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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Till the Clock Stops, by John Joy Bell
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+Title: Till the Clock Stops
+
+Author: John Joy Bell
+
+Release Date: February, 2006  [EBook #9873]
+[This file was first posted on October 26, 2003]
+[Most recently updated October 2, 2008]
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+Edition: 10
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+Language: English
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+Character set encoding: US-ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, TILL THE CLOCK STOPS ***
+
+
+
+
+E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Mary Meehan, and the Project Gutenberg
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team
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+
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+
+
+TILL THE CLOCK STOPS
+
+BY J. J. BELL
+
+AUTHOR OF "WEE MACGREEGOR," ETC.
+
+1917
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE PROLOGUE
+
+
+On a certain brilliant Spring morning in London's City the seed of the
+Story was lightly sown. Within the directors' room of the Aasvogel
+Syndicate, Manchester House, New Broad Street, was done and hidden away a
+deed, simple and commonplace, which in due season was fated to yield a
+weighty crop of consequences complex and extraordinary.
+
+At the table, pen in hand, sat a young man, slight of build, but of fresh
+complexion, and attractive, eager countenance, neither definitely fair
+nor definitely dark. He was silently reading over a document engrossed on
+bluish hand-made folio; not a lengthy document--nineteen lines, to be
+precise. And he was reading very slowly and carefully, chiefly to oblige
+the man standing behind his chair.
+
+This man, whose age might have been anything between forty and fifty, and
+whose colouring was dark and a trifle florid, would probably have evoked
+the epithet of "handsome" on the operatic stage, and in any city but
+London that of "distinguished." In London, however, you could hardly fail
+to find his like in one or other of the west-end restaurants about 8 p.m.
+
+Francis Bullard, standing erect in the sunshine, a shade over-fed
+looking, but perfectly groomed in his regulation city garb, an enigmatic
+smile under his neat black moustache as he watched the reader, suggested
+nothing ugly or mean, nothing worse, indeed, than worldly prosperity and
+a frank enjoyment thereof. His well-kept fingers toyed with a little gold
+nugget depending from his watch chain--his only ornament.
+
+The third man was seated in a capacious leather-covered, easy chair by
+the hearth. Leaning forward, he held his palms to the fire, though not
+near enough for them to have derived much warmth. He was extremely tall
+and thin. The head was long and rather narrow, the oval countenance had
+singularly refined features. The hair, once reddish, now almost grey, was
+parted in the middle and very smoothly brushed; the beard was clipped
+close to the cheeks and trimmed to a point. Bluish-grey eyes, deepset,
+gave an impression of weariness and sadness; indeed the whole face hinted
+at melancholy. Its attractive kindliness was marred by a certain
+furtiveness. He was as stylishly dressed as his co-director, Bullard, but
+in light grey tweed; and he wore a pearl of price on his tie and a fine
+diamond on his little finger. His name was Robert Lancaster, and no man
+ever started life with loftier ideals and cleaner intentions.
+
+At last the young man at the table, with a brisk motion, dipped his pen.
+
+"One moment, Alan," said Bullard, and touched a bell-button.
+
+A couple of clerks entered.
+
+"Rose and Ferguson, you will witness Mr. Alan Craig's signature. All
+right now, Alan!"
+
+The young man dashed down his name and got up smiling.
+
+Never was last will and testament more eagerly, more cheerfully signed.
+The clerks performed their parts and retired.
+
+Alan Craig seized Bullard's hand. "I'm more than obliged to you," he said
+heartily, "and to you, too, Mr. Lancaster." He darted over to the hearth.
+
+The oldish man seemed to rouse himself for the handshake. "Of course,
+it's merely a matter of form, Alan," he said, and cleared his throat;
+"merely a matter of form. In ordinary times you would have been welcome
+to the money without--a--anything of the sort, but at present it so
+happens--"
+
+"Alan quite understands," Bullard interrupted genially, "that in present
+circumstances it was not possible for us to advance even a trifle like
+three thousand without something in the way of security--merely as a
+matter of form, as you have put it. We might have asked him to sign a
+bill or bond; but that method would have been repugnant to you,
+Lancaster, as it was to me. As we have arranged it, Alan can start for
+the Arctic without feeling a penny in debt--"
+
+"Hardly that," the young man quickly put in. "But I shall go without
+feeling I must meet grasping creditors the moment I return. Upon my word,
+you have treated me magnificently. When the chance came, so unexpectedly,
+of taking over Garnet's share and place in the expedition, and when my
+Uncle Christopher flatly refused to advance the money, I felt hopelessly
+knocked out, for such a trip had been the ambition of my life. Why, I had
+studied for it, on the off-chance, for years! I didn't go into a
+geographical publisher's business just to deal in maps, you know. And
+then you both came to the rescue--why I can't think, unless it was just
+because you knew my poor father in South Africa. Well, I wish he and my
+mother were alive to add their thanks--"
+
+"Don't say another word, old chap," said Bullard.
+
+"I will say just this much: if I don't come back, I honestly hope that
+will of mine may some day bring you the fortune I've been told I shall
+inherit, though, candidly, I don't believe in it."
+
+"But the will is only a matter of--" began Lancaster.
+
+Bullard interposed. "You will repay us from the profits of the big book
+you are going to write. I must say your publisher mentioned pretty decent
+terms. However, let's finish the business and go to lunch. Here you are,
+Alan!--our cheques for L1500 each."
+
+Alan took the slips of tinted paper with a gesture in place of uttered
+thanks. He was intensely grateful to these two men, who had made possible
+the desire of years. The expedition was no great national affair; simply
+the adventure of a few enthusiasts whose main object was to prove or
+disprove the existence of land which a famous explorer had believed his
+eyes had seen in the far distance. But the expedition would find much
+that it did not seek for, and its success would mean reputation for its
+members, and reputation would, sooner or later, mean money, which this
+young man was by no means above desiring, especially as the money would
+mean independence and--well, he was not yet absolutely sure of himself
+with respect to matrimony.
+
+He regretfully declined Bullard's invitation to lunch. There were so many
+things to be done, for the expedition was to start only eight days later,
+and he had promised to take a bite with his friend Teddy France.
+
+"Then you will dine with us to-night," Lancaster said, rising. "You must
+give us all the time you can possibly spare before you go. My wife and
+Doris bade me say so."
+
+"I will come with pleasure," he replied, flushing slightly. Of late he
+had had passages bordering on the tender with Doris Lancaster, and but
+for the sudden filling of his mind with thoughts of this great adventure
+in the Arctic he might have slipped into the folly of a declaration.
+Folly, indeed!--for well he was aware that he was outside any plans which
+Mrs. Lancaster may have had for her charming and very loveable daughter.
+And yet the mention of her name, the prospect of seeing her, stirred him
+at the moment when the great adventure was looming its largest. Well, he
+was only four-and-twenty, and who can follow to their origins the
+tangling dreams of youth? One excitement begets another. Romance calls to
+romance. He was going to the Arctic in spite of all sorts of
+difficulties, therefore he would surely win through to other
+desires--however remote, however guarded. As a matter of fact, he wanted
+to be in love with Doris, if only to suffer all manner of pains for her
+sake, and gain her in the end.
+
+He shook hands again with his benefactors.
+
+"You'll be going to Scotland to see your uncle before you start, I
+suppose?" said Lancaster.
+
+"Yes; I'll travel on Sunday night, and spend Monday at Grey House. You
+must not think that he and I have quarrelled," Alan said, with a smile.
+"It takes two to make a quarrel, you know, and I owe him far too much to
+be one of them. I'd have given in to his wishes had it been anything but
+an Arctic Expedition. But we shall part good friends, you may be sure."
+
+"It's understood," Bullard remarked, "that he is not to be told of this
+little business of ours. As you know, Lancaster and I are his oldest
+friends, and he might not regard the business as we should like him to
+regard it."
+
+"You may count on my discretion," returned the young man, "and I fancy
+Uncle Christopher will be too proud to ask questions. Well, I must
+really go."
+
+When the door had closed, Bullard took up the document, folded it, and
+placed it in a long envelope.
+
+"Lancaster!"
+
+Lancaster did not seem to hear. He had dropped back into the easy-chair,
+his hands to the fire.
+
+Bullard went over and tapped him on the shoulder, and he started.
+
+"What's the matter, Lancaster?"
+
+"Oh, nothing--nothing!" Lancaster sat up. "I feel a bit fagged to-day.
+I--I'm rather glad that bit of business is over. I didn't like it, though
+it was only a matter of--"
+
+"Perhaps nothing; perhaps half a million--"
+
+"'Sh, Bullard! We must not think of such a thing. Christopher may live
+for many years, and--"
+
+"He won't do that! The attacks are becoming more frequent."
+
+"--And with all my heart I hope the boy will return safely."
+
+"And so say we all of us!" returned Bullard. "Only I like to be prepared
+for emergencies. After all, we can't be positive that Christopher will do
+the friendly to us when the time comes, and Alan being the only relative
+is certain to benefit, more or less. Our own prospects are not so bright
+as they were. Of course, you've run through a pile--at least, Mrs.
+Lancaster has done it for you--"
+
+"If you please, Bullard--"
+
+"Come in!"
+
+A clerk entered, handed a telegram to Lancaster, and withdrew.
+
+Bullard lounged over to one of the windows, and lit a cigarette.
+Presently a queer sound caused him to turn sharply. Lancaster was lying
+back, his face chalky.
+
+"Fainted, good Lord!" muttered Bullard, and took a step towards a
+cabinet in the corner. He checked himself, came back and picked up the
+message. He read:
+
+"Just arrived with valuable goods to sell. Shall I give first offer to
+Christopher or to you and Bullard? Reply c/o P.O., Tilbury. Edwin
+Marvel."
+
+"Damnation!" said Bullard.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+Despite its handsome and costly old furnishings, the room gave one a
+sense of space and comfort; its agreeable warmth was too equable to have
+been derived solely from the cheerful blaze in the veritable Adam's
+fireplace, which seemed to have provided the keynote to the general
+scheme of decoration. The great bay-window overlooked a long, gently
+sloping lawn, bounded on either side by shrubbery, trees, and hedges,
+terminated by shrubbery and hedges alone, the trees originally there
+having been long since removed to admit of a clear view of the loch, the
+Argyllshire hills, and the stretch of Firth of Clyde right down to Bute
+and the Lesser Cumbrae. Even in summer the garden, while scrupulously
+tidy, would have offered but little colour display; its few flower beds
+were as stiff in form and conventional in arrangement as a jobbing
+gardener on contract to an uninterested proprietor could make them. And
+on this autumn afternoon, when the sun seemed to rejoice coldly over the
+havoc of yesterday's gale and the passing of things spared to die a
+natural death, the eye was fain to look beyond to the beauty of the
+eternal waters and the glory of the everlasting hills.
+
+Turning from the window, one noticed that the brown walls harboured but
+four pictures, a couple of Bone etchings and a couple by Laguilermie
+after Orchardson. There were three doors, that in the left wall being the
+entrance; the other two, in the right and back walls, near the angle,
+suggested presses, being without handles. In the middle of the back wall,
+a yard's distance from the floor, was a niche, four feet in height by one
+in breadth by the latter in depth, a plain oblong, at present unoccupied.
+Close inspection would have revealed signs of its recent construction.
+
+Near the centre of the room a writing-table stood at such an angle that
+the man seated at it, in the invalid's wheeled chair, could look from the
+window to the fire with the least possible movement of the head. You
+would have called him an old man, though his age was barely sixty. Hair
+and short beard were white. He was thin to fragility, yet his hand,
+fingering some documents, was steady, and his eyes, while sunken, were
+astonishingly bright. His mobile pale lips hinted at a nature kindly, if
+not positively tender, yet they could smile grimly, bitterly, in secret.
+Such was Christopher Craig, a person of no importance publicly or
+socially, yet the man who, to the knowledge of those two individuals now
+sitting at his hearth, had left the Cape, five years ago, with a moderate
+fortune in cash and shares, and half a million pounds in diamonds. And he
+had just told those two, his favoured friends and trusted associates of
+the old South African days, that he was about to die.
+
+Robert Lancaster and Francis Bullard, summoned by telegraph from London
+the previous afternoon, had not been unprepared for such an announcement.
+As a matter of fact, they had been anticipating the end itself for
+months--long, weary months, one may venture to say. Yet Lancaster, who
+had been unfortunate in getting the easy-chair which compelled its
+occupant to face the strong, clear light, suffered an emotion that
+constricted his throat and brought tears to his eyes. But Lancaster had
+ever been half-hearted, whether for good or evil. He looked less
+unhealthy than on that spring morning, eighteen months ago, but the
+furtiveness had increased so much that a stranger would have pitied him
+as a man with nerves. To his host's calmly delivered intimation he had no
+response ready.
+
+Bullard, on the other hand, was at no loss for words, though he allowed a
+few seconds--a decent interval, as they say--to elapse ere he uttered
+them. He was not the sort of fool who tosses a light protest in the face
+of a grave statement. If his dark face showed no more feeling than usual,
+his voice was kind, sympathetic, sincere.
+
+"My dear Christopher," he said, "you have hit us hard, for you never were
+a man to make idle assertions, and we know you have suffered much these
+last few years. Nevertheless, for our own sakes as well as your own, we
+must take leave to hope that your medical man is mistaken. For one thing,
+your eyes are not those of a man who is done with life."
+
+Christopher Craig smiled faintly. "Unfortunately, Bullard, life is
+done--or nearly done--with me."
+
+Said Lancaster, as if forced--"Have you seen a specialist?"
+
+The host's hand made a slightly impatient movement. "Let us not discuss
+the point further. I did not bring you both from London to listen to
+medical details. By the way, I must thank you for coming so promptly."
+
+"We could not have done otherwise," said Bullard, fingering his cigar.
+"It is nearly two years since we saw you--but, as you know, that has been
+hardly our fault."
+
+"Indeed no," Lancaster murmured.
+
+"Go on smoking," said the host. "Yes; I'm afraid I became a bit of a
+recluse latterly. I had to take such confounded care of myself. Well, I
+didn't want to go out of the world before I could help it, and I was
+enjoying the quiet here after the strenuous years in Africa--Africa
+South, East, West. What years they were!" He sighed. "Only the luck came
+too late to save my brother." He was gazing at the loch, and could hardly
+have noticed Lancaster's wince which called up Bullard's frown.
+
+Bullard threw his cold cigar into the fire and lit a fresh one with care.
+With smoke coming from his lips he said softly, "Your brother was
+devilishly badly treated in that land deal, Christopher. Lancaster and I
+would have helped him out, had it been possible--wouldn't we, Lancaster?"
+
+Lancaster cleared his throat. "Oh, surely!"
+
+"Thanks," said Christopher. "Of course we've gone over all that before,
+and I'd thought I had spoken of it for the last time. Only now I feel I'd
+die a bit happier if I could bring to book the man or men who ruined him.
+But that cannot be, so let us change the subject with these words, 'They
+shall have their reward.'"
+
+"Amen!" said Bullard, in clear tones.
+
+Lancaster took out his handkerchief and wiped his forehead.
+
+Still gazing at the loch, Christopher continued--
+
+"I will speak of the living--my nephew, Alan." He lifted his hand as
+though to check a contradiction. "I am well aware that you believe him
+dead, and I cannot get away from the fact that the wretched
+twopence-ha'penny expedition came home without him. But no member could
+assert that he was dead--only that he was lost, missing; and though I
+shall not live to see it, I will die in the firm belief of his return
+within a year."
+
+For once Bullard seemed to have nothing to say, and doubtless he was
+surprised to hear his colleague's voice stammer--
+
+"If you could give me any grounds for your belief, Christopher--"
+
+"Men have been lost in the Arctic before now, and have not died."
+
+"But Alan, poor fellow, was alone."
+
+"He had his gun and some food. As you know, he was hunting with a man
+named Flitch when they got separated in a sudden fog."
+
+"And all search proved vain," said Bullard.
+
+"True. But there was an Eskimo encampment within a day's march," retorted
+Christopher, mildly.
+
+"It had been broken up--"
+
+"Yes; by the time the search party reached it. I may tell you that I have
+seen and questioned every member of the expedition excepting the man
+Flitch, who seems to have disappeared, and several admitted the
+possibility which is my belief." The pale cheeks had flushed, the calm
+voice had risen.
+
+Bullard gave Lancaster a warning glance, and there was a pause.
+
+"I must not excite myself," resumed Christopher, his pallor back again.
+"But the boy grew dear to me when, like other happenings in my life, it
+was too late. I was angry when he went, though I had done little enough
+to attach him to myself, and I cursed whomever it was that supplied him
+with the necessary funds. He had friends, I suppose, whom I did not know
+of. Served me right! But once he was gone my feelings changed. He had a
+right to make his own life. He had as much right to his ambitions as
+I"--a faint smile--"to my diamonds. Well, I'm always thankful for the few
+hours he spent here before his departure. The Arctic was not mentioned,
+but we parted in peace."
+
+The speaker halted to measure five drops from a tiny phial into a
+wine-glass of water ready on his desk.
+
+"You're overtaxing yourself," said Bullard compassionately.
+
+"I'll rest presently."
+
+With a grimace at the bitterness of the draught, Christopher Craig
+proceeded: "The day after he went I signed a deed of gift by which Alan
+became possessed of this house and all I possess"--he paused, turning
+towards his visitors--"in the way of cash and securities, less a small
+sum reserved for my own use. I wanted the boy to know my feeling towards
+him in a way that a mere will could not show them. However, it is no
+great fortune--a matter of fifty thousand pounds."
+
+"Much may be done with fifty thousand pounds," remarked Bullard, as if
+rousing himself. "It is a generous gift, Christopher," he went on. "With
+the house, I presume you include all it contains." Bullard knew that his
+voice was growing eager in spite of him. "Naturally," he said, with a
+frank laugh, "we are curious to know what is going to become of the
+diamonds--eh, Lancaster?"
+
+The man addressed smiled in sickly fashion.
+
+"In what, I still trust, is the distant future," Bullard quickly added.
+
+"Ah, the diamonds!" said Christopher tenderly. "I shall be sorry to leave
+them. A man who is not a brute must worship beauty in some form, and I
+have worshipped diamonds." He leaned over to the right, opened a deep
+drawer, and brought up an oval steel box enamelled olive green. It was
+fifteen inches long, twelve across, and nine deep. He laid it before him
+and opened it with an odd-looking key. It contained shallow trays,
+divided into compartments, each a blaze of light.
+
+Bullard half rose and sat down again; Lancaster shivered slightly.
+
+"In times of pain and depression I have found distraction in these vain
+things," said Christopher. "Give me a few sheets of wax and a handful of
+these, and time ceases while I evolve my jewel schemes. You may say the
+recreation costs me a good income. Well, I have preferred the recreation.
+At the same time, diamonds have risen in price since I collected mine."
+He shut the lid softly, locked it, and added impressively, "Six hundred
+thousand pounds would not purchase them to-day."
+
+"Great Heavens!" escaped Lancaster; Bullard ran his tongue over dry lips.
+
+"With one exception, you are the first to see them, to hear me mention
+them, since they left South Africa," said Christopher. "No, not even my
+nephew knows of their existence. My servant, Caw, is the exception, but
+he is ignorant of their value."
+
+"Very handsome of you to trust us, I'm sure," Bullard said with
+well-feigned lightness. "I, for one, had never guessed the greatness of
+your fortune."
+
+"I have trusted you with much in the past; why not now? And I grant that
+your interest in the ultimate destination of my diamonds is the most
+natural thing in the world. Incidentally, your friendship shall not go
+unrewarded." He waved aside Bullard's quick protest. "But I have grown
+whimsical in my old age, and you must bear with me." He smiled gently and
+became grave. "Ultimately my diamonds will be divided into three
+portions. But--and I emphasise this--nothing shall be done, nor will the
+diamonds be available for division, till the clock stops--in, I pray God,
+the presence of my nephew, Alan."
+
+"Till the clock stops?" exclaimed Lancaster stupidly.
+
+"The saying shall be made clear to you before long, Lancaster. And now I
+must make an end or I shall be giving my doctor more trouble."
+
+With a sigh he pressed one of three white buttons under the ledge of the
+table. "You will forgive my handing you over to a servant. Caw will see
+you to your car. Farewell, Lancaster; my regards to your wife, my love to
+Doris. Farewell, Bullard; yet there are better things even than
+diamonds."
+
+The door was opened. A middle-aged man in black, with clean shaven
+ascetic face, and hair the colour of rust, and of remarkably wiry bodily
+appearance stood at attention.
+
+There was something in Christopher's sad smile that forbade further
+words, and the visitors departed. Lancaster's countenance working,
+Bullard's a mask.
+
+The door was shut noiselessly. Christopher's hand fell clenched on the
+green box. His pallid lips moved.
+
+"Traitors, hypocrites, money maniacs! Verily, they shall have their
+reward!" He reopened the box, took out all the five trays, and gazed
+awhile at the massed brilliance. And his smile was exceeding grim.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+Within a few minutes the servant returned.
+
+"The gentlemen have gone, sir, and Monsoor Guidet is ready," he said,
+then looked hard at his master.
+
+The master appeared to rouse himself. "Tell Guidet to go ahead. He'll
+require your assistance, I expect. Stay!" He pointed to the diamonds.
+"Put them in the box, Caw."
+
+The man restored the glittering trays to their places with as much
+emotion as if they had contained samples of bird-seed. When he had let
+down the lid--
+
+"Your pardon, Mr. Craig, but won't you allow me to ring for Dr.
+Handyside now?"
+
+"Confound you, Caw, do what you're told!"
+
+"Very good, sir," said Caw sadly, moving off.
+
+"And look here, Caw; if I'm crusty, you know why. And I shan't be
+bullying you for long. That's all."
+
+Caw bowed his head and went out. On the landing he threw up his hands.
+"My God!" he said under his breath, "can nothing be done to save him?"
+For here was a man who loved his master better than himself. One wonders
+if Caw had ever forgot for an hour in all those twenty years that
+Christopher Craig had lifted him from the gutter and given him the chance
+which the world seemed to have denied him.
+
+Shortly afterwards he entered the room with Monsieur Guidet. The two
+moved slowly, cautiously, for between them they carried a heavy and
+seemingly fragile object.
+
+"Go ahead," said Christopher, "and let me know when it is finished." He
+closed his eyes.
+
+Nearly an hour passed before he opened them in response to his
+servant's voice.
+
+"Monsieur has now finished, sir."
+
+He sat up at once. From a drawer he took a large stout envelope already
+addressed and sealed with wax.
+
+"Caw, get on your cycle and take this to the post. Have it registered.
+And put a chair for Monsieur Guidet--there--no, nearer--that's right.
+Order a cab to take Monsieur to the steamer. He and I will have a chat
+till you return.... Monsieur, come and sit down."
+
+As Caw left the room the Frenchman turned from his completed handiwork to
+accept his patron's invitation. He was a dapper, stout little man, merry
+of eye, despite the fact that a couple of months ago he and his family
+had been in bitter poverty. He smiled very happily as he took the chair
+beside the writing table. He was about to receive the balance of his
+account, amounting, according to agreement, to two hundred pounds.
+
+The work done was embodied in the clock and case which now filled,
+fitting to a nicety, the niche in the back wall. Outwardly there was
+nothing very unusual about the clock itself. A gilt box enclosing the
+mechanism and carrying the plain white face, the hands at twelve,
+occupied the topmost third of the case, which was of thick plate-glass
+bound and backed with gilt metal. There was no apparent means of opening
+the case. From what one could see, however, the workmanship was perfect,
+exquisite. The compensating pendulum alone was ornamented--with a
+conventional sun in diamonds, and one could imagine the effect when it
+swung in brilliant light. At present it was at rest, held up to the right
+wall of the case by a loop of fine silk passed through a minute hole in
+the glass, brought round to the front, and secured to a tiny nail at the
+edge of the niche; a snip--the thread withdrawn--and the clock would
+start on the work it had been designed to perform. The only really odd
+things about the whole affair were that the lowest third of the case was
+filled with a liquid, thickish and emerald green and possessing a curious
+iridescence, and that just beneath the niche was fixed a strip of ebony
+tilted upwards and bearing in distinct opal lettering the word:
+
+DANGEROUS
+
+"Well, monsieur," said Christopher Craig, opening cheque-book, "I suppose
+I can trust your clock to perform all that we bargained for. You will
+give me your word for that?"
+
+"Mr. Craik, I give you my word of honour that the clock will go for one
+year and one day; that he will stop on the day appointed, within two
+hours, on the one side or the other, of the hour he was to start at; that
+he will make alarum forty-eight precise hours before he stop; that he
+will strike only at noon and at midnight; and that, when the end arrive,
+he will--"
+
+"Thank you, monsieur."
+
+"But more! I give you more than my word; the credit of the work is so
+much to me. I beg to take only one-half of the money now--the other half
+when you have seen with your own eyes--"
+
+"Enough. I am in your hands, Monsieur Guidet, for the clock shall not be
+started until I am gone."
+
+"Gone?" The little man looked blank.
+
+"Your clock is there to carry out the wishes of a dead man."
+
+"Ah!" Guidet understood at last. All the happiness vanished from his
+face. He regarded this man, who had chosen him from a number of
+applicants responding to an advertisement, as his benefactor, his
+saviour. "But not soon, not soon!" he cried with emotion.
+
+Christopher was touched. The little man seemed to care, though their
+acquaintance was not three months old. Still, they had met almost daily
+in the room assigned to Guidet for his work, and the patron had taken an
+interest in the man as well as his genius.
+
+"I cannot tell how soon, my friend," he said, "but we need not talk of
+it. Now tell me, Guidet, how much do I owe you?"
+
+Guidet wiped his eyes. "One hundred and thirty pounds," he murmured, "and
+I give you a thousand thanks, Mr. Craik."
+
+"A hundred and thirty--that is the balance due on the clock itself?"
+inquired Christopher, filling in the date.
+
+The other looked puzzled. "On everything, Mr. Craik."
+
+"Don't you charge for your time?"
+
+Guidet smiled and spread his hands. "Ah, you are not so unwell when you
+can make the jokes! Two hundred pounds was the price, and I have received
+seventy of it and the grandest, best holiday--"
+
+"Your wife and children have had no holiday," said Christopher,
+continuing his writing.
+
+"They have been happy that I am no longer a failure. They shall have a
+little holiday now, my best of friends, and then I take the small share
+in the business I told you about. Oh, it is all well with us, all rosy as
+a--a rose! But you!" His voice trailed off in a sigh.
+
+"I am only sorry I shall not be your first customer, Guidet." Christopher
+blotted the cheque and handed it across the table. "So you must oblige me
+by accepting instead what I have written there."
+
+The little man read the words--the figures--and gulped. Then his arms
+went out as if to embrace the man who sat smiling so very wearily. "It is
+too much--too much!" he cried, almost weeping. "You are rich, but
+why--why do you give me five hundred pounds?"
+
+"Perhaps," said Christopher sadly, "that you may remember me kindly." His
+hand, now shaky, went up to check the other's flow of gratitude. "I'm
+afraid I must ask you to go now. I must rest--you understand?"
+
+Guidet rose. "So long as we live," he said solemnly, "my family and I
+will not forget. And if it would give you longer life, Mr. Craik, I swear
+I would put this"--he held up the cheque--"into the fire."
+
+"I thank you," said Christopher gravely, and just then Caw came in. "And
+now farewell."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+It was dusky in the room when Caw brought tea to his master. Fitful
+gleams from the fire touched the latter's face, which had grown haggard.
+The Green Box was open again.
+
+"Never mind the lights for the present," he said, as the servant's hand
+went to the switch. "Give me a cup of tea--nothing more--and sit down."
+He pointed to the chair recently occupied by the Frenchman. "I have
+something to say to you, Caw."
+
+As he placed the tea on the table Caw winced slightly. "Mr. Craig," he
+said imploringly, "won't you have the doctor now?"
+
+"Sit down," said Christopher a trifle irritably, "and pay attention to
+what I am about to say. Dr. Handyside," he proceeded, "cannot help me,
+and you can. In the first place, you have already given me your word to
+remain in my service for a year and a day after I am gone from here--in
+other words, until the clock stops."
+
+"Yes, sir," said Caw in a low voice.
+
+"And it is perfectly clear to you how and when you are to set the
+clock going?"
+
+"By carefully cutting and removing the thread at the first hour of twelve
+following your--oh, sir, need you talk about it now?"
+
+Christopher took a sip and set the cup down with a little clatter. "And
+in the event of my nephew, Mr. Alan Craig, returning within the year, you
+will serve him also as you would me, giving him all assistance and
+information in your power."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"I have recommended you to him in a letter left with Mr. Harvie, the
+lawyer in Glasgow, to whom you registered the packet this afternoon. Mr.
+Harvie is acquainted with certain of my affairs, but not by any means
+all. It is not necessary that he should know all that you know or will
+know. I am leaving much to your discretion, Caw. You will find your
+instructions in this envelope.... Among other things, it is not my wish
+that you should live alone in this house, and until my nephew returns I
+have arranged that you shall have quarters in Dr. Handyside's house, and
+I do not doubt that you will make yourself useful there, helping him with
+his car and so on. If expedient, you may trust the doctor, but do not
+trouble him without grave cause. The passage will remain available, and
+you will make inspections of this house at intervals."
+
+He paused for a moment, took another sip, and resumed. "Things may happen
+in this house, Caw; but you are not to think of that as more than a mere
+possibility, nor are you to consider yourself tied to the place. As a
+matter of fact, I would as soon have certain things happen as not, and,
+short of murder itself, I count on your avoiding or preventing any police
+interference. By the way, your own future is provided for."
+
+Caw made an attempt to speak, but his master proceeded--
+
+"There are two men whom it seems necessary to warn you against--the two
+who were here to-day."
+
+"Sir," said Caw with sudden strength and warmth of voice, "I have long
+wished I might warn you against Mr. Bullard. Only a sort of instinct,
+sir, on my part, but I never could trust that man. As for Lancaster--"
+
+"Your instinct was right. Lancaster is chiefly a fool, but Bullard is
+utterly rotten. You remember my younger brother, Caw?"
+
+"Yes, sir"--rather awkwardly.
+
+"Those two, particularly Bullard, brought him to ruin. They cheated
+him--legitimately of course! Mr. Alan is ignorant of the tragedy
+surrounding the end of his father--his mother, too--and I hope he may
+remain so."
+
+Surprise as well as indignation was in the servant's expression. "But,
+sir, you were quite friendly--"
+
+"You shall see! You remember Marvel coming here three months ago?"
+
+"Yes, I do--and I wondered at his impudence, the dirty--"
+
+"He brought me the truth, anyway. I suspect his silence had already been
+bought by Bullard, but that would be nothing to Marvel's conscience.
+Well, he sold himself and certain papers to me. They proved that Bullard
+deliberately ruined my brother for his own profit, and Lancaster
+assisted, probably in ignorance."
+
+"And--those two don't know that you know!" cried Caw. "Your pardon, sir,
+but it's a bit--exciting."
+
+"They do not know. They do not suspect. While they were here to-day they
+could think of nothing but those diamonds. They are still thinking of
+diamonds--of that I am sure; and for the next year they will think of
+nothing else. And they were my trusted friends!"
+
+"Do you mean the diamonds--there, in that box, sir?"
+
+"Just so."
+
+"They are of great value, no doubt."
+
+"My diamonds are worth over half a million sterling."
+
+Caw drew a long breath. "That box would be safer in the bank, sir," he
+said respectfully, at last.
+
+"I daresay. But it is going to remain in this drawer." Christopher
+reached out, closed the lid, locked it, and handed the key to Caw.
+"Listen! Immediately you have set the clock going, you will go down to
+the shore and throw that key far into the loch. A duplicate key will be
+available when the clock stops. Now place the box in the drawer and shut
+the drawer, and then sit down again."
+
+With a resigned expression Caw obeyed.
+
+"Burglars," he muttered, as if to himself, resuming his seat.
+
+"Yes; they may try it--after I am gone. But mark this, Caw, you are not
+responsible in this particular matter, and even should you be aware that
+the persons whom I have named are attempting burglary, you must not
+violently interfere in any way."
+
+"Not interfere! Good God, sir, half a million and not interfere!" Caw
+peered at his master in the firelight "Why, Mr. Craig, you could not
+trust me to obey that order!"
+
+"If I can trust you with the diamonds--and I tell you that no one knows
+of their existence here excepting those two men and yourself--I can
+surely trust you to obey--not a master's order, but a dying man's
+request. Later on you will understand everything. Give me your word that
+you will do nothing violent to secure what you may consider the safety of
+that Green Box. ... Come, Caw."
+
+"Will the diamonds--excuse the question--belong to Mr. Alan?"
+
+"That is a question that shall be answered when the clock stops.
+Your word?"
+
+"I am bound to trust to your wisdom, sir," said Caw, slowly. "I promise,
+sir. But if Mr. Bullard gives me a chance apart from diamonds, I hope--"
+
+"I hope nothing may happen to Mr. Bullard before the clock stops," said
+Christopher firmly. "And now I think that is all. Other details you will
+find in your written instructions. Give me some of that medicine--five
+drops--quickly!"
+
+Caw sprang up, ran to the door and switched on the shaded light over the
+table, ran back and administered the dose. Then with something like a sob
+he cried: "Mr. Craig, oh, my dear master, I can't stand it any longer,"
+and pressed one of the white buttons.
+
+"All right, Caw, all right," said Christopher kindly--and the glass fell
+from his fingers. He did not appear to notice the mishap. "I'm afraid
+Handyside will be annoyed, but I had to get the whole business finished."
+
+"Don't exhaust yourself, sir. Just try to think that everything will be
+done as you wish."
+
+"One thing more--failing the doctor, you may trust Miss Marjorie
+Handyside in an emergency. And, Caw, don't forget--"
+
+The door in the back wall opened noiselessly; and a tall bearded man in
+tweeds, with the complexion of an outdoor worker, entered. Closing the
+door he came quickly to the table.
+
+"Sorry to trouble you, Handyside," said Christopher with a faltering
+smile, "but the interfering Caw insisted."
+
+The newcomer glanced a question at the servant.
+
+"No, sir," said Caw. "No attack, but--"
+
+"Have his bed made ready," interrupted the doctor, softly, and Caw
+left the room.
+
+"I've been overdoing it a little," the invalid said, apologetically, "but
+it was in doing things that had to be done. I'll be all right presently,
+my friend.... I say, Handyside, I want you and your daughter to come
+along and take supper with me to-night. I haven't seen Marjorie for more
+than a week."
+
+"She has been away at her sister's for a few days. Only came home an hour
+ago." Handyside let go his patient's wrist and moved over to the hearth.
+
+As he stared into the fire his face betrayed disappointment and grave
+concern, but when he turned it was cheerful enough.
+
+"Yes, Craig, you've overdone it to-day. However, I'll try to forgive you.
+Only I'd like you to see Carslaw again--to-morrow."
+
+"He can't do anything more for me--anything you can't do."
+
+"Possibly not. Still, we must remember that I've been out of harness for
+five years."
+
+"I remember only that you have virtually kept me alive for the last two."
+
+"Your constitution did that," the doctor replied untruthfully. "And
+you've been a good patient, you know, except once in a while."
+
+"You've been a good friend, Handyside, though we met for the first time
+only five years ago. Yes; I'll see Carslaw to please you. Now there are
+several things I want to say to you--"
+
+"They must keep," Handyside said firmly. "You are going to bed now."
+
+"But I've asked you to fetch Marjorie--"
+
+"That pleasure for her must keep also."
+
+"Bed?" muttered Christopher. Then he looked straight at his friend, a
+question at his lips.
+
+At that moment Caw reappeared.
+
+"I'm ready," said his master. "I say, Handyside, what do you think of my
+new clock?" he asked as he was being wheeled to the door.
+
+"I'll have a look at it later, Craig. It's not going yet."
+
+"No"--gently--"not yet. Stop, Caw! Take me over to the window and put out
+the lights."
+
+Caw looked towards the doctor, who nodded as one who should say, "What
+after all, can it matter now?"
+
+At the window, for the space of five minutes, Christopher sat silent. A
+full moon shone clear on the still waters and calm hills. From across the
+loch twinkled little yellow homely lights. The evening steamer exhibited
+what seemed a string of pale gems and a solitary emerald.
+
+"Almost as beautiful," he murmured at last, "as diamonds." He chuckled
+softly, then sighed. "Bed, Caw."
+
+Within the hour he had a bad heart attack, and it was the
+forerunner of worse.
+
+Precisely at midnight Caw stole into the sitting-room and released the
+pendulum. Thereafter he went down to the shore.
+
+"Hard orders, dear master," he sighed, "but I'll carry them out to
+the letter."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+In his home at Earl's Gate, Kensington, Mr. Lancaster had made an
+indifferent meal of an excellently cooked and temptingly served
+breakfast. He was feeling dejected, limp, and generally "seedy" after the
+two nights in the train. He and Bullard had occupied a double sleeping
+berth, and Bullard had persisted in discussing many things, and
+thereafter slumber had proved no match against a host of assaulting
+thoughts. Perhaps he might have made a better meal had he been left to
+himself, but ever since the moment of his arrival--save in the brief
+seclusion of his bath--Mrs. Lancaster had harried his wearied mind with
+questions.
+
+Mrs. Lancaster had learned several important things since wealth began
+to come to her husband, about ten years ago. She had learned to dress
+well, no less so than expensively; she had acquired the art of
+entertaining with an amount of display that just escaped vulgarity; and
+she had even learned to hold her tongue in company. (Possibly that was
+why Mr. Lancaster got so much of it.) She was a big, handsome creature,
+with a clear, dusky complexion and brown eyes that either shone with a
+hard eagerness or smouldered sullenly. And it may be well to state at
+once that she had no "past" worth mentioning, and no relatives, as far
+as one knows, to mention it. Lancaster had wooed her in a
+boarding-house in Durban, Natal. Always ambitious, though never so
+keenly so as when money began to become more abundant, she had never
+yet attained to the satisfaction of having as much money as she
+desired, or imagined she needed. As for social prominence, she spent
+recklessly on its purchase. But she was an unreasoning woman in other
+ways. She was proud of her daughter one day, jealous of her the next;
+it seemed as though she could not forgive Doris for growing up, and yet
+when Doris was barely eighteen she displayed the girl on all occasions
+and strove hard to force her into the arms of a horrible little
+middle-aged baronet. She still craved a title for Doris, no matter what
+moral and physical blemishes that title might decorate. More than once
+she had hinted to Bullard that he might purchase a "handle." And
+glancing sidelong at Doris, Bullard had more than once reflected that
+she would be worth the money--if only he had it to spare. For Bullard's
+wealth was not quite so unlimited as many supposed.
+
+Mrs. Lancaster's eyes were now smouldering.
+
+"Once more," she was saying, "you seem to have made a pretty mess of it."
+
+With a slight gesture of weariness her husband replied: "Bullard was in
+charge, and I suppose he did his best."
+
+"I am beginning to lose faith in Mr. Bullard. You and he had a great
+opportunity yesterday of learning definitely Christopher Craig's
+intentions regarding his diamonds, and now you come home with a rambling
+story about a crazy clock that's going to stop goodness knows when."
+
+"Get Bullard to explain it to you, Carlotta. I'm dead beat. Two nights
+running in the train--"
+
+Cutting him short, she continued--"You tell me that old Christopher is in
+a weak state physically and, you suspect, mentally. In these
+circumstances you ought surely to have been able to do two
+things--convince him of his nephew's death and--"
+
+"He is wholly convinced that Alan will yet turn up. I can't understand--"
+
+"Alan Craig will never turn up! Can't you take Mr. Bullard's word
+for that?"
+
+"Bullard was not with the Expedition--"
+
+She made a movement of impatience. "Well you ought to have gained
+Christopher's confidence as to the other matter. Why on earth didn't you
+find out what your share is going to be?"
+
+"As I have already told you, Carlotta, he mentioned that the diamonds
+would be divided into three portions."
+
+"Equal?"
+
+"I assumed so. And he said Bullard and I would not be forgotten--'Reward'
+was the word he used."
+
+"He may leave you a diamond to make a pin of! Aren't you sure of
+anything, Robert?"
+
+"I felt sure at the time, but during the journey I began to have doubts.
+So had Bullard. I tell you I simply could not tackle the dying man about
+his affairs."
+
+"He may live for a long time yet." She drew a breath of exasperation.
+"But the moment he dies you and Mr. Bullard must act on Alan's will. It
+simplifies matters, I should imagine, that the old man made a gift of
+that property instead of willing it. Unfortunately it may mean only
+L25,000 for us."
+
+Lancaster sat up stiffly and looked at his wife.
+
+"It means not a penny for us. That debt to the Syndicate must be paid
+with the first large sum I can lay hold of. You must clearly understand
+that, Carlotta. I have said the same thing before."
+
+"You have! May I ask whether the Syndicate has asked you to pay
+the debt?"
+
+He looked away, then downwards. "The Syndicate," he said slowly, "has not
+asked me to pay the debt, for the simple reason that the Syndicate does
+not know of it--yet." His breath caught, and he added huskily, "I have
+wanted to tell you this for some time, Carlotta."
+
+"You mean--?" But she knew what he meant, had suspected it for months.
+Also, she knew why he had borrowed, or made free, with the money. Simply
+to give her what she asked for in cars, furs, and jewels. The thing had
+been done at a time when a certain mine was promising brilliantly. The
+mine was still promising, but not so brilliantly.
+
+The incident, along with Lancaster's mental suffering and futile efforts
+to right himself, would make a story by itself.
+
+"You are shocked, Carlotta?" he murmured shamefacedly, appealingly.
+
+"Naturally!" But anger was the emotion she strove to suppress.
+
+"I have paid bitterly in worry," he said, and there was a pause.
+
+"You can hold on yet awhile?" she asked at last.
+
+"Oh, yes, I think so. The danger is always there, but I'm not greatly
+pressed for money otherwise." Not "greatly" pressed, poor soul! "It's a
+case of conscience, you know," he stammered. "The thought of discovery is
+always with me, too."
+
+"No thought, I presume, of your wife and daughter!"
+
+"Carlotta!"
+
+"Oh, Robert, what a blind fool you are! Why not have asked Christopher
+for the money, even if it had involved a confession? He would not see us
+ruined--Doris, at all events."
+
+"No; I don't think he would. He sent his love to Doris. But Bullard was
+there yesterday, all the time, and I would not have _him_ guess--"
+
+"You may be sure Mr. Bullard has guessed long ago."
+
+"My God! do you think so?"
+
+"Well, it doesn't much matter, does it? But I am certain if you had
+told Christopher and made the debt a hundred thousand you would have got
+the money."
+
+"I don't know," he sighed, shaking his head. "Christopher was different
+yesterday, kind enough but different from the man I used to know--"
+
+"Of course he was different. He's dying, isn't he?"
+
+"Don't be so heartless."
+
+"Don't be silly, my dear man!" Mrs. Lancaster said sharply. "Now, look
+here, Robert," she went on, "there is only one thing to be done. Say
+nothing to Mr. Bullard, but take the Scotch express to-night and go and
+see Christopher privately. I don't care what you tell him, but a public
+scandal--public disgrace--I will not have! Get the horrid thing settled,
+and let us go on as if nothing had happened until some of your shares go
+up and put you safely on your feet again."
+
+He sat up as if trying to shake off the horror. "Carlotta," he said,
+"can't we contrive to--to live on less?" It was no new question.
+
+"No, we can't," she answered in a tone of finality. "You will go
+to-night? Fortunately the people coming to dinner are a set of crocks. No
+bridge, and leave early. You can easily catch the midnight train."
+
+"I will go," he said at last, "for your sake and Doris's."
+
+"Good man!" she returned with sudden good humour, her eyes bright.
+"It will all come right--you'll see! Tell old Christopher that his
+little sweetheart of the old days--Doris, I mean; he never loved
+_me!_--is in danger of the workhouse and so forth, and ask for fifty
+thousand at least."
+
+"It will end any chance we have of a share in the di--"
+
+"'Sh!"
+
+Doris came in. She was a tall girl with something of her mother's
+darkness, but she had the blue-grey eyes of her father and his finely-cut
+features. Of late a sadness foreign to youth had dwelt in her eyes, and
+her smile had seemed dutiful rather than voluntary. Otherwise she had not
+betrayed her sorry heart and uneasy mind. She carried herself splendidly,
+and she had good right to be called lovely.
+
+"Mother," she exclaimed, and kissed her father, "why didn't you tell me
+he was to be home for breakfast?"
+
+"Because I did not know, my dear"--which was untrue--"and, besides, you
+were very late last night. Better to have your rest out." Mrs. Lancaster
+rose. "Persuade your father to have a fresh cup of coffee while you take
+your own breakfast, I must 'phone Wilders about the flowers for
+to-night." She left the room.
+
+Doris poured the coffee and milk and placed the cup at his hand, saying--
+
+"You must be tired, dear, after two nights in the train."
+
+"A little, Doris," he answered, endeavouring to make his voice
+sound cheerful.
+
+"And worried, I'm afraid," she added tenderly.
+
+"A little that way, too, perhaps. But one must hope that there's a good
+time coming, my dear."
+
+The girl hesitated before she returned: "I want to say something, and
+it's difficult. I've wanted to say it for a long time." She paused.
+
+"Say on," he said. "A horrid bill--eh?" He knew it was not. Doris had
+never asked him for money beyond her big allowance.
+
+"Don't! It's just this: Is there anything in the world I could do,
+father, just to make it a little easier for you?"
+
+It was unexpected, and yet it was like Doris. Tears came into his eyes.
+
+"Forgive me," she went on quickly, "but sometimes I can't bear to see you
+suffering. I'd give up anything--"
+
+Mrs. Lancaster entered quickly.
+
+"Robert, Mr. Bullard is in the library--"
+
+"Bullard!--now?"
+
+"He must see you at once. He has been to the office, and there was a
+wire--"
+
+Lancaster, who had risen, caught at the back of his chair. "Alan
+Craig--safe?" he said in a husky whisper.
+
+Neither noticed the girl's sudden pallor, the light in her eyes.
+
+"Nonsense!" the woman rapped out. "Christopher Craig--died last night!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+Mrs. Lancaster would have accompanied her husband to the library,
+but for once, and despite the shock he had just suffered, he showed
+some firmness.
+
+"I will see Bullard alone," he said, and left her in the hall.
+
+He entered the library, closed and locked the door, and drew the heavy
+curtain across it. But there his spirit failed him, and he seemed to
+grope his way to his familiar chair.
+
+Without a word Bullard put the telegram into his hands. It had been sent
+off at 8 a.m., the hour of opening for the local post office. It was
+addressed to both men, and was brief:
+
+Mr. Craig died nine last night. Funeral private.--Caw.
+
+"Caw must have had instructions," remarked Bullard presently. "One
+wonders how much Caw knows about his master's affairs."
+
+Possibly Lancaster did not hear. He kept on staring at the message that
+had closed the door on his last hope. Carlotta's suggestion, or rather
+command, had been far from grateful to his inclinations, yet it had
+forced him towards the less of two evils, and for a few minutes he had
+imagined himself with Christopher's cheque in his pocket, immediate
+salvation and peace assured whatever it might cost him eventually. And
+now this telegram!
+
+Impatiently Bullard touched him on the arm.
+
+"Look here, Lancaster!--there is a train from St. Pancras at eleven, and
+it's now past ten. Pull yourself together."
+
+"St. Pancras--eleven? To-night?" Lancaster checked himself.
+
+"No, this morning! We shall be in Glasgow at eight, and a good car will
+run us down under a couple of hours.... Lancaster, for Heaven's sake,
+wake up! Can't you take in the situation? Listen! Point one: We saw the
+diamonds yesterday. Point two: Christopher died suddenly, sooner than
+even he expected, and the diamonds, in all probability, have not left the
+house--if he ever intended to send them elsewhere. They may even be still
+on the table or in the drawer! Point three: The sooner we discover their
+whereabouts the better, for if they are in the house we must act on
+Alan's will at once, though I'd have avoided that if possible. Alan knew
+nothing about the diamonds. Christopher distinctly stated that no one
+knows about them excepting ourselves and his servant. Well, if necessary,
+we must manage Caw, somehow. Now--"
+
+"But--the clock--"
+
+"Oh, damn the clock--mere tomfoolery! As for Alan's return, if you
+persist in doubting what I have already told you"--Bullard lowered his
+voice--"I shall be forced to introduce to you the man who--who saw Alan
+Craig die."
+
+"Die!"
+
+"Don't get hysterical. At this moment the one thing that matters is that
+we locate or lay hands on that green box."
+
+"But I--I can't think to go prowling into Christopher's house, and he--"
+
+"Don't think; I'll do all that's necessary in that way, and we shall have
+plenty of time for talk in the train. Now I want your cheque--open--for
+five hundred pounds. I'm going to draw the same amount on my own. We may
+have to buy things--Caw, for instance. Don't argue. We've got to catch
+that train, and I've got to go to the bank first."
+
+Lancaster sat up. "Bullard," he said hoarsely, "I won't have anything to
+do with this beastly business."
+
+Bullard smiled. "Very well, Lancaster," he said pleasantly; "I'll take
+your cheque for twenty-four thousand and seventy-five pounds."
+
+"My God!" It was the sum he owed the Syndicate.
+
+Moments passed, and then with a white face he got up and went feebly to
+the writing table.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the last hour of the journey they dined. Bullard ordered champagne,
+and saw to it that his companion's glass was kept charged. He was not a
+little afraid of a general collapse on Lancaster's part, but if such were
+imminent, the wine averted it. The physician, however, took little of his
+prescribed medicine.
+
+A car, ordered by telegraph, awaited them at the Glasgow terminus.
+Bullard, who was known to the hirers, dismissed the chauffeur and took
+the driving seat. He glanced up at the big clock, and remarked to
+Lancaster, clambering in beside him, that they ought to reach their
+destination by ten.
+
+The car rolled out of the station down the declivity into the Square,
+thence into Glasgow's longest street, then swarming with pedestrians
+and traffic.
+
+"Damn it!" exclaimed Bullard, "the air's frosty. We'll meet with fog
+presently."
+
+He was right. They met it before they were clear of the city, and over
+the twenty miles that followed it lay thick, blanketing the river and
+countryside. Bullard was a seasoned but not a reckless driver; besides
+he was no more than acquainted with the road. He drove cautiously, his
+impatience escaping now and then in curses. They were nearing
+Helensburgh when they came almost abruptly into clear weather. The sky
+was cloudless, starry.
+
+"This is better," said Bullard, "but I'm afraid it'll be a case of
+routing the estimable Caw from his virtuous couch."
+
+Lancaster struggled out of his stupor of weariness. "Are we nearly
+there?"
+
+"Hardly, but we can let her go now. I say, don't sleep; or you'll be too
+stiff for anything. Think over what I told you in the train; don't talk."
+
+Five minutes later they were speeding up the Gareloch; still later, down
+the west side; then through the village of Roseneath, over the hill into
+Kilcreggan; then round the point and up Loch Long side....
+
+At the last, as it seemed, of the houses Bullard slowed down.
+
+"Aren't we going too far?" Lancaster inquired in a voice
+unnecessarily low.
+
+"You are no observer," the other returned pleasantly, "or you would have
+remembered that there are here first a small wood and then a biggish
+field, alter which we come to a couple of solitary houses, the further
+and larger being Christopher's. The other belongs to a doctor--retired,
+though I believe he has attended our old friend. As it may not be
+advisable to advertise our call more than we can help, we are going to
+run the car into the wood--there's a sort of track--and make our approach
+on foot. We can do with the exercise."
+
+Within five minutes they started briskly along the deserted road.
+
+"No need to walk on tiptoe," said Bullard with a laugh. "Hardly any one
+living here at this time of year. Don't let your nerves get the upper
+hand. We're not going to do anything sensational, you know. Cold, isn't
+it? We shall begin by requesting the amiable Caw to serve drinks."
+
+"Don't jest, Bullard. I'm honestly hoping that the Green Box was somehow
+put away into safety."
+
+"If not, we must rectify the error."
+
+Lancaster sighed. "If the box is there, do you mean to--to--"
+
+"'Pinch' is possibly the word you are hunting for. Expressive if not
+pretty. Well, it will all depend on circumstances."
+
+"Bullard, I wish to say that I refuse to take more of the diamonds than
+will just pay my debts."
+
+"A thousand thanks, old chap, but I really cannot accept such
+generosity." Bullard threw out his hand. "Yonder are the houses, and you
+will perceive that the doctor has not yet retired--to bed. Christopher's,
+however, looks less hospitable. Never mind! We can take turns at pushing
+the button."
+
+"Bullard, for Heaven's sake, let us respect the--the dead."
+
+"And let us refrain from hypocrisies. Come along, man!"
+
+In silence they came to the gates, where Bullard spoke--
+
+"Now remember, all you've got to do is to follow my lead, and not take
+fright at anything. Caw may not be alone in the house. It is even
+possible that he may have the company of some wretched lawyer fellow who
+has been nosing around all day. Come, buck up! You'll feel fitter after a
+drink. Allons!"
+
+Taking Lancaster by the elbow, he led him up the gravel path, leaves
+rustling about their feet. They mounted the three broad steps to the
+closed outer door, and, with a muttered "Here's luck!" Bullard rung the
+electric bell.
+
+"Good!" he exclaimed a few seconds later, as a flood of light poured from
+the fan-light.
+
+They heard the inner door being opened; then with the minimum of noise, a
+large key was turned, and half of the outer door swung inwards. The late
+Mr. Craig's servant, in his customary black lounge suit, stood there
+regarding them quite calmly.
+
+Bullard had expected at least a word of astonishment, so that there was a
+little pause until his own words arrived.
+
+"Good evening, Caw," he said gravely. "We very much regret to disturb you
+at this hour, and at this tragic time, but our business is of the utmost
+importance. May we have a word with you?"
+
+Still silent, the servant stood aside, and they entered.
+
+Said Bullard--"I need not say that we were both greatly shocked by your
+wire this morning. I trust our old friend did not suffer much."
+
+"Too much, sir," answered Caw quietly, turning from closing the door. His
+countenance had a bleak look; his eyes were heavy. He stepped past them
+and opened a door on the right, switching on the lights inside. "This
+way, if you please, gentlemen."
+
+Lancaster showed a momentary hesitation, or confusion, but Bullard
+touched his arm and he accepted the invitation.
+
+Caw followed them a couple of paces into the room and stood at attention.
+The two visitors remained standing, their hats in their hands.
+
+Bullard had foreseen a hundred difficulties, but strangely enough, he had
+never thought of not being admitted to the right room. Nevertheless, his
+chagrin was not apparent.
+
+"A few words will explain our unseasonable call," he said pleasantly.
+"Our visit yesterday afternoon was partly of a business nature, and we
+brought for Mr. Craig's inspection a number of documents which, after
+perusal, he returned to us--as it seemed at the time. But in the train,
+late at night, we discovered we were one short. And that document is of
+such vital importance that we left London again this morning, and have
+regretfully disturbed you now. As a matter of fact, it was a pale green
+share certificate in our joint names--Mr. Lancaster's and mine--and as we
+have sold the shares and have to deliver them two days hence, you will
+probably understand the necessity of recovering it immediately. Possibly
+you have come across such a document in the room upstairs?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Ah! I suppose Mr. Craig's legal man was here today?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Then nothing has been disturbed?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"You will, I hope, excuse these questions, Caw? We are considerably
+harassed about the matter. Will you tell us whether there were many loose
+papers on Mr. Craig's table last night?"
+
+"None, sir."
+
+"Then he must have tidied up after we left?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+Bullard gave a tiny cough and glanced at Lancaster, who immediately said
+in a somewhat recitative fashion:
+
+"I stick to my theory, Bullard, that Mr. Craig, in placing some of his
+own papers in a green metal box, placed ours along with them."
+
+Bullard turned to the servant with a frank look of appeal. "A green metal
+box. Can you help us, Caw?"
+
+It was on Caw's tongue to reply "No, sir." But in that moment, as it does
+with most of us at times, vanity pushed aside discretion. "Yes, sir," he
+answered. "I was the last to see inside that box, closing it at Mr.
+Craig's request, and I can assure you there were no papers in it."
+
+"Wrong again, Lancaster!" Bullard lightly remarked. Then gravely--"The
+matter is so serious, Caw, that I must ask you who has charge of the
+papers and so on upstairs?"
+
+"I, sir."
+
+"And to whom are you responsible?"
+
+"My master and Mr. Alan Craig--till the clock stops, sir."
+
+After a moment's pause Bullard said--"Yes, of course, we are aware that
+all here was gifted to Mr. Alan; also Mr. Craig mentioned the clock. But
+now, would you have any objections to taking us upstairs, on the chance
+that our document is lying about where we were sitting?"
+
+Caw considered quickly. To his mind, their story had been damned by the
+mention of the Green Box; at the same time, he was quite aware that they
+had only to persist in their story to obtain legal authority to search
+the room upstairs, and his master had commanded "no police interference."
+He felt pretty confident, too, that they would hardly attempt to play the
+burglar game in his presence, but he was curious to see how far they
+would go, and he was not unarmed.
+
+"Be so good as to follow me, gentlemen," he said in his stiff way, and
+led them in the desired direction.
+
+The master's room, though fireless, was warm. In silence they entered,
+their footfalls soundless on the heavy carpet.
+
+Bullard halted in front of the clock with its flashing pendulum. "Is this
+what he spoke of," he enquired softly, "and when does it stop?"
+
+The servant cleared his throat. "A year to-night, sir."
+
+"Ah! ... And why this--and this?" He pointed first to the ebony slip,
+then to the green fluid.
+
+"To prevent its being interfered with; also, no doubt to protect the
+jewels in the pendulum."
+
+"Is it the liquid that is dangerous?"
+
+"So I understand, sir."
+
+"Poison?--explosive?"
+
+"I could not say, sir."
+
+Bullard turned to Lancaster, who had sunk into a chair, then back to
+the servant.
+
+"I say, Caw," he said, "could you possibly get Mr. Lancaster something to
+drink? He's knocked up with the travelling, and it's a bitter night
+outside. I could do with something myself."
+
+"Very good, sir," came the reply, without hesitation, and Caw went out,
+closing the door behind him.
+
+"Now," whispered Bullard, and made straight for the writing table, taking
+from his pocket an instrument of shining steel.
+
+But it was not needed. The deep drawer opened obediently, sweetly.
+
+"Lancaster, we've got it first time!" He lifted out and placed the Green
+Box on the table. "The diamonds!" Lancaster got up with a jerk and
+shudder. "Quick! Look in the other drawers for the keys."
+
+All the other drawers were locked.
+
+"Then we must take the whole thing."
+
+"Good Heavens! We can't do that! How can--"
+
+Bullard darted to the door and listened. After a moment he turned the
+handle gingerly. Then he grinned.
+
+"I'm hanged," said he, "but the artful Caw has locked us in!"
+
+"He suspects us!"
+
+"Can't help it." Bullard sped to the bay window and drew aside one of the
+heavy curtains.
+
+"I've got it!" he exclaimed.
+
+Christopher Craig had had a craze for things that worked silently and
+easily. Bullard lifted the heavy sash with scarce a sound.
+
+"Switch off the lights and come here!" he ordered. "Don't fall over
+things and make a row."
+
+When Lancaster joined him Bullard was leaning half out of the window,
+directing the ray from an electric torch on the ground below. An
+incessant murmuring came from the loch, filling their ears.
+
+"Lancaster, could you drop that height?"
+
+"Oh, God, no!"
+
+"There's a great heap of gathered leaves there--see! Think! Six hundred
+thousand pounds!"
+
+"No, no! If one of us got hurt--"
+
+"Perhaps you're right. There's nothing for it but to drop the box and
+collect it when we get out. 'Sh! did you hear something just now?"
+
+Lancaster started and caught his head a stunning blow on the sash. At the
+same time he inadvertently knocked the torch from the fingers of Bullard,
+who was going to flash it into the darkness behind them.
+
+"Idiot!" muttered Bullard. "Don't move till I fetch the box." He stole
+across the floor, feeling his way.
+
+Lancaster, nursing his head, waited--waited until a gasped expletive
+reached his ears--
+
+"Damnation!" Then--"Quick! Close the window, draw the curtain!" The
+speaker blundered to the electric switch.
+
+Fumblingly, Lancaster obeyed, then turned to face a blaze of light,
+Bullard, white with fury and dismay, and the writing table with
+nothing on it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+Next moment, his wits in action again, Bullard made for the table, closed
+the deep drawer, and threw himself on an easy chair, hissing at the
+gaping Lancaster, "Sit down, you fool!"
+
+Lancaster collapsed on the couch as Caw, bearing a salver with decanters,
+a syphon, and glasses, entered the room.
+
+"Your doors open quietly enough," remarked Bullard.
+
+"Yes, sir. Mr. Craig disliked unnecessary noise." He presented the
+salver to Lancaster, who mixed himself a brandy and soda with
+considerable splutter.
+
+While he was doing so, Bullard produced from his breast pocket a
+pale-green folded paper--a hotel bill, as a matter of fact--and gaily
+waved it, crying--"You see, we have found it, Caw, without much trouble!"
+
+"In your pocket, sir?"
+
+"On this chair, which I was sitting on yesterday."
+
+"Indeed, sir! Then you are quite satisfied, sir?"
+
+"Perfectly. By the way, Caw--no, I'll take whiskey--are you aware
+that the stones in that pendulum over there are worth a couple of
+thousand pounds?"
+
+"If you say so, sir."
+
+"Are you interested in diamonds, Caw?"
+
+"Very much, sir--from an artistic point of view, sir."
+
+"Their value does not interest you?"
+
+"It does not excite me, sir."
+
+"A capital answer! You have seen Mr. Craig's collection?"
+
+"Frequently, sir."
+
+Bullard took a bundle of notes from his pocket. "I offer you ten pounds
+to guess correctly the value of the collection."
+
+"Six hundred thousand pounds, sir.... Thank you, sir." With supreme
+stolidity Caw presented the salver as a waiter might do for his tip.
+
+Though taken aback, the loser laughed. He took a long drink, and
+laughed again.
+
+"Excuse me, sir," said Caw, "but my master is still in the house."
+
+Lancaster started, and took a hasty gulp, spilling a little.
+
+"I beg your pardon--and his," said Bullard gravely. "But I am not often
+'had.' Now, look here, Caw; I have still nine hundred and ninety pounds
+here. They are yours, if you can tell me where the collection is at the
+present moment."
+
+The topmost thought in Caw's mind then was that the brutes might have had
+the decency to have waited until his master was laid in the grave. He
+felt helpless, powerless. He could not doubt that Bullard was playing
+with him. And in view of the promise to his master he could do nothing to
+prevent the crime, the desecration as he felt it to be. He could do
+nothing but look on in silence while they searched, until they found--But
+stay! he might as well despoil the spoilers when he had the chance.
+
+"I will take your money, sir," he said, in an odd voice. "Look in the
+bottom right-hand drawer in the writing table."
+
+Bullard's eyebrows rose. Then he got up and, with his eyes on the
+servant, opened the empty drawer.
+
+Caw was within an ace of dropping the salver. After a moment he carried
+it to a side table and set it down with a small crash. Turning, he looked
+searchingly round the room. His gaze stopped at the curtain; he thought
+he understood. They had had an accomplice outside! ... He seemed to glide
+across to Bullard, and Bullard found himself looking into the barrel of a
+stout revolver.
+
+"Out o' the house, the pair o' ye," he ordered hoarsely, "or, by God,
+I'll forget the holy dead!"
+
+"But look here--"
+
+"Not a word! Take your hats and go! You've got what you came for--"
+
+"Listen, you madman!" Bullard held up a hand, the one with the
+notes in it.
+
+"Thanks!" With a flash-like movement Caw nipped away the notes. "You've
+got to pay something!"
+
+Springing round behind Bullard, he shoved the cold steel into the nape of
+his neck. "March! and you, too, Mr. Lancaster. Take your friend's hat!"
+
+Ignoring his colleague's gaze, which had moved suggestively from himself
+to the fire-irons, Lancaster obeyed and made for the door.
+
+"You'll be devilish sorry," began Bullard, beside himself--
+
+"Another word, and you'll lose one ear--to begin with. March!"
+
+Sullenly Bullard moved forward. Not until he was in the garden did
+he attempt speech, and then his voice was thick, though fairly
+under control.
+
+"Well, my man," he said, "you've got yourself into a nasty hole. Robbery,
+with a revolver in your hand, is rather seriously regarded by the law.
+But as you have acted on impulse and misapprehension, I am disposed to
+give you a chance. Restore those notes--"
+
+"Looks like being a wet night," said Caw, and shut the outer door.
+
+When he had made it fast he switched off the lights in the hall and went
+upstairs. In his master's room he wavered, and his eyes rested longingly
+on the decanters, for he was feeling the reaction. But he was a good
+servant still, and it would be "hardly the thing" to take a dram there
+and then. Yet he forgot the conventions of service when, a moment later,
+he sank upon a chair and bowed his head on his master's table, sick at
+heart, sore in pride. He had been so easily tricked! And yet what
+difference would it have made if they had walked out of the room with the
+Green Box in their possession? But he was very sure they would not have
+dared so greatly, unless, perhaps, with force of arms--in which case,
+despite all promises, he knew he would have resisted. It never occurred
+to Caw to doubt his master's sanity, but now he began to wonder what had
+possessed Mr. Craig in regard to the Green Box. Six hundred thousand
+pounds! He seemed to see his master seated at the table, calmly naming
+the stupendous sum--and in the same instant he realised that he himself
+was sitting in his master's place. He sprang up, and almost fell over the
+open drawer. He stooped to close it, straightened up with an exclamation,
+only to drop to his knees, staring, staring at--the Green Box! Suddenly
+he gave a short chuckle, rose, and made for the door in the back wall.
+
+Ere he reached it, it opened. A girl came in.
+
+He was taken aback, and she was first to speak.
+
+"Would you mind shaking hands?" said she.
+
+"Miss Handyside, was it you?" he cried, taking her hand with diffidence.
+
+She nodded. "At least, I suppose so, for it all happened so quickly that
+I'm still in a state of wonder."
+
+"It was splendid, miss! I shall never be able to thank you."
+
+"I couldn't help doing it, though I'm not used to adventures. It was all
+done on an impulse."
+
+"Woman's wit, miss, if you'll excuse my saying so."
+
+"Well, I was in the dark in more senses than one, but the proceedings of
+those two gentlemen were so peculiar, to say the least of it, that I felt
+justified in playing the spy."
+
+"When did you arrive on the scene, miss?" Caw enquired, removing his
+admiring glance. For several years he had adored the doctor's
+daughter--from a strictly artistic point of view, as he would have
+explained it--and undoubtedly Marjorie had her attractions, though it
+would be difficult to analyse and tabulate them. A Scot with more
+perception than descriptive powers would have called her bonny. To go
+into brief detail, she had nut-brown hair, eyes of unqualified grey, a
+complexion suggesting sea-air, splendid teeth in a humorously inclined
+mouth, and a nicely rounded chin. Very few people have beautiful noses;
+on the other hand, not the most beautiful nose will redeem an otherwise
+unattractive countenance, whereas an ordinary nondescript nose in a
+charming face simply becomes part of it. Marjorie's was nondescript, but
+did not turn up or droop excessively. Without being guilty of stoutness,
+she lacked the poorly nourished look of so many young women of the day.
+
+"I must explain why I arrived at all," she said, in answer to Caw's
+question. "I came with a message from the doctor--he twisted his ankle in
+the dark--not seriously, but quite badly enough to prevent his coming
+along himself. Well, when I reached the door I noticed from a thread of
+light that it was not absolutely shut--"
+
+"My fault, miss. I was just about to come along for the night when the
+ring came."
+
+"Then I heard voices--faintly--but clearly enough for me to judge they
+were those of strangers, and I was going to go back when I heard a voice
+say 'Lancaster, we've got it first time!' I'm ashamed to say my curiosity
+was too much for me--"
+
+"Thank God for female curiosity, miss, if you'll excuse my saying so."
+
+She checked a laugh. "You know how quietly the door works, I switched
+off the light behind me and opened it slightly--all trembles, I assure
+you--and looked in. The younger man was lifting a greenish box from a
+drawer to the writing-table, and the other man seemed half-paralysed
+with nervousness." She proceeded to relate what the reader already knows
+up to the episode of the window. "Then, with my heart in my mouth, I
+opened the door wide and stole in. The faint light from the water guided
+me to the table, but I almost lost my way going back with the box. I
+think they did hear something, but I was in safety by the time they
+could have turned their light into the room. But now I had closed the
+door tight, and could hear no more except indistinct voices, among which
+I fancied I heard yours. You were talking angrily, I think. And after a
+while there was a silence, and I waited and waited until I could wait no
+longer. Is it true," she asked abruptly, "that there are sixty thousand
+pounds' worth--"
+
+"Six hundred thousand pounds, miss."
+
+"Oh! ... But why was it not in a safe place? And who were those men?
+And what--"
+
+"It will be necessary," said Caw, as one coming to a decision, "to
+tell you all about it, Miss Handyside. My master said I might trust
+you. It's too much," he added, "for me to carry alone. And if you
+think the doctor--"
+
+"Goodness!" she exclaimed; "he'll be wondering what has come over me--and
+I've forgotten to give you his message! It was just to tell that he
+thought it was time you were leaving here for your new quarters."
+
+"Very good, miss. I'll come now."
+
+"But are you going to leave the box there?"
+
+"Got to--master's orders."
+
+"Extraordinary! It's locked, I suppose?"
+
+"Yes, miss; and last night, or, rather, this morning, at 12:15 by the
+clock, I threw the key into the loch--master's orders."
+
+"You are sure the diamonds are in it now?"
+
+"I was the last to see them and shut them in--master's orders."
+
+"Oh, I can't take in any more! Let us consult the doctor at once."
+
+Presently they passed out by the way the girl had entered, closing the
+door behind them. They were at the top of a narrow and rather steep
+staircase of many steps covered with rubber. Descending they were in a
+tunnel seven feet high and four in width, so long that in the distance
+the sides seemed to come together. Roof and walls were white; light was
+supplied from bulbs overhead. The atmosphere was fresh, though the means
+of ventilation were not visible. Here again they trod on rubber.
+Christopher Craig had caused the tunnel to be constructed as soon as he
+realised the truth about his malady; but it was primarily the outcome of
+a joking remark by Handyside after a midnight summons in mid-winter. It
+should be said here that at first Handyside had demurred becoming his
+neighbour's physician, but growing friendship with the lonely man had
+gradually eliminated his scruples. The tunnel had been a costly
+undertaking, the more so owing to the hurrying of its construction, but
+Christopher would have told you that its existence had saved his life on
+more than one occasion. The secret of the doors, by the way, was known
+only to himself and Caw, Dr. Handyside and Marjorie.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+A week later Doris Lancaster was sitting alone by the drawing-room fire,
+a book on her lap. It was not so often that she had an evening to spend
+in quietness; one of her mother's great aims in life was to have
+"something on" at least six nights out of the seven. At the present
+moment Mrs. Lancaster was in her boudoir, accepting and sending out
+invitations for comparatively distant dates.
+
+Sweetly the clock on the mantel struck nine, and Doris told herself that
+now no one was likely to call. She lay back in the chair, a graceful
+figure in pale green, stretched her pretty ankles to the glow, and sought
+to escape certain gnawing thoughts in the pages of a novel which had won
+from the reviewers such adjectives as "entrancing," "compelling,"
+"intensely interesting."
+
+And just then a servant announced "Mr. France."
+
+Well, after all, she was not sorry to see Mr. France--or Teddy, as she
+had called him for a good many years. He was a frequent visitor,
+despite the fact that Mrs. Lancaster suffered him only because
+everybody else seemed to like him. He was fair, tall, and lanky, and so
+pleasant of countenance that it would not be worth while enumerating
+his defective features.
+
+Mrs. Lancaster disapproved of him for three reasons: first, he had only
+two hundred a year plus a pittance from the insurance company that put
+up, as he expressed it, with his services; second, he had been Alan
+Craig's close friend; third, she suspected that he saw through her
+affectations. That he had been openly in love with Doris since the days
+of pigtails and short frocks troubled her not at all: he was too
+hopelessly ineligible. And it had not troubled Doris for a long time--not
+since Alan Craig had gone away. Since then Teddy had seemed to become
+more of a friend and less of an admirer than ever.
+
+"This is great luck," he remarked, seating himself in the opposite easy
+chair with an enforced extension of immaculate pumps and silken sox.
+(People often wondered how Teddy "did it" on the money.) "It's so seldom
+one can find you alone nowadays. Well, how's things generally?"
+
+"Pretty much the same, Teddy," she answered, with the smile that hurt
+him. "Mother's busy as usual--"
+
+"Out?"
+
+"No; writing, I think."
+
+"How's your father? I haven't seen him for an age."
+
+"I wish he were fitter. He has had to stay in bed for a few days--he came
+down for dinner to-night for the first time. Last week he had three
+nights and a day in the train--with Mr. Bullard."
+
+"Oh, I say! Bad enough without Bullard, but--"
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad," she cried softly. "You don't like Mr. Bullard, Teddy.
+I'm beginning to abhor the man."
+
+"Keep on abhorring!"
+
+Swiftly she looked at him. "You know something?"
+
+He shook his head. "Not a thing, Doris. Merely my instinctive dislike.
+I'm a sort of bow-wow, you know. Still, your mother approves of him, and
+he is your father's friend."
+
+"I sometimes feel it has been an unlucky friendship for father," she
+said in a low voice, "and yet I have nothing to go on. I suppose I'm
+horribly unjust, but I'd give anything to learn something positive
+against the man."
+
+"And yet," said the young man slowly and heavily, "sooner or later Mr.
+Francis Bullard will ask you to marry him."
+
+Doris threw up her head. "I'd sooner marry--" She paused.
+
+"Me, for instance?"
+
+"Don't be absurd, Teddy." She flushed slightly.
+
+"Absurd, but serious," he quietly returned. "Doris, I came to-night to
+ask you. It wouldn't keep any longer. One moment, please. Two things
+happened yesterday. My father won the big law suit that has been our
+nightmare for years; and I got a move-up in the office. Never was more
+shocked in all my life. Mighty little to offer you, Doris--"
+
+"Oh, don't speak about it."
+
+"Well, I'll cut that bit out; but please let me finish. You know I've
+been in love with you for ages, though I did my best to get it under when
+a better man appeared; and I think you'll admit I haven't worried you
+much since. And I'm perfectly aware that you can't give me what you gave
+him.... Still, Doris, I'm not a bad fellow, and you could make me a finer
+one, and--well, I'd hope not to bore you with my devotion and all that,
+but, of course, you'd have to take that risk as well as your parents'
+disapproval. Perhaps I ought to have waited longer, dear, but I didn't
+imagine my chances would be any greater a year hence, and it has seemed
+to me lately that--that you needed some one who would care for you before
+and above everything else.... Doris, remembering how long I've loved you,
+can't you trust me and take me for--for want of a better?"
+
+His words had moved her, and moments passed before she could answer.
+"Dear Teddy, it is true that I want to be cared for--no need to deny
+it to you--but it wouldn't be right to take all you could give and
+give nothing."
+
+"You would give much without knowing it," he pleaded. "And you were not
+made to be sorry all your life."
+
+"I'm not going to make you sorry, Teddy."
+
+"You're doing it as hard as you can!"
+
+She smiled in spite of herself. "No," she said presently, "I've no
+intention of shunning all joys and abandoning all hopes, but I can't do
+what you ask, Teddy. I will tell you just one thing that you may not
+know. Almost at the last moment before Alan went away I promised him I
+would wait."
+
+Teddy cleared his throat. "I didn't know, though I may have guessed....
+But I do know, Doris--I felt it on my way here to-night--that Alan, if he
+could look into my heart now, would give me his blessing. I'm not asking
+to fill his place, you know."
+
+"Oh, you make it very hard for me! You--you've been such a
+faithful friend."
+
+"Give in, Doris, give in to me!" He rose and stood looking down on her
+bowed head. "Dear, I'd bring Alan back to you if I could. Don't you
+believe that?"
+
+"Oh, yes!"
+
+"With all your heart?"
+
+"With all my heart, Teddy."
+
+"Then--" He stopped and took her hand. "Doris!" ...
+
+He straightened up sharply. The door was opening. The servant announced--
+
+"Mr. Bullard."
+
+It was an awkward enough situation, but neither the girl nor the young
+man was heavy-witted. Doris rose slowly, languidly, it seemed, and though
+aware that her eyes must betray her, turned and greeted Bullard in cool,
+even tones. The two men exchanged perfunctory nods.
+
+"Thanks, but I won't sit down," said Bullard. "I called to enquire for
+your father, and to see him, if at all possible. Is he feeling better
+to-night?"
+
+"I think he is in the library at present," she replied, "but he has not
+yet got over his fatigue."
+
+"Yes," he replied sympathetically, "he and I had too much trailing last
+week, but business must not be shirked, Miss Doris."
+
+She was a little startled by hearing her name from his lips; until now he
+had addressed her with full formality. She was not to know that the sight
+of her eyes when she had turned to meet him had informed him of something
+unlooked for, and had put a period to his long-lived irresolution
+regarding her. Francis Bullard, in fact, had suddenly realised that if he
+wished to secure a wife in the only woman of whom he had ever thought
+twice in that respect, he would have to act promptly, not to say firmly.
+Accordingly, as though forgetting the stated purpose of his visit, he
+dropped into a chair and chatted entertainingly enough until Mrs.
+Lancaster made her appearance.
+
+She offered to conduct him to her husband, and he allowed her to do so as
+far as the hall. There he halted and said--
+
+"You will do me a great favour by getting rid of Mr. France and remaining
+with Miss Doris in the drawing-room until I return." In response to her
+look of enquiry he added--"Then you will do me a further favour by
+retiring."
+
+"Really, Mr. Bullard, I must ask you to explain!"
+
+"Your daughter is not going to marry a title--to begin with, at any
+rate." He smiled and passed on.
+
+She overtook him. "Have you something unpleasant to say to my husband?"
+she demanded.
+
+"I am going to return him some money he thought lost."
+
+"How much?"
+
+"Five hundred pounds."
+
+"Is that all?"
+
+"Patience!" he answered, and made his escape.
+
+Lancaster, pencil in hand, was seated at his writing-table. On his
+retiral from his business in South Africa he had indulged dreams of a
+quiet room at home and the peaceful companionship of books, and he had
+got the length of providing the nucleus of a library. But his income,
+though large, had never been equal to the varied demands upon it, and the
+room had become simply a chamber wherein he escaped the irritations of
+society only to suffer the torments of secret anxieties, building up
+futile schemes for his salvation, striving to extract hope from vain
+calculations.
+
+At the entrance of Bullard he lifted his head with a start, and into
+his eyes came the question--"What new terror are you going to spring
+upon me now?"
+
+"Glad to see you are better," Bullard remarked, drawing a chair to the
+table and seating himself. "I didn't intend to trouble you to-night, but
+something arrived by the late afternoon delivery which I thought would
+interest you. No need to be nervy. It's nothing to upset you." He threw a
+bundle of notes and a registered envelope on the table. "Your five
+hundred comes back to you, after all."
+
+Lancaster eyed the notes, then took up the envelope and drew out a sheet
+of paper of poor quality, bearing a few lines in a school-boyish hand.
+
+"GREY HOUSE, LOCH LONG.
+
+"3/11/13.
+
+"_Sir,_--Herewith the sum of L990 which I accepted
+from you the other night owing to a misunderstanding.
+Without apologies for doubting
+your honesty--Yours truly,
+
+"J. CAW."
+
+Lancaster drew a long breath. "So he was fooling us, Bullard."
+
+"Not at all! Some one was fooling him!--only he has managed--I'm
+convinced of that--to regain possession of the green box. As I impressed
+on you just after the fiasco, there was some one in one of the presses,
+and now it is evident that Caw captured that person after we had left.
+Unfortunately, it means that a fourth person has knowledge of the
+diamonds. Still, my friend, we have another chance."
+
+"What? You don't mean to say--"
+
+"Certainly, we shall try again,--we must! And the sooner the better! That
+is, unless we find we can settle amicably with the invaluable Caw. His
+note suggests that possibility, doesn't it? His impertinence gives me
+encouragement."
+
+"It is the letter," said Lancaster heavily, "of an honest man--"
+
+"Up to the tune of a thousand pounds. A wise man, if you like, who
+foresaw the possibility of the notes being stopped."
+
+"You would not have dared do that."
+
+"I had already written off my share as a bad debt," said Bullard, with a
+smile, "but Caw was not to know that."
+
+The older man rested his head upon his hand. "You cannot be certain," he
+said slowly, "that the green box is still in the house."
+
+"True. Otherwise I'd be tempted to produce Alan Craig's will and finish
+the business. All the nonsense about the clock and the postponed division
+could not prevent our taking possession of the house and everything in
+it. Why, even that absurdly costly clock would be ours.... And yet
+there's always the risk of--"
+
+"Bullard, let us produce the will and dare the risk of losing the
+diamonds. From the bottom of my heart I tell you, I will be content
+with L25,000."
+
+"So you think at the moment. But apart from your own feelings--not to
+mention mine--what about Mrs. Lancaster's?"
+
+"I--I have already told her we cannot go on living as we are doing."
+
+"Yes? And her reply?"
+
+Lancaster was mute.
+
+"Have you, by any chance, mentioned to her the matter of
+the!--a--debt to the--"
+
+"For God's sake, don't torture!"
+
+"I have no wish to do that," said Bullard quietly. "Let us change the
+subject, which is not really urgent at present, for one which, I trust,
+may be less disagreeable to you."
+
+The host wiped his forehead. "What is it about?" he asked wearily.
+
+"Your daughter."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+Teddy was not afraid of Mrs. Lancaster, but he soon gathered that she had
+come to stay, and as the situation seemed to him difficult for Doris, he
+took his leave with assumed cheerfulness. In bidding the girl good-night
+he dropped in a whispered "to-morrow," which was, perhaps, more of a
+comfort to Doris than she would have admitted to herself. Immediately
+after his departure she expressed her intention of going to bed.
+
+"Just for a moment, Doris. Do sit down again. We must settle what you are
+going to wear at the Thurstans' on the seventeenth." And Mrs. Lancaster
+plunged into a long discussion on frocks with numerous side issues.
+
+A few weeks ago she would certainly have hesitated over Bullard as a
+son-in-law. Now she was prepared to accept him as such, not, it should be
+said, with joy and thanksgiving, yet not, on the other hand, with
+hopeless resignation. After all, he was richer than any of the men she
+knew, and in view of her husband's deplorable confession it would be
+well, if not vital, to have him on her side. Far better to abandon the
+idea of a title than to risk all continuing its pursuit. She would see to
+it that she did not have to abandon her other ambitions.
+
+When Bullard made his appearance, however, she betrayed no unusual
+interest in the man.
+
+"Was Robert not thinking of going to bed?" she casually enquired.
+
+"He ought to be there now, Mrs. Lancaster. If I were you--"
+
+"I shan't be a minute," she said, rising, "but I really must look
+after him."
+
+Bullard closed the door, and came back to the hearth.
+
+"I am glad of this opportunity, Miss Doris," he said, "to tell you
+something that has been in my mind to say for a very long time. Don't
+be alarmed."
+
+She rose, but made no attempt to go from him. Perhaps instinct told her
+that there could be no ultimate escape.
+
+"I don't wear my heart on my sleeve," he went on evenly, "but I dare say
+you have at least suspected my feelings for you. I have never flattered
+myself that you have regarded me as more than a friend of the house--a
+good friend, I hope--and you have known me so long that you may have come
+to consider me an old friend in more senses than one. Yet here I am,
+Doris, asking you to marry me--"
+
+"Please, Mr. Bullard--" The whisper came from pale lips.
+
+He proceeded gently, steadily--"At present you would say that you cannot
+give me the affection I desire, yet I would ask to be allowed to try to
+earn it. I can give you many things besides a whole-hearted admiration,
+Doris. You are the only woman I have ever thought of as wife. With me you
+would be secure from worldly hardships, and I venture to believe that you
+would never regret marrying me. One word more. You have been sad of late.
+No business of mine, perhaps, but if there is anything I can do, you may
+command me. Doris, will you marry me?"
+
+Perhaps she liked him better at that moment than ever she had done;
+certainly better than ever she would like him again. For he broke the
+long silence with these words--
+
+"I have your father's permission, your mother's approval."
+
+"My father's permission!" she said faintly. For support she laid her arm
+on the mantel. Her mind was in a turmoil. At last--"I cannot marry you,
+Mr. Bullard."
+
+"With all respect," he quietly answered, "I cannot take your words
+as final."
+
+She was not indignant, only afraid. "You speak of my father's
+'permission,'" she managed to say. "Does that include his 'approval'? You
+will forgive me, but--"
+
+"I will forgive you anything but a refusal."
+
+"Then please excuse my leaving you. I will come back."
+
+She went quickly to the library. From the table Mr. Lancaster raised a
+face whose haggard aspect almost made her cry out--so aged it was, so
+stricken with trouble. She closed the door, went over to the table, and
+halted opposite him.
+
+"Father, do you really wish me to marry Mr. Bullard?"
+
+"My child, life--everything--is uncertain, and so--and so I would see you
+provided for."
+
+"I am not afraid of poverty--compared with some things." She nerved
+herself. "Father, you and I used to be frank with each other. Will
+it--help you if I marry Mr. Bullard?"
+
+The man writhed. "Yes, Doris," he whispered at last.
+
+"In what way?" Again she had to wait for his reply.
+
+"It--it would save me..."
+
+"Save you?"
+
+"...from a grave difficulty..."
+
+"Difficulty?"
+
+"...disgrace." His head drooped. And suddenly all that mattered to heart
+was swamped by a wave of loving pity. She ran round to him and clasped
+him, and kissed him. "Oh, my dear," she sighed, "it was never, never
+your fault."
+
+Then she went back to the drawing-room. She looked straight at Bullard as
+he stood by the fire, well-dressed, well-groomed, and just rather
+well-fed. And there and then she made up her mind.
+
+"Mr. Bullard," she said calmly, "I promise to marry you, if you still
+wish it, a year hence; but I will not be engaged to you formally or
+openly. That is all I can say--all I can offer you."
+
+He frowned slightly at her tone rather than her words. The least
+trustworthy people are not the least trusting, and he did not doubt,
+knowing her as he did, that she would redeem any promise she made,
+nor was he particularly anxious for marriage within a year. But he
+had his vanity.
+
+"Do you mean," he asked with increased suavity, "that you would wish to
+ignore my existence until the year is up?"
+
+"Not your existence, Mr. Bullard--we should meet as before, I
+suppose--but--well, I think you must see what I mean."
+
+He bowed. "It shall be as you will, Doris. Enough that I have your word
+for a year hence. Or"--he smiled--"let us say, when the clock stops,
+which your father will tell you is practically the same thing. Don't look
+so puzzled! Will you give me your hand on it?" The man was not without
+dignity; he made no attempt to detain her hand.
+
+"Thank you and good-night," he said. "I will pay my respects to Mrs.
+Lancaster to-morrow afternoon."
+
+He went out with the step of success. He had not only secured a wife to
+be proud of, but had, he believed, disarmed a possible enemy. For some
+time he had had vaguely uneasy moments with regard to Teddy France.
+
+When the door had closed Doris dropped her face in her hands, but her
+eyes remained dry. Five minutes later, Mrs. Lancaster, coming in,
+received the calm and brief announcement that her daughter had promised
+to marry Mr. Bullard a year hence; that until then he was to be regarded
+as an ordinary acquaintance, and that he would call upon Mrs. Lancaster
+on the following afternoon.
+
+The mother was not heartless. "You are doing this to help your father,
+Doris. I know all about it. It is--it is noble of you!"
+
+The girl looked at her, and the question rushed to her lips--"Oh, why
+have _you_, his wife, never done anything to help him?" But it remained
+unuttered. "Good-night, mother," she said, and hastened to the refuge
+of her room.
+
+She wrote a few lines to Teddy, stating simply what she had done. After
+that she gave way.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+About the same hour, in Dr. Handyside's study, four hundred miles away, a
+conference of three people was drawing to a close. Earlier in the day Caw
+had received a belated visit from Mr. Harvie, the Glasgow lawyer, who,
+owing to illness, had been unable to attend to business since his
+client's death. Beyond the information that Caw had been left the sum of
+L5,000 free of duty, the old housekeeper an annuity, and the doctor
+L1,000, Mr. Harvie had little to say. The rest of his late client's
+fortune, the house and its contents, were already Alan's--if the young
+man were still alive, and Mr. Harvie, whatever his own ideas might be,
+was under an obligation to assume as much until--a slight grimace of
+disapproval--"the clock stopped." "I have other instructions," he added,
+"but they are not to be acted on at present." He had returned to town by
+the last steamer.
+
+"So we have come back to where we started," Dr. Handyside was saying.
+"The sum total of our discoveries is that we can do next to nothing. If I
+hadn't become so intimate with your master's character--not his affairs,
+you understand, Caw--I should have had very little respect for his
+methods. As for his motives, they are no business of ours."
+
+"If I may say so," returned Caw, who would have been happier standing at
+attention than sitting in Miss Handyside's company, "you take a lofty
+view of the matter, sir, and you put it in a nutshell when you say that
+his motives are none of our business. I am sorry to have brought you and
+Miss Handyside into the trouble--"
+
+"I rather think I came in," observed Miss Handyside with a smile.
+
+"Which is a fact, miss. And very welcome, too, if I may say so. Also, Mr.
+Craig trusted you both."
+
+"Wherefore it is up to us to trust his wisdom and respect his
+wishes," said Handyside. "The green box must remain where it is and
+take its chance."
+
+"If you hadn't told us," said Marjorie to Caw, "that you were the last to
+see inside the box, I should be imagining all sorts of things. And those
+two men were his friends!"
+
+Caw's expression resumed its usual stolidity. To have replied that
+they had ceased to be his master's friends would have involved
+explanations which he did not feel at liberty to impart even to those
+trustworthy people.
+
+"Do you think they will try again, Caw?" the girl pursued. "I wish you
+had not sent back the money--"
+
+"Don't be absurd, Marjorie!" said her father. "Caw had no choice."
+
+"Well, sir, I was sorely tempted to stick to it as a bit of revenge, but
+I asked myself what my master would have done--and then, as you say, sir,
+there was no choice. As to your question, miss, I answer 'Yes.' A man
+like Mr. Bullard--I'm not so sure of the other--would not give up trying
+for such a prize. You see, I learned his ways out there in the old days.
+All his successes were made by bold methods. He feared nothing, cared for
+nobody. Oh, yes, he is bound to have another try, though I don't fancy it
+will be to-morrow or the next day."
+
+"One would almost imagine," remarked the doctor, easing his injured foot
+on the supporting chair, "that the beggars guessed you were powerless in
+the matter."
+
+Caw shook his head. "Hardly that, sir. They had a sight of my
+revolver--though, of course, that was after I had made sure they had got
+the box, and was only a miserable attempt to give them a shake-up. But
+they were not to know that. Their strong point is this, sir. They have
+the knowledge that the existence of the diamonds is practically a secret.
+Even Mr. Alan, even the lawyer has never heard of them. Only Bullard,
+Lancaster, and Caw knew of them; and Caw is in the minority. And they say
+to themselves--'Once we get the box, we have only to swear that it
+contained papers belonging to us, that Mr. Craig had the loan of it, and
+so forth.' Then how is Caw going to disprove their words? they ask
+themselves. 'Can't be done! If Caw begins to talk of half-a-million in
+diamonds left in a writing-table drawer, he'll only get laughed at, and
+if we've nothing better to do, we can get up an action for slander.'
+There you are, sir! That's what I fancy I see at the back of their heads,
+and I'm sure I'm right."
+
+"I believe you are, Caw!" cried Marjorie. "What do you say, father?"
+
+"I am inclined to accept the diagnosis," replied the doctor, smiling at
+her eagerness. "Well, Caw, just one question more. What is your position,
+supposing those two gentlemen made an attempt by deputy?"
+
+At that Caw smiled for the first time. "If I may say so, sir, I think
+your services would be required for the deputy!" Becoming grave, he
+added--"I have taken the liberty of running a new wire along the passage,
+sir. The opening of the door of my master's room will cause a bell to
+ring--not too loudly--in the quarters you have kindly provided for me in
+this house."
+
+"Capital!" said the doctor.
+
+"And if you, sir, would be good enough to give your housekeeper some
+explanation that would satisfy her without giving away things--"
+
+"That will be all right, Caw," Miss Handyside assured him. "When you get
+to know Mrs. Butters, you will realise that she is not as others are,
+being a woman absolutely without curiosity."
+
+"Thank you, miss." Caw smiled faintly and got up. "Unless there is
+anything more, sir--" he began.
+
+"Nothing at all," said the doctor kindly.
+
+"Thank you, sir. Good-night, sir. Good-night, miss."
+
+"Trustworthy chap," Handyside remarked when the door had closed. "The
+legacy seems to have made no difference, though it upset him for the
+moment. And he knows all that's worth knowing about cars and electric
+lighting," he added rather irrelevantly. "I believe we'll be able to give
+him enough to do, after all."
+
+"Between ourselves, father," said Marjorie suddenly, "have you the
+slightest hope of Alan Craig's return?"
+
+"Not the slightest, my dear. He was a fine lad. I wish you had met him,
+but you were always gadding somewhere when he visited his uncle."
+
+"I shan't be doing much gadding in the near future," she remarked
+thoughtfully.
+
+"Why this sudden change from years of neglecting your only father?"
+
+"I'm going to be on the spot in case anything happens next door."
+
+"Indeed!" said the doctor drily.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+When Teddy France, bidding Doris a formal goodnight, whispered
+"to-morrow" he had in mind a certain reception at the house of a mutual
+acquaintance, and he went home looking forward to meeting her there with
+hopes irrepressible. He felt that the girl he had loved for years was--if
+not with her whole heart--on the verge of surrender; would have been his
+by now but for the untimely entrance of Bullard and the succeeding
+intervention of Mrs. Lancaster; and he lived most of the night and the
+following day in a state of exaltation.
+
+Thus Doris's note, received in the evening, was a blow that seemed to
+crash to the centre of his soul. At first he imagined wicked,
+unreasonable things. Then, his wrath failing, he realised that only one
+thing could have made Doris act as she had done. She had been driven by a
+sudden overpowering pressure. Who had exerted it? Teddy did not doubt the
+mother's ability for coercion any more than her vaunting ambition, and he
+shrunk from blaming the father; yet he feared that Mr. Lancaster, beset
+by financial troubles of which he had long had an inkling, had sought a
+way out through the sacrifice of his daughter. Well, there was nothing to
+be done, he decided in his misery; interference on his part would be
+worse than vain, and would only cause Doris to suffer a little more.
+
+At rather a late hour the craving for a glimpse of her drew him, after
+all, to the reception.
+
+She was dancing when he entered the room, and, with a pang of angry pain,
+he discovered that she was lovelier than ever. Her face gave no hint of
+the heart-sickness she endured; she nodded to him in the old friendly
+way, and the easy recognition brought home to him the cool truth that,
+after all, the wild hopes of the previous night had been of his own
+making, not hers. Yet why had she written and so quickly, to inform him
+of her bargain with Bullard? Was her note just an uncontrollable cry for
+pity, sympathy?
+
+It was after midnight when he led her to a corner in the deserted
+supper-room.
+
+"Shall I congratulate you, Doris?" he asked gently.
+
+"Why, yes, I think you had better," she answered with a bitter little
+smile, "on having done my duty. Don't look so shocked, Teddy," she
+went on, "I had to say it, and you are the only person besides father
+and mother who knows what I have done. And now I'm going to ask a
+great favour."
+
+"Yes, Doris?"
+
+"It is that you will prove your friendship to me--prove it once more,
+Teddy--by never, after to-night, referring to the matter. I'm going to
+try hard not to let it poison my life--for a year, at any rate."
+
+"Very well.... But I must ask at least one question."
+
+"Ask."
+
+"Could _I_ have done anything to prevent this?"
+
+"No one," she answered sadly, "could have done anything, excepting one
+man, and he died last week--Christopher Craig."
+
+"Christopher Craig--dead? No wonder your father has been upset. Of course
+I know of their long friendship in South Africa, and once I was Mr.
+Craig's guest in Scotland along with Alan. The old man had a tremendous
+admiration for you, Doris."
+
+"I loved him, though I did not see him for several years before the end.
+Well, I have answered your question. Have I your promise?"
+
+He put his hand tenderly over hers. "I will give you two promises,
+Doris," he said deliberately; "the one you ask for and another. I promise
+you that Bullard shall never call you his wife!"
+
+"Oh!" she cried, pale. "Why do you say that?"
+
+"Because I mean it--and it is all I have to say." He laughed shortly.
+"But I am going to lay myself out to confound Mr. Bullard within the
+year, and I will do it. Now tell me this, Doris; are you and I to
+continue being friends--openly, I mean?"
+
+"Why not? I must have one friend."
+
+He bent and kissed her hand, and rose abruptly. "Let us go back to
+the dancing before I lose my head," he said, with a twisted smile.
+"And I must not do that when at last I've got something to do that's
+worth doing!"
+
+Teddy was a creature of impulses and instincts not by any means
+infallible. They had led him into blunders and scrapes before now. On the
+other hand, they had protected him from mistakes no less serious. Had he
+been a matter-of-fact person he would have said to himself: "What can I
+do? I know of nothing positive against Bullard. Being a poor man, I
+cannot, by a stroke of the pen, make Lancaster independent of him, and I
+need not waste my wits in plotting to confound him by some great
+financial operation such as I've read of in novels," But what Teddy said
+to himself was something to this effect: "I suspect that Bullard is not
+quite straight, and if one watches such a man for twelve months as though
+one's life depended on the watching, one is likely to learn something.
+The only question at present is where to begin."
+
+It is not to be assumed that Teddy went home from the reception in a
+light-hearted, hopeful condition. On the contrary he was extremely
+harassed, and wished he had kept to himself the brave prophecy made to
+Doris. Nevertheless, dawn found him unshaken in his determination to make
+good that prophecy. If, instead of spending the whole morning in doing
+his duty to the insurance company, he had been able to spend an early
+part of it in a state of invisibility within Bullard's private office, he
+would have justified himself beyond his highest expectations.
+
+
+Bullard on entering the outer office, about nine-thirty, received from
+the chief clerk a curious signal which was equivalent to the words
+"Undesirable waiting to see you. Bolt for private room." But either
+Bullard was slower than usual this morning, or the "Undesirable" too
+alert. Ere the former's hand left the open door the latter stepped round
+it, saying--
+
+"How are you, Mr. Bullard? Been waiting--"
+
+"Get out of this," said Bullard crisply, and stood away from the door.
+
+"Really," said the visitor with an absurdly pained look, "this is a
+very unkind reception." He was a small individual of dark complexion,
+leering eyes and vulgar mouth. His clothing was respectable, if not
+fashionable; he displayed a considerable amount of starched linen of
+indifferent lustre.
+
+"Get out!"
+
+"Give me five minutes." The tone was servile, yet not wholly so. "Worth
+your while, Mr. Bullard."
+
+Bullard looked him up and down. "Very well," he said abruptly. "Close
+that door and follow me." He said no more until they were in his room,
+himself seated at his desk, the other standing a little way off and
+turning his bowler hat between his hands.
+
+"Now, Marvel, what the devil do you want?"
+
+The visitor smiled deprecatingly into his revolving hat. "What do most of
+us want, Mr. Bullard?"
+
+"I'll tell you what most of us do not want--the attentions of the
+police."
+
+"Tut, tut, Mr. Bullard. Of course _we_ don't want that, nor do _we_ need
+it--do _we?_" The impudence of the fellow's manner was exquisite.
+
+Bullard, toying with the nugget on his chain, affected not to notice it.
+Harshly he said: "Eighteen months ago--"
+
+"In this very room, Mr. Bullard--"
+
+"--I handed you five hundred pounds on the express condition that you
+used the ticket for Montreal, which I supplied, and never approached
+me again."
+
+"I am sorry to say," the other said after a moment, "that Canada did not
+agree with my health, and I assure you that I made the five hundred go as
+far as possible."
+
+"All that may be very interesting to yourself and friends--if you
+have any."
+
+"You, Mr. Bullard, are my sole friend."
+
+Bullard grinned. "If you imagine I'm going to be a friend in need, you
+are mightily mistaken!"
+
+"Please don't be nasty, Mr. Bullard--"
+
+"Leave my name alone, and clear out. Time's up." Bullard turned to a pile
+of letters.
+
+"This is a blow," murmured Marvel, "a sad blow. But I would remind you
+that the five hundred was not a gift, but a payment for certain
+documents."
+
+"Quite so. And it closed our acquaintance. Go!"
+
+"I wonder if it did. One moment. I desire to return once more to South
+Africa. Things are looking up there again. With five hundred pounds--"
+
+"That's enough. I'm busy."
+
+"Just another moment. Touching those documents relating to the affair of
+Christopher Craig's brother--"
+
+"Shut up!"
+
+"--it is one of the strangest inadvertencies you ever heard of, Mr.
+Bullard, but the fact remains that, eighteen months ago, I delivered to
+you--not the originals but copies--"
+
+Bullard wheeled round. "Don't try that game, Marvel. You are quite
+capable of forgery, but I made certain that they were originals before I
+burned them."
+
+"Ah, you burned them! What a pity! So you can't compare them with the
+documents I hold--in a very safe place, Mr. Bullard."
+
+"I should not take the trouble in any case. Now will you clear out or
+be thrown?"
+
+"You make it very hard for me. Do you wish me to take the originals to
+Mr. Christopher Craig?"
+
+"Pray do. He's dead."
+
+"Dead!" Mr. Marvel took a step backward. "Dear, dear!" He raised his hat
+to his face as though to screen his emotion and smiled into it. "When did
+it happen?"
+
+"A few days ago. Now, once and for all--"
+
+"Then nothing remains to me but to offer the papers to his brother's son,
+an undoubtedly interested party, Mr. Alan--"
+
+"Alan Craig is also dead."
+
+Mr. Marvel's hat fell to the floor, and lay neglected. Mr. Marvel began
+to laugh softly while Bullard wondered whether the man's sanity, always
+suspect, had given way.
+
+"Come, come, Mr. Bullard," Marvel coughed at last; "come, come!"
+
+"Young Craig," said Bullard, restraining himself, "was lost on an Arctic
+expedition, a year ago."
+
+"Then he must have been found again."
+
+"... What do you say?"
+
+"Why, I saw him--let me see--just fourteen days ago."
+
+"Rot!"
+
+"I'd know Frank Craig's son anywhere, Mr. Bullard; and there he was on
+the quay at Montreal, the day I left. What's the matter?"
+
+With a supreme effort Bullard controlled himself.
+
+"Marvel," he said, "what do you expect to gain by bringing me a lie
+like that?"
+
+"It is no lie," the other returned with a fairly straight glance. "I was
+as near to him as I am to you at this moment. He was in a labourer's
+clothes--"
+
+"Nonsense!"
+
+"--working with a gang on the quay."
+
+"You were mistaken. The search party gave up in despair."
+
+"I know nothing of that, Mr. Bullard, but I'm prepared to take oath--"
+
+"There is no need for Alan Craig, if it were he, to be working as a quay
+labourer. I tell you--"
+
+"I am so sure of what I say, Mr. Bullard, that failing to get my price
+from you, I will cross the Atlantic again, working my passage if need be,
+to place the documents in the hands of that quay labourer. Since his
+uncle old Christopher is dead, there must be something pretty solid
+awaiting him." Marvel, stooping leisurely, picked up his hat and
+carefully eliminated the dent.
+
+"Look here," said Bullard, breaking a silence. "Did you or did you not
+swindle me with those papers?"
+
+"An inadvertence on my part, if you please, Mr. Bullard."
+
+"Oh, go to the devil! You can't blackmail me. Go and work your passage,
+if you like."
+
+The other took a step forward. "Do you think I had better see Mr.
+Lancaster? I could explain to him that he is less guilty in the
+matter of Christopher's brother than he imagines himself to be. I
+could even prove--"
+
+"Lancaster is unwell--"
+
+"My disclosures might make him feel better--eh?"
+
+Bullard felt himself being cornered. He reflected for a moment;
+then--"How are you going to satisfy me that the papers you say you hold
+are the originals?"
+
+"I'm afraid you must take my word for it."
+
+"Your word--ugh! Will you bring them here at nine o'clock to-night?"
+
+"Will you bring L500 in five-pound notes?"
+
+It seemed that they had reached a deadlock. Bullard was thinking
+furiously.
+
+At last he spoke. "No; I will bring one hundred pounds, and I will tell
+you how you may earn--earn mind--the remaining four. If you accept the
+job--not a difficult one--you will give me the papers in exchange for
+the hundred."
+
+"But--"
+
+"Not another word. Take my offer or leave it." Bullard turned to his
+desk. "And don't dare to lie to me again. Also, ask yourself what chance
+your word would have against mine in a court of law?"
+
+At the end of twenty seconds the other said quickly: "I will be here at
+nine," and turned towards the door.
+
+"By the way," Bullard called over his shoulder, "you had better come
+prepared for a night journey. And, I say! as you go out now try to look
+as if you had been damned badly treated. Further, before you come back,
+do what you can to alter that face of yours."
+
+The door closed; Bullard's expression relaxed. For the first time in his
+life he had been within an ace of admitting--to himself--defeat. But all
+was not lost, even if he accepted Marvel's story, which he was very far
+from doing, his intelligence revolting no less at the bare idea of Alan
+Craig's existence than at that of the young man's supporting it as a quay
+labourer. Furthermore, were it proved to him that Alan had actually come
+from the Arctic, he would still not despair. He would have to act at high
+speed, but he was used to crises. As to Mr. Marvel, well, that clever
+person was going to be made useful to begin with; afterwards....
+
+Bullard broke away from the clutches of thought to attend to the more
+urgent letters. He had just finished when his colleague came in.
+
+"Hullo, Lancaster," he cried cheerfully, "I fancied your doctor had
+commanded rest. Glad to see you all the same. As a matter of fact, I was
+coming to look you up shortly."
+
+"Couldn't rest at home," returned Lancaster, seating himself at the
+fire. "I say, Bullard," he said abruptly, "you'll be good to my
+girl--won't you?"
+
+Bullard's eyebrows went up, but his voice was kindly. "Do you doubt it,
+Lancaster?"
+
+"N-no. But you can surely understand my feelings--my anxiety. She--she
+has been a good daughter."
+
+Bullard nodded. "It won't be my fault," he said quietly, "if Doris
+regrets marrying me."
+
+"Thank you, Bullard." As though ashamed of his emotion the older man
+immediately changed the subject. "Anything fresh this morning?"
+
+The other smiled. "One moment." He got up, went to a cabinet and came
+back with a glass containing a little brandy. "The journey to the City
+has tired you. Drink up!"
+
+"Thanks; you are thoughtful." Lancaster took a few sips, and went white.
+"Bullard, have you something bad to tell me?"
+
+"Finish your brandy. ... Well, it might have been worse. Steady! Don't
+get excited, or I shan't tell you."
+
+After a moment--"Go on," said Lancaster.
+
+"Marvel has come back from Canada."
+
+"Ah! ... But I always feared he would. More money, I suppose?"
+
+"Precisely. Only he brought a piece of news which I have so far refused
+to credit, though doubtless stranger things have happened. Pull yourself
+together. Marvel declares that, a fortnight ago, he saw Alan Craig in
+the flesh."
+
+"Alan Craig!" Lancaster fell back in the big chair. "Thank God," he
+murmured, "thank God!" Tears rushed to his eyes.
+
+"Better let me give you details, few as they are, before you give further
+thanks," Bullard said. "Bear in mind what manner of man Marvel is; also,
+that his story was part of a threat to extort money."
+
+A minute later Lancaster was eagerly asking: "But don't you think it may
+be true, Bullard?"
+
+"For the present," was the cool reply, "we are going to act as though it
+were true, as though the will were waste paper--not that I ever
+considered it as anything but a last resource, for its production would
+involve sundry unattractive formalities."
+
+"And yet," said Lancaster uneasily, "you told me once of a man who had
+seen Alan die."
+
+"Leave that out for the present. I shall deal with Flitch presently, and
+God help him if he has played a game of his own! Meantime, the one object
+in view must be the Green Box at Grey House."
+
+"For Heaven's sake be cautious! You spoke of bribing the man Caw, but the
+more I have thought of it--"
+
+"That's past. There is no time for delicate negotiations. If the box is
+still in the house, we must find and take it; if elsewhere, we must make
+other plans. But I'm pretty sure it has not gone to a bank or safe
+deposit. Christopher meant it to remain in the house, so that it should
+be part of his gift to Alan."
+
+"Caw will be on the alert."
+
+"He will not expect a second attempt all at once. Hang it, man, we must
+take risks! L600,000! I'm not going to let any chance slip." Bullard
+went over to his desk and picked up a cablegram. "The Iris mine is
+flooded again. That means at least a couple of thousand less for each of
+us this year."
+
+Lancaster groaned helplessly. "Trouble upon trouble! But I cannot face
+another visit to Christopher's house--"
+
+"Be easy. You shall be spared that. I think I had better tell you nothing
+for the present--except that I may take a run over to Paris within the
+next few days."
+
+"Paris!"
+
+"You can say I'm there if any one asks."
+
+Lancaster drew his hand across his brow. "Sometimes," he said slowly, "I
+wish I were at peace--in jail."
+
+"Don't be a fool! You'll feel differently when we open the Green Box."
+
+The other shook his head. "There's another point that has worried me
+horribly. We have thought we were the only persons outside of Grey
+House who knew of the diamonds; but who was the person who took the box
+that night? Whoever he was he must have seen us and heard something of
+our talk."
+
+"Yes," said Bullard, with a short laugh, "it seems very dreadful and
+mysterious, doesn't it?--especially as Caw recovered the diamonds so
+speedily. I've thought it out, Lancaster, and I've struck only one
+reasonable conclusion. There was no fourth person present that night. Caw
+was fooling us all the time. The cupboard is really a passage to another
+room, made for old Christopher's convenience, no doubt. How's that?"
+
+"Caw acted well, if he were acting. And why should he have suspected
+us at all?"
+
+"Simply because he happened to know what was in the box. Who would trust
+a fellow creature alone with L600,000 in a portable form? And Caw was
+probably in the position of guardian. Have you a better theory?"
+
+Lancaster leaned forward, staring at the carpet. "It came into my mind
+last night," he said in a queerly hushed voice, "that it might have
+been ... Christopher himself."
+
+"Good God, man, positively you must have a change of air! Do you doubt
+that Christopher is dead?"
+
+A pause.
+
+"Bullard, what you and I, his friends, were doing that night was enough
+to--to make him rise--oh, no, I don't mean that--though the diamonds were
+so much to him. It was a crazy thought. I must get rid of it."
+
+"I should say so." Bullard forced a laugh. "Meantime, you may comfort
+your soul with the assurance that you'll have nothing to do with this
+fresh attempt, except to share in the spoil. If I were you, I'd go home
+now and get Doris to join you in a long run into the country. Let the
+wind blow away those absurd fears and fancies. I'm calling on your wife
+this afternoon, you know."
+
+The other rose obediently. "Your news has upset me. I don't know what to
+think. Marvel was always such a liar. I--I suppose nothing I can say or
+do will move you from your present course?"
+
+"Nothing, Lancaster."
+
+Lancaster sighed and with shoulders bowed went out.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+The same night Teddy France started on his quest, wishing with all his
+heart that it were cleaner work. Still a beginning had to be made. He had
+not the flimsiest clue to direct him, but the thought occurred to him
+that it might be worth while to attempt to learn in what manner Bullard
+spent some of his evenings. Bullard, he was aware, had of late been
+living at Bright's Hotel, a select and expensive establishment situated
+within hail of Bond Street.
+
+About eight o'clock Teddy sauntered across the lounge of Bright's, as
+though looking for a friend, and glanced through the glass doors of the
+dining-room. To his satisfaction, he saw the man he wanted, seated at a
+table, alone, and not in his customary evening dress. Teddy retired, left
+the hotel, and at the opposite pavement engaged a taxicab. He got inside,
+after instructing the man to be on the alert. He lit a cigarette, telling
+himself that, by a thousand to one, he had embarked on a futile, idiotic
+errand. However, within half-an-hour, Bullard appeared in the hotel
+doorway, and spoke to a braided personage who promptly whistled for a
+cab. By the time he was on board, the motor of Teddy's cab was running,
+the chauffeur in his seat. Presently the two cabs rolled away from their
+respective pavements.
+
+Five minutes later Teddy let out a grunt of disgust. Bullard was
+evidently making for the City, presumably for his office. "Drop it!" said
+common sense; "go on!" said instinct ... and Teddy went on.
+
+It was nearing nine o'clock when Bullard's cab drew up at the magnificent
+entrance to Manchester House in New Broad Street, at that hour a
+well-nigh deserted thoroughfare. As Teddy was driven past he saw Bullard
+run up the steps. Twenty yards further on he got out, settled with his
+man, and strolled back. Entering the huge headquarters of several hundred
+mining and finance companies, and noting that the lift was closed for the
+night, he proceeded to search the oaken boards which formed a sort of
+directory of the tenants inscribed in gilt lettering. He learned that
+Bullard's office was on the fourth of the nine floors; at the same time
+he memorised the name of a firm on the fifth floor. Then he ascended
+leisurely. Care-takers and cleaners were about, but apparently they had
+finished their tasks above the fourth floor. He spoke to one of them, an
+elderly man.
+
+"Can you tell me if Mr. Stern of Stern & Lynoch has returned?"
+
+"No, sir. I've just left their office on the fifth floor. Nobody there."
+
+Teddy consulted his watch. "I'm a little before my time; guess I'd better
+go up and wait."
+
+The man nodded as one who didn't care whether the enquirer died or lived,
+and went about his business.
+
+There was an indifferent light left on the fifth landing and the stair
+leading to it. Teddy found a point of vantage whence through the wire
+walls of the shaft he could obtain a view, not of Bullard's office
+itself, but of the corridor leading thereto. On the way up he had noted
+that the Aasvogel Syndicate's door was just round the corner and that it
+was the only one showing a light.
+
+Calling himself a fool for his pains, he settled down to the wretched
+game of spying. He had not long to wait--much to his combined
+astonishment and gratification. "This must be my lucky night," he
+reflected. A man appeared on the landing--a foreign-looking person with a
+heavy dark moustache under an oddly shaped nose, wearing eyeglasses, and
+carrying a suit case--and made for the corridor. Ere he turned the corner
+he cast an anxious glance over his shoulder, which glance was more
+cheering to Teddy than a pint of champagne would have been just then. And
+next moment the gentle opening and closing of a door further delighted
+and excited him. Without a doubt the man had gone into Bullard's office!
+
+Within the minute Teddy was again calling himself names. Ass! Was
+there anything even mildly extraordinary in the visitor or the visit?
+After a while he decided that he could not lose much if he transferred
+his espionage to the outside of Manchester House. Fortunately it was a
+fine night, for, as it came to pass, he had nearly two hours to kick
+his heels.
+
+Then the Aasvogel's visitor came forth alone, and in haste, and turned in
+the direction of Liverpool Street. Shortly afterwards he boarded a King's
+Cross bus, mounting to the top. Teddy took a seat inside, still calling
+himself names, yet unable to abandon the absurd chase.
+
+At King's Cross the man, along with a dozen passengers, got out and made
+for the main-line station. Teddy followed at a discreet distance till
+within the booking hall, when he put on speed and contrived to be close
+to his quarry as the latter stopped at a ticket window--first class--to
+Teddy's amaze. He heard him book "return Glasgow."
+
+Now the Glasgow portion of this particular night train, usually an
+exceedingly long one, is next to the engine. Perhaps that is why the
+Great Northern Company has kindly placed a little refreshment saloon
+towards the extremity of the platform. The traveller, after a glance at
+the train, entered the saloon. The weary sleuth resisted the desire for a
+drink and proceeded to stroll up and down the Glasgow portion. Five
+minutes before the train was due to start the traveller reappeared wiping
+his mouth, and got into a vacant compartment. He placed his suit case on
+a seat and went out into the corridor.
+
+"Well," Teddy said to himself, "that jolly well ends it. The old
+story--suspect a Johnny because he doesn't look a handsome gentleman!
+Serves me right!" All the same, he lingered, a few paces from the
+carriage. Four minutes passed and the traveller was still absent. Thirty
+seconds left ... fifteen ... five ... the starting signal ... the first,
+almost imperceptible movement of the prodigious train.
+
+Just then the traveller reappeared in the compartment, picked up the suit
+case, sat down and opened at. But--Teddy sprang forward open-mouthed--it
+wasn't the same man! The train was gathering speed. Teddy ran alongside
+and stared in. The traveller glanced over his shoulder, just as that man
+had done on the office landing, then turned away. But again Teddy had
+caught a glimpse of a profile including an oddly shaped nose. Why, good
+Lord! it _was_ the same man--only the beggar had lost his eyeglasses and
+moustache! ... Our sleuth had made a discovery, indeed, but how on earth
+was it going to profit him? Disregarding expense--no new failing on his
+part, to be sure--he took a cab back to Manchester House.
+
+The Aasvogel office was in darkness. The surmise might easily be wrong,
+Teddy admitted to himself, yet it did look confoundedly as though
+Bullard had returned to the City that night with the particular object
+of meeting the quick-change gentleman now on his way to Glasgow. At all
+events the affair was interesting enough to spoil another night's rest
+for Teddy France.
+
+Two mornings later Bullard received the following brief note, which was
+undated and unsigned, in an envelope postmarked Glasgow:
+
+"No one on premises at night. Probably tomorrow night."
+
+Bullard informed the chief clerk and telephoned to Lancaster that he was
+leaving for Paris by the night train. Apparently he reached there safely,
+for next morning the office received a telegram relating to some company
+business, not, perhaps, of the first importance, handed in at the Gare du
+Nord office and signed Bullard. And Teddy, calling at the Lancasters'
+house in the evening, just to obtain a glimpse of his beloved, who alas!
+was with a dinner and theatre party, learned from Mr. Lancaster, who was
+always glad to see the young man, that Mr. Bullard had run over to Paris.
+Which was naturally rather astounding news to Teddy, whose own eyes had
+seen Mr. Bullard enter the Glasgow sleeping car at Euston, about
+twenty-four hours earlier.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+Dr. Handyside was too fond of his easy-going seaside existence to be
+readily induced to leave home. At the same time, he had not severed all
+ties with Glasgow, which ties included a select coterie of kindred
+spirits who dined together once a month during the winter in a somewhat
+old-fashioned restaurant; and he would have been exceedingly loth to
+miss one of their cosy gatherings. But he insisted on sleeping in his
+own bed, and accordingly, there being no steamer connection at so late
+an hour, it was his custom to return by train to Helensburgh and thence
+complete the journey in his car which he drove himself, reaching home
+shortly after midnight.
+
+To-night's dinner, however, had seemed hopelessly beyond his reach, owing
+to his injured foot, which as yet merely allowed him to hobble a few
+yards, and which would have been worse than useless in driving. But we
+are never too old to worry over trifles, and in the course of the
+morning, while in the garage, he blurted out the difficulty to Caw. It
+was really an appeal, and at any other time Caw would have been mildly
+amused. Now he was embarrassed, for while anxious to oblige the doctor,
+he had no intention of losing all connection with Grey House for several
+hours in the middle of the night.
+
+He shook his head. "I only wish I could drive you home to-night, sir," he
+said, "but you see--"
+
+"All right, Caw," said Handyside, looking ashamed of himself, and hobbled
+off, still hankering, however.
+
+An hour later Caw came to him in the study, and presented an open
+telegram. "Will you be pleased to look at this, sir?"
+
+The doctor read:--
+
+"Registered letter received. Best policy.
+
+"BULLARD."
+
+"God bless me, Caw!--the man's in Paris!"
+
+"Quite so, sir. I shall be glad to have your instructions for this
+evening, sir. Very thoughtful of Mr. Bullard, if I may say so--damn
+him!"--the last inaudible.
+
+"I've been wondering whether he would acknowledge the notes," said
+Handyside, brightening up and hobbling to the door. "Marjorie," he
+called, "for Heaven's sake see if I've got a decent tie for to-night!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And now it was midnight. The southerly gale which had broken out late in
+the afternoon was booming up the loch, bombarding the house, and gusts of
+bitter rain were thrashing the exposed windows.
+
+Marjorie flung a couple of logs on the study fire and returned to her
+book. She had prepared sundry comforts for her father and was
+awaiting, not without anxiety, his arrival. She was thankful he had
+Caw with him. A large portion of the journey was being made in the
+very teeth of the tempest.
+
+A tap on the door brought her round with a start. It was only Mrs.
+Butters, the housekeeper, or, to be precise, the head and shoulders of
+that estimable but slow-witted female, heavily swathed in a couple of
+grey shawls.
+
+"What on earth is the matter?" exclaimed Marjorie. "Why aren't you in
+bed?"
+
+"Please, miss, do you think I might do something to stop the alarum clock
+of that Mr. Caw?" Mrs. Butters was not yet at all sure of Caw. "It's been
+ringin' for close on an hour, and I can't--"
+
+The girl was up like a shot--her face set, her hands clenched. What was
+she to do? It would take an age to explain to the housekeeper, who, when
+she did understand, would in all probability simply howl helplessly.
+
+"Close on an hour," she said to herself. "Oh, Heavens, the thing must
+have been done long ago!" Still, she could not be absolutely sure. She
+glanced at the clock. No, her father and Caw were not even due yet....
+"Mrs. Butters," she managed to say in a fairly steady voice, "please go
+back to bed. I--I'll attend to the alarum immediately. Go at once or
+you'll catch your death of cold."
+
+Left alone, she grew pale, but within the moment she had crossed to a
+bureau--her own--and was taking out a purchase made in Glasgow the
+previous day. "Oh, why didn't I practise in the wood this morning, as I
+said I would?" she sighed, fumbling with a little ivory-handled
+revolver. She shuddered. "Oh, I can't ... I daren't ... I _must_!" And
+ran from the room.
+
+Marjorie will never forget that journey through the passage, her light a
+flickering taper, for the electric illumination was no longer in
+operation. At the end of it she had literally to force her limbs to mount
+the narrow stairs. At the top, with her ear to the closed door, she could
+hear nothing save her pounding heart. There was no keyhole, no crevice
+whereby she might know whether it was light or dark on the other side.
+Caw had spoken that morning of making a peep-hole in the door. She would
+have given much for one now. And the taper was burning fast.
+
+"They must have gone," she thought, "yet how can I be sure? On such a
+night they might be tempted to stay awhile from the storm." Hand with
+revolver pressed to breast, she listened again. Not a sound. But the
+silence might be explained by the presence of a solitary man, she told
+herself, not necessarily one of the two she had seen that other night. A
+rough brute, perhaps, who would stick at nothing in that empty house. Yet
+the very thought pricked her courage even at the moment when the
+descending flame stung her finger. Unlike Caw she was under no obligation
+to his late master. If a thief was there, she would shoot before she
+would let the Green Box go.
+
+She dropped the taper, trod on it, and gasped to find herself in utter
+darkness. Once more she laid her ear against the panel, and this time,
+surely, a sound reached the straining nerves--a faint noise of something
+solid though not ponderous falling upon something less resonant than
+wood, less dulling than carpet. She felt like collapsing. But her will,
+her pride, came to the rescue. "If I don't open that door," she said to
+herself, "I'll be ashamed of myself for the rest of my days."
+
+Her finger fluttered on the spring-button and pressed; her hand pushed.
+As the door gave she perceived that the room _was_ lighted, though not
+brilliantly; she heard nothing but a howling of wind and a rattling of
+rain. A whiff of smoky coal met her nostrils. The silent moving door was
+now half open. She took a couple of steps inwards and halted, her left
+hand clinging to the door's edge, her right clutching the pretty weapon.
+And she all but screamed....
+
+Under the lights of two candles on the mantel, in an easy-chair drawn up
+to the recently kindled fire, reclined a man, his head thrown back, his
+eyes closed. His legs were outstretched, his boots on the hearth,
+steaming, one of them in dangerous proximity to a large coal evidently
+newly fallen. On another chair lay a drenched greatcoat and cap.
+
+The man was young, somewhat slight of build, of fresh and pleasing
+countenance, clean shaven, of indeterminate colouring. His crisp hair was
+so trim in spite of its dampness as to suggest the attentions of a barber
+within the last twelve hours. His hands were rough and bore traces of
+scars; the fingers, though slender for a man, might have belonged to a
+labourer's; the first and second of the left hand resting on the
+chair-arm held a cigarette--unlighted. The expression of his countenance
+was happy--contentedly so.
+
+"Oh!" thought Marjorie, "he _couldn't_ steal!" and in the same breath
+perceived that he was not asleep. He moved slightly, with a lazy grunt.
+
+His hand wandered to a pocket, felt within, came out empty, and wandered
+to another, with like result. "Hang it!" he muttered, and opening his
+eyes, tried, absurdly enough, to see what might be on the mantel without
+the trouble of rising.
+
+Neither bold nor fearful now, simply fascinated and wondering whether he
+would get up or do without matches, Marjorie watched him. And the next
+thing she knew was that his eyes were staring into hers. Then fear,
+suspicion and sense of duty returned with a rush. The men who had already
+attempted to steal the Green Box had been just as well dressed--better,
+indeed. She was taking no chances. With firm determination, but also with
+a wavering hand, she raised the revolver.
+
+"Great Heaven!" shouted the young man, "be carefull or you'll hurt
+yourself!" He wriggled up and sprang to his feet.
+
+"Who--who are you?" Marjorie demanded with a regrettable quaver. "Have
+you come after the Green Box? Because, if so--"
+
+"Would you mind," he said very gently, "putting down your pistol? Those
+things are so apt to go off unexpectedly, and at the moment you appear to
+be aiming at my uncle's best beloved Bone--"
+
+The revolver fell softly on the thick carpet. Marjorie felt like
+falling after it.
+
+"Thank you," he said gratefully. "You have mentioned a Green Box, but
+having brought no luggage, I don't seem to grasp--"
+
+"Your uncle!" she whispered.
+
+"Mr. Christopher Craig." He regarded her for a moment and his expression
+changed. "Good Lord!" he exclaimed, "is it possible that he is no longer
+tenant of the house? You see, I arrived late, and deciding not to disturb
+any one, just proceeded to make myself comfortable for the night, and--"
+
+Marjorie pulled herself together. "You are not--"
+
+At that instant Caw, breathing hard, sprang from the darkness, then
+stopped as if shot.
+
+"Well, Caw," said the young man, "I'm jolly glad to see you."
+
+"Oh, my good God!" gasped Caw, "it's Mr. Alan!" He began to shake
+where he stood.
+
+"Confound me!" said the young man under his breath, "I clean forgot I was
+supposed to be dead a year." He strode over to the servant. "Shake hands,
+Caw, just to make sure I'm of ordinary flesh and blood. I'm sorry to have
+upset you like this," He turned to the girl. "And to you I make my
+apology for having alarmed--"
+
+"You didn't!"
+
+"--for imagining I had alarmed you," he corrected himself with a bow and
+twinkling eyes.
+
+The latter drew her smile despite her still jangling nerves. "I suppose I
+have to apologise, too," she said, "for taking you for a--a burglar."
+
+"Not at all, because--I may as well confess it at once--no burglar can be
+more anxious to avoid discovery than I am--or was."
+
+Caw found his speech. "Mr. Alan, sir, I--I haven't words to express my
+feelings at seeing you alive and well--I really haven't." He turned away
+with a heave of his shoulders as Dr. Handyside, limping painfully,
+appeared in the doorway.
+
+It was his turn to be astounded, but his welcome when it came was of the
+heartiest. "I take it," he went on, "that Marjorie, my daughter, and you
+have already made each other's acquaintance."
+
+"If Miss Handyside will have it so," said Alan, repressing a smile as
+Marjorie, with a decided return of colour, stooped and secured the
+revolver which had escaped her parent's eye. "Naturally Miss Handyside
+was a little surprised to find me here until I explained who I was." His
+gaze travelled to the servant who stood apart in meditative regard of the
+clock. "Caw, how is my uncle?"
+
+Handyside prevented a pause. "There is so much to tell you, Mr. Craig,
+that I propose an adjournment to my study where we shall find some
+refreshment which I fancy you can do with. You are not aware, I believe,
+that your uncle had a private passage built between our two houses, which
+not only explains our appearance here, but provides a short route to food
+and warmth."
+
+"Then my uncle--" began Alan, evidently a little puzzled.
+
+"Your pardon, Mr. Alan," said Caw, coming forward, "but it is necessary
+to ask you one question. How did you get into the house?"
+
+The young man laughed. "I suppose you don't think it worth while locking
+doors in these unsophisticated parts. After I had rung twice, and was
+wondering what was going to happen to me, I found that the outer door was
+unfastened and that the inner door was not locked. So I came in and made
+myself at home, unwilling to disturb--What's the matter. Caw? And you,
+doctor? Why, Miss Handyside, what have I said?"
+
+But none of the gravely concerned faces was looking in his direction.
+
+With a heavy sigh Caw went over to the writing table, stopped and drew
+out the deep drawer on the right.
+
+For a moment or two there was no sound save that of the storm. Then, with
+a gesture of hopelessness, Caw slowly raised himself.
+
+"Yes," he said, in a small, bitter voice, "it is gone!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+Alan Craig, as he afterwards stated, had entered Grey House at a quarter
+before midnight; the clock had attracted his attention as soon as he lit
+the candles. The candles, he had noticed, had been used not long
+previously, for the wicks were softish, and he had been aware of an odour
+of tobacco, not stale, in the atmosphere of the study. These two little
+discoveries had been sufficient to end the incipient idea induced by the
+stillness and chilliness that the house might be temporarily uninhabited.
+
+Less than half an hour prior to Alan's arrival, the man Marvel left by
+unbolting the outer door. He had entered by cutting through a lightly
+barred window at the back, and would have retired by the same way but for
+the fact that he had wounded one of his hands rather severely, and could
+not risk disturbing his rough and hasty bandage.
+
+But though injured and drenched to the skin, and facing a long tramp in
+the vilest of weather, he turned from the gates of Grey House in a fairly
+cheerful temper. He had done the job and done it easily. The Green Box
+reposed in his suit case, and would fetch four hundred pounds on
+delivery. Only four hundred pounds? Well, Mr. Bullard had named that sum,
+but perhaps--and Mr. Marvel grinned against the gale--Mr. Bullard was not
+going to get off quite so cheaply. To Marvel's sort, possession is not
+just a miserable nine points of the law: it is all the law and as much of
+the profits as trickery can extract.
+
+No, no!--he stumbled in the almost pitch darkness, and cursed
+briefly--Mr. Bullard was not going to handle his Green Box for much less
+than a thousand pounds! If only the key had been available, reflected
+this choice specimen of humanity, he would have had a look at the
+contents. Papers, Mr. Bullard had said--more incriminating documents, no
+doubt! Mr. Bullard was a very nice man, he was, but he could not always
+have it his own way. Mr. Bullard ...
+
+A sound in, but not of, the storm, muttered in Marvel's ears. Peering
+ahead, he descried a small light. He was passing a wood at the time, and
+the windy tumult as well as the roaring from the loch made confusion for
+his hearing; but presently he recognised the intruding sound as the
+throbbing of a motor. "Some silly fool got a breakdown," he was thinking
+sympathetically, when a terrific gust caught and fairly staggered him.
+Ere he fully recovered balance and breath something cold and clammy fell
+upon his face, was dragged down over his shoulders and arms, blinding,
+pinioning him. The suit case was rudely wrenched from his hand; he was
+violently pushed and tripped; and with a stifled yell he fell heavily on
+the footpath and rolled into the brimming gutter.... By the time he
+regained footing, the use of eyes and ears, there was no light visible,
+no sound save that of wrathful nature.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the doctor's study it was the host who undertook the duty of breaking
+to Alan the news of his uncle's death; it was Caw who informed him of the
+old man's thought for him during the last year of life, on the very last
+day of it.
+
+"You must understand, sir," the servant added, "that from the day after
+you went away my master was living not in his own house, but in yours. It
+pleased him to think of it that way, sir. 'I am not leaving my nephew
+anything,' he used to say to me; 'I have given him what I had to give.'
+He always believed in your safe return, though to others it seemed so
+impossible. There are many things to be told--you have already witnessed
+something that must have puzzled you, sir--but with your permission I
+will say no more till tomorrow, when I have got my wits together again,
+as it were."
+
+"I think I can keep my curiosity under till then, Caw," said the young
+man, "and, to tell the truth, I don't feel equal to talking about my
+Uncle Christopher's affairs just yet. But if Dr. Handyside isn't too
+tired, I'd like to explain without delay why I made a secret of my
+existence, also why I came home--well, like a thief in the night." He
+glanced a little quizzingly at Marjorie, who blushed and retorted
+good-humouredly--
+
+"Don't you think you owe me--us--the explanation, Mr. Craig?"
+
+"Mr. Craig owes us nothing," Handyside said; "and I ought to remind him
+that while we were his uncle's friends--his most intimate friends, I
+might say, these five years--we are now, in a sense, intruders who have
+no claim whatever on Mr. Craig's confidence. Further"--the doctor's tone
+became rueful--"I fear I am greatly to blame--"
+
+Alan interposed, "I want you to accept my confidence. I came home
+expecting to find myself as poor as when I went to the Arctic, and now I
+find my good uncle has altered all that, and in my new circumstances I
+may decide to change certain plans I had made. But I must first put
+myself right with my uncle's friends as well as his trusted servant. I'll
+make a short story of it--just the bare facts."
+
+"As you will," said the doctor. "Caw, take a chair."
+
+"If I may say so, sir, I prefer to stand."
+
+"Caw," said Miss Handyside, "take a chair."
+
+"Very good, miss," said Caw, and seated himself near the door.
+
+"As I learned by consulting old newspapers on the other side," said Alan,
+"the expedition returned home safely at the time appointed; but I was
+reported lost--lost while out hunting. I'll start from that hunting
+episode, though trifling incidents had happened before then, which ought,
+perhaps, to have put me on the alert. One of the best shots, if not the
+best, in the expedition was a man named Flitch. Like myself, he joined in
+place of another man, almost at the last moment. He was a rough
+character, and his position was merely that of an odd-job man, but I must
+say he did most things well, especially in the mechanical line. He and I
+had frequently made hunting excursions together, but always with one or
+two other members of the party. And now, for the first time, we went out
+from the camp alone."
+
+"Oh!" murmured Marjorie.
+
+"We tramped an unusually long way from the camp--at Flitch's instigation,
+as I recognised afterwards; but in the end we were rewarded by coming on
+a fine bear. 'You take first shot,' said Flitch, in his curt, sullen
+fashion. I did, and was lucky. But the gun was not down from my shoulder
+when Flitch deliberately shot me in the back--not with his gun, but with
+a revolver he had never shown before--"
+
+"The dirty hound!" growled Caw.
+
+"I fell, feeling horribly sick, and as I lay I saw him toss the revolver
+into a seal hole. Then, as he stood staring at me, I must have fainted."
+
+"The beast!" cried Marjorie.
+
+"When I came to myself--how long I remained unconscious, I never learned
+exactly--I was on a sort of bed, and an aged Eskimo was bending over me.
+I had been picked up by a couple of his party out after seals. I must
+have lain there for weeks under the care of that queer old medicine man
+who, somehow, contrived to doctor or bewitch me back from the grave, for
+the wound was rather a bad one. The Eskimos treated me very decently, and
+it was not till I was convalescent that I realised I was their prisoner.
+I rather think they must have fled with me from the search party
+mentioned in the newspapers. The tribe, as far as I could gather, had a
+grudge against white men in general, though not against any person in
+particular. Well, I practically became one of them for the winter that
+followed. In time I grew fit and ready for anything, but they had annexed
+my gun and other belongings, which left me pretty helpless. However, I
+had the luck to save one of the young men during a tussle with a bear,
+and he was absurdly grateful. Eventually he planned a way of escape and
+guided me, after a good many mishaps, to an American whaler that had been
+compelled to winter in the ice. I told the skipper most of my story, but
+begged him to keep it quiet from the others, and between us we invented a
+plausible enough tale for the crew. The ship came out of the ice all
+right, but was wrecked, by running ashore, on the homeward trip. Some of
+us got to land and found our way into British Columbia. I had enough
+money to take me across Canada, but when I got to Montreal I was
+penniless. I took any jobs that offered until I had scraped together
+enough for a steerage ticket home--"
+
+"But my master would have sent anything you had asked for!"
+exclaimed Caw.
+
+"I did not doubt it. Only, you see, I was desperately afraid of my
+existence getting known, and--"
+
+"But why?"--from the impulsive Marjorie.
+
+"An obsession, if you like," said Alan with a grave smile. "During all
+the time of my convalescence, and in all the periods of leisure that
+followed, I kept wondering what on earth had made Flitch want to kill me.
+We had never had anything like a quarrel, and what had he to gain by my
+death? He had robbed me of nothing. It's a great big 'Why,' and I've got
+to find the answer to it. But I'm keeping you from bed."
+
+"Go ahead," said Handyside. "Have you no suspicions?"
+
+"I have; but they seem a bit far-fetched, especially now that I'm home.
+At any rate, I dare not mention them yet.... I arrived in Glasgow this
+afternoon, and got made as civilised-looking as was possible in a couple
+of hours. I had intended coming on here by rail and steamer, but an
+out-of-date time-table deceived me, and too late I found that the winter
+service just started gave no train after five. At the hotel they
+suggested motoring, and after a meal I started on what seemed a first
+rate car. But we had a breakdown lasting an hour, a dozen miles out of
+Glasgow, and then, running down Garelochside in the face of the storm, we
+smashed into the ditch. After making sure that the car was hopeless, I
+left the man at a wayside cottage and tramped the rest of the way. Hence
+my late arrival, and you know the rest."
+
+"May I ask," said Caw, "if you met anybody on the road--near home, I
+mean?"
+
+"I passed a person who seemed to be intoxicated, if judged by his violent
+language, but in the darkness and the rain we must have been practically
+invisible to each other."
+
+"If he was using bad language, sir," said Caw, rising, "he was certainly
+not the party I am thinking of. May I retire, gentlemen?" he inquired,
+glancing towards Miss Handyside.
+
+"Yes, Caw. You will have much to tell Mr. Craig to-morrow," said the
+doctor. "I leave it to you to explain why you were absent to-night. I
+doubt I shall never get over it."
+
+Caw made a stiff little inclination, saying, "My fault alone, sir,"
+and went out.
+
+"There goes a good and faithful servant," remarked Handyside; "and a good
+chauffeur, too," he added with a heavy sigh.
+
+"Mr. Craig," said Marjorie, breaking a silence, "do you wish us to
+regard you as non-existent--I mean to say, do you wish your return to be
+kept a secret?"
+
+"I'm going to sleep on that question, Miss Handyside," he replied.
+
+"I can keep a secret rather well, and I believe father can, too," she
+said. "Won't you tell us whom you sus--"
+
+"Marjorie," the doctor interposed, "the lateness of the hour is telling
+on your discretion."
+
+"I'm afraid it is." She got up, went to her bureau, scribbled something
+on a half sheet of paper, folded it neatly, and presented it to Alan.
+"Don't look at it till you are in your room," she said softly. "Good
+night, and sleep well."
+
+Ten minutes later, in the guest's bedroom, Alan opened the paper and read
+the words--
+
+"Mr. Bullard?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+By ten o'clock next morning Caw, who had risen at five, had Grey House in
+a fair state of comfort for the reception of its new master, if not its
+new owner. The producers of warmth and electricity were at work again;
+the elderly housekeeper, who in Christopher's time had never been
+upstairs, was recalled from a near village just when she was beginning to
+wonder whether, after all, perfect happiness was included in retirement
+with an ample annuity, in the garden a man was already reducing the more
+apparent ravages of the gale. Caw himself quietly repaired the moderate
+damage done by the thief of the Green Box. Following the instructions
+written by his late master, he had sent a telegram to the Glasgow lawyer.
+He was in the study dusting the thick glass protecting the clock when,
+about ten thirty, Alan arrived via the passage.
+
+"An odd place for a clock," the young man remarked. "I had a look at it
+last night. But why 'dangerous,' and what's that green stuff?"
+
+"Mr. Craig intended that the clock should not be interfered with before
+it stopped--nearly a year hence, sir. I understand the liquid is
+something stronger than water, but whether explosive or poisonous, I
+could not say, sir."
+
+"Curious notion!" Alan pointed to the pendulum flashing gloriously in the
+sunlight now breaking through the racing clouds. "Are they diamonds?"
+
+"Yes, sir. Worth, I have heard, about two thousand pounds."
+
+"Then, of course, they would account for the precautions."
+
+"Very likely, sir. Only I have a feeling that this clock has a meaning
+which we shall not learn until it stops. The maker constructed it in a
+locked room in this house, of which my master had the key, and I think my
+master knew even more about it than Monsoor Guidet did. Is the
+temperature here agreeable to you, sir?"
+
+"A trifle warm, don't you think?"
+
+"It shall be regulated to suit you, sir. Mr. Craig was sensitive to a
+degree, one way or the other."
+
+Alan turned abruptly from the clock which, somehow, he was finding
+fascinating. "Well, now, Caw," he said, dropping into an easy chair by
+the fire, "hadn't you better begin to explain things?"
+
+"At once, if you wish it, sir. But I'm hoping that Mr. Craig's lawyer
+from Glasgow, Mr. Harvie, will be here at noon, and as he may have fuller
+information than I can give, I was wondering if you would not care to
+hear him first. Indeed, Mr. Alan, I think it would be worth your while to
+wait, I could tell you a good deal, but my master did not tell me
+everything, though I have sometimes thought he meant to tell me more--"
+
+"Very well, Caw. I'll ask only one question for the present. Did my uncle
+see anything of Mr. Bullard within the last few months of his life?"
+
+Caw let fall the duster and recovered it before he answered: "Yes, sir.
+On the afternoon of the day of his death Mr. Bullard and Mr. Lancaster
+sat in this room with him."
+
+"Mr. Lancaster, too!"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"Thanks; that will do for the present. Now I have a letter to write. By
+the bye, do you remember my friend, Mr. France, being here once? I am
+going to send for him."
+
+"I remember Mr. France very well indeed, sir, and I will do my best to
+make him comfortable. I think you will find everything here," Caw moved
+the chair at the desk.
+
+Alan got up, then hesitated. "Do you know, Caw, I can hardly bring myself
+to take possession in this cool fashion right away."
+
+"My master would have wished for nothing better. You will remember, sir,
+that all has been yours for the last eighteen months." Caw made the stiff
+little bow that betokened retiral.
+
+"A moment. Caw," said the young man. "I take it that you would have done
+anything for my uncle."
+
+"That is so," was the quiet reply, "and, if I may say so, Mr. Alan, I am
+here to do anything for you."
+
+He was gone, leaving Alan perplexed and not a little touched, for he
+could not doubt the man's sincerity. Presently he sat down and wrote to
+Teddy France, disguising his writing as much as possible.
+
+"My dear Teddy:
+
+"Before you go further, get a grip on yourself, then turn the page very
+slowly and look at the signature. Have you done so? You see, I want
+firstly to avoid giving you a sudden scare, and I hope it has been at
+least modified, old man; secondly, though I'm very much alive, I'm not
+advertising the fact at present and trust you to help me in keeping it
+dark. My story is too long to put on paper, but you shall have it all as
+soon as you can come to listen. Is it possible for you to get leave at
+once and come here for a couple of days? I badly want to see you again
+and ask your help and advice. Wire me on receipt of this. Relying on your
+secrecy,
+
+"Yours as ever,
+
+"ALAN CRAIG.
+
+"P.S.: I'd like Doris to know, but only if you can find a way to tell her
+secretly. Ask her to trust me for a little while."
+
+The visit of Mr. Harvie, the lawyer, who arrived at noon, meant little
+but disappointment for Alan. After a few polite words of congratulation,
+the lawyer dived into business, explaining Alan's position as the result
+of his uncle's deed of gift, and reciting a short list of securities
+mixed up with money figures.
+
+"All very simple and satisfactory so far as it goes, Mr. Craig," he said,
+"and, of course, I am always at your service should you think I can be of
+the slightest help. Your uncle's will provided only for a legacy and an
+annuity to the male and female servants, also a thousand pounds to Dr.
+Handyside, the residue, about four thousand pounds, falling to yourself.
+My duty for the present ends with the delivery of this"--he handed an
+envelope to Alan--"though my responsibilities do not cease until the
+clock stops."
+
+"I wish you would explain the clock, Mr. Harvie."
+
+Mr. Harvie wagged his head. "My knowledge concerning the clock is
+confined to written instructions of my late client, whereby I shall be
+present when it stops, but my duties then will depend on circumstances.
+The significance of the clock itself I do not yet comprehend. All I know
+is that the clock will run a year from the date of my client's death, and
+that, at least twenty-four hours prior to the stoppage, I shall be warned
+and informed of the hour at which I must be present." He paused to purse
+his lips and continued: "I do not think you will resent my remarking, Mr.
+Craig, that for as sane a business man as ever I met, your uncle had some
+of the oddest ideas--which, nevertheless, you and I are bound to respect.
+Possibly a chat with Mr. Caw may dispel some of the fog you have stepped
+into on your otherwise fortunate and happy return home. I feel that Mr.
+Caw knows a great deal more than I, but in this case, at any rate"--Mr.
+Harvie permitted himself to smile--"what I do not know is none of my
+business."
+
+"You can assure me that absolutely everything in this house belongs to
+me?" said Alan after a short silence. "You know of nothing which my uncle
+intended to make over to friends?"
+
+"Nothing whatever. Mr. Craig was absolutely clear on that point when I
+drew up the Deed of Gift. Still, as I have said, in any new difficulty I
+am at your service. I liked your uncle, Mr. Craig. I once mentioned a sad
+case of unmerited poverty to him, and his generosity astonished, nay,
+shamed me. You have a good man's place to fill."
+
+Mr. Harvie stayed to lunch--Caw performed wonders in the
+circumstances--and caught the two o'clock steamer. As soon as he was
+gone, Alan opened the envelope. If he had looked for revelations within,
+he was bound to be once more disappointed. The enclosure consisted simply
+of a letter, and not a lengthy one at that.
+
+"GREY HOUSE,
+
+"26th October, 1913.
+
+"My dear Alan:
+
+"It is written that we shall not meet again. My malady grows daily worse,
+and the end may come at any moment. But I am of good cheer because of my
+faith in your ultimate return. Whence comes that faith I cannot tell--but
+whence comes any great and steadfast faith? When you come into this house
+and the little fortune that has been yours since you left for the Arctic,
+you may meet with some puzzling things; you may even be tempted to say,
+or think, that the old man must have been a little 'cracked.' But one
+must amuse oneself, especially when thought gnaws and time hangs heavy;
+and if there happens to be a way of attaining one's chief desires which
+is not altogether a tiresome and conventional way, why not choose it, as
+I have done? Should my whims cost you trouble or annoyance, forgive me.
+Let things take their course, if at all possible, till the Clock stops.
+Trust Caw, who knows as much as I care for any one to know; Lawyer
+Harvie, who knows next to nothing; Handyside and his daughter who may, or
+may not, know anything. In my latter days my trust in human nature has
+been shaken, though not destroyed; yet I say to you: Rather a host of
+declared enemies than one doubtful friend. Farewell, Alan, and may God
+send you happiness. A man can make pleasure for himself.
+
+"Your affectionate uncle,
+
+"CHRISTOPHER CRAIG."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+After a little while Alan rang for Caw.
+
+The servant's eyes held a glimmer of anticipation induced by the lawyer's
+visit. Surely Mr. Harvie had been able to divulge something that would
+render his coming task a little easier, for Caw had still to tell of the
+Green Box and at the same time conceal the fact that Christopher Craig
+had died at bitter enmity with his two old friends--or at all events, the
+grounds of that enmity. As though Christopher had wished to lay
+particular stress on his desire for such concealment, Caw had found among
+his written instructions the following words: "At all costs, my nephew is
+to be spared the tragedy of his parents' ruin."
+
+At Alan's first remark the glimmer went out.
+
+"No, Caw, I'm no wiser than I was this morning. Mr. Harvie knows nothing
+except that he is to be present when the clock stops, and a letter
+written to me by my uncle, which he gave me, leaves me as much in the
+dark as ever. My uncle's letter says, however, that I am to trust you,
+and that you know more than any one."
+
+Caw made a slight inclination. "May I ask if the letter makes mention of
+Dr. Handyside and Miss Handyside, sir?"
+
+"I am to trust them also," Alan replied, with a smile, "as well as
+Mr. Harvie."
+
+"Thank you, sir. As you have seen, sir, I have ventured to trust Dr.
+Handyside and Miss Handyside a bit of my own; in fact I was forced into
+so doing; and, though I had my master's word for it, if necessary, I am
+glad to hear it again from you, sir. As for Mr. Harvie, I take leave to
+hope we shall not require to trust him."
+
+"Why on earth--?"
+
+"Well, sir, he's a lawyer--"
+
+"Good lord, Caw! What are you driving at? My uncle trusted him, and
+his letter--"
+
+"If you'll excuse me, sir, you have just been telling me that Mr. Harvie
+knows next to nothing. Mr. Harvie, I beg to say, is a very nice
+gentleman, and as honest as any lawyer need hope for to be; but a lawyer
+is the last sort of human being we want to have in this business, sir."
+
+"I'm afraid I don't quite grasp--" began Alan, amused by the other's
+earnestness.
+
+"Well, sir, did you ever go to a lawyer to ask a question?"
+
+"I can't say I have, that I remember."
+
+"Then, sir, I have. I once asked a lawyer one question, and before he
+could, or would, answer it, sir, he asked me fifty, and then his answer
+was rot--beg pardon, sir--unsatisfactory. But what I mean is just this,
+sir. With all due deference to Mr. Harvie, we don't want outsiders asking
+questions. My master himself would have been against it, and I'm hoping
+you will understand why before very long, sir."
+
+Alan sat up. "Before we go any further," he said, "will you tell me what
+you were looking for last night when you opened a drawer in that
+writing-table and--well, go ahead."
+
+Caw took out his handkerchief and wiped his brow. "A green box, sir, that
+had been there a few hours earlier."
+
+"The contents?"
+
+"Diamonds, sir."
+
+"What?"
+
+"Diamonds, sir."
+
+"I didn't know there were diamonds--except in that pendulum."
+
+The other gave a faint sigh.
+
+"Were those in the box of any great value?"
+
+Caw moistened his lips. "Six hundred thousand pounds--"
+
+"Oh, nonsense!"
+
+"My master's words, sir."
+
+"Then--why should they have been left lying there?"
+
+"My master's orders, sir."
+
+Alan opened his mouth, but found no speech. Said Caw: "You find it
+difficult to believe, sir, but there are other things just as difficult.
+For instance, I was forbidden to use any violence to prevent the box
+being taken away--that is, taken away by certain parties. A horrid
+position for me, sir."
+
+"Yes," assented Alan, absently. Presently he went on: "Don't imagine
+that I doubt anything you have said, Caw--except that the diamonds,
+whose value there must surely be some extraordinary mistake about, were
+in the box."
+
+"But, Mr. Alan, I can swear they were! It was I who closed and put the
+box in the drawer for the last time, at my master's request. He had been
+admiring them, as he often did--"
+
+"Who were the parties who were to be allowed to take the box?"
+
+After a moment's hesitation,--"Mr. Bullard, sir, and Mr. Lancaster. They
+were the only persons besides myself who knew about the diamonds. I
+should tell you that my master showed them the diamonds that afternoon."
+
+"Good God!" said Alan under his breath. Aloud: "Are you telling me that
+you suspect those two gentlemen of st--taking the box?"
+
+"They came here late on the night after my master's death, with that
+object, sir."
+
+"But the box was taken last night."
+
+"I can't swear that it was they who were here last night, but I can swear
+they would have had the box on the night I have named, sir, but for Miss
+Handyside."
+
+"Miss Handyside! ... Sit down, man, and tell your story. I'll try not to
+interrupt."
+
+"Thank you, sir." Caw drew a chair from the wall; for once he was glad to
+be seated. He told his story in a crisp, straightforward fashion,
+avoiding side issues, and his listener heard him out in silence.
+
+There was a pause before the latter spoke.
+
+"You've given me something to think about, Caw," he said gravely.
+"Meantime I'll ask only three questions. Have you any doubt that the box
+and its contents belonged entirely to my uncle?"
+
+"None at all, sir. I remember his getting the box made--twelve years ago,
+I should say. Also, I knew he had made a great deal of money and was
+putting it into diamonds."
+
+"He hadn't a duplicate box?"
+
+"If he had, sir, I should have seen it. For the last two years of his
+life, I had to look after everything for him, even open his safe."
+
+"I see. Now tell me: Did my uncle and Messrs. Bullard and Lancaster part
+on good terms that afternoon?"
+
+Caw could have smiled with relief at the form in which the enquiry was
+put. "Why, sir," he said, with ill-suppressed eagerness, "they shook
+hands, and my master bade them a kind farewell. Mr. Lancaster was visibly
+affected."
+
+"And they were back the next night!"
+
+"Six hundred thousand pounds is a lot of money, sir."
+
+Alan got up, strode to the window, and looked out for a minute's space.
+
+"What would you say, Caw," he asked, turning abruptly, "if I told you
+that for the last eighteen months I have regarded Mr. Bullard and Mr.
+Lancaster as my best friends?"
+
+The servant, who had risen also, replied respectfully: "I would say I was
+very sorry, sir."
+
+"Indeed!--And if I told you that they had helped me with a large sum of
+money--what then?"
+
+"I should take the liberty, sir, of wondering what you gave them for it."
+
+"Good Heavens!" the young man exclaimed, "the thing is impossible!"
+Controlling himself--"Thanks, Caw, I'll not trouble you more for
+the present."
+
+"Very good, sir. When will you take tea?"
+
+"I'm taking tea with Dr. Handyside."
+
+"Very good, sir. I had better show you how the door works from
+this side."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was a much worried young man whom Caw presently left alone. Until last
+night, when he had looked at Marjorie Handyside's note, it had never
+occurred to him to connect the crime in the Arctic wastes with the will
+he had signed in the Aasvogel Syndicate office, on that fine spring
+morning, eighteen months ago. His only suspicion, which in nine thoughts
+out of ten he had almost rejected for its absurdity, was against the man
+Garnet whose place he had filled in the Expedition. Garnet, who was an
+author and a vile-tempered fellow even in good health, had gone half
+crazy because the Expedition was not postponed for a year on his account.
+He had cursed Alan as a scheming interloper, and so forth, and had
+actually expressed the wish that he might leave his bones "up there." And
+last night, the girl's note had given his mind nothing more than a nasty
+jar. Bullard?--why, that idea, he had thought, was still more absurd than
+the other!
+
+But now what was he to believe? Caw's revelation seemed to leave him no
+choice. And yet the thing appeared preposterous. Bullard and Lancaster
+were rich men, and while his acquaintance with the former had been
+comparatively slight, memories of the latter's frequent kindnesses and
+hospitality had warmed his heart many a time during his exile in the
+Arctic. Lancaster a trafficker in murder?--Lancaster the delicate, gentle
+father of the girl who had promised to wait for him? No, by Heaven, he
+would not believe it! As for Bullard--
+
+The sinking sun shot a ray against the clock, and the glitter of diamonds
+roused him from his brooding. It was the Handysides' tea hour. He must
+try to get a quiet word with his hostess. He had met her at breakfast,
+but the doctor had been present. There were several things he wanted to
+say--must say--to her. She was brave--much braver than he had given her
+credit for a few hours ago--as well as bonny. As he descended to the
+passage he thought of how she had outwitted Bullard. Fortune was with
+him; he found her alone in the drawing-room.
+
+"I always give father ten minutes grace when he's cleaning his car, and
+it's pretty messy after last night, while he has got to be careful with
+his foot," she explained. "By the way, Mr. Craig, I have to apologise for
+my curiosity of last night, but I'm not used to stories like yours."
+
+"My apology is about a more serious matter," he replied. "I've just been
+hearing from Caw of how you rescued the Green Box at the first attempt to
+remove it. It was the pluckiest thing I ever heard of, and I'm under a
+tremendous obligation to you."
+
+"Oh, please don't!" she said, with a laugh and a blush. "You must
+understand that I hadn't a pistol that night. The pistol was an awful
+failure, wasn't it? You weren't a bit afraid--for yourself, anyway--and I
+was terrified. I'd have been far more effective if I'd just opened the
+door an inch and called 'boo!'"
+
+"I fancy that would have finished me, Miss Handyside! But do you want to
+learn to shoot? If so, and you'd allow me, I'd give you a lesson or two,
+with pleasure."
+
+"Would you?--But you mustn't tell father. Luckily he didn't notice the
+horrid thing last night. Now, I think I'd better give him a hail to
+come to tea."
+
+"One moment, please," said Allan. "Would you mind telling me why you
+wrote down that name last night?"
+
+She became grave at once. "Was it the wrong one, Mr. Craig?"
+
+"I can only hope so. But what made you think it a possible one? Had you
+ever seen the man before that night?"
+
+"No." She paused, then said slowly: "Mr. Craig, if he wanted your uncle's
+diamonds that night, it is likely that he wanted them long before then,
+and it must have occurred to him that your life stood in his way of ever
+getting them as a gift or legacy." She halted, and then asked: "Well?"
+
+"This is for your ears alone, Miss Handyside," he said on an impulse.
+"When I wanted very much to go to the Arctic and could not find the
+necessary money, Mr. Bullard and--and another man advanced it, and I made
+a will in their favour."
+
+"Oh, how horrible!"
+
+"And yet all that proves nothing with regard to the man Flitch."
+
+"No more does this," she quickly rejoined. "But when I saw that Bullard
+man's face as he laid the Green Box on the table, I felt that there was
+a being who would stick at nothing. I'll never forget his expression. It
+was as if the humanness had fallen from a face. It was--devilish....
+That was what made me write down his name last night." She held up her
+hand. "Hush!"
+
+Dr. Handyside hobbled in, looking far from happy. "Has Caw told you how
+he came to be absent from his charge last night, Mr. Craig?" he asked.
+
+"In the same circumstances I'd have been absent myself," said Alan.
+
+Marjorie gave him a grateful glance. "Poor father feels as if he owed you
+over half a million," she said.
+
+The guest laughed. "Well, he can easily feel that he has paid the
+debt--by taking the Green Box as seriously as I do!"
+
+"In other words as a joke?" said Handyside sadly. "That's very generous
+of you, Alan, if I may say so,--to quote Caw--but the Green Box is too
+hard and cold a fact to jest about."
+
+"Then let us ignore it, if you please. My uncle's letter, which his
+lawyer handed me to-day, requests me to let things take their course, if
+at all possible, until the Clock stops; and that's what I'm going to do
+so far, at least, as that blessed Green Box is concerned. As a matter of
+fact, the Clock interests me far more than the box."
+
+"Why?" said Marjorie.
+
+"I don't know, but there it is!"
+
+"Have you any hope," asked Handyside, "that there is any chance of
+recovering the box or, rather, its contents? Forgive my harping on
+the subject?"
+
+"No," answered Alan, thinking of Doris Lancaster. "And pray believe me,
+doctor, when I say that I care as little as I hope."
+
+For which saying Marjorie could have kissed him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+The unspeakable Marvel reached London shortly after seven p.m.,--nearly
+an hour late. A sleet storm had descended on the Metropolis. He took a
+four-wheeler to the City. It crawled, but he was glad of the time to
+rehearse once more the part he had decided to play, during the latter
+hours of the railway journey. Here was a desperate idea inspired by a
+desperate situation. A hundred other ideas had offered themselves only to
+be rejected. He shivered with more than cold, fingered the flask in his
+pocket, but refrained from seeking its perfidious comfort. There must be
+no slackening wits in view of what was coming.
+
+At last the cab stopped at his destination. With stiffened limbs he
+ascended the weary flights of stairs, paused on the fourth landing to
+blow into his hands and flap his arms. Then, after a glance round, he
+turned into the corridor on the left. The door of the Aasvogel Syndicate
+offices was still unlocked, by arrangement. He opened it quietly, stepped
+in, and as quietly closed it, turning the key. With a fairly firm and
+confident step he advanced to the lighted room at the end of the passage.
+His old foolish, ingratiating smile was on his face when he entered.
+
+Bullard swung round from his desk.
+
+"Hullo!" he cried genially. "Got back! Beastly weather, isn't it? Just
+returned from Paris an hour ago. Sit down and warm yourself."
+
+"Thanks, Mr. Bullard." Marvel took a chair at the fire and proceeded to
+chafe his hands. "Paris, did you say? Coldish there, I suppose?"
+
+"Felt like snow this morning. By the way, I didn't get your note till my
+arrival here to-night."
+
+Marvel began to feel that things were shaping nicely. "I sent it as soon
+as I could, Mr. Bullard. Awful weather up there last night--something
+ghastly. Wouldn't take on the job again for ten, times the money."
+
+"Well, it's over, and I take it that you were quite successful."
+
+"Oh, that part of it was easy, Mr. Bullard."
+
+"Good!" With that Mr. Bullard's geniality vanished. "I say, where's the
+Green Box?"
+
+Mr. Marvel grinned pleasantly. "Always in such a hurry, Mr. Bullard! But
+don't be alarmed; the Green Box is all right--very much all right."
+
+"Look here, Marvel. I'm not in the humour for any humbug. I want that
+box--now!"
+
+"And I want that four hundred pounds before I produce the box--"
+
+"Well, the money's ready."
+
+"--and another five hundred when you touch the box--"
+
+"You impudent swine!" cried Bullard viciously. "So that's your game!"
+
+"Well, Mr. Bullard, when I came to think it over in that ghastly
+blizzard, I saw you had inadvertently underestimated the value of my
+services, and considering that I had already parted with those valuable
+papers of mine for one--"
+
+"Oh, shut it, man! Do you take me for a fool?"
+
+"On the contrary, Mr. Bullard! You want that box badly, and an extra five
+hundred is neither here nor there to you."
+
+Bullard's expression was so ugly then that the pretender wavered. "Where
+is the Green Box? Answer!"
+
+"Give me the four hundred, and I'll take you to it."
+
+"Take me to it? I think not!"
+
+"Oh, Mr. Bullard, surely you don't distrust me."
+
+Bullard appeared to reflect, and said harshly: "One more chance. Bring
+the box here at ten to-morrow morning, and I'll give you two hundred
+extra, you dirty little thief!"
+
+"Five hundred, Mr. Bullard," said Marvel gently. He could have
+hugged himself.
+
+Again Bullard appeared to be lost in thought, his fingers toyed with the
+nugget on his chain. At last he said sullenly: "I might have known you
+would try it on, you scoundrel. But I must have the box first thing in
+the morning. It's awkward enough not to have it tonight." He turned to
+his desk and picked up an envelope with a typewritten address. He sat
+staring at it as though he had forgotten Marvel's presence.
+
+Suddenly he wheeled and spoke. "You shall have five hundred in the
+morning--"
+
+"And four hundred to-night, Mr. Bullard."
+
+"Yes--an hour hence. Do you know the Victoria Docks?--Of course you do.
+Well, the street named here"--he tapped the envelope--"is close to them.
+Deliver this letter and bring me back an answer--and the four hundred are
+yours. Hold your tongue! The thing is too private for an ordinary
+messenger. It's entirely owing to your vile behaviour that this letter
+must be delivered to-night. Will you take it, or must I take it myself?
+Mind, if I do, you can go to the devil for your four hundred, ay, and the
+five hundred to boot. I've stood the limit from you, Marvel, and I'm
+quite equal to locking you up in our strong-room here till you're ready
+and eager to give up the box for nothing!"
+
+"Come, come, Mr. Bullard," said Marvel, rising, "there's no need for all
+this--this roughness. I'll take the letter with pleasure if you'll give
+me a couple of hundred to go on with."
+
+Bullard tossed the letter back on the desk, and proceeded to light a
+cigar.
+
+Marvel took a step forward. "I was only joking, Mr. Bullard. I'll take
+your message, and trust you."
+
+"Very well," growled the other, handing it over. "Take care of it. You
+ought to be back in an hour. You'll find me here."
+
+"Eight you are!" said Marvel, and went jauntily from the room.
+
+Bullard sank back in his chair. "The blind fool!" he murmured, and
+grinned.
+
+An hour later he was dining in the Savoy restaurant.
+
+About ten o'clock he was shown into Lancaster's library. He was in
+evening dress. He carried a suit case bearing, in the midst of many old
+labels, his own initials. The moment the door was shut he said--
+
+"Where's Mrs. Lancaster? Didn't she get my note?"
+
+Lancaster, his weary eyes blinking in the sudden rousing from a troubled
+nap, replied: "Yes, it caught her as she was about to leave the house
+with Doris. Is anything the matter?"
+
+"Did Doris go alone?"
+
+"Yes, but--"
+
+"I wish you would tell Mrs. Lancaster--"
+
+At that moment the lady entered, gloriously attired, her eyes
+smouldering.
+
+"What's the matter, Mr. Bullard?"
+
+"Thanks for staying at home in response to my request," he said suavely.
+"I have hopes that you won't find it a wasted evening. By the way, can
+you get rid of the attentions of your servants at so early an hour?"
+
+Her sullen eyes brightened with curiosity. "I daresay I can, Mr. Bullard,
+but may I ask--"
+
+"Please add the favour to the one already granted, and rejoin us here as
+soon as possible."
+
+When she had gone, Bullard laid the suitcase on a chair, opened it, and
+took out the Green Box which he placed on the table. Then deliberately,
+and with a steady hand, he helped himself to a cigarette from his host's
+silver box, and lit it carefully.
+
+"Well, Lancaster," he said, after exhaling a long whiff, "how's that?"
+
+"Great Heavens!" Lancaster stopped staring and sat down feebly. "How did
+you get it? Where? Surely not in the same place as before!"
+
+"That I can't tell you. The point that interests me is that it is here
+now. My story will keep--it's quite good enough for that. By the bye,
+where are your congratulations?"
+
+Lancaster stretched out a shaking hand. "Take it away, for God's sake,"
+he said. "Don't--don't let my wife see those stones. I tell you again,
+Bullard--I swear it--I don't want one more than will clear me of that
+one debt."
+
+"Don't talk rot," was the light retort. "Mrs. Lancaster is going to
+choose one or two for luck. Between ourselves, as her prospective
+son-in-law I naturally desire to win her favour, as well as her entire
+confidence in my ability to provide suitably for her daughter. Besides,
+you must see that for your own sake it is better that she should be
+invol--pardon--interested. Why groan, my friend? Your troubles are over."
+
+Mrs. Lancaster came in, gazed, and pounced. "What is it? What's wrong
+with Robert? What is all the mystery about?"
+
+"This little box," said Bullard, patting it, "contains what I may call
+the Christopher Collection. No more questions now, if you please. Pray be
+seated. Are the servants--?"
+
+"Yes, yes! Open it! I must see--"
+
+"Unfortunately we lack the key. However, my expert tin-opener ought
+now to be waiting outside. I'll fetch him in, apologising for his
+uncouthness, which he can't help. He might like a little whisky,
+Lancaster. Ah, I see it is already provided. Better have some
+yourself, old man."
+
+With these words, Bullard left the room to return a minute later with a
+rough-looking man in garb that might have been termed semi-sea-faring.
+There was nothing particularly sinister about his reddish-bearded face,
+but his eyes were full of fears and suspicions, and the ordinary person
+would have shrunk from his contact. His conductor having locked the
+door, said--
+
+"This is Mr. Flitch, who--"
+
+"Damn ye!" muttered the man with a start and a scowl.
+
+"Or, rather, Mr. Dunning, who is going to open the box for us. But you
+will please excuse me while I first ask him one or two personal
+questions. Well, Dunning, you got my note?"
+
+"Ain't I here?"
+
+"You attended to the messenger?"
+
+A mere grunt of assent.
+
+"Under lock and key?"
+
+A nod.
+
+"Any papers?"
+
+"Not a scrap."
+
+"Money?"
+
+"Never you mind about that. I done what ye wanted. He's safe enough. Come
+to business!"
+
+For an instant Bullard looked like striking the fellow, but he laughed,
+saying: "Well, it wasn't my money. Now you can go ahead. That's your job
+on the table. Want a refreshment first?"
+
+"No," growled Flitch, alias Dunning, with a suspicious look at Mrs.
+Lancaster. He slouched over to the table and seated himself. From a big
+pocket he brought a cloth bundle, unrolled it on the table, and disclosed
+an array of steel implements of curious and varied shapes. His fingers
+were coarse and filthy, but his touch was exquisite; it was something
+worth seeing, the way he manipulated his tools in the lock of the Green
+Box. In a little while he seemed to forget the existence of the
+spectators. He even smiled in the absorption of his work. There was no
+forcing or wrenching: all was done in coaxing, persuasive fashion. But it
+was no simple task, and thirty minutes went past.
+
+Bullard, seated by the table, rarely shifted his gaze from the busy
+fingers. Mrs. Lancaster, on the couch, a little way off, devoured the
+casket with brilliant, greedy stare. As for Lancaster, in his chair by
+the hearth, he had turned his face from the scene of operations, and sat
+motionless, one hand gripping the chair-arm, the other shading his eyes.
+
+At last the worker paused, drew a long breath, and made to raise the lid.
+But Bullard's hand shot out and held it.
+
+"That will do, my man."
+
+The worker let go with a shrug of his shoulders, and proceeded to bundle
+up his tools.
+
+"I could do wi' a drink now," he grumbled. "Neat."
+
+Bullard turned to the small table at his elbow, and poured out half a
+tumbler of whisky. The other, having stuffed the bundle into his pocket,
+rose, seized the glass, and gulped the contents. He set the glass on the
+table and held out his hand. Bullard laid a heap of sovereigns in it, and
+it closed as if automatically.
+
+"Report when he's really hungry," said Bullard in an undertone, and the
+man nodded. "Mr. Lancaster," he said aloud, "would you mind showing this
+man to the door? I'll do nothing till you come back."
+
+"Eh--what's that?" quavered Lancaster, exposing a dazed-looking
+countenance.
+
+"Oh, I'll do it," said his wife, rising impatiently. "This way, my man."
+
+He slouched out after her. There was silence in the room till she
+returned.
+
+"What a loathsome creature," she remarked. "Flitch, you called him. Is
+not that the name of the man who went out hunting with Alan Craig, Mr.
+Bullard? No wonder--"
+
+"Look here!" said Bullard, and lifted the lid.
+
+The woman's breath went in with a hiss. Unable to resist, her husband
+crept from his place and stood peering over her shoulder.
+
+Bullard lifted out the shallow trays and laid them side by side. The room
+seemed to be filled with a new light.
+
+"Six hundred thousand pounds," Bullard murmured.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Mrs. Lancaster in a reverential whisper. Then she started
+violently. "Nothing--nothing," she added quickly, and went on gazing. She
+had remembered that she had not re-locked the door, though she had drawn
+the heavy curtain. But she could not tear herself yet awhile from that
+delicious spectacle of wealth.
+
+They were all three fascinated.
+
+After a while Bullard moved slightly. "May I choose a lucky one for you,
+Mrs. Lancaster?" he asked, and picked out a fairly large stone.
+
+He dropped it as though it had stung.
+
+"What's this?"
+
+He took up another and paused--paused while his face grew old.... A third
+he took from another tray and touched it to his tongue.... A fourth from
+the third tray.... A fifth....
+
+Then his fist flew up and fell on the edges of two trays so that the
+contents shot up like a spray in sunshine and scattered over the room. In
+a strangled voice he yelled--
+
+"Paste, by God! We're tricked!"
+
+The door opened; the curtain was drawn aside.
+
+"Father! Who was that dreadful man who--"
+
+In the stifling silence, Doris, home hours before her time, stood there
+in dance gown and white cloak, a latch-key in her hand, her eyes wide
+with wonder--wonder that gave place to horror.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+
+It would have been beyond Teddy France to describe clearly his own
+feelings as he waited in the Lancasters' drawing-room late on the
+following afternoon. His dearest friend was alive; his dearest hope was
+dead. Yet how could he be otherwise than glad, if only on Doris's
+account? Early in the day he had sent her a note, express, begging her to
+be at home at five. This meant questionings and reproaches from Mrs.
+Lancaster, for she and her daughter had what she deemed a most important
+social engagement; but the girl was firm, and eventually the mother went
+off alone in a sullen temper.
+
+In any case, Doris would have revolted from tea and tattle that
+afternoon. She had suffered a great shock the previous night. And since
+Teddy's note had suggested something most urgent, but told her nothing,
+she entered the drawing-room to meet him with foreboding added to a
+consuming fear. At the sight of him, so honest and kindly, she could have
+gone to his arms out of sheer longing for peace and comforting.
+
+Teddy thought he had himself well in hand for his delicate task, but he
+was pale, and she noticed it.
+
+"What is it?" she asked, all apprehension.
+
+"Something good, Doris, but I can't tell you until you sit down."
+
+"Good!" She forced a smile. She would not hurt his feelings, though
+apparently he had nothing very important to tell her after all. Poor
+Doris! all the big things in her life nowadays were of the evil sort.
+"Well, why don't you tell me, Teddy?"
+
+"Because it's so tremendously good.'"
+
+"Oh!" There was no mistaking his earnestness. Her mind turned quickly to
+Bullard. Had Teddy found out something?
+
+"Doris, if you were given one wish, what would you wish for? You know,
+you can say anything to me."
+
+She did not hesitate. "I'd wish that father were free from a great and
+terrible trouble."
+
+"Well, we may hope for that, I'm sure. But if--if the wish would bring
+about something that--that you had believed past hoping for--what then?"
+He did not wait for her answer. "Doris," he said gently, "somebody has
+come home, safe and sound.... I had a letter from Alan Craig this
+morning. He is at Grey House now." He paused, puzzled. She was taking it
+so much more calmly than he had expected. The room was dusky and the
+fire-light deceptive, so he could hardly read her face. But presently he
+descried the glint of tears, and next moment she drooped and hid her eyes
+in her hands.
+
+He spoke again. "For a reason which I don't yet know, Alan has come home
+secretly. He asks me to beg you to trust him for a little while. He must
+have a very strong reason for the secrecy. He wants my advice and help,
+so I'm leaving for Scotland to-night. If you have any message, please
+give me it now, Doris, and I'll leave you. You must want to be alone."
+
+He waited, leaning against the mantel, watching her bowed head, torn
+betwixt loyalty and longing. Minutes passed before she uncovered her eyes
+and sat up. "Teddy," she said, "please sit down. There are things I must
+tell you before you go to Scotland." She wiped her eyes and put away the
+handkerchief as if for good. "You must be thinking me a very strange and
+heartless girl. You must be asking yourself why I am not overjoyed at the
+wonderful news. Don't speak. I suppose I don't properly realise it yet.
+Alan is alive and well!--I never was so glad of anything; I'll never
+cease to be glad of it. And just for a moment nothing else in the world
+seemed to matter. But--but I can't escape--I am like a prisoner told of a
+great joy which she can never look upon--"
+
+"Doris, what are you saying? You don't for a moment imagine that
+Bullard--"
+
+"Let me go on while I can. It's not easy to make my story coherent, so be
+patient... Something most awful happened last night. You know I was at
+the Lesters' dance, but I only stayed an hour--I got so worried about
+father. I pleaded a headache, and they got a taxi for me. It would be
+nearly eleven when I left. The fog was lifting. Just as the cab was
+reaching home I looked out and saw a dreadful-looking man coming from our
+door. He stared at me so horribly, so suspiciously, that I waited in the
+cab till he was well away. I had a latch-key and let myself in quietly. I
+went into the drawing-room. The lights were on, but the fire was low and
+no one was there. Mother had spoken of going early to bed, and I thought
+she must have done so. I went along to the library. There was no sound,
+but as I opened the door I heard a hoarse voice, though what it said I
+did not catch. It was followed by a smash. I drew back the curtain--you
+know how it hangs across the corner--and I saw--"
+
+"Doris," the young man cried, "you're distressing yourself--"
+
+"I must tell you, or go mad. Mr. Bullard was sitting at the table with
+his back to me. Father and mother were standing on the other side. They
+were just ghastly. On the table was a dark green roundish box, open, and
+some trays of diamonds. There were diamonds on the floor, too." Doris
+paused and wet her lips. "When I was a young girl," she continued,
+"before we came home, you know, Christopher Craig took me into his house
+one afternoon to give me some sweets, as he often did, and after bidding
+me not tell anybody, he showed me a dark green box, and in it were trays
+of diamonds. I never forgot it."
+
+
+"But my dear girl--"
+
+"Almost at once mother ordered me to go away. I went up to my room, and
+thought till I began to understand. I asked myself questions. What were
+those sudden journeys to Scotland for? Why was father so nervous
+afterwards? Who was the dreadful-looking man I saw? What made father and
+mother look so--so awful when I found them in the library?"
+
+A heartsick feeling possessed Teddy, while he said: "But, Doris, all
+those apparently ugly things may be capable of explanation."
+
+"Wait! ... Of course I could not sleep. I didn't know what to do with
+myself. At three in the morning I went down to the library for a book,
+though I knew I should never read it.... And before the cold fire
+he--father was sitting alone, like a--a broken man. Oh, Teddy, you always
+liked father, didn't you?" Ere lie could reply she proceeded: "He was so
+lonely, poor father! I loved him better than ever I had done.... And
+after a while he told me things--things I can't tell even to you. But the
+box of diamonds was Christopher Craig's--now Alan's. Father would not
+blame Mr. Bullard more than himself--but _I_ know.... And now here is a
+strange thing: all those diamonds are false, and of little value compared
+with the real. And, do you know, father was glad of that, though it means
+ruin. Father supposes it was a trick of Caw's--Caw was Mr. Craig's
+servant--I used to like him--and he was really very fond of me when I was
+a little girl--and so I thought of a plan." She sighed.
+
+"Am I to hear your plan, Doris?"
+
+"Oh, it can never be carried out now. It was just this: I would make
+a journey to Scotland, with the box in my dressing-case--it's there
+now; but let me go on. Then I would hire a car for a day's run round
+the coast, and I would call at Mr. Craig's house--quite casually, of
+course--just to see how my old acquaintance, Caw, was getting on.
+That would be--or would have been--the most natural thing in the
+world. Of course Caw would ask me into the house, and would offer to
+get me tea. And while he was getting it--well, I know where the box
+used to be kept--"
+
+"You brave little soul!"
+
+"Oh, I'd risk anything for father," she said simply. "Once the box was
+back in its place, he would be safe from one horror, at any rate. The
+stones, though they are imitation, are worth several thousand pounds.
+Even if Caw found me out, I don't think he'd do anything terrible."
+
+"But why should Caw suspect your--"
+
+"He doesn't suspect--he _knows_! There are things about it I can't
+understand, but this morning my plan seemed the best possible. Before we
+went to bed father and I got slips of wood and jammed the box so tightly
+shut that you would have said it was locked--there was no key, you
+understand. Then--it was my idea--I got a little earth from a plant in
+the dining-room and made a few dirty marks on the carpet and window-sill.
+And I took the decanter and poured a lot of the whiskey out of the
+window, which I left open; and I put a soiled tumbler on the floor. And
+we broke the door of the cabinet where the box had been, and then we went
+up to bed, and I took the box with me."
+
+Teddy stood up. "You perfect brick!" he cried; "I feel like cheering!"
+
+She smiled the ghost of a smile. "And now you've guessed that there was a
+fuss about burglars in the morning, and Father 'phoned Mr. Bullard that
+the box was gone--which was not quite true, but as true as Mr. Bullard
+deserved--and Mr. Bullard came furious to the house, and left vowing
+vengeance on the dreadful-looking man who had unlocked the box the night
+before. So you see my poor little plan worked so far--only so far."
+
+"What you mean," said the young man softly, "is that Alan must not
+know--"
+
+"Caw is bound to tell Alan, has probably told him already. Don't you see
+how hideous the situation has become for father--and Alan, too?"
+
+"I do see it. But now--you know there's not a bigger-hearted chap in the
+world than Alan Craig--suppose your father were simply to tell him
+everything--"
+
+"Oh, never!" she exclaimed. "That would mean betraying Mr. Bullard, and
+father is--no, I can't tell you more. And I'm terrified that Mr. Bullard
+may yet discover that the box was not stolen last night after all--he's
+so horribly clever."
+
+Teddy considered for a moment. "If the box were back in its old place,"
+he said slowly, "that would end the matter in one way--"
+
+"In every way, for Alan and I would never meet again--"
+
+"You know Alan better than that, Doris. It is possible that Alan is
+not yet aware of the--the loss; even possible that Caw has not
+discovered it."
+
+"Oh! if I could only hope for that!--not that I could ever face Alan
+again. But, Teddy--"
+
+"Well," he said deliberately, "it might be worth while to act on the
+possibility. If you think so, I'm your man, Doris."
+
+"You--you would take the box?" Her suddenly shining eyes gazed up at his
+face in such gratitude and admiration that he turned slightly away. "You
+would risk your friendship with Alan--"
+
+"Nonsense! Don't put it that way, Doris; and don't talk of never facing
+Alan again. All this will pass. The thing we want to do now is to make it
+pass as quickly as possible. Give me the box and the necessary
+directions, and I'll do my best."
+
+"Oh, you are good! I confess I thought of your doing it, but the idea
+came all of a sudden and I hated it. I still hate it. It's making you do
+an underhand thing; it's cheating Alan in a way."
+
+"It's returning his property, anyway," said Teddy, not too easily. "But
+the more I think of it, the more necessary it seems. For we do not know
+that the box belongs to Alan alone; and supposing others were interested
+in the diamonds, false though they are, Alan might be forced to--to act.
+So let me have it now, and I'll clear out, for I can tell you I'm pretty
+funky about meeting Mrs. Lancaster with it in my hand. And, Doris, it's
+plain to me that your father is somehow bound to Mr. Bullard. If you can,
+find out how much--excuse my bluntness--it would take to free him. I'm a
+poor devil, yet I might be able to do something in some way--"
+
+"Oh, Teddy, Teddy, what am I to say to you?"
+
+"Not another word, Doris, or we'll be caught!" He laughed shortly, strode
+to a switch and flooded the room with light. There was a limit even to
+his loyalty.
+
+Five minutes later he left the house with a tidy brown-paper parcel
+under his arm.
+
+In her room Doris fell on her knees, and when thanksgiving and petitions
+were ended remained in that position, thinking. And one of her thoughts
+was rather a strange question: "Why am I not more glad--madly glad--that
+Alan is alive?" And she remembered that she had sent no message.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+
+About four o'clock Bullard came into his private office full of
+ill-suppressed wrath. Lancaster, who had been waiting for him in fear and
+trembling, looked a mute enquiry.
+
+"Yes," said Bullard harshly, "I found the beast after losing all those
+precious hours, and I may tell you at once, he had nothing whatever to do
+with the disappearance of the Green Box from your cabinet. He accounted
+for all his doings after leaving Earl's Gate, and I was able to verify
+his story. He went straight to a filthy gambling hell, lost a lot of
+money and got dead drunk. He's not decently sober yet."
+
+"Then who could have done it?" Lancaster forced himself to say.
+
+"Spare me idiotic questions! What I want to know is why on earth you did
+not take better care of the box."
+
+"I daresay I ought to have put it in my safe," the other stammered, "but
+you left it with me as if it was nothing to you, and it--it really had
+become of so little value--comparatively--"
+
+"Of little value! Why, its value to us might have been immense. The
+stones are paste, but what does that prove? Simply that Christopher's
+real stones are elsewhere. Christopher wasn't such a fool after all, and
+Caw has not tricked us wittingly. Caw imagines we've got the real stones
+right enough. At first I thought it might be otherwise, but my new theory
+is the one to hold water. The stones we saw that afternoon in Grey House
+were the stones we looked on last night--"
+
+"Then--oh, my God!--Christopher was suspecting us, playing with us, all
+the time!"
+
+"Keep calm. Remember, Christopher told us we should have our reward--"
+
+"And this is it!" Lancaster groaned.
+
+For the moment Bullard's self-confidence was shaken--but only for the
+moment. "Listen, Lancaster," he said steadily. "Christopher trusted no
+man absolutely--and who would, with half a million involved? He may even
+have doubted Caw. But Christopher was as friendly as ever, and he did not
+tell us, without meaning something, that the diamonds would be divided
+into three portions when his cursed clock had stopped. And so I believe
+that we shall yet get our shares--on a certain condition.--Are you
+following me?"
+
+Lancaster nodded in vague fashion. "But the condition ..."
+
+"Oh, Lord! hasn't it dawned? Why, the shares shall be ours when the clock
+stops, provided the Green Box, its contents intact, is then in its place
+in Christopher's study. Doesn't that hold water up to the brim?"
+
+Lancaster turned away his face. He could have cried out.
+
+"And now," said Bullard bitterly, "you've let the Green Box slip through
+your fingers!"
+
+"Why didn't you tell me all that last night?" cried the ill-starred
+Lancaster. He dared not tell Bullard that the Green Box was safe in his
+house. Bullard would never, however great the compensation, forgive
+trickery against himself; and Bullard's theory remained to be proved.
+Lancaster's soul now seized on its last hope: that Doris would be able to
+carry out her plan of conveying the box to Grey House. "Why didn't you
+tell me last night?" he repeated.
+
+"Is that all you've got to say?" Bullard asked, a sort of snarl in his
+voice: "And I suppose you still expect me to put you right over that
+twenty-five thousand pounds!"
+
+"My God, Bullard, but you _promised_! Oh, surely, you don't mean
+to fail me!"
+
+Bullard threw himself into the chair at his desk. While he chose a cigar
+he regained something of his customary control. "I beg your pardon,
+Lancaster," he said presently. "I ought not to have said that, seeing
+that I have your daughter's promise, and do not doubt it. But the thing
+has hit me--both of us--hard.... Now don't you think you had better go
+home? Don't work yourself into an illness again. The Green Box is
+gone--for good, I fear. We can't call in the police, you know. But there
+are still things to be done--for instance, find out whether the real
+diamonds are in Grey House--and, mark you, I think they are! If I were
+only certain, I'd act on the will at once. That beast Flitch has been
+restless lately. Wants to leave the country. His evidence might be
+necessary in proving the loss of Craig. But we'll talk it out to-morrow.
+Are you going?"
+
+Without a word Lancaster went out; but he sat in his own private office
+for several hours.
+
+"What prevents me," asked Bullard of himself, "from throwing the
+worthless fool overboard and letting him sink?" And the only answer was
+"Doris. I believe he'd sell his rights in the will for--"
+
+The telephone on his desk buzzed. Next moment he was listening to the
+voice of Mrs. Lancaster.
+
+"I'm just going out," it said, "and I thought I ought to let you know
+about Doris. She had an express letter from young France this morning,
+and insists on staying at home now to receive him. You asked me to keep
+an eye on him. Any news? ... Why don't you answer?"
+
+"Pardon, my dear lady. No; there is no news, except that I've been on the
+wrong track and have small hope of getting upon the right one. Thank you
+for letting me know; at the same time, I must keep to my bargain with
+Doris--no interference, you understand. By the way, has Doris referred to
+last night?"
+
+"Not with a single word."
+
+"Ah! ... I may call to-morrow. When does Mr. France arrive?"
+
+"Five. But what's to be done about--?"
+
+"To-morrow, please, to-morrow. Look after your husband, will you?
+Good-bye."
+
+The woman's soul was still seething with resentment against the man on
+account of the diamond fiasco, as she called it; at the same time, she
+was acutely sensible of the fact that now more than ever his friendship
+was essential to her interests.
+
+Bullard lay back in his chair, frowning thoughtfully. Odd that Doris had
+made no reference to her glimpse of the scene in the library last night.
+Odd, too, that she should be receiving France at such an hour. And there
+were other things that struck him as odd. Lancaster's manner during their
+recent talk, for instance.... Francis Bullard had made the bulk of his
+fortune through unlikely happenings; it had become a habit with him to
+deal, as it were, in "off chances." At all events, he felt he would like
+to secure a sight of young France's face as the latter came from the
+house. It might tell him something. Before long he left the office and
+the City. Rain was beginning to fall.
+
+It was falling heavily when Teddy came down the steps of 13 Earl's Gate.
+He was wondering which way would take him the more speedily to a cab,
+when a taxi appeared moving slowly towards him out of the streaming
+gloom. He whistled, and the chauffeur replied, "Right, sir," steering
+towards the pavement. The cab came to rest midway between two lamps. The
+man reached back and threw the door open. Teddy gave his address, and got
+in. At the same moment the opposite door was torn open; the parcel was
+snatched from his possession; the door banged. The cab started. Teddy had
+a mere glimpse of some one muffled to the mouth, hat brim drawn low. He
+turned and sprang out, staggered badly, almost fell, recovered his
+balance, and beheld a figure leaving the step for the interior of the
+retreating cab. He ran after it with a shout,--and remembered the dangers
+in publicity. Still, he continued to run, seeking to make out the number
+which had got plastered with mud. Hopeless! Travelling now at a high
+speed the cab disappeared round a corner, and Mr. Bullard had secured
+considerably more than he had come for.
+
+At that moment the most wretched young man in London was Teddy France.
+What was he to do? He could not go North without informing Doris of the
+calamity. He could not trust the information to a letter. There he stood
+in the rain, cursing himself and imagining the cruel blow it would be to
+the girl. Suddenly he realised that no time must be lost. To wait until
+later in the evening would doom his chances of seeing Doris alone. He
+must return to the house at once--and as he took the first step, a car
+purred softly up to No. 13, and deposited Mrs. Lancaster. It was all up!
+To call now for the second time would rouse all manner of suspicions.
+
+An hour later, drenched and in despair, he entered a post office and
+telegraphed to Alan, postponing his visit for twenty-four hours. Then he
+went home, and after worrying his mother by making a miserable dinner,
+went forth again, and, having changed his mind, returned to Earl's Gate.
+Mrs. and Miss Lancaster, the servant informed him, had gone out for the
+evening. Thereupon he determined to resume his shadowing of Bullard, whom
+he could not help connecting, directly or indirectly, with his late
+assailant. On this occasion he went about the business with some
+boldness. At Bright's Hotel he made enquiry at the office, after assuring
+himself that Bullard was not in the lounge or its vicinity.
+
+"Mr. Bullard has gone to Paris for a couple of days," the clerk told him.
+"Left here twenty minutes ago."
+
+Teddy had his doubts. He visited a number of stations and spent a good
+deal of money on cab fares, but failed to obtain the smallest
+satisfaction. He finished up at the midnight train from King's Cross. Had
+he been able to be in two places at the same time, he would have got what
+he wanted at St. Pancras.
+
+In another part of the Midland train that carried Bullard North, sat the
+man Flitch, alias Dunning. Once more Bullard had need of his skill. He
+was decently clothed in ready-mades and almost recovered, roughly
+speaking, from his bout of the previous night. But he was full of
+melancholy. Bullard's fee for the opening of the Green Box, not to
+mention the small fortune annexed from Mr. Marvel, was all gone. What he
+had not lost over the cards had been stolen while he lay fuddled. Thus he
+had been ready enough for another job from his patron. The hapless
+Marvel, by the way, had been left secure in a dungeon-like cellar, with
+enough bread and water to keep body and soul together for a couple of
+days. Bullard had not had time to decide what to do with the creature.
+
+In the seclusion of his sleeping berth Bullard examined the Green Box,
+forcing it open with a bright little tool. He would get a new key for it
+in Glasgow on the morrow. He cursed his luck and Lancaster. It would have
+gone hard indeed with Lancaster but for the existence of Doris. But
+Bullard was an optimist in his way. He was far from being beaten. Before
+the train was twenty miles on its journey his head was on the pillow; two
+minutes later the busy, plotting brain was at rest--recovering energy and
+keenness for the next act.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+
+The night was fine but still very dark. An hour or so hence the moon at
+its full would make many things visible, and chiefly for that reason but
+also because he desired to return to London the same night, Bullard with
+his unsavoury companion, had arrived thus early at the gates of Grey
+House. Yet now it looked as though his programme would have to be
+abandoned, or, at any rate, drastically altered. For the house, as was
+plain to see, was occupied. There was no great display of lights, but a
+ruddy glow shone through the glazed inner door, and a thin white shaft
+fell from a slit between the drawn curtains of the familiar upper room.
+
+"Caw taking a look round, no doubt," remarked Bullard, recovering from
+his first annoyance. "Wonder where the beggar has his lodgings and how
+long he is likely to hang about.
+
+"Is the game up, mister?" asked the man at his elbow. "Cause if so,
+I'll just remind ye that I got to get paid, results or no results. Ye
+brought me here to open a door for ye, and 'tisn't my fault if the
+door's open already."
+
+"Shut up till I've thought a bit." After a pause, Bullard began: "Pay
+attention, Flitch--"
+
+"Not that name, damn ye!"
+
+"Idiot, then. I was going to say that I could have done with an hour or
+two in that house, but that a couple of minutes would be better than
+nothing--"
+
+"Couple o' minutes? That's easy--if ye don't mind a little risk."
+
+"I'm used to risks," said Bullard, shifting the Green Box to his other
+arm. "But it is vital that I go in and out without being seen."
+
+"Can't guarantee anything in this blasted rotten world," said Flitch,
+"but I think I can do the trick for you."
+
+"How?"
+
+"By bringin' whoever's in the house out at the back door while you slips
+in at the front."
+
+"Do you mean that you will knock at the back--"
+
+"Cheese it, mister! It's your turn to listen now. I've got in my pocket
+here a couple o' useful little articles which I never travels without
+when engaged on a job o' this sort--as I was pretty sure it was goin' to
+be. Them little articles is noisy, but ye can't have everything, even in
+Heaven, and as things has turned out now, they're just _it_." Mr. Flitch,
+at last in his element, paused to chuckle hoarsely.
+
+"Oh, hurry up. You're talking of explosives."
+
+"Go up one! Well, now, mister, suppose I sneaks up round to the back
+premises and fixes the pretty things all serene and comfortable to one of
+the outhouses, then lights the fuses and retires. In a little
+while--bang! bang! What price that for fetchin' yer friend out at the
+back door just to see if something hasn't maybe dropped off the
+clothes-line?"
+
+"I believe you've hit it," said Bullard after consideration. "How long do
+the fuses burn?"
+
+"Two minutes to a sec. The moment I've seen 'em go off proper I'll come
+back and wait for ye here, unless there's a chase, when I'll bolt for the
+car. Meanwhile you'll ha' crept up to near the house, ready to do yer bit
+as soon's ye hear yer friend movin'. It's chancey of course, but that's
+the sort o' trade it is. Better take this"--Flitch brought something from
+his breast-pocket--"in case the key's turned in that front door."
+
+"Thanks; I've got one. Now say it all again so that we have no
+misunderstandings."
+
+A few minutes later Bullard was crouching at the side of the steps beyond
+reach of the rosy light, his nerves taut, his whole being waiting for the
+signal. Smartly it came, and the stillness of the winter night was
+shattered.... Again!
+
+The sound of some one running downstairs reached his ears; next it came
+from the oak-floored hall, diminishing; then a door--possibly one with a
+spring--went shut with a smash. Silence for a brief space, then noise
+from the back of the house. It was now or never.
+
+Up the steps he bounded, yet halted to clean his boots on the mat. At
+that moment he thought he heard a cry, but nothing could stay him now.
+The shining tool in his clutch was unnecessary: the handle turned, the
+door opened. He sped across the hall and upstairs. Lights were burning in
+Christopher's old room; the pendulum of the clock scintillated as it
+swung. The fire burned cheerfully. There was a smell of Turkish tobacco.
+A book lay open on the writing table. Bullard noticed all these things
+and for an instant wavered and wondered. Without further pause, however,
+he placed the Green Box in its old refuge, carefully closed the drawer,
+and rose to go. Just for a moment the clock held him. Then he shook his
+fist at it and bolted. Closing the front door noiselessly after him, he
+went softly down the steps and across the gravel till he stepped upon the
+grass border, when he made swiftly, recklessly, for the gates.
+
+A yard from them he all but fell over Flitch. That gentleman was lying
+face downwards, in a perfect agony of terror, scrabbling the gravel,
+mumbling to the Almighty to save him.
+
+Bullard shook him, whispering savagely: "Get up, you fool! It's all
+right; we've done the trick--"
+
+"O God, don't let his ghost get me! He was the first I ever killed, O
+God, and I wanted the money bad--"
+
+"Curse you, Flitch! What the devil's the matter? If you won't come now, I
+must leave you to get caught--and that's the end of _you_!" Bullard
+gripped him by the collar and dragged him to his knees.
+
+And now Caw's voice was heard calling: "Mr. Alan, Mr. Alan, wait till I
+get another lamp."
+
+At that on Bullard's face the sweat broke thickly. With a gasp he let
+Flitch drop like a heavy sack, and started to run.
+
+Not far beyond the gates Flitch overtook him.
+
+Between thick sobs Flitch was moaning: "I heard his voice. 'Twas clear
+and strong. He's alive! ... I didn't kill him after all. Oh, God, I'm
+that thankful. I heard his voice. He's alive...."
+
+Bullard swung his hand backwards and smote the babbling mouth. "Idiot! Do
+you think there's no punishment for attempted murder?"
+
+"I'll confess--I'll confess to himself--and he'll forgive--"
+
+"Will you! Is attempted murder your only crime? Shut your crazy mouth
+now, or it will be the worse for you."
+
+And so, panting with exertion and passion, the fearful twain came to the
+car hidden in the wood. But Bullard was already recovering.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"No damage that I can see, except to the door of the garage," said Caw at
+last. "The car's all right."
+
+"We'd better take a turn round the house," answered Alan, "though it's a
+search-light that's wanted tonight."
+
+"Be careful, sir!"
+
+"Oh, nonsense! Whoever it was has cleared out long ago." He moved off in
+advance, and was turning the corner, flashing his torch into the
+shrubbery, when a pale figure flew out of the darkness.
+
+"You're safe!" cried a voice in tones of supreme relief. "Oh, but I was
+terrified for you!"
+
+"Miss Handyside!" A flash had shown him a white-face, wide eyes, parted
+lips--also a hand gripping a pretty revolver. His finger left the
+electric button. Impulsively he softly exclaimed: "Does it matter to you,
+my safety?"
+
+Darkness and a hush for the space of a long breath, and something
+happened to those two young people. Then Caw joined them.
+
+"What was it?" the girl enquired, almost coldly. "We heard shots, and I
+ran through the passage--father is following--and I came out by the front
+door, and--"
+
+"Weren't you afraid, miss?" Caw asked on a note of admiration.
+
+"Yes, but--" she halted.
+
+"The only thing that has happened, Miss Handyside, so far as we have
+discovered, is that some ass has been setting off fireworks against the
+garage door," said Alan. "Anyway, we can't do anything to-night. Let's go
+in and find Dr. Handyside. He'll be horribly anxious about you."
+
+"There will be a moon shortly," Caw remarked, "and I'll take a look round
+then, Mr. Alan."
+
+"Right! Let us have something hot--coffee and so on--upstairs."
+
+"Very good, sir. Your pardon, miss, but that nice pistol--"
+
+"Oh, _would_ you take it away from me, Caw?" she sighed. "Keep it till I
+ask for it."
+
+"Thank you, miss." Caw received the little weapon.
+
+It was, of course, utterly absurd, but at the moment Alan felt annoyed
+with his servant.
+
+They found the doctor starting to negotiate the stair.
+
+"Ah," he cried, "glad to see you! What the dickens are your friends
+after this time, Alan? Stealing your coals for a change?" He laughed,
+but one could have seen that he was immensely relieved by the sight of
+his daughter.
+
+Together they spent a couple of hours in the study and discussed a dozen
+theories. Perhaps Alan had least to say for himself. He was inclined to
+be absent-minded. On the other hand, he discovered, after a while, that
+he was disposed to look rather too frequently in the direction of his
+girl guest. Left to himself, he became aware that his plan for the
+immediate future was not altogether satisfactory. It was too late now to
+ask Teddy to delay his already postponed visit, but had that been
+feasible he would have made up his mind to start for London in the
+morning. Doris was in London, and his desire was towards her--or was it
+partly his duty?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+
+"So that's my story up to date," said Alan, and took out his pipe.
+
+"And a very pretty story it is," returned Teddy, "if only there didn't
+need to be a sequel, old man. Of course, you can't possibly let the
+matter drop. I wouldn't myself."
+
+The two friends were seated in the study of Grey House. The November
+twilight was failing. Teddy had arrived early in the day, and since then
+they had spent few silent moments together.
+
+At the outset Teddy had forgotten all his troubles in the joy of the
+resumed intercourse, but before long even the tale of Alan's adventures
+had not served to keep them in abeyance--especially the thoughts of
+Doris. Teddy would never forget that interview when he had confessed to
+the losing of the Green Box. It had been a stunning blow to the girl who
+had considered only the disaster it entailed for her father. For Teddy
+she had had no reproaches, only gentleness. "You must have had a very
+wretched night," she said kindly. "Now we can only wait and see what
+happens. You must not worry too much."
+
+"If I were sure Bullard had it, I'd go this minute and offer every penny
+I have," Teddy desperately declared.
+
+"I cannot imagine Mr. Bullard wanting the box for what it might be worth
+in money," she said; "I'm afraid he may use it in some way against
+father--and poor father was almost happy last night.--Oh, Teddy, I didn't
+mean to hurt you, you've done your best." He had turned away because
+there were tears in his eyes.
+
+"Has Mr. Lancaster told you," he asked presently, "whether money would
+break the power of Bullard over him?"
+
+After a little while her reply came in a whisper: "Yes; but it's an
+impossible sum--twenty-five thousand pounds." Teddy let out a groan, and
+just then Mrs. Lancaster had intervened.
+
+"Yes," Alan was saying, "I'm going to make a big effort to find
+Mr. Flitch."
+
+"He isn't by any chance a smallish dark man with a queer nose?"
+
+"He's a huge, ruddy man--but what made you ask, Teddy?"
+
+"I'll come to that when I'm telling you my little story of how I tried to
+shadow Bullard."
+
+"Shadow Bullard! Good Heavens!--you!"
+
+"Something to do in my spare time," said Teddy with a feeble smile.
+
+The host eyed him in the firelight. "You don't feel like telling it just
+at once, do you?" he enquired kindly. He had been thinking his friend was
+looking none too fit.
+
+"Oh, I don't mind, Alan, if you care to have it now."
+
+"I admit curiosity. Is there anything to prevent your telling it in Caw's
+presence? Be quite candid--"
+
+"Caw is welcome to it."
+
+"Thanks," Alan rang the bell. "Caw and I have a good many gaps in
+our knowledge, and it's just possible that you may be able to fill
+some for us."
+
+"I've found out next to nothing definite except that Bullard is a rank
+liar; but I'm determined to go on with the shadowing--"
+
+Caw appeared, and was about to remove the tea-tray.
+
+"Never mind that just now," said Alan. "Give us lights, sit down, and
+listen to what Mr. France has to say.... Go ahead, Teddy. We'll keep
+quiet till you've finished."
+
+Teddy's, as we should have expected, was not a very long story. At its
+conclusion Alan turned to the servant.
+
+"Well, Caw?"
+
+"Am I to speak, sir? Very good. Then I will only say two things. Firstly,
+I was a very great fool to be taken in by Mr. Bullard's wire from Paris:
+I ought to have considered the chance of his having an assistant over
+there. Secondly, the man with the nose, sir, is Edwin Marvel, an uncommon
+bad egg, if I may say so, known to my master in the old days; and I am
+inclined to think that Mr. Bullard employed him to pinch--beg pardon,
+obtain--the Green Box, though I do not believe for a moment that Mr.
+Bullard trusted him far with it."
+
+"You are convinced then that Bullard has the box now?" said Alan.
+
+"If I hadn't been convinced before--which I was, Mr. Alan--Mr. France's
+remarks would have satisfied me. If I may ask, Mr. France, what do you
+think about it yourself?"
+
+Poor Teddy! He would fain have abandoned concealment there and then, but
+all he sadly permitted himself to say was: "If Bullard hasn't got it, who
+has?" In the same breath he asked: "But why was the confounded thing not
+kept in a safe place?"
+
+"By my uncle's orders it was kept in a drawer in that table. One might be
+pardoned for fancying that the whole affair is a sort of game--and rather
+a silly one at that," Alan said, a trifle irritably. "But for Caw's
+assurance to the contrary I'd refuse to believe that the box contained
+anything worth having. My uncle was not a fool, and yet--"
+
+Caw, who could not endure hearing his late master's methods called in
+question, interrupted gently: "Pardon, sir, but possibly Mr. France might
+care to see where the box was kept."
+
+"Show him, then."
+
+The servant got up and went to the writing-table. "In this drawer,"
+he began, stooping, and drew it open.... "Good God, Mr. Alan, the
+box is back!"
+
+Alan jumped while Teddy sat down on the nearest seat.
+
+Alan was first to speak. "What we want at once," said he, "is a
+locksmith."
+
+"A locksmith, sir!" ejaculated Caw, his countenance expressing the
+liveliest horror.
+
+"Of course! We must have the box opened, though we can hardly expect to
+find anything in it at this time of day."
+
+"But--but my master's wishes, Mr. Alan!"
+
+Alan suppressed a strong word. "You mean that we ought not to open it
+until the clock stops?"
+
+"Sir," said Caw, "if my master meant anything when he bade me throw the
+key into the loch, I am sure he meant the box to remain closed until
+the time appointed for the ending of my service to him. Besides, he
+told me--"
+
+"But hang it all! he did not foresee an emergency like this!"
+
+"I cannot say, sir. At any rate, it is not for me to question his wisdom.
+I am in your service, Mr. Alan, and proud of it, but I am also in his,
+until the clock stops--and so I beg of you very kindly, sir, not to put
+me in a position that might make me seem disrespectful to the wishes of
+yourself or him." The little speech was delivered with such quiet dignity
+and withal in such frank appeal that Alan was touched.
+
+"Upon my word, Caw," he said warmly, "you're the right sort! All the
+same, it's a horribly annoying situation. I must think it over."
+Suddenly, with a laugh, he turned and shook his fist at the clock.
+"Confound you! can't you get a big move on?"
+
+"If I may say so," said the servant, "I sympathise with you, Mr. Alan,
+regarding that clock. The only reason, I think, for its being made to go
+for a year was to allow time for your return. And now within a fortnight
+of its starting, here you are, sir, safe and sound!"
+
+Teddy roused himself. "Is there any reason why it should not be stopped
+before its time?" he enquired.
+
+Caw's mouth opened. "My master's orders" was on his tongue. And yet, as
+he had just said in other words, the object of the clock's existence, so
+far as he knew it, had been already attained. "So far as he knew
+it!"--that was the clause that stuck.
+
+"Well, Caw?" said Alan, "what were you going to say?"
+
+Caw shook his head. "I haven't knowledge enough to answer either 'yes' or
+'no.' I have imagined, Mr. Alan, that that clock may be doing more than
+just telling the time. Sometimes, indeed, I think it--it _knows_
+something."
+
+At that moment a bell rang in the distance. "Excuse me, sir," said Caw
+and went out.
+
+"What's the man driving at?" said Alan with natural enough impatience.
+
+"Well," his friend replied slowly, "doesn't it seem queer that the clock
+should have been put there simply to proclaim when the year was up? A
+grocer's calendar could have done that much--"
+
+"By Jove!" Christopher's nephew strode across the room and stood staring
+at the timepiece. "Teddy," he said at last, "if it weren't for that
+blighted Green Box, I'd be imagining all sorts of--"
+
+Caw entered with a telegram on a tray. "For you, Mr. France," he said,
+presenting it. "The messenger waits."
+
+Teddy read and went rather pale.
+
+"Not bad news, old man?" Alan asked, coming over.
+
+"Yes, it's bad--and yet it might have been worse. Read it. Don't go,
+Caw--or rather, ask the messenger to wait--"
+
+"We'll ring for you, Caw," said Alan.
+
+The message in his hand ran on to a second sheet, and was as follows:
+
+"Father has heard of Alan's return from B. The shock was too much, but
+though weak he is very glad. But I fear for him. Tell Alan whatever you
+think desirable. This is a last resort. Reply Queen's Road P.O.
+
+"DORIS."
+
+In Alan's heart an angry question flared up and went out. Why this appeal
+to Teddy? Nay, enough that she needed help. Besides, she might not have
+felt at liberty to address him direct. He looked up with a tender
+expression and met his friend's eye--good honest eyes that were bound to
+betray a secret such as Teddy's.... It struck Alan then that his return
+to home life might have consequences more momentous than he had dreamed
+of. With a slight flush on his tanned skin he went back to his chair by
+the fire, and, motioning Teddy to one opposite, said:--
+
+"Just do what Doris says, old man. Tell me whatever you think desirable,
+and no more. And before you begin, I'll remind you that in all our talk
+to-day I have never once uttered a word against Lancaster. The man has
+been simply the victim, the tool, of Bullard. Caw thinks the same, and my
+uncle said as much just before he died. You and I know that he is no
+villain. And why delay sending an answer to this wire? There can be only
+one answer. You'll find forms on the table."
+
+"Won't you send it, Alan?"
+
+"I'll send one to Lancaster himself."
+
+"Better not."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Mrs. Lancaster is on Bullard's side."
+
+"Ah!"
+
+"Besides," Teddy continued, rather awkwardly, "I feel that you ought to
+hear what I have to say before you promise Lancaster--"
+
+"I was merely going to ask him not to worry about anything."
+
+"Exactly! But I had better tell you at once that in order to follow your
+advice Lancaster would require to have twenty-five thousand pounds."
+
+Alan gave a soft whistle. Then he laughed pleasantly. "You may tell Doris
+to tell him not to worry about anything. I'm owing him fifteen hundred
+and interest as it is."
+
+"Alan!" cried Teddy, incredulous; "you don't really--"
+
+"Oh, shut up! Put it any way you like, but don't keep Doris waiting.
+Listen! How will this do? 'Tell father with Alan's regards, no cause for
+anxiety in any direction, and he hopes to see you both almost
+immediately. Guard this from B.' ... Anything else?"
+
+"I--I'd like to mention that the box is here."
+
+"The box! But what in creation does Doris know--"
+
+"I'll be telling you in a minute," Teddy interrupted, looking hot and
+miserable.
+
+"All right. Go ahead."
+
+Teddy added to the message: "Surprised to find box safe here." Then, with
+his pencil dabbing the blotting-paper, he said: "Alan, if you don't mind
+my suggesting it, I think she'd like a word from you--for herself." He
+had evidently forgotten that he had brought no "word" for Alan.
+
+The latter did not reply at once. "You might put," he said slowly, his
+gaze on the fire, "'Trust Alan,' or words to that effect--No, don't say
+anything."
+
+Teddy gave him a puzzled glance, sighed, and completed the message.
+
+Alan rang the bell, remarking: "Caw will be interested to know that it
+was Bullard who was here last night with his petards. Pretty clever chap,
+Bullard. But what on earth made him return the box?"
+
+"I can tell you that also," said Teddy, as Caw came in for the telegram.
+
+"Quick as you can, Caw," Alan said. "Mr. France has more to tell us."
+
+The friends smoked in silence till the servant came back.
+
+This time Teddy reserved nothing save Doris's promise to marry Bullard at
+the end of a year. That, he felt, was for Doris herself to tell. Beyond
+an occasional exclamation his recital met with no interruption. When he
+had made an end there was a long pause while Alan and Caw filled up
+mentally a few more of the gaps in their knowledge. The latter was sadly
+upset by the revelation of the stones being paste.
+
+"I wonder," said the former, "who the man was who opened the box
+for Bullard?"
+
+"Lancaster, I fancy, will be able to tell you. Bullard seems to have
+rather a choice set of assistants. Doris described him as a
+dreadful-looking man!"
+
+"May I ask you a question, Mr. Alan?"
+
+"Certainly--as many as you like."
+
+The servant was gazing at the carpet. "When Mr. France informed us that
+the diamonds in the Green Box were false, why, sir, did your eyes jump to
+the clock?" He rose without waiting for the answer. "And may I remind
+you, gentlemen, that you are dining at Dr. Handyside's in twenty minutes
+from now?" He was going out when Alan recalled him.
+
+"Have you the address of the chap who made the clock, Caw?"
+
+"I have, sir."
+
+"Then wire him now asking him to come here in the morning. And, by the
+way, Caw--" Alan hesitated.
+
+"Sir?"
+
+"You don't mind being left alone this evening?"
+
+"No, sir. I hardly expect that anything will happen _this_ evening.
+Besides, it is evidently known now that you are at home. Also, which
+I omitted to mention before, there is the bell wire to Dr.
+Handyside's study."
+
+"Then that's all right," Alan said, not without relief, "and you'll have
+that big dog by to-morrow or next day."
+
+Caw bowed and went out.
+
+"You didn't answer his question about the clock," remarked Teddy.
+
+"Confound the clock!" Alan laughed and got up. "For a moment I had a mad
+idea that--well, never mind for the present. We don't want to be late
+next door."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+
+Bullard was still in Glasgow. The return of Alan Craig--for he had soon
+come to laugh at Marvel's story--had been a staggering blow. The will, by
+which he had reckoned to win, should all other means fail, was become a
+sheet of waste paper. Moreover, the "other means" were almost certainly
+rendered impracticable by the presence of Alan at Grey House. Those,
+however, were only his first thoughts.
+
+The car bearing him and the shivering Flitch from the scene of their
+success and consternation was not ten miles on its way when his nerves
+and mind began to regain their normal steadiness and order. Another five
+miles, and the germ of a fresh plot began to swell in his brain--perhaps
+the ugliest, grimmest plot yet conceived and developed in that defiled
+temple. It was a crude plot, too, and quite unworthy of Francis Bullard,
+as he would have realised for himself had he not been obsessed by the new
+conviction that the real diamonds, now virtually Alan's, were hidden in
+the clock in that upper room. Further, it contained a serious flaw, in
+that it allowed nothing for the possibility of Alan's making a fresh
+will. And finally, if one may be permitted to put the primary objection
+last, it depended on the possession of the Green Box which had just
+passed from his keeping.
+
+Nevertheless, commonsense like conscience failed to condemn the scheme,
+and Bullard drove into Glasgow with his mind made up.
+
+An awkward situation was now created by the presence of Flitch. Bullard
+dared not, for more reasons than one, let the creature go his own ways,
+and eventually, swallowing his disgust, he took a double-room in a
+third-rate temperance hotel, giving the landlord a hint to the effect
+that he was shepherding a semi-reformed dipsomaniac. It was a long night
+for Bullard, and probably the same for Flitch who between dozes either
+prayed for Heaven's mercy, or groaned for anybody's whisky.
+
+On the morrow, fortunately for Bullard's plans, the wretch had apparently
+got over his penitence and was certainly none the worse of his short
+spell of compulsory abstinence. All the same, Bullard on going out, after
+Flitch's breakfast, to enjoy his own elsewhere, locked the latter into
+the bedroom, which was on the third floor. First of all he despatched to
+Lancaster a telegram brutal in its curtness: "Alan Craig is at Grey
+House." Later he made a number of purchases in places not much patronised
+by the general public, then took a room at the North British Hotel
+wherein he shut himself until lunch time. Having enjoyed a carefully
+chosen meal, he returned to his inferior lodging and permitted the
+captive to feed. Thereafter a hushed and lengthy conversation took place
+in the frowsy bedroom. At times Flitch objected, at times he pleaded, and
+in the end was bullied into sullen acquiescence.
+
+"And I've got to stick in this hole till it suits ye, have I?" he
+grumbled.
+
+"Just so. Pity you're not fond of reading. I see there's a Bible on the
+dressing-table," Bullard said airily. "But it won't be for more than a
+day or two--three at the outside. I must be back in London on Monday
+morning whether we pull it off or not."
+
+"Monday! But look here, mister, what about that chap we left chained up
+in the cellar?"
+
+Bullard had forgotten, for the time being, about the ill-starred Marvel,
+but the reminder did not trouble him. Marvel out of the way for good
+would not be a happening to regret. "I daresay our friend will have an
+appetite by Monday," he remarked, playing with the nugget.
+
+"He'll be dead! I'd bet anything he's eaten his bit by now, and yon's a
+hellish cold place in this weather. If I'd known murder was yer game, Mr.
+Bullard--"
+
+"That'll do. You can leave the matter to me. Do you want to get out of
+this country or not, Flitch?"
+
+"God knows I do!"
+
+"Then you know who is the only person who can help you to go. Don't be a
+fool. Good afternoon!"
+
+He took a cab to the North British Hotel. On alighting, a newsboy offered
+him a paper. He was passing on when his eye was caught by the
+bill--"Serious Rioting on the Rand." He bought a paper and with set
+countenance made his way to the writing-room off the lounge. At that hour
+the place was deserted, and in the furthest corner he seated himself and
+opened the paper. Trouble had been threatening on the Rand for some time,
+but Bullard was quite unprepared for a catastrophe such as he was now
+called upon to face. The details were few but fateful. Thus:--
+
+"The group of mines controlled by the Aasvogel Syndicate are the chief
+sufferers so far. Dynamite was freely used, and power-houses, batteries
+and cyanide-houses present scenes of hopeless ruin. The shafts, it is
+stated, are destroyed. Several persons on the staff of the Lucifer Mine
+are unaccounted for. At the moment of cabling fires are raging in several
+quarters."
+
+For several minutes after he had mastered the significance of it all,
+Bullard sat perfectly still. There was a curious pallor about his mouth
+and he had a shaken, shrunken look generally. Letting the paper slip to
+the floor he rang the bell, and, when the waiter arrived, ordered tea.
+"But first fetch me some telegraph forms," he said.
+
+A busy hour followed. Keenly considered and reconsidered messages had to
+be written for despatch to his private brokers as well as to those who
+acted for the Syndicate, and to the Syndicate's secretary. By prompt
+action something--a good deal perhaps--might be saved from the
+wreckage--for himself. For others he had no thought. "This finishes
+Lancaster," he said to himself; "he'll have to face the music, after
+all." He sighed. "Means losing Doris, perhaps...."
+
+The fates, it seemed, were conspiring to force his hand. It was now
+imperative that he should be in London by the following night, at latest.
+He foresaw a journey to South Africa, a long stay there. Was he going to
+be compelled to abandon his greatly daring new scheme? Why, the new
+scheme was a hundred times more urgent, more vital than it had been a
+couple of hours ago! And yet it would be sheer madness to attempt to
+carry it out to-night--unless the unlikely happened. He looked up at the
+clock--five-twenty already!--and murmured "impossible."
+
+His reflections were disturbed by the sing-song voice of a page-boy
+coming through the lounge.
+
+"Number one hundred and seventy-four," it droned, "number one
+hundred and--"
+
+Bullard darted to the door. "Here, boy," he called a trifle hoarsely,
+holding out his hand.
+
+A moment later he was opening an envelope. There was nothing in it. He
+dropped it upon the fire, took his coat and hat, and left the hotel by
+the station door.
+
+At a corner of the bookstall, at which hurried suburban passengers were
+grabbing evening papers, a youngish man in a bowler hat, of wholly
+undistinguished appearance, was apparently engrossed in the study of
+picture postcards, but he turned as Bullard approached, and presently the
+two were strolling up No. 3 platform.
+
+"Well, sir, I've hardly had time to do much, but I thought I had better
+report what little I've gathered," said the youngish man. "It doesn't
+seem very important--"
+
+"Go ahead," said Bullard impatiently.
+
+"Right, Mr. Warren. Mr. Craig and his friend--"
+
+"His friend?"
+
+"Sorry I didn't get the name to-day--but--"
+
+"Never mind! Go on!"
+
+"Mr. Craig and his friend are dining to-night at the house next door--Dr.
+Handyside's--"
+
+"Ah! How did you learn that?"
+
+"The doctor's housekeeper. She wouldn't have her photo taken, but she
+didn't object to a chat." The youngish man smiled to himself. Evidently
+his news was worth more than he had anticipated.
+
+"Sure it's to-night?"
+
+"Absolutely, Mr. Warren."
+
+"Anything further?"
+
+"I'm afraid not, sir. You must understand--"
+
+"Thanks. Well, Mr. Barry, I've decided to let the matter drop for
+the present."
+
+The private detective's face fell. He had been congratulating himself
+on having secured a "good thing." But he brightened at his patron's
+next words.
+
+"Will ten pounds satisfy you?"
+
+"Why, sir, it's very good of you!"
+
+Bullard passed him a couple of notes. "I may want your services later.
+Good-bye."
+
+Re-entering the hotel he passed through to the door opening on the
+Square, had a cab summoned, and drove to his lodging of the
+previous night.
+
+"Wake up, Dunning! I've remembered your name this time, you see! We'll be
+in London to-morrow! Meanwhile, to business! If you're hungry, you can
+have something to eat in the car."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Alan and Teddy took the long way to the doctor's; a breath of fresh air
+was desirable after so many hours indoors. Though dark the night was
+fine, with a suspicion of frost in the air. Having seen them depart, Caw
+turned the key in the glass door. He went upstairs and methodically
+switched off all unnecessary lights and supplied the study fire with
+fuel. He was meditating on the return of the Green Box and the no less
+startling revelation concerning its contents, and just to reassure
+himself he opened the deep drawer. There it lay, the familiar, maddening
+thing! "I guess they won't bother their heads about _you_ again," he
+reflected, "but I wonder what they'll go for next?" He paused before the
+clock and wagged his head. "We'll have to keep an eye on you, my
+friend," he muttered, then switched off the last light, and went down to
+his supper.
+
+He was enjoying his first pipe when the bell rang.
+
+"Another wire, I should say," he sighed, getting up reluctantly. "Wonder
+whether I should ring or take it along. They can hardly have finished
+dinner yet," He put his hand in his pocket and felt his revolver. "Shan't
+be caught napping, anyway."
+
+He went briskly down the hall and opened the door. He had a bare glimpse
+of a big, burly figure--and then a dense fine spray of intense odour
+caught him full in the face. Blindly he sought to bang the door, but
+staggered sideways in an agony of gasping and weeping. He fell, clawing
+at the wall, and lay stupefied, at the mercy of the unknown, who
+promptly proceeded with whipcord to truss him up both neatly and
+securely. Then he was gagged, drawn into the room on the right, the
+dining-room, and locked in.
+
+Flitch went back to the front door and waved his hand, and Bullard,
+carrying a small black bag, appeared out of the darkness.
+
+"Get back to the car," he said. "I shan't be long." He closed and locked
+the door on his assistant and went swiftly upstairs. He was not thirty
+seconds gone, when Flitch followed stealthily in his wake. It was nothing
+to Flitch to turn an ordinary key from the other side.
+
+In the study Bullard switched on the light over the writing-table.
+Opening his bag he took out the contents--an oblong package in waterproof
+paper sealed with wax in several places, with the short ends of three
+broad tapes protruding from the top, and a tube of liquid glue. He opened
+the deep drawer, and after noting the precise position of the Green Box,
+drew it forth and set it on the table. He wrought rapidly but without
+flurry. Opening the box with the key he had procured in Glasgow the
+previous day, he transferred its contents, trays and all, to his bag.
+"Looks as if they hadn't discovered it yet," he thought. Then over the
+bottom of the box he squeezed a goodly quantity of glue. He placed the
+package in the box, cautiously pressing it down. He lowered the lid and
+found that a slight pressure was required for its complete closing. This
+seemed to please him. Raising the lid again, he placed a sheet of
+notepaper between the tapes and the waterproof paper and smeared the
+tapes thickly with glue. For a brief space he regarded his handiwork,
+then put down the lid, forcing it gently until the key turned.
+Withdrawing the key, he replaced the box exactly as he had found it, and
+finally, after consideration, dropped the key in beside it.
+
+He wiped sweat from his forehead. He felt faintish, and perhaps
+conscience was whispering for the last time. But without lingering,
+taking his bag, he turned away from the table and stood gazing at the
+clock. The flashing pendulum exasperated him with its suggestion. He was
+tempted to smash the thick glass there and then. Only that mysterious,
+sluggish, iridescent fluid deterred him. The cruel man is usually
+exceedingly sensitive about his own skin. But with an inspiration he made
+a note of the words minutely engraved on the rim surrounding the
+dial--"A. Guidet, Glasgow." Then with a curse he departed.
+
+On reaching the car he found Flitch in a dismal state.
+
+"Mr. Bullard," moaned the creature, "will ye tell me what was in the bag
+that ye carried it so careful? Will ye swear this is the last job ye'll
+ever make me do?"
+
+"Oh, shut up!" was the answer, followed by the unspoken words; "I must
+get rid of this swine, somehow."
+
+They made good time to Glasgow and caught the late express for London.
+Before the train started Bullard posted a note to Barry, the detective:
+"Find out and wire me the address of A. Guidet, a clockmaker, in
+Glasgow.--Warren."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+
+Morning brought a telegram from Monsieur Guidet, and a couple of hours
+later the little Frenchman arrived at Grey House in a sorry state of
+apprehension. The clock!--impossible that he could have failed in any
+way!--there must have been gross and deliberate ill-usage! ... and many
+more words to the same effect. When he stopped for breath Caw assured him
+that there was nothing wrong with the clock and mentioned why and by whom
+the summons had been sent him. Whereupon Monsieur went frantic. "Stop the
+clock--nevaire!--what crime to think of!--the clock must not stop till he
+stop himself!"
+
+"All right, Monsoor, you can explain all that to Mr. Alan Craig. The
+clock, like everything else here, belongs to him now,--and I happen to
+have a headache this morning."
+
+"Hah! you have rejoice at the return of the young Mr. Craik," said
+Guidet, controlling himself and sympathetically considering Caw's red
+eyes and husky voice. "Good!--but you look upon the wine when he was
+wheesky, and there is not so much jolly good fellow in the
+morning--eh, Mr. Caw?"
+
+"Oh, yes, we've been doing a lot of rejoicing--I don't think," returned
+Caw with weary good humour. Thanks to Handyside's attentions he was not
+much the worse of the spray which had been more efficacious than
+virulent. Within half an hour he had managed to attract the attention of
+the house-keeper who had given the alarm. What had puzzled every one
+concerned was that the attempt should have ended as it had begun with the
+assault on the servant. Nothing had been touched. "Must have taken
+fright," was the only conclusion arrived at after a thorough search and
+rather a discursive consultation.
+
+Caw ushered the clock-maker into the study. Handyside and Marjorie were
+present by invitation.
+
+"You had better wait, Caw," said Alan. "Be seated, Monsieur Guidet. Many
+thanks for coming so promptly."
+
+Monsieur bowed solemnly to each person, looked for a moment as if he
+were going to bow to his masterpiece also, and took the chair
+preferred by Caw.
+
+"It was my dutiful pleasure to come with speed, Mr. Craik, for sake of
+your high respectable uncle, and I am at his service, I hope, when I am
+at yours."
+
+Alan gave the embarrassed nod of the average Briton listening to an
+ordinary observation elegantly expressed. "Very good of you, I'm sure.
+Well, I suppose Caw has told you why we have troubled you--simply to have
+your opinion as to stopping the clock now, instead of allowing it to go
+on for nearly a year."
+
+Obvious was the effort with which Monsieur Guidet restrained his feelings
+while he enquired whether the clock had been annoying anybody.
+
+"By no means," Alan answered, wondering how much the man knew. "But my
+friends and I have come to the conclusion that certain annoyances will
+not stop until the clock does. I hesitate to ask you questions,
+Monsieur Guidet--"
+
+"I beg that you will not do so, Mr. Craik. I have leetle knowledge, but
+it is discreet and confiding. But in one thing I am sure: your reverent"
+(possibly he meant "revered") "uncle did not mean the clock to bring
+annoyance to you and your friends. No, sir!"
+
+"In that case, I should imagine he would have wished it to stop as soon
+as possible. Caw assures me that the main object in making the clock to
+go for a whole year was to allow time for my return before certain wishes
+of my uncle took effect. You take my meaning?"
+
+"I do, sir; and though the late Mr. Craik did not remark it so to me, I
+can believe such a thing was in his brains at the time. But to stop the
+clock before he has finished his course--that is another story, sir!"
+
+Teddy put in a word. "Dangerous, Monsieur?"
+
+"Why do you ask such a question, sir?"
+
+"My friend probably refers to the notice and to the green fluid,"
+said Alan.
+
+"Monsieur," cried Marjorie, "may I guess what the danger is?"
+
+"Hush, Marjorie!" muttered her father.
+
+Monsieur gave her a beautiful smile and a charming bow. "Mademoiselle,"
+he said sweetly, "is welcome to one hundred thousand guesses."
+
+With that there fell a silence. It was broken by Caw.
+
+"If I may say so, Monsoor seems to have forgotten that the clock is the
+property of Mr. Alan Craig, and therefore--"
+
+"Mr. Caw," said Guidet quickly, "because I remember that, I say what I
+say; I refuse what I refuse."
+
+"Come, Monsieur," said Alan, "it is an open secret that that clock is
+more than a time-keeper."
+
+"Myself would almost suspect so much." He said it so quaintly that a
+smile went round. Caw alone preserved a stolid expression.
+
+"Monsoor," he said very quietly, "I respectfully ask the lady and the
+gentleman here present to bear witness to a promise which I am ready to
+put in writing. ... If I am alive when that clock stops, about a year
+hence, I will pay you, Monsoor, a thousand pounds."
+
+Guidet sprang up and sat down again. He appealed to Alan. "What does he
+mean, Mr. Craik?"
+
+"He means," Alan answered, "that whatever possible danger there may be in
+stopping the clock, there is very probable danger in letting it go on. Is
+that it, Caw?"
+
+"Yes, Mr. Alan, and I hope you will believe that my remark was not
+entirely selfish."
+
+"The trouble, Monsieur," added Alan, "is that like yourself I cannot
+answer questions."
+
+"One, if you please, Mr. Craik. Is the danger for you also?"
+
+Alan smiled. "I'm not worrying much--"
+
+Marjorie interposed. "Yes, yes, Monsieur!" she exclaimed, and hastily
+lowered a flushed face.
+
+The Frenchman was plainly distressed. "This," he said at last, "was not
+expected. I perceive that you have enemies, that my esteemed patron had
+enemies also. Not so bad did I understand it to be. I imagined Mr.
+Christopher Craik was humourist as well as clever man--"
+
+"So he was," the host interrupted; "but the ball he set rolling is now
+doing so more violently than I can believe he intended. Still, if
+stopping the clock before its time is likely to stultify his memory in
+any way--why then, Monsieur, I, for one, will do my best to keep it
+going. What do you say, Caw?"
+
+"If that is how you feel, sir, then I say, 'long live the clock!'"
+
+"Hear, hear!" murmured Teddy.
+
+"Caw," cried Miss Handyside, "you're simply splendid!"
+
+Caw had not blushed so warmly for many years.
+
+Guidet, pale and perturbed, had taken a little book from his pocket and
+opened it at a page of tiny figures close-packed. Now he rose. "If I may
+go to a quiet place for one half-hour, I--I will see if anything can be
+done, Mr. Craik, but I promise nothings."
+
+"See that Monsieur Guidet has quietness and some refreshment," said Alan
+to the servant, and the two left the room.
+
+"Let's go for a walk," remarked Teddy. "This clock business is getting on
+my nerves. I shall never again wear socks with--"
+
+"But I do think," said Marjorie hopefully, "the funny little man means to
+do something."
+
+Dr. Handyside got up and strolled over to the clock. "Monsieur Guidet,"
+he observed, "has evidently the sensibilities of an artist as well as the
+ordinary feelings of humanity. Caw has appealed to the latter. If I were
+you, Alan, I should appeal to the former by suggesting to Guidet the
+probability of an attack on the clock itself."
+
+On the way out-of-doors, Alan looked into the room where the Frenchman
+sat staring at a diagram roughly drawn on notepaper. He wagged his
+head drearily.
+
+"I fear I can do nothings," he sighed.
+
+"Perhaps I ought to mention, Monsieur," Alan said, as if the idea had
+just occurred to him, "that my enemies are just as likely to attack the
+clock as my person--more likely, it may be."
+
+"Hah!" Guidet bounded on his seat. "My clock!--They dare to attack
+him!--"
+
+"Possibly with explosives--"
+
+"Enough! Pray leave me, Mr. Craik. I--I may yet find a way. Give me a
+whole hour."
+
+During the walk up the loch Teddy actually forgot the clock. Alan and
+Marjorie were in front, and he noted his friend's bearing towards the
+girl with a pained wonder, and thought of Doris.
+
+On returning to the house they found Monsieur waiting for them. He held
+a sheaf of papers covered with queer drawings and calculations. And he
+hung his head.
+
+"Mr. Craik," he said sadly, "I have struggle, but it is no use. I see an
+hour, thirteen days after to-day, when perhaps I _might_ stop him without
+disaster--but only perhaps--only perhaps. And so I dare not, will not
+risk. One leetle, tiny mistake of a second, and"--he made an expressive
+gesture--"all is lost."
+
+The silence of dismay was broken by Handyside.
+
+"But bless my soul, Monsieur Guidet, if you stop him at the wrong time,
+you can easily set him going again."
+
+"Not so! He stop once, he stop for ever."
+
+"But," cried Marjorie excitedly, "although you stop him--the clock, I
+mean--it will still be there; it won't fly away."
+
+The little man regarded her for a moment. "Mademoiselle," he said and
+bowed, "he will be done--finished--dead. I will say no more." He turned
+to Alan. "Mr. Craik, I am sorry to be not obliging to you. Yes; and I
+confess I am nearly more sorry for myself. But I hope the time comes when
+you will understand and excuse. The good God preserve you and him--and
+Mr. Caw--from enemies." He bowed all round. "Adieu."
+
+And so ended the little company's great expectations.
+
+"I suppose there's nothing for it but to hang on," said Alan with a
+laugh, "and get used to the situation. I think you, Teddy, had better
+chuck your berth in London, live here, and help me to write that book on
+my Eskimo experiences."
+
+"Very pleased," replied Teddy, "if you don't mind my having the jumps
+once a while."
+
+"Oh, do come and stay with Mr. Craig," said Marjorie in her impulsive
+fashion, which annoyed Teddy chiefly because he was forced to confess it
+charming. He disapproved of the proprietary interest she seemed to take
+in his friend, and yet had circumstances been a little different, how he
+would have welcomed it!
+
+"A very good notion," observed Handyside. "The clock can't have too many
+guardians, and I don't imagine you would care to bring in strangers."
+
+"Not to be thought of," replied Alan. "But I'm sorry for Caw. Teddy and I
+must leave him alone for a few days. We're catching the two o'clock
+steamer. Things to see about in Glasgow, and on to London in the morning.
+I'm hoping the big dog may turn up to-day."
+
+Marjorie gave her father a surreptitious nudge.
+
+"I don't like intruding my services," said the doctor, "but I should be
+very glad to spend the nights here during your absence--"
+
+"Me, too," said Marjorie.
+
+"Be quiet, infant! Just be candid, Alan."
+
+"I'd be jolly glad to think of Caw having your support, doctor," the
+young man heartily answered, "but it would be accepting too much. I have
+no right to bring you into my troubles--"
+
+"Then that's settled," said Handyside. "I hope you don't mind my saying
+it, but I've felt a new man since I learned that the stones were false.
+Marjorie and I must be going now, and there's only one thing I want to be
+sure of before we part."
+
+"What is that, doctor?"
+
+"I want to be sure that the Green Box is in its place."
+
+They all laughed. "That's easy!" Alan opened the drawer. "Behold!--just
+where it was last night."
+
+Marjorie's hand darted downward. "What key is this?" she cried,
+holding it up.
+
+"By Jove!" he exclaimed. "I could swear that wasn't there last night."
+
+"Might have been lying in the shadow," Teddy suggested. "It's a new key."
+
+"Oh, do try it in the box!"
+
+"I think we may do that much." Alan lifted the box to the table. "Try it
+yourself, Miss Handyside."
+
+"It fits!--it turns! Oh, Mr. Craig, just one little peep inside!"
+
+"Against the rules," said Teddy, burning with curiosity.
+
+"What rules?"
+
+"We decided that it would be against my uncle's wishes to open the box
+before the clock stopped," Alan said reluctantly. Then brightly--"But, I
+say! we didn't take into account the fact that it had been already
+opened, though not by us--which alters the position considerably. Don't
+you agree, Teddy?"
+
+"Oh, confound the thing, I'm dying to see inside, and yet--"
+
+"I rather think--" began the doctor.
+
+"Oh, don't think, father!" said Marjorie, her fingers on the edge of the
+lid. She looked to Alan. "May I?"
+
+A tap, and Caw came in with a telegram for Alan.
+
+"Excuse me," the host said, and opened it.
+
+Caw caught sight of the key in the box, forgot his manners, and leapt
+forward, laying his hand on the lid.
+
+And Alan went white as death. "Turn the key, Caw," he said hoarsely, "and
+take it away." Partially recovering himself, he apologised to the girl.
+"It was too rude of me, but something reminded me that I should be
+betraying a trust by opening the box now. Please try to forgive me."
+
+She was very kind about it, for there was no mistaking his distress.
+
+Presently she and the doctor departed. Alan dropped into a chair and
+handed the message to the wondering Teddy.
+
+"Read it aloud. Listen Caw."
+
+Teddy read:--
+
+"Handed in at Fenchurch Street, 11:20 a. m. Alan Craig, Grey House, Loch
+Long. _For life's sake don't ever try to open Green Box--Friend_."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+
+In the train, nearing London, Alan and Teddy yawned simultaneously,
+caught each other's eye, and grinned.
+
+"We've had a deuce of a talk," said Alan, "and I hope you feel wiser, for
+I don't. How much simpler it would all have been had my uncle refrained
+from those explicit instructions respecting Bullard. We've actually got
+to be tender with the man until that blessed clock stops."
+
+"But oh, what a difference afterwards!--though I doubt if we'll ever get
+anything like even with the beggar. By the way, about the Green Box--"
+
+"Don't return to it!"
+
+"I must, old chap. Do you still take that warning wire seriously? You
+don't think now that it was sent by Bullard for purposes of his own?"
+
+"I feel that the warning was genuine and not Bullard's. Yet who could
+have sent it? Lancaster? Doris? ... But how should they know there was
+anything changed about the box? Also, was it Bullard who was in the house
+the night before last? It was certainly not he who went for Caw.... Oh,
+Lord, we're beginning all over again! Let's chuck it for the present.
+And, I say, Teddy, won't you come with me to Earl's Gate after we've had
+some grub?"
+
+"Thanks, no. I've made up my mind to have another dose of shadowing our
+friend. Ten to one I have no luck, but instinct calls."
+
+"It's jolly good of you, and I'm afraid it's going to be a filthy night
+of fog. Well, when shall I see you?"
+
+"Depends. Don't wait up for me. To-morrow is included in my leave, and
+the next day is Sunday, so we are not pressed for time."
+
+"Consider what I said about your coming to Grey House for the winter.
+You could help me in many ways. Of course, I don't want you to risk
+your prospects at the office, not to mention your person, and you must
+allow me to--"
+
+"I'll see what can be done. You know I'm keen to see the thing through.
+By the way, I needn't remind you to be mighty slim to-night so far as
+Mrs. Lancaster is concerned. She represents Bullard in that house. You
+spoke of inviting Lancaster to return North with you for a change of
+scene, and Heaven knows the old chap must need it; but don't you think
+such an invitation might simply mean upsetting the whole boiling of fat
+into the fire? Bullard--"
+
+"And don't you think that the sooner we have the flare up the
+better?--Oh, hang! I keep on forgetting about that clock!"
+
+"Lucky blighter! However, it's your affair, and the change might be
+Lancaster's salvation. He'll never get any peace for his poor weary soul
+where he is."
+
+"You are fond of the man, Teddy?"
+
+"Always liked him," Teddy answered, a trifle shortly. "Not so fond as you
+are, judging from what you're doing for him."
+
+"Oh, drop that! I suppose there's no likelihood of getting them all to
+come North?"
+
+"Can you imagine Mrs. Lancaster existing for a week without crowds of
+people and shops and theatres?"
+
+"Well, we'll see," said Alan. "I--I'll consult Doris about it."
+
+Ten minutes later they were in the Midland Hotel. Alan found a telegram
+from Caw--"Nothing doing,"--and received a legal-looking person who had
+been awaiting his arrival.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Time, the kindly concealer, is also the pitiless exposer. How often in
+the Arctic had Alan imagined, with his whole being athrill, this reunion
+with the girl who, in the last strained moment of parting, had promised
+to wait for him! How often had Doris, in the secrecy of her soul, even
+when the last hope of reunion had failed, repeated the promise as though
+the spirit of her lost lover could hear! And now fate had set these two
+once more face to face, and--neither was quite sure. Emotion indeed was
+theirs, joy and thankfulness, but passionate rapture--no! A clasping of
+hands, a kiss after ever so slight a hesitation, and the embrace that
+both had dreamed of was somehow evaded.
+
+"You haven't changed, Alan, except to look bigger and stronger," she
+remarked, after a little while.
+
+"And you are more lovely than ever, Doris," he said; and now he could
+have embraced her just for her sheer grace and beauty. He was angry with
+himself and not a little humbled, for he had never really doubted his
+love for Doris. Her comparative calmness troubled rather than wounded
+him, for his faith in her was not yet faltering like his faith in
+himself, and he wondered whether her calmness was born of girl's pride or
+woman's insight. Nevertheless, amid all doubts and questionings his main
+purpose remained unwavering: he was here to ask Doris to marry him as
+soon as possible, so that he might rescue her and her father from the
+difficulties besetting them.
+
+As for Doris, her mind was working almost at cross purposes with his.
+Apart from the double barrier created by her father's unhappy position
+and her promise to Bullard, she knew that she could not willingly
+marry Alan, for at last it was given her to realise why the first news
+of his safety, as told by Teddy France, had failed to glorify her own
+little world.
+
+She had seated herself, bidding him with a gesture to do the same,
+and now they were placed with the width of the hearth between them.
+She was the first to break the silence that had followed a few
+rather conventional remarks from either side, and it cost her an
+effort. She was pale.
+
+"Alan, I wish to thank you for your message to father in Teddy's
+telegram. I--I think it saved him. But--please let me go on--I want to be
+quite sure that Teddy told you everything that mattered."
+
+"Everything I need know, Doris. I wish you wouldn't distress yourself.
+It's going to be all right, you know. How is your father to-night?"
+
+"I think he will be well enough to see you to-morrow," she replied, and
+went on to ask a number of questions very painful to her. When he had
+answered the last of them in the affirmative, she sighed and said: "Then,
+Alan, I think, I hope, you do know nearly all, and I can only beg you to
+believe that father never meant to injure _you_ in any way. It was not
+until there was no hope left of your being alive that he--"
+
+"Doris, I implore you not to talk about it. Mr. Lancaster was my good
+friend in the old days, and I trust he is that still. When I see him
+to-morrow I shall have to depend on that friendship, because, you see,
+Doris, I shall want--with your permission--to ask a great favour of him."
+
+On the girl's tired lovely face a flush came--and went. "Alan, this is no
+time for misunderstandings," she said bravely, "and when you have a talk
+with father, I wish you to--to try to forget me."
+
+"Forget you! ... Ah! you mean you do not wish me to refer to your part in
+helping him--"
+
+"Oh," she cried hastily, "I was afraid, after all, Teddy would not tell
+you one thing--"
+
+"It can't matter in the least, dear Doris. What I want to ask your father
+is simply his blessing on us both in our engage--"
+
+"For pity's sake, no! Listen, Alan; and don't think too unkindly of me,
+for I have promised to marry Mr. Bullard--"
+
+"Doris!"
+
+"--a year from now." She bowed her head.
+
+He was on his feet, standing over her. "Bullard!" he exclaimed at last,
+"Bullard! Good Lord, Doris! Had that fat successful gambler actually the
+impudence to ask you to marry him?"
+
+"Oh, hush!" she whispered. "The fact remains that I gave my promise."
+
+He drew a long breath. "Of course you gave your promise, and the reason's
+plain enough to me! You gave it for your father's sake!" As in a flash he
+saw what she had suffered. Teddy's story had told him much, but this! ...
+His heart swelled, overflowed with that which is so akin to love that in
+the moment of stress it is love's double.
+
+And this young man, casting aside his doubts of himself, caught in a
+passion evoked by beauty in distress and hot human sympathy, fell on his
+knees, murmuring endearments, and took this young woman, with all her
+doubts of herself, to his breast.
+
+And Doris let herself go. Doubts or no doubts, right or wrong, it was
+sweet and comforting, after long wearing anxiety and and loneliness, to
+find refuge in the strong, gentle arms of one who cared. But it was a
+lull that could not last.
+
+"Dear," he was saying when she stirred uneasily, "you shall never marry
+him! Why, you don't even need to break your promise, for we will see to
+it that he shall never dare to ask you to fulfil it. Leave Mr. Francis
+Bullard to Teddy and me."
+
+"Alan, this is madness!" She drew away from him. "How could I forget?
+Father is so completely in his power."
+
+"But we are going to rescue him, you and I, thanks to good old Teddy."
+
+She shook her head. "Ah, no, Alan, you are too hopeful."
+
+Alan was puzzled. "Didn't you and he understand my message to him in
+Teddy's wire?" he asked at length.
+
+"We understood that you--you forgave everything. Oh, it was kind and
+generous of you!"
+
+"Was that all?" Alan got up and stood looking down at the fire. "I didn't
+want to say a word about it," he said presently. "I hoped Mr. Lancaster
+at least, would take my meaning. It's horrid having to discuss it with
+you, Doris, but Teddy mentioned something about a--a debt--"
+
+"Oh!" It was a cry of pain. "Teddy must have misunderstood me. I
+never meant--"
+
+"Teddy did it for the best, you may be sure, and I'm grateful to him. Let
+me go on, dear. It is this debt that gives Bullard the upper hand--is it
+not? Twenty-five thousand, Teddy mentioned as the amount."
+
+"Don't!--don't!" She hid her face.
+
+"And so--and so I just brought the money along with me." He cleared his
+throat. "And Mr. Lancaster will be a free man to-morrow. Doris, for God's
+sake, don't take it like that!"
+
+She was not weeping, but her slim body seemed rent.
+
+"Doris, since you are going to marry me, what could be more natural than
+that I should want to help your dearest one out of his trouble? I've
+more money than I need--honestly." He laid his hand on her shoulder.
+"Dear little girl," he continued, with a kindly laugh, "you've no idea
+how difficult it is to speak about it. And I can't carry the thing
+through myself; simply couldn't open the subject to him and offer the
+money. I want you to help me--and at once. I suppose he is strong enough
+to bear a small surprise. So I want you to go now and tell him, and--and
+give him these. I brought notes, you know, because they are more
+private." His free hand dropped a packet into her lap. Amazing how
+little space is required for twenty-five thousand pounds in Bank of
+England notes! "Doris!"
+
+She did not raise her head, but her hands went up to her shoulder and
+took his hand between them. Hers were cold.
+
+"My dearest!" he cried softly.
+
+"Oh, Alan, Alan," she said in a dry whisper. "I shall never get over
+this, I will never forget your goodness. But I can't--I _can't_ do it."
+
+"Yes, you can, dear. I know it's hard. I know it means sinking
+your pride--"
+
+"Pride!--have I any left?"
+
+"Plenty--and plenty to be proud of! Help me to remove your father's
+trouble, and we shall all be happy again. Just think that you are putting
+freedom into his hand--"
+
+"Have mercy, Alan!"
+
+"Dearest, is it too hard? Well, well, I must do it myself, after all.
+Only that will mean so many more troubled hours for him.... Doris, you
+will do it, for his sake and mine? After all, what does the whole affair
+signify? Simply that you and I will have so much less to spend
+later,--and do you mind that?"
+
+He had won, or, at all events, filial love had won. It is the other sort
+of love that pride may withstand to the last.
+
+She did a thing then that he would remember when he was an old man: drew
+his hand to her lips. The colour rushed to his face. "Not that, dear!"
+
+She rose and he supported her, for she was a little _dizzy_ with it all.
+"What am I to say to him, Alan?"
+
+"Just say that it is merely what my Uncle Christopher would have done,
+had he known. And tell him to get well quickly, because I want him to
+come to Grey House for a change, at the earliest possible day. I want you
+and Mrs. Lancaster also, Doris. Will you come?"
+
+She shook her head. "I'm afraid--"
+
+"Never mind now. I'll write to Mrs. Lancaster to-night, and perhaps I may
+see her to-morrow."
+
+"You--you won't tell her about this, Alan?"
+
+"Certainly not. I've forgotten about it," he said, with a smile intended
+to be encouraging. "And I'll go at once. Perhaps that will make it a
+little easier for you. As soon as you've seen your father, you ought to
+turn in. Will you?"
+
+She attempted to smile, but her voice was grave. "I will do anything you
+wish--now and always. I can't thank you, Alan dear, but God knows--" She
+could say no more.
+
+"You dear little girl," he said, rather wildly, "there's just one thing
+you must be quite clear about. This miserable money may buy your father's
+peace of mind, but it has not bought one hair of your beautiful head." He
+took her in his arms and kissed her. "Sleep well ... till to-morrow!"
+
+Her mind was still in turmoil as she went up the broad staircase,
+clutching against her bosom the precious packet, but her eyes were wet at
+last. Her father was saved! For herself she had no thought.
+
+She halted at the door of his room, listening. It was essential that he
+should be alone.... She started violently.
+
+Another door on the landing opened and Mrs. Lancaster came forth.
+
+"Surely Mr. Craig has not gone already," she said. "I am just
+going down."
+
+"He has gone, mother, but he hopes to see you tomorrow."
+
+"Too bad! He can't have told you all his adventures, Doris." Thus far
+Mrs. Lancaster had learned nothing beyond the bare facts of Alan's return
+and his intention to call.
+
+"I think he is keeping them for you and father," said the girl, striving
+for composure. "He wants us all to go to Grey House as soon as father is
+well enough to travel."
+
+"At this time of year?--absurd, or, at all events, impossible!--for you
+and me, at any rate. Has Mr. Craig not been made aware of your engagement
+to Mr. Bullard?"
+
+"I thought we had agreed not to talk of that." Doris laid her fingers on
+the door-handle.
+
+Mrs. Lancaster came a little closer. "Is that a letter for your father?
+The last post must have been late?"
+
+The strain was telling on Doris; she gave a nervous assent.
+
+"Ah, it has not come by post, I see! Why it is not even addressed to
+him!"
+
+"It is for him."
+
+"From Mr. Craig?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"If it is anything exciting, he ought not to have it to-night. It will
+spoil his chances of getting to sleep."
+
+"I--I don't think so, mother."
+
+"My dear girl, you ought to be perfectly certain, one way or another. I
+simply cannot trust you. Leave it with me, and you can give it him in
+the morning."
+
+Doris felt faint. "I can take care of it, but I'm sure it won't do him
+any harm. I will--"
+
+With a swift movement of her supple body and arm the woman possessed
+herself of the packet. At the feel, the almost imperceptible sound, of it
+her eyes gleamed, her dusky colouring darkened.
+
+"Mother!" gasped Doris.
+
+"I cannot risk having your father upset. You can ask me for it in
+the morning."
+
+"Mother!" Impelled by a most hideous fear the daughter sprang, clutched,
+missed--and fell like a lifeless thing.
+
+Mrs. Lancaster rang for her maid.
+
+When Doris came hazily to herself she was in bed.
+
+"Drink this, my dear," said her mother gently.
+
+It was a powerful sleeping draught, and soon the girl's brain was under
+its subjection.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+About ten o'clock Mrs. Lancaster, in her boudoir, rang up Bullard, first
+at his hotel, then at his office, whence she obtained a response.
+
+"Can you come here at once?" she asked him.
+
+"Impossible! Anything urgent?"
+
+"Alan Craig has been here."
+
+"... Well?"
+
+"He knows about--things. I'm sure he does."
+
+"For instance?"
+
+"Robert's difficulties."
+
+"No special harm in that, is there? He won't be alone in his knowledge
+for long, you know--"
+
+"What do you mean?" she cried in alarm.
+
+He ignored the question and asked another. "Was Craig in any way
+unpleasant? Quick, please!"
+
+"I didn't see him, but I should imagine he was quite the reverse. The
+servant Caw must have kept back things. Doris tells me he wants the three
+of us to go to Grey House--"
+
+"What? To Grey House?"
+
+"Of course, I should never dream--"
+
+"Great Heavens, how extremely fortunate for you! My dear Mrs. Lancaster,
+you must accept the invitation at once. Don't let it slip. Have your
+husband well enough to start in the beginning of the week."
+
+"Are you crazy? What should I do at Grey House?"
+
+"I'll tell you precisely what you may do--but not now. For the present I
+should inform you that it may be your last chance of salvation."
+
+"What on earth do you mean? Not the dia--"
+
+"Listen carefully! I have already told you of the disaster to the
+mines--"
+
+"But all that will come right in time."
+
+"One may hope so. In the meantime, however, the Syndicate will require
+all its available funds, and, as you know, there is a matter of nearly
+twenty-five thousand pounds, which Mr. Lancaster--"
+
+For a moment the woman was incoherent. Then--"Mr. Bullard, we have your
+promise that you would see that matter put right."
+
+"My dear lady, this calamity was not to be foreseen. I am unspeakably
+sorry, but I have been hard hit, and the plain truth is that I am quite
+powerless for the present. Of course I shall do what I can to
+delay--er--discovery, but unfortunately I must leave for South Africa on
+Friday, this day week."
+
+"Then all is lost! Ruin--disgrace--"
+
+"Not so loud, please. Be calm. All may not yet be lost--if you at
+once accept young Craig's invitation. Now let us leave it at that.
+To-night I am distracted by a thousand things, but I will call in the
+morning to enquire for your husband and, incidentally, to make things
+clearer to you."
+
+"Can't you explain now? I shan't be able to sleep--"
+
+"No.... But, by the way, it would do no harm were your husband to ask
+Craig, if he is really friendly, for a loan. If I'm any judge of men,
+Craig is the sort of silly fool who, because he has come into a bit of
+money, is ready to give lots of it away. However, you can suggest it to
+your husband, if you like. How is he to-night?"
+
+"I think he is better, but he was so excitable a little while ago that I
+had to give him some sleeping medicine. He is sleeping now."
+
+"Sooner or later, you know, he has got to be told of the Johannesburg
+disaster. What about getting Doris to break it?"
+
+After a pause--"I'll see," said Mrs. Lancaster, "but I do wish you would
+give me some idea--"
+
+"You really must excuse me. I hear some one coming in to see me. Till
+to-morrow--good-bye!"
+
+Mrs. Lancaster, her handsome face haggard, lay back in her chair and
+for a space of minutes remained perfectly motionless. At last her
+lips moved--
+
+"Whatever happens, I shall have twenty-five thousand pounds."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+
+As Bullard replaced the receiver, Flitch came slouching in.
+
+"Couldn't help bein' a bit late, mister," he remarked. "Fog's awful
+to-night. Got lost more'n once."
+
+"Fog that came out of a bottle, I suppose," said Bullard sarcastically.
+
+For an instant resentment flamed on the hairy countenance, but Flitch
+seemed to get it under control and answered nothing. There was a certain
+change in the man's appearance. His hair and beard were freshly trimmed,
+and he had a cleanlier look than we have hitherto noticed; moreover, his
+expression had lost a little of its habitual sullen truculence.
+
+"All right; sit down till I'm ready for you," said Bullard, and proceeded
+to clear his desk of a heap of newspapers. They were mostly Scottish
+journals of that and the previous day's dates. Earlier in the evening he
+had searched their news columns for a heading something like this:
+"Mysterious and Fatal Explosion in a Clydeside Mansion." Mrs. Lancaster's
+news had, of course, informed him that nothing of the kind had taken
+place, and had also raised doubts which he would have to examine later.
+Sufficient for the present that the Green Box plot had failed. Contrary
+to his calculations, the key had remained undiscovered; otherwise Alan
+Craig and Caw, who would surely have opened the box together, would have
+ceased to exist. Their destruction, however, was perhaps only
+postponed--unless he became fully persuaded that the new plan suggested
+by Alan's invitation to the Lancasters was a more feasible one.
+
+He turned sharply from the desk to his visitor, who was still standing.
+
+"Come for your second and final hundred--eh?"
+
+Flitch stared at the carpet, crushing his cloth cap in his hand, and
+uttered the most unexpected reply that had ever entered Bullard's ears.
+
+"No, mister."
+
+An appreciable time passed before Bullard's gape became modified to a
+grin. "I see! You want me to keep it till you sail. Wise man! But upon my
+word, you took me aback--refusing money!--you! When do you want it, then?
+You had better tell me where to send it, as next week I may--"
+
+Flitch, having moistened his lips, interrupted quietly with--
+
+"I don't want yer money, mister,--now or ever."
+
+"What the devil do you mean?"
+
+"I've joined the army."
+
+Bullard burst out laughing. "Was the sergeant sober?"
+
+Flitch made an attempt, not very successful, to draw himself up and face
+the scoffer. "The Salvation Army, I was meanin'," he mumbled.
+
+Bullard stopped laughing. Flitch spoke again awkwardly and in jerks.
+"That night up yonder about finished me. I've turned over a new leaf. The
+Captain said it wasn't too late, if--if I repented of all my many sins."
+
+"It'll take you a while to do that, won't it?" said Bullard, sneering to
+cover his perplexity.
+
+"No doubt, mister."
+
+"And so you are above money! How beautiful! Going to pay me back that one
+hundred pounds you got from me the other day, I suppose!"
+
+"Haven't got it now, mister. Fifteen bob and coppers in me
+pocket--that's all."
+
+"Crazy gambler! How do you imagine you are going to get out of this
+country without my help?"
+
+"Goin' to stay and face any music that likes to play. That"--said Flitch,
+still quietly--"is what I'm going to do, mister."
+
+Bullard took to fiddling with the nugget on his chain. "Well," he said,
+"as it happens, I haven't got many hundreds just now to throw about, but
+I expect you'll change your mind when the first tune begins to play--only
+I warn you, it may be too late then. That's all! Now, what about your
+prisoner? How did you leave him?"
+
+Flitch hesitated before he said: "That's one o' things I'm goin' to tell
+ye about, mister ..."
+
+"Well, hurry up."
+
+Flitch took a long breath and faced his patron, fairly and squarely.
+
+"Mr. Marvel's gone," he said.
+
+"What?"
+
+"I was fearin' ye meant ill by him, and this mornin' I gave him back his
+money and let him go free."
+
+Grey and ugly was Bullard's face; his body was rigid; his jaw worked
+stiffly. "You--you damned fool!"
+
+The other drew his crumpled cap across his sweating forehead. "I was
+thinkin' ye wouldn't be extra pleased," he said, "but I'm for no more
+blood on me hands--no, nor other crimes, neither. Now," he went on, and
+his voice wavered, "now for the second thing. Mr. Alan Craig--"
+
+"Idiot of idiots, he's in London at this moment! You'd better clear--that
+is, after I'm done with you."
+
+"Ye give me good news, mister, for now I know for certain I've put meself
+right wi' Mr. Alan Craig--wait a moment!--and saved _you_ from another
+dirty sin. I knows what ye had in the parcel that night, mister; I saw ye
+fixin' up the infernal--"
+
+"Curse you! what are you drivelling about?"
+
+Flitch, his face chalky, continued: "And so I sent Mr. Alan Craig a wire
+warnin' him that--oh! for God's sake don't look at me so! I didn't give
+_you_ away!" His voice rose wildly as Bullard's hand stole to a drawer
+behind him. "No, no; ye shan't shoot me! I must ha' time to repent
+proper." He took a step forward. "I'm not goin' to hurt ye, but I'm not
+goin' to let ye kill me till--"
+
+From his desk Bullard whipped a long, heavy ruler, sprang to his feet and
+lashed out at the other's head. "You two-faced swine!"
+
+Flitch reeled backward, sobbing with pain and passion. "Ye devil's
+hound! ... But I'll go for ye now!" Recovering his balance, he plunged
+furiously at the striker.
+
+Bullard struck again--a fearful blow with a horrid sound.
+
+This time Flitch did not go back, but toppled forward, clawing at
+Bullard's waistcoat, and reached the floor with a thud and a single gasp.
+
+And there was a silence, a period of petrifaction, that might have
+lasted for one minute or ten: Bullard could not have gauged it. At last
+he came to himself. His teeth were chattering slightly. He examined the
+ruler, drew it through his fingers; it was quite clean, and he replaced
+it on the desk, softly, as though to avoid disturbing any one. Yet he
+wiped his hands on his handkerchief before he crossed the room to an
+antique ebony cabinet where he helped himself to a little brandy. Then
+he came back to the desk and for a while stood lax, staring at the blurs
+of white paper thereon.
+
+Stiffening himself, he turned and for the first time looked down on his
+handiwork....
+
+Bullard had not meant to kill, though his heart had been murderous when
+he struck. It was without hope that he knelt to examine his victim.
+Flitch's time for repentance had been short indeed. He lay sprawled on
+his side, his hands clenched, yet his countenance was not so repulsive.
+Well, he had escaped human judgement, and worse men have lived longer.
+
+Bullard got upon his feet. His mental energies were working once more.
+He must act at once. The simplest way out was simply to 'phone for the
+police and give himself in charge for killing a man in self defence.
+But that would mean, among other things, a trial! ... Out of the
+question! There must be another and safer if less simple way out. He
+thought hard, and it was not so long before he found it. The fog!--if
+it were still there.
+
+He shut off the lights and passed to the window. The sill was low; the
+sash opened inwards. Outside was a narrow balcony, with a foot-high stone
+balustrade. Presently he was peering out into the bitter, filthy night.
+The fog was denser than ever; he had never seen it so thick. The presence
+of lamps in the deserted street below was betrayed by a mere glow. Across
+the way the dark buildings could scarce be distinguished. The sounds of
+human life seemed to come from a great distance.
+
+Leaving the window open, he gropingly moved back to his desk, struck a
+vesta and kneeling, went carefully through the dead man's pockets. A
+scrap or two of paper he took possession of. With the aid of another
+vesta he found his way to the cabinet for more brandy. Physically he
+required stimulant. Flitch had been a big heavy man ... he was no smaller
+nor lighter now.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And so, at long last, the ponderous, inert, uncanny thing lay balanced
+across the balustrade and sill, the legs sticking into the room.
+Breathing hard, Bullard grasped the ankles. A heave, a jerk, a twist,
+a push.... Hands pressed hard over his ears, Bullard waited for an age
+of thirty seconds. Then action once more. He closed the window,
+switched on the lights, and inspected the floor. Finally he rang up
+the police station.
+
+"I'm Bullard, Aasvogel Syndicate, Manchester House. A man attempting
+to enter by the window has fallen to the street. I'll remain here till
+you come."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+
+The spiritual glow in which Alan left Earl's Gate had cooled considerably
+by the time he reached the Midland Hotel. It was not that he actually
+regretted his actions of an hour ago; rather was it as though an inward
+voice kept repeating, "Why aren't you happier, now that you have lifted a
+crushing load from an exhausted fellow-creature? Why aren't you in the
+seventh heaven since you are going to marry that most desirable girl?"
+There was never yet human exaltation without its reaction, but in Alan's
+case the latter had followed cruelly fast.
+
+In the smoke-room, almost empty at so early an hour, he dropped into a
+chair and lit a cigarette. "What the deuce is wrong with me?" By the time
+the cigarette was finished he could, with a little more courage, have
+answered the question. For he could not deny that his thoughts had gone
+straying, not back to the brightly lighted drawing-room and the beautiful
+hostess, but to a dark garden and a terrified girl with a little revolver
+in her hand. Ordering himself not to be a cad as well as a fool, he
+removed to one of the writing-tables. There he set himself to compose a
+nicely worded note of invitation to Mrs. Lancaster. After that was done
+he drew a couple of cheques for the same amount and wrote the following
+letter to Mr. Bullard:
+
+
+"Dear Mr. Bullard:
+
+"You will no doubt be surprised to see my writing again, and I take this
+way of announcing my return home lest you should hear of it before I can
+find time to call upon you, which, however, I hope to do before long.
+To-night, on my arrival here, I called upon Mr. Lancaster, and was sorry
+to learn that he was too ill to receive me. But I do not wish to delay an
+hour longer than necessary the settlement of my debt to you both, and so
+I ask you kindly to receive on his behalf and your own, the enclosed two
+cheques in payment of the amounts of, and interests on, the advances
+which you and he so generously made to me in April of last year. I
+daresay you have almost forgotten the incident which meant so much to me,
+and still does. Until we meet,
+
+"Faithfully yours,
+
+"Alan Craig."
+
+
+"A bit stiff and formal," was his comment after rereading it several
+times, "but I don't think it gives much away."
+
+The two hours that followed were perhaps the dreariest he had ever spent
+in civilised circumstances. London had given him enough to think about in
+all conscience, but his mind would not be controlled; as surely as a
+disturbed compass needle it kept moving back to the north.
+
+Teddy's arrival, half an hour after midnight, he hailed as a great
+relief. Teddy wore a tired and soiled aspect, but his eyes glinted with
+repressed excitement.
+
+"Let's go up to my room, Alan," he said at once; "I've got something to
+shew you."
+
+The moment they were there, with the door bolted, Teddy's fingers went to
+his waistcoat pocket.
+
+"Recognise it?" he asked, holding up an inch of fine gold chain bearing a
+small nugget.
+
+"No I don't. Stay! it's not unfamiliar--but no; I can't place it.
+Whose is it?"
+
+"Bullard's."
+
+"Oh! Where did you pick it up, Teddy?"
+
+Teddy sat down on the edge of the bed. In a voice not wholly under
+control he replied--
+
+"I took it from the hand of a dead man, a couple of hours ago."
+
+"A dead man! Good--"
+
+"He seemed to fall out of the fog, but it was actually from the window of
+Bullard's office, in New Broad Street. I was watching from the other side
+of the street when he fell. I--I was the first person to reach him. He
+was quite dead--awfully smashed, poor chap. There was a lamp near. One of
+his fists was slightly open. I noticed a glitter in it. It was this
+thing. I took it.--I must have a smoke."
+
+"Better ring for something to drink."
+
+"No. I want all my wits to make a clear story of it. Look here, Alan! The
+long and short of it is: Bullard committed murder to-night--"
+
+"Oh, I say!"
+
+Teddy ignored the interruption. "Of course I went with the crowd to the
+police station, and, though not as a witness, managed to get in. Bullard
+with an inspector turned up before long, but I kept out of his way. He
+had called the police himself. The man, he stated, had been trying the
+window of his private room while he was in another part of the premises;
+on entering his private room and switching on the lights, he had caught
+a glimpse of a face and hands falling backwards. That was all a lie. The
+lights had been out for some time when the man fell. The fog was
+horribly thick, but I can be sure of that much. And then--this!" he
+dangled the nugget.
+
+Alan broke the silence. "It looks bad, certainly, but still, you
+know, Bullard might not--and quite naturally, too--have liked to
+admit that after a struggle he pushed the man from the window--if
+that's what you mean."
+
+"No, that's not what I mean. About twenty minutes earlier, I saw the man
+enter Bullard's office by the usual way--"
+
+"Ah!"
+
+"And note this, Alan! At the police station, I saw his fingers go to the
+nugget--he has a habit of playing with the thing when he is talking--and
+when he realised that it wasn't there, I thought he was going to faint.
+He soon pulled himself together, but--"
+
+"The police didn't suspect him, did they?"
+
+"Bless you, no! They were all sympathy! Oh, he's safe enough--for the
+present. The poor chap he murdered was certainly rough looking enough to
+be a burglar."
+
+"What was he like?"
+
+"A big strong man, with an ugly red-bearded face, and--it's queer how one
+notices trifles--his ears were pierced for--"
+
+"Good Heavens, it was Flitch!"
+
+Teddy jumped. "The man who shot you--"
+
+"The same--I'm sure of it, even from your slight description. And--and
+Bullard has killed him!"
+
+"Your revenge, Alan."
+
+"No, no, old man, I never wanted his life. It was only his employer I
+was after."
+
+"You've got his employer now--if you want him."
+
+Alan stared at his friend. "Why do you say _if I want him_? Don't you
+imagine I want him?"--he cried--"not for anything he may have done or
+tried to do to me, but for what might have happened had Mar--Miss
+Handyside opened that infernal Green Box--"
+
+"The telegram may have been a hoax. The box may or may not contain an
+infernal contrivance, but even if it does, you can't convict Bullard any
+more than you can arrest the soul of the man who is dead."
+
+"I don't understand you," said Alan. "Tell me why you used those words,
+'if I want him,' meaning Bullard."
+
+"Simply because," answered Teddy, "I'm pretty sure you don't want him.
+Think a moment!"
+
+The other sprang to his feet. "Come along, Teddy! There's no thought
+required. That nugget has got to be handed to the police before we're an
+hour older."
+
+Teddy rose slowly and slipped the nugget into his pocket. "Alan, my son,"
+he said gently, "that nugget does not leave my possession--no, not for
+all your uncle's genuine diamonds. Think again!"
+
+"Oh, rot! If you're afraid of the police, Teddy--"
+
+"Perhaps I am--"
+
+"Well, give the thing to me, and I'll--"
+
+"One moment." Teddy's face went ruddy. "I'd like you to answer a
+question, though it may strike you as abominably impertinent. Are
+you--are you as fond as ever of Doris Lancaster?"
+
+Alan was also flushed as he replied: "Doris and I settled that to-night,
+Teddy. But what has it to do with Bullard's nugget? I'm aware it has
+something to do with Bullard--"
+
+"Hold on!" said Teddy, pale again. "I think I can put it so plainly that
+you'll wonder why you didn't see it for yourself right away. Listen! Put
+this nugget into police hands, and Bullard goes into the dock. If Bullard
+goes into the dock, ugly things, not all connected with this murder, will
+surely come out. Lancaster will be involved; Doris--"
+
+Alan threw up a hand. "God forgive me, Teddy," he cried, "and thank God
+it wasn't I who found the nugget!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Besides," said Teddy a good deal later, "your Uncle Christopher was most
+desirous that nothing should happen to Bullard before the clock stopped.
+And now, old chap, I think we had better turn in."
+
+Left to himself, Teddy sighed. "He's going to marry Doris, and, whether
+he knows it or not, he's in love with that Handyside girl. Surely I have
+the devil's own luck!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+
+Never a heavy sleeper, Mrs. Lancaster was fully aware of her daughter's
+entrance before Doris reached her bedside. She affected neither
+drowsiness nor ignorance of the latter's quest.
+
+"You ought not to have got up so early, Doris," she said. "Why, it's not
+eight yet. Not that light--the far away one, if you insist. Are you
+feeling better?"
+
+"Yes, I think so. I've had a long sleep." The girl's eyes were shining
+strangely, and the shadows beneath them were deep; but she did not look
+ill. "Father is awake now," she said.
+
+"Indeed! I suppose you have come for that packet." Mrs. Lancaster raised
+herself a little on the pillows. "I suppose, also, you are aware what the
+packet contains, Doris."
+
+"Yes, mother."
+
+"Is it a gift or a loan to your father?"
+
+"A loan--I hope. Please let me have it--"
+
+"One moment, my dear. Am I right in further supposing that your father
+intends to pay a particular debt with all this money?"
+
+Doris's head drooped in assent.
+
+"Has it not occurred to you that your father would be treating me very
+badly if he used all this money for such a purpose?"
+
+"Mother!"
+
+"You fancy I have said something very dreadful, but--listen! Things have
+gone wrong at Johannesburg. There has been rioting. Mines have been
+wrecked and ruined. For a long time to come--years, perhaps--your
+father's income may be next to nothing. What is to become of me? You, of
+course, have your Mr. Bullard--not so rich as he was; but he is not the
+sort of man to remain long poor. You had better sit down, Doris. I have
+kept the newspapers of the last few days from your father."
+
+The girl was clutching the brass rail of the bed. "Do you mean that
+father is ruined?" she whispered, aghast.
+
+"Not far from it, I'm afraid. Now don't make a fuss. I rely on you to
+break the news of the mines to him before Mr. Bullard arrives this
+morning. Mr. Bullard will give him the details, no doubt. Another thing;
+you must persuade Mr. Bullard to get rid of that debt we have mentioned.
+He has his own difficulties at present, I should imagine, but he is not
+the man to be beaten by a sum like twenty-five thousand pounds. We cannot
+have scandal--disgrace. You have done much for your father already--that
+I freely admit--but at this crisis you must do more.--My smelling salts
+are behind you."
+
+Doris had swayed, but she recovered herself, though her face was white
+and desperate.
+
+"Mother, that money you have--"
+
+"I'm afraid you are going to be shocked, Doris, but I had better tell you
+at once that the money is mine."
+
+"Yours!" It was a shock, a dreadful shock, and yet Doris had come to her
+mother's room full of ghastly apprehensions. "Oh, but you can't mean it!"
+
+"My dear girl, can I be franker? Call it anything you like, theft, if you
+fancy the word; but the money is mine. I decline to go into the gutter
+for any one."
+
+"But--dear God!--don't you realise what your keeping it will mean to
+father? Yes, you do! You know too well--"
+
+"I have shown you a way out of that difficulty. Mr. Bullard will do
+anything you ask--"
+
+"And what am I to say to father?"
+
+"Nothing!--unless you wish to kill him. For Heaven's sake, take a
+reasonable view of the matter. A year hence your father will probably
+bless me for what I have done. A thousand a year is always something. As
+for Mr. Craig, he will have helped even more practically than he thought.
+Of course, your taste in accepting money from one man while engaged to
+another is open to question."
+
+With a soft heart-broken cry Doris let go her hold and fell on her knees
+at the bedside.
+
+"Mother, in the name of all that is right and good, give me back the
+money. I don't want to--hate you."
+
+Mrs. Lancaster touched a wisp of lace to her eyes, "Really, Doris, you
+are making it very painful for me, but some day you will see that I was
+wise. For the present, I would rather die than give up the money. I have
+no more to say."
+
+In some respects Mrs. Lancaster was a stranger to her daughter, but Doris
+always knew when her mind was immovable. She knew it now. She rose up
+from her knees. Out of her deathly face her eyes blazed. Had she spoken
+then, it would have been to utter an awful thing for any daughter to say
+to the one who bore her.
+
+"Doris!" exclaimed the woman, shrinking under her scented, exquisitely
+pure coverings.
+
+The girl threw up her head. "If father goes down," she said bravely, "I
+go down with him. And I don't think the money will make you forget,
+mother. There are two sorts of gutters." She turned and went quickly out.
+
+But in the privacy of her own room she fell on the bed, a crushed and
+broken thing, a creature of despair, writhing, groping in the darkness of
+an unspeakable horror. If there was a sin unpardonable, surely her own
+mother had committed it. If there was a bitterness beyond that of death
+itself, surely she herself was drinking thereof.
+
+Well was it for the mind of Doris Lancaster that she was not left long to
+herself. A maid tapped and said that Mr. Lancaster was asking for her.
+She arose immediately and removed the outward signs of misery, telling
+herself that whatever happened, he must be spared until the last moment;
+also, the divulging of the disaster on the Rand must be postponed,
+whether Mr. Bullard liked it or no. For the present she had to give her
+father his breakfast and tell him of Alan's visit. She prayed Heaven for
+a cheerful countenance.
+
+Mr. Lancaster had rested well and was looking better, but anxious.
+
+"You didn't come in to see me last night, after all," he said.
+
+"Mother told me you were asleep, so I didn't disturb you--and I was
+unusually tired, dear."
+
+"But he came?"
+
+"Oh, yes. Alan came, and he's coming again this evening, when he hopes
+to see you."
+
+"Aren't you well, Doris? You shivered just now. ... What did he say?"
+
+"Nothing that wasn't kind, father. He wants you to go to Grey House for a
+change the moment you feel able for the journey. He wants us all to go.
+What better news can I give you than that, dear?"
+
+Lancaster's eyes grew moist. "God bless the boy for shewing that he bears
+me no ill-will," he said. "What did he talk about?"
+
+"It was a very short visit last night," she replied, "but, as I told you,
+he is coming again to-night. You think you will be able to see him?"
+
+"I shall have no peace till I can thank him for his big heart.... Doris,
+I wish you had not promised Bullard--"
+
+"Oh, hush! We agreed not to speak of that."
+
+He sighed heavily. "What a woeful mess I've made of my life; and I've had
+so many chances, my dear, that I dare not hope for one more. And I don't
+blame anybody but myself--"
+
+"Dear, don't think of it that way. You have simply been deceived in
+people, or, at least, in one person."
+
+"Your mother made me believe in him, and certainly he knew how to make
+money. No, I don't blame your mother, Doris. I've been a
+disappointment to her--"
+
+"Father, I can't bear your talking so, for I believe in you with all my
+heart. And think of Alan Craig, and Teddy France, too--oh, they would do
+anything for you!"
+
+He shook his head, smiling very faintly. Then, suddenly, he became grave
+and a strange look--strange because unfamiliar--dawned.
+
+"Doris, give me your hand. Will you say again that you believe in me?"
+
+"I believe in you with all my heart," she answered, striving for control.
+
+"Then--then you are _not_ going to marry Bullard."
+
+"Oh, please--"
+
+"You and I," he went on, "are both longing, dying for freedom, and I know
+of a way out. Doris, will you believe in me, continue to desire me for
+your father, though I bring ruin and shame on you? Answer me!"
+
+"Nothing could change me, dear."
+
+"Then I will take the way out wherever it may lead, for prison itself
+would be freedom to me, and marriage with Bullard would be worse than
+prison to you. Doris, Lord Caradale, the chairman of the Syndicate,
+arrives from America on Tuesday. I will tell him the truth--"
+
+She caught him in her arms. "No--no--not that," she sobbed. "He is a
+hard, cruel man; he--"
+
+"It is the one way to freedom for us both. For my own poor sake, my girl,
+don't seek to weaken my resolve. I would like to do the right thing once
+before I die." He kissed her. "Now leave me, and don't fret. Don't let
+any one come to me for an hour or two."
+
+Lest she should break down utterly, Doris obeyed. The thing had got
+beyond her strength physical and mental. She could have cried aloud for
+help. And in a sense she did, for she went to the telephone and rang up
+Teddy France at the Midland Hotel.
+
+"Can you meet me at the Queen's Road Tube in half an hour?" she asked.
+
+"Certainly. I'll start now," said Teddy, who had not breakfasted. Alan
+was not yet downstairs. "Something wrong, Doris?"
+
+"Just come, please. Good-bye."
+
+He was there before her, his heart aching.
+
+What had happened that she could not tell to Alan? Before long he knew.
+She told him all as they walked in Kensington Gardens, in the brilliant
+sunshine. It seemed to Teddy far more horrible than the gruesome business
+in the fog of twelve hours ago.
+
+"And you feel there is no hope of inducing Mrs. Lancaster to--to change?"
+he said at last. Knowing Mrs. Lancaster as he did, he recognised the
+futility of the question.
+
+"If you don't mind, Teddy," she answered, "we won't speak about that
+again. The shame of it sickens me. But what about--Alan? He and father
+will meet tonight. I don't for a moment imagine that Alan will mention
+the money, but naturally he will think it very strange if father doesn't.
+And, oh! how _can_ I explain to Alan? It's too dreadful!"
+
+"Alan," he said, "would only be sorry--as sorry as I am. But, Doris, it
+isn't to-night yet."
+
+"You mean that I have time to--to see Mr. Bullard? He is coming to the
+house this morning--may be there now--and I don't want him to get near
+father. Yes," she said, in a lifeless voice, "I will speak to him--plead
+with him, if necessary--"
+
+"No, you shan't!" said Teddy, who doubted very much whether Mr. Bullard
+would reach Earl's Gate that morning. The inquest was at noon.
+
+"It's the only way out. Father must not be allowed to trust himself to
+the tender mercies of Lord Caradale next week. I know Lord Caradale. He
+doesn't mind how money is made; but he does mind how it is lost. Oh,
+Teddy, don't you think father has suffered enough?"
+
+"More than enough--and so has his daughter." Teddy gritted his teeth.
+Every moment this girl grew dearer; every moment she seemed further away.
+"Doris," he went on, "I want your promise that you will do nothing at all
+till I see you again. Should Bullard come to the house, keep him from Mr.
+Lancaster, but tell him nothing. Meet me here again at three o'clock."
+Gently he stopped her questions. "And forgive my leaving you at once.
+Don't hope too much, dear, but don't altogether despair. There's just a
+chance that there may be another way out."
+
+The hour that followed was the most thronged of this young man's life.
+Fortunately he had left a note for Alan, explaining his sudden departure
+on the score of some forgotten business which had to be overtaken before
+the inquest, so he was free to go direct to a certain legal office in the
+city. As for Doris, she went home in that numb condition of mind and
+spirit which comes upon some of us while we wait for a great surgeon's
+verdict. Her mother informed her that Mr. Bullard had telephoned,
+postponing his call till the afternoon, also that she had received and
+accepted Mr. Craig's invitation to Grey House.
+
+"We shall travel on Tuesday, Doris, so you must see that your father has
+no relapse."
+
+Doris turned away without answering. Tuesday! That was a long, long way
+off--in another life, it seemed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+
+The inquest was over. A suggestion for an adjournment, half-heartedly
+expressed by one juryman, had been briefly discussed and withdrawn.
+Bullard had come through his ordeal without a spot of discredit. He
+looked pale and fagged, but what was more natural in the circumstances? A
+horrid experience it must have been, those present agreed, to behold a
+face and clutching hands fall away from a fourth-story window! And he was
+going to pay for a decent funeral for the abandoned wretch who might have
+murdered him! There was a gentleman for you!
+
+Nevertheless, more than once Bullard's nerve had been at breaking point.
+What was young France doing at the inquest? He was to know soon enough.
+
+Teddy was waiting for him just outside the door.
+
+"I have a taxi here, Mr. Bullard," he said, "so we can go to your office
+together. I have a little business to discuss--financial, I should say."
+
+"I'm afraid it must keep, Mr. France," Bullard managed to reply fairly
+coolly. "This is Saturday, you know, and after business hours."
+
+"You will see for yourself presently, Mr. Bullard, that it won't keep. In
+fact, if you don't step into that cab at once--"
+
+Bullard got in, Teddy followed, and the cab started.
+
+"Wow," began Bullard, "what the--"
+
+"Hope you don't mind my smoking," said Teddy, lighting a cigarette.
+"Rather an uncomfy corner you've just come out of, Mr. Bullard."
+
+"Kindly choose your words more carefully--'corner' does not apply to my
+recent unpleasant experience--and name your business."
+
+"We shall be in your office in a very few minutes, and I prefer to name
+it there."
+
+"Very well." Bullard restrained himself and fell to thinking hard. What
+had brought France to the inquest? The question repeated itself
+maddeningly. The tragedy had not been mentioned in the morning
+papers--their early editions, at any rate.
+
+Teddy gave him a minute's grace, then casually remarked--
+
+"You heard from my friend, Alan Craig, this morning, I believe.
+Miraculous escape, wasn't it?"
+
+"Very.... Yes, I have a letter from Mr. Craig--to which I shall
+reply--direct."
+
+"Alan is an odd chap," Teddy pursued. "No sooner is he home and in safety
+than he makes his will. Did it at his lawyer's in Glasgow, the day before
+yesterday."
+
+After an almost imperceptible pause--"Indeed!" said Bullard, a little
+thickly. "Only I'm afraid I don't happen to be interested in Mr. Alan
+Craig's affairs."
+
+"Sorry," Teddy murmured, and gave him another minute's grace. Then--
+
+"Awful end that for poor old Flitch, Mr. Bullard."
+
+The man's face, nay, his whole body, contracted for an instant; yet he
+was still master of himself.
+
+"Who?"
+
+"Flitch--the dead man, you know."
+
+"The man's name was Dunning, as you must have heard, and as the police
+discovered for themselves."
+
+"Really, I must go to an aurist! I've got it into my head as Flitch."
+
+"Confound you!" said Bullard, on the verge of a furious, crazy outbreak,
+"will you hold your tongue? I've business to think of. Lost a whole
+morning with that cursed inquest."
+
+"All right, Mr. Bullard. Don't apologise."
+
+There was no more talk till they reached the office. The clerks had gone.
+
+Bullard led the way, not to his own private room, but to Lancaster's.
+
+"Say what you've got to say quickly," he snapped.
+
+"This," said Teddy, looking leisurely about him, "is surely not the room
+where it happened.--What's the matter, Mr. Bullard?"
+
+Again Bullard caught and held himself on the verge. "I can give you
+five minutes, if you will talk sense," he said, taking the chair at
+Lancaster's desk, which had been left open. "Either you are drunk or
+you fondly imagine you have got hold of something. Now, go on! Come to
+the point!"
+
+"I will," said Teddy. "How much exactly does Mr. Lancaster owe the
+Syndicate?"
+
+Bullard started, but not without relief. The relief would have been
+fuller, however, but for the questioner's presence at the inquest.
+
+"What business is that of yours, Mr. France?"
+
+"Simply that I'm going to see it paid."
+
+"May I ask when?"
+
+"Within the next few minutes."
+
+Bullard saw light. Alan Craig's money!
+
+"Really?" he said. "But would it not be better if Mr. Lancaster were to
+make the payment personally?"
+
+"Does it matter to the Syndicate who pays the money?"
+
+"Of course not."
+
+"Thanks." Teddy brought forth a couple of bundles of bonds and share
+certificates. "How much is the debt?"
+
+"Twenty-four thousand and seventy-five pounds."
+
+"Wish I had that much," said Teddy, "but I can only give what I've got."
+He rose, placed the bundles on the desk, and sat down again. "There's a
+trifle over five thousand pounds in my little lot," he went on, "and with
+each certificate you'll find a signed transfer in your favour, Mr.
+Bullard. To save time"--he glanced at his watch--"I'll ask you to take my
+word for that."
+
+Bullard put out his hand and touched the bundles. "Your securities, you
+say, are worth a little over five thousand pounds?"
+
+"Right!"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Well, Mr. Bullard?"
+
+"What about the balance of twenty--or say nineteen--thousand?"
+
+Teddy smiled. "That's your affair, Mr. Bullard."
+
+"I should be obliged," said Bullard slowly, "if you would talk sense."
+
+"I've written it down," Teddy said, and passed him a sheet of paper
+bearing these words:
+
+"I, Francis Bullard, London Managing Director of the Aasvogel Syndicate,
+hereby acknowledge that I have this day received the sum of ... being the
+full amount due to the Syndicate by Mr. Robert Lancaster, whose debt is
+hereby discharged."
+
+"What the devil is this?"
+
+"Now don't frown and crumple it up and throw it away, as if you were on
+the stage, Mr. Bullard," said Teddy. "You were never more in real life
+than you are now. Take your pen, fill in the blank, sign at foot, and
+return to me. And listen! The man you lied so well about at the inquest,
+entered your office by the door, at ten-seventeen last night."
+
+Bullard's countenance took on a curious shade. Almost in his heart the
+young man pitied him.
+
+"If the man entered by the door, you know more about his movements than I
+do," came the retort. "Why didn't you say so at the inquest?"
+
+"Mr. Bullard, I give you two minutes by my watch to complete and sign
+that receipt."
+
+"You cursed young fool, do you think to blackmail me?"
+
+"If you like to call it that--well, I'm afraid I must accept the word,"
+said Teddy, watch in hand. "But somehow one doesn't mind so much
+blackmailing a blackguard.--Sit still! You can't afford two inquests in a
+week-end."
+
+"What do you imagine it proves if the man did enter by the door, you
+prying, sneaking puppy?"
+
+"Thirty seconds gone."
+
+"Oh, get out of this! I'm not afraid of you. I've a good mind--"
+
+"There was no light in your window when the man fell. At the inquest you
+said you had just switched on the lights."
+
+Bullard's clenched fists relaxed; his face became moist and shiny.
+
+"Do you want to hear any more?" said Teddy. "One minute left."
+
+Bullard writhed. "Suppose I haven't got the money," he said at last.
+
+"You can find it."
+
+"And what guarantees do you give in return?"
+
+"I promise silence so long as you keep clear of crime and make no attempt
+to communicate, by word or letter, with Mr. Lancaster or his daughter--"
+
+"Hah! I see! ... But, by God, I'll destroy the lot of you yet!"
+
+"Thirty seconds left, Mr. Bullard.... Twenty.... Ten...." Teddy stood up.
+
+Two minutes later he stepped, almost jauntily, from the room. His little
+private income had disappeared, but he had a document worth all the world
+to him in his pocket. As he opened the door Bullard's face was that of a
+fiend; his hand went back to a drawer ere he remembered that he was not
+at his own desk.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Teddy was a little behind time in reaching Kensington Gardens, and he
+looked so haggard that the girl's heart failed her.
+
+"Everything's all right, Doris," he said, rather huskily. "Let's sit down
+here for a minute."
+
+"Teddy, you're ill!"
+
+He shook his head, and gave her the paper, saying, "Take care of it. I
+don't think Bullard will trouble you or Mr. Lancaster again, Doris."
+
+She read and began to tremble. With a sob she whispered, "Teddy, Teddy,
+_is_ it true?"
+
+He did not answer. He had a queer sleepy, ghastly look.
+
+"Teddy dear! What is it?"
+
+He appeared to pull himself up. "Upon my word," he said, with a feeble
+laugh, "I was nearly off that time. I wonder where I could find some
+breakfast."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the nearest tea-room he revived considerably.
+
+"Perhaps I may tell you all about it years hence, Doris," he said. "Not
+now. Just make your father happy and be happy yourself. And remember
+that, so far as your father is concerned, it was Alan's money. So that
+makes everything nice and tidy, doesn't it?"
+
+"But father ought to know that it was you who--"
+
+"Now, don't go and spoil everything! I assure you that I did nothing
+worth mentioning except miss my breakfast--which is, perhaps, a good deal
+for an Englishman to do."
+
+"But, Teddy, what am I to say to you?"
+
+"Nothing. Just smile, and say I made you."
+
+She smiled.
+
+"Ah!" he said softly, "you haven't smiled like that, Doris, for months!
+I'm a great man, after all! Now, what about moving along to Earl's
+Gate? I mustn't keep you longer from giving him the good news. Have you
+got it safe?"
+
+She touched her breast. "Oh, Teddy, you wonderful, wonderful man!--to
+alter the world in a few hours!"
+
+"Pretty smart, wasn't it? By the way, I may not see you for a while. I
+think Alan wants me to go back with him to-morrow night."
+
+"We are all going to Grey House on Tuesday."
+
+"Oh!" said Teddy of the torn heart. "Do you happen to remember how many
+buns I've eaten?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On reaching home Doris learned that her mother had gone out. She was not
+sorry. She was not to know that the hour in which she gave her father his
+freedom witnessed a consultation between her mother and Mr. Bullard. For
+Bullard was not yet beaten, and Mrs. Lancaster had still to learn that
+her husband was safe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+
+So the two friends returned north, Teddy with a new secret in his heavy
+heart, Alan in a thoroughly unsettled state of mind.
+
+Alan's second meeting with Doris had certainly not been helpful to
+either. Doris, while almost assured as to her father's freedom, was at
+least dubious about her own, so much so that she gently but firmly
+refused to consider herself in any way engaged to Alan, and Alan, as any
+other honourable young man would have done in the circumstances, pleaded
+and argued.
+
+"You will never marry Bullard," said he, for the tenth time.
+
+"He has my promise. He might yet find another way of injuring father,"
+she answered; "and you too," she added to herself.
+
+Alan was handicapped: he could not think to shock her with the ugly truth
+about the man, unless that were necessary in order to save her from him
+at the last moment. He and Teddy had agreed that for the present, at
+least, no one--not even Caw--should be told.
+
+"Doris, don't you really care for me?" he asked presently.
+
+"Alan!--after all you have done!--"
+
+"That's not the point, dear."
+
+Quickly she turned the questioning on him. "Alan, are you _quite_ sure
+you want to marry me?"
+
+"What did I come home for? What am I here for now?"
+
+And so forth. The phrase is not to be taken flippantly, but when two
+young people talk with the primary object of concealing their respective
+thoughts, the conversation is apt to partake of futility. In this case,
+at all events, it led to nothing satisfactory.
+
+"It's too absurd, Doris," he cried at last. "It means practically a
+year--"
+
+"Till the clock stops." She smiled ruefully. "I have to redeem my promise
+then--if necessary."
+
+"Did Bullard put it that way?"
+
+"I didn't understand what he meant till father explained," she said, and
+continued in a lighter tone: "I'm very curious about that strange clock
+of yours. I expect I'll spend all my time at Grey House watching it."
+
+"I've a good mind to smash up the wretched thing the moment I get
+home! ... Doris, once more, you are not going to marry that man!"
+
+In the end they had parted kindly, even tenderly, feeling that each owed
+the other something.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+As well as an unsettled mind Alan brought with him from London a letter
+from Bullard, which he had received by registered post on the Saturday
+night. Although it must have been indited on the top of that disturbing
+interview with Teddy, it was frank in manner and pleasantly
+congratulatory in tone; moreover, it covered the will which Alan had
+signed about nineteen months ago. The writer concluded with regrets for
+the necessity which would involve his departure for South Africa within
+the next few days.
+
+"Do you think he's running away, Teddy?" Alan asked his friend after
+showing him the letter.
+
+"I've no doubt he's jolly glad to go, but the journey was planned, I'm
+sure, before the Flitch affair. Those Rand riots, you know. Poor
+Lancaster, did he say anything about their effect on his income?"
+
+"Disastrous, I'm afraid. But he seems resigned to anything now that the
+Syndicate matter is out of the way. I wish to goodness we could lay hands
+quickly on those diamonds--if they exist. I want some money."
+
+"They--or their equivalent--must exist," said Teddy. "Your uncle,
+situated as he was, could not have spent half a million in five years,
+you know."
+
+Alan shook his head. He was depressed and disposed to be pessimistic
+about everything.
+
+"Changed your theory about the clock?" the other mildly enquired.
+
+Alan laughed shortly. "We're always doing that, aren't we?"
+
+They reached Grey House about noon to learn that nothing of moment had
+happened in their absence. Possibly Caw did not consider it worthy of
+mention that, under agreeable compulsion, he had been giving Miss
+Handyside instruction in revolver shooting.
+
+Caw was told of his arch-enemy's impending voyage.
+
+"A good job that, sir," he remarked. "Now we'll maybe get a few months
+of peace."
+
+"Oh, Bullard has ceased from troubling for good," said Teddy
+rather cockily.
+
+"Indeed, sir!" returned Caw very respectfully.
+
+His thoughts were speedily diverted, however, by Alan's intimation of the
+Lancasters' approaching visit.
+
+"And you'll just forget, Caw, that you ever saw Mr. Lancaster in an
+invidious position here. He has suffered enough."
+
+"I can well believe it, sir; and for Miss Lancaster's sake alone it will
+be a pleasure for me to make the gentleman feel at home."
+
+"What about Mrs. Lancaster?" put in Teddy.
+
+"If I may say so to Mr. Alan, I hope I know my place in the most trying
+circumstances."
+
+"Oh, get out, Caw!" laughed Alan. "You needn't suspect everybody!"
+
+"Very good, sir. Only, my master did not admire her, and he was a judge
+of female character, if ever there was one," said Caw, and with an
+inclination withdrew.
+
+"Caw is right," said Teddy. "You know I've warned you all along about
+the lady."
+
+"Rather horrid to be discussing a coming guest in such a fashion," Alan
+returned. "I think I know Mrs. Lancaster by this time, Teddy. She wants a
+lot of chestnuts, but she'd never risk burning her own fingers.... Well,
+I had better go round and pay my thanks to Handyside for keeping Caw
+company those nights. Will you come?"
+
+Teddy excused himself on the score of correspondence neglected in London.
+"By the way," he added, "are your guests to know of the passage?"
+
+"I think not," Alan replied, with a slight flush. "As a matter of fact,
+I'm not going to use it again except in an emergency."
+
+Left to himself, Teddy sighed and murmured, "A private passage with a
+pretty enough girl at the other end--I wonder what Doris would think
+about it, even in an emergency."
+
+Arriving next door Alan found that the doctor had gone out in his car.
+Miss Handyside, the servant mentioned, was at home. Under an effort of
+will he was turning away when she appeared.
+
+Presently they were seated in the study, and he was telling her of his
+expected visitors.
+
+"I wonder," he said with some diffidence, "if you could forget that you
+saw Lancaster in my uncle's room that night."
+
+There was a trace of a frown on Marjorie's brow.
+
+"Of course I will do my best, Mr. Craig. I'm not very good at heaping
+coals of fire myself, but--"
+
+"You think it strange that I should have invited him, that he should have
+accepted my invitation? Well, I suppose it's a natural thought. But the
+man has suffered terribly, and not only for his own mistakes, and I don't
+know that the acceptance was such an easy thing for him. Please remember
+that Bullard had a cruel power over him."
+
+"And does that power no longer exist?"
+
+"It is broken. You may be interested to know that Bullard is leaving for
+South Africa this week."
+
+"I hope that is true," she said so solemnly that he smiled. "But," she
+went on quickly, "I'll try to be nice to Mr. Lancaster. He _did_ look out
+of his element that night, and after all, I'm not the sort to kick a man
+when he's down. But I must say you're a good, kind man, Mr. Craig--"
+
+"Please!" he protested miserably.
+
+"Tell me about Mrs. Lancaster," she went on. "Is she very charming?"
+
+"She is very handsome. I'm afraid she will find Grey House deplorably
+dull. She finds her pleasures in crowded places. But whether you admire
+her or not, I'm sure you will like her daughter."
+
+"What is her name? Is she pretty?"
+
+"Doris is her name and--yes, she's very pretty indeed."
+
+"Please describe her, Mr. Craig."
+
+"Oh, no," he objected, with a poor attempt at lightness. "I'm no hand at
+descriptions, Miss Handyside; besides, you will see her for yourself, I
+hope, within the next few days. And I--I think she wants a girl friend
+rather badly." Thereupon he made haste to change the subject.
+
+Conversation was inclined, however, to drag a little on both sides, and
+there was developed a tension just perceptible, which lasted till the
+arrival of the doctor.
+
+When Alan had gone, ten minutes later, Handyside observed that the young
+man did not seem so bright as before his trip to London.
+
+"I can't say I noticed any difference," said Marjorie, whose whole
+glad world had become gloomy within the space of half an hour; and she
+went away to her own room, wherein she gave herself the following
+excellent advice:
+
+"Don't be silly! ... You don't really care! ... And now you know he's
+going to marry that thingammy girl! ... And he said she was _very_
+pretty, and Doris is certainly ever so much prettier a name than--no,
+I'm not going to cry--I'm not--I'm _not_! ... at least, not much."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+
+"I think that's everything, Caw. We shan't be much later than eleven.
+Don't forget that Mr. Harvie wants to catch the first steamer in the
+morning." Alan, in evening dress, was smoking a cigarette in the study
+pending the assembling of his guests in the drawing-room, all of whom had
+been bidden to dinner that evening by the hospitable Handyside.
+
+"Mr. Harvie shall be looked after, sir." Caw retired to the door, closed
+it and came back to the hearth. "May I ask you to cast your eye over this
+list, Mr. Alan?" he said, presenting a sheet of notepaper.
+
+"Why," exclaimed Alan, "this is my uncle's writing ... and it's a list of
+the people who are now in the house--"
+
+"With one exception, sir. Mr. Bullard."
+
+"That's so. Where did this come from?"
+
+"That, sir, is one of the instructions left me by my master. Those are
+the names of all the people who are to be present on the night when the
+clock stops. I ventured to bring it to your notice now merely because it
+struck me as a little curious, sir, especially since Mr. Harvie, the
+lawyer, had not intended to stay the night."
+
+Alan smiled. "And so we want only Mr. Bullard to make the party complete!
+Pity he sailed to-day for South Africa!"
+
+"If I may say so, I should like very much to have seen him off, sir."
+
+"Good heavens, man! Didn't that telegram of an hour ago convince you?"
+
+"It struck me afterwards that your agent might have watched his--well,
+his double go on board. You will remember that wire from Paris--"
+
+"Oh, really, Caw, your imagination carries you too far! Bullard, as you
+well know, is bound for South Africa on serious business: his fortune is
+at stake. Doesn't that satisfy you? Is it this list that has upset you?"
+
+"Well, to tell the truth, sir, it did give me a bit of a turn, and I'm
+not superstitious every evening."
+
+"You've got your big dog."
+
+Caw smiled apologetically. "I didn't say I was afraid, sir. Perhaps you
+are right to laugh at me, sir; still, Mr. Bullard has always done the
+unexpected thing in the past, and--"
+
+Teddy came in.
+
+"Teddy," said Alan, "shut the door, and in the fewest words possible tell
+Caw what Bullard did to Flitch in the fog."
+
+Three minutes later Caw went out, with his list, easier in his mind than
+he had ever been since that midnight hour when he set the clock going.
+
+And now Alan glanced at the clock. "Time's about up. We had better go
+downstairs."
+
+In the drawing-room they found Lancaster and Mr. Harvie. Three days of
+the free and friendly atmosphere of Grey House had worked wonders on the
+former: a rather painful diffidence was still in evidence now and then,
+but the man was beginning to hold up his head, his nervousness was
+becoming less noticeable, and his old kindly manner was once more
+asserting itself. Once Caw had caught him watching Alan unawares, and had
+forgiven him much because of the gratitude in his gaze.
+
+The lawyer had run down from Glasgow to see Alan respecting that young
+man's recent and serious onslaught on his capital, and had allowed
+himself to be persuaded to remain over night. He and Lancaster appeared
+to take kindly to each other, much to the host's gratification. Thus far
+Alan could congratulate himself on the success of his little house-party.
+Doris seemed to have found the friend he had hoped for her in Marjorie
+Handyside. As for Mrs. Lancaster, she had been a cheering surprise in her
+graciousness to every one and her open appreciations of her surroundings,
+while she had quite captivated the doctor.
+
+It was therefore something of a blow when Doris, lovely in a wild-rose
+pink, but a little pale and anxious looking, appeared with the news that
+her mother had been stricken with a headache so severe as to necessitate
+her going to bed.
+
+"I never knew your mother to have a headache before," said Lancaster,
+perturbed. "I hope it is nothing serious."
+
+"She wants us not to bother about her," said the girl. "She has not been
+sleeping so well lately, she says, but hopes to get to sleep now, and she
+will ring if she requires anything. No, father; she would rather you
+didn't go up."
+
+Alan expressed his regrets. "It doesn't seem right to go out and
+leave her--"
+
+"I'm afraid it would just upset her if we made any difference," said
+Doris, "and she certainly does not look alarmingly ill."
+
+"I will leave orders with Caw to communicate at once should she want you,
+Doris," Alan said at last, and presently the party went forth into the
+starry, moonless night.
+
+Alan, as host, escorted Doris. As he drew her hand through his arm he
+felt it tremble.
+
+"Are you troubled about your mother?" he asked.
+
+"Just a little, Alan," she replied, after a moment. "But I'm not going to
+let it make me a skeleton at the feast," she added with a small laugh.
+She would have given much then to have been walking with Teddy; her
+answer to a similar question from him would have been somewhat different,
+for her mind was full of vague fears.
+
+And just then Alan spoke of Teddy. "Is there anything wrong between you
+and Teddy, Doris? I may be mistaken, but these last few days I have been
+fancying you were avoiding each other. No quarrel, surely."
+
+"Oh, nonsense! Teddy is my oldest friend, and neither of us is
+quarrelsome. On the other hand, we are interested in people besides each
+other." Her lighter tone was very well assumed.
+
+"That's all right then," he said, and there was a pause. Then, suddenly,
+he put another question: "Doris, must I go on waiting till--till the
+clock stops?"
+
+Her reply was, to say the least of it, unexpected. "No, I don't think
+it's necessary, Alan."
+
+"Doris!" He may have imagined his voice sounded eager as he proceeded:
+"Then I may speak now!"
+
+"Please, no," she gently forbade. "I meant that you must never speak at
+all--to me--of marriage. For you don't really love me, dear Alan, and
+I--I'm really awfully glad! Now don't say another word, my friend. Who
+could be dishonest under such a sky?"
+
+And having nothing to say, he held his peace till they reached the gates
+of the doctor's garden where the others awaited them.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+To Mrs. Lancaster, as a matter of course, the chief guest-chamber had
+been allotted. Its door faced that of the study across the spacious
+landing; viewed from outside, its bay-window balanced that of the study
+and suggested an equally large apartment. It lacked, however, the depth
+of the opposite room, and further differed from the latter in having a
+window of ordinary size in the side wall, looking north. Elegance and
+comfort it possessed to satisfy the most fastidious senses. White walls
+and furniture, rose velvet carpet, and hangings, silver electric
+fittings and a silver bedstead. The warmed atmosphere would have been
+pleasant to the body without the fire, yet those glowing and flaming
+logs made cheerfulness for the imagination--or would have done so for
+the imagination of any person save Mrs. Lancaster. At intervals she
+shivered. She was half sitting, half reclining on the couch drawn near
+to the hearth. She was wearing an elaborate tea-gown which had cost her,
+or, to be precise, had added to her debts, more guineas than some of us
+earn in a year.
+
+Her hands and neck blazed with gems, but her eyes would have made you
+forget the jewels, so intensely they gleamed. The finger of feverishness
+had touched her dusky cheeks to a rare flush. Waiting there in the soft
+light of a single lamp of the cluster in the ceiling, Carlotta Lancaster
+had never looked so splendid. And she had never felt so afraid.
+
+Afraid of what? Ruin for her husband, misery for her daughter? Oh, dear,
+no! Afraid of being herself caught in a most dishonourable and traitorous
+act? A little, perhaps. But the fear that now made her shiver and burn
+was the fear lest Bullard should fail in his latest and last, as he had
+said it should be, plan to obtain the diamonds. Failure on his part
+spelled ruin for her--not just social ruin, though that were terrible
+enough, but financial ruin, hideous, complete.
+
+Debts, debts, debts! The night before leaving London, and for the first
+time in her life there, she had sat down with paper and pencil and made
+up a statement--rough, of course--of all she owed, and added it up....
+Appalling! Thousands and thousands of pounds! Why, great Heavens! if she
+used her recent windfall to pay her debts, she would have nothing left
+worth mentioning. And Bullard was going to give her a hundred
+thousand--if--if ... Oh, but he must not fail! It was her final chance,
+her final hope, of averting downfall into sordid obscurity.
+
+An hour ago another hope had glimmered, but briefly.
+
+"Doris," she said, "you seem happy here. Will you give me a straight
+answer to a straight question? Suppose your father's affairs came right;
+suppose, also, I gave you back that money; would you--would you marry
+Alan Craig?"
+
+But Doris, who had made a discovery since coming to Grey House, answered
+shortly yet cheerfully--
+
+"No!"
+
+Mrs. Lancaster did not press the matter. She was too well aware that the
+twenty-five thousand pounds had been the price of the remnants of her
+daughter's faith in her. Doris had ceased to call her "mother" except in
+company, and then as seldom as possible; in times of unavoidable privacy
+she treated her with extreme but distant courtesy.
+
+So the glimmer had gone out, and now there was no way of salvation but
+Bullard's way.
+
+The silver carriage-clock on the mantel tingled eight. Mrs. Lancaster
+rose and went to the door, which she opened an inch. Awhile she listened
+intently, then closed it and turned the key. She had heard nothing.
+Twenty minutes earlier she had heard Caw moving about the study, mending
+the fire and putting things in order; then he had gone downstairs--to
+his supper, she presumed. He would not likely be up again within the
+next two hours--unless she summoned him. With another shudder she moved
+away from the door.
+
+Presently she unlocked one of her trunks and took out a little white
+package with a red cross scored on it. Undoing the sealed waxed paper she
+uncovered several neatly cut strips of meat. She regarded them with
+disgust. It was by no means the first little white package she had opened
+since her arrival at Grey House, but none of the previous ones had been
+crossed with red.
+
+She switched off the light and went towards the side window, slipped
+between the curtains and drew them close behind her. When her eyes were
+grown accustomed to the darkness, she raised the sash. Like the others in
+the house it worked easily, noiselessly. A bitter air from the
+snow-capped Argyll hills made her wish she had donned furs.
+
+Crouching, she reached out and peered downwards. The darkness baffled
+her, but something had to be left to chance. She let fall a strip of
+meat, and closed the window--for about five minutes. Then she peered down
+again. A live thing was moving on the gravel. She let fall the rest of
+the meat, and a snuffling sound came up to her ears. Caw's Great Dane had
+lately been finding frequent tit-bits in that particular spot, and now he
+was making another tasty meal--his last.
+
+Mrs. Lancaster closed the window and after washing her hands went back to
+the fire. It supplied all the light she required for the present. There
+was nothing that needed to be done for an hour. But she grew more and
+more restless, and before half the time had passed she was opening
+another of her trunks. From it she took that which in the doubtful light
+seemed a mere mass of silk, but which was later to resolve itself into a
+sort of ladder carefully rolled up and fitted with a steel clamp at the
+top. She placed the bundle behind the curtains of the side window, and
+returned to the trunk.
+
+From a nest of soft materials she drew a wooden box about eight inches
+square. Gingerly she carried it to the couch, seated herself, and took
+off the lid. The removal of a quantity of cotton wool revealed a glass
+sphere of the size of an average orange, filled with a clear, colourless
+fluid. She let the sphere stay where it was, and after gazing at it
+awhile placed the box very cautiously on the mantel.
+
+Feeling faintish, she got her smelling-salts and cologne and lay down on
+the couch. The half hour that followed was the longest she had ever
+spent, and yet she was not relieved when the clock tinkled nine. The fire
+had burned low, but she let it die....
+
+Once more she lurked at the window--fearing one moment, hoping the
+next, that her message had not reached him in time, that he would
+not come--till another night, though she was aware that it must be
+now or never.... And at last, down below, a mere spark of light
+moved in the mirk.
+
+Mrs. Lancaster was no weakling. The spark roused as though it had touched
+and scorched her. She cleared her mind for action. No useless hampering
+thoughts littered it now. Her intelligence reckoned nothing save the work
+on hand; its details she had by heart. She acted.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bullard came from between the curtains white and breathing hard, but
+smiling. He had no head for climbing--and a loosely hung ladder of silken
+loops in the darkness is poor support to the nerves--but he had the will
+for anything that meant great gain.
+
+"You will excuse me," he gasped, taking a sip from a tiny gold
+flask. "I've come out of one darkness to go into another. Is all clear?
+You managed the dog, I noticed. Yes, yes, very disagreeable, but
+necessary.... Well?"
+
+"So far as I know," she whispered, "your way is clear, unless"--she
+glanced at the box on the mantel--"I fail, or that thing there does. Have
+you found out about the clock?"
+
+"Not much. Nothing, in fact. The Frenchman would not take my order for a
+clock exactly similar to my dear old friend's, and he was not talkative.
+But I'm very much mistaken if Christopher's diamonds are not there."
+
+"Tell me," she said, her hand to her heart, "how you are going to
+escape--detection. I must know that before we go further, for, if they
+catch you, they will never, with such a fortune involved, spare you for
+my husband's sake."
+
+He seated himself beside her on the couch and lit a cigarette.
+
+"There is no time for full details, dear lady. Be satisfied with these.
+First, I sailed this afternoon from London--by deputy, you understand.
+To-night I shall travel a certain distance south by car, afterwards by
+rail. At a certain port, a Mr. So-and-So will board and occupy his
+reserved cabin on a swift steamer bound for Madeira. At Madeira Mr.
+So-and-So and Mr. Deputy will meet--just meet and no more. Then Mr.
+Deputy will disappear as such, Mr. So-and-So will disappear as such, and
+Mr. Bullard will continue his journey to Cape Town."
+
+"Oh, you are horribly clever! ... Your deputy is like you in appearance?"
+
+"Very; and as I've had occasion to use him before, he knows my little
+ways.... But now, Mrs. Lancaster, I must ask you to get busy." He rose,
+took the box from the mantel and extracted the sphere. "Don't be afraid,"
+he said, as she rose, also, with a shiver. "Only be careful." He laid it
+in her hand.
+
+"Will it hurt much?" she whispered.
+
+"No--not much. Disagreeable of course, but not deadly."
+
+"You're sure it won't--kill?"
+
+"I give you my word. Now, please,--at once." He went over to the door and
+unlocked it. "Come!"
+
+She joined him. "Oh, yes, I know exactly what to do," she said, answering
+a question.
+
+"Very well." He returned to the hearth. "Now I'm going to ring for Mr.
+Caw.... There!"
+
+She opened the door and slipped out. At the rail directly over the foot
+of the stair she took her stand.
+
+Ere long she heard a door in the distance open and shut. Then she heard
+Caw coming along the passage leading from the kitchen premises....
+
+As Caw placed his foot on the first step, something bright flashed down
+within a yard of his eyes and burst on the stair with a slight report.
+
+When Bullard looked over, a moment later, he nodded and said: "That's all
+right. He won't stir for fifteen minutes, anyway, and I hope I shan't
+need five."
+
+It then appeared necessary to conduct Mrs. Lancaster back to her room and
+administer to her what remained in the tiny gold flask.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+
+"Curse that green stuff!" said Bullard under his breath. "I'd sooner
+handle a bunch of live wires."
+
+He was standing in front of the clock, in the glow of an overhanging
+lamp, the only one he had switched on on entering the firelit room.
+
+The pendulum in its callous swing fairly blazed. There was no sound save
+a half-stifled, irritating ticking.
+
+Bullard presented rather a curious, if not uncanny, spectacle then. His
+countenance was covered by a glass mask such as the chemist dons while
+preparing or studying some highly unstable and dangerous substance. Even
+more than death he feared pain and disfigurement. His method of dealing
+with Christopher's clock had been carefully thought out. In the rainproof
+coat which he wore was a respirator, oxygenated, as well as sundry little
+tools. For it was the green fluid that had engaged his wits most
+seriously: it must be got rid of; its powers, whatever they were,
+dispersed, before he dared tackle the clock itself; and the dispersal
+must be effected from the greatest distance possible.
+
+Well, he had conceived a way which promised but moderate risk to his own
+person. Having finished his brief outward examination of the clock, he
+produced a disk of white paper, an inch and a half in diameter, gummed on
+one side. Raising the mask slightly, he moistened the disk, and applied
+it to the clock's case, almost at the bottom of the reservoir. Against
+the green background the mark showed very distinctly. For a moment or two
+he regarded it critically, then went to the door and turned the key. He
+stepped briskly up the room, halting at the heavy brown curtains drawn
+across the bay-window.
+
+From inside his coat he brought a gleaming weapon with a long barrel and
+an unusually large butt--an air pistol of great power and reliability. In
+the old South African times Bullard had been a notable shot with rifle
+and revolver, and practice during the last few days had shown him that
+his hand and eye still retained a good deal of their cunning. Moreover,
+it was an easy mark he had before him now. The chief risk lay in an
+extremely violent explosion of the green fluid, but he hardly believed in
+such a result. Christopher was sure to have thought of something more
+subtle than mere widespread destruction, which might involve friends, not
+to mention property, no less than enemies. Something that burned,
+something that asphyxiated--something undoubtedly cruel and treacherous
+and horrible--existed in that green fluid; but when its time came, it
+would attack its victim with little sound, if not in absolute silence. So
+Bullard had imagined it, though he was prepared to find himself wrong.
+
+The pistol was already loaded, its charge of compressed air awaiting but
+the touch of release. Bullard undid the safety-catch, took a glance
+round, and passed between the curtains, re-drawing them till they almost
+touched. With his left hand he grasped the edges at a level with his
+chin, leaving a narrow aperture above that level through which he could
+aim. If an explosion did take place, he was fairly secure from flying
+fragments; if the atmosphere became too perilous, the window was at hand.
+
+He raised the weapon to the aperture and protruded the barrel. An easy
+shot, indeed! He would soon know what ... Damn! what was that? Footsteps
+on the gravel beneath the window? Withdrawing the pistol, he moved to the
+window and listened. The fastenings of the mask encumbered his hearing;
+he could not be sure. But, next moment, peering through the misty pane on
+the right he saw a man's figure, too small for either Craig or France,
+move from the steps into the ruddily lighted doorway. And far away, as it
+seemed, an electric bell purred.
+
+Wrath at the interruption rather than fear of discovery and capture
+possessed Bullard. Caw was helpless for the present, and it was not the
+old housekeeper's business to answer the bell. The visitor would have to
+wait awhile. Anyway, there was plenty of time for escape.... But was he
+going to flee empty-handed, leaving that cursed clock unexplored?
+
+He turned quickly back to the curtains, and again protruded the
+pistol--and all but dropped it.
+
+Between him and the clock a girl was standing--a girl in an apple-green
+evening frock. She had nut-brown hair and a beautiful neck, and she was
+inclined to plumpness. Apparently she was watching the pendulum. Soon,
+however, she moved and looked around her. There was a slight flush on the
+delicate tan of her cheeks, and she smiled faintly as at some foolish
+thought. Then, glancing at something in her hand, she shook her head
+while a tiny frown superseded the smile.
+
+She stepped to the door and turned the handle--and gave a little gasp.
+Bullard saw her colour go out, saw her shoulder seek the support of the
+door. In that instant he might have over-awed her, stunned her with
+alarm, but in the next she straightened up and did an unexpected thing.
+She drew the key from the locked door and walked deliberately to the
+writing table. For a moment she seemed to require the support of its
+ledge, yet steadily enough she passed back to the clock.
+
+There she wheeled about. Up went her right hand holding a little
+revolver. She spoke softly, not unwaveringly, but quite clearly.
+
+"Whoever you are, I think you had better come out. They will be here
+immediately. I've rung for them. You can't escape!"
+
+There was no response. Bullard was thinking hard. Ought he to overpower
+her or risk the long drop from the window?
+
+"I will count three," she said, "and if you don't come out, I will shoot!
+One ... two ... th--"
+
+"Do not forget," said a muffled voice, "that I can shoot also."
+
+"You horrid pig!" she cried. "Take that!" Crack went the revolver--crash
+went the bulb and shade above the writing-table.
+
+Bullard stepped forth. There was a greyish shade on his face, but his
+lips smiled stiffly behind the glass mask.
+
+"Stand away from the clock, and be good enough to return the key to the
+door," he said.
+
+The sight of him daunted her, yet not for long. She fired again--blindly,
+one may suppose. The bullet passed over his head, between the curtains,
+and through the window. A sound of vigorous knocking came from below.
+
+"You little devil!" snarled Bullard, and ran at her.
+
+Then her nerve weakened and she darted toward the door of the passage.
+Ere she could reach it, it flew open, and, dropping the revolver, she
+fell into the arms of the panting Alan.
+
+"Good God! what's this?" he cried at the extraordinary appearance of
+Bullard and the smoke wreaths in the atmosphere. "Are you all right?" he
+whispered to the girl.
+
+Teddy dashed in, gave a shout and made for Bullard, only to be brought up
+short by a shining muzzle almost in his face.
+
+From downstairs a female voice rose in shrieks; from the stairs came a
+man's, shouting in a foreign tongue. Next moment there fell a frantic
+beating on the door.
+
+Marjorie darted from her refuge, thrust home the key and turned it.
+Monsieur Guidet almost fell in, crying--
+
+"Quick! Look after Mr. Caw! He was hurt--on the stair!"
+
+As he spoke, Lancaster, Doris, Mr. Harvie and the doctor appeared from
+the passage.
+
+"Doctor, will you go to Caw?" said Alan rapidly. "He's hurt--downstairs."
+
+Handyside ran out, and Guidet banged the door after him. "Guard it!" he
+shouted to Teddy. "Let not the pig-hog escape!"
+
+The little Frenchman was beside himself. "So I suspect you right!" he
+almost screamed. "You think I was greater fool than you look when you ask
+me to make clock the same for five hundred pounds! Bah! What idiot you
+was! For I think a little after you go, and I take not many chances. How
+to get here most quick, I ask myself. The train to Greenock, the ferry to
+cross the water, and the legs to run three miles. I do so! I
+arrive!--behold, I arrive in time!" He laughed wildly. "And so you would
+try to kill him--my clock!" he yelled, and with that, like a furious
+bantam, ignoring the pistol, he flew at Bullard, tore away the mask and
+tossed it against the wall.
+
+"Monsieur Guidet!" cried Alan, running forward and catching his arm.
+"Leave him to us."
+
+Guidet shook off the clasp. "Pig-hog," he went on, "behold, I pull your
+nose! There! Also, I flap your face! One! two! I do not waste a good
+clean card on you, but I will give you satisfaction when you like--after
+you come out of the jail!"
+
+Alan had grabbed Bullard's right wrist. "Teddy, take the madman away," he
+cried, and Teddy removed Guidet, who went obediently, but blowing like a
+porpoise, to a seat by the wall.
+
+Lancaster, looking ill, had sunk into an easy-chair by the fire. His
+daughter, pale but composed, stood beside him, her hand on his shoulder.
+She still feared Bullard: even now she was ready for sacrifice. Mr.
+Harvie, lost in amazement, had not got beyond the threshold.
+
+As for Bullard, he had gone white to the lips at the Frenchman's affront;
+his expression was diabolical. Wrenching his wrist from Alan's grasp, he
+stepped back until he stood framed in the curtains. His black eyes stared
+straight in front of him, at the clock, perhaps; perhaps into the future.
+
+Alan went back to the door, and whispered to Marjorie: "Go beside Doris,
+please." Then he turned to Bullard.
+
+"I may as well tell you," he said, "that unless my servant Caw is another
+of your victims, like Flitch, we shall neither attempt to injure you nor
+give you in charge; the reason for that is our affair."
+
+At this Teddy found it necessary to restrain Monsieur Guidet.
+
+"But, on the other hand," Alan continued, "you are not going to walk out
+of this house as easily as you seem to have entered. In fact, you are not
+going to leave this house until many things have been settled."
+
+Bullard gave him a glance. "Indeed!" he said quietly. "And what does Mr.
+Lancaster say to that?"
+
+"Mr. Lancaster is not going to be troubled over this matter," Alan
+replied calmly, "and you will have no opportunities for troubling him on
+any other matter. We happen to have a nice, dry cellar, and--well, in
+short, you are our prisoner, Mr. Bullard--"
+
+Mr. Harvie took a step forward. This was too much for his legal mind. "My
+dear Mr. Craig," he began, "pray consider carefully--"
+
+"Oh, please, for goodness' sake, keep quiet, Mr. Harvie," Marjorie
+impulsively interposed, and he collapsed, partly, it may have been, from
+astonishment.
+
+"For how long, may I ask," sneered Bullard, "am I to have the felicity of
+your hospitality?"
+
+"Till the clock stops."
+
+A short silence was broken by Monsieur Guidet's clapping his hands and
+exclaiming: "How you like that, pig-hog? Bravo, Mr. Craik! That was a
+good bean to give him!"
+
+Marjorie and Teddy laughed, and the others, excepting Lancaster, smiled.
+And just then the doctor entered supporting Caw, who looked dazed and
+wretched. Alan shook his limp hand and helped him to a seat beside
+Guidet--which was an error of judgment, for the Frenchman's eloquence was
+loosened afresh.
+
+"Ah, poor Mr. Caw," he cried, patting the sufferer affectionately. "But
+never mind, for now you have the enemy on the toast! Cheer up, for I will
+tell you a good choke! Figure it to yourself, the pig-hog comes here with
+a glass dish over his bad face--he was so fearful of my clock that it
+would hurt him--he had so great terror of the green fluid--ha! ha!--I
+must laugh, it was so very droll." Then he flashed round on Bullard. "But
+listen, pig-hog, and I tell you the secret of the dreadful, fearful,
+terrible, awful green fluid! I know the secret, for I make it myself. It
+is a kind of fish--what you call a cod--understand? And I make it with
+the oil of castor and some nice colourings! _Voila_! I could laugh for
+weeks and fortnights, and--"
+
+"Look out!" shouted Teddy, and sprang forward--too late.
+
+"Till the clock stops," said Bullard in a thick voice, and fired at it.
+Then he flung the pistol behind him and grinned.
+
+Teddy secured Guidet just in time, and a silence fell that seemed to last
+for minutes.
+
+The bullet, having made a starry hole in the glass, had pierced the face
+an inch below its centre, and as the company stared, the pendulum
+shuddered and fell with a little plash into the green liquid.
+
+A wild cry came from the Frenchman--"Miracle!"--and he fell to
+hugging poor Caw.
+
+As though the others had ceased to exist, Bullard strode forward. Now his
+countenance was congested, his eyes glazed. "The diamonds!" he muttered.
+"Where are the--"
+
+He stopped short, as did Alan and Teddy, who had started to intercept
+him,--stopped short, as did every other human movement in that room at
+the sound of a voice--a voice emanating from no person present.
+
+Far and faint it sounded, but distinct enough for the hearing of all.
+
+"Do not be alarmed," it said, and paused.
+
+And Bullard was ghastly again, and Lancaster gasped and shivered and put
+his hands to his face. Marjorie caught Doris's hand, and Caw tried to
+rise. The others stared at the clock.
+
+The voice slowly proceeded--
+
+"These are my instructions to my nephew, Alan Craig, respecting the
+diamonds once mine, now his; and if Alan has not returned, to my servant
+Caw, and failing him, to my lawyer, Mr. George Harvie, who shall then
+open the letter marked 'last resort,' which I leave in his care. But I
+make this record in the full belief that my nephew lives and will hear my
+words." A pause.
+
+Bullard threw himself on the couch. "'His master's voice, Caw,'" he
+sneered most bitterly.
+
+No one answered save the impulsive Marjorie.
+
+"Cad!" she said clearly.
+
+The voice resumed:
+
+"Alan, you will have the diamonds divided expertly and without delay into
+three portions of equal value, and you will hand one portion to Miss
+Marjorie Handyside, the second to Miss Doris Lancaster, yourself
+retaining the third. I make no restrictions of any sort. I also desire
+you to present the pendulum intact to Monsieur Guidet, the maker of the
+clock, provided he has proved faithful. Finally, I ask you to present to
+my one-time friend, Francis Bullard, the Green Box left in the deep
+drawer of my writing-table, unless he has already obtained possession of
+the same, along with the key which Mr. Harvie will provide. And may God
+bless and deal gently with us all!--even with the traitor in our midst.
+Farewell."
+
+There was another silence. Doris was kneeling, her arms round her father,
+as though to protect him, and Bullard had risen; the others had scarcely
+changed their positions.
+
+Mr. Harvie cleared his throat. "Really, my dear Mr. Craig," he said, "all
+this is most interesting, but, I beg leave to say, extremely irregular.
+And--and where are the--"
+
+"I almost forgot to say," replied the voice--and you might have fancied a
+repressed chuckle--"that the diamonds are deposited, in my nephew's name,
+with the Bank of Scotland, Glasgow. Once more, farewell."
+
+And with that the clock, having performed its duty, though so long before
+its time, disintegrated, the works falling piecemeal into the green
+fluid, there forming a melancholy little heap of submerged wreckage.
+
+No one seemed to know what to say, until Mr. Harvie came to the rescue.
+He advanced and congratulated Marjorie.
+
+"And you, too, Miss Lancaster," he said kindly.
+
+Doris rose and gave him her hand. "It's really true, isn't it?" she
+whispered. "And I can do anything I like with them?"
+
+"Anything you like, my dear."
+
+Alan and Teddy approached the girls, but Bullard was before them. The man
+refused to believe he was beaten.
+
+"Doris," he said, almost pleasantly, "now that the clock has stopped, I
+feel at liberty to announce our engagement."
+
+She looked at him bravely, but did not speak.
+
+He lowered his voice. "Your father's debt to the Syndicate is
+paid, but--"
+
+"Oh, you worm!" cried Marjorie. "Where's my revolver?"
+
+But Alan took him by the collar and slung him halfway across the room,
+crying savagely: "How dare you speak to a lady?"
+
+"Bravo, Mr. Craik!" Guidet chuckled. "Another good bean!"
+
+"Leave him to me," said Teddy. "He has asked for it, and, by Heaven, he's
+going to get it! Look here, Bullard!" He held up an inch of fine gold
+chain with a nugget attached, and Bullard wilted. "If you aren't out of
+this country within three days, and if you ever defile it again, I'll use
+this, though I should get five years for holding it back. Now go!"
+
+Bullard turned to the door.
+
+"Oh, stop him!" feebly cried Caw. "He must not go without the Green Box."
+
+Bullard made a dash, but the Frenchman was before him and held the door
+till Teddy brought box and key. For an instant Bullard looked as if he
+would send the thing crashing amongst the midst of them all. Then he took
+it and went.
+
+"Mr. France," said Caw, "please take my revolver and see that he carries
+the box right off the premises."
+
+"I'll see him to the gates," said Teddy.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And so Francis Bullard realised that he was beaten at last. Yet even in
+the agony of rage and hate and defeat that shook his being as he turned
+from the gates of Grey House, he ignored despair. Nothing was final!
+South Africa was before him! There was money to be made! There was
+revenge to be planned.... Revenge! He could think of nothing else--not
+even of some one who might be crazy for revenge on himself.
+
+He came to the wood, started the car, and backed it out to the road. Then
+he set off for Glasgow at a more reckless pace than usual--and suddenly
+remembered that the Green Box was on the seat beside him. Fool that he
+was!--the thing must be got rid of! The water--that was the place. He
+prepared to slow down. No, not yet. Better get past that bit where the
+road ran so high above the shore. He put on speed again, and then--
+
+A snarl behind him, a hot breath on his ear, and two hands fastened
+viciously about his neck.
+
+"Stop the car!" quacked the voice of Edwin Marvel. "My turn now! I've
+been waiting for this, you beast, you liar, you swindler! Stop the car!"
+repeated the madman, and wrenched at his captive's throat so that the
+latter's hands were torn from the wheel.
+
+Bullard's prayer, warning, or whatever it was, came forth in a mere
+gurgle. The car swerved, left the road, ran up a short, gentle, grassy
+slope, tilted at the summit, toppled and plunged to the rocky shore.
+
+There was an appalling explosion.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+
+A fortnight later, Caw, in his little sitting-room, was entertaining
+Monsieur Guidet to afternoon tea. The Frenchman had just completed the
+operation of replacing Christopher's clock with one of similar aspect
+minus the glamour and mystery of pendulum and fluid.
+
+"Monsoor," said Caw, "excuse my asking it again, but could you not have
+done what the bullet did?"
+
+"Perhaps, Mr. Caw, only perhaps. I am not so clever as Chance. The
+bullet, you see, came at the exact right instant to the exact right
+place. It was a miracle! The pig-hog--no! I call him not so since he is
+dead--the poor devil might have fired a million hundred bullets without
+doing what that one bullet did. That is all I can say--all I wish to say,
+because I still am sad that my clock was not let to stop himself. But
+now, I will ask _you_ a query, Mr. Caw. How did the young lady, so
+beautiful, so brave, so splendid, come to be in the room with the--the
+poor devil?"
+
+"Miss Handyside, being uneasy in her mind," Caw answered, a trifle
+stiffly, "had come secretly to ask me to keep an eye on an unworthy
+person who was staying in the house. Which is as much as I care to say on
+the subject, Monsoor."
+
+"But you will tell me if she and Mr. Alan Craik are now betrothered?"
+
+At that Caw's manner relaxed; he smiled rather complacently. "As a matter
+of fact, Monsoor," he replied, "the event took place yesterday, at four
+thirty-five p.m."
+
+"Bravo! But I am not all surprised. That night, when I see them together,
+I begin to smell a mouse."
+
+"If I may say so," said Caw modestly, "it was myself who pulled the
+string, as it were."
+
+Monsieur looked puzzled.
+
+"I need not go into details, Monsoor, but I may tell you, in strictest
+confidence, that I had become fully fed up with the thing hanging fire.
+To my mind the position was absurd. Here were two pleasant young persons,
+worth nearly quarter of a million apiece, and as miserably in love as
+ever I hope to see two of my fellow creatures--and nothing doing! So,
+when the chance came, I felt it was my duty to take it. Accordingly,
+while they were going through the passage, I shut off the electric at the
+main switch." Caw paused to light a cigarette: he was becoming somewhat
+frivolous in his ways. "Later," he proceeded, "I gathered that they came
+out at the other end an engaged couple."
+
+"Clever, Mr. Caw! You are a philosopher, I think."
+
+"Oh, any idiot knows that people in that condition prefer darkness.
+Still, I think I have done a service to both my masters, for she was Mr.
+Christopher's choice for his nephew. Well"--he sighed--"I'm glad to have
+done one thing without bungling."
+
+"And the other young lady--also most beautiful but too hungry--too
+skim--you understand?"
+
+"Slim, if you please, Monsoor. You'll be talking about slim milk next!
+But to be serious, it is a case where one can only hope for the best.
+There was never a finer young man than Mr. France, and it is a great pity
+there were no diamonds for him. I understand he is none too well off, and
+when a lady happens to have a very large fortune--of course, I understand
+that is no impediment in your country--"
+
+"Would you not shut off the electric again, Mr. Caw?" the Frenchman
+eagerly asked.
+
+Caw shook his head. "I was never one for tempting Providence by trying to
+repeat an immense success. Likely as not, they would fall down the stair
+instead of into each other's arms."
+
+"Hah! that would not be so pleasing. The broken heart can be repaired,
+but the broken nose--" Monsieur made an expressive gesture and rose.
+"But, as you have said, we must hope for the best. It is always well to
+take an optical view of the future--is it not? And now, Mr. Caw"--he
+became nervous and produced a jeweller's package--"before I go I give you
+a small momento. My clock has brought you dangers, for which forgive. We
+have been allies in the service of my benefactor, Mr. Christopher Craik,
+and I hope we remain good friends for ever always. Take this, mon ami,
+but look not at it till I have depart. The description on it I hope you
+will approve on. But one thing more--I trust you to let me know when the
+marriage--no, I say the marriages, not singular--are about to go off ...
+Au revoir!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When Caw opened the package he was amazed to find a very fine gold
+hunting watch; and he was not a little touched on reading the inscription
+inside the case.
+
+"To J. Caw from A. Guidet.
+To Be Faithful
+Is The Best Thing
+We Can Do."
+
+"Ay," he murmured ruefully, "but I've made a pretty poor show of it."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At the same hour, in the doctor's study, Marjorie and Alan were
+awaiting--without any visible impatience--the return of the others for
+tea. Lancaster and Teddy were still Alan's guests, but Doris was now
+Marjorie's. On the day following the stoppage of the clock, Mrs.
+Lancaster, finding it imperative that she should fulfil certain most
+important social engagements, had returned to London. She left Grey House
+in ignorance of all that had happened beyond the bare details of the
+division of the diamonds. Of Bullard's end she did not hear till a week
+later, and the particulars of his death were as vague as many of the
+particulars of the man's life. The "accident" had remained undiscovered
+for a couple of days, and the tides of the Firth had removed much. Mrs.
+Lancaster had departed with sullen, smouldering eyes. She honestly
+considered her daughter thankless and undutiful, because the latter had
+not promised her a share of the diamonds on the spot.
+
+It was of her that Alan and Marjorie had been talking for the past
+five minutes.
+
+"I wouldn't be too pessimistic, Alan, if I were you," the girl was
+saying. "Mrs. Lancaster, given her own way and plenty of money, may be
+quite bearable, if not charming, to live with, and Doris is evidently
+bent on supplying the money--"
+
+"For her father's sake. Doris will never forgive her mother, and I don't
+see why she should."
+
+Marjorie smiled. "Let's wait and see. What will the Lancasters' income be
+from Doris's gift?"
+
+"If Doris spends a hundred thousand on a joint annuity, as she threatens
+to do, they will have about L8,000 a year."
+
+"Goodness! what a lot to have to spend in twelve months!"
+
+"And, of course, Lancaster, though he will have retired from
+business, will have quite a decent income of his own when the mines
+come round again."
+
+"Well, I prophesy that they will both be fairly happy. Mrs. Lancaster
+ought to be able to make a pretty good display in what she calls
+Society. Now and then Mr. Lancaster will have a shilling left to spend
+on a nice book for his library, poor dear; and, with no business
+worries, he will probably begin to admire his wife once more as well as
+love her, which he has always done; and when he gets a surfeit of her
+friends, as I fear he will now and then, he will just take a little
+holiday and pay you a visit--"
+
+"Us, please!"
+
+"I wonder," said Miss Handyside, becoming extremely grave, "I wonder
+whether we ought to marry, after all."
+
+"What?"
+
+"We're both of us far, far too rich. You know I have always despised very
+rich people."
+
+"I'm sure I'll lose my bit in no time," said Alan, hopefully.
+
+"On the other hand, I have never admired foolish people."
+
+"I never said you were conceited, did I?" he retorted.
+
+"You wouldn't have said a thing like that twenty-four hours ago,
+Mr. Craig!"
+
+"Twenty-four hours ago I would not have interrupted you for the world."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Look at the clock! Twenty-four hours ago, in that dark passage, you were
+whispering--"
+
+"I wasn't!" cried Marjorie, blushing adorably. "Hold your tongue and
+talk about something sensible."
+
+"Right! Do you think you could be ready to marry me next month?"
+
+When a minute or two had passed, she said: "We're a pair of horrid,
+selfish things!"
+
+"How so?"
+
+"We're so wrapped up in happiness--at least, you are--that we have no
+thought for poor Doris, and poor, _poor_ Teddy. Oh, what is to be done
+about them? ... Why don't you answer?"
+
+"Because it's a problem, dear girl. We know it's simply want of money
+that's holding Teddy back, but even a fellow with plenty can't say to his
+friend: 'Look here, old cock, take this cheque and run away and get
+engaged!'"
+
+"Certainly not! There's no need to be indelicate. Couldn't you put the
+cheque in his stocking at Christmas--or something?"
+
+"While I am doubtful as to whether Teddy hangs up his sock, I know he's
+too sensitive and proud to accept a money gift, however delicately
+offered. As a matter of fact, Marjorie, I've tried--wanted him to take a
+quarter of the diamonds as a sort of souvenir, you know--"
+
+"You dear, kind, generous man!" exclaimed Marjorie....
+
+Order being restored--
+
+"My only hope," he went on, "is that Teddy will, somehow, lose his head
+and take the plunge, and _then_ it would be a wedding present. One can't
+reject a wedding present, can one?"
+
+"No--though every one of my sisters has fervently wished one could. And I
+could give him a wedding present, too!"
+
+"We!"
+
+"No, big!"
+
+They both laughed, then sighed, and with one accord said--
+
+"But he'll never do it!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Dusk was falling on the loch. The figures of Lancaster and Handyside
+walking in front were becoming invisible.
+
+"But why," asked Doris, "are you going back to London? I thought you had
+decided to spend the winter at Grey House and help Alan with his book
+about the Eskimos."
+
+"I'm afraid it's a blue lookout for the Eskimos. You see, Alan hopes
+Marjorie will agree to marry him in January. The stopping of the clock
+has altered a good many things," he finished, rather drearily.
+
+"It seems to have altered you, Teddy," she said shyly.
+
+He did not respond, and there was another of the long pauses which had
+been frequent during the walk.
+
+"Father and I must be going, too, before long," she said at last.
+
+"Your father is looking a new man, Doris," he returned, with an effort.
+
+"Thanks to you.... Oh, I know you have told me not to speak about it, but
+I implore you to tell me how you did that wonderful thing about the debt
+to the Syndicate. Tell me, Teddy."
+
+"You must excuse me."
+
+"But why should you want to hide the truth from me? Do you know what you
+force me to think?--that you paid the debt yourself!"
+
+"Well, I didn't."
+
+"Not some of it?"
+
+There was silence, then--"For heaven's sake, Doris, let the matter rest.
+Forget about it!"
+
+"Forget! What do you think I'm made of? ... Oh, I'm beginning to wonder
+whether Christopher's diamonds have brought me any real happiness."
+
+Controlling himself he said: "You know they have, for your father's
+sake alone--"
+
+"Even so," she said, and halted.
+
+"Doris," he whispered with passionate bitterness, "I will say it only
+once: it's rotten to be poor. That's all. Now let's--"
+
+"And I think I will say it all my life," she answered almost inaudibly;
+"... it's rotten to be rich, and I'm afraid we shall be late for tea."
+
+They were,--very late.
+
+
+
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Till the Clock Stops, by John Joy Bell
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+Title: Till the Clock Stops
+
+Author: John Joy Bell
+
+Release Date: February, 2006  [EBook #9873]
+[This file was first posted on October 26, 2003]
+[Most recently updated October 2, 2008]
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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, TILL THE CLOCK STOPS ***
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+E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Mary Meehan, and the Project Gutenberg
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team
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+
+
+
+
+TILL THE CLOCK STOPS
+
+BY J. J. BELL
+
+AUTHOR OF "WEE MACGREEGOR," ETC.
+
+1917
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE PROLOGUE
+
+
+On a certain brilliant Spring morning in London's City the seed of the
+Story was lightly sown. Within the directors' room of the Aasvogel
+Syndicate, Manchester House, New Broad Street, was done and hidden away a
+deed, simple and commonplace, which in due season was fated to yield a
+weighty crop of consequences complex and extraordinary.
+
+At the table, pen in hand, sat a young man, slight of build, but of fresh
+complexion, and attractive, eager countenance, neither definitely fair
+nor definitely dark. He was silently reading over a document engrossed on
+bluish hand-made folio; not a lengthy document--nineteen lines, to be
+precise. And he was reading very slowly and carefully, chiefly to oblige
+the man standing behind his chair.
+
+This man, whose age might have been anything between forty and fifty, and
+whose colouring was dark and a trifle florid, would probably have evoked
+the epithet of "handsome" on the operatic stage, and in any city but
+London that of "distinguished." In London, however, you could hardly fail
+to find his like in one or other of the west-end restaurants about 8 p.m.
+
+Francis Bullard, standing erect in the sunshine, a shade over-fed
+looking, but perfectly groomed in his regulation city garb, an enigmatic
+smile under his neat black moustache as he watched the reader, suggested
+nothing ugly or mean, nothing worse, indeed, than worldly prosperity and
+a frank enjoyment thereof. His well-kept fingers toyed with a little gold
+nugget depending from his watch chain--his only ornament.
+
+The third man was seated in a capacious leather-covered, easy chair by
+the hearth. Leaning forward, he held his palms to the fire, though not
+near enough for them to have derived much warmth. He was extremely tall
+and thin. The head was long and rather narrow, the oval countenance had
+singularly refined features. The hair, once reddish, now almost grey, was
+parted in the middle and very smoothly brushed; the beard was clipped
+close to the cheeks and trimmed to a point. Bluish-grey eyes, deepset,
+gave an impression of weariness and sadness; indeed the whole face hinted
+at melancholy. Its attractive kindliness was marred by a certain
+furtiveness. He was as stylishly dressed as his co-director, Bullard, but
+in light grey tweed; and he wore a pearl of price on his tie and a fine
+diamond on his little finger. His name was Robert Lancaster, and no man
+ever started life with loftier ideals and cleaner intentions.
+
+At last the young man at the table, with a brisk motion, dipped his pen.
+
+"One moment, Alan," said Bullard, and touched a bell-button.
+
+A couple of clerks entered.
+
+"Rose and Ferguson, you will witness Mr. Alan Craig's signature. All
+right now, Alan!"
+
+The young man dashed down his name and got up smiling.
+
+Never was last will and testament more eagerly, more cheerfully signed.
+The clerks performed their parts and retired.
+
+Alan Craig seized Bullard's hand. "I'm more than obliged to you," he said
+heartily, "and to you, too, Mr. Lancaster." He darted over to the hearth.
+
+The oldish man seemed to rouse himself for the handshake. "Of course,
+it's merely a matter of form, Alan," he said, and cleared his throat;
+"merely a matter of form. In ordinary times you would have been welcome
+to the money without--a--anything of the sort, but at present it so
+happens--"
+
+"Alan quite understands," Bullard interrupted genially, "that in present
+circumstances it was not possible for us to advance even a trifle like
+three thousand without something in the way of security--merely as a
+matter of form, as you have put it. We might have asked him to sign a
+bill or bond; but that method would have been repugnant to you,
+Lancaster, as it was to me. As we have arranged it, Alan can start for
+the Arctic without feeling a penny in debt--"
+
+"Hardly that," the young man quickly put in. "But I shall go without
+feeling I must meet grasping creditors the moment I return. Upon my word,
+you have treated me magnificently. When the chance came, so unexpectedly,
+of taking over Garnet's share and place in the expedition, and when my
+Uncle Christopher flatly refused to advance the money, I felt hopelessly
+knocked out, for such a trip had been the ambition of my life. Why, I had
+studied for it, on the off-chance, for years! I didn't go into a
+geographical publisher's business just to deal in maps, you know. And
+then you both came to the rescue--why I can't think, unless it was just
+because you knew my poor father in South Africa. Well, I wish he and my
+mother were alive to add their thanks--"
+
+"Don't say another word, old chap," said Bullard.
+
+"I will say just this much: if I don't come back, I honestly hope that
+will of mine may some day bring you the fortune I've been told I shall
+inherit, though, candidly, I don't believe in it."
+
+"But the will is only a matter of--" began Lancaster.
+
+Bullard interposed. "You will repay us from the profits of the big book
+you are going to write. I must say your publisher mentioned pretty decent
+terms. However, let's finish the business and go to lunch. Here you are,
+Alan!--our cheques for £1500 each."
+
+Alan took the slips of tinted paper with a gesture in place of uttered
+thanks. He was intensely grateful to these two men, who had made possible
+the desire of years. The expedition was no great national affair; simply
+the adventure of a few enthusiasts whose main object was to prove or
+disprove the existence of land which a famous explorer had believed his
+eyes had seen in the far distance. But the expedition would find much
+that it did not seek for, and its success would mean reputation for its
+members, and reputation would, sooner or later, mean money, which this
+young man was by no means above desiring, especially as the money would
+mean independence and--well, he was not yet absolutely sure of himself
+with respect to matrimony.
+
+He regretfully declined Bullard's invitation to lunch. There were so many
+things to be done, for the expedition was to start only eight days later,
+and he had promised to take a bite with his friend Teddy France.
+
+"Then you will dine with us to-night," Lancaster said, rising. "You must
+give us all the time you can possibly spare before you go. My wife and
+Doris bade me say so."
+
+"I will come with pleasure," he replied, flushing slightly. Of late he
+had had passages bordering on the tender with Doris Lancaster, and but
+for the sudden filling of his mind with thoughts of this great adventure
+in the Arctic he might have slipped into the folly of a declaration.
+Folly, indeed!--for well he was aware that he was outside any plans which
+Mrs. Lancaster may have had for her charming and very loveable daughter.
+And yet the mention of her name, the prospect of seeing her, stirred him
+at the moment when the great adventure was looming its largest. Well, he
+was only four-and-twenty, and who can follow to their origins the
+tangling dreams of youth? One excitement begets another. Romance calls to
+romance. He was going to the Arctic in spite of all sorts of
+difficulties, therefore he would surely win through to other
+desires--however remote, however guarded. As a matter of fact, he wanted
+to be in love with Doris, if only to suffer all manner of pains for her
+sake, and gain her in the end.
+
+He shook hands again with his benefactors.
+
+"You'll be going to Scotland to see your uncle before you start, I
+suppose?" said Lancaster.
+
+"Yes; I'll travel on Sunday night, and spend Monday at Grey House. You
+must not think that he and I have quarrelled," Alan said, with a smile.
+"It takes two to make a quarrel, you know, and I owe him far too much to
+be one of them. I'd have given in to his wishes had it been anything but
+an Arctic Expedition. But we shall part good friends, you may be sure."
+
+"It's understood," Bullard remarked, "that he is not to be told of this
+little business of ours. As you know, Lancaster and I are his oldest
+friends, and he might not regard the business as we should like him to
+regard it."
+
+"You may count on my discretion," returned the young man, "and I fancy
+Uncle Christopher will be too proud to ask questions. Well, I must
+really go."
+
+When the door had closed, Bullard took up the document, folded it, and
+placed it in a long envelope.
+
+"Lancaster!"
+
+Lancaster did not seem to hear. He had dropped back into the easy-chair,
+his hands to the fire.
+
+Bullard went over and tapped him on the shoulder, and he started.
+
+"What's the matter, Lancaster?"
+
+"Oh, nothing--nothing!" Lancaster sat up. "I feel a bit fagged to-day.
+I--I'm rather glad that bit of business is over. I didn't like it, though
+it was only a matter of--"
+
+"Perhaps nothing; perhaps half a million--"
+
+"'Sh, Bullard! We must not think of such a thing. Christopher may live
+for many years, and--"
+
+"He won't do that! The attacks are becoming more frequent."
+
+"--And with all my heart I hope the boy will return safely."
+
+"And so say we all of us!" returned Bullard. "Only I like to be prepared
+for emergencies. After all, we can't be positive that Christopher will do
+the friendly to us when the time comes, and Alan being the only relative
+is certain to benefit, more or less. Our own prospects are not so bright
+as they were. Of course, you've run through a pile--at least, Mrs.
+Lancaster has done it for you--"
+
+"If you please, Bullard--"
+
+"Come in!"
+
+A clerk entered, handed a telegram to Lancaster, and withdrew.
+
+Bullard lounged over to one of the windows, and lit a cigarette.
+Presently a queer sound caused him to turn sharply. Lancaster was lying
+back, his face chalky.
+
+"Fainted, good Lord!" muttered Bullard, and took a step towards a
+cabinet in the corner. He checked himself, came back and picked up the
+message. He read:
+
+"Just arrived with valuable goods to sell. Shall I give first offer to
+Christopher or to you and Bullard? Reply c/o P.O., Tilbury. Edwin
+Marvel."
+
+"Damnation!" said Bullard.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+Despite its handsome and costly old furnishings, the room gave one a
+sense of space and comfort; its agreeable warmth was too equable to have
+been derived solely from the cheerful blaze in the veritable Adam's
+fireplace, which seemed to have provided the keynote to the general
+scheme of decoration. The great bay-window overlooked a long, gently
+sloping lawn, bounded on either side by shrubbery, trees, and hedges,
+terminated by shrubbery and hedges alone, the trees originally there
+having been long since removed to admit of a clear view of the loch, the
+Argyllshire hills, and the stretch of Firth of Clyde right down to Bute
+and the Lesser Cumbrae. Even in summer the garden, while scrupulously
+tidy, would have offered but little colour display; its few flower beds
+were as stiff in form and conventional in arrangement as a jobbing
+gardener on contract to an uninterested proprietor could make them. And
+on this autumn afternoon, when the sun seemed to rejoice coldly over the
+havoc of yesterday's gale and the passing of things spared to die a
+natural death, the eye was fain to look beyond to the beauty of the
+eternal waters and the glory of the everlasting hills.
+
+Turning from the window, one noticed that the brown walls harboured but
+four pictures, a couple of Bone etchings and a couple by Laguilérmie
+after Orchardson. There were three doors, that in the left wall being the
+entrance; the other two, in the right and back walls, near the angle,
+suggested presses, being without handles. In the middle of the back wall,
+a yard's distance from the floor, was a niche, four feet in height by one
+in breadth by the latter in depth, a plain oblong, at present unoccupied.
+Close inspection would have revealed signs of its recent construction.
+
+Near the centre of the room a writing-table stood at such an angle that
+the man seated at it, in the invalid's wheeled chair, could look from the
+window to the fire with the least possible movement of the head. You
+would have called him an old man, though his age was barely sixty. Hair
+and short beard were white. He was thin to fragility, yet his hand,
+fingering some documents, was steady, and his eyes, while sunken, were
+astonishingly bright. His mobile pale lips hinted at a nature kindly, if
+not positively tender, yet they could smile grimly, bitterly, in secret.
+Such was Christopher Craig, a person of no importance publicly or
+socially, yet the man who, to the knowledge of those two individuals now
+sitting at his hearth, had left the Cape, five years ago, with a moderate
+fortune in cash and shares, and half a million pounds in diamonds. And he
+had just told those two, his favoured friends and trusted associates of
+the old South African days, that he was about to die.
+
+Robert Lancaster and Francis Bullard, summoned by telegraph from London
+the previous afternoon, had not been unprepared for such an announcement.
+As a matter of fact, they had been anticipating the end itself for
+months--long, weary months, one may venture to say. Yet Lancaster, who
+had been unfortunate in getting the easy-chair which compelled its
+occupant to face the strong, clear light, suffered an emotion that
+constricted his throat and brought tears to his eyes. But Lancaster had
+ever been half-hearted, whether for good or evil. He looked less
+unhealthy than on that spring morning, eighteen months ago, but the
+furtiveness had increased so much that a stranger would have pitied him
+as a man with nerves. To his host's calmly delivered intimation he had no
+response ready.
+
+Bullard, on the other hand, was at no loss for words, though he allowed a
+few seconds--a decent interval, as they say--to elapse ere he uttered
+them. He was not the sort of fool who tosses a light protest in the face
+of a grave statement. If his dark face showed no more feeling than usual,
+his voice was kind, sympathetic, sincere.
+
+"My dear Christopher," he said, "you have hit us hard, for you never were
+a man to make idle assertions, and we know you have suffered much these
+last few years. Nevertheless, for our own sakes as well as your own, we
+must take leave to hope that your medical man is mistaken. For one thing,
+your eyes are not those of a man who is done with life."
+
+Christopher Craig smiled faintly. "Unfortunately, Bullard, life is
+done--or nearly done--with me."
+
+Said Lancaster, as if forced--"Have you seen a specialist?"
+
+The host's hand made a slightly impatient movement. "Let us not discuss
+the point further. I did not bring you both from London to listen to
+medical details. By the way, I must thank you for coming so promptly."
+
+"We could not have done otherwise," said Bullard, fingering his cigar.
+"It is nearly two years since we saw you--but, as you know, that has been
+hardly our fault."
+
+"Indeed no," Lancaster murmured.
+
+"Go on smoking," said the host. "Yes; I'm afraid I became a bit of a
+recluse latterly. I had to take such confounded care of myself. Well, I
+didn't want to go out of the world before I could help it, and I was
+enjoying the quiet here after the strenuous years in Africa--Africa
+South, East, West. What years they were!" He sighed. "Only the luck came
+too late to save my brother." He was gazing at the loch, and could hardly
+have noticed Lancaster's wince which called up Bullard's frown.
+
+Bullard threw his cold cigar into the fire and lit a fresh one with care.
+With smoke coming from his lips he said softly, "Your brother was
+devilishly badly treated in that land deal, Christopher. Lancaster and I
+would have helped him out, had it been possible--wouldn't we, Lancaster?"
+
+Lancaster cleared his throat. "Oh, surely!"
+
+"Thanks," said Christopher. "Of course we've gone over all that before,
+and I'd thought I had spoken of it for the last time. Only now I feel I'd
+die a bit happier if I could bring to book the man or men who ruined him.
+But that cannot be, so let us change the subject with these words, 'They
+shall have their reward.'"
+
+"Amen!" said Bullard, in clear tones.
+
+Lancaster took out his handkerchief and wiped his forehead.
+
+Still gazing at the loch, Christopher continued--
+
+"I will speak of the living--my nephew, Alan." He lifted his hand as
+though to check a contradiction. "I am well aware that you believe him
+dead, and I cannot get away from the fact that the wretched
+twopence-ha'penny expedition came home without him. But no member could
+assert that he was dead--only that he was lost, missing; and though I
+shall not live to see it, I will die in the firm belief of his return
+within a year."
+
+For once Bullard seemed to have nothing to say, and doubtless he was
+surprised to hear his colleague's voice stammer--
+
+"If you could give me any grounds for your belief, Christopher--"
+
+"Men have been lost in the Arctic before now, and have not died."
+
+"But Alan, poor fellow, was alone."
+
+"He had his gun and some food. As you know, he was hunting with a man
+named Flitch when they got separated in a sudden fog."
+
+"And all search proved vain," said Bullard.
+
+"True. But there was an Eskimo encampment within a day's march," retorted
+Christopher, mildly.
+
+"It had been broken up--"
+
+"Yes; by the time the search party reached it. I may tell you that I have
+seen and questioned every member of the expedition excepting the man
+Flitch, who seems to have disappeared, and several admitted the
+possibility which is my belief." The pale cheeks had flushed, the calm
+voice had risen.
+
+Bullard gave Lancaster a warning glance, and there was a pause.
+
+"I must not excite myself," resumed Christopher, his pallor back again.
+"But the boy grew dear to me when, like other happenings in my life, it
+was too late. I was angry when he went, though I had done little enough
+to attach him to myself, and I cursed whomever it was that supplied him
+with the necessary funds. He had friends, I suppose, whom I did not know
+of. Served me right! But once he was gone my feelings changed. He had a
+right to make his own life. He had as much right to his ambitions as
+I"--a faint smile--"to my diamonds. Well, I'm always thankful for the few
+hours he spent here before his departure. The Arctic was not mentioned,
+but we parted in peace."
+
+The speaker halted to measure five drops from a tiny phial into a
+wine-glass of water ready on his desk.
+
+"You're overtaxing yourself," said Bullard compassionately.
+
+"I'll rest presently."
+
+With a grimace at the bitterness of the draught, Christopher Craig
+proceeded: "The day after he went I signed a deed of gift by which Alan
+became possessed of this house and all I possess"--he paused, turning
+towards his visitors--"in the way of cash and securities, less a small
+sum reserved for my own use. I wanted the boy to know my feeling towards
+him in a way that a mere will could not show them. However, it is no
+great fortune--a matter of fifty thousand pounds."
+
+"Much may be done with fifty thousand pounds," remarked Bullard, as if
+rousing himself. "It is a generous gift, Christopher," he went on. "With
+the house, I presume you include all it contains." Bullard knew that his
+voice was growing eager in spite of him. "Naturally," he said, with a
+frank laugh, "we are curious to know what is going to become of the
+diamonds--eh, Lancaster?"
+
+The man addressed smiled in sickly fashion.
+
+"In what, I still trust, is the distant future," Bullard quickly added.
+
+"Ah, the diamonds!" said Christopher tenderly. "I shall be sorry to leave
+them. A man who is not a brute must worship beauty in some form, and I
+have worshipped diamonds." He leaned over to the right, opened a deep
+drawer, and brought up an oval steel box enamelled olive green. It was
+fifteen inches long, twelve across, and nine deep. He laid it before him
+and opened it with an odd-looking key. It contained shallow trays,
+divided into compartments, each a blaze of light.
+
+Bullard half rose and sat down again; Lancaster shivered slightly.
+
+"In times of pain and depression I have found distraction in these vain
+things," said Christopher. "Give me a few sheets of wax and a handful of
+these, and time ceases while I evolve my jewel schemes. You may say the
+recreation costs me a good income. Well, I have preferred the recreation.
+At the same time, diamonds have risen in price since I collected mine."
+He shut the lid softly, locked it, and added impressively, "Six hundred
+thousand pounds would not purchase them to-day."
+
+"Great Heavens!" escaped Lancaster; Bullard ran his tongue over dry lips.
+
+"With one exception, you are the first to see them, to hear me mention
+them, since they left South Africa," said Christopher. "No, not even my
+nephew knows of their existence. My servant, Caw, is the exception, but
+he is ignorant of their value."
+
+"Very handsome of you to trust us, I'm sure," Bullard said with
+well-feigned lightness. "I, for one, had never guessed the greatness of
+your fortune."
+
+"I have trusted you with much in the past; why not now? And I grant that
+your interest in the ultimate destination of my diamonds is the most
+natural thing in the world. Incidentally, your friendship shall not go
+unrewarded." He waved aside Bullard's quick protest. "But I have grown
+whimsical in my old age, and you must bear with me." He smiled gently and
+became grave. "Ultimately my diamonds will be divided into three
+portions. But--and I emphasise this--nothing shall be done, nor will the
+diamonds be available for division, till the clock stops--in, I pray God,
+the presence of my nephew, Alan."
+
+"Till the clock stops?" exclaimed Lancaster stupidly.
+
+"The saying shall be made clear to you before long, Lancaster. And now I
+must make an end or I shall be giving my doctor more trouble."
+
+With a sigh he pressed one of three white buttons under the ledge of the
+table. "You will forgive my handing you over to a servant. Caw will see
+you to your car. Farewell, Lancaster; my regards to your wife, my love to
+Doris. Farewell, Bullard; yet there are better things even than
+diamonds."
+
+The door was opened. A middle-aged man in black, with clean shaven
+ascetic face, and hair the colour of rust, and of remarkably wiry bodily
+appearance stood at attention.
+
+There was something in Christopher's sad smile that forbade further
+words, and the visitors departed. Lancaster's countenance working,
+Bullard's a mask.
+
+The door was shut noiselessly. Christopher's hand fell clenched on the
+green box. His pallid lips moved.
+
+"Traitors, hypocrites, money maniacs! Verily, they shall have their
+reward!" He reopened the box, took out all the five trays, and gazed
+awhile at the massed brilliance. And his smile was exceeding grim.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+Within a few minutes the servant returned.
+
+"The gentlemen have gone, sir, and Monsoor Guidet is ready," he said,
+then looked hard at his master.
+
+The master appeared to rouse himself. "Tell Guidet to go ahead. He'll
+require your assistance, I expect. Stay!" He pointed to the diamonds.
+"Put them in the box, Caw."
+
+The man restored the glittering trays to their places with as much
+emotion as if they had contained samples of bird-seed. When he had let
+down the lid--
+
+"Your pardon, Mr. Craig, but won't you allow me to ring for Dr.
+Handyside now?"
+
+"Confound you, Caw, do what you're told!"
+
+"Very good, sir," said Caw sadly, moving off.
+
+"And look here, Caw; if I'm crusty, you know why. And I shan't be
+bullying you for long. That's all."
+
+Caw bowed his head and went out. On the landing he threw up his hands.
+"My God!" he said under his breath, "can nothing be done to save him?"
+For here was a man who loved his master better than himself. One wonders
+if Caw had ever forgot for an hour in all those twenty years that
+Christopher Craig had lifted him from the gutter and given him the chance
+which the world seemed to have denied him.
+
+Shortly afterwards he entered the room with Monsieur Guidet. The two
+moved slowly, cautiously, for between them they carried a heavy and
+seemingly fragile object.
+
+"Go ahead," said Christopher, "and let me know when it is finished." He
+closed his eyes.
+
+Nearly an hour passed before he opened them in response to his
+servant's voice.
+
+"Monsieur has now finished, sir."
+
+He sat up at once. From a drawer he took a large stout envelope already
+addressed and sealed with wax.
+
+"Caw, get on your cycle and take this to the post. Have it registered.
+And put a chair for Monsieur Guidet--there--no, nearer--that's right.
+Order a cab to take Monsieur to the steamer. He and I will have a chat
+till you return.... Monsieur, come and sit down."
+
+As Caw left the room the Frenchman turned from his completed handiwork to
+accept his patron's invitation. He was a dapper, stout little man, merry
+of eye, despite the fact that a couple of months ago he and his family
+had been in bitter poverty. He smiled very happily as he took the chair
+beside the writing table. He was about to receive the balance of his
+account, amounting, according to agreement, to two hundred pounds.
+
+The work done was embodied in the clock and case which now filled,
+fitting to a nicety, the niche in the back wall. Outwardly there was
+nothing very unusual about the clock itself. A gilt box enclosing the
+mechanism and carrying the plain white face, the hands at twelve,
+occupied the topmost third of the case, which was of thick plate-glass
+bound and backed with gilt metal. There was no apparent means of opening
+the case. From what one could see, however, the workmanship was perfect,
+exquisite. The compensating pendulum alone was ornamented--with a
+conventional sun in diamonds, and one could imagine the effect when it
+swung in brilliant light. At present it was at rest, held up to the right
+wall of the case by a loop of fine silk passed through a minute hole in
+the glass, brought round to the front, and secured to a tiny nail at the
+edge of the niche; a snip--the thread withdrawn--and the clock would
+start on the work it had been designed to perform. The only really odd
+things about the whole affair were that the lowest third of the case was
+filled with a liquid, thickish and emerald green and possessing a curious
+iridescence, and that just beneath the niche was fixed a strip of ebony
+tilted upwards and bearing in distinct opal lettering the word:
+
+DANGEROUS
+
+"Well, monsieur," said Christopher Craig, opening cheque-book, "I suppose
+I can trust your clock to perform all that we bargained for. You will
+give me your word for that?"
+
+"Mr. Craik, I give you my word of honour that the clock will go for one
+year and one day; that he will stop on the day appointed, within two
+hours, on the one side or the other, of the hour he was to start at; that
+he will make alarum forty-eight precise hours before he stop; that he
+will strike only at noon and at midnight; and that, when the end arrive,
+he will--"
+
+"Thank you, monsieur."
+
+"But more! I give you more than my word; the credit of the work is so
+much to me. I beg to take only one-half of the money now--the other half
+when you have seen with your own eyes--"
+
+"Enough. I am in your hands, Monsieur Guidet, for the clock shall not be
+started until I am gone."
+
+"Gone?" The little man looked blank.
+
+"Your clock is there to carry out the wishes of a dead man."
+
+"Ah!" Guidet understood at last. All the happiness vanished from his
+face. He regarded this man, who had chosen him from a number of
+applicants responding to an advertisement, as his benefactor, his
+saviour. "But not soon, not soon!" he cried with emotion.
+
+Christopher was touched. The little man seemed to care, though their
+acquaintance was not three months old. Still, they had met almost daily
+in the room assigned to Guidet for his work, and the patron had taken an
+interest in the man as well as his genius.
+
+"I cannot tell how soon, my friend," he said, "but we need not talk of
+it. Now tell me, Guidet, how much do I owe you?"
+
+Guidet wiped his eyes. "One hundred and thirty pounds," he murmured, "and
+I give you a thousand thanks, Mr. Craik."
+
+"A hundred and thirty--that is the balance due on the clock itself?"
+inquired Christopher, filling in the date.
+
+The other looked puzzled. "On everything, Mr. Craik."
+
+"Don't you charge for your time?"
+
+Guidet smiled and spread his hands. "Ah, you are not so unwell when you
+can make the jokes! Two hundred pounds was the price, and I have received
+seventy of it and the grandest, best holiday--"
+
+"Your wife and children have had no holiday," said Christopher,
+continuing his writing.
+
+"They have been happy that I am no longer a failure. They shall have a
+little holiday now, my best of friends, and then I take the small share
+in the business I told you about. Oh, it is all well with us, all rosy as
+a--a rose! But you!" His voice trailed off in a sigh.
+
+"I am only sorry I shall not be your first customer, Guidet." Christopher
+blotted the cheque and handed it across the table. "So you must oblige me
+by accepting instead what I have written there."
+
+The little man read the words--the figures--and gulped. Then his arms
+went out as if to embrace the man who sat smiling so very wearily. "It is
+too much--too much!" he cried, almost weeping. "You are rich, but
+why--why do you give me five hundred pounds?"
+
+"Perhaps," said Christopher sadly, "that you may remember me kindly." His
+hand, now shaky, went up to check the other's flow of gratitude. "I'm
+afraid I must ask you to go now. I must rest--you understand?"
+
+Guidet rose. "So long as we live," he said solemnly, "my family and I
+will not forget. And if it would give you longer life, Mr. Craik, I swear
+I would put this"--he held up the cheque--"into the fire."
+
+"I thank you," said Christopher gravely, and just then Caw came in. "And
+now farewell."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+It was dusky in the room when Caw brought tea to his master. Fitful
+gleams from the fire touched the latter's face, which had grown haggard.
+The Green Box was open again.
+
+"Never mind the lights for the present," he said, as the servant's hand
+went to the switch. "Give me a cup of tea--nothing more--and sit down."
+He pointed to the chair recently occupied by the Frenchman. "I have
+something to say to you, Caw."
+
+As he placed the tea on the table Caw winced slightly. "Mr. Craig," he
+said imploringly, "won't you have the doctor now?"
+
+"Sit down," said Christopher a trifle irritably, "and pay attention to
+what I am about to say. Dr. Handyside," he proceeded, "cannot help me,
+and you can. In the first place, you have already given me your word to
+remain in my service for a year and a day after I am gone from here--in
+other words, until the clock stops."
+
+"Yes, sir," said Caw in a low voice.
+
+"And it is perfectly clear to you how and when you are to set the
+clock going?"
+
+"By carefully cutting and removing the thread at the first hour of twelve
+following your--oh, sir, need you talk about it now?"
+
+Christopher took a sip and set the cup down with a little clatter. "And
+in the event of my nephew, Mr. Alan Craig, returning within the year, you
+will serve him also as you would me, giving him all assistance and
+information in your power."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"I have recommended you to him in a letter left with Mr. Harvie, the
+lawyer in Glasgow, to whom you registered the packet this afternoon. Mr.
+Harvie is acquainted with certain of my affairs, but not by any means
+all. It is not necessary that he should know all that you know or will
+know. I am leaving much to your discretion, Caw. You will find your
+instructions in this envelope.... Among other things, it is not my wish
+that you should live alone in this house, and until my nephew returns I
+have arranged that you shall have quarters in Dr. Handyside's house, and
+I do not doubt that you will make yourself useful there, helping him with
+his car and so on. If expedient, you may trust the doctor, but do not
+trouble him without grave cause. The passage will remain available, and
+you will make inspections of this house at intervals."
+
+He paused for a moment, took another sip, and resumed. "Things may happen
+in this house, Caw; but you are not to think of that as more than a mere
+possibility, nor are you to consider yourself tied to the place. As a
+matter of fact, I would as soon have certain things happen as not, and,
+short of murder itself, I count on your avoiding or preventing any police
+interference. By the way, your own future is provided for."
+
+Caw made an attempt to speak, but his master proceeded--
+
+"There are two men whom it seems necessary to warn you against--the two
+who were here to-day."
+
+"Sir," said Caw with sudden strength and warmth of voice, "I have long
+wished I might warn you against Mr. Bullard. Only a sort of instinct,
+sir, on my part, but I never could trust that man. As for Lancaster--"
+
+"Your instinct was right. Lancaster is chiefly a fool, but Bullard is
+utterly rotten. You remember my younger brother, Caw?"
+
+"Yes, sir"--rather awkwardly.
+
+"Those two, particularly Bullard, brought him to ruin. They cheated
+him--legitimately of course! Mr. Alan is ignorant of the tragedy
+surrounding the end of his father--his mother, too--and I hope he may
+remain so."
+
+Surprise as well as indignation was in the servant's expression. "But,
+sir, you were quite friendly--"
+
+"You shall see! You remember Marvel coming here three months ago?"
+
+"Yes, I do--and I wondered at his impudence, the dirty--"
+
+"He brought me the truth, anyway. I suspect his silence had already been
+bought by Bullard, but that would be nothing to Marvel's conscience.
+Well, he sold himself and certain papers to me. They proved that Bullard
+deliberately ruined my brother for his own profit, and Lancaster
+assisted, probably in ignorance."
+
+"And--those two don't know that you know!" cried Caw. "Your pardon, sir,
+but it's a bit--exciting."
+
+"They do not know. They do not suspect. While they were here to-day they
+could think of nothing but those diamonds. They are still thinking of
+diamonds--of that I am sure; and for the next year they will think of
+nothing else. And they were my trusted friends!"
+
+"Do you mean the diamonds--there, in that box, sir?"
+
+"Just so."
+
+"They are of great value, no doubt."
+
+"My diamonds are worth over half a million sterling."
+
+Caw drew a long breath. "That box would be safer in the bank, sir," he
+said respectfully, at last.
+
+"I daresay. But it is going to remain in this drawer." Christopher
+reached out, closed the lid, locked it, and handed the key to Caw.
+"Listen! Immediately you have set the clock going, you will go down to
+the shore and throw that key far into the loch. A duplicate key will be
+available when the clock stops. Now place the box in the drawer and shut
+the drawer, and then sit down again."
+
+With a resigned expression Caw obeyed.
+
+"Burglars," he muttered, as if to himself, resuming his seat.
+
+"Yes; they may try it--after I am gone. But mark this, Caw, you are not
+responsible in this particular matter, and even should you be aware that
+the persons whom I have named are attempting burglary, you must not
+violently interfere in any way."
+
+"Not interfere! Good God, sir, half a million and not interfere!" Caw
+peered at his master in the firelight "Why, Mr. Craig, you could not
+trust me to obey that order!"
+
+"If I can trust you with the diamonds--and I tell you that no one knows
+of their existence here excepting those two men and yourself--I can
+surely trust you to obey--not a master's order, but a dying man's
+request. Later on you will understand everything. Give me your word that
+you will do nothing violent to secure what you may consider the safety of
+that Green Box. ... Come, Caw."
+
+"Will the diamonds--excuse the question--belong to Mr. Alan?"
+
+"That is a question that shall be answered when the clock stops.
+Your word?"
+
+"I am bound to trust to your wisdom, sir," said Caw, slowly. "I promise,
+sir. But if Mr. Bullard gives me a chance apart from diamonds, I hope--"
+
+"I hope nothing may happen to Mr. Bullard before the clock stops," said
+Christopher firmly. "And now I think that is all. Other details you will
+find in your written instructions. Give me some of that medicine--five
+drops--quickly!"
+
+Caw sprang up, ran to the door and switched on the shaded light over the
+table, ran back and administered the dose. Then with something like a sob
+he cried: "Mr. Craig, oh, my dear master, I can't stand it any longer,"
+and pressed one of the white buttons.
+
+"All right, Caw, all right," said Christopher kindly--and the glass fell
+from his fingers. He did not appear to notice the mishap. "I'm afraid
+Handyside will be annoyed, but I had to get the whole business finished."
+
+"Don't exhaust yourself, sir. Just try to think that everything will be
+done as you wish."
+
+"One thing more--failing the doctor, you may trust Miss Marjorie
+Handyside in an emergency. And, Caw, don't forget--"
+
+The door in the back wall opened noiselessly; and a tall bearded man in
+tweeds, with the complexion of an outdoor worker, entered. Closing the
+door he came quickly to the table.
+
+"Sorry to trouble you, Handyside," said Christopher with a faltering
+smile, "but the interfering Caw insisted."
+
+The newcomer glanced a question at the servant.
+
+"No, sir," said Caw. "No attack, but--"
+
+"Have his bed made ready," interrupted the doctor, softly, and Caw
+left the room.
+
+"I've been overdoing it a little," the invalid said, apologetically, "but
+it was in doing things that had to be done. I'll be all right presently,
+my friend.... I say, Handyside, I want you and your daughter to come
+along and take supper with me to-night. I haven't seen Marjorie for more
+than a week."
+
+"She has been away at her sister's for a few days. Only came home an hour
+ago." Handyside let go his patient's wrist and moved over to the hearth.
+
+As he stared into the fire his face betrayed disappointment and grave
+concern, but when he turned it was cheerful enough.
+
+"Yes, Craig, you've overdone it to-day. However, I'll try to forgive you.
+Only I'd like you to see Carslaw again--to-morrow."
+
+"He can't do anything more for me--anything you can't do."
+
+"Possibly not. Still, we must remember that I've been out of harness for
+five years."
+
+"I remember only that you have virtually kept me alive for the last two."
+
+"Your constitution did that," the doctor replied untruthfully. "And
+you've been a good patient, you know, except once in a while."
+
+"You've been a good friend, Handyside, though we met for the first time
+only five years ago. Yes; I'll see Carslaw to please you. Now there are
+several things I want to say to you--"
+
+"They must keep," Handyside said firmly. "You are going to bed now."
+
+"But I've asked you to fetch Marjorie--"
+
+"That pleasure for her must keep also."
+
+"Bed?" muttered Christopher. Then he looked straight at his friend, a
+question at his lips.
+
+At that moment Caw reappeared.
+
+"I'm ready," said his master. "I say, Handyside, what do you think of my
+new clock?" he asked as he was being wheeled to the door.
+
+"I'll have a look at it later, Craig. It's not going yet."
+
+"No"--gently--"not yet. Stop, Caw! Take me over to the window and put out
+the lights."
+
+Caw looked towards the doctor, who nodded as one who should say, "What
+after all, can it matter now?"
+
+At the window, for the space of five minutes, Christopher sat silent. A
+full moon shone clear on the still waters and calm hills. From across the
+loch twinkled little yellow homely lights. The evening steamer exhibited
+what seemed a string of pale gems and a solitary emerald.
+
+"Almost as beautiful," he murmured at last, "as diamonds." He chuckled
+softly, then sighed. "Bed, Caw."
+
+Within the hour he had a bad heart attack, and it was the
+forerunner of worse.
+
+Precisely at midnight Caw stole into the sitting-room and released the
+pendulum. Thereafter he went down to the shore.
+
+"Hard orders, dear master," he sighed, "but I'll carry them out to
+the letter."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+In his home at Earl's Gate, Kensington, Mr. Lancaster had made an
+indifferent meal of an excellently cooked and temptingly served
+breakfast. He was feeling dejected, limp, and generally "seedy" after the
+two nights in the train. He and Bullard had occupied a double sleeping
+berth, and Bullard had persisted in discussing many things, and
+thereafter slumber had proved no match against a host of assaulting
+thoughts. Perhaps he might have made a better meal had he been left to
+himself, but ever since the moment of his arrival--save in the brief
+seclusion of his bath--Mrs. Lancaster had harried his wearied mind with
+questions.
+
+Mrs. Lancaster had learned several important things since wealth began
+to come to her husband, about ten years ago. She had learned to dress
+well, no less so than expensively; she had acquired the art of
+entertaining with an amount of display that just escaped vulgarity; and
+she had even learned to hold her tongue in company. (Possibly that was
+why Mr. Lancaster got so much of it.) She was a big, handsome creature,
+with a clear, dusky complexion and brown eyes that either shone with a
+hard eagerness or smouldered sullenly. And it may be well to state at
+once that she had no "past" worth mentioning, and no relatives, as far
+as one knows, to mention it. Lancaster had wooed her in a
+boarding-house in Durban, Natal. Always ambitious, though never so
+keenly so as when money began to become more abundant, she had never
+yet attained to the satisfaction of having as much money as she
+desired, or imagined she needed. As for social prominence, she spent
+recklessly on its purchase. But she was an unreasoning woman in other
+ways. She was proud of her daughter one day, jealous of her the next;
+it seemed as though she could not forgive Doris for growing up, and yet
+when Doris was barely eighteen she displayed the girl on all occasions
+and strove hard to force her into the arms of a horrible little
+middle-aged baronet. She still craved a title for Doris, no matter what
+moral and physical blemishes that title might decorate. More than once
+she had hinted to Bullard that he might purchase a "handle." And
+glancing sidelong at Doris, Bullard had more than once reflected that
+she would be worth the money--if only he had it to spare. For Bullard's
+wealth was not quite so unlimited as many supposed.
+
+Mrs. Lancaster's eyes were now smouldering.
+
+"Once more," she was saying, "you seem to have made a pretty mess of it."
+
+With a slight gesture of weariness her husband replied: "Bullard was in
+charge, and I suppose he did his best."
+
+"I am beginning to lose faith in Mr. Bullard. You and he had a great
+opportunity yesterday of learning definitely Christopher Craig's
+intentions regarding his diamonds, and now you come home with a rambling
+story about a crazy clock that's going to stop goodness knows when."
+
+"Get Bullard to explain it to you, Carlotta. I'm dead beat. Two nights
+running in the train--"
+
+Cutting him short, she continued--"You tell me that old Christopher is in
+a weak state physically and, you suspect, mentally. In these
+circumstances you ought surely to have been able to do two
+things--convince him of his nephew's death and--"
+
+"He is wholly convinced that Alan will yet turn up. I can't understand--"
+
+"Alan Craig will never turn up! Can't you take Mr. Bullard's word
+for that?"
+
+"Bullard was not with the Expedition--"
+
+She made a movement of impatience. "Well you ought to have gained
+Christopher's confidence as to the other matter. Why on earth didn't you
+find out what your share is going to be?"
+
+"As I have already told you, Carlotta, he mentioned that the diamonds
+would be divided into three portions."
+
+"Equal?"
+
+"I assumed so. And he said Bullard and I would not be forgotten--'Reward'
+was the word he used."
+
+"He may leave you a diamond to make a pin of! Aren't you sure of
+anything, Robert?"
+
+"I felt sure at the time, but during the journey I began to have doubts.
+So had Bullard. I tell you I simply could not tackle the dying man about
+his affairs."
+
+"He may live for a long time yet." She drew a breath of exasperation.
+"But the moment he dies you and Mr. Bullard must act on Alan's will. It
+simplifies matters, I should imagine, that the old man made a gift of
+that property instead of willing it. Unfortunately it may mean only
+£25,000 for us."
+
+Lancaster sat up stiffly and looked at his wife.
+
+"It means not a penny for us. That debt to the Syndicate must be paid
+with the first large sum I can lay hold of. You must clearly understand
+that, Carlotta. I have said the same thing before."
+
+"You have! May I ask whether the Syndicate has asked you to pay
+the debt?"
+
+He looked away, then downwards. "The Syndicate," he said slowly, "has not
+asked me to pay the debt, for the simple reason that the Syndicate does
+not know of it--yet." His breath caught, and he added huskily, "I have
+wanted to tell you this for some time, Carlotta."
+
+"You mean--?" But she knew what he meant, had suspected it for months.
+Also, she knew why he had borrowed, or made free, with the money. Simply
+to give her what she asked for in cars, furs, and jewels. The thing had
+been done at a time when a certain mine was promising brilliantly. The
+mine was still promising, but not so brilliantly.
+
+The incident, along with Lancaster's mental suffering and futile efforts
+to right himself, would make a story by itself.
+
+"You are shocked, Carlotta?" he murmured shamefacedly, appealingly.
+
+"Naturally!" But anger was the emotion she strove to suppress.
+
+"I have paid bitterly in worry," he said, and there was a pause.
+
+"You can hold on yet awhile?" she asked at last.
+
+"Oh, yes, I think so. The danger is always there, but I'm not greatly
+pressed for money otherwise." Not "greatly" pressed, poor soul! "It's a
+case of conscience, you know," he stammered. "The thought of discovery is
+always with me, too."
+
+"No thought, I presume, of your wife and daughter!"
+
+"Carlotta!"
+
+"Oh, Robert, what a blind fool you are! Why not have asked Christopher
+for the money, even if it had involved a confession? He would not see us
+ruined--Doris, at all events."
+
+"No; I don't think he would. He sent his love to Doris. But Bullard was
+there yesterday, all the time, and I would not have _him_ guess--"
+
+"You may be sure Mr. Bullard has guessed long ago."
+
+"My God! do you think so?"
+
+"Well, it doesn't much matter, does it? But I am certain if you had
+told Christopher and made the debt a hundred thousand you would have got
+the money."
+
+"I don't know," he sighed, shaking his head. "Christopher was different
+yesterday, kind enough but different from the man I used to know--"
+
+"Of course he was different. He's dying, isn't he?"
+
+"Don't be so heartless."
+
+"Don't be silly, my dear man!" Mrs. Lancaster said sharply. "Now, look
+here, Robert," she went on, "there is only one thing to be done. Say
+nothing to Mr. Bullard, but take the Scotch express to-night and go and
+see Christopher privately. I don't care what you tell him, but a public
+scandal--public disgrace--I will not have! Get the horrid thing settled,
+and let us go on as if nothing had happened until some of your shares go
+up and put you safely on your feet again."
+
+He sat up as if trying to shake off the horror. "Carlotta," he said,
+"can't we contrive to--to live on less?" It was no new question.
+
+"No, we can't," she answered in a tone of finality. "You will go
+to-night? Fortunately the people coming to dinner are a set of crocks. No
+bridge, and leave early. You can easily catch the midnight train."
+
+"I will go," he said at last, "for your sake and Doris's."
+
+"Good man!" she returned with sudden good humour, her eyes bright.
+"It will all come right--you'll see! Tell old Christopher that his
+little sweetheart of the old days--Doris, I mean; he never loved
+_me!_--is in danger of the workhouse and so forth, and ask for fifty
+thousand at least."
+
+"It will end any chance we have of a share in the di--"
+
+"'Sh!"
+
+Doris came in. She was a tall girl with something of her mother's
+darkness, but she had the blue-grey eyes of her father and his finely-cut
+features. Of late a sadness foreign to youth had dwelt in her eyes, and
+her smile had seemed dutiful rather than voluntary. Otherwise she had not
+betrayed her sorry heart and uneasy mind. She carried herself splendidly,
+and she had good right to be called lovely.
+
+"Mother," she exclaimed, and kissed her father, "why didn't you tell me
+he was to be home for breakfast?"
+
+"Because I did not know, my dear"--which was untrue--"and, besides, you
+were very late last night. Better to have your rest out." Mrs. Lancaster
+rose. "Persuade your father to have a fresh cup of coffee while you take
+your own breakfast, I must 'phone Wilders about the flowers for
+to-night." She left the room.
+
+Doris poured the coffee and milk and placed the cup at his hand, saying--
+
+"You must be tired, dear, after two nights in the train."
+
+"A little, Doris," he answered, endeavouring to make his voice
+sound cheerful.
+
+"And worried, I'm afraid," she added tenderly.
+
+"A little that way, too, perhaps. But one must hope that there's a good
+time coming, my dear."
+
+The girl hesitated before she returned: "I want to say something, and
+it's difficult. I've wanted to say it for a long time." She paused.
+
+"Say on," he said. "A horrid bill--eh?" He knew it was not. Doris had
+never asked him for money beyond her big allowance.
+
+"Don't! It's just this: Is there anything in the world I could do,
+father, just to make it a little easier for you?"
+
+It was unexpected, and yet it was like Doris. Tears came into his eyes.
+
+"Forgive me," she went on quickly, "but sometimes I can't bear to see you
+suffering. I'd give up anything--"
+
+Mrs. Lancaster entered quickly.
+
+"Robert, Mr. Bullard is in the library--"
+
+"Bullard!--now?"
+
+"He must see you at once. He has been to the office, and there was a
+wire--"
+
+Lancaster, who had risen, caught at the back of his chair. "Alan
+Craig--safe?" he said in a husky whisper.
+
+Neither noticed the girl's sudden pallor, the light in her eyes.
+
+"Nonsense!" the woman rapped out. "Christopher Craig--died last night!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+Mrs. Lancaster would have accompanied her husband to the library,
+but for once, and despite the shock he had just suffered, he showed
+some firmness.
+
+"I will see Bullard alone," he said, and left her in the hall.
+
+He entered the library, closed and locked the door, and drew the heavy
+curtain across it. But there his spirit failed him, and he seemed to
+grope his way to his familiar chair.
+
+Without a word Bullard put the telegram into his hands. It had been sent
+off at 8 a.m., the hour of opening for the local post office. It was
+addressed to both men, and was brief:
+
+Mr. Craig died nine last night. Funeral private.--Caw.
+
+"Caw must have had instructions," remarked Bullard presently. "One
+wonders how much Caw knows about his master's affairs."
+
+Possibly Lancaster did not hear. He kept on staring at the message that
+had closed the door on his last hope. Carlotta's suggestion, or rather
+command, had been far from grateful to his inclinations, yet it had
+forced him towards the less of two evils, and for a few minutes he had
+imagined himself with Christopher's cheque in his pocket, immediate
+salvation and peace assured whatever it might cost him eventually. And
+now this telegram!
+
+Impatiently Bullard touched him on the arm.
+
+"Look here, Lancaster!--there is a train from St. Pancras at eleven, and
+it's now past ten. Pull yourself together."
+
+"St. Pancras--eleven? To-night?" Lancaster checked himself.
+
+"No, this morning! We shall be in Glasgow at eight, and a good car will
+run us down under a couple of hours.... Lancaster, for Heaven's sake,
+wake up! Can't you take in the situation? Listen! Point one: We saw the
+diamonds yesterday. Point two: Christopher died suddenly, sooner than
+even he expected, and the diamonds, in all probability, have not left the
+house--if he ever intended to send them elsewhere. They may even be still
+on the table or in the drawer! Point three: The sooner we discover their
+whereabouts the better, for if they are in the house we must act on
+Alan's will at once, though I'd have avoided that if possible. Alan knew
+nothing about the diamonds. Christopher distinctly stated that no one
+knows about them excepting ourselves and his servant. Well, if necessary,
+we must manage Caw, somehow. Now--"
+
+"But--the clock--"
+
+"Oh, damn the clock--mere tomfoolery! As for Alan's return, if you
+persist in doubting what I have already told you"--Bullard lowered his
+voice--"I shall be forced to introduce to you the man who--who saw Alan
+Craig die."
+
+"Die!"
+
+"Don't get hysterical. At this moment the one thing that matters is that
+we locate or lay hands on that green box."
+
+"But I--I can't think to go prowling into Christopher's house, and he--"
+
+"Don't think; I'll do all that's necessary in that way, and we shall have
+plenty of time for talk in the train. Now I want your cheque--open--for
+five hundred pounds. I'm going to draw the same amount on my own. We may
+have to buy things--Caw, for instance. Don't argue. We've got to catch
+that train, and I've got to go to the bank first."
+
+Lancaster sat up. "Bullard," he said hoarsely, "I won't have anything to
+do with this beastly business."
+
+Bullard smiled. "Very well, Lancaster," he said pleasantly; "I'll take
+your cheque for twenty-four thousand and seventy-five pounds."
+
+"My God!" It was the sum he owed the Syndicate.
+
+Moments passed, and then with a white face he got up and went feebly to
+the writing table.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the last hour of the journey they dined. Bullard ordered champagne,
+and saw to it that his companion's glass was kept charged. He was not a
+little afraid of a general collapse on Lancaster's part, but if such were
+imminent, the wine averted it. The physician, however, took little of his
+prescribed medicine.
+
+A car, ordered by telegraph, awaited them at the Glasgow terminus.
+Bullard, who was known to the hirers, dismissed the chauffeur and took
+the driving seat. He glanced up at the big clock, and remarked to
+Lancaster, clambering in beside him, that they ought to reach their
+destination by ten.
+
+The car rolled out of the station down the declivity into the Square,
+thence into Glasgow's longest street, then swarming with pedestrians
+and traffic.
+
+"Damn it!" exclaimed Bullard, "the air's frosty. We'll meet with fog
+presently."
+
+He was right. They met it before they were clear of the city, and over
+the twenty miles that followed it lay thick, blanketing the river and
+countryside. Bullard was a seasoned but not a reckless driver; besides
+he was no more than acquainted with the road. He drove cautiously, his
+impatience escaping now and then in curses. They were nearing
+Helensburgh when they came almost abruptly into clear weather. The sky
+was cloudless, starry.
+
+"This is better," said Bullard, "but I'm afraid it'll be a case of
+routing the estimable Caw from his virtuous couch."
+
+Lancaster struggled out of his stupor of weariness. "Are we nearly
+there?"
+
+"Hardly, but we can let her go now. I say, don't sleep; or you'll be too
+stiff for anything. Think over what I told you in the train; don't talk."
+
+Five minutes later they were speeding up the Gareloch; still later, down
+the west side; then through the village of Roseneath, over the hill into
+Kilcreggan; then round the point and up Loch Long side....
+
+At the last, as it seemed, of the houses Bullard slowed down.
+
+"Aren't we going too far?" Lancaster inquired in a voice
+unnecessarily low.
+
+"You are no observer," the other returned pleasantly, "or you would have
+remembered that there are here first a small wood and then a biggish
+field, alter which we come to a couple of solitary houses, the further
+and larger being Christopher's. The other belongs to a doctor--retired,
+though I believe he has attended our old friend. As it may not be
+advisable to advertise our call more than we can help, we are going to
+run the car into the wood--there's a sort of track--and make our approach
+on foot. We can do with the exercise."
+
+Within five minutes they started briskly along the deserted road.
+
+"No need to walk on tiptoe," said Bullard with a laugh. "Hardly any one
+living here at this time of year. Don't let your nerves get the upper
+hand. We're not going to do anything sensational, you know. Cold, isn't
+it? We shall begin by requesting the amiable Caw to serve drinks."
+
+"Don't jest, Bullard. I'm honestly hoping that the Green Box was somehow
+put away into safety."
+
+"If not, we must rectify the error."
+
+Lancaster sighed. "If the box is there, do you mean to--to--"
+
+"'Pinch' is possibly the word you are hunting for. Expressive if not
+pretty. Well, it will all depend on circumstances."
+
+"Bullard, I wish to say that I refuse to take more of the diamonds than
+will just pay my debts."
+
+"A thousand thanks, old chap, but I really cannot accept such
+generosity." Bullard threw out his hand. "Yonder are the houses, and you
+will perceive that the doctor has not yet retired--to bed. Christopher's,
+however, looks less hospitable. Never mind! We can take turns at pushing
+the button."
+
+"Bullard, for Heaven's sake, let us respect the--the dead."
+
+"And let us refrain from hypocrisies. Come along, man!"
+
+In silence they came to the gates, where Bullard spoke--
+
+"Now remember, all you've got to do is to follow my lead, and not take
+fright at anything. Caw may not be alone in the house. It is even
+possible that he may have the company of some wretched lawyer fellow who
+has been nosing around all day. Come, buck up! You'll feel fitter after a
+drink. Allons!"
+
+Taking Lancaster by the elbow, he led him up the gravel path, leaves
+rustling about their feet. They mounted the three broad steps to the
+closed outer door, and, with a muttered "Here's luck!" Bullard rung the
+electric bell.
+
+"Good!" he exclaimed a few seconds later, as a flood of light poured from
+the fan-light.
+
+They heard the inner door being opened; then with the minimum of noise, a
+large key was turned, and half of the outer door swung inwards. The late
+Mr. Craig's servant, in his customary black lounge suit, stood there
+regarding them quite calmly.
+
+Bullard had expected at least a word of astonishment, so that there was a
+little pause until his own words arrived.
+
+"Good evening, Caw," he said gravely. "We very much regret to disturb you
+at this hour, and at this tragic time, but our business is of the utmost
+importance. May we have a word with you?"
+
+Still silent, the servant stood aside, and they entered.
+
+Said Bullard--"I need not say that we were both greatly shocked by your
+wire this morning. I trust our old friend did not suffer much."
+
+"Too much, sir," answered Caw quietly, turning from closing the door. His
+countenance had a bleak look; his eyes were heavy. He stepped past them
+and opened a door on the right, switching on the lights inside. "This
+way, if you please, gentlemen."
+
+Lancaster showed a momentary hesitation, or confusion, but Bullard
+touched his arm and he accepted the invitation.
+
+Caw followed them a couple of paces into the room and stood at attention.
+The two visitors remained standing, their hats in their hands.
+
+Bullard had foreseen a hundred difficulties, but strangely enough, he had
+never thought of not being admitted to the right room. Nevertheless, his
+chagrin was not apparent.
+
+"A few words will explain our unseasonable call," he said pleasantly.
+"Our visit yesterday afternoon was partly of a business nature, and we
+brought for Mr. Craig's inspection a number of documents which, after
+perusal, he returned to us--as it seemed at the time. But in the train,
+late at night, we discovered we were one short. And that document is of
+such vital importance that we left London again this morning, and have
+regretfully disturbed you now. As a matter of fact, it was a pale green
+share certificate in our joint names--Mr. Lancaster's and mine--and as we
+have sold the shares and have to deliver them two days hence, you will
+probably understand the necessity of recovering it immediately. Possibly
+you have come across such a document in the room upstairs?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Ah! I suppose Mr. Craig's legal man was here today?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Then nothing has been disturbed?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"You will, I hope, excuse these questions, Caw? We are considerably
+harassed about the matter. Will you tell us whether there were many loose
+papers on Mr. Craig's table last night?"
+
+"None, sir."
+
+"Then he must have tidied up after we left?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+Bullard gave a tiny cough and glanced at Lancaster, who immediately said
+in a somewhat recitative fashion:
+
+"I stick to my theory, Bullard, that Mr. Craig, in placing some of his
+own papers in a green metal box, placed ours along with them."
+
+Bullard turned to the servant with a frank look of appeal. "A green metal
+box. Can you help us, Caw?"
+
+It was on Caw's tongue to reply "No, sir." But in that moment, as it does
+with most of us at times, vanity pushed aside discretion. "Yes, sir," he
+answered. "I was the last to see inside that box, closing it at Mr.
+Craig's request, and I can assure you there were no papers in it."
+
+"Wrong again, Lancaster!" Bullard lightly remarked. Then gravely--"The
+matter is so serious, Caw, that I must ask you who has charge of the
+papers and so on upstairs?"
+
+"I, sir."
+
+"And to whom are you responsible?"
+
+"My master and Mr. Alan Craig--till the clock stops, sir."
+
+After a moment's pause Bullard said--"Yes, of course, we are aware that
+all here was gifted to Mr. Alan; also Mr. Craig mentioned the clock. But
+now, would you have any objections to taking us upstairs, on the chance
+that our document is lying about where we were sitting?"
+
+Caw considered quickly. To his mind, their story had been damned by the
+mention of the Green Box; at the same time, he was quite aware that they
+had only to persist in their story to obtain legal authority to search
+the room upstairs, and his master had commanded "no police interference."
+He felt pretty confident, too, that they would hardly attempt to play the
+burglar game in his presence, but he was curious to see how far they
+would go, and he was not unarmed.
+
+"Be so good as to follow me, gentlemen," he said in his stiff way, and
+led them in the desired direction.
+
+The master's room, though fireless, was warm. In silence they entered,
+their footfalls soundless on the heavy carpet.
+
+Bullard halted in front of the clock with its flashing pendulum. "Is this
+what he spoke of," he enquired softly, "and when does it stop?"
+
+The servant cleared his throat. "A year to-night, sir."
+
+"Ah! ... And why this--and this?" He pointed first to the ebony slip,
+then to the green fluid.
+
+"To prevent its being interfered with; also, no doubt to protect the
+jewels in the pendulum."
+
+"Is it the liquid that is dangerous?"
+
+"So I understand, sir."
+
+"Poison?--explosive?"
+
+"I could not say, sir."
+
+Bullard turned to Lancaster, who had sunk into a chair, then back to
+the servant.
+
+"I say, Caw," he said, "could you possibly get Mr. Lancaster something to
+drink? He's knocked up with the travelling, and it's a bitter night
+outside. I could do with something myself."
+
+"Very good, sir," came the reply, without hesitation, and Caw went out,
+closing the door behind him.
+
+"Now," whispered Bullard, and made straight for the writing table, taking
+from his pocket an instrument of shining steel.
+
+But it was not needed. The deep drawer opened obediently, sweetly.
+
+"Lancaster, we've got it first time!" He lifted out and placed the Green
+Box on the table. "The diamonds!" Lancaster got up with a jerk and
+shudder. "Quick! Look in the other drawers for the keys."
+
+All the other drawers were locked.
+
+"Then we must take the whole thing."
+
+"Good Heavens! We can't do that! How can--"
+
+Bullard darted to the door and listened. After a moment he turned the
+handle gingerly. Then he grinned.
+
+"I'm hanged," said he, "but the artful Caw has locked us in!"
+
+"He suspects us!"
+
+"Can't help it." Bullard sped to the bay window and drew aside one of the
+heavy curtains.
+
+"I've got it!" he exclaimed.
+
+Christopher Craig had had a craze for things that worked silently and
+easily. Bullard lifted the heavy sash with scarce a sound.
+
+"Switch off the lights and come here!" he ordered. "Don't fall over
+things and make a row."
+
+When Lancaster joined him Bullard was leaning half out of the window,
+directing the ray from an electric torch on the ground below. An
+incessant murmuring came from the loch, filling their ears.
+
+"Lancaster, could you drop that height?"
+
+"Oh, God, no!"
+
+"There's a great heap of gathered leaves there--see! Think! Six hundred
+thousand pounds!"
+
+"No, no! If one of us got hurt--"
+
+"Perhaps you're right. There's nothing for it but to drop the box and
+collect it when we get out. 'Sh! did you hear something just now?"
+
+Lancaster started and caught his head a stunning blow on the sash. At the
+same time he inadvertently knocked the torch from the fingers of Bullard,
+who was going to flash it into the darkness behind them.
+
+"Idiot!" muttered Bullard. "Don't move till I fetch the box." He stole
+across the floor, feeling his way.
+
+Lancaster, nursing his head, waited--waited until a gasped expletive
+reached his ears--
+
+"Damnation!" Then--"Quick! Close the window, draw the curtain!" The
+speaker blundered to the electric switch.
+
+Fumblingly, Lancaster obeyed, then turned to face a blaze of light,
+Bullard, white with fury and dismay, and the writing table with
+nothing on it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+Next moment, his wits in action again, Bullard made for the table, closed
+the deep drawer, and threw himself on an easy chair, hissing at the
+gaping Lancaster, "Sit down, you fool!"
+
+Lancaster collapsed on the couch as Caw, bearing a salver with decanters,
+a syphon, and glasses, entered the room.
+
+"Your doors open quietly enough," remarked Bullard.
+
+"Yes, sir. Mr. Craig disliked unnecessary noise." He presented the
+salver to Lancaster, who mixed himself a brandy and soda with
+considerable splutter.
+
+While he was doing so, Bullard produced from his breast pocket a
+pale-green folded paper--a hotel bill, as a matter of fact--and gaily
+waved it, crying--"You see, we have found it, Caw, without much trouble!"
+
+"In your pocket, sir?"
+
+"On this chair, which I was sitting on yesterday."
+
+"Indeed, sir! Then you are quite satisfied, sir?"
+
+"Perfectly. By the way, Caw--no, I'll take whiskey--are you aware
+that the stones in that pendulum over there are worth a couple of
+thousand pounds?"
+
+"If you say so, sir."
+
+"Are you interested in diamonds, Caw?"
+
+"Very much, sir--from an artistic point of view, sir."
+
+"Their value does not interest you?"
+
+"It does not excite me, sir."
+
+"A capital answer! You have seen Mr. Craig's collection?"
+
+"Frequently, sir."
+
+Bullard took a bundle of notes from his pocket. "I offer you ten pounds
+to guess correctly the value of the collection."
+
+"Six hundred thousand pounds, sir.... Thank you, sir." With supreme
+stolidity Caw presented the salver as a waiter might do for his tip.
+
+Though taken aback, the loser laughed. He took a long drink, and
+laughed again.
+
+"Excuse me, sir," said Caw, "but my master is still in the house."
+
+Lancaster started, and took a hasty gulp, spilling a little.
+
+"I beg your pardon--and his," said Bullard gravely. "But I am not often
+'had.' Now, look here, Caw; I have still nine hundred and ninety pounds
+here. They are yours, if you can tell me where the collection is at the
+present moment."
+
+The topmost thought in Caw's mind then was that the brutes might have had
+the decency to have waited until his master was laid in the grave. He
+felt helpless, powerless. He could not doubt that Bullard was playing
+with him. And in view of the promise to his master he could do nothing to
+prevent the crime, the desecration as he felt it to be. He could do
+nothing but look on in silence while they searched, until they found--But
+stay! he might as well despoil the spoilers when he had the chance.
+
+"I will take your money, sir," he said, in an odd voice. "Look in the
+bottom right-hand drawer in the writing table."
+
+Bullard's eyebrows rose. Then he got up and, with his eyes on the
+servant, opened the empty drawer.
+
+Caw was within an ace of dropping the salver. After a moment he carried
+it to a side table and set it down with a small crash. Turning, he looked
+searchingly round the room. His gaze stopped at the curtain; he thought
+he understood. They had had an accomplice outside! ... He seemed to glide
+across to Bullard, and Bullard found himself looking into the barrel of a
+stout revolver.
+
+"Out o' the house, the pair o' ye," he ordered hoarsely, "or, by God,
+I'll forget the holy dead!"
+
+"But look here--"
+
+"Not a word! Take your hats and go! You've got what you came for--"
+
+"Listen, you madman!" Bullard held up a hand, the one with the
+notes in it.
+
+"Thanks!" With a flash-like movement Caw nipped away the notes. "You've
+got to pay something!"
+
+Springing round behind Bullard, he shoved the cold steel into the nape of
+his neck. "March! and you, too, Mr. Lancaster. Take your friend's hat!"
+
+Ignoring his colleague's gaze, which had moved suggestively from himself
+to the fire-irons, Lancaster obeyed and made for the door.
+
+"You'll be devilish sorry," began Bullard, beside himself--
+
+"Another word, and you'll lose one ear--to begin with. March!"
+
+Sullenly Bullard moved forward. Not until he was in the garden did
+he attempt speech, and then his voice was thick, though fairly
+under control.
+
+"Well, my man," he said, "you've got yourself into a nasty hole. Robbery,
+with a revolver in your hand, is rather seriously regarded by the law.
+But as you have acted on impulse and misapprehension, I am disposed to
+give you a chance. Restore those notes--"
+
+"Looks like being a wet night," said Caw, and shut the outer door.
+
+When he had made it fast he switched off the lights in the hall and went
+upstairs. In his master's room he wavered, and his eyes rested longingly
+on the decanters, for he was feeling the reaction. But he was a good
+servant still, and it would be "hardly the thing" to take a dram there
+and then. Yet he forgot the conventions of service when, a moment later,
+he sank upon a chair and bowed his head on his master's table, sick at
+heart, sore in pride. He had been so easily tricked! And yet what
+difference would it have made if they had walked out of the room with the
+Green Box in their possession? But he was very sure they would not have
+dared so greatly, unless, perhaps, with force of arms--in which case,
+despite all promises, he knew he would have resisted. It never occurred
+to Caw to doubt his master's sanity, but now he began to wonder what had
+possessed Mr. Craig in regard to the Green Box. Six hundred thousand
+pounds! He seemed to see his master seated at the table, calmly naming
+the stupendous sum--and in the same instant he realised that he himself
+was sitting in his master's place. He sprang up, and almost fell over the
+open drawer. He stooped to close it, straightened up with an exclamation,
+only to drop to his knees, staring, staring at--the Green Box! Suddenly
+he gave a short chuckle, rose, and made for the door in the back wall.
+
+Ere he reached it, it opened. A girl came in.
+
+He was taken aback, and she was first to speak.
+
+"Would you mind shaking hands?" said she.
+
+"Miss Handyside, was it you?" he cried, taking her hand with diffidence.
+
+She nodded. "At least, I suppose so, for it all happened so quickly that
+I'm still in a state of wonder."
+
+"It was splendid, miss! I shall never be able to thank you."
+
+"I couldn't help doing it, though I'm not used to adventures. It was all
+done on an impulse."
+
+"Woman's wit, miss, if you'll excuse my saying so."
+
+"Well, I was in the dark in more senses than one, but the proceedings of
+those two gentlemen were so peculiar, to say the least of it, that I felt
+justified in playing the spy."
+
+"When did you arrive on the scene, miss?" Caw enquired, removing his
+admiring glance. For several years he had adored the doctor's
+daughter--from a strictly artistic point of view, as he would have
+explained it--and undoubtedly Marjorie had her attractions, though it
+would be difficult to analyse and tabulate them. A Scot with more
+perception than descriptive powers would have called her bonny. To go
+into brief detail, she had nut-brown hair, eyes of unqualified grey, a
+complexion suggesting sea-air, splendid teeth in a humorously inclined
+mouth, and a nicely rounded chin. Very few people have beautiful noses;
+on the other hand, not the most beautiful nose will redeem an otherwise
+unattractive countenance, whereas an ordinary nondescript nose in a
+charming face simply becomes part of it. Marjorie's was nondescript, but
+did not turn up or droop excessively. Without being guilty of stoutness,
+she lacked the poorly nourished look of so many young women of the day.
+
+"I must explain why I arrived at all," she said, in answer to Caw's
+question. "I came with a message from the doctor--he twisted his ankle in
+the dark--not seriously, but quite badly enough to prevent his coming
+along himself. Well, when I reached the door I noticed from a thread of
+light that it was not absolutely shut--"
+
+"My fault, miss. I was just about to come along for the night when the
+ring came."
+
+"Then I heard voices--faintly--but clearly enough for me to judge they
+were those of strangers, and I was going to go back when I heard a voice
+say 'Lancaster, we've got it first time!' I'm ashamed to say my curiosity
+was too much for me--"
+
+"Thank God for female curiosity, miss, if you'll excuse my saying so."
+
+She checked a laugh. "You know how quietly the door works, I switched
+off the light behind me and opened it slightly--all trembles, I assure
+you--and looked in. The younger man was lifting a greenish box from a
+drawer to the writing-table, and the other man seemed half-paralysed
+with nervousness." She proceeded to relate what the reader already knows
+up to the episode of the window. "Then, with my heart in my mouth, I
+opened the door wide and stole in. The faint light from the water guided
+me to the table, but I almost lost my way going back with the box. I
+think they did hear something, but I was in safety by the time they
+could have turned their light into the room. But now I had closed the
+door tight, and could hear no more except indistinct voices, among which
+I fancied I heard yours. You were talking angrily, I think. And after a
+while there was a silence, and I waited and waited until I could wait no
+longer. Is it true," she asked abruptly, "that there are sixty thousand
+pounds' worth--"
+
+"Six hundred thousand pounds, miss."
+
+"Oh! ... But why was it not in a safe place? And who were those men?
+And what--"
+
+"It will be necessary," said Caw, as one coming to a decision, "to
+tell you all about it, Miss Handyside. My master said I might trust
+you. It's too much," he added, "for me to carry alone. And if you
+think the doctor--"
+
+"Goodness!" she exclaimed; "he'll be wondering what has come over me--and
+I've forgotten to give you his message! It was just to tell that he
+thought it was time you were leaving here for your new quarters."
+
+"Very good, miss. I'll come now."
+
+"But are you going to leave the box there?"
+
+"Got to--master's orders."
+
+"Extraordinary! It's locked, I suppose?"
+
+"Yes, miss; and last night, or, rather, this morning, at 12:15 by the
+clock, I threw the key into the loch--master's orders."
+
+"You are sure the diamonds are in it now?"
+
+"I was the last to see them and shut them in--master's orders."
+
+"Oh, I can't take in any more! Let us consult the doctor at once."
+
+Presently they passed out by the way the girl had entered, closing the
+door behind them. They were at the top of a narrow and rather steep
+staircase of many steps covered with rubber. Descending they were in a
+tunnel seven feet high and four in width, so long that in the distance
+the sides seemed to come together. Roof and walls were white; light was
+supplied from bulbs overhead. The atmosphere was fresh, though the means
+of ventilation were not visible. Here again they trod on rubber.
+Christopher Craig had caused the tunnel to be constructed as soon as he
+realised the truth about his malady; but it was primarily the outcome of
+a joking remark by Handyside after a midnight summons in mid-winter. It
+should be said here that at first Handyside had demurred becoming his
+neighbour's physician, but growing friendship with the lonely man had
+gradually eliminated his scruples. The tunnel had been a costly
+undertaking, the more so owing to the hurrying of its construction, but
+Christopher would have told you that its existence had saved his life on
+more than one occasion. The secret of the doors, by the way, was known
+only to himself and Caw, Dr. Handyside and Marjorie.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+A week later Doris Lancaster was sitting alone by the drawing-room fire,
+a book on her lap. It was not so often that she had an evening to spend
+in quietness; one of her mother's great aims in life was to have
+"something on" at least six nights out of the seven. At the present
+moment Mrs. Lancaster was in her boudoir, accepting and sending out
+invitations for comparatively distant dates.
+
+Sweetly the clock on the mantel struck nine, and Doris told herself that
+now no one was likely to call. She lay back in the chair, a graceful
+figure in pale green, stretched her pretty ankles to the glow, and sought
+to escape certain gnawing thoughts in the pages of a novel which had won
+from the reviewers such adjectives as "entrancing," "compelling,"
+"intensely interesting."
+
+And just then a servant announced "Mr. France."
+
+Well, after all, she was not sorry to see Mr. France--or Teddy, as she
+had called him for a good many years. He was a frequent visitor,
+despite the fact that Mrs. Lancaster suffered him only because
+everybody else seemed to like him. He was fair, tall, and lanky, and so
+pleasant of countenance that it would not be worth while enumerating
+his defective features.
+
+Mrs. Lancaster disapproved of him for three reasons: first, he had only
+two hundred a year plus a pittance from the insurance company that put
+up, as he expressed it, with his services; second, he had been Alan
+Craig's close friend; third, she suspected that he saw through her
+affectations. That he had been openly in love with Doris since the days
+of pigtails and short frocks troubled her not at all: he was too
+hopelessly ineligible. And it had not troubled Doris for a long time--not
+since Alan Craig had gone away. Since then Teddy had seemed to become
+more of a friend and less of an admirer than ever.
+
+"This is great luck," he remarked, seating himself in the opposite easy
+chair with an enforced extension of immaculate pumps and silken sox.
+(People often wondered how Teddy "did it" on the money.) "It's so seldom
+one can find you alone nowadays. Well, how's things generally?"
+
+"Pretty much the same, Teddy," she answered, with the smile that hurt
+him. "Mother's busy as usual--"
+
+"Out?"
+
+"No; writing, I think."
+
+"How's your father? I haven't seen him for an age."
+
+"I wish he were fitter. He has had to stay in bed for a few days--he came
+down for dinner to-night for the first time. Last week he had three
+nights and a day in the train--with Mr. Bullard."
+
+"Oh, I say! Bad enough without Bullard, but--"
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad," she cried softly. "You don't like Mr. Bullard, Teddy.
+I'm beginning to abhor the man."
+
+"Keep on abhorring!"
+
+Swiftly she looked at him. "You know something?"
+
+He shook his head. "Not a thing, Doris. Merely my instinctive dislike.
+I'm a sort of bow-wow, you know. Still, your mother approves of him, and
+he is your father's friend."
+
+"I sometimes feel it has been an unlucky friendship for father," she
+said in a low voice, "and yet I have nothing to go on. I suppose I'm
+horribly unjust, but I'd give anything to learn something positive
+against the man."
+
+"And yet," said the young man slowly and heavily, "sooner or later Mr.
+Francis Bullard will ask you to marry him."
+
+Doris threw up her head. "I'd sooner marry--" She paused.
+
+"Me, for instance?"
+
+"Don't be absurd, Teddy." She flushed slightly.
+
+"Absurd, but serious," he quietly returned. "Doris, I came to-night to
+ask you. It wouldn't keep any longer. One moment, please. Two things
+happened yesterday. My father won the big law suit that has been our
+nightmare for years; and I got a move-up in the office. Never was more
+shocked in all my life. Mighty little to offer you, Doris--"
+
+"Oh, don't speak about it."
+
+"Well, I'll cut that bit out; but please let me finish. You know I've
+been in love with you for ages, though I did my best to get it under when
+a better man appeared; and I think you'll admit I haven't worried you
+much since. And I'm perfectly aware that you can't give me what you gave
+him.... Still, Doris, I'm not a bad fellow, and you could make me a finer
+one, and--well, I'd hope not to bore you with my devotion and all that,
+but, of course, you'd have to take that risk as well as your parents'
+disapproval. Perhaps I ought to have waited longer, dear, but I didn't
+imagine my chances would be any greater a year hence, and it has seemed
+to me lately that--that you needed some one who would care for you before
+and above everything else.... Doris, remembering how long I've loved you,
+can't you trust me and take me for--for want of a better?"
+
+His words had moved her, and moments passed before she could answer.
+"Dear Teddy, it is true that I want to be cared for--no need to deny
+it to you--but it wouldn't be right to take all you could give and
+give nothing."
+
+"You would give much without knowing it," he pleaded. "And you were not
+made to be sorry all your life."
+
+"I'm not going to make you sorry, Teddy."
+
+"You're doing it as hard as you can!"
+
+She smiled in spite of herself. "No," she said presently, "I've no
+intention of shunning all joys and abandoning all hopes, but I can't do
+what you ask, Teddy. I will tell you just one thing that you may not
+know. Almost at the last moment before Alan went away I promised him I
+would wait."
+
+Teddy cleared his throat. "I didn't know, though I may have guessed....
+But I do know, Doris--I felt it on my way here to-night--that Alan, if he
+could look into my heart now, would give me his blessing. I'm not asking
+to fill his place, you know."
+
+"Oh, you make it very hard for me! You--you've been such a
+faithful friend."
+
+"Give in, Doris, give in to me!" He rose and stood looking down on her
+bowed head. "Dear, I'd bring Alan back to you if I could. Don't you
+believe that?"
+
+"Oh, yes!"
+
+"With all your heart?"
+
+"With all my heart, Teddy."
+
+"Then--" He stopped and took her hand. "Doris!" ...
+
+He straightened up sharply. The door was opening. The servant announced--
+
+"Mr. Bullard."
+
+It was an awkward enough situation, but neither the girl nor the young
+man was heavy-witted. Doris rose slowly, languidly, it seemed, and though
+aware that her eyes must betray her, turned and greeted Bullard in cool,
+even tones. The two men exchanged perfunctory nods.
+
+"Thanks, but I won't sit down," said Bullard. "I called to enquire for
+your father, and to see him, if at all possible. Is he feeling better
+to-night?"
+
+"I think he is in the library at present," she replied, "but he has not
+yet got over his fatigue."
+
+"Yes," he replied sympathetically, "he and I had too much trailing last
+week, but business must not be shirked, Miss Doris."
+
+She was a little startled by hearing her name from his lips; until now he
+had addressed her with full formality. She was not to know that the sight
+of her eyes when she had turned to meet him had informed him of something
+unlooked for, and had put a period to his long-lived irresolution
+regarding her. Francis Bullard, in fact, had suddenly realised that if he
+wished to secure a wife in the only woman of whom he had ever thought
+twice in that respect, he would have to act promptly, not to say firmly.
+Accordingly, as though forgetting the stated purpose of his visit, he
+dropped into a chair and chatted entertainingly enough until Mrs.
+Lancaster made her appearance.
+
+She offered to conduct him to her husband, and he allowed her to do so as
+far as the hall. There he halted and said--
+
+"You will do me a great favour by getting rid of Mr. France and remaining
+with Miss Doris in the drawing-room until I return." In response to her
+look of enquiry he added--"Then you will do me a further favour by
+retiring."
+
+"Really, Mr. Bullard, I must ask you to explain!"
+
+"Your daughter is not going to marry a title--to begin with, at any
+rate." He smiled and passed on.
+
+She overtook him. "Have you something unpleasant to say to my husband?"
+she demanded.
+
+"I am going to return him some money he thought lost."
+
+"How much?"
+
+"Five hundred pounds."
+
+"Is that all?"
+
+"Patience!" he answered, and made his escape.
+
+Lancaster, pencil in hand, was seated at his writing-table. On his
+retiral from his business in South Africa he had indulged dreams of a
+quiet room at home and the peaceful companionship of books, and he had
+got the length of providing the nucleus of a library. But his income,
+though large, had never been equal to the varied demands upon it, and the
+room had become simply a chamber wherein he escaped the irritations of
+society only to suffer the torments of secret anxieties, building up
+futile schemes for his salvation, striving to extract hope from vain
+calculations.
+
+At the entrance of Bullard he lifted his head with a start, and into
+his eyes came the question--"What new terror are you going to spring
+upon me now?"
+
+"Glad to see you are better," Bullard remarked, drawing a chair to the
+table and seating himself. "I didn't intend to trouble you to-night, but
+something arrived by the late afternoon delivery which I thought would
+interest you. No need to be nervy. It's nothing to upset you." He threw a
+bundle of notes and a registered envelope on the table. "Your five
+hundred comes back to you, after all."
+
+Lancaster eyed the notes, then took up the envelope and drew out a sheet
+of paper of poor quality, bearing a few lines in a school-boyish hand.
+
+"GREY HOUSE, LOCH LONG.
+
+"3/11/13.
+
+"_Sir,_--Herewith the sum of £990 which I accepted
+from you the other night owing to a misunderstanding.
+Without apologies for doubting
+your honesty--Yours truly,
+
+"J. CAW."
+
+Lancaster drew a long breath. "So he was fooling us, Bullard."
+
+"Not at all! Some one was fooling him!--only he has managed--I'm
+convinced of that--to regain possession of the green box. As I impressed
+on you just after the fiasco, there was some one in one of the presses,
+and now it is evident that Caw captured that person after we had left.
+Unfortunately, it means that a fourth person has knowledge of the
+diamonds. Still, my friend, we have another chance."
+
+"What? You don't mean to say--"
+
+"Certainly, we shall try again,--we must! And the sooner the better! That
+is, unless we find we can settle amicably with the invaluable Caw. His
+note suggests that possibility, doesn't it? His impertinence gives me
+encouragement."
+
+"It is the letter," said Lancaster heavily, "of an honest man--"
+
+"Up to the tune of a thousand pounds. A wise man, if you like, who
+foresaw the possibility of the notes being stopped."
+
+"You would not have dared do that."
+
+"I had already written off my share as a bad debt," said Bullard, with a
+smile, "but Caw was not to know that."
+
+The older man rested his head upon his hand. "You cannot be certain," he
+said slowly, "that the green box is still in the house."
+
+"True. Otherwise I'd be tempted to produce Alan Craig's will and finish
+the business. All the nonsense about the clock and the postponed division
+could not prevent our taking possession of the house and everything in
+it. Why, even that absurdly costly clock would be ours.... And yet
+there's always the risk of--"
+
+"Bullard, let us produce the will and dare the risk of losing the
+diamonds. From the bottom of my heart I tell you, I will be content
+with £25,000."
+
+"So you think at the moment. But apart from your own feelings--not to
+mention mine--what about Mrs. Lancaster's?"
+
+"I--I have already told her we cannot go on living as we are doing."
+
+"Yes? And her reply?"
+
+Lancaster was mute.
+
+"Have you, by any chance, mentioned to her the matter of
+the!--a--debt to the--"
+
+"For God's sake, don't torture!"
+
+"I have no wish to do that," said Bullard quietly. "Let us change the
+subject, which is not really urgent at present, for one which, I trust,
+may be less disagreeable to you."
+
+The host wiped his forehead. "What is it about?" he asked wearily.
+
+"Your daughter."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+Teddy was not afraid of Mrs. Lancaster, but he soon gathered that she had
+come to stay, and as the situation seemed to him difficult for Doris, he
+took his leave with assumed cheerfulness. In bidding the girl good-night
+he dropped in a whispered "to-morrow," which was, perhaps, more of a
+comfort to Doris than she would have admitted to herself. Immediately
+after his departure she expressed her intention of going to bed.
+
+"Just for a moment, Doris. Do sit down again. We must settle what you are
+going to wear at the Thurstans' on the seventeenth." And Mrs. Lancaster
+plunged into a long discussion on frocks with numerous side issues.
+
+A few weeks ago she would certainly have hesitated over Bullard as a
+son-in-law. Now she was prepared to accept him as such, not, it should be
+said, with joy and thanksgiving, yet not, on the other hand, with
+hopeless resignation. After all, he was richer than any of the men she
+knew, and in view of her husband's deplorable confession it would be
+well, if not vital, to have him on her side. Far better to abandon the
+idea of a title than to risk all continuing its pursuit. She would see to
+it that she did not have to abandon her other ambitions.
+
+When Bullard made his appearance, however, she betrayed no unusual
+interest in the man.
+
+"Was Robert not thinking of going to bed?" she casually enquired.
+
+"He ought to be there now, Mrs. Lancaster. If I were you--"
+
+"I shan't be a minute," she said, rising, "but I really must look
+after him."
+
+Bullard closed the door, and came back to the hearth.
+
+"I am glad of this opportunity, Miss Doris," he said, "to tell you
+something that has been in my mind to say for a very long time. Don't
+be alarmed."
+
+She rose, but made no attempt to go from him. Perhaps instinct told her
+that there could be no ultimate escape.
+
+"I don't wear my heart on my sleeve," he went on evenly, "but I dare say
+you have at least suspected my feelings for you. I have never flattered
+myself that you have regarded me as more than a friend of the house--a
+good friend, I hope--and you have known me so long that you may have come
+to consider me an old friend in more senses than one. Yet here I am,
+Doris, asking you to marry me--"
+
+"Please, Mr. Bullard--" The whisper came from pale lips.
+
+He proceeded gently, steadily--"At present you would say that you cannot
+give me the affection I desire, yet I would ask to be allowed to try to
+earn it. I can give you many things besides a whole-hearted admiration,
+Doris. You are the only woman I have ever thought of as wife. With me you
+would be secure from worldly hardships, and I venture to believe that you
+would never regret marrying me. One word more. You have been sad of late.
+No business of mine, perhaps, but if there is anything I can do, you may
+command me. Doris, will you marry me?"
+
+Perhaps she liked him better at that moment than ever she had done;
+certainly better than ever she would like him again. For he broke the
+long silence with these words--
+
+"I have your father's permission, your mother's approval."
+
+"My father's permission!" she said faintly. For support she laid her arm
+on the mantel. Her mind was in a turmoil. At last--"I cannot marry you,
+Mr. Bullard."
+
+"With all respect," he quietly answered, "I cannot take your words
+as final."
+
+She was not indignant, only afraid. "You speak of my father's
+'permission,'" she managed to say. "Does that include his 'approval'? You
+will forgive me, but--"
+
+"I will forgive you anything but a refusal."
+
+"Then please excuse my leaving you. I will come back."
+
+She went quickly to the library. From the table Mr. Lancaster raised a
+face whose haggard aspect almost made her cry out--so aged it was, so
+stricken with trouble. She closed the door, went over to the table, and
+halted opposite him.
+
+"Father, do you really wish me to marry Mr. Bullard?"
+
+"My child, life--everything--is uncertain, and so--and so I would see you
+provided for."
+
+"I am not afraid of poverty--compared with some things." She nerved
+herself. "Father, you and I used to be frank with each other. Will
+it--help you if I marry Mr. Bullard?"
+
+The man writhed. "Yes, Doris," he whispered at last.
+
+"In what way?" Again she had to wait for his reply.
+
+"It--it would save me..."
+
+"Save you?"
+
+"...from a grave difficulty..."
+
+"Difficulty?"
+
+"...disgrace." His head drooped. And suddenly all that mattered to heart
+was swamped by a wave of loving pity. She ran round to him and clasped
+him, and kissed him. "Oh, my dear," she sighed, "it was never, never
+your fault."
+
+Then she went back to the drawing-room. She looked straight at Bullard as
+he stood by the fire, well-dressed, well-groomed, and just rather
+well-fed. And there and then she made up her mind.
+
+"Mr. Bullard," she said calmly, "I promise to marry you, if you still
+wish it, a year hence; but I will not be engaged to you formally or
+openly. That is all I can say--all I can offer you."
+
+He frowned slightly at her tone rather than her words. The least
+trustworthy people are not the least trusting, and he did not doubt,
+knowing her as he did, that she would redeem any promise she made,
+nor was he particularly anxious for marriage within a year. But he
+had his vanity.
+
+"Do you mean," he asked with increased suavity, "that you would wish to
+ignore my existence until the year is up?"
+
+"Not your existence, Mr. Bullard--we should meet as before, I
+suppose--but--well, I think you must see what I mean."
+
+He bowed. "It shall be as you will, Doris. Enough that I have your word
+for a year hence. Or"--he smiled--"let us say, when the clock stops,
+which your father will tell you is practically the same thing. Don't look
+so puzzled! Will you give me your hand on it?" The man was not without
+dignity; he made no attempt to detain her hand.
+
+"Thank you and good-night," he said. "I will pay my respects to Mrs.
+Lancaster to-morrow afternoon."
+
+He went out with the step of success. He had not only secured a wife to
+be proud of, but had, he believed, disarmed a possible enemy. For some
+time he had had vaguely uneasy moments with regard to Teddy France.
+
+When the door had closed Doris dropped her face in her hands, but her
+eyes remained dry. Five minutes later, Mrs. Lancaster, coming in,
+received the calm and brief announcement that her daughter had promised
+to marry Mr. Bullard a year hence; that until then he was to be regarded
+as an ordinary acquaintance, and that he would call upon Mrs. Lancaster
+on the following afternoon.
+
+The mother was not heartless. "You are doing this to help your father,
+Doris. I know all about it. It is--it is noble of you!"
+
+The girl looked at her, and the question rushed to her lips--"Oh, why
+have _you_, his wife, never done anything to help him?" But it remained
+unuttered. "Good-night, mother," she said, and hastened to the refuge
+of her room.
+
+She wrote a few lines to Teddy, stating simply what she had done. After
+that she gave way.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+About the same hour, in Dr. Handyside's study, four hundred miles away, a
+conference of three people was drawing to a close. Earlier in the day Caw
+had received a belated visit from Mr. Harvie, the Glasgow lawyer, who,
+owing to illness, had been unable to attend to business since his
+client's death. Beyond the information that Caw had been left the sum of
+£5,000 free of duty, the old housekeeper an annuity, and the doctor
+£1,000, Mr. Harvie had little to say. The rest of his late client's
+fortune, the house and its contents, were already Alan's--if the young
+man were still alive, and Mr. Harvie, whatever his own ideas might be,
+was under an obligation to assume as much until--a slight grimace of
+disapproval--"the clock stopped." "I have other instructions," he added,
+"but they are not to be acted on at present." He had returned to town by
+the last steamer.
+
+"So we have come back to where we started," Dr. Handyside was saying.
+"The sum total of our discoveries is that we can do next to nothing. If I
+hadn't become so intimate with your master's character--not his affairs,
+you understand, Caw--I should have had very little respect for his
+methods. As for his motives, they are no business of ours."
+
+"If I may say so," returned Caw, who would have been happier standing at
+attention than sitting in Miss Handyside's company, "you take a lofty
+view of the matter, sir, and you put it in a nutshell when you say that
+his motives are none of our business. I am sorry to have brought you and
+Miss Handyside into the trouble--"
+
+"I rather think I came in," observed Miss Handyside with a smile.
+
+"Which is a fact, miss. And very welcome, too, if I may say so. Also, Mr.
+Craig trusted you both."
+
+"Wherefore it is up to us to trust his wisdom and respect his
+wishes," said Handyside. "The green box must remain where it is and
+take its chance."
+
+"If you hadn't told us," said Marjorie to Caw, "that you were the last to
+see inside the box, I should be imagining all sorts of things. And those
+two men were his friends!"
+
+Caw's expression resumed its usual stolidity. To have replied that
+they had ceased to be his master's friends would have involved
+explanations which he did not feel at liberty to impart even to those
+trustworthy people.
+
+"Do you think they will try again, Caw?" the girl pursued. "I wish you
+had not sent back the money--"
+
+"Don't be absurd, Marjorie!" said her father. "Caw had no choice."
+
+"Well, sir, I was sorely tempted to stick to it as a bit of revenge, but
+I asked myself what my master would have done--and then, as you say, sir,
+there was no choice. As to your question, miss, I answer 'Yes.' A man
+like Mr. Bullard--I'm not so sure of the other--would not give up trying
+for such a prize. You see, I learned his ways out there in the old days.
+All his successes were made by bold methods. He feared nothing, cared for
+nobody. Oh, yes, he is bound to have another try, though I don't fancy it
+will be to-morrow or the next day."
+
+"One would almost imagine," remarked the doctor, easing his injured foot
+on the supporting chair, "that the beggars guessed you were powerless in
+the matter."
+
+Caw shook his head. "Hardly that, sir. They had a sight of my
+revolver--though, of course, that was after I had made sure they had got
+the box, and was only a miserable attempt to give them a shake-up. But
+they were not to know that. Their strong point is this, sir. They have
+the knowledge that the existence of the diamonds is practically a secret.
+Even Mr. Alan, even the lawyer has never heard of them. Only Bullard,
+Lancaster, and Caw knew of them; and Caw is in the minority. And they say
+to themselves--'Once we get the box, we have only to swear that it
+contained papers belonging to us, that Mr. Craig had the loan of it, and
+so forth.' Then how is Caw going to disprove their words? they ask
+themselves. 'Can't be done! If Caw begins to talk of half-a-million in
+diamonds left in a writing-table drawer, he'll only get laughed at, and
+if we've nothing better to do, we can get up an action for slander.'
+There you are, sir! That's what I fancy I see at the back of their heads,
+and I'm sure I'm right."
+
+"I believe you are, Caw!" cried Marjorie. "What do you say, father?"
+
+"I am inclined to accept the diagnosis," replied the doctor, smiling at
+her eagerness. "Well, Caw, just one question more. What is your position,
+supposing those two gentlemen made an attempt by deputy?"
+
+At that Caw smiled for the first time. "If I may say so, sir, I think
+your services would be required for the deputy!" Becoming grave, he
+added--"I have taken the liberty of running a new wire along the passage,
+sir. The opening of the door of my master's room will cause a bell to
+ring--not too loudly--in the quarters you have kindly provided for me in
+this house."
+
+"Capital!" said the doctor.
+
+"And if you, sir, would be good enough to give your housekeeper some
+explanation that would satisfy her without giving away things--"
+
+"That will be all right, Caw," Miss Handyside assured him. "When you get
+to know Mrs. Butters, you will realise that she is not as others are,
+being a woman absolutely without curiosity."
+
+"Thank you, miss." Caw smiled faintly and got up. "Unless there is
+anything more, sir--" he began.
+
+"Nothing at all," said the doctor kindly.
+
+"Thank you, sir. Good-night, sir. Good-night, miss."
+
+"Trustworthy chap," Handyside remarked when the door had closed. "The
+legacy seems to have made no difference, though it upset him for the
+moment. And he knows all that's worth knowing about cars and electric
+lighting," he added rather irrelevantly. "I believe we'll be able to give
+him enough to do, after all."
+
+"Between ourselves, father," said Marjorie suddenly, "have you the
+slightest hope of Alan Craig's return?"
+
+"Not the slightest, my dear. He was a fine lad. I wish you had met him,
+but you were always gadding somewhere when he visited his uncle."
+
+"I shan't be doing much gadding in the near future," she remarked
+thoughtfully.
+
+"Why this sudden change from years of neglecting your only father?"
+
+"I'm going to be on the spot in case anything happens next door."
+
+"Indeed!" said the doctor drily.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+When Teddy France, bidding Doris a formal goodnight, whispered
+"to-morrow" he had in mind a certain reception at the house of a mutual
+acquaintance, and he went home looking forward to meeting her there with
+hopes irrepressible. He felt that the girl he had loved for years was--if
+not with her whole heart--on the verge of surrender; would have been his
+by now but for the untimely entrance of Bullard and the succeeding
+intervention of Mrs. Lancaster; and he lived most of the night and the
+following day in a state of exaltation.
+
+Thus Doris's note, received in the evening, was a blow that seemed to
+crash to the centre of his soul. At first he imagined wicked,
+unreasonable things. Then, his wrath failing, he realised that only one
+thing could have made Doris act as she had done. She had been driven by a
+sudden overpowering pressure. Who had exerted it? Teddy did not doubt the
+mother's ability for coercion any more than her vaunting ambition, and he
+shrunk from blaming the father; yet he feared that Mr. Lancaster, beset
+by financial troubles of which he had long had an inkling, had sought a
+way out through the sacrifice of his daughter. Well, there was nothing to
+be done, he decided in his misery; interference on his part would be
+worse than vain, and would only cause Doris to suffer a little more.
+
+At rather a late hour the craving for a glimpse of her drew him, after
+all, to the reception.
+
+She was dancing when he entered the room, and, with a pang of angry pain,
+he discovered that she was lovelier than ever. Her face gave no hint of
+the heart-sickness she endured; she nodded to him in the old friendly
+way, and the easy recognition brought home to him the cool truth that,
+after all, the wild hopes of the previous night had been of his own
+making, not hers. Yet why had she written and so quickly, to inform him
+of her bargain with Bullard? Was her note just an uncontrollable cry for
+pity, sympathy?
+
+It was after midnight when he led her to a corner in the deserted
+supper-room.
+
+"Shall I congratulate you, Doris?" he asked gently.
+
+"Why, yes, I think you had better," she answered with a bitter little
+smile, "on having done my duty. Don't look so shocked, Teddy," she
+went on, "I had to say it, and you are the only person besides father
+and mother who knows what I have done. And now I'm going to ask a
+great favour."
+
+"Yes, Doris?"
+
+"It is that you will prove your friendship to me--prove it once more,
+Teddy--by never, after to-night, referring to the matter. I'm going to
+try hard not to let it poison my life--for a year, at any rate."
+
+"Very well.... But I must ask at least one question."
+
+"Ask."
+
+"Could _I_ have done anything to prevent this?"
+
+"No one," she answered sadly, "could have done anything, excepting one
+man, and he died last week--Christopher Craig."
+
+"Christopher Craig--dead? No wonder your father has been upset. Of course
+I know of their long friendship in South Africa, and once I was Mr.
+Craig's guest in Scotland along with Alan. The old man had a tremendous
+admiration for you, Doris."
+
+"I loved him, though I did not see him for several years before the end.
+Well, I have answered your question. Have I your promise?"
+
+He put his hand tenderly over hers. "I will give you two promises,
+Doris," he said deliberately; "the one you ask for and another. I promise
+you that Bullard shall never call you his wife!"
+
+"Oh!" she cried, pale. "Why do you say that?"
+
+"Because I mean it--and it is all I have to say." He laughed shortly.
+"But I am going to lay myself out to confound Mr. Bullard within the
+year, and I will do it. Now tell me this, Doris; are you and I to
+continue being friends--openly, I mean?"
+
+"Why not? I must have one friend."
+
+He bent and kissed her hand, and rose abruptly. "Let us go back to
+the dancing before I lose my head," he said, with a twisted smile.
+"And I must not do that when at last I've got something to do that's
+worth doing!"
+
+Teddy was a creature of impulses and instincts not by any means
+infallible. They had led him into blunders and scrapes before now. On the
+other hand, they had protected him from mistakes no less serious. Had he
+been a matter-of-fact person he would have said to himself: "What can I
+do? I know of nothing positive against Bullard. Being a poor man, I
+cannot, by a stroke of the pen, make Lancaster independent of him, and I
+need not waste my wits in plotting to confound him by some great
+financial operation such as I've read of in novels," But what Teddy said
+to himself was something to this effect: "I suspect that Bullard is not
+quite straight, and if one watches such a man for twelve months as though
+one's life depended on the watching, one is likely to learn something.
+The only question at present is where to begin."
+
+It is not to be assumed that Teddy went home from the reception in a
+light-hearted, hopeful condition. On the contrary he was extremely
+harassed, and wished he had kept to himself the brave prophecy made to
+Doris. Nevertheless, dawn found him unshaken in his determination to make
+good that prophecy. If, instead of spending the whole morning in doing
+his duty to the insurance company, he had been able to spend an early
+part of it in a state of invisibility within Bullard's private office, he
+would have justified himself beyond his highest expectations.
+
+
+Bullard on entering the outer office, about nine-thirty, received from
+the chief clerk a curious signal which was equivalent to the words
+"Undesirable waiting to see you. Bolt for private room." But either
+Bullard was slower than usual this morning, or the "Undesirable" too
+alert. Ere the former's hand left the open door the latter stepped round
+it, saying--
+
+"How are you, Mr. Bullard? Been waiting--"
+
+"Get out of this," said Bullard crisply, and stood away from the door.
+
+"Really," said the visitor with an absurdly pained look, "this is a
+very unkind reception." He was a small individual of dark complexion,
+leering eyes and vulgar mouth. His clothing was respectable, if not
+fashionable; he displayed a considerable amount of starched linen of
+indifferent lustre.
+
+"Get out!"
+
+"Give me five minutes." The tone was servile, yet not wholly so. "Worth
+your while, Mr. Bullard."
+
+Bullard looked him up and down. "Very well," he said abruptly. "Close
+that door and follow me." He said no more until they were in his room,
+himself seated at his desk, the other standing a little way off and
+turning his bowler hat between his hands.
+
+"Now, Marvel, what the devil do you want?"
+
+The visitor smiled deprecatingly into his revolving hat. "What do most of
+us want, Mr. Bullard?"
+
+"I'll tell you what most of us do not want--the attentions of the
+police."
+
+"Tut, tut, Mr. Bullard. Of course _we_ don't want that, nor do _we_ need
+it--do _we?_" The impudence of the fellow's manner was exquisite.
+
+Bullard, toying with the nugget on his chain, affected not to notice it.
+Harshly he said: "Eighteen months ago--"
+
+"In this very room, Mr. Bullard--"
+
+"--I handed you five hundred pounds on the express condition that you
+used the ticket for Montreal, which I supplied, and never approached
+me again."
+
+"I am sorry to say," the other said after a moment, "that Canada did not
+agree with my health, and I assure you that I made the five hundred go as
+far as possible."
+
+"All that may be very interesting to yourself and friends--if you
+have any."
+
+"You, Mr. Bullard, are my sole friend."
+
+Bullard grinned. "If you imagine I'm going to be a friend in need, you
+are mightily mistaken!"
+
+"Please don't be nasty, Mr. Bullard--"
+
+"Leave my name alone, and clear out. Time's up." Bullard turned to a pile
+of letters.
+
+"This is a blow," murmured Marvel, "a sad blow. But I would remind you
+that the five hundred was not a gift, but a payment for certain
+documents."
+
+"Quite so. And it closed our acquaintance. Go!"
+
+"I wonder if it did. One moment. I desire to return once more to South
+Africa. Things are looking up there again. With five hundred pounds--"
+
+"That's enough. I'm busy."
+
+"Just another moment. Touching those documents relating to the affair of
+Christopher Craig's brother--"
+
+"Shut up!"
+
+"--it is one of the strangest inadvertencies you ever heard of, Mr.
+Bullard, but the fact remains that, eighteen months ago, I delivered to
+you--not the originals but copies--"
+
+Bullard wheeled round. "Don't try that game, Marvel. You are quite
+capable of forgery, but I made certain that they were originals before I
+burned them."
+
+"Ah, you burned them! What a pity! So you can't compare them with the
+documents I hold--in a very safe place, Mr. Bullard."
+
+"I should not take the trouble in any case. Now will you clear out or
+be thrown?"
+
+"You make it very hard for me. Do you wish me to take the originals to
+Mr. Christopher Craig?"
+
+"Pray do. He's dead."
+
+"Dead!" Mr. Marvel took a step backward. "Dear, dear!" He raised his hat
+to his face as though to screen his emotion and smiled into it. "When did
+it happen?"
+
+"A few days ago. Now, once and for all--"
+
+"Then nothing remains to me but to offer the papers to his brother's son,
+an undoubtedly interested party, Mr. Alan--"
+
+"Alan Craig is also dead."
+
+Mr. Marvel's hat fell to the floor, and lay neglected. Mr. Marvel began
+to laugh softly while Bullard wondered whether the man's sanity, always
+suspect, had given way.
+
+"Come, come, Mr. Bullard," Marvel coughed at last; "come, come!"
+
+"Young Craig," said Bullard, restraining himself, "was lost on an Arctic
+expedition, a year ago."
+
+"Then he must have been found again."
+
+"... What do you say?"
+
+"Why, I saw him--let me see--just fourteen days ago."
+
+"Rot!"
+
+"I'd know Frank Craig's son anywhere, Mr. Bullard; and there he was on
+the quay at Montreal, the day I left. What's the matter?"
+
+With a supreme effort Bullard controlled himself.
+
+"Marvel," he said, "what do you expect to gain by bringing me a lie
+like that?"
+
+"It is no lie," the other returned with a fairly straight glance. "I was
+as near to him as I am to you at this moment. He was in a labourer's
+clothes--"
+
+"Nonsense!"
+
+"--working with a gang on the quay."
+
+"You were mistaken. The search party gave up in despair."
+
+"I know nothing of that, Mr. Bullard, but I'm prepared to take oath--"
+
+"There is no need for Alan Craig, if it were he, to be working as a quay
+labourer. I tell you--"
+
+"I am so sure of what I say, Mr. Bullard, that failing to get my price
+from you, I will cross the Atlantic again, working my passage if need be,
+to place the documents in the hands of that quay labourer. Since his
+uncle old Christopher is dead, there must be something pretty solid
+awaiting him." Marvel, stooping leisurely, picked up his hat and
+carefully eliminated the dent.
+
+"Look here," said Bullard, breaking a silence. "Did you or did you not
+swindle me with those papers?"
+
+"An inadvertence on my part, if you please, Mr. Bullard."
+
+"Oh, go to the devil! You can't blackmail me. Go and work your passage,
+if you like."
+
+The other took a step forward. "Do you think I had better see Mr.
+Lancaster? I could explain to him that he is less guilty in the
+matter of Christopher's brother than he imagines himself to be. I
+could even prove--"
+
+"Lancaster is unwell--"
+
+"My disclosures might make him feel better--eh?"
+
+Bullard felt himself being cornered. He reflected for a moment;
+then--"How are you going to satisfy me that the papers you say you hold
+are the originals?"
+
+"I'm afraid you must take my word for it."
+
+"Your word--ugh! Will you bring them here at nine o'clock to-night?"
+
+"Will you bring £500 in five-pound notes?"
+
+It seemed that they had reached a deadlock. Bullard was thinking
+furiously.
+
+At last he spoke. "No; I will bring one hundred pounds, and I will tell
+you how you may earn--earn mind--the remaining four. If you accept the
+job--not a difficult one--you will give me the papers in exchange for
+the hundred."
+
+"But--"
+
+"Not another word. Take my offer or leave it." Bullard turned to his
+desk. "And don't dare to lie to me again. Also, ask yourself what chance
+your word would have against mine in a court of law?"
+
+At the end of twenty seconds the other said quickly: "I will be here at
+nine," and turned towards the door.
+
+"By the way," Bullard called over his shoulder, "you had better come
+prepared for a night journey. And, I say! as you go out now try to look
+as if you had been damned badly treated. Further, before you come back,
+do what you can to alter that face of yours."
+
+The door closed; Bullard's expression relaxed. For the first time in his
+life he had been within an ace of admitting--to himself--defeat. But all
+was not lost, even if he accepted Marvel's story, which he was very far
+from doing, his intelligence revolting no less at the bare idea of Alan
+Craig's existence than at that of the young man's supporting it as a quay
+labourer. Furthermore, were it proved to him that Alan had actually come
+from the Arctic, he would still not despair. He would have to act at high
+speed, but he was used to crises. As to Mr. Marvel, well, that clever
+person was going to be made useful to begin with; afterwards....
+
+Bullard broke away from the clutches of thought to attend to the more
+urgent letters. He had just finished when his colleague came in.
+
+"Hullo, Lancaster," he cried cheerfully, "I fancied your doctor had
+commanded rest. Glad to see you all the same. As a matter of fact, I was
+coming to look you up shortly."
+
+"Couldn't rest at home," returned Lancaster, seating himself at the
+fire. "I say, Bullard," he said abruptly, "you'll be good to my
+girl--won't you?"
+
+Bullard's eyebrows went up, but his voice was kindly. "Do you doubt it,
+Lancaster?"
+
+"N-no. But you can surely understand my feelings--my anxiety. She--she
+has been a good daughter."
+
+Bullard nodded. "It won't be my fault," he said quietly, "if Doris
+regrets marrying me."
+
+"Thank you, Bullard." As though ashamed of his emotion the older man
+immediately changed the subject. "Anything fresh this morning?"
+
+The other smiled. "One moment." He got up, went to a cabinet and came
+back with a glass containing a little brandy. "The journey to the City
+has tired you. Drink up!"
+
+"Thanks; you are thoughtful." Lancaster took a few sips, and went white.
+"Bullard, have you something bad to tell me?"
+
+"Finish your brandy. ... Well, it might have been worse. Steady! Don't
+get excited, or I shan't tell you."
+
+After a moment--"Go on," said Lancaster.
+
+"Marvel has come back from Canada."
+
+"Ah! ... But I always feared he would. More money, I suppose?"
+
+"Precisely. Only he brought a piece of news which I have so far refused
+to credit, though doubtless stranger things have happened. Pull yourself
+together. Marvel declares that, a fortnight ago, he saw Alan Craig in
+the flesh."
+
+"Alan Craig!" Lancaster fell back in the big chair. "Thank God," he
+murmured, "thank God!" Tears rushed to his eyes.
+
+"Better let me give you details, few as they are, before you give further
+thanks," Bullard said. "Bear in mind what manner of man Marvel is; also,
+that his story was part of a threat to extort money."
+
+A minute later Lancaster was eagerly asking: "But don't you think it may
+be true, Bullard?"
+
+"For the present," was the cool reply, "we are going to act as though it
+were true, as though the will were waste paper--not that I ever
+considered it as anything but a last resource, for its production would
+involve sundry unattractive formalities."
+
+"And yet," said Lancaster uneasily, "you told me once of a man who had
+seen Alan die."
+
+"Leave that out for the present. I shall deal with Flitch presently, and
+God help him if he has played a game of his own! Meantime, the one object
+in view must be the Green Box at Grey House."
+
+"For Heaven's sake be cautious! You spoke of bribing the man Caw, but the
+more I have thought of it--"
+
+"That's past. There is no time for delicate negotiations. If the box is
+still in the house, we must find and take it; if elsewhere, we must make
+other plans. But I'm pretty sure it has not gone to a bank or safe
+deposit. Christopher meant it to remain in the house, so that it should
+be part of his gift to Alan."
+
+"Caw will be on the alert."
+
+"He will not expect a second attempt all at once. Hang it, man, we must
+take risks! £600,000! I'm not going to let any chance slip." Bullard
+went over to his desk and picked up a cablegram. "The Iris mine is
+flooded again. That means at least a couple of thousand less for each of
+us this year."
+
+Lancaster groaned helplessly. "Trouble upon trouble! But I cannot face
+another visit to Christopher's house--"
+
+"Be easy. You shall be spared that. I think I had better tell you nothing
+for the present--except that I may take a run over to Paris within the
+next few days."
+
+"Paris!"
+
+"You can say I'm there if any one asks."
+
+Lancaster drew his hand across his brow. "Sometimes," he said slowly, "I
+wish I were at peace--in jail."
+
+"Don't be a fool! You'll feel differently when we open the Green Box."
+
+The other shook his head. "There's another point that has worried me
+horribly. We have thought we were the only persons outside of Grey
+House who knew of the diamonds; but who was the person who took the box
+that night? Whoever he was he must have seen us and heard something of
+our talk."
+
+"Yes," said Bullard, with a short laugh, "it seems very dreadful and
+mysterious, doesn't it?--especially as Caw recovered the diamonds so
+speedily. I've thought it out, Lancaster, and I've struck only one
+reasonable conclusion. There was no fourth person present that night. Caw
+was fooling us all the time. The cupboard is really a passage to another
+room, made for old Christopher's convenience, no doubt. How's that?"
+
+"Caw acted well, if he were acting. And why should he have suspected
+us at all?"
+
+"Simply because he happened to know what was in the box. Who would trust
+a fellow creature alone with £600,000 in a portable form? And Caw was
+probably in the position of guardian. Have you a better theory?"
+
+Lancaster leaned forward, staring at the carpet. "It came into my mind
+last night," he said in a queerly hushed voice, "that it might have
+been ... Christopher himself."
+
+"Good God, man, positively you must have a change of air! Do you doubt
+that Christopher is dead?"
+
+A pause.
+
+"Bullard, what you and I, his friends, were doing that night was enough
+to--to make him rise--oh, no, I don't mean that--though the diamonds were
+so much to him. It was a crazy thought. I must get rid of it."
+
+"I should say so." Bullard forced a laugh. "Meantime, you may comfort
+your soul with the assurance that you'll have nothing to do with this
+fresh attempt, except to share in the spoil. If I were you, I'd go home
+now and get Doris to join you in a long run into the country. Let the
+wind blow away those absurd fears and fancies. I'm calling on your wife
+this afternoon, you know."
+
+The other rose obediently. "Your news has upset me. I don't know what to
+think. Marvel was always such a liar. I--I suppose nothing I can say or
+do will move you from your present course?"
+
+"Nothing, Lancaster."
+
+Lancaster sighed and with shoulders bowed went out.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+The same night Teddy France started on his quest, wishing with all his
+heart that it were cleaner work. Still a beginning had to be made. He had
+not the flimsiest clue to direct him, but the thought occurred to him
+that it might be worth while to attempt to learn in what manner Bullard
+spent some of his evenings. Bullard, he was aware, had of late been
+living at Bright's Hotel, a select and expensive establishment situated
+within hail of Bond Street.
+
+About eight o'clock Teddy sauntered across the lounge of Bright's, as
+though looking for a friend, and glanced through the glass doors of the
+dining-room. To his satisfaction, he saw the man he wanted, seated at a
+table, alone, and not in his customary evening dress. Teddy retired, left
+the hotel, and at the opposite pavement engaged a taxicab. He got inside,
+after instructing the man to be on the alert. He lit a cigarette, telling
+himself that, by a thousand to one, he had embarked on a futile, idiotic
+errand. However, within half-an-hour, Bullard appeared in the hotel
+doorway, and spoke to a braided personage who promptly whistled for a
+cab. By the time he was on board, the motor of Teddy's cab was running,
+the chauffeur in his seat. Presently the two cabs rolled away from their
+respective pavements.
+
+Five minutes later Teddy let out a grunt of disgust. Bullard was
+evidently making for the City, presumably for his office. "Drop it!" said
+common sense; "go on!" said instinct ... and Teddy went on.
+
+It was nearing nine o'clock when Bullard's cab drew up at the magnificent
+entrance to Manchester House in New Broad Street, at that hour a
+well-nigh deserted thoroughfare. As Teddy was driven past he saw Bullard
+run up the steps. Twenty yards further on he got out, settled with his
+man, and strolled back. Entering the huge headquarters of several hundred
+mining and finance companies, and noting that the lift was closed for the
+night, he proceeded to search the oaken boards which formed a sort of
+directory of the tenants inscribed in gilt lettering. He learned that
+Bullard's office was on the fourth of the nine floors; at the same time
+he memorised the name of a firm on the fifth floor. Then he ascended
+leisurely. Care-takers and cleaners were about, but apparently they had
+finished their tasks above the fourth floor. He spoke to one of them, an
+elderly man.
+
+"Can you tell me if Mr. Stern of Stern & Lynoch has returned?"
+
+"No, sir. I've just left their office on the fifth floor. Nobody there."
+
+Teddy consulted his watch. "I'm a little before my time; guess I'd better
+go up and wait."
+
+The man nodded as one who didn't care whether the enquirer died or lived,
+and went about his business.
+
+There was an indifferent light left on the fifth landing and the stair
+leading to it. Teddy found a point of vantage whence through the wire
+walls of the shaft he could obtain a view, not of Bullard's office
+itself, but of the corridor leading thereto. On the way up he had noted
+that the Aasvogel Syndicate's door was just round the corner and that it
+was the only one showing a light.
+
+Calling himself a fool for his pains, he settled down to the wretched
+game of spying. He had not long to wait--much to his combined
+astonishment and gratification. "This must be my lucky night," he
+reflected. A man appeared on the landing--a foreign-looking person with a
+heavy dark moustache under an oddly shaped nose, wearing eyeglasses, and
+carrying a suit case--and made for the corridor. Ere he turned the corner
+he cast an anxious glance over his shoulder, which glance was more
+cheering to Teddy than a pint of champagne would have been just then. And
+next moment the gentle opening and closing of a door further delighted
+and excited him. Without a doubt the man had gone into Bullard's office!
+
+Within the minute Teddy was again calling himself names. Ass! Was
+there anything even mildly extraordinary in the visitor or the visit?
+After a while he decided that he could not lose much if he transferred
+his espionage to the outside of Manchester House. Fortunately it was a
+fine night, for, as it came to pass, he had nearly two hours to kick
+his heels.
+
+Then the Aasvogel's visitor came forth alone, and in haste, and turned in
+the direction of Liverpool Street. Shortly afterwards he boarded a King's
+Cross bus, mounting to the top. Teddy took a seat inside, still calling
+himself names, yet unable to abandon the absurd chase.
+
+At King's Cross the man, along with a dozen passengers, got out and made
+for the main-line station. Teddy followed at a discreet distance till
+within the booking hall, when he put on speed and contrived to be close
+to his quarry as the latter stopped at a ticket window--first class--to
+Teddy's amaze. He heard him book "return Glasgow."
+
+Now the Glasgow portion of this particular night train, usually an
+exceedingly long one, is next to the engine. Perhaps that is why the
+Great Northern Company has kindly placed a little refreshment saloon
+towards the extremity of the platform. The traveller, after a glance at
+the train, entered the saloon. The weary sleuth resisted the desire for a
+drink and proceeded to stroll up and down the Glasgow portion. Five
+minutes before the train was due to start the traveller reappeared wiping
+his mouth, and got into a vacant compartment. He placed his suit case on
+a seat and went out into the corridor.
+
+"Well," Teddy said to himself, "that jolly well ends it. The old
+story--suspect a Johnny because he doesn't look a handsome gentleman!
+Serves me right!" All the same, he lingered, a few paces from the
+carriage. Four minutes passed and the traveller was still absent. Thirty
+seconds left ... fifteen ... five ... the starting signal ... the first,
+almost imperceptible movement of the prodigious train.
+
+Just then the traveller reappeared in the compartment, picked up the suit
+case, sat down and opened at. But--Teddy sprang forward open-mouthed--it
+wasn't the same man! The train was gathering speed. Teddy ran alongside
+and stared in. The traveller glanced over his shoulder, just as that man
+had done on the office landing, then turned away. But again Teddy had
+caught a glimpse of a profile including an oddly shaped nose. Why, good
+Lord! it _was_ the same man--only the beggar had lost his eyeglasses and
+moustache! ... Our sleuth had made a discovery, indeed, but how on earth
+was it going to profit him? Disregarding expense--no new failing on his
+part, to be sure--he took a cab back to Manchester House.
+
+The Aasvogel office was in darkness. The surmise might easily be wrong,
+Teddy admitted to himself, yet it did look confoundedly as though
+Bullard had returned to the City that night with the particular object
+of meeting the quick-change gentleman now on his way to Glasgow. At all
+events the affair was interesting enough to spoil another night's rest
+for Teddy France.
+
+Two mornings later Bullard received the following brief note, which was
+undated and unsigned, in an envelope postmarked Glasgow:
+
+"No one on premises at night. Probably tomorrow night."
+
+Bullard informed the chief clerk and telephoned to Lancaster that he was
+leaving for Paris by the night train. Apparently he reached there safely,
+for next morning the office received a telegram relating to some company
+business, not, perhaps, of the first importance, handed in at the Gare du
+Nord office and signed Bullard. And Teddy, calling at the Lancasters'
+house in the evening, just to obtain a glimpse of his beloved, who alas!
+was with a dinner and theatre party, learned from Mr. Lancaster, who was
+always glad to see the young man, that Mr. Bullard had run over to Paris.
+Which was naturally rather astounding news to Teddy, whose own eyes had
+seen Mr. Bullard enter the Glasgow sleeping car at Euston, about
+twenty-four hours earlier.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+Dr. Handyside was too fond of his easy-going seaside existence to be
+readily induced to leave home. At the same time, he had not severed all
+ties with Glasgow, which ties included a select coterie of kindred
+spirits who dined together once a month during the winter in a somewhat
+old-fashioned restaurant; and he would have been exceedingly loth to
+miss one of their cosy gatherings. But he insisted on sleeping in his
+own bed, and accordingly, there being no steamer connection at so late
+an hour, it was his custom to return by train to Helensburgh and thence
+complete the journey in his car which he drove himself, reaching home
+shortly after midnight.
+
+To-night's dinner, however, had seemed hopelessly beyond his reach, owing
+to his injured foot, which as yet merely allowed him to hobble a few
+yards, and which would have been worse than useless in driving. But we
+are never too old to worry over trifles, and in the course of the
+morning, while in the garage, he blurted out the difficulty to Caw. It
+was really an appeal, and at any other time Caw would have been mildly
+amused. Now he was embarrassed, for while anxious to oblige the doctor,
+he had no intention of losing all connection with Grey House for several
+hours in the middle of the night.
+
+He shook his head. "I only wish I could drive you home to-night, sir," he
+said, "but you see--"
+
+"All right, Caw," said Handyside, looking ashamed of himself, and hobbled
+off, still hankering, however.
+
+An hour later Caw came to him in the study, and presented an open
+telegram. "Will you be pleased to look at this, sir?"
+
+The doctor read:--
+
+"Registered letter received. Best policy.
+
+"BULLARD."
+
+"God bless me, Caw!--the man's in Paris!"
+
+"Quite so, sir. I shall be glad to have your instructions for this
+evening, sir. Very thoughtful of Mr. Bullard, if I may say so--damn
+him!"--the last inaudible.
+
+"I've been wondering whether he would acknowledge the notes," said
+Handyside, brightening up and hobbling to the door. "Marjorie," he
+called, "for Heaven's sake see if I've got a decent tie for to-night!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And now it was midnight. The southerly gale which had broken out late in
+the afternoon was booming up the loch, bombarding the house, and gusts of
+bitter rain were thrashing the exposed windows.
+
+Marjorie flung a couple of logs on the study fire and returned to her
+book. She had prepared sundry comforts for her father and was
+awaiting, not without anxiety, his arrival. She was thankful he had
+Caw with him. A large portion of the journey was being made in the
+very teeth of the tempest.
+
+A tap on the door brought her round with a start. It was only Mrs.
+Butters, the housekeeper, or, to be precise, the head and shoulders of
+that estimable but slow-witted female, heavily swathed in a couple of
+grey shawls.
+
+"What on earth is the matter?" exclaimed Marjorie. "Why aren't you in
+bed?"
+
+"Please, miss, do you think I might do something to stop the alarum clock
+of that Mr. Caw?" Mrs. Butters was not yet at all sure of Caw. "It's been
+ringin' for close on an hour, and I can't--"
+
+The girl was up like a shot--her face set, her hands clenched. What was
+she to do? It would take an age to explain to the housekeeper, who, when
+she did understand, would in all probability simply howl helplessly.
+
+"Close on an hour," she said to herself. "Oh, Heavens, the thing must
+have been done long ago!" Still, she could not be absolutely sure. She
+glanced at the clock. No, her father and Caw were not even due yet....
+"Mrs. Butters," she managed to say in a fairly steady voice, "please go
+back to bed. I--I'll attend to the alarum immediately. Go at once or
+you'll catch your death of cold."
+
+Left alone, she grew pale, but within the moment she had crossed to a
+bureau--her own--and was taking out a purchase made in Glasgow the
+previous day. "Oh, why didn't I practise in the wood this morning, as I
+said I would?" she sighed, fumbling with a little ivory-handled
+revolver. She shuddered. "Oh, I can't ... I daren't ... I _must_!" And
+ran from the room.
+
+Marjorie will never forget that journey through the passage, her light a
+flickering taper, for the electric illumination was no longer in
+operation. At the end of it she had literally to force her limbs to mount
+the narrow stairs. At the top, with her ear to the closed door, she could
+hear nothing save her pounding heart. There was no keyhole, no crevice
+whereby she might know whether it was light or dark on the other side.
+Caw had spoken that morning of making a peep-hole in the door. She would
+have given much for one now. And the taper was burning fast.
+
+"They must have gone," she thought, "yet how can I be sure? On such a
+night they might be tempted to stay awhile from the storm." Hand with
+revolver pressed to breast, she listened again. Not a sound. But the
+silence might be explained by the presence of a solitary man, she told
+herself, not necessarily one of the two she had seen that other night. A
+rough brute, perhaps, who would stick at nothing in that empty house. Yet
+the very thought pricked her courage even at the moment when the
+descending flame stung her finger. Unlike Caw she was under no obligation
+to his late master. If a thief was there, she would shoot before she
+would let the Green Box go.
+
+She dropped the taper, trod on it, and gasped to find herself in utter
+darkness. Once more she laid her ear against the panel, and this time,
+surely, a sound reached the straining nerves--a faint noise of something
+solid though not ponderous falling upon something less resonant than
+wood, less dulling than carpet. She felt like collapsing. But her will,
+her pride, came to the rescue. "If I don't open that door," she said to
+herself, "I'll be ashamed of myself for the rest of my days."
+
+Her finger fluttered on the spring-button and pressed; her hand pushed.
+As the door gave she perceived that the room _was_ lighted, though not
+brilliantly; she heard nothing but a howling of wind and a rattling of
+rain. A whiff of smoky coal met her nostrils. The silent moving door was
+now half open. She took a couple of steps inwards and halted, her left
+hand clinging to the door's edge, her right clutching the pretty weapon.
+And she all but screamed....
+
+Under the lights of two candles on the mantel, in an easy-chair drawn up
+to the recently kindled fire, reclined a man, his head thrown back, his
+eyes closed. His legs were outstretched, his boots on the hearth,
+steaming, one of them in dangerous proximity to a large coal evidently
+newly fallen. On another chair lay a drenched greatcoat and cap.
+
+The man was young, somewhat slight of build, of fresh and pleasing
+countenance, clean shaven, of indeterminate colouring. His crisp hair was
+so trim in spite of its dampness as to suggest the attentions of a barber
+within the last twelve hours. His hands were rough and bore traces of
+scars; the fingers, though slender for a man, might have belonged to a
+labourer's; the first and second of the left hand resting on the
+chair-arm held a cigarette--unlighted. The expression of his countenance
+was happy--contentedly so.
+
+"Oh!" thought Marjorie, "he _couldn't_ steal!" and in the same breath
+perceived that he was not asleep. He moved slightly, with a lazy grunt.
+
+His hand wandered to a pocket, felt within, came out empty, and wandered
+to another, with like result. "Hang it!" he muttered, and opening his
+eyes, tried, absurdly enough, to see what might be on the mantel without
+the trouble of rising.
+
+Neither bold nor fearful now, simply fascinated and wondering whether he
+would get up or do without matches, Marjorie watched him. And the next
+thing she knew was that his eyes were staring into hers. Then fear,
+suspicion and sense of duty returned with a rush. The men who had already
+attempted to steal the Green Box had been just as well dressed--better,
+indeed. She was taking no chances. With firm determination, but also with
+a wavering hand, she raised the revolver.
+
+"Great Heaven!" shouted the young man, "be carefull or you'll hurt
+yourself!" He wriggled up and sprang to his feet.
+
+"Who--who are you?" Marjorie demanded with a regrettable quaver. "Have
+you come after the Green Box? Because, if so--"
+
+"Would you mind," he said very gently, "putting down your pistol? Those
+things are so apt to go off unexpectedly, and at the moment you appear to
+be aiming at my uncle's best beloved Bone--"
+
+The revolver fell softly on the thick carpet. Marjorie felt like
+falling after it.
+
+"Thank you," he said gratefully. "You have mentioned a Green Box, but
+having brought no luggage, I don't seem to grasp--"
+
+"Your uncle!" she whispered.
+
+"Mr. Christopher Craig." He regarded her for a moment and his expression
+changed. "Good Lord!" he exclaimed, "is it possible that he is no longer
+tenant of the house? You see, I arrived late, and deciding not to disturb
+any one, just proceeded to make myself comfortable for the night, and--"
+
+Marjorie pulled herself together. "You are not--"
+
+At that instant Caw, breathing hard, sprang from the darkness, then
+stopped as if shot.
+
+"Well, Caw," said the young man, "I'm jolly glad to see you."
+
+"Oh, my good God!" gasped Caw, "it's Mr. Alan!" He began to shake
+where he stood.
+
+"Confound me!" said the young man under his breath, "I clean forgot I was
+supposed to be dead a year." He strode over to the servant. "Shake hands,
+Caw, just to make sure I'm of ordinary flesh and blood. I'm sorry to have
+upset you like this," He turned to the girl. "And to you I make my
+apology for having alarmed--"
+
+"You didn't!"
+
+"--for imagining I had alarmed you," he corrected himself with a bow and
+twinkling eyes.
+
+The latter drew her smile despite her still jangling nerves. "I suppose I
+have to apologise, too," she said, "for taking you for a--a burglar."
+
+"Not at all, because--I may as well confess it at once--no burglar can be
+more anxious to avoid discovery than I am--or was."
+
+Caw found his speech. "Mr. Alan, sir, I--I haven't words to express my
+feelings at seeing you alive and well--I really haven't." He turned away
+with a heave of his shoulders as Dr. Handyside, limping painfully,
+appeared in the doorway.
+
+It was his turn to be astounded, but his welcome when it came was of the
+heartiest. "I take it," he went on, "that Marjorie, my daughter, and you
+have already made each other's acquaintance."
+
+"If Miss Handyside will have it so," said Alan, repressing a smile as
+Marjorie, with a decided return of colour, stooped and secured the
+revolver which had escaped her parent's eye. "Naturally Miss Handyside
+was a little surprised to find me here until I explained who I was." His
+gaze travelled to the servant who stood apart in meditative regard of the
+clock. "Caw, how is my uncle?"
+
+Handyside prevented a pause. "There is so much to tell you, Mr. Craig,
+that I propose an adjournment to my study where we shall find some
+refreshment which I fancy you can do with. You are not aware, I believe,
+that your uncle had a private passage built between our two houses, which
+not only explains our appearance here, but provides a short route to food
+and warmth."
+
+"Then my uncle--" began Alan, evidently a little puzzled.
+
+"Your pardon, Mr. Alan," said Caw, coming forward, "but it is necessary
+to ask you one question. How did you get into the house?"
+
+The young man laughed. "I suppose you don't think it worth while locking
+doors in these unsophisticated parts. After I had rung twice, and was
+wondering what was going to happen to me, I found that the outer door was
+unfastened and that the inner door was not locked. So I came in and made
+myself at home, unwilling to disturb--What's the matter. Caw? And you,
+doctor? Why, Miss Handyside, what have I said?"
+
+But none of the gravely concerned faces was looking in his direction.
+
+With a heavy sigh Caw went over to the writing table, stopped and drew
+out the deep drawer on the right.
+
+For a moment or two there was no sound save that of the storm. Then, with
+a gesture of hopelessness, Caw slowly raised himself.
+
+"Yes," he said, in a small, bitter voice, "it is gone!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+Alan Craig, as he afterwards stated, had entered Grey House at a quarter
+before midnight; the clock had attracted his attention as soon as he lit
+the candles. The candles, he had noticed, had been used not long
+previously, for the wicks were softish, and he had been aware of an odour
+of tobacco, not stale, in the atmosphere of the study. These two little
+discoveries had been sufficient to end the incipient idea induced by the
+stillness and chilliness that the house might be temporarily uninhabited.
+
+Less than half an hour prior to Alan's arrival, the man Marvel left by
+unbolting the outer door. He had entered by cutting through a lightly
+barred window at the back, and would have retired by the same way but for
+the fact that he had wounded one of his hands rather severely, and could
+not risk disturbing his rough and hasty bandage.
+
+But though injured and drenched to the skin, and facing a long tramp in
+the vilest of weather, he turned from the gates of Grey House in a fairly
+cheerful temper. He had done the job and done it easily. The Green Box
+reposed in his suit case, and would fetch four hundred pounds on
+delivery. Only four hundred pounds? Well, Mr. Bullard had named that sum,
+but perhaps--and Mr. Marvel grinned against the gale--Mr. Bullard was not
+going to get off quite so cheaply. To Marvel's sort, possession is not
+just a miserable nine points of the law: it is all the law and as much of
+the profits as trickery can extract.
+
+No, no!--he stumbled in the almost pitch darkness, and cursed
+briefly--Mr. Bullard was not going to handle his Green Box for much less
+than a thousand pounds! If only the key had been available, reflected
+this choice specimen of humanity, he would have had a look at the
+contents. Papers, Mr. Bullard had said--more incriminating documents, no
+doubt! Mr. Bullard was a very nice man, he was, but he could not always
+have it his own way. Mr. Bullard ...
+
+A sound in, but not of, the storm, muttered in Marvel's ears. Peering
+ahead, he descried a small light. He was passing a wood at the time, and
+the windy tumult as well as the roaring from the loch made confusion for
+his hearing; but presently he recognised the intruding sound as the
+throbbing of a motor. "Some silly fool got a breakdown," he was thinking
+sympathetically, when a terrific gust caught and fairly staggered him.
+Ere he fully recovered balance and breath something cold and clammy fell
+upon his face, was dragged down over his shoulders and arms, blinding,
+pinioning him. The suit case was rudely wrenched from his hand; he was
+violently pushed and tripped; and with a stifled yell he fell heavily on
+the footpath and rolled into the brimming gutter.... By the time he
+regained footing, the use of eyes and ears, there was no light visible,
+no sound save that of wrathful nature.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the doctor's study it was the host who undertook the duty of breaking
+to Alan the news of his uncle's death; it was Caw who informed him of the
+old man's thought for him during the last year of life, on the very last
+day of it.
+
+"You must understand, sir," the servant added, "that from the day after
+you went away my master was living not in his own house, but in yours. It
+pleased him to think of it that way, sir. 'I am not leaving my nephew
+anything,' he used to say to me; 'I have given him what I had to give.'
+He always believed in your safe return, though to others it seemed so
+impossible. There are many things to be told--you have already witnessed
+something that must have puzzled you, sir--but with your permission I
+will say no more till tomorrow, when I have got my wits together again,
+as it were."
+
+"I think I can keep my curiosity under till then, Caw," said the young
+man, "and, to tell the truth, I don't feel equal to talking about my
+Uncle Christopher's affairs just yet. But if Dr. Handyside isn't too
+tired, I'd like to explain without delay why I made a secret of my
+existence, also why I came home--well, like a thief in the night." He
+glanced a little quizzingly at Marjorie, who blushed and retorted
+good-humouredly--
+
+"Don't you think you owe me--us--the explanation, Mr. Craig?"
+
+"Mr. Craig owes us nothing," Handyside said; "and I ought to remind him
+that while we were his uncle's friends--his most intimate friends, I
+might say, these five years--we are now, in a sense, intruders who have
+no claim whatever on Mr. Craig's confidence. Further"--the doctor's tone
+became rueful--"I fear I am greatly to blame--"
+
+Alan interposed, "I want you to accept my confidence. I came home
+expecting to find myself as poor as when I went to the Arctic, and now I
+find my good uncle has altered all that, and in my new circumstances I
+may decide to change certain plans I had made. But I must first put
+myself right with my uncle's friends as well as his trusted servant. I'll
+make a short story of it--just the bare facts."
+
+"As you will," said the doctor. "Caw, take a chair."
+
+"If I may say so, sir, I prefer to stand."
+
+"Caw," said Miss Handyside, "take a chair."
+
+"Very good, miss," said Caw, and seated himself near the door.
+
+"As I learned by consulting old newspapers on the other side," said Alan,
+"the expedition returned home safely at the time appointed; but I was
+reported lost--lost while out hunting. I'll start from that hunting
+episode, though trifling incidents had happened before then, which ought,
+perhaps, to have put me on the alert. One of the best shots, if not the
+best, in the expedition was a man named Flitch. Like myself, he joined in
+place of another man, almost at the last moment. He was a rough
+character, and his position was merely that of an odd-job man, but I must
+say he did most things well, especially in the mechanical line. He and I
+had frequently made hunting excursions together, but always with one or
+two other members of the party. And now, for the first time, we went out
+from the camp alone."
+
+"Oh!" murmured Marjorie.
+
+"We tramped an unusually long way from the camp--at Flitch's instigation,
+as I recognised afterwards; but in the end we were rewarded by coming on
+a fine bear. 'You take first shot,' said Flitch, in his curt, sullen
+fashion. I did, and was lucky. But the gun was not down from my shoulder
+when Flitch deliberately shot me in the back--not with his gun, but with
+a revolver he had never shown before--"
+
+"The dirty hound!" growled Caw.
+
+"I fell, feeling horribly sick, and as I lay I saw him toss the revolver
+into a seal hole. Then, as he stood staring at me, I must have fainted."
+
+"The beast!" cried Marjorie.
+
+"When I came to myself--how long I remained unconscious, I never learned
+exactly--I was on a sort of bed, and an aged Eskimo was bending over me.
+I had been picked up by a couple of his party out after seals. I must
+have lain there for weeks under the care of that queer old medicine man
+who, somehow, contrived to doctor or bewitch me back from the grave, for
+the wound was rather a bad one. The Eskimos treated me very decently, and
+it was not till I was convalescent that I realised I was their prisoner.
+I rather think they must have fled with me from the search party
+mentioned in the newspapers. The tribe, as far as I could gather, had a
+grudge against white men in general, though not against any person in
+particular. Well, I practically became one of them for the winter that
+followed. In time I grew fit and ready for anything, but they had annexed
+my gun and other belongings, which left me pretty helpless. However, I
+had the luck to save one of the young men during a tussle with a bear,
+and he was absurdly grateful. Eventually he planned a way of escape and
+guided me, after a good many mishaps, to an American whaler that had been
+compelled to winter in the ice. I told the skipper most of my story, but
+begged him to keep it quiet from the others, and between us we invented a
+plausible enough tale for the crew. The ship came out of the ice all
+right, but was wrecked, by running ashore, on the homeward trip. Some of
+us got to land and found our way into British Columbia. I had enough
+money to take me across Canada, but when I got to Montreal I was
+penniless. I took any jobs that offered until I had scraped together
+enough for a steerage ticket home--"
+
+"But my master would have sent anything you had asked for!"
+exclaimed Caw.
+
+"I did not doubt it. Only, you see, I was desperately afraid of my
+existence getting known, and--"
+
+"But why?"--from the impulsive Marjorie.
+
+"An obsession, if you like," said Alan with a grave smile. "During all
+the time of my convalescence, and in all the periods of leisure that
+followed, I kept wondering what on earth had made Flitch want to kill me.
+We had never had anything like a quarrel, and what had he to gain by my
+death? He had robbed me of nothing. It's a great big 'Why,' and I've got
+to find the answer to it. But I'm keeping you from bed."
+
+"Go ahead," said Handyside. "Have you no suspicions?"
+
+"I have; but they seem a bit far-fetched, especially now that I'm home.
+At any rate, I dare not mention them yet.... I arrived in Glasgow this
+afternoon, and got made as civilised-looking as was possible in a couple
+of hours. I had intended coming on here by rail and steamer, but an
+out-of-date time-table deceived me, and too late I found that the winter
+service just started gave no train after five. At the hotel they
+suggested motoring, and after a meal I started on what seemed a first
+rate car. But we had a breakdown lasting an hour, a dozen miles out of
+Glasgow, and then, running down Garelochside in the face of the storm, we
+smashed into the ditch. After making sure that the car was hopeless, I
+left the man at a wayside cottage and tramped the rest of the way. Hence
+my late arrival, and you know the rest."
+
+"May I ask," said Caw, "if you met anybody on the road--near home, I
+mean?"
+
+"I passed a person who seemed to be intoxicated, if judged by his violent
+language, but in the darkness and the rain we must have been practically
+invisible to each other."
+
+"If he was using bad language, sir," said Caw, rising, "he was certainly
+not the party I am thinking of. May I retire, gentlemen?" he inquired,
+glancing towards Miss Handyside.
+
+"Yes, Caw. You will have much to tell Mr. Craig to-morrow," said the
+doctor. "I leave it to you to explain why you were absent to-night. I
+doubt I shall never get over it."
+
+Caw made a stiff little inclination, saying, "My fault alone, sir,"
+and went out.
+
+"There goes a good and faithful servant," remarked Handyside; "and a good
+chauffeur, too," he added with a heavy sigh.
+
+"Mr. Craig," said Marjorie, breaking a silence, "do you wish us to
+regard you as non-existent--I mean to say, do you wish your return to be
+kept a secret?"
+
+"I'm going to sleep on that question, Miss Handyside," he replied.
+
+"I can keep a secret rather well, and I believe father can, too," she
+said. "Won't you tell us whom you sus--"
+
+"Marjorie," the doctor interposed, "the lateness of the hour is telling
+on your discretion."
+
+"I'm afraid it is." She got up, went to her bureau, scribbled something
+on a half sheet of paper, folded it neatly, and presented it to Alan.
+"Don't look at it till you are in your room," she said softly. "Good
+night, and sleep well."
+
+Ten minutes later, in the guest's bedroom, Alan opened the paper and read
+the words--
+
+"Mr. Bullard?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+By ten o'clock next morning Caw, who had risen at five, had Grey House in
+a fair state of comfort for the reception of its new master, if not its
+new owner. The producers of warmth and electricity were at work again;
+the elderly housekeeper, who in Christopher's time had never been
+upstairs, was recalled from a near village just when she was beginning to
+wonder whether, after all, perfect happiness was included in retirement
+with an ample annuity, in the garden a man was already reducing the more
+apparent ravages of the gale. Caw himself quietly repaired the moderate
+damage done by the thief of the Green Box. Following the instructions
+written by his late master, he had sent a telegram to the Glasgow lawyer.
+He was in the study dusting the thick glass protecting the clock when,
+about ten thirty, Alan arrived via the passage.
+
+"An odd place for a clock," the young man remarked. "I had a look at it
+last night. But why 'dangerous,' and what's that green stuff?"
+
+"Mr. Craig intended that the clock should not be interfered with before
+it stopped--nearly a year hence, sir. I understand the liquid is
+something stronger than water, but whether explosive or poisonous, I
+could not say, sir."
+
+"Curious notion!" Alan pointed to the pendulum flashing gloriously in the
+sunlight now breaking through the racing clouds. "Are they diamonds?"
+
+"Yes, sir. Worth, I have heard, about two thousand pounds."
+
+"Then, of course, they would account for the precautions."
+
+"Very likely, sir. Only I have a feeling that this clock has a meaning
+which we shall not learn until it stops. The maker constructed it in a
+locked room in this house, of which my master had the key, and I think my
+master knew even more about it than Monsoor Guidet did. Is the
+temperature here agreeable to you, sir?"
+
+"A trifle warm, don't you think?"
+
+"It shall be regulated to suit you, sir. Mr. Craig was sensitive to a
+degree, one way or the other."
+
+Alan turned abruptly from the clock which, somehow, he was finding
+fascinating. "Well, now, Caw," he said, dropping into an easy chair by
+the fire, "hadn't you better begin to explain things?"
+
+"At once, if you wish it, sir. But I'm hoping that Mr. Craig's lawyer
+from Glasgow, Mr. Harvie, will be here at noon, and as he may have fuller
+information than I can give, I was wondering if you would not care to
+hear him first. Indeed, Mr. Alan, I think it would be worth your while to
+wait, I could tell you a good deal, but my master did not tell me
+everything, though I have sometimes thought he meant to tell me more--"
+
+"Very well, Caw. I'll ask only one question for the present. Did my uncle
+see anything of Mr. Bullard within the last few months of his life?"
+
+Caw let fall the duster and recovered it before he answered: "Yes, sir.
+On the afternoon of the day of his death Mr. Bullard and Mr. Lancaster
+sat in this room with him."
+
+"Mr. Lancaster, too!"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"Thanks; that will do for the present. Now I have a letter to write. By
+the bye, do you remember my friend, Mr. France, being here once? I am
+going to send for him."
+
+"I remember Mr. France very well indeed, sir, and I will do my best to
+make him comfortable. I think you will find everything here," Caw moved
+the chair at the desk.
+
+Alan got up, then hesitated. "Do you know, Caw, I can hardly bring myself
+to take possession in this cool fashion right away."
+
+"My master would have wished for nothing better. You will remember, sir,
+that all has been yours for the last eighteen months." Caw made the stiff
+little bow that betokened retiral.
+
+"A moment. Caw," said the young man. "I take it that you would have done
+anything for my uncle."
+
+"That is so," was the quiet reply, "and, if I may say so, Mr. Alan, I am
+here to do anything for you."
+
+He was gone, leaving Alan perplexed and not a little touched, for he
+could not doubt the man's sincerity. Presently he sat down and wrote to
+Teddy France, disguising his writing as much as possible.
+
+"My dear Teddy:
+
+"Before you go further, get a grip on yourself, then turn the page very
+slowly and look at the signature. Have you done so? You see, I want
+firstly to avoid giving you a sudden scare, and I hope it has been at
+least modified, old man; secondly, though I'm very much alive, I'm not
+advertising the fact at present and trust you to help me in keeping it
+dark. My story is too long to put on paper, but you shall have it all as
+soon as you can come to listen. Is it possible for you to get leave at
+once and come here for a couple of days? I badly want to see you again
+and ask your help and advice. Wire me on receipt of this. Relying on your
+secrecy,
+
+"Yours as ever,
+
+"ALAN CRAIG.
+
+"P.S.: I'd like Doris to know, but only if you can find a way to tell her
+secretly. Ask her to trust me for a little while."
+
+The visit of Mr. Harvie, the lawyer, who arrived at noon, meant little
+but disappointment for Alan. After a few polite words of congratulation,
+the lawyer dived into business, explaining Alan's position as the result
+of his uncle's deed of gift, and reciting a short list of securities
+mixed up with money figures.
+
+"All very simple and satisfactory so far as it goes, Mr. Craig," he said,
+"and, of course, I am always at your service should you think I can be of
+the slightest help. Your uncle's will provided only for a legacy and an
+annuity to the male and female servants, also a thousand pounds to Dr.
+Handyside, the residue, about four thousand pounds, falling to yourself.
+My duty for the present ends with the delivery of this"--he handed an
+envelope to Alan--"though my responsibilities do not cease until the
+clock stops."
+
+"I wish you would explain the clock, Mr. Harvie."
+
+Mr. Harvie wagged his head. "My knowledge concerning the clock is
+confined to written instructions of my late client, whereby I shall be
+present when it stops, but my duties then will depend on circumstances.
+The significance of the clock itself I do not yet comprehend. All I know
+is that the clock will run a year from the date of my client's death, and
+that, at least twenty-four hours prior to the stoppage, I shall be warned
+and informed of the hour at which I must be present." He paused to purse
+his lips and continued: "I do not think you will resent my remarking, Mr.
+Craig, that for as sane a business man as ever I met, your uncle had some
+of the oddest ideas--which, nevertheless, you and I are bound to respect.
+Possibly a chat with Mr. Caw may dispel some of the fog you have stepped
+into on your otherwise fortunate and happy return home. I feel that Mr.
+Caw knows a great deal more than I, but in this case, at any rate"--Mr.
+Harvie permitted himself to smile--"what I do not know is none of my
+business."
+
+"You can assure me that absolutely everything in this house belongs to
+me?" said Alan after a short silence. "You know of nothing which my uncle
+intended to make over to friends?"
+
+"Nothing whatever. Mr. Craig was absolutely clear on that point when I
+drew up the Deed of Gift. Still, as I have said, in any new difficulty I
+am at your service. I liked your uncle, Mr. Craig. I once mentioned a sad
+case of unmerited poverty to him, and his generosity astonished, nay,
+shamed me. You have a good man's place to fill."
+
+Mr. Harvie stayed to lunch--Caw performed wonders in the
+circumstances--and caught the two o'clock steamer. As soon as he was
+gone, Alan opened the envelope. If he had looked for revelations within,
+he was bound to be once more disappointed. The enclosure consisted simply
+of a letter, and not a lengthy one at that.
+
+"GREY HOUSE,
+
+"26th October, 1913.
+
+"My dear Alan:
+
+"It is written that we shall not meet again. My malady grows daily worse,
+and the end may come at any moment. But I am of good cheer because of my
+faith in your ultimate return. Whence comes that faith I cannot tell--but
+whence comes any great and steadfast faith? When you come into this house
+and the little fortune that has been yours since you left for the Arctic,
+you may meet with some puzzling things; you may even be tempted to say,
+or think, that the old man must have been a little 'cracked.' But one
+must amuse oneself, especially when thought gnaws and time hangs heavy;
+and if there happens to be a way of attaining one's chief desires which
+is not altogether a tiresome and conventional way, why not choose it, as
+I have done? Should my whims cost you trouble or annoyance, forgive me.
+Let things take their course, if at all possible, till the Clock stops.
+Trust Caw, who knows as much as I care for any one to know; Lawyer
+Harvie, who knows next to nothing; Handyside and his daughter who may, or
+may not, know anything. In my latter days my trust in human nature has
+been shaken, though not destroyed; yet I say to you: Rather a host of
+declared enemies than one doubtful friend. Farewell, Alan, and may God
+send you happiness. A man can make pleasure for himself.
+
+"Your affectionate uncle,
+
+"CHRISTOPHER CRAIG."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+After a little while Alan rang for Caw.
+
+The servant's eyes held a glimmer of anticipation induced by the lawyer's
+visit. Surely Mr. Harvie had been able to divulge something that would
+render his coming task a little easier, for Caw had still to tell of the
+Green Box and at the same time conceal the fact that Christopher Craig
+had died at bitter enmity with his two old friends--or at all events, the
+grounds of that enmity. As though Christopher had wished to lay
+particular stress on his desire for such concealment, Caw had found among
+his written instructions the following words: "At all costs, my nephew is
+to be spared the tragedy of his parents' ruin."
+
+At Alan's first remark the glimmer went out.
+
+"No, Caw, I'm no wiser than I was this morning. Mr. Harvie knows nothing
+except that he is to be present when the clock stops, and a letter
+written to me by my uncle, which he gave me, leaves me as much in the
+dark as ever. My uncle's letter says, however, that I am to trust you,
+and that you know more than any one."
+
+Caw made a slight inclination. "May I ask if the letter makes mention of
+Dr. Handyside and Miss Handyside, sir?"
+
+"I am to trust them also," Alan replied, with a smile, "as well as
+Mr. Harvie."
+
+"Thank you, sir. As you have seen, sir, I have ventured to trust Dr.
+Handyside and Miss Handyside a bit of my own; in fact I was forced into
+so doing; and, though I had my master's word for it, if necessary, I am
+glad to hear it again from you, sir. As for Mr. Harvie, I take leave to
+hope we shall not require to trust him."
+
+"Why on earth--?"
+
+"Well, sir, he's a lawyer--"
+
+"Good lord, Caw! What are you driving at? My uncle trusted him, and
+his letter--"
+
+"If you'll excuse me, sir, you have just been telling me that Mr. Harvie
+knows next to nothing. Mr. Harvie, I beg to say, is a very nice
+gentleman, and as honest as any lawyer need hope for to be; but a lawyer
+is the last sort of human being we want to have in this business, sir."
+
+"I'm afraid I don't quite grasp--" began Alan, amused by the other's
+earnestness.
+
+"Well, sir, did you ever go to a lawyer to ask a question?"
+
+"I can't say I have, that I remember."
+
+"Then, sir, I have. I once asked a lawyer one question, and before he
+could, or would, answer it, sir, he asked me fifty, and then his answer
+was rot--beg pardon, sir--unsatisfactory. But what I mean is just this,
+sir. With all due deference to Mr. Harvie, we don't want outsiders asking
+questions. My master himself would have been against it, and I'm hoping
+you will understand why before very long, sir."
+
+Alan sat up. "Before we go any further," he said, "will you tell me what
+you were looking for last night when you opened a drawer in that
+writing-table and--well, go ahead."
+
+Caw took out his handkerchief and wiped his brow. "A green box, sir, that
+had been there a few hours earlier."
+
+"The contents?"
+
+"Diamonds, sir."
+
+"What?"
+
+"Diamonds, sir."
+
+"I didn't know there were diamonds--except in that pendulum."
+
+The other gave a faint sigh.
+
+"Were those in the box of any great value?"
+
+Caw moistened his lips. "Six hundred thousand pounds--"
+
+"Oh, nonsense!"
+
+"My master's words, sir."
+
+"Then--why should they have been left lying there?"
+
+"My master's orders, sir."
+
+Alan opened his mouth, but found no speech. Said Caw: "You find it
+difficult to believe, sir, but there are other things just as difficult.
+For instance, I was forbidden to use any violence to prevent the box
+being taken away--that is, taken away by certain parties. A horrid
+position for me, sir."
+
+"Yes," assented Alan, absently. Presently he went on: "Don't imagine
+that I doubt anything you have said, Caw--except that the diamonds,
+whose value there must surely be some extraordinary mistake about, were
+in the box."
+
+"But, Mr. Alan, I can swear they were! It was I who closed and put the
+box in the drawer for the last time, at my master's request. He had been
+admiring them, as he often did--"
+
+"Who were the parties who were to be allowed to take the box?"
+
+After a moment's hesitation,--"Mr. Bullard, sir, and Mr. Lancaster. They
+were the only persons besides myself who knew about the diamonds. I
+should tell you that my master showed them the diamonds that afternoon."
+
+"Good God!" said Alan under his breath. Aloud: "Are you telling me that
+you suspect those two gentlemen of st--taking the box?"
+
+"They came here late on the night after my master's death, with that
+object, sir."
+
+"But the box was taken last night."
+
+"I can't swear that it was they who were here last night, but I can swear
+they would have had the box on the night I have named, sir, but for Miss
+Handyside."
+
+"Miss Handyside! ... Sit down, man, and tell your story. I'll try not to
+interrupt."
+
+"Thank you, sir." Caw drew a chair from the wall; for once he was glad to
+be seated. He told his story in a crisp, straightforward fashion,
+avoiding side issues, and his listener heard him out in silence.
+
+There was a pause before the latter spoke.
+
+"You've given me something to think about, Caw," he said gravely.
+"Meantime I'll ask only three questions. Have you any doubt that the box
+and its contents belonged entirely to my uncle?"
+
+"None at all, sir. I remember his getting the box made--twelve years ago,
+I should say. Also, I knew he had made a great deal of money and was
+putting it into diamonds."
+
+"He hadn't a duplicate box?"
+
+"If he had, sir, I should have seen it. For the last two years of his
+life, I had to look after everything for him, even open his safe."
+
+"I see. Now tell me: Did my uncle and Messrs. Bullard and Lancaster part
+on good terms that afternoon?"
+
+Caw could have smiled with relief at the form in which the enquiry was
+put. "Why, sir," he said, with ill-suppressed eagerness, "they shook
+hands, and my master bade them a kind farewell. Mr. Lancaster was visibly
+affected."
+
+"And they were back the next night!"
+
+"Six hundred thousand pounds is a lot of money, sir."
+
+Alan got up, strode to the window, and looked out for a minute's space.
+
+"What would you say, Caw," he asked, turning abruptly, "if I told you
+that for the last eighteen months I have regarded Mr. Bullard and Mr.
+Lancaster as my best friends?"
+
+The servant, who had risen also, replied respectfully: "I would say I was
+very sorry, sir."
+
+"Indeed!--And if I told you that they had helped me with a large sum of
+money--what then?"
+
+"I should take the liberty, sir, of wondering what you gave them for it."
+
+"Good Heavens!" the young man exclaimed, "the thing is impossible!"
+Controlling himself--"Thanks, Caw, I'll not trouble you more for
+the present."
+
+"Very good, sir. When will you take tea?"
+
+"I'm taking tea with Dr. Handyside."
+
+"Very good, sir. I had better show you how the door works from
+this side."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was a much worried young man whom Caw presently left alone. Until last
+night, when he had looked at Marjorie Handyside's note, it had never
+occurred to him to connect the crime in the Arctic wastes with the will
+he had signed in the Aasvogel Syndicate office, on that fine spring
+morning, eighteen months ago. His only suspicion, which in nine thoughts
+out of ten he had almost rejected for its absurdity, was against the man
+Garnet whose place he had filled in the Expedition. Garnet, who was an
+author and a vile-tempered fellow even in good health, had gone half
+crazy because the Expedition was not postponed for a year on his account.
+He had cursed Alan as a scheming interloper, and so forth, and had
+actually expressed the wish that he might leave his bones "up there." And
+last night, the girl's note had given his mind nothing more than a nasty
+jar. Bullard?--why, that idea, he had thought, was still more absurd than
+the other!
+
+But now what was he to believe? Caw's revelation seemed to leave him no
+choice. And yet the thing appeared preposterous. Bullard and Lancaster
+were rich men, and while his acquaintance with the former had been
+comparatively slight, memories of the latter's frequent kindnesses and
+hospitality had warmed his heart many a time during his exile in the
+Arctic. Lancaster a trafficker in murder?--Lancaster the delicate, gentle
+father of the girl who had promised to wait for him? No, by Heaven, he
+would not believe it! As for Bullard--
+
+The sinking sun shot a ray against the clock, and the glitter of diamonds
+roused him from his brooding. It was the Handysides' tea hour. He must
+try to get a quiet word with his hostess. He had met her at breakfast,
+but the doctor had been present. There were several things he wanted to
+say--must say--to her. She was brave--much braver than he had given her
+credit for a few hours ago--as well as bonny. As he descended to the
+passage he thought of how she had outwitted Bullard. Fortune was with
+him; he found her alone in the drawing-room.
+
+"I always give father ten minutes grace when he's cleaning his car, and
+it's pretty messy after last night, while he has got to be careful with
+his foot," she explained. "By the way, Mr. Craig, I have to apologise for
+my curiosity of last night, but I'm not used to stories like yours."
+
+"My apology is about a more serious matter," he replied. "I've just been
+hearing from Caw of how you rescued the Green Box at the first attempt to
+remove it. It was the pluckiest thing I ever heard of, and I'm under a
+tremendous obligation to you."
+
+"Oh, please don't!" she said, with a laugh and a blush. "You must
+understand that I hadn't a pistol that night. The pistol was an awful
+failure, wasn't it? You weren't a bit afraid--for yourself, anyway--and I
+was terrified. I'd have been far more effective if I'd just opened the
+door an inch and called 'boo!'"
+
+"I fancy that would have finished me, Miss Handyside! But do you want to
+learn to shoot? If so, and you'd allow me, I'd give you a lesson or two,
+with pleasure."
+
+"Would you?--But you mustn't tell father. Luckily he didn't notice the
+horrid thing last night. Now, I think I'd better give him a hail to
+come to tea."
+
+"One moment, please," said Allan. "Would you mind telling me why you
+wrote down that name last night?"
+
+She became grave at once. "Was it the wrong one, Mr. Craig?"
+
+"I can only hope so. But what made you think it a possible one? Had you
+ever seen the man before that night?"
+
+"No." She paused, then said slowly: "Mr. Craig, if he wanted your uncle's
+diamonds that night, it is likely that he wanted them long before then,
+and it must have occurred to him that your life stood in his way of ever
+getting them as a gift or legacy." She halted, and then asked: "Well?"
+
+"This is for your ears alone, Miss Handyside," he said on an impulse.
+"When I wanted very much to go to the Arctic and could not find the
+necessary money, Mr. Bullard and--and another man advanced it, and I made
+a will in their favour."
+
+"Oh, how horrible!"
+
+"And yet all that proves nothing with regard to the man Flitch."
+
+"No more does this," she quickly rejoined. "But when I saw that Bullard
+man's face as he laid the Green Box on the table, I felt that there was
+a being who would stick at nothing. I'll never forget his expression. It
+was as if the humanness had fallen from a face. It was--devilish....
+That was what made me write down his name last night." She held up her
+hand. "Hush!"
+
+Dr. Handyside hobbled in, looking far from happy. "Has Caw told you how
+he came to be absent from his charge last night, Mr. Craig?" he asked.
+
+"In the same circumstances I'd have been absent myself," said Alan.
+
+Marjorie gave him a grateful glance. "Poor father feels as if he owed you
+over half a million," she said.
+
+The guest laughed. "Well, he can easily feel that he has paid the
+debt--by taking the Green Box as seriously as I do!"
+
+"In other words as a joke?" said Handyside sadly. "That's very generous
+of you, Alan, if I may say so,--to quote Caw--but the Green Box is too
+hard and cold a fact to jest about."
+
+"Then let us ignore it, if you please. My uncle's letter, which his
+lawyer handed me to-day, requests me to let things take their course, if
+at all possible, until the Clock stops; and that's what I'm going to do
+so far, at least, as that blessed Green Box is concerned. As a matter of
+fact, the Clock interests me far more than the box."
+
+"Why?" said Marjorie.
+
+"I don't know, but there it is!"
+
+"Have you any hope," asked Handyside, "that there is any chance of
+recovering the box or, rather, its contents? Forgive my harping on
+the subject?"
+
+"No," answered Alan, thinking of Doris Lancaster. "And pray believe me,
+doctor, when I say that I care as little as I hope."
+
+For which saying Marjorie could have kissed him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+The unspeakable Marvel reached London shortly after seven p.m.,--nearly
+an hour late. A sleet storm had descended on the Metropolis. He took a
+four-wheeler to the City. It crawled, but he was glad of the time to
+rehearse once more the part he had decided to play, during the latter
+hours of the railway journey. Here was a desperate idea inspired by a
+desperate situation. A hundred other ideas had offered themselves only to
+be rejected. He shivered with more than cold, fingered the flask in his
+pocket, but refrained from seeking its perfidious comfort. There must be
+no slackening wits in view of what was coming.
+
+At last the cab stopped at his destination. With stiffened limbs he
+ascended the weary flights of stairs, paused on the fourth landing to
+blow into his hands and flap his arms. Then, after a glance round, he
+turned into the corridor on the left. The door of the Aasvogel Syndicate
+offices was still unlocked, by arrangement. He opened it quietly, stepped
+in, and as quietly closed it, turning the key. With a fairly firm and
+confident step he advanced to the lighted room at the end of the passage.
+His old foolish, ingratiating smile was on his face when he entered.
+
+Bullard swung round from his desk.
+
+"Hullo!" he cried genially. "Got back! Beastly weather, isn't it? Just
+returned from Paris an hour ago. Sit down and warm yourself."
+
+"Thanks, Mr. Bullard." Marvel took a chair at the fire and proceeded to
+chafe his hands. "Paris, did you say? Coldish there, I suppose?"
+
+"Felt like snow this morning. By the way, I didn't get your note till my
+arrival here to-night."
+
+Marvel began to feel that things were shaping nicely. "I sent it as soon
+as I could, Mr. Bullard. Awful weather up there last night--something
+ghastly. Wouldn't take on the job again for ten, times the money."
+
+"Well, it's over, and I take it that you were quite successful."
+
+"Oh, that part of it was easy, Mr. Bullard."
+
+"Good!" With that Mr. Bullard's geniality vanished. "I say, where's the
+Green Box?"
+
+Mr. Marvel grinned pleasantly. "Always in such a hurry, Mr. Bullard! But
+don't be alarmed; the Green Box is all right--very much all right."
+
+"Look here, Marvel. I'm not in the humour for any humbug. I want that
+box--now!"
+
+"And I want that four hundred pounds before I produce the box--"
+
+"Well, the money's ready."
+
+"--and another five hundred when you touch the box--"
+
+"You impudent swine!" cried Bullard viciously. "So that's your game!"
+
+"Well, Mr. Bullard, when I came to think it over in that ghastly
+blizzard, I saw you had inadvertently underestimated the value of my
+services, and considering that I had already parted with those valuable
+papers of mine for one--"
+
+"Oh, shut it, man! Do you take me for a fool?"
+
+"On the contrary, Mr. Bullard! You want that box badly, and an extra five
+hundred is neither here nor there to you."
+
+Bullard's expression was so ugly then that the pretender wavered. "Where
+is the Green Box? Answer!"
+
+"Give me the four hundred, and I'll take you to it."
+
+"Take me to it? I think not!"
+
+"Oh, Mr. Bullard, surely you don't distrust me."
+
+Bullard appeared to reflect, and said harshly: "One more chance. Bring
+the box here at ten to-morrow morning, and I'll give you two hundred
+extra, you dirty little thief!"
+
+"Five hundred, Mr. Bullard," said Marvel gently. He could have
+hugged himself.
+
+Again Bullard appeared to be lost in thought, his fingers toyed with the
+nugget on his chain. At last he said sullenly: "I might have known you
+would try it on, you scoundrel. But I must have the box first thing in
+the morning. It's awkward enough not to have it tonight." He turned to
+his desk and picked up an envelope with a typewritten address. He sat
+staring at it as though he had forgotten Marvel's presence.
+
+Suddenly he wheeled and spoke. "You shall have five hundred in the
+morning--"
+
+"And four hundred to-night, Mr. Bullard."
+
+"Yes--an hour hence. Do you know the Victoria Docks?--Of course you do.
+Well, the street named here"--he tapped the envelope--"is close to them.
+Deliver this letter and bring me back an answer--and the four hundred are
+yours. Hold your tongue! The thing is too private for an ordinary
+messenger. It's entirely owing to your vile behaviour that this letter
+must be delivered to-night. Will you take it, or must I take it myself?
+Mind, if I do, you can go to the devil for your four hundred, ay, and the
+five hundred to boot. I've stood the limit from you, Marvel, and I'm
+quite equal to locking you up in our strong-room here till you're ready
+and eager to give up the box for nothing!"
+
+"Come, come, Mr. Bullard," said Marvel, rising, "there's no need for all
+this--this roughness. I'll take the letter with pleasure if you'll give
+me a couple of hundred to go on with."
+
+Bullard tossed the letter back on the desk, and proceeded to light a
+cigar.
+
+Marvel took a step forward. "I was only joking, Mr. Bullard. I'll take
+your message, and trust you."
+
+"Very well," growled the other, handing it over. "Take care of it. You
+ought to be back in an hour. You'll find me here."
+
+"Eight you are!" said Marvel, and went jauntily from the room.
+
+Bullard sank back in his chair. "The blind fool!" he murmured, and
+grinned.
+
+An hour later he was dining in the Savoy restaurant.
+
+About ten o'clock he was shown into Lancaster's library. He was in
+evening dress. He carried a suit case bearing, in the midst of many old
+labels, his own initials. The moment the door was shut he said--
+
+"Where's Mrs. Lancaster? Didn't she get my note?"
+
+Lancaster, his weary eyes blinking in the sudden rousing from a troubled
+nap, replied: "Yes, it caught her as she was about to leave the house
+with Doris. Is anything the matter?"
+
+"Did Doris go alone?"
+
+"Yes, but--"
+
+"I wish you would tell Mrs. Lancaster--"
+
+At that moment the lady entered, gloriously attired, her eyes
+smouldering.
+
+"What's the matter, Mr. Bullard?"
+
+"Thanks for staying at home in response to my request," he said suavely.
+"I have hopes that you won't find it a wasted evening. By the way, can
+you get rid of the attentions of your servants at so early an hour?"
+
+Her sullen eyes brightened with curiosity. "I daresay I can, Mr. Bullard,
+but may I ask--"
+
+"Please add the favour to the one already granted, and rejoin us here as
+soon as possible."
+
+When she had gone, Bullard laid the suitcase on a chair, opened it, and
+took out the Green Box which he placed on the table. Then deliberately,
+and with a steady hand, he helped himself to a cigarette from his host's
+silver box, and lit it carefully.
+
+"Well, Lancaster," he said, after exhaling a long whiff, "how's that?"
+
+"Great Heavens!" Lancaster stopped staring and sat down feebly. "How did
+you get it? Where? Surely not in the same place as before!"
+
+"That I can't tell you. The point that interests me is that it is here
+now. My story will keep--it's quite good enough for that. By the bye,
+where are your congratulations?"
+
+Lancaster stretched out a shaking hand. "Take it away, for God's sake,"
+he said. "Don't--don't let my wife see those stones. I tell you again,
+Bullard--I swear it--I don't want one more than will clear me of that
+one debt."
+
+"Don't talk rot," was the light retort. "Mrs. Lancaster is going to
+choose one or two for luck. Between ourselves, as her prospective
+son-in-law I naturally desire to win her favour, as well as her entire
+confidence in my ability to provide suitably for her daughter. Besides,
+you must see that for your own sake it is better that she should be
+invol--pardon--interested. Why groan, my friend? Your troubles are over."
+
+Mrs. Lancaster came in, gazed, and pounced. "What is it? What's wrong
+with Robert? What is all the mystery about?"
+
+"This little box," said Bullard, patting it, "contains what I may call
+the Christopher Collection. No more questions now, if you please. Pray be
+seated. Are the servants--?"
+
+"Yes, yes! Open it! I must see--"
+
+"Unfortunately we lack the key. However, my expert tin-opener ought
+now to be waiting outside. I'll fetch him in, apologising for his
+uncouthness, which he can't help. He might like a little whisky,
+Lancaster. Ah, I see it is already provided. Better have some
+yourself, old man."
+
+With these words, Bullard left the room to return a minute later with a
+rough-looking man in garb that might have been termed semi-sea-faring.
+There was nothing particularly sinister about his reddish-bearded face,
+but his eyes were full of fears and suspicions, and the ordinary person
+would have shrunk from his contact. His conductor having locked the
+door, said--
+
+"This is Mr. Flitch, who--"
+
+"Damn ye!" muttered the man with a start and a scowl.
+
+"Or, rather, Mr. Dunning, who is going to open the box for us. But you
+will please excuse me while I first ask him one or two personal
+questions. Well, Dunning, you got my note?"
+
+"Ain't I here?"
+
+"You attended to the messenger?"
+
+A mere grunt of assent.
+
+"Under lock and key?"
+
+A nod.
+
+"Any papers?"
+
+"Not a scrap."
+
+"Money?"
+
+"Never you mind about that. I done what ye wanted. He's safe enough. Come
+to business!"
+
+For an instant Bullard looked like striking the fellow, but he laughed,
+saying: "Well, it wasn't my money. Now you can go ahead. That's your job
+on the table. Want a refreshment first?"
+
+"No," growled Flitch, alias Dunning, with a suspicious look at Mrs.
+Lancaster. He slouched over to the table and seated himself. From a big
+pocket he brought a cloth bundle, unrolled it on the table, and disclosed
+an array of steel implements of curious and varied shapes. His fingers
+were coarse and filthy, but his touch was exquisite; it was something
+worth seeing, the way he manipulated his tools in the lock of the Green
+Box. In a little while he seemed to forget the existence of the
+spectators. He even smiled in the absorption of his work. There was no
+forcing or wrenching: all was done in coaxing, persuasive fashion. But it
+was no simple task, and thirty minutes went past.
+
+Bullard, seated by the table, rarely shifted his gaze from the busy
+fingers. Mrs. Lancaster, on the couch, a little way off, devoured the
+casket with brilliant, greedy stare. As for Lancaster, in his chair by
+the hearth, he had turned his face from the scene of operations, and sat
+motionless, one hand gripping the chair-arm, the other shading his eyes.
+
+At last the worker paused, drew a long breath, and made to raise the lid.
+But Bullard's hand shot out and held it.
+
+"That will do, my man."
+
+The worker let go with a shrug of his shoulders, and proceeded to bundle
+up his tools.
+
+"I could do wi' a drink now," he grumbled. "Neat."
+
+Bullard turned to the small table at his elbow, and poured out half a
+tumbler of whisky. The other, having stuffed the bundle into his pocket,
+rose, seized the glass, and gulped the contents. He set the glass on the
+table and held out his hand. Bullard laid a heap of sovereigns in it, and
+it closed as if automatically.
+
+"Report when he's really hungry," said Bullard in an undertone, and the
+man nodded. "Mr. Lancaster," he said aloud, "would you mind showing this
+man to the door? I'll do nothing till you come back."
+
+"Eh--what's that?" quavered Lancaster, exposing a dazed-looking
+countenance.
+
+"Oh, I'll do it," said his wife, rising impatiently. "This way, my man."
+
+He slouched out after her. There was silence in the room till she
+returned.
+
+"What a loathsome creature," she remarked. "Flitch, you called him. Is
+not that the name of the man who went out hunting with Alan Craig, Mr.
+Bullard? No wonder--"
+
+"Look here!" said Bullard, and lifted the lid.
+
+The woman's breath went in with a hiss. Unable to resist, her husband
+crept from his place and stood peering over her shoulder.
+
+Bullard lifted out the shallow trays and laid them side by side. The room
+seemed to be filled with a new light.
+
+"Six hundred thousand pounds," Bullard murmured.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Mrs. Lancaster in a reverential whisper. Then she started
+violently. "Nothing--nothing," she added quickly, and went on gazing. She
+had remembered that she had not re-locked the door, though she had drawn
+the heavy curtain. But she could not tear herself yet awhile from that
+delicious spectacle of wealth.
+
+They were all three fascinated.
+
+After a while Bullard moved slightly. "May I choose a lucky one for you,
+Mrs. Lancaster?" he asked, and picked out a fairly large stone.
+
+He dropped it as though it had stung.
+
+"What's this?"
+
+He took up another and paused--paused while his face grew old.... A third
+he took from another tray and touched it to his tongue.... A fourth from
+the third tray.... A fifth....
+
+Then his fist flew up and fell on the edges of two trays so that the
+contents shot up like a spray in sunshine and scattered over the room. In
+a strangled voice he yelled--
+
+"Paste, by God! We're tricked!"
+
+The door opened; the curtain was drawn aside.
+
+"Father! Who was that dreadful man who--"
+
+In the stifling silence, Doris, home hours before her time, stood there
+in dance gown and white cloak, a latch-key in her hand, her eyes wide
+with wonder--wonder that gave place to horror.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+
+It would have been beyond Teddy France to describe clearly his own
+feelings as he waited in the Lancasters' drawing-room late on the
+following afternoon. His dearest friend was alive; his dearest hope was
+dead. Yet how could he be otherwise than glad, if only on Doris's
+account? Early in the day he had sent her a note, express, begging her to
+be at home at five. This meant questionings and reproaches from Mrs.
+Lancaster, for she and her daughter had what she deemed a most important
+social engagement; but the girl was firm, and eventually the mother went
+off alone in a sullen temper.
+
+In any case, Doris would have revolted from tea and tattle that
+afternoon. She had suffered a great shock the previous night. And since
+Teddy's note had suggested something most urgent, but told her nothing,
+she entered the drawing-room to meet him with foreboding added to a
+consuming fear. At the sight of him, so honest and kindly, she could have
+gone to his arms out of sheer longing for peace and comforting.
+
+Teddy thought he had himself well in hand for his delicate task, but he
+was pale, and she noticed it.
+
+"What is it?" she asked, all apprehension.
+
+"Something good, Doris, but I can't tell you until you sit down."
+
+"Good!" She forced a smile. She would not hurt his feelings, though
+apparently he had nothing very important to tell her after all. Poor
+Doris! all the big things in her life nowadays were of the evil sort.
+"Well, why don't you tell me, Teddy?"
+
+"Because it's so tremendously good.'"
+
+"Oh!" There was no mistaking his earnestness. Her mind turned quickly to
+Bullard. Had Teddy found out something?
+
+"Doris, if you were given one wish, what would you wish for? You know,
+you can say anything to me."
+
+She did not hesitate. "I'd wish that father were free from a great and
+terrible trouble."
+
+"Well, we may hope for that, I'm sure. But if--if the wish would bring
+about something that--that you had believed past hoping for--what then?"
+He did not wait for her answer. "Doris," he said gently, "somebody has
+come home, safe and sound.... I had a letter from Alan Craig this
+morning. He is at Grey House now." He paused, puzzled. She was taking it
+so much more calmly than he had expected. The room was dusky and the
+fire-light deceptive, so he could hardly read her face. But presently he
+descried the glint of tears, and next moment she drooped and hid her eyes
+in her hands.
+
+He spoke again. "For a reason which I don't yet know, Alan has come home
+secretly. He asks me to beg you to trust him for a little while. He must
+have a very strong reason for the secrecy. He wants my advice and help,
+so I'm leaving for Scotland to-night. If you have any message, please
+give me it now, Doris, and I'll leave you. You must want to be alone."
+
+He waited, leaning against the mantel, watching her bowed head, torn
+betwixt loyalty and longing. Minutes passed before she uncovered her eyes
+and sat up. "Teddy," she said, "please sit down. There are things I must
+tell you before you go to Scotland." She wiped her eyes and put away the
+handkerchief as if for good. "You must be thinking me a very strange and
+heartless girl. You must be asking yourself why I am not overjoyed at the
+wonderful news. Don't speak. I suppose I don't properly realise it yet.
+Alan is alive and well!--I never was so glad of anything; I'll never
+cease to be glad of it. And just for a moment nothing else in the world
+seemed to matter. But--but I can't escape--I am like a prisoner told of a
+great joy which she can never look upon--"
+
+"Doris, what are you saying? You don't for a moment imagine that
+Bullard--"
+
+"Let me go on while I can. It's not easy to make my story coherent, so be
+patient... Something most awful happened last night. You know I was at
+the Lesters' dance, but I only stayed an hour--I got so worried about
+father. I pleaded a headache, and they got a taxi for me. It would be
+nearly eleven when I left. The fog was lifting. Just as the cab was
+reaching home I looked out and saw a dreadful-looking man coming from our
+door. He stared at me so horribly, so suspiciously, that I waited in the
+cab till he was well away. I had a latch-key and let myself in quietly. I
+went into the drawing-room. The lights were on, but the fire was low and
+no one was there. Mother had spoken of going early to bed, and I thought
+she must have done so. I went along to the library. There was no sound,
+but as I opened the door I heard a hoarse voice, though what it said I
+did not catch. It was followed by a smash. I drew back the curtain--you
+know how it hangs across the corner--and I saw--"
+
+"Doris," the young man cried, "you're distressing yourself--"
+
+"I must tell you, or go mad. Mr. Bullard was sitting at the table with
+his back to me. Father and mother were standing on the other side. They
+were just ghastly. On the table was a dark green roundish box, open, and
+some trays of diamonds. There were diamonds on the floor, too." Doris
+paused and wet her lips. "When I was a young girl," she continued,
+"before we came home, you know, Christopher Craig took me into his house
+one afternoon to give me some sweets, as he often did, and after bidding
+me not tell anybody, he showed me a dark green box, and in it were trays
+of diamonds. I never forgot it."
+
+
+"But my dear girl--"
+
+"Almost at once mother ordered me to go away. I went up to my room, and
+thought till I began to understand. I asked myself questions. What were
+those sudden journeys to Scotland for? Why was father so nervous
+afterwards? Who was the dreadful-looking man I saw? What made father and
+mother look so--so awful when I found them in the library?"
+
+A heartsick feeling possessed Teddy, while he said: "But, Doris, all
+those apparently ugly things may be capable of explanation."
+
+"Wait! ... Of course I could not sleep. I didn't know what to do with
+myself. At three in the morning I went down to the library for a book,
+though I knew I should never read it.... And before the cold fire
+he--father was sitting alone, like a--a broken man. Oh, Teddy, you always
+liked father, didn't you?" Ere lie could reply she proceeded: "He was so
+lonely, poor father! I loved him better than ever I had done.... And
+after a while he told me things--things I can't tell even to you. But the
+box of diamonds was Christopher Craig's--now Alan's. Father would not
+blame Mr. Bullard more than himself--but _I_ know.... And now here is a
+strange thing: all those diamonds are false, and of little value compared
+with the real. And, do you know, father was glad of that, though it means
+ruin. Father supposes it was a trick of Caw's--Caw was Mr. Craig's
+servant--I used to like him--and he was really very fond of me when I was
+a little girl--and so I thought of a plan." She sighed.
+
+"Am I to hear your plan, Doris?"
+
+"Oh, it can never be carried out now. It was just this: I would make
+a journey to Scotland, with the box in my dressing-case--it's there
+now; but let me go on. Then I would hire a car for a day's run round
+the coast, and I would call at Mr. Craig's house--quite casually, of
+course--just to see how my old acquaintance, Caw, was getting on.
+That would be--or would have been--the most natural thing in the
+world. Of course Caw would ask me into the house, and would offer to
+get me tea. And while he was getting it--well, I know where the box
+used to be kept--"
+
+"You brave little soul!"
+
+"Oh, I'd risk anything for father," she said simply. "Once the box was
+back in its place, he would be safe from one horror, at any rate. The
+stones, though they are imitation, are worth several thousand pounds.
+Even if Caw found me out, I don't think he'd do anything terrible."
+
+"But why should Caw suspect your--"
+
+"He doesn't suspect--he _knows_! There are things about it I can't
+understand, but this morning my plan seemed the best possible. Before we
+went to bed father and I got slips of wood and jammed the box so tightly
+shut that you would have said it was locked--there was no key, you
+understand. Then--it was my idea--I got a little earth from a plant in
+the dining-room and made a few dirty marks on the carpet and window-sill.
+And I took the decanter and poured a lot of the whiskey out of the
+window, which I left open; and I put a soiled tumbler on the floor. And
+we broke the door of the cabinet where the box had been, and then we went
+up to bed, and I took the box with me."
+
+Teddy stood up. "You perfect brick!" he cried; "I feel like cheering!"
+
+She smiled the ghost of a smile. "And now you've guessed that there was a
+fuss about burglars in the morning, and Father 'phoned Mr. Bullard that
+the box was gone--which was not quite true, but as true as Mr. Bullard
+deserved--and Mr. Bullard came furious to the house, and left vowing
+vengeance on the dreadful-looking man who had unlocked the box the night
+before. So you see my poor little plan worked so far--only so far."
+
+"What you mean," said the young man softly, "is that Alan must not
+know--"
+
+"Caw is bound to tell Alan, has probably told him already. Don't you see
+how hideous the situation has become for father--and Alan, too?"
+
+"I do see it. But now--you know there's not a bigger-hearted chap in the
+world than Alan Craig--suppose your father were simply to tell him
+everything--"
+
+"Oh, never!" she exclaimed. "That would mean betraying Mr. Bullard, and
+father is--no, I can't tell you more. And I'm terrified that Mr. Bullard
+may yet discover that the box was not stolen last night after all--he's
+so horribly clever."
+
+Teddy considered for a moment. "If the box were back in its old place,"
+he said slowly, "that would end the matter in one way--"
+
+"In every way, for Alan and I would never meet again--"
+
+"You know Alan better than that, Doris. It is possible that Alan is
+not yet aware of the--the loss; even possible that Caw has not
+discovered it."
+
+"Oh! if I could only hope for that!--not that I could ever face Alan
+again. But, Teddy--"
+
+"Well," he said deliberately, "it might be worth while to act on the
+possibility. If you think so, I'm your man, Doris."
+
+"You--you would take the box?" Her suddenly shining eyes gazed up at his
+face in such gratitude and admiration that he turned slightly away. "You
+would risk your friendship with Alan--"
+
+"Nonsense! Don't put it that way, Doris; and don't talk of never facing
+Alan again. All this will pass. The thing we want to do now is to make it
+pass as quickly as possible. Give me the box and the necessary
+directions, and I'll do my best."
+
+"Oh, you are good! I confess I thought of your doing it, but the idea
+came all of a sudden and I hated it. I still hate it. It's making you do
+an underhand thing; it's cheating Alan in a way."
+
+"It's returning his property, anyway," said Teddy, not too easily. "But
+the more I think of it, the more necessary it seems. For we do not know
+that the box belongs to Alan alone; and supposing others were interested
+in the diamonds, false though they are, Alan might be forced to--to act.
+So let me have it now, and I'll clear out, for I can tell you I'm pretty
+funky about meeting Mrs. Lancaster with it in my hand. And, Doris, it's
+plain to me that your father is somehow bound to Mr. Bullard. If you can,
+find out how much--excuse my bluntness--it would take to free him. I'm a
+poor devil, yet I might be able to do something in some way--"
+
+"Oh, Teddy, Teddy, what am I to say to you?"
+
+"Not another word, Doris, or we'll be caught!" He laughed shortly, strode
+to a switch and flooded the room with light. There was a limit even to
+his loyalty.
+
+Five minutes later he left the house with a tidy brown-paper parcel
+under his arm.
+
+In her room Doris fell on her knees, and when thanksgiving and petitions
+were ended remained in that position, thinking. And one of her thoughts
+was rather a strange question: "Why am I not more glad--madly glad--that
+Alan is alive?" And she remembered that she had sent no message.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+
+About four o'clock Bullard came into his private office full of
+ill-suppressed wrath. Lancaster, who had been waiting for him in fear and
+trembling, looked a mute enquiry.
+
+"Yes," said Bullard harshly, "I found the beast after losing all those
+precious hours, and I may tell you at once, he had nothing whatever to do
+with the disappearance of the Green Box from your cabinet. He accounted
+for all his doings after leaving Earl's Gate, and I was able to verify
+his story. He went straight to a filthy gambling hell, lost a lot of
+money and got dead drunk. He's not decently sober yet."
+
+"Then who could have done it?" Lancaster forced himself to say.
+
+"Spare me idiotic questions! What I want to know is why on earth you did
+not take better care of the box."
+
+"I daresay I ought to have put it in my safe," the other stammered, "but
+you left it with me as if it was nothing to you, and it--it really had
+become of so little value--comparatively--"
+
+"Of little value! Why, its value to us might have been immense. The
+stones are paste, but what does that prove? Simply that Christopher's
+real stones are elsewhere. Christopher wasn't such a fool after all, and
+Caw has not tricked us wittingly. Caw imagines we've got the real stones
+right enough. At first I thought it might be otherwise, but my new theory
+is the one to hold water. The stones we saw that afternoon in Grey House
+were the stones we looked on last night--"
+
+"Then--oh, my God!--Christopher was suspecting us, playing with us, all
+the time!"
+
+"Keep calm. Remember, Christopher told us we should have our reward--"
+
+"And this is it!" Lancaster groaned.
+
+For the moment Bullard's self-confidence was shaken--but only for the
+moment. "Listen, Lancaster," he said steadily. "Christopher trusted no
+man absolutely--and who would, with half a million involved? He may even
+have doubted Caw. But Christopher was as friendly as ever, and he did not
+tell us, without meaning something, that the diamonds would be divided
+into three portions when his cursed clock had stopped. And so I believe
+that we shall yet get our shares--on a certain condition.--Are you
+following me?"
+
+Lancaster nodded in vague fashion. "But the condition ..."
+
+"Oh, Lord! hasn't it dawned? Why, the shares shall be ours when the clock
+stops, provided the Green Box, its contents intact, is then in its place
+in Christopher's study. Doesn't that hold water up to the brim?"
+
+Lancaster turned away his face. He could have cried out.
+
+"And now," said Bullard bitterly, "you've let the Green Box slip through
+your fingers!"
+
+"Why didn't you tell me all that last night?" cried the ill-starred
+Lancaster. He dared not tell Bullard that the Green Box was safe in his
+house. Bullard would never, however great the compensation, forgive
+trickery against himself; and Bullard's theory remained to be proved.
+Lancaster's soul now seized on its last hope: that Doris would be able to
+carry out her plan of conveying the box to Grey House. "Why didn't you
+tell me last night?" he repeated.
+
+"Is that all you've got to say?" Bullard asked, a sort of snarl in his
+voice: "And I suppose you still expect me to put you right over that
+twenty-five thousand pounds!"
+
+"My God, Bullard, but you _promised_! Oh, surely, you don't mean
+to fail me!"
+
+Bullard threw himself into the chair at his desk. While he chose a cigar
+he regained something of his customary control. "I beg your pardon,
+Lancaster," he said presently. "I ought not to have said that, seeing
+that I have your daughter's promise, and do not doubt it. But the thing
+has hit me--both of us--hard.... Now don't you think you had better go
+home? Don't work yourself into an illness again. The Green Box is
+gone--for good, I fear. We can't call in the police, you know. But there
+are still things to be done--for instance, find out whether the real
+diamonds are in Grey House--and, mark you, I think they are! If I were
+only certain, I'd act on the will at once. That beast Flitch has been
+restless lately. Wants to leave the country. His evidence might be
+necessary in proving the loss of Craig. But we'll talk it out to-morrow.
+Are you going?"
+
+Without a word Lancaster went out; but he sat in his own private office
+for several hours.
+
+"What prevents me," asked Bullard of himself, "from throwing the
+worthless fool overboard and letting him sink?" And the only answer was
+"Doris. I believe he'd sell his rights in the will for--"
+
+The telephone on his desk buzzed. Next moment he was listening to the
+voice of Mrs. Lancaster.
+
+"I'm just going out," it said, "and I thought I ought to let you know
+about Doris. She had an express letter from young France this morning,
+and insists on staying at home now to receive him. You asked me to keep
+an eye on him. Any news? ... Why don't you answer?"
+
+"Pardon, my dear lady. No; there is no news, except that I've been on the
+wrong track and have small hope of getting upon the right one. Thank you
+for letting me know; at the same time, I must keep to my bargain with
+Doris--no interference, you understand. By the way, has Doris referred to
+last night?"
+
+"Not with a single word."
+
+"Ah! ... I may call to-morrow. When does Mr. France arrive?"
+
+"Five. But what's to be done about--?"
+
+"To-morrow, please, to-morrow. Look after your husband, will you?
+Good-bye."
+
+The woman's soul was still seething with resentment against the man on
+account of the diamond fiasco, as she called it; at the same time, she
+was acutely sensible of the fact that now more than ever his friendship
+was essential to her interests.
+
+Bullard lay back in his chair, frowning thoughtfully. Odd that Doris had
+made no reference to her glimpse of the scene in the library last night.
+Odd, too, that she should be receiving France at such an hour. And there
+were other things that struck him as odd. Lancaster's manner during their
+recent talk, for instance.... Francis Bullard had made the bulk of his
+fortune through unlikely happenings; it had become a habit with him to
+deal, as it were, in "off chances." At all events, he felt he would like
+to secure a sight of young France's face as the latter came from the
+house. It might tell him something. Before long he left the office and
+the City. Rain was beginning to fall.
+
+It was falling heavily when Teddy came down the steps of 13 Earl's Gate.
+He was wondering which way would take him the more speedily to a cab,
+when a taxi appeared moving slowly towards him out of the streaming
+gloom. He whistled, and the chauffeur replied, "Right, sir," steering
+towards the pavement. The cab came to rest midway between two lamps. The
+man reached back and threw the door open. Teddy gave his address, and got
+in. At the same moment the opposite door was torn open; the parcel was
+snatched from his possession; the door banged. The cab started. Teddy had
+a mere glimpse of some one muffled to the mouth, hat brim drawn low. He
+turned and sprang out, staggered badly, almost fell, recovered his
+balance, and beheld a figure leaving the step for the interior of the
+retreating cab. He ran after it with a shout,--and remembered the dangers
+in publicity. Still, he continued to run, seeking to make out the number
+which had got plastered with mud. Hopeless! Travelling now at a high
+speed the cab disappeared round a corner, and Mr. Bullard had secured
+considerably more than he had come for.
+
+At that moment the most wretched young man in London was Teddy France.
+What was he to do? He could not go North without informing Doris of the
+calamity. He could not trust the information to a letter. There he stood
+in the rain, cursing himself and imagining the cruel blow it would be to
+the girl. Suddenly he realised that no time must be lost. To wait until
+later in the evening would doom his chances of seeing Doris alone. He
+must return to the house at once--and as he took the first step, a car
+purred softly up to No. 13, and deposited Mrs. Lancaster. It was all up!
+To call now for the second time would rouse all manner of suspicions.
+
+An hour later, drenched and in despair, he entered a post office and
+telegraphed to Alan, postponing his visit for twenty-four hours. Then he
+went home, and after worrying his mother by making a miserable dinner,
+went forth again, and, having changed his mind, returned to Earl's Gate.
+Mrs. and Miss Lancaster, the servant informed him, had gone out for the
+evening. Thereupon he determined to resume his shadowing of Bullard, whom
+he could not help connecting, directly or indirectly, with his late
+assailant. On this occasion he went about the business with some
+boldness. At Bright's Hotel he made enquiry at the office, after assuring
+himself that Bullard was not in the lounge or its vicinity.
+
+"Mr. Bullard has gone to Paris for a couple of days," the clerk told him.
+"Left here twenty minutes ago."
+
+Teddy had his doubts. He visited a number of stations and spent a good
+deal of money on cab fares, but failed to obtain the smallest
+satisfaction. He finished up at the midnight train from King's Cross. Had
+he been able to be in two places at the same time, he would have got what
+he wanted at St. Pancras.
+
+In another part of the Midland train that carried Bullard North, sat the
+man Flitch, alias Dunning. Once more Bullard had need of his skill. He
+was decently clothed in ready-mades and almost recovered, roughly
+speaking, from his bout of the previous night. But he was full of
+melancholy. Bullard's fee for the opening of the Green Box, not to
+mention the small fortune annexed from Mr. Marvel, was all gone. What he
+had not lost over the cards had been stolen while he lay fuddled. Thus he
+had been ready enough for another job from his patron. The hapless
+Marvel, by the way, had been left secure in a dungeon-like cellar, with
+enough bread and water to keep body and soul together for a couple of
+days. Bullard had not had time to decide what to do with the creature.
+
+In the seclusion of his sleeping berth Bullard examined the Green Box,
+forcing it open with a bright little tool. He would get a new key for it
+in Glasgow on the morrow. He cursed his luck and Lancaster. It would have
+gone hard indeed with Lancaster but for the existence of Doris. But
+Bullard was an optimist in his way. He was far from being beaten. Before
+the train was twenty miles on its journey his head was on the pillow; two
+minutes later the busy, plotting brain was at rest--recovering energy and
+keenness for the next act.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+
+The night was fine but still very dark. An hour or so hence the moon at
+its full would make many things visible, and chiefly for that reason but
+also because he desired to return to London the same night, Bullard with
+his unsavoury companion, had arrived thus early at the gates of Grey
+House. Yet now it looked as though his programme would have to be
+abandoned, or, at any rate, drastically altered. For the house, as was
+plain to see, was occupied. There was no great display of lights, but a
+ruddy glow shone through the glazed inner door, and a thin white shaft
+fell from a slit between the drawn curtains of the familiar upper room.
+
+"Caw taking a look round, no doubt," remarked Bullard, recovering from
+his first annoyance. "Wonder where the beggar has his lodgings and how
+long he is likely to hang about.
+
+"Is the game up, mister?" asked the man at his elbow. "Cause if so,
+I'll just remind ye that I got to get paid, results or no results. Ye
+brought me here to open a door for ye, and 'tisn't my fault if the
+door's open already."
+
+"Shut up till I've thought a bit." After a pause, Bullard began: "Pay
+attention, Flitch--"
+
+"Not that name, damn ye!"
+
+"Idiot, then. I was going to say that I could have done with an hour or
+two in that house, but that a couple of minutes would be better than
+nothing--"
+
+"Couple o' minutes? That's easy--if ye don't mind a little risk."
+
+"I'm used to risks," said Bullard, shifting the Green Box to his other
+arm. "But it is vital that I go in and out without being seen."
+
+"Can't guarantee anything in this blasted rotten world," said Flitch,
+"but I think I can do the trick for you."
+
+"How?"
+
+"By bringin' whoever's in the house out at the back door while you slips
+in at the front."
+
+"Do you mean that you will knock at the back--"
+
+"Cheese it, mister! It's your turn to listen now. I've got in my pocket
+here a couple o' useful little articles which I never travels without
+when engaged on a job o' this sort--as I was pretty sure it was goin' to
+be. Them little articles is noisy, but ye can't have everything, even in
+Heaven, and as things has turned out now, they're just _it_." Mr. Flitch,
+at last in his element, paused to chuckle hoarsely.
+
+"Oh, hurry up. You're talking of explosives."
+
+"Go up one! Well, now, mister, suppose I sneaks up round to the back
+premises and fixes the pretty things all serene and comfortable to one of
+the outhouses, then lights the fuses and retires. In a little
+while--bang! bang! What price that for fetchin' yer friend out at the
+back door just to see if something hasn't maybe dropped off the
+clothes-line?"
+
+"I believe you've hit it," said Bullard after consideration. "How long do
+the fuses burn?"
+
+"Two minutes to a sec. The moment I've seen 'em go off proper I'll come
+back and wait for ye here, unless there's a chase, when I'll bolt for the
+car. Meanwhile you'll ha' crept up to near the house, ready to do yer bit
+as soon's ye hear yer friend movin'. It's chancey of course, but that's
+the sort o' trade it is. Better take this"--Flitch brought something from
+his breast-pocket--"in case the key's turned in that front door."
+
+"Thanks; I've got one. Now say it all again so that we have no
+misunderstandings."
+
+A few minutes later Bullard was crouching at the side of the steps beyond
+reach of the rosy light, his nerves taut, his whole being waiting for the
+signal. Smartly it came, and the stillness of the winter night was
+shattered.... Again!
+
+The sound of some one running downstairs reached his ears; next it came
+from the oak-floored hall, diminishing; then a door--possibly one with a
+spring--went shut with a smash. Silence for a brief space, then noise
+from the back of the house. It was now or never.
+
+Up the steps he bounded, yet halted to clean his boots on the mat. At
+that moment he thought he heard a cry, but nothing could stay him now.
+The shining tool in his clutch was unnecessary: the handle turned, the
+door opened. He sped across the hall and upstairs. Lights were burning in
+Christopher's old room; the pendulum of the clock scintillated as it
+swung. The fire burned cheerfully. There was a smell of Turkish tobacco.
+A book lay open on the writing table. Bullard noticed all these things
+and for an instant wavered and wondered. Without further pause, however,
+he placed the Green Box in its old refuge, carefully closed the drawer,
+and rose to go. Just for a moment the clock held him. Then he shook his
+fist at it and bolted. Closing the front door noiselessly after him, he
+went softly down the steps and across the gravel till he stepped upon the
+grass border, when he made swiftly, recklessly, for the gates.
+
+A yard from them he all but fell over Flitch. That gentleman was lying
+face downwards, in a perfect agony of terror, scrabbling the gravel,
+mumbling to the Almighty to save him.
+
+Bullard shook him, whispering savagely: "Get up, you fool! It's all
+right; we've done the trick--"
+
+"O God, don't let his ghost get me! He was the first I ever killed, O
+God, and I wanted the money bad--"
+
+"Curse you, Flitch! What the devil's the matter? If you won't come now, I
+must leave you to get caught--and that's the end of _you_!" Bullard
+gripped him by the collar and dragged him to his knees.
+
+And now Caw's voice was heard calling: "Mr. Alan, Mr. Alan, wait till I
+get another lamp."
+
+At that on Bullard's face the sweat broke thickly. With a gasp he let
+Flitch drop like a heavy sack, and started to run.
+
+Not far beyond the gates Flitch overtook him.
+
+Between thick sobs Flitch was moaning: "I heard his voice. 'Twas clear
+and strong. He's alive! ... I didn't kill him after all. Oh, God, I'm
+that thankful. I heard his voice. He's alive...."
+
+Bullard swung his hand backwards and smote the babbling mouth. "Idiot! Do
+you think there's no punishment for attempted murder?"
+
+"I'll confess--I'll confess to himself--and he'll forgive--"
+
+"Will you! Is attempted murder your only crime? Shut your crazy mouth
+now, or it will be the worse for you."
+
+And so, panting with exertion and passion, the fearful twain came to the
+car hidden in the wood. But Bullard was already recovering.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"No damage that I can see, except to the door of the garage," said Caw at
+last. "The car's all right."
+
+"We'd better take a turn round the house," answered Alan, "though it's a
+search-light that's wanted tonight."
+
+"Be careful, sir!"
+
+"Oh, nonsense! Whoever it was has cleared out long ago." He moved off in
+advance, and was turning the corner, flashing his torch into the
+shrubbery, when a pale figure flew out of the darkness.
+
+"You're safe!" cried a voice in tones of supreme relief. "Oh, but I was
+terrified for you!"
+
+"Miss Handyside!" A flash had shown him a white-face, wide eyes, parted
+lips--also a hand gripping a pretty revolver. His finger left the
+electric button. Impulsively he softly exclaimed: "Does it matter to you,
+my safety?"
+
+Darkness and a hush for the space of a long breath, and something
+happened to those two young people. Then Caw joined them.
+
+"What was it?" the girl enquired, almost coldly. "We heard shots, and I
+ran through the passage--father is following--and I came out by the front
+door, and--"
+
+"Weren't you afraid, miss?" Caw asked on a note of admiration.
+
+"Yes, but--" she halted.
+
+"The only thing that has happened, Miss Handyside, so far as we have
+discovered, is that some ass has been setting off fireworks against the
+garage door," said Alan. "Anyway, we can't do anything to-night. Let's go
+in and find Dr. Handyside. He'll be horribly anxious about you."
+
+"There will be a moon shortly," Caw remarked, "and I'll take a look round
+then, Mr. Alan."
+
+"Right! Let us have something hot--coffee and so on--upstairs."
+
+"Very good, sir. Your pardon, miss, but that nice pistol--"
+
+"Oh, _would_ you take it away from me, Caw?" she sighed. "Keep it till I
+ask for it."
+
+"Thank you, miss." Caw received the little weapon.
+
+It was, of course, utterly absurd, but at the moment Alan felt annoyed
+with his servant.
+
+They found the doctor starting to negotiate the stair.
+
+"Ah," he cried, "glad to see you! What the dickens are your friends
+after this time, Alan? Stealing your coals for a change?" He laughed,
+but one could have seen that he was immensely relieved by the sight of
+his daughter.
+
+Together they spent a couple of hours in the study and discussed a dozen
+theories. Perhaps Alan had least to say for himself. He was inclined to
+be absent-minded. On the other hand, he discovered, after a while, that
+he was disposed to look rather too frequently in the direction of his
+girl guest. Left to himself, he became aware that his plan for the
+immediate future was not altogether satisfactory. It was too late now to
+ask Teddy to delay his already postponed visit, but had that been
+feasible he would have made up his mind to start for London in the
+morning. Doris was in London, and his desire was towards her--or was it
+partly his duty?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+
+"So that's my story up to date," said Alan, and took out his pipe.
+
+"And a very pretty story it is," returned Teddy, "if only there didn't
+need to be a sequel, old man. Of course, you can't possibly let the
+matter drop. I wouldn't myself."
+
+The two friends were seated in the study of Grey House. The November
+twilight was failing. Teddy had arrived early in the day, and since then
+they had spent few silent moments together.
+
+At the outset Teddy had forgotten all his troubles in the joy of the
+resumed intercourse, but before long even the tale of Alan's adventures
+had not served to keep them in abeyance--especially the thoughts of
+Doris. Teddy would never forget that interview when he had confessed to
+the losing of the Green Box. It had been a stunning blow to the girl who
+had considered only the disaster it entailed for her father. For Teddy
+she had had no reproaches, only gentleness. "You must have had a very
+wretched night," she said kindly. "Now we can only wait and see what
+happens. You must not worry too much."
+
+"If I were sure Bullard had it, I'd go this minute and offer every penny
+I have," Teddy desperately declared.
+
+"I cannot imagine Mr. Bullard wanting the box for what it might be worth
+in money," she said; "I'm afraid he may use it in some way against
+father--and poor father was almost happy last night.--Oh, Teddy, I didn't
+mean to hurt you, you've done your best." He had turned away because
+there were tears in his eyes.
+
+"Has Mr. Lancaster told you," he asked presently, "whether money would
+break the power of Bullard over him?"
+
+After a little while her reply came in a whisper: "Yes; but it's an
+impossible sum--twenty-five thousand pounds." Teddy let out a groan, and
+just then Mrs. Lancaster had intervened.
+
+"Yes," Alan was saying, "I'm going to make a big effort to find
+Mr. Flitch."
+
+"He isn't by any chance a smallish dark man with a queer nose?"
+
+"He's a huge, ruddy man--but what made you ask, Teddy?"
+
+"I'll come to that when I'm telling you my little story of how I tried to
+shadow Bullard."
+
+"Shadow Bullard! Good Heavens!--you!"
+
+"Something to do in my spare time," said Teddy with a feeble smile.
+
+The host eyed him in the firelight. "You don't feel like telling it just
+at once, do you?" he enquired kindly. He had been thinking his friend was
+looking none too fit.
+
+"Oh, I don't mind, Alan, if you care to have it now."
+
+"I admit curiosity. Is there anything to prevent your telling it in Caw's
+presence? Be quite candid--"
+
+"Caw is welcome to it."
+
+"Thanks," Alan rang the bell. "Caw and I have a good many gaps in
+our knowledge, and it's just possible that you may be able to fill
+some for us."
+
+"I've found out next to nothing definite except that Bullard is a rank
+liar; but I'm determined to go on with the shadowing--"
+
+Caw appeared, and was about to remove the tea-tray.
+
+"Never mind that just now," said Alan. "Give us lights, sit down, and
+listen to what Mr. France has to say.... Go ahead, Teddy. We'll keep
+quiet till you've finished."
+
+Teddy's, as we should have expected, was not a very long story. At its
+conclusion Alan turned to the servant.
+
+"Well, Caw?"
+
+"Am I to speak, sir? Very good. Then I will only say two things. Firstly,
+I was a very great fool to be taken in by Mr. Bullard's wire from Paris:
+I ought to have considered the chance of his having an assistant over
+there. Secondly, the man with the nose, sir, is Edwin Marvel, an uncommon
+bad egg, if I may say so, known to my master in the old days; and I am
+inclined to think that Mr. Bullard employed him to pinch--beg pardon,
+obtain--the Green Box, though I do not believe for a moment that Mr.
+Bullard trusted him far with it."
+
+"You are convinced then that Bullard has the box now?" said Alan.
+
+"If I hadn't been convinced before--which I was, Mr. Alan--Mr. France's
+remarks would have satisfied me. If I may ask, Mr. France, what do you
+think about it yourself?"
+
+Poor Teddy! He would fain have abandoned concealment there and then, but
+all he sadly permitted himself to say was: "If Bullard hasn't got it, who
+has?" In the same breath he asked: "But why was the confounded thing not
+kept in a safe place?"
+
+"By my uncle's orders it was kept in a drawer in that table. One might be
+pardoned for fancying that the whole affair is a sort of game--and rather
+a silly one at that," Alan said, a trifle irritably. "But for Caw's
+assurance to the contrary I'd refuse to believe that the box contained
+anything worth having. My uncle was not a fool, and yet--"
+
+Caw, who could not endure hearing his late master's methods called in
+question, interrupted gently: "Pardon, sir, but possibly Mr. France might
+care to see where the box was kept."
+
+"Show him, then."
+
+The servant got up and went to the writing-table. "In this drawer,"
+he began, stooping, and drew it open.... "Good God, Mr. Alan, the
+box is back!"
+
+Alan jumped while Teddy sat down on the nearest seat.
+
+Alan was first to speak. "What we want at once," said he, "is a
+locksmith."
+
+"A locksmith, sir!" ejaculated Caw, his countenance expressing the
+liveliest horror.
+
+"Of course! We must have the box opened, though we can hardly expect to
+find anything in it at this time of day."
+
+"But--but my master's wishes, Mr. Alan!"
+
+Alan suppressed a strong word. "You mean that we ought not to open it
+until the clock stops?"
+
+"Sir," said Caw, "if my master meant anything when he bade me throw the
+key into the loch, I am sure he meant the box to remain closed until
+the time appointed for the ending of my service to him. Besides, he
+told me--"
+
+"But hang it all! he did not foresee an emergency like this!"
+
+"I cannot say, sir. At any rate, it is not for me to question his wisdom.
+I am in your service, Mr. Alan, and proud of it, but I am also in his,
+until the clock stops--and so I beg of you very kindly, sir, not to put
+me in a position that might make me seem disrespectful to the wishes of
+yourself or him." The little speech was delivered with such quiet dignity
+and withal in such frank appeal that Alan was touched.
+
+"Upon my word, Caw," he said warmly, "you're the right sort! All the
+same, it's a horribly annoying situation. I must think it over."
+Suddenly, with a laugh, he turned and shook his fist at the clock.
+"Confound you! can't you get a big move on?"
+
+"If I may say so," said the servant, "I sympathise with you, Mr. Alan,
+regarding that clock. The only reason, I think, for its being made to go
+for a year was to allow time for your return. And now within a fortnight
+of its starting, here you are, sir, safe and sound!"
+
+Teddy roused himself. "Is there any reason why it should not be stopped
+before its time?" he enquired.
+
+Caw's mouth opened. "My master's orders" was on his tongue. And yet, as
+he had just said in other words, the object of the clock's existence, so
+far as he knew it, had been already attained. "So far as he knew
+it!"--that was the clause that stuck.
+
+"Well, Caw?" said Alan, "what were you going to say?"
+
+Caw shook his head. "I haven't knowledge enough to answer either 'yes' or
+'no.' I have imagined, Mr. Alan, that that clock may be doing more than
+just telling the time. Sometimes, indeed, I think it--it _knows_
+something."
+
+At that moment a bell rang in the distance. "Excuse me, sir," said Caw
+and went out.
+
+"What's the man driving at?" said Alan with natural enough impatience.
+
+"Well," his friend replied slowly, "doesn't it seem queer that the clock
+should have been put there simply to proclaim when the year was up? A
+grocer's calendar could have done that much--"
+
+"By Jove!" Christopher's nephew strode across the room and stood staring
+at the timepiece. "Teddy," he said at last, "if it weren't for that
+blighted Green Box, I'd be imagining all sorts of--"
+
+Caw entered with a telegram on a tray. "For you, Mr. France," he said,
+presenting it. "The messenger waits."
+
+Teddy read and went rather pale.
+
+"Not bad news, old man?" Alan asked, coming over.
+
+"Yes, it's bad--and yet it might have been worse. Read it. Don't go,
+Caw--or rather, ask the messenger to wait--"
+
+"We'll ring for you, Caw," said Alan.
+
+The message in his hand ran on to a second sheet, and was as follows:
+
+"Father has heard of Alan's return from B. The shock was too much, but
+though weak he is very glad. But I fear for him. Tell Alan whatever you
+think desirable. This is a last resort. Reply Queen's Road P.O.
+
+"DORIS."
+
+In Alan's heart an angry question flared up and went out. Why this appeal
+to Teddy? Nay, enough that she needed help. Besides, she might not have
+felt at liberty to address him direct. He looked up with a tender
+expression and met his friend's eye--good honest eyes that were bound to
+betray a secret such as Teddy's.... It struck Alan then that his return
+to home life might have consequences more momentous than he had dreamed
+of. With a slight flush on his tanned skin he went back to his chair by
+the fire, and, motioning Teddy to one opposite, said:--
+
+"Just do what Doris says, old man. Tell me whatever you think desirable,
+and no more. And before you begin, I'll remind you that in all our talk
+to-day I have never once uttered a word against Lancaster. The man has
+been simply the victim, the tool, of Bullard. Caw thinks the same, and my
+uncle said as much just before he died. You and I know that he is no
+villain. And why delay sending an answer to this wire? There can be only
+one answer. You'll find forms on the table."
+
+"Won't you send it, Alan?"
+
+"I'll send one to Lancaster himself."
+
+"Better not."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Mrs. Lancaster is on Bullard's side."
+
+"Ah!"
+
+"Besides," Teddy continued, rather awkwardly, "I feel that you ought to
+hear what I have to say before you promise Lancaster--"
+
+"I was merely going to ask him not to worry about anything."
+
+"Exactly! But I had better tell you at once that in order to follow your
+advice Lancaster would require to have twenty-five thousand pounds."
+
+Alan gave a soft whistle. Then he laughed pleasantly. "You may tell Doris
+to tell him not to worry about anything. I'm owing him fifteen hundred
+and interest as it is."
+
+"Alan!" cried Teddy, incredulous; "you don't really--"
+
+"Oh, shut up! Put it any way you like, but don't keep Doris waiting.
+Listen! How will this do? 'Tell father with Alan's regards, no cause for
+anxiety in any direction, and he hopes to see you both almost
+immediately. Guard this from B.' ... Anything else?"
+
+"I--I'd like to mention that the box is here."
+
+"The box! But what in creation does Doris know--"
+
+"I'll be telling you in a minute," Teddy interrupted, looking hot and
+miserable.
+
+"All right. Go ahead."
+
+Teddy added to the message: "Surprised to find box safe here." Then, with
+his pencil dabbing the blotting-paper, he said: "Alan, if you don't mind
+my suggesting it, I think she'd like a word from you--for herself." He
+had evidently forgotten that he had brought no "word" for Alan.
+
+The latter did not reply at once. "You might put," he said slowly, his
+gaze on the fire, "'Trust Alan,' or words to that effect--No, don't say
+anything."
+
+Teddy gave him a puzzled glance, sighed, and completed the message.
+
+Alan rang the bell, remarking: "Caw will be interested to know that it
+was Bullard who was here last night with his petards. Pretty clever chap,
+Bullard. But what on earth made him return the box?"
+
+"I can tell you that also," said Teddy, as Caw came in for the telegram.
+
+"Quick as you can, Caw," Alan said. "Mr. France has more to tell us."
+
+The friends smoked in silence till the servant came back.
+
+This time Teddy reserved nothing save Doris's promise to marry Bullard at
+the end of a year. That, he felt, was for Doris herself to tell. Beyond
+an occasional exclamation his recital met with no interruption. When he
+had made an end there was a long pause while Alan and Caw filled up
+mentally a few more of the gaps in their knowledge. The latter was sadly
+upset by the revelation of the stones being paste.
+
+"I wonder," said the former, "who the man was who opened the box
+for Bullard?"
+
+"Lancaster, I fancy, will be able to tell you. Bullard seems to have
+rather a choice set of assistants. Doris described him as a
+dreadful-looking man!"
+
+"May I ask you a question, Mr. Alan?"
+
+"Certainly--as many as you like."
+
+The servant was gazing at the carpet. "When Mr. France informed us that
+the diamonds in the Green Box were false, why, sir, did your eyes jump to
+the clock?" He rose without waiting for the answer. "And may I remind
+you, gentlemen, that you are dining at Dr. Handyside's in twenty minutes
+from now?" He was going out when Alan recalled him.
+
+"Have you the address of the chap who made the clock, Caw?"
+
+"I have, sir."
+
+"Then wire him now asking him to come here in the morning. And, by the
+way, Caw--" Alan hesitated.
+
+"Sir?"
+
+"You don't mind being left alone this evening?"
+
+"No, sir. I hardly expect that anything will happen _this_ evening.
+Besides, it is evidently known now that you are at home. Also, which
+I omitted to mention before, there is the bell wire to Dr.
+Handyside's study."
+
+"Then that's all right," Alan said, not without relief, "and you'll have
+that big dog by to-morrow or next day."
+
+Caw bowed and went out.
+
+"You didn't answer his question about the clock," remarked Teddy.
+
+"Confound the clock!" Alan laughed and got up. "For a moment I had a mad
+idea that--well, never mind for the present. We don't want to be late
+next door."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+
+Bullard was still in Glasgow. The return of Alan Craig--for he had soon
+come to laugh at Marvel's story--had been a staggering blow. The will, by
+which he had reckoned to win, should all other means fail, was become a
+sheet of waste paper. Moreover, the "other means" were almost certainly
+rendered impracticable by the presence of Alan at Grey House. Those,
+however, were only his first thoughts.
+
+The car bearing him and the shivering Flitch from the scene of their
+success and consternation was not ten miles on its way when his nerves
+and mind began to regain their normal steadiness and order. Another five
+miles, and the germ of a fresh plot began to swell in his brain--perhaps
+the ugliest, grimmest plot yet conceived and developed in that defiled
+temple. It was a crude plot, too, and quite unworthy of Francis Bullard,
+as he would have realised for himself had he not been obsessed by the new
+conviction that the real diamonds, now virtually Alan's, were hidden in
+the clock in that upper room. Further, it contained a serious flaw, in
+that it allowed nothing for the possibility of Alan's making a fresh
+will. And finally, if one may be permitted to put the primary objection
+last, it depended on the possession of the Green Box which had just
+passed from his keeping.
+
+Nevertheless, commonsense like conscience failed to condemn the scheme,
+and Bullard drove into Glasgow with his mind made up.
+
+An awkward situation was now created by the presence of Flitch. Bullard
+dared not, for more reasons than one, let the creature go his own ways,
+and eventually, swallowing his disgust, he took a double-room in a
+third-rate temperance hotel, giving the landlord a hint to the effect
+that he was shepherding a semi-reformed dipsomaniac. It was a long night
+for Bullard, and probably the same for Flitch who between dozes either
+prayed for Heaven's mercy, or groaned for anybody's whisky.
+
+On the morrow, fortunately for Bullard's plans, the wretch had apparently
+got over his penitence and was certainly none the worse of his short
+spell of compulsory abstinence. All the same, Bullard on going out, after
+Flitch's breakfast, to enjoy his own elsewhere, locked the latter into
+the bedroom, which was on the third floor. First of all he despatched to
+Lancaster a telegram brutal in its curtness: "Alan Craig is at Grey
+House." Later he made a number of purchases in places not much patronised
+by the general public, then took a room at the North British Hotel
+wherein he shut himself until lunch time. Having enjoyed a carefully
+chosen meal, he returned to his inferior lodging and permitted the
+captive to feed. Thereafter a hushed and lengthy conversation took place
+in the frowsy bedroom. At times Flitch objected, at times he pleaded, and
+in the end was bullied into sullen acquiescence.
+
+"And I've got to stick in this hole till it suits ye, have I?" he
+grumbled.
+
+"Just so. Pity you're not fond of reading. I see there's a Bible on the
+dressing-table," Bullard said airily. "But it won't be for more than a
+day or two--three at the outside. I must be back in London on Monday
+morning whether we pull it off or not."
+
+"Monday! But look here, mister, what about that chap we left chained up
+in the cellar?"
+
+Bullard had forgotten, for the time being, about the ill-starred Marvel,
+but the reminder did not trouble him. Marvel out of the way for good
+would not be a happening to regret. "I daresay our friend will have an
+appetite by Monday," he remarked, playing with the nugget.
+
+"He'll be dead! I'd bet anything he's eaten his bit by now, and yon's a
+hellish cold place in this weather. If I'd known murder was yer game, Mr.
+Bullard--"
+
+"That'll do. You can leave the matter to me. Do you want to get out of
+this country or not, Flitch?"
+
+"God knows I do!"
+
+"Then you know who is the only person who can help you to go. Don't be a
+fool. Good afternoon!"
+
+He took a cab to the North British Hotel. On alighting, a newsboy offered
+him a paper. He was passing on when his eye was caught by the
+bill--"Serious Rioting on the Rand." He bought a paper and with set
+countenance made his way to the writing-room off the lounge. At that hour
+the place was deserted, and in the furthest corner he seated himself and
+opened the paper. Trouble had been threatening on the Rand for some time,
+but Bullard was quite unprepared for a catastrophe such as he was now
+called upon to face. The details were few but fateful. Thus:--
+
+"The group of mines controlled by the Aasvogel Syndicate are the chief
+sufferers so far. Dynamite was freely used, and power-houses, batteries
+and cyanide-houses present scenes of hopeless ruin. The shafts, it is
+stated, are destroyed. Several persons on the staff of the Lucifer Mine
+are unaccounted for. At the moment of cabling fires are raging in several
+quarters."
+
+For several minutes after he had mastered the significance of it all,
+Bullard sat perfectly still. There was a curious pallor about his mouth
+and he had a shaken, shrunken look generally. Letting the paper slip to
+the floor he rang the bell, and, when the waiter arrived, ordered tea.
+"But first fetch me some telegraph forms," he said.
+
+A busy hour followed. Keenly considered and reconsidered messages had to
+be written for despatch to his private brokers as well as to those who
+acted for the Syndicate, and to the Syndicate's secretary. By prompt
+action something--a good deal perhaps--might be saved from the
+wreckage--for himself. For others he had no thought. "This finishes
+Lancaster," he said to himself; "he'll have to face the music, after
+all." He sighed. "Means losing Doris, perhaps...."
+
+The fates, it seemed, were conspiring to force his hand. It was now
+imperative that he should be in London by the following night, at latest.
+He foresaw a journey to South Africa, a long stay there. Was he going to
+be compelled to abandon his greatly daring new scheme? Why, the new
+scheme was a hundred times more urgent, more vital than it had been a
+couple of hours ago! And yet it would be sheer madness to attempt to
+carry it out to-night--unless the unlikely happened. He looked up at the
+clock--five-twenty already!--and murmured "impossible."
+
+His reflections were disturbed by the sing-song voice of a page-boy
+coming through the lounge.
+
+"Number one hundred and seventy-four," it droned, "number one
+hundred and--"
+
+Bullard darted to the door. "Here, boy," he called a trifle hoarsely,
+holding out his hand.
+
+A moment later he was opening an envelope. There was nothing in it. He
+dropped it upon the fire, took his coat and hat, and left the hotel by
+the station door.
+
+At a corner of the bookstall, at which hurried suburban passengers were
+grabbing evening papers, a youngish man in a bowler hat, of wholly
+undistinguished appearance, was apparently engrossed in the study of
+picture postcards, but he turned as Bullard approached, and presently the
+two were strolling up No. 3 platform.
+
+"Well, sir, I've hardly had time to do much, but I thought I had better
+report what little I've gathered," said the youngish man. "It doesn't
+seem very important--"
+
+"Go ahead," said Bullard impatiently.
+
+"Right, Mr. Warren. Mr. Craig and his friend--"
+
+"His friend?"
+
+"Sorry I didn't get the name to-day--but--"
+
+"Never mind! Go on!"
+
+"Mr. Craig and his friend are dining to-night at the house next door--Dr.
+Handyside's--"
+
+"Ah! How did you learn that?"
+
+"The doctor's housekeeper. She wouldn't have her photo taken, but she
+didn't object to a chat." The youngish man smiled to himself. Evidently
+his news was worth more than he had anticipated.
+
+"Sure it's to-night?"
+
+"Absolutely, Mr. Warren."
+
+"Anything further?"
+
+"I'm afraid not, sir. You must understand--"
+
+"Thanks. Well, Mr. Barry, I've decided to let the matter drop for
+the present."
+
+The private detective's face fell. He had been congratulating himself
+on having secured a "good thing." But he brightened at his patron's
+next words.
+
+"Will ten pounds satisfy you?"
+
+"Why, sir, it's very good of you!"
+
+Bullard passed him a couple of notes. "I may want your services later.
+Good-bye."
+
+Re-entering the hotel he passed through to the door opening on the
+Square, had a cab summoned, and drove to his lodging of the
+previous night.
+
+"Wake up, Dunning! I've remembered your name this time, you see! We'll be
+in London to-morrow! Meanwhile, to business! If you're hungry, you can
+have something to eat in the car."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Alan and Teddy took the long way to the doctor's; a breath of fresh air
+was desirable after so many hours indoors. Though dark the night was
+fine, with a suspicion of frost in the air. Having seen them depart, Caw
+turned the key in the glass door. He went upstairs and methodically
+switched off all unnecessary lights and supplied the study fire with
+fuel. He was meditating on the return of the Green Box and the no less
+startling revelation concerning its contents, and just to reassure
+himself he opened the deep drawer. There it lay, the familiar, maddening
+thing! "I guess they won't bother their heads about _you_ again," he
+reflected, "but I wonder what they'll go for next?" He paused before the
+clock and wagged his head. "We'll have to keep an eye on you, my
+friend," he muttered, then switched off the last light, and went down to
+his supper.
+
+He was enjoying his first pipe when the bell rang.
+
+"Another wire, I should say," he sighed, getting up reluctantly. "Wonder
+whether I should ring or take it along. They can hardly have finished
+dinner yet," He put his hand in his pocket and felt his revolver. "Shan't
+be caught napping, anyway."
+
+He went briskly down the hall and opened the door. He had a bare glimpse
+of a big, burly figure--and then a dense fine spray of intense odour
+caught him full in the face. Blindly he sought to bang the door, but
+staggered sideways in an agony of gasping and weeping. He fell, clawing
+at the wall, and lay stupefied, at the mercy of the unknown, who
+promptly proceeded with whipcord to truss him up both neatly and
+securely. Then he was gagged, drawn into the room on the right, the
+dining-room, and locked in.
+
+Flitch went back to the front door and waved his hand, and Bullard,
+carrying a small black bag, appeared out of the darkness.
+
+"Get back to the car," he said. "I shan't be long." He closed and locked
+the door on his assistant and went swiftly upstairs. He was not thirty
+seconds gone, when Flitch followed stealthily in his wake. It was nothing
+to Flitch to turn an ordinary key from the other side.
+
+In the study Bullard switched on the light over the writing-table.
+Opening his bag he took out the contents--an oblong package in waterproof
+paper sealed with wax in several places, with the short ends of three
+broad tapes protruding from the top, and a tube of liquid glue. He opened
+the deep drawer, and after noting the precise position of the Green Box,
+drew it forth and set it on the table. He wrought rapidly but without
+flurry. Opening the box with the key he had procured in Glasgow the
+previous day, he transferred its contents, trays and all, to his bag.
+"Looks as if they hadn't discovered it yet," he thought. Then over the
+bottom of the box he squeezed a goodly quantity of glue. He placed the
+package in the box, cautiously pressing it down. He lowered the lid and
+found that a slight pressure was required for its complete closing. This
+seemed to please him. Raising the lid again, he placed a sheet of
+notepaper between the tapes and the waterproof paper and smeared the
+tapes thickly with glue. For a brief space he regarded his handiwork,
+then put down the lid, forcing it gently until the key turned.
+Withdrawing the key, he replaced the box exactly as he had found it, and
+finally, after consideration, dropped the key in beside it.
+
+He wiped sweat from his forehead. He felt faintish, and perhaps
+conscience was whispering for the last time. But without lingering,
+taking his bag, he turned away from the table and stood gazing at the
+clock. The flashing pendulum exasperated him with its suggestion. He was
+tempted to smash the thick glass there and then. Only that mysterious,
+sluggish, iridescent fluid deterred him. The cruel man is usually
+exceedingly sensitive about his own skin. But with an inspiration he made
+a note of the words minutely engraved on the rim surrounding the
+dial--"A. Guidet, Glasgow." Then with a curse he departed.
+
+On reaching the car he found Flitch in a dismal state.
+
+"Mr. Bullard," moaned the creature, "will ye tell me what was in the bag
+that ye carried it so careful? Will ye swear this is the last job ye'll
+ever make me do?"
+
+"Oh, shut up!" was the answer, followed by the unspoken words; "I must
+get rid of this swine, somehow."
+
+They made good time to Glasgow and caught the late express for London.
+Before the train started Bullard posted a note to Barry, the detective:
+"Find out and wire me the address of A. Guidet, a clockmaker, in
+Glasgow.--Warren."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+
+Morning brought a telegram from Monsieur Guidet, and a couple of hours
+later the little Frenchman arrived at Grey House in a sorry state of
+apprehension. The clock!--impossible that he could have failed in any
+way!--there must have been gross and deliberate ill-usage! ... and many
+more words to the same effect. When he stopped for breath Caw assured him
+that there was nothing wrong with the clock and mentioned why and by whom
+the summons had been sent him. Whereupon Monsieur went frantic. "Stop the
+clock--nevaire!--what crime to think of!--the clock must not stop till he
+stop himself!"
+
+"All right, Monsoor, you can explain all that to Mr. Alan Craig. The
+clock, like everything else here, belongs to him now,--and I happen to
+have a headache this morning."
+
+"Hah! you have rejoice at the return of the young Mr. Craik," said
+Guidet, controlling himself and sympathetically considering Caw's red
+eyes and husky voice. "Good!--but you look upon the wine when he was
+wheesky, and there is not so much jolly good fellow in the
+morning--eh, Mr. Caw?"
+
+"Oh, yes, we've been doing a lot of rejoicing--I don't think," returned
+Caw with weary good humour. Thanks to Handyside's attentions he was not
+much the worse of the spray which had been more efficacious than
+virulent. Within half an hour he had managed to attract the attention of
+the house-keeper who had given the alarm. What had puzzled every one
+concerned was that the attempt should have ended as it had begun with the
+assault on the servant. Nothing had been touched. "Must have taken
+fright," was the only conclusion arrived at after a thorough search and
+rather a discursive consultation.
+
+Caw ushered the clock-maker into the study. Handyside and Marjorie were
+present by invitation.
+
+"You had better wait, Caw," said Alan. "Be seated, Monsieur Guidet. Many
+thanks for coming so promptly."
+
+Monsieur bowed solemnly to each person, looked for a moment as if he
+were going to bow to his masterpiece also, and took the chair
+preferred by Caw.
+
+"It was my dutiful pleasure to come with speed, Mr. Craik, for sake of
+your high respectable uncle, and I am at his service, I hope, when I am
+at yours."
+
+Alan gave the embarrassed nod of the average Briton listening to an
+ordinary observation elegantly expressed. "Very good of you, I'm sure.
+Well, I suppose Caw has told you why we have troubled you--simply to have
+your opinion as to stopping the clock now, instead of allowing it to go
+on for nearly a year."
+
+Obvious was the effort with which Monsieur Guidet restrained his feelings
+while he enquired whether the clock had been annoying anybody.
+
+"By no means," Alan answered, wondering how much the man knew. "But my
+friends and I have come to the conclusion that certain annoyances will
+not stop until the clock does. I hesitate to ask you questions,
+Monsieur Guidet--"
+
+"I beg that you will not do so, Mr. Craik. I have leetle knowledge, but
+it is discreet and confiding. But in one thing I am sure: your reverent"
+(possibly he meant "revered") "uncle did not mean the clock to bring
+annoyance to you and your friends. No, sir!"
+
+"In that case, I should imagine he would have wished it to stop as soon
+as possible. Caw assures me that the main object in making the clock to
+go for a whole year was to allow time for my return before certain wishes
+of my uncle took effect. You take my meaning?"
+
+"I do, sir; and though the late Mr. Craik did not remark it so to me, I
+can believe such a thing was in his brains at the time. But to stop the
+clock before he has finished his course--that is another story, sir!"
+
+Teddy put in a word. "Dangerous, Monsieur?"
+
+"Why do you ask such a question, sir?"
+
+"My friend probably refers to the notice and to the green fluid,"
+said Alan.
+
+"Monsieur," cried Marjorie, "may I guess what the danger is?"
+
+"Hush, Marjorie!" muttered her father.
+
+Monsieur gave her a beautiful smile and a charming bow. "Mademoiselle,"
+he said sweetly, "is welcome to one hundred thousand guesses."
+
+With that there fell a silence. It was broken by Caw.
+
+"If I may say so, Monsoor seems to have forgotten that the clock is the
+property of Mr. Alan Craig, and therefore--"
+
+"Mr. Caw," said Guidet quickly, "because I remember that, I say what I
+say; I refuse what I refuse."
+
+"Come, Monsieur," said Alan, "it is an open secret that that clock is
+more than a time-keeper."
+
+"Myself would almost suspect so much." He said it so quaintly that a
+smile went round. Caw alone preserved a stolid expression.
+
+"Monsoor," he said very quietly, "I respectfully ask the lady and the
+gentleman here present to bear witness to a promise which I am ready to
+put in writing. ... If I am alive when that clock stops, about a year
+hence, I will pay you, Monsoor, a thousand pounds."
+
+Guidet sprang up and sat down again. He appealed to Alan. "What does he
+mean, Mr. Craik?"
+
+"He means," Alan answered, "that whatever possible danger there may be in
+stopping the clock, there is very probable danger in letting it go on. Is
+that it, Caw?"
+
+"Yes, Mr. Alan, and I hope you will believe that my remark was not
+entirely selfish."
+
+"The trouble, Monsieur," added Alan, "is that like yourself I cannot
+answer questions."
+
+"One, if you please, Mr. Craik. Is the danger for you also?"
+
+Alan smiled. "I'm not worrying much--"
+
+Marjorie interposed. "Yes, yes, Monsieur!" she exclaimed, and hastily
+lowered a flushed face.
+
+The Frenchman was plainly distressed. "This," he said at last, "was not
+expected. I perceive that you have enemies, that my esteemed patron had
+enemies also. Not so bad did I understand it to be. I imagined Mr.
+Christopher Craik was humourist as well as clever man--"
+
+"So he was," the host interrupted; "but the ball he set rolling is now
+doing so more violently than I can believe he intended. Still, if
+stopping the clock before its time is likely to stultify his memory in
+any way--why then, Monsieur, I, for one, will do my best to keep it
+going. What do you say, Caw?"
+
+"If that is how you feel, sir, then I say, 'long live the clock!'"
+
+"Hear, hear!" murmured Teddy.
+
+"Caw," cried Miss Handyside, "you're simply splendid!"
+
+Caw had not blushed so warmly for many years.
+
+Guidet, pale and perturbed, had taken a little book from his pocket and
+opened it at a page of tiny figures close-packed. Now he rose. "If I may
+go to a quiet place for one half-hour, I--I will see if anything can be
+done, Mr. Craik, but I promise nothings."
+
+"See that Monsieur Guidet has quietness and some refreshment," said Alan
+to the servant, and the two left the room.
+
+"Let's go for a walk," remarked Teddy. "This clock business is getting on
+my nerves. I shall never again wear socks with--"
+
+"But I do think," said Marjorie hopefully, "the funny little man means to
+do something."
+
+Dr. Handyside got up and strolled over to the clock. "Monsieur Guidet,"
+he observed, "has evidently the sensibilities of an artist as well as the
+ordinary feelings of humanity. Caw has appealed to the latter. If I were
+you, Alan, I should appeal to the former by suggesting to Guidet the
+probability of an attack on the clock itself."
+
+On the way out-of-doors, Alan looked into the room where the Frenchman
+sat staring at a diagram roughly drawn on notepaper. He wagged his
+head drearily.
+
+"I fear I can do nothings," he sighed.
+
+"Perhaps I ought to mention, Monsieur," Alan said, as if the idea had
+just occurred to him, "that my enemies are just as likely to attack the
+clock as my person--more likely, it may be."
+
+"Hah!" Guidet bounded on his seat. "My clock!--They dare to attack
+him!--"
+
+"Possibly with explosives--"
+
+"Enough! Pray leave me, Mr. Craik. I--I may yet find a way. Give me a
+whole hour."
+
+During the walk up the loch Teddy actually forgot the clock. Alan and
+Marjorie were in front, and he noted his friend's bearing towards the
+girl with a pained wonder, and thought of Doris.
+
+On returning to the house they found Monsieur waiting for them. He held
+a sheaf of papers covered with queer drawings and calculations. And he
+hung his head.
+
+"Mr. Craik," he said sadly, "I have struggle, but it is no use. I see an
+hour, thirteen days after to-day, when perhaps I _might_ stop him without
+disaster--but only perhaps--only perhaps. And so I dare not, will not
+risk. One leetle, tiny mistake of a second, and"--he made an expressive
+gesture--"all is lost."
+
+The silence of dismay was broken by Handyside.
+
+"But bless my soul, Monsieur Guidet, if you stop him at the wrong time,
+you can easily set him going again."
+
+"Not so! He stop once, he stop for ever."
+
+"But," cried Marjorie excitedly, "although you stop him--the clock, I
+mean--it will still be there; it won't fly away."
+
+The little man regarded her for a moment. "Mademoiselle," he said and
+bowed, "he will be done--finished--dead. I will say no more." He turned
+to Alan. "Mr. Craik, I am sorry to be not obliging to you. Yes; and I
+confess I am nearly more sorry for myself. But I hope the time comes when
+you will understand and excuse. The good God preserve you and him--and
+Mr. Caw--from enemies." He bowed all round. "Adieu."
+
+And so ended the little company's great expectations.
+
+"I suppose there's nothing for it but to hang on," said Alan with a
+laugh, "and get used to the situation. I think you, Teddy, had better
+chuck your berth in London, live here, and help me to write that book on
+my Eskimo experiences."
+
+"Very pleased," replied Teddy, "if you don't mind my having the jumps
+once a while."
+
+"Oh, do come and stay with Mr. Craig," said Marjorie in her impulsive
+fashion, which annoyed Teddy chiefly because he was forced to confess it
+charming. He disapproved of the proprietary interest she seemed to take
+in his friend, and yet had circumstances been a little different, how he
+would have welcomed it!
+
+"A very good notion," observed Handyside. "The clock can't have too many
+guardians, and I don't imagine you would care to bring in strangers."
+
+"Not to be thought of," replied Alan. "But I'm sorry for Caw. Teddy and I
+must leave him alone for a few days. We're catching the two o'clock
+steamer. Things to see about in Glasgow, and on to London in the morning.
+I'm hoping the big dog may turn up to-day."
+
+Marjorie gave her father a surreptitious nudge.
+
+"I don't like intruding my services," said the doctor, "but I should be
+very glad to spend the nights here during your absence--"
+
+"Me, too," said Marjorie.
+
+"Be quiet, infant! Just be candid, Alan."
+
+"I'd be jolly glad to think of Caw having your support, doctor," the
+young man heartily answered, "but it would be accepting too much. I have
+no right to bring you into my troubles--"
+
+"Then that's settled," said Handyside. "I hope you don't mind my saying
+it, but I've felt a new man since I learned that the stones were false.
+Marjorie and I must be going now, and there's only one thing I want to be
+sure of before we part."
+
+"What is that, doctor?"
+
+"I want to be sure that the Green Box is in its place."
+
+They all laughed. "That's easy!" Alan opened the drawer. "Behold!--just
+where it was last night."
+
+Marjorie's hand darted downward. "What key is this?" she cried,
+holding it up.
+
+"By Jove!" he exclaimed. "I could swear that wasn't there last night."
+
+"Might have been lying in the shadow," Teddy suggested. "It's a new key."
+
+"Oh, do try it in the box!"
+
+"I think we may do that much." Alan lifted the box to the table. "Try it
+yourself, Miss Handyside."
+
+"It fits!--it turns! Oh, Mr. Craig, just one little peep inside!"
+
+"Against the rules," said Teddy, burning with curiosity.
+
+"What rules?"
+
+"We decided that it would be against my uncle's wishes to open the box
+before the clock stopped," Alan said reluctantly. Then brightly--"But, I
+say! we didn't take into account the fact that it had been already
+opened, though not by us--which alters the position considerably. Don't
+you agree, Teddy?"
+
+"Oh, confound the thing, I'm dying to see inside, and yet--"
+
+"I rather think--" began the doctor.
+
+"Oh, don't think, father!" said Marjorie, her fingers on the edge of the
+lid. She looked to Alan. "May I?"
+
+A tap, and Caw came in with a telegram for Alan.
+
+"Excuse me," the host said, and opened it.
+
+Caw caught sight of the key in the box, forgot his manners, and leapt
+forward, laying his hand on the lid.
+
+And Alan went white as death. "Turn the key, Caw," he said hoarsely, "and
+take it away." Partially recovering himself, he apologised to the girl.
+"It was too rude of me, but something reminded me that I should be
+betraying a trust by opening the box now. Please try to forgive me."
+
+She was very kind about it, for there was no mistaking his distress.
+
+Presently she and the doctor departed. Alan dropped into a chair and
+handed the message to the wondering Teddy.
+
+"Read it aloud. Listen Caw."
+
+Teddy read:--
+
+"Handed in at Fenchurch Street, 11:20 a. m. Alan Craig, Grey House, Loch
+Long. _For life's sake don't ever try to open Green Box--Friend_."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+
+In the train, nearing London, Alan and Teddy yawned simultaneously,
+caught each other's eye, and grinned.
+
+"We've had a deuce of a talk," said Alan, "and I hope you feel wiser, for
+I don't. How much simpler it would all have been had my uncle refrained
+from those explicit instructions respecting Bullard. We've actually got
+to be tender with the man until that blessed clock stops."
+
+"But oh, what a difference afterwards!--though I doubt if we'll ever get
+anything like even with the beggar. By the way, about the Green Box--"
+
+"Don't return to it!"
+
+"I must, old chap. Do you still take that warning wire seriously? You
+don't think now that it was sent by Bullard for purposes of his own?"
+
+"I feel that the warning was genuine and not Bullard's. Yet who could
+have sent it? Lancaster? Doris? ... But how should they know there was
+anything changed about the box? Also, was it Bullard who was in the house
+the night before last? It was certainly not he who went for Caw.... Oh,
+Lord, we're beginning all over again! Let's chuck it for the present.
+And, I say, Teddy, won't you come with me to Earl's Gate after we've had
+some grub?"
+
+"Thanks, no. I've made up my mind to have another dose of shadowing our
+friend. Ten to one I have no luck, but instinct calls."
+
+"It's jolly good of you, and I'm afraid it's going to be a filthy night
+of fog. Well, when shall I see you?"
+
+"Depends. Don't wait up for me. To-morrow is included in my leave, and
+the next day is Sunday, so we are not pressed for time."
+
+"Consider what I said about your coming to Grey House for the winter.
+You could help me in many ways. Of course, I don't want you to risk
+your prospects at the office, not to mention your person, and you must
+allow me to--"
+
+"I'll see what can be done. You know I'm keen to see the thing through.
+By the way, I needn't remind you to be mighty slim to-night so far as
+Mrs. Lancaster is concerned. She represents Bullard in that house. You
+spoke of inviting Lancaster to return North with you for a change of
+scene, and Heaven knows the old chap must need it; but don't you think
+such an invitation might simply mean upsetting the whole boiling of fat
+into the fire? Bullard--"
+
+"And don't you think that the sooner we have the flare up the
+better?--Oh, hang! I keep on forgetting about that clock!"
+
+"Lucky blighter! However, it's your affair, and the change might be
+Lancaster's salvation. He'll never get any peace for his poor weary soul
+where he is."
+
+"You are fond of the man, Teddy?"
+
+"Always liked him," Teddy answered, a trifle shortly. "Not so fond as you
+are, judging from what you're doing for him."
+
+"Oh, drop that! I suppose there's no likelihood of getting them all to
+come North?"
+
+"Can you imagine Mrs. Lancaster existing for a week without crowds of
+people and shops and theatres?"
+
+"Well, we'll see," said Alan. "I--I'll consult Doris about it."
+
+Ten minutes later they were in the Midland Hotel. Alan found a telegram
+from Caw--"Nothing doing,"--and received a legal-looking person who had
+been awaiting his arrival.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Time, the kindly concealer, is also the pitiless exposer. How often in
+the Arctic had Alan imagined, with his whole being athrill, this reunion
+with the girl who, in the last strained moment of parting, had promised
+to wait for him! How often had Doris, in the secrecy of her soul, even
+when the last hope of reunion had failed, repeated the promise as though
+the spirit of her lost lover could hear! And now fate had set these two
+once more face to face, and--neither was quite sure. Emotion indeed was
+theirs, joy and thankfulness, but passionate rapture--no! A clasping of
+hands, a kiss after ever so slight a hesitation, and the embrace that
+both had dreamed of was somehow evaded.
+
+"You haven't changed, Alan, except to look bigger and stronger," she
+remarked, after a little while.
+
+"And you are more lovely than ever, Doris," he said; and now he could
+have embraced her just for her sheer grace and beauty. He was angry with
+himself and not a little humbled, for he had never really doubted his
+love for Doris. Her comparative calmness troubled rather than wounded
+him, for his faith in her was not yet faltering like his faith in
+himself, and he wondered whether her calmness was born of girl's pride or
+woman's insight. Nevertheless, amid all doubts and questionings his main
+purpose remained unwavering: he was here to ask Doris to marry him as
+soon as possible, so that he might rescue her and her father from the
+difficulties besetting them.
+
+As for Doris, her mind was working almost at cross purposes with his.
+Apart from the double barrier created by her father's unhappy position
+and her promise to Bullard, she knew that she could not willingly
+marry Alan, for at last it was given her to realise why the first news
+of his safety, as told by Teddy France, had failed to glorify her own
+little world.
+
+She had seated herself, bidding him with a gesture to do the same,
+and now they were placed with the width of the hearth between them.
+She was the first to break the silence that had followed a few
+rather conventional remarks from either side, and it cost her an
+effort. She was pale.
+
+"Alan, I wish to thank you for your message to father in Teddy's
+telegram. I--I think it saved him. But--please let me go on--I want to be
+quite sure that Teddy told you everything that mattered."
+
+"Everything I need know, Doris. I wish you wouldn't distress yourself.
+It's going to be all right, you know. How is your father to-night?"
+
+"I think he will be well enough to see you to-morrow," she replied, and
+went on to ask a number of questions very painful to her. When he had
+answered the last of them in the affirmative, she sighed and said: "Then,
+Alan, I think, I hope, you do know nearly all, and I can only beg you to
+believe that father never meant to injure _you_ in any way. It was not
+until there was no hope left of your being alive that he--"
+
+"Doris, I implore you not to talk about it. Mr. Lancaster was my good
+friend in the old days, and I trust he is that still. When I see him
+to-morrow I shall have to depend on that friendship, because, you see,
+Doris, I shall want--with your permission--to ask a great favour of him."
+
+On the girl's tired lovely face a flush came--and went. "Alan, this is no
+time for misunderstandings," she said bravely, "and when you have a talk
+with father, I wish you to--to try to forget me."
+
+"Forget you! ... Ah! you mean you do not wish me to refer to your part in
+helping him--"
+
+"Oh," she cried hastily, "I was afraid, after all, Teddy would not tell
+you one thing--"
+
+"It can't matter in the least, dear Doris. What I want to ask your father
+is simply his blessing on us both in our engage--"
+
+"For pity's sake, no! Listen, Alan; and don't think too unkindly of me,
+for I have promised to marry Mr. Bullard--"
+
+"Doris!"
+
+"--a year from now." She bowed her head.
+
+He was on his feet, standing over her. "Bullard!" he exclaimed at last,
+"Bullard! Good Lord, Doris! Had that fat successful gambler actually the
+impudence to ask you to marry him?"
+
+"Oh, hush!" she whispered. "The fact remains that I gave my promise."
+
+He drew a long breath. "Of course you gave your promise, and the reason's
+plain enough to me! You gave it for your father's sake!" As in a flash he
+saw what she had suffered. Teddy's story had told him much, but this! ...
+His heart swelled, overflowed with that which is so akin to love that in
+the moment of stress it is love's double.
+
+And this young man, casting aside his doubts of himself, caught in a
+passion evoked by beauty in distress and hot human sympathy, fell on his
+knees, murmuring endearments, and took this young woman, with all her
+doubts of herself, to his breast.
+
+And Doris let herself go. Doubts or no doubts, right or wrong, it was
+sweet and comforting, after long wearing anxiety and and loneliness, to
+find refuge in the strong, gentle arms of one who cared. But it was a
+lull that could not last.
+
+"Dear," he was saying when she stirred uneasily, "you shall never marry
+him! Why, you don't even need to break your promise, for we will see to
+it that he shall never dare to ask you to fulfil it. Leave Mr. Francis
+Bullard to Teddy and me."
+
+"Alan, this is madness!" She drew away from him. "How could I forget?
+Father is so completely in his power."
+
+"But we are going to rescue him, you and I, thanks to good old Teddy."
+
+She shook her head. "Ah, no, Alan, you are too hopeful."
+
+Alan was puzzled. "Didn't you and he understand my message to him in
+Teddy's wire?" he asked at length.
+
+"We understood that you--you forgave everything. Oh, it was kind and
+generous of you!"
+
+"Was that all?" Alan got up and stood looking down at the fire. "I didn't
+want to say a word about it," he said presently. "I hoped Mr. Lancaster
+at least, would take my meaning. It's horrid having to discuss it with
+you, Doris, but Teddy mentioned something about a--a debt--"
+
+"Oh!" It was a cry of pain. "Teddy must have misunderstood me. I
+never meant--"
+
+"Teddy did it for the best, you may be sure, and I'm grateful to him. Let
+me go on, dear. It is this debt that gives Bullard the upper hand--is it
+not? Twenty-five thousand, Teddy mentioned as the amount."
+
+"Don't!--don't!" She hid her face.
+
+"And so--and so I just brought the money along with me." He cleared his
+throat. "And Mr. Lancaster will be a free man to-morrow. Doris, for God's
+sake, don't take it like that!"
+
+She was not weeping, but her slim body seemed rent.
+
+"Doris, since you are going to marry me, what could be more natural than
+that I should want to help your dearest one out of his trouble? I've
+more money than I need--honestly." He laid his hand on her shoulder.
+"Dear little girl," he continued, with a kindly laugh, "you've no idea
+how difficult it is to speak about it. And I can't carry the thing
+through myself; simply couldn't open the subject to him and offer the
+money. I want you to help me--and at once. I suppose he is strong enough
+to bear a small surprise. So I want you to go now and tell him, and--and
+give him these. I brought notes, you know, because they are more
+private." His free hand dropped a packet into her lap. Amazing how
+little space is required for twenty-five thousand pounds in Bank of
+England notes! "Doris!"
+
+She did not raise her head, but her hands went up to her shoulder and
+took his hand between them. Hers were cold.
+
+"My dearest!" he cried softly.
+
+"Oh, Alan, Alan," she said in a dry whisper. "I shall never get over
+this, I will never forget your goodness. But I can't--I _can't_ do it."
+
+"Yes, you can, dear. I know it's hard. I know it means sinking
+your pride--"
+
+"Pride!--have I any left?"
+
+"Plenty--and plenty to be proud of! Help me to remove your father's
+trouble, and we shall all be happy again. Just think that you are putting
+freedom into his hand--"
+
+"Have mercy, Alan!"
+
+"Dearest, is it too hard? Well, well, I must do it myself, after all.
+Only that will mean so many more troubled hours for him.... Doris, you
+will do it, for his sake and mine? After all, what does the whole affair
+signify? Simply that you and I will have so much less to spend
+later,--and do you mind that?"
+
+He had won, or, at all events, filial love had won. It is the other sort
+of love that pride may withstand to the last.
+
+She did a thing then that he would remember when he was an old man: drew
+his hand to her lips. The colour rushed to his face. "Not that, dear!"
+
+She rose and he supported her, for she was a little _dizzy_ with it all.
+"What am I to say to him, Alan?"
+
+"Just say that it is merely what my Uncle Christopher would have done,
+had he known. And tell him to get well quickly, because I want him to
+come to Grey House for a change, at the earliest possible day. I want you
+and Mrs. Lancaster also, Doris. Will you come?"
+
+She shook her head. "I'm afraid--"
+
+"Never mind now. I'll write to Mrs. Lancaster to-night, and perhaps I may
+see her to-morrow."
+
+"You--you won't tell her about this, Alan?"
+
+"Certainly not. I've forgotten about it," he said, with a smile intended
+to be encouraging. "And I'll go at once. Perhaps that will make it a
+little easier for you. As soon as you've seen your father, you ought to
+turn in. Will you?"
+
+She attempted to smile, but her voice was grave. "I will do anything you
+wish--now and always. I can't thank you, Alan dear, but God knows--" She
+could say no more.
+
+"You dear little girl," he said, rather wildly, "there's just one thing
+you must be quite clear about. This miserable money may buy your father's
+peace of mind, but it has not bought one hair of your beautiful head." He
+took her in his arms and kissed her. "Sleep well ... till to-morrow!"
+
+Her mind was still in turmoil as she went up the broad staircase,
+clutching against her bosom the precious packet, but her eyes were wet at
+last. Her father was saved! For herself she had no thought.
+
+She halted at the door of his room, listening. It was essential that he
+should be alone.... She started violently.
+
+Another door on the landing opened and Mrs. Lancaster came forth.
+
+"Surely Mr. Craig has not gone already," she said. "I am just
+going down."
+
+"He has gone, mother, but he hopes to see you tomorrow."
+
+"Too bad! He can't have told you all his adventures, Doris." Thus far
+Mrs. Lancaster had learned nothing beyond the bare facts of Alan's return
+and his intention to call.
+
+"I think he is keeping them for you and father," said the girl, striving
+for composure. "He wants us all to go to Grey House as soon as father is
+well enough to travel."
+
+"At this time of year?--absurd, or, at all events, impossible!--for you
+and me, at any rate. Has Mr. Craig not been made aware of your engagement
+to Mr. Bullard?"
+
+"I thought we had agreed not to talk of that." Doris laid her fingers on
+the door-handle.
+
+Mrs. Lancaster came a little closer. "Is that a letter for your father?
+The last post must have been late?"
+
+The strain was telling on Doris; she gave a nervous assent.
+
+"Ah, it has not come by post, I see! Why it is not even addressed to
+him!"
+
+"It is for him."
+
+"From Mr. Craig?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"If it is anything exciting, he ought not to have it to-night. It will
+spoil his chances of getting to sleep."
+
+"I--I don't think so, mother."
+
+"My dear girl, you ought to be perfectly certain, one way or another. I
+simply cannot trust you. Leave it with me, and you can give it him in
+the morning."
+
+Doris felt faint. "I can take care of it, but I'm sure it won't do him
+any harm. I will--"
+
+With a swift movement of her supple body and arm the woman possessed
+herself of the packet. At the feel, the almost imperceptible sound, of it
+her eyes gleamed, her dusky colouring darkened.
+
+"Mother!" gasped Doris.
+
+"I cannot risk having your father upset. You can ask me for it in
+the morning."
+
+"Mother!" Impelled by a most hideous fear the daughter sprang, clutched,
+missed--and fell like a lifeless thing.
+
+Mrs. Lancaster rang for her maid.
+
+When Doris came hazily to herself she was in bed.
+
+"Drink this, my dear," said her mother gently.
+
+It was a powerful sleeping draught, and soon the girl's brain was under
+its subjection.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+About ten o'clock Mrs. Lancaster, in her boudoir, rang up Bullard, first
+at his hotel, then at his office, whence she obtained a response.
+
+"Can you come here at once?" she asked him.
+
+"Impossible! Anything urgent?"
+
+"Alan Craig has been here."
+
+"... Well?"
+
+"He knows about--things. I'm sure he does."
+
+"For instance?"
+
+"Robert's difficulties."
+
+"No special harm in that, is there? He won't be alone in his knowledge
+for long, you know--"
+
+"What do you mean?" she cried in alarm.
+
+He ignored the question and asked another. "Was Craig in any way
+unpleasant? Quick, please!"
+
+"I didn't see him, but I should imagine he was quite the reverse. The
+servant Caw must have kept back things. Doris tells me he wants the three
+of us to go to Grey House--"
+
+"What? To Grey House?"
+
+"Of course, I should never dream--"
+
+"Great Heavens, how extremely fortunate for you! My dear Mrs. Lancaster,
+you must accept the invitation at once. Don't let it slip. Have your
+husband well enough to start in the beginning of the week."
+
+"Are you crazy? What should I do at Grey House?"
+
+"I'll tell you precisely what you may do--but not now. For the present I
+should inform you that it may be your last chance of salvation."
+
+"What on earth do you mean? Not the dia--"
+
+"Listen carefully! I have already told you of the disaster to the
+mines--"
+
+"But all that will come right in time."
+
+"One may hope so. In the meantime, however, the Syndicate will require
+all its available funds, and, as you know, there is a matter of nearly
+twenty-five thousand pounds, which Mr. Lancaster--"
+
+For a moment the woman was incoherent. Then--"Mr. Bullard, we have your
+promise that you would see that matter put right."
+
+"My dear lady, this calamity was not to be foreseen. I am unspeakably
+sorry, but I have been hard hit, and the plain truth is that I am quite
+powerless for the present. Of course I shall do what I can to
+delay--er--discovery, but unfortunately I must leave for South Africa on
+Friday, this day week."
+
+"Then all is lost! Ruin--disgrace--"
+
+"Not so loud, please. Be calm. All may not yet be lost--if you at
+once accept young Craig's invitation. Now let us leave it at that.
+To-night I am distracted by a thousand things, but I will call in the
+morning to enquire for your husband and, incidentally, to make things
+clearer to you."
+
+"Can't you explain now? I shan't be able to sleep--"
+
+"No.... But, by the way, it would do no harm were your husband to ask
+Craig, if he is really friendly, for a loan. If I'm any judge of men,
+Craig is the sort of silly fool who, because he has come into a bit of
+money, is ready to give lots of it away. However, you can suggest it to
+your husband, if you like. How is he to-night?"
+
+"I think he is better, but he was so excitable a little while ago that I
+had to give him some sleeping medicine. He is sleeping now."
+
+"Sooner or later, you know, he has got to be told of the Johannesburg
+disaster. What about getting Doris to break it?"
+
+After a pause--"I'll see," said Mrs. Lancaster, "but I do wish you would
+give me some idea--"
+
+"You really must excuse me. I hear some one coming in to see me. Till
+to-morrow--good-bye!"
+
+Mrs. Lancaster, her handsome face haggard, lay back in her chair and
+for a space of minutes remained perfectly motionless. At last her
+lips moved--
+
+"Whatever happens, I shall have twenty-five thousand pounds."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+
+As Bullard replaced the receiver, Flitch came slouching in.
+
+"Couldn't help bein' a bit late, mister," he remarked. "Fog's awful
+to-night. Got lost more'n once."
+
+"Fog that came out of a bottle, I suppose," said Bullard sarcastically.
+
+For an instant resentment flamed on the hairy countenance, but Flitch
+seemed to get it under control and answered nothing. There was a certain
+change in the man's appearance. His hair and beard were freshly trimmed,
+and he had a cleanlier look than we have hitherto noticed; moreover, his
+expression had lost a little of its habitual sullen truculence.
+
+"All right; sit down till I'm ready for you," said Bullard, and proceeded
+to clear his desk of a heap of newspapers. They were mostly Scottish
+journals of that and the previous day's dates. Earlier in the evening he
+had searched their news columns for a heading something like this:
+"Mysterious and Fatal Explosion in a Clydeside Mansion." Mrs. Lancaster's
+news had, of course, informed him that nothing of the kind had taken
+place, and had also raised doubts which he would have to examine later.
+Sufficient for the present that the Green Box plot had failed. Contrary
+to his calculations, the key had remained undiscovered; otherwise Alan
+Craig and Caw, who would surely have opened the box together, would have
+ceased to exist. Their destruction, however, was perhaps only
+postponed--unless he became fully persuaded that the new plan suggested
+by Alan's invitation to the Lancasters was a more feasible one.
+
+He turned sharply from the desk to his visitor, who was still standing.
+
+"Come for your second and final hundred--eh?"
+
+Flitch stared at the carpet, crushing his cloth cap in his hand, and
+uttered the most unexpected reply that had ever entered Bullard's ears.
+
+"No, mister."
+
+An appreciable time passed before Bullard's gape became modified to a
+grin. "I see! You want me to keep it till you sail. Wise man! But upon my
+word, you took me aback--refusing money!--you! When do you want it, then?
+You had better tell me where to send it, as next week I may--"
+
+Flitch, having moistened his lips, interrupted quietly with--
+
+"I don't want yer money, mister,--now or ever."
+
+"What the devil do you mean?"
+
+"I've joined the army."
+
+Bullard burst out laughing. "Was the sergeant sober?"
+
+Flitch made an attempt, not very successful, to draw himself up and face
+the scoffer. "The Salvation Army, I was meanin'," he mumbled.
+
+Bullard stopped laughing. Flitch spoke again awkwardly and in jerks.
+"That night up yonder about finished me. I've turned over a new leaf. The
+Captain said it wasn't too late, if--if I repented of all my many sins."
+
+"It'll take you a while to do that, won't it?" said Bullard, sneering to
+cover his perplexity.
+
+"No doubt, mister."
+
+"And so you are above money! How beautiful! Going to pay me back that one
+hundred pounds you got from me the other day, I suppose!"
+
+"Haven't got it now, mister. Fifteen bob and coppers in me
+pocket--that's all."
+
+"Crazy gambler! How do you imagine you are going to get out of this
+country without my help?"
+
+"Goin' to stay and face any music that likes to play. That"--said Flitch,
+still quietly--"is what I'm going to do, mister."
+
+Bullard took to fiddling with the nugget on his chain. "Well," he said,
+"as it happens, I haven't got many hundreds just now to throw about, but
+I expect you'll change your mind when the first tune begins to play--only
+I warn you, it may be too late then. That's all! Now, what about your
+prisoner? How did you leave him?"
+
+Flitch hesitated before he said: "That's one o' things I'm goin' to tell
+ye about, mister ..."
+
+"Well, hurry up."
+
+Flitch took a long breath and faced his patron, fairly and squarely.
+
+"Mr. Marvel's gone," he said.
+
+"What?"
+
+"I was fearin' ye meant ill by him, and this mornin' I gave him back his
+money and let him go free."
+
+Grey and ugly was Bullard's face; his body was rigid; his jaw worked
+stiffly. "You--you damned fool!"
+
+The other drew his crumpled cap across his sweating forehead. "I was
+thinkin' ye wouldn't be extra pleased," he said, "but I'm for no more
+blood on me hands--no, nor other crimes, neither. Now," he went on, and
+his voice wavered, "now for the second thing. Mr. Alan Craig--"
+
+"Idiot of idiots, he's in London at this moment! You'd better clear--that
+is, after I'm done with you."
+
+"Ye give me good news, mister, for now I know for certain I've put meself
+right wi' Mr. Alan Craig--wait a moment!--and saved _you_ from another
+dirty sin. I knows what ye had in the parcel that night, mister; I saw ye
+fixin' up the infernal--"
+
+"Curse you! what are you drivelling about?"
+
+Flitch, his face chalky, continued: "And so I sent Mr. Alan Craig a wire
+warnin' him that--oh! for God's sake don't look at me so! I didn't give
+_you_ away!" His voice rose wildly as Bullard's hand stole to a drawer
+behind him. "No, no; ye shan't shoot me! I must ha' time to repent
+proper." He took a step forward. "I'm not goin' to hurt ye, but I'm not
+goin' to let ye kill me till--"
+
+From his desk Bullard whipped a long, heavy ruler, sprang to his feet and
+lashed out at the other's head. "You two-faced swine!"
+
+Flitch reeled backward, sobbing with pain and passion. "Ye devil's
+hound! ... But I'll go for ye now!" Recovering his balance, he plunged
+furiously at the striker.
+
+Bullard struck again--a fearful blow with a horrid sound.
+
+This time Flitch did not go back, but toppled forward, clawing at
+Bullard's waistcoat, and reached the floor with a thud and a single gasp.
+
+And there was a silence, a period of petrifaction, that might have
+lasted for one minute or ten: Bullard could not have gauged it. At last
+he came to himself. His teeth were chattering slightly. He examined the
+ruler, drew it through his fingers; it was quite clean, and he replaced
+it on the desk, softly, as though to avoid disturbing any one. Yet he
+wiped his hands on his handkerchief before he crossed the room to an
+antique ebony cabinet where he helped himself to a little brandy. Then
+he came back to the desk and for a while stood lax, staring at the blurs
+of white paper thereon.
+
+Stiffening himself, he turned and for the first time looked down on his
+handiwork....
+
+Bullard had not meant to kill, though his heart had been murderous when
+he struck. It was without hope that he knelt to examine his victim.
+Flitch's time for repentance had been short indeed. He lay sprawled on
+his side, his hands clenched, yet his countenance was not so repulsive.
+Well, he had escaped human judgement, and worse men have lived longer.
+
+Bullard got upon his feet. His mental energies were working once more.
+He must act at once. The simplest way out was simply to 'phone for the
+police and give himself in charge for killing a man in self defence.
+But that would mean, among other things, a trial! ... Out of the
+question! There must be another and safer if less simple way out. He
+thought hard, and it was not so long before he found it. The fog!--if
+it were still there.
+
+He shut off the lights and passed to the window. The sill was low; the
+sash opened inwards. Outside was a narrow balcony, with a foot-high stone
+balustrade. Presently he was peering out into the bitter, filthy night.
+The fog was denser than ever; he had never seen it so thick. The presence
+of lamps in the deserted street below was betrayed by a mere glow. Across
+the way the dark buildings could scarce be distinguished. The sounds of
+human life seemed to come from a great distance.
+
+Leaving the window open, he gropingly moved back to his desk, struck a
+vesta and kneeling, went carefully through the dead man's pockets. A
+scrap or two of paper he took possession of. With the aid of another
+vesta he found his way to the cabinet for more brandy. Physically he
+required stimulant. Flitch had been a big heavy man ... he was no smaller
+nor lighter now.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And so, at long last, the ponderous, inert, uncanny thing lay balanced
+across the balustrade and sill, the legs sticking into the room.
+Breathing hard, Bullard grasped the ankles. A heave, a jerk, a twist,
+a push.... Hands pressed hard over his ears, Bullard waited for an age
+of thirty seconds. Then action once more. He closed the window,
+switched on the lights, and inspected the floor. Finally he rang up
+the police station.
+
+"I'm Bullard, Aasvogel Syndicate, Manchester House. A man attempting
+to enter by the window has fallen to the street. I'll remain here till
+you come."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+
+The spiritual glow in which Alan left Earl's Gate had cooled considerably
+by the time he reached the Midland Hotel. It was not that he actually
+regretted his actions of an hour ago; rather was it as though an inward
+voice kept repeating, "Why aren't you happier, now that you have lifted a
+crushing load from an exhausted fellow-creature? Why aren't you in the
+seventh heaven since you are going to marry that most desirable girl?"
+There was never yet human exaltation without its reaction, but in Alan's
+case the latter had followed cruelly fast.
+
+In the smoke-room, almost empty at so early an hour, he dropped into a
+chair and lit a cigarette. "What the deuce is wrong with me?" By the time
+the cigarette was finished he could, with a little more courage, have
+answered the question. For he could not deny that his thoughts had gone
+straying, not back to the brightly lighted drawing-room and the beautiful
+hostess, but to a dark garden and a terrified girl with a little revolver
+in her hand. Ordering himself not to be a cad as well as a fool, he
+removed to one of the writing-tables. There he set himself to compose a
+nicely worded note of invitation to Mrs. Lancaster. After that was done
+he drew a couple of cheques for the same amount and wrote the following
+letter to Mr. Bullard:
+
+
+"Dear Mr. Bullard:
+
+"You will no doubt be surprised to see my writing again, and I take this
+way of announcing my return home lest you should hear of it before I can
+find time to call upon you, which, however, I hope to do before long.
+To-night, on my arrival here, I called upon Mr. Lancaster, and was sorry
+to learn that he was too ill to receive me. But I do not wish to delay an
+hour longer than necessary the settlement of my debt to you both, and so
+I ask you kindly to receive on his behalf and your own, the enclosed two
+cheques in payment of the amounts of, and interests on, the advances
+which you and he so generously made to me in April of last year. I
+daresay you have almost forgotten the incident which meant so much to me,
+and still does. Until we meet,
+
+"Faithfully yours,
+
+"Alan Craig."
+
+
+"A bit stiff and formal," was his comment after rereading it several
+times, "but I don't think it gives much away."
+
+The two hours that followed were perhaps the dreariest he had ever spent
+in civilised circumstances. London had given him enough to think about in
+all conscience, but his mind would not be controlled; as surely as a
+disturbed compass needle it kept moving back to the north.
+
+Teddy's arrival, half an hour after midnight, he hailed as a great
+relief. Teddy wore a tired and soiled aspect, but his eyes glinted with
+repressed excitement.
+
+"Let's go up to my room, Alan," he said at once; "I've got something to
+shew you."
+
+The moment they were there, with the door bolted, Teddy's fingers went to
+his waistcoat pocket.
+
+"Recognise it?" he asked, holding up an inch of fine gold chain bearing a
+small nugget.
+
+"No I don't. Stay! it's not unfamiliar--but no; I can't place it.
+Whose is it?"
+
+"Bullard's."
+
+"Oh! Where did you pick it up, Teddy?"
+
+Teddy sat down on the edge of the bed. In a voice not wholly under
+control he replied--
+
+"I took it from the hand of a dead man, a couple of hours ago."
+
+"A dead man! Good--"
+
+"He seemed to fall out of the fog, but it was actually from the window of
+Bullard's office, in New Broad Street. I was watching from the other side
+of the street when he fell. I--I was the first person to reach him. He
+was quite dead--awfully smashed, poor chap. There was a lamp near. One of
+his fists was slightly open. I noticed a glitter in it. It was this
+thing. I took it.--I must have a smoke."
+
+"Better ring for something to drink."
+
+"No. I want all my wits to make a clear story of it. Look here, Alan! The
+long and short of it is: Bullard committed murder to-night--"
+
+"Oh, I say!"
+
+Teddy ignored the interruption. "Of course I went with the crowd to the
+police station, and, though not as a witness, managed to get in. Bullard
+with an inspector turned up before long, but I kept out of his way. He
+had called the police himself. The man, he stated, had been trying the
+window of his private room while he was in another part of the premises;
+on entering his private room and switching on the lights, he had caught
+a glimpse of a face and hands falling backwards. That was all a lie. The
+lights had been out for some time when the man fell. The fog was
+horribly thick, but I can be sure of that much. And then--this!" he
+dangled the nugget.
+
+Alan broke the silence. "It looks bad, certainly, but still, you
+know, Bullard might not--and quite naturally, too--have liked to
+admit that after a struggle he pushed the man from the window--if
+that's what you mean."
+
+"No, that's not what I mean. About twenty minutes earlier, I saw the man
+enter Bullard's office by the usual way--"
+
+"Ah!"
+
+"And note this, Alan! At the police station, I saw his fingers go to the
+nugget--he has a habit of playing with the thing when he is talking--and
+when he realised that it wasn't there, I thought he was going to faint.
+He soon pulled himself together, but--"
+
+"The police didn't suspect him, did they?"
+
+"Bless you, no! They were all sympathy! Oh, he's safe enough--for the
+present. The poor chap he murdered was certainly rough looking enough to
+be a burglar."
+
+"What was he like?"
+
+"A big strong man, with an ugly red-bearded face, and--it's queer how one
+notices trifles--his ears were pierced for--"
+
+"Good Heavens, it was Flitch!"
+
+Teddy jumped. "The man who shot you--"
+
+"The same--I'm sure of it, even from your slight description. And--and
+Bullard has killed him!"
+
+"Your revenge, Alan."
+
+"No, no, old man, I never wanted his life. It was only his employer I
+was after."
+
+"You've got his employer now--if you want him."
+
+Alan stared at his friend. "Why do you say _if I want him_? Don't you
+imagine I want him?"--he cried--"not for anything he may have done or
+tried to do to me, but for what might have happened had Mar--Miss
+Handyside opened that infernal Green Box--"
+
+"The telegram may have been a hoax. The box may or may not contain an
+infernal contrivance, but even if it does, you can't convict Bullard any
+more than you can arrest the soul of the man who is dead."
+
+"I don't understand you," said Alan. "Tell me why you used those words,
+'if I want him,' meaning Bullard."
+
+"Simply because," answered Teddy, "I'm pretty sure you don't want him.
+Think a moment!"
+
+The other sprang to his feet. "Come along, Teddy! There's no thought
+required. That nugget has got to be handed to the police before we're an
+hour older."
+
+Teddy rose slowly and slipped the nugget into his pocket. "Alan, my son,"
+he said gently, "that nugget does not leave my possession--no, not for
+all your uncle's genuine diamonds. Think again!"
+
+"Oh, rot! If you're afraid of the police, Teddy--"
+
+"Perhaps I am--"
+
+"Well, give the thing to me, and I'll--"
+
+"One moment." Teddy's face went ruddy. "I'd like you to answer a
+question, though it may strike you as abominably impertinent. Are
+you--are you as fond as ever of Doris Lancaster?"
+
+Alan was also flushed as he replied: "Doris and I settled that to-night,
+Teddy. But what has it to do with Bullard's nugget? I'm aware it has
+something to do with Bullard--"
+
+"Hold on!" said Teddy, pale again. "I think I can put it so plainly that
+you'll wonder why you didn't see it for yourself right away. Listen! Put
+this nugget into police hands, and Bullard goes into the dock. If Bullard
+goes into the dock, ugly things, not all connected with this murder, will
+surely come out. Lancaster will be involved; Doris--"
+
+Alan threw up a hand. "God forgive me, Teddy," he cried, "and thank God
+it wasn't I who found the nugget!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Besides," said Teddy a good deal later, "your Uncle Christopher was most
+desirous that nothing should happen to Bullard before the clock stopped.
+And now, old chap, I think we had better turn in."
+
+Left to himself, Teddy sighed. "He's going to marry Doris, and, whether
+he knows it or not, he's in love with that Handyside girl. Surely I have
+the devil's own luck!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+
+Never a heavy sleeper, Mrs. Lancaster was fully aware of her daughter's
+entrance before Doris reached her bedside. She affected neither
+drowsiness nor ignorance of the latter's quest.
+
+"You ought not to have got up so early, Doris," she said. "Why, it's not
+eight yet. Not that light--the far away one, if you insist. Are you
+feeling better?"
+
+"Yes, I think so. I've had a long sleep." The girl's eyes were shining
+strangely, and the shadows beneath them were deep; but she did not look
+ill. "Father is awake now," she said.
+
+"Indeed! I suppose you have come for that packet." Mrs. Lancaster raised
+herself a little on the pillows. "I suppose, also, you are aware what the
+packet contains, Doris."
+
+"Yes, mother."
+
+"Is it a gift or a loan to your father?"
+
+"A loan--I hope. Please let me have it--"
+
+"One moment, my dear. Am I right in further supposing that your father
+intends to pay a particular debt with all this money?"
+
+Doris's head drooped in assent.
+
+"Has it not occurred to you that your father would be treating me very
+badly if he used all this money for such a purpose?"
+
+"Mother!"
+
+"You fancy I have said something very dreadful, but--listen! Things have
+gone wrong at Johannesburg. There has been rioting. Mines have been
+wrecked and ruined. For a long time to come--years, perhaps--your
+father's income may be next to nothing. What is to become of me? You, of
+course, have your Mr. Bullard--not so rich as he was; but he is not the
+sort of man to remain long poor. You had better sit down, Doris. I have
+kept the newspapers of the last few days from your father."
+
+The girl was clutching the brass rail of the bed. "Do you mean that
+father is ruined?" she whispered, aghast.
+
+"Not far from it, I'm afraid. Now don't make a fuss. I rely on you to
+break the news of the mines to him before Mr. Bullard arrives this
+morning. Mr. Bullard will give him the details, no doubt. Another thing;
+you must persuade Mr. Bullard to get rid of that debt we have mentioned.
+He has his own difficulties at present, I should imagine, but he is not
+the man to be beaten by a sum like twenty-five thousand pounds. We cannot
+have scandal--disgrace. You have done much for your father already--that
+I freely admit--but at this crisis you must do more.--My smelling salts
+are behind you."
+
+Doris had swayed, but she recovered herself, though her face was white
+and desperate.
+
+"Mother, that money you have--"
+
+"I'm afraid you are going to be shocked, Doris, but I had better tell you
+at once that the money is mine."
+
+"Yours!" It was a shock, a dreadful shock, and yet Doris had come to her
+mother's room full of ghastly apprehensions. "Oh, but you can't mean it!"
+
+"My dear girl, can I be franker? Call it anything you like, theft, if you
+fancy the word; but the money is mine. I decline to go into the gutter
+for any one."
+
+"But--dear God!--don't you realise what your keeping it will mean to
+father? Yes, you do! You know too well--"
+
+"I have shown you a way out of that difficulty. Mr. Bullard will do
+anything you ask--"
+
+"And what am I to say to father?"
+
+"Nothing!--unless you wish to kill him. For Heaven's sake, take a
+reasonable view of the matter. A year hence your father will probably
+bless me for what I have done. A thousand a year is always something. As
+for Mr. Craig, he will have helped even more practically than he thought.
+Of course, your taste in accepting money from one man while engaged to
+another is open to question."
+
+With a soft heart-broken cry Doris let go her hold and fell on her knees
+at the bedside.
+
+"Mother, in the name of all that is right and good, give me back the
+money. I don't want to--hate you."
+
+Mrs. Lancaster touched a wisp of lace to her eyes, "Really, Doris, you
+are making it very painful for me, but some day you will see that I was
+wise. For the present, I would rather die than give up the money. I have
+no more to say."
+
+In some respects Mrs. Lancaster was a stranger to her daughter, but Doris
+always knew when her mind was immovable. She knew it now. She rose up
+from her knees. Out of her deathly face her eyes blazed. Had she spoken
+then, it would have been to utter an awful thing for any daughter to say
+to the one who bore her.
+
+"Doris!" exclaimed the woman, shrinking under her scented, exquisitely
+pure coverings.
+
+The girl threw up her head. "If father goes down," she said bravely, "I
+go down with him. And I don't think the money will make you forget,
+mother. There are two sorts of gutters." She turned and went quickly out.
+
+But in the privacy of her own room she fell on the bed, a crushed and
+broken thing, a creature of despair, writhing, groping in the darkness of
+an unspeakable horror. If there was a sin unpardonable, surely her own
+mother had committed it. If there was a bitterness beyond that of death
+itself, surely she herself was drinking thereof.
+
+Well was it for the mind of Doris Lancaster that she was not left long to
+herself. A maid tapped and said that Mr. Lancaster was asking for her.
+She arose immediately and removed the outward signs of misery, telling
+herself that whatever happened, he must be spared until the last moment;
+also, the divulging of the disaster on the Rand must be postponed,
+whether Mr. Bullard liked it or no. For the present she had to give her
+father his breakfast and tell him of Alan's visit. She prayed Heaven for
+a cheerful countenance.
+
+Mr. Lancaster had rested well and was looking better, but anxious.
+
+"You didn't come in to see me last night, after all," he said.
+
+"Mother told me you were asleep, so I didn't disturb you--and I was
+unusually tired, dear."
+
+"But he came?"
+
+"Oh, yes. Alan came, and he's coming again this evening, when he hopes
+to see you."
+
+"Aren't you well, Doris? You shivered just now. ... What did he say?"
+
+"Nothing that wasn't kind, father. He wants you to go to Grey House for a
+change the moment you feel able for the journey. He wants us all to go.
+What better news can I give you than that, dear?"
+
+Lancaster's eyes grew moist. "God bless the boy for shewing that he bears
+me no ill-will," he said. "What did he talk about?"
+
+"It was a very short visit last night," she replied, "but, as I told you,
+he is coming again to-night. You think you will be able to see him?"
+
+"I shall have no peace till I can thank him for his big heart.... Doris,
+I wish you had not promised Bullard--"
+
+"Oh, hush! We agreed not to speak of that."
+
+He sighed heavily. "What a woeful mess I've made of my life; and I've had
+so many chances, my dear, that I dare not hope for one more. And I don't
+blame anybody but myself--"
+
+"Dear, don't think of it that way. You have simply been deceived in
+people, or, at least, in one person."
+
+"Your mother made me believe in him, and certainly he knew how to make
+money. No, I don't blame your mother, Doris. I've been a
+disappointment to her--"
+
+"Father, I can't bear your talking so, for I believe in you with all my
+heart. And think of Alan Craig, and Teddy France, too--oh, they would do
+anything for you!"
+
+He shook his head, smiling very faintly. Then, suddenly, he became grave
+and a strange look--strange because unfamiliar--dawned.
+
+"Doris, give me your hand. Will you say again that you believe in me?"
+
+"I believe in you with all my heart," she answered, striving for control.
+
+"Then--then you are _not_ going to marry Bullard."
+
+"Oh, please--"
+
+"You and I," he went on, "are both longing, dying for freedom, and I know
+of a way out. Doris, will you believe in me, continue to desire me for
+your father, though I bring ruin and shame on you? Answer me!"
+
+"Nothing could change me, dear."
+
+"Then I will take the way out wherever it may lead, for prison itself
+would be freedom to me, and marriage with Bullard would be worse than
+prison to you. Doris, Lord Caradale, the chairman of the Syndicate,
+arrives from America on Tuesday. I will tell him the truth--"
+
+She caught him in her arms. "No--no--not that," she sobbed. "He is a
+hard, cruel man; he--"
+
+"It is the one way to freedom for us both. For my own poor sake, my girl,
+don't seek to weaken my resolve. I would like to do the right thing once
+before I die." He kissed her. "Now leave me, and don't fret. Don't let
+any one come to me for an hour or two."
+
+Lest she should break down utterly, Doris obeyed. The thing had got
+beyond her strength physical and mental. She could have cried aloud for
+help. And in a sense she did, for she went to the telephone and rang up
+Teddy France at the Midland Hotel.
+
+"Can you meet me at the Queen's Road Tube in half an hour?" she asked.
+
+"Certainly. I'll start now," said Teddy, who had not breakfasted. Alan
+was not yet downstairs. "Something wrong, Doris?"
+
+"Just come, please. Good-bye."
+
+He was there before her, his heart aching.
+
+What had happened that she could not tell to Alan? Before long he knew.
+She told him all as they walked in Kensington Gardens, in the brilliant
+sunshine. It seemed to Teddy far more horrible than the gruesome business
+in the fog of twelve hours ago.
+
+"And you feel there is no hope of inducing Mrs. Lancaster to--to change?"
+he said at last. Knowing Mrs. Lancaster as he did, he recognised the
+futility of the question.
+
+"If you don't mind, Teddy," she answered, "we won't speak about that
+again. The shame of it sickens me. But what about--Alan? He and father
+will meet tonight. I don't for a moment imagine that Alan will mention
+the money, but naturally he will think it very strange if father doesn't.
+And, oh! how _can_ I explain to Alan? It's too dreadful!"
+
+"Alan," he said, "would only be sorry--as sorry as I am. But, Doris, it
+isn't to-night yet."
+
+"You mean that I have time to--to see Mr. Bullard? He is coming to the
+house this morning--may be there now--and I don't want him to get near
+father. Yes," she said, in a lifeless voice, "I will speak to him--plead
+with him, if necessary--"
+
+"No, you shan't!" said Teddy, who doubted very much whether Mr. Bullard
+would reach Earl's Gate that morning. The inquest was at noon.
+
+"It's the only way out. Father must not be allowed to trust himself to
+the tender mercies of Lord Caradale next week. I know Lord Caradale. He
+doesn't mind how money is made; but he does mind how it is lost. Oh,
+Teddy, don't you think father has suffered enough?"
+
+"More than enough--and so has his daughter." Teddy gritted his teeth.
+Every moment this girl grew dearer; every moment she seemed further away.
+"Doris," he went on, "I want your promise that you will do nothing at all
+till I see you again. Should Bullard come to the house, keep him from Mr.
+Lancaster, but tell him nothing. Meet me here again at three o'clock."
+Gently he stopped her questions. "And forgive my leaving you at once.
+Don't hope too much, dear, but don't altogether despair. There's just a
+chance that there may be another way out."
+
+The hour that followed was the most thronged of this young man's life.
+Fortunately he had left a note for Alan, explaining his sudden departure
+on the score of some forgotten business which had to be overtaken before
+the inquest, so he was free to go direct to a certain legal office in the
+city. As for Doris, she went home in that numb condition of mind and
+spirit which comes upon some of us while we wait for a great surgeon's
+verdict. Her mother informed her that Mr. Bullard had telephoned,
+postponing his call till the afternoon, also that she had received and
+accepted Mr. Craig's invitation to Grey House.
+
+"We shall travel on Tuesday, Doris, so you must see that your father has
+no relapse."
+
+Doris turned away without answering. Tuesday! That was a long, long way
+off--in another life, it seemed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+
+The inquest was over. A suggestion for an adjournment, half-heartedly
+expressed by one juryman, had been briefly discussed and withdrawn.
+Bullard had come through his ordeal without a spot of discredit. He
+looked pale and fagged, but what was more natural in the circumstances? A
+horrid experience it must have been, those present agreed, to behold a
+face and clutching hands fall away from a fourth-story window! And he was
+going to pay for a decent funeral for the abandoned wretch who might have
+murdered him! There was a gentleman for you!
+
+Nevertheless, more than once Bullard's nerve had been at breaking point.
+What was young France doing at the inquest? He was to know soon enough.
+
+Teddy was waiting for him just outside the door.
+
+"I have a taxi here, Mr. Bullard," he said, "so we can go to your office
+together. I have a little business to discuss--financial, I should say."
+
+"I'm afraid it must keep, Mr. France," Bullard managed to reply fairly
+coolly. "This is Saturday, you know, and after business hours."
+
+"You will see for yourself presently, Mr. Bullard, that it won't keep. In
+fact, if you don't step into that cab at once--"
+
+Bullard got in, Teddy followed, and the cab started.
+
+"Wow," began Bullard, "what the--"
+
+"Hope you don't mind my smoking," said Teddy, lighting a cigarette.
+"Rather an uncomfy corner you've just come out of, Mr. Bullard."
+
+"Kindly choose your words more carefully--'corner' does not apply to my
+recent unpleasant experience--and name your business."
+
+"We shall be in your office in a very few minutes, and I prefer to name
+it there."
+
+"Very well." Bullard restrained himself and fell to thinking hard. What
+had brought France to the inquest? The question repeated itself
+maddeningly. The tragedy had not been mentioned in the morning
+papers--their early editions, at any rate.
+
+Teddy gave him a minute's grace, then casually remarked--
+
+"You heard from my friend, Alan Craig, this morning, I believe.
+Miraculous escape, wasn't it?"
+
+"Very.... Yes, I have a letter from Mr. Craig--to which I shall
+reply--direct."
+
+"Alan is an odd chap," Teddy pursued. "No sooner is he home and in safety
+than he makes his will. Did it at his lawyer's in Glasgow, the day before
+yesterday."
+
+After an almost imperceptible pause--"Indeed!" said Bullard, a little
+thickly. "Only I'm afraid I don't happen to be interested in Mr. Alan
+Craig's affairs."
+
+"Sorry," Teddy murmured, and gave him another minute's grace. Then--
+
+"Awful end that for poor old Flitch, Mr. Bullard."
+
+The man's face, nay, his whole body, contracted for an instant; yet he
+was still master of himself.
+
+"Who?"
+
+"Flitch--the dead man, you know."
+
+"The man's name was Dunning, as you must have heard, and as the police
+discovered for themselves."
+
+"Really, I must go to an aurist! I've got it into my head as Flitch."
+
+"Confound you!" said Bullard, on the verge of a furious, crazy outbreak,
+"will you hold your tongue? I've business to think of. Lost a whole
+morning with that cursed inquest."
+
+"All right, Mr. Bullard. Don't apologise."
+
+There was no more talk till they reached the office. The clerks had gone.
+
+Bullard led the way, not to his own private room, but to Lancaster's.
+
+"Say what you've got to say quickly," he snapped.
+
+"This," said Teddy, looking leisurely about him, "is surely not the room
+where it happened.--What's the matter, Mr. Bullard?"
+
+Again Bullard caught and held himself on the verge. "I can give you
+five minutes, if you will talk sense," he said, taking the chair at
+Lancaster's desk, which had been left open. "Either you are drunk or
+you fondly imagine you have got hold of something. Now, go on! Come to
+the point!"
+
+"I will," said Teddy. "How much exactly does Mr. Lancaster owe the
+Syndicate?"
+
+Bullard started, but not without relief. The relief would have been
+fuller, however, but for the questioner's presence at the inquest.
+
+"What business is that of yours, Mr. France?"
+
+"Simply that I'm going to see it paid."
+
+"May I ask when?"
+
+"Within the next few minutes."
+
+Bullard saw light. Alan Craig's money!
+
+"Really?" he said. "But would it not be better if Mr. Lancaster were to
+make the payment personally?"
+
+"Does it matter to the Syndicate who pays the money?"
+
+"Of course not."
+
+"Thanks." Teddy brought forth a couple of bundles of bonds and share
+certificates. "How much is the debt?"
+
+"Twenty-four thousand and seventy-five pounds."
+
+"Wish I had that much," said Teddy, "but I can only give what I've got."
+He rose, placed the bundles on the desk, and sat down again. "There's a
+trifle over five thousand pounds in my little lot," he went on, "and with
+each certificate you'll find a signed transfer in your favour, Mr.
+Bullard. To save time"--he glanced at his watch--"I'll ask you to take my
+word for that."
+
+Bullard put out his hand and touched the bundles. "Your securities, you
+say, are worth a little over five thousand pounds?"
+
+"Right!"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Well, Mr. Bullard?"
+
+"What about the balance of twenty--or say nineteen--thousand?"
+
+Teddy smiled. "That's your affair, Mr. Bullard."
+
+"I should be obliged," said Bullard slowly, "if you would talk sense."
+
+"I've written it down," Teddy said, and passed him a sheet of paper
+bearing these words:
+
+"I, Francis Bullard, London Managing Director of the Aasvogel Syndicate,
+hereby acknowledge that I have this day received the sum of ... being the
+full amount due to the Syndicate by Mr. Robert Lancaster, whose debt is
+hereby discharged."
+
+"What the devil is this?"
+
+"Now don't frown and crumple it up and throw it away, as if you were on
+the stage, Mr. Bullard," said Teddy. "You were never more in real life
+than you are now. Take your pen, fill in the blank, sign at foot, and
+return to me. And listen! The man you lied so well about at the inquest,
+entered your office by the door, at ten-seventeen last night."
+
+Bullard's countenance took on a curious shade. Almost in his heart the
+young man pitied him.
+
+"If the man entered by the door, you know more about his movements than I
+do," came the retort. "Why didn't you say so at the inquest?"
+
+"Mr. Bullard, I give you two minutes by my watch to complete and sign
+that receipt."
+
+"You cursed young fool, do you think to blackmail me?"
+
+"If you like to call it that--well, I'm afraid I must accept the word,"
+said Teddy, watch in hand. "But somehow one doesn't mind so much
+blackmailing a blackguard.--Sit still! You can't afford two inquests in a
+week-end."
+
+"What do you imagine it proves if the man did enter by the door, you
+prying, sneaking puppy?"
+
+"Thirty seconds gone."
+
+"Oh, get out of this! I'm not afraid of you. I've a good mind--"
+
+"There was no light in your window when the man fell. At the inquest you
+said you had just switched on the lights."
+
+Bullard's clenched fists relaxed; his face became moist and shiny.
+
+"Do you want to hear any more?" said Teddy. "One minute left."
+
+Bullard writhed. "Suppose I haven't got the money," he said at last.
+
+"You can find it."
+
+"And what guarantees do you give in return?"
+
+"I promise silence so long as you keep clear of crime and make no attempt
+to communicate, by word or letter, with Mr. Lancaster or his daughter--"
+
+"Hah! I see! ... But, by God, I'll destroy the lot of you yet!"
+
+"Thirty seconds left, Mr. Bullard.... Twenty.... Ten...." Teddy stood up.
+
+Two minutes later he stepped, almost jauntily, from the room. His little
+private income had disappeared, but he had a document worth all the world
+to him in his pocket. As he opened the door Bullard's face was that of a
+fiend; his hand went back to a drawer ere he remembered that he was not
+at his own desk.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Teddy was a little behind time in reaching Kensington Gardens, and he
+looked so haggard that the girl's heart failed her.
+
+"Everything's all right, Doris," he said, rather huskily. "Let's sit down
+here for a minute."
+
+"Teddy, you're ill!"
+
+He shook his head, and gave her the paper, saying, "Take care of it. I
+don't think Bullard will trouble you or Mr. Lancaster again, Doris."
+
+She read and began to tremble. With a sob she whispered, "Teddy, Teddy,
+_is_ it true?"
+
+He did not answer. He had a queer sleepy, ghastly look.
+
+"Teddy dear! What is it?"
+
+He appeared to pull himself up. "Upon my word," he said, with a feeble
+laugh, "I was nearly off that time. I wonder where I could find some
+breakfast."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the nearest tea-room he revived considerably.
+
+"Perhaps I may tell you all about it years hence, Doris," he said. "Not
+now. Just make your father happy and be happy yourself. And remember
+that, so far as your father is concerned, it was Alan's money. So that
+makes everything nice and tidy, doesn't it?"
+
+"But father ought to know that it was you who--"
+
+"Now, don't go and spoil everything! I assure you that I did nothing
+worth mentioning except miss my breakfast--which is, perhaps, a good deal
+for an Englishman to do."
+
+"But, Teddy, what am I to say to you?"
+
+"Nothing. Just smile, and say I made you."
+
+She smiled.
+
+"Ah!" he said softly, "you haven't smiled like that, Doris, for months!
+I'm a great man, after all! Now, what about moving along to Earl's
+Gate? I mustn't keep you longer from giving him the good news. Have you
+got it safe?"
+
+She touched her breast. "Oh, Teddy, you wonderful, wonderful man!--to
+alter the world in a few hours!"
+
+"Pretty smart, wasn't it? By the way, I may not see you for a while. I
+think Alan wants me to go back with him to-morrow night."
+
+"We are all going to Grey House on Tuesday."
+
+"Oh!" said Teddy of the torn heart. "Do you happen to remember how many
+buns I've eaten?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On reaching home Doris learned that her mother had gone out. She was not
+sorry. She was not to know that the hour in which she gave her father his
+freedom witnessed a consultation between her mother and Mr. Bullard. For
+Bullard was not yet beaten, and Mrs. Lancaster had still to learn that
+her husband was safe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+
+So the two friends returned north, Teddy with a new secret in his heavy
+heart, Alan in a thoroughly unsettled state of mind.
+
+Alan's second meeting with Doris had certainly not been helpful to
+either. Doris, while almost assured as to her father's freedom, was at
+least dubious about her own, so much so that she gently but firmly
+refused to consider herself in any way engaged to Alan, and Alan, as any
+other honourable young man would have done in the circumstances, pleaded
+and argued.
+
+"You will never marry Bullard," said he, for the tenth time.
+
+"He has my promise. He might yet find another way of injuring father,"
+she answered; "and you too," she added to herself.
+
+Alan was handicapped: he could not think to shock her with the ugly truth
+about the man, unless that were necessary in order to save her from him
+at the last moment. He and Teddy had agreed that for the present, at
+least, no one--not even Caw--should be told.
+
+"Doris, don't you really care for me?" he asked presently.
+
+"Alan!--after all you have done!--"
+
+"That's not the point, dear."
+
+Quickly she turned the questioning on him. "Alan, are you _quite_ sure
+you want to marry me?"
+
+"What did I come home for? What am I here for now?"
+
+And so forth. The phrase is not to be taken flippantly, but when two
+young people talk with the primary object of concealing their respective
+thoughts, the conversation is apt to partake of futility. In this case,
+at all events, it led to nothing satisfactory.
+
+"It's too absurd, Doris," he cried at last. "It means practically a
+year--"
+
+"Till the clock stops." She smiled ruefully. "I have to redeem my promise
+then--if necessary."
+
+"Did Bullard put it that way?"
+
+"I didn't understand what he meant till father explained," she said, and
+continued in a lighter tone: "I'm very curious about that strange clock
+of yours. I expect I'll spend all my time at Grey House watching it."
+
+"I've a good mind to smash up the wretched thing the moment I get
+home! ... Doris, once more, you are not going to marry that man!"
+
+In the end they had parted kindly, even tenderly, feeling that each owed
+the other something.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+As well as an unsettled mind Alan brought with him from London a letter
+from Bullard, which he had received by registered post on the Saturday
+night. Although it must have been indited on the top of that disturbing
+interview with Teddy, it was frank in manner and pleasantly
+congratulatory in tone; moreover, it covered the will which Alan had
+signed about nineteen months ago. The writer concluded with regrets for
+the necessity which would involve his departure for South Africa within
+the next few days.
+
+"Do you think he's running away, Teddy?" Alan asked his friend after
+showing him the letter.
+
+"I've no doubt he's jolly glad to go, but the journey was planned, I'm
+sure, before the Flitch affair. Those Rand riots, you know. Poor
+Lancaster, did he say anything about their effect on his income?"
+
+"Disastrous, I'm afraid. But he seems resigned to anything now that the
+Syndicate matter is out of the way. I wish to goodness we could lay hands
+quickly on those diamonds--if they exist. I want some money."
+
+"They--or their equivalent--must exist," said Teddy. "Your uncle,
+situated as he was, could not have spent half a million in five years,
+you know."
+
+Alan shook his head. He was depressed and disposed to be pessimistic
+about everything.
+
+"Changed your theory about the clock?" the other mildly enquired.
+
+Alan laughed shortly. "We're always doing that, aren't we?"
+
+They reached Grey House about noon to learn that nothing of moment had
+happened in their absence. Possibly Caw did not consider it worthy of
+mention that, under agreeable compulsion, he had been giving Miss
+Handyside instruction in revolver shooting.
+
+Caw was told of his arch-enemy's impending voyage.
+
+"A good job that, sir," he remarked. "Now we'll maybe get a few months
+of peace."
+
+"Oh, Bullard has ceased from troubling for good," said Teddy
+rather cockily.
+
+"Indeed, sir!" returned Caw very respectfully.
+
+His thoughts were speedily diverted, however, by Alan's intimation of the
+Lancasters' approaching visit.
+
+"And you'll just forget, Caw, that you ever saw Mr. Lancaster in an
+invidious position here. He has suffered enough."
+
+"I can well believe it, sir; and for Miss Lancaster's sake alone it will
+be a pleasure for me to make the gentleman feel at home."
+
+"What about Mrs. Lancaster?" put in Teddy.
+
+"If I may say so to Mr. Alan, I hope I know my place in the most trying
+circumstances."
+
+"Oh, get out, Caw!" laughed Alan. "You needn't suspect everybody!"
+
+"Very good, sir. Only, my master did not admire her, and he was a judge
+of female character, if ever there was one," said Caw, and with an
+inclination withdrew.
+
+"Caw is right," said Teddy. "You know I've warned you all along about
+the lady."
+
+"Rather horrid to be discussing a coming guest in such a fashion," Alan
+returned. "I think I know Mrs. Lancaster by this time, Teddy. She wants a
+lot of chestnuts, but she'd never risk burning her own fingers.... Well,
+I had better go round and pay my thanks to Handyside for keeping Caw
+company those nights. Will you come?"
+
+Teddy excused himself on the score of correspondence neglected in London.
+"By the way," he added, "are your guests to know of the passage?"
+
+"I think not," Alan replied, with a slight flush. "As a matter of fact,
+I'm not going to use it again except in an emergency."
+
+Left to himself, Teddy sighed and murmured, "A private passage with a
+pretty enough girl at the other end--I wonder what Doris would think
+about it, even in an emergency."
+
+Arriving next door Alan found that the doctor had gone out in his car.
+Miss Handyside, the servant mentioned, was at home. Under an effort of
+will he was turning away when she appeared.
+
+Presently they were seated in the study, and he was telling her of his
+expected visitors.
+
+"I wonder," he said with some diffidence, "if you could forget that you
+saw Lancaster in my uncle's room that night."
+
+There was a trace of a frown on Marjorie's brow.
+
+"Of course I will do my best, Mr. Craig. I'm not very good at heaping
+coals of fire myself, but--"
+
+"You think it strange that I should have invited him, that he should have
+accepted my invitation? Well, I suppose it's a natural thought. But the
+man has suffered terribly, and not only for his own mistakes, and I don't
+know that the acceptance was such an easy thing for him. Please remember
+that Bullard had a cruel power over him."
+
+"And does that power no longer exist?"
+
+"It is broken. You may be interested to know that Bullard is leaving for
+South Africa this week."
+
+"I hope that is true," she said so solemnly that he smiled. "But," she
+went on quickly, "I'll try to be nice to Mr. Lancaster. He _did_ look out
+of his element that night, and after all, I'm not the sort to kick a man
+when he's down. But I must say you're a good, kind man, Mr. Craig--"
+
+"Please!" he protested miserably.
+
+"Tell me about Mrs. Lancaster," she went on. "Is she very charming?"
+
+"She is very handsome. I'm afraid she will find Grey House deplorably
+dull. She finds her pleasures in crowded places. But whether you admire
+her or not, I'm sure you will like her daughter."
+
+"What is her name? Is she pretty?"
+
+"Doris is her name and--yes, she's very pretty indeed."
+
+"Please describe her, Mr. Craig."
+
+"Oh, no," he objected, with a poor attempt at lightness. "I'm no hand at
+descriptions, Miss Handyside; besides, you will see her for yourself, I
+hope, within the next few days. And I--I think she wants a girl friend
+rather badly." Thereupon he made haste to change the subject.
+
+Conversation was inclined, however, to drag a little on both sides, and
+there was developed a tension just perceptible, which lasted till the
+arrival of the doctor.
+
+When Alan had gone, ten minutes later, Handyside observed that the young
+man did not seem so bright as before his trip to London.
+
+"I can't say I noticed any difference," said Marjorie, whose whole
+glad world had become gloomy within the space of half an hour; and she
+went away to her own room, wherein she gave herself the following
+excellent advice:
+
+"Don't be silly! ... You don't really care! ... And now you know he's
+going to marry that thingammy girl! ... And he said she was _very_
+pretty, and Doris is certainly ever so much prettier a name than--no,
+I'm not going to cry--I'm not--I'm _not_! ... at least, not much."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+
+"I think that's everything, Caw. We shan't be much later than eleven.
+Don't forget that Mr. Harvie wants to catch the first steamer in the
+morning." Alan, in evening dress, was smoking a cigarette in the study
+pending the assembling of his guests in the drawing-room, all of whom had
+been bidden to dinner that evening by the hospitable Handyside.
+
+"Mr. Harvie shall be looked after, sir." Caw retired to the door, closed
+it and came back to the hearth. "May I ask you to cast your eye over this
+list, Mr. Alan?" he said, presenting a sheet of notepaper.
+
+"Why," exclaimed Alan, "this is my uncle's writing ... and it's a list of
+the people who are now in the house--"
+
+"With one exception, sir. Mr. Bullard."
+
+"That's so. Where did this come from?"
+
+"That, sir, is one of the instructions left me by my master. Those are
+the names of all the people who are to be present on the night when the
+clock stops. I ventured to bring it to your notice now merely because it
+struck me as a little curious, sir, especially since Mr. Harvie, the
+lawyer, had not intended to stay the night."
+
+Alan smiled. "And so we want only Mr. Bullard to make the party complete!
+Pity he sailed to-day for South Africa!"
+
+"If I may say so, I should like very much to have seen him off, sir."
+
+"Good heavens, man! Didn't that telegram of an hour ago convince you?"
+
+"It struck me afterwards that your agent might have watched his--well,
+his double go on board. You will remember that wire from Paris--"
+
+"Oh, really, Caw, your imagination carries you too far! Bullard, as you
+well know, is bound for South Africa on serious business: his fortune is
+at stake. Doesn't that satisfy you? Is it this list that has upset you?"
+
+"Well, to tell the truth, sir, it did give me a bit of a turn, and I'm
+not superstitious every evening."
+
+"You've got your big dog."
+
+Caw smiled apologetically. "I didn't say I was afraid, sir. Perhaps you
+are right to laugh at me, sir; still, Mr. Bullard has always done the
+unexpected thing in the past, and--"
+
+Teddy came in.
+
+"Teddy," said Alan, "shut the door, and in the fewest words possible tell
+Caw what Bullard did to Flitch in the fog."
+
+Three minutes later Caw went out, with his list, easier in his mind than
+he had ever been since that midnight hour when he set the clock going.
+
+And now Alan glanced at the clock. "Time's about up. We had better go
+downstairs."
+
+In the drawing-room they found Lancaster and Mr. Harvie. Three days of
+the free and friendly atmosphere of Grey House had worked wonders on the
+former: a rather painful diffidence was still in evidence now and then,
+but the man was beginning to hold up his head, his nervousness was
+becoming less noticeable, and his old kindly manner was once more
+asserting itself. Once Caw had caught him watching Alan unawares, and had
+forgiven him much because of the gratitude in his gaze.
+
+The lawyer had run down from Glasgow to see Alan respecting that young
+man's recent and serious onslaught on his capital, and had allowed
+himself to be persuaded to remain over night. He and Lancaster appeared
+to take kindly to each other, much to the host's gratification. Thus far
+Alan could congratulate himself on the success of his little house-party.
+Doris seemed to have found the friend he had hoped for her in Marjorie
+Handyside. As for Mrs. Lancaster, she had been a cheering surprise in her
+graciousness to every one and her open appreciations of her surroundings,
+while she had quite captivated the doctor.
+
+It was therefore something of a blow when Doris, lovely in a wild-rose
+pink, but a little pale and anxious looking, appeared with the news that
+her mother had been stricken with a headache so severe as to necessitate
+her going to bed.
+
+"I never knew your mother to have a headache before," said Lancaster,
+perturbed. "I hope it is nothing serious."
+
+"She wants us not to bother about her," said the girl. "She has not been
+sleeping so well lately, she says, but hopes to get to sleep now, and she
+will ring if she requires anything. No, father; she would rather you
+didn't go up."
+
+Alan expressed his regrets. "It doesn't seem right to go out and
+leave her--"
+
+"I'm afraid it would just upset her if we made any difference," said
+Doris, "and she certainly does not look alarmingly ill."
+
+"I will leave orders with Caw to communicate at once should she want you,
+Doris," Alan said at last, and presently the party went forth into the
+starry, moonless night.
+
+Alan, as host, escorted Doris. As he drew her hand through his arm he
+felt it tremble.
+
+"Are you troubled about your mother?" he asked.
+
+"Just a little, Alan," she replied, after a moment. "But I'm not going to
+let it make me a skeleton at the feast," she added with a small laugh.
+She would have given much then to have been walking with Teddy; her
+answer to a similar question from him would have been somewhat different,
+for her mind was full of vague fears.
+
+And just then Alan spoke of Teddy. "Is there anything wrong between you
+and Teddy, Doris? I may be mistaken, but these last few days I have been
+fancying you were avoiding each other. No quarrel, surely."
+
+"Oh, nonsense! Teddy is my oldest friend, and neither of us is
+quarrelsome. On the other hand, we are interested in people besides each
+other." Her lighter tone was very well assumed.
+
+"That's all right then," he said, and there was a pause. Then, suddenly,
+he put another question: "Doris, must I go on waiting till--till the
+clock stops?"
+
+Her reply was, to say the least of it, unexpected. "No, I don't think
+it's necessary, Alan."
+
+"Doris!" He may have imagined his voice sounded eager as he proceeded:
+"Then I may speak now!"
+
+"Please, no," she gently forbade. "I meant that you must never speak at
+all--to me--of marriage. For you don't really love me, dear Alan, and
+I--I'm really awfully glad! Now don't say another word, my friend. Who
+could be dishonest under such a sky?"
+
+And having nothing to say, he held his peace till they reached the gates
+of the doctor's garden where the others awaited them.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+To Mrs. Lancaster, as a matter of course, the chief guest-chamber had
+been allotted. Its door faced that of the study across the spacious
+landing; viewed from outside, its bay-window balanced that of the study
+and suggested an equally large apartment. It lacked, however, the depth
+of the opposite room, and further differed from the latter in having a
+window of ordinary size in the side wall, looking north. Elegance and
+comfort it possessed to satisfy the most fastidious senses. White walls
+and furniture, rose velvet carpet, and hangings, silver electric
+fittings and a silver bedstead. The warmed atmosphere would have been
+pleasant to the body without the fire, yet those glowing and flaming
+logs made cheerfulness for the imagination--or would have done so for
+the imagination of any person save Mrs. Lancaster. At intervals she
+shivered. She was half sitting, half reclining on the couch drawn near
+to the hearth. She was wearing an elaborate tea-gown which had cost her,
+or, to be precise, had added to her debts, more guineas than some of us
+earn in a year.
+
+Her hands and neck blazed with gems, but her eyes would have made you
+forget the jewels, so intensely they gleamed. The finger of feverishness
+had touched her dusky cheeks to a rare flush. Waiting there in the soft
+light of a single lamp of the cluster in the ceiling, Carlotta Lancaster
+had never looked so splendid. And she had never felt so afraid.
+
+Afraid of what? Ruin for her husband, misery for her daughter? Oh, dear,
+no! Afraid of being herself caught in a most dishonourable and traitorous
+act? A little, perhaps. But the fear that now made her shiver and burn
+was the fear lest Bullard should fail in his latest and last, as he had
+said it should be, plan to obtain the diamonds. Failure on his part
+spelled ruin for her--not just social ruin, though that were terrible
+enough, but financial ruin, hideous, complete.
+
+Debts, debts, debts! The night before leaving London, and for the first
+time in her life there, she had sat down with paper and pencil and made
+up a statement--rough, of course--of all she owed, and added it up....
+Appalling! Thousands and thousands of pounds! Why, great Heavens! if she
+used her recent windfall to pay her debts, she would have nothing left
+worth mentioning. And Bullard was going to give her a hundred
+thousand--if--if ... Oh, but he must not fail! It was her final chance,
+her final hope, of averting downfall into sordid obscurity.
+
+An hour ago another hope had glimmered, but briefly.
+
+"Doris," she said, "you seem happy here. Will you give me a straight
+answer to a straight question? Suppose your father's affairs came right;
+suppose, also, I gave you back that money; would you--would you marry
+Alan Craig?"
+
+But Doris, who had made a discovery since coming to Grey House, answered
+shortly yet cheerfully--
+
+"No!"
+
+Mrs. Lancaster did not press the matter. She was too well aware that the
+twenty-five thousand pounds had been the price of the remnants of her
+daughter's faith in her. Doris had ceased to call her "mother" except in
+company, and then as seldom as possible; in times of unavoidable privacy
+she treated her with extreme but distant courtesy.
+
+So the glimmer had gone out, and now there was no way of salvation but
+Bullard's way.
+
+The silver carriage-clock on the mantel tingled eight. Mrs. Lancaster
+rose and went to the door, which she opened an inch. Awhile she listened
+intently, then closed it and turned the key. She had heard nothing.
+Twenty minutes earlier she had heard Caw moving about the study, mending
+the fire and putting things in order; then he had gone downstairs--to
+his supper, she presumed. He would not likely be up again within the
+next two hours--unless she summoned him. With another shudder she moved
+away from the door.
+
+Presently she unlocked one of her trunks and took out a little white
+package with a red cross scored on it. Undoing the sealed waxed paper she
+uncovered several neatly cut strips of meat. She regarded them with
+disgust. It was by no means the first little white package she had opened
+since her arrival at Grey House, but none of the previous ones had been
+crossed with red.
+
+She switched off the light and went towards the side window, slipped
+between the curtains and drew them close behind her. When her eyes were
+grown accustomed to the darkness, she raised the sash. Like the others in
+the house it worked easily, noiselessly. A bitter air from the
+snow-capped Argyll hills made her wish she had donned furs.
+
+Crouching, she reached out and peered downwards. The darkness baffled
+her, but something had to be left to chance. She let fall a strip of
+meat, and closed the window--for about five minutes. Then she peered down
+again. A live thing was moving on the gravel. She let fall the rest of
+the meat, and a snuffling sound came up to her ears. Caw's Great Dane had
+lately been finding frequent tit-bits in that particular spot, and now he
+was making another tasty meal--his last.
+
+Mrs. Lancaster closed the window and after washing her hands went back to
+the fire. It supplied all the light she required for the present. There
+was nothing that needed to be done for an hour. But she grew more and
+more restless, and before half the time had passed she was opening
+another of her trunks. From it she took that which in the doubtful light
+seemed a mere mass of silk, but which was later to resolve itself into a
+sort of ladder carefully rolled up and fitted with a steel clamp at the
+top. She placed the bundle behind the curtains of the side window, and
+returned to the trunk.
+
+From a nest of soft materials she drew a wooden box about eight inches
+square. Gingerly she carried it to the couch, seated herself, and took
+off the lid. The removal of a quantity of cotton wool revealed a glass
+sphere of the size of an average orange, filled with a clear, colourless
+fluid. She let the sphere stay where it was, and after gazing at it
+awhile placed the box very cautiously on the mantel.
+
+Feeling faintish, she got her smelling-salts and cologne and lay down on
+the couch. The half hour that followed was the longest she had ever
+spent, and yet she was not relieved when the clock tinkled nine. The fire
+had burned low, but she let it die....
+
+Once more she lurked at the window--fearing one moment, hoping the
+next, that her message had not reached him in time, that he would
+not come--till another night, though she was aware that it must be
+now or never.... And at last, down below, a mere spark of light
+moved in the mirk.
+
+Mrs. Lancaster was no weakling. The spark roused as though it had touched
+and scorched her. She cleared her mind for action. No useless hampering
+thoughts littered it now. Her intelligence reckoned nothing save the work
+on hand; its details she had by heart. She acted.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bullard came from between the curtains white and breathing hard, but
+smiling. He had no head for climbing--and a loosely hung ladder of silken
+loops in the darkness is poor support to the nerves--but he had the will
+for anything that meant great gain.
+
+"You will excuse me," he gasped, taking a sip from a tiny gold
+flask. "I've come out of one darkness to go into another. Is all clear?
+You managed the dog, I noticed. Yes, yes, very disagreeable, but
+necessary.... Well?"
+
+"So far as I know," she whispered, "your way is clear, unless"--she
+glanced at the box on the mantel--"I fail, or that thing there does. Have
+you found out about the clock?"
+
+"Not much. Nothing, in fact. The Frenchman would not take my order for a
+clock exactly similar to my dear old friend's, and he was not talkative.
+But I'm very much mistaken if Christopher's diamonds are not there."
+
+"Tell me," she said, her hand to her heart, "how you are going to
+escape--detection. I must know that before we go further, for, if they
+catch you, they will never, with such a fortune involved, spare you for
+my husband's sake."
+
+He seated himself beside her on the couch and lit a cigarette.
+
+"There is no time for full details, dear lady. Be satisfied with these.
+First, I sailed this afternoon from London--by deputy, you understand.
+To-night I shall travel a certain distance south by car, afterwards by
+rail. At a certain port, a Mr. So-and-So will board and occupy his
+reserved cabin on a swift steamer bound for Madeira. At Madeira Mr.
+So-and-So and Mr. Deputy will meet--just meet and no more. Then Mr.
+Deputy will disappear as such, Mr. So-and-So will disappear as such, and
+Mr. Bullard will continue his journey to Cape Town."
+
+"Oh, you are horribly clever! ... Your deputy is like you in appearance?"
+
+"Very; and as I've had occasion to use him before, he knows my little
+ways.... But now, Mrs. Lancaster, I must ask you to get busy." He rose,
+took the box from the mantel and extracted the sphere. "Don't be afraid,"
+he said, as she rose, also, with a shiver. "Only be careful." He laid it
+in her hand.
+
+"Will it hurt much?" she whispered.
+
+"No--not much. Disagreeable of course, but not deadly."
+
+"You're sure it won't--kill?"
+
+"I give you my word. Now, please,--at once." He went over to the door and
+unlocked it. "Come!"
+
+She joined him. "Oh, yes, I know exactly what to do," she said, answering
+a question.
+
+"Very well." He returned to the hearth. "Now I'm going to ring for Mr.
+Caw.... There!"
+
+She opened the door and slipped out. At the rail directly over the foot
+of the stair she took her stand.
+
+Ere long she heard a door in the distance open and shut. Then she heard
+Caw coming along the passage leading from the kitchen premises....
+
+As Caw placed his foot on the first step, something bright flashed down
+within a yard of his eyes and burst on the stair with a slight report.
+
+When Bullard looked over, a moment later, he nodded and said: "That's all
+right. He won't stir for fifteen minutes, anyway, and I hope I shan't
+need five."
+
+It then appeared necessary to conduct Mrs. Lancaster back to her room and
+administer to her what remained in the tiny gold flask.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+
+"Curse that green stuff!" said Bullard under his breath. "I'd sooner
+handle a bunch of live wires."
+
+He was standing in front of the clock, in the glow of an overhanging
+lamp, the only one he had switched on on entering the firelit room.
+
+The pendulum in its callous swing fairly blazed. There was no sound save
+a half-stifled, irritating ticking.
+
+Bullard presented rather a curious, if not uncanny, spectacle then. His
+countenance was covered by a glass mask such as the chemist dons while
+preparing or studying some highly unstable and dangerous substance. Even
+more than death he feared pain and disfigurement. His method of dealing
+with Christopher's clock had been carefully thought out. In the rainproof
+coat which he wore was a respirator, oxygenated, as well as sundry little
+tools. For it was the green fluid that had engaged his wits most
+seriously: it must be got rid of; its powers, whatever they were,
+dispersed, before he dared tackle the clock itself; and the dispersal
+must be effected from the greatest distance possible.
+
+Well, he had conceived a way which promised but moderate risk to his own
+person. Having finished his brief outward examination of the clock, he
+produced a disk of white paper, an inch and a half in diameter, gummed on
+one side. Raising the mask slightly, he moistened the disk, and applied
+it to the clock's case, almost at the bottom of the reservoir. Against
+the green background the mark showed very distinctly. For a moment or two
+he regarded it critically, then went to the door and turned the key. He
+stepped briskly up the room, halting at the heavy brown curtains drawn
+across the bay-window.
+
+From inside his coat he brought a gleaming weapon with a long barrel and
+an unusually large butt--an air pistol of great power and reliability. In
+the old South African times Bullard had been a notable shot with rifle
+and revolver, and practice during the last few days had shown him that
+his hand and eye still retained a good deal of their cunning. Moreover,
+it was an easy mark he had before him now. The chief risk lay in an
+extremely violent explosion of the green fluid, but he hardly believed in
+such a result. Christopher was sure to have thought of something more
+subtle than mere widespread destruction, which might involve friends, not
+to mention property, no less than enemies. Something that burned,
+something that asphyxiated--something undoubtedly cruel and treacherous
+and horrible--existed in that green fluid; but when its time came, it
+would attack its victim with little sound, if not in absolute silence. So
+Bullard had imagined it, though he was prepared to find himself wrong.
+
+The pistol was already loaded, its charge of compressed air awaiting but
+the touch of release. Bullard undid the safety-catch, took a glance
+round, and passed between the curtains, re-drawing them till they almost
+touched. With his left hand he grasped the edges at a level with his
+chin, leaving a narrow aperture above that level through which he could
+aim. If an explosion did take place, he was fairly secure from flying
+fragments; if the atmosphere became too perilous, the window was at hand.
+
+He raised the weapon to the aperture and protruded the barrel. An easy
+shot, indeed! He would soon know what ... Damn! what was that? Footsteps
+on the gravel beneath the window? Withdrawing the pistol, he moved to the
+window and listened. The fastenings of the mask encumbered his hearing;
+he could not be sure. But, next moment, peering through the misty pane on
+the right he saw a man's figure, too small for either Craig or France,
+move from the steps into the ruddily lighted doorway. And far away, as it
+seemed, an electric bell purred.
+
+Wrath at the interruption rather than fear of discovery and capture
+possessed Bullard. Caw was helpless for the present, and it was not the
+old housekeeper's business to answer the bell. The visitor would have to
+wait awhile. Anyway, there was plenty of time for escape.... But was he
+going to flee empty-handed, leaving that cursed clock unexplored?
+
+He turned quickly back to the curtains, and again protruded the
+pistol--and all but dropped it.
+
+Between him and the clock a girl was standing--a girl in an apple-green
+evening frock. She had nut-brown hair and a beautiful neck, and she was
+inclined to plumpness. Apparently she was watching the pendulum. Soon,
+however, she moved and looked around her. There was a slight flush on the
+delicate tan of her cheeks, and she smiled faintly as at some foolish
+thought. Then, glancing at something in her hand, she shook her head
+while a tiny frown superseded the smile.
+
+She stepped to the door and turned the handle--and gave a little gasp.
+Bullard saw her colour go out, saw her shoulder seek the support of the
+door. In that instant he might have over-awed her, stunned her with
+alarm, but in the next she straightened up and did an unexpected thing.
+She drew the key from the locked door and walked deliberately to the
+writing table. For a moment she seemed to require the support of its
+ledge, yet steadily enough she passed back to the clock.
+
+There she wheeled about. Up went her right hand holding a little
+revolver. She spoke softly, not unwaveringly, but quite clearly.
+
+"Whoever you are, I think you had better come out. They will be here
+immediately. I've rung for them. You can't escape!"
+
+There was no response. Bullard was thinking hard. Ought he to overpower
+her or risk the long drop from the window?
+
+"I will count three," she said, "and if you don't come out, I will shoot!
+One ... two ... th--"
+
+"Do not forget," said a muffled voice, "that I can shoot also."
+
+"You horrid pig!" she cried. "Take that!" Crack went the revolver--crash
+went the bulb and shade above the writing-table.
+
+Bullard stepped forth. There was a greyish shade on his face, but his
+lips smiled stiffly behind the glass mask.
+
+"Stand away from the clock, and be good enough to return the key to the
+door," he said.
+
+The sight of him daunted her, yet not for long. She fired again--blindly,
+one may suppose. The bullet passed over his head, between the curtains,
+and through the window. A sound of vigorous knocking came from below.
+
+"You little devil!" snarled Bullard, and ran at her.
+
+Then her nerve weakened and she darted toward the door of the passage.
+Ere she could reach it, it flew open, and, dropping the revolver, she
+fell into the arms of the panting Alan.
+
+"Good God! what's this?" he cried at the extraordinary appearance of
+Bullard and the smoke wreaths in the atmosphere. "Are you all right?" he
+whispered to the girl.
+
+Teddy dashed in, gave a shout and made for Bullard, only to be brought up
+short by a shining muzzle almost in his face.
+
+From downstairs a female voice rose in shrieks; from the stairs came a
+man's, shouting in a foreign tongue. Next moment there fell a frantic
+beating on the door.
+
+Marjorie darted from her refuge, thrust home the key and turned it.
+Monsieur Guidet almost fell in, crying--
+
+"Quick! Look after Mr. Caw! He was hurt--on the stair!"
+
+As he spoke, Lancaster, Doris, Mr. Harvie and the doctor appeared from
+the passage.
+
+"Doctor, will you go to Caw?" said Alan rapidly. "He's hurt--downstairs."
+
+Handyside ran out, and Guidet banged the door after him. "Guard it!" he
+shouted to Teddy. "Let not the pig-hog escape!"
+
+The little Frenchman was beside himself. "So I suspect you right!" he
+almost screamed. "You think I was greater fool than you look when you ask
+me to make clock the same for five hundred pounds! Bah! What idiot you
+was! For I think a little after you go, and I take not many chances. How
+to get here most quick, I ask myself. The train to Greenock, the ferry to
+cross the water, and the legs to run three miles. I do so! I
+arrive!--behold, I arrive in time!" He laughed wildly. "And so you would
+try to kill him--my clock!" he yelled, and with that, like a furious
+bantam, ignoring the pistol, he flew at Bullard, tore away the mask and
+tossed it against the wall.
+
+"Monsieur Guidet!" cried Alan, running forward and catching his arm.
+"Leave him to us."
+
+Guidet shook off the clasp. "Pig-hog," he went on, "behold, I pull your
+nose! There! Also, I flap your face! One! two! I do not waste a good
+clean card on you, but I will give you satisfaction when you like--after
+you come out of the jail!"
+
+Alan had grabbed Bullard's right wrist. "Teddy, take the madman away," he
+cried, and Teddy removed Guidet, who went obediently, but blowing like a
+porpoise, to a seat by the wall.
+
+Lancaster, looking ill, had sunk into an easy-chair by the fire. His
+daughter, pale but composed, stood beside him, her hand on his shoulder.
+She still feared Bullard: even now she was ready for sacrifice. Mr.
+Harvie, lost in amazement, had not got beyond the threshold.
+
+As for Bullard, he had gone white to the lips at the Frenchman's affront;
+his expression was diabolical. Wrenching his wrist from Alan's grasp, he
+stepped back until he stood framed in the curtains. His black eyes stared
+straight in front of him, at the clock, perhaps; perhaps into the future.
+
+Alan went back to the door, and whispered to Marjorie: "Go beside Doris,
+please." Then he turned to Bullard.
+
+"I may as well tell you," he said, "that unless my servant Caw is another
+of your victims, like Flitch, we shall neither attempt to injure you nor
+give you in charge; the reason for that is our affair."
+
+At this Teddy found it necessary to restrain Monsieur Guidet.
+
+"But, on the other hand," Alan continued, "you are not going to walk out
+of this house as easily as you seem to have entered. In fact, you are not
+going to leave this house until many things have been settled."
+
+Bullard gave him a glance. "Indeed!" he said quietly. "And what does Mr.
+Lancaster say to that?"
+
+"Mr. Lancaster is not going to be troubled over this matter," Alan
+replied calmly, "and you will have no opportunities for troubling him on
+any other matter. We happen to have a nice, dry cellar, and--well, in
+short, you are our prisoner, Mr. Bullard--"
+
+Mr. Harvie took a step forward. This was too much for his legal mind. "My
+dear Mr. Craig," he began, "pray consider carefully--"
+
+"Oh, please, for goodness' sake, keep quiet, Mr. Harvie," Marjorie
+impulsively interposed, and he collapsed, partly, it may have been, from
+astonishment.
+
+"For how long, may I ask," sneered Bullard, "am I to have the felicity of
+your hospitality?"
+
+"Till the clock stops."
+
+A short silence was broken by Monsieur Guidet's clapping his hands and
+exclaiming: "How you like that, pig-hog? Bravo, Mr. Craik! That was a
+good bean to give him!"
+
+Marjorie and Teddy laughed, and the others, excepting Lancaster, smiled.
+And just then the doctor entered supporting Caw, who looked dazed and
+wretched. Alan shook his limp hand and helped him to a seat beside
+Guidet--which was an error of judgment, for the Frenchman's eloquence was
+loosened afresh.
+
+"Ah, poor Mr. Caw," he cried, patting the sufferer affectionately. "But
+never mind, for now you have the enemy on the toast! Cheer up, for I will
+tell you a good choke! Figure it to yourself, the pig-hog comes here with
+a glass dish over his bad face--he was so fearful of my clock that it
+would hurt him--he had so great terror of the green fluid--ha! ha!--I
+must laugh, it was so very droll." Then he flashed round on Bullard. "But
+listen, pig-hog, and I tell you the secret of the dreadful, fearful,
+terrible, awful green fluid! I know the secret, for I make it myself. It
+is a kind of fish--what you call a cod--understand? And I make it with
+the oil of castor and some nice colourings! _Voilą_! I could laugh for
+weeks and fortnights, and--"
+
+"Look out!" shouted Teddy, and sprang forward--too late.
+
+"Till the clock stops," said Bullard in a thick voice, and fired at it.
+Then he flung the pistol behind him and grinned.
+
+Teddy secured Guidet just in time, and a silence fell that seemed to last
+for minutes.
+
+The bullet, having made a starry hole in the glass, had pierced the face
+an inch below its centre, and as the company stared, the pendulum
+shuddered and fell with a little plash into the green liquid.
+
+A wild cry came from the Frenchman--"Miracle!"--and he fell to
+hugging poor Caw.
+
+As though the others had ceased to exist, Bullard strode forward. Now his
+countenance was congested, his eyes glazed. "The diamonds!" he muttered.
+"Where are the--"
+
+He stopped short, as did Alan and Teddy, who had started to intercept
+him,--stopped short, as did every other human movement in that room at
+the sound of a voice--a voice emanating from no person present.
+
+Far and faint it sounded, but distinct enough for the hearing of all.
+
+"Do not be alarmed," it said, and paused.
+
+And Bullard was ghastly again, and Lancaster gasped and shivered and put
+his hands to his face. Marjorie caught Doris's hand, and Caw tried to
+rise. The others stared at the clock.
+
+The voice slowly proceeded--
+
+"These are my instructions to my nephew, Alan Craig, respecting the
+diamonds once mine, now his; and if Alan has not returned, to my servant
+Caw, and failing him, to my lawyer, Mr. George Harvie, who shall then
+open the letter marked 'last resort,' which I leave in his care. But I
+make this record in the full belief that my nephew lives and will hear my
+words." A pause.
+
+Bullard threw himself on the couch. "'His master's voice, Caw,'" he
+sneered most bitterly.
+
+No one answered save the impulsive Marjorie.
+
+"Cad!" she said clearly.
+
+The voice resumed:
+
+"Alan, you will have the diamonds divided expertly and without delay into
+three portions of equal value, and you will hand one portion to Miss
+Marjorie Handyside, the second to Miss Doris Lancaster, yourself
+retaining the third. I make no restrictions of any sort. I also desire
+you to present the pendulum intact to Monsieur Guidet, the maker of the
+clock, provided he has proved faithful. Finally, I ask you to present to
+my one-time friend, Francis Bullard, the Green Box left in the deep
+drawer of my writing-table, unless he has already obtained possession of
+the same, along with the key which Mr. Harvie will provide. And may God
+bless and deal gently with us all!--even with the traitor in our midst.
+Farewell."
+
+There was another silence. Doris was kneeling, her arms round her father,
+as though to protect him, and Bullard had risen; the others had scarcely
+changed their positions.
+
+Mr. Harvie cleared his throat. "Really, my dear Mr. Craig," he said, "all
+this is most interesting, but, I beg leave to say, extremely irregular.
+And--and where are the--"
+
+"I almost forgot to say," replied the voice--and you might have fancied a
+repressed chuckle--"that the diamonds are deposited, in my nephew's name,
+with the Bank of Scotland, Glasgow. Once more, farewell."
+
+And with that the clock, having performed its duty, though so long before
+its time, disintegrated, the works falling piecemeal into the green
+fluid, there forming a melancholy little heap of submerged wreckage.
+
+No one seemed to know what to say, until Mr. Harvie came to the rescue.
+He advanced and congratulated Marjorie.
+
+"And you, too, Miss Lancaster," he said kindly.
+
+Doris rose and gave him her hand. "It's really true, isn't it?" she
+whispered. "And I can do anything I like with them?"
+
+"Anything you like, my dear."
+
+Alan and Teddy approached the girls, but Bullard was before them. The man
+refused to believe he was beaten.
+
+"Doris," he said, almost pleasantly, "now that the clock has stopped, I
+feel at liberty to announce our engagement."
+
+She looked at him bravely, but did not speak.
+
+He lowered his voice. "Your father's debt to the Syndicate is
+paid, but--"
+
+"Oh, you worm!" cried Marjorie. "Where's my revolver?"
+
+But Alan took him by the collar and slung him halfway across the room,
+crying savagely: "How dare you speak to a lady?"
+
+"Bravo, Mr. Craik!" Guidet chuckled. "Another good bean!"
+
+"Leave him to me," said Teddy. "He has asked for it, and, by Heaven, he's
+going to get it! Look here, Bullard!" He held up an inch of fine gold
+chain with a nugget attached, and Bullard wilted. "If you aren't out of
+this country within three days, and if you ever defile it again, I'll use
+this, though I should get five years for holding it back. Now go!"
+
+Bullard turned to the door.
+
+"Oh, stop him!" feebly cried Caw. "He must not go without the Green Box."
+
+Bullard made a dash, but the Frenchman was before him and held the door
+till Teddy brought box and key. For an instant Bullard looked as if he
+would send the thing crashing amongst the midst of them all. Then he took
+it and went.
+
+"Mr. France," said Caw, "please take my revolver and see that he carries
+the box right off the premises."
+
+"I'll see him to the gates," said Teddy.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And so Francis Bullard realised that he was beaten at last. Yet even in
+the agony of rage and hate and defeat that shook his being as he turned
+from the gates of Grey House, he ignored despair. Nothing was final!
+South Africa was before him! There was money to be made! There was
+revenge to be planned.... Revenge! He could think of nothing else--not
+even of some one who might be crazy for revenge on himself.
+
+He came to the wood, started the car, and backed it out to the road. Then
+he set off for Glasgow at a more reckless pace than usual--and suddenly
+remembered that the Green Box was on the seat beside him. Fool that he
+was!--the thing must be got rid of! The water--that was the place. He
+prepared to slow down. No, not yet. Better get past that bit where the
+road ran so high above the shore. He put on speed again, and then--
+
+A snarl behind him, a hot breath on his ear, and two hands fastened
+viciously about his neck.
+
+"Stop the car!" quacked the voice of Edwin Marvel. "My turn now! I've
+been waiting for this, you beast, you liar, you swindler! Stop the car!"
+repeated the madman, and wrenched at his captive's throat so that the
+latter's hands were torn from the wheel.
+
+Bullard's prayer, warning, or whatever it was, came forth in a mere
+gurgle. The car swerved, left the road, ran up a short, gentle, grassy
+slope, tilted at the summit, toppled and plunged to the rocky shore.
+
+There was an appalling explosion.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+
+A fortnight later, Caw, in his little sitting-room, was entertaining
+Monsieur Guidet to afternoon tea. The Frenchman had just completed the
+operation of replacing Christopher's clock with one of similar aspect
+minus the glamour and mystery of pendulum and fluid.
+
+"Monsoor," said Caw, "excuse my asking it again, but could you not have
+done what the bullet did?"
+
+"Perhaps, Mr. Caw, only perhaps. I am not so clever as Chance. The
+bullet, you see, came at the exact right instant to the exact right
+place. It was a miracle! The pig-hog--no! I call him not so since he is
+dead--the poor devil might have fired a million hundred bullets without
+doing what that one bullet did. That is all I can say--all I wish to say,
+because I still am sad that my clock was not let to stop himself. But
+now, I will ask _you_ a query, Mr. Caw. How did the young lady, so
+beautiful, so brave, so splendid, come to be in the room with the--the
+poor devil?"
+
+"Miss Handyside, being uneasy in her mind," Caw answered, a trifle
+stiffly, "had come secretly to ask me to keep an eye on an unworthy
+person who was staying in the house. Which is as much as I care to say on
+the subject, Monsoor."
+
+"But you will tell me if she and Mr. Alan Craik are now betrothered?"
+
+At that Caw's manner relaxed; he smiled rather complacently. "As a matter
+of fact, Monsoor," he replied, "the event took place yesterday, at four
+thirty-five p.m."
+
+"Bravo! But I am not all surprised. That night, when I see them together,
+I begin to smell a mouse."
+
+"If I may say so," said Caw modestly, "it was myself who pulled the
+string, as it were."
+
+Monsieur looked puzzled.
+
+"I need not go into details, Monsoor, but I may tell you, in strictest
+confidence, that I had become fully fed up with the thing hanging fire.
+To my mind the position was absurd. Here were two pleasant young persons,
+worth nearly quarter of a million apiece, and as miserably in love as
+ever I hope to see two of my fellow creatures--and nothing doing! So,
+when the chance came, I felt it was my duty to take it. Accordingly,
+while they were going through the passage, I shut off the electric at the
+main switch." Caw paused to light a cigarette: he was becoming somewhat
+frivolous in his ways. "Later," he proceeded, "I gathered that they came
+out at the other end an engaged couple."
+
+"Clever, Mr. Caw! You are a philosopher, I think."
+
+"Oh, any idiot knows that people in that condition prefer darkness.
+Still, I think I have done a service to both my masters, for she was Mr.
+Christopher's choice for his nephew. Well"--he sighed--"I'm glad to have
+done one thing without bungling."
+
+"And the other young lady--also most beautiful but too hungry--too
+skim--you understand?"
+
+"Slim, if you please, Monsoor. You'll be talking about slim milk next!
+But to be serious, it is a case where one can only hope for the best.
+There was never a finer young man than Mr. France, and it is a great pity
+there were no diamonds for him. I understand he is none too well off, and
+when a lady happens to have a very large fortune--of course, I understand
+that is no impediment in your country--"
+
+"Would you not shut off the electric again, Mr. Caw?" the Frenchman
+eagerly asked.
+
+Caw shook his head. "I was never one for tempting Providence by trying to
+repeat an immense success. Likely as not, they would fall down the stair
+instead of into each other's arms."
+
+"Hah! that would not be so pleasing. The broken heart can be repaired,
+but the broken nose--" Monsieur made an expressive gesture and rose.
+"But, as you have said, we must hope for the best. It is always well to
+take an optical view of the future--is it not? And now, Mr. Caw"--he
+became nervous and produced a jeweller's package--"before I go I give you
+a small momento. My clock has brought you dangers, for which forgive. We
+have been allies in the service of my benefactor, Mr. Christopher Craik,
+and I hope we remain good friends for ever always. Take this, mon ami,
+but look not at it till I have depart. The description on it I hope you
+will approve on. But one thing more--I trust you to let me know when the
+marriage--no, I say the marriages, not singular--are about to go off ...
+Au revoir!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When Caw opened the package he was amazed to find a very fine gold
+hunting watch; and he was not a little touched on reading the inscription
+inside the case.
+
+"To J. Caw from A. Guidet.
+To Be Faithful
+Is The Best Thing
+We Can Do."
+
+"Ay," he murmured ruefully, "but I've made a pretty poor show of it."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At the same hour, in the doctor's study, Marjorie and Alan were
+awaiting--without any visible impatience--the return of the others for
+tea. Lancaster and Teddy were still Alan's guests, but Doris was now
+Marjorie's. On the day following the stoppage of the clock, Mrs.
+Lancaster, finding it imperative that she should fulfil certain most
+important social engagements, had returned to London. She left Grey House
+in ignorance of all that had happened beyond the bare details of the
+division of the diamonds. Of Bullard's end she did not hear till a week
+later, and the particulars of his death were as vague as many of the
+particulars of the man's life. The "accident" had remained undiscovered
+for a couple of days, and the tides of the Firth had removed much. Mrs.
+Lancaster had departed with sullen, smouldering eyes. She honestly
+considered her daughter thankless and undutiful, because the latter had
+not promised her a share of the diamonds on the spot.
+
+It was of her that Alan and Marjorie had been talking for the past
+five minutes.
+
+"I wouldn't be too pessimistic, Alan, if I were you," the girl was
+saying. "Mrs. Lancaster, given her own way and plenty of money, may be
+quite bearable, if not charming, to live with, and Doris is evidently
+bent on supplying the money--"
+
+"For her father's sake. Doris will never forgive her mother, and I don't
+see why she should."
+
+Marjorie smiled. "Let's wait and see. What will the Lancasters' income be
+from Doris's gift?"
+
+"If Doris spends a hundred thousand on a joint annuity, as she threatens
+to do, they will have about £8,000 a year."
+
+"Goodness! what a lot to have to spend in twelve months!"
+
+"And, of course, Lancaster, though he will have retired from
+business, will have quite a decent income of his own when the mines
+come round again."
+
+"Well, I prophesy that they will both be fairly happy. Mrs. Lancaster
+ought to be able to make a pretty good display in what she calls
+Society. Now and then Mr. Lancaster will have a shilling left to spend
+on a nice book for his library, poor dear; and, with no business
+worries, he will probably begin to admire his wife once more as well as
+love her, which he has always done; and when he gets a surfeit of her
+friends, as I fear he will now and then, he will just take a little
+holiday and pay you a visit--"
+
+"Us, please!"
+
+"I wonder," said Miss Handyside, becoming extremely grave, "I wonder
+whether we ought to marry, after all."
+
+"What?"
+
+"We're both of us far, far too rich. You know I have always despised very
+rich people."
+
+"I'm sure I'll lose my bit in no time," said Alan, hopefully.
+
+"On the other hand, I have never admired foolish people."
+
+"I never said you were conceited, did I?" he retorted.
+
+"You wouldn't have said a thing like that twenty-four hours ago,
+Mr. Craig!"
+
+"Twenty-four hours ago I would not have interrupted you for the world."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Look at the clock! Twenty-four hours ago, in that dark passage, you were
+whispering--"
+
+"I wasn't!" cried Marjorie, blushing adorably. "Hold your tongue and
+talk about something sensible."
+
+"Right! Do you think you could be ready to marry me next month?"
+
+When a minute or two had passed, she said: "We're a pair of horrid,
+selfish things!"
+
+"How so?"
+
+"We're so wrapped up in happiness--at least, you are--that we have no
+thought for poor Doris, and poor, _poor_ Teddy. Oh, what is to be done
+about them? ... Why don't you answer?"
+
+"Because it's a problem, dear girl. We know it's simply want of money
+that's holding Teddy back, but even a fellow with plenty can't say to his
+friend: 'Look here, old cock, take this cheque and run away and get
+engaged!'"
+
+"Certainly not! There's no need to be indelicate. Couldn't you put the
+cheque in his stocking at Christmas--or something?"
+
+"While I am doubtful as to whether Teddy hangs up his sock, I know he's
+too sensitive and proud to accept a money gift, however delicately
+offered. As a matter of fact, Marjorie, I've tried--wanted him to take a
+quarter of the diamonds as a sort of souvenir, you know--"
+
+"You dear, kind, generous man!" exclaimed Marjorie....
+
+Order being restored--
+
+"My only hope," he went on, "is that Teddy will, somehow, lose his head
+and take the plunge, and _then_ it would be a wedding present. One can't
+reject a wedding present, can one?"
+
+"No--though every one of my sisters has fervently wished one could. And I
+could give him a wedding present, too!"
+
+"We!"
+
+"No, big!"
+
+They both laughed, then sighed, and with one accord said--
+
+"But he'll never do it!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Dusk was falling on the loch. The figures of Lancaster and Handyside
+walking in front were becoming invisible.
+
+"But why," asked Doris, "are you going back to London? I thought you had
+decided to spend the winter at Grey House and help Alan with his book
+about the Eskimos."
+
+"I'm afraid it's a blue lookout for the Eskimos. You see, Alan hopes
+Marjorie will agree to marry him in January. The stopping of the clock
+has altered a good many things," he finished, rather drearily.
+
+"It seems to have altered you, Teddy," she said shyly.
+
+He did not respond, and there was another of the long pauses which had
+been frequent during the walk.
+
+"Father and I must be going, too, before long," she said at last.
+
+"Your father is looking a new man, Doris," he returned, with an effort.
+
+"Thanks to you.... Oh, I know you have told me not to speak about it, but
+I implore you to tell me how you did that wonderful thing about the debt
+to the Syndicate. Tell me, Teddy."
+
+"You must excuse me."
+
+"But why should you want to hide the truth from me? Do you know what you
+force me to think?--that you paid the debt yourself!"
+
+"Well, I didn't."
+
+"Not some of it?"
+
+There was silence, then--"For heaven's sake, Doris, let the matter rest.
+Forget about it!"
+
+"Forget! What do you think I'm made of? ... Oh, I'm beginning to wonder
+whether Christopher's diamonds have brought me any real happiness."
+
+Controlling himself he said: "You know they have, for your father's
+sake alone--"
+
+"Even so," she said, and halted.
+
+"Doris," he whispered with passionate bitterness, "I will say it only
+once: it's rotten to be poor. That's all. Now let's--"
+
+"And I think I will say it all my life," she answered almost inaudibly;
+"... it's rotten to be rich, and I'm afraid we shall be late for tea."
+
+They were,--very late.
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, TILL THE CLOCK STOPS ***
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