AgathaChristie-ParkerPineDetective
Page 3
Mr. Parker Pyne took a new file from a drawer. He
wrote: "Interesting vestiges of a conscience noticeable
in hardened Lounge Lizard. Note: Study develop-ments.''
The Case of
the Discontented Soldier
Major Wilbraham hesitated outside the door of Mr.
Parker Pyne's office to read, not for the first time, the
advertisement from the morning paper which had
brought him there. It was simple enough:
The major took a deep breath and abruptly plunged
through the swing door leading to the outer office. A
plain young woman looked up from her typewriter and
glanced at him inquiringly.
"Mr. Parker Pyne?" said Major Wilbraham, blush-ing.
"Come this way, please."
17
18
Agatha Christie
He followed her into an inner office--into the
presence of the bland Mr. Parker Pyne.
"Good morning," said Mr. Pyne. "Sit down, won't
you? And now tell me what I can do for you."
"My name is Wilbraham--" began the other.
"Major? Colonel?" said Mr. Pyne.
"Major."
"Ah! And recently returned from abroad? India?
East Africa?"
"East Africa."
"A fine country, I believe. Well, so you are home
againmand you don't like it. Is that the trouble?"
"You're absolutely right. Though how you knew--"
Mr. Parker Pyne waved an impressive hand. "It is my
business to know. You see, for thirty-five years of my
life I have been engaged in the compiling of statistics in
a government office. Now I have retired and it has oc-curred
to me to use the experience I have gained in a
· novel fashion. It is all so simple. Unhappiness can be
classified under five main heads--no more, I assure
you. Once you know the cause of a malady, the remedy
should not be impossible.
"I stand in the place of the doctor. The doctor first
diagnoses the patient's disorder, then he recommends a
course of treatment. There are cases where no treatment
can be of any avail. If that is so, I say quite frankly that
I can do nothing about it. But if I undertake a case, the
cure is practically guaranteed.
"I can assure you, Major Wilbraham, that ninety-six
percent of retired empire builders--as I call them--are
unhappy. They exchange an active life, a life full of re-sponsibility,
a life of possible danger, for--what?
Straitened means, a dismal climate and a general feeling
of being a fish out of water."
"All you've said is true," said the major. "It's the
THE CASE OF THE DISCONTENTED SOLDIIR 1!
boredom I object to. The boredom and the endles
tittle-tattle about petty village matters. But what can I
do about it? I've got a little money besides my pension.
I've a nice cottage near Cobham. I can't afford to hun
or shoot or fish. I'm not married. My neighbors are all
pleasant folk, but they've no ideas beyond this island."
"The long and short of the matter is that you find life
tame," said Mr. Parker Pyne.
"Damned tame."
"You would like excitement, possibly danger?'
asked Mr. Pyne.
The soldier shrugged. "There's no such thing in thi
tinpot country."
"I beg your pardon," .said Mr. Pyne seriously.
"There you are wrong. There is plenty of danger, plent
of excitement, here in London if you know where to g
for it. You have seen only the surface of our Englist
life, calm, pleasant. But there is another side. If yo
wish it, I can show you that other side."
Major Wilbraham regarded him thoughtfully. There
was something reassuring about Mr. Pyne. He
large, not to say fat; he had a bald head of noble pro. portions, strong glasses and little twinkling eyes. And
had an aura--an aura of dependability.
"I should warn you, however," continued Mr. Pyne
"that there is an element of risk."
The soldier's eye brightened. "That's all right,"
said. Then, abruptly: "And--your fees?"
"My fee," said Mr. Pyne, "is fifty pounds, payable
in advance. If in a month's time you are still in the same
state of boredom, I will refund your money."
Wilbraham considered. "Fair enough," he said a
last. "I agree. I'll give you a check now."
The transaction was completed. Mr. Parker Pyro
pressed a buzzer on his desk.
20
Agatha Christie
"It is now one O'clock," he said. "I am going to ask
you to take a young lady out to lunch." The door
opened. "Ah, Madeleine, my der, let me introduce
Major Wilbraham, who is going to take you out to
lunch."
Wilbraham blinked slightly, whiC.h was hardly to be
wondered at. The girl who entered the room was dark,
languorous, with Wonderful eyes arid long black lashes,
a perfect complexion and a voluptOOUS scarlet mouth.
Her exquisite clothes set off the saYlng grace of her
figure. From head to foot she was perfect.
"Er--delighted," said Major Willraham.
"Miss de Sara," said Mr. Parker IYne'
"How very kind of you," murtoured Madeleine de
Sara.
"I have your address here," announced Mr. Parker
Pyne. "Tomorrow eaorning you will receive my further
instructions."
Major Wilbrahaea and the lovely Madeleine departed.
It was three o'clock When MadeleiOe returned.
Mr. Parker Pyne looked up. "Well?" he demanded.
Madeleine shook her head. "Scared of me," she said.
"Thinks I'm a vamp.,,
"I thought as much," said Mr. ?arker Pyne. "You
carried out my instructions?,,
"Yes. We discussed the occupants of the other tables
freely. The type he likes is fair.laaired, blue-eyed,
slightly anaemic, not too tall."
"That should be easy," said Mr- Pyne. "Get me
Schedule B and let me see what we hye in stock at pres-ent.''
He ran his finger down a list, fitqally stopping at a
name. "Freda Clegg. Yes, I think Ffeda Clegg will do
excellently. I had better see Mrs. Oliver about it."
THE CASE OF THE DISCONTENTEI SOLDIER
The next day Major Wilbraham eceived a no
which read:
On Monday morning next at eleveh o'clock go to
Eaglemont, Friars Lane, Hampsteaq, and ask for
Mr. Jones. You will represent yourgelf as coming
from the Guava Shipping Company.
Obediently on the following Monqav
,wnlcn In
pened
to be Bank Hohday), tvlajor Wilbraham set for
Eaglemont, Friars Lane. He set oht' I say, but
never got there. For before he got there, something ha
pened.
All the world and his wife seemed t be on their w
to Hampstead. Major Wilbraham g.t entangled
crowds, suffocated in the tube and t-Cund it hard
discover the whereabouts of Friars Lan.
Friars Lane was a cul-de-sac, a negl%ted road full
ruts, with houses on either side standb,
...... ?g back from ti
road. They were largish hO
USeS winch had seen bett
days and had been allowed to fall into Clisrepair.
Wilbraham walked along peering at the half-erast
names on the gateposts, when suddenly he heard sore
thing that made him stiffen to attentiot, It was a kind.
gurgling, half-choked cry.
It came again and this time it was faihtly recognizat
as the word "Help!" It came from insiqe the wall of ti
house he was passing.
Without a moment's hesitation, Major Wilbraha
pushed open the rickety gate and sprinted noiselessly t
the weed-covered drive. There in the hrubbery was
girl struggling in the grasp of two enarnaous Negro¢
She was putting up a brave fight, twiatino
and kicking One Negro held hs hand a
·
..
- . -ernermoum
spite of her furious el-torts to get laer nead free.
22
Agatha Christie
Intent on their struggle with the girl, neither of the
blacks had noticed Wilbraham's approach. The first
they knew of it was when a violent punch on the jaw
sent the man who was covering the girl's mouth reeling
backwards. Taken by surprise, the other man relin-quished
his hold of the girl and turned. Wilbraham was
ready for him. Once again his fist shot out, and the
Negro reeled backwards and fell. Wilbraham turned on
the other man, who was closing in behind him.
But the two men had had enough. The second one
rolled over, sat up; then, rising, he made a dash for the
gate. His companion followed suit. Wilbraham started
after them, but changed his mind and turned towards
the girl, who was leaning against a tree, panting.
"Oh, thank you!" she gasped. "It was terrible."
Major Wilbraham saw for the first time who it was he
had rescued so opportunely. She was a girl of about
twenty-one or -two, fair-haired and blue-eyed, pretty in
a rather colorless way.
"If you hadn't come!" she gasped.
"There, there," said Wilbraham soothingly. "It's all
right now. I think, though, that we'd better get away
from here. It's possible those fellows might come
back."
A faint smile came to the girl's lips. "I don't think
they will--not after the way you hit them. Oh, it was
splendid of you!"
Major Wilbraham blushed under the warmth of her
glance of admiration. "Nothin' at all," he said indis-tinctly.
"All in day's work. Lady being annoyed. Look
here, if you take my arm, can you walk? It's been a
nasty shock, I know."
"I'm all right now," said the girl. 'However, she took
the proffered arm. She was still rather shaky. She
glanced behind her at the house as they emerged
THE CASE OF THE DISCONTENTED SOLDIER
23
through the gate. "I can't understand it," she mur-mured.
"That's clearly an empty house."
"It's empty, right enough," agreed the maj or looking
up at the shuttered windows and general air of decay.
"And yet it is Whitefriars." She pointed to a half-obliterated
name on the gate. "And Whitefriars was the
place I was to go."
'Don't worry about anything now," said Wilbra-ham.
"In a minute or two we'll be able to get a taxi.
Then we'll drive somewhere and have a cup of coffee."
At the end of the lane they came out into a more fre-quented
street, and by good fortune a taxi had just set
down a fare at one of the houses. Wilbraham hailed it,
gave an address tO the driver and they got in.
"Don't try to talk," he admonished his companion.
"Just lie back. You've had a nasty experience."
She smiled at him gratefully.
"By the way--er--my name is Wilbraham."
"Mine is Clegg--Freda Clegg."
Ten minutes later, Freda was sipping hot coffee and
looking gratefully across a small table at her rescuer.
"It seems like a dream," she said. "A bad dream."
She shuddered. "And only a short while ago I was wish-ing
for something to happen--anything! Oh, I don't
like adventures."
"Tell me how it happened."
."Well, to tell you properly I shall have to talk a lot
about myself, I'm afraid."
"An excellent subject," said Wilbraham, with a bow.
"I am an orphan. My father--he was a sea captain--died
when I was eight. My mother died three years ago.
I work in the City. I am with the Vacuum Gas Company
--a clerk. One evening last week I found a gentleman
waiting to see me when I returned to my lodgings. He
was a lawyer, a Mr. Reid from Melbourne.
24
lgatha Christie
"He was very polite and asked me several questions
about my family. He explained that he had known my
father many years ago. In fact, he had transacted some
legal business for him. Then he told me the object of his
visit. 'Miss Clegg,' he said, 'I have reason to suppose
that you might benefit as the result of a financial transaction
entered into by your father several years before
he died.' I was very much surprised, of course.
"'It is unlikely that you would ever have heard anything
of the matter,' he explained. 'John Clegg never
took the affair seriously, I fancy. However, it has
materialized unexpectedly, but I am afraid any claim
you might put in would depend on your ownership of
certain papers. These papers would be part of your
father's estate, and of course it is possible that they have
been destroyed as worthless. Have you kept any of your
father's papers?'
"I explained that my mother had kept various things
of my father's in an old sea chest. I had looked through
it cursorily but had discovered nothing of interest.
"'You would hardly be likely to recognize the importance
of these documents, perhaps,' he said, smiling.
"Well, I went to the chest, took out the few papers it
contained and brought them to him. He looked at them,
but said it was impossible to say offhand what might or
might not be connected with the matter in question. He
would' take them away with him and would communicate
with me if anything turned up.
"By the last post on Saturday I received a letter from
him in which he suggested that I come to his house to
discuss the matter. He gave me the address: Whitefriars,
Friars Lane, Hampstead. I was to be there at a quarter
to eleven this morning.
"I was a little late finding the place. I hurried through
the gate and up towards the house, when suddenly those
THE CASE OF THE DISCONTENTED SOLDIER
two dreadful men sprang at me 'from the bushes,
hadn't time to cry out. One man put his hand over t
mouth. I wrenched my head free and screamed for heL
Luckily you heard me. If it hadn't been for you--" SI
stopped. Her looks were more eloquent than furth
words.
"Very glad I happened to be on the spot. By Gad, I
like to get hold of those two brutes. You'd never s
them before
, I suppose?"
She shook her head. "What do you think it means?'
"Difficult to say. But one thing seems pretty sin
There's something someone wants among your fathel
papers. This man Reid told you a cock-and-bull story
as to get the opportunity of looking through the
Evidently what he wanted wasn't there."
"Oh!" said Freda. "I wonder. When I got home (
Saturday I thought my things had been tampered wit
To tell you the truth, I suspected my landlady of haviL.
pried about in my room out of curiosity. But now--"
"Depend upon it, that's it. Someone gained admi
sion to your room and searched it, without finding wh
he was after. He suspected that you knew the value (
this paper, whatever it was, and that you carried
about on your person. So he planned this ambush.
you had had it with you, it would have been taken fro
you. I if not, you would have been held prisoner while [
tried to make you tell where it was hidden."
"But what can it possibly be?" cried Freda.
"I don't know. But it must be something pretty go(
for him to go to this length."
"It doesn't seem possible."
"Oh, I don't know. Your father was a sailor. He we
to out-of-the-way places. He might have come acro
something the value of which he never knew."
"Do you really think so?" A pink flush of exciteme