The Slave of Silence

by Fred M. White

  CHAPTER XVIII

  Inspector Field swore a good round oath under his breath. He had notlooked for an insane folly like this from a well-trained officer whomight have been expected to keep his feelings in check. But, as Fieldsadly reflected, it was useless to anticipate anything rational when awoman came into the case.

  Everything had been going beautifully and smoothly a few minutes ago,and now the plot was ruined. Field was anything but a timid man, he hadbeen in too many tight places in his life to know the meaning of theword timidity, but then he had to exercise a certain discretion.

  At the same time he was not blind to the fact that his military ally wasin considerable danger. The only thing now would be to bluff the wholething through, to pretend that the game was up and that the house wassurrounded with police.

  With this intention in his mind, Field crossed the hall and tried thedining-room door. He was not altogether surprised to find the doorlocked. He listened at the keyhole, but he could not hear anythingwhatever. Furthermore, the application of an eye to the keyholedisclosed the fact that the room was in darkness. Despite his courage athrill ran down the spine of the inspector. There was some more thanusually devilish work going on here.

  "Well, it can't be helped," Field muttered. "It's the fortune of war.One of us has come to grief, and if I stay here I may share the samefate, and I the only one left who knows anything of the secrets of theprison house. I'll run over and get assistance and we'll search thehouse. After all, my friend the Colonel has only himself to blame."

  Without waiting for anything further, Field slipped out by the way hehad come. Once in the road, he glanced back at the house, but the wholeplace seemed to be in pitchy darkness. There was nothing for it now butto make his way to the nearest police station, and get all theassistance possible. There was no trouble at the station across theCommon, the mere mention of Field's name being sufficient. A few minuteslater half a dozen constables in silent shoes were on their way to thescene of action. There was to be no fuss and bother; they decided toenter quietly and unostentatiously by the larder window, which was donewithout any noise whatever.

  Once the exits were guarded, there was no necessity for furtherconcealment. But though the lights were turned up all over the house andthe most careful search made, not a sign of human life could be seen.Everybody had vanished, as if the whole thing had been a dream. Field,standing in the hall and biting his nails, was fain to admit that he wasbeaten.

  How on earth had those people managed to efface themselves in thatamazing manner? They had all apparently vanished off the face of theearth. And there was that bulky package too, that Field believedcontained the body of Sir Charles. It was long past midnight beforeField left the house, having taken precautions not to disturb anything,but even those precautions might have been in vain. For all he knew tothe contrary, the place might be watched by its late occupants who werelaughing in their sleeves.

  "No use staying here any longer, Macklin," he said disgustedly. "I shallhave to go back on my tracks once more. Never do I take an amateur intomy business plans again. But it looks as if he has paid for hisindiscretion. Good night."

  It was late into the following afternoon before Field saw BeatriceDarryll again. When he did so, he had nothing to report save failure.Beatrice listened with the greatest interest to what had taken place thenight before, but her interest gave place to grave anxiety when sheheard what had been the result of Colonel Berrington's daring action.

  "Do you suppose that he is in real danger?" Beatrice asked.

  "Well, I'm afraid he is," Field admitted. "You see we are dealing withthe most daring and clever and unscrupulous gang of scoundrels that Iever encountered. They would not stick at murder or anything else ifanybody crossed them. Mind you, it was a most foolish thing for theColonel to do. Still, he is a soldier and a very resourceful man and hemay pull through. Again these people may not have designs on his life;it is just possible that they might keep him a prisoner until theirplans had been successfully carried out. Of course when the Colonel wastalking to the grey lady to-night I was not supposed to listen. But Ihave very good ears, and they spoke loudly at times. I gathered that thescoundrel Sartoris was once engaged to a young lady who threw him over.Now it occurred to me that the young lady might give me an idea or two,provided that she is in England at the present moment."

  "Why should you think that she is not here?" Beatrice asked.

  "Because the engagement took place at Simla. This young lady was stayingwith her brother and his wife; unfortunately I did not catch the name.The curious part of the affair is that she is a ward of your latefather."

  Beatrice looked puzzled for a moment. She did not quite understand.

  "You mean that my father was guardian under a will or something of thatkind?" she asked.

  "That's it, miss," Field exclaimed. "We ought to be able to identify theyoung lady between us, especially as the affair only took place threeyears ago or so, as I understand. If you will pardon me for saying so,Sir Charles was a very careless gentleman, and hardly the man that acareful parent would choose as a guardian. The young lady's father musthave known yours very intimately indeed, or very little, it does notmatter which. Still, I don't suppose that Sir Charles had many of theseaffairs on hand. Now, see if you can recollect anything of the kindhappening during the last three or four years, Miss Darryll."

  Beatrice thought the matter over carefully for a moment. Her facelighted up presently.

  "I fancy that I have it," she said. "Lord Edward Decie, who was a greatfriend of my father, died about three years ago. The two men did a lotof speculating together, and indeed Lord Edward passed for a shrewd andsuccessful man. When he died I know my father was executor under thewill and that he had some control over the Hon. Violet Decie. I neversaw the girl, because she went to India with a married brother, and,for all I know she is there still. I understood that she was rather animpulsive kind of girl who did wild things on the spur of the moment.But you can easily inquire."

  Field's face expressed a guarded satisfaction. So far he was not verymuch out.

  "That is the young lady, miss," he cried. "I'll put the inquiries onfoot at once. And I don't think that I need detain you any longer."

  "One minute," Beatrice said. "What about Colonel Berrington? What stepshave you taken to find him? Are you going to have that house atWandsworth watched?"

  Field intimated that he was, though in his opinion it was time wasted.

  "They will expect something of the kind, you see," he said. "Of courseit is a help to me that my presence in the house was not suspected. Theymay conclude that Berrington was alone in the business, and on the otherhand they may not conclude anything of the kind. But, all the same, I amgoing to have the house carefully watched."

  Before the day was out the disappearance of Sir Charles's body wasobscured by the strange absence of Colonel Berrington. Field would havekept this latter fact concealed as far as possible, but thenBerrington's landlady had been his old nurse, and she was not rationalin the matter at all. The authorities had promised to do all they could,though the press accused them of being exceedingly lax in the business.As a matter of fact, Field had given his chiefs an inkling of thesituation, so that they were really doing their best all the time. Acarefully planned watch on the Wandsworth Common house had come tonothing, but the people there had not yet returned; indeed very littlecould have been done if they had.

  And Field was turning in another direction. He had to trace the younglady who at one time had been engaged to Carl Sartoris, and he had foundit a more difficult business than he had anticipated. It was a delicatebusiness, too, calling for tactful manipulation. A somewhat talkativeaunt of the young lady was found at length. She took Field for a lawyerwho was seeking the Honorable Violet for her own advantage.

  "Oh, yes. She has been back from India a long time," Lady Parkstonesaid. "Violet is a very strange and clever girl. Yes, she has beenengaged more than once. But the engagements are always broken off.Violet
was always in love with herself. But very clever, as I saidbefore. At one time she bade fair to become quite a famous artist, andshe has had stories in the magazines. Her last fad was the stage andthat has lasted quite a long time. In fact she is on the stage now."

  "In London, my lady?" Field asked. "She is not acting under her ownname, of course?"

  "No," Lady Parkstone explained. "She is Miss Adela Vane; at present sheis playing at the Comedy Opera House. It is just possible that you knowthe name."

  Field knew the name very well. He departed presently well satisfied withthe progress that he had made. It was getting quite late by the time hehad found out where Miss Vane lodged, but he had time to go back toScotland Yard again. There, a note from the superintendent of theWandsworth Police was awaiting him, asking him to go down as soon aspossible. The note was vague but it suggested possibilities.

  The Wandsworth authorities had not much to say, but they had one detail.Last night one of the men who was told to watch No. 100 had seensomething. The windows were all shuttered from top to bottom, eachshutter having a little ventilator in it. Field nodded, for he hadnoticed this himself.

  "Very well, then," the superintendent went on. "So far as we know thehouse is empty. But is it? If so why should a light have been seen lastnight, behind the little round ventilator? The light came and went, andin a great flashing, dazzling kind of way for half an hour, and thenstopped. It was as if a child was playing with the switch of theelectric light."

  Field nodded and smiled. He looked exceedingly pleased with himself.

  "Guess I understand," he said. "Especially as we are seeking for amilitary gentleman. We'll go as far as Audley Place at once, andinvestigate. Only we shall have to call at the Post Office and borrow aclerk out of the telegraph department. Come along."

  Field volunteered no explanation, and his puzzled colleague followed himout of the office. The telegraph operator and the others stood oppositethe house in Audley Place till the patience of all was pretty wellexhausted. Then suddenly the light began to flicker in the upper part ofthe house.

  "Isn't that a message of some kind?" Field asked of the telegraph clerk.

  "Right," the other said promptly. "That's a kind of telegraph dash anddot system. Whistle a bar from 'when we are married.' Thank you, sir.That's what the gentleman who is sending out those flash signals isasking somebody to do who happens to understand. That last lot offlashes means 'Thank the Lord!' Now he's getting to business. He wantsto know who we are before he goes on."

  "Can't you give it back again in any way?" Field asked. "Say it's me."

  Very loudly the telegraphic operator tapped the pavement with his stick.It sounded quite meaningless, but the light in the house flared up anddown in a triumphant kind of way. The flickering began once more andthen stopped.

  "It's Colonel Berrington," the clerk said presently. "He says you arenot to bother about him in the least, as he is quite safe, and so longas he is in there the men are not likely to do anything rash. And herecomes the gist of the message. You are to go to Edward Street in theBorough and keep an eye on one of the houses there,--the Colonel doesn'tknow which. And you are to go at once, he says."