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CHAPTER ITHE BLACKMAILER
CHAPTER ITHE BLACKMAILER
Hearing the sound of lightly-falling footsteps behind him, Captain Melun ceased his investigations of Sir Paul Westerham's kit-bag and cautiously turned his head. As he did so, the captain experienced a painful sensation. He felt a little cold ring of steel pressed against his right temple, and from past experience, both objective and subjective, he knew that a Colt cartridge was held, so to speak, in leash within five inches of his head. It was very still on board the Gigantic . The liner rose
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CHAPTER IISIR PAUL WESTERHAM BUYS THE CRIME SYNDICATE
CHAPTER IISIR PAUL WESTERHAM BUYS THE CRIME SYNDICATE
Captain Melun was a man used to being hard hit. He was steeled against cunningly and swiftly-dealt blows, such as he himself administered, but this declaration of Sir Paul Westerham, that he intended to marry the Lady Kathleen, took him quite aback. “Oh!” he exclaimed softly, and his voice had a certain note of puzzlement and anxiety in it. “Oh!” he repeated, and again he said “Oh!” The baronet smiled a little grimly in his red beard, but his duck's-egg green eyes were as serene and as cold as e
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CHAPTER IIITHE GIRL IN THE PARK
CHAPTER IIITHE GIRL IN THE PARK
On the same night the oily quality departed from the swell. It came on to blow, and blew hard until the Gigantic crossed the Mersey's turgid bar. It was sufficiently rough to justify a great number of persons remaining in their cabins, but it was hardly sufficiently rough to excuse a two-days' absence of Captain Melun from the poker table. There were some who were fools enough to grumble at Melun's absence, alleging against him that he sought to rob them of that revenge which they desired to mak
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CHAPTER IVTHE RED-HAIRED WOMAN
CHAPTER IVTHE RED-HAIRED WOMAN
Westerham stood still gazing stupidly at the girl and holding out the jewels towards her. When he had recovered from his great surprise he moved a step nearer to her. “Madam,” he said, “permit me to insist that you shall take these things back.” Without a word the girl stretched out her hand and took the jewels from him. She hid them quickly in the folds of her cloak, and all the while the expression of amaze and fear on her face did not abate. At last she pointed to the man lying beneath the tr
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CHAPTER VTHE CRIME CLUB
CHAPTER VTHE CRIME CLUB
Westerham made his way back to Walter's in a slightly happier frame of mind. He liked to see his difficulties plain before him rather than to be hemmed about with mysteries that he could not understand. And difficulty seemed to be piling itself upon difficulty. Much, of course, remained to be explained. He was not sure of the different parts which the weirdly associated people whom he had met that afternoon played in Melun's game. He could, however, make a guess, and his shrewd guess was not so
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CHAPTER VIDOWNING STREET
CHAPTER VIDOWNING STREET
Westerham whipped round on his heel towards Melun. “What is that?” he asked sharply. Melun shrugged his shoulders. From Melun Westerham turned to the negro, whose teeth were bared in a wide grin. “What is that?” Westerham demanded of him. But the negro took his cue from Melun and merely shrugged his shoulders. Then there came the scream again, louder and more terror-stricken than before. Westerham did not hesitate. Before the negro had time to utter any protest he had snatched the lantern from h
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CHAPTER VIILADY KATHLEEN'S DOUBTS
CHAPTER VIILADY KATHLEEN'S DOUBTS
In the outer room he found Melun; he took him by the arm and said very quickly, “Come along, I want to speak to you.” Melun gave him one almost quizzical look and accompanied him without speaking. As a matter of fact, he found it rather awkward to say anything at all, and did not attempt to break the silence in which Westerham drove back to the hotel. Westerham himself was baffled, and yet he had ascertained one thing which was likely to be of infinite use to him. He had discovered that there wa
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CHAPTER VIIISCOTLAND YARD INTERVENES
CHAPTER VIIISCOTLAND YARD INTERVENES
Mme. Estelle was at home, and Westerham was immediately shown into a long, low, pretty drawing-room, which gave on to a garden at the back of the house. Judged, indeed, from Madame's pose, and from the gown she wore, she might have been expecting visitors. The lights were shaded so that the hard lines on her face were softened, and in the dimness of the pretty room she looked the really beautiful woman she once must have been. In his generous spirit—though he knew nothing of Madame's past, and p
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CHAPTER IXTHE HIGHER BURGLARY
CHAPTER IXTHE HIGHER BURGLARY
Mr. Rookley swung his heavy body to and fro on his heels and toes, and pursed up his official mouth. “Mr. Robinson,” he said, “I must warn you that you are playing an exceedingly dangerous game.” “May I suggest,” Westerham remarked, more bluntly than before, “that you are doing precisely the same?” “What do you mean, sir?” “I mean that you are not keeping strictly to your duty. You seem to be taking upon yourself a great many things which it is not your business to do—certainly you are assuming
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CHAPTER XSIR PAUL IN PERIL
CHAPTER XSIR PAUL IN PERIL
It was all very well for Melun to tell Westerham that he was a strong man armed. But was he? Westerham pondered over this problem with a puzzled frown. In spite of the checks he had met with, he still felt himself to be, as Melun had said, a strong man. And when he came to a tight corner he was armed for the struggle, and had less fear of things than had Melun. At times also it seemed as if his ingenuity was greater than the captain's. But, for all that, did he really hold the upper hand? As he
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CHAPTER XIMURDER MYSTERIOUS
CHAPTER XIMURDER MYSTERIOUS
Melun's glance down the ranks of the men satisfied him that he had things well in hand. The bullet-headed man was shifting about on his seat, and Crow sat with a pasty face, twisting and bending his great, brutal fingers. “Gentlemen,” said Melun, almost politely, “I expect you feel that some explanation is due from me.” The majority of the men nodded in a surly way. “Well,” Melun continued, “the explanation is simplicity itself. I have been duped by that man.” Again he pointed to Westerham. “He
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CHAPTER XIITHE PRIME MINISTER IS COMPROMISED
CHAPTER XIITHE PRIME MINISTER IS COMPROMISED
Horrified though he was, Westerham made no sign. He had stood in the presence of death before, and he had faced it in more dreadful forms, though it is true he had never known it so intimately and so poignantly. “The girl may be the next,” the words seemed ominous—like a doom. Troubles encompassed him on every side. An hour or so previously he had faced the greatest odds he had ever known till then. The odds were greater now. Conscious that the keen eyes of Rookley were upon him, he saw that ins
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CHAPTER XIIITHE GAMING-HOUSE
CHAPTER XIIITHE GAMING-HOUSE
Westerham turned the note about and about in his fingers in the futile attempt to extract some further information from it. He realised, of course, that the note boded a new move. Had the crisis really crept so close? Or was the danger in which Lady Kathleen stood merely fictitious? Possibly it was a trap; but that he had to risk. One thing was certain—he could not ignore the message. On second thoughts, indeed, he was inclined to regard the summons as a real and urgent one. The murder at the ho
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CHAPTER XIVLADY KATHLEEN'S MISSION
CHAPTER XIVLADY KATHLEEN'S MISSION
In spite of Mme. Estelle's declaration that he should see Lady Kathleen that night, and in spite of the conviction that Madame spoke the truth, Westerham, strange to say, had not expected to find her in the gaming-house. As he entered the room of lights he had for a moment wondered for what reason he had been brought into such a place, but at the same time, by some swift mental process, he had decided that the mysterious gaming-house was but a step towards Lady Kathleen, and not the actual place
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CHAPTER XVBY ORDER OF THE CZAR
CHAPTER XVBY ORDER OF THE CZAR
Swift as the cab was, Westerham only caught the boat-train by a minute, and at that without a ticket. He had then two hours for calm reflection, and to some extent self-reproach. Never in his life before had he been so unnerved, and the expressions of irritation which he had made at the Buckingham Palace Hotel before Dunton did not seem to him good. He saw that his was not a fit state of mind to be in if he intended to steer safely through the troubled waters ahead of him. Some things were growi
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CHAPTER XVISTRANGE HAPPENINGS
CHAPTER XVISTRANGE HAPPENINGS
“By order of the Czar!” Westerham repeated the words, and his face was blank in its amazement. Lady Kathleen caught his expression and her own face changed. She saw that Westerham's surprise was entirely genuine. She saw that he did not know! Westerham repeated the words again, groping for some explanation of this extraordinary statement. He could find none. This, indeed, was the greatest mystery of all. When he had slightly collected himself he drew a chair to the table and sat down heavily, fa
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CHAPTER XVIIMELODRAMA AT TRANT HALL
CHAPTER XVIIMELODRAMA AT TRANT HALL
When Lady Kathleen bade good-bye to Westerham she drove first to Downing Street, where she met her father. Together they travelled down to Trant Hall, and on the way Kathleen gave Lord Penshurst a full account of all that had passed since she had been summoned so suddenly to Rouen. The Premier sat with bowed head, holding his daughter's hand as he listened to her narrative. For the moment it seemed to crush him utterly, and when Kathleen had finished speaking he lifted up his head and said, in a
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CHAPTER XVIIIAT THE EMPIRE
CHAPTER XVIIIAT THE EMPIRE
The better to show his contempt for the people whom he was robbing, Melun had put away his revolver. This little piece of play-acting cost him dear. As he saw Westerham coming down the stairs his hand went to his hip-pocket. But Westerham was first, and covered him in an instant. “Put up your hands!” he ordered. Melun obediently threw up his hands. The other masked men now covered Westerham, but Melun cried out sharply: “Stop that! No firing!” For he knew who was the best shot, and who was likel
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CHAPTER XIXTHE CAPTURE OF LADY KATHLEEN
CHAPTER XIXTHE CAPTURE OF LADY KATHLEEN
It was for very excellent reasons that Melun had not driven up to St. John's Wood to fetch Mme. Estelle to the Empire; and his caution in other matters thus saved him from an unpleasant cross-examination concerning Kathleen. It is true that when Westerham had left the box Madame made several efforts to broach the subject, but Melun succeeded in steering clear of the matter until after they had left the theatre. As, however, the cab proceeded to Davies Street she made a further attempt to pin him
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CHAPTER XXTHE FARM ON THE HILL
CHAPTER XXTHE FARM ON THE HILL
For a while Kathleen was too bewildered to say anything, but soon one ugly fact stood out hard and convincing. She had been betrayed. Slowly she gathered all her mental resources together and slowly she looked from Melun to Marie Estelle and back to Melun. During the past few weeks she had learned to expect infamy and even treachery, but she had not looked for any action so villainous as this. As the car went bounding down the hill at an ever-increasing rate of speed Kathleen saw Melun give an a
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CHAPTER XXITHE KIDNAPPING OF THE PRIME MINISTER
CHAPTER XXITHE KIDNAPPING OF THE PRIME MINISTER
“Out of evil cometh good.” Had Westerham caught the eye of Kathleen as the two motor cars passed each other at the corner of Whitehall Kathleen herself would have been spared much suffering and several men would not have gone to their account. But a meeting at that moment would have so changed the whole course of events that far greater trouble would have befallen, and the whole earth might have become involved in a disaster which would have grown, without question, into Armageddon. It was, howe
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CHAPTER XXIITHE PREMIERE'S STORY
CHAPTER XXIITHE PREMIERE'S STORY
I have to confess that quite unintentionally I did my Government and my country a great wrong. In spite of all my very considerable experience, I did not see at the time the danger into which I was drifting, and I had gone too far to draw back when I realised with a shock the awful position in which I had placed myself. As you know, I was drafted into the Ministry through an rather unusual channel. It is not often that a diplomat forsakes diplomacy to take part in politics. An extraordinary comb
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CHAPTER XXIIIA GRISLY THREAT
CHAPTER XXIIIA GRISLY THREAT
Westerham had listened to Lord Penshurst's long recital with great attention. From time to time he raised his eyebrows, but for the rest he gave no sign of astonishment. As the Premier concluded Westerham rose and held out his hand. “We have not much time before us, Lord Penshurst,” he said, “but I think I can promise you that you shall have the papers back before the three days are out. “Meantime,” he continued, “let us get back to Downing Street at once, and in spite of the sensation that your
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CHAPTER XXIVWESTERHAM'S WAY OUT
CHAPTER XXIVWESTERHAM'S WAY OUT
Lord Penshurst was beside himself with grief, and clung to Westerham as a child might, weeping passionately in his arms. Rookley, with a miserable face, had slipped out of the room. It was a quarter of an hour before Westerham succeeded in bringing Lord Penshurst back to a coherent frame of mind. Then he helped him to his room, and left him dazed and piteous on his bed. Of the three men who had made the dread discovery Westerham was perhaps the hardest hit, but he walked back to the little box a
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