The Mystery Of The Boule Cabinet: A Detective Story - free ebook by Burton Egbert Stevenson

THE MYSTERY OF THE BOULE CABINET

A Detective Story With Illustrations by THOMAS FOGARTY 1911 To A.B.M. Fellow-Sherlockian...

7 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER I

"Hello!" I said, as I took down the receiver of my desk 'phone, in answer to the call. "Mr. Vantine wishes to speak to you, sir," said the office-boy. "All right," and I heard the snap of the connection. "Is that you, Lester?" asked Philip Vantine's voice. "Yes. So you're back again?" "Got in yesterday. Can you come up to the house and lunch with me to-day?" "I'll be glad to," I said, and meant it, for I liked Philip Vantine. "I'll look for you, then, about one-thirty." And that is how it happen

10 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER II

It needed but a glance to tell me that the man was dead. There could be no life in that livid face, in those glassy eyes. "Don't touch him," I said, for Vantine had started forward. "It's too late." I drew him back, and we stood for a moment shaken as one always is by sudden and unexpected contact with death. "Who is he?" I asked, at last. "I don't know," answered Vantine hoarsely. "I never saw him before." Then he strode to the bell and rang it violently. "Parks," he went on sternly, as that wo

8 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER III

"He was killed!" repeated Godfrey, with conviction; and, at the words, we drew together a little, with a shiver of repulsion. Death is awesome enough at any time; suicide adds to its horror; murder gives it the final touch. So we all stood silent, staring as though fascinated at the hand which Simmonds held up to us; at those tiny wounds, encircled by discoloured flesh and with a sinister dash of clotted blood running away from them. Then Goldberger, taking a deep breath, voiced the thought whic

16 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER IV

It was about eight o'clock that evening that Godfrey tapped at my door, and when I let him in, I could tell by the way his eyes were shining that he had some news. "I can't stay long," he said. "I've got to get down to the office and put the finishing touches on that story;" but nevertheless he took the cigar I proffered him and sank into the chair opposite my own. I knew Godfrey, so I waited patiently until the cigar was going nicely, then— "Well?" I asked. "It's like old times, isn't it, Leste

9 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER V

I have no very clear remembrance of what happened after that. The shock was so great that I had just strength enough to totter to a chair and drop into it, and sit there staring vaguely at that dark splotch on the carpet. I told myself that I was the victim of a dreadful nightmare; that all this was the result of over-wrought nerves and that I should wake presently. No doubt I had been working too hard. I needed a vacation—well, I would take it…. And all the time I knew that it was not a nightma

11 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER VI

It was coming now; the secret, however sordid, however ugly, was to be unveiled. I saw Grady's face set in hard lines; I could hear the stir of interest with which the others leaned forward…. Grady took a flask from his pocket and opened it. "Take a drink of this," he said, and placed it in Rogers's hand. I could hear the mouth of the flask clattering against his teeth, as he put it eagerly to his mouth and took three or four long swallows. "Thank you, sir," he said, more steadily, and handed th

8 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER VII

Grady, Simmonds and Goldberger examined the room minutely, for they seemed to feel that the secret of the tragedy lay somewhere within its four walls; but I watched them only absently, for I had lost interest in the procedure. I was perfectly sure that they would find nothing in any way bearing upon the mystery. I heard Grady comment upon the fact that there was no door except the one opening into the ante-room, and saw them examine the window-catches. "Nobody could raise these windows without a

8 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER VIII

But it wasn't apoplexy. It was Parks who reassured us, when he came hurrying back a minute later with a glass of water in one hand and a small phial in the other. "He has these spells," he said. "It's a kind of vertigo. Give him a whiff of this." He uncorked the phial and handed it to Godfrey, and I caught the penetrating fumes of ammonia. A moment later, Rogers gasped convulsively. "He'll be all right pretty soon," remarked Parks, with ready optimism. "Though I never saw him quite so bad." "We

12 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER IX

The walk uptown did me good. The rain had ceased, and the air felt clean and fresh as though it had been washed. I took deep breaths of it, and the feeling of fatigue and depression which had weighed upon me gradually vanished. I was in no hurry—went out of my way a little, indeed, to walk out into Madison Square and look back at the towering mass of the Flatiron building, creamy and delicate as carved ivory under the rays of the moon—and it was long past midnight when I finally turned in at the

13 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER X

My first thought, when I awoke next morning, was for Parks, for Godfrey's manner had impressed me with the feeling that Parks was in much more serious danger than either he or I suspected. It was with a lively sense of relief, therefore, that I heard Parks's voice answer my call on the 'phone. "This is Mr. Lester," I said. "Is everything all right?" "Everything serene, sir," he answered. "It would take a mighty smooth burglar to get in here now, sir." "How is that?" I asked. "Reporters are campe

13 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XI

For an instant, I did not grasp the full significance of that severed wire. Then I understood. "Yes," said Godfrey drily, "that romance of mine is looking up again. Somebody was preparing for a quiet invasion of the house to-night —somebody, of course, interested in that cabinet." "He wasn't losing any time," I ventured. "He knew he hadn't any to lose. When you put those wooden shutters up, you warned him that you suspected his game. He knew, if the alarm was on, it would ring when he cut the wi

11 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XII

I was still staring about me, that mocking laughter in my ears, when Godfrey joined me. "He got away, of course," he said coolly. "Yes, and I heard him laugh!" I cried. Godfrey looked at me quickly. "Come, Lester," he said, soothingly, "don't let your nerves run away with you." "It wasn't my nerves," I protested, a little hotly. "I heard it quite plainly. He can't be far away." "Too far for us to catch him," Godfrey retorted, and, torch in hand, proceeded to examine the window-sill and the groun

6 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XIII

It was shortly after I reached the office, next morning, that the office-boy came in and handed me a card with an awed and reverent air so at variance with his usual demeanour that I glanced at the square of pasteboard in some astonishment. Then, I confess, an awed and reverent feeling crept over me, also, for the card bore the name of Sereno Hornblower. That name is quite unknown outside the legal profession of the three great cities of the east, New York, Boston and Philadelphia; for Sereno Ho

13 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XIV

There were three persons in the carriage. Mr. Hornblower sat with his back to the horses, and two women were on the opposite seat. Both were dressed in black and heavily veiled, but there was about them the indefinable distinction of mistress and maid. It would be difficult to tell precisely in what the distinction consisted, but it was there. Mr. Hornblower glanced behind me as I entered. "You spoke of a witness," he said. "He is at the Vantine house," I explained, and sat down beside him. "Thi

9 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XV

For a moment, I stood spell-bound, staring down at that jaded and passion-stained countenance; then Godfrey sprang forward and lifted the unconscious woman to the couch. "Bring some water," he said, and as he turned and looked at me, I saw that his face was glowing with excitement. I rushed to the door and snatched it open. Rogers was standing in the hall outside, and I sent him hurrying for the water, and turned back into the room. Godfrey was chafing the girl's hands, and the veiled lady was b

6 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XVI

It was a sordid story that Rogers gasped out to us; and, as it concerns this tale only incidentally, I shall pass over it as briefly as may be. Eight or ten years before, the fair Julie—at least, she was fairer then than now!—had come to New York to enter the employ of a family whose mistress had decided that life without a French maid was unendurable. Rogers had met her, had been fascinated by her black eyes and red lips, had, in the end, proposed honourable marriage —quite unnecessarily, no do

12 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XVII

I got back to the office to find that M. Félix Armand, of Armand et Fils, had called, and, finding me out, had left his card with the pencilled memorandum that he would call again Monday morning. There was another caller, who had awaited my return—a tall, angular man, with a long moustache, who introduced himself as Simon W. Morgan, of Osage City, Iowa. "Poor Philip Vantine's nearest living relative, sir," he added. "I came as soon as possible." "It was very good of you," I said. "The funeral wi

13 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XVIII

The coroner's inquest was held next day, and my surmise proved to be correct. The police had discovered practically no new evidence; none, certainly, which shed any light on the way in which Drouet and Philip Vantine had met death. Each of the witnesses told his story much as I have told it here, and it was evident that the jury was bewildered by the seemingly inextricable tangle of circumstances. To my relief, Drouet's identity was established without any help from me. The bag which he had left

16 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XIX

That my legs, without conscious effort of my own, should carry me up the Avenue and around the corner after the cab in which I had seen Godfrey was a foregone conclusion, and yet it was with a certain vexation of spirit that I found myself racing along, for I realised that Godfrey had not been entirely frank with me. Certainly he had dropped no hint of his intention to follow Armand; but, I told myself, that might very well have been because he deemed such a hint unnecessary. I might have guesse

7 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XX

I have a confused remembrance of Godfrey stooping for an instant above the body, staring at it, and then, with a sharp cry, hurling himself through that open doorway. A door slammed somewhere, there was a sound of running feet, and before either Simmonds or myself understood what was happening, Godfrey was back in the room, crossed it at a bound, and dashed to the door opening into the hall, just as it was slammed in his face. I saw him tear desperately at the knob, then retreat two steps and hu

10 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXI

I had begun to fear that Godfrey was going to disappoint me, so late it was before his welcome knock came at my door that night. I hastened to let him in, and I could tell by the sigh of relief with which he sank into a chair that he was thoroughly weary. "It does me good to come in here occasionally and have a talk with you, Lester," he said, accepting the cigar I offered him. "I find it restful after a hard day," and he smiled across at me good-humouredly. "How you keep it up I don't see," I s

14 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXII

It seemed for once that Godfrey was destined to be wrong, for the days passed and nothing happened—nothing, that is, in so far as the cabinet was concerned. There was an inquest, of course, over the victim of the latest tragedy, and once again I was forced to give my evidence before a coroner's jury. I must confess that, this time, it made me appear considerable of a fool, and the papers poked sly fun at the attorney who had walked blindly into a trap which, now that it was sprung, seemed so app

16 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXIII

I was just getting ready to leave the office the next afternoon when Godfrey called me up. "How are you feeling to-day, Lester?" he asked. "Not as fit as I might," I said. "Have you arranged to start on that vacation Thursday?" "I don't think that's a good joke, Godfrey." "It isn't a joke at all. I want you to arrange it. But meanwhile, how would you like a whiff of salt air this evening?" "First rate. How will I get it?" "The Savoie will get to quarantine about six o'clock. I'm going down on ou

10 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXIV

Godfrey bade me good-bye at the dock and hastened away to the office to write his story, which, I could guess, would be concerned with the manners of Americans, especially with Grady's. As for me, that whiff of salt air had put an unaccustomed edge to my appetite, and I took a cab to Murray's, deciding to spend the remainder of the evening there, over a good dinner. Except in a certain mood, Murray's does not appeal to me; the pseudo-Grecian temple in the corner, with water cascading down its st

15 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXV

M. Pigot, cool and imperturbable, held out to us, with a little smile, a hand which showed not a quiver of emotion—his gauntleted hand; and I saw that, on the back of it, were two tiny depressions. At the bottom of each depression lay a drop of bright red liquid— blood-red, I told myself, as I stared at it, fascinated. And what nerves of steel this man possessed! A sudden warmth of admiration for him glowed within me. "That liquid, gentlemen," he said in his smooth voice, "is the most powerful p

12 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXVI

Whatever may have been Grady's defects of insight and imagination, he was energetic enough when thoroughly aroused. Almost before the echo of that slamming door had died away, he was beside the sergeant's desk. "Get out the reserves," he ordered, "and have the other wagon around. 'Phone headquarters to rush every man available up to the Day and Night Bank, and say it's from me!" He stood chewing his cigar savagely as the sergeant hastened to obey. In a moment, the reserves came tumbling out, str

10 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXVII

I overslept, next morning, so outrageously that it was not until I had got a seat in a subway express that I had time to open my paper. My first glance was for the big head that would tell of the diamond robbery; and then I realised that no morning paper would have a word of it. For the robbery was only a few hours old—and yet, it seemed to me an age had passed since that moment when Godfrey had rushed in upon Grady and me. So the city moved on, as yet blissfully unconscious of the sensation whi

9 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXVIII

For an instant, we gazed at the glittering heap with dazzled eyes; then Grady, with an inarticulate cry, sprang to his feet and picked up a handful of the diamonds, as though to convince himself of their reality. "But I don't understand!" he gasped. "Have you got Croshar too?" "No such luck," said Godfrey. "Do you mean to say he'd give these up without a fight!" The same thought was in my own mind; if Godfrey had run down Crochard and got the diamonds, without a life-and-death struggle, that eng

13 minute read

Read Chapter