A Husband By Proxy - free ebook by Jack Steele

A HUSBAND BY PROXY

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NEW YORK

GROSSET &amp; DUNLAP Copyright, 1909, by Desmond FitzGerald, Inc....

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CHAPTER

A Husband by Proxy...

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CHAPTER I

With the hum of New York above, below, and all about him, stirring his pulses and prodding his mental activities, Jerold Garrison, expert criminologist, stood at the window of his recently opened office, looking out upon the roofs and streets of the city with a new sense of pride and power in his being. New York at last! He was here—unknown and alone, it was true—but charged with an energy that he promised Manhattan should feel. He was almost penniless, with his office rent, his licenses, and ot

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"DEAR SIR:

"At the recommendation of our counsel, Mr. Sperry Lochlan, who is still abroad, we desire to secure your services in a professional capacity. Our Mr. Wicks will call upon you this afternoon to explain the nature of the employment and conclude the essential arrangements. "Respectfully yours, "JOHN STEFFAS, "Dep't of Special Service." A wave of gratitude toward Lochlan, the lawyer who had first employed him, and advised this New York office, surged with another, of almost boyish joy, through

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CHAPTER III

Garrison roomed in Forty-fourth Street, where he occupied a small, second-story apartment. His meals he procured at various restaurants where fancy chanced to lead. To-night a certain eagerness for adventure possessed his being. More than anything else in the world he wished to see Dorothy again; he hardly dared confess why, but told himself that she was charming—and his nature demanded excitement. He dined well and leisurely, bought a box of chocolates to present to his new-found "wife," dresse

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CHAPTER IV

Garrison crossed the room with an active stride and closed the door firmly. Dorothy was pale when he turned. She, too, was standing. "You can see that I've got to be posted a little," he said quietly. "To err has not ceased to be human." "You have made no mistakes," said Dorothy in a voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't expect them. When I found they had come I hardly knew what to do. And when they declared I had no husband I had to request you to come." "Something of the sort was my conclusi

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CHAPTER V

Nothing more disquieting than this possession of the necklaces could possibly have happened to Garrison. He was filled with vague suspicions and alarms. The thing was wholly baffling. What it signified he could not conjecture. His mind went at once to that momentary scene at the house he had entered by mistake, and in which he had been confronted by the masked young woman, with the jewels on her throat, she who had patted his face and familiarly called him by name. He could not possibly doubt th

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CHAPTER VI

Not in the least reassured, but considerably aroused in all his instincts by these further developments of a night already full of mysterious transactions, Garrison, after a futile watch for his neighbor, once more plunged into a study of the case in which he found himself involved. Vaguely he remembered to have noticed that the man who had come here to Branchville with him on the train carried no baggage. He had no doubt the man had been close upon his trail for some considerable time; but why,

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CHAPTER VII

Garrison walked along the road to Hickwood out of sheer love of being in the open, and also the better to think. Unfortunately for the case in hand, however, his thoughts wandered truantly back to New York and the mystery about the girl masquerading to the world as his wife. His meditations were decidedly mixed. He thought of Dorothy always with a thrill of strong emotions, despite the half-formed suspicions which had crossed his mind at least a dozen times. Her jewels were still in his pocket—a

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CHAPTER VIII

Startled, thus to discover that, after all, a crime of the most insidious and diabolical nature had been committed, Garrison wandered along the street, after quitting the drug-store, with his brain aglow with excitement and the need for steady thought. The case that had seemed but a simple affair of a man's very natural demise had suddenly assumed an aspect black as night. He felt the need for light—all the light procurable in Hickwood. Aware of the misleading possibilities of a theory preconcei

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CHAPTER IX

Once in the open air again, with the sunshine streaming upon him, Garrison felt a rebound in his thoughts. He started slowly up the road to Branchville, thinking of the murder as he went. The major requisite, he was thoroughly aware, was motive. Men were never slain, except by lunatics, without a deeply grounded reason. It disturbed him greatly to realize that Dorothy might have possessed such a motive in the danger of losing an inheritance, depending upon her immediate marriage. He could not di

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CHAPTER X

With ample time in which to wonder what Dorothy's summons might imply, Garrison naturally found himself in the dark, despite his utmost efforts at deduction. He welcomed the chance thus made possible to behold her again so soon, after what he had so recently discovered, and yet he almost dreaded the necessity of ferreting out all possible facts concerning her actions and motives for the past six weeks, the better to work up his case. Wherever it led him, he knew he must follow unrelentingly. Mas

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CHAPTER XI

For one second only Garrison was a trifle confused. Then he gave her the roses he had brought. She carried them quickly to the table, hiding her face in their fragrant petals. "Just a moment, Dorothy," said Garrison. "You didn't know I'd come to town? You wired——" He halted and looked at the Robinsons. "Oh," he added, "I think I begin to see." Dorothy felt something in the air. "What is it, Jerold?" she said. "I haven't wired. What do you mean?" Garrison faced the Robinsons. "I mean that these t

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CHAPTER XII

Garrison, holding the limp, helpless form in his arms, gazed quickly about the room and saw the couch. He crossed the floor and placed her full length upon its cushions. She lay there so white and motionless that he was frightened. He felt it impossible to call the Robinsons. He needed water, quickly. He knew nothing of the house. His searching glance fell at once on the vase of roses, standing on the table. He caught it up, drew out the flowers, and was presently kneeling at Dorothy's side, wet

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CHAPTER XIII

Unable for a moment to credit his senses, Garrison moved over against the wall of the building he was passing, and stood there, slowly, almost mechanically, searching his pockets once again, while his mind revolved about the lost cigar, in an effort to understand its disappearance. He was wholly at a loss for a tenable theory till he thought of the frequency with which men are robbed of scarf-pins or similar trifles—and then a sickening possibility possessed him. One of the commonest devices tha

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CHAPTER XIV

A low, distant rumble of thunder denoted a new gathering of storm. Five minutes passed, and then the lightning flashed across the firmament directly overhead. A crash like the splitting of the heavens followed, and the rain came down as if it poured through the slit. The violence lasted hardly more than five minutes, after which the downpour abated a little of its fury. But a steadier, quieter precipitation continued, with the swiftly moving center of disturbance already far across the sky. The

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CHAPTER XV

Damp and uncomfortable, he kept to the farther side of the street, and slackened his pace as he drew near the dwelling which he realized was a place replete with mystery. He stood on the opposite sidewalk at length, and gazed across at the frowning brownstone front. The place was utterly dark. Not the slightest chink of light was visible in all its somber windows. Aware that nothing is so utterly confusing to a guilty being as to be confronted unexpectedly by a victim, supposed to be dispatched,

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CHAPTER XVI

More than half ready to believe that Dorothy had been spirited away, Garrison examined everything available, with the intention of discovering, if possible, any scrap that might indicate the destination to which the trio had proceeded. The Robinsons had left almost nothing of the slightest value or importance, since what clothing remained was of no significance whatever. It was not until he opened up the old man's books on the subject of wills that Garrison found the slightest clew, and then he

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CHAPTER XVII

Theodore was hesitating, though his father was eager to obey. Garrison stepped a foot forward and thrust the pistol firmly against the young man's body, cocking the hammer. "I'm going—for the love of Heaven, look out!" cried the craven suddenly, and he backed toward the stairs in haste. "That's better," said Garrison coldly. "Step lively, please, and don't attempt the slightest treachery unless you are prepared to pay the price." Theodore had no more than started when the door-bell rang—four lit

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CHAPTER XVIII

Some of the roads on Long Island are magnificent. Many of the speed laws are strict. The thoroughfare stretching ahead of the two cars was one of the best. The traffic regulations suffered absolute demolition. Like a liberated thing of flame and deviltry, happiest when rocketing through space, the car beneath the fugitives seemed to bound in the air as it whirred with a higher and higher hum of wheels and gears, and the air drove by in torrential force, leaving a cloud of smoke and dust in their

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CHAPTER XIX

With the almost disappointed thing of might purring tamely along through the far-spread town, and then on through level ways of beauty, leading the way to Gotham, Dorothy found that she was still clinging fast to Jerold's arm, after nearly ten minutes of peace. Then she waked, as it were, and shyly withdrew her hand. Garrison had felt himself transported literally, more by the ecstasy of having her thus put dependence upon him than by any mere flight of the car. He underwent a sense of loss when

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CHAPTER XX

Still puzzled, unable to believe his senses, Garrison made a second quick search of the vicinity that was rapidly being cleared and restored to order by a couple of efficient police officers, but without avail. Neither Dorothy nor the chauffeur could be found. One of the officers ordered him to move along with his car. There was nothing else to be done. Reluctantly, and not without feelings of annoyance and worry, combined with those of baffled mystery and chagrin, Garrison was presently obliged

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CHAPTER XXI

The fellow whom Garrison had taken into camp had once attempted detective work himself and failed. He was not at all a clever being, but rather a crafty, fairly reliable employee of a somewhat shady "bureau" with which young Robinson was on quite familiar terms. He was far from being a coward. It was he who had followed Garrison to Branchville, rifled his suit-case, and been captured by the trap. Despite the fact that his hand still bore the evidence of having tampered with Garrison's possession

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CHAPTER XXII

The hour was just after four o'clock when Garrison stepped from a cab in Hackatack Street, Jersey City, and stood for a moment looking at the red-brick building numbered 937. It was a shabby, smoke-soiled, neglected dwelling, with signs of life utterly lacking. Made wary by his Central Park experience, Garrison had come there armed with his gun and suspiciously alert. His cabman was instructed to wait. Without apparent hesitation Garrison ascended the chalk-marked steps and rang the bell. Almost

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CHAPTER XXIII

On the way returning to Gotham, Garrison learned every fact concerning John Hardy, his former places of residence, his former friends, his ways of life and habits that he deemed important to the issues and requirements now in hand, with Dorothy's stepbrother more than half suspected of the crime. Dorothy gladly supplied the information. She had been on the verge of despair, harboring her fear and despair all alone, with the loyal desire to protect not only Foster, but Alice as well, and now she

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CHAPTER XXIV

Without, for a moment, comprehending the drift of Dorothy's fears, Garrison led her to a parlor of the house, looking at her in a manner so fixed that she realized their troubles were not confined to the loss of her certificate. "What do you think? What do you fear? There isn't anything else?" she said, as he still remained dumb for a moment. "What shall we do?" "Theodore threatened that something might occur," he said. "He has evidently done his worst, all at once." "Why—but I thought perhaps m

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CHAPTER XXV

Garrison's ride on the train was a matter of several hours' duration. Not only did he read every line of the story in the Star , which he felt convinced had been furnished by young Robinson, but he likewise had time to reflect on all the phases, old and new, of the case in which he was involved. But wander where they would, his thoughts invariably swung around the troubled circle to Dorothy and the topic was she married or not, and if she was,—where was the man? He could not reach a decision. He

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CHAPTER XXVI

Durgin sat down on a box, picked up a sliver of wood and began to chew it slowly. He was not a man of rapid thoughts; and he was stunned. "How did you find out all these things?" he said. "From Dorothy, partially, and in part from my own investigations." "Dorothy didn't go back on the boy like that?" The man was hurt by the thought. "Not at all. She tried to shield him. I came to Rockdale on her account, to try to discover if there is anyone else who might have had a motive for the crime." Durgi

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CHAPTER XXVII

Delaying only long enough to deposit his suit-case at his lodgings, and neglecting the luncheon which he felt he could relish, Garrison posted off to Eighteenth Street with all possible haste. The house he found at the number supplied by Dorothy was an old-time residence, with sky-scrapers looming about it. A pale woman met him at the door. "Miss Root—is Miss Root in, please?" he said. "I'd like to see her." "There's no such person here," said the woman. "She's gone—she's given up her apartment?

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CHAPTER XXVIII

Confused thus to find himself in the presence of Dorothy as well as Garrison, Tuttle snatched off his hat and looked about him helplessly. "How are you, Tuttle?" said Garrison. "Glad to see you. Come back in fifteen minutes, will you? I want your report." "Fifteen minutes; yes, sir," said Tuttle, and he backed from the place. "Who was that?" said Dorothy. "Anyone connected with the case?" "A man that Theodore hired to shadow me," said Garrison. "I took him into camp and now he is shadowing Theod

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CHAPTER XXIX

Tuttle had returned by the time Garrison came once more to his office. He entered the room behind his chief, and Garrison closed the door. "Well?" said Jerold, "any news?" "I got a line on young Robinson," answered Tuttle. "He's gone to a small resort named Rockbeach, up on the coast of Massachusetts, but his father doesn't know his business, or if he does he denies it." "Rockbeach?" said Garrison, who realized at once that Theodore had gone there to search out the justice of the peace who had m

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DEAR SIR:

If you can find the time to grant me an interview, I feel confident I can communicate something of interest. Yours truly, THEODORE ROBINSON. His street address was written at the top. Garrison laid the letter on the desk and opened the second. If the first had occasioned a feeling of vague wonder in his breast, the other was far more potently stirring. It read:...

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DEAR MR. GARRISON:

I called once, but you were out. Shall return again about four-thirty. Trusting to see you, FOSTER DURGIN. Without even halting to lock the door as he fled from the place Garrison hastened pell-mell to the telegraph-office, on the entrance floor of the building, and filed the following despatch: JAMES PIKE, Branchville, N. Y.: Get Will Barnes on train, headed for my office, soon as possible. As he stepped in the elevator to return to his floor, he found Tuttle in the corner of the car....

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CHAPTER XXXI

Tuttle had performed his services fairly well. He reported that young Robinson had returned to town and had lost no time in dismissing him, with a promise to pay for services rendered by the end of the week. Theodore had seemed content with the bald report which Tuttle had made concerning Garrison's almost total absence from his office, and had rather appeared to be satisfied to let the case develop for the present. Tuttle knew nothing of the note on Garrison's desk from Theodore, and was theref

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CHAPTER XXXII

The grin on the face of Mr. Wicks had apparently deepened and become even more sardonic. He glanced Garrison over in his sharp, penetrative manner, heightened by his nervousness, and took a chair. "Forgotten instructions, haven't you, Garrison?" he snapped, adjusting his thin wisp of hair. "Where's your report on the case of Hardy, all these days?" "Well, I admit I've rather neglected the office," said Garrison, eying his visitor with a new, strange interest. "I've been hard at work. I've lost n

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CHAPTER XXXIII

Confusion reigned in the office presently, for more of the officers came upon the scene, and people from adjoining rooms helped to swell the numbers. Everyone was talking at once. The form of Wicks, motionless and broken, lay far below the window, on the pavement of an air and light shaft, formed like a niche in the building. Garrison sent Dorothy to her lodgings, promising to visit her soon. There was nothing she could do in such a place, and he felt there was much she should be spared. Pike, y

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CHAPTER XXXIV

Dorothy was waiting to see him. She was still excited, still anxious concerning himself. She had quite forgotten his words about the will in her worry lest the blow on his head had proved more serious than had at first appeared. He met her quietly in a large, common parlor—the duplicate of a thousand such rooms in New York—and was thoroughly determined to curb the impetuous surging of his feelings. She was wearing a bunch of his carnations, and had never seemed more beautiful in all her wondrous

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CHAPTER XXXV

Garrison slept the sleep of physical exhaustion that night in Branchville. The escape from New York's noise and turmoil was welcome to his weary body. He had been on a strain day after day, and much of it still remained. Yet, having cleared away the mystery concerning Hardy's death, he felt entitled to a let-down of the tension. In the morning he was early on the road to Hickwood—his faculties all eagerly focused on the missing will. He felt it might all prove the merest vagary of his mind—his t

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CHAPTER XXXVI

Dorothy, catching up the precious will, had retreated from Theodore's advance. She made no effort to greet him, even with so much as a nod. "I thought I might possibly find you both, and save a little time," said Robinson, striding in boldly, with no sign of removing his hat. "Seems I hit it off about right." "Charmingly," said Garrison. "Won't you sit down and take off your hat and stay a while?" "You sound cheerful," said Theodore, drawing forth a chair and seating himself in comfort. "Perhaps

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CHAPTER XXXVII

A month had flown to the bourne whence no summer charms return. August had laid a calming hand on all the gray Atlantic, dimpling its surface with invitations to the color and glory of the sky. The world turned almost visibly here, in this vast expanse of waters, bringing its meed of joys and sorrows to the restless human creatures on its bosom. Jerold and Dorothy, alone at last, even among so many passengers, were four days deep in their honeymoon, with all the delights of Europe looming just a

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