The Mission of Poubalov

by Frederick R. Burton

  CHAPTER XXV.

  A STUBBORN ANTAGONIST.

  "Stay just where you are, Michael," exclaimed Clara, "and don't letthat man see your face."

  Mike did as directed, pushing his head and shoulders far into the coupeand whispering:

  "It isn't him, is it, miss, who's got anything to do with the case?"

  "Yes," she replied in a low tone, while she and Paul kept as far backin the gloom of the carriage as they could; "have you ever seen himbefore?"

  "Yes'm, he was down to the stables the day this gentleman called,askin' would I know the man who did the trick to me wheel."

  "It was a ruse," muttered Paul; "he pretended to investigate in thesame spirit that I did so as to throw suspicion from himself. If he hasanything like the perceptions that we think he has, he will recognizethis rig. Isn't it the same, Mike, with which you started to take Mr.Strobel to his wedding?"

  "Identical, sir, horse an' all."

  Poubalov had passed them during this brief conversation, and as none ofthem had ventured to look at him, they could not tell whether or not herecognized the turnout.

  They could hear his rapid steps as he strode along, and there wascertainly no pause to indicate that he had seen anything that surprisedor interested him.

  "I must know where he goes," said Clara. "Get on the box, Michael, anddrive after him without letting him see, if you can help it, that youare following him. Let us know if he enters any house, but do not stopin front of it."

  "Yes'm," replied Mike, closing the door.

  He turned the vehicle about and drove slowly to the corner.

  Poubalov had paused, ostensibly to buy a paper at a news-stand a littleway up the street. He glanced back at the approaching vehicle, shruggedhis shoulders, and moved on as rapidly as before. Mike reported this toClara a few minutes later, when he had seen Poubalov board a ScollaySquare car.

  "He is satisfied that we are following him, then," said Clara, and shefelt afraid as she recalled the threats that the spy had uttered toPaul.

  Would he proceed promptly to put into execution whatever design hemight have for injuring Ivan? Would not the disappointed passion thathad led him to all but the commission of suicide now prompt him tomurder his prisoner?

  Clara sank back and covered her face with her hands, completelyunnerved for the moment by the seeming imminence of catastrophe.

  "When will the end come!" she moaned.

  Mike looked on in honest and surprised distress, and Paul himself,knowing as he did the reasons for her excess of fear, was at his wits'end to suggest comfort.

  Clara uncovered her eyes suddenly. They blazed with new determination.

  "Michael," she cried, "could you overtake the car he is on?"

  "I could try it, miss, but he's got a pretty good start."

  "Try it, then. Don't spare the horse for just this once. If you comenear to catching up, and he looks around, then drive more slowly, as ifyou were not able to keep up the pace, and finally stop altogether, letthe car get away, and I'll tell you what to do next. Hurry!"

  Mike did hurry.

  The coupe started with a jolt as he lashed his astonished horse into agallop.

  "What's your plan, Miss Hilman?" asked Paul, who was at a loss toaccount for this projected maneuver.

  "The man wants us to follow him," she replied, turning upon hercompanion almost fiercely in the intensity of her excitement. "He wouldlead us away from the scene of his operations, don't you see? Since hehas discovered that you have been watching him, he has thought it allover, and he has concluded that it is more than likely that you trackedhim to that street, for that was the street, wasn't it? Of course!Then he would naturally expect me to go there. I don't dream that heforesaw meeting us just now, but what I do believe to be the case is,that finding that house insecure for his purpose, he is now planning toremove his prisoner, and happening upon us as he did, he will do whathe can to lead us away from it. Don't you see?"

  "It sounds reasonable; and you plan, then, to make a pretense at adesperate effort to catch up with him, and when he has got away aconsiderable distance, to return to the house and investigate."

  "That's it," and Clara again sank back, but this time her faceexpressed energy and confidence in success.

  "I wonder how we are getting on," she said after a moment. They weredashing along Washington Street now at a furious rate, attractingattention from all passers. Paul tried to look ahead, but he could notdo so without leaning far out of the coupe, and that did not seem to beadvisable.

  "Never mind," said Clara; "I think the driver can be trusted to playhis part, if his horse doesn't play it for him by falling down fromexhaustion. By the way, I had a letter from O'Brien this morning. Youdon't know who he is, do you? He is the employee at the Park SquareStation who saw Billings drive up, and who says that a man left thecarriage and went into the station. The detectives, you know, supposedthat man to be Ivan. It's a small point, but O'Brien very kindly wroteto me when he discovered it. He says he was talking about the case witha fellow-workman who remembered the occurrence, and who says thatshortly after Billings was seen by O'Brien, a closed carriage stoppedat the Columbus Avenue entrance to the station, near the baggage rooms,you know, and that a man left the station and got in. Of course thatwas the carriage Billings drove, and the man was doubtless the samewho got out at the front entrance. He had simply walked through thestation, mingled with the crowd, perhaps going so far as to buy aticket for New York, and then had rejoined his driver. Doesn't it seemclear?"

  "It's a perfectly plausible explanation of the point, but it's a pityO'Brien's friend didn't turn up with it sooner. You might have beensaved your journey to New York."

  "I'm not sure about that. I am not sorry that I saw Lizzie White,although I never felt for an instant that Ivan had eloped."

  The coupe was still rattling onward at the highest speed the horsecould attain, but a moment after Clara had finished, it came to asudden halt, and they heard a stern voice saying:

  "You know better than to drive so fast in the street! I've a great mindto take you in."

  Mike was protesting in characteristic fashion, inventing somethingabout the necessity of catching a train, when Clara opened the coupedoor and stepped out. A policeman stood at the horse's head, glaringwith offended dignity at the driver.

  "If there is any fault it is mine, officer," she said sweetly; "pleasescold me, for I told him to drive as fast as he could."

  "That don't make no difference, ma'am," returned the policeman,instantly mollified, but still feeling it incumbent upon him to assertthe majesty of municipal ordinances; "he's a regular, and he knewbetter. 'Tain't allowed to go so fast anywhere in Boston 'less it's ona race track."

  "I'm very sorry," said Clara.

  "Go on with you," commanded the policeman to Mike, "and be a littlemore careful. It would be rough on me, you see," he added to Clara, "ifI wasn't to stop him."

  Mike looked inquiringly down at his passenger.

  "Come to the door a minute, Michael," she said, and returned to thecoupe.

  "That cop's too fresh to live," remarked Mike as he put his head in toreceive instructions.

  "Were we anywhere near the car?" asked Clara.

  "Yes'm, we was most onto it, an' I was just goin' to pull up a bit whenthe cop got in his work."

  "Could you see the man we were after?"

  "Yes'm; he turned round, an' I guess he saw what the cop did, but Ilost sight of him tryin' to keep me horse from treadin' on the cop'stoes."

  "It's just as well, then," said Clara, satisfied. "I'm rather glad thepoliceman stopped us, for now Poubalov will be certain why it was thatwe didn't catch up. You needn't hurry so now, Michael; drive back tothe place where we started from."

  "Where Patterson shook me, miss? All right. I'm on," and he clamberedback to the box.

  Nothing occurred to disturb their return journey, and when Mike againopened the door for instructions, Clara and Paul got out.

  "We will go straight
to the house and inquire for Patterson," saidClara, "and if we don't find him there, we'll ask all along the street."

  "Whist, miss!" exclaimed Mike, in his eagerness gripping her arm;"there goes Patterson now!"

  "Where?" she cried, looking, of course, in the wrong direction.

  "Below there, him on the box of the closed carriage, miss. On my soul,it looks like the same----"

  "Follow it quick, Michael," she said excitedly. "Come, Paul!" and shesprang into the coupe.

  "I'll sit on the box with Mike," answered Paul, tremendously aroused;he was already climbing to a place beside the driver; "from here I canact quicker. Hit her up, Mike!"

  So off they went on another pursuit, Mike treating his horse to morelash than he had ever experienced before.

  "I don't believe you'll need to go so fast as to risk arrest," saidPaul; "Patterson probably don't suspect that we are after him, and itwould be better to go a little slower than to be stopped again by apoliceman."

  "I almost ran down one cop who tried to make me pull up before,"responded Mike, through set teeth, "an' I wouldn't mind bein' took inmyself if it wasn't for spoilin' the game. I'll look sharp, sir, neverfear."

  Patterson and his carriage had disappeared around a corner almostbefore the coupe had started, but they were soon in view again, joggingforward at a rather lively rate several blocks ahead.

  "Will I overhaul him, sir, right away?" asked Mike. "I could do it bydriving like sin."

  "Don't risk it," answered Paul; "as long as he is in sight, I shan'tworry if we gain a little at every block. Let's not drive fast enoughto attract attention, for we may have a row when we catch him, and theless crowd around the better."

  "If there's to be a fight," said Mike, with a hopeful grin, "I can doPatterson. I'm not even with him yet for doin' the trick to me wheel."

  "All right. If it comes to a scrimmage, you look after him, and I'lltry to attend to the passengers. I'll tell you just what we suspect,so that you can understand what you are to do. If we're not mistaken,Mr. Strobel is in that carriage, helplessly bound. There may be anotherman with him. In any case, we must get Strobel away and put him in thecoupe. When that is done, you drive straight to Mr. Pembroke's. Don'twait for Miss Hilman or me if we don't happen to get in. We'll takecare of ourselves. You look out for Mr. Strobel. Call the police tohelp if you need to, for we've nothing to fear from the law."

  "I'm on," said Mike.

  The chase went on to the perfect satisfaction of Palovna, who, withgrowing excitement, saw the distance between him and Patterson'scarriage gradually decreasing. His one fear now was that Strobel wouldbe found to be seriously injured, and he felt a great dread lestPoubalov in his madness had killed him! He would not dwell upon thisthought, however, concentrating all his force on the struggle thatwould probably ensue when the closed carriage was at last overtaken.

  They were now in Washington Street, and again going toward the city.

  Patterson was less than a block away.

  "Give it to him now, Mike," said Paul; "get right alongside and makehim pull up."

  Mike nodded and gave his horse a smart cut with the whip. He sprangforward at a gallop. Patterson was driving near the curb, and Miketook the outside. He drove close beside the closed carriage, in orderto "pocket" his adversary and so compel him to pull up. The maneuversucceeded admirably.

  Taken by surprise at the sudden appearance of a rapidly galloping horsevery near his wheels, Patterson reined his pair nearer to the curb,uttering an impatient curse at the carelessness of the other driver.Mike forced him over still further, and Patterson was compelled inself-defense to stop.

  As he did so he turned his head to tell Mike what he thought of him,and Paul recognized the stranger whom he had seen in conversation withPoubalov.

  The two drivers exchanged angry words that would look rather worsein print, if possible, than they sounded, and Paul lost no time indescending to the ground. The vehicles were too close together to admitof going between them, so he ran around to the sidewalk and wrenchedopen the carriage door.

  Then he stood stock still.

  The carriage was empty.

  Clara was beside him in an instant, and though her face fell, sheexclaimed:

  "Shut the door and stop the quarrel. I must speak to Patterson."

  Everything had happened so quickly that the two drivers were still ontheir respective boxes, making remarks to each other, when Paul stoppedupon the wheel beside Patterson and said:

  "Mike, drive up to the curb just in front of us. Get down, Patterson.We've something to say to you."

  Patterson looked down in surprise, glanced at Clara, shook his head andgathered up the reins for a fresh start.

  Paul sprang from the wheel and caught the horses by the bits beforethey had taken a step.

  Mike was carrying out instructions and was then just abreast of him.

  "Mike!" said Paul in a loud voice, "don't stop, but pick up the firstpoliceman you can find and bring him here in a hurry! We'll talk tothis man in a cell if he won't wait here."

  Patterson was unquestionably alarmed at this.

  "What is it you want?" he asked in a surly tone.

  "Get down, and the lady there will tell you," answered Paul.

  Patterson prepared to obey, but just then a south-bound car stoppednear them, and Poubalov alighted. He came rapidly toward the group, hisdark face darker yet with passion.

  "Stay on the box!" he commanded. He took off his hat, bowed stiffly toClara, with one hand on the carriage door, and said:

  "This is my carriage, Miss Hilman. Drive on, James," and before evenquick-witted Clara could interpose a restraining word, the door hadclosed upon Poubalov, and the carriage rolled away.