24 chapters
12 hour read
Selected Chapters
24 chapters
Chapter One.
Chapter One.
“Hush! Think, if you were overheard!” “Well, my dear fellow, I only assert what’s true,” I said. “I really can’t believe it,” observed my companion, shaking his head doubtfully. “But I’m absolutely satisfied,” I answered. “The two affairs, mysterious as they are, are more closely connected than we imagine. I thought I had convinced you by my arguments. A revelation will be made some day, and it will be a startling one—depend upon it.” “You’ll never convince me without absolute proof—never. The i
34 minute read
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Chapter Two.
Chapter Two.
“And the discovery?” I asked impatiently. “What’s its nature?” “Most astounding,” he replied, with a bewildered look. “I’m a police officer, Urwin,” he added hoarsely, “and I’m not often unnerved. But to-night, by Jove! I’m upset—altogether upset. The whole affair is so devilish uncanny and unnatural.” “Tell me the story,” I urged. “If it is so strange the evening papers will have a good time to-morrow.” “No, no,” he cried in quick alarm. “You must publish nothing yet—nothing. You understand tha
30 minute read
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Chapter Three.
Chapter Three.
“Tell me, miss, who has just been speaking to me. Kindly oblige me, as it’s most important.” There was silence for a few moments, then the female voice inquired—“Are you there?” to which I responded. “You were on a moment ago with 14,982, the public call-office at Putney.” “How long was I on?” “About ten minutes.” “Have I been on to the same place before this evening?” I asked. “No. Several numbers have been ringing you up, but you haven’t replied.” “Who were they?” “Oh, I really can’t tell you
26 minute read
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Chapter Four.
Chapter Four.
“I wonder what game is this, or whether these have any connexion with the crime?” I exclaimed, holding all three of the cards in my hand, turning them over and examining them carefully beneath the light. “By the ink they have the appearance of having been prepared long ago. See!” I added, holding one of them towards him, “the corners of this one are slightly turned up and soiled. It has been carried in some one’s pocket, and is not a fresh card.” Again Patterson took it and examined it. It was t
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Chapter Five.
Chapter Five.
“Are you quite certain that every cupboard and wardrobe has been looked into?” I asked doubtfully. “Quite. From garret to cellar we’ve thoroughly overhauled the place. There are a couple of large trunks in one of the bedrooms, but we examined the contents of both. They contain books.” “But loose boards, or places of that sort?” I suggested. “When we search a place,” responded the Scotland Yard inspector with a smile, “we’re always on the look-out for places of concealment. I’ve superintended the
28 minute read
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Chapter Six.
Chapter Six.
“Well, I only hope he does meet me,” I observed. “So do I. But to my mind such a circumstance is entirely out of the question. You see he went to call-boxes in order to avoid detection.” “The curious thing is, that if it were the same man who rang up each time he must have travelled from one place to another in an amazingly rapid manner.” “There might be two persons,” he suggested. “Of course there might,” I answered. “But I think not. The girl at the exchange evidently recognised the voice of t
27 minute read
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Chapter Seven.
Chapter Seven.
From the telegram I might, I thought, obtain some clue, but, alas! telegrams are secret, and I should be unable to get a glance at it. To apply at the office would be useless. The police might perhaps obtain permission to read it, but so many dispatches are daily handed in there that to trace any particular one is always a difficult matter. I was divided in my impulses. Should I go back to King Street and make instant application regarding the telegram, so that it might be marked and easily trac
25 minute read
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Chapter Eight.
Chapter Eight.
Patterson was the first witness. In terse language he gave an account of his discovery and of his second visit to the house in my company. Then, when he had concluded, I was called and bore out his statement, relating how we had entered the laboratory and found the marvellous scientific apparatus, and how in the pocket of the dead man I had found a penny wrapped in paper. The cards with the strange devices which had been beneath the plates on the dining-table were handed round to the jury for th
26 minute read
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Chapter Nine.
Chapter Nine.
There was no love between us now. None. The days were long-past since a woman’s touch and words would make me colour like a girl. Even this meeting when she pressed my hand and her eyelids fluttered, did not re-stir within me the chord of love so long untouched. I had heard of her only as a flirt and fortune-hunter, and had read in the newspapers a paragraph announcing her engagement to the elder son of a millionaire ironfounder of Wigan. Nevertheless, a month ago the papers contained a further
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Chapter Ten.
Chapter Ten.
“I’m sure,” I said, “the pleasure is mutual.” Dick, after I had introduced him to Mrs Blain, had seated himself at Mary’s side and was chatting to her, while I, leaning back in my chair, looked at this woman before me and remembered the object of my visit. There was certainly nothing in her face to arouse suspicion. She was perhaps fifty, with just a sign of grey hairs, dark-eyed, with a nose of that type one associates with employers of labour. A trifle inclined to embonpoint , she was a typica
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Chapter Eleven.
Chapter Eleven.
The sunset was one of those gorgeous combinations of crimson and gold which those who frequent the Thames know so well. Upstream the flood of crimson of the dying day caused the elms and willows to stand out black against the cloudless sky, while every ripple caused by the boat caught the sun-glow until the water seemed red as blood. A great peace was there. Not a single boat was in sight, not a sound save the quiet lapping of the water against the bows and the slight dripping of the oars as I f
31 minute read
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Chapter Twelve.
Chapter Twelve.
“No,” I said in surprise, “I didn’t notice either of those things.” “But I did,” he went on reflectively. “All these facts go to convince me.” “Of what?” “That we are working in the right direction to obtain a key to the mystery,” he responded. Then suddenly he added: “By the way, that girl Glaslyn is certainly very beautiful. I envied you, old fellow, when you took her for a row.” I smiled. I had determined not to reveal to him her identity as the woman whom I had first discovered lifeless, but
36 minute read
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Chapter Thirteen.
Chapter Thirteen.
Suddenly a movement behind me brought me back to a sense of my surroundings, and I saw that Dick had returned. “Why, you’re back very early,” I said. “Have you been down to the Crystal Palace?” “Yes, of course,” he answered gaily. “What have you been doing, you lazy beggar? It’s past half-past eleven.” “Nothing,” I answered, surprised that it was so late. “I tried to write, but it’s too beastly hot to work.” “Quite fresh down at the Palace,” he answered. “Big crowd on the Terrace, and the firewo
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Chapter Fourteen.
Chapter Fourteen.
“It is impossible,” she responded in a harsh, despairing voice, quite unlike her usual self. Her head was bowed, as though she dare not again look into my face. Once more I caught her hand, holding it within my grasp. It seemed to have grown cold, and in an instant its touch brought back to me the recollection of that fatal night in Kensington. Would that I might lay bare all that I knew, and ask her for an explanation. But to do so would be to show that I doubted her; therefore I was compelled
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Chapter Fifteen.
Chapter Fifteen.
“She must, for it’s now past five. I really hope nothing has happened.” “Nothing ever happens to mother,” observed Eva, with a light laugh. “She’ll turn up presently.” Then she explained how I had called at The Hollies and she had brought me along. On reaching Riverdene she had instantly concealed her agitation and reassumed her old buoyant spirits in order that none should suspect. She was an adept at the art of disguising her feelings, for none would now believe that twenty minutes before her
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Chapter Sixteen.
Chapter Sixteen.
“Often,” he said, “a substance which is poison to one person is harmless to another. If we could only discover what it really was which affected you, we might treat you for it and cure you much more rapidly. As matters rest, however, you must grow strong again by degrees, and thank Providence that you’re still alive. I confess when I first saw you, I thought you’d only a few minutes to live.” “Was I so very bad?” “As ill as you could be. You were cold and rigid, and looked as though you were alr
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Chapter Seventeen.
Chapter Seventeen.
Even at that moment the identity of the victims remained still unknown. They were lying in nameless graves in Abney Park Cemetery, having been buried by the parish. The Blains alone could give us information as to who they were and who was the unnamed scientist whose discovery was now creating such a stir throughout Europe. Curious it was that he did not come forward and claim the discovery as his own, for he must have read accounts of it in the papers. My own theory in this matter was that he w
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Chapter Eighteen.
Chapter Eighteen.
It was a low-ceilinged, comfortable apartment, cool and restful after the dust and glare of the white road outside. In a few moments the door opened and Eva entered, fresh and charming in a cool dress of cream flannel, her sweet face illumined by a smile of glad welcome. “This is quite an unexpected pleasure, Mr Urwin!” she exclaimed, rushing towards me gladly with outstretched hand. “I had no idea that you’d come down to-day. The Blains are up in town, you know. I should have gone, only I had a
21 minute read
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Chapter Nineteen.
Chapter Nineteen.
“Can a woman explain her caprice any more than a man can understand it?” Without heeding this evasion I went on— “Is it that you are already pledged to marry some other man?” “No,” she answered, quickly and earnestly. “Then it is because you do not wish me to love you,” I observed reproachfully. Her look startled me, for it contained besides a world of grief and pity, something of self-reproach. She regarded me strangely, first as if my words were a welcome truth, then, while her brow darkened,
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Chapter Twenty.
Chapter Twenty.
“Well,” he answered in a low voice, “we’ve got a piece of most secret investigation before us to-night. I’ve waited for your assistance. We are going to search The Hollies.” “Search the Hollies?” I echoed. “Yes,” he answered. “You’ll remember Miss Glaslyn’s letter to you, stating that the house was closed and the servants are away on holiday. Therefore, now’s our time. We must, however, act so that Lady Glaslyn and her daughter have no suspicion that the place has been overhauled. I obtained a s
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Chapter Twenty One.
Chapter Twenty One.
“The whole thing is utterly bewildering,” I said, re-reading the letter in my hand, a communication which certainly was of a most veiled character, evidently being type-written to disguise the writer’s identity. “There is no object whatever to be gained by adopting your suggestion,” it ran. “The only absolutely safe course is to continue as in the past. The silence is effectual, and for the present is enough. All your fears are quite groundless. Show a bold front and be cautious always. If you w
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Chapter Twenty Two.
Chapter Twenty Two.
“Strange that the curiosity of the servants was not aroused,” I said. “They would be certain to wonder what was in a room sealed up as that is.” “To satisfy them would be easy enough,” the detective answered. “Her ladyship undoubtedly told them that certain family heirlooms, old furniture, or something, was stowed away there, and that the seal had been placed upon them by the trustees, or somebody. Trust a woman for an excuse,” and he smiled grimly. We walked on together for some time in complet
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Chapter Twenty Three.
Chapter Twenty Three.
Her outward purity and innocence were a rare equipment for the committal of a crime. Who, indeed, would have suspected her of guile and intrigue? When Love is dead there is no God. We were standing together in my sitting-room, Boyd being our only companion. A dozen times I had implored her to speak the truth, but without avail. She stood pale and trembling, yet still silent before us. Terror held her dumb. “Those who turn King’s evidence obtain free pardon,” the detective gravely observed, speak
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Chapter Twenty Four.
Chapter Twenty Four.
“For a long time I was greatly puzzled by these and other circumstances. Certain scraps of conversation which I overheard between Madame and Blain, and between my employer and Hartmann, increased my suspicions, and especially so when I found Madame carrying on a series of secret experiments in her own rooms, often boiling certain decoctions over the tiny spirit-lamp used to heat her curling-irons. Several of the liquids thus manufactured she placed in the tiny phials of her medicine-chest. All t
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