Alverton Hall, a noble old mansion, had been purchased by the Sheffield
steel magnate Sir Mark Edwards some ten years before. In addition, I
heard that he owned a beautiful place in Glamorganshire and rented a
great deer-forest in Scotland. He was one of England's manufacturing
princes, whose generosity to charitable institutes and to the city of
Sheffield was well known, and whose daughter had, only a year ago,
married into the peerage.
A short, bluff, bald-headed old fellow, he spoke quickly, almost
snappishly, when I was ushered into his presence in a small,
cosily-furnished room that looked out upon a fine old-world terrace,
with a Jacobean garden beyond.
"It is true that I'm expecting Professor Greer on a visit here," he
said, with a broad Hallamshire accent, in reply to my question. "Who,
may I ask, are you?"
I explained that I was an intimate friend who desired to see him
immediately upon very important business, and that I had come down from
London for that purpose.
"Well," replied the short, active little man, "I expected him yesterday,
and cannot think why he has not arrived."
"You have had some important business dealings with him, Sir Mark, I see
from yesterday's paper?"
"Yes, very important. He made a statement in Birmingham explaining his
discovery."
"I suppose it is a most important one?"
"Most important. It opens up a new era in the British steel trade and
places us in the foremost rank. At this moment no other steel in the
world can compete with that from our Meersbrook Works, thanks to the
Professor."
"You've known him a long time, I presume?"
"I've not known him personally very long," was Sir Mark's reply. "He is
a man who has kept himself very much to himself. But, of course, as you
know, his reputation is worldwide. He is bringing with him his agent,
Mr. Kirk."
"His agent!" I echoed, astounded. "You know him?"
"Of course. I've had several dealings with him. He was with us in
Vienna a week or so ago."
"And was Greer there also?"
"Of course," replied the steel manufacturer. "The contract was arranged
there."
"And who else was with him?"
"No one to my knowledge--except an English lady who lived at the
Continental in the Praterstrasse, while we were at the Grand. She
seemed to be a friend of the Professor, for one evening he introduced me
to her. By the way, her name was very similar to yours, I think--
Holworth or Holford."
"That was in Vienna?" I gasped.
"Yes. He introduced me in Leidinger's restaurant, in the
Karntnerstrasse."
"And the lady--what was she like? Young or old?" I inquired
breathlessly.
"Young," was his answer.
And, proceeding, he gave me a perfect description of Mabel!
"What was her attitude towards the Professor?"
"She appeared to be most eager to protect him from any suspicion of
fraud. She seemed to regard me with some misgivings--I know not why.
Indeed, the reason of her being in Vienna and mixed up in the business
struck me as altogether remarkable, for, truth to tell, I prefer not to
deal with the fair sex in matters of pure business. I'm a plain man,"
he added, with a strong burr in his voice, "and I believe always in
straightforward dealing, whether it be in paying a workman a day's wage
or carrying out a Government contract."
"This is all very interesting to me, Sir Mark," I said, without,
however, telling him that the lady in question was my lost wife. "You
appear not to have approved of the lady's connection with the sale of
the patent?"
"I didn't, I frankly tell you," he said. "I told Kirk my mind quite
plainly, but he assured me that the lady was a great friend of the
Professor."
I bit my lip savagely. How was it that Mabel, my dear, beloved wife,
had allied herself with that pair of adventurers? What could have been
the story told to her to induce her to become the catspaw of men of that
stamp?
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell the great steel magnate that he
had purchased a secret which did not belong to the seller, and that the
"Professor Greer" he knew was not the real discoverer. But I hesitated.
Before I spoke I would unmask this impostor and his "agent," Kershaw
Kirk.
A word from me to this shrewd, hard-headed man of business, and the two
would, I felt assured, find themselves in the hands of the police.
Yes, I now held the trump card. At any moment the pair might drive up
to pay their promised visit to Sir Mark. And when they did, what an
awkward surprise would await them!
I laughed within myself when I realised how innocently they would fall
into my vengeful hands.
So communicative and pleasant was the bald-headed man that I went one
step further, daring to ask:
"I presume the price your firm paid for the secret of the new process
was a substantial one?"
"A very large one," he replied. "A big sum down, as well as a handsome
royalty. This must be the second fortune which Greer has made. He has
received a lot of money for his process of hardening armour-plates. The
Admiralty use only plates hardened by the Greer process, for here, as in
many other things, England is still ahead of Germany."
"Have you ever been to the Professor's house in London?" I asked.
"Never. He has, however, invited me to dine there next week."
"Next week!" I cried. "Then, of course, you'll go? You'll probably
find Kershaw Kirk there."
"Yes," he laughed; "most probably. He's a strange man--isn't he?--and
most influential."
"He's certainly strange, but as regards his influence, I know nothing,"
was my quick reply.
"Why, my dear sir, his influence is enormous! He can go direct to
quarters where we are entirely debarred!" declared my companion, as I
sat back in the chair listening to these revelations.
"How? I don't follow you."
"Well," he declared, "to me, the reason of Kirk's influence is a
complete mystery, but it has been conclusively proved more than once
that he has the _entree_ to the highest quarters, and the ear of the
authorities."