“It must have been Mr. Adderley I saw,” muttered the constable.
“You saw--when?”
“Just before you arrived, sir. He came racing out into St. James's
Street and dashed off like a madman.”
“In which direction was he going?”
“Toward Pall Mall.”
*****
The neighbourhood was practically deserted at that hour. But from
the guard on duty before the palace we obtained our first evidence
of Adderley's movements. He had raced by some five minutes before,
frantically looking back over his shoulder and behaving like a man
flying for his life. No one else had seen him. No one else ever did see
him alive. At two o'clock there was no news, but I had informed Scotland
Yard and official inquiries had been set afoot.
Nothing further came to light that night, but as all readers of the
daily press will remember, Adderley's body was taken out of the pond in
St. James's Park on the following day. Death was due to drowning, but
his throat was greatly discoloured as though it had been clutched in a
fierce grip.
It was I who identified the body, and as many people will know, in spite
of the closest inquiries, the mystery of Adderley's death has not been
properly cleared up to this day. The identity of the lady who visited
him at his chambers was never discovered. She completely disappeared.
The ebony and ivory casket lies on my table at this present moment,
visible evidence of an invisible menace from which Adderley had fled
around the world.
Doubtless the truth will never be known now. A significant discovery,
however, was made some days after the recovery of Adderley's body.
From the bottom of the pond in St. James's Park a patient Scotland
Yard official brought up the gold nail-case with its mysterious
engravings--and it contained, torn at the root, the incredibly long
finger-nail of the Mandarin Quong!