by Robert Barr
CHAPTER X. JENNIE ASSISTS IN SEARCHING FOR HERSELF.
Next day Jennie Baxter drove to the address the editor had given her,and she found Mr. Cadbury Taylor at home, in somewhat sumptuous officeson the first floor. Fastened to his door was a brass plate, whichexposed to public view the carven words--
CADBURY TAYLOR, Private Enquiry Agent.
The detective was quite evidently very glad to see her.
"I intended calling to-day at the office of the _Bugle_ on the chance offinding you," he said; "but I am delighted to meet you here, because wecan talk without fear of interruption. Has the editor told you anythingof this case?"
"Very little; he didn't seem to know much about it himself."
"It was impossible for me to go into full particulars with him. I couldonly give him a hint or two in order to convey to him some idea of theinterest which the mystery, when solved, might have from a newspaperstandpoint. Of course I wished to gain his assistance so that he might,perhaps, persuade you to help me in this matter."
"He seems to be quite willing that I should lend what aid I can," saidJennie; "but I must have full details before I promise. I have a gooddeal of work on hand, and, unless this case is interesting from anewspaper point of view, as you have just said, I don't think that Ishould care to touch it."
"Oh, you will find it of great interest," the detective assured her withmuch eagerness. "It relates to the sudden and hitherto unexplaineddisappearance of a woman. That of itself is absorbing, for I may tellyou, as one having a large experience, that there is nothing moredifficult in this world than for any person, and more especially for awoman, to disappear entirely and leave no trace behind."
"I should have thought it quite easy," said Jennie, "especially in alarge city like London."
"You have given expression to the universal opinion, but I pledge you myword that a completely successful disappearance is one of the mostrare events that we detectives have to meet with in our line ofinvestigation."
"Please tell me the story," said the girl; "then we can speak moreunderstandingly about it."
The detective selected a packet of papers, one of many which occupiedthe end of his table. He slipped from it a rubber band which held thedocuments together.
"The first act of the drama, if we may call it so, began at the Duchessof Chiselhurst's ball."
"The Duchess of Chiselhurst's ball!" echoed Jennie, with a shudder. "Oh,dear!"
The detective looked up at her.
"Why do you say 'Oh, dear'?" he asked.
"Because," said the girl wearily, "I am tired hearing of the Duchess ofChiselhurst's ball; there seems to have been nothing else in the papersfor weeks past."
"It has excited a great deal of comment," assented the detective; "and,by the way, the _Daily Bugle_ had one of the best accounts of it thatwas printed in any newspaper."
"So I have heard," said Jennie carelessly, "but I most confess that Ididn't read that copy of the _Bugle_."
"You amaze me! I should have thought that would have been the first partof the paper to which any lady would turn. However, the report of theball has nothing to do with what we have in hand. Now, you remember thePrincess von Steinheimer, at whose castle I first had the pleasure ofmeeting you?"
"You had the pleasure of meeting me before that," said Jennie, speakingwithout giving thought to what she said.
"Really!" cried the detective, dropping his papers on the table; "andwhere was that?"
"Oh, well, as you have just said--it has nothing to do with thiscase. Perhaps I was wrong in saying you saw me; it would be morecorrect to say that I saw you. You must remember that you are apublic character, Mr. Taylor."
"Ah, quite so," said the detective complacently, turning to hisdocuments again. "Now, the Princess von Steinheimer was invited to theDuchess of Chiselhurst's ball, but she did not attend it."
"Are you sure of that?" said the girl. "I thought her name was among thelist of those present."
"It was in the list, and that is just where our mystery begins. Someoneelse attended the ball as the Princess von Steinheimer; it is thisperson that I wish to find."
"Ah, then you are employed by the Duke of Chiselhurst?"
"No, I am not, for, strangely enough, I believe the Duke thinks it wasactually the Princess who attended the ball. Only one man knows that thePrincess was not present, one man and two women. Of the latter, one isthe Princess von Steinheimer, and the other, the lady who impersonatedher. The one man is Lord Donal Stirling, of the Diplomatic Service,whose name is no doubt familiar to you. Lord Donal has done me thehonour to place the case in my hands."
"Why does his lordship wish to find this--this--fraudulent person?"asked Jennie, speaking slowly and with difficulty.
"Because," said the detective, with the air of a man who knows whereofhe speaks, "he is in love with her."
"What makes you think that?"
"I don't think it, I know it. Listen to his description of her."
The detective chose a paper from among his pile of documents, folded,labelled, and docketed for reference.
"'The girl is of average height, or perhaps a trifle taller than theaverage; carries herself superbly, like a born duchess. Her eyes are ofa deep, velvety black--'"
"Dear me!" cried the girl, "he describes her as if she were a cat!"
"Wait a moment," said the detective.
"I don't see much trace of love in that," continued Jennie breathlessly.
"Wait a moment," repeated the detective. "'They light up and sparklewith merriment, and they melt into the most entrancing tenderness.'"
"Good gracious!" cried Jennie, rising, "the conceit of the man isillimitable. Does he mean to intimate that he saw tenderness for himselfin the eyes of a woman he had met for an hour or two?"
"That's just it," said the detective, laughing. "You see the man is headover ears in love. Please sit down again, Miss Baxter, and listen. Iknow this sentimental kind of writing must be irksome to a practicalwoman like yourself, but in our business we cannot neglect even theslightest detail. Let's see, where was I?--'tenderness,' oh, yes. 'Herhair is of midnight darkness, inclined to ripple, with little whiffs ofcurls imperiously defying restraint about her temples. Her complexion isas pure as the dawn, touched now and then with a blush as delicate asthe petal of a rose.'"
"Absurd!" cried Jennie impatiently. "The complexion of a woman at aball! Of course, she put it on for the occasion."
"Of course," agreed the detective. "But that merely shows you how deeplyin love he is. Lord Donal is quite a young man. He came up to this roomto consult with me, and certainly he doesn't know the difference betweena complexion developed in a Surrey lane and one purchased in New BondStreet."
"Still, the blushing would seem to indicate that the complexion wasgenuine," retorted Jennie, apparently quite unflattered by Mr. Taylor'sagreement with the theory she herself had put forward.
"Oh, I don't know about that. I believe modern science enables anenamelled woman to blush at will; I wouldn't be sure of it, because itis outside of my own line of investigation, but I have understood suchis the case."
"Very likely," assented Jennie. "What is that you have at the bottom ofyour packet?"
"That," said the detective, drawing it forth and handing it to the girl,"is her glove."
Jennie picked up the glove--which, alas! she had paid for and onlyworn on one occasion--and smoothed it out between her fingers. It wasdocketed "G; made by Gaunt et Cie, Boulevard Hausmann; purchased inParis by one alleging herself to be the Princess von Steinheimer."
"You have found out all about it," said Jennie, as she finished readingthe label.
"Yes, it is our business to do so; but the glove has not been of muchassistance to us."
"How did he say he became possessed of the glove?" asked the girlinnocently. "Did she give it to him?"
"No; he tore it from her hand as she was leaving him in the carriage. Itseemed to me a most ungentlemanly thing to do, but of course it was notmy business to t
ell Lord Donal that."
"So the glove has not been of much assistance to you. Tell me, then,what you have done, and perhaps I shall be the better able to adviseyou."
"We have done everything that suggested itself. We traced the allegedPrincess from the Hotel Bristol in Pans to Claridge's in London. I havea very clever woman in Paris who assisted me, and she found where thegloves were bought and where the dress was made. Did I read you LordDonal's description of the lady's costume?"
"No, never mind that; go on with your story."
"Well, Claridge's provided carriage, coachman and footman to take her tothe ball, and this returned with her sometime about midnight. Now, herea curious thing happened. The lady ordered a hansom as she passed thenight-porter and shortly after packed off her maid in the cab."
"Her maid!" echoed Jennie.
"Yes. The maid came down in ordinary street dress shortly after, deeplyveiled, and drove away in the hansom; the lady paid her bill nextmorning and went to the eight o'clock Paris express, with carriage andpair, coachman and footman. Of course it struck me that it might be thelady herself who had gone off in the cab, but a moment's reflectionshowed me that she was not likely to leave the hotel in a cab atmidnight, and allow her maid to take the carriage in state nextmorning."
"That doesn't appear reasonable," murmured Jennie. "You made no attempt,then, to trace the maid?"
"Oh yes, we did. We found the cabman who took her from Claridge's,and he left her at Charing Cross Station, but there all trace of hervanishes. She probably left on one of the late trains--there are only afew after midnight--to some place out in the country. The lady took afirst-class ticket to Paris, and departed alone next morning by theeight o'clock Continental express. My assistant discovered her and tooka snapshot of her as she was walking down the boulevard; here is thepicture."
The detective handed Miss Baxter an instantaneous view of one of theboulevards taken in bright sunshine. The principal figure in theforeground Jennie had no difficulty in recognizing as her own maid,dressed in that _chic_ fashion which Parisian women affect.
"She seems to answer the description," said Jennie.
"So I thought," admitted the detective, "and I sent the portrait to LordDonal. See what he has written on the back."
Jennie turned the picture over, and there under the inscription, "H.Supposed photo of the missing woman," was written in a bold hand, "Bosh!Read my description of the girl; this is evidently some Paris lady'smaid."
"Well, what did you do when you got this picture back?" asked Jennie.
"I remembered you, and went to the office of the _Daily Bugle_. Thisbrings us to the present moment. You have now the whole story, and Ishall be very pleased to listen to any suggestions you are good enoughto offer."
The girl sat where she was for a few moments and pondered over thesituation. The detective, resting his elbow on the table and his chin inhis hand, regarded her with eager anticipation. The more Jennie thoughtover the matter, the more she was amazed at the man before her, whoseemed unable to place two and two together. He had already spoken ofthe account of the ball which had appeared in the _Daily Bugle_; ofits accuracy and its excellence; he knew that she was a member of the_Bugle_ staff, yet it had never occurred to him to inquire who wrotethat description; he knew also that she had been a guest at the SchlossSteinheimer when the invitation to the ball must have reached thePrincess. These facts were so plainly in evidence that the girl wasafraid to speak lest some chance word would form the connecting linkbetween the detective's mind and the seemingly palpable facts. At lastshe looked up, the colour coming and going in her cheeks, as Lord Donalhad so accurately described it.
"I don't think I can be of any assistance to you in this crisis, Mr.Taylor. You have already done everything that human ingenuity cansuggest."
"Yes, I have--everything that _my_ human ingenuity can suggest. But doesnothing occur to you? have you no theory to put forward?"
"None that would be of any practical advantage. Is Lord Donal certainthat it was not the Princess herself whom he met? Are you thoroughlyconvinced that there was really an impersonation?"
"What do you mean, Miss Baxter?"
"Well, you met Prince von Steinheimer; what do you think of him?"
"I thought him an overbearing bully, if you ask me. I can't imaginewhat English or American girls see in those foreigners to cause themto marry. It is the titles, I suppose. The Prince was veryviolent--practically ordered me out of the Castle, spoke to hisfather-in-law in the most peremptory manner, and I could easily see thePrincess was frightened out of her wits."
"A very accurate characterization of his Highness, Mr. Taylor. Now, ofcourse, the Princess being a woman--and a young woman--would naturallybe very anxious to attend the Duchess of Chiselhurst's ball, wouldn'tshe?"
"One would think so."
"And, as you have just said, she has a bear of a husband, a good dealolder than herself, who does not in the least care for such functions asthat to which the Princess was invited. Is it not quite possible thatthe Princess actually attended the ball, but, for reasons of her own,desired to keep the fact of her presence there a secret; and you mustremember that Lord Donal Stirling had not seen the Princess for fiveyears."
"For five years?" said the detective sharply. "How did you learn that,Miss Baxter?"
"Well, you know," murmured the girl, with a gasp, "he met her last inWashington, and the Princess has not been in America for five years; soyou see--"
"Oh, I was not aware that he had met her in America at all; in fact,Lord Donal said nothing much about the Princess--all his talk hadreference to this lady who impersonated her."
Jennie leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes for a moment, andbreathed quickly.
"I am afraid," she said at last, "that I do not remember with sufficientminuteness the details you have given me, to be able to advise. I canonly suggest that Lord Donal met the Princess herself at the Duchess ofChiselhurst's ball. The Princess, naturally, would wish to misleadhim regarding her identity; and so, if he had not met her for sometime--say two years, or three years, or five years, or whatever theperiod may be--it is quite possible that the Princess has changedgreatly in the interval, and perhaps she was not reluctant to carry ona flirtation with the young man--your client. Of course, she could notallow it to go further than the outside of the door of the Duke ofChiselhurst's town house, for you must remember there was her husbandin the background--a violent man, as you have said; and Lord Donal musthave thoroughly angered the Princess by what you term his rudeness intearing off her glove; and now the Princess will never admit that shewas at the ball, so it seems to me that you are wasting your time in awild goose chase. Why, it is absurd to think, if there had been a realdisappearing woman, that you, with all your experience and all yourfacilities, should not have unearthed her long ago. You said at thebeginning that nothing was more difficult than to disappear. Very well,then--why have you been baffled? Simply because the Princess herselfattended the ball, and there has been no disappearing lady at all."
The detective, with great vehemence, brought down his fist on the table.
"By Jove!" he cried, "I believe you are right. I have been completelyblinded, the more so that I have the clue to the mystery right hereunder my own eyes."
He fumbled for a moment and brought forth a letter from his pile ofdocuments.
"Here is a note from St. Petersburg, written by Lord Donal himself,saying the Princess had sent him the companion glove to the one younow have in your hand. He says he is sure the Princess knows who herimpersonator was, but that she won't tell; and, although I had read thisnote, it never struck me that the Princess herself was the woman. MissBaxter, you have solved the puzzle!"
"I should be glad to think so," replied the girl, rising, "and I am veryhappy if I have enabled you to give up a futile chase."
"It is as plain as daylight," replied the detective. "Lord Donal'sdescription fits the Princess exactly, and yet I never thought of herbefore."
J
ennie hurried away from the detective's office, happy in the beliefthat she had not betrayed herself, although she was not blind to thefact that her escape was due more to good luck than to any presence ofmind of her own, which had nearly deserted her at one or two points inthe conversation. When Mr. Hardwick saw her, he asked how much space heshould have to reserve for the romance in high life; but she told himthere was nothing in the case, so far as she could see, to interest anysane reader.
Here matters rested for a fortnight; then the girl received an urgentnote from Cadbury Taylor, asking her to call at his office next daypromptly at four o'clock. It was very important, he said, and he hopedshe would on no account disappoint him. Jennie's first impulse was notto go, but she was so anxious to learn what progress the detective hadmade in the case, fearing that at last he might have got on the righttrack, that she felt it would be unwise to take the risk of not seeinghim. If his suspicions were really aroused, her absence might possiblyserve to confirm them. Exactly at four o'clock next afternoon sheentered his office and found him, to her relief, alone. He sprang upfrom his table on seeing her, and said in a whisper, "I am so glad youhave come. I am in rather a quandary. Lord Donal Stirling is in Londonon a flying visit. He called here yesterday."
The girl caught her breath, but said nothing.
"I explained to him the reasons I have for believing that it wasactually the Princess von Steinheimer whom he met at the Duchess ofChiselhurst's ball. He laughed at me; there was no convincing him. Hesaid that theory was more absurd than the sending him a picture ofa housemaid as that of the lady he met at the ball. I used all thearguments which you had used, but he brushed them aside as of noconsequence, and somehow the case did not appear to be as clear as whenyou propounded your theory."
"Well, what then?" asked the girl.
"Why, then I asked him to come up here at four o'clock and hear what anassistant of mine would say about the case."
"At four o'clock!" cried the girl in terror; "then he may be here at anymoment."
"He is here now; he is in the next room. Come in, and I will introduceyou, and then I want you to tell him all the circumstances which leadyou to believe that it was the Princess herself whom he met. I am sureyou can place all the points before him so tersely that you will succeedin bringing him round to your own way of thinking. You will try, won'tyou, Miss Baxter? It will be a very great obligement to me."
"Oh, no, no, no!" cried the girl; "I am not going to admit to anyonethat I have been acting as a detective's assistant. You had no right tobring me here. I must go at once. If I had known this I would not havecome."
"It won't take you five minutes," pleaded Cadbury Taylor. "He is at thismoment waiting for you; I told him you would be here at four."
"I can't help that; you had no right to make an appointment for mewithout my knowledge and consent."
Taylor was about to speak when the door-handle of the inner room turned.
"I say, detective," remarked Lord Donal, in a voice of some irritation,"you should have assistants who are more punctual. I am a very busy man,and must leave for St. Petersburg to-night, so I can't spend all my timein your office, you know."
"I am sure I beg your pardon, my lord," said the detective with greatobsequiousness. "This young lady has some objections to giving herviews, but I am sure you will be able to persuade her--"
He turned, but the place at his side was vacant. The door to the hallwas open, and the girl had escaped as she saw the handle of the innerdoor turn. Taylor looked blankly at his client with dropped jaw. LordDonal laughed.
"Your assistant seems to have disappeared as completely as did the ladyat the ball. Why not set your detectives on _her_ track? Perhaps shewill prove to be the person I am in search of."
"I am very sorry, my lord," stammered the detective.
"Oh, don't mention it. I am sure you have done all that could be donewith the very ineffective clues which unfortunately are our onlypossession, but you are quite wrong in thinking it was the Princessherself who attended the ball, and I don't blame your assistant forrefusing to bolster up an impossible case. We will consider the searchended, and if you will kindly let me have your bill at the DiplomaticClub before six o'clock to-night, I will send you a cheque. Goodafternoon, Mr. Taylor."