Cleek, the Master Detective

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

  CHAPTER X

  THE RIDDLE OF THE SIVA STONES

  Cleek threw aside his newspaper as the telephone jingled, and walking tothe instrument, unhooked the receiver.

  "Hallo!" he said; then, a second later, "Yes. This is Captain Burbagespeaking," he added, and stood silent, waiting. Not for long, however.Almost instantly the connecting line hummed with the sound of some oneat the other end whistling the opening bars of "God Save the King," andthat settled it.

  "You, is it, Mr. Narkom?" Cleek said, as the anthem broke off at anagreed point, which point, by the way, was altered every twenty-fourhours. "No, nothing in particular. I was only reading the account ofBlack Riot's Derby. Ripping, wasn't it? Half a yard ahead of the nearestcompetitor, and Minnow nowhere. What? Yes, certainly, if you want me. Agreat hurry, eh? Yes, start this minute if that will do. What's that?Yes; I know the place well. All right. I'll be there almost as soon asyou are. Good-bye," and he switched off the line instantly.

  Five minutes later, accompanied by Dollops bearing the inevitable brownleather kit-bag, in case a change of attire should be found necessary,he emerged from the house in Clarges Street, walked down Piccadilly asfar as Duke Street, turned from that into Jermyn Street, and strolledleisurely along in the direction of the Geological Museum, keeping asharp look-out, however, for the red limousine.

  Of a sudden it came pelting round the corner of Regent Street, whizzedalong until Lennard, the chauffeur, caught sight of the well-knownfigure, then swung to the kerb close to the corner of York Street andcame to an abrupt halt. In another moment Cleek had taken the brownkit-bag from Dollops, stepped with it into the vehicle, and was byNarkom's side.

  "Well," he said, gripping the superintendent's welcoming hand andsettling himself comfortably as the motor swung out into the roadwayagain and continued on its way. "Here I am, you see, Mr. Narkom, and,"nodding toward the kit-bag, "prepared for any emergency, as they say inthe melodramas. It isn't often you give me a 'hurry call' like this, soit's fair to suppose that you have something of unusual importance onhand."

  "If you said I had something positively amazing on hand you'd come adeal nearer the mark, my dear fellow," returned the superintendent. "Thesteel-room case was a fool to it for mystery, although it is notentirely unlike it in some respects; for the thing happened behindlocked doors, and there's no clue to when, where, or how the assassingot in nor the ghost of an explanation to be given as to how he got outagain. That is where the two cases are alike; but where they differ, isthe most amazing point; for the dickens of it is that whereas the steelroom was a stable and there were a few people on guard, this crime wascommitted in a house filled with company. A reception was in progress,yet not only was one of the best-known figures in London society done todeath under the very noses, so to speak, of her friends andacquaintances, but jewels of immense value, jewels of historicalinterest, in fact, were carried off in the most unaccountable manner. Inbrief, my dear Cleek, the victim was the aged Duchess of Heatherlands;the jewels that have vanished are those two marvellous blush-pinkdiamonds known to the world of gem collectors as 'The Siva Stones.'Surely, you whose knowledge seems unlimited"--noting the blank look onCleek's face--"must have heard of those divine gems?"

  "Indeed, yes," replied Cleek. "I have good reason to know of them, as Ishall prove to you presently. My knowledge of the diamonds is socomplete that I can tell you at once that they weigh twenty-four and onesixty-fifth carats each; that, apart from their marvellous and mostunusual colour, a delicate azalea pink, like the first flush of themorning, they are, perhaps, the most perfectly cut and most perfectlymatched pair of diamonds in the world. What may be their earliesthistory it is impossible to state. All that is positively known of themis that they once formed two of the three eyes of the god Siva, and thatthey were abstracted from the head of the idol during the loot of theHindu temples after Clive's defeat of Suraja Dowlah, in 1757. They weresubsequently brought to England, where, in course of time, they passedinto the possession of the fifth Duke of Heatherlands, who bestowed themupon his wife as a personal gift, so that they were never at any timeincluded in the entail."

  "My dear Cleek," said Narkom, looking at him with positive bewilderment,"is there anything you do not know? It is positively marvellous that youshould be in possession of all these details regarding the Siva stones."

  Cleek looked down at his toes and a faint flush reddened his droopingface.

  "Not so marvellous as you may think, Mr. Narkom, when I tell you thegenesis of it," he said with a slight show of embarrassment. "TheS'aivas, or worshippers of Siva, have never relaxed their efforts toregain possession of the stones and return them to their place in thehead of their desecrated idol. They have, in fact, offered immense sumsto the successive holders of them, and an immense reward to anybody whoshall be instrumental in restoring them. In the old times, in myvanishing cracksman days, I once planned to get that reward by stealingthe gems, and if I had lived that life another month--if the eyes of awoman had not dimmed the splendid opulence of these cold eyes of agod----" His voice sank and dropped off into silence, and Narkom had thegood sense and the good taste to look out of the window and say nothing.

  "And so these remarkable diamonds have been stolen after all, havethey?" said Cleek, breaking silence suddenly. "And that vulgar andoverbearing old shrew, the Dowager Duchess of Heatherlands, has paidfor the possession of them with her life! Ah, my dear Mr. Narkom, what adisastrous thing lust of power and craving for position is! The ladywould better have stuck to her father's beer vats and the glory ofHobson and Simkin's entire, and Heatherlands might better have left herthere instead of selling her the right to wear his ducal coronet. Theyboth would have lived and died a deal happier, I am sure."

  "Yes," agreed Narkom. "They lived a veritable cat-and-dog life, Ibelieve, although it was years before my time, or yours either, for thematter of that, so I can only speak from hearsay. His Grace didn't findMiss Simkins, the brewer's daughter, so enviable a possession aftermarriage as she had appeared before; and, as she held thepurse-strings--and held them closely, too--he got precious little butabuse and unhappiness out of the bargain. The lady, feeling herselfmiles above her former connections when she became duchess, cut her ownpeople completely; and as her husband's family would have none of her atany price, she simply made enemies for herself on both sides. It wasperhaps just as well for all concerned that there were no children."

  "And at the duke's death some ten or a dozen years ago, the titlepassed, I believe, to his younger brother, who in his turn died abouteighteen months ago and passed it on to a cousin, a young fellow ofabout two-and-twenty, who had recently married a girl as little blestwith this world's goods as was he himself."

  "Yes," replied Narkom. "And as his grandmother was one of the ladies whohad been bitterest in cutting the ex-Miss Simkins, the old girl neverlet any of her sympathies or her sovereigns go his way. Of course hetried to make up to her, talked about 'upholding the dignity of thename,' and all that, but it was no go; old money-bags wouldn't part witha stiver. So the interview wound up with some pretty plain speaking onboth sides, and the young duke flung himself out of the house in atowering passion and with no good will toward her, which was a bad thingall round, and particularly bad for him."

  "Why?"

  "Because that happened only the day before yesterday. Last night the oldduchess was murdered, and, so far as can be ascertained with certainty,he was the last person with her and the last to see her alive."

  "Hum-m-m!" said Cleek, pulling down his lower lip and frowning at histoes. "Not nice that, for the duke, I must admit."

  "Not at all nice," agreed Narkom. "As a matter of fact, I should not beat all surprised if a warrant for his arrest were issued before morning.Still, of course, there is the Hindu to be taken into consideration. Asyou yourself said, those beggars have always been after the stones."

  "Oho! So there's a Hindu in the affair, is there?"

  "Yes. Been hanging about the place for weeks and weeks, trying to m
akefriends with the servants. Peddles embroidered table covers, silkscarves, crepe shawls, lucky charms, and things of that sort. Hasn'tmissed coming, the housekeeper tells me, one solitary day for the pastmonth until the present one. Of course, he may turn up before night,although it's hours and hours past his regular time for calling; but, atthe same time, it must be admitted that it has a queer look.

  "Then, too, there's a third party, or, indeed, I might as well say athird and a fourth, for they are brother and sister, a Miss LucretiaSpender and her brother Tom. They're relations of the late duchess onthe Simkins's side. Mother was an aunt of hers. Not particularlyprepossessing, either of them. Run a second-hand clothing shop over inCamden Town; down on their luck and expected the brokers in. Came to seethe duchess in the effort to borrow money. She bundled them out neck andcrop, and the brokers did come in and they went out into the streets,poor wretches. That was ten days ago. But both were seen hanging aboutthe house last night as late as eleven o'clock. The murder was committedand the jewels stolen somewhere between midnight and three o'clock inthe morning."

  Cleek looked up.

  "Suppose you begin the thing at the beginning instead of giving me thecase piecemeal in this fashion, Mr. Narkom," he said. "How did it allstart? Was the duchess giving an entertainment last night?"

  "No; but Captain and Mrs. Harvey Glossop were, and the thing happened attheir house, within a stone's throw of Hyde Park Corner."

  "Captain Harvey Glossop," repeated Cleek. "Happen by any chance thathe's related to Glossop, the big company promoter who floated 'Sapavo'and made 'Oxine' a household word three years ago?"

  "Same man. Worth a million sterling if he's worth a penny. Isn't reallya military man, you know. Was 'captain' in the volunteers up to thetime of their disbanding. Topping fine fellow, popular everywhere. Makesmoney hand over fist, and gives the best dinners in town, they say."

  "Two very excellent passports to Society under modern conditions,"commented Cleek. "Well, go on. Captain and Mrs. Glossop were giving areception, and Her Grace of Heatherlands was there?"

  "Yes--as their guest. As a matter of fact she had been their guest forthe past eight months. She and Mrs. Glossop took a great fancy to eachother when they met at Nice last October, and the duchess, beingentirely alone and getting too old to care much for social affairs,rented her house in Park Lane to an American family, and took up herabode with the Glossops. A suite of rooms was placed at her disposal,and, since, unlike most feminine friendships, this one grew warmer andcloser every day, she appears to have been perfectly comfortable andhappy for the first time in many years."

  "Good. Let us have the story of last night now, please. How did theduchess come to have the Siva stones in her personal possession at thattime? Surely she was not insane enough to keep the gems in the housewith her?"

  "No; she never did that. They were always in the strong room at herbanker's. She hadn't even seen them, much less worn them, for yearsuntil, on her order, they were brought to her from the bank yesterdaymorning so that she might appear in them last night, for last night wasan exceptional occasion."

  "In what particular way?"

  "It was to be Mrs. Glossop's last 'at home' for a long, long time. Herhealth not being very good of late, the doctors had ordered a voyage tothe Cape, and everything has long been in readiness for her departurenext Wednesday fortnight. As last night's affair was in the nature of asort of leave-taking, the duchess resolved to come out of her recentretirement and to wear the famous Siva stones. She did so. I hear fromCaptain Glossop that she made her appearance so covered with jewels thatshe appeared like a jeweller's window, in the midst of which shone thetwo amazing diamonds, suspended by a slender chain about her neck, andputting every other jewel she wore to shame by their gorgeousmagnificence."

  "I can well imagine that they would, Mr. Narkom. They produced asensation, of course?"

  "Rather! The captain tells me that they fairly took away his breath. Itwas the first time either he or his wife had ever seen them; indeed, itappears that it was the first time the young Duke of Heatherlandshimself, who, with his bride, was present, had set eyes upon theappallingly magnificent things. He was heard to say to his young duchessthat it was 'not only beastly vulgar, but beastly rough--HeatherlandCourt with a ton weight of mortgages upon it, you without so much as adecent bracelet, and all that money locked up and useless, when a tenthof it would put baby and us in clover!'"

  "He was right there, Mr. Narkom; it was rough. He, with a wife and alittle son, and loaded down with debts and cares at three-and-twenty,and the duchess with millions lying idle and unheeded at eighty-three!Well, go on, please; what followed?"

  "After remaining 'on exhibition' until half-past eleven," resumed thesuperintendent, "the duchess took leave of the other guests, kissed Mrs.Glossop good-night, and retired to her own rooms with the avowedintention of going to bed. About twelve minutes later the young Duke ofHeatherlands, too, left the room, and went up after her."

  "Hum-m-m! What for?"

  "He says for the purpose of making one final appeal to her, to whatwomanhood was in her, by showing her the miniature his wife wore oftheir little son and heir. The old duchess's maid says that she met himon the stairs as she was coming down, and told him that her mistress wassitting in her tea-gown taking her regular glass of hot whisky-and-waterbefore getting into bed; so he would have to be quick if he wished tospeak to her for, as soon as she had finished that, she would lock andbolt the door and go to bed forthwith.

  "He says, however, that when he got to the room the door was alreadylocked, that in answer to his knocking and appealing the old duchess hadmerely told him to go about his business. She said she paid her ratesand taxes to support unions and workhouses for paupers, and that shewasn't going to support any on the outside.

  "After that, he says, he came away, knowing that it was hopeless, wentdown and rejoined his wife, and in five or ten minutes' time they saidgood-night to their host and hostess and went home. That was the verylast interview, so far as anybody has been able to discover, that anyone had with the Dowager Duchess of Heatherlands. On account of the weakstate of Mrs. Glossop's health, the entertainment broke up early. Athalf-past twelve the final guest took his departure; at one, CaptainGlossop's man helped his master to undress and get into his bed. At thesame moment Mrs. Glossop's maid performed a like office for hermistress, saw her in hers, put out the light, and in another ten minutesevery soul in the house was between sheets and asleep.

  "At three o'clock, however, a startling thing occurred. Godwin, thecook, waking thirsty and finding her water-bottle empty, rose and wentdownstairs to fill it. She returned in a panic to rouse the housekeeper,Mrs. Condiment, and tell her that there was a light burning in the oldduchess's room, its reflection being clearly visible under the door andthrough the keyhole. She, the cook, had knocked on the door to inquireif anything was wanted, as she knew the duchess's maid was asleep inanother part of the house. But she had been unable to get any sort of aresponse.

  "Well, to make a long story short, my dear Cleek," went on Narkom, "thehousehold was roused, the door of the duchess's room was found to beboth locked and bolted on the inside--so securely that, all otherefforts to open it proving unavailing, an axe had to be procured and thebarrier hacked down. When the last fragment fell and the captain and hisservants could get into the room, a horrible sight awaited them. On theduchess's dressing-table her two bedroom candles were still burning,just as the maid says she left them when she went out and met the youngduke coming up the stairs; on the bed lay the duchess herself, stonedead, a noosed rope drawn tightly round her neck, used, no doubt, tokeep her from calling out, and the bedding was literally saturated withthe blood which flowed from several stab wounds in the breast, the side,and the fleshy upper part of both arms."

  "Hum-m-m!" commented Cleek. "That looks as if she had struggled verydesperately, and one would hardly expect that from a woman of heradvanced years and choked into breathlessness at that. Still, her armscould not have
been cut otherwise; arms are not vital parts, and themaddest of assassins would know that. So, of course, they were eitherslashed unavoidably in a desperate death struggle or, else----" Hisbrows knotted, his voice slipped off into reflective silence. He tookhis chin between his thumb and forefinger and squeezed it hard. After amoment, however: "Mr. Narkom," he inquired, "were the Siva stones foundto have been stolen at the same time that the body was discovered, orwas their loss learned of later?"

  "Oh, at the very instant the body was discovered, my dear chap. Itcould hardly have been overlooked for so much as an instant, for theslender chain upon which they had formerly hung was lying across thebody, the setting of the gems had been prised open and the diamondremoved."

  "Singular circumstances, both."

  "In what way, Cleek?"

  "Well, for one thing, it shows that the assassin must have had plenty oftime and a very good reason for taking the stones without their setting.If he hadn't, he'd have grabbed the thing and done that elsewhere. Musthave taken them to the light for the purpose and laid them down uponsome firm, hard surface; you can't pick a diamond out of a good settingwithout some little difficulty, Mr. Narkom, and certainly not in thepalm of your hand. Why, then, should the assassin have brought the chainback after that operation and laid it upon the body of the victim?Rather looks as if he wanted the fact that the stones had disappeared tobe apparent at first glance. Any other jewels stolen at the same time?"

  "No; only the Siva stones."

  "Hum-m-m! And the noosed rope that was about the neck of the murderedwoman; what was that like? Something that had been brought from outsidethe house or something that could be picked up within it?"

  "As a matter of fact, my dear fellow, it was part of the bellrope thatbelonged to that very room. It had been cut off and converted into anoose."

  "Oho!" said Cleek. "I see--I see!" Then, after a moment: "Pull down theblinds of the limousine, will you, Mr. Narkom?" he added as he bent andpicked up the kit-bag. "I want to do a little bit in the way of achange; and, if you are proceeding directly to the scene of themurder----"

  "I am, dear chap. Any idea, Cleek?"

  "Bushels. Tell you if they're worth anything after I've seen the body.If they are---- Well, I shall either have the Siva stones in my handbefore eight o'clock to-night, or----"

  "Yes, old chap? Or what?"

  "Or the Hindu's got 'em and they're already out of the country for goodand all. And--Mr. Narkom, 'George Headland' will do, if you please."

  II

  Lennard having slackened the speed of the motor considerably, and inaddition taken two or three wide curves out of the direct line, it wasquite half-past four when the limousine stopped in front of the Glossopresidence, about which a curious collection of morbid-minded people hadgathered. There alighted therefrom, first the superintendent, and thenthe over-dressed figure with the lank, fair hair and the fresh-coloured,insipid countenance of as perfect a specimen of the genus sap-head asyou could pick up anywhere between John o' Groat's and Land's End. Aflower was in his buttonhole, a monocle in his eye, and the gold head ofhis jointed walking-stick was sucked into the red eyelet of hispuckered-up lips.

  "Oh, yez! Oh, yez!" sang out derisively a bedraggled female on the edgeof the crowd as this utterly unrecognizable edition of Cleek stepped outupon the pavement. "Oh, yez! Oh, yez! 'Ere's to give notice! Them's thebright sparks wot rides in motor-cars, them is, and my poor 'usband ahoofin' of it all the dies of 'is blessed life!"

  "Move on, now--move on!" cautioned the constable on guard, waving heraside and making a clear passage for the superintendent and hiscompanion across the pavement and up the steps. And a moment later Cleekwas in the house, in the morning-room, in the presence of CaptainHarvey Glossop, his wife, and the young Duke of Heatherlands.

  The lady was a pale, fragile-looking woman of about three-and-twenty,very beautiful, very well bred, low-voiced, and altogether charming. Herhusband was some five or six years her senior, a genial, kindly man witha winning smile, an engaging personality, and the manners of one used tothe good things of life and, like all people who really are used tothem, making no boast of it and putting on no "side" whatsoever. As forthe young duke--well, he was just an impetuous, hot-headed, hot-tongued,lovable boy, the kind of chap who, in a moment of temper, would swear tohave your heart's blood, but, if you stumbled and fell the next moment,would risk breaking his neck to get to you and help you and offer youhis last shilling to cab it home.

  "Well, here I am, you see, Mr. Narkom," blurted out his impulsive Graceas the superintendent and Cleek came in. "If any of your lot want methey won't have to hunt me up and they won't find me funking it, nomatter how black it looks for me. I didn't kill her, I didn't even getto see her; and anybody that says I did, lies--that's all!"

  "My dear Heatherlands," protested the captain, "don't work yourself upinto such a pitch of excitement. I don't suppose Mr. Narkom has comehere to arrest you. It is just as black with regard to that mysteriousHindu fellow, remember. Perhaps a little blacker when you come to recallhow suddenly and mysteriously he has disappeared. And, certainly, hismotive looks quite as strong as yours."

  "I haven't any motive--I never did have one, and I take it beastlyunkind of you to say that, Glossop!" blurted out the young dukeimpetuously. "Just because I'm hard up is no reason why I should commitmurder and robbery. What could I want with the Siva stones? I couldn'tsell them, could I, marked things that every diamond dealer in theworld knows? Oh, yes, I know what people say: I could have turned themover to the Hindu and claimed the reward; that perhaps I did and thatthat's why this particular Hindu has disappeared. But it's not true. Ididn't have anything to do with it. I didn't get into the room at alllast night. And even if I had I couldn't have bolted it on the insideafter I'd left it, could I? If you and your lot want me, Mr. Narkom, I'mhere, and I'll face every charge they can bring against me."

  "Pardon me, your Grace, but I'm not here for the purpose of apprehendinganybody," replied Narkom suavely. "My errand is of a totally differentsort, I assure you. Captain Glossop, allow me to make you acquaintedwith a great friend of mine, Mr. George Headland. Mr. Headland is anamateur investigator of criminal matters, and he has taken a fancy tolook into the details of this one. It may be that he will stumble uponsomething of importance--who knows? And in such an affair as this I deemit best to leave no stone unturned, no chance untried."

  "Quite so, Mr. Narkom, quite so," agreed the captain. "Mr. Headland, Iam delighted to meet you, though, of course, I should have preferred todo so under happier circumstances."

  "Thanks very much," said Cleek with an inane drawl, but a quick,searching look out of the corner of his eye at the young duke. "Awfullygood of you to say so, I'm sure. Your Grace, pleased to meet you.Charmed, Mrs. Glossop. Yes, thanks, I will have a cup of tea. So nice ofyou to suggest it."

  "Must be rather interesting work, this looking into criminal matters onyour own initiative, Mr. Headwood--pardon, Headland, is it? Do forgiveme, but I have a most abominable memory for names," said the captain."Believe me, I shall be willing to give you any possible assistance thatI can in the present unhappy case."

  "Thanks--jolly kind of you, and I very much appreciate it, I assureyou," returned Cleek in his best "blithering idiot" fashion. "Should beever so much obliged if you'd--er--permit me to view the scene of thetragedy and the--er--body of the deceased, don't you know. Of course,Mr. Narkom has said I may, but--er--after all, an Englishman's house ishis castle and all that, so it's only polite to ask."

  "Oh, certainly, do so by all means, Mr. Headland. You will excuse mysaying it, but I doubt if you will find any clues there, however, forthe regular officials have already been over the ground."

  "Searched the room, have they, in quest of the diamonds? Thieves dofunny things sometimes, you know, and it's just possible that they gotin a funk and hid the things instead of taking them away."

  "Well, of all the blessed id----" began the young duke, looking over athim disgustedly; and then discreetly sto
pped and left the termunfinished.

  "I fancy, my dear Headland," interposed Narkom, "I neglected to tell youthat the captain had my men search the place from top to bottom, gothrough every cupboard, into every nook and corner, turn out theservants' boxes--even his own and Mrs. Glossop's, as well--so that it iscertain the jewels could not have been concealed anywhere about thepremises either by accident or design. Nothing was found--nothing. TheSiva stones have utterly and completely disappeared."

  "And no other jewels besides?"

  "Not a solitary one, Mr. Headland."

  "Rum sort of a thief, wasn't it, to cut off with only half the booty?The duchess must have had lots of other jewels and there were Mrs.Glossop's, too. Those superb rings of yours, for instance, madam, fancya burglar getting in and not paying his respects to those. Pardonme----" Her hand a-glitter with splendid flashing diamonds was restingon the edge of the tea table. He bent over and looked at them closely.Naturally she resented this under the circumstances, but though hercheeks flushed she let the hand rest where it was until he had studiedit to his heart's content.

  "May I say, Mr. Headland, that all her Grace's jewels have beenidentified by her banker, to whose care the police have returned them,"she said with just the shadow of an indignant note in her low, sweetvoice. "These have been in my possession for years, thank you. Athousand people can testify to that; and the insinuation is not nice."

  "My dear madam, I assure you I had not the slightest thought----"

  "Very likely not. As a matter of fact, I don't see how you could, Mr.Headland; but under these distressing and extraordinary circumstances itwas an unhappy attention and a most suggestive one. Pray say no moreabout it. You are at liberty, Mr. Narkom, to show Mr. Headland over thehouse whenever he chooses to investigate it."

  And as he chose to investigate it at that moment the superintendent ledthe way to the death chamber forthwith.

  "I say, old chap, that was a bit thick, and no mistake," whisperedNarkom as they went up the stairs. "To be talking about the dead woman'sjewels and then to stoop and examine Mrs. Glossop's own--a woman worthmillions!"

  "Clear your mind of the idea that I meant to suggest anything of thatsort at all, Mr. Narkom," Cleek replied. "It was the beauty of the ringsthemselves that appealed to me--that, and the wonder of thecircumstances."

  "Circumstances? What circumstances?"

  "Two very extraordinary ones. First: why a woman of such evident taste,breeding, and position as Mrs. Glossop should choose to load her fingerswith diamond rings in the daytime; and, second, why she should choosethis particular day of all others to do so."

  "Possibly she neglected to take them off when she went to bed last nightand, in the excitement of the things which have happened since, hasthought no more about them. But here's the room at last. Still on duty,I see, Hammond." This to the plain-clothes officer before the door ofthe death chamber. "Yes, going in; thanks. Come along, Headland."

  Then the improvised door opened, closed again, and Cleek and thesuperintendent stood in the presence of it--the silent, immutable Itwhich yesterday had been a living woman. Cleek went over and looked atthe quiet figure, particularly at the wounds on the arms, both of themclose to the shoulder, and immediately below the larger, muscle, thenturned and looked round the room. It was richly appointed, indeed, thesuite had been especially fitted up for her Grace's occupancy, and was,as might have been expected in such a house, in extremely good tastefrom the rich, dull-coloured Indian carpet to the French paper on thewalls. This was a striped paper in two tones of white, one glazedslightly, the other dull, like two ribbons--a white velvet and a whitesilk one--drawn straight down over its surface from ceiling to floor atregular distances of half a yard apart. He admired that paper, and itinterested him!

  "Here, you see, old chap, not a possibility of anybody getting in or outsave by the door which we ourselves have just entered," said Narkom,opening one door which led into a dressing-room, another leading to aspacious and richly appointed sitting-room, and a third which gaveaccess to a porcelain bath set in a marble-floored, marble-walledapartment lighted and aired by a window of painted glass. "All windowsand all doors locked on the inside when the body was found, andeverything as you see it now; no furniture upset, no sign of a struggle.There is the bell-rope that was cut; there the noose that was made fromit; and there on the dressing-table the bedroom candles that were foundburning just as the maid left them when she went out and met the youngduke coming up the stairs."

  Cleek walked over and looked at the candles.

  "If I remember correctly, Mr. Narkom," he said, "I believe you told methat her Grace retired to this room at half-past eleven, and thatsomething like twelve or fifteen minutes later the young duke came upfor the purpose of speaking to her. That would make it somewhere in theclose neighbourhood of a quarter to twelve when the maid left hermistress; and it was three o'clock in the morning, was it not, when themurder was discovered? Hum-m-m! Singular, most singular, amazingly so!"

  "What?"

  "The condition of these two candles. Look at them," said he, taking oneout of the silver holder and extending it for Narkom's examination. "Onewould suppose that candles which had been burning for three hours and aquarter would be fairly well consumed, Mr. Narkom; yet, look at these.They are hardly an inch shorter than the regulation length, so that theycannot have burned for more than a quarter of an hour at most! Now,granting that the duchess herself burnt them for ten minutes inundressing and imbibing her nightly whisky-and-water--and that wouldjust about tally with the young duke's assertion that the door waslocked and her Grace in bed when he reached the room--that would leavethem to have been burning for just five minutes when the cook, Godwin,says she discovered the light shining under the door and through thekeyhole."

  "By George, you're right. We must have a word with that cook, Cleek.Either she lied about the time, or else---- Great Scott, man! What ifshe, that cook, that Godwin woman, had a hand in it--was herself inleague with the murderer--even let him out of the house before she gavethe alarm? Good heaven, Cleek, we mustn't let that woman get away!"

  "She won't--if she's guilty. I'll tell you that for certain if you canmanage to find out what preparations, if any, have as yet been made forthe duchess's funeral."

  "But, man alive, what can that have to do with it?"

  "Perhaps a great deal; perhaps nothing at all. Just slip downstairs,will you, and, without giving the subject away, or mentioning anythingabout the candles, do a little quiet 'pumping' of the young duke. See ifhe knows, or has any plans. I seem to fancy that I have heard somewhereof a splendid mausoleum being built by the Dowager Duchess ofHeatherlands and the young duke will know if it's so or not. Pump him,I'll stop here until you return."

  It was a full twenty minutes before the superintendent got theinformation he wanted and came back with it.

  "Well?" said Cleek, as he came in. "There is a mausoleum being built, isthere not?"

  "Yes. The murdered woman has been having it built for the past five orsix months for the express purpose of having herself and her latehusband entombed there, apart from all other Heatherlands and with allthe pomp of dead royalty. The structure will not be completed for quiteanother half year. In the meantime, as this tragical affair hasdisorganised all arrangements and the body cannot be interred in themausoleum until its completion, and it would be difficult to get anorder to disinter it if it were once underground, Captain Glossop hasconsented to have it placed for a time in the new and as yet unusedvault which he had erected last month in Brompton Cemetery."

  "'A friend in need is a friend indeed,'" quoted Cleek sententiously;then, after a moment, "Mr. Narkom," he said.

  "Yes, old chap?"

  "Let's go down and have another cup of tea, I want to have a word or twowith the young duke."

  "My dear fellow! Good heaven, do you think----"

  "No; I've got past 'thinking.' I know one thing, however; for I've beenpoking about while you were away. The cook's room is just over this one,but
the cook didn't do it. A five-foot woman can't reach up and cut downeight and a half feet of bell-rope, and--look, see! She wouldn't belikely to do it with the blade of a safety razor if she could!"

  III

  The little gathering in the drawing-room had not undergone much in theway of a change since they left it Cleek and the superintendent saw whenthey returned. The tea things had been removed, for the young duke'speppery temper was still in the ascendant and he was parading hissix-feet-one of vigorous young manhood up and down the floor in a mannerwhich wasn't the best thing in the world for the white-and-green Persiancarpet. The tall captain sat on a low sofa beside his beautiful wife,who thoughtfully turned her rings on her fingers and followed withgrave, sad-looking eyes the constantly pacing figure of the restlessduke.

  "My dear fellow, of course neither Amy nor I believe," the captain wassaying, as Cleek and Narkom made their reappearance; "but the thing is,can you make others as disbelieving when your unhappy condition is sowell known and her Grace's maid positively swears that the door was notlocked, and---- Ah, here you are again, Mr. Narkom, and your good friendthe amateur investigator with you."

  "Amateur fiddlesticks!" blurted out the young duke, with a short,derisive laugh. "Fellow who doesn't know any better than to look forjewels that are not lost, and look for them on a lady's fingers at that!By Jove, you know, Glossop, if it had been my wife!---- But there! youeasy-going fellows will swallow anything for the sake of keeping peace.Well, Mr. Crime Investigator, found out who did it yet, eh?"

  "Perhaps not exactly," replied Cleek, moving over toward the sofa; "butI've found out who didn't do it, and that's something."

  "Oh, yes, decidedly!" flung back the duke, with another sarcastic laugh."Wonderfully brainy, that! Not more than two or three million people inGreat Britain who could tell you that Napoleon didn't do it, and theBlack Prince didn't do it, and it's twopence to a teacup thatShakespeare hadn't any hand in it at all. You'll be out-Cleeking Cleekby the time you've sucked the head off that cane. Well, whatever otheramazing thing have you 'unearthed'? What's next--eh?"

  "Only this," said Cleek quietly, making a feint of dropping his cane andstooping to recover it. Then he moved like a quick-leaping animal. Therewas a sharp metallic "click-click," a frightened scream from Mrs.Glossop, a half-indignant, wholly excited roar from the captain, and theduke, glancing toward them, saw that they both had got to their feet ina sort of panic and were standing there, white, quaking, and handcuffedtogether.

  "Good Lord!" began the duke. "Look here, Mr. Narkom--I say! This idiot'sout of his head."

  "More than out of it!" swung in the captain furiously. "To people in ourposition! Good God! I can stand a fool as far as any man can, Mr.Narkom, but when it comes to this---- Look here, you, Mr. Woodhead, orThickhead, or whatever your infernal name is----"

  "Call a spade a spade, my dear captain. The name is Cleek, if you can'tremember my other."

  "Cleek!" The duke repeated it with a sort of gulp; the captain spat itout as though it were something red-hot, and the captain's wife merelywhined it and fainted.

  "Yes, Captain--Cleek! Oh, I've got you, my friend, got you foul!" saidCleek in reply. "All but ruined by the failure of the gold reefs and themilling and mining companies last autumn, weren't you, and have beenplaying a bluff game and living on your credit ever since? A prettylittle scheme you two beauties hatched up between you to get the oldduchess into your clutches, to rob her of the Siva stones, and to haveMrs. Glossop and your Hindu ally slip over to India with them and claimthe reward before the truth of your financial condition leaked out! Oh,yes; I've got you, my friend, got you tight and fast.

  "And, Captain, I've got something more as well! I've got the place wherethe panel slides in the striped wall-paper and leads to the wardrobewith the false back in your own room; I've got your private papers; I'vegot the safety razor-blade, and I've got the hiding-place of the Sivastones as well! Humph! Fainted like any other human brute when he'spushed to the wall! That's right, Hammond; call the constable in fromoutside and take the pair of them away. Oh, don't waste any pity onthem, your Grace," as the duke moved impulsively toward the stricken anddefeated pair. "They wouldn't have hesitated to hang you if they couldhave turned the evidence your way and saved their own wretchedskins--and all for a pair of rose-pink diamonds that are red enough now,God knows. What's that? Where are they? Where you must get a surgeon toabstract them, for I wouldn't touch them for millions, your Grace. Theyare hidden in the body itself, embedded in the flesh, jammed out ofsight through those cuts in the arms and embedded under the muscles!"

  "Good heaven, how horrible!"

  "Yes, isn't it? Oh, they laid their plans well, those two, and they laidthem together. The body would not be put underground for a long, longtime, and when it was the Siva stones would not go to earth with it.There was the specially constructed vault at Brompton, their privateproperty. They would get the stones while the body lay there, and nobodywould be a whit the wiser.

  "Ring for a glass of wine, your Grace, and after you have steadied yournerves I'll take you upstairs and show you something. In the captain'sroom there's a wardrobe which has a false back, and behind that is asliding panel, its joining hidden by the stripes of the wall-paper,which leads into the old duchess's bedroom. That is how they got in andgot out again and left every door and window locked on the inside. Whenthey had finished their work, they lit the candles, and the rest youknow. If there is anything to joy over in this appalling affair, find itin this fact: I am convinced that the dowager duchess died intestate.That being so, and she having no other living relatives, her propertywill no doubt be divided equally, by order of the Crown, between threepersons: yourself, for one, and those two poor, homeless creatures, TomSpender and his sister, for the others; and as it amounts to severalmillions sterling, dark days are over for you and for them forever!"

  * * * * *

  "How did I find it out?" said Cleek, answering Narkom's question, asthey drove home through the shadows of evening together. "Well, I thinkI first got a suspicion of the captain and his wife when you told meabout the cut bell-rope, because, you see, it is hardly likely thatanybody could get into the room and cut that without disturbing the oldlady, and, as she didn't cry out, I came to the conclusion that thatsomebody must certainly be some one she knew and trusted, and whosepresence in the room would not be unusual. That at once suggested Mrs.Glossop, and the possibility of the lady saying that she had heard anoise, and had come up and found the door unlocked. The captain, whowould make his entrance unheard while they were talking, would cut therope, throw the noose round the victim's neck while she was off guard,and the rest would follow easily.

  "But I could find no motive and could get no actual clue until I lookedat the lady's rings. Clearly the putting of them on was an attempt toaccentuate the presumed fact of their great wealth by exhibiting openevidence of how richly the lady was dowered with jewels and how littleshe need covet those of others. I got upon the trail of the true stateof affairs when I examined those rings and found that they were simplypaste, close imitations of the splendid originals which she had no doubtlong since been obliged either to pawn or sell.

  "As for the hiding-place of the Siva stones, the fact of the utterlyunnecessary wounds in the arms--unnecessary as helping the assassin tokill her, I mean--gave me the first hint of that. Afterward, when I sawthe body, and noticed the position of those wounds, I was sure of it.That is where Glossop bungled. They could not have come about in anystruggle or any possible effort of the deceased to protect herself bythrowing up her arms, for they were in the wrong position, for onething, and they were deep, clean-cut punctures, for another, and---- Mycorner at last! The riddle is solved, Mr. Narkom. Good-night."