The Zeppelin's Passenger
Page 22
CHAPTER XXII
The confinement of the house, after the departure of her unwelcomevisitor, stifled Philippa. Attired in a mackintosh, with a scarf aroundher head, she made her way on to the quay, and, clinging to the railing,dragged herself along to where the fishermen were gathered together in alittle group. The storm as yet showed no signs of abatement.
"Has anything been heard of Ben Oates' boat?" she enquired.
An old fisherman pointed seawards.
"There she comes, ma'am, up on the crest of that wave; look!"
"Will she get in?" Philippa asked eagerly.
There were varied opinions, expressed in indistinct mutterings.
"She's weathering it grand," the fisherman to whom she had first spoken,declared. "We've a line ready yonder, and we're reckoning on getting 'emashore all right. Lucky for Ben that the gentleman along with him is afine sailor. Look at that, mum!" he added in excitement. "See the way hebrought her head round to it, just in time. Boys, they'll come in on thenext one!"
One by one the sailors made their way to the very edge of thewave-splashed beach. There were a few more minutes of breathlessanxiety. Then, after the boat had disappeared completely from sight,hidden by a huge grey wall of sea, she seemed suddenly to climb to thetop of it, to hover there, to become mixed up with the spray and thesurf and a great green mass of waters, and then finally, with a harshcrash of timbers and a shout from the fishermen, to be flung high anddry upon the stones. Philippa, clutching the iron railing, saw for amoment nothing but chaos. Her knees became weak. She was unable to move.There was a queer dizziness in her ears. The sound of voices soundedlike part of an unreal nightmare. Then she was aware of a single figureclimbing the steps towards her. There was blood trickling down his facefrom the wound in the forehead, and he was limping slightly.
"Mr. Lessingham!" she called out, as he reached the topmost step.
He took an eager step towards her.
"Philippa!" he exclaimed. "Why, what are you doing here?"
"I was frightened," she faltered. "Are you hurt?"
"Not in the least," he assured her. "We had a rough sail home, that'sall, and that fellow Oates drank himself half unconscious. Come along,let me help you up the steps and out of this."
She clung to his arm, and they struggled up the private path to thehouse. Mills let them in with many expressions of concern, and Helencame hurrying to them from the background.
"I went out to see the storm," Philippa explained weakly, "and I saw Mr.Lessingham's boat brought in."
"And Mr. Lessingham will come this way at once," Helen insisted. "Ihaven't had a real case since I got my certificate, and I'm going tobind his head up."
Philippa began to feel her strength returning. The horror which laybehind those few minutes of nightmare rose up again in her mind. Millshad hurried on into the bathroom, and the other two were preparing tofollow. She stopped them.
"Mr. Lessingham," she said, "listen. Captain Griffiths has been here. Heknows or guesses everything."
"Everything?"
Philippa nodded.
"Helen must bind your head up, of course," she continued. "After that,think! What can we do? Captain Griffiths knows that there was no HamarLessingham at college with Dick, that he never visited Wood Norton, thatthere is some mystery about your arrival here, and he told me to my facethat he believes you to be Bertram Maderstrom."
"What a meddlesome fellow!" Lessingham grumbled, holding hishandkerchief to his forehead.
"Oh, please be serious!" Helen begged, looking up from the bandage whichshe was preparing. "This is horrible!"
"Don't I know it!" Philippa groaned. "Mr. Lessingham, you must pleasetry and escape from here. You can have the car, if you like. There mustbe some place where you can go and hide until you can get away from thecountry."
"But I'm dining here to-night," Lessingham protested. "I'm not going tohide anywhere."
The two women exchanged glances of despair.
"Can't I make you understand!" Philippa exclaimed pathetically. "You'rein danger here--really in danger!"
Lessingham's demeanour showed no appreciation of the situation.
"Of course, I can quite understand," he said, "that Griffiths issuspicious about me, but, after all, no one can prove that I have brokenthe law here, and I shall not make things any better by attempting anopera bouffe flight. Can I have my head tied up and come and talk to youabout it later on?"
"Oh, if you like," Philippa assented weakly. "I can't argue."
She made her way up to her room and changed her wet clothes. When shecame down, Lessingham was standing on the hearth rug in the library,with a piece of buttered toast in one hand and a cup of tea in theother. His head was very neatly bound up, and he seemed quite at hisease.
"You know," he began, as he wheeled a chair up to the fire for her,"that man Griffiths doesn't like me. He never took to me from the first,I could see that. If it comes to that, I don't like Griffiths. He isone of those mean, suspicious sort of characters we could very well dowithout."
Philippa, who had rehearsed a little speech several times in herbedroom, tried to be firm.
"Mr. Lessingham," she said, "you know that we are both your friends. Dolisten, please. Captain Griffiths is Commandant here and in a positionof authority. He has a very large power. I honestly believe that it ishis intention to have you arrested--if not to-night, within a very fewdays."
"I do not see how he can," Lessingham objected, helping himself toanother piece of toast. "I have committed no crime here. I have playedgolf with all the respectable old gentlemen in the place, and I havegiven the committee some excellent advice as to the two new holes. Ihave played bridge down at the club--we will call it bridge!--and Ihave kept my temper like an angel. I have dined at Mess and told them atleast a dozen new stories. I have kept my blinds drawn at night, and Ihave not a wireless secreted up the chimney. I really cannot see whatthey could do to me."
Philippa tried bluntness.
"You have served in the German army, and you are living in a protectedarea under a false name," she declared.
"Well, of course, there is some truth in what you say," he admitted,"but even if they have tumbled to that and can prove it, I should do nogood by running away. To be perfectly serious," he added, setting hiscup down, "there is only one thing at the present moment which wouldtake me out of Dreymarsh, and that is if you believe that my presencehere would further compromise you and Miss Fairclough."
Philippa was beginning to find her courage. "We're in it already, up tothe neck," she observed. "I really don't see that anything matters sofar as we are concerned."
"In that case," he decided, "I shall have the honour of presentingmyself at the usual time."