The Slave of Silence
Page 15
CHAPTER XV
Used as he was to quick scenes and dramatic changes, Berrington wassurprised for the moment. The thing was like some bewildering Easternvision. A moment ago the place had been dull and dark, and now like aflash, warmth and light were there, to say nothing of the tastefulextravagance of the supper-table. Berrington could see the fruit and theflowers, the dainty confections and the costly wines. How had the thingbeen managed?
But it was no moment to speculate about that. So far it merely tended toprove the almost diabolical cleverness of the people with whom thepolice had to deal. The Rajah himself could be seen standing moodily inthe doorway chewing a cigar between his strong, yellow teeth. Berringtonobserved him very carefully.
As one who knew India, Berrington was in a position to judge the manfairly well. As a matter of fact, the newcomer did not look in the leastlike an Eastern potentate. True, his skin was dark, but not more sallowthan that of many a European. His hair was thick, but his eyes were darkblue, and his dress was eminently that of a man about town. With hispublic school and University education, the Rajah had passed for anEnglishman.
"What sort of a reputation does he bear?" Berrington asked in a whisper.
"Shady," Field replied briefly. "What you call a renegade, I shouldsay. Has all the vices of both hemispheres, without the redeemingfeatures of either. Low-class music halls, ballet dancers,prize-fighters and the like. At the same time he's got the good sensenot to flaunt these vices before the public, and he knows how to conducthimself with dignity when there is any necessity for it. Despite hishandsome income, he is frequently in dire need of money. Still, I shouldnever have identified him with this business had I not seen him here. Ihad no idea that he even knew Sir Charles Darryll and Mr. Richford."
The Rajah stood there biting his nails impatiently, as if waiting forsomebody. He crossed over to the table and opened a bottle of champagneto which he helped himself liberally. The fizz of the wine could bedistinctly heard in the drawing-room.
"I'd give half my pension to know how that thing is worked," saidBerrington. "A moment ago there was nothing on that table, and now lookat it! It would have taken the staff of a large hotel half an hour toarrange a meal like that. The flowers alone would have occupied thetime. The servants here----"
"You may bet your life that the servants know nothing about it," Fieldsaid. "They have been sent away right enough. I feel quite sure thatthey are innocent of everything. It would never do to let domestics talkof these matters."
The Rajah was pacing up and down the dining-room talking to himself. Amoment later there was a rattle of a latchkey and two people came in.The first was a young man with the unmistakable stamp of the actor onhim, smart, well groomed, clean shaven, the society actor of to-day. Hewas followed by an exceedingly pretty, fair-haired woman, who mighthave belonged to the same profession. Just for the moment it occurred toField that these were ordinary guests who knew nothing of the mystery ofthe house. There was nothing about either of them to connect them withcrime or mystery.
They pitched their wraps carelessly on the hall table as if they hadbeen there before, and made their way to the dining-room. The Rajah'sface grew eager.
"Well, my children," he said in excellent English, "have you had anyluck? Cora, dear, tell me that you have succeeded in our littlecounterplot."
The woman's pretty face grew hard. She pulled a chair up to the tableand sat down.
"Give me some of that _pate_ and open a bottle of champagne," she said."What with this doubling about and covering up one's tracks, I've had notime to think of food. The same remark applies to poor Reggie here.Haven't we succeeded well enough for you?"
"Well, yes, you managed the big thing all right, but that's noteverything. You managed the big thing so well that the police areutterly baffled and don't know which way to look. But the stones,_carissima_, the sparkling stones. What of them?"
The woman gave a shrug of her ivory shoulders. She could be plainly seenby the watchers lost in the darkness of the drawing-room.
"The deplorable luck was against us," she said. "I actually had my handsupon the stones and nearly snatched them away under the very eyes of theadorable Richford. I said to myself we are not going to do his work fornothing. He followed me to the room where the stones were and wetalked. You see I had business in the room as you know. And Reggie herewas downstairs, making himself agreeable to the fair owner of thestones, so that I had a free hand in the matter. If Reggie had not beenso indiscreet as to leave the poor child----"
"But what could I do?" the man called Reggie protested. "Never was socruel a piece of bad luck in the history of war. Who should come downbut Langford?"
"But you were so carefully disguised that Langford could not possiblyhave known you," the woman said.
"I admit it. I positively had forgotten the fact for the moment. Thesight of Langford was such a shock to me. On the spur of the moment Imade my excuses and departed."
"Leaving the little girl uneasy and suspicious," said the woman, "sothat she came up to her room where I was and walked off with the gems. Iwas very near to taking her by the throat and half strangling her. Butthere were greater issues at stake and I had to restrain my feelings. Ihad to smile and nod and play my part whilst the little lady was sendingthe jewels off to the safe custody of the hotel clerk. I could havedanced with fury, I could have wept with rage. But what was the good?"
The Rajah swore roundly and passionately. He could be seen from thedrawing-room, striding about the place and muttering as he went.
"It is more than unfortunate," he said. "If we could have got hold ofthose jewels we should have had a fortune in our grasp. We were quitejustified in robbing Richford, who only serves me for his own ends. Heis a bully and a coward and he must pay the price. He says that he hasno ready money, that his affairs are more desperate than we imagine. Andyet he could find the cash to buy those diamonds."
"They always mean cash," the woman said. "It is a good thing for thewife of a speculator to be in possession of a lot of fine diamonds. Itwould have been a precious good thing for us, too, if Reggie had notlost his nerve last night."
"Have you any idea who those people are?" asked Berrington of hiscompanion.
"Not personally," Field replied, "but I have a pretty shrewd idea. It isvery good of them to come here, just as nature made them, and withoutdisguises. Surely you know what they are talking about? The discussionis over Mrs. Richford's diamonds which she nearly lost, as she told me.Unless I am greatly mistaken, we are listening to a confession of theway in which that robbery had been planned. Stripped of their veryclever disguises, these two people yonder are no other than Countess dela Moray and General Gastang."
Berrington nodded, wondering why he had not found them out before. Fromthe dining-room came the sound of a match, as the Rajah lighted anothercigar.
"We shall have to go back to our original scheme," he was saying. "Therewas never anything better. We must get the other man into this. He mustbe frightened. Send him the salt."
There was another rattle of the latchkey, and the watchers were not inthe least surprised to see Richford come in, with the air of a man whois quite at home. He was looking white and anxious and a little annoyedas he took off his coat and entered the dining-room. Unhappily he closedthe door behind him, so that no more conversation could be heard.
"That's unlucky," Field said in a vexed tone. "What does that saltallusion mean? You recollect telling me that Richford was frightened byfinding that salt on his plate?"
"It's a kind of Indian dodge," Berrington proceeded to explain. "It hasto do with caste and religious observances and all that sort of thing.Don't be deceived with the idea that you are on the track of anAnarchist society or anything of that kind."
"Is it something more or less on the line of freemasonry, then?" Fieldasked.
"Well, yes, you can put it that way if you like," Berrington saidthoughtfully. "I made a special study of that kind of thing in India,though I only came across the salt
fetich a few times. It seemed to meto be more religious than anything else, though in one or two instancesit was attended by tragedy. There was a young native prince who was agreat friend of mine and he was about to be married to a princess whowas as bright and intelligent as himself. She had been educated likehimself in Europe, so that they were free from a deal of superstitionand prejudice. The prince was dining at my bungalow one night when Inoticed a little bullet of salt on his plate. It was useless to ask himhow it got there for one could never have elicited the truth from any ofthe native servants. My friend got dreadfully pale for a moment, but heturned it off and he thought no more about the matter. But the next daythe prince was found dead in his bed; he had shot himself with arevolver."
"And you never got to the bottom of it?" Field asked with pardonablecuriosity.
"Never. There are mysteries in India that puzzle us as much as they didin the good old days of John Company. What's that noise?"
There was a sound like the rumble of wheels along the hall, andpresently appeared a kind of invalid chair, self-propelled by itsoccupant, a little man with a pale face and dark eyes. He paused beforethe dining-room door and rattled the handle.
"Evidently the master of the house," Berrington suggested. "The lame manwho can't walk. It was he who sent the message to Richford."
"Sure enough," Field exclaimed. "Must have been in the abductionbusiness. Evidently the same gentleman who was waiting in the black caboutside the _Royal Palace_. Rather a nice looking man, with by no meansunpleasant face. Hope they won't shut the door upon him."
Somebody opened the dining-room door at this moment and the lame mansteered himself in. Where he had come from was a mystery, as the househad appeared to be quite empty when Berrington and his companion enteredit. Clearly the man could not have come from the upper part of thepremises, for his physical condition disposed of that suggestion.
"Well, my friends," the newcomer cried gaily, "very glad to see you allsafe and sound again. So our little scheme has not been a failure.Richford, judging from the gloom on your brow, you have not had the luckyou desire. You must be content with the knowledge that virtue bringsits own reward. And yet if you only knew it you are the most fortunateof men. For your sweet sake we have undertaken difficulties and dangersthat----"
"Oh, shut up," Richford growled. "I don't understand what you aredriving at. Anybody would think that you were no more than a silly childwho had nothing to do but to attend to your flowers and stick yourpostage stamps in your album. And yet----"
"And yet I can give my attention to more serious matters," the cripplesaid with a sudden stern expression and in a voice that had a metallicring in it. "You are right. And if you two have eaten and drunk enoughwe will get to business."
There was a little stir amongst the listeners, the Rajah pitching hiscigar into the grate and coming forward eagerly. Evidently something wasgoing to happen.