the threshold and
+looked first at Ayscough and then at the ring of attentive faces. "I want
+to speak to you on that little affair of last night, you know. I suppose
+you are discussing it with these gentlemen? Well, perhaps I can now give
+you some information that will be useful."
+
+"Glad to hear anything, Mr. Yada," said Ayscough, who was striving hard to
+conceal his surprise. "Anything that you can tell us. You've heard
+something during the night, then?"
+
+Yada laughed pleasantly, showing his white teeth. He dropped into the
+chair which Ayscough pushed forward, and slowly drew off his gloves.
+
+"I assured myself of something last night--after you left me," he said,
+with a knowing look. "I used your card to advantage, Mr. Detective. I went
+to the mortuary."
+
+Ayscough contrived to signal to the Inspector to leave the talking to him.
+He put his thumbs in the armholes of his waistcoat, assumed an easy
+attitude as he leaned against the door, and looked speculatively at the
+new comer.
+
+"Aye?--and what made you do that now, Mr. Yada?" he asked, half-
+carelessly. "A bit of curiosity, eh?"
+
+"Not idle curiosity, Mr. Detective," replied Yada. "I wanted to know, to
+make certain, which of the two Chinamen it really was who was there--dead.
+I saw him. Now I know. Chen Li!"
+
+"Well?" said Ayscough.
+
+Yada suddenly twisted round in his chair, and slowly glanced at the
+listening men on either side of the desk. They were cool, bold, half-
+insolent eyes which received face after face, showing no recognition of
+any until they encountered Melky Rubinstein's watchful countenance. And to
+Melky, Yada accorded a slight nod--and turned to Ayscough again.
+
+"Which," he asked calmly, "which of these gentlemen is the owner of the
+diamond? Which is the one who has lost eighty thousand pounds in bank-
+notes? That is what I want to know before I say more."
+
+In the silence which followed upon Ayscough's obvious doubt about
+answering this direct question, Levendale let out a sharp, half-irritable
+exclamation:
+
+"In God's name!" he said, "who is this young man? What does he know about
+the diamond and the money?"
+
+Yada turned and faced his questioner--and suddenly smiling, thrust his
+hand in his breast pocket and drew out a card-case. With a polite bow he
+handed a card in Levendale's direction.
+
+"Permit me, sir," he said suavely. "My card. As for the rest, perhaps Mr.
+Detective here will tell you."
+
+"It's this way, you see, Mr. Levendale," remarked Ayscough. "Acting on
+information received from Dr. Pittery, one of the junior house-surgeons at
+University College Hospital, who told me that Mr. Yada was a fellow-
+student of those two Chinese, and a bit of a friend of theirs, I called on
+Mr. Yada last night to make enquiries. And of course I had to tell him
+about the missing property--though to be sure, that's news that's common
+to everybody now--through the papers. And--what else have you to tell, Mr.
+Yada?"
+
+But Yada was watching Levendale--who, on his part, was just as narrowly
+watching Yada. The other men in the room watched these two--recognizing,
+as if by instinct, that from that moment matters lay between Levendale and
+Yada, and not between Yada and Ayscough. They were mutually inspecting and
+appraising each other, and in spite of their impassive faces, it was plain
+that each was wondering about his next move.
+
+It was Levendale who spoke first--spoke as if he and the young Japanese
+were the only people in the room, as if nothing else mattered. He bent
+forward to Yada.
+
+"How much do you know?" he demanded.
+
+Yada showed his white teeth again.
+
+"A plain--and a wide question, Mr. Levendale!" he answered, with a laugh.
+"I see that you are anxious to enlist my services. Evidently, you believe
+that I do know something. But--you are not the owner of the diamond! Which
+of these gentlemen is?"
+
+Levendale made a half impatient gesture towards Stephen Purvis, who nodded
+at Yada but remained silent.
+
+"He is!" said Levendale, testily. "But you--can do your talking to me.
+Again--how much do you know in this matter?"
+
+"Enough to make it worth your while to negotiate with me," answered Yada.
+"Is that as plain as your question?"
+
+"It's what I expected," said Levendale. "You want to sell your knowledge."
+
+"Well?" assented Yada, "I am very sure you are willing to purchase."
+
+Once more that duel of the eyes--and to John Purdie, who prided himself on
+being a judge of expressions, it was evident that the younger man was more
+than the equal of the older. It was Levendale who gave way--and when he
+took his eyes off Yada, it was to turn to Stephen Purvis.
+
+Stephen Purvis nodded his head once more--and growled a little.
+
+"Make terms with him!" he muttered. "Case of have to, I reckon!"
+
+Levendale turned once more to the Japanese, who smiled on him.
+
+"Look you here, Mr. Yada," said Levendale, "I don't know who you are
+beyond what I'm told--your card tells me nothing except that you live--
+lodge, I suppose--in Gower Street. You've got mixed up in this, somehow,
+and you've got knowledge to dispose of. Now, I don't buy unless I know
+first what it is I'm buying. So--let's know what you've got to sell?"
+
+Yada swept the room with a glance.
+
+"Before these gentlemen?" he asked. "In open market, eh?"
+
+"They're all either police, or detectives, or concerned," retorted
+Levendale. "There's no secret. I repeat--what have you got to sell?
+Specify it!"
+
+Yada lifted his hands and began to check off points on the tips of his
+fingers.
+
+"Three items, then, Mr. Levendale," he replied cheerfully. "First--the
+knowledge of who has got the diamond and the money. Second--the knowledge
+of where he is at this moment, and will be for some hours. Third--the
+knowledge of how you can successfully take him and recover your property.
+Three good, saleable items, I think--yes?"
+
+Purdie watched carefully for some sign of greed or avarice in the
+informer's wily countenance. To his surprise, he saw none. Instead, Yada
+assumed an almost sanctimonious air. He seemed to consider matters--though
+his answer was speedy.
+
+"I don't want to profit--unduly--by this affair," he said. "At the same
+time, from all I've heard, I'm rendering you and your friend a very
+important service, and I think it only fair that I should be remunerated.
+Give me something towards the expenses of my medical education, Mr.
+Levendale: give me five hundred pounds."
+
+With the briefest exchange of glances with Stephen Purvis, Levendale
+pulled out a cheque-book, dashed off a cash cheque, and handed it over to
+the Japanese, who slipped it into his waistcoat pocket.
+
+"Now--your information!" said Levendale.
+
+"To be sure," replied Yada. "Very well. Chang Li has the diamond and the
+money. And he is at this moment where he has been for some days, in
+hiding. He is in a secret room at a place called Pilmansey's Tea Rooms, in
+Tottenham Court Road--a place much frequented by medical students from our
+college. The fact of the case is, Mr. Policeman, and the rest of you
+generally, there is a secret opium den at Pilmansey's, though nobody knows
+of it but a few frequenters. And there!--there you will find Chang Li."
+
+"You've seen him there?" demanded Levendale.
+
+"I saw him there during last night--I know him to be there--he will be
+there, either until you take him, or until his arrangements are made for
+getting out of this country," answered Yada.
+
+Levendale jumped up, as if for instant action. But the Inspector quietly
+tapped him on the elbow.
+
+"He promised to tell you how to take him, Mr. Levendale," he said. "Let's
+know all we can--we shall have to be in with you on this, you know."
+
+"Mr. Police-Inspector is right," said Yada. "You will have to conduct what
+you call a raid. Now, do precisely what I tell you to do. Pilmansey's is
+an old-fashioned place, a very old house as regards its architecture, on
+the right-hand side of Tottenham Court Road. Go there today--this mid-day
+--a little before one--when there are always plenty of customers. Go with
+plenty of your plain-clothes men, like Mr. Ayscough there. Drop in, don't
+you see, as if you were customers--let there be plenty of you, I repeat.
+There are two Pilmanseys--men--middle-aged, sly, smooth, crafty men. When
+you are all there, take your own lines--close the place, the doors, if you
+like--but get hold of the Pilmansey men, tell them you are police, insist
+on being taken to the top floor and shown their opium den. They will
+object, they will lie, they will resist--you will use your own methods.
+But--in that opium den you will find Chang Li--and your property!"
+
+He had been drawing on his gloves as he spoke, and now, picking up his hat
+and umbrella, Yada bowed politely to the circle and moved to the door.
+
+"You will excuse me, now?" he said. "I have an important lecture at the
+medical school which I must not miss. I shall be at Pilmansey's, myself, a
+little before one--please oblige me by not taking any notice of me. I do
+not want to figure--actively--in your business."
+
+Then he was gone--and the rest of them were so deeply taken with the news
+which he had communicated that no one noticed that just before Yada
+fastened his last glove-button, Melky Rubinstein slipped from his corner
+and glided quietly out of the room.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
+
+
+PILMANSEY'S TEA ROOMS
+
+Two hours later, it being then a quarter-to-one o'clock, Purdie and
+Lauriston got out of a taxi-cab at the north-end of Tottenham Court Road
+and walked down the right-hand side of that busy thoroughfare, keeping
+apparently careless but really vigilant eyes open for a first glimpse of
+the appointed rendezvous. But Pilmansey's Tea Rooms required little
+searching out. In the midst of the big modern warehouses, chiefly given up
+to furniture and upholstery, there stood at that time a block of old
+property which was ancient even for London. The buildings were plainly
+early eighteenth century: old redbrick erections with narrow windows in
+the fronts and dormer windows in the high, sloping roofs. Some of them
+were already doomed to immediate dismantlement; the tenants had cleared
+out, there were hoardings raised to protect passers-by from falling
+masonry, and bills and posters on the threatened walls announced that
+during the rebuilding, business would be carried on as usual at some other
+specified address. But Pilmansey's, so far, remained untouched, and the
+two searchers saw that customers were going in and out, all unaware that
+before evening their favourite resort for a light mid-day meal would
+attain a fame and notoriety not at all promised by its very ordinary and
+commonplace exterior.
+
+"An excellent example of the truth of the old saying that you should never
+judge by appearances, Andie, my man!" remarked Purdie, as they took a
+quick view of the place. "Who'd imagine that crime, dark secrets, and all
+the rest of it lies concealed behind this?--behind the promise of tea and
+muffins, milk and buns! It's a queer world, this London!--you never know
+what lies behind any single bit of the whole microcosm. But let's see
+what's to be seen inside."
+
+The first thing to be seen inside the ground floor room into which they
+stepped was the man from New Scotland Yard, who, in company with another
+very ordinary-looking individual was seated at a little table just inside
+the entrance, leisurely consuming coffee and beef sandwiches. He glanced
+at the two men as if he had never seen them in his life, and they,
+preserving equally stolid expressions with credit if not with the
+detective's ready and trained ability, passed further on--only to
+recognize Levendale and Stephen Purvis, who had found accommodation in a
+quiet corner half-way down the room. They, too, showed no signs of
+recognition, and Purdie, passing by them, steered his companion to an
+unoccupied table and bade him be seated.
+
+"Let's get our bearings," he whispered as they dropped into their seats.
+"Looks as innocent and commonplace within as it appeared without, Andie.
+But use your eyes--it ought to make good copy for you, this."
+
+Lauriston glanced about him. The room in which they sat was a long, low-
+ceiling apartment, extending from the street door to a sort of bar-counter
+at the rear, beyond which was a smaller room that was evidently given up
+to store and serving purposes. On the counter were set out provisions--
+rounds of beef, hams, tongues, bread, cakes, confectionery; behind it
+stood two men whom the watchers at once set down as the proprietors. Young
+women, neatly gowned in black and wearing white caps and aprons, flitted
+to and fro between the counter and the customers. As for the customers
+they were of both sexes, and the larger proportion of them young. There
+was apparently no objection to smoking at Pilmansey's--a huge cloud of
+blue smoke ascended from many cigarettes, and the scent of Turkish tobacco
+mingled with the fragrance of freshly-ground coffee. It was plain that
+Pilmansey's was the sort of place wherein you could get a good sandwich,
+good tea or coffee, smoke a cigarette or two, and idle away an hour in
+light chatter with your friends between your morning and afternoon
+labours.
+
+But Lauriston's attention was mainly directed to the two men who stood
+behind the bar-counter, superintending and directing their neat
+assistants. Sly, smooth, crafty men--so they had been described by Mr.
+Mori Yada: Lauriston's opinion coincided with that of the Japanese, on
+first, outer evidence and impression. They were middle-aged, plump men who
+might be, and probably were, twins, favouring mutton chop whiskers, and
+good linen and black neckcloths--they might have been strong, highly-
+respectable butlers. Each had his coat off; each wore a spotless linen
+apron; each wielded carving knives and forks; each was busy in carving
+plates of ham or tongue or beef; each contrived, while thus engaged, to
+keep his sharp, beady eyes on the doings in the room in front of the
+counter. Evidently a well-to-do, old-established business, this, and
+highly prosperous men who owned it: Lauriston wondered that they should
+run any risks by hiding away a secret opium den somewhere on their ancient
+premises.
+
+In the midst of their reflections one of the waitresses came to the table
+at which the two friends sat: Lauriston quicker of wit than Purdie in such
+matters immediately ordered coffee and sandwiches and until they came,
+lighted a cigarette and pretended to be at ease, though he was inwardly
+highly excited.
+
+"It's as if one were waiting for an explosion to take place!" he muttered
+to Purdie. "Even now I don't know what's going to happen."
+
+"Here's Ayscough, anyway," said Purdie. "He looks as if nothing was about
+to happen."
+
+Ayscough, another man with him, was making his way unconcernedly down the
+shop. He passed the man from New Scotland Yard without so much as a wink:
+he ignored Levendale and Stephen Purvis; he stared blankly at Purdie and
+Lauriston, and led his companion to two vacant seats near the counter. And
+they had only just dropped into them when in came Mr. Killick, with John
+Purvis and Guyler and slipped quietly into seats in the middle of the
+room. Here then, said Lauriston to himself, were eleven men, all in a
+secret--and there were doubtless others amongst the company whom he did
+not know.
+
+"But where's Melky Rubinstein?" he whispered suddenly. "I should have
+thought he'd have turned up--he's been so keen on finding things out."
+
+"There's time enough yet," answered Purdie. "It's not one. I don't see the
+Jap, either. But--here's the Inspector--done up in plain clothes."
+
+The Inspector came in with a man whom neither Purdie nor Lauriston had
+ever seen before--a quietly but well-dressed man about whom there was a
+distinct air of authority. They walked down the room to a table near the
+counter, ordered coffee and lighted cigarettes--and the two young
+Scotsmen, watching them closely, saw that they took a careful look round
+as if to ascertain the strength of their forces. And suddenly, as
+Lauriston was eating his second sandwich, the Inspector rose, quietly
+walked to the counter and bending over it, spoke to one of the white-
+aproned men behind.
+
+"The game's begun!" whispered Lauriston. "Look!"
+
+But Purdie's eyes were already fixed on the Pilmanseys, whom he recognized
+as important actors in the drama about to be played. One of them slightly
+taller, slightly greyer than the other, was leaning forward to the
+Inspector, and was evidently amazed at what was being said to him, for he
+started, glanced questioningly at his visitor, exchanged a hurried word or
+two with him and then turned to his brother. A second later, both men laid
+down their great knives and forks, left their counter, and beckoned the
+Inspector to follow them into a room at the rear of the shop. And the
+Inspector in his turn, beckoned Ayscough with a mere glance, and Ayscough
+in his, made an inviting movement to the rest of the party.
+
+"Come on!" said Purdie. "Let's hear what's happening."
+
+The proprietors of the tea-rooms had led the Inspector and the man who was
+with him into what was evidently a private room--and when Lauriston and
+Purdie reached the door they were standing on the hearth rug, side by
+side, each in a very evident state of amazement, staring at a document
+which the Inspector was displaying to them. They looked up from it to
+glance with annoyance, at the other men who came quietly and expectantly
+crowding into the room.
+
+"More of your people?" asked the elder man, querulously. "Look here, you
+know!--we don't see the need for all this fuss, not for your interrupting
+our business in this way! One or two of you, surely, would have been
+enough without bringing a troop of people on to our premises--all this is
+unnecessary!"
+
+"You'll allow us to be the best judge of what's necessary and what isn't,
+Mr. Pilmansey," retorted the Inspector. "There'll be no fuss, no bother--
+needn't be, anyway, if you tell us what we want to know, and don't oppose
+us in what we've got power to do. Here's a warrant--granted on certain
+information--to search your premises. If you'll let us do that quietly."
+
+"But for what reason?" demanded the younger man. "Our premises, indeed!
+Been established here a good hundred years, and never a word against us.
+What do you want to search for?"
+
+"I'll tell you that at once," answered the Inspector. "We want a young
+Chinaman, one Chang Li, who, we are informed, is concealed here, and has
+valuable stolen property on him. Now, then, do you know anything about
+him? Is he here?"
+
+The two men exchanged glances. For a moment they remained silent--then the
+elder man spoke, running his eye over the expectant faces watching him.
+
+"Before I say any more," he answered, "I should just like to know where
+you got your information from?"
+
+"No!" replied the Inspector, firmly. "I shan't tell you. But I'll tell you
+this much--this Chang Li is wanted on a very serious charge as it is, and
+we may charge him with something much more serious. We've positive
+information that he's here--and I'm only giving you sound advice when I
+say that if he is here, you'll do well to show us where he is. Now, come,
+Mr. Pilmansey, is he here?"
+
+The elder Pilmansey shook his head--but the shake was more one of doubt
+than of denial.
+
+"I can't say," he answered. "He might be."
+
+"What's that mean?" demanded the Inspector. "Might be? Surely you know
+who's in your own house!"
+
+"No!" said the elder man, "I can't say. It's this way--we've a certain
+number of foreigners come here. There are few--just a few--Chinese and
+Japanese--medical students, you know. Now, some time ago--a couple of
+years ago--some of them asked us if we couldn't let them have three or
+four rooms at the top of the house in which to start a sort of little club
+of their own, so that they could have a place for their meetings, you
+understand. They were all quiet, very respectable young fellows--so we
+did. They have the top floor of this house. They furnished and fitted it
+up themselves. There's a separate entrance--at the side of the shop. Each
+of them has a latch-key of his own. So they can go in and out as they
+like--they never bother us. But, as a matter of fact, there are only four
+or five of them who are members now--the others have all left. That's the
+real truth--and I tell you I don't know if Mr. Chang Li might be up there
+or not. We know nothing about what they do in their rooms--they're only
+our tenants."
+
+"Let me ask you one question," said the Inspector, "Have either of you
+ever been in those rooms since you let them to these people!"
+
+"No!" answered the elder man. "Neither of us--at anytime!"
+
+"Then," commanded the Inspector, "I'll thank you to come up with us to
+them--now!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
+
+
+CHANG LI
+
+Not without some grumbling as to waste of time and interference with
+business, the Pilmansey brothers led the way to a side door which opened
+into a passage that ran along the side of the shop and from whence a
+staircase rose to the upper regions of the house. The elder pointed,
+significantly, to the street door at the end.
+
+"You'll take notice that these young fellows I told you of get to the
+rooms we let them through that?" he observed. "That door's always locked--
+they all have latch-keys to it. They never come through the shop--we've
+nothing to do with them, and we don't know anything about whatever they
+may do in their rooms--all we're concerned with is that they pay their
+rent and behave themselves. And quiet enough they've always been--we've
+had no reason to complain."
+
+"And, as they all have latch-keys, I suppose they can get into the place
+at any hour of the day--or night?" suggested the Inspector. "There's no
+bar against them coming here at night?"
+
+"They can come in--and go out--whenever they please," answered the elder
+man. "I tell you we've nothing to do with them--except as their
+landlords."
+
+"Where do you live--yourselves?" asked the Inspector. "On these premises?"
+
+"No, we don't," replied the younger brother, who, of the two, had showed
+the keenest, if most silent, resentment at the police proceedings. "We
+live--elsewhere. This establishment is opened at eight in the morning, and
+closed at seven in the evening. We're never here after seven--either of
+us."
+
+"So that you never see anything of these foreigners at night-time?" asked
+the Inspector. "Don't know what they do, I suppose?"
+
+"We never see anything of 'em at any time," said the elder brother. "As
+you see, this passage and staircase is outside the shop. We know nothing
+whatever about them beyond what I've told you."
+
+"Well--take us up, and we'll see what we can find out," commanded the
+Inspector. "We're going to examine those rooms, Mr. Pilmansey, so we'll
+get it done at once."
+
+The intervening rooms between the lower and the top floors of the old
+house appeared to be given up to stores--the open doors revealed casks,
+cases, barrels, piles of biscuit and confectionery boxes--nothing to
+conceal there, decided the lynx-eyed men who trooped up the dingy stairs
+after the grumbling proprietors. But the door on the top floor was closed
+--and when Ayscough turned its handle he found it to be locked from
+within.
+
+"They've keys of their own for that, too," remarked the younger Pilmansey.
+"I don't see how you're going to get in, if there's nobody inside."
+
+"We're going in there whether there's anybody or not," said the Inspector.
+"Knock, Ayscough!--knock loudly!"
+
+The group of men gathered behind the leaders, and filling the whole of the
+lobby outside the closed door, waited, expectant and excited, in the
+silence which followed on Ayscough's loud beating on the upper panel. A
+couple of minutes went by: the detective knocked again, more insistently.
+And suddenly, and silently, the door was opened--first, an inch or two,
+then a little wider, and as Ayscough slipped a stoutly booted foot inside
+the crack a yellow face, lighted by a pair of narrow-slitted dark eyes,
+looked out--and immediately vanished.
+
+"In with you!" said the Inspector. "Careful, now!"
+
+Ayscough pushed the door open and walked in, the rest crowding on his
+heels. And Purdie, who was one of the foremost to enter, was immediately
+cognizant of two distinct odours--one, the scent of fragrant tea, the
+other of a certain heavy, narcotic something which presently overpowered
+the fragrance of the tea and left an acid and bitter taste.
+
+"Opium," he whispered to Lauriston, who was close at his elbow. "Opium!
+Smell it?"
+
+But Lauriston was more eyes than nose just then. He, like the rest of his
+companions, was staring at the scene on which they had entered. The room
+was of a good size--evidently, from its sloping ceilings, part of the
+attic story of the old house. The walls were hung with soft, clinging,
+Oriental draperies and curtains; a few easy chairs of wickerwork, a few
+small tables of like make, were disposed here and there: there was an
+abundance of rugs and cushions: in one corner a gas-stove was alight, and
+on it stood a kettle, singing merrily.
+
+The young man who had opened the door had retreated towards this stove;
+Purdie noticed that in one hand he held a small tea-pot. And in the left-
+hand corner, bent over a little table, and absorbed in their game, sat two
+other young men, correctly attired in English clothes, but obviously
+Chinese from their eyebrows to their toes, playing chess.
+
+The holder of the tea-pot cast a quick glance at the disturbance of this
+peaceful scene, and set down his tea-pot; the chess-players looked up for
+one second, showed not the faintest sign of perturbation--and looked down
+again. Then the man of the tea-pot spoke--one word.
+
+"Yes?" he said.
+
+"The fact is, Mister," said the elder Pilmansey, "these are police-
+officers. They want one of your friends--Mr. Chang Li."
+
+The three occupants of the room appeared to pay no attention. The chess-
+players went on playing; the other man reached for a canister, and
+mechanically emptied tea out of it into his pot.
+
+"Shut and lock that door, Ayscough," said the Inspector. "Let somebody
+stand by it. Now," he continued, turning to the three Chinese, "is one of
+you gentlemen Mr. Chang Li?"
+
+"No!" replied one of the chess-players. "Not one of us!"
+
+"Is he here?" demanded the Inspector. Then seeing that he was to be met by
+Oriental impassivity, he turned to the Pilmanseys. "What other rooms are
+there here?" he asked.
+
+"Two," answered the elder brother, pointing to the curtains at the rear of
+the room. "One there--the other there. Behind those hangings--two smaller
+rooms."
+
+The Inspector strode forward and tore the curtains aside. He flung open
+the first of the doors--and started back, catching his breath.
+
+"Phew!" he said.
+
+The heavy, narcotic odour which Purdie had noticed at once on entering the
+rooms came afresh, out of the newly-opened door, in a thick wave. And as
+the rest of them crowded after the Inspector, they saw why. This was a
+small room, hung like the first one with curiously-figured curtains, and
+lighted only by a sky-light, over which a square of blue stuff had been
+draped. In the subdued life they saw that there was nothing in that room
+but a lounge well fitted with soft cushions and pillows--and on it, his
+spare figure wrapped in a loose gown, lay a young Chinaman, who, as the
+foremost advanced upon him, blinked in their wondering faces out of eyes
+the pupils of which were still contracted. Near him lay an opium pipe--
+close by, on a tiny stand, the materials for more consumption of the drug.
+
+The man who had accompanied the Inspector in his entrance to the tea-shop
+strode forward and seized the recumbent figure by the shoulder, shaking
+him gently.
+
+"Now then!" he said, sharply, "wake up, my man! Are you Chang Li?"
+
+The glazed eyes lifted themselves a little wonderingly; the dry lips
+moved.
+
+"Yes," he muttered. "Chang Li--yes. You want me?"
+
+"How long have you been here?" demanded the questioner.
+
+"How long--yes? Oh--I don't know. What do you want?" asked Chang Li. "I
+don't know you."
+
+The tea-maker thrust his head inside the room.
+
+"He can't tell you anything," he said, with a grin. "He has been--what you
+call on the break-out--with opium--ever so many days. He has--attacks that
+way. Takes a fit of it--just as some of your people take to the drink.
+He's coming out of it, now--and he'll be very, very unhappy tomorrow."
+
+The Inspector twisted round on the informant.
+
+"Look here!" he said. "Do you know how long he's been here--stupifying
+himself? Is it a day--or days?"
+
+One of the chess-players lifted a stolid face.
+
+"He has been here--like that--several days," he said. "It's useless trying
+to do anything with him when he takes the fit--the craving, you
+understand?--into his head. If you want any information out of him, you'd
+better call again in a few hours."
+
+"Do you mean to tell me he's been here--like that--several days?" demanded
+the Inspector.
+
+"The young man with the tea-pot grinned again.
+
+"He's never been at a class at the medical school since the 17th," he
+announced. "I know that--he's in some classes with me. He's been here--all
+the time since then."
+
+The Inspector turned sharply on Ayscough.
+
+"The 17th!" he exclaimed. "And that affair was on the 18th! Then--"
+
+Chang Li was fumbling in a pocket of his gown. He found something there,
+raised a hand to his lips, swallowed something. And in a few seconds, as
+his eyes grew brighter, he turned a suspicious and sullen glance on the
+group which stood watching him.
+
+"What do you want?" he growled. "Who are you?"
+
+"We want some information from you," said the Inspector. "When did you
+last see your brother, or friend, or whatever he is--Chen Li?"
+
+Chang Li shook his head--it was obvious that he had no clear recollection.
+
+"Don't know," he answered. "Perhaps just now--perhaps tomorrow--perhaps
+not for a long time."
+
+"When were you last at home--in Maida Vale?" asked the Inspector.
+
+But Chang Li gave no answer to that beyond a frown, and it was evident
+that as his wits cleared his temper was becoming ugly. He began to look
+round with more intelligence, scanning one face after another with growing
+dislike, and presently he muttered certain observations to himself which,
+though not in English, sounded anything but complimentary to those who
+watched him. And Ayscough suddenly turned to the superior officials.
+
+"If this man's been here ever since the 17th," he said, "he can't have had
+anything to do with the affairs in Praed Street and Maida Vale! Supposing,
+now--I'm only supposing--that young Jap's been lying all the time?" He
+turned again--this time on the two chess-players, who had now interrupted
+their game and were leaning back in their chairs, evidently amused at the
+baffled faces of the searchers. "Here!" he said, "do you know one Yada--
+Mori Yada--a Japanese? Is he one of you?"
+
+"Oh, yes!" answered one of the chess-players. "Yada,--yes! We know him--a
+very smart fellow, Yada. You know him--too?"
+
+But before Ayscough could reply to this somewhat vexatious question, a man
+who had been left in the tearooms came hurrying up the staircase and burst
+in upon them. He made straight for the Inspector.
+
+"Man from the office, sir, outside in a taxi!" he exclaimed breathlessly.
+"You're on the wrong track--you're to get to Multenius's shop in Praed
+Street at once. The real man's there!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
+
+
+THE JEW AND THE JAP
+
+When Melky Rubinstein slipped quietly out of the police-station, he
+crossed the street, and taking up a position just within a narrow alley on
+the other side, set himself to watch the door which he had just quitted.
+There was a deep design in his mind, and he meant to carry it out--alone.
+
+Mr. Mori Yada, apparently as cool and unconcerned as ever, presently
+tripped down the steps of the police-station and went leisurely off,
+swinging his neatly rolled umbrella. As long as he was within sight of the
+police-station windows he kept up the same gentle pace--but as soon as he
+had turned the first corner his steps were quickened, and he made for a
+spot to which Melky had expected him to make--a cab-rank, on which two or
+three taxi-cabs were drawn up. He had reached the first, and was
+addressing the driver, when Melky, who had kept a few yards in the rear,
+stole gently up to his side and tapped him on the shoulder.
+
+"Mister!" said Melky. "A word--in private!"
+
+Yada turned on his interrupter with the swiftness of a snake, and for a
+second his white teeth showed themselves in an unmistakable snarl, and a
+savage gleam came into his dark eyes. Both snarl and gleam passed as
+quickly as they had come, and the next instant he was smiling--as blandly
+as ever.
+
+"Oh, yes!" he said. "It is you--how do you do? Perhaps you are going my
+way--I can give you a lift--Yes?"
+
+Melky drew his man away a yard or two, and lowered his voice to a whisper.
+
+"Mister!" he said, with a note of deep confidence which made Yada look at
+him with a sudden sense of fear. "Mister!--I wouldn't go no way at all if
+I was you--just now. You're in danger, mister--you shoved your head into
+the lions' den when you walked in where I've just seen you! Deep, deep is
+them fellows, mister!--they're having you on toast. I know where you're
+thinking of going, mister, in that cab. Don't go--take my tip!"
+
+"How do you know where I'm going?" demanded Yada.
+
+"I was looking over Levendale's shoulder when he wrote that bit of a
+cheque, mister," answered Melky, in his quietest accents. "You're off to
+his bank to turn it into cash. And--if you walk into that bank--well,
+you'll never walk out again, alone! Mister!--they're going to collar you
+there--there's a trap laid for you!"
+
+Melky was watching Yada's face out of his own eye-corners, and he saw the
+olive-tinted skin pale a little, and the crafty eyes contract. And on the
+instant he pursued his tactics and his advantage. He had purposely steered
+the Japanese into a more crowded part of the street, and now he edged him
+into a bye-alley which led to a rookery of narrow bye-streets beyond. He
+felt that Yada was yielding--oppressed by a fear of the unknown. But
+suddenly Yada paused--drawing back from the hand which Melky had kept on
+his arm.
+
+"What are you after?" he demanded. "What is your game, eh? You think to
+alarm me!--what do you want?"
+
+"Nothing unreasonable, mister," answered Melky. "You'll easily satisfy me.
+Game? Come, now, mister--I know your game! Bank first--to get some ready--
+then somewhere to pick up a bit of luggage--then, a railway station.
+That's it, ain't it, now? No blooming good, mister--they're ready for you
+the minute you walk into that bank! If they don't take you then, they'll
+only wait to follow you to the station. Mister!--you ain't a cat's
+chance!--you're done--if you don't make it worth my while to help you!
+See?"
+
+Yada looked round, doubtfully. They had turned two or three corners by
+that time, and were in a main street, which lay at the back of Praed
+Street. He glanced at Melky's face--which suggested just then nothing but
+cunning and stratagem.
+
+"What can you do for me?" he asked. "How much do you want? You want money,
+eh?"
+
+"Make it a hundred quid, mister," said Melky. "Just a hundred of the best,
+and I'll put you where all the police in London won't find you for the
+rest of today, and get you out of it at night in such a fashion that
+you'll be as safe as if you was at home. You won't never see your home in
+Japan, again, mister, if you don't depend on yours truly! And a hundred
+ain't nothing--considering what you've got at stake."
+
+"I haven't a hundred pounds to give you," answered Yada. "I have scarcely
+any money but this cheque."
+
+"In course you ain't, mister!" agreed Melky. "I twigged your game straight
+off--you only came there to the police-station to put yourself in funds
+for your journey! But that's all right!--you come along of me, and let me
+put you in safety--then you give me that cheque--I'll get it cashed in ten
+minutes without going to any banks--see? Friend o' mine hereabouts--he'll
+cash it at his bank close by--anybody'll cash a cheque o' Levendale's.
+Come on, now, mister. We're close to that little port o' refuge I'm
+telling you about."
+
+The bluff was going down--Melky felt, as much as saw, that Yada was
+swallowing it in buckets. And he slipped his hand within his companion's
+arm, piloted him along the street, across Praed Street, round the back of
+the houses into the narrow passage which communicated with the rear of the
+late Daniel Multenius's premises, and in at the little door which opened
+on the parlour wherein so many events had recently taken place.
+
+"Where are you taking me?" asked Yada, suspiciously, as they crossed the
+threshold.
+
+"All serene, mister!" answered Melky, reassuringly. "Friend o' mine here
+--my cousin. All right--and all secure. You're as safe here as you will be
+in your grave, mister--s'elp me, you are! Zillah!"
+
+Zillah walked into the parlour and justified Melky's supreme confidence in
+her by showing no surprise or embarrassment. She gave Yada the merest
+glance, and turned to Melky.
+
+"Bit o' business with this young gentleman, Zillah," said Melky. "That
+little room, upstairs, now--what?" "Oh, all right!" said Zillah,
+indifferently. "You know your way--you'll be quiet enough there."
+
+Melky signed to Yada to follow him, and led the way up the stairs to the
+very top of the house. He conducted the Japanese into the small room in
+which were some ancient moth-and-worm-eaten bits of furniture, an old
+chest or two, and a plenitude of dust--and carefully closed the door when
+he and his captive had got inside.
+
+"Now, mister!" he said, "you're as safe here as you could be in any spot
+in the wide world. Let's get to business--and let's understand each other.
+You want that cheque turned into cash--you want to get out of London
+tonight? All right--then hand over your check and keep quiet till I come
+back. Is there anything else now--any bit of luggage you want?"
+
+"You do all this if I pay you one hundred pounds?" asked Yada.
+
+"That'll do me, mister," answered Melky. "I'm a poor fellow, d'ye see?--I
+don't pick up a hundred quid every day, I assure you! So if there is
+anything--"
+
+"A suit-case--at the luggage office at Oxford Circus Tube," said Yada. "I
+must have it--papers, you understand. If you will get me that--"
+
+"Give me the ticket--and that cheque," said Melky. He slipped the two bits
+of paper into his pocket, and made for the door. "I'll turn the key
+outside," he said. "You'll be safer. Make yourself comfortable, mister--
+I'll be back in an hour with the money and the goods."
+
+Two minutes later Melky confronted Zillah in the parlour and grinned at
+her. Zillah regarded him suspiciously.
+
+"What's this, Melky?" she demanded. "What're you up to?"
+
+"Zillah!" said Melky, "you'll be proud of your cousin, Melky Rubinstein,
+before ever it's dinner-time--you will do, Zillah! And in the meantime,
+keep your counsel, Zillah, while he fetches a nice large policeman."
+
+"Is that Japanese locked in that little room?" asked Zillah.
+
+Melky tapped the side of his nose, and without a word looked out into the
+street. A policeman, large enough for all practical purposes, was lounging
+along the side-walk; another, equally bulky, was looking into a shop-
+window twenty yards away across the street. Within a couple of minutes
+Melky had both in the back-parlour and was giving them and Zillah a swift
+but particular account of his schemes.
+
+"You're sure you're right, Melky?" asked Zillah. "You're not making any
+mistake?"
+
+"Mistake!" exclaimed Melky, satirically. "You'll see about that in a
+minute! Now," he added, turning to the policemen, "you come quietly up--
+and do exactly what I've told you. We'll soon know about mistakes,
+Zillah!"
+
+Yada, left to himself, had spent his time in gazing out of the dirty
+window of his prison. There was not much of a prospect. The window
+commanded the various backyards of that quarter. As if to consider any
+possible chance of escape, he looked out. There was a projection beneath
+him, a convenient water-pipe--he might make a perilous descent, if need
+arose. But, somehow, he believed in that little Jew: he believed, much
+more, in the little Jew's greed for a hundred pounds of ready money. The
+little Jew with the cunning smile had seen his chance of making a quiet
+penny, and had taken it--it was all right, said Yada, all right. And yet,
+there was one horrible thought--supposing, now that Melky had got the
+cheque, that he cashed it and made off with all the money, never to
+return?
+
+On top of that thought, Melky did return--much sooner than Yada had
+expected. He opened the door and beckoned the prisoner out into the dark
+lobby at the top of the stairs.
+
+"Come here a minute, mister," said Melky, invitingly. "Just a word!"
+
+Yada, all unsuspecting, stepped out--and found his arms firmly gripped by
+two bulky policemen. The policemen were very quiet--but Melky laughed
+gleefully while Yada screamed and cursed him. And while he laughed Melky
+went through his prisoner's pockets in a knowing and skilful fashion, and
+when he had found what he expected to find, he made his helpers lock Yada
+up again, and taking them downstairs to the parlour laid his discoveries
+on the table before them and Zillah. There was a great orange-yellow
+diamond in various folds of tissue-paper, and a thick wad of bank-notes,
+with an indiarubber band round them.
+
+These valuables lay, carelessly displayed, on the table when the party
+from Pilmansey's Tea Rooms came tumbling into the shop and the parlour, an
+hour later. Melky was calmly smoking a cigar--and he went on smoking it as
+he led the Inspector and his men upstairs to the prisoner. He could not
+deprive himself of the pleasure of a dig at Ayscough.
+
+"Went one better than you again, Mr. Ayscough," he said, as he laid his
+hand on the key of the locked room. "Now if I hadn't seen through my young
+gentleman--"
+
+But there, as Melky threw open the door, his words of assurance came to an
+end. His face dropped as he stared into an empty room. Yada had risked his
+neck, and gone down the water-pipe.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
+
+
+THE DIAMOND NECKLACE
+
+For the better part of a fortnight the sleuth-hounds of New Scotland Yard
+hunted for Mr. Mori Yada in all the likely and unlikely places in London
+and sent out their enquiries much further afield. They failed to find him.
+One small clue they got, with little difficulty. After the hue-and-cry was
+fairly out, an Edgware Road pawnbroker came forward and informed the
+police that at two o'clock, or thereabouts, on the afternoon of the day on
+which Yada had made his escape from the window, a young Japanese gentleman
+who gave his name as Mr. Motono and his address at a small hotel close by
+and who volunteered the explanation that he was temporarily short of cash
+until a remittance arrived, had borrowed five pounds from him on a pearl
+tie-pin which he had drawn from his cravat. That was Yada, without a
+doubt--but from that point Yada vanished.
+
+But hunger is the cleverest detective, and at the end of the fortnight,
+certain officials of the Japanese embassy in London found themselves
+listening to a strange tale from the fugitive, who had come to the end of
+his loan, had nowhere to turn and no one but the representatives of his
+nation to whom he could appeal. Yada told a strange tale--and all the
+stranger because, as the police officials who were called in to hear it
+anew recognized that there was probably some truth in it. It amounted,
+when all was heard, to this--Yada was willing to confess that for a few
+days he had been a successful thief, but he stoutly denied that he was a
+murderer.
+
+This was his story:--On the 18th November, in the evening, he was at the
+club which housed itself in Pilmansey's attic. There he saw Chang Li, who,
+according to the other members who were there, was beginning one of his
+periodic fits of opium smoking, and had been in the inner room, stupifying
+himself, since the previous day. Yada knew that it was highly necessary
+that Chang Li should be in attendance at certain classes at the medical
+school during the next few days, and tried to rouse him out of his
+debauch, with no result. Next day, the 19th, he went to Pilmansey's again
+--Chang Li was still in the realms of bliss and likely to stop there until
+he had had enough of them. For two days nobody at the club nor at the
+school had seen Chen Li--and Chen Li was the only person who could do
+anything with Chang. So, late that night of the 19th November, Yada went
+up to Maida Vale, taking Chang Li's keys with him. He admitted himself to
+garden and house and found the house empty. But just as he was entering
+the front door he heard the voice of Chen Li at the garden gate; he also
+heard the voice of an Englishman. Also he caught something of what that
+Englishman said. He was telling Chen Li that he'd better take him, the
+Englishman, inside, and settle with him--or things would be all the worse.
+And at that, he, Yada, had slipped into the house, quietly closed the
+front door behind him, gone into the front room, hidden himself behind a
+curtain and waited.
+
+Into that front room, Chen Li had presently conducted a man. He was, said
+Yada, a low-class Englishman--what is called a Cockney. He had begun to
+threaten Chen Li at once. He told his tale. He was, said this fellow, next
+door neighbour to Mr. Daniel Multenius, in Praed Street, Chen Li's
+landlord: his name, if Chen Li wanted to know it, was Parslett, fruitier
+and green-grocer, and it was there, bold as brass, over his shop-door, for
+him or anybody to look at. He had a side-door to his house: that side-door
+was exactly opposite a side-door in Mr. Multenius's house, opening into
+his back-parlour. Now, the previous afternoon, he, Parslett, had had a
+consignment of very fine mushrooms sent in--rare things at that time of
+year--and knowing that the old man had a great taste for them and didn't
+mind what price he paid, he stepped across with a dish of them to tempt
+him. He found Mr. Multenius in his parlour--he was counting a lot of bank-
+notes--they must, said Parslett, have represented a large sum. The old man
+bade him leave the mushrooms, said he'd send him the money across
+presently, and motioned him out. Parslett put the dish of mushrooms aside
+on a chiffonier and went away. Somewhat later, chancing to be at his front
+door and looking out into the street, he saw Chen Li open the door of
+Multenius's shop and go swiftly away. Half-an-hour after that he heard
+that something had happened at Multenius's--later in the evening he heard
+definitely that the old man had been assaulted under circumstances which
+pointed to murder for the sake of robbery. And then he, Parslett, now put
+two and two together--and had fixed on Chen Li as the culprit. And now--
+how much, was Chen Li going to pay for silence?
+
+According to Yada, Chen Li had had little to say--his chief anxiety,
+indeed, had been to find out what the man wanted. Parslett was definite
+enough about that. He wanted a thousand pounds--and he wanted it in gold,
+and as much of it as Chen Li could hand out there and then. He refused to
+believe that Chen Li hadn't gold in considerable quantity somewhere about
+--he must, said Parslett, have changed some of those notes since he had
+stolen them the previous day. Chen Li protested that he had but some fifty
+or sixty pounds in gold available--but he promised to have the rest of the
+thousand ready on the following evening. Finally, he handed Parslett fifty
+pounds, arranged that he should call the next night--and then invited him
+to take a drink. Parslett pocketed the money and accepted the invitation--
+and Yada, from his hiding-place, saw Chen Li go to the sideboard, mix
+whisky and soda and pour into the mixture a few drops from a phial which
+he took from his waistcoat pocket. Parslett drank off the contents of the
+glass--and Chen Li went down to the gate with him.
+
+Yada followed to the front door and, through a slight opening, watched.
+The garden was fairly well lighted by the moon, which had recently risen.
+He saw Chen Li let the man out. He saw him turn from the gate and slowly
+come back towards the house. And then he saw something else--the sudden
+spring, from behind a big laurel bush, of a man--a short-statured, slight-
+figured man, who leapt on Chen Li with the agility of a panther. He saw
+the flash of a knife in the moonlight--he heard a muffled cry, and
+startled groan--and saw Chen Li pitch forward and lie evidently lifeless,
+where he fell. He saw the assailant stoop, seize his victim by the
+shoulders and drag him behind the shrubbery. Then, without further delay,
+the murderer hurried to the gate. Evidently assured himself that there was
+no one about, let himself out, and was gone.
+
+By all the solemn oaths that he could think of, Yada swore that this was
+true. Of another thing he was certain--the murderer was a Chinese.
+
+Now began his own career of crime. He was just then very hard up. He had
+spent much more than his allowance--he was in debt at his lodgings and
+elsewhere. Somewhere, he felt sure, there was, in that house, the money
+which Chen Li had evidently stolen from old Multenius. He immediately set
+to work to find it. But he had no difficulty--the bank-notes were in the
+drawer from which he had seen Chen Li take the gold which he had given to
+the blackmailer, Parslett. He hurriedly transferred them to his own
+pocket, and got away from the house by the door at the back of the garden
+--and it was not until late that night, in the privacy of his own rooms,
+that he found he had nearly eighty thousand pounds in his possession.
+
+For some days, said Yada, he was at a loss what to do with his booty. He
+was afraid of attempting to change five hundred pound notes. He made
+cautious enquiries as to how that could be done--and he began to think
+that the notes were so much waste paper to him. And then Ayscough called
+on him--and for the first time, he heard the story of the orange-yellow
+diamond.
+
+That gave him an idea. He had a very accurate knowledge of Chinese habits
+and characteristics, and he felt sure that Chen Li would have hidden that
+diamond in his pig-tail. So he took advantage of his possession of the
+detective's card to go to the mortuary, to get a minute or two alone with
+the body, and to slip his hand underneath the dead man's silk cap. There
+he found the diamond--and he knew that whether the bank-notes were to be
+of any value to him or not, the diamond would be if he could only escape
+to the Continent.
+
+But--he wanted funds; wanted them badly. He thereupon conceived the bold
+idea of getting a reward for his knowledge. He went to the police-station
+with a merely modest motive in his mind--fifty pounds would carry him to
+Vienna, where he knew how to dispose of the diamond at once, with no
+questions asked. But when he found the owners of the diamond and the bank-
+notes present he decided to play for higher stakes. He got what he asked
+for--and, if it had not been for that little Jew, he said malevolently, he
+would have got out of England that eventful afternoon. But--it was not so
+written--and the game was up. Only--what he had said was true. Now let
+them do what they could for him--but let them search for Chen Li's
+murderer.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The folk who had been chiefly concerned about the orange-yellow diamond
+and the eighty thousand pounds' worth of Bank of England notes were not so
+much troubled about proving the truth of Yada's strange story as Yada
+himself was--the main point to them was that they had recovered their
+property. Naturally they felt remarkably grateful to Melky Rubinstein for
+his astuteness in circumventing Yada at what might have been the last
+moment. And one day, at that portion of it when business was slack and
+everybody was feeling comfortable after dinner, Melky called on Mrs.
+Goldmark and became confidentially closeted with her in a little parlour
+behind her establishment which she kept sacred to herself. Mrs. Goldmark,
+who had quick eyes, noticed that Melky was wearing his best clothes, and a
+new silk hat, and new gloves, and had put his feet into patent-leather
+boots which she secretly and sympathizingly--felt to be at least a size
+too small for him. He sighed as he sat near her on the sofa--and Mrs.
+Goldmark looked at him with concern.
+
+"Such a time you have lately, Mr. Rubinstein, don't you?" she said
+feelingly. "Such worries--such troubles! And the risk you ran taking that
+wicked young man all by yourself--so brave of you! You'd ought to have one
+of these medals what they give to folks, so!"
+
+"You think that?" responded Melky, brightening suspiciously. "Oh, Mrs.
+Goldmark, your words is like wine--all my life I been wishing some
+beautiful woman would say them things to me! Now I feel like I was two
+foot taller, Mrs. Goldmark! But I don't want no medals--not me. Mr.
+Levendale and Mr. Purvis, they came to me and say they must give me a
+reward--handsome reward, you understand, for getting back their goods. So
+I say no--I won't have nothing for myself--nothing. But, I say, just so--
+there is one that should be rewarded. Mrs. Goldmark!--do you know what? I
+think of you when I say that!"
+
+Mrs. Goldmark uttered a feeble scream, clasped her hands, and stared at
+Melky out of her melting eyes.
+
+"Me?" she exclaimed. "Why--I ain't done nothing, Mr. Rubinstein!"
+
+"Listen to me," persisted Melky. "What I says to Mr. Levendale is this
+here--if Mrs. Goldmark hadn't had her eating establishment, and if Mr.
+Purvis hadn't gone into it to eat a chop and to drop his platinum
+solitaire on the table, and if Mrs. Goldmark hadn't taken care of that
+platinum solitaire, and if things hadn't sprung from it--eh, what then, I
+should like to know? So Mrs. Goldmark is entitled to whatever little
+present there is!--that's how I put it, Mrs. Goldmark. And Mr. Levendale
+and Mr. Purvis, they agreed with me--and oh, Mrs. Goldmark, ain't you
+going to be nice and let me put this round your beautiful neck?"
+
+Mrs. Goldmark screamed again as Melky produced a diamond necklace, lying
+in a blue velvet bed in a fine morocco case. The glitter of the diamonds
+turned both beholders hoarse with emotion.
+
+"Do you know what, Mrs. Goldmark!" whispered Melky. "It cost a thousand
+guineas--and no error! Now you bend your lovely head, and I puts it on
+you--oh, ain't you more beautiful than the Queen of Sheba! And ain't you
+Melky's queen, Mrs. Goldmark--say you was!"
+
+"Lor', Mr. Rubinstein!" said Mrs. Goldmark, coyly. "It's as if you was
+proposing to me!"
+
+"Why, ain't I?" exclaimed Melky, gathering courage. "Don't you see I'm in
+all my best clothes? Ain't it nothing but weddings, just now? There's Mr.
+Lauriston a-going to marry Zillah, and Mr. Purdie's a-fixing it up with
+Levendale's governess, and--oh, Mrs. Goldmark, ain't I worshipped you
+every time I come to eat my dinner in your eating house? Ain't you the
+loveliest woman in all Paddington. Say the word, Mrs. Goldmark--don't you
+see I'm like as if I was that hungry I could eat you?"
+
+Then Mrs. Goldmark said the word--and presently escaped from Melky's
+embrace to look at herself and her necklace in the mirror.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Orange-Yellow Diamond, by J. S. Fletcher
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Orange-Yellow Diamond, by J. S. Fletcher
+#2 in our series by J. S. Fletcher
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+Title: The Orange-Yellow Diamond
+
+Author: J. S. Fletcher
+
+Release Date: November, 2005 [EBook #9297]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on September 17, 2003]
+[Date last updated: December 21, 2004]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ORANGE-YELLOW DIAMOND ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Suzanne Shell, Richard Prairie and PG Distributed Proofreaders.
+
+
+
+
+                                    THE
+
+                               ORANGE-YELLOW
+
+                                  DIAMOND
+
+                                    BY
+
+                              J. S. FLETCHER
+
+
+                                   1921
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+      I THE PRETTY PAWNBROKER
+     II MRS. GOLDMARK'S EATING-HOUSE
+    III THE DEAD MAN
+     IV THE PLATINUM SOLITAIRE
+      V THE TWO LETTERS
+     VI THE SPANISH MANUSCRIPT
+    VII THE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
+   VIII THE INQUEST
+     IX WHOSE WERE THOSE RINGS?
+      X MELKY INTERVENES
+     XI THE BACK DOOR
+    XII THE FRIEND FROM PEEBLES
+   XIII THE CALL FOR HELP
+    XIV THE PRIVATE LABORATORY
+     XV CONFERENCE
+    XVI THE DETECTIVE CALLS
+   XVII WHAT THE LAMPS SHONE ON
+  XVIII MR. STUYVESANT GUYLER
+    XIX PURDIE STANDS FIRM
+     XX THE PARSLETT AFFAIR
+    XXI WHAT MANNER OF DEATH?
+   XXII MR. KILLICK GOES BACK
+  XXIII MR. KILLICK'S OPINION
+   XXIV THE ORANGE-YELLOW DIAMOND
+    XXV THE DEAD MAN'S PROPERTY
+   XXVI THE RAT
+  XXVII THE EMPTY HOUSE
+ XXVIII THE £500 BANK NOTE
+   XXIX MR. MORI YADA
+    XXX THE MORTUARY
+   XXXI THE MIRANDOLET THEORY
+  XXXII ONE O'CLOCK MIDNIGHT
+ XXXIII SECRET WORK
+  XXXIV BAFFLED
+   XXXV YADA TAKES CHARGE
+  XXXVI PILMANSEY'S TEA ROOMS
+ XXXVII CHANG LI
+XXXVIII THE JEW AND THE JAP
+  XXXIX THE DIAMOND NECKLACE
+
+
+THE ORANGE-YELLOW DIAMOND
+
+
+CHAPTER ONE
+
+
+THE PRETTY PAWNBROKER
+
+On the southern edge of the populous parish of Paddington, in a
+parallelogram bounded by Oxford and Cambridge Terrace on the south, Praed
+Street on the north, and by Edgware Road on the east and Spring Street on
+the west, lies an assemblage of mean streets, the drab dulness of which
+forms a remarkable contrast to the pretentious architectural grandeurs of
+Sussex Square and Lancaster Gate, close by. In these streets the observant
+will always find all those evidences of depressing semi-poverty which are
+more evident in London than in any other English city. The houses look as
+if laughter was never heard within them. Where the window blinds are not
+torn, they are dirty; the folk who come out of the doors wear anxious and
+depressed faces. Such shops as are there are mainly kept for the sale of
+food of poor quality: the taverns at the corners are destitute of
+attraction or pretension. Whoever wanders into these streets finds their
+sordid shabbiness communicating itself: he escapes, cast down, wondering
+who the folk are who live in those grey, lifeless cages; what they do,
+what they think; how life strikes them. Even the very sparrows which fight
+in the gutters for garbage are less lively than London sparrows usually
+are; as for the children who sit about the doorsteps, they look as if the
+grass, the trees, the flowers, and the sunlight of the adjacent Kensington
+Gardens were as far away as the Desert of Gobi. Within this slice of the
+town, indeed, life is lived, as it were, in a stagnant backwash, which
+nothing and nobody can stir.
+
+In an upper room of one of the more respectable houses in one of the
+somewhat superior streets of this neighbourhood, a young man stood looking
+out of the window one November afternoon. It was then five o'clock, and
+the darkness was coming: all day a gentle, never-ceasing rain had been
+bringing the soot down from the dark skies upon the already dingy roofs.
+It was a dismal and miserable prospect upon which the watcher looked out,
+but not so miserable nor so dismal as the situation in which he just then
+found himself. The mean street beneath him was not more empty of
+cheerfulness than his pockets were empty of money and his stomach of food.
+He had spent his last penny on the previous day: it, and two other
+coppers, had gone on a mere mouthful of food and drink: since their
+disappearance he had eaten nothing. And he was now growing faint with
+hunger--and to add to his pains, some one, downstairs, was cooking
+herrings. The smell of the frying-pan nearly drove him ravenous.
+
+He turned from the window presently and looked round at the small room
+behind him. It was a poor, ill-furnished place--cleanliness, though of a
+dingy sort, its only recommendation. There was a bed, and a washstand, and
+a chest of drawers, and a couple of chairs--a few shillings would have
+purchased the lot at any second-hand dealer's. In a corner stood the
+occupant's trunk--all the property he had in the world was in it, save a
+few books which were carefully ranged on the chimney-piece, and certain
+writing materials that lay on a small table. A sharp eye, glancing at the
+books and the writing materials, and at a few sheets of manuscript
+scattered on the blotting-pad, would have been quick to see that here was
+the old tale, once more being lived out, of the literary aspirant who, at
+the very beginning of his career, was finding, by bitter experience, that,
+of all callings, that of literature is the most precarious.
+
+A half-hesitating tap at the door prefaced the entrance of a woman--the
+sort of woman who is seen in those streets by the score--a tallish,
+thinnish woman, old before her time, perpetually harassed, always anxious,
+always looking as if she expected misfortune. Her face was full of anxiety
+now as she glanced at her lodger--who, on his part, flushed all over his
+handsome young face with conscious embarrassment. He knew very well what
+the woman wanted--and he was powerless to respond to her appeal.
+
+"Mr. Lauriston," she said in a half whisper, "when do you think you'll be
+able to let me have a bit of money? It's going on for six weeks now, you
+know, and I'm that put to it, what with the rent, and the rates--"
+
+Andrew Lauriston shook his head--not in denial, but in sheer perplexity.
+
+"Mrs. Flitwick," he answered, "I'll give you your money the very minute I
+get hold of it! I told you the other day I'd sold two stories--well, I've
+asked to be paid for them at once, and the cheque might be here by any
+post. And I'm expecting another cheque, too--I'm surprised they aren't
+both here by this time. The minute they arrive, I'll settle with you. I'm
+wanting money myself--as badly as you are!"
+
+"I know that, Mr. Lauriston," assented Mrs. Flitwick, "and I wouldn't
+bother you if I wasn't right pressed, myself. But there's the landlord at
+me--he wants money tonight. And--you'll excuse me for mentioning it--but,
+till you get your cheques, Mr. Lauriston, why don't you raise a bit of
+ready money?"
+
+Lauriston looked round at his landlady with an air of surprised enquiry.
+
+"And how would I do that?" he asked.
+
+"You've a right good gold watch, Mr. Lauriston," she answered. "Any
+pawnbroker--and there's plenty of 'em, I'm sure!--'ud lend you a few
+pounds on that. Perhaps you've never had occasion to go to a pawnbroker
+before? No?--well, and I hadn't once upon a time, but I've had to, whether
+or no, since I came to letting lodgings, and if I'd as good a watch as
+yours is, I wouldn't go without money in my pocket! If you've money coming
+in, you can always get your goods back--and I should be thankful for
+something, Mr. Lauriston, if it was but a couple o' pounds. My landlord's
+that hard--"
+
+Lauriston turned and picked up his hat.
+
+"All right, Mrs. Flitwick," he said quietly. "I'll see what I can do. I--
+I'd never even thought of it."
+
+When the woman had gone away, closing the door behind her, he pulled the
+watch out of his pocket and looked at it--an old-fashioned, good, gold
+watch, which had been his father's. No doubt a pawnbroker would lend money
+on it. But until then he had never had occasion to think of pawnbrokers.
+He had come to London nearly two years before, intending to make name,
+fame, and fortune by his pen. He had a little money to be going on with--
+when he came. It had dwindled steadily, and it had been harder to replace
+it than he had calculated for. And at last there he was, in that cheap
+lodging, and at the end of his resources, and the cheque for his first two
+accepted stories had not arrived. Neither had a loan which, sorely against
+his will, he had been driven to request from the only man he could think
+of--an old schoolmate, far away in Scotland. He had listened for the
+postman's knock, hoping it would bring relief, for four long days--and not
+one letter had come, and he was despairing and heartsick. But--there was
+the watch!
+
+He went out presently, and on the stair, feebly lighted by a jet of gas,
+he ran up against a fellow-lodger--a young Jew, whom he knew by the name
+of Mr. Melchior Rubinstein, who occupied the rooms immediately beneath his
+own. He was a quiet, affable little person, with whom Lauriston sometimes
+exchanged a word or two--and the fact that he sported rings on his
+fingers, a large pin in his tie, and a heavy watch-chain, which was either
+real gold or a very good imitation, made Lauriston think that he would
+give him some advice. He stopped him--with a shy look, and an awkward
+blush.
+
+"I say!" he said. "I--the fact is, I'm a bit hard up--temporarily, you
+know--and I want to borrow some money on my watch. Could you tell me where
+there's a respectable pawnbroker's?"
+
+Melky--known to every one in the house by that familiar substitute for his
+more pretentious name--turned up the gas-jet and then held out a slender,
+long-fingered hand. "Let's look at the watch," he said curtly, in a soft,
+lisping voice. "I know more than a bit about watches, mister."
+
+Lauriston handed the watch over and watched Melky inquisitively as he
+looked at it, inside and out, in a very knowing and professional way.
+Melky suddenly glanced at him. "Now, you wouldn't like to sell this here
+bit of property, would you, Mr. Lauriston?" he enquired, almost
+wheedlingly. "I'll give you three quid for it--cash down."
+
+"Thank you--but I wouldn't sell it for worlds," replied Lauriston.
+
+"Say four quid, then," urged Melky. "Here!--between friends, I'll give you
+four-ten! Spot cash, mind you!"
+
+"No!" said Lauriston. "It belonged to my father. I don't want to sell--I
+want to borrow."
+
+Melky pushed the watch back into its owner's hand.
+
+"You go round into Praed Street, mister," he said, in business-like
+fashion. "You'll see a shop there with Daniel Multenius over it. He's a
+relation o' mine--he'll do what you want. Mention my name, if you like.
+He'll deal fair with you. And if you ever want to sell, don't forget me."
+
+Lauriston laughed, and went down the stairs, and out into the dismal
+evening. It was only a step round to Praed Street, and within five minutes
+of leaving Melky he was looking into Daniel Multenius's window. He
+remembered now that he had often looked into it, without noticing the odd
+name above it. It was a window in which there were all sorts of curious
+things, behind a grille of iron bars, from diamonds and pearls to old
+ivory and odds and ends of bric-à-brac. A collector of curiosities would
+have found material in that window to delay him for half-an-hour--but
+Lauriston only gave one glance at it before hastening down a dark side-
+passage to a door, over which was a faintly-illuminated sign, showing the
+words: PLEDGE OFFICE.
+
+He pushed open that door and found himself before several small, boxed-off
+compartments, each just big enough to contain one person. They were all
+empty at that moment; he entered one, and seeing nobody about, tapped
+gently on the counter. He expected to see some ancient and Hebraic figure
+present itself--instead, light steps came from some recess of the shop,
+and Lauriston found himself gazing in surprise at a young and eminently
+pretty girl, who carried some fancy needle-work in her hand, and looked
+over it at him out of a pair of large, black eyes. For a moment the two
+gazed at each other, in silence.
+
+"Yes?" said the girl at last. "What can I do for you?"
+
+Lauriston found his tongue.
+
+"Er--is Mr. Multenius in?" he asked. "I--the fact is, I want to see him."
+
+"Mr. Multenius is out," answered the girl. "But I'm in charge--if it's
+business."
+
+She was quietly eyeing Lauriston over, and she saw his fresh-complexioned
+face colour vividly.
+
+"I do my grandfather's business when he's out," she continued. "Do you
+want to borrow some money?"
+
+Lauriston pulled out the watch, with more blushes, and pushed it towards
+her.
+
+"That's just it," he answered. "I want to borrow money on that. A friend
+of mine--fellow-lodger--Mr. Melky Rubinstein--said I could borrow
+something here. That's a real good watch, you know."
+
+The girl glanced at her customer with a swift and almost whimsical
+recognition of his innocence, and almost carelessly picked up the watch.
+
+"Oh, Melky sent you here, did he?" she said, with a smile. "I see!" She
+looked the watch over, and snapped open the case. Then she glanced at
+Lauriston. "How much do you want on this?" she asked.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWO
+
+
+MRS. GOLDMARK'S EATING-HOUSE
+
+Lauriston thrust his hands in his pockets and looked at the girl in sheer
+perplexity. She was a very pretty, dark girl, nearly as tall as himself,
+slender and lissom of figure, and decidedly attractive. There was evident
+sense of fun and humour in her eyes, and about the corners of her lips: he
+suddenly got an idea that she was amused at his embarrassment.
+
+"How much can you lend me?" he asked. "What--what's it worth?"
+
+"No, that's not it!" she answered. "It's--what do you want to borrow?
+You're not used to pledging things, are you?"
+
+"No," replied Lauriston. "This is the first time. Can--can you lend me a
+few pounds?"
+
+The girl picked up the watch again, and again, examined it.
+
+"I'll lend you three pounds fifteen on it," she said suddenly, in
+business-like tones. "That do?"
+
+"Thank you," replied Lauriston. "That'll do very well--I'm much obliged. I
+suppose I can have it back any time."
+
+"Any time you bring the money, and pay the interest," replied the girl.
+"Within twelve calendar months and seven days." She picked up a pen and
+began to fill out a ticket. "Got any copper?" she asked presently.
+
+"Copper?" exclaimed Lauriston. "What for?"
+
+"The ticket," she answered. Then she gave him a quick glance and just as
+quickly looked down again. "Never mind!" she said. "I'll take it out of
+the loan. Your name and address, please."
+
+Lauriston presently took the ticket and the little pile of gold, silver,
+and copper which she handed him. And he lingered.
+
+"You'll take care of that watch," he said, suddenly. "It was my father's,
+you see."
+
+The girl smiled, reassuringly, and pointed to a heavily-built safe in the
+rear.
+
+"We've all sorts of family heirlooms in there," she observed. "Make
+yourself easy."
+
+Lauriston thanked her, raised his hat, and turned away--unwillingly. He
+would have liked an excuse to stop longer--and he did not quite know why.
+But he could think of none, so he went--with a backward look when he got
+to the door. The pretty pawnbroker smiled and nodded. And the next moment
+he was out in the street, with money in his pocket, and a strange sense of
+relief, which was mingled with one of surprise. For he had lived for the
+previous four days on a two-shilling piece--and there, all the time, close
+by him, had been a place where you could borrow money, easily and very
+pleasantly.
+
+His first thought was to hurry to his lodgings and pay his landlady. He
+owed her six weeks' rent, at ten shillings a week--that would take three
+pounds out of the money he had just received. But he would still have over
+fourteen shillings to be going on with--and surely those expected letters
+would come within the next few postal deliveries. He had asked the editor
+who had taken two short stories from him to let him have a cheque for
+them, and in his inexperience had expected to see it arrive by return of
+post. Also he had put his pride in his pocket, and had written a long
+letter to his old schoolmate, John Purdie, in far-away Scotland,
+explaining his present circumstances, and asking him, for old times' sake,
+to lend him some money until he had finished and sold a novel, which, he
+was sure, would turn out to be a small gold-mine. John Purdie, he knew,
+was now a wealthy young man--successor to his father in a fine business;
+Lauriston felt no doubt that he would respond. And meantime, till the
+expected letters came, he had money--and when you have lived for four days
+on two shillings, fourteen shillings seems a small fortune. Certainly,
+within the last half-hour, life had taken on a roseate tinge--all due to a
+visit to the pawnshop.
+
+Hurrying back along Praed Street, Lauriston's steps were suddenly
+arrested. He found himself unconsciously hurrying by an old-fashioned
+eating-house, from whence came an appetizing odour of cooking food. He
+remembered then that he had eaten nothing for four-and-twenty hours. His
+landlady supplied him with nothing: ever since he had gone to her he had
+done his own catering, going out for his meals. The last meal, on the
+previous evening, had been a glass of milk and a stale, though sizable
+bun, and now he felt literally ravenous. It was only by an effort that he
+could force himself to pass the eating-house; once beyond its door, he
+ran, ran until he reached his lodgings and slipped three sovereigns into
+Mrs. Flitwick's hands.
+
+"That'll make us right to this week end, Mrs. Flitwick," he said. "Put the
+receipt in my room."
+
+"And greatly obliged I am to you, Mr. Lauriston," answered the landlady.
+"And sorry, indeed, you should have had to put yourself to the trouble,
+but--"
+
+"All right, all right--no trouble--no trouble at all," exclaimed
+Lauriston. "Quite easy, I assure you!"
+
+He ran out of the house again and back to where he knew there was food. He
+was only one-and-twenty, a well-built lad, with a healthy appetite, which,
+until very recently, had always been satisfied, and just then he was
+feeling that unless he ate and drank, something--he knew not what--would
+happen. He was even conscious that his voice was weakening, when, having
+entered the eating-house and dropped into a seat in one of the little
+boxes into which the place was divided, he asked the waitress for the food
+and drink which he was now positively aching for. And he had eaten a
+plateful of fish and two boiled eggs and several thick slices of bread and
+butter, and drunk the entire contents of a pot of tea before he even
+lifted his eyes to look round him. But by that time he was conscious of
+satisfaction, and he sat up and inspected the place to which he had
+hurried so eagerly. And in the same moment he once more saw Melky.
+
+Melky had evidently just entered the little eating-house. Evidently, too,
+he was in no hurry for food or drink. He had paused, just within the
+entrance, at a desk which stood there, whereat sat Mrs. Goldmark, the
+proprietress, a plump, pretty young woman, whose dark, flashing eyes
+turned alternately from watching her waitresses to smiling on her
+customers as they came to the desk to pay their bills. Melky, his smart
+billy-cock hat cocked to one side, his sporting-looking overcoat adorned
+with a flower, was evidently paying compliments to Mrs. Goldmark as he
+leaned over her desk: she gave him a playful push and called to a waitress
+to order Mr. Rubinstein a nice steak. And Melky, turning from her with a
+well satisfied smile, caught sight of Lauriston, and sauntered down to the
+table at which he sat.
+
+"Get your bit of business done all right?" he asked, confidentially, as he
+took a seat opposite his fellow-lodger and bent towards him. "Find the old
+gent accommodating?"
+
+"I didn't see him," answered Lauriston. "I saw a young lady."
+
+"My cousin Zillah," said Melky. "Smart girl, that, mister--worth a pile o'
+money to the old man--she knows as much about the business as what he
+does! You wouldn't think, mister," he went on in his soft, lisping tones,
+"but that girl's had a college education--fact! Old Daniel, he took her to
+live with him when her father and mother died, she being a little 'un
+then, and he give her--ah, such an education as I wish I'd had--see? She's
+quite the lady--is Zillah--but sticks to the old shop--not half, neither!"
+
+"She seems very business-like," remarked Lauriston, secretly pleased that
+he had now learned the pretty pawnbroker's name. "She soon did what I
+wanted."
+
+"In the blood," said Melky, laconically. "We're all of us in that sort o'
+business, one way or another. Now, between you and me, mister, what did
+she lend you on that bit o' stuff?"
+
+"Three pounds fifteen," replied Lauriston.
+
+"That's about it," assented Melky, with a nod. He leaned a little nearer.
+"You don't want to sell the ticket?" he suggested. "Give you a couple o'
+quid for it, if you do."
+
+"You seem very anxious to buy that watch," said Lauriston, laughing. "No--
+I don't want to sell the ticket--not I! I wouldn't part with that watch
+for worlds."
+
+"Well, if you don't, you don't," remarked Melky. "And as to wanting to
+buy--that's my trade. I ain't no reg'lar business--I buy and sell,
+anything that comes handy, in the gold and silver line. And as you ain't
+going to part with that ticker on no consideration, I'll tell you what
+it's worth, old as it is. Fifteen quid!"
+
+"That's worth knowing, any way," said Lauriston. "I shall always have
+something by me then, while I have that. You'd have made a profit of a
+nice bit, then, if I'd sold it to you?"
+
+"It 'ud be a poor world, mister, if you didn't get no profit, wouldn't
+it?" assented Melky calmly. "We're all of us out to make profit. Look
+here!--between you and me--you're a lit'ry gent, ain't you? Write a bit,
+what? Do you want to earn a fiver--comfortable?"
+
+"I should be very glad," replied Lauriston.
+
+"There's a friend o' mine," continued Melky, "wholesale jeweller, down
+Shoreditch way, wants to get out a catalogue. He ain't no lit'ry powers,
+d'you see? Now, he'd run to a fiver--cash down--if some writing feller 'ud
+touch things up a bit for him, like. Lor' bless you!--it wouldn't take you
+more'n a day's work! What d'ye say to it?"
+
+"I wouldn't mind earning five pounds at that," answered Lauriston.
+
+"Right-oh!" said Melky. "Then some day next week, I'll take you down to
+see him--he's away till then. And--you'll pay me ten per cent. on the bit
+o' business, won't you, mister? Business is business, ain't it?"
+
+"All right!" agreed Lauriston. "That's a bargain, of course."
+
+Melky nodded and turned to his steak, and Lauriston presently left him and
+went away. The plump lady at the desk gave him a smile as she handed him
+his change.
+
+"Hope to see you again, sir," she said.
+
+Lauriston went back to his room, feeling that the world had changed. He
+had paid his landlady, he had silver and copper in his pocket, he had the
+chance of earning five pounds during the coming week--and he expected a
+cheque for his two stories by every post. And if John Purdie made him the
+loan he had asked for, he would be able to devote a whole month to
+finishing his novel--and then, perhaps, there would be fame and riches.
+The dismal November evening disappeared in a dream of hope.
+
+But by the end of the week hope was dropping to zero again with Lauriston.
+No letters had arrived--either from John Purdie or the editor. On the
+Sunday morning he was again face to face with the last half-crown. He laid
+out his money very cautiously that day, but when he had paid for a frugal
+dinner at a cheap coffee-shop, he had only a shilling left. He wandered
+into Kensington Gardens that Sunday afternoon, wondering what he had best
+do next. And as he stood by the railings of the ornamental water, watching
+the water-fowls' doings, somebody bade him good-day, and he turned to find
+the pretty girl of the pawnshop standing at his side and smiling shyly at
+him.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THREE
+
+
+THE DEAD MAN
+
+Lauriston was thinking about Zillah at the very moment in which she spoke
+to him: the memory of her dark eyes and the friendly smile that she had
+given him as he left the pawnshop had come as a relief in the midst of his
+speculations as to his immediate future. And now, as he saw her real self,
+close to him, evidently disposed to be friendly, he blushed like any girl,
+being yet at that age when shyness was still a part of his character.
+Zillah blushed too--but she was more self-possessed than Lauriston.
+
+"I've been talking to my Cousin Melky about you," she said quickly. "Or,
+rather, he's been talking to me. He says he's going to introduce you to a
+man who wants his catalogue put in shape--for five pounds. Don't you do it
+for five pounds! I know that man--charge him ten!"
+
+Lauriston moved away with her down the walk.
+
+"Oh, but I couldn't do that, now!" he said eagerly. "You see I promised
+I'd do it for five."
+
+Zillah gave him a quick glance.
+
+"Don't you be silly!" she said. "When anybody like Melky offers you five
+pounds for anything, ask them double. They'll give it. You don't know much
+about money matters, do you?"
+
+Lauriston laughed, and gaining confidence, gave the girl a knowing look.
+
+"Not much," he admitted, "else I wouldn't have had to do that bit of
+business with you the other day."
+
+"Oh--that!" she said indifferently. "That's nothing. You'd be astonished
+if you knew what sort of people just have to run round to us, now and
+then--I could tell you some secrets! But--I guessed you weren't very well
+up in money matters, all the same. Writing people seldom are."
+
+"I suppose you are?" suggested Lauriston.
+
+"I've been mixed up in them all my life, more or less," she answered.
+"Couldn't help being, with my surroundings. You won't think me inquisitive
+if I ask you something? Were you--hard up--when you came round the other
+night?"
+
+"Hard up's a mild term," replied Lauriston, frankly. "I hadn't a penny!"
+
+"Excepting a gold watch worth twelve or fifteen pounds," remarked Zillah,
+drily. "And how long had you been like that?"
+
+"Two or three days--more or less," answered Lauriston. "You see, I've been
+expecting money for more than a week--that was it."
+
+"Has it come?" she asked.
+
+"No--it hasn't," he replied, with a candid blush. "That's a fact!"
+
+"Will it come--soon?" she demanded.
+
+"By George!--I hope so!" he exclaimed. "I'll be hard up again, if it
+doesn't."
+
+"And then you offer to do for five what you might easily get ten for!" she
+said, almost reproachfully. "Let me give you a bit of advice--never accept
+a first offer. Stand out for a bit more--especially from anybody like my
+cousin Melky."
+
+"Is Melky a keen one, then?" enquired Lauriston.
+
+"Melky's a young Jew," said Zillah, calmly. "I'm not--I'm half-and-half--a
+mixture. My mother was Jew--my father wasn't. Well--if you want money to
+be going on with, and you've got any more gold watches, you know where to
+come. Don't you ever go with empty pockets in London while you've got a
+bit of property to pledge! You're not a Londoner, of course?"
+
+"I'm a Scotsman!" said Lauriston.
+
+"To be sure--I knew it by your tongue," asserted Zillah. "And trying to
+make a living by writing! Well, you'll want courage--and money. Have you
+had any luck?"
+
+"I've sold two stories," answered Lauriston, who by that time was feeling
+as if the girl was an old friend. "They come to twenty pounds for the two,
+at the rate that magazine pays, and I've asked for a cheque--it's that I'm
+waiting for. It ought to come--any time."
+
+"Oh, but I know that game!" said Zillah. "I've two friends--girls--who
+write. I know how they have to wait--till publication, or till next pay-
+day. What a pity that some of you writers don't follow some other
+profession that would bring in a good income--then you could do your
+writing to please yourselves, and not be dependent on it. Haven't you
+thought of that?"
+
+"Often!" answered Lauriston. "And it wouldn't do--for me, anyway. I've
+made my choice. I'll stick to my pen--and swim or sink with it. And I'm
+not going to sink!"
+
+"That's the way to talk--to be sure!" said the girl. "But--keep yourself
+in money, if you can. Don't go without money for three days when you've
+anything you can raise money on. You see how practical I am! But you've
+got to be in this world. Will you tell me something?"
+
+"It strikes me," answered Lauriston, looking at her narrowly and bringing
+the colour to her cheeks, "that I'm just about getting to this--that I'd
+tell you anything! And so--what is it?"
+
+"How much money have you left?" she asked softly.
+
+"Precisely a shilling--and a copper or two," he answered.
+
+"And--if that cheque doesn't arrive?" she suggested.
+
+"Maybe I'll be walking round to Praed Street again," he said, laughing.
+"I've a bit of what you call property, yet."
+
+The girl nodded, and turned towards a side-walk that led across the
+Gardens.
+
+"All right," she said. "Don't think me inquisitive--I don't like to think
+of--of people like you being hard up: I'm not wrapped up in business as
+much as all that. Let's talk of something else--tell me what you write
+about."
+
+Lauriston spent the rest of that afternoon with Zillah, strolling about
+Kensington Gardens. He had lived a very lonely life since coming to
+London, and it was a new and pleasant experience to him to have an
+intelligent companion to talk to. There was a decided sense of
+exhilaration within him when he finally left her; as for Zillah, she went
+homewards in a very thoughtful mood, already conscious that she was more
+than half in love with this good-looking lad who had come so strangely
+into her life. And at the corner of Praed Street she ran up against Mr.
+Melky Rubinstein, and button-holed him, and for ten minutes talked
+seriously to him. Melky, who had good reasons of his own for keeping in
+his cousin's favour, listened like a lamb to all she had to say, and went
+off promising implicit obedience to her commandments.
+
+"Zillah ain't half gone on that chap!" mused Melky, as he pursued his way.
+"Now, ain't it extraordinary that a girl who'll come into a perfect
+fortune should go and fall head over ears in love with a red-headed young
+feller what ain't got a penny to bless hisself with! Not but what he ain't
+got good looks--and brains. And brains is brains, when all's said!"
+
+That night, as Lauriston sat writing in his shabby little room, a knock
+came at his door--the door opened, and Melky slid in, laying his finger to
+the side of his large nose in token of confidence.
+
+"Hope I ain't interrupting," said Melky. "I say, mister, I been thinking
+about that catalogue business. Now I come to sort of reflect on it, I
+think my friend'll go to ten pound. So we'll say ten pound--what? And I'll
+take you to see him next Friday. And I say, mister--if a pound or two on
+account 'ud be of any service--say the word, d'ye see?"
+
+With this friendly assurance, Melky plunged his hand into a hip-pocket,
+and drew out some gold, which he held towards Lauriston on his open palm.
+
+"Two or three pound on account, now, mister?" he said, ingratiatingly.
+"You're welcome as the flowers in May!"
+
+But Lauriston shook his head; he had already decided on a plan of his own,
+if the expected remittance did not arrive next morning.
+
+"No, thank you," he answered. "It's uncommonly good of you--but I can
+manage very well indeed--I can, really! Next Friday, then--I'll go with
+you. I'm very much obliged to you."
+
+Melky slipped his money into his pocket--conscious of having done his
+part. "Just as you like, mister," he said. "But you was welcome, you know.
+Next Friday, then--and you can reckon on cash down for this job."
+
+The Monday morning brought neither of the expected letters to Lauriston.
+But he had not spoken without reason when he said to Zillah that he had a
+bit of property to fall back upon--now that he knew how ready money could
+easily be raised. He had some pledgeable property in his trunk--and when
+the remittances failed to arrive, he determined to avail himself of it.
+Deep down in a corner of the trunk he had two valuable rings--all that his
+mother had left him, with the exception of two hundred pounds, with which
+he had ventured to London, and on which he had lived up to then. He got
+the rings out towards the end of Monday afternoon, determining to take
+them round to Daniel Multenius and raise sufficient funds on them to last
+him for, at any rate, another month or two. He had little idea of the real
+value of such articles, and he had reasons of his own for not showing the
+rings to Melky Rubinstein; his notion was to wait until evening, when he
+would go to the pawnshop at about the same time as on his previous visit,
+in the hope of finding Zillah in charge again. After their meeting and
+talk of the afternoon before, he felt that she would do business with him
+in a sympathetic spirit--and if he could raise twenty pounds on the rings
+he would be free of all monetary anxiety for many a long week to come.
+
+It was half-past five o'clock of that Monday evening when Lauriston, for
+the second time, turned into the narrow passage which led to the pawnshop
+door. He had already looked carefully through the street window, in the
+hope of seeing Zillah inside the front shop. But there was no Zillah to be
+seen; the front shop was empty. Nor did Zillah confront him when he
+stepped into the little boxed-in compartment in the pawnshop. There was a
+curious silence in the place--broken only by the quiet, regular ticking of
+a clock. That ticking grew oppressive during the minute or two that he
+waited expecting somebody to step forward. He rapped on the counter at
+last--gently at first, then more insistently. But nobody came. The clock--
+hidden from his sight--went on ticking.
+
+Lauriston bent over the counter at last and craned his neck to look into
+the open door of a little parlour which lay behind the shop. The next
+instant, with no thought but of the exigencies of the moment, he had leapt
+over the partition and darted into the room. There, stretched out across
+the floor, his head lying on the hearthrug, his hands lying inert and
+nerveless at his sides, lay an old man, grey-bearded, venerable--Daniel
+Multenius, no doubt. He lay very still, very statuesque--and Lauriston,
+bending over and placing a trembling hand on the high, white forehead,
+knew that he was dead.
+
+He started up--his only idea that of seeking help. The whole place was so
+still that he knew he was alone with the dead in it. Instinctively, he ran
+through the front shop to the street door--and into the arms of a man who
+was just entering.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOUR
+
+
+THE PLATINUM SOLITAIRE
+
+The newcomer, an elderly, thick-set man, who, in spite of his plain
+clothes, looked as if he were an official of some sort and carried some
+documents in his hand, at which he was glancing as he entered, started and
+exclaimed as Lauriston, in his haste, ran up against him. "Hullo!" he
+said. "What's the matter? You seem in a hurry, young fellow!"
+
+Lauriston, almost out of breath with excitement, turned and pointed to the
+open door of the little parlour.
+
+"There's an old man--lying in there--dead!" he whispered. "A grey-bearded
+old man--is it the pawn-broker--Mr. Multenius?"
+
+The man stared, craned his neck to glance in the direction which
+Lauriston's shaking finger indicated, and then started forward. But he
+suddenly paused, and motioned Lauriston to go first--and before following
+him he closed the street door.
+
+"Now then, where?" he said. "Dead, do you say?" He followed Lauriston into
+the parlour, uttered a sharp exclamation as he caught sight of the
+recumbent figure, and, bending down, laid a hand on the forehead. "Dead,
+right enough, my lad!" he muttered. "Been dead some minutes, too. But--
+where's the girl--the grand-daughter? Have you seen anybody?"
+
+"Not a soul!" answered Lauriston. "Since I came in, the whole place has
+been as still as--as it is now!"
+
+The man stared at him for a second or two, silently; then, as if he knew
+the ins and outs of the establishment, he strode to an inner door, threw
+it open and revealed a staircase.
+
+"Hullo there!" he called loudly. "Hullo! Miss Wildrose! Are you there?"
+
+This was the first time Lauriston had heard Zillah's surname: even in the
+midst of that startling discovery, it struck him as a very poetical one.
+But he had no time to reflect on it--the man turned back into the parlour.
+
+"She must be out," he said. "Do you say you found him?"
+
+"Yes--I found him," answered Lauriston. "Just now."
+
+"And what were you doing here?" asked the man. "Who are you?"
+
+Lauriston fancied he detected a faint note of suspicion in these
+questions, and he drew himself up, with a flush on his face.
+
+"My name's Andrew Lauriston," he answered. "I live close by. I came in on
+--business. Who are you?"
+
+"Well, if it comes to that, my lad," said the man, "I'm Detective-Sergeant
+Ayscough--known well enough around these parts! I came to see the old
+gentleman about these papers. Now--what was your business, then?"
+
+He was watching Lauriston very keenly, and Lauriston, suddenly realizing
+that he was in an awkward position, determined on candour.
+
+"Well, if you really want to know," he said, "I came to borrow some money
+--on these rings."
+
+And he opened his left hand and showed the detective the two rings which
+he had taken from his trunk--not half-an-hour before.
+
+"Your property?" asked Ayscough.
+
+"Of course they're my property!" exclaimed Lauriston. "Whose else should
+they be?"
+
+Ayscough's glance wandered from the rings to a table which stood, a little
+to one side, in the middle of the parlour. Lauriston turned in that
+direction, also. Two objects immediately met his eye. On the table stood a
+small tray, full of rings--not dissimilar in style and appearance to those
+which he held in his hand: old-fashioned rings. The light from the gas-
+brackets above the mantel-piece caught the facets of the diamonds in those
+rings and made little points of fire; here and there he saw the shimmer of
+pearls. But there was another object. Close by the tray of old rings lay a
+book--a beautifully bound book, a small quarto in size, with much
+elaborate gold ornament on the back and side, and gilt clasps holding the
+heavy leather binding together. It looked as if some hand had recently
+thrown this book carelessly on the table.
+
+But Ayscough gave little, if any, attention to the book: his eyes were
+fixed on the rings in the tray--and he glanced from them to Lauriston's
+rings.
+
+"Um!" he said presently. "Odd that you have a couple of rings, young man,
+just like--those! Isn't it?"
+
+"What do you mean?" demanded Lauriston, flushing scarlet. "You don't
+suggest--"
+
+"Don't suggest anything--just now," answered the detective, quietly. "But
+you must stop here with me, until I find out more. Come to the door--we
+must have help here."
+
+Lauriston saw there was nothing to do but to obey, and he followed
+Ayscough to the street door. The detective opened it, looked out, and
+waiting a few minutes, beckoned to a policeman who presently strolled
+along. After a whispered word or two, the policeman went away, and
+Ayscough beckoned Lauriston back into the shop.
+
+"Now," he said, "there'll be some of our people and a surgeon along in a
+few minutes--before they come, just tell me your story. You're an honest-
+looking young chap--but you must admit that it looks a bit queer that I
+should find you running out of this shop, old Multenius dead inside his
+parlour, and you with a couple of rings in your possession which look
+uncommonly like his property! Just tell me how it came about."
+
+Lauriston told him the plain truth--from the pawning of the watch to the
+present visit. Ayscough watched him narrowly--and at the end nodded his
+head.
+
+"That sounds like a straight tale, Mr. Lauriston," he said. "I'm inclined
+to believe every word you say. But I shall have to report it, and all the
+circumstances, and you'll have to prove that these two rings were your
+mother's, and all that--and you must stay here till the doctor comes with
+our people. Queer that the old man should be alone! I wonder where his
+grand-daughter is?"
+
+But just then the street door opened and Zillah came in, a big bunch of
+flowers under one arm, some small parcels in the other. At the sight of
+the two men she started; crimsoned as she saw Lauriston; paled again as
+she noticed that Ayscough was evidently keeping an eye on him.
+
+"Mr. Ayscough!" she exclaimed. "What's this?--is something the matter?
+What are you doing here?" she went on hurriedly, turning to Lauriston.
+"Inside the shop! What's happened?--tell me, one of you?"
+
+The detective purposely kept himself and Lauriston between Zillah and the
+open door at the rear of the shop. He made a kindly motion of his head
+towards her.
+
+"Now, my dear!" he said. "Don't get upset--your grandfather was getting a
+very old man, you know--and we can't expect old gentlemen to live for
+ever. Take it quietly, now!"
+
+The girl turned and laid her flowers and parcels on the counter.
+Lauriston, watching her anxiously, saw that she was nerving herself to be
+brave.
+
+"That means--he's dead?" she said. "I am quiet--you see I'm quiet. Tell me
+what's happened--you tell me," she added, glancing at Lauriston. "Tell me
+--now!"
+
+"I came in and found no one here, and I looked round through the door into
+the parlour there," answered Lauriston, "and I saw your grandfather lying
+on the floor. So I jumped over the counter and went to him."
+
+Zillah moved forward as if to go into the parlour. But the detective
+stopped her, glancing from her to Lauriston.
+
+"You know this young man, Miss Wildrose?" he asked. "You've met him
+before?"
+
+"Yes," replied Zillah, confidently. "He's Mr. Lauriston. Let me go in
+there, please. Can nothing be done?"
+
+But Ayscough only shook his head. There was nothing to be done--but to
+await the arrival of the doctor. They followed the girl into the parlour
+and stood by while she bent over the dead man. She made no demonstration
+of grief, and when Ayscough presently suggested that she should go
+upstairs until the doctor had come, she went quietly away.
+
+"Hadn't we better lift him on that sofa?" suggested Lauriston.
+
+"Not till our people and the police-surgeon have seen him," answered
+Ayscough, shaking his head. "I want to know all about this--he may have
+died a natural death--a seizure of some sort--and again, he mayn't--
+They'll be here in a minute."
+
+Lauriston presently found himself a passive spectator while a police-
+inspector, another man in plain clothes, and the doctor examined the body,
+after hearing Ayscough's account of what had just happened. He was aware
+that he was regarded with suspicion--the inspector somewhat brusquely bade
+him stay where he was: it would, indeed, have been impossible to leave,
+for there was a policeman at the door, in which, by his superior's orders,
+he had turned the key. And there was a general, uncomfortable sort of
+silence in the place while the doctor busied himself about the body.
+
+"This man has been assaulted!" said the doctor, suddenly turning to the
+inspector. "Look here!--he's not only been violently gripped by the right
+arm--look at that bruise--but taken savagely by the throat. There's no
+doubt of that. Old and evidently feeble as he was, the shock would be
+quite enough to kill him. But--that's how it's been done, without a
+doubt."
+
+The inspector turned, looking hard at Lauriston.
+
+"Did you see anybody leaving the place when you entered?" he asked.
+
+"There was no one about here when I came in--either at the street door or
+at the side door," replied Lauriston, readily. "The whole place was quiet
+--deserted--except for him. And--he was dead when I found him."
+
+The inspector drew Ayscough aside and they talked in whispers for a few
+minutes, eyeing Lauriston now and then; eventually they approached him.
+
+"I understand you're known here, and that you live in the neighbourhood,"
+said the inspector. "You'll not object if the sergeant goes round with you
+to your lodgings--you'll no doubt be able to satisfy him about your
+respectability, and so on. I don't want to suggest anything--but--you
+understand?"
+
+"I understand," replied Lauriston. "I'll show or tell him anything he
+likes. I've told you the plain truth."
+
+"Go with him now," directed the inspector; "you know what to do,
+Ayscough!"
+
+Half an hour later, when the dead man had been carried to his room, and
+the shop and house had been closed, Melky Rubinstein, who had come in
+while the police were still there, and had remained when they had gone,
+stood talking to Zillah in the upstairs sitting-room. Melky was unusually
+grave: Zillah had already gathered that the police had some suspicion
+about Lauriston.
+
+"I'll go round there and see what the detective fellow's doing with him,"
+said Melky. "I ain't got no suspicion about him--not me! But--it's an
+awkward position--and them rings, too! Now, if he'd only ha' shown 'em to
+me, first, Zillah--see?"
+
+"Do go, Melky!" urged Zillah tearfully. "Of course, he'd nothing to do
+with it. Oh!--I wish I'd never gone out!"
+
+Melky went downstairs. He paused for a moment in the little parlour,
+glancing meditatively at the place where the old man had been found dead.
+And suddenly his keen eyes saw an object which lay close to the fender,
+half hidden by a tassel of the hearthrug, and he stooped and picked it up
+--a solitaire stud, made of platinum, and ornamented with a curious
+device.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIVE
+
+
+THE TWO LETTERS
+
+Once outside the shop, Lauriston turned sharply on the detective.
+
+"Look here!" he said. "I wish you'd just tell me the truth. Am I
+suspected? Am I--in some way or other--in custody?"
+
+Ayscough laughed quietly, wagging his head.
+
+"Certainly not in custody," he answered. "And as to the other--well, you
+know, Mr. Lauriston, supposing we put it in this way?--suppose you'd been
+me, and I'd been you, half-an-hour ago? What would you have thought if
+you'd found me in the situation and under the circumstances in which I
+found you? Come, now!"
+
+"Yes," replied Lauriston, after a moment's reflection. "I suppose it's
+natural that you should suspect me--finding me there, alone with the old
+man. But--"
+
+"It's not so much suspicion in a case of this sort, as a wish to satisfy
+one's self," interrupted the detective. "You seem a gentleman-like young
+fellow, and you may be all right. I want to know that you are--I'd like to
+know that you are! It would be no satisfaction to me to fasten this
+business on you, I can assure you. And if you like to tell me about
+yourself, and how you came to go to Multenius's--why, it would be as
+well."
+
+"There's not much to tell," answered Lauriston. "I came from Scotland to
+London, two years ago or thereabouts, to earn my living by writing. I'd a
+bit of money when I came--I've lived on it till now. I've just begun to
+earn something. I've been expecting a cheque for some work for these last
+ten or twelve days, but I was running short last week--so I went to that
+place to pawn my watch--I saw the young lady there. As my cheque hadn't
+arrived today, I went there again to pawn those rings I told you about and
+showed you. And--that's all. Except this--I was advised to go to
+Multenius's by a relation of theirs, Mr. Rubinstein, who lodges where I
+do. He knows me."
+
+"Oh, Melky Rubinstein!" said Ayscough. "I know Melky--sharp chap he is.
+He sold me this pin I'm wearing. Well, that seems quite a straightforward
+tale, Mr. Lauriston. I've no doubt all will be satisfactory. You've
+friends in London, of course?"
+
+"No--none," replied Lauriston. "And scarcely an acquaintance. I've kept to
+myself--working hard: I've had no time--nor inclination, either--to make
+friends. Here's the house where I lodge--it's not much of a place, but
+come in."
+
+They had reached Mrs. Flitwick's house by that time, and Mrs. Flitwick
+herself was in the narrow, shabby passage as they entered. She immediately
+produced two letters.
+
+"Here's two letters for you, Mr. Lauriston," she said, with a sharp glance
+at Ayscough. "One of 'em's a registered--I did sign for it. So I kept 'em
+myself, instead of sending 'em up to your room."
+
+"Thank you, Mrs. Flitwick," said Lauriston. He took the letters, saw that
+the writing on the registered envelope was his old friend John Purdie's,
+and that the other letter was from the magazine to which he had sold his
+stories, and turned to Ayscough. "Come up to my room," he continued.
+"We'll talk up there."
+
+Ayscough followed him up to his room--once inside, and the door shut,
+Lauriston tore open the letter from the magazine, and extracted a printed
+form and a cheque for twenty guineas. He took one look at them and thrust
+them into the detective's hands.
+
+"There!" he said, with a sigh of mingled relief and triumph. "There's a
+proof of the truth of one statement I made to you! That's the expected
+cheque I told you of. Excuse me while I look at the other letter."
+
+Out of the registered letter came a bank-note--for twenty pounds--and a
+hastily scribbled note which Lauriston eagerly read. "Dear old Andie," it
+ran, "I've only just got your letter, for I've been from home for a
+fortnight, and had no letters sent on to me. Of course you'll make me your
+banker until your book's finished--and afterwards, too, if need be. Here's
+something to be going on with--but I'm coming to London in a day or two,
+as it happens, and will go into the matter--I'll call on you as soon as I
+arrive. Excuse this scrawl--post time. Always yours, John Purdie."
+
+Lauriston thrust that letter, too, into Ayscough's hands.
+
+"If I've no friends in London, there's proof of having one in my own
+country!" he exclaimed. "Ah!--if those letters had only come before I went
+off to Praed Street!"
+
+"Just so!" agreed the detective, glancing the letters and their
+accompaniments over. "Well, I'm glad you're able to show me these, Mr.
+Lauriston, anyway. But now, about those rings--between you and me, I wish
+they hadn't been so much like those that were lying in that tray on the
+old man's table. It's an unfortunate coincidence!--because some folks
+might think, you know, that you'd just grabbed a couple of those as you
+left the place. Eh?"
+
+"My rings have been in that trunk for two or three years," asserted
+Lauriston. "They were my mother's, and I believe she'd had them for many a
+year before she died. They may resemble those that we saw in that tray,
+but--"
+
+"Well, I suppose you can bring somebody--if necessary, that is--to prove
+that they were your mother's, can't you?" asked Ayscough. "That'll make
+matters all right--on that point. And as for the rest--it's very lucky you
+know Melky Rubinstein, and that the girl knew you as a customer. But, my
+faith!--I wish you'd caught a glimpse of somebody leaving that shop! For
+there's no doubt the old man met his death by violence."
+
+"I know nothing of it," said Lauriston, "I saw no one."
+
+Just then Melky came in. He glanced at the cheque and the bank-notes lying
+on the table, and nodded to Lauriston as if he understood their presence.
+Then he turned to Ayscough, almost anxiously.
+
+"I say, Mr. Ayscough!" he said, deprecatingly. "You ain't going to be so
+unkind as to mix up this here young fellow in what's happened. S'elp me,
+Mr. Ayscough, I couldn't believe anything o' that sort about him, nohow--
+nor would my cousin, Zillah, what you know well enough, neither; he's as
+quiet as a lamb, Mr. Ayscough, is Mr. Lauriston--ain't I known him,
+lodging here as he does, this many a month? I'll give my word for him,
+anyway, Mr. Ayscough! And you police gentlemen know me. Don't you now, Mr.
+Ayscough?"
+
+"Very well indeed, my boy!" agreed the detective, heartily. "And I'll tell
+you what--I shall have to trouble Mr. Lauriston to go round with me to the
+station, just to give a formal account of what happened, and a bit of
+explanation, you know--I'm satisfied myself about him, and so, no doubt,
+will our people be, but you come with us, Melky, and say a word or two--
+say you've known him for some time, d'ye see--it'll help."
+
+"Anything to oblige a friend, Mr. Ayscough," said Melky. He motioned to
+Lauriston to put his money in his pocket. "Glad to see your letters turned
+up," he whispered as they went downstairs. "I say!--a word in your ear--
+don't you tell these here police chaps any more than you need--I'll stand
+up for you."
+
+The detective's report, a little questioning of Lauriston, and Melky's
+fervent protestations on Lauriston's behalf, served to satisfy the
+authorities at the police-station, and Lauriston was allowed to go--
+admonished by the inspector that he'd be wanted at the inquest, as the
+most important witness. He went out into the street with Melky.
+
+"Come and have a bit o' supper at Mrs. Goldmark's," suggested Melky. "I
+shall have my hands full tonight at the poor old man's, but I ain't had
+nothing since dinner."
+
+Lauriston, however, excused himself. He wanted to go home and write
+letters--at once. But he promised to look round at the pawnshop later in
+the evening, to see if he could be of any use, and to give Melky a full
+account of his finding of the old pawnbroker.
+
+"Ah!" remarked Melky, as they pushed at the door of the eating-house. "And
+ain't it going to be a nice job to find the man that scragged him?--I
+don't think! But I'm going to take a hand at that game, mister!--let alone
+the police."
+
+Mrs. Goldmark was out. She had heard the news, said the waitress who was
+left in charge, and had gone round to do what she could for Miss Zillah.
+So Melky, deprived of the immediate opportunity of talk with Mrs.
+Goldmark, ordered his supper, and while he ate and drank, cogitated and
+reflected. And his thoughts ran chiefly on the platinum solitaire stud
+which he had carefully bestowed in his vest pocket.
+
+It was Melky's firm belief--already--that the stud had been dropped in
+Daniel Multenius's back parlour by some person who had no business there--
+in other words by the old man's assailant. And ever since he had found
+the stud, Melky had been wondering and speculating on his chances of
+finding its owner. Of one thing he was already certain: that the owner,
+whoever he was, was no ordinary person. Ordinary, everyday persons do not
+wear studs or tie-pins on chains made of platinum--the most valuable of
+all the metals. How came a solitaire stud, made of a metal far more
+valuable than gold, and designed and ornamented in a peculiar fashion, to
+be lying on the hearthrug of old Daniel Multenius's room? It was not to be
+believed that the old man had dropped it there--no, affirmed Melky to
+himself, with conviction, that bit of personal property had been dropped
+there, out of a loose shirt-cuff by some man who had called on Daniel not
+long before Andie Lauriston had gone in, and who for some mysterious
+reason had scragged the old fellow. And now the question was--who was that
+man?
+
+"Got to find that out, somehow!" mused Melky. "Else that poor chap'll be
+in a nice fix--s'elp me, he will! And that 'ud never do!"
+
+Melky, in spite of his keenness as a business man, and the fact that from
+boyhood he had had to fight the world by himself, had a peculiarly soft
+heart--he tended altogether to verge on the sentimental. He had watched
+Lauriston narrowly, and had developed a decided feeling for him--moreover,
+he now knew that his cousin Zillah, hitherto adamant to many admirers, had
+fallen in love with Lauriston: clearly, Lauriston must be saved. Melky
+knew police ways and methods, and he felt sure that whatever Ayscough, a
+good-natured man, might think, the superior authorities would view
+Lauriston's presence in the pawnshop with strong suspicion. Therefore--the
+real culprit must be found. And he, Melky Rubinstein--he must have a go at
+that game.
+
+He finished his supper, thinking hard all the time he ate and drank;
+finally he approached the desk to pay his bill. The young woman whom Mrs.
+Goldmark had left in charge lifted the lid of the desk to get some change
+--and Melky's astonished eyes immediately fell on an object which lay on
+top of a little pile of papers. That object was the duplicate of the
+platinum solitaire which Melky had in his pocket. Without ceremony--being
+well known there--he at once picked it up.
+
+"What's this bit of jewellery?" he demanded.
+
+"That?" said the waitress, indifferently. "Oh, one of the girls picked it
+up the other day off a table where a stranger had been sitting--we think
+he'd dropped it. Mrs. Goldmark says it's valuable, so she put it away, in
+case he comes again. But we haven't seen him since."
+
+Melky took a good look at the second stud. Then he put it back in the
+desk, picked up his change, and went away--in significant silence.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIX
+
+
+THE SPANISH MANUSCRIPT
+
+Lauriston, walking back to his room after leaving Melky at the door of the
+eating-house, faced the situation in which an unfortunate combination of
+circumstances had placed him. Ayscough had been placable enough; the
+authorities at the police-station had heard his own version of things with
+attention--but he was still conscious that he was under a certain amount
+of suspicion. More than that, he felt convinced that the police would keep
+an eye on him that night. Ayscough, indeed, had more than hinted that that
+would probably be done. For anything he knew, some plain-clothes man might
+be shadowing him even then--anyway, there had been no mistaking the almost
+peremptory request of the inspector that he should report himself at the
+police station in the morning. It was no use denying the fact--he was
+suspected, in some degree.
+
+He knew where the grounds of suspicion lay--in his possession of two
+rings, which were undoubtedly very similar to the rings which lay in the
+tray that he and the detective had found on the table in the back-parlour
+of the pawnshop. It needed no effort on the part of one who had already
+had considerable experience in the construction of plots for stories, to
+see how the police would build up a theory of their own. Here, they would
+say, is a young fellow, who on his own confession, is so hard up, so
+penniless, indeed, that he has had to pawn his watch. He has got to know
+something of this particular pawnshop, and of its keepers--he watches the
+girl leave; he ascertains that the old man is alone; he enters, probably
+he sees that tray of rings lying about; he grabs a couple of the rings;
+the old man interrupts him in the act; he seizes the old man, to silence
+his outcries; the old man, feeble enough at any time, dies under the
+shock. A clear, an unmistakable case!
+
+What was he, Lauriston, to urge against the acceptance of such a theory?
+He thought over everything that could be said on his behalf. The
+friendliness of Zillah and her cousin Melky towards him could be
+dismissed--that, when it came to it, would weigh little against the cold
+marshalling of facts which a keen legal mind would put into the opposite
+scale. His own contention that it was scarcely probable that he should
+have gone to the pawnshop except to pledge something, and that that
+something was the rings, would also be swept aside, easily enough: his
+real object, the other side would say, had been robbery when the old man
+was alone: what evidence had he that the two rings which he had in his
+hand when Ayscough found him hurrying out of the shop were really his?
+
+Here, Lauriston knew he was in a difficulty. He had kept these two rings
+safely hidden in his old-fashioned trunk ever since coming to London, and
+had never shown them to a single person--he had, indeed, never seen them
+himself for a long time until he took them out that afternoon. But where
+was his proof of that! He had no relations to whom he could appeal. His
+mother had possessed an annuity; just sufficient to maintain her and her
+son, and to give Lauriston a good education: it had died with her, and all
+that she had left him, to start life on, was about two hundred pounds and
+some small personal belongings, of which the rings and his father's watch
+and chain were a part. And he remembered now that his mother had kept
+those rings as securely put away as he had kept them since her death--
+until they came into his hands at her death he had only once seen them;
+she had shown them to him when he was a boy and had said they were very
+valuable. Was it possible that there was any one, far away in Scotland,
+who had known his mother and who would come forward--if need arose--and
+prove that those rings had been her property? But when he had put this
+question to himself, he had to answer it with a direct negative--he knew
+of no one.
+
+There was one gleam of hope in this critical situation. John Purdie was
+coming to London. Lauriston had always felt that he could rely on John
+Purdie, and he had just received proof of the value of his faith in his
+old schoolmate. John Purdie would tell him what to do: he might even
+suggest the names of some of Mrs. Lauriston's old friends. And perhaps the
+need might not arise--there must surely be some clue to the old
+pawnbroker's assailant; surely the police would go deeper into the matter.
+He cheered up at these thoughts, and having written replies to the two
+welcome letters and asked John Purdie to see him immediately on his
+arrival in town, he went out again to the post-office and to fulfil his
+promise to Melky to call at the pawnshop.
+
+Lauriston was naturally of quick observation. He noticed now, as he
+stepped out into the ill-lighted, gloomy street that a man was pacing up
+and down in front of the house. This man took no notice of him as he
+passed, but before he had reached Praed Street, he glanced around, and saw
+that he was following him. He followed him to Spring Street post-office;
+he was in his rear when Lauriston reached the pawnshop. Idly and
+perfunctorily as the man seemed to be strolling about, Lauriston was sure
+that he was shadowing him--and he told Melky of the fact when Melky
+admitted him to the shop by the private door.
+
+"Likely enough, mister," remarked Melky. "But I shouldn't bother myself
+about it if I were you. There'll be more known about this affair before
+long. Now, look here," he continued, leading the way into the little back-
+parlour where Lauriston had found Daniel Multenius lying dead, "here's you
+and me alone--Zillah, she's upstairs, and Mrs. Goldmark is with her. Just
+you tell me what you saw when you came in here, d'you see, Mr. Lauriston--
+never mind the police--just give me the facts. I ain't no fool, you know,
+and I'm going to work this thing out."
+
+Lauriston gave Melky a complete account of his connection with the matter:
+Melky checked off all the points on his long fingers. At the end he turned
+to the table and indicated the finely-bound book which Lauriston had
+noticed when he and the detective had first looked round.
+
+"The police," said Melky, "made Zillah lock up that tray o' rings that was
+there in a drawer what she had to clear out for 'em, and they've put a
+seal on it till tomorrow. They've got those rings of yours, too, mister,
+haven't they?"
+
+"They said it would be best for me to leave them with them," answered
+Lauriston. "Ayscough advised it. They gave me a receipt for them, you
+know."
+
+"All right," remarked Melky. "But there's something they ain't had the
+sense to see the importance of--that fine book there. Mister!--that there
+book wasn't in this parlour, nor in this shop, nor in this house, at a
+quarter to five o'clock this afternoon, when my cousin Zillah went out,
+leaving the poor old man alone. She'll swear to that. Now then, who
+brought it here--who left it here? Between the time Zillah went out,
+mister, and the time you come in, and found what you did find, somebody--
+somebody!--had been in here and left that book behind him! And--mark you!
+--it wasn't pawned, neither. That's a fact! And--it's no common book,
+that. Look at it, Mr. Lauriston--you'd ought to know something about
+books. Look at it!--s'elp me if I don't feel there's a clue in that there
+volume, whoever it belongs to!"
+
+Lauriston took the book in his hands. He had only glanced at it casually
+before; now he examined it carefully, while Melky stood at his elbow,
+watching. The mysterious volume was certainly worthy of close inspection--
+a small quarto, wonderfully bound in old dark crimson morocco leather, and
+ornamented on sides and back with curious gold arabesque work: a heavy
+clasp, also intricately wrought, held the boards together. Lauriston,
+something of a book lover, whose natural inclination was to spend his last
+shilling on a book rather than on beef and bread, looked admiringly at
+this fine specimen of the binder's art as he turned it over.
+
+"That's solid gold, isn't it?" he asked as he unfastened the clasp. "You
+know."
+
+"Solid gold it is, mister--and no error," assented Melky. "Now, what's
+inside? It ain't no blooming account-book, I'll bet!"
+
+Lauriston opened the volume, to reveal leaves of old vellum, covered with
+beautiful fine writing. He had sufficient knowledge of foreign languages
+to know what he was looking at.
+
+"That's Spanish!" he said. "An old Spanish manuscript--and I should say
+it's worth a rare lot of money. How could it have come here?"
+
+Melky took the old volume out of Lauriston's hands, and put it away in a
+corner cupboard.
+
+"Ah, just so, mister!" he said. "But we'll keep that question to
+ourselves--for awhile. Don't you say nothing to the police about that
+there old book--I'll give Zillah the tip. More hangs round that than we
+know of yet. Now look here!--there'll be the opening of the inquest
+tomorrow. You be careful! Take my tip and don't let 'em get more out of
+you than's necessary. I'll go along with you. I'm going to stop here
+tonight--watch-dog, you know. Mrs. Goldmark and another friend's going to
+be here as well, so Zillah'll have company. And I say, Zillah wants a word
+with you--stop here, and I'll send her down."
+
+Lauriston presently found himself alone with Zillah in the little parlour.
+She looked at him silently, with eyes full of anxiety: he suddenly
+realized that the anxiety was for himself.
+
+"Don't!" he said, moving close to her and laying his hand on her arm. "I'm
+not afraid!"
+
+Zillah lifted her large dark eyes to his.
+
+"Those rings?" she said. "You'll be able to account for them? The police,
+oh, I'm so anxious about you!"
+
+"The rings are mine!" he exclaimed. "It doesn't matter what the police say
+or think, or do, either--at least, it shan't matter. And--you're not to be
+anxious I've got a good friend coming from Scotland--Melky told you I'd
+had two lots of good news tonight, didn't he?"
+
+A moment later Lauriston was in the street--conscious that, without a word
+spoken between them, he and Zillah had kissed each other. He went away
+with a feeling of exaltation--and he only laughed when he saw a man detach
+himself from a group on the opposite side of the street and saunter slowly
+after him. Let the police shadow him--watch his lodgings all night, if
+they pleased--he had something else to think of. And presently, not even
+troubling to look out of his window to see if there was a watcher there,
+he went to bed, to dream of Zillah's dark eyes.
+
+But when morning came, and Lauriston realized that a fateful day was
+before him, his thoughts were not quite so rosy. He drew up his blind--
+there, certainly was a man pacing the opposite sidewalk. Evidently, he was
+not to escape surveillance; the official eye was on him! Supposing, before
+the day was out, the official hand was on him, too?
+
+He turned from the window as he heard his newspaper thrust under his door.
+He had only one luxury--a copy of the _Times_ every morning. It was a
+three-penny _Times_ in those days, but he had always managed to find
+his weekly eighteen pence for it. He picked it up now, and carelessly
+glanced at its front page as he was about to lay it aside. The next moment
+he was eagerly reading a prominent advertisement:
+
+"Lost in a Holborn to Chapel Street Omnibus, about 4 o'clock yesterday
+afternoon, a Spanish manuscript, bound in old crimson morocco. Whoever has
+found the same will be most handsomely rewarded on bringing it to Spencer
+Levendale, Esq., M.P., 591, Sussex Square, W."
+
+Lauriston read this twice over--and putting the paper in his pocket,
+finished his dressing and went straight to the police-station.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVEN
+
+
+THE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
+
+Melky Rubinstein came out of the side-passage by Multenius's shop as
+Lauriston neared it; he, too, had a newspaper bulging from his coat
+pocket, and at sight of Lauriston he pulled it out and waved it excitedly.
+
+"What'd I tell you, mister?" exclaimed Melky, as Lauriston joined him, the
+shadowing plain-clothes man in his rear. "D'ye see this?" He pointed to an
+advertisement in his own paper, which he had marked with blue pencil.
+"There y'are, Mr. Lauriston!--that identical old book what's inside the
+parlour--advertised for--handsome reward, too, in the _Daily
+Telegraph_! Didn't I say we'd hear more of it?"
+
+Lauriston pulled out the _Times_ and indicated the Personal Column.
+
+"It's there, too," he said. "This man, Mr. Levendale, is evidently very
+anxious to recover his book. And he's lost no time in advertising for it,
+either! But--however did it get to Multenius's?
+
+"Mister!" said Melky, solemnly. "We'll have to speak to the police--now.
+There's going to be a fine clue in that there book. I didn't mean to say
+nothing to the police about it, just yet, but after this here
+advertisement, t'ain't no use keeping the thing to ourselves. Come on
+round to the police-station."
+
+"That's just where I was going," replied Lauriston. "Let's get hold of
+Ayscough."
+
+Ayscough was standing just inside the police-station when they went up the
+steps; he, too, had a newspaper in his hands, and at sight of them he
+beckoned them to follow him into an office in which two or three other
+police officials were talking. He led Lauriston and Melky aside.
+
+"I say!" he said. "Here's a curious thing! That book we noticed on the
+table in Multenius's back room last night--that finely bound book--it's
+advertised for in the _Daily Mail_--handsome reward offered."
+
+"Yes, and in the _Times_, too--and in the _Daily Telegraph_,"
+said Lauriston. "Here you are--just the same advertisement. It's very
+evident the owner's pretty keen about getting it back."
+
+Ayscough glanced at the two newspapers, and then beckoned to a constable
+who was standing near the door.
+
+"Jim!" he said, as the man came up. "Just slip across to the newsagent's
+over there and get me the _News_, the _Chronicle_, the _Standard_,
+the _Morning Post_. If the owner's as keen as all that," he added,
+turning back to Lauriston, "he'll have put that advertisement in all
+the morning papers, and I'd like to make sure. What's known about
+that book at the shop?" he asked, glancing at Melky. "Does your
+cousin know anything?"
+
+Melky's face assumed its most solemn expression.
+
+"Mister!" he said earnestly. "There ain't nothing known at the shop about
+that there book, except this here. It wasn't there when my cousin Zillah
+left the old man alone at a quarter to five yesterday afternoon. It was
+there when this here gentleman found the old man. But it hadn't been
+pledged, nor yet sold, Mr. Ayscough--There'd ha' been an entry in the
+books if it had been taken in pawn, or bought across the counter--and
+there's no entry. Now then--who'd left it there?"
+
+Another official had come up to the group--one of the men who had
+questioned Lauriston the night before. He turned to Lauriston as Melky
+finished.
+
+"You don't know anything about this book?" he asked.
+
+"Nothing--except that Mr. Ayscough and I saw it lying on the table in the
+back room, close by that tray of rings," replied Lauriston. "I was
+attracted by the binding, of course."
+
+"Where's the book, now?" asked the official.
+
+"Put safe away, mister," replied Melky. "It's all right. But this here
+gentleman what's advertising for it--"
+
+Just then the constable returned with several newspapers and handed them
+over to Ayscough, who immediately laid them on a desk and turned to the
+advertisements, while the others crowded round him.
+
+"In every one of 'em," exclaimed Ayscough, a moment later. "Word for word,
+in every morning newspaper in London! He must have sent that advertisement
+round to all the offices last night. And you'll notice," he added, turning
+to the other official, "that this Mr. Levendale only lost this book about
+four o'clock yesterday afternoon: therefore, it must have been taken to
+Multenius's shop between then and when we saw it there."
+
+"The old man may have found it in the 'bus," suggested a third police
+officer who had come up. "Looks as if he had."
+
+"No, mister," said Melky firmly. "Mr. Multenius wasn't out of the shop at
+all yesterday afternoon--I've made sure o' that fact from my cousin. He
+didn't find no book, gentlemen. It was brought there."
+
+Ayscough picked up one of the papers and turned to Melky and Lauriston.
+
+"Here!" he said. "We'll soon get some light on this. You two come with me
+--we'll step round to Mr. Levendale."
+
+Ten minutes later, the three found themselves at the door of one of the
+biggest houses in Sussex Square; a moment more and they were being ushered
+within by a footman who looked at them with stolid curiosity. Lauriston
+gained a general impression of great wealth and luxury, soft carpets, fine
+pictures, all the belongings of a very rich man's house--then he and his
+companions were ushered into a large room, half study, half library,
+wherein, at a massive, handsomely carved desk, littered with books and
+papers, sat a middle-aged, keen-eyed man, who looked quietly up from his
+writing-pad at his visitors.
+
+"S'elp me!--one of ourselves!" whispered Melky Rubinstein at Lauriston's
+elbow. "Twig him!"
+
+Lauriston was quick enough of comprehension and observation to know what
+Melky meant. Mr. Spencer Levendale was certainly a Jew. His dark hair and
+beard, his large dark eyes, the olive tint of his complexion, the lines of
+his nose and lips all betrayed his Semitic origin. He was evidently a man
+of position and of character; a quiet-mannered, self-possessed man of
+business, not given to wasting words. He glanced at the card which
+Ayscough had sent in, and turned to him with one word.
+
+"Well?"
+
+Ayscough went straight to the point.
+
+"I called, Mr. Levendale, about that advertisement of yours which appears
+in all this morning's newspapers," he said. "I may as well tell you that
+that book of yours was found yesterday afternoon, under strange
+circumstances. Mr. Daniel Multenius, the jeweller and pawnbroker, of Praed
+Street--perhaps you know him, sir?"
+
+"Not at all!" answered Levendale. "Never heard of him."
+
+"He was well known in this part of the town," remarked Ayscough, quietly.
+"Well, sir--Mr. Multenius was found dead in his back-parlour yesterday
+afternoon, about five-thirty, by this young man, Mr. Lauriston, who
+happened to look in there, and I myself was on the spot a few minutes
+later. Your book--for it's certainly the same--was lying on the table in
+the parlour. Now, this other young man, Mr. Rubinstein, is a relation of
+Mr. Multenius's--from enquiries he's made, Mr. Levendale, it's a fact that
+the book was neither pawned nor sold at Multenius's, though it must
+certainly have been brought there between the time you lost it and the
+time we found the old gentleman lying dead. Now, we--the police--want to
+know how it came there. And so--I've come round to you. What can you tell
+me, sir?"
+
+Levendale, who had listened to Ayscough with great--and, as it seemed to
+Lauriston, with very watchful--attention, pushed aside a letter he was
+writing, and looked from one to the other of his callers.
+
+"Where is my book?" he asked.
+
+"It's all right--all safe, mister," said Melky. "It's locked up in a
+cupboard, in the parlour where it was found, and the key's in my pocket."
+
+Levendale turned to the detective, glancing again at Ayscough's card.
+
+"All I can tell you, sergeant," he said, "is--practically--what I've told
+the public in my advertisement. Of course, I can supplement it a bit. The
+book is a very valuable one--you see," he went on, with a careless wave of
+his hand towards his book-shelves. "I'm something of a collector of rare
+books. I bought this particular book yesterday afternoon, at a well-known
+dealer's in High Holborn. Soon after buying it, I got into a Cricklewood
+omnibus, which I left at Chapel Street--at the corner of Praed Street, as
+a matter of fact: I wished to make a call at the Great Western Hotel. It
+was not till I made that call that I found I'd left the book in the 'bus--
+I was thinking hard about a business matter--I'd placed the book in a
+corner behind me--and, of course, I'd forgotten it, valuable though it is.
+And so, later on, after telephoning to the omnibus people, who'd heard
+nothing, I sent that advertisement round to all the morning papers. I'm
+very glad to hear of it--and I shall be pleased to reward you," he
+concluded, turning to Melky. "Handsomely!--as I promised."
+
+But Melky made no sign of gratitude or pleasure. He was eyeing the rich
+man before him in inquisitive fashion.
+
+"Mister!" he said suddenly. "I'd like to ask you a question."
+
+Levendale frowned a little.
+
+"Well?" he asked brusquely. "What is it?"
+
+"This here," replied Melky. "Was that there book wrapped up? Was it brown-
+papered, now, when you left it?"
+
+It seemed to Lauriston that Levendale was somewhat taken aback. But if he
+was, it was only for a second: his answer, then, came promptly enough.
+
+"No, it was not," he said. "I carried it away from the shop where I bought
+it--just as it was. Why do you ask?"
+
+"It's a very fine-bound book," remarked Melky. "I should ha' thought, now,
+that if it had been left in a 'bus, the conductor would ha' noticed it,
+quick."
+
+"So should I," said Levendale. "Anything else?" he added, glancing at
+Ayscough.
+
+"Well, no, Mr. Levendale, thank you," replied the detective. "At least not
+just now. But--the fact is, Mr. Multenius appears to have come to his
+death by violence--and I want to know if whoever took your book into his
+shop had anything to do with it."
+
+"Ah!--however, I can't tell you any more," said Levendale. "Please see
+that my book's taken great care of and returned to me, sergeant. Good-
+morning."
+
+Outside, Ayscough consulted his watch and looked at his companions.
+
+"Time we were going on to the inquest," he remarked. "Come on--we'll step
+round there together. You're both wanted, you know."
+
+"I'll join you at the Coroner's court, Mr. Ayscough," said Melky. "I've
+got a few minutes' business--shan't be long."
+
+He hurried away by a short cut to Praed Street and turned into Mrs.
+Goldmark's establishment.
+
+Mrs. Goldmark herself was still ministering to Zillah, but the young woman
+whom Melky had seen the night before was in charge. Melky drew her aside.
+
+"I say!" he said, with an air of great mystery. "A word with you, miss!--
+private, between you and me. Can you tell me what like was that fellow
+what you believed to ha' lost that there cuff stud you showed me in Mrs.
+Goldmark's desk?--you know?"
+
+"Yes!" answered the young woman promptly. "Tall--dark--clean-shaved--very
+brown--looked like one of those Colonials that you see sometimes--wore a
+slouch hat."
+
+"Not a word to nobody!" warned Melky, more mysteriously than ever. And
+nodding his head with great solemnity, he left the eating-house, and
+hurried away to the Coroner's Court.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHT
+
+
+THE INQUEST
+
+Until he and Ayscough walked into this particular one, Lauriston had never
+been in a Coroner's Court in his life. He knew very little about what went
+on in such places. He was aware that the office of Coroner is of exceeding
+antiquity; that when any person meets his or her death under suspicious
+circumstances an enquiry into those circumstances is held by a Coroner,
+who has a jury of twelve men to assist him in his duties: but what Coroner
+and jury did, what the procedure of these courts was, he did not know. It
+surprised him, accordingly, to find himself in a hall which had all the
+outward appearance of a court of justice--a raised seat, on a sort of
+dais, for the Coroner; a box for the jury; a table for officials and legal
+gentlemen; a stand for witnesses, and accommodation for the general
+public. Clearly, it was evident that when any one died as poor old Daniel
+Multenius had died, the law took good care that everybody should know
+everything about it, and that whatever mystery there was should be
+thoroughly investigated.
+
+The general public, however, had not as yet come to be greatly interested
+in the death of Daniel Multenius. Up to that moment the affair was known
+to few people beyond the police, the relations of the dead man, and his
+immediate neighbours in Praed Street. Consequently, beyond the interested
+few, there was no great assemblage in the court that morning. A reporter
+or two, each with his note-book, lounged at the end of the table on the
+chance of getting some good copy out of whatever might turn up; some of
+the police officials whom Lauriston had already seen stood chatting with
+the police surgeon and a sharp-eyed legal looking man, who was attended by
+a clerk; outside the open door, a group of men, evidently tradesmen and
+householders of the district, hung about, looking as if they would be glad
+to get back to their businesses and occupations. Melky, coming in a few
+minutes after Lauriston had arrived, and sitting down by him, nudged his
+elbow as he pointed to these individuals.
+
+"There's the fellows what sits on the jury, mister!" whispered Melky.
+"Half-a-crown each they gets for the job--and a nice mess they makes of
+it, sometimes. They've the power to send a man for trial for his life, has
+them chaps--all depends on their verdict. But lor' bless yer!--they takes
+their tip from the Coroner--he's the fellow what you've got to watch."
+
+Then Melky looked around more narrowly, and suddenly espied the legal-
+looking man who was talking to the police. He dug his elbow into
+Lauriston.
+
+"Mister!" he whispered. "You be careful what you say when you get into
+that there witness-box. See that man there, a-talking to the detectives?--
+him with the gold nippers on his blooming sharp nose? That's Mr.
+Parminter!--I knows him, well enough. He's a lawyer chap, what the police
+gets when there's a case o' this sort, to ask questions of the witnesses,
+d'ye see? Watch him, Mr. Lauriston, if he starts a-questioning you!--he's
+the sort that can get a tale out of a dead cod-fish--s'elp me, he is! He's
+a terror, he is!--the Coroner ain't in it with him--he's a good sort, the
+Coroner, but Parminter--Lord love us! ain't I heard him turn witnesses
+inside out--not half! And here is the Coroner."
+
+Lauriston almost forgot that he was an important witness, and was tempted
+to consider himself nothing but a spectator as he sat and witnessed the
+formal opening of the Court, the swearing-in of the twelve jurymen, all
+looking intensely bored, and the preliminaries which prefaced the actual
+setting-to-work of the morning's business. But at last, after some opening
+remarks from the Coroner, who said that the late Mr. Daniel Multenius was
+a well-known and much respected tradesman of the neighbourhood, that they
+were all sorry to hear of his sudden death, and that there were
+circumstances about it which necessitated a careful investigation, the
+business began--and Lauriston, who, for professional purposes, had heard a
+good many legal cases, saw, almost at once, that the police, through the
+redoubtable Mr. Parminter, now seated with his clerk at the table, had
+carefully arranged the presenting of evidence on a plan and system of
+their own, all of which, so it became apparent to him, was intended to
+either incriminate himself, or throw considerable suspicion upon him. His
+interest began to assume a personal complexion.
+
+The story of the circumstances of Daniel Multenius's death, as unfolded in
+the witness-box into which one person went after another, appeared to be
+the fairly plain one--looked at from one point of view: there was a
+certain fascination in its unfolding. It began with Melky, who was first
+called--to identify the deceased, to answer a few general questions about
+him, and to state that when he last saw him, a few hours before his death,
+he was in his usual good health: as good, at any rate, as a man of his
+years--seventy-five--who was certainly growing feeble, could expect to be
+in. Nothing much was asked of Melky, and nothing beyond bare facts
+volunteered by him: the astute Mr. Parminter left him alone. A more
+important witness was the police-surgeon, who testified that the deceased
+had been dead twenty minutes when he was called to him, that he had
+without doubt been violently assaulted, having been savagely seized by the
+throat and by the left arm, on both of which significant marks were
+plainly visible, and that the cause of death was shock following
+immediately on this undoubted violence. It was evident, said this witness,
+that the old man was feeble, and that he suffered from a weak heart: such
+an attack as that which he had described would be sufficient to cause
+death, almost instantly.
+
+"So it is a case of murder!" muttered Melky, who had gone back to sit by
+Lauriston. "That's what the police is leading up to. Be careful, mister!"
+
+But there were three witnesses to call before Lauriston was called upon.
+It was becoming a mystery to him that his evidence was kept back so long--
+he had been the first person to find the old man's dead body, and it
+seemed, to his thinking, that he ought to have been called at a very early
+stage of the proceedings. He was about to whisper his convictions on this
+point to Melky, when a door was opened and Zillah was escorted in by
+Ayscough, and led to the witness-box.
+
+Zillah had already assumed the garments of mourning for her grandfather.
+She was obviously distressed at being called to give evidence, and the
+Coroner made her task as brief as possible. It was--at that stage--little
+that he wanted to know. And Zillah told little. She had gone out to do
+some shopping, at half-past-four on the previous afternoon. She left her
+grandfather alone. He was then quite well. He was in the front shop, doing
+nothing in particular. She was away about an hour, when she returned to
+find Detective-Sergeant Ayscough, whom she knew, and Mr. Lauriston, whom
+she also knew, in the shop, and her grandfather dead in the parlour
+behind. At this stage of her evidence, the Coroner remarked that he did
+not wish to ask Zillah any further questions just then, but he asked her
+to remain in court. Mrs. Goldmark had followed her, and she and Zillah sat
+down near Melky and Lauriston--and Lauriston half believed that his own
+turn would now come.
+
+But Ayscough was next called--to give a brief, bald, matter-of-fact
+statement of what he knew. He had gone to see Mr. Multenius on a business
+affair--he was making enquiries about a stolen article which was believed
+to have been pledged in the Edgware Road district. He told how Lauriston
+ran into him as he entered the shop; what Lauriston said to him; what he
+himself saw and observed; what happened afterwards. It was a plain and
+practical account, with no indication of surprise, bias, or theory--and
+nobody asked the detective any questions arising out of it.
+
+"Ain't nobody but you to call, now, mister," whispered Melky. "Mind your
+p's and q's about them blooming rings--and watch that Parminter!"
+
+But Melky was mistaken--the official eye did not turn upon Lauriston but,
+upon the public benches of the court, as if it were seeking some person
+there.
+
+"There is a witness who has volunteered a statement to the police," said
+the Coroner. "I understand it is highly important. We had better hear him
+at this point. Benjamin Hollinshaw!"
+
+Melky uttered a curious groan, and glanced at Lauriston.
+
+"Fellow what has a shop right opposite!" he whispered. "S'elp me!--what's
+he got to say about it?"
+
+Benjamin Hollinshaw came forward. He was a rather young, rather self-
+confident, self-important sort of person, who strode up to the witness-box
+as if he had been doing things of importance and moment all his life, and
+was taking it quite as a matter of course that he should do another. He
+took the oath and faced the court with something of an air, as much as to
+imply that upon what he was about to say more depended than any one could
+conceive. Invited to tell what he knew, he told his story, obviously
+enjoying the telling of it. He was a tradesman in Praed Street: a dealer
+in second-hand clothing, to be exact; been there many years, in succession
+to his father. He remembered yesterday afternoon, of course. About half-
+past-five o'clock he was standing at the door of his shop. It was directly
+facing Daniel Multenius's shop door. The darkness had already come on, and
+there was also a bit of a fog in the street: not much, but hazy, as it
+were. Daniel Multenius's window was lighted, but the light was confined to
+a couple of gas-jets. There was a light in the projecting sign over the
+side entrance to the pawnshop, down the passage. For the first few minutes
+while he stood at his door, looking across to Multenius's, he did not see
+any one enter or leave that establishment. But he then saw a young man
+come along, from the Edgware Road direction, whose conduct rather struck
+him. The young man, after sauntering past Multenius's shop, paused,
+turned, and proceeded to peer in through the top panel of the front door.
+He looked in once or twice in that way. Then he went to the far end of the
+window and looked inside in the same prying fashion, as if he wanted to
+find out who was within. He went to various parts of the window, as if
+endeavouring to look inside. Finally, he stepped down the side-passage and
+entered the door which led to the compartments into which people turned
+who took things to pledge. He, Hollinshaw, remained at his shop door for
+some minutes after that--in fact, until the last witness came along. He
+saw Ayscough enter Multenius's front door and immediately pause--then the
+door was shut, and he himself went back into his own shop, his wife just
+then calling him to tea.
+
+"You saw the young man you speak of quite clearly?" asked the Coroner.
+
+"As clearly as I see you, sir," replied the witness.
+
+"Do you see him here?"
+
+Hollinshaw turned instantly and pointed to Lauriston.
+
+"That's the young man, sir," he answered, with confidence.
+
+Amidst a general craning of necks, Melky whispered to Lauriston.
+
+"You'd ought to ha' had a lawyer, mister!" he said. "S'elp me, I'm a
+blooming fool for not thinking of it! Be careful--the Coroner's a-looking
+at you!"
+
+As a matter of fact, every person in the court was staring at Lauriston,
+and presently the Coroner addressed him.
+
+"Do you wish to ask this witness any questions?" he enquired.
+
+Lauriston rose to his feet.
+
+"No!" he replied. "What he says is quite correct. That is, as regards
+myself."
+
+The Coroner hesitated a moment; then he motioned to Hollinshaw to leave
+the box, and once more turned to Lauriston.
+
+"We will have your evidence now," he said. "And--let me warn you that
+there is no obligation on you to say anything which would seem to
+incriminate you."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINE
+
+
+WHOSE WERE THOSE RINGS?
+
+Paying no attention to another attempted murmur of advice from Melky, who
+seemed to be on pins and needles, Lauriston at once jumped to his feet and
+strode to the witness-box. The women in the public seats glanced at him
+with admiring interest--such a fine-looking young fellow, whispered one
+sentimental lady to another, to have set about a poor old gentleman like
+Mr. Multenius! And everybody else, from the Coroner to the newspaper
+reporter--who was beginning to think he would get some good copy, after
+all, that morning--regarded him with attention. Here, at any rate, was the
+one witness who had actually found the pawnbroker's dead body.
+
+Lauriston, his colour heightened a little under all this attention,
+answered the preliminary questions readily enough. His name was Andrew
+Carruthers Lauriston. His age--nearly twenty-two. He was a native of
+Peebles, in Scotland--the only son of the late Andrew Lauriston. His
+father was a minister of the Free Church. His mother was dead, too. He
+himself had come to London about two years ago--just after his mother's
+death. For the past few weeks he had lodged with Mrs. Flitwick, in Star
+Street--that was his present address. He was a writer of fiction--stories
+and novels. He had heard all the evidence already given, including that of
+the last witness, Hollinshaw. All that Hollinshaw had said was quite true.
+It was quite true that he had gone to Multenius's pawnshop about five-
+thirty of the previous afternoon, on his own business. He had looked in
+through both doors and window before entering the side-door: he wanted to
+know who was in the shop--whether it was Mr. Multenius, or his grand-
+daughter. He wanted to know that for a simple reason--he had never done
+business with Mr. Multenius, never even seen him that he remembered, but
+he had had one transaction with Miss Wildrose, and he wished, if possible,
+to do his business with her. As a matter of fact he saw nobody inside the
+shop when he looked in through the front door and the window--so he went
+round to the side-entrance.
+
+All this had come in answer to questions put by the Coroner--who now
+paused and looked at Lauriston not unkindly.
+
+"I daresay you are already aware that there is, or may be, some amount of
+suspicious circumstances attaching to your visit to this place yesterday
+afternoon," he said. "Do you care to tell the court--in your own way--
+precisely what took place, what you discovered, after you entered the
+pawnshop?"
+
+"That's exactly what I wish to do," answered Lauriston, readily. "I've
+already told it, more than once, to the police and Mr. Multenius's
+relatives--I'll tell it again, as plainly and briefly as I can. I went
+into one of the compartments just within the side-door of the place. I saw
+no one, and heard no one. I rapped on the counter--nobody came. So I
+looked round the partition into the front shop. There was no one there.
+Then I looked round the other partition into the back parlour, the door of
+which was wide open. I at once saw an old man whom I took to be Mr.
+Multenius. He was lying on the floor--his feet were towards the open door,
+and his head on the hearth-rug, near the fender. I immediately jumped over
+the counter, and went into the parlour. I saw at once that he was dead--
+and almost immediately I hurried to the front door, to summon assistance.
+At the door I ran into Mr. Ayscough, who was entering as I opened the
+door. I at once told him of what I had found. That is the plain truth as
+to all I know of the matter."
+
+"You heard nothing of any person in or about the shop when you entered?"
+asked the Coroner.
+
+"Nothing!" replied Lauriston. "It was all perfectly quiet."
+
+"What had you gone there to do?"
+
+"To borrow some money--on two rings."
+
+"Your own property?"
+
+"My own property!"
+
+"Had you been there before, on any errand of that sort?"
+
+"Only once."
+
+"When was that?"
+
+"Last week," answered Lauriston. "I pawned my watch there."
+
+"You have, in fact, been short of money?"
+
+"Yes. But only temporarily--I was expecting money."
+
+"I hope it has since arrived," said the Coroner.
+
+"Mr. Ayscough was with me when it did arrive," replied Lauriston, glancing
+at the detective. "We found it--two letters--at my lodgings when he walked
+round there with me after what I have just told you of."
+
+"You had done your business on that previous occasion with the grand-
+daughter?" asked the Coroner. "You had not seen the old man, then?"
+
+"I never to my knowledge saw Mr. Multenius till I found him lying dead in
+his own parlour," answered Lauriston.
+
+The Coroner turned from the witness, and glanced towards the table at
+which Mr. Parminter and the police officials sat. And Mr. Parminter slowly
+rose and looked at Lauriston, and put his first question--in a quiet,
+almost suave voice, as if he and the witness were going to have a pleasant
+and friendly little talk together.
+
+"So your ambition is to be a writer of fiction?" he asked.
+
+"I am a writer of fiction!" replied Lauriston.
+
+Mr. Parminter pulled out a snuff-box and helped himself to a pinch.
+
+"Have you published much?" he enquired, drily.
+
+"Two or three stories--short stories."
+
+"Did they bring in much money?"
+
+"Five pounds each."
+
+"Have you done anything else for a living but that since you came to
+London two years ago?"
+
+"No, I haven't!"
+
+"How much have you earned by your pen since you came, now?"
+
+"About thirty pounds."
+
+"Thirty pounds in two years. What have you lived on, then?"
+
+"I had money of my own," replied Lauriston. "I had two hundred pounds when
+I left home."
+
+"And that gave out--when?" demanded Mr. Parminter.
+
+"Last week."
+
+"And so--you took your watch to the pawnshop. And--yesterday--your
+expected money not having arrived, you were obliged to visit the pawnshop
+again? Taking with you, you said just now, two rings--your own property.
+Am I correct?"
+
+"Quite correct--two rings--my own property."
+
+Mr. Parminter turned and spoke to a police official, who, lifting aside a
+sheet of brown paper which lay before him, revealed the tray of rings
+which Lauriston and Ayscough had found on the table in Multenius's
+parlour. At the same time, Mr. Parminter, lifting his papers, revealed
+Lauriston's rings. He picked them up, laid them on the palm of his hand,
+and held them towards the witness.
+
+"Are these the rings you took to the pawnshop?" he asked.
+
+"Yes!" replied Lauriston. "They were my mother's."
+
+Mr. Parminter indicated the tray.
+
+"Did you see this tray lying in the parlour in which you found the dead
+man?" he enquired.
+
+"I did."
+
+"Did it strike you that your own rings were remarkably like the rings in
+this tray?"
+
+"No, it did not," answered Lauriston. "I know nothing about rings."
+
+Mr. Parminter quietly passed the tray of rings to the Coroner, with
+Lauriston's rings lying on a sheet of paper.
+
+"Perhaps you will examine these things and direct the attention of the
+jurymen to them?" he said, and turned to the witness-box again. "I want to
+ask you a very particular question," he continued. "You had better
+consider it well before answering it--it is more important--to you--than
+may appear at first hearing. Can you bring any satisfactory proof that
+those two rings which you claim to be yours, really are yours?"
+
+There followed on that a dead silence in court. People had been coming in
+since the proceedings had opened, and the place was now packed to the
+door. Every eye was turned on Lauriston as he stood in the witness-box,
+evidently thinking deeply. And in two pairs of eyes there was deep
+anxiety: Melky was nervous and fidgety; Zillah was palpably greatly
+concerned. But Lauriston looked at neither--and he finally turned to Mr.
+Parminter with a candid glance.
+
+"The rings are mine," he answered. "But--I don't know how I can prove that
+they are!"
+
+A suppressed murmur ran round the court--in the middle of it, the Coroner
+handed the rings to a police official and motioned him to show them to the
+jurymen. And Mr. Parminter's suave voice was heard again.
+
+"You can't prove that they are yours."
+
+"May I explain?" asked Lauriston. "Very well--there may be people, old
+friends, who have seen those two rings in my mother's possession. But I
+don't know where to find such people. If it's necessary, I can try."
+
+"I should certainly try, if I were you," observed Mr. Parminter, drily.
+"Now, when did those two rings come into your possession?"
+
+"When my mother died," replied Lauriston.
+
+"Where have you kept them?"
+
+"Locked up in my trunk."
+
+"Have you ever, at any time, or any occasion, shown them to any person?
+Think!"
+
+"No," answered Lauriston. "I can't say that I ever have."
+
+"Not even at the time of your mother's death?"
+
+"No! I took possession, of course, of all her effects. I don't remember
+showing the rings to anybody."
+
+"You kept them in your trunk until you took them out to raise money on
+them?"
+
+"Yes--that's so," admitted Lauriston.
+
+"How much money had you--in the world--when you went to the pawnshop
+yesterday afternoon?" demanded Mr. Parminter, with a sudden keen glance.
+
+Lauriston flushed scarlet.
+
+"If you insist on knowing," he said. "I'd just nothing."
+
+There was another murmur in court--of pity from the sentimental ladies in
+the public seats, who, being well acquainted with the pawnshops
+themselves, and with the necessities which drove them there were
+experiencing much fellow-feeling for the poor young man in the witness-
+box. But Lauriston suddenly smiled--triumphantly.
+
+"All the same," he added, glancing at Mr. Parminter. "I'd forty pounds, in
+my letters, less than an hour afterwards. Ayscough knows that!"
+
+Mr. Parminter paid no attention to this remark. He had been whispering to
+the police inspector, and now he turned to the Coroner.
+
+"I should like this witness to stand down for a few minutes, sir," he
+said. "I wish to have Miss Wildrose recalled."
+
+The Coroner gently motioned Zillah to go back to the witness-box.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TEN
+
+
+MELKY INTERVENES
+
+Zillah had listened to Lauriston's answers to Mr. Parminter's searching
+questions with an anxiety which was obvious to those who sat near her. The
+signs of that anxiety were redoubled as she walked slowly to the box, and
+the glance she threw at the Coroner was almost appealing. But the Coroner
+was looking at his notes, and Zillah was obliged to turn to Mr. Parminter,
+whose accents became more mellifluous than ever as he addressed her; Mr.
+Parminter, indeed, confronting Zillah might have been taken for a kindly
+benevolent gentleman whose sole object was to administer condolence and
+comfort. Few people in court, however, failed to see the meaning of the
+questions which he began to put in the suavest and softest of tones.
+
+"I believe you assisted your late grandfather in his business?" suggested
+Mr. Parminter.
+
+"Just so! Now, how long had you assisted him in that way?"
+
+"Ever since I left school--three years ago," replied Zillah.
+
+"Three years--to be sure! And I believe you had resided with him for some
+years before that?"
+
+"Ever since I was a little girl," admitted Zillah.
+
+"In fact, the late Mr. Multenius brought you up? Just so!--therefore,
+of course, you would have some acquaintance with his business before
+you left school?"
+
+"Yes--he taught me a good deal about it."
+
+"You were always about the place, of course--yes? And I may take it that
+you gradually got a good deal of knowledge about the articles with which
+your grandfather had to deal? To be sure--thank you. In fact, you are
+entitled to regard yourself as something of an expert in precious stones
+and metals?"
+
+"I know a good deal about them," replied Zillah.
+
+"You could tell the value of a thing as accurately as your grandfather?"
+
+"Ordinary things--yes."
+
+"And you were very well acquainted with your grandfather's stock?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+Mr. Parminter motioned the official who had charge of it to place the tray
+of rings on the ledge of the witness-box.
+
+"Oblige me by looking at that tray and the contents," he said. "You
+recognize it, of course? Just so. Now, do you know where that tray was
+when you went out, leaving your grandfather alone, yesterday afternoon?"
+
+"Yes," replied Zillah, unhesitatingly. "On the table in the back-parlour--
+where I saw it when I came in. My grandfather had taken it out of the
+front window, so that he could polish the rings."
+
+"Do you know how many rings it contained?"
+
+"No. Perhaps twenty-five or thirty."
+
+"They are, I see, laid loosely in the tray, which is velvet-lined. They
+were always left like that? Just so. And you don't know how many there
+were--nor how many there should be there, now? As a matter of fact, there
+are twenty-seven rings there--you can't say that is the right number?"
+
+"No," answered Zillah, "and my grandfather couldn't have said, either. A
+ring might be dropped into that tray--or a ring taken out. They are all
+old rings."
+
+"But--valuable?" suggested Mr. Parminter.
+
+"Some--yes. Others are not very valuable."
+
+"Now what do you mean by that word valuable? What, for instance, is the
+value of the least valuable ring there, and what is that of the most
+valuable?"
+
+Zillah glanced almost indifferently at the tray before her.
+
+"Some of these rings are worth no more than five pounds," she replied.
+"Some--a few--are worth twenty to thirty pounds; one or two are worth
+more."
+
+"And--they are all old?"
+
+"They are all of old-fashioned workmanship," said Zillah. "Made a good
+many years ago, all of them. The diamonds, or pearls, are all right, of
+course."
+
+Mr. Parminter handed over the half-sheet of paper on which Lauriston's
+rings had been exhibited to the Coroner and the jurymen.
+
+"Look at those rings, if you please," he said quietly. "Are they of the
+same sort, the same class, of rings as those in the tray?"
+
+"Yes," admitted Zillah. "Something the same."
+
+"What is the value of those rings--separately?" enquired Mr. Parminter.
+"Please give us your professional opinion."
+
+Zillah bent over the two rings for a while, turning them about.
+
+"This is worth about thirty, and that about fifty pounds," she replied at
+last.
+
+"In other words, these two rings are similar in style and value to the
+best rings in that tray?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Do you recognize those two rings?"
+
+"No--not at all."
+
+Mr. Parminter paused a moment, and caught the jury's attention with a
+sharp glance of his eye before he turned again to the witness.
+
+"Could you have recognized any of the rings in that tray?" he asked.
+
+"No!" said Zillah. "I could not."
+
+"Then you could not possibly say--one way or another, if those rings were
+taken out of that tray?"
+
+"No!"
+
+"The fact is that all those rings--the two on the half-sheet of notepaper,
+and twenty-seven on the tray--are all of the same class as regards age and
+style--all very much of a muchness?"
+
+"Yes," admitted Zillah.
+
+"And you can't--you are on your oath remember!--you can't definitely say
+that those two rings were not picked up from that tray, amongst the
+others?"
+
+"No," replied Zillah. "But I can't say that they were! And--I don't
+believe they were. I don't believe they were our rings!"
+
+Mr. Parminter smiled quietly and again swept the interested jurymen with
+his quick glance.
+
+Then he turned to Zillah with another set of questions.
+
+"How long have you known the last witness--Andrew Lauriston?" he enquired.
+
+"Since one day last week," replied Zillah.
+
+She had flushed at the mention of Lauriston's name, and Mr. Parminter was
+quick to see it.
+
+"How did you get to know him?" he continued.
+
+"By his coming to the shop--on business."
+
+"To pawn his watch, I believe?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"You attended to him?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"You had never seen him before?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Ever seen him since?"
+
+Zillah hesitated for a moment.
+
+"I saw him--accidentally--in Kensington Gardens, on Sunday," she answered
+at last.
+
+"Have any conversation with him?"
+
+"Yes," admitted Zillah.
+
+"About--pawnbroking?"
+
+"No!" retorted Zillah. "About his work--writing."
+
+"Did he tell you he was very hard up?"
+
+"I knew that!" said Zillah. "Hadn't he pawned his watch?"
+
+"Perhaps--you seem to be a very good business woman--perhaps you gave him
+some advice?"
+
+"Yes, I did! I advised him, as long as he'd anything on which he could
+raise money, not to let himself go without money in his pocket."
+
+"Excellent advice!" said Mr. Parminter, with a smile.
+
+He leaned forward, looking at his witness more earnestly. "Now, did
+Lauriston, on Sunday, or when you saw him before, ever mention to you that
+he possessed two rings of some value?"
+
+"No," replied Zillah.
+
+Mr. Parminter paused, hesitated, suddenly bowed to the Coroner, and
+dropping back into his seat, pulled out his snuff-box. And the Coroner,
+motioning Zillah to leave the witness-box, interrupted Mr. Parminter in
+the midst of a pinch of snuff.
+
+"I think it will be best to adjourn at this stage," he said. "It is
+obvious that we can't finish this today." He turned to the jurymen. "I
+propose to adjourn this enquiry for a week, gentlemen," he went on. "In
+the meantime--"
+
+His attention was suddenly arrested by Melky Rubinstein, who, after much
+uneasiness and fidgeting, rose from his seat and made his way to the foot
+of the table, manifestly desiring to speak.
+
+"What is it?" asked the Coroner. "Who are you? Oh!--the witness who
+identified the body. Yes?"
+
+"Mr. Coroner!" said Melky, in his most solemn tones. "This here inquest
+ain't being conducted right, sir! I don't mean by you--but these here
+gentlemen, the police, and Mr. Parminter there, is going off on a wrong
+scent. I know what they're after, and they're wrong! They're suppressing
+evidence, Mr. Coroner." Melky turned on Ayscough. "What about the clue o'
+this here old book?" he demanded. "Why ain't you bringing that forward?
+I'm the late Daniel Multenius's nearest male relative, and I say that
+clue's a deal more important nor what we've been hearing all the morning.
+What about that book, now, Mr. Ayscough? Come on!--what about it!--and its
+owner?"
+
+"What is this?" demanded the Coroner. "If there is anything--"
+
+"Anything, sir!" exclaimed Melky. "There's just this--between the time
+that my cousin there, Miss Zillah Wildrose left the old man alive, and the
+time when Mr. Lauriston found him dead, somebody came into the shop as
+left a valuable book behind him on the parlour table, which book,
+according to all the advertisements in the morning papers, is the property
+of Mr. Spencer Levendale, the Member of Parliament, as lives in Sussex
+Square. Why ain't that matter brought up? Why ain't Mr. Levendale brought
+here? I ask you, Mr. Coroner, to have it seen into! There's more behind
+it--"
+
+The Coroner held up a hand and beckoned the police inspector and Mr.
+Parminter to approach his desk; a moment later, Ayscough was summoned. And
+Lauriston, watching the result of this conference, was quickly aware that
+the Coroner was not particularly pleased; he suddenly turned on the
+inspector with a question which was heard by every one in court.
+
+"Why was not the matter of the book put before the Court at first?" he
+demanded. "It seems to me that there may be a most important clue in it.
+The fact of the book's having been found should most certainly have been
+mentioned, at once. I shall adjourn for a week, from today, and you will
+produce the book and bring Mr. Spencer Levendale here as a witness. This
+day week, gentlemen!"
+
+Melky Rubinstein turned, whispered a hurried word to Zillah and Mrs.
+Goldmark, and then, seizing Lauriston by the elbow, drew him quickly away
+from the court.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ELEVEN
+
+
+THE BACK DOOR
+
+Once outside in the street, Melky turned down the nearest side-street,
+motioning Lauriston to follow him. Before they had gone many yards he
+edged himself close to his companion's side, at the same time throwing a
+cautious glance over his own shoulder.
+
+"There's one o' them blooming detectives after us!" said Melky. "But
+that's just what's to be expected, mister!--they'll never let you out o'
+their sight until one of two things happen!"
+
+"What things?" asked Lauriston.
+
+"Either you'll have to prove, beyond all doubt, that them rings is yours,
+and was your poor mother's before you," answered Melky, "or we shall have
+to put a hand on the chap that scragged my uncle. That's a fact! Mister!--
+will you put your trust and confidence in me, and do what I tell you? It's
+for your own good."
+
+"I don't know that I could do better," responded Lauriston, after a
+moment's thought. "You're a right good fellow, Melky--I'm sure of that!
+What do you want me to do?"
+
+Melky pulled out a handsome gold watch and consulted it.
+
+"It's dinner-time," he said. "Come round to Mrs. Goldmark's and get some
+grub. I'll tell you what to do while we're eating. I've been thinking
+things over while that there Parminter was badgering poor Zillah, and
+s'elp me, there only is one thing for you to do, and you'd best to do it
+sharp! But come on to Praed Street--don't matter if this here chap behind
+does shadow you--I can get the better of him as easy as I could sell this
+watch! It 'ud take all the detectives in London to beat me, if I put my
+mind to it."
+
+They were at Mrs. Goldmark's eating-house in five minutes: Melky, who knew
+all the ins and outs of that establishment, conducted Lauriston into an
+inner room, and to a corner wherein there was comparative privacy, and
+summoned a waitress. Not until he and his companion were half way through
+their meal did he refer to the business which was in his thoughts: then he
+leaned close to Lauriston and began to talk.
+
+"Mister!" he whispered. "Where do you come from?"
+
+"Peebles," answered Lauriston. "You heard me tell them so, in that court."
+
+"I'm no scholar," said Melky. "I ain't no idea where Peebles is, except
+that it's in Scotland. Is it far into that country, or where is it?"
+
+"Not far across the Border," replied Lauriston.
+
+"Get there in a few hours, I reckon?" asked Melky. "You could? Very well,
+then, mister, you take my tip--get there! Get there--quick!"
+
+Lauriston laid down his knife and fork and stared.
+
+"Whatever for?" he exclaimed.
+
+"To find somebody--anybody--as can prove that those rings are yours!"
+answered Melky solemnly and emphatically. "Tain't no use denying it--
+you're in a dangerous position. The police always goes for the straightest
+and easiest line. Their line was clear enough, just now--Parminter give it
+away! They've a theory--they always have a theory--and when once police
+gets a theory, nothing can drive it out o' their heads--their official
+heads, anyway. What they're saying, and what they'll try to establish, is
+this here. That you were hard up, down to less than your last penny. You
+went to Mr. Multenius's--you peeked and peered through the shop window and
+saw him alone, or, perhaps, saw the place empty. You went in--you grabbed
+a couple o' rings--he interrupted you--you scragged him! That's their
+line--and Zillah can't swear that those rings which you claim to be yours
+aren't her grandfather's, and up to now you can't prove that they're yours
+and were once your mother's! Mister!--be off to this here Peebles at once
+--immediate!--and find somebody, some old friend, as can swear that he or
+she--never mind which--knows them rings to be your property beyond a
+shadow of doubt! Bring that friend back--bring him if he has to come in an
+invalid carriage!"
+
+Lauriston was so much struck by Melky's argument and advice that it needed
+no more explanations to convince him of its wisdom.
+
+"But--how could I get away'" he asked. "There'll be that detective chap
+hanging about outside--I know I've been shadowed ever since last evening!
+They'll never let me get away from London, however much I wish. The
+probability is that if they saw me going to a railway station they'd
+arrest me."
+
+"My own opinion, mister, after what's taken place this morning, is that if
+you stop here, you'll be arrested before night," remarked Melky coolly.
+"I'd lay a tenner on it! But you ain't going to stop--you must go! There
+must be somebody in the old spot as can swear that them two rings o' yours
+is family property, and you must find 'em and bring 'em, if you value your
+neck. As to slipping the police, I'll make that right for you, proper!
+Now, then, what money have you about you, Mr. Lauriston?"
+
+"Plenty!" answered Lauriston. "Nearly forty pounds--the money I got last
+night."
+
+"Will you do exactly what I tell you?" asked Melky, "And do it at once,
+without any hesitation, any hanging about, any going home to Mother
+Flitwick's, or anything o' that sort?"
+
+"Yes!" replied Lauriston. "I'm so sure you're right, that I will."
+
+"Then you listen to me--careful," said Melky. "See that door in the
+corner? As soon as you've finished that pudding, slip out o' that door.
+You'll find yourself in a little yard. Go out o' that yard, and you'll
+find yourself in a narrow passage. Go straight down the passage, and
+you'll come out in Market Street. Go straight down Southwick Street--you
+know it--to Oxford and Cambridge Terrace, and you'll see a cab-rank right
+in front of you. Get into a taxi, and tell the fellow to drive you to
+Piccadilly Circus. Leave him there--take a turn round so's he won't see
+what you do--then get into another taxi, and drive to St. Pancras Church.
+Get out there--and foot it to King's Cross Station. You'll catch the 3.15
+for the North easy--and after you're once in it, you're all right. Get to
+Peebles!--that's the thing! S'elp me, Mr. Lauriston, it's the only thing!"
+
+Five minutes later, there being no one but themselves in the little room,
+Lauriston gave Melky a hearty grip of the hand, walked out of the door in
+the corner, and vanished. And Melky, left alone, pulled out his cigarette
+case, and began to smoke, calmly and quietly. When the waitress came back,
+he whispered a word or two to her; the waitress nodded with full
+comprehension--for everybody knew Melky at Goldmark's, and if the
+waitresses wanted a little jewellery now and then, he let them have it at
+cost price.
+
+"So you can give me the checks for both," said Melky. "I'll pay 'em."
+
+But Melky let three-quarters of an hour elapse before he went to the desk
+in the outer shop. He sipped a cup of coffee; he smoked several
+cigarettes; it was quite a long time before he emerged into Praed Street,
+buttoning his overcoat. And without appearing to see anything, he at once
+saw the man who had followed Lauriston and himself from the Coroner's
+Court. Being almost preternaturally observant, he also saw the man start
+with surprise--but Melky showed, and felt, no surprise, when the watcher
+came after him.
+
+"You know me, Mr. Rubinstein," he said, almost apologetically. "You know,
+of course, we're keeping an eye on that young Scotch fellow--we've got to!
+He went in there, to Goldmark's, with you? Is he still there?"
+
+"Strikes me you ain't up to your job!" remarked Melky, coolly. "He went
+out, three-quarters of an hour ago. Gone home, I should say."
+
+The man turned away, evidently puzzled, but just as evidently taking
+Melky's word. He went off in the direction of Star Street, while Melky
+strolled along to the pawnbroker's shop. It was necessary that he should
+tell his cousin of what he had done.
+
+Mrs. Goldmark was still with Zillah--Melky unfolded his story to the two
+of them. Zillah heard it with unfeigned relief; Mrs. Goldmark, who, being
+a young and pretty widow, was inclined to sentiment, regarded Melky with
+admiration.
+
+"My!--if you ain't the cute one, Mr. Rubinstein!" she exclaimed, clapping
+her plump hands. "As for me, now, I wouldn't have thought of that in a
+hundred years! But it's you that's the quick mind."
+
+Melky laid a finger to the side of his nose.
+
+"Do you know what, Mrs. Goldmark?" he said. "I ain't going to let them
+police fellows put a hand on young Lauriston, not me! I've my own ideas
+about this here business--wait till I put my hand on somebody, see? Don't
+it all come out clear to you?--if I find the right man, then there ain't
+no more suspicion attaching to this young chap, ain't it? Oh, I'm no fool,
+Mrs. Goldmark; don't you make no mistake!"
+
+"I'm sure!" asserted Mrs. Goldmark. "Yes, indeed--you don't carry your
+eyes in your head for nothing, Mr. Rubinstein!"
+
+Zillah, who had listened abstractedly to these compliments suddenly turned
+on her cousin.
+
+"What are you going to do then, Melky?" she demanded. "What's all this
+business about that book? And what steps are you thinking of taking?"
+
+But Melky rose and, shaking his head, buttoned up his overcoat as if he
+were buttoning in a multitude of profound secrets.
+
+"What you got to do, just now, Zillah--and Mrs. Goldmark too," he
+answered, "is to keep quiet tongues about what I done with young
+Lauriston. There ain't to be a word said! If any o' them police come round
+here, asking about him, you don't know nothing--see? You ain't seen him
+since he walked out o' that court with me--see? Which, of course--you
+ain't. And as for the rest, you leave that to yours truly!"
+
+"Oh, what it is to have a mind!" exclaimed Mrs. Goldmark "I ain't no mind,
+beyond managing my business."
+
+"Don't you show your mind in managing that?" said Melky, admiringly. "What
+do I always say of you, Mrs. Goldmark? Don't I always say you're the
+smartest business woman in all Paddington? Ain't that having a mind? Oh, I
+think you've the beautifullest mind, Mrs. Goldmark!"
+
+With this compliment Melky left Mrs. Goldmark and Zillah, and went away to
+his lodgings. He was aware of a taxi-cab drawn up at Mrs. Flitwick's door
+as he went up the street; inside Mrs. Flitwick's shabby hall he found that
+good woman talking to a stranger--a well-dressed young gentleman, who was
+obviously asking questions. Mrs. Flitwick turned to Melky with an air of
+relief.
+
+"Perhaps you can tell this gentleman where Mr. Lauriston is, Mr.
+Rubinstein?" she said. "I ain't seen him since he went out first thing
+this morning."
+
+Melky looked the stranger over--narrowly. Then he silently beckoned him
+outside the house, and walked him out of earshot.
+
+"You ain't the friend from Scotland?" asked Melky. "Him what sent the
+bank-note, last night?"
+
+"Yes!" assented the stranger. "I see you're aware of that. My name is
+Purdie--John Purdie. Where is Lauriston? I particularly want to see him."
+
+Melky tapped the side of his nose, and whispered.
+
+"He's on his way to where you come from, mister!" he said. "Here!--I know
+who you are, and you'll know me in one minute. Come up to my sitting-
+room!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWELVE
+
+
+THE FRIEND FROM PEEBLES
+
+Melky, as principal lodger in Mrs. Flitwick's establishment, occupied what
+that lady was accustomed to describe as the front drawing-room floor--a
+couple of rooms opening one into the other. Into one of these, furnished
+as a sitting-room, he now led Lauriston's friend, hospitably invited him
+to a seat, and took a quiet look at him. He at once sized up Mr. John
+Purdie for what he was--a well-to-do, well-dressed, active-brained young
+business man, probably accustomed to controlling and dealing with
+important affairs. And well satisfied with this preliminary inspection,
+he immediately plunged into the affair of the moment.
+
+"Mister," began Melky, pulling up a chair to Purdie's side, and assuming a
+tone and manner of implicit confidence. "I've heard of you. Me and Mr.
+Lauriston's close friends. My name's Mr. Rubinstein--Mr. Melchior
+Rubinstein, commonly called Melky. I know all about you--you're the friend
+that Lauriston asked for a bit of help to see him through, like--ain't it?
+Just so--and you sent him twenty pounds to be going on with--which he got,
+all right, last night. Also, same time, he got another twenty quid for
+two of his lit'ry works--stories, mister. Mister!--I wish he'd got your
+money and the other money just an hour before it come to hand! S'elp me!--
+if them there letters had only come in by one post earlier, it 'ud ha'
+saved a heap o' trouble!"
+
+"I haven't the remotest notion of what you're talking about, you know,"
+said Purdie good-naturedly. "You evidently know more than I do. I knew
+Andie Lauriston well enough up to the time he left Peebles, but I've never
+seen or heard of him since until he wrote to me the other week. What's it
+all about, and why has he gone back to Peebles? I told him I was coming up
+here any day now--and here I am, and he's gone!"
+
+Melky edged his chair still nearer to his visitor, and with a cautious
+glance at the door, lowered his voice.
+
+"I'm a-going to tell you all about it, mister," he said. "I know you
+Scotch gentlemen have got rare headpieces on you, and you'll pick it up
+sharp enough. Now you listen to me, Mr. Purdie, same as if I was one of
+them barrister chaps stating a case, and you'll get at it in no time."
+
+John Purdie, who had already recognized his host as a character, as
+interesting as he was amusing, listened attentively while Melky told the
+story of Lauriston's doings and adventure from the moment of his setting
+out to pawn his watch at Multenius's pledge-office to that in which, on
+Melky's suggestion, he had made a secret and hurried departure for
+Peebles. Melky forgot no detail; he did full justice to every important
+point, and laid particular stress on the proceedings before the Coroner.
+And in the end he appealed confidently to his listener.
+
+"And now I put it up to you, mister--straight!" concluded Melky. "Could I
+ha' done better for him than to give him the advice I did? Wasn't it best
+for him to go where he could get some evidence on his own behalf, than to
+run the risk of being arrested, and put where he couldn't do nothing for
+himself? What d'you say, now, Mr. Purdie?"
+
+"Yes," agreed Purdie, after a moment's further thought. "I think you did
+well. He'll no doubt be able to find some old friends in Peebles who can
+surely remember that his mother did possess those two rings. But you must
+bear this in mind--the police, you say, have shadowed him since yesterday
+afternoon. Well, when they find he's flown, they'll take that as a strong
+presumptive evidence of guilt. They'll say he's flying from justice!"
+
+"Don't matter, mister, if Lauriston comes back with proof of his
+innocence," replied Melky.
+
+"Yes, but they'll not wait for that," said Purdie. "They'll set the hue-
+and-cry on to him--at once. He's not the sort to be easily mistaken or
+overlooked--unless he's changed a lot this late year or two--he was always
+a good-looking lad."
+
+"Is so now, mister," remarked Melky, "is so now!"
+
+"Very well," continued Purdie. "Then I want to make a suggestion to you.
+It seems to me that the wisest course is for you and me to go straight to
+the police authorities, and tell them frankly that Lauriston has gone to
+get evidence that those rings are really his property, and that he'll
+return in a day or two with that evidence. That will probably satisfy
+them--I think I can add a bit more that will help further. We don't want
+it to be thought that the lad's run away rather than face a possible
+charge of murder, you know!"
+
+"I see your point, mister, I see your point!" agreed Melky. "I'm with
+you!--I ain't no objection to that. Of course, there ain't no need to tell
+the police precisely where he has gone--what?"
+
+"Not a bit!" said Purdie. "But I'll make myself responsible to them for
+his re-appearance. Now--did you and he arrange anything about
+communicating with each other?"
+
+"Yes," replied Melky. "If anything turns up this next day or two I'm to
+wire to him at the post-office, Peebles. If he finds what he wants, he'll
+wire to me, here, at once."
+
+"Good!" said Purdie. "Now, here's another matter. You've mentioned Mr.
+Spencer Levendale and this book which was so strangely left at the pledge-
+office. I happen to know Mr. Levendale--pretty well."
+
+"You do, mister!" exclaimed Melky. "Small world, ain't it, now?"
+
+"I met Mr. Spencer Levendale last September--two months ago," continued
+Purdie. "He was staying at an hotel in the Highlands, with his children
+and their governess: I was at the same hotel, for a month--he and I used
+to go fishing together. We got pretty friendly, and he asked me to call on
+him next time I was in town. Here I am--and when we've been to the police,
+I'm going to Sussex Square--to tell him I'm a friend of Lauriston's, that
+Lauriston is in some danger over this business, and to ask him if he can
+tell me more about--that book!"
+
+Melky jumped up and wrung his visitor's hand.
+
+"Mister!--you're one o' the right sort," he said fervently. "That there
+book has something to do with it! My idea is that the man what carried
+that book into the shop is the man what scragged my poor old relative
+--fact, mister! Levendale, he wouldn't tell us anything much this
+morning--maybe he'll tell you more. Stand by Lauriston, mister!--we'll
+pull him through."
+
+"You seem very well disposed towards him," remarked Purdie. "He's
+evidently taken your fancy."
+
+"And my cousin Zillah's," answered Melky, with a confidential grin.
+"Zillah--loveliest girl in all Paddington, mister--she's clear gone on the
+young fellow! And--a word in your ear, mister!--Zillah's been educated
+like a lady, and now that the old man's gone, Zillah'll have--ah! a
+fortune that 'ud make a nigger turn white! And no error about it! See it
+through, mister!"
+
+"I'll see it through," said Purdie. "Now, then--these police. Look here--
+is there a good hotel in this neighbourhood?--I've all my traps in that
+taxi-cab downstairs--I drove straight here from the station, because I
+wanted to see Andie Lauriston at once."
+
+"Money's no object to you, I reckon, mister?" asked Melky, with a shrewd
+glance at the young Scotsman's evident signs of prosperity.
+
+"Not in reason," answered Purdie.
+
+"Then there's the Great Western Hotel, at the end o' Praed Street," said
+Melky. "That'll suit a young gentleman like you, mister, down to the
+ground. And you'll be right on the spot!"
+
+"Come with me, then," said Purdie. "And then to the police."
+
+Half-an-hour's private conversation with the police authorities enabled
+Purdie to put some different ideas into the official heads. They began to
+look at matters in a new light. Here was a wealthy young Scottish
+manufacturer, a person of standing and position, who was able to vouch for
+Andrew Lauriston in more ways than one, who had known him from boyhood,
+had full faith in him and in his word, and was certain that all that
+Lauriston had said about the rings and about his finding of Daniel
+Multenius would be found to be absolutely true. They willingly agreed to
+move no further in the matter until Lauriston's return--and Purdie
+noticed, not without a smile, that they pointedly refrained from asking
+where he had gone to. He came out from that interview with Ayscough in
+attendance upon him--and Melky, waiting without, saw that things had gone
+all right.
+
+"You might let me have your London address, sir," said Ayscough. "I might
+want to let you know something."
+
+"Great Western Hotel," answered Purdie. "I shall stay there until
+Lauriston's return, and until this matter's entirely cleared up, as far as
+he's concerned. Come there, if you want me. All right," he continued, as
+he and Melky walked away from the police-station. "They took my word for
+it!--they'll do nothing until Lauriston comes back. Now then, you know
+this neighbourhood, and I don't--show me the way to Sussex Square--I'm
+going to call on Mr. Levendale at once."
+
+John Purdie had a double object in calling on Mr. Spencer Levendale. He
+had mentioned to Melky that when he met Levendale in the Highlands,
+Levendale, who was a widower, had his children and their governess with
+him. But he had not mentioned that he, Purdie, had fallen in love with the
+governess, and that one of his objects in coming to London just then was
+to renew his acquaintance with her. It was chiefly of the governess that
+he was thinking as he stood on the steps of the big house in Sussex
+Square--perhaps, in a few minutes, he would see her again.
+
+But Purdie was doomed to see neither Mr. Spencer Levendale nor the pretty
+governess that day. Mr. Levendale, said the butler, was on business in the
+city and was to dine out that evening: Miss Bennett had taken the two
+children to see a relative of theirs at Hounslow, and would not return
+until late. So Purdie, having pencilled his London address on them, left
+cards for Mr. Levendale and Miss Bennett, and, going back to his hotel,
+settled himself in his quarters to await developments. He spent the
+evening in reading the accounts of the inquest on Daniel Multenius--in
+more than one of the newspapers they were full and circumstantial, and it
+needed little of his shrewd perception to convince him that his old
+schoolmate stood in considerable danger if he failed to establish his
+ownership of the rings.
+
+He had finished breakfast next morning and was thinking of strolling round
+to Melky Rubinstein's lodgings, to hear if any news had come from
+Lauriston, when a waiter brought him Ayscough's card, saying that its
+presenter was waiting for him in the smoking-room. Purdie went there at
+once: the detective, who looked unusually grave and thoughtful, drew him
+aside into a quiet part of the room.
+
+"There's a strange affair occurred during the night, Mr. Purdie," said
+Ayscough, when they were alone. "And it's my opinion it's connected with
+this Multenius affair."
+
+"What is it?" asked Purdie.
+
+"This," replied Ayscough. "A Praed Street tradesman--in a small way--was
+picked up, dying, in a quiet street off Maida Vale, at twelve o'clock last
+night, and he died soon afterwards. And--he'd been poisoned!--but how, the
+doctors can't yet tell."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTEEN
+
+
+THE CALL FOR HELP
+
+Purdie, whose temperament inclined him to slowness and deliberation in
+face of any grave crisis, motioned the detective to take a seat in the
+quiet corner of the smoking-room, into which they had retreated, and sat
+down close by him.
+
+"Now, to begin with," he said, "why do you think this affair is connected
+with the affair of the old pawn-broker? There must be some link."
+
+"There is a link, sir," answered Ayscough. "The man was old Daniel
+Multenius's next door neighbour: name of Parslett--James Parslett, fruit
+and vegetable dealer. Smallish way of business, but well known enough in
+that quarter. Now, I'll explain something to you. I'm no hand at drawing,"
+continued the detective, "but I think I can do a bit of a rough sketch on
+this scrap of paper which will make clear to you the lie of the land.
+These two lines represent Praed Street. Here, where I make this cross, is
+Daniel Multenius's pawnshop. The front part of it--the jeweller's shop--
+looks out on Praed Street. At the side is a narrow passage or entry: from
+that you get access to the pledge-office. Now then, Multenius's premises
+run down one side of this passage: Parslett's run down the other.
+Parslett's house has a side-door into it, exactly opposite the door into
+Multenius's pledge office. Is that clear, Mr. Purdie?"
+
+"Quite!" answered Purdie. "I understand it exactly."
+
+"Then my theory is, that Parslett saw the real murderer of Daniel
+Multenius come out of Multenius's side-door, while he, Parslett, was
+standing at his own; that he recognized him, that he tried to blackmail
+him yesterday, and that the man contrived to poison him, in such a fashion
+that Parslett died shortly after leaving him," said Ayscough, confidently.
+"It's but a theory--but I'll lay anything I'm not far out in it!"
+
+"What reason have you for thinking that Parslett blackmailed the
+murderer?" asked Purdie.
+
+"This!" answered the detective, with something of triumph in his tone.
+"I've been making some enquiries already this morning, early as it is.
+When Parslett was picked up and carried to the hospital--this St. Mary's
+Hospital, close by here--he was found to have fifty pounds in gold in his
+pocket. Now, according to Parslett's widow, whom I've seen this morning,
+Parslett was considerably hard up yesterday. Trade hasn't been very good
+with him of late, and she naturally knows his circumstances. He went out
+of the house last night about nine o'clock, saying he was going to have a
+stroll round, and the widow says she's certain he'd no fifty pounds on him
+when he left her--it would be a wonder, she says, if he'd as much as fifty
+shillings! Now then, Mr. Purdie, where did a man like that pick up fifty
+sovereigns between the time he went out, and the time he was picked up,
+dying?"
+
+"He might have borrowed it from some friend," suggested Purdie.
+
+"I thought of that, sir," said Ayscough. "It seems the natural thing to
+think of. But Mrs. Parslett says they haven't a friend from whom he could
+have borrowed such an amount--not one! No, sir!--my belief is that
+Parslett saw some man enter and leave Multenius's shop; that he knew the
+man; that he went and plumped him with the affair, and that the man gave
+him that gold to get rid of him at the moment--and contrived to poison
+him, too!"
+
+Purdie considered the proposition for awhile in silence.
+
+"Well," he remarked at last, "if that's so, it seems to establish two
+facts--first, that the murderer is some man who lives in this
+neighbourhood, and second, that he's an expert in poisons."
+
+"Right, sir!" agreed Ayscough. "Quite right. And it would, of course,
+establish another--the innocence of your friend, Lauriston."
+
+Purdie smiled.
+
+"I never had any doubt of that," he said.
+
+"Between ourselves, neither had I," remarked Ayscough heartily. "I told
+our people that I, personally, was convinced of the young fellow's
+complete innocence from the very first--and it was I who found him in the
+shop. It's a most unfortunate thing that he was there, and a sad
+coincidence that those rings of his were much of a muchness with the rings
+in the tray in the old man's parlour--but I've never doubted him. No,
+sir!--I believe all this business goes a lot deeper than that! It's no
+common affair--old Daniel Multenius was attacked by somebody--somebody!--
+for some special reason--and it's going to take a lot of getting at. And
+I'm convinced this Parslett affair is a development--Parslett's been
+poisoned because he knew too much."
+
+"You say you don't know what particular poison was used?" asked Purdie.
+"It would be something of a clue to know that. Because, if it turned out
+to be one of a very subtle nature, that would prove that whoever
+administered it had made a special study of poisons."
+
+"I don't know that--yet," answered Ayscough. "But," he continued, rising
+from his chair, "if you'd step round with me to the hospital, we might get
+to know, now. There's one or two of their specialists been making an
+examination. It's only a mere step along the street."
+
+Purdie followed the detective out and along Praed Street. Before they
+reached the doors of the hospital, a man came up to Ayscough: a solid,
+substantial-looking person, of cautious manner and watchful eye, whose
+glance wandered speculatively from the detective to his companion.
+Evidently sizing Purdie up as some one in Ayscough's confidence, he spoke
+--in the fashion of one who has something as mysterious, as important, to
+communicate.
+
+"Beg your pardon, Mr. Ayscough," he said. "A word with you sir. You know
+me, Mr. Ayscough?"
+
+Ayscough looked sharply at his questioner.
+
+"Mr. Goodyer, isn't it?" he asked. "Oh, yes, I remember. What is it? You
+can speak before this gentleman--it's all right."
+
+"About this affair of last night--Parslett, you know," said Goodyer,
+drawing the detective aside, and lowering his voice, so that passers-by
+might not hear. "There's something I can tell you--I've heard all about
+the matter from Parslett's wife. But I've not told her what I can tell
+you, Mr. Ayscough."
+
+"And--what's that?" enquired the detective.
+
+"I'm Parslett's landlord, you know," continued Goodyer. "He's had that
+shop and dwelling-house of me for some years. Now, Parslett's not been
+doing very well of late, from one cause or another, and to put it in a
+nutshell, he owed me half a year's rent. I saw him yesterday, and told him
+I must have the money at once: in fact, I pressed him pretty hard about
+it.--I'd been at him for two or three weeks, and I could see it was no
+good going on. He'd been down in the mouth about it, the last week or so,
+but yesterday afternoon he was confident enough. 'Now, you needn't alarm
+yourself, Mr. Goodyer,' he said. 'There's a nice bit of money going to be
+paid to me tonight, and I'll settle up with you before I stick my head on
+the pillow,' he said. 'Tonight, for certain?' says I. 'Before even I go to
+bed!' he says. 'I can't fix it to a minute, but you can rely on me calling
+at your house in St. Mary's Terrace before eleven o'clock--with the
+money.' And he was so certain about it, Mr. Ayscough, that I said no more
+than that I should be much obliged, and I'd wait up for him. And,"
+concluded Goodyer, "I did wait up--till half-past twelve--but he never
+came. So this morning, of course, I walked round here--and then I heard
+what happened--about him being picked up dying and since being dead--with
+fifty pounds in gold in his pocket. Of course, Mr. Ayscough, that was the
+money he referred to."
+
+"You haven't mentioned this to anybody?" asked Ayscough.
+
+"Neither to the widow nor to anybody--but you," replied Goodyer.
+
+"Don't!" said Ayscough. "Keep it to yourself till I give you the word. You
+didn't hear anything from Parslett as to where the money was coming from?"
+
+"Not one syllable!" answered Goodyer. "But I could see he was dead sure of
+having it."
+
+"Well--keep quiet about it," continued Ayscough. "There'll be an inquest,
+you know, and what you have to tell'll come in handy, then. There's some
+mystery about all this affair, Mr. Goodyer, and it's going to take some
+unravelling."
+
+"You're right!" said Goodyer. "I believe you!"
+
+He went off along the street, and the detective turned to Purdie and
+motioned him towards the hospital.
+
+"Queer, all that, sir!" he muttered. "Very queer! But it all tends to
+showing that my theory's the right one. Now if you'll just stop in the
+waiting-room a few minutes, I'll find out if these doctors have come to
+any conclusion about the precise nature of the poison."
+
+Purdie waited for ten minutes, speculating on the curiosities of the
+mystery into which he had been so strangely plunged: at last the detective
+came back, shaking his head.
+
+"Can't get a definite word out of 'em, yet," he said, as they went away.
+"There's two or three of 'em--big experts in--what do you call it--oh,
+yes, toxology--putting their heads together over the analysing business,
+and they won't say anything so far--they'll leave that to the inquest. But
+I gathered this much, Mr. Purdie, from the one I spoke to--this man
+Parslett was poisoned in some extremely clever fashion, and by some poison
+that's not generally known, which was administered to him probably half-
+an-hour before it took effect. What's that argue, sir, but that whoever
+gave him that poison is something of an expert? Deep game, Mr. Purdie, a
+very deep game indeed!--and now I don't think there's much need to be
+anxious about that young friend of yours. I'm certain, anyway, that the
+man who poisoned Parslett is the man who killed poor old Daniel Multenius.
+But--we shall see."
+
+Purdie parted from Ayscough outside the hospital and walked along to Mrs.
+Flitwick's house in Star Street. He met Melky Rubinstein emerging from the
+door; Melky immediately pulled out a telegram which he thrust into
+Purdie's hand.
+
+"Just come, mister!" exclaimed Melky. "There's a word for you in it--I was
+going to your hotel. Read what he says."
+
+Purdie unfolded the pink paper and read.
+
+"On the track all right understand Purdie is in town if he comes to Star
+Street explain all to him will wire again later in day."
+
+"Good!" said Purdie. He handed back the telegram and looked meditatively
+at Melky. "Are you busy this morning?" he asked.
+
+"Doing no business whatever, mister," lisped Melky, solemnly. "Not until
+this business is settled--not me!"
+
+"Come to the hotel with me," continued Purdie. "I want to talk to you
+about something."
+
+But when they reached the hotel, all thought of conversation was driven
+out of Purdie's mind for the moment. The hall-porter handed him a note,
+remarking that it had just come. Purdie's face flushed as he recognized
+the handwriting: he turned sharply away and tore open the envelope.
+Inside, on a half-sheet of notepaper, were a few lines--from the pretty
+governess at Mr. Spencer Levendale's.
+
+"Can you come here at once and ask for me? There is something seriously
+wrong: I am much troubled and have no one in London I can consult."
+
+With a hasty excuse to Melky, Purdie ran out of the hotel, and set off in
+quick response to the note.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOURTEEN
+
+
+THE PRIVATE LABORATORY
+
+As he turned down Spring Street towards Sussex Square, Purdie hastily
+reviewed his knowledge of Mr. Spencer Levendale and his family. He had met
+them, only two months previously, at a remote and out-of-the-way place in
+the Highlands, in a hotel where he and they were almost the only guests.
+Under such circumstances, strangers are soon drawn together, and as
+Levendale and Purdie had a common interest in fishing they were quickly on
+good terms. But Purdie was thinking now as he made his way towards
+Levendale's London house that he really knew very little of this man who
+was evidently mixed up in some way with the mystery into which young Andie
+Lauriston had so unfortunately also become intermingled. He knew that
+Levendale was undoubtedly a very wealthy man: there were all the signs of
+wealth about him; he had brought several servants down to the Highlands
+with him: money appeared to be plentiful with him as pebbles are on a
+beach. Purdie learnt bit by bit that Levendale had made a great fortune in
+South Africa, that he had come home to England and gone into Parliament;
+that he was a widower and the father of two little girls--he learnt, too,
+that the children's governess, Miss Elsie Bennett, a pretty and taking
+girl of twenty-two or three, had come with them from Cape Town. But of
+Levendale's real character and self he knew no more than could be gained
+from holiday acquaintance. Certain circumstances told him by Melky about
+the rare book left in old Multenius's parlour inclined Purdie to be
+somewhat suspicious that Levendale was concealing something which he knew
+about that affair--and now here was Miss Bennett writing what, on the face
+of it, looked like an appealing letter to him, as if something had
+happened.
+
+Purdie knew something had happened as soon as he was admitted to the
+house. Levendale's butler, who had accompanied his master to the
+Highlands, and had recognized Purdie on his calling the previous day, came
+hurrying to him in the hall, as soon as the footman opened the door.
+
+"You haven't seen Mr. Levendale since you were here yesterday, sir?" he
+asked, in a low, anxious voice.
+
+"Seen Mr. Levendale? No!" answered Purdie. "Why--what do you mean?"
+
+The butler looked round at a couple of footmen who hung about the door.
+
+"Don't want to make any fuss about it, Mr. Purdie," he whispered, "though
+it's pretty well known in the house already. The fact is, sir, Mr.
+Levendale's missing!"
+
+"Missing?" exclaimed Purdie. "Since when?"
+
+"Only since last night, sir," replied the butler, "but the circumstances
+are queer. He dined out with some City gentlemen, somewhere, last night,
+and he came home about ten o'clock. He wasn't in the house long. He went
+into his laboratory--he spends a lot of time in experimenting in
+chemistry, you know, sir--and he called me in there. 'I'm going out again
+for an hour, Grayson,' he says. 'I shall be in at eleven: don't go to bed,
+for I want to see you for a minute or two.' Of course, there was nothing
+in that, Mr. Purdie, and I waited for him. But he never came home--and no
+message came. He never came home at all--and this morning I've telephoned
+to his two clubs, and to one or two other places in the City--nobody's
+seen or heard anything of him. And I can't think what's happened--it's all
+so unlike his habits."
+
+"He didn't tell you where he was going?" asked Purdie.
+
+"No, sir, but he went on foot," answered the butler. "I let him out--he
+turned up Paddington way."
+
+"You didn't notice anything out of the common about him?" suggested
+Purdie.
+
+The butler hesitated for a moment.
+
+"Well, sir," he said at last, "I did notice something. Come this way, Mr.
+Purdie."
+
+Turning away from the hall, he led Purdie through the library in which
+Levendale had received Ayscough and his companions into a small room that
+opened out of it.
+
+Purdie, looking round him, found that he was standing in a laboratory,
+furnished with chemical apparatus of the latest descriptions. Implements
+and appliances were on all sides; there were rows of bottles on the
+shelves; a library of technical books filled a large book-case; everything
+in the place betokened the pursuit of a scientific investigator. And
+Purdie's keen sense of smell immediately noted the prevalent atmosphere of
+drugs and chemicals.
+
+"It was here that I saw Mr. Levendale last night, sir," said the butler.
+"He called me in. He was measuring something from one of those bottles
+into a small phial, Mr. Purdie--he put the phial in his waistcoat pocket.
+Look at those bottles, sir--you'll see they all contain poison!--you can
+tell that by the make of 'em."
+
+Purdie glanced at the shelf which the butler indicated. The bottles ranged
+on it were all of blue glass, and all triangular in shape, and each bore a
+red label with the word _Poison_ prominently displayed.
+
+"Odd!" he said. "You've some idea?" he went on, looking closely at the
+butler. "Something on your mind about this? What is it?"
+
+The butler shook his head.
+
+"Well, sir," he answered, "when you see a gentleman measuring poison into
+a phial, which he carefully puts in his pocket, and when he goes out, and
+when he never comes back, and when you can't hear of him, anywhere! why,
+what are you to think? Looks strange, now, doesn't it, Mr. Purdie?"
+
+"I don't know Mr. Levendale well enough to say," replied Purdie. "There
+may be some quite good reason for Mr. Levendale's absence. He'd no trouble
+of any sort, had he?"
+
+"He seemed a bit upset, once or twice, yesterday--and the night before,"
+said the butler. "I noticed it--in little things. Well!--I can't make it
+out, sir. You see, I've been with him ever since he came back to England--
+some years now--and I know his habits, thoroughly. However, we can only
+wait--I believe Miss Bennett sent for you, Mr. Purdie?"
+
+"Yes," said Purdie. "She did."
+
+"This way, sir," said the butler. "Miss Bennett's alone, now--the children
+have just gone out with their nurses."
+
+He led Purdie through the house to a sitting-room looking out on the
+garden of the Square, and ushered him into the governess's presence.
+
+"I've told Mr. Purdie all about it, miss," he said, confidentially.
+"Perhaps you'll talk it over with him! I can't think of anything more to
+do--until we hear something."
+
+Left alone, Purdie and Elsie Bennett looked at each other as they shook
+hands. She was a fair, slender girl, naturally shy and retiring; she was
+manifestly shy at renewing her acquaintance with Purdie, and Purdie
+himself, conscious of his own feelings towards her, felt a certain
+embarrassment and awkwardness.
+
+"You sent for me," he said brusquely. "I came the instant I got your note.
+Grayson kept me talking downstairs. You're bothered--about Mr. Levendale?"
+
+"Yes," she answered. Then she pointed to a chair. "Won't you sit down?"
+she said, and took a chair close by. "I sent for you, because--it may seem
+strange, but it's a fact!--I couldn't think of anybody else! It seemed so
+fortunate that you were in London--and close by. I felt that--that I could
+depend on you."
+
+"Thank you," said Purdie. "Well--you can! And what is it?"
+
+"Grayson's told you about Mr. Levendale's going out last night, and never
+coming back, nor sending any message?" she continued. "As Grayson says,
+considering Mr. Levendale's habits, that is certainly very strange! But--I
+want to tell you something beyond that--I must tell somebody! And I know
+that if I tell you you'll keep it secret--until, or unless you think you
+ought to tell it to--the police!"
+
+Purdie started.
+
+"The police!" he exclaimed. "What is it?"
+
+Elsie Bennett turned to a table, and picked up a couple of newspapers.
+
+"Have you read this Praed Street mystery affair?" she asked. "I mean the
+account of the inquest?"
+
+"Every word--and heard more, besides," answered Purdie. "That young
+fellow, Andie Lauriston, is an old schoolmate and friend of mine. I came
+here yesterday to see him, and found him plunged into this business. Of
+course, he's absolutely innocent."
+
+"Has he been arrested?" asked Elsie, almost eagerly.
+
+"No!" replied Purdie. "He's gone away--to get evidence that those rings
+which are such a feature of the case are really his and were his
+mother's."
+
+"Have you noticed these particulars, at the end of the inquest, about the
+book which was found in the pawnbroker's parlour?" she went on. "The
+Spanish manuscript?"
+
+"Said to have been lost by Mr. Levendale in an omnibus," answered Purdie.
+"Yes! What of it?"
+
+The girl bent nearer to him.
+
+"It seems a dreadful thing to say," she whispered, "but I must tell
+somebody--I can't, I daren't keep it to myself any longer! Mr. Levendale
+isn't telling the truth about that book!"
+
+Purdie involuntarily glanced at the door--and drew his chair nearer to
+Elsie's.
+
+"You're sure of that?" he whispered. "Just so! Now--in what way?"
+
+"It says here," answered Elsie, tapping the newspapers with her finger,
+"that Mr. Levendale lost this book in a 'bus, which he left at the corner
+of Chapel Street, and that he was so concerned about the loss that he
+immediately sent advertisements off to every morning newspaper in London.
+The last part of that is true--the first part is not true! Mr. Levendale
+did not lose his book--he did not leave it in the 'bus! I'm sorry to have
+to say it--but all that is invention on his part--why, I don't know."
+
+Purdie had listened to this with a growing feeling of uneasiness and
+suspicion. The clouds centring round Levendale were certainly thickening.
+
+"Now, just tell me--how do you know all this?" he asked. "Rely on me--to
+the full!"
+
+"I'll tell you," replied Elsie, readily. "Because, about four o'clock on
+the afternoon of the old man's death, I happened to be at the corner of
+Chapel Street. I saw Mr. Levendale get out of the 'bus. He did not see me.
+He crossed Edgware Road and walked rapidly down Praed Street. And--he was
+carrying that book in his hand!"
+
+"You're sure it was that book?" asked Purdie.
+
+"According to the description given in this account and in the
+advertisement--yes," she answered. "I noticed the fine binding. Although
+Mr. Levendale didn't see me--there were a lot of people about--I was close
+to him. I am sure it was the book described here."
+
+"And--he went in the direction of the pawnshop?" said Purdie. "What on
+earth does it all mean? What did he mean by advertising for the book,
+when--"
+
+Before he could say more, a knock came at the door, and the butler
+entered, bearing an open telegram in his hand. His face wore an expression
+of relief.
+
+"Here's a wire from Mr. Levendale, Miss Bennett," he said. "It's addressed
+to me. He says, 'Shall be away from home, on business, for a few days. Let
+all go on as usual.' That's better, miss! But," continued Grayson, glancing
+at Purdie, "it's still odd--for do you see, sir, where that wire has been
+sent from? Spring Street--close by!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIFTEEN
+
+
+CONFERENCE
+
+Purdie was already sufficiently acquainted with the geography of the
+Paddington district to be aware of the significance of Grayson's remark.
+The Spring Street Post Office, at which Levendale's wire had been handed
+in, was only a few minutes' walk from the house. It stood, in fact, between
+Purdie's hotel and Sussex Square, and he had passed it on his way to
+Levendale's. It was certainly odd that a man who was within five minutes'
+walk of his own house should send a telegram there, when he had nothing to
+do but walk down one street and turn the corner of another to give his
+message in person.
+
+"Sent off, do you see, sir, twenty minutes ago," observed the butler,
+pointing to some figures in the telegram form. "So--Mr. Levendale must
+have been close by--then!"
+
+"Not necessarily," remarked Purdie. "He may have sent a messenger with
+that wire--perhaps he himself was catching a train at Paddington."
+
+Grayson shook his head knowingly.
+
+"There's a telegraph office on the platform there, sir," he answered.
+"However--there it is, and I suppose there's no more to be done."
+
+He left the room again, and Purdie looked at the governess. She, too,
+looked at him: there was a question in the eyes of both.
+
+"What do you make of that?" asked Purdie after a pause.
+
+"What do you make of it?" she asked in her turn.
+
+"It looks odd--but there may be a reason for it," he answered. "Look
+here!--I'm going to ask you a question. What do you know of Mr. Levendale?
+You've been governess to his children for some time, haven't you?"
+
+"For six months before he left Cape Town, and ever since we all came to
+England, three years ago," she answered. "I know that he's very rich, and
+a very busy man, and a member of Parliament, and that he goes to the City
+a great deal--and that's all! He's a very reserved man, too--of course, he
+never tells me anything. I've never had any conversation with him
+excepting about the children."
+
+"You're upset about this book affair?" suggested Purdie.
+
+"Why should Mr. Levendale say that he left that book in the omnibus, when
+I myself saw him leave the 'bus with it in his hand, and go down Praed
+Street with it?" she asked. "Doesn't it look as if he were the person who
+left it in that room--where the old man was found lying dead?"
+
+"That, perhaps, is the very reason why he doesn't want people to know that
+he did leave it there," remarked Purdie, quietly. "There's more in all
+this than lies on the surface. You wanted my advice? Very well don't say
+anything to anybody till you see me again. I must go now--there's a man
+waiting for me at my hotel. I may call again, mayn't I?"
+
+"Do!" she said, giving him her hand. "I am bothered about this--it's
+useless to deny it--and I've no one to talk to about it. Come--any time."
+
+Purdie repressed a strong desire to stay longer, and to turn the
+conversation to more personal matters. But he was essentially a business
+man, and the matters of the moment seemed to be critical. So he promised
+to return, and then hurried back to his hotel--to find Melky Rubinstein
+pacing up and down outside the entrance.
+
+Purdie tapped Melky's shoulder and motioned him to walk along Praed
+Street.
+
+"Look here!" he said. "I want you to take me to see your cousin--and the
+pawnshop. We must have a talk--you said your cousin's a good business
+woman. She's the sort we can discuss business with, eh?"
+
+"My cousin Zillah Wildrose, mister," answered Melky, solemnly, "is one of
+the best! She's a better headpiece on her than what I have--and that's
+saying a good deal. I was going to suggest you should come there. Talk!--
+s'elp me, Mr. Purdie, it strikes me there'll be a lot of that before we've
+done. What about this here affair of last night?--I've just seen Mr.
+Ayscough, passing along--he's told me all about it. Do you think it's
+anything to do with our business?"
+
+"Can't say," answered Purdie. "Wait till we can discuss matters with your
+cousin."
+
+Melky led the way to the side-door of the pawnshop. Since the old man's
+death, the whole establishment had been closed--Zillah had refused to do
+any business until her grandfather's funeral was over. She received her
+visitors in the parlour where old Daniel had been found dead: after a
+moment's inspection of her, and the exchange of a few remarks about
+Lauriston, Purdie suggested that they should all sit down and talk matters
+over.
+
+"Half-a-mo!" said Melky. "If we're going to have a cabinet council,
+mister, there's a lady that I want to bring into it--Mrs. Goldmark. I know
+something that Mrs. Goldmark can speak to--I've just been considering
+matters while I was waiting for you, Mr. Purdie, and I'm going to tell you
+and Zillah, and Mrs. Goldmark, of a curious fact that I know of. I'll
+fetch her--and while I'm away Zillah'll show you that there book what was
+found there."
+
+Purdie looked with interest at the Spanish manuscript which seemed to be a
+factor of such importance.
+
+"I suppose you never saw this before?" he asked, as Zillah laid it on the
+table before him. "And you're certain it wasn't in the place when you went
+out that afternoon, leaving your grandfather alone?"
+
+"That I'm positive of," answered Zillah. "I never saw it in my life until
+my attention was drawn to it after he was dead. That book was brought in
+here during my absence, and it was neither bought nor pawned--that's
+absolutely certain! Of course, you know whose book it is?"
+
+"Mr. Spencer Levendale's," answered Purdie. "Yes I know all those
+particulars--and about his advertisements for it, and a little more. And I
+want to discuss all that with you and your cousin. This Mrs. Goldmark--she's
+to be fully trusted?"
+
+Zillah replied that Mrs. Goldmark was worthy of entire confidence, and an
+old friend, and Melky presently returning with her, Purdie suggested they
+should all sit down and talk--informally and in strict privacy.
+
+"You know why I'm concerning myself in this?" he said, looking round at
+his three companions. "I'm anxious that Andie Lauriston should be fully
+and entirely cleared! I've great faith in him--he's beginning what I
+believe will be a successful career, and it would be a terrible thing if
+any suspicion rested on him. So I want, for his sake, to thoroughly clear
+up this mystery about your relative's death."
+
+"Mister!" said Melky, in his most solemn tones. "Speaking for my cousin
+there, and myself, there ain't nothing what we wouldn't do to clear Mr.
+Lauriston! We ain't never had one moment's suspicion of him from the
+first, knowing the young fellow as we do. So we're with you in that
+matter, ain't we, Zillah?"
+
+"Mr. Purdie feels sure of that," agreed Zillah, with a glance at
+Lauriston's old schoolmate. "There's no need to answer him, Melky."
+
+"I am sure!" said Purdie. "So--let's put our wits together--we'll consider
+the question of approaching the police when we've talked amongst
+ourselves. Now--I want to ask you some very private questions. They spring
+out of that rare book there. There's no doubt that book belongs to Mr.
+Levendale. Do either of you know if Mr. Levendale had any business
+relations with the late Mr. Rubinstein?"
+
+Zillah shook her head.
+
+"None!--that I know of," she answered. "I've helped my grandfather in this
+business for some time. I never heard him mention Mr. Levendale. Mr.
+Levendale never came here, certainly."
+
+Melky shook his head, too.
+
+"When Mr. Ayscough, and Mr. Lauriston, and me went round to Sussex Square,
+to see Mr. Levendale about that advertisement for his book," he remarked,
+"he said he'd never heard of Daniel Multenius. That's a fact, mister!"
+
+"Had Mr. Multenius any private business relations of which he didn't tell
+you?" asked Purdie, turning to Zillah.
+
+"He might have had," admitted Zillah. "He was out a good deal. I don't
+know what he might do when he went out. He was--close. We--it's no use
+denying it--we don't know all about it. His solicitor's making some
+enquiries--I expect him here, any time, today."
+
+"It comes to this," observed Purdie. "Your grandfather met his death by
+violence, the man who attacked him came in here during your absence. The
+question I want to get solved is--was the man who undoubtedly left that
+book here the guilty man? If so--who is he?"
+
+Melky suddenly broke the silence which followed upon this question.
+
+"I'm going to tell something that I ain't told to nobody as yet!" he said.
+"Not even to Zillah. After this here parlour had been cleared, I took a
+look round. I've very sharp eyes, Mr. Purdie. I found this here--half-
+hidden under the rug there, where the poor old man had been lying." He
+pulled out the platinum solitaire, laid it on the palm of one hand, and
+extended the hand to Mrs. Goldmark. "You've seen the like of that before,
+ain't you?" asked Melky.
+
+"Mercy be upon us!" gasped Mrs. Goldmark, starting in her seat. "I've the
+fellow to it lying in my desk!"
+
+"And it was left on a table in your restaurant," continued Melky, "by a
+man what looked like a Colonial party--I know!--I saw it by accident in
+your place the other night, and one o' your girls told me. Now then, Mr.
+Purdie, here's a bit more of puzzlement--and perhaps a clue. These here
+platinum solitaire cuff-links are valuable--they're worth--well, I'd give
+a good few pounds for the pair. Now who's the man who lost one in this
+here parlour--right there!--and the other in Mrs. Goldmark's restaurant?
+For--it's a pair! There's no doubt about that, mister!--there's that same
+curious and unusual device on each. Mister!--them studs has at some time
+or other been made to special order!"
+
+Purdie turned the solitaire over, and looked at Zillah.
+
+"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" he asked.
+
+"Never!" said Zillah. "It's as Melky says--specially made."
+
+"And you have its fellow--lost in your restaurant?" continued Purdie,
+turning to Mrs. Goldmark.
+
+"Its very marrow," assented Mrs. Goldmark, fervently, "is in my desk! It
+was dropped on one of our tables a few afternoons ago by a man who, as Mr.
+Rubinstein says, looked like one of those Colonials. Leastways, my
+waitress, Rosa, she picked it up exactly where he'd been sitting. So I put
+it away till he comes in again, you see. Oh, yes!"
+
+"Has he been in again?" asked Purdie.
+
+"Never was he inside my door before!" answered Mrs. Goldmark dramatically.
+"Never has he been inside it since! But--I keep his property, just so. In
+my desk it is!"
+
+Purdie considered this new evidence in silence for a moment.
+
+"The question now is--this," he said presently. "Is the man who seems
+undoubtedly to have dropped those studs the same man who brought that book
+in here? Or, had Mr. Multenius two callers here during your absence, Miss
+Wildrose? And--who is this mysterious man who dropped the studs--valuable
+things, with a special device on them? He'll have to be traced! Mrs.
+Goldmark--can you describe him, particularly?"
+
+Before Mrs. Goldmark could reply, a knock came at the side-door, and
+Zillah, going to answer it, returned presently with a middle-aged, quiet-
+looking, gold-spectacled gentleman whom she introduced to Purdie as Mr.
+Penniket, solicitor to the late Daniel Multenius.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIXTEEN
+
+
+THE DETECTIVE CALLS
+
+Mr. Penniket, to whom the two cousins and Mrs. Goldmark were evidently
+very well known, looked a polite enquiry at the stranger as he took the
+chair which Melky drew forward for him.
+
+"As Mr. Purdie is presumably discussing this affair with you," he
+observed, "I take it that you intend him to hear anything I have to tell?"
+
+"That's so, Mr. Penniket," answered Melky. "Mr. Purdie's one of us, so to
+speak--you can tell us anything you like, before him. We were going into
+details when you come--there's some strange business on, Mr. Penniket! And
+we want to get a bit clear about it before we tell the police what we
+know."
+
+"You know something that they don't know?" asked Mr. Penniket.
+
+"More than a bit!" replied Melky, laconically. "This here affair's
+revolving itself into a network, mister, out of which somebody's going to
+find it hard work to break through!"
+
+The solicitor, who had been quietly inspecting Purdie, gave him a sly
+smile.
+
+"Then before I tell you what I have just found out," he said, turning to
+Melky, "I think you had better tell me all you know, and what you have
+been discussing. Possibly, I may have something to tell which bears on our
+knowledge. Let us be clear!"
+
+He listened carefully while Purdie, at Zillah's request, told him briefly
+what had been said before his arrival, and Purdie saw at once that none of
+the facts surprised him. He asked Mrs. Goldmark one or two questions about
+the man who was believed to have dropped one of his cuff-links in her
+restaurant; he asked Melky a question as to his discovery of the other; he
+made no comment on the answers which they gave him. Finally, he drew his
+chair nearer to the table at which they were sitting, and invited their
+attention with a glance.
+
+"There is no doubt," he said, "that the circumstances centring round the
+death of my late client are remarkably mysterious! What we want to get at,
+put into a nut-shell, is just this--what happened in this parlour between
+half-past four and half-past five on Monday afternoon? We might even
+narrow that down to--what happened between ten minutes to five and ten
+minutes past five? Daniel Multenius was left alone--we know that. Some
+person undoubtedly came in here--perhaps more than one person came. Who
+was the person? Were there two persons? If there were two, did they come
+together--or singly, separately? All that will have to be solved before we
+find out who it was that assaulted my late client, and so injured him that
+he died under the shock. Now, Miss Wildrose, and Mr. Rubinstein, there's
+one fact which you may as well get into your minds at once. Your deceased
+relative had his secrets!"
+
+Neither Zillah nor Purdie made any comment on this, and the solicitor,
+with a meaning look at Purdie, went on. "Not that Daniel Multenius
+revealed any of them to me!" he continued. "I have acted for him in legal
+matters for some years, but only in quite an ordinary way. He was a well-
+to-do man, Mr. Purdie--a rich man, in fact, and a considerable property
+owner--I did all his work of that sort. But as regards his secrets, I know
+nothing--except that since yesterday, I have discovered that he certainly
+had them. I have, as Miss Wildrose knows--and by her instructions--been
+making some enquiries at the bank where Mr. Multenius kept his account--
+the Empire and Universal, in Lombard Street--and I have made some curious
+unearthings in the course of them. Now then, between ourselves--Mr. Purdie
+being represented to me as in your entire confidence--I may as well tell
+you that Daniel Multenius most certainly had dealings of a business nature
+completely outside his business as jeweller and pawnbroker in this shop.
+That's positively certain. And what is also certain is that in some of
+those dealings he was, in some way or another, intimately associated with
+the man whose name has already come up a good deal since Monday--Mr.
+Spencer Levendale!"
+
+"S'elp me!" muttered Melky. "I heard Levendale, with my own two ears, say
+that he didn't know the poor old fellow!"
+
+"Very likely," said Mr. Penniket, drily. "It was not convenient to him--we
+will assume--to admit that he did, just then. But I have discovered--from
+the bankers--that precisely two years ago, Mr. Spencer Levendale paid to
+Daniel Multenius a sum of ten thousand pounds. That's a fact!"
+
+"For what, mister?" demanded Melky.
+
+"Can't say--nobody can say," answered the solicitor. "All the same, he
+did--paid it in, himself, to Daniel Multenius's credit, at the Empire and
+Universal. It went into the ordinary account, in the ordinary way, and was
+used by Mr. Multenius as part of his own effects--as no doubt it was.
+Now," continued Mr. Penniket, turning to Zillah, "I want to ask you a
+particular question. I know you had assisted your grandfather a great deal
+of late years. Had you anything to do with his banking account?"
+
+"No!" replied Zillah, promptly. "That's the one thing I never had anything
+to do with. I never saw his pass-book, nor his deposit-book, nor even his
+cheque-book. He kept all that to himself."
+
+"Just so," said Mr. Penniket. "Then, of course, you don't know that he
+dealt with considerable sums--evidently quite outside this business. He
+made large--sometimes very heavy--payments. And--this, I am convinced, is
+of great importance to the question we are trying to solve--most of these
+payments were sent to South Africa."
+
+The solicitor glanced round his audience as if anxious to see that its
+various members grasped the significance of this announcement. And Melky
+at once voiced the first impression of, at any rate, three of them.
+
+"Levendale comes from those parts!" he muttered. "Came here some two or
+three years ago--by all I can gather."
+
+"Just so," said Mr. Penniket. "Therefore, possibly this South African
+business, in which my late client was undoubtedly engaged, is connected
+with Mr. Levendale. That can be found out. But I have still more to tell
+you--perhaps, considering everything, the most important matter of the
+whole lot. On Monday morning last--that would be a few hours before his
+death--Mr. Multenius called at the bank and took from it a small packet
+which he had entrusted to his banker's keeping only a fortnight
+previously. The bankers do not know what was in that packet--he had more
+than once got them to take care of similar packets at one time or another.
+But they described it to me just now. A packet, evidently enclosing a
+small, hard box, some four or five inches square in all directions,
+wrapped in strong cartridge paper, and heavily sealed with red wax. It
+bore Mr. Multenius's name and address--written by himself. Now, then, Miss
+Wildrose--he took that packet away from the bank at about twelve-thirty on
+Monday noon. Have you seen anything of it?"
+
+"Nothing!" answered Zillah with certainty. "There's no such packet here,
+Mr. Penniket. I've been through everything--safes, drawers, chests, since
+my grandfather died, and I've not found anything that I didn't know of. I
+remember that he went out last Monday morning--he was away two hours, and
+came in again about a quarter past one, but I never saw such a packet in
+his possession as that you describe. I know nothing of it."
+
+"Well," said the solicitor, after a pause, "there are the facts. And the
+question now is--ought we not to tell all this to the police, at once?
+This connection of Levendale with my late client--as undoubted as it seems
+to have been secret--needs investigation. According to Mr. Purdie here--
+Levendale has suddenly disappeared--or, at any rate, left home under
+mysterious circumstances. Has that disappearance anything to do with
+Multenius's death? Has it anything to do with the death of this next door
+man, Parslett, last night? And has Levendale any connections with the
+strange man who dropped one platinum solitaire stud in Mrs. Goldmark's
+restaurant, and another in this parlour?"
+
+No one attempted to answer these questions for a moment; then, Melky, as
+if seized with a sudden inspiration, smote the table and leaned over it
+towards the solicitor.
+
+"Mr. Penniket!" he said, glancing around him as if to invite approval of
+what he was about to say. "You're a lawyer, mister!--you can put things in
+order and present 'em as if they was in a catalogue! Take the whole
+business to New Scotland Yard, sir!--let the big men at headquarters have
+a go at it. That's what I say! There's some queer mystery at the bottom of
+all this, Mr. Penniket, and it ain't a one-man job. Go to the Yard,
+mister--let 'em try their brains on it!"
+
+Zillah made a murmured remark which seemed to second her cousin's
+proposal, and Mr. Penniket turned to Purdie.
+
+"I understand you to be a business man," he remarked. "What do you say?"
+
+"As far as I can put things together," answered Purdie, "I fully agree
+that there is some extraordinary mystery round and about Mr. Multenius's
+death. And as the detective force at New Scotland Yard exists for the
+solution of such problems--why, I should certainly tell the authorities
+there everything that is known. Why not?"
+
+"Very good," said Mr. Penniket. "Then it will be well if you two come with
+me. The more information we can give to the heads of the Criminal
+Investigation Department, the better. We'll go there at once."
+
+In a few moments, the three men had gone, and Zillah and Mrs. Goldmark,
+left alone, looked at each other.
+
+"Mrs. Goldmark!" said Zillah, after a long silence. "Did you see that man,
+yourself, who's supposed to have dropped that platinum solitaire in your
+restaurant?"
+
+"Did I see him?" exclaimed Mrs. Goldmark. "Do I see you, Zillah? See him I
+did!--though never before, and never since! And ain't I the good memory
+for faces--and won't I know him again if he comes my way? Do you know
+what?--I ain't never forgotten a face what I've once looked at! Comes from
+keeping an eye on customers who looks as if they might have forgot to
+bring their moneys with 'em!"
+
+"Well, I hope you'll see this man again," remarked Zillah. "I'd give a lot
+to get all the mystery cleared up."
+
+Mrs. Goldmark observed that mysteries were not cleared up in a day, and
+presently went away to see that her business was being conducted properly.
+She was devoting herself to Zillah in very neighbourly fashion just then,
+but she had to keep running into the restaurant every hour or two to keep
+an eye on things. And during one of her absences, later in the early
+evening of that day, Zillah, alone in the house, answered a knock at the
+door, and opening it found Ayscough outside. His look betokened news, and
+Zillah led him into the parlour.
+
+"Alone?" asked Ayscough. "Aye, well, I've something to tell you that I
+want you to keep to yourself--for a bit, anyway. Those rings, you know,
+that the young fellow, Lauriston, says are his, and had been his
+mother's?"
+
+"Well?" said Zillah, faintly, and half-conscious of some coming bad news.
+"What of them?"
+
+"Our people," continued the detective, "have had some expert chap--
+jeweller, or something of that sort, examining those rings, and comparing
+them with the rings that are in your tray. And in that tray there are
+several rings which have a private mark inside them. Now, then!--those two
+rings which Lauriston claims are marked in exactly the same fashion!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
+
+
+WHAT THE LAMPS SHONE ON
+
+Zillah leaned suddenly back against the table by which she was standing,
+and Ayscough, who was narrowly watching the effect of his news, saw her
+turn very pale. She stood staring at him during a moment's silence; then
+she let a sharp exclamation escape her lips, and in the same instant her
+colour came back--heightened from surprise and indignation.
+
+"Impossible!" she said. "I can't believe it; There may be marks inside our
+rings--that's likely enough. But how could those marks correspond with the
+marks in his rings?"
+
+"I tell you it is so!" answered Ayscough. "I've seen the marks in both--
+with my own eyes. It occurred to one of our bosses this evening to have
+all the rings carefully examined by an expert--he got a man from one of
+the jeweller's shops in Edgware Road. This chap very soon pointed out that
+inside the two rings which young Lauriston says are his, and come to him
+from his mother, are certain private marks--jewellers' marks, this man
+called 'em--which are absolutely identical with similar marks which are
+inside some of the rings in the tray which was found on this table. That's
+a fact!--I tell you I've seen 'em--all! And--you see the significance of
+it! Of course, our people are now dead certain that young Lauriston's
+story is false, and that he grabbed those two rings out of that tray.
+See?"
+
+"Are you certain of it--yourself?" demanded Zillah.
+
+Ayscough hesitated and finally shook his head.
+
+"Well, between ourselves, I'm not!" he answered. "I've a feeling from the
+first, that the lad's innocent enough. But it's a queer thing--and it's
+terribly against him. And--what possible explanation can there be?"
+
+"You say you've seen those marks," said Zillah. "Would you know them
+again--on other goods?"
+
+"I should!" replied Ayscough. "I can tell you what they are. There's the
+letter M. and then two crosses--one on each side of the letter. Very
+small, you know, and worn, too--this man I'm talking of used some sort of
+a magnifying glass."
+
+Zillah turned away and went into the shop, which was all in darkness.
+Ayscough, waiting, heard the sound of a key being turned, then of a
+metallic tinkling; presently the girl came back, carrying a velvet-lined
+tray in one hand, and a jeweller's magnifying glass in the other.
+
+"The rings in that tray you're talking about--the one you took away--are
+all very old stock," she remarked. "I've heard my grandfather say he'd had
+some of them thirty years or more. Here are some similar ones--we'll see
+if they're marked in the same fashion."
+
+Five minutes later, Zillah had laid aside several rings marked in the way
+Ayscough had indicated, and she turned from them to him with a look of
+alarm.
+
+"I can't understand it!" she exclaimed. "I know that these rings, and
+those in that tray at the police-station, are part of old stock that my
+grandfather had when he came here. He used to have a shop, years ago, in
+the City--I'm not quite sure where, exactly--and this is part of the stock
+he brought from it. But, how could Mr. Lauriston's rings bear those marks?
+Because, from what I know of the trade, those are private marks--my
+grandfather's private marks!"
+
+"Well, just so--and you can imagine what our people are inclined to say
+about it," said the detective. "They say now that the two rings which
+Lauriston claims never were his nor his mother's, but that he stole them
+out of your grandfather's tray. They're fixed on that, now."
+
+"What will they do?" asked Zillah, anxiously. "Is he in danger?"
+
+Ayscough gave her a knowing look.
+
+"Between you and me," he said, lowering his voice to a whisper, "I came
+around here privately--on my own hook, you know. I should be sorry if this
+really is fixed on the young fellow--there's a mystery, but it may be
+cleared up. Now, he's gone off to find somebody who can prove that those
+rings really were his mother's. You, no doubt, know where he's gone?"
+
+"Yes--but I'm not going to tell," said Zillah firmly. "Don't ask me!"
+
+"Quite right--I don't want to know myself," answered Ayscough. "And you'll
+probably have an idea when he's coming back? All right--take a tip from
+me. Keep him out of the way a bit--stop him from coming into this
+district. Let him know all about those marks--and if he can clear that up,
+well and good. You understand?--and of course, all this is between you and
+me."
+
+"You're very good, Mr. Ayscough," replied Zillah, warmly. "I won't forget
+your kindness. And I'm certain this about the marks can be cleared up--but
+I don't know how!"
+
+"Well--do as I say," said the detective. "Just give the tip to your cousin
+Melky, and to that young Scotch gentleman--let 'em keep Lauriston out of
+the way for a few days. In the meantime--this is a very queer case!--
+something may happen that'll fix the guilt on somebody else--conclusively.
+I've my own ideas and opinions--but we shall see. Maybe we shall see a
+lot--and everybody'll be more astonished than they're thinking for."
+
+With this dark and sinister hint, Ayscough went away, and Zillah took the
+rings back to the shop, and locked them up again. And then she sat down to
+wait for Mrs. Goldmark--and to think. She had never doubted Lauriston's
+story for one moment, and she did not doubt it now. But she was quick to
+see the serious significance of what the detective had just told her and
+she realized that action must be taken on the lines he had suggested. And
+so, having made herself ready for going out, she excused herself to Mrs.
+Goldmark when that good lady returned, and without saying anything to her
+as to the nature of her errand, hurried round to Star Street, to find
+Melky Rubinstein and tell him of the new development.
+
+Mrs. Flitwick herself opened the door to Zillah and led her into the
+narrow passage. But at the mention of Melky she shook her head.
+
+"I ain't set eyes on Mr. Rubinstein not since this morning, miss," said
+she. "He went out with that young Scotch gentleman what come here
+yesterday asking for Mr. Lauriston, and he's never been in again--not even
+to put his nose inside the door. And at twelve o'clock there come a
+telegram for him--which it was the second that come this morning. The
+first, of course, he got before he went out; the one that come at noon's
+awaiting him. No--I ain't seen him all day!"
+
+Zillah's quick wits were instantly at work as soon as she heard of the
+telegram.
+
+"Oh, I know all about that wire, Mrs. Flitwick!" she exclaimed. "It's as
+much for me as for my cousin. Give it to me--and if Mr. Rubinstein comes
+in soon--or when he comes--tell him I've got it, and ask him to come round
+to me immediately--it's important."
+
+Mrs. Flitwick produced the telegram at once, and Zillah, repeating her
+commands about Melky, hurried away with it. But at the first street lamp
+she paused, and tore open the envelope, and pulled out the message. As she
+supposed, it was from Lauriston, and had been handed in at Peebles at
+eleven o'clock that morning.
+
+"Got necessary information returning at once meet me at King's Cross at
+nine-twenty this evening. L."
+
+Zillah looked at her watch. It was then ten minutes to nine. There was
+just half an hour before Lauriston's train was due. Without a moment's
+hesitation, she turned back along Star Street, hurried into Edgware Road
+and hailing the first taxi-cab she saw, bade its driver to get to the
+Great Northern as fast as possible. Whatever else happened, Lauriston must
+be met and warned.
+
+The taxi-cab made good headway along the Marylebone and Euston Roads, and
+the hands of the clock over the entrance to King's Cross had not yet
+indicated a quarter past nine when Zillah was set down close by. She
+hurried into the station, and to the arrival platform. All the way along
+in the cab she had been wondering what to do when she met Lauriston--not
+as to what she should tell him, for that was already settled, but as to
+what to advise him to do about following Ayscough's suggestion and keeping
+out of the way, for awhile. She had already seen enough of him to know
+that he was naturally of high spirit and courage, and that he would hate
+the very idea of hiding, or of seeming to run away. Yet, what other course
+was open if he wished to avoid arrest? Zillah, during her short business
+experience had been brought in contact with the police authorities and
+their methods more than once, and she knew that there is nothing the
+professional detective likes so much as to follow the obvious--as the
+easiest and safest. She had been quick to appreciate all that Ayscough
+told her--she knew how the police mind would reason about it: it would be
+quite enough for it to know that on the rings which Andy Lauriston said
+were his there were marks which were certainly identical with those on her
+grandfather's property: now that the police authorities were in possession
+of that fact, they would go for Lauriston without demur or hesitation,
+leaving all the other mysteries and ramifications of the Multenius affair
+to be sorted, or to sort themselves, at leisure. One thing was certain--
+Andie Lauriston was in greater danger now than at any moment since
+Ayscough found him leaving the shop, and she must save him--against his
+own inclinations if need be.
+
+But before the train from the North was due, Zillah was fated to have yet
+another experience. She had taken up a position directly beneath a
+powerful lamp at the end of the arrival platform, so that Lauriston, who
+would be obliged to pass that way, could not fail to see her. Suddenly
+turning, to glance at the clock in the roof behind her, she was aware of a
+man, young, tall, athletic, deeply bronzed, as from long contact with the
+Southern sun, who stood just behind a knot of loungers, his heavy overcoat
+and the jacket beneath it thrown open, feeling in his waistcoat pockets as
+if for his match-box--an unlighted cigar protruded from the corner of his
+rather grim, determined lips. But it was not at lips, nor at the cigar,
+nor at the searching fingers that Zillah looked, after that first
+comprehensive glance--her eyes went straight to an object which shone in
+the full glare of the lamp above her head. The man wore an old-fashioned,
+double-breasted fancy waistcoat, but so low as to reveal a good deal of
+his shirt-front. And in that space, beneath his bird's-eye blue tie,
+loosely knotted in a bow, Zillah saw a stud, which her experienced eyes
+knew to be of platinum, and on it was engraved the same curious device
+which she had seen once before that day--on the solitaire exhibited by
+Melky.
+
+The girl was instantly certain that here was the man who had visited Mrs.
+Goldmark's eating-house. Her first instinct was to challenge him with the
+fact--but as she half moved towards him, he found his match-box, struck a
+match, and began to light his cigar. And just then came the great engine
+of the express, panting its way to a halt beside them, and with it the
+folk on the platform began to stir, and Zillah was elbowed aside. Her
+situation was perplexing--was she to watch the man and perhaps lose
+Lauriston in the crowd already passing from the train, or--
+
+The man was still leisurely busy with his cigar, and Zillah turned and
+went a few steps up the platform. She suddenly caught sight of Lauriston,
+and running towards him gripped his arm, and drew him to the lamp. But in
+that moment of indecision, the man had vanished.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
+
+
+MR. STUYVESANT GUYLER
+
+Lauriston, surprised beyond a little at seeing Zillah, found his surprise
+turned into amazement as she seized his arm and forced him along the
+platform, careless of the groups of passengers and the porters, crowding
+about the baggage vans.
+
+"What is it?" he demanded. "Has something happened? Where are we going?"
+
+But Zillah held on determinedly, her eyes fixed ahead.
+
+"Quick!" she said, pantingly. "A man I saw just now! He was there--he's
+gone--while I looked for you. We must find him! He must have gone this
+way. Andie!--look for him! A tall, clean-shaven man in a slouched hat and
+a heavy travelling coat--a foreigner of some sort. Oh, look!"
+
+It was the first time she had called Lauriston by his name, and he gave
+her arm an involuntary pressure as they hastened along.
+
+"But why?" he asked. "Who is he--what do you want with him? What's it all
+about?"
+
+"Oh, find him!" she exclaimed. "You don't know how important it is! If I
+lose sight of him now, I'll very likely never see him again. And he must
+be found--and stopped--for your sake!"
+
+They had come to the end of the platform, by that time, and Lauriston
+looked left and right in search of the man described. Suddenly he twisted
+Zillah round.
+
+"Is that he--that fellow talking to another man?" he asked. "See him--
+there?"
+
+"Yes!" said Zillah. She saw the man of the platinum stud again, and on
+seeing him, stopped dead where she was, holding Lauriston back. The man,
+leisurely smoking his cigar, was chatting to another man, who, from the
+fact that he was carrying a small suit-case in one hand and a rug over the
+other arm, had evidently come in by the just-arrived express. "Yes!" she
+continued. "That's the man! And--we've just got to follow him wherever he
+goes!"
+
+"What on earth for?" asked Lauriston. "What mystery's this? Who is he?"
+
+At that moment the two men parted, with a cordial handshake; the man of
+the suit-case and the rug turned towards the stairs which led to the
+underground railway; the other man walked slowly away through the front of
+the station in the direction of the Great Northern Hotel. And Zillah
+immediately dragged Lauriston after him, keeping a few yards' distance,
+but going persistently forward. The man in front crossed the road, and
+strode towards the portico of the hotel--and Zillah suddenly made up her
+mind.
+
+"We've got to speak to that man!" she said. "Don't ask why, now--you'll
+know in a few minutes. Ask him if he'll speak to me?"
+
+Lauriston caught up the stranger as he set foot on the steps leading to
+the hotel door. He felt uncomfortable and foolish--but Zillah's tone left
+him no option but to obey.
+
+"I beg your pardon," said Lauriston, as politely as possible, "but--this
+lady is very anxious to speak to you."
+
+The man turned, glanced at Zillah, who had hurried up, and lifted his
+slouched hat with a touch of old-fashioned courtesy. There was a strong
+light burning just above them: in its glare all three looked at each
+other. The stranger smiled--a little wonderingly.
+
+"Why, sure!" he said in accents that left no doubt of his American origin.
+"I'd be most happy. You're not mistaking me for somebody else?"
+
+Zillah was already flushed with embarrassment. Now that she had run her
+quarry to earth, and so easily, she scarcely knew what to do with it.
+
+"You'll think this very strange," she said, stammeringly, "but if you
+don't mind telling me something?--you see, I saw you just now in the
+station, when you were feeling for your match-box, and I noticed that you
+wore a platinum stud--with an unusual device on it."
+
+The American laughed--a good-natured, genial laugh--and threw open his
+coat. At the same moment he thrust his wrists forward.
+
+"This stud!" he said. "That's so!--it is platinum, and the device is
+curious. And the device is right there, too, see--on those solitaire cuff-
+studs! But--"
+
+He paused looking at Zillah, whose eyes were now fastened on the cuff-
+studs, and who was obviously so astonished as to have lost her tongue.
+
+"You seemed mighty amazed at my studs!" said the stranger, with another
+laugh. "Now, you'll just excuse me if I ask--why?"
+
+Zillah regained her wits with an effort, and became as business-like as
+usual.
+
+"Don't, please, think I'm asking idle and purposeless questions," she
+said. "Have you been long in London?"
+
+"A few days only," answered the stranger, readily enough.
+
+"Have you read of what's already called the Praed Street Murder in the
+papers?" continued Zillah.
+
+"Yes--I read that," the stranger said, his face growing serious. "The
+affair of the old man--the pawnbroker with the odd name. Yes!"
+
+"I'm the old man's granddaughter," said Zillah, brusquely. "Now, I'll tell
+you why I was upset by seeing your platinum stud. A solitaire stud, made
+of platinum, and ornamented with exactly the same device as yours, was
+found in our parlour after my grandfather's death--and another, evidently
+the fellow to it, was found in an eating-house, close by. Now, do you
+understand why I wished to speak to you?"
+
+While Zillah spoke, the American's face had been growing graver and
+graver, and when she made an end, he glanced at Lauriston and shook his
+head.
+
+"Say!" he said. "That's a very serious matter! You're sure the device was
+the same, and the material platinum?"
+
+"I've been reared in the jewellery trade," replied Zillah. "The things I'm
+talking of are of platinum--and the device is precisely the same as that
+on your stud."
+
+"Well!--that's mighty queer!" remarked the American. "I can't tell you why
+it's queer, all in a minute, but I do assure you it's just about the
+queerest thing I ever heard of in my life--and I've known a lot of
+queerness. Look here!--I'm stopping at this hotel--will you come in with
+me, and we'll just get a quiet corner and talk some? Come right in, then."
+
+He led the way into the hotel, through the hall, and down a corridor from
+which several reception rooms opened. Looking into one, a small smoking
+lounge, and finding it empty, he ushered them aside. But on the threshold
+Zillah paused. Her business instincts were by this time fully aroused. She
+felt certain that whoever this stranger might he, he had nothing to do
+with the affair in Praed Street, and yet might be able to throw
+extraordinary light on it, and she wanted to take a great step towards
+clearing it up. She turned to the American.
+
+"Look here!" she said. "I've told you what I'm after, and who I am. This
+gentleman is Mr. Andrew Lauriston. Did you read his name in the paper's
+account of that inquest?"
+
+The American glanced at Lauriston with some curiosity.
+
+"Sure!" he answered. "The man that found the old gentleman dead."
+
+"Just so," said Zillah. "There are two friends of ours making enquiries on
+Mr. Lauriston's behalf at this moment. One of them's my cousin, Mr.
+Rubinstein; the other's Mr. Purdie, an old friend of Mr. Lauriston's. I've
+an idea where'll they'll be, just now--do you mind if I telephone them to
+come here, at once, so that they can hear what you have to tell us?"
+
+"Not in the least!" assented the American heartily. "I'll be glad to help
+in any way I can--I'm interested. Here!--there's a telephone box right
+there--you go in now, and call those fellows up and tell 'em to come right
+along, quick!"
+
+He and Lauriston waited while Zillah went into the telephone box: she felt
+sure that Melky and Purdie would have returned to Praed Street by that
+time, and she rang up Mrs. Goldmark at the Pawnshop to enquire. Within a
+minute or two she had rejoined Lauriston and the American--during her
+absence the stranger had been speaking to a waiter, and he now led his two
+guests to a private sitting-room.
+
+"We'll be more private in this apartment," he observed. "No fear of
+interruption or being overheard. I've told the waiter man there's two
+gentlemen coming along, and they're to be brought in here as soon as they
+land. Will they be long?"
+
+"They'll be here within twenty minutes," answered Zillah. "It's very kind
+of you to take so much trouble!"
+
+The American drew an easy chair to the fire, and pointed Zillah to it.
+
+"Well," he remarked, "I guess that in a fix of this sort, you can't take
+too much trouble! I'm interested in this case--and a good deal more than
+interested now that you tell me about these platinum studs. I reckon I can
+throw some light on that, anyway! But we'll keep it till your friends
+come. And I haven't introduced myself--my name's Stuyvesant Guyler. I'm a
+New York man--but I've knocked around some--pretty considerable, in fact.
+Say!--have you got any idea that this mystery of yours is at all connected
+with South Africa? And--incidentally--with diamonds?"
+
+Zillah started and glanced at Lauriston.
+
+"What makes you think of South Africa--and of diamonds?" she asked.
+
+"Oh, well--but that comes into my tale," answered Guyler. "You'll see in
+due course. But--had it?"
+
+"I hadn't thought of diamonds, but I certainly had of South Africa,"
+admitted Zillah.
+
+"Seems to be working in both directions," said Guyler, meditatively. "But
+you'll see that when I tell you what I know."
+
+Purdie and Melky Rubinstein entered the room within the twenty minutes
+which Zillah had predicted--full of wonder to find her and Lauriston in
+company with a total stranger. But Zillah explained matters in a few
+words, and forbade any questioning until Mr. Stuyvesant Guyler had told
+his story.
+
+"And before I get on to that," said Guyler, who had been quietly
+scrutinizing his two new visitors while Zillah explained the situation,
+"I'd just like to see that platinum solitaire that Mr. Rubinstein picked
+up--if he's got it about him?"
+
+Melky thrust a hand into a pocket.
+
+"It ain't never been off me, mister, since I found it!" he said, producing
+a little packet wrapped in tissue paper. "There you are!"
+
+Guyler took the stud which Melky handed to him and laid it on the table
+around which they were all sitting. After glancing at it for a moment, he
+withdrew the studs from his own wrist-bands and laid them by its side.
+
+"Yes, that's sure one of the lot!" he observed musingly. "I guess there's
+no possible doubt at all on that point. Well!--this is indeed mighty
+queer! Now, I'll tell you straight out. These studs--all of 'em--are parts
+of six sets of similar things, all made of that very expensive metal,
+platinum, in precisely the same fashion, and ornamented with the same
+specially invented device, and given to six men who had been of assistance
+to him in a big deal, as a little mark of his appreciation, by a man that
+some few years ago made a fortune in South Africa. That's so!"
+
+Zillah turned on the American with a sharp look of enquiry.
+
+"Who was he?" she demanded. "Tell us his name!"
+
+"His name," replied Guyler, "was Spencer Levendale--dealer in diamonds."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINETEEN
+
+
+PURDIE STANDS FIRM
+
+The effect produced by this announcement was evidently exactly that which
+the American expected, and he smiled, a little grimly, as he looked from
+one face to another. As for his hearers, they first looked at each other
+and then at him, and Guyler laughed and went on.
+
+"That makes you jump!" he said. "Well, now, at the end of that inquest
+business in the papers the other day I noticed Spencer Levendale's name
+mentioned in connection with some old book that was left, or found in Mr.
+Daniel Multenius's back-parlour. Of course, I concluded that he was the
+same Spencer Levendale I'd known out there in South Africa, five years
+ago. And to tell you the truth, I've been watching your papers, morning
+and evening, since, to see if there was any more news of him. But so far I
+haven't seen any."
+
+Purdie and Melky exchanged glances, and in response to an obvious hint
+from Melky, Purdie spoke.
+
+"We can give you some news, then," he said. "It'll be common property
+tomorrow morning. Levendale has mysteriously disappeared from his house,
+and from his usual haunts!--and nobody knows where he is. And it's
+considered that this disappearance has something to do with the Praed
+Street affair."
+
+"Sure!" assented Guyler. "That's just about a dead certainty. And in the
+Praed Street affair, these platinum stud things are going to play a good
+part, and when you and your police have got to the bottom of it, you'll
+sure find that something else has a big part, too!"
+
+"What?" asked Purdie.
+
+"Why, diamonds!" answered the American, with a quiet smile. "Just
+diamonds! Diamonds'll be at the bottom of the bag--sure!"
+
+There was a moment of surprised silence, and then Melky turned eagerly to
+the American.
+
+"Mister!" he said. "Let's be getting at something! What do you know, now,
+about this here Levendale?"
+
+"Not much," replied Guyler. "But I'm open to tell what I do know. I've
+been a bit of a rolling stone, do you see--knocked about the world, pretty
+considerable, doing one thing and another, and I've falsified the old
+saying, for I've contrived to gather a good bit of moss in my rollings.
+Well, now, I was located in Cape Town for a while, some five years ago,
+and I met Spencer Levendale there. He was then a dealer in diamonds--can't
+say in what way exactly--for I never exactly knew--but it was well known
+that he'd made a big pile, buying and selling these goods, and he was a
+very rich man. Now I and five other men--all of different nationalities--
+were very useful to Levendale in a big deal that he was anxious to carry
+through--never mind what it was--and he felt pretty grateful to us, I
+reckon. And as we were all warmish men so far as money was concerned, it
+wasn't the sort of thing that he could hand out cheques for, so he hit on
+the notion of having sets of studs made of platinum--which is, as you're
+aware, the most valuable metal known, and on every stud he had a device of
+his own invention carefully engraved. Here's my set!--and what Mr.
+Rubinstein's got there is part of another. Now, then, who's the man who's
+been dropping his cuff-links about?"
+
+Purdie, who had listened with deep attention to the American's statement,
+immediately put a question.
+
+"That's but answered by asking you something," he said. "You no doubt know
+the names of the men to whom those sets of studs were given?"
+
+But to Purdie's disappointment, the American shook his head.
+
+"Well, now, I just don't!" he replied. "The fact is--as you would
+understand if you knew the circumstances--this was a queer sort of a
+secret deal, in which the assistance of various men of different
+nationality was wanted, and none of us knew any of the rest. However, I
+did come across the Englishman who was in it--afterwards. Recognized him,
+as a matter of fact, by his being in possession of those studs."
+
+"And who was he?" asked Purdie.
+
+"A man named Purvis--Stephen Purvis," answered Guyler. "Sort of man like
+myself--knocked around, taking up this and that, as long as there was
+money in it. I came across him in Johannesburg, maybe a year after that
+deal I was telling of. He didn't know who the other fellows were,
+neither."
+
+"You've never seen him since?" suggested Purdie. "You don't know where he
+is?"
+
+"Not a ghost of a notion!" said Guyler. "Didn't talk with him more than
+once, and then only for an hour or so."
+
+"Mister!" exclaimed Melky, eagerly. "Could you describe this here Purvis,
+now? Just a bit of a description, like?"
+
+"Sure!" answered the American. "That is--as I remember him. Biggish, raw-
+boned, hard-bitten sort of a man--about my age--clean-shaven--looked more
+of a Colonial than an Englishman--he'd been out in South Africa, doing one
+thing and another, since he was a boy."
+
+"S'elp me if that doesn't sound like the man who was in Mrs. Goldmark's
+restaurant!" said Melky. "Just what she describes, anyhow!"
+
+"Why, certainly--I reckon that is the man," remarked Guyler. "That's what
+I've been figuring on, all through. I tell you all this mystery is around
+some diamond affair in which this lady's grandfather, and Mr. Spencer
+Levendale, and this man Purvis have been mixed up--sure! And the thing--in
+my humble opinion--is to find both of them! Now, then, what's been done,
+and what's being done, in that way?"
+
+Melky nodded at Purdie, as much as to invite him to speak.
+
+"The authorities at New Scotland Yard have the Levendale affair in hand,"
+said Purdie. "We've been in and out there, with Mr. Multenius's solicitor,
+all the afternoon and evening. But, of course, we couldn't tell anything
+about this other man because we didn't know anything, till now. You'll
+have no objection to going there tomorrow?"
+
+"Not at all!" replied Guyler, cheerfully. "I'm located at this hotel for a
+week or two. I struck it when I came here from the North, a few days back,
+and it suits me very well, and I guess I'll just stop here while I'm in
+London this journey. No, I've no objection to take a hand. But--it seems
+to me--there's still a lot of difficulty about this young gentleman here--
+Mr. Lauriston. I read all the papers carefully, and sized up his
+predicament. Those rings, now?"
+
+Zillah suddenly remembered all that Ayscough had told her that evening.
+She had forgotten the real motive of her visit to King's Cross in her
+excitement in listening to the American's story. She now turned to Purdie
+and the other two.
+
+"I'd forgotten!" she exclaimed. "The danger's still there. Ayscough's been
+at the shop tonight. The police have had an expert examining those rings,
+and the rings in the tray. He says there are marks--private, jewellers'
+marks in the two rings which correspond with marks in our rings. In fact,
+there's no doubt of it. And now, the police are certain that the two rings
+did belong to our tray--and--and they're bent on arresting--Andie!"
+
+Lauriston flushed hotly with sheer indignation.
+
+"That's all nonsense--what the police say!" he exclaimed. "I've found out
+who gave those two rings to my mother! I can prove it! I don't care a hang
+for the police and their marks--those rings are mine!"
+
+Purdie laid a quiet hand on Lauriston's arm.
+
+"None of us know yet what you've done or found out at Peebles about the
+rings," he said. "Tell us! Just give us the brief facts."
+
+"I'm going to," answered Lauriston, still indignant. "I thought the whole
+thing over as I went down in the train. I remembered that if there was one
+person living in Peebles who would be likely to know about my mother and
+those rings, it would be an old friend of hers, Mrs. Taggart--you know
+her, John."
+
+"I know Mrs. Taggart--go on," said Purdie.
+
+"I didn't know if Mrs. Taggart was still living," continued Lauriston.
+"But I was out early this morning and I found her. She remembers the rings
+well enough: she described them accurately--what's more she told me what I
+didn't know--how they came into my mother's possession. You know as well
+as I do, John, that my father and mother weren't over well off--and my
+mother used to make a bit of extra money by letting her rooms to summer
+visitors. One summer she had a London solicitor, a Mr. Killick, staying
+there for a month--at least he came for a month, but he was taken ill, and
+he was there more than two months. My mother nursed him through his
+illness--and after he'd returned to London, he sent her those rings. And--
+if there are marks on them," concluded Lauriston, "that correspond with
+marks on the rings in that tray, all I have to say is that those marks
+must have been there when Mr. Killick bought them!--for they've never been
+out of our possession--my mother's and mine--until I took them to pawn."
+
+Zillah suddenly clapped her hands--and she and Melky exchanged significant
+glances which the others did not understand.
+
+"That's it!" she exclaimed. "That's what puzzled me at first. Now I'm not
+puzzled any more. Melky knows what I mean."
+
+"What she means, mister," assented Melky, tapping Purdie's arm, "is
+precisely what struck me at once. It's just as Mr. Lauriston here says--
+them private marks were on the rings when Mr. Killick bought them. Them
+two rings, and some of the rings in the tray what's been mentioned all
+come from the same maker! There ain't nothing wonderful in all that to me
+and my cousin Zillah there!--we've been brought up in the trade, d'ye see?
+But the police!--they're that suspicious that--well, the thing to do,
+gentlemen, is to find this here Mr. Killick."
+
+"Just so," agreed Purdie. "Where is he to be found, Andie?"
+
+But Lauriston shook his head, disappointedly.
+
+"That's just what I don't know!" he answered. "It's five and twenty years
+since he gave my mother those rings, and according to Mrs. Taggart, he was
+then a middle-aged man, so he's now getting on in years. But--if he's
+alive, I can find him."
+
+"We've got to find him," said Purdie, firmly. "In my opinion, he can give
+some evidence that'll be of more importance than the mere identifying of
+those rings--never mind what it is I'm thinking of, now. We must see to
+that tomorrow."
+
+"But in the meantime," broke in Zillah. "Andie must not go home--to Mrs.
+Flitwick's! I know what Ayscough meant tonight--and remember, all of you,
+it was private between him and myself. If he goes home, he may be
+arrested, any minute. He must be kept out of the way of the police for a
+bit, and--"
+
+Purdie rose from the table and shook his head determinedly.
+
+"No," he said. "None of that! We're going to have no running away, no
+hiding! Andie Lauriston's not going to show the least fear of the police,
+or of any of their theories. He's just going to follow my orders--and I'm
+going to take him to my hotel for the night--leave him to me! I'm going to
+see this thing right through to the finish--however it ends. Now, let's
+separate. Mr. Guyler!"
+
+"Sir?" answered the American. "At your service."
+
+"Then meet me at my hotel tomorrow morning at ten," said Purdie. "There's
+a new chapter to open."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY
+
+
+THE PARSLETT AFFAIR
+
+At a quarter past ten o'clock on the morning following Ayscough's
+revelation to Zillah, the detective was closeted with a man from the
+Criminal Investigation Department at New Scotland Yard in a private room
+at the local police station, and with them was the superior official who
+had been fetched to the pawnshop in Praed Street immediately after the
+discovery of Daniel Multenius's body by Andie Lauriston. And this official
+was stating his view of the case to the two detectives--conscious that
+neither agreed with him.
+
+"You can't get over the similarity of the markings of those rings!" he
+said confidently. "To my mind the whole thing's as plain as a pikestaff--
+the young fellow was hard up--he confessed he hadn't a penny on him!--he
+went in there, found the shop empty, saw those rings, grabbed a couple,
+was interrupted by the old man--and finished him off by scragging him!
+That's my opinion! And I advise getting a warrant for him and getting on
+with the work--all the rest of this business belongs to something else."
+
+Ayscough silently glanced at the man from New Scotland Yard--who shook his
+head in a decided negative.
+
+"That's not my opinion!" he said with decision. "And it's not the opinion
+of the people at headquarters. We were at this affair nearly all
+yesterday afternoon with that little Jew fellow, Rubinstein, and the young
+Scotch gentleman, Mr. Purdie, and our conclusion is that there's something
+of a big sort behind old Multenius's death. There's a regular web of
+mystery! The old man's death--that book, which Levendale did not leave in
+the 'bus, in spite of all he says, and of his advertisements!--Levendale's
+unexplained disappearance--the strange death of this man Parslett--the
+mystery of those platinum studs dropped in the pawnbroker's parlour and in
+Mrs. Goldmark's eating house--no!--the whole affair's a highly complicated
+one. That's my view of it."
+
+"And mine," said Ayscough. He looked at the unbelieving official, and
+turned away from him to glance out of the window into the street. "May I
+never!" he suddenly exclaimed. "There's young Lauriston coming here, and
+Purdie with him--and a fellow who looks like an American. I should say
+Lauriston's got proof about his title to those rings--anyway, he seems to
+have no fear about showing himself here--case of walking straight into the
+lions' den, eh?"
+
+"Bring 'em all in!" ordered the superior official, a little surlily.
+"Let's hear what it's all about!"
+
+Purdie presently appeared in Ayscough's rear, preceding his two
+companions. He and the detective from New Scotland Yard exchanged nods;
+they had seen a good deal of each other the previous day. He nodded also
+to the superior official--but the superior official looked at Lauriston.
+
+"Got that proof about those rings?" he enquired. "Of course, if you
+have--"
+
+"Before Mr. Lauriston says anything about that," interrupted Purdie, "I
+want you to hear a story which this gentleman, Mr. Stuyvesant Guyler, of
+New York, can tell you. It's important--it bears right on this affair. If
+you just listen to what he can tell--"
+
+The two detectives listened to Guyler's story about the platinum studs
+with eager, if silent interest: in the end they glanced at each other and
+then at the local official, who seemed to be going through a process of
+being convinced against his will.
+
+"Just what I said a few minutes ago," muttered the New Scotland Yard man.
+"A highly complicated affair! Not going to be got at in five minutes."
+
+"Nor in ten!" said Ayscough laconically. He glanced at Guyler. "You could
+identify this man Purvis if you saw him?" he asked.
+
+"Why, certainly!" answered the American. "I guess if he's the man who was
+seen in that eating-house the other day he's not altered any--or not
+much."
+
+The man at the desk turned to Purdie, glancing at Lauriston.
+
+"About those rings?" he asked. "What's Mr. Lauriston got to say?"
+
+"Let me tell," said Purdie, as Lauriston was about to speak. "Mr.
+Lauriston," he went on, "has been to Peebles, where his father and mother
+lived. He has seen an old friend of theirs, Mrs. Taggart, who remembers
+the rings perfectly. Moreover, she knows that they were given to the late
+Mrs. Lauriston by a Mr. Edward Killick, a London solicitor, who, of
+course, will be able to identify them. As to the marks, I think you'll
+find a trade explanation of that--those rings and the rings in Multenius's
+tray probably came from the same maker. Now, I find, on looking through
+the directory, that this Mr. Edward Killick has retired from practice, but
+I've also found out where he now lives, and I propose to bring him here.
+In the meantime--I want to know what you're going to do about Mr.
+Lauriston? Here he is!"
+
+The superior official glanced at the New Scotland Yard man.
+
+"I suppose your people have taken this job entirely in hand, now?" he
+asked.
+
+"Entirely!" answered the detective.
+
+"Got any instructions about Mr. Lauriston?" asked the official. "You
+haven't? Mr. Lauriston's free to go where he likes, then, as far as we're
+concerned, here," he added, turning to Purdie. "But--he'd far better stay
+at hand till all this is cleared up."
+
+"That's our intention," said Purdie. "Whenever you want Mr. Lauriston,
+come to me at my hotel--he's my guest there, and I'll produce him. Now
+we're going to find Mr. Killick."
+
+He and Lauriston and Guyler walked out together; on the steps of the
+police-station Ayscough called him back.
+
+"I say!" he said, confidentially. "Leave that Mr. Killick business alone
+for an hour or two. I can tell you of something much more interesting than
+that, and possibly of more importance. Go round to the Coroner's Court--
+Mr. Lauriston knows where it is."
+
+"What's on?" asked Lauriston.
+
+"Inquest on that man Parslett," replied Ayscough with a meaning nod.
+"You'll hear some queer evidence if I'm not mistaken. I'm going there
+myself, presently."
+
+He turned in again, and the three young men looked at each other.
+
+"Say!" remarked Guyler, "I reckon that's good advice. Let's go to this
+court."
+
+Lauriston led them to the scene of his own recent examination by Mr.
+Parminter. But on this occasion the court was crowded; it was with great
+difficulty that they contrived to squeeze themselves into a corner of it.
+In another corner, but far away from their own, Lauriston saw Melky
+Rubinstein; Melky, wedged in, and finding it impossible to move, made a
+grimace at Lauriston and jerked his thumb in the direction of the door, as
+a signal that he would meet him there when the proceedings were over.
+
+The inquest had already begun when Purdie and his companions forced their
+way into the court. In the witness-box was the dead man's widow--a
+pathetic figure in heavy mourning, who was telling the Coroner that on the
+night of her husband's death he went out late in the evening--just to take
+a walk round, as he expressed it. No--she had no idea whatever of where he
+was going, nor if he had any particular object in going out at all. He had
+not said one word to her about going out to get money from any one. After
+he went out she never saw him again until she was fetched to St. Mary's
+Hospital, where she found him in the hands of the doctors. He died,
+without having regained consciousness, just after she reached the
+hospital.
+
+Nothing very startling so far, thought Purdie, at the end of the widow's
+evidence, and he wondered why Ayscough had sent them round. But more
+interest came with the next witness--a smart, bustling, middle-aged man,
+evidently a well-to-do business man, who entered the box pretty much as if
+he had been sitting down in his own office, to ring his bell and ask for
+the day's letters. A whisper running round the court informed the
+onlookers that this was the gentleman who picked Parslett up in the
+street. Purdie and his two companions pricked their ears.
+
+Martin James Gardiner--turf commission agent--resident in Portsdown Road,
+Maida Vale. Had lived there several years--knew the district well--did not
+know the dead man by sight at all--had never seen him, that he knew of,
+until the evening in question.
+
+"Tell us exactly what happened, Mr. Gardiner--in your own way," said the
+Coroner.
+
+Mr. Gardiner leaned over the front of the witness-box, and took the court
+and the public into his confidence--genially.
+
+"I was writing letters until pretty late that night," he said. "A little
+after eleven o'clock I went out to post them at the nearest pillar-box. As
+I went down the steps of my house, the deceased passed by. He was walking
+down Portsdown Road in the direction of Clifton Road. As he passed me, he
+was chuckling--laughing in a low tone. I thought he was--well, a bit
+intoxicated when I heard that, but as I was following him pretty closely,
+I soon saw that he walked straight enough. He kept perhaps six or eight
+yards in front of me until we had come to within twenty yards or so of the
+corner of Clifton Road. Then, all of a sudden--so suddenly that it's
+difficult for me to describe it!--he seemed to--well, there's no other
+word for it than--collapse. He seemed to give, you understand--shrank up,
+like--like a concertina being suddenly shut up! His knees gave--his whole
+body seemed to shrink--and he fell in a heap on the pavement!"
+
+"Did he cry out--scream, as if in sudden pain--anything of that sort?"
+asked the Coroner.
+
+"There was a sort of gurgling sound--I'm not sure that he didn't say a
+word or two, as he collapsed," answered the witness. "But it was so sudden
+that I couldn't catch anything definite. He certainly never made the
+slightest sound, except a queer sort of moaning, very low, from the time
+he fell. Of course, I thought the man had fallen in a fit. I rushed to
+him; he was lying, sort of crumpled up, where he had fallen. There was a
+street-lamp close by--I saw that his face had turned a queer colour, and
+his eyes were already closed--tightly. I noticed, too, that his teeth were
+clenched, and his fingers twisted into the palms of his hands."
+
+"Was he writhing at all--making any movement?" enquired the Coroner.
+
+"Not a movement! He was as still as the stones he was lying on!" said the
+witness. "I'm dead certain he never moved after he fell. There was nobody
+about, just then, and I was just going to ring the bell of the nearest
+house when a policeman came round the corner. I shouted to him--he came
+up. We examined the man for a minute; then I ran to fetch Dr. Mirandolet,
+whose surgery is close by there. I found him in; he came at once, and
+immediately ordered the man's removal to the hospital. The policeman got
+help, and the man was taken off. Dr. Mirandolet went with him. I returned
+home."
+
+No questions of any importance were asked of Mr. Gardiner, and the
+Coroner, after a short interchange of whispers with his officer, glanced
+at a group of professional-looking men behind the witness-box.
+
+"Call Dr. Mirandolet!" he directed.
+
+Purdie at that moment caught Ayscough's eye. And the detective winked at
+him significantly as a strange and curious figure came out from the crowd
+and stepped into the witness-box.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
+
+
+WHAT MANNER OF DEATH?
+
+One of the three companions who stood curiously gazing at the new witness
+as he came into full view of the court had seen him before. Lauriston,
+who, during his residence in Paddington, had wandered a good deal about
+Maida Vale and St. John's Wood, instantly recognized Dr. Mirandolet as a
+man whom he had often met or passed in those excursions and about whom he
+had just as often wondered. He was a notable and somewhat queer figure--a
+tall, spare man, of striking presence and distinctive personality--the
+sort of man who would inevitably attract attention wherever he was, and at
+whom people would turn to look in the most crowded street. His aquiline
+features, almost cadaverous complexion, and flashing, deep-set eyes, were
+framed in a mass of raven-black hair which fell in masses over a loosely
+fitting, unstarched collar, kept in its place by a voluminous black silk
+cravat; his thin figure, all the sparer in appearance because of his broad
+shoulders and big head, was wrapped from head to foot in a mighty cloak,
+raven-black as his hair, from the neck of which depended a hood-like cape.
+Not a man in that court would have taken Dr. Mirandolet for anything but a
+foreigner, and for a foreigner who knew next to nothing of England and the
+English, and John Purdie, whose interest was now thoroughly aroused, was
+surprised as he heard the witness's answer to the necessary preliminary
+questions.
+
+Nicholas Mirandolet--British subject--born in Malta--educated in England--
+a licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons and of the Royal College of
+Physicians--in private practice at Portsdown Road, Maida Vale, for the
+last ten years.
+
+"I believe you were called to the deceased by the last witness, Dr.
+Mirandolet?" asked the Coroner. "Just so! Will you tell us what you
+found?"
+
+"I found the deceased lying on the pavement, about a dozen yards from my
+house," answered Dr. Mirandolet, in a sharp, staccato voice. "A policeman
+was bending over him. Mr. Gardiner hurriedly told us what he had seen. My
+first thought was that the man was in what is commonly termed a fit--some
+form of epileptic seizure, you know. I hastily examined him--and found
+that my first impression was utterly wrong."
+
+"What did you think--then?" enquired the Coroner.
+
+Dr. Mirandolet paused and began to drum the edge of the witness-box with
+the tips of his long, slender white fingers. He pursed his clean-shaven
+lips and looked meditatively around him--leisurely surveying the faces
+turned on him. Finally he glanced at the Coroner, and snapped out a reply.
+
+"I do not know what I thought!"
+
+The Coroner looked up from his notes--in surprise.
+
+"You--don't know what you thought?" he asked.
+
+"No!" said Dr. Mirandolet. "I don't. And I will tell you why. Because I
+realized--more quickly than it takes me to tell it--that here was
+something that was utterly beyond my comprehension!"
+
+"Do you mean--beyond your skill?" suggested the Coroner.
+
+"Skill?" retorted the witness, with a queer, twisting grimace. "Beyond my
+understanding! I am a quick observer--I saw within a few seconds that here
+was a man who had literally been struck down in the very flush of life as
+if--well, to put it plainly, as if some extraordinary power had laid a
+blasting finger on the very life-centre within him. I was--dumfounded!"
+
+The Coroner sat up and laid aside his pen.
+
+"What did you do?" he asked quietly.
+
+"Bade the policeman get help, and an ambulance, and hurry the man to St.
+Mary's Hospital, all as quickly as possible," answered Dr. Mirandolet.
+"While the policeman was away, I examined the man more closely. He was
+dying then--and I knew very well that nothing known to medical science
+could save him. By that time he had become perfectly quiet; his body had
+relaxed into a normal position; his face, curiously coloured when I first
+saw it, had become placid and pale; he breathed regularly, though very
+faintly--and he was steadily dying. I knew quite well what was happening,
+and I remarked to Mr. Gardiner that the man would be dead within half-an-
+hour."
+
+"I believe you got him to the hospital within that time?" asked the
+Coroner.
+
+"Yes--within twenty-five minutes of my first seeing him," said the
+witness. "I went with the ambulance. The man died very soon after
+admission, just as I knew he would. No medical power on earth could have
+saved him!"
+
+The Coroner glanced at the little knot of professional men in the rear of
+the witness-box and seemed to be debating within himself as to whether he
+wanted to ask Dr. Mirandolet any more questions. Eventually he turned
+again to him.
+
+"What your evidence amounts to, Dr. Mirandolet, is this," he said. "You
+were called to the man and you saw at once that you yourself could do
+nothing for him, so you got him away to the hospital as quickly as you
+possibly could. Just so!--now, why did you think you could do nothing for
+him?"
+
+"I will tell you--in plain words," answered Dr. Mirandolet. "Because I did
+not recognize or understand one single symptom that I saw! Because,
+frankly, I knew very well that I did not know what was the matter! And so
+--I hurried him to people who ought to know more than I do and are
+reputedly cleverer than I am. In short--I recognized that I was in the
+presence of something--something!--utterly beyond my skill and
+comprehension!"
+
+"Let me ask you one or two further questions," said the Coroner. "Have you
+formed any opinion of your own as to the cause of this man's death?"
+
+"Yes!" agreed the witness, unhesitatingly. "I have! I believe him to have
+been poisoned--in a most subtle and cunning fashion. And"--here Dr.
+Mirandolet cast a side-glance at the knot of men behind him--"I shall be
+intensely surprised if that opinion is not corroborated. But--I shall be
+ten thousand times more surprised if there is any expert in Europe who can
+say what that poison was!"
+
+"You think it was a secret poison?" suggested the Coroner.
+
+"Secret!" exclaimed Dr. Mirandolet. "Aye--secret is the word. Secret--yes!
+And--sure!"
+
+"Is there anything else you can tell us?" asked the Coroner.
+
+"Only this," replied the witness, after a pause. "It may be material. As I
+bent over this man as he lay there on the pavement I detected a certain
+curious aromatic odour about his clothes. It was strong at first; it
+gradually wore off. But I directed the attention of the policeman and Mr.
+Gardiner to it; it was still hanging about him, very faintly, when we got
+him to the hospital: I drew attention to it there."
+
+"It evidently struck you--that curious odour?" said the Coroner.
+
+"Yes," answered Dr. Mirandolet. "It did. It reminded me of the East--I
+have lived in the East--India, Burmah, China. It seemed to me that this
+man had got hold of some Eastern scent, and possibly spilt some on his
+clothes. The matter is worth noting. Because--I have heard--I cannot say I
+have known--of men being poisoned in inhalation."
+
+The Coroner made no remark--it was very evident from his manner that he
+considered Dr. Mirandolet's evidence somewhat mystifying. And Dr.
+Mirandolet stepped down--and in response to the official invitation Dr.
+John Sperling-Lawson walked into the vacated witness-box.
+
+"One of the greatest authorities on poisons living," whispered Lauriston
+to Purdie, while Dr. Sperling-Lawson was taking the oath and answering the
+formal questions. "He's principal pathologist at that hospital they're
+talking about, and he constantly figures in cases of this sort. He's
+employed by the Home Office too--it was he who gave such important
+evidence in that Barnsbury murder case not so long since--don't you
+remember it?"
+
+Purdie did remember, and he looked at the famous expert with great
+interest. There was, however, nothing at all remarkable about Dr.
+Sperling-Lawson's appearance--he was a quiet, self-possessed, plain-faced
+gentleman who might have been a barrister or a banker for all that any one
+could tell to the contrary. He gave his evidence in a matter-of-fact tone
+--strongly in contrast to Dr. Mirandolet's somewhat excited answers--but
+Purdie noticed that the people in court listened eagerly for every word.
+
+He happened to be at the hospital, said Dr. Sperling-Lawson, when the man
+Parslett was brought in, and he saw him die. He fully agreed with Dr.
+Mirandolet that it was impossible to do anything to save the man's life
+when he was brought to the hospital, and he was quite prepared to say that
+the impossibility had existed from the moment in which Gardiner had seen
+Parslett collapse. In other words, when Parslett did collapse, death was
+on him.
+
+"And--the cause of death?" asked the Coroner.
+
+"Heart failure," replied the witness.
+
+"Resulting from--what?" continued the Coroner.
+
+Dr. Sperling-Lawson hesitated a moment--amidst a deep silence.
+
+"I cannot answer that question," he said at last. "I can only offer an
+opinion. I believe--in fact, I am sure!--the man was poisoned. I am
+convinced he was poisoned. But I am forced to admit that I do not know
+what poison was used, and that after a most careful search I have not yet
+been able to come across any trace or sign of any poison known to me. All
+the same, I am sure he died from the effects of poison, but what it was,
+or how administered, frankly, I do not know!"
+
+"You made a post-mortem examination?" asked the Coroner.
+
+"Yes," replied the specialist, "in company with Dr. Seracold. The deceased
+was a thoroughly healthy, well-nourished man. There was not a trace of
+disease in any of the organs--he was evidently a temperate man, and likely
+to live to over the seventy years' period. And, as I have said, there was
+not a trace of poison. That is, not a trace of any poison known to me."
+
+"I want to ask you a particularly important question," said the Coroner.
+"Are there poisons, the nature of which you are unacquainted with?"
+
+"Yes!" answered the specialist frankly. "There are. But--I should not
+expect to hear of their use in London."
+
+"Is there any European expert who might throw some light on this case?"
+asked the Coroner.
+
+"Yes," said Dr. Sperling-Lawson. "One man--Professor Gagnard, of Paris. As
+a matter of fact, I have already sent certain portions of certain organs
+to him--by a special messenger. If he cannot trace this poison, then no
+European nor American specialist can. I am sure of this--the secret is an
+Eastern one."
+
+"Gentlemen," said the Coroner, "we will adjourn for a week. By that time
+there may be a report from Paris."
+
+The crowd surged out into the damp November morning, eagerly discussing
+the evidence just given. Purdie, Lauriston, and Guyler, all equally
+mystified, followed, already beginning to speculate and to theorize.
+Suddenly Melky Rubinstein hurried up to them, waving a note.
+
+"There was a fellow waiting outside with this from Zillah," said Melky.
+"She'd heard you were all here, and she knew I was. We're to go there at
+once--she's found some letters to her grandfather from that man Purvis!
+Come on!--it's another step forward!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
+
+
+MR. KILLICK GOES BACK
+
+Ayscough and the man from New Scotland Yard came out of the court at that
+moment in close and serious conversation: Melky Rubinstein left the other
+three, and hurried to the two detectives with his news; together, the six
+men set off for Praed Street. And Purdie, who by this time was developing
+as much excited interest as his temperament and business habits permitted,
+buttonholed the Scotland Yard man and walked alongside him.
+
+"What's your professional opinion about what we've just heard in there?"
+he asked. "Between ourselves, of course."
+
+The detective, who had already had several long conversations with Purdie
+at headquarters during the previous afternoon and evening, and knew him
+for a well-to-do young gentleman who was anxious to clear his friend
+Lauriston of all suspicion, shook his head. He was a quiet, sagacious,
+middle-aged man who evidently thought deeply about whatever he had in
+hand.
+
+"It's difficult to say, Mr. Purdie," he answered. "I've no doubt that when
+we get to the bottom of this case it'll turn out to be a very simple one--
+but the thing is to get to the bottom. The ways are complicated, sir--
+uncommonly so! At present we're in a maze--seeking the right path."
+
+"Do you think that this Parslett affair has anything to do with the
+Multenius affair?" asked Purdie.
+
+"Yes--undoubtedly!" answered the detective. "There's no doubt whatever in
+my own mind that the man who poisoned Parslett is the man who caused the
+old pawnbroker's death--none! I figure it in this way. Parslett somehow,
+caught a glimpse of that man leaving Multenius's shop--by the side-door,
+no doubt--and knew him--knew him very well, mind you! When Parslett heard
+of what had happened in Multenius's back-parlour, he kept his knowledge to
+himself, and went and blackmailed the man. The man gave him that fifty
+pounds in gold to keep his tongue quiet--no doubt arranging to give him
+more, later on--and at the same time he cleverly poisoned him. That's my
+theory, Mr. Purdie."
+
+"Then--the only question now is--who's the man?" suggested Purdie.
+
+"That's it, sir--who's the man?" agreed the detective. "One thing's quite
+certain--if my theory's correct. He's a clever man--and an expert in the
+use of poisons."
+
+Purdie walked on a minute or two in silence, thinking.
+
+"It's no use beating about the bush," he said at last. "Do you suspect Mr.
+Levendale--after all you've collected in information--and after what I
+told you about what his butler saw--that bottle and phial?"
+
+"I think that Levendale's in it," replied the detective, cautiously. "I'm
+sure he's in it--in some fashion. Our people are making no end of
+enquiries about him this morning, in various quarters--there's half-a-
+dozen of our best men at work in the City and the West End, Mr. Purdie.
+He's got to be found! So, too, has this man Stephen Purvis--whoever he is.
+We must find him, too."
+
+"Perhaps these letters that Melky Rubinstein speaks of may throw some
+light on that," said Purdie. "There must be some way of tracing him,
+somewhere."
+
+They were at the pawnshop by that time, and all six trooped in at the
+side-entrance. Old Daniel Multenius, unconscious of all the fuss and
+bother which his death had caused, was to be quietly interred that
+afternoon, and Zillah and Melky were already in their mourning garments.
+But Zillah had lost none of her business habits and instincts, and while
+the faithful Mrs. Goldmark attended to the funeral guests in the upstairs
+regions, she herself was waiting in the back-parlour for these other
+visitors. On the table before her, evidently placed there for inspection,
+lay three objects to which she at once drew attention--one, an old-
+fashioned, double-breasted fancy waistcoat, evidently of considerable age,
+and much worn, the others, two letters written on foreign notepaper.
+
+"It never occurred to me," said Zillah, plunging into business at once,
+"at least, until an hour or two ago, to examine the clothes my grandfather
+was wearing at the time of his death. As a matter of fact he'd been
+wearing the same clothes for months. I've been through all his pockets.
+There was nothing of importance--except these letters. I found those in a
+pocket in the inside of that waistcoat--there! Read them."
+
+The men bent over the unfolded letters, and Ayscough read them aloud.
+
+"MACPHERSON'S HOTEL, CAPE TOWN,
+
+"_September 17th_, 1912.
+
+"Dear Sir,--I have sent the little article about which I have already
+written you and Mr. L. fully, to your address by ordinary registered post.
+Better put it in your bank till I arrive--shall write you later about date
+of my arrival. Faithfully yours,
+
+"Stephen Purvis."
+
+"That," remarked Ayscough, glancing at the rest, "clearly refers to
+whatever it was that Mr. Multenius took from his bank on the morning of
+his death. It also refers to Mr. Levendale--without doubt."
+
+He drew the other letter to him and read it out.
+
+"CAPE TOWN,
+
+"_October 10th_, 1912.
+
+"Dear Sir,--Just a line to say I leave here by s.s. _Golconda_ in a
+day or two--this precedes me by today's mail. I hope to be in England
+November 15th--due then, anyway--and shall call on you immediately on
+arrival. Better arrange to have Mr. S. L. to meet you and me at once.
+Faithfully,
+
+"Stephen Purvis."
+
+"November 15th?" remarked Ayscough. "Mr. Multenius died on November 19th.
+So--if Purvis did reach here on the 15th he'd probably been about this
+quarter before the 19th. We know he was at Mrs. Goldmark's restaurant on
+the 18th, anyway! All right, Miss Wildrose--we'll take these letters with
+us."
+
+Lauriston stopped behind when the rest of the men went out--to exchange a
+few words alone with Zillah. When he went into the street, all had gone
+except Purdie, who was talking with Melky at the entrance to the side-
+alley.
+
+"That's the sure tip at present, mister," Melky was saying. "Get that
+done--clear that up. Mr. Lauriston," he went on, "you do what your friend
+says--we're sorting things out piece by piece."
+
+Purdie took Lauriston's arm and led him away.
+
+"What Melky says is--go and find out what Mr. Killick can prove," he said.
+"Best thing to do, too, Andie, for us. Now that these detectives are
+fairly on the hunt, and are in possession of a whole multitude of queer
+details and facts, we'll just do our bit of business--which is to clear
+you entirely. There's more reasons than one why we should do that, my
+man!"
+
+"What're you talking about, John?" demanded Lauriston. "You've some idea
+in that head of yours!"
+
+"The idea that you and that girl are in love with each other!" said Purdie
+with a sly look.
+
+"I'll not deny that!" asserted Lauriston, with an ingenuous blush. "We
+are!"
+
+"Well, you can't ask any girl to marry you, man, while there's the least
+bit of suspicion hanging over you that you'd a hand in her grandfather's
+death!" remarked Purdie sapiently. "So we'll just eat a bit of lunch
+together, and then get a taxi-cab and drive out to find this old gentleman
+that gave your mother the rings. Come on to the hotel."
+
+"You're spending a fine lot of money over me, John!" exclaimed Lauriston.
+
+"Put it down that I'm a selfish chap that's got interested, and is
+following his own pleasure!" said Purdie. "Man alive!--I was never mixed
+up in a detective case before--it beats hunting for animals, this hunting
+for men!"
+
+By a diligent search in directories and reference books early that
+morning, Purdie and Lauriston had managed to trace Mr. Edward Killick,
+who, having been at one time a well-known solicitor in the City, had
+followed the practice of successful men and retired to enjoy the fruit of
+his labours in a nice little retreat in the country. Mr. Killick had
+selected the delightful old-world village of Stanmore as the scene of his
+retirement, and there, in a picturesque old house, set in the midst of
+fine trees and carefully trimmed lawns, Purdie and Lauriston found him--a
+hale and hearty old gentleman, still on the right side of seventy, who
+rose from his easy chair in a well-stocked library to look in astonishment
+from the two cards which his servant had carried to him at the persons and
+faces of their presenters.
+
+"God bless my soul!" he exclaimed. "Are you two young fellows the sons of
+old friends of mine at Peebles?"
+
+"We are, sir," answered Purdie. "This is Andrew Lauriston, and I am John
+Purdie. And we're very glad to find that you remember something about our
+people, Mr. Killick."
+
+Mr. Killick again blessed himself, and after warmly shaking hands with his
+visitors, bade them sit down. He adjusted his spectacles, and looked both
+young men carefully over.
+
+"I remember your people very well indeed!" he said. "I used to do a bit of
+fishing in the Tweed and in Eddleston Water with your father, Mr. Purdie--
+and I stopped some time with your father and mother, at their house, Mr.
+Lauriston. In fact, your mother was remarkably kind to me--she nursed me
+through an illness with which I was seized when I was in Peebles."
+
+Lauriston and Purdie exchanged glances--by common consent Purdie became
+spokesman for the two.
+
+"Mr. Killick," he said, "it's precisely about a matter arising out of that
+illness of yours that we came to see you! Let me explain something first--
+Andie Lauriston here has been living in London for two years--he's a
+literary gift, and he hopes to make a name, and perhaps a fortune. I've
+succeeded to my father's business, and I'm only here in London on a visit.
+And it's well I came, for Andie wanted a friend. Now, Mr. Killick, before
+I go further--have you read in the newspapers about what's called the
+Praed Street Mystery?"
+
+The old gentleman shook his head.
+
+"My dear young sir!" he answered, waving his hand towards his books. "I'm
+not a great newspaper reader--except for a bit of politics. I never read
+about mysteries--I've wrapped myself up in antiquarian pursuits since I
+retired. No!--I haven't read about the Praed Street Mystery--nor even
+heard of it! I hope neither of you are mixed up in it?"
+
+"Considerably!" answered Purdie. "In more ways than one. And you can be of
+great help. Mr. Killick--when you left Peebles after your illness, you
+sent Mrs. Lauriston a present of two valuable rings. Do you remember?"
+
+"Perfectly--of course!" replied the old gentleman. "To be sure!"
+
+"Can you remember, too, from whom you bought those rings?" enquired Purdie
+eagerly.
+
+"Yes!--as if it were yesterday!" said Mr. Killick. "I bought them from a
+City jeweller whom I knew very well at that time--a man named Daniel
+Molteno!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
+
+
+MR. KILLICK'S OPINION
+
+The old solicitor's trained eye and quick intelligence saw at once that
+this announcement immediately conveyed some significant meaning to his two
+young visitors. Purdie and Lauriston, in fact, had immediately been struck
+by the similarity of the names Molteno and Multenius, and they exchanged
+another look which their host detected and knew to convey a meaning. He
+leaned forward in his chair.
+
+"Now, that strikes you--both!" he said. "What's all this about? Better
+give me your confidence."
+
+"That's precisely what we came here to do, sir," responded Purdie, with
+alacrity. "And with your permission I'll tell you the whole story. It's a
+long one, and a complicated one, Mr. Killick!--but I daresay you've heard
+many intricate stories in the course of your legal experience, and you'll
+no doubt be able to see points in this that we haven't seen. Well, it's
+this way--and I'll begin at the beginning."
+
+The old gentleman sat in an attitude of patient and watchful attention
+while Purdie, occasionally prompted and supplemented by Lauriston, told
+the whole story of the Praed Street affair, from Lauriston's first visit
+to the pawnshop up to the events of that morning. Once or twice he asked a
+question; one or twice he begged the narrator to pause while he considered
+a point: in the end he drew out his watch--after which he glanced out of
+his window.
+
+"Do I gather that the taxi-cab which I see outside there is being kept by
+you two young men?" he asked.
+
+"It is," answered Purdie. "It's important that we should lose no time in
+getting back to town, Mr. Killick."
+
+"Just so!" agreed Mr. Killick, moving towards his library door. "But I'm
+going with you--as soon as I've got myself into an overcoat. Now!" he
+added, a few minutes later, when all three went out to the cab. "Tell the
+man to drive us straight to that police-station you've been visiting of
+late--and till we get there, just let me think quietly--I can probably say
+more about this case than I'm yet aware of. But--if it will give you any
+relief, I can tell you this at once--I have a good deal to tell. Strange!
+--strange indeed how things come round, and what a small world this is,
+after all!"
+
+With this cryptic utterance Mr. Killick sank into a corner of the cab,
+where he remained, evidently lost in thought, until, nearly an hour later,
+they pulled up at the door of the police-station. Within five minutes they
+were closeted with the chief men there--amongst whom were Ayscough and the
+detective from New Scotland Yard.
+
+"You know me--or of me--some of you?" observed the old solicitor, as he
+laid a card on the desk by which he had been given a chair. "I was very
+well known in the City police-courts, you know, until I retired three
+years ago. Now, these young gentlemen have just told me all the facts of
+this very strange case, and I think I can throw some light on it--on part
+of it, anyway. First of all, let me see those two rings about which there
+has been so much enquiry."
+
+Ayscough produced the rings from a locked drawer; the rest of those
+present looked on curiously as they were examined and handled by Mr.
+Killick. It was immediately evident that he had no doubt about his
+recognition and identification of them--after a moment's inspection of
+each he pushed them back towards the detective.
+
+"Certainly!" he said with a confidence that carried conviction. "Those are
+the rings which I gave to Mrs. Lauriston, this young man's mother. I knew
+them at once. If it's necessary, I can show you the receipt which I got
+with them from the seller. The particulars are specified in that receipt--
+and I know that I still have it. Does my testimony satisfy you?"
+
+The chief official present glanced at the man from New Scotland Yard, and
+receiving a nod from him, smiled at the old solicitor.
+
+"I think we can rely on your evidence, Mr. Killick," he said. "We had to
+make certain, you know. But these marks--isn't that a curious coincidence,
+now, when you come to think of it?"
+
+"Not a bit of it!" replied Mr. Killick. "And I'll tell you why--that's
+precisely what I've come all the way from my own comfortable fireside at
+Stanmore to do! There's no coincidence at all. I've heard the whole story
+of this Praed Street affair now from these two lads. And I've no more
+doubt than I have that I see you, that the old pawnbroker whom you knew
+hereabouts as Daniel Multenius was the same man Daniel Molteno--from whom
+I bought those rings, years ago! Not the slightest doubt!"
+
+None of those present made any remark on this surprising announcement, and
+Mr. Killick went on.
+
+"I was, as some of you may know, in practice in the City--in Moorgate
+Street, as a matter of fact," he said. "Daniel Molteno was a jeweller in
+Houndsditch. I occasionally acted for him--professionally. And
+occasionally when I wanted anything in the way of jewellery, I went to his
+shop. He was then a man of about fifty, a tall, characteristically Hebraic
+sort of man, already patriarchal in appearance, though he hadn't a grey
+hair in his big black beard. He was an interesting man, profoundly learned
+in the history of precious stones. I remember buying those rings from him
+very well indeed--I remember, too, what I gave him for them--seventy-five
+pounds for the two. Those private marks inside them are, of course, his--
+and so they're just the same as his private marks inside those other rings
+in the tray. But that's not what I came here to tell you--that's merely
+preliminary."
+
+"Deeply interesting, anyway, sir," observed Ayscough. "And, maybe, very
+valuable."
+
+"Not half so valuable as what I'm going to tell you," replied Mr. Killick,
+with a dry chuckle, "Now, as I understand it, from young Mr. Purdie's
+account, you're all greatly excited at present over the undoubted
+connection with this Praed Street mystery of one Mr. Spencer Levendale,
+who is, I believe, a very rich man, a resident in one of the best parts of
+this district, and a Member of Parliament. It would appear from all you've
+discovered, amongst you, up to now, that Spencer Levendale has been
+privately mixed up with old Daniel Multenius in some business which seems
+to be connected with South Africa. Now, attend to what I say:--About the
+time that I knew Daniel Molteno in Houndsditch, Daniel Molteno had a
+partner--a junior partner, whose name, however, didn't appear over the
+shop. He was a much younger man than Daniel--in fact, he was quite a young
+man--I should say he was then about twenty-three or four--not more. He was
+of medium height, dark, typically Jewish, large dark eyes, olive skin,
+good-looking, smart, full of go. And his name--the name I knew him by--was
+Sam Levin." The other men in the room glanced at each other--and one of
+them softly murmured what all was thinking.
+
+"The same initials!"
+
+"Just so!" agreed Mr. Killick. "That's what struck me--Sam Levin: Spencer
+Levendale. Very well!--I continue. One day I went to Daniel Molteno's shop
+to get something repaired, and it struck me that I hadn't seen Sam Levin
+the last two or three times I had been in. 'Where's your partner?' I asked
+of Daniel Molteno. 'I haven't seen him lately.' 'Partner no longer, Mr.
+Killick,' said he. 'We've dissolved. He's gone to South Africa.' 'What to
+do there?' I asked. 'Oh,' answered Daniel Molteno, 'he's touched with this
+fever to get at close quarters with the diamond fields! He's gone out
+there to make a fortune, and come back a millionaire.' 'Well!' I said.
+'He's a likely candidate.' 'Oh, yes!' said Daniel. 'He'll do well.' No
+more was said--and, as far as I can remember, I never saw Daniel Molteno
+again. It was some time before I had occasion to go that way--when I did,
+I was surprised to see a new name over the shop. I went in and asked where
+its former proprietor was. The new shopkeeper told me that Mr. Molteno had
+sold his business to him. And he didn't know where Mr. Molteno had gone,
+or whether he'd retired from business altogether; he knew nothing--and
+evidently didn't care, either, so--that part of my memories comes to an
+end!"
+
+"Mr. Spencer Levendale is a man of just under fifty," remarked Ayscough,
+after a thoughtful pause, "and I should say that twenty-five years ago,
+he'd be just such a man as Mr. Killick has described."
+
+"You can take it from me--considering all that I've been told this
+afternoon--" said the old solicitor, "that Spencer Levendale is Sam Levin
+--come back from South Africa, a millionaire. I'm convinced of it! And now
+then, gentlemen, what does all this mean? There's no doubt that old
+Multenius and Levendale were secretly mixed up. What in? What's the
+extraordinary mystery about that book--left in Multenius's back parlour
+and advertised for immediately by Levendale as if it were simply
+invaluable? Why has Levendale utterly disappeared? And who is this man
+Purvis--and what's he to do with it? You've got the hardest nuts to crack
+--a whole basketful of 'em!--that ever I heard of. And I've had some
+little experience of crime!"
+
+"I've had some information on Levendale and Purvis this very afternoon,"
+said Ayscough. He turned to the other officials. "I hadn't a chance of
+telling you of it before," he continued. "I was at Levendale's house at
+three o'clock, making some further enquiries. I got two pieces of news. To
+start with--that bottle out of which Levendale filled a small phial, which
+he put in his waistcoat pocket when he went out for the last time--you
+remember, Mr. Purdie, that his butler told you of that incident--well,
+that bottle contains chloroform--I took a chemist there to examine it and
+some other things. That's item one. The other's a bit of information
+volunteered by Levendale's chauffeur. The morning after Mr. Multenius's
+death, and after you, Mr. Lauriston, Mr. Rubinstein, and myself called on
+Levendale, Levendale went off to the City in his car. He ordered the
+chauffeur to go through Hyde Park, by the Victoria Gate, and to stop by
+the Powder Magazine. At the Powder Magazine he got out of the car and
+walked down towards the bridge on the Serpentine. The chauffeur had him in
+view all the way, and saw him join a tall man, clean-shaven, much browned,
+who was evidently waiting for him. They remained in conversation, at the
+entrance to the bridge, some five minutes or so--then the stranger went
+across the bridge in the direction of Kensington, and Levendale returned
+to his car. Now, in my opinion, that strange man was this Purvis we've
+heard of. And that seems to have been the last time any one we've come
+across saw him. That night, after his visit to his house, and his taking
+the phial of chloroform away with him, Levendale utterly disappeared, too
+--and yet sent a wire to his butler, from close by, next morning, saying
+he would be away for a few days! Why didn't he call with that message
+himself!"
+
+Mr. Killick, who had listened to Ayscough with close attention, laughed,
+and turned to the officials with a sharp look.
+
+"Shall I give you people a bit of my opinion after hearing all this?" he
+said. "Very well, then--Levendale never did send that wire! It was sent in
+Levendale's name--to keep things quiet. I believe that Levendale's been
+trapped--and Purvis with him!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
+
+
+THE ORANGE-YELLOW DIAMOND
+
+His various listeners had heard all that the old solicitor had said, with
+evident interest and attention--now, one of them voiced what all the rest
+was thinking.
+
+"What makes you think that, Mr. Killick?" asked the man from New Scotland
+Yard. "Why should Levendale and Purvis have been trapped?"
+
+Mr. Killick--who was obviously enjoying this return to the arena in which,
+as some of those present well knew, he had once played a distinguished
+part, as a solicitor with an extensive police-court practice--twisted
+round on his questioner with a sly, knowing glance.
+
+"You're a man of experience!" he answered. "Now come!--hasn't it struck
+you that something went before the death of old Daniel Multenius--whether
+that death arose from premeditated murder, or from sudden assault? Eh?--
+hasn't it?"
+
+"What, then?" asked the detective dubiously. "For I can't say that it has
+--definitely. What do you conjecture did go before that?"
+
+Mr. Killick thumped his stout stick on the floor.
+
+"Robbery!" he exclaimed, triumphantly. "Robbery! The old man was robbed of
+something! Probably--and there's nothing in these cases like considering
+possibilities--he caught the thief in the act of robbing him, and lost his
+life in defending his property. Now, supposing Levendale and Purvis were
+interested--financially--in that property, and set their wits to work to
+recover it, and in their efforts got into the hands of--shall we suppose a
+gang?--and got trapped? Or," concluded Mr. Killick with great emphasis and
+meaning, "for anything we know--murdered? What about that theory?"
+
+"Possible!" muttered Ayscough. "Quite possible!"
+
+"Consider this," continued the old solicitor. "Levendale is a well-known
+man--a Member of Parliament--a familiar figure in the City, where he's
+director of more than one company--the sort of man whom, in ordinary
+circumstances, you'd be able to trace in a few hours. Now, you tell me
+that half-a-dozen of your best men have been trying to track Levendale for
+two days and nights, and can't get a trace of him! What's the inference? A
+well-known man can't disappear in that way unless for some very grave
+reason! For anything we know, Levendale--and Purvis with him--may be
+safely trapped within half-a-mile of Praed Street--or, as I say, they may
+have been quietly murdered. Of one thing I'm dead certain, anyway--if you
+want to get at the bottom of this affair, you've got to find those two
+men!"
+
+"It would make a big difference if we had any idea of what it was that
+Daniel Multenius had in that packet which he fetched from his bank on the
+day of the murder," remarked Ayscough. "If there's been robbery, that may
+have been the thief's object."
+
+"That pre-supposes that the thief knew what was in the packet," said
+Purdie. "Who is there that could know? We may take it that Levendale and
+Purvis knew--but who else would?"
+
+"Aye!--and how are we to find that out?" asked the New Scotland Yard man.
+"If I only knew that much--"
+
+But even at that moment--and not from any coincidence, but from the law of
+probability to which Mr. Killick had appealed--information on that very
+point was close at hand. A constable tapped at the door, and entering,
+whispered a few words to the chief official, who having whispered back,
+turned to the rest as the man went out of the room.
+
+"Here's something likely!" he said. "There's a Mr. John Purvis, from
+Devonshire, outside. Says he's the brother of the Stephen Purvis who's
+name's been in the papers as having mysteriously disappeared, and wants
+to tell the police something. He's coming in."
+
+The men in the room turned with undisguised interest as the door opened
+again, and a big, fresh-coloured countryman, well wrapped up in a stout
+travelling coat, stepped into the room and took a sharp glance at its
+occupants. He was evidently a well-to-do farmer, this, and quite at his
+ease--but there was a certain natural anxiety in his manner as he turned
+to the official, who sat at the desk in the centre of the group.
+
+"You're aware of my business, sir?" he asked quietly.
+
+"I understand you're the brother of the Stephen Purvis we're wanting to
+find in connection with this Praed Street mystery," answered the official.
+"You've read of that in the newspaper, no doubt, Mr. Purvis? Take a seat--
+you want to tell us something? As a matter of fact, we're all discussing
+the affair!"
+
+The caller took the chair which Ayscough drew forward and sat down,
+throwing open his heavy overcoat, and revealing a whipcord riding-suit of
+light fawn beneath it.
+
+"You'll see I came here in a hurry, gentlemen," he said, with a smile.
+"I'd no thoughts of coming to London when I left my farm this morning, or
+I'd have put London clothes on! The fact is--I farm at a very out-of-the-
+way place between Moretonhampstead and Exeter, and I never see the daily
+papers except when I drive into Exeter twice a week. Now when I got in
+there this morning, I saw one or two London papers--last night's they
+were--and read about this affair. And I read enough to know that I'd best
+get here as quick as possible!--so I left all my business there and then,
+and caught the very next express to Paddington. And here I am! And now--
+have you heard anything of my brother Stephen more than what's in the
+papers? I've seen today's, on the way up."
+
+"Nothing!" answered the chief official. "Nothing at all! We've purposely
+kept the newspapers informed, and what there is in the morning's papers is
+the very latest. So--can you tell us anything?"
+
+"I can tell you all I know myself," replied John Purvis, with a solemn
+shake of his head. "And I should say it's a good deal to do with Stephen's
+disappearance--in which, of course, there's some foul play! My opinion,
+gentlemen, is that my brother's been murdered! That's about it!"
+
+No one made any remark--but Mr. Killick uttered a little murmur of
+comprehension, and nodded his head two or three times.
+
+"Murdered, poor fellow, in my opinion," continued John Purvis. "And I'll
+tell you why I think so. About November 8th or 9th--I can't be sure to a
+day--I got a telegram from Stephen, sent off from Las Palmas, in the
+Canary Islands, saying he'd be at Plymouth on the 15th, and asking me to
+meet him there. So I went to Plymouth on the morning of the 15th. His
+boat, the _Golconda_, came in at night, and we went to an hotel
+together and stopped the night there. We hadn't met for some years, and of
+course he'd a great deal to tell--but he'd one thing in particular--he'd
+struck such a piece of luck as he'd never had in his life before!--and he
+hadn't been one of the unlucky ones, either!"
+
+"What was this particular piece of luck?" asked Mr. Killick.
+
+John Purvis looked round as if to make sure of general attention.
+
+"He'd come into possession, through a fortunate bit of trading, up country
+in South Africa, of one of the finest diamonds ever discovered!" he
+answered. "I know nothing about such things, but he said it was an orange-
+yellow diamond that would weigh at least a hundred and twenty carats when
+cut, and was worth, as far as he could reckon, some eighty to ninety
+thousand pounds. Anyway, that was what he'd calculated he was going to get
+for it here in London--and what he wanted to see me about, in addition to
+telling me of his luck, was that he wanted to buy a real nice bit of
+property in Devonshire, and settle down in the old country. But--I'm
+afraid his luck's turned to a poor end! Gentlemen!--I'm certain my
+brother's been murdered for that diamond!"
+
+The police officials, as with one consent, glanced at Mr. Killick, and by
+their looks seemed to invite his assistance. The old gentleman nodded and
+turned to the caller.
+
+"Now, Mr. Purvis," he said, "just let me ask you a few questions. Did your
+brother tell you that this diamond was his own, sole property?"
+
+"He did, sir!" answered the farmer. "He said it was all his own."
+
+"Did he tell you where it was--what he had done with it?"
+
+"Yes! He said that for some years he'd traded in small parcels of such
+things with two men here in London--Multenius and Levendale--he knew both
+of them. He'd sent the diamond on in advance to Multenius, by ordinary
+registered post, rather than run the risk of carrying it himself."
+
+"I gather from that last remark that your brother had let some other
+person or persons know that he possessed this stone?" said Mr. Killick.
+"Did he mention that? It's of importance."
+
+"He mentioned no names--but he did say that one or two knew of his luck,
+and he'd an idea that he'd been watched in Cape Town, and followed on the
+_Golconda_," replied John Purvis. "He laughed about that, and said he
+wasn't such a fool as to carry a thing like that on him."
+
+"Did he say if he knew for a fact that the diamond was delivered to
+Multenius?" asked Mr. Killick.
+
+"Yes, he did. He found a telegram from Multenius at Las Palmas,
+acknowledging the receipt. He mentioned to me that Multenius would put the
+diamond in his bank, till he got to London himself."
+
+Mr. Killick glanced at the detective--the detectives nodded.
+
+"Very good," continued Mr. Killick. "Now then--: you'd doubtless talk a
+good deal about this matter--did your brother tell you what was to be done
+with the diamond? Had he a purchaser in view?"
+
+"Yes, he said something about that," replied John Purvis. "He said that
+Multenius and Levendale would make--or were making--what he called a
+syndicate to buy it from him. They'd have it cut--over in Amsterdam, I
+think it was. He reckoned he'd get quite eighty thousand from the
+syndicate."
+
+"He didn't mention any other names than those of Multenius and Levendale?"
+
+"No--none!"
+
+"Now, one more question. Where did your brother leave you--at Plymouth?"
+
+"First thing next morning," said John Purvis. "We travelled together as
+far as Exeter. He came on to Paddington--I went home to my farm. And I've
+never heard of him since--till I read all this in the papers."
+
+Mr. Killick got up and began to button his overcoat. He turned to the
+police.
+
+"Now you know what we wanted to know!" he said. "That diamond is at the
+bottom of everything! Daniel Multenius was throttled for that diamond--
+Parslett's death arose out of that diamond--everything's arisen from that
+diamond! And, now that you police folks know all this--you know what to
+do. You want the man, or men, who were in Daniel Multenius's shop about
+five o'clock on that particular day, and who carried off that diamond. Mr.
+Purvis!--are you staying in town?"
+
+The farmer shook his head--but not in the negative.
+
+"I'm not going out of London, till I know what's become of my brother!" he
+said.
+
+"Then come with me," said Mr. Killick. He said a word or two to the
+police, and then, beckoning Lauriston and Purdie to follow with Purvis,
+led the way out into the street. There he drew Purdie towards him. "Get a
+taxi-cab," he whispered, "and we'll all go to see that American man you've
+told me of--Guyler. And when we've seen him, you can take me to see Daniel
+Multenius's granddaughter."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
+
+
+THE DEAD MAN'S PROPERTY
+
+Old Daniel Multenius had been quietly laid to rest that afternoon, and at
+the very moment in which Mr. Killick and his companions were driving away
+from the police station to seek Stuyvesant Guyler at his hotel, Mr.
+Penniket was closeted with Zillah and her cousin Melky Rubinstein in the
+back-parlour of the shop in Praed Street--behind closed and locked doors
+which they had no intention of opening to anybody. Now that the old man
+was dead and buried, it was necessary to know how things stood with
+respect to his will and his property, and, as Mr. Penniket had remarked as
+they drove back from the cemetery, there was no reason why they should not
+go into matters there and then. Zillah and Melky were the only relations--
+and the only people concerned, said Mr. Penniket. Five minutes would put
+them in possession of the really pertinent facts as regards the provisions
+of the will--but there would be details to go into. And now they were all
+three sitting round the table, and Mr. Penniket had drawn two papers from
+his inner pocket--and Zillah regarding him almost listlessly, and Melky
+with one of his quietly solemn expression. Each had a pretty good idea of
+what was coming and each regarded the present occasion as no more than a
+formality.
+
+"This is the will," said Mr. Penniket, selecting and unfolding one of the
+documents. "It was made about a year ago--by me. That is, I drafted it.
+It's a short, a very short and practical will, drafted from precise
+instructions given to me by my late client, your grandfather. I may as
+well tell you in a few words what it amounts to. Everything that he left
+is to be sold--this business as a going concern; all his shares; all his
+house property. The whole estate is to be realized by the executors--your
+two selves. And when that's done, you're to divide the lot--equally. One
+half is yours, Miss Wildrose; Mr. Rubinstein, the other half is yours.
+And," concluded Mr. Penniket, rubbing his hands, "you'll find you're very
+fortunate--not to say wealthy--young people, and I congratulate you on
+your good fortune! Now, perhaps, you'd like to read the will?"
+
+Mr. Penniket laid the will on the table before the two cousins, and they
+bent forward and read its legal phraseology. Zillah was the first to look
+up and to speak.
+
+"I never knew my grandfather had any house property," she said. "Did you,
+Melky?"
+
+"S'elp me, Zillah, if I ever knew what he had in that way!" answered
+Melky. "He had his secrets and he could be close. No--I never knew of his
+having anything but his business. But then, I might have known that he'd
+invest his profits in some way or other."
+
+The solicitor unfolded the other document.
+
+"Here's a schedule, prepared by Mr. Multenius himself, and handed by him
+to me not many weeks ago, of his property outside this business," he
+remarked. "I'll go through the items. Shares in the Great Western Railway.
+Shares in the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway. Government Stock.
+Certain American Railway Stock. It's all particularized--and all gilt-
+edged security. Now then, about his house property. There's a block of
+flats at Hampstead. There are six houses at Highgate. There are three
+villas in the Finchley Road. The rents of all these have been collected by
+Messrs. Holder and Keeper, estate agents, and evidently paid by them
+direct to your esteemed relative's account at his bank. And then--to wind
+up--there is a small villa in Maida Vale, which he let furnished--you
+never heard of that?"
+
+"Never!" exclaimed Zillah, while Melky shook his head.
+
+"There's a special note about that at the end of this schedule," said Mr.
+Penniket. "In his own hand--like all the rest. This is what he says. 'N.
+B. Molteno Lodge, Maida Vale--all the furniture, pictures, belongings in
+this are mine--I have let it as a furnished residence at £12 a month, all
+clear, for some years past. Let at present, on same terms, rent paid
+quarterly, in advance, to two Chinese gentlemen, Mr. Chang Li and Mr. Chen
+Li--good tenants."
+
+Zillah uttered another sharp exclamation and sprang to her feet. She
+walked across to an old-fashioned standup desk which stood in a corner of
+the parlour, drew a bunch of keys from her pocket, and raised the lid.
+
+"That explains something!" she said. "I looked into this desk the other
+day--grandfather used to throw letters and papers in there sometimes,
+during the day, and then put them away at night. Here's a cheque here that
+puzzled me--I don't know anything about it. But--it'll be a quarter's rent
+for that house. Look at the signatures!"
+
+She laid a cheque before Melky and Mr. Penniket and stood by while they
+looked at it. There was nothing remarkable about the cheque--made out to
+Mr. Daniel Multenius on order for £36--except the two odd looking names at
+its foot--_Chang Li: Chen Li_. Otherwise, it was just like all other
+cheques--and it was on a local bank, in Edgware Road, and duly crossed.
+But Melky instantly observed the date, and put one of his long fingers to
+it.
+
+"November 18th," he remarked. "The day he died. Did you notice that,
+Zillah?"
+
+"Yes," answered Zillah. "It must have come in by post and he's thrown it,
+as he often did throw things, into that desk. Well--that's explained!
+That'll be the quarter's rent, then, for this furnished house, Mr.
+Penniket?"
+
+"Evidently!" agreed the solicitor. "Of course, there's no need to give
+notice to these two foreigners--yet. It'll take a little time to settle
+the estate, and you can let them stay on awhile. I know who they are--your
+grandfather mentioned them--two medical students, of University College.
+They're all right. Well, now, that completes the schedule. As regards
+administering the estate--"
+
+A sudden gentle but firm knock at the side-door brought Zillah to her feet
+again.
+
+"I know that knock," she remarked. "It's Ayscough, the detective. I
+suppose he may come in, now?"
+
+A moment later Ayscough, looking very grave and full of news, had joined
+the circle round the table. He shook his head as he glanced at Mr.
+Penniket.
+
+"I came on here to give you a bit of information," he said. "There's been
+an important development this afternoon. You know the name of this Stephen
+Purvis that's been mentioned as having been about here? Well, this
+afternoon his brother turned up from Devonshire. He wanted to see us--to
+tell us something. He thinks Stephen's been murdered!"
+
+"On what grounds?" asked the solicitor.
+
+"It turns out Stephen had sent Mr. Multenius a rare fine diamond--uncut--
+from South Africa," answered Ayscough. "Worth every penny of eighty
+thousand pounds!"
+
+He was closely watching Zillah and Melky as he gave this piece of news,
+and he was quick to see their utter astonishment. Zillah turned to the
+solicitor; Melky slapped the table.
+
+"That's been what the old man fetched from his bank that day!" he
+exclaimed. "S'elp me if I ain't beginning to see light! Robbery--before
+murder!"
+
+"That's about it," agreed Ayscough. "But I'll tell you all that's come
+out."
+
+He went on to narrate the events of the afternoon, from the arrival of Mr.
+Killick and his companions at the police station to the coming of John
+Purvis, and his three listeners drank in every word with rising interest.
+Mr. Penniket became graver and graver.
+
+"Where's Mr. Killick now--and the rest of them?" he asked in the end.
+
+"Gone to find that American chap--Guyler," answered Ayscough. "They did
+think he might be likely--having experience of these South African
+matters--to know something how Stephen Purvis may have been followed. You
+see--you're bound to have some theory! It looks as if Stephen Purvis had
+been tracked--for the sake of that diamond. The thieves probably tracked
+it to this shop--most likely attacked Mr. Multenius for it. They'd most
+likely been in here just before young Lauriston came in."
+
+"But where does Stephen Purvis come in--then?" asked Mr. Penniket.
+
+"Can't say yet--," replied Ayscough, doubtfully. "But--it may be that he--
+and Levendale--got an idea who the thieves were, and went off after them,
+and have got--well, trapped, or, as John Purvis suggests, murdered. It's
+getting a nicer tangle than ever!"
+
+"What's going to be done?" enquired the solicitor.
+
+"Why!" said Ayscough. "At present, there's little more to be done than
+what is being done! There's no end of publicity in the newspapers about
+both Levendale and Purvis. Every newspaper reporter in London's on the
+stretch for a thread of news of 'em! And we're getting posters and bills
+out, all over, advertising for them--those bills'll be outside every
+police-station in London--and over a good part of England--by tomorrow
+noon. And, of course, we're all at work. But you see, we haven't so far,
+the slightest clue as to the thieves! For there's no doubt, now, that it
+was theft first, and the rest afterwards."
+
+Mr. Penniket rose and gathered his papers together.
+
+"I suppose," he remarked, "that neither of you ever heard of this diamond,
+nor of Mr. Multenius having charge of it? No--just so. An atmosphere of
+secrecy all over the transaction. Well--all I can say, Ayscough, is this
+--you find Levendale. He's the man who knows."
+
+When the solicitor had gone, Ayscough turned to Zillah.
+
+"You never saw anything of any small box, packet, or anything of that
+sort, lying about after your grandfather's death?" he asked. "I'm thinking
+of what that diamond had been enclosed in, when he brought it from the
+bank. My notion is that he was examining that diamond when he was
+attacked, and in that case the box he'd taken it from would be lying
+about, or thrown aside."
+
+"You were in here yourself, before me," said Zillah.
+
+"Quite so--but I never noticed anything," remarked Ayscough.
+
+"Neither have I," replied Zillah. "And don't you think that whoever seized
+that diamond would have the sense to snatch up anything connected with it!
+I believe in what Mr. Penniket said just now--you find Levendale. If
+there's a man living who knows who killed my grandfather, Levendale's that
+man. You get him."
+
+Mrs. Goldmark came in just then, to resume her task of keeping Zillah
+company, and the detective left. Melky snatched up his overcoat and
+followed him out, and in the side-passage laid a hand on his arm.
+
+"Look here, Mr. Ayscough!" he whispered confidentially. "I want you!
+There's something turned up in there, just now, that I ain't said a word
+about to either Penniket or my cousin--but I will to you. Do you know
+what, Mr. Ayscough--listen here;"--and he went on to tell the detective
+the story of the furnished house in Maida Vale, its Chinese occupants, and
+their cheque. "Dated that very day the old man was scragged!" exclaimed
+Melky. "Now, Mr. Ayscough, supposing that one o' those Chinks called here
+with that cheque that afternoon when Zillah was out, and found the old man
+alone, and that diamond in his hand--eh?"
+
+Ayscough started and gave a low, sharp whistle.
+
+"Whew!" he said. "By George, that's an idea! Where's this house, do you
+say? Molteno Lodge, Maida Vale? I know it--small detached house in a
+garden. I say!--let's go and take a look round there!"
+
+"It's what I was going to propose--and at once," responded Melky. "Come
+on--but on the way, we'll pay a bit of a call. I want to ask a question of
+Dr. Mirandolet."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
+
+
+THE RAT
+
+Ayscough and Melky kept silence, until they had exchanged the busy streets
+for the quieter by-roads which lie behind the Paddington Canal--then, as
+they turned up Portsdown Road, the detective tapped his companion's arm.
+
+"What do you know about these two Chinese chaps that have this furnished
+house of yours?" he asked. "Much?--or little?"
+
+"We don't know nothing at all, Mr. Ayscough--me and my cousin Zillah,"
+replied Melky. "Never heard of 'em! Never knew they were there! Never knew
+the old man had furnished house to let in Maida Vale! He was close, the
+old man was, about some things. That was one of 'em. However, Mr.
+Penniket, he knew of this--but only recently. He says they're all right--
+medical students at one of the hospitals--yes, University College. That's
+in Gower Street, ain't it? The old man--he put in a note about there here
+Molteno Lodge that these Chinks were good tenants. I know what he'd mean
+by that!--paid their rent regular, in advance."
+
+"Oh, I know they've always plenty of money, these chaps!" observed
+Ayscough. "I've been wondering if I'd ever seen these two. But Lor' bless
+you!--there's such a lot o' foreigners in this quarter, especially
+Japanese and Siamese--law students and medical students and such like--
+that you'd never notice a couple of Easterns particularly--and I've no
+doubt they wear English clothes. Now, what do you want to see this doctor
+for?" he asked as they halted by Dr. Mirandolet's door. "Anything to do
+with the matter in hand?"
+
+"You'll see in a minute," replied Melky as he rang the bell. "Just a
+notion that occurred to me. And it has got to do with it."
+
+Dr. Mirandolet was in, and received his visitors in a room which was half-
+surgery and half-laboratory, and filled to the last corner with the
+evidences and implements of his profession. He was wearing a white linen
+operating jacket, and his dark face and black hair looked all the darker
+and blacker because of it. Melky gazed at him with some awe as he dropped
+into the chair which Mirandolet indicated and found the doctor's piercing
+eyes on him.
+
+"Just a question or two, mister!" he said, apologetically. "Me and Mr.
+Ayscough there is doing a bit of looking into this mystery about Mr.
+Multenius, and knowing as you was a big man in your way, it struck me
+you'd tell me something. I was at that inquest on Parslett, you know,
+mister."
+
+Mirandolet nodded and waited, and Melky gained courage.
+
+"Mister!" he said, suddenly bending forward and tapping the doctor's knee
+in a confidential fashion. "I hear you say at that inquest as how you'd
+lived in the East?"
+
+"Yes!" replied Mirandolet. "Many years. India--Burmah--China!"
+
+"You know these Easterns, mister, and their little way?" suggested Melky.
+"Now, would it be too much--I don't want to get no professional
+information, you know, if it ain't etiquette!--but would it be too much to
+ask you if them folks is pretty good hands at poisoning?"
+
+Mirandolet laughed, showing a set of very white teeth, and glared at
+Ayscough with a suggestion of invitation to join in his amusement. He
+clapped Melky on the shoulder as if he had said something diverting.
+
+"Good hands, my young friend?" he exclaimed. "The very best in the world!
+Past masters! Adepts. Poison you while they look at you!"
+
+"Bit cunning and artful about it, mister?" suggested Melky.
+
+"Beyond your conception, my friend," replied Mirandolet. "Unless I very
+much mistake your physiognomy, you yourself come of an ancient race which
+is not without cunning and artifice--but in such matters as you refer to,
+you are children, compared to your Far East folk."
+
+"Just so, mister--I believe you!" said Melky, solemnly. "And--which of
+'em, now, do you consider the cleverest of the lot--them as you say you've
+lived amongst, now? You mentioned three lots of 'em, you know--Indians,
+Burmese, Chinese. Which would you consider the artfullest of them three--
+if it came to a bit of real underhand work, now?"
+
+"For the sort of thing you're thinking of, my friend," answered
+Mirandolet, "you can't beat a Chinaman. Does that satisfy you?"
+
+Melky rose and glanced at the detective before turning to the doctor.
+
+"Mister," he said, "that's precisely what I should ha' said myself. Only--
+I wanted to know what a big man like you thought. Now, I know! Much
+obliged to you, mister. If there's ever anything I can do for you, doctor
+--if you want a bit of real good stuff--jewellery, you know--at dead cost
+price--"
+
+Mirandolet laughed and clapping Melky's shoulder again, looked at
+Ayscough.
+
+"What's our young friend after?" he asked, good-humouredly. "What's his
+game?"
+
+"Hanged if I know, doctor!" said Ayscough, shaking his head. "He's got
+some notion in his head. Are you satisfied, Mr. Rubinstein?"
+
+Melky was making for the door.
+
+"Ain't I just said so?" he answered. "You come along of me, Mr. Ayscough,
+and let's be getting about our business. Now, look here!" he said, taking
+the detective's arm when they had left the house. "We're going to take a
+look at them Chinks. I've got it into my head that they've something to do
+with this affair--and I'm going to see 'em, and to ask 'em a question or
+two. And--you're coming with me!"
+
+"I say, you know!" remarked Ayscough. "They're respectable gentlemen--even
+if they are foreigners. Better be careful--we don't know anything against
+'em."
+
+"Never you fear!" said Melky. "I'll beat 'em all right. Ain't I got a good
+excuse, Mr. Ayscough? Just to ask a civil question. Begging their pardons
+for intrusion, but since the lamented death of Mr. Daniel Multenius, me
+and Miss Zillah Wildrose has come into his bit of property, and does the
+two gentlemen desire to continue their tenancy, and is there anything we
+can do to make 'em comfortable--see? Oh, I'll talk to 'em all right!"
+
+"What're you getting at, all the same?" asked the detective. "Give it a
+title!"
+
+Melky squeezed his companion's arm.
+
+"I want to see 'em," he whispered. "That's one thing. And I want to find
+out how that last cheque of theirs got into our back-parlour! Was it sent
+by post--or was it delivered by hand? And if by hand--who delivered it?"
+
+"You're a cute 'un, you are!" observed Ayscough. "You'd better join us."
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Ayscough, but events has happened which'll keep me busy at
+something else," said Melky, cheerfully. "Do you know that my good old
+relative has divided everything between me and my cousin?--I'm a rich man,
+now, Mr. Ayscough. S'elp me!--I don't know how rich I am. It'll take a bit
+o' reckoning."
+
+"Good luck to you!" exclaimed the detective heartily. "Glad to hear it!
+Then I reckon you and your cousin'll be making a match of it--keeping the
+money in the family, what?"
+
+Melky laid his finger on the side of his nose.
+
+"Then you think wrong!" he said. "There'll be marriages before long--for
+both of us--but it'll not be as you suggest! There's Molteno Lodge, across
+the road there--s'elp me, I've often seen that bit of a retreat from the
+top of a 'bus, but I never knew it belonged to the poor old man!"
+
+They had now come to the lower part of Maida Vale, where many detached
+houses stand in walled-in gardens, isolated and detached from each other--
+Melky pointed to one of the smaller ones--a stucco villa, whose white
+walls shone in the November moonlight. Its garden, surrounded by high
+walls, was somewhat larger than those of the neighbouring houses, and was
+filled with elms rising to a considerable height and with tall bushes
+growing beneath them.
+
+"Nice, truly rural sort of spot," said Melky, as they crossed the road and
+approached the gate in the wall. "And--once inside--uncommon private, no
+doubt! What do you say, Mr. Ayscough?"
+
+The detective was examining the gate. It was a curious sort of gate, set
+between two stout pillars, and fashioned of wrought ironwork, the meshes
+of which were closely intertwined. Ayscough peered through the upper part
+and saw a trim lawn, a bit of statuary, a garden seat, and all the rest of
+the appurtenances common to a London garden whose owners wish to remind
+themselves of rusticity--also, he saw no signs of life in the house at the
+end of the garden.
+
+"There's no light in this house," he remarked, trying the gate. "Looks to
+me as if everybody was out. Are you going to ring?"
+
+Melky pointed along the front of the wall.
+
+"There's a sort of alley going up there, between this house and the next,"
+he said. "Come round--sure to be a tradesman's entrance--a side-door--up
+there."
+
+"Plenty of spikes and glass-bottle stuff on those walls, anyhow!" remarked
+Ayscough, as they went round a narrow alley to the rear of the villa.
+"Your grandfather evidently didn't intend anybody to get into these
+premises very easily, Mr. Rubinstein. Six-foot walls and what you might
+call regular fortifications on top of 'em! What are you going to do,
+now?"
+
+Melky had entered a recess in the side-wall and was examining a stout door
+on which, plainly seen in the moonlight, were the words _Tradesman's
+Entrance_. He turned the handle--and uttered an exclamation.
+
+"Open!" he said. "Come on, Mr. Ayscough--we're a-going in! If there is
+anybody at home, all right--if there ain't, well, still all right. I'm
+going to have a look round."
+
+The detective followed Melky into a paved yard at the back of the villa.
+All was very still there--and the windows were dark.
+
+"No lights, back or front," remarked Ayscough. "Can't be anybody in. And I
+say--if either of those Chinese gents was to let himself in with his key
+at the front gate and find us prowling about, it wouldn't look very well,
+would it, now? Why not call again--in broad daylight?"
+
+"Shucks!" said Melky. "Ain't I one o' the landlords of this desirable bit
+o' property? And didn't we find that door open? Come round to the front."
+
+He set off along a gravelled path which ran round the side of the house,
+and ascended the steps to the porticoed front door. And there he rang the
+bell--and he and his companion heard its loud ringing inside the house.
+But no answer came--and the whole place seemed darker and stiller than
+before.
+
+"Of course there's nobody in!" muttered Ayscough. "Come on--let's get out
+of it."
+
+Melky made no answer. He walked down the steps, and across the lawn
+beneath the iron-work gate in the street wall. A thick shrubbery of holly
+and laurel bushes stood on his right--and as he passed it something darted
+out--something alive and alert and sinuous--and went scudding away across
+the lawn.
+
+"Good Lord!" said Ayscough. "A rat! And as big as a rabbit!"
+
+Melky paused, looked after the rat, and then at the place from which it
+had emerged. And suddenly he stepped towards the shrubbery and drew aside
+the thick cluster of laurel branches. Just as suddenly he started back on
+the detective, and his face went white in the moonbeams.
+
+"Mr. Ayscough!" he gasped. "S'elp me!--there's a dead man here! Look for
+yourself!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
+
+
+THE EMPTY HOUSE
+
+Ayscough had manifested a certain restiveness and dislike to the
+proceedings ever since his companion had induced him to enter the back
+door of Molteno Lodge--these doings appeared to him informal and
+irregular. But at Melky's sudden exclamation his professional instincts
+were aroused, and he started forward, staring through the opening in the
+bushes made by Melky's fingers.
+
+"Good Lord!" he said. "You're right. One of the Chinamen!"
+
+The full moon was high in a cloudless sky by that time, and its rays fell
+full on a yellow face--and on a dark gash that showed itself in the yellow
+neck below. Whoever this man was, he had been killed by a savage
+knifethrust that had gone straight and unerringly through the jugular
+vein. Ayscough pointed to a dark wide stain which showed on the earth at
+the foot of the bushes.
+
+"Stabbed!" he muttered. "Stabbed to death! And dragged in here--look at
+that--and that!"
+
+He turned, pointing to more stains on the gravelled path behind them--
+stains which extended, at intervals, almost to the entrance door in the
+outer wall. And then he drew a box of matches from his pocket, and
+striking one, went closer and held the light down to the dead man's face.
+Melky, edging closer to his elbow, looked, too.
+
+"One of those Chinamen, without a doubt!" said Ayscough, as the match
+flickered and died out. "Or, at any rate, a Chinaman. And--he's been dead
+some days! Well!--this is a go!"
+
+"What's to be done?" asked Melky. "It's murder!"
+
+Ayscough looked around him. He was wondering how it was that a dead man
+could lie in that garden, close to a busy thoroughfare, along which a
+regular stream of traffic of all descriptions was constantly passing, for
+several days, undetected. But a quick inspection of the surroundings
+explained matters. The house itself filled up one end of the garden; the
+other three sides were obscured from the adjacent houses and from the
+street by high walls, high trees, thick bushes. The front gate was locked
+or latched--no one had entered--no one, save the owner of the knife that
+had dealt that blow, had known a murdered man lay there behind the
+laurels. Only the rat, started by Melky's footsteps, had known.
+
+"Stay here!" said Ayscough. "Well--inside the gate, then--don't come out--
+I don't want to attract attention. There'll be a constable somewhere
+about."
+
+He walked down to the iron-work gate, Melky following close at his heels,
+found and unfastened the patent latch, and slipped out into the road. In
+two minutes he was back again with a policeman. He motioned the man inside
+and once more fastened the door.
+
+"As you know this beat," he said quietly, as if continuing a conversation
+already begun, "you'll know the two Chinese gentlemen who have this
+house?"
+
+"Seen 'em--yes," replied the policeman. "Two quiet little fellows--seen
+'em often--generally of an evening."
+
+"Have you seen anything of them lately?" asked Ayscough.
+
+"Well, now I come to think of it, no, I haven't," answered the policeman.
+"Not for some days."
+
+"Have you noticed that the house was shut up--that there were no lights in
+the front windows?" enquired the detective.
+
+"Why, as a matter of fact, Mr. Ayscough," said the policeman, "you never
+do see any lights here--the windows are shuttered. I know that, because I
+used to give a look round when the house was empty."
+
+"Do you know what servants they kept--these two?" asked Ayscough.
+
+"They kept none!" answered the policeman. "Seems to me--from what bit I
+saw, you know--they used the house for little more than sleeping in. I've
+seen 'em go out of a morning, with books and papers under their arms, and
+come home at night--similar. But there's no servants there. Anything
+wrong, Mr. Ayscough?"
+
+Ayscough moved toward the bushes.
+
+"There's this much wrong," he answered. "There's one of 'em lying dead
+behind those laurels with a knife-thrust through his throat! And I should
+say, from the look of things, that he's been lying there several days.
+Look here!"
+
+The policeman looked--and beyond a sharp exclamation, remained stolid. He
+glanced at his companions, glanced round the garden--and suddenly pointed
+to a dark patch on the ground.
+
+"There's blood there!" he said. "Blood!"
+
+"Blood!" exclaimed Ayscough. "There's blood all the way down this path!
+The man's been stabbed as he came in at that door, and his body was then
+dragged up the path and thrust in here. Now then!--off you go to the
+station, and tell 'em what we've found. Get help--he'll have to be taken
+to the mortuary. And you'll want men to keep a watch on this house--tell
+the inspector all about it and say I'm here. And here--leave me that lamp
+of yours."
+
+The policeman took off his bull's eye lantern and handed it over. Ayscough
+let him out of the door, and going back to Melky, beckoned him towards the
+house.
+
+"Let's see if there's any way of getting in here," he said. "My
+conscience, Mr. Rubinstein!--you must have had some instinct about coming
+here tonight! We've hit on something--but Lord bless me if I know what it
+is!"
+
+"Mr. Ayscough!" said Melky. "I hadn't a notion of aught like that--it's
+give me a turn! But don't I know what it means, Mr. Ayscough--not half!
+It's all of a piece with the rest of it! Murder, Mr. Ayscough--bloody
+murder! All on account of that orange-yellow diamond we've heard of--at
+last. Ah!--if I'd known there was that at the bottom of this affair, I'd
+ha' been a bit sharper in coming to conclusions, I would so! Diamond worth
+eighty thousand pounds--."
+
+Ayscough, who had been busy at the front door of the house, suddenly
+interrupted his companion's reflections.
+
+"The door's open!" he exclaimed. "Open! Not even on the latch. Come on!"
+
+Melky shrank back at the prospect of the unlighted hall. There was a
+horror in the garden, in that bright moonlight--what might there not be in
+that black, silent house?
+
+"Well, turn that there bull's eye on!" he said. "I don't half fancy this
+sort of exploration. We'd ought to have had revolvers, you know."
+
+Ayscough turned on the light and advanced into the hall. There was nothing
+there beyond what one would expect to see in the hall of a well-furnished
+house, nor was there anything but good furniture, soft carpets, and old
+pictures to look at in the first room into which he and Melky glanced. But
+in the room behind there were evidences of recent occupation--a supper-
+table was laid: there was food on it, a cold fowl, a tongue--one plate had
+portions of both these viands laid on it, with a knife and fork crossed
+above them; on another plate close by, a slice of bread lay, broken and
+crumbled--all the evidences showed that supper had been laid for two, that
+only one had sat down to it: that he had been interrupted at the very
+beginning of his meal--a glass half-full of a light French wine stood near
+the pushed-aside plate.
+
+"Looks as if one of 'em had been having a meal, had had to leave it, and
+had never come back to it," remarked Ayscough. "Him outside, no doubt.
+Let's see the other rooms."
+
+There was nothing to see beyond what they would have expected to see--
+except that in one of the bedrooms, in a drawer pulled out from a
+dressing-table and left open, lay a quantity of silver and copper, with
+here and there a gold coin shining amongst it. Ayscough made a significant
+motion of his head at the sight.
+
+"Another proof of--hurry!" he said. "Somebody's cleared out of this place
+about as quick as he could! Money left lying about--unfinished meal--door
+open--all sure indications. Well, we've seen enough for the present. Our
+people'll make a thorough search later. Come downstairs again."
+
+Neither Ayscough nor Melky were greatly inclined for conversation or
+speculation, and they waited in silence near the gate, both thinking of
+the still figure lying behind the laurel bushes until the police came.
+Then followed whispered consultations between Ayscough and the inspector,
+and arrangements for the removal of the dead man to the mortuary and the
+guardianship and thorough search of the house--and that done, Ayscough
+beckoned Melky out into the road.
+
+"Glad to be out of that--for this time, anyway!" he said, with an air of
+relief. "There's too much atmosphere of murder and mystery--what they call
+Oriental mystery--for me in there, Mr. Rubinstein! Now then, there's
+something we can do, at once. Did I understand you to say these two were
+medical students at University College?"
+
+"So Mr. Penniket said," replied Melky. "S'elp me! I never heard of 'em
+till this afternoon!"
+
+"You're going to hear a fine lot about 'em before long, anyway!" remarked
+Ayscough.
+
+"Well--we'll just drive on to Gower Street--somebody'll know something
+about 'em there, I reckon."
+
+He walked forward until he came to the cab-rank at the foot of St. John's
+Wood Road, where he bundled Melky into a taxi-cab, and bade the driver get
+away to University College Hospital at his best pace. There was little
+delay in carrying out that order, but it was not such an easy task on
+arrival at their destination to find any one who could give Ayscough the
+information he wanted. At last, after they had waited some time in a
+reception room a young member of the house-staff came in and looked an
+enquiry.
+
+"What is it you want to know about these two Chinese students?" he asked a
+little impatiently, with a glance at Ayscough's card. "Is anything wrong?"
+
+"I want to know a good deal!" answered Ayscough. "If not just now, later.
+You know the two men I mean--Chang Li and Chen Li--brothers, I take it?"
+
+"I know them--they've been students here since about last Christmas,"
+answered the young surgeon. "As a matter of fact they're not brothers--
+though they're very much alike, and both have the same surname--if Li is a
+surname. They're friends--not brothers, so they told us."
+
+"When did you see them last?" asked Ayscough.
+
+"Not for some days, now you mention it," replied the surgeon. "Several
+days. I was remarking on that today--I missed them from a class."
+
+"You say they're very much alike," remarked the detective. "I suppose you
+can tell one from the other?"
+
+"Of course! But--what is this? I see you're a detective sergeant. Are they
+in any bother--trouble?"
+
+"The fact of the case," answered Ayscough, "is just this--one of them's
+lying dead at our mortuary, and I shall be much obliged if you'll step
+into my cab outside and come and identify him. Listen--it's a case of
+murder!"
+
+Twenty minutes later, Ayscough, leading the young house-surgeon into a
+grim and silent room, turned aside the sheet from a yellow face.
+
+"Which one of 'em is it?" he asked.
+
+The house-surgeon started as he saw the wound in the dead man's throat.
+
+"This is Chen!" he answered.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
+
+
+THE £500 BANK NOTE
+
+Ayscough drew the sheet over the dead man's face and signed to his
+companion to follow him outside, to a room where Melky Rubinstein, still
+gravely meditating over the events of the evening, was awaiting their
+reappearance.
+
+"So that," said Ayscough, jerking his thumb in the direction of the
+mortuary, "that's Chen Li! You're certain?"
+
+"Chen Li! without a doubt!" answered the house-surgeon. "I know him well!"
+
+"The younger of the two?" suggested Ayscough.
+
+The house-surgeon shook his head.
+
+"I can't say as to that," he answered. "It would be difficult to tell
+which of two Chinese, of about the same age, was the older. But that's
+Chen. He and the other, Chang Li, are very much alike, but Chen was a
+somewhat smaller and shorter man."
+
+"What do you know of them?" inquired Ayscough. "Can you say what's known
+at your hospital?"
+
+"Very little," replied the house-surgeon. "They entered, as students
+there--we have several foreigners--about last Christmas--perhaps at the
+New Year. All that I know of them is that they were like most Easterns--
+very quiet, unassuming, inoffensive fellows, very assiduous in their
+studies and duties, never giving any trouble, and very punctual in their
+attendance."
+
+"And, you say, they haven't been seen at the hospital for some days?"
+continued Ayscough. "Now, can you tell me--it's important--since what
+precise date they've been absent?"
+
+The house-surgeon reflected for a moment--then he suddenly drew out a
+small memorandum book from an inner pocket.
+
+"Perhaps I can," he answered, turning the pages over. "Yes--both these men
+should have been in attendance on me--a class of my own, you know--on the
+20th, at 10.35. They didn't turn up. I've never seen them since--in fact,
+I'm sure they've never been at the hospital since."
+
+"The 20th?" observed Ayscough. He looked at Melky, who was paying great
+attention to the conversation. "Now let's see--old Mr. Multenius met his
+death on the afternoon of the 18th. Parslett was poisoned on the night of
+the 19th. Um!"
+
+"And Parslett was picked up about half-way between the Chink's house and
+his own place, Mr. Ayscough--don't you forget that!" muttered Melky. "I'm
+not forgetting--don't you make no error!"
+
+"You don't know anything more that you could tell us about these two?"
+asked the detective, nodding reassuringly at Melky and then turning to the
+house-surgeon. "Any little thing?--you never know what helps."
+
+"I can't!" said the house-surgeon, who was obviously greatly surprised by
+what he had seen and heard. "These Easterns keep very much to themselves,
+you know. I can't think of anything."
+
+"Don't know anything of their associates--friends--acquaintances?"
+suggested Ayscough. "I suppose they had some--amongst your students?"
+
+"I never saw them in company with anybody--particularly--except a young
+Japanese who was in some of their classes," replied the house-surgeon. "I
+have seen them talking with him--in Gower Street."
+
+"What's his name?" asked Ayscough, pulling out a note-book.
+
+"Mr. Mori Yada," answered the house-surgeon promptly. "He lives in Gower
+Street--I don't know the precise number of the house. Yes, that's the way
+to spell his name. He's the only man I know who seemed to know these two."
+
+"Have you seen him lately?" asked Ayscough.
+
+"Oh, yes--regularly--today, in fact," said the house-surgeon.
+
+He waited a moment in evident expectation of other questions; as the
+detective asked none--"I gather," he remarked, "that Chang Li has
+disappeared?"
+
+"The house these two occupied is empty," replied Ayscough.
+
+"I am going to suggest something," said the house-surgeon. "I know--from
+personal observation--that there is a tea-shop in Tottenham Court Road--a
+sort of quiet, privately-owned place--Pilmansey's--which these two used to
+frequent. I don't know if that's of any use to you?"
+
+"Any detail is of use, sir," answered Ayscough, making another note. "Now,
+I'll tell this taxi-man to drive you back to the hospital. I shall call
+there tomorrow morning, and I shall want to see this young Japanese
+gentleman, too. I daresay you see that this is a case of murder--and
+there's more behind it!"
+
+"You suspect Chang Li?" suggested the house-surgeon as they went out to
+the cab.
+
+"Couldn't say that--yet," replied Ayscough, grimly. "For anything I know,
+Chang Li may have been murdered, too. But I've a pretty good notion what
+Chen Li was knifed for!"
+
+When the house-surgeon had gone away, Ayscough turned to Melky.
+
+"Come back to Molteno Lodge," he said. "They're searching it. Let's see if
+they've found anything of importance."
+
+The house which had been as lifeless and deserted when Melky and the
+detective visited it earlier in the evening was full enough of energy and
+animation when they went back. One policeman kept guard at the front gate;
+another at the door of the yard; within the house itself, behind closed
+doors and drawn shutters and curtains, every room was lighted and the
+lynx-eyed men were turning the place upside down. One feature of the
+search struck the newcomers immediately--the patch of ground whereon Melky
+had found the dead man had been carefully roped off. Ayscough made a
+significant motion of his hand towards it.
+
+"Good!" he said, "that shows they've found footprints. That may be useful.
+Let's hear what else they've found."
+
+The man in charge of these operations was standing within the dining-room
+when Ayscough and Melky walked in, and he at once beckoned them into the
+room and closed the door.
+
+"We've made two or three discoveries," he said, glancing at Ayscough. "To
+start with, there were footprints of a rather unusual sort round these
+bushes where the man was lying--so I've had it carefully fenced in around
+there--we'll have a better look at 'em, in daylight. Very small prints,
+you understand--more like a woman's than a man's."
+
+Ayscough's sharp eyes turned to the hearth--there were two or three pairs
+of slippers lying near the fender and he pointed to them.
+
+"These Chinamen have very small feet, I believe," he said. "The footprints
+are probably theirs. Well--what else?"
+
+"This," answered the man in charge, producing a small parcel from the
+side-pocket of his coat, and proceeding to divest it of a temporary
+wrapping. "Perhaps Mr. Rubinstein will recognize it. We found it thrown
+away in a fire-grate in one of the bedrooms upstairs--you see, it's half
+burnt."
+
+He produced a small, stoutly-made cardboard box, some three inches square,
+the outer surface of which was covered with a thick, glossy-surfaced dark-
+green paper, on which certain words were deeply impressed in gilt letters.
+The box was considerably charred and only fragments of the lettering on
+the lid remained intact--but it was not difficult to make out what the
+full wording had been.
+
+. . . . _enius_,
+  . . ._nd jeweller_,
+    . . _ed Street_.
+
+"That's one of the late Mr. Multenius's boxes," affirmed Melky at once.
+"Daniel Multenius, Pawnbroker and Jeweller, Praed Street--that's the full
+wording. Found in a fireplace, d'ye say, mister? Ah--and what had he taken
+out of it before he threw the box away, now, Mr. Ayscough--whoever it was
+that did throw it away?"
+
+"That blessed orange and yellow diamond, I should think!" said Ayscough.
+"Of course! Well, anything else?"
+
+The man in charge carefully wrapped up and put away the jeweller's box;
+then, with a significant glance at his fellow-detective, he slipped a
+couple of fingers into his waistcoat pocket and drew out what looked like
+a bit of crumpled paper.
+
+"Aye!" he answered. "This! Found it--just there! Lying on the floor, at
+the end of this table."
+
+He opened out the bit of crumpled paper as he spoke and held it towards
+the other two. Ayscough stared, almost incredulously, and Melky let out a
+sharp exclamation.
+
+"S'elp us!" he said. "A five-hundred-pound bank-note!"
+
+"That's about it," remarked the exhibitor. "Bank of England note for five
+hundred of the best! And--a good 'un, too. Lying on the floor."
+
+"Take care of it," said Ayscough laconically. "Well--you haven't found any
+papers, documents, or anything of that sort, that give any clue?"
+
+"There's a lot of stuff there," answered the man in charge, pointing to a
+pile of books and papers on the table, "but it seems to be chiefly
+exercises and that sort of thing. I'll look through it myself, later."
+
+"See if you can find any letters, addresses, and so on," counselled
+Ayscough. He turned over some of the books, all of them medical works and
+text-books, opening some of them at random. And suddenly he caught sight
+of the name which the house-surgeon had given him half-an-hour before,
+written on a fly-leaf: Mori Yada, 491, Gower Street--and an idea came into
+his mind. He bade the man in charge keep his eyes open and leave nothing
+unexamined, and tapping Melky's arm, led him outside. "Look here!" he
+said, drawing out his watch, as they crossed the hall, "it's scarcely ten
+o'clock, and I've got the address of that young Jap. Come on--we'll go and
+ask him a question or two."
+
+So for the second time that evening, Melky, who was beginning to feel as
+if he were on a chase which pursued anything but a straight course, found
+himself in Gower Street again, and followed Ayscough along, wondering what
+was going to happen next, until the detective paused at the door of a tall
+house in the middle of the long thoroughfare and rang the bell. A smart
+maid answered that ring and looked dubiously at Ayscough as he proffered a
+request to see Mr. Mori Yada. Yes--Mr. Yada was at home, but he didn't
+like to see any one, of an evening when he was at his studies, and--in
+fact he'd given orders not to be disturbed at that time.
+
+"I think he'll see me, all the same," said Ayscough, drawing out one of
+his professional cards. "Just give him that, will you, and tell him my
+business is very important."
+
+He turned to Melky when the girl, still looking unwilling, had gone away
+upstairs, and gave him a nudge of the elbow.
+
+"When we get up there--as we shall," whispered Ayscough, "you watch this
+Jap chap while I talk to him. Study his face--and see if anything
+surprises him."
+
+"Biggest order, mister--with a Jap!" muttered Melky. "Might as well tell
+me to watch a stone image--their faces is like wood!"
+
+"Try it!" said Ayscough. "Flicker of an eyelid--twist of the lip--
+anything! Here's the girl back again."
+
+A moment later Melky, treading close on the detective's heels, found
+himself ushered into a brilliantly-lighted, rather over-heated room,
+somewhat luxuriously furnished, wherein, in the easiest of chairs, a cigar
+in his lips, a yellow-backed novel in his hand, sat a slimly-built,
+elegant young gentleman whose face was melting to a smile.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
+
+
+MR. MORI YADA
+
+Ayscough was on his guard as soon as he saw that smile. He had had some
+experience of various national characteristics in his time, and he knew
+that when an Eastern meets you with a frank and smiling countenance you
+had better keep all your wits about you. He began the exercise of his own
+with a polite bow--while executing it, he took a rapid inventory of Mr.
+Mori Yada. About--as near as he could judge--two or three and twenty; a
+black-haired, black-eyed young gentleman; evidently fastidious about his
+English clothes, his English linen, his English ties, smart socks, and
+shoes--a good deal of a dandy, in short--and, judging from his
+surroundings, very fond of English comfort--and not averse to the English
+custom of taking a little spirituous refreshment with his tobacco. A
+decanter stood on the table at his elbow; a syphon of mineral water reared
+itself close by; a tumbler was within reach of Mr. Yada's slender
+yellowish fingers.
+
+"Servant, sir!" said Ayscough. "Detective Sergeant Ayscough of the
+Criminal Investigation Department--friend of mine, this, sir, Mr. Yada, I
+believe--Mr. Mori Yada?"
+
+Mr. Yada smiled again, and without rising, indicated two chairs.
+
+"Oh, yes!" he said in excellent English accents. "Pleased to see you--will
+you take a chair--and your friend! You want to talk to me?"
+
+Ayscough sat down and unbuttoned his overcoat.
+
+"Much obliged, sir," he said. "Yes--the fact is, Mr. Yada, I called to see
+you on a highly important matter that's arisen. Your name, sir, was given
+to me tonight by one of the junior house-surgeons at the hospital up the
+street--Dr. Pittery."
+
+"Oh, yes, Dr. Pittery--I know," agreed Yada. "Yes?"
+
+"Dr. Pittery tells me, sir," continued Ayscough, "that you know two
+Chinese gentlemen who are fellow-students of yours at the hospital, Mr.
+Yada?"
+
+The Japanese bowed his dark head and blew out a mouthful of smoke from his
+cigar.
+
+"Yes!" he answered readily, "Mr. Chang Li--Mr. Chen Li. Oh, yes!"
+
+"I want to ask you a question, Mr. Yada," said Ayscough, bending forward
+and assuming an air of confidence. "When did you see those two gentlemen
+last--either of them?"
+
+Yada leaned back in his comfortably padded chair and cast his quick eyes
+towards the ceiling. Suddenly he jumped to his feet.
+
+"You take a little drop of whisky-and-soda?" he said hospitably, pushing a
+clean glass towards Ayscough. "Yes--I will get another glass for your
+friend, too. Help yourselves, please, then--I will look in my diary for an
+answer to your question. You excuse me, one moment."
+
+He walked across the room to a writing cabinet which stood in one corner,
+and took up a small book that lay on the blotting-pad; while he turned
+over its pages, Ayscough, helping himself and Melky to a drink, winked at
+his companion with a meaning expression.
+
+"I have not seen either Mr. Chang Li or Mr. Chen Li since the morning of
+the 18th November," suddenly said Yada. He threw the book back on the
+desk, and coming to the hearthrug, took up a position with his back to the
+fire and his hands in the pockets of his trousers. He nodded politely as
+his visitors raised their glasses to him. "Is anything the matter, Mr.
+Detective-Sergeant?" he asked.
+
+Ayscough contrived to press his foot against Melky's as he gave a direct
+answer to this question.
+
+"The fact of the case is, Mr. Yada," he said, "one of these two young men
+has been murdered! murdered, sir!"
+
+Yada's well-defined eyebrows elevated themselves--but the rest of his face
+was immobile. He looked fixedly at Ayscough for a second or two--then he
+let out one word.
+
+"Which?"
+
+"According to Dr. Pittery--Chen Li," answered Ayscough. "Dr. Pittery
+identified him. Murdered, Mr. Yada, murdered! Knifed!--in the throat."
+
+The reiteration of the word murdered appeared to yield the detective some
+sort of satisfaction--but it apparently made no particular impression on
+the Japanese. Again he rapped out one word.
+
+"Where?"
+
+"His body was found in the garden of the house they rented in Maida Vale,"
+replied Ayscough. "Molteno Lodge. No doubt you've visited them there, Mr.
+Yada?"
+
+"I have been there--yes, a few times," assented Yada. "Not very lately.
+But--where is Chang Li?"
+
+"That's what we don't know--and what we want to know," said Ayscough.
+"He's not been seen at the hospital since the 20th. He didn't turn up
+there--nor Chen, either, at a class, that day. And you say you haven't
+seen them either since the 18th?"
+
+"I was not at the hospital on the 19th," replied Yada. He threw away the
+end of his cigar, picked up a fresh one from a box which stood on the
+table, pushed the box towards his visitors, and drew out a silver match-
+box. "What are the facts of this murder, Mr. Detective-Sergeant?" he
+asked quietly. "Murder is not done without some object--as a rule."
+
+Ayscough accepted the offered cigar, passed the box to Melky and while he
+lighted his selection, thought quietly. He was playing a game with the
+Japanese, and it was necessary to think accurately and quickly. And
+suddenly he made up his mind and assumed an air of candour.
+
+"It's like this, Mr. Yada," he said. "I may as well tell you all about it.
+You've doubtless read all about this Praed Street mystery in the
+newspapers? Well, now, some very extraordinary developments have arisen
+out of the beginnings of that, it turns out."
+
+Melky sat by, disturbed and uncomfortable, while Ayscough reeled off a
+complete narrative of the recent discoveries to the suave-mannered,
+phlegmatic, calmly-listening figure on the hearthrug. He did not
+understand the detective's doings--it seemed to him the height of folly to
+tell a stranger, and an Eastern stranger at that, all about the fact that
+there was a diamond worth eighty thousand pounds at the bottom of these
+mysteries and murders. But he discharged his own duties, and watched Yada
+intently--and failed to see one single sign of anything beyond ordinary
+interest in his impassive face.
+
+"So there it is, sir," concluded Ayscough. "I've no doubt whatever that
+Chen Li called at Multenius's shop to pay the rent; that he saw the
+diamond in the old man's possession and swagged him for it; that Parslett
+saw Chen Li slip away from that side-door and, hearing of Multenius's
+death, suspected Chen Li of it and tried to blackmail him; that Chen Li
+poisoned Parslett--and that Chen Li himself was knifed for that diamond.
+Now--by whom? Chang Li has--disappeared!"
+
+"You suspect Chang Li?" asked Yada.
+
+"I do," exclaimed Ayscough. "A Chinaman--a diamond worth every penny of
+eighty thousand pounds--Ah!" He suddenly lifted his eyes to Yada with a
+quick enquiry. "How much do you know of these two?" he asked.
+
+"Little--beyond the fact that they were fellow-students of mine," answered
+Yada. "I occasionally visited them--occasionally they visited me--that is
+all."
+
+"Dr. Pittery says they weren't brothers?" suggested Ayscough.
+
+"So I understood," assented Yada. "Friends."
+
+"You can't tell us anything of their habits?--haunts?--what they usually
+did with themselves when they weren't at the hospital?" asked the
+detective.
+
+"I should say that when they weren't at the hospital, they were at their
+house--reading," answered Yada, drily. "They were hard workers."
+
+Ayscough rose from his chair.
+
+"Well, much obliged to you, sir," he said. "As your name was mentioned as
+some sort of a friend of theirs, I came to you. Of course, most of what
+I've told you will be in all the papers tomorrow. If you should hear
+anything of this Chang Li, you'll communicate with us, Mr. Yada?"
+
+The Japanese smiled--openly.
+
+"Most improbable, Mr. Detective-Sergeant!" he answered. "I know no more
+than what I have said. For more information, you should go to the Chinese
+Legation."
+
+"Good idea, sir--thank you," said Ayscough.
+
+He bowed himself and Melky out; once outside the street-door he drew his
+companion away towards a part which lay in deep shadow. Some repairing
+operations to the exterior of a block of houses were going on there;
+underneath a scaffolding which extended over the sidewalk Ayscough drew
+Melky to a halt.
+
+"You no doubt wondered why I told that chap so much?" he whispered.
+"Especially about that diamond! But I had my reasons--and particularly for
+telling him about its value."
+
+"It isn't what I should ha' done, Mr. Ayscough," said Melky, "and it
+didn't ought to come out in the newspapers, neither--so I think! 'Tain't a
+healthy thing to let the public know there's an eighty-thousand pound
+diamond loose somewhere in London--and as to telling that slant-eyed
+fellow in there--"
+
+"You wait a bit, my lad!" interrupted Ayscough. "I had my reasons--good
+'uns. Now, look here, we're going to watch that door awhile. If the Jap
+comes out--as I've an idea he will--we're going to follow. And as you're
+younger, and slimmer, and less conspicuous than I am, if he should emerge,
+keep on the shadowy side of the street, at a safe distance, and follow him
+as cleverly as you can. I'll follow you."
+
+"What new game's this?" asked Melky.
+
+"Never mind!" replied Ayscough. "And, if it does come to following, and he
+should take a cab, contrive to be near--there's a good many people about,
+and if you're careful he'll never see you. And--there, now, what did I
+tell you? He's coming out, now! Be handy--more depends on it than you're
+aware of."
+
+Yada, seen clearly in the moonlight which flooded that side of the street,
+came out of the door which they had left a few minutes earlier. His smart
+suit of grey tweed had disappeared under a heavy fur-collared overcoat; a
+black bowler hat surmounted his somewhat pallid face. He looked neither to
+right nor left, but walked swiftly up the street in the direction of the
+Euston Road. And when he had gone some thirty yards, Ayscough pushed Melky
+before him out of their retreat.
+
+"You go first," he whispered, "I'll come after you. Keep an eye on him as
+far as you can--didn't I tell you he'd come out when we'd left? Be wary!"
+
+Melky slipped away up the street on the dark side and continued to track
+the slim figure quickly advancing in the moonlight. He followed until they
+had passed the front of the hospital--a few yards further, and Yada
+suddenly crossed the road in the direction of the Underground Railway. He
+darted in at the entrance to the City-bound train, and disappeared, and
+Melky, uncertain what to do, almost danced with excitement until Ayscough
+came leisurely towards him. "Quick! quick!" exclaimed Melky. "He's gone
+down there--City trains. He'll be off unless you're on to him!"
+
+But Ayscough remained quiescent and calmly relighted his cigar.
+
+"All right, my lad," he said. "Let him go--just now. I've seen--what I
+expected to see!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY
+
+
+THE MORTUARY
+
+Melky, who had grown breathless in his efforts to carry out his
+companion's wishes, turned and looked at him with no attempt to conceal
+his wonder.
+
+"Well, s'elp me if you ain't a cool 'un, Mr. Ayscough!" he exclaimed.
+"Here you troubles to track a chap to this here Underground Railway, seen
+him pop into it like a rabbit into a hole--and let's him go! What did we
+follow him up Gower Street for? Just to see him set off for a ride?"
+
+"All right, my lad!" repeated Ayscough. "You don't quite understand our
+little ways. Wait here a minute."
+
+He drew one of his cards from his pocket and carrying it into the booking
+office exchanged a few words with the clerk at the window. Presently he
+rejoined Melky. "He took a ticket for Whitechapel," remarked Ayscough as
+he strolled quietly up. "Ah! now what does a young Japanese medical
+student want going down that way at eleven o'clock at night? Something
+special, no doubt, Mr. Rubinstein. However, I'm going westward just now.
+Just going to have a look in at the Great Western Hotel, to see if Mr.
+Purdie heard anything from that American chap--and then I'm for home and
+bed. Like to come to the hotel with me?"
+
+"Strikes me we might as well make a night of it!" remarked Melky as they
+recrossed the road and sought a west-bound train. "We've had such an
+evening as I never expected! Mr. Ayscough! when on earth is this going to
+come to something like a clearing-up?"
+
+Ayscough settled himself in a corner of a smoking-carriage and leaned
+back.
+
+"My own opinion," he said, "is that it's coming to an end. Tomorrow, the
+news of the Chinaman's murder'll be the talk of the town. And if that
+doesn't fetch Levendale out of whatever cranny he's crept into, hanged if
+I know what will!"
+
+"Ah! you think that, do you?" said Melky. "But--why should that news fetch
+him out?"
+
+"Don't know!" replied Ayscough, almost unconcernedly. "But I'm almost
+certain that it will. You see--I think Levendale's looking for Chen Li.
+Now, if Levendale hears that Chen Li's lying dead in our mortuary--what?
+See?"
+
+Melky murmured that Mr. Ayscough was a cute 'un, and relapsed into thought
+until the train pulled up at Praed Street. He followed the detective up
+the streets and across the road to the hotel, dumbly wondering how many
+times that day he had been in and about that quarter on this apparently
+interminable chase. He was getting dazed--but Ayscough who was still
+smoking the cigar which Yada had given him, strode along into the hotel
+entrance apparently as fresh as paint.
+
+Purdie had a private sitting-room in connection with his bedroom, and
+there they found him and Lauriston, both smoking pipes and each evidently
+full of thought and speculation. They jumped to their feet as the
+detective entered.
+
+"I say!" exclaimed Lauriston. "Is this true?--this about the Chinese chap?
+Is it what they think at your police-station?--connected with the other
+affairs? We've been waiting, hoping you'd come in!"
+
+"Ah!" said Ayscough, dropping into a chair. "We've been pretty busy, me
+and Mr. Rubinstein there--we've had what you might call a pretty full
+evening's work of it. Yes--it's true enough, gentlemen--another step in
+the ladder--another brick in the building! We're getting on, Mr. Purdie,
+we're getting on! So you've been round to our place?--they told you,
+there!"
+
+"They gave us a mere outline," answered Purdie. "Just the bare facts. I
+suppose you've heard nothing of the other Chinaman?"
+
+"Not a circumstance--as yet," said Ayscough. "But I'm in hopes--I've done
+a bit, I think, towards it--with Mr. Rubinstein's help, though he doesn't
+quite understand my methods. But you, gentlemen--I came in to hear if
+you'd anything to tell about Guyler. What did he think about what John
+Purvis had to tell us this afternoon?"
+
+"He wasn't surprised," answered Purdie. "Don't you remember that he
+assured us from the very start that diamonds would be found to be at the
+bottom of this. But he surprised us!"
+
+"Aye? How?" asked Ayscough. "Some news?"
+
+"Guyler swears that he saw Stephen Purvis this very morning," replied
+Purdie. "He's confident of it!"
+
+"Saw Stephen Purvis--this very morning!" exclaimed Ayscough. "Where, now?"
+
+"Guyler had business down in the City--in the far end of it," said
+Purdie. "He was crossing Bishopsgate when he saw Stephen Purvis--he swears
+it was Stephen Purvis!--nothing can shake him! He, Purvis, was just
+turning the corner into a narrow alley running out of the street. Guyler
+rushed after him--he'd disappeared. Guyler waited, watching that alley, he
+says, like a cat watches a mouse-hole--and all in vain. He watched for an
+hour--it was no good."
+
+"Pooh!" said Ayscough. "If it was Purvis, he'd walked straight through the
+alley and gone out at the other end."
+
+"No!" remarked Lauriston. "At least, not according to Guyler. Guyler says
+it was a long, narrow alley--Purvis could have reached one end by the time
+he'd reached the other. He says--Guyler--that on each side of that alley
+there are suites of offices--he reckoned there were a few hundred separate
+offices in the lot, and that it would take him a week to make enquiry at
+the doors of each. But he's certain that Purvis disappeared into one block
+of them and dead certain that it was Stephen Purvis that he saw. So--
+Purvis is alive!"
+
+"Where's the other Purvis--the farmer?" asked Ayscough.
+
+"Stopping with Guyler at the Great Northern," answered Lauriston. "We've
+all four been down in the City, looking round, this evening. Guyler and
+John Purvis are going down again first thing in the morning. John Purvis,
+of course, is immensely relieved to know that Guyler's certain about his
+brother. I say!--do you know what Guyler's theory is about that diamond of
+Stephen's?"
+
+"No--and what might Mr. Guyler's theory be, now Mr. Lauriston?" enquired
+the detective. "There's such a lot of ingenious theories about that one
+may as well try to take in another. Mr. Rubinstein there is about weary of
+theories."
+
+But Melky was pricking his ears at the mere mention of anything relating
+to the diamond.
+
+"That's his chaff, Mr. Lauriston," he said. "Never mind him! What does
+Guyler think?"
+
+"Well, of course, Guyler doesn't know yet about the Chinese development,"
+said Lauriston. "Guyler thinks the robbery has been the work of a gang--a
+clever lot of diamond thieves who knew about Stephen Purvis's find of the
+orange-yellow thing and put in a lot of big work about getting it when it
+reached England. And he believes that that gang has kidnapped Levendale,
+and that Stephen Purvis is working in secret to get at them. That's
+Guyler's notion, anyhow."
+
+"Well!" said Ayscough. "And there may be something in it! For this search
+--how do we know that at any rate one of these Chinamen mayn't have had
+some connection with this gang? You never know--and to get a dead straight
+line at a thing's almost impossible. However, we've taken steps to have
+the news about the diamond and about this Chen Li appear in tomorrow
+morning's papers, and if that doesn't rouse the whole town--"
+
+A tap at the door prefaced the entrance of a waiter, who looked
+apologetically at its inmates.
+
+"Beg pardon, gentlemen," he said, "Mr. Ayscough? Gentleman outside would
+like a word with you, if you please, sir."
+
+Ayscough picked up his hat and walked out--there, waiting a little way
+down the corridor, an impressive figure in his big black cloak and wide-
+brimmed hat, stood Dr. Mirandolet. He strode forward as the detective
+advanced.
+
+"I heard you were here, so I came up," he said, leading Ayscough away.
+"Look here, my friend--one of your people has told me of this affair at
+Molteno Lodge--the discovery of the Chinaman's dead body."
+
+"That young fellow, Rubinstein, who called on you early this evening, and
+got me to accompany him discovered it," said Ayscough, who was wondering
+what the doctor was after. "I was with him."
+
+"I have heard, too," continued Mirandolet, "also from one of your people,
+about the strange story of the diamond which came out this afternoon, from
+the owner's brother. Now--I'll tell you why after--I want to see that dead
+Chinaman! I've a particular reason. Will you come with me to the
+mortuary?"
+
+Ayscough's curiosity was aroused by Mirandolet's manner, and without going
+back to Purdie's room, he set out with him. Mirandolet remained strangely
+silent until they came to the street in which the mortuary stood.
+
+"A strange and mysterious matter this, my friend!" he said. "That little
+Rubinstein man might have had some curious premonition when he came to me
+tonight with his odd question about Chinese!"
+
+"Just what I said myself, doctor!" agreed Ayscough.
+
+"It did look as if he'd a sort of foreboding, eh? But--Hullo!"
+
+He stopped short as a taxi-cab driven at a considerable speed, came
+rushing down the street and passing them swiftly turned into the wider
+road beyond. And the sudden exclamation was forced from his lips because
+it seemed to him that as the cab sped by he saw a yellow-hued face within
+it--for the fraction of a second. Quick as that glimpse was, Ayscough was
+still quicker as he glanced at the number on the back of the car--and
+memorized it.
+
+"Odd!" he muttered, "odd! Now, I could have sworn--" He broke off, and
+hurried after Mirandolet who had stridden ahead. "Here we are, doctor," he
+said, as they came to the door of the mortuary. "There's a man on night
+duty here, so there's no difficulty about getting in."
+
+There was a drawing of bolts, a turning of keys; the door opened, and a
+man looked out and seeing Ayscough and Dr. Mirandolet, admitted them into
+an ante-room and turned up the gas.
+
+"We want to see that Chinaman, George," said the detective. "Shan't keep
+you long."
+
+"There's a young foreign doctor just been to see him, Mr. Ayscough," said
+the man. "You'd pass his car down the street--he hasn't been gone three
+minutes. Young Japanese--brought your card with him."
+
+Ayscough turned on the man as if he had given him the most startling news
+in the world.
+
+"What?" he exclaimed, "Japanese? Brought my card?"
+
+"Showed me it as soon as he got here," answered the attendant, surprised
+at Ayscough's amazement. "Said you'd given it to him, so that he could
+call here and identify the body. So, of course, I let him go in."
+
+Ayscough opened his mouth in sheer amazement. But before he could get out
+a word, Mirandolet spoke, seizing the mortuary-keeper by the arm in his
+eagerness.
+
+"You let that man--a Japanese--see the dead Chinaman--_alone_?" he
+demanded.
+
+"Why, of course!" the attendant answered surlily. "He'd Mr. Ayscough's
+card, and--"
+
+Mirandolet dropped the man's arm and threw up his own long white hands.
+
+"Merciful Powers!" he vociferated. "He has stolen the diamond!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
+
+
+THE MIRANDOLET THEORY
+
+The silence that followed on this extraordinary exclamation was suddenly
+broken: the mortuary keeper, who had been advancing towards a door at the
+side of the room, dropped a bunch of keys. The strange metallic sound of
+their falling roused Ayscough, who had started aside, and was staring,
+open-mouthed, at Mirandolet's waving hands. He caught the doctor by the
+arm.
+
+"What on earth do you mean?" he growled. "Speak man--what is it?"
+
+Mirandolet suddenly laughed.
+
+"What is it?" he exclaimed. "Precisely what I said, in plain language!
+That fellow has, of course, gone off with the diamond--worth eighty
+thousand pounds! Your card!--Oh, man, man, whatever have you been doing?
+Be quick!--who is this Japanese?--how came he by your card? Quick, I say!
+--if you want to be after him!"
+
+"Hanged if I know what this means!" muttered Ayscough. "As to who he is--
+if he's the fellow I gave a card to, he's a young Japanese medical
+student, one Yada, that was a friend of those Chinese--I called on him
+tonight, with Rubinstein, to see if we could pick up a bit of information.
+Of course, I sent in my professional card to him. But--we saw him set off
+to the East End!"
+
+"Bah!" laughed Mirandolet. "He has--what you call done you brown, my
+friend! He came--here! And he has got away--got a good start--with that
+diamond in his pocket!"
+
+"What the devil do you mean by that?" said Ayscough, hotly. "Diamond!
+Diamond! Where should he find the diamond--here? In a deadhouse? What are
+you talking about?"
+
+Mirandolet laughed again, and giving the detective a look that was very
+like one of pitying contempt, turned to the amazed mortuary keeper.
+
+"Show us that dead man!" he said.
+
+The mortuary keeper, who had allowed his keys to lie on the floor during
+this strange scene, picked them up, and selecting one, opened, and threw
+back the door by which he was standing. He turned on the light in the
+mortuary chamber, and Mirandolet strode in, with Ayscough, sullen and
+wondering, at his heels.
+
+Chen Li lay where the detective had last seen him, still and rigid, the
+sheet drawn carefully over his yellow face. Without a word Mirandolet drew
+that sheet aside, and motioning his companion to draw nearer, pointed to a
+skull-cap of thin blue silk which fitted over the Chinaman's head.
+
+"You see that!" he whispered. "You know what's beneath it!--something that
+no true Chinaman ever parts with, even if he does come to Europe, and does
+wear English dress and English headgear--his pigtail! Look here!"
+
+He quietly moved the skull-cap, and showed the two astonished men a
+carefully-coiled mass of black hair, wound round and round the back of the
+head. And into it he slipped his own long, thin fingers--to draw them out
+again with an exclamation which indicated satisfaction with his own
+convictions.
+
+"Just as I said," he remarked. "Gone! Mr. Detective--that's where Chen Li
+hid the diamond--and that Japanese man has got it. And now--you'd better
+be after him--half-an-hour's start to him is as good as a week's would be
+to you."
+
+He drew the sheet over the dead face and strode out, and Ayscough
+followed, angry, mystified, and by no means convinced.
+
+"Look here!" he said, as they reached the ante-room; "that's all very
+well, Dr. Mirandolet, but it's only supposition on your part!"
+
+"Supposition that you'll find to be absolute truth, my good friend!"
+retorted Mirandolet, calmly. "I know the Chinese--better than you think.
+As soon as I heard of this affair tonight, I came to you to put you up to
+the Chinese trick of secreting things of value in their pigtails--it did
+not occur to me that the diamond might be there in this case, but I
+thought you would probably find something. But when we reached this
+mortuary, and I heard that a Japanese had been here, presenting your card
+when he had no business to present it, I guessed immediately what had
+happened--and now that you tell me that you told him all about this
+affair, well--I am certain of my assertion. Mr. Detective--go after the
+diamond!"
+
+He turned as if to leave the place, and Ayscough followed.
+
+"He mayn't been after the diamond at all!" he said, still resentful and
+incredulous. "Is it very likely he'd think it to be in that dead chap's
+pigtail when the other man's missing? It's Chang that's got that diamond--
+not Chen."
+
+"All right, my friend!" replied Mirandolet. "Your wisdom is superior to
+mine, no doubt. So--I wish you good-night!"
+
+He strode out of the place and turned sharply up the street, and Ayscough,
+after a growl or two, went back to the mortuary keeper.
+
+"How long was that Jap in there?" he asked, nodding at the death chamber.
+
+"Not a minute, Mr. Ayscough!" replied the man. "In and out again, as you
+might say."
+
+"Did he say anything when he came out?" enquired the detective.
+
+"He did--two words," answered the keeper. "He said, 'That's he!' and
+walked straight out, and into his car."
+
+"And when he came he told you I'd sent him?" demanded Ayscough.
+
+"Just that--and showed me your card," assented the man. "Of course, I'd no
+reason to doubt his word."
+
+"Look here, George!" said Ayscough, "you keep this to yourself! Don't say
+anything to any of our folks if they come in. I don't half believe what
+that doctor said just now--but I'll make an enquiry or two. Mum's the
+word, meanwhile. You understand, George?"
+
+George answered that he understood very well, and Ayscough presently left
+him. Outside, in the light of the lamp set over the entrance to the
+mortuary, he pulled out his watch. Twelve o'clock--midnight. And
+somewhere, that cursed young Jap was fleeing away through the London
+streets--having cheated him, Ayscough, at his own game!
+
+He had already reckoned things up in connection with Yada. Yada had been
+having him--even as Melky Rubinstein had suspected and suggested--all
+through that conversation at Gower Street. Probably, Yada, from his window
+in the drawing-room floor of his lodging-house, had watched him and Melky
+slip across the street and hide behind the hoarding opposite. And then
+Yada had gone out, knowing he was to be followed, and had tricked them
+beautifully, getting into an underground train going east, and, in all
+certainty, getting out again at the next station, chartering a cab, and
+returning west--with Ayscough's card in his pocket.
+
+But Ayscough knew one useful thing--he had memorized the letters and
+numbers of the taxi-cab in which Yada had sped by him and Mirandolet, L.C.
+2571--he had kept repeating that over and over. Now he took out his note-
+book and jotted it down--and that done he set off to the police-station,
+intent first of all on getting in touch with New Scotland Yard by means of
+the telephone.
+
+Ayscough, like most men of his calling in London, had a considerable
+amount of general knowledge of things and affairs, and he summoned it to
+his aid in this instance. He knew that if the Japanese really had become
+possessed of the orange and yellow diamond (of which supposition, in spite
+of Mirandolet's positive convictions, he was very sceptical) he would most
+certainly make for escape. He would be off to the Continent, hot foot.
+Now, Ayscough had a good acquaintance with the Continental train services
+--some hours must elapse before Yada could possibly get a train for Dover,
+or Folkstone, or Newhaven, or the shortest way across, or to any other
+ports such as Harwich or Southampton, by a longer route. Obviously, the
+first thing to do was to have the stations at Victoria, and Charing Cross,
+and Holborn Viaduct, and London Bridge carefully watched for Yada. And for
+two weary hours in the middle of the night he was continuously at work on
+the telephone, giving instructions and descriptions, and making
+arrangements to spread a net out of which the supposed fugitive could not
+escape.
+
+And when all that was at last satisfactorily arranged, Ayscough was
+conscious that it might be for nothing. He might be on a wrong track
+altogether--due to the suspicions and assertions of that queer man,
+Mirandolet. There might be some mystery--in Ayscough's opinion there
+always was mystery wherever Chinese or Japanese or Hindus were concerned.
+Yada might have some good reason for wishing to see Chen Li's dead body,
+and have taken advantage of the detective's card to visit it. This
+extraordinary conduct might be explained. But meanwhile Ayscough could not
+afford to neglect a chance, and tired as he was, he set out to find the
+driver of the taxicab whose number he had carefully set down in his
+notebook.
+
+There was little difficulty in this stage of the proceedings; it was
+merely a question of time, of visiting a central office and finding the
+man's name and address. By six o'clock in the morning Ayscough was at a
+small house in a shabby street in Kentish Town, interviewing a woman who
+had just risen to light her fire, and was surlily averse to calling up a
+husband, who, she said, had not been in bed until nearly four. She was not
+any more pleased when Ayscough informed her of his professional status--
+but the man was fetched down.
+
+"You drove a foreigner--a Japanese--to the mortuary in Paddington last
+night?" said Ayscough, plunging straight into business, after telling the
+man who he was. "I saw him--just a glimpse of him--in your cab, and I took
+your number. Now, where did you first pick him up?"
+
+"Outside the Underground, at King's Cross," replied the driver promptly.
+
+This was precisely what Ayscough had expected; so far, so good; his own
+prescience was proving sure.
+
+"Anything wrong, mister?" asked the driver.
+
+"There may be," said Ayscough. "Well--you picked him up there, and drove
+him straight to the mortuary?"
+
+"No--I didn't," said the man. "We made a call first. Euston. He went in
+there, and, I should say, went to the left luggage office, 'cause he came
+back again with a small suit-case--just a little 'un. Then we went on to
+that mortuary."
+
+Euston! A small suit-case! More facts--Ayscough made notes of them.
+
+"Well," he said, "and when you drove away from the mortuary, where did you
+go then?"
+
+"Oxford Circus," answered the driver, "set him down--his orders--right
+opposite the Tube Station--t'other side of the street."
+
+"Did you see which way he went--then?" enquired Ayscough.
+
+"I did. Straight along Oxford Street--Tottenham Court Road way," said the
+driver, "carrying his suitcase--which it was, as I say, on'y a little 'un
+--and walking very fast. Last I see of him was that, guv'nor."
+
+Ayscough went away and got back to more pretentious regions. He was dead
+tired and weary with his night's work, and glad to drop in at an early-
+opened coffee-shop and get some breakfast. While he ate and drank a boy
+came in with the first editions of the newspapers. Ayscough picked one up
+--and immediately saw staring headlines:--
+
+THE PADDINGTON MYSTERIES.
+NEW AND STARTLING FEATURES.
+DIAMOND WORTH £80,000 BEING LOOKED FOR
+MURDER IN MAIDA VALE
+
+Ayscough laid down the paper and smiled. Levendale--if not dead--could
+scarcely fail to see that!
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
+
+
+ONE O'CLOCK MIDNIGHT
+
+Five minutes after Ayscough had gone away with Dr. Mirandolet the hotel
+servant who had summoned him from Purdie's sitting-room knocked at the
+door for the second time and put a somewhat mystified face inside.
+
+"Beg pardon, sir," he said, glancing at Purdie, who was questioning Melky
+Rubinstein as to the events of the evening in their relation to the house
+in Maida Vale. "Two ladies outside, sir--waiting to see you. But they
+don't want to come in, sir, unless they know who's here--don't want to
+meet no strangers, sir."
+
+Purdie jumped to his feet, and putting the man aside looked into the
+dimly-lighted corridor. There, a few paces away, stood Zillah--and, half
+hidden by her, Mrs. Goldmark.
+
+"Come in--come in!" he exclaimed. "Nobody here but Andie Lauriston and
+Melky Rubinstein. You've something to tell--something's happened?"
+
+He ushered them into the room, sent the hotel servant, obviously in a
+state of high curiosity about these happenings, away, and closed the door.
+
+"S'elp me!" exclaimed Melky, "there ain't no other surprises, Zillah? You
+ain't come round at this time o' night for nothing! What you got to tell,
+Zillah?--another development?"
+
+"Mrs. Goldmark has something to tell," answered Zillah. "We didn't know
+what to do, and you didn't come, Melky--nobody come--and so we locked the
+house and thought of Mr. Purdie. Mrs. Goldmark has seen somebody!"
+
+"Who?" demanded Melky. "Somebody, now? What somebody?"
+
+"The man that came to her restaurant," replied Zillah. "The man who lost
+the platinum solitaire!"
+
+Mrs. Goldmark who had dropped into the chair which Purdie had drawn to the
+side of the table for her, wagged her head thoughtfully.
+
+"This way it was, then," she said, with a dramatic suggestion of personal
+enjoyment in revealing a new feature of the mystery, "I have a friend who
+lives in Stanhope Street--Mrs. Isenberg. She sends to me at half-past-ten
+to tell me she is sick. I go to see her--immediate. I find her very
+poorly--so! I stop with her till past eleven, doing what I can. Then her
+sister, she comes--I can do no more--I come away. And I walk through
+Sussex Square, as my road back to Praed Street and Zillah. But before I am
+much across Sussex Square, I stop--sudden, like that! For what? Because--I
+see a man! That man! Him what drops his cuff-link on my table. Oh, yes!"
+
+"You're sure it was that man, Mrs. Goldmark?" enquired Melky, anxiously.
+"You don't make no mistakes, so?"
+
+"Do I mistake myself if I say I see you, Mr. Rubinstein?" exclaimed Mrs.
+Goldmark, solemnly and with emphasis. "No, I don't make no mistakes at
+all. Is there not gas lamps?--am I not blessed with good eyes? I see him--
+like as I see you there young gentleman and Zillah. Plain!"
+
+"Well--and what was he doing?" asked Purdie, desirous of getting at facts.
+"Did he come out of a house, or go into one, or--what?"
+
+"I tell you," replied Mrs. Goldmark, "everything I tell you--all in good
+time. It is like this. A taxicab comes up--approaching me. It stops--by
+the pavement. Two men--they get out. Him first. Then another. They pay the
+driver--then they walk on a little--just a few steps. They go into a
+house. The other man--he lets them into that house. With a latch-key. The
+door opens--shuts. They are inside. Then I go to Zillah and tell her what
+I see. So!"
+
+The three young men exchanged glances, and Purdie turned to the informant.
+
+"Mrs. Goldmark," he said, "did you know the man who opened the door?"
+
+"Not from another!" replied Mrs. Goldmark. "A stranger to me!"
+
+"Do you know Mr. Levendale--by sight?" asked Purdie.
+
+"Often, since all this begins, I ask myself that question," said Mrs.
+Goldmark, "him being, so to speak, a neighbour. No, that I do not, not
+being able to say he was ever pointed out to me."
+
+"Well, you can describe the man who pulled out his latch-key and opened
+the door, anyhow," remarked Purdie. "You took a good look at him, I
+suppose!"
+
+"And a good one," answered Mrs. Goldmark. "He was one of our people--I saw
+his nose and his eyes. And I was astonished to see so poor-looking a man
+have a latch-key to so grand a mansion as that!--he was dressed in poor
+clothes, and looked dirty and mean."
+
+"A bearded dark man?" suggested Purdie.
+
+"Not at all," said Mrs. Goldmark. "A clean-shaved man--though dark he
+might be."
+
+Purdie looked at Melky and shook his head.
+
+"That's not Levendale!" he said, "Clean-shaven! Levendale's bearded and
+mustached--and I should say a bit vain of his beard. Um! you're dead
+certain, Mrs. Goldmark, about the other man?"
+
+"As that I tell you this," insisted Mrs. Goldmark. "I see him as plain as
+what I see him when he calls at my establishment and leaves his jewellery
+on my table. Oh, yes--I don't make no mistake, Mr. Purdie."
+
+Purdie looked again at Melky--this time with an enquiry in his glance.
+
+"Don't ask me, Mr. Purdie!" said Melky. "I don't know what to say. Sounds
+like as if these two went into Levendale's house. But what man would have
+a latch-key to that but Levendale himself? More mystery!--ain't I full of
+it already? Now if Mr. Ayscough hadn't gone away--"
+
+"Look here!" said Purdie, coming to a sudden decision, "I'm going round
+there. I want to know what this means--I'm going to know. You ladies had
+better go home. If you others like to come as far as the corner of Sussex
+Square, come. But I'm going to Levendale's house alone. I'll find
+something out."
+
+He said no more until, Zillah and Mrs. Goldmark having gone homeward, and
+he and his two companions having reached a side street leading into Sussex
+Square, he suddenly paused and demanded their attention!
+
+"I've particular reasons for wanting to go into that house alone," he
+said. "There's no danger--trust me. But--if I'm not out again in a quarter
+of an hour or so, you can come there and ask for me. My own impression is
+that I shall find Levendale there. And--as you're aware, Andie--I know
+Levendale." He left them standing in the shadow of a projecting portico
+and going up to Levendale's front door, rang the bell. There was no light
+in any of the windows; all appeared to be in dead stillness in the house;
+somewhere, far off in the interior, he heard the bell tinkle. And
+suddenly, as he stood waiting and listening, he heard a voice that sounded
+close by him and became aware that there was a small trap or grille in the
+door, behind which he made out a face.
+
+"Who is that?" whispered the voice.
+
+"John Purdie--wanting to see Mr. Levendale," he answered promptly.
+
+The door was just as promptly opened, and as Purdie stepped within was as
+quickly closed behind him. At the same instant the click of a switch
+heralded a flood of electric light, and he started to see a man standing
+at his side--a man who gave him a queer, deprecating smile, a man who was
+not and yet who was Levendale.
+
+"Gracious me!" exclaimed Purdie, "it isn't--"
+
+"Yes!" said Levendale, quietly. "But it is, though! All right, Purdie--
+come this way."
+
+Purdie followed Levendale into a small room on the right of the hall--a
+room in which the remains of a cold, evidently impromptu supper lay on a
+table lighted by a shaded lamp. Two men had been partaking of that supper,
+but Levendale was alone. He gave his visitor another queer smile, and
+pointed, first to a chair and then to a decanter.
+
+"Sit down--take a drink," he said. "This is a queer meeting! We haven't
+seen each other since--"
+
+"Good God, man!" broke in Purdie, staring at his host. "What's it all
+mean? Are you--disguised?"
+
+Levendale laughed--ruefully--and glanced at the mean garments which Mrs.
+Goldmark had spoken of.
+
+"Necessity!" he said. "Had to! Ah!--I've been through some queer times--
+and in queer places. Look here--what do you know?"
+
+"Know!" cried Purdie. "You want me to tell you all I know--in a sentence?
+Man!--it would take a month! What do you know? That's more like it!"
+
+Levendale passed a hand across his forehead--there was a weariness in his
+gesture which showed his visitor that he was dead beat.
+
+"Aye, just so!" he said. "But--tell me! has John Purvis come looking for
+his brother?"
+
+"He has!" answered Purdie. "He's in London just now."
+
+"Has he told about that diamond?--told the police?" demanded Levendale.
+
+"He has!" repeated Purdie. "That's all known. Stephen Purvis--where is
+he?"
+
+"Upstairs--asleep--dead tired out," said Levendale. "We both are! Night
+and day--day and night--I could fall on this floor and sleep--"
+
+"You've been after that diamond?" suggested Purdie.
+
+"That--and something else," said Levendale.
+
+"Something else?" asked Purdie. "What then?"
+
+"Eighty thousand pounds," answered Levendale. "Just that!"
+
+Purdie stood staring at him. Then he suddenly put a question.
+
+"Do you know who murdered that old man in Praed Street?" he demanded.
+"That's what I'm after."
+
+"No!" said Levendale, promptly. "I don't even know that he was murdered!"
+He, too, stared at his visitor for a moment; then "But I know more than a
+little about his being robbed," he added significantly.
+
+Purdie shook his head. He was puzzled and mystified beyond measure.
+
+"This is getting too deep for me!" he said. "You're the biggest mystery of
+all, Levendale. Look here!" he went on. "What are you going to do? This
+queer disappearance of yours--this being away--coming back without your
+beard and dressed like that!--aren't you going to explain? The police--"
+
+"Yes!" said Levendale. "Ten o'clock this morning--the police-station. Be
+there--all of you--anybody--anybody who likes--I'm going to tell the
+police all I know. Purvis and I, we can't do any more--baffled, you
+understand! But now--go away, Purdie, and let me sleep--I'm dead done
+for!"
+
+Within ten minutes of leaving them, Purdie was back with Lauriston and
+Melky Rubinstein, and motioning them away from Sussex Square.
+
+"That's more extraordinary than the rest!" he said, as they all moved off.
+"Levendale's there, in his own house, right enough! And he's shaved off
+his beard and mustache, and he's wearing tramp's clothes and he and
+Stephen Purvis have been looking night and day, for that confounded
+diamond, and for eighty thousand pounds! And--what's more, Levendale does
+not know who killed Daniel Multenius or that he was murdered! But, by
+George, sirs!" he added, as high above their heads the clock of St.
+James's Church struck one, "he knows something big!--and we've got to wait
+nine hours to hear it!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
+
+
+SECRET WORK
+
+The inner room of the police-station, at ten o'clock that morning, was
+full of men. Purdie, coming there with Lauriston at five minutes before
+the hour, found Melky Rubinstein hanging about the outer door, and had
+only just time to warn his companion to keep silence as to their midnight
+discovery before Guyler and John Purvis drove up in one cab and Mr.
+Killick in another. Inside, Ayscough, refreshed by his breakfast and an
+hour's rest, was talking to the inspector and the man from New Scotland
+Yard--all these looked enquiringly at the group which presently crowded in
+on them.
+
+"Any of you gentlemen got any fresh news?" demanded the inspector, as he
+ran his eye over the expectant faces "No?--well, I suppose you're all
+wanting to know if we have?" He glanced at Ayscough, who was pointing out
+certain paragraphs in one of the morning newspapers to the Scotland Yard
+man. "The fact is," he continued, "there have been queer developments
+since last night--and I don't exactly know where we are! My own opinion is
+that we'd better wait a few hours before saying anything more definite--to
+my mind, these newspapers are getting hold of too much news--giving
+information to the enemy, as it were. I think you'd all better leave
+things to us, gentlemen--for a while." There was rather more than a polite
+intimation in this that the presence of so many visitors was not wanted--
+but John Purvis at once assumed a determined attitude.
+
+"I want to know exactly what's being done, and what's going to be done,
+about my brother!" he said. "I'm entitled to that! That's the job I came
+about--myself--as for the rest--"
+
+"Your brother's here!" said Purdie, who was standing by the window and
+keeping an eye on the street outside. "And Mr. Levendale with him--hadn't
+you better have them straight in?" he went on, turning to the inspector.
+"They both look as if they'd things to tell."
+
+But Ayscough had already made for the door and within a moment was
+ushering in the new arrivals. And Purdie was quick to note that the
+Levendale who entered, a sheaf of morning papers in his hand, was a vastly
+different Levendale to the man he had seen nine hours before, dirty,
+unkempt, and worn out with weariness. The trim beard and mustache were
+hopelessly lost, and there were lines on Levendale's face which they
+concealed, but Levendale himself was now smartly groomed and carefully
+dressed, and business-like, and it was with the air of a man who means
+business that he strode into the room and threw a calm nod to the
+officials.
+
+"Now, Inspector," he said, going straight to the desk, while Stephen
+Purvis turned to his brother. "I see from the papers that you've all been
+much exercised about Mr. Purvis and myself--it just shows how a couple of
+men can disappear and give some trouble before they're found. But here we
+are!--and why we're here is because we're beaten--we took our own course
+in trying to find our own property--and we're done! We can do no more--and
+so we come to you."
+
+"You should have come here at first, Mr. Levendale," said the Inspector, a
+little sourly. "You'd have saved a lot of trouble--to yourselves as well
+as to us. But that's neither here nor there--I suppose you've something to
+tell us, sir?"
+
+"Before I tell you anything," replied Levendale, "I want to know
+something." He pointed to the morning papers which he had brought in.
+"These people," he said, "seem to have got hold of a lot of information--
+all got from you, of course. Now, we know what we're after--let's put it
+in a nutshell. A diamond--an orange-yellow diamond--worth eighty thousand
+pounds, the property of Mr. Stephen Purvis there. That's item one! But
+there's another. Eighty thousand pounds in bank-notes!--my property. Now--
+have any of you the least idea who's got the diamond and my money? Come!"
+
+There was a moment's silence. Then Ayscough spoke.
+
+"Not a definite idea, Mr. Levendale--as yet."
+
+"Then I'll tell you," said Levendale. "A Chinese fellow--one Chang Li.
+He's got them--both! And Stephen Purvis and I have been after him for all
+the days and nights since we disappeared--and we're beaten! Now you'll
+have to take it up--and I'd better tell you the plain truth about what's
+no doubt seemed a queer business from the first. Half-an-hour's talk now
+will save hours of explanation later on. So listen to me, all of you--I
+already see two gentlemen here, Mr. Killick, and Mr. Guyler, who in a
+certain fashion, can corroborate some particulars that I shall give you.
+Keep us free from interruption, if you please, while I tell you my story."
+
+Ayscough answered this request by going to the door and leaning against
+it, and Levendale took a chair by the side of the desk and looked round at
+an expectant audience.
+
+"It's a queer and, in some respects, an involved story," he said, "but I
+shall contrive to make matters plain to you before I've finished. I shall
+have to go back a good many years--to a time when, as Mr. Killick there
+knows, I was a partner with Daniel Molteno in a jewellery business in the
+City. I left him, and went out to South Africa, where I engaged in diamond
+trading. I did unusually well in my various enterprises, and some years
+later I came back to London a very well-to-do man. Not long after my
+return, I met my former partner again. He had changed his name to
+Multenius, and was trading in Praed Street as a jeweller and pawnbroker.
+Now, I had no objection to carrying on a trade with certain business
+connections of mine at the Cape--and after some conversation with
+Multenius he and I arranged to buy and sell diamonds together here in
+London, and I at once paid over a sum of money to him as working capital.
+The transactions were carried out in his name. It was he, chiefly, who
+conducted them--he was as good and keen a judge of diamonds as any man I
+ever knew--and no one here was aware that I was concerned in them. I never
+went to his shop in Praed Street but twice--if it was absolutely necessary
+for him to see me, we met in the City, at a private office which I have
+there. Now you understand the exact relations between Daniel Multenius and
+myself. We were partners--in secret.
+
+"We come, then, to recent events. Early in this present autumn, we heard
+from Mr. Stephen Purvis, with whom I had had some transactions in South
+Africa, that he had become possessed of a rare and fine orange-yellow
+diamond and that he was sending it to us. It arrived at Multenius's--
+Multenius brought it to me at my city office and we examined it, after
+which Multenius deposited it in his bank. We decided to buy it ourselves
+--I finding the money. We knew, from our messages from Stephen Purvis,
+that he would be in town on the 18th November, and we arranged everything
+for that date. That date, then, becomes of special importance--what
+happened at Multenius's shop in Praed Street on the afternoon of November
+18th, between half-past four and half-past five is, of course, the thing
+that really is of importance. Now, what did happen? I can tell you--save
+as regards one detail which is, perhaps, of more importance than the other
+details. Of that detail I can't tell anything--but I can offer a good
+suggestion about it.
+
+"Stephen Purvis was to call at Daniel Multenius's shop in Praed Street
+between five o'clock and half-past on the afternoon of November 18th--to
+complete the sale of his diamond. About noon on that day, Daniel Multenius
+went to the City. He went to his bank and took the diamond away. He then
+proceeded to my office, where I handed him eighty thousand pounds in bank
+notes--notes of large amounts. With the diamond and these notes in his
+possession, Daniel Multenius went back to Praed Street. I was to join him
+there shortly after five o'clock.
+
+"Now we come to my movements. I lunched in the City, and afterwards went
+to a certain well-known book-seller's in Holborn, who had written to tell
+me that he had for sale a valuable book which he knew I wanted. I have
+been a collector of rare books ever since I came back to England. I spent
+an hour or so at the book-seller's shop. I bought the book which I had
+gone to see--paying a very heavy price for it. I carried it away in my
+hand, not wrapped up, and got into an omnibus which was going my way, and
+rode in it as far as the end of Praed Street. There I got out. And--in
+spite of what I said in my advertisement in the newspapers of the
+following morning,--I had the book in my hand when I left the omnibus. Why
+I pretended to have lost it, why I inserted that advertisement in the
+papers, I shall tell you presently--that was all part of a game which was
+forced upon me.
+
+"It was, as near as I can remember, past five o'clock when I turned along
+Praed Street. The darkness was coming on, and there was a slight rain
+falling, and a tendency to fog. However, I noticed something--I am
+naturally very quick of observation. As I passed the end of the street
+which goes round the back of the Grand Junction Canal basin, the street
+called Iron Gate Wharf, I saw turn into it, walking very quickly, a
+Chinaman whom I knew to be one of the two Chinese medical students to whom
+Daniel Multenius had let a furnished house in Maida Vale. He had his back
+to me--I did not know which of the two he was. I thought nothing of the
+matter, and went on. In another minute I was at the pawn-shop. I opened
+the door, walked in, and went straight to the little parlour--I had been
+there just twice before when Daniel Multenius was alone, and so I knew my
+way. I went, I say, straight through--and in the parlour doorway ran into
+Stephen Purvis.
+
+"Purvis was excited--trembling, big fellow though he is, do you see? He
+will bear me out as to what was said--and done. Without a word, he turned
+and pointed to where Daniel Multenius was lying across the floor--dead. 'I
+haven't been here a minute!' said Purvis. 'I came in--found him, like
+that! There's nobody here. For God's sake, where's my diamond?'
+
+"Now, I was quick to think. I formed an impression within five seconds.
+That Chinaman had called--found the old man lying in a fit, or possibly
+dead--had seen, as was likely, the diamond on the table in the parlour,
+the wad of bank-notes lying near, had grabbed the lot--and gone away. It
+was a theory--and I am confident yet that it was the correct one. And I
+tell you plainly that my concern from that instant was not with Daniel
+Multenius, but with the Chinaman! I thought and acted like lightning.
+First, I hastily examined Multenius, felt in his pockets, found that there
+was nothing there that I wanted and that he was dead. Then I remembered
+that on a previous visit of mine he had let me out of his house by a door
+at the rear which communicated with a narrow passage running into Market
+Street, and without a second's delay, I seized Purvis by the arm and
+hurried him out. It was dark enough in that passage--there was not a soul
+about--we crossed Market Street, turned to the right, and were in Oxford
+and Cambridge Terrace before we paused. My instinct told me that the right
+thing to do was to get away from that parlour. And it was not until we
+were quite away from it that I realized that I had left my book behind
+me!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
+
+
+BAFFLED
+
+Levendale paused at this point of his story, and looked round the circle
+of attentive faces. He was quick to notice that two men were watching him
+with particularly close attention--one was Ayscough, the other, the old
+solicitor. And as he resumed his account he glanced meaningly at Mr.
+Killick.
+
+"I daresay some of you would like to question me--and Stephen Purvis, too
+--on what I've already told you?" he said. "You're welcome to ask any
+questions you like--any of you--when I've done. But--let me finish--for
+then perhaps you'll fully understand what we were at.
+
+"Purvis and I walked up and down in Oxford and Cambridge Terrace for some
+time--discussing the situation. The more I considered the matter, the more
+I was certain that my first theory was right--the Chinaman had got the
+diamond and the bank-notes. I was aware of these two Chinamen as tenants of
+Multenius's furnished house--as a matter of fact, I had been present, at
+the shop in Praed Street, on one of my two visits there when they
+concluded their arrangements with him. What I now thought was this--one of
+them had called on the old man to do some business, or to pay the rent,
+and had found him in a fit, or dead, as the result of one, had seen the
+diamond and the money on the table, placed there in readiness for Purvis's
+coming, and had possessed himself of both and made off. Purvis agreed with
+me. And--both Purvis and myself are well acquainted with the
+characteristic peculiarities, and idiosyncrasies of Chinamen!--we knew
+with what we had to deal. Therefore we knew what we had to do. We wanted
+the diamond and my money. And since we were uncomfortably aware of the
+craft and subtlety of the thief who'd got both we knew we should have to
+use craft ourselves--and of no common sort. Therefore we decided that the
+very last thing we should think of would be an immediate appeal to the
+police.
+
+"Now, you police officials may, nay, will!--say that we ought to have gone
+straight to you, especially as this was a case of murder. But we knew
+nothing about it being a case of murder. We had seen no signs of violence
+on the old man--I knew him to be very feeble, and I believed he had been
+suddenly struck over by paralysis, or something of that sort. I reckoned
+matters up, carefully. It was plain that Daniel Multenius had been left
+alone in house and shop--that his granddaughter was out on some errand or
+other. Therefore, no one knew of the diamond and the money. We did not
+want any one to know. If we had gone to the police and told our tale, the
+news would have spread, and would certainly have reached the Chinaman's
+ears. We knew well enough that if we were to get our property back the
+thief must not be alarmed--there must be nothing in the newspapers next
+morning. The Chinaman must not know that the real owners of the diamond
+and the bank-notes suspected him--he must not know that information about
+his booty was likely to be given to the police. He must be left to
+believe--for some hours at any rate--that what he had possessed himself of
+was the property of a dead man who could not tell anything. But there
+was my book in that dead man's parlour! It was impossible to go back and
+fetch it. It was equally impossible that it should not attract attention.
+Daniel Multenius's granddaughter, whom I believed to be a very sharp young
+woman, would notice it, and would know that it had come into the place
+during her absence. I thought hard over that problem--and finally I
+drafted an advertisement and sent it off to an agency with instructions to
+insert it in every morning newspaper in London next day. Why? Because I
+wanted to draw a red herring across the trail!--I wanted, for the time
+being, to set up a theory that some man or other had found that book in
+the omnibus, had called in at Multenius's to sell or pawn it, had found
+the old man alone, and had assaulted and robbed him. All this was with a
+view to hoodwinking the Chinaman. Anything must be done, anything!--to
+keep him ignorant that Purvis and I knew the real truth.
+
+"But--what did we intend to do? I tell you, not being aware that old
+Daniel Multenius had met his death by violence, we did not give one
+second's thought to that aspect and side of the affair--we concentrated on
+the recovery of our property. I knew the house in which these Chinese
+lived. That evening, Purvis and I went there. We have both been
+accustomed, in our time, to various secret dealings and manoeuvres, and we
+entered the grounds of that house without any one being the wiser. It did
+not take long to convince us that the house was empty. It remained empty
+that night--Purvis kept guard over it, in an outhouse in the garden. No
+one either entered or left it between our going to it and Purvis coming
+away from it next morning--he stayed there, watching until it was time to
+keep an appointment with me in Hyde Park. Before I met him, I had been
+called upon by Detective Ayscough, Mr. Rubinstein, and Mr. Lauriston--they
+know what I said to them. I could not at that time say anything else--I
+had my own concerns to think of.
+
+"When Purvis and I met we had another consultation, and we determined, in
+view of all the revelations which had come out and had been published in
+the papers, that the suspicion cast on young Mr. Lauriston was the very
+best thing that could happen for us; it would reassure our Chinaman. And
+we made up our minds that the house in Maida Vale would not be found
+untenanted that night, and we arranged to meet there at eleven o'clock. We
+felt so sure that our man would have read all the news in the papers, and
+would feel safe, and that we should find him. But, mark you, we had no
+idea as to which of the two Chinamen it was that we wanted. Of one fact,
+however, we were certain--whichever it was that I had seen slip round the
+corner of Iron Gate Wharf the previous day, whether it was Chang Li or
+Chen Li, he would have kept his secret to himself! The thing was--to get
+into that house; to get into conversation with both; to decide which was
+the guilty man, and then--to take our own course. We knew what to do--and
+we went fully prepared.
+
+"Now we come to this--our second visit to the house in Maida Vale. To be
+exact, it was between eleven and twelve on the second night after the
+disappearance of the diamond. As on the previous night, we gained access
+to the garden by the door at the back--that, on each occasion, was
+unfastened, while the gate giving access to the road in Maida Vale was
+securely locked. And, as on the previous night, we quickly found that up
+to then at any rate, the house was empty. But not so the garden! While I
+was looking round the further side of the house, Purvis took a careful
+look round the garden. And presently he came to me and drew away to the
+asphalted path which runs from the front gate to the front door. The moon
+had risen above the houses and trees--and in its light he pointed to
+bloodstains. It did not take a second look, gentlemen, to see that they
+were recent--in fact, fresh. Somebody had been murdered in that garden not
+many minutes--literally, minutes!--before our arrival. And within two
+minutes more we found the murdered man lying behind some shrubbery on the
+left of the path. I knew him for the younger of the two Chinese--the man
+called Chen Li.
+
+"This discovery, of course, made us aware that we were now face to face
+with a new development. We were not long in arriving at a conclusion about
+that. Chang Li had found out that his friend had become possessed of these
+valuable--he might have discovered the matter of the diamond, or of the
+bank-notes or both--how was immaterial. But we were convinced, putting
+everything together, that he had made this discovery, had probably laid in
+wait for Chen Li as he returned home that night, had run a knife into him
+as he went up the garden, had dragged the body into the shrubbery,
+possessed himself of the loot, and made off. And now we were face to face
+with what was going, as we knew, to be the stiffest part of our work--the
+finding of Chang Li. We set to work on that without a moment's delay.
+
+"I have told you that Purvis and I have a pretty accurate knowledge of
+Chinamen; we have both had deep and intimate experience of them and their
+ways. I, personally, know a good deal of the Chinese Colony in London: I
+have done business with Chinamen, both in London and South Africa, for
+years. I had a good idea of what Chang Li's procedure would be. He would
+hide--if need be, for months, until the first heat of the hue and cry
+which he knew would be sure to be raised, would have cooled down. There
+are several underground warrens--so to speak--in the East End, in which he
+could go to earth, comfortably and safely, until there was a chance of
+slipping out of the country unobserved. I know already of some of them. I
+would get to know of others.
+
+"Purvis and I got on that track--such as it was, at once. We went along to
+the East End there and then--before morning I had shaved off my beard and
+mustache, disguised myself in old clothes, and was beginning my work.
+First thing next morning I did two things--one was to cause a telegram to
+be sent from Spring Street to my butler explaining my probable absence;
+the other to secretly warn the Bank of England about the bank-notes. But I
+had no expectation that Chang Li would try to negotiate those--all his
+energies, I knew, would be concentrated on the diamond. Nevertheless, he
+might try--and would, if he tried--succeed--in changing one note, and it
+was as well to take that precaution.
+
+"Now then, next day, Purvis and I being, in our different ways, at work in
+the East End, we heard the news about the Praed Street tradesman,
+Parslett. That seemed to me remarkable proof of my theory. As the
+successive editions of the newspapers came out during that day, and next
+day, we learnt all about the Parslett affair. I saw through it at once.
+Parslett, being next-door neighbour to Daniel Multenius, had probably seen
+Chen Li--whom we now believed to have been the actual thief--slip away
+from Multenius's door, and, when the news of Daniel's death came out, had
+put two and two together, and, knowing where the Chinamen lived, had gone
+to the house in Maida Vale to blackmail them. I guessed what had happened
+then--Parslett, to quieten him for the moment, had been put off with fifty
+pounds in gold, and promised more--and he had also been skilfully poisoned
+in such a fashion that he would get safely away from the premises but die
+before he got home. And when he was safe away, Chang Li had murdered Chen
+Li, and made off. So--as I still think--all our theories were correct, and
+the only thing to do was to find Chang."
+
+But here Levendale paused, glanced at Stephen Purvis, and spread out his
+hands with a gesture which indicated failure and disappointment. His
+glance moved from Stephen Purvis to the police officials.
+
+"All no good!" he exclaimed. "It's useless to deny it. I have been in
+every Chinese den and haunt in East London--I'm certain that Chang Li is
+nowhere down there. I have spent money like water--employed Chinese and
+Easterns on whom I could depend--there isn't a trace of him! And so--we
+gave up last night. Purvis and I--baffled. We've come to you police
+people--"
+
+"You should have done that before, Mr. Levendale," said the Inspector
+severely. "You haven't given us much credit, I think, and if you'd told
+all this at first--"
+
+Before the Inspector could say more, a constable tapped at the door and
+put his head into the room. His eyes sought Ayscough.
+
+"There's a young gentleman--foreigner--asking for you, Mr. Ayscough," he
+said. "Wants to see you at once--name of Mr. Yada."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
+
+
+YADA TAKES CHARGE
+
+Ayscough had only time to give a warning look and a word to the others
+before Mr. Mori Yada was ushered in. Every eye was turned on him as he
+entered--some of the men present looking at him with wonder, some with
+curiosity, two, at any rate--Levendale and Stephen Purvis--with doubt. But
+Yada himself was to all outward appearance utterly indifferent to the
+glances thrown in his direction: it seemed to John Purdie, who was
+remembering all he had heard the night before, that the young Japanese
+medical student was a singularly cool and self-possessed hand. Yada,
+indeed, might have been walking in on an assemblage of personal friends,
+specially gathered together in his honour. Melky Rubinstein, who was also
+watching him closely, noticed at once that he had evidently made a very
+careful toilet that morning. Yada's dark overcoat, thrown negligently
+open, revealed a smart grey lounge suit; in one gloved hand he carried a
+new bowler hat, in the other a carefully rolled umbrella. He looked as
+prosperous and as severely in mode as if no mysteries and underground
+affairs had power to touch him, and the ready smile with which he greeted
+Ayscough was ingenuous and candid enough to disarm the most suspicious.
+
+"Good morning, Mr. Detective," he began, as he crossed the threshold and
+looked first at Ayscough and then at the ring of attentive faces. "I want
+to speak to you on that little affair of last night, you know. I suppose
+you are discussing it with these gentlemen? Well, perhaps I can now give
+you some information that will be useful."
+
+"Glad to hear anything, Mr. Yada," said Ayscough, who was striving hard to
+conceal his surprise. "Anything that you can tell us. You've heard
+something during the night, then?"
+
+Yada laughed pleasantly, showing his white teeth. He dropped into the
+chair which Ayscough pushed forward, and slowly drew off his gloves.
+
+"I assured myself of something last night--after you left me," he said,
+with a knowing look. "I used your card to advantage, Mr. Detective. I went
+to the mortuary."
+
+Ayscough contrived to signal to the Inspector to leave the talking to him.
+He put his thumbs in the armholes of his waistcoat, assumed an easy
+attitude as he leaned against the door, and looked speculatively at the
+new comer.
+
+"Aye?--and what made you do that now, Mr. Yada?" he asked, half-
+carelessly. "A bit of curiosity, eh?"
+
+"Not idle curiosity, Mr. Detective," replied Yada. "I wanted to know, to
+make certain, which of the two Chinamen it really was who was there--dead.
+I saw him. Now I know. Chen Li!"
+
+"Well?" said Ayscough.
+
+Yada suddenly twisted round in his chair, and slowly glanced at the
+listening men on either side of the desk. They were cool, bold, half-
+insolent eyes which received face after face, showing no recognition of
+any until they encountered Melky Rubinstein's watchful countenance. And to
+Melky, Yada accorded a slight nod--and turned to Ayscough again.
+
+"Which," he asked calmly, "which of these gentlemen is the owner of the
+diamond? Which is the one who has lost eighty thousand pounds in bank-
+notes? That is what I want to know before I say more."
+
+In the silence which followed upon Ayscough's obvious doubt about
+answering this direct question, Levendale let out a sharp, half-irritable
+exclamation:
+
+"In God's name!" he said, "who is this young man? What does he know about
+the diamond and the money?"
+
+Yada turned and faced his questioner--and suddenly smiling, thrust his
+hand in his breast pocket and drew out a card-case. With a polite bow he
+handed a card in Levendale's direction.
+
+"Permit me, sir," he said suavely. "My card. As for the rest, perhaps Mr.
+Detective here will tell you."
+
+"It's this way, you see, Mr. Levendale," remarked Ayscough. "Acting on
+information received from Dr. Pittery, one of the junior house-surgeons at
+University College Hospital, who told me that Mr. Yada was a fellow-
+student of those two Chinese, and a bit of a friend of theirs, I called on
+Mr. Yada last night to make enquiries. And of course I had to tell him
+about the missing property--though to be sure, that's news that's common
+to everybody now--through the papers. And--what else have you to tell, Mr.
+Yada?"
+
+But Yada was watching Levendale--who, on his part, was just as narrowly
+watching Yada. The other men in the room watched these two--recognizing,
+as if by instinct, that from that moment matters lay between Levendale and
+Yada, and not between Yada and Ayscough. They were mutually inspecting and
+appraising each other, and in spite of their impassive faces, it was plain
+that each was wondering about his next move.
+
+It was Levendale who spoke first--spoke as if he and the young Japanese
+were the only people in the room, as if nothing else mattered. He bent
+forward to Yada.
+
+"How much do you know?" he demanded.
+
+Yada showed his white teeth again.
+
+"A plain--and a wide question, Mr. Levendale!" he answered, with a laugh.
+"I see that you are anxious to enlist my services. Evidently, you believe
+that I do know something. But--you are not the owner of the diamond! Which
+of these gentlemen is?"
+
+Levendale made a half impatient gesture towards Stephen Purvis, who nodded
+at Yada but remained silent.
+
+"He is!" said Levendale, testily. "But you--can do your talking to me.
+Again--how much do you know in this matter?"
+
+"Enough to make it worth your while to negotiate with me," answered Yada.
+"Is that as plain as your question?"
+
+"It's what I expected," said Levendale. "You want to sell your knowledge."
+
+"Well?" assented Yada, "I am very sure you are willing to purchase."
+
+Once more that duel of the eyes--and to John Purdie, who prided himself on
+being a judge of expressions, it was evident that the younger man was more
+than the equal of the older. It was Levendale who gave way--and when he
+took his eyes off Yada, it was to turn to Stephen Purvis.
+
+Stephen Purvis nodded his head once more--and growled a little.
+
+"Make terms with him!" he muttered. "Case of have to, I reckon!"
+
+Levendale turned once more to the Japanese, who smiled on him.
+
+"Look you here, Mr. Yada," said Levendale, "I don't know who you are
+beyond what I'm told--your card tells me nothing except that you live--
+lodge, I suppose--in Gower Street. You've got mixed up in this, somehow,
+and you've got knowledge to dispose of. Now, I don't buy unless I know
+first what it is I'm buying. So--let's know what you've got to sell?"
+
+Yada swept the room with a glance.
+
+"Before these gentlemen?" he asked. "In open market, eh?"
+
+"They're all either police, or detectives, or concerned," retorted
+Levendale. "There's no secret. I repeat--what have you got to sell?
+Specify it!"
+
+Yada lifted his hands and began to check off points on the tips of his
+fingers.
+
+"Three items, then, Mr. Levendale," he replied cheerfully. "First--the
+knowledge of who has got the diamond and the money. Second--the knowledge
+of where he is at this moment, and will be for some hours. Third--the
+knowledge of how you can successfully take him and recover your property.
+Three good, saleable items, I think--yes?"
+
+Purdie watched carefully for some sign of greed or avarice in the
+informer's wily countenance. To his surprise, he saw none. Instead, Yada
+assumed an almost sanctimonious air. He seemed to consider matters--though
+his answer was speedy.
+
+"I don't want to profit--unduly--by this affair," he said. "At the same
+time, from all I've heard, I'm rendering you and your friend a very
+important service, and I think it only fair that I should be remunerated.
+Give me something towards the expenses of my medical education, Mr.
+Levendale: give me five hundred pounds."
+
+With the briefest exchange of glances with Stephen Purvis, Levendale
+pulled out a cheque-book, dashed off a cash cheque, and handed it over to
+the Japanese, who slipped it into his waistcoat pocket.
+
+"Now--your information!" said Levendale.
+
+"To be sure," replied Yada. "Very well. Chang Li has the diamond and the
+money. And he is at this moment where he has been for some days, in
+hiding. He is in a secret room at a place called Pilmansey's Tea Rooms, in
+Tottenham Court Road--a place much frequented by medical students from our
+college. The fact of the case is, Mr. Policeman, and the rest of you
+generally, there is a secret opium den at Pilmansey's, though nobody knows
+of it but a few frequenters. And there!--there you will find Chang Li."
+
+"You've seen him there?" demanded Levendale.
+
+"I saw him there during last night--I know him to be there--he will be
+there, either until you take him, or until his arrangements are made for
+getting out of this country," answered Yada.
+
+Levendale jumped up, as if for instant action. But the Inspector quietly
+tapped him on the elbow.
+
+"He promised to tell you how to take him, Mr. Levendale," he said. "Let's
+know all we can--we shall have to be in with you on this, you know."
+
+"Mr. Police-Inspector is right," said Yada. "You will have to conduct what
+you call a raid. Now, do precisely what I tell you to do. Pilmansey's is
+an old-fashioned place, a very old house as regards its architecture, on
+the right-hand side of Tottenham Court Road. Go there today--this mid-day
+--a little before one--when there are always plenty of customers. Go with
+plenty of your plain-clothes men, like Mr. Ayscough there. Drop in, don't
+you see, as if you were customers--let there be plenty of you, I repeat.
+There are two Pilmanseys--men--middle-aged, sly, smooth, crafty men. When
+you are all there, take your own lines--close the place, the doors, if you
+like--but get hold of the Pilmansey men, tell them you are police, insist
+on being taken to the top floor and shown their opium den. They will
+object, they will lie, they will resist--you will use your own methods.
+But--in that opium den you will find Chang Li--and your property!"
+
+He had been drawing on his gloves as he spoke, and now, picking up his hat
+and umbrella, Yada bowed politely to the circle and moved to the door.
+
+"You will excuse me, now?" he said. "I have an important lecture at the
+medical school which I must not miss. I shall be at Pilmansey's, myself, a
+little before one--please oblige me by not taking any notice of me. I do
+not want to figure--actively--in your business."
+
+Then he was gone--and the rest of them were so deeply taken with the news
+which he had communicated that no one noticed that just before Yada
+fastened his last glove-button, Melky Rubinstein slipped from his corner
+and glided quietly out of the room.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
+
+
+PILMANSEY'S TEA ROOMS
+
+Two hours later, it being then a quarter-to-one o'clock, Purdie and
+Lauriston got out of a taxi-cab at the north-end of Tottenham Court Road
+and walked down the right-hand side of that busy thoroughfare, keeping
+apparently careless but really vigilant eyes open for a first glimpse of
+the appointed rendezvous. But Pilmansey's Tea Rooms required little
+searching out. In the midst of the big modern warehouses, chiefly given up
+to furniture and upholstery, there stood at that time a block of old
+property which was ancient even for London. The buildings were plainly
+early eighteenth century: old redbrick erections with narrow windows in
+the fronts and dormer windows in the high, sloping roofs. Some of them
+were already doomed to immediate dismantlement; the tenants had cleared
+out, there were hoardings raised to protect passers-by from falling
+masonry, and bills and posters on the threatened walls announced that
+during the rebuilding, business would be carried on as usual at some other
+specified address. But Pilmansey's, so far, remained untouched, and the
+two searchers saw that customers were going in and out, all unaware that
+before evening their favourite resort for a light mid-day meal would
+attain a fame and notoriety not at all promised by its very ordinary and
+commonplace exterior.
+
+"An excellent example of the truth of the old saying that you should never
+judge by appearances, Andie, my man!" remarked Purdie, as they took a
+quick view of the place. "Who'd imagine that crime, dark secrets, and all
+the rest of it lies concealed behind this?--behind the promise of tea and
+muffins, milk and buns! It's a queer world, this London!--you never know
+what lies behind any single bit of the whole microcosm. But let's see
+what's to be seen inside."
+
+The first thing to be seen inside the ground floor room into which they
+stepped was the man from New Scotland Yard, who, in company with another
+very ordinary-looking individual was seated at a little table just inside
+the entrance, leisurely consuming coffee and beef sandwiches. He glanced
+at the two men as if he had never seen them in his life, and they,
+preserving equally stolid expressions with credit if not with the
+detective's ready and trained ability, passed further on--only to
+recognize Levendale and Stephen Purvis, who had found accommodation in a
+quiet corner half-way down the room. They, too, showed no signs of
+recognition, and Purdie, passing by them, steered his companion to an
+unoccupied table and bade him be seated.
+
+"Let's get our bearings," he whispered as they dropped into their seats.
+"Looks as innocent and commonplace within as it appeared without, Andie.
+But use your eyes--it ought to make good copy for you, this."
+
+Lauriston glanced about him. The room in which they sat was a long, low-
+ceiling apartment, extending from the street door to a sort of bar-counter
+at the rear, beyond which was a smaller room that was evidently given up
+to store and serving purposes. On the counter were set out provisions--
+rounds of beef, hams, tongues, bread, cakes, confectionery; behind it
+stood two men whom the watchers at once set down as the proprietors. Young
+women, neatly gowned in black and wearing white caps and aprons, flitted
+to and fro between the counter and the customers. As for the customers
+they were of both sexes, and the larger proportion of them young. There
+was apparently no objection to smoking at Pilmansey's--a huge cloud of
+blue smoke ascended from many cigarettes, and the scent of Turkish tobacco
+mingled with the fragrance of freshly-ground coffee. It was plain that
+Pilmansey's was the sort of place wherein you could get a good sandwich,
+good tea or coffee, smoke a cigarette or two, and idle away an hour in
+light chatter with your friends between your morning and afternoon
+labours.
+
+But Lauriston's attention was mainly directed to the two men who stood
+behind the bar-counter, superintending and directing their neat
+assistants. Sly, smooth, crafty men--so they had been described by Mr.
+Mori Yada: Lauriston's opinion coincided with that of the Japanese, on
+first, outer evidence and impression. They were middle-aged, plump men who
+might be, and probably were, twins, favouring mutton chop whiskers, and
+good linen and black neckcloths--they might have been strong, highly-
+respectable butlers. Each had his coat off; each wore a spotless linen
+apron; each wielded carving knives and forks; each was busy in carving
+plates of ham or tongue or beef; each contrived, while thus engaged, to
+keep his sharp, beady eyes on the doings in the room in front of the
+counter. Evidently a well-to-do, old-established business, this, and
+highly prosperous men who owned it: Lauriston wondered that they should
+run any risks by hiding away a secret opium den somewhere on their ancient
+premises.
+
+In the midst of their reflections one of the waitresses came to the table
+at which the two friends sat: Lauriston quicker of wit than Purdie in such
+matters immediately ordered coffee and sandwiches and until they came,
+lighted a cigarette and pretended to be at ease, though he was inwardly
+highly excited.
+
+"It's as if one were waiting for an explosion to take place!" he muttered
+to Purdie. "Even now I don't know what's going to happen."
+
+"Here's Ayscough, anyway," said Purdie. "He looks as if nothing was about
+to happen."
+
+Ayscough, another man with him, was making his way unconcernedly down the
+shop. He passed the man from New Scotland Yard without so much as a wink:
+he ignored Levendale and Stephen Purvis; he stared blankly at Purdie and
+Lauriston, and led his companion to two vacant seats near the counter. And
+they had only just dropped into them when in came Mr. Killick, with John
+Purvis and Guyler and slipped quietly into seats in the middle of the
+room. Here then, said Lauriston to himself, were eleven men, all in a
+secret--and there were doubtless others amongst the company whom he did
+not know.
+
+"But where's Melky Rubinstein?" he whispered suddenly. "I should have
+thought he'd have turned up--he's been so keen on finding things out."
+
+"There's time enough yet," answered Purdie. "It's not one. I don't see the
+Jap, either. But--here's the Inspector--done up in plain clothes."
+
+The Inspector came in with a man whom neither Purdie nor Lauriston had
+ever seen before--a quietly but well-dressed man about whom there was a
+distinct air of authority. They walked down the room to a table near the
+counter, ordered coffee and lighted cigarettes--and the two young
+Scotsmen, watching them closely, saw that they took a careful look round
+as if to ascertain the strength of their forces. And suddenly, as
+Lauriston was eating his second sandwich, the Inspector rose, quietly
+walked to the counter and bending over it, spoke to one of the white-
+aproned men behind.
+
+"The game's begun!" whispered Lauriston. "Look!"
+
+But Purdie's eyes were already fixed on the Pilmanseys, whom he recognized
+as important actors in the drama about to be played. One of them slightly
+taller, slightly greyer than the other, was leaning forward to the
+Inspector, and was evidently amazed at what was being said to him, for he
+started, glanced questioningly at his visitor, exchanged a hurried word or
+two with him and then turned to his brother. A second later, both men laid
+down their great knives and forks, left their counter, and beckoned the
+Inspector to follow them into a room at the rear of the shop. And the
+Inspector in his turn, beckoned Ayscough with a mere glance, and Ayscough
+in his, made an inviting movement to the rest of the party.
+
+"Come on!" said Purdie. "Let's hear what's happening."
+
+The proprietors of the tea-rooms had led the Inspector and the man who was
+with him into what was evidently a private room--and when Lauriston and
+Purdie reached the door they were standing on the hearth rug, side by
+side, each in a very evident state of amazement, staring at a document
+which the Inspector was displaying to them. They looked up from it to
+glance with annoyance, at the other men who came quietly and expectantly
+crowding into the room.
+
+"More of your people?" asked the elder man, querulously. "Look here, you
+know!--we don't see the need for all this fuss, not for your interrupting
+our business in this way! One or two of you, surely, would have been
+enough without bringing a troop of people on to our premises--all this is
+unnecessary!"
+
+"You'll allow us to be the best judge of what's necessary and what isn't,
+Mr. Pilmansey," retorted the Inspector. "There'll be no fuss, no bother--
+needn't be, anyway, if you tell us what we want to know, and don't oppose
+us in what we've got power to do. Here's a warrant--granted on certain
+information--to search your premises. If you'll let us do that quietly."
+
+"But for what reason?" demanded the younger man. "Our premises, indeed!
+Been established here a good hundred years, and never a word against us.
+What do you want to search for?"
+
+"I'll tell you that at once," answered the Inspector. "We want a young
+Chinaman, one Chang Li, who, we are informed, is concealed here, and has
+valuable stolen property on him. Now, then, do you know anything about
+him? Is he here?"
+
+The two men exchanged glances. For a moment they remained silent--then the
+elder man spoke, running his eye over the expectant faces watching him.
+
+"Before I say any more," he answered, "I should just like to know where
+you got your information from?"
+
+"No!" replied the Inspector, firmly. "I shan't tell you. But I'll tell you
+this much--this Chang Li is wanted on a very serious charge as it is, and
+we may charge him with something much more serious. We've positive
+information that he's here--and I'm only giving you sound advice when I
+say that if he is here, you'll do well to show us where he is. Now, come,
+Mr. Pilmansey, is he here?"
+
+The elder Pilmansey shook his head--but the shake was more one of doubt
+than of denial.
+
+"I can't say," he answered. "He might be."
+
+"What's that mean?" demanded the Inspector. "Might be? Surely you know
+who's in your own house!"
+
+"No!" said the elder man, "I can't say. It's this way--we've a certain
+number of foreigners come here. There are few--just a few--Chinese and
+Japanese--medical students, you know. Now, some time ago--a couple of
+years ago--some of them asked us if we couldn't let them have three or
+four rooms at the top of the house in which to start a sort of little club
+of their own, so that they could have a place for their meetings, you
+understand. They were all quiet, very respectable young fellows--so we
+did. They have the top floor of this house. They furnished and fitted it
+up themselves. There's a separate entrance--at the side of the shop. Each
+of them has a latch-key of his own. So they can go in and out as they
+like--they never bother us. But, as a matter of fact, there are only four
+or five of them who are members now--the others have all left. That's the
+real truth--and I tell you I don't know if Mr. Chang Li might be up there
+or not. We know nothing about what they do in their rooms--they're only
+our tenants."
+
+"Let me ask you one question," said the Inspector, "Have either of you
+ever been in those rooms since you let them to these people!"
+
+"No!" answered the elder man. "Neither of us--at anytime!"
+
+"Then," commanded the Inspector, "I'll thank you to come up with us to
+them--now!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
+
+
+CHANG LI
+
+Not without some grumbling as to waste of time and interference with
+business, the Pilmansey brothers led the way to a side door which opened
+into a passage that ran along the side of the shop and from whence a
+staircase rose to the upper regions of the house. The elder pointed,
+significantly, to the street door at the end.
+
+"You'll take notice that these young fellows I told you of get to the
+rooms we let them through that?" he observed. "That door's always locked--
+they all have latch-keys to it. They never come through the shop--we've
+nothing to do with them, and we don't know anything about whatever they
+may do in their rooms--all we're concerned with is that they pay their
+rent and behave themselves. And quiet enough they've always been--we've
+had no reason to complain."
+
+"And, as they all have latch-keys, I suppose they can get into the place
+at any hour of the day--or night?" suggested the Inspector. "There's no
+bar against them coming here at night?"
+
+"They can come in--and go out--whenever they please," answered the elder
+man. "I tell you we've nothing to do with them--except as their
+landlords."
+
+"Where do you live--yourselves?" asked the Inspector. "On these premises?"
+
+"No, we don't," replied the younger brother, who, of the two, had showed
+the keenest, if most silent, resentment at the police proceedings. "We
+live--elsewhere. This establishment is opened at eight in the morning, and
+closed at seven in the evening. We're never here after seven--either of
+us."
+
+"So that you never see anything of these foreigners at night-time?" asked
+the Inspector. "Don't know what they do, I suppose?"
+
+"We never see anything of 'em at any time," said the elder brother. "As
+you see, this passage and staircase is outside the shop. We know nothing
+whatever about them beyond what I've told you."
+
+"Well--take us up, and we'll see what we can find out," commanded the
+Inspector. "We're going to examine those rooms, Mr. Pilmansey, so we'll
+get it done at once."
+
+The intervening rooms between the lower and the top floors of the old
+house appeared to be given up to stores--the open doors revealed casks,
+cases, barrels, piles of biscuit and confectionery boxes--nothing to
+conceal there, decided the lynx-eyed men who trooped up the dingy stairs
+after the grumbling proprietors. But the door on the top floor was closed
+--and when Ayscough turned its handle he found it to be locked from
+within.
+
+"They've keys of their own for that, too," remarked the younger Pilmansey.
+"I don't see how you're going to get in, if there's nobody inside."
+
+"We're going in there whether there's anybody or not," said the Inspector.
+"Knock, Ayscough!--knock loudly!"
+
+The group of men gathered behind the leaders, and filling the whole of the
+lobby outside the closed door, waited, expectant and excited, in the
+silence which followed on Ayscough's loud beating on the upper panel. A
+couple of minutes went by: the detective knocked again, more insistently.
+And suddenly, and silently, the door was opened--first, an inch or two,
+then a little wider, and as Ayscough slipped a stoutly booted foot inside
+the crack a yellow face, lighted by a pair of narrow-slitted dark eyes,
+looked out--and immediately vanished.
+
+"In with you!" said the Inspector. "Careful, now!"
+
+Ayscough pushed the door open and walked in, the rest crowding on his
+heels. And Purdie, who was one of the foremost to enter, was immediately
+cognizant of two distinct odours--one, the scent of fragrant tea, the
+other of a certain heavy, narcotic something which presently overpowered
+the fragrance of the tea and left an acid and bitter taste.
+
+"Opium," he whispered to Lauriston, who was close at his elbow. "Opium!
+Smell it?"
+
+But Lauriston was more eyes than nose just then. He, like the rest of his
+companions, was staring at the scene on which they had entered. The room
+was of a good size--evidently, from its sloping ceilings, part of the
+attic story of the old house. The walls were hung with soft, clinging,
+Oriental draperies and curtains; a few easy chairs of wickerwork, a few
+small tables of like make, were disposed here and there: there was an
+abundance of rugs and cushions: in one corner a gas-stove was alight, and
+on it stood a kettle, singing merrily.
+
+The young man who had opened the door had retreated towards this stove;
+Purdie noticed that in one hand he held a small tea-pot. And in the left-
+hand corner, bent over a little table, and absorbed in their game, sat two
+other young men, correctly attired in English clothes, but obviously
+Chinese from their eyebrows to their toes, playing chess.
+
+The holder of the tea-pot cast a quick glance at the disturbance of this
+peaceful scene, and set down his tea-pot; the chess-players looked up for
+one second, showed not the faintest sign of perturbation--and looked down
+again. Then the man of the tea-pot spoke--one word.
+
+"Yes?" he said.
+
+"The fact is, Mister," said the elder Pilmansey, "these are police-
+officers. They want one of your friends--Mr. Chang Li."
+
+The three occupants of the room appeared to pay no attention. The chess-
+players went on playing; the other man reached for a canister, and
+mechanically emptied tea out of it into his pot.
+
+"Shut and lock that door, Ayscough," said the Inspector. "Let somebody
+stand by it. Now," he continued, turning to the three Chinese, "is one of
+you gentlemen Mr. Chang Li?"
+
+"No!" replied one of the chess-players. "Not one of us!"
+
+"Is he here?" demanded the Inspector. Then seeing that he was to be met by
+Oriental impassivity, he turned to the Pilmanseys. "What other rooms are
+there here?" he asked.
+
+"Two," answered the elder brother, pointing to the curtains at the rear of
+the room. "One there--the other there. Behind those hangings--two smaller
+rooms."
+
+The Inspector strode forward and tore the curtains aside. He flung open
+the first of the doors--and started back, catching his breath.
+
+"Phew!" he said.
+
+The heavy, narcotic odour which Purdie had noticed at once on entering the
+rooms came afresh, out of the newly-opened door, in a thick wave. And as
+the rest of them crowded after the Inspector, they saw why. This was a
+small room, hung like the first one with curiously-figured curtains, and
+lighted only by a sky-light, over which a square of blue stuff had been
+draped. In the subdued life they saw that there was nothing in that room
+but a lounge well fitted with soft cushions and pillows--and on it, his
+spare figure wrapped in a loose gown, lay a young Chinaman, who, as the
+foremost advanced upon him, blinked in their wondering faces out of eyes
+the pupils of which were still contracted. Near him lay an opium pipe--
+close by, on a tiny stand, the materials for more consumption of the drug.
+
+The man who had accompanied the Inspector in his entrance to the tea-shop
+strode forward and seized the recumbent figure by the shoulder, shaking
+him gently.
+
+"Now then!" he said, sharply, "wake up, my man! Are you Chang Li?"
+
+The glazed eyes lifted themselves a little wonderingly; the dry lips
+moved.
+
+"Yes," he muttered. "Chang Li--yes. You want me?"
+
+"How long have you been here?" demanded the questioner.
+
+"How long--yes? Oh--I don't know. What do you want?" asked Chang Li. "I
+don't know you."
+
+The tea-maker thrust his head inside the room.
+
+"He can't tell you anything," he said, with a grin. "He has been--what you
+call on the break-out--with opium--ever so many days. He has--attacks that
+way. Takes a fit of it--just as some of your people take to the drink.
+He's coming out of it, now--and he'll be very, very unhappy tomorrow."
+
+The Inspector twisted round on the informant.
+
+"Look here!" he said. "Do you know how long he's been here--stupifying
+himself? Is it a day--or days?"
+
+One of the chess-players lifted a stolid face.
+
+"He has been here--like that--several days," he said. "It's useless trying
+to do anything with him when he takes the fit--the craving, you
+understand?--into his head. If you want any information out of him, you'd
+better call again in a few hours."
+
+"Do you mean to tell me he's been here--like that--several days?" demanded
+the Inspector.
+
+"The young man with the tea-pot grinned again.
+
+"He's never been at a class at the medical school since the 17th," he
+announced. "I know that--he's in some classes with me. He's been here--all
+the time since then."
+
+The Inspector turned sharply on Ayscough.
+
+"The 17th!" he exclaimed. "And that affair was on the 18th! Then--"
+
+Chang Li was fumbling in a pocket of his gown. He found something there,
+raised a hand to his lips, swallowed something. And in a few seconds, as
+his eyes grew brighter, he turned a suspicious and sullen glance on the
+group which stood watching him.
+
+"What do you want?" he growled. "Who are you?"
+
+"We want some information from you," said the Inspector. "When did you
+last see your brother, or friend, or whatever he is--Chen Li?"
+
+Chang Li shook his head--it was obvious that he had no clear recollection.
+
+"Don't know," he answered. "Perhaps just now--perhaps tomorrow--perhaps
+not for a long time."
+
+"When were you last at home--in Maida Vale?" asked the Inspector.
+
+But Chang Li gave no answer to that beyond a frown, and it was evident
+that as his wits cleared his temper was becoming ugly. He began to look
+round with more intelligence, scanning one face after another with growing
+dislike, and presently he muttered certain observations to himself which,
+though not in English, sounded anything but complimentary to those who
+watched him. And Ayscough suddenly turned to the superior officials.
+
+"If this man's been here ever since the 17th," he said, "he can't have had
+anything to do with the affairs in Praed Street and Maida Vale! Supposing,
+now--I'm only supposing--that young Jap's been lying all the time?" He
+turned again--this time on the two chess-players, who had now interrupted
+their game and were leaning back in their chairs, evidently amused at the
+baffled faces of the searchers. "Here!" he said, "do you know one Yada--
+Mori Yada--a Japanese? Is he one of you?"
+
+"Oh, yes!" answered one of the chess-players. "Yada,--yes! We know him--a
+very smart fellow, Yada. You know him--too?"
+
+But before Ayscough could reply to this somewhat vexatious question, a man
+who had been left in the tearooms came hurrying up the staircase and burst
+in upon them. He made straight for the Inspector.
+
+"Man from the office, sir, outside in a taxi!" he exclaimed breathlessly.
+"You're on the wrong track--you're to get to Multenius's shop in Praed
+Street at once. The real man's there!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
+
+
+THE JEW AND THE JAP
+
+When Melky Rubinstein slipped quietly out of the police-station, he
+crossed the street, and taking up a position just within a narrow alley on
+the other side, set himself to watch the door which he had just quitted.
+There was a deep design in his mind, and he meant to carry it out--alone.
+
+Mr. Mori Yada, apparently as cool and unconcerned as ever, presently
+tripped down the steps of the police-station and went leisurely off,
+swinging his neatly rolled umbrella. As long as he was within sight of the
+police-station windows he kept up the same gentle pace--but as soon as he
+had turned the first corner his steps were quickened, and he made for a
+spot to which Melky had expected him to make--a cab-rank, on which two or
+three taxi-cabs were drawn up. He had reached the first, and was
+addressing the driver, when Melky, who had kept a few yards in the rear,
+stole gently up to his side and tapped him on the shoulder.
+
+"Mister!" said Melky. "A word--in private!"
+
+Yada turned on his interrupter with the swiftness of a snake, and for a
+second his white teeth showed themselves in an unmistakable snarl, and a
+savage gleam came into his dark eyes. Both snarl and gleam passed as
+quickly as they had come, and the next instant he was smiling--as blandly
+as ever.
+
+"Oh, yes!" he said. "It is you--how do you do? Perhaps you are going my
+way--I can give you a lift--Yes?"
+
+Melky drew his man away a yard or two, and lowered his voice to a whisper.
+
+"Mister!" he said, with a note of deep confidence which made Yada look at
+him with a sudden sense of fear. "Mister!--I wouldn't go no way at all if
+I was you--just now. You're in danger, mister--you shoved your head into
+the lions' den when you walked in where I've just seen you! Deep, deep is
+them fellows, mister!--they're having you on toast. I know where you're
+thinking of going, mister, in that cab. Don't go--take my tip!"
+
+"How do you know where I'm going?" demanded Yada.
+
+"I was looking over Levendale's shoulder when he wrote that bit of a
+cheque, mister," answered Melky, in his quietest accents. "You're off to
+his bank to turn it into cash. And--if you walk into that bank--well,
+you'll never walk out again, alone! Mister!--they're going to collar you
+there--there's a trap laid for you!"
+
+Melky was watching Yada's face out of his own eye-corners, and he saw the
+olive-tinted skin pale a little, and the crafty eyes contract. And on the
+instant he pursued his tactics and his advantage. He had purposely steered
+the Japanese into a more crowded part of the street, and now he edged him
+into a bye-alley which led to a rookery of narrow bye-streets beyond. He
+felt that Yada was yielding--oppressed by a fear of the unknown. But
+suddenly Yada paused--drawing back from the hand which Melky had kept on
+his arm.
+
+"What are you after?" he demanded. "What is your game, eh? You think to
+alarm me!--what do you want?"
+
+"Nothing unreasonable, mister," answered Melky. "You'll easily satisfy me.
+Game? Come, now, mister--I know your game! Bank first--to get some ready--
+then somewhere to pick up a bit of luggage--then, a railway station.
+That's it, ain't it, now? No blooming good, mister--they're ready for you
+the minute you walk into that bank! If they don't take you then, they'll
+only wait to follow you to the station. Mister!--you ain't a cat's
+chance!--you're done--if you don't make it worth my while to help you!
+See?"
+
+Yada looked round, doubtfully. They had turned two or three corners by
+that time, and were in a main street, which lay at the back of Praed
+Street. He glanced at Melky's face--which suggested just then nothing but
+cunning and stratagem.
+
+"What can you do for me?" he asked. "How much do you want? You want money,
+eh?"
+
+"Make it a hundred quid, mister," said Melky. "Just a hundred of the best,
+and I'll put you where all the police in London won't find you for the
+rest of today, and get you out of it at night in such a fashion that
+you'll be as safe as if you was at home. You won't never see your home in
+Japan, again, mister, if you don't depend on yours truly! And a hundred
+ain't nothing--considering what you've got at stake."
+
+"I haven't a hundred pounds to give you," answered Yada. "I have scarcely
+any money but this cheque."
+
+"In course you ain't, mister!" agreed Melky. "I twigged your game straight
+off--you only came there to the police-station to put yourself in funds
+for your journey! But that's all right!--you come along of me, and let me
+put you in safety--then you give me that cheque--I'll get it cashed in ten
+minutes without going to any banks--see? Friend o' mine hereabouts--he'll
+cash it at his bank close by--anybody'll cash a cheque o' Levendale's.
+Come on, now, mister. We're close to that little port o' refuge I'm
+telling you about."
+
+The bluff was going down--Melky felt, as much as saw, that Yada was
+swallowing it in buckets. And he slipped his hand within his companion's
+arm, piloted him along the street, across Praed Street, round the back of
+the houses into the narrow passage which communicated with the rear of the
+late Daniel Multenius's premises, and in at the little door which opened
+on the parlour wherein so many events had recently taken place.
+
+"Where are you taking me?" asked Yada, suspiciously, as they crossed the
+threshold.
+
+"All serene, mister!" answered Melky, reassuringly. "Friend o' mine here
+--my cousin. All right--and all secure. You're as safe here as you will be
+in your grave, mister--s'elp me, you are! Zillah!"
+
+Zillah walked into the parlour and justified Melky's supreme confidence in
+her by showing no surprise or embarrassment. She gave Yada the merest
+glance, and turned to Melky.
+
+"Bit o' business with this young gentleman, Zillah," said Melky. "That
+little room, upstairs, now--what?" "Oh, all right!" said Zillah,
+indifferently. "You know your way--you'll be quiet enough there."
+
+Melky signed to Yada to follow him, and led the way up the stairs to the
+very top of the house. He conducted the Japanese into the small room in
+which were some ancient moth-and-worm-eaten bits of furniture, an old
+chest or two, and a plenitude of dust--and carefully closed the door when
+he and his captive had got inside.
+
+"Now, mister!" he said, "you're as safe here as you could be in any spot
+in the wide world. Let's get to business--and let's understand each other.
+You want that cheque turned into cash--you want to get out of London
+tonight? All right--then hand over your check and keep quiet till I come
+back. Is there anything else now--any bit of luggage you want?"
+
+"You do all this if I pay you one hundred pounds?" asked Yada.
+
+"That'll do me, mister," answered Melky. "I'm a poor fellow, d'ye see?--I
+don't pick up a hundred quid every day, I assure you! So if there is
+anything--"
+
+"A suit-case--at the luggage office at Oxford Circus Tube," said Yada. "I
+must have it--papers, you understand. If you will get me that--"
+
+"Give me the ticket--and that cheque," said Melky. He slipped the two bits
+of paper into his pocket, and made for the door. "I'll turn the key
+outside," he said. "You'll be safer. Make yourself comfortable, mister--
+I'll be back in an hour with the money and the goods."
+
+Two minutes later Melky confronted Zillah in the parlour and grinned at
+her. Zillah regarded him suspiciously.
+
+"What's this, Melky?" she demanded. "What're you up to?"
+
+"Zillah!" said Melky, "you'll be proud of your cousin, Melky Rubinstein,
+before ever it's dinner-time--you will do, Zillah! And in the meantime,
+keep your counsel, Zillah, while he fetches a nice large policeman."
+
+"Is that Japanese locked in that little room?" asked Zillah.
+
+Melky tapped the side of his nose, and without a word looked out into the
+street. A policeman, large enough for all practical purposes, was lounging
+along the side-walk; another, equally bulky, was looking into a shop-
+window twenty yards away across the street. Within a couple of minutes
+Melky had both in the back-parlour and was giving them and Zillah a swift
+but particular account of his schemes.
+
+"You're sure you're right, Melky?" asked Zillah. "You're not making any
+mistake?"
+
+"Mistake!" exclaimed Melky, satirically. "You'll see about that in a
+minute! Now," he added, turning to the policemen, "you come quietly up--
+and do exactly what I've told you. We'll soon know about mistakes,
+Zillah!"
+
+Yada, left to himself, had spent his time in gazing out of the dirty
+window of his prison. There was not much of a prospect. The window
+commanded the various backyards of that quarter. As if to consider any
+possible chance of escape, he looked out. There was a projection beneath
+him, a convenient water-pipe--he might make a perilous descent, if need
+arose. But, somehow, he believed in that little Jew: he believed, much
+more, in the little Jew's greed for a hundred pounds of ready money. The
+little Jew with the cunning smile had seen his chance of making a quiet
+penny, and had taken it--it was all right, said Yada, all right. And yet,
+there was one horrible thought--supposing, now that Melky had got the
+cheque, that he cashed it and made off with all the money, never to
+return?
+
+On top of that thought, Melky did return--much sooner than Yada had
+expected. He opened the door and beckoned the prisoner out into the dark
+lobby at the top of the stairs.
+
+"Come here a minute, mister," said Melky, invitingly. "Just a word!"
+
+Yada, all unsuspecting, stepped out--and found his arms firmly gripped by
+two bulky policemen. The policemen were very quiet--but Melky laughed
+gleefully while Yada screamed and cursed him. And while he laughed Melky
+went through his prisoner's pockets in a knowing and skilful fashion, and
+when he had found what he expected to find, he made his helpers lock Yada
+up again, and taking them downstairs to the parlour laid his discoveries
+on the table before them and Zillah. There was a great orange-yellow
+diamond in various folds of tissue-paper, and a thick wad of bank-notes,
+with an indiarubber band round them.
+
+These valuables lay, carelessly displayed, on the table when the party
+from Pilmansey's Tea Rooms came tumbling into the shop and the parlour, an
+hour later. Melky was calmly smoking a cigar--and he went on smoking it as
+he led the Inspector and his men upstairs to the prisoner. He could not
+deprive himself of the pleasure of a dig at Ayscough.
+
+"Went one better than you again, Mr. Ayscough," he said, as he laid his
+hand on the key of the locked room. "Now if I hadn't seen through my young
+gentleman--"
+
+But there, as Melky threw open the door, his words of assurance came to an
+end. His face dropped as he stared into an empty room. Yada had risked his
+neck, and gone down the water-pipe.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
+
+
+THE DIAMOND NECKLACE
+
+For the better part of a fortnight the sleuth-hounds of New Scotland Yard
+hunted for Mr. Mori Yada in all the likely and unlikely places in London
+and sent out their enquiries much further afield. They failed to find him.
+One small clue they got, with little difficulty. After the hue-and-cry was
+fairly out, an Edgware Road pawnbroker came forward and informed the
+police that at two o'clock, or thereabouts, on the afternoon of the day on
+which Yada had made his escape from the window, a young Japanese gentleman
+who gave his name as Mr. Motono and his address at a small hotel close by
+and who volunteered the explanation that he was temporarily short of cash
+until a remittance arrived, had borrowed five pounds from him on a pearl
+tie-pin which he had drawn from his cravat. That was Yada, without a
+doubt--but from that point Yada vanished.
+
+But hunger is the cleverest detective, and at the end of the fortnight,
+certain officials of the Japanese embassy in London found themselves
+listening to a strange tale from the fugitive, who had come to the end of
+his loan, had nowhere to turn and no one but the representatives of his
+nation to whom he could appeal. Yada told a strange tale--and all the
+stranger because, as the police officials who were called in to hear it
+anew recognized that there was probably some truth in it. It amounted,
+when all was heard, to this--Yada was willing to confess that for a few
+days he had been a successful thief, but he stoutly denied that he was a
+murderer.
+
+This was his story:--On the 18th November, in the evening, he was at the
+club which housed itself in Pilmansey's attic. There he saw Chang Li, who,
+according to the other members who were there, was beginning one of his
+periodic fits of opium smoking, and had been in the inner room, stupifying
+himself, since the previous day. Yada knew that it was highly necessary
+that Chang Li should be in attendance at certain classes at the medical
+school during the next few days, and tried to rouse him out of his
+debauch, with no result. Next day, the 19th, he went to Pilmansey's again
+--Chang Li was still in the realms of bliss and likely to stop there until
+he had had enough of them. For two days nobody at the club nor at the
+school had seen Chen Li--and Chen Li was the only person who could do
+anything with Chang. So, late that night of the 19th November, Yada went
+up to Maida Vale, taking Chang Li's keys with him. He admitted himself to
+garden and house and found the house empty. But just as he was entering
+the front door he heard the voice of Chen Li at the garden gate; he also
+heard the voice of an Englishman. Also he caught something of what that
+Englishman said. He was telling Chen Li that he'd better take him, the
+Englishman, inside, and settle with him--or things would be all the worse.
+And at that, he, Yada, had slipped into the house, quietly closed the
+front door behind him, gone into the front room, hidden himself behind a
+curtain and waited.
+
+Into that front room, Chen Li had presently conducted a man. He was, said
+Yada, a low-class Englishman--what is called a Cockney. He had begun to
+threaten Chen Li at once. He told his tale. He was, said this fellow, next
+door neighbour to Mr. Daniel Multenius, in Praed Street, Chen Li's
+landlord: his name, if Chen Li wanted to know it, was Parslett, fruitier
+and green-grocer, and it was there, bold as brass, over his shop-door, for
+him or anybody to look at. He had a side-door to his house: that side-door
+was exactly opposite a side-door in Mr. Multenius's house, opening into
+his back-parlour. Now, the previous afternoon, he, Parslett, had had a
+consignment of very fine mushrooms sent in--rare things at that time of
+year--and knowing that the old man had a great taste for them and didn't
+mind what price he paid, he stepped across with a dish of them to tempt
+him. He found Mr. Multenius in his parlour--he was counting a lot of bank-
+notes--they must, said Parslett, have represented a large sum. The old man
+bade him leave the mushrooms, said he'd send him the money across
+presently, and motioned him out. Parslett put the dish of mushrooms aside
+on a chiffonier and went away. Somewhat later, chancing to be at his front
+door and looking out into the street, he saw Chen Li open the door of
+Multenius's shop and go swiftly away. Half-an-hour after that he heard
+that something had happened at Multenius's--later in the evening he heard
+definitely that the old man had been assaulted under circumstances which
+pointed to murder for the sake of robbery. And then he, Parslett, now put
+two and two together--and had fixed on Chen Li as the culprit. And now--
+how much, was Chen Li going to pay for silence?
+
+According to Yada, Chen Li had had little to say--his chief anxiety,
+indeed, had been to find out what the man wanted. Parslett was definite
+enough about that. He wanted a thousand pounds--and he wanted it in gold,
+and as much of it as Chen Li could hand out there and then. He refused to
+believe that Chen Li hadn't gold in considerable quantity somewhere about
+--he must, said Parslett, have changed some of those notes since he had
+stolen them the previous day. Chen Li protested that he had but some fifty
+or sixty pounds in gold available--but he promised to have the rest of the
+thousand ready on the following evening. Finally, he handed Parslett fifty
+pounds, arranged that he should call the next night--and then invited him
+to take a drink. Parslett pocketed the money and accepted the invitation--
+and Yada, from his hiding-place, saw Chen Li go to the sideboard, mix
+whisky and soda and pour into the mixture a few drops from a phial which
+he took from his waistcoat pocket. Parslett drank off the contents of the
+glass--and Chen Li went down to the gate with him.
+
+Yada followed to the front door and, through a slight opening, watched.
+The garden was fairly well lighted by the moon, which had recently risen.
+He saw Chen Li let the man out. He saw him turn from the gate and slowly
+come back towards the house. And then he saw something else--the sudden
+spring, from behind a big laurel bush, of a man--a short-statured, slight-
+figured man, who leapt on Chen Li with the agility of a panther. He saw
+the flash of a knife in the moonlight--he heard a muffled cry, and
+startled groan--and saw Chen Li pitch forward and lie evidently lifeless,
+where he fell. He saw the assailant stoop, seize his victim by the
+shoulders and drag him behind the shrubbery. Then, without further delay,
+the murderer hurried to the gate. Evidently assured himself that there was
+no one about, let himself out, and was gone.
+
+By all the solemn oaths that he could think of, Yada swore that this was
+true. Of another thing he was certain--the murderer was a Chinese.
+
+Now began his own career of crime. He was just then very hard up. He had
+spent much more than his allowance--he was in debt at his lodgings and
+elsewhere. Somewhere, he felt sure, there was, in that house, the money
+which Chen Li had evidently stolen from old Multenius. He immediately set
+to work to find it. But he had no difficulty--the bank-notes were in the
+drawer from which he had seen Chen Li take the gold which he had given to
+the blackmailer, Parslett. He hurriedly transferred them to his own
+pocket, and got away from the house by the door at the back of the garden
+--and it was not until late that night, in the privacy of his own rooms,
+that he found he had nearly eighty thousand pounds in his possession.
+
+For some days, said Yada, he was at a loss what to do with his booty. He
+was afraid of attempting to change five hundred pound notes. He made
+cautious enquiries as to how that could be done--and he began to think
+that the notes were so much waste paper to him. And then Ayscough called
+on him--and for the first time, he heard the story of the orange-yellow
+diamond.
+
+That gave him an idea. He had a very accurate knowledge of Chinese habits
+and characteristics, and he felt sure that Chen Li would have hidden that
+diamond in his pig-tail. So he took advantage of his possession of the
+detective's card to go to the mortuary, to get a minute or two alone with
+the body, and to slip his hand underneath the dead man's silk cap. There
+he found the diamond--and he knew that whether the bank-notes were to be
+of any value to him or not, the diamond would be if he could only escape
+to the Continent.
+
+But--he wanted funds; wanted them badly. He thereupon conceived the bold
+idea of getting a reward for his knowledge. He went to the police-station
+with a merely modest motive in his mind--fifty pounds would carry him to
+Vienna, where he knew how to dispose of the diamond at once, with no
+questions asked. But when he found the owners of the diamond and the bank-
+notes present he decided to play for higher stakes. He got what he asked
+for--and, if it had not been for that little Jew, he said malevolently, he
+would have got out of England that eventful afternoon. But--it was not so
+written--and the game was up. Only--what he had said was true. Now let
+them do what they could for him--but let them search for Chen Li's
+murderer.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The folk who had been chiefly concerned about the orange-yellow diamond
+and the eighty thousand pounds' worth of Bank of England notes were not so
+much troubled about proving the truth of Yada's strange story as Yada
+himself was--the main point to them was that they had recovered their
+property. Naturally they felt remarkably grateful to Melky Rubinstein for
+his astuteness in circumventing Yada at what might have been the last
+moment. And one day, at that portion of it when business was slack and
+everybody was feeling comfortable after dinner, Melky called on Mrs.
+Goldmark and became confidentially closeted with her in a little parlour
+behind her establishment which she kept sacred to herself. Mrs. Goldmark,
+who had quick eyes, noticed that Melky was wearing his best clothes, and a
+new silk hat, and new gloves, and had put his feet into patent-leather
+boots which she secretly and sympathizingly--felt to be at least a size
+too small for him. He sighed as he sat near her on the sofa--and Mrs.
+Goldmark looked at him with concern.
+
+"Such a time you have lately, Mr. Rubinstein, don't you?" she said
+feelingly. "Such worries--such troubles! And the risk you ran taking that
+wicked young man all by yourself--so brave of you! You'd ought to have one
+of these medals what they give to folks, so!"
+
+"You think that?" responded Melky, brightening suspiciously. "Oh, Mrs.
+Goldmark, your words is like wine--all my life I been wishing some
+beautiful woman would say them things to me! Now I feel like I was two
+foot taller, Mrs. Goldmark! But I don't want no medals--not me. Mr.
+Levendale and Mr. Purvis, they came to me and say they must give me a
+reward--handsome reward, you understand, for getting back their goods. So
+I say no--I won't have nothing for myself--nothing. But, I say, just so--
+there is one that should be rewarded. Mrs. Goldmark!--do you know what? I
+think of you when I say that!"
+
+Mrs. Goldmark uttered a feeble scream, clasped her hands, and stared at
+Melky out of her melting eyes.
+
+"Me?" she exclaimed. "Why--I ain't done nothing, Mr. Rubinstein!"
+
+"Listen to me," persisted Melky. "What I says to Mr. Levendale is this
+here--if Mrs. Goldmark hadn't had her eating establishment, and if Mr.
+Purvis hadn't gone into it to eat a chop and to drop his platinum
+solitaire on the table, and if Mrs. Goldmark hadn't taken care of that
+platinum solitaire, and if things hadn't sprung from it--eh, what then, I
+should like to know? So Mrs. Goldmark is entitled to whatever little
+present there is!--that's how I put it, Mrs. Goldmark. And Mr. Levendale
+and Mr. Purvis, they agreed with me--and oh, Mrs. Goldmark, ain't you
+going to be nice and let me put this round your beautiful neck?"
+
+Mrs. Goldmark screamed again as Melky produced a diamond necklace, lying
+in a blue velvet bed in a fine morocco case. The glitter of the diamonds
+turned both beholders hoarse with emotion.
+
+"Do you know what, Mrs. Goldmark!" whispered Melky. "It cost a thousand
+guineas--and no error! Now you bend your lovely head, and I puts it on
+you--oh, ain't you more beautiful than the Queen of Sheba! And ain't you
+Melky's queen, Mrs. Goldmark--say you was!"
+
+"Lor', Mr. Rubinstein!" said Mrs. Goldmark, coyly. "It's as if you was
+proposing to me!"
+
+"Why, ain't I?" exclaimed Melky, gathering courage. "Don't you see I'm in
+all my best clothes? Ain't it nothing but weddings, just now? There's Mr.
+Lauriston a-going to marry Zillah, and Mr. Purdie's a-fixing it up with
+Levendale's governess, and--oh, Mrs. Goldmark, ain't I worshipped you
+every time I come to eat my dinner in your eating house? Ain't you the
+loveliest woman in all Paddington. Say the word, Mrs. Goldmark--don't you
+see I'm like as if I was that hungry I could eat you?"
+
+Then Mrs. Goldmark said the word--and presently escaped from Melky's
+embrace to look at herself and her necklace in the mirror.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Orange-Yellow Diamond, by J. S. Fletcher
+
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