The Sign of the Stranger

by William Le Queux

that hollow show ofwealth and superiority, and how she longs for the quiet of obscurity.How very true it is that wealth does not bring happiness; that there isno pleasure in this world without the gall of pain, that love findssanctuary in the heart of the princess just as it does in that of thefactory-girl. There is no peace on this side of eternity, therefore wemust forever court the illusions which evade us.

  What could I say? If it were to her interest to see this man alone--this man of whom the police were in such active search--then to serveher I ought not to object. I felt indignant that my well-beloved shouldbe polluted by the presence of such an adventurer, and yet I recollectedhow they had walked together in the wood, and what was more--that theman must be aware of her secret, whatever it was! He had walked andspoken to her; he had seen her, her white dress of the previous nightwet, mud-stained and bedraggled--he must know, or at least guess, thetruth!

  Did she hold him in fear on that account? Was she beneath the thrall ofthis adventurer?

  For a long time we stood talking, until as though in fear that the manwhose call had been so unwelcome and disturbing should grow tired ofwaiting in the hall below, she urged me gently to take leave of her.

  "Go, Willoughby--for my sake--do!" she implored of me with those softpleading blue eyes that were so resistless. "Let me see him alone. Letme do this--if--if you wish to save me," she urged.

  And I saw by her pale anxious face that she was desperate.

  Therefore I kissed her once again with fondness, and assuring her of mytrust and love, left her, promising to return next morning.

  Yes, I foolishly left her to the threats and insults of that man whoknew her secret.

  Ah! Had I only known the truth!

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.

  WHEREBY RICHARD KEENE IS SURPRISED.

  In the entrance-hall of the hotel I saw the man Logan, the man who heldmy love's secret, seated in a chair patiently awaiting her summons.There were others, well-dressed men and women, in evening toiletteslounging there in the hour before retiring. It is curious with whatstudied ease women lounge at hotels. The woman who is alert and uprightat home falls into the most graceful poses after dinner at a hotel,presumably to court the admiration of strangers.

  The man Logan, however, still wore his light overcoat over hisdinner-jacket, and his head was buried in an evening paper, whether,however, this was to conceal his features or not I was unable todetermine. Still, he was wanted by the police, and was therefore takingevery precaution against being recognised. From where I stood at theback of the large square hall, I saw that his features had been slightlyaltered by the darkening of his eyebrows, undoubtedly with that objectin view.

  As I stood watching unseen, a waiter approached, spoke to him, and thenhe followed the man upstairs to the presence of my adored.

  Had I done wrong in allowing the fellow to go to her alone? That wasthe thought which next moment seized me. Yet when I recollected herearnest appeal I could only remain lost in wonderment at her motive.But determined on watching the man in secret, I fetched my hat andovercoat, and sat patiently in the hall to await his return.

  The clock chimed eleven musically, and a party of Americans noisily leftto catch the night mail to London. The staff changed, the night-portercame on duty, and the little group of idlers in the hall graduallydiminished. Indeed, they grew so few that I feared in passing out hemight recognise me. Therefore at half-past eleven I strode forth intothe night. Princes Street with its long line of lights, looked brightand pleasant even at that hour, yet it was almost deserted save for oneor two belated wayfarers.

  I took up my position at the railings on the opposite side of the road,from where I could see each person emerging from the hotel. Long andanxiously I waited, wondering what was transpiring in that room thewindow of which was straight before me. The blind was down, but noshadow was cast upon it, so I could surmise nothing.

  At last he came. For a moment he stood on the steps, evidently inhesitation. Then he descended and hurried away. I followed himclosely, across the railway, up High Street, and then he plunged into anintricate labyrinth of narrow streets quite unknown to me. At the timeI believed he was not aware that I was following him, but when Irecollect how cleverly he evaded me I now quite recognise that he musthave detected my presence from the first. At any rate, after leading methrough a number of narrow thoroughfares in a low quarter of the city,he suddenly turned a corner and disappeared from my sight as completelyas though he had vanished into air.

  My own idea is that he disappeared into a house--probably into one ofthose whose doors are open always as a refuge for thieves, and there aremany in every big city in the kingdom, houses where pressure on the doorcauses it to yield and close again noiselessly, and from which there isan exit into another thoroughfare.

  I spent some little time in making an examination of the houses at thespot where he had so suddenly become lost, but finding myself baffled,turned, and after wandering for a full half-hour lost in those crookedstreets of old Edinburgh, I at last found myself in a thoroughfare Irecognised, and turned to the hotel more than ever convinced of theman's shrewdness.

  Next morning, at ten o'clock, I found Lolita alone in her sitting-room,and on entering saw by her countenance that the night had, for her, beena sleepless one.

  "Well," I said, raising her hand reverently to my lips as was my wont,"and what was the result of last night's interview?"

  She drew a long breath, shook her head sadly, and replied--

  "The situation is, for me, as perilous as it ever was. I am nowconvinced that what you have said regarding Marigold is right--sheactually is my enemy, and yet I have foolishly taken her into myconfidence!"

  "But you are still hopeful?" I asked anxiously. "This man Logan hassurely not refused to stand your friend?"

  "He refuses to tell me certain facts which, if revealed, would place mein a position of safety," she responded blankly.

  "But he must be compelled!" I cried. "I will compel him."

  "Ah! you cannot," she cried despairingly. "If you approach him, youwill upset everything. He must not know of your visit to me. If he didit would be fatal--fatal."

  I held my breath, for had I not foolishly betrayed my presence to him onthe previous night? And had he not cleverly tricked me? I hesitatedwhether to tell my love the bitter truth of my injudicious act, but atlast resolved to do so, and explained the incident briefly, just as Ihave related it to you.

  "Ah?" she exclaimed. "Then I fear that all I have arranged with himwill be of no avail. He will now believe that I intend to play himfalse. My only hope now lies in Richard Keene."

  "Then I will return to him and act as you wish," I said.

  She stood thoughtfully looking out of the window for a long time. Atlast she said--

  "I think it best, after all, to return to Sibberton. My aunt had aletter from George this morning asking her to join the house-party atonce, and she seems anxious to do this and go to Lord Penarth'safterwards."

  "Very well," I said eagerly; "let us all return together." I feltsomehow that she would be safer at home beneath my protection thanwandering about in hotels exposed to the perils which her unscrupulousenemies were placing before her.

  And so it happened that on that same night we joined the party assembledin the drawing-room at Sibberton just before dinner, and there, in frontof them all, the young Earl introduced Keene and Lolita, believing themto be unacquainted.

  At the instant the introduction was made I chanced to glance around, andthere saw Marigold standing in the doorway, her face pale as death. Shehad been out, and being unaware of Lolita's return was, I saw, amazedand filled with apprehension, while Keene on his part bowed over mylove's hand with a distant respect as though they were perfectstrangers.

  Dinner was, as usual, a long function, served with that stateliness andceremony that characterised everything in the Stanchester household.George made a point of preserving punctiliously all the ancienttraditions of his n
oble house, even to the ceremony, and, after theport, of passing round the snuff to the men in the great old silver boxthat had been a present of King James the Second to the Earl of histime.

  I saw that Marigold was ill at ease at Lolita's return. She hadwhispered something to her as they went in to dinner, but what it was Iknew not. Keene, on the other hand, preserved an utter disregard ofwhat was in progress, except that once I detected a meaning glance castat the brilliant hostess upon whose throat scintillated the wonderfulStanchester diamonds.

  Afterwards, in order to learn something more, I played billiards withhim. We were alone in the room, for bridge and music were attractingthe others. He was, I found, an excellent player, yet not in goodpractice.

  "You know," he said apologetically, "I get so little billiards, livingas I do mostly in the forest. I played a good deal in town a few yearsago, but nowadays rarely ever