MR. NISBET VISITS LAMB'S TERRACE.
I had no doubt whatever that this person was Mr. Oliver Nisbet, who
must have in his possession the means of access to the house. This
being the case, the question of motive arose. It could not have been
the value of the garments, which, to a man of fortune, was of small
importance. The care which in the first instance had been taken to
conceal them became now in my judgment of extreme significance; still
more so the stealthy manner in which they had been removed. Mr. Nisbet
had been in London comparatively but a few hours before he carried out
a design the probable intention of which was to remove and destroy
evidence which might in some way place him in peril. Likely enough he
had come to London for this special purpose, fearing, as he was no
longer the tenant, that the house would be let to strangers, into
whose hands the clothing would naturally fall. Surely he would not
have paid his stealthy visit to Lamb's Terrace if he had not cause to
dread exposure!
Bob, who presented himself punctually at the time he named, agreed
with me in this view, and when I told him of my coming by chance upon
Mr. Nisbet, and spoke of the impression he produced upon me, he looked
disturbed. I asked the reason, and he answered:
"Well, Ned, I don't mind confessing to you that I have a secret horror
of Mr. Nisbet, and an unreasonable dread of him. I hardly think we two
would be a match for him."
I could not help smiling as I remarked, "There is not much chance of a
personal encounter, Bob."
"I am not so sure of that," he said. "I am not so sure that he is not
at this moment concealed in the house, the ins and outs of which he
must be much better acquainted with than we are."
"Concealed for the purpose of doing us an injury?" I inquired.
"Concealed," he replied, "first to ascertain if any persons were in
occupation and had any suspicions of the last tenant--in which case he
would in all probability endeavor to get rid of those persons as he
got rid of his unfortunate stepdaughter."
"You forget, Bob, the gas is cut off."
"Ned," said Bob impressively, "my firm belief is that the young lady
did not meet her death by asphyxiation caused by an escape of gas.
True, we have no evidence of a crime having been committed; our
suspicions go for nothing; your apparition of the cat goes for
nothing; a third-rate lawyer would laugh them to scorn; but none the
less do I believe that the lady my nephew loved was murdered by her
stepfather. Your interview with Dr. Cooper strengthens these
suspicions, the removal of the women's clothing confirms them in my
mind. And still, legally, we are no further advanced. Everything in
this house belongs to the last tenant. He paid the rent regularly
while he held the lease, and if he chose to leave his property here
unprotected, it was his affair; and if, after a long absence from
England, he returns and pays an early visit to the house, which is
still practically without a tenant, for the purpose of taking
possession of part of his property, he is still fairly within his
right. Even supposing that there were a law to touch him--which there
is not--he could easily explain the matter, and his explanation would
be accepted without question."
"Unless," I interposed, "we stepped forward with what we know."
"We know nothing, Ned, absolutely nothing. We should only bring
ourselves into trouble, lay ourselves open to a criminal action for
defamation, which the most skillful lawyer in the land could not
successfully defend. What do you think I have done to-day?"
"I have not the least idea."
"I asked my employer for a holiday, and I have got it. I have been
slaving in his office for years without a single week's vacation. He
gave me the holiday, three or four weeks, at my option, and I intend
to employ the time in remaining with you and assisting in the
elucidation of this mystery, if it is ever to be arrived at."
"You are a real friend; but, Bob, that is a nice idea of a holiday,
after years of hard work."
"Never mind. The mystery has got tight hold of me, and I don't mean to
leave it unless I am compelled by circumstances to do so. You have no
objection to company and assistance, I suppose?"
"I am truly grateful for it."
"You see," said Bob earnestly, "I happen to be more closely connected
with it than you are. You have no human relation with the parties in
the affair, who, until quite lately, were complete strangers to you. I
have some sort of connection with them through my nephew Ronald, whom
I have seen to-day, and who, I may tell you, is troubled by the
inquiries you have made of him. He has no notion of their tendency,
but he felt that something is being concealed from him which he has a
right to know. It is in his interests, and for his satisfaction, that
I enter into a direct partnership with you. Have you succeeded in
persuading your good wife to go to the seaside?"
"I have, and she will be away for at least for a fortnight; if
necessary I shall insist upon her remaining at Brighton for a longer
time."
"So that we are free to set actively to work without interruption."
"Yes, Bob. How about Barbara?"
"My landlady takes her upon trial. There will be no charge for board
and lodging, and if she gives satisfaction she will get a shilling a
week to commence with."
"I am glad to hear it. And now to get back to your suspicions that Mr.
Nisbet may be concealed in the house even while we are talking. He
might endeavor to get rid of us, you said. When, and how?"
"When? In the dead of night, when we are sound asleep. How? Well, I
put together these facts: Mr. Nisbet's knowledge of dangerous
chemicals, the narcotic which Ronald informed you he gave to his
stepdaughter, and the significant conclusions which can be drawn from
your conversation with Dr. Cooper. I propose, not this evening,
to-morrow morning, that you, or we together, pay a visit to Dr.
Cooper, and have an interview with him. He has a grievance against Mr.
Nisbet; it might be turned to effect."
"You suspect him of being an accomplice?"
"In a certain sense. What do they call it in law? Accessory after the
fact. He might have known nothing at the time; the belief that his
knowledge of poisonous narcotics--bear in mind his boast--had been
used to a bad end may have come afterward."
"But if he makes any admission it could be used against himself."
"It could, but he may be able to prove his innocence of a guilty
intention. However, that is a point for future consideration. A visit
can do no harm. He is desperately poor, and a little bribe may tempt
him; if we cannot worm anything out of him, we may out of his wife.
Now, Ned, before I consent to sleep in this house I intend to search
it thoroughly from roof to cellar."
We carried out this proposal; we thoroughly examined every room, we
made fast every door when we closed it behind us; and we discovered
nothing. Our search over, we were quite convinced that we were the
only persons in the house.
The following two hours were devoted to preparing supper, and while we
were thus employed we discussed our movements for to-morrow. Bob
insisted that Ronald Elsdale should be made acquainted with all that
had transpired, and I consented. Our first visit in the morning was to
be paid to the inquiry agent, our second to Dr. Cooper, our third to
Ronald. Bob was thoroughly in earnest, and I perceived that his
interest in the matter was now no less than my own.
I have already stated that the room we had selected was on the second
floor, and that its windows faced the back garden. There were Venetian
blinds to the window, and some of the slats were awry and loose from
long neglect. For a reason which he did not explain Bob shaded the one
candle which we had lighted, so that the fact of the apartment being
occupied could not be quite clearly established from without. Several
times Bob went to the window and cautiously peeped through the crooked
slats.
"What for, Bob?" I asked.
"Just a fancy of mine," he replied. "Is your apparition present?"
"It is not."
The weather had suddenly changed, in fit accordance with the
extraordinary vagaries of our beautiful climate. A fine night had set
in, and there was a full bright moon. In the middle of a game of
cribbage Bob rose once more, and stepped to the window and remained
there.
"Don't touch the candle, Ned," he said, "and move cautiously. Come
here quietly, so as not to give an observer outside any indication
that human beings are in the room."
I obeyed him, and presently was standing motionless by his side,
peeping through the slats.
The garden was bathed in light. Standing in full view I saw a man
facing our window, his eyes intently fixed in our direction in the
endeavor to discover whether the apartment was inhabited.
"Can you see him plainly?'
"Quite plainly, Bob."
"Who is it?"
"Mr. Oliver Nisbet."
"Ah!"
And now a strange incident occurred, visible to me, but not to Bob. In
the clear moonlight I saw the skeleton cat creeping toward the man who
was watching. Slowly it advanced and fastened itself upon him, and
climbed upward till it reached his shoulder. And there it squatted,
its yellow eyes resting ominously on Mr. Nisbet's face. He seemed to
be perfectly unconscious of the presence of the apparition, but to me
it was an unmistakable sign, more powerful than the strongest human
proof, that the man had been guilty of a horrible crime. In silence we
stood at the window for several minutes, and then Mr. Nisbet slunk
away to the rear of the garden. He climbed the crumbling wall which
encompassed it, and was gone.
"What do you say to that, Ned?" asked Bob.
I could not answer, so enthralled was I by the spiritual evidence of
guilt of which I had been a witness. Bob looked at me inquiringly.
"Your face is as white as death," he said. "Are you ill?"
"A moment, Bob," I replied; and when I was sufficiently recovered I
explained to him what I had seen. It stirred him as deeply as it had
stirred me.
"If a shadow of doubt was in my mind," he said, "it is dispelled. The
villain must be brought to justice."
"He shall be, if human effort can accomplish it. I will not rest till
his guilt is brought home to him."
We slept but little that night, and did not take our rest together.
Fearful of consequences to which we could give no name, we slept and
watched in turn, Bob's pistol being handy for any emergency. Nothing
further, however, occurred to disturb us. Early in the morning we
breakfasted, and took our way to Mr. Dickson's office.
"You received my message, then?" were his first words to me.
"What message?" I inquired.
"The one I sent to your house an hour ago. I knew it was safe to leave
it, because your wife was in the country. Oh, we find out things
without being told. It belongs to our business."
"I did not sleep at home last night; I received no message."
"It does not matter, now you are here. I have news for you. Yesterday
Mr. Oliver Nisbet paid two visits to the house in Lamb's Terrace."
"You discovered that, did you?"
"I should be a bungler if I had not. We have never left him, and I
will stake all I am worth that he had not the slightest suspicion that
he was being watched. His first visit was made at two o'clock. He let
himself into the house with a key, and remained there about an hour.
He went in with his hands empty; he came out with his hands full. He
carried a large parcel with him wrapped in brown paper, and this
evidently was the motive for his first visit. We do not know what was
in the parcel; he took it to his room in the Métropole, and left it
there. His second visit was paid in the night, at half-past nine. He
did not enter by the front door; indeed, he did not enter at all. He
climbed over the back wall of the garden, and stood there, watching
the back windows, for half an hour or so. Then he returned the same
way as he came. From Lamb's Terrace he went to Theobald's Row, South
Lambeth, and had an interview with a disreputable apothecary there of
the name of Cooper. He calls himself a doctor, but I doubt whether he
has a diploma. From Theobald's Row, Mr. Nisbet returned to the
Métropole, and left instructions to be called early. If you went to
the hotel now you would not find him there."
"He has fled!" I exclaimed.
"I do not know about that," said Mr. Dickson, with a smile. "We will
call it a departure. He has taken his departure."
"Gone to another hotel?"
"Not in this country. He left for the Continent this morning by the
early train."
I stamped my foot impatiently. "Then he has escaped us!" I cried.
"He has not gone alone," said Mr. Dickson calmly. "One of my officers
went by the same train. I am right in my understanding that you do not
mind a little extra expense?"
"Quite right."
"The question of expense is frequently a puzzling matter with us,
movements requiring an unauthorized expenditure of money sometimes
occurring suddenly, when there is not time to consult our clients. If
I had allowed Mr. Nisbet to leave the country unaccompanied he might
have slipped through your fingers; in any event it would have been a
great trouble, and have necessitated the expenditure of much more
money, to pick up the broken threads. Many a good case has been
spoiled by parsimony."
"I understand that. Where has Mr. Nisbet gone to?"
"I cannot inform you yet. As far as Paris, certainly; but my
impression is he goes farther. My officer will telegraph me from
Paris, and will not leave him till he has reached his destination."
I considered a moment, and then took Bob aside. "Will you accompany me
to Paris?" I asked.
"With pleasure."
I turned to Mr. Dickson. "Your officer will telegraph to you from
Paris?"
"Yes."
"If I wait here for information I shall lose a day. You could
telegraph to me in Paris the address you receive from your officer?"
"There is no difficulty. You intend to follow?"
"I do. Give me the name of some central hotel in Paris where I can put
up till I receive your telegram."
"Hôtel de Bade, Boulevard des Italiens."
"That will do. I have something to do here in London before I can
start. I can get through my business in about an hour, perhaps a few
minutes more. Bob, run out and bring two hansoms with smart horses."
Bob vanished. "Now, the best train, Mr. Dickson?"
"Let me see. It is not yet nine. Your business say an hour and twenty
minutes. A train from Victoria, another from Charing Cross, at eleven.
Could you catch one of these, whichever is the nearest for you?"
"Yes."
"You arrive in Paris at seven this evening. Our man will reach there
two hours and a half earlier. You may get a telegram from me at the
Hôtel de Bade within an hour or so of your arrival."
"Capital. Good-morning."
The cabs were at the door, and I told Bob to drive with speed to my
house, to pack up a bag for both of us expeditiously, and to meet me
at Ronald Elsdale's house at a little after ten. The cab was to remain
there, and he was to detain his nephew till I joined him there.
Pending my arrival he was to tell Ronald everything. I gave him a line
to my servant, authorizing him to take what clothes were necessary for
the journey.
"Double fare," I said to both the cabmen, "if you drive at your
fullest speed."
The next moment Bob was driving to my house and I was on my way to Dr.
Cooper.