by Robert Barr
CHAPTER V. JENNIE MEETS A GREAT DETECTIVE.
Miss Baxter was early at the station before the Continental train left.She walked up and down the platform, hoping to see Mr. Cadbury Taylor,with whose face and form she was familiar. She secured a porter whospoke French, and pretended to him that she knew no English.
"I desire," she said, "to get into a first-class compartment witha gentleman whom I shall point out to you. I shall give you fiveshillings, so you must let me have your whole attention. My luggage hasbeen labelled and registered, therefore you will not need to botherabout it, but keep your eye on me and follow me into whatever carriage Ienter, bringing with you the hand-bag and this heavy package."
The heavy package was a typewriter in its case. Shortly before the traindeparted, there sauntered into the station the tall, thin, well-knownform of the celebrated detective. He wore a light ulster that reachedalmost to his heels, and his keen, alert face was entirely without beardor moustache. As he came up the platform, a short, stout man accostedhim.
"I was afraid you were going to be late," said the detective's friend,"but I see you are just in time as usual."
"A railway station," said Mr. Cadbury Taylor, "is not the most inspiringplace in London for the spending of a spare half hour; besides, I hadsome facts to get together, which are now tabulated in my note-book, andI'm quite ready to go, if the train is."
"I have secured a smoking compartment here where we shall be alone."
"That's right, Smith," said Cadbury Taylor. "You are always sothoughtful," and the two men entered the compartment together.
Just as the guards were shouting, "Take your seats, please," Miss Baxtermade a bolt for the compartment in which the detective and his friendsat together in opposite corners.
"I beg your pardon," said Smith, "this is a smoking compartment." Thelady replied to him volubly in French, and next instant the porterheaved the typewriter and hand-bag on the seat beside her. Smith seemedto resent the intrusion, and appeared about to blame the porter, but theman answered rapidly as he banged the door shut, "The lady doesn't speakany English," and the next moment the train moved out of the station.
"There was no need," said the detective, "my dear Smith, to depend uponthe porter for the information that the lady could not speak English.She is the secretary to a very rich employer in Chicago, and came fromthat city to New York, where she sailed on the _Servia_ alone, coming toEngland to transact some special business, of which I could here giveyou full particulars, if it were worth while. She came from Liverpool toLondon over the Great Western Railway, and is now on her way to Paris.All this, of course, is obvious to the most casual observer, and so, mydear Smith, we may discuss our case with as much security as though wewere entirely alone."
"But, good heavens, Cadbury!" cried Smith in amazement, "how can youtell all that?"
"My dear fellow," said the detective wearily, "no one travels with atypewriting machine unless that person is a typewriter. The girl, ifyou will notice, is now engaged in filling the leaves of her book withshorthand, therefore that proves her occupation. That she is secretaryto a rich man is evidenced by the fact that she crossed in the _Servia_first cabin, as you may see by glancing at the label on the case; thatshe came alone, which is to say her employer was not with her, isindicated by the typewriter being marked 'Not Wanted,' so it was putdown into the hold. If a Chicago business man had been travelling withhis secretary, the typewriter case would have been labelled instead,'Cabin, wanted,' for a Chicago man of business would have to write somehundreds of letters, even on the ocean, to be ready for posting themoment he came ashore. The typewriter case is evidently new, and isstamped with the name and address of its sellers in Chicago. That shecame by the Great Western is shown by the fact that 'Chester' appearson still another label. That she has special business in England we maywell believe, otherwise she would have crossed on the French line directfrom New York to Havre. So you see, my dear boy, these are all mattersof observation, and quite patent to anyone who cares to use his eyes."
"Yes, it all seems very simple now that you have explained it," growledSmith.
"I should be a much more mysterious person than I am," remarked thedetective complacently, "if I did not explain so much. This explanationhabit is becoming a vice with me, and I fear I must abandon it."
"I hope for my sake you won't," said Smith more good-naturedly, "for ifleft to myself I never could find out how you arrive at your wonderfulconclusions. Do you expect the Austrian diamond mystery to provedifficult?"
"Difficult? Oh, dear no! To tell the truth, I have solved it already,but in order to give the American a run for his money--and surely heought not to object to that, because he is a millionaire who has made hisfortune by giving other people runs for their money, being a railwayman--I am now on my way to Vienna. If I solved the problem off-hand forhim in London, he would have no more appreciation of my talent than youhad a moment ago when I explained why I knew this French girl came fromChicago."
"You mustn't mind that, Cadbury," said Smith contritely. "I confess Iwas irritated for a moment because it all seemed so simple."
"My dear fellow, every puzzle in this world is simple except one, andthat is to find any problem which is difficult."
"Then who stole the diamonds? The lieutenant?"
The detective smiled and gazed upwards for a few tantalizing moments atthe roof of the carriage.
"Here we have," he said at last, "an impecunious prince who marries anAmerican heiress, as so many of them do. The girl begins life in Austriaon one million dollars, say two hundred thousand pounds, and a caseof diamonds said to be worth another two hundred thousand atleast--probably more. Not much danger of running through that veryspeedily, is there, Smith?"
"No, I should think not."
"So the average man would think," continued the detective. "However, Ihave long since got out of the habit of thinking; therefore I make sure.The first problem I set to myself is this: How much money have thePrince and Princess spent since they were married? I find that therepairs on the Schloss Steinheimer, situated in the Tyrol, costsomething like forty thousand pounds. It is a huge place, and theSteinheimers have not had an heiress in the family for many centuries.The Prince owed a good deal of money when he was married, and it tooksomething like sixty thousand pounds to settle those debts; ratherexpensive as Continental princes go, but if one must have luxuries, onecannot save money. Not to weary you with details, I found that the twohundred thousand pounds were exhausted somewhat more than two monthsago; in fact, just before the alleged robbery. The Prince is, of course,without money, otherwise he would not have married a Chicago heiress,and the Princess being without money, what does she naturally do?"
"Pawns her own diamonds!" cried Smith enthusiastically.
The detective smiled.
"I thought it much more probable she would apply to her father formoney. I asked him if this was the case, giving him the date, roughlyspeaking, when such a letter had been sent. The old man opened his eyesat this, and told me he had received such a letter. 'But you did notsend the money?' I ventured, 'No,' he said, 'I did not. The fact is,money is very tight in Chicago just now, and so I cabled her to run onher debts for a while.' This exactly bore out the conclusion at which Ihad already arrived. So now, having failed to get money from her father,the lady turns to her diamonds, the only security she possesses. Thechances are that she did so before her father's cable message came, andthat was the reason she so confidently wished information to be given tothe police. She expected to have money to redeem her jewels, and being abright woman, she knew the traditional stupidity of the official police,and so thought there was no danger of her little ruse being discovered.But when the cable message came saying no money would be sent her, adifferent complexion was put upon the whole affair, for she did not knowbut if the police were given plenty of time they might stumble on thediamonds."
"But, my dear Cadbury, why should she not have taken the diamonds openlyand raised money on them?"
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"My dear fellow, there are a dozen reasons, any one of which willsuffice where a woman is in the case. In the first place, she might fearto offend the family pride of the von Steinheimers; in the second place,we cannot tell what her relations with her husband were. She may nothave wished him to know that she was short of money. But that she hasstolen her own diamonds there is not the slightest question in my mind.All that is necessary for me to do now is to find out how many personsthere are in Vienna who would lend large sums of money on valuablejewels. The second is to find with which one of those the Princesspawned her diamonds."
"But, my dear Cadbury, the lady is in Meran, and Vienna is some hundredsof miles away. How could a lady in the Tyrol pawn diamonds in Viennawithout her absence being commented on? or do you think she had an agentto do it for her?" Again the detective smiled indulgently.
"No, she had no agent. The diamonds never left Vienna. You see, the ballhad been announced, and immediate money was urgently needed. She pawnedthe diamonds before she left the capital of Austria, and the chances areshe did not intend anyone to know they were missing; but on the eve ofthe ball her husband insisted that she should wear her diamonds, andtherefore, being a quick-witted woman, she announced they had beenstolen. After having made such a statement, she, of course, had tostick to it; and now, failing to get the money from America, sheis exceedingly anxious that no real detective shall be employed ininvestigation."
At Dover Miss Baxter, having notes of this interesting conversation inshorthand, witnessed the detective bid good-bye to his friend Smith, whoreturned to London by a later train. After that she saw no more of Mr.Cadbury Taylor, and reached the Schloss Steinheimer at Meran withoutfurther adventure.