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DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
By JOHN RHODE
The death of Lessingham and his companion, Purvis, was,
indeed, a tragic affair; but an automobile accident, especially
one occurring in a race, rarely arouses suspicion. Sergeant
Showerby, however, was a conscientious soul. His duty was
to investigate thoroughly and investigate he did, with results
that were suspicious enough to arouse Inspector Hanslet of
Scotland Yard and, through him, the great criminologist, Dr.
Priestley.
At first, there is so little evidence that one cannot under-
stand Dr. Priestley's interest in the.case. Then, one by one,
clues appear—not the ordinary clues which fall fortuitously
in a detective's lap, but clues that are found because the
Doctor, by his famous process of logical deduction, knows
where to look for them. Gradually a pattern forms so dia-
bolical in its simplicity and effectiveness that Dr. Priestley
is forced to set a dramatic trap which very nearly ends the
lives of both detective and criminal.
For sheer ingenuity of detective story mechanics, John
Rhode has few equals and none of his many stories present a
neater puzzle than this one, which will perplex all but the
keenest detective fans.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
THE ELLERBY CASE
TRAGEDY AT THE UNICORN
MURDER AT BRATTON ORANGE
TRAGEDY ON THE LINE
THE FIRE AT GREYCOMBE FARM
THE MURDERS IN PRAED STREET
THE HOUSE ON TOLLARD RIDGE
PERIL AT CRANBURY HALL
THE HANGING WOMAN
DEAD MEN AT THE FOLLY





Di\ Priestley
Lays A Trap
By JOHN RHODE

A. L. BURT COMPANY
'PUBLISHERS
New York Chicago
Published by arrangement with Dodd, Mead & Co.
Printed In U. S. A.


COPYRICHT, 1933,
By DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, Inc.
All rights reserved—no part of this book may be
reproduced in any form without permission in
writing from the publisher.
PRINTED IN THE U. ». A.


To
NUMBER 187
AND HER DRIVERS
March lst-3rd, 1932


CHAPTER I
The British Motor-Car Rally of that year, organized
by the Royal Automobile Club, was generally voted to
have been a huge success. But it proved a bitter dis-
appointment to Mr. Robert Weldon, one of the com-
petitors. He owned a luxurious 20 h.p. Armstrong
Siddeley saloon, the performance of which entitled him
to expect to win one of the coveted prizes. But his luck
was against him. He never finished the course, owing
to circumstances which were no fault either of the car
or her crew.
The task set to the competitors was this. They had
to cover a course of approximately a thousand miles,
at an average speed of twenty-five miles per hour.
This course finished at Torquay, where subsequently a
series of tests to determine the efficiency of the compet-
ing cars was held. The competitors were distributed
over nine separate starting points, and each was allot-
ted his own time to start. To Bob Weldon was as-
signed the official number 513. His task was to leave
Bath at 8.45 p.m. on Tuesday March 1st, and proceed
to Torquay via Norwich, Kendal, Droitwich and Moor-
chester. At each of these towns controls were estab-
lished, where competitors had to produce their route
books, sign them, and have them stamped. Since the
shortest possible distance by this route was 1005 miles,
Bob Weldon's finishing time at Torquay was 12.57


2
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
p.m. on the 3rd.
All went well at first. Bob had taken a pretty effi-
cient crew with him. Richard Gateman, an old friend
of his, was acting as second driver. Since a map-
reader was also desirable, Richard had suggested an
acquaintance of his, Harold Merefield, and Bob had
fallen in with this suggestion. The three of them
started from Bath at the appointed time, and ran
steadily enough for the first twenty-four hours, keep-
ing well ahead of the schedule which they had pre-
pared.
But their luck turned shortly before midnight of the
2nd, when they were about two thirds of the way be-
tween Droitwich and Moorchester. They ran into a
bank of fog, which seemed to fill the valleys with a sort
of fluid cotton-wool. Their speed dropped at once,
and on several occasions the car had to be stopped while
Harold got out and tried to decipher the signposts with
his torch. Eventually they lost their way completely,
and spent much valuable time in getting back to the
right road.
They left the fog-belt behind at last, but the experi-
ence had told upon all of them. This was their second
night on the road, with only such snatches of sleep as
they could get by turns in the back of the car. Bob
was driving; Harold, schedule in hand, was sitting be-
side him; Richard, who had been relieved at the wheel
a few minutes before, was dozing in the back.
"How are we getting on?" asked Bob, without taking
his eyes from the strip of illuminated road in front of
him.


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
3
"Not very well, I'm afraid," replied Harold. "We
lost a devil of a lot of time in that confounded fog.
As far as I can make out we're still twenty miles or
more from Moorchester, and it's long after four o'clock
already."
Bob grunted.
"What fools we were to take this job on!" he ex-
claimed. "If this is your idea of pleasure, it isn't
mine. I'm pretty well played out, but Richard's no
better, so there's no point in changing over again.
What time were we due at Moorchester?"
"Two twenty-five," replied Harold. "We're running
something like a couple of hours behind time."
Bob's reply was to press gently on the accelerator.
Tired out as he was, nothing would have induced him
to give up. The speedometer needle crept over the
dial as the car gained speed, till she settled into her
stride at something over fifty miles an hour. This was
the utmost speed at which Bob dared to travel, even on
the straight stretches. A few thin wisps of fog still
hung about, appearing like puffs of steam in the beam
of the headlights, and the frequent bends in the road
made it necessary to slack up every half mile or so.
Neither of the two in front felt inclined for conversa-
tion. Bob's whole attention was concentrated upon the
road in front of him. Only by a supreme effort of will
could he keep at bay his overmastering desire for sleep.
An instant's relaxation, and he found himself plunging
headlong into the void of unconsciousness. Harold,
free from the responsibility of driving, and lulled by
the luxurious movement of the car, dozed fitfully. At


4
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
one moment he saw the road in front of him, white and
unreal, like the highway of a dream. At the next his
eyelids had closed of their own weight, only to start
open as his subconscious self reminded him of his duty
to watch the route and direct the driver if necessary.
At last, after an interminable period, as it seemed,
a faint glare began to soften the darkness ahead.
Lamp-posts began to appear, and they felt rather than
saw that scattered houses fringed the road on either
side of them. The road became a street, the silent and
unlighted houses flanking it like endless walls. Bob
slackened speed, and turned sharply as a painted board
"To the R.A.C. Control" caught his eye. A couple of
minutes later he pulled up in the courtyard of the Im-
perial Hotel.
Several cars were standing in the courtyard, pre-
sumably belonging to the control officials. None of
them bore the flag and official number which showed
that they were competing in the Rally. All these must
have passed through long ago, and by now were well on
their way to the finishing point. Harold noted this at
a glance, then shouted over his shoulder:
"Wake up, Richard! Moorchester control!"
Urging their weary limbs to action, they descended
from the car and entered the hotel. In a comfortable
room reserved for their use, they found a group of con-
trol officials. Richard blinked in the brilliant illumina-
tion and looked about him.
"My word!" he exclaimed. "I like the way you fel-
lows make yourselves comfortable in the best pub in the
town, while we go hurtling across England. Any


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
5
chance of a drink? I'm dying of thirst."
The officials laughed.
"You're number five thirteen, I suppose?" said one
of them. "We were wondering what had become of
you. There's some cold tea on that table over there if
that's any good to you."
"Oh, never mind him," interrupted Bob impatiently,
as he came forward, route book in hand. "He'll stay
here all night, if you encourage him. And we haven't
a minute to spare."
"You've only just saved your bacon, as it is," re-
plied the official, glancing at the clock. "The control
closes in ten minutes, and then we are off home to bed.
All the other Bath cars are through. What happened
to you? Did you have a breakdown, or something?"
"Breakdown?" said Bob scornfully. "No, fog; ran
into it about midnight and couldn't get clear. We'd
have been here hours ago, but for that. Still, we'll do
it all right if we don't strike another patch."
He signed the book with shaking fingers, his usually
firm and bold signature looking like that of an old man.
The other two, their fingers numb with sleep, followed
his example. The official stamped it with a rubber
stamp, and handed the book back to Bob.
"Off you go; and better luck to you on this stage,"
he said.
Outside in the courtyard they held a hurried council
of war.
"It's now three minutes past five," said Harold, con-
sulting the schedule. "We're two hours and forty min-
utes behind time. We're due at the finishing line at


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
7
themselves into the same positions as before.
Bob glanced at the gauge.
"We've enough for a hundred miles," he replied.
"We'll stop at the first garage we see open after it's
light." He flicked the pre-selective gear with his fin-
ger, and touched the clutch pedal. The car glided
softly out of the courtyard, and began to gather speed.
"Five five," remarked Harold, as he pencilled in the
time on his schedule.
"Good enough!" exclaimed Bob. "Bar accidents,
we'll be in Torquay to the minute, and have time for
breakfast on the way, into the bargain. You see if we
don't."
The few minutes at the control and the mouthful of
coffee he had swallowed seemed to have roused Bob for
a while. He swung the car through the deserted streets
of Moorchester, until he gained the open road, the bon-
net of the car pointing westward. It was pitch dark,
with only a few frosty stars twinkling overhead, but
mercifully a faint breeze had sprung up, driving before
it the last vestiges of fog. The steady beam of the
headlights shed a hard, cold ray upon the road ahead
of them.
It could not be described as a fast road. For the
first few miles out of Moorchester it was narrow and
winding, with an irritating succession of sharp corners,
necessitating constant checking of speed. But the car
responded nobly to Bob's driving. The brakes acted
smoothly but powerfully; at a touch on the accelerator
pedal, the car gathered speed again like a live thing.
At last the road seemed to make up its mind to keep a


8 \ DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
constant direction. It became comparatively straight,
running like a ribbon across a stretch of flat country,
with deep ditches on either side.
Bob took advantage of this at once, and the speed-
ometer needle settled at a steady sixty. But it was
obvious that he had come to the end of his tether. More
than once the car edged towards the grass alongside the
road, to be corrected by an almost convulsive clutch at
the wheel. Harold endured this as long as he could,
but at last, when the near wheels actually mounted the
grass, he could not contain himself any longer.
"Steady, Skipper!" he exclaimed. "You'll have us
in the ditch if you're not careful."
"Sorry," said Bob dreamily. "I'm so tired I can
hardly keep my eyes open. The only things I can see
are the trees by the side of the road, and they persist in
making faces at me. Give Richard a hail, and as soon
as he's properly awake he can take over."
Harold was about to turn his head for the purpose,
when he caught sight of something in the road ahead of
them.
"Look out!" he said. "There is a red light in front
there, the road's up, as likely as not."
Bob nodded.
"I see it," he replied. Harold turned to wake Rich-
ard, a feat which he accomplished with some difficulty.
By the time he was facing the road again, the car had
slowed down, and the red light was no more than a hun-
dred yards or so ahead.
"Hallo!" he exclaimed. "That's the rear light of a
car. And, by Jove, he's in the ditch, by the look of it."


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
9
Bob pulled up the Armstrong Siddeley a few yards
from the red light, which seemed to glower at them like
some evil eye.
"He's in the ditch all right," he said. "We'd better
have a look, I suppose, before we go on."
There was no doubt about the car being in the ditch
which, as Harold had already noticed, was particularly
wide and deep. The car had apparently swerved to
the right, the off front wheel was right in the ditch,
and the near front wheel was just on the edge of it.
The car had not overturned though it had a dangerous
list, only the rear part remaining on firm ground.
The crew of the Armstrong Siddeley got out and
hurried towards the derelict.
"Hallo!" exclaimed Bob. "It's a Rally car. The
flag is still fixed to the radiator cap. A two-seater
sports Comet, by the look of it. Did anybody think
of bringing a torch along?"
The torch was obviously necessary. Although the
rear light was still burning with an ominous red glow,
the side and headlights were smashed, and nothing in
front of the car could be seen. Harold produced the
torch, walked a couple of yards up the road, and turned
the light on to the radiator of the Comet, revealing a
plate with the official number 514.
"Hallo, the next number to us!" exclaimed Bob.
"He must have started from Bath after we did. I won-
der what's become of the driver and his passenger?"
"I remember the car now," said Richard. "It was
standing next to us in the starting park. There were
two fellows in it, and I remember thinking that they'd


10
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
be jolly miserable before they finished, in an open car
like that. I expect—"
But he was interrupted by a horrified cry from Har-
old.
"Good Lord, look there!"
The beam of his torch was directed upon a point on
the further side of the ditch, about a couple of yards
beyond the radiator of the Comet. The beam moved
to and fro in his shaking hand, and it was a second or
two before the others understood the cause of his ex-
clamation. Then, simultaneously, they made out the
figures of two men, lying in horribly contorted posi-
tions between the ditch and the hedge beyond it.
A sudden sense of disaster shocked them into instant
wakefulness. Richard, the most agile of the party,
took a running jump at the ditch and cleared it. The
others followed him more deliberately. As Harold
threw the light of his torch upon the nearest figure,
they started back instinctively. His leather coat was
covered with blood, and a dark patch spread over the
grass round the upper part of his body. Fragments of
broken glass scattered round about told their own story.
"He must have gone straight through the wind-
screen," said Bob, in a shaky voice. "Poor chap! Is
there anything to be done for him?"
Harold, who had some knowledge of medicine, put
his fingers hesitatingly upon the wrist of one out-
stretched arm. After a second or two he shook his
head.
"He's gone, I'm afraid," he replied. "Look at the
blood he's lost."


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
11
"What about the other fellow?" asked Bob, his voice
sounding harsh and broken.
The second man, also wearing a leather coat, lay,
like the first, on his face. Though he also was spat-
tered with blood, no pools of it lay round him. But he
showed no sign of life, and once more Harold shook his
head.
"He doesn't seem to be cut about like the other one,"
he said. "More likely his neck was broken when he
was thrown out."
"Well, it's all pretty ghastly," remarked Richard.
"It's plain enough what happened. The driver went
to sleep, and ran off the road when he was travelling at
high speed. I suppose we'd better get these poor chaps
into the Armstrong, and find the nearest hospital."
"I don't think we can do that," replied Harold hesi-
tatingly. "I'm pretty sure there's nothing to be done
for either of them, and if they're dead we mustn't touch
their bodies."
"Then it's a job for the police," said Bob with deci-
sion. "Where the devil are we? I've lost count of time
and direction."
Harold produced a map from his pocket and con-
sulted it by the light of his torch.
"I reckon we've come about fifteen miles out of Moor-
chester," he said. "If that's so, there's a place called
Westernham about three miles ahead."
"I've driven through it," replied Bob. "It's a small
market town, and there's bound to be a police station
there. Look here, Richard, you're the freshest of us.
Take Harold with you and drive like the devil. I'll


CHAPTER II
"What a beastly thing to happen!" exclaimed Richard
when they were well under way. "I can quite under-
stand it, though. I've driven one of those Comets my-
self, and they're none too easy to keep on the road when
they're travelling really fast."
"And those two fellows can't have had much sleep in
an open car like that," replied Harold. "It's been
quite different for you and the Skipper. You've both
had an hour or two of comfort in the back of this most
luxurious car. What's more, she practically steers her-
self. Yet all the same, I don't mind telling you that the
Skipper frightened me more than once as we came
along just now."
"One nod on a Comet, and you're off the road.
That's what happened, beyond a doubt. It's queer that
they went off on the right hand side, though. The in-
stinct of most English drivers, at least, is to pull in
towards the left. They must have been travelling some,
when it happened. Did you notice that the whole front
axle was knocked right back?"
Harold made no reply. He was intent upon watch-
ing the road. They seemed to be nearing a town. A
pavement sprang up to one side of them, and the glare
of the headlights was reflected in the windows of houses
ahead. A big notice board appeared: "Westernham.
Narrow streets. Please drive slowly."
13


14 DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
Before they had gone much further, they saw a blue
lamp burning over the door of a severe looking build-
ing. "That'll be the police station," said Richard as
he pulled up. "Slip out, and see if there's anybody
about."
Harold descended from the car. As he did so, he
noticed that the ebony darkness through which they
had driven for so many hours had softened to a dull
grey. Objects were becoming dimly visible, seeming
monstrous and misshapen. The stars were no longer
bright and hard, and seemed less plentiful. Those that
remained showed as pale and sickly points in the sky.
He mounted the steps leading to the police station,
and rang the bell. A muffled clangour, harsh and
threatening, rang out inside the building. Then there
was silence, intensified by the utter stillness of the sleep-
ing town, until at last it was broken by the sound of
Richard's footsteps as he joined his friend.
"Seems as if the local constabulary were plunged in
slumber," he remarked.
"Looks like it," replied Harold. "Hold on, though,
I believe I hear somebody moving about inside."
They listened, and a sound as of heavy boots pacing
a stone passage came to their «ars. There was a groan
of a bolt, and the door was flung open, revealing a mas-
sive form in shirt sleeves.
"Well, and what do you gentlemen want?" asked a
deep bass voice.
"There's been an accident on the road, about three
miles from here," replied Richard. "A car in the ditch,
and the driver and passenger killed, by the look of it.


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
15
One of the Rally cars; the driver must have gone to
sleep—"
His voice trailed off as he caught the policeman star-
ing at him curiously, then he realized that he was sway-"
ing as he stood, and made a spasmodic effort to steady
himself.
"An accident, eh?" said the policeman suspiciously.
He came a step nearer, and began sniffing, as though
suddenly afflicted with a violent cold. "I should like to
see your driving licence, please," he said sharply.
"It's in the car," replied Richard; and then, as the
absurdity of the policeman's action dawned upon him,
he laughed mirthlessly. "We're not drunk, only dog-
tired," he explained. "We were competing in the Rally
too, and we've been some thirty-three hours on the road.
None of us have tasted a drink since we started, I can
promise you that."
"Oh! so that's it!" exclaimed the policeman, some-
what mollified. "Well, some folks have queer ways of
enjoying themselves; that's all I can say. Did you see
this accident happen?"
"No, we didn't," replied Richard wearily. "We saw
the car by the roadside, and stopped to investigate.
But hadn't you better come and see for yourself? You
can ask all the necessary questions later. We'll run
you to the spot."
The policeman grinned.
"Perhaps you're right," he said. "Come inside a
minute while I get my coat and telephone to the doc-
tor. You're sure the people you saw were dead, and
not merely stunned?"


16
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
"I had a look at them without disturbing them in any
way," said Harold. "I couldn't find any signs of life
about them."
The policeman nodded, and disappeared through a
doorway. They heard his voice as he used the tele-
phone in the charge room. Then he came back, fully
clad, and they saw that he wore a sergeant's stripes.
And to Harold's astonishment, he had a camera in his
hand.
"I'll have your names, please, gentlemen," he said,
producing a notebook. "Mine is Showerby, Sergeant
Showerby, of the County Police. I've rung up Dr.
Mason, and asked him to come along. He'll be here in
his own car in a minute or two. Mr. Richard Gate-
man? Thank you. And yours, sir? Mr. Harold
Merefield? And which of you gentlemen is the owner
of this car?"
"Neither of us," replied Richard. "We've left the
owner with the other car, the one that's had such a
smash."
It seemed to Richard that the sergeant's eyebrows
lifted for an instant.
"And what is the gentleman's name?" he asked.
Richard told him, and he closed the notebook and re-
placed it in his pocket.
"That will do for the present," he said. "We had
better get into the car, so as to be ready for Dr. Mason
when he comes."
Richard and Harold walked out to the Armstrong
and got in.
"Jump in at the back, Sergeant," said the former.


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
17
"I'll turn her round ready to start when the doctor
comes."
But Sergeant Showerby seemed to be in no hurry.
Instead of getting in by the door nearest to him, he
walked slowly round the car, staring at it as though a
motor was a wholly unfamiliar form of transport.
"What's he up to?" asked Richard impatiently, his
foot on the clutch pedal.
"Looking for the damage," replied Harold softly.
"He suspects us of having run into the other fellow!
Haven't you spotted that yet? You can't blame him;
he's only doing his duty."
At that moment the sergeant opened the door and
climbed in. Richard reversed the car, and for a few
minutes they waited in silence. Then the lights of a
second car shone out behind them and drew alongside.
The sergeant leant out of the window.
"That you, Doctor? Well, will you follow us?
These gentlemen say it is about three miles along the
road."
"All right, go ahead," replied Dr. Mason.
The Armstrong started off, closely followed by the
other car. The three miles were covered in silence, and ■
Richard pulled up beside Bob Weldon, who was wait-
ing for them by the roadside.
By now it was getting light, that deceptive half-
light in which, though objects cannot be clearly dis-
cerned, the most powerful headlights seem feeble and
irresolute. The wrecked Comet, tilted at an unnatural
angle, seemed utterly abandoned and forlorn. And
beyond it were the two motionless figures in leather


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
19
"Official number five fourteen, entered by A. Lessing-
ham. Yes, that's what the first signature looks like.
I can't make out the other quite, but I think it is T.
Purvis. They seem to have left Bath at nine p.m. on the
first; that's the day before yesterday. Where did you
gentlemen start from?"
"We started from Bath, too," replied Bob. "Our
official number is five thirteen, the next before theirs.
We started at eight forty-five, a quarter of an hour in
front of them."
"And yet you found this car in the ditch as you
came along?" said the sergeant quickly. "They must
have been in front of you then?"
"Of course they were," replied Bob with a hint of
irritation in his voice. "You wouldn't expect us to
keep the same distance apart over eight hundred miles
odd, would you? We happened to be delayed by fog,
and perhaps they escaped it."
A new idea seemed to strike the sergeant.
"You have a route book similar to this, Mr. Wel-
don?" he asked.
"Yes. Every competitor in the Rally carries one.
Slip over to the car and fetch it, will you, Harold? It's
in the cubby-hole in the front."
Harold fetched the route book, and smiled as he saw
the eagerness with which the sergeant inspected the
names inscribed in it. Apparently satisfied that they
corresponded with those he had already been given, he
turned to the record of the Moorchester control.
"Your time is given as four fifty-six a.m., this morn-
ing," he said. "Mr. Lessingham's is given as four


20
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
thirty-two a.m. He was twenty-six minutes in front of
you, then?"
"You can't tell exactly. Those are the times at
which the books were presented. They may not have
left immediately afterwards. Though we signed in at
four fifty-six we didn't actually leave till five five."
"So that Mr. Lessingham's car may have been only
a short time ahead of you? Not more than a minute or
so, perhaps?"
"It must have been a good deal more than that. It
had left the control before we arrived there. No other
cars with the Rally flag and number were in the court-
yard of the Imperial Hotel."
"But still you might have overtaken it between
Moorchester and here?" persisted the sergeant.
"I can only assure you that we saw.no sign of it in
front of us until we found it as you see it," replied Bob
firmly.
Their conversation was interrupted by Dr. Mason,
who rejoined them at that moment.
"They're both dead," he said tersely. "One of them
has a jagged gash right across the jugular, and must
have bled to death in a very short time. I can't say
off-hand how the other man died. He appears to have
escaped the broken glass, and so far as I can see at
present no bones are broken. Some internal injury,
no doubt. They had better be taken to the mortuary,
Sergeant, and I will communicate with the coroner."
"Can you say how long they have been dead, Doc-
tor?" asked the sergeant, taking out his notebook once
more.


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
21
"Not to within a few minutes, naturally," replied
Dr. Mason. "Somewhere round about an hour, I
should think. The indications seem to show that the
man with the gash in his throat died first, if that's any
good to you. I can't do any more here, and I'm off
back home. I'll see you later on in the morning."
Harold looked at his watch as the doctor was speak-
ing. He stared at it for an instant, then held it to his
ear. No, it had not stopped. Yet it was incredible
that the time should be no later than twenty minutes
past six. Only an hour and a quarter since they had
left Moorchester! It seemed an eternity! He nudged
Richard and showed him the watch. Obviously Rich-
ard was equally incredulous. He fumbled in his pocket
and produced his own. The two watches agreed to the
minute.
"By Jove, I thought it was hours later than that!"
he muttered. "I say; we might do it yet!" Then he
turned to the sergeant. "Anything more we can do
for you, Sergeant?" he asked nonchalantly. "If not,
we'd better be getting along."
Sergeant Showerby's lips widened in a grim smile.
"I'm afraid I shall have to ask you gentlemen to
stay here for the present," he replied. "One moment,
Doctor. Would you mind calling at the police station
on your way home, and asking them to send a constable
out here on a bicycle at once?"
Dr. Mason nodded, got into his car, and drove away.
By this time it was really light. The eastern sky was
flecked with pink, and the stars had completely disap-
peared. For the first time Sergeant Showerby was


DR. PRIESTLEY EAYS A TRAP
able to observe the group that stood before him.
It struck him that their appearance was scarcely
prepossessing. Their unshaven faces were haggard
and drawn, stained with the grime of the fog through
which they had passed. The heavy coats and mufflers
which they wore did not improve matters. Bob Wel-
don was the eldest, a man of forty-five, or thereabouts,
with a shrewd, half-humorous expression. Richard
Gateman, between thirty-five and forty, was slighter
and shorter. He wore glasses, and his expression was
one of eager alertness. He moved restlessly, as if the
whole affair bored him, and he longed to be done with
it. Harold Merefield, the youngest of the party, was
tall and powerful, but had the face of a man who
spends most of his time indoors.
The sergeant's face as he glanced at them each in
turn was inscrutable.
"I should like to see your driving licences, please,"
he said.
Bob and Richard produced theirs, and the sergeant
noted the particulars in his book. Then he turned to
Harold inquiringly.
"Sorry, I haven't got a licence," said Harold. "I
wasn't driving, merely time-keeping. You'll have to
take me on trust, unless you'd like to ring up my em-
ployer."
"We'll see about that later," replied the sergeant
curtly. "Now your occupations, please?"
"Manufacturer," said Bob Weldon. "I own a pot-
tery works at Clayport—Weldon & Company."
"And I suppose I can be described as a manufac-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
23
turer's agent, can't I, Skipper?" said Richard. "I
manage Mr. Weldon's London office for him, in Upper
Thames Street."
The sergeant took down these particulars, and
glanced at Harold.
"Secretary," said the latter. "My employer's name
is Dr. Priestley, and he lives in Westbourne Terrace,
London."
Evidently the sergeant was a man of method. He
next noted the registered numbers of the cars. That
of. the Armstrong was QK 1773, and of the wrecked
Comet ZV 9694. Once more he examined the Arm-
strong Siddeley closely, then turned his attention to
the Comet.
The damage to the latter was now clearly apparent.
The impact of striking the further side of the ditch had
bent both dumb-irons, and driven the front axle hastily
back towards the gear box. The radiator was appar-
ently undamaged, but only a few jagged spikes of
glass remained where the windscreen had been. So far
as could be seen from the road, there was no blood in-
side the car, but the bonnet was spattered with drops.
One of the spokes of the steering wheel was broken, and
the column was bent forward. The front seats had
fallen from their normal position, and were lying on
the floor beneath the dash. The rear portion of the car
was undamaged.
While the sergeant was noting these details, the fig-
ure of a policeman on a bicycle appeared from the di-
rection of Westernham, pedalling furiously towards
them. He dismounted, breathing heavily, and saluted.


24
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
Sergeant Showerby took him aside, and gave him a
few brief instructions in a low tone.
The sergeant then opened his camera. The sun had
risen by now, and, though the shadows were still long,
the light was at least passable. He took several photo-
graphs of the wrecked car, and of the bodies lying in
front of it, trying to get his pictures from as many dif-
ferent points as possible. Then he turned his atten-
tion to the road itself.
During the night a certain amount of dew had fallen,
covering the smooth surface of the Tarmac road with
a thin film of moisture, which was already beginning to
disappear in thin vapour under the sun's rays. But
enough remained to show distinctly the wheel tracks of
the Armstrong and the Comet. The former, being the
most recent, were the clearest. They led up to the
scene of the tragedy in a fairly straight line. Only
occasionally did they trend gently towards the left-
hand side of the road and back again. In several
places they crossed the tracks of the Comet, which were
thus obliterated at these points. Finally, they showed
no trace of skidding, or of the wheels having locked,
where the car first drew up, showing that the brakes
had been applied normally.
Up to about thirty yards from its present position,
the Comet had left very similar tracks. They were
even straighter than those of the Armstrong, running
without deviation along the centre of the road. But
suddenly this regularity ceased. For a few yards the
front wheels had left a serpentine track, as though the
steering wheel had been wrenched violently first in one


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
25
direction, then another. Finally, the steering wheel
seemed to have been turned hard over, and the tracks
led abruptly to where the car stood now. And,
throughout the whole of these contortions, there were
marks where the wheels had been momentarily locked
and then released.
Sergeant Showerby changed the spool in his camera,
and took a series of photographs of the tracks. This
done, he turned to the waiting group, on which the con-
stable had been keeping a watchful eye.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, but I thought
it best to take these photographs in your presence," he
said weightily. "It will, I am afraid, be necessary for
you to remain at Westernham for the present. You
all appear to need a rest, and if you will get into your
car, the constable will show you the way to the White
Hart where I am sure you will be quite comfortable."
Under other circumstances they might have ques-
tioned Sergeant Showerby's authority for disposing of
them thus summarily. But, as things were, there
seemed no alternative to compliance. By the time they
could appeal to the sergeant's superior, it would be far
too late to continue their journey with any hope of ar-
riving within the specified time.
They all realized this, and resigned themselves to the
prospect of the White Hart. After all, sleep was what
they all craved, and here was a chance of getting it.
Without protest, they entered the Armstrong, taking
the constable with them. Under his guidance, they
reached the hotel, where they made the just-roused
staff understand that they wanted a wash, and some
place where they could sleep undisturbed.


CHAPTER III
Bob Weldon was the first to wake. He did so with a
start. How was it that the car was not moving? Had
they reached a control? Then as he opened his eyes,
he saw that he was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar
room, and recollection of the events of the early morn-
ing returned to him. A chambermaid, a stolid girl
who looked as though nothing was likely to perturb her,
was standing by his bedside.
"Beg pardon, sir," she said as soon as she saw that
Bob was awake. "There's a police inspector asking
for you downstairs. He says he'll come up here if you
don't want to go down."
"Oh, I'll go down," replied Bob hastily. "What
time is it?"
"Just gone one, sir, and there's some lunch on in the
coffee room if you'd care for it."
"Just gone one!" He would have been over the
finishing line at Torquay, if this confounded business
had not interfered with his plans. For an instant he
regretted the impulse that had led him to pull up and
investigate the ditched Comet. But the thought of its
occupants flung out lifeless beside it recurred to him.
He could not have gone on and left them untended.
"Lunch," he said. "Yes, rather! I'll have some as
soon as I've finished with this inspector chap. Tell
them to keep me some at all costs. And if you're going
26


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
27
down you might tell the inspector I shall be with him
in a couple of shakes."
The chambermaid departed and Bob sprang out of
bed. He had only thrown off his outer garments, and
he was quickly dressed. As he caught sight of his face
in the mirror he paused. He was certainly a ghastly
spectacle. Why shouldn't his visitor wait while he had
a shave? No, better not, perhaps there would be time
for that later.
He walked downstairs with legs that had a curious
feeling as though they did not belong to him. As he
reached the hall, a tall, pleasant-faced man of about
his own age came towards him.
"Mr. Weldon?" he asked. "I am Inspector Harra-
way from Moorchester. I am very sorry to disturb
you, but I am anxious to obtain information regarding
the accident which happened to Mr. Lessingham's car
this morning."
"I should have thought that Sergeant Showerby
could have given you full particulars," replied Bob.
"He asked enough questions last night—or rather this
morning. Still, I'm ready to tell you all I know. Is
there anywhere here where we can sit down and talk?"
"The landlord says we may use his office," replied
Inspector Harraway. "There's nobody there at this
time of the day, and we shan't be disturbed. It's just
through here."
He led the way to a small but comfortably furnished
room, and the two seated themselves.
"I'm afraid that you must have thought Showerby a
trifle officious," began the inspector, apologetically.


28
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
"But you must realize that he was bound to collect
what information he could, and to take every possible
precaution. He's really a most intelligent and pains-
taking man, and a very good fellow at heart."
"I'm sure he is," agreed Bob dryly. "I had evidence
of his thoroughness, anyhow. I wouldn't have minded
if he hadn't so obviously suspected us of being responsi-
ble for the smash."
Inspector Harraway smiled.
"He was bound to consider the possibility, you
know," he replied. "In fact, I think he's still got it at
the back of his mind that your car had something to
do with it. Now, I'll be perfectly frank with you, Mr.
Weldon. For my own part, I don't believe for a mo-
ment that you know anything of the cause of the acci-
dent. But I'm bound to make certain inquiries. In
the first place, I want to be quite clear as to the details
of this Rally. As I understand it, each competitor had
to cover a distance of approximately a thousand miles
at an average speed of twenty-five miles an hour. Both
you and Mr. Lessingham started from Bath during the
evening before last."
Bob nodded.
"That's right," he agreed. "Competitors were given
the choice of nine starting places. They had to start
between six and nine o'clock, and each was allotted a
separate starting time. Our time was eight forty-five,
p.m., and we were the last but one to start from Bath.
The Comet followed us at nine o'clock."
"I gather that your course was marked out for you,
and that you had to report at various controls en


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
29
route?"
"We had to report at Norwich, Kendal, Droitwich,
and Moorchester, in that order. Competitors starting
from other points had a different set of controls. But,
as long as we reported at those controls, we were free
to choose the route to follow between them. No doubt
different drivers chose different routes."
"I see. Just one more point, Mr. Weldon. Each
competitor was given a route book on starting, which
he had to produce at each control to be stamped with
the time of his arrival?"
"Exactly. When the route book was produced, all
the occupants of the car had to sign it in the presence
of the officials."
"Thank you, Mr. Weldon. Now, I have been com-
paring your route book with Mr. Lessingham's, and
there are certain discrepancies which perhaps you can
explain. I have made a summary of them on a piece of
paper. Here it is."
The inspector handed Bob a piece of paper, drawn
up as follows:
Control 513 (Weldon) 514 (Lessingham)
Bath 8.45 p.m. (1st) 9 p.m. (1st)
Norwich 3.12 a.m. (2nd) 3.21a.m. (2nd)
Kendal 12.07 a.m. (2nd) 9.52 a.m. (2nd)
Droitwich 7.31p.m. (2nd) 4.02 p.m. (2nd)
Moorchester... 4.56a.m. (3rd) 4.32a.m. (3rd)
"Now," continued the inspector, "there are one or
two things I can't quite make out. On the first section,
from Bath to Norwich, you and Mr. Lessingham seem


80
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
to have kept your relative positions. He started fifteen
minutes later than you and arrived nine minutes later.
That means that you both travelled at about the same
average speed?"
"Probably we did," replied Bob. "Our route from
Bath to Norwich was two hundred and eight miles by
speedometer. We took six hours and fifty-seven min-
utes to cover this distance. Got a pencil and a bit of
paper on you?"
The inspector tore a leaf out of his notebook, and
handed it over, together with a pencil. Bob did a rapid
calculation. "That works out at an average speed, in-
cluding stops for traffic, change of drivers, and petrol,
of thirty miles an hour. That's what we were aiming
at. We meant to travel at that average speed through-
out the trial."
"It was not in any sense a speed test?" inquired the
inspector.
"Only in so far as the average speed had to be main-
tained. There was no point in driving too fast. Com-
petitors were penalized if they crossed the finishing line
more than five minutes before their time."
"You say that you intended to maintain an average
speed of thirty miles an hour, Mr. Weldon. Mr. Les-
singham seems to have started with the same intention.
But during the second stage of the journey, your times
begin to vary. He arrived at Kendal two hours and a
quarter before you. How do you explain that?"
"I can explain it best if I fetch our schedule, which
is in the car," replied Bob. "Will you excuse me for a
moment?" He went to the hotel garage, into which he


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
31
had driven the Armstrong that morning, and brought
back with him a board on which was pinned a piece of
paper.
"This is a table of times and distances, prepared be-
forehand," he explained. "You will see that it shows
the distances between important points on the route,
with the times at which we should pass them if our aver-
age speed is maintained. In pencil against these fig-
ures is marked our actual time. You will see that we
arrived at the Norwich control at three twelve, which
is the time registered in our route book. But we did
not leave at once. We had some hot coffee, and filled
up with petrol. This took us fourteen minutes, and
we did not leave Norwich till three twenty-six. Then
again we had breakfast at Doncaster, which took thir-
ty-seven minutes. The route book shows eight hours
and fifty-five minutes between Norwich and Kendal,
but fourteen minutes plus thirty-seven minutes, or
fifty-one minutes, must be deducted from this. This
stage was two hundred and forty-nine miles by speed-
ometer, and we covered it in eight hours, four min-
utes, actual running time. Let me work that out.
Thirty-one miles per hour near enough.
"Now, Mr. Lessingham possibly did not stop long
at Norwich, or for breakfast en route. If we allow him
ten minutes off his route book time, he covered the dis-
tance in six hours, twenty-one minutes, or at the rate
of thirty-nine miles per hour. It is pretty good going,
but not beyond the powers of a sports car, built for
speed, especially as he had daylight for more than half
the way. In fact, I dare say we could have done it


32
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
ourselves, had we wanted to."
"I'm much obliged to you for your information, Mr.
Weldon," said the inspector, as he pored over the sum-
mary he had made. "Mr. Lessingham seems to have
pushed on as fast as he could. But what was his object,
since you have just told me that he would be penalized
if he arrived at Torquay before his time?"
"By the look of his route book figures, he intended
to get as far ahead as possible by yesterday evening,"
replied Bob. "I know that this was the intention of
several of the competitors. Their plan was to snatch
a few hours' sleep at Moorchester last night. Look
here; he seems to have taken over twelve hours between
Droitwich and Moorchester, a hundred and eighty-six
miles, by the route we took, which is absurd. We were
held up by fog, and lost over two hours in consequence,
but we took less than nine hours and a half."
"You think it possible that Mr. Lessingham slept at
Moorchester last night?" asked the inspector quickly.
"I think it extremely probable. Judging by his
average speed over the previous stages, he should have
arrived at Moorchester about ten or eleven o'clock last
night. The Moorchester control did not open till
twelve forty-two a.m., this morning, so he could not
present his route book then. He probably took a room
at some hotel, slept till half past four, then presented
his book for stamping, and started off at once. He
would have plenty of time. Since he started from Bath
fifteen minutes later than we did, his finishing time at
Torquay would be correspondingly later, or one twelve
p.m., today. He thus had eight hours and forty min-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
33
utes in which to cover approximately two hundred and
thirty miles, an average of twenty-six and a half miles
per hour."
But the inspector's attention seemed to have wan-
dered. He made no comment upon Bob's calculation,
but sat for a moment frowning thoughtfully.
"What is your explanation of the accident that hap-
pened to Mr. Lessingham's car, Mr. Weldon?" he asked
suddenly.
"Why, it seems simple enough to me," replied Bob.
"The driver went to sleep at the wheel, and the car ran
into the ditch. That very nearly happened to me on
the same stretch, as Harold Merefield, who was sitting
beside me, can tell you."
Inspector Harraway nodded, and looked at his
watch.
"Why, it's half past one!" he exclaimed. "You
must be very hungry, Mr. Weldon. I don't suppose
you had much time for food while you were driving?"
"I haven't had a decent meal since breakfast yester-
day," replied Bob. "I told the people here that I
should have lunch as soon as you had gone."
"How thoughtless of me! I would not have kept
you from your lunch for the world. For that matter,
I am feeling a bit peckish myself. How would it be if
we went into the coffee room and had lunch together?"
Bob agreed to this readily enough. They adjourned
to the coffee room, where they chose a table at which
their conversation would not be overheard by the other
occupants of the room. The meal having been ordered,
the inspector began to talk in a conversational tone.


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
35
"Yes. I suppose four hours' sleep would be sufficient
to refresh anybody. By the way; you remember those
photographs Sergeant Showerby took? They came out
wonderfully well. Photography is Showerby's hobby,
and he's awfully keen on it. He married the sister of
the local photographer here a year or two back. I
don't know whether the hobby was responsible for the
marriage or the marriage for the hobby. Anyhow,
these photographs are excellent. He showed me the
negatives, and he's having them printed by his brother-
in-law this afternoon. You ought to get him to show
them to you when they are ready. The ones he took of
the tracks of Mr. Lessingham's car are particularly
good. But since you saw the actual tracks for your-
self, perhaps you wouldn't be as interested as I am."
It dawned upon Bob that the inspector had been
watching him closely throughout this apparently irrel-
evant conversation. He frowned slightly, as he realized
that there was something behind it, which he had not
perceived.
"Look here, Inspector Harraway," he said quietly.
"As one man to another, would you mind telling me
exactly what it is you're getting at?"
The inspector smiled.
"I was hoping that you would see that for yourself,"
he replied. "You told me just now that you believed
the accident to Mr. Lessingham's car to have been
caused by the driver going to sleep at the wheel. From
your own experience, you regard such a thing as quite
possible. But there is one thing you have quite over-
looked. You say that you are perfectly fit to drive now


36
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
after four hours' sleep. But Mr. Lessingham and his
passenger, if your deduction from his route book is cor-
rect, had at least that amount of sleep at Moorchester."
Bob whistled softly.
"If they had, it is not in the least likely that they
went to sleep fifteen miles out," he said.
"Exactly. But until we have verified that they did
actually get this sleep, we cannot base any argument
upon it. But there's another thing. Imagine yourself
driving Mr. Lessingham's car with Mr. Gateman be-
side you. You are feeling very sleepy, and constantly
doze off. What would happen?"
Bob laughed.
"I can tell you exactly what did happen in my car
this morning," he replied. "More than once I did doze
off for a fraction of a second. On the last occasion I
did not recover my senses till the wheels of the car were
actually on the grass. I dare say it was the slight jolt
that wakened me."
"On which side of the road did you go on to the
grass?"
"On the left. It's one's natural instinct. It's curi-
ous that the Comet should have gone in on the right."
"That's one of my points. Imagine that you were
in that car, dozed off, and didn't wake in time. What
would have happened then?"
"If Richard had been beside me, and awake, he
would probably have snatched the wheel and got the
car back on the road before we hit the ditch. If he had
been asleep, we should have gone into the ditch as the
Comet did."


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
37
"In that case, what would be the appearance of the
wheel tracks of the car?"
"They would have shown a gradual tending towards
the left, until the car came to a stop in the ditch."
"That is just my opinion, and I am very glad you
have confirmed it. If you will recall the appearance of
the tracks of Mr. Lessingham's car, you will remember
that they were very different. Before the car took the
final swerve to the right into the ditch, there was a very
well marked wobble from side to side. And as soon as
that wobble commenced, the brakes were applied. Is it
possible that the application of the brakes caused the
wobble and the final swerve? I should like your opinion
as an expert driver."
"I suppose it would be possible if the brakes were
very badly out of adjustment," replied Bob thought-
fully. "I have known cases of cars with badly adjusted
brakes, tending to one side or another when the brakes
were applied. But I can't imagine any adjustment be-
ing so bad as to cause the extreme wobble and the sud-
den swerve that the tracks showed. There was no
question of a skid. The tracks showed no sideways
movement of the wheels."
"Did you form any theory to account for the be-
haviour of the car, as shown by the tracks?"
"I can't say that I did. For one thing I was too
sleepy, and for another I took it for granted that the
driver had gone to sleep, and didn't think any more
about it. But now after what you've said, I see the ob-
jections to that. The only thing I can think of is that
the driver somehow lost control of the steering wheel


CHAPTER IV
Lunch over, Bob went upstairs and looked into the
rooms occupied by Richard and Harold. They were
sleeping like logs, and it seemed a pity to disturb them.
He shaved and made himself look more presentable,
and then rejoined Inspector Harraway in the hall.
They got out the Armstrong. Bob regretfully re-
moved the Rally flag and official number and they
started off in the direction of Moorchester. The in-
spector sat beside Bob, very much on the alert.
"There's nothing much the matter with your driving
now, whatever it may have been like early this morn-
ing," he said. "But my object in asking you to take
me out wasn't only to test that. I want you to help
me with some inquiries in Moorchester, if you will.
The control there was established at the Imperial Ho-
tel; I know that. Where did competitors leave their
cars while they were reporting?"
"I don't know what the others did. We were so
late that they had all gone on by the time we arrived.
We parked in the courtyard, under the instructions of
an R.A.C. man who was there. I expect the others did
the same."
"We'll try and find that R.A.C. man. He may be
able to tell us when Mr. Lessingham arrived, and put
us on his track. I'm very anxious to find out if he did
actually put up anywhere in Moorchester last night."
39


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
41
seater Comet sports, painted grey, among them?"
"Yes, sir, there was. I remember it because it was
the only open car there. The rest were all saloons."
"Do you know when it left the control?"
"Yes, sir. A lot more cars came in and drove away
after I got there, but this particular Comet didn't
move. In fact, I wondered what had become of the
driver. About half an hour before the control closed
it was the only competing car left. And then a couple
of gentlemen came running out of the hotel, jumped
into it, and started off. I heard one say to the other
something about having overslept themselves. I
thought that must be the last of the Rally cars, but
quarter of an hour after these had gone, an Armstrong
Siddeley, exactly like the one you're in now, sir, arrived
at the control. Three gentlemen got out of it, went
into the hotel, and came out again almost at once. I
thought to myself that if they'd been a few minutes
later, they would have found the control shut. I re-
member the official number. It was five thirteen."
"This is the very car," remarked the inspector. "It
has been unfortunately prevented from finishing, the
course. Don't you recognize either of us?"
The R.A.C. man peered at Bob and the inspector.
"I can't say that I do, sir," he replied. "It was very
dark in the courtyard, and I couldn't well distinguish
faces. It's bad luck that you weren't able to finish,
sir."
"Then you wouldn't recognize the gentlemen who
got into the Comet if you saw them again?" asked the
inspector.


42
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
"No, sir, I'm pretty sure I shouldn't. But they were
both wearing leather coats, and the shorter of the two
was at the wheel when they left the control. He started
off as if he was in a terrible hurry, too."
The inspector thanked the man for his information,
and they drove on towards the town.
"Your theory appears to be correct, Mr. Weldon,"
remarked Inspector Harraway.
"I thought something of the kind must have hap-
pened, when you showed me their control times," replied
Bob. "They evidently arrived at the control before
midnight, and went to sleep somewhere. Probably in
the Imperial Hotel itself, since they left their car in
the courtyard. I should try there first, if I were you."
Again Bob proved to be on the right track. In-
quiries at the Imperial Hotel revealed the fact that
Mr. Lessingham had engaged a room there for the
previous night. The letter in which he had done so
was produced. It was headed "14 Cawdor Street,
W.l" and was written in a careless, untidy hand.
"Please reserve a room with two beds for me on the
night of March 2nd. Aubrey Lessingham."
"That's the address given on his driving licence, and
the signature is similar to the one in his route book," re-
marked the inspector aside to Bob. Then, addressing
the reception clerk, to whom he was apparently well
known, he said: "I'll keep this letter for the present.
Now, can you tell me if Mr. Lessingham actually occu-
pied the room?"
"Oh, he occupied it all right. He and his friend.
They were driving in the Rally, you know, and they


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
43
stayed here for a few hours to get some sleep."
"Did you actually see them?" the inspector asked
patiently.
"No, I didn't see them myself. I left instructions
with the chief night porter that they were to be shown
into number two hundred and twelve. You see, I go
off duty at ten o'clock, and they hadn't come by then.
And by the time I got here at ten o'clock this morning
they had gone. They paid the chief night porter, and
he handed the money to me before he left this morning.
The hotel was busy all night with people coming and
going, he said."
"I expect it was. Did the porter tell you what time
they arrived?"
"Oh, yes. Theirs was the first of the Rally cars that
he was expecting to turn up. It was just about half
past ten. Mr. Lessingham gave his name, and he
showed them up to number two hundred and twelve.
They looked very tired, he said; and they must have
been, for they didn't wake when they were first called.
It was like this you see, Mr. Harraway. They asked
the porter to call them at a quarter to four, as they
wanted to get away by four o'clock sharp. So he sent
a man up to wake them then. He didn't think any
more about it for a time; he was so busy with all those
people continually coming and going, and wanting
this and that. But half an hour later it occurred to
him that he hadn't seen them about, and he sent up to
their room a second time. Do you know, Mr. Harra-
way, they had both gone to sleep again!"
"Not altogether surprising under the circum-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
45
idea. Itfs not a bad plan, but the objection to it is that
it doesn't allow much margin for possible mishaps on
the final" stage from here to Torquay."
"Well, that's as may be. I think we've established
that Mr. Lessingham and his friend did actually get a
certain amount of sleep last night; and that, in my
opinion, finally disposes of the theory that the cause
of the accident was the driver going to sleep. Perhaps
the experts will discover some defect in the car to ac-
count for it. Meanwhile, I'm going to open this tele-
gram. It may tell us something that we don't already
know about Mr. Lessingham."
He tore open the envelope, and took out the tele-
graph form. Having read it, he handed it silently to
Bob. It had been handed in at 6.12 p.m. on the 2nd,
the previous day. The office of origin was South Ken-
sington, and the message was as follows: "Lessingham,
Imperial Hotel, Moorchester. Cannot meet you at
Torquay as we arranged, love."
"I don't know that that's particularly enlightening,"
remarked Bob, as he handed the telegram back, "ex-
cept that it shows he had spoken beforehand of his in-
tention of stopping at the Imperial Hotel, which you
knew already from his letter."
"Oh, it tells us a lot more than that," replied In-
spector Harraway. "It tells us that the sender was a
woman. For one thing, no man would put the word
'love' at the end of a wire. And there's another thing.
The address and the message proper took eleven words.
Now, nearly everybody likes to send twelve words, and
so get full value for their shilling. But the average


46
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
person, having a word to spare, would add his name,
Tom, Dick, or Harry. To put in the word 'love' is a
regular woman's trick. I wonder if Mr. Lessingham
was married? I don't think that there's much more
we can do here, for the present. Suppose we get back
to Westernham?"
As they drove over the now familiar road, Bob could
no longer restrain his curiosity. "It seems to me, In-
spector, that you're spending a lot of time and trouble
over this business," he said. "Do you always do this
sort of thing in the case of a pure accident?"
"Our instructions are to investigate very carefully
the circumstances of any fatal accident," replied the
inspector. "Besides, the coroner will want to know all
about it, you may be sure. And, to be quite frank with
you, Mr. Weldon, there are points about this particular
accident that I don't understand. I'm hoping that the
examination of the car may throw some light upon it."
"Perhaps it will, and perhaps it won't," replied Bob
doubtfully. "With the front of the car smashed up
like that, it will be the deuce of a job to discover any
defect which existed before the accident. Look here,
Inspector, it's none of my business, but who is carrying
out that examination?"
"The people at the Central Garage at Westernham.
We got them to send out and fetch the car."
"Well, without any disrespect to them, I doubt if
they will be able to tell you much, unless the defect
which you suspect is still very obvious. You see, they
are not likely to be experts in this particular make of
car, and they might not recognize any unusual adjust-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
47
ment. If I were you, I'd get on to the Comet people,
and get them to send one of their engineers down. If
any defect existed, he'd be more likely to find it than
anyone else."
"I'm much obliged to you for the hint, Mr. Weldon,"
said the inspector gratefully. "If the garage people
haven't found anything by the time we get back, I'll
put a call through to the Comet people. I've already
asked the Metropolitan Police to call at the addresses
given on both Mr. Lessingham's and Mr. Purvis's driv-
ing licences, and inform their relatives. That's always
the worst part of it. That reminds me of another thing
I want to ask you. Why, if Mr. Lessingham lived in
London, should he have started on the Rally from
Bath?"
"I couldn't say off-hand. Competitors were given
the choice of nine starting places, of which London was
one. The routes by which they had to reach Torquay
differed in each case; The controls for those who
started from London were Harrogate, Edinburgh,
Buxton, and Cambridge. I personally started from
Bath because it was the nearest starting place to where
I live. Mr. Lessingham may have chosen it because
he knew the roads on the Bath route better than any
of the others."
"I think you told me, Mr. Weldon, that within cer-
tain limits competitors could choose their own time of
starting. Why did you hit upon eight forty-five p.m.?"
"I asked to be allotted as late a starting time as pos-
sible. You see, the later one started, the more hours of
daylight one got during the following forty hours.


48
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
You may take it that it is dark from six p.m. to six a.m.
at this time of year. A car starting at six p.m. would
have twenty-four hours of darkness and sixteen light,
while one starting at nine p.m. would have twenty-one
hours of darkness and nineteen light. I was told that
the latest starting time, nine p.m., was already allotted
—presumably to Mr. Lessingham—but that I could
have eight forty-five p.m."
"The same idea must have occurred to Mr. Lessing-
ham," remarked the inspector. He said nothing more
until they reached Westernham, where, after thanking
Bob for his assistance, he left him at the White Hart.
Bob found Richard and Harold up, and gorging
themselves upon an excellent tea.
"Hallo, Skipper!" exclaimed Richard. "We thought
you'd bolted from the clutches of the law. They told
us that you'd taken out the car and driven off, and we
were hoping to see the face of our estimable friend
Sergeant Showerby when he heard you'd given him the
slip."
"Showerby has been superseded as far as we're con-
cerned," replied Bob. "I've spent a most interesting
afternoon in the company of his superior, Inspector
Harraway."
"The devil you have!" exclaimed Richard. "And he
didn't lock you up at the end of it? Are we still sup-
posed to be the bold bad boys who forced the Comet
into the ditch? It strikes me that these local sleuths
are pretty thick-headed. It's perfectly obvious that
those poor fellows went to sleep, and crashed in conse-
quence."


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
49
"Don't you run away with the idea that the inspec-
tor's a fool," replied Bob. "He's anything but that.
And what would you say if I told you that Lessingham
and his passenger had nearly six hours' sleep at the Im-
perial Hotel in Moorchester last night?"
Harold was the first to see the implication.
"Six hours' sleep!" he exclaimed. "Then, by Jove,
they aren't likely to have gone to sleep at the wheel!"
"You're an apt pupil of Dr. Priestley; I can see
that," replied Bob. "Then, if they didn't fall asleep,
how did the accident happen? That's what the inspec-
tor wants to know."
"Well, if he does, it's his job to find out," Richard
put in. "How long are we to be kept hanging about
here? I don't see what it's got to do with us."
"We needn't hang about here, as you call it. But
we shall have to turn up at the inquest, which will prob-
ably be tomorrow, so we may as well stay where we are
till then."
Richard groaned.
"I don't find a small provincial town particularly
exhilarating, myself," he said. "It would be different if
this was Clayport, and we were at the Unicorn. What
on earth does one do here? I say, I've an idea! Let's
drive over to Moorchester and spend the evening there."
"You always were a restless devil, Richard!" said
Bob. "I don't feel in the least like spending the eve-
ning in riotous living. I'm going to bed as soon as I
decently can after dinner. Meanwhile, a little exercise
wouldn't do any of us any harm. What about walking
along the road to where the smash happened, and hav-


50
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
ing another look at things?"
Harold agreed eagerly, and neither he nor Bob paid
any attention to Richard's protests. In the end, all
three set out, Bob explaining the situation as he went.
"I confess that I don't understand what happened,"
he said. "If those fellows had as much sleep as it ap-
pears, they weren't in the least likely to fall asleep half
an hour later. I was pretty well played out this morn-
ing, as Harold knows, but after four hours' sleep I
could have driven for another couple of hundred miles
at least. The inspector's theory is that some defect de-
veloped in the car, presumably in the steering."
"That's possible, I suppose," replied Richard. "But
it's a very unusual thing to happen in a modern car.
Look here; what if their lights failed suddenly? All at
once, I mean, sidelights and headlights together. That
could happen, if the main lead to the battery broke or
came adrift."
"Yes, I've had something like that happen to me,
once," agreed Bob. "But I've two objections to that
theory in this case. The first is that the road is dead
straight where it happened. You'd think, even if they
were suddenly left in the dark, they would have been
able to keep the car straight and pull up. The second
is that the rear lamp was burning when we came on the
scene. I don't quite see what could have happened to
extinguish the front lamps and leave the rear one burn-
ing."
"That sounds reasonable enough," remarked Harold.
"It's my turn to make a suggestion. What if the
driver lost control trying to pass something on the


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
51
road? Not another car, of course, or we should have
seen its tracks. Or a pedestrian, either, for that mat-
ter. He or she would hardly have gone on their way
and left them in the ditch. But a stray cow or some-
thing like that?"
"There may be something in that," conceded Bob.
"But again I've an objection. They must have been
travelling at least sixty miles an hour. Although they
put on their brakes, as the tracks show, they hit the
ditch hard enough to pitch them both out and smash up
the front axle. Nobody in their senses would try to
pass a cow on the road going at that pace."
"They may not have seen it until they were right on
top of it. It may have jumped over the hedge, or come
out of the ditch, just as they reached the spot."
"Do cows lurk in ditches at night and pounce out
upon the unsuspecting wayfarer?" inquired Richard.
"I don't know; I'm not an expert upon bovine habits.
Anyhow, apart from the classical instance of the cow
that jumped over the moon, and that's probably sym-
bolical or connected in some way with a solar myth, I
know of no instance of a cow behaving like a steeple-
chaser."
"Oh, shut up, Richard!" exclaimed Harold. "I'll
admit that cows may not jump over hedges, but horses
can and do."
"All right, I'll allow you to transform your cow into
a horse," replied Richard. "But what became of Peg-
asus after the event? He must have been a bit star-
tled by the crash, and I'll wager he pranced about a bit.
And if he did, we should have seen the marks of his


52
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
hoofs on the road."
"Not if he kept to the grass at the side," remarked
Bob. "Well, here we are. We may as well look and
see if we can find any traces of Harold's quadruped."
But, though they searched very thoroughly, they
could find nothing of the sort. And, upon inspection,
Harold was bound to confess that his theory of any
animal leaping the hedge into the road was improbable.
The hedges on either side were six feet high, and wide
in proportion. Further, the fields beyond them were
under cultivation, and there were no signs of any large
animal having passed over them.
In the end, they were constrained to return to the
White Hart, without having formulated any theory
which would account satisfactorily for the mystery.


CHAPTER V
Bob Weldon's intention of going to bed soon after
dinner was frustrated. He had barely finished that
meal when a telephone message came for him from In-
spector Harraway, asking him if he could come over to
the police station. He consented, with as good a grace
as he could, and walked down the street to the building
with the blue lamp.
There was no sign of Sergeant Showerby, and Bob
was taken straight into the presence of the inspector,
who immediately rose to greet him.
"It's very good of you to come over, Mr. Weldon,"
he said. "I would have come to the White Hart, but
I was afraid that we might not find an opportunity for
an uninterrupted conversation there."
"It might have been a bit difficult," agreed Bob.
"I'm at your disposal, if you have anything to ask me."
Inspector Harraway smiled.
"As my expert adviser, I think you should know that
the garage people report that they can find no defect
in Mr. Lessingham's car which would account for the
accident."
"That's very much what I expected," replied Bob.
"You're satisfied that they made a thorough examina-
tion?"
"I think we can assume that they did. They've sent
a pretty full report, anyhow. Perhaps you'd like to see
53


54
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
it?"
The inspector handed over a couple of sheets of
closely typewritten paper, which Bob read carefully.
"Not very helpful, is it?" he remarked, as he handed
it back. "Plenty of details of the damage caused by
the accident, but that's about all. I see that they re-
port that the car seems to have had very little wear,
and that the speedometer reading is only just over five
thousand. You wouldn't expect a serious defect to
develop in a modern car after it had run only five
thousand miles."
"Well, can you suggest any other cause of the acci-
dent?" asked the inspector.
"I'm not sure," replied Bob thoughtfully. "We did
a little detective work on our own this afternoon. I'll
tell you about it." He described their visit to the scene
of the accident, and the theories that had been put for-
ward. "I'm not sure that there may not be something
in the stray animal idea," he concluded. "Although we
can't find any traces of it."
"And I'm inclined to agree with you, Mr. Weldon.
Had you been in Mr. Lessingham's place, what would
you have done if an animal had suddenly appeared in
the road just in front of you?"
"It depends on the animal," replied Bob. "If I'd
thought it was big enough to wreck the car, I should
have done my best to avoid it, and I might have run
into the ditch easily in the process. If it was anything
smaller I should have gone straight on, rather than risk
the lives of my passenger and myself by a sudden
swerve."


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
55
Inspector Harraway nodded.
"That seems logical," he replied. "I'll bear that
theory in mind. By the way, I've had reports from
London about Mr. Lessingham and his passenger. Mr.
Lessingham had rooms in Cawdor Street. A man-serv-
ant was in charge there, who said that he had been with
him for several years. He also said that the only rela-
tion his master had, so far as he knew, was his cousin,
Thomas Purvis."
"Who was killed with him," observed Bob. "I won-
der who the lady of the telegram can have been?"
"I don't think it will be necessary to inquire into
that," replied the inspector hastily. "Mr. Purvis's ad-
dress turned out to be a private hotel. They knew very
little about him there. He had only been there for a
week, and they believed that he was home on leave from
somewhere in the East, where he held an appointment
of some kind. At all events, neither of them appear to
have any near relatives. The London police got the
name of Mr. Lessingham's solicitor from his man. Far-
rant, his name is. He promised to come down here first
thing tomorrow morning. The inquest is at eleven, by
the way. I shall serve you and your friends with no-
tices to attend, but I expect it will be sufficient for you
to give your evidence. The coroner probably won't re-
quire anything further."
"Oh! we'll attend," said Bob. "It won't be the first
time we've been to an inquest together. By the way,
are you satisfied with the report on the car, or are you
going to call in the Comet people?"
"I should have been satisfied but for what you said


56
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
this afternoon, Mr. Weldon," replied the inspector.
"As it is, I got on to the Comet people and they are
sending a man down tomorrow morning. I described
the car to them, and they told me it was one they had
delivered to Mr. Lessingham early last month."
Bob nodded carelessly, and then something seemed
to strike him.
"Early last month, and his speedometer registers five
thousand miles!" he exclaimed. "Lessingham must
have been exceptionally fond of driving. His mileage
must have been over four thousand before he started on
the Rally. That means that he must have driven that
distance during February, or more than a thousand
miles a week. He wanted to run the car in thoroughly,
I suppose."
Shortly afterwards Bob took his leave, and went back
to the White Hart. It was settled that, as soon as the
inquest was over, he should drive home to Clayport,
while the others returned to London by train.
Next morning, at a few minutes to eleven, they ar-
rived at the police station, where a room was used as a
coroner's court. It was bare and chilly, with a few
forms and a table hastily put in place. It struck them
that there was an informal, almost apologetic look about
the whole scene. They were shown to a bench near the
table, and asked to sit down. The general public was
represented by a sprinkling of men and women, who
were presumably there because they had nothing better
to do. Doctor Mason strolled in, closely followed by a
middle-aged man in glasses. And finally, five minutes
late, the coroner appeared, accompanied by Inspector


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
57
Harraway.
It was not until he had taken his seat and muttered
a few inaudible words that Bob realized that the inquest
had begun. The absence of a jury, the complete lack
of interest evinced by the representatives of the public
and the press, seemed to render the proceedings all the
more informal.
Charles Farrant was the first witness called. The
middle-aged man in glasses stood up. He explained
that he was the head of the firm of Farrant and Far-
rant, solicitors. He had visited the mortuary, and had
there been shown two bodies. The first, the smaller of
the two, he identified as Aubrey Lessingham, aged
thirty-two, a client of his, of independent means. The
second was that of Thomas Purvis, Aubrey Lessing-
ham's second cousin, aged twenty-nine. He had known
Aubrey Lessingham for many years. Although he had
not seen Thomas Purvis for some three years, he had
no hesitation in identifying him. Thomas Purvis had
been in the Malay States during that period, employed
by one of the tin mining companies, and, to the best of
his belief, had only recently returned to England.
The parents of both men were dead, Thomas Purvis
had been Lessingham's next of kin, and vice versa.
Neither had any near relatives and he could not say at
present who was now the next of kin. Mr. Lessingham
had never made a will, though on more than one occa-
sion he (Mr. Farrant) had urged him to do so. He
could not say whether any will of Mr. Purvis' existed.
This concluded the solicitor's evidence, and he sat down.
The coroner nodded towards Sergeant Showerby,


58
DR. PRIESTLEY UVYS A TRAP
who stood up and recited his evidence in a clear voice.
Acting upon information received—and here he
glanced at the three friends—he had proceeded to the
spot on the Moorchester road. And so on, and so forth.
Nothing that threw any fresh light upon the matter.
Inspector Harraway bent down towards the coroner,
and whispered a few words in his ear.
"Ah, yes, certainly," he said. "I understand, Ser-
geant-ah-Shower by, that you took some photographs
of the accident."
"Yes, sir," replied the sergeant, importantly. "I
have them here, sir. They1 are numbered—"
But the coroner cut him short.
"A most commendable precaution," he said. "Lay
them on the table, they can be admitted as evidence if
necessary." He consulted a piece of paper. "Robert
Weldon."
Bob stood up and gave a brief account of the finding
of the wrecked car, and of the steps that had been taken,
to which the coroner listened impatiently.
"Both you and the deceased were taking part in a
contest, I believe?" he inquired. "Was there any ques-
tion of a race between you?"
"None whatever, sir," replied Bob. "The Rally was
not a race in any sense. It was—"
Again the coroner interrupted, this time waving his
hand with a gesture of irritation.
"I do not wish to hear any details," he snapped. "In
the absence of any other evidence I must take your
word for it that the two cars were not actually racing.
It is hard to believe that a race of some kind was not in


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP 59
progress. I was awakened several times last night by
the noise of cars passing through Moorchestcr at ex-
cessive speeds. I am surprised that the police should
countenance a contest which causes such inconvenience
to the residents of places through which the competitors
pass. Inspector Harraway!"
Bob sat down. The inspector took his place, and
described the result of his investigations. In his opin-
ion, the deaths of Mr. Lessingham and Mr. Purvis were
due to purely accidental causes.
"Of course accidents will happen if people persist in
driving at reckless speeds in the dark along the public
roads," commented the coroner. "It is to be hoped
that no members of the general public have been killed
in the course of this contest." Once more he consulted
the list of witnesses. "John Meacher!"
John Meacher stood up. He explained that he was
the proprietor of the Central Garage, Westernham. At
Inspector Harraway's request, he had proceeded with
a breakdown lorry to the point on the Moorchester
Road described by a previous witness. Here he had
found a Comet car, with the front portion in the ditch
beside the road. Having examined the position in
which the car stood, he had taken steps to haul it back
on to the road, and had then conveyed it to his own
garage.
There he had examined the car very carefully, with
special attention to the steering gear, and the adjust-
ment of the brakes. Considerable damage had been
done to the car by the accident itself. But he had been
unable to discover any previously existing defect in the


60
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
car which might have caused the accident.
The coroner snorted.
"Do you consider yourself an expert on the subject
of motor-cars?" he asked.
"Well, sir, I've been in the trade for twenty years,"
replied Mr. Meacher, with a suggestion of indignation
in his voice.
"Very well. At what speed would you estimate this
car to have been travelling when the accident hap-
pened?"
"It is very difficult to say, sir. The brakes had been
applied, but the car must have been travelling at least
thirty miles an hour when it struck the ditch."
"Then it must have been travelling at a considerably
greater speed a short time previously. Do you con-
sider such a speed to be safe at night?"
"With a suitable car and lights, such as the car I
examined, and on a straight and open road, I should
consider it perfectly safe, sir."
"Indeed! In my opinion it is most unsafe. Per-
fectly reckless, in fact. You may sit down. Doctor
Mason!"
Doctor Mason proceeded to give evidence as to the
cause of death. When he had arrived upon the scene of
the accident, he had found two bodies, identified by a
previous witness as those of Mr. Lessingham and Mr.
Purvis, lying a few feet in front of the car. Their at-
titudes suggested that they had been flung from the
car when it came to a sudden stop.
Dealing first with the body identified as that of
Thomas Purvis, in this case there could be no doubt of


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
61
the cause of death. Mr. Purvis, who appeared to have
been sitting beside the driver, had presumably been
thrown head first through the windscreen, the glass of
which had severed the principal blood-vessels of the
neck. A very large quantity of blood was found on
the ground beside him, and on the bonnet of the car.
No blood had been found within the car itself. Mr.
Purvis had probably been stunned by his fall, and had
no doubt bled to death within a few minutes of the ac-
cident.
The case of Mr. Lessingham was not so obvious. He
apparently had been driving. The sudden stoppage of
the car had flung him violently against the steering
column. The column was bent forward, and the steer-
ing wheel was damaged. Examination of the body had
revealed extensive abdominal injuries, which might or
might not have been fatal.
But, as was shown by the position of the body when
found, the steering column had not arrested its move-
ment. Mr. Lessingham had also been flung out, but
with less violence than Mr. Purvis. The latter was con-
siderably bruised about the head and shoulders,
whereas in the case of Mr. Lessingham the bruising
was hardly noticeable. He must, however, have struck
the ground with sufficient force to have caused consid-
erable shock. Examination has revealed that Mr. Les-
singham's heart was in a condition which a sudden vio-
lent shock might render fatal.
The coroner listened to Dr. Mason's evidence with
growing signs of impatience. At this point he could
contain himself no longer.


62 DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
"Are you prepared to state whether death was due
to the abdominal injuries or to shock?" he asked.
"It is very difficult to decide," replied Dr. Mason.
"On the whole, I am inclined to the opinion that the in-
juries, though they would probably have proved fatal,
would not have been immediately so. It is therefore
probable that the immediate cause of death was shock."
"Then, since it is a matter of no practical impor-
tance I shall record a verdict to that effect." The coro-
ner glanced at his notes. "The evidence I have heard
leaves no doubt as to the cause of the deaths of these
two unfortunate young men. I have no option but to
record a verdict of accidental death in both cases. The
technical reasons for the accident having taken place
do not concern me, as coroner. As I have remarked
before, it must be obvious to any sane man that such
so-called accidents are bound to occur if motor-cars are
allowed the uncontrolled use of the public highways as
speed tracks.
"I feel it to be my duty to express my opinion very
strongly upon this point. I hope that the police will
take a lesson from this most unfortunate occurrence,
and exercise in future the powers that they possess to
put a stop to contests which menace the life and limbs,
not only of those foolish enough to take part in them,
but of the general public as well. These two young
men have fallen victims to the craze for speed which
has become such a distressing feature of modern life.
It is devoutly to be hoped that their deaths will serve
as a warning to others."
Then, after a pause to assure himself that the re-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
63
porters had got his words correctly, the coroner closed
the proceedings, and left the court.
The witnesses did not follow immediately. Dr. Ma-
son was about to make his way out when Mr. Farrant
interrupted him. The solicitor seemed in a great state
of excitement, and spoke so loud that Bob could not
help overhearing much of what he was saying. It
seemed to concern the exact time of Lessingham's death.
Mr. Farrant took off his glasses and waved them in the
air as he spoke.
"You understand, Doctor, that it is a most important
point," he was saying. "Aubrey Lessingham was a
young man of considerable means. He inherited an
estate from his father, which was valued for probate at
over a hundred thousand pounds. It has depreciated
somewhat since then, but the sum involved is still con-
siderable."
Dr. Mason, who seemed to be in a hurry, tried to
get past.
"Quite," he replied vaguely. "Quite, but I don't al-
together see—"
"Perhaps I have not expressed myself with sufficient
clarity," said Mr. Farrant, adroitly barring the line
of escape for Dr. Mason. "In the course of my evi-
dence I remarked that Aubrey Lessingham had not
made a will. Now, as you are doubtless aware, Doctor,
in cases of intestacy the deceased's estate passes to his
next of kin. Aubrey Lessingham's next of kin Was
Thomas Purvis, who would then normally have inher-
ited the estate."
"Well, in any case, he can't do that, since he is dead,"


64
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
replied Dr. Mason impatiently. "Excuse me, Mr. Far-
rant, but I have a most urgent visit to make."
"I shall not detain you more than a few minutes,
Doctor," said the solicitor, without budging an inch.
"I assure you that this matter is of the greatest im-
portance. It will become a leading case if it is neces-
sary to refer it to the court. The point is this. Did
Thomas Purvis inherit the estate, or did he not? You
said in your evidence that Purvis bled to death a few
r.iinutes after the accident. In other words, he was
alive during those few minutes. Aubrey Lessingham,
you say, may have died immediately from shock. In
that case, he predeceased Purvis, and Purvis became his
heir. The estate therefore devolved upon Purvis, and
became his to dispose of. If he also has died intestate,
the estate will descend to his next of kin.
"On the other hand, if Aubrey Lessingham died of
his injuries, he may have outlived Purvis. In that case,
failing Purvis, already deceased, the estate passes to
Lessingham's next of kin—"
At that moment Inspector Harraway came up to
Bob.
"I wonder if you would mind coming with me to the
Central Garage, Mr. Weldon?" he asked. "The man
from the Comet Company arrived just before the in-
quest began, and I should like to hear his report. And
I should be grateful if you would come with me to ex-
plain technicalities."
"I'll come like a shot," replied Bob. "But I thought
that the coroner had ruled that the technical reasons for
the accident were of no importance?"


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
65
Inspector Harraway looked over his shoulder hastily.
"Between ourselves, Mr. Weldon, the coroner is an
ass," he said. "He's got an exaggerated idea of his own
importance, and he hates cars like the plague. I believe
that it is his proud boast that he has never driven in
one. He always carries on in that way when there is
an inquest on a road fatality. Anyway, his verdict was
sound. He is quite capable of having found that those
two poor fellows committed suicide."
They walked round to the garage together, where
they found the engineer from the Comet Company. He
had put on a suit of blue overalls, and was staring at
the wrecked car with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Well, have you discovered anything?" asked the in-
spector.
"I have made a very remarkable discovery, but prob-
ably not in the sense you mean," replied the engineer.
"This is not the car of which Mr. Lessingham took de-
livery at our works on February third last, although
in outward appearance it resembles it exactly, being
one of the same series and colour."
"Not Mr. Lessingham's car?" exclaimed the inspec-
tor. "I don't quite understand. He was certainly
driving it."
"Very possibly, but it is not the car of which he took
delivery. The chassis number of that car was four
three one seven two two, and the engine number six
three two naught eight. The chassis number of this
car is four three one six seven three, and the engine
number six two one four one. I am sure of the num-
bers of Mr. Lessingham's car, for I looked them up


66
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
before I left the works this morning. Curiously
enough, however, the registration number, ZV nine six
nine four, is that of Mr. Lessingham's car. Also the
R.A.C. official number, five fourteen, is that allotted to
Mr. Lessingham for the Rally."
The inspector frowned but said nothing. Bob stared
at the official number and the Rally flag, which had not
yet been removed. And then he had a sudden inspira-
tion.
"Have you examined the back axle?" he asked.
The engineer turned to him.
"No, why?" he replied.
"I was a competitor in the Rally," said Bob, address-
ing the inspector as well as the engineer. "My official
number was five thirteen, and both Mr. Lessingham and
myself started from Bath. Every competitor's car was
inspected before the start. At the conclusion of the
thousand-mile test, certain slow-running, acceleration
and braking tests were to take place. In order to en-
sure that competitors should use the same gear ratios
throughout, the back axles of their cars were painted
with a stencilled monogram. My back axle was so
marked at Bath, and Mr. Lessingham's must also have
been, or he could not have been issued with a route
book."
The engineer knelt down on the floor of the garage,
and crept under the wrecked car. In a minute or two
he emerged. "There is no painted mark of any kind
on the back axle of this car," he reported.


CHAPTER VI
When Harold Merefield reached London that after-
noon, he was lucky enough to find his employer, Dr.
Priestley, in an exceptionally good humour.
The cause of this was immediately apparent. Dr.
Priestley had just received the proofs of a paper in
which he had demonstrated, with his usual ruthless
logic, that a certain eminent scientist had been guilty
of a grave blunder. The matter involved was so se-
verely technical that only very highly trained minds
could possibly understand it, but the perusal of the
proofs had evidently caused Dr. Priestley the utmost
satisfaction.
He listened graciously enough while Harold re-
counted his adventures, but expressed his disappoint-
ment when he learnt that he had been prevented from
finishing the course.
"I had hoped for the opportunity of examining you
before you had slept," he said. "I should have been in-
terested in applying certain tests to ascertain the ef-
fect of fatigue upon the mental processes. However,
it is not your fault. This accident that you speak of
could not be foreseen. I inferred that something of
the kind had happened when I received a telephone
message from Westernham yesterday morning."
"You received a telephone message from Western-
ham yesterday morning, sir?" Harold exclaimed.
67


68
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
"Yes, from a person who described himself as Police-
sergeant Showerby. He wished to know whether you
were employed by me. I assured him that you were
and asked him if any accident had happened to you."
"And what did he say, sir?"
Dr. Priestley allowed himself one of his rare smiles.
"He said that you were perfectly safe, and added
that you were, in fact, under his own eye."
Harold laughed.
"That wasn't far from the truth, sir. The sergeant
had an idea that we were somehow responsible for the
accident. He sent us to the local hotel in charge of a
constable."
"Were there any grounds for supposing that the
disaster was not purely accidental?" asked Dr. Priest-
ley.
"Not then, sir. But, as it turned out later, there
was a very queer circumstance connected with the car
that was wrecked. But by that time the inquest was
over, and a verdict of accidental death returned. The
coroner was an irritable and not over-intelligent man,
who struck me as having made up his mind before he
had heard the evidence. But after his verdict, even
Sergeant Showerby displayed no further interest in
us."
"What was this very queer circumstance to which
you refer?" inquired Dr. Priestley.
"I should like to tell you the whole story, sir, if
you're not too busy to listen," replied Harold. Dr.
Priestley nodded encouragingly, and Harold described
to him the engineer's discovery, and the absence of the


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
C9
R.A.C.'s stencil on the back axle of the Comet.
Dr. Priestley listened attentively, in his favourite at-
titude, the tips of his fingers together, and his head
thrown back so that his eyes were fixed upon the ceil-
ing. He said nothing till Harold had come to an end
of his story, and even then his comment was not im-
mediate. It was only after a considerable pause that he
spoke.
"And what are your deductions from these facts, my
boy?" he asked abruptly.
"There's one thing that can safely be deduced, I
think, sir," replied Harold cautiously. "The car in
which Lessingham and his passenger were killed is not
the one in which they started from Bath at the begin-
ning of the Rally."
Dr. Priestley frowned.
"That is an assumption, not a deduction," he said
severely. "I will point out some of the fallacies involved
in your argument. It does not follow that Lessingham
started in the car which had been delivered to him a
month previously. Nor is the isolated fact that the
stencil was not found on the back axle of any signifi-
cance by itself. It might have been erased, accidentally
or purposely. Finally, the fact that two men are found
dead by a wrecked car is not logical proof that they
were driving in it before the wreck. However, presum-
ing your assumption to be correct for the moment,
could Lessingham have gained any advantage by
changing his car en route?"
"That's just what's been puzzling me, sir. An ad-
vantage might have been gained in this way. If a


70
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
competitor owned two cars, exactly similar in outward
appearance, he could have fitted one, which we can call
A, with an ordinary back axle, and a normal gear ratio.
The other, B, he could have fitted with an axle giving
very low ratios, which would be advantageous in the
slow-running tests. If he covered the thousand miles
in A, and changed to B before the finish, he would gain
an advantage. It was to prevent this type of fraud
that the cars were stencilled. If Lessingham was try-
ing some dodge like this he must have overlooked the
fact that his car would be examined for the stencil at
Torquay."
Dr. Priestley's eyes twinkled.
"Given an accomplice, there would be a very simple
means of evading that precaution," he said. "The ac-
complice would enter car B for the Rally, and would
actually start, preferably from a different starting
point. He would thus secure the necessary stencil
marks. Having started, he would abandon the contest,
and drive to some prearranged point, near the finish,
where he would await the arrival of A. The transfer
would be effected, and the official and registered num-
bers interchanged. But this is of purely academic in-
terest. Your contention is that Lessingham changed
his cars without having taken the precaution I have
mentioned."
"It certainly looks very like it, sir. I've thought of
this. Lessingham lived in London, and, I suppose, ga-
raged his car somewhere near his rooms. The route
between Droitwich and Moorchester passes close to
London. Lessingham would have had plenty of time to


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
71
go to his garage and change the cars. He took ap-
proximately six and a half hours to cover a hundred
and eighty miles odd, which is an average of less than
twenty-eight miles an hour."
Dr. Priestley shook his head.
"I do not think that the reason for the change of
cars, if a change actually took place, is to be found in
that direction," he said. "I imagine that steps are
being taken to trace the origin of the wrecked car?"
"I expect so, sir. The Comet people would know
who took delivery of the car bearing that chassis and
engine number."
"When that is known, the circumstances will prob-
ably be explained. Conjecture in the present state of
our knowledge would be useless. But even then, I
fancy many points of interest will remain."
And with that Dr. Priestley abandoned the subject.
But it was recalled to his notice sooner than anyone
had expected. That very evening he received a visit
from Superintendent Hanslet of the Criminal Investi-
gation Department, Scotland Yard. The two were old
acquaintances. Long ago the superintendent had dis-
covered Dr. Priestley's love for an intricate problem,
and since that time he had frequently consulted him
upon the various criminal cases in which he had been
engaged.
Dr. Priestley's good humour had persisted, and he
greeted his visitor cordially.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" he
asked. "I do not natter myself that you have come
here merely to inquire after the state of my health."


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
78
ber had been delivered to one of their agents in Decem-
ber last."
"Ah, that accounts for it!" exclaimed Harold.
"Accounts for what?" inquired the superintendent
quickly.
"Why, for a point which puzzled Bob Weldon, and
which he told us he had mentioned to the inspector.
You see, the speedometer showed a total of about five
thousand miles. Allowing a thousand for the Rally,
he must have covered four thousand miles in a month
if this had been the car of which he took delivery on
February third. But if the car was actually delivered
in December, the mileage becomes more reasonable."
Hanslet nodded.
"That's a good point," he said. "The agents to
whom the car was delivered were the Supremacy Motor
Company of Kingston. They gave instructions that
the number plates should be painted with the registra-
tion number UQ one seven five four. The agent's driver
took delivery at the Comet works in North London on
December tenth last year.
"Harraway then got on to the Supremacy Motor
Company. They confirmed the statement of the Comet
people. They had used the car as a demonstration car
until last month. They had then found a purchaser
for it. The car was overhauled, repainted, and put in
condition as new. Their customer, Mr. Chalk of By-
fleet, drove it away on February seventeenth.
"At this stage Harraway got on to us, asking us to
get in touch with Mr. Chalk. He should, of course,
have communicated with the Surrey police. But, as it


74
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
happened, his mistake saved time. For we had been
informed that a grey two seater sports Comet, regis-
tered UQ one seven five four, owner's name Chalk, had
been stolen on the night of March first."
"If it was stolen on the night of March first, Lessing-
ham can have had nothing to do with it," said Harold.
"His route book, signed by himself, shows that he could
have been nowhere near Byfleet that night."
"But it wasn't stolen from Byfleet. Mr. Chalk had
gone that evening to dine and play bridge with some
friends of his. I've got the statement which he made
when he reported the loss of the car. 'I live at Byfleet.
At about half past six on March first, I drove to the
house occupied by my friend Mr. Catesby, near Den-
ham, Middlesex. There was no room in Mr. Catesby's
garage, so I left my car just inside the drive leading
to his house. This must have been at about half past
seven. The distance between the two houses is twenty-
seven miles by my speedometer. I stayed with Mr.
Catesby and his party till shortly before one a.m. I
then prepared to drive home, but when I reached the
place where I had left the car, I found that it had
gone!' Short and to the point, isn't it?"
But Harold made no reply. He was rummaging in
a drawer from which he produced a road map of south-
ern England. This he opened, and spread out on a
table.
"Just look here a minute, Mr. Hanslet," he said.
"Here's Bath and here's Norwich. That was the first
stage of the Rally for Lessingham and ourselves. You
can see by the map that there are two reasonably di-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
75
rect routes. The first, and probably the shortest, is by
Chippenham, Swindon, Oxford, Bedford, Cambridge,
and Newmarket."
"Yes, I see that," said Hanslet. "But what's that
got to do with this car of Mr. Chalk's?"
"Nothing whatever, but wait a minute. That road,
though shorter than the one I am going to show you, is
winding in places, and not too easy to follow in the
dark. We decided upon a longer but faster and more
certain road. We kept along the Bath Road towards
London till we reached Slough. Then we turned to the
left, and came round by Rickmansworth, Watford, and
St. Albans till we struck the Great North Road just
south of Hatfield.
"Now that road took us close to Denham, though
not actually through the village. Here is our schedule,
which I kept myself. From it you will see that we
reached Rickmansworth at eleven fifty-eight p.m.
Lessingham was approximately a quarter of an hour
behind us. If he followed the same route that we did,
he would have passed by Denham somewhere between
twelve ten and twelve fifteen a.m."
"The dickens he did!" exclaimed Hanslet. "How do
you know that?"
Harold explained the routes followed by the Rally
competitors and the times of the Armstrong and the
Comet, as revealed by the route books. Hanslet
listened carefully, a puzzled frown upon his face.
"Upon my word, that's very queer!" he exclaimed.
"You're suggesting, I suppose, that Lessingham saw
this car standing inside the drive, as Mr. Chalk de-


76
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
scribes it, and decided to change over, transferring the
number plates when he did so?"
"And the R.A.C. official number, which was printed
on a piece of stout cardboard and attached to the car.
That and the flag which was carried by all competitors.
It wouldn't take him more than a few minutes to do so."
"But why, in heaven's name, why?" asked Hanslet.
"And how did he dispose of his own car?" He turned
to Dr. Priestley, who had been following the conversa-
tion with close attention. "You're good at, solving
problems, Professor," he continued. "What is the
answer to this one?"
"I make it a habit never to attempt to solve a prob-
lem until I have the necessary data," replied Dr. Priest-
ley quietly.
"Necessary data!" exclaimed Hanslet. "That's all
very well, but where are we to get it from? Lessingham
and his passenger are both dead, so we are told. And
, I don't suppose that they took anybody else into their
confidence."
"Surely, Superintendent, you are jumping to con-
clusions," said Dr. Priestley. "You have no evidence
that Lessingham passed by Denham that night. He
may have taken the alternative route which Harold out-
lined." Dr. Priestley rose from his chair and leant
over the map. "In which case his nearest point would
seem to be Oxford, nearly forty miles away."
"I don't know so much about jumping to conclusions,
Professor," replied Hanslet indignantly. "The car
was found in Lessingham's possession, after all. And
it isn't so very far fetched to consider the person found


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
77
in possession of stolen property as the thief."
"That person might be a conscious or unconscious
receiver of stolen goods," remarked Dr. Priestley
mildly. There is reason to believe, from a conversation
overheard by one of Harold's friends after the inquest,
that Lessingham was a man of considerable means. He
was already the possessor of a Comet car. Why should
he wish to steal a similar one?"
"If you don't mind my saying so, Professor, that's
no argument. He may have made a business of steal-
ing cars. It has become a regular profession, I can
tell you. In that case, the Rally was his opportunity.
It strikes me that the flag and the R.A.C. number was
a very ingenious way of camouflaging a stolen car.
That the cars had been changed would never have been
discovered if he hadn't had that smash. You take it
from me, he had a confederate hanging round Mr.
Catesby's house, who drove Lessingham's car away
afterwards. This other man ran no risk, for he could
prove it was Lessingham's car."
Dr. Priestley shook his head.
"Will you explain the system of stencilling cars,
Harold?" he asked.
Harold did so.
"You see, Mr. Hanslet, the car Lessingham was
driving would have been examined at Torquay," he
concluded. "When the stencils were not found, he
would have been called upon to explain why."
Hanslet slapped his thigh and roared with laugh-
ter.
"Why, man alive, you don't suppose he meant to


78
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
turn up at Torquay, do you?" he exclaimed. "Not he.
Look here, will your friend Mr. Weldon be called upon
to explain why he did not finish?"
"Well, no, I suppose not," replied Harold reluc-
tantly. "It will be assumed that some breakdown pre-
vented him completing the course. Until the actual
facts become known, that is."
"There you are, you see. Lessingham would have
gone on as far as he thought necessary, for appearance'
sake. He would then have driven the stolen car to
some quiet place he knew of, and faked it so that it
could not be recognized. That is one of the tricks of
the trade, I may tell you. If any questions had been
asked, he would have produced his own car, with a de-
fective magneto, or something like that, which would
have accounted for his being unable to finish."
"In order to prove that to have been his intention,
you will first have to find his own car," remarked Dr.
Priestley.
"I'll see what can be done in that direction," replied
Hanslet confidently. "I'm going to make inquiries my-
self about this Mr. Lessingham. I shouldn't be sur-
prised if this accident led to the exposure of one of the
gangs of expert car thieves which are infecting the
country. By the way, Mr. Merefield, Harraway said
something about a telegram addressed to him. Do you
know anything about that?"
"Only what Bob Weldon told me," replied Harold.
"It was waiting for him at Moorchester, but he never
got it. Somebody had wired him to say they could not
meet him at Torquay as arranged, and ended the tele-


DH. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
79
gram with the word 'love.'"
Hanslet nodded.
"Yes, and Harraway thought it must have been a
woman in consequence. That was the impression it
was intended to create, of course, if anybody but Les-
singham saw it. Depend upon it, it was a code, really.
As likely as not a message to say that Lessingham's
own car had reached its destination, wherever that was.
I've asked Harraway to send me up that wire, it may
help in running Lessingham's associates to earth."
"An undertaking in which I hope you will be success-
ful, Superintendent," said Dr. Priestley gravely.
Hanslet glanced at him. There had been something
in his tone which suggested a lack of sincerity. But his
impassive face baffled the superintendent's scrutiny.
"I'll have a good shot at it," replied Hanslet, with
rather less confidence than before. "Now I'm going to
ask you something, Professor. I may want somebody
at hand who knows the details of this Rally business.
I wonder if you could spare Mr. Merefield for a day or
two?"
Harold glanced anxiously at his employer. He had
already been away for three days, and he was afraid
that Dr. Priestley might have some urgent but dreary
work for him. Rather to his surprise, the professor's
eyes twinkled.
"Certainly, Superintendent," he replied. "On condi-
tion, that is, that Harold is allowed to report progress
to me from time to time."
"Then you are interested in all this, Professor?"
asked Hanslet in some surprise. "I'm afraid you will


80
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
be disappointed. There's no suggestion of any serious
problem arising. It's simply a matter of exposing Les-
singham's organization."
"Possibly, possibly," replied Dr. Priestley. "I shall
be interested in your progress, just the same."
Hanslet shrugged his shoulders, and turned to Har-
old.
"The first thing to do is to visit Lessingham's
rooms," he said. "There seems to be a man in charge
there, and we'll see what he's got to say for himself.
Will you meet me at the corner of Dover Street and
Piccadilly at nine sharp tomorrow morning?"
Harold agreed to this, and the superintendent after
bidding farewell to Dr. Priestley, took his departure.
The professor smiled as he left the room, and Harold
marvelled anew at his unusual cheerfulness.
"It's very good of you to let me go off again like
this, sir," he said gratefully.
"My compliance with the superintendent's request
was not influenced entirely by altruism," replied Dr.
Priestley. "I anticipate deriving a certain satisfaction
from the result of his investigations. We shall see, we
shall see!"


CHAPTER VII
Both Superintendent Hanslet and Harold were punc-
tual at their rendezvous the following morning. They
walked to Cawdor Street, a quiet backwater of May-
fair, and Hanslet rang the bell of Number 14.
It was answered, after a short delay, by a man fault-
lessly attired in a black suit. He was the typical gen-
tleman's servant, with a quiet deferential manner. His
face was flat, and not over intelligent, but it was re-
lieved by a pair of sharp, almost cunning eyes. It
struck Harold at once that few things would escape his
observation.
"Mr. Aubrey Lessingham lived here?" inquired
Hanslet brusquely. "I'm Superintendent Hanslet of
Scotland Yard."
The man's face expressed no particular emotion at
this announcement.
"Yes, sir. Mr. Lessingham's lived here," he replied.
"Will you come in?"
He stood aside respectfully while the two entered the
house, then closed the front door behind them.
"Mr. Lessingham's rooms are on the first floor," he
continued. "If you will come this way, sir—"
"Half a minute," Hanslet interrupted. "Let's have
a few particulars first. What's your name, to begin
with?"
"Orchard, sir. William Orchard. I was an officer's
81


82
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
servant in the war, and—"
"Never mind that. How long have you been with
Mr. Lessingham?"
"Five years, sir; five years next June; ever since Mr.
Lessingham took these rooms. I'm a widower, sir, with-
out children, and I've got my own quarters on the top
floor."
"We'll have a look at them later, Orchard. Now
then, go ahead and show us Mr. Lessingham's rooms.
I may as well tell you at once that I have a warrant en-
titling me to search them."
Harold, watching Orchard intently, saw an expres-
sion on his face which he interpreted as indicating puz-
zled surprise.
"A search-warrant, sir?" he replied, almost reproach-
fully. "I hope that will not be necessary, sir. I am
sure that Mr. Farrant would wish me to show you
everything that you cared to see."
"Mr. Farrant? Who's he?" Hanslet inquired.
"Mr. Lessingham's solicitor, sir. He was here yes-
terday evening. He told me about the inquest of Mr.
Lessingham and Mr. Purvis, and told me to remain
here for the present until arrangements had been made
for letting the rooms."
Hanslet nodded. By this time they had reached the
first floor, and Orchard opened a door, bowing them in.
They found themselves in a fair sized room, of which
the principal features were a thick carpet, and a couple
of luxurious armchairs standing before an open grate.
Beyond these, there was a table or two, looking rather
bare, a few chairs, and a writing desk. The walls were


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
83
covered with a fairly good collection of sporting prints.
The superintendent glanced round the room. His
eyes rested for a moment on the writing desk, then he
sat down in one of the armchairs.
"Now, then, Orchard," he said, "when did you last
see Mr. Lessingham?"
"On Tuesday morning, sir, when I gave him his
breakfast. He started soon after that to drive to Bath,
where he was to begin the Rally."
"He left here as early as that, did he?" remarked
Hanslet, with an inquiring glance at Harold.
"He would have to report at the Bath control be-
tween four and five," the latter explained. "Bath is
about a hundred and ten miles from here. He wouldn't
want to hurry himself going down."
"Was he alone when he left here?" asked the superin-
tendent.
"Yes, sir. He had arranged to pick up Mr. Purvis
at his hotel. They were to drive down together."
"You seem to know all about his arrangements, Or-
chard. The Rally finished at Torquay on Thursday.
When did you expect him back?"
"Today, sir. That's when Mr. Lessingham told me
to expect him. He said that I could have leave till then,
if I wanted to go away. But I had nowhere particular
to go, so I just stayed here, sir, and had a thorough
turn out of the place."
"When did you first hear of Mr. Lessingham's acci-
dent?"
"When the police came round on Thursday morn-
ing, sir. It came as a great shock to me. I couldn't


84
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
understand it, for both Mr. Lessingham and Mr. Pur-
vis were expert drivers. It was then that I referred the
police to Mr. Farrant, sir."
"Yes. Let's get back to Mr. Lessingham's plans.
Who did he expect to meet at Torquay?"
Harold fancied that Orchard's eyes flickered for a
moment.
"I am not aware that he expected to meet anybody,
sir," he replied quietly.
"Aren't you, Orchard?" said Hanslet. "Didn't Mr.
Lessingham explain why, although the Rally finished
on Thursday, he wouldn't be back here till Saturday?"
"He did explain that, sir. I understood him to say
that, though the thousand-mile run finished on Thurs-
day, there were to be some trials at Torquay, which
might take all day Friday, sir."
The superintendent glanced at Harold, who nodded.
He took a telegram from his pocket, and spread it out
before him.
"Listen to this, Orchard!" he said. "This is a wire
addressed to Mr. Lessingham, at Moorchester, and
handed in at South Kensington at six p.m. on Wednes-
day. It says, 'Cannot meet you at Torquay as we ar-
ranged, love!' Who sent that telegram?"
Orchard shook his head.
"I cannot say, sir," he replied. "Mr. Lessingham
never mentioned to me that he was to meet anybody."
"It's not a bit of good trying to bluff me," said the
superintendent sternly. "It's pretty obvious that this
wire was sent by a lady. Which of Mr. Lessingham's
lady friends would be likely to go down and stay with
i


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
85
him at Torquay? You say you've been with him for
five years, so you ought to know all about his private
affairs."
Orchard's face assumed a shocked expression.
"I am quite sure that Mr. Lessingham had no lady
friends of that type, sir," he replied virtuously. "I
have never had any reason to suspect anything of the
kind." And then a light dawned in his eyes. "If you
will allow me to say so, sir, I think you are suffering
under a misapprehension," he said.
"Perhaps I am," said the superintendent slowly, with
his eyes fixed upon Orchard. "Possibly that wire was
not sent by a lady, after all."
"That is just my opinion, sir," replied Orchard re-
spectfully. "Mr. Purvis was lunching here with Mr.
Lessingham on Monday, and I overheard a conversa-
tion which may explain that telegram, sir."
"Oh, you did, did you? Well, I'll trouble you to re-
peat it as closely as you can."
"Well, sir, the two gentlemen were discussing the
Rally. Mr. Lessingham was saying that he would
leave Torquay early this morning, and drive straight
back here. Mr. Purvis said that would be too late for
him. He said he had an appointment in London on
Friday morning, and would have to leave Torquay on
the previous evening. Mr. Lessingham seemed rather
upset at this. It would leave him without a passenger,
and he was bound by the rules of the Rally to carry one
during the trials on Friday."
The superintendent glanced at Harold, who nodded.
"That's all right, Mr. Hanslet," he said.


86
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
"The two gentlemen discussed the matter, sir, and
at last Mr. Lessingham arranged to get someone in Mr.
Purvis's place. 'If you really can't stop, Tom, I'll have
to get someone else. I know what I'll do. I'll ring up
George Love. He'll come down, like a shot.' I expect
this gentleman agreed to take Mr. Purvis's place, but
was prevented at the last moment, and sent the tele-
gram, sir."
Superintendent Hanslet became scarlet in the face
from suppressed fury.
"And where does this George Love live?" he asked
with dangerous calmness.
"That I could not say, sir," replied Orchard impas-
sively. "I'm not acquainted with him. But I have
heard Mr. Lessingham mention his name once or twice
previously."
Suddenly Hanslet changed the subject.
"How did Mr. Lessingham usually spend his day?"
he asked abruptly.
"Well, sir, he did not get up very early. He rarely
breakfasted before eleven o'clock. Then he would sit
in here and read his letters and papers. Sometimes he
would have a friend, like Mr. Purvis, to lunch here, but
more often he went out. After lunch he usually went
somewhere or other in his car. He nearly always dined
out, and did not usually come back before midnight,
usually much later."
"Restaurants and night clubs, eh? But look here,
Orchard, about going out in the car. He only got it
last month, did he?"
"This particular one, yes, sir. But he had several


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
87
cars before that. Mr. Lessingham never kept a car for
very long, sir. He was always exchanging the one he
had for another."
"Is that so?" remarked Hanslet meaningly. "Where
did he keep his car?"
"He rented a lock-up garage in Cawdor Mews, just
at the back here, sir. He took the garage at the same
time as he took these rooms."
"All right; that'll do, Orchard. You can wait up-
stairs in your own quarters till we ring for you."
As soon as Orchard had departed, the superintendent
set to work, silently and methodically. He turned his
attention first to the writing desk, going through its
contents with a dexterity which aroused Harold's ad-
miration. But he found nothing there to interest him,
except an address book, which he glanced at rapidly
and slipped into his pocket.
Having completed his search of the sitting room,
Hanslet proceeded to examine the other rooms of which
the suite consisted. He went swiftly through the din-
ing room, the bedroom, the bathroom and the tiny
kitchen. But in none of them did he find anything that
cast light upon Lessingham's occupations. Finally, as
a measure of precaution, he went through Orchard's
quarters, which were situated in an attic at the top of
the house. Here, too, he drew a blank; and, after warn-
ing Orchard to let him know if any visitors came to the
rooms, he and Harold left the house.
Hanslet hailed a taxi, and gave the driver the address
of Mr. Farrant's office in Bedford Row. During the
journey, he studied the address book intently. There


88
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
were quite a number of entries; Lessingham seemed to
have had a wide circle of acquaintances. But the pages
devoted to the letter L were blank. The name of
George Love did not occur.
Having arrived at their destination, Hanslet sent in
his card, and they were immediately shown into the
presence of Mr. Farrant, who stared hard at Harold.
"We have met before, I think," he said. "Let me see,
now. Were you not at the inquest upon Mr. Lessing-
ham at Westernham yesterday?"
"That is so, Mr. Farrant," replied Harold. "My
name is Merefield. Allow me to introduce Superin-
tendent Hanslet."
"Since you come in company with Mr. Merefield, I
take it that your visit is concerned with the unfortunate
event to which I have referred?" said the solicitor,
turning to Hanslet.
"Exactly, Mr. Farrant," replied the superintendent.
"I am hoping that you will be able to give me certain
information. I am endeavouring to trace the owner of
the car which Mr. Lessingham was driving when the
fatal accident occurred."
"I cannot tell you that. It seems to me most ex-
traordinary, so much so that I am tempted to believe
that some mistake must have been made. Inspector
Harraway told me, before I left Westernham yester-
day, that the car was not the one belonging to Mr. Les-
singham, though exactly similar to it."
"So I am informed, Mr. Farrant. I have already
questioned Mr. Lessingham's man, Orchard, but have
learnt nothing from him. It seems to me that if I


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
89
could get in touch with one of his friends, he might be
able to help me."
"I am afraid that I know none of his friends, except,
of course, Mr. Purvis, his cousin, who was killed with
him. Although he and his father before him had been
my clients for years, we have never moved in the same
circle. Mr. Lessingham, like most young men of means,
cultivated a different type of society to that of an
elderly family solicitor."
"I can quite understand that, Mr. Farrant. But
perhaps his relatives would be able to put me on the
right track."
"His relations!" exclaimed Mr. Farrant. "If you
can find his present next of kin you will save me an
infinity of trouble, Superintendent. I have just
drafted an advertisement, which I hope may prove ef-
fective. My position is very difficult, since Mr. Les-
singham died intestate. In the ordinary course of
events Mr. Purvis would have been his heir. But up
till now I have been unable to obtain any evidence as
to whether he outlived Mr. Lessingham. I fear that it
will be an extremely difficult question for the court to
decide."
"Meanwhile, Mr. Farrant, I understand that Mr.
Lessingham changed his cars very frequently. Per-
haps he did so immediately before the Rally. It's a
point which I am most anxious to clear up."
But Mr. Farrant shook his head.
"I am afraid that I can give you no assistance what-
ever. Mr. Lessingham never consulted me upon such
matters."


90
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
"Had Mr. Lessingham any definite occupation?"
asked Hanslet innocently.
"He had not. Privately, I have always been of the
opinion that it was a pity. In my opinion all young
men, whatever their position in life, should have some
definite object in view. But Mr. Lessingham held that
his income was sufficient to justify him in leading a
life of idleness."
"Didn't he even have some hobby?" The superin-
tendent's face wore an air of polite interest.
"He had none whatever," replied Mr. Farrant em-
phatically. "I happen to know that, for I asked him
that very question when I last saw him, as recently as
last week. He came here to consult me upon some ques-
tion concerned with the lease of his rooms, and when
our business was finished, I ventured to suggest that
6ome hobby would be good for him. He told me that
his only hobby was driving a car, and that he managed
to enjoy life well enough as he was."
"Some people are like that," said Hanslet, rather
vaguely. "We mustn't waste your time any further,
Mr. Farrant."
As they left Bedford Row the superintendent chuck-
led.
"I didn't think we should get much out of Mr.
Farrant," he said. "In my experience, getting in-
formation out of a solicitor is like trying to get a
cork out of a bottle with a pin. I didn't dare tell him
that the car had been stolen, and that we suspected his
client of having stolen it. He'd have shut up like an
oyster."


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
91
"Naturally," replied Harold. "I tell you what it is,
Mr. Hanslet, I'm not altogether sure that that chap
Orchard was telling us the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth."
"Oh, so he struck you that way too, did he? He gave
me the impression of being a most accomplished liar.
First of all, he said that Lessingham was not expecting
to meet anybody at Torquay. That was true enough,
since he didn't mean to finish the course. Then I pro-
duced the telegram, and he faked up that yarn about
George Love. George Love, indeed! I'm willing to
bet that no such person ever existed. But it was in-
genious, I'm bound to confess. I think, before we go
any further afield, we'll call on the Comet people. We
may pick up a crumb or two there."
They took a taxi to Great Portland Street, and in-
terviewed the sales manager of Comet Motors, Limited.
"I'm from Scotland Yard," said Hanslet, introduc-
ing himself and Harold. "We've already been in
touch with you over the telephone. It's this business
of the car that Mr. Lessingham was driving when he
was killed."
"It is the most extraordinary affair altogether," re-
plied the manager. "I do not profess to understand
it. I knew Mr. Lessingham personally. He came here
several times and talked to me before he decided to
buy one of our cars."
"Could you give us a general idea of his conversa-
tion?"
"Certainly. He came here first early in the New
Year, and said that he thought of entering for the


92
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
Rally, if he could find a suitable car. From what he
had heard of our new fifteen h.p. sports model, he
thought that it might suit him. We gave him a trial
run, and he expressed himself as thoroughly satisfied.
To cut a long story short, we eventually persuaded
him to buy one, and he took delivery of it on February
third.
"During February he brought the car back to our
works on more than one occasion for minor adjust-
ments. He explained that he wanted it tuned specially
for the requirements of the Rally; and, naturally, we
were anxious to do all we could for him. He came here
a few days before the Rally started, and thanked me
for what we had done for him. He then seemed very
keen, and confident that he would win a prize."
"The car that he was driving was similar in every
way to the one he bought?" asked Hanslet.
"Exactly similar. Unless our customers specify any
particular form of body, or other alteration, all the
cars of this particular series are built to standard.
They are even painted the same colour, which we call
Comet grey. They were first exhibited at the Motor
Show last November, and I may say that they have
proved most successful."
"Would you mind telling me, in strict confidence,
how many you have sold since then?"
"We have actually delivered between a hundred and
twenty and a hundred and thirty. In addition to that,
we have orders for future deliveries from our agents
extending over the next twelve months."
"Could you give me an idea of what proportion of


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
93
these have been delivered in the neighbourhood of Lon-
don?"
"Fully fifty per cent, I should think. I couldn't say
more accurately without consulting my figures."
Hanslet thanked the manager for his information,
and they left the showrooms of Comet Motors, Limited.
"The next thing is a spot of lunch," he said. "What
about Pagani's? It's close handy."
During lunch, the superintendent outlined his plans
for the immediate future.
"I've had a message sent to Mr. Chalk that we are
coming to see him this afternoon," he said. "He
doesn't know that his car has been found yet. After
we've had a chat with him, we'll have a look at Mr.
Catesby's place at Denham. There'll be a car waiting
for us at the Yard, and I thought you might drive it.
I hate taking a uniformed driver, it's apt to give a
wrong impression."
"I'll drive it for you, right enough," Harold replied.
"I say, doesn't it strike you that Lessingham went to a
lot of trouble to steal one car? All that palaver with
the Comet people, I mean."
"It strikes me that that was only the beginning of
his scheme," replied Hanslet. "Entering for the Rally,
and buying a car specially for it, put him in a sense
above suspicion. I believe he meant to specialize on one
particular type of car. As the manager told us, all
that series of cars are as alike as so many peas. Les-
singham knew that, and saw his opportunity. As soon
as he saw one of them about, he or his accomplices
found out who it belonged to, and where it was kept,


94
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
or regularly parked. I'll bet he knew exactly where to
find Mr. Chalk's car on Tuesday night.
"His first effort was to pinch that. But I don't for
a moment suppose he meant to stop there. If he hadn't
been killed, he'd have carried on in the same way. Cars
of this type would have been stolen, one after another.
There's just one thing. To steal a car is easy enough.
But to dispose of it profitably afterwards is another
matter. Now we've got on Lessingham's track, we
ought to be able to find out his method of disposal.
Orchard knows all about it, I'll warrant. Do you know,
I've a pretty shrewd suspicion that Orchard had been
round those rooms and destroyed everything compro-
mising before we got there? Somebody had, I'll swear.
But I'll catch Orchard out, don't you worry."
And the anticipation of Orchard's discomfiture gave
the superintendent a relish for his meal.


CHAPTER VIII
Superintendent Hanslet and Harold found Mr.
Chalk awaiting them when they reached Byfleet. He
was a youngish man, apparently in affluent circum-
stances. He dispensed liquid hospitality, and insisted
upon their making themselves comfortable before he
referred to the object of their visit.
It was, in fact, the superintendent who broached the
matter.
"It's about your car, Mr. Chalk," he said. "You'll
be glad to hear that it has been found, though in
rather a badly damaged condition, I'm afraid."
"Splendid!" exclaimed Mr. Chalk. "The fact that
it's found, I mean. As for the damage, I suppose
that's a matter for my insurance company. I congrat-
ulate you, Superintendent. Where did you find it?"
"The credit is not mine, I'm afraid," replied Hanslet.
"Mr. Merefield here can tell you more about the find-
ing of it than I can. He saw it in the ditch about
three miles on the Moorchester side of Westernham,
with the driver and his passenger lying dead beside it."
"Westernham!" exclaimed Mr. Chalk. "Why, that's
where the accident happened to those fellows who were
driving in the Rally. I was reading about it in the
paper this morning. Lessingham was the name of one
of them, wasn't it? And, by Jove, weren't they driving
a Comet? What an extraordinary coincidence!"
05


96
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
"Did you know Mr. Lessingham, or his passenger,
Mr. Purvis?" asked Hanslet.
"Can't say that I did. I never heard their names
until I read about the accident. But it's a queer thing.
I thought at one time of entering for the Rally my-
self. I probably should have, if I had been able to get
away in the middle of the week. But I'm in business
in the City, and I drive up and down to my office every
day but Saturday."
"It is curious that you should not have known Mr.
Lessingham," said Hanslet, "for the car in which he
met with the accident was yours, Mr. Chalk."
"Mine!" exclaimed Mr. Chalk incredulously. "How
could it have been? The Rally started before my car
was stolen. Are you quite sure that there is no mis-
take?"
"You can decide for yourself, Mr. Chalk. Do you
know the detailed particulars of your car?"
"I've got them written down in my pocketbook.
Here you are. Fifteen h.p. Comet sports, two seater,
painted grey. Registration number UQ one seven five
four. Maker's numbers, chassis four three one six
seven three. Engine six two one four one. Six cylin-
ders, bore—"
"That's enough to be going on with, Mr. Chalk.
The maker's numbers you have just mentioned are
those found on this car by the representative of the
Comet Company. The registration number plate had
been changed, for it bore the number ZV nine six nine
four."
"Well, I can't make that out at all. It certainly


98
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
do so. I suppose there are twenty or thirty of us all
together. On Tuesday I suppose a dozen people were
there, beside ourselves and the Catesbys."
"Were any of them strangers to you?"
"Oh, no, we knew them all. Not intimately, but
through meeting them at Catesby's previously. I can't
say that I remember all their names at the moment.
We stopped playing about midnight, and after yarn-
ing a bit we got ready to go home. We were the first
to make a move, I remember. I went out to bring the
car up to the door, and when I had got to the place
where I had left her, I found she wasn't there."
"Were there any other cars in the drive then?"
"Yes, three or four. They were all nearer the house
than mine. I had purposely left my own car near the
gate, for easiness in getting away. I couldn't make it
out at first. The only thing I could think of was that
Catesby's chauffeur or somebody had taken it round to
the garage yard. I went up to have a look, but it
wasn't there. Then I went back into the house, and
told Catesby.
"They all thought I was joking at first, but when
they saw that I meant it, they all turned out and we
started a search. I suppose we spent half an hour
looking in every possible and impossible place. But it
wasn't a bit of good, and at last it was quite obvious
that the car had gone. The only thing we could learn
about it was from Catesby's chauffeur. He had been
to the pictures or something, and had come back up
the drive soon after eleven. He swore that the car was
there then.


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
99
"Catesby rang up the local police, and they sent a
man round, to whom I gave full particulars. There
was no means of getting back here that night, so my
wife and I stayed with the Catesbys. And since then
I've been going to and from the City by train."
"A most irritating occurrence, to lose a car like
that, Mr. Chalk. Now, without meaning to be imperti-
nent, I should like to ask whether your car was the most
valuable of those standing in Mr. Catesby's drive that
night?"
Mr. Chalk laughed good-humouredly.
"No, certainly not," he replied. "There was a Rolls
and a big Daimler, I remember. But mine was the
easiest to steal. For one thing, she was nearest the
gate. And, for another, I had turned her round when
I came in, so that she faced towards the road. The
others were all facing the house. They would either
have to back out, or drive up to the house and turn
there."
"You say that you are in the habit of going to Mr.
Catesby's every Tuesday evening. That was generally
known, I suppose?"
"Oh, yes, everybody knew it. All my friends round
about here, for one thing. They know it's no use
dropping in on us that night. And everybody who be-
longs to Catesby's bridge circle, for another. In fact,
all my friends and acquaintances are sure to know of
it."
"So that anybody might have known where your car
was to be found on Tuesday nights. They might even
be aware that you were in the habit of leaving it in the


100
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
drive. Do you habitually leave it unattended in any
other place, Mr. Chalk? Where do you keep it in the
daytime, when you are in the City, Mr. Chalk?"
"In a garage, never in a public parking-place. And
when she's here, she's always in my own garage, which
is part of the house. But you don't think that some-
one had marked my car down as their particular prey,
do you?"
"I think it very probable," replied Hanslet. "Ex-
pert car thieves very rarely steal cars at random.
Now, Mr. Chalk, your car is at the Central Garage at
Westernham. If you communicate with the police
there, and produce the registration book, they will let
you have possession of it."
Mr. Chalk glanced at the clock.
"I think I'll go down there at once," he said. "I'm
sure I'm very much obliged to you both. Sure you
won't have another drink? Well, then, I won't detain
you."
As they drove away from the house, the superintend-
ent's face expressed a certain satisfaction.
"It's all working out very much as I thought it
would," he said. "A car left unattended regularly
once a week in the same place. Wonderful opportunity
for an expert car thief. Chalk couldn't have made
things easier for him if he'd tried. Even the way Les-
singham got to hear of it presents no difficulties.
Chalk and Lessingham have a mutual acquaintance, no
doubt, though Chalk isn't aware of the fact."
"Yes, that's all very well," replied Harold doubt-
fully, "but it seems to me there's a snag in the argu-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP 101
ment. Chalk says that he only took delivery of the
Comet on February seventeenth, which was a Wednes-
day. The following Tuesday was the twenty-third, and
the one after that March first. It was therefore only
the car's second visit to the Catesbys' when it was
stolen."
But this reasoning did not daunt Hanslet in the
least.
"You don't realize the thoroughness with which men
like Lessingham work," he said loftily. "Lessingham
decides to specialize in Comets, probably because he
knows of a market where he can dispose of them. He
therefore keeps his eyes open for likely ones to pick up,
and tells his accomplices to do the same. Now, Chalk
has owned a car for some time. He mentioned that the
Supremacy Motor Company had allowed him some-
thing for his old one, you may have noticed.
"Well, one of Lessingham's people comes to him and
tells him that he knows a man who has just bought a
Comet. What's more, he says that he knows where the
car will be left every Tuesday evening. I wouldn't
mind betting that on February twenty-third Lessing-
ham went to have a look at Mr. Catesby's house, and
saw the Comet standing in the drive. This was jam
for him. He could pass close to Denham on the follow-
ing Tuesday night, without putting himself out in the
least. And, by Jove, this business gets clearer the
further we go. Why did you say he chose to start
from Bath at nine o'clock?"
"Because the later he started, the more hours of day-
light he'd get," replied Harold.
-


102
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
"Don't you believe it! He started at nine o'clock
for two reasons. First, because that would bring him
to Denham at a convenient time for pinching Chalk's
car. And second, because he would be the last starter,
and there would be no fear of anyone coming up be-
hind him while the transfer was taking place. What
do you make of that, eh?"
"It certainly sounds as if there might be something
in it," replied Harold cautiously.
They drove into Denham village, where they inquired
as to the whereabouts of Mr. Catesby's house. Follow-
ing the directions given them, they came to a place just
off the road from Denham to Rickmansworth, along
which the Armstrong had passed on the first night of
the Rally. A gate in a trim wooden paling led into a
drive, a couple of hundred yards long, at the further
end of which stood a fair-sized modern house.
"That's the place, right enough," remarked the su-
perintendent. "I don't think we need call on Mr.
Catesby. He can't tell us much more than we know
already. All Lessingham would have to do would be
to change over the number-plates, official number, and
flag. He had Purvis with him, and another accomplice,
Orchard perhaps, standing by, ready to drive his own
car away. How long would the job take the three of
them?"
"Not more than ten minutes at the most," replied
Harold.
"The point is, what did they do with Lessingham's
own car? Drove it straight to Lessingham's depot,
wherever that may be. It's still there, I expect. Les-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
103
singham meant to drive Chalk's car there on Thurs-
day, and change his own number-plates back again."
"The problem seems to be to locate this depot, as
you call it," remarked Harold. "At present, you've no
clue to it at all."
"We shall locate it, without any clues," replied
Hanslet confidently. "That's where Orchard is going
to help us. I've arranged for him to be kept under
observation and followed wherever he goes. In the
same way, any visitor to the rooms will also be followed.
I've also arranged for a record to be made of any tele-
phone calls he may put through. He's bound to lead
us to the place, sooner or later."
After a good look round the vicinity of Mr. Cates-
by's house, they drove back to London, and Harold
made his way back to Westbourne Terrace.
But it was not until after dinner that Dr. Priestley
betrayed any interest in his adventures. He listened
attentively to Harold's account of his day's work, then
relapsed into his favourite position, finger tips touch-
ing, eyes fixed upon the ceiling.
"This experience should provide you with a very in-
structive lesson in the art of deduction," he said acidly.
"Consider the facts first, apart from the conjecture
with which they have become surrounded. I say, facts,
for there are only two occurrences which have been def-
initely proved, so far. The first is this. Two men,
identified as Lessingham and Purvis, are found dead
under circumstances which suggest that they have been
killed in a motor accident. The second one is this.
The car found on the spot is not the one registered in


104
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
Lessingham's name. I think we may go so far as to
say that it is not the car Lessingham was driving when
the Rally started.
"Inspector Harraway, quite rightly, was primarily
concerned with the cause of the accident. He kept an
open mind, and his methods of deduction were perfectly
sound. In the light of your experience, you and friends
leapt to the conclusion that the accident was caused by
the driver falling asleep. The inspector's inquiries
show that this, to say the least of it, was unlikely.
"Other theories to account for the accident were then
put forward, none of them, apparently, capable of
proof. An inquest, conducted most unscientifically,
was held. It was apparently obvious to everybody
present that an accident had occurred. The exact man-
ner in which the accident took place became of second-
ary importance. A verdict was given accordingly, and
the inspector pursued no further his inquiries concern-
ing the first fact.
"The second fact comes into prominence, and is con-
sidered without any relation to the first. It turns out
that the car had been stolen, and our friend Superin-
tendent Hanslet takes the matter in hand. Now, the
superintendent's mind suffers from a defect which has
very frequently led him astray. Instead of keeping an
open mind, he is apt to form a theory upon insufficient
evidence. And once this theory is formed all his efforts
are devoted to proving it. He is, I gather from what
you have told me, convinced that Lessingham stole the
car from Mr. Catesby's drive during Tuesday night?"
"I think he is quite convinced of it, sir. He believes


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
105
that he completely understands Lessingham's meth-
ods."
"Just so. Now, looking at the matter logically, he
is acting upon pure conjecture. Reverting to the first
fact for a moment, there is no real proof that Lessing-
ham was driving this car when he was killed. Even if
he was, the fact does not prove that he stole it. As I
pointed out to the superintendent, he may have been
merely a receiver of stolen property. That is a point
worth bearing in mind. The essential fact, to my mind,
is that at some moment between the time that the car
was stolen, and the time when you came on the scene
on Thursday morning, one car was substituted for the
other."
Dr. Priestley paused, and Harold ventured a remark.
"You'll admit, sir, that it is a curious coincidence
that Lessingham could have been passing close to Mr.
Catesby's house at the time the car was stolen?"
"My dear boy, you ought to know, by this time, that
I never allow coincidence to influence my reasoning.
In this case, you cannot prove that Lessingham chose
that route. All you can say is that, since you did, he
may have done. I am not denying that the substitu-
tion may have taken place at that time. I merely sug-
gest, with all deference to Superintendent Hanslet,
that it may have taken place at any time and place dur-
ing the next twenty-four hours or so.
"Let us try and estimate the available time more ex-
actly. Mr. Catesby's chauffeur saw the car in the drive
soon after eleven. It was not there when Mr. Chalk
went to look for it 'shortly before one a.m.' It was


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP 107
"That may be, sir. But, even if it was the cose,
it does not greatly affect the superintendent's problem.
The only way in which he can solve it is to find out
where Lessingham's car is now, and who drove it there."
"Not the only way, perhaps, but still a fairly prom-
ising one. How does he propose to proceed?"
"He seems pretty sure that Orchard's movements or
actions will reveal the hiding place of the car, sir."
Dr. Priestley permitted himself one of his rare smiles.
"Much of the superintendent's personal charm lies in
his incurable optimism," he said. "But try to free
your mind from the obsession that Lessingham must
have been the actual thief. Suppose, for a moment,
that he had no previous knowledge that the substitu-
tion was to take place, that he was not, as the superin-
tendent insists, a professional car thief. In that case,
how could Orchard have any knowledge of the means
of disposal of Lessingham's car?"
Harold was frankly puzzled, as his expression
showed.
"I don't quite understand what you're getting at,
sir," he confessed.
"Possibly not," replied Dr. Priestley, "because you
persist in regarding the two primary facts as com-
pletely isolated from one another. Superintendent
Hanslet is, of course, entitled to his own opinion. But
I believe that he has yet to discover the real significance
of the case upon which he is engaged."
And, without vouchsafing any further explanation,.
Dr. Priestley took himself upstairs to bed.


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
109
as his own perquisites."
Richard nodded.
"I know what you mean, exactly. How far were his
answers to the superintendent's questions reliable?"
"I don't know. But I had no suspicions that he was
not telling the truth until that question of the telegram
was raised."
"Hanslet's theory is this, I gather," remarked Bob.
"Orchard was very possibly the accomplice who took
charge of Mr. Lessingham's own car after the theft.
The telegram was a code message which really meant
'All well, car in safety.' In that case, Orchard sent
the wire himself. That's about it, isn't it?"
"I fancy that's it exactly," replied Harold. "Any-
l.ow, I'll swear that Orchard was taken aback when the
superintendent asked him who Lessingham was expect-
ing to meet at Torquay."
"Wait a minute," said Bob. "I've been thinking
about that telegram since I saw you last. Lessingham
can't have been expecting it. It wasn't part of a pre-
arranged plan, I mean. If it had been, Lessingham
would have asked if there was a telegram for him when
he reached the Imperial Hotel."
"Oh, I don't know," said Richard. "Remember the
circumstances. Personally, I don't remember much
about what happened at the Moorchester control.
Lessingham must have been as dog-tired as we were.
Probably more so, since he and Purvis had driven
straight through from Bath, almost without a stop. I
can quite understand that he forgot to ask for it when
he arrived at the Imperial Hotel. And in the bustle


110
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
of getting off—he was half an hour later than he meant
to be, you told us—he might easily have forgotten it
again."
"No, that won't do, Richard!" exclaimed Bob.
"There's no doubt that the superintendent is right on
that point. Lessingham can't have had any intention
of finishing the course. How was he going to explain
the fact that there was no stencil mark on the car he
was driving? All that bustle and fuss wasn't genuine.
It was merely to impress the people at Moorchester.
If he had been expecting a telegram of such impor-
tance as that, he would have asked for it all right."
"What's your idea, then, Skipper?" asked Richard.
"Why, just this. Orchard knew that Lessingham
was going to stay at the Imperial Hotel. There's no
reasonable doubt about that, since Lessingham had
ordered a room there beforehand. The wine was an
afterthought on Orchard's part. Perhaps the same for-
mula or something like it had been used on a previous
occasion. Orchard naturally supposed that Lessingham
had received it, and he would assume that he would
have destroyed it at once. He was, therefore, taken
aback, as Harold puts it, when the superintendent
produced it."
"Anyhow, he must be a man of pretty quick wit,"
remarked Richard. "Faking up that yarn of Purvis
being unable to stay at Torquay over Friday was good
in itself. But the creation of a mythical George Love
to account for the last word in the wire is one of the
best things I've heard for some time. I should like to
make the acquaintance of friend Orchard."


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
111
"He saw that he had made a mistake in sending the
telegram," replied Bob. "His natural instinct was to
explain it away. I'll admit that he hit on a very in-
genious explanation, but I think he would probably
have done better to deny all knowledge of it. The only
result of his yarn is to convince the superintendent that
he's a liar."
"There's just one thing about all this," said Rich-
ard. "Nobody seems any nearer knowing why Lessing-
ham ran into the ditch."
"And apparently nobody cares, now that a verdict
of accidental death has been given," replied Harold.
Lunch over, Harold executed some commissions for
Dr. Priestley, and returned home. Nothing further
was said about the matter until the evening, when
Superintendent Hanslet paid a visit to Westbourne
Terrace.
He plunged at once into the subject.
"I expect that Mr. Merefield has told you about our
adventures on Saturday, Professor?" he asked.
Dr. Priestley nodded. "He gave me a very full
account," he replied, noncommittally.
"Then you'll have heard what Orchard told us about
the telegram. It was quite obvious that he was lying,
as Mr. Merefield will tell you. I didn't let him see that
I suspected this at the time, but I've been making in-
quiries. The first thing I did was to call round at the
hotel at which Mr. Purvis had been staying. He had
told the people there that he was going on the Rally.
A car, which answers to the description of Lessing-
ham's, called for him on Tuesday at about noon. And


112
DR. PRIESTLEY LAVS A TRAP
he had said that he would be away for a couple of
nights, but hoped to be back some time on Thursday."
Harold uttered an exclamation of surprise.
"But surely, that confirms Orchard's account of the
conversation between him and Lessingham!" he ex-
claimed.
"At first sight it does," replied Hanslet. "But, if
you remember that Lessingham never intended to com-
plete the course, Purvis's instructions are explained.
He and Lessingham intended to return on Thursday,
all along. Orchard only invented the conversation to
fit in with the supposition that Lessingham meant to go
through the whole Rally.
"The next thing I did was to make inquiries at South
Kensington about the wire. I got hold of the original
form upon which it was written, but nobody in the
Post Office can remember who handed it in. I'd like
you to look at the form, if you don't mind, Professor."
He handed it to Dr. Priestley, who scanned it
through his spectacles.
"This was written with a hard pencil by somebody
who seems to have been in a considerable hurry," he
said. "The wording is legible enough, but the ends of
each word are slurred. There is, however, a full stop
inserted between the two last words of the message,
'arranged' and 'love.'"
"Which wasn't telegraphed, of course. But that's
a detail, Professor. What do you make of the hand-
writing itself?"
"It is undoubtedly an educated hand," replied Dr.
Priestley. "I am not an expert in handwriting, but


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
113
this appears to display certain feminine characteris-
tics."
"Exactly!" exclaimed the superintendent trium-
phantly. "What becomes of this mysterious George
Love now?"
"For that matter, Superintendent, what becomes of
your theory that Orchard sent the telegram himself?"
replied Dr. Priestley mildly. "It seems to me to be
quite possible that George Love had a wife or sister
who sent the telegram for him."
"That argument works both ways, Professor. Or-
chard may not have cared to risk sending the telegram
himself, and got someone else to do it."
"In either case, if the telegram was written out by
a woman, a new factor is introduced into the problem."
"Not a very important factor. I expect Lessingham
had women among his accomplices. It doesn't affect
the main issue. Orchard is lying very low. He hasn't
attempted to use the telephone, and he's hardly left
Cawdor Street at all, and then only to do some shop-
ping. What's even more curious, he's had no visitors.
I haven't found anybody yet who can tell me anything
of his comings and goings after Lessingham left.
"So much for the telegram. It's not of any great
importance, after all, and I'm inclined to put it aside
for the present. I had a message from Mr. Farrant
this morning. He seems to think the Yard can help
him with his troubles, but I don't quite see how. He
seems to be boxed up over the question as to who Les-
singham's heir is."
"Harold told me that he intended to advertise," re-


[114 DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
marked Dr. Priestley.
"He has done so, but so far without receiving any
replies. But he has also sent a cable to Purvis's em-
1 ployers out East, asking that a search for a will of his
be made. To this he has had a reply that such a will
exists, and that particulars are being sent by mail."
"Ah! here we have at last a problem of real inter-
est!" exclaimed Dr. Priestley. "We may assume, I
think, that Purvis bequeathed everything of which he
might die possessed to some person, or that he made
that person his residuary legatee. Now, of what did
he, in fact, die possessed? That is the question to be
decided."
"Mr. Farrant had that in his mind at the time of
the inquest, sir," remarked Harold.
"Exactly. He foresaw the position which might
arise, and has now apparently arisen. If Purvis died
before Lessingham, he never inherited from him, and
his estate consists only of what he possessed at the time
of the accident. But if Lessingham died first, Purvis
succeeded to his estate, though he may have only sur-
vived him for a few seconds. In that case, his estate
includes Lessingham's."
"Well, Professor, that's a matter for Lessingham's
present next of kin, whoever he or she may turn out
to be, and Purvis's executors to wrangle over. It
doesn't concern us in any way. I'm afraid we can't
help Mr. Farrant's troubles. I only told you about his
message because I know you like to hear everything,
whether it's really got anything to do with the case or
not. And now I'll come to the real point of my call.


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
115
Can you spare me Mr. Merefield again for an hour or
two tomorrow morning?"
"Certainly, if he can be useful to you. May I ask
what line your investigations are about to take?"
"Mr. Chalk was on the telephone this morning. He
told me that he went down to Westernham on Saturday
afternoon to see his car. He told me that he had no
doubt at all that it was his. He looked in the tool-box,
in the presence of Sergeant Showerby, by the way.
There he found a peculiarly shaped shifting spanner
which he is prepared to swear to. It isn't part of the
standard equipment of the car; he put it in the box
himself. He also pointed out to the sergeant that a
brass plate, which he says bore the words 'Supplied by
the Supremacy Motor Co., Kingston,' had been un-
screwed from the dash."
"Doubtless to render the identification of the car
more difficult," Dr. Priestley observed.
"Of course. The first thing a car thief would think
of. Mr. Chalk went on to tell me that he had made
arrangements with his insurance company that the car
should be taken to the Comet works for repair. The
Comet people have sent a lorry down for it today, and
it will be in their works by now. I should like to have
a look at it myself, and I have arranged with Mr. Chalk
for him to meet me there at ten o'clock tomorrow morn-
ing. Since Mr. Merefield saw the car directly after the
smash, I thought it might be a good thing if he came
with me."
Dr. Priestley made no comment for some minutes
after Superintendent Hanslet had gone. From his


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
117
So Harold met the superintendent next morning
with the notes which Dr. Priestley had dictated in his
pocket. Mr. Chalk had not arrived yet, and he put
the question about the photographs at once.
"No, I haven't got them," replied Hanslet. "The
accident has nothing to do with me. But there's noth-
ing to prevent the professor having a look at them if
he wants to. I'm only too glad that he's taking an
interest in the case. I can't quite understand why; it's
straightforward enough. If you'll remind me when we
leave here, I'll ring up Sergeant Showerby. We may
as well go and have a look at the car while we're wait-
ing for Mr. Chalk."
They entered the works, where they were greeted by
the engineer who had examined it at Westernham.
"Nothing has been touched," he said. "It's exactly
as I first saw it. We shan't get to work until we've
settled with the insurance company how much it will
be necessary to do."
As soon as he saw the car, Harold realized that noth-
ing had indeed been touched. Not even the spots of
blood upon the bonnet had been removed. With Dr.
Priestley's instructions in mind, he examined it very
carefully. This done, and Mr. Chalk having not yet
put in an appearance, he approached the engineer.
"You haven't found anything to account for the
accident, I suppose?" he asked casually.
"No, I haven't," replied the engineer. "I can't
make it out at all. This man, Lessingham, must have
swerved suddenly for some reason, and lost control. I
can't explain it any other way. There's nothing the


118
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
matter with the car, except, of course, the damage
caused by the crash. Apart from that, she's in as good
condition as when we delivered her."
"Nothing about her has been altered? No gadgets
fitted, or anything of that kind?"
"Nothing whatever. I examined her pretty care-
fully at Westernham, and I've been over her again this
morning. She has been exceptionally carefully looked
after. The oil in the sump has been regularly changed,
chassis lubrication attended to, and so forth. The only
thing that has been done is that a new pin has been
fitted at the front end of the steering rod. I suppose
that the original one had worn a trifle, though it's most
unusual."
"How can you tell that a new pin has been fitted?"
asked Harold.
The engineer smiled.
"You can see for yourself if you look closely," he
replied. "Do you see that the pin is not quite the
same colour as the rest of the chassis? That's one of
our pins, and it fits perfectly. But what has happened
is this. Somebody, probably the agents from whom
Mr. Chalk bought the car, thinking the original pin
had worn a bit, ordered a new one from our spare parts'
department. Now, we send out spare parts unpainted.
Whoever fitted the pin painted the head as near as they
could get to our Comet grey, to match the rest of the
car, but they didn't exactly hit off the right shade.
You can see the difference, now I've pointed it out to
you? But, of course, a new pin having been fitted
wouldn't impair the efficiency of the car in any way."


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
119
At this moment Mr. Chalk came in, apologizing for
being late. He spent some time explaining how he
could identify the car as his own. The only things
missing from it were a couple of rugs. And then Har-
old got a chance of a word apart with him.
"Do you happen to know what your speedometer
was registering when the car was stolen?" he asked.
"Well, not exactly," replied Mr. Chalk. "But, as
it happens, I can tell you this: I know I was getting
pretty close to the five thousand mark, and I'meant to
make a note in my diary when I reached it. When I
came back from the City on Tuesday afternoon I
looked at the mileage and saw that I had only four miles
to go. The speedometer showed 4996."
"How far do you make it from your house to Mr.
Catesby's?" asked Harold.
"Oh, I've measured that often enough on other cars
I've had. There are two or three ways of going, but
by the road I took last Tuesday it is twenty-six miles
exactly. I must have checked it half a dozen times."
Their conversation was interrupted by Superintend-
ent Hanslet.
"Much obliged to you, Mr.' Chalk," he said. "I'm
glad to have your personal identification of the car. I
hope it won't be long before you're on the road again.
Next time you go to see Mr. Catesby, I wouldn't leave
the car in the drive, if I were you. We may as well
make a move, Mr. Merefield. There's nothing more we
can do here!"
Harold followed the superintendent out of the works.
"What's the next move?" he asked.


120
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
"Get back to our respective jobs," replied Hanslet.
"Criminal investigation doesn't always mean dashing
about the place. More often than not it pays to sit
down and wait, like a cat over a mousehole. It's the
turn of the other side to play now. Orchard is bound
to make a move, sooner or later. And there's Lessing-
ham's own car. That won't stay in hiding indefinitely.
It can't have been disposed of already. As soon as it
appears on the road, whatever disguise it's in, we'll
have it."
Harold smiled. He remembered a certain car that
had once eluded Hanslet's search until Dr. Priestley
provided him with a clue as to its whereabouts.
"You'll be along to see the professor in a day or two,
I expect," he remarked.
The superintendent shrugged his shoulders.
"Possibly," he replied. "I don't see that he can be
much use, though. But as soon as I've found out where
Lessingham's car has been hidden, I'll look in. I ex-
pect he'll like to hear the end of the story. You might
tell him that I'm much obliged to him for letting me
take you off like this. I'll have those photographs sent
to him, by the way."
They parted, and Harold made his way back to
Westbourne Terrace, wondering whether even Dr.
Priestley could deduce anything from the information
which he had collected. That something was at the
back of the professor's mind he knew, but as to what
it was, he could not even hazard a guess.


CHAPTER X
Dk. Priestley seemed anxiously eager to hear the re-
sult of Harold's inquiries. He settled himself at the
table in his study, and provided himself with pencil and
paper.
"We will take the question of the speedometer, or,
to be more accurate, the mileage recorder, first," he
said. "Had Mr. Chalk any idea of the reading when
the car was stolen?"
"When he got home from the City on Tuesday the
reading was four thousand nine hundred and ninety-
six miles, sir. He says it is twenty-six miles from there
to Mr. Catesby's house at Denham."
Dr. Priestley made a note of these figures. "The
mileage when the car was stolen was therefore five thou-
sand and twenty-two," he said. "Now, were you able
to observe the reading now showing on the instru-
ment?"
"It was fifty-one hundred and forty-two miles, sir.
And it must have been that at the time of the crash,
for it has been impossible to move the car on its own
wheels since. The speedometer appeared to be in
working order, as far as I could tell."
Dr. Priestley made a second note, and then referred
to the map which was spread out on his table.
"How far from Moorchester did the accident take
place?" he asked.
121


122
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
"Three miles short of Westernham, sir. Western-
ham is eighteen miles from Moorchester."
"Assuming, then, that the car passed through Moor-
chester, and that the mileage recorder was in order, the
reading when iti left Moorchester should have been
fifty-one twenty-seven. That seems to me highly sig-
nificant."
"The car certainly passed through Moorchester, sir.
Lessingham reported to the control, and he and Purvis
signed the route book. Besides, the R.A.C. man saw
them get into the car and drive off."
"Did the R.A.C. man examine the maker's numbers
on the car?" asked Dr. Priestley acidly. "If he did
not, there is no proof that the car he saw was the one
that you found by the roadside. However, for the
moment I will assume that it was the same. How far
did you calculate it was from Windsor to Moorches-
ter?"
Harold referred to his schedule.
"Eighty-seven miles, sir, by the route we planned
to take," he replied.
For a minute or two Dr. Priestley made no reply.
He was engaged with a rotary measurer on the map.
"I make the distance from Denham to Moorchester
ninety-one miles," he said. "That agrees very well
with the figure which you have just given me. Now, it
is a curious fact that the mileage reading of the car
when stolen was five thousand and twenty-two, and
when it left Moorchester fifty-one hundred and twenty-
seven. The difference is ninety-five miles. Does that
suggest anything to you?"


124
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
stitution then took place, and Lessingham drove the
car on to Moorchester, the mileage would have risen
to fifty-one hundred and twenty-seven, or thereabouts.
The same thing would have happened if the substitu-
tion had taken place at Moorchester itself."
Harold considered this for a moment or two.
"In any case, it comes to this, sir," he said. "The
substitution must have taken place on Wednesday, not
Tuesday night. And in that case I cannot see what
Lessingham's game was. Why should he hide the
stolen car all through Wednesday, with the risk that it
would be found during that time?"
"Why, indeed?" replied Dr. Priestley drily. "But
remember, there is always the possibility that Lessing-
ham may have put the speedometer out of action, or
tampered with it in some way. For instance, he may
have stolen the car on the first night, and immediately
disconnected the speedometer. He may then have
driven the car round the Rally course, and connected
the speedometer again when he passed through the
neighbourhood of Denham on the second night. But
why should he do so? He could not have anticipated
the accident, and the inquiries that would ensue. No,
the balance of probability seems to me that the substi-
tution took place on the second night."
"Well, sir, then this must be the explanation. Les-
singham intended to steal Mr. Chalk's car. He could
only do so on Tuesday night, since on Wednesday night
it would be safely locked up in its own garage. He did
so, hid it in some place he had already prepared, and
picked it up on Wednesday night. But I can't under-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP 125
stand why he did not change over at once, unless on
Tuesday he had no one to take charge of his own car."
"Then why not leave his own car in this hiding place,
thereby lessening the risk of discovery of the stolen
car? Your reasoning, my boy, is consistently based
upon the preconceived theory that Lessingham stole
the car. There is not an atom of proof that he did so.
There is no evidence that he was within forty miles of
Denham on the first night."
"But even if he didn't steal the car himself, sir, he
must have known all about the theft. In fact, it is
pretty certain that he must have arranged it. Other-
wise, why did he consent to the substitution?"
"That is a question that we cannot yet answer," re-
plied Dr. Priestley, with sudden gravity. "When we
can, we shall be considerably nearer a solution of the
problem than we are now. Conjecture upon that point
is useless at this stage. But I think that the matter
of the mileage readings is of the first importance. I
should like you to go back to the Comet Motor Com-
pany's works, and renew your acquaintance with the
engineer to whom you spoke this morning. I should
like his opinion upon the possibility of the speedometer
having been disconnected or tampered with."
Harold went off on his errand, and it was not until
that evening that he returned. After dinner, Dr.
Priestley returned to the subject.
"While you were out this afternoon, I received a
most interesting collection of photographs," he said.
"They were sent to me by Sergeant Showerby, and
he must have considered the matter urgent, for he dis-


126
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
patched them by passenger train to save time."
"I expect that he wanted to bring himself to the
notice of the Yard, sir," replied Harold. "Superin-
tendent Hanslet's name would mean a lot to him."
"Very possibly. However, we will defer discussion
of the photographs until later. Let me hear the result
of your investigations at the Comet Motor Company's
works."
"I found the engineer, sir, and told him that there
was reason to suspect that the speedometer might have
been tampered with. He and I examined the car very
carefully together. Oddly enough, in spite of the dam-
age to the front of the car, the speedometer and its
connections are uninjured.
"We came to the conclusion that the speedometer
had never been disconnected. It would have been im-
possible to do so without leaving marks on the paint.
You remember, sir, that the car had been overhauled
and repainted just before Mr. Chalk took delivery of
it, just a fortnight before the accident. And the paint
is still unbroken over the connections. As to tampering
with the instrument itself, sir, the engineer assured me
that it couldn't be done without leaving still more ob-
vious traces."
"That seems satisfactory. Did you discuss any
other method by which the mileage record could be
falsified?"
"There was only one other way that was possible,
sir, and that not in this case. Some mileage recorders
work in the reverse direction when the car is run back-
wards. Their readings can therefore be set back if


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
127
the front wheel is jacked up and then revolved counter-
clockwise. But the particular speedometer fitted to the
Comet has a ratchet device, which prevents the mileage
recorder functioning when the car runs backwards."
"Then all possibilities of the record having been
falsified are eliminated," remarked Dr. Priestley. "We
may now say with some certainty that the substitution
took place during the night of the second and third*
somewhere between Denham and Moorchester, or at
either place itself. Now, let us consider these photo-
graphs. Will you describe to me again how the bodies
of Lessingham and his passenger were lying when you
first saw them?"
"They were lying a short distance apart, sir, on the
further side of the ditch. Purvis was stretched out on
his face, Lessingham was rather more on his left side,
with his legs drawn up. Both bodies were directly in
front of the radiator of the car, and a few feet from it."
"Suggesting at once that they had been thrown from
it, in a forward direction, by the impact?"
"Yes, sir. Purvis had apparently been shot head-
first through the windscreen. Lessingham must have
cleared it, for he was not cut about at all."
Dr. Priestley had followed Harold's description with
the photographs.
"Yes, "that appears to have been the case," he re-
plied. "We can understand it in the case of Purvis, I
think. He was presumably sitting beside the driver,
and there was nothing between him and the windscreen.
"The case of Lessingham is slightly different. He
was driving, and had the wheel and steering column in


128
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
front of him. These are damaged, you told me. Did
you observe the damage more closely this morning?"
"Yes, sir. The column itself is bent forward at least
six inches. The rim of the wheel is flattened, and one
spoke of it is broken."
"The medical evidence at the inquest was to the
effect that Lessingham was suffering from severe ab-
dominal injuries. The natural inference is that he was
flung against the steering column by the force of the
impact. It seems to me a curious fact that this did not
arrest his motion. In spite of the retarding action
which it must have had, Lessingham's body continued
its progress, and reached a spot approximately the
same distance from the seat as that reached by Purvis,
who was not retarded."
"But perhaps a fraction of a second later," sug-
gested Harold. "That explains why he was not cut
about. Purvis had already broken most of the glass
out of the screen."
"A good point, my boy," said Dr. Priestley approv-
ingly. "But still, I should have expected to find Les-
singham's body within the car rather than outside it.
But that is a matter which concerns the cause of the
accident. These photographs taken by Sergeant
Showerby show very clearly the tracks of the car before
it left the road. There are, I notice, two sets of tracks
only, those of the car driven by Lessingham, and those
of the Armstrong. Since no other tracks are visible, I
gather that no great volume of traffic uses the road?"
"Not at that time in the morning, sir. So far as I
can remember, we saw nothing on the road after we left


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
129
Moorchester until we came upon the Comet."
Dr. Priestley took out the map and studied it.
"There are two roads westward from Moorchester, I
see," he said. "The one followed by you and Lessing-
ham, which passes through Westernham, and a second,
running roughly parallel to it, but nearer the coast.
By the map, the coast road appears to be the shorter.
What made you select the inland road?"
"Because, though it may be a trifle longer, it is a
good deal faster, sir. The coast road is narrow andi
very hilly, and, since it is not much used, is not in very
good repair."
Dr. Priestley examined the contours on the map.
"Yes, it certainly appears to be hilly," he replied.
"I see that it follows roughly the crest of a ridge, to
the southward of which is the sea. The road you took,
on the other hand, lies in the valley. At intervals minor
roads connect the two. The lower road should be vis-
ible from the crest of the ridge for the greater part of
its length. In fact, from the upper road the view
would be over the sea to the southward, and over the
valley to the northward."
"I can't say, sir, I've never been along it. Bob
Weldon could tell us; he knows that part of the world."
Dr. Priestley made no reply, but continued staring
at the map. Harold wondered why he had strayed
away from the subject, but was too wise to ask ques-
tions. At last his employer put the map away, and
turned once more to the photographs, which he studied
again intently.
"It appears that Sergeant Showerby took photo-


130
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
graphs only of the tracks behind the wrecked car," he
said. "Were there any tracks visible in front of it,
that is to say, on the Westernham side?"
"Not of the Comet, of course, sir. But by the time
the light was good enough to take the photographs
there were plenty. There were our own tracks, going
to and coming from Westernham to fetch the sergeant,
the tracks of Dr. Mason's car, coming out, turning,
and going back, and the tracks of the constable's bi-
cycle."
"So that if any tracks had existed, they would by
then have been indistinguishable?"
"I should say completely, sir. I don't think that
anybody looked for them in that direction. As you
can see from the photographs, sir, nothing had passed
the scene of the accident till we came along."
"Passed, no!" replied Dr. Priestley irritably.
"However, let us return to the tracks of the wrecked
car. You have told me that several explanations have
been suggested to account for the curious wobbling
visible before the car left the road. Which, in your
opinion, is most likely?"
"Well, sir, I'm inclined to hold to my own theory,
that Lessingham lost control of the car while trying to
avoid something that suddenly appeared on the road
in front of him. That would account for the wob-
bling."
"What do you mean exactly by his losing control of
the car?"
"Swerving suddenly, sir, and then endeavouring to
correct the swerve. If he was travelling at a high


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP 131
speed, he may not have been able to apply the correc-
tion quick enough. When the wheel struck the grass
edge, it may have wrenched the steering wheel out of
his hands. And that would mean disaster."
"The tracks certainly suggest loss of control,"
agreed Dr. Priestley. "But could this control not be
lost through a mechanical failure of the mechanism,
rather than through a physical failure on the part of
the driver?"
"It could, sir. That was Inspector Harraway's idea.
But if such a mechanical failure had occurred, the
reason of it would be apparent. And the engineer at
the Comet works declares that the car must have been
in perfect order when the accident happened."
Dr. Priestley shook his head.
"That is going too far," he said. "All that he can
state with certainty is that the car, allowing for the
damage caused by the accident, was in perfect order
when he examined it. And that is an entirely dif-
ferent matter. It is also safe to assume, I think, that
the car was in perfect order when it was stolen. But
we have no evidence that it was so during the interven-
ing period. The important point seems to be, was it
in perfect order at the time of the substitution?"
"Surely, sir, Lessingham would have assured himself
of that before he took it over?"
"Lessingham, Lessingham!" exclaimed Dr. Priestley
petulantly. "I believe that you and the superintendent
have Lessingham on the brain. How do you know that
that unfortunate individual knew anything about it?"
"Well, after all, sir, he was killed while he was driv-


132 DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
ing the car!" expostulated Harold.
"Was he? How do you know? Did anyone see him
driving a car known to be Mr. Chalk's? Even suppos-
ing that he was? Is that any evidence that he stole it?
Let me put a parallel case to you. A certain half-
crown is marked in such a way that the mark is invisible
to the unaided eye. This half-crown is stolen from its
owner. Thirty hours later it is found in your posses-
sion. Is that proof positive that you stole it?"
"No, sir, it isn't," Harold admitted. "But surely—"
Dr. Priestley brushed his protest aside.
"Why is it not proof against you?" he persisted.
"Because I might have acquired it perfectly inno-
cently, sir. For instance, the thief might have given it
to me, with other coins, in exchange for a pound note.
All half-crowns are similar, and I could not be ex-
pected to see a mark which was invisible to the naked
eye."
"You would, in fact, be an unwitting, and there-
fore innocent, receiver of stolen goods. Why should
not Lessingham have been in exactly the same position?
Why should not the cars have been substituted without
his knowledge?"
Harold's reply was interrupted by the entrance of
Mary, the parlourmaid, with the message that Super-
intendent Hanslet had called, and would like to see Dr.
Priestley. The latter hesitated, and a slight frown
crossed his face.
"Very well, let him come in," he said curtly.
Hanslet entered the room, a triumphant smile upon
his face. It was clear that some important piece of


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
133
news was on his lips. But Dr. Priestley pointed to a
chair.
"Sit down, Superintendent," he said. "Harold and
I were just expounding some possible theories to ac-
count for the accident to the car that Lessingham is
believed to have been driving when he was killed. Since
you have arrived so opportunely, it may interest you
to hear them. What was it that you were about to say,
Harold?"
But the superintendent, exasperated by Dr. Priest-
ley's manner, could contain himself no longer.
"The accident?" he exclaimed. "Why that's ancient
history, Professor. All that's over and done with long
ago. I dropped in to tell you something much more
important than that. Lessingham's car has been
found!"


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
135
rect. I shall have to work it out in my own mind.
But it doesn't affect the case at all. It merely means
that Lessingham or his accomplice stole the car on
Tuesday night, but that the change-over wasn't made
till Wednesday night. It's really only a matter of
detail."
"It may prove to be considerably more than that,"
replied Dr. Priestley patiently. "Now, just before you
came in, Harold and I were discussing a rather inter-
esting possibility. It was that Lessingham had no
knowledge whatever of the theft, but was an unwitting,
and therefore innocent, receiver of stolen goods."
Hanslet stared at Dr. Priestley as though he had
taken leave of his senses.
"You mean that somebody exchanged one car for the
other without his knowledge?" he said incredulously.
"But, if you'll excuse my saying so, Professor, that's
absolutely ridiculous!"
"Rather a strong expression, Superintendent," said
Dr. Priestley equably. "Would you mind telling me
why you consider it ridiculous?"
"Because there could be no possible point in anybody
doing such a thing," replied Hanslet promptly.
"You'll admit that the only person who could have
substituted one car for another was the man who stole
Mr. Chalk's? Very well. What had he to gain? Hav-
ing stolen a car, his problem was to dispose of it. He
would want to get rid of it, to pass it on to someone
else, as soon as possible, it's true. But what advantage
was it to him to exchange it for an exactly similar car?
He had, if you like, disposed of one stolen car, but in


136
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
doing so he had burdened himself with another. For,
in exchanging the cars, he had clearly stolen Lessing-
ham's."
"It is the motive, then, that you consider ridiculous,
and not the substitution itself," said Dr. Priestley.
"We will consider the motive later. For the moment
we will consider the act of substitution. You will not
deny that this, in fact, took place?"
"Of course I won't; it's a perfectly obvious fact.
But I don't see how it could have been done without
Lessingham's knowledge."
"On my part, I consider that it would be a compara-
tively easy matter. Your investigations have shown
that the various cars of tins particular model are ex-
actly alike. They are built to standard, are fitted with
identical equipments, and are even painted the same
distinctive colour.
"Before these two cars, Mr. Chalk's and Lessing-
ham's, left the maker's hands they were indistinguisha-
ble except for the numbers engraved on the engine and
the chassis, and these were not readily discernible by
the ordinary observer. Subsequently, other dissimi-
larities began to appear. The cars were allotted dif-
ferent registration numbers, and these were painted on
plates attached to the respective cars. Mr. Chalk's car
had a brass plate attached to the dash by the Suprem-
acy Motor Company. At the time when Lessing-
ham's car started for the Rally, it bore a flag and an
official number. All these subsequent distinctive marks
were easily recognizable. How were the flag and the
official number attached to the competing cars, Har-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP 137
old?"
"In our case the flag was fixed to the Sphinx mascot
on the radiator cap with copper wire, sir. The official
number was tied with tapes to the front of the car, be-
low the radiator."
"And, once fitted, they were readily detachable?"
"It would only take a few seconds to get them off,
sir."
"Very well, then. Now, let us consider how the sub-
stitution might have taken place. We will suppose
that Lessingham left his car unattended for a few min-
utes, during Wednesday night. The individual who
stole Mr. Chalk's car, whom we may for the present
call the thief, seized his opportunity.
"Remember he had several hours in which to pre-
pare Mr. Chalk's car to resemble Lessingham's. No
doubt he had already removed the brass plate from the
dash. He may even have fitted Mr. Chalk's car with
registration number plates bearing Mr. Lessingham's
number, ZV nine six nine four. All he had to do there
was to transfer the official number card, and the Rally
flag, which, as Harold has told us, would be the work
of a few seconds.
"He, then, one must presume, drove away in Lessing-
ham's car. Lessingham, on returning to the place
where he left his car, would have no suspicions of the
change that had been made. It was dark, of course,
and any distinctive marks, such as scratches on the
paint work and upholstery, would not be noticed. The
thief would, of course, have transferred any baggage,
such as maps, from one car to the other. Lessingham


138
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
drives away without suspecting the trick that has been
played upon him. Is there anything impossible in
this hypothesis?"
It wrs Hanslet who replied to this question. In
spite of the ill grace with which he had consented to
listen to Dr. Priestley's arguments, he had gradually
become interested.
"There's nothing impossible, Professor. The thing
might have been done, I'll admit. But you won't mind
if I criticize your theory a bit, will you?"
"Not if you criticize it intelligently," replied Dr.
Priestley, still with a trace of severity in his voice.
"I'll try to do so. In the first place, it's almost in-
credible that the thief should have come by chance
upon Lessingham's car standing unattended. The
substitution must have been premeditated. You have
realized that yourself, since you say that Mr. Chalk's
car may have been already fitted with plates bearing
Lessingham's registration number. Doesn't that sug-
gest that Lessingham was in the plot? How else could
the thief know where his car was to stop, and what
his number was?"
"I will reserve my answer to that criticism till later.
What is your next objection, Superintendent?"
"Just this, Professor. If neither Lessingham nor
Purvis were in league with the thief, the car must have
been left unattended in some lonely spot where he could
transfer the flag and number unobserved. This seems
rather unlikely."
Dr. Priestley turned to Harold.
"What have you to say on that point, my boy?" he


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
139
asked.
"Well, sir, the only time we left the Armstrong un-
attended was while we were in the controls. And then
she wasn't exactly unattended. There were plenty of
other cars and people about."
"That is a very vague statement. Who were these
people?"
"Other competitors, for the most part, sir. At all
the controls there was some enclosed space or park into
which competitors drove their cars. There they were
left while the driver and passengers signed the route
book, snatched a meal, and so forth. Meanwhile other
competitors were busy with their own cars, filling up
with petrol, or making adjustments."
"Did any of your party, at any of these controls,
notice particularly what other competitors were do-
ing?"
"I don't suppose we did, sir. We were too intent
upon our own affairs."
Dr. Priestley nodded.
"That is very much what I imagined," he said.
"Now, can you describe to us the conditions at the
Moorchester control?"
"I'm afraid I can't exactly, sir," replied Harold.
"We were so much delayed by the fog that we didn't
get there until everybody else had gone. But I can
describe the car park there. It was an open space, a
sort of courtyard beside the Imperial Hotel. It was a
biggish place, with plenty of room, but unlighted. One
had to depend on one's own lights to find the way about
it. And it must have been very busy earlier in the


140 DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
night, for Moorchester was a control for starters from
other places besides Bath."
"Were other than competing cars allowed in this
parking place?" asked Dr. Priestley.
"Oh, yes, sir. There were half a dozen or more not
carrying flags or official numbers when we were there.
I expect that they belonged to the control officials, and
people like that."
"Now, just one moment. As I understand it, the car
that Lessingham was driving and Mr. Weldon's were
the last to leave the control. Do you suppose that they
all took the road through Westernham?"
"All those which had started from Bath, sir, at all
events. Some of the others had another control to
reach before they entered on the final stage to Tor-
quay. The road through Westernham is the most
direct between Moorchester and the finishing point."
"Then how do you account for the fact that their
tracks were not visible on the photographs taken by
Sergeant Showerby?"
"Because the dew only began to fall about the time
of the accident, sir. Cars passing over the dry road be-
fore then would leave no visible tracks."
"It could be predicted, with some certainty, that Les-
singham would take the route through Westernham
after leaving Moorchester?"
"I think it could, sir. There are, of course, other
roads between Moorchester and Torquay. But the one
we took is the most obvious, and I expect that nearly all
the competitors followed it."
Dr. Priestley leant back in his chair.


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
141
"Well, Superintendent?" he asked expectantly.
"I see what you're driving at," replied Hanslet.
"You're trying to make out that the substitution took
place at the Moorchester control. I dare say that it
did. What do you think, Mr. Merefield? You've seen
the place, and I haven't."
"It could have been done, easily enough," replied
Harold, with conviction. "We know that Lessingham
got there about half past ten. Although the control
was not open then, I dare say that a good many cars
arrived about that time or soon after. The thief, with
Mr. Chalk's car, arrived later. The fact that he had
not a flag or official number would not be noticed, or, if
it was, his car would be supposed to belong to one of
the officials.
"He might even be carrying plates with Lessing-
ham's registration numbers. He could feel certain that
he ran practically no risk of discovery. Nobody would
notice that there were two cars in the park with the
same registration number. It was nobody's business
to look at the registration numbers, for one thing.
And, for another, everybody concerned had been on the
road for over twenty-four hours. I know I shouldn't
have noticed anything if all the cars in the park had
been carrying the same number, or, for that matter, no
number at all.
"The thief could have taken the flag and official num-
ber from Lessingham's car and put it on Mr. Chalk's
without any difficulty. In the general confusion, no-
body would have been a penny the wiser. All he had to
do then would be to change the cars round, so that Les-


142
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
singham should find Mr. Chalk's in the place where he
had left his own. With cars continually coming in and
out, there would be no difficulty about that. And Les-
singham, coming out into the dark, not yet thoroughly
awake, and in a tearing hurry to get on, would notice
nothing."
"A most graphic picture of what probably hap-
pened," remarked Dr. Priestley approvingly. "By the
time that Lessingham came out of the hotel, the thief
had already left in Lessingham's car, no doubt. His
scheme, so far, had been thoroughly successful."
"But what was his scheme, Professor?" demanded
Hanslet. "You're asking me to believe in a car thief
who must have known Lessingham's intended move-
ments exactly, and yet had no connection with him.
This remarkable person exchanges the car he has stolen
for Lessingham's. He then drives away, and Lessing-
ham's car is found in a disused quarry in Somersetshire,
completely smashed up, I gather. I think I'm entitled
to ask what his scheme was!"
"Before I answer that question, Superintendent, how
do you reconcile the finding of Lessingham's car with
your theory?"
"Easily enough. I've maintained all along that Les-
singham had associates, that he was the chief of a gang
of car thieves. One of these took Lessingham's own
car to a depot established for the purpose. Lessing-
ham was probably on his way there when he crashed.
But as soon as they heard of the accident, the gang got
the wind up. They would know that the car that Les-
singham was driving would sooner or later be identi-


144
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
Harold.
"There you are, Professor. I assure you that there
was not a shadow of doubt about it. You'd have spot-
ted it at once, if you'd been there with us. If Lessing-
ham's business was perfectly straight and above board,
why should Orchard have invented this cock and bull
yarn?"
"For some purpose which we have not yet fathomed,"
replied Dr. Priestley thoughtfully. "For instance—
but you are tempting me to conjecture. Besides, we
are straying from the subject. You asked me to out-
line the thief's scheme. But first of all, who was the
thief, assuming, as I do, that he and Lessingham were
not associated in the theft?
"We know two things about him, of which the first
is this. He must have been acquainted with Mr. Chalk,
to the extent that he knew his practice of going to Mr.
Catcsby's on Tuesday evenings. More than this, he
must have known that he was the owner of a Comet car
similar to Lessingham's, and that he was in the habit
of leaving his car in Mr. Catcsby's drive. I would
point out that it does not follow that he knew Mr.
Chalk personally. He may have discovered these data
by observation.
"The second thing is that he must have known the
details of Lessingham's intended schedule. I am quite
satisfied in my own mind that the substitution took
place in the courtyard of the Imperial Hotel at Moor-
chester. The thief must therefore have known the in-
tended time of Lessingham's arrival and departure. I
do not press the point of Mr. Chalk's car having been


DR. PRIESTLEY IAYS A TRAP
145
stolen at a time when Lessingham may have been pass-
ing near Denham. This, very possibly, was what is
termed a coincidence. But I have my own reasons for
believing that he knew the route which Lessingham was
to follow between Moorchester and Torquay. Finally,
he was sufficiently familiar with Lessingham's car to
know the registration number."
"In that case, he must be a pretty intimate friend of
Lessingham's," remarked Hanslet.
"Probably. Now, what was his scheme? I am con-
vinced that he did not steal Mr. Chalk's car for profit.
He stole it because he wanted a car exactly similar to
Lessingham's. Any one of that particular model would
have served his purpose. It was probably Mr. Chalk's
habit of leaving his car in Mr. Catesby's drive that in-
fluenced his selection of this particular car.
"Having stolen it, nearly twenty-four hours must
elapse before he could effect the substitution. How he
disposed of the car during that period I do not know.
He certainly removed the brass plate from the dash,
and there is reason to believe that he did something
else. But I prefer not to discuss that until further evi-
dence is available."
Hanslet smiled.
"No guesswork for you, Professor," he said. "It
comes to this, then. He wanted, for some mysterious
purpose of his own, to exchange Lessingham's car for
one exactly similar to it. In other words, he wanted
to obtain possession of Lessingham's car without its
owner knowing anything about it. But what did he
want it for? Had it any peculiarity that made it of


146
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
special value to him? In any case, he would not have
dared to use it openly for long, for Lessingham would
have discovered, by the absence of the stencils, that he
was not driving his own car, as soon as he reached
Torquay."
Dr. Priestley shook his head.
"The object of the substitution was not to enable the
thief to obtain possession of Lessingham's car," he re-
plied gravely.
"Then what was the object, Professor? According
to you, it seems utterly pointless. Was it a joke or
something?"
"Anything but a joke. Has it not occurred to you,
Superintendent, that the substitution of the cars was
the direct cause of the accident which happened shortly
afterwards?"
"It can't have been, Professor. Mr. Chalk's car was
in as perfect condition as Lessingham's could have been.
We have the word of the experts for that. Inspector
Harraway raised the point, and it has been satisfacto-
rily disposed of."
"Did the experts see Mr. Chalk's car before the ac-
cident took place?" replied Dr. Priestley swiftly. "You
have allowed the comparatively simple matter of the
theft to divert your attention from the significance of
the so-called accident."
Hanslet shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, after all, motor-car accidents will happen, as
we all know."
Dr. Priestley rapped his desk impatiently.
"Yes, yes, of course!" he exclaimed. "And appar-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP 147
ently coroners exist who are as ready to take accidents
for granted as you are, Superintendent. But in this
case there can be no shadow of doubt in the mind of
any intelligent person that Lessingham was deliberately
murdered!"


CHAPTER XII
If Dr. Priestley had hurled the ink-pot which stood on
his desk at him, Superintendent Hanslet could not have
been more amazed.
"Murdered!" he exclaimed. "Lessingham murdered!
How on earth do you make that out?"
"Not, as yet, by logical deduction, I confess," replied
Dr. Priestley. "There are many steps to be filled in
before the argument is complete. But the overwhelm-
ing probability is there, for anybody to see."
"But who murdered him, Professor?" asked Hanslet,
only half seriously. "The only person with him when
he was killed was Purvis. You don't suggest that Pur-
vis snatched the wheel and drove the car into the ditch,
do you?"
"I do not suggest anything so ridiculous, but murder
can be remote; by which I mean that it is not necessary
for the murderer to be present at his victim's death.
For instance, I prepare an infernal machine, fitted with
a time fuse, and put it in your pocket. An hour later,
when we may be many miles apart, the machine deto-
nates and kills you. Am I none the less a murderer be-
cause I am not present at that time?"
"I hope you won't try anything of the kind, Profes-
sor. But, seriously, what's that got to do with this
Lessingham business?"
"This; that I believe that Mr. Chalk's car had been
143


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP 149
converted into the equivalent of an infernal machine,
and that it was for that reason that it was substituted
for Lessingham's."
Hanslet shrugged his shoulders wearily.
"We can't go against the evidence of the experts," he
said. "Can't you be a little more explicit, Professor?"
"Not at this stage," replied Dr. Priestley decidedly.
"To you, as an officer of police, I put the matter like
this: You have no proof that Lessingham stole Mr.
Chalk's car. I think I have demonstrated that the sub-
stitution of one car for another, an admitted fact, could
have been carried out without Lessingham's knowledge.
Harold has shown us the possibility that such a substi-
tution could have been carried out at the Moorchester
control on the Wednesday night.
"Since in any investigation you are bound to con-
sider all the possibilities, you must consider this one.
The first question you will then ask yourself is, what
was the motive of the substitution? And, in seeking the
answer to this question, you must bear in mind the fact
that, shortly after Lessingham began to drive the sub-
stituted car, he met with a fatal accident, the cause of
which has never been satisfactorily explained."
Hanslet nodded, but for some moments he made no
reply. Had anybody but Dr. Priestley expounded such
a seemingly far-fetched theory, he would have dismissed
it at once without giving it serious consideration. But,
from long experience, he knew that even the professor's
most startling theories had a way of turning out to be
correct.
During the conversation that evening his faith in the


150
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
construction which he had put upon the Lessingham
case had been rudely shaken. But he was hardly pre-
pared for it to take the dramatic form which Dr. Priest-
ley had outlined. This was turning the tables with a
vengeance! Instead of regarding Lessingham as a
criminal he was asked to look upon him as a victim. On
the face of it, it seemed absurd. Still—
"You can't give me a hint as to who killed Lessing-
ham, if your theory's right?" he asked suddenly.
Dr. Priestley shook his head.
"Not from the facts at present in my possession," he
replied. "The discovery of the murderer's identity is,
surely, a matter for the police."
Again Hanslet nodded, and a second pause ensued,
longer than the first.
"I tell you what I'll do, Professor," he said abruptly.
"Tomorrow I'm going down to this place Slowford. I
want to see the quarry where Lessingham's car was
found. And I think I'd better arrange for what re-
mains of the car to be brought up to London for exami-
nation. If that doesn't get me any further, I'll see the
Assistant Commissioner, and put this murder theory of
yours before him. It's for him to decide if any steps
are to be taken in that direction. It's a bit awkward,
you see. A verdict of accidental death has already been
returned."
"It would not be the first instance of an incorrect
verdict having been given at an inquest," replied Dr.
Priestley. "To cite one instance alone. You know bet-
ter than I do that it has been found that a victim, whose
death was attributed at an inquest to natural causes,


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
151
has subsequently been found to have been poisoned."
"Yes, I know," said Hanslet, without enthusiasm.
He rose heavily from his chair. "I'd better be making
a move, I suppose," he continued. "Can I look in again
in a day or two, Professor?"
"You had better telephone first," replied Dr. Priest-
ley. "It may save you a journey. I think it is quite
likely that I shall be out of London for a day or two."
Harold followed the superintendent to the front door.
"Where's the old boy off to?" asked the latter, with
a shade of anxiety in his voice. "I don't want to lose
touch with him, after what he said just now."
"I haven't the slightest idea," replied Harold. "It's
the first I've heard of his going away at all."
But he was soon to be enlightened. When he re-
turned to the study after seeing Hanslet out, he found
his employer still sitting at his desk, with a map spread
out in front of him. He said nothing for a few min-
utes, and then looked up.
"A change of air would do us both good, my boy,"
he said benignly. "We might spend a day or two in a
bracing atmosphere with advantage. Do you suppose
that the Imperial Hotel at Moorchester would be incon-
veniently crowded?"
Harold with difficulty repressed a smile. So this was
the secret of his employer's sudden resolve.
"I shouldn't think so, sir, at this time of year," he
replied.
"Then you had better telephone in the morning, and
reserve rooms for us tomorrow night. Do you think
that your friend Mr. Weldon could be persuaded to


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
153
ley when he came down to breakfast.
"That is most satisfactory," was his employer's com-
ment. "I shall be glad if Mr. Gateman comes in addi-
tion to Mr. Weldon. We will catch a train which will
take us to our destination in time for dinner. Mean-
while, there are certain inquiries which I should like
you to make for me."
So it happened that after breakfast Harold set out
for Mr. Chalk's office in the City. Mr. Chalk seemed
delighted to see him.
"Hullo, Mr. Merefield!" he exclaimed. "Still on the
trail, eh? Haven't you brought our friend the superin-
tendent with you this morning?"
"No, he's out of town today, I believe," replied
Harold. "Look here, I only want to ask you one ques-
tion. When I was up at the Comet works yesterday,
the engineer there pointed out to me that the pin at the
end of the steering rod had been renewed. Did you
have this done?"
Mr. Chalk shook his head.
"Not I!" he replied. "I never even noticed that it
had been replaced. I've had nothing done to the car
since I've had her. She was running perfectly up to
the time she was pinched. I only hope she'll be as good
when I get her back again. Damn the man who put me
to all this trouble, I say!"
"Let's hope the superintendent will run him to
earth," remarked Harold.
"I expect he will.- He's a blend of the strong silent
man and the old British bull dog, and that always im-
presses me. But about that pin. The Supremacy peo-


154) DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
pie must have put it in. They overhauled the car be-
fore they delivered it to me, you know. I tell you what.
If you're really interested, you can go and ask them.
They'll tell you all about it if you give them my card.
They're good people, and they know me very well, for
I always deal with them. Are you off already? Well,
let's go round the corner and have a spot. There's
nothing doing in the office this morning."
The consumption of the spot occupied a few minutes,
and then Harold, having taken leave of Mr. Chalk, set
out for Kingston. He found the premises of the Su-
premacy Motor Company, and asked for the manager,
who glanced at Mr. Chalk's card and immediately be-
came communicative.
"Always ready to do anything for a friend of Mr.
Chalk's, sir," he said. "He's a very good customer of
ours. His car was smashed up in the Rally the other
day, I hear? Terrible business. Both driver and pas-
senger killed, weren't they? Lucky Mr. Chalk wasn't
one of them. That's what comes of lending cars to
other people."
Harold let this distorted view of the accident pass.
Since the manager apparently knew nothing of the
theft of the car, there was no point in enlightening him.
"I wonder if you could tell me exactly what was done
to Mr. Chalk's car before you delivered it to him?" he
asked.
"Nothing much, so far as I remember. We re-
painted it, I remember, with Comet grey which we got
from the Comet people. A demonstration car soon be-
gins to look shabby, you know. I can soon tell you


156
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
been the same colour as the rest of the chassis. We
must accept Mr. Chalk's statement that he did not fit
it subsequently.
"In that case, the new pin must have been fitted be-
tween the time when the car was stolen, and the time
when the Comet Company's engineer examined it.
Why was this done if the steering gear was in perfect
order when the car passed out of Mr. Chalk's posses-
sion? That is the first question. The second is, what
is the exact function of this pin? Perhaps you can
explain it?"
"I think so, sir. The pin connects the steering rod,
which is actuated by the steering wheel, to the front
wheels of the car. It is a connecting link between the
driver's hands and the pivoting motion of those wheels."
"And if the pin were removed?"
"The driver would be unable to steer the car, sir. He
might revolve the steering wheel, but the motion would
not be communicated to the front wheels of the car,
which would be free to pivot as they pleased."
"That is what I imagined. And yet, the opportu-
nity— Well, well, we shall see."
Dr. Priestley and Harold reached the Imperial Hotel
at Moorchester about six o'clock that evening. Bob
Weldon had already arrived, and, after a few words
with the professor, he took the opportunity of drawing
Harold aside.
"Richard's coming down later," he said. "What's on,
exactly? I didn't care to ask outright before your old
man."
Harold glanced round to see that he could not be


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
157
overheard before he replied.
"What he means to do, I don't know," he said, "but
he's got some plan of his own on. He wouldn't tell
Hanslet where he was going. His latest theory is that
Lessingham was murdered, and I think he wants to find
out how it was done."
Bob whistled softly.
"Murdered, eh!" he exclaimed. "What will our old
friend Inspector Harraway say to that, I wonder. Has
the professor broken this to Superintendent Hanslet?"
"Yes, last night. Hanslet didn't know what to make
of it, quite. He's had news that Lessingham's own car
has been found somewhere in Somerset, and he's gone
down to have a look see."
"While we make sensational discoveries down here.
I say we, because I gather I'm to be made use of? The
professor wouldn't have suggested my joining the
party for the sake of my good looks."
"Oh, you'll be made use of, all right, and the Arm-
strong too, I expect. Come over here and let's have a
cocktail, and I'll tell you what I know of the old boy's
theory."
Just before dinner they were joined by Dr. Priestley,
and half way through that meal Richard arrived. Be-
tween them they made a merry party, for Dr. Priestley
could get on perfectly well with younger men when he
chose. But he steered the conversation away from the
object of this meeting, and it was not until after ten
o'clock, when the lounge began to empty, that any men-
tion was made of Lessingham or even of the Rally.
And then it was Dr. Priestley who introduced the sub-


.158 DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
ject. He did so abruptly, after a glance at the clock.
"It was about this time that Lessingham drove up to
the control," he said. "I should like to inspect the
place where competitors' cars were parked. Will one
of you show me the way?"
They all rose, and Bob led the Way.
"The room used by the control officials was there,"
he said, pointing to the further corner of the lounge.
"We came in by a side door, I remember. That must
be it."
They passed through the door, and found them-
selves on a wide gravel sweep, with a high wall round
two sides of it. There were no lamp-posts within this
enclosure, which was illuminated only by the light that
filtered through the curtained windows of the hotel on
one side, and the reflection of the lights of the town on
the other. Three or four cars, with their lights extin-
guished, were ranged against one side, but until Dr.
Priestley's eyes had accustomed themselves to the
gloom, he did not catch sight of them.
"Looks much the same as when we turned up that
morning, doesn't it?" remarked Bob.
"I haven't the least recollection of what the place,
looked like," replied Richard. "I was walking in my
sleep, I believe. But it must have been pretty busy
earlier in the night. There's not room for a lot of cars
at a time."
"You could get a hundred in, I dare say, if you
parked them carefully," said Bob. "But with fellows
coming and going every moment, there must have been
a bit of confusion. The R.A.C. man on duty couldn't


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
159
possibly look after them all. I expect he had his work
cut out to keep the entrance clear, as it was."
Dr. Priestley listened to this conversation with in-
terest. He could well imagine the scene. Cars scat-
tered all over the enclosure, their drivers and passen-
gers, weary with driving and lack of sleep, moving
among them like the figures of a dream. Other cars
coming and going, their lights dazzling the already be-
wildered throng. The harassed R.A.C. man, hur-
riedly giving directions, holding up a stream of arriv-
ing cars in order to let a competitor out. And over all
a confusion of light and darkness, in which nothing
could be distinctly discerned.
"This is no doubt where the substitution took place,"
he said, after a long pause.
Bob, who had heard this theory from Harold, nodded
approvingly. But to Richard it came as news.
"By Jove, sir, I'll bet you're right!" he exclaimed.
"It would have been the easiest thing in the world. I
don't believe I should have noticed if someone had ex-
changed Bob's Armstrong for an old Ford. Until I be-
gan to drive, of course. But in this case they were
exactly similar. Nobody could possibly have noticed
the difference."
Dr. Priestley smiled.
"We seem to be in agreement on that point," he said.
"Suppose we return to the lounge and discuss the vari-
ous points involved?"
When they had found a quiet corner, the professor
gave a detailed explanation of his theory, for the bene-
fit of Bob and Richard.


CHAPTER XIII
On the following morning, punctually at nine o'clock,
the party left the hotel in Bob's Armstrong Siddeley.
Bob was driving, with Dr. Priestley beside him, map
in hand.
As they took the road to Westernham, Bob described
the incidents of the morning of the Rally.
"I was pretty well at the end of my tether, as Harold
will tell you, sir. But I do just remember where it was
that we first saw the red tail light of the Comet in front
of us. I'll show you when we come to it."
They drove on in silence for some miles, Dr. Priestley
following the road on his map.
"It was just about here, wasn't it, Harold?" Bob
asked.
"Yes, that's right," replied Harold from the back of
the car. "I remember that belt of trees on the right."
"Thank you, Mr. Weldon," said Dr. Priestley.
"Now, will you do exactly as you did that morning,
pulling up exactly in the same place as you did then?"
Bob began to slow up.
"That's the place where the Comet was," he said,
after a few seconds. "You can still see where the edge
of the ditch is broken away. I kept over to my left, and
pulled up by the side of the road. I believe this is the
spot to an inch."
He stopped the car a yard or two in advance of the
162


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
163
mark in the ditch.
"Then we all got out and ran across to the Comet,"
he continued. "It was still pitch dark, and we had to
use a torch to see what we were doing."
"Did any of you notice if there were marks of tires
on the road, beyond where the two cars were stopped?"
asked Dr. Priestley.
Silence followed this question till Bob spoke, half
apologetically.
"I don't think anybody thought of looking, sir. We
were too concerned with what had happened to Lessing-
ham and his passenger to think of anything else. I'll
admit that, while the other two had gone on to fetch
the police, I examined the tracks of the Comet, but of
course, they were behind the two cars. It never oc-
curred to me to look in front of them."
"Perhaps, if you had looked, you would have made
an interesting discovery," remarked Dr. Priestley.
"The road is fairly wide here, it appears. Would it be
possible to turn a car in it without much difficulty?"
"Easily enough, sir. We turned this car, when we
went with the policeman to the White Hart, and Dr.
Mason turned his."
Dr. Priestley nodded. He took a pencil from his
pocket and made a cross on the map at the point where
they stood.
"I should like you to look at this map, if you will,
Mr. Weldon," he said. "The scale is one inch to a mile.
Approximately three miles ahead of us lies Western-
ham. Half a mile from here, in the Westernham direc-
tion, there is a road branching off to the left, which


1G4>
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
leads to a road running parallel with this, rather over a
mile away. Do you know that parallel road?"
"I've driven over it once or twice, sir. You get a
magnificent view from it, looking over towards the sea.
If you look at the map, you'll see a crossroads two or
three miles out of Moorchester. We passed that as we
came along. It was where the R.A.C. scout was stand-
ing, if you remember. If we had turned to the left
there, we should have come out on the parallel road,
which runs along the crest of the ridge. I expect we
can see it from here, if we get out of the car."
They got out, and Dr. Priestley, looking southward,
saw a line of low hills before him. Upon the sky line,
clearly outlined against the clouds, was the silhouette
of a horse and cart, slowly plodding its way along.
"That cart's on the road you mean, sir. It's not a
bad road, but it isn't much used now, except for farm
traffic. I believe it was the highroad once, before this
one was made. But it's abominably steep in places,
and the surface is none too good."
"I noticed as we were driving here that the ridge is
visible nearly all the way from Moorchester. Does the
old road run along the crest of it for the whole of that
distance?"
"Practically. It dips here and there, but it always
comes up again."
Once more Dr. Priestley studied his map thought-
fully.
"Besides the crossroads which you mentioned, and
the side road which I pointed out, there are two roads,
or rather lanes, connecting the two roads," he said, ap-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
167 ,
which road we got here by. About a hundred miles
from here we ran into fog, as I expect Harold has told
you, and lost our way completely. It wasn't until we
saw a signpost that we had any idea where we were go-
ing, and after that we trusted to them entirely."
"How do you explain the apparent fact that Les-
singham was not delayed by this fog?" asked Dr.
Priestley.
"Easily enough, sir. He may have reached here be-
fore the fog came on. He was three hours and a half
ahead of us at Droitwich, the previous control. Or he
may have taken a different route—there are at least a
dozen possible ones—and so escaped it."
"I see," said Dr. Priestley. Bob turned once more to
the map, exploring the various roads into Moorchester.
"I believe I've got it!" he exclaimed after a few mo-
ments. "I seem to remember that name, Hedgeworth,
don't you, Harold? Didn't you spot it on one of those
yellow A.A. signs as we came through?"
"I believe I do, now that you mention it," replied
Harold. "About twenty miles out of here, isn't it?"
"That's right," replied Bob, pointing to the map
with the stem of his pipe. "This is the road we must
have come in by, sir. And it must have been soon after
passing Hedgeworth that we struck that patch of
wooded country."
Dr. Priestley produced his map-measurer.
"I make the distance between Denham and Hedge-
worth sixty-seven miles," he said. "The thief would
have no difficulty in reaching that point before daylight
on Wednesday morning. If the theft took place about


168
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
midnight, his journey would have been accomplished
during the quietest time of the night. He had prob-
ably reconnoitred his route beforehand, with the aid of
a map. By the way, were any maps found in the car
which Lessingham was driving?"
"By Jove, sir, now I come to think of it, there
weren't," exclaimed Bob. "I'm quite sure of that. I
examined the car pretty carefully twice, first just after
the accident when I was waiting for the others to come
back from Westernham, and again with Inspector Har-
raway at the Central Garage. The route book was
there, but no maps. Yet Lessingham would never have
started on the Rally without taking maps with him."
"Looks as if Homer had nodded," remarked Richard.
"In other words, the thief forgot to take them from
Lessingham's car and put them in Chalk's when l<e
made the substitution."
"That is possible, but not altogether probable," said
Dr. Priestley. "A suit-case belonging to Lessingham
was, I am told, found in Mr. Chalk's car. It is unlikely
that the thief would have overlooked the maps. Their
absence might have aroused Lessingham's suspicions.
A small point, but one that may prove to be of definite
importance." Dr. Priestley paused, and then contin-
ued abruptly. "Since you think that you will be able
to retrace your route, Mr. Weldon, shall we start? We
have not too many hours of daylight before us."
With Bob at the wheel, the Armstrong set out once
more on a voyage of exploration. Fifteen miles or so
from Moorchester they came to a tract of country, ap-
parently very sparsely inhabited. The road here was


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP 169
unfenced, and beside it here and there were patches of
litter and scattered ashes, probably marking the halt-
ing places of gipsy caravans. For the most part the
country was open moorland—heather, bracken, and a
few scattered birches. But every now and then it was
broken by fairly big woods, through several of which
the road took its way.
In the centre of the first of these which they entered,
Bob, by Dr. Priestley's direction, stopped the car, and
they all got out.
"I do not for a moment anticipate that we shall find
actual evidence of a car having been concealed," said
the professor. "It is now more than a week since we
believe this to have occurred, and all traces are prob-
ably by this time obliterated. It will be sufficient if we
can demonstrate the possibility of a car remaining un-
observed during a whole day."
They scattered and explored the wood. Between the
trees ran several rough tracks, most of which a car
could have negotiated without much difficulty. These
they examined, but without forming any very definite
conclusions. It seemed that to hide a car on any of
them would be to run a great risk of its discovery.
They went on to the next wood, which they explored
with very similar results. The third looked more prom-
ising. The trees were considerably denser, and the
spaces between them filled with dense undergrowth.
And all at once they heard a shout from Richard, who
had gone by himself up a more than usually winding
track.
Dr. Priestley was the first to join him. About a hun-


170
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
dred yards from the road, the track ended in the centre
of a dense thicket, with a clearing in it perhaps twenty
feet across. Richard stood on the edge of this clearing,
the surface of which was littered with recently severed
pine branches.
"This is the place, sure enough, sir!" exclaimed
Richard, as Dr. Priestley came up. "There are no tire-
tracks, it's true, but the ground's too springy for them
to last all this time. But look at those branches! I'll
bet he drove the car in here; then, to make quite sure,
he camouflaged it, like we did guns in the war."
"I believe you are right, Mr. Gateman," replied Dr.
Priestley approvingly. "It might be worth while to
search for actual evidence."
The others had by this time joined them. They all
set to work to pick up the branches and lay them care-
fully aside. Then they began a careful search among
the grass and dead leaves which thickly carpeted the
clearing. This time the credit of discovery fell to
Harold. A metal object, almost concealed by leaves,
caught his eye. He stooped and picked it up. It was
a double-ended spanner upon which a thin layer of red
rust had begun to form. And stamped upon the flat
of the tool were the words "Comet Cars."
"Well done, my boy!" exclaimed Dr. Priestley.
"Though perhaps not actual evidence, the discovery of
this spanner is highly significant. It is almost too
much to expect further indications, but perhaps we
had better continue our search."
But, though they spent another half hour in the
clearing, they found nothing more. Dr. Priestley took


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
171
charge of the spanner and they drove back to Moor-
chester.
"That ought to be evidence enough, even for you,
sir," remarked Bob, as they sat in the lounge of the
hotel before dinner. "It's just as you supposed. The
thief drove Mr. Chalk's car to the wood on Tuesday
night, left it there till after dark on Wednesday, and
then drove on here. But it was careless of him to leave
that spanner behind."
"Careless?" replied Dr. Priestley, with a faint smile.
"Perhaps. Yet after all, from the thief's point of view,
the spanner is not a very damaging discovery. It
forms no clue to his identity. In fact, can you draw
any deduction from it?"
"Only that he left the car in that particular spot,
sir," replied Bob. "But surely, that is something?"
"Not very much, I am afraid," said Dr. Priestley.
"It is most unlikely that he was seen and recognized.
But perhaps the spanner may suggest something to us,
after all. How did it come to be where we found it?
Did it drop from the car accidentally?"
Harold was the first to reply to this question.
"Hardly, I should think, sir. When I was at the
Comet Works I noticed that the tool-kit was carried
in a special recess behind the driver's seat. The cushion
has to be removed to get at it."
"Then the bold bandit who pinched the car must
have had it out for something. He probably wanted to
make some adjustment or other. It would be interest-
ing to know what that adjustment was," said Dr.
Priestley quietly. "Shall we go in to dinner?"


172
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
Rather to Bob's surprise, he discovered during din-
ner that the investigations were not over for the day.
"I hope that you will not think that I am imposing
on your kindness, Mr. Weldon," said Dr. Priestley,
during a pause in the conversation. "You have shown
me the neighbourhood of the accident by day, but I
should like to see it again under conditions resembling
those which obtained when the accident occurred. By
the time that we have finished dinner it will be quite
dark. Would it be troubling you too much to drive to
the spot again then?"
Bob agreed to this, readily enough. Though he had
no idea what was in the professor's mind, he knew very
well that he would not have made the request without
some definite object in view. So shortly after nine
o'clock they set out once more in the faithful Arm-
strong. But, when they reached the crossroads where,
during the daytime, the R.A.C. scout was stationed,
Bob received another surprise.
"I think that we will go by the old road, if you have
no objection," said Dr. Priestley. "I presume that it
is possible to negotiate it by night?"
"Oh, yes, rather," replied Bob. "It'll take us a bit
longer, that's all. But we'll go that way if you prefer
it, sir."
They followed the old road, with its curves and sud-
den gradients, until they reached a point which Dr.
Priestley judged to be roughly level with the spot on
the new road where the accident had taken place. Here
he stopped the car.
"Now, Mr. Weldon, I am going to ask you to help


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
173
me with an experiment. I want you and Mr. Gate-
man to drive back towards Moorchester, leaving Harold
here with me. Take the first convenient turning, lead-
ing on to the new road, which you come to. When you
reach the new road, turn towards Westernham. Drive
as rapidly as possible in that direction, and when you
come to the scene of the accident stop the car, at the
same time switching off your headlights. Wait there
till Harold joins you, and, when he reaches the car,
switch on your headlights again for a moment."
Bob and Richard set off without asking unnecessary
questions. Dr. Priestley and Harold, waiting by the
roadside, saw the tail light of the Armstrong recede
into the distance and disappear. Beneath them, on the
new road, all was darkness. There seemed to be little
traffic upon it after nightfall. Then, as they watched,
a glare appeared in the distance towards Moorchester.
"That is probably Mr. Weldon's car," remarked Dr.
Priestley. "When I give the word, I want you to make
your way to it as fast as you can. It is all open down-
land between here and the new road. But you had bet-
ter take this torch with you, in case you fall."
The glare rapidly increased and resolved itself into
the beam from a pair of powerful headlights. They
saw the trees beside the lower road light up one by one
as the car advanced, to plunge into sudden obscurity
again as it passed. The twin cones of light swept on,
until as they watched, their speed decreased. Then,
suddenly, they vanished.
Dr. Priestley was standing with his watch in his
hand, and a second torch directed upon the dial.


174
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
"Off you go, my boy," he said.
Harold set off across country. For a while the pro-
fessor could hear his footsteps and see the wavering
beam of the torch on the ground in front of him. Then
he lost them both. He paced up and down restlessly
to keep himself warm. The minutes passed, the hands
of the watch crept on. Ten minutes, quarter of an
hour. And then at last the beam of light in the valley
below reappeared for an instant. It had taken Harold
seventeen minutes to reach the car.
Dr. Priestley waited where he was until the Arm-
strong reached the spot. As it stopped, Bob opened
the door for him to get in.
"All right, sir?" he asked.
"Excellent!" replied Dr. Priestley, as he climbed
into his seat. "We can now return to Moorchester by
any route you please, Mr. Weldon."
Once back in the hotel, Dr. Priestley condescended to
explain his experiment to his puzzled audience.
"We have, I believe, reconstructed the events of the
morning of the accident," he said. "I have reasons for
believing that the thief, or the murderer, as I now feel
justified in calling him, knew that the accident would
take place shortly after Lessingham left Moorchester.
I also believe that it was part of his plan to be on the
spot as soon as possible after it had taken place.
"But, until this morning, I was faced with a diffi-
culty. He did not know when the accident would take
place, since he could not tell exactly when Lessingham
would start from the control. Nor, I think, could he
forecast the exact spot on the road where Lessingham's


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
175
car would come to a stop. How, then, could he arrange
to be present?
"The topography of the neighbourhood gave me the
clue. I saw this morning that, from the old road, prac-
tically the whole of the new road from Moorchester to
Westernham was visible. I verified this evening that
the headlights of a car travelling along the new road
would be plainly visible from a car following a parallel
route on the old road. The murderer, I have no doubt,
actually followed this parallel route in Lessingham's
own car."
"But how could he tell that the headlights were those
of the car Lessingham was driving, sir?" asked Rich-
ard. "They might have been those of any of the com-
peting cars."
"An interesting point, Mr. Gateman," replied Dr.
Priestley. "Under normal circumstances, the car that
Lessingham was driving would have been the last to
leave the Moorchester control. It was only the acci-
dent of the fog that caused you to be behind him. I
feel sure that the murderer was intimately acquainted
with Lessingham's schedule and intentions. Had you
been only a few minutes earlier, I think that by now
we should be aware of his methods and possibly his iden-
tity."
"By his methods, I suppose you mean the way he
brought the accident about, sir?" remarked Bob.
"That beats me, I must confess, especially if he was on
the old road all the time."
"I am not yet prepared to explain his methods in
detail," replied Dr. Priestley. "But I am becoming


176
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
more and more convinced that they involved the neces-
sity of his being on the spot as soon as possible after
the accident occurred. If he had been where Harold
and I stood this evening, he would have seen the sud-
den extinguishing of the lights of the car which Les-
singham was driving and possibly heard the crash.
"Now it took Harold, who is at least of average ac-
tivity, seventeen minutes to reach you. Now Lessing-
ham cannot have been much more than half an hour
ahead of you, as we know from his route book. If the
murderer had proceeded on foot to the wrecked car, he
had only a quarter of an hour to do what he had to do
before you arrived on the scene. I do not think that he
could have accomplished it in the time.
"It seems more probable that he reached the spot, by
way of the connecting lane which we used this morning,
in Lessingham's own car. In that case, he would have
approached the scene of the accident from the Western-
ham direction, and would have reached it in consider-
ably less time than seventeen minutes. In this case, the
tracks of his car must have been visible on the Western-
ham side of the accident when you arrived."
"Dash it, I wish I'd thought of looking in that direc-
tion!" exclaimed Bob regretfully.
"And I must have driven clean over those tracks
when I went to rouse up Sergeant Showerby!" cho-
rused Richard. "You must think that we've none of us
got any eyes in our heads, sir. The only possible ex-
cuse is that we were all more than half asleep at the
time."
"You may comfort yourselves with the reflection that


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP 177
Sergeant Showerby, whose business it was, did not think
of looking for tracks in the Westernham direction," re-
plied Dr. Priestley cheerfully. "Besides, but for such
oversights, the task of the investigator would become so
ridiculously easy as to lose all interest."


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
179
agreed with the particulars you had circulated, and
communicated with you at once. The car has been left
just as it was found, except that I've had a few loose
bits lying around put in a place of safety."
"I'm very much obliged to you, Mr. Drake. No
signs of the driver, I suppose?"
"Not a trace. I fancy he made himself scarce. It's
my idea that the car was deliberately wrecked, but
you'll be able to judge for yourself."
They reached the quarry, which had at one time been
cut out of the side of a steep hill. All that could be seen
from the road was a sheer wall of rock, with a few
stunted shrubs growing in the crevices, rising to about
a hundred feet or more. The track that had once led to
the quarry was now overgrown. The brambles had en-
croached upon it, and it was obviously too narrow for
the passage of the car. Hanslet and Drake dismounted,
and pursued their way on foot.
"The car you're taking me to see didn't come in this
way, I suppose?" asked Hanslet.
"No, nothing comes along here now but gipsy vans,"
replied the other. "The car came a much shorter way
than this. You'll see, in a moment. There it is!"
They had come to an end of the pathway, and the
floor of the quarry, or so much of it as was free from
undergrowth, lay open before them. At the further
side, close to the old working face, lay a car, so battered
as to be hardly recognizable. But at the first glance
Hanslet noticed the now familiar Comet grey.
It required no explanation from Drake to show him
what had happened. The car had fallen from the top


180
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
of the face, and had been utterly wrecked on reaching
the hard ground below. The body had been wrenched
clean off the chassis, and lay, torn and bent, a few yards
from it. The chassis was buckled, the front axle with
the wheels had been torn off, and the back axle was
fractured.
"I don't profess to know a lot about cars," said
Hanslet thoughtfully, as he gazed at the wreck, "but
I should say that lot's only fit for the scrap-heap.
Driven over the edge, eh?"
"That's about it," replied Drake. "There's a lane
runs along the top, about fifty yards back from the
edge. There's no fence to the lane, and between it and
the quarry there's a strip of rough grass. You can still
see the marks of the wheels where the car was driven
over this grass. We'll go and have a look, later."
"Driven, not pushed?" Hanslet inquired.
"Yes, driven, I think. When you come to examine
the chassis, you'll see that the car is still in second gear.
That's what makes me pretty certain that it was de-
liberately wrecked. It looks to me as if the driver had
got her into second, then jumped out and ran beside
her, holding the steering wheel. He could have guided
her to the edge that way, easily enough."
"I expect you're right. He wanted to get rid of her
pretty badly, and thought this was a nice secluded spot
to dump her in, I suppose. I'd better verify the num-
bers, so as to make sure."
Very gingerly he made his way among the nettles
into which the car had fallen, swearing beneath his
breath as he did so. The number-plates, though crum-


182
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
and looked about him. From the slope of the hill on
which he stood, he could see field after field stretching
into the distance.
The only sign of human habitation was a grey stone
farmhouse, about a mile distant. Rows of sheds, lines
of wire netting, and a quantity of various coloured
fowls suggested the use to which it was put.
"Not exactly overpopulated round about here, is
it?" remarked Hanslet. "Not a bad place to choose to
smash up a car, especially after dark, if one didn't want
to be seen. Did you think of asking the folk in the
poultry farm over there if they'd seen or heard any-
thing?"
"Yes, I went and questioned them, but they knew
nothing about it. Hadn't seen or heard anything, they
told me."
"What sort of people are they? Some of these coun-
try folk wouldn't notice anything if a thunderbolt was
to fall at their feet."
"They aren't the ordinary type of country folk.
They're a youngish couple who have gone in for poul-
try farming as a living. I believe he was a naval of-
ficer; you may have noticed that naval officers have a
passion for that sort of thing."
"I shan't go in for poultry when I retire," said Hans-
let. "I hate the things; they haven't as much intelli-
gence as the average bench of magistrates, and that's
saying a good deal. Do those folks over there make a
good thing out of it?"
"They're not doing as well as they expected when
they came here, I fancy. In fact, I believe that they


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
183
have been pretty hard put to lately. The place is mort-
gaged, I believe, and they've been trying to raise money
for some time. At least that's what the local constable
told me. Talking about the local constable, would you
care to run over to his place? That's where the loose
stuff I told you about has been put."
They drove to the little village of Slowford, a couple
of miles or so distant, and stopped at the policeman's
cottage. Here, in an outhouse, Hanslet was shown mis-
cellaneous collections of debris, broken lamps, the cush-
ions from the seats, a jack, part of a tool-kit, and vari-
ous other accessories from the car. He looked them
over, and arranged for them to be sent up to London
with the wreckage of the car. Then Drake drove him
back to the station, where he caught a train to Pad-
dington.
It was after six o'clock when he reached Scotland
Yard, to find a message on his desk that Mr. Farrant
had rung him up and would like to see him at his con-
venience. Hanslet glanced at the clock.
"Too late this evening," he muttered. "Farrant will
have left his office by now. I'll look round and see him
in the morning. It can't be very urgent."
About eleven o'clock on the following morning he
called on the solicitor. Mr. Farrant received him with
his habitual old-fashioned courtesy. "I am sorry that
you have had the trouble of coming all this way, Super-
intendent," he said. "But perhaps you will be inter-
ested to hear that I have had an answer to my advertise-
ment."
"Your advertisement?" replied Hanslet, rather


184.
DR. PRIESTLEY IAYS A TRAP
blankly. "Oh, yes, I know, about Lessingham's next of
kin. Have you found him?"
"I had a visit yesterday from a lady who claims to
be a distant relation of my late client. I am verifying
the particulars which she gave me, and, if they prove to
be correct, I shall advise her to apply for letters of ad-
ministration of Mr. Lessingham's estate."
"Which means, I suppose, that she'll become his heir.
But what about that will of Mr. Purvis's which you
mentioned to me?"
"It will be for the executors under that will to op-
pose this lady's application. The courts will then have
to decide the question of priority of death. It will
prove, I imagine, a very puzzling and intricate case."
The professional relish with which the solicitor spoke
was not lost upon Hanslet. There would be some pretty
fat pickings for Mr. Farrant, he thought.
"It seems a difficult point to decide," he said. "Who
is the lady, by the way?"
"Her name is Mrs. Ellingwood. She was Miss Joan
Singer, and her mother and Mr. Lessingham were
cousins. Some years ago she married a naval officer,
Lieutenant Ellingwood, who has since retired."
Hanslet felt a faint quickening of his interest.
Somebody had been talking to him about retired naval
officers quite recently. Who was it? Why, Drake, of
course, as they were standing above the quarry.
"Where do they live?" he asked.
The solicitor turned to a pad which lay on his desk.
"The address that Mrs. Ellingwood gave me was
Highcroft Poultry Farm, Slowford, Somerset," he re-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
185
plied.
Fortunately for Hanslet, the solicitor was somewhat
shortsighted, and did not notice his visitor's sudden
start.
"There is no reason to doubt Mrs. Ellingwood's state-
ment," he continued. "She told me that although she
had herself not seen Mr. Lessingham for many years,
since they were both children, in fact, her husband had
met him comparatively recently, not more than three
weeks ago," she said.
This was getting more and more interesting. But
Hanslet guessed that any display of inquisitiveness on
his part would probably arouse the solicitor's suspi-
cion.
"Indeed," he said politely. "Mr. Ellingwood would
naturally call upon his wife's relations if he happened
to be in London."
"From what Mrs. Ellingwood let drop, I gather that
her husband's visit to Mr. Lessingham was with a defi-
nite object," the solicitor replied confidentially. "It
seems that Mr. and Mrs. Ellingwood own this poultry
farm in Somersetshire, and that they require capital
for extensions. Mr. Ellingwood put a proposition be-
fore Mr. Lessingham, but apparently nothing was set-
tled then. A further meeting was to take place. I
think that Mrs. Ellingwood intended to see Mr. Les-
singham herself.
"Mrs. Ellingwood told me that they knew nothing of
Mr. Lessingham's death until they saw my advertise-
ment. Her husband had been away for a few days, and
she said she had not had time to read the papers. In


186
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
fact it was her husband who saw the advertisement, the
day after his return home, and they decided that Mrs.
Ellingwood, as the claimant, had better come and see
me at once."
Hanslet carefully refrained from asking questions.
He had heard enough to give him ample food for
thought for the present. "I'm glad that you have
found the next of kin, Mr. Farrant," he said carelessly,
as he took his leave of the solicitor. "You'll keep me in
touch with the developments, won't you?"
From Bedford Row he went straight to Cawdor
Street. Orchard opened the door to him and greeted
him respectfully. Hanslet stared hard at him for a
moment, but could detect no signs of uneasiness in his
manner.
"Look here, Orchard," he said abruptly, "do you
know a gentleman by the name of Mr. Ellingwdod?"
The name seemed to produce no particular impres-
sion on Orchard.
"I can't say that I know the gentleman, sir," he re-
plied. "So far as I am aware he has called here once.
That was about three weeks ago."
"He was a friend of Mr. Lessingham's, then?"
"Well, hardly that, sir. When I took his name into
Mr. Lessingham, he said he had never heard of it. But
he said he would see him, sir, just the same. Mr. El-
lingwood stayed quite a long time, a couple of hours at
least. Mr. Lessingham told me afterwards that Mrs.
Ellingwood was a distant connection of his whom he
hadn't seen for years, sir."
"I see. Do you know what their conversation was


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
187
about?"
"Mr. Lessingham did not tell me, sir. But, shortly
before Mr. Ellingwood left, Mr. Lessingham rang for
me to get them drinks. While I was in the room, sir,
they were looking at maps, and talking about the Rally.
I heard Mr. Lessingham tell Mr. Ellingwood that he
had entered for it, and that, if he liked, Mr. Ellingwood
could go with him as his passenger and second driver.
Mr. Purvis had not come home to England then, sir."
"And Mr. Lessingham hadn't thought of George
Love then, eh?" asked Hanslet swiftly.
"Evidently not, sir," replied Orchard without a trace
of embarrassment.
The superintendent left Cawdor Street and returned
to Scotland Yard, where he retired to his own room to
think. The information which he had picked up that
morning inclined him to the opinion that Dr. Priestley's
theory that Lessingham had been murdered was not so
far fetched after all. Putting aside the improbability
of such a thing, Hanslet's difficulty had been to assign
a motive for the crime. And now most unexpectedly
a motive was beginning to emerge.
Here were the Ellingwoods, in need of money, more
desperately in need, probably, than had yet transpired.
They had approached Lessingham, perhaps as a last
resort, in the hope that the ties of blood, however re-
mote, would prove an inducement to him to help them.
According to Mr. Farrant a meeting between Lessing-
ham and Mrs. Ellingwood had been arranged.
And here the superintendent's mind went off at a tan-
gent. Was it possible that that meeting was to have


188
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
taken place at Torquay? Was Mrs. Ellingwood the
sender of that mysterious telegram? If so, how had it
come to be handed in at South Kensington, and why
had Orchard so obviously lied about it? These were
matters that would bear looking into.
But to return to this matter of motive. The result
of Ellingwood's interview may not have been very prom-
ising. Or it may have occurred to him that the surest
way out of his difficulties would be for his wife to in-
herit Lessingham's money. But this would involve Les-
singham dying intestate. Even so, Purvis, not Mrs.
Ellingwood, would be his heir.
Had Ellingwood discovered that Lessingham had not
made a will, and that Purvis was to accompany him on
the Rally? Not at that single interview at Cawdor
Street, surely. But the two men might have met sub-
sequently, at one of the night clubs frequented by Les-
singham, for instance. Probably Ellingwood had made
it his business to find out everything he could.
And from the first, according to Orchard, who, on
this occasion at least, seemed to have been telling the
truth, Ellingwood had known all about the Rally.
Probably Lessingham had discussed with him the route
he should take. In that case, Ellingwood would have
known of his intention of stopping for a few hours at
Moorchester. So would Mrs. Ellingwood for that mat-
ter. But was she a party to her husband's schemes?
The telegram, if indeed she had sent it, would seem to
suggest not.
The more Hanslet considered the theory of Elling-
wood having been the murderer, not only of Lessingham
-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
189
but of Purvis as well, the more plausible it seemed to
him. How should anybody else have known of that
particular quarry? On the other hand how convenient
it was for Ellingwood's purpose. But for the gipsies,
the chances were that the car would never have been
found. Perhaps Ellingwood had intended in the course
of time to dissect it, as a surgeon dissects a body, and
to bury the pieces.
There were objections, of course, as there always
must be to any theory. For the present the superin-
tendent was not worrying about the way in which the
apparent accident had been engineered. He felt pretty
certain that Dr. Priestley would be able to explain this
sooner or later. But it was rather difficult to under-
stand how Ellingwood knew exactly where to lay his
hands upon Mr. Chalk's car. No doubt that would be
discovered by careful investigation.
Investigation, that was the thing. But there was
precious little to go upon as yet. The first thing to
do was clearly to find out full particulars of the Elling-
woods' movements during the past three weeks. That
was more or less in the nature of routine work, which
would be delegated to subordinates. Drake seemed a
good fellow; he would lend a hand without asking too
many questions.
But there was one thing that Hanslet determined to
see to himself. He put a call through to an office in
Fleet Street, and in a very short time an alert-looking
young man was seated in the superintendent's room,
notebook in hand. The result of this interview was
that the newspapers on the following day contained an


190
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
inconspicuous paragraph.
"In connection with the motor-car accident on March
3rd near Westernham, resulting in the loss of two lives,
the police are anxious to get into touch with the sender
of a telegram to Mr. Aubrey Lessingham, the driver of
the car involved. The telegram was addressed, 'Les-
singham, Imperial Hotel, Moorchester,' and was handed
in at South Kensington post office at 6.12 p.m. on
March 2nd. Information should be given to Superin-
tendent Hanslet, New Scotland Yard, London, or to
any police station."
"That ought to do the trick," said the superintend-
ent to himself, as he read the paragraph. "There's
nothing to alarm Mrs. Ellingwood in that, even if she
is in the know, which I don't somewhat expect she is.
Much better than confronting her with the wire, and
asking her outright if she sent it. That would look as
though we had suspicions. If she admits sending it, it
will give us an excuse to ask questions about Lessing-
ham, and so of finding out how intimate her husband
was with him."
From which it will be seen that Hanslet was begin-
ning to be sure of his line of action. The word "love"
at the end of the telegram had surprised him at first.
Would Mrs. Ellingwood, who, by her own account, had
not seen Lessingham for years, have added this endear-
ment? But perhaps the two had corresponded since her
husband's visit! Perhaps they had been fond of each
other as children, and she had added the word in mem-
ory of old times. The ways of women were incal-
culable in the superintendent's experience.


CHAPTER XV
Superintendent Hanslet could not conceal his de-
light at finding himself once more in the presence of
Dr. Priestley.
"I'm awfully glad you've got back, Professor!" he
exclaimed, as soon as he was well inside the door. "I've
got some news for you. I believe I know who it was
that was responsible for Lessingham's death."
Dr. Priestley's eyes twinkled.
"Indeed?" he replied. "Then my theory has proved
to be not so ridiculous as it appeared to you at first
sight?"
"I'm sorry if I seemed a bit incredulous that evening.
But you must admit, Professor, that you sprang it on
me a bit suddenly. As I told you I meant to, I went
down to Slowford next day, and there—"
"You will pardon my interrupting you, Superintend-
ent," Dr. Priestley put in quietly. "Lunch is waiting
for us. You can give your news in the dining room."
Dr. Priestley was something of an epicure in his way,
and meals at his house in Westbourne Terrace were al-
ways excellent and leisurely. Hanslet set to work upon
the hors d'oeuvres with gusto.
"Had a good time while you were away, Professor?"
he asked, as he selected an olive.
"Harold and I have enjoyed a most instructive visit
to Moorchester," replied Dr. Priestley. "In the course
193


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
193
rather counting upon you to help me out there."
Dr. Priestley paused as though choosing his words
before he spoke.
"I will not disguise from you the object of my visit
to Moorchester," he said at last. "I wished to ascer-
tain whether a theory I had formed as to the cause of
the accident, as we must continue to term it for the
present, could stand the test of actual fact. In the
light of the experiments which I carried out, I am now
satisfied, up to a point. There remain certain coi nd-
erations of a technical nature. An actual demonstra-
tion would probably throw light upon them."
"This sounds promising, Professor. How can the
demonstration be arranged?"
"I was about to suggest that, when we have finished
lunch, Harold and I should accompany you to Scotland
Yard. If a car and an expert driver could there be
placed at our disposal for a short time, the results
would probably be most instructive."
"There won't be any difficulty about that," the su-
perintendent replied readily. "I suppose you won't
tell me what you want to do with them? A bit of recon-
struction work, eh?"
"I have found by experience that the most certain
way to prejudice the success of an experiment is to de-
scribe beforehand the results that may be expected
from it," replied Dr. Priestley urbanely.
Hanslet did not venture to refer to the matter again
until lunch was over and Dr. Priestley had finished his
usual cup of coffee. Then, at the latter's suggestion,
the three of them entered a taxi and drove to Scotland


196
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
Yard.
Once there, the superintendent felt rather more in
his element.
"Now, then, Professor," he said, "I'll have a car and
driver ready in a couple of shakes. Will you stay here,
or come up to my room?"
They were standing in the courtyard, a considerable
open space with a smooth and level surface. Dr.
Priestley looked closely at this, and then at the sky.
"There does not appear to be any likelihood of a
shower," he replied. "Is there by any chance a quan-
tity of sand or some similar substance available?"
Hanslet frowned slightly. If such a thing had been
within the bounds of possibility, he would have thought
that the professor was pulling his leg.
"Sand?" he replied. "I don't know, I'm sure. I'll
find out. If you don't mind my asking, Professor, it
would help things along a bit if I knew what you
wanted it for."
"The success of the experiment depends upon the
wheel tracks made by the car being visible," said Dr.
Priestley curtly.
"Oh, I see. Well, we'll soon fix that up for you," re-
plied the superintendent. He gave an order to an at-
tendant officer, and in a short time a gang of men were
busily engaged in scattering sand over the surface of
the courtyard.
"A patch thirty yards long by ten wide should be
ample," remarked Dr. Priestley. "Meanwhile, this is
the car, I suppose?"
He turned to where an open four-seater was wait-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
197
ing, and surveyed the uniformed driver over the rim
of his spectacles. The man saluted nervously, and
looked at the superintendent for guidance.
"That's the car, Professor," replied Hanslet. "What
is it that you want the driver to do?"
"I want him to place his car facing the sanded patch,
and about forty yards from it," said the professor.
The driver manoeuvred his car into the required posi-
tion. When he had done so, Dr. Priestley beckoned to
Harold.
"I want you to look at the steering connections of
this car," he said. "Point out to the superintendent
and myself the pin corresponding to the one which has
been replaced on Mr. Chalk's car."
Harold bent down and examined the rods and pins.
"The arrangement here isn't quite the same as that
on the Comet," he said, "but the pin on the front end
of the rod between the steering arm and the tie-rod cor-
responds as nearly as possible."
"Very well. Now, can you remove that pin for us?"
"I could do it in a moment, sir, if I had the tools,"
replied Harold, looking inquiringly at the superin-
tendent.
"What tools do you want?" asked Hanslet. "I'll
send for them, if you'll describe them."
"No, no, surely that should not be necessary," inter-
posed Dr. Priestley. "Is there not a tool-kit carried
on the car?"
The driver jumped out, produced a tool-kit, and of-
fered it to Harold, who unrolled it. He selected a span-
ner and a pair of pliers, and set to work on the pin. In


198
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
a couple of minutes or so he had extracted it.
"Let me see it, my boy," said Dr. Priestley. He took
the pin, and turned it over in his hands. His inspection
seemed to satisfy him, for he nodded encouragingly.
Then he took a sheet of stiff paper from his pocket, and
rolled it up into a cylinder of the same diameter as the
pin.
"That should serve our purpose, I think," he said.
"Now, my boy, will you insert this paper in such a way
that it will replace the pin which you have just ex-
tracted?"
When Harold had done so, Dr. Priestley turned to
the driver.
"Now, I want you to listen carefully to my instruc-
tions," he said. "When I give the word, drive straight
towards the sanded patch in front of you, accelerating
to as high a speed as possible in the space at your dis-
posal. When your front wheels reach the sand, give
your steering wheel a sharp wrench to the right. You
will then find, in all probability, that you have lost con-
trol of the steering. When you feel that you have done
so, apply your brakes, but not too violently."
The driver saluted.
"Very good, sir," he replied phlegmatically. Dr.
Priestley, followed by the superintendent and Harold,
took up his position at a safe distance from the sanded
patch.
"Go!" he exclaimed.
The driver raced his engine, let in his clutch, and had
attained quite a respectable speed by the time he
reached the sand. Then he turned the steering wheel


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
199
sharply, thus wrenching the paper pin from its hold.
The front wheels of the car wobbled alarmingly, and
by the time the driver could pull up, the car had
swerved clean off the prepared patch.
"Excellent!" exclaimed Dr. Priestley. "A most suc-
cessful demonstration. Now, Superintendent, let me
show you something else."
He produed an envelope, from which he extracted a
set of photographs. They were those taken by Ser-
geant Showerby of the tracks after the accident.
"Compare these tracks with those which have just
been made on the sand," he continued.
There was no denying that they were almost exactly
similar. The car which Lessingham had been driving
had proceeded rather further before taking the final
swerve, probably owing to the greater speed at which
it had been travelling. But in other respects the photo-
graphs showed tracks almost exactly similar to those
made by the police car.
They repeated the experiment half a dozen times, al-
ways with much the same result. In every case there
was the same characteristic wobble, and the final swerve.
And at last, when Dr. Priestley was completely satis-
fied, the pin was replaced and the car and driver dis-
missed.
"Well, Professor, I see what you were driving at,"
said the superintendent. "The accident to Lessingham
took place owing to the steering pin, or whatever you
call it, breaking or falling out. That's it, isn't it?"
"Breaking, I expect," replied Dr. Priestley. "It
would be an easier matter to contrive. Now, if you are


200
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
still interested, I suggest that we pay a visit to the
works of the Comet Motor Company, and examine Mr.
Chalk's car in the light of the information which we
have just acquired."
Once more they took a taxi, and drove out to the
Comet Works in London. There they found that work
had already begun on Mr. Chalk's car. The body had
already been removed, and the chassis was in process
of being stripped. The engineer in charge placed him-
self at their disposal, and informed them that the steer-
ing gear had not yet been touched.
"You discovered that a steering pin has been re-
placed at some time, I believe," said Hanslet. "Would
you mind taking it out for us?"
The engineer agreed, and set to work. As he did so,
Dr. Priestley spread a sheet of paper on the ground
under the joint. As the pin was extracted, a few par-
ticles of mud fell upon this. The professor wrapped
them up carefully in the paper, and put it in his pocket.
Then he turned to the engineer, who had watched him
in puzzled astonishment.
"Is that pin one of your standard spare parts?" he
asked.
"Yes, sir, there's no doubt about that," replied the
engineer. "It's got our mark on it."
Dr. Priestley then proceeded to examine the socket
from which the pin had been taken. He spread a sec-
ond sheet of paper, scraped round the socket with a
sharp pocket-knife, and collected the particles thus dis-
lodged. Finally, he wrapped the pin itself in a third
sheet of paper.


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
201
"That is all, I think," he said at last. "There is
nothing to detain us any longer. You will want to re-
turn to Scotland Yard, I expect, Superintendent. You
can drop Harold and me at Westbourne Terrace on
your way."
During the drive back Dr. Priestley refused to dis-
cuss the case any further. It was not until they reached
his door that he suggested, almost casually, that Hans-
let should visit him after dinner that evening. "Unless,
of course, you have other calls on your time," he added.
"I'll come along right enough, Professor," exclaimed
Hanslct eagerly. "I'm not clear yet how that accident
was managed."
"Is that so?" replied Dr. Priestley. "I hope to be
able to explain it in detail by the time we next meet."
The rest of the afternoon the professor spent in his
study with a microscope. It was not until shortly be-
fore dinner that he summoned Harold to put his ap-
paratus away. By that time he had prepared a number
of slides, each carefully labelled.
The superintendent turned up almost indecently
early, an expectant look in his eyes. But Dr. Priestley
seemed in no hurry to begin his explanation. As he
sipped his coffee he talked at length of the beauty of
the country round Moorchester. And so, by slow and
irritating degrees, he came to the object of his visit to
the town.
"You may be interested in a full account of the ob-
servations which I was enabled to make there, Superin-
tendent," he said. "Harold, will you spread out the
map on that table, so that the superintendent can fol-


202
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
low my descriptions."
* Hanslet listened, while Harold pointed out on the
map the various places mentioned by his employer.
"By Jove, Professor," he said at last, "you seem to
have had a pretty good idea what you were looking for.
But I wish you'd tell me what all this means, for I am
bound to say I don't understand exactly what hap-
pened, even yet."
"I think that the results of the investigations which
we have made establish the cause of Lessingham's death,
almost conclusively," replied the professor. "Perhaps,
however, I had better explain the chain of my reason-
ing, link by link.
"I started with the following assumption: Mr.
Chalk's car had been stolen, and substituted for Les-
singham's, in order that Lessingham should be killed
while driving it. It followed, therefore, that Mr.
Chalk's car had in some way been rendered dangerous
to its driver. But expert examination of the car, after
it had been found wrecked by Mr. Wcldon and his
friends, revealed no defect which would account for the
accident.
"If my assumption was correct, this meant that the
defect which had been the cause of the accident had
been remedied since then, and before Mr. Weldon's car
arrived on the scene. And, since the time available had
been extremely short, not more than half an hour, the
work must have been capable of being performed very
rapidly.
"Now, unlikely though it seemed that anybody had
been on the scene of the accident before Mr. Weldon, I


204
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
our from the rest of the chassis, had been found on Mr.
Chalk's car, that I formed a theory how the accident
might have been caused.
"We saw this afternoon that the failure of this pin
would cause a car to behave as these photographs show
the car driven by Lessingham to have behaved. But
how could such a failure be controlled? This was the
question I set out to investigate and I believe now that
I have found the answer.
"Having stolen Mr. Chalk's car, the criminal drove it
down the same night to the wood near Hedgeworth
where the spanner was found. It is established that at
that time the original steering pin was in position. The
criminal proceeded to extract this, and to replace it
with one of his own manufacture. He used the tool-kit
kept on the car, and, while he was doing so, the spanner
we found fell from it. You saw for yourself this after-
noon that the removal of the pin was a rapid and simple
process.
"Now, without the pin, the car could not be steered
at all. The criminal had therefore^ to replace it with
something which would fulfil his requirements. This
substituted pin must be strong enough to allow him to
drive the car to Moorchester; also Lessingham must be
able to drive some distance out of the town. In fact,
the pin must not fail until Lessingham was travelling
at a high speed.
"Before stealing Mr. Chalk's car, the criminal pro-
vided himself with a spare pin. This is a standard com-
ponent, and could, I suppose, be obtained from any
agent for Comet cars. With this pin as a model, he


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP 205
made an imitation, and then painted the heads of both
a colour as near as he could mix to Comet grey.
"But of what did he make his imitation? It was in
order to answer that question that I visited the Comet
Works this afternoon. As you saw, I collected the
debris that remained when the pin had been extracted.
This I examined under the microscope. I found it to
consist mainly of particles of grit. But among these
were traces of short woody fibre, and of a substance
akin to putty.
"It seemed to me that a wooden pin would have been
too strong. It might not have failed for a considerable
distance. On the other hand, a putty pin would not
have resisted the slightest strain. I was puzzled until
I remembered the substance known as plastic wood.
This is sold in tins, and in its original condition can be
moulded like clay. On exposure to air it hardens rap-
idly, and assumes the appearance of wood. It can be
worked like wood, but does not possess the same resist-
ance to fracture.
"This, as the slides which I have prepared show, was
the material of which the imitation was made. It was
ideal for the criminal's purpose. It can be procured at
any ironmonger's, and it can be worked into any shape
with the simplest tools. Further, when set, it possesses
sufficient strength, but not too much.
"Having inserted the imitation pin, the criminal
drove Mr. Chalk's car to the Moorchester control dur-
ing Wednesday night. Here he substituted it for Les-
singham's, and drove the latter away. At the time of
the substitution, of course, he transferred the articles


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
207
using the pin which he had removed previously. Per-
haps he had damaged it in some way in removing it and
was afraid that this would attract attention subse-
quently.
"At this stage a point arises, which may or may not
prove to be significant. No maps of any kind were
found in the car. We believe that Lessingham pos-
sessed maps, for Orchard says that he saw him show
them to Mr. Ellingwood. If so, it is highly probable
that he took them with him on the Rally. Did the crim-
inal remove them from the car after the accident, and
if so, what was his object in doing so?"
"That doesn't strike me as being particularly im-
portant," remarked Hanslet, as Dr. Priestley paused.
"But I'm bound to admit that I can't find a hole in your
theory. That's what happened right enough. We can
prove it, almost step by step. I can't say how much
I'm obliged to you, Professor. I've got a cast iron case
against the fellow now."
"I am very glad that you regard the matter in that
light," replied Dr. Priestley. "It only remains to iden-
tify the criminal."
"And I don't think there'll be a lot of difficulty about
that," said Hanslet, with a satisfied smile.
The superintendent took the cigarette which Harold
offered him and lighted it deliberately.
"I'll see the chief first thing in the morning," he
said. "I haven't said anything to him yet, because I
wanted to be able to explain how those poor fellows
were murdered before I raised the hare. It's not at all
a bad thing that that fool coroner returned a verdict of


208
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
accidental death. It will have put the fellow off his
guard."
"You are hardly yet in a position to apply for a
warrant, are you?" asked Dr. Priestley, with a ghost of
a smile.
"I'm not far off it, Professor. This is how I look
at it. The only imaginable motive was Lessingham's
money. He had made no will, and his estate would go
to his next of kin. Now, this was Purvis. But since
Purvis was with Lessingham all the time, he can't have
been the criminal. That's logical enough, isn't it?"
"I am afraid that I cannot conscientiously answer
that question in the affirmative," replied Dr. Priestley.
"Well, anyhow, Professor, it's common sense. Now,
the fact that Purvis was with Lessingham was very con-
venient for the criminal. It was no use his killing Les-
singham and leaving Purvis alive to snap up his money.
Purvis had to be killed too. If the car could be suc-
cessfully wrecked, the two would be polished off at once.
Two birds with one stone.
"Of course, all that lawyers' stuff about which died
first complicates things a bit. I don't suppose the
criminal thought of that. As he saw it, Mrs. Elling-
wood was the next heir."
"Therefore her husband must irrefutably have been
the criminal," remarked Dr. Priestley, with almost su-
perhuman gravity.
Hanslet glanced at him sharply. Even after the
years he had known him, he was never quite sure of the
professor's meaning.
"It's a good enough assumption to start off with,


210
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
the intervening day skulking in the wood near Hedge-
worth. He was on the spot directly after the smash,
round about five o'clock on the morning of the third.
Have you got a small scale map of England handy,
Professor?"
"Harold will find you one," replied Dr. Priestley.
"The one on a scale of eight miles to an inch will be
the best."
Harold found the map and spread it out. The su-
perintendent took a foot rule from his pocket, and laid
it on the map.
"It's thirteen inches from Westernham to Slowford,"
he said. "That's a hundred and four miles as the crow
flies. If we say a hundred and thirty or a hundred and
forty by road, we shan't be far out. It's a rough and
ready method, but it's near enough for the purpose.
Say four hours' drive at the most, in a fast car.
"Now it's pretty clear to me what the criminal did.
He drove straight from the scene of the smash to Slow-
ford. Why shouldn't he? He was all right. Even if
the description of Mr. Chalk's car had been circulated
by then, which was most unlikely, he ran no risk. Sup-
posing he had been held up and questioned? He was
driving Lessingham's car, and could prove it, and of
course, the news of Lessingham's death did not spread
until some time later.
"By nine o'clock he would have reached Slowford.
It's a pretty desolate spot, but, even allowing for that, I
don't believe that anyone would have crashed the car
in the quarry in broad daylight. Too much chance of
someone being about and seeing or hearing something.


CHAPTER XVI
Although by now Hanslet was pretty well convinced
that Dr. Priestley was correct, and that Lessingham
had been a victim rather than a criminal, he had never
relaxed the watch that had been set upon his rooms in
Cawdor Street. For one thing, he was not at all satis-
fied about Orchard. That Orchard was withholding in-
formation of some kind he felt pretty certain. It was
quite likely that he knew more about the affair than he
had chosen to disclose. In any case, Hanslet considered
that nothing would be lost, and something might be
gained, by keeping an eye on him.
So the rooms were watched day and night, and the tel-
ephone in particular was kept under observation. But
since Hanslet's first visit to Cawdor Street, Orchard
had shown no disposition to communicate with any-
body. He had received no visitors except Mr. Parrant,
who had called once or twice presumably in connection
with his client's affairs. Apart from this single visitor,
Orchard had lived the life of a recluse. He had emerged
regularly every morning, made a few necessary pur-
chases in Shepherd Market, and retired once more to
his fastness. The officers detailed for the task of watch-
ing him were getting heartity sick of their job.
And then at last, on the evening of Hanslet's visit to
Westbourne Terrace, something happened to relieve the
monotony of their vigil. A woman tightly wrapped in
212


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
213
a heavy fur coat, so that her features were quite indis-
tinguishable, had appeared at the end of Cawdor Street
at half past eleven. Seeing nobody about, for the
watcher was hidden in the shadows some little distance
away, she had hurried to the door of Number 14 and
had rung the bell.
The watcher on duty, an intelligent young man of
the name of Bradder, had crept up as close as he dared.
The woman had huddled into the doorway, as though to
escape observation. So for three or four seconds, the
two stood motionless, forty yards or more of quiet street
separating them.
Then a window at the top of the building opened,
and Orchard's head appeared. He said nothing, but
craned his neck out of the window. The woman, hear-
ing the sound, stepped back, so that Orchard could
see her.
Not a word was spoken, but Orchard's head disap-
peared instantly, and the woman swiftly resumed her
former position. A minute passed and then the door
opened furtively. Bradder could see Orchard's outline,
clad in an overcoat. It was probably his substitute for
a dressing gown, thought Bradder. It looked very
much as though he had not expected his visitor. A
whispered colloquy took place which Bradder could not
hear. But it seemed as though Orchard was trying to
persuade the woman to go away, while she insisted upon
entering the house.
Apparently her arguments prevailed, for she slipped
into the house, and the door closed behind her. Brad-
der waited no longer. He raced to the nearest tele-


214
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
phone box and rang up the Yard. His call was trans-
ferred to Dr. Priestley's number. It was Bradder's
hurried report which had been the cause of the super-
intendent's unceremonious departure from Westbourne
Terrace.
Hanslet hailed a passing taxi.
"The end of Cawdor Street, and drive like hell," he
said to the driver as he jumped in. There was not
much traffic about, and the taxi man made excellent
time. At the corner of Cawdor Street he pulled up be-
hind another taxi which was standing there. Hanslet
glanced at it curiously and noticed that the flag was
down.
"What are you doing here?" he asked brusquely.
The driver of the second taxi turned slowly in his
seat and looked at him.
"And what business might that be of yours, guv'»
nor?" he asked.
"It'll be bad business for you if you talk like that to
me," retorted Hanslet savagely. "I'm an officer of
Scotland Yard. Now then, out with it."
"Beg pardon, sir, I'm sure," said the taxi man. "I'm
not doing no harm, I'm just waiting for a lady what's
paying a call up the street. She told me to wait here,
and that she wouldn't be more than a few minutes."
"Where did you pick her up?"
"She called me off the rank outside South Kensing-
ton Station, sir."
"Right. Now listen to me. Wait for her till she
comes back. She'll probably be more than a few min-
utes, but I can't help that. Drive her back to wherever


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
215
she tells you, and see that you don't breathe a word
to her that I've spoken to you. And then come on to
the Yard and report where you dropped her. Ask for
Superintendent Hanslet. If he's not there, they'll take
a message. Understand?"
Having noted the man's number, in case he should
not carry out these instructions, Hanslet walked up the
street towards the number 14. As he did so, a shadow
detached itself from the gloom and glided up to him.
"Woman's still there, sir," it whispered.
"Good man, Bradder," said the superintendent.
"I'll have a word with her. What's she like?"
"Couldn't see her face, sir. She was all muffled up.
But I should say she was a youngish woman, by the
way she moved along, sir."
"Well, we'll soon find out. You stay here outside the
door. If either of them tries to make a bolt for it ar-
rest them. I'm going in."
The superintendent walked up to the door, placed his
finger on the bell, and kept it there. For a few seconds
the house remained silent. Then a window, this time
on the first floor, was raised softly.
"Is that you, Orchard?" said the superintendent
sternly. "Come down and open this door, and look
sharp about it."
"Why, it's Superintendent Hanslet!" exclaimed
Orchard. "Very good, sir, I'll be down in a couple of
shakes."
But it was fully a minute before the door opened, and
Orchard appeared in an overcoat and a pair of bed-
room slippers. His expression was one of pained sur-


216
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS , A TRAP
prise, but it seemed to Hanslet that his eyes looked
craftier than ever.
"Beg pardon, sir, for keeping you waiting," he said.
"But you see I was just going to bed when you rang."
"I always knew you were a liar, Orchard," replied
Hanslet equably. "I want a little chat with you in
Mr. Lessingham's sitting room. No, I'd rather you
went up first if you don't mind. That's right."
Very reluctantly Orchard went upstairs, Hanslet
close on his heels. The lights were on in the sitting
room and Hanslet fancied that he detected a faint
aroma of scent. But of Orchard's visitor there was no
trace.
Hanslet left the door wide open, and sat down in a
chair close beside it.
"Well, Orchard, and who's the lady?" he asked.
Orchard's eycs narrowed. Clearly it was useless to
deny the presence of his mysterious visitor. Yet for a
moment he hesitated, while the superintendent watched
him with a scornful smile. Then Orchard's eyes fell.
"I'm very sorry about it, sir," he said. "I shouldn't
like it to come to Mr. Farrant's ears, sir. I don't know
that he would understand it exactly, if you know what
I mean, sir. But it's only my cousin, sir, that's just
dropped in to see me for a moment. And I'm sure I
don't know how you came to know she was here, sir."
"Your cousin, eh?" replied Hanslet, raising his voice
slightly. "And she comes to see you at this time of
night? But perhaps she can't get away in the day-
time. Where does she live, this cousin of yours?"
"She's a dressmaker's assistant, sir, and she lives in


218
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
shutting the door behind him. His footsteps died
slowly away up the stairs, leaving the room in tense
silence. She was the first to break it.
"This is an unexpected meeting, Superintendent,"
she said lightly. "But, as it happens, it is merely an
anticipation of a few hours. When you came in I had
just made up my mind to come and see you tomorrow
morning."
Hanslet had resumed his chair by the door. He felt
awkward and ill at ease. Women of this type were
rather outside his experience. He felt half inclined
to open the window and call to Bradder to join him.
But in that case Orchard might slip out and disappear.
He would have to go through with it alone.
"What did you wish to see me about?" he asked
abruptly.
She opened her bag and produced a newspaper cut-
ting.
"I expect you recognize this," she said, holding it up.
"I was the person who sent the telegram to Aubrey
Lessingham at the Imperial Hotel, Moorchester."
Somehow Hanslet had not expected this. She had
spoken casually as though it were a matter of no mo-
ment. And when she had done so, she took out a ciga-
rette and lighted it with studied unconcern.
"Would you mind telling me the contents of the tele-
gram?" asked Hanslet.
"I forget the exact wording," she replied. "It was
merely to tell Aubrey that I should not be able to meet
him at Torquay as we had arranged."
'"You had arranged to meet Mr. Lessingham then?"


220
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
still retain any trace of human feelings?" she contin-
ued, in a detached voice, as though the question were
wholly impersonal. "I'm going to chance it, anyhow.
It doesn't seem as if I'd much option now. As I told
you, I had known Aubrey for a long time. And then—
well, my husband got jealous, and made a scene about
it. And if he knew that I had arranged to meet Au-
brey at Torquay, he would make things very unpleas-
ant for both himself and me. You see, he's still in love
with me, is my husband."
Hanslet was beginning to understand the situation
now. From his point of view the telegram had ceased
to be of importance. Merely an incident in a clan-
destine love affair. But still, there were matters in con-
nection with it which required explanation.
"There is one question I must ask you, Mrs. Bur-
ford," he said gravely. "When I showed Orchard the
telegram, he first of all said that he did not know who
had sent it, and then made up a ridiculous story to ac-
count for it. Why did he do this?"
"It was perfectly true that he knew nothing of the
telegram, for I did not tell him I had sent it," she re-
plied. "And then, when you showed it him, he guessed
at once who had sent it. Poor Orchard! He did his
best on the spur of the moment, but the mythical
George Love must have sounded a bit thin. You see,
I had begged him to keep my name out of it, at all
costs."
"You had seen him since the accident?" inquired
Hanslet sharply.
"As soon as I heard that Aubrey had been killed I


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
221
came straight round here. That was on the Thursday
evening. I saw the news in the evening papers. Or-
chard knew me well enough, and when I had shown him
the paper, he agreed to help me at once."
"Help you with what, Mrs. Burford?"
She looked at him with a faint smile, as though
amused at his simplicity.
"Why, don't you see, there might have been letters
and a photograph or two? I knew that somebody
would go through Aubrey's things, and I didn't want
anything of mine to be found. I certainly didn't imag-
ine that the police would search these rooms. I thought
it would be Mr. Farrant or somebody like that."
So Hanslet's original suspicions had been correct.
He had been pretty sure, on his first visit, that some-
body had been through the rooms before he arrived on
the scene. This remarkably self-possessed woman, look-
ing for compromising letters? But was that all she had
taken?
"Did you find any letters?" he asked.
"I found a dozen or two, and some photographs,
which I took home and burnt. And I was careful to
see that they were completely destroyed."
"And you removed nothing whatever from these
rooms except those letters and photographs?"
"Nothing whatever. Why should I? All I wanted
was to make sure that nobody would find anything of
mine here."
"You mentioned Mr. Farrant just now, Mrs. Bur-
ford. Do you know him?"
"I have never met him. But Aubrey often spoke of
s


DR. PRIESTLEY 1AYS A TRAP
223
And then abruptly he asked:
"When did you last see Mr. Lessingham?"
She looked at him steadily.
"I dined with him here on the Friday before the
Rally," she replied. "It was then that we arranged to
meet on the following Friday, at Torquay."
"How was it that you were unable to keep the ap-
pointment, Mrs. Burford?"
She flicked off her cigarette ash with an impatient
gesture.
"Surely it's enough that I found myself unable to
go?" she replied.
"It is my duty to investigate the facts," said Hanslet
quietly. "If you refuse to give them to me, I must seek
them elsewhere."
Her eyes flickered at this, and Hanslet knew that he
had scored his point.
"Well, if you must know," she said, with studied
carelessness, "I thought my husband would be away
from home when I made the arrangement. He was to
have been abroad all that week. There's nothing un-
usual in that; he often has to go abroad on business.
He went on Monday, but on Wednesday I got a wire
from him, from Boulogne, saying that he would be
home on Thursday. I wired Aubrey at once; I knew
where to catch him; and that was that."
"And did your husband actually come home on
Thursday?"
"Oh, yes. He's a most punctual person. He came
home to lunch, and then went back to his office. He
told me that he had some arrears of work to make up,


224 DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
that he would dine at his club, and would not be home
till late. It was lucky for me, for otherwise I should
never have dared to come here when I read of Aubrey's
death."
"May I ask you what brought you here tonight, Mrs.
Burford?"
Hanslet fancied that she smiled faintly.
"You are the cause of that, Superintendent. When
I came here on the night of Aubrey's death, Orchard
promised to keep in touch with me, and let me know
that everything was all right. I was terrified that I
might have overlooked something, and that my name
might crop up. I never thought that my telegram to
Aubrey could have been found, or I should have been
worried to death.
"I couldn't think how it was that I heard nothing
from Orchard. He never wrote to me or rang me up.
I didn't like to ring him up, for fear that Mr. Farrant
or somebody might be here at the time. And I didn't
want to come round again myself, in case somebody
should see me. It wasn't until I risked it and came
round this evening that he told me he hadn't dared to
communicate with me, as the police had been here next
day and the house had been watched ever since."
So Orchard had been cunning enough to find that
out, thought Hanslet.
"These rooms have been watched because I considered
Orchard's manner highly suspicious when I questioned
him," he said severely. "You came here to consult him
as to the notice in the newspapers about your telegram,
I suppose?"


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
225
"Yes, partly. I was terribly upset when I saw it. I
didn't know what to do. If I went to you and told you
that I had sent it, I was putting myself entirely in your
hands. And if I kept quiet and said nothing, I thought
you might find out somehow, and then my husband
would be bound to hear of it.
"So I came here to ask Orchard what he thought.
He was terribly upset when he saw me, for he knew
I had run my head into the trap. However, I made him
let me in, and he told me about your visit, and what he
had said to you about the telegram. You know the rest.
Now, Superintendent, what are you going to do about
it?"
There was no concealing the anxiety which underlay
this last question. She had lost the careless, self-confi-
dent expression which she had maintained hitherto, and
sat watching Hanslet expectantly, with eyes from
which the tears were not far distant.
Hanslet paused before he replied. He knew well
enough what she meant. Was there, after all, any
necessity to drag her intrigue into the light of day?
She clearly had no suspicion that Lessingham had been
murdered. The telegram had been merely incidental,
and had played no part in the tragedy.
"So long as you can convince me of the truth of what
you have told me, I see no reason to trouble your hus-
band in the matter," he said at last.
Her relief expressed itself in a hysterical laugh,
which she repressed immediately.
"You don't know how grateful I am for that!" she
exclaimed unsteadily. "You don't know what it would


226
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
mean to me if my husband found out, now that Au-
brey's dead. I swear I've told you nothing that isn't
true. I'll do anything, anything, to prove it."
Hanslet tore a leaf from his notebook. Then he
handed her this and a pencil.
"Thank you, Mrs. Burford," he said. "Now, will
you please write this? 'I declare that I am the sender
of the telegram addressed Lessingham Imperial Hotel
Moorchester, which was handed in at South Kensington
at six p.m. on March second, and was worded, "Cannot
meet you at Torquay as we arranged love." '"
Without hesitation she picked up the pencil and
wrote the required words.
"Now will you sign it, please," continued Hanslet.
"It is for official use only, and will be treated in the
strictest confidence. Thank you."
He took the signed sheet of paper and put it in his
notebook.
"Just one more question, and then I need not detain
you any longer, Mrs. Burford. Do you know anybody
of the name of Ellingwood?"
Hanslet was watching her carefully as he put the
question. She shook her head, and then a light of mem-
ory came into her eyes.
"That's the married name of that distant connection
of Aubrey's that I was telling you about!" she ex-
claimed. "No, I have never met either her or her hus-
band. Didn't I tell you that Aubrey told me that he
hadn't seen her himself since he was a child?"
"I thought perhaps that you might have come
across Mr. or Mrs. Ellingwood," said Hanslet casually.


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
227
"Now, Mrs. Burford, perhaps you will allow me to
escort you to the taxi which you have waiting?"
She smiled, and held out her hand towards him.
"You've been more generous towards me than I de-
serve, Mr. Hanslet," she said. "Believe me, I shall
never forget it. I should feel it an honour if you
would give me your arm as far as the taxi."
So, with her fingers resting lightly on his arm, Hans-
let escorted her to the end of the street. He waited
until she had given the address of Shetland Mansions,
and driven off. Then he beckoned to Bradder, who had
again materialized, somewhat in the manner of the
Cheshire Cat.
"You can go home to bed, Bradder," he said.
"There's no point in watching this place any longer."
"Very good, sir. What about Orchard? He hasn't
left the house since you've been in it."
"Orchard can go to hell, for all I care," replied Su-
perintendent Hanslet, shortly.


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
229
be unprofitable to consider them. Suppose, as the su-
perintendent believed at first, that the object of his in-
quiries was merely to identify the thief of Mr. Chalk's
car. If you were engaged upon that, how would you
begin?"
Harold thought a little before he spoke. "It seems
to me, sir, that the thief wanted a car exactly similar to
Mr. Lessingham's. Any car of that particular model
would do, since they are all built to standard. As the
Comet sales manager told us, there are a good many of
them about, especially in the home counties. How did
the thief happen to choose this particular car for his
purpose?"
Harold paused, and glanced at his employer rather
timorously. But Dr. Priestley nodded encouragingly.
"A question you might well ask yourself, my boy,"
he said. "And how would you proceed to answer it?"
"I should say, sir, because he knew when and how it
could conveniently be stolen. This means that he knew
that Mr. Chalk had bought a Comet similar to Les-
singham's. He hadn't much time to find that out, for
Mr. Chalk only took delivery of his car on February
seventeenth. Therefore, it seems likely that the thief
was somebody who had means of keeping Mr. Chalk
under observation. In fact, it is possible that he knew
Mr. Chalk, in some capacity or other."
"Excellent! my boy," exclaimed Dr. Priestley.
"That, I think, is one of the conditions which the thief
must fulfil. But there are others. The procuring of
the spare steering pin, for instance. I do not know
whether it would be possible to trace all those who have


230
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
been issued with these from the Comet Company's
stores. In any case it would be a very lengthy process.
There is, however, another question which I have asked
myself, without being able to suggest a satisfactory
answer."
"What is that, sir?" asked Harold.
"It concerns a point which we have already touched
upon. We cannot say definitely that Lessingham car-
ried a map or maps with him on the Rally. But we
have reason to believe that he possessed a set, and that
none have been found in his rooms. It is not too much
to say that it is highly probable that they were in the
car when he started from Bath.
"Now, what became of them? It is quite possible
that the criminal left them in Lessingham's own car
when he substituted Mr. Chalk's for it. But I think it
highly improbable that he did so. He took care to
transfer everything else, and it is most unlikely that he
neglected an item of such importance as the maps. I
believe that he removed them when he visited the car
after the accident."
"But what could have been his object, sir? He left
the route book and everything else that Lessingham
was carrying?" <
"That is just the question that I have been asking
myself. But we cannot say that he left everything else,
since we do not know what Lessingham had with him
when he started from Bath. However, we may put that
speculation aside for the moment. The only reason
that I can suggest for his taking the maps is this: Les-
singham may have marked upon them the route which


232
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
same opportunities for substituting the cars, the acci-
dent would have taken place at a most inconvenient
time for him. The car driven by Lessingham would
have been in the centre of the stream of competing cars
running from Moorchester to Torquay. The wrecked
car would almost certainly have been found within a few
minutes. In any case, the criminal would not have ven-
tured to interfere with it. As it was, but for the fact
that your car was delayed by fog, the accident would
probably not have been discovered for a considerable
time, which might have extended into an hour or more.*'
"That's true, sir," replied Harold. "Nothing came
along the road while we were there, and we didn't leave
till after daylight."
"Just so. No doubt we shall learn how far this Mr.
Ellingwood conforms with the necessary conditions. I
should not be surprised if the superintendent were to
visit us tomorrow night, in order to resume our inter-
rupted conversation."
Dr. Priestley was right. Hanslet turned up on the
following evening, at the same time as before.
"Sorry I had to run away like that yesterday, Pro-
fessor," he said. "However, since then, I have got a lot
of reports in about the Ellingwoods. Perhaps you
would like to hear them?"
"I would rather that you gave me the facts, as briefly
as possible," replied Dr. Priestley.
"Very well. We'll take Ellingwood first. He retired
from the Navy three years ago, with the rank of lieu-
tenant commander. Married Joan Singer a few weeks
later. Bought Highcroft Farm about the same time.


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
233
Went in for poultry keeping on a large scale, and ap-
parently expended most of his capital. Kept on in-
creasing his stock, and took up a mortgage on the farm
for the purpose. Interest on that mortgage now in
arrear.
"Now for Mrs. Ellingwood. Left a small income by
her parents. Spent her time in small hotels, or staying
in friends' houses. Believed at one time to have been
engaged to a distant connection, Thomas Purvis—
rather queer, that, isn't it, Professor? Engagement
broken off shortly before Purvis went abroad for the
first time. Later, married Reginald Ellingwood. I
think those are the principal facts, Professor."
"The skeleton of them, certainly," agreed Dr. Priest-
ley. "You have more recent particulars, of course?"
"I'm coming to those. The Ellingwoods started off
with a bit of a flourish. Kept a big car, a couple of
men, and two or three maids. Their establishment has
gradually dwindled. The car had to be sold, which
was a bitter blow to them, I'm told, as they were both
keen drivers. They only employ a boy to clean out the
fowl-houses, and one woman in the house, both of whom
come in by the day. Nobody sleeps on the place but
themselves.
"Now, we come to the last few weeks. Ellingwood
left the farm on February sixteenth. That was the
day before Mr. Chalk took delivery of his car, nearly a
fortnight after Lessingham took delivery of his, and a
fortnight before the Rally. These dates are worth re-
membering, I think. He left Mrs. Ellingwood to look
after the place, and it was believed that he went up


236
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
wood not having obtained details of Lessingham's plans
from that individual himself, he may have done so from
Purvis. It certainly seems quite possible."
"I'm glad you think that, Professor. Now, just let's
see how we stand for a moment. Ellingwood had a mo-
tive, and a very pressing one apparently, for desiring
the death of Lessingham and Purvis. If he could bring
that about, his wife would come into Lessingham's
money, and money was badly wanted. He must have
known that Lessingham and Purvis were going to the
Rally together. He is described as having been an en •
thusiastic motorist, and was therefore technically cu -
pable of carrying out the crime. He had ample oppoi' •
tunity of discovering Lessingham's plans. His move-
ments from the first to the third are not accounted for.
Lessingham's car was found abandoned in a quarry
barely a mile from his house. Honestly now, isn't that
a good enough case?"
Hanslet lay back in his chair and rubbed his hands
together briskly. But Dr. Priestley's caution would
not allow him to share his friend's enthusiasm.
"Superficially it appears to be a very good case in-
deed," he replied. "But, as no doubt you realize, many
details remain to be fitted in before you can frame a
definite charge of murder against Ellingwood."
"I guessed that was pretty much about what you
would say, Professor," exclaimed Hanslet. "The de-
tails are beginning to fill themselves in already. I
haven't told you everything yet.
"You remember that I said I had arranged to have
Lessingham's car, and everything found with it, sent


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP 237
V
up to London? Well, I thought it best to have them
sent straight up to the Yard, and not to the Comet
works. I wanted to have a good look over them my-
self. They arrived this afternoon, and I spent an hour
or two with them. Everything was pretty well smashed
up. But the body of the car, although it had been torn
off the chassis, was still fairly whole.
"I went over the body pretty carefully, and found
there was a pocket on the near side door. I looked in-
side this without much hope of finding anything inter-
esting, I must confess. But, as it happened, I had a
stroke of luck. It's a wonderful thing, but I've always
found that the most careful criminal overlooks some-
thing. And this is what I found in the pocket, Pro-
fessor."
With an air of triumph, Hanslet took an official en-
velope from his pocket and took out the contents.
These he laid on Dr. Priestley's desk.
"What do you make of those?" he asked confidently.
Dr. Priestley examined the objects with particular
care.
"This is an envelope addressed to R. Ellingwood,
Esq., Highcroft Poultry Farm, Slowford, Somerset,"
he said. "It bears a penny halfpenny stamp, but does
not appear to have been posted, since there is no post-
mark. The envelope has been gummed down and sub-
sequently torn open."
"The address is in Lessingham's writing," said Hans-
let. "And the envelope is exactly similar to those in his
desk at Cawdor Street. I've verified both those points
beyond the possibility of doubt."


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
239
"Lessingham put the letter in his pocket, intending
to post it and forgot it. There's nothing out of the
way in that; I've done it myself. It was still in his
pocket when he was killed. Now when the criminal
came along after the accident, no doubt he went
through Lessingham's pockets to make sure that no
clues were to be found there. He came across the letter
and took it. Anybody but Ellingwood would have left
it there. But Ellingwood naturally did not want his
name to appear. Besides he probably wanted to find
out what was in the letter. Later on, when he had got
clear away, he opened the letter, and put the envelope
in the pocket of the car."
"Ingenious and not improbable," Dr. Priestley com-
mented. "And this map with the card folded inside
it?"
"The map is quite new. If you look at it you will see
that it is perfectly clean, and has not even begun to
fray at the folds, as maps always do when they have
been used a bit. Ellingwood bought it in London; he'd
want that particular map to mark out his scheme with.
He had it in his pocket when he stole Mr. Chalk's car.
I have no doubt that he had one or two of those cards
in his pocket as well. This one evidently got in be-
tween the folds of the map.
"After it was all over, he put the map, with the card
still in it, in the pocket of Lessingham's car, perhaps at
the same time as he put the envelope there. And then
in his excitement he forgot all about them, and pushed
the car over the edge of the quarry without giving them
another thought."


240
DR. PRIESTLET LAYS A TRAP
"Surely this displays a carelessness strangely at vari-
ance with his carefully thought out scheme?" remarked
Dr. Priestley.
"It wasn't his only piece of carelessness," retorted
Hanslet. "Look at that spanner which you people
found. By the way, there's no doubt where that came
from. I rang up the Comet works, and asked them to
check the tool-kit on Mr. Chalk's car. They told me
that it should contain three double-ended spanners.
One was missing, five sixteenths at one end, and three
eighths at the other. And that's just the size of the
spanner picked up by you."
"You appear to have a convincing answer to every
possible objection, Superintendent," said Dr. Priestley.
"What further steps do you propose to take?"
"What I should like to do is to go down to Slowford
and have a heart-to-heart talk with Mr. and Mrs. El-
lingwood," replied Hanslet. "But I simply daren't do
it. You know how it is, Professor. The public seems
to regard the detection of crime as a sort of game of
skill, to be controlled by carefully framed rules. It
doesn't seem to have occurred to anybody that, though
you may impose rules on the police, which they are
bound to observe, you can't impose corresponding rules
on the criminal."
Dr. Priestley smiled. He knew that this was a very
sore point, not only with the superintendent, but with
the whole of Scotland Yard.
"You mean, I suppose, that you dare not question
Ellingwood without previously warning him, I take it?"
"Exactly. It is all so damn silly that it makes one


242
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
money. And how is he going to do that, I'd like to
know?"
"There would certainly seem to be difficulties in the
way," replied Dr. Priestley. "But does waiting for
that event exhaust all the possibilities? There would
seem to be other clues remaining unexplored. Have
you, for instance, discovered who sent the telegram to
Lessingham?"
Hanslet laughed shortly.
"Yes, I have," he replied. "That clue's a dead end,
I'm afraid. The telegram was genuine enough, and it
was sent by one of Lessingham's lady loves. A police-
man finds himself in queer situations sometimes, Pro-
fessor. Would you like to hear about an adventure
that happened to me last night?"
Dr. Priestley nodded, and Hanslet described his in-
terview with Mrs. Burford.
"She was telling the truth all right, I could see that
at the time. She had to, for she was fairly cornered, in
spite of Orchard's desperate attempt to save her. And
that's the secret of the George Love yarn he told us,
Mr. Merefield."
"I don't altogether blame him," replied Harold.
"He did his best to keep the woman's name out of it."
"I suppose he was justified, to a certain extent.
Anyway, there's no great harm done. Orchard knows
nothing about his master's murder, of that I'm pretty
certain. Nor does this Mrs. Burford. She gave the
right name and address to me, by the way; I verified
that, and I got our handwriting expert on to the state-
ment I made her write out. Pretty neat that, I thought,


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
243
making her write the telegram over again, I mean. I
was able to compare it with the same wording on the
telegram form. The expert says that there isn't a
shadow of doubt that they were written by the same
hand."
"So that disposes of the telegram," remarked Dr.
Priestley. "I fear that you have a difficult task before
you, Superintendent. There is a vast difference be-
tween suspecting a criminal and being able to bring
him to justice, as we have learnt by experience. I can
only assure you of my heartiest wishes for your suc-
cess."
"What do you think would be the best way for me
to get to work, Professor?" asked Hanslet hopefully.
Dr. Priestley glanced at the clock as he shook his
head.
"At the moment I can offer no suggestions that would
be likely to be helpful," he replied. "But if you hap-
pen to see Mrs. Burford again, I should ask her if she
or Lessingham were acquainted with Mr. Chalk."
Hanslet correctly interpreted Dr. Priestley's manner
as a sign of dismissal.
"I'll do that," he said, as he got up to go. "But
you'll remember that Chalk said definitely that he had
never heard of Lessingham. Still, there's no harm in
asking. I'll let you know the result."


246
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
whose life was sought. How do we know that Purvis
and Mr. Chalk were not acquainted?"
Harold repressed an inclination to smile. He flat-
tered himself that he could read his employer's mind
like a book. It was Dr. Priestley's way, if anyone pro-
pounded a theory, to set up an alternative, apparently
in a pure spirit of contradiction.
"All that's possible, I'll admit, sir," he replied. "But
after all, there's not much doubt that Hanslet's got his
finger on the spot. He's found an uncommonly plau-
sible motive. And, from what he tells us, everything
points to this chap Ellingwood being the criminal."
"You are probably right, my boy," said Dr. Priest-
ley, with unexpected mildness. "I was only trying to
emphasize the fact that it is unwise to follow one line of
reasoning to the exclusion of all others. It is always
advisable to keep as open a mind as possible in these
matters. But it is the business of the police and not
ours to bring the murderer to justice."
Meanwhile, Hanslet, finding himself in that direc-
tion, resolved to pay a visit in person to the Copdock
Hotel. It was an unpretentious sort of place, evidently
run on the cheapest possible lines. Even the entrance
had an unkempt appearance, and, once inside, he de-
tected a heavy penetrating smell, compounded of fried
onions and stale tobacco smoke.
In reply to his inquiries he learnt that Ellingwood
had stayed in room number 36, on the top floor. That
room was at present unoccupied and at the superin-
tendent's request he was taken up there and left alone.
It was a particularly uninviting apartment. Its single
I


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP • 247
window, with grime-obscured panes and dingy lace cur-
tains, looked out upon a depressing vista of roofs and
chimneys. The only furniture was an iron bedstead,
covered with a quilt of questionable cleanliness, a
painted deal chest of drawers, and a rickety washstand.
On the floor were the tattered remnants of what had
once been a cheap carpet. And at one side of the room
was a rusty iron fireplace, empty but for a piece of
newspaper placed behind the bars.
"By Jove, Ellingwood must be pretty hard pressed
to stop at a place like this," exclaimed Hanslet. "The
point is, did he leave any traces of his visit behind
him?"
He set to work methodically. The chest of drawers
was empty, save for a few torn scraps of newspaper, a
year old, which had served as lining for the drawers.
The washstand and bed were equally bare. Then Hans-
let approached the fireplace and peeped in. As he had
expected, the paper in front concealed an extensive col-
lection of unsavoury looking litter.
This he removed and laid upon the floor. It was
pretty clear that the grate had not been cleaned out
for months. The litter consisted for the most part of
discarded shaving papers and hair combings, inter-
mingled with cigarette ends and fragments of torn up
letters. Even Hanslet, accustomed to such things, had
to summon up all his resolution before he could bring
himself to handle it.
He began by sorting out the torn letters, as best he
could. But none of them seemed to bear any reference
to Ellingwood, and, from such dates as he could de-


248
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
cipher, they seemed to have been discarded by previous
occupants of the room. And then, as he raked over the
debris, he came upon a rolled-up ball, which from its
colour he recognized as a telegram.
As he unrolled it he caught sight of the address and
knew that his labour had not been wasted. It was with
a growing feeling of triumph that he read the message.
The telegram had been handed in at Slough at twelve
forty-seven p.m. on March first, and the wording was as
follows: "Ellingwood, Copdock Hotel, Earl's Court.
Meet me at the Feathers Inn, Hedgeworth, nine thirty
tomorrow evening most urgent." And the telegram was
signed, "Lessingham."
"Well, if that isn't the finishing touch that will put
the rope round Ellingwood's neck, I'm a Dutchman!"
muttered Hanslet. He raked over the debris once or
twice again, without finding anything further. Then
he went downstairs and interviewed the melancholy
looking individual who appeared to combine the duties
of porter and reception clerk.
This man remembered the incident of Ellingwood's
departure. He had given notice of his intention of leav-
ing at breakfast that morning. Then he had gone out
and did not return till some time between one and two.
"He'd been very poor spirited all the time he was
here, sir. A nice enough gentleman, as you might say,
but you could see he had something on his mind. And
when he came in that time he looked terrible downcast.
"I gave him a telegram that had just come for him,
and he tore it open and read it. He seemed puzzled at
first, and then he brightened up. He said something


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
249
about his luck having turned, or something like that.
I don't exactly recollect his very words now. Then he
went up to his room to pack, and soon after he came
down carrying his suit-case, and left. And that's the
last I saw of him."
"You've no idea where he went to, I suppose?"
"No, that I haven't, sir. He just said good-bye to
me, and walked out of the door."
Hanslet asked for a Bradshaw, and, rather to his
astonishment, the man produced one. It was some
months old, but that was to be expected in such a place.
He turned over the pages until he found the table re-
ferring to Hedgeworth. There was a train leaving
London at twelve fifty-five. It was now just after half
past. There was no time to be wasted if he was to
catch it.
A taxi from the Copdock Hotel took him to the ter-
minus with five minutes to spare. By the time he had
bought his ticket and a couple of sandwiches, these had
dwindled to one. However, he was lucky enough to
find a corner seat, into which he subsided as the train
moved out.
Hedgeworth station, which he reached soon after
three, proved to be a busier place than he had expected.
Apparently it served a fairly extensive residential area.
The village, he was told, was half a mile or so away;
and, having learnt that there was a train back to Lon-
don shortly after five, he set out to walk it.
He found Hedgeworth a straggling sort of place, as
though it had grown up haphazard. Places of refresh-
ment seemed fairly plentiful, ranging from the preten-


2o0
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
tiousness of "Ye Olde Redde Lyon"—a modern red-
brick structure displaying the usual lures for the un-
suspecting motorist—to the more modest comfort of
such ale-houses as "The Waggon and Horses." But of
the "Feathers" there was no sign. It was not until he
reached the further end of the village that he found it,
a retiring little house standing by itself. But he no-
ticed that the main road from London to Moorchester
passed the door.
It being during those hours in which licensed prem-
ises are compelled by law to suspend business, the place
was shut. But after repeated knockings the door was
unbolted, and an elderly man peered out. Seeing the
stranger before him his expression became slightly more
affable.
"Sorry, master," he said. "But we don't open till
six in these parts."
"That's all right," replied Hanslet. "Here's my
card. I want a few words with you." Then seeing the
look of apprehension on the man's face, he added, "I
only want to make inquiries about a man who called
here a few days ago."
The landlord, somewhat reassured, let him in. He
informed him that his name was John Trumper, and
that he'd never had any complaints, no, not in the thirty
years or more he'd held his license.
"Well, that's a very good record, Mr. Trumper," re-
plied Hanslet. "Now, look here, I'm a bona fide travel-
ler if ever there was one, and though the asses who
made the laws say I mustn't have a drink, what about
it?"


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
251
But Mr. Trumper smiled cunningly.
"No, sir, you don't catch an old bird like me that
way," he replied firmly.
Hanslet laughed heartily.
"Lord, man, I wasn't trying to catch you!" he re-
plied. "The law says that police officers may enter li-
censed premises at any time. And if that doesn't mean
that they can have a drink when they're there, what
does it mean, I should like to know? Now, you draw me
a pint of beer and one for yourself, like a good chap,
and let's get to business."
The superintendent's manner prevailed over the
worthy publican's scruples. He asked his visitor into
the bar parlour and drew the beer.
"There you are, sir, and here's my respects," he said,
as they raised their tankards simultaneously.
"Ah, that's the stuff to keep a man alive!" exclaimed
Hanslet, after a long and earnest pull. "Now, Mr.
Trumper, I'd like to take up a few minutes of your
time, if you don't mind. Do you remember the evening
of Wednesday, the second?"
Mr. Trumper rubbed his nose thoughtfully.
"Wednesday," he remarked slowly. "That's early
closing day. Tuesday was the first, I recollect. Why,
yes, sir, I remember that evening well enough. It was
when all the cars were driving through here with flags
and numbers on them. Kept it up best part of the
night they did. 'Twere a competition or something,
the chaps were saying."
"That's right," replied Hanslet encouragingly.
"Now did you have any strangers in that evening?"


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
253
bite of bread and cheese, and when he'd had that and a
drop of beer, we got chatting. He told me that a gen-
tleman in a car had asked him to meet him here at half
past nine."
"He didn't happen to mention the name of the gentle-
man in the car, I suppose?"
"Not that I can recollect, sir. It struck me as queer
at first that the gentleman should want to meet him
here. That sort of folk generally stops at the Red
Lion, or one of them posh places up the street. But
when he said that the gentleman would be in a hurry
and would probably only be stopping for a minute or
two, I saw how it was. If he was coming from London
way, he'd have to pass my door. That was it, you may
be sure, sir."
"Yes, that was it, I expect. Did Mr. Fellingwood
bring a suit-case with him, or anything like that?"
"No, sir, he wasn't carrying anything. As I say, we
was chatting in here. There weren't more than one or
two of the regular chaps in; there never is on early
closing nights. Most of them goes into Moorchester
to the pictures. And every time he hears a car go past,
he goes to the window and looks out. It seemed to me
he was all of a fidget, as though he was terribly anxious
to meet this other gentleman."
Hanslet walked across to the window and looked out.
Just outside at the edge of the pavement was a lamp-
post. It was evident that this would throw enough light
upon the passing cars to enable the Rally flag to be
seen and the R.A.C. official number to be read easily.
"I expect he was a bit anxious," remarked the super-


254
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
intendent grimly. "What happened when his friend
turned up?"
Mr. Trumper shook his head. "That I can't say,
sir," he replied. "You see, 'twas like this. Half past
nine came and nothing happened. The cars was going
past all the time, but none of them stops. And this Mr.
Fellingwood was getting more and more fidgety every
moment. At last he asks me what time we closed, and
I tells him, ten o'clock. He asks me if he could have a
bed here, so as he could stop on after then. I told him
I was sorry, but he couldn't. You see, sir, though we've
got a couple of rooms where we sometimes put folk up,
the Missis doesn't care to be bothered unless she knows
them."
"I don't blame her. It's a nuisance having people in
the house, and there are plenty of other places in the
village they can go to."
"That's just what I said myself, sir. But he said he
couldn't go anywhere else, for fear of missing his
friend. 'I'll just have to stand outside the door then,'
he says. 'My friend can't be long now,' he says, just
like that."
The superintendent nodded.
"And what was the last you saw of him?" he asked.
"Why, sir, when I closed the house at ten o'clock he
says 'good night' and walks out. Whether or not he
met his friend I can't say. The Missis and I sits down
to supper, and then goes to bed. I expect he did
though, for them cars wasn't finished yet by a long way.
It must have been nigh on four o'clock in the morning
before the last of them went through."


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
255
Hanslet thanked Mr. Trumper for his information,
and, after consuming another pint, strolled back to the
station. He readied London soon after seven, went
straight to Scotland Yard, and immediately became
busy on the telephone. Supper was brought up to him
while he was thus engaged. He did ample justice to it,
to make up for the loss of his lunch. Finally when he
had secured the information he required, he left the
Yard, and took a taxi to Dr. Priestley's house in West-
bourne Terrace.
He was later than his usual hour, and when he sent in
his name, Harold came out to meet him in the hall.
"The professor says he'll see you for a few minutes
if it's really urgent," he said. "But, between ourselves,
he's in one of his bad moods today. I don't know what's
come over him. He's irritable and restless and snaps at
me if I say anything to him. He gets like that some-
times, as you know."
Hanslet made a grimace.
"I know right enough," he replied. "Still, I think
I'll risk seeing him, now that I'm here. I think what
I've got to tell him is urgent enough for him to lis-
ten to."
Harold had not exaggerated his employer's mood.
He barely looked up as Hanslet entered the room.
"Well, Superintendent?" he asked curtly.
"I have some information that I think will interest
you, Professor," Hanslet replied quietly. "It concerns
Ellingwood. I have definite evidence of his presence at
Hedgeworth on the evening of March second."
It seemed to the superintendent that a slightly puz-


25G
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
zled expression came into Dr. Priestley's eyes.
"Indeed?" he replied more genially. "That is cer-
tainly interesting. Perhaps you will give me the de-
tails as briefly as possible."
Hanslet recounted his discovery of the telegram in
the room which Ellingwood had occupied at the Cop-
dock Hotel. He produced the crumpled message, and
gave it to the professor. Then he described his journey
to Hedgeworth, and his conversation with Mr. Trum-
per.
Dr. Priestley listened until he had come to an end.
"And what deductions do you draw from this, Su-
perintendent?" he asked.
"It seems to me that it completely proves your the-
ory, Professor," replied Hanslet diplomatically. "But
there are two more points I would like to mention.
After I came back from Hedgeworth I got the police
at Slough to make inquiries about the telegram. They
got hold of the original, and are sending it up to me.
I haven't seen it yet, of course, but they say that it is
written in a small neat hand, whereas Lessingham's
writing, as you saw by that envelope I showed you, is
fairly large and straggling.
"That's the first point. The second is this. Elling-
wood was carrying a suit-case when he left the Copdock
Hotel. What had he done with it? Had he dragged it
about with him during the night of the first and second?
It seemed most unlikely, and then I had an idea. He
might have deposited it in the cloak room at Padding-
ton.
"I knew that at Great Western cloak rooms they al-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
257
ways ask the name of the depositor. So I rang up and
made inquiries. It was a long shot, I'll admit, but it
came off. A suit-case had been deposited at number one
cloak room in the name of Ellingwood at about half
past two on Tuesday the first and removed in the course
of the afternoon of the third."
"This appears to introduce a complication with
which I had not reckoned," muttered Dr. Priestley, as
though speaking to himself. Then, in his normal voice,
he continued, "And what is your explanation of these
facts?"
"Take the telegram first, Professor," replied Hans-
let. "Slough is on the main road from London to Bath.
If Lessingham left London when Orchard says he did,
he could easily have been in Slough at the time the tele-
gram was sent off. But it seems pretty certain, from
what they tell me of the handwriting, that Lessingham
didn't send it.
"Well then, who did? I think I can make a pretty
good guess. Ellingwood sent it himself. Slough is
only half an hour from London by train. Ellingwood
could have gone down to Slough on Tuesday morning,
sent the telegram at twelve forty-seven and been back
at the Copdock Hotel, as the chap there told me, some
time between one and two."
"That would certainly be possible," said Dr. Priest-
ley. "But what was Ellingwood's object in thus send-
ing a telegram to himself, and signing it Lessingham?"
"Why, don't you see, Professor, he was taking pre-
cautions in advance!" exclaimed Hanslet. "Why did
he throw the telegram into the grate in his room? So


258
Dlt. I'RIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
that it should be found. There was always the risk
that somebody might suspect Lessingham had been
murdered. There was also the risk that Ellingwood
might be seen hanging about Hedgeworth after he had
stolen Mr. Chalk's car. So he decided to provide a rea-
son for being there. The apparent rendezvous with
Lessingham supplied that."
"Ingenious, Superintendent, but, if I may say so,
purely conjectural," was Dr. Priestley's comment.
"Have you a specimen of Purvis's handwriting?"
"Purvis!" exclaimed Hanslet in a puzzled tone.
"No, I haven't. Why? What had Purvis got to do
with it?"
"Possibly nothing at all. But I suggest an alterna-
tive theory, not necessarily the correct one, but to show
you that your own is not the only one wluch will fit in
with the facts at present known. Purvis, we believe,
drove from London to Bath with Lessingham. Is it not
possible that Lessingham stayed in the car while Purvis
dispatched the telegram for him?"
"But Lessingham can't have sent that telegram," ob-
jected Hanslet. "He had already written a letter to
Ellingwood, which he put in his pocket and meant to
post. You've seen the envelope yourself, Professor.
And that letter was addressed to Slowford. If he had
wired Ellingwood he would have addressed the telegram
there as well."
Dr. Priestley shook his head.
"I do not think that our knowledge of the relations
between Lessingham and Ellingwood is yet complete,"
he replied. "However, let us pass on to Ellingwood's
visit to Hedgeworth."


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
259
"Showing himself at the Feathers was all part of his
plan," said Hanslet positively. "To make quite sure,
he told the landlord his name, which he certainly
needn't have done. No doubt your reconstruction is
right, Professor. He had driven Mr. Chalk's car down
to the wood near the village the previous night. The
Feathers was just the observation post he wanted. He
could watch the cars go past, as in fact he did. Les-
singham must have passed somewhere round about ten
o'clock.
"As soon as he had seen him go through, Ellingwood
knew that everything was all right. He walked back to
the wood, uncovered Mr. Chalk's car, in which he had
already changed the steering pin, and drove carefully
to the Moorchester control, and after that everything
went exactly as you explained it."
"But, according to your theory, Superintendent, El-
lingwood took pains to ensure that his visit to Hedge-
worth should become known. What, then, have you
gained by the discovery?"
"The discovery in itself is nothing, since we knew al-
ready that he must have been there. It's just an ex-
ample of the common tendency for the criminal to be
too clever or not clever enough. He was cocksure that
we should never find out how Lessingham was murdered,
or he wouldn't have been so anxious to show up at
Hedgeworth. As it is, it shows how carefully he had
premeditated the whole thing."
"What you have told me certainly furnishes a proof
of premeditated action," replied Dr. Priestley. "But it
is by no means so certain that the premeditation was
on Ellingwood's part."


CHAPTER XIX
Had Dr. Priestley's attitude been more sympathetic, it
is pretty certain that Hanslet would have applied for
a warrant for Ellingwood's arrest without further de-
lay. He felt that his case was as complete as it was
ever likely to be, and that no reasonable person could
harbour any doubt as to where the guilt of Lessing-
ham's murder lay.
But Dr. Priestley had been scarcely encouraging,
and Hanslet had a deep respect for his opinions. Dr.
Priestley never made a move until he was certain that
the move was justified. And he was obviously disposed
not to make a move as yet. One remark of his possibly
explained this:
"I do not think that our knowledge of the relations
between Ellingwood and Lessingham is yet complete."
There was something in that certainly. Hanslet de-
cided to stay his hand for a few days, meanwhile keep-
ing Ellingwood under the closest observations. Thus,
perhaps, the missing link would be supplied.
During this period, Dr. Priestley never referred to
the Lessingham case in Harold's presence. In fact, so
far as his secretary was concerned, he seemed definitely
to have put it out of his mind. Nevertheless, his pro-
ceedings were in the highest degree mysterious. He
sent Harold out upon errands which took him the whole
day, or employed him in looking up obscure references
260


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
261
in remote libraries. On one of these occasions Harold,
returning earlier than could have been suspected, could
hardly believe his eyes. He almost ran into a young
woman of rather startling and distinctly foreign ap-
pearance, who was leaving the house.
It was on the evening of this most unexpected recon-
noitre that Dr. Priestley returned again to the subject
of the Lessingham case. Harold was describing his
lack of success in a certain research which had been
allotted to him, and rather expected some acid com-
ments upon his stupidity. But, rather to his astonish-
ment, Dr. Priestley waved his excuses aside.
"It does not matter, my boy," he said. "You may
be more fortunate on a subsequent occasion. Instant
success comes to very few of us. There is Superintend-
ent Hanslet, for example. Since we have heard nothing
further from him, it is to be supposed that he has not
yet secured definite and positive proof of Ellingwood's
guilt."
"I expect he is gathering all the details he can before
he arrests the fellow, sir," replied Harold.
"Possibly, possibly. Undue haste in such matters is
always to be deprecated. But I hope very shortly to be
in a position to help him to make his decision. I did not
tell you that I had an interview with a friend of yours
yesterday afternoon."
Harold wondered who this could be. Not another of
those mysterious females, surely! "Who was that, sir?"
he asked.
"Mr. Gateman," replied Dr. Priestley, "a most en-
tertaining conversationalist. And, I may say, a young


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
263
Weldon. It is very kind of him to ask you to stay with
him at Clayport. You must, of course, accept his invi-
tation. Tomorrow would be a suitable day for you to
go. There is, if I remember rightly, an excellent train
from Waterloo at ten thirty."
Harold went back to the telephone.
"I say, it's awfully good of you," he said. "Dr.
Priestley says that I had better come tomorrow by the
ten thirty. Will that suit you?"
"Perfectly. I'll meet you at the station in the car.
So long till then."
Harold returned to the study in a state of consider-
able mystification. It was perfectly clear to him that
his employer was preparing some scheme, but the na-
ture of it he could not guess. Why had he sent for
Richard, and through him prompted Bob to issue his
invitation? It looked very much as though his em-
ployer was about to undertake something in which he
was not to participate. This was a most uncomfort-
able thought.
"When will you want me back, sir?" he asked sulkily.
It seemed that Dr. Priestley had read his mind like a
book.
"It will be of material assistance to me if you will
join Mr. Weldon at Clayport tomorrow, my boy," he
replied gently. "You need not be afraid that you will
miss anything of interest by so doing. Within a short
time of your arrival you will receive further instruc-
tions. When you get them, I shall want you to use
your influence with Mr. Weldon to induce him to assist
me a second time."


264
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
And, with that, Dr. Priestley turned to other mat-
ters, having no bearing whatever upon his projected
absence.
So Harold went down to Clayport without any clear
idea of what was expected of him. Nor was Bob par-
ticularly helpful. He had received a letter from Rich-
ard in which he had mentioned that he had seen Dr.
Priestley. The latter had told him that the professor
was going away for a few days, and that it would be
a good opportunity for Harold to take a holiday. He
had suggested that Bob might put him up for a few
days. He had also expressed a hope that Bob would
make no appointments for the coming week-end.
"I got that letter yesterday morning," said Bob. "Of
course I was only too glad of the hint. So I rang you
up yesterday evening, when I knew you'd be in. I also
rang up Richard, to see if he could come down too, but
he's got something on. A fancy dress ball, I think he
said. Just the sort of thing he revels in."
"I never heard a word of all this, till yon rang up,"
replied Harold. "My old man never breathed a word
that he was going away, and he hasn't told me even now
when he's going or where he's going to. And what the
dickens does he mean by hoping that you will keep
yourself free over the week-end? He's got some game
on, you may depend upon it."
"Well, today's Thursday, so we ought to know pretty
soon what it's all about. I've purposely made no plans,
and I'm entirely at his disposal. I enjoyed our time
at Moorchester the other day, and I hope he's got some-
thing similar in his mind."


266
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
Harold could join me as my guests. If you can do so,
perhaps you would drive over in your Armstrong Sid-
deley, which has already performed such excellent serv-
ice, arriving before dinner on Friday evening.
"I am very greatly looking forward to this second
meeting, and I hope most sincerely that you will not
disappoint me.
"Yours sincerely,
"Launcelot Priestley."
"So that's it, is it?" was Harold's comment. "Why
couldn't the old boy have told me before I came down
here? He's thought of something that hasn't struck
anybody else, I'll be bound. What about it? Is it put-
ting you out at all?"
"Not in the least," replied Bob heartily. "We'll go
along, and see what his game is. I shouldn't wonder
if we had a most interesting evening of it. Moorchester
is about a hundred and twenty miles from here. We'll
start after lunch, take things easy, and have plenty of
time for a cocktail before dinner. But I'm a bit sur-
prised that it's Moorchester again. I should have
thought that the professor had seen everything there
was to be seen there last time."
"But he didn't know then that Ellingwood had been
to the Feathers at Hedgeworth," replied Harold. "I
shouldn't be surprised if that had given him an idea.
But what beats me is the roundabout way he's gone
about it. What made him send for Richard like that
while I was out? It would have been much easier to
tell me that he wanted you to meet him at Moorchester,
like he did before."


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
267
Bob chuckled.
"Perhaps he doesn't want you to know everything
he's up to," he said. "But I admit that I don't quite
see where Richard comes in. It struck me that he was
a bit mysterious when I rang him up the other night.
Still, as your old man would say, conjecture is unprofit-
able. We shall know all about it when we get to Moor-
chester."
The weather was remarkably fine, for the middle of
March, and they had a very enjoyable drive. Their
way lay through Westernham and as they approached
the little town Bob smiled.
"It isn't opening time yet," he said. "If it was I'd
stop at the White Hart and have a drink for old time's
sake. Failing that, how would you like to pay a call on
Sergeant Showerby?"
"I wouldn't mind, but I don't think that the sergeant
would be particularly thrilled," replied Harold. "He's
forgotten all about the affair by now. An unfortunate
accident, like dozens of others you read about. If we
were to tell him that we had proof positive that those
two poor chaps had been murdered, he'd make a note
of it and get rid of us as soon as he could."
"He'd probably want to take our photographs first.
That hobby of his turned out pretty useful, after all.
I must confess I thought it rather ridiculous at the
time."
"It wasn't until the professor asked for the photo-
graphs that any real use was made of them, all the
same," said Harold.
They reached the Imperial Hotel soon after six


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
269
hastily.
"Since I'm here, I'd like to see the place where you
say the cars were substituted for one another, Profes-
sor," he remarked.
"There will be plenty of time for that later," replied
Dr. Priestley. "You could not form an adequate idea
of the conditions unless you saw it when it was really
dark. Besides, dinner will be ready very shortly now."
And with this Hanslet had to be content. But his
feelings, whatever they may have been, did not interfere
with his enjoyment of dinner, to which he did full jus-
tice. During the meal Dr. Priestley guided the con-
versation into other channels, and it was not until des-
sert and a bottle of port had been placed on the table
that he referred to the reason of the meeting.
"On the occasion of my last visit to Moorchester, Mr.
Weldon was kind enough to assist me in a series of ex-
periments," he said. "You have been informed of the
result of these, Superintendent. I am going to ask him
to repeat his kindness, and to take part in another ex-
periment which we shall all witness. Would you be so
kind as to drive us to Hedgeworth, Mr. Weldon?"
"Certainly, sir, any time you like," replied Bob
promptly.
"Thank you very much. You remember the place
where the spanner was found, and where we decided
that Mr. Chalk's car must have been concealed? I
should like, if possible, to reach that spot exactly at
ten o'clock."
"I remember it perfectly," replied Bob. "It's about
nine now. If we start at half past, or soon after, we


270
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
shall do it comfortably."
It was twenty-five minutes to ten when they left the
hotel. Bob was at the wheel, with Dr. Priestley sitting
beside him. In the back of the car were Harold and the
superintendent. The latter took the opportunity of
whispering to his companion:
"What's this stunt we're on?"
"I haven't the slightest idea," replied Harold. "He
said nothing to me. What did he say to you?"
"Told me that if I'd come down here and stay a
couple of nights with him he'd show me something.
But it strikes me that ten o'clock on a dark night is a
queer time to choose to show anybody anything."
The night was certainly dark; there was no doubt
about that. And a slight ground mist did not improve
matters. It was not opaque, but it restricted the field
of the lights, and made fast driving difficult.
"I don't care about this mist, sir," remarked Bob.
"This is how that fog began that we ran into on the
second night of the Rally. Fortunately it's a pretty
straight road to Hedgeworth, and we're not likely to
'lose our way."
"A slight fog may assist us to carry out our experi-
ment," replied Dr. Priestley enigmatically. "As long
as it does not prevent us from reaching the vicinity of
the wood by ten o'clock, there will be no harm done."
But it seemed that evening as though they were fated
to be delayed. Scarcely more than five miles out of
Moorchester a row of red lights stretched across the
road before them, and the beam of their headlights re-
vealed the ominous notice, "Road Closed. Fork left


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
271
for London!" This meant a long detour through wind-
ing byways before the main road was regained. When
the clock on the dash showed ten o'clock they were still
five miles from their destination.
However, the mist had become no thicker, and Bob
pushed the Armstrong along as fast as he dared. They
shot through the trees of the first wood and the second,
and were approaching the third, when Bob uttered a
sudden exclamation and clapped on his brakes. Close
in front of them a man had leapt out from the shadows
into the road. He was followed by a female figure, ap-
parently in full pursuit. The man ran a short dis-
tance, and jumped into a small car, drawn up by the
roadside and hitherto invisible. The tail-light of this
car showed suddenly red, and from the Armstrong they
could hear the roar of a violently accelerated engine.
Then the car drew into the gleam of their headlights,
and set off at high speed in the direction of London.
The woman reached it as it was on the move, and
jumped for the footboard. But the driver leaned out
and pushed her off, and she fell back, staggering, on
to the roadway.
This sudden drama took no more than a few seconds.
Dr. Priestley opened the window and thrust out his
head.
"Is that you, Mr. Gateman?" he called anxiously.
The female figure spun round. The headlights re-
vealed a seemingly young and pretty girl. But the
voice was Bichard's.
"Oh, there you are, sir," he replied. "He's your man
all right. Sorry I couldn't keep him longer."


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
275
the eyes of the beak. But I'd like to know how much
longer this is going to last? It's lucky that I thought
of filling up the tank before we started."
It seemed as he spoke, that the chase might continue
indefinitely. It had already lasted nearly an hour;
and, try as he would, Bob could not diminish the dis-
tance between the two cars, which were still about half
a mile apart. They had entered a tract of rolling coun-
try, through which the road wound, a succession of
long and not very steep ascents and descents. And
then at last, as they reached the summit of one of the
ridges, they saw the dim glow of a second red light per-
haps a mile or more away and stationary, in the valley
below them.
"By Jove, I believe we've got him at last!" exclaimed
Bob. "That's the light of a level crossing and the
gates are closed. See, some way above it, there's a
green light? That's a railway signal down, which
means there's a train coming. He'll have to slacken
down now, or crash through the gate!"
For a moment it seemed as though Bob's prediction
was correct. The man in the flying car ahead of them
had evidently seen the warning, and his speed slackened
appreciably. Then all at once his tail-light swerved off
the road to the right.
Bob swore viciously.
"He's got all the luck!" he exclaimed. "I wonder
where that turning leads to? It must avoid the level
crossing anyhow. Hullo, what in thunder is he play-
ing at?"
The red glow of the tail-light appeared once more,


278
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
flung clear, and lay motionless on a bed of soft bracken
beside the road.
The superintendent and Harold knelt down and ex-
amined him.
"He'll be all right," said Hanslet after a while.
"There doesn't seem to be much the matter with him.
Just knocked out, that's all. It's Ellingwood, I sup-
pose."
"None of us have ever seen Mr. Ellingwood," replied
Dr. Priestley.
"Well, he must have something in his pockets which
will tell us who he is. Could you hold the light a little
closer, Mr. Weldon? Thanks very much." Hanslet
put his hand in the inner coat pocket of the uncon-
scious man, and produced a bundle of papers. Among
them was a driving licence. Hanslet opened it, and, by
the light of Bob's torch, read the name and address in-
scribed upon it. A puzzled frown spread over his face
as he did so.
"I don't understand this at all, Professor," he said,
"unless Ellingwood is an expert in stealing licences as
well as cars. This licence was issued to Henry Bur-
ford, and the address is eight, B, Shetland Mansions,
S.W. Why, damn it all! That must be the husband of
Mrs. Burford who sent the wire to Lessingham."
"Very possibly," replied Dr. Priestley, "but surely
the man's identity can be verified when he recovers con-
sciousness. The immediate problem appears to me to
concern the disposal of him and, incidentally, of our-
selves. I never for a moment contemplated such an un-
pleasant termination to my experiment. Have you any


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
279
idea where we are, Mr. Weldon?"
"Not the foggiest, sir," replied Bob cheerfully. "I
was too busy following the other fellow to think of
where we were going."
"It seems to me, sir, that the best thing will be for
me to walk along the road to the level crossing," re-
marked Harold. "There's bound to be somebody
there."
Dr. Priestley agreed to this, and Harold set off, leav-
ing the other three to guard the prisoner. Bob turned
his attention to the Armstrong, to find that, although
she was pretty badly knocked about, she was still ca-
pable of being towed. The other car was lying by the
roadside with all four wheels in the air, and it was ob-
vious that a breakdown gang would be needed to shift it.
While they were waiting for Harold's return, the
superintendent made several attempts to induce Dr.
Priestley to explain the nature of his experiment, but
without result.
"There will be time enough for that when we have
disposed of our prisoner safely," said the professor,
who had recovered his spectacles, miraculously un-
broken. "You have retained the objects which you
found in his pockets, I hope?"
"I've got them safe enough," replied Hanslet. "He'll
have to answer a very serious charge when he wakes up.
Why, it was a deliberate attempt to kill the lot of us."
The prisoner was still unconscious when Harold re-
turned, though he was beginning to show signs of re-
covery. Harold's news was distinctly reassuring.
"I found the watchman at the level crossing," he


280
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
said. "He had heard the crash and seen the lights of
the cars go out. So he promptly telephoned to the
police at the nearest town, which isn't more than half
a dozen miles away, and they're on their way out now."
So it happened that within an hour the prisoner was
lodged in hospital with a policeman sitting by his bed-
side, and Dr. Priestley and his party were installed in
the local hotel. But the professor refused to give any
explanation that night. He pleaded that they all re-
quired rest after the ordeal which they had been
through.
"Besides, the explanation would be incomplete with-
out Mr. Gateman's statement. I suggest that we re-
turn to Moorchester as early as possible, and telephone
to Mr. Gateman, who should be at the Red Lion at
Hedgeworth, to meet us there."
It Avas not until they were all assembled next day in
a private room at the Imperial Hotel that Dr. Priestley
consented to speak.
"First of all, Superintendent, have you established
the identity of the prisoner?"
"I can't make it out, Professor," replied Hanslet.
"Apart from the driving licence, the man was carrying
visiting cards and a lot of letters, all belonging to Bur-
ford. Yet, if you say he's the murderer of Lessingham,
he must be Ellingwood."
"You shall judge that for yourself," said Dr. Priest-
ley. "Among the letters you found was there one in a
female handwriting, and signed 'A Friend of Mr. Les-
singham'?"
"How on earth did you guess that, Professor?" re-


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
281
plied Hanslet, in astonishment. "Yes, there was,
and—"
Dr. Priestley checked him with a gesture.
"Let us begin at the beginning," he said, "or rather,
at the point where the method of Lessingham's murder
had been established. You, quite correctly, sought for
a motive, and found it in Ellingwood's circumstances.
He was undoubtedly pressed for money, and his wife,
after Purvis, was Lessingham's next of kin.
"You were perfectly justified in regarding Elling-
wood with suspicion. Clearly he was the first person
about whom inquiries should be made. But, if you will
forgive my saying so, you made the mistake of con-
centrating entirely upon him, and making no inquiries
elsewhere."
"But hang it all, Professor, look at the evidence
I've collected against Ellingwood," Hanslet protested.
"The envelope addressed to him, the map with his card
in it, the telegram from Slough, and the fact that he
was at Hedgeworth that night, to say nothing of the
fact that Lessingham's car was found in the quarry
near his house. You must admit that there's no need
to look any further."
Dr. Priestley shook his head.
"I'm afraid that I cannot admit it," he replied
gravely. "Upon reflection, I came to the conclusion
thit not a single one of the facts you have mentioned is
necessarily an indication of Ellingwood's guilt."
"I don't see that!" exclaimed Hanslet obstinately.
"All I can say is that a jury wouldn't think so."
"Very possibly not. The verdict of a jury is not
r


282
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
always dictated by logic. I regarded the matter from
a slightly different viewpoint from yours. I was pre-
pared to admit that the facts tended to prove that El-
lingwood was the criminal. But I could not disguise
from myself the possibility of his innocence. This pos-
sibility involved the existence of an unknown person, X,
who had planned and carried out the murder.
"My first problem was this. How could the guilt of
X be made to conform with the facts in your posses-
sion? It was clear that X had endeavoured to throw
the responsibility of his crime upon Ellingwood.
Therefore he must have been aware of his existence,
his address, and his relations with Lessingham. Again,
from the circumstances, X and Lessingham must have
been comparatively intimate.
"Given these postulates, I thought that I could ac-
count for the facts. Consider first the envelope ad-
dressed to Ellingwood, which you found in Lessing-
ham's car. Your explanation of that was extremely
plausible, but it was not exclusive. I found myself
able to suggest another.
"Suppose that Lessingham, after Ellingwood's visit,
had discussed him with X. X might have displayed in-
terest in the matter. Learning of Mrs. Ellingwood's
relationship with Lessingham, he might have seen a way
of diverting suspicion from himself. I assume that the
crime was by then already projected. X may have
gone so far as to tell Lessingham that he would con-
sider investing money in this poultry farm. He would
like to investigate the matter for himself. Would Les-
singham give him Ellingwood's address?


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
283
"With such a request, Lessingham would comply-
readily enough. He would take an envelope, write the
name and address upon it, and give it to X. At the
same time he would give him one of Ellingwood's busi-
ness cards, which Ellingwood himself had left on the
occasion of his visit. X retained these; he stuck up the
envelope, then tore it open again and affixed a stamp,
to produce the impression that it had contained a letter.
He procured a map, and inserted the card between the
folds. These he put in the pocket of Lessingham's car
at the time when he effected the substitution.
"This supposition was, I admit, purely conjectural.
But it supplied a possible explanation, which did not
involve Ellingwood's guilt. In dealing with the tele-
gram from Slough I felt that I was on surer ground.
Your explanation that Ellingwood sent it to himself in
order to account for his presence at Hedgeworth seemed
to me to imply an undue degree of cunning. To my
mind, there was a simpler one. If X wished to throw
the responsibility for his crime upon Ellingwood, it
would be greatly to his advantage if it transpired that
Ellingwood was at Hedgeworth on the night of the sec-
ond. He could assure his presence there by making an
appointment in Lessingham's name. However strange
Ellingwood might think it that Lessingham should stop
to discuss business in the middle of the Rally, he prob-
ably knew that Lessingham would be passing through
Hedgeworth about that time. And his financial straits
would not permit him to refuse such an invitation.
"As for Lessingham's car being found in the quarry
near Ellingwood's house, that had never greatly im-


284
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
pressed me. If it indicated anything, it was Elling-
wood's innocence. Had he been guilty, he would have
chosen almost any other place in which to dispose of
the car. But if someone else was trying to fix the guilt
upon him, the quarry was a very convenient place.
"Having thus shown the possibility of the existence
of X, I wondered whether it would be possible to re-
solve this unknown quantity. And at this point, Super-
intendent, I must mention how greatly struck I was
with the account you gave me of your interview with
Mrs. Burford. Her story, if it was true, seemed to me
to suggest a number of the most interesting possibili-
ties. It explained the telegram addressed to Lessing-
ham here, and also Orchard's reluctance to give infor-
mation when you first interviewed him."
"You can take it from me, Professor, that her story
was true enough!" put in Hanslet. "After all the ex-
perience I've had I know pretty well, now, whether any-
body is speaking the truth or not."
"I have no doubt that, to the best of her knowledge,
it was true," replied Dr. Priestley. "You were per-
fectly right in accepting it as the truth. To you it ex-
plained the incident of the telegram and Orchard's eva-
siveness. These matters, having been thus accounted
for, lost their importance in your eyes. They had no
further bearing on the case upon which you were en-
gaged.
"But I was so impressed with this sidelight upon Les-
singham's life, that I resolved to carry the matter fur-
ther. You see we know little or nothing about Lessing-
ham, and this was a possible opportunity for gaining


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
285
information."
"I had already tried all the people whose names were
in that address book of his," remarked Hanslet. "I had
picked up a good deal, one way or another, but nothing
worth bothering you about, since it had nothing to do
with the case."
Dr. Priestley nodded.
"I quite appreciate that," he replied. "My first step
was to call at Shetland Mansions, at a time when I felt
certain that Mr. Burford would not be at home. There
I got into conversation with the hall porter, who told
me that I should almost certainly find Mr. Burford at
his office, the address of which was two twenty-two
Paternoster Square. I immediately proceeded to Pater-
noster Square, and walked past the door of number two
twenty-two. The name written up there was W. Bur-
ford and Son, Publishers. Displayed in a window of
the premises were a series of guidebooks and several
sheets of maps of England on various scales.
"I recognized the firm at once. Burford's guide-
books and maps are known all over the world, and have
a deservedly high reputation. I learnt by inquiries in
publishing circles, that Henry Burford was the sole
surviving partner. And this Henry Burford was un-
doubtedly Mrs. Burford's husband."
Hanslet smiled rather patronizingly.
"I could have saved you all that trouble, Professor,"
he said. "I put the usual routine inquiry through, to
verify Mrs. Burford's story as far as I could. I learnt
who her husband was, that way. But I can't see how
that could get us any further."


286
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
"To my mind it opened up a train of thought. I had
never been able to account satisfactorily for the fact
that no maps were found after the accident in the car .
which Lessingham was driving. I could only conclude
that the criminal had removed them, fearing that they
would afford a clue to his own identity. How they
could have done so, I was at a loss to understand. But
now the discovery that Mrs. Burford's husband was a
map-publisher suggested a reason.
"I said just now that I believed Mrs. Burford's story
to have been true, to the best of her knowledge. Her
fear—and we have the superintendent's evidence that
it was a very genuine one—was lest her husband should
discover her intrigue with Lessingham. But suppose
that, unknown to her, he had already discovered it, and
had determined to kill Lessingham? Suppose, in fact,
that he was the hitherto unknown quantity X?"
"No, no, Professor, that won't do," Hanslet inter-
rupted. "That is, if Mrs. Burford told me the truth.
He was abroad when Lessingham was murdered. She
told me that she had a telegram from him from Boulogne
on Wednesday. That's why she sent the wire to Les-
singham."
"We can deal with that objection later," replied Dr.
Priestley equably. "Let us return to my train of
thought. Suppose that Burford had deliberately cul-
tivated Lessingham's acquaintance, seeking his oppor-
tunity. Lessingham would have mentioned to him his
intention of competing in the Bally. What more suit-
able person than Burford, in his capacity as a map-
publisher, could be found to draw up the route? If


288
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
ford, since he occasionally attended Mr. Catesby's
bridge evenings on Tuesdays. He was not there on
Tuesday, March first, but had been there on the pre-
vious Tuesday, on which occasion he had left his car
in the drive, next to Mr. Chalk's.
"Had I suggested that you should ask Mrs. Burford
if she knew Mr. Catesby, she would probably have re-
plied that her husband occasionally played bridge at
Mr. Catesby's house. This would have suggested to
you the possibility of Mr. Burford's complicity. Upon
such apparent trifles does the science of investigation
depend."
"That's all very well, Professor," said Hanslet re-
proachfully. "But why didn't you let me in on all
this?"
"For two reasons. The first a psychological one,
that you were so convinced of Ellingwood's guilt that
you would not have entertained an alternative theory,
which could not be proved. But I attached more weight
to the second reason. Convinced as you were of Elling-
wood's guilt, you hesitated to question him directly,
owing to the handicap this would have imposed upon
you. Even had I been able to convince you of the prob-
ability of Burford's guilt, you would have been in an
identical position. I felt that I, the free agent, had a
better chance of establishing the proof than you, the
professional policeman."
"That's more than likely, while we have to observe
these absurd rules," agreed Hanslet. "But, after all,
Professor, have you established the proof?"
For the first time during the impromptu conference


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
289
Dr. Priestley smiled.
"I think so," he replied. "As I said originally, you
shall judge for yourself. I prepared a trap for Bur-
ford, into which, in spite of a certain miscarriage of
my plans, he has apparently fallen.
"I kept the preparation of this trap to myself, for
I was not sure how far I was acting within the law, and
I wished nobody else to incur responsibility. My first
step was to approach a mutual acquaintance of ours,
Superintendent, Doctor Brusek, the eminent grapholo-
gist. I told him that I wanted a letter written in a
feminine hand, which could not, under any circum-
stances, be traced to the writer.
"He told me that could easily be arranged, and he
sent his daughter to see me. At my dictation she wrote
a letter and signed it, 'A Friend of Mr. Lessingham.'
You have that letter, I believe, Superintendent. Per-
haps you will read it to us?"
"Well, I'm damned!" exclaimed Hanslet. "I'm not
sure that you haven't rendered yourself liable to a
charge of blackmail. This is the wording of the letter:
"'Dear Sir,
"'I have in my possession certain letters which re-
veal the familiarity that existed between your wife and
the late Mr. Lessingham. I have thought of handing
them to the police, but if you care to see them first, you
can do so on Friday next, at ten p.m., alone. I shall be
walking along the road leading from Hedgeworth to
Moorchester, close to the spot where, on the early morn-
ing of March 2nd, you removed the steering pin on Mr.
Chalk's car.


DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
291
walk along the main road towards the wood, timing his
arrival there at shortly after ten o'clock. When he met
Burford, he was to lead him to the spot where we found
the spanner. If he did not meet Burford, or any other
hitch occurred, he was to wait until half past ten, and
then walk back to his hotel. If he met Burford, he was
to hold him in talk till we appeared.
"I had counted upon our being in position, surround-
ing the clearing in the wood, by ten o'clock. I guessed
that Burford would arrive in a car, and I was going
to depute Mr. Weldon to put that car out of action.
Burford, if he obeyed the summons, as I felt pretty cer-
tain he would, could not then have escaped us. But,
owing to the unavoidable delays which we encountered,
we were late in arriving upon the scene. Perhaps Mr.
Gateman will recount his experiences."
"I had the time of my life, sir!" replied Richard en-
thusiastically. "I got hold of a girl's rig-out and took
it down to Hedgeworth. The first thing I did was to
explore the Red Lion thoroughly, and I found a back
entrance through which I could slip out.
"Soon after nine o'clock I had got my fancy dress
on, and found it wasn't half so awkward as I expected.
Then I dodged out the back way, without being seen.
I walked through the village, as bold as brass, and then
an unfortunate thing happened. I was accosted by
an amorous yokel."
A ripple of laughter went through the room at this
admission.
"What did you do?" asked Dr. Priestley.
"I took no notice of him for a bit, sir, but the blighter


292 DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
kept following me. I was afraid that he would come all
the way to the rendezvous, and that would never have
done. I had decided to wait for him as soon as we got
clear of the village, and give him a punch under the
jaw. But luckily he gave up the chase after a bit.
"The road seemed deserted, once I'd left the village
behind, except for an occasional car passing, and there
weren't many of them. I was a few hundred yards from
the rendezvous, and it must have been about five min-
utes to ten, when I heard a car coming up behind me.
It slowed down as it passed me, then went on, turned,
and stood with its headlights full on me. I guessed that
this was Burford, and that he was taking stock of the
young woman with whom he had to deal."
"Excellent!" murmured Dr. Priestley. "Excellent!
And what did you do then, Mr. Gateman?"
"I walked on, and the lights of the car went out. I
guessed that he had pulled up under the trees beside the
road. I couldn't see the driver; it was pitch dark, and
he kept in the shadow. There wasn't another soul
about, and I confess I began to get the wind up. It
struck me forcibly that, in Burford's eyes, I was a very
inconvenient bit of evidence. If he had an automatic,
and decided to pot me without further investigation, I
didn't stand much chance."
"Had I known how desperate a character he was, as
revealed by his attempt on us last night, I would never
have exposed you to the risk," said Dr. Priestley con-
tritely.
"Oh, I soon got over that bit of funk, sir. I turned off
the road towards the clearing without seeing anything


291
DR. PRIESTLEY LAYS A TRAP
right in my eyes again. But just as he caught hold
of my shoulder I hit out. I only grazed his head, but
that was enough. I think he realized then that a trap
had been set for him. Anyhow, he let go of me and
bolted. I was pretty close to him, but I couldn't catch,
him. Then we came out onto the road, and the rest you
know. The last I saw of you, you were in full pursuit. *
According to instructions, I went back to Hedgeworth,
slipped into the Red Lion by the way I had come out,
removed my disguise, and awaited developments."
"I can only say, Mr. Gateman, that nobody could
have played the part better," said Dr. Priestley gravely.


CHAPTER XXI
There was a moment's silence, and then Dr. Priestley
turned to the superintendent.
"You can have very little doubt now that Burford
was the murderer," he said. "The very fact that he
recognized the rendezvous from the indication given in
my letter is sufficient to prove the case against him."
"Yes, it seems clear enough," replied Hanslet, rather
reluctantly. "You've beaten me once more, Professor,
I'm afraid. I'm wondering now how far Mrs. Burford
was in the know. She must have lied to me about that
wire from Boulogne."
"Not necessarily," replied Dr. Priestley. "In fact
I expect you will find that wire was genuine. I have
no doubt that it was sent to suggest an alibi. I have
studied the time-table, and find that he could have
crossed to Boulogne and back within the day. No
doubt he hid Mr. Chalk's car in the wood during the
early hours of Wednesday morning. He probably re-
moved the steering pin at once.
"By catching an early train from Hedgeworth, he
could reach Folkestone in time to catch the first boat
of the day to Boulogne. He would have plenty of time
to send a telegram from there, and then take the after-
noon boat back to Folkestone. Thence he could return
to Hedgeworth with time still in hand to drive slowly
here. If he actually spent his day thus, you should
295


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Handsome Man, The. Margaret Turnbull.
Hands Unseen. Herman Landon.
Hard Wood. Arthur O. Friel.
Harness. A. Hamilton Gibbs.
Harriet and the Piper. Kathleen Norris.
Harry Idaho. Hugh Pendexter.
Harvey Garrard's Crime. E. Philips Oppenheim.
Hate. Arthur D. Howden Smith.
Hawkeye, The. Herbert Quick.
Head of the House of Coombe, The. Frances Hodgson Burnett
Hearth of Happiness, The. Anne Shannon Monroe.
Hearthstones. Elizabeth Stancy Payne.
Heart of Katie O'Doone. Leroy Scott.
Heart of the Desert. Honore Willsie Morrow.
Heart of the Hills, The. John Fox, Jr.
Heart of the Sunset. Rex Beach.
Heart of Unaga, The. Ridgwell Cullum.
Hedges. Elizabeth Stancy Payne.
Helen of the Old House. Harold Bell Wright.
He Rather Enjoyed It. P. G. Wodehouse.
Her Mother's Daughter. Nalbro Bartley.
Her Pirate Partner. Berta Ruck.
Her Reputation. Talbot Mundy.
Hidden Kingdom, The. Francis Beeding.
Hidden Places, The. Bertrand W. Sinclair.