The main cause of the letter received by Mrs. Stafford was a scheming
little attorney named Jacobs, who just managed to keep within the pale
of the law, and over whom Hall held powerful influence. At the end of
the second week's advertising Hall consulted Jacobs pretty freely in
regard to his affairs, telling him that important papers, including a
will bequeathing considerable property to the lady to whom he was
engaged to be married, had been stolen from him; that he had offered
every inducement for the return of the stolen property without avail,
and did not expect that they would ever come to light; that as a matter
of fact the receptacle in which the papers were concealed would not be
apt to reveal their presence, and the thief or thieves had probably
thrown it away as worthless.
Mr. Jacobs inquired how his client had arrived at this conclusion, and
was informed that five times the value of the articles taken had been
offered for their return.
Mr. Hall did not, of course, tell Jacobs _all_ he knew. They would have
been on equal footing had he done so, and could hang each other; but
when he had finished as much as he cared to tell, Mr. Jacobs assured him
that the loss of the papers, under the circumstances, would make no
great difference. It would cause more trouble and expense--not a great
deal--but as Hall knew almost the exact wording of it (the will) and as
one of the witnesses, a man who made his mark instead of writing his
name, was still alive there would be no trouble in proving a similar
will which he (Jacobs) could get up--of course for a moderate
consideration.
Jacobs talked plausibly--in fact almost the exact truth, and finally
Hall wrote the letter mentioned in the last chapter.
Immediately on receipt of Mrs. Stafford's answer, written by Carden as
though at her dictation, Hall proceeded to prepare for his wedding--his
first act by way of preparation being to direct Jacobs to go ahead and
prepare the will, giving him a pencil draft, with names and places
blank.
The time fixed for the wedding was but ten days off, and Hall's second
act of preparation was in the way of retrenchment. He discharged his
valet--who immediately reported the fact to Blount--and then instructed
Messrs. Jones & Jones to close out his interest in the Hanley Hall
mortgages for whatever they would bring, deducting six months' interest.
He held just two, amounting together to £5,000, and the Messrs. Jones
found a purchaser in short order at two-thirds of the face
value--themselves.
He was now in possession of considerable ready money, the prospect ahead
looked bright, and it only required fairly good luck for a few days and
he would be sharer in, if not sole possessor of, immense wealth. The
plain blunt letter from Carden reassured him as to the intentions of the
Staffords, and he became once more the calm, elegant gentleman that he
was at the time of his first appearance at Hanley Hall.
He was beginning to believe that the stolen papers would not come to
light again, as he had told Jacobs, and there was nothing to bother him
but the loss of his money--for it may as well be stated that Hall had
lost a very large sum in notes, together with a large draft, on the
night of the robbery. The draft was now overdue and Hall had managed to
find out that it had not been presented for payment. For obvious reasons
he had not attempted to stop payment, but the fact that it had not been
presented did much to strengthen his belief that the draft, together
with the papers with which it was hidden, were lost or destroyed.
True, he had ugly thoughts and ugly dreams at times, and had at all
times a vague idea of being dogged; but now the excitement of the big
game he was playing kept his thoughts pretty well engaged during the
day, and whiskey ensured relief from them at night. The strain was a
heavy one, however, and his nerves were by no means as steady as when he
was introduced to the reader. Neither whiskey nor crimes make good nerve
food.
Three days before that set for the wedding Hall's shattered nerves
received a severe shock. He was in a restaurant which he frequented
evenings, and overheard the following conversation:--
"I say, George! Did you hear about that thing at Baring's to-day?"
"Can't say! What was it?"
"A fellow who was afterwards recognized as a notorious thief presented a
draft for some large amount--I've forgotten what it was--but at all
events the cashier had been expecting it for over a week and the delay
in presenting it kept the thing fresh in his mind--worried him, you
know. Well, to cut it short, he asked some question or other and the
answer made him rather suspicious. So instead of paying the draft he
signalled one of their detectives; who immediately recognized the fellow
and took him in custody. They're trying now to find the owner of the
draft."
The conversation ended here, the two young men, bank clerks evidently,
having finished eating.
Hall sat for a short time debating what he should do, and decided that
for a short time he had better quit the country. He did not care to
become prominent in the public view just at present. If things went
right he could afford to lose the money--and right or wrong, it was not
safe to claim it. Indeed, if the matter was followed further than the
bankers who sold the draft, it was pretty certain to be found that it
was the proceeds of the sale of diamonds.
Again, if the thief confessed where and how he had obtained the draft,
he (Hall) was bound to come prominently into view. So, on the whole,
Hall thought it best to quit the country for a while.
His nervousness on reaching Harley Street was so marked that the
chamber-maid paid particular attention while he informed his landlady
that he must leave town that night. Business of great importance
demanded his presence on the Continent--and before Hall had finished
packing-up Mr. Blount was waiting for him across the street.
Hall wrote a couple letters before starting, one being to Mrs. Stafford
requesting that she should notify her husband and Kate that owing to
business of the utmost importance and urgency the wedding must be
postponed. As soon as he reached his destination he would be in position
to say when he would be able to return.
Hall mailed the letters in the first box he came across, hailed a cab,
and was driven rapidly to the Euston Square station. Blount was not
prepared for this move, but caught the order "Euston Square," and
catching the first hansom that came along followed as fast as possible.
At Euston Square sharp inquiry elicited the fact pretty surely that Hall
had bought a ticket for Dover, and Blount caught the next train arriving
three hours later--for the same place.
Blount was not particularly worried about missing Hall, feeling sure his
man had gone to Dover, and knowing what the latter had probably
forgotten--that there was no boat until late next day.
At the first hotel in Dover he found Hall registered, and after making
sure he had really retired, sat up with the clerk all night--there would
be no such slip this time as was made at Liverpool.
It was quite late when Hall made his appearance next morning, but Blount
never stirred until he saw him enter the dining-room. Then he, too,
entered and made a meal, timed to finish exactly with Hall's.
Hall went to his room and did not leave it until late in the afternoon.
He then proceeded to the dock, bought a ticket for Calais, and was about
to board the steamer when Blount tapped him on the shoulder:
"You can't leave, Mr. Hall!" he said.
Hall turned quickly and asked "Why not?"
"Because I have a warrant for your arrest."
"For what?" demanded Hall, turning color.
"Duelling! Your opponent is badly hurt and you must come back to London.
If you wish to see the warrant here you can do so, but it will be better
to come back to the hotel. I can show it there to yourself--here it
would create excitement."