CHAPTER XXX
GONE!
It was the very moment that Henson had been waiting for. All hislistlessness had vanished. He sprang to his feet and made his wayhurriedly across the lawn. Dark as it was, he slipped along with the easeof one who is familiar with every inch of the ground. A man half hisweight and half his age could have been no more active.
He advanced to what seemed to be the very edge of the cliff anddisappeared. There were rocks and grassy knolls which served as landmarksto him. A slip of the foot might have resulted in a serious accident.Above the gloom a head appeared.
"That you, Merritt?" Henson asked, hoarsely.
"Oh, it's me right enough," came the muttered reply. "Good job as I'mused to a seafaring life, or I should never have got up those cliffs.Where's the girl?"
"Oh, the girl's right enough. She's standing exactly where she can hearthe cry of the suffering in distress. You can leave that part of thedrama to me. She's a smart girl with plenty of pluck, but all the same Iam going to make use of her. Have you got the things?"
"Got everything, pardner. Got a proper wipe over the skull, too."
"How on earth did you manage to do that?"
"Meddling with Bell, of course. Why didn't you let him come and producehis picture in peace? We should have been all ready to flabbergaster himwhen he did come."
"My good Merritt, I have not the slightest doubt about it. My plans aretoo carefully laid for them to go astray. But, at the same time, I firmlybelieve in having more than one plan of attack and more than two ways ofescape. If we could have despoiled Bell of his picture it would have beenutterly useless for him to have come here. He would have gone backpreferring to accept defeat to arriving with a cock-and-bull story to theeffect that he had been robbed of his treasure on the way. And so he gotthe best of you, eh?"
"Rather! I fancied that I was pretty strong, but--well, it doesn'tmatter. Here I am with the tools, and I ain't going to fail this time.Before Bell comes the little trap will be ready and you will be able toprove an alibi."
Henson chuckled hoarsely. He loved dramatic effect, and here was one tohand. He almost fancied that he could see the white outline of Chris'sfigure from where he stood.
"Get along," he said. "There is no time to lose."
Merritt nodded and began to make his way upward. Some way above himChris was looking down. Her quick ear had detected some suspicioussound. She watched eagerly. Just below her the big electric light on thecastle tower cast a band of flame athwart the cliff. Chris looked downsteadily at this. Presently she saw a hand uplifted into the belt offlame, a hand grasping for a ledge of rock, and a quickly stifled cryrose to her lips. The thumb on the hand was smashed flat, there was atiny pink nail in the centre.
Chris's heart gave one quick leap, then her senses came back to her. Sheneeded nobody to tell her that the owner of the hand was James Merritt.Nor did she require any fine discrimination to perceive that he was up tono good. That it had something to do with the plot against Bell she feltcertain. But the man was coming now, he could only reach the top of thecliffs just under the wall where she was standing. Chris peered eagerlydown into the path of light until the intruder looked up. Then she jerkedback, forgetting that she was in the darkness and absolutely invisible.The action was disastrous, however, for it shook Chris's diamond starfrom her head, and it fell gently almost at the feet of the climber. Aninstant later and his eyes had fallen upon it.
"What bloomin' luck," he said, hoarsely. "I suppose that girl yonder musthave dropped it over. Well, it is as good as a couple of hundred pound tome, anyway. Little missie, you'd better take a tearful farewell of yourlumps of sugar, as you'll never see them again."
To Chris's quivering indignation he slipped the star into hisbreast-pocket. Just for the moment the girl was on the point of cryingout. She was glad she had refrained a second after, for a reallybrilliant thought occurred to her. She had never evolved anything moreclever in her life, but she did not quite realise that as yet.
Nearer and nearer the man with the maimed thumb came. Chris stepped backinto the shadow. She waited till the intruder had slipped past her in thedirection of the castle, and prepared to follow at a discreet distance.Whatever he was after, she felt sure he was being ordered and abetted byReginald Henson. Two minutes, five minutes, elapsed before she moved.
What was that? Surely a voice somewhere near her moaning for help. Chrisstood perfectly still, listening for the next cry. Her sense of humanityhad been touched, she had forgotten Merritt entirely. Again the stifledcry for help came.
"Who are you?" Chris shouted. "And where are you?"
"Henson," came the totally unexpected reply. "I'm down below on a ledgeof rock. No, I'm not particularly badly hurt, but I dare not move."
Chris paused for a moment, utterly bewildered. Henson must have been onthe look-out for his accomplice, she thought, and had missed his footingand fallen. Pity he had not fallen a little farther, she murmuredbitterly, and broken his neck. But this was only for a moment, and hersense of justice and humanity speedily returned.
"I cannot see anything of you," she said.
"All the same, I can see your outline," Henson said, dismally. "I don'tfeel quite so frightened now. I can hang on a bit longer, especially nowI know assistance is at hand. At first I began to be afraid that I was aprisoner for the night. No; don't go. If I had a rope I should have theproper confidence to swarm up again. And there is a coil of rope in thearbour close by you. Hang it straight down over that middle boulder andfasten your end round one of those iron pilasters."
The rope was there as Henson stated; indeed, he had placed it therehimself. With the utmost coolness and courage Chris did as she wasdesired. But it took some little time to coax the rope to go over in theproper direction. There was a little mutter of triumph from below, andpresently Henson, with every appearance of utter exhaustion, climbed overthe ledge to the terrace. At the same moment an owl hooted twice from thelong belt of trees at the bottom of the garden.
"I hope you are none the worse for your adventure?" Chris asked,politely.
Henson said sententiously that he fancied not. His familiarity with thecliffs had led him too far. If he had not fallen on a ledge of rockgoodness only knows what might have happened. Would Chris be so good asto lend him the benefit of her arm back to the castle? Chris wasgraciously willing, but she was full of curiosity at the same time. HadHenson really been in danger, or was the whole thing some part of anelaborate and cunning plot? Henson knew perfectly well that she had takena great fancy to the upper terrace, and he might--
Really it was difficult to know what to think. They passed slowly alongtill the lights here and there from the castle shone on their faces. Atthe same time a carriage had driven up to the hall door and a visitor wasgetting out. With a strange sense of eagerness and pleasure Chrisrecognised the handsome features and misshapen shape of Hatherly Bell.
"The expected guest has arrived," Henson said.
There was such a queer mixture of snarling anger and exulting triumph inhis voice that Chris looked up. Just for an instant Henson had droppedthe mask. A ray of light from the open door streamed fully across hisface. The malignant pleasure of it startled Chris. Like a flash she beganto see how she had been used by those miscreants.
"He is very handsome," she contrived to say, steadily.
"Handsome is that handsome does," Henson quoted. "Let us hope that Dr.Bell will succeed in his mission. He has my best wishes."
Chris turned away and walked slowly as possible up the stairs. Anotherminute with that slimy hypocrite and she felt she must betray herself.Once out of sight she flew along the corridor and snapped up the electriclight. She fell back with a stifled cry of dismay, but she was moresorrowful than surprised.
"I expected it," she said. "I knew that this was the thing theywere after."
The precious copy of Rembrandt was no longer there!
The Crimson Blind Page 30