superintendent mansus had a little office in scotland yard proper,which, he complained, was not so much a private bureau, as awaiting-room to which repaired every official of the policeservice who found time hanging on his hands. on the afternoon ofmiss holland's surprising adventure, a plainclothes man of "d"division brought to mr. mansus's room a very scared domesticservant, voluble, tearful and agonizingly penitent. it was a moodnot wholly unfamiliar to a police officer of twenty yearsexperience and mr. mansus was not impressed.
"if you will kindly shut up," he said, blending his naturalpoliteness with his employment of the vernacular, "and if you willalso answer a few questions i will save you a lot of trouble. youwere lady bartholomew's maid weren't you?""yes, sir," sobbed the red-eyed mary ann.
"and you have been detected trying to pawn a gold bracelet, theproperty of lady bartholomew?"the maid gulped, nodded and started breathlessly upon a recital ofher wrongs.
"yes, sir - but she practically gave it to me, sir, and i haven'thad my wages for two months, sir, and she can give that foreignerthousands and thousands of pounds at a time, sir, but her poorservants she can't pay - no, she can't. and if sir william knewespecially about my lady's cards and about the snuffbox, whatwould he think, i wonder, and i'm going to have my rights, for ifshe can pay thousands to a swell like mr. kara she can pay meand - "mansus jerked his head.
"take her down to the cells," he said briefly, and they led heraway, a wailing, woeful figure of amateur larcenist.
in three minutes mansus was with t. x. and had reduced the girl'sincoherence to something like order.
"this is important," said t. x.; "produce the abigail.""the - ?" asked the puzzled officer.
"the skivvy - slavey - hired help - get busy," said t. x.
impatiently.
they brought her to t. x. in a condition bordering upon collapse.
"get her a cup of tea," said the wise chief. "sit down, mary ann,and forget all your troubles.""oh, sir, i've never been in this position before," she began, asshe flopped into the chair they put for her.
"then you've had a very tiring time," said t. x. "now listen - ""i've been respectable - ""forget it!" said t. x., wearily. "listen! if you'll tell methe whole truth about lady bartholomew and the money she paid tomr. kara - ""two thousand pounds - two separate thousand and by all accounts-""if you will tell me the truth, i'll compound a felony and let yougo free."it was a long time before he could prevail upon her to clear herspeech of the ego which insisted upon intruding. there were gapsin her narrative which he bridged. in the main it was abelievable story. lady bartholomew had lost money and hadborrowed from kara. she had given as security, the snuffboxpresented to her husband's father, a doctor, by one of the czarsfor services rendered, and was "all blue enamel and gold, andforeign words in diamonds." on the question of the amount ladybartholomew had borrowed, abigail was very vague. all that sheknew was that my lady had paid back two thousand pounds and thatshe was still very distressed ("in a fit" was the phrase the girlused), because apparently kara refused to restore the box.
there had evidently been terrible scenes in the bartholomewmenage, hysterics and what not, the principal breakdown havingoccurred when belinda mary came home from school in france.
"miss bartholomew is home then. where is she?" asked t. x.
here the girl was more vague than ever. she thought the younglady had gone back again, anyway miss belinda had been very muchupset. miss belinda had seen dr. williams and advised that hermother should go away for a change.
"miss belinda seems to be a precocious young person," said t. x.
"did she by any chance see mr. kara?""oh, no," explained the girl. "miss belinda was above that sortof person. miss belinda was a lady, if ever there was one.""and how old is this interesting young woman?" asked t. x.
curiously.
"she is nineteen," said the girl, and the commissioner, who hadpictured belinda in short plaid frocks and long pigtails, and hadmoreover visualised her as a freckled little girl with thin legsand snub nose, was abashed.
he delivered a short lecture on the sacred rights of property,paid the girl the three months' wages which were due to her - hehad no doubt as to the legality of her claim - and dismissed herwith instructions to go back to the house, pack her box and clearout.
after the girl had gone, t. x. sat down to consider the position.
he might see kara and since kara had expressed his contrition andwas probably in a more humble state of mind, he might makereparation. then again he might not. mansus was waiting and t.
x. walked back with him to his little office.
"i hardly know what to make of it," he said in despair.
"if you can give me kara's motive, sir, i can give you asolution," said mansus.
t. x. shook his head.
"that is exactly what i am unable to give you," he said.
he perched himself on mansus's desk and lit a cigar.
"i have a good mind to go round and see him," he said after awhile.
"why not telephone to him?" asked mansus. "there is his 'phonestraight into his boudoir."he pointed to a small telephone in a corner of the room.
"oh, he persuaded the commissioner to run the wire, did he?" saidt. x. interested, and walked over to the telephone.
he fingered the receiver for a little while and was about to takeit off, but changed his mind.
"i think not," he said, "i'll go round and see him to-morrow. idon't hope to succeed in extracting the confidence in the case oflady bartholomew, which he denied me over poor lexman.""i suppose you'll never give up hope of seeing mr. lexman again,"smiled mansus, busily arranging a new blotting pad.
before t. x. could answer there came a knock at the door, and auniformed policeman, entered. he saluted t. x.
"they've just sent an urgent letter across from your office, sir.
i said i thought you were here."ht handed the missive to the commissioner. t. x. took it andglanced at the typewritten address. it was marked "urgent" and"by hand." he took up the thin, steel, paper-knife from the deskand slit open the envelope. the letter consisted of three or fourpages of manuscript and, unlike the envelope, it was handwritten.
"my dear t. x.," it began, and the handwriting was familiar.
mansus, watching the commissioner, saw the puzzled frown gather onhis superior's forehead, saw the eyebrows arch and the mouth openin astonishment, saw him hastily turn to the last page to read thesignature and then"howling apples!" gasped t. x. "it's from john lexman!"his hand shook as he turned the closely written pages. the letterwas dated that afternoon. there was no other address than"london.""my dear t. x.," it began, "i do not doubt that this letter willgive you a little shock, because most of my friends will havebelieved that i am gone beyond return. fortunately orunfortunately that is not so. for myself i could wish - but i amnot going to take a very gloomy view since i am genuinely pleasedat the thought that i shall be meeting you again. forgive thisletter if it is incoherent but i have only this moment returnedand am writing at the charing cross hotel. i am not staying here,but i will let you have my address later. the crossing has been avery severe one so you must forgive me if my letter sounds alittle disjointed. you will be sorry to hear that my dear wife isdead. she died abroad about six months ago. i do not wish totalk very much about it so you will forgive me if i do not tellyou any more.
"my principal object in writing to you at the moment is anofficial one. i suppose i am still amenable to punishment and ihave decided to surrender myself to the authorities to-night. youused to have a most excellent assistant in superintendent mansus,and if it is convenient to you, as i hope it will be, i willreport myself to him at 10.15. at any rate, my dear t. x., i donot wish to mix you up in my affairs and if you will let me dothis business through mansus i shall be very much obliged to you.
"i know there is no great punishment awaiting me, because mypardon was apparently signed on the night before my escape. ishall not have much to tell you, because there is not much in thepast two years that i would care to recall. we endured a greatdeal of unhappiness and death was very merciful when it took mybeloved from me.
"do you ever see kara in these days?
"will you tell mansus to expect me at between ten and half-past,and if he will give instructions to the officer on duty in thehall i will come straight up to his room.
"with affectionate regards, my dear fellow, i am, "yourssincerely,"john lexman."t. x. read the letter over twice and his eyes were troubled.
"poor girl," he said softly, and handed the letter to mansus. "heevidently wants to see you because he is afraid of using myfriendship to his advantage. i shall be here, nevertheless.""what will be the formality?" asked mansus.
"there will be no formality," said the other briskly. "i willsecure the necessary pardon from the home secretary and in pointof fact i have it already promised, in writing."he walked back to whitehall, his mind fully occupied with themomentous events of the day. it was a raw february evening, sleetwas falling in the street, a piercing easterly wind drove eventhrough his thick overcoat. in such doorways as offeredprotection from the bitter elements the wreckage of humanity whichclings to the west end of london, as the singed moth fluttersabout the flame that destroys it, were huddled for warmth.
t. x. was a man of vast human sympathies.
all his experience with the criminal world, all hisdisappointments, all his disillusions had failed to quench thepity for his unfortunate fellows. he made it a rule on suchnights as these, that if, by chance, returning late to his officehe should find such a shivering piece of jetsam sheltering in hisown doorway, he would give him or her the price of a bed.
in his own quaint way he derived a certain speculative excitementfrom this practice. if the doorway was empty he regarded himselfas a winner, if some one stood sheltered in the deep recess whichis a feature of the old georgian houses in this historicthoroughfare, he would lose to the extent of a shilling.
he peered forward through the semi-darkness as he neared the doorof his offices.
"i've lost," he said, and stripped his gloves preparatory togroping in his pocket for a coin.
somebody was standing in the entrance, but it was obviously a veryrespectable somebody. a dumpy, motherly somebody in a seal-skincoat and a preposterous bonnet.
"hullo," said t. x. in surprise, "are you trying to get in here?""i want to see mr. meredith," said the visitor, in the mincingaffected tones of one who excused the vulgar source of herprosperity by frequently reiterated claims to having seen betterdays.
"your longing shall be gratified," said t. x. gravely.
he unlocked the heavy door, passed through the uncarpeted passage- there are no frills on government offices - and led the way upthe stairs to the suite on the first floor which constituted hisbureau.
he switched on all the lights and surveyed his visitor, acomfortable person of the landlady type.
"a good sort," thought t. x., "but somewhat overweighted withlorgnettes and seal-skin.""you will pardon my coming to see you at this hour of the night,"she began deprecatingly, "but as my dear father used to say, 'hopisoit qui mal y pense.'""your dear father being in the garter business?" suggested t. x.
humorously. "won't you sit down, mrs.- ""mrs. cassley," beamed the lady as she seated herself. "he was inthe paper hanging business. but needs must, when the devildrives, as the saying goes.""what particular devil is driving you, mrs. cassley?" asked t.
x., somewhat at a loss to understand the object of this visit.
"i may be doing wrong," began the lady, pursing her lips, "and twoblacks will never make a white.""and all that glitters is not gold," suggested t. x. a littlewearily. "will you please tell me your business, mrs. cassley? iam a very hungry man.""well, it's like this, sir," said mrs. cassley, dropping hererudition, and coming down to bedrock homeliness; "i've got ayoung lady stopping with me, as respectable a gel as i've had todeal with. and i know what respectability is, i might tell you,for i've taken professional boarders and i have been housekeeperto a doctor.""you are well qualified to speak," said t. x. with a smile. "andwhat about this particular young lady of yours! by the way whatis your address?""86a marylebone road," said the lady.
t. x. sat up.
"yes?" he said quickly. "what about your young lady?""she works as far as i can understand," said the loquaciouslandlady, "with a certain mr. kara in the typewriting line. shecame to me four months ago.""never mind when she came to you," said t. x. impatiently. "haveyou a message from the lady?""well, it's like this, sir," said mrs. cassley, leaning forwardconfidentially and speaking in the hollow tone which she haddecided should accompany any revelation to a police officer, "thisyoung lady said to me, 'if i don't come any night by 8 o'clock youmust go to t. x. and tell him - '!"she paused dramatically.
"yes, yes," said t. x. quickly, "for heaven's sake go on, woman.""'tell him,'" said mrs. cassley, "'that belinda mary - ' "he sprang to his feet.
"belinda mary!" he breathed, "belinda mary!" in a flash he saw itall. this girl with a knowledge of modern greek, who was workingin kara's house, was there for a purpose. kara had something ofher mother's, something that was vital and which he would not partwith, and she had adopted this method of securing that some thing.
mrs. cassley was prattling on, but her voice was merely a haze ofsound to him. it brought a strange glow to his heart that belindamary should have thought of him.
"only as a policeman, of course," said the still, small voice ofhis official self. "perhaps!" said the human t. x., defiantly.
he got on the telephone to mansus and gave a few instructions.
"you stay here," he ordered the astounded mrs. cassley; "i amgoing to make a few investigations."kara was at home, but was in bed. t. x. remembered that thisextraordinary man invariably went to bed early and that it was hispractice to receive visitors in this guarded room of his. he wasadmitted almost at once and found kara in his silk dressing-gownlying on the bed smoking. the heat of the room was unbearableeven on that bleak february night.
"this is a pleasant surprise," said kara, sitting up; "i hope youdon't mind my dishabille."t. x. came straight to the point.
"where is miss holland!" he asked.
"miss holland?" kara's eyebrows advertised his astonishment.
"what an extraordinary question to ask me, my dear man! at herhome, or at the theatre or in a cinema palace - i don't know howthese people employ their evenings.""she is not at home," said t. x., "and i have reason to believethat she has not left this house.""what a suspicious person you are, mr. meredith!" kara rang thebell and fisher came in with a cup of coffee on a tray.
"fisher," drawled kara. "mr. meredith) is anxious to know wheremiss holland is. will you be good enough to tell him, you knowmore about her movements than i do.""as far as i know, sir," said fisher deferentially, "she left thehouse about 5.30, her usual hour. she sent me out a little beforefive on a message and when i came back her hat and her coat hadgone, so i presume she had gone also.""did you see her go?" asked t. x.
the man shook his head.
"no, sir, i very seldom see the lady come or go. there has beenno restrictions placed upon the young lady and she has been atliberty to move about as she likes. i think i am correct insaying that, sir," he turned to kara.
kara nodded.
"you will probably find her at home."he shook his finger waggishly at t. x.
"what a dog you are," he jibed, "i ought to keep the beauties ofmy household veiled, as we do in the east, and especially when ihave a susceptible policeman wandering at large."t. x. gave jest for jest. there was nothing to be gained bymaking trouble here. after a few amiable commonplaces he took hisdeparture. he found mrs. cassley being entertained by mansus witha wholly fictitious description of the famous criminals he hadarrested.
"i can only suggest that you go home," said t. x. "i will send apolice officer with you to report to me, but in all probabilityyou will find the lady has returned. she may have had adifficulty in getting a bus on a night like this."a detective was summoned from scotland yard and accompanied by himmrs. cassley returned to her domicile with a certain importance.
t. x. looked at his watch. it was a quarter to ten.
"whatever happens, i must see old lexman," he said. "tell thebest men we've got in the department to stand by foreventualities. this is going to be one of my busy days."
