The Wiles of the Wicked
Page 6
clothes, and that my story possessed a distinctair of improbability.
"Who injured your head like that?" he asked.
In response, I told him how, in crossing a road, I had been knocked downand rendered insensible by a cab, and how, on regaining consciousness, Ihad found myself under the care of some woman unknown.
He gave vent to a short harsh laugh, as though discrediting mystatements.
"You don't believe me," I blurted forth hastily. "Take me to yourinspector. We must lose no time."
"Well, you know," observed the man, "your story, you'll admit, is a veryextraordinary one. You say that a terrible affair has happened in ahouse somewhere about here, yet you can't direct us to it. The wholestory is so curious that I'm afraid you'll have a difficulty inpersuading anybody to believe you."
"If you don't, somebody else will," I snapped. "Come, take me to thepolice-station."
Thus ordered, the man rather reluctantly took my arm, and crossing thewide main road, we traversed a number of short crooked thoroughfares.
"You don't seem a very good walker, mister," the constable observedpresently. "I see a cab in the distance. Would you like to take it?"
"Yes. Call it," I said, for I felt very weak and ill after my terriblenight's adventure.
A few minutes later we were sitting together in the hansom, drivingtowards the address he had given, namely, College Place Police-Station.
On the way I explained to him the whole of the facts as far as I couldrecollect them. He listened attentively to my curious narrative until Ihad concluded, then said--
"Well, sir, it's certainly a most mysterious affair, and the only fear Ihave is that everybody will look upon it with disbelief. I know what Ishould do if I were a gentleman in your place."
"What would you do?"
"Well, I should keep my knowledge to myself, say nothing about it, andleave the revelation of the crime to chance."
"I am compelled to make a report of it, because I was present at thetragedy," I said. "It is my duty, in the interests of justice."
"Of course, that's all very well, I quite agree that your duty as acitizen is to make a statement to my inspector, but if I may bepermitted to say so, my private opinion is, that to preserve a discreetsilence is better than making a fool of one's self."
"You're certainly plain-spoken," I said smiling.
"Oh, well, you'll excuse me, sir," the man said, half-apologetically."I mean no offence, you know. I only tell you how I myself would act.Now, if you could give any real information of value to the detectives,there would be some reason for making the statement, but as you can't,well you'll only give yourself no end of bother for nothing."
"But surely, man, you don't think that with the knowledge of thisterrible affair in my mind I'm going to preserve silence and allow theassassin to escape, do you?"
"Well, it seems that the assassin has escaped already, in any case," theman laughed. "You take it from me that they were a cute lot in thathouse, whoever they were. The wonder is that they didn't kill you."
An exactly similar thought had crossed my mind. The drive seemed a longone, but at length the cab stopped, and we alighted.
I heard the conveyance turn and go off, as together we ascended thesteps of the station. One thing struck me as curious, namely, that theair was filled with a strong odour like turpentine.
"The station is a long way from your beat," I remarked.
"Yes. A fairish way, but we're used to it, and don't notice thedistance."
"And this is College Place--is it?"
"Yes," he responded, conducting me down a long passage. The length ofthe corridor surprised me, and I humorously remarked--
"You're not going to put me in the cells, I hope?"
"Scarcely," he laughed. "But if we did the darkness wouldn't troubleyou very much, I fear. Blindness must be an awful affliction."
He had scarcely uttered these words ere we ascended a couple of stepsand entered what seemed to be a spacious place, the charge-room of thepolice-station.
There was the sound of heavy tramping over bare boards, and suddenly arather gruff voice inquired--
"Well, four-six-eight? What is it?"
"Gentleman, sir--wants to report a tragedy. He's blind, sir."
"Bring him a chair," said the inspector's voice authoritatively.
My guide drew forward a chair, and I seated myself, saying--
"I believe you are the inspector on duty here?"
"Yes, I am. Will you kindly tell me your name and address?"
I did so, and the scratching of a quill told me that he was about totake down my statement.
"Well?" he inquired at length. "Please go on, for my time is limited.What's the nature of the affair?"
"I've been present to-night in a house where a double murder has beencommitted," I said.
"Where?"
"Ah! That's unfortunately just the mystery which I cannot solve. Beingblind, I could obtain no idea of the exterior of the place, and in myexcitement I left it without properly marking the house."
"Tell me the whole of the facts," observed the officer. "Who are thevictims?"
"A woman and a man."
"Young or old?"
"Both young, as far as I can judge. At any rate, I examined the body ofthe man and found him to be about twenty-eight."
"The gentleman has no idea of the street where the tragedy hasoccurred," chimed in the constable. "He met me outside the Museum, andthe blood on his clothes was still wet."
"He's got an injury to the head," remarked the inspector.
"I was knocked down and rendered insensible by a cab," I explained."When I again became conscious I found myself in a strange house."
"They didn't rob you?"
I felt in my pockets, but I could not discover that I had lost anything.I remembered that I had only a couple of half-sovereigns and some loosesilver upon me, and this remained still in my pocket. My fingerstouched the stud and pencil-case, and I hesitated whether to give theseup to the police. But next second the thought flashed through my mindthat if I did, suspicion might be aroused against me, and further thatwhile I kept them in my possession I should possess a secret clue to thevictims of the terrible tragedy.
After I had fully explained the whole circumstances, and the inspectorhad written down with infinite care each word of my remarkablestatement, he said--
"It seems as though both the man and woman fell victims to some plot orother. You say that there were no high words, and that all you heardwas a woman's shriek, and a man's voice say, `Why, you've killed her!'Now, have you any idea of the identity of that man?"
"None whatsoever," I answered. "My mind is a perfect blank oneverything, save the personal appearance of the man who was afterwardsstruck to the heart."
"Exactly. But don't you think that the man who expressed horror at thefirst crime fell the victim of the second?"
"Ah! I never thought of that!" I said. "Of course, it seems mostlikely."
"Certainly. The second crime was committed undoubtedly in order toconceal the first."
"Then how extraordinary it is that I was spared."
"There was a motive, I believe, for that. We shall no doubt find thatlater."
"You will communicate with Scotland Yard, I suppose," I remarked.
"Perhaps we shall; perhaps not," answered the inspector, vaguely. "Theaffair must, of course, be fully investigated. Have you anything toadd? You say that some woman treated you kindly. Have you any idea ofher personal appearance?"
"None," I answered. "The only fact I know was that she was in eveningdress, and that upon her wrist was a curious smooth-worn bangle of akind of fine plaited wire, very pliable, like those worn by Africannative women."
"Eh! What--impossible!" gasped the inspector, in a voice whichsurprised me. But next moment he recovered his self-possession and madea calm remark that this fact did not lead to anything definite. Yet thesudden exclamation of startled surprise which escaped hi
m aroused withinme a belief that my words had given him some mysterious clue.
"You have no further statement to make?"
"None," I responded.
There was a few moments' silence during which time the quill continuedits rapid scratching.
"You will kindly sign your information," the officer said, whereupon theconstable brought me the sheet of foolscap and a pen wherewith Iscrawled my name.
"Good," observed the inspector, with a grunt of