LOCKED IN!
Quite unconscious that his most dangerous enemies were so near,
Anstruther carefully selected a cigarette and lighted it. He proceeded
then to make a careful examination of the pile of posters at his feet,
and smiled his approval. "Very good, very good indeed; those hands
stand out beautifully. Within a week's time from now the message will
have been carried from London to St. Petersburg and from Paris to
Constantinople. The men I am after cannot get away from me. Whatever
great capital they are in, that poster confronts their eyes like an
avenging conscience. Then they realize their helplessness and bow to
the inevitable. You may doubt me if you like; but I tell you that this
scheme is absolutely sure and safe."
"Provided that we have the money to carry it out," the man behind the
lantern grunted. "Don't forget that. Clever as you are, you can't make
money by merely holding up your little finger. You promised us a
thousand pounds when we had finished our part of the bargain, and that
was completed a month ago. Of course, you have got the cash in your
pocket?"
A frown of annoyance crossed Anstruther's face. There was a clenching
of his hands not unlike that depicted by the poster of the mysterious
Nostalgo; he made a half step forward; then he seemed to get himself
in hand again, and smiled carelessly. "As a matter of fact, I have not
the money in my pocket. Things are not going quite as well lately as I
could have wished, but it is only a matter of a day or two anyway;
nay, it is only a matter of hours. Is the woman here?"
The man behind the lantern sulkily declared that he knew nothing about
the woman, and cared less. He asked pointedly whether they were to
expect Mr. Carrington that evening, and, if so, whether his visit was
likely to be attended with substantial results.
"I tell you I don't know," Anstruther said angrily. "I told him to be
here at eleven o'clock, but I suppose he has funked it. But the woman
is a very different matter. Jacob, go into the back room and bring her
in here."
"Not I," the man addressed as Jacob replied. "I don't forget the last
time we met. She may be milk and honey to you, but she is prussic acid
as far as I am concerned."
Anstruther stepped to the doorway and whistled softly. It might have
been a call given to a well-broken dog, so careless and contemptuous
was it. Indeed, Anstruther did not wait to see the result of his
summons, but returned to the room with the easy assurance of a man who
knows that his lightest call will be obeyed.
Almost immediately the two watchers standing on the landing were
conscious of a shadowy form passing close to them. They had no time to
shrink back, they had not even time for surprise, when a light hand
was laid on the arm of each and an eager voice began to whisper in
their ears.
"Rash to the verge of madness," the melancholy voice said sadly. "I
warned you not to come--I implored you not to take a hand in this
business. I could have settled it all for you if you had left it all
to me; but youth ever will be served. Won't you go away even now and
leave it all to me?"
There was something so pitifully imploring in the speech that the
listeners thrilled in sympathy. From the first word they had no
difficulty in guessing the identity of the speaker. It was none other
than Serena who was addressing them in those despairing accents.
"I am afraid you are too late, Serena," Jack said. "Besides, we have
some one else to consider in the business. It is possible that your
efforts may be successful as far as we are concerned; but we have
discovered to-night that Anstruther is plotting against the happiness
of many people who are as innocent as ourselves. I tell you, we must
see this thing through now. But why stay here, why linger, when your
tardiness is likely to increase our trouble?"
At this point Anstruther advanced towards the door and whistled again,
this time more sharply. With a sigh of deep regret Serena walked
forward and entered the room. In the bright light of the apartment her
face looked paler and more dejected than usual. Though Jack had seen
for himself the volcano of passion and emotion of which Serena was
capable when not under the influence of her employer, he could not
fail to notice how tame and frightened she appeared to be now. It was
as if Anstruther possessed something like a power over her. Her dark
eyes seemed mechanically to follow his every movement; he had only to
raise his hand and her look followed it.
"So you have come at last," Anstruther said. "How long have you been
in the house?"
"I came as soon as you told me, master," Serena murmured, like one who
talks in her sleep. All will power seemed to have gone out of her for
the moment. "What would you have of me to-night?"
Anstruther replied harshly that Serena must know perfectly well what
was required of her. Nevertheless he proceeded to detail his
instructions, which were still unfinished when another footstep was
heard upon the stairs and a newcomer entered. The two watchers outside
were not in the least surprised at the pale, somewhat conceited
features of the violinist Padini; indeed, they were past all surprises
now. Padini had bowed with an air of exaggerated politeness to Serena.
"Ha, ha, my coy fascinator," he cried, "so I am not to be deprived of
the pleasure of your company. I am not likely to soon forget the
enchanting evening we spent together _chez_ Carrington. I am sorry to
be late, Anstruther, but the fact is, your English audiences are not
so cold as I had first imagined. Positively they would not let me off
with less than four encores. _Ma foi_, you must have had the full
value of your money in your chamber music to-night. A rare treat for
Miss Helmsley; doubtless she has noticed the marvelous improvement
made by her guardian in his playing of late."
The violinist chuckled as if in the enjoyment of an exquisite joke.
Serena flashed him a glance of bitter hatred and contempt.
"I should like to know the meaning of this," Rigby whispered. "I
suppose it refers in some way to the mysterious music which you told
me about last night. Do you think it possible that Serena could
enlighten us on this point as she appears to know all about it? If
not, why does she look at Padini in that scornful way?"
Any further signs of enjoyment on the part of Padini were cut short by
an impatient oath from Anstruther.
"That is mere child's play," he exclaimed. "Very clever and all that
kind of thing, but an intelligent schoolboy might have done as well."
Jack intimated in a whisper to Rigby that he himself stood in the
position of the said intelligent schoolboy. He had a pretty shrewd
idea how the thing had been managed, and to what purpose; but there
would be time enough to explain all that presently. What they had to
do now was to stay as long as possible, and gather all they could from
a careful study of the proceedings taking place in the room. It was
Anstruther who first broke the silence.
"Are we going to stand fooling here all night?" he exclaimed angrily.
"Padini, get that exaggerated fur coat of yours off, and make yourself
up to look like an English gentleman as far as possible. You will find
everything necessary in the room at the back of the house. The same
remark applies to you, Serena. My word! To think that a woman so pale,
so haggard, as you are now can make up to look like eighteen and
possess the beauty of Diana! What a pity it was you ever left the
stage!"
The woman's face flushed angrily. There was a nervous tension about
her to-night that Anstruther had never noticed before. Was she going
to be defiant? he asked. Did she understand what she was doing when
she proposed to measure her strength against his? But the flame still
raged on Serena's hot cheeks, and her lips were still hard and
mutinous.
"Take care you do not drive me too far." she whispered hoarsely. "A
cat is a harmless creature enough, but I read once of a cat that
turned upon a man and killed him. You dare to taunt me with my past.
When I think of what that past might have been but for you, I declare
that I could find it in my heart to kill you. I am so weak and timid,
you are so strong and brave; and yet even you must sleep at times, and
a man asleep is as harmless as a babe. A spot of gray powder, a drop
of liquid no larger than a pin's point placed between your teeth, and
the career of Spencer Anstruther is finished."
The words were uttered with such dramatic force and intensity that
even Anstruther refrained from smiling. It seemed to the listeners
outside that here was a great genius lost to the stage.
"I should not care to encounter that woman's hostility," Rigby
murmured. "Look at the intense expression of her face. But, really, I
hope she is not going to defy him to-night. If she does we are likely
to have trouble for our pains."
But Serena's outbreak of passionate anger was over as swiftly as an
April shower. She looked up in the face of her master as a dog might
do that had been convicted of theft. Anstruther smiled with the air of
a man who merely tolerates a passing anger of a fellow creature. It
was as if he had caged this woman so that he could watch her passions
and emotions as a naturalist studies the habits and ways of loathsome
insects.
"I suppose you must give vent to your feelings sometimes," he said.
"And now that you have had a little fling we had better get on with
our business. You will go with Padini to-night to----"
"No, no!" Serena cried. "I implore you to spare me that humiliation
again. What have I done that I should have to endure all this--what
can be possibly gained by it?"
For the first time Anstruther displayed real signs of anger. "Now,
listen to me," he said. "Once for all, I tell you not to speak to me
like this again. Do you think I have studied you all these years for
nothing? Do you suppose I do not know how disloyal you are in your
heart towards me? There is one class of woman who has to be ruled by
fear alone, and you are one of them. You will do to-night what I ask
you, not merely to-night, but by months and years, in and out, it will
be for me to order and you to obey. And, whilst we are on the subject
you are to say nothing further than you have already said to Mr.
Masefield. You understand what I mean?"
It was quite evident that Serena understood the full significance of
Anstruther's speech. Pale as her face had been before, it turned now
to a still more deathly pallor. She essayed to speak, but her lips
refused the office.
"I don't quite follow you." she managed to stammer out at length. "If
you accuse me of disloyalty----"
Anstruther intimated that that was exactly what he did mean. It was
rather an uncomfortable moment for Jack, listening there. He was
beginning to fully realize the marvelous cunning of the man with whom
he had to deal. He wondered how it was possible for Anstruther to
discover the gist of his conversation with Serena that afternoon. He
was saying something of this in a whisper to Rigby when Padini
returned to the room. The violinist was dressed now exactly as he had
been attired two nights before when Jack had seen him at Carrington's
chambers. His jaunty air for the moment had vanished; he looked
suspicious and uneasy. Anstruther's keen eye noticed this as it
noticed everything.
"Now, what's the matter?" he asked. "Have you seen a ghost or
something equally terrible?"
"No, I haven't," Padini replied sulkily. "But lam pretty sure there is
somebody in the house. I am ready to swear that I saw the shadow of a
man moving on the landing outside."
With a contemptuous smile Anstruther walked towards the door. There
was perhaps no immediate danger for the listeners, seeing that
Anstruther evidently attached no importance to Padini's statement; but
it was just as well to be on the safe side. Rigby slipped quietly into
a doorway leading to a bedroom and dragged Jack in after him. Then he
closed the door very gently and waited for further developments. He
had not long to wait, for almost immediately there was a click of the
latch, and Anstruther's receding footsteps melted into silence.
"Well, that sets your mind at ease," Anstruther was heard to say. "If
there are any birds here, I have them safely caged."
With a feeling of apprehension, Rigby laid his hand on the door-knob.
His worst fears were absolutely realized. He and Jack had been locked
in the room.