about the time that wilfrid was being hurried off in the motor towards maldon grange and wondering bitterly if he had a single friend in the world, russell was coming to himself with a hazy feeling that all was not well with him. he was lying on a couch in his sitting-room, fully dressed. the gas had not been lighted, though it was dark; indeed, as far as he could make out by the street cries, it was late in the evening.
his body was aching from head to foot and his head throbbed with feverish pain. gradually he began to piece one or two events together. slowly he began to have a faint idea of where he was and what had happened. he managed to stagger to his feet and ring the bell. his landlady came in, curious. she seemed to be relieved and annoyed at the same time.
"what on earth is the matter?" russell groaned. "and how did i manage to get here? what time of day or night is it?"
"it is not quite half-past nine, sir," the landlady replied. "you came home this morning about seven o'clock. i didn't see you myself, but that is what they tell me. however, i suppose young men will be young men."
there was no mistaking the significance of the last few words, and, despite his racking head, russell smiled.
"so you think it is like that, do you?" he said. "let me assure you that you are mistaken. i had an adventure last night which very nearly landed me into serious trouble. but we need not go into that now. if you can get me something to eat i shall be glad, and please let me have a large syphon of soda."
russell dragged himself into his bedroom where he felt all the better for a bath. then he swallowed a strong dose of sal volatile, which had the effect of clearing his head and making him feel almost a man again. he managed to eat a fairly good meal presently and partake of a strong whisky and soda, after which he lit his pipe and sat down to review the events of the previous evening. it was all clear to him now.
"what a fool i was!" he murmured. "and yet i don't see how i could have helped it. i thought i could have managed a couple of opium pipes without getting into such a state. and the worst of it is that the night was wasted. by the way, i wonder if the night really was wasted. perhaps i shall recollect something that will put me on the right track. and, by jove, i've forgotten all about mercer. has he been here to-day, or has he been busy with his own affairs? it is maddening to cut time to waste like this. the best thing i can do is to see uzali."
russell's naturally strong constitution had asserted itself by now. he even felt ready to undertake another adventure. and time was pressing, too, for he had more or less wasted the last few weeks in london, on his way home from borneo, and his supply of money was getting very low. he was thinking of putting on his hat and coat when the landlady came to the door of the sitting-room with the information that somebody desired to see him.
"send him up," russell said casually.
"i suppose it is all right, sir," the landlady said dubiously. "i suppose you are capable of taking care of yourself. the person downstairs is not quite the sort of man one cares about having on the front door-step. still, sir——"
russell waved his hand impatiently and the landlady disappeared.
she came back presently followed by a tall figure in the last stages of dilapidation. the man had seen better days, for his black frock suit had been well cut and his boots were not without a reminiscence of bond street. now he was shiny and seedy to the last degree; a mass of dirty, greasy hair hung over his shoulders, and the top hat which he held gingerly between his thumb and forefinger had lost most of its colour and shape. it was plain what had brought the man to this pass, for the facts were written in his bleary eyes and shaky fingers. he glanced uneasily at russell as if somewhat doubtful as to his reception. the latter rose and motioned his visitor to a chair. then he closed the door carefully.
"i hope i have come at the proper time," the stranger said.
"oh, that's all right, goatley," russell replied. "let me see, it must be quite two years since we met. you came to me when i was living at the other side of london and asked me to buy certain information from you. as the information was by no means complete i refused the deal. i am prepared to open it again now if you can tell me anything definite."
the stranger cowered over the fire warming his long blue hands; his lean frame shivered from time to time as if he and warmth had long been strangers. he lifted his bleared eyes to russell and his glance fell again.
"i think i can help you," he said, "in fact, i am certain of it. i should have come to you before, only there was one little matter that i couldn't get to the bottom of anyway. and now i think i have got everything straight. but perhaps you have changed your mind. you used to be keen enough on getting even with samuel flower——"
"ah, now you are beginning to talk," russell exclaimed. "if you can help me there i am prepared to pay you handsomely. you look as if a few pounds would do you good."
"it isn't altogether that," goatley murmured. "though, heaven knows, a sovereign or two will be my salvation. if you ask me how i have spent the past two years i couldn't tell you. i have been as low down as a man can get, though i don't mind owning that i have had my bits of luck occasionally. at present i am down to my last penny and i shall be turned out of my lodgings this evening if i can't find at least a sovereign. you wouldn't call them lodgings. they're not fit for a dog. but they have been a home to me, and i am getting fairly desperate. and while i have been starving, eager even to snatch a broken crust from the gutter, that scoundrel has been flourishing on the fat of the land. my own flesh and blood, too! i should like to know where samuel flower would have been to-day had it not been for me. i gave him his start in life. i pushed him up the ladder. and when he thought he was safe, he turned and ruined me as if i had been a deadly enemy. do you suppose he would ever have made his money in borneo if it hadn't been for me? i tell you when i wake up in the night and think of it i could find it in my heart to kill him. but i have neither nerve nor pluck left. i daresay if he were to pass me in the street and throw me a shilling i should pick it up with gratitude. but if i haven't the courage to strike for myself, i know those who have. and you are one of them, mr. russell. oh, i can show you the way to pull him down, to make him the scorn of his fellow men. i have waited for this opportunity for years, and by great good luck it has come at last. but you will repay me, mr. russell. you will not allow me to starve when you come into your own."
all this came from goatley in a vehement stream of concentrated passion which set him coughing until it was painful to witness his struggles for breath. with a sudden impulse russell set food upon the table and invited his guest to eat and drink. goatley did not need a second invitation. he fell upon the cold meat like a wolf. then, gradually, the greedy look left his eye, he lay back in his chair and took the cigarette which russell offered him. something like manhood had returned.
"whatever you do for me shall be well paid for," russell said. "now tell me what you have discovered. i know you have a great deal of information. i know that you were well acquainted with north borneo before samuel flower ever went there. but i seem to know as much about samuel flower as you can teach me. now if you could only tell me where one would come upon the track of jansen——"
goatley laughed as he puffed at his cigarette.
"we shall come to that in good time," he said. "but perhaps you had better hear what i have to say as to what happened to me last night. i was making my way back to drury lane, where the place which i call my home is situated, and was passing on the far side of gower street near the house where samuel flower lives in town. it was very late, and just as i reached the spot i saw a man on the doorstep talking to one of flower's servants. i don't know why i stopped, or why i listened. but i did. my hearing is exceptionally good and i could follow everything that was said; so i lingered and listened, perhaps as much out of curiosity as anything. i gathered that the stranger wanted to see flower on business, and that my dear friend had not come home yet. there was something peculiar in the accent of the caller which impelled me to wait till he had left the house. i followed him to the top of the street and even farther. can you guess who he was?"
"i think so," russell said cheerfully. "you are going to tell me that you have found jansen at last. come, this won't be a bad evening's work for you."
