The jury, after a long deliberation, returned an open verdict of "Found
dead." In the opinion of the twelve Strand tradesmen, there was
insufficient evidence to justify a verdict of murder, therefore they had
contented themselves in leaving the matter in the hands of the police.
They had, in reality, accepted the evidence of the analyst in preference
to the theory of the doctor, and had publicly expressed a hope that the
authorities at Scotland Yard would spare no pains in their endeavours to
discover the deceased's fellow traveller, if he did not come forward
voluntarily and establish her identity.
This verdict practically put an end to the mystery created by the
sensational section of the evening Press, for although it was not one of
natural causes, actual murder was not alleged. Therefore, amid the
diversity of the next day's news, the whirling world of London forgot,
as it ever forgets, the sensation of the previous day. All interest had
been lost in the curious circumstances surrounding the death of the
unknown Italian girl in the most crowded of London thoroughfares by
reason of this verdict of the jury.
The police had taken up the matter actively, but all that had been
discovered regarding the identity of the dead woman was that her name
was probably Vittorina--beyond that, absolutely nothing. Among the
millions who had followed the mystery with avidity in the papers, one
man alone recognised the woman by her description, and with satisfaction
learnt how ingeniously her death had been encompassed.
That man was the eminently respectable doctor in the remote rural
village of Lyddington. With his breakfast untouched before him, he sat
in his cosy room eagerly devouring the account of the inquest; then,
when he had finished, he cast the paper aside, exclaiming aloud in
Italian--
"Dio! What good fortune! I wonder how it was accomplished? Somebody
else, besides ourselves, apparently, feared her presence in England.
Arnold is in Livorno by this time, and has had his journey for nothing."
Then, with his head thrown back in his chair, he gazed up at the
panelled ceiling deep in thought.
"Who, I wonder, could that confounded Englishman have been who escorted
her to London and who left her so suddenly? Some Jackanapes or other, I
suppose. And who's the Major? He's evidently English too, whoever he
is. Only fancy, on the very night we discussed the desirability of the
girl's death, some unknown person obligingly did the work for us!" Then
he paused, set his teeth, and, frowning, added, "But that injudicious
letter of Egisto's may give us some trouble. What an idiot to write
like that! I hope the police won't trace him. If they do, it will be
awkward--devilish awkward."
A few minutes later the door opened, and a younger man, slim and
pale-faced, entered and wished him "good-morning."
"No breakfast?" the man, his assistant, inquired, glancing at the table.
"What's the matter?"
"Liver, my boy, liver," Malvano answered with his usual good-humoured
smile. "I shall go to town today. I may be absent the whole week; but
there's nothing really urgent. That case of typhoid up at Craig's Lodge
is going on well. You've seen it once, haven't you?"
"Yes. You're treating it in the usual way, I suppose?"
"Of course;" and the doctor, advancing to the table, poured out a cup of
coffee and drank it, at the same time calling to his man Goodwin to pack
his bag, and be ready to drive him to the London train at ten-twenty.
His assistant being called to the surgery a few minutes later, Malvano
sat down at his writing-table, hastily scribbled a couple of telegrams,
which he folded and carefully placed in his pocket-book, and half an
hour later drove out of the quiet old-world village, with its ancient
church spire and long, straggling street of thatched cottages, on his
way to catch the train.
Beside the faithful Goodwin he sat in silence the whole way, for many
things he had read that morning sorely puzzled him. It was true that
the lips of Vittorina were sealed in death, but the letter signed
"Egisto," discovered by the police in her dressing-bag, still caused him
the most intense anxiety.
At the same hour that Malvano had been reading the account of the
previous day's inquest, Frank Tristram was sitting in his handsome,
well-furnished chambers in St James's Street. He had breakfasted
early, as was his wont, and had afterwards started his habitual
cigarette. The room in which he sat was a typical bachelor's quarter,
filled with all sorts of curios and bric-a-brac which its owner had
picked up in the various corners of the earth he had visited bearing
despatches from the Foreign Office. Upon the floor lay a couple of fine
tiger-skins, presents from an Indian rajah, while around were inlaid
coffee-stools and trays of beaten brass from Constantinople, a beautiful
screen from Cairo, a rare statuette from Rome, quaint pictures and
time-yellowed ivories from the curiosity shops of Florence and Vienna,
savage weapons from Africa and South America, and a bright, shining
samovar from St Petersburg. In a corner stood the much-worn
travelling-bag which he kept always ready packed, and hanging upon a
nail above the mantelshelf was the blue ribbon with its silver
greyhound, the badge which carried its owner everywhere with the
greatest amount of swiftness, and the least amount of personal
discomfort. Over the fireplace, too, were many autographed portraits of
British ambassadors and distinguished foreign statesmen, together with
those of one or two ladies of this constant traveller's acquaintance.
As he lay back in a wicker deck-chair--the same in which he had taken
his after-luncheon nap on board many an ocean steamer--well-shaven,
smart, and spruce, his legs stretched out lazily, his hands thrust deep
into his pockets, he sighed deeply.
"Italy again!" he grumbled to himself as he took up a scribbled note on
official paper. "Just my infernal luck. Italy is the very last place I
want to visit just now, yet, by Jove! the Chief sends me a message to
start this morning." And rousing himself, he stretched his arms and
glanced wearily at the little carriage clock. The discarded newspaper
on the floor recalled all that he had read half an hour before.
"I wonder," he went on--"I wonder if any one on Charing Cross platform
except the porter spotted the girl?" Then he remained silent for a
moment. "No. I oughtn't to go to Italy; it's far too risky. There's
plenty of time yet for Marvin to be called. I must feign illness, and
await my chance to go on a long trip to Pekin, Teheran, or Washington.
Yes, a touch of fever will be a good excuse." But, after a moment's
further consideration, he added, "Yet, after all, to be ill will be to
arouse suspicion. No, I'll go;" and he pressed the electric bell.
In answer to the summons his man-servant, a smart, tall ex-private of
Dragoons, entered.
"A foreign telegraph form, Smayle," he said.
The man obeyed with military promptitude, and his master a minute later
scribbled a few hasty words on the yellow form, securing a berth in the
through sleeping-car leaving Paris that night for Rome.
"Take this to the telegraph office in Regent Street," he said. "I'm
leaving this morning, and if anybody calls, tell them I've gone to
Washington, to Timbuctoo, or to the devil, if you like--anyhow, I shan't
be back for a month. You understand?"
"Yes, sir," answered the man with a smile. "Shall I forward any
letters?"
"Yes, Poste Restante, Leghorn."
At that moment the bell of the outer door rang out sharply, and Smayle
went in response, returning a moment later, saying--
"Major Maitland, sir."
"Show him in," answered his master in a tone of suppressed excitement.
The man disappeared, and a second later the Major entered jauntily, his
silk hat slightly askew, extended his well-gloved hand, greeted his
friend profusely with the easy air of a man about town, and sank into
one of the comfortable saddle-bag chairs.
"Well, my dear fellow," he exclaimed as soon as they were alone. "Why
do you risk London after the events of the other night? I never dreamed
that I should find you at home."
"I'm leaving for Italy again by the eleven train," the other answered.
"Have you read this morning's paper?"
"Of course I have," answered the Major. "It's an infernally awkward bit
of business for both of us, I'm afraid. That introduction at the
station was the greatest mistake possible, for the cabman will no doubt
identify us. Besides, he overheard you address me by rank."
"But the police have no suspicion," Tristram observed. "At present we
are safe enough."
"If I were you I wouldn't arrive or depart from Charing Cross for a few
months at least," the Major suggested. "The business is far too ugly
for us to run any unnecessary risks, you know."
"No; I shall make a habit of departing from London Bridge and arriving
at Cannon Street. I never have more than hand-baggage with me."
"Where are you going to-day?"
"To Leghorn again. Right into the very midst of the enemy's camp," he
laughed.
"Suppose any facts regarding the mystery have been published in the
local papers, don't you think you'd stand a good chance of being
arrested? The police in Italy are very arbitrary."
"They dare not arrest me with despatches in my possession. I have
immunity from arrest while on official business," His Majesty's
messenger answered.
"That may be so," replied the Major. "But you'd have a considerable
difficulty in persuading the police of either London or Leghorn that you
were not the amiable young man who arrived at Charing Cross with
Vittorina."
"And you would have similar difficulty, my dear old chap, in convincing
the detectives that you were not the person who waited for us on the
platform," the other replied. "You're so well known about town that, if
I were you, I should leave London at once, and not take a return
ticket."
"I leave to-night."
"By what route?"
"By a rather round-about one," the Major answered, slowly striking a
vesta. "The ordinary Channel passage might disagree with me, you know,
so I shall travel this evening to Hull, and sail to-morrow morning for
Christiania. Thence I shall get down into Germany via Hamburg."
"A very neat way of evading observation," observed the Captain in a tone
of admiration.
"I booked my passage a fortnight ago, in case I might require it," the
elder man observed carelessly. "When one desires to cover one's tracks,
the ordinary Channel services are worse than useless. I call the
Norwegian the circular route. I've used it more than once before. They
know me on the Wilson liners."
Tristram glanced at his watch. "I must be off in five minutes. What
will be your address?"
"Portland before long, if I'm not wary," the other replied, with a grim
smile.
"This is no time for joking, Maitland," Tristram said severely.
"Reserve your witticisms for the warders, if you really anticipate
chokee. They'll no doubt appreciate them."
"Then address me Poste Restante, Brussels. I'm certain to drift to the
Europe there sooner or later within the next three months," the Major
said.
"Very well, I must go;" and the King's messenger quickly obtained his
soft grey felt hat and heavy travelling coat from the hall, filled a
silver flask from a decanter, took down the blue ribbon, deftly fastened
it around his neck out of sight beneath his cravat, and snatched up his
travelling-bag.
"I'm going along to the Foreign Office for despatches. Can I drop you
anywhere from my cab?" he asked as they made their way down the stairs
together.
"No, my dear fellow," the Major replied. "I'm going up Bond Street."
Then, on gaining St James's Street, the Captain sprang into a cab, and
shouting a cheery adieu to his friend, drove off on the first stage of
his tedious thousand-mile journey to the Mediterranean shore.