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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mystery of the Four Fingers, by Fred M. White
+
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+Title: The Mystery of the Four Fingers
+
+Author: Fred M. White
+
+Release Date: February, 2006  [EBook #9853]
+[This file was first posted on October 24, 2003]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: US-ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE MYSTERY OF THE FOUR FINGERS ***
+
+
+
+
+E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Mary Meehan, and the Project Gutenberg
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+The Mystery of the Four Fingers
+
+BY FRED M. WHITE
+
+Author of "THE MIDNIGHT GUEST," "THE CRIMSON BLIND," Etc., Etc.
+
+1908
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+     I.  THE BLACK PATCH
+
+    II.  THE FIRST FINGER
+
+   III.  THE LOST MINE
+
+    IV.  IN THE LIFT
+
+     V.  A PUZZLE FOR VENNER
+
+    VI.  A PARTIAL FAILURE
+
+   VII.  THE WHITE LADY
+
+  VIII.  MISSING
+
+    IX.  A NEW PHASE
+
+     X.  THE SECOND FINGER
+
+    XI.  AN UNEXPECTED MOVE
+
+   XII.  THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR
+
+  XIII.  THE WHITE LADY AGAIN
+
+   XIV.  MASTER OF THE SITUATION
+
+    XV.  FELIX ZARY
+
+   XVI.  FENWICK MOVES AGAIN
+
+  XVII.  MERTON GRANGE
+
+ XVIII.  A COUPLE OF VISITORS
+
+   XIX.  PHANTOM GOLD
+
+    XX.  THE PRODIGAL'S RETURN
+
+   XXI.  THE THIRD FINGER
+
+  XXII.  "THE TIME WILL COME"
+
+ XXIII.  SMOKED OUT
+
+  XXIV.  THE MOUTH OF THE NET
+
+   XXV.  AN ACT OF CHARITY
+
+  XXVI.  THE LAST FINGER
+
+ XXVII.  NEMESIS
+
+XXVIII.  EXPLANATIONS
+
+  XXIX.  THIS MORTAL COIL
+
+   XXX.  A PEACEFUL SUNSET
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE BLACK PATCH
+
+Considering it was nearly the height of the London winter season, the
+Great Empire Hotel was not unusually crowded. This might perhaps have
+been owing to the fact that two or three of the finest suites of rooms in
+the building had been engaged by Mark Fenwick, who was popularly supposed
+to be the last thing in the way of American multi-millionaires. No one
+knew precisely who Fenwick was, or how he had made his money; but during
+the last few months his name had bulked largely in the financial Press
+and the daily periodicals of a sensational character. So far, the man had
+hardly been seen, it being understood that he was suffering from a chill,
+contracted on his voyage to Europe. Up to the present moment he had taken
+all his meals in his rooms, but it was whispered now that the great man
+was coming down to dinner. There was quite a flutter of excitement in the
+Venetian dining-room about eight o'clock.
+
+The beautifully decorated saloon had a sprinkling of well-dressed men
+and women already dining decorously there. Everything was decorous about
+the Great Empire Hotel. No thought had been spared in the effort to keep
+the place quiet and select. The carpets were extra thick, and the waiters
+more than usually soft-footed. On the whole, it was a restful place,
+though, perhaps, the decorative scheme of its lighting erred just a
+trifle on the side of the sombre. Still, flowers and ferns were soft and
+feathery. The band played just loudly enough to stimulate conversation
+instead of drowning it. At one of the little tables near the door two men
+were dining. One had the alertness and vigor which bespeaks the dweller
+in towns. He was neatly groomed, with just the slight suspicion of the
+dandy in his dress, though it was obvious at the merest glance that he
+was a gentleman. His short, sleek hair gave to his head a certain
+suggestion of strength. The eyes which gleamed behind his gold-rimmed
+glasses were keen and steady. Most men about town were acquainted with
+the name of Jim Gurdon, as a generation before had been acquainted with
+his prowess in the athletic field. Now he was a successful barrister,
+though his ample private means rendered professional work quite
+unnecessary.
+
+The other man was taller, and more loose-limbed, though his spare frame
+suggested great physical strength. He was dark in a hawk-like way,
+though the suggestion of the adventurer about him was softened by a pair
+of frank and pleasant grey eyes. Gerald Venner was tanned to a fine,
+healthy bronze by many years of wandering all over the world; in fact, he
+was one of those restless Englishmen who cannot for long be satisfied
+without risking his life in some adventure or other.
+
+The two friends sat there quietly over their dinner, criticising from
+time to time those about them.
+
+"After all," Gurdon said presently, "you must admit that there is
+something in our civilization. Now, isn't this better than starving under
+a thin blanket, with a chance of being murdered before morning?"
+
+Venner shrugged his shoulders indifferently.
+
+"I don't know," he said. "There is something in danger that stimulates
+me; in fact, it is the only thing that makes life worth living, I dare
+say you have wondered why it is that I have never settled down and
+become respectable like the rest of you. If you heard my story, you
+would not be surprised at my eccentric mode of living; at any rate, it
+enables me to forget."
+
+Venner uttered the last words slowly and sadly, as if he were talking
+to himself, and had forgotten the presence of his companion. There
+was a speculative look in his eyes, much as if London had vanished
+and he could see the orchids on the table before him growing in their
+native forests.
+
+"I suppose I don't look much like a man with a past," he went on; "like
+a man who is the victim of a great sorrow. I'll tell you the story
+presently, but not here; I really could not do it in surroundings like
+these. I've tried everything, even to money-making, but that is the
+worst and most unsatisfactory process of the lot. There is nothing so
+sordid as that."
+
+"Oh, I don't know," Gurdon laughed. "It is better to be a
+multi-millionaire than a king today. Take the case of this man Fenwick,
+for instance; the papers are making more fuss of him than if he were the
+President of the United States or royalty travelling incognito."
+
+Venner smiled more or less contemptuously. He turned to take a casual
+glance at a noisy party who had just come into the dining room, for the
+frivolous note jarred upon him. Almost immediately the little party sat
+down, and the decorous air of the room seemed to subdue them. Immediately
+behind them followed a man who came dragging his limbs behind him,
+supported on either side by a servant. He was quite a young man, with a
+wonderfully handsome, clean-shaven face. Indeed, so handsome was he, that
+Venner could think of no more fitting simile for his beauty than the
+trite old comparison of the Greek god. The man's features were perfectly
+chiselled, slightly melancholy and romantic, and strongly suggestive of
+the early portraits of Lord Byron. Yet, all the same, the almost perfect
+face was from time to time twisted and distorted with pain, and from time
+to time there came into the dark, melancholy eyes a look of almost
+malignant fury. It was evident that the newcomer suffered from racking
+pain, for his lips were twitching, and Venner could see that his even,
+white teeth were clenched together. On the whole, it was a striking
+figure to intrude upon the smooth gaiety of the dining-room, for it
+seemed to Venner that death and the stranger were more than casual
+acquaintances. He had an idea that it was only a strong will which kept
+the invalid on this side of the grave.
+
+The sufferer sank at length with a sigh of relief into a large armchair,
+which had been specially placed for him. He waved the servants aside as
+if he had no further use for them, and commenced to study his _menu_, as
+if he had no thought for anything else. Venner did not fail to note that
+the man had the full use of his arms, and his eye dwelt with critical
+approval on the strong, muscular hands and wrists.
+
+"I wonder who that fellow is?" he said. "What a magnificent frame his
+must have been before he got so terribly broken up."
+
+"He is certainly a fascinating personality," Gurdon admitted. "Somehow,
+he strikes me not so much as the victim of an accident as an unfortunate
+being who is suffering from the result of some terrible form of
+vengeance. What a character he would make for a story! I am ready to bet
+anything in reason that if we could get to the bottom of his history it
+would be a most dramatic one. It regularly appeals to the imagination. I
+can quite believe our friend yonder has dragged himself out of bed by
+sheer force of will to keep some appointment whereby he can wreak his
+long nursed revenge."
+
+"Not in a place like this," Venner smiled.
+
+"Why not? In the old days these things used to be played out to the
+accompaniment of thunder and lightning on a blasted heath. Now we are
+much more quiet and gentle in our methods. It is quite evident that our
+handsome friend is expecting someone to dine with him. He gives a most
+excellent dinner to his enemy, points out to him his faults in the most
+gentlemanly fashion, and then proceeds to poison him with a specially
+prepared cigar. I can see the whole thing in the form of a short story."
+
+Venner smiled at the conceit of his companion. He was more than half
+inclined to take a sentimental view of the thing himself. He turned to
+the waiter to give some order, and as he did so, his eyes encountered two
+more people, a man and a woman, who, at that moment, entered the
+dining-room. The man was somewhat past middle age, with a large bald
+head, covered with a shining dome of yellow skin, and a yellow face
+lighted by a pair of deep-sunk dark eyes. The whole was set off and
+rendered sinister by a small hook nose and a little black moustache. For
+the rest, the man was short and inclined to be stout. He walked with a
+wonderfully light and agile step for a man of his weight; in fact he
+seemed to reach his seat much as a cat might have done. Indeed, despite
+his bulk, there was something strangely feline about the stranger.
+
+Venner gave a peculiar gasp and gurgle. His eyes started. All the blood
+receded from his brown face, leaving him ghastly white under his tan. It
+was no aspect of fear--rather one of surprise,--of strong and
+unconquerable emotion. At the same moment Venner's hand snapped the stem
+of his wine glass, and the champagne frothed upon the table.
+
+"Who is that man?" Venner asked of the waiter. His tone was so strained
+and harsh that he hardly recognised his own voice. "Who is the man, I
+say? No, no; I don't mean him. I mean that stout man, with the lady in
+white, over there."
+
+The waiter stared at the speaker in astonishment. He seemed to wonder
+where he had been all these years.
+
+"That, sir, is Mr. Mark Fenwick, the American millionaire."
+
+Venner waved the speaker aside. He was recovering from his emotion now
+and the blood had returned once more to his cheeks. He became conscious
+of the fact that Gurdon was regarding him with a polite, yet none the
+less critical, wonder.
+
+"What is the matter?" the latter asked. "Really, the air seems full of
+mystery. Do you know that for the last two minutes you have been
+regarding that obese capitalist with a look that was absolutely
+murderous? Do you mean to tell me that you have ever seen him before?"
+
+"Indeed, I have," Venner replied. "But on the last occasion of our
+meeting, he did not call himself Mark Fenwick, or by any other name so
+distinctly British. Look at him now; look at his yellow skin with the
+deep patches of purple at the roots of the little hair he has. Mark the
+shape of his face and the peculiar oblique slit of his eyelids. Would you
+take that man for an Englishman?"
+
+"No, I shouldn't," Gurdon said frankly. "If I had to hazard a guess, I
+should say he is either Portuguese or perhaps something of the Mexican
+half caste."
+
+"You would not be far wrong," Venner said quietly. "I suppose you thought
+that the appearance of that man here tonight was something of a shock to
+me. You can little guess what sort of a shock it has been. I promise to
+tell you my story presently, so it will have to keep. In the meantime,
+it is my mood to sit here and watch that man."
+
+"Personally, I am much more interested in his companion," Gurdon laughed.
+"A daughter of the gods, if ever there was one. What a face, and what a
+figure! Do you mean to say that you didn't notice her as she came in?"
+
+"Positively I didn't," Venner confessed. "My whole attention was rivetted
+on the man. I tell you I can see absolutely nothing but his great,
+yellow, wicked face, and for the background the romantic spot where we
+last met."
+
+It was Gurdon's turn now to listen. He leant forward in his chair, his
+whole attention concentrated upon the figure of the stranger, huddled up
+in the armchair at the little table opposite. He touched Venner on the
+arm, and indicated the figure of the man who had suffered so cruelly in
+some form or other.
+
+"The plot thickens," Venner murmured. "Upon my word, he seems to know
+this Mark Fenwick as well as I do."
+
+The maimed crippled figure in the armchair had dragged himself almost to
+his feet, with his powerful, muscular arm propping him against the table.
+His unusually handsome face was all broken and twisted up with an
+expression of malignant fury. He stood there for a moment or two like a
+statue of uncontrollable passion, rigid, fixed, and motionless, save for
+the twitching of his face. Then, gradually he dropped back into his chair
+again, a broken and huddled heap, quivering from head to foot with the
+pain caused by his recent exertion. A moment later he took from his
+breast pocket a silk shade, which he proceeded to tie over his eyes, as
+if the light hurt him. Watching his every movement with intense
+eagerness, the two friends saw that he had also taken from his pocket a
+small silver case, about the same size as an ordinary box of safety
+matches. Indeed, the case looked not unlike the silver coverings for wood
+matches, which are generally to be seen in well-appointed households.
+Then, as if nothing interested him further, he leaned back in his chair,
+and appeared to give himself over entirely to his enjoyment of the
+orchestra. In all probability no diner there besides Venner and Gurdon
+had noticed anything in the least out of the common.
+
+"This is very dramatic," Gurdon said. "Here is a melo-drama actually
+taking place in a comedy 'set' like this. I am glad you will be in a
+position later on to gratify my curiosity. I confess I should like to
+learn something more about this Mark Fenwick, who does not appear to be
+in the least like one's idea of the prosaic money spinner."
+
+"He isn't," Venner said grimly. "Anything but that. Why, three years ago
+that man was as poor and desperate as the most wretched outcast who
+walks the streets of London to-night. And one thing you may be certain
+of--wherever you dine from now to your dying day, you will be under the
+roof of no more diabolical scoundrel than the creature who calls himself
+Mark Fenwick."
+
+There was a deep note in Venner's voice that did not fail to stimulate
+Gurdon's curiosity. He glanced again at the millionaire, who appeared to
+be talking in some foreign tongue with his companion. The tall, fair girl
+with the shining hair had her back to the friends, so they could not see
+her face, and when she spoke it was in a tone so low that it was not
+possible to catch anything more than the sweetness of her voice.
+
+"I wonder what she is doing with him?" Gurdon said. "At any rate, she is
+English enough. I never saw a woman with a more thoroughbred air. She is
+looking this way."
+
+Just for a moment the girl turned her head, and Venner caught a full
+sight of her face. It was only for an instant; then the fair head was
+turned again, and the girl appeared to resume her dinner. Venner jumped
+from his chair and took three strides across the room. He paused there as
+if struggling to regain possession of himself; then he dropped into his
+chair again, shielding his face from the light with his hands. Gurdon
+could see that his companion's face had turned to a ghastly grey.
+Veritably it was a night of surprises, quick, dramatic surprises,
+following close upon one another's heels.
+
+"What, do you mean to say you know her, too?" Gurdon whispered.
+
+Venner looked up with a strange, unsteady smile on his face. He appeared
+to be fighting hard to regain his self-control.
+
+"Indeed, I do know her," he said. "My friend, you are going to have all
+the surprises you want. What will you say when I tell you that the girl
+who sits there, utterly unconscious of my presence, and deeming me to be
+at the other end of the world, is no less a person than--my own wife?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE FIRST FINGER
+
+
+Gurdon waited for his companion to go on. It was a boast of his that he
+had exhausted most of the sensations of life, and that he never allowed
+anything to astonish him. All the same, he was astonished now, and
+surprised beyond words. For the last twenty-five years, on and off, he
+had known Venner. Indeed, there had been few secrets between them since
+the day when they had come down from Oxford together. From time to time,
+during his wanderings, Venner had written to his old chum a fairly
+complete account of his adventures. During the last three years the
+letters had been meagre and far between; and at their meeting a few days
+ago, Gurdon had noticed a reticence in the manner of his old chum that he
+had not seen before.
+
+He waited now, naturally enough, for the other to give some explanation
+of his extraordinary statement, but Venner appeared to have forgotten all
+about Gurdon. He sat there shielding one side of his face, heedless of
+the attentions of the waiter, who proffered him food from time to time.
+
+"Is that all you are going to tell me?" Gurdon asked at length.
+
+"Upon my word, I am very sorry," Venner said. "But you will excuse me
+if I say nothing more at present. You can imagine what a shock this has
+been to me."
+
+"Of course. I don't wish to be impertinent, old chap, but I presume that
+there has been some little misunderstanding--"
+
+"Not in the least. There has been no misunderstanding whatever. I
+honestly believe that the woman over yonder is still just as passionately
+fond of me as I am of her. As you know, Gurdon, I never was much of a
+ladies' man; in fact, you fellows at Oxford used to chaff me because I
+was so ill at ease in the society of women. Usually a man like myself
+falls in love but once in his lifetime, and then never changes. At any
+rate, that is my case. I worship the ground that girl walks upon. I would
+have given up my life cheerfully for her; I would do so now if I could
+save her a moment's pain. You think, perhaps, that she saw me when she
+came in here to-night. That is where you have got the impression that
+there is some misunderstanding between us. You talked just now of
+dramatic surprises. I could show you one even beyond your powers of
+imagination if I chose. What would you say if I told you that three years
+ago I became the husband of that beautiful girl yonder, and that from
+half-an-hour after the ceremony till the present moment I have never set
+eyes on her again?"
+
+"It seems almost incredible," Gurdon exclaimed.
+
+"Yes, I suppose it does. But it is absolutely a fact all the same. I
+can't tell you here the romance of my life. I couldn't do it in
+surroundings like these. We will go on to your rooms presently, and then
+I will make a clean breast of the whole thing to you. You may be disposed
+to laugh at me for a sentimentalist, but I should like to stay here a
+little longer, if it is only now and again to hear a word or two from her
+lips. If you will push those flowers across between me and the light I
+shall be quite secure from observation. I think that will do."
+
+"But you don't mean to tell me," Gurdon murmured, "that the lady in
+question is the daughter of that picturesque-looking old ruffian,
+Mark Fenwick?"
+
+"Of course, she isn't," Venner said, with great contempt. "What the
+connection is between them, I cannot say. What strange fate links them
+together is as much a mystery to me as it is to you. I do not like it,
+but I let it pass, feeling so sure of Vera's innocence and integrity. But
+the waiter will tell us. Here, waiter, is the lady dining over there with
+Mr. Fenwick his daughter or not?"
+
+"Certainly, sir," the waiter responded. "That is Miss Fenwick."
+
+There was silence for a moment or two between the two friends. Venner
+appeared to be deeply immersed in his own thoughts, while Gurdon's eyes
+travelled quickly between the table where the millionaire sat and the
+deep armchair, in which the invalid lay huddled; and Venner now saw that
+the cripple on the opposite side of the room was regarding Fenwick and
+his companion with the intentness of a cat watching a mouse.
+
+Dinner had now come pretty well to an end, and the coffee and liqueurs
+were going round. A cup was placed before Fenwick, who turned to one of
+the waiters with a quick order which the latter hastened to obey. The
+order was given so clearly that Gurdon could hear distinctly what it was.
+He had asked for a light, wherewith to burn the glass of Curacoa which he
+intended to take, foreign fashion, in his coffee.
+
+"And don't forget to bring me a wooden match," he commanded. "Household
+matches. Last night one of your men brought me a vesta."
+
+The waiter hurried off to execute his commission, but his intention was
+anticipated by another waiter who had apparently been doing nothing and
+hanging about in the background. The second waiter was a small, lithe
+man, with beady, black eyes and curly hair. For some reason or other,
+Gurdon noticed him particularly; then he saw a strange thing happen. The
+little waiter with the snaky hair glanced swiftly across the room in the
+direction of the cripple huddled up in the armchair. Just as if he had
+been waiting for a signal, the invalid stretched out one of his long
+arms, and laid his fingers significantly on the tiny silver box he had
+deposited on the table some little time before. The small waiter went
+across the room and deliberately lifted the silver box from the table. He
+then walked briskly across to where the millionaire was seated, placed
+the box close to his elbow, and vanished. He seemed to fairly race down
+the room until he was lost in a pile of palms which masked the door.
+Gurdon had followed all this with the deepest possible interest. Venner
+sat there, apparently lost to all sense of his surroundings. His head was
+on his hands, and his mind was apparently far away. Therefore, Gurdon was
+left entirely to himself, to study the strange things that were going on
+around him. His whole attention was now concentrated upon Fenwick, who
+presently tilted his glass of Curacoa dexterously into his coffee cup,
+and then stretched out his hand for the silver match box by his side. He
+was still talking to his companion while he fumbled for a match without
+looking at the little case in his hand. Suddenly he ceased to speak, his
+black eyes rivetted on the box. It fell from his fingers as if it had
+contained some poisonous insect, and he rose to his feet with a sudden
+scream that could be heard all over the room.
+
+There was a quick hush in the conversation, and every head was turned in
+the direction of the millionaire's table. Practically every diner there
+knew who the man with the yellow head was, so that the startling
+interruption was all the more unexpected. Once again the frightened cry
+rang out, and then Fenwick stood, gazing with horrified eyes and white,
+ghastly face at the innocent looking little box on the table.
+
+"Who brought this here?" he screamed. "Bring that waiter here. Find him
+at once. Find him at once, I say. A little man with beady eyes and hair
+like rats' tails."
+
+The head waiter bustled up, full of importance; but it was in vain that
+he asked for some explanation of what had happened. All Fenwick could do
+was to stand there gesticulating and calling aloud for the production of
+the erring waiter.
+
+"But I assure you, sir," the head waiter said, "we have no waiter here
+who answers to the description of the man you mention. They are all here
+now, every waiter who has entered the room to-night. If you will be so
+good as to pick out the one who has offended you--"
+
+Fenwick's startled, bloodshot eyes ranged slowly over the array of
+waiters which had been gathered for his inspection round his table.
+Presently he shook his head with an impatient gesture.
+
+"I tell you, he is not here," he cried. "The man is not here. He is quite
+small, with very queer, black hair."
+
+The head waiter was equally positive in his assurance. Louder rose the
+angry voice of the millionaire, till at length Venner was aroused from
+his reverie and looked up to Gurdon to know what was going on. The latter
+explained as far as possible, not omitting to describe the strange matter
+of the silver box. Venner smiled with the air of a man who could say a
+great deal if he chose.
+
+"It is all part of the programme," he said. "That will come in my story
+later on. But what puzzles me is where that handsome cripple comes in.
+The mystery deepens."
+
+By this time Fenwick's protestations had grown weaker. He seemed to
+ramble on in a mixture of English and Portuguese which was exceedingly
+puzzling to the head waiter, who still was utterly in the dark as to the
+cause of offence. Most of the diners had gathered round the millionaire's
+table with polite curiosity, and sundry offers of assistance.
+
+"I think we had better get to our own room," a sweet, gentle voice said,
+as the tall, fair girl by Fenwick's side rose and moved in the direction
+of the door. It was, perhaps, unfortunate that Venner had risen at the
+same time. As he strode from his own table, he came face to face with the
+girl who stood there watching him with something like pain in her blue
+eyes. Just for an instant she staggered back, and apparently would have
+fallen had not Venner placed his arm about her waist. In the strange
+confusion caused by the unexpected disturbance, nobody had noticed this
+besides Gurdon, who promptly rose to the occasion.
+
+"You had better take the lady as far as her own rooms," he said. "This
+business has evidently been too much for her. Meanwhile, I will see what
+I can do for Mr. Fenwick."
+
+Venner shot his friend a glance of gratitude. He did not hesitate for a
+moment; he saw that the girl by his side was quite incapable of offering
+any objections for the present. In his own strong, masterful way, he drew
+the girl's hand under his arm, and fairly dragged her from the room into
+the comparative silence and seclusion of the corridor beyond.
+
+"Which way do we go?" he asked.
+
+"The Grand Staircase," the girl replied faintly. "It is on the first
+floor. But you must not come with me, you must come no further. It would
+be madness for him to know that we are together."
+
+"He will not come just yet," Venner replied. "My friend knows something
+of my story, and he will do his best to get us five minutes together. You
+have heard me speak of Jim Gurdon before."
+
+"But it is madness," the girl whispered. "You know how dangerous it is.
+Oh, Gerald, what must you think of me when--"
+
+"I swear to you that I think nothing of you that is unkind or
+ungenerous," Venner protested. "By a cruel stroke of fate we were parted
+at the very moment when our happiness seemed most complete. Why you left
+me in the strange way you did, I have never yet learned. In your letter
+to me you told me you were bound to act as you did, and I believed you
+implicitly. How many men in similar circumstances would have behaved as I
+did? How many men would have gone on honoring a wife who betrayed her
+husband as you betrayed me? And yet, as I stand here at this moment,
+looking into your eyes, I feel certain that you are the same sweet and
+innocent girl who did me the happiness to become my wife."
+
+The beautiful face quivered, and the blue eyes filled with tears. Her
+trembling hand lay on Venner's arm for a moment; then he caught the girl
+to his side and kissed her passionately.
+
+"I thank you for those words," she whispered. "From the bottom of my
+heart I thank you. If you only knew what I have suffered, if you only
+knew the terrible pressure that is put upon me;--and it seemed to me
+that I was acting for the best. I hoped, too, that you would go away and
+forget me; that in the course of time I should be nothing more than a
+memory to you. And yet, in my heart, I always felt that we should meet
+again. Is it not strange that we should come together like this?"
+
+"I do not see that it is in the least strange," Venner replied,
+"considering that I have been looking for you for the last three years.
+When I found you to-night, it was with the greatest difficulty that I
+restrained myself from laying my hands on the man who is the cause of
+all your misery and suffering. How long has he been passing for an
+Englishman? Since when has he been a millionaire? If he be a
+millionaire at all."
+
+"I cannot tell you," the girl whispered. "Really, I do not know. A little
+time ago we were poor enough; then suddenly, money seemed to come in from
+all sides. I asked no questions; they would not have been answered if I
+had. At least, not truthfully. And now you really must go. When shall I
+see you again? Ah, I cannot tell you. For the present you must go on
+trusting me as implicitly as you have done in the past. Oh, if you only
+knew how it wrings my heart to have to speak to you like this, when all
+the time my whole love is for you and you alone. Gerald--ah, go now; go
+at once. Don't you see that he is coming up the stairs?"
+
+Venner turned away, and slipped down a side corridor, till Fenwick had
+entered his own room. Then he walked down the stairs again into the
+dining-room, where a heated discussion was still going on as to the
+identity of the missing waiter.
+
+"They'll never find him," Gurdon muttered, "for the simple reason that
+the fellow was imported for the occasion, and, in my opinion, was no
+waiter at all. You will notice also that our crippled friend has
+vanished. I would give a great deal to know what was in the box that
+pretty nearly scared the yellow man to death. I never saw a fellow so
+frightened in my life. He had to fortify himself with two brandies before
+he could get up to his own room. Gerald, I really must find out what was
+in that box!"
+
+"I think I could tell you," Venner said, with a smile. "Didn't you tell
+me that the mysterious waiter fetched it from the table where it had been
+placed by the handsome cripple?"
+
+"Certainly, he did. I saw the signal pass directly Fenwick asked for a
+wooden match; that funny little waiter was palpably waiting for the
+silver box, and as soon as he placed it on Fenwick's table, he discreetly
+vanished. But, as I said before, I would give considerable to know what
+was in that box."
+
+"Well, go and see," Venner said grimly. "Unless my eyes deceive me, the
+box is still lying on Fenwick's table. In his fright, he forgot all about
+it, and there isn't a waiter among the whole lot, from the chief
+downwards, who has a really clear impression of what the offence was. If
+you take my advice, you will go and have a peep into that box when you
+get the chance. Don't tell me what you find, because I will guess that."
+
+Gurdon crossed over to the other table, and took the box up in his hand.
+He pulled the slide out and glanced at the contents with a puzzled
+expression of face. Then he dropped the box again, and came back to
+Venner with a look on his face as if he had been handling something more
+than usually repulsive.
+
+"You needn't tell me what it is," Venner said. "I know quite as well as
+you do. Inside that box is a dried up piece of flesh, some three inches
+long--in other words a mummified human forefinger."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE LOST MINE
+
+
+Gurdon nodded thoughtfully. He was trying to piece the puzzle together in
+his mind, but so far without success. He was not in the least surprised
+to find that Venner had guessed correctly.
+
+"You've got it exactly," he said. "That is just what the gruesome thing
+is. What does it all mean?"
+
+By this time dinner had long been a thing of the past, and all the guests
+had departed. Here and there the lights were turned down, leaving half
+the room in semi-darkness. It was just the time and place for an exchange
+of confidences.
+
+"How did you know exactly what was in that box?" Gurdon asked. "I have
+read things of this kind before, but they have generally taken the form
+of a warning previous to some act of vengeance."
+
+"As a matter of fact, this is something of the same kind," Venner said;
+"though I am bound to say that my guess was somewhat in the nature of a
+shot. Still, putting two and two together, I felt that I could not have
+been far wrong. Since I have been here this evening, I have begun to form
+a pretty shrewd opinion as to where Fenwick gets his money."
+
+"What shall we do with that box?" Gurdon asked.
+
+"Leave it where it is, by all means. You may depend upon it that Fenwick
+will return for his lost property."
+
+The prophecy came true quicker than Gurdon had expected, for out of the
+gloom there presently emerged the yellow face of Mark Fenwick. He came in
+with a furtive air, like some mean thief who is about to do a shabby
+action. He was palpably looking for something. He made a gesture of
+disappointment when he saw that the table where he had dined was now
+stripped of everything except the flowers. He did not seem to see the
+other two men there at all. Venner took the box from his companion's
+hand, and advanced to Fenwick's side.
+
+"I think you have lost something, sir," he said coolly. "Permit me to
+restore your property to you."
+
+The millionaire gave a kind of howl as he looked at Venner. The noise he
+made was like that of a child suffering from toothache. He fairly
+grovelled at Venner's feet, but as far as the latter's expression was
+concerned, the two might have met for the first time. Just for a moment
+Fenwick stood there, mopping his yellow face, himself a picture of abject
+misery and despair.
+
+"Well?" Venner said sharply. "Is this little box yours, or not?"
+
+"Oh, yes, oh yes," Fenwick whined. "You know that perfectly well--I
+mean, you must recognise--oh, I don't know what I mean. The fact is,
+I am really ill to-night. I hardly know what I am doing. Thank you,
+very much."
+
+Fenwick snatched the box from Venner's fingers, and made hastily
+for the door.
+
+"I believe we are allowed to smoke in here after ten," Gurdon said. "If
+that is the case, why not have a cigar together, and discuss the matter?
+What I am anxious to know at present is the inner meaning of the finger
+in the box."
+
+There was no objection to a cigar in the dining-room at this late hour,
+and presently the two friends were discussing their Havanas together.
+Venner began to speak at length.
+
+"Perhaps it would be as well," he said, "to stick to the box business
+first. You will remember, some three years ago, my writing you to the
+effect that I was going to undertake a journey through Mexico. I don't
+suppose I should have gone there at all, only I was attracted by the
+notion of possible adventures in that country, among the hills where, at
+one time, gold was found. There was no question whatever that gold in
+large quantities used to be mined in the wild district where I had chosen
+to take up my headquarters. Practical engineers say that the gold is
+exhausted, but that did not deter me in the least.
+
+"The first man who put the idea into my head was a half-caste Mexican,
+who had an extraordinary grip on the history of his country, especially
+as far as legends and traditions were concerned. He was a well-educated
+man, and an exceedingly fascinating story-teller. It was he who first
+gave me the history of what he called the Four Finger Mine. It appears
+that this mine had been discovered some century or more ago by a
+Frenchman, who had settled down in the country and married the daughter
+of a native chief. The original founder of the mine was a curious sort of
+man, and was evidently possessed of strong miserly tendencies. Most men
+in his position would have gathered together a band of workers, and
+simply exploited the mine for all it was worth. However, this man, Le
+Fenu, did nothing of the kind. He kept his discovery an absolute secret,
+and what mining was to be done, he did himself. I understand that he was
+a man of fine physique, and that his disposition was absolutely fearless.
+It was his habit at certain seasons of the year to go up to his mine, and
+there work it for a month or two at a time, spending the rest of the year
+with his family. It is quite certain, too, that he kept his secret, even
+from his grown-up sons; for when he died, they had not the slightest idea
+of the locality of the mine, which fact I know from Le Fenu's
+descendants.
+
+"And now comes the interesting part of my story, Le Fenu went up into
+the mountains early in May one year, to put in his solitary two months'
+mining, as usual. For, perhaps, the first time in his life, he suffered
+from a serious illness--some kind of fever, I suppose, though he had just
+strength of will enough to get on the back of a horse and ride as far as
+the nearest _hacienda_.
+
+"Now, on this particular farm there dwelt a Dutchman, who, I believe, was
+called Van Fort. Whether or not Le Fenu partially disclosed his secret in
+his delirium, will never actually be known. At any rate, two or three
+weeks later the body of Le Fenu was discovered not very far away from the
+scene of his mining operations, and from the evidence obtainable, there
+was no doubt in the world that he was foully murdered. Justice in that
+country walks with very tardy footsteps, and though there was little
+question who the real murderer was, Van Fort was never brought to
+justice. Perhaps that was accounted for by the fact that he seemed to be
+suddenly possessed of more money than usual, and was thus in a position
+to bribe the authorities.
+
+"And now comes a further development. Soon after the death of Le Fenu, it
+was noted that Van Fort spent most of his time away from his farm in the
+mountains, no doubt prospecting for Le Fenu's mine. Whether he ever found
+it or not will never be known. Please to bear in mind the fact that for a
+couple of centuries at least Le Fenu's mysterious property was known as
+the Four Finger Mine. With this digression, I will go on to speak further
+of Van Fort's movements. To make a long story short, from his last
+journey to the mountains he never returned. His widow searched for him
+everywhere; I have seen her--a big sullen woman, with a cruel mouth and a
+heavy eye. From what I have heard, I have not the slightest doubt that it
+was she who inspired the murder of the Frenchman.
+
+"She had practically given up all hope of ever seeing her husband again,
+when, one dark and stormy night, just as she was preparing for bed, she
+heard her husband outside, screaming for assistance. From his tone, he
+was evidently in some dire and deadly peril. The woman was by no means
+devoid of courage; she rushed out into the night and searched far and
+near, but no trace of Van Fort could be found, nor did the imploring cry
+for assistance come again. But the next morning, on the doorstep lay a
+bleeding forefinger, which the woman recognised as coming from her
+husband's hand. To make identity absolutely certain, on the forefinger
+was a ring of native gold, which the Dutchman always wore. Please to
+remember once more that this mine was known as the Four Finger Mine."
+
+Venner paused just for a moment to give dramatic effect to his point.
+Gurdon said nothing; he was too deeply interested in the narrative to
+make any comment.
+
+"That was what I may call the first act in the drama," Venner went on.
+"Six months had elapsed, and Van Fort's widow was beginning to forget all
+about the startling incident, when, one night, just at the same time, and
+in just the same circumstances, came that wild, pitiful yell for
+assistance outside the Dutchman's farm. Half mad with dread and terror
+the woman sat there listening. She did not dare to go outside now; she
+knew how futile such an act would be. Also, she knew quite well what was
+going to happen in the morning. She sat up half the night in a state
+bordering on madness. I need not insult your intelligence, my dear
+fellow, by asking you to guess what she found on the doorstep in the
+daylight."
+
+"Of course, I can guess," Gurdon said. "Beyond all question, it was the
+third finger of the Dutchman's hand."
+
+"Quite so," Venner resumed. "I need not over elaborate my story or bore
+you by telling how, six months later, the second finger of the hand
+appeared in the same sensational circumstances, and how, at the end of a
+year, the four fingers were complete. Let me once more impress upon you
+the fact that this mine was called the Four Finger Mine for more than a
+century before these strange things happened."
+
+"It is certainly an extraordinary thing," Gurdon muttered. "I don't think
+I ever listened to a weirder tale. And did the Dutch woman confess to
+her crime? This strikes me as being a fitting end to the story. I suppose
+it came from her lips."
+
+"She didn't confess, for the simple reason that she had no mind to
+confess with," Venner explained. "Of course, certain neighbors knew
+something of what was going on, but they never knew the whole truth,
+because, after the appearance of the last finger, Mrs. Van Fort went
+stark raving mad. She lived for a few days, and at the end of that time
+her body was found in a waterfall close to her house. That is the story
+of the Four Finger Mine so far as it goes, though I should not be
+surprised if we manage to get to the last chapter yet. Now, you are an
+observant man--did you notice anything peculiar in Fenwick's appearance
+to-night?"
+
+Gurdon shook his head slowly. It was quite evident that he had not
+noticed anything out of the common in the appearance of the millionaire.
+Venner proceeded to explain.
+
+"Let me tell you this," he said. "When I married my wife, we were within
+an easy ride of the locality where the Four Finger Mine is situated. Mind
+you, our marriage was a secret one, and I presume that Fenwick is still
+in ignorance of it, though, of course, he was fully aware of the fact
+that I had more than a passing admiration for Vera. I merely mention this
+by way of accentuating the little point that I am going to make. It is
+more than probable that, when I stumbled upon Fenwick and the girl who
+passes for his daughter, he also was in search of the Four Finger Mine.
+When he came in to-night he, of course, recognised me, though I treated
+him as an absolute stranger whom I had met for the first time. You will
+see presently why I treated him in this fashion. I am glad I spoke to
+him, because I noticed a slight thing that throws a flood of light upon
+the mystery. Now, did it escape your observation, or did you notice that
+Fenwick took the box I gave him in his right hand?"
+
+"Oh, dear, no," Gurdon said. "A little thing like that would be almost
+too trivial for the typical detective of the cheap story."
+
+"All the same, it is very important," Venner said. "He took the box in
+his right hand; he made as if to extend his left, then suddenly changed
+his mind, and put it in his pocket. But he was too late to disguise from
+me that he had--"
+
+"I know," Gurdon shouted. "He had lost all the fingers on his left
+hand. What an amazing thing! We must get to the bottom of this business
+at all costs."
+
+"That is precisely what we are going to do," Venner said grimly. "I am
+glad you are so quick in taking up the point. When I noted the loss of
+those fingers, I was absolutely staggered for a moment. If he had been
+less agitated than he was, Fenwick would have guessed what I had seen. I
+need not tell you that when I last saw Fenwick his left hand was as sound
+as yours or mine. The inference of this is, that Fenwick has fallen under
+the ban of the same strange vengeance that overtook Van Fort and his
+wife. There is not the slightest doubt that he discovered the mine, and
+that he has not yet paid the penalty for his temerity."
+
+"I presume the penalty is coming," Gurdon said. "What a creepy sort of
+idea it is, that terrible vengeance reaching across a continent in such a
+sinister fashion. But don't forget that we know something as to the way
+in which this thing is to be brought about. Don't forget the cripple who
+sat at yonder table to-night."
+
+"I am not likely to forget him," Venner observed. "All the more because
+he evidently knows more about this matter than we do ourselves. When he
+came here to-night, he little dreamed that there was one man in the
+room, at least, who had a fairly good knowledge of the Four Finger
+Mystery. We shall have to look him out, and, if necessary, force him to
+speak. But it is a delicate matter, and as far as I can see, one not
+unattended with danger."
+
+Gurdon smoked in thoughtful silence for some little time, turning the
+strange thing over in his mind. The more he dwelt upon it, the more wild
+and dramatic did it seem.
+
+"There is one thing in our favor," he said, presently. "The mysterious
+cripple is evidently a deadly enemy of Fenwick's. We shall doubtless find
+him ready to accept our offer, provided that we put it in the right way."
+
+"I am not so sure of that," Venner replied. "At any rate, we can make no
+move in that direction without thinking the whole thing out carefully and
+thoroughly. Our crippled friend is evidently a fanatic in his way, and he
+is not alone in his scheme. Do not forget that we have also the little
+man who played the part of the waiter to deal with. I am sorry that I did
+not notice him. A man who could carry off a thing like that with such
+splendid audacity is certainly a force to be reckoned with."
+
+Gurdon rose from his seat with a yawn, and intimated that it was time to
+go to bed. It was long past twelve now and the hotel was gradually
+retiring to rest. The Grand Empire was not the sort of house to cater to
+the frivolous type of guest, and usually within an hour of the closing of
+the theatres the whole of the vast building was wrapped in silence.
+
+"I think I will go now," Gurdon said. "Come and lunch with me to-morrow,
+and then you can tell me something about your own romance. What sort of a
+night is it, waiter?"
+
+"Very bad, sir," the waiter replied. "It's pouring in torrents. Shall I
+call you a cab, sir?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+IN THE LIFT
+
+
+Gurdon looked out from the shelter of the great portico to see the sheets
+of rain falling on the pavement. Silence reigned supreme but for the
+steady plash of the raindrops as they rattled on the pavements. To walk
+half a mile on such a night meant getting wet through; and Gurdon
+somewhat ruefully regarded his thin slippers and his light dust overcoat.
+Half a dozen times the night porter blew his whistle, but no sign of a
+cab could be seen.
+
+"We shan't get one to-night," Venner said. "They are all engaged. There
+is only one thing for it--you must take a room here, and stay till the
+morning. I've no doubt I can fit you up in the way of pyjamas and the
+things necessary."
+
+Gurdon fell in readily enough with the suggestion. Indeed, there was
+nothing else for it. He took his number and key from the sleepy clerk in
+the office, and made his way upstairs to Venner's bedroom.
+
+"I'll just have one cigarette before I turn in," he said. "It seems as if
+Fate had ordained that I am to keep in close touch with the leading
+characters of the mystery. By the way, we never took the trouble to find
+out who the handsome cripple was."
+
+"That is very easily done in the morning," Venner replied. "A striking
+personality like that is not soon lost sight of. Besides, he has
+doubtless been here before, for, if you will recollect, his attendants
+took him to the right table as if it had been ordered beforehand. And
+now, if you don't mind, I'll turn in--not that I expect to sleep much
+after an exciting evening like this. Good night, old fellow."
+
+Gurdon went on to his own room, where he slowly undressed and sat
+thinking the whole thing out on the edge of his bed. Perhaps he was
+suffering from the same suppressed excitement which at that moment was
+keeping Venner awake, for he felt not the slightest disposition to turn
+in. Usually he was a sound sleeper; but this night seemed likely to prove
+an exception to the rule.
+
+An hour passed, and Gurdon was still sitting there, asking himself
+whether it would not be better to go to bed and compel sleep to come to
+him. Impatiently he turned out his light and laid his head resolutely on
+the pillow.
+
+But it was all in vain--sleep was out of the question. The room was not
+altogether in darkness, either; for the sleeping apartments on that
+landing had been arranged back to back with a large, open ventilator
+between them. Through this ventilator came a stream of light; evidently
+the occupant of the adjoining room had not yet retired. The light
+worried Gurdon; he asked himself irritably why his neighbor should be
+permitted to annoy him in this way. A moment or two later the sound of
+suppressed voices came through the ventilator, followed by the noise of a
+heavy fall.
+
+At any ordinary time Gurdon would have thought nothing of this, but his
+imagination was aflame now, and his mind was full of hidden mysteries. It
+seemed to him that something sinister and underhand was going on in the
+next room.
+
+Usually, no one would identify the Grand Empire Hotel with crime and
+intrigue; but that did not deter Gurdon from rising from his bed and
+making a determined effort to see through the ventilator into the
+adjoining room. It was not an easy matter, but by dint of balancing two
+chairs one on top of the other the thing was accomplished. Very
+cautiously Gurdon pushed back the glass slide and looked through. So far
+as he could see, there was nothing to justify any suspicion. The room
+was absolutely empty, though it was brilliantly lighted; and for a
+moment Gurdon felt ashamed of his suspicions, and turned away, half
+determined to try and sleep. It was at that instant that he noticed
+something out of the common. To his quickened ear there came a sound
+unmistakably like a snore, and pushing his body half through the
+ventilator he managed to make out the bed in the next room. On it lay
+the body of a boy in uniform, unmistakably a messenger boy or hotel
+attendant of that kind. Gurdon could see the hotel name embroidered in
+gold letters on his collar.
+
+Perhaps there was nothing so very suspicious in this, except that the boy
+was lying on the bed fully dressed, even to his boots. It was a luxurious
+room; not at all the class of apartment to which the hotel management
+would relegate one of their messenger boys, nor was it possible that the
+lad had had the temerity to go into the vacant room and sleep.
+
+"Something wrong here," Gurdon muttered. "Hang me if I don't get through
+the ventilator and see what it is."
+
+It was no difficult matter for an athlete like Gurdon to push his way
+through and drop on to the bed on the other side. Then he shook the form
+of the slumbering lad without reward. The boy seemed to be plunged in a
+sleep almost like death. As Gurdon turned him over, he noticed on the
+other side of the lad's collar the single word "Lift." It began to dawn
+upon Gurdon exactly what had happened. In large hotels like the Grand
+Empire there is no fixed period when the lift is suspended, and
+consequently, it has its attendants night and day. For some reason, this
+boy had evidently been drugged and carried into the room where he now
+lay. There was no doubt whatever about it, for it was impossible to
+shake the lad into the slightest semblance of life. Gurdon crossed to
+the door, and found, not to his surprise, that it was locked. His first
+impulse was to return to his room and call the night porter; but a
+strange, wild idea had come into his mind, and he refrained from doing
+so. It occurred to him that perhaps Mark Fenwick or the cripple had had
+a hand in this outrage.
+
+"I'll wait a bit," Gurdon told himself. "It is just possible that my key
+will fit this door. Anyway, it is worth trying."
+
+Gurdon made his way back to his own room again, to return a minute or two
+later with his key. To his great delight the door opened, and he stood in
+a further corridor, close against the cage in which the lift worked
+noiselessly up and down.
+
+It was absolutely quiet, so that anybody standing there would have been
+able to carry out any operation of an unlawful kind without observation.
+Gurdon stood, looking down the lift shaft, until he saw that the cage was
+once more beginning to ascend. It came up slowly and smoothly and without
+the least noise, until it was level with the floor on which Gurdon was
+standing. It was one of the open kind, so he could see inside quite
+clearly. To all practical purposes, the lift was empty, save for the
+presence of one man, who lay unconscious on the floor. The cage was
+ascending so leisurely that Gurdon was in a position to make a close
+examination of the figure before the whole structure had risen to the
+next floor. It did not need a second glance to tell Gurdon that the man
+in the cage was the attendant, and that he was suffering from the same
+drug which had placed his boy assistant beyond all power of interfering.
+
+"Now what does all this mean?" Gurdon muttered. "Who is there on the
+floor above who is interested in getting these two people out of the way?
+What do they want to bring up or send down which it is not safe to
+dispose of by the ordinary means? I think I'll wait and see. No sleep for
+me to-night."
+
+The lift vanished in the same silent way. It hung overhead for some
+little time, and once more appeared in sight, this time absolutely empty,
+save for a small square box with iron bands at the corners, which lay
+upon the floor. As the cage descended, Gurdon suddenly made up his mind
+what to do. He sprang lightly on to the top of the falling cage, and
+grasped the rope with both hands. A moment later and he was descending in
+the darkness.
+
+As far as he could judge, the lift went down to the basement, where, for
+the time being, it remained. There was a warm damp smell in the air,
+suggestive of fungus, whereby Gurdon judged that he must be in the vaults
+beneath the hotel. As his eyes became accustomed to the gloom, he could
+make out just in front of him a circular patch of light, which evidently
+was a coal shoot.
+
+He had no need to wait now for the full development of the adventure.
+He could hear whispered voices and the clang of metal, as if somebody
+had opened the door of the lift. One of the voices he failed to
+understand, but with a thrill he recognised the fact that the speaker
+was talking in either Spanish or Portuguese. Instantly it flashed into
+his mind that this was the language most familiar to the man who called
+himself Mark Fenwick. Beyond doubt he was quite right when he
+identified this last development with the actors in the dramatic events
+earlier in the evening.
+
+"Now don't be long about it," a hoarse voice whispered. "There are two
+more cases to send up, and two more to come down here. Has that van come
+along, or shall we have to wait until morning?"
+
+"The van is there right enough," another hoarse voice said. "We have
+the stuff out on the pavement. Let's have the last lot here, and get it
+up at once."
+
+Gurdon could hear the sound of labored breathing as if the unseen man was
+struggling with some heavy burden. Presently some square object was
+deposited on the floor of the lift. It seemed to slip from someone's
+hands, and dropped with a heavy thud that caused the lift to vibrate like
+a thing of life."
+
+"Clumsy fool," a voice muttered. "You might have dropped that on my foot.
+What did you want to let go for?"
+
+"I couldn't help it," another voice grumbled. "I didn't know it was half
+so heavy. Besides, the rope broke."
+
+"Oh, are you going to be there all night?"--another voice, with a
+suggestion of a foreign accent in it, asked impatiently. "Don't forget
+you have to bring the man down yet, and see that the boy is taken to his
+place. Now, up with it."
+
+Standing there, holding on to the rope and quivering with excitement,
+Gurdon wondered what was going to happen next. Once more he felt himself
+rising, and an instant later he was in the light again. He waited till
+the lift had reached his own floor; then he jumped quickly down, taking
+care as he went to note the heavy box which lay on the floor of the lift.
+A corner of it had been split open by the heavy jar, and some shining
+material like sand lay in a little heap, glittering in the rays of the
+electric light.
+
+Gurdon stood there panting for a moment, and rather at a loss to know
+what to do next. Once more the lift came down, this time with two boxes
+of a smaller size. They vanished; and as the lift rose once again, Gurdon
+had barely time to hide himself behind the bedroom door, and thus escape
+the observation of two men who now occupied the cage. He just caught a
+fleeting glimpse of them, and saw that one was an absolute stranger, but
+he felt his heart beating slightly faster as he recognised in the other
+the now familiar form of Mark Fenwick. The mystery was beginning to
+unfold itself.
+
+"That was a close thing," Gurdon muttered, as he wiped his hot face. "I
+think I had better go back to my own room, and wait developments. One
+can't be too careful."
+
+The lift-boy was still sleeping on the bed; but his features were
+twitching, as if already the drug was beginning to lose its effect. At
+least, so Gurdon shrewdly thought, and subsequent events proved that he
+was not far wrong. He was standing in his own room now, waiting by the
+ventilator, when he heard the sound of footsteps on the other side of the
+wall. Two men had entered the room, and by taking a little risk, Gurdon
+could see that they were examining the unconscious boy coolly and
+critically.
+
+"I should think about five minutes more would do it," one of them said.
+"Better carry him out, and shove him in that little sentry box of his.
+When he comes to himself again he won't know but what he has fallen
+asleep; barring a headache, the little beggar won't be any the worse for
+the adventure."
+
+"Have we got all the stuff up now?" the other man asked.
+
+"Every bit of it," was the whispered reply. "I hope the old man is
+satisfied now. It was not a bad idea of his to work this little game in a
+great hotel of this kind. But, all the same, it is not without risks,
+and I for one should be glad to get away to that place in the country
+where we are going in a week or two."
+
+Gurdon heard no more. He allowed the best part of half-an-hour to pass
+before he ventured once more to creep through the ventilator and reach
+the landing in the neighborhood of the lift. Everything looked quite
+normal now, and as if nothing had happened. The lift boy sat in his
+little hut, yawning and stretching himself. It was quite evident that he
+knew nothing of the vile uses he had been put to. A sudden idea occurred
+to Gurdon.
+
+"I want you to bring the lift up to this floor," he said to the boy. "No,
+I don't want to use it; I have lost something, and it occurs to me that I
+might have left it in the lift."
+
+In the usual unconcerned manner of his class the boy touched an electric
+button, and the lift slowly rose from the basement.
+
+"Does this go right down to the cellars?" Gurdon asked.
+
+"It can if it's wanted to," the boy replied. "Only it very seldom does.
+You see, we only use this lift for our customers. It's fitted with what
+they call a pneumatic cushion--I mean, if anything goes wrong, the lift
+falls into a funnel shaped well, made of concrete, which forms a cushion
+of air, and so breaks the fall. They say you could cut the rope and let
+it down without so much as upsetting a glass of water. Not that I should
+like to try it, sir, but there you are."
+
+Gurdon entered the lift, where he pretended to be searching for something
+for a moment or two. In reality, he was scraping up some of the yellow
+sand which had fallen from the box to the floor of the lift, and this he
+proceeded to place in a scrap of paper. Then he decided that it was
+absolutely necessary to retire to bed, though he was still in full
+possession of his waking faculties. As a matter of fact, he was asleep
+almost as soon as his head touched the pillow. Nevertheless, he was up
+early the following morning, and in Venner's bedroom long before
+breakfast. He had an exciting story to tell, and he could not complain
+that in Venner he had anything but an interested listener.
+
+"We are getting on," the latter said grimly. "But before you say anything
+more, I should like to have a look at that yellow sand you speak of.
+Bring it over near the light."
+
+Venner let the yellow stuff trickle through his hands; then he turned to
+Gurdon with a smile.
+
+"You look upon this as refuse, I suppose?" he said. "You seem to imagine
+that it is of no great value."
+
+"Well, is it?" Gurdon asked. "What is it?"
+
+"Gold," Venner said curtly. "Pure virgin gold, of the very finest
+quality. I never saw a better sample."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+A PUZZLE FOR VENNER
+
+
+Venner sat just for a moment or two with the thin stream trickling
+through his fingers, and wondering what it all meant. With his superior
+knowledge of past events, he could see in this something that it was
+impossible for Gurdon to follow.
+
+"I suppose this is some of the gold from the Four Finger Mine?" Gurdon
+suggested. "Do you know, I have never handled any virgin gold before. I
+had an idea that it was more brilliant and glittering. Is this very
+good stuff?"
+
+"Absolutely pure, I should say," Venner replied. "There are two ways of
+gold mining. One is by crushing quartz in machinery, as they do in South
+Africa, and the other is by obtaining the metal in what are called
+pockets or placers. This is the way in which it is generally found in
+Australia and Mexico. I should not be in the least surprised if this came
+from the Four Finger Mine."
+
+"There is no reason why it shouldn't," Gurdon said. "It is pretty
+evident, from what you told me last night, that Mark Fenwick has
+discovered the mysterious treasure house, but that does not account for
+all these proceedings. Why should he have taken all the trouble he did
+last night, when he might just as well have brought the stuff in, and
+taken the other boxes out by the front door?"
+
+"That is what we have to find out," Venner said. "That fellow may call
+himself a millionaire, but I believe he is nothing more nor less than a
+desperate adventurer."
+
+Gurdon nodded his assent. There must have been something very urgent to
+compel Mark Fenwick to adopt such methods. Why was he so strangely
+anxious to conceal the knowledge that he was receiving boxes of pure gold
+in the hotel, and that he was sending out something of equal value?
+However carefully the thing might have been planned the drugging of lift
+attendants must have been attended with considerable risk. And the
+slightest accident would have brought about a revelation. As it was,
+everything seemed to have passed off smoothly, except for the chance by
+which Gurdon had stumbled on the mystery.
+
+"We can't leave the thing here," the latter said. "For once in my life I
+am going to turn amateur detective. I have made up my mind to get into
+Fenwick's suite of rooms and see what is going on there. Of course, the
+thing will take time, and will have to be carefully planned. Do you think
+it is possible for us to make use of your wife in this matter?"
+
+"I don't think so," Venner said thoughtfully.
+
+"In the first place, I don't much like the idea; and in the second, I
+am entirely at a loss to know what mysterious hold Mark Fenwick has on
+Vera. As I told you last night, she left me within a very short time of
+our marriage, and until a few hours ago I had never looked upon her
+again. Something terrible must have happened, or she would never have
+deserted me in the way she did. I don't for a moment believe that Mark
+Fenwick knew anything about our marriage, but on that point I cannot be
+absolutely certain. You had better come back to me later in the day, and
+I will see what I can do. It is just possible that good fortune may be
+on my side."
+
+The afternoon was dragging on, and still Venner was no nearer to a
+practical scheme which would enable him to make an examination of
+Fenwick's rooms without the chance of discovery. He was lounging in the
+hall, smoking innumerable cigarettes, when Fenwick himself came down the
+stairs. Obviously the man was going on a journey, for he was closely
+muffled up in a big fur coat, and behind him came a servant, carrying two
+bags and a railway rug. It was a little gloomy in the lobby, so Venner
+was enabled to watch what was going on without being seen himself. He did
+not fail to note a certain strained anxiety that rested on Fenwick's
+face. The man looked behind him once or twice, as if half afraid of being
+followed. Venner had seen that same furtive air in men who are wanted by
+the police. Fenwick stopped at the office and handed a couple of keys to
+the clerk. His instructions were quite audible to Venner.
+
+"I shan't want those for a day or two," he said. "You will see that no
+one has them under any pretext. Probably, I shall be back by Saturday at
+the latest."
+
+Venner did not scruple to follow Fenwick's disappearing figure as far as
+the street. He was anxious to obtain a clue to Fenwick's destination.
+Straining his ears, he just managed to catch the words "Charing Cross,"
+and then returned to the hall, by no means dissatisfied. Obviously,
+Fenwick was intending to cross the Channel for a day or two, and he had
+said to the clerk that he would not be back before Saturday.
+
+Here was something like a chance at last. Very slowly and thoughtfully,
+Venner went up the stairs in the direction of his own room. He had
+ascertained by this time that one part of Fenwick's suite was immediately
+over his own bedroom. His idea now was to walk up to the next floor, and
+make a close examination of the rooms there. It did not take him long to
+discover the fact that Fenwick's suite was self contained, like a flat.
+That is to say, a strong outer door once locked made communication with
+the suite of rooms impossible. Venner was still pondering over his
+problem when the master door opened, and Vera came out so hurriedly as
+almost to fall into Venner's arms. She turned pale as she saw him; and as
+she closed the big door hurriedly behind her, Venner could see that she
+had in her hand the tiny Yale key which gave entrance to the suite of
+rooms. The girl looked distressed and embarrassed, but not much more so
+than Venner, who was feeling not a little guilty.
+
+But all this was lost upon Vera; her own agitation and her own
+unhappiness seemed to have blinded her to everything else.
+
+"What are you doing here?" she stammered.
+
+"Perhaps I am looking for you," Venner said. He had quite recovered
+himself by this time. "I was in the lobby just now, when I saw that
+scoundrel, Fenwick, go out. He is not coming back for a day or two, I
+understand."
+
+"No," Vera said with accents of evident relief. "He is gone, but I don't
+know where he is gone. He never tells me."
+
+Just for a moment Venner looked somewhat sternly at his companion. Here
+was an opportunity for an explanation too good to be lost.
+
+"There is a little alcove at the end of the corridor," he said. "I see it
+is full of ferns and flowers. In fact, the very place for a confidence.
+Vera, whether you like it or not, I am going to have an explanation."
+
+The girl shrank back, and every vestige of color faded from her face.
+Yet at the same time, the pleading, imploring eyes which she turned upon
+her companion's face were filled with the deepest affection. Badly as he
+had been treated, Venner could not doubt for a moment the sincerity of
+the woman who had become his wife. But he did not fail to realise that
+few men would have put up with conduct like this, however much in love
+they might have been. Therefore, the hand that he laid on Vera's arm was
+strong and firm, and she made no resistance as he led her in the
+direction of the little alcove.
+
+"Now," he said. "Are you going to tell me why you left me so mysteriously
+on our wedding day? You merely went to change your dress, and you never
+returned. Am I to understand that at the very last moment you learned
+something that made it absolutely necessary for us to part? Do you really
+mean that?"
+
+"Indeed, I do, Gerald," the girl said. "There was a letter waiting for me
+in my bedroom. It was a short letter, but long enough to wreck my
+happiness for all time."
+
+"No, no," Venner cried; "not for all time. You asked me to trust you
+absolutely and implicitly, and I have done so. I believe every word that
+you say, and I am prepared to wait patiently enough till the good time
+comes. But I am not going to sit down quietly like this and see a pure
+life like yours wrecked for the sake of such a scoundrel as Fenwick.
+Surely it is not for his sake that you--"
+
+"Oh, no," the girl cried. "My sacrifice is not for his sake at all, but
+for that of another whose life is bound up with his in the strangest
+possible way. When you first met me, Gerald, and asked me to be your
+wife, you did not display the faintest curiosity as to my past history.
+Why was that?"
+
+"Why should I?" Venner demanded. "I am my own master, I have more money
+than I know what to do with and I have practically no relations to
+consider. You were all-sufficient for me; I loved you for your own sake
+alone; I cared nothing, and I care nothing still for your past. What I
+want to know is, how long this is going on?"
+
+"That I cannot tell you," Vera said sadly. "You must go on trusting me,
+dear. You must--"
+
+The speaker broke off suddenly, as someone in the corridor called her
+name. She slipped away from Venner's side, and, looking through the palms
+and flowers, he could see that she was talking eagerly to a woman who had
+the appearance of a lady's maid. Venner could not fail to note the calm
+strength of the woman's face. It was only for a moment; then Vera came
+back with a telegram in her hand.
+
+"I must go at once," she said. "It is something of great importance. I
+don't know when I shall see you again--"
+
+"I do," Venner said grimly. "You are going to dine with me to-night.
+Come just for once; let us imagine we are on our honeymoon. That
+blackguard Fenwick is away, and he will be none the wiser. Now, I want
+you to promise me."
+
+"I really can't," Vera protested. "If you only knew the danger--"
+
+However, Venner's persistency got its own way. A moment later Vera was
+hurrying down the corridor. It was not until she was out of sight that
+Venner found that she had gone away, leaving the little Yale key behind
+her on the table. He thrilled at the sight of it. Here was the
+opportunity for which he had been waiting.
+
+Not more than ten minutes had elapsed when, thanks to the use of the
+telephone, Gurdon had reached the Grand Empire Hotel. In a few hurried
+words, Venner gave him a brief outline of what had happened. There was no
+time to lose.
+
+"Of course, it is a risk," Venner said, "and I am not altogether sure
+that I am justified in taking advantage of this little slip on the part
+of my wife. What do you think?"
+
+"I think you are talking a lot of rot," Gurdon said emphatically. "You
+love the girl, you believe implicitly in her, and you are desperately
+anxious to get her out of the hands of that blackguard, Fenwick. From
+some morbid idea of self sacrifice, your wife continues to lead this life
+of misery rather than betray what she would probably call a trust. It
+seems to me that you would be more than foolish to hesitate longer."
+
+"Come along, then," Venner said. "Let's see what we can do."
+
+The key was in the lock at length, and the big door thrown open,
+disclosing a luxurious suite of rooms beyond. So far as the explorers
+could see at present, they had the place entirely to themselves. No
+doubt Fenwick's servants had taken advantage of his absence to make a
+holiday. For the most part, the rooms presented nothing out of the
+common; they might have been inhabited by anybody possessing large
+means. In one of the rooms stood a desk, carefully locked, and by its
+side a fireproof safe.
+
+"No chance of getting into either of those," Gurdon said. "Besides, the
+attempt would be too risky. Don't you notice a peculiar noise going on?
+Sounds almost like machinery."
+
+Surely enough, from a distant apartment there came a peculiar click and
+rumble, followed by a whirr of wheels, as if someone was running out a
+small motor close by. At the same time, the two friends noticed the
+unmistakable odor of petrol on the atmosphere.
+
+"What the dickens can that be?" Gurdon said. "Its most assuredly in the
+flat, and not far off, either."
+
+"The only way to find out is to go and see," Venner replied. "I fancy
+this is the way."
+
+They came at length to a small room at the end of a long corridor. It
+was evidently from this room that the sound of machinery came, for the
+nearer they came the louder it grew. The door was slightly ajar, and
+looking in, the friends could see two men, evidently engaged on some
+mechanical task. There was a fire of charcoal in the grate, and attached
+to it a pair of small but powerful bellows, driven by a small motor. In
+the heart of the fire was a metal crucible, so white and dazzling hot
+that it was almost impossible for the eye to look upon it. Venner did not
+fail to notice that the men engaged in this mysterious occupation were
+masked; at least, they wore exceedingly large smoked spectacles, which
+came to much the same thing. Behind them stood another man, who had every
+appearance of being a master workman. He had a short pipe in his mouth, a
+pair of slippers on his feet, and his somewhat expansive body was swathed
+in a frock coat. Presently he made a sign, and with the aid of a long
+pair of tongs, the white hot crucible was lifted from the fire. It was
+impossible for the two men outside to see what became of it, but
+evidently the foreman was satisfied with the experiment, for he gave a
+grunt of approval.
+
+"I think that will do," he muttered. "The impression is excellent.
+Now, you fellows can take a rest whilst I go off and finish the other
+lot of stuff."
+
+"He's coming out," Venner whispered. "Let us make a bolt for it. It
+won't do to be caught here."
+
+They darted down the corridor together, and stood in an angle of a
+doorway, a little undecided as to what to do next. The man in the frock
+coat passed them, carrying under one arm a square case, that bore some
+resemblance to the slide in which photographers slip their negatives
+after taking a photograph. The man in the frock coat placed his burden on
+a chair, and then, apparently, hurried back for something he had
+forgotten.
+
+"Here is our chance," Gurdon whispered. "Let's see what is in that case.
+There may be an important clue here."
+
+The thing was done rapidly and neatly. Inside the case, between layers of
+cotton wool, lay a great number of gold coins, obviously sovereigns. They
+appeared to be in a fine state of preservation, for they glistened in the
+light like new gold.
+
+"Put one in your pocket," whispered Venner.
+
+"I'm afraid we are going to have our journey for our pains; but still,
+you can't tell. Better take two while you are about it."
+
+Gurdon slipped the coins into his pocket, then turned away in the
+direction of the door as the man in the frock coat came back,
+thoughtfully whistling, as if to give the intruders a chance of escape.
+Before he appeared in sight the outer door closed softly, and Venner and
+Gurdon were in the corridor once more.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+A PARTIAL FAILURE
+
+
+"Do you notice anything peculiar about these coins?" Venner said, when
+once more they were back in the comparative seclusion of the
+smoking-room. "Have a good look at them."
+
+Gurdon complied; he turned the coins over in his hand and weighed them on
+his fingers. So far as he could see they were good, honest, British
+coins, each well worth the twenty shillings which they were supposed to
+represent.
+
+"I don't see anything peculiar about them at all," he said. "So far as I
+can judge, they appear to be genuine enough. At first I began to think
+that our friend Fenwick had turned coiner. Look at this."
+
+As he spoke Gurdon dashed the coin down upon a marble table. It rang true
+and clear.
+
+"I'd give a pound for it," he said. "The weight in itself is a good test.
+No coiner yet has ever discovered a metal that will weigh like gold and
+ring as true. The only strange thing about the coin is that it is in such
+a wonderful state of preservation. It might have come out of the Mint
+yesterday. I am afraid we shall have to abandon the idea of laying
+Fenwick by the heels on the charge of making counterfeit money. I'll
+swear this is genuine."
+
+"I am of the same opinion, too," Venner said. "I have handled too much
+gold in my time to be easily deceived. Still, there is something wrong
+here, and I'll tell you why. Look at those two coins again, and tell me
+the dates on them."
+
+"That is very easily done. One is dated 1901 and the other is dated 1899.
+I don't see that you gain anything by pointing out that fact to me. I
+don't see what you are driving at."
+
+"Well the thing is pretty clear. It would be less clear if those coins
+had been worn by use and circulation. But they are both of them Mint
+perfect, and they are of different dates. Do you suppose that our friend
+Fenwick makes a hobby of collecting English sovereigns? Besides, the man
+in the frock coat was going to do something with these coins; and, of
+course, you noticed how carefully they were wrapped up in cotton wool."
+
+"I should like to make assurance doubly sure," Gurdon said. "Let's
+take these two coins to some silversmith's shop and ask if they are
+all right."
+
+It was no far journey to the nearest silversmiths, where the coins were
+cut up, tested, and weighed. The assistant smiled as he handed the pieces
+back to Venner.
+
+"We will give you eighteen and sixpence each for them, sir," he said,
+"which is about the intrinsic value of a sovereign; and, as you are
+probably aware, sir, English gold coinage contains a certain amount of
+alloy, without which it would speedily deteriorate in circulation, just
+as the old guinea used to; but there is no doubt that I have just lost
+you three shillings by cutting up those coins."
+
+Venner smiled as he left the shop. As a matter of fact, he was a little
+more puzzled now than he had been before. He had expected to find
+something wrong with the two coins.
+
+"We must suspend judgment for the present," he said. "Still, I feel
+absolutely certain that there is some trick here, though what the
+scheme is I am utterly at a loss to know. Will you come in this evening
+after dinner and take your coffee and cigar with me? My wife is dining
+with me, but it was an express stipulation that she should go directly
+dinner is over."
+
+At a little after seven Venner was impatiently waiting the coming of
+Vera. He was not altogether sorry to notice that the dining-room was
+filling up more rapidly than it had done for some days past. Perhaps, on
+the whole, there would be safety in numbers. Venner had secured a little
+table for two on the far side of the room, and he stood in the doorway
+now, waiting somewhat restlessly and impatiently for Vera to appear. He
+was not a little anxious and nervous in case something should happen at
+the last moment to prevent his wife's appearance. As a rule, Venner was
+not a man who was troubled much with nerves, though he became conscious
+of the fact that he possessed them to-night.
+
+Was ever a man so strangely placed as himself, he wondered? He marvelled,
+too, that he could sit down so patiently without asserting his rights. He
+was the possessor of ample means, and if money stood in the way he was
+quite prepared to pay Fenwick his price.
+
+On these somewhat painful meditations Vera intruded. She was simply
+dressed in white, and had no ornaments beyond a few flowers. Her face was
+flushed now, and there was in her eyes a look of something that
+approached happiness.
+
+"I am so glad you have come, dear," Venner said, as he pressed the girl's
+hand. "I was terribly afraid that something might come in the way. If
+there is any danger--"
+
+"I don't think there is any danger," Vera whispered, "though there are
+other eyes on me besides those of Mark Fenwick. But, all the same, I am
+not supposed to know anybody in the hotel, and I come down to dinner as a
+matter of course, I am glad the place is so crowded, Gerald, it will make
+us less conspicuous. But it is just possible that I may have to go before
+dinner is over. If that is so, I hope you will not be annoyed with me."
+
+"You have given me cause for greater annoyance than that," Venner smiled.
+"And I have borne it all uncomplainingly. And now let us forget the
+unhappy past, and try and live for the present. We are on our honeymoon,
+you understand. I wonder what people in this room would say if they heard
+our amazing story."
+
+"I have no doubt there are other stories just as sad here," Vera said, as
+she took her place at the table. "But I am not going to allow myself to
+be miserable to-night. We are going to forget everything; we are going to
+believe that this is Fairyland, and that you are the Prince who--"
+
+Despite her assumed gaiety there was just a little catch in Vera's voice.
+If Venner noticed it he did not appear to do so. For the next hour or so
+he meant resolutely to put the past out of his mind, and give himself
+over to the ecstasy of the moment.... All too soon the dinner came to an
+end, and Gurdon appeared.
+
+"This is my wife," Venner said simply. "Dear, Mr. Gurdon is a very old
+friend of mine, and I have practically no secrets from him. All the same,
+he did not know till last night that I was married--until you came into
+the room and my feelings got the better of me. But we can trust Gurdon."
+
+"I think I am to be relied upon," Gurdon said with a smile. "You will
+pardon me if I say that I never heard a stranger story than yours; and if
+at any time I can be of assistance to you, I shall be sincerely happy to
+do all that is in my power."
+
+"You are very good," Vera said gratefully. "Who knows how soon I may
+call upon you to fulfil your promise? But I am afraid that it will not be
+quite yet."
+
+They sat chatting there for some half an hour longer, when a waiter came
+in, and advancing to their table proffered Vera a visiting card, on the
+back of which a few words had been scribbled. The girl looked a little
+anxious and distressed as her eyes ran over the writing on the card. Then
+she rose hurriedly.
+
+"I am afraid I shall have to go," she said. "I have been anticipating
+this for some little time."
+
+She turned to the waiter, and asked if her maid was outside, to which the
+man responded that it was the maid who had brought the card, and that she
+was waiting with her wraps in the corridor. Vera extended her hand to
+Gurdon as she rose to go.
+
+"I am exceedingly sorry," she said. "This has been a pleasant evening for
+me: perhaps the most pleasant evening with one exception that I ever
+spent in my life. Gerald will know what evening I mean."
+
+As she finished she smiled tenderly at Venner. He had no words in reply.
+Just at that moment he was filled with passionate and rebellious anger.
+He dared not trust himself to speak, conscious as he was that Vera's
+burden was already almost more than she could bear. She held out her hand
+to him with an imploring little gesture, as if she understood exactly
+what was passing in his mind.
+
+"You will forgive me," she whispered. "I am sure you will forgive me. It
+is nothing but duty which compels me to go. I would far rather stay here
+and be happy."
+
+Venner took the extended hand and pressed it tenderly. His yearning eyes
+looked after the retreating figure; then, suddenly, he turned to Gurdon,
+who affected to be busy over a cigar.
+
+"I want you to do something for me," he said. "It is a strange fancy,
+but I should like you to follow her. I suppose I am beginning to get
+old and nervous; at any rate, I am full of silly fancies tonight. I am
+possessed with the idea that my unhappy little girl is thrusting
+herself into some danger. You can quite see how impossible it is for me
+to dog her footsteps, but your case is different. Of course, if you
+like to refuse--"
+
+"I am not going to refuse," Gurdon said. "I can see nothing dishonorable.
+I'll go at once, if you like."
+
+Venner nodded curtly, and Gurdon rose from the table. He passed out into
+the street just as the slim figure of Vera was descending the steps of
+the hotel. He had no difficulty in recognising her outline, though she
+was clad from head to foot now in a long, black wrap, and her fair hair
+was disguised under a hood of the same material. Rather to Gurdon's
+surprise, the girl had not called a cab. She was walking down the street
+with a firm, determined step, as of one who knew exactly where she was
+going, and meant to get there in as short a time as possible.
+
+Gurdon followed cautiously at a distance. He was not altogether satisfied
+in his own mind that his action was quite as straightforward as it might
+have been. Still, he had given his promise, and he was not inclined to
+back out of it now. For about a quarter of an hour he followed, until
+Vera at length halted before a house somewhere in the neighborhood of
+Grosvenor Square. It was a fine, large corner mansion, but so far as
+Gurdon could see there was not a light in the place from parapet to
+basement. He could see Vera going up the steps; he was close enough to
+hear the sound of an electric bell; then a light blazed in the hall, and
+the door was opened. So far as Gurdon could see, it was an old man who
+opened the door; an old man with a long, grey beard, and a face lined and
+scored with the ravages of time. All this happened in an instant. The
+door was closed again, and the whole house left in darkness.
+
+Gurdon paused, a little uncertain as to what to do next. He would have
+liked, if possible, to be a little closer to Vera, for if there were any
+dangers threatening her he would be just as powerless to help now as if
+he had been in another part of the town. He walked slowly down the side
+of the house, and noted that there was a line garden behind, and a small
+green door leading to the lane. Acting on the impulse of the moment he
+tried the door, which yielded to his touch. If he had been asked why he
+did this thing he would have found it exceedingly difficult to reply.
+Still, the thing was done, and Gurdon walked forward over the wide
+expanse of lawn till he could make out at length a row of windows,
+looking out from the back of the house. It was not so very easy to
+discern all this, for the night was dark, and the back of the house
+darker still. Presently a light flared out in one of the rooms, and then
+Gurdon could make out the dome of a large conservatory leading from the
+garden to the house.
+
+"I shall find myself in the hands of the police, if I don't take care,"
+Gurdon said to himself. "What an ass I am to embark on an adventure like
+this. It isn't as if I had the slightest chance of being of any use to
+the girl, seeing that I--"
+
+He broke off, suddenly conscious of the fact that another of the rooms
+was lighted now--a large one, by the side of the conservatory. In the
+silence of the garden it seemed to him that he could hear voices raised
+angrily, and then a cry, as if of pain, from somebody inside.
+
+Fairly interested at last, Gurdon advanced till he was close to the
+window. He could hear no more now, for the same tense silence had
+fallen over the place once more. Gurdon pressed close to the window; he
+felt something yield beneath his feet, and the next moment he had
+plunged headlong into the darkness of something that suggested an
+underground cellar. Perhaps he had been standing unconsciously on a
+grating that was none too safe, for now he felt himself bruised and half
+stunned, lying on his back on a cold, hard floor, amid a mass of broken
+glass and rusty ironwork.
+
+Startled and surprised as he was, the noise of the breaking glass sounded
+in Gurdon's ears like the din of some earthquake. He struggled to his
+feet, hoping that the gods would be kind to him, and that he could get
+away before his presence there was discovered. He was still dazed and
+confused; his head ached painfully, and he groped in the pitch darkness
+without any prospect of escape. He could nowhere find an avenue. So far
+as he could judge, he was absolutely caught like a rat in a trap.
+
+He half smiled to himself; he was still too dazed to grasp the
+significance of his position, when a light suddenly appeared overhead, at
+the top of a flight of stairs, and a hoarse voice demanded to know who
+was there. In the same dreamy kind of way, Gurdon was just conscious of
+the fact that a strong pair of arms lifted him from the floor, and that
+he was being carried up the steps. In the same dreamy fashion, he was
+cognisant of light and warmth, a luxurious atmosphere, and rows upon
+rows of beautiful flowers everywhere. He would, no doubt, awake
+presently, and find that the whole thing was a dream. Meanwhile, there
+was nothing visionary about the glass of brandy which somebody had put to
+his lips, or about the hands which were brushing him down and removing
+all traces of his recent adventure.
+
+"When you feel quite up to it, sir," a quiet, respectful voice said, "my
+master would like to see you. He is naturally curious enough to know what
+you were doing in the garden."
+
+"I am afraid your master must have his own way," Gurdon said grimly. "I
+am feeling pretty well now, thanks to the brandy. If you will take me to
+your master, I will try to explain matters."
+
+The servant led the way into a large, handsome apartment, where a man in
+evening dress was seated in a big armchair before the fire. He looked
+round with a peculiar smile as Gurdon came in.
+
+"Well, sir," he said. "And what does this mean?"
+
+Gurdon had no voice to reply, for the man in the armchair was the
+handsome cripple--the hero of the forefinger.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE WHITE LADY
+
+
+Gurdon looked hopelessly about him, utterly at a loss for anything to
+say. The whole thing had been so unexpected, so very opposite to the
+commonplace ending he had anticipated, that he was too dazed and
+confused to do anything but smile in an inane and foolish manner. He had
+rather looked forward to seeing some eccentric individual, some elderly
+recluse who lived there with a servant or two. And here he was, face to
+face with the man who, at the present moment, was to him the most
+interesting in London.
+
+"You can take your time," the cripple said. "I am anxious for you to
+believe that I am not in the least hurry. The point of the problem is
+this: a well dressed man, evidently a gentleman, is discovered at a late
+hour in the evening in my cellar. As the gentleman in question is
+obviously sober, one naturally feels a little curiosity as to what it
+all means."
+
+The speaker spoke quite slowly and clearly, and with a sarcastic emphasis
+that caused Gurdon to writhe impotently. Every word and gesture on the
+part of the cripple spoke of a strong mind and a clear intellect in that
+twisted body. Despite the playful acidity of his words, there was a
+distinct threat underlying them. It occurred to Gurdon as he stood there
+that he would much rather have this man for a friend than a foe.
+
+"Perhaps you had better take a seat," the cripple said. "There is plenty
+of time, and I don't mind confessing to you that this little comedy
+amuses me. Heaven knows, I have little enough amusement in my dreary
+life; and, therefore, in a measure, you have earned my gratitude. But
+there is another side to the picture. I have enemies who are utterly
+unscrupulous. I have to be unscrupulous in my turn, so that when I have
+the opportunity of laying one of them by the heels, my methods are apt to
+be thorough. Did you come here alone to-night, or have you an
+accomplice?"
+
+"Assuredly, I came alone," Gurdon replied.
+
+"Oh, indeed. You found your way into the garden. To argue out the thing
+logically, we will take it for granted that you had no intention whatever
+of paying a visit to my garden when you left home. If such had been your
+intention, you would not be wearing evening dress, and thin, patent
+leather shoes. Your visit to the garden was either a resolution taken on
+the spur of the moment, or was determined upon after a certain discovery.
+I am glad to hear that you came here entirely by yourself."
+
+There was an unmistakable threat in these latter words; and as Gurdon
+looked up he saw that the cripple was regarding him with an intense
+malignity. The grey eyes were cold and merciless, the handsome face hard
+and set, and yet it was not a countenance which one usually associates
+with the madman or the criminal. Really, it was a very noble face--the
+face of a philanthropist, a poet, a great statesman, who devotes his
+money and his talents to the interests of his country. Despite a feeling
+of danger, Gurdon could not help making a mental note of these things.
+
+"Won't you sit down?" the cripple asked again. "I should like to have a
+little chat with you. Here are whisky and soda, and some cigars, for the
+excellence of which I can vouch, as I import them myself. Perhaps, also,
+you share with me a love of flowers?"
+
+With a wave of his strong arm, the speaker indicated the wealth of
+blossoms which arose from all sides of the room. There were flowers
+everywhere. The luxuriant blooms seemed to overpower and dwarf the
+handsome furnishings of the room. At the far end, folding doors
+opened into the conservatory, which was a veritable mass of brilliant
+colors. The cripple smiled upon his blossoms, as a mother might smile
+on her child.
+
+"These are the only friends who never deceive you," he said. "Flowers and
+dogs, and, perhaps, little children. I know this, because I have
+suffered from contact with the world, as, perhaps, you will notice when
+you regard this poor body of mine. I think you said just now you came
+here entirely by yourself."
+
+"That is a fact," Gurdon replied. He was beginning to feel a little more
+at his ease now. "Let me hasten to assure you that I came here with no
+felonious intent at all. I was looking for somebody, and I thought that
+my friend came here. You will pardon me if I do not explain with any
+amount of detail, because the thing does not concern myself altogether.
+And, besides--"
+
+Gurdon paused; he could not possibly tell this stranger of the startling
+events which had led to his present awkward situation. In any case, he
+would not have been believed.
+
+"We need not go into that," the cripple said. "It is all by the way. You
+came here alone; and, I take it, when you left your home, you had not the
+slightest intention of coming here. To make my meaning a little more
+clear, if you disappeared from this moment, and your friends never saw
+you again, the police would not have the slightest clue to your
+whereabouts."
+
+Gurdon laughed just a little uneasily; he began to entertain the idea
+that he was face to face with some dangerous lunatic, some man whose
+dreadful troubles and misfortunes had turned him against the world.
+Evidently, it would be the right policy to humor him.
+
+"That is quite correct," he said. "Nobody has the least idea where I am;
+and if the unpleasant contingency you allude to happened to me, I should
+go down to posterity as one of the victims of the mysterious type of
+crime that startles London now and again."
+
+"I should think," said the stranger, in a thin, dry tone, that caused
+Gurdon's pulses to beat a little faster--"I should think that your
+prophecy is in a fair way to turn out correct. I don't ask you why you
+came here, because you would not tell me if I did. But you must have been
+spying on the place, or you would not have had the misfortune to tread on
+a damaged grating, and finish your adventure ignominiously in the cellar.
+As I told you just now, I have enemies who are absolutely unscrupulous,
+and who would give much for a chance of murdering me if the thing could
+be done with impunity. Common sense prompts me to take it for granted
+that you are in some wry connected with the foes to whom I have alluded."
+
+"I assure you, I am not," Gurdon protested. "I am the enemy of no man. I
+came here to night--"
+
+Gurdon stopped in some confusion. How could he possibly tell this man why
+he had come and what he had in his mind? The thing was awkward--almost to
+the verge of absurdity.
+
+"I quite see the quandary you are in," said the cripple, with a smile.
+"Now, let me ask you a question. Do you happen to know a man by the name
+of Mark Fenwick?"
+
+The query was so straight and to the point that Gurdon fairly started.
+More and more did he begin to appreciate the subtlety and cleverness of
+his companion. It was impossible to fence the interrogation; it had to be
+answered, one way or the other.
+
+"I know the man by sight," he said; "but I beg to assure you that until
+last night I had never seen him."
+
+"That may be," the cripple said drily. "But you know him now, and that
+satisfies me. Now, listen. You see what I have in my hand. Perhaps you
+are acquainted with weapons of this kind?"
+
+So saying, the speaker wriggled in his chair, and produced from somewhere
+behind him a small revolver. Despite its silver plated barrel and ivory
+handle, it was a sinister looking weapon, and capable of deadly mischief
+in the hands of an expert. Though no judge of such matters, it occurred
+to Gurdon that his companion handled the revolver as an expert should.
+
+"I have been used to this kind of thing from a boy," the cripple said. "I
+could shoot you where you sit within a hair's breadth of where I wanted
+to hit you."
+
+"Which would be murder," Gurdon said quietly.
+
+"Perhaps it would, in the eyes of the law; but there are times when one
+is tempted to defy the mandates of a wise legislature. For instance, I
+have told you more than once before that I have enemies, and everything
+points to the fact that you are the tool and accomplice of some of them.
+I have about me one or two faithful people, who would do anything I ask.
+If I shoot you now the report of a weapon like this will hardly be
+audible beyond the door. You lie there, dead, shot clean through the
+brain. I ring my bell and tell my servants to clear this mess away. I
+give them orders to go and bury it quietly somewhere, and they would obey
+me without the slightest hesitation. Nothing more would be said. I should
+be as safe from molestation as if the whole thing had happened on a
+desert island. I hope I have succeeded in making the position clear,
+because I should be loth to think that a little incident like this should
+cause inconvenience to one who might after all have been absolutely
+innocent."
+
+The words were spoken quietly, and without the slightest trace of
+passion. Still, there was no mistaking the malignity and intense fury
+which underlay the well chosen and well balanced sentences.
+
+Gurdon was silent; there was nothing for him to say. He was in a position
+in which he could not possibly explain; he could only sit there, looking
+into the barrel of the deadly weapon, and praying for some diversion
+which might be the means of saving his life. It came presently in a
+strange and totally unexpected fashion. Upon the tense, nerve-breaking
+silence, a voice suddenly intruded like a flash of light in a dark place.
+It was a sweet and girlish voice, singing some simple ballad, with a
+natural pathos which rendered the song singularly touching and
+attractive. As the voice came nearer the cripple's expression changed
+entirely; his hard eyes grew soft, and the handsome features were
+wreathed in a smile. Then the door opened, and the singer came in.
+
+Gurdon looked at her, though she seemed unconscious of his presence
+altogether. He saw a slight, fair girl, dressed entirely in white, with
+her long hair streaming over her shoulders. The face was very sad and
+wistful, the blue eyes clouded with some suggestion of trouble and
+despair. Gurdon did not need a second glance to assure him that he was in
+the presence of one who was mentally afflicted. She came forward and took
+her place by the side of the cripple.
+
+"They told me that you are busy," she said, "Just as if it mattered
+whether you were busy or not, when I wanted to see you."
+
+"You must go away now, Beth," the cripple said, in his softest and most
+tender manner. "Don't you see that I am talking with this gentleman?"
+
+The girl turned eagerly to Gurdon; she crossed the room with a swift,
+elastic step, and laid her two hands on him.
+
+"I know what you have come for," she said, eagerly. "You have come to
+tell me all about Charles. You have found him at last; you are going to
+bring him back to me. They told me he was dead, that he had perished in
+the mine; but I knew better than that. I know that Charles will come back
+to me again."
+
+"What mine?" Gurdon asked.
+
+"Why, the Four Finger Mine, of course," was the totally unexpected
+reply. "They said that Charles had lost his life in the Four Finger
+Mine. It was in a kind of dream that I saw his body lying there,
+murdered. But I shall wake from the dream presently, and he will come
+back to me, come back in the evening, as he always used to when the sun
+was setting beyond the pines."
+
+There was something so utterly sad and hopeless in this that Gurdon
+averted his eyes from the girl's face. He glanced in the direction of the
+door; then it required all his self control to repress a cry, for in the
+comparative gloom of the passage beyond, he could just make out the
+figure of Vera, who stood there with her finger on her lip as if imposing
+silence. He could see that in her hand she held something that looked
+like a chisel. A moment later she flitted away once more, leaving Gurdon
+to puzzle his brain as to what it all meant.
+
+"I am sorry for all this," the cripple said. "You have entirely by
+accident come face to face with a phase in my life which is sacred and
+inviolate. Really, if I had no other reason for reducing you to silence,
+this would be a sufficiently powerful inducement. My dear Beth, I really
+must ask you--"
+
+Whatever the cripple might have intended to say, the speech was never
+finished; for, at that moment, the electric lights vanished suddenly,
+plunging the whole house into absolute darkness. A moment later,
+footsteps came hurrying along in the hall, and a voice was heard to say
+that the fuse from the meter had gone, and it would be impossible to turn
+on the light again until the officials had been called in to repair the
+damage. At the same moment, Gurdon rose to his feet and crept quietly in
+the direction of the door. Here, at any rate, was a chance of escape, for
+that his life was in dire peril he had felt for some little time. He had
+hardly reached the doorway when he felt a slim hand touch his, and he was
+guided from the room into the passage beyond. He could give a pretty fair
+idea as to the owner of the slim fingers that trembled in his own, but he
+made no remark; he allowed himself to be led on till his feet stumbled
+against the stairs.
+
+"This way," a voice whispered. "Say nothing, and make no protest. You
+will be quite safe from further harm."
+
+Gurdon did exactly as he was told. He found himself presently at the top
+of a staircase, and a little later on in a room, the door of which was
+closed very quietly by his guide.
+
+"I think I can guess who I have to thank for this," Gurdon murmured. "But
+why did you not take me to the front door, or the back entrance leading
+to the garden? It was lucky for me that the lights failed at the critical
+moment--a piece of nominal good fortune, such as usually only happens in
+a story. But I should feel a great deal safer if I were on the other side
+of the front door."
+
+"That is quite impossible," Vera said, for it was she who had come to
+Gurdon's rescue. "Both doors are locked, and all the rooms on the
+ground floor are furnished with shutters. As to the light going out, I
+am responsible for it. I learned all about the electric light when I
+lived in a mining camp in Mexico. I had only to remove one of the lamps
+and apply my chisel to the two poles, and thereby put out every fuse in
+the house. That is why the light failed, for it occurred to me that in
+the confusion that followed the darkness, I should be in a position to
+save you. But you little realise how near you have been to death
+to-night. And, why, oh, why did you follow me in this way? It was very
+wrong of you."
+
+"It was Venner's idea," Gurdon said. "He had a strange fear that you were
+going into some danger. He asked me to follow you, and I did so. As to
+the manner of my getting here--"
+
+"I know all about that," Vera said hurriedly. "I have been listening to
+your conversation. I dare say you are curious to know something more
+about this strange household; but, for the present, you will be far
+better employed in getting away from it. I shall not be easy in my mind
+till you are once more in the street."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+MISSING
+
+
+Gurdon waited to hear what his companion was going to say now. He had
+made up his mind to place himself implicitly in her hands, and let her
+decide for the best. Evidently, he had found himself in a kind of lunatic
+asylum, where one inhabitant at least had developed a dangerous form of
+homicidal mania, and he had a pretty sure conclusion that Vera had saved
+his life. It was no time now to ask questions; that would come later on.
+
+"I am sure I am awfully grateful to you," Gurdon said. "Who are these
+people, and why do they behave in this insane fashion? This is not
+exactly the kind of menage one expects to find in one of the best
+appointed mansions in the West End."
+
+"I can tell you nothing about it," Vera said. There was a marked coldness
+in her voice that told Gurdon he was going too far. "I can tell you
+nothing. One thing you may rest assured of--I am in no kind of danger,
+nor am I likely to be. My concern chiefly at the present moment is with
+you. I want you to get back as soon as you can to the Great Empire Hotel,
+and ease Gerald's mind as to myself."
+
+"I hardly like to go, without you," Gurdon murmured.
+
+"But you must," Vera protested. "Let me assure you once more that I am as
+absolutely safe here as if I were in my own room. Now, come this way. I
+dare not strike a light. I can only take you by the hand and lead you to
+the top of the house. Every inch of the place is perfectly familiar to
+me, and you are not likely to come to the least harm. Please don't waste
+a moment more of your time."
+
+Gurdon yielded against his better judgment. A moment or two later, he
+found himself climbing through a skylight on to the flat leads at the
+top of the house. By the light of the town he could now see what he
+was doing, and pretty well where he was. From the leads he could look
+down into the garden, though, as yet, he could not discern any avenue
+of escape.
+
+"The thing is quite easy," Vera explained. "The late occupant of the
+house had a nervous dread of fire, and from every floor he had a series
+of rope ladders arranged. See, there is one fixed to this chimney. I have
+only to throw it over, and you can reach the garden without delay; then I
+will pull the ladder up again and no one will be any the wiser. Please,
+leave me without any further delay, in the absolute assurance that I
+shall be back again within an hour."
+
+A few minutes later Gurdon was in the street again, making his way back
+to the hotel where Venner was waiting for him.
+
+It was a strange story that he had to tell; a very thrilling and
+interesting adventure, but one which, after all, still further
+complicated the mystery and rendered it almost unintelligible.
+
+"And you mean to say that you have been actually face to face with our
+cripple friend?" Venner said. "You mean to say that he would actually
+have murdered you if Vera had not interfered in that providential manner?
+I suppose I must accept your assurance that she is absolutely safe,
+though I can't help feeling that she has exaggerated her own position. I
+am terribly anxious about her. I have an idea which I should like to
+carry out. I feel tolerably sure that this picturesque cripple of ours
+could tell us everything that we want to know. Besides, unless I do
+something I shall go mad. What do you say to paying the interesting
+cripple a visit to-morrow night, and forcing him to tell us everything?"
+
+Gurdon shook his head; he was not particularly impressed with the
+suggestion that Venner had made.
+
+"Of course, we could get into the house easily enough," he said. "Now
+that I have learned the secret of the cellar, there will be no
+difficulty about that. Still, don't you think it seems rather ridiculous
+to try this sort of thing when your wife is in a position to tell you
+the whole thing?"
+
+"But she would decline to do anything of the kind," Venner protested.
+"She has told me that her lips are sealed; she has even no explanation to
+offer for the way in which she left me within half-an-hour of our
+becoming man and wife. I should almost be justified in forcing her to
+speak; but, you see, I cannot do that. Therefore, I must treat her in a
+way as if she were one of our enemies. I have a very strong fancy for
+paying a visit to our cripple friend, and, if the worst came to the
+worst, we could convince him that we are emphatically not on the side of
+Mark Fenwick. At any rate, I mean to have a try, and if you don't like to
+come in--"
+
+"Oh, I'll come in fast enough," Gurdon said. "You had better meet me
+to-morrow night at my rooms, say, about eleven; then, we will see what we
+can do with a view to a solution of the mystery."
+
+At the appointed time, Venner duly put in an appearance. He was clothed
+in a dark suit and cap, Gurdon donning a similar costume. Under his arm
+Venner had a small brown paper parcel.
+
+"What have you got there?" Gurdon asked.
+
+"A pair of tennis shoes," was the response. "And if you take my advice,
+you should have a pair, too. My idea is to take off our boots directly we
+get into the seclusion of the garden and change into these shoes. Now
+come along, let's get it over."
+
+It was an easy matter to reach the garden without being observed, and in
+a very short time the two friends were standing close to the windows of
+the large room at the back of the house. There was not so much as a
+glimmer of light to be seen anywhere within. Very cautiously they felt
+their way along until they came at length to the grating through which
+Gurdon had made so dramatic an entrance on the night before. He took
+from his pocket a box of vestas, and ventured to strike one. He held it
+down close to the ground, shading the tiny point of flame in the hollow
+of his hand.
+
+"Here is a bit of luck to begin with," he chuckled. "They haven't
+fastened this grating up again. I suppose my escape last night must have
+upset them. At any rate, here is a way into the house without running the
+risk of being arrested on a charge of burglary, and if the police did
+catch us we should find it an exceedingly awkward matter to frame an
+excuse carefully, to satisfy a magistrate."
+
+"That seems all right," Venner said. "When we get into the cellar it's
+any odds that we find the door of the stairs locked. I don't suppose the
+grating has been forgotten. You see, it is not such an easy matter to get
+the British workman to do a job on the spur of the moment."
+
+"Well, come along; we will soon ascertain that," Gurdon said. "Once down
+these steps, we shall be able to use our matches."
+
+They crept cautiously down the stairs into the damp and moldy cellar;
+thence, up the steps on the other side, where Gurdon lighted one of his
+matches. The door was closed, but it yielded quite easily to the touch,
+and at length the two men were in the part of the house which was given
+over to the use of the servants. So far as they could judge the place was
+absolutely deserted. Doubtless the domestic staff had retired to bed. All
+the same, it seemed strange to find no signs of life in the kitchen. The
+stove was cold, and though the grate was full of cinders, it was quite
+apparent that no fire had been lighted there for the past four and twenty
+hours. Again, there was no furniture in the kitchen other than a large
+table and a couple of chairs. The dressers were empty, and the shelves
+deprived of their usual burden.
+
+"This is odd," Venner murmured. "Perhaps we shall have better luck on the
+dining-room floor. I suppose we had better not turn on the lights!"
+
+"That would be too risky," Gurdon said. "However, I have plenty of
+matches, which will serve our purpose equally well."
+
+On cautiously reaching the hall a further surprise awaited the intruders.
+There was absolutely nothing there--not so much as an umbrella stand. The
+marble floor was swept bare of everything, the big dining-room which the
+night before had been most luxuriously furnished, was now stripped and
+empty; not so much as a flower remained; and the conservatory beyond
+showed nothing but wooden staging and glittering glass behind that. A
+close examination of the whole house disclosed the fact that it was
+absolutely empty.
+
+"If I did not know you as well as I do," Venner said grimly, "I should
+say that you had been drinking. Do you mean to tell me that you sat in
+this dining-room last night, and that it was furnished in the luxurious
+way you described? Do you mean to tell me that you sat here, opposite
+our cripple friend, waiting for him to shoot you? Are you perfectly
+certain that we have made our way into the right house? You have no
+doubt on that score?"
+
+"Of course, I haven't," Gurdon said, a little hotly. "Would there be two
+houses close together, both of them with a broken grating over the
+cellar? I tell you this is the same house right enough. It was just in
+this particular spot I was seated when the lights went out, and your
+wife's fertility of resource saved my life. It may be possible that the
+electric fuses have not yet been repaired. At any rate, I'll see."
+
+Gurdon laid his hand upon the switch and snapped it down. No light came;
+the solitary illuminating point in the room was afforded by the match
+which Venner held in his hand.
+
+"There," Gurdon said, with a sort of gloomy triumph. "Doesn't that
+prove it? I suppose that our cripple took alarm and has cleared out of
+the house."
+
+"That's all very well, but it is almost impossible to remove the
+furniture of a great place like this in the course of a day."
+
+"My dear chap, I don't think it has been removed in the course of a
+day. Didn't you notice just now what a tremendous lot of dust we
+stirred up as we were going over the house? My theory is this--only
+three or four of the rooms were furnished, and the rest of the house
+was closed. When I made my escape last night, the cripple must have
+taken alarm and gone away from here as speedily as possible. What
+renders the whole thing more inexplicable is the fact that your wife
+could explain everything if she pleased. But after a check-mate like
+this, I don't see the slightest reason for staying here any longer. The
+best thing we can do is to get back to my rooms and discuss the matter
+over a whiskey and soda and cigar. But, talking about cigars, will you
+have the goodness to look at this?"
+
+From the empty grate Gurdon picked up a half smoked cigar of a somewhat
+peculiar make and shape.
+
+"I want you to notice this little bit of evidence," he said. "This is the
+very cigar that the cripple gave me last night. I can't say that I
+altogether enjoyed smoking it, but it was my tip to humor him. I smoked
+that much. When the white lady came in I naturally threw the end of the
+cigar into the fireplace. In the face of this, I don't think you will
+accuse me of dreaming."
+
+More than one cigar was consumed before Venner left his friend's rooms,
+but even the inspiration of tobacco failed to elucidate a solitary point
+at issue. What had become of the cripple, and where had he vanished so
+mysteriously? Gurdon was still debating this point over a late breakfast
+the following morning, when Venner came in. His face was flushed and his
+manner was excited. He carried a copy of an early edition of an evening
+paper in his hand--the edition which is usually issued by most papers a
+little after noon.
+
+"I think I've discovered something," he said. "It was quite by accident,
+but you will not fail to be interested in something that appears in the
+_Comet_. It alludes to the disappearance of a gentleman called Bates, who
+seems to have vanished from his house in Portsmouth Square. You know the
+name of the Square, of course?"
+
+Gurdon pushed his coffee cup away from him, and lighted a cigarette. He
+felt that something of importance was coming.
+
+"I suppose I ought to know the name of the square," he said grimly.
+"Seeing that I nearly lost my life in a house there the night before
+last. But please go on. I see you have something to tell me that is well
+worth hearing."
+
+"That's right," Venner said. "Most of it is in this paper. It appears
+that the aforesaid Mr. Bates is a gentleman of retiring disposition, and
+somewhat eccentric habits. As far as one can gather, he has no friends,
+but lives quietly in Portsmouth Square, his wants being ministered to by
+a body of servants who have been in his employ for years. Of necessity,
+Mr. Bates is a man of wealth, or he could not possibly live in a house
+the rent of which cannot be less than five or six hundred a year. As a
+rule, Mr. Bates rarely leaves his house, but last night he seems to have
+gone out unattended, and since then, he has not been seen."
+
+"Stop a moment," Gurdon exclaimed eagerly. "I am beginning to see
+daylight at last. What was the number of the house where this Bates
+lived? I mean the number of the square."
+
+Venner turned to his paper, and ran his eye down the printed column. Then
+he smiled as he spoke.
+
+"The number of the house," he said, "is 75."
+
+"I knew it," Gurdon said excitedly. "I felt pretty certain of it. The man
+who has disappeared lived at No. 75, and the place where we had our
+adventure, or rather, I had my adventure, is No. 74. Now, tell me, who
+was it who informed the police of the disappearance of Mr. Bates? Some
+servant, I suppose?"
+
+"Of course; and the servant goes on to suggest that Mr. Bates had
+mysterious enemies, who caused him considerable trouble from time to
+time. But now I come to the interesting part of my story. At the foot of
+the narrative which is contained in the _Comet_, that I hold in my hand,
+is a full description of Mr. Bates."
+
+"Go on," Gurdon said breathlessly. "I should be little less than an idiot
+if I did not know what was coming."
+
+"I thought you would guess," Venner said. "A name like Bates implies
+middle age and respectability. But this Bates is described as being young
+and exceedingly good looking. Moreover, he is afflicted with a kind of
+paralysis, which renders his movements slow and uncertain. And now you
+know all about it. There is not the slightest doubt that this missing
+Bates is no other than our interesting friend, the good-looking cripple.
+The only point which leaves us in doubt is the fact that Mr. Bates is a
+respectable householder, living at 75, Portsmouth Square, while the man
+who tried to murder you entertained you at No. 74, which house, now, is
+absolutely empty. We need not discuss that puzzle at the present moment,
+because there are more important things to occupy our attention. There
+can be no doubt that this man who calls himself Bates has been kidnapped
+by somebody. You will not have much difficulty in guessing the name of
+the culprit."
+
+"I guess it at once," Gurdon said. "If I mention the name of Mark
+Fenwick, I think I have said the last word."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+A NEW PHASE
+
+
+There was not the slightest doubt that Gurdon had hit the mark. As far as
+they could see at present, the man most likely to benefit by the death or
+disappearance of the cripple was Mark Fenwick. Still, it was impossible
+to dismiss the thing in this casual way, nor could it be forgotten that
+the cripple had actually been present at the Grand Empire Hotel on the
+night when the alleged millionaire received his message by means of the
+mummified finger. Therefore, logically speaking, it was only fair to
+infer that on the night in question Fenwick had not been acquainted with
+the personality of the cripple. Otherwise, the latter would have scarcely
+ventured to show himself in a place where his experiment had been brought
+to a conclusion.
+
+On the other hand, it was just possible that Fenwick had been looking for
+the cripple for some time past. But all this was more or less in the air,
+though there was a great deal to be said for the conclusion at which the
+two friends had arrived.
+
+"I work it out like this," Venner said, after a long, thoughtful pause.
+"You know all about the Four Finger Mine; you know exactly what happened
+to the Dutchman Van Fort after the murder of Le Fenu. It will be fresh in
+your recollection how, by some mysterious agency, the fingers of the
+Dutchman were conveyed to his wife, though he himself was never seen
+again. It is quite fair to infer that Fenwick has contrived to get hold
+of the same mine, though that dangerous property does not seem to have
+harmed him as much as it did the other thief. Still, we know that he has
+lost all the fingers of his left hand, and we have evidence of the fact
+that the vengeance has been worked out in the same mysterious fashion as
+it was worked out on the Dutchman. We know, too, who is at the bottom of
+the plot, we know that the cripple could tell us all about it if he
+liked. Obviously, this same cripple is a deadly enemy of Fenwick's. And,
+no doubt, Fenwick has found out where to lay his hands upon his man quite
+recently. Fenwick is a clever man, he is bold and unscrupulous, and
+without question he set to work at once to get the better of the cripple.
+Of course, this may be nothing but a wrong theory of mine, and it may
+lead us astray, but it is all I can see to work upon at present."
+
+"I don't think you are very far wrong," Gurdon said, "but I am still
+puzzled about the house in Portsmouth Square."
+
+"Which house do you mean?" Venner asked.
+
+"The one in which my adventure took place. The house from which the
+furniture vanished so mysteriously."
+
+"That seems to me capable of an easy explanation," Venner replied. "There
+is no doubt that the man called Bates and the cripple are one and the
+same person. You must admit that."
+
+"Yes, I admit that freely enough. Go on."
+
+"Well, this Bates, as we will call him, has a large establishment at 75,
+Portsmouth Square. The house next door was empty, possibly it belonged to
+Mr. Bates. He had a whim for furnishing a room or two in an empty house,
+or perhaps there was some more sinister purpose behind it. Anyway, after
+you had blundered on the place and had taken your life in your hands, it
+became necessary for the man to disappear from No. 74. Therefore, he had
+that furniture removed at once. I daresay if we investigated the house
+carefully we should find that there was some means of communication
+between the two; at least, that is the only explanation I can think of."
+
+"You've got it," Gurdon cried. "I'll wager any money, you are right. But
+I am sorry the man has vanished in this mysterious way, because it checks
+our investigations at the very outset. The last thing you wanted in this
+matter was police interference. Now the whole thing has got into the
+papers, and the public are sure to take the matter up. It is the very
+class of mystery that the cheap press loves to dwell upon. It has all
+the attributes of the _cause celebre_. Here is a handsome man,
+picturesque looking, a cripple into the bargain, a man leading an
+absolutely secluded life, and the very last person in the world one would
+expect to have enemies. He is very rich, too, and lives in one of the
+finest houses in the West End of London. He disappears in the most
+mysterious manner. Unless I am greatly mistaken, within the next two or
+three days London will be disclosing this matter and the newspapers will
+be full of it."
+
+"I am afraid you are right," Venner admitted; "but I don't see how we are
+going to gain any thing by telling the police what we have found out. As
+you know, I investigated this matter solely in the interests of the woman
+I love, and with the one intention of freeing her life from the cloud
+that hangs over it. In any other circumstances I would go direct to
+Scotland Yard and tell them everything we know. But not now. I think you
+will agree with me that we should go our own way and say nothing to
+anybody about our discovery."
+
+The events of the next day or so fully verified the fears of the two
+friends. The Bates case appealed powerfully to the large section of the
+public who delight in crimes of the mysterious order. Within a couple of
+days most of the papers were devoting much space to the problem. It so
+happened, too, that the week was an exceedingly barren one from a news
+point of view; therefore, the Bates case had the place of honor. There
+was absolutely no fresh information, not a single line that pointed to a
+definite solution of the problem. Indeed, the ingenious way in which most
+of the papers contrived to fill some three columns a day was beyond all
+praise. But both Gurdon and Venner searched in vain for a scrap of
+information that threw any light on the identity of the missing man. His
+habits were described at some length, a tolerably accurate description of
+his household appeared in several quarters; but nothing very much beyond
+that. The missing man's servants were exceedingly reticent, and if they
+knew anything whatever about their master they had preferred to confide
+it to the police in preference to the inquisitive reporter. Not a single
+relative turned up, though it was generally understood that the missing
+man was possessed of considerable property.
+
+It was on the third day that Venner began to see daylight. One of the
+evening papers had come out with a startling letter which seemed to point
+to a clue, though it conveyed nothing to the police. Venner came round to
+Gurdon's rooms with a copy of the evening paper in his hand. He laid it
+before his friend and asked him to read the letter, which, though it
+contained but a few lines, was of absorbing interest to both of them.
+
+"You see what this man says?" Venner remarked. "He appears to be a
+workingman who got himself into trouble over a drinking bout. Two days
+ago he was charged before the magistrate with being drunk and disorderly,
+and was sentenced to a fine of forty shillings or fourteen days'
+imprisonment. According to his story, the money was not forthcoming,
+therefore he was taken to gaol. At the end of two days his friends
+contrived to obtain the necessary cash and he was released. He writes all
+this to show how it was that he was entirely ignorant of the startling
+events which had taken place in the Bates case. This man goes on to say
+that on the night when Mr. Bates disappeared he was passing Portsmouth
+Square on his way home from some public-house festivities. He was none
+too sober, and has a hazy recollection of what he saw. He recollects
+quite clearly, now that he has time to think the matter over, seeing a
+cab standing at the corner of the Square within three doors of No. 75. At
+the same time, a telegraph boy called at No. 75 with a message. It was at
+this point that the narrator of the story stopped to light his pipe. It
+was rather a windy evening, so that he used several matches in the
+process. Anyway, he stood there long enough to see the telegraph boy
+deliver his message to a gentleman who appeared to have great difficulty
+in getting to the door. No sooner had the telegraph boy gone than the
+gentleman crept slowly and painfully down the steps and walked in the
+direction of the cab. Then somebody stepped from the cab and accosted the
+cripple, who, beyond all question, was the mysterious Bates. The writer
+of the letter says that he heard a sort of cry, then someone called out
+something in a language that he was unable to understand. He rather
+thinks it was Portuguese, because among his fellow workmen is a
+Portuguese artisan, and the language sounded something like his."
+
+"We are getting on," Gurdon said. "That little touch about the Portuguese
+language clearly points to Fenwick."
+
+"Of course, it does," Venner went on. "But that is not quite all. The
+letter goes on to say that something like a struggle took place, after
+which the cripple was bundled into the cab, which was driven away. It was
+a four-wheeled cab, and the peculiarity about it was that it had india
+rubber tires, which is a most unusual thing for the typical growler. The
+author of all this information says that the struggle appeared to be of
+no very desperate nature, for it was followed by nothing in the way of a
+call for help. Indeed, the workman who is telling all this seemed to
+think that it was more or less in the way of what he calls a spree. He
+said nothing whatever to the police about it, fearing perhaps that he
+himself was in no fit state to tell a story; and, besides, there was just
+the possibility that he might find himself figuring before a magistrate
+the next morning. That is the whole of the letter, Gurdon, which though
+it conveys very little to the authorities, is full of pregnant
+information for ourselves. At any rate, it tells us quite clearly that
+Fenwick was at the bottom of this outrage."
+
+"Quite right," Gurdon said. "The little touch about the Portuguese
+language proves that. Is there anything else in the letter likely to be
+useful to us?"
+
+"No, I have given you the whole of it. Personally, the best thing we can
+do is to go and interview the writer, who has given his name and address.
+A small, but judicious, outlay in the matter of beer will cause him to
+tell us all we want to know."
+
+It was somewhere in the neighborhood of the Docks where the man who had
+given his name as James Taylor was discovered later on in the day. He was
+a fairly intelligent type of laborer, who obtained a more or less
+precarious livelihood as a docker. As a rule, he worked hard enough four
+or five hours a day when things were brisk, and, in slack periods when
+money was scarce, he spent the best part of his day in bed. He had one
+room in a large tenement house, where the friends found him partially
+dressed and reading a sporting paper. He was not disposed to be
+communicative at first, but the suggestion of something in the way of
+liquid refreshment stimulated his good-nature.
+
+"Right you are," he said. "I've had nothing today besides a mouthful of
+breakfast, and when I've paid my rent I shall have a solitary tanner
+left; but I 'ope you gents are not down here with a view of getting a
+poor chap into trouble?"
+
+Gurdon hastened to reassure him on that head. He was balancing a
+half-sovereign thoughtfully on his forefinger.
+
+"We are not going to hurt you at all," he said. "We want you to give us a
+little information. In proof of what I say you can take this
+half-sovereign and obtain what liquid refreshment you require. Also, you
+can keep the change. If you don't like my proposal, there is an end of
+the matter."
+
+"Don't be short, guv'nor," Taylor responded. "I like that there
+proposition of yours so well that I'm going to take it; 'alf-sovereigns
+ain't so plentiful as all that comes to. If you just wait a moment, I'll
+be back in 'alf a tick. Then I'll tell you all you want to know."
+
+The man was back again presently, and professed himself ready to answer
+any questions that might be put to him. His manner grew just a little
+suspicious as Venner mentioned the name of Bates.
+
+"You don't look like police," he said. "Speaking personally, I ain't fond
+of 'em, and I don't want to get into trouble."
+
+"We have no connection whatever with the police," Venner said. "In fact,
+we would rather not have anything to do with them. It so happens that we
+are both interested in the gentleman that you saw getting into the cab
+the other night. I have read your letter in the paper, and I am quite
+prepared to believe every word of it. The only thing we want to know is
+whether you saw the man in the cab--"
+
+"Which one?" Taylor asked. "There were two blokes in the cab."
+
+"This is very interesting," Venner murmured. "I shall be greatly obliged
+to you if you will describe both of them."
+
+"I couldn't describe the one, guv'nor," Taylor replied. "His back was to
+me all the time, and when you come to think of it, I wasn't quite so
+clear in the head as I might have been. But I caught a glimpse of the
+other man's face; as he looked out of the cab the light of the lamp shone
+on his face. He'd a big cloak on, as far as I could judge, with the
+collar turned up about his throat, and a soft hat on his head. He knocks
+the hat off looking out of the cab window, then I see as 'is head was
+bald like a bloomin' egg, and yellow, same as if he had been painted. I
+can't tell you any more than that, not if you was to give me another
+'alf-sovereign on the top of the first one."
+
+"Just another question," Gurdon said. "Then we won't bother you any more.
+About what age do you suppose the man was?"
+
+Taylor paused thoughtfully for a moment before he replied.
+
+"Well, I should think he was about fifty-five or sixty," he said. "Looked
+like some sort of a foreigner."
+
+"That will do, thank you," Venner said. "We will not detain you any
+longer. At the same time I should be obliged if you would keep this
+information to yourself; but, of course, if the police question you, you
+will have to speak. But a discreet silence on the subject of this visit
+of ours would be esteemed."
+
+Taylor winked and nodded, and the friends departed, not displeased to get
+away from the stuffy and vitiated atmosphere of Taylor's room. On the
+whole, they were not dissatisfied with the result of their expedition. At
+any rate, they had now proof positive of the fact that Fenwick was at the
+bottom of the mysterious disappearance of the man called Bates.
+
+"I don't quite see what we are going to do next," Venner said. "So
+far, we have been exceedingly fortunate to find ourselves in
+possession of a set of clues which would be exceedingly valuable to
+the police. But how are we going to use these clues is quite another
+matter. What do you suggest?"
+
+"Keeping a close eye upon Fenwick at any rate. For that purpose it would
+not be a bad idea to employ a private inquiry agent. He need know
+nothing of what we are after."
+
+Thereupon it was decided that Gurdon was to dine with Venner that night
+and go fully into the matter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE SECOND FINGER
+
+
+It was, perhaps, fortunate for all concerned that, though Venner was so
+closely identified by the irony of Fate with the movements of Mark
+Fenwick, he was not known to the latter personally, though they had been
+almost side by side three years previous in Mexico. Therefore, it was
+possible for Venner to get a table in the dining-room quite close to that
+of the alleged millionaire. It was all the more fortunate, as things
+subsequently turned out, that Fenwick had returned to town that afternoon
+and had announced his intention of dining at the hotel the same evening.
+This information Venner gave to Gurdon when the latter turned up about
+half-past seven. Then the host began to outline the plan of campaign
+which he had carefully thought out.
+
+"Fenwick is dining over there," he said. "He generally sits with his back
+to the wall, and I have had our table so altered that we can command all
+his movements. Vera, of course, will dine with him. Naturally enough, she
+will act as if we were absolute strangers to her. That will be
+necessary."
+
+"Of course," Gurdon admitted. "But isn't it a strange thing that you
+should be an absolute stranger to Fenwick?"
+
+"Well, it does seem strange on the face of it. But it is capable of the
+easiest explanation. You see, when I first met Vera, she was at school in
+a town somewhere removed from the Four Finger Mine. I saw a good deal of
+her there, and when finally she went up country, we were practically
+engaged. At her urgent request the engagement was kept a secret, and when
+I followed to the Mines it was distinctly understood that I should not
+call at Fenwick's house or make myself known to him except in the way of
+business. As it happens, we never did meet, and whenever I saw Vera it
+was usually by stealth. The very marriage was a secret one, and you may
+charge me fairly with showing great weakness in the matter. But there, I
+have told you the story before, and you must make the best of it. On the
+whole, I am glad things turned out as they did, for now I can play my
+cards in the game against Fenwick without his even suspecting that he has
+me for an opponent. It is certainly an advantage in my favor."
+
+Venner had scarcely ceased speaking before Fenwick and Vera appeared. She
+gave one timid glance at Venner; then, averting her eyes, she walked
+demurely across to her place at the table. Fenwick followed, looking
+downcast and moody, and altogether unlike a man who is supposed to be
+the happy possessor of millions. His manner was curt and irritable, and
+he seemed disposed to find fault with everything. Venner noticed, too,
+that though the man ate very little he partook of far more champagne than
+was good for anyone. Thanks no doubt to the wine, the man's dark mood
+lifted presently, and he began chatting to Vera. The two men at the other
+table appeared to be deeply interested in their dinner, though, as a
+matter of fact, they were listening intently to every word that Fenwick
+was saying. He was talking glibly enough now about some large house in
+the country which he appeared to have taken for the winter months. Vera
+listened with polite indifference.
+
+"In Kent," Fenwick was saying. "Not very far from Canterbury. A fine old
+house, filled with grand furniture, just the sort of place you'd like.
+I've made all arrangements, and the sooner we get away from London the
+better I shall be pleased."
+
+"It will be rather dull, I fear," Vera replied. "I don't suppose that I
+shall get on very well with county people--"
+
+"Hang the county people," Fenwick growled. "Who cares a straw for them?
+Not but what they'll come along fast enough when they hear that Mark
+Fenwick, the millionaire, is in their midst. Still, there is a fine park
+round the house, and you'll be able to get as much riding as you want."
+
+Venner watching furtively saw that Vera was interested for the first
+time. He had not forgotten the fact that she was an exceedingly fine
+horsewoman; he recollected the glorious rides they had had together.
+Interested as he was in the mysterious set of circumstances which had
+wound themselves into his life, he was not without hope that this change
+would enable him to see more of Vera than was possible in London. In the
+lonely country he would be able to plan meetings with her; indeed, he had
+made up his mind to leave London as soon as Vera had gone. Moreover, in
+this instance, duty and inclination pointed the same way. If the mystery
+were to be solved and Vera freed from her intolerable burden, it would be
+essential that every movement of Fenwick's should be carefully watched.
+The only way to carry out this plan successfully would be to follow him
+into Kent.
+
+"You heard that?" he murmured to Gurdon. "We must find out exactly where
+this place is, and then look out some likely quarters in the
+neighborhood. I must contrive to see Vera and learn her new address
+before she goes."
+
+"No reason to worry about that," Gurdon said. "It will all be in the
+papers. The doings of these monied men are chronicled as carefully now
+as the movements of Royalty. It is any odds when you take up your
+_Morning Post_ in the morning that you will know not only exactly where
+Fenwick is going to spend the winter, but get an exact history of the
+house. So far as I can see we might finish our dinner and go off to a
+theatre. We are not likely to hear any more to-night, and all this
+mystery and worry is beginning to get on my nerves. What do you say to
+an hour or two at the Gaiety?"
+
+Venner pleaded for a few moments' delay. So far as he was personally
+concerned he felt very unlike the frivolity of the typical musical
+comedy; but still, he had finished his dinner by this time and was not
+disposed to be churlish. Fenwick had completed his repast also, and was
+sipping his coffee in an amiable frame of mind, heedless apparently of
+business worries of all kinds.
+
+At the same moment a waiter came into the room and advanced to the
+millionaire's table with a small parcel in his hand.
+
+"A letter for you, sir. An express letter which has just arrived. Will
+you be good enough to sign the receipt?"
+
+"Confound the people," Fenwick growled. "Can't you leave me alone for
+half an hour when I am having my dinner? Take the thing up to my room.
+You sign it, Vera."
+
+"I'll sign it, of course," Vera replied. "But don't you think you had
+better open the parcel? It may be of some importance. People don't
+usually send express letters at this time of night unless they are
+urgent. Or, shall I open it for you?"
+
+The waiter had gone by this time, taking the receipt for the letter with
+him. With a gesture Fenwick signified to Vera that she might open the
+parcel. She cut the string and opened the flat packet, disclosing a small
+object in tissue paper inside. This she handed to Fenwick, who tore the
+paper off leisurely. Then the silence of the room was startled by the
+sound of an oath uttered in tones of intense fury.
+
+"Curse the thing!" Fenwick cried. His yellow face was wet and ghastly
+now. The big purple veins stood out like cords on his forehead. "Am I
+never to be free from the terror of this mystery? Where did it come from?
+How could it be possible when the very man I have most reason to dread is
+no longer in a position--"
+
+The speaker broke off suddenly, as if conscious that he was betraying
+himself. The little object in the tissue paper lay on the table in such a
+position that it was impossible for Venner or Gurdon to see what it was,
+but they could give a pretty shrewd guess. Venn or looked inquiringly at
+his friend.
+
+"Well, what do you suppose it is?" he asked.
+
+"Personally, I have no doubt whatever as to what it is," Gurdon said. "I
+am as sure as if I held the thing in my hand at the present moment. It
+is the second finger which at some time or another was attached to
+Fenwick's hand."
+
+"You've got it," Venner said. "Upon my word, the farther we go with this
+thing the more complicated it becomes. No sooner do we clear up one point
+than a dozen fresh ones arrive. Now, is not this amazing? We know
+perfectly well that the man whom we have to call Bates has been kidnapped
+by our interesting friend opposite, and yet here the second warning
+arrives just as if Bates were still free to carry out his vengeance. What
+can one make of it?"
+
+"Well, the logical conclusion is that Bates has an accomplice. I fail to
+see any other way of accounting for it."
+
+Fenwick still sat there mopping his heated face and turning a disgusted
+eye upon the little object on the table. He seemed to be terribly
+distressed and upset, though there was nothing like the scene on the
+previous occasion, and, doubtless, few diners besides Venner and Gurdon
+knew that anything out of the common was taking place there. But they
+were watching everything carefully; they noted Fenwick's anxious face,
+they could hear his stertorous breathing. Though he had dined so freely
+he called for brandy now, a large glass of which he drank without any
+addition whatever. Then his agitation became less uncontrollable and a
+little natural color crept into his cheeks. Without glancing at it he
+slipped the little object on the table into his pocket and rose more or
+less unsteadily to his feet.
+
+"I have had a shock," he muttered. "I don't deny that I have had a
+terrible shock. You don't understand it, Vera, and I hope you never will.
+I wish I had never touched that accursed mine. I wish it had been fathoms
+under the sea before I heard of it, but the mischief has been done now,
+and I shall have to go on to the end. You can stay here if you like--as
+to me, I am going to my own room. I want to be alone for a bit and think
+this matter out."
+
+Fenwick lurched across the room with the air of a man who is more or less
+intoxicated, though his head was clear enough and his faculties undimmed.
+Still, his limbs were trembling under him and he groped his way to the
+door with the aid of a table here and there. It was perhaps rather a
+risky thing to do, but Venner immediately crossed over and took the seat
+vacated so recently by Fenwick. Vera welcomed him shyly, but it was
+palpable that she was ill at ease. She would have risen had not Venner
+detained her.
+
+"Don't you think you are very imprudent?" she said. "Suppose he should
+change his mind and come back here again?"
+
+"I don't think there is much chance of that," Venner said, grimly.
+"Fenwick will only be too glad to be by himself for a bit. But tell me,
+dear, what was it that gave him such a shock?"
+
+"I don't understand it at all," Vera said. "It was something to do
+with that dreadful mine and the vengeance connected with it. This is
+the second time the same thing has happened within the last few days,
+and I fear that it will culminate sooner or later in some fearful
+tragedy. I have some hazy idea of the old legend, but I have almost
+forgotten what it is."
+
+"I don't think you need worry about that," Venner said. "Though it
+will have to be spoken of again when the whole thing is cleared up;
+but now I wish to talk to you on more personal matters. Did I not
+understand Fenwick to say to-night that he was taking a large house
+somewhere in Kent?"
+
+"That is his intention, I believe," Vera replied. "I understand it is a
+large, dull place in the heart of the country. Personally I am not
+looking forward to it with the least pleasure. Things are bad enough here
+in London, but there is always the comfortable feeling that one is
+protected here, whereas in a lonely neighborhood the feeling of
+helplessness grows very strong."
+
+"You are not likely to be lonely or neglected," Venner smiled. "As soon
+as I have definitely ascertained where you are going, Gurdon and myself
+will follow. It is quite necessary that we should be somewhere near you;
+but, of course, if you object--"
+
+But Vera was not objecting. Her face flushed with a sudden happiness. The
+knowledge that the man she loved was going to be so near her filled her
+with a sense of comfort.
+
+"Don't you think it will be dangerous?" she asked.
+
+"Not in the least," Venner said. "Don't forget that I am a stranger to
+Mark Fenwick, which remark applies with equal force to Gurdon. And if we
+take a fancy to spend a month or two hunting in the neighborhood of
+Canterbury, surely there is nothing suspicious in that. I am looking
+forward to the hunting as a means whereby we may manage to get some long
+rides together. And even if Fenwick does find it out, it will be easy to
+explain to him that you made my acquaintance on the field of sport."
+
+"I am glad to hear you say that," Vera whispered. "I may be wrong, of
+course, but I feel that strange things are going to happen, and that I
+shall need your presence to give me courage."
+
+Vera might have said more, but a waiter came into the room at the same
+moment with an intimation to the effect that Mr. Fenwick desired to speak
+to her. She flitted away now, and there was nothing for it but for Venner
+to fall in with Gurdon's suggestion of a visit to the theatre.
+
+It was not long after breakfast on the following morning that Venner
+walked into Gurdon's rooms with a new proposal.
+
+"I have been thinking out this confounded thing," he said. "I have an
+idea; as you know, the house where you had your adventure the other night
+is empty, it has occurred to me that perhaps it may be to let. If so, we
+are going to call upon the agent in the characters of prospective
+tenants. What I want to do is to ascertain if possible the name of the
+owner of the premises."
+
+"I see," Gurdon said thoughtfully. "I am ready for you now."
+
+It was some little time before the friends got on the right track, but
+they found the right man at length. The agent was not quite sure whether
+he was in a position at present to make any definite arrangements on the
+part of the owner.
+
+"I presume he wants to let the house," he said, "though I have no
+instructions, and it is some considerable time since I have heard from my
+client. You see, he lives abroad."
+
+"Can't you give us his address," Venner asked, "and let us write to him
+direct? It would save time."
+
+"That I fear is equally impossible," the agent explained. "My client
+wanders about from place to place, and I haven't the remotest idea where
+to find him. However, I'll do my best."
+
+"You might tell us his name," Venner said.
+
+"Certainly. His name is Mr. Le Fenu."
+
+"What do you make of it?" Venner said, when once more he and Gurdon were
+in the street. "I see you have forgotten what the name of Le Fenu
+implies. Don't you remember my telling you that the original owner of
+the Four Finger Mine who was murdered by the Dutchman, Van Fort, was
+called Le Fenu?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+AN UNEXPECTED MOVE
+
+
+On the whole the discovery was startling enough. It proved to
+demonstration that the man who called himself Bates must have been in
+some way connected with the one-time unfortunate owner of the Four Finger
+Mine. There was very little said as the two friends walked down the
+street together. Venner paused presently, and stood as if an idea had
+occurred to him.
+
+"I have a notion that something will come of this," he said. "I had a
+great mind to go back to the agent's and try to get the key of the empty
+house under some pretext or another."
+
+"What do you want it for?" Gurdon asked.
+
+"I am not sure that I want it for anything," Venner admitted. "I have a
+vague idea, a shadowy theory, that I am on the right track at last, but I
+may be wrong, especially as I am dealing with so unscrupulous an opponent
+as Fenwick. All the same, I think I'll step round to that agent's office
+this afternoon and get the key. Sooner or later, I shall want a town
+house, and I don't see why that Portsmouth Square place shouldn't suit me
+very well."
+
+Venner was true to his intention, and later in the afternoon was once
+more closeted with the house-agent.
+
+"Do you really want to let the place?" he asked.
+
+"Well, upon my word, sir, I'm not quite sure," the agent replied. "As
+I said before, it is such a difficult matter to get in contact with
+the owner."
+
+"But unless he wanted to let it, why did he put it in your hands?" Venner
+asked. "Still, you can try to communicate with him, and it will save time
+if you let me have the keys to take measurements and get estimates for
+the decorating, and so on. I will give you any references you require."
+
+"Oh, there can be no objection to that," the agent replied. "Yes, you can
+have the keys now, if you like. You are not in the least likely to run
+away with the place."
+
+Venner departed with the keys in his possession, and made his way back to
+the hotel. He had hardly reached his own room before a waiter came in
+with a note for him. It was from Vera, with an urgent request that Venner
+would see her at once, and the intimation that there would be no danger
+in his going up to the suite of rooms occupied by Mark Fenwick. Venner
+lost no time in answering this message. He felt vaguely uneasy and
+alarmed. Surely, there must be something wrong, or Vera would not have
+sent for him in this sudden manner. He could not quite see, either, how
+it was that he could call at Fenwick's rooms without risk. However, he
+hesitated no longer, but knocked at the outer door of the self-contained
+rooms, which summons was presently answered by Vera herself.
+
+"You can come in," she said. "I am absolutely alone. Mr. Fenwick has gone
+off in a great hurry with all his assistants, and my own maid will not be
+back for some little time."
+
+"But is there no chance of Fenwick coming back?" Venner asked. "If he
+caught me here, all my plans would be ruined. My dear girl, why don't you
+leave him and come to me? I declare it makes me miserable to know that
+you are constantly in contact with such a man as that. It isn't as if you
+were any relation to him."
+
+"Thank goodness, I am no relation at all," Vera replied. "It is not for
+my own sake that I endure all this humiliation."
+
+"Then, why endure it?" Venner urged.
+
+"Because I cannot help myself. Because there is someone else whom I have
+to look after and shield from harm. Some day you will know the whole
+truth, but not yet, because my lips are sealed. But I did not bring you
+here to talk about myself. There are other and more urgent matters. I am
+perfectly sure that something very wrong is going on here. Not long after
+breakfast this morning, Mr. Fenwick was sitting here reading the paper,
+when he suddenly rose in a state of great agitation and began sending
+telegrams right and left. I am certain that there was terribly disturbing
+intelligence in that paper; but what it was, I, of course, cannot say. I
+have looked everywhere for a clue and all in vain. No sooner were the
+telegrams dispatched than the three or four men here, whom Mr. Fenwick
+calls his clerks, gathered all his papers and things together and sent
+them off by express vans. Mr. Fenwick told me that everything was going
+to the place that he had taken at Canterbury, but I don't believe that,
+because none of the boxes were labelled. Anyway, they have all gone, and
+I am instructed to remain here until I hear from Mr. Fenwick again."
+
+Venner began to understand; in the light of his superior knowledge it was
+plain to him that these men had been interrupted in some work, and that
+they feared the grip of the law. He expressed a wish to see the paper
+which had been the cause of all the trouble. The news-sheet lay on the
+floor where Fenwick had thrown it, and Venner took it up in his hands.
+
+"This has not been disturbed?" he asked.
+
+"No," Vera replied. "I thought it best not to. I have looked at both
+sides of the paper myself, but I have not turned over a leaf. You see,
+it must have been on one side or another of this sheet that the
+disturbing news appeared, and that is why I have not looked further.
+Perhaps you will be able to pick out the particular paragraph? There is
+plenty of time."
+
+Very carefully Venner scanned the columns of the paper. He came at length
+to something that seemed to him to bear upon the sudden change of plans
+which appeared to have been forced upon Fenwick. The paragraph in
+question was not a long one, and emanated from the New York correspondent
+of the _Daily Herald_.
+
+"We are informed," the paragraph ran, "that the police here believe that
+at length they are on the track of the clever gang of international
+swindlers who were so successful in their bank forgeries two years ago.
+Naturally enough, the authorities are very reticent as to names and other
+details, but they declare that they have made a discovery which embraces
+what is practically a new crime, or, at any rate, a very ingenious
+variant upon an old one. As far as we can understand, the police were
+first put on the track by the discovery of the fact that the head of the
+gang had recently transported some boxes of gold dust to London. Quite by
+accident this discovery was made, and, at first, the police were under
+the impression that the gold had been stolen. When, however, they had
+proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that the gold in question was
+honestly the property of the gang, they naturally began to ask themselves
+what it was intended for. As the metal could be so easily transferred
+into cash, what was the object of the gang in taking the gold to Europe?
+This question the Head of the Criminal Investigation Department feels
+quite sure that he has successfully solved. The public may look for
+startling developments before long. Meanwhile, two of the smartest
+detectives in New York are on their way to Europe, and are expected to
+reach Liverpool by the _Lusitania_ to-day."
+
+"There is the source of the trouble," Venner said. "I hardly care about
+telling you how I know, because the less information you have on this
+head the better. And I don't want your face to betray you to the sharp
+eyes of Mark Fenwick. But I am absolutely certain that that paragraph is
+the source of all the mischief."
+
+"I daresay it is," Vera sighed. "I feel so terribly lonely and frightened
+sometimes, so afraid of something terrible happening, that I feel
+inclined to run away and hide myself. What shall I do now, though I am
+afraid you cannot help me?"
+
+"I can help you in a way you little dream of," Venner said through his
+teeth. "For the present, at any rate, you had better do exactly as
+Fenwick tells you. I am not going to leave you here all alone, when we
+have a chance like this; after dinner, I am going to take you to a
+theatre. Meanwhile, I must leave you now, as I have much work to do, and
+there is no time to be lost. It will be no fault of mine if you are not
+absolutely free from Mark Fenwick before many days have passed."
+
+Venner sat alone at dinner, keeping a critical eye open for whatever
+might be going on around him. He had made one or two little calculations
+as to time and distance, and, unless his arithmetic was very far out, he
+expected to learn something useful before midnight.
+
+The meal had not proceeded very far when two strangers came in and took
+their places at a table close by. They were in evening dress and appeared
+to be absolutely at home, yet, in some subtle way, they differed
+materially from the other diners about them. On the whole, they might
+have passed for two mining engineers who had just touched civilisation
+after a long lapse of time. Venner noticed that they both ate and drank
+sparingly, and that they seemed to get through their dinner as speedily
+as possible. They went off to the lounge presently to smoke over their
+coffee, and Venner followed them. He dropped into a seat by their side.
+
+"You have forgotten me, Mr. Egan," he said to the smaller man of the two.
+"Don't you remember that night on the Bowery when I was fortunate enough
+to help you to lay hands on the notorious James Daley? You were in rather
+a tight place, I remember."
+
+"Bless me, if it isn't Mr. Venner," the other cried. "This is my friend,
+Grady. I daresay you have heard of him."
+
+"Of course I have," Venner replied. "Mr. Grady is quite as celebrated
+in his way as you are yourself. But you see, there was a time when I took
+a keen interest in crime and criminals, and some of my experiences in New
+York would make a respectable volume. When I heard that you were coming
+over here--"
+
+"You heard we were coming here?" Egan exclaimed. "I should very much like
+to know how you heard that."
+
+"Oh, you needn't be alarmed," Venner laughed. "Nobody has betrayed your
+secret mission to Europe, though, strangely enough, I fancy I shall be in
+a position to give you some considerable assistance. I happened to see a
+paragraph in the _Herald_ to-day alluding to a mysterious gang of
+swindlers who had hit upon a novel form of crime--something to do with
+gold dust, I believe it was. At the end of the paragraph it stated that
+two of the smartest detectives in the New York Force were coming over
+here, and, therefore, it was quite fair to infer that you might be one of
+them. In any case, if you had not been, I could have introduced myself to
+your colleagues and used your name."
+
+Egan looked relieved, but he said nothing.
+
+"You are quite right to be reticent," Venner said. "But, as I remarked
+before, I think I can help you in this business. You hoped to lay hands
+on the man you wanted in this hotel."
+
+"I quite see you know something," Egan replied. "As a matter of fart, we
+are a long way at present from being in a position to lay hands on our
+man with a reasonable hope of convicting him. There will be a great deal
+of watching to do first, and a lot of delicate detective work. That is
+the worst of these confounded newspapers. How that paragraph got into the
+_Herald,_ I don't know, but it is going to cause Grady and myself a great
+deal of trouble. To be quite candid, we did expect to find our man here,
+but when he had vanished as he did, just before we arrived, I knew at
+once that somebody must have been giving him information."
+
+"Do I know the name of the man?" Venner asked.
+
+"If you don't, I certainly can't tell you," Egan said. "One has to be
+cautious, even with so discreet a gentleman as yourself."
+
+"That's very well," Venner said. "But it so happens that I am just as
+much interested in this individual as yourself. Now let me describe him.
+He is short and stout, he is between fifty and sixty years of age, he has
+beady black eyes, and a little hooked nose like a parrot. Also, he has an
+enormous bald head, and his coloring is strongly like that of a yellow
+tomato. If I am mistaken, then I have no further interest in the matter."
+
+"Oh, you're not mistaken," Egan said. "That is our man right enough.
+But tell me, sir, do you happen to know what his particular line is
+just at present?"
+
+"I have a pretty good idea," Venner said; "but I am not quite sure as
+yet. I have been making a few inquiries, and they all tend to confirm my
+theory, but I am afraid I cannot stay here discussing the matter any
+longer, as I have an important appointment elsewhere. Do you propose to
+stay at the Empire Hotel for any time?"
+
+Egan replied that it all depended upon circumstances. They were in no way
+pressed for time, and as they were there on State business they were not
+limited as to expenses. With a remark to the effect that they might meet
+again later on in the evening, Venner went on his way and stood waiting
+for Vera at the foot of the stairs. She came down presently, and they
+entered a cab together.
+
+"We won't go to a theatre at all," Venner said. "We will try one of the
+music halls, and we shall be able to talk better there; if we have a box
+we shall be quite secure from observation."
+
+"It is all the same to me," Vera smiled. "I care very little where I go
+so long as we are together. How strange it is that you should have turned
+up in this extraordinary way!"
+
+"There is nothing strange about it at all," Venner said. "It is only Fate
+making for the undoing of the criminal. It may be an old-fashioned theory
+of mine, but justice always overtakes the rogue sooner or later, and
+Fenwick's time is coming. I have been the instrument chosen to bring
+about his downfall, and save you from your terrible position. If you
+would only confide in me--"
+
+"But I can't, dear," Vera said. "There is somebody else. If it were not
+for that somebody else, I could end my troubles to-morrow. But don't let
+us talk about it. Let us have two delightful hours together and thank
+Providence for the opportunity."
+
+The time passed all too quickly in the dim seclusion of one of the boxes;
+indeed, Vera sat up with a start when the orchestra began to play the
+National Anthem. It seemed impossible that the hour was close upon
+twelve. As to the performance itself, Vera could have said very little.
+She had been far too engrossed in her companion to heed what was taking
+place upon the stage.
+
+"Come along," Venner said. "It has been a delightful time, but all too
+brief. I am going to put you in a cab and send you back to the hotel, as
+I have to go and see Gurdon."
+
+Vera made no demur to this arrangement, and presently was being conveyed
+back to the hotel, while Venner thoughtfully walked down the street. Late
+as it was, the usual crop of hoarse yelling newsboys were ranging the
+pavement and forcing their wares on the unwilling passers-by.
+
+"Here you are, sir. 'Late Special.' Startling development of the Bates
+Case. The mystery solved."
+
+"I'll take one of those," Venner said. "Here's sixpence for you, and you
+can keep the change. Call me that cab there."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR
+
+
+Venner lost no time in reaching the rooms of his friend Gurdon, and was
+fortunate enough to find the latter at home. He was hard at work on some
+literary matter, but he pushed his manuscript aside as Venner came
+excitedly into the room.
+
+"Well, what is it?" he asked. "Anything fresh? But your face answers that
+question. Have you found Bates?"
+
+"No, I haven't," Venner said; "but he seems to have been discovered. I
+bought this paper just now in Piccadilly, but I have not been able to
+look at it yet. It is stated here that the mystery has been solved."
+
+"Hand it over," Gurdon cried excitedly. "Let's see if we can find it. Ah!
+here we are. The Press Association has just received a letter which
+appears to come from Mr. Bates himself. He says he is very much annoyed
+at all this fuss and bother in the papers, about his so-called
+kidnapping. He goes on to say that he was called to the Continent by
+pressing business, and that he had not even time to tell his servants he
+was going, as it was imperatively necessary that he should catch the
+midnight boat to Dieppe. The correspondent of the Press Association says
+that Mr. Bates has been interviewed by a foreign journalist, who is
+absolutely certain as to his identity. Moreover, an official has called
+at Mr. Bates' residence and found that his servants have had a letter
+from their master instructing them to join him at once, as he has let his
+house furnished for the next two months. Well, my dear man, that seems to
+be very satisfactory, and effectually disposes of the idea that Mr. Bates
+has been mysteriously kidnapped. I am rather sorry for this in a way,
+because it upsets all our theories and makes it necessary to begin our
+task all over again."
+
+"I don't believe a word of it," Venner said. "I believe it's a gigantic
+bluff. I was coming to see you to-night in any case, but after buying
+that paper I came on here post haste. Now that story of the Press
+Association strikes me as being decidedly thin. Here is a man living
+comfortably at home who suddenly disappears in a most mysterious manner,
+and nothing is heard of him for some time. Directly the public began to
+regard it as a fascinating mystery and the miscreants realising what a
+storm they were likely to stir up, the man himself writes and says that
+it is all a mistake. Now, if he had come back and shown himself, it would
+have been quite another matter. Instead of doing that, he writes a
+letter from abroad, or sends a telegram or something of that kind, saying
+that he has been called away on urgent business. That might pass easily
+enough, but mark what follows. He writes to his servants asking them to
+join him at once in some foreign town because he has let his house for
+two months, and the new tenant wishes to get in without delay. Did ever
+anybody hear anything so preposterous? Just as if a man would let a house
+in that break-neck fashion without giving his servants due warning. The
+thing is not to be thought of."
+
+"Then you think the servants have been lured away on a fools' errand?"
+Gurdon asked. "You don't think there is anybody in the house?"
+
+"Oh, yes, I do," Venner said drily. "I have a very strong opinion that
+there _are_ people in the house, and I also have a pretty shrewd idea as
+to who they are. It happens, also, that I am in a position to test my
+theory without delay."
+
+"How do you propose to do that?" Gurdon asked.
+
+"Quite easily. After I left you this afternoon I went back to the agent
+and succeeded in obtaining possession of the keys of the empty house in
+Portsmouth Square. My excuse was that I wanted to go into detail and to
+take measurements and the like. I need not remind you that Bates' house
+is next door to the empty one. In fact, there is no question that both
+houses belong to the same person. You will remember, also, the mysterious
+way in which that furniture vanished from the scene of your adventure."
+
+"I remember," Gurdon said grimly. "But all the same I don't quite see
+what you are driving at."
+
+"The thing is quite plain. That furniture did not vanish through the
+prosaic medium of a van, nor was it carted through the front door from
+one house to the other. The two houses communicated in some way, and it
+will be our business to find the door. As I have the keys and every
+legitimate excuse for being on the premises, we can proceed to make our
+investigations without the slightest secrecy, and without the least fear
+of awkward questions being asked. Now do you follow me?"
+
+"I follow you fast enough. I suppose your game is to try and get into the
+next house by means of the door?"
+
+"You have hit it exactly," Venner said. "That is precisely what I mean
+to do. We shall find it necessary to discover the identity of Mr.
+Bates' tenant."
+
+"When are we going to make the experiment?" Gurdon asked.
+
+"We are going to make it now," Venner replied. "We will have a cab as far
+as the Empire Hotel, so that I can get the keys. After that, the thing
+will be quite easy. Come along, and thank me for an exciting evening's
+adventure. I shall be greatly surprised if it is not even more exciting
+than the last occasion."
+
+They were in the empty house at last. The windows were closed and
+shuttered, so that it was possible to use matches in the various rooms
+without attracting attention from the outside. But search how they would,
+for upwards of two hours, they could find no trace whatever of a means of
+communication between the two houses. They tapped the walls and sounded
+the skirtings, but without success. Venner paced the floor of the
+drawing-room moodily, racking his brains to discover a way out of the
+difficulty.
+
+"It must be here somewhere," he muttered. "I am sure all that
+furniture was moved backwards and forwards through some door, and a
+wide one at that."
+
+"Then it must be on the ground floor," Gurdon remarked. "When you come to
+think of it, some of that furniture was so heavy and massive that it
+would not go through an ordinary doorway, neither could it have been
+brought upstairs without the assistance of two or three men of great
+strength. We shall have to look for it in the hall; if we don't find it
+there, we shall have to give it up as a bad job and try some other plan."
+
+"I am inclined to think you are right," Venner said. "Let us go down and
+see. At any rate, there is one consolation. If we fail to-night we can
+come again to-morrow."
+
+Gurdon did not appear to be listening. He strode resolutely down the
+stairs into the hall and stood for some moments contemplating the panels
+before him. The panels were painted white; they were elaborately
+ornamented with wreaths of flowers after the Adams' style of decoration.
+Then it seemed to Gurdon that two pairs of panels, one above and one
+below, had at one time taken the formation of a doorway. He tapped on one
+of the panels, and the drumming of his fingers gave out a hollow sound.
+Gurdon tapped again on the next panel, but hardly any sound came in
+response. He looked triumphantly at Venner.
+
+"I think we have got it at last," he said. "Do you happen to have a knife
+in your pocket? Unless I am greatly mistaken, the decorations around
+these panels come off like a bead. If you have a knife with you we can
+soon find out."
+
+Venner produced a small knife from his pocket, and Gurdon attempted to
+insinuate the point of the blade under the elaborate moulding. Surely
+enough, the moulding yielded, and presently came away in Gurdon's hands.
+
+"There you are," he said. "It is exactly as I told you. I thought at
+first that those mouldings were plaster, but you can see for yourself now
+that they are elaborately carved wood."
+
+Venner laid the ornament aside and stood watching Gurdon with breathless
+interest while the latter attacked another of the mouldings. They came
+away quite easily, pointing to the fact that they must have been removed
+before within a very short period. Once they were all cleared away,
+Gurdon placed the point of the knife behind one of the panels, and it
+came away in his hands, disclosing beyond a square hole quite large
+enough for anybody to enter. Here was the whole secret exposed.
+
+"Exactly what I thought," Gurdon said. "If I removed all the mouldings
+from the other three panels there would be space enough here to drive a
+trap through. I think we have been exceedingly lucky to get to the bottom
+of this. How clever and ingeniously the whole thing has been managed!
+However, I don't think there is any occasion for us to worry about moving
+any more of the panels, seeing that we can get through now quite easily.
+Wouldn't it be just as well to put all the lights out?"
+
+"I haven't thought of that," Venner muttered. "On the whole, it would be
+exceedingly injudicious not to extinguish all the lights. We had better
+go on at once, I think, and get it over."
+
+The house was reduced to darkness, and very quietly and cautiously the
+two adventurers crept through the panel. They were in the hall on the
+other side, of which fact there was no doubt, for they stepped at once
+off a marble floor on to a thick rug which deadened the sound of their
+footsteps. They had, naturally enough, expected to find the whole place
+in darkness, and the tenant of the house and his servants in bed. This,
+on the whole, would be in their favor, for it would enable them to take
+all the observations they required with a minimum chance of being
+disturbed.
+
+A surprise awaited them from the first. True, the hall was in darkness,
+and, as far as they could judge, so was the rest of the house. But from
+somewhere upstairs came the unmistakable sound of a piano, and of
+somebody singing in a sweet but plaintive soprano voice. Gurdon clutched
+his companion by the arm.
+
+"Don't you think it is just possible that we have made a mistake?" he
+whispered. "Isn't it quite on the cards that this is a genuine affair,
+and that we are intruding in an unwarrantable manner upon some
+respectable private citizen? I am bound to say that that beautiful voice
+does not suggest crime to me."
+
+"We must go on now," Venner said, impatiently. "It won't do to judge by
+appearances. Let us go up the stairs and see what is going on for
+ourselves. If we are intruding, we will get away as speedily as
+possible."
+
+Gurdon made no further objection, and together they crept up the stairs.
+There was no chance of their being surprised from behind by the servants,
+for they had taken good care to notice that the basement was all in
+darkness. They were getting nearer and nearer now to the sound of the
+music, which appeared to come from the drawing-room, the door of which
+was widely enough open for the brilliant light inside to illuminate the
+staircase. A moment later the music ceased, and someone was heard to
+applaud in a hoarse voice.
+
+"Sing some more," the voice said. "Now don't be foolish, don't begin to
+cry again. Confound the girl, she makes me miserable."
+
+"Do you recognise the voice?" Venner whispered.
+
+"Lord! yes," was Gurdon's reply. "Why, it's Fenwick. No mistaking those
+tones anywhere. Now, what on earth does all this mean?"
+
+"We shall find out presently," Venner said. "You may laugh at me, but I
+quite expected something of this kind, which was one of the reasons why I
+obtained the keys of the house."
+
+"It's a most extraordinary thing," Gurdon replied. "Now isn't this
+man--Fenwick--one of the last persons in the world you would credit with
+a love of music?"
+
+"I don't know," Venner said. "You never can tell. But don't let's talk.
+We are here more to listen than anything else. I wish we could get a
+glimpse of the singer."
+
+"I am going to," Gurdon declared. "Unless I am greatly mistaken, I have
+made a discovery, too. Oh, I am not going to take any risk. Do you see
+that mirror opposite the door? It strikes me if I get close enough to
+look into it that I shall be able to see who is in the room without
+betraying my presence."
+
+So saying, Gurdon crept forward till he was close enough to the mirror to
+get a very good idea of the room and its occupants. He could see a pale
+figure in white standing by a piano; he could see that Fenwick was
+sprawling in a big armchair, smoking a large cigar. Then he noticed that
+the girl crossed the floor and laid a slim hand half timidly, half
+imploringly, on Fenwick's shoulder.
+
+"Why are you so unkind to me?" she said. "Why so cruel? How many times
+have you promised me that you will bring him back to me again? I get so
+tired of waiting, I feel so sad and weary, and at times my mind seems to
+go altogether."
+
+"Have patience," Fenwick said. "If you will only wait a little longer he
+will come back to you right enough. Now go to the piano and sing me
+another song before I go to bed. Do you hear what I say?"
+
+The last words were harshly uttered; the girl reeled back as if fearing
+a blow. Gurdon standing there clenched his fists impulsively; he had
+considerable difficulty in restraining himself.
+
+"Very well," she said; "just one more, and then I will go to bed, for I
+am so tired and weary."
+
+Once more the sweet pathetic voice rang out in some simple song; the
+words gradually died away, and there was silence. Gurdon had barely time
+to slip back to the head of the stairs before the girl came out and made
+her way to the landing above. Standing just below the level of the floor,
+Venner gazed eagerly at the pretty tired face and mournful blue eyes. He
+grasped his companion by the arm in a grip that was almost painful.
+
+"We are getting to it," he said. "It was a good night's work coming here
+to-night. Do you mean to say you don't notice the likeness? Making due
+allowance for the difference in height and temperament, that poor girl is
+the image of my wife."
+
+"I must have been a dolt not to have noticed it before," Gurdon said.
+"Now that you mention it, the likeness is plain enough. My dear fellow,
+can't you see in this a reason for your wife's reticence in speaking of
+the past?"
+
+There was no time to reply, for the sinister evil face of Fenwick
+appeared in the doorway, and he called aloud in Spanish some hoarse
+command, which was answered from above by someone, in the same language.
+Gurdon whispered to his companion, with a view to ascertaining what had
+been said.
+
+"You will see for yourself in a minute," Venner said in an excited
+whisper. "You are going to have another surprise. You wanted to know just
+now what had become of Bates. Unless I am greatly mistaken, you will be
+able to judge for yourself in a few moments. I believe the man to be a
+prisoner in his own house."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THE WHITE LADY AGAIN
+
+
+It was perhaps an imprudent thing for the two friends to remain there,
+exposed as they were to the danger of discovery at any moment; but, so
+completely were they fascinated by what was going on about them, that
+they had flung caution to the winds. One thing was in their favor,
+however; there was not much likelihood of their being attacked from
+below, seeing that all the servants had gone to bed; unless, perhaps,
+some late comer entered the house. Still, the risk had to be run, and so
+they stood there together, waiting for the next move. It was Venner who
+spoke first.
+
+"I cannot get over the extraordinary likeness of that girl to my wife,"
+he said. "Is she anything like the woman you saw next door? I mean the
+poor half-demented creature who happened to come into the room when you
+were talking with the owner?"
+
+"Why, of course, it is the same girl," Gurdon replied.
+
+"Then I am sure she is Vera's sister. I'll ask her about it the first
+time I have an opportunity. Be silent and get a little lower down the
+stairs. There is somebody coming from the top of the house. We can see
+here without being seen."
+
+Assuredly there were sounds emanating from the top of the house. A voice
+was raised in angry expostulation, followed by other voices morose and
+threatening. As far as the listeners could judge, two men were dragging a
+third down the stairs against his will. But for that, the house was
+deadly silent; the watchers could hear the jingle of a passing cab bell,
+a belated foot passenger whistled as he went along. It seemed almost
+impossible to believe that so close to light and law and order and the
+well-being of the town a strange tragedy like this should be in progress;
+hidden from the eye of London, by mere skill of brick and mortar, this
+strange thing was going on. Venner wondered to himself how many such
+scenes were taking place in London at the same moment.
+
+But he had not much time for his meditation, for the shuffling of feet
+came closer. There were no more sounds of expostulation now; only the
+heavy breathing of three people, as if the captive had ceased to struggle
+and was making but a passive resistance. Then there emerged on the
+landing the figure of the handsome cripple with a guardian on either
+side. His face was no longer distorted with pain; rather was it white
+with an overpowering anger--his eyes shone like points of flame. On his
+right side Venner and Gurdon recognised the figure of the man in the
+list slippers--the man who had been handling the sovereigns in Fenwick's
+rooms. His comrade was a stranger, though of the same type, and it seemed
+to Venner that anyone would have been justified in repudiating either of
+them as an acquaintance. It was perfectly evident that the cripple came
+against his will, though he was struggling no longer. Probably the
+condition of his emaciated frame had rendered the task of his captors an
+easy one. They dragged him, limp and exhausted, into the drawing-room
+where Fenwick was seated and they stood in the doorway awaiting further
+instructions.
+
+"You needn't stay there," Fenwick growled. "If I want you I can call. You
+had better go back to your cards again."
+
+The two men disappeared up the stairs, and just for a moment there was
+silence in the drawing-room. It was safe for Venner and his companion
+now to creep back to the drawing-room door and take a careful note of
+what was going on. With the aid of a friendly mirror on the opposite
+side of the room, it was possible to see and note everything. The
+cripple had fallen into a chair, where he sat huddled in a heap, his
+hand to his head, as if some great physical pain racked him. His heavy
+breathing was the only sound made, except the steady puffing of
+Fenwick's cigar. A fit of anger gripped Venner for the moment; he would
+have liked to step in and soundly punish Fenwick for his brutality.
+Doubtless the poor crippled frame was racked with the pain caused by the
+violence of his late captors.
+
+But under that queer exterior was a fine spirit. Gradually the cripple
+ceased to quiver and palpitate; gradually he pulled himself up in his
+chair and faced his captor. His face was still deadly white, but it was
+hard and set now; there was no sign of fear about him. He leaned forward
+and stared Fenwick between the eyes.
+
+"Well, you scoundrel," he said in a clear, cold voice, "I should like to
+know the meaning of this. I have heard of and read of some strange
+outrages in my time, but to kidnap a man and keep him prisoner in his own
+house is to exceed all the bounds of audacity."
+
+"You appear to be annoyed," Fenwick said. "Perhaps you have not already
+learned who I am?"
+
+"I know perfectly well who you are," the cripple responded. "Your name is
+Mark Fenwick, and you are one of the greatest scoundrels unhung. At
+present, you are posing as an American millionaire. Fools may believe
+you, but I know better. The point is, do you happen to know who I am?"
+
+"Yes, I know who you are," Fenwick said with a sardonic smile. "You elect
+to call yourself Mr. Bates, or some such name, and you pretend to be a
+recluse who gives himself over to literary pursuits. As a matter of
+fact, you are Charles Le Fenu, and your father was, at one time, the
+practical owner of the Four Finger Mine."
+
+"We are getting on," Venner whispered. "It may surprise you to hear this,
+but I have suspected it for some little time. The so-called absent owner
+of these houses is the man sitting opposite Fenwick there. Now do you
+begin to see something like daylight before you? I wouldn't have missed
+this for worlds."
+
+"We have certainly been lucky," Gurdon replied.
+
+There was no time for further conversation, for the cripple was speaking
+again. His voice was still hard and cold, nor did his manner betray the
+slightest sign of fear.
+
+"So you have found that out," he said. "You know that I am the son of the
+unfortunate Frenchman who was murdered by a rascally Dutchman at your
+instigation. You thought that once having discovered the secret of the
+mine you could work it to your own advantage. How well you worked it your
+left hand testifies."
+
+The jeer went home to Fenwick, his yellow face flushed, and he half rose
+from his chair with a threatening gesture.
+
+"Oh, you can strike me," the cripple said. "I am practically helpless as
+far as my lower limbs are concerned, and it would be just the sort of
+cowardly act that would gratify a dirty little soul like yours. It
+hurts me to sit here, helpless and useless, knowing that you are the
+cause of all my misfortunes; knowing that, but for you, I should be as
+straight and strong as the best of them. And yet you are not safe--you
+are going to pay the penalty of your crime. Have you had the first of
+your warnings yet?"
+
+Fenwick started in his seat; in the looking-glass the watchers could see
+how ghastly his face had grown.
+
+"I don't know what you mean," he muttered.
+
+"Liar!" the cripple cried. "Paltry liar! Why, you are shaking from head
+to foot now--your face is like that of a man who stands in the shadow of
+the gallows."
+
+"I repeat, I don't know what you mean," Fenwick said.
+
+"Oh, yes, you do. When your accomplice Van Fort foully murdered my
+father, you thought that the two of you would have the mine to
+yourselves; you thought you would work it alone as my father did, and
+send your ill-gotten gains back to England. That is how the murdered man
+accomplished it, that is how he made his fortune--and you were going to
+do the same thing, both of you. When you had made all your arrangements
+you went down to the coast on certain business, leaving the rascally
+Dutchman behind. He was quite alone in the mine, there was no one within
+miles of that secret spot. And yet he vanished. Van Fort was never heard
+of again. The message of his fingers was conveyed to his wife, for she
+was implicated in the murder of my father, and how she suffered you
+already know. But you are a brave man--I give you all the credit for
+that. You went back to the mine again, determined not to be deterred by
+what had happened. What happened to you, I need not go into. Shall I tell
+the story, or will you be content with a recollection of your sufferings?
+It is all the same to me."
+
+"You are a bold man," Fenwick cried. He was trembling with the rage that
+filled him. "You are a bold man to defy me like this. Nobody knows that I
+am here, nobody knows that you are back in your own house again. I could
+kill you as you sit there, and not a soul would suffer for the crime."
+
+The cripple laughed aloud; he seemed to be amused at something.
+
+"Really!" he sneered. "Such cheap talk is wasted upon me. Besides, what
+would you gain by so unnecessary a crime, and how much better off would
+you be? You know as well as I do, disguise it as you will, that the long
+arm has reached for you across five thousand miles of sea, and that,
+when the time comes, you will be stricken down here in London as surely
+and inevitably as if you had remained in Mexico under the shadow of the
+mountains. The dreadful secret is known to a few, in its entirety it is
+even unknown to me. I asked you just now if you had received the first
+of your messages, and you denied that you knew what I meant. You
+actually had the effrontery to deny it to me, sitting opposite to you as
+I am, and looking straight at the dreadful disfigurement of your left
+hand. For over three centuries the natives of Mexico worked the Four
+Finger Mine till only two of the tribe who knew its secret remained.
+Then it was that my father came along. He was a brave man, and an
+adventurer to his finger tips. Moreover, he was a doctor. His healing
+art made those rough men his friends, and when their time came, my
+father was left in possession of the mine. How that mine was guarded and
+how the spirit of the place took its vengeance upon intruders, you know
+too well. Ah, I have touched you now."
+
+Fenwick had risen, and was pacing uneasily up and down the room. All the
+dare-devil spirit seemed to have left the man for a moment; he turned a
+troubled face on the cripple huddled in his chair. He seemed half
+inclined to temporise, and then, with a short laugh, he resumed his own
+seat again.
+
+"You seem to be very sure of your ground," he sneered.
+
+"I am," the cripple went on. "What does it matter what becomes of a
+melancholy wreck like myself? Doctors tell me that in time I may become
+my old self again, but in my heart I doubt it, and as sure as I sit here
+the mere frame-work of a human being, my injuries are due to you. I
+might have had you shot before now, or I might even have done it myself,
+but I spared you. It would have been a kindness to cut your life short,
+but I had another use for you than that. And now, gradually, but surely,
+the net is closing in around you, though you cannot yet see its meshes,
+and you are powerless to prevent the inevitable end."
+
+"You seem to have mapped it all out," Fenwick replied. "You seem to have
+settled it all to your own satisfaction, but you forget that I may have
+something to say in the matter. When I discovered, as I did quite by
+accident, that you were in London, I laid my plans for getting you into
+my hands. It suits me very well, apart from the criminal side of it, to
+hide myself in your house, but that is not all. I am in a position now to
+dictate terms, and you have nothing else to do but to listen. I am
+prepared to spare your life on one condition. Now kindly follow me
+carefully."
+
+"I am listening," the cripple said, coldly. "If you were not the blind
+fool you seem to be you would know that there could be no conditions
+between us; but go on. Let me hear what you have to say."
+
+"I am coming to that. I want you to tell me where I can find Felix Zary."
+
+Suddenly, without the slightest premonition, the cripple burst into a
+hearty laugh. He rocked backward and forward in a perfect ecstasy of
+enjoyment; for the moment, at any rate, he might have been on the very
+best of terms with his companion.
+
+"Oh, that is what you are driving at?" he said. "So you think that if you
+could get Felix Zary out of the way you would be absolutely safe? Really,
+it is marvellous how an otherwise clever man could be so blind to the
+true facts of the case. My good sir, I will give you Zary's address with
+pleasure."
+
+Fenwick was obviously puzzled. Perhaps it was beginning to dawn upon
+him that he had a man of more than ordinary intellect to grapple with.
+He looked searchingly at the cripple, who was leaning back with eyes
+half closed.
+
+"Hang me, if I can understand you," he muttered. "I am in imminent danger
+of my life, though I should be safe enough if Felix Zary and yourself
+were out of the way."
+
+"And you are quite capable of putting us out of the way," the cripple
+said, gently. "Is not that so, my friend?"
+
+"Aye, I could, and I would," Fenwick said in a fierce whisper. "If you
+were both dead I could breathe freely; I could go to bed at night feeling
+sure that I should wake in the morning. Nothing could trouble me then. As
+to that accursed mine, I have done with it. Never again do I plant my
+foot in Mexico."
+
+"Fool that you are!" the cripple said in tones of infinite pity. "So you
+think that if Zary and myself were out of the way you might die
+eventually in your bed honored and respected of men? I tell you, never!
+The vengeance is upon you, it is following you here, it is close at hand
+now. You have already had your warning. Perhaps, for all I know to the
+contrary, you may have had your second warning; that you have had one,
+your face told me eloquently enough a few moments ago. I am quite sure
+that a little quiet reflection will show you the absurdity of keeping me
+a prisoner in my own house. Of course, I know I am entirely in your
+hands, and that you may keep me here for weeks if you choose. It will be
+very awkward for me, because I have important business on hand."
+
+"I know your important business," Fenwick sneered. "Everything that goes
+in your favor will naturally spell disaster to me. As I told you before,
+it was only an accident that told me where you were; indeed, so changed
+are you that I should not have recognised you if I had met you in the
+street. No, on the whole, you will stay where you are."
+
+At this point Venner clutched Gurdon's arm and dragged him hurriedly
+across the landing down to the half staircase. So quickly was this done
+that Gurdon had no time to ask the reason for it all.
+
+"Someone coming down the stairs," Venner whispered. "Didn't you hear a
+voice? I believe it is the girl in white again."
+
+Surely enough, looking upward, they could see the slim white figure
+creeping down the stairs. The girl was crooning some little song to
+herself as she came along. She turned into the drawing-room and called
+aloud to the cripple in the chair. With an oath on his lips, Fenwick
+motioned her away.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+MASTER OF THE SITUATION
+
+
+"What have you come back here for?" Fenwick demanded. "You said you were
+tired, and that you were going to bed, long ago."
+
+The girl looked dreamily about her; it was some little time before she
+appeared to appreciate the significance of Fenwick's question. She was
+more like one who walks in her sleep than a human being in the full
+possession of understanding.
+
+"I don't know," she said, helplessly. She rubbed her eyes as if there had
+been mist before them. "I was so tired that I lay on the bed without
+undressing, and I fell fast asleep. Then I had a dream. I dreamed that
+all the miserable past was forgotten, and that Charles was with me once
+more. Then he seemed to call me, and I woke up. Oh, it was such a vivid
+dream, so vivid, that I could not sleep again! I was so restless and
+anxious, that I made up my mind to come downstairs, and, as I was passing
+a door just now, it opened, and the face of Charles looked out. It was
+only for a moment, then two men behind him dragged him back and the door
+closed once more."
+
+"A foolish fancy," Fenwick growled.
+
+"It was not," the girl cried almost passionately. "I tried the door a
+moment later, and it was locked. I tell you that Charles is in that room.
+I cannot go to bed again until I am certain of the truth. Oh, why do you
+keep me in suspense like this?"
+
+"Mad," Fenwick muttered. "Mad as a March hare. Why don't you send her to
+an asylum?"
+
+"She is not mad," the cripple said in a curiously hard voice. "Something
+tells me that she has made a discovery. You rascal, is it possible that
+you have Charles Evors under this roof?"
+
+Fenwick laughed, but there was something uneasy and strained about his
+mirth. He glanced defiantly at the cripple, then his eyes dropped before
+the latter's steady gaze.
+
+"Why should I worry about Evors?" he asked. "The man is nothing to me,
+and if by chance--"
+
+The rest of Fenwick's sentence was drowned in a sudden uproar which
+seemed to break out in a room overhead. The tense silence was broken by
+the thud of heavy blows as if someone were banging on a door, then came
+muttered shouts and yells of unmistakable pain. Hastily Fenwick rose from
+his seat and made in the direction of the door. He had hardly advanced
+two steps before he found himself confronted with the rim of a
+silver-plated revolver, which the cripple was holding directly in the
+line of his head.
+
+"Sit down," the latter said tersely. "Sit down, or, as sure as I am a
+living man, I'll fire. I could say that I fired the shot in self-defence,
+and when the whole story comes to be told I have no fear that a jury
+would disbelieve me. Besides, there is nothing to be afraid of. Those
+sounds don't come from the police trying to force their way into the
+house. On the contrary, it seems to me that some of your parasites are
+having a misunderstanding over their cards. At any rate, you are not to
+move. If you do, there will be an end once and for all of the millionaire
+Mark Fenwick. Sit down, my child--you are trembling from head to foot."
+
+"It was his voice," the girl cried. "I am certain that it was Charles who
+called out just now."
+
+Once more the shouts and cries broke out, once more came that banging on
+the panels, followed by a splitting crash, after which the uproar
+doubled. Evidently a door had given way and the conflict was being fought
+out on the stairs.
+
+"Shall we go and take a hand?" Gurdon whispered excitedly. "Murder might
+be going on here."
+
+"I think we had better risk it a little longer," was Venner's cautious
+reply. "After all is said and done, we must not make ourselves too
+prominent. If necessary we will take a hand, but, unless I am greatly
+mistaken, the prisoner upstairs has got the better of his captors. Ah, I
+thought so."
+
+The sound of strife overhead suddenly ceased after two smashing blows,
+in which evidently a man's clenched fist had come in contact with naked
+flesh. There was a groan, the thud of a falling body, and the man in the
+list slippers came rolling down the stairs. He was followed a moment
+later by a young clean-shaven man dressed in a grey Norfolk suit. His
+frame suggested power and strength, though his face was white like that
+of one who is just recovering from a long illness. He was breathing very
+hard, but otherwise he did not appear to have suffered much in the
+struggle out of which he had emerged in so victorious a fashion. He made
+his way direct to the drawing-room, and immediately a woman's voice
+uprose in a long wailing cry.
+
+"I'd give something to see that," Venner whispered. "Only I am afraid we
+can't do anything until the man in the list slippers comes to his senses
+and takes himself off. There is another one coming now. He doesn't look
+much better off than his colleague."
+
+Another man crept down the stairs, swaying as he came and holding on to
+the balusters. He had a tremendous swelling over his left eye and a
+terrible gash in his lip, from which the blood was flowing freely.
+Altogether he presented a terrible aspect as he bent over the prostrate
+form of his unconscious companion.
+
+"Here, get up, wake up," he said. "What are you lying there for? He'll
+be out of the house before we can turn round, and what will the governor
+say then?"
+
+The man in the slippers gradually assumed a sitting position and stared
+stupidly about him. A hearty kick in the ribs seemed to restore him to
+some measure of consciousness.
+
+"Don't ask me," he said. "I never saw anything like it. Here's a chap who
+has been in bed on and off for months coming out in this unexpected
+manner and knocking us about as if we had been ninepins. What's become of
+him, I should like to know?"
+
+"What are you two ruffians doing there?" came Fenwick's voice from the
+drawing-room. "Go back to your room, and I will send for you when I
+want you."
+
+The men slunk back again, probably by no means sorry to be out of further
+trouble. No sooner had they disappeared than the two friends stood in the
+entrance to the door of the drawing-room once more. The friendly mirror
+again stood them in good stead, for by its aid they watched as dramatic
+and thrilling a picture as ever was presented on any stage.
+
+The young man in the Norfolk suit stood there side by side with the girl
+in white. He had his arm about her waist. She clung to him, with her head
+upon his shoulder; there were words of endearment on her lips. Just for
+the moment she seemed to have forgotten that they were not alone; all
+the world might have been made for herself and her lover. For the moment,
+too, the dreamy look had left her face, and she no longer conveyed the
+impression to a stranger's eyes that she was suffering from some form of
+insanity. She was alert and vigorous once more.
+
+"Oh, I knew that you would come back to me," she said. "I knew that you
+were not dead, for all they told me so. How cruel they were to tell me
+these things--"
+
+"Stop," the cripple cried. "It sounds cruel and heartless for me to have
+to interfere just now, but I must insist that you go back to your room,
+Beth. Back at once."
+
+"Can't I stay a little longer?" the girl pleaded. "It is such a long time
+since Charles and I--"
+
+"No, no, you must do as I tell you. It will be far better in the long
+run. We are only two men against three, and there may be others concealed
+in the house for all I know. For myself, I am perfectly helpless, and
+Charles looks as if he had just come from the grave. Evidently his
+struggles have tried him."
+
+"Well, I must confess, I am feeling rather down," Charles Evors said. "I
+could not stand it any longer, and I made a dash for liberty. Goodness
+knows how long I have been in the hands of those men; and how long they
+have kept me under the influence of drugs. I suppose the supply fell
+short. Anyway, I had just sense enough to take advantage of my first
+opportunity. You can explain all to me presently, but the mere fact of
+Fenwick being here is enough to tell me who is at the bottom of this
+business."
+
+Fenwick placed his fingers to his lips and whistled shrilly. Almost
+immediately sounds of footsteps broke out overhead, and a door opened
+somewhere with a loud crash. The cripple turned to the girl, who had
+crept reluctantly as far as the doorway.
+
+"Now listen to me," he said quickly. "Listen and act quickly. Go
+downstairs into the street and bring here the first policeman you can
+find. Tell him a violent quarrel has broken out between Mr. Bates and
+some of his guests, and say you fear that some mischief will be done. Do
+you understand me?"
+
+The girl nodded quickly. Evidently she quite understood. She
+disappeared so suddenly that Venner and Gurdon had barely time to get
+out of her way. They heard the street door open--they were conscious of
+the sudden draught rushing up the stairs; the sound of passing cabs was
+distinctly audible.
+
+The girl had hardly time to get outside before three or four men came
+down the stairs. They rushed headlong into the drawing-room, where they
+seemed to pause, no doubt deterred in their violence for a moment by the
+sight of the cripple's revolver.
+
+"Here's our chance," Gurdon whispered. "The girl will be back with the
+police in two minutes, and we have heard quite enough to know the
+ingenious scheme which is uppermost in the cripple's mind. Let's lock
+them in. Don't you see that the key is in on this side of the door? Turn
+it quickly."
+
+"Good business," Gurdon chuckled as he snapped the key in the lock. "Now
+they can fight as long as they like. At any rate, they can't do much
+mischief so long as they are caged in there."
+
+A din of mingled voices came from the other side of the door, followed
+quickly by the whiplike crack of a revolver shot. Then someone tried the
+door and yelled aloud that it was locked. Fists battered violently on the
+panels, and just as the din was at its height the helmets of two
+policemen appeared mounting the stairs. Venner stepped coolly forward as
+if he had every right to be there.
+
+"I'm glad you officers have come," he said. "There seems to be something
+in the nature of a free fight going on here. We took the liberty of
+turning in as the door was open to see what had happened. You had better
+go in yourself."
+
+The policeman tried the door, which, naturally, did not yield to his
+hand, and he called out to those inside to open in the name of the law. A
+voice on the other side pleaded that the door was locked. Venner turned
+the key in the door.
+
+"Probably the young lady had the sense to lock them in," he said. "You
+had better go inside, officer. No, there is no reason why we should
+accompany you. As a matter of fact our presence here is more or less an
+intrusion."
+
+The policemen stepped into the room and demanded to know what was the
+matter. They could see the master of the house sitting there in his
+chair, with a tall young man in a Norfolk suit by his side, and opposite
+him Fenwick, flushed and sullen, with his satellites behind him. There
+were four of them altogether, and the appearance they made was by no
+means attractive, seeing that two at least of them were showing
+unmistakable signs of violence.
+
+It was the cripple who first recovered his self-possession.
+
+"I am sorry to trouble you," he said, "but I am afraid we have rather
+forgotten ourselves. You know me, of course?"
+
+"Oh, yes, sir," the first officer replied. "You are Mr. Bates, the
+gentleman who is supposed to have been kidnapped the other night; the
+inspector told me that you were still on the Continent."
+
+"Well, I am not," the cripple said curtly. "I am back home again, as you
+can see with your own eyes. The gentleman over there with the yellow
+face is Mr. Mark Fenwick, the well-known millionaire. I daresay you have
+heard of him."
+
+Both officers touched their hats respectfully; they had probably come
+here prepared to make more than one arrest and thus cover themselves with
+comparative glory; but the mere mention of Fenwick's name settled that
+point once and for all.
+
+"As you are probably aware," the cripple went on, "until quite recently
+Mr. Fenwick was staying at the Great Empire Hotel, but the place was too
+public for one of his gentle and retiring disposition, and so he made
+arrangements to take my house furnished, though the understanding was
+that nobody should know anything about it, and nobody would have known
+anything about it but for the fact that in the way of business Mr.
+Fenwick had to consult these other gentlemen. Perhaps they don't look in
+the least like it, but they are all American capitalists, having made
+their money by gold mining. They don't look a very attractive lot,
+officer, but if you knew them as well as I do you would learn to love
+them for their many engaging qualities, and their purity of heart."
+
+The officers touched their helmets again, and appeared to be undecided in
+their minds as to whether the cripple was chaffing them or not. But
+though his voice had a certain playfulness of tone, his face was quite
+grave and steadfast.
+
+"Very well, sir," the foremost of the constables said. "I understand that
+neither of you gentlemen desires to make any charge against the other. I
+shall have to make a note of this."
+
+"Of course you will," the cripple said sweetly. "Now I appeal to Mr.
+Fenwick and his companions as to whether or not the whole thing has not
+been a silly misunderstanding. You see, officer, gold mining is rather a
+thirsty business, and occasionally leads to rather more champagne than is
+good for one. I can only apologise to my tenant, Mr. Fenwick, for losing
+my temper, and I will at once rid him of my presence. It is getting very
+late, and I can come round in the morning and make my peace here. As I am
+a little lame, I will ask one of you officers to give me your arm.
+Charles, will you be good enough to give me your arm also? I wish you
+good-night, Mr. Fenwick. In fact, I wish all of you good-night. I shall
+not fail to call round in the morning--"
+
+"But you are not going," Fenwick cried in dismay. "You are not going away
+from your own house at this time of night?"
+
+"You forget," the cripple said, gravely, "that for the time being you are
+my tenant, and that I have no more right in this house, indeed, not so
+much right, as one of these policemen. I have sent my servants away, and
+I am at present staying--in fact, it does not matter much where I am
+staying. Come along."
+
+The trap was so neatly laid and so coolly worked that Fenwick could only
+sit and gasp in his chair, while his two victims walked quietly away in
+the most natural manner in the world.
+
+"We had better be off," Gurdon whispered. "There is no occasion for us to
+stay any longer. Let us follow the cripple. By Jove, I never saw anything
+done more neatly than that!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+FELIX ZARY
+
+
+It would have been a comparatively easy matter for the two friends to
+have slipped out of the house before the cripple came down the stairs
+accompanied by the young man who called himself Charles Evors. The front
+door was still open, and there was no one to bar their way. Then it
+suddenly occurred to Gurdon that by so doing they would betray the secret
+of the moveable panel which communicated with the house next door.
+
+"It would never do to go away like this," he said, hurriedly. "Besides,
+it is more than likely that we shall want to use that entrance again.
+We shall have to run the risk of losing sight of the cripple; anything
+is better than leaving that panel open for the servants to discover in
+the morning."
+
+Venner could see for himself at once that there was no help for it, so
+without any further discussion on the matter, the two men hurried down
+the stairs, their feet making no noise on the thick carpet, and then they
+darted through the hole into the house next door. It was only the work of
+a moment to replace the panel, but hardly had they done so before they
+heard a confused murmur of voices on the other side. Gurdon pressed his
+back to the panel until the noise of the voices ceased.
+
+"That was a pretty close call," he said. "Give me the mouldings and I
+will try to make them secure without any unnecessary noise. I daresay we
+can get the nails to fit the same holes. Anyway, there must be no
+hammering, or we shall be pretty sure to rouse the suspicions of the
+people next door."
+
+It was perhaps fortunate that the mouldings fitted so well, for Gurdon
+managed to work the nails into the original holes and complete a more or
+less workmanlike job to his own satisfaction. Certainly, anybody who was
+not in the secret would never have detected anything wrong with the
+panels or imagined for a moment that they had been so recently moved.
+
+"That's a good job well done," Venner said.
+
+"Yes, but what do you do it for? In fact, what are you two gentlemen
+doing here at all?"
+
+The voice came with a startling suddenness. It was an exceedingly clear,
+melodious voice, yet with a steely ring in it. The two friends wheeled
+round sharply to find themselves face to face with an exceedingly tall
+individual, whose length was almost grotesquely added to by the amazing
+slimness of his figure. In that respect he was not at all unlike the type
+of human skeleton which one generally expects to find in a travelling
+circus, or some show of that kind. The man, moreover, was dressed in
+deep black, which added to his solemnity. He had an exceedingly long,
+melancholy face, on both sides of which hung a mass of oily-looking black
+hair; his nose, too, was elongated and thin, and a long drooping
+moustache concealed his mouth. On the whole his appearance was redeemed
+from the grotesque by an extraordinary pair of black eyes, which were
+round and large as those of a Persian cat. Despite the man's exceeding
+thinness, he conveyed a certain suggestion of strength. At that moment he
+had a handkerchief between his fingers, and Gurdon could see that his
+wrists were supple and pliable as if they had been made of india rubber.
+Gurdon had heard that sort of hands before described as conjurer's hands.
+As he looked at them he half expected to see the handkerchief disappear
+and an orange or apple or something of that kind take its place. Then the
+stranger coolly walked across the hall and turned up another of the
+lights. He seemed to be perfectly at home, and conveyed a curious
+impression to the visitors that he expected to find them there.
+
+"I beg to remind you that you have not yet answered my question," he
+said. "What are you doing here?"
+
+"Let me answer your question with another," Venner said. "Who are you,
+and what may you be doing here?"
+
+The man smiled in a peculiar fashion. His big black eyes seemed to
+radiate sparks; they were luminous and full of vivid fury, though, at the
+same time, the long horse-like face never for a moment lost its look of
+profound dejection. They might have been eyes gleaming behind a dull,
+painted mask.
+
+"We will come to that presently," he said. "For the moment the mention of
+my name must content you. It is just possible that you might have heard
+the name of Felix Zary."
+
+Venner and Gurdon fairly started. The name of Felix Zary was familiar to
+them, but only during the last three-quarters of an hour. In fact, that
+was the name of the man as to whose whereabouts Fenwick had been so
+anxious to hear. Here was another element in the mystery, which, up to
+this moment, had not advanced very far towards solution.
+
+"I have heard the name before," Venner said, "but only quite
+recently--within the last hour, in fact."
+
+"Oh, yes," the stranger said, "I know exactly what you mean. You
+probably heard it next door when you were listening so intently to
+the conversation between my friend Charles Le Fenu, the cripple, and
+that scoundrel who calls himself Fenwick. He is exceedingly anxious
+to know where I am, though without the smallest intention of
+benefitting me. Before long, his curiosity will be gratified; but
+not in the way he thinks."
+
+The latter words came from the speaker's lips with a spitting hiss, such
+as a cat emits in the presence of a dog. The great round black eyes
+added intensity to the threat, and rendered the feline simile complete.
+The prophecy boded ill for Fenwick when at length he and Felix Zary came
+face to face.
+
+"I see my conjecture is quite right," the stranger went on. "And as to
+you gentlemen, I have asked your names merely as a matter of courtesy. As
+a matter of fact I know perfectly well who you are--you are Mr. Gerald
+Venner and Mr. James Gurdon. But there is one thing I don't know, and
+that is why you have thrust yourself into this diabolical business. You
+must be brave men, or absolutely unconscious of the terrible danger you
+are running. If either of you are friends of Fenwick's--"
+
+"Not for a moment," Venner cried. "You pay us a poor compliment indeed if
+you take us to be in any way friendly with that scoundrel."
+
+"And yet you are here," Zary went on. "You are spying on the movements of
+my friend, Le Fenu. You have contrived to obtain possession of the keys
+of his house for no other purpose. Why?"
+
+Venner paused before he answered the question. He did not recognise the
+right of this man to put him through a cross-examination. Indeed, it
+seemed to him, the less he said the better. Perhaps Zary saw something
+of what was going on in his mind, for his big black eyes smiled, though
+the dejected visage remained the same.
+
+"I see, you do not trust me," he said. "Perhaps you are right to be
+cautious. Let me ask you another question, assuring you at the same time
+that I am the friend of Charles Le Fenu and his sisters, and that if
+necessary I will lay down my life to save them from trouble. Tell me, Mr.
+Venner, why are you so interested in saving the girl who passes for
+Fenwick's daughter from her miserable position? Tell me."
+
+Zary came a step or two closer to Venner and looked down into his face
+with a searching yearning expression in those magnetic black eyes. The
+appeal to Venner was irresistible. The truth rose to his lips; it refused
+to be kept back.
+
+"Because," he said slowly, "because she is my wife."
+
+A great sigh of relief came from Zary.
+
+"I am glad of that," he said. "Exceedingly glad. And yet I had suspected
+something of the kind. It is good for me to know that I am with friends,
+and that you two are only actuated by the best motives. For some days now
+I have had you under close observation. I followed you here to-night;
+indeed, I was in the house when you removed those panels. As a matter of
+fact, Mr. Gurdon's first involuntary visit here absolutely ruined a
+carefully laid plan of mine for getting Mark Fenwick into my hands. But
+I will tell you later on all about the mystery of the furnished
+dining-room and how and why the furniture vanished so strangely. When I
+followed you here to-night I was quite prepared to shoot you both if
+necessary, but some strange impulse came over me to speak to you and ask
+you what you were doing. I am rather glad I did, because I should not
+like to have a tragedy on my hands. Now would you like to come with me as
+far as my own rooms, where I shall be in a position to throw a little
+light upon a dark place or two?"
+
+Venner and Gurdon clutched eagerly at the suggestion. Without further
+words, they passed into the street, and would have walked down the steps
+had not Zary detained them.
+
+"One moment," he whispered. "Hang back in the shadow of the portico.
+Don't you see that there are two or three men on the steps of the house
+next door? Ah, I can catch the tones of that rascal Fenwick. If only that
+vile scoundrel knew how close to him I was at the present moment! But let
+us listen. Perhaps we may hear something useful."
+
+It was very still and quiet in the Square now, for the hour was late, and
+therefore the voices from the portico came clear and distinct to the
+listeners' ears.
+
+"What is the good of it?" one of the voices said. "Why on earth can't you
+wait till morning? Le Fenu has got clear away, and there isn't much
+chance of catching him again in a hurry. It was one of the coolest
+things I have seen for a long time."
+
+"Oh, he doesn't lack brains, or pluck either," Fenwick said. "I should
+have been proud of a trick like that myself. I ought to have poisoned him
+when I had the chance. I ought to have got him out of the way without
+delay. But it seemed such a safe thing to kidnap him and hide him in his
+own house, where we could go on with our work without the slightest
+danger or interruption from those accursed police. And then, when Fate
+played into our hands and we got hold of Evors as well, it looked as if
+everything was going our way. How you fools ever contrived to let him get
+the upper hand of you is more than I can understand."
+
+"It was Jones's fault," another voice growled. "He forgot the drug, and
+we ran clean out of it. Then, I suppose, we got interested over a game of
+cards, and one way and another, Evors managed to get six or seven hours'
+sleep without having any of that stuff inside him. Bless me, if it wasn't
+all like a dream, guv'nor. There we were, interested in our cards, and
+before we knew where we were our heads were banged together, and I was
+lying on the floor thinking that the end of the world had come. That
+fellow has got the strength of the very devil itself."
+
+"Poor weak creature," Fenwick sneered.
+
+"Weak-minded, perhaps, and easily led," the first speaker said. "But
+there is not much the matter with him when it comes to fists."
+
+"We can't stop chattering here all night," Fenwick cried. "It is all very
+well for you men, who don't care so long as you have something to eat and
+drink. You would be quite satisfied to sit like a lot of hogs in a sty in
+Le Fenu's house, but he'll certainly be back in the morning with some
+infernal scheme or other for getting the best of us. Don't you see it is
+impossible for me any longer to play the part of a tenant of a furnished
+house, now that the owner of the house is at large again? It is a very
+fortunate thing, too, in a way, that I can pass all you people off as my
+servants. Now get away at once and do as I tell you. As for me, I am
+going to take a cab as far as the old place by the side of the river. In
+an hour's time I hope to be on my way to Canterbury. Now, you are quite
+sure you all know what to do? It's confoundedly awkward to have one's
+plans upset like this, but a clever man always has an alternative scheme
+on hand, and I've got mine. There, that will do. Be off at once."
+
+"That's all very well, guv'nor," another voice said. "It is easy enough
+to put the door on the latch and turn out of the crib, leaving it empty,
+but what about the girl in the white dress? I ain't very scrupulous as a
+rule, but it seems rather cruel to leave the poor kid behind and she not
+more than half right in her head."
+
+"Devil fly away with the girl," Fenwick said passionately. "We can
+pick her up at any time we want to. Besides, I think I can see a way
+to arrange for her and a method of getting her out of the house within
+the next hour. It was no bad thing for men who get their living as we
+do when some genius invented motor cars. Now do go along or we shall
+never finish."
+
+The little group on the portico steps melted away, and one by one the
+slouching figures vanished into the darkness. Zary stepped on to the
+pavement, and proceeded to open the front door of the next house. It
+yielded to his touch.
+
+"I am glad of this," he said; "and, really, we owe quite a debt of
+gratitude to the tender-hearted ruffian who was averse to leaving a poor
+girl in this house all alone. We will spare Fenwick the trouble of any
+inconvenience so far as she is concerned."
+
+So saying, Zary proceeded to walk up the stairs, turning up the lights as
+he went. He called the name of Beth softly three or four times, and
+presently a door opened overhead and a girl in a white dress came out. A
+pleased smile spread over her face as she looked over the balusters and
+noted the caller.
+
+"Felix," she said softly, "is it really you? I have been hiding myself in
+my room because I was terrified, and after Charles had gone those men
+quarrelled so terribly among themselves! I suppose Charles forgot all
+about me in the excitement of the moment."
+
+"Oh, no, he didn't, dear one," Zary said very gently. "He would have
+come back to you in any case. But I am going to take you away from this
+house where you have been so miserable; I am going to see that you are
+not molested in the future."
+
+"That is all very well," Venner interposed, "but where can the young lady
+go? She is quite alone and helpless, and unless you have some reputable
+female relation--"
+
+"It is not a matter of my relations," Zary smiled. "Miss Beth will go to
+one who is her natural protector, and one who will watch over her welfare
+with unceasing care. To put it quite plainly, Miss Beth is going to the
+Great Empire Hotel, and you are going to take her. To-night she will
+sleep under the same roof as her sister."
+
+Venner was just a little startled by the suddenness of the proposal, yet,
+on the whole, the suggestion was an exceedingly natural one, for who was
+better capable of looking after the unfortunate Beth than her own sister?
+True, the hour was exceedingly late; but then a huge place like the Great
+Empire Hotel was practically open night and day, and a request at one
+o'clock in the morning that a guest in the house should be awakened to
+receive another guest would be nothing in the way of a novelty.
+
+"Very well," Venner said. "Let her put on her hat and jacket, and she can
+come with me at once."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+FENWICK MOVES AGAIN
+
+
+Beth raised no objection to the programme; indeed, the suggestion seemed
+to fill her with delight. She would not be a moment, she said. She would
+put certain necessaries in a handbag, and come back for the rest of her
+wardrobe on the morrow. Venner had expressed a desire that Zary should
+accompany him, but the latter shook his head emphatically.
+
+"No, no," he said; "you are going alone. As for me, I have important
+business on hand which will not brook the slightest delay. Mr. Gurdon had
+best return to his own rooms; and, for his own sake, I would advise him
+to keep in the middle of the road. You two little know the danger you
+incurred when you decided to thrust your head into this hornet's nest.
+Now I will see you both off the premises and put out all the lights. I
+may mention in passing that I have a latchkey to this place."
+
+A few minutes later Venner found himself walking down the deserted
+streets with his fair little companion hanging on his arm. She chattered
+to him very prettily and daintily, but there was a great deal in her
+remarks which conveyed nothing to him at all. She constantly alluded to
+matters of which he was entirely ignorant, apparently taking it for
+granted that he was _au fait_ with what she was saying. It struck Venner
+that though not exactly mentally deficient, she was suffering from
+weakness of intellect, brought about, probably, by some great shock or
+terrible sorrow. On the whole, he was not sorry to find himself in the
+great hall of the hotel, the lights of which were still burning, and
+where several guests were lounging for a final cigar.
+
+"I know it is exceedingly late," Venner said to the clerk, "but it is
+quite imperative that this young lady should see Miss Fenwick. Will
+you be good enough to send up to her room and tell her how sorry I am
+to disturb her at this time of night, but that the matter is
+exceedingly urgent?"
+
+"Miss Fenwick is not in, sir," came the startling response. "She went out
+shortly after eleven o'clock, and she told me that she might not be back
+for some considerable time. You see, she wanted to be quite sure that she
+could get back into the hotel at any time she returned. Oh, no doubt she
+is returning, or I don't suppose for a moment that she would have asked
+me all those questions."
+
+The information was sufficiently disturbing, but there was no help for
+it. All they had to do was to sit down and wait patiently till Vera came
+back. They were not in the least likely to attract any attention, seeing
+that several men in evening dress together with their wives were seated
+in the hall for a final chat after the theatre or some party or
+reception. In her long white frock, partially concealed by a cloak and
+hood, Beth would have easily passed for a girl fresh from a theatre or a
+dance. It was a long weary wait of over an hour, and Venner was feeling
+distinctly anxious, when the big folding doors at the end of the hall
+opened and Vera's tall, graceful figure emerged.
+
+"Here is your sister," Venner said. There was just a stern suggestion in
+his voice. "Now, you are not to cry or make any scene, you are not to
+attract any attention to yourself, but take it all for granted. You can
+be as emotional as you please when you are alone together in your room."
+
+Vera came across the hall in a jaded, weary way, as if she were
+thoroughly tired out. Her face flushed a little as she recognised Venner.
+Then she looked at his companion and almost paused, while the blood ebbed
+from her face, leaving it deadly pale.
+
+"Gerald," she whispered. "Gerald and Beth. What does it mean? What
+strange thing has happened to bring you both together here."
+
+"Don't make a scene, for goodness' sake," Venner said. "Take it as calmly
+as you can. Unless you are self-possessed, your sister is sure to give
+way, and that is the last thing in the world to be desired. I cannot
+possibly stop now to tell you all the extraordinary things which have
+happened to-night. Let it be sufficient to say that it is absolutely
+imperative that you give your sister shelter, and that nobody but
+yourself should know where she is."
+
+"But how did you find her?" Vera asked. "And who was it suggested that
+you should bring her to me?"
+
+"Let me just mention the name of Zary," Venner replied. "Oh, I can come
+round here to-morrow and tell you all about it. If you think that there
+is any possible danger--"
+
+"Of course there is danger," Vera said. "Mr. Fenwick may be back at any
+moment. He does not know that I am aware that my sister is even alive. If
+he became acquainted with the fact that we had come together again, all
+my plans would be absolutely ruined, and my three years of self-sacrifice
+would be in vain."
+
+"I am afraid you must run the risk now," Venner said. "At any rate, your
+sister will have to stay here till the morning. It is perhaps a good
+thing that she does not understand what is going on."
+
+Apparently the girl had no real comprehension of all the anxieties and
+emotions of which she was unconsciously the centre. She was holding her
+sister's hand now and smiling tenderly into her face, like a child who
+has found a long-lost friend.
+
+"You may rest assured on one point," Venner went on. "For the present
+there is not the slightest reason to fear Fenwick. He has had a great
+shock to-night; all his plans have been upset, and he finds himself in a
+position of considerable danger. I know for a fact that he is going
+straight away to Canterbury, and probably by this time he is on his way
+there. According to what your mysterious friend Zary said, he had some
+plan cut and dried for providing for your sister's safety to-morrow. Now
+take the poor child to bed, for she is half asleep already, and when once
+you have made her comfortable I want you to come down again and have a
+few words with me. You need not hesitate; surely a man can talk to his
+wife whenever he pleases--and, besides, there are several people here who
+show not the slightest signs of going to bed yet."
+
+"Very well," Vera said. "Come along, dear, I see you are dreadfully
+sleepy--so sleepy that you do not appear to recognise the sister you have
+met for the first time for three years."
+
+Venner had time to smoke the best part of a cigar before Vera reappeared.
+They took a seat in a secluded corner of the hall, where it was possible
+to talk without interruption.
+
+"Now, please, tell me everything," the girl said.
+
+"I am afraid that is impossible," Venner replied. "This is one of the
+most extraordinary and complicated businesses that I ever heard of. In
+the first place, I came to England, weary and worn out with my search for
+you, and half inclined to abandon it altogether. In the very last place
+in the world where I expect to meet you, I come In contact with you in
+this hotel. I find that you are being passed off as the daughter of one
+of the greatest scoundrels who ever cheated the gallows. But that does
+not check my faith in you. I had kept my trust in you intact. Ever since
+you left me on the day of our marriage I have had nothing but a few words
+to explain your amazing conduct; and now here am I doing my best to free
+you from the chains that bind you, and all the while you seem to be
+struggling to hug those chains about you and to baffle all my efforts.
+Why do you do this? What is the secret that you conceal so carefully from
+the man who would do anything to save you from trouble, from the man you
+profess to love? If you do care for me--"
+
+"Oh, I do indeed," Vera whispered. There were tears in her eyes now and
+her cheeks were wet. "It is not for my own sake--it is for the sake of
+the poor girl upstairs. I had promised to say nothing of that to
+anyone--to try and save her--and I left you and ran the risk of for ever
+forfeiting your affection. But if Beth is better in the morning I will
+try to get her to absolve me from my promise and induce her--"
+
+"She is not capable of giving a promise of rescinding it," Venner said.
+"Don't you think it would be far better if, instead, you discussed the
+matter with your brother, Charles Le Fenu?"
+
+"So you know all about that?" Vera cried.
+
+"Yes, I do. I have seen him to-night. Gurdon has already had an interview
+with him--an interview that almost cost him his life. We have been having
+some pretty fine adventures the last two or three days--but if it all
+ends in saving you and lifting this cloud from your life I shall be well
+content. I am not going to ask you to go into explanations now, because I
+see they would be distasteful to you, and because you have given some
+foolish promise which you are loth to break. But tell me one thing. You
+said just now that you had not seen your sister for three years, though
+she has been living with your brother, whom you visited quite recently."
+
+"That is easily explained," Vera said. "It was deemed necessary to tell
+Beth one or two fictions with a view to easing her mind and leaving her
+still with some slight shadow of hope, which was the only means of
+preventing her reason from absolutely leaving her. These fictions
+entailed my keeping out of the way. Beth is exceedingly different from
+me, as you know."
+
+"Indeed, she is," said Venner, smiling for the first time. "But does it
+not strike you as an extraordinary thing that I should be fighting in
+this fierce way in your behalf, and that you should be placing negative
+obstacles in my way all the time? I won't worry you any more to-night,
+dearest--you look tired and worn out. You had better go to your own
+room, and we can discuss this matter further in the morning."
+
+It was dark enough and sheltered enough in that secluded corner of the
+hall for Venner to draw the girl towards him and kiss her lips
+passionately. Just for a brief moment Vera lay in her husband's arms;
+then, with a little sigh, she disengaged herself and disappeared slowly
+up the stairs.
+
+She had placed Beth in her own room, which they would share together for
+that night, at any rate. The younger girl was sleeping placidly; there
+was a smile on her face--her lips were parted like those of one who is
+utterly and entirely happy. She made a fair picture as she lay there,
+with her yellow hair streaming over her shoulders. She just murmured
+something in her sleep, as Vera bent over her and brushed her forehead
+lightly with her lips.
+
+"Oh, I wonder how long this cloud will last!" Vera murmured--"how much
+longer I shall be till I am free! How terrible it is to have the offer of
+a good man's love, and be compelled to spoil it as I do, or, at least, as
+I appear to do. And yet I should be a happy woman if I could only throw
+off these shackles--"
+
+Vera paused, unable to say more, for something seemed to rise in her
+throat and choke her. She was utterly tired and worn out, almost too
+tired to undress and get into bed--and yet once her head was on the
+pillow she could not sleep; she tossed and turned wearily. All London
+seemed to be transformed into one noisy collection of clocks. The noise
+and the din seemed to stun Vera and throb through her head like the
+beating of hammers on her brain. She fell off presently into a troubled
+sleep, which was full of dreams. It seemed to her that she was locked in
+a safe, and that somebody outside was hammering at the walls to let her
+free. Then she became conscious of the fact that somebody really was
+knocking at the door. As Vera stumbled out of bed a clock somewhere
+struck three. She flicked up the light and opened the door. A
+sleepy-looking chambermaid handed her a note, which was marked "Urgent"
+on the envelope. With a thrill, she recognised the handwriting of Mark
+Fenwick. What new disaster was here? she wondered.
+
+"Is there anybody waiting for an answer?" she asked tremblingly. "Is the
+messenger downstairs?"
+
+"Yes, miss," the sleepy chambermaid replied. "It was brought by a
+gentleman in a motor. I told him you were in bed and fast asleep, but he
+said it was of the greatest importance and I was to wake you. Perhaps you
+had better read it."
+
+With a hand that trembled terribly, Vera tore open the envelope. There
+were only two or three lines there in Fenwick's stiff handwriting;
+they were curt and discourteous, and very much to the point. They ran
+as follows--
+
+"I am writing you this from Canterbury, where I have been for the last
+hour, and where I have important business. I have sent one of the cars
+over for you, and you are to come back at once. Whatever happens, see
+that you obey me."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"You will tell the gentleman I will be down in a few moments," Vera said.
+"I will not detain him any longer than I can help."
+
+"What is to be done?" the girl wondered directly she was alone. She felt
+that she dared not disobey this command; she would have to go at all
+costs. She knew by bitter experience that Fenwick was not the man to
+brook contradiction. Besides, at the present moment it would be a fatal
+thing to rouse his suspicions. And yet, she felt how impossible it was
+for her to leave Beth here in the circumstances. Nor could she see her
+way to call up Venner at this hour and explain what had happened. All she
+could do was to scribble a short note to him with a view to explaining
+the outline of the new situation. Ten minutes later she was downstairs in
+the hall, where she found the man awaiting her. He was clad in furs, his
+motor cap was pulled over his eyes as if he shrank from observation; but
+all the same Vera recognised him.
+
+"So it is you, Jones," she said. "Do you know that you have been sent all
+the way from Canterbury to fetch me at this time in the morning? It is
+perfectly monstrous that I should be dragged out of bed like this;
+perfectly disgraceful!"
+
+"I don't know anything about that, miss," the man said sullenly. "It is
+the guv'nor's orders, and he gave me pretty plainly to understand that
+he would want to know the reason why if I came back without you. Don't
+blame me."
+
+"I'm not blaming you at all," Vera said, coldly. "Nor am I going to stand
+here bandying words with you. I will just go to my room and put on a fur
+coat--then I shall be ready."
+
+"Very well, miss. That's the proper way to take it. But where is the
+other young lady?"
+
+Vera's heart fairly stood still for a moment. Fenwick's note had said
+nothing about her sister, though this man seemed to be aware of the fact
+that she was here. There was only one thing for it, and that was to lie
+boldly and without hesitation. She looked the speaker in the face in
+blank astonishment.
+
+"I fail to understand you," she said. "There is nobody here but me; there
+could be nobody here but me. And now I have nothing further to say. One
+moment and I will be with you."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+MERTON GRANGE
+
+
+Vera came down a few moments later ready for her journey. Now that she
+had had time to think matters over, she was looking forward with some
+dread to her forthcoming interview with Mark Fenwick. Surely something
+out of the common must have taken place, or he would never have sent for
+her at such an extraordinary time, and Vera had always one thing to
+contend with; she had not forgotten, in fact, she could not forget, that
+for the last three years she had been engaged in plotting steadily
+against the man by whose name she was known. Moreover, she was not in the
+least blind to Fenwick's astuteness, and there was always the unpleasant
+feeling that he might be playing with her. She had always loathed and
+detested this man from the bottom of her soul; there were times when she
+doubted whether or not he was a relation of hers. As far as Vera knew, he
+was supposed to be her mother's half-brother, and so much as this she
+owed the man--he had come to her at the time when she was nearly
+destitute, and in no position to turn her back on his advances. That it
+suited Fenwick to have a well-bred and graceful girl about him, she knew
+perfectly well. But long before would she have left him, only she was
+quite certain that Fenwick was at the bottom of the dreadful business
+which had resulted in Beth's deplorable state of mind.
+
+But as to all this, Vera could say nothing at the moment. All she had to
+do now was to guard herself against a surprise on the part of Fenwick.
+She had been startled by the mere suggestion on the part of her companion
+that she had not been alone at the Great Empire Hotel. Much as she would
+have liked illumination on this point, she had the prudence to say
+nothing. Silently she stepped into the car, a big Mercedes with great
+glaring eyes; silently, too, she was borne along the empty streets. It
+wanted yet three hours to daylight, and Vera asked how long they would be
+in reaching their destination. Her companion put on speed once the
+outskirts of town were reached. Vera could feel the cold air streaming
+past her face like a touch of ice.
+
+"Oh, about an hour and a half," the driver said carelessly. "I suppose it
+is about fifty-five miles. With these big lamps and these clear roads
+we'll just fly along."
+
+The speaker touched a lever, and the car seemed to jump over the smooth
+roads. The hedges and houses flew by and the whole earth seemed to
+vibrate to the roar and rattle of the car. It was Vera's first experience
+of anything like racing, and she held her breath in terror.
+
+"What would happen if a wheel gave way?" she asked. She had muffled her
+face in her veil, so that she could breathe more freely now. "Surely a
+pace like this is dangerous."
+
+"You have to take risks, miss," the driver said coolly. "We are moving at
+about five and forty miles an hour now. I'm very sorry if it makes you
+nervous, but my instructions were to get back as quickly as possible."
+
+"I don't feel exactly nervous," Vera said.
+
+"Oh, no, you are getting over it. Everybody does after the first few
+moments. When you get used to the motion you will like it. It gives you a
+feeling like a glass of champagne when you're tired. You'll see for
+yourself presently."
+
+Surely enough Vera did see for herself presently. As the feeling of
+timidity and unfamiliarity wore off she began to be conscious of a glow
+in her blood as if she were breathing some pure mountain air. The breeze
+fairly sang past her ears, the car ran more smoothly now with nothing to
+check its movement, and Vera could have sung aloud for the very joy of
+living. She began to understand the vivid pleasure of motoring; she could
+even make an excuse for those who travelled the high roads at top speed.
+Long before she had reached her destination she had forgotten everything
+else beside the pure delight of that trip in the dark.
+
+"Here we are, miss," the driver said at length, as he turned in through
+a pair of huge iron gates. "It's about a mile up the avenue to the
+house--but you can see the lights in front of you."
+
+"Have we really come all that way in this short time?" Vera asked. "It
+only seems about ten minutes since we started."
+
+The driver made no reply, and Vera had little time to look curiously
+about her. So far as she could judge, they were in a large park, filled
+with magnificent oak trees. Here and there through the gloom she seemed
+to see shadowy figures flitting, and these she assumed to be deer. On
+each side of the avenue rose a noble line of elm trees, beyond which were
+the gardens; then a series of terraces, culminating in a fine house of
+the late Tudor period. Beyond question, it was a fine old family mansion
+in which Fenwick had taken up his quarters for the present.
+
+"What do you call the place?" Vera asked.
+
+"This is Merton Grange, miss," the driver explained. "It belongs to Lord
+Somebody or another, I forget his name. Anyway, he has had to let the
+house for a time and go abroad. You had better get out here, and I'll
+take the car to the garage. I wouldn't ring the bell if I were you, miss.
+I'd just walk straight into the house. You'll find the door open and the
+guv'nor ready to receive you. He is sure to have heard the car coming up
+the drive."
+
+Vera descended and walked up the flight of steps which led to a noble
+portico. Here was a great massive oak door, which looked as if it
+required the strength of a strong man to open it, but it yielded to
+Vera's touch, and a moment later she was standing in the great hall.
+
+Tired as she was and frightened as she was feeling now, she could not
+but admire the beauty and symmetry of the place. Like most historic
+mansions of to-day, the place had been fitted with electric light, and
+a soft illuminating flood of it filled the hall. It was a magnificent
+oak-panelled apartment, filled with old armor and trophies, and lined
+with portraits of the owner's ancestors. It seemed to Vera that
+anybody might be happy here. It also seemed strange to her that a man
+of Fenwick's type should choose a place like this for his habitation.
+She was destined to know later what Fenwick had in his mind when he
+came here.
+
+Vera's meditations were cut short by the appearance of the man himself.
+To her surprise she noted that he was dressed in some blue material, just
+like an engineer on board ship. His hands were grimy, too, as if he had
+been indulging in some mechanical work. He nodded curtly to the girl.
+
+"So you've come at last," he said. "I daresay you wonder why I sent for
+you. There is a little room at the back yonder, behind the
+drawing-room, that I have turned into a study. Go in there and wait
+for me, and I'll come to you as soon as I have washed my hands. I hope
+you have brought all you want with you; for there is precious little
+accommodation for your sex here at present. You can take your choice of
+bed-rooms--there are enough of those and to spare. I have something
+serious to say to you."
+
+With a sinking at her heart Vera passed into the little room that Fenwick
+had pointed out to her. At any other time she would have admired the old
+furniture and the elegant refined simplicity of it all; now she had other
+things to think of. She stood warming her hands at the fire till Fenwick
+came in and carefully closed the door behind him.
+
+"Now we can get to business," he said. "I daresay you wonder why I sent
+for you instead of leaving you in London for the present. Up to now I
+have always regarded you as perfectly safe--indeed, I thought you were
+sufficiently grateful to me for all my kindness to you. I find I am
+mistaken."
+
+Vera looked up with a challenge in her eyes. She knew that she had
+something to face now, and she meant to see it through without showing
+the white feather. She was braced up and ready, now that the moment for
+action had come.
+
+"Have you ever really been kind to me?" she challenged. "I mean, have you
+really been kind to me for my own sake, and out of pure good-nature? I
+very much doubt it."
+
+"This is your gratitude," Fenwick sneered. "I think we had better
+understand one another."
+
+"I would give a great deal to understand you," the girl said boldly. "But
+we are wasting time fencing here like this, and I am very tired. You sent
+for me at this extraordinary hour, and I came. I have every right to know
+why you asked me to come here."
+
+"Sit down," Fenwick growled. "I sent for you because I did not trust you.
+I sent for you because you have betrayed your promise. You are doing
+something that you told me you would not do."
+
+"And what is that?" Vera asked.
+
+"Just as if you did not know. Let us go back a bit, back three years and
+a half ago. Your father was alive in those days; it was just before he
+met his death in Mexico."
+
+"I remember perfectly well," Vera said, quietly. "I am not likely to
+forget the time. Pray continue."
+
+"Have patience please, I am coming to it all in time. Your father died
+more or less mysteriously, but there is not the shadow of a doubt that he
+was murdered. Nobody knows how he was murdered, but a good many people
+behind the scenes can guess why. The thing was hushed up, possibly
+because the tragedy took place in so remote a corner of the
+world--possibly because the authorities were bribed. Tell me the name of
+the man, or, at least, tell me the name of the one man who was with your
+father at the time of his death."
+
+Vera's face paled slightly, but she kept her eyes steadily fixed on her
+companion's face. She began to understand where the point of the torture
+was coming in.
+
+"I will not affect to misunderstand you," she said. "The man who was with
+my father at that time was Mr. Charles Evors. He was a sort of pupil of
+my father's, and had more than once accompanied him on his excursions.
+You want to insinuate that my father met his death at the hands of this
+young man, who, overcome by certain temptation and a desire to obtain the
+secret of the Four Finger Mine, murdered his master?"
+
+"I am in a position to prove it," Fenwick said sternly. "I have given you
+practical proof of it, more than once. Why should I have interfered in
+the way I did, unless it was that I desired to save you pain? I could
+have brought the whole thing into the light of day, but I refrained from
+doing so because, it seemed to me, nothing could be gained by bringing
+the criminal to justice. I had another reason, too, as you know."
+
+"Yes, I am aware of that," Vera said. "I could never make it out--I could
+never really believe that Charles Evors was guilty of that dreadful
+crime. He was so frank and true, so kind to everybody! I know he was
+weak--I know that he had been sent away from England because he had
+fallen into bad company; I know, too, that he was a little fond of drink.
+There was only one point on which he was reticent--he never spoke much
+about his people; but I rather gathered that they were in a high
+position."
+
+"They were," Fenwick grinned. "You'd be surprised if you knew how high a
+position. But go on."
+
+"I was saying that I could not credit Charles Evors with such a crime. A
+man who is so fond of children, so sympathetic to things weaker than
+himself, could not have taken the life of a fellow-creature. He was fond
+of my father, too, but that was not the strangest feature of the mystery.
+Do you suppose for a moment that the man who was engaged to be married to
+my sister could have laid violent hands on her father?"
+
+"But he did do it," Fenwick cried impatiently. "Otherwise why did he
+vanish so mysteriously? Why did he go away and leave us to infer that he
+had perished at sea? It was the kindest thing we could do to let your
+sister think that her lover was dead, though the shock seems to have
+deprived her of her reason; and, though I acted all for the best, your
+brother chose to proclaim me an abandoned scoundrel, and to say that your
+father's death lay at my door. You know why it became necessary for you
+to remain with me and treat your brother henceforth as a stranger. You
+volunteered to do it, you volunteered to turn your back on your family
+and remain with me. Why did you do so?"
+
+No reply came from Vera's lips. It seemed to her that her safest course
+lay in silence. To her great relief, Fenwick went on without waiting for
+an answer.
+
+"Now I am coming to my point," he said. "You have broken faith with me.
+Three or four times since we came to England you have seen your brother.
+You have seen him by stealth; you know all about that strange household
+in Portsmouth Square where he chooses to hide himself under the name of
+Bates. I want to know why it is that you have chosen to break your word
+with me? I have had you watched to-night, and I have learned all your
+movements by means of the telephone. You will stay down here during my
+pleasure. If you fail to do so, or if you try to deceive me again, as
+sure as I stand here at the present moment I will betray Charles Evors
+into the hands of the police. Now look me in the face and answer my
+question truthfully Do you know where that young man is?"
+
+It was fortunate for Vera that she could reply in the negative. A few
+more hours, perhaps, and she might have been able to afford the
+information; but, luckily for her, the startling events that had recently
+taken place in Portsmouth Square were not known to her in their entirety.
+She could look Fenwick in the face.
+
+"I don't," she said. "I have never seen him since that fateful
+morning--but I don't care to go into that. I admit that I have seen my
+brother. I admit, too, that I have seen my sister; the temptation to find
+them and see them once more was too strong for me. You will not be
+surprised to find that I have some natural feelings left. It is not so
+very extraordinary."
+
+Fenwick shot a suspicious glance at Vera, but she was gazing into the
+fire with a thoughtful look. She was acting her part splendidly; she
+was deceiving this man who, as a rule, could read the thoughts of
+most people.
+
+"Perhaps you are right," he said doubtfully. "But to make assurance
+doubly sure you are going to help me out of a difficulty. I suppose you
+have not forgotten Felix Zary?"
+
+"No," Vera said, in a curiously low voice. "I have not forgotten my
+father's faithful companion. I should very much like to see him again. If
+you know where he is--"
+
+"Oh, I know where he is," Fenwick said with a laugh. "We will have him
+down here as a pleasant surprise. That is all I want you to do--I want
+you to write a letter to Zary, telling him that you are in great trouble,
+and asking him to come down here and see you at once. I should like you
+to write that letter now."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+A COUPLE OF VISITORS
+
+
+Something in the tone of Fenwick's voice caused Vera to look up
+hastily. Perhaps it was her imagination that in the unsteady light of
+the flickering fire his face seemed to have changed almost beyond
+recognition. The features were dark and murderous and the eyes were
+full of a lust for vengeance. It was only just for a moment--then the
+man became his normal self again, just as if nothing had happened. A
+violent shudder passed over Vera's frame, but Fenwick appeared to
+notice nothing of this.
+
+"You want me to write that letter now?" she asked.
+
+"At once," Fenwick responded. "I don't mind telling you that I am in
+great trouble over business matters; there is a conspiracy on foot
+amongst certain people to get me into trouble. I may even find myself
+inside the walls of a prison. The man who can save me from all this is
+your friend, Felix Zary. Unfortunately for me, the man has the bad taste
+to dislike me exceedingly. He seems to think that I was in some way
+responsible for your father's death. And, as you know, he loved your
+father with a devotion that was almost dog-like. If I could get Zary
+down here I should have no difficulty in convincing him that he was
+wrong. But he would not come near the place so long as he knew that I
+was present; so, therefore, I want you to write to him and conceal the
+fact that I am on the premises. Directly he gets your letter he will
+come at once."
+
+"I have not the slightest doubt of it," Vera said slowly. "There is
+nothing that Zary would not do for one of us, if you will assure me that
+you mean no harm by him--"
+
+"Harm?" Fenwick shouted. "What harm could I do the man? Didn't I tell you
+just now that I want him to do me a service? One does not generally
+ill-treat those who are in a position to bestow favors. Now sit down like
+the good girl that you are, and write that letter at once. Then you can
+go to bed."
+
+"I will write it in the morning," Vera said. "Surely there cannot be
+all this desperate hurry. If the letter is written before the post goes
+out tomorrow afternoon it will be in good time. I am much too tired to
+do it now."
+
+Just for a moment Fenwick's eyes blazed angrily again. It seemed to Vera
+that the man was about to burst forth into a storm of passion. The hot
+words did not come, however, for Fenwick restrained himself. Perhaps he
+was afraid of going a little too far; perhaps he was afraid of arousing
+Vera's suspicions, and thus defeating his own object by a refusal on her
+part to write the letter. He knew from past experience that she could be
+as firm of purpose as himself if she chose.
+
+"Very well," he said, with an almost grotesque attempt at good-humor.
+"You look very tired tonight, and I daresay you have had a fatiguing
+journey--and, after all, there is no great hurry. I will show you up to
+the room which I have set apart for your use."
+
+Vera was only too glad to get away. Despite her strange surroundings, and
+despite the sense of coming danger, she threw herself on the bed and
+slept the sleep of utter exhaustion. It was getting towards noon before
+she came back to herself, invigorated and refreshed by her long rest.
+
+So far as the girl could see, there were no servants in the house at
+present besides an old retainer of the family and her husband. Fenwick
+had made some excuse about the staff of domestics who were to follow
+later on; but up to now he only had about him the men whom Vera had known
+more or less well for the last two years. The meals appeared to be served
+in a remarkably irregular fashion; even the lunch was partaken of
+hurriedly by Fenwick, who pleaded the pressure of business.
+
+"I can't stop a minute," he said. "I have more to do now than I can
+manage. I should just like to have a look at that letter that you have
+written to Zary. There is no excuse for not doing it now, and I want to
+put it in the post-bag."
+
+"Very well," Vera said serenely. "If you will come with me to the library
+you will see exactly what I write. I know you are a suspicious man and
+that you don't trust anybody, therefore I shall be very glad for you to
+know that I have carried out your request to the letter."
+
+Fenwick laughed as if something had pleased him. Nevertheless, he looked
+over Vera's shoulder until she had penned the last word. She slowly
+folded up the communication and sealed it.
+
+"How am I to address the envelope?" she said. "I have not the slightest
+idea where Zary is to be found. For all I know to the contrary, he may
+not even be in England."
+
+"Oh, yes, he is," Fenwick chuckled. "He is in London at the present
+moment. If you address that letter, 17, Paradise Street, Camberwell, Zary
+will be in receipt of it to-morrow morning."
+
+Vera wrote the address boldly and firmly, and handed the letter with more
+or less contempt to her companion. She wanted him to feel that she held
+his suspicions with scorn. She wanted him to know that so far as she was
+concerned here was an end of the matter. Nevertheless, she followed him
+carelessly from the room and saw him place the letter, together with
+others, on the hall table. A moment later he had vanished, and she was
+left alone to act promptly. She did not hesitate for a moment; she made
+her way back to the drawing-room and addressed a second envelope to the
+house in Paradise Street, into which envelope she slipped a blank sheet
+of notepaper. Then she stamped the envelope and made her way back
+cautiously to the hall. There was a chance of being discovered, a chance
+that she was being watched, but she had to run the risk of that. She was
+crossing the hall freely and carelessly now, and so contrived as to sweep
+the mass of letters with her sleeve to the floor, exclaiming at her own
+clumsiness as she did so. Like a flash she picked out the one letter that
+she needed and swiftly exchanged it for the other. A moment later she was
+out of doors, with the dangerous communication in her pocket.
+
+So far as she could see, she had succeeded beyond her wildest
+expectations. It was only a simple ruse, but like most simple things,
+generally successful. Vera was trembling from head to foot now, but the
+fresh air of the park and the broad, beautiful solitude of it soothed her
+jarred nerves, and brought back a more contented frame of mind. Her
+spirits rose as she walked along.
+
+"I am glad I did that," she told herself, "I may be mistaken, but I
+firmly believe that I have saved Zary's life. Had he come down here he
+would never have left the place again. And yet there is danger for him
+still, and I must warn him of it. I must manage to communicate in some
+way with Gerald. I wonder if it would be safe to send him a telegram from
+the village. I wonder, too, in what direction the village lies. Still, I
+have all the afternoon before me, and a brisk walk will do me good."
+
+With a firm, elastic step, Vera walked across the grass in the direction
+of a wood, beyond which she could see the slope of the high road. She had
+hardly entered the wood before she heard a voice calling her name, and to
+her intense delight she turned to find herself face to face with Venner.
+
+"Oh, this is glorious," she said, as she placed both her hands in his.
+"But do you think that it is quite safe for you to come here so soon? For
+all I know, I may be followed.
+
+"I don't think so," Venner said. "Now let me take you in my arms and kiss
+you. Let us sit down here in this snug corner and try to imagine that we
+are back in the happy days when no cloud loomed between us, and we were
+looking forward to many joyous years together. We will talk mundane
+matters presently."
+
+Vera yielded to the ecstasy of the moment. Everything was so dark and
+melancholy that it seemed a sin to lose a gleam of sunshine like this.
+But the time crept on and the November sun was sinking, and it was borne
+in upon Vera that she must get back to the house again. Very gently, she
+disengaged herself from Venner's embrace.
+
+"We must be really practical now," she said. "Tell me what has happened
+since I left the hotel last night?"
+
+"So far as I can see, nothing," Venner replied. "I asked for you this
+morning, and to my surprise I found that you had vanished in the dead of
+the night with a mysterious chauffeur and a Mercedes car. By great good
+luck I found a policeman who had made a note of the number of the car;
+after which I went to the makers, or rather the agents of the makers, and
+it was quite easy to find out that the Mercedes in question had recently
+been delivered to Mr. Mark Fenwick's order at Merton Grange near
+Canterbury. After that, you will not be surprised to find that I came
+down here as soon as possible, and that I have been hiding here with a
+pair of field-glasses trying to get a glimpse of you."
+
+"That was very interesting," Vera laughed. "But tell me about my sister.
+I am so anxious over her."
+
+"No reason to be," said Venner. "I have seen to that. She has gone back
+to your brother."
+
+"Oh, I am so glad. Now listen to me carefully."
+
+She went on with some detail to tell the story of her last night's
+experiences. She spoke of Felix Zary and the letter which she had been
+more or less compelled to write to him. Also, she described the ruse by
+which the letter had been regained.
+
+"Now you must go and see this Zary," she said. "Tell him that you come
+from me, and tell him all about the letter. Mind, he must reply to my
+letter just as if it had reached him in the ordinary way through the
+post, because, as you see, I shall have to show the answer to Mr.
+Fenwick, and I want to lull his suspicions to rest entirely. You may find
+Zary a little awkward at first."
+
+"I don't think I shall," Venner smiled. "In fact, he and I are already
+acquainted. But I am not going to tell you anything about that; you
+prefer to keep your secrets as far as I am concerned, and I am going to
+guard mine for the present. I am working to put an end to all this
+mystery and bother, and I am going to do it my own way. Anyway, I will
+see Zary for you and tell him exactly what has happened. In fact, I will
+go to town this evening for the express purpose. Then I will come back in
+the morning and meet you here the same time to-morrow afternoon."
+
+They parted at that, and Vera made her way back to the house. She saw
+that the letters were no longer on the hall table, and therefore she
+concluded that they had been posted. She assumed a quiet, dignified
+manner during the rest of the evening. She treated Fenwick more or less
+distantly, as if she were still offended with his suspicions. Fenwick, on
+the other hand, was more than usually amiable. Something had evidently
+pleased him, and he appeared to be doing his best to wipe out the
+unpleasant impression of the morning. Vera felt quite easy in her mind
+now; she knew that her ruse had been absolutely successful. All the same,
+she ignored Fenwick's request of a little music, professing to be
+exceedingly tired, which, indeed, was no more than the truth.
+
+"I am going to bed quite early to-night," she said. "I have been sleeping
+very indifferently of late."
+
+It was barely ten before she was in her room, and there she lay,
+oblivious of all that was taking place around her, till she woke
+presently with an idea that she could hear the sound of hammering close
+by. As she sat up in bed with all her senses about her, she could hear
+the great stable clock strike the hour of three. Her ears had not
+deceived her; the sound of metal meeting metal in a kind of musical chink
+came distinct and clear. Then from somewhere near she could hear voices.
+The thing was very strange, seeing that Fenwick was a business man pure
+and simple, and that he had never confessed to any knowledge of
+mechanics. It came back to her mind now, that directly she had entered
+the house Fenwick had greeted her in a suit of blue overalls which she
+understood men who followed mechanical pursuits generally wore. She
+recollected, too, that his hands were black and grimy. What could be
+going on, and why had she seen nothing of this during the day-time? She
+could comprehend men sitting up all night and working in a factory, but
+surely there could be no occasion for a thing like this in a private
+house, unless, perhaps, Fenwick and his satellites were engaged in some
+pursuit that needed careful concealment from the eyes of the law.
+
+It would be well, perhaps, Vera thought, if she could find out what was
+going on. The discovery might be the means of putting another weapon
+into her hands. She rose from her bed and partially dressed herself.
+Then, with a pair of slippers on her feet and a dark wrap round her
+shoulders, she stole into the corridor. A dim light was burning there,
+so that she had no fear of being discovered, especially as the walls
+were draped with tapestry, and here and there armored figures stood,
+which afforded a capital means of concealment. As Vera sidled along she
+noticed that at the end of the corridor was a small room down a flight
+of steps. From where she stood she could see into the room, the door of
+which was open. Fenwick stood there apparently engaged in superintending
+the melting of metal in a crucible over a fire, which was driven to
+white heat by a pair of bellows. The rest of his gang seemed to be doing
+something on an iron table with moulds and discs. Vera could see the
+gleam of yellow metal, then somebody closed the door of the room and she
+could learn no more. It was all very strange and mysterious, and there
+was a furtive air about it which did not suggest honesty of purpose.
+There was nothing more for it now except for Vera to return to her
+room, with a determination to see the inside of that little apartment
+the first time that the coast was clear.
+
+She hurried along back to her own room, and had almost succeeded in
+reaching it, when she came face to face with a man who had stepped out of
+a doorway so suddenly that the two figures came almost in contact. A
+fraction of a second later a hand was laid over Vera's mouth, while
+another grasped her wrist; then she saw that the intruder had been joined
+by a companion.
+
+"Please don't say a word, miss; and, whatever you do, don't call out,"
+one of the men whispered. "We know all about you and who you are. Believe
+me, we are here to do you the greatest service in our power. My colleague
+will tell you the same."
+
+"But who are you?" Vera asked, as the man removed his hand from her
+mouth. Her courage had come back to her now. "Why do you come in
+this fashion?"
+
+"My name is Egan," the stranger said, "and this is my companion, Grady.
+We are New York detectives, over here on important business. The man we
+are after is Mark Fenwick."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+PHANTOM GOLD
+
+
+Vera had entirely recovered her self-possession by this time. She was
+able to regard the men coolly and critically. There was nothing about
+them that suggested anything wrong or underhand; on the contrary, the
+girl rather liked their appearance. All the same it was a strange and
+unique experience; and though Vera had been through a series of trials
+and tribulations, she thrilled now as she recognised how near she had
+been to the man who was thus running himself into the hands of justice.
+
+"But how can you know anything about me?" she said. "You surely do not
+mean to say that you suspect--"
+
+"Not at all, miss," Egan said, civilly. "Only, you see, it is always our
+business to know a great deal more than people imagine. I hope you won't
+suppose that we are going to take any advantage of our position here, or
+that we want you to betray Mr. Fenwick into our hands; but since we have
+been unfortunate enough to be discovered by you, we will ask you to go so
+far as to say nothing to Mr. Fenwick. If you tell him, you will be doing
+considerable harm to a great many deserving people who have suffered
+terribly at that man's hands. I think you understand."
+
+Vera understood only too well, and yet her delicate sense of honor was
+slightly disturbed at the idea of continuing there without warning
+Fenwick of the danger that overshadowed him. Personally, she would have
+liked to have told him exactly how he stood, and given him the
+opportunity to get away. Perhaps Egan saw something of this in Vera's
+face, for he went on to speak again.
+
+"I know it isn't very nice for you, miss," he said, "and I am not
+surprised to see you hesitate; but seeing that Mr. Fenwick has done you
+as much harm as anybody else--"
+
+"How do you know that?" Vera exclaimed.
+
+"Well, you see, it is our business to know everything. I feel quite
+certain that on reflection you will do nothing to defeat the ends
+of justice."
+
+"No," Vera said, thoughtfully. "In any case, it cannot much matter. You
+are here to arrest Mr. Fenwick, and you probably know where he is to be
+found at the present moment."
+
+"There you are wrong, miss," Grady said. "We are not in a position at
+present to lay hands on our man. We came here prepared to take a few
+risks--but I don't suppose you would care to hear anything about our
+methods. It will be a great favor to us if you will retire to your room
+and stay there till morning."
+
+Vera went off without any further ado, feeling that once more the current
+of events had come between her and the sleep that she so sorely needed.
+But, in spite of everything, she had youth and health on her side, and
+within a few minutes she was fast asleep. It was fairly late when she
+came down the next morning, and she was rather surprised to find that
+Fenwick had not finished his breakfast. He sat there sullen and
+heavy-eyed, and had no more than a grunt for Vera in response to her
+morning greeting. He turned over his food with savage disapproval.
+Evidently, from the look of him, he had not only been up late overnight,
+but he had also had more wine than was good for him.
+
+"Who can eat rubbish like this?" he growled. "The stuff isn't fit to feed
+a dog with. Look at this bacon."
+
+"You can expect nothing else," Vera said, coldly. "If you choose to try
+and run a large house like this with practically no servants beyond a
+caretaker and his wife, you must put up with the consequences. You are an
+exceedingly clever man, but you seem to have overlooked one fact, and
+that is the amount of gossip you are providing for the neighbors. It
+isn't as if we were still in town, where the man next door knows nothing
+of you and cares less. Here people are interested in their neighbors. It
+will cause quite a scandal when it becomes known that you are occupying
+Lord Merton's house with nothing more than a number of questionable men.
+As far as I can see, you are far worse off here than if you had stayed in
+London. I may be wrong, of course."
+
+"I begin to think you are quite right," Fenwick grunted. "I must see to
+this. It will never do for all these chattering magpies to pry into my
+business. You had better go into Canterbury this morning and see if you
+can't arrange for a proper staff of servants to come. Well, what's the
+matter now?"
+
+One of the men had come into the room with a telegram in his hand. He
+pitched it in a contemptuous way upon the table and withdrew, whistling
+unconcernedly. The man's manner was so flippant and familiar that Vera
+flushed with annoyance.
+
+"I wish you would keep your subordinates a little more under your
+control," she said. "One hardly expects a man of your wealth to be
+treated in this way by his clerks."
+
+But Fenwick was not listening. His brows were knotted in a sullen frown
+over the telegram that he held in his hand. He clutched the flimsy paper
+and threw it with a passionate gesture into the fire. Vera could see that
+his yellow face had grown strangely white, and that his coarse lips were
+trembling. He rose from the table, pushing his plate away from him.
+
+"I've got to go to town at once," he said. "How strange it is that
+everything seems to have gone wrong of late! I shall be back again in
+time for dinner, and I shall be glad if you are good enough to see that I
+have something fit to eat. Perhaps you had better telephone to town for
+some servants. It doesn't much matter what you pay them as long as they
+are good."
+
+Fenwick walked rapidly from the room, and a few moments later Vera could
+see his car moving swiftly down the drive. On the whole, she was not
+sorry to have Fenwick out of the house. She was pleased, also, to know
+that he had made up his mind over the servant question. Already the house
+was beginning to look shabby and neglected; in the strong morning
+sunshine Vera could see the dust lying everywhere. Her womanly instincts
+rebelled against this condition of things; she was not satisfied until
+she had set the telephone in motion and settled the matter as far as the
+domestic staff was concerned.
+
+Then a sudden thought flashed into her mind. Here was the opportunity
+for examining the little room where Fenwick and his satellites had
+been busy the previous evening. Vera had not failed to notice the fact
+that three of the men had gone off with Fenwick in his car, so that,
+in all probability, they meant to accompany him to town. If this
+turned out to be correct, then there was only one man to be accounted
+for. Possibly with the assistance of Gerald, the fourth man might be
+got out of the way.
+
+It was nearly three o'clock in the afternoon before Vera managed to see
+her husband. Eagerly and rapidly she told him all that had taken place
+the previous evening, though she was rather surprised to find him
+manifesting less astonishment than she had expected. Venner smiled when
+Vera mentioned this.
+
+"Oh, that's no new thing to me," he said. "I saw all that going on in
+your suite of rooms at the Great Empire Hotel, though I haven't the least
+notion what it all means. I should have thought that your interesting
+guardian was manufacturing counterfeit coins. But we managed to get hold
+of one of them, and a jeweller pronounced at once that it was a genuine
+sovereign. Still, there is no question of the fact that some underhand
+business is going on, and I am quite ready to assist you in finding out
+what it is. The point is whether the coast is clear or not."
+
+"There is only one man left behind." Vera explained. "All the rest have
+gone to London with Mr. Fenwick, who received a most disturbing telegram
+at breakfast this morning. Of course, the old caretaker and his wife
+count for nothing; they are quite innocent parties, and merely regard
+their stay here as temporary, pending the arrival of our staff of
+servants."
+
+"In that case, I don't see why it shouldn't be managed," Venner said.
+"You had better go back to the house, and I will call and see you. There
+is not the slightest reason why I shouldn't give my own name, nor is
+there the slightest reason why you should not show me over the house when
+I come. I daresay all this sounds a bit cheap, but one cannot be too
+careful in dealing with these people."
+
+It was all arranged exactly as Venner had suggested, and a little later
+Vera was shaking hands with her own husband as if he were a perfect
+stranger. They proceeded presently to walk up the grand staircase and
+along the corridor, Vera doing the honors of the place and speaking in a
+manner calculated to deceive anybody who was listening. She stopped
+presently and clutched Venner's arm excitedly. She pointed to a doorway
+leading to a little room down the steps at the end of the corridor.
+
+"There," she whispered, "that is the room, and, as far as I can see, it
+is absolutely empty. What do you say to going in there now? The coast
+seems to be quite clear."
+
+Venner hesitated for a moment; it would be just as well, he thought,
+to err on the side of caution. A casual glance from the corridor
+disclosed nothing, except that on the table there stood a bottle
+apparently containing wine, for a glass of some dark ruby liquid stood
+beside it. Very rapidly Venner ran down the flight of stairs and
+looked into the room.
+
+"There is nobody there for the moment," he said, "but that bulldog of
+Fenwick's can't be far off, for there is a half-smoked cigarette on the
+end of the table which has not yet gone out. I think I can see my way now
+to working this thing without any trouble or danger. Do you happen to
+know if that rheumatic old caretaker uses snuff?"
+
+"Really, I don't," Vera said with a smile. "But what possible connection
+is there between the caretaker and his snuff--?"
+
+"Never mind about that at present. Go down and ask the old man for his
+snuff box. By the look of him, I am quite sure he indulges in the habit.
+Tell him you want to kill some insects in the conservatory. Tell him
+anything, so long as you get possession of the box for a few minutes."
+
+Vera flew off on her errand. She was some moments before she could make
+the old man understand what she needed; then, with the air of one who
+parts with some treasure, he handed over to her a little tortoiseshell
+box, remarking, at the same time, that he had had it for the last sixty
+years and would not part with it for anything. A moment later, Vera was
+back again at the end of the corridor. Venner had not moved, a sure sign
+that no one had approached in the meantime. Taking the box from Vera's
+hand, and leaving her to guard the corridor, he stepped into the little
+room, where he proceeded to stir a little pellet of snuff into the glass
+of wine. This done, he immediately hurried Vera away to the other end of
+the corridor.
+
+"I think that will be all right now," he said. "We have only got to wait
+till our man comes back and give him a quarter of an hour. Snuff is a
+very strong drug, and within a few minutes of his finishing his wine he
+will be sound asleep on the floor."
+
+It all fell out exactly as Venner had prophesied. The man came back
+presently, passing Vera and her companion without the slightest suspicion
+of anything being wrong. Then he turned into the little room and closed
+the door behind him. Half an hour passed before Vera knocked at the door
+on some frivolous pretext, but no answer came from the other side. She
+knocked again and again, after which she ventured to open the door. The
+wine-glass was empty, a half-finished cigarette smouldered on the floor,
+and, by the side of it, lay the man in a deep and comatose sleep. Venner
+fairly turned him over with his foot, but the slumbering form gave no
+sign. The thing was safe now.
+
+"We needn't worry ourselves for an hour or so," Venner said. "And now we
+have to see if we can discover the secrets of the prison house. Evidently
+nothing is going on at present. I should like to know what the table is
+for. It is not unlike a modern gas stove--I mean a gas stove used for
+cooking purposes, and here is a parcel on the table, just the same sort
+of parcel that the mysterious new sovereigns were wrapped up in."
+
+"Oh, let me see," Vera said eagerly as she pulled the lid off the box.
+"See, this stuff inside is just like asbestos, and sure enough here is a
+layer of sovereigns on the top. How bright and new they look. I have
+never seen gold so attractive before. I--"
+
+Vera suddenly ceased to speak, and a sharp cry of pain escaped her as she
+dropped to the floor one of the coins which she had taken in her hand.
+She was regarding her thumb and forefinger now with some dismay, for they
+were scorched and swollen.
+
+"Those coins are red hot," she said. "You try--but look out you don't
+get burned."
+
+Surely enough, the coins were almost at white heat; so much so, that a
+wax match placed on the edge of one flared instantly. Venner looked
+puzzled; he could not make it out. There was no fire in the room, and
+apparently no furnace or oven in which the metal could have been heated.
+Then he suddenly recollected that Vera must be in pain.
+
+"My poor child," he said. "I am so sorry. You must go down to the old
+housekeeper at once and get her to put something on your hand. Meanwhile,
+I will stay here and investigate, though I don't expect for a moment that
+I shall make any further discoveries."
+
+Vera's hand was dressed at length, and the pain of the burn had somewhat
+abated when Venner came down the stairs again. He shook his head in
+response to the questioning glance in Vera's eyes.
+
+"Absolutely nothing," he said. "I found a safe there let into the wall,
+but then, you see, the safe has been built for years, and no doubt has
+been used by Lord Merton to store his plate and other valuables of that
+kind. It is just possible, of course, that Fenwick has the key of it, and
+that the safe had been cleared out for his use. I am afraid we shall
+never solve this little puzzle until Fenwick is in the hands of those
+detectives who gave me such a fright last night."
+
+"But there must have been some means of heating those coins," Vera
+protested. "They must have come straight from a furnace."
+
+"Of course," Venner said. "The trouble is where to find the furnace. I
+am perfectly sure, too, that the sovereigns were genuine. Now what on
+earth can a man gain by taking current coins of the realm and making
+them red hot? The only chance of a solution is for me to find Egan and
+Grady and tell them of my discovery. I shall be at the same spot
+to-morrow afternoon at the same time, and if I find anything out I will
+let you know."
+
+There was nothing more for it than this, whereupon Venner went away and
+Vera returned thoughtfully to the dining-room. She was just a little bit
+in doubt as to whether the man upstairs would guess the trick played upon
+him, but that she had to risk.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+THE PRODIGAL'S RETURN
+
+
+Money can do most things, even in the matter of furnishing a large house
+with competent servants, and by six o'clock Vera had contrived for the
+domestic machine to run a little more smoothly. At any rate, she was in a
+position now to provide Fenwick with something in the shape of a
+respectable dinner on his return from town.
+
+It was about a quarter to eight when he put in an appearance, and for the
+first time for some days he changed into evening dress for the chief meal
+of the day. He appeared to be as morose and savage as he had been in the
+morning, in fact even more so if that were possible. He answered Vera's
+questions curtly, so that she fell back upon herself and ate her soup in
+silence. And yet, though Fenwick was so quiet, it seemed to Vera that he
+was regarding her with a deep distrust, so that she found herself
+flushing under his gaze. He put his spoon down presently, and pointed
+with his hand to Vera's swollen fingers.
+
+"What have you got there?" he demanded. "How did you do that?"
+
+"I burnt it," Vera stammered. "It was an accident."
+
+"Well, I don't suppose you burnt it on purpose," Fenwick growled. "I
+don't suppose you put your hand into the fire to see if it was hot. What
+I asked you was how you did it. Please answer my question."
+
+"I repeat it was an accident," Vera said, coldly. "I burnt my fingers in
+such a way--"
+
+"Yes, and you are not the first woman who has burnt her fingers
+interfering with things that don't concern her. I insist upon knowing
+exactly how that accident happened."
+
+Vera turned a cold, contemptuous face to her companion; she began to
+understand now that his suspicions were aroused. It came back to her
+vividly enough that she had dropped the hot sovereign on the floor, and
+that, owing to the shock and sudden surprise, she had not replaced it. It
+was just possible that Fenwick had gone into the little room and had
+missed the sovereign from the neat layer of coins on the top of the box.
+And then another dreadful thought came to Vera--supposing that the
+drugged man had not recovered from the effects of his dose by the time
+that Fenwick had returned? It was a point which both she and Venner had
+overlooked. There was nothing for it but to take refuge behind an assumed
+indignation, and decline to answer offensive questions put in that tone
+of voice. Vera was still debating as to the most contemptuous reply when
+the dining-room door opened and one of the newly-arrived servants
+announced Mr. Blossett.
+
+Fenwick rose to his feet and an unmistakable oath escaped his lips. All
+the same, he forced a kind of sickly smile to his face, as a big man,
+with an exceedingly red face and an exceedingly offensive swaggering
+manner, came into the dining-room. The stranger was quite well dressed,
+nothing about his garments offended the eye or outraged good taste, yet,
+all the same, the man had "bounder" written all over him in large
+letters. His impudent red face, his aggressively waxed moustache, and the
+easy familiarity of his manner, caused Vera to shrink within herself,
+though she could have been grateful to the fellow for the diversion which
+his appearance had created.
+
+"Well, Fenwick, my buck!" he cried. "You didn't expect that I should
+accept your invitation quite so promptly, but I happen to be knocking
+around here, and I thought I'd drop in and join you in your chop. This is
+your daughter, I suppose? Glad to make your acquaintance, miss. I was
+told there were many beauties at Merton Grange, but I find that there is
+one more than I expected."
+
+Vera merely bowed in reply. The man was so frankly, hopelessly, utterly
+vulgar that her uppermost feeling was one of amusement. She could see
+that Fenwick was terribly annoyed, though for some reason he had to keep
+himself in hand and be agreeable to Blossett.
+
+"Sit down," he said. "Ring the bell, and we will get another cover laid.
+I don't suppose you mind missing the soup."
+
+"I have been in the soup too often to care about it," Blossett laughed.
+"To tell the truth, we had such a warm time last night that solid food
+and myself are not on speaking terms just now. Here, waiter, fill me a
+tumbler of champagne. I daresay when I have got that down my neck I shall
+be able to pay my proper attentions to this young lady."
+
+Fenwick made no reply; he cut savagely at his fish as if he were passing
+the knife over the throat of the intruder. Meanwhile the stranger rattled
+on, doubtless under the impression that he was making himself exceedingly
+agreeable. Vera sat there watching the scene with a certain sense of
+amusement. She was still a little pale and unsteady, still doubtful as to
+the amount of information that Fenwick had gleaned as to her movements
+that afternoon. She would be glad to get away presently and try to
+ascertain for herself whether the drugged man had recovered or not.
+Meanwhile, there was no occasion for her to talk, as the intruder was
+quite able to carry on all the necessary conversation.
+
+"This is mighty fine tipple," he said. "Waiter, give me another tumbler
+of champagne. In my chequered career I don't often run up against this
+class of lotion. The worst of it is, it makes one talk too fast, and
+seeing that I have got to run the gauntlet with the next little parcel of
+sparklers--"
+
+"Fool!" Fenwick burst out. His face was livid with rage, his eyes were
+shot with passionate anger. "Fool! can't you be silent? Don't you see
+that there is one here who is outside--"
+
+"Beg pardon," Blossett said, unsteadily. "I thought the young woman knew
+all about it. Lord, with her dainty face and her aristocratic air, what a
+bonnet she'd make. Wouldn't she look nice passing off as the daughter of
+the old military swell with a fondness for a little game of cards? You
+know what I mean--the same game that old Jim and his wife used to play."
+
+"Be silent," Fenwick thundered in a tone that at last seemed to
+penetrate the thick skull of his companion. "My--my daughter knows
+nothing of these things."
+
+Blossett stammered something incoherent, his manner became more sullen,
+and long before dinner was completed it was evident that he had had far
+more wine than was good for him.
+
+"If you will excuse me, I will leave you," Vera said coldly. "I do not
+care for any dessert or coffee to-night."
+
+"Perhaps you had better go," Fenwick said with an air of relief. "I will
+take care that this thing does not happen again."
+
+But Vera had already left the room; she was still consumed with anxiety,
+and desired to know more of what had happened to the man whom Venner had
+drugged. She did not dare venture as far as the little room, for fear
+that suspicious eyes should be watching her. It was just possible that
+Fenwick had given his satellites a hint to note her movements. Therefore,
+all she could do was to sit in the drawing-room with the door open. Some
+of the men began to pass presently, and after a little time, with a sigh
+of relief, Vera caught sight of the one upon whom the trick of the snuff
+was played. He seemed all right, as far as she could judge, and the girl
+began to breathe a little more freely.
+
+As she sat there in the silence watching and waiting, she saw Fenwick and
+his companion emerge from the dining-room and cross the hall in the
+direction of the billiard room. Blossett was still talking lightly and
+incoherently; he leant on the arm of his host, and obviously the support
+was necessary. Vera had never before seen a drunken man under the same
+roof as herself, and her soul revolted at the sight. How much longer was
+this going on, she wondered? How much more would she be called upon to
+endure? For the present, she had only to possess herself in patience and
+hope for the best. She was longing now for something like action. The
+silence and stillness of the house oppressed her; she would have liked to
+be up and doing something. Anything better than sitting there.
+
+The silence was broken presently by the sound of angry voices proceeding
+from the billiard-room. Half-a-dozen men seemed to be talking at the same
+time--words floated to Vera's ears; then suddenly the noise ceased, as if
+somebody had clapped down a lid upon the meeting. Vera guessed exactly
+what had happened. The billiard-room door had been closed for fear of the
+servants hearing what was going on. It was just possible that behind
+those closed doors the mystery that had so puzzled Vera was being
+unfolded. She recollected now that between the dining-and the
+billiard-room was a fairly large conservatory opening on either side into
+the apartments in question. It was just possible that Fenwick and his
+companions might have overlooked the conservatory. At any rate, Vera
+determined to take advantage of the chance. The conservatory was full of
+palms and plants and flowers, behind which it was possible for the girl
+to hide and listen to all that was going on.
+
+Vera fully understood the danger she was running, she quite appreciated
+the fact that discovery might be visited with unpleasant consequences.
+But this did not deter her for a moment. She was in the conservatory a
+little later, and was not displeased to find that the door leading to
+the billiard-room was open. Behind a thick mask of ferns she took her
+stand. Between the feathery fronds she could see into the billiard-room
+without being seen. Fenwick was standing by the side of the table laying
+down the law about something, while the rest of his men were scattered
+about the room.
+
+"Why should I do it?" Fenwick was saying. "Why should I trust a man
+like you? You come down to-night on the most important errand, well
+knowing the risks you are running, and you start by getting drunk at
+the dinner table."
+
+"I wasn't drunk," Blossett said sullenly. "As to the girl, why, I
+naturally expected--"
+
+"Who gave you the right to expect?" Fenwick demanded. "Couldn't you see
+at a glance that she knew nothing about it. Another word and you would
+have betrayed the whole thing. You can stay here all night and talk if
+you like, but you are not going to have that parcel to take away to
+London with you. In your present condition you would be in the hands of
+the police before morning."
+
+"But I haven't got a cent," Blossett said. "I hadn't enough money in my
+pocket to pay my cab fare from Canterbury; and don't you try on any of
+your games with me, because I am not the sort of man to stand them. You
+are a fine lot of workmen I know, but there isn't one of you who has the
+pluck and ability to take two thousand pound's worth of that stuff and
+turn it into cash in a week. Now look at the last parcel I had, I got
+rid of it in such a manner that no one could possibly discover that I
+ever handled the metal at all. Who among you could say the same thing?"
+
+"Oh, you are right enough so long as you keep sober," Fenwick said. "But,
+all the same, I shall not trust you with the parcel that is waiting
+upstairs."
+
+Vera listened, comprehending but little of what was going on. After all,
+she seemed to be having only her trouble for her pains. Beyond doubt
+these men were doing something illicit with the coinage of the country,
+though Vera could not bring herself to believe that they were passing off
+counterfeit money, seeing that the sovereigns were absolutely genuine.
+
+"Well, something has got to be done," another of the gang remarked. "We
+are bound to have a few thousand during the next few days, and, as
+Blossett says, there is nobody that can work the oracle as well as he
+can. The best thing I can do is to go to town with him and keep a close
+eye on him till he has pulled round once more. He can keep sober enough
+on occasions if he likes, and once the drinking fit has passed he may be
+right for weeks."
+
+"I am going to have no one with me," Blossett roared. "Do you think I am
+going to be treated like a blooming kid? I tell you, I am the best man of
+the lot of you. There isn't one of you can hold a candle to me. Fenwick,
+with all his cunning, is a child compared with Ned Blossett. Ask any of
+the old gang in New York, ask the blistering police if you like; and as
+to the rest of you, who are you? A set of whitefaced mechanics, without
+pluck enough to rob a hen-roost. Take that, you cur!"
+
+The speaker rose suddenly to his feet and lurched across the room in
+Fenwick's direction. He aimed an unexpected blow at the latter which sent
+him headlong to the floor, and immediately the whole room was a scene of
+angry violence.
+
+Vera shrank back in her shelter, hardly knowing what to do next. She
+saw that Blossett had disentangled himself from the mob about him and
+was making his way headlong into the conservatory. There was nothing
+for it but instant retreat. On the opposite side was a doorway leading
+to the garden, and through this Vera hastily slipped and darted across
+the grass, conscious of the noise and struggle going on behind. She
+paused with a little cry of vexation as she came close to a man who was
+standing on the edge of the lawn looking at the house. It was only for
+a moment that she stood there in doubt; then a glad little cry broke
+from her lips.
+
+"Charles," she said. "Mr. Evors, what are you doing here?"
+
+"We will come to that presently," Evors replied. "Meanwhile, you can be
+observed from where you are, and those rioters yonder may make it awkward
+for you. When they have patched up their quarrel, I will return to the
+house with you and explain. We can get in by the little green door behind
+the gunroom."
+
+Vera suffered herself to be led away, feeling now utterly unable to be
+astonished at anything. They came at length to the secluded side of the
+house, where the girl paused and looked at her companion for an
+explanation.
+
+"You seem to be strangely familiar with this place," she said. "You walk
+about here in the dark as if you had known this house all your lifetime,
+Have you been here before?"
+
+"Many a time," Evors replied sadly. "Up to the time I was twenty my
+happiest years were spent here. But I see you are still in the dark.
+Cannot you guess who I really am, Vera? No? Then I will enlighten you. My
+name is Charles Evors, and I am the only son of Lord Merton. I was born
+here, and, if the Fates are good to me, some day I hope to die here."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE THIRD FINGER
+
+
+Vera ought to have experienced a feeling of deepest surprise; but she was
+long post any emotion of that kind. On the contrary, it seemed quite
+natural that Evors should be there telling her this extraordinary thing.
+The sounds of strife and tumult in the house had now died away;
+apparently the men in the billiard-room had patched up their quarrel, for
+nothing more could be heard save a sudden pop which sounded like the
+withdrawal of a cork. With a gesture of contempt, Evors pointed to the
+billiard-room window.
+
+"I don't think you need worry about them," he said. "As far as I can
+judge, they were bound to come to some truce."
+
+"But do you know what they were doing?" Vera asked.
+
+"I haven't the remotest idea," Evors replied. "Some rascality, beyond
+question. There always is rascality where Fenwick is concerned. Is it not
+a strange thing that I should come down here and find that fellow settled
+in the home of my ancestors?"
+
+"Then you did not come down on purpose to see him?"
+
+"No, I came here entirely on my own responsibility. If you have
+half-an-hour to spare, and you think it quite safe, I will tell you
+everything. But there is one thing first, one assurance you must give me,
+or I am bound to remain silent. The death of your poor father in that
+mysterious fashion--"
+
+"Stop," Vera said gently. "I know exactly what you are going to say. You
+want me to believe that you had no hand whatever in my father's murder.
+My dear Charles, I know it perfectly well. The only thing that puzzles
+me is why you acted in that strange weak fashion after the discovery of
+the crime."
+
+"That is exactly what I am going to tell you," Evors went on. "It is a
+strange story, and one which, if you read it in the pages of a book, you
+would be inclined to discredit entirely. And yet stranger and more
+remarkable things happen every day."
+
+Evors led the way to a secluded path beside the terrace.
+
+"You need not worry about getting to the house," he said. "I can show you
+how to manage that at any time of the day or night without disturbing
+anybody. I am afraid that on many occasions I put my intimate knowledge
+of the premises to an improper use, and that was the beginning of my
+downfall. What will you say to me when I confess to you that when I came
+out to Mexico I was driven out of the old country, more or less, like a
+criminal?"
+
+"I understood you to be a little wild," Vera said.
+
+"A little wild!" Evors echoed bitterly. "I behaved in a perfectly
+disgraceful fashion. I degraded the old name, I made it a byword in the
+district. As sure as I am standing here at the present moment, I am more
+or less answerable for my mother's death. It is a strange thing with us
+Evors that all the men begin in this way. I suppose it is some taint in
+our blood. Up to the age of five-and-twenty, we have always been more
+like devils than men, and then, for the most part, we have settled down
+to wipe out the past and become respectable members of society. I think
+my father recognised that, though he was exceedingly hard and stern with
+me. Finally, after one more unusually disgraceful episode, he turned me
+out of the house, and said he hoped never to look upon my face again. I
+was deeply in debt, I had not a penny that I could call my own, and,
+finally, I drifted out to Mexico with the assistance of a boon
+companion. On the way out I took a solemn oath that I would do my best
+to redeem the past. I felt heartily ashamed of my evil ways; and for six
+months no one could possibly have led a purer and better life than
+myself. It was about this time that I became acquainted with your father
+and your sister Beth."
+
+Evors paused a moment and paced up and down the avenue with Vera by his
+side. She saw that he was disturbed about something, so that she deemed
+it best not to interrupt him.
+
+"It was like getting back to a better world again," Evors went on. "I
+believed that I had conquered myself; I felt pretty sure of it, or I
+would have never encouraged the friendship with your sister, which she
+offered me from the first. I don't know how it was or why it was that I
+did not see much of you about that time, but you were not in the
+mountains with the others."
+
+"I was down in the city," Vera explained. "There was a friend of mine who
+had had a long serious illness, and I was engaged in nursing her. That is
+the reason."
+
+"But it doesn't much matter," Evors went on. "You were not there to watch
+my friendship for Beth ripening into a warmer and deeper feeling. Mind
+you, she had not the remotest idea who I really was, nor had your father.
+They were quite content to take me on trust, they had no vulgar curiosity
+as to my past. And then the time came when Beth discovered what my
+feelings were, and I knew that she had given her heart to me. I had not
+intended to speak, I had sternly schooled myself to hold my tongue until
+I had completed my probation; but one never knows how these things come
+about. It was all so spontaneous, so unexpected--and before I knew what
+had really happened, we were engaged. It was the happiest time of my
+life. I had rid myself of all my bad habits. I was in the full flush and
+vigor of my manhood. I did not say anything to Beth about the past,
+because I felt that she would not understand, but I told your father
+pretty nearly everything except who I really was, for I had made up my
+mind not to take the old name again until I had really earned the right
+to do so. Of course, the name of Evors conveyed no impression to anybody.
+It did not imply that I was heir to Lord Merton. Your father was
+intensely friendly and sympathetic, he seemed to understand exactly. We
+became more than friends, and this is how it came about that I
+accompanied him finally on one of his secret visits to the Four Finger
+Mine. Your father's regular journeys to the mine had resulted in his
+becoming a rich man, and, as you know, he always kept the secret to
+himself, taking nobody with him as a rule, with the exception of Felix
+Zary. I will speak of Zary again presently. You know how faithful he was
+to your father, and how he would have laid down his life for him."
+
+"Zary was an incomprehensible character," Vera said. "He was one of the
+surviving, or, rather, the only surviving member of the tribe who placed
+the Four Finger Mine in my father's hands. That was done solely out of
+gratitude, and Zary steadfastly declined to benefit one penny from the
+gold of the mine. He had a curious contempt for money, and he always
+said that the gold from the Four Finger Mine had brought a curse on his
+tribe. I really never got to the bottom of it, and I don't suppose I ever
+shall; but I am interrupting you, Charles. Will you please go on with
+your story."
+
+"Where was I?" Evors asked. "Oh, yes, I was just leading up to the time
+when I accompanied your father on his last fatal journey to the mine. At
+one time I understand it was his intention to take with him the
+Dutchman, Van Fort, or your mother's brother, Mark Fenwick. However,
+your father decided against this plan, and I went with him instead. To a
+great extent it was my doing so that kept Van Fort and Fenwick out of
+it, for I distrusted both those men, and I believed that they would have
+been guilty of any crime to learn the secret of the mine. Your father,
+always trustful and confiding, laughed at my fears, and we started on
+that fateful journey. I don't want to harrow your feelings
+unnecessarily, or describe in detail how your father died; but he was
+foully murdered, and, as sure as I am in the presence of my Maker, the
+murder was accomplished either by the Dutchman or Fenwick, or between
+the two of them. Zary mysteriously vanished about the same time, and
+there was no one to back me up in my story. You may judge of my horror
+and surprise a little later when Van Fort and Fenwick entered into a
+deliberate conspiracy to prove that I was responsible for your father's
+death. They laid their plans with such a diabolical ingenuity that, had
+I been placed upon my trial at that time, I should have been hanged to a
+certainty. They even went so far as to tell Beth what had happened, with
+what result upon her mind you know. At this time Van Fort disappeared,
+and was never heard of again. Of the strange weird vengeance which
+followed him I will talk another time. I suppose I lost my nerve
+utterly, for I became as clay in the hands of Mark Fenwick. Badly as he
+was treating me, he professed to be my friend, and assured me he had
+found a way by which I could escape from the death which threatened me.
+Goodness only knows what he had in his mind; perhaps he wanted to part
+Beth and myself and get all your father's money into his hands. I
+suppose he reckoned without your brother, though the latter did not
+count for much just then, seeing that he was in the hospital at Vera
+Cranz, hovering between life and death, as the result of his accident.
+For my own part, I never believed it was an accident at all. I believed
+that Fenwick engineered the whole business. But that is all by the way.
+Like the weak fool that I was, I fell in with Fenwick's suggestion and
+allowed myself to become a veritable tool in his hands, but I did not go
+till I heard that you had come back again to look after Beth."
+
+Vera recollected the time perfectly well; she was following Evors'
+narrative with breathless interest. How well she recollected the day
+of her own marriage and the receipt of that dreadful letter, which
+parted Gerald and herself on the very steps of the altar, and
+transformed her life from one of happiness into one of absolute
+self-sacrifice. She was beginning to see daylight now, she was
+beginning to discern a way at length, whereby she would be able to defy
+Fenwick and part with him for all time.
+
+"It is getting quite plain now," she said. "But please go on. You cannot
+think how deeply interested I am in all you are saying. Presently I will
+tell you my side of the story. How I came to part with Beth, how I placed
+her in my brother's hands, how I elected to remain with Mark Fenwick, and
+my reasons for so doing. I may say that one of my principal reasons for
+staying with my uncle was to discover the real cause of my father's
+death. That you had anything to do with it I never really believed,
+though appearances were terribly against you, and you deliberately
+elected to make them look worse. But we need not go into that now. What
+happened to you after you fled from Mexico?"
+
+"I am very much afraid that I dropped back into the old habits," Evors
+said, contritely. "I was reckless and desperate, and cared nothing for
+anybody. I had honestly done my best to atone for the past, and it seemed
+to me that Fate was dealing with me with a cruelty which I did not
+deserve. One or two of Fenwick's parasites accompanied me everywhere;
+there seemed to be no lack of money, and I had pretty well all I wanted.
+There were times, of course, when I tried to break the spell, but they
+used to drug me then, until my mind began to give way under the strain.
+Sometimes we were in Paris, sometimes we were in London, but I have not
+the slightest recollection of how I got from one place to another. I was
+like a man who is constantly on the verge of delirium. How long this had
+been going on I can't tell you, but finally I came to my senses in the
+house in London, and there for two days I was practically all right. All
+through this time I had the deepest horror of the drink with which they
+plied me, and on this occasion the horror had grown no less. For some
+reason or another, no doubt it was an oversight, they neglected me for
+two days, and I began to get rapidly better. Then, by the purest chance
+in the world, I discovered that I was actually under the same roof as
+Beth and your brother, and the knowledge was like medicine to me. I
+refused everything those men offered me, I demanded to be allowed to go
+out on business. They refused, and a strange new strength filled my
+veins. I contrived to get the better of the two men, and half an hour
+afterward I left the house in company with your brother."
+
+All this was news indeed to Vera, but she asked no questions--she was
+quite content to stand there and listen to all that Evors had to say.
+
+"I would not stay with your brother," he went on. "I went off
+immediately to an old friend of mine, to whom I told a portion of my
+story. He supplied me with money and clothing, and advised me that the
+best thing I could do was to go quietly away into the country and give
+myself an entire rest. I followed his advice, and I drifted down here, I
+suppose, in the same way that an animal finds his way home. I did not
+know my father was away, and you can imagine my surprise when I
+discovered to whom he had left the house. I feel pretty much myself now;
+there is no danger of my showing the white feather again. If you are in
+any trouble or distress, a line to the address on this card will bring me
+to you at any time. In this house there are certain hiding-places where I
+could secrete myself without anybody being the wiser; but we need not go
+into that. Now perhaps you had better return to the house, or you may be
+missed. Good-night, Vera. You cannot tell how wonderfully helpful your
+sympathy has been to me."
+
+He was gone a moment later, and Vera returned slowly and thoughtfully to
+the house. The place was perfectly quiet now; the billiard-room door was
+open, and Vera could see that the apartment was deserted. Apparently the
+household had retired to rest, though it seemed to be nobody's business
+to fasten up the doors. Most of the lights were out, for it was getting
+very late now, so that there was nothing for it but for Vera to go up
+the stairs to her own room. She had hardly reached the landing when a
+door halfway down burst open, and Fenwick stood there shouting at the top
+of his voice for such of his men as he mentioned by name. He seemed to be
+almost beside himself with passion, though at the same time his face was
+pallid with a terrible fear. He held a small object in his hand, which he
+appeared to regard with disgust and loathing.
+
+"Why don't some of you come out?" he yelled. "You drunken dogs, where
+have you all gone to? Let the man come out who has played this trick on
+me, and I'll break every bone in his body."
+
+One or two heads emerged, and presently a little group stood around the
+enraged and affrighted Fenwick. Standing in a doorway, Vera could hear
+every word that passed.
+
+"I locked my door after dinner," Fenwick said. "It is a patent lock, no
+key but mine will fit it. When I go to bed I find this thing lying on the
+dressing table."
+
+"Another of the fingers," a voice cried. "The third finger. Are you quite
+sure that you locked your door?"
+
+"I'll swear it," Fenwick yelled. "And if one of you--but, of course, it
+can't be one of you. There is no getting rid of this accursed thing. And
+when the last one comes--"
+
+Fenwick stopped as if something choked him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+"THE TIME WILL COME"
+
+
+The startled group on the stairs stood gazing at Fenwick as if they were
+stricken dumb. There was not one of them who had the slightest advice to
+offer, not one of them but felt that Fenwick's time was close at hand.
+Every man there knew by heart the strange story of the Four Finger Mine,
+and of the vengeance which had overtaken the Dutchman. The same unseen
+vengeance was very near Fenwick now; he had had his three warnings, and
+there was but one more to come before the final note of tragedy was
+struck. Most of them looked with dazed fascination at the mutilated left
+hand of their chief.
+
+"How did you lose yours?" somebody whispered.
+
+"Don't ask me," Fenwick said hoarsely. "I break into a cold sweat
+whenever I think of it. But why don't you do what I tell you? Why don't
+you find Zary? Find him out and bring him down here, and then I can laugh
+at the vengeance of the Four Fingers. But I have my plans laid, and I
+shall know how to act when the times comes. Now you all get off to bed
+again and forget all my foolishness. I suppose I was startled by seeing
+that accursed thing lying on my table, and lost my nerve."
+
+The little group melted away, and once more the house became silent. When
+morning came there was no sign or suggestion of the events of the night
+before. For the first time for many months, Vera felt comparatively
+happy. She felt, too, that at last she was reaping the reward of all her
+self-sacrifice, and was approaching the time when she would be able to
+throw off the yoke and take up her life at the point where she had
+dropped it. She could afford to wait on events now; she could afford to
+possess her soul in patience till the hour and the man came together.
+
+Somewhat to her relief, Fenwick did not appear at breakfast, so that, for
+once, she could partake of the meal in comparative comfort. Swaggering up
+and down the terrace outside, with a large cigar in his mouth, was the
+man who called himself Blossett. He had the air of one who is waiting for
+something; possibly he was waiting for the parcel which had been the
+means of breeding last night's disturbance in the billiard-room. Anyway,
+Vera noticed that Fenwick was very busy up and downstairs, and that all
+his parasites had gathered in the little room at the end of the corridor.
+For the present, at any rate, Vera's curiosity was satisfied. She had no
+intention of running any more risks, and as soon as she had finished her
+breakfast she went out into the grounds, with no intention of returning
+before lunch. She made her way across the wood which led to the high
+road, on the possible chance of meeting Gerald. It was not Gerald,
+however, who advanced from the deepest part of the copse to meet her, but
+the thin, cadaverous form of Felix Zary. He advanced towards the girl,
+and, in a grave, respectful way, he lifted her hand to his lips.
+
+"You had not expected me, dear lady," he said.
+
+"Well no, Felix," Vera said. "Though I am not in the least surprised. I
+suppose Mr. Venner has been to see you and has explained to you the
+meaning of that sheet of blank paper which reached you in an envelope
+bearing my handwriting."
+
+"I have seen Mr. Venner," Zary replied in his smooth, respectful, even
+voice, "and he explained to me. I did not suspect--if I had received your
+letter I should have come to you at once--I believe I would come beyond
+the grave at the call of one bearing the beloved name of Le Fenu. There
+is nothing I would not do for you. At this moment I owe my life to your
+resourcefulness and courage. Had I come in response to your letter, I
+should never have left the house alive. Fenwick would have murdered me,
+and the vengeance of the Four Fingers would have been lost."
+
+"Why should it not be?" Vera said with a shudder. "Why extract blood for
+blood in this fashion? Can all your revenge bring my dear father back to
+life again? And yet the vengeance draws nearer and nearer, as I know. I
+saw Mark Fenwick last night after he had received the third of those
+dreadful messages, and he was frightened to the depths of his soul. Let
+me implore you not to go any further--"
+
+"It is not for me to say yes or no," Zary responded in the same quiet,
+silky manner. It seemed almost impossible to identify this man with
+murder and outrage. "I am but an instrument. I can only follow the
+dictates of my instinct. I cannot get away from the traditions of the
+tribe to which I belong. For two years now I have been a wanderer on the
+face of the earth; I have been in many strange cities and seen many
+strange things; with the occult science that I inherited from my
+ancestors, the Aztecs, I have earned my daily bread. I am what some call
+a medium, some call a conjurer, some call a charlatan and a quack. It is
+all the same what they call me, so long as I have the knowledge. For
+generations the vengeance of the Four Fingers has descended upon those
+who violate the secret of the mine, and so it must be to the end of time.
+If I did not obey the voice within me, if I refused to recognise the
+forms of my ancestors as they come to me in dreams, I should for ever and
+ever be a spirit wandering through space. Ah, dear lady, there are things
+you do not know, things, thank God, beyond your comprehension, so,
+therefore, do not interfere. Rest assured that this thing is absolute and
+inevitable."
+
+Zary spoke with a certain gentle inspiration, as if all this was part of
+some ritual that he was repeating by heart. Quiet, almost timid as he
+looked, Vera knew from past experience that no efforts of hers could turn
+him from his intention. That he would do anything for a Le Fenu she knew
+full well, and all this in return for some little kindness which her
+father had afforded one or two of the now almost extinct tribe from which
+had come the secret of the Four Finger Mine. And Zary was absolutely the
+last of his race. There would be none to follow him.
+
+"Very well," she said, "I see that anything I could say would be wasted
+on you, nor would I ask you what you are going to do next, because I am
+absolutely convinced that you would not tell me if I did. Still, I have a
+right to know--"
+
+"You have a right to know nothing," Zary said, in a tone of deep
+humility. "But do not be afraid--the vengeance will not fall yet, for are
+not the warnings still incomplete? I will ask you to leave me here and go
+your way."
+
+There was nothing for it but to obey, and Vera passed slowly through the
+wood in the direction of the high road. A strange weird smile flickered
+about the corner of Zary's mouth, as he stood there still and motionless,
+like some black statue. His lips moved, but no words came from them. He
+appeared to be uttering something that might have passed for a silent
+prayer. He took a battered gold watch from his pocket and consulted it
+with an air of grim satisfaction. Then, suddenly, he drew behind a
+thicket of undergrowth, for his quick ears detected the sound of
+approaching footsteps. Almost immediately the big form of Fenwick loomed
+in the opening, and a hoarse voice asked if somebody were there. Zary
+stepped out again and confronted Fenwick, who started back as if the slim
+black apparition had been a ghost.
+
+"You here!" he stammered. "I did not expect to see you--I came here
+prepared to find somebody quite different."
+
+"It matters little whom you came to find," Zary said. "The message sent
+to bring you here was merely a ruse of mine. Murderer and treacherous dog
+that you are, so you thought to get me here in the house among your hired
+assassins by means of the letter which you compelled my dear mistress to
+write? Are you mad that you should pit your paltry wits against mine?"
+
+"I am as good as you," Fenwick said.
+
+"Oh, you rave," Zary went on. "I am the heir of the ages. A thousand
+years of culture, of research, of peeps behind the veil, have gone to
+make me what I am. Your scientists and your occult researchers think they
+have discovered much, but, compared with me, they are but as children
+arguing with sages. Before the letter was written, the spirits that float
+on the air had told me of its coming. I have only to raise my hand and
+you wither up like a drop of dew in the eye of the sunshine. I have only
+to say the word and you die a thousand lingering deaths in one--but for
+such cattle as you the vengeance of the Four Fingers is enough. You shall
+die even as the Dutchman died, you shall perish miserably with your
+reason gone and your nerves shattered. If you could see yourself now as I
+can see you, with that dreadful look of fear haunting your eyes, you
+would know that the dread poison had already begun its work. The third
+warning came to you last night, the message that you should get your
+affairs in order and be prepared for the inevitable. The Dutchman is no
+more, his foul wretch of a wife died, a poor wreck of a woman, bereft of
+sense and reason."
+
+"This is fine talk," Fenwick stammered. "What have you against me that
+you should threaten me like this?"
+
+Zary raised his hand aloft with a dramatic gesture; his great round black
+eyes were filled with a luminous fire.
+
+"Listen," he said. "Listen and heed. I am the last of my race, a race
+which has been persecuted by the alien and interloper for the last three
+centuries. Time was when we were a great and powerful people, educated
+and enlightened beyond the dreams of to-day. Our great curse was the
+possession of large tracts of land which contained the gold for which
+you Eastern people are prepared to barter honor and integrity and
+everything that the honest man holds dear. For it you are prepared to
+sacrifice your wives and children, you are prepared to cut the throat of
+your best friend. When you found your heart's desire in my country, you
+came in your thousands, and by degrees murders and assassination worked
+havoc with my tribe. It was not till quite recently that there came
+another man from the East, a different class of creature altogether. I
+am alluding to your late brother-in-law, George Le Fenu. He sought no
+gold or treasure; he came to us, he healed us of diseases of which we
+knew no cure. And in return for that we gave him the secret of the Four
+Finger Mine. It was because he had the secret of the mine and because he
+refused to share it with you that you and the Dutchman, with the aid of
+his foul wife, killed him."
+
+"It's a lie," Fenwick stammered. "George Le Fenu suffered nothing at my
+hands. It was the young man Evors."
+
+"It is false," Zary thundered. His eyes were dark, and in a sudden flood
+of fury he reached out a long thin hand and clutched Fenwick by the
+collar. "Why tell me this when I know so well how the whole thing
+happened? I can give it you now chapter and verse, only it would merely
+be a waste of breath. I declare as I stand here with my hand almost
+touching your flesh that I can scarcely wait for the vengeance, so eager
+am I to extract the debt that you owe to George Le Fenu and his
+children."
+
+By way of reply, Fenwick dashed his fist full into the face of Zary. The
+latter drew back just in time to avoid a crushing blow; then his long
+thin arms twisted about the form of his bulky antagonist as a snake winds
+about his prey. So close and tenacious, so wonderfully tense was the
+grip, that Fenwick fairly gasped for breath. He had not expected a virile
+force like this in one so slender. A bony leg was pressed into the small
+of his back--he tottered backward and lay upon the mossy turf with Zary
+with one bony hand at his throat, on the top of him. It was all so sudden
+and so utterly unexpected that Fenwick could only gasp in astonishment.
+Then he became conscious of the fact that Zary's great luminous eyes were
+bent, full of hate, upon his face. A long curved knife gleamed in the
+sunshine. Very slowly the words came from Zary.
+
+"I could finish you now," he whispered. "I could end it once and for all.
+It is only for me to put in action the forces that I know of, and you
+would utterly vanish from here, leaving no trace behind. One swift blow
+of this knife--"
+
+"What are you doing?" a voice asked eagerly. "Zary, have you taken leave
+of your senses? Release him at once, I say."
+
+Very slowly Zary replaced the knife in his pocket and rose to his feet.
+There was not the least trace of his recent passion--he was perfectly
+calm and collected, his breathing was as even and regular as it had been
+before the onslaught.
+
+"You are quite right, master," he said. "I had almost forgotten myself. I
+am humiliated and ashamed. The mere touch of that man is pollution. We
+shall meet again, Mr. Evors."
+
+Zary went calmly away and vanished in the thick undergrowth as quickly
+and mysteriously as if he had been spirited from the spot. Fenwick rose
+to his feet and wiped the stains from his clothing.
+
+"I certainly owe you one for that," he growled. "That fellow would most
+assuredly have murdered me if you had not come up just at the right
+moment. It is fortunate, too, that you should have turned up here just
+now. Come as far as the house. I should like to say a few words to you
+in private."
+
+It was well, perhaps, that Evors could not see the expression of his
+companion's face, that he did not note the look of mingled triumph and
+malice that distorted it. It never for a moment occurred to him as
+possible that black treachery could follow so closely upon the heels of
+his own magnanimity. Without the slightest demur he followed Fenwick to
+the house. The latter led the way upstairs into a room overlooking the
+ancient part of the house, murmuring something to the effect that here
+was the thing that he wished to show Evors. They were inside the room at
+length, then, with a muttered excuse, Fenwick hastened from the room.
+The key clicked in the door outside, and Evors knew that he was once
+more a prisoner.
+
+"You stay there till I want you," Fenwick cried. "I'll teach you to play
+these tricks on me after all I have done for you."
+
+"You rascal," Evors responded. "And so you think that you have me a
+prisoner once more. Walk to the end of the corridor and back, then come
+in here again and I will have a pleasant surprise for you. You need not
+be afraid--I am not armed."
+
+Perhaps some sudden apprehension possessed Fenwick, for he turned rapidly
+as he was walking away and once more opened the door. Evors had been as
+good as his word--the surprise which he had promised Fenwick was complete
+and absolute.
+
+"Vanished," Fenwick cried. "Gone! Curse him, what can have become of
+him?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+SMOKED OUT
+
+
+A feeling of helpless exasperation gripped Fenwick to the exclusion of
+all other emotions. Everything seemed to be going wrong just now; turn
+in any direction he pleased some obstacle blocked his path. Like most
+cunning criminals he could never quite dispossess himself of the idea
+that honesty and cleverness never went together. All honest men were
+fools of necessity, and therefore the legitimate prey of rogues like
+himself. And yet, though he was more or less confronted now with men of
+integrity, he was as helpless in their hands as if he had been a child.
+The maddening part of the whole thing was his inability to find anything
+to strike. He was like a general leading an army into the dark in a
+strange country, and knowing all the time that he had cunning unseen
+foes to fight.
+
+Thoughts like these were uppermost in Fenwick's mind as he gazed in
+consternation about the little room from which Evors had vanished. So far
+as Fenwick knew, Evors had saved his life from Zary, but that had not
+prevented Fenwick from behaving in a dastardly fashion. It seemed to him
+as if Fate were playing into his hands by bringing Evors here at this
+moment. Hitherto he had found Evors such plastic material that he had
+never seriously considered him in the light of a foe. Now, for the first
+time, he saw how greatly he had been mistaken.
+
+"Where can the fellow have gone to?" he muttered. "And whence comes his
+intimate knowledge of the house?"
+
+He tapped the walls, he examined the floor, but there was no sign
+whatever of the means by which Evors had made good his escape.
+
+Fenwick furiously rang the bell and demanded that the old caretaker
+should be sent to him at once. The man came to him, shambling unsteadily
+along and breathing fast as if he had been running. His aged features
+were quivering with some strange excitement, as Fenwick did not fail to
+notice, despite his own perturbation.
+
+"What on earth is the matter with you?" he exclaimed. "You look as if you
+had seen a ghost! What is it? Speak up, man!"
+
+"It isn't that, sir," the old man said in trembling tones. "It is a sight
+that I never expected to see again. A bit wild he was--aye, a rare
+handful at times, though we were all precious fond of him. And to see him
+back here again like this--"
+
+"What the devil are you talking about?" Fenwick burst out furiously. "The
+old fool is in his second childhood."
+
+"It was the young master," the caretaker babbled on. "Why, you could
+have knocked me down with a feather when he came in the house with you.
+As soon as I set eyes on Mr. Charles--"
+
+"Mr. what?" Fenwick asked. "Oh, I see what you mean. You are speaking of
+Mr. Evors, who came in with me."
+
+"That's it, sir, that's it," the old man said. "Mr. Evors, only we used
+to call him Mr. Charles."
+
+Fenwick began to understand.
+
+"Let's have it out," he said. "Mr. Evors, whom you saw with me just now,
+is Lord Merton's only son?"
+
+"That he be, sir, that he be. And to think that he should come home like
+this. It'll be a good day for the old house when he returns to settle
+down altogether."
+
+Fenwick dismissed the old man with a contemptuous gesture. He had found
+out all he wanted to know, though his information had come to him as an
+unpleasant surprise. It was a strange coincidence that Fenwick should
+have settled upon Merton Grange for a dwelling-place, and thus had picked
+out the actual home of the young man who had suffered so much at his
+hands. But there was something beyond this that troubled Fenwick. It was
+a disturbing thought to know that Charles Evors could find his way about
+the house in this mysterious fashion. It was a still more disturbing
+thought to feel that Evors might be in league with those who were
+engaged in tracking down the so-called millionaire. There were certain
+things going on which it was imperative to keep a profound secret.
+Doubtless there were secret passages and panels in this ancient house,
+and Fenwick turned cold at the thought that perhaps prying eyes had
+already solved the problem of the little room at the end of the corridor.
+He lost no time in calling his parasites about him. In a few words he
+told them what had happened.
+
+"Don't you see what it means?" he said. "Charles Evors is here, he has
+come back to his old home, and what is more he has come back to keep an
+eye on us. I feel pretty certain that someone is behind him. Very likely
+it is that devil Zary. If the police were to walk in now, guided by
+Evors, we should be caught like rats in a trap. I didn't want to trust
+that stuff to Blossett, but he must get away with it now without delay.
+There is a train about twelve o'clock to London, and he must get one of
+the servants to drive him over in a dogcart. Now don't stand gazing at me
+with your mouths open like that, for goodness knows how close the danger
+is. Get the stuff away at once."
+
+The man Blossett came into the garden, a big cigar between his lips. He
+laughed in his insolent fashion when he was told of his errand. The hot
+blood was in Fenwick's face, but he had not time to quarrel with the
+swaggering Blossett.
+
+"I thought you would come to your senses," the latter said. "Nobody
+like me to do a little thing of that sort. Now let me have the case and
+I'll be off without delay. Better put it in a Gladstone bag. If I have
+any luck I shall be back here to-night, and then we can share the
+bank-notes and there will be an end of the matter. You had better sink
+all the materials in the moat. Not that I am afraid of anything
+happening, myself."
+
+Half an hour later Blossett was being bowled down the drive behind a
+fleet horse. A little later still, as the train pulled out of the
+station, Egan and Grady stood there watching it with rueful faces. Venner
+was with them, and smiled to himself, despite the unfortunate nature of
+the situation.
+
+"I thought we had cut it a bit too fine," Grady said. "It is all the
+fault of that confounded watch of mine. Now what's the best thing to be
+done? Shall we telegraph to Scotland Yard and ask to have Blossett
+detained when he reaches Victoria?"
+
+"I don't quite like the idea," Egan said. "If we were English detectives
+it wouldn't much matter, but I guess I don't want Scotland Yard to have
+the laugh of me like this. It may cost a deal of money, and I shall
+probably have to pay it out of my own pocket, but I am going to have a
+special train."
+
+"My good man," Venner said, "it is absurd to think that you can get a
+special train at a roadside station like this. Probably they do things
+differently in America, but if you suggest a special to the
+station-master here, he will take you for an amiable lunatic. I have an
+idea that may work out all right, though it all depends upon whether the
+train that has gone out of the station is a fast or a slow one."
+
+The inquiry proved the fact that the train was a slow one, stopping at
+every station. It would be quite two hours in reaching Victoria. Venner
+smiled with the air of a man who is well pleased with himself. He turned
+eagerly to his companions.
+
+"I think I've got it," he said. "We will wound Fenwick with one of his
+own weapons. It will be the easiest thing in the world to got from here
+to Victoria well under two hours in a motor."
+
+"I guess that's about true," Grady said, drily. "But what applies to
+the special equally applies to the motor. Where are we to get the
+machine from?"
+
+"Borrow Fenwick's," Venner said. "I understand the working of a Mercedes,
+and, I know where the car is kept. If I go about this thing boldly, our
+success is assured. Then you can wait for me at the cross roads and I can
+pick you up."
+
+"Well, you can try it on, sir," Egan said doubtfully. "If you fail we
+must telegraph to Scotland Yard."
+
+But Venner had not the slightest intention of failing. There were no
+horses in the stable at Merton Grange, and consequently no helpers
+loafing about the yard. There stood the big car, and on a shelf all the
+necessaries for setting the machine in motion. In an incredibly short
+space of time Venner had backed the Mercedes into the yard; he turned her
+dexterously, and a moment later was speeding down a side avenue which led
+to the Park. The good old saying that fortune favors the brave was not
+belied in this instance, for Venner succeeded in reaching the high road
+without mishap. It was very long odds against his theft being discovered,
+at any rate, for some considerable time; and even if the car were
+missing, no one could possibly identify its loss with the chase after
+Blossett. It was consequently in high spirits that the trio set out on
+their journey. Naturally enough Venner was curious to know what the
+criminal charge would be.
+
+"Though I have found out a good deal," he said, "I am still utterly at a
+loss to know what these fellows have been up to. Of course, I quite
+understand that there is some underhand business with regard to certain
+coins--but then those coins are real gold, and it would not pay anybody
+to counterfeit sovereigns worth twenty shillings apiece."
+
+"You don't think so," Egan said, drily. "We shall be able to prove the
+contrary presently. But hadn't you better wait, sir, till the critical
+moment comes?"
+
+"Very well," Venner laughed good-naturedly. "I'll wait and see what
+dramatic surprise you have in store for me."
+
+The powerful car sped over the roads heedless of police traps or other
+troubles of that kind, and some time before the appointed hour for the
+arrival of Blossett's train in London they had reached Victoria. It was
+an easy matter to store the car in a neighboring hotel, and presently
+they had the satisfaction of seeing Blossett swagger from a first-class
+carriage with a heavy Gladstone bag in his hand. He called a cab and was
+rapidly driven off in the direction of the city. Egan in his turn called
+another cab, giving the driver strict injunctions to keep the first
+vehicle in sight. It was a long chase, but it came to an end presently
+outside an office in Walbrook. Blossett paid his man and walked slowly up
+a flight of steps, carrying his bag. He paused at length before a door
+which was marked "Private," and also placarded the information that here
+was the business place of one Drummond, commission agent. Scarcely had
+the door closed on Blossett than Egan followed without ceremony. He
+motioned the other two to remain behind; he had some glib story to tell
+the solitary clerk in the outer office, from whom he gleaned the
+information that Mr. Drummond was engaged on some particular business and
+could not see him for some time.
+
+"Very well," he said; "I'll wait and read the paper."
+
+He sat there patiently for some five minutes, his quick ears strained to
+catch the faintest sound of what was taking place in the inner office.
+There came presently the chink of metal, whereupon the watcher whistled
+gently and his comrade and Venner entered the room. Very coolly Egan
+crossed over and locked the door.
+
+"Now, my young friend," he said to the astonished clerk, "you will oblige
+me by not making a single sound. I don't suppose for a moment you have
+had anything to do with this; in fact, from your bewildered expression, I
+am certain that you haven't. Now tell me how long have you been in your
+present situation."
+
+"About three months," the clerk replied. "If you gentlemen happen to be
+police officers--"
+
+"That is exactly what we are," Grady smiled. "Do you find business
+brisk--plenty of clients about?"
+
+The clerk shook his head. He was understood to say that business was
+inclined to be slack. He was so frightened and uneasy that it was
+somewhat difficult to discern what he was talking about. From time to
+time there came sounds of tinkling metal from the inner office. Then
+Grady crossed the floor and opened the door. He stepped inside
+nimbly, there was a sudden cry, and then the voice of the detective
+broke out harshly.
+
+"Now drop it," he said. "Keep your hands out of your pocket--there are
+three of us here altogether, and the more fuss you make the worse it will
+be for both of you. You know perfectly well who I am, Blossett; and we
+are old friends, too, Mr. Drummond, though I don't know you by that name.
+You will come with me--"
+
+"But what's the charge?" Blossett blustered. "I am doing business with my
+friend here quite in a legitimate way."
+
+"Counterfeit coining," Grady said crisply. "Oh, we know all about it, so
+you need not try to bluff it out in that way. I'll call a cab, and we can
+drive off comfortably to Bow Street."
+
+All the swaggering impudence vanished from Blossett. As for his
+companion, he had not said a word from start to finish. It was about an
+hour later that Venner and his companions were seated at lunch at a hotel
+in Covent Garden, and Venner was impatiently waiting to hear what was the
+charge which had laid Blossett and his companion by the heels. Grady
+smiled as he drew from his pocket what appeared to be a brand new
+sovereign.
+
+"This is it," he said. "A counterfeit. You wouldn't think so to look at
+it, would you? It appears to be perfectly genuine. If you will balance it
+on your finger you will find that it is perfect weight, and as to the
+finish it leaves nothing to be desired. And yet that coin is false,
+though it contains as much gold as any coin that you have in your purse."
+
+"Now I begin to understand," Venner exclaimed. "I have already told you
+all about my discovery at the Empire Hotel, also what happened quite
+recently at Merton Grange. I could not for the life of me understand what
+those fellows had to gain by making sovereigns red-hot. Of course, I took
+them to be real sovereigns--"
+
+"Well, so they are practically," Egan said. "They contain absolutely as
+much gold as an English coin of equal value. They are made from the metal
+Fenwick managed to loot from the Four Finger Mine."
+
+"What, do you know all about that?" Venner cried.
+
+"We know all about everything," Grady said gravely. "We have been
+tracking Fenwick for years, and it is a terrible indictment we shall have
+to lay against him when the proper time comes. We shall prove beyond the
+shadow of a doubt that he was one of the murderers of Mr. George Le Fenu
+--but we need not go into that now, for I see you are anxious to know all
+about the trick of the sovereigns. After Fenwick was compelled to abandon
+the Four Finger Mine, he found himself with a great deal less gold than
+he had expected. Then he hit upon the ingenious scheme which we are here
+to expose. His plan was to make sovereigns and half-sovereigns, and put
+them on the market as genuine coins. Now do you see what he had to gain
+by this ingenious programme?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+THE MOUTH OF THE NET
+
+
+"I am afraid I am very dense," Venner said, "but I quite fail to see how
+a man could make a fortune by selling for a sovereign an article that
+cost him twenty shillings, to say nothing of the trouble and cost of
+labor and the risk of being discovered--"
+
+"As a matter of fact, the risk is comparatively small," Grady said. "It
+was only by a pure accident that we got on the inside track of this
+matter. You see, the coins are of actual face value, they are most
+beautifully made, and, indeed, would pass anywhere. Let me tell you that
+every sovereign contains a certain amount of alloy which reduces its
+actual value to about eighteen and threepence. Now you can see where the
+profit comes in. Supposing these men turn out a couple of thousand
+sovereigns a day--no very difficult matter with a plant like theirs; and,
+of course, the money can be disposed of with the greatest possible ease.
+This leaves a profit of a hundred and seventy-five pounds a day. When I
+have said so much, I think I have told you everything. Don't you admire
+the ingenuity of an idea like this?"
+
+It was all perfectly plain now--indeed, the mystery appeared to be
+ridiculously simple now that it was explained.
+
+"And what are you going to do now?" Venner asked.
+
+Grady explained that the next step would be the arrest of Fenwick and his
+gang at Merton Grange. For that purpose it would be necessary to enlist
+the assistance of the local authorities. And in no case did the American
+detectives purpose to effect the arrest before night. So far as Venner
+was concerned, he was quite at liberty to accompany the Americans on
+their errand; at the same time they let him infer that here was a
+situation in which they preferred his room to his company.
+
+"As you will," Venner smiled. "So far as I am concerned, I am going to
+get back to Canterbury as soon as I can. With all your preparations you
+have an exceedingly clever man to deal with, and it is just possible that
+by this time Fenwick already knows that you have laid the messenger by
+the heels. Men of that sort never trust one another, and it is
+exceedingly probable that Blossett has been watched."
+
+Grady and Egan admitted this possibility cheerfully enough. Doubtless
+they had made plans which they did not care to communicate to Venner. He
+left them presently, only to discover to his annoyance that he had just
+missed a train to Canterbury, and that there was not another one till
+nearly six o'clock. It was quite dark when he stepped out of the carriage
+at Canterbury Station and stood debating whether he should walk as far as
+the lodgings he had taken near Merton Grange, or call a cab. As he was
+idly making up his mind, he saw to his surprise the figure of the
+handsome cripple descending from the next carriage. He noted, too, that
+the cripple did not seem anything like as feeble as before, though he
+appeared to be glad enough to lean on the arm of a servant. At the same
+moment Le Fenu was joined by Evors, who came eagerly forward and shook
+him warmly by the hand. What these two were doing here, and what they had
+in their minds, it was not for Venner to say. He wondered what they would
+think if they knew how close he was, and how deeply interested he was in
+their movements. He hung back in the shadow, for just then he did not
+want to be recognised by Le Fenu.
+
+"What a queer tangle it all is," he said to himself. "If I spoke to Le
+Fenu, he would recognise me in a moment as an old friend of his father's.
+I wonder what he would say to me if he knew I was his brother-in-law
+--and Evors, too. Imagine their astonishment if I walked up to them at
+this moment. Still, on the whole, I think I prefer to watch their
+movements. If they are going to thrust their heads into the lion's mouth,
+perhaps I may be able to stand by and render some assistance."
+
+It was as Venner had anticipated, for presently Le Fenu and Evors
+entered a cab and gave the driver directions to take them as far as
+Merton Grange. Venner made up his mind that he could do no better than
+follow their example.
+
+The cab stopped at length outside the lodge gates, where Evors and Le
+Fenu alighted, and walked slowly up the drive. It was rather a painful
+effort for Le Fenu, but he managed it a great deal better than Venner had
+anticipated. They did not enter the house by the front door--on the
+contrary, they crept round a small side entrance, beyond which they
+vanished, leaving Venner standing on the grass wondering what he had
+better do next.
+
+Meanwhile, Evors led the way down a flight of stairs till he emerged
+presently in a corridor. With his companion on his arm he walked to the
+little room at the end and boldly flung open the door.
+
+The room was empty, a thing which both of them seemed to expect, for they
+smiled at one another in a significant manner, and nodded with the air of
+men who are quite pleased with themselves.
+
+"You had better sit down," Evors said. "That walk must have tired you
+terribly. I should be exceedingly sorry--"
+
+"You need not worry about me," Le Fenu said in a clear, hard voice. "I am
+a little tired, perhaps, but I have a duty to fulfil, and the knowledge
+of it has braced me wonderfully. Besides, I am so much better of late,
+and I am looking eagerly forward to the time when I shall be as other
+men. Now go and fetch him, and let us get the thing done. But for the
+fact that he is my mother's brother I would have had no mercy on the
+scoundrel. Still, the same blood flows in our veins, and I am in a
+merciful mood to-night."
+
+Evors walked boldly out of the room and down the stairs into the
+hall--then in a loud voice he called out the name of Mark Fenwick. The
+dining-room door burst open and Fenwick strode out, his yellow face
+blazing with passion in the light.
+
+"So you are back again," he said hoarsely. "You are a bold man to thrust
+your head into the lion's mouth like this."
+
+"There are others equally bold," Evors said, coolly. "I am strong enough
+and able enough to take you by that fat throat of yours and choke the
+life out of you. You have a different man to deal with now--but there are
+others to be considered, so I will trouble you to come along with me. The
+interview had best take place in the little room at the end of the
+corridor. You know the room I mean. Ah, I see you do."
+
+Fenwick started. It was quite plain that Evors' hint was not lost on
+him. Without another word he led the way up the staircase into the
+little room. He started again and half turned when he caught sight of
+the white, handsome face of Le Fenu. In all probability he would have
+disappeared altogether, but for the fact that Evors closed the door and
+turned the key.
+
+Fenwick stood there, his yellow face scared and terrified. Cold as it
+was, a bead of perspiration stood on his bulging forehead. He looked from
+one to the other as if he anticipated violence. Le Fenu sat up in his
+chair and laughed aloud.
+
+"You are but a sorry coward after all," he said. "You have no need to
+fear us in the slightest. We shall leave the vengeance to come in the
+hands of others. And now sit down--though you are not fit to take a chair
+in the company of any honest men."
+
+"In my own house," Fenwick began feebly, "you are--"
+
+"We will overlook that," Le Fenu went on. "It is our turn now, and I
+don't think you will find our conditions too harsh. It is not so long
+ago since my friend here was a prisoner in your hands, and since you
+reduced him to such a condition of mind that he had abandoned hope and
+lost all desire to live. It is not so long ago, either, since you dared
+to make me a prisoner in my own house for your own ends. It was
+fortunate for you that I chose to live more or less alone in London and
+under an assumed name. But all the time I was looking for you, all the
+time I was working out my plans for your destruction. Then you found me
+out--you began to see how I could be useful to you, how I could become
+your miserable tool, as Mr. Evors here did. You dared not stay at your
+hotel--things were not quite ripe for you to come down here. Therefore
+you hit upon the ingenious idea of making me a prisoner under my own
+roof. But Fate, which has been waiting for you a long time, intervened,
+and I became a free man again just at the very moment when Mr. Evors
+also regained his liberty. Since then we have met more than once, and
+the whole tale of your villainy is now plain before me. You might have
+been content with the murder of my father and the blood money you
+extracted from the Four Finger Mine, but that was not enough for
+you--nothing less than the extermination of our race sufficed. It was no
+fault of yours that I was not killed in the so-called accident that has
+made me the cripple that I am. That was all arranged by you, as I shall
+be able to prove when the proper time comes. I escaped death by a
+miracle, and good friends of mine hid me away beyond the reach of your
+arm. Even then you had no sort of mercy, even then you were not content
+with the mischief you had wrought. You must do your best to pin your
+crime to Mr. Evors, though that conspiracy cost my sister Beth her
+reason. Of course, you would deny all these things, and I see you are
+prepared to deny them now. But it is absolutely useless to add one lie
+to another, because we know full well--"
+
+"Stop," Fenwick cried. "What are you here for? Why do you tell me this?
+A desperate man like myself--"
+
+"No threats," Le Fenu said, sternly. "I am simply here to warn you. God
+knows what an effort it is on my part not to hand you over to your
+punishment, but I cannot forget that you are a blood relation of
+mine--and, therefore, I am disposed to spare you. Still, there is another
+Nemesis awaiting you, which Nemesis I need not mention by name. When I
+look at your left hand I feel sorry for you. Bad as you are, the terrible
+fate which is yours moves me to a kind of pity."
+
+Le Fenu paused and glanced significantly at Fenwick's maimed hand.
+The latter had nothing more to say; all his swaggering assurance had
+left him--he sat huddled up in his chair, a picture of abject terror
+and misery.
+
+"You can help me if you will," he said hoarsely. "You are speaking of
+Zary. That man is no human being at all, he is no more than a
+cold-blooded tiger, and yet he would do anything for you and yours. If
+you asked him to spare me--"
+
+Fenwick broke off and covered his face with his hands. His shoulders
+were heaving with convulsive sobs now, tears of self-pity ran through
+his fingers. For the time being, at any rate, the man's nerve was
+utterly gone. He was prepared to make any conditions to save his skin.
+Agitated and broken as he was, his cunning mind was yet moving swiftly.
+A little time ago, these two men would not have dared to intrude
+themselves upon his presence, he had held them like prisoners in the
+hollow of his hand; and now it seemed to him that they must feel their
+position to be impregnable, or they would never have intruded upon him
+in this bold fashion.
+
+"I am not the man I was," he gasped. "It is only lately that my nerve
+seems to have utterly deserted me. You do not know what it is to be
+fighting in the dark against a foe so cold and relentless as Felix Zary.
+When the first warning came I was alarmed. The second warning frightened
+me till I woke in the night with a suffocating feeling at my heart as if
+I were going to die. Against the third warning I took the most elaborate
+precautions; but it came all the same, and since then I have been
+drinking to drown my terror. But what is the good of that?--how little
+does it serve me in my sober moments? As I said just now, Zary would do
+anything for your family, and if you would induce him to forego that
+dreaded vengeance which hangs over me--"
+
+"Impossible," Le Fenu said coldly. "Zary is a fanatic, a dreamer of
+dreams; he has a religion of his own which no one else in the world
+understands but himself. He firmly and honestly believes that some divine
+power is impelling him on, that he is merely an instrument in the hands
+of the Maker of the universe. There have been other beings of the same
+class in a way. Charlotte Corday believed herself to be the chosen
+champion of Heaven when she stabbed the French monster in his bath.
+Nothing I could say or do would turn Zary from what he believes to be his
+duty. The only thing you can do is to go away and lose yourself in some
+foreign country where Zary cannot follow you."
+
+"Impossible," Fenwick said hoarsely. "I could not get away. If the man
+possesses the powers he claims he would know where to find me, even if I
+hid myself in the depths of a Brazilian forest. I tell you I am doomed. I
+cannot get away from the inevitable."
+
+Fenwick slipped from his chair and fairly grovelled in his anguish on
+the floor. It was a pitiable sight, but one that moved the watchers with
+contempt. They waited patiently enough for the paroxysm of terror to
+pass and for Fenwick to resume something like the outer semblance of
+manhood. He drew himself up at length, and wiped the tears from his
+sickly yellow face.
+
+"I cannot think," he said. "My mind seems to have ceased to act. If
+either of you have any plan I shall be grateful to hear it. It seems
+almost impossible--"
+
+The speaker suddenly paused, for there came from below the unmistakable
+sounds of high voices raised in expostulation. It occurred to Fenwick for
+a moment that his subordinates were quarrelling among themselves; then
+his quick ears discerned the sound of strange voices. He rose to his feet
+and made in the direction of the door. A minute later a stealthy tap was
+heard on the door, and a voice whispered, asking to be admitted. Evors
+glanced at Le Fenu in an interrogative kind of way, as if asking for
+instructions. The latter nodded, and the door opened. The man in the list
+slippers staggered into the room, his red face white and quivering, his
+whole aspect eloquent of fear.
+
+"What is it?" Fenwick whispered. "What's the trouble? Why don't you speak
+out, man, instead of standing there like that?"
+
+The man found his voice at last, his words came thickly.
+
+"They are here," he said. "The men from America. You know who I mean. Get
+away at once. Wait for nothing. Those two devils Egan and Grady are
+downstairs in the hall."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+AN ACT OF CHARITY
+
+
+Fenwick looked at the speaker as if he did not exactly comprehend what he
+had said. The man's mind was apparently dazed, as if the accumulation of
+his troubles had been too much for him. He passed his hand across his
+forehead, striving to collect his thoughts and to find some way of facing
+this new and unexpected peril.
+
+"Say that again," he faltered. "I don't quite understand. Surely Egan and
+Grady are in New York."
+
+"They are both down in the hall," the man said, vehemently. "And, what's
+more, they know that you are here. If you don't want to spend the night
+in gaol, get away without any further delay."
+
+Fenwick could only look about him helplessly. It seemed to him futile to
+make further effort. Turn which way he would, there was no avenue open to
+him. He looked imploringly in the direction of Charles Evors.
+
+"I think I can manage it," the latter said. "Now, you fellow, whatever
+your name is, leave the room at once and go downstairs and close the
+door behind you."
+
+The man slunk away, and, at a sign from Le Fenu, Evors closed the door.
+Evors jumped to his feet and crossed the room to where a picture was let
+into the panelling. He pushed this aside and disclosed a dark opening
+beyond to Fenwick's astonished gaze. The latter stared about him.
+
+"Now get through there," Evors said. "It is a good thing for you that I
+know all the secrets of the old house. There are many panels and passages
+here, for this used to be a favorite hiding-place for the fugitive
+cavaliers in the time of Cromwell."
+
+"But where does it go to?" Fenwick stammered.
+
+Evors explained that the passage terminated in a bedroom a little
+distance away. He went on to say that Fenwick would only have to press
+his hand upon the wall and that the corresponding panel of the bedroom
+would yield to his touch.
+
+"It is the Blue Room," he said, "in which you will find yourself
+presently. Wait there and I'll see what I can do for you. I fancy that I
+shall be able to convey you outside the walls of the house without
+anybody being the wiser."
+
+Fenwick crept through the hole, and Evors pulled the panel across,
+leaving the room exactly as it had been a few minutes before. He had
+hardly done so when there was a sound of footsteps outside, and without
+ceremony the American detectives came in. The occupants of the room had
+had ample time to recover their self-possession, so that they could look
+coolly at the intruders and demand to know what this outrage meant. The
+Americans were clearly puzzled.
+
+"I am sure I beg your pardon," Egan said, "but I understand that Mr.
+Fenwick is the tenant of the house."
+
+"That is so," Evors said. "Do you generally come into a gentleman's house
+in this unceremonious fashion?"
+
+"Perhaps I had better explain my errand," Egan said. "We are down here
+with a warrant for the apprehension of Mark Fenwick, and we know that a
+little time ago he was in the house. He is wanted on a charge of stealing
+certain valuables in New York, and also for manufacturing counterfeit
+coins. We quite expected to find him here."
+
+"In that case, of course, you have perfect liberty to do as you please,"
+Evors said. "I may explain that I am the only son of Lord Merton, and
+that I shall be pleased to do anything to help you that lies in my power.
+By all means search the house."
+
+Grady appeared as if about to say something, but Egan checked him. It was
+no time for the Americans to disclose the fact that they knew all about
+the murder of Mr. George Le Fenu, and how Evors had been more or less
+dragged into the business. Their main object now was to get hold of
+Fenwick without delay, and take him back with them to London.
+
+"Very well, sir," Egan said. "We need not trouble you any further. If
+our man is anywhere about the house, we are bound to find him. Come
+along, Grady."
+
+They bustled out of the room, and presently they could be heard ranging
+about the house. As the two friends discussed the situation in whispers
+the door was flung open and Vera came in. Her face was aflame with
+indignation--she was quivering with a strange unaccustomed passion.
+
+"Charles," she cried. "I hardly expected to see you here."
+
+"Perhaps you are equally surprised to see Evors," Le Fenu said. "We have
+had an explanation--"
+
+"I have already met Charles," Vera said. "But he did not tell me you were
+coming down here. Still, all that is beside the point. There will be
+plenty of time for full explanation later on. What I have to complain of
+now is an intolerable outrage on the part of Mark Fenwick. He has
+actually dared to intrude himself on the privacy of my bedroom, and
+despite all I can say--"
+
+"By Jove, this is a piece of bad luck," Evors exclaimed. "My dear Vera, I
+had not the slightest idea that you were occupying the Blue Room. In
+fact, I did not know that it was being used at all. I managed to send
+Fenwick that way for the simple reason that there are two American
+detectives downstairs with a warrant for his arrest. It was your
+brother's idea to get him away--"
+
+"What for?" Vera asked, passionately.
+
+"Why should we trouble ourselves for the safety of an abandoned wretch
+like that? He is the cause of all our troubles and sorrows. For the last
+three years he has blighted the lives of all of us, and there is worse
+than that--for, as sure as I am speaking to you now, the blood of our
+dear father is upon his head."
+
+"Yes, and mine might have been also, but for a mere miracle," Le Fenu
+said. "He tried to do away with me--he would have done away with all of
+us if he had only dared. But one thing do not forget--he is our mother's
+only brother."
+
+Vera started and bit her lips. It was easy to see that the appeal was not
+lost upon her, and that she was ready now to fall in with her brother's
+idea. She waited quite humbly for him to speak.
+
+"I am glad you understand," he said. "It would never do for us to hand
+that man over to justice, richly as he deserves his sentence. And you can
+help us if you will. Those men will search every room in the house,
+including yours. If you are in there when they come and show a certain
+amount of indignation--"
+
+"Oh, I quite understand," Vera responded.
+
+"And I will do what I can for that wretched creature."
+
+"What is he doing now?" Le Fenu asked.
+
+"He has huddled himself up in a wardrobe," Vera explained. "He seems so
+paralysed with fear that I could not get anything like a coherent account
+of what had happened. Anyway, I will go back to my room now. You need not
+be afraid for me."
+
+As matters turned out, Vera had no time to spare, for she was hardly back
+in her room before the detectives were at the door. She came out to them,
+coldly indignant, and demanded to know what this conduct meant. As was
+only natural, the Americans were profoundly regretful and almost abjectly
+polite, but they had their duty to perform, and they would be glad to
+know if Vera had seen anything of Mark Fenwick, for whose apprehension
+they held a warrant.
+
+"Well," Vera said, loftily, "you don't expect to find him in here, I
+suppose? Of course, if your duty carries you so far as to ransack a
+lady's room, I will not prevent you."
+
+The absolute iciness of the whole thing profoundly impressed the
+listeners. Astute as they were, it never occurred to them that the girl
+was acting a part; furthermore, with their intimate knowledge of
+Fenwick's past, they knew well enough that Vera had no cause to shield
+the man of whom they were in search.
+
+"We will not trouble you," Egan stammered. "It is a mere matter of form,
+and it would be absurd to suppose that our man is concealed in your room.
+In all probability he received news of our coming and got away without
+warning his companions. It is just the sort of thing that a man of his
+type would do. We have the rest of the gang all safe, but we shall
+certainly have to look elsewhere for their chief. Will you please accept
+our apologies?"
+
+Vera waved the men aside haughtily. She was glad to turn her back upon
+them, so that they could not see the expression of her face. She was
+trembling violently now, for her courage had suddenly deserted her. For
+some long time she stood there in the corridor, until, presently, she
+heard the noise of wheels as two vehicles drove away. Then, with a great
+sigh of relief, she recognised the fact that the detectives had left the
+house. She opened the door of her room and called aloud to Fenwick. She
+called again and again without response.
+
+"You can come out," she said, contemptuously. "There is no cause to fear,
+for those men have gone."
+
+A moment later the yellow, fear-distorted face of Mark Fenwick peeped out
+into the corridor. He came shambling along on tottering limbs, and his
+coarse mouth twitched horribly. It seemed to Vera as if she were looking
+at a mere travesty of the man who so short a time ago had been so strong
+and masterful and courageous.
+
+"They gave me a rare fright," Fenwick said in a senile way. He seemed to
+have aged twenty years in the last few minutes. "That--that--was very
+cool and courageous of you, my dear. I couldn't have done any better
+myself. You dear, kind girl. He advanced now and would have taken Vera's
+hands in his, but she turned from him with loathing. She was wondering
+which she disliked most--the cold, cruel, determined criminal, or this
+miserable wreck of a man glad to lean on anyone for support.
+
+"Don't touch me," she said, with a shudder. "Don't thank me for anything
+for I should have handed you over to those men gladly, I was ready and
+willing to do so, only my brother recalled to me the fact that the same
+blood runs in the veins of both of us. It was the remembrance of this
+that made me lie just now, that caused me to run the risk of a criminal
+charge myself. For I understand that anybody who harbors a thief for
+whose arrest a warrant has been issued, runs the risk of going to gaol.
+And to think that Le Fenu should do a thing of that kind for such a
+creature as yourself--it is too amazing."
+
+"I suppose it is, my dear," Fenwick said in the same carneying voice. "I
+never expected to find myself shielded behind a woman. But I have lost
+all my nerve lately, and the more I drink to drown my troubles, the worse
+I get. But you must not think too badly of me, for I am not so black as
+I am painted."
+
+"Could you be any blacker?" Vera asked. "Could any human being have
+descended lower than you have descended? I think not. You imagine because
+I threw in my lot with you three years ago that I knew nothing of your
+crimes. As a matter of fact, I knew everything. I knew how you had
+shifted the responsibility of that dastardly murder on to the shoulders
+of the man who is in love with my sister Beth. It was for her sake that I
+pretended ignorance, for her sake that I came with you to try to get to
+the bottom of your designs. What I have endured in the time nobody but
+myself can know. But it has all come out now, and here am I to-day trying
+to shield you from the very vengeance that I have been plotting for you
+all this time. Oh, don't say anything, don't deny it, don't add more
+useless lies to the catalogue of your vices. Go now. Let us see the last
+of you, and never intrude upon us again."
+
+All this outburst of indignation had apparently been wasted on Fenwick
+for he did not appear to be listening at all. He had enough troubles of
+his own, and, despite the fact that his nerve had failed him, it was no
+feeling of remorse that left him stricken and trembling and broken down
+before Vera's scornful eyes. He could only whine and protest that he was
+absolutely helpless.
+
+"But what can I do?" he murmured, with tears in his eyes. "I am not so
+young as I was, indeed I am much older than people take me for. I have no
+money and no friends, there is not a place I can go to. Don't turn me
+out--let me stay here, where I shall be safe."
+
+"It is impossible," Vera said, coldly. "We have done enough, and more
+than enough for you. Now come this way, and I will hand you over to
+my brother and Mr. Evors. They are cleverer than I am, and may be
+able to devise some means for getting you out of the country. Why
+don't you come?"
+
+"I can't," Fenwick almost sobbed. "There is something in my limbs that
+renders them powerless. If you will give me your arm, I daresay I shall
+be able to get as far as the little room."
+
+The touch of the man was pollution, yet Vera bravely endured it. She
+could hear the excited servants talking in whispers downstairs, and one
+of them might appear at any moment. It would be far better for the
+domestic staff to assume that the culprit had vanished, otherwise their
+gossip would assuredly bring the detectives back again without delay.
+Vera was glad enough when her task was finished and the trembling form of
+Mark Fenwick was lowered into a seat. The cunning look was still in his
+eyes; the born criminal would never get rid of that expression, though
+for the rest he was an object now more for pity than fear.
+
+"It is very good of you," he said. "It is far better than I deserve. You
+will say I can't stay here--"
+
+"That is absolutely certain," Le Fenu said, coldly. "Most assuredly you
+can't remain here. You may remain for the night, and Mr. Evors and myself
+will try and think of a plan between us."
+
+"And Zary," Fenwick whispered. The mention of that dreaded name set him
+trembling again. "Keep me away from Zary. I am afraid of a good many
+things, but the mere mention of that man's name stops my heart beating
+and suffocates me."
+
+"You had better go away," Le Fenu said to Vera, "and leave the wretched
+creature to us. There will be no trouble in hiding him here for a bit.
+There are two rooms here that nobody knows anything about except Evors
+and his father."
+
+Vera was only too glad to get away into the open air, glad to feel that
+at last this nerve-destroying mystery was coming to an end. She wanted to
+see Venner, too, and tell him all that had happened. In all probability
+he was waiting at the accustomed spot. With a light heart and a feeling
+of youthfulness upon her that she had not felt for some time, she set out
+on her journey.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+THE LAST FINGER
+
+
+In the ordinary course of things, and but for the dramatic events of the
+evening, it would have been about the time of night when dinner was
+finished and the house-party had gathered in the drawing-room. It had
+been somewhere about seven when the Americans reached Merton Grange, and
+now it was getting towards nine. It was not exactly the temperature at
+which one enjoys an evening stroll, but the recent events had been so
+exciting that Vera felt how impossible it would be to settle down to
+anything within the limits of the house. There was a moon, too, which
+made all the difference in the world. As Vera walked along, she almost
+smiled to herself to think how strange her conduct might look in the
+eyes of those formal people whose lives run in conventional channels.
+She told herself more than once that it would be absurd to hope to see
+Gerald at this time of night, but all the same she continued her journey
+across the park.
+
+She had not so far to go as she expected, for presently she could see the
+glow of a cigar in the distance, and Venner came up. A little joyful cry
+came from Vera.
+
+"This is very fortunate," she said. "How lucky it is that I should run
+against you in this fashion."
+
+"Well, I was flattering myself that you came on purpose," Venner said.
+"And, after all, it is not so very lucky, seeing that I have been hanging
+about this house on the chance of seeing you since it became dark. But
+you look rather more disturbed and anxious than usual. My dear girl, I do
+hope and trust that there are no new complications. I shall really have
+to take you by force and carry you out of the country. Why should we have
+to go on living this miserable kind of existence when we can take our
+happiness in both hands and enjoy it? Now don't tell me that something
+fresh has occurred which will keep us apart, for another year or two? By
+the way, have you had any visitors to-night?"
+
+"What do you know about them?" Vera asked. "Have you found out anything
+about Mr. Fenwick?"
+
+"Well, I should say so," Venner said, drily. "I have absolutely got to
+the bottom of that mysterious coin business. In fact, I accompanied Egan
+and Grady to London, and I was with them when they arrested that awful
+creature, Blossett. Egan and Grady are old friends of mine, and I told
+them all about the strange coins and how you literally burnt your fingers
+over them. They were coming down here to arrest Fenwick, and I offered to
+accompany them; but they declined my offer, so I returned here alone, and
+have been hanging about the house, curious to know what had taken place.
+Have they bagged our friend Fenwick yet?"
+
+"It is about Mr. Fenwick that I wish to speak to you," Vera replied. "Mr.
+Evors is down here. By the way, I don't know whether you are aware of the
+fact that he is the son of Lord Merton."
+
+"Perhaps you had better tell me the story," Venner said.
+
+"I am coming to that presently. Mr. Evors is down here; he is the man who
+is engaged to my sister Beth."
+
+Venner whistled softly to himself. At any rate, he knew all about that,
+for his mind went swiftly back to the series of dramatic events which had
+taken place some time previously in the house in Portsmouth Square. He
+recollected now the white-faced young man who had broken away from his
+captors and joined Le Fenu, otherwise Bates, in the drawing-room. He
+recollected the joy and delight of the girl, and how she had clung to the
+stranger as if he had come back to her from the other side of the grave.
+
+"There will be a great many things to be explained between us,
+presently," he said, gravely. "But for the present, I want to know all
+about Fenwick. Where is he now?"
+
+"He is hiding up at the house. I believe they have put him into a secret
+room, the whereabouts of which is known only to Charles Evors. Of course,
+he will not stay."
+
+"But why shield such a blackguard at all?" Venner asked. "Surely, after
+all the trouble he has caused you--"
+
+"You must not forget that he is our own flesh and blood," Vera said,
+quietly. "I had almost ignored the fact--I am afraid I should have
+ignored it altogether had not my brother taken a strong view of the
+matter. At any rate, there he is, and we are in a conspiracy to get him
+safely out of the country. For the present the man is utterly broken down
+and absolutely incapable of taking care of himself. I want you to do me a
+favor, Gerald. I want you to take a hand in this business. While the
+police are still hot upon the track it would not be prudent for Mr. Evors
+or my brother to be too much in evidence just now."
+
+"My dearest girl, I would do anything in the world for you," Venner
+cried. "And if I am to take that sorry old rascal out of the country and
+get rid of him altogether, I will do so with pleasure and never count the
+cost. If I could see your brother--"
+
+"Then why not come and see him now?" Vera said. "You will have to meet
+sooner or later, and there could be no better opportunity for an
+explanation."
+
+To Le Fenu and Evors smoking in the dining-room came Vera and Venner. Le
+Fenu looked up with a sort of mild surprise and perhaps just a suspicion
+of mistrust in his eyes.
+
+"Whom have we here, Vera?" he said.
+
+"This is Mr. Gerald Venner," Vera said. "You know him perfectly well by
+name--he was with us, on and off, for a considerable time before our poor
+father died. Father had a great regard for him, and I hope you will have
+the same, for a reason which I am just going to mention."
+
+"I am sure I am very pleased to meet you," Le Fenu said, politely. "This
+is my friend, Mr. Charles Evors, the only son of the owner of the house.
+When I come to look at you, Mr. Venner, I confess that your appearance
+pleases me, but I have had to deal with so many suspicious characters
+lately that really--"
+
+"Don't apologise," Venner laughed. "You will have to make the best of
+me. I came here to-night with Vera to have a thorough explanation of
+certain matters."
+
+"Oh, indeed," Le Fenu responded with uplifted brows. "My sister and you
+appear to be on very familiar terms--"
+
+"It is only natural," Vera laughed. A vivid blush flooded her face.
+"Charles, Mr. Venner is my husband."
+
+"I am not in the least surprised to hear it," Le Fenu said. "In fact, I
+am not surprised at anything. I have quite outgrown all emotions of that
+kind, but perhaps you will be good enough to tell me how this came
+about, and why I have not heard it before. As your brother, I am
+entitled to know."
+
+"Of course, you are. It was just after our father died that I promised
+myself to Gerald. I had my own ideas why the marriage should be kept a
+secret. You see, I had more or less thrown in my lot with my uncle, Mark
+Fenwick, because I had determined to get to the bottom of the business of
+our father's death. I felt certain that Charles here had nothing to do
+with it; though, owing to his folly and weakness, he played directly into
+the hands of the man who was really responsible for the crime."
+
+"We all know who is responsible for the crime," Le Fenu said. "There is
+no necessity to mention his name."
+
+"Oh, I know that," Vera went on. "The explanation I am making now is more
+to my husband than either of you. He has been goodness and kindness
+itself, and he is entitled to know everything. It was within a few
+minutes of my being married that I learned something of the dreadful
+truth. I learned that Fenwick had conspired to throw the blame of the
+tragedy upon Charles Evors. I found out what an effect this conspiracy
+had had on our poor Beth. There and then I came to a great resolution. I
+wrote to my husband and told him that in all probability I could never
+see him again--at any rate, I could not see him for a long space of time.
+I implored him to trust me in spite of all appearances, and he did so.
+Now he knows the reason why I acted so strangely. I can see that he has a
+thousand questions to ask me, but I hope that he will refrain from doing
+so at present. The thing that troubles me now is what has become of poor
+little Beth."
+
+"Oh, she is all right enough," Le Fenu said. "I thought of that before I
+came down. I have left her in the safe hands of the very clever doctor
+who has my case under his charge, and Beth is with his family. We can
+have her down here to-morrow if you like."
+
+"Nothing would please me better," Vera said, fervently. "And now, I want
+to know if you have done anything or formed any plan for getting rid of
+Mark Fenwick. I shall not be able to breathe here until he is gone."
+
+Le Fenu explained that they had come to no conclusion at present. He was
+quite alive to the fact that delay was dangerous, seeing that Lord
+Merton's agents would have to communicate with him by telegram, and that
+the owner of the house might be back again at any moment. Therefore, it
+was absolutely necessary that something should be done in the matter of
+Mark Fenwick without loss of time. Vera indicated her companion.
+
+"That is why I brought Gerald here," she said.
+
+"I thought he might he able to help us. He knows all sorts and
+conditions of people, and it is probable that he may be able to find an
+asylum in London where the wretched man upstairs can hide till it is
+quite safe to get him out of the way."
+
+"I think I can manage that part of the programme," Venner said. "There is
+an old servant of mine living down Poplar way with his wife who will do
+anything I ask him. The man has accompanied me all over the world, and he
+is exceedingly handy in every way. Those people would take a lodger to
+oblige me, and when you come to think of it, Poplar is not at all a bad
+place for anybody who wants to get out of the country without being
+observed. It is close to the river, and all sorts of craft are constantly
+going up and down. What do you think of the idea?"
+
+"Excellent," Evors cried. "Couldn't be better. Do you think those people
+would mind if you looked them up very late to-night?"
+
+"Not in the least," Venner said. "There is only one drawback, and that is
+the danger of traveling."
+
+Le Fenu suggested that the difficulty could be easily overcome by the use
+of Fenwick's motor, which, fortunately, the detectives had brought back
+with them when they came in search of the culprit. It was an easy matter
+to rig Fenwick up in something suggestive of a feminine garb and smuggle
+him out into the grounds, and thence to the stable, where the motor was
+waiting. Fenwick came downstairs presently, a pitiable object. His mind
+still seemed wandering; but he braced himself up and became a little more
+like his old self when the plan of action was explained to him. Vera drew
+a deep breath of relief when once the man was outside the house.
+
+"Thank God, we shall never see him again," she said, fervently. "And now,
+I believe I could eat something. It is the first time that the idea of
+food has been pleasant to me for days."
+
+Meanwhile, Venner and Fenwick were speeding along in the car towards
+London. Perhaps it was the knowledge that safety lay before him, perhaps
+it was the exhilaration caused by the swift motion of the car, but
+Fenwick became more and more like himself as they began to near the
+Metropolis.
+
+"This is very kind of you," he said, "considering you are a stranger to
+me. If you only knew my unfortunate story--"
+
+"I know your story perfectly," Venner said, coldly. "You see, I had the
+pleasure of the friendship of the late Mr. George Le Fenu, and Mr. Evors
+and the younger Mr. Le Fenu are also known to me. Not to be behindhand in
+exchanging confidence for confidence, I may also say that your niece,
+Vera, is my wife."
+
+Fenwick said no more, for which Venner was profoundly grateful. They came
+at length to the little house in Poplar, where Fenwick was smuggled in,
+and a certain part of the story confided to a seafaring man and his
+comfortable, motherly wife, who professed themselves ready and willing to
+do anything that Venner asked them.
+
+"Give him a sitting-room and a bedroom," Venner said; "and take this
+ten-pound note and buy him a rough workman's wardrobe in the morning as
+if you were purchasing it for yourself. Let him lie low here for a day or
+two, and I will write you instructions. As to myself, I must get back to
+Canterbury without delay."
+
+Trembling with a sort of fearful joy, Fenwick found himself presently in
+a comfortable sitting-room at the back of the house. He noted the
+cleanliness of the place, and his heart lightened within him. Something
+of his own stern self-reliant courage was coming back to him; his busy
+mind began to plan for the future. Presently he was conscious of a
+healthy desire to eat and drink. In response to his ring, the landlady
+informed him that she had some cold meat in the house, and that it was
+not yet too late to send out for some wine if he desired it.
+
+"Very well," Fenwick said in high good-humor. "Give me the cold meat, and
+ask your husband to get me a bottle of brandy. I shall feel all the
+better for a thorough wash, and don't be long, my good woman, for I have
+never been so hungry in my life as I am now."
+
+Fenwick returned to the sitting-room a few minutes later to find a decent
+meal spread out for him. There was cheese and butter and some cold meat
+under a metal cover. A bottle of brandy stood by the side of Fenwick's
+plate, with a syphon of soda-water. He took a hearty pull of the mixture.
+The generous spirit glowed in his veins. He would cheat the world yet.
+
+"And now for the food," he said. "I trust it is beef. Nothing like beef
+on occasions like this. Also--"
+
+He raised the cover from a dish. Then he jumped to his feet with a
+snarling oath. He could only stand there trembling in every limb, with a
+fascinated gaze on the dish before him.
+
+"God help me," he whispered. "There is no getting away from it. The last
+warning--the fourth finger!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+NEMESIS
+
+
+For a long space of time Fenwick stood there, his head buried in his
+hands. All the way through, he had never been able to disguise from
+himself the feeling that, sooner or later, this dread thing must happen.
+Years ago he had taken his life in his hands in exploring the recesses of
+the Four Finger Mine; he had more or less known what he had to expect,
+for the mine had been a sacred thing, almost a part of the religion of
+the diminishing tribe which had imparted the secret to Le Fenu, and any
+intruder was bound to suffer. So far as Fenwick knew, the last survivor
+of this tribe was Felix Zary. Leaving out of account altogether the
+latter's religious fanaticism, he had been deeply and sincerely attached
+to the family of Le Fenu, and now he was playing the part of the avenging
+genius. All these things came back to Fenwick as he sat there.
+
+He knew full well the character of the man he had to deal with; he knew
+how clever and resourceful Felix Zary was. Hitherto, he had scorned the
+suggestion that there was some mysterious magic behind Zary's movements,
+but now he did not know what to think. All he knew was that he was
+doomed, and that all the police in the Metropolis could not shield him
+from the reach of Zary's long arm.
+
+And here, indeed, was proof positive of the fact. Two hours before,
+nobody, not even Fenwick himself, knew that he would spend the night at
+the little house in Poplar. And here was Zary already upon his track,
+almost before he had started on the long journey which was intended to
+lead to the path of safety. Fenwick never troubled to think what had
+become of the meal prepared for him, or how the extraordinary change had
+been brought about. Gradually, as he sat there, something like strength
+and courage came back to him. Come what might, he would not yield, he
+would not surrender himself into the hands of the foe without a struggle.
+He replaced the cover on the dish, and rang the bell for his landlady.
+She came in a moment later, comfortable and smiling, the very picture of
+respectable middle-age. As Fenwick glanced at her, he at once acquitted
+her of any connection with his final warning.
+
+"I am sorry to trouble you," he said, "but I should like to know if you
+have any other lodgers. You see, I am rather a bad sleeper, suffering a
+great deal from nightmare, and I should not like to alarm your other
+lodgers in the middle of the night."
+
+"Lord bless you, sir," the woman said, "we haven't any lodgers at all. We
+don't need to take them, seeing that my man is comfortably fixed. Of
+course, we are pleased to do anything we can for you, but we shouldn't
+have had you here at all if it hadn't been to please Mr. Venner. We'd do
+anything for him."
+
+"No doubt," Fenwick said, hastily. "I suppose your husband sees a good
+many of his old friends occasionally?"
+
+"No, he doesn't," the woman replied. "I don't suppose we have had anybody
+in the house except yourself for the last two months. I hope you have
+enjoyed your supper, sir?"
+
+"Oh, yes," Fenwick stammered. "I finished all the meat. There is one
+thing more I should like to ask you. I may have to go out presently, late
+as it is. Do you happen to have such a thing as a latchkey? If you
+haven't, the key of the front door will do."
+
+The latchkey was forthcoming, and presently Fenwick heard his landlord
+and his wife going upstairs to bed. He did not feel comfortable until he
+had crept all over the house and seen that everything was made secure.
+Then he sat down to think the matter out. Twice he helped himself
+liberally to brandy, a third time his hand went mechanically to the
+bottle--then he drew back.
+
+"I mustn't have any more of that," he said. "It would be simply playing
+into the hands of the fiend who is pursuing me."
+
+With a resolution that cost him an effort, Fenwick locked the brandy
+away in a cupboard and threw the key out of the window. In his present
+state of mind he dared not trust himself too far. Partially divesting
+himself of his clothing he drew from about his waist a soft leather belt
+containing pockets, and from these pockets he produced a large amount of
+gold coins and a packet of banknotes. Altogether there were some hundreds
+of pounds, and Fenwick congratulated himself on the foresight which had
+led him to adopt this plan in case necessity demanded it. He had enough
+and more than enough to take him to the other side of the world, if only
+he could manage to get rid of Felix Zary.
+
+His mind was made up at length; he would creep out of the house in the
+dead of the night and make his way down to the Docks. At every hour ships
+of various size and tonnage put out of the port of London, and, no doubt,
+the skipper of one of these for a consideration would take him wherever
+he wanted to go; and Fenwick knew, moreover, that there were scores of
+public-houses along the side of the river which are practically never
+closed, and which are run entirely for the benefit of seafaring men. It
+would be easy to make inquiries at some of these and discover what
+vessels were leaving by the next tide, and a bargain could be struck
+immediately, go far as Fen wick was concerned, he inclined towards a
+sailing ship bound for the Argentine. His spirits rose slightly at the
+prospect before him; his step was fairly light and buoyant as he
+proceeded in the direction of his bedroom. There was no light in the
+room, so that he had to fumble about in his pockets for a box of matches
+which fell from his fingers and dropped on to the floor.
+
+"Confound it," Fenwick muttered. "Where are they?"
+
+"Don't trouble," a calm, quiet voice said out of the darkness. "I have
+matches, with which I will proceed to light the gas."
+
+Fenwick could have cried aloud, had he been physically able to do so.
+There was no reason for a light to be struck or the gas to be lighted so
+that he might see the face of the speaker. Indeed, he recognised the
+voice far too well for that. A moment later, he was gazing at the
+impassive face of Felix Zary.
+
+"You did not expect to see me," the latter said. "You were under the
+impression that you were going to get away from me. Never did man make a
+greater mistake. It matters little what you do, it will matter nothing to
+you or anybody else in twelve hours from now. Do you realise the fact
+that you have but that time to live? Do you understand that?"
+
+"You would murder me?" Fenwick said hoarsely.
+
+"You may calm yourself on that score. You are unarmed, and I have not so
+much as a pocket knife in my possession. I shall not lay a hand upon
+you--I shall not peril my soul for the sake of a creature like you. There
+are other ways and other methods of which you know nothing."
+
+"How did you get here?" Fenwick asked hoarsely. "How did you put that
+dreadful thing on my table?"
+
+Zary smiled in a strange, bland fashion. He could have told Fenwick
+prosaically what a man with a grasp like his could do in connection with
+a water pipe. He could have told, also, how he had dogged and watched his
+victim within the last few hours, with the pertinacity of a bloodhound.
+But Zary could see how Fenwick was shaken and dazed by some terrible
+thing which he could not understand. It was no cue of Zary's to enlighten
+the miserable man opposite.
+
+"There are things utterly beyond your comprehension," he said, calmly.
+"If you look back to the past you will remember how we laid our mark upon
+the man who stole the Four Finger Mine. That man, I need not say, was
+yourself. To gain your ends you did not scruple to take the life of your
+greatest friend, the greatest benefactor you ever had. You thought the
+thing out carefully. You devised a cunning scheme whereby you might
+become rich and powerful at the expense of George Le Fenu, and scarcely
+was the earth dry upon his coffin before your warnings came. You knew
+the legend of the Four Finger Mine, and you elected to defy it. A week
+went by, a week during which you took the gold from the mine, and all
+seemed well with you. Then you woke one morning to find that in the night
+you had lost your forefinger without the slightest pain and with very
+little loss of blood. That was the first sign of the vengeance of the
+genius of the mine. Shaken and frightened as you were, you hardened your
+heart, like Pharaoh of old, and determined to continue. Another week
+passed, and yet another finger vanished in the same mysterious fashion.
+Still, you decided to stand the test, and your third warning came. With
+the fourth warning, your nerves utterly gave way, and you fled from the
+mine with less ill-gotten gain than you had expected. It matters nothing
+to me what followed afterwards, but you will admit that at the present
+moment you have not benefitted much by your crime. I have nothing more to
+say to you. I only came here tonight just to prove to you how impossible
+it is for you to hide from the vengeance of the mine. In your last bitter
+moments I want you to think of my words and realise--"
+
+As Zary spoke he moved across the room in the direction of the gas
+bracket; he laid his hand upon the tap, and a moment later the room was
+in darkness. There was a sound like the sliding of a window, followed by
+a sudden rush of cold air, and by the time that Fenwick had found his
+matches and lighted the gas again there was not so much as a trace of
+Zary to be seen.
+
+"I wish I hadn't thrown away the key of that cupboard," Fenwick said,
+hoarsely. "I would give half I possess for one drop of brandy now. Still,
+I won't give in, I won't be beaten by that fellow. At any rate, he can't
+possibly know what I intend to do. He could not know that I shall be on
+board a vessel before morning."
+
+Half an hour later, Fenwick left the house and made his way straight to
+the Docks. At a public-house in the vicinity he obtained the brandy that
+he needed so badly, and felt a little stiffened and braced up by the
+spirit. He found presently the thing he wanted, in the shape of a large
+barque bound for the River Plate. The skipper, a burly-looking man with
+an enormous black beard, was uproariously drunk, but not quite so
+intoxicated that he could not see the business side of a bargain.
+
+"Oh, you want to go out with me, mister?" he said. "Well, that's
+easily enough managed. We've got no passengers on board, and you'll
+have to rough it with the rest of us. I don't mind taking you on for
+fifty pounds."
+
+"That's a lot of money," Fenwick protested.
+
+The black-bearded skipper winked solemnly at the speaker.
+
+"There's always a risk in dealing with stolen goods," he said. "Besides
+fifty pounds isn't much for a man who wants to get out of the country as
+badly as I see you do, and once I have passed my word to do it, I'll see
+you safe through, and so will my crew, or I'll know the reason why. Now,
+my yellow pal, fork out that money, and in half an hour you'll be as safe
+as if you were on the other side of the herring-pond and not a policeman
+in London will know where to find you. Now, is it a bargain or not?"
+
+Fenwick made no further demur; he accepted the conditions there and then.
+There was nothing to be gained by affecting to pose as an honest man, and
+he was a little frightened to find how easily this drunken ruffian had
+spotted him for a fugitive from justice.
+
+"I can't give you the money just now," he whispered. "I've got it
+concealed about me, and to produce a lot of cash in a mixed company like
+this would be too dangerous."
+
+The skipper nodded, and proposed further refreshment. Fenwick agreed
+eagerly enough; he was feeling desperate now, and he did not seem to care
+much what happened to him. He could afford to place himself entirely in
+the hands of the black-bearded skipper, who would look after him closely
+for his own sake. After all said and done, he had no cause to doubt the
+honesty of the seaman, who appeared to be fairly popular with his
+companions and well-known in the neighborhood. It was the best part of an
+hour before the commander of the barque staggered to his feet and
+announced in an incoherent voice that it was time to get aboard.
+Presently they were straggling down to the dock, Fenwick propping up his
+companion and wondering if the latter was sober enough to find his way to
+his ship. It was very dark; a thin rain had begun to fall, and the waters
+of the river were ruffled by an easterly breeze. The skipper stumbled
+down a flight of steps and into a roomy boat, which was prevented from
+capsizing by something like a miracle. Presently they came alongside the
+black hull of a vessel, and Fenwick found himself climbing up a greasy
+ladder on to a dirty deck, where two seamen were passing the time playing
+a game of cards. Down below, the skipper indicated a stuffy little bunk
+leading out of his own cabin, which he informed Fenwick would be placed
+at his disposal for the voyage.
+
+"If you don't mind I'll turn in now," the latter said. "I'm dead tired
+and worn out. My nerves are all jumping like red hot wires. Do you think
+I shall be safe here?"
+
+"Safe as houses!" the skipper said. "And, besides, we shall be dropping
+down the river in about an hour."
+
+Just as he was, Fenwick rolled into the bunk, and in a moment was fast
+asleep. When he came to himself again, the vessel was pitching and
+rolling; he could hear the rattling creak of blocks and rigging; there
+was a sweeter and fresher atmosphere in the little cabin. A sense of
+elation possessed the fugitive. It seemed to him that he was absolutely
+safe at last. The skipper had evidently gone on deck after having
+finished his breakfast, for the plates lay about the table and some tepid
+coffee in a tin had apparently been left for the use of the passenger.
+
+"I don't think much of this," Fenwick muttered. "Still I daresay I can
+better it if I pay for it. I'll go on deck presently and see what the
+black-bearded pirate has to say. At any rate, I am absolutely safe now,
+and can afford to laugh at the threats of Felix Zary. If that man
+thinks--"
+
+Fenwick paused, and the knife and fork he was holding over the cold bacon
+fell from his hands. It was too cruel, the irony of Fate too bitter, for
+there, just in front of him, propped up by the sugar basin, was a cabinet
+photograph of the very man who was uppermost in his thoughts. It was
+Felix Zary to the life; the same calm, philosophic features, the same
+great round eyes like those of a Persian cat. It all came back to Fenwick
+now, the whole horror of the situation. His head whirled, and spots
+seemed to dance before his eyes; a string snapped somewhere in his brain.
+Zary was behind him, he thought, close behind him like an avenging fury.
+
+With a horrid scream, Fenwick tumbled up the stairs on to the slippery
+deck. All round him was a wild waste of white waters. The ship heeled
+over as Fenwick darted to the side....
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+EXPLANATIONS
+
+
+Night was beginning to fight with morning by the time that Venner
+returned to Merton Grange. There was no one to be seen; the house was in
+total darkness, so that Venner placed the motor in the stable and
+returned to his own rooms. On the whole, he was disposed to congratulate
+himself upon the result of his night's work. It mattered very little to
+himself or anybody else what became of Fenwick, now he was once out of
+the way. He was never likely to trouble them again, and as far as Venner
+could see, he was now in a position openly to claim his wife before all
+the world.
+
+Despite his feeling of happiness, Venner slept but badly, and a little
+after ten o'clock the next morning found him back at Merton Grange. Evors
+greeted him cordially, with the information that he alone was up as yet,
+and that the others had doubtless taken advantage of the opportunity to
+get a good night's rest.
+
+"And you will see, my dear fellow," he said, "how necessary such a thing
+is. Goodness knows how long it is since I went to bed with my mind
+absolutely at rest. The same remark applies with equal force to Miss Le
+Fenu--I mean your wife."
+
+"I can quite understand that," Venner said. "It has been much the same
+with me, though I must confess that I was so happy last night that I
+could not sleep at all. By the way, have you any information as to your
+father's movements? He probably knows by this time that his house has
+been given over to a gang of swindlers."
+
+"He does," Evors said. "I have had a telegram from him this morning to
+say that he will be home some time in the course of the day; and, to tell
+the truth, I am looking forward with some dread to meeting my father. But
+I think I shall be able to convince him now that I am in earnest and that
+I am anxious to settle down in the old place and take my share in the
+working of the estate. When my father sees Beth and knows her story, I am
+sanguine that he will give us a welcome, and that my adventures will be
+over. I want him to meet Beth down here, and last night after you had
+gone, and we were talking matters over, Vera promised to go up to town
+to-day and fetch her sister. By the way, what has become of your
+friend--Gurdon, I think his name is? I mean the fellow who very nearly
+lost his life the night he fell down the cellar trap and found himself
+landed in the house in Portsmouth Square."
+
+"Oh, Gurdon's all right," Venner laughed.
+
+"I hope you will have the chance of making his acquaintance in the
+course of the day. You seem to have been in Charles Le Fenu's
+confidence for some time--tell me, why all that mystery about the house
+in Portsmouth Square? Of course, I don't mean Le Fenu's reason for
+calling himself Bates, and all that kind of thing, because that was
+perfectly obvious. Under the name of Bates he was lying low and
+maturing his plans for crushing Fenwick. As a matter of fact, Fenwick
+was almost too much for him. Indeed, he would have been if Gurdon and
+myself had not interfered and given both of you a chance to escape. It
+was a very neat idea of Fenwick's to kidnap a man and keep him a
+prisoner in his own house."
+
+"Yes," Evors said. "And he used his own house for illegal purposes. But
+before I answer your question, let me ask you one. Why was Gurdon
+prowling about Portsmouth Square that night?"
+
+"That is quite easily explained," Venner replied. "I sent him. To go back
+to the beginning of things, I have to revert to the night when I first
+saw Mark Fenwick at the Great Empire Hotel, posing as a millionaire, and
+having for company a girl who passed as his daughter. Seeing that this
+pseudo Miss Fenwick was my own wife, you can imagine how interested I
+was. She has already told in your hearing the reason why she left me on
+our wedding day, and if I am satisfied with those reasons it is nothing
+to do with anybody. As a matter of fact, I am satisfied with them, and
+there is no more to be said; but when I ran against Vera again at the
+hotel I knew nothing of past events, and I made an effort to find out the
+cause of her apparently strange conduct. In a way, she was fighting
+against me; she would tell me nothing, and I had to find out everything
+for myself. On the night in question I sent Gurdon to Portsmouth Square,
+and he had the misfortune to betray himself."
+
+"It nearly ended in his death," Evors said, soberly. "Charles Le Fenu
+was very bitter just about that time. You can quite understand how it
+was that he mistook Gurdon for one of Fenwick's spies. But why did he
+go there?"
+
+"He followed my wife, and there you have the simple explanation of the
+whole thing. But you have not yet told me why those two or three rooms
+were furnished in the empty house."
+
+"Who told you about that?" Evors asked.
+
+"What a chap you are to ask questions! We got into the empty house after
+the so-called Bates was supposed to have been kidnapped, and to our
+surprise we found that all that fine furniture had vanished. There was no
+litter of straw or sign of removal outside, so we came to the conclusion
+that it had been conveyed from one house to the other. After a good deal
+of trouble, we lit upon a moveable panel, and by means of it entered the
+house where you and Le Fenu were practically prisoners. We were on the
+premises when you managed to get the better of that man in the carpet
+slippers and his companion; we heard all that took place in the
+drawing-room between Fenwick and Beth and Le Fenu. In fact, we aided and
+abetted in getting the police into the house. You will recollect how
+cleverly Le Fenu managed the rest, and how he and you got away from the
+house without causing any scandal. That was very smartly done. But come,
+are you going to tell me the story of the empty house, and why it was
+partly furnished?"
+
+"I think I can come to that now," Evors said. "The whole thing was born
+in the ingenious brain of Felix Zary. He was going to lay some sort of
+trap for Fenwick, but we shall never know what it was now, because Fate
+has disposed of Fenwick in some other way. Now, won't you sit down and
+have some breakfast with me?"
+
+At the same moment Vera came in. Familiar as her features were and well
+as Venner knew her, there was a brightness and sweetness about her now
+that he had never noticed before. The cloud seemed to have lifted from
+her face; her eyes were no longer sad and sombre--they were beaming with
+happiness.
+
+"I am so glad you have come," she said. "We want you to know all that
+happened last night after you had gone."
+
+Venner explained that he knew pretty well all that had taken place, as
+he had been having it all out with Evors. What he wanted now was to get
+Vera to himself, and presently he had his way.
+
+"We are going for a long walk," he said, "where I have something serious
+to say to you. Now that you have no longer any troubles on your
+shoulders, I can be very firm with you--"
+
+"Not just yet," Vera laughed. "Later on you can be as firm as you like,
+and we are not going for a long walk either. We shall just have time to
+get to the station and catch the 11.15 to Victoria. I am going up to
+London to-day to bring Beth down here. I think the change will do her
+good. Of course, we can't remain in the house, so I have taken rooms for
+the three of us at a farm close by. When Beth has had everything
+explained to her and knows that the man she loves is free, you will see a
+change for the better in the poor child. There is nothing really the
+matter with her mind, and when she realises her happiness she will soon
+be as well as any of us. You will come with me to London, Gerald?"
+
+"My dearest girl, of course I will," Venner said. "I will do anything you
+like. Let us get these things pushed through as speedily as possible, so
+that we can start on our honeymoon, which has been delayed for a trifling
+matter of three years, and you cannot say that I have been unduly
+impatient."
+
+Vera raised herself on her toes and threw her arms round her husband's
+neck. She kissed him twice. There were tears in her eyes, but there was
+nothing but happiness behind the tears, as Venner did not fail to notice.
+
+"You have been more than good," she whispered. "Ah, if you only knew how
+I have missed you, how terrified I was lest you should take me at my word
+and abandon me to my fate, as you had every right to do. And yet, all the
+time, I had a curious feeling that you trusted me, though I dared not
+communicate with you and tell you where you could send me so much as a
+single line. I was fearful lest a passionate appeal from you should turn
+me from my purpose. You see, I had pledged myself to fight the battle for
+Beth and her lover, and for the best part of three years I did so. And
+the strangest part of it all is that you, my husband, from whom I
+concealed everything, should be the very one who eventually struck
+straight to the heart of the mystery."
+
+"Yes, that's all right enough," Venner smiled, "but why could not you
+have confided in me in the first instance? Do you think that I should
+have refused to throw myself heart and soul into the affair and do my
+best to help those who were dear to you?"
+
+"I suppose I lost my head," Vera murmured. "But do not let us waste too
+much time regretting the last three years; and do not let us waste too
+much time at all, or we shall lose our train."
+
+"That is bringing one back to earth with a vengeance," Venner laughed.
+"But come along and let us get all the business over, and we can look
+eagerly forward to the pleasure of afterwards."
+
+It was all done at length--the long explanation was made in the West End
+doctor's drawing-room, and at length Beth seemed to understand the
+complicated story that was told her. She listened very carefully, her
+questions were well chosen; then she flung herself face downwards on the
+couch where she was seated and burst into a passion of weeping. Vera
+held her head tenderly, and made a sign to Venner that he should leave
+them together.
+
+"This is the best thing that could happen," she whispered. "If you will
+come back in an hour's time you will see an entirely different girl.
+Don't speak to her now."
+
+It was exactly as Vera had predicted, for when Venner returned presently
+to the drawing-room, he found a bright, alert little figure clad in furs
+and eager for her journey. She danced across the room to Venner and held
+up her lips for him to kiss them.
+
+"I understand it all now," she cried. "Vera has told me absolutely
+everything. How good and noble it was of her to sacrifice her happiness
+for the sake of Charles and myself, and how wicked I must have been ever
+to think that Charles could have been guilty of that dreadful crime. Ever
+since then there has been a kind of cloud over my mind, a certain sense
+of oppression that made everything dim before my eyes. I could not feel,
+I could not even shed a tear. I seemed to be all numb and frozen, and
+when the tears came just now, all the ice melted away and I became myself
+again. Don't you think I look quite different?"
+
+"I think you look as if you would be all the better for a lot of care and
+fussing," Venner said. "You want to go to some warm spot and be petted
+like a child. Now let us go and say good-bye to these good friends of
+yours and get down to Canterbury. There is somebody waiting for you there
+who will bring back the roses to your pale cheeks a great deal better
+than I can."
+
+"Isn't Mr. Gurdon coming with us?" Vera asked.
+
+"He can't" Venner explained. "I've just been telephoning to him, and he
+says that he can't come down till the last train. He will just look in
+presently after dinner--he is sharing my rooms with me. But hadn't we
+better get along?"
+
+Canterbury was reached at length, and then Merton Grange, where Le Fenu
+and Evors were waiting in the portico. Lord Merton had not yet arrived:
+indeed, Evors explained that it was very uncertain whether he would get
+there that night or not.
+
+"Not that it makes much difference," he said, eagerly. "Of course, you
+will all dine with me. For my part, I can't see why you shouldn't stay
+here altogether."
+
+"What?" Vera cried, "without a chaperon?"
+
+"I like that," Le Fenu exclaimed. "What do you call yourself? Have you
+so soon forgotten the fact that you are a staid married woman? What do
+you think of that, Venner?"
+
+Vera laughed and blushed softly; she was not thinking so much now of her
+own happiness as of the expression of joy and delight on the face of her
+sister. Beth had hung back a little shyly from Evors as they crossed the
+hall, and he, in his turn, was constrained and awkward. Very cleverly
+Vera managed to detach her husband and her brother from the others.
+
+"Let them go into the dining-room," she whispered. "It doesn't matter
+what becomes of us."
+
+"But is she really equal to the excitement of it?" Le Fenu asked,
+anxiously. "She must have had an exceedingly trying day."
+
+"I am quite sure that she is perfectly safe," Vera said. "Of course, she
+was terribly excited and upset at first, but she was quite calm and
+rational all the way down, as Gerald will tell you. All Beth wants now is
+quiet and change, and to feel that her troubles are over. Let's go and
+have tea in that grand old hall. If the others don't care to come in to
+tea we will try not to be offended."
+
+The others did not come in to tea, neither were they seen till it was
+nearly time to dress for dinner. Assuredly Vera had proved a true
+prophet, for Beth's shy, quiet air of happiness indicated that she had
+suffered nothing through the events of the day. It was a very quiet meal
+they had later on, but none the less pleasant for that. Dinner had come
+to an end and the cigarettes were on the table before Gurdon appeared. He
+carried a copy of an evening paper in his hand, and despite his usual air
+of calmness and indifference, there was just the suspicion of excitement
+about him that caused Venner to stand up and reach for the paper.
+
+"You have news there for us, I am sure," he said. "I think we are all in
+a position to stand anything you like to tell us."
+
+"You have guessed it correctly," Gurdon said. "It is all here in the
+_Evening Herald_."
+
+"What is all here?" Le Fenu demanded.
+
+"Can't you guess?" Gurdon asked. "I see you can't. It is the dramatic
+conclusion, the only conclusion of the story. Our late antagonist,
+Fenwick, has committed suicide!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+THIS MORTAL COIL
+
+
+It cannot be said that Gurdon's announcement caused any particular
+sensation. To all of those who knew anything about the inner history of
+the Four Finger Mine the conclusion appeared to be perfectly logical. It
+was Venner who mentioned the secret of the mine before anybody had even
+the curiosity to ask to see the paper.
+
+"Do you think that this has been the outcome of anything that Zary did?"
+he asked Le Fenu. "You see, as far as I am concerned, I was only in the
+mine once or twice, and before your father's death my knowledge of its
+romantic history was limited. I can't altogether bring myself to believe
+that the mine was haunted by avenging spirits and all that kind of thing.
+In this twentieth century of ours, one is naturally very cynical about
+such matters."
+
+"I really cannot tell you," Le Fenu replied. "Of course there must be
+human agency afoot. Zary always declared that he was the last of his
+tribe, and when he died the secret of the mine would belong to our family
+alone. As a matter of fact, my father died first, so that Zary alone is
+in possession of the strange secret of that dread place. One thing is
+very certain. It was none of us who took vengeance on the Dutchman who
+murdered my father. Who was responsible for that I do not know. Still,
+there was something very terrible and awe-striking about the way in which
+the Dutchman's fingers returned to his wife, one by one. I should like to
+have known, also, how Fenwick lost his fingers. But Zary would never tell
+me. I think he professed that it had been done through the agency of the
+spirits of his departed ancestors, who guarded the mine. Mind you, I
+don't say that it is impossible, for we are beginning to understand that
+there are hidden forces in Nature which till quite recently were a sealed
+book to us. It is no use speculating about the matter, because we shall
+never know. Zary has been always fond of us, but I have a feeling now
+that we shall never see him again. I believe he came to England on
+purpose to accomplish the death of Mark Fenwick, and you may rely upon it
+that he will vanish now without making any further sign."
+
+"That is more than possible," Gurdon said, thoughtfully; "but so far as I
+can judge from what this paper says, Fenwick's death seems to have been
+prosaic enough. Perhaps I had better read you the account in the
+newspaper."
+
+Without waiting for any further permission, Gurdon began to read aloud:--
+
+"STRANGE SUICIDE IN THE CHANNEL.
+
+"DEATH OF MR. MARK FENWICK.
+
+"Late this afternoon the barque _British Queen_ put back into the Port of
+London with the schooner _Red Cross_ in tow. It appears that the barque
+in question was bound for the River Plate, and had dropped down the river
+with the morning tide. Outside the mouth of the Thames she had
+encountered exceedingly squally weather, so much so that she had lost a
+considerable amount of running gear owing to the gusty and uncertain
+condition of the wind. About eleven o'clock in the morning an extra
+violent squall struck the vessel, and the skipper, Luther Jones, decided
+to put back again and wait till the next tide. It was at this point that
+the _Red Cross_ was sighted making signals of distress. At considerable
+hazard to himself and his crew the skipper of the _British Queen_ managed
+to get the schooner in tow, and worked her up the river on a short sail.
+This in itself is simply an incident illustrating the perils of the sea,
+and merely leads up to the dramatic events which follow. It appears,
+according to Captain Jones' statement, that very early this morning a man
+called upon him in a public-house and demanded to know what he would
+require for a passage to the River Plate. Satisfactory terms having been
+arranged, the stranger came aboard the _British Queen_ and immediately
+repaired to his bunk. So far as the captain could see, his passenger was
+exceedingly reticent, and desirous of avoiding publicity; in fact, the
+skipper of the _British Queen_ put him down as a fugitive from justice.
+All the same he asked no questions; presumably he had been well content
+to hold his tongue in return for a liberal fee in the way of passage
+money. So far as Captain Jones knows, his passenger slept comfortably
+enough, and it is quite evident that he partook of breakfast in the
+morning. What happened subsequently, it is somewhat difficult to say, for
+Captain Jones was busy on his own deck looking after the safety of his
+ship. These events took place shortly before the _Red Cross_ was sighted.
+
+"It was at this time that Captain Jones believes that he heard a shrill
+scream coming from the cabin, as if his passenger had met with an
+accident, or had been frightened by something out of the common. He came
+on deck a moment later, looking like a man who had developed a dangerous
+mania. He seemed to be flying from some unseen terror, and, indeed, gave
+every indication suggestive of the conclusion that he was suffering from
+a severe attack of _delirium tremens_. Captain Jones does not share this
+view, though it is generally accepted by his crew. Before anybody could
+interfere or stretch out a hand to detain the unfortunate man, he had
+reached the side of the vessel and thrown himself into the tremendous sea
+which was running at the time. It was absolutely out of the question to
+make any attempt to save him, though, naturally, Captain Jones did what
+he could. Then occurred one of the strange things which so frequently
+happen at sea. Five minutes later a great wave breaking over the foredeck
+cast some black object at the feet of Captain Jones, which object turned
+out to be the body of the unhappy suicide. The man was quite dead;
+indeed, he had sustained enough bodily injuries to cause death, without
+taking drowning into consideration.
+
+"As before stated, Captain Jones came in contact with the _Red Cross_ a
+little later, and on reaching the safety of the Pool he immediately
+communicated with the police, who took possession of the body of the
+suicide. On Scotland Yard being communicated with, a detective was sent
+down and immediately recognised the body as that of Mr. Mark Fenwick, the
+American millionaire.
+
+"No doubt is entertained that the police officer is right, as Mr. Fenwick
+was well-known to thousands of people in London, not only on account of
+his wealth, but owing, also, to his remarkable personal appearance. At
+the present moment the body lies in a public-house by the side of the
+Thames, and an inquest will be held in the morning.
+
+"Later.--Since going to press, we hear that startling developments are
+expected in the matter of the suicide of Mr. Mark Fenwick. On excellent
+authority we are informed that the police hold a warrant for the arrest
+of Fenwick and others, on a series of criminal charges, among which that
+of uttering counterfeit coin is not the least prominent. If these facts
+prove to be correct, it will be easy to see why Mr. Fenwick was
+attempting to leave the country in fugitive fashion. Further details will
+appear in a later edition."
+
+"That is the whole of the story," Gurdon said when he had concluded. "On
+the whole, I should say that Mark Fenwick is very well out of it. He has
+had a pretty fair innings, but Fate has been too strong for him in the
+long run. It is just as well, too, that he has escaped his punishment--I
+mean, for your sakes, more than anything else. If that man had been put
+upon his trial, a charge of murder would have been added sooner or later,
+and you would have all been dragged from police court to criminal court
+to give evidence over and over again. In fact, you would have been the
+centre of an unpleasant amount of vulgar curiosity. As it is, the inquest
+will be more or less of a formal affair, and the public will never know
+that Fenwick has been anything more than a common swindler."
+
+Venner was emphatically of the same view; personally, he was exceedingly
+glad to think that the knot had been cut in this fashion and that the
+unpleasant business was ended. He discussed the matter thoughtfully with
+Gurdon as he and the latter walked in the direction of his rooms, for he
+had refused to spend the night at Merton Grange, though Vera, of
+necessity, had arranged to stay there.
+
+"I suppose one ought to be thankful," he said, "that matters are no
+worse. Still, at the same time, I must confess that I should like to
+have a few words with Zary. I wonder if we could get him to take us back
+to Mexico with a view to exploring the Four Finger Mine. After all said
+and done, it seems a pity that that rich treasure house should be lost
+to the world."
+
+"Better leave it alone," Gurdon said. "It makes me creep when I think of
+it. All the same, I am with you in one thing. I should certainly like to
+see Zary again."
+
+Gurdon and his companion were destined to have their wish gratified
+sooner than they had expected. They let themselves into the farmhouse
+where they were staying, and Venner turned up the lamp in the big
+rambling sitting-room. There, half-asleep in a chair before the fire, sat
+the very man whom they had been discussing. He appeared to be heavy with
+sleep--his melancholy eyes opened slowly as he turned to the newcomers.
+
+"You have been thinking about me," he said--"you have been wondering what
+had become of me. We are strangers, and yet we are not strangers. Mr.
+Venner is known to me, and Mr. Venner's wife also. I was aware that my
+dear young mistress was his wife when it was still a secret to everybody
+else. You are puzzled and mystified over the death of Mark Fenwick. Mr.
+Gurdon has been reading an account to you from a newspaper."
+
+"You are certainly a very remarkable man," Gurdon said. "As a matter of
+fact, that is exactly what I have been doing. But tell me, Zary, how did
+you know?"
+
+"You have a great poet," Zary said, calmly and deliberately. "He was one
+of the noblest philosophers of his time. I have read him, I hope to read
+him again many times. His name is Shakespeare, and he says 'there are
+more things in Heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy.'
+Gentlemen, that is so, as you would know if you possessed the powers that
+I do. But I could not explain--you would not understand, for your minds
+are different from mine. I am going away; I shall never see my dear
+friends again--for the last time we have met. And because I could not
+endure a formal parting I have come to you to give them all a message
+from me. It is only this, that I shall never cease to think of them
+wherever I may be--but I need not dwell upon that. As to Fenwick, I did
+not design that he should die so peaceful a death. I had gauged his mind
+incorrectly; I had goaded him into a pitch of terror which drove him over
+the border land and destroyed his reason. Therefore, he committed
+suicide, and so he is finished with."
+
+There was a pause for some time, until it became evident that Zary had no
+more to say. He rose to his feet, and was advancing in the direction of
+the door when Gurdon stopped him.
+
+"Pardon me," the latter said, "but like most ordinary men, I am by no
+means devoid of my fair share of curiosity. What is going to be done in
+the matter of the Four Finger Mine?"
+
+Zary's large round eyes seemed to emit flashes of light. His face had
+grown hard and white like that of a statue.
+
+"Well," he demanded, "what about the mine?"
+
+"Why, you see, it practically belongs to Mr. Le Fenu's children," Gurdon
+said. "In which case it should prove an exceedingly valuable property."
+
+"The mine belongs to us, it belongs to me," Zary cried. "I am the last of
+my tribe, and the secret shall die with me. Man, do you suppose that
+happiness lies in the mere accumulation of money? I tell you that the
+thing is a curse, one of the greatest curses that ever God laid on
+humanity. To hundreds and thousands of us this life of ours on earth is a
+veritable hell through the greed for gold. Of all the wars that have
+brought pain and suffering to humanity, none has done a tithe of the harm
+wrought by the incessant battle for the yellow metal which you call
+gold. If there had been no such thing on earth, the tribe to which I
+belong would to-day walk as gods amongst ordinary men. No, I shall do
+nothing to pander to this disease. When I die the secret of the mine
+perishes with me. Never more will man work there as long as I have the
+health and strength to prevent it."
+
+The latter part of Zary's speech had sunk almost to a whisper; he made a
+profound bow to Venner and Gurdon, then left the room softly. He seemed
+to vanish almost like the spirit of one of his departed ancestors, and
+his place knew him no more.
+
+"Curious man," Gurdon said, thoughtfully. "Very quiet and gentle as a
+rule, but not the kind of person you would care to have as a foe. I have
+a very strong feeling that none of us will ever see Felix Zary again.
+Now, don't you think we can begin to forget all about this kind of thing?
+Surely we have had enough horrors and mysteries, and I can only wonder at
+the way in which those girls have borne up against all their troubles.
+Tell me, what are you going to do? I mean as to your future."
+
+"Upon my word, I really haven't given it a thought," Venner said. "It is
+not very often that a man has the unique experience of being married
+three years without a honeymoon, and without more than half an hour in
+his wife's company. You can but feebly guess, my dear fellow, how
+terribly I have suffered during the time to which I refer. Still, I
+trusted my wife implicitly, though all the dictates of common-sense were
+against me, and I am sincerely and heartily glad now that I took the line
+I did. As soon as possible, I intend to take Vera away for a long tour on
+the Continent. When I come back I shall have the old house done up again,
+and, I suppose, settle down to the life of a country gentleman. But, of
+course, I can't do anything till Beth's future is settled. I suppose, for
+the present, she will go back again to Le Fenu's doctor friends, pending
+her marriage with Charles Evors."
+
+"The programme is all right," Gurdon said. "But suppose Lord Merton
+objects to the arrangement?"
+
+"I don't fancy that he will do that, from what I hear," Venner said. "All
+the Evors have been wild in their youth, and the present lord is no
+exception to the rule. Depend upon it, he will be very glad to have his
+son back again, happily married, and eager to become domesticated.
+Besides, from what I understand from Vera, her father worked the Four
+Finger Mine to considerable advantage during his lifetime, and Beth is
+something quite considerable in the way of an heiress. On the whole, I am
+not disposed to worry. Now let us have one quiet cigar, and then go to
+bed like a pair of average respectable citizens."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+A PEACEFUL SUNSET
+
+
+"Upon my word," Evors was saying to Beth, "I feel as nervous as an Eton
+boy sent up to the head for a flogging. It is just the same sensation as
+I used to enjoy in my schooldays; but I don't care what he says, I am
+going to marry you whether he likes it or not, though, of course, he is
+bound to like it. No one could look at that dear sweet little face of
+yours without falling in love with you on the spot."
+
+Beth demurely hoped so; she pretended an easy unconcern, though, on the
+whole, she was perhaps more anxious than Evors, for the latter had
+written to his father at some length explaining how matters stood, and
+Lord Merton had telegraphed to say that he would be at home the following
+afternoon. The afternoon had arrived in due course, and now the wheels of
+his carriage might be heard at any moment. Vera and her husband were not
+far off; they had promised to come in and give their moral support if it
+became necessary.
+
+"I don't see how he can possibly help liking you," Evors went on.
+"Thank goodness, we shall be spared the trouble of making a long
+explanation. If my father had been against the arrangement he probably
+would have done something else besides telegraphing that he was coming;
+but I don't care, it doesn't matter what he says, I have quite made up
+my mind what to do."
+
+"But you couldn't go against your father," Beth said, timidly.
+
+"Oh, couldn't I? My dear girl, I have been doing nothing else all my
+lifetime. I have been a most undutiful son, and I have no doubt that I
+have come near to breaking my father's heart many a time, as he nearly
+broke the heart of his father before him. In common fairness he will have
+to admit that we Evors are all alike as young men; and, in any case, I
+couldn't give you up, Beth. Just think how faithful you have been to me
+all these years, when all the time it has seemed as if I had a terrible
+crime on my conscience. Your father's death--"
+
+Beth laid her little hand upon the speaker's mouth.
+
+"Oh, hush, hush," she whispered. "I implore you never to speak of that
+again. They told me, or, at least, that dreadful man told me, that you
+had committed that awful deed. He gave me the most overwhelming proofs,
+and when I demanded a chance to speak to you and hear from your own lips
+that it was all a cruel lie, you were nowhere to be found. This, Fenwick
+told me, was proof positive of your guilt. It was such a shock to me
+that, for the time being, I lost my reason--at least, I did not exactly
+lose my reason, but my brain just seemed to go to sleep in some strange
+way. And yet, from first to last, I never believed a word that Mark
+Fenwick said. There was always present the knowledge that your name would
+be cleared at last, and the most gratifying part of it all is the
+knowledge that there can be no scandal, no slanderous tongues to say that
+there is no smoke without fire, and those wicked things that sound so
+small and yet imply so much."
+
+"Don't let us think of it. Let our minds dwell only on the happy future
+that is before us. We shall be able to marry at once; then we can go and
+live in the old Manor House by the park gates. The place is already
+furnished, and needs very little doing up. Sooner or later you will be
+mistress of this grand old home, though I hope that time may not come for
+many years. It seems to me--"
+
+But Beth was not attending. She seemed to be listening with more or less
+fear to the sound of wheels crunching on the gravel outside. Evors had
+hardly time to reassure her, when the door opened and Lord Merton came
+in. He was a tall man of commanding presence, a little cold and
+haughty-looking, though his lips indicated a genial nature, and he could
+not altogether suppress the grave amusement in his eyes.
+
+"This is an unconventional meeting," he said. "I received your letter,
+Charles, and I am bound to say the contents would have astonished me
+exceedingly had they been written by anybody but an Evors. But our
+race has always been a law unto itself, with more or less disastrous
+consequences. We have been a wild and reckless lot, but this is the
+first time, so far as I know, that one of the tribe has been accused
+of murder."
+
+"It is a wicked lie," Beth burst out, passionately. She had forgotten all
+her fears in her indignation. "My father was killed by the man Fenwick
+and his colleagues. That has all been proved beyond a doubt!"
+
+Lord Merton smiled down upon the flushed, indignant face. It was quite
+evident that Beth had made a favorable impression upon him.
+
+"I admire your loyalty and your pluck," he said. "My dear child, many
+a woman has risked her happiness by marrying an Evors--not one of
+them did so except in absolute defiance of the advice of their
+friends. In every case it has been a desperate experiment, and yet, I
+believe, in every case it has turned out perfectly happily. It was the
+same with Charles's mother. It was the same with my mother. No Evors
+ever asked permission of his sire to take unto himself a wife; no
+Evors ever cared about social position. Still, at the same time, I am
+glad to know that my boy has chosen a lady. When he was quite a young
+man, I should not have been in the least surprised if he had come home
+with a flaunting barmaid, or something exquisitely vulgar in the way
+of a music hall artiste."
+
+Beth laughed aloud. She had quite forgotten her fears now; she was
+beginning rather to like this caustic old gentleman, whose cynical words
+were belied by the smile in his eyes.
+
+"I am very glad to know that you are satisfied with me," she said,
+timidly: "It is good to know that."
+
+"I suppose it would have been all the same in any case," Lord Merton
+replied with a smile. "You would have married Charles and he would have
+had to have earned his own living, which would have been an excellent
+thing for him."
+
+"Indeed, he wouldn't," Beth laughed. "Do you know, Lord Merton, that I am
+quite a large heiress in my way. I am sure you won't mind my speaking
+like this, but I feel so happy to-day that I hardly know what I am
+saying. If you only knew the dread with which I have been looking forward
+to meeting you--"
+
+"Oh, they are all like that," Lord Merton laughed. "To strangers, I am
+supposed to be a most terrible creature, but everybody on my estate knows
+how lamentably weak I am. They all take advantage of me and bully me,
+even down to the lads in the stable, and I won't disguise from you the
+satisfaction I feel in the knowledge that you have money of your own. For
+some considerable time past I have been severely economising with a view
+to paying off some alarming mortgages on the estate, so that I should not
+have been in a position to allow Charles much in the way of an income. It
+will be my ambition when my time comes to hand you over the property
+without a penny owing to anybody."
+
+"May that day be a long way off, sir," Charles said, with feeling. "I
+hope to assure you how I appreciate the noble manner in which you have
+forgiven--"
+
+"Say no more about it, say no more," Lord Merton said. He seemed to have
+some little difficulty in the articulation of his words. "Let us shake
+hands on the bargain and forget the past. I was profoundly interested in
+your long letter, and I must confess to some little curiosity to see your
+other friends, especially Mrs. Venner, who seems to have played so noble
+a part in the story. I understand that she and her husband are down here.
+I suppose you made them more or less comfortable, which must have been a
+rather difficult undertaking in the circumstances. However, I have
+arranged to have all the old servants back to-morrow, and it will be some
+considerable time before I let the old house again. Now run away and
+enjoy yourselves, and let us meet at dinner as if nothing had happened. I
+don't want it to appear that there has been anything like a quarrel
+between us."
+
+So saying, Lord Merton turned and proceeded to his own room, leaving
+Beth in a state of almost speechless admiration. It was so different from
+anything she had expected, that she felt as if she could have cried for
+pure happiness. The sun was shining outside; through the window she could
+see the deer wandering in the park. It was good to know that the old dark
+past was gone, and that the primrose path of happiness lay shining before
+them. Presently, as they wandered out in the sunshine, Vera came on the
+terrace and watched them. There was no need to tell her that the
+interview with the master of the house had been a smooth one. She could
+judge that by the way in which the lovers were walking side by side.
+Venner came and stood by his wife's side.
+
+"So that's all right," he said. "As far as one can judge, they have
+managed to propitiate the ogre."
+
+"What do you mean by calling a man an ogre in his own house?" the voice
+of Lord Merton asked at the same moment. "For some few minutes I have
+been keeping an eye on you two, but I suppose I must introduce myself,
+though you will guess who I am. Mr. Venner, will you be good enough to do
+me the honor of introducing me to your wife? I have heard a great deal of
+her from my son. Mrs. Venner, if you will shake hands with me I shall
+esteem it a great favor."
+
+"Then you are not annoyed with us?" Vera asked. "You are not displeased
+at the way we have taken possession of your house? I am afraid that
+indirectly we have been the cause of a great scandal."
+
+"Oh, don't worry yourself about that," Lord Merton, said breezily. "There
+have been far worse scandals than this in great houses before now; and,
+at any rate, it does not touch us. I am afraid you have been rather
+inconvenienced here, and that the Grange has not upheld its reputation
+for hospitality. Still, I hope it will be all right to-morrow, and I
+sincerely trust that you can see your way to stay here for some little
+time to come. I am going to ask my sister, Lady Glynn, to come down and
+act the part of hostess. Somebody will have to introduce Beth to the
+county as my future daughter-in-law."
+
+"You are pleased with the arrangement?" Vera asked, demurely.
+
+"Indeed, I am," Lord Merton cried. "You do not know what an eccentric lot
+we are. I should not have been at all surprised if Charles had come home
+with some curiosity in the way of a bride, and I am only too profoundly
+grateful to find that he has made so sweet a choice. But, tell me, you
+will stay here some little time--"
+
+"I am afraid not," Venner, said regretfully. "If you will allow us to
+come back a little later on, I am sure that my wife and myself will be
+very pleased. I have no doubt that Evors will be impatient to claim his
+bride, but I hope he will wait for a month or two at least. You see, I
+have a bride of my own, though, in a way, we are old married people. I
+don't know whether Charles told you anything of our story, but if you
+would like to hear it--"
+
+Lord Merton intimated that he had already done so. He expressed a hope
+that Venner and his wife would return again a little later on; then,
+making some excuse, he returned to the house, leaving Venner and Vera
+together. For some little time they wandered across the park very
+silently, for the hearts of both were full, and this was one of those
+moments when words are not necessary to convey thought from one mind to
+another. Presently Evors and Beth appeared in the distance and joined
+the others.
+
+"Well," Venner said with a smile, "it is some time since I saw two people
+look more ridiculously happy than you two. But I am sincerely glad to
+find that the ogre is only one in name. My dear Charles, your father is
+quite a delightful person. I quite understood from what you told me that
+we had a lot of trouble in store for us. On the contrary, he seems to be
+as pleased with the course of events as we are."
+
+"He seems to have altered so much lately," Evors said. "At any rate, he
+has been particularly good to me, and I am not likely to forget it.
+Behold in me a reformed character, ready to settle down to a country life
+with Beth by my side--"
+
+"Not quite, yet," Venner said, hastily. "You will have to curb your
+impatience for a bit; you must not forget how Vera has suffered for the
+sake of you both, and how patiently I waited for my happiness. You must
+promise us that the marriage will not take place under two months, or I
+give you a solemn warning that we shall not be there. Our own
+honeymoon--"
+
+"Of course Charles will promise," Beth said, indignantly. "Oh, I could
+never dream of being married unless Vera were present. And, after all,
+what are two months when you have a whole lifetime before you? I am sure
+that Charles agrees with me."
+
+"I don't, indeed," Evors said, candidly. "Still, I am not going to be
+disagreeable, and Beth knows that she has only to look at me with those
+imploring eyes of hers to get absolutely her own way."
+
+They left it at that, and gradually drifted apart again. When Vera and
+her husband returned to the Grange, the setting sun shone fully in their
+faces, flinging their shadows far behind. Venner paused just for a
+moment under the sombre shadow of a clump of beeches, and drew his wife
+to his side.
+
+"One moment," he said. "We have not yet decided where we are going. I
+have everything in readiness in London, and I suppose that you are not
+lacking in the matter of wardrobe. Don't tell me, while having
+everything that woman can want in the way of dress, that you have
+nothing to wear."
+
+"I won't," Vera said, softly. "My dear boy, cannot you see how glad I
+shall be to be alone with you at last? Everything is going well here, and
+Beth is entirely happy. You have been very good and patient, and I will
+keep you waiting no longer. If you so will it, and I think you do, let it
+be tomorrow."
+
+Venner stooped and kissed the trembling lips held up to his. Then very
+silently, their hearts too full for further speech, they turned towards
+the house.
+
+
+
+
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