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35 chapters
A MOVE ON THE “FORTY”
A MOVE ON THE “FORTY”
In Paris, in Rome, in Florence, in Berlin, in Vienna—in fact, over half the face of Europe, from the Pyrenees to the Russian frontier—I am now known as “The Count’s Chauffeur.” An Englishman, as my name George Ewart denotes, I am of cosmopolitan birth and education, my early youth having been spent on the Continent, where my father was agent for a London firm. When I was fourteen, my father, having prospered, came to London, and established himself as an agent in Wood Street, City, representing
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A SENTIMENTAL SWINDLE
A SENTIMENTAL SWINDLE
Count Bindo’s retreat near Winchester proved to be a small, rather isolated house near Kingsworthy. It stood in its own grounds, surrounded by a high wall, and at the rear was a very fair garage, that had been specially constructed, with inspection-pit and the various appliances. The house was rather well furnished, but the only servant was a man, who turned out to be none other than the yellow-haired young fellow who had been introduced to me at the Cecil as “Mr. Henderson.” He no longer wore t
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THE STORY OF A SECRET
THE STORY OF A SECRET
This story of a secret is not without its humorous side. Before entering Paris, on our quick run up from Marseilles after the affair of the jeweller’s shop, we had stopped at Melun, beyond Fontainebleau. There, a well-known carriage-builder had been ordered to repaint the car pale blue, with a dead white band. Upon the panels, my employer, the impudent Bindo, had ordered a count’s coronet, with the cipher “G. B.” beneath, all to be done in the best style and regardless of expense. Then, that sam
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A RUN WITH ROSALIE
A RUN WITH ROSALIE
Several months had elapsed since my adventure with “Valentine of the Beautiful Eyes.” From Germany Count Bindo di Ferraris had sent me with the car right across Europe to Florence, where, at Nenci’s, the builders of motor-bodies, I, in obedience to orders, had it repainted a bright yellow—almost the colour of mustard. When, a fortnight later, it came out of the Nenci works, I hardly recognised it. At Bindo’s orders I had had a second body built, one made of wicker, and lined inside with glazed w
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THE SIX NEW NOVELS
THE SIX NEW NOVELS
The car had again undergone a transformation. With a new racing-body, built in Northampton, and painted dead white picked out with gilt, no one would have recognised it as the car which had carried away the clever jewel-thief from Bond Street. Since the adventure at Leghorn I had seen nothing of La Belle Valentine. With Bindo, however, I had driven the car across from Rome to Calais by way of Ventimiglia and Marseilles, and, after crossing the Channel, I had gone alone to Northampton, and there
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THE GENTLEMAN FROM LONDON
THE GENTLEMAN FROM LONDON
Months had passed since the affair of the six new novels. In Hamburg Bindo had left me and gone to see the old Jew in Amsterdam, while I had driven the “forty” south through Lüneburg, Brunswick, and Nordhausen to Erfurt, where, passing as an English gentleman of means, I remained for three weeks at a very comfortable hotel, afterwards moving on to Dresden. At regular intervals the Count sent me money, but he was, as usual, travelling constantly. I wrote to him to a newspaper-shop in the Tottenha
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THE LADY OF THE GREAT NORTH ROAD
THE LADY OF THE GREAT NORTH ROAD
It occurred about a month after my return from Germany. A strange affair, assuredly; and stranger still that my life should have been spared to relate it. After luncheon at the Trocadero I mounted into the car, a new forty six-cylinder “Napier” that we had purchased only a week before, to drive to Barnack, an old-world Northamptonshire village near Stamford, where I had to meet the audacious rascal Count Bindo. From Piccadilly Circus, I started forth upon my hundred-mile run with a light heart,
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THE RED ROOSTER
THE RED ROOSTER
As chauffeur to one of the most ingenious adventurers who ever staked a louis at the tables, and travelling constantly up and down Europe, as I did, I frequently came across strange romances in real life—stranger by far than any in fiction. My profession often took me amid exciting scenes, for wherever there was a centre of unusual excitement on the Continent, and consequent opportunities for pilfering, there we generally were. I have acquaintances in every capital; I chatter in half a dozen ton
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CONCERNING THE OTHER FELLOW
CONCERNING THE OTHER FELLOW
Last spring Count Bindo again renewed his lease of the furnished villa on the Viale dei Colli, that beautiful drive that winds up behind the Arno from the Porta Romana, in Florence, past San Miniato. It was a fine old place, standing in its own grounds, and was the German Embassy in the days when the Lily City was the Italian capital. There were reasons for this. Sir Charles Blythe was living at the Grand, and Henderson was at the Hôtel de la Ville. A coup was intended at one of the jewellers on
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THE LADY IN A HURRY
THE LADY IN A HURRY
“Ah! your London is such a strange place. So dull, so triste—so very damp and foggy.” “Not always, mademoiselle,” I replied. “You have been there in winter. You should go in June. In the season it is as pleasant as anywhere else in the world.” “I have no desire to return. And yet——” “Well?” “And yet I have decided to go straight to Boulogne, and across the Channel.” I had met Julie Rosier under curious circumstances only a few hours before. I was on a run alone, with the forty “Napier,” from Lim
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CONCERNS A STRANGE CONSPIRACY
CONCERNS A STRANGE CONSPIRACY
Dusk was falling early in Piccadilly as I sat in the car outside the Royal Automobile Club, awaiting the reappearance of my master. The grey February afternoon had been bitterly cold, and for an hour I had waited there half frozen. Since morning Count Bindo di Ferraris and myself had been on the road, coming up from Shrewsbury, and, tired out, I was anxious to get into the garage. As chauffeur to a trio of perhaps the most expert “crooks” in Europe, my life was the reverse of uneventful. I was c
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PIERRETTE TELLS HER STORY
PIERRETTE TELLS HER STORY
Pierrette Dumont—for that was her name, she told me—proved a most charming and entertaining companion, and could, I found, speak English quite well. She had lived nearly seven years in England—in London, Brighton, and other places—and as we set the car along that beautiful road that runs for so many miles beside the Yonne, she told me quite a lot about herself. Her admiration for M’sieur Bellingham was very pronounced. It was not difficult to see that this pretty girl, who, I supposed, had escap
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IN WHICH THE COUNT IS PUZZLED
IN WHICH THE COUNT IS PUZZLED
My sweet-faced little charge had returned into the back of the car, and was sound asleep nestling beneath her rugs when, about three o’clock in the morning, we dashed through the little village of Cagnes, and ran out upon the long bridge that crosses the broad, rock-strewn river Var, a mile or two from Nice. My great search-light was shining far ahead, and the echoes of the silent, glorious night were awakened by the roar of the exhaust as we tore along, raising a perfect wall of dust behind us.
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IS STILL MORE MYSTERIOUS
IS STILL MORE MYSTERIOUS
At ten o’clock that same morning I saw Bindo off by the Paris rapide . Though he did not get to his room at the Hôtel de Paris till nearly six, he was about again at eight. He was a man full of activity when the occasion warranted, and yet, like many men of brains, he usually gave one the appearance of an idler. He could get through an enormous amount of work and scheming, and yet appear entirely unoccupied. Had he put his talents to legitimate and honest business, he would have no doubt risen t
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WHAT THE REVELLERS REVEALED
WHAT THE REVELLERS REVEALED
After luncheon on the following day I called at Beaulieu and picked up both ladies, who expressed a wish for a run along the coast as far as San Remo. Therefore I took them across the frontier at Ventimiglia into Italy. We had tea at the Savoy at San Remo, and ran home in the glorious sundown. Like all other old ladies who have never ridden in a car, she was fidgety about her bonnet, and clung on to it, much to Pierrette’s amusement. Nevertheless, Madame seemed to enjoy her ride, for just as we
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THE MAN WITH THE LONG NOSE
THE MAN WITH THE LONG NOSE
The next day, the next, and three other succeeding days, I spent nearly wholly with Pierrette and Madame. A telegram I received from Bindo from the Maritime Station at Calais asked if Mademoiselle was still at Beaulieu, and to this I replied in the affirmative to Clifford Street. I took the pair up the beautiful Var valley to Puget Theniers, to Grasse and Castellane, and through the Tenda tunnel to Cuneo, in Piedmont—runs which, in that clear, cloudless weather, both of them enjoyed. When alone
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ON DANGEROUS GROUND
ON DANGEROUS GROUND
I don’t think that in the whole course of my adventurous career as chauffeur to Count Bindo di Ferraris, alias Mr. Charles Bellingham, I spent such an anxious few days as I did during the week following my meeting with the redoubtable Sir Charles Blythe. On several occasions when I called at the Bristol I saw him sitting in the garden with Madame and Mademoiselle, doing the amiable, at which he was an adept. He was essentially a ladies’ man, and the very women who lost their diamonds recounted t
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IN WHICH THE TRUTH IS EXPLAINED
IN WHICH THE TRUTH IS EXPLAINED
During the next three days I saw but little of Bindo. His orders to me were not to approach or to worry him. I noticed him in a suit of cream flannels and Panama hat, sunning himself on the terrace before the Casino, or lunching at the Hermitage or Métropole with people he knew, appearing to the world to lead the idle life of a well-to-do man about town—one of a thousand other good-looking, wealthy men whose habit it was annually to spend the worst weeks in the year beside the blue Mediterranean
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The End.
The End.
Printed by Ballantyne & Co. Limited Tavistock Street, London BY ALGERNON BLACKWOOD THE LISTENER The Pall Mall Gazette : “Without doubt, Mr. Blackwood, a comparatively recent writer, is destined to fill a high place as an author who is able to arouse the attention of his reader on the first page, and to hold it until the last has been turned.... His constructive methods reveal the possession of a distinctive genius. For many years a book of this character has not been seen, and we welcome
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PUBLISHED BY EVELEIGH NASH AT FAWSIDE HOUSE, KING ST. COVENT GARDEN, LONDON, W.C.
PUBLISHED BY EVELEIGH NASH AT FAWSIDE HOUSE, KING ST. COVENT GARDEN, LONDON, W.C.
BY ALGERNON BLACKWOOD THE EMPTY HOUSE The Morning Post : “No one will read this book without dread ... exceedingly well done ... everyone who has a shelf for the horrible in his library will welcome it and give it its place.” The Morning Leader : “There is a dreadful fascination about these clever yet unpretentious stories. We have seldom met ghostly fiction which has fulfilled its end more adequately.” BY CHARLES MARRIOTT MRS. ALEMERE’S ELOPEMENT The Daily Chronicle : “‘Mrs. Alemere’s Elope
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A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
BY CHARLES MARRIOTT MRS. ALEMERE’S ELOPEMENT The Daily Chronicle : “‘Mrs. Alemere’s Elopement’ is a work of art.... An outstanding novel.” WOMEN AND THE WEST The Academy : “Whatever he produces bears the hall-mark of his subtle mind. We believe that if he honestly tried for a month, he could not write anything that was stale in thought, stale in character and phrase.” BY CHARLES MARRIOTT THE LAPSE OF VIVIEN EADY The Times : “As a writer Mr. Marriott increases in virtue. We have never known h
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A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
THE REMNANT The Pall Mall Gazette : “Nothing is more reassuring to the student of literature than to watch, in the midst of the careless rise and fall of so many reputations, the steady advance of such a novelist as Mr. Marriott. It is unnecessary to argue that fiction is a true and living and important branch of English literature when it numbers among its younger exponents such men as the author of ‘The Remnant.’ We welcome this book as an addition to the small body of good psychological ficti
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A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
THE KISS OF HELEN The Morning Post : “In sympathetic interpretation of character, in skilful analysis of situation, and in dexterity of dialogue, he is at his high-water mark.” The Daily Graphic : “The best novel Mr. Marriott has written since ‘The Column.’” BY RENÉ BAZIN THE NUN Fifth Edition With Frontispiece in Photogravure by Harold Copping The Daily Telegraph : “It is difficult to speak in measured terms of this book.... A consummate artist, his work eats into the heart and lives in the
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A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
The Westminster Gazette : “A book which no one who reads it will ever forget.” The Evening Standard : “We have discovered in it an absorbing interest—the interest which comes of humanity skilfully moulded by art, of essential truth and fine perception.... A very powerful piece of work.” The Saturday Review : “It is a pitiful and poignant story, rich in real drama and arresting by its fidelity to the truths of life.” The Daily Graphic : “A master-work of fiction.” BY J. S. FLETCHER MR. POSKIT
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A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
THE HARVEST MOON Ready Shortly BY OLIVER ONIONS PEDLAR’S PACK The Daily Express : “A charming volume.” BY ALPHONSE COURLANDER SETH OF THE CROSS The Morning Post : “A powerful story.” The Daily Telegraph : “There is genuine and unforced pathos in the narrative of Seth Craddock’s struggle against fate.” The Pall Mall Gazette : “A good book that should have a popular as well as an artistic success.” BY MRS. PHILIP CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY THE GREY DOMINO The Pall Mall Gazette : “A well-told romanc
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A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
BY MRS. PHILIP CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY THE GREY DOMINO The Pall Mall Gazette : “A well-told romance of scenes laid in France at a time when the horrors of St. Bartholomew were still a vivid recollection, swords flashed freely at sight of a foe, and adventures were to be had for less than the asking.” The Daily Mail : “This is a brisk romance of the days of Henri Quatre, what time de Rosny was in authority. It has, however, little to do with politics, for which readers will be grateful, and a good
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A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
BY WARWICK DEEPING THE SEVEN STREAMS The Morning Post : “‘The Seven Streams’ is a fine tale ... full of strong emotions.... Picturesque description is Mr. Deeping’s special gift, and he has it in large measure.” BY CULLEN GOULDSBURY GOD’S OUTPOST The Tribune : “The writer gives a vivid account of South African life, painting it in no glowing colours. He touches firmly on the medley of conflicting elements. From many points of view the book has great merits—indeed, it very narrowly escapes being
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A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
BY WILLIAM LE QUEUX THE INVASION OF 1910 THE COUNT’S CHAUFFEUR Second Edition THE WOMAN IN THE WAY THE LADY IN THE CAR BY FRANK RICHARDSON BUNKUM Third Edition The Daily Telegraph : “A real gem.” The Daily Mail : “Hilariously funny.” The Daily Express : “Will make you laugh like anything.” The Evening Standard : “A perfect crescendo of fun.” BY FRANK RICHARDSON THE WORST MAN IN THE WORLD The Times : “As full of witticisms and as irrepressible as ever.” The Daily Telegraph : “Extremely funny.
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A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
THE OTHER MAN’S WIFE Shortly BY F. C. PHILIPS THE DEAN AND HIS DAUGHTER The Times : “The cruelty with which the world treats a divorced woman was perhaps never illustrated so powerfully or with such sarcasm as in this straightforward narrative, told by the victim herself without a complaint or a single cry of indignation.” AS IN A LOOKING GLASS BY PERCY WHITE THE TRIUMPH OF MRS. ST. GEORGE The Athenæum : “In none of the novels that have gone to make his reputation as a satirist of certain ph
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A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
MR. STRUDGE The Morning Post : “By far the ablest piece of work that Mr. Percy White has yet done.” The Globe : “Undoubtedly this is the best thing Mr. White has done.” BY HORACE ANNESLEY VACHELL A DRAMA IN SUNSHINE The World : “Wholly admirable.” The Liverpool Courier : “An excellent story characterised by that breadth and strength which have given Mr. Vachell so prominent a place among our novelists.” BY HORACE ANNESLEY VACHELL THE PROCESSION OF LIFE The Daily Telegraph : “So well written,
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A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
Vanity Fair : “Maynard was a man who got his marriages inextricably entangled. It was not altogether his fault: his first wife should have been more open with him. If she had not been a bigamist, he would not have been a bigamist.... He was a self-indulgent weakling of the most despicable kind; and Mr. Flowerdew has worked out his character with considerable skill.” THE THIRD KISS BY RITA THE POINTING FINGER Second Edition THE MILLIONAIRE GIRL BY MRS. HAROLD E. GORST THE THIEF ON THE CROSS S
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A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
BY EDGAR JEPSON THE ADMIRABLE TINKER BY JAMES BLYTH DEBORAH’S LIFE LAWFUL ISSUE The Tribune : “Mr. Blyth’s new novel may be recommended as a strong and bracing tonic to those who find themselves in a state of mental debilitation after a long course of contemporary fiction reading.” The Daily Chronicle : “A remarkable achievement.” BY G. B. BURGIN WHICH WOMAN The Outlook : “It is an unusual and at moments a powerful book. The conception of a woman of the kind that would make so desperate a fight
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A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
Shortly BY S. R. CROCKETT THE BLOOM O’ THE HEATHER BY MORLEY ROBERTS RACHEL MARR Second Edition The Morning Post : “Mr. Morley Roberts’ finest achievement.” The Academy : “Beautifully conceived. She is a fine idea.” Vanity Fair : “A fine novel. It raises its author to a high place.” The Queen : “One of the most remarkable novels of the generation.” The Westminster Gazette : “Mr. Roberts has drawn his heroine greatly, on magnificent lines.” The Scotsman : “The work of a genius.” The Scotsman : “T
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A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
THE PROMOTION OF THE ADMIRAL Second Edition, crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. The Spectator : “Very delightful as well as very unusual.” Vanity Fair : “The liveliest sea stories I know.” The Referee : “The Admiral is a character ... fresh, original, and immensely diverting.” THE BLUE PETER Second Edition The Daily Telegraph : “For a book of sea stories delightfully fresh and humorous it would be difficult to beat ‘The Blue Peter.’” The Athenæum : “Mr. Roberts is out for a lark in this book, and a lark he has.
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A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
A SELECTED LIST OF FICTION
The Globe : “Every page is full of entertainment.” The Standard : “A perfect mine of laughter.” The Evening Standard : “He is something of a joy.” * * * A Complete List of Mr. Eveleigh Nash’s Publications will be sent post free on receipt of a postcard. Note Address: FAWSIDE HOUSE, KING STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON, W.C. BALLANTYNE AND CO. LTD., TAVISTOCK STREET, LONDON, W.C. Minor changes have been made to correct typesetters’ errors; otherwise, every effort has been made to remain true to
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