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 2767 Fairout AT., 
 La Crsc*i, 
 
 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
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 2767 FairmotiPt Ave 
 Ore
 
 By LOUIS TRACY 
 
 THE WINGS OF THE MORNING 
 THE CAPTAIN OF THE KANSAS 
 THE WHEEL O' FORTUNE 
 A SON OF THE IMMORTALS 
 CYNTHIA'S CHAUFFEUR 
 THE MESSAGE 
 THE STOWAWAY 
 THE PILLAR OF LIGHT 
 THE SILENT BARRIER 
 THE "MIND THE PAINT" GIRL 
 ONE WONDERFUL NIGHT 
 THE TERMS OF SURRENDER 
 FLOWER OF THE GORSE 
 THE RED YEAR 
 THE GREAT MOGUL 
 MIRABEL'S ISLAND 
 THE DAY OF WRATH 
 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 THE POSTMASTERS DAUGHTER 
 THE REVELLERS 
 DIANA OP THE MOORLAND 
 NUMBEU SEVENTEEN
 
 Number Seventeen 
 
 BY 
 LOUIS TRACY 
 
 Author of 
 
 "The Wings of the Morning," " Diana of the 
 Moorland," etc., etc. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 EDWARD J. CLODE
 
 SRLF 
 URU 
 
 COPTHIUHT, 1915, BT 
 
 LOUIS TRACY 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1919, BT 
 EDWARD J. CLODE 
 
 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES 'Of AJUEBICA
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE OUTCOME OF AUTISTIC CURIOSITY 
 
 T 
 
 AXI, sir! Yes, sir. No. 4 will be 
 
 yours." 
 
 A red-faced, loud-breathing com- 
 missionaire, engaged in the lucrative task of 
 pocketing sixpences as quickly as he could sum- 
 mon cabs, vanished in a swirl of mackintoshes 
 and umbrellas. 
 
 People who had arrived at the theater in 
 fine weather were emerging into a drizzle of 
 rain. "All London," as the phrase goes, was 
 flocking to see the latest musical comedy at 
 Daly's, but all London, regarded thus collect- 
 ively, is far from owning motor cars, or even 
 affording taxicabs, so the majority of the play- 
 goers were hurrying on foot towards tube rail- 
 ways and omnibus routes. 
 
 Still, a popular light opera could hardly fail 
 to draw many patrons from the upper ranks of 
 society, and, in the crush t the main exit, 
 Francis Berrold Theydon, hesitating whether 
 to walk or wait the hazard of a cab, deemed 
 himself fortunate when a panting commission- 
 aire promised to secure a taxi "in half a 
 minute."
 
 2 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 Automobiles of every known variety were 
 snorting up to the curb and bustling off again 
 as promptly as their users could enter and 
 bestow themselves in dim interiors. Being a 
 considerate person wishful also to light a 
 cigarette Theydon moved out of the way. In 
 so doing, he was cannoned against by an im- 
 petuous footman, whose cry, "Your car, sir," 
 led him to follow the man's alert eyes. 
 
 He saw a tall, elderly gentleman, with clean- 
 shaven, shrewd, and highly intelligent fea- 
 tures, of the type which finance, or the law, or 
 a combination of both, seems to evolve only in 
 big cities, escorting a young lady from the 
 vestibule. Then Theydon remembered that he 
 had noticed this self-same girl's remarkable 
 beauty as she was silhouetted in white against 
 the dark background of a first-tier box. He 
 had even speculated idly as to her identity, and 
 had come to the conclusion, on catching her 
 face in profile, that she must be the daughter 
 of the man seated by her side but half -hidden 
 behind a heavy curtain. 
 
 The likeness was momentarily lost now while 
 the two neared him, yet discovered anew when 
 they halted for a second at his elbow. Oddly 
 enough, the man was carrying an umbrella, 
 which he proceeded to open, and his daughter's 
 astonished question put their relationship be- 
 yond doubt. 
 
 "Dad," she said, with a charming smile in
 
 THE OUTCOME OF CURIOSITY 3 
 
 which there was just a hint of a pout, "aren't 
 you coming home with me?" 
 
 "No. I must look in at the Constitutional 
 Club. It's only a step. I'll take no harm. 
 This sleet looks worse than it is when every 
 drop shines in the glare of so many lamps. 
 Now, in with you, Evelyn! Tell Downs to 
 come back, and don't forget which club. Any- 
 how, I'll tell him myself." 
 
 "Shall I wait up for you?" 
 
 "Well er I shan't be late. I'll be free by 
 the time Downs returns." 
 
 "No. 4 taxi!" came a voice, and Theydon 
 saw his commissionaire perched on the step of 
 a cab swinging in deftly behind the waiting car. 
 The girl, gazing at her father, happened to 
 look for an instant at Theydon, who, fearful 
 lest his candidly admiring glance might have 
 been a trifle too sustained, pretended a hur- 
 ried interest in an unlighted cigarette. That 
 was all. The three crossed the pavement al- 
 most simultaneously. 
 
 The next moment the unknown goddess was 
 gone, though Theydon snatched a final glimpse 
 of her, faintly visible, yet no less radiantly 
 lovely, as she leaned forward from the depths 
 of the limousine, and waved a white-gloved 
 hand to her father through a window jeweled 
 with raindrops. 
 
 There was nothing in the incident to provoke 
 a second thought. Assuredly, Frank Theydon
 
 4 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 as his friends called him was not the only 
 man in the vestibule of Daly's Theater who 
 had found the girl well worth looking at, and 
 it was the mere accident of propinquity which 
 enabled him to overhear the quite commonplace 
 remarks of father and daughter. 
 
 A score of similar occurrences had probably 
 taken place in the like circumstances that night 
 in London, and the maddest dreamer of fan- 
 tastic dreams would not have heard the flutter- 
 ing wings of the spirit of romance in con- 
 nection with any one of them. It was by no 
 means marvelous, therefore, but rather in 
 obedience to the accepted law of things as they 
 are when contrasted with things as they might 
 be, if Theydon both failed to attach any impor- 
 tance to that chance meeting and proceeded 
 forthwith to think of something else. 
 
 He did not forget it, of course. His artist's 
 eyes had been far too interested in a certain 
 rare quality of delicate femininity in the girl's 
 face and figure, and his ear too quick to appre- 
 ciate the music of her cultured voice, that he 
 should not be able to recall such pleasant 
 memories later. Indeed, during those fleeting 
 moments on the threshold of the theater, he 
 had garnered quite a number of minor impres- 
 sions, not only of the girl, but of her father. 
 
 In some respects they were singularly alike. 
 Thus, each had the same proud, self-reliant 
 carriage, the same large, brilliant eyes, serene
 
 THE OUTCOME OF CURIOSITY 5 
 
 brow and firm mouth, the same repose of man- 
 ner, the same clear, incisive enunciation. 
 Neither could move in any company, however 
 eclectic, without evoking comment. 
 
 They held in common that air of refinement 
 and good breeding which is, or should be, the 
 best-marked attribute of an aristocracy. It 
 was impossible to imagine either in rags, but, 
 given such a transformation, each would be 
 notable because of the amazing difference that 
 would exist between garb and mien. 
 
 It must not be imagined that Theydon in- 
 dulged in this close analysis of the physical 
 characteristics of two complete strangers while 
 his cab was wheeling into the scurry of traffic 
 in Cranbourn Street. Rather did he essay a 
 third time to light the cigarette which he still 
 held between his lips. And yet a third time 
 was his intent -balked. 
 
 A policeman stopped the east-bound stream 
 of vehicles somewhat suddenly at the corner 
 of Charing Cross road; owing to the mud, the 
 taxi skidded a few feet beyond the line ; a lamp 
 was torn off by a heavy wagon coming south; 
 and a fierce argument between taxi driver and 
 policeman resulted in "numbers" being de- 
 manded for future vengeance. Then Theydon 
 took a hand in the dispute, poured oil on the 
 troubled waters by tipping the policeman half 
 a crown and the driver half a sovereign these 
 sums being his private estimate of damages to
 
 6 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 dignity and lamp and the journey was re- 
 sumed, with a net loss, to the person who had 
 absolutely nothing to do with the affair, of 
 twelve and sixpence in money and nearly ten 
 minutes in time. 
 
 Theydon was not rich, as shall be seen in 
 due course, but he was generous and impul- 
 sive. He hated the notion of any one suffer- 
 ing for having done him a service, and the 
 taxi man might reasonably be deemed a real 
 benefactor on that sloppy night. 
 
 So far as he was concerned, the delay of ten 
 minutes was of no consequence. It only meant 
 a slightly deferred snuggling down into an 
 easy chair in his flat with a book and a pipe. 
 That is how he would have expressed himself 
 if questioned on the point. In reality it in- 
 fluenced and controlled his future in the most 
 vital way, because, once the cab had crossed 
 Oxford Street and turned into the quiet thor- 
 oughfare on which the first block of Innesmore 
 Mansions abutted, he passed into a new phase 
 of existence. 
 
 The cigarette, lighted at last after the alter- 
 cation, had filled the cab with smoke to such 
 an extent that Theydon lowered a window. At 
 that moment the driver was slowing down to 
 take the corner of the even more secluded road 
 which contained Innesmore Mansions and the 
 gardens appertaining thereto, and nothing 
 else. Necessarily, Theydon was looking out,
 
 THE OUTCOME OF CURIOSITY 7 
 
 and he was very greatly surprised at seeing the 
 unknown gentleman of the theater walking 
 rapidly round the same corner. 
 
 He could not be mistaken. The stranger 
 tilted back his umbrella and raised his eyes to 
 ascertain the name of the street, as though he 
 was not quite sure of his whereabouts, and the 
 glare of a lamp fell directly on his clean-cut, 
 almost classical face. 
 
 Being thus occupied, he did not glance at the 
 passing cab, or recognition might possibly have 
 been mutual possibly, though not probably, 
 because, during that brief pause on the steps of 
 the theater, he stood beside Theydon; hence, 
 he was half-turned toward his daughter while 
 they were discussing the night's immediate 
 program. 
 
 In itself the fact that he had gone in the 
 direction of Innesmore Mansions rather than 
 toward the Constitutional Club was in nowise 
 remarkable. Nevertheless, he had deceived 
 his daughter deceived her intentionally, and 
 the knowledge came as a shock to his unsus- 
 pected critic in Theydon. 
 
 He did not look the sort of man who would 
 stoop to petty evasion of the truth. It was as 
 though a statue of Praxiteles, miraculously 
 gifted with life, should express its emotions, 
 not in Attic Greek, but in the up-to-date slang 
 of the Strand. 
 
 "Well, I'm dashed!" said Theydon, or
 
 8 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 words to that effect, and his cab sped on to the 
 third doorway. Innesmore Mansions arranged 
 its roomy flats in blocks of six, and he occupied 
 No. 18. * 
 
 He held a florin in readiness; the rain, now 
 falling heavily, did not encourage any loiter- 
 ing on the pavement. For all that, he saw out 
 of the tail of his eye that the other man was 
 approaching, though he had paused to examine 
 the numbers blazoned on a lamp over the first 
 doorway. 
 
 "Good night, sir, and thank you!" said the 
 taxi driver. 
 
 The cab made off as Theydon ran up a short 
 flight of steps. Innesmore Mansions did not 
 boast elevators. The flats were comfortable, 
 but not absurdly expensive, and their inmates 
 climbed stairs cheerfully; at most, they had 
 only to mount to a second storey. Each block 
 owned a uniformed porter, who, on a night 
 like this, even in May, needed rousing from 
 his lair by a bell if in demand. 
 
 Theydon took the stairs two at a stride, 
 opened the door of No. 18, which, with No. 17, 
 occupied the top landing. He was valeted and 
 cooked for by an ex-sergeant of the Army Ser- 
 vice Corps and his wife, an admirable couple 
 named Bates, and the male of the species ap- 
 peared before Theydon had removed coat and 
 opera hat in the tiny hall. 
 
 "Bring my tray in fifteen minutes, Bates,
 
 THE OUTCOME OF CURIOSITY 9 
 
 and that will be all for tonight," said Theydon. 
 
 "Yes, sir," said Bates. "Remarkable 
 change in the weather, sir." 
 
 "Rotten. Who would have expected this 
 downpour after such a fine day?" 
 
 Bates took the coat and hat, and Theydon 
 entered his sitting room, a spacious, square 
 apartment which faced the gardens. He had 
 purposely prevented Bates from coming im- 
 mediately with his nightly fare, which con- 
 sisted of a glass of milk and a plate of bread 
 and butter. 
 
 Truth to tell, the artistic temperament con- 
 tains a spice of curiosity, which is, in some 
 sense, an exercise of the perceptive faculties. 
 Theydon wanted to raise a window and look 
 out, an unusual action, and one which, there- 
 fore, would induce Bates to wonder as to its 
 cause. 
 
 For once in his life a man who bothered his 
 head very little about other people's business 
 was puzzled, and meant to ascertain whether 
 or not the unknown was really calling on some 
 resident in Innesmore Mansions. It was a 
 harmless bit of espionage. Theydon scarcely 
 knew the names of the other dwellers in his 
 own block, and his acquaintance did not even 
 go that far with any of the remaining ten- 
 ants of 48 flats, all told. 
 
 Still, to a writer, the vagaries of the tall 
 stranger were decidedly interesting, so he did
 
 10 
 
 open a window, and did thrust his head out, 
 and was just in time to see the owner of the 
 limousine which would call at the Constitu- 
 tional Club in a quarter of an hour mount 
 the steps leading to Nos. 13-18. Somehow, 
 the discovery gave Theydon a veritable thrill. 
 
 Could that pretty girl's father, by any 
 chance, be coming to visit him? A wildly 
 improbable development had been whittled 
 down to a five-to-one chance. He closed the 
 window and waited, yes, actually waited, for 
 the bell to ring! 
 
 The sitting room door was open, and it 
 faced the hall door. Footsteps sounded 
 sharply on the slate steps of the stairway; 
 when Theydon heard some one climbing to 
 the topmost landing he was almost convinced 
 that, as usual, the unexpected was about to 
 happen. It did happen, but took its own pe- 
 culiar path. The unknown rang the bell of 
 No. 17, and, after a slight delay, was ad- 
 mitted. 
 
 Theydon smiled at the anticlimax. A trivial 
 mystery had developed along strictly ortho- 
 dox lines. A rather good-looking and distinctly 
 well-dressed lady, a Mrs. Lester, occupied 
 No. 17. She lived alone, too, he believed. At 
 any rate, he had never seen any other person, 
 except an elderly servant, enter or leave the 
 opposite flat, and he had encountered the 
 tenant herself so seldom that he was not
 
 THE OUTCOME OF CURIOSITY 11 
 
 ^ 
 
 quite certain of recognizing her apart from 
 the environment of the staircase which pro- 
 vided their occasional meeting place. 
 
 Then he sighed. Romance evidently denied 
 her magic presence to one who wooed her 
 assiduously by his pen. He was yet to learn 
 that the alluring sprite had not only favored 
 him with her attentions during the past twenty 
 minutes, but meant to stick to him like his 
 own shadow for many a day. And he 
 frowned, too. 
 
 He did not approve of that pretty girl's 
 father visiting the attractive Mrs. Lester in 
 conditions which savored of something under- 
 handed and clandestine. The man had de- 
 liberately misled his daughter. He left her 
 with a lie on his lips; yet never were appear- 
 ances more deceptive, for the stranger had 
 the outward aspect of one whose word was 
 his bond. 
 
 "Oh, dash it all, what business is it of mine, 
 anyhow!" growled Theydon, and he laughed 
 sourly as he sat down to write a letter which 
 Bates could take to the post, thus himself 
 practicing a slight deceit intended solely to 
 account for the deferred bringing of the tray. 
 
 It was apparently an unimportant missive 
 which could well have been postponed till the 
 morning, being merely an announcement to 
 a firm of publishers that he would pay a busi- 
 ness call later in the week. In less than five
 
 12 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 minutes it, and another, making an appoint- 
 ment for Wednesday, this being the night of 
 Monday, were written, sealed, directed and 
 stamped. 
 
 He rang. Bates came, with laden hands, 
 thinking the tray was in demand. 
 
 "Kindly post those for me," said Theydon, 
 glancing at the letters. "Better take an um- 
 brella. It's raining cats and dogs." 
 
 The man had found the door open, and 
 left it so when he entered. Before he could 
 answer, the door of No. 17 was opened and 
 closed, with the jingle inseparable from the 
 presence of many small panes of glass in 
 leaden casing, and footsteps sounded on the 
 stairs. For some reason probably because 
 of the unusual fact that any one should be 
 leaving Mrs. Lester's flat at so late an hour, 
 both men listened. 
 
 Then Bates recollected himself. 
 
 "Yes, sir," he said. 
 
 Oddy enough, the man's marked pause sug- 
 gested a question to his employer. 
 
 "Mrs. Lester's visitor didn't stop long," 
 was the comment. "He came up almost on 
 my heels." 
 
 "I thought it must ha* bin a gentleman," 
 said Bates. 
 
 "Why a 'gentleman'?" laughed Theydon. 
 
 "I mean, sir, that the step didn't sound 
 like a lady's."
 
 THE OUTCOME OF CURIOSITY 13 
 
 "Ah, I see." 
 
 Vaguely aware that he had committed him- 
 self to a definite knowledge as to the sex of 
 Mrs. Lester's visitor, Theydon added: 
 
 "I didn't actually see any one on the stairs, 
 but I heard an arrival, and jumped to the 
 same conclusion as you, Bates." 
 
 Tacitly, master and man shared the same 
 opinion it was satisfactory to know that 
 Mrs. Lester's male visitors who called at the 
 unconventional hour of 11 : 30 p. m. were 
 shown out so speedily. Innesmore Mansions 
 were intensely respectable. 
 
 No lady could live there alone whose creden- 
 tials had not satisfied a sharp-eyed secretary. 
 Further, Theydon was aware of a momen- 
 tary disloyalty of thought toward the distin- 
 guished-looking father of that remarkably 
 handsome girl, and it pleased him to find that 
 he had erred. 
 
 Bates went out, closing the door behind him : 
 he donned an overcoat, secured an umbrella 
 and presently descended to the street. Yield- 
 ing again to impulse, Theydon reopened the 
 window and peered down. The stranger was 
 walking away rapidly. A policeman, glisten- 
 ing in cape and overalls, stood at the corner, 
 near a pillar box. 
 
 The tall man, who topped the burly con- 
 stable by some inches, halted for a moment 
 to post a letter. Whether by accident or de-
 
 14 
 
 sign he held his umbrella so that the other 
 could not see his face. Then he disappeared. 
 Bates came into view. He dropped Theydon's 
 letters into the box, but he and the policeman 
 exchanged a few words, which, his employer 
 guessed, must surely have dealt with the 
 vagaries of the weather. 
 
 For an author of repute Theydon's sur- 
 mises had been wide of the mark several 
 times that night. The policeman had seen 
 the unknown coming out from the doorway of 
 Nos. 13-18, and had noted his stature and ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 11 Who's the toff who just left your lot?" he 
 said, when Bates arrived. 
 
 "Dunno," said Bates. "Some one callin' 
 on Mrs. Lester, I fancy. Why?" 
 
 "0, nothing. On'y, if I was togged up re- 
 gardless on a night like this I'd blue a cab 
 fare. ' ' 
 
 "I didn't see him meself," commented 
 Bates. "My boss 'eard him come, an' both 
 of us 'eard him go. He didn't stay more'n 
 five minnits." 
 
 "Wish I was in his shoes. I've got to stick 
 round here till six in the morning," grinned 
 the policeman. 
 
 "Well, cheer-o, mate." 
 
 "Cheer-o." 
 
 Bates looked in on his master before re- 
 tiring for the night.
 
 THE OUTCOME OF CURIOSITY 15 
 
 "What time shall I call you, sir?" he said. 
 
 Theydon was in the pipe and book stage, 
 having exchanged his dress coat for a smok- 
 ing jacket. He was reading a treatise on aero- 
 nautics, and, like every novice, had already 
 formulated a flying scheme which would 
 supersede all known inventions. 
 
 "Not later than 8," he said. "I must be 
 out by 9. And, by the way, I may as well 
 tell you now. After lunch tomorrow I am 
 going to Brooklands. I return to Waterloo 
 at 6:40. As I have to dine in the West End 
 at 7 : 30, and my train may be a few minutes 
 behind time, I want you to meet me with a 
 suitcase at the hairdresser's place on the main 
 platform. I'll dress there and go straight 
 to my friend's house. It would be cutting 
 things rather fine if I attempted to come 
 here. ' ' 
 
 "I'll have everything ready, sir." 
 
 Bates was eminently reliable in such mat- 
 ters. He could be depended on to the last 
 stud. 
 
 The storm which had raged overnight must 
 have cleared the skies for the following day, 
 because Theydon never enjoyed an outing 
 more than his trip to the famous motor track. 
 His business there, however, lay with aviation. 
 A popular magazine had commissioned him 
 to write an article summing up the progress 
 and practical aims of the airmen and he was
 
 16 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 devoting afternoon and evening to the quest 
 of information. A couple of experts and a 
 photographer had given him plenty of raw 
 material in the open, but he looked forward 
 with special zest to an undisturbed chat that 
 night with Mr. James Creighton Forbes, mil- 
 lionaire and philanthropist, whose peculiar 
 yet forcible theories as to the peaceful con- 
 quest of the air were for the hour engaging 
 the attention of the world's press. 
 
 He had never met Mr. Forbes. When on 
 the point of writing for an appointment he 
 had luckily remembered that the great man 
 was a lifelong friend of the professor of 
 physics at his (Theydon's) university, and a 
 delightfully cordial introductory note was 
 forthcoming in the course of a couple of posts. 
 This brought the invitation to dinner. "On 
 Tuesday evening I am dining en famille," 
 wrote Mr. Forbes, "so, if you are free, join 
 us at 7 : 30, and we can talk uninterruptedly 
 afterward." 
 
 The train was not. late. Bates, erect and 
 soldierly, was standing at the rendezvous. 
 With him were two men whom Theydon had 
 never before seen. One, a bulky, stalwart, 
 florid-faced man of forty, had something of the 
 military aspect ; the other^, supplied his direct 
 antithesis, being small, wizened and sallow. 
 
 The big man had a round, bullet head, prom- 
 inent bright blue eyes, and the cheek bones,
 
 THE OUTCOME OF CURIOSITY 17 
 
 chin and physical development of a heavy- 
 weight pugilist. His companion, whose dark 
 and recessed eyes were noticeably bright, too, 
 could not be more than half his weight, and 
 Theydon would not have been surprised if 
 told that this diminutive person was a dancing 
 master. Naturally he classed both as acquaint- 
 ances of his valet, encountered by chance on 
 the platform at Waterloo. 
 
 He was slightly astonished, therefore, when 
 the two faced him, together with Bates. A 
 dramatic explanation of their presence was 
 soon supplied. 
 
 "These gentlemen, sir, are Chief Inspector 
 Winter and Detective Inspector Furneaux of 
 Scotland Yard," said the ex-sergeant, in the 
 awed tone which some people cannot help 
 using when speaking of members of the Crim- 
 inal Investigation Department. 
 
 Though daylight had not yet failed it was 
 rather dark in that corner of the station, and 
 Theydon saw now what he had not perceived 
 earlier, that the usually sedate Bates was pale 
 and harassed looking. 
 
 "Why, what's up?" he inquired, gazing 
 blankly from one to the other of the ominous 
 pair. 
 
 "Haven't you seen the evening papers, Mr. 
 Theydon?" said Winter, the giant of the two. 
 
 "No, I've been at Brooklands since two 
 o'clock. But what is it?"
 
 18 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 1 'You don't know, then, that a murder was 
 committed in the Innesmore Mansions last 
 night or early this morning?" 
 
 "Good Lord, no! Who was killed?" 
 
 "A Mrs. Lester, the lady " 
 
 "Mrs. Lester, who lives in No. 17!" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "What a horrible thing! Why, only the 
 day before yesterday I met her on the stairs." 
 
 It was a banal statement, and Theydon 
 knew it, but he blurted out the first crazy 
 words that would serve to cloak the mon- 
 strous thought which leaped into his brain. 
 And a picture danced before his mind's eye, 
 a picture, not of the fair and gracious woman 
 who had been done to death, but of a sweet- 
 voiced girl in a white satin dress who was 
 saying to a fine-looking man standing by her 
 side: "Dad, aren't you coming home with 
 me!" 
 
 His blurred senses were conscious of the 
 strange medley produced by the familiar 
 noises of a railway station blending with the 
 quietly authoritative voice of the chief in- 
 spector. 
 
 "Mr. Furneaux and I have the inquiry in 
 hand, Mr. Theydon," the detective was say- 
 ing. "We called at your flat, and Bates told 
 us of the sounds you both heard about 11 : 30 
 last night. I'm afraid we have rather upset 
 you by coming here, but Bates was unable to
 
 THE OUTCOME OF CURIOSITY 19 
 
 say what time you would return home, so I 
 thought you would not mind if we accom- 
 panied him in order to find out the hour 
 at which it would be convenient for you 
 to meet us at your flat this evening, of 
 course." 
 
 "You have certainly given me the shock 
 of my life," Theydon gasped. "That poor 
 woman dead, murdered! It's too awful! How 
 was she killed?" 
 
 "She was strangled." 
 
 "0, this is dreadful! Shall I wire an 
 apology to the man I'm dining with?" 
 
 "No need for that, Mr. Theydon," said 
 Winter, sympathetically. "I'm sorry now we 
 blurted out our unpleasant news. But you 
 had to be told, and it was essential that we 
 should get your story some time tonight. Can 
 you be home by eleven?" 
 
 "Yes, yes. I'll be there without fail." 
 
 "Thank you. We have a good many in- 
 quiries to make in the meantime. Goodby, for 
 the present." 
 
 The two made off. Winter had done all 
 the talking, but Theydon was far too dis- 
 turbed to pay heed to the trivial fact that 
 Furneaux, after one swift glance, seemed to 
 regard him as a negligible quantity. It was 
 borne in on him that the detective evidently 
 believed he had something of importance to 
 gay, and meant to render it almost impossible
 
 20 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 that he should escape questioning while his 
 memory was still active with reference to 
 events of the previous night. 
 
 And he had so little, yet so much, to tell. 
 On his testimony alone it would be a compara- 
 tively easy matter to establish beyond doubt 
 the identity of Mrs. Lester's last known 
 visitor. And what would be the outcome 1 ? 
 He dared hardly trust his own too lively 
 imagination. Whether or not his testimony 
 gave a clew to the police, the one irrevocable 
 issue was that somewhere in London there 
 was a girl named Evelyn who would regard 
 a certain young man, Francis Berrold They- 
 don to wit, as a loathsome and despicable 
 Paul Pry. 
 
 Bates, somewhat relieved by the departure 
 of the emissaries of Scotland Yard, recalled 
 his master's scattered wits to the affairs of 
 the moment. 
 
 11 It's getting on for seven, sir," he said. 
 "I've engaged a dressing room." 
 
 "Tell you what, Bates," said Theydon ab- 
 stractedly, "it is my fixed belief that you 
 and I could do with a brandy and soda 
 apiece. ' ' 
 
 "That would be a good idea, sir." 
 
 The good idea was duly acted on. While 
 Theydon was dressing Bates told him what 
 little he knew of the tragedy, which was dis- 
 covered by Mrs. Lester's maid when she.
 
 THE OUTCOME OF CURIOSITY 21 
 
 brought a cup of tea to her mistress' bedroom 
 at ten o'clock that morning. 
 
 Bates himself was the first person appealed 
 to by the distracted woman, and he had the 
 good sense to leave the body and its sur- 
 roundings untouched until a doctor and the 
 police had been summoned by telephone. 
 Thenceforth the day had passed in a whirl 
 of excitement, active in respect to police in- 
 quiries and passive in its resistance to news- 
 paper interviewers. He saw no valid reason 
 why his employer's plans should be disturbed, 
 so made no effort to communicate with him 
 at Brooklands. 
 
 "Them 'tecs were very pressin', sir," said 
 Bates, rather indignantly, "very pressin', 
 especially the little one. He almost wanted 
 to know what we had for breakfast." 
 
 At that Theydon laughed dolefully, and, as 
 it happened, Bates 's grim humor prevented 
 him from ascertaining the exact nature of 
 Furneaux's pertinacity. Moreover, the time 
 was passing. At 7 : 15 Theydon called a taxi 
 and was carried swiftly to Mr. Forbes 's house 
 in Belgravia, while Bates disposed himself 
 and the dressing case on top of a northbound 
 omnibus. 
 
 The mere change of clothing, aided by the 
 stimulant, had cleared Theydon 's faculties. 
 Though he would gladly have foregone th^ 
 dinner, he realized that it was not a bad thing
 
 22 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 that he should be forced, as it were, to wrench 
 his thoughts from the nightmare of a crime 
 with which such a man as ''Evelyn's" father 
 might be associated, even innocently. 
 
 At any rate, he was given some hours to 
 marshal his forces for the discussion with the 
 representatives of Scotland Yard. He knew 
 well that he must then face the dilemma 
 boldly. Two courses were open. He could 
 either share Bates 's scanty knowledge, no 
 more and no less, or avow his ampler obser- 
 vations. And why should he adopt the first 
 of these alternatives? Was he not bringing 
 himself practically within the law? 
 
 Why should any man be shielded, no matter 
 what his social position or how beautiful his 
 daughter, who might possibly have caused the 
 death of the pleasant-mannered and ladylike 
 woman fated now to remain for ever a tragic 
 ghost in the memory of one who had dwelt 
 under the same roof with her for five 
 months ? 
 
 It was a thorny problem, yet it permitted 
 of only one solution. Duty must be done 
 though the heavens fell. 
 
 This conviction grew on Theydon as his 
 cab scurried across the Thames and along 
 Birdcage Walk. A pretty conceit could not 
 be allowed to sweep aside the first principles 
 of citizenship. Indeed, so reassuring was this 
 reasoned judgment that he felt a sense of
 
 THE OUTCOME OF CURIOSITY 23 
 
 relief as he paid off the cab and rang the 
 bell of the Forbes mansion. 
 
 He gave his name to a footman, who dis- 
 posed of his overcoat and hat, and led him 
 to an upstairs drawing room. Even the most 
 fleeting glances at hall and staircase revealed 
 evidences of a highly trained artistic taste 
 gratified by great wealth. The furniture, the 
 china, the pictures, were each and all rare and 
 well chosen. 
 
 "Mr. Theydon," announced the man, 
 throwing wide the door. 
 
 A lady, bent over some prints spread on a 
 distant table, turned at the words, and has- 
 tened to greet the guest. 
 
 "My father is expecting you, Mr. They- 
 don, " she said. "He was detained rather 
 late in the city, but will be here now at any 
 moment. ' ' 
 
 Theydon was no neurotic boy, whose sur- 
 charged nerves were liable to crack in a crisis 
 demanding some unusual measure of self- 
 control. Yet the room and its contents 
 and, not least, the graceful girl advancing 
 with outstretched hand swam before his 
 eyes. 
 
 Because this was "Evelyn," and it was cer- 
 tain as the succession of night to day that 
 Mrs. Lester's mysterious visitor must have 
 been "Evelyn's" father, James Creighton 
 Forbes.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE COMPACT 
 
 So petrified was Theydon by coming face 
 to face with the last person breathing whom 
 he expected to meet in that room, that he 
 stumbled over a small chair which lay 
 directly between him and his hostess. At any 
 other time the gaucherie would have annoyed 
 him exceedingly; in the existing circum- 
 stances, no more fortunate incident could have 
 happened, since it brought Evelyn Forbes her- 
 self unwittingly to the rescue. 
 
 ''I have spoken twenty times about chairs 
 being left in that absurd position," she cried, 
 as their hands met, "but you know how 
 wooden-headed servants are. They will not 
 learn to discriminate. People often sit in that 
 very place of an afternoon, because any one 
 seated just there sees the Canaletto on the 
 opposite wall in the best light. When the 
 lamps are on, the reason for the chair simply 
 ceases to exist, and it becomes a trap for the 
 unwary. You are by no means the first who 
 has been caught in it." 
 
 Theydon realized, with a species of irrita- 
 tion, that the girl was discoursing volubly 
 
 24
 
 THE COMPACT 25 
 
 about the offending chair merely in order to 
 extricate an apparently shy and tongue-tied 
 young man from a morass of his own crea- 
 tion. 
 
 That an author of some note should not only 
 behave like a country bumpkin, but actually 
 seem to need encouragement so that he should 
 "feel at home" in a London drawing room, 
 was a fact so ridiculous that it spurred his 
 bemused wits into something approaching their 
 normal activity. 
 
 "I have not the excuse of the Canaletto," 
 he said, compelling a pleasant smile, "but 
 may I plead an even more distracting vision? 
 I came here expecting to meet an elderly 
 gentleman of the class which flippant Ameri- 
 cans describe as 'high-brow,' and I am sud- 
 denly brought face to face with a Romney 
 'portrait of a lady' in real life. Is it likely 
 that such an insignificant object as a chair, 
 and a small one at that, would succeed in 
 catching my eye?" 
 
 Evelyn Forbes laughed, with a joyous 
 mingling of surprise and relief. Most cer- 
 tainly, Mr. Theydon's manner of speech dif- 
 fered vastly from the disconcerting expres- 
 sion of positive bewilderment, if not actual 
 fright, which marred his entrance. 
 
 "Do I really resemble a Romney? Which 
 one?" she cried. 
 
 "An admitted masterpiece."
 
 26 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 1 'Ah, but people who pay compliments de- 
 serve to be put on the rack. I insist on a 
 definition. ' ' 
 
 "Lady Hamilton as Joan of Arc." 
 
 He drew the bow at random, and was grati- 
 fied to see that his hearer was puzzled. 
 
 "I don't know that particular picture," 
 she said, "but I cannot imagine any model 
 less adapted to the subject." 
 
 "Romney immortalized the best qualities 
 of both," he answered promptly. "Please, 
 may I look at the Canaletto which indirectly 
 waylaid me?" 
 
 She turned to cross the room, but stopped 
 and faced him again with a suddenness that 
 argued an impulsive temperament. 
 
 "Now, I remember," she said. "Dad told 
 me you had written novels and some essays. 
 Have you ever really seen Romney's portrait 
 of Lady Hamilton as Joan of Arc?" 
 
 Those fine eyes of hers pierced him with 
 a glance of such candid inquiry that he cast 
 pretence to the winds. 
 
 "No," he said. 
 
 "Then you just invented the comparison 
 as an excuse for colliding with the chair?" 
 
 "Yes. At the same time I throw myself 
 on the mercy of the court." 
 
 "It was rather clever of you." 
 
 He laughed, and their eyes met, at very 
 close range.
 
 THE COMPACT 27 
 
 "May I share the joke?" said a voice, and 
 Theydon knew; before he turned, that the 
 man he had last seen disappearing around 
 the corner of Innesmore Mansions in a heavy 
 rainstorm- was in the room. 
 
 "Why did you tell me that Mr. Theydon 
 was a serious scientific person?" cried the 
 girl. "He is anything but that. He can talk 
 nonsense quite admirably." 
 
 "So can a great many serious scientific 
 persons, Evelyn. Glad to see you, Mr. They- 
 don. Professor Scarth's letter paved the way 
 for something more than a formal meeting, 
 so I thought you wouldn't mind giving us 
 an evening. My wife is not in town. She is 
 a martyr to hay fever, and has to fly from 
 London to the sea early in May to escape. 
 If caught here in June nothing can save 
 her. Tonight, as it happens, you're our only 
 guest, but my daughter is going to a musicale 
 at Lady de Winton's after dinner, so you and 
 I will be free to soar into the empyrean 
 through a blaze of tobacco smoke." 
 
 Standing there, in that delightful drawing 
 room, made welcome by a man like Forbes, 
 and admitted to a degree of charming inti- 
 macy by a girl like Forbes 's daughter, They- 
 don tried to believe that his meeting with 
 those ill-omened detectives at Waterloo Sta- 
 tion was, in some sort, a figment of the im- 
 agination.
 
 28 
 
 But he was instantly and effectually 
 brought back to a dour sense of reality by 
 Evelyn Forbes 's next words. She,, by chance, 
 looked at Theydon just as she had looked at 
 him the previous night. 
 
 "Were you at Daly's Theater last night?" 
 she inquired suddenly. 
 
 "Yes," he said. Then, finding there was 
 no help for it, he went on: 
 
 "You and I have hit on the same dis- 
 covery, Miss Forbes. We three stood to- 
 gether at the exit. I was waiting for a 
 taxi, and saw you get into your car. 
 Now you know just why I fell over the 
 chair." 
 
 Forbes glanced up quickly. 
 
 "Don't tell me Tomlinson forgot to move 
 that infernal chair again!" he cried. "Really, 
 I must get rid either of our butler or the 
 Canaletto, yet I prize both." 
 
 "Don't blame Tomlinson, Dad," laughed 
 the girl. "If Mr. Theydon hadn't made an 
 unconventional entry we would have talked 
 about the weather, or something equally 
 stupid." 
 
 At that moment Tomlinson himself, im- 
 perturbable and portly, announced that dinner 
 was served. The three descended the stairs, 
 chatting lightly about the musical comedy 
 witnessed overnight. It was no new revelation 
 to Theydon that truth should prove stranger
 
 THE COMPACT 29 
 
 than fiction, but the trite phrase was fast as- 
 suming a fresh and sinister personal sig- 
 nificance. He believed, and not without good 
 reason, that no man living had ever under- 
 gone an experience comparable with his pres- 
 ent adventure. 
 
 When he left that house he was going 
 straight to two officers of the law whose 
 bounden duty it would become to call upon 
 Mr. Forbes for a full and true explanation 
 of his visit to Mrs. Lester provided, that is, 
 he (They don) told them what he knew. Talk 
 about a death's-head grinning at a feast! 
 At that bright dinner-table he was a prey 
 to keener emotion than ever /shook a Bor- 
 gia entertaining one whom he meant to 
 poison. 
 
 In sheer self-defense he talked with an ani- 
 mation he seldom displayed. Evelyn was evi- 
 dently much taken by him, and, fired by her 
 manifest interest, he indulged in fantastic 
 paradox and wild flights of fancy. Seemingly 
 his exuberance stimulated Forbes, himself a 
 well-informed and epigrammatic talker. 
 
 An hour sped all too soon. The girl rose 
 with a sigh. 
 
 "It's too bad that I should have to go," 
 she said. "I shall be bored stiff at Lady de 
 Winton's. But I can't get out of it except by 
 telling a positive fib over the telephone. 
 Dad, next time you ask Mr. Theydon to
 
 30 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 dinner, please let me know in good time, 
 and neither of you will be rid of me so 
 easily." 
 
 She shook hands with Theydon. While she 
 was giving her father a parting kiss the 
 guest moved to the door and held it open. As 
 she passed out she smiled and her eyes 
 said plainly : 
 
 "I like you. Come again soon." 
 
 Then she was gone and the pleasant room 
 lost some of its glow and color. 
 
 "Don't sit down again, Theydon," said 
 Forbes, rising. "We'll have coffee brought 
 to my den. What is your favorite liqueur 
 or shall we tell Tomlinson to send along that 
 decanter of port? It's a first-rate wine. An- 
 other glass won't hurt you, or me, for that 
 matter. ' ' 
 
 Theydon had hardly dared to touch the 
 champagne supplied during the meal. Abste- 
 mious at all times, because he found that wine 
 or spirits interfered with his capacity for 
 work, he felt that a clear head and steady 
 nerves were called for that night more than 
 any other night in his life. Following the lead 
 given by his host, therefore, he elected for 
 the port. 
 
 "You are right, too," said Forbes. "You 
 remember Dr. Johnson's dictum: 'Claref is 
 the liquor for boys; port for men; but he 
 who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy'?
 
 THE COMPACT 31 
 
 Tonight, not aspiring to the heroic, we'll stick 
 to port." 
 
 44 It is a curious fact that on my return from 
 Brooklands today I took a glass of brandy," 
 confessed Theydon. "I seldom, if ever, drink 
 any intoxicant before dining, but I needed a 
 stimulant of a sort, and some unknown tissue 
 in me cried aloud for brandy." 
 
 He hoped vaguely that the comment would 
 lead to- something more explicit, and thus 
 bring him, without undue emphasis, so to 
 speak, to the one topic on which he 
 was now resolved to obtain a decisive state- 
 ment from the man chiefly concerned be- 
 fore he faced the representatives of Scotland 
 Yard. 
 
 But Forbes, motioning to an easy chair in 
 a well-appointed library, and flinging himself 
 into another, gave heed only to the one word 
 Brooklands. 
 
 "Did you fly?" he asked. 
 
 "No. I was soaking in theory, not prac- 
 tice." 
 
 "Ah, theory. It would, indeed, seem to be 
 true that folded away in some convolution of 
 our brain are the faculties of the fish and the 
 bird. Those latent powers are expanding 
 daily. The submarine has already gone far 
 beyond the practical achievement of aerial 
 craft. But why, in the name of humanity, 
 should every such development of man's al-
 
 32 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 most immeasurable resources be dedicated to 
 warlike purposes! I am sick at heart when I 
 hear the first question put in these days to each 
 inventor : * Can you enable us to kill more of our 
 fellowmen than we can kill with existing appli- 
 ances?' Is it a new engine, a new amalgam 
 of metals, a new explosive, a new field of 
 electrical energy, one hears the same vulture's 
 cry 'How many, how far, how safely can we 
 slay?' I regard this lust for destruction as 
 contemptible. It is a strange and ignomini- 
 ous feature of modern life. Forgive me, 
 Mr. Theydon, if I speak strongly on this mat- 
 ter. The men who spread the bounds of 
 science today are, nominally, at any rate, 
 Christians. They tell of peace and goodwill 
 to all, yet prepare unceasingly for some awful 
 Armageddon.* We teach Christ's gospel in 
 pulpit and schoolhouse, strive to express it in 
 our laws, obey it in our lives and social rela- 
 tions, yet we are armed to the teeth and ever 
 arming, adding strength to the plates of our 
 warships and distance to the range of our 
 guns, constantly riveting and welding and forg- 
 ing monsters which shall shatter men and cities 
 and States." 
 
 It was not the younger man now who talked 
 brilliantly and forcibly. Theydon, frankly 
 abandoning the effort to twist the conver- 
 sation to that enigma which, the more he saw 
 
 *Thia story was written before the outbreak of war in 1914.
 
 THE COMPACT 33 
 
 and heard of Forbes the more incredible it 
 became, listened enthralled to one who spoke 
 with the conviction and earnestness of a 
 prophet. 
 
 4 'Don't imagine that I am framing an in- 
 dictment against Christianity," went on 
 Forbes passionately. "The Sermon on the 
 Mount inspires all that is great and noble 
 in our everyday existence, all that is eter- 
 nally beautiful in our dreams of the future. 
 But why this din of war, this smoke of ar- 
 senals, this marching and drilling of the 
 world's youth? Nature's law appears to have 
 two simple clauses. It enforces a principle 
 in the struggle for existence, a test in the sur- 
 vival of the fittest. Great heavens, are not 
 these enough, without having our ears deaf- 
 ened by powder and drumming? That is why 
 I am devoting a good deal of time and no 
 small amount of money to an international 
 crusade against the warlike idea, and I see 
 no reason why a beginning should not be 
 made with the airship and the airplane. 
 We are too late with the submarine, but, 
 before the golden hour passes, let us stop 
 the navigation of the air from forming 
 part of the equipment of murder. Surely it 
 can be done. England and the United States, 
 Italy, France and the rest of Europe the 
 founts of civilization can write the edict, 
 with all the blazonry of their glorious his-
 
 34 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 tories to illuminate the page 'There shall be 
 no war in the air!' 
 
 Theydon was carried away in spite of him- 
 self. 
 
 "You believe that the airship might develop 
 along the unemotional lines of the parcel 
 post?" he inquired. 
 
 Forbes laughed. 
 
 1 'Exactly," he said. "I like your simile. 
 No one suggests that we Britons should en- 
 deavor to destroy our hated rivals by send- 
 ing bombs through the mails. Why, then, 
 in the name of common sense, should the 
 first I might almost say the only use of 
 which the airship is commonly supposed cap- 
 able be that of destruction? Don't you see 
 the instant result of a war-limiting ordinance 
 of the kind I advocate? Suppose the peoples 
 and the rulers declared in their wisdom that 
 soldiers and war material should be contraband 
 of the air and suppose that airships do be- 
 come vehicles of practical utility what a farce 
 would soon be all the grim fortresses, the guns, 
 the giant steel structures now designed as float- 
 ing hells! Humanity has yet time to declare 
 that the flying machine shall be as harmless and 
 serviceable as the penny post. I believe it 
 can be done. Come now, Mr. Theydon, I 
 think you've caught on to my scheme will 
 you help?" 
 
 Help! Here was a man expounding a new
 
 THE COMPACT 35 
 
 evangel, which might, indeed, be visionary and 
 impracticable, but was none the less essen- 
 tially noble and Christian in spirit, yet They- 
 don was debating whether or not he should 
 give testimony which would bring to that 
 very room a couple of detectives whose first 
 questions would make clear to Forbes that 
 he was suspected of blood-guiltiness! 
 
 The notion was so utterly repellent that 
 Theydon sighed deeply; his host not unnatur- 
 ally looked surprised. 
 
 "Of course, such a revolutionary idea 
 strikes you as outside the pale of common 
 sense," he began, but the younger man stayed 
 him with a gesture. Here was an oppor- 
 tunity that must not be allowed to pass. No 
 matter what the cost if he never saw Evelyn 
 Forbes or her father again he must dispel 
 the waking nightmare which held him in 
 such an abnormal condition of uncertainty 
 and foreboding. 
 
 "Now that your daughter is gone I may 
 venture to speak plainly," he said. "I told 
 you that I felt the need of a brandy and 
 soda at Waterloo. As a matter of fact, I 
 did not leave the Brooklands track until six 
 o'clock, and, as Innesmore Mansions, where 
 I live, lie north, and I was due here at 7 : 30, 
 I had my man meet me at the station with 
 a suitcase, meaning to change my clothes in 
 the dressing room there, and come straight
 
 36 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 here. Guess my astonishment when I found 
 Bates Bates is the name of my factotum 
 in the company of two strangers, whom he 
 introduced as representing the Criminal In- 
 vestigation Department." 
 
 He paused. He had brought in his own 
 address skilfully enough, and kept his voice 
 sufficiently under control that no tremor be- 
 trayed a knowledge of Forbes 's vital interest 
 in any mention of that one block of flats 
 among the multitude. 
 
 Now, for the first time, Innesmore Man- 
 sions figured as his abode, the correspondence 
 which led to the dinner having centered in 
 his club. But not a flicker of eyelid nor 
 twitch of mobile lips showed the slightest 
 concern on Forbes 's part. Bather did he dis- 
 play at once a well-bred astonishment on 
 hearing Theydon's concluding words. 
 
 "Do you mean detectives from Scotland 
 Yard?" he cried. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Forbes smiled, and commenced filling a 
 pipe. 
 
 "Evidently they did not want you as a prin- 
 cipal," he said. 
 
 His tone was genial, but slightly guarded. 
 Theydon realized that this man of great 
 wealth and high social position had reminded 
 himself that his guest, though armed with 
 the best of credentials, was quite unknown to
 
 THE COMPACT 37 
 
 him otherwise, and that, perhaps, he had 
 acted unwisely in inviting a stranger to his 
 house without making some preliminary in- 
 quiry. This reversal of their roles was a 
 conceit so ludicrous that Theydon smiled 
 too. 
 
 At any rate, he meant now to pursue an 
 unpleasing task, and have done with it. 
 
 "No," he said slowly. "It seems that I 
 am the worst sort of witness in a murder 
 case. I may have heard, I may even have 
 seen, the person suspected of committing the 
 crime, or, if that is going too far, the person 
 whom the police have good reason to regard 
 as the last who saw the poor victim alive 
 and in ordinary conditions. But my testi- 
 mony, such as it is, is so slight and incon- 
 clusive that, of itself, no one could hang a cat 
 on it." 
 
 "Good gracious! That sounds interesting, 
 though you have my sympathy. It must be 
 rather distressing to be mixed up in such an 
 affair, even indirectly." 
 
 Forbes struck precisely the right note of 
 friendly inquiry. He wished to hear more, 
 and was at the same time relieved to find 
 that Professor Scarth had not introduced a 
 notorious malefactor in the guise of a young 
 writer seeking material for an article on air- 
 ships ! 
 
 Theydon could have laughed aloud at this
 
 38 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 comedy of errors, but the fact that at any 
 moment it might develop into a tragedy ex- 
 ercises a wholesome restraint. 
 
 "I happen to live at No. 18 Innesmore Man- 
 sions," he said. ''Opposite on the same 
 floor, I mean lives, or did live, a Mrs. Lester. 
 I do not" 
 
 "Are you telling me that a Mrs. Lester of 
 No. 17 Innesmore Mansions is dead has been 
 murdered?" 
 
 Forbes 's voice rang out vibrant, incisive. 
 His ordinarily pale face had blanched, and 
 his deep-set eyes blazed with the fire of some 
 fierce emotion, but, beyond the slight elevation 
 of tone and the change of expression, he re- 
 vealed to They don's quietly watchful scrutiny 
 no sign of the terror or distress which an evil- 
 doer might be expected to show on learning 
 that the law's vengeance was already shadow- 
 ing him, even in so remote a way as was in- 
 dicated by the presence under his roof of a 
 witness regarded by the police as an impor- 
 tant one. 
 
 "Yes!" stammered Theydon, quite taken 
 aback by his companion's vehemence. "Do 
 you know the lady? If so I am sorry I 
 spoke so unguardedly 
 
 "Good heavens, man, don't apologize for 
 that! I am not a child or weakling, that I 
 should flinch in horror from one of life's 
 dramatic surprises! But, are you sure of
 
 THE COMPACT 39 
 
 what you are saying? Mrs. Lester murdered! 
 When!" 
 
 "About midnight last night, the doctor be- 
 lieves. That is what Bates told me. I was 
 so shaken on hearing his news, which was con- 
 firmed by the two detectives, that I really 
 gave little heed to details. . . . She was 
 strangled a peculiarly atrocious thing where 
 an attractive and ladylike woman is con- 
 cerned. I have never spoken to her, but have 
 met her at odd times on the stairs. I was 
 immeasurably shocked, I assure you. In fact, 
 I was on the point of telegraphing an excuse 
 to you for this evening, but the Chief Inspector 
 Winter, I think his name is said it would 
 suffice for his purpose if I met him at my flat 
 about eleven o'clock, as he was engaged on 
 other inquiries which would occupy the inter- 
 vening hours." 
 
 "But if the news of this dastardly crime 
 only reached you tonight at Waterloo Station, 
 and you have no personal acquaintance with 
 Mrs. Lester, what evidence can you give that 
 will assist the police?" 
 
 "Mrs. Lester received a visitor last night, 
 an incident so unusual that I, who heard him 
 arrive, and Bates, who was in my sitting room 
 when we both heard him depart, commented 
 on the strangeness of it. That, I suppose, is 
 the reason why I am in request by Scotland 
 Yard."
 
 40 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 "You say 'him.' How did you know it 
 was a man? Did you see him?" 
 
 "Er that was impossible. We were in my 
 flat, behind its closed door. Bates and I 
 deduced his sex from the sound of his foot- 
 steps." 
 
 Again Theydon nearly stammered. Events 
 had certainly turned in the most amazing way. 
 Instead of carrying himself almost in the 
 manner of a judge, he was figuring rather as 
 an unwilling witness in the hands of a skilled 
 and merciless cross-examining counsel. 
 
 1 'Did the police officers supply any theory 
 of motive for the crime? Was this poor wo- 
 man killed for the sake of her few trinkets?" 
 
 By this time Theydon was stung into a 
 species of revolt. It was he, not Forbes, who 
 should be snapping out searching questions. 
 
 "I regret to say that my nerves were not 
 sufficiently under control at Waterloo that I 
 should listen carefully to each word," he said, 
 almost stiffly. "Bates had picked up such in- 
 formation as was available; but he, though an 
 ex-sergeant in the Army, was so upset as to 
 be hardly coherent. When I meet the de- 
 tectives in the course of another hour I shall 
 probably gather something definite and re- 
 liable in the way of details." 
 
 Forjbes laid the pipe which he had filled but 
 not lighted on the table. He poured out a 
 glass of port and drank it.
 
 THE COMPACT 41 
 
 "Try that," he said, pushing the decanter 
 toward Theydon. "They cannot trouble you 
 greatly. You have so little to tell. ' ' 
 
 "No, thanks. Nothing more for me tonight 
 until the Scotland Yard men have cleared 
 out." 
 
 Forbes rose as he spoke and strode the 
 length of the room and back with the air of 
 a man debating some weighty and difficult 
 point. 
 
 "Mr. Theydon," he said, at last, halting in 
 front of the younger man and gazing down at 
 him with a direct intensity that was highly 
 embarrassing to one who had good cause to 
 connect him with the actual crime. "I want 
 you to do me a favor a great favor. It was 
 in my mind at first to ask you to permit me 
 to go with you to Innesmore Mansions, and to 
 be present during the interview with the de- 
 tectives. But a man in my position must be 
 circumspect. It would, perhaps, be unwise to 
 appear too openly interested. I don't mind tell- 
 ing you in confidence that I have known Mrs. 
 Lester many years. The shock of her death, 
 severe as it must have been to you, is slight 
 as compared with my own sorrow and dismay. 
 More than that I dare not say until better in- 
 formed. I remember now hearing the news- 
 boys shouting their ghoulish news, and I saw 
 contents bills making large type display of 
 'Murder of a lady,' but little did I imagine
 
 42 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 that the victim was one whom one whose loss 
 I shall deplore. . . . Are you on the tele- 
 phone I ' ' 
 
 "Yes," said Theydon, thoroughly mystified 
 anew by the announcement that Forbes had 
 even contemplated, or so much as hinted at, 
 the astounding imprudence of visiting Innes- 
 more Mansions that night. 
 
 "Ring me up when the detectives have gone. 
 I shall esteem your assistance during this 
 crisis as a real service." 
 
 For the life of him, Theydon could not 
 frame the protest which ought to have been 
 made without delay and without hesitation. 
 
 "Yes," he said. "I'll do that. You can 
 trust me absolutely." 
 
 Thus was he committed to secrecy. That 
 promise sealed his lips.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 IN THE TOILS 
 
 THEYDON, though blessed, or cursed, with an 
 active imagination which must surely be the 
 prime equipment of a novelist was shrewd 
 and level-headed in dealing with everyday 
 affairs. 
 
 It was no small achievement that the son 
 of a country rector, aided only by a stout 
 heart, a university education and an excel- 
 lent physique good recommendations, each 
 and all, but forming the stock-in-trade of 
 many a man on whose subsequent career 
 "failure'* is writ large should have forced 
 himself to the front rank of the most over- 
 crowded among the professions before attain- 
 ing his twenty-sixth year. 
 
 It may be taken for granted, therefore, that 
 he was not lacking in the qualities of close 
 observation and critical analysis. He would, 
 for instance, be readier than the majority of 
 his fellows to note the small beginnings of 
 events destined to become important. 
 
 Often, of course, his deductions would 
 prove erroneous, but the mere fact that he 
 habitually exercised his wits in such a way 
 
 43
 
 44 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 rendered it equally certain that his judgment 
 would be accurate sometimes. One such oc- 
 casion presented itself a few seconds after he 
 had left the Forbes mansion. 
 
 A taxi, summoned by a footman, was in 
 waiting, and Theydon was crossing the pave- 
 ment when he noticed a gray landaulet car 
 at rest beneath the trees at some distance. 
 Mr. Forbes 's house stood in a square, and 
 the gray car had been drawn up on the quiet 
 side of the roadway, being stationed there, 
 apparently, to await its owner's behest. Gray 
 cars are common enough in London, but they 
 are usually of the touring class. 
 
 Not often does one see a gray-painted lan- 
 daulet; hence, the odd though hardly remark- 
 able fact occurred to Theydon that a precisely 
 similar gray automobile had occupied the 
 center of the station yard at Waterloo when 
 he took a taxi from the rank. 
 
 Admittedly he was in a nervous and excited 
 state. It could hardly be otherwise after the 
 strain of that astounding conversation with 
 Forbes, and there was no prospect of the ten- 
 sion being relaxed until the close of the in- 
 terview with the detectives, which he now re- 
 garded as the worse ordeal of the two. 
 
 But this subconscious neurasthenia in no 
 wise affected the reflex action of his ordinary 
 faculties. When, on leaving the square, and 
 while his cab was rattling along an aris-
 
 IN THE TOILS 45 
 
 tocratic thoroughfare leading to Knights- 
 bridge, he peered through a tiny observation 
 window in the back of the vehicle, and as- 
 certained that the gray car was stealing along 
 quietly about a hundred yards in the rear, 
 he began to believe that its presence both at 
 Waterloo and outside Mr. Forbes 's residence 
 could not be wholly accidental. When he had 
 watched its persistent treading on his heels 
 along Piccadilly its intent became almost un- 
 mistakable. 
 
 The route to Innesmore Mansions traversed 
 some of London's main arteries, but, despite 
 the rush of traffic due to the first flight of 
 homewardbound playgoers, the gray car kept 
 steadily on his track. Amused at first, be be- 
 came angry because of a notion which grew 
 out of the wonderment of finding himself the 
 object of this persistent espionage. 
 
 To make sure, and at the same time dis- 
 cover the sort of person who was spying on 
 him, he adopted a ruse. Leaning out, when 
 about to cross Oxford Street into Totten- 
 ham Court Road, he said to his driver: "Turn 
 sharp to the right in Store Street, and pull 
 up. I'll tell you when to go on again." 
 
 The man obeyed. Theydon posted himself 
 at the outer window, and in a space of time 
 so short that the excellence of the gray car's 
 accelerator was amply demonstrated, the pur- 
 suer swung into sight. A stolid-faced chauf-
 
 46 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 feur at the wheel did not appear discomfited 
 at coming on his quarry thus unexpectedly. 
 He whirled past, seemingly quite oblivious of 
 Theydon 's fixed stare. Though the weather 
 was mild he wore an overcoat with upturned 
 collar, so that between its protecting flaps and 
 a low-peaked cap his face was well hidden. 
 Still, Theydon received an impression of a 
 curiously wooden physiognomy. 
 
 The man might have been an automaton 
 for all the heed he gave to the taxi or its in- 
 quisitive occupant. But his aspect was al- 
 most forgotten in the far stranger discovery 
 that the car was empty. Both windows 
 were open, and the bright lights of a corner 
 shop flashed into the interior, yet not a soul 
 was visible. Moreover, the car sped on un- 
 hesitatingly, stopping some two hundred yards 
 ahead. 
 
 So far as Theydon could tell, no one 
 alighted. He jotted down the number XY 
 1314 on his shirt cuff. 
 
 1 'Did you happen to see that car waiting 
 near the house I came from?" he said to the 
 taxi man, who, of course, provided an in- 
 terested audience of one. 
 
 "Yes, sir," was the ready answer. "It's 
 not a London car. I've never seen them 
 letters afore." 
 
 "In other words, it may be a faked num- 
 ber."
 
 IN THE TOILS 47 
 
 " Likely enough, sir, but rather risky. The 
 police are quick at spotting that sort of 
 thing." 
 
 "Can you take a hand in the game? I 
 want to know where that car goes to." 
 
 The man grinned. 
 
 "I wouldn't like to humbug you, sir. That 
 there machine can lose me quicker 'n a Derby 
 winner could pass a keb horse. Didn't you 
 hear the hum of the engine as it went by?" 
 
 "Thanks. Now go ahead to Innesmore 
 Mansions." 
 
 He was paying the driver when the gray 
 car stole quietly past the end of the street, 
 and that was the last he saw of it. 
 
 "There it goes again, sir," said the man. 
 "Tell you wot, gimme your name an' address. 
 I'll make a few inquiries, an' keep me eyes 
 open as well. Then, if I hear anythink, I'll 
 let you know." 
 
 Theydon scribbled the number of his flat 
 on a card. 
 
 "There you are," he said. "Even if I 
 happen to be out, I'll leave instructions that 
 you are to be paid half a crown for your 
 trouble if you call. By the way, what is your 
 name?" 
 
 "Evans, sir." 
 
 There was really little doubt in Theydon 's 
 mind as to the reason why he had been fol- 
 lowed. He was fuming about it when Bates
 
 48 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 met him in the hall of No. 18 with the 
 whisper : 
 
 "Them two are waiting here now, sir.'* 
 
 Theydon glanced at his watch. The hour 
 was ten minutes past eleven. 
 
 "Sorr^ I'm late, gentlemen," he said, on 
 entering the sitting room and finding the de- 
 tectives seated at his table, seemingly com- 
 paring notes, because the Chief Inspector was 
 talking, while Furneaux, the diminutive, was 
 glancing at a notebook. 
 
 "We have no reason to complain of being 
 kept waiting a few minutes in such comfort- 
 able quarters," said Winter pleasantly. 
 
 "0, I fancy I was detained by some zealous 
 assistant of yours," said Theydon, deter- 
 mined to carry the war into the enemy's ter- 
 ritory. 
 
 At that Furneaux looked up quickly. 
 
 "Will you kindly tell me just what you 
 mean, Mr. Theydon?" said Winter. 
 
 "Why? Is it news to you that a gray 
 limousine car stalked me from Waterloo to 
 to my friend's house, waited there three hours 
 or more, and has carefully escorted me home? 
 I dislike that sort of thing. Moreover, it 
 strikes me as stupid. I didn't kill Mrs. 
 Lester. It will save you and me a good deal 
 of time and worry if you accept that plain 
 statement as a fact." 
 
 "Won't you sit down?" said Winter
 
 IN THE TOILS 49 
 
 quietly. "And may I smoke? I didn't like 
 to ask Bates for permission to light up in 
 your absence." 
 
 Theydon was not to be outdone in coolness. 
 He opened a corner cupboard and produced 
 various boxes. 
 
 "The cigars are genuine Havanas," he 
 said. "A birthday present from a maiden 
 aunt, who is wise enough to judge the quality 
 of tobacco by the price. Here, too, are Vir- 
 ginian, Turkish and Egyptian cigarettes." 
 
 Winter inspected the cigars gravely. 
 
 "By Jove!" he cried, his big eyes bulging 
 in joyous surprise. "Last year's crop from 
 the Don Juan y Guerrero plantation. Treas- 
 ure that aunt of yours, Mr. Theydon. None 
 but herself can be her equal." 
 
 Theydon saw that the little man did not 
 follow his chief's example. 
 
 "Don't you smoke?" he said. 
 
 "No, but if you'll not be horrified, I would 
 like to smell one of those Turks." 
 
 "Smell it?" 
 
 "Yes. That is the only way to enjoy the 
 aroma and avoid nicotine poisoning. My 
 worthy chief dulls a sound intellect by the 
 cigar habit. What is worse, he excites a ner- 
 vous system which is normally somewhat 
 bovine. You, also, I take it, are a confirmed 
 smoker, so both of you are at cross-purposes 
 already."
 
 DO NmTBEK SEVENTEEN 
 
 Furneaux's voice was pitched in the curious 
 piping note usually associated with comic 
 relief in a melodrama, but his wizened face 
 was solemn as a red Indian's. It was They- 
 don who smiled. His preconceived ideas as 
 to the appearance and demeanor of the Lon- 
 don detective were shattered. Really, there 
 was no need to take these two seriously. 
 
 Winter, while lighting the cigar, grinned 
 amiably at his colleague. Furneaux passed 
 a cigarette to and fro under his nostrils 
 and sniffed. Theydon reached for a pipe and 
 tobacco jar and drew up a chair. 
 
 ''Well," he said, "it is not my business to 
 criticise your methods. I have very little 
 to tell you. I suppose "Bates 
 
 "The really important thing is this car 
 which followed you tonight," broke in Winter. 
 "The details are fresh in your memory. 
 What type of car was it? Did you see the 
 driver and occupants? What's its number?" 
 
 Theydon had not expected these questions. 
 He looked his astonishment. 
 
 "Ha!" cackled Furneaux. "What did I 
 tell you?" 
 
 "0, shut up!" growled Winter. "I am 
 asking just what you yourself are itching to 
 know." 
 
 "May I take it that the car has not been 
 dogging me by your instructions?" said They- 
 don. He was inclined to be skeptical, yet
 
 IN THE TOILS 51 
 
 the Chief Inspector seemed to have spoken 
 quite candidly. 
 
 "Yes," said Winter, meeting the other's 
 glance squarely. "We have no reason on 
 earth to doubt the truth of anything you have 
 said, or may say, with regard to this inquiry. 
 The car is not ours. This is the first we 
 have heard of it. We accepted your word, 
 Mr. Theydon, that you were dining with a 
 friend. Perhaps you will tell us now what 
 his name is and where he lives." 
 
 Theydon hesitated the fraction of a second. 
 That, he knew instantly, was a blunder, so 
 he proceeded to rectify it. 
 
 "I was dining with Mr. James Creighton 
 Forbes, of No. 11, Fortescue Square," he said. 
 "Probably you are acquainted with his name, 
 so you will realize that if my evidence proves 
 of the slightest value I would not like any 
 reference to be made to the fact that I was 
 his guest tonight." 
 
 "I don't see how that can possibly enter 
 into the matter, except in its bearing on this 
 mysterious car." 
 
 Though Winter was taking the lead, They- 
 don was aware that Furneaux, who had given 
 him scant attention hitherto, was now looking 
 at him fixedly. He imagined that the queer 
 little man was all agog to learn something 
 about the automobile which had thrust itself 
 so abruptly into the affair.
 
 52 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 "Exactly," he agreed. "I visited Mr. 
 Forbes tonight for the first time. "We are 
 mutually interested in aviation. That is why 
 I went to Brooklands today, and the invita- 
 tion to dinner was the outcome of a letter of 
 introduction given me by Professor Scarth." 
 
 Then, thinking he had said enough on that 
 point, he described the gray car and its stolid- 
 faced chauffeur to the best of his ability. He 
 told of the brief chat with the taxi driver and 
 its result. 
 
 "Good!" nodded Winter. "I'm glad you 
 did that. It may help. I am doubtful of 
 any information turning up, but you never 
 can tell. The number plate, at any rate, is 
 certainly misleading. Now, about last night? 
 Try and be as accurate as possible with re- 
 gard to time. Can you give us the exact hour 
 when you returned home?" 
 
 "I happened to note by the clock on the 
 mantelpiece that I came in at 11:35." 
 
 Winter compared the clock's time with his 
 watch. 
 
 "You had been to a theater?" he said. 
 
 "Yes Daly's." 
 
 "It was raining heavily. Did you take a 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Were you delayed? The piece ended at 
 11:05." 
 "My cab met with a slight accident."
 
 IN THE TOILS 53 
 
 "What sort of accident?" 
 
 Theydon explained. 
 
 "In all likelihood you can discover the 
 driver," he smiled, "and he will establish 
 my alibi." 
 
 His tone seemed to annoy Furneaux, who 
 broke in: 
 
 "Don't you write novels?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Sensational?" 
 
 1 l Occasionally. ' ' 
 
 "Then you ought to be tickled to death, 
 as the Americans say,' at being mixed up in 
 a first-rate murder. This is no ordinary 
 crime. Several people will be older and wiser 
 before the culprit is found and hanged." 
 
 "What Mr. Furneaux has in mind," purred 
 Winter cheerfully, "is the curious habit of 
 some witnesses when questioned by the police. 
 They arm themselves against attack, as it 
 were. You see, Mr. Theydon, we suspect no- 
 body. We try to ascertain facts, and hope to 
 deduce a theory from them. Over and over 
 again we are mistaken. We are no more 
 astute than other men. Our sole advantage 
 is a wide experience of criminal methods. The 
 detective of romance if you'll forgive the 
 allusion simply doesn't exist in real life." 
 
 "I accept the rebuke," said Theydon. "I 
 suppose the gray car was still rankling in my 
 mind. From this moment I start afresh. At
 
 54 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 any rate, the man who brought me from the 
 theater might check my recollection of the 
 time." 
 
 Winter nodded. He was evidently pleased 
 that Theydon was inclined to share his view 
 of the difficulties Scotland Yard encountered 
 in its fight against malefactors. 
 
 "Did you see or meet any one in particular 
 while your car approached these mansions, or 
 when you ascended the stairs?" 
 
 "No," said Theydon. 
 
 He perceived intuitively that if the de- 
 tectives found the driver of the taxi which 
 brought him from the theater it was possible 
 the man might have noticed Forbes, who had 
 certainly been scrutinized a few minutes later 
 by a policeman, so he hastened to add: 
 
 "You said 'any one in particular.' I did 
 see a tall, well-dressed gentleman at the 
 corner of the street, but there is nothing re- 
 markable in that." 
 
 "Which way was he heading?" 
 
 "In this direction." 
 
 "Then it is conceivable that he might be 
 the man who called on Mrs. Lester?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Aren't you pretty sure he was the man?" 
 
 Theydon permitted himself to look aston- 
 ished. 
 
 "I?" he said. "How can I be sure? If 
 you mean that, judging from the interval
 
 IN THE TOILS 55 
 
 of time between my seeing him at the corner 
 and the sound of footsteps on the stairs, 
 followed by the opening of the door at No. 17, 
 it could be he, I accept that." 
 
 Winter nodded again. Apparently he was 
 content with They don's correction. 
 
 "As the weather was bad, you probably 
 hurried in when your cab stopped!" he said. 
 
 "That is equivalent to saying you credit 
 me with sense enough to get in out of the wet," 
 smiled Theydon. 
 
 "Just so. And you wore an overcoat, 
 which you removed on entering your hall?" 
 
 "Yes," and Theydon 's tone showed a cer- 
 tain bewilderment at these trivialities. 
 
 "Then if you paid no special heed to the 
 movements of the tall gentleman you have 
 mentioned, why did you open one of these 
 windows and look out soon after Bates went 
 to the post?" 
 
 Theydon flushed like a schoolboy caught by 
 a master under circumstances which youth 
 generally describes as "a clean cop." 
 
 "How on earth do you know I looked out?" 
 he almost gasped. 
 
 "I'll tell you willingly. The discovery was 
 Mr. Furneaux's, not mine. When we came 
 here this morning, and ascertained that you 
 had been out at a late hour last night, we 
 asked your man if he could enlighten us as 
 to your movements. He did so. To the best
 
 56 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 of his belief you dined at a club, and occupied 
 a stall at Daly's Theater subsequently. He was 
 sure, too, you had not walked home through 
 the rain, so it was easy to draw the conclu- 
 sion that you returned in a covered vehicle. 
 Mr. Furneaux requested Bates to produce 
 the clothes you had worn, which, owing to the 
 uproar created by the news of the murder, 
 had not been brushed and put away. As a 
 consequence the silk collar and part of the 
 back of your dress-coat bore the marks of 
 raindrops. How had they got there? The 
 only logical deduction was that you had 
 thrust your head and shoulders through a 
 window, and the time of the action is estab- 
 lished almost beyond doubt, because you had 
 changed the coat when Bates came from the 
 pillar-box. It was either directly after you 
 came in, or while Bates was absent. Of course 
 you may have looked out twice. Did you? 
 Whether once or twice, why did you do it?" 
 
 Theydon's feelings changed rapidly while 
 Winter was delivering this very convincing 
 analysis of a few simple facts. He had passed 
 at a bound from the detected schoolboy stage 
 to that of a man forcing his way through a 
 thicket who finds himself on the very lip of 
 a precipice. 
 
 He remembered hazily that Bates had said 
 something at Waterloo with regard to the 
 manner in which the detectives, especially
 
 IN THE TOILS 57 
 
 Furneaux, had questioned him. But it was too 
 late to apply the warning thus conveyed. If 
 he faltered now he was forever discredited. 
 These men would read his perplexed face as 
 if it were a printed page. In his distress he 
 was prepared to hear Winter or that little 
 satyr, Furneaux, say mockingly: 
 
 "Why are you trying to screen James 
 Creighton Forbes! What is he to you! 
 What matter his fame or social rank! We 
 are here to see that justice is done. Out 
 with the truth, let who may suffer." 
 
 But neither of the pair said anything of 
 the sort. Furneaux only interjected a sar- 
 castic comment. 
 
 "You will observe, Mr. Theydon, that even 
 in a minor instance of deductive reasoning, 
 such as this, the man who smells rather than 
 the man who smokes tobacco solves the prob- 
 lem promptly." 
 
 Theydon threw out his hands in token of 
 surrender. He thought he saw a means of 
 escape, and took it unhesitatingly. 
 
 "I'm vanquished," he said. "You force 
 me to admit that I do know a little, a very 
 little, more than I have confessed hitherto 
 about the man who visited Mrs. Lester's flat 
 last night. I have said nothing about the 
 matter thus far because I didn't want to be 
 convicted of a piece of idle curiosity worthy 
 of a gossip-loving housemaid. I noticed the
 
 58 
 
 man I have described staring at the name 
 tablet of the street as my cab turned the 
 corner. I did not know him. I had never seen 
 him before last night, but he was of such 
 distinguished appearance and his face was of 
 so rare a type that I was interested and 
 wished to ascertain, if possible, on whom he 
 meant calling if, as it seemed, he was search- 
 ing for an address in these flats. Therefore, 
 I did look out, and saw him enter the door- 
 way beneath. In due course I heard him 
 arrive at Mrs. Lester's door that is, I as- 
 sume it was he. Five minutes later Bates 
 and I heard him depart. To make sure, I 
 looked out a second time. If you ask me why 
 I behaved in that way I cannot tell you. 
 I have occupied this flat during the past 
 five months, and I have never previously, 
 within my recollection, lifted a window and 
 gazed out to watch anybody's comings and 
 goings. The thing is inexplicable. All I can 
 say is that it just happened." 
 
 "Would you recognize him if you saw him 
 again?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Theydon gave the assurance readily. It 
 was beyond credence that either detective 
 should put the one question to which he was 
 now firmly resolved to give a misleading 
 answer, and in this belief he was justified, 
 since not even Furneaux's uncanny intel-
 
 IN THE TOILS 59 
 
 ligence could suggest the fantastic notion that 
 the man who walked through the rain the 
 previous night and the man with whom They- 
 don had dined that evening were one and 
 the same person. 
 
 "I don't blame you for adopting a policy 
 of partial concealment," said the Chief In- 
 spector, dryly. "You are not the first, and 
 you certainly will not be the last witness from 
 whom the police have to drag the facts. Now 
 that we have reached more intimate terms, 
 can you help by describing this stranger?" 
 
 Theydon complied at once. He drew just 
 such a general sketch of Forbes as a skilled 
 observer of men might be expected to' for- 
 mulate after one direct glance close at hand, 
 supplemented by a view into a lamp-lit street 
 from a second-storey window on a rainy night. 
 
 "So far, so good," said Winter. "You 
 have contrived to fill in several details lacking 
 in the description supplied by a policeman 
 who chanced to be standing at the corner 
 when Mrs. Lester's visitor posted a letter. 
 Did you notice that?" 
 
 "Yes. Indeed, I believed that, whether in- 
 tentionally or not, he held an open umbrella 
 at an angle which prevented the constable 
 from seeing his face." 
 
 "In fact, it's marvellous what you really 
 do know when your memory is jogged," 
 snapped Furneaux.
 
 60 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 Theydon did not resent the sarcasm. He 
 smiled candidly into the little detective's eyes. 
 
 "I suppose I deserve that," he said meekly. 
 
 "Why did you hide your knowledge of Mrs. 
 Lester's visitor from your man Bates?" 
 
 "I was rather ashamed of the subterfuge 
 adopted in order to get him out of the room 
 while I opened the window the first time." 
 
 "That was understandable last night, but 
 I fail to follow your reasoning for a policy 
 of silence when we told you at Waterloo that 
 Mrs. Lester had been killed." 
 
 "I was utterly taken aback by your news. 
 I wanted time to think. I never meant to hide 
 any material fact at this interview." 
 
 "You have contrived to delay and hamper 
 our inquiry for twelve hours twenty-four in 
 reality. I can't make you out, Mr. Theydon. 
 You would never have said a word about your 
 very accurate acquaintance with this mysterious 
 stranger's appearance had not last night's 
 rainstorm left its legible record on your 
 clothes. Do you now vouch for it that the 
 man was completely unknown to you?" 
 
 "You are pleased to be severe, Mr. Fur- 
 neaux, but, having placed myself in a false 
 position, I must accept your strictures. I as- 
 sure you, on my honor, that the man I saw 
 was an absolute stranger." 
 
 Happily, Theydon was under no compulsion 
 to choose his words. He met the detective's
 
 IN THE TOILS 61 
 
 searching gaze unflinchingly. Fate, after 
 terrifying him, had been kind. If Furneaux 
 had expressed himself differently if, for in- 
 stance, he had said: "Had you ever before 
 seen the man?" or "Have you now any rea- 
 son for believing that you know his name!" 
 he would have forced They don's hand in a 
 way he was far from suspecting. 
 
 "It may surprise you to hear," piped the 
 shrill, cracked voice, "that there are dozens 
 of policemen walking about London who 
 would arrest you on suspicion had you treated 
 them as you have treated us." 
 
 "Then I can only say that I am fortunate 
 in my inquisitors," smiled Theydon. 
 
 Winter held up a massive fist in depre- 
 cation of these acerbities. 
 
 "You have nothing more to tell us!" he 
 queried. 
 
 "Nothing!" 
 
 "Then we need not trouble you further to- 
 night. Of course, if luck favors us and we 
 find the gentleman with the classical fea- 
 tures the most unlikely person to commit a 
 murder I have ever heard of we shall want 
 you to identify him." 
 
 "I am at your service at any time. But 
 before you go won't you enlighten me some- 
 what! What did really happen! I have not 
 even seen a newspaper account of the crime." 
 
 "Would you care to examine No. 171"
 
 62 
 
 It was Furneaux who put the question, and 
 Theydon was genuinely astonished. 
 
 1 'Do you mean ' he began, but Furneaux 
 laughed, almost savagely. 
 
 "I mean Mrs. Lester's flat," he said. "The 
 poor woman's body is at the mortuary. If 
 you come with us we can reconstruct the 
 crime. It occurred about this very hour if 
 the doctor's calculations are well founded." 
 
 Theydon rose. 
 
 "I shall be most interested," he said. 
 "By the way, Mr. Furneaux, yours is a 
 French name. Are you a Frenchman, may 
 I ask?" 
 
 "A Jersey man. You think I am adopting 
 some of the methods of the French juge d 'in- 
 struction, eh?" 
 
 "No. I cannot bring myself to believe that 
 you regard me as a murderer." 
 
 The three passed out into the hall. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bates immediately showed scared 
 faces at the kitchen door. 
 
 "It's all right, Bates," said Theydon airily. 
 "I'm not a prisoner. I'll be with you again 
 in a few minutes." 
 
 But Bates was profoundly disturbed. 
 
 "Wot beats me," he said to his wife when 
 they were alone, "is why that little ferret 
 wanted to see the guv 'nor 's clothes. I looked 
 'em over carefully afterwards, an' there 
 wasn't a speck on 'em except some spots of
 
 IN THE TOILS 63 
 
 rain on the coat collar. It's a queer business, 
 no matter how you look at it. Mr. They don's 
 manner was strange when he kem in last 
 night. He seemed to be list'nin' for some- 
 thing. I don't know wot to make of it, Eliza, 
 I reely don't." 
 
 In effect, since no man is a hero to his valet, 
 what would Tomlinson, butler at No. 11 
 Fortescue Square, have thought of his master 
 if told that Mrs. Lester's last known visitor 
 was James Creighton Forbes?
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 A TELEPHONIC TALK AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 
 
 THEYDON'S journalistic experiences had 
 been, for the most part, those of the "special 
 correspondent," or descriptive writer. He had 
 never entered one of those fetid slums of a 
 great city in which, too often, murder is 
 done, never sickened with the physical nausea 
 of death in its most revolting aspect, when 
 some unhappy wretch's foul body serves only 
 to further pollute air already vile. 
 
 It was passing strange, therefore, that 
 Winter had no sooner opened the door of No. 
 17 than the novice of the party became aware 
 of a heavy, pungent scent which he associated 
 with some affrighting and unclean thing. At 
 first he swept aside the phantasy. Strong as 
 he was, his nervous system had been subjected 
 to severe strain that evening. He knew well 
 that the mind can create its own specters, that 
 the five senses can be subjugated by forces 
 which science has not as yet either measured 
 or defined. 
 
 Moreover, he was standing in a hall fur- 
 nished with a taste and quiet elegance that 
 
 64
 
 A'TELEPHONIC TALK 65 
 
 must surely indicate similar features in each 
 room of a suite which, in other respects, bore 
 an almost exact resemblance of his own apart- 
 ments. In sheer protest against the riot of an 
 overwrought imagination he brushed a hand 
 across his eyes. 
 
 The chief inspector noted the action. 
 
 "You will find nothing grewsome here, I 
 assure you," he said, quietly. "Beyond a 
 few signs of hurried rummaging of drawers 
 and boxes there is absolutely no indication 
 of a crime having been committed." 
 
 "Mr. Theydon came prepared to see 
 ghosts," squeaked Furneaux. "Evidently he 
 is not acquainted with the peculiar smell of 
 a joss stick." 
 
 Theydon turned troubled eyes on the wiz- 
 ened little man who seemed to have the power 
 of reading his secret thought. 
 
 "A joss stick," he repeated. "Isn't that 
 some sort of incense used by Chinese in their 
 temples?" 
 
 "Yes," said Furneaux. 
 
 "Lots of ladies burn them in their bou- 
 doirs nowadays," explained Winter offhand- 
 edly. 
 
 "The Chinese burn them to propitiate evil 
 spirits," murmured Furneaux. "The Taou 
 gods are mostly deities of a very unpleasant 
 frame of mind. The mere scowl of one of 
 them from a painted fan suggests novel and
 
 66 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 painful forms of torture. I've seen Shang 
 Ti grinning at me from a porcelain vase, 
 otherwise exquisite, and felt my hair rising." 
 
 "I do wish you wouldn't talk nonsense, 
 Charles," said Winter, frowning heavily. 
 
 "Am I talking nonsense, Mr. Theydon?" 
 demanded Furneaux. " Didn't your flesh 
 creep when that queer perfume assailed your 
 nostrils, which are not yet altogether atro- 
 phied by the reek of thousands of rank 
 cigars ? ' ' 
 
 "Stop it!" commanded Winter, throwing 
 open a door. 
 
 "And they christened him Leander 
 Leander, who swam the Hellespont for love 
 of a woman!" muttered Furneaux. 
 
 Theydon began to believe that both de- 
 tectives were cranks of the first order. 
 Furneaux, whose extraordinary insight he 
 actually feared, was obviously an excellent 
 example of the alliance between insanity and 
 genius. In a word, he failed, and not un- 
 reasonably, to understand that when the 
 Jersey man was mouthing a strange jargon 
 of knowledge and incoherence, and Winter 
 was inclined to be snappy with his subor- 
 dinate, and each was more than rude to the 
 other, they were then giving tongue like 
 hounds hot on the trail. 
 
 Winter's Christian names were James 
 Leander, the latter being conferred for no
 
 'A TELEPHONIC TALK 67 
 
 more classical reason than his father's as- 
 sociation with a famous boating club, but the 
 fact supplied Furneaux with material for 
 many a quip. These things Theydon learnt 
 later. At present he was giving all his at- 
 tention to Winter, who led the way into a 
 daintly furnished bedroom. The electric 
 lights were governed by two switches. A pair 
 of lamps occupied the usual place in front of 
 a dressing table; a third was suspended from 
 a canopy over the bed, and was controlled also 
 by an alternate switch behind the bolster. 
 Winter turned on all three lights, so the room 
 was brilliantly illuminated. 
 
 Any place less likely to become the scene of 
 a brutal crime could hardly be imagined. It 
 looked exactly what it was, the bedchamber 
 of a refined and well-bred woman, whose 
 trained sense of color and design was shown 
 by the harmony of carpet, rugs, wall paper 
 and furniture. 
 
 'Winter pointed to a slight depression on 
 the side of the bed. A white linen coverlet 
 was rumpled as though some one had sat 
 there. 
 
 "That is where Ann Rogers, the maid, 
 found her mistress at ten o'clock this morn- 
 ing," he said. "As you see, the bed had not 
 been slept in. Indeed, Mrs. Lester was fully 
 dressed. My belief is that she was pounced 
 on the instant she entered the room probably
 
 68 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 to retire for the night strangled before she 
 could utter -a sound, and flung here when 
 dead." 
 
 Again Theydon was aware of the subtle, 
 penetrating, and not wholly unpleasing scent 
 which Furneaux had attributed to the burn- 
 ing of a joss stick, but his mind was focused 
 on the detective's words, which suggested a 
 queer discrepancy between certain vague pos- 
 sibilities already flitting through his brain 
 and the terrible drama as it presented itself 
 to a skilled criminologist. 
 
 "But," he said, almost protestingly, "from 
 what I have seen of Mrs. Lester she was a 
 strong and active woman. It is inconceivable 
 that the man who came here last night could 
 have murdered her while I was writing two 
 brief notes. I am positive he did not remain 
 five minutes, and Bates or I, or both of us, 
 must have heard some trampling of feet, some 
 indications of a struggle. Moreover, you 
 think she was about to retire. Doesn't that 
 opinion conflict with the known facts?" 
 
 "What known facts?" 
 
 "Well er those I have mentioned. The 
 brief visit, the open nature of the arrival and 
 departure, the posting of a letter, which, by 
 the way, may have been written in his pres- 
 ence. ' ' 
 
 "It was." 
 
 Theydon positively jumped. He would not
 
 'A TELEPHONIC TALK 69 
 
 be surprised now if Forbes 's name came out. 
 
 "How do you know that!" he asked. 
 
 "Mrs. Lester wrote to an aunt in Ox- 
 fordshire, a lady who lives in the village of 
 Iffley, near the first lock on the Thames below 
 Oxford. As it happened, this aunt, a Miss 
 Beale, was lunching with a friend in Oxford 
 today, and some one showed her an early 
 edition of a London evening newspaper con- 
 taining an account of the murder. Instead of 
 yielding to hysteria, and passing from one 
 fainting fit into another, Miss Beale had the 
 rare good sense to go straight to the police 
 station. One of our men has interviewed her 
 this evening, and she is coming here tomor- 
 row, but in the meantime the Oxford police 
 telephoned the gist of the letter, which is 
 headed 'Monday, 11:30 p. m.' The hour is 
 not quite accurate, but near enough, since the 
 context shows that 'a friend' had just called 
 and given certain information which had 
 determined the writer to leave London 'to- 
 morrow' meaning today 'or Wednesday at 
 latest.' So you see, Mr. Theydon, if the un- 
 known is an honest man, he will soon hear of 
 the hue and cry raised by the murder, and de- 
 clare himself to the police. Indeed, for all I 
 know, he may have reported himself to the 
 Yard already. In that event you will prob- 
 ably meet him again quite soon." 
 
 An electric bell jarred at the end of the
 
 70 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 main passage. It smote on their ears with 
 the loud emphasis of a pistol shot. Even the 
 detectives were startled, and Winter said, 
 in a tone of distinct annoyance: 
 
 "Go and see who the deuce that is, Fur- 
 neaux." 
 
 Furneaux returned promptly with Bates, 
 pallid and apologetic. 
 
 "Beg pardon, sir," said the intruder, ad- 
 dressing Theydon, but allowing his eyes to 
 roam furtively about the room as though he 
 expected to see something ghoul-like and 
 sinister, "Mr. Forbes has rung up ' 
 
 They don's voice literally quavered. For 
 the first time in his life he knew why a woman 
 shrieks in the stress of sudden excitement. 
 
 "Tell Mr. Forbes I am still engaged with 
 the gentlemen from Scotland Yard," he 
 gasped. "I'll give him a call the moment 
 I'm free. He will understand. Anyhow, I 
 can't explain further now." 
 
 "Yes, sir," and Bates disappeared. 
 
 "Mr. Forbes? The gentleman you were 
 dining with?" inquired Winter. 
 
 "Yes," said Theydon. He knew he ought 
 to add something by way of explanation, but 
 his heart was thumping madly, and he dared 
 not trust his voice. 
 
 "You told him, I suppose, that Scotland 
 Yard was worrying you, and he wants to 
 know the result?"
 
 A TELEPHONIC TALK 71 
 
 i 
 
 Then Theydon saw an avenue of escape, 
 and took it eagerly. 
 
 "I spoke of the murder, of course," he 
 said, "but Mr. Forbes was hardly interested. 
 He had seen the newspaper placards, and 
 that was all he knew of it. The truth is, he 
 is wholly wrapped up in a scheme for re- 
 forming mankind by excluding airships and 
 aeroplanes from warlike operations, and 
 found me a somewhat preoccupied listener. 
 He wants my help, such as it is, and I have no 
 doubt the present call is a preliminary to an- 
 other meeting tomorrow." 
 
 "Why not go to him? We'll wait. We 
 can do nothing more tonight after leaving 
 here." 
 
 "Speaking candidly, I am not in a mood 
 to discuss such visionary projects. I shall be 
 glad if Mr. Forbes has gone to bed when 
 I do ring him up." 
 
 Winter shook his head. 
 
 "Excuse me, Mr. Theydon, but I am older 
 than you, and may 'venture on advice/ : ' he 
 said. "A writer who has his way to make 
 in the world cannot afford to slight a man of 
 Mr. Forbes 's standing. Go to him at once. 
 It will please him. Don't hurry." 
 
 Theydon realized that a continued refusal 
 would certainly set Furneaux's wits at work, 
 and he dreaded the outcome. He went with- 
 out another word. When the outer door had
 
 72 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 closed behind him Winter turned to Fur- 
 neaux. 
 
 "Well?" he said. 
 
 For answer Furneaux waved a hand and 
 tiptoed into the hall. Waiting until he heard 
 the door of No. 18 slam he opened the latch 
 of No. 17 so cautiously that no sound was 
 forthcoming. Soon he had an ear to They- 
 don's letter box and was following attentively 
 a one-sided conversation. 
 
 Now, Theydon had thought hard during 
 the few strides from one flat to the other. 
 His telephone was fixed close to the party 
 wall dividing the two sets of apartments and 
 he was not certain that, in the absolute 
 quietude prevailing in Innesmore Mansions at 
 that late hour, a voice could not be overheard. 
 True, he did not count on Furneaux playing 
 the eavesdropper at the slit of the letter box, 
 but he resolved to take no risks and say 
 nothing that any one could make capital of. 
 
 So, when he had asked the exchange to re- 
 connect him with the caller who had just rung 
 up. and he was put through, this is what Fur- 
 neaux heard: 
 
 "That you, Mr. Forbes. Sorry I sent my 
 man just now with a message that must have 
 sounded rather curt, but the Scotland Yard 
 people kindly excused me, so I can give you a 
 minute or two. . . . No, I'm sorry, but I 
 cannot come to luncheon tomorrow, nor go to
 
 A TELEPHONIC TALK 73 
 
 Brooklands again this week. You see, this 
 dreadful murder which I spoke of will neces- 
 sitate my presence at an inquest, and the 
 police seem to attach much significance to the 
 visit to Mrs. Lester last night of a man whom 
 I saw in the street, and whom Bates and I 
 heard entering and leaving the poor lady's 
 flat. . . . Bates? 0, he is my general fac- 
 totum. He and his wife keep house for me. 
 . . . Yes, I'll gladly let you know the 
 earliest date when I'll be free. Then you 
 and I can go into the flying proposition 
 thoroughly. . . . No. The detectives have 
 apparently not got any clew to the murderer, 
 nor even discovered any motive for the crime. 
 They have taken me into No. 17. In fact, 
 I was there when your call was made. . . . 
 The murderer ransacked the place thoroughly, 
 but did not touch money or jewelry, I under- 
 stand. The only peculiar thing, if I may so 
 describe it, about the place, is the scent of a 
 burnt joss stick. It clings to the passage and 
 the bedroom in which the body was found. 
 . . . Ah, by the way, Mrs. Lester wrote a 
 letter, which her visitor posted, and the ad- 
 dressee, her aunt, is in communication with 
 the police. The text tends to clear the man 
 of suspicion. . . . Yes, if, by chance, I find 
 myself at liberty tomorrow, I'll 'phone you at 
 your city office. I'll find the number in the 
 directory, of course! ... 0, thanks I'll jot
 
 74 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 it down 00400 Bank. . . . Goodnight! Too 
 bad that this wretched affair should interfere 
 with our crusade, which, the more I think 
 of it, the stronger it appeals. Au revoir, 
 then." 
 
 In reality, Forbes had not said one word 
 about his peace propaganda, but he had ev- 
 idently been quick to realize that Theydon was 
 purposely giving their talk a twist in that 
 direction. A muttered "I understand per- 
 fectly," showed this, and he did not strive 
 to conceal the alarm which possessed him 
 when Theydon spoke of the joss stick. He 
 murmured distinctly, " Great Heavens! Then 
 I was not mistaken," and again voiced his 
 distress on hearing of the letter. 
 
 But he made matters easy by pressing 
 Theydon to come and see him on the morrow, 
 either at his office in Old Broad Street or at 
 his residence. On the whole, Theydon did not 
 care who heard what he had said, but it was 
 a relief to find that he had to ring for re- 
 admission to No. 17. 
 
 Furneaux opened the door. 
 
 "You soon got rid of your friend, then?" 
 said the detective, while they were on the 
 way to rejoin Winter. 
 
 "Yes. It was just what I imagined a press- 
 ing invitation to plunge forthwith into Mr. 
 Forbes 's project for the regeneration of man- 
 kind. I had to tell him frankly that you
 
 A TELEPHONIC TALK 75 
 
 gentlemen had first claim on me. I suppose I 
 shall be wanted at the inquest?" 
 
 1 'Not tomorrow. The coroner will hear 
 the medical evidence, and that of Ann Rogers, 
 if she is in a condition to appear, and there 
 will be an adjournment for a week." 
 
 "Ah, that reminds me. Didn't Mrs. Les- 
 ter's servant admit the visitor last night?" 
 
 Theydon put the question advisedly. He 
 was calmer now, and had made up his mind 
 as to the course he should pursue. Although he 
 had assured Winter that he would recognize 
 the stranger if confronted with him, and, if 
 Forbes was brought into the inquiry, the ad- 
 mission might prove awkward, he meant to 
 say that he had, indeed, noticed a remarkable 
 resemblance in the millionaire to the man he 
 had seen looking up at the name tablet on 
 the corner, but felt that the likeness was 
 only one of those singular coincidences which 
 abound in a cosmopolitan city. 
 
 The smartest cross-examiner at the bar 
 could not shake him if he took that stand. 
 The sheer improbability of Forbes being the 
 mysterious visitor would justify his attitude, 
 and the notion was so consoling that he faced 
 the two detectives with new confidence and 
 a self-possession that was exceedingly pleas- 
 ant when compared with his earlier em- 
 barrassment. 
 
 ' ' No, ' ' said Winter. * 'By a most remarkable
 
 76 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 chance, Ann Rogers was given leave to spend 
 the night with her father, who lives in Cam- 
 den Town. He is an old man and was taken 
 ill last evening. He believes he asked some 
 one to telegraph to his daughter, asking her 
 to come to him. She certainly received a tele- 
 gram and as certainly did visit him. Of 
 course, that phase of the affair will be cleared 
 up thoroughly, but the main facts are indispu- 
 table. Ann Rogers has her own latchkey. As 
 Mrs. Lester usually sat up late, being a lover 
 of books, and seldom stirred before ten o'clock, 
 the maid waited until that hour before bring- 
 ing her mistress's cup of tea. That stain on 
 the carpet near the door shows where the 
 tray fell from her hands." 
 
 Sometimes an artist obtains the strongest 
 effect by one deft sweep of the brush. 
 Winter, though he would have blushed if 
 described as an artist in words, had achieved 
 a similar result by his concluding sentence. 
 Theydon pictured the scene. He saw the 
 limp form thrown across the bed, the dis- 
 torted face, the hands and arms posed gro- 
 tesquely. 
 
 He heard the shrill scream of the ter- 
 rified servant, an elderly woman whom Bates 
 described as "a quiet body," and could 
 imagine the clatter of the laden tray as it 
 dropped from nerveless fingers. A sort of 
 fury rose within him. Mrs. Lester had been
 
 'A TELEPHONIC TALK 77 
 
 done to death in a horrible and insensate 
 way, and no matter who suffered, be he mil- 
 lionaire or pauper, the wretch who committed 
 the crime should be made to pay the penalty 
 of the law. 
 
 In that moment he forgot Evelyn Forbes, 
 and thought only of the fair and gracious 
 woman whose agonized spirit had taken flight 
 under the compulsion of the tiger grip of 
 some human brute now moving among his 
 fellow-creatures unknown and unsuspected. It 
 was inconceivable that Forbes should be 
 guilty, but why should he not avow his ac- 
 quaintance with the victim, and thus aid the 
 police in their quest? 
 
 He glowered savagely at the telltale stain, 
 and vowed to rid his conscience of an incubus. 
 He would wait till the morrow and force 
 Forbes to come out into the open. Other- 
 wise 
 
 "You wish you had the murderer here 
 now?" 
 
 Furneaux spoke softly, and with no trace 
 of his wonted irony, but Theydon was aware 
 that once more the little detective had peered 
 into his very soul. 
 
 "Yes," he said, and there was a new 
 gravity in his tone. "I do wish that. I 
 have never before been brought in contact 
 with a crime of this magnitude. It conveys 
 a sort of personal responsibility. To think
 
 78 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 that I was in my room, reading about avia- 
 tion, while a woman's life was being choked 
 out of her within a few feet of where I was 
 s-eated! 0, it is monstrous! Let me tell you 
 two, here and now, that if I can do anything 
 to bring Mrs. Lester's slayer to justice, 
 you can count on me, no matter what the 
 cost." 
 
 "I'm sure you mean what you say, Mr. 
 Theydon," said Winter soothingly. "Well, 
 I suppose we can do no more tonight. I have 
 little else to tell you 
 
 "The skull the ivory skull!" put in Fur- 
 neaux. 
 
 For an instant an expression of annoyance 
 flitted across the chief inspector's good- 
 humored face. Theydon did not see it, be- 
 cause Furneaux's odd-sounding words caused 
 him to look with astonishment at the man 
 who uttered them. 
 
 "An ivory skull!" he cried. "What has an 
 ivory skull to do with the murder of Mrs. 
 Lester?" 
 
 "We cannot even begin to guess at its 
 meaning yet," said Winter, who, after one 
 fierce glance at his colleague, had recovered 
 his poise. "That is why I did not mention 
 it. I hate the introduction of bizarre features 
 into an inquiry of this sort. But, now that 
 the thing has been spoken of, I may as well 
 state that when the medical examination was
 
 A TELEPHONIC TALK 79 
 
 being made at the mortuary a tiny skull, not 
 bigger than a pea, and made of ivory, was- 
 found inside Mrs. Lester's underbodice. The 
 curious fact is that it was loose. Had it 
 been attached to a cord, or secured in some 
 way, one might regard it as a charm or 
 amulet, because some women, even in the 
 London of today, are not beyond the reach of 
 superstition in such matters. But, as I say, 
 it was not safeguarded at all, so we may 
 reasonably assume that it was not carried 
 habitually. Of course, Purneaux readily 
 evolved a far-fetched theory that it is a sign, 
 or symbol, and was thrust out of sight among 
 the clothing on the dead woman's breast by 
 the man who killed her. But that is idle guess- 
 work. We of the Yard seldom pay heed to 
 theatrical notions of that kind. Here is the 
 article. I don't mind letting you see it, but 
 kindly remember that its existence must not 
 be made known. I must have your promise 
 not to mention it to a living creature." 
 
 Furneaux chuckled derisively. 
 
 "That is precisely the sort of thing any- 
 body would say who attached no importance 
 to the exhibit," he piped. 
 
 Winter so nearly lost his temper that he 
 repressed the retort on his lips. He contented 
 himself, however, with producing a small 
 white object from his waistcoat pocket, and 
 handed it to Theydon. It was a bit of ivory,
 
 80 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 hollow, and very light, and fashioned as a 
 skull. 
 
 Yet, it was by no means an ordinary crea- 
 tion. The artist who fashioned it had grati- 
 fied a morbid taste by imparting to the eye- 
 less sockets and close-set rows of teeth 1 a 
 malign and threatening grin. Wickedness, 
 not death, was suggested, but the crafts- 
 manship was faultless. A collector would 
 have paid a large sum for it, while the av- 
 erage citizen would refuse to have it in his 
 house. 
 
 "What an extraordinary thing," said 
 Theydon, turning the curio round and round 
 in his fingers. 
 
 "It's wonderfully well carved," agreed 
 Winter. 
 
 "From that point of view it's a master- 
 piece, but what I meant was the astounding 
 fact that it should have been discovered on 
 the dead woman's body. Was it placed over 
 her heart?" 
 
 "Why do you ask that?" came the sharp 
 demand. 
 
 "Because if it is a token of some vendetta 
 if the murderer wished to signify that he 
 had glutted his vengeance " 
 
 "0, you're as bad as Furneaux," cried 
 Winter impatiently. "Give it to me. I must 
 be off. The hour is long past midnight and 
 I have a busy day before me tomorrow."
 
 A TELEPHONIC TALK 81 
 
 Back in the seclusion of his own rooms, 
 Theydon debated the question whether or not 
 he should endeavor to communicate with 
 Forbes again that night. Somehow it seemed 
 to him that Forbes would be most concerned 
 at hearing of the gray car. And what of 
 the ivory skull? 
 
 Suppose he knew of that! But a certain 
 revulsion of feeling had come over Theydon 
 since the sheer brutality of the murder had 
 been revealed. He failed to see now why he 
 should be so solicitous for Forbes 's welfare. 
 No matter what private purpose the man 
 might serve by concealing his visit to Mrs. 
 Lester, it ought to give way before the para- 
 mount importance of tracking a pitiless and 
 callous criminal. 
 
 So Theydon hardened his heart and went to 
 bed, and, being sound in mind and constitu- 
 tion, slept like a just man wearied. Nev- 
 ertheless, the last thing he saw before the 
 curtain fell on his tired brain was an ivory 
 skull dancing in the darkness. 
 
 Greatly as the many problems attached to 
 Mrs. Lester's death bewildered him, he would 
 have been even more perplexed if he had 
 overheard the conversation between Winter 
 and Furneaux when they entered a taxi and 
 gave Scotland Yard as their destination. 
 
 "Look here, Charles," began Winter 
 firmly; but the other stayed him with a
 
 82 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 clutch of thin, nervous fingers on an arm 
 strong enough to fell an ox. 
 
 "Listen first, James lecture me after- 
 ward," pleaded Furneaux. "I can't help 
 yielding to impulse. And why should I strive 
 to help it, anyhow? How often has impulse 
 led me to the goal when by every known rule 
 of evidence I was completely beaten! That 
 is my plea. That is why I brought that young 
 fellow into No. 17, and watched the story of 
 the tragedy reshaping itself in his imagina- 
 tion. That is why, too, I spoke of the ivory 
 skull. Think what it means to one with the 
 writer's temperament. The skull will never 
 leave his mind's eye. It will focus and 
 control his thoughts and actions. And I feel 
 it in my bones that only by keeping in touch 
 with Mr. Francis Theydon shall we solve 
 the Innesmore Mansions mystery. I can't ex- 
 plain why I think this, no more than the receiver 
 of a wireless message can account for the waves 
 of energy it picks up from the void and trans- 
 mutes into the ordered sequences of the Morse 
 code. All I know is that when I am near him 
 I am, as the children say, 'warm,' and when 
 away from him, 'cold.' While he was examin- 
 ing the skull I was positively 'hot,' and was half 
 inclined to treat him as a thought transference 
 medium and order him sternly to speak. . . . 
 No. Be calm! I even bid you be honest. 
 When have you, ever before, admitted an
 
 A TELEPHONIC TALK 83 
 
 outsider to your councils? And, if you make 
 an exception of Theydon, why are you doing 
 it!" 
 
 Winter bit the end off a cigar with a 
 vicious jerk of his round head. He struck 
 a match and created such a volume of smoke 
 that Furneaux coughed affectedly. 
 
 1 'The real clew," he said at last, "rests 
 with the gray car. What did you make of 
 that?" 
 
 "That, my bulky friend, will figure in my 
 memory as a reproach for many a year. 
 When, if ever, I am tempted to preen my- 
 self on some peculiarly close piece of 
 .ratiocinative reasoning, I shall say: 'Little 
 man, pigmy, remember the gray car.' 
 
 "You think that some one had the im- 
 pudence to follow us, watch us in Waterloo, 
 and take up Theydon 's trail when we had 
 revealed it?" 
 
 "A-ha. It touched you, too, did it?" 
 
 "But why?" 
 
 "The some one in question wants to know 
 that." 
 
 "You mean they are anxious to find out 
 what we are doing?" 
 
 "Exactly." 
 
 Winter laughed cheerfully. 
 
 "Before long I shall begin to enjoy this 
 hunt, Charles. I like to find originality in a 
 felon. It varies the routine. At any; rate,
 
 84 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 it is something new that you and I should 
 be shadowed by the very people we are in 
 pursuit of 0, I was nearly forgetting. Any- 
 thing fresh in that telephone talk?" 
 
 "It seemed all right." 
 
 "Seemed?". 
 
 "Well, it was too straightforward. They- 
 don puzzles me. I admit it frankly. He 
 also worries me. But let me handle him in 
 my own way. Have no fear that he will use 
 our material for newspaper purposes. With 
 regard to the Innesmore Mansions affair, 
 Theydon will lie close as a fish. Why? No 
 use asking you, of course. You despise intui- 
 tion. When you die some one should begin your 
 epitaph : ' From information received. ' But I '11 
 stick to Theydon. See if I don't, even if I have 
 to go up with him in one of Forbes 's airships."
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 A LEAP IN THE DARK 
 
 WITH the morning Theydon brought a 
 mature and impartial judgment to bear on his 
 perplexities. The average man, if asked to 
 form an opinion on any difficult point, will 
 probably arrive at a saner decision during 
 the first pipe after breakfast than at any 
 other given hour of the day. Excellent 
 physiological reasons account for this truism. 
 The sound mind in a sound body is then 
 working under the most favorable conditions. 
 
 It is free from the strain of affairs. The 
 cold, clear morning light divests problems of 
 the undue importance, or, it may be, the 
 glamour of novelty, which they possessed 
 overnight. At any rate, Frank Theydon, 
 clenching a pipe between his teeth, and gazing 
 thoughtfully through an open window at the 
 trees in Innesmore Gardens, reviewed yes- 
 terday 's happenings calmly and critically, and 
 arrived at the settled conviction that his 
 proper course was to visit Scotland Yard and 
 make known to the authorities the one vital 
 fact he had withheld from their ken thus far. 
 
 It was not for him to assess the significance 
 
 85
 
 86 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 of Mr. Forbes 's desire to remain in the back- 
 ground. If the millionaire's excuse, or ex- 
 planation, of his failure to communicate at 
 once with the Criminal Investigation De- 
 partment was a sufficiently valid one, Scot- 
 land Yard would be satisfied and might agree 
 to keep his name out of the inquiry. 
 
 On the other hand, he, Theydon, might be 
 balking the course of justice by holding his 
 tongue. There was yet a third possibility, one 
 fraught with personal discredit. Mr. Forbes 
 himself might realize that a policy of candor 
 offered the only dignified course. 
 
 Suppose he was minded to tell the de- 
 tectives that he was the man who visited Mrs. 
 Lester shortly before midnight, what would 
 Winter and Furneaux think of the young 
 gentleman who had actually dined with 
 Forbes before they took him into their con- 
 fidence who heard with such righteous in- 
 dignation how Mrs. Lester met her death 
 yet brazenly concealed the fact that he had 
 just left the house of one whom they were 
 so anxious to meet and question? 
 
 Of course, the radiant vision of Evelyn 
 Forbes intruded on this well-considered and 
 unemotional analysis; but Theydon resolutely 
 shook his head. 
 
 "No, by Jove!" he communed. "You 
 mustn't make an ass of yourself, my boy, 
 because a pretty girl was gracious for an
 
 'A LEAP IN THE DARK 87 
 
 hour or so. Be honest with yourself, 
 old chap! If there were no Evelyn, or if 
 Evelyn were harelipped and squinted, you 
 wouldn't hesitate a second now, would 
 you?" 
 
 Yet he had given a promise. How reconcile 
 an immediate call on Scotland Yard with the 
 guarantee of secrecy demanded by Forbes? 
 Well, he must put himself right with Forbes 
 without delay tell him straightforwardly 
 that the bond could not hold. Theydon was 
 no lawyer, but he was assured that an agree- 
 ment founded on positive wrong was not ten- 
 able, legally or morally. 
 
 He would be adamant with Forbes, and 
 decline to countenance any plea in support of 
 continued silence. If Forbes 's demand was 
 reasonable, Scotland Yard would grant it. 
 If justice compelled Forbes to come out into 
 the open, no private citizen should attempt 
 to defeat the ends of justice. 
 
 "So that settles it," announced Theydon, 
 firmly if not cheerfully. "I'll ring up Forbes, 
 and get the thing over and done with. I'll 
 never see his daughter again, I suppose, but 
 that can't be helped. 'Tis better to have 
 seen and lost than never to have seen at all." 
 
 He turned from the window, walked to the 
 fireplace, tapped his pipe firmly on the grate, 
 and was about to go into the hall and call up 
 the telephone exchange, when the door-bell
 
 88 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 rang. He was aware of a muffled conversa- 
 tion between Bates and a visitor. Then the 
 valet appeared, obviously ill at ease. 
 
 "If you please, sir," he announced, "a 
 lady, a Miss Beale, of Oxford, who says she 
 is Mrs. Lester's aunt, wishes to see you." 
 
 Theydon was immensely surprised, as well 
 he might be. But there was only one thing 
 to be done. 
 
 "Show her in," he said. 
 
 Miss Beale entered. She was slight of figure, 
 middle-aged and gray-haired. The wanness 
 of her thin features was accentuated by an 
 attire of deep mourning, but the pallor in 
 her cheeks fled for an instant when she set 
 eyes on Theydon. 
 
 "Pray forgive the intrusion," she faltered. 
 "I I expected to meet an older man." 
 
 It was a curious utterance, and Theydon 
 tried to relieve her evident nervousness by 
 being mildly humorous. 
 
 "I hope to correct my juvenile appearance 
 in course of time," he said, smiling. "Mean- 
 while, won't you be seated? You are not 
 quite unknown to me, Miss Beale. That is 
 I heard of you last night from the Scotland 
 Yard people." 
 
 She sat down at once, but seemed to be at 
 a loss for words. Her lips trembled, and 
 Theydon thought she was going to cry. 
 
 "Have you traveled from Oxford this
 
 "A LEAP IN THE DARK 89 
 
 morning?" he said, simulating a courteous 
 nonchalance he was far from feeling. "If so, 
 you must have started from home at an un- 
 godly hour. Let me have some breakfast 
 prepared for you." 
 
 ' ' No no, ' ' she stammered. 
 
 "Well, a cup of tea, then? Come, now, no 
 woman ever refuses a cup of tea." 
 
 "You are very kind." 
 
 He rang the bell. 
 
 "I would not have ventured to call on you 
 if I had not seen your name in the news- 
 paper," she went on. 
 
 Miss Beale certainly had the knack of say- 
 ing unexpected things. It was nothing new 
 that Theydon should find his own name in 
 print, but on this occasion he could not 
 choose but associate the distinction with the 
 crime in No. 17; that he should be mentioned 
 in connection with it was neither anticipated 
 nor pleasing. At the same time he realized 
 the astounding fact that he had not even 
 glanced at a newspaper during twenty-four 
 hours. 
 
 "What in the world have the newspapers 
 to say about me?" he cried. 
 
 "It it said that Mr. Francis Berrold 
 Theydon, the well-known author, lived in No. 
 18, the flat exactly opposite that which my 
 unhappy niece occupied. I I have read some 
 of your books, Mr. Theydon, and I pictured
 
 90 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 you quite a serious-looking person of my own 
 age." 
 
 He laughed. Bates entered, and was almost 
 shocked at finding his master in such lively 
 mood. 
 
 "Oh, this lady has traveled from Oxford 
 this morning; a cup of tea and some nice 
 toast, please, Bates," said Theydon. Then 
 when the two were alone together again, he 
 brushed aside the question of his age as ir- 
 relevant. 
 
 "I assure you that since this time yesterday 
 I have lost some of the careless buoyancy 
 of youth," he said. "I had not the honor of 
 Mrs. Lester 's acquaintance, but I knew her 
 well by sight, and I received the shock of my 
 life last evening when I heard of her terrible 
 end. It is an extraordinary thing, seeing that 
 we were such close neighbors, but I believe 
 you got the news long before I did, because 
 I left home early and heard nothing of what 
 had happened till my man met me at Waterloo 
 in the evening." 
 
 "You have seen the the detectives in the 
 meantime I ' ' 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Then you will be able to tell me some- 
 thing definite. I have promised to call at 
 Scotland Yard at eleven o'clock, and 'the only 
 scraps of intelligence I have gathered are 
 those in the papers. I would have come to
 
 'A LEAP IN THE DARK 91 
 
 London last night, but was afraid to travel, 
 lest I should faint in the train. Moreover, 
 some one in London promised to send a de- 
 tective to see me. He came, but could give no 
 information. Indeed, he wanted to learn cer- 
 tain things from me. So, after a weary night, 
 I caught the first train, and it occurred to me, 
 as you lived so near, that you might be kind 
 enough to to " 
 
 The long speech was too much for her, and 
 her lips quivered pitifully a second time. 
 
 "I fully understand," said Theydon sym- 
 pathetically. "Now, I'm positive you have 
 eaten hardly anything today. Won't you let 
 me order an egg?" 
 
 "No, please. I'll be glad of the tea, but 
 I cannot make a meal yet. Is it true that 
 my niece was absolutely alone in her flat 
 on Monday night?" 
 
 Seeing that Miss Beale was consumed with 
 anxiety to hear an intelligible version of the 
 tragedy, Theydon at once recited all, or 
 nearly all, that was known to him. The only 
 points he suppressed were those with re- 
 ference to the gray car and the ivory skull. 
 The lady listened attentively and with more 
 self-control than he gave her credit for. 
 
 Bates came in with a laden tray, on which 
 a boiled egg appeared. Mrs. Bates had used 
 her discretion, and decided that any one who 
 had set out from Oxford so early in the day
 
 92 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 must be in need of more solid refreshment 
 than tea and toast. Thus cozened, as it were, 
 into eating, Miss Beale tackled the egg, and 
 Theydon was glad to note that she made a 
 fairly good meal, being probably unaware of 
 her hunger until the means of sating it 
 presented itself. 
 
 But she missed no word of his story, and 
 when he made an end, put some shrewd 
 questions. 
 
 "I take it," she said, "that the strange 
 gentleman who visited my niece on Monday 
 night posted the very letter which I received 
 by the second delivery yesterday?" 
 
 "That is what the police believe," replied 
 Theydon. 
 
 "Then it would seem that she resolved to 
 come to me at Iffley as the result of some- 
 thing he told her?" 
 
 "Why do you think that?" 
 
 "Because I heard from her only last Sat- 
 urday, and she not only said nothing about 
 coming to Oxfordshire, but asked me to 
 arrange to spend a fortnight in London 
 before we both went to Cornwall for the 
 Summer. ' ' 
 
 "Ah! That is rather important, I should 
 imagine," said Theydon thoughtfully. 
 
 "It is odd, too, that you and the detectives 
 should have noticed the smell of a joss stick 
 in the flat," went on Miss Beale. "Edith
 
 'A LEAP IN THE DARK 93 
 
 my niece, you know could not bear the 
 smell of joss sticks. They reminded her of 
 Shanghai, where she lost her husband." 
 
 Theydon looked more startled than such 
 a seemingly simple statement warranted. He 
 had realized already that the ivory skull was 
 the work of an Oriental artist, and the men- 
 tion of Shanghai brought that sinister symbol 
 very vividly to his mind's eye. 
 
 "Mrs. Lester had lived in China, then?" 
 he said. 
 
 "Yes. She was out there nearly six years. 
 Her husband died suddenly last October he 
 was poisoned, she firmly believed and, of 
 course, she came home at once." 
 
 "What was Mr. Lester's business, or pro- 
 fession?" 
 
 "He was a barrister. I do not mean that 
 he practised in the Consular courts. He was 
 making his way in England, but was offered 
 some sort of appointment in Shanghai. The 
 post was so lucrative that he relinquished a 
 growing connection at the bar. I have never 
 really understood what he did. I fancy he 
 had to report on commercial matters to some 
 firm of bankers in London, but he supplied 
 very little positive information before Edith 
 and he sailed. Indeed, I took it that his mis- 
 sion was highly confidential, and about that 
 time there was a lot in the newspapers about 
 rival negotiators for a big Chinese loan, so I
 
 94 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 formed the opinion that he was sent out in 
 connection with something of the sort. Neither 
 he nor Edith meant to remain long in the Far 
 East. At first their letters always spoke of an 
 early return. Then, when the years dragged 
 on, and I asked for definite news of their home- 
 coming, Edith said that Arthur could not get 
 away until the country's political affairs were 
 in a more settled state. Finally came a cable- 
 gram from Edith: 'Arthur dead; sailing im- 
 mediately,' and my niece was with me within 
 a few weeks. The supposed cause of her hus- 
 band's death was some virulent type of fever, 
 but, as I said, Edith was convinced that he 
 had been poisoned." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "That I never understood. She never will- 
 ingly talked about Shanghai, or her life there. 
 Indeed, she was always most anxious that no 
 one should know she had ever lived in China. 
 Yet she had plenty of friends out there. I 
 gathered that Arthur had left her well 
 provided for financially, and they were a 
 most devoted couple. Edith was the only 
 relative I possessed. It is very dreadful, Mr. 
 Theydon, that she should be taken from 
 me in such a way." 
 
 Her hearer was almost thankful that she 
 yielded to the inevitable rush of emotion. 
 It gave him time to collect his wits, which 
 had lost their poise when that wicked-looking
 
 'A LEAP IN THE DARK 95 
 
 little skull was, so to speak, thrust forcibly 
 into his recollection. 
 
 "In a word," he said, at last, "you are 
 Mrs. Lester's next-of-kin and probably her 
 heiress?" 
 
 "Yes, I suppose so, though I was not think- 
 ing of that," came the tearful answer. 
 
 " Yet the relationship entails certain re- 
 sponsibilities," said Theydon firmly. " You 
 should be legally represented at the inquest. 
 Are your affairs in the hands of any firm of 
 solicitors ? ' ' 
 
 "Yes at Oxford. I contrived to call at 
 their office yesterday and they recommended 
 me to consult these people," and Miss Beale 
 produced a card from a handbag. Theydon 
 read the name and address of a well-known 
 West End firm. 
 
 "Good," he said. "I recommend you to 
 go there at once. By the way, was any one 
 looking after Mrs. Lester's interests? Surely 
 she had dealings with a bank or an agency?" 
 
 "Y yes. I do happen to know the source 
 from which her income came. She made a 
 secret of it in a measure." 
 
 "Pray don't tell me anything of that sort. 
 Your legal adviser might not approve." 
 
 "But what does it matter now? Poor Edith 
 is dead. Her affairs cannot help being 
 dragged into the light of day. She had some 
 railway shares and bonds, some of which
 
 96 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 were left to her by her father, and others 
 which came under a marriage settlement, but 
 the greater part of her revenue was derived 
 from a monthly payment made by the bank 
 of which Mr. James Creighton Forbes is the 
 head." 
 
 Miss Beale naturally misinterpreted the 
 blank stare with which Theydon received this 
 remarkable statement. 
 
 " I don't see why any one should wish to 
 conceal a simple matter of business like that," 
 she said nervously. "May I explain that I 
 have an impression, not founded on anything 
 quite tangible, that Mr. Forbes was largely 
 interested in the syndicate which sent Arthur 
 Lester to China, so it is very likely that the 
 payment of an annuity, or pension, to Ar- 
 thur's widow would be left in his care. I 
 do not know. I am only guessing. Bui that 
 matter, and others, can hardly fail to be 
 cleared up by the police inquiry." 
 
 Theydon recovered his self-control as rap- 
 idly as he had lost it. He glanced at the 
 clock 10 : 15. Within half an hour, or less, 
 Miss Beale would be on her way to Scotland 
 Yard. He must act promptly and decisively, 
 or he would find himself in a distinctly un- 
 favorable position in his relations with the 
 Criminal Investigation Department. 
 
 "I happen to be acquainted with Mr. 
 Forbes," he said, striving desperately to ap-
 
 A LEAP IN THE DARK 97 
 
 pear cool and methodical when his brain was 
 seething. " Would you mind if I just rang 
 him up on the telephone? A few words now 
 might enlighten us materially." 
 
 "0, you are most helpful," said the lady, 
 blushing again with timid gratitude. "I am 
 so glad I summoned up courage to call on you. 
 I was terrified at the idea of going to the 
 Police Headquarters, but I shall not mind it 
 at all now." 
 
 Soon Theydon was asking for "00400, 
 Bank." He had left the door of his sitting 
 room open purposely. No matter what the 
 'outcome, he no longer dared keep the com- 
 pact of silence into which he had entered with 
 Forbes. But the millionaire was not at his 
 office. In response to a very determined re- 
 quest for a word with some one in authority, 
 "on a matter of real urgency," the clerk who 
 had answered the call brought "Mr. Forbes 's 
 secretary," a Mr. Macdonald, to the tele- 
 phone. 
 
 "It is important, vitally important, that I 
 should speak with Mr. Forbes within the next 
 few minutes," said Theydon, after giving his 
 name and address. "Do you expect him to 
 arrive soon? Or shall I try and reach him at 
 Fortescue Square?" 
 
 "Mr. Forbes will not be here till midday," 
 came a voice with a pronounced Scottish in- 
 tonation. "I'm doubtful, too, if ye '11 catch
 
 98 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 him at home. Can I give him a message?" 
 
 "Do you know where he is!" 
 
 "Well, I cannot say." 
 
 "But do you know?" 
 
 "I'll be glad to give him a message." 
 
 "It will be too late, then. Please un- 
 derstand, Mr. Macdonald, that I am making 
 this call at Mr. Forbes 's express wish. It is, 
 as I have said, vitally important that I should 
 get in touch with him without delay." 
 
 Scottish caution was not to be overcome by 
 an appeal of that sort. 
 
 "I cannot go beyond what I have said," 
 was the reply. "If you like to ask at his 
 house " 
 
 "0, ring off!" cried Theydon, who pictured 
 the secretary as a lanky hollow-cheeked Scot, 
 a model of discretion and trustworthiness, no 
 doubt, but utterly unequal to a crisis demand- 
 ing some measure of self-confident initiative. 
 In reality, Mr. Macdonald was short and 
 stout, and quite a jovial little man. 
 
 After an exasperating delay, he got Into 
 communication with the Forbes mansion in 
 Fortescue Square. 
 
 "I'm Mr. Frank Theydon," he said, striv- 
 ing to speak unconcernedly. "Is Mr. Forbes 
 in?" 
 
 "No, sir." 
 
 "Is that you, Tomlinsonf" 
 
 "Yes, sir."
 
 A LEAP IN THE DARK 99 
 
 "Can you tell me where I can find Mr. 
 Forbes at once!" 
 
 "Isn't he at his office, sir?" 
 
 "No. He will not be there till 12 o'clock." 
 
 A pause of indecision on Tomlinson's part. 
 Then, a possible solution of the difficulty. 
 
 "Would you care to have a word with Miss 
 Evelyn, sir!" 
 
 "0, yes, yes." 
 
 Theydon blurted out this emphatic accept- 
 ance of the butler's suggestion without a 
 thought as to its possible consequences. He 
 was racking his brain in a frenzy of un- 
 certainty as to how he should frame his words 
 when he heard quite clearly a woman's foot- 
 steps on the parquet flooring, and caught 
 Evelyn Forbes 's voice saying to Tomlinson: 
 "How fortunate! Mr. Theydon is the very 
 person I wished to speak to, but I simply 
 dared not ring him up." 
 
 The slight incident only provided Theydon 
 with a new source of wonderment. Why 
 should Evelyn Forbes want speech with him 
 at that early hour! Perhaps she would 
 explain. He could only hope so, and trust 
 to luck in the choice of his own phrases. 
 
 "That you, Mr. Theydon!" came the girl's 
 voice, sweet in its cadence yet ominously eager. 
 "How nice of you to anticipate my unspoken 
 thought! I have been horribly anxious ever 
 since I read of that awful affair at Innes-
 
 100 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 more Mansions. That poor lady's flat is next 
 door to yours, is it not?" 
 
 "Yes, but" 
 
 "0, you cannot choke off a woman's curios- 
 ity quite so easily. You see, I happen to 
 know that Mrs. Lester's sad death affects my 
 father in some way, and I realize now that 
 you two were just on pins and needles to get 
 rid of me last night so that you might talk 
 freely." 
 
 "Miss Forbes, I assure you " 
 
 "Wait till I've finished, and you will not 
 be under the necessity of telling me any 
 polite fibs. You men are all alike. You think 
 the giddy feminine brain is not fitted to cope 
 with mysteries, and that is where you are 
 utterly mistaken. A woman's intuition often 
 peers deeper than a man's logic. I 
 
 "Do forgive me," broke in Theydon 
 despairingly, "but I am really most anxious 
 to know how and where I can get a word 
 with your father. I would not be so rude as 
 to interrupt you if I hadn't the best of ex- 
 cuses. Tell me where to find him now, and 
 I promise to give you a call immediately 
 afterward. ' ' 
 
 "He's at the Home Office." 
 
 "At the Home Office!" 
 
 Some hint of utter bewilderment in They- 
 don 's tone must have reached the girl's alert 
 ear.
 
 r A LEAP IN THE DARK 101 
 
 "Ah! Touche!" she cried. "Now will you 
 be good and tell me why Dad should receive 
 a little ivory skull by this morning's post?" 
 
 Theydon knew that he paled. His very 
 scalp tingled with an apprehension of some 
 shadowy yet none the less affrighting evil. 
 But he schooled himself to say, with a sem- 
 blance of calm interest: 
 
 "What exactly do you mean, Miss Forbes?" 
 
 She laughed lightly. Theydon was so 
 flurried that he did not realize the possibility 
 of Evelyn Forbes being as quick to mask 
 her real feelings as he himself was. 
 
 "Dad and I make a point of breakfasting 
 together at nine o'clock every morning," she 
 said. "We were talking about you, and he 
 told me of the dreadful thing that happened 
 to Mrs. Lester. I was reading the account of 
 the tragedy in a newspaper, when I happened 
 to glance at him. He was going through his 
 letters, and I was just a trifle curious to 
 know what was in a flat box which came by 
 registered post. He opened it carelessly and 
 something fell out and rolled across the table. 
 I picked it up and saw that it was a small 
 piece of ivory, carved with extraordinary skill 
 to represent a skull. Indeed, it was so clever 
 as to be decidedly repulsive. I was going to 
 say something when I saw that the letter which 
 was in the same box had alarmed him so greatly 
 that, for a second or two, I thought he would
 
 102 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 faint. But he can be very strong and stern at 
 times, and he recovered himself instantly, was 
 quite vexed with me because I had examined 
 the ivory skull, and forbade my going out 
 until he had returned from the Home Office. 
 Tomlinson and the other men have orders 
 not to admit any one to the house, no matter 
 on what pretext, and I'm sure the letter and 
 its nasty little token are bound up in some 
 way with Mrs. Lester's death. Won't you 
 let me into the secret? I shan't scream or 
 do anything foolish, but I do think I am 
 entitled to know what you know if it affects 
 my father." 
 
 A sudden change in the girl's voice warned 
 Theydon of a restraint of which he had been 
 unconscious hitherto. He tried to temporize, 
 to whittle away her fears. That was a duty 
 he owed to Forbes, who was clearly resolved 
 not to take his daughter into his confidence 
 for the present, at any rate. 
 
 "I really fail to see why you should assume 
 some connection between the crime which was 
 committed here on Monday night and the 
 arrival of a somewhat singular package at 
 your house this morning," he said reassur- 
 ingly. 
 
 "Like every other woman, I jump at con- 
 clusions," she answered. "Why should this 
 crime, in particular, have worried my father? 
 Unfortunately, the newspapers are full of
 
 A LEAP IN THE DARK 103 
 
 such horrid things, yet he hardly ever pays 
 them any attention. No, Mr. Theydon, I 
 am not mistaken. He, either knew Mrs. Les- 
 ter, and was shocked at her death, or saw in 
 it some personal menace. Then comes the 
 letter, with its obvious threat, and I am 
 ordered to remain at home, under a strong 
 guard, while he hurries off to Whitehall. You 
 have met my father, Mr. Theydon. Do you 
 regard him as the sort of man who would rush 
 off in a panic to consult the Home Secretary 
 without very grave and weighty reasons?" 
 
 "But you can hardly be certain that a 
 wretched crime in this comparatively in- 
 significant quarter of London supplies the 
 actual motive of Mr. Forbes 's action," urged 
 Theydon. 
 
 The girl stamped an impatient foot. He 
 heard it distinctly. 
 
 " Of course I am certain," she cried. " Why 
 won't you be candid? You know I am right 
 I can tell it from your voice, and your 
 guarded way of talking " 
 
 An inspiration came to Theydon 's relief in 
 that instant. 
 
 "Pardon the interruption," he said, "but' 
 I must point out that both of us are acting 
 unwisely in discussing such matters over the 
 telephone. Really, neither must say another 
 word, except this when I have found your 
 father I'll ask his permission to come and see
 
 104 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 you. Perhaps we three can arrange to meet 
 somewhere for luncheon. That is absolutely 
 the farthest limit to which I dare go at this 
 moment." 
 
 "0, very well!" 
 
 The receiver was hung up in a temper, and 
 the prompt ring-off jarred disagreeably in 
 Theydon's ear. If he was puzzled before, he 
 was thoroughly at sea now. But he took a 
 bold course, and cared not a jot whether or 
 not it was a prudent one. 
 
 The mere sound of Evelyn Forbes 's voice 
 had steeled his heart and conscience against 
 the dictates of common sense. Let the de- 
 tectives think what they might, the girl's 
 father must be allowed to carry through his 
 plans without let or hindrance. 
 
 "Miss Beale," said Theydon, gazing fixedly 
 into the sorrow-laden eyes of the quiet little 
 lady whom he found seated where he had left 
 her, "I'm going to tell you something very 
 important, very serious, something so far- 
 reaching and momentous that neither you nor 
 I can measure its effect. You heard the 
 conversation on the telephone?" 
 
 "I heard what you were saying, but could 
 not understand much of it," said his visitor 
 in a scared way. 
 
 "I have been trying to communicate with 
 Mr. Forbes, but his daughter tells me that the 
 murder of your niece seems to have affected
 
 A LEAP IN THE DARK 105 
 
 him in a manner which is incomprehensible to 
 her, and even more so to me, though I am 
 acquainted with facts which her father and 
 I have purposely kept from her knowledge. 
 Mr. Forbes has gone hurriedly to the Home 
 Office. I suppose you know what that means! 
 He is about to give the Home Secretary 
 certain information, and it is not for you or 
 me to interfere with his discretion. Now, if 
 you tell the Scotland Yard people what you 
 have told me, namely, that Mr. Forbes was 
 the intermediary through whom Mrs. Les- 
 ter received the greater part of her income, 
 he will be brought prominently into the in- 
 quiry. You see that, don't you?" 
 
 "Yes. I suppose that something of the 
 sort must happen." 
 
 "Well, I want you to suppress that vital 
 fact until we know more about this affair. 
 It will not be for long. Each of us must tell 
 our story without reservation at some future 
 date whether this afternoon, or tomorrow, 
 or a week hence, I cannot say now. But I 
 do ask you to keep your knowledge to your- 
 self until I have had an opportunity of 
 consulting Mr. Forbes. I undertake to tell 
 you the exact position of matters without 
 delay, and I accept all responsibility for my 
 present advice." 
 
 "I know little of the world, Mr. Theydon," 
 said Miss Beale, rising, and beginning to
 
 106 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 draw on her gloves, "but I shall be very 
 greatly surprised if you are advising me to 
 act otherwise than honorably. I shall cer- 
 tainly not utter a word about Mr. Forbes at 
 Scotland Yard. "When all is said and done, 
 my statement to you was largely guesswork. 
 You must remember that I have never seen 
 Mr. Forbes, nor hardly ever heard his name 
 except in connection with public matters in the 
 Press. 0, yes. I make that promise readily. 
 I trust you implicitly!"
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 CLOSE QUAETEES 
 
 THEYDON escorted Miss Beale downstairs. 
 As they passed the closed door of No. 17, 
 the lady shivered. 
 
 "To think that within the next few days 
 I would have been staying there with Edith, 
 and planning evenings at the theater before 
 going to Newquay!" she murmured; there 
 was a pitiful catch in her voice that told 
 better than words how the remainder of her 
 existence would be darkened by the tragedy. 
 
 At best she was a shrinking, timid little 
 woman, for whom life probably held but 
 narrow interests. Such as they were, their 
 placid content was forever shattered. The 
 death of her niece had closed the one chief 
 avenue leading to the outer world. She would 
 retire to the quiet back-water of Iffley, to be- 
 come more faded, more insignificant, more 
 lonely each year. 
 
 Theydon commiserated with her deeply and 
 did not hesitate to utter his thoughts while 
 putting her into a cab. 
 
 "Have you no friends in London!" he in- 
 quired. "I don't like the notion of sending 
 
 107
 
 108 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 you off alone into this wilderness. London 
 is the worst place in the world for any one 
 in distress. The heedless multitude seems to 
 be callous and unsympathetic. It isn't, in 
 reality. It simply doesn't know, and doesn't 
 bother. ' ' 
 
 "I used to claim some acquaintances here, 
 but I have lost track of them for years," she 
 said. "In any event, I shall have more than 
 enough to occupy my mind today. The in- 
 quest opens at three o'clock, and I must face 
 the ordeal of identifying Edith's body. The 
 detective told me that this should be done by 
 a relation, while the only other person who 
 could act Ann Rogers has been nearly out 
 of her mind since yesterday morning." 
 
 "Where are you staying?" 
 
 She mentioned a small hotel in the West 
 End. 
 
 "I used to go there with my people when 
 I was a girl," she added, sadly. 
 
 "Then I'll get my sister to call. You'll 
 like her. She's a. jolly good sort, and a chat 
 with another woman will be far more bene- 
 ficial than the society of detectives and law- 
 yers and such-like strange fowl. Keep your 
 spirits up, Miss Beale. Nothing that you can 
 say or do now will restore the life so cruelly 
 taken, but you and I, each in our own way, can 
 strive to bring the murderer to justice. I am 
 convinced that a distinct step in that direction
 
 CLOSE QUARTERS 109 
 
 will be taken this very day. You can count 
 on seeing or hearing from me as soon as 
 possible after I have discussed matters with 
 Mr. Forbes. Meanwhile, don't forget to have 
 a lawyer representing you at the inquest." 
 
 They parted as though they were friends 
 of long standing. Theydon was genuinely 
 sorry for this gray-haired woman's plight, and 
 she evidently regarded him as a kind-hearted 
 and eminently trustworthy young man. He 
 stood and watched the cab as it bore her off 
 swiftly into the maelstrom of London. He 
 could not help thinking that seldom had he 
 met one less fitted for the notoriety thrust 
 upon all connected with a much-talked-of 
 crime. 
 
 When the press interviewers, the photo- 
 graphers, the hundred and one officials with 
 whom she must be brought in contact, were 
 done with her, poor Miss Beale would retire 
 to her Oxfordshire nook in a state of mental 
 bewilderment that would baffle description. 
 In one of his books Theydon had endeavored 
 to depict just such a middle-aged spinster con- 
 fronted with a situation not wholly unlike 
 that which now faced Miss Beale. 
 
 He smiled grimly when he realized how 
 far fiction had wandered from fact. The 
 woman of his imagination had acted with a 
 strength of character, a decisiveness, that out- 
 witted and confounded certain scheming per-
 
 110 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 sonages in the story. How different was the 
 reality ! Miss Beale, rushing across London in 
 a taxi, reminded him of nothing more master- 
 ful than a cage-bird turned loose in a tempest. 
 He was about to reenter the mansions, 
 meaning to telephone to both the Fortescue 
 Square house and the Old Broad Street offices, 
 and ask for instant news of Mr. Forbes in 
 either locality. He was so preoccupied that 
 he failed to notice an approaching taxicab, 
 though the driver was signaling, and even 
 tooted a motor horn loudly in the endeavor 
 to attract his attention. 
 
 He did, however, catch his own name, and 
 halted. 
 
 "Beg pardon, sir, but you are Mr. Theydon, 
 aren't you?" said the man. 
 
 Then Theydon recognized Evans, the taxi- 
 driver, who had brought him from Fortescue 
 Square. 
 
 "Hullo!" he cried. "Any news of the gray 
 car?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, I think so," was the somewhat 
 surprising answer. "When I dropped you last 
 night I got a fare to Euston. Then I took a 
 gentleman to the Langham, an', as I felt like 
 a snack, I pulled into the nearest cab rank. 
 I was having some corfee an' a sandwich 
 when I 'appened to speak about the gray car 
 to one of ahr chaps. 'That's odd,' he said. 
 1 Quarter of an hour ago I had a theater job
 
 CLOSE QUARTERS 111 
 
 to Langham Plice, an' a gray landaulette 
 stopped in front of the Chinese Embassy. It 
 kem along from the east side, too.* He didn't 
 notice the number, sir, so there may be noth- 
 ink in it, after all, but I thought you might 
 like to hear wot my pal said." 
 
 "Was the car empty? Did it call for some 
 one at the Embassy?" 
 
 "That's the queer part of it, sir. I axed 
 pertic'ler. This gray car brought a gentle- 
 man, a small, youngish man, 'oo skipped up 
 the Embassy steps like a lamplighter, and 
 went in afore you could s'y 'knife.' Some- 
 body might ha' bin watchin' for him through 
 the keyhole, the door was opened that quick. 
 Then the car went off. My friend wouldn't ha ' 
 given a second thought to it if the gentleman 
 hadn't vanished like a jack-in-the-box. That's 
 w'y he remembered the color of the car." 
 
 Theydon tried to look as though Evans's 
 statement merely puzzled him, whereas his 
 mind was already busy with the extraordinary 
 coincidences which the haphazard events of a 
 few hours had produced. Was the Far East 
 bound up in some mysterious way with Mrs. 
 Lester's death? Did the crime possess a 
 political significance? If so, an explanation 
 by Forbes was more than ever demanded. 
 
 "Your informant was not mistaken about 
 the Chinese Embassy, I suppose?" he said. 
 
 "No, sir. He's always in that district.
 
 112 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 His garage is at the back of Great Portland 
 Street. He knows most of them there Chinks 
 by sight." 
 
 "Then that gray car can hardly have been 
 our gray car," commented Theydon, deeming 
 it wise to prevent the sharp-witted taxi-driver 
 from jumping at conclusions. 
 
 "I'm afraid not, sir. Still, I just took the 
 liberty " 
 
 "I'm very much obliged to you, of course. 
 I said half-a-crown, didn't I? Here you are. 
 Keep an eye open for XY 1314 and let me 
 know if you hear or see anything of it." 
 
 "Thank you, sir." Then Evans lifted his 
 eyes to the block of buildings. "A nasty 
 business this murder which was done 'ere the 
 other night, sir," he went on. "One 'ud 
 hardly b'lieve it possible for such things to 
 tike plice in London nowadays." 
 
 Much as he was disinclined for gossip of 
 the sort at the moment, Theydon saw that 
 he must endeavor to dissociate the gray car 
 and the crime from their dangerous juxta- 
 position in the man's mind, so he spoke about 
 Mrs. Lester's attractive appearance, harped 
 on the apparent aimlessness of the deed, 
 hinted darkly at clews in the possession of the 
 police, and finally got rid of the well-meaning 
 chauffeur. Back he went to his telephone, 
 and having ascertained that Mr. Forbes was 
 fully expected to put in an appearance at the
 
 CLOSE QUARTERS 113 
 
 city office before noon, settled down to read 
 the newspapers. 
 
 They contained sensational but fairly ac- 
 curate accounts of the tragedy. One en- 
 terprising journal had published an interview 
 with Bates, whom the reporter described as 
 "a typical British man-servant," which was 
 amusing, since Bates had " retired noncom- 
 missioned officer" written all over his square 
 frame and soldierly features. 
 
 The same journalist spoke of They don him- 
 self, and had even ferreted out the fact that 
 Mrs. Lester was the widow of an English 
 barrister who had died at Shanghai. On re- 
 flection, Theydon saw that there was nothing 
 unusual in this statement. The connection 
 between the metropolitan press and the bar is 
 old and intimate, and scores of junior bar- 
 risters must remember Arthur Lester's be- 
 ginnings. 
 
 Resolved to possess his soul in patience till 
 twelve o'clock, the hour being yet barely 11: 30 
 a. m., Theydon tackled a page of reviews, 
 since there is always consolation for a writer 
 in learning at second hand what sheer drivel 
 others can produce. 
 
 He was growling at the discovery that some 
 hapless essayist had appropriated a title 
 which he himself had marked down for his 
 next book, when the door-bell rang. He did 
 not give much heed, because so many trades-
 
 114 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 men called during the course of each morn- 
 ing, so he was surprised and startled when 
 Bates announced: 
 
 ''Mr. Forbes to see you, sir." 
 
 Had a powerful spring concealed in the 
 seat of his chair been released suddenly, They- 
 don could not have bounced to his feet with 
 greater speed. Forbes came in. He was pale, 
 but self-contained and clear-eyed. 
 
 "Forgive an unceremonious visit," he said. 
 "I'm glad to find you at home. I meant to 
 arrive here sooner, but I was detained on 
 business of some importance." 
 
 By this time Bates had closed the door; 
 Theydon explained his presence in the flat 
 by saying that within a few minutes he 
 would have been telephoning again to Old 
 Broad Street. 
 
 " Ah! Did you speak to Macdonald? " said 
 Forbes, dropping into a chair with a curious 
 lassitude of manner which did not escape 
 Theydon. 
 
 "Yes. I have been most anxious to have 
 a word with you " 
 
 Forbes broke in with a short laugh. 
 
 "You would get nothing out of Macdonald," 
 he said. "He knows that my visits to 
 the Chinese Embassy are few and far between 
 and generally have to do with but what is 
 it now? Why should you be so perturbed 
 when I mention the Chinese Embassy?"
 
 CLOSE QUARTERS 115 
 
 Theydon was literally astounded, and did 
 not strive to hide his agitation. But he was 
 by no means tongue-tied. Now, most emphati- 
 cally, was he determined to have done with 
 pretense. Whether by accident or design, 
 Forbes had placed himself with his back to 
 the window. 
 
 The younger man deliberately crossed the 
 room, pulled up the blind, thus admitting the 
 flood of light which comes only from the upper 
 third of a window, and sat down in such a 
 position that Forbes was compelled to turn 
 in order to face him. 
 
 "Before you utter another word, Mr. 
 Forbes," he said gravely, "let me tell you 
 that in my efforts to trace your whereabouts 
 I also called up Fortescue Square. Miss 
 Forbes came to the telephone. She said you 
 had gone to the Home Office. By some fem- 
 inine necromancy, too, she divined the link 
 which binds you with the death of Mrs. Lester. 
 She was distressed on your account, and I 
 was hard put to it to extricate myself from 
 the risk of saying something which I might 
 regret. I " 
 
 "What do you imply by that remark?" in- 
 terrupted Forbes, piercing the other with a 
 look that was strangely reminiscent of his 
 daughter's candid scrutiny. 
 
 "I imply the serious fact that I know who 
 visited Mrs. Lester before she met her death.
 
 116 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 I not only heard her visitor's arrival and 
 departure, but saw him at the corner of 
 these mansions while on my way home from 
 Daly's Theater, and again when he posted a 
 letter in the pillar box on the same corner. 
 If . such unwonted interest on my part in 
 the movements of one who was then a com- 
 plete stranger surprises you, let me remind 
 you that only a few minutes earlier I had 
 stood by his side at the door of the theater 
 and heard him telling his daughter that he 
 intended to walk to the Constitutional Club." 
 
 Forbes smiled, but uttered no word. His 
 expression was inscrutable. His pallor re- 
 minded Theydon of the tint of ivory, of that 
 waxen-white Dutch grisaille beloved of fif- 
 teenth century illuminators of manuscripts. 
 His silence was disturbing, almost irritating, 
 his manner singularly calm. 
 
 These negative indications conveyed ab- 
 solutely nothing to Theydon, who for the 
 second time in their brief acquaintance found 
 himself in the ridiculous position of one ex- 
 plaining a fault rather than, as he imagined, 
 arraigning a man under suspicion. 
 
 "So we had better dispense with am- 
 biguities, Mr. Forbes," he went on, speaking 
 with a precision that sounded oddly in his 
 own ears. "It was you who called on Mrs. 
 Lester on Monday night, you who posted the 
 Jetter she wrote to Miss Beale at Iffley, Ox-
 
 CLOSE QUARTERS 117 
 
 fordshire, you for whom the police are now 
 searching. I have contrived thus far to keep 
 your secret, but the situation is passing 'out 
 of my control. I would help you if I 
 could " 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 The monosyllable, sharp and insistent, was 
 disconcerting as the unexpected crack of a 
 whip, but Theydon answered valiantly: 
 
 "Because of the monstrous absurdities 
 with which Fate has plagued me during the 
 past two days, I appeal now for outspoken- 
 ness, so I set an example. Had it not been 
 for your daughter's remarkably attractive ap- 
 pearance I should not, in all likelihood, have 
 given a second glance at my neighbors on the 
 steps of the theater. But I cannot forget 
 that I did see both her and you indeed, Miss 
 Forbes herself recalled the incident and the 
 close questioning of the Scotland Yard men 
 who were here last night showed me the 
 folly of imagining that I could deny all 
 knowledge of you. I recognize now that some 
 impish contriving of circumstances forced this 
 knowledge upon me. The sudden downpour of 
 rain, and the fact that I was delayed by a 
 slight accident to my cab, conspired with the 
 apparently simple chance which led me to 
 overhear the conversation between Miss Forbes 
 and yourself. I tried hard to baffle the 
 detectives "
 
 118 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 "Again I ask 'Why?' " 
 
 Theydon was rapidly being wound up to a 
 pitch of excited resentment. 
 
 "Why!" he cried. "Was I not your guest? 
 How could I come from a house where I had 
 been admitted to a delightful intimacy and 
 tell the representatives of the law that 
 my host was the man they were looking 
 for? " 
 
 During some seconds Forbes bent his eyes 
 on the floor, seemingly in deep thought. 
 
 "Theydon," he said at last, looking up 
 in his direct way, "I am your senior by a 
 good many years am old enough, as the say- 
 ing goes, to be your father. I may venture, 
 therefore, to give you a piece of sound advice. 
 Pack a kit-bag, catch the afternoon boat train 
 for Boulogne, and go for a walking tour in 
 Normandy and Brittany. When I was your 
 age and a junior in a bank I had to take my 
 holidays in May; each year I tramped that 
 corner of France. I recommend it as a play- 
 ground. It will appeal to your literary in- 
 stincts, and it has the immeasurable advantage 
 just now of being practically as remote from 
 London as the Sahara." 
 
 It must not be forgotten that Theydon was 
 a romancer, an idealist. The "lounge suit" 
 of the modern tailor hampers the play of such 
 qualities no more than the beaten armor of 
 the age of chivalry.
 
 CLOSE QUARTERS 119 
 
 "If my departure for France will relieve 
 Miss Forbes of anxiety on your behalf, I'll 
 go," he vowed. 
 
 Forbes regarded him with a new interest. 
 
 "I believe you mean that," he said. 
 
 "I do." 
 
 "But I cannot send you out of the country 
 on a false pretense. It was your safety and 
 well-being, not my daughter's, that I was 
 thinking of." 
 
 "What have I to fear?" 
 
 "I do not know. I am like a man wander- 
 ing by night in a jungle alive with fearsome 
 beasts and reptiles," 
 
 "Yet you had some reason for suggesting 
 my prompt departure." 
 
 "Yes. It is an absurd thing to say, but I 
 believe I am putting you in danger of your 
 life by coming here this morning. ' ' 
 
 "Can't you speak plainly, Mr. Forbes? 
 What good purpose do you serve by holding 
 forth these vague terrors? If, as Miss 
 Forbes told me, you have visited the Home 
 Office, I take it you made yourself clear to 
 the authorities assuming, that is, you went 
 there in connection with the amazing condi- 
 tions which seem to be bound up with this 
 crime. ' ' 
 
 "There is a certain class of knowledge 
 which is in itself dangerous to those who 
 possess it, no matter whether or not it affects
 
 120 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 them in any particular. I recommend you, in 
 good faith, to leave London today." 
 
 "If my own safety is the only consideration 
 I refuse as readily as I agreed before." 
 
 Theydon's tone grew somewhat impatient. 
 He really fancied that Forbes was trifling 
 with him. Indeed, a queer doubt of the man's 
 complete sanity now peeped up in him. Forbes 
 was regarded as a crank by a large section 
 of the public on account of his peace propa- 
 ganda; if that opinion were justified why 
 should he not be eccentric in other respects? 
 
 It was fantastic, almost stupid, to look 
 upon him as responsible for Mrs. Lester's 
 murder, but there was always a possibility 
 that he might be utilizing the chance which 
 led him to her apartments shortly before the 
 crime was committed to cover himself and his 
 movements with a veil of spurious mystery. 
 In a word, though Theydon had likened his 
 visitor's face to a mask of ivory he had 
 momentarily forgotten the ominous token 
 found on Mrs. Lester's body and duplicated 
 in Forbes 's own house by the morning's post. 
 
 Forbes spread wide his hands with the air 
 of one who heard, but was allowing his 
 thoughts to wander. When next he spoke it 
 was only to increase the crazy inconsequence 
 of their talk. 
 
 "Later perhaps today perhaps it may 
 never be necessary I may explain myself to
 
 'CLOSE QUARTERS 121 
 
 your heart's content," he said slowly. "At 
 present I am here to ask a favor. In the 
 first place, is Mrs. Lester's flat in charge of 
 the police!" 
 
 "I suppose so," said Theydon. 
 
 "Is there a detective or constable on duty 
 there now?" 
 
 "I am not sure. I imagine there is not. 
 When the Scotland Yard men and I came 
 out after midnight they locked the door and 
 took away the key. The er body is at the 
 mortuary, awaiting the opening of the inquest 
 at three o'clock." 
 
 "Ah! I hoped that would be so. Can you 
 ascertain for certain?" 
 
 "But why?" 
 
 "Because I wish to go in there. And that 
 brings me ta the favor I seek. The secretary 
 of these flats, even the hall porter, should 
 have a master key. Borrow it on some pre- 
 text. They will give it to you." 
 
 "Really, Mr. Forbes " gasped Theydon, 
 voicing his surprise as a preliminary to a 
 decided refusal. He was interrupted by the 
 insistent clang of the telephone that curt 
 herald which brooks no delay in answering its 
 demand for an audience. 
 
 "Pardon me one moment," he said. "I'll 
 just see who that is." 
 
 The inquirer was Evelyn Forbes. 
 
 "I've waited patiently " she began, but
 
 122 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 he stopped her instantly by saying that her 
 father was with him. 
 
 "Please ask him to come to the phone," 
 she said. 
 
 Forbes rose at once. He merely assured 
 the girl that he was engaged in important 
 business and would be home soon after the 
 luncheon hour. Meanwhile, she was not to 
 go out, and his orders must be obeyed to the 
 letter. 
 
 "Now, Theydon," he said, coming back to 
 the sitting room, "what about that key?" 
 
 The most extraordinary feature of an 
 extraordinary case was the way in which the 
 mere sound of Evelyn Forbes 's voice stilled 
 any qualms of conscience in Theydon 's breast. 
 He knew he was acting foolishly in conducting 
 a blind inquiry on his own account, an inquiry 
 which might well arouse the anger and active 
 resentment of the police, but he offered a sop 
 to his better judgment by consulting Bates. 
 
 Then came a veritable surprise. 
 
 " The fact is, sir," admitted Bates ner- 
 vously, "we have Ann Rogers 's key in the 
 kitchen. When she went away on Monday 
 she left it here, bein' afraid of losin' it. Of 
 course, she took it on Tuesday mornin', and 
 after goin' from one fit of hysterics into 
 another she gev it to us again." 
 
 Theydon 's face was eloquent of the serious 
 view of this avowal.
 
 CLOSE QUARTERS 123 
 
 "Did you tell the police?" he said. 
 
 "No, sir. My missus an' me clean forgot 
 all about it." 
 
 "So, while Mrs. Lester was being killed, 
 the key of her flat was actually in your pos- 
 session?" 
 
 "I suppose it might be put that way, sir." 
 
 By this time Theydon was becoming exas- 
 perated at the veritable conspiracy which fate 
 had engineered for the express purpose, ap- 
 parently, of entangling him in an abominable 
 crime. 
 
 "Why on earth didn't you mention such 
 an important fact to the detectives?" he al- 
 most shouted, "Don't you see they are 
 bound to think " 
 
 "0, a plague on the detectives and on what 
 they think!" broke in Forbes imperiously. 
 "It doesn't matter a straw what they think, 
 and very little what they do. This affair 
 goes a long way beyond the four-mile radius, 
 Theydon. The vital point is that your man 
 has the key. Where is it? Let us go in there 
 at once!" 
 
 "You offered me some advice, Mr. Forbes," 
 said Theydon firmly. "Let me now return it 
 in kind. If you wish to examine Mrs. Lester's 
 flat why not seek the permission of Scotland 
 Yard?" 
 
 "My good fellow, I have spent a valuable 
 hour this morning in persuading the Home
 
 124 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 Secretary that the less Scotland Yard inter- 
 feres in my behalf the more effectually shall 
 I be protected. I don't want any detective 
 within a mile of my house or office. But, as 
 I have told you already, explanations must 
 wait You, Bates, look a man who can hold 
 his tongue. Do so, and with Mr. Theydon's 
 permission I'll make it worth your while 
 when this storm has blown over Now, give 
 me that key." 
 
 Theydon was silenced, if not convinced. 
 He realized, of course, that he must make a 
 full confession to the Criminal Investigation 
 Department before the sun went down, but 
 argued that he might as well see the present 
 adventure through. 
 
 Soon he and Forbes were standing at the 
 door of No. 17. Forbes curbed his impatience 
 sufficiently to permit of any one who hap- 
 pened to be in the interior answering the sum- 
 mons of the electric bell. Of course, no one 
 came. The police had no reason to remain 
 in charge of the place, and Ann Rogers would 
 have become a raving lunatic if left alone 
 there for one half -hour. 
 
 The aromatic odor of the burnt joss stick 
 still clung to the suite of apartments, and 
 Forbes noticed it at once. 
 
 " Where was the body found?" he asked. 
 
 Theydon led the way to the bedroom. He 
 related Winter's theory of the crime, and
 
 CLOSE QUARTERS 125 
 
 pointed out its seeming aimlessness. So far 
 as the police could ascertain from the half- 
 crazy servant, none of Mrs. Lester's jewels 
 was missing. Even her gold purse, contain- 
 ing a fair sum of money, was found on the 
 dressing-table. 
 
 He did not know that the detectives had 
 taken away a few scraps of torn paper thrown 
 carelessly into the grate and had carefully 
 gathered up a tiny snake-like curl of white 
 ash from the tiled hearth, which, on analysis, 
 would probably prove to be the remains of 
 the joss stick. 
 
 Forbes gazed at the impression on the side 
 of the bed as though the body of the woman 
 whom he had last seen in full possession of 
 her grace and beauty were still lying there. 
 The vision seemed to affect him profoundly. 
 He did not speak for fully a minute, and, when 
 speech came, his voice was low and strained. 
 
 "Tell me everything you know," he said. 
 "The Scotland Yard men took an unusual 
 step in admitting you to their conclave. They 
 must have had some motive. Tell me what 
 they said, their very words, if you can re- 
 call them." 
 
 Theydon' was uncomfortably aware of a 
 strange compulsion to obey. His common- 
 place, everyday senses cried out in revolt, 
 and warned him that he was tampering dan- 
 gerously with matters which should be left
 
 126 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 to the cold scrutiny of the law, but some 
 subconscious instinct overpowered these pru- 
 dent monitors, and he gave an almost exact 
 account of his talk with Winter and Furneaux. 
 
 Then followed questions, eager, searching, 
 almost uncanny in their prescience. 
 
 "The little one who strikes me as having 
 more brains than I credit the ordinary Lon- 
 don policeman with spoke of the evil deities 
 of China. How did such an extraordinary 
 topic crop up?" 
 
 "In connection with the joss stick." 
 
 "Yes, yes. But I don't see the inference." 
 
 "Mr. Winter alluded to the habit some 
 ladies have of burning such incense in their 
 houses, whereupon Furneaux remarked that 
 the Chinese use them to propitiate harmful 
 spirits." 
 
 "Was that all?" 
 
 Theydon felt insensibly that his companion 
 was hinting at something more definite, but 
 he was bound in honor to respect the con- 
 fidence reposed in him. 
 
 "I don't quite understand," he temporized. 
 
 "Was nothing said as to the finding of 
 some object, such as a small article obviously 
 Chinese in origin, which might turn an in- 
 quirer's thought into that channel?" 
 
 "The conversation I am relating took place 
 the moment after we had entered the flat. 
 We were standing in the hall. It was wholly
 
 CLOSE QUARTERS 127 
 
 the outcome of the strange smell which was 
 immediately perceptible. ' ' 
 
 Forbes passed a hand over his eyes. 
 
 "I wonder," he breathed. 
 
 Then, turning quickly on Theydon, he re- 
 peated the question. 
 
 "Are you quite sure they did not mention 
 the discovery in this room of any object 
 which could be regarded, even remotely, as 
 a sign or symbol left by the murderer to 
 show that his crime was an act of vengeance, 
 or retaliation?" 
 
 Theydon hesitated. Unquestionably he was 
 in a position of no ordinary difficulty. But 
 his doubts were solved by an interruption 
 that brought his heart into his mouth, be- 
 cause a thin, high-pitched voice came through 
 the half-open door: 
 
 "Are you thinking of a small ivory skull, 
 Mr. Forbes!"
 
 CHAPTER VH 
 
 WHEREIN ME. FORBES EXPLAINS HIMSELF 
 
 EVEN the boldest may flinch when con- 
 fronted with that which is apparently a 
 manifestation of the supernatural. Theydon 
 and Forbes were standing in a chamber of 
 death. To the best of their belief they were 
 alone in an otherwise empty flat, and those 
 ominous words coming from some one un- 
 known and unseen blanched their faces with 
 terror. 
 
 But Theydon was a healthy and athletic 
 young Englishman, and Forbes was of the 
 rare order which combines a frame of ex- 
 ceptional physique with a mind accustomed to 
 think imperially; two such men might be 
 trusted to display real grit if surrounded by 
 a horde of veritable spooks. 
 
 The door was thrown wide as they turned 
 at the sound of the words, and Theydon rec- 
 ognized in a strange little figure wearing a 
 blue serge suit, a straw hat and brown boots 
 Furneaux, the man whom he had looked on 
 as somewhat of a crank and visionary during 
 their talk of the previous night. 
 
 "You!" he gasped, and the note of rec- 
 
 128
 
 MR. FORBES EXPLAINS 129 
 
 ognition was sharpened by a sudden sense 
 of dismay, almost of alarm, because of the 
 overwhelming knowledge that *now all his 
 scheming had collapsed, while the representa- 
 tives of Scotland Yard would regard him as 
 nothing more than a poor sort of trickster. 
 
 But Forbes was not in the habit of yielding 
 to any man, no matter what his status, or 
 howsoever awe-inspiring might be the depart- 
 ment of state which he represented. 
 
 "Who the devil are you, at any rate?" he 
 cried angrily. "And what right have you to 
 spy on gentlemen in this manner, listening to 
 their conversation, and breaking in with a 
 cheap stage effect obviously intended to 
 startle?" 
 
 Furneaux remained motionless, his feet set 
 well apart and his hands thrust into his 
 trousers pockets. The trim, natty figure, the 
 spruce and Summer-like attire, the small, 
 wizened face with its cynically humorous and 
 wide-awake aspect above all, a certain jaunt- 
 iness of air and cocksure expression cer- 
 tainly did not suggest a comedian fresh from 
 the boards. 
 
 "You tell," he said, nodding to Theydon. 
 
 "This is Mr. Furneaux of Scotland Yard," 
 said the latter nervously. He imagined he 
 could detect in Furneaux 's glance a mixture 
 of amusement and contempt, amusement at 
 the notion that any amateur should harbor
 
 130 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 the belief that the two best men in the 
 1 'Yard" could be egregiously hoodwinked, and 
 contempt of one who so far forgot himself 
 as even to dare attempt such a thing in 
 relation to a police inquiry into a murder. 
 
 "I don't know, and care less, who Mr. Fur- 
 neaux of Scotland Yard may be," went on 
 Forbes hotly. "I resent his ( intrusion, and 
 wish to be relieved of his presence." 
 
 "Why?" said Furneaux. 
 
 "I have given my reasons to the Home 
 Secretary. That mere statement must suffice 
 for you." 
 
 "Beally, I must ask you to be more ex- 
 plicit." 
 
 "I visited the Home Office this morning, 
 and placed such evidence in the hands of the 
 Home Secretary that Scotland Yard will 
 be requested to suspend all further inves- 
 tigation into the death of Mrs. Lester." 
 
 "Do you mean that the Home Secretary 
 has sanctioned the breaking off of this in- 
 quiry. ' ' 
 
 "In the conditions " 
 
 "Because, if that is what your words imply, 
 Mr. Forbes, I may tell you at once that I 
 don't believe you. It is more than any Home 
 Secretary dare do, and if you harbor any 
 lingering doubts on the point, go to Mr. 
 Theydon's telephone, ring up the Home Office,
 
 MR. FORBES EXPLAINS 131 
 
 and tell the gentleman at the other end of 
 the wire exactly what I have said. Of course 
 you really don't mean anything of the sort. 
 By virtue of some special and inside knowl- 
 edge of certain facts communicated to the 
 Home Secretary, you may have persuaded 
 him to promise that, provided the ends of 
 justice are not defeated thereby, every pre- 
 caution will be taken to keep the main lines 
 of the inquiry secret until the whole posi- 
 tion can be laid before the law officers of the 
 Crown. The Home Secretary may have gone 
 that far, Mr. Forbes, but not one inch farther, 
 and you know it." 
 
 The two antagonists, so singularly dis- 
 proportionate in size, were yet so perfectly 
 matched in the vastly more important qual- 
 ities of brain and nerve that the contest lost 
 all sense of inequality. Theydon felt himself 
 of no account in this duel. He was like an 
 urchin watching open-mouthed a combat of 
 gladiators. 
 
 Forbes, not without a perceptible effort, 
 choked down his wrath and recovered his 
 poise. 
 
 "You have gaged the state of affairs ac- 
 curately enough," he said, speaking more 
 calmly. "May I, then, recommend you to 
 consult your direct superiors before carrying 
 your investigations any furthur, Mr. " 
 
 " Furneaux Charles Francois Furneaux."
 
 132 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 11 Just so, Mr. Charles Francois Furneaux." 
 
 "I give you my full name, because one of 
 the peculiar features of this case is the in- 
 ability of some persons mixed up in it to re- 
 call names, or even the mere salient facts," 
 and the detective's glance dwelt for an instant 
 on Theydon, who, again, in his own estima- 
 tion, shrank into the boots of a fourth-form 
 boy detected by a master in an overt breach of 
 college rules. 
 
 But the little man was speaking impres- 
 sively, and Theydon compelled his wandering 
 wits to pay attention. 
 
 "It will clear the air, perhaps," went on 
 Furneaux, "if I point out that if any one here 
 is playing the spy carrying on some under- 
 handed game, that is it is not I. These 
 apartments are in charge of the police. The 
 manager of the whole block of flats and the 
 porter of this particular section have been 
 warned that no one can be allowed to enter 
 No. 17, on any pretext, until our inquiry is 
 closed. Now, Mr. Forbes, kindly explain 
 how you contrived to get possession of a 
 key." 
 
 An experienced man of the world like 
 Forbes could hardly fail to see that he was 
 in a false position, and that any persistent 
 attempt to browbeat the detective would 
 not only meet with utter failure but might 
 possibly compromise him gravely.
 
 MR. FORBES EXPLAINS 133 
 
 "That was a simple matter," he said. 
 "Mrs. Lester's servant left her key in Mr. 
 Theydon's establishment. Bates surprised 
 both his master and me by producing it when 
 I expressed a wish to examine the place." 
 
 "But why adopt such a clandestine 
 method?" 
 
 Forbes 's face, usually so classic in outline, 
 assumed a certain rigidity, and his firm chin 
 grew markedly aggressive. 
 
 "I don't answer questions put in that 
 way," he said. 
 
 Furneaux laughed sardonically. 
 
 "You meet with greater respect in Capel 
 Court, I have no doubt," he snapped. "There 
 you stand on a pedestal, with one hand flour- 
 ishing a check-book and the other resting 
 gracefully on the neck of a golden calf. Here, 
 you are simply an ordinary citizen behaving 
 in a suspicious manner. If the uniformed 
 policeman on the neighboring beat knew 
 what I know of your recent movements he 
 would arrest you without ceremony, and 
 charge you with being concerned in the 
 murder of Mrs. Lester. Between you and Mr. 
 Theydon, the work of my department has been 
 hindered and burked most scandalously. Don't 
 glare at me like that! I don't care tuppence 
 for your millions and your social position. 
 "What I do care about is the horrible risk you 
 and each member of your family are incurring.
 
 134 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 You know why, and while you are still alive I 
 mean to force you to speak. Tell me now 
 why Mrs. Lester was killed. Tell me, too, 
 why the same hand which thrust a little ivory 
 skull into the dead woman's underbodice 
 caused a similar token to be delivered to you 
 by this morning's post. Ah, that touches you, 
 does it! Now, my worthy financier and 
 philanthropist, step down from your ped- 
 estal and behave like a being of flesh and 
 blood!" 
 
 Forbes positively wilted under that extraor- 
 dinary attack. His white face grew wan, and 
 his eyes dilated with surprise and terror. The 
 detective's words seemed to have the effect of 
 a paralytic shock. Thenceforth he was under 
 dog in the fight. 
 
 "How do you know," he gasped, "that I 
 received an ivory skull this morning? Have 
 you been to my house? Did my daughter 
 tell you?" 
 
 Furneaux chuckled. 
 
 "You're ready to listen, eh? Well, I don't 
 mind telling you that I have not stirred out 
 of this flat since seven o'clock this morning, 
 and I question if your letters were delivered 
 in Fortescue Square at that hour." 
 
 "I give in," said Forbes curtly. "Need we 
 remain here? The smell of that cursed joss 
 stick oppresses me." 
 
 Then Theydon found his tongue.
 
 MR. FORBES EXPLAINS 135 
 
 "If Mr. Furneaux cares to abandon his 
 vigil, my flat is entirely at your disposal," 
 he said. 
 
 "My vigil, as you accurately describe it, 
 has ended for the time being," said Fur- 
 neaux, apparently mollified by the million- 
 aire's surrender. "I was sure that if I re- 
 mained here long enough I would clear away 
 some of the fog attached to a case which 
 promises to be one of the most remarkable 
 I have ever investigated. Come, gentlemen, 
 let us be amiable to one another. I'm sorry 
 if I lost my temper just now, but I regard 
 myself as being the only detective in existence 
 who uses other sections of his brain than those 
 governed by statutes made and provided, and 
 it riles me when men of superior intelligence 
 like yourselves treat me as though my mission 
 in life was to direct the traffic and keep a sharp 
 eye on mischievous juveniles. . . . Mr. They- 
 don, can that soldier-servant of yours make 
 coffee!" 
 
 "His wife can," said Theydon. 
 
 "Will you be good enough, then, to set 
 her to work? Thus far, since the sun rose, 
 I have stayed the pangs of hunger with 
 an apple and a glass of water." 
 
 By this time, Theydon had thoroughly re- 
 vised his first estimate of the diminutive de- 
 tective. Indeed, he was beginning to look on 
 him as a quite noteworthy person, a man
 
 136 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 whose mental equipment it was most unwise 
 to assess at any lower valuation than the 
 somewhat exalted one which Furneaux himself 
 had set forth with such refreshing candor. 
 
 As for Forbes, the millionaire seemed to 
 have sunk into a species of stupor since Fur- 
 neaux spoke of the ivory skull. He uttered 
 no word until the three were seated in They- 
 don's room, and his expression was so woe- 
 begone that it stirred even the mercurial 
 Jerseyite to pity. 
 
 1 'I imagine that a cup of coffee will do 
 you also a world of good," he said. Then, 
 whirling round on Theydon, he stuck a ques- 
 tion into him as if each word was a stiletto. 
 
 "Where do you get your coffee?" 
 
 "At the grocer's," was the surprised an- 
 swer. 
 
 "Is that all you know about it?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Singular thing, isn't it?" mused the de- 
 tective aloud, "how idiotic men and women 
 can be in their attitude to the supreme things 
 of life. What is of greater importance than 
 the food we eat and the liquors we drink? 
 Through them the body reconstitutes itself 
 hourly and daily. Providence gives us a per- 
 fect engine, yet we clog and choke its shafts 
 and cylinders by supplying it haphazard with 
 any sort of fuel and lubricant, no matter how 
 unsuited either may be to its purpose. Take
 
 MR. FORBES EXPLAINS 137 
 
 coffee, for instance. The physiological action 
 of coffee depends on the presence of the alka- 
 loid caffeine, which varies from 0.6 percent in 
 the Arabian berry to 2 percent in that of 
 Sierra Leone. Again, the aromatic oil, caf- 
 feine, which is developed by roasting, in- 
 creases in quantity the longer the seeds are 
 kept. Unfortunately, coffee beans lose weight 
 during storage, so you have a clear com- 
 mercial reason why grocers should not sell the 
 best coffee, unless under compulsion of an en- 
 lightened public opinion. Now you, Mr. 
 Forbes, would never dream of putting your 
 money into a investment without full and 
 careful inquiry into the history and scope of 
 the proposed undertaking, while our young 
 friend here would snort furiously at a split 
 infinitive or a false rhyme, yet, when I submit 
 the vital problem of the sort of coffee you 
 imbibe the very essence and nutriment of 
 your brains and bodies you hear the kind of 
 answer I receive." 
 
 All this, of course, was excellent fooling, 
 intended to dispel the brooding horror which 
 had suddenly descended upon Forbes since it 
 was borne in on him that the demoniac wrath 
 wreaked on Mrs. Lester was now directed with 
 equal ferocity against his family and him- 
 self. 
 
 To an extent, Furneaux's scheme succeeded. 
 A gleam of interest shot from the mil-
 
 138 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 lionaire's eyes. They lost their introspective 
 look. He even smiled wistfully. 
 
 "You are a man after my own heart, Mr. 
 Furneaux," he said. "I had no idea that the 
 Criminal Investigation Department employed 
 philosophers of your caliber. I suppose that 
 you and I are about to swallow coffee con- 
 taining indeterminate percentages of the chief 
 constituents you named." 
 
 1 'One does not look at gift coffee in the 
 cup," grinned the little man, obviously well 
 pleased with himself. "But, if ever you two 
 gentlemen favor my obscure dwelling with a 
 visit, and partake of a meal, you will have 
 a strict analysis with every bite and sup. 
 There is a grocer in Battersea who used to 
 tremble at sight of me. Now he has learned 
 wisdom, and has quadrupled his trade by 
 publishing learned disquisitions on the nature 
 and quality of each principal article he sells. 
 You ought to read his treatise on butter. He 
 is an authority on the dietetic value of jam. 
 The nutritive properties of his cheese are 
 ruining the local butchers." 
 
 Furneaux 's efforts were rewarded when the 
 really excellent beverage provided by Mrs. 
 Bates was disposed of. Forbes seemingly 
 atoned for his earlier secretiveness by placing 
 every fact in his possession fully and fairly 
 before his auditors. 
 
 "Nearly seven years ago," he said, "I
 
 MR. FORBES EXPLAINS 139 
 
 made a very large sum of money by amal- 
 gamating certain shipping interests at a 
 favorable moment. Thus, as it happened, I 
 had at command practically unlimited re- 
 sources when I was asked to finance the cause 
 of reform in China. The wretched lot of the 
 Chinese Nation had always appealed to my 
 sympathies. Some hundreds of millions of 
 the most industrious and peace-loving people 
 in the world have been exploited for centuries 
 by a predatory caste. Given a chance to ex- 
 pand, freed from the shackles of the Manchus, 
 the Chinese, in my opinion, contain the ele- 
 ments which go to form a great race. But the 
 Manchus held them in bondage, body and soul, 
 and, so powerful is self-interest, there has 
 never been an Emperor or statesman who 
 strove to elevate the masses who was not 
 mercilessly assassinated as soon as he allowed 
 his intent to become known. The only path to 
 freedom lay through revolution, and I had 
 reason to believe that the ruling faction could 
 be overthrown by a well-organized and prop- 
 erly financed movement without the appalling 
 bloodshed which often accompanies such dy- 
 nastic changes. At any rate, I entered the con- 
 spiracy, heart and soul. But I met with two 
 difficulties at the outset. I could not exercise 
 efficient financial control in London, and I 
 could neither go and live In the Far East 
 nor transact my business through ordinary
 
 140 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 banking channels. So I had to find a sub- 
 stitute, and my choice fell on a rising young 
 barrister named Arthur Lester, whom I had 
 known since he was a boy who had mar- 
 ried the daughter of an old friend. He had a 
 taste for adventure, and was alive to the 
 magnificent career which lay before one who 
 helped materially in the rebirth of China. 
 In a word, he went to Shanghai as my agent, 
 and the outcome of his work there is the 
 present Chinese constitution. Of course, as 
 holds good in all human affairs, events did not 
 follow the precise track mapped out for them. 
 But, on the whole, he and I were satisfied. 
 China is awake at last. The giant has stir- 
 red, and, if his first uncertain steps have 
 deviated from the open road of reform, he will 
 never again sink into the torpor of the past 
 centuries. Manchu arrogance and domination, 
 at any rate, are shadows of the past, but un- 
 happily, the conquerors who have been so 
 effectually thrust aside have now embarked 
 on a secret campaign of vengeance and re- 
 action. A society which calls itself the * Young 
 Manchus' is inspired by one principle, and 
 one only, and that is 'death to the reformers.' 
 I don't suppose you gentlemen follow closely 
 the trend of affairs in China, but you must 
 have read of the assassinations of prominent 
 men reported occasionally in the newspapers." 
 Furneaux clicked his tongue so loudly that
 
 MR. FORBES EXPLAINS 141 
 
 Forbes stopped speaking and looked at him, 
 thinking, apparently, that the little detective 
 meant to say something. He did, but it was 
 Theydon whom he addressed. 
 
 "I'd give a week's pay if Winter was here 
 now, and I could see those big eyes of his 
 bulging out of his head," he cackled. 
 
 Theydon nodded. He understood perfectly. 
 Then he caught Forbes 's inquiring glance, and 
 explained matters. 
 
 "-Mr. Furneaux hinted last night at some 
 such development as that which your present 
 statement conveys, and his colleague, Mr. 
 Winter, pretended to scout it," he said. 
 
 "Pretended!" shrieked Furneaux, instantly 
 in a rage. 
 
 "That was how it struck me," said They- 
 don coolly. 
 
 "Didn't I drag the Chinese aspect of the 
 crime out of him with pincers?" came the 
 indignant demand. 
 
 "Unquestionably. I only remark that your 
 large-sized friend had it tucked away all the 
 time at the back of his head." 
 
 Furneaux pounded the table so viciously 
 that the cups rattled. 
 
 "Of course, he has a nose to smell joss 
 sticks, and eyes to see an ivory skull, but 
 didn't he say I was talking nonsense when I 
 spoke about Shang Ti scowling from a por- 
 celain vase?" he shrilled.
 
 142 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 "Yes. For all that, I don't think he missed 
 the least hint of your meaning." 
 
 Furneaux gazed at Theydon fixedly. 
 
 "Sorry," he said, with an acid tone that 
 was almost malicious. "I imagined you were 
 so busy throwing dust in our eyes that you 
 wouldn't have noticed such fine shades of 
 perception on Winter's part." 
 
 But Theydon was now able to measure this 
 strange little man with some degree of ac- 
 curacy; he only smiled. 
 
 "As a thrower of dust I was a most abject 
 failure," he said. 
 
 Furneaux smiled and turned to the mil- 
 lionaire. 
 
 "Pardon the interruption," he said. "Like 
 every artist, I am pained when my best efforts 
 are scoffed at by heedless mediocrity. You, 
 at least, will understand what a big thing it 
 was to deduce even the vaguest outline of the 
 truth from the facts at my command." 
 
 "I certainly do," agreed Forbes. "Until 
 this morning I was convinced that Mrs. Les- 
 ter's death removed the one person in Eng- 
 land who knew of my connection with the 
 revolution in China. To revert to the Young 
 Manchus they have secured far more vic- 
 tims than the world at large is aware of. 
 I am sure that they poisoned Arthur Les- 
 ter, and his wife held the same view. They 
 aim at nothing less than the extinction of the
 
 MR. FORBES EXPLAINS 143 
 
 democratic cause by the murder of every 
 prominent man connected with it. But they 
 never yet have been able to obtain a full and 
 authentic list of the reform leaders. They 
 suspected poor Lester of complicity in the 
 movement, and killed him. It was through 
 Mrs. Lester that I first became aware of their 
 existence as an active organization, and I 
 hoped that when she had returned to England, 
 and was living quietly in London, she would 
 be lost sight of ignored, in fact. Never- 
 theless, both she and I thought it prudent 
 that our acquaintance should cease until 
 the turmoil in China had subsided. For 
 that reason I never visited her, nor did 
 I permit the growth of friendship between 
 her and my wife and daughter a friendship 
 which, in happier conditions, would have been 
 natural and inevitable. But we were woe- 
 fully mistaken. An Oriental vendetta neither 
 slackens nor dies. By some means wholly un- 
 known to me, the Young Manchus must have 
 discovered, or guessed, that in leaving Les- 
 ter's widow out of their reckoning they had 
 lost a promising clew. Be that as it may, 
 they followed her to London, and, by a singu- 
 lar fatajity, I was the first to know of it. 
 Last Monday, while driving home from the 
 city, my car was held up in Piccadilly for a 
 few seconds. Looking idly out at the passing 
 crowd, I saw a Chinaman in European clothes.
 
 144 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 He was waiting to cross the road, so I was 
 able to scrutinize him carefully, and, owing to 
 a scar on the left side of his face, recognized 
 him. His name is Wong Li Fu, a Manchu of 
 the Manchus, a mandarin of almost imperial 
 lineage. Some years ago he was a young 
 attache at the Chinese Embassy here. Sud- 
 denly, while on the way to my house, I recol- 
 lected that certain members of the Revolu- 
 tionary Committee had spoken of this very 
 man as being one of the ablest and most un- 
 scrupulous adherents of the Manchu faction in 
 Pekin. Somehow, his presence in London was 
 disconcerting and menacing. Who more likely 
 than he, I argued, to be a leading spirit among 
 the Young Manchus? In any event, London 
 was not big enough to hold both Mrs. Lester 
 and him, and I decided to visit her that very 
 night, tell her I had seen Wong Li Fu, and 
 advise her to go away into the country, leav- 
 ing no record of her whereabouts. I happened 
 to be taking my daughter to Daly's Theater, 
 and contrived to slip away on some pretext 
 after the performance. I found Mrs. Lester 
 alone in her flat, and she fell in with my 
 views at once, because she, too, had heard of 
 this very man, and the mere sound of his name 
 terrified her. I was half inclined to urge that 
 she should go to an hotel for the night, but the 
 lateness of the hour and the seeming fact that
 
 MR. FORBES EXPLAINS 145 
 
 if danger threatened she was safe at least till 
 the morrow, prevented me." 
 
 Furneaux, sitting on the edge of a chair, 
 his head bent forward, his piercing black eyes 
 intent as those of a hawk, a hand resting 
 on each knee, his attitude curiously suggestive 
 of a readiness to spring forward at any in- 
 stant, now leaned over and tapped the mil- 
 lionaire decisively on the shoulder. 
 
 "You couldn't have saved her, Mr. Forbes," 
 he said gravely. "She was marked down as 
 the first warning. Didn't the letter you re- 
 ceived this morning tell you something of the 
 sort!" 
 
 Agitation gave place to utter astonishment 
 in Forbes 's face. 
 
 "In Heaven's name, how do you know any- 
 thing of any letter?" he cried. 
 
 "I will tell you later. But am I not right?" 
 
 "Yes, you are." 
 
 "Where is it? May I see it!" 
 
 Forbes took a creased and soiled document 
 from a small, flat cardboard box which he 
 carried in the breast pocket of his coat. But 
 first he withdrew from the box a little object, 
 and placed it on the table. It was an ivory 
 skull, and the very presence of such a sinister 
 token brought^ some hint of the charnel-house 
 into the cozy and sunlit room. 
 
 Furneaux, a creature oddly constituted ei- 
 ther of all nerves or of no nerves, disregarded
 
 146 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 the skull. He had eyes only for the few words 
 typed on a single sheet of note-paper. They 
 ran: 
 
 ' 'James Creighton Forbes: If you are will- 
 ing to come to terms, announce the fact by 
 advertisement in Thursday's Times. Address 
 your reply to Y. M., and sign it 'J. C. F.' 
 Yield, and you will hear further. Refuse, and 
 no other warning will be given. "
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE FIRST COUNTER-STROKE 
 
 FURNEAUX apparently made up his mind 
 with reference to the contents of a somewhat 
 enigmatic message after one quick, unerring 
 perusal. 
 
 "The man who wrote that took a great 
 many things for granted," he said. "He as- 
 sumed, firstly, that you knew of Mrs. Lester's 
 death and understood its significance; sec- 
 ondly, that you are aware of the nature of 
 the ' terms ' he will offer ; thirdly, that you may 
 hesitate between compliance and threatened 
 death. *Y. M.,' of course, can be read as 
 'Young Manchus.' Even there, the writer 
 exhibits artistic reticence. . . . Frankly, Mr. 
 Forbes, I wish you had come straight to 
 Scotland Yard on Monday evening instead of 
 wasting those precious hours at Daly's 
 Theater." 
 
 Forbes was moved to energetic protest. 
 
 "How was I to deduce the true nature of 
 these hell hounds' mission from a casual 
 glance vouchsafed of one who may or may 
 not be their leader?" he cried. 
 
 147
 
 148 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 "Yet you treated your discovery as serious 
 enough to warrant a prompt visit to the wo- 
 man with whom association was dangerous?" 
 "Yes; I wanted to act secretly." 
 "Just so. You were afraid the police would 
 bungle the job. Between you and Mr. They- 
 don, you have exhibited remarkable skill in 
 heading us off the scent. Fortunately, we were 
 able to dispense with your assistance, having 
 other matters to occupy our brains. You two 
 were ripe nuts waiting to be cracked and have 
 the contents extracted at leisure. There were 
 a few freshly broken shells lying about which 
 invited immediate attention. For instance, 
 some four months ago, a well-known and 
 reputable firm of private inquiry agents was 
 instructed from Canton to secure all possible 
 information about Mrs. Lester and you yes, 
 you, Mr. Forbes your household, friends, 
 methods of living, servants, tradesmen, every 
 sort of fact, indeed, which might be useful to 
 a thoroughgoing and well-organized society of 
 cutthroats like the Young Manchus. The in- 
 quiry agents did their work well, and were 
 handsomely paid for it. I haven't the least 
 doubt that Wong Li Fu knows what brand of 
 cigars you favor, and what you eat for break- 
 fast. His informants sent us a copy of their 
 notes an hour after the murder was announced 
 in the newspapers. Mr. Lester is l removed' 
 in Shanghai. His widow comes home. The
 
 THE FIRST COUNTER-STROKE 149 
 
 inquiry agents receive instructions. They 
 forward their report to Canton, and Wong Li 
 Fu turns up in London. The program is a 
 tribute to the excellence and regularity of the 
 mail service between England and the Far 
 East." 
 
 While the detective was speaking, Forbes 's 
 face, already haggard, had grown desperate. 
 
 "I care little for my own life," he said, 
 "but I shall stop short of no measures to 
 protect my wife and daughter." 
 
 "I certainly recommend that an armed 
 guard should be on duty day and night in 
 any house where you may happen to be 
 living at the moment," replied Furneaux 
 airily. "I really think that if your safety 
 alone were at stake I would do you a good 
 turn by arresting you on suspicion." 
 
 "On suspicion of what crime?" 
 
 "Of killing Mrs. Lester, to be sure." 
 
 "I regard you as a clever man, Mr. Fur- 
 neaux, so may I remind you that this is 
 neither the time nor the place for a display 
 of gross humor?" 
 
 Theydon expected that Furneaux would 
 flare into anger at this well-deserved rebuke; 
 but, much to his surprise, the detective treated 
 the matter argumentatively. 
 
 "Personally, I have looked on you from 
 the outset as an innocent man," he said 
 placidly. "But, just to show how circum-
 
 150 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 stantial evidence may be twisted into plausible 
 error, let me point out that nearly all the 
 known facts conspire against you. Have you 
 considered how dexterously a prosecuting 
 counsel would treat your admission that Mrs. 
 Lester was the one person in England who 
 knew of your connection with the revolu- 
 tionary party in China? And how would you 
 set about convincing a stolid British jury that 
 you were acting in the interests of law and 
 order in concealing your visit to No. 17 on the 
 night of the murder? These fine-drawn specu- 
 lations, however, are a sheer waste of breath. 
 Suppose we concoct an advertisement for the 
 Times? " 
 
 "Do you mean that I am to parley with 
 these ruffians f" 
 
 " Of course you are." 
 
 "But the Home Secretary agreed with me 
 that no action should be taken until the 
 Chinese Legation had considered the matter." 
 ~"And, pray, what can the Legation do!" 
 
 "They have their own sources of informa- 
 tion. When all is said and done, Orientals 
 are best fitted to deal with Orientals." 
 
 Furneaux laughed sarcastically. 
 
 "If I remember rightly, the way in which 
 the Chinese Embassy dealt with one of your 
 pet reformers some years ago did not win 
 general approval. No, Mr. Forbes, we must 
 try and circumvent the wily Chinese by other
 
 THE FIRST COUNTER-STROKE 151 
 
 methods than torture and imprisonment. Of 
 what avail will it be if this fellow, Wong Li 
 Fu, is laid by the heels? Isn't it more than 
 certain that he has plenty of determined 
 helpers? Do you imagine that he killed Mrs. 
 Lester? Not a bit of it. He will be able to 
 produce the clearest proof that he was miles 
 away from Innesmore Mansions on Monday 
 night. Now, let's see how we can get him to 
 show his hand a little more openly. How 
 would this be? 'Y. M. Terms can be ar- 
 ranged. J. C. F.' The terms are, of course, 
 that the whole gang be hanged or sent to 
 penal servitude and deported." 
 
 "One moment," struck in Theydon. "I 
 have something to say before you decide on 
 any definite action. I need hardly inflict on 
 you, Mr. Furneaux, an explanation of my 
 silence hitherto. I don't even apologize for 
 it. Faced by a similar dilemma tomorrow I 
 should probably take the same line. But, to 
 adopt your own simile, now that Mr. Forbes 
 has come out of his shell, and admits his 
 presence here on Monday night, my self- 
 imposed restrictions cease. In the first place, 
 then, Miss Beale came here this morning " 
 
 "Excellent! I wondered who the lady was," 
 put in Furneaux. 
 
 "And, secondly, the gray car which pur- 
 sued me on Monday seems to have been partly 
 identified later. A car resembling it in every
 
 152 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 detail deposited some one at the Chinese 
 Legation in Portland Place, at an hour which 
 corresponds closely with its presence here." 
 
 "Ah, that is important! I like that! I 
 wasn't far wrong when I sensed you as an 
 absolute carrier of clew-germs in this affair," 
 cried Furneaux. 
 
 "The Chinese Embassy!" gasped Forbes. 
 "What car? And why should any car pur- 
 sue you! Do you mean that you were fol- 
 lowed on leaving my house?" 
 
 It was lamentable to watch the inroad which 
 each successive shock was making on Forbes 's 
 physical resources, but Theydon affected to 
 ignore the new fright in his eyes, and told 
 him what had happened. Although he could 
 see that Furneaux was in a fever of impa- 
 tience to learn the later news, he thought that 
 Forbes should know the facts in view of the 
 remarkable statement that he had visited the 
 Chinese Embassy that morning. 
 
 In one respect, the recital was a test of the 
 millionaire's professed readiness to deal can- 
 didly with the police. Theydon was half 
 inclined to believe that the other was still 
 wishful to conceal that part of the day's 
 doings. But he was mistaken. When he had 
 finished his own story, and given the taxi- 
 man's version of the gray car's appearance 
 in Portland Place, Forbes threw out his hands 
 In a gesture of despair.
 
 TEE FIRST COUNTER-STROKE 153 
 
 "If the Embassy people are playing me 
 false I do not know whom to trust," he said 
 brokenly ^ "I have just come from there, and 
 they assure me that if Wong Li Fu and his 
 gang are in London they are absolutely 
 ignorant of the fact." 
 
 "Pooh!" cried Furneaux, snapping a thumb 
 and forefinger. "Don't worry about that! 
 Put yourself in the position of the Chinese 
 Ambassador. He can't even guess who may 
 be the ruler of China from one day to another. 
 Yesterday it was an old woman, today a dic- 
 tator, tomorrow the mob ; who can foretell what 
 shape the lava erupted from a volcano will 
 take? Bet you a new hat, Mr. Forbes, that the 
 minute the embassy heard of Mrs. Lester's 
 murder they put two and two together and 
 kept a sharp eye on these mansions and on 
 your house. That gray car is nothing more 
 nor less than a red herring accidentally 
 drawn across the trail. Some cute Chinaman 
 said ' Hallo ! that murdered woman is the wife 
 of Forbes 's agent in Shanghai. Now, let's see 
 what Forbes is doing, and who visits him, 
 and perhaps we'll learn something.' Want a 
 bet?" 
 
 Forbes could not help but recover some of 
 his shattered nerve in view of the detective's 
 airy optimism. Still, he was shaken and 
 dubious. 
 
 "Don't forget that the Chinese Ambassador
 
 154 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 has no knowledge whatsoever of my share in 
 the revolution," he said. 
 
 "And don't forget that for ways which are 
 dark and tricks which are vain the hea- 
 then Chinee is peculiar," retorted Furneaux. 
 "How can you be sure that there is not in 
 the Embassy at this moment a full state- 
 ment of your payments into the reformers' 
 funds, as well as the list of conspirators which 
 our friend Wong Li Fu is in search of?" 
 
 "I think that 3uch a thing is almost im- 
 possible." 
 
 "Is there anything really impossible? We 
 used to believe that once a man was dead 
 he could not be brought to life again. A 
 Frenchman has just demonstrated that by a 
 judicious application of galvanism to the heart 
 and salt water to the veins any average corpse 
 can be revived." 
 
 Evidently Furneaux was enjoying himself. 
 He sat there, absorbing new impressions and 
 irradiating scraps of irrelevant knowledge in 
 a way that would have been full of signifi- 
 cance to Winter had he been present. Fur- 
 neaux was never so mercurial, never so ready 
 to jump from one subject to another, as when 
 his subtle brain was working at high pres- 
 sure. 
 
 He actually reveled in a crime which lay 
 on the borderland of the exotic and the 
 grotesque. Like the French philosopher in
 
 THE FIRST COUNTER-STROKE 155 
 
 Poe's "Tales of Mystery and Imagination," 
 the savant who read his newspaper in a dingy 
 Paris room, and solved by sheer force of 
 intellect extraordinary criminal problems 
 which baffled the shrewdest official minds, he 
 felt in relation to this particular tragedy that 
 he required only to be brought in touch with 
 certain contingent forces bound up with it- 
 Forbes, for instance, and, in a minor degree, 
 Theydon and in due course he would be able 
 to go forth and find the master wrongdoer. 
 
 Suddenly the millionaire seemed to cast off 
 the cloak of despair which clogged his en- 
 ergies and impaired his brilliant intellect. 
 He rose to his feet and involuntarily squared 
 his shoulders. 
 
 "Surely we are wasting valuable hours 
 which should be given to action," he cried. 
 "I am going to the city and shall arrange for 
 a prolonged absence from my office. Then 
 I'll hurry home, perfect my defenses, and defy 
 these murderous curs. My wife must come to 
 London. In a crisis like this I must have my 
 loved ones under my own personal supervision. 
 I can still shoot straight and quick, and woe 
 betide any man, white or yellow, who enters 
 my house unbidden. As for this infernal 
 symbol ! ' ' 
 
 He raised a clenched fist, and would have 
 pounded into fragments the thin fabric of the 
 ivory skull still lying where he had placed it
 
 156 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 on the table had not Furneaux snatched it 
 into safety. 
 
 1 'No, no!" protested the detective. "I want 
 that for purposes of comparison. Kindly give 
 me that typed note, too, Mr. Forbes. It may 
 bear finger-marks. You never can tell. The 
 cardboard box in which it was posted also. 
 Thank you. Now, a few more questions 
 before you go. How much money did you 
 provide for the revolutionaries?" 
 
 "Two millions sterling." 
 
 "As a gift or a loan?" 
 
 "If they failed, I lost every farthing, of 
 course. If they succeeded, I was to recoup 
 myself by financing the new government." 
 
 "But I gather that they have neither failed 
 nor succeeded. China has a constitution, but 
 the Presidential election was conducted on 
 lines suspiciously akin to those recently 
 adopted in Mexico." 
 
 "Nevertheless negotiations are now on foot 
 for a big loan." 
 
 "If you died, what would become of the 
 two millions?" 
 
 "They would be lost irretrievably." 
 
 Furneaux sat back in his chair. 
 
 "That gives one furiously to think," he 
 said. "The gray car comes back into the 
 picture. ' ' 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 I don't know. But I'll tell you what the 
 
 t i
 
 THE FIRST COUNTER-STROKE 157 
 
 man who first spoke of a Chinese puzzle as 
 a metaphor for something downright bewil- 
 dering knew what he was talking about." 
 
 Forbes put a hand to his forehead in an 
 unconscious gesture of hopelessness. 
 
 "My brain is reeling," he muttered. "To 
 think that in the London of today we ghould 
 live in abject terror of a band of Mongolian 
 ruffians! Why do you remain here, man? 
 You vaunt the prowess of your department- 
 why are you not scouring every haunt of 
 Chinamen in the East End? Spread your net 
 widely enough, and you will surely get hold of 
 some minor scoundrel who will talk for fear 
 or money. Bribe him to the point where he 
 cannot refuse to speak. Wong Li Fu is the 
 only man I fear. Put him where he can ac- 
 complish no mischief, and the rest of his crew 
 will be powerless!" 
 
 "When you come to count up the achieve- 
 ments of my friend Winter and myself in 
 the face of stupid but none the less disheart- 
 ening obstacles we have not done so badly 
 in two days," said Furneaux complacently. 
 
 "Can I drive you anywhere? My car is 
 waiting. ' ' 
 
 "No, thanks. The truth is, Mr. Forbes, 
 I look on you as a disturbing influence. A 
 man who can talk as calmly as you about 
 dropping two millions on a crazy project to 
 introduce Western methods into China is not
 
 158 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 fitted for the phlegmatic and judicial at- 
 mosphere of Scotland Yard. If I want any 
 money I'll come to you. If not, and all goes 
 well at No. 11 Fortescue Square, the next 
 time I'll trouble you will be when you are 
 asked to identify Wong Li Fu, dead or alive." 
 
 Forbes seemed hardly to be aware of Fur- 
 neaux's words. He went out. Theydon ac- 
 companied him, and, as they descended the 
 stairs together, the older man said brokenly: 
 
 "It is my wife and daughter for whom I 
 fear. I can hardly control my senses when I 
 think of these yellow fiends contemplating 
 vengeance on me through them. Theydon 
 do you believe in that detective? He is either 
 a vain fool or a genius. By the way, I forgot 
 to ask him how he found out that I had 
 received the warning delivered by this morn- 
 ing's post." 
 
 "I'll try and worm an explanation out of 
 him. If he tells me I'll telephone you later. 
 He is an extraordinary creature, but abnor- 
 mally clever at his work, I am sure. For my 
 own part, I feel disposed to trust him impli- 
 citly. I wish you had met his colleague, Chief 
 Inspector Winter. He is the sort of man 
 whose mere presence inspires confidence." 
 
 Forbes halted on the step of the automobile 
 and glanced at his watch. 
 
 "I shall be home in an hour," he said. 
 "After that I shall not stir out all day.
 
 THE FIRST COUNTER-STROKE 159 
 
 Telephone me if you have any news. Why 
 not dine with us tonight?" 
 
 Theydon's eyes sparkled. He was longing 
 to meet Evelyn Forbes once more, but a 
 wretched doubt diminished the glow of 
 gratification which the prospect brought. 
 Should he, or should he not, tell the girl's 
 father of the rather indiscreet admissions she 
 had made during their brief talk that morn- 
 ing? 
 
 That minor worry, however, was banished 
 suddenly and forever. Furneaux, taking the 
 three steps which led from entrance hall to 
 pavement with a flying leap, cannoned right 
 into Forbes, whom he grasped with both 
 hands, quite as much by way of emphasis as 
 to check the impetus of his diminutive body. 
 
 1 1 In with you ! ' he piped. ' ' Tell your 
 chauffeur to obey my orders, no matter what 
 they are!" 
 
 Action, determination, were as the breath of 
 the millionaire's nostrils. He aroused himself 
 instantly. 
 
 "You hear, Downs!" he said to the chauf- 
 feur. 
 
 Downs was one of those strange beings who 
 have been evolved by the age of petrol, an 
 automaton compounded, seemingly, of steel 
 springs and leather. He had long ago lost 
 the art of speech, having cultivated delicacy 
 of hearing and quickness of sight at the
 
 160 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 expense of all other human faculties. The 
 old-time coachman possessed a certain fluent 
 jargon, which enabled him to chide or en- 
 courage his horses and exchange suitable com- 
 ments with the drivers of brewers' drays and 
 market carts, but the modern chauffeur is all 
 an ear for the rhythm of machinery, all an eye 
 for the nice calculation of the hazards of the 
 road fifty yards ahead. 
 
 At any rate, Downs mumbled something 
 which resembled "Yes, sir," Forbes sprang 
 in and slammed the door, Furneaux raced 
 round the front of the car and perched him- 
 self beside Downs, and the heavy automobile 
 was almost into its normal stride before it 
 had traveled twice its own length. 
 
 Theydon was left gaping on the pavement. 
 He saw that the car turned west, and caught 
 a glimpse of Furneaux 's outstretched hand 
 with forefinger pointing like the barrel of 
 a pistol. 
 
 "Fool!" he cried, in bitter self-apostrophe. 
 "Why didn't I jump in after Forbes? Now I 
 am out of the hunt ! I wonder what the deuce 
 Furneaux saw or heard!" 
 
 That concluding thought sent him back to 
 the flat, two steps at a time. 
 
 "Bates!" he shouted. "Has Mr. Furneaux 
 used the telephone, or did any one ring up?" 
 
 "No, sir," said Bates, coming hurriedly at 
 that urgent call. "Fust thing I knew was he
 
 THE FIRST COUNTER-STROKE 161 
 
 was tearin' out, an' runnin' downstairs like 
 mad." 
 
 "0, double-distilled idiot that I am!" 
 growled Theydon again. "Why didn't I go 
 with them!" 
 
 As though the gods heard his plaint and 
 meant to crush him with their answer, the 
 telephone bell sounded at his . elbow. Me- 
 chanically, he lifted the receiver off its hook, 
 and immediately became aware of Tomlinson's 
 voice, with some element of flurry and dis- 
 tress in its unctuous accents. 
 
 "That you, Mr. Theydon?" said the butler. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Have you had any news of Mr. Forbes, 
 sir!" 
 
 "Yes. He has just left me." 
 
 "Ah, if only I had known, and had given 
 you a call before ringing up the city!" 
 
 "What is it! Can I do anything!" 
 
 "It's Miss Evelyn, sir." 
 
 "Yes, what of her!" 
 
 "She's gone, sir." 
 
 Theydon 's heart apparently stopped for a 
 second, and then raced madly into tumultuous 
 action again. 
 
 "Gone! Good Lord, man, what do you 
 mean!" he almost groaned. 
 
 "A telegram came from Mrs. Forbes, at 
 Eastbourne, saying she was ill and wanted 
 Miss Evelyn. I tried all I knew to persuade
 
 162 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 Miss Evelyn to wait until she had spoken to 
 her father, but she wouldn't listen she just 
 threw on a hat and a wrap, and took a taxi 
 to Victoria." 
 
 Some membrane or film of tissue which 
 might have served hitherto to shut off from 
 Frank Theydon's cheery temperament any 
 real knowledge of the pitfalls which may be- 
 set the path of the unwary seemed in that 
 instant to shrivel as though it had been 
 devoured by flame. 
 
 He knew, how or why he could never tell, 
 that the girl had been drawn into the plot 
 which had already claimed so many victims 
 and sought so many more. All doubt vanished. 
 He spoke and acted with the swift certainty 
 of a man tackling an emergency for which 
 he had prepared during a long period of 
 training and expectation. 
 
 "Mr. Forbes may arrive at any moment, 
 Tomlinson," he said. "Tell his office people 
 to let you know if he goes first to the city. 
 When you hear from or see him, say that I 
 have either accompanied or followed Miss 
 Evelyn to Eastbourne. If I do not catch the 
 same train I shall take prompt measures in 
 other respects. Got that!" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 It was easy to distinguish the relief in 
 Tomlinson 's utterance, relief mingled, doubt- 
 less, with astonishment that a comparative
 
 THE FIRST COUNTER-STROKE 163 
 
 stranger should display such an authoritative 
 and prompt interest in the family affairs. 
 
 ''That is all. Write down my message, lest 
 you omit any part of it." 
 
 Theydon rang off. 
 
 "Come!" he said to Bates, who had not 
 retired to his den, but was listening, discreet 
 yet rabbit-eared, to these queer proceedings. 
 Followed by the manservant, he darted into 
 the sitting room and did several things at 
 once. 
 
 He unlocked a drawer and took from it 
 a considerable sum of money which he kept 
 there for emergency journeys, also pocketing 
 an automatic pistol. Pouncing on an A B C 
 time table, he looked up the trains for East- 
 bourne. A fast train left Victoria at 1 : 25 
 p. m. The hour was now 1 : 05. 
 
 Meanwhile he was talking. 
 
 "Bates," he said, "I promised Miss Beale, 
 the lady who came here this morning, that 
 my sister, Mrs. Paxton, would visit her this 
 evening, say about six. Miss Beale is staying 
 at Smith's Hotel, Jermyn Street. Go to Mrs. 
 Paxton, and see her, waiting at her house if 
 she happens to be out. Tell everything you 
 know about Mrs. Lester's death, and ask her 
 to take care of Miss Beale this evening. She 
 will understand. I'll wire her at Smith's Hotel 
 before the dinner hour, if possible. If anybody 
 calls here, I leave it to your discretion and
 
 164 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 your wife's whether or not they should be in- 
 formed of my movements. Mr. Forbes or the 
 police, of course, must be told everything. 
 Miss Forbes is probably in the 1 : 25 p. m. 
 train for Eastbourne, and I am going with 
 her. Do you understand?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "I'll wire or 'phone you later." 
 
 Grabbing a straw hat and a bundle of 
 telegraph forms, Theydon vanished, not even 
 waiting to slam the outer door. Bates, who 
 had seen service, knew that men in time of 
 stress and danger acted just like the de- 
 tective and his own employer. 
 
 "By Jingo!" he muttered, beginning to as- 
 semble the empty coffee-cups on a tray. 
 "Things is wakin' up here, an' no mistake!" 
 
 Theydon was fortunate in finding a taxicab 
 depositing a fare at a neighboring block. Just 
 before he reached the vehicle a gentleman hur- 
 ried out of the building and forestalled him. 
 Theydon dashed up, and caught the other man 
 by the arm. 
 
 "My need is urgent," he said. "Let me 
 have this cab." 
 
 The stranger smiled good-humoredly. He 
 was an American and had not the least objec- 
 tion to being hustled by a Britisher; indeed 
 he rather appreciated this exhibition of haste 
 as a novel experience. 
 
 "I'm on a hair-trigger myself," he said,
 
 THE FIRST COUNTER-STROKE 165 
 
 pleasantly. "I want to make Victoria pretty 
 quick. Can I give you a lift!" 
 
 "In with you!" cried Theydon. "Now, 
 cabby, half a sovereign if you get us to Vic- 
 toria, Brighton line, in 15 minutes. I'll pay 
 all fines." 
 
 Then they were off, and the Trans- Atlantic 
 cousins were banged against one another as 
 the cab whirled round in a sharp semicircle. 
 
 "Say!" cried the American, "this reminds 
 one of home. I've been here a week, an' had 
 a kind of notion that London air was half 
 fog, half dope. But you're awake all right. 
 Bet you a five spot you're after a girl!" 
 
 "I pay," said Theydon, his eyes glistening. 
 "And such a girl! Her portrait on the paper 
 wrap of a 50-cent novel would sell it in mil- 
 lions ! ' ' 
 
 "Gee whiz! Is it like that! Go right 
 ahead, Augustus ! Never mind me. Take this 
 old bus all the way to Paris. I'll find the fares 
 and hold your hat. But kindly shift that 
 gun into your opposite pocket. You've dug 
 it into my thigh quite often enough. If you 
 want to get first drop on the other fellow, 
 shove it up your sleeve 1"
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 SHAEP WORK 
 
 THE American's easy-going badinage pro- 
 vided the best sort of tonic. Theydon laughed 
 as he transferred the pistol from one pocket 
 to the other. 
 
 "My motto is 'Defense, not Defiance,' ; 
 he said. "I hope sincerely that I shall not be 
 called on to shoot, or even threaten any one. 
 Using firearms, although for self -protection, is 
 a very serious matter in this country. May I 
 ask your name? Mine's Theydon. I live in 
 those mansions we have just quitted." 
 
 1 'And I'm George T. Handyside, 2.1,097 
 Park Avenue, Chicago," was the answer. 
 
 "Is that your telephone number?" 
 
 "No, sir. It's my home address." 
 
 "Well, Mr. Handyside, if ever I come to 
 Chicago, I'll travel along Park Avenue and 
 give you a call. How many days' journey 
 are you from the center of the city?" 
 
 "Say, Mr. Theydon, I'm real glad to make 
 your acquaintance. I haven't been joshed in 
 that way since I left the steamer. This little 
 island of yours is all right as a beauty spot, 
 but I do wish your people wouldn't carry such 
 
 106
 
 SHARP WORK 167 
 
 
 a grouch agin' life generally. Great Scott! 
 
 It'll do 'em a heap of good to try a real 
 chesty laugh occasionally." 
 
 "Tell me where I can drop across you in 
 London later in the week, and I'll see if we 
 can't find a smile somewhere." 
 
 The American scribbled the name of a 
 Strand hotel on a card, which Theydon dis- 
 posed in his pocketbook, at the same time 
 producing one of his own cards. 
 
 "You'll hear from me," he said. "Now, 
 Mr. Handyside, pardon me for the next few 
 minutes. I have to write telegrams." 
 
 The first was to Forbes, addressed in 
 duplicate to Old Broad Street and Fortescue 
 Square. It ran: 
 
 "If this message is not qualified by another 
 within a few minutes I am in the 1 : 25 train 
 for Eastbourne." 
 
 Then to Winter: 
 
 "Young lady summoned to Eastbourne by 
 telegram stating that her mother is ill. 
 Suspect the message as bogus and emanating 
 from Y. M. See Furneaux. He will explain. 
 Am hoping to travel by same train. If disap- 
 pointed will wire again immediately. They- 
 don." 
 
 He read each slip carefully, to make sure 
 that the phraseology was clear. The speed 
 at which the cab was traveling rendered 
 .his handwriting somewhat illegible, but he
 
 168 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 thought he saw a means of circumventing that 
 difficulty. 
 
 1 'Which place are you going!" he inquired 
 of his unexpected companion. 
 
 "To a 'place called Sutton." 
 
 "What time does your train leave?'* 
 
 "Guess it's about 1:30." 
 
 "You have five more minutes at your dis- 
 posal than I have. Will you hand in these 
 three messages at the telegraph office? I'll 
 read them to you, in case the counter clerk 
 is doubtful about any of my words." 
 
 "Sure thing, Mr. Theydon. You've in- 
 terested me. I don't care a row of beans if 
 I drop out Sutton altogether." 
 
 "I'm greatly obliged, but that is not nec- 
 essary. You'll have loads of time. We're in 
 the Park already, and our driver has a clear 
 run to Victoria. Now, listen!" 
 
 Mr. Handyside did listen, and pricked his 
 ears at the mention of Scotland Yard. 
 
 "Gosh!" he exclaimed, "this is better 'n a 
 life-line movie! For the love of Mike, let 
 me in by the early door! Now, how's this for 
 a proposition? You send those telegrams, and 
 I'll fix the cab an' buy the transportation 
 to Eastbourne for the pair of us. I'm not 
 heeled, but I may be useful, an' I'll jab any 
 fellow in the solar plexus at call." 
 
 Theydon gazed at this self -a vowed knight- 
 errant in surprise. Handyside was a man of
 
 SHARP WORK 169 
 
 forty, whose dark hair was flecked with gray. 
 He was quietly dressed, a wide-brimmed high- 
 crowned hat of finely-plaited white straw 
 providing the sole note of markedly American 
 origin in his attire. The expression of his 
 well-moulded features was shrewd but pleas- 
 ing, and the poise of a spare but sinewy 
 frame gave evidence of active habit and some 
 considerable degree of physical strength. 
 
 " 'Pon my honor," said the Englishman. 
 "I'm half inclined to take you at your word, 
 except in the matter of expenses, which, of 
 course, I must bear. You see, if my services 
 are called for, and prove effective, I may 
 need help." 
 
 "Go right ahead," said the other calmly. 
 "Tell me as much or as little as you like. 
 Where's this place, Eastbourne? On the 
 south coast, I guess." 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "I thought it would be. A man on the 
 steamer asked me to come and see him at 
 Westgate, which is about as far east as you 
 can go in England without wetting your feet. 
 I'm- getting the hang of things here by 
 degrees. Southport, of course, is away up 
 north, and Northamptonshire in the mid- 
 lands." 
 
 Theydon grinned, but the taxi was passing 
 Buckingham Palace, and the hour was 1 : 17 
 p. m.
 
 170 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 "I cannot give you any sort of an ex- 
 planation now, Mr. Handyside," he said. 
 " Later in the week, perhaps, I may have a 
 big story for your private ear. All I can 
 say at the moment is this I have reason to 
 believe that a young lady, a daughter of Mr. 
 James Creighton Forbes, a well-known man 
 in the city of London, is being decoyed to 
 Eastbourne in the belief that her mother is 
 ill. Now, I may be wholly mistaken. Her 
 mother may be ill. If that is so, I am 
 making this trip under a delusion. At any 
 rate, my notion is to try and fall in with 
 Miss Forbes accidentally, as it were, and 
 watch over her until I am quite sure that 
 she is with her mother. You follow me?" 
 
 "Seems to me," said the American im- 
 perturbably, " it's the most natural thing in 
 the world that Mr. Theydon should want to 
 show his friend, Mr. Handyside of Chicago, 
 England's most bracing and attractive sea- 
 side resort, if that's the right way to describe 
 Eastbourne." 
 
 "Both the plan and the description are 
 admirable." 
 
 "The plan sounds all right. As for the 
 description I have been looking up a selection 
 of posters, and those seven words apply to 
 every half-mile strip of beach in the island. 
 When it comes to a real show-down, your 
 poster artists have got our real estate men
 
 SHARP WORK 171 
 
 skinned a mile. How much did you promise 
 the taxi-man!" 
 
 "Half a sovereign." 
 
 "Two-fifty. Gee! That's the nearest 
 thing to New York I've struck yet. And the 
 railway tickets first-class, of course? ' 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 The cab stopped. Theydon sprang out and 
 raced to the telegraph office, where, as he 
 anticipated, there was a slight delay. Handy- 
 side awaited him at the correct barrier, and 
 together they walked down a long platform, 
 Theydon peering into every carriage, though 
 convinced that Evelyn Forbes would not 
 travel other than first class. Thus, not being 
 a detective, but only a very anxious and per- 
 plexed young man, he had eyes only for such 
 ladies as were already seated in the train, 
 and failed to note the immediate interest his 
 appearance aroused in a man who occupied 
 a window seat, and who was watching un- 
 obtrusively every one who passed. Oddly 
 enough, after the first wondering glance, this 
 observer was more closely taken up with 
 Handyside. It was as though he said to him- 
 self: 
 
 "Theydon I know, but who in the world 
 is his companion, and why are they traveling 
 by an Eastbourne express today of all 
 days!" 
 
 The train was well filled; there were only
 
 172 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 a few seconds to spare when Theydon came 
 across Evelyn Forbes in a compartment 
 which held two other passengers a lady and 
 a gentleman. 
 
 Recognition was mutual, and Theydon 
 flattered himself that he betrayed just the 
 right amount of pleasurable astonishment. 
 
 "Miss Forbes!" he cried, raising his hat. 
 ' ' Well, of all the unexpected meetings ! Don 't 
 say you are going to Eastbourne!" 
 
 "But I am," she said, and, though she 
 smiled, her eyes were heavy with unshed 
 tears. She was deeply attached to her 
 mother, and the thought that the loved one 
 was too ill even to communicate with her by 
 telephone was distressing beyond measure. 
 
 "Just imagine that!" went on Theydon, 
 determined to rush his fences and travel with 
 her unless openly forbidden. "I'rn taking 
 an American friend there for the afternoon. 
 May we come in your carriage? Is there 
 room for two?" 
 
 Now, although Evelyn Forbes had been 
 attracted to Theydon during their vivacious 
 conversation overnight, she would vastly 
 have preferred the comparative solitude of a 
 journey with strangers. 
 
 Still, she could hardly refuse such a re- 
 quest, and common sense told her that a 
 pleasant chat with a man who could talk as 
 well as Theydon offered a better means of
 
 SHARP WORK 173 
 
 whiling away two and a half hours than brood- 
 ing over the nature and extent of her mother's 
 unknown illness. 
 
 "There's plenty of room," she said. 
 
 Without further ado, Theydon entered and 
 Handyside followed. The compartment held 
 six seats, while a door led to a side corridor 
 running the length of the coach. The two 
 remaining occupants were worthy Britons 
 who neither invited nor received any special 
 attention. 
 
 Mr. Handyside was introduced, and 
 promptly said the right thing. 
 
 "I guess I knew what I was doing .when 
 I forced Mr. Theydon to take me out of 
 London today," he said, with a smile which 
 left the girl in no doubt as to the nature 
 of the implied compliment. 
 
 "But it is hardly an hour since I spoke to 
 my father at Mr. Theydon 's flat," she said. 
 "Were you there, too, Mr. Handyside I" 
 
 "No, in the next block. That was the 
 nearest I got to Mr. Theydon before we met 
 and took a cab for Victoria." 
 
 Theydon was pleased with his ally. No 
 diplomat, trained during long years to conceal 
 material facts, could have headed the girl off 
 more deftly, while every word was literally 
 true. 
 
 "Ah!" she said, glancing meaningly at 
 Theydon, "we are all the sport of fortune,
 
 174 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 then. How strange! Of course, Mr. They- 
 don, you don't know why I am here. I have 
 had a telegram from my mother, or one .sent 
 in her name. She has been taken ill sud- 
 denly." 
 
 "That is bad news," was the sympathetic 
 answer. "If the message has not come direct 
 from Mrs. Forbes may it not be rather exag- 
 gerated in tone! Some people can never 
 write telegrams. The knowledge that each 
 word costs a halfpenny weighs on them like 
 a nightmare." 
 
 As he hoped and anticipated, she pro- 
 duced the message itself from her hand- 
 bag. 
 
 "This is what it says," she said, and read: 
 " 'Mrs. Forbes ill and unable communicate 
 by telephone. Come at once. Manager Royal 
 Devonshire Hotel.' " Then she added, with 
 a suspicious break in her voice : ' ' That 
 sounds serious enough, in all conscience." 
 
 "Is it addressed to you personally?" said 
 Theydon, racking his wits for some means of 
 lessening the girl's foreboding without tick- 
 ling the ears of the other people in the com- 
 partment by suggesting that she might have 
 been brought from her home by some cruel 
 ruse of her father's enemies. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "But isn't that somewhat singular in it- 
 self? One would imagine that such a signifi-
 
 SHARP WORK 175 
 
 cant message would have been sent to your 
 father." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Well, men are better fitted to withstand 
 these shocks, for one thing. It was heartless, 
 or, to say the least, thoughtless, to give you 
 such news with the brutal frankness of a 
 telegram. ' ' 
 
 "I cannot understand it at all. Mother 
 wrote this morning telling me that she was 
 going to Beachy Head this afternoon with a 
 picnic party." 
 
 "I am convinced," said Theydon gravely, 
 "that some one has blundered. It may be 
 the act of some stupid foreigner. I shall not 
 be content now, Miss Forbes, until I have 
 gone with you to the Eoyal Devonshire, and 
 learnt what the extent of the trouble really 
 is. Then, if Mrs. Forbes needs your presence, 
 perhaps you will allow me to telephone to 
 your father, as he will be greatly disturbed 
 when he returns home and learns the cause 
 of your journey." 
 
 "But I can't think of allowing you two to 
 break up your afternoon on my account. I'm 
 sure, when we reach Eastbourne, I shall see 
 an array of golf clubs among your luggage." 
 
 "No," smiled Theydon. "My friend here 
 refuses to play until he has seen something 
 of the country. He knows that the golfer's 
 vision is bounded by the nearest bunker."
 
 176 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 Handyside took the cue. 
 
 "That's the exact position, Miss Forbes," 
 he said. "I was warned by the horrible ex- 
 perience of a friend of mine. He left New- 
 ark, N. J., on a sightseeing tour of Europe, 
 but unfortunately took his clubs with him. 
 Now, if you ask him what he thought of 
 Westminster Abbey or the Wye Valley he 
 tells you he hadn't time to look 'em up, but 
 that the fifth hole at Sandwich is a corker, 
 while the thirteenth at St. Andrews has been 
 known to restore the faculty of speech to a 
 dumb man. You see, some poor mute had 
 either to express his feelings or bust." 
 
 Evidently Miss Evelyn Forbes would not 
 be allowed to mope during the run to East- 
 bourne. 
 
 As between Theydon and herself, the situa- 
 tion was curiously mixed. On the one hand, 
 Theydon had now a remarkably close insight 
 into the peril which threatened Forbes and 
 each member of his family; the girl, on the 
 other, knew well that her father was bound 
 up in some way with the tragedy at No. 17 
 Innesmore Mansions. 
 
 Nevertheless, an open discussion was out 
 of the question, and the two accepted cheer- 
 fully the limitations imposed by circum- 
 stances, so that the strangers in the com- 
 partment little suspected what grave issues 
 lay behind an apparently casual meeting be-
 
 SHARP WORK 177 
 
 tween a pretty girl and two men that sum- 
 mer's afternoon in the Eastbourne express. 
 
 The American played his part admirably. 
 When not passing some caustically humorous 
 comment on British ways and manners he 
 was being even more critical of his fellow- 
 countrymen. 
 
 As he himself put it, he guessed New York 
 society was mighty like London society with 
 the head cut off, and proved his conten- 
 tion with many wise saws and modern in- 
 stances. 
 
 Thus the journey south passed pleasantly 
 enough. When they alighted the girl reverted 
 to the topic uppermost in her mind. 
 
 "You gentlemen will have to look after 
 your luggage," she said. "I'm sure you will 
 forgive me if I hurry to the hotel. If you 
 come there, Mr. Theydon, I'll take care that 
 I see you at once. It is exceedingly kind of 
 you to bother with my affairs." 
 
 But Theydon had a scheme ready, having 
 foreseen this very difficulty. 
 
 "Mr. Handyside will attend to everything," 
 he said glibly. "Please let me come with 
 you. I shan't have a moment's peace until 
 assured that Mrs. Forbes is suffering from 
 little more than a slight indisposition." 
 
 Evelyn looked puzzled, but was willing to 
 agree to anything so long as she reached her 
 mother quickly. Handyside, too, made mat-:
 
 178 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 ters easy by lifting his hat and walking off in 
 the direction of the luggage van. 
 
 "Well," she said, "I really don't care what 
 happens if only I lose no time." 
 
 Suiting the action to the word, she hurried 
 toward the exit, and was murmuring some- 
 thing that sounded like an apology for her 
 seeming brusqueness as they passed the ticket 
 collector. Here a momentary difficulty arose. 
 Theydon had forgotten to ask Handyside for 
 his ticket. The girl, of course, had her own 
 ticket, but her companion was not allowed to 
 pass the barrier. He began an explanation 
 to which a busy official paid no heed. In 
 desperation, he produced a sovereign, and 
 his card. 
 
 "Here," he said, "you can hold this as 
 a guarantee that my ticket will be given up. 
 This lady has been called to the bedside of 
 her mother, who is said to be dangerously 
 ill, and I simply must be allowed to take her 
 to the Royal Devonshire Hotel." 
 
 Luckily, the railwayman had the wit to see 
 that this earnest-eyed passenger was speaking 
 the truth. 
 
 "That's all right, sir," he said. "We 
 have to be very particular about tickets, you 
 know. ' ' 
 
 Evelyn Forbes was a few yards in advance, 
 and impatiently awaiting her escort, when a 
 gentleman approached and spoke to her,
 
 SHARP WORK 179 
 
 "Miss Forbes, I believe," he said, raising 
 his hat. 
 
 "Yes," she answered breathlessly, because 
 the man's garb suggested, before he uttered 
 another syllable, that he was a doctor. He 
 had a curiously foreign aspect, and spoke 
 with a pronounced lisp. 
 
 "I am assistant to Dr. Sinnett," he said, 
 "and he has sent me to take you to the hotel. 
 This is his car. Will you come, quick?" 
 
 He pointed to a smart limousine drawn up 
 near the exit, and, in his eagerness to be 
 polite, almost pushed the girl toward the 
 open door. Insensibly, she resisted, and 
 turned to explain matters to Theydon, who 
 had just placated the Cerberus at the gate, 
 and was running after her. 
 
 "Mr. Theydon " she began. 
 
 "There ith no time to wathe, I athure 
 you," said Dr. Sinnett 's assistant imper- 
 atively. At that instant Theydon came up. 
 His temper was ruffled, and he did not 
 scrutinize the doctor's appearance as closely 
 as might be looked for in one who was 
 actually on his guard against foul play. 
 
 "What is it now?" he asked. 
 
 "This gentleman has been sent by Dr. 
 Sinnett to take me to the hotel," said Evelyn. 
 "Now, Mr. Theydon, perhaps it will be better 
 that you wait for Mr. Handyside and come 
 on at your leisure."
 
 180 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 "I'm a stiff-necked person," said Theydon, 
 trying to smile unconcernedly. "I've made 
 up my mind to see you safely to your destina- 
 tion, and I refuse to leave you on any ac- 
 count. I am sure the doctor will let me sit 
 beside the chauffeur." 
 
 Then, for the first time, he glanced at the 
 newcomer, and was almost stupefied to dis- 
 cover that the man, despite his faultless pro- 
 fessional attire, was a Chinaman. Moreover, 
 this Chinaman bore a livid scar down the 
 left side of his face, and his eyes were set 
 horizontally, a sure sign of Manchu descent, 
 because all Southern Chinese have the oblique 
 Mongolian eye. Though prepared for treach- 
 ery of some kind, the very simplicity of this 
 scheme almost disconcerted him, and he 
 blurted out the first words that rose to his 
 lips. 
 
 "Is your name Wong Li Fu?" 
 
 Half unconsciously, a hand dropped to the 
 pocket containing the revolver. For answer, 
 he was struck a violent blow in the throat 
 and sent sprawling. The attack was so sud- 
 den that he was nearly unprepared for it 
 nearly, not quite, because a flicker of baffled 
 spite in the dark eyes gave him the ghost of 
 a warning. 
 
 It was fortunate that he saved himself by 
 a slight backward flinching, since he learnt 
 subsequently that his assailant was a master
 
 SHARP WORK 181 
 
 of jiu jitsu, and that vicious blow was in- 
 tended to paralyze the nerves which cluster 
 around the cricoid cartilage. Had he received 
 the punch in its full force he would at least 
 have been disabled for the remainder of the 
 day, while there was some chance of the 
 injury proving fatal. 
 
 The Chinaman instantly seized the ter- 
 rified girl in an irresistible grip, and was 
 about to thrust her into the automobile when 
 a big, burly man flung himself into the fray 
 and collared the desperado by neck and arm. 
 
 "Stop that!" he said authoritatively. "Let 
 go that young lady or I'll shake the life out 
 of you!" 
 
 By this time Theydon was on his feet 
 again, and rushing to the assistance of Chief 
 Inspector Winter, who seemed to have mirac- 
 ulously dropped from the skies at the right 
 moment. The Chinaman, seeing that he was 
 in imminent danger of capture, released 
 Evelyn, wrenched himself free by another jiu 
 jitsu trick, swung the girl into Winter's arms, 
 thus impeding him, and leaped into the car, 
 which made off with a -rapidity that showed 
 how thoroughly the chauffeur was in league 
 with his principal. 
 
 Naturally, the people coming out from the 
 station, reinforced by the mob of semi-loafers 
 always in evidence in such localities, gathered 
 in scores around Evelyn Forbes and her two
 
 182 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 protectors. Such an extraordinary scuffle was 
 bound to attract a crowd; few had seen the 
 commencement of the fray, because nothing 
 could be more usual and commonplace in a 
 fashionable place like Eastbourne than the 
 sight of a frock-coated and top-hatted gentle- 
 man handing a well-dressed lady into a motor 
 car. 
 
 The first general intimation of something 
 bizarre and sensational was provided by 
 Theydon 's fall. After that, events traveled 
 rapidly, and the majority of the onlookers 
 imagined that it was Winter who had knocked 
 Theydon off his balance, while the rush made 
 by the latter to intercept Wong Li Fu was 
 actually stopped by a well-intentioned rail- 
 way porter. 
 
 Worst of all, Theydon was quite unable to 
 speak. He indulged in valiant pantomime, 
 and Winter fully understood that the China- 
 man's escape should be prevented at all 
 hazards. But the chief inspector accepted 
 the inevitable. 
 
 The limousine was equipped with a power- 
 ful engine, and the only vehicles available 
 for pursuit were some ancient horse-drawn 
 cabs. He noted the number on the identifica- 
 tion plate, and that was the limit of his 
 resources for the moment. 
 
 Moreover, Evelyn Forbes, finding herself 
 clutched tightly by a tall, stout man whom
 
 SHARP WORK 183 
 
 she had never seen before, was rather more 
 indignant than hurt. 
 
 Disengaging herself from the detective's 
 hands, she looked to Theydon for an ex- 
 planation. 
 
 ''Has everybody suddenly gone mad!" she 
 said vehemently. "What is the meaning of 
 this? Did you know who that man was? 
 And why did he try to force me into the 
 car?" 
 
 Theydon, slowly regaining his breath, stam- 
 mered brokenly that he would make things 
 clear in a minute or so. Then he gasped to 
 Winter : 
 
 "That is Wong Li Fu the man wanted 
 at No. 17!" 
 
 "We'll get him all right," was the grimly 
 curt answer. "Meanwhile, are you and Miss 
 Forbes going to the hotel?" 
 
 Hardly less surprising than Winter's ap- 
 pearance on the scene was his seeming knowl- 
 edge of the purpose of their journey. 
 
 "We must get out of this," he went on, 
 gazing around wrathfully at the ring of 
 curious faces. "Here, you!" he cried, sin- 
 gling out a policeman who was forcing a pas- 
 sage through the crowd, "clear away this 
 mob and get us a cab!" 
 
 The policeman seemed inclined to resent 
 the masterful directions, but a word whis- 
 pered in his ear when he reached Winter
 
 184 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 acted like magic, and he soon had the gapers 
 scattered. 
 
 A cab was called, and Evelyn Forbes was 
 already inside when Theydon remembered 
 the American. He looked around, but could 
 see nothing of him. 
 
 "Where is Mr. Handyside?" he said, still 
 finding a good deal of difficulty in articulating 
 his words. 
 
 "Is that the man who came with you from 
 London?" inquired Winter. 
 
 "Yes. He's an American." 
 
 "Well, he may have been scared, and made 
 a bee-line for the States. He is not anywhere 
 in sight." 
 
 "0, please, Mr. Theydon, do let us go to 
 the hotel," pleaded Evelyn. She was pale, 
 and yielding to reaction after the excitement 
 of the fracas. 
 
 Unwillingly, since he was certain now that 
 there was absolutely no ground for the 
 girl's alarm on her mother's account at any 
 rate, so far as illness was concerned They- 
 don entered the cab, and Winter followed. 
 
 "The first thing to do," said the chief in- 
 spector, when they were en route, "is to as- 
 sure this young lady, whom I take to be Miss 
 Forbes, that she has probably been brought 
 to Eastbourne by a lying telegram, and that 
 her mother is quite well in health. Secondly, 
 why should Wong Li Fu be described as the
 
 SHARP WORK 185 
 
 man wanted in the Innesmore Mansions in- 
 quiry; and, thirdly, how does Mr. Handyside 
 come into the picture?" 
 
 "I can't talk just yet," wheezed They- 
 don hoarsely. "In a few minutes I'll tell 
 you everything." 
 
 Evelyn had not realized earlier that her 
 self-appointed champion had been seriously 
 hurt. She was deeply concerned, and wanted 
 to take him straight to the nearest doctor. 
 
 But he smiled and essayed to calm her 
 fears by whispering that he would soon be 
 fully recovered. It was pleasant to know that 
 he had succeeded in rescuing her from some 
 indefinable though none the less deadly peril, 
 yet the insistent question in his subconscious 
 mind was not connected with Evelyn's escape, 
 or the flight of her assailant, or the mysterious 
 presence of the chief inspector, but with the 
 vanishing of Mr. Handyside. 
 
 What had become of him? It was the 
 maddest of fantasies to imagine that he could 
 be bound up in some way with the Young 
 Manchus. Yet why did he fail to turn up at 
 the station? 
 
 Theydon could not even guess at a plaus- 
 ible explanation. He leaned back in the cab 
 and closed his eyes. Really, there were times 
 in life when it would be a relief to faint!
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 CAPTURES ON BOTH SIDES 
 
 THOUGH Theydon was in first-rate athletic 
 trim, that blow on the throat had nearly 
 stunned him. The effort to rise promptly 
 and bear a hand in the imminent capture of 
 one whom he regarded as something akin to 
 a homicidal maniac had imposed a further 
 strain on his resources, and it was possible 
 that he did actually lose his senses during 
 a couple of seconds. 
 
 In all likelihood, too, he changed color 
 slightly, because the next thing he was aware 
 of was the note of alarm in Evelyn's voice 
 when she cried excitedly: 
 
 "Mr. Theydon is really very ill. I'm sure 
 we ought to try and revive him." 
 
 At that he reopened his eyes and looked 
 at her whimsically. Nature, in fact, had put 
 forth a supreme effort; from that moment 
 he recovered rapidly. 
 
 Winter took a calmly professional view of 
 the younger man's collapse. 
 
 "There's nothing to worry about, Miss 
 Forbes," he assured the agitated girl. "Our 
 friend has just escaped being knocked in- 
 
 186
 
 CAPTURES ON BOTH SIDES 187 
 
 sensible, if not killed. He was hardly pre- 
 pared for such a vicious attack, I fancy. 
 Most certainly that scoundrel took me by sur- 
 prise, or he would not have slipped through 
 my fingers like an eel. Next time, either Mr. 
 Theydon or I may be trusted to balance mat- 
 ters." 
 
 Theydon grinned and nodded. He signaled 
 with his eyes that Winter was to make 
 Evelyn Forbes understand that she had just 
 escaped being the victim of an extraordinary 
 outrage. Muddled as his thoughts were, he 
 grasped the essential fact that Scotland Yard 
 was better posted in the secret history of 
 the Innesmore Mansions crime than he had 
 given the department credit for before the 
 dramatic meeting with Furneaux that morn- 
 ing. 
 
 And, indeed, the chief inspector lost no 
 time in justifying that belief. 
 
 "You must have imagined that the world 
 had suddenly turned topsy-turvy," he said, 
 smiling at the mystified and distraught 
 Evelyn, as though the whirl of events outside 
 the station were part and parcel of the hum- 
 drum routine of life. "When Mr. Theydon 
 regains his speech Jie will tell us how he 
 came to suspect that an attempt would be 
 made to kidnap you today. In my own case, 
 intervention was the outcome of sheer and 
 simple logical deduction. You see, I repre-
 
 188 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 sent the Criminal Investigation Department 
 or Scotland Yard, as it is familiarly described 
 and I have reason to believe that your father 
 is, and has been for some time, the object of 
 unpleasant attentions by a political society in 
 China, whose members are nothing more nor 
 less than criminal fanatics. Probably this is 
 the first you have heard of the matter, Miss 
 Forbes. Your father would wish, no doubt, to 
 keep any such disquieting knowledge from you 
 and your mother. But the policy of conceal- 
 ment must cease now. Today's daring attack 
 is a warning. Other efforts may be forth- 
 coming. If you are to be protected efficiently 
 the police must have your loyal cooperation. 
 I admit candidly that I myself, with all 
 my experience, was taken off my guard a 
 few minutes ago. If Mr. Theydon had not 
 delayed that Chinaman whose name he has 
 got hold of from Mr. Forbes, I expect I 
 don't think I could have reached you in 
 time." 
 
 "Is that the meaning of the little ivory 
 skull which my father received at breakfast 
 this morning?" said Evelyn, breathlessly. 
 
 Winter's eyes twinkled. No question could 
 have thrown a more vivid light into the 
 somber depths of a crime which promised to 
 transcend in interest and importance any 
 similar occurrence in Great Britain during 
 the previous decade.
 
 "Doubtless," he said. "Of course, I have 
 not yet seen Mr. Forbes, but we have a mine 
 of information here," and he laid a friendly 
 hand on Theydon 's arm. "So far as I am 
 concerned, I have had your house unobtru- 
 sively watched for the protection of the in- 
 mates, I hope you understand and I ar- 
 ranged also that anything unusual in the 
 shape of telegrams or telephonic messages" 
 here he glanced amusedly at Theydon- 
 "should be communicated to the Yard. I 
 heard, therefore, of Mrs. Forbes 's sudden 
 illness almost as soon as you did, and I 
 traveled with you to Eastbourne, intending 
 to reach the hotel at the same time as you, 
 and ascertain whether or not your mother 
 was really ill. I saw you on the platform at 
 Victoria and guessed your identity. But, in 
 my profession, we never take anything for 
 granted, so I left that matter until I could 
 interview the hotel manager. And here we 
 are. I advise you not to say a word about 
 Mrs. Forbes being ill. If, as I firmly believe, 
 you find that she is in the best of health, you 
 can explain your sudden visit by saying that 
 Mr. Theydon and I have something of impor- 
 tance to communicate, which will be perfectly 
 accurate, as I mean to urge strongly that we 
 all return to London by the next train." 
 
 The cab stopped. To show that "Richard 
 was himself again" Theydon, nearest the
 
 190 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 door, opened it, got out, and helped Evelyn 
 to alight. 
 
 Reassured on his account, the girl smiled, 
 and a wave of color leaped to her cheeks. 
 Any one happening to watch their arrival 
 would put them down as ordinary visitors. 
 Evelyn Forbes was just a charming young 
 woman, plainly but expensively dressed; 
 Theydon an attentive cavalier, and Winter a 
 prosperous city man, probably with a taste 
 for coursing and pheasant shooting. 
 
 Subtly observant, indeed, would be the 
 theorist who gathered from their demeanor 
 that they had just emerged practically un- 
 scathed from a situation rife with the ele- 
 ments of tragedy. 
 
 Nevertheless, Winter kept a sharp eye on 
 Theydon after Evelyn Forbes had run up 
 the steps of the hotel, and was relieved at 
 seeing that he could walk without assistance. 
 
 "Keep nothing back," he said under his 
 breath as they followed the girl with sedater 
 pace. "These women must be frightened into 
 complete obedience. Did Furneaux get hold 
 of Forbes?" 
 
 Theydon nodded. 
 
 "That's right. Don't talk. I can pretty 
 well guess what took place. But, look here. 
 Who's Handyside a mere acquaintance?" 
 
 Another nod. 
 
 "You just contrived to pick him up, and
 
 CAPTURES ON BOTH SIDES 191 
 
 used him as an excuse for coming to East- 
 bourne? I see. That removes a troublesome 
 pawn off the chessboard." 
 
 "But it doesn't," wheezed Theydon. "He 
 ought to be here. Can't make out what has 
 become of him." 
 
 "He will turn up an American, isn't he? 
 I thought so. The indications were slight but 
 certain features, walk, figure. You can buy 
 clothes, but the genuine citizen of God's own 
 country is as distinct a type as a Highlander 
 all wool and a yard wide." 
 
 Inside the hotel they came on Evelyn 
 Forbes talking to the manager. She hailed 
 them at once. 
 
 "Mother has gone to Beachy Head," she 
 cried. "She and her friends are expected 
 home about six o'clock. Shall we have some 
 tea? There is no use in following her. She 
 will be starting back before we could get 
 there." 
 
 "Mrs. Forbes is quite well, I hope?" put 
 in Winter, casually. 
 
 "Yes, sir, in the best of health," said the 
 manager, indicating, with a flourish of both 
 hands, that nothing else was to be expected 
 as to the condition of any among the nu- 
 merous patrons of the Royal Devonshire 
 Hotel. 
 
 Evelyn asked that tea should be served 
 in her mother's sitting room. When they
 
 192 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 were screened by the closed door Winter 
 examined Theydon's throat. Beyond a slight 
 swelling and external soreness, the cricoid 
 cartilage known to the multitude as Adam's 
 apple was seemingly uninjured, while They- 
 don himself now made light of the blow, 
 though a certain hoarseness was perceptible 
 in his voice, and he deemed it advisable to 
 speak in a low-pitched tone. 
 
 Evelyn Forbes listened with ill-repressed 
 bewilderment while he related the day's 
 doings. At first, she hardly grasped the 
 significance of the story, but Winter's oc- 
 casional questions and comments, and a 
 parenthetical sentence or two introduced by 
 Theydon for her benefit, quickly revealed the 
 astounding nature of the plot of which her 
 father was the chief object. 
 
 At this crisis she displayed a self-control 
 and reticence which were admirable. She 
 seemed to realize intuitively that any gaps 
 in the recital could be filled in later, whereas 
 it was all-important that the detective should 
 be made acquainted as speedily as possible 
 with the developments brought about by the 
 morning's fuller disclosures. 
 
 As for Winter, he was keenly interested 
 in Furneaux's behavior at the moment of 
 Forbes 's departure from Innesmore Mansions. 
 Glancing at his watch, he rose when They- 
 don's revelations came to an end.
 
 CAPTURES ON BOTH SIDES 193 
 
 "I'll just go and ring up the Yard," he 
 said. " There may be news. When Furneaux 
 starts off in full cry it is a wary fox that 
 escapes him. I only wish you and I had trav- 
 eled from Victoria in company, Mr. They- 
 don; Wong Li Fu would now have been in 
 custody. However, we'll get him. If, as I 
 imagine, he is making for London in that 
 car, there is even a chance of intercepting 
 him in the suburbs. I'll see to it." 
 
 Left alone with Evelyn Forbes, Theydon 
 suddenly grew tongue-tied. This man who 
 could invent all manner of glib conversation 
 for the characters in his novels now cudgeled 
 his brains vainly for something to say that 
 would dwell in her memory when they parted. 
 And he knew why a cloud was thus effectually 
 befogging his wits. He had only seen Evelyn 
 three times in as many days, had spoken to 
 her but twice, yet was hopelessly and ir- 
 revocably in love with her. 
 
 He, who had so often and so thrillingly 
 described the grand passion of a man's life, 
 had now fallen a victim to it, only to feel 
 how unutterably ridiculous and impossible 
 was the wild longing that had sprung up in 
 his heart. Here, by his side, wistfully sym- 
 pathetic and friendly in manner, sat the "one 
 woman in the world," yet he felt awkward 
 and constrained, and took refuge in a vague 
 expression of anxiety on behalf of Handy-
 
 194 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 side, a man who at least might be trusted 
 to extricate himself safely from the labyrinth 
 of Eastbourne! 
 
 The girl, of course, attributed these dis- 
 jointed remarks to physical suffering. In 
 reality, he was contrasting her wealth and 
 his own comparative poverty, and bidding 
 himself fiercely not to be a vain fool! 
 
 "Don't you think you ought to call in a 
 doctor?" she inquired, tenderly. 
 
 "No, no," he hastened to assure her. "The 
 effects of the blow are passing rapidly. In 
 another hour I shall hardly feel it at all. 
 I'm afraid, Miss Forbes," he ventured to 
 add, "that when this pfratical gang is broken 
 up, as certainly will be the case now that 
 the English police are tackling it, you will as- 
 sociate our brief acquaintance with the only 
 dark days in your existence." 
 
 "Why do you say that?" she demanded. 
 
 "Because I am bound to admit that if I 
 had not dined at your house on Monday 
 evening, many, if not all, of the amazing 
 events of the past thirty-six hours could not 
 have happened." 
 
 "I don't agree with you not one little 
 bit," she protested emphatically. "Why, the 
 detective-man himself said that the Young 
 Manchus have been searching ever since the 
 beginning of the year for proof of Dad's
 
 CAPTURES ON BOTH SIDES 195 
 
 connection with the revolutionaries, and he 
 was candid enough to tell us that if it hadn't 
 been for you that horrid Wong Li Fu would 
 have got me into the car. No, Mr. Theydon, 
 our meeting has proved most fortunate for 
 me. Suppose I had really been captured! 
 Would he have gagged me and taken me away 
 to some lonely place, where I would be kept a 
 prisoner, or even killed?" 
 
 Theydon had no desire that her mind 
 should dwell on such a harrowing topic. He 
 shuddered to think of her fate if ever she 
 fell into the hands of the miscreants who had 
 not scrupled to murder Mrs. Lester. She 
 evidently regarded the crime in No. 17 In- 
 nesmore Mansions as the sequel to some 
 political disturbance in far-off Shanghai. It 
 had not occurred to her that a hapless woman 
 had been done to death merely as a warning 
 to her father of the fate in store for him and 
 his if he did not yield to the demand of the 
 reactionary party in China, and deliver over 
 to their vengeance some hundreds of the lead- 
 ing men in that distressed country. 
 
 "I doubt whether Wong Li Fu and his as- 
 sociates would have dared to offer you any 
 real violence," he said. "At the worst, I 
 suppose, they might have retained you as 
 a hostage." 
 
 "A hostage for what?" 
 
 "For their claim against Mr. Forbes."
 
 196 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 "But what has he done? He has never 
 been in China." 
 
 "He is a power in the financial world. If 
 the reform party cannot borrow money the 
 movement will collapse. At any rate that is 
 what the Manchus believe, and they will 
 strain every nerve to effect their purpose." 
 
 "But why did they kill poor Mrs. Lester?" 
 
 Theydon felt that he was getting into deep 
 water. This clear-sighted girl would soon 
 have the various threads of the enigma in 
 her hands, and then she could not fail but 
 discover the true meaning of Edith Lester's 
 death. 
 
 "That phase of the problem has yet to 
 be solved," was his noncommittal reply. 
 
 Winter rejoined them somewhat hurriedly. 
 He looked puzzled and rather irritated. 
 
 "Furneaux has made an arrest," he said. 
 "A Chinaman, described as Len Shi, is 
 lodged in the cells at Bow Street, on a charge 
 of being concerned in the Innesmore Man- 
 sions murder. Furneaux is out, and that is 
 all they know at the Yard. What I cannot 
 understand is why no inquiry has been made 
 by telephone or otherwise concerning Miss 
 Forbes 's flight to Eastbourne." 
 
 The words had hardly left his mouth when 
 the bell of a telephone on the table jangled. 
 The coincidence was so peculiar that Winter 
 laughed.
 
 CAPTURES ON BOTH SIDES 197 
 
 "Some other person shares my opinion, 
 I fancy," he said. "May I answer, Miss 
 Forbes?" 
 
 "Please do," said the girl, and the chief 
 inspector lifted the receiver from its hook. 
 
 ' * Trunk call from London ; you 're through, ' ? 
 announced the hotel operator. After a slight 
 pause, an agitated voice said: "Is that you, 
 Evelyn?" 
 
 "Miss Forbes is here," said Winter. "Who 
 is speaking?" 
 
 "Her father," was the reply. 
 
 "Oh, I'm Chief Inspector Winter of Scot- 
 land Yard. Your daughter is quite safe, Mr. 
 Forbes. Mr. Theydon and I accompanied 
 her from London. She will speak to you in 
 an instant. Would you mind telling me what 
 happened at one o'clock, when my colleague, 
 Mr. Furneaux, jumped on to your car and 
 went in pursuit of some one?" 
 
 "First, is Mrs. Forbes there, too?" 
 
 "She is out with a picnic party on Beachy 
 Head. We expect her back before six o'clock. 
 I propose bringing her and Miss Forbes to 
 London tonight. They will be safer in your 
 house than in Eastbourne, as you will proba- 
 bly agree when you hear what a narrow 
 escape your daughter had this afternoon from 
 being kidnaped by Wong Li Fu." 
 
 "Great Heavens! Evelyn in danger from 
 that scoundrel!"
 
 198 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 "Yes. But all is well, believe me. Owing 
 to Mr. Theydon's promptitude and pertinac- 
 ity, Wong Li Fu's scheme was defeated. 
 Your daughter will make everything clear. 
 Give me the barest summary of events after 
 your departure from Innesmore Mansions, and 
 I'll get out of the way." 
 
 "We pursued a car which led us a pretty 
 dance nearly as far as St. Albans. It seems 
 that Mr. Furneaux, looking out of the window 
 of Mr. Theydon's flat while Theydon and I 
 were going downstairs, saw a Chinaman 
 watching us from a closed car standing in 
 the cross street at the end of the garden. He 
 gave chase instantly, but as soon as the man 
 realized that he had attracted notice he tried 
 to escape. At least, that was Mr. Furneaux's 
 first impression. Later, he convinced himself 
 that the supposed spy was little more than a 
 red herring drawn across the trail, and that 
 the man's real motive was to take me out 
 of London, or waylay or detain me in some 
 fashion, since it was manifestly impossible 
 that my presence in the Mansions should be 
 known to any one. I see now, of course, 
 what the project was. If, as I gather from 
 you, an attempt was to be made to capture 
 my daughter on arriving at Eastbourne, it 
 was all-important for the conspirators that 
 I should not know of her absence from home 
 until after the arrival of the train, so that
 
 CAPTURES ON BOTH SIDES 199 
 
 I could not communicate with the hotel and 
 take measures to protect her. But that ex- 
 planation was hidden from Mr. Furneaux, and 
 the first glimpse of it vouchsafed to me was 
 when I reached my office and was horrified to 
 learn that she had gone away without my 
 knowledge. However, in a desperate matter 
 like this, I must not waste time by describing 
 my agony and foreboding. As I have said, by 
 some phenomenal method of reasoning beyond 
 my comprehension, Mr. Furneaux did arrive 
 at a sound conclusion. I suppose he was alive 
 to the ridiculous aimlessness of the race across 
 country. My car is powerful and speedy, but 
 the Chinaman had a thoroughly up-to-date con- 
 veyance, too, and drove without paying the 
 least heed to traffic conditions.' 7 
 " There was only one man, then?" 
 "Yes. Didn't I make that clear? Perhaps 
 not. But there can hardly be any doubt 
 that this fellow was alone, and acting as a 
 sort of scout or vedette. We had the utmost 
 difficulty in following him along Oxford 
 Street, and I am sure that my chauffeur has 
 been reported by a score of constables on 
 point duty for exceeding the speed limit and 
 disregarding signals to halt. To come to the 
 material facts, the chase took us up the Edg- 
 ware road. We tore along at a tremendous 
 rate after passing the Welsh Harp. Over- 
 haul the fellow we could not, until on the
 
 200 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 outskirts of St. Albans, when he deliberately 
 slowed up, as though to allow us to pass. 
 Mr. Furneaux flew at him like a terrier 
 grappling a rat, but the man made no re- 
 sistance. He is undoubtedly a Chinaman, 
 though attired in a chauffeur's livery, and 
 he could handle a car in first-rate style, too. 
 His pidgin English was difficult to understand, 
 and Mr. Furneaux shared my view that he 
 did not try to render himself intelligible. 
 We gathered that he was obeying his 
 master's orders in trying the car, a new one, 
 before purchase, but Furneaux bundled him 
 off to the nearest police station, borrowed 
 handcuffs and brought him back to London, 
 leaving the car in a garage at St. Albans. 
 That is a bald but accurate summary of the 
 facts. I dropped Mr. Furneaux and his 
 prisoner at Bow Street and was on the way 
 to my city office, when I suddenly felt faint 
 for want of food, as I ate hardly any 
 breakfast this morning, and only drank a 
 cup of coffee in Mr. Theydon's place. 
 So I returned to the Carlton, where I 
 met a friend, a business associate, who re- 
 mained for a chat while I had a meal. This 
 trivial accident prevented me from tele- 
 phoning to my house, though, naturally, I 
 had no misgivings as to my daughter's well- 
 being. Even then I was detained unduly, 
 because my friend and I went to another
 
 CAPTURES ON BOTH SIDES 201 
 
 office in the city, and two more hours elapsed 
 before I reached my own place. Then, and 
 not until then, did I hear of Evelyn's journey 
 and its cause." 
 
 "Thank you, Mr. Forbes," said Winter 
 quietly. "We seem to have made a forward 
 move today. Before calling Miss Evelyn to 
 the phone I want to tell you that in disobey- 
 ing your orders to remain at home she did 
 my department a good turn. Wong Li Fu 
 and I were brought face to face. He is not 
 a myth." 
 
 "My word might be regarded as sufficient 
 proof of that fact." 
 
 "Certainly, Mr. Forbes, if given earlier," 
 was the inevitable retort. "But here is your 
 daughter. She can plead her cause far better 
 than I." 
 
 Evelyn took the woman's way. To defend 
 she attacked. 
 
 "Dad, dear," she complained, "why didn't 
 you give me your confidence? If I had had 
 the least notion of the dreadful things that 
 were going on I should certainly have tele- 
 phoned to Eastbourne before starting. But 
 don't you see the diabolical cleverness of the 
 scheme? The telegram arrived just in time 
 to allow me to catch the 1 : 25 p. m. train, 
 and rendering it idle to think of making a 
 trunk call if I would obey an urgent message 
 from my mother. Then again, when I reached
 
 202 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 Eastbourne, why should I suspect a foreign- 
 looking gentleman who said Dr. Sinnett had 
 sent his car to take me to the hotel? There 
 isn't a Dr. Sinnett in Eastbourne at this date, 
 but how was I to know that? Of course, both 
 you and I have suffered a good deal, each in a 
 different way, but all is well that ends well, 
 and I shall have such a lot to tell you when 
 we meet tonight. . . . What time? I don't 
 know yet. I'll wire or phone when mother 
 returns and we settle about the train. Goodby, 
 darling! See you don't go anywhere alone 
 until I come back." 
 
 For some reason Winter's manner was not 
 so placid as usual. He looked so obviously 
 perplexed and troubled that Theydon, search- 
 ing for a cause, suddenly remembered that 
 the chief inspector was a great smoker. 
 
 " Won't you have a cigar?" he said; "that 
 is, unless Miss Forbes has any objection?" 
 
 "Me!" cried the girl. "I don't object in 
 the least." 
 
 But the Royal Devonshire Hotel's best 
 Havana did not wholly banish the frown from 
 Winter's forehead. More than once he 
 glanced at his watch and consulted a time 
 table. At last he voiced one of his anx- 
 ieties. 
 
 "What can have become of that Amer- 
 ican?" he said. "He knew what hotel you 
 were making for?"
 
 CAPTURES ON BOTH SIDES 203 
 
 "Oh, yes," cried the others in chorus. 
 
 They laughed. Quite a cheerful air pos- 
 sessed two members of the little party, at 
 any rate. 
 
 "Perhaps he has forgotten the name?" 
 went on Evelyn. 
 
 "Americans never forget the names of 
 hotels, or railway stations, or steamers," 
 said Winter. "The average Englishman can 
 tell you what will win the Derby, but the 
 average American will be a good deal more 
 accurate concerning next Saturday's mail 
 steamer. . . . So, I frankly confess it that 
 man's prolonged absence supplies a riddle 
 which I can't answer. What do you say if 
 we give a look along the front? He may be 
 shy, though I told the hall porter that any 
 inquirer was to be shown up at once." 
 
 No; Mr. Handyside was not to be seen on 
 Eastbourne's spacious marine promenade. A 
 couple of well-dressed men caught sight of 
 Winter, and decided that they had instant 
 and urgent business elsewhere. But he only 
 smiled. His quarry that day was not the 
 swell mobsman, but much more dangerous 
 game. 
 
 Lightning darted from a summer sky when 
 the picnic party returned from Beachy Head 
 in three cars, but without Mrs. Forbes. 
 
 Evelyn was hardly anxious at first. The 
 hall porter informed her who the occupants
 
 204 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 of the cars were, and she watched the lively 
 and chattering groups forming on the pave- 
 ment and breaking up again to enter the hotel 
 and dress for dinner. 
 
 At last, realizing that her mother was not 
 among them, she singled out a lady whom 
 she knew, and asked for an explanation. The 
 lady, a Mrs. Montagu, was very much sur- 
 prised. 
 
 "But, my dear Evelyn," she said, "didn't 
 you yourself send for your mother?" 
 
 The girl blanched. Some premonition of 
 evil gripped her very heart. 
 
 "What do you mean?" she said, and the 
 other woman could not help noting the dis- 
 tress in her voice. 
 
 "If you didn't send, who did?" came the 
 immediate response. "We were just going 
 to have tea when a gentleman, a stranger, 
 came and asked for Mrs. Forbes. We saw 
 him arrive in a car which halted at the foot 
 of the path nearly a quarter of a mile away. 
 Your mother answered, and he said that you 
 were in Eastbourne, and had sent him to 
 bring you to the hotel. He said the car 
 belonged to a Doctor Somebody, but he him- 
 self looked like a foreigner." 
 
 A few others had gathered around, at- 
 tracted by Evelyn Forbes 's pallor and dis- 
 tress; Winter, too, had drawn near, and it 
 was he who said:
 
 CAPTURES ON BOTH SIDES 205 
 
 "Did you see this stranger who brought 
 the message!" 
 
 "0 yes, plainly," said Mrs. Montagu. 
 
 "Had he a scar down the left side of his 
 face?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Then Evelyn Forbes, for the first time in 
 her vigorous young life, fainted. Her mother 
 was in the power of Wong Li Fu. All the 
 terrors which imagination had painted in 
 her own behalf were redoubled as to her 
 mother's fate. Her brain reeled. Merciful 
 oblivion came. Theydon and Winter were just 
 able to catch her before she fell like a log.
 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE BE APPEARANCE OF HANDYSIDE 
 
 CONSTERNATION reigned for a while at the 
 entrance to the Royal Devonshire. Men 
 craned their necks and women uttered ner- 
 vous little shrieks. But Evelyn Forbes was 
 endowed with a vigorous frame and a splen- 
 didly vital spirit, and she recovered her 
 senses before she could be carried into the 
 vestibule. 
 
 The fact that she had fainted, too, brought 
 to the aid of her waking senses the innate 
 horror of her race and class for anything ap- 
 proaching a "scene," and she was almost un- 
 naturally collected in speech and demeanor 
 within a few seconds after her eyes had re- 
 opened. 
 
 "Did I give way like that!" she said, with 
 a valiant smile, first at Theydon, and then 
 at the ring of faces, each with its varying 
 expression of curiosity or concern. "How 
 stupid of me ! How excessively stupid ! That 
 sort of behavior doesn't help at all does it? 
 . . . Thank you, I can walk quite well. . . , 
 I'll just go to mother's room and telephone 
 
 206
 
 HANDYS1DE REAPPEARS 207 
 
 home. . . . There has been some silly mis- 
 take. By this time it will be rectified, I'm 
 sure. . . . Come, Mr. Theydon. Where is 
 Mr. Winter?" 
 
 "Here," said the detective. ''I'll follow 
 in a minute or so. Please don't communicate 
 with London till I arrive." 
 
 His quietly insistent tone was meant rather 
 for Theydon than for the half-demented girl, 
 who was stumbling anywhere but in the right 
 direction until Theydon caught her arm and 
 led her to the lift. She contrived to remain 
 outwardly calm until she reached the seclusion 
 of the sitting room, when she broke into a 
 flood of tears, while in disjointed and hysteri- 
 cal words she blamed her own rashness for the 
 fate which had overtaken her mother. 
 
 If only she had used better judgment when 
 the telegram came if only she had hired 
 an automobile and driven straight to Beachy 
 Head if only she had done a dozen other 
 things which no one would possibly have 
 dreamed of doing she might have safe- 
 guarded her darling mother! 
 
 Theydon, meanwhile, was nearly frantic 
 with the indecision of ignorance. Never had 
 he felt so helpless, so utterly childish and 
 unhinged in the face of disaster. He had 
 heard that it was good for a woman to be 
 allowed to cry when overwhelmed with 
 misery. Again, he remembered reading some-
 
 208 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 where that the feminine temperament should 
 not be allowed to yield to a too-tempestuous 
 grief, or the delicate and. finely-balanced 
 female organism might suffer irreparable in- 
 jury. Should she be given water or a stim- 
 ulant? Should one leave her alone or en- 
 deavor to soothe her? 
 
 Heaven only knew he didn't so he did 
 exactly what any devout and despairing lover 
 might be expected to do put an arm around 
 her shoulders, and murmured a frenzied as- 
 surance of his willingness to die several 
 times, and vanquish a horde of Young Man- 
 chus in the process, ere she could be allowed 
 to endure one needless hour of distress on 
 her mother's account. 
 
 Somehow, this sort of nonsense was help- 
 ful. The girl raised her swimming eyes to 
 his. She placed two appealing hands on his 
 shoulders, and said brokenly: 
 
 1 'Mr. Theydon I am ready to trust you 
 next to my own father. . . . Where 
 shall we go? What can we do? I'll come 
 with you anywhere only my dear one 
 must be rescued." 
 
 He believed afterwards that he answered 
 her by a kiss ! , He was not certain. The 
 delirium of the moment was such that he 
 could never recall its words or acts with that 
 precision which a well-regulated mind should 
 display even under the stress of intense emo-
 
 HANDYSIDE REAPPEARS 209 
 
 tion. In any event, the crisis was interrupted 
 by the clamor of the telephone bell. 
 
 Withdrawing from what was perilously 
 near an embrace so colorable an imitation 
 of the real thing that Winter, entering at 
 that instant, could make no distinction, and 
 was secretly amazed at these strenuous meth- 
 ods of consoling the lady Theydon lifted the 
 receiver, and heard as one in a trance the tele- 
 phone operator's conventional announcement: 
 
 ' ' Trunk call from Croydon ; you''re through. ' ' 
 
 "Who is it?" demanded the chief inspector 
 gruffly. 
 
 Even he, veteran fighter in the unceasing 
 battle between the law and the malefactor, 
 was feeling the strain of the Homeric strug- 
 gle ushered in by the death of Edith Lester. 
 
 "I don't know yet," Theydon managed to 
 say collectedly. "Some one from Croydon. 
 Bend close. You'll hear." 
 
 A quiet, drawling voice reached them, the 
 vibrating wire lending its measured accents a 
 metallic accuracy. 
 
 "That you, Mr. Theydon?" 
 
 "Why, it's Mr. Handy side! Yes, I'm here. 
 Where are you speaking from? Croydon?" 
 
 "That's so." 
 
 "Well, I don't understand, but I'm sure 
 you'll pardon me. We are in a deuce of a 
 fix at this end, so, if you'll arrange to call 
 tomorrow "
 
 210 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 ''You've lost Mrs. Forbes, I guess. Is that 
 the lady's name! If it is, I've kept track of 
 her. I" 
 
 Theydon was so astounded that he looked 
 at Winter in blank amazement, the pressure 
 of his fingers on the circuit key relaxed, and 
 the American's voice trailed abruptly away 
 into silence. He put matters right at once 
 and heard the continuation of a new sentence, 
 whereupon he broke in excitedly: 
 
 "One second, Mr. Handyside. Miss Forbes 
 is here. I must tell her your news!" 
 
 He turned to Evelyn. 
 
 "-Hooray!" he almost yelled. "Your 
 mother is all right. She is with Mr. Handy- 
 side. Some sort of miracle has happened. 
 Come and listen." 
 
 Aroused from a stupor of grief as though 
 she had received a galvanic shock, Evelyn 
 sprang up. Naturally, she had to place an 
 arm on Theydon 's back to permit jof her 
 head approaching near enough to the tele- 
 phone. Thus, the three heads were almost 
 touching each other; if an artist had been 
 present he would have obtained a study in 
 facial expressions worthy of Phil May or 
 Guerrido. 
 
 Handyside, of course, had heard Theydon 's 
 gleeful exclamation. He chuckled pleasantly: 
 
 "Your digest goes a little too far, Mr. 
 Theydon," he said, "but compared with the
 
 HANDYSIDE REAPPEARS 211 
 
 newspaper placard facts in your possession, 
 my story is a full-sized novel. Anyhow, I'll 
 condense it, so here goes. I was back of the 
 crowd when the circus started outside the 
 Eastbourne depot. As I ante 'd up your ticket 
 and collected your deposit of a sovereign, I 
 saw what took place, and sized up the result 
 pretty accurately. The kidnaping proposition 
 had failed, but the guy in the silk hat had got 
 clear away in a bully good car how good I 
 know now. It seemed to me that, next to 
 rescuing that charming young lady, it was 
 important something should be known about 
 the thug who wanted to carry her off, and, 
 when my eyes lit on a workmanlike motor 
 bicycle with a side-car rig standing close to 
 the curb, and well clear of the arena, said I 
 to myself: 'George T. Handyside, this is where 
 you take a flier, and maybe Illinois will score 
 one.' The man who owned the outfit was 
 watching the commotion when I dug him in the 
 ribs. 'Take me after that car,' I said, 'and 
 I'll pay you a shilling a mile with five 
 pounds on account if it's only a 100 yards.' I 
 pressed a note into his hand and, say, you 
 Britishers wake up all right when you see real 
 money ! We were doing thirty per in less than 
 ten seconds. No car on four wheels can lose 
 any decent motorcycle on a switchback track, 
 and Jackson, the owner of this one, says it's 
 good enough for sixty on a fair stretch of
 
 212 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 road. Anyhow, we held the thug dead easy, 
 but didn't press him any, as I had no call to 
 butt in, had I!" 
 
 "Mr. Handy side," said Theydon. "I won't 
 waste time now by telling you how grateful 
 we all are. Get on with the knitting!" 
 
 "Sir, I've had the time of my life a rip- 
 snorting movie, with George T. on the film 
 from A to Z ... No! Go away, exchange. 
 I'm renting this line for the next quarter of 
 an hour. Well, we made a bee-line for Beachy 
 Head so Jackson told me and, when the 
 automobile pulled up, we got under a hedge 
 and I did a bit of scout work on my feet. 
 I saw Silk Hat pick out a lady from a bunch 
 of people, who seemed to be taking the view 
 with sandwiches, and it was simple as falling 
 off a log to follow the position of affairs 
 Silk Hat urging lady to come with him, 
 lady astonished, not able to size up exact bear- 
 ings of the yarn, but finally yielding. Now, 
 if Miss Forbes hadn't told us that her mother 
 had written saying she was going to Beachy 
 Head with a picnic party this afternoon I 
 would have gotten off at the wrong address, 
 because I could hardly have failed to believe 
 that Silk Hat was picking up a female ac- 
 complice. But, as things stood, I suspicioned 
 that, failing the daughter, he was putting up 
 a bunco tale for the mother a situation new, 
 I believe, in the realm of romantic fiction. I
 
 HANDYSIDE REAPPEARS 213 
 
 thought it was up to me to play a strong 
 hand, so I threw a few facts on the screen 
 for Jackson's benefit, and he straightway hit 
 the pike in pursuit. Where the country was 
 open we kept well in the rear, but crept closer 
 in villages and towns. We had to stop at 
 Tunbridge Wells for petrol, but that didn't cut 
 any ice, because Jackson knew the country like 
 a book, and we sighted the automobile within 
 five minutes, though the milestones were pretty 
 numerous during that run. After that, nothing 
 particularly happened, except to a hen and a 
 dog, until we came near Croydon that is, I 
 knew it was Croydon because Jackson said so, 
 and I have considerable faith in him. In be- 
 tween whiles, where there was nothing doing, 
 he and I fixed up an automobile tour. Well, 
 outside Croydon, there's a new road, with a 
 half -built villa at the near end and a way-back 
 farmhouse at the other end. That villa was 
 the one thing needed when the thug made a 
 bee-line for the farm. I jumped out, told 
 Jackson to find something to do to his ma- 
 chine at the corner of the next block, and 
 hurried into the Alpine chalet. From a top 
 back room I watched Silk Hat carrying a lady 
 into the farm. Eh, what's that? Yes, he was 
 carrying her. I guess he'd given her a dope 
 BO as to stop any cry for help. It made 
 me feel pretty mean to be standing there 
 without taking a hand in the deal, but
 
 214 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 I forced myself to believe that another 
 hour or two couldn't make such a heap of 
 difference to the lady, while it would be better 
 to leave things to the police. I waited just 
 twenty minutes I have all the times sched- 
 uled until the car came back. By hurrying 
 downstairs I was able to look inside as it 
 passed, and Silk Hat was alone. He took the 
 London road. I strolled out didn't dare to 
 hurry, you know, in case any one might be 
 watching from the farm and put in some 
 hard thinking while walking to Jackson's 
 stand. There were two courses open, either 
 to send Jackson after the auto and try my- 
 self to get in touch with you and the police, 
 or put Jackson on guard near the farm. 
 Whether I decided rightly or not I haven't 
 a notion, but I let the car go, and for this 
 reason: We know where the lady is, and so 
 does the thug; if the police put up a hard 
 game they can rescue her without his knowl- 
 edge and spread a web for the fly to walk into 
 later. But they must get a move on. This 
 phone is nearly a mile from the farm, and 
 Jackson is tightening nuts outside the villa 
 I spoke of. Now, what's the next item on 
 the program!" 
 
 Winter grabbed the receiver unceremoni- 
 ously. 
 
 "I am a representative of Scotland Yard, 
 Mr, Handy side," he said, "If ever you want
 
 HANDYSIDE REAPPEARS 215 
 
 work come to me, J. L. Winter, and I'll find 
 you some. Miss Forbes is vexed with me 
 because I have stopped her from thanking 
 you, but compliments must wait. Will you 
 go as quickly as possible to the chief police 
 station at Croydon? By the time you get 
 there I'll be in touch with the inspector in 
 charge, and he will do the rest. You under- 
 stand? Goodby!" 
 
 Winter rang off. He smiled blandly at 
 Evelyn. 
 
 ''There's no opportunity now for senti- 
 ment," he explained. "Our American friend 
 will appreciate quick action far more than 
 talk." 
 
 Then he tackled the telephone again and 
 asked to be put through to the Croydon police 
 station. 
 
 "There must be no delay," he added. 
 "This is an official call." 
 
 He was in touch with Croydon in a re- 
 markably short space of time, and soon was 
 in communication with a police inspector. 
 
 "What's your name?" he demanded. 
 
 "Inspector Wilkins," came the surprised 
 answer. 
 
 "Were you a sergeant at the time of the 
 Surrey Bank robbery?" 
 
 "Yes; but what the" 
 
 "I am Winter of Scotland Yard. Do you 
 recognize my voice!"
 
 216 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 4 'Well er " 
 
 "Do you remember that nip of old brandy 
 I gave you while we were freezing in a 
 drafty warehouse at three 'o 'clock in the morn- 
 ing waiting for the Smasher to come for his 
 plant?" 
 
 "Yes. You're Mr. Winter right enough, 
 sir." 
 
 "Good! I want you to believe what I'm 
 going to tell you, as there is a big job ahead. 
 A gang of Chinese cutthroats have kidnaped 
 a lady, wife of the London banker, Mr. James 
 Creighton Forbes. In a few minutes an 
 American, a Mr. Handyside, will be with you. 
 He will point out the house near Croydon 
 to which the lady has been taken in a 1 motor 
 car. Collect half a dozen plain-clothes men 
 and two in uniform and go with Mr. Handy- 
 side without attracting attention, of course. 
 Surround the house and arrest any one, es- 
 pecially any Chinaman, who attempts to 
 leave. Eelease the lady, and ask Mr. Handy- 
 side to escort her to her home, 11 Fortescue 
 Square, Belgravia. If she is very ill, which 
 is improbable, she should be taken to a hos- 
 pital. In that event Mr. Handyside should 
 telephone Mr. Forbes. Occupy the farm and 
 arrest any one who comes there, no matter 
 what the pretext, until Mr. Furneaux or I 
 arrive. I'll be with you in two hours. Tell 
 Mrs. Forbes that her daughter will set out
 
 HANDYSIDE REAPPEARS 217 
 
 from Eastbourne by the next train leaving 
 after 6:30. Got all that?" 
 
 ''Yes, sir! Are these Chinamen likely to 
 show fight?" 
 
 "Better be prepared. But, after posting 
 your sentries, I advise you and the uniformed 
 constables to rush the place. By the way, 
 it will save me some trouble if you phone the 
 Yard and tell them exactly what I have told 
 you. Ask for Furneaux. If he is not in, 
 instruct them to leave a written record for 
 him." 
 
 "I'll see to it, sir. Is that all?" 
 
 "Yes. Goodby! Meet you in two hours." 
 
 He whirled round on They don. 
 
 "Tell the manager to supply at once the 
 best car to be had in Eastbourne for love or 
 money," he said. "I want something that is 
 sure to go and go fast." 
 
 The chief inspector, with full steam up, 
 was energy personified. His bulging eyes, his 
 firm chin, his round fists, one clenching the 
 telephone instrument, the other resting on the 
 table, were eloquent of the man of action. 
 
 His pride had been sore stricken by the 
 escape of Wong Li Fu when that master 
 scoundrel was actually in his grasp. But 
 those powerful hands of his were far-reaching, 
 and it would go hard with the jiu-jitsu 
 expert when next they gripped his lithe 
 frame.
 
 218 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 Almost before Theydon had quitted the 
 room Winter snapped there is no other word 
 for it literally snapped a question at Evelyn. 
 
 "What's your telephone number?" 
 
 She told him, and again the Eastbourne ex 
 change was bidden exert itself. 
 
 "That you, Mr. Forbes?" said the chief in- 
 spector, after a short wait. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "I am Winter, of Scotland Yard. I want 
 to assure you that your wife and daughter 
 will be under your roof within the next three 
 hours. Mrs. Forbes will probably be escorted 
 by a gentleman named Handyside, an Amer- 
 ican. You owe him all possible thanks, be- 
 cause it is due to his action alone that Mrs. 
 Forbes will soon be rescued from captivity. 
 Yes, she was carried off from Beachy Head 
 this afternoon by Wong Li Fu, but, by the 
 rarest good fortune, this Mr. Handyside, a 
 friend of Mr. Theydon 's, was able to follow 
 on the trail, and steps are now being taken 
 to free her. Your daughter will speak to you. 
 I intervened merely to vouch for it that an 
 almost incredible story is true. By the way, 
 let no one know that Mrs. Forbes is in Lon- 
 don. Warn your servants not to speak of 
 her return. One more word have you heard 
 anything of Furneaux?" 
 
 "I have not heard from or seen him since 
 we parted outside Bow Street police station.
 
 HANDYSIDE REAPPEARS 219 
 
 But, for Heaven's sake, what is this you tell 
 me about my wife!" 
 
 "Miss Forbes will give you all the par- 
 ticulars we possess. Be calm and remain at 
 home. You can best assist us by stopping 
 within call. Mrs. Forbes and the American 
 should arrive first, possibly before 7 : 30. If 
 there is any hitch, which is unlikely, Mr. 
 Handyside will telephone you. Your daughter 
 will tell you the hour she and Mr. Theydon 
 should reach Victoria. She will speak to you 
 now. Excuse my abruptness. A lot of things 
 may happen before I retire for the night, and 
 I have no time to pick and choose my words.'* 
 
 Evelyn, able at last to pour out her soul 
 in thanksgiving, nearly broke down when she 
 heard her father's voice. 
 
 "Oh, Dad," she wailed, "I've passed 
 through a dreadful time since I spoke to you 
 shortly after five o'clock. I dropped as if I 
 had been shot when Mrs. Montagu, who was 
 one of the picnic party, told me that a man of 
 foreign appearance, with a scar on the left 
 side of his face, and who said he was a 
 doctor, came to Beachy Head and told poor 
 mother that I had sent for her." 
 
 She went on to relate such facts as were 
 known to her, and was in the midst of a 
 sensational narrative when Theydon an- 
 nounced that a high-powered touring car was 
 in readiness.
 
 220 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 "Won't you take us with you?" he said to 
 Winter. ''There is no train from here till 
 7 : 30, and in a motor we should be well on 
 the way to London by that time." 
 
 Winter had anticipated some such request, 
 and a prompt refusal was on the tip of his 
 tongue, when he recalled that he would pass 
 through Tunbridge Wells, whence an earlier 
 train might be available. A glance at the 
 time table showed that a train left Tunbridge 
 Wells at 7:15. 
 
 "Yes," he said. "I'll take you part of the 
 way. Tell your father, Miss Forbes, that you 
 will arrive at London Bridge at 8 : 40. If 
 you two reach London by a different route 
 I think you should be tolerably safe." 
 
 "If any Chinaman shows up between here 
 and Portescue Square I'll shoot him at sight," 
 Theydon said, producing an automatic pistol. 
 
 "I wouldn't do that," smiled Winter. 
 "You might bore a hole in some perfectly 
 innocent Celestial. But you won't be trou- 
 bled. Wong Li Fu carries out his own 
 plans, and at present he is congratulating 
 himself on the possession of a valuable host- 
 age. But, come along! How about a wrap 
 for you, Miss Forbes? We'll create a breeze, 
 you know." 
 
 She ran into her mother's bedroom and 
 came out with a fur coat and motor veil, 
 articles which, she had guessed correctly, her
 
 HANDYSIDE REAPPEARS 221 
 
 mother would not be wearing for the short 
 run to Beachy Head. The hotel manager lent 
 coats to the men, and they started, not 
 without hearty congratulations from several 
 people in the porch, whose fears on Mrs. 
 Forbes 's account Theydon had dissipated when 
 he went out to order the car. 
 
 Winter gave their thoughts a new direction 
 when Theydon inquired what means the au- 
 thorities would adopt to rid the country of 
 the pestiferous gang which carried on its 
 vendetta with such scant respect for the law 
 and order of Great Britain. 
 
 "Once we have Mr. and Mrs. Forbes and 
 this young lady safely housed in Fortescue 
 Square, and protected, not only by their own 
 servants but by the Metropolitan Police, we 
 will devote ourselves to routing out the whole 
 crew," he announced. "My idea is that when 
 we lay hands on the ringleader, the rest will 
 be easy. Furneaux 's prisoner, Len Shi, may be 
 got to talk when a Chinese interpreter tackles 
 him. Again, there is every prospect of an 
 important capture being made in the Croy- 
 don house. Most important of all is the pro- 
 longed absence from the yard of Furneaux. 
 He is busy, or he would have put in an ap- 
 pearance there hours ago, if only to get to 
 know my whereabouts. That means some- 
 thing. Furneaux never wastes time. Usually 
 we hunt in couples. Today, by the fortune of
 
 222 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 war, we are separated, and perhaps for- 
 tunately so. It is all your fault, Mr. They- 
 don. ' ' 
 
 "Mine?" was the astonished cry. 
 
 "Yes. We had to try all sorts of tricks on 
 you before you would speak. Just imagine 
 Scotland Yard being compelled to tap the 
 telephone of a respectable and well-known 
 author before he would own up to such knowl- 
 edge as he possessed of the murder in No. 17 !" 
 
 So that was how Furneaux had played the 
 necromancer, and was able to mystify They- 
 don that morning. 
 
 The chief inspector, by raising the question, 
 was touching on dangerous ground, as he was 
 well aware, but he was determined now that 
 all barriers should be thrown down. Evelyn 
 Forbes was no bread-and-butter miss from 
 whose cognizance the evil things of life must 
 be sedulously averted. A woman of spirit 
 and intelligence, who had already run the 
 dreadful risk of sharing Mrs. Lester's fate, 
 should be made to understand every phase of 
 the difficulty with which the Criminal In- 
 vestigation Department had yet to deal. 
 
 British law and Chinese anarchy would 
 soon grapple in a life and death conflict, and 
 it was idle folly to suppose that, no matter 
 how reticent her friends might be, this sharp- 
 witted girl would not find out for herself the 
 exact nature of the link which bound the
 
 HANDYSIDE REAPPEARS 223 
 
 fortunes of her own family with those of 
 the dead woman. 
 
 Theydon tried to pass off the detective's 
 retort with a careless laugh, but Evelyn re- 
 verted to the topic when they were seated 
 in the London-bound train after Winter had 
 dropped them at Tunbridge Wells Station. 
 
 ' ' What did the chief inspector mean when 
 he said you refused to help him at first!" 
 she inquired. " There are gaps in my history 
 of this affair. How did you come to know 
 that my father was acquainted with Mrs. 
 Lester! Why did you seem, at one time, to 
 be taking sides with my father against a 
 public inquiry by the police!" 
 
 Then, seeing there was no help for it, They- 
 don began at the beginning and told the girl 
 the full, true and unexpurgated story of 
 events on the Monday night. Once or twice, 
 when he hinted at the cause of his otherwise 
 inexplicable actions which, quite obviously, 
 lay in his interest in the girl herself, she 
 blushed a little and averted her eyes. But 
 she listened in silence, and did not speak 
 during many seconds after he had ceased. 
 
 Then she simply murmured: 
 
 "Poor, dear Dad! How worried he must 
 have been! And how well he concealed it 
 from me!" 
 
 After another pause, she added: 
 
 "We are deeply in your debt, Mr. Theydon.
 
 224 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 When this ordeal is ended, and those horrid 
 men have been put in prison or driven out of 
 the country, our next difficulty will be to to 
 thank you adequately for what you have done." 
 
 Surgit amari aliquid! Even in life's pleas- 
 antest hours something bitter arises. They- 
 don was in the company of the woman he 
 loved, yet no word of love could rise to his 
 lips. In the first place he dared not woo the 
 daughter of a millionaire; in the second were 
 his suit even possible, he was far too honor- 
 able minded to take immediate advantage of 
 her disturbed state and the services he had 
 undoubtedly rendered, and give the slightest 
 hint of his passion. 
 
 So he sighed and looked out of the window 
 at a fast-flying vista of a Kentish hillside, 
 and contented himself by saying: 
 
 1 'For what little I have done, or attempted 
 to do, I am already rewarded far beyond my 
 wildest dreams." 
 
 Even that was more than he meant to say. 
 Glancing timidly at Evelyn to see whether or 
 not she resented his words, he was astounded 
 to find that she had blushed scarlet, and, in 
 her turn, was absorbed in the landscape. 
 
 Then he remembered that in the frenzy 
 of the moment following the report of her 
 mother's capture by Wong Li Fu, he had 
 kissed her. Had he, or had he not? If not, 
 why not now? But that way lay madness,
 
 HANDYSIDE REAPPEARS 225 
 
 And, wretched doubt, was she already the 
 promised bride of another man? It was a 
 relief when the train stopped at Sevenoaks. 
 
 When it moved on again, they were normal v 
 young people once more, and discussed 
 various features of the Young Manchus' raid 
 on society as though the extermination of 
 political adversaries were a commonplace oc- 
 currence in modern England. 
 
 At last, after a journey which lived long 
 in their minds, since even a prosaic train 
 may follow the path to Wonderland, they ar- 
 rived at London Bridge, and hummed in a 
 taxi through streets of gaunt warehouses until 
 the light of Westminster flashed on a Thames 
 veiled in the blue mystery of a Summer 
 gloaming. 
 
 The cab had hardly halted outside the 
 Fortescue Square mansion when the door was 
 thrown wide, and Tomlinson appeared, 
 flanked by two stalwart footmen. The butler 's 
 face was aglow with pleasure. 
 
 "It's all right now you've come, Miss Eve- 
 lyn," he said joyfully. "Mrs. Forbes arrived 
 more than an hour ago." 
 
 But Tomlinson was in error. He did not 
 know what tribulations loomed already 
 through the haze of the future, or he would 
 have laid to heart the time-honored advice to 
 venturesome travelers: 
 
 ^ Never hallo till you're out of the wood!"
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 NO SURRENDER 
 
 MRS. FORBES, a slim, elegant woman, looked 
 as if she were her daughter's elder sister. 
 Although driven by hay fever to the seaside 
 regularly at the beginning of the London 
 season, she was far from being a malade 
 imaginaire. She did not go willingly. Each 
 year she hoped against hope that the annoy- 
 ing ailment would not make itself felt, yet 
 no sooner was the month of May well estab- 
 lished than for six or seven weeks she had 
 either to drag her husband and daughter 
 away from the metropolis or live by herself 
 in some South Coast hotel. 
 
 She had tried Brighton, whence Mr. Forbes 
 could travel to the city, but soon discovered 
 that the daily train journey was not good 
 for his health. After that, she insisted on 
 adopting the self-denying ordinance of leav- 
 ing Evelyn with her father in the town 
 house from the middle of May till the end 
 of June, when all three went to the High- 
 lands. 
 
 She, of course, had not the remotest knowl- 
 edge of the terrors threatening her house- 
 
 226
 
 #0 SURRENDER 227 
 
 hold; a thunderbolt out of a Summer sky 
 would have astonished her less than the in- 
 dignities she endured when haled away from 
 Eastbourne in the luxurious car which Wong 
 Li Fu had at his command. 
 
 Theydon had been in the house nearly half 
 an hour and was exchanging experiences 
 with Forbes and Handyside the latter, by 
 virtue of his extraordinary share in the day's 
 adventures, being admitted to the full con- 
 fidence of the others when Evelyn brought 
 her mother into the library. 
 
 "Here is some one who positively refuses 
 to retire for the night until she has met you, 
 Mr. Theydon," said the girl, radiant with joy 
 and relief, now that the shadow of death 
 had passed, apparently forever, leaving her 
 dear ones unscathed. 
 
 Mrs. Forbes, an aristocrat to the finger 
 tips, greeted her guest with marked cor- 
 diality. 
 
 "I have been living during the past few 
 hours like one of the characters one sees in 
 the fearsome little plays produced on the 
 stage of the Grand Guignol in Paris," she 
 said, gazing at him with frank brown eyes 
 singularly like her daughter's, "but I have 
 contrived to gather one definite impression 
 among the whirl of things, and vhat is that 
 were it not for Mr. Frank Theydon, my 
 daughter and I would now be in as bad a
 
 228 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 predicament as " two women could possibly 
 face anywhere." 
 
 "I was lucky enough to be of some little 
 use, but Mr. Handyside is the lion of today's 
 contest," said Theydon. 
 
 "I am grateful to both of you, how grateful 
 I can never find words to tell, but Mr. Handy- 
 side rivals you in modesty, Mr. Theydon. 
 He assured me that you were the dens ex 
 machina, though he obtained the machine it- 
 self, and rode sixty miles to rescue me from 
 my dragon. By the way, where is the motor 
 cyclist what is his name?" 
 
 " Jackson, ma'am," put in Handyside. "He 
 went back to Eastbourne thought nothing of 
 it. I fixed him all right. He's coming to 
 London next week. I've hired him for a 
 trip round the island." 
 
 "In a side-car?" laughed Evelyn. 
 
 "No; I guess we'll run to something more 
 roomy. ' ' 
 
 "Jim, dear," said Mrs. Forbes to her hus- 
 band, "get Mr. Jackson's address. Our 
 thanks to him, at least, can take a tangible 
 form. No, Evelyn, I'm not going to bed. I 
 mean to sit up and talk. I want to hear 
 everything. You men must smoke big strong 
 cigars, please. If I breathe tobacco smoke I 
 shall not fancy I want to sneeze." 
 
 "I, for one, am simply aching to hear what 
 happened to you," said Theydon.
 
 NO SURRENDER 229 
 
 Mrs. Forbes was equally ready to retail 
 her trials. 
 
 "When a man who resembled a tall and 
 well-built Japanese came to me on the 
 Downs," she said, "I really believed him to 
 be what he said he was assistant to an East- 
 bourne doctor. I never dreamed he was 
 Chinese, not that it mattered at all where I 
 was concerned, only one becomes quite accus- 
 tomed to meeting well-dressed Japanese men 
 in society, but hardly ever a Chinaman. I 
 thought, too, I remembered his face, which is 
 quite possible, since my husband tells me that 
 this Wong Li Fu was once an attache at the 
 Chinese Embassy. He spoke excellent English, 
 with a strongly marked lisp; when he said 
 that my daughter wished to see me at the 
 Royal Devonshire Hotel, and that a Dr. Sin- 
 nett had sent a car for my convenience, I was 
 mainly concerned in getting him to admit the 
 real cause of his presence, because I naturally 
 assumed that Evelyn had met with an acci- 
 dent. No sooner had the car started than he 
 seized my wrists, and gave them a queer 
 twist, which seemer to render me powerless 
 for a few seconds. 'If you scream or resist 
 I hurt you so only very bad,' he said. I 
 was that astonished I hardly realized what 
 was taking place before he had my wrists 
 and ankles strapped, tightly, but not pain- 
 fully, and had placed a gag in my mouth.
 
 230 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 'Now, you keep quiet,' he said, and showed 
 me a horrible-looking knife, which he put on 
 the seat between us. 'If you move at all 
 when we pass through towns,' he went on, 
 'I stick this into you very deep.' Somehow, 
 I knew that he meant to carry out his 
 threats to the letter. At first I was more 
 angry than hurt or even alarmed. Then I 
 began to believe that I had fallen into the 
 clutches of a lunatic, and grew horribly afraid. 
 I saw that we were following the London 
 road, and it oppressed me like a dreadful 
 sort of nightmare to be speeding through a 
 familiar district, a countryside dotted with 
 the houses and estates of personal friends, 
 and be unable to stir or utter a sound. It 
 seemed to be almost stupid to see police- 
 men in the streets of Tunbridge Wells, one 
 of whom gazed into our car sharply, because, 
 I suppose, we were traveling rather fast, and 
 feel that no one could begin to guess at my 
 predicament. You all appreciate the fact, of 
 course, that I knew nothing whatever of any 
 quarrel between my husband and a faction 
 in China?" 
 
 "Your husband adopted the policy of the 
 ostrich, Helena," said Forbes, grimly. "It 
 may or may not be a fable as regards os- 
 triches I don't know enough about them to 
 feel certain, but it is unquestionably too often 
 true of mankind. I believed my head was
 
 NO SURRENDER 231 
 
 hidden and imagined the remainder of my 
 body was safe in consequence. Now I learn 
 that my opponents have been tracking me 
 steadily for half a year. The one fact which 
 stands out clearly above all others during 
 the past forty-eight hours is the phenomenal 
 range and completeness of Wong Li Fu's 
 plans." 
 
 "I didn't mean my comment as a reproach, 
 dear," and Mrs. Forbes gave him a look 
 which told plainly that these two were lovers 
 after many years of wedded happiness. 
 "Thank God, we have all escaped thus far!" 
 
 "Oh, mother," laughed Evelyn nervously, 
 "you are not anticipating more horrors, are 
 you?" 
 
 "A few hours ago I would have scoffed 
 at any one who said that a handful of Chinese 
 could tear aside our cloak of civilized se- 
 curity as though it were a spider's web," was 
 the serious reply. "But I have interrupted 
 my own story. I began to think that I would 
 be taken to some awful den in the East End, 
 and held there till some huge sum of money 
 was paid by way of ransom, when the car 
 suddenly quitted the main road and bumped 
 over a rough surface. I knew I was near 
 Croydon the last place I would have sus- 
 pected as a brigands' stronghold. Then we 
 halted, and that wretched man lifted me out, 
 carried me into a back room of an old-fash-
 
 232 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 ioned house, put me in a fairly comfortable 
 chair, tied me in with ropes, and left me. I 
 couldn't speak. I was looking at a blank wall 
 and smoke-stained ceiling. I was sure then 
 that he was after money, and began to calcu- 
 late the time which must elapse before my hus- 
 band would hear from him and arrange for 
 my release. I wondered how much he would 
 ask ten, twenty, fifty thousand pounds. How 
 much would you have paid, Jim?" 
 
 Mrs. Forbes took her trials so cheerfully 
 that they all laughed. 
 
 " That's hardly a fair question, is it?" she 
 continued, stealing another glance at her hus- 
 band. "At any rate, being a banker's wife, t 
 I knew how extraordinarily difficult it would 
 be to raise any considerable sum of gold at 
 such a late hour, and I resigned myself to re- 
 maining a prisoner all night. Then I think 
 I wept a little, but not for long, because I 
 felt that they meant to keep me alive, and as 
 I look more delicate than I really am, even 
 a Chinaman would see that he was taking 
 some risk by denying me food and all liberty 
 of movement. Then very soon, it seemed 
 I heard an outer door being forced off its 
 hinges and English voices, and the door of. 
 my room was broken open, and I saw a 
 police inspector and some constables. Hither- 
 to I have never properly appreciated our 
 policemen. From this day I become their most
 
 NO SURRENDER 233 
 
 ardent admirer and enthusiastic helper. I 
 could have gone down on my knees to those 
 big, kind-looking men in uniform. In fact I 
 nearly did. When they released me I could 
 hardly stand. After that, Mr. Handyside 
 came, and accompanied me here, with a de- 
 tective sitting next the driver, and my hus- 
 band and Evelyn have told me something of 
 the extraordinary things which have been go- 
 ing on in London while I was gadding about 
 at Eastbourne." 
 
 "Was the detective a man named Fur- 
 neaux?" inquired Theydon. 
 
 Mrs. Forbes hesitated, and her husband 
 answered for her, as he alone, among the 
 members of the household, had met the Jer- 
 sey man. 
 
 "No," he said. "He belonged to the Croy- 
 don force, and was sent as an escort. Fur- 
 neaux seems to have been swallowed alive 
 since three o'clock. Everybody is inquiring 
 for him, and no one appears to know anything 
 about him." 
 
 "I wonder whether Wong Li Fu is aware 
 I have been liberated?" said Mrs. Forbes. 
 "It's rather odd, is it not, that nothing has 
 been heard from him or his gang if I 
 was to be held a prisoner in order to extort 
 terms t" 
 
 "I fancy he meant to add significance to 
 his demand for a reply by advertisement in
 
 234 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 tomorrow's Times," said Forbes. "You see, 
 Helena, he meant to carry off Evelyn as well 
 as you." 
 
 Mrs. Forbes smiled again at that. 
 
 "What in the world should each of us have 
 thought if we had both been bound and 
 gagged in that car?" she cried. 
 
 "I know what I think," said her husband 
 emphatically. "You are going straight to 
 bed now, and you'll take ten grains of 
 bromide before lying down. Evelyn, I ap- 
 point you nurse. Don't leave your mother 
 till she is sound asleep." 
 
 Mrs. Forbes rose at once. She admitted, 
 though reluctantly, that a night's rest was 
 necessary to steady her nerves. 
 
 "Ah!" she sighed, "I shall be so glad 
 when all this turmoil is ended, and we are 
 settled for the season in Sutherland." 
 
 "Sutherland, ma'am," inquired Handyside. 
 "Isn't that in the far north of Scotland?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "It would be, just as the North Foreland 
 is in Kent." 
 
 Theydon explained his friend's theory of 
 geographical names in the British Isles, and 
 on that lightly humorous note the ladies 
 disappeared. When they were gone Forbes 
 quickly gave a sinister turn to their talk. 
 He produced a letter from his pocket. 
 
 "Listen to this," he said.
 
 NO SURRENDER 235 
 
 "Y. M. is pleased to inform James Creigh- 
 ton Forbes that Mrs. Forbes is a prisoner, 
 and will remain, without food or drink and 
 unable to move, in an empty house until 
 Y. M.'s demands are granted.'* 
 
 His face was white with fury while he 
 read, and his fingers moved convulsively as 
 if he could feel them twining around Wong Li 
 Fu's throat. The other men maintained a 
 sympathetic silence. They understood why 
 that ghastly 'message had been withheld from 
 the cognizance of the lady who had just 
 quitted them. 
 
 "It was delivered by -a messenger boy 
 shortly before you arrived, Theydon," said 
 Forbes, when his passion had subsided and 
 he could trust his voice again. 
 
 "Have you informed Scotland Yard!" said 
 Theydon. 
 
 "No. I dared not use the telephone. I 
 could not leave my wife. She is far more 
 shaken than she thinks. Ever since her re- 
 turn she has followed me if I even walked 
 across the room. It was pitiful. I had to 
 lie to her when the butler brought this in- 
 fernal note. She saw it was typed, and be- 
 lieved my explanation that it was a mere 
 record of an office cablegram." 
 
 "Give it to me," said Theydon. "Mr. 
 Handyside and I must leave you now. We'll 
 take it to Scotland Yard. Mr. Winter ought
 
 236 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 to know of it. In all likelihood he is arrang- 
 ing to remain in the Croydon house tonight, 
 and, if Wong Li Fu is telling the truth, which 
 is highly probable, the local police can watch 
 the place adequately." 
 
 ' 'Yes. You're right, of course. I should 
 have seen that an hour ago, but my brain 
 is on fire owing to the torture these fiends 
 have devised." 
 
 "Are you quite safe here? It is an absurd 
 question, but I would like to feel assured on 
 that point. Shall I return, and strengthen 
 your guard?" 
 
 "I'm exceedingly obliged to you, but, in 
 addition to two of my servants, thoroughly 
 trustworthy men, a detective sergeant and 
 constable have come from Scotland Yard. 
 They are now having supper. When the 
 household retires for the night two will re- 
 main in this room, with the door open, and 
 two in the butler's room, which commands 
 the other staircase. Moreover a constable will 
 patrol this side of the square, and a second 
 one the back of the premises, until long after 
 daybreak. ' ' 
 
 "Tell you what," said Handyside, when he 
 and Theydon were in a taxi, and had made 
 certain they were not being followed, "tell 
 you what, son, you've struck a bonanza in this 
 Chinese drama." 
 "What do you mean?" said Theydon.
 
 NO SURRENDER 237 
 
 "Well, I guess you're the curly-haired boy 
 where Miss Evelyn is concerned." 
 
 "Like most Americans, you jump at con- 
 clusions," was the ungracious reply. 
 
 "And, like most Americans, I'm right 
 nearly all the time," said Handyside dryly. 
 
 "Surely one can hardly discuss such a 
 matter." 
 
 "Why not? If a proposition sounds hard, 
 chew on it, and may be you'll get your teeth 
 into it somehow." 
 
 Theydon nearly allowed himself to become 
 angry. Was his hopeless admiration for 
 Evelyn Forbes so patent that a sharp-eyed 
 stranger could discern it after a brief hour 
 in their company? 
 
 "Millionaires' daughters marry poor men 
 only in novels and on the stage," he said 
 bitterly. "In real life, and in England, they 
 take unto themselves titles and landed 
 estates." 
 
 "I guess Wong Li Fu will have to round 
 you up some more," was the cryptic answer, 
 and Handyside forthwith plunged airily into 
 some wholly different topic. 
 
 At Scotland Yard they inquired for Fur- 
 neaux, and were told he had not reported 
 at headquarters since the early afternoon. 
 So Theydon was introduced to another rep- 
 resentative of the department, and handed 
 over the typed note; the detective promised
 
 238 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 that its purport should be telephoned to 
 Croydon without delay. 
 
 When the two reached the Embankment 
 again, Theydon felt unaccountably tired, and 
 was minded to take leave of his companion 
 then and there. But Handyside placed an 
 unerring finger on the cause of his weariness. 
 
 4 'Say, Mr. Theydon," he cried, "I don't 
 know what food product arrangements you've 
 made all day, but I couldn't have eaten less 
 since breakfast if Wong Li Fu was sitting 
 over me with a pistol. How about a square 
 meal? Come to my hotel, and I'll start the 
 chef on a nice little menoo while we're hav- 
 ing a wash and a brush up." 
 
 "By Jove! Now I know what is the mat- 
 ter with me," was the astonishing answer. 
 "I have lunched and dined on a cup of tea 
 at Eastbourne." 
 
 "Guess I'm fifteen years older than you, 
 so I knew my trouble all the time. Those 
 people in Fortescue Square were so rattled 
 that they never thought of asking us to eat. 
 Come right along. It's only a step." 
 
 "I'll come with pleasure. I owe you some 
 money, too, which I was nearly forgetting." 
 
 "What do you owe for?" 
 
 "Railway tickets, and taxis, and motor- 
 cycles, to begin with." 
 
 "No, sir," said the American decisively. 
 "I've had the cheapest day's amusement I've
 
 NO SURRENDER 239 
 
 ever dreamed of. On balance I owe you one 
 sovereign. As for those half-tickets from 
 Eastbourne I wouldn't sell them for dollars 
 and cents. When I get back to my home, 
 21,097 Park Avenue, Chicago, I'll have those 
 bits of cardboard framed, and when some 
 particular friend asks the reason I'll tell him, 
 suppressing names of course, and he'll go 
 away thinking that George T. Handyside is 
 the biggest liar in the State of Illinois, which 
 is some pumpkin, you bet." 
 
 "What beats me," rejoined Theydon, "is 
 how you remember where you live. You 
 must have a marvelous head for figures." 
 
 So they dined well, and wined moderately, 
 and Theydon walked to Innesmore Mansions, 
 thinking of little else in the world except 
 of the moment when he held Evelyn Forbes 
 in his arms, almost in an embrace, and he 
 had dared nearly, if not quite, to kiss 
 her. 
 
 As he drew near Innesmore Mansions, how- 
 ever, he kept his wits about him. One of the 
 most remarkable features of a series of re- 
 markable crimes was the thorough command 
 of the resources of civilization exhibited by 
 the Young Manchus. A few days earlier he 
 would not have dared to introduce into a 
 story of his own an association composed 
 exclusively of Chinamen which adapted to 
 its needs the motor car, the messenger boy,
 
 240 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 perhaps the telephone and telegraph, to say 
 nothing of the advertising columns of the 
 daily press. 
 
 It was monstrous to imagine that a number 
 of Orientals marked men, every one, no 
 matter what disguises they might adopt 
 should dare bid defiance to the forces of the 
 British Constitution in order that they might 
 wreak vengeance on those more enlightened 
 compatriots who wished to see their country 
 rescued from the effete control of a puppet 
 Emperor. 
 
 But Theydon was now some days older 
 and many degrees wiser. He knew that the 
 wildly improbable had become dogged fact, 
 that Chinese fanaticism, tigerish in its crafty 
 and utter cold-bloodedness, was setting at 
 naught not only the ordinances of the law, but 
 the brightest intellects whose duty it was to 
 make that law respected. 
 
 It behooved him, therefore, to lend a sharp 
 eye to his own safety, and never a vehicle or 
 pedestrian came near while he traversed the 
 quiet streets in the neighborhood of Innes- 
 more Mansions that he did not give the 
 closest attention to cab or wayfarer, as the 
 case might be. 
 
 As it happened, that quarter of London 
 was singularly deserted. The first flight of 
 people homeward-bound from the theaters 
 was well over; the later contingent, supping
 
 SURRENDER 241 
 
 in restaurants, had not begun to arrive. 
 Save for the slow-moving figure of a police- 
 man the long front of the mansions them- 
 selves was devoid of life. 
 
 Nevertheless, it was with a feeling of relief 
 that he turned the key in the lock of No. 
 18, and heard the scraping of a chair 
 on the kitchen floor as Bates rose to meet 
 him. 
 
 "Hello, Bates!" he cried wearily, "here I 
 am again, you see! Anything new or in- 
 teresting during my absence?" 
 
 "Mrs. Paxton " began the valet, stopping 
 when his master uttered a sharp exclamation. 
 Theydon had completely forgotten Miss Beale 
 and his sister. 
 
 "Yes," he said. "Sorry I interrupted you. 
 What of Mrs. Paxton?" 
 
 "I saw her, sir, as you ordered, and she 
 promised to call on Miss Beale. She kem 
 here about an hour ago " 
 
 "Who? My sister?" 
 
 "Yes, sir. She was anxious to see you. 
 From what I could gather, sir, the two ladies 
 had bin puttin' their heads together, and 
 agreed that this Chinese business has a nasty 
 look, an' you'd better keep out of it." 
 
 "What Chinese business, Bates?" 
 
 "Well, sir, Miss Beale will 'ave it that Mrs. 
 Lester was killed by a Chinaman, an' one 
 of the police on duty in this district told me
 
 242 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 a little while ago that he saw no less than 
 three Chinamen prowlin' round here last 
 Monday between dusk and dark." 
 
 Theydon drew a deep breath. If there was 
 gossip going on about "Chinamen" in connec- 
 tion with the murder in No. 17 the newspapers 
 would soon be getting hold of it. The arrest 
 of Len Shi by Furneaux must be reported. 
 Possibly some newspaper correspondent in 
 Eastbourne would hear of the kidnaping ex- 
 ploit, and describe the Eastern aspect of its 
 chief actor, Mrs. Forbes 's name would "tran- 
 spire" in the paragraph, and, by putting two 
 and two together the lynx-eyed journalism of 
 London would ferret out a good deal of the 
 truth. 
 
 "Ladies very often talk nonsense about such 
 things," he said sharply. "Why should any 
 Chinaman single out poor Mrs. Lester as a 
 victim? I think the inquiry may be left safely 
 to Scotland Yard. Have you seen the evening 
 papers? I'll bet you sixpence nothing was 
 said at the inquest concerning Chinamen?" 
 
 "No, sir. That's true. However, Mrs. Pax- 
 ton wants you to ring her up." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "She wants to be sure you are safe home." 
 
 Theydon laughed. "How can I?" he cried. 
 "She is not on the telephone." 
 
 "Mrs. Paxton left a number, sir. If you 
 give them a call it will be taken to her."
 
 NO SURRENDER 243 
 
 Theydon shook his head good-humoredly 
 but obeyed. A voice at the other end an- 
 swered : 
 
 "Will you oblige me by telling Mrs. Paxton 
 that I took an American friend to Eastbourne 
 this afternoon and returned by a late train?" 
 he said. 
 
 "Who is it, please?" 
 
 "Mr. Theydon, Mrs. Paxton 's brother." 
 
 "0, I have a message for you. Miss Beale 
 is staying with Mrs. Paxton tonight. There 
 was a Chinaman in her hotel, and she didn't 
 like it." 
 
 Theydon controlled his feelings sufficiently 
 to thank his informant. He really wanted to 
 say something crude. 
 
 "Gad!" he muttered, when he had rung off, 
 "these women have Chinamen on the brain. 
 Look here Bates," he added emphatically, "I 
 hope you won't lend an ear to this nonsense. 
 You've seen no Chinamen, I suppose?" 
 
 "No, sir." 
 
 "If you do see one, tell me, and I'll get to 
 know his business, pretty quick." 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Any letters?" 
 
 "Three, sir, and a small parcel. I put them 
 on your table. Shall I get you something, 
 sir?" 
 
 "No, thanks. I've just had a huge supper. 
 Goodnight."
 
 244 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 " Goodnight, sir. Any orders for the morn- 
 ing?" 
 
 "Let me sleep as long as I like, unless I'm 
 wanted." 
 
 Theydon entered the sitting room. He 
 opened the letters. Two were of no moment; 
 the third was a request from the editor of a 
 magazine that the "copy" of his article on the 
 "Forbes Peace Propaganda" should be for- 
 warded as speedily as practicable. What a 
 mad world it was, to be sure! Here was an 
 important periodical waiting impatiently for 
 the views of the millionaire on the best means 
 of securing peace on earth and good will to all 
 men, while that same master mind was ob- 
 sessed with fear of a few Chinese bandits. So- 
 ciety was looking to Forbes for a promised 
 panacea against war and its evils ; Forbes him- 
 self was wondering whether bolts and locks 
 and armed servants and policemen would pro- 
 tect him and his from the claws of the Young 
 Manchus ! 
 
 Theydon heard Bates locking and bolting the 
 outer door of the flat with a certain thank- 
 fulness. He was thinking of the sheer impos- 
 sibility of any marauder gaining access to No. 
 18, when he opened the small parcel which the 
 valet had spoken of. He speculated idly as to 
 the nature of its contents, because he could not 
 remember having ordered any article which 
 would be contained in so tiny a package.
 
 #0 SURRENDER 245 
 
 He took out a piece of stout paper, folded 
 twice, and a little white object fell to the table 
 and rolled over several times, finally coming 
 to rest with a curious suddenness. It was a 
 small, carved, ivory skull!
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 SOME NEW MOVES IN THE GAME 
 
 THEYDON gazed fixedly at the skull for the 
 best part of a minute. His state of mind was 
 that of a man, utterly incredulous, who nev- 
 ertheless thinks he sees a ghost. Then he re- 
 covered himself and laughed angrily, harshly, 
 because he had not succeeded better in con- 
 trolling his nerves. 
 
 He examined the paper. It bore no writing 
 of any kind. It was precisely similar in color 
 and texture to the two typed slips which 
 Forbes had received, but the sender had 
 evidently thought that the skull was symboli- 
 cal enough of deadly intent without troubling 
 to add a written threat. 
 
 The ivory skull was an, exact replica of its 
 predecessors. The set teeth, the scowling grin 
 of the gaunt jawbones, the dull menace of the 
 empty eye sockets, were equally convincing, 
 equally disconcerting. 
 
 Lighting a cigarette, Theydon scrutinized 
 the address and postmarks. In a sense, it was 
 ludicrous to find "Francis B. Theydon, Esq., 
 18 Innesmore Mansions, W. C.," typed in plain 
 script on the wrapper. What an unholy alli- 
 
 Ml
 
 NEW MOVES IN THE GAME 247 
 
 ance of modern science and medievalism! The 
 mind almost refused to focus itself on the 
 tragic aspect of the affair, yet the hour at 
 which the package was posted, 5:30 p. m. in 
 the West Strand, showed conclusively that 
 Wong Li Fu, at any rate, had not sent the 
 death's head by his own hand, but had en- 
 trusted it to a confederate. The notion brought 
 in its train the departure of Miss Beale from 
 her hotel, " because she had seen a Chinaman 
 there." " Every little helps," mused They- 
 don, "I must let Scotland Yard know." 
 
 He went straight to the telephone, and was 
 pleased to hear that Mr. Winter had reached 
 headquarters. The chief inspector was feeling 
 grateful, and said so. 
 
 "It was very thoughtful on your part to 
 deal so promptly with the message received by 
 Mr. Forbes," he said. "I meant remaining in 
 Croydon all night. No one came to the house, 
 of course. Wong Li Fu's note explained why. 
 Callous and calculating demon, isn't he?" 
 
 "Yes. Even more calculating than you are 
 aware. He has included me in the count now. 
 When I reached home ten minutes since, after 
 gormandizing with Mr. Handyside, I found the 
 totem of the tribe awaiting me." 
 
 "The what?" 
 
 "An ivory skull." 
 
 "You don't say!" and there was a genuine 
 thrill in Winter's voice. "Anything else?"
 
 248 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 ''There was no written legend. I have no 
 doubt the enemy believes that such a work of 
 art speaks for itself. It does. I am to be 
 exterminated, I suppose." 
 
 A marked pause ensued. When Winter 
 spoke again his tone was grave. 
 
 "This is a very serious business, Mr. They- 
 don," he said. "The worst part of it is that 
 it seems to be spreading in an ever-widening 
 circle. If it goes much further we'll be obliged 
 to run in every Chinaman in London, and sift 
 out the decent ones from the heap until we 
 reach the unpleasant residuum. Are you wor- 
 ried about things? If so, I'll send a man to 
 mount guard tonight." 
 
 "Not at all, thanks. Bates and I will take 
 care that there isn't even a joss stick in the flat 
 before we go to bed. But I say, there's an- 
 other matter. Have you met Miss Beale?" 
 
 "Yes. She came here this morning. She 
 gave evidence at the inquest, I am told. What 
 of her?" 
 
 "I asked my sister to spend the evening 
 with her, and she was so alarmed at finding a 
 Chinaman as a fellow-guest in her hotel that 
 she is spending the night in my sister's 
 house." 
 
 "A plague on all Chinamen!" cried Winter 
 wrathfully. "After this I'm dashed if I don't 
 drink Indian tea. However, we'll look him up. 
 Sleep soundly. Your earlier sins of omission
 
 NEW MOVES IN THE GAME 249 
 
 are forgiven you, because you have done us 
 several good turns today. I'll tell your local 
 police station that if any pigtail or squint eye 
 is found within half a mile of Innesmore Man- 
 sions tonight it is to be jugged without the 
 slightest hesitation. Keep the skull safely. 
 Furneaux is collecting them." 
 
 "Have you seen him, then?" 
 
 "No. But I've heard from him. He has 
 gone home suffering from opium poisoning." 
 
 "Great Scott!" 
 
 "0, that's only pretty Fanny's way. He 
 means that he is sick of the reek of China- 
 men. You know his peculiar views with regard 
 to tobacco. If he has been prowling around 
 among opium dens in the East End all the 
 evening, I'm sorry for him. But he'll turn 
 up all right in the morning, looking like a skin- 
 ned weasel. By the way, it'll interest you to 
 hear that we have cleared up one minor issue. 
 You remember that Ann Rogers, Mrs. Les- 
 ter's maid, was called away by a telegram 
 saying that her father was ill?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "The old fellow, who is a bit of a sponge, 
 admits that he was given two pounds by *a 
 foreign gentleman' for sending that telegram 
 and shamming illness during the night. I wish 
 I could put the hoary old rascal in jail, but 
 his action probably saved Ann Rogers from 
 sharing her mistress's fate."
 
 250 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 "Mr. Winter, has it struck you that the 
 man who devised this scheme, beginning with 
 the murder of Mrs. Lester and ending, Heaven 
 alone knows when or where, is an organizing 
 genius of a very high order?" 
 
 "You would be surprised if you knew the 
 real extent and scope of this affair," said Win- 
 ter. "Some day soon I'll be more outspoken. 
 Goodnight. If you go out in the morning 
 leave word with Bates where you can be found 
 if wanted." 
 
 Theydon turned from the telephone and 
 found Bates standing beside him. That stolid 
 and worthy ex-noncommissioned officer was 
 armed with a red-hot poker. Henceforth his 
 employer saw pretense was useless. 
 
 "Beg pardon, sir," said the valet apologetic- 
 ally. "I couldn't help overhearin' what you 
 were sayin', an' if there's any blinkin' Chinee 
 hidden in this place I'll put a mark on him 
 he won't forget in a hurry." 
 
 Theydon could not help laughing, but Bates 
 was in earnest. 
 
 "Once I was stationed in Cork, sir," he 
 said solemnly, "an' we had to stop a riot. 
 It was then I learnt the reel vally of a red- 
 hot poker. It's as good as a baynit any time. 
 I've kep' this one handy since Mr. Furneaux 
 ran out. I do believe he saw a Chinaman." 
 
 "He did, and, what is more, arrested him. 
 Well, come on, Bates. There are not many
 
 NEW MOVES IN THE GAME 251 
 
 hiding places in one of these flats. I only 
 hope we find a Celestial. It would be the fit- 
 ting finale to a busy day." 
 
 But their search was in vain, though they 
 succeeded in scaring Mrs. Bates badly. It 
 was almost inconceivable that two such men, 
 one a powerfully-built athlete and the other an 
 ex-soldier, should even imagine that any ma- 
 rauder could be secreted in the flat; but the 
 European insensibly credits the Oriental with 
 occult powers, and they took their task quite 
 soberly. 
 
 Singularly enough it led to a discovery bear- 
 ing directly on the problem of Mrs. Lester's 
 death. Leading out of the kitchen was a nar- 
 row scullery; here a lift, worked by a wheel 
 on the ground level, delivered coals by the sack 
 and other heavy parcels. 
 
 Theydon glanced at the sliding panel which 
 gave access to the lift. Obviously he seldom, 
 if ever, visited this part of his domain. 
 
 "Can that thing be operated only from the 
 ground?" he inquired. 
 
 "0, no, sir," said Bates. "I often pull it 
 up when I want to lower the dust bin." 
 
 "Can you do it now?" 
 
 Bates looked surprised at first, then thought- 
 ful. Theydon 's words had suggested a new 
 idea. He opened the panel, tugged vigorously 
 at a rope, and soon the lift itself, a sort of 
 large cupboard, open at the side, came in view.
 
 252 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 "By gum!" he muttered, gazing at its spa- 
 cious depths, "I never thought of that." 
 
 1 'You see what I'm driving at, then?" 
 
 "Why, of course, sir. A moderate-sized man 
 could stow away inside there and hoist him- 
 self to any floor. It 'ud be perfectly easy an' 
 safe as nails. A hundredweight of coal is no- 
 thing to it." 
 
 "I think we see now at least one method 
 whereby the man who killed Mrs. Lester 
 could have entered the flat without her knowl- 
 edge?" 
 
 "Not a doubt about it, sir. Nearly noise- 
 less, too, an' if you heard it working you'd 
 imagine it was meant for the flat beneath, be- 
 cause there's a whistle to warn us when it's 
 comin' here." 
 
 They surveyed the lift in silence for a little 
 while. Then Bates caused it to descend again, 
 and Theydon examined the rather flimsy de- 
 vice which fastened the panel. 
 
 "I'm not what you might describe as a 
 nervous individual," he said, at last, "but it 
 wouldn't be fair to your wife and yourself, 
 Bates, if I didn't tell you I have just received 
 an ugly reminder that the gang which killed 
 Mrs. Lester has a grudge against me now. 
 Wouldn't it be a reasonable thing if we drove 
 a couple of screws into that door tonight?" 
 
 Bates stroked his chin. The long-dormant 
 spirit of combat kindled in his eye.
 
 NEW MOVES IN THE GAME 253 
 
 " Better still, sir," he grinned, "let's drive 
 a screw into any one who comes up in the 
 lift." 
 
 "But how?" 
 
 "By tying your pistol firmly to the dresser, 
 putting it on a hair-trigger I know how to 
 do that, of course an' letting it plug a bullet 
 into the right place when the panel is half 
 open." 
 
 "Are we justified in taking the law into our 
 own hands'?" 
 
 "Is any one justified in tryin' to get in here 
 an' cut our throats while we're asleep, sir?" 
 
 Theydon weighed the pros and cons of this 
 thesis very carefully. He dreaded the pos- 
 sibility of taking a human life, even in self- 
 defense. Yet against the wretches who had 
 strangled Edith Lester, and coolly prepared to 
 leave Mrs. Forbes to starve in an empty house 
 until their revengeful scheme was perfected by 
 full knowledge of the identity of every man in 
 China, who had assisted in the downfall of an 
 effete monarchy, what code of conduct would 
 apply unless it were that which holds sway in 
 the jungle? 
 
 "Couldn't we contrive matters so that if the 
 pistol were fired it need not necessarily inflict 
 a fatal wound?" he said. 
 
 "Let's see what we can do, sir," and Bates 
 set to work gleefully on the arrangements. 
 There was not the slightest difficulty in devis-
 
 254 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 ing an efficient means of pressing a trigger 
 with a reduced pull by opening the door. Any 
 schoolboy could adjust a piece of string to 
 act unfailingly. By measuring distances, and 
 careful sighting of the pistol when fixed in 
 position, they arrived at a line of fire which 
 would strike a body crouched in the lift about 
 the region of the right shoulder. 
 
 Then Bates locked the scullery door, put the 
 key in his pocket, and assured his trembling 
 wife that she might sleep like a top, since no 
 bloomin' Chinaman could get at her that night. 
 Theydon himself retired soon afterwards. He 
 was as tired as though he had been trudging 
 steadily along country roads since daybreak. 
 
 When he awoke, it was broad daylight. 
 Around the corners of the drawn blinds in his 
 bedroom he could see strips of golden sun- 
 shine. Glancing at a clock on the mantlepiece 
 he was amazed to find that the hour was ten 
 o'clock, so, not only had there not been a raid 
 on the premises, but Bates had taken the over- 
 night instructions literally, and allowed him to 
 sleep far beyond the usual hour. 
 
 He rose hurriedly, raced to the bathroom 
 and shouted for "breakfast in fifteen min- 
 utes." He was splashing in his tub when the 
 telephone bell rang, and Bates answered. 
 Within a few seconds the valet was knock- 
 ing at the door. 
 
 "A Mr. Handyside has rung up, sir," was
 
 NEW MOVES IN TEE GAME 255 
 
 the announcement. "I think he's an American. 
 He wants to know if there is anything doin'. 
 He said you would understand." 
 
 "Tell him I'm alive, and will call at his 
 hotel at 11:30." 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 When Bates brought in the breakfast They- 
 don was glancing hurriedly through the morn- 
 ing papers. Some of them contained an allu- 
 sion to the Eastbourne incident, but no names 
 were mentioned. 
 
 A reference to "developments" in connec- 
 tion with the "Innesmore Mansions Murder," 
 however, caught his eye. Appended to a brief 
 account of the inquest were the following 
 paragraphs : 
 
 "It may be taken as certain that the police 
 are not altogether at sea as to the motive of 
 this atrocious crime. Strange as it may seem 
 the victim being a young and attractive lady, 
 living unostentatiously and taking little, if any, 
 part in the social life of London there is some 
 probability that Mrs. Lester's death was the 
 outcome of political revenge rather than an in- 
 cident in an interrupted burglary. 
 
 "At first, every indication pointed to the 
 act of some ghoul surprised by the unfortunate 
 lady in her bedroom, but we have reason to 
 believe that graver issues to the community-at- 
 large will be revealed when Scotland Yard's 
 inquiry is completed. It must not be forgotten
 
 256 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 that her husband died 'suddenly' some six 
 months ago in Shanghai. Oddly enough, the 
 police are now keeping a close surveillance on 
 Chinese quarters in London, not only in the 
 neighborhood of the docks, but in the fashion- 
 able West. It may, or may not, be a mere 
 coincidence that a Chinaman was arrested yes- 
 terday at St. Albans and lodged in Bow Street. 
 
 " There are not wanting other similar 'coin- 
 cidences' in places so far apart as a well- 
 known South Coast seaside resort and South 
 Croydon. At present, the whole matter is 
 nebulous, but striking developments may take 
 place at any hour, and the murder of Mrs. 
 Lester may yet figure as one of the most sen- 
 sational crimes of recent years." 
 
 Theydon was reading these discreet but ex- 
 ceedingly well-informed sentences with much 
 care, when he noticed that Bates had closed 
 the sitting-room door before beginning to ar- 
 range the contents of the tray on the table. 
 Such an unusual action meant something. 
 
 ''Well, what is it now?" he inquired, lifting 
 his eyes to the manservant's impassive face. 
 
 "When the milkman come this morning, sir, 
 he told me that a policeman was found lyin' 
 insensible on the road outside the mansions 
 shortly after three o'clock," was the answer, 
 conveyed in a low note that suggested a matter 
 better kept from the cognizance of Mrs. Bates. 
 
 "That's a bad job for the policeman j it is
 
 NEW MOVES IN THE GAME 257 
 
 nothing very remarkable otherwise," said 
 Theydon. 
 
 "But the milkman heard he was set about 
 by three swells, young gentlemen in evening 
 dress, sir, who ran away when another con- 
 stable appeared." 
 
 "Very likely. There was a row, and the 
 law got the worst of it. Anyhow, we were not 
 disturbed during the night." 
 
 "No, sir. I was only thinkin' of what might 
 have happened if the police were not on the 
 job." 
 
 "Look here, Bates" and Theydon 's man- 
 ner was most emphatic "if you and I begin 
 seeing shadows we'll soon collect a fine show 
 of Chinese ghosts. I'm astonished at you, a 
 man who has been under fire." 
 
 "Sorry, sir. I thought you'd like to hear 
 the lytest, that's all." 
 
 Theydon ate a hearty breakfast, thus prov- 
 ing that the marvels and portents of the 
 previous day had not begun to undermine his 
 constitution. Finding he had time, after at- 
 tending to his correspondence, to walk to 
 Handyside's hotel in the Strand, he did so. 
 The American was awaiting him at the end 
 of a long, thin cigar. 
 
 "Any noos!" said the Chicagoan, after a 
 cheerful greeting. 
 
 "Yes. The feud continues. You heard about 
 those ivory skulls yesterday!"
 
 258 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 "Yes, sir. They reminded me of the tales 
 of my youth." 
 
 "Well, I got mine last night. Here it is!" 
 
 "Gee whiz!" 
 
 Handy side took the small object which They- 
 don produced from a waistcoat pocket. He 
 examined it with minute care. 
 
 "I've never crossed the Pacific," he said, 
 after apparently satisfying himself as to the 
 exact nature of the unpleasant token, "but one 
 of my hobbies is the collection of ivories. In 
 my home " 
 
 "21,097 Park Avenue," interrupted They- 
 don. 
 
 "Just so four doors short of 211th Street. 
 Well, sir, when you blow in there you'll see a 
 roomful of curios. I'm not exactly a connois- 
 seur, but I know enough to tell Japanese work 
 from Chinese. This was made by a Jap. And 
 that reminds me. You said last night that 
 Wong Li Fu put you off your balance by a 
 jiu jitsu trick and handed that husky detective 
 some, too. Very few Chinks have ever even 
 heard of jiu jitsu. I've a notion that a bunch 
 of Japs is mixed up in this business." 
 
 "Surely not?" 
 
 "It's possible. You good people here are 
 crazy in your treatment of the Japanese. You 
 think they're civilized because they dress in 
 good shape, and can put up a mighty spry 
 imitation of Western ways. But they ain't.
 
 NEW MOVES IN THE GAME 259 
 
 They're the greatest menace to Europe that 
 has yet come up on the tape. Do you believe 
 they want China to wake up and organize be- 
 fore they're ready to take hold? No, sir. 
 Anyhow, that skull was carved by a Japanese 
 artist, and a bully good one at that." 
 
 The two were standing near the fireplace of 
 a square and spacious foyer. There were 
 plenty of people in the place, some conversing 
 with friends, others writing or doing business 
 at the various bureaus. It chanced that They- 
 don faced the two swing doors which led to 
 the street, and he was returning the bit of 
 ivory to his pocket when, somewhat to his sur- 
 prise, Furneaux entered. 
 
 The detective saw him, too of that he was 
 quite certain but ignored him completely. 
 After one sharp, comprehensive glance around, 
 as though he were seeking some one who was 
 not visible, the little man went to a desk, scrib- 
 bled a note, handed it in at the inquiry office, 
 walked swiftly in the direction of an anteroom 
 and restaurant, and disappeared forthwith. 
 
 Theydon was puzzled by Furneaux 's be- 
 havior, but was quick to perceive that if the 
 latter had not wished to be left alone he 
 would at least have made some sign of recog- 
 nition. 
 
 A page approached Mr. Handyside. 
 
 "Note for you, sir," he said. 
 
 The American opened the envelope and read
 
 260 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 a few lines scribbled on a sheet of note-paper. 
 He passed it to Theydon. 
 
 "The circus is now about to commence," he 
 said, and the meaning of this enigmatical re- 
 mark was made clear when Theydon saw what 
 was written. 
 
 "Dear Sir," it ran, "take Mr. Theydon to 
 your room. I'll join you there immediately. 
 C. F. Furneaux." 
 
 "If this is the little sleuth who was missing 
 yesterday I guess we've gotten our call," 
 commented Handyside, with an amused grin at 
 the expression of bewilderment on his com- 
 panion's face. 
 
 "I was just about to tell you that Fur- 
 neaux had come in and crossed the hall." 
 
 "Well, let's beat it to the third floor. I have 
 the key in my pocket." 
 
 They were walking through a long corridor 
 when Furneaux appeared at the other end. 
 Beyond the three men, not another person was 
 visible in that part of the hotel, and in a few 
 seconds they were behind the closed door of 
 Handyside 's room. 
 
 "So you're still on the map?" said the de- 
 tective, surveying Theydon with an air of pro- 
 fessional interest. 
 
 "Yes, but I have received notice to quit," 
 was the retort. 
 
 "So I hear. The executioner was quick on 
 the heels of the warrant, too. If it had not
 
 NEW MOVES IN THE GAME 261 
 
 been for the precautions Winter took last night 
 the newsboys would have been bawling a sec- 
 ond Innesmore Mansions tragedy during the 
 past couple of hours." 
 
 Theydon smiled. 
 
 "I'm not joking," snapped Furneaux. "In 
 fact, I feel rather bad about it. I woke up at 
 eight o'clock, and pictured you and Bates and 
 his wife lying about in No. 18 in very uncom- 
 fortable and ungainly attitudes. I was so 
 worried and miserable that I telephoned your 
 hall porter to learn the worst, and was quite 
 astonished when he said that Bates had just 
 been chatting with him. You don't under- 
 stand, of course. I forgot to tell you about 
 the lift. Wong Li Fu's special delegate 
 climbed into No. 17 by that means and three 
 of 'em would have reached you last night in 
 the same way if a policeman hadn't met them 
 in the street." 
 
 "My man heard about the row. He guessed, 
 too, that it had something to do with us. 
 The policeman was badly injured, he was 
 told." 
 
 "Yes nothing broken; he was put to sleep 
 by some confounded Japanese wrestling 
 trick." 
 
 "Japanese, you say?" 
 
 "Precisely. The Young Manchus are being 
 backed up by a second gang which calls itself 
 the 'Sons of Nippon.' I don't know what
 
 262 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 London is coming to. We've entertained An- 
 archists, Nihilists and Dynamitards for years. 
 Now we have the Yellow Peril with us. I wish 
 
 1 were King for a few days. There would be 
 a bigger clearance of reptiles out of England 
 than St. Patrick made in Ireland." 
 
 "Mr. Handyside here told me only ten min- 
 utes since that he was convinced there were 
 Japs in league with the Chinese." 
 
 "How did you know?" and Furneaux 
 whirled round on the American instantly. 
 
 "By using the gray matter at the back of 
 my head," was the reply. "No Chink ever 
 taught Wong Li Fu how to put away two 
 chesty individuals like Mr. Theydon and your 
 partner, Mr. Winter. But I couldn't be 
 sure till I had seen the ivory skull. Then I 
 knew." 
 
 "So did I know yesterday morning," said 
 Furneaux, "and a deuce of a time the dis- 
 covery gave me. Anyhow, the street fight out- 
 side Innesmore Mansions at daybreak today 
 settles the matter. There were two Japanese 
 and one Chinaman. The Japs outed the 
 policeman. Fortunately he and another man 
 made a five-minute point at each end of the 
 mansions, and, as No. 1 failed to turn up, No. 
 
 2 went to look for him. He saw the end of 
 the row, and ran to help, blowing his whistle 
 for assistance. Unfortunately for us, two of 
 the three confounded blackguards escaped."
 
 NEW MOVES IN THE GAME 263 
 
 "0, you've got one, then?" cried Theydon. 
 
 "Yes, a Jap. The constable was wise enough 
 to give him the point of his truncheon in the 
 gullet, and that settled him." 
 
 "I wonder if he is the one who would have 
 been shot had he broken into my flat," said 
 Theydon musingly. 
 
 "Shot! Man alive, you'd never have heard 
 him!" 
 
 "Not till he had a bullet lodged securely in 
 his inside, it is true. Bates and I surveyed 
 that lift last night, Mr. Furneaux, and re- 
 garded it as the weak part of our defenses, 
 so we arranged that an automatic pistol should 
 live up to its name, and fire at any one who 
 opened the sliding panel." 
 
 "Did you now?" said Furneaux admiringly. 
 "Whose brainy idea was that yours or 
 Bates 's?" 
 
 "A joint effort,'-' he said, with a self- 
 satisfied smile. 
 
 "Well, I'm glad it didn't come off. British 
 law is a fearsome and wonderful thing. You 
 might both have got ten years for fixing a 
 man-trap, to wit, a lethal engine. However, 
 during the next few days you're going to 
 change your abode. Tell Bates and his wife 
 that they need a holiday, and ought to visit 
 relatives in Yorkshire or North Wales. Pack 
 what you need for a week, at least, and make 
 straight for Fortescue Square."
 
 264 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 "Are you joking?" said Theydon, genuinely 
 astounded. 
 
 "Do I look it?" And, indeed, the detective 
 did not. " Winter has just settled that pro- 
 gram with Mr. Forbes. You see, you're in this 
 affair now, neck and crop, and it's easier for 
 us to safeguard one place than two. You're 
 pleased, aren't you? Doesn't a pretty girl 
 live there?" 
 
 "Sir," said Handyside, "he's tickled to 
 death, and that's a fact. I'm the only one to 
 make a kick. I kind of reckoned on being 
 allowed to play a walking-on part in this 
 drama, but I look like being cut out in the 
 new shuffle." 
 
 "I can make use of you," said Purneaux 
 promptly. "You've seen Wong Li Fu, and 
 would know him again?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "And you can tell a Japanese from a China- 
 man at sight?" 
 
 "Yes^ sir." 
 
 "Good. You're enrolled. Next thing you'll 
 be receiving an ivory skull, too. These beg- 
 gars are the smartest crowd I've .come across 
 in twenty years. I think they would have 
 beaten us if it hadn't happened that Mr. They- 
 don and you, each of you strangers to the 
 Forbes family, were selected by fate to inter- 
 vene at psychological moments. The Young 
 Manchus and their allies had the ground sur-
 
 NEW MOVES IN THE GAME 265 
 
 veyed thoroughly. They even had us of the 
 Yard marked down. Oh, it's a plot and a half, 
 I can assure you, and the worst thing is that 
 the real struggle is yet ahead. All that has 
 happened before is mere skirmishing compared 
 with what's to come." 
 
 "Is that why you covered up your tracks, 
 even in this hotel, before you came to my 
 room?" inquired Handyside. 
 
 "It is, and let me tell you that you're a 
 living example of a contradiction in terms. 
 You use your brains, Mr. Handyside, yet you 
 smoke a cigar calculated to atrophy the keen- 
 est intellect. You, an American, chewing a 
 vile Burmese Cheroot! Ore nom d'un pipe! 
 When this bubble has burst I must reason with 
 you ! ' '
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 FURNEATJX, with that phenomenally clear 
 mind of his, had perceived and expressed in 
 one trenchant sentence the outstanding and al- 
 most unique feature of the tragic mystery 
 which centered around the death of Edith Les- 
 ter. Theydon's connection with either inter- 
 national finance or the rebirth of China was 
 remote as that of the man in the moon. Yet 
 he had been pitchforked by fate into an active 
 and, indeed, dominating influence over those 
 phases of both undertakings which were pe- 
 culiar to London. 
 
 Theydon mused on this element in an un- 
 precedented situation as he sat in the taxi- 
 cab which bore him swiftly to Innesmore Man- 
 sions. Another quite abnormal condition was 
 the ignorance of London with regard to the 
 fierce struggle now being waged in its midst. 
 
 On the one hand, a few Oriental fanatics- 
 most of whom were probably less swayed by 
 racial enthusiasm than by good payment for 
 services rendered were carrying out the or- 
 ders of a master criminal with a sublime in- 
 
 266
 
 WHEREIN THETDON SUFFERS 267 
 
 difference to the laws framed by the "foreign 
 devils" whom they despised; on the other 
 were ranged the three members of the Forbes 
 family and Theydon himself, supported by the 
 forces of the Crown, it was true, but singu- 
 larly isolated from the knowledge and sym- 
 pathy of their fellow-citizens. 
 
 Miss Beale hardly counted. The servants 
 in Fortescue Square shared with Bates and 
 his wife a sort of territorial interest in the 
 fight. When Fortune picked an occasional 
 warrior for the fray she chose a man from 
 Chicago, a motorcyclist from Eastbourne, a 
 policeman in Charing Cross road. 
 
 How portentous had been that hand raised 
 to stem the traffic at a congested corner on the 
 Monday night! Into what a vortex of crime 
 and passion had it not pointed, all unknowing! 
 Jf the cab in which Theydon was hurrying 
 home from Daly's Theater had not been de- 
 layed by the dispute between driver and police- 
 man, he would never have known that the mil- 
 lionaire visited Innesmore Mansions, and the 
 subsequent course of the night's history might 
 have left him wholly unaffected. 
 
 Then his wayward thoughts took to brood- 
 ing on the gray car which shadowed him from 
 Waterloo to Fortescue Square, and again from 
 the square to his own abode. If it held some 
 member of the Embassy staff, why had no 
 more been heard of it? And what had Win-
 
 268 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 ter and Furneaux meant by hinting that far 
 wider issues were bound up with the affair 
 than the authorities were yet at liberty to 
 divulge? The attack on Forbes, sinister and 
 malevolent in its scope and purpose, was, 
 in a sense, open warfare. But it was im- 
 possible to guess what part, if any, the official 
 representatives of China filled in the fray. 
 Were they active allies of Scotland Yard or 
 did they hold what is known in the law courts 
 as a watching brief? He could not tell. 
 He only knew that each successive period of 
 twenty-four hours broadened the area covered 
 by the struggle, and there, at least, he found 
 solid backing for the little detective's demand 
 that the threatened people should dwell under 
 one roof. His pulses quickened at the notice 
 that this new departure implied constant asso- 
 ciation with Evelyn Forbes. Yet, what did it 
 avail? Why should he dream of fanning into 
 a fiercer fury the flame of his love? As mat- 
 ters stood, he had about as much chance of 
 marrying Evelyn Forbes as of becoming Em- 
 peror of China! 
 
 The incongruity of the situation was illus- 
 trated with cruel accuracy by the fact that he 
 could ill afford the stoppage of his work de- 
 manded by the present trend of events. He 
 earned what might be regarded as a good in- 
 come by his pen, but his expenses were not 
 light, and he had deemed himself fortunate the
 
 WHEREIN THEYDON SUFFERS 269 
 
 previous year when he was able to invest a 
 hundred pounds! 
 
 As a matter of fact, the interest on his 
 "securities" paid for his gloves and ties; an- 
 other lucky year might see him provided for 
 life with boots and socks! He pictured him- 
 self if he were idiot enough, when all this 
 turmoil was ended, to pose as a suitor for 
 Evelyn Forbes 's hand explaining his finan- 
 cial position to the millionaire, and wilting 
 under the scornful amusement in those earn- 
 est, deep-seeing eyes. Phew! He grew hot at 
 the mere notion of such folly. 
 
 Little wonder, therefore, that the driver of 
 the taxi should gaze quizzically after They- 
 don's alert figure as it vanished in the stair- 
 way of Innesmore Mansions. 
 
 "Got the hump, an* pretty bad,'* solilo- 
 quized the man. "Gimme a bob over the 
 fare, an' all, so can't be stony. But Lord 
 love a duck, you never can tell!" 
 
 Theydon was about to unlock the door of his 
 flat when it opened in his face, and his sister 
 nearly collided with him. She screamed 
 slightly, a certain quality of alarm in her ex- 
 clamation merging instantly into joyful recog- 
 nition. 
 
 "So you have come home!" she cried. "My 
 goodness! What a fright you've given me!" 
 
 "Why?" he said, with a reassuring and 
 brotherly hug.
 
 270 , NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 ''I've had horrid dreams. I couldn't rest 
 all last night for thinking of you." 
 
 "Is George absent?" George was her hus- 
 band, a consulting engineer, whose profes- 
 sional duties often took him to distant parts of 
 the country. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Then you and Miss Beale have been living 
 on tea and scraps. Really, Mollie, I credited 
 you with more sense. Tell me what you ate 
 last night, and I'll diagnose your dreams." 
 
 "We dined at a first-class restaurant in the 
 West End," said Mrs. Paxton indignantly. 
 "It would be much more to the point if you 
 explained how you have been living the past 
 few days. I have not been so worried about 
 anything since George was trapped in that 
 horrid mine." 
 
 Mollie was on the verge of tears. Her bro- 
 ther resolved instantly to minimize matters, 
 or she would fret more than ever on his ac- 
 count. 
 
 "Now, look here, old girl," he said, meeting 
 her critical glance steadily. "Miss Beale has 
 been putting absurd notions into that stylish 
 little head of yours. By the way, is that the 
 latest thing in hats? It suits you admirably." 
 
 Mrs. Paxton smiled, though her eyes were 
 glistening suspiciously. 
 
 "You can't humbug me, Frank, so please 
 don't try," she protested. "Why are you
 
 WHEREIN THEYDON SUFFERS 271 
 
 mixed up in this dreadful business? Why are 
 you constantly meeting detectives? Why did 
 you rush off to Eastbourne yesterday? When 
 did you become acquainted with this Mr. 
 Forbes? Have you seen his daughter?" 
 
 Theydon was at least sufficiently well versed 
 in the peculiarities of the feminine tempera- 
 ment to know that he would be safe in answer- 
 ing the last question first. 
 
 "Yes," he said. "I have seen a good deal 
 of Miss Forbes recently. Have you ever met 
 her?" 
 
 "She was at the horse show last year with 
 Lady de Winton's party. She's an awfully 
 pretty girl, and will be worth millions, I sup- 
 pose. Some one said that young de Winton 
 was simply crazy about her, but he looks such 
 a sloppy youth that I could hardly imagine 
 those two getting married. Of course, there's 
 the title, yet a title is not everything." 
 
 Young de Winton! Theydon had not even 
 been aware hitherto of the existence of a 
 marriageable scion of that noble house. 
 
 "That particular young spark has not been 
 in evidence during the past few days at any 
 rate," he commented, and his voice was not so 
 nonchalant as he imagined, because Mrs. Pax- 
 ton looked up quickly. 
 
 "Perhaps it was only idle gossip," she 
 said. "Is Miss Forbes a nice girl to talk to? 
 She struck me as being very animated."
 
 272 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 11 Animated" while in the company of that 
 undoubted oaf, de Winton! Theydon choked 
 back something tinged with gall as he replied 
 quietly : 
 
 "She could not well help being highly in- 
 telligent. Her father and mother are charm- 
 ing people. I was introduced to Mr. Forbes 
 owing to a mazagine commission to write an 
 article about his interest in aviation. Now 
 you see how promptly even the most gorgeous 
 bubble bursts when it impinges against a solid 
 little fact. As it happens, Mr. Forbes and I 
 will have so much in common during the next 
 day or two that I am now going to stay with 
 him. I came here to pack a portmanteau. If 
 you'll be a good little girl and listen while I'm 
 at the telephone you will hear all about it." 
 
 The words were no sooner uttered than he 
 wanted to recall them. It would be no easy 
 matter to discuss Furneaux's suggestion with 
 any one in Fortescue Square without letting 
 his sister into the secret that the visit was 
 necessitated by considerations of his own per- 
 sonal safety. 
 
 Mrs. Paxton's eyes were sparkling with a 
 new interest. 
 
 "I had no idea you were on terms of such 
 intimacy with the family," she cried. "Don't 
 tell me, Frank, that your flights have taken 
 you to the elevated region in which million- 
 aires' daughters figure as possible brides!"
 
 WHEREIN THEYDON SUFFERS 273 
 
 "Now you are making me out a Mormon," 
 and Theydon grinned fiercely. 
 
 "You know what I mean. This Miss 
 Forbes by the way, what is her Christian 
 name ? ' ' 
 
 "Let me see. I think I have heard it. Doris, 
 is it, or Phyllis? No, I remember now Eve- 
 lyn." 
 
 "0, then, if you are so vague on that point 
 I suppose I must reconcile myself to owning 
 a bachelor brother again." 
 
 He shook his head at her. 
 
 "Ah, you women!" he said. "Yet I used 
 to regard you as quite a sensible person, 
 Mollie! Now, how in the name of goodness 
 could I possibly entertain any notion of marry- 
 ing the only daughter of a man in Forbes 's 
 position?" 
 
 "It all depends," was the illogical but crush- 
 ing retort. "There are plenty of millionaires' 
 daughters whom I would not regard as good 
 enough for my brother. And, let me tell you, 
 the family is making progress. A little bird 
 whispered the other day that George's name 
 will appear in the next list of honors. He is 
 to receive a knighthood." 
 
 It was not new to Theydon to learn that 
 his brother-in-law stood in high favor with the 
 Government, because Paxton had been ap- 
 pointed on two Royal Commissions with ref- 
 erence to mining regulations, but he affected
 
 274 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 a surprised incredulity as offering a way of 
 escape from an inquisition which he dreaded. 
 
 "Dear me!" he smirked. 
 
 Therein he erred. His sister gave him a 
 puzzled glance. 
 
 "You are not yourself today, Frank," she 
 said dubiously. "You are acting. For whose 
 benefit? Not mine, surely!" 
 
 "If your prospective ladyship will pardon 
 me I will now go to the telephone," he coun- 
 tered. 
 
 Anything, even a mad jumble of incoherence 
 in his talk with the Forbes household, was bet- 
 ter than the troubled scrutiny of those clear 
 brown eyes. Leaving the door open so that 
 his sister could hear his side of the conver- 
 sation, he rang up No. 11 Fortescue Square. 
 
 The butler answered. 
 
 "That you, Tomlinson?" said Theydon. 
 "Will you ask Mr. Forbes if I am to turn up 
 in time for afternoon tea? If it is more con- 
 venient that I should arrive later I have lots 
 of things to attend to, and can fill in a few 
 hours easily." 
 
 "I really don't know what to say, sir," 
 came the astounding answer. "Mrs. Forbes 
 has been shot " 
 
 1 ' Great heavens ! ' ' 
 
 "Yes, sir. She was merely looking out 
 through the drawing-room window, when some 
 one fired at her from a passing motor car."
 
 WHEREIN THEYDON SUFFERS 275 
 
 "Do you mean that she is dead!" 
 
 "No, sir not quite so bad as that. The 
 bullet struck her left shoulder. A few inches 
 lower and it would have pierced her heart. 
 The doctors are with her now. I " 
 
 Some interruption took place on the line and 
 the butler's voice ceased. Theydon, careless 
 now as to what construction his sister might 
 place on his words, was about to storm at the 
 exchange for cutting the communication. He 
 meant to say that on no consideration would 
 he inflict the presence of a stranger at such a 
 terrible moment, when a coldly metallic, al- 
 most harsh question reached him. 
 
 "That you, Theydon?" 
 
 "Yes," he said. Forbes was speaking. 
 
 "I was crossing the hall, and guessed it 
 might be you. Come as soon as you are at 
 liberty. You will be welcome. If we are to 
 be besieged I want some one who will not be 
 afraid to shoot. These policemen are too 
 scrupulous. They saw some cursed Mongol 
 leaning out through the window of the closed 
 car, and could have either shot him or put a 
 bullet so close that his aim would have been 
 disturbed. As it was, my wife only escaped 
 death by the mercy of Providence. She bent 
 slightly at the very instant the would-be assas- 
 sin fired, and the bullet simply lacerated her 
 shoulder. After this, I'll defend myself and 
 my womenfolk, but I need at least one.
 
 276 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 other man whom I can trust. Will you 
 come?" 
 
 "I'll be with you within twenty minutes." 
 
 He heard the clang of the receiver being 
 replaced on its rest at the other end of the 
 wire. Somehow, the sound conveyed a new 
 determination on Forbes 's part. He had his 
 back to the wall. No matter what view the 
 law took of his action subsequently, he would 
 protect his dear ones at all hazards. 
 
 After that, Theydon hesitated no longer. 
 
 11 Bates," he cried, " throw into a bag such 
 clothes as I shall need for a few days' stay 
 in Mr. Forbes 's house. When I am gone, pack 
 your own boxes and take a week's holiday. 
 Go anywhere you like, out of London, but go 
 at once. Send me your address, care of Mr. 
 Forbes, and I'll let you know when I want 
 you again." 
 
 "If it's a matter of holdin' out against 
 them" 
 
 Bates intended making a declaration of war, 
 but his employer broke in emphatically. 
 
 "I want you to obey my orders fully and 
 unquestionably," he said. Bates promptly be- 
 came the well-trained valet once more. 
 
 "Yes, sir," he said. "Your portmanteau 
 will be ready in ten minutes. Half an hour 
 later me an' Mrs. Bates will leave for my cou- 
 sin's place in Hampshire." 
 
 Theydon returned to the sitting room. His
 
 WHEREIN THEYDON SUFFERS 277 
 
 sister's face was white with fear, but he threw 
 restraint to the winds. 
 
 "Mollie," he said, placing his hands on her 
 shoulders, "you are very dear to me, but there 
 is one woman in the world who, if fate proves 
 kind, may yet be dearer. She is in danger. 
 If some one said that of you to your husband, 
 what would he do?" 
 
 She kissed him with tremulous lips. "He 
 would act just as you are going to act," she 
 said. "But, dear, can't you trust me? I can- 
 not help, perhaps, but I can pray for you." 
 
 "Well, then, Sis, I won't fence with you 
 any longer. There's a sort of feud between 
 Mr. Forbes and a faction in China. He helped 
 the reformers financially, and some supporters 
 of the dethroned dynasty are trying to compel 
 him by force to give them a list of the prom- 
 inent men who control the revolution. If he 
 yields, it means that nearly a hundred lead- 
 ing men in China men whose only thought 
 is the welfare and progress of their country- 
 will be ruthlessly murdered. If he continues 
 to refuse, his own life and the lives of his wife 
 and daughter are at stake. These fiends killed 
 Mrs. Lester within a few feet of this very 
 room. They killed her husband six months 
 ago. They tried to kidnap Evelyn Forbes yes- 
 terday, and succeeded, for a while, in carrying 
 off her mother, their plan being to torture one 
 or both, even unto death. Heaven help me, I
 
 278 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 love Evelyn Forbes, and I would count my life 
 well -spent if I died in defending her. Should 
 anything happen to me and she is spared, tell 
 her that, will you and my spirit will thank 
 you. ' ' 
 
 1 'We must not think of death, but of life," 
 was the brave answer. ''Can I do anything! 
 Could George assist if he were here?" 
 
 "No, Mollie. Perhaps I am exaggerating 
 matters, though the history of this week would 
 make strange reading if published broadcast. 
 Indeed I shall now urge on Mr. Forbes the ad- 
 visability of sending the facts to the press. 
 London would be stirred to its depths, and 
 every -one of its citizens would be quick to 
 observe and report the presence of Chinamen 
 or Japanese in the West End. Some innocent 
 Orientals would suffer, but the police might 
 at least be enabled to capture the pestiferous 
 gang which has committed this latest outrage. 
 Just think of some cold-blooded scoundrel 
 shooting at a sweet-mannered and gentle lady 
 like Mrs. Forbes!" 
 
 "Surely the authorities can protect her." 
 
 "That is the wild absurdity of the position. 
 Of course, you didn't hear what Mr. Forbes 
 said. The armed detectives on duty in his 
 house actually saw the Chinaman who fired the 
 shot which wounded her, leaning out through 
 the window of a closed car. But they cannot 
 blaze away at any passer-by merely because
 
 WHEREIN THEYDON SUFFERS 279 
 
 he is, or resembles, an Asiatic. What they 
 dare not do, however, he and I will endeavor 
 cheerfully. Bates!" 
 
 "Yes, sir," came the cry from a bedroom. 
 
 "If you are packing two bags, put that pis- 
 tol and a box of cartridges in the smaller one. ' ' 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 Mrs. Paxton at this crisis proved herself a 
 woman of spirit. 
 
 "I think you're right, Frank," she said 
 quietly. "I refuse to believe that any British 
 court of justice would blame any man for de- 
 fending the lives of his wife and daughter, 
 nor you for helping him. If the peacefully 
 disposed Chinese residents in London wish to 
 avoid risk let them keep away from No. 11 
 Fortescue Square. May I come with you?" 
 
 "You, Mollie?" 
 
 He looked at her with troubled eyes. For 
 the moment such was the fire in his brain he 
 did not understand. 
 
 She laughed gallantly. 
 
 "I don't mean as one of the garrison," she 
 said. "May I not make the acquaintance of 
 these people? Sometimes, the mere knowledge 
 that others are aware of one's troubles and 
 sympathize with one is comforting. Miss Beale 
 is not expecting me till tea time. I told her 
 I might lunch with you. Indeed, I promised to 
 call at her hotel for her letters, and that is 
 halfway on your road."
 
 280 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 "You're a brick, Mollie," said her brother. 
 "I do believe Evelyn Forbes will be glad to 
 see you. The most amazing thing about this 
 affair is that none of the many friends Mr. and 
 Mrs. Forbes and their daughter must possess 
 in London has the slightest inkling of the 
 truth. I suppose the servants are instructed 
 to tell ordinary callers that the various mem- 
 bers of the family are out, or some of them 
 indisposed, or something of the sort. . . . 
 But come along! I hear Bates banging my 
 belongings into the passage. I'm in a fever 
 to be there and taking part in the row." 
 
 Soon they were seated in a taxi and speeding 
 to Smith's Hotel, Jermyn Street. 
 
 "Have you invited Miss Beale to reside 
 with you while she is in London, Sis I" said 
 Theydon, allowing his thoughts to dwell 
 for a moment on the less tragic side of 
 events. 
 
 "Yes. What else could I do? Poor thing, 
 she was terrified at the notion of sleeping 
 under the same roof as a Chinaman." 
 
 "I don't blame her. But there's a certain 
 element of risk for you, Mollie " 
 
 "Oh, bother! Don't tell me that a few 
 Chinamen can threaten all London." 
 
 Yet even the valiant-hearted Mrs. Paxton 
 yielded to the haunting terror of the bandits 
 when the taxi drew in behind a gray car al- 
 ready standing at the curb outside Smith's
 
 WHEREIN THEYDON SUFFERS 281 
 
 Hotel, and her brother grasped her wrist in 
 sudden warning. 
 
 "Sit still," he said. "Now we may get on 
 the track of some of the gang. That is the 
 car which followed me on Monday night." 
 
 His sister, of course, did not understand. 
 She had heard nothing of the pursuit and its 
 curious sequel. 
 
 "Do you mean it is one of the cars which 
 these men use!" she whispered breathlessly. 
 
 "Yes. I'll explain later. But what im- 
 pudence! The scoundrels have not even 
 changed the number plate." 
 
 Unquestionably, the number of the gray 
 landaulet now within a few feet of them was 
 XY 1314. Theydon stooped, opened a dressing 
 case lying at his feet, and took out the auto- 
 matic pistol placed there by Bates. He put 
 it in the right-hand pocket of his coat. 
 
 "Now, I'll reconnoiter," he said, and opened 
 the door. The taxi driver was already gazing 
 curiously in at his fares, wondering why one 
 or both did not alight. 
 
 "Be ready to start the instant I want you," 
 said Theydon to the man, and he strolled past 
 the gray car, with every sense alert, every 
 muscle braced. If Wong Li Fu were seated 
 inside he would cover him with the pistol and 
 hold him there until the police came, or shoot 
 him dead if he offered any resistance. 
 
 Fortunately, therefore, all things considered,
 
 282 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 the interior of the car was absolutely empty, 
 save for a copy of the Times on the back 
 seat. Even the presence of the newspaper 
 was significant. In that issue should have 
 appeared Forbes 's reply to "Y. M." which 
 Furneaux had suppressed as unnecessary. 
 
 There was a chauffeur at the wheel no 
 Chinaman, but a tightly-buttoned and black- 
 legginged young Englishman in fact, the real 
 thing in chauffeurs. 
 
 "Whose car is this?" demanded Theydon. 
 
 "It belongs to the Chinese Embassy, sir," 
 said the man, answering civilly enough, but 
 not unnaturally showing some surprise at the 
 curt question. 
 
 "Are you waiting here for some official of 
 the Embassy?" went on Theydon. 
 
 "Not exactly, sir, some friends of His Ex- 
 cellency." The man glanced toward the door 
 of the hotel. "Here they are now," he added. 
 
 Theydon turned. Two Chinamen, sedate, 
 pig-tailed persons, were descending the steps. 
 With them was Furneaux! One of the Orien- 
 tals gave Theydon a rather sharp glance, hav- 
 ing noticed, apparently, that he was conversing 
 with the chauffeur, but Furneaux, after a 
 stonily indifferent stare, said to the second 
 Chinaman, in plain English : 
 
 "Do you mind dropping me at Scotland 
 Yard?" 
 
 "With pleasure," was the composed reply.
 
 WHEREIN THEYDON SUFFERS 283 
 
 The three entered, and the gray car made 
 off, leaving Theydon to gaze blankly after it. 
 His sister, though badly scared at first, quickly 
 recovered her self-possession. She even made 
 a joke of the incident. 
 
 "As an anti-climax, Frank, that is the best 
 thing of its kind you have ever brought off," 
 she tittered.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 FORCEFUL TACTICS 
 
 THOUGH a prey to that most burthensome 
 of cares the uneasy consciousness of an im- 
 palpable yet ever-threatening evil Theydon 
 was not blind to the humorous element in the 
 present situation. Mrs. Paxton, of course, 
 did not know who the little man accompany- 
 ing the Chinamen was. 
 
 She had seen her brother stalk the motor 
 car and its presumed occupants in the most 
 approved melodramatic fashion, and could not 
 help noticing his complete discomfiture. Nat- 
 urally she imagined he had encountered a pair 
 of perfectly harmless citizens of the Middle 
 Kingdom, and, being one of those happy be- 
 ings more readily swayed to laughter than to 
 tears, rallied him upon an apparent blunder. 
 
 4 'Never before have I discovered a neurotic 
 streak in you, Frank/' she said, after she had 
 obtained a couple of letters for Miss Beale, 
 and they were en route again. " Come now, 
 confess. If Evelyn Forbes or, let me see, is 
 it Phyllis or Doris? No, Evelyn. If Evelyn 
 Forbes, then, did not happen to be a remark- 
 ably pretty girl, would you really attach such 
 
 284
 
 FORCEFUL TACTICS 285 
 
 terrific importance to the mad goings-on of a 
 set of Chinese fanatics? I doubt it." 
 
 The cab was threading its way through the 
 traffic of St. James Street and Piccadilly on a 
 busy afternoon in the season, and Theydon had 
 much to tell her before they arrived at Fortes- 
 cue Square, but he sat by her side in silence 
 for a little while. 
 
 "Frank," said his sister, at last, "it is not 
 like you to seek refuge in silence. I'm sorry 
 if my chaff annoyed you. Don't forget that 
 you know everything about this mysterious 
 business, and I know very little." 
 
 Her sympathetic voice roused him from the 
 stupor which had benumbed his senses. 
 
 "I allowed imagination to run away with 
 me, Sis," he said gently. "It was thoughtless 
 on my part. Please forgive me. I suppose 
 those two Chinamen are unofficially connected 
 with the Embassy. At any rate, the man with 
 them, the little man in a blue serge suit and 
 straw hat, is Furneaux of Scotland Yard, a 
 pocket marvel among detectives, the sort of 
 criminal-hunter you read about in Gaboriau, 
 but can scarcely accept as existing in real 
 life." 
 
 From that instant he bent his wits to the 
 task of acquainting Mrs. Paxton with the his- 
 tory of the preceding three days. He was 
 aware of the irrepressible trembling which 
 shook her slender frame when he spoke of the
 
 286 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 ivory skull found in Edith Lester's under- 
 bodice, and the replica of the same grewsome 
 token sent to Forbes, so suppressed all men- 
 tion of his own experiences on returning to 
 Innesmore Mansions overnight. 
 
 Furneaux had asked him for the bit of 
 ivory that morning, and, incidentally, had pro- 
 duced the others from his pocket. The de- 
 tective gave no reason for his eagerness to 
 possess these trophies, but seemed to invest 
 them with great importance. While keeping 
 up a constant flow of talk with his sister, They- 
 don tried to puzzle out the detective's motive 
 for carrying such sinister messengers of death 
 around London. 
 
 Try as he might, he could arrive at no 
 plausible explanation, but he did not make the 
 error of attributing Furneaux 's action to mere 
 impulse. Those men of the Yard had a solid 
 foundation for every step they took. Even the 
 visit to Smith's Hotel, and subsequent de- 
 parture in the gray car, meant a definite stride 
 onward in the fight against Wong Li Fu. Of 
 that he was assured. 
 
 At 11 Fortescue Square there were no out- 
 ward signs of recent disturbance beyond the 
 presence of a sharp-eyed policeman at each cor- 
 ner of the row of houses of which Mr. Forbes 's 
 residence formed one of the center pair. 
 Theydon expected to see a shattered window in 
 the drawing-room on the first floor, where,
 
 FORCEFUL TACTICS 287 
 
 presumably, Mrs. Forbes was standing when 
 the shot was fired, but each pane in three 
 large windows was intact, and the windows 
 were closed. 
 
 Then he reflected as, indeed, proved to be 
 the case that on such a fine day the window 
 would probably be open. Two windows on the 
 second floor and one in the cloakroom near the 
 front door were raised a few inches, but drawn 
 curtains screened from observation any watch- 
 ful eye which might be stationed behind them. 
 As a matter of fact, armed detectives were 
 hidden there, and they had been given specific 
 orders to shoot without warning any one of 
 Chinese appearance whose behavior was sus- 
 picious, while three men were in readiness in 
 the hall to rush out into the square and make 
 an arrest under similar circumstances. 
 
 In that fashionable quarter, at that hour, 
 automobiles of every type were passing con- 
 stantly. At the very next door a well- 
 appointed carriage and pair was in readiness 
 to take an elderly lady for a drive in the park. 
 As yet, none of the other residents in the 
 square had the remotest notion that No. 11 was 
 in a state of siege. The position of affairs, if 
 it were not so desperate, was almost amusing ! 
 
 Mrs. Paxton and Theydon were admitted 
 without any delay, and Forbes himself hurried 
 downstairs to greet them. He was pale, .but 
 quite composed. All the nervous uncertainty;
 
 288 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 of the previous day had vanished. He was 
 armed and willing for the fray. If, as was by 
 no means unlikely, Wong Li Fu staked every- 
 thing on a gambler's throw and led his cohort 
 in a daylight raid on the house, the Manchu 
 leader would meet with a very warm reception. 
 
 Forbes was surprised to find that a lady had 
 come with Theydon, but expressed his pleasure 
 at the visit, which, he said, was just the thing 
 his wife and Evelyn needed. 
 
 "Yes," he went on cheerfully, noting the 
 astonishment caused by his words, "Mrs. 
 Forbes is not seriously injured. The bullet 
 lacerated the top of her left shoulder, and the 
 wound is painful but superficial. She posi- 
 tively refuses to remain in bed, so our doctor 
 humored her, provided she promises not to 
 pass the time looking through the drawing- 
 room window ! ' ' 
 
 Mrs. Paxton, to whose senses the presence 
 of armed detectives and constables in uniform 
 was even more eloquent than her brother's 
 words, glanced about the spacious entrance 
 hall with wide-eyed amazement. Once she and 
 her brother were recognized as friends of the 
 family, the men on duty gave them no heed. 
 
 Outside were the familiar sounds of London 
 traffic; within were preparations for conflict. 
 The police carried revolvers openly in leather 
 cases strapped to their belts. On a table near 
 the library door were several automatic pis-
 
 FORCEFUL TACTICS 289 
 
 tols ready to be snatched up in an emergency. 
 An alert detective, revolver in hand,swas peer- 
 ing through the curtains of the cloakroom; 
 this sentry, in particular, would alarm the gar- 
 rison if, as Winter had definitely warned his 
 assistants, an attempt were ever made to enter 
 the house by main force. 
 
 "I think I must be dreaming," she said, 
 trying bravely to lessen the gravity of the 
 statement by smiling at its inherent absurdity. 
 "Am I in London, or have I been whisked by 
 magic to one of those outposts of civilization 
 where men and women of European race are 
 often compelled to band together for protec- 
 tion against savages'? One reads of such 
 things comfortably while dawdling over break- 
 fast, and one wonders idly why people go to 
 such places. But that something of the sort 
 could happen in London why, it is simply 
 fantastic ! ' ' 
 
 "It is unpleasantly real, for all that, Mrs. 
 Paxton," said Forbes, leading the way up 
 the stairs. "What else can we do? If the 
 authorities surrounded the house with a cor- 
 don of soldiers London would be in an uproar. 
 We want to avoid that, at all costs. I have 
 been in communication with the Home Office, 
 and am advised that, if we decide to put up 
 with the inconvenience, it is better, and actu- 
 ally less risky, to hold out here than seek 
 safety by flight. I understand that Scotland
 
 290 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 Yard is not losing an unnecessary minute, but 
 there are obvious difficulties in the way of 
 decisive action. It is considered worse than 
 useless to effect isolated arrests, as these tend 
 only to put the other members of the gang on 
 their guard. The chief inspector tells me that 
 he had some hope of being able to make a big 
 haul tonight. The principal drawback is the 
 language bar. Chinese interpreters are few 
 and far between in London, and those who do 
 exist in the East End, for instance have 
 long since lost any useful acquaintance with 
 events in their own country. This is a politi- 
 cal matter, you understand, and must be 
 fought out on political lines. Strange as it 
 may sound in your ears, the cause of Chinese 
 freedom is at issue in this very house. If 
 Wong Li Fu could secure a list of names now 
 locked in a bureau in my library the Consti- 
 tutional party in China would perish forth- 
 with for want of leaders. But he won't get 
 it. Thanks to your brother, Mrs. Paxton, his 
 deadliest attack failed yesterday. For to- 
 day's accident we have ourselves to blame. 
 We did not even suspect that his malignity 
 would take the form of shooting the first 
 person who chanced to look out of a win- 
 dow." 
 
 He had halted at the top of the broad stair- 
 case while making that stirring declaration of 
 war.
 
 FORCEFUL TACTICS 291 
 
 " Pardon my outspokenness," he said, sink- 
 ing his voice to a lower tone. "I don't want to 
 frighten my wife on my own account. She be- 
 lieves now that the police are hunting these 
 scoundrels in every hole and corner of Lon- 
 don. In a sense, that is true, but we never 
 know the moment some extraordinary action 
 may be taken, so we remain constantly on the 
 qul vive." 
 
 He heard the telephone ring beneath, and 
 turned quickly. 
 
 "I may be wanted," he said. "I'll join you 
 presently. There is my wife's boudoir," and 
 he pointed to a door. "Take Mrs. Paxton in, 
 Theydon. Mrs. Forbes and Evelyn will be 
 glad of your company." 
 
 Theydon knocked, and heard Evelyn's voice 
 bidding him enter. Mrs. Forbes was lying on 
 a couch, and her daughter had evidently been 
 seated near her, reading a newspaper. 
 
 "I've brought my sister to see you," he 
 explained. "I've been relating such heroic 
 things about you that she simply refused to 
 go home without ocular proof of your exist- 
 ence. ' ' 
 
 Mrs. Forbes would have risen, but was re- 
 strained by the girl's emphatic cry: 
 
 "Mother, why won't you behave like an 
 obedient invalid?" 
 
 Thus coerced, "Mother" did behave. 
 
 "They insist on treating me as a casualty,"
 
 29'2 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 she cried cheerfully. "What is your sister's 
 name, Mr. Theydon?" 
 
 "Mollie," he said thoughtlessly, for he had 
 just touched Evelyn Forbes 's hand, and the 
 mere contact gave him an electrical shock. 
 
 The women laughed, and Mrs. Paxton 
 blushed. 
 
 "Mollie Paxton, at any rate," she said, 
 realizing at once that her brother had com- 
 pletely lost all self-possession at sight of his 
 divinity. ' ' Now, as you are going to stay here, 
 Frank, you shall give me the full measure of 
 the few minutes I can spare, so go and talk 
 over your adventures with Mr. Forbes while I 
 gossip with the prisoners." 
 
 Theydon saw that his tactful sister had 
 struck the right note. She might be trusted to 
 make herself eminently agreeable. Her bright, 
 smiling manner had already created a good 
 impression, and a lively chat with one who had 
 not passed through the vicissitudes which be- 
 set the Forbes family would be an excellent 
 tonic. 
 
 "Before I efface myself, may I be allowed 
 to congratulate Mrs. Forbes on her escape?" 
 he said, halting at the door. 
 
 "Yes, you may," replied the older lady. 
 "And, just to show that I am convalescent, 
 kindly tell Tomlinson that I am coming down 
 to luncheon, and that Mrs. Paxton will join 
 us."
 
 FORCEFUL TACTICS 293 
 
 Forbes was leaving the telephone when 
 Theydon regained the hall and explained that 
 he had been dismissed from the feminine con- 
 clave upstairs. The millionaire closed the 
 door and motioned his companion to a chair. 
 
 "How long will it be before London wakes 
 up to the knowledge of what is going on in its 
 midst!" he said. "Is there anything in the 
 newspapers? I have had no time to read. I 
 passed a rather sleepless night, so did not 
 rise until a late hour. Then Helen was fired 
 at. I need hardly tell you that my time has 
 been fully occupied since." 
 
 Theydon gave a resume of the paragraph 
 which had appeared in at least one of the 
 morning journals, and admitted that some ink- 
 ling of the truth was bound to gain publicity 
 during the next few hours. 
 
 ' ' I cannot understand why it is the reporters 
 are not here by the score already," he went 
 on. ' ' Some passer-by must have seen or heard 
 the shooting. A pistol cannot be fired in a 
 quiet square like this without attracting gen- 
 eral attention." 
 
 "That is the extraordinary part of it," said 
 Forbes, smiling grimly. "People heard the 
 noise, of course, but came to the conclusion 
 that a cylinder in the car had back-fired. That 
 was the view taken by two policemen on duty 
 within a few yards of the house. A detective 
 stationed in the cloakroom actually saw the
 
 294 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 man raising the weapon. He, of course, was 
 under no delusion as to what had happened, 
 and ran out instantly, but the car was then 
 traveling at a fast pace, and was out of sight 
 before the nearest constable could even en- 
 deavor to stop it. Anyhow, what was the 
 man to do? We cannot expect that he would 
 whip out a revolver, if he carries one, and 
 blaze away indiscriminately at car and occu- 
 pants if the chauffeur refused to pull up. 
 Really, Theydon, Wong Li Fu has perplexed 
 the authorities more than any desperado 
 known to this generation. He is aware that 
 his hostage has escaped from Croydon, so he 
 calmly drives past my house, knowing full 
 well that it is efficiently guarded, and fires a 
 pot shot at the first person seen through one 
 of the windows. The man whom I have 
 spoken to over the telephone shares that 
 opinion. He is one of the legal advisers of 
 the Home Office. Just to show the baffling 
 nature of the problem, he says that it will be 
 absolutely impossible, on the evidence avail- 
 able at present, to frame a charge against any 
 Chinaman other than Wong Li Fu. Yet we 
 know that he has at least four or five, and 
 probably three times as many, accomplices." 
 "Have the police yet obtained any real clew 
 as to the whereabouts of the gang's headquar- 
 ters? They must have some sort of meeting 
 place. They must eat and sleep somewhere."
 
 FORCEFUL TACTICS 295 
 
 "That big detective, Winter, came here this 
 morning. He seemed to be very confident, 
 though I think I gave him the worst shock he 
 has received for many a year when I informed 
 him that within an hour after he had left the 
 house Mrs. Forbes had been shot at, and nar- 
 rowly escaped a fatal wound. It was he who 
 asked me to invite you to come here. I'm ex- 
 ceedingly sorry that our acquaintance, begun 
 so happily, should involve you in personal 
 risk" 
 
 "As for that," broke in Theydon, "I would 
 not change places with any man in England 
 at this moment." 
 
 He feared instantly that he might have said 
 too much, and added with a laugh: 
 
 "Don't forget, Mr. Forbes, that I write 
 books, some of them the most popular ones, 
 I am afraid being of a sensational type. 
 When this tornado has died down, and Wong 
 Li Fu is carefully hanged, and you and your 
 family are recuperating in Sutherlandshire, 
 I shall resume work with a new inspiration. 
 Never again shall I say to myself, 'Oh, that is 
 too far-fetched,' or fear that I am straining 
 my readers' credulity beyond bounds. If a 
 small gang of Chinamen and Japanese can 
 hold up London, bamboozle the best men in 
 Scotland Yard, and keep a man of your posi- 
 tion a prisoner in his own house, I need have 
 no fear of adopting any situation my fertile
 
 296 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 brain can evolve, because four days ago I 
 would have scoffed at the things which have 
 actually happened as quite impossible and 
 therefore unbelievable. ' ' 
 
 " Japanese, you say? Why do you mention 
 Japanese f ' ' 
 
 "The American, Mr. Handyside, tells me 
 the skulls are of Japanese workmanship. He 
 argues also that the wrestling tricks of which 
 Winter and I, and Mrs. Forbes in lesser de- 
 gree, have had some experience, are Japanese. 
 More than that, a Jap was arrested outside 
 my place early this morning." 
 
 "Mr. Winter said something about it, but 
 he spoke only of Chinamen." 
 
 "I have Furneaux's authority for the state- 
 ment that the prisoner is a Jap, and belongs 
 to a society calling itself the 'Sons of Nip- 
 pon.' " 
 
 "But confound it, I have no quarrel with 
 Japan. If anything, I am one of her best 
 friends." 
 
 "I must get Handyside to propound one of 
 his favorite theories. He says that a powerful 
 and growing party among our allies in the 
 Far East means to keep China in a condition 
 of anarchy until Japan is prepared, financially 
 and in armament, to take a commanding share 
 in the ultimate settlement. But, at best, the 
 few Japanese adventurers in league with 
 Wong Li Fu hardly count. Once he is laid by
 
 FORCEFUL TACTICS 297 
 
 the heels this feud will evaporate into thin 
 air." 
 
 "If it doesn't, I must ask the Government 
 to provide safe quarters for my family in the 
 Tower," muttered Forbes, rising and pacing 
 the room in the same thoughtful, care-laden 
 way as he had paced it when Theydon first 
 told him of Edith Lester's end. 
 
 " You said Wong Li Fu knew that Mrs. 
 Forbes had been rescued from her bonds last 
 night," went on Theydon. "I suppose Winter 
 told you that. Was he only assuming the fact, 
 or have there been developments at Croydon?" 
 
 "A motor car drove up to the gate openly 
 at ten o'clock this morning. A police ser- 
 geant, jumping to the conclusion that one of 
 his own chiefs or a representative of Scot- 
 land Yard was paying the place a visit> in- 
 cautiously showed himself in the doorway, 
 whereupon the car raced away. It was an 
 unfortunate and, perhaps, costly blunder, but 
 the man is hardly to be blamed. The very 
 audacity of the gang is their best safeguard." 
 
 A luncheon gong clanged in the hall. Both 
 men started, and then laughed. 
 
 "You see," cried Forbes. "These rascals 
 have got us on the jump. I don't know how 
 long my servants will stand the racket. They 
 are most loyal, and Tomlinson vows that not a 
 syllable has been breathed outside by any of 
 our domestics. But the women's nerves are
 
 298 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 on edge. A scullery maid dropped a decanter 
 a little while since, and the crash drew blood- 
 curdling shrieks from the kitchen. Come, let 
 us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we 
 die. The quotation is not a felicitous one. 
 Indeed, it is distinctly ominous, but it seems 
 to meet the conditions." 
 
 He threw open the door, and saw the three 
 ladies descending the stairs. 
 
 ''Helena," he cried sternly, "the doctor 
 said you were not to stir out of your 
 room." 
 
 "My dear, the doctor is a mere man, and 
 fancies that a woman is not fitted for war- 
 fare. He is quite mistaken. When aroused 
 we can be terrible." 
 
 Mrs. Forbes, whose face was paler and eyes 
 seemingly bigger and more luminous than 
 usual, was leaning on Evelyn's arm. She was 
 dressed in a blue tulle costume which lent a 
 fragile air to an already slender form, but she 
 smiled so unaffectedly that even the policeman 
 grinned. 
 
 "You certainly look ferocious," said her 
 husband, yielding instantly, as she well knew 
 would happen. 
 
 "I believe you are all jealous," she vowed. 
 "I am the only one who has really been in the 
 forefront of the battle. No. I forgot you, Mr. 
 Theydon. Didn't that horrid man knock you 
 down?"
 
 FORCEFUL TACTICS 299 
 
 "Yes," said Theydon, moistening his lips 
 with his tongue. There was such a peculiar 
 rasp in his voice that it evoked a general 
 laugh. 
 
 Obviously the guests meant to avoid serious 
 topics during the meal. Evelyn Forbes chimed 
 in with a reminiscence of her schooldays in 
 Brussels, and soon the talk was general, rang- 
 ing from the year's Academy to the Ladies' 
 Gold Championship. 
 
 Mrs. Paxton, an excellent mimic, was amus- 
 ing them with imitations of the voice and man- 
 ner of a certain well-known lady golfer, when 
 she was interrupted by three sharp, irregular 
 cracks which seemed to come from the dining- 
 room windows. Simultaneously a picture 
 frame on the opposite wall was split and a 
 Worcester vase on a sideboard was smashed 
 to atoms. 
 
 Theydon, owing to his position at the table, 
 was the first to notice three small, starred 
 holes in the plate glass of the windows. 
 
 "Don't stand up!" he said, instantly. 
 "Some one is shooting at the house. Crouch 
 on the floor, for Heaven's sake!" 
 
 That urgent appeal was emphasized by a 
 fourth bullet, which, taking a lower flight, 
 barely missed Forbes, upset a Venetian glass 
 flower vase on the table, and buried itself in 
 the lower half of the sideboard. 
 
 Forbes, heedless of the possible conse-
 
 300 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 quences to himself, sprang to his wife's as- 
 sistance, and, interposing his body as a shield 
 between her and the windows, led her to an 
 angle of the wall where she would be safe. 
 The younger women, after a momentary hesita- 
 tion, dropped to the floor and crawled to the 
 same refuge. Theydon ran out. The front 
 door was open. 
 
 The police had heard the shooting, the sound 
 of which had been deadened to those in the 
 dining room by the breaking glass and china. 
 But within a few minutes a useless pursuit 
 was abandoned. The fusillade had come from 
 a car which halted close to the garden railings 
 on the far side of the square. Though the 
 trees were nearly in full leaf, and dense shrub- 
 beries seemed to shut off every house from any 
 such method of attack, investigation proved 
 that it was possible to estimate accurately 
 the position of the dining-room windows in 
 No. 11. 
 
 When Theydon returned he found Forbes 
 and the ladies gathered in the hall. 
 
 " Another narrow escape on both sides, " he 
 said coolly. "Two policemen were just too 
 late to interfere. Of course, they did not anti- 
 cipate a move in that quarter. " 
 
 "Have the er enemy made off in a car?" 
 said Mrs. Forbes. 
 
 "Yes. A constable in a taxi is trying to 
 follow them."
 
 FORCEFUL TACTICS 301 
 
 "Well, then, let us finish our luncheon. I 
 had hardly touched my cutlet." 
 
 "By Jove, Helena, that doctor of ours was 
 decidedly in error," cried her husband. 
 "You're right. If we're .besieged we must 
 carry ourselves according to the code. Mrs. 
 Paxton, I hope it won't disturb you if a shell 
 bursts before coffee is served!" 
 
 Theydon glanced through a window before 
 resuming his seat. 
 
 "That volley has done things!" he an- 
 nounced. "London is stirring at last. There's 
 a crowd in front of the house, and a short, fat 
 man is explaining the procedure. Prepare now 
 to receive the press in battalions."
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 WHEREIN UNEXPECTED ALLIES APPEAR 
 
 ALTHOUGH, as shall be seen, the final and 
 complete defeat and extinction of the London 
 section of the Young Manchus were directly 
 due to forces set in motion by Furneaux, it 
 was Winter's painstaking way of covering the 
 ground that unearthed the fraternity's meet- 
 ing place, and thus brought matters to a head 
 speedily. For the rest, events followed their 
 own course, and great would have been the 
 fame of the prophet who predicted that course 
 accurately. 
 
 In later days, when more ample knowledge 
 was available, it was a debatable point whether 
 or not the inmates of No. 11 Fortescue Square 
 were saved from an almost maniacal venge- 
 ance by the fact that a crisis was precipi- 
 tated. Winter maintained stoutly that the po- 
 lice must triumph in the long run, whereas 
 Furneaux held, with even greater tenacity, 
 that although the gang would undoubtedly be 
 broken up, that much-desired end might have 
 been attained after, and not before, a dire 
 tragedy occurred in the Forbes household. 
 
 The pros and cons of the argument were 
 
 302
 
 UNEXPECTED ALLIES APPEAR 303 
 
 equally numerous and weighty. They cannot 
 be marshaled here. Each man and woman 
 who reads this record will probably form an 
 emphatic opinion tending toward the one side 
 or the other. All that a veracious chronicler 
 can accomplish is to set forth a plain tale of 
 events in their proper sequence, and leave 
 the ultimate verdict to individual judgment. 
 
 Winter was a hard-headed, broad-minded of- 
 ficial, whose long and wide experience enabled 
 him to estimate at their true value the far- 
 reaching powers of the State as opposed to 
 the machinations of a few determined outlaws. 
 On the other hand, the amazing facility with 
 which Furneaux could enter into the twists 
 and turns of the criminal mind entitles his 
 matured views to much respect. 
 
 At any rate, this is what happened. 
 
 Winter was sitting in his office, smoking a 
 fat cigar, and wading through reports brought 
 in by subordinates concerning every opium 
 den and Chinese boarding house in the East 
 End, when Furneaux entered. 
 
 "Any luck?" inquired the chief, laying aside 
 one document which seemed to merit fuller in- 
 quiry; it described a club much frequented by 
 Chinese residents in London, men of a higher 
 class than the sailors and firemen brought to 
 the port by ships trading with the Far East, 
 and an outstanding feature of the Young Man- 
 chus' operations was the intelligent grasp of
 
 304 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 the ways and means of modern civilized life 
 these filibusters exhibited. 
 
 " So-so," squeaked Furneaux. 
 
 He flung himself into a big armchair, curled 
 up in it like an animated Buddha, and ex- 
 tracted one of the three ivory skulls from a 
 waistcoat pocket. 
 
 "If you could only speak, you image of 
 evil!" he muttered. "You're not so dead that 
 you cannot work mischief. Why the deuce, 
 then, can't you mouth your incantations! 
 Then we would listen and learn." 
 
 Winter, still sorting his papers, cocked 
 the cigar inquisitively on one side of his 
 mouth. 
 
 "Oh, I have ascertained a lot about the 
 inner politics of China," mumbled Furneaux, 
 irritably, gazing fixedly at the skull after one 
 quick glance of his colleague. "Every little 
 helps, of course. I have met some Chinamen 
 this morning who would cheerfully plunge 
 Wong Li Fu into a cauldron of boiling oil, and 
 stir him round with a long stick when he was 
 in it. One man, quite an important personage 
 in the jute line, has lost a brother and a 
 brother-in-law, the one in Canton, the other 
 in Pekin, and he lays both deaths at the door 
 of the redoubtable Wong. Another, the fel- 
 low who chanced to take up his quarters at 
 Smith's Hotel, is a delegate sent here spe- 
 cially to hunt out Wong, and destroy him. I
 
 asked him how he meant to set about it, but 
 his scheme is vague. He's an opportunist of 
 the first water. 'Me ca tehee and killee Wong 
 Li Fu one time,' was his best effort. I'm 
 going to confront Len Shi with these two in 
 Bow Street. They may worm something out 
 of him. But will they own up if they do? 
 Dashed if I know. The Oriental mind is on a 
 par with their blessed language. It has three 
 thousand ways of expressing one idea, and 
 not one of 'em is our way." 
 
 "Has Theydon gone to Fortescue Square?" 
 
 "I suppose so. He turned up in Jermyn 
 Street outside Smith's Hotel, if you please, 
 with a lady in a taxi." 
 
 "A lady? Miss Beale?" 
 
 "No, his sister, judging from the family 
 likeness. His eyes grew goggled like yours 
 when he saw the gray car." 
 
 "Didn't you explain matters?" 
 
 "Not I. Gave him the cut direct. My China- 
 men are shy birds, and I daren't flutter them 
 by letting them think there are too many for- 
 eign devils mixed up in the business. My 
 London Chinaman was the brainy person who 
 got the Embassy busy when Mrs. Lester's 
 death was announced. He saw Wong Li Fu's 
 hand in that from the first moment. Oddly 
 enough, though he and a man from the Em- 
 bassy followed Theydon from Waterloo to 
 Forbes 's place on Tuesday night, and again
 
 306 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 to Inncsmore Mansions, he didn't recognize 
 him today. Or perhaps he did. I don't 
 know. Talk about the impassive Bed Indian! 
 A thoroughbred Chink would give a Pawnee 
 chief one glass eye and a coat of paint, and 
 then beat him hollow at the haughty indif- 
 ference game." 
 
 "My!" said Winter admiringly, "you've got 
 your tongue loose today. Well, here's an item 
 which should prove useful. Whitechapel thinks 
 we may find a Young Manchu or two among 
 that collection," and he threw an official mem- 
 orandum across the table. 
 
 Furneaux repocketed the skull, and was gaz- 
 ing moodily at the report, when a uniformed 
 constable announced that a boy messenger 
 wished to see a "detective" with regard to 
 the typed letter delivered at Mr. Forbes 's 
 house on Wednesday evening. 
 
 "Show him up," said the chief, and a 
 smart-looking boy, wearing the familiar uni- 
 form of his corps, was brought in. He glanced 
 around inquiringly. 
 
 "Oh, you're the gentleman who came to 
 our Piccadilly office," he said to Winter. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Well, sir, I haven't very mucji to tell you, 
 but it was I who took the letter to Fortescue 
 Square. I saw the sender, a foreign-looking 
 gentleman, he was, with funny eyes, and I 
 think I spotted him again this afternoon. He
 
 UNEXPECTED ALLIES APPEAR 307 
 
 was coming out of a house in Charlotte 
 Street." 
 
 ''Are you sure?" demanded Winter, quickly. 
 
 "He was awful like the man who engaged 
 me, sir, and dressed the same way." 
 
 "Did you notice the number of the house f" 
 
 "Yes, sir. No. 412." 
 
 "Quite certain about that?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Good boy. If your information is of any 
 service I'll take care you are not forgotten/' 
 
 The boy saluted and went out. 
 
 "We must look up No. 412," said Winter, 
 quietly; but there was a ring of genuine satis- 
 faction in his voice, because the clew promised 
 well, and it was a complete justification of the 
 straightforward method he adopted in every 
 inquiry, whereas Furncaux invariably pre- 
 ferred an abstruse theory to a definite piece of 
 evidence. >^ 
 
 The Jersey man's face had wrinkled as a 
 preliminary to some sarcastic comment on 
 what he termed the "handcuff" way of rea- 
 soning, when the telephone bell rang. Winter 
 answered, and at once his self-possessed air 
 fled. Indeed, it was a very angry man who 
 listened, because a subordinate was telephon- 
 ing from Fortescue Square a full account of 
 the shooting outrage. 
 
 The Chief gave a few curt instructions as to
 
 308 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 securing the adequate cooperation of the local 
 police, who should take measures to render 
 any repetition of such daring tactics absolutely 
 impossible. 
 
 "No one was injured, you say?" he added. 
 
 "No, sir." 
 
 "Were the ladies very much frightened?" 
 
 "They've gone back to finish luncheon, sir." 
 
 "Good. Evidently they're all of the right 
 breed. You can tell them I said so, if you 
 like. Assure Mr. Forbes that every care will 
 be taken to protect his house in future. See 
 that strong patrols occupy every point from 
 which a gun can be aimed at any window, even 
 the attics, in No. 11. Phone me again when 
 you have discussed matters withjhe district 
 superintendent." 
 
 The receiver clanged back into its hook. 
 Winter had not foreseen this latest move. 
 "Sheer impudence," he termed it. 
 
 "More bullets?" inquired Furneaux lacon- 
 ically. 
 
 "Yes. A long-range attack from across the 
 square. Four shots lodged in dining room." 
 
 "No one hurt, and no one arrested?" 
 
 "Not a soul." 
 
 "James," said the little man solemnly, 
 "Wong Li Fu is making us a laughing-stock. 
 Are you aware that the newspapers will get 
 on our track now? Can't you see the head- 
 lines? 'Another Sidney Street.' 'Chinese
 
 UNEXPECTED ALLIES APPEAR 309 
 
 Pirates Busy in London.' 'Scotland Yard 
 Outwitted.' By this time tomorrow the Com- 
 missioner will be suggesting that you and I 
 ought to think about retiring on pensions." 
 
 Winter jumped up, overturning a chair in 
 his haste. 
 
 "Come!" he said. "If that Chinaman in 
 Bow Street won't speak, I'll torture him. 
 What of the other fellow who was caught near 
 Innesmore Mansions?" 
 
 "He's a Jap. He knows nothing. He was 
 hired for the job to put any interfering 
 bobby to sleep." 
 
 The chief inspector angrily bundled some 
 papers into a drawer, and threw away his 
 cigar, which he had allowed to go out. Fur- 
 neaux produced an ivory skull again, and 
 scowled at it, whereupon his superior, snorting 
 with annoyance, strode to the window, and af- 
 fected an interest he was far from feeling in 
 the panorama of the Thames. 
 
 And thus they passed a harmonious quarter 
 of an hour, which came to an end with the ap- 
 pearance of an attendant to announce the ar- 
 rival of "two Chinese gentlemen to see Mr. 
 Furneaux." 
 
 They went down in the elevator without ex- 
 changing a word. At the entrance stood the 
 gray car, in which the Chinamen were already 
 seated. Furneaux introduced the chief in- 
 spector, and they were whisked to Bow Street.
 
 310 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 There in a cell they found Len Shi, a some- 
 what sullen-looking man -whose European 
 chauffeur's livery seemed curiously raffish and 
 unsuitable when contrasted with the more 
 picturesque if sober-hued garments worn by 
 his fellow-countrymen. 
 
 At first he maintained the sulky know- 
 nothing role which he had adopted successfully 
 with the official interpreter. Furneaux, watch- 
 ing the faces of prisoner and questioners, 
 guessed that small progress was being made, 
 so, waiting until Len Shi was evidently quite 
 satisfied with himself, he suddenly thrust an 
 ivory skull before the man's eyes. The re- 
 sult was unexpected but puzzling. The man 
 was badly scared, beyond doubt, but he now 
 became obstinately silent. 
 
 Winter, than whom no living actor could 
 play up better to Furneaux 's tactics in a 
 touch-and-go encounter of this sort, assumed a 
 highly tragic air. 
 
 11 Handcuff that man, and bring him out!" 
 he said to the constable in charge of the cells. 
 
 Len Shi blanched. He estimated the legal 
 methods of Great Britain by those which ob- 
 tained in his own land, and probably thought 
 he was being led forth to immediate execution. 
 
 The whole five crowded into the car, and the 
 driver, the same English chauffeur to whom 
 Theydon had spoken, was told to make for 412 
 Charlotte Street, and pass the house slowly,
 
 UNEXPECTED ALLIES APPEAR 311 
 
 but not pull up. Len Shi, though quaking with 
 alarm, bore himself with a certain dignified 
 stoicism until he found out where the car was 
 apparently stopping. Then he said something 
 in a panic-stricken voice and the jute mer- 
 chant, who spoke English fluently, turned to 
 Furneaux. 
 
 1 ' Tell the chauffeur to return," he said. 
 "Leu Shi will now confess." 
 
 Once started, Len Shi talked volubly. The 
 others merely put in a question now and then, 
 and the detectives curbed their impatience as 
 best they might until Len Shi was safely 
 lodged in Bow Street again. 
 
 Then Winter led his Chinese helpers into 
 an inner office and closed the door. 
 
 "Well?" he said, addressing the jute mer- 
 chant. The other Chinaman had very little 
 English and could not maintain a conversation. 
 
 But, to the chief inspector's surprise and 
 wrath, the English-speaking Chinaman had 
 only a request to make. 
 
 "Give me and my friend those three ivory 
 skulls," he said. 
 
 "Why?" he said. 
 
 "Without them we can accomplish nothing." 
 
 "Be good enough to explain yourself. 
 Above all, tell me what Len Shi has been jab- 
 bering about. He had plenty to say." 
 
 "He told us of the fate of our friends in 
 China. Those things do not concern you. What
 
 312 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 you want is to have Wong Li Fu and the others 
 there are nearly twenty in all delivered 
 into your hands. Very well. Give us those 
 ivory skulls, and bring your men to that house 
 in Charlotte Street, at one o'clock this night, 
 and you will take them without a blow being 
 struck. ' ' 
 
 ' ' That is our business, not yours, ' ' said Win- 
 ter, gruffly decisive. * ' I cannot expose you two 
 gentlemen to any personal risk in this affair. 
 Kindly" 
 
 1 'You do not understand," broke in the jute 
 merchant, addressing the burly representative 
 of the Criminal Investigation Department as if 
 he were a fractious child who must be in- 
 formed as to the why and wherefore of a dis- 
 agreeable duty. "What will you do? Sur- 
 round the house with policemen, break in the 
 doors, and fight! You may, or may not suc- 
 ceed. Some, plenty, of your men will certainly 
 be killed. That is not good. We do not wish 
 it. Give me those skulls. I and my friend 
 will go there. You come at one o'clock, tap 
 so on the door, and we will admit you. Then 
 you take Wong Li Fu and all the others. 
 There will be no fight." 
 
 The Chinaman's manner was singularly im- 
 pressive as he tapped three times on a high 
 desk to emphasize, as it were, his instructions. 
 The sound, too, was curious. He did not use 
 his knuckles, but bunched the fingers of his
 
 UNEXPECTED ALLIES APPEAR 313 
 
 right hand together, and rapped on the wood 
 with the long nails which are a mark of dis- 
 tinction in his race. 
 
 "We make things easy and certain for you,'* 
 he added, more by way of painstaking argu- 
 ment than because any further explanation was 
 really necessary. "You do not wish to fail, 
 no? You want to be sure that Wong Li Fu's 
 evil deeds shall be stopped? Good. We do 
 that I and my friend. We can pass the door- 
 keepers. Can you? No. At one o'clock we 
 open the door and the Young Manchus will be 
 wholly in your power, to do with them what 
 you will. I promise that, and my word is 
 always taken in the city." 
 
 Winter turned troubled eyes on Furneaux. 
 
 "What do you say?" he muttered irres- 
 olutely. 
 
 "I think the plan is a good one, and should 
 be adopted," was the instant reply. 
 
 Nevertheless, Winter was perplexed. He 
 hemmed and hawed a good deal. Seldom did 
 he hesitate in this fashion. As a rule, he was 
 quick to decide and quicker to act. 
 
 "I might entertain your scheme if I were 
 told more about it," he said dubiously, gazing 
 with troubled eyes at the Chinaman's blandly 
 inscrutable face. "Please believe me when I 
 say that I trust your good faith, but I am not 
 sure that even you understand fully the nature 
 of the adventure you have in mind. Wong Li
 
 314 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 Fu has already committed one murder in Lon- 
 don. He has attempted others, and is ab- 
 solutely careless of consequences. How can I 
 have any guarantee that you and this other 
 gentleman may not be his next victims'? He 
 is a person who displays a somewhat forced 
 humor. We might enter the Charlotte Street 
 house at one o'clock and find your corpses 
 there, with labels and ivory skulls neatly at- 
 tached." 
 
 "That will not be so," was the grave answer. 
 
 "If I agree, what time do you propose 
 going there!" 
 
 "About midnight." 
 
 "And do you expect the police to leave the 
 whole neighborhood severely alone for another 
 hour?" 
 
 "Not unless you wish it. If you so desire 
 you can occupy both ends of the street, and 
 arrest every Chinaman coming away from No. 
 412, but let those pass who go towards it." 
 
 "Will others go there friends of yours, I 
 mean?" 
 
 " Oh, yes. We will overpower the Young 
 Manchus by taking them unaware. We will 
 act quietly, but there will be no mistake. It is 
 you who will err if you do not accept our help. ' ' 
 
 Then Winter yielded, though not with a 
 good grace. The implied suggestion that the 
 London police could not handle a set of Mon- 
 golian ruffians was utterly distasteful, yet he
 
 UNEXPECTED ALLIES APPEAR 315 
 
 admitted, though unwillingly, that he did not 
 want to sacrifice some of his best men in rush- 
 ing the place. 
 
 "All right," he said. "Hand over the 
 skulls, Furneaux ! It is quite agreed, ' ' he went 
 on, addressing the Chinaman again, "that I 
 have full liberty of action in so far as pre- 
 liminary arrangements are concerned? I see 
 your point that Wong Li Fu must not be fore- 
 warned, and shall take care that my men are 
 hidden. I have your positive assurance, too, 
 that you are not exposing your own life in 
 any way!" 
 
 ' ' To the best of my belief I shall be as safe 
 in Charlotte Street as I am here," said the 
 jute merchant, smiling for the first time dur- 
 ing the interview. 
 
 "One! Two! Three!" said Furneaux, 
 counting the skulls into the Chinaman's out- 
 stretched hand. 
 
 For some reason, the action, no less than the 
 words, jarred on Winter. 
 
 "I do wish you wouldn't be so d d theat- 
 rical!" he growled. 
 
 Furneaux said nothing. He accompanied 
 the chief inspector when the latter escorted the 
 two Chinamen to their car, and whistled softly 
 between his teeth while Winter and he were 
 walking to Scotland Yard. The big man 
 glowered at him once or twice, but passed no 
 comment. When they reached the Embank-
 
 316 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 ment, Winter took Furneaux to his room, but 
 left him instantly. He was absent a long time. 
 When he came in again he was cheerfully 
 placid. 
 
 Walking toward their favorite restaurant in 
 Soho, they met a newsboy running with an 
 edition of an evening newspaper damp from 
 the press. The boy was shouting, " 'Orrible 
 crime in the West End; Chinese outrage!" 
 Furneaux bought a paper. It contained a 
 lively account of the attack on Mr. Forbes 's 
 house and described the mansion as an armed 
 fortress. Scores of police were parading the 
 neighborhood and examining every passing 
 motor car lest it held Chinese bandits. The 
 arrest of Len Shi at St. Albans, and of a Jap- 
 anese outside Innesmore Mansions, was re- 
 called, and an Eastbourne correspondent had 
 sent a fairly accurate version of the kidnap- 
 ing of Mrs. Forbes. 
 
 " The pack is in full cry now, James," 
 grinned Furneaux. ''Tomorrow " 
 
 "0, bother tomorrow! Let's eat, and talk 
 about something else." 
 
 "What? Both? Well, now, if that isn't a 
 bit of luck," cried a pleasant voice close be- 
 hind them, and Mr. George T. Handyside held 
 out his two hands. 
 
 "I was feeling kind of lonesome in the 
 hotel, and just strolled out to look at the 
 shops," he rattled on. "Say, can you boys
 
 UNEXPECTED ALLIES APPEAR 317 
 
 eat a line? Is there any place in London 
 where they know what a planked steak is?" 
 
 "Planked steak!" snorted Furneaux. 
 "When you've tasted a porterhouse steak 
 grilled by a master hand you'll never x men- 
 tion any other variety again. Come right 
 along, Mr. Handyside. Tell us fairy tales 
 about God's own country. We're in the right 
 mood to believe anything!" 
 
 "But what's this story of another shooting 
 up in Fortescue Square? Is it true?" 
 
 Then Furneaux dug him in the ribs. 
 
 "This isn't the Wild and Woolly West," he 
 said. "This is London, sir, poor, old, played- 
 out London, whose beefy citizens do nothing 
 but eat, talk cricket or golf, and sleep. If 
 you credit the newspapers, you'll never get us 
 in the right perspective." 
 
 Another newspaper boy raced past, bawling 
 loudly. 
 
 "All a flam, is it?" said the American quiz- 
 zically. 
 
 "No," said Winter, "it's the truth, and less 
 than the truth. Let's hunt that steak, and 
 we'll season the dish for you." 
 
 Winter never erred when he chose a man 
 as a friend. He liked Handyside, and was 
 half inclined to drop a hint in his ear as to 
 the night's program, for the American had 
 seen Wong Li Fu more than once, and might 
 be useful for identification purposes.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 
 
 Now, Len Shi had communicated one vital 
 fact to his compatriots which they had care- 
 fully concealed from the detectives. The open- 
 ing campaign against Forbes had practically 
 ended that day. Thenceforth, for a week, the 
 Young Manchus meant to separate, revert to 
 Chinese costume, live in Chinese boarding- 
 houses in the East End, and thus utterly mis- 
 lead and bamboozle the police, who, in their 
 hunt for the miscreants, would be searching 
 for Chinamen in European dress and living 
 in European style. 
 
 Winter was in two minds whether or not to 
 inform the inmates of No. 11 as to the con- 
 templated raid on the Charlotte Street rendez- 
 vous. Ultimately, he decided to say nothing 
 definite that evening. It was better that the 
 threatened people and their guards should not 
 relax their vigilance. "The best-laid schemes 
 o' mice and men gang aft a-gley," and if, 
 perchance, the jute merchant's plan, whatever 
 it might be, miscarried, and some of the des- 
 peradoes escaped, they would be stirred to 
 instant reprisals. 
 
 318
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 319 
 
 But there was no semblance of doubt or 
 hesitation about the measures taken by the po- 
 lice. That night, from eleven o'clock onward, 
 not even a prowling cat entered Charlotte 
 Street without being seen by sharp eyes. 
 Nearly opposite No. 412 was a large ware- 
 house, with a back entrance a long way in 
 the rear, and approached from another street. 
 
 At midnight three Chinamen appeared, 
 turned into Charlotte Street from the south 
 and shuffled on noiseless feet straight to No. 
 414. They knocked, and after some delay 
 were admitted. A minute later three others 
 came from the north, knocked on the door of 
 No. 410 and disappeared, the delay, seemingly 
 caused by a parley with some one within, be- 
 ing longer in this instance. 
 
 Afterward squads of Chinamen, exactly 25, 
 all told, came from north and south in practic- 
 ally equal numbers and entered those two 
 houses, but never a man entered, or passed, or 
 came out of No. 412. These more numerous 
 arrivals met with no hesitation on the part of 
 the two doorkeepers. They entered without let 
 or hindrance. 
 
 After that there was what is known in theat- 
 rical circles as a "stage wait." Charlotte 
 Street, save for its loafers and an occasional 
 belated resident of some dwelling other than 
 those under observation, lapsed into its normal 
 and utterly dismal gloom.
 
 320 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 From 12 : 30 onwards, Winter, stationed on 
 the south side, looked at his watch many times. 
 A little man, mingling with the disreputable 
 rascals on the north side, was similarly fidgety. 
 
 A tall, slim man, wearing a dark overcoat, 
 who lurked in a doorway near Winter's post, 
 blew the tip of the cigar he was smoking into 
 a red glow so that he might look at his watch. 
 Another tall man, rather more powerfully 
 built, awaited developments with apparent un- 
 concern. Mr. Handyside, in fact, was in the 
 august company of the Commissioner of Po- 
 lice, and the latter, though eminently agree- 
 able, nevertheless observed an Olympian at- 
 titude. Thus might Jove watch a gathering in 
 the Pompic Way! 
 
 At 12 : 45 there was a stir. Out of 410 and 
 414 came 25 Chinamen. They gathered on the 
 pavement, and did not attempt to walk away, 
 though a sudden and concentrated advance was 
 made by the two sets of loafers, while the 
 doors of the warehouse opposite belched forth 
 a startling array of constables in uniform. 
 
 Winter and Furneaux respectively headed 
 the contingents from north and south. An in- 
 spector was in charge of the central body, and 
 even a Chinaman who had not been a day in 
 London must have realized that the intent of 
 these swift-moving detachments was to cut off 
 his escape if he meant flight. But not a China- 
 man budged, save one, who seemed to recog-
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 321 
 
 nize the chief inspector, because he stepped 
 forward and said in suave tones: 
 
 " These men are my friends. The others 
 are inside. They are quite safe. Kindly wait 
 till one o'clock." 
 
 "I must understand what you mean, Mr. Li 
 Chang," said Winter sternly; for some rea- 
 son, he distrusted the smooth-spoken jute mer- 
 chant. "Why have you visited these two 
 houses, and not 412? And what do we gain 
 by waiting here any longer? We must have 
 been seen, and our purpose guessed." 
 
 "No," came the somewhat surprising an- 
 swer. "No one in No. 412 is aware of your 
 presence. We have taken care of that. As 
 for the othep houses, they provide the simplest 
 means of access to the center one. Doorways 
 have been made in the cellar walls and special 
 staircases built. Consequently, if you broke 
 open the door of 412 you would find the way 
 barred by two other locked doors, while the 
 occupants, if aroused, could escape from 
 either or both of the next houses. We Chi- 
 nese have a long acquaintance with the needs 
 of a secret society. You may take it from 
 me that the obvious way into or out of an 
 opium den, for instance, is never the way 
 used by the habitues." 
 
 By this time the commissioner, Handyside, 
 Furneaux and the inspector had come up, and 
 the five formed a little group in the center
 
 322 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 of a semicircle of detectives and police. There 
 was absolutely no sign of life in any of the 
 houses; save for the raiders and the stolid 
 Orientals, the street itself was deserted. 
 Many eyes, no doubt, were peering through 
 darkened windows, but the denizens of Char- 
 lotte Street as a rule attend strictly to their 
 own personal affairs when the police are in 
 evidence. 
 
 "What do you advise, sir?" said Winter, 
 addressing the commissioner. "Mr. Li Chang 
 wants us to make no move until one o'clock. 
 It is only a matter of six or seven minutes." 
 
 "And what then? Are we to enter these 
 other houses, and not No. 412?" 
 
 "Yes," said the Chinaman. 
 
 "Have you left the doors open?" 
 
 "No. They must be forced. But there are 
 only small locks. The bolts are drawn." 
 
 "The places are apparently in complete 
 darkness. My men must use their lamps, and 
 may be attacked." 
 
 "No," said Li Chang simply. "There will 
 be no fighting. Those Manchu dogs are help- 
 less. We have seen to that." 
 
 "But how? Do you mean that they are. 
 stupefied?" 
 
 "Bound," said the Chinaman. "Tied hand 
 and foot." 
 
 "Again then, may I ask, why wait?" 
 
 "It will be in order," was the calm reply.
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 323 
 
 "I entered into an arrangement with you. I 
 want to abide by it." 
 
 Winter breathed heavily. The ways of 
 the Oriental were not his ways, but a bar- 
 gain was a bargain, so what more could be 
 said? 
 
 Suddenly, about two minutes to one o'clock, 
 a curious crackling noise was heard, a column 
 of sparks burst high above the steep roof of 
 No. 412, and the upper windows of the op- 
 posite houses reflected a red glare. 
 
 "Good heavens! the place is on fire!" cried 
 Winter. 
 
 Simultaneously came a shout from both ends 
 of the street. Men were running from the de- 
 tachment guarding the rear of the premises to 
 say that a fierce fire was raging on the first 
 floor back of No. 412. 
 
 "Smash in those three doors!" cried Win- 
 ter to his helpers. "Drag out every China- 
 man you meet! Handcuff them in threes and 
 fours! Arrest these fellows standing outside, 
 but keep the two lots separate!" 
 
 "Why are we, your friends, to be arrested?" 
 demanded Li Chang's dignified voice. 
 
 "I'll soon tell you why, you slim demon!" 
 shouted the chief inspector, roused to anger 
 by the consciousness that he had been duped. 
 "What fiendish trick have you played on those 
 wretches penned up inside there? But I'll 
 soon know."
 
 324 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 He turned to the local officer. 
 
 "Better march this crowd of Chinamen 
 straight to your station," he said. "I'll fol- 
 low soon, and lay a charge." 
 
 He felt a claw-like hand on his arm, and 
 wild with vexation though he was, forced him- 
 self to listen. 
 
 "We are ready to go where you wish," 
 said Li Chang calmly. "But spare your own 
 men. They must not enter No. 412. They 
 will be blown to pieces. Stop them! I shall 
 not warn you twice!" 
 
 Somehow, Winter was impelled to obey. 
 The center door was already yielding, but he 
 rushed forward and told the party which 
 meant to enter at that point to abandon it, and 
 reinforce their comrades. A number of de- 
 tectives and police were already inside the 
 dark hallways of Nos. 410 and 414 when the 
 very walls trembled under the shock of a 
 violent explosion in No. 412, which was quickly 
 followed by three others. 
 
 A tongue of flame darted instantly to a 
 height of many feet above the topmost storey, 
 showing that the series of explosions had not 
 only destroyed the whole rear section of the 
 house, and thus given the fire fresh fuel and 
 plenty of space but there could be no reason- 
 able doubt that the bombs, if bombs they were, 
 had themselves been filled with some highly in- 
 flammable substance. Thenceforth, the police.
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 325 
 
 could do nothing beyond keeping at a distance 
 the crowds which soon gathered, and thus 
 clear a space for the operations of the fire 
 brigade. 
 
 No. 412 was thoroughly gutted. Not a shred 
 of the building remained except the crumbling 
 walls at front and back. Its neighbors were 
 in little better case, and the firemen devoted 
 their efforts mainly toward keeping the disas- 
 ter within bounds. 
 
 One thing was certain. No human being 
 had escaped from out of that doomed habita- 
 tion. The fire, too, had gained hold with a 
 phenomenal rapidity which argued the use of 
 petrol, or some kindred agent of irresistible 
 potency when ignited. 
 
 Winter and Furneaux, accompanied by the 
 commissioner and Mr. Handyside, walked to 
 the local police station. The American was 
 the only one who spoke. 
 
 "Queer ducks, the Chinese!*' he said, seem- 
 ingly musing aloud rather than inviting com- 
 ment. "They like to settle their own dif- 
 ferences. I guess we'd feel pretty much like 
 that if we lived in China." 
 
 No one took up the point thus raised. Win- 
 ter bent a searching, almost sorrowful glance 
 at Furneaux, but the little man's eyes were 
 fixed on the ground, as though he were deep in 
 thought. 
 
 In the charge room of the police station the
 
 326 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 twenty-five Chinamen awaited them. Twenty- 
 five pairs of oblique eyes gleamed at the 
 four when they entered, but not a word was 
 spoken. 
 
 Winter, of course, singled out Li Chang for 
 a parley. 
 
 "Now," he said, "tell me just what hap- 
 pened after you and these others went into 
 the two houses in Charlotte Street." 
 
 The Chinaman faced him imperturbably. 
 His manner was as unemotional and his words 
 as slow and methodical as if he were selling 
 jute in his East End warehouse. 
 
 "We asked to be admitted, and after giving 
 the password and showing the sign there was 
 no difficulty," he said. "We were in parties 
 of three. As you probably saw, I headed one, 
 which entered No. 410. My friend, Won Lung 
 Foo, led the other. The ivory skulls made 
 matters simple. We explained to the door- 
 keepers that we had just arrived from China, 
 and brought messages of great urgency. 
 Once inside, we gagged and bound the door- 
 keepers. Then we entered No. 412, where we 
 knew that Wong Li Fu would be smoking 
 opium with the remaining fourteen." 
 
 "Were there seventeen in the gang, all 
 told?" broke in Furneaux. 
 
 "Seventeen Manchus. The rest are paid 
 men of no account." 
 
 "Queer," muttered Furneaux, almost to
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 327 
 
 himself. "The story begins and ends with the 
 number 17!" 
 
 Again did Winter strive to pierce his col- 
 league with a look from those bulging eyes, 
 but the little man was far too occupied with 
 a singular numerical coincidence to pay any 
 heed to him. 
 
 "Well, go on!" he said impatiently, glaring 
 at the Chinaman. 
 
 "We went to the big room at the back," 
 continued Li Chang quietly, uttering each 
 word separately, and evidently weighing it 
 in his mind to test its accuracy before use, 
 "and found Wong Li Fu. Him we bound 
 quickly, and very securely. The others we 
 tied in twos and threes. Of course, we brought 
 the two doorkeepers to the same room, so that 
 you should experience no difficulty, but take 
 them all together." 
 
 Here Mr. Won Lung Foo broke in. Evi- 
 dently he could follow English better than 
 speak it. 
 
 "Yes," he said. "We wantee you catchee 
 Chineemans all togeller muchee wantee I" 
 
 Then he smiled blandly, and his tongue 
 rolled over his lips as though some fruit or 
 sweetmeat had left a pleasant taste there. 
 
 "Then, if your surprise was so successful, 
 what caused the fire?" said Winter, affecting 
 a magnificent disregard of the plain facts. 
 
 Li Chang, for once, permitted his immobile
 
 328 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 features to show some semblance of anxious 
 uncertainty. 
 
 "That," he said, "is a mystery which can, 
 perhaps, never be solved. But it saves your 
 Government much trouble." 
 
 In those few words he expressed quite 
 clearly the line he adhered to throughout a 
 long cross-examination. Neither Winter nor 
 the commissioner could shake him. The fire 
 was an accident the outcome of an extraor- 
 dinary chance. He knew nothing whatsoever 
 of its origin. 
 
 After a protracted debate in private be- 
 tween the two heads of the Criminal Investiga- 
 tion Department, the names and addresses of 
 the prisoners were recorded and they were set 
 at liberty. 
 
 Before Li Chang went away Furneaux de- 
 manded the return of the three ivory skulls, 
 which were promptly handed over. 
 
 "One word in your ear," murmured the de- 
 tective, sotto voce. "Did Wong Li Fu recog- 
 nize you!" 
 
 "Oh, yes," said the Chinaman. 
 
 "And you spoke to him?" 
 
 "Oh, yes." 
 
 The eyes of the two clashed. For once, Fur- 
 neaux peered deep into the mind of an Orien- 
 tal, and what he saw there kept him quiet, 
 but he knew, just as surely as if he had been 
 present, exactly what Li Chang said to Wong
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 329 
 
 Li Fu. He delivered a message from two 
 graves in far-off China. 
 
 
 
 And that is all or nearly all. 
 
 The "Charlotte Street Fire" caused only a 
 slight sensation. It became known that No. 
 412 was a resort of Chinese opium fiends, and 
 the loss of the den and its frequenters was 
 not treated as a National calamity. The shoot- 
 ing at No. 11 Fortescue Square was regarded 
 much more seriously, and the newspapers were 
 full of it all next day. 
 
 Thenceforth, however, interest flagged. Mr. 
 Forbes and his family and servants left Lon- 
 don for Scotland, and the Amateur Golf Cham- 
 pionship came along, so the escapades of a 
 few Chinese fanatics in London were quickly 
 forgotten. 
 
 They were forgotten, that is, by most peo- 
 ple; but one man, Frank Theydon, went back 
 to his flat in Innesmore Mansions to plunge 
 into work and strive vainly to obliterate those 
 pages of his memory charged with bitter-sweet 
 day-dreams. 
 
 Strive as he would, and did, to bury the 
 past under the duties and cares of the present, 
 the radiant vision of Evelyn Forbes remained 
 uneffaceable and entrancing. 
 
 But he was built of tough fiber, and reso- 
 lutely refused an invitation to visit the Suth- 
 erlandshire glen in which Forbes and his
 
 330 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 daughter were sedulously nursing to health 
 and strength the dear wife and mother whose 
 nervous system had suffered far more than 
 she permitted to become known under the 
 stress and strain of the kidnaping experience. 
 
 Even when Evelyn herself wrote, seconding 
 her father's most friendly note, Theydon 
 pleaded the exigencies of his profession and 
 filled a letter with an amusing account of 
 Bates 's chagrin because he had failed to "bag 
 a Chinaman on his own account," having 
 actually purchased a pistol and fixed it in posi- 
 tion before he and his wife quitted the flat. 
 
 Three months passed. On August 9, a broil- 
 ing morning, Theydon was dejectedly reading 
 of preparations for the "Twelfth," when a 
 telegram reached him. It read: 
 
 "Handyside has arrived here in his car. 
 Come for the gathering of the clan. We take 
 no refusal. Forbes." 
 
 Theydon traveled north that night. He 
 reached the glen in time for dinner next even- 
 ing and passed a few delightfully miserable 
 days in Evelyn's company. 
 
 At last, feeling that he was losing grip and 
 might act foolishly, he announced to Forbes, 
 one night when a glorious moon was shining, 
 and he knew that Evelyn was awaiting him in 
 the garden, that he must leave for London next 
 day. 
 
 'Why?" inquired his host. "Has something 
 
 < t
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 331 
 
 unforeseen happened! I thought you meant 
 remaining here till the end of the month at 
 the earliest." 
 
 "I'm sorry," said Theydon, chewing a cigar 
 viciously as a means toward maintaining his 
 self-control. "I'm sorry, but I must go." 
 
 There was a slight pause. Forbes looked at 
 his young friend with those earnest, deep- 
 seeing eyes of his. 
 
 "Is it a personal matter!" he went on. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Again there was a pause. Theydon was well 
 aware that he risked a grave misunderstand- 
 ing, but that could not be avoided. It might 
 be even better so. And then his blood ran 
 cold, because Forbes was saying: 
 
 "Are you leaving us because of anything 
 Evelyn has said or done?" 
 
 "No, no!" came the frenzied answer. 
 "Heaven help me, why do you ask that?" 
 
 "Heaven helps those who help themselves," 
 said the older man. "That is a trite saying, 
 but it meets the case. I think I diagnose your 
 trouble, my boy. You are in love with Evelyn, 
 and dare not tell her so, because I happen to 
 be a rich man. Really I didn't think you had 
 so poor an opinion of me as to believe that 
 money or rank would count against my daugh- 
 ter's happiness." 
 
 He said other things kindly, wise, apprecia- 
 tivebut Frank Theydon never knew what
 
 332 NUMBER SEVENTEEN 
 
 they were. He managed to stammer out some 
 words of gratitude and then went to find Eve- 
 lyn. 
 
 She had crossed a sloping lawn and was 
 standing by the side of a little stream that 
 gurgled and bubbled in joyous career to the 
 nearby loch. She had thrown a white shawl 
 over her head and shoulders, and looked 
 adorably sylphlike as she turned on hearing 
 his footsteps; the moonlight shone on her face 
 and was reflected in her eyes. 
 
 "Oh, you're here at last!" she cried gaily. 
 "The next time I ask any cavalier to escort 
 me he will come more quickly, I imagine." 
 
 He stood in front of her, and stretched out 
 both hands. 
 
 "Evelyn," he said, "here is one cavalier, 
 at any rate, who offers himself as an escort for 
 life." 
 
 The merriment died out of her eyes, and the 
 quip on her tongue failed her. Greatly daring, 
 her lover took her in his arms. Through the 
 open windows of the drawing room floated the 
 tender refrain of a ballad. Mrs. Forbes was 
 singing, and sweet words blended with sweet 
 music in the still air. 
 
 Then their lips met, and the dark glen be- 
 came an earthly Paradise. 
 
 THE END
 
 H i