places which I did not know. It was quite half
an hour before they had finished their
checking and counting.
"Good," said Chichester, and there was a
sound as thought he pushed back his chair. "I
will take these with me for the 'Colonel' to
see."
"When do you leave?"
"Ten o'clock to-morrow morning will do."
"Do you want to see the girl before you
go?"
"No. There are strict orders that no one is
to see her until the 'Colonel* comes. Is she all
right?"
"I looked in on her when I came in for
dinner. She was asleep, I think. What about
food?"
"A little starvation will do no harm. The 'Colonel* will be here some time tomorrow.
She will answer questions better if she is
hungry. No one had better go near her till
then. Is she securely tied up!"
The Dutchman laughed.
"What do you think?"
They both laughed. So did I, under my
breath. Then, as the sounds seemed to betoken
that they were about to come out of the
room, I beat a hasty retreat, I was just in
206
time. As I reached the head of the stairs. I
heard the door of the room open, and at the
same time the Kafir stirred and moved. My
retreat by the way of the hall door was not to
be thought of. I retired prudently to the attic,
gathered my bonds round me and lay down
again on the floor, in case they should take it
into their heads to come and look at me.
They did not do so, however. After about
an hour, I crept down the stairs, but the Kafir
by the door was awake and humming softly to
himself. I was anxious to get out of the house,
but I did not quite see how to manage it.
In the end, I was forced to retreat to the
attic again. The Kafir was clearly on guard
for the night. I remained there patiently all
through the sounds of early morning
preparation. The men breakfasted in the hall,
I could hear their voices distinctly floating up
the stairs. I was getting thoroughly unnerved.
How on earth was I to get out of the house?
I counselled myself to be patient. A rash
move might spoil everything. After breakfast
came the sounds of Chichester departing.
To my intense relief, the Dutchman
accompanied him.
I waited breathlessly. Breakfast was being
cleared away, the work of the house was being
207
done. At last, the various activities seemed to
die down. I slipped out from my lair once
more. Very carefully I crept down the stairs.
The hall was empty. Like a flash I was across
it, had unlatched the door, and was outside in
the sunshine. I ran down the drive like one
possessed.
Once outside, I resumed a normal walk.
People stared at me curiously, and I do not
wonder. My face and clothes must have been
covered in dust from rolling about in the
attic. At last I came to a garage. I went in.
"I have met with an accident," I explained.
"I want a car to take me to Cape Town at
once. I must catch the boat to Durban."
I had not long to wait. Ten minutes later I
was speeding along in the direction of Cape
Town. I must know if Chichester was on the
boat. Whether to sail on her myself or not, I
could not determine, but in the end I decided
to do so. Chichester would not know that I
had seen him in the Villa at Muizenberg. He
would doubtless lay further traps for me, but
I was forewarned. And he was the man I was
after, the man who was seeking the diamonds
on behalf of the mysterious "Colonel."
Alas, for my plans! As I arrived at the
208
docks, the Kilmorden Castle was steaming out
to sea. And I had no means of knowing
whether Chichester had sailed on her or not!
n
&!-
V
03209
20
I DROVE to the hotel. There was no one in
the lounge that I knew. I ran upstairs and
tapped on Suzanne's door. Her voice bade
me "come in." When she saw who it was she
literally fell on my neck.
"Anne, dear, where have you been? I've
been worried to death about you. What have
you been doing?"
"Having adventures," I replied. "Episode
III of'The Perils of Pamela'."
I told her the whole story. She gave vent to
a deep sigh when I finished.
"Why do these things always happen to
you?" she demanded plaintively. "Why does
no one gag me and bind me hand and foot?"
"You wouldn't like it if they did," I
assured her. "To tell you the truth, I'm not
nearly so keen on having adventures myself as
I was. A little of that sort of thing goes a long
way."
Suzanne seemed unconvinced. An hour or
two of gagging and binding would have
changed her view quickly enough. Suzanne
210
likes thrills, but she hates being
uncomfortable.
"And what are we all doing now?" she
asked.
"I don't quite know," I said thoughtfully.
"You still go to Rhodesia, of course, to keep
an eye ofPagett——"
"And you?"
That was just my difficulty. Had
Chichester gone on the Kilmorden, or had he
not? Did he mean to carry out his original
plan of going to Durban? The hour of his
leaving Muizenberg seemed to point to an
affirmative answer to both questions. In that
case, I might go to Durban by train. I fancied
that I should get there before the boat. On the
other hand, if the news of my escape were
wired to Chichester, and also the information
that I had left Cape Town for Durban,
nothing was simpler for him than to leave the
boat at either Port Elizabeth or East London
and so give me the slip completely.
It was rather a knotty problem.
"We'll inquire about trains to Durban
anyway," I said.
"And it's not too late for morning tea,"
said Suzanne. "We'll have it in the lounge."
The Durban train left at 8.15 that evening,
211
so they told me at the office. For the moment
I postponed a decision, and joined Suzanne
for somewhat belated "eleven o'clock tea."
"Do you feel that you would really
recognize Chichester again--in any other
disguise, I mean?" asked Suzanne.
I shook my head ruefully.
"I certainly didn't recognize him as the
stewardess, and never should have but for
your drawing."
"The man's a professional actor, I'm sure
of it," said Suzanne thoughtfully. "His makeup
is perfectly marvellous. He might come
off the boat as a navvy or something, and
you'd never spot him."
&n
bsp; "You're very cheering," I said.
At that minute Colonel Race stepped in
through the window and came and joined us.
"What is Sir Eustace doing?" asked
Suzanne. "I haven't seen him about today."
Rather an odd expression passed over the
Colonel's face.
"He's got a little trouble of his own to
attend to which is keeping him busy."
"Tell us about it."
"I mustn't tell tales out of school."
"Tell us something--even if you want to
invent it for our special benefit."
212
"Well, what would you say to the famous
*Man in the Brown Suit' having made the
voyage with us?"
"What?"
I felt the colour die out of my face and then
surge back again. Fortunately Colonel Race
was not looking at me.
"It's a fact, I believe. Every port watched
for him and he bamboozled Pedler into
bringing him out as his secretary!"
"Not Mr. Pagett?"
"Oh, not Pagett—the other fellow.
Rayburn, he called himself."
"Have they arrested him?" asked Suzanne.
Under the table she gave my hand a
reassuring squeeze. I waited breathlessly for
an answer.
"He seems to have disappeared into thin
air."
"How does Sir Eustace take it?"
"Regards it as a personal insult offered him
by Fate."
An opportunity of hearing Sir Eustace's
views on the matter presented itself later in
the day. We were awakened from a refreshing
afternoon nap by a page-boy with a note. In
touching terms it requested the pleasure of
°ur company at tea in his sitting-room.
i 213
The poor man was indeed in a pitiable
state. He poured out his troubles to us,
encouraged by Suzanne's sympathetic
murmurs. (She does that sort of thing very
well.)
"First a perfectly strange woman has the
impertinence to get herself murdered in my
house—on purpose to annoy me. I do believe.
Why my house? Why, of all the houses in
Great Britain, choose the Mill House? What
harm had I ever done the woman that she
must needs get herself murdered there?"
Suzanne made one of her sympathetic
noises again and Sir Eustace proceeded, in a
still more aggrieved tone:
"And, if that's not enough, the fellow who
murdered her has the impudence, the colossal
impudence, to attach himself to me as my
secretary. My secretary, if you please! I'm
tired of secretaries, I won't have any more
secretaries. Either they're concealed
murderers or else they're drunken brawlers.
Have you seen Pagett's black eye? But of
course you have. How can I go about with a
secretary like that? And his face is such a
nasty shade of yellow too—just the colour
that doesn't go with a black eye. I've done
with secretaries—unless I have a girl. A nice
214
girl, with liquid eyes, who'll hold my hand
when I'm feeling cross. What about you, Miss Anne? Will you take on the job?"
"How often shall I have to hold your
hand?" I asked, laughing.
"All day long," replied Sir Eustace
gallantly.
"I shan't get much typing done at that
rate," I reminded him.
"That doesn't matter. All this work is
Pagett's idea. He works me to death. I'm
looking forward to leaving him behind in
Cape Town."
"He is staying behind?"
"Yes, he'll enjoy himself thoroughly
sleuthing about after Rayburn. That's the
sort of thing that suits Pagett down to the
ground. He adores intrigue. But I'm quite
serious in my offer. Will you come? Mrs.
Blair here is a competent chaperone, and you
can have a half-holiday every now and again
to dig for bones."
"Thank you very much. Sir Eustace," I
said cautiously, "but I think I'm leaving for
Durban tonight."
"Now don't be an obstinate girl.
Remember, there are lots of lions in
Rhodesia. You'll like lions. All girls do."
215
"Will they be practising low jumps?" I
asked, laughing. "No, thank you very much,
but I must go to Durban."
Sir Eustace looked at me, sighed deeply,
then opened the door of the adjoining room,
and called to Pagett.
"If you've quite finished your afternoon
sleep, my dear fellow, perhaps you'd do a
little work for a change."
Guy Pagett appeared in the doorway. He
bowed to us both, starting slightly at the sight
of me, and replied in a melancholy voice:
"I have been typing that memorandum all
this afternoon. Sir Eustace."
"Well, stop typing it then. Go down to the
Trade Commissioner's Office, or the Board
of Agriculture, or the Chamber of Mines, or
one of these places, and ask them to lend me
some kind of a woman to take to Rhodesia.
She must have liquid eyes and not object to
my holding her hand."
"Yes, Sir Eustace. I will ask for a
competent shorthand-typist."
"Pagett's a malicious fellow," said Sir
Eustace, after the secretary had departed.
"I'd be prepared to bet that he'll pick out
some slab-faced creature on purpose to annoy
216
me. She must have nice feet too—I forgot to
mention that."
I clutched Suzanne excitedly by the hand
and almost dragged her along to her room.
"Now, Suzanne," I said, "we've got to
make plans—and make them quickly. Pagett
is staying behind here—you heard that?"
"Yes. I suppose that means that I shan't be
allowed to go to Rhodesia—which is very
annoying, because I want to go to Rhodesia.
How tiresome."
"Cheer up," I said. "You're going all right.
I don't see how you could back out at the last
moment without its appearing frightfully
suspicious. And, besides, Pagett might
suddenly be summoned by Sir Eustace, and it
would be far harder for you to attach yourself
to him for the journey up."
"It would hardly be respectable," said
Suzanne, dimpling. "I should have to
develop a fatal passion for him as an excuse."
"On the other hand, if you were there
when he arrived, it would all be perfectly
simple and natural. Besides, I don't think we
ought to lose sight of the other two entirely."
"Oh, Anne, you surely can't suspect
Colonel Race or Sir Eustace?"
"I suspect everybody," I said darkly, "and
I 217
if you've read any detective stories, Suzanne,
you must know that it's always the most
unlikely person who's the villain. Lots of
criminals have been cheerful fat men like Sir
Eustace."
"Colonel Race isn't particularly fa
t—or
particularly cheerful either."
"Sometimes they're lean and saturnine," I
retorted. "I don't say I seriously suspect
either of them, but, after all, the woman was
murdered in Sir Eustace's house——"
"Yes, yes, we needn't go over all that again.
I'll watch him for you, Anne, and if he gets
any fatter and any more cheerful, I'll send
you a telegram at once. 'Sir E. swelling
highly suspicious. Come at once'."
"Really, Suzanne," I cried, "you seem to
think all this is a game!"
"I know I do," said Suzanne, unabashed.
"It seems like that. It's your fault, Anne.
I've got imbued with your 'Let's have an
adventure' spirit. It doesn't seem a bit real.
Dear me, if Clarence knew that I was running
about Africa tracking dangerous criminals,
he'd have a fit."
"Why don't you cable him about it?" I
asked sarcastically.
Suzanne's sense of humour always fails her
218
when it comes to sending cables. She
considered my suggestion in perfectly good
faith.
"I might. It would have to be a very long
one." Her eyes brightened at the thought.
"But I think it's better not. Husbands always
want to interfere with perfectly harmless
amusements."
"Well," I said, summing up the situation,
"you will keep an eye on Sir Eustace and
Colonel Race——"
"I know why I've got to watch Sir
Eustace," interrupted Suzanne, "because of
his figure and his humorous conversation.
But I think it's carrying it rather far to
suspect Colonel Race; I do indeed. Why, he's
something to do with the Secret Service. Do
you know, Anne, I believe the best thing we
could do would be to confide in him and tell
him the whole story."
I objected vigorously to this unsporting
proposal. I recognized in it the disastrous
effects of matrimony. How often have I not
heard a perfectly intelligent female say, in the
tone of one clinching an argument, "Edgar
says—-" And all the time you are perfectly
aware that Edgar is a perfect fool. Suzanne,
iMiTBsis 219
by reason of her married state, was yearning
to lean upon some man or other.
However, she promised faithfully that she
would not breathe a word to Colonel Race,
and we went on with our plan-making.
"It's quite clear that I must stay here and
watch Pagett, and this is the best way to do it.
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