Another Man's Shoes - free ebook by Victor Bridges

Another Man's Shoes

By VICTOR BRIDGES AUTHOR OF "A Rogue by Compulsion," Etc. A. L. BURT COMPANY Publishers New York Published by Arrangements with GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY Copyright, 1913, BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY To M. THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED ANOTHER MAN'S SHOES...

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CHAPTER I

When you are really hungry, and have precisely one and sixpence to spend upon your dinner, the problem is one which requires a certain amount of consideration. I hesitated for some time between —— and the ——. At —— they give you four quite decent courses for a shilling, which leaves sixpence over for a drink and a tip for the waiter. On the other hand, the tablecloths are generally dirty, and the atmosphere of the place about as poisonous as that of a Chinese joss-house. In this respect —— is al

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CHAPTER II

My nerves are under pretty good control, but I must confess that I jumped a little at this unexpected interruption. Wheeling round, I found myself face to face with a tall, broad-shouldered man in evening dress, which was half concealed by a long fawn-coloured overcoat. For a moment his features seemed strangely familiar, and I stared at him, wondering where I had seen them last. Then suddenly the truth hit me fair and square. "Good Lord!" I said, "are you a looking-glass?" Except for his clothe

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CHAPTER III

I am fairly used to surprises, but there was a magnificence about this unexpected offer that for a moment took away my breath. I leaned back and surveyed my double with genuine admiration. "You certainly do business on a large scale, Mr. Northcote," I said. "Do you pay in cash?" For an answer, he thrust his hand into an inside pocket and pulled out a leather case. This he opened, extracting four bank-notes, which he laid on the table. "Here are two thousand pounds," he said quietly. "If you acce

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CHAPTER IV

I must have fallen forward at the very moment she fired. There was no report, only the jar of a powerful air-spring, but the bullet crashed into the woodwork of the desk just exactly in a line with where my head had been a second before. It was a pretty piece of dodging, but I was not ambitious for an encore. I was across that room and had my fair visitor by the wrist in considerably less time than it takes to read these words. She made no attempt at resistance. Her failure seemed to have robbed

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CHAPTER V

Considering the amount of brandy that I had consumed, I awoke next morning feeling remarkably well. The first thing that met my eyes was the canopy of the bed. I stared at it in a kind of vague surprise, wondering how on earth it had got there. Then, with a sudden shock, the events of the previous evening came racing back into my mind. I realised that I was in Northcote's bedroom, and that someone was knocking gently but persistently at the door. Jumping out, I thrust my feet into a pair of slip

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CHAPTER VI

I don't know whether I started, but the word gave me an unpleasant jar. "Poisoned!" I repeated. "Do you mean poisoned purposely?" Ritchie frowned. "I can't say. It's a curious case, but there's no doubt that he's suffering from some form of poisoning. It might be one of half a dozen." "What are we to do?" I asked. "At present," said Ritchie, "the only thing to do is to give him a strong emetic and keep him warm. I'll send you a nurse straight away, from St. George's, with full instructions. I sh

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CHAPTER VII

Over an excellent grouse, followed by mushrooms on toast, and illuminated by a bottle of Chablis, I leisurely reviewed the situation. So far, about thirteen hours had elapsed since I had parted from Northcote at the Milan, and if they had contained one or two disconcerting experiences, I decided that I might certainly consider myself lucky to have emerged as successfully as I had. I was still alive; I had ten thousand pounds in my pocket; and so far I had apparently played my part without arousi

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CHAPTER VIII

I rather like surprises; but, as my old friend Jack Costello used to say, "You can have too dern much of a good thing." With the telegram in my hand I went inside the house, shutting the door behind me. The light was full on in the hall, and sitting on the edge of the table I again read through the curt message: "Get rid of your new butler immediately." It had been sent off from Charing Cross at 9.58, and the sender, whoever he might be, was evidently a person of direct and frugal mind. The whol

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CHAPTER IX

I walked out into the roadway and picked up my weapon. Except for a solitary cat, scratching herself under the opposite lamp, Park Lane was absolutely deserted. As I stood for a moment, staring up and down the long, brilliantly-lit thoroughfare, I heard a neighbouring clock strike three. I am not a person who gives up very easily, especially when I'm annoyed, but, dressed as I was, any further pursuit was out of the question. To dash down Piccadilly at this hour of the night, clad only in pyjama

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CHAPTER X

I was so glad to see her that I as nearly as possible made an idiot of myself. Indeed, I was just on the point of stepping forward and recklessly claiming her acquaintance, when something in Mercia's face made me pause. She had gone very pale, and I could see that the hand which was resting on her companion's sleeve had unconsciously tightened. Her troubled eyes looked momentarily into mine with an expression partly of fear, partly, it seemed to me, of relief. Then she moved on, and the next ins

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CHAPTER XI

I looked at it for a moment with a kind of dazzled admiration. Then, after taking a pull at my cigar to restore my composure, I read through the whole precious document from beginning to end. It appeared to me to be one of the finest and boldest works of fiction that had ever fallen into my hands. Briefly speaking, it commended in glowing terms to the notice of the British Public a new and magnificent group of gold-mines which it declared had just been discovered in the northern provinces of the

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CHAPTER XII

We must have got home together. I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder, like the touch of a redhot iron, and my assailant staggered back five yards and fetched up against the wall with a bang that echoed across the street. As he did so, there was a clatter of footsteps, and down the pavement came the figure of a man, sprinting towards us with silent but business-like rapidity. The gentleman who had disturbed me did not wait for further developments. He must have been a tough soul, for, despite his c

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CHAPTER XIII

It was just about half-past four when we entered the outskirts of Woodford. The car had gone well enough; indeed, except for a slight collision with a farm-cart in the neighbourhood of Chelmsford, our journey down had been a monotonous success. We pulled up at the Plough, an old-fashioned two-storey inn in the centre of the town, which boasted a red-and-white notice-board proclaiming its possession of a "Garage." "This looks all right, Billy," I said "If Maurice's place isn't too far away, you'd

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CHAPTER XIV

I suppose it was inevitable that even my best efforts at being pleasant should have failed to convince Lady Baradell that my feelings towards her had not changed. People do not as a rule choose quite such unconventional hours for calling except with the expectation of a considerably more enthusiastic welcome than I was prepared to offer. I saw suspicion and anger gathering slowly in her face, and finally she stepped back and clenched her hands. "Why are you trying to deceive me?" she broke out p

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CHAPTER XV

"I've ordered dinner for half-past eight," said Aunt Mary, "so don't be later than eight if you can help it. We shall all be famished by then." "We shall be before that," returned Maurice. "The flight's about half-past six, and it's only half an hour's walk from the marsh." We were standing in the drive with our guns—he and I and York and Vane. A slack afternoon, succeeded by an early tea, had followed the tennis, and now we were just setting out upon our duck-shooting expedition. Baradell had d

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CHAPTER XVI

I don't think I shall ever forget Maurice's face! His cheeks went the colour of grey ash, and for several seconds he stared at me with a sort of incredulous horror. If I had any remaining doubt as to his guilt, it was certainly settled in that dramatic interval. At last, with a great effort, he recovered himself sufficiently to give a sickly laugh. "By Jove, you gave us a start, Stuart!" he said. "We were just wondering whether you'd fallen into the creek." "No," I replied cheerfully, "it was on

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CHAPTER XVII

I pulled up the car just this side of Barham Bridge, and turned her on to the strip of level grass that ran parallel with the road. Mercia seemed to have chosen a pleasantly isolated meeting-place. Away to my right, on the top of a small hill, stood an old weather-beaten, half-ruined windmill; but with this exception, nothing broke the flat monotony of the far-stretching Suffolk pastures. Opening the gate, I made my way up the rough track, which in more spacious days had apparently been the mill

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CHAPTER XVIII

It was not York's fault that I took no part in the cricket match. His persistent and pathetic appeals to me at breakfast to fill the vacant place in his eleven were worthy of a more hopeful cause. "Oh, leave Mr. Northcote alone, Bertie," broke in his sister at last. "You've got ten people already, and that's quite enough for the silly game." "Ten!" retorted her brother. "What's the good of ten, and half of them village boys? Orbridge are a frightfully hot side." "They'll be hotter still by the t

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CHAPTER XIX

"A good, heavy spanner," I said, "will be about my mark." Billy rummaged in the tool-box, selected the article in question, and handed it over to me. "If you get well home with that," he observed, "we shan't have much need of a gun." I stored it away in my side pocket. "No guns, Billy," I said, "except as a last resort. This is going to be a case of 'all done by kindness.'" Billy grinned, and walking round to the front of the car, proceeded to start her up. The hands of the big clock in the stab

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CHAPTER XX

One seldom does the right thing in moments of great emergency. As an innocent man I suppose I ought to have started back and exclaimed, "Good heavens! What is the meaning of this outrage?" But, to tell the truth, I did nothing of the kind. I stared blankly at my new friend for a moment, and then suddenly burst into a peal of laughter which I was quite unable to suppress. My mirth seemed to infect Billy, who sat down on the railings and chuckled like a fool. The Inspector's face was a joy! "I'm a

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CHAPTER XXI

Mr. George Gordon arrived at about half-past three. He was shown into my room by the Inspector, who announced his name almost as respectfully as that of the Home Secretary. A tall, immaculately dressed young man, with a long chin, a tired white face, and sleek black hair carefully parted in the middle, he appeared more like a product of Ranelagh and the Gaiety than the most successful barrister-politician of the day. As the warder withdrew we shook hands, Mr. Gordon looking at me from under his

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CHAPTER XXII

"My name, sir, is Milford—John Milford. Up till nine months ago I was a steward in the employment of the Blue Star Line. That was how I first came to meet Mr. Northcote. He was one of the passengers in the Caledonia last October coming from New York." "Was he travelling by himself?" asked the magistrate. "Yes, sir; he came on board at the last moment. He had one of the deck cabins, and it was my duty to look after him." "How did he come to offer you the position of being his butler?" Milford hes

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CHAPTER XXIII

Before the excitement had properly subsided, I was in the little room at the back of the court with Gordon and Inspector Neil. The latter closed the door, shutting out the confused murmur which we had left behind us. "It's not my place to congratulate you, sir," he observed apologetically, "but I should like to do so if you will allow me." "Why, of course, Inspector," I said, with a smile. "I don't wonder you suspected me on the evidence you had. It looked like a certainty." He shook his head. "

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CHAPTER XXIV

It was the sudden stamping of feet and the sound of blows outside that abruptly terminated our embrace. Releasing Mercia, and snatching up the siphon from the table, I darted to the door, where I found the faithful Wilton, armed with heavy boat-spanner, vigorously opposing the attempted advance of two of Sangatte's crew. At the sight of me—I must have been a horrible-looking object—their courage seemed to falter. "Come on, Wilton," I yelled, and, swinging back my siphon, I leaped forward to the

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