IV

Ross stood looking down at the very quiet figure in a sort of daze. He

did not find this horrible, or shocking; it was simply impossible. Here,

in this tranquil, cozy room--No, it was impossible!

Going down on one knee, he reached out and touched the nape of the man’s

neck. But he did it mechanically; he had known, from the first glance,

that the man was dead. No living thing could lie so still. Quite cold--

The sound of a slow footstep in the corridor startled him. He sprang to

his feet, pulled down the linen cover, and was standing idly in the

center of the room when a woman entered, a stout, elderly woman with

calm brown eyes behind spectacles.

“Well?” said she.

“I came to see Mrs. Jones,” said Ross. “I had a note--”

He spoke in a tone as matter-of-fact as her own, for to save his life he

could think of no rational manner in which to tell her what he had seen.

Such a preposterous thing to tell a sensible, elderly woman! The very

thought of it dismayed him. Of all things in the world, he hated the

theatrical. He could not be, and he would not be, dramatic. He wished to

be casual.

But, in this case, it would not be easy. The thing he had found was, in

its very nature, dramatic, and was even now defying him to be casual and

sensible. He would have to tell her, point-blank, and she probably would

shriek or faint, or both.

“Yes,” she said. “I’m Mrs. Jones. A note?”

Her voice trailed away, and she stood regarding him in thoughtful

silence. Ross was quite willing to be silent a little longer, while he

tried to find a reassuring form for his statement; he looked back at

her, his lean face quite impassive, his mind working furiously.

“Yes?” said Mrs. Jones. “Miss Solway did think, for a time, that she

might need some one to--advise her. But everything’s quite all right

now.” She paused a moment. “She’ll be sorry to hear you’ve made the

journey for nothing. She’ll appreciate your kindness, I’m sure. But

everything’s quite all right now.”

“Oh, is it?” murmured Ross.

He found difficulty in suppressing a grim smile. Everything was all

right now, was it, and he could run away home? He did not agree with

Mrs. Jones.

“Yes,” she replied. “It was very kind of you to come, but--”

“Wait!” cried Ross, for she had turned away toward the sofa.

Without so much as turning her head, she went on a few steps, took the

knitted scarf from her shoulders, and threw it over the end of the sofa.

And he saw then that just the tip of the man’s fingers had been visible,

and that the trailing end of the scarf covered them now. She _knew_!

“Well?” she asked, looking inquiringly at him through her spectacles.

No; it was impossible; the whole thing was utterly impossible!

This sedate, respectable, gray-haired woman, this housekeeper who looked

as if she would not overlook the smallest trace of dust in a corner,

certainly, surely would not leave a dead man under her sofa.

She was stroking the cat, and the animal had assumed an expression of

idiotic delight, pink tongue protruding a little, eyes half open. Would

even a cat be so monstrously indifferent if--if what he thought he had

seen under the sofa were really there?

“Would you like me to telephone for a taxi to take you to the station?”

asked Mrs. Jones, very civilly.

“Ha!” thought Ross. “You want to get rid of me, don’t you?”

And that aroused all his stiff-necked obstinacy. He would _not_ go away

now, after all his trouble, without any sort of explanation of the

situation.

“There’s a good train--” Mrs. Jones began, with calm persistence, but

Ross interrupted.

“No, thanks,” he said. “I’d like to see Miss Solway first.”

His own words surprised him a little. After all, why on earth should he

want to see this Miss Solway? A few hours ago he had been greatly

annoyed at the thought of having to do so; he would have been only too

glad never to see or to hear of her again.

“It’s because I don’t like being made such a fool of,” he thought.

For the first time since she had entered the room, Mrs. Jones’s calm was

disturbed. She came nearer to him, and looked into his face with obvious

anxiety, speaking very low, and far more respectfully.

“It would be much better not to!” she said. “Much better, sir, if you’ll

just go away--”

“I want to see Miss Solway,” Ross repeated. “There’s been a mistake, and

I want to explain.”

“I know that, sir!” she whispered. “Of course, as soon as I saw you, I

knew you weren’t Mr. Ross. But--”

“Look here!” said Ross, bluntly. “What’s it all about, anyhow?”

“There was a little difficulty, sir,” said Mrs. Jones, still in a

whisper. “But it’s all over now.”

All over now? A new thought came to Ross. Had the man under the sofa

been Miss Solway’s “terrible trouble,” and had Cousin James been sent

for to help--in doing what had already been done?

He had, at this moment, a most clear and definite warning from his

brain. “_Clear out!_” it said. “_Get out of this, now. Don’t wait; don’t

ask questions; just go!_” All through his body this warning signal ran,

making his scalp prickle and his heart beat fast. “_It is bad for you

here. Go! Now!_”

And his stubborn and indomitable spirit answered: “_I won’t!_”

“I want to see Miss Solway,” he said, aloud.

Mrs. Jones looked at him for a moment, and apparently the expression on

his face filled her with despair.

“Oh, dear!” she said, with a tremulous sigh. “I knew; I told her it was

a mistake to send. Oh, dear!”

Ross stood there and waited.

“If you’ll go away,” she said, “Miss Solway will write to you.”

Ross still stood there and waited.

“Very well, sir!” she said, with another sigh. “If you must, you must.

This way, please!”

He followed her out of the room, and he noticed that she did not even

glance back. She couldn’t know. It was impossible that any one who was

aware of what lay under the sofa could simply walk out of the room like

that, closing the door upon it.

They went down the corridor, which was evidently a wing of the house,

and turned the corner into a wider hall. Mrs. Jones knocked upon a door.

“Miss Amy, my pet!” she called, softly.

The door opened a little.

“The gentleman,” said Mrs. Jones. “He _will_ see you!”

“All right!” answered a voice he recognized; the door opened wider, and

there was the girl he had seen before. Her body, in that soft gray

dress, seemed almost incredibly fragile; her face, colorless, framed in

misty black hair, with great, restless black eyes and delicate little

features, was strange and lovely as a dream.

Too strange, thought Ross. For the first time he realized the

significance of her presence in the housekeeper’s room. He remembered

the wailing voice, her air of haste and terror as she had brushed past

him. She had been in there, alone. What did she know? What had she seen?

“I had a note from you--” he began.

“Hush!” said Mrs. Jones. “If you please, sir! It’s a mistake, Miss Amy,

my pet. This isn’t Mr. Ross. It’s quite a stranger.”

Obviously she was warning her pet to be careful what she said, and Ross

decided that he, too, would be careful. He would have his own little

mystery.

“Quite a stranger!” he repeated.

“But--how did you get my note?” asked the girl.

“It was given to me,” he answered.

He saw Mrs. Jones and the girl exchange a glance.

“If I hold my tongue and wait,” he thought, “they’ll surely have to tell

me something.”

“But I don’t--” the girl began, when, to Ross’s amazement, Mrs. Jones

gave him a vigorous push forward.

“You’re the new chauffeur!” she whispered, fiercely.

Then he heard footsteps in the hall. He stood well inside the room, now;

a large room, furnished with quiet elegance. It was what people called a

boudoir, he thought, as his quick eye took in the details; a dressing

table with rose shaded electric lights and gleaming silver and glass; a

little desk with rose and ivory fittings; a silver vase of white

chrysanthemums on the table.

“I’m afraid we can’t take you,” said Mrs. Jones, in an altogether new

sort of voice, brisk, and a little loud. “I’m sorry.”

Ross was very well aware that some one else had come to the door and was

standing behind him. He was also aware of a sort of triumph in Mrs.

Jones’s manner. She thought she was going to get rid of him. But she

wasn’t.

“If it’s a question of wages,” he said, “I’ll take a little less.”

He saw how greatly this disconcerted her.

“No,” she said. “No, I’m afraid not.”

“What’s the matter? What’s the matter? What’s the matter?” demanded an

impatient voice behind him. He turned, and saw a stout, middle-aged man

of domineering aspect standing there and frowning heavily.

“The young man’s come to apply for the chauffeur’s position, sir,” Mrs.

Jones explained. “But I’m afraid--”

“Well, what’s the matter with him?” cried the domineering man. “Can he

drive a car? Has he got references, eh?”

“Yes, sir,” Ross replied.

“Let’s see your references!”

“I left them at the agency,” said Ross, as if inspired.

“Agency sent you, eh? Well, they know their business, don’t they? Can

you take a car to pieces and put it together again? Have you brains

enough to keep your gasoline tank filled, and to remember that when

you’re going round a corner some other fellow may be doing the same

thing?”

“Yes, sir,” said Ross.

The domineering man stared hard, and Ross met his regard steadily.

“He’ll do,” said the man. “I like him. Looks you straight in the face.

Level headed. Well set up. Good nerves. Doesn’t drink. We’ll give him a

chance. Eddy!”

He went out into the hall.

“Eddy!” he shouted. “I want Eddy!”

Mrs. Jones came close to Ross.

“Go away!” she whispered. “You _must_ go away!”

The domineering man had come back into the room.

“Now, then, what’s your name?” he demanded brusquely.

“Moss,” said Ross.

“Moss, eh? Very well! Ah, here’s Eddy! Eddy, take this young man over to

the garage. See that he’s properly looked after. He’s our new

chauffeur.”

V

The door closed behind them, and Ross round himself in the hall, alone

with this Eddy. They stared at each other for a moment; then, in spite

of himself, a grudging smile dawned upon Ross’s lean and dour face. Eddy

grinned from ear to ear.

“Come on, shover!” he said. “I’ll show you your stall!”

A sheik, Eddy was; very slender, with black hair well oiled and combed

back from his brow, and wearing clothes of the latest and jauntiest

mode. But he lacked the lilylike languor of the true sheik; his rather

handsome face was alert and cheerful; and although he moved with the

somewhat supercilious grace of one who had been frequently called a just

wonderful dancer, there was a certain wiry vigor about him.

Ross followed him down the hall and around the corner, into the corridor

where Mrs. Jones’s room was. Ross saw that the door was a little ajar,

and he dropped behind, because he wanted to look into that room, but

Eddy, in passing, pulled it shut.

Did he know, too? Certainly he did not look like the sort of youth who

went about closing doors unbidden, simply from a sense of order and

decorum. And that grin--did it signify a shrewd understanding of a

discreditable situation?

It was at this instant that Ross began to realize what he had done. Only

dimly, though; for he thought that in a few moments he would be gone,

and the whole affair finished, as far as he was concerned. He felt only

a vague disquiet, and a great impatience to get away. He went after Eddy

down the back stairs and through a dark passage on the floor below, at

the end of which he saw a brightly lit kitchen where a stout cook bent

over the stove, and that same disagreeable housemaid was mixing

something in a bowl at the table.

Then Eddy opened a door, and a wild gust of wind and rain sprang at

them.

“Step right along, shover!” said Eddy. “Here! This way!” And he took

Ross by the arm.

It was black as the pit out there; the wind came whistling through the

pines, driving before it great sheets of rain that was half sleet. It

was a world of black, bitter cold and confusion, and Ross thought of

nothing at all except getting under shelter again.

It was only a few yards; then Eddy stopped, let go of Ross’s arm, and

slid back a door. This door opened upon blackness, too, but Ross was

glad enough to get inside. Eddy closed the door, turned on a switch, and

he saw that they were in a garage.

It was a very ordinary garage, neat and bare, with a cement floor, and

two cars standing, side by side; yet, to Ross it had a sinister aspect.

He was very weary, wet and chilled to the bone, and this place looked to

him like a prison, a stone dungeon. Storm or no storm, he wanted to get

out, away from this place and these people.

“Look here--” he began, but Eddy’s cheerful voice called out: “This

way!” and he saw him standing at the foot of a narrow staircase in one

corner.

The one thing which made Ross go up those stairs was his violent

distaste for the dramatic. He felt that it would be absurd to dash out

into the rain. Instinct warned him, but once again he defied that

warning, and up he went.

He was surprised and pleased by what he found up there: the jolliest,

coziest little room, green rug on the floor, big armchairs of imitation

red leather, reading lamp. It was not a room of much æsthetic charm,

perhaps, but comfortable, cheerful and homelike, and warm.

The rain was drumming loud on the roof and dashing against the windows,

and Ross sighed as he looked at the big chairs. But he was beginning to

think now.

“Take off your coat and make yourself at home,” said Eddy.

“No,” Ross objected. “I can’t stay to-night. Didn’t bring my things

along.”

“Oh, didn’t you?” said Eddy. “Why not?”

“Because I didn’t come prepared to stay.”

“What _did_ you come for?” asked Eddy.

Now, this might be mere idle curiosity, and Ross decided to accept it as

that.

“No,” he said, slowly. “I’ll go back to the city and get my things.”

“It’s raining too hard,” Eddy declared. “It wouldn’t be healthy for you

to go out just now, shover.”

This was a little too much for Ross to ignore.

“Just the same,” he insisted, “I’m going now.”

“Nope!” said Eddy.

Ross moved forward, and Eddy moved, too, so that he blocked the doorway.

He was grinning, but there was an odd light in his eyes.

“Now, lookit here!” he said. “You just make yourself comfortable for the

night, see?”

Ross looked at him thoughtfully. He believed that it would not be

difficult to throw this slender youth down the stairs, and to walk out

of the garage, but he disliked the idea.

“I don’t want to make any trouble, Eddy,” he explained, almost mildly.

“But I’m going.”

“Nope!” said Eddy.

Ross took a step forward. Eddy reached in his hip pocket and pulled out

a revolver.

“Nope!” he said again.

“What!” cried Ross, astounded. “Do you mean--”

“Tell you what I mean,” said Eddy. “I mean to say that I know who you

are, and what you come for, and you’re going to sit pretty till

to-morrow morning. That’s what I mean.”

He spoke quite without malice; indeed, his tone was good-humored. But he

was in earnest, he and his gun; there was no doubt about it.

It was not Ross’s disposition to enter into futile arguments. He took

off his overcoat, sat down, calmly took out a cigarette and lit it.

“I see!” he remarked. “But I’d like to know who I am, and what I came

for. I’d like to hear your point of view.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t,” said Eddy. “Anyway, that can wait. Got to see

about feeding you now.”

He locked the door behind him and dropped the key into his pocket. Then

he opened another door leading out of the sitting room, disclosing a

small kitchen.

“Last shover we had, he was a married man,” he explained. “Him and his

wife fixed the place up like it is. I been living here myself, lately.

Let’s see--I got pork and beans, cawfee, cake--good cake--cook over at

the house made it. How does that strike you?”

“Good enough!” answered Ross, a little absently.

Eddy was moving about in the kitchen, whistling between his teeth; from

time to time he addressed a cheerful remark to his captive, but got no

answer. Presently he brought in a meal, of a sort, and set it out on a

table.

“Here you are!” he announced.

Ross drew up his chair, and fell to, with a pretty sharp appetite.

“Look here!” he said, abruptly. “Who was that man--the one who--hired

me?”

“Him? The Prince of Wales!” Eddy replied. “Thought you’d recognized

him.”

This was Ross’s last attempt at questioning. Indeed, he was quite

willing to be silent now, for his deplorably postponed thinking was now

well under way. His brain was busy with the events of this day--this

immeasurably long day. Was it only this morning that he had got the

note? Only this morning that he had said good-by to Phyllis Barron?

“She’d be a bit surprised if she knew where I’d gone!” he thought.

And then, with a sort of shock, it occurred to him that

nobody--absolutely nobody on earth knew where he had gone, or cared.

These people here did not know even his name. He had come here, had

walked into this situation, and if he never came out again, who would be

troubled?

Mr. Teagle had not expected him at any definite time, and would wait for

weeks and weeks before feeling the least anxiety about his unknown

client. The people at the Hotel Miston would scarcely notice for some

time the absence of Mr. Ross of New York, especially as his luggage

remained there to compensate them for any loss. Nobody would be injured,

or unhappy, or one jot the worse, if he never saw daylight again.

This was one aspect of a completely free life which he had not

considered. He was of no interest or importance to any one. He began to

consider it now.

Eddy had cleared away their meal, and had been turning over the pages of

a magazine. Now he began to yawn, and presently, getting up, opened

another door, to display a tidy little bedroom.

“Whenever you’re ready to go by-by, shover,” he suggested.

“Thanks, I’m all right where I am,” Ross asserted.

“Suit yourself,” said Eddy.

He set a chair against the locked door, pulled up another chair to put

his feet on, and made himself as comfortable as he could. But Ross made

no such effort. His family had never cared about being comfortable. No;

there he sat, too intent upon his thoughts to sleep.

The realization of his own utter loneliness in this world had set him to

thinking about the man under the sofa. There might be some one waiting,

in tears, in terrible anxiety for that man. Probably there was. There

were very, very few human beings who had nobody to care.

He had made up his mind to go to the police with his story the next

morning. And he saw very clearly the disagreeable position into which

his perverse obstinacy had brought him. He had discovered a man who was

certainly dead, and possibly murdered, and he had said not a word about

it to any one.

He had refused to go away when he had a chance, and now, here he was,

held prisoner while, if there had been foul play, the persons

responsible would have ample time to make what arrangements they

pleased. He could very well imagine how his tale would sound to the

police.

“Good Lord!” he said to himself. “What a fool I’ve been!”