Simon

by J. Storer Clouston

  XXV

  A TELEGRAM

  The car took Mr. Carrington straight back to the town and dropped him atthe door of Mr. Rattar's office.

  "I shall want you again at two o'clock sharp," he said to the chauffeur,and turned in to the office.

  He caught the lawyer just before he went out to lunch and said at once:

  "I want to see Sir Malcolm Cromarty. Can you arrange for him to run uphere for a day?"

  Simon stared at him hard, and there seemed to be even more caution thanusual in his eye; almost, indeed, a touch of suspicion. The lawyer wasnot looking quite as well as usual; there was a drawn look about theupper part of the face and a hint of strain both in eyes and mouth.

  "Why do you want to see Sir Malcolm?" he enquired.

  "Well," said Carrington, "the fact of the matter is, Mr. Rattar, that,as you yourself said, the direct evidence is practically nil, and one isforced to go a good deal by one's judgment of the people suspected orconcerned."

  Simon grunted sceptically.

  "Very misleading," he said.

  "That depends entirely on one's judgment, or rather on one's instinctfor distinguishing bad eggs from good. As a matter of observation Idon't find that certain types of men and women commit certain actions,and I do find that they are apt to commit others. And contrariwise withother types."

  "Very unsafe doctrine," said Simon emphatically.

  "Extremely--in the hands of any one who doesn't know how to apply it. Onthe other hand, it can be made a short and commonsense cut to the truthin many cases. For instance, the man who suspected Mr. Bisset ofcommitting the crime would simply be wasting his time and energy, evenif there seemed to be some evidence against him."

  "Any man can commit any crime," said Simon dogmatically.

  Carrington smiled and shook his head.

  "Personally," said he, "if you had a young and pretty wife, I am capableof running away with her, and possibly even of letting her persuade meto abscond with some of your property, but I am not capable of layingyou out in cold blood and rifling that safe. And a good judge of menought to be able to perceive this and not waste his time in trying toconvict me of an offence I couldn't commit. On the other hand, if thecrime was one that my type is apt to commit he would be a fool to acquitme off-hand, even if there was next to no evidence against me."

  "Then you simply go by your impressions of people?"

  "Far from it. A complete absence of motive would force me to acquit eventhe most promising looking blackguard, unless of course there were someform of lunacy in his case. One must have motive and one must haveevidence as well, but character is the short cut--if the circumstancespermit you to use it. Sometimes of course they don't, but in this casethey force me to depend on it very largely. Therefore I want to see SirMalcolm Cromarty."

  The lawyer shook his head.

  "No, no, Mr. Carrington," he said, "I can't bring him down here on suchtrivial grounds."

  "But you yourself suspect him!"

  For a moment the lawyer was silent.

  "I think suspicion points to him; but what is wanted is _evidence_. Youcan't get evidence merely by bringing him here. You don't suppose hewill confess, do you?"

  "Have you ever studied the French methods of getting at the truth?"enquired Carrington, and when Simon shook his head contemptuously, headded with some significance: "We can learn a good deal from ourneighbours."

  "Trivial grounds!" muttered Simon. "No, no!"

  Carrington became unusually serious and impressive.

  "I am investigating this case, Mr. Rattar, and I want to see SirMalcolm. Will you send for him or not?"

  "He wouldn't come."

  "It depends on the urgency of the message."

  "I can't invent bogus urgent messages to my clients."

  Carrington smiled.

  "I might do the inventing for you."

  Again the lawyer stared at him and again there was the same extremecaution in his eye, mingled with a hint of suspicion.

  "I'll think about it," he said.

  "I want to see him immediately."

  "Call again to-morrow morning."

  Carrington's manner altered at once into his usual easy-going air.

  "Very well, then, Mr. Rattar," said he as he rose.

  "By the way," said Simon, "you have been out at Keldale this morning, Ipresume?"

  "Yes," said Carrington carelessly, "but there is really nothing new tobe found."

  Simon looked at him hard.

  "No fresh evidence?"

  Carrington laughed.

  "Not likely, after you and your sleuth hounds had been over the ground!"

  He went to the door, and there Simon again spoke.

  "What are you doing next?"

  "Upon my word, I am rather wondering. I must think about it. Goodmorning."

  For a man who was rather wondering, Mr. Carrington's next movements wereremarkably prompt. He first went straight to the Post Office anddispatched a wire. It was addressed to Sir Malcolm Cromarty and itran--"Come immediately urgent news don't answer please don't delay." Theonly thing that seemed to indicate a wondering and abstracted mind wasthe signature to this message. Instead of "Carrington" he actually wrote"Cicely Farmond."

  He then hurried to the hotel, which he reached at one-fifty. In tenminutes he had bolted a hasty lunch and at two o'clock was sitting inthe car again.

  "To Stanesland Castle," he commanded. "And be as quick as you can."