CAPTURES ON BOTH SIDES
Though Theydon was in first-rate athletic trim, that blow on the throat
had nearly stunned him. The effort to rise promptly and bear a hand in
the imminent capture of one whom he regarded as something akin to a
homicidal maniac had imposed a further strain on his resources, and it
was possible that he did actually lose his senses during a couple of
seconds.
In all likelihood, too, he changed color slightly, because the next
thing he was aware of was the note of alarm in Evelyn's voice when she
cried excitedly:
"Mr. Theydon is really very ill. I'm sure we ought to try and revive
him."
At that he reopened his eyes and looked at her whimsically. Nature, in
fact, had put forth a supreme effort; from that moment he recovered
rapidly.
Winter took a calmly professional view of the younger man's collapse.
"There's nothing to worry about, Miss Forbes," he assured the agitated
girl. "Our friend has just escaped being knocked insensible, if not
killed. He was hardly prepared for such a vicious attack, I fancy. Most
certainly that scoundrel took me by surprise, or he would not have
slipped through my fingers like an eel. Next time, either Mr. Theydon or
I may be trusted to balance matters."
Theydon grinned and nodded. He signaled with his eyes that Winter was to
make Evelyn Forbes understand that she had just escaped being the victim
of an extraordinary outrage. Muddled as his thoughts were, he grasped
the essential fact that Scotland Yard was better posted in the secret
history of the Innesmore Mansions crime than he had given the department
credit for before the dramatic meeting with Furneaux that morning.
And, indeed, the chief inspector lost no time in justifying that belief.
"You must have imagined that the world had suddenly turned topsy-turvy,"
he said, smiling at the mystified and distraught Evelyn, as though the
whirl of events outside the station were part and parcel of the humdrum
routine of life. "When Mr. Theydon regains his speech he will tell us
how he came to suspect that an attempt would be made to kidnap you
today. In my own case, intervention was the outcome of sheer and simple
logical deduction. You see, I represent the Criminal Investigation
Department--or Scotland Yard, as it is familiarly described--and I have
reason to believe that your father is, and has been for some time, the
object of unpleasant attentions by a political society in China, whose
members are nothing more nor less than criminal fanatics. Probably this
is the first you have heard of the matter, Miss Forbes. Your father
would wish, no doubt, to keep any such disquieting knowledge from you
and your mother. But the policy of concealment must cease now. Today's
daring attack is a warning. Other efforts may be forthcoming. If you are
to be protected efficiently the police must have your loyal cooperation.
I admit candidly that I myself, with all my experience, was taken off my
guard a few minutes ago. If Mr. Theydon had not delayed that
Chinaman--whose name he has got hold of from Mr. Forbes, I expect--I
don't think I could have reached you in time."
"Is that the meaning of the little ivory skull which my father received
at breakfast this morning?" said Evelyn, breathlessly.
Winter's eyes twinkled. No question could have thrown a more vivid light
into the somber depths of a crime which promised to transcend in
interest and importance any similar occurrence in Great Britain during
the previous decade.
"Doubtless," he said. "Of course, I have not yet seen Mr. Forbes, but we
have a mine of information here," and he laid a friendly hand on
Theydon's arm. "So far as I am concerned, I have had your house
unobtrusively watched--for the protection of the inmates, I hope you
understand--and I arranged also that anything unusual in the shape of
telegrams or telephonic messages"--here he glanced amusedly at
Theydon--"should be communicated to the Yard. I heard, therefore, of
Mrs. Forbes's sudden illness almost as soon as you did, and traveled
with you to Eastbourne, intending to reach the hotel at the same time as
you, and ascertain whether or not your mother was really ill. I saw you
on the platform at Victoria and guessed your identity. But, in my
profession, we never take anything for granted, so I left that matter
until I could interview the hotel manager. And here we are. I advise you
not to say a word about Mrs. Forbes being ill. If, as I firmly believe,
you find that she is in the best of health, you can explain your sudden
visit by saying that Mr. Theydon and I have something of importance to
communicate, which will be perfectly accurate, as I mean to urge
strongly that we all return to London by the next train."
The cab stopped. To show that "Richard was himself again" Theydon,
nearest the door, opened it, got out, and helped Evelyn to alight.
Reassured on his account, the girl smiled, and a wave of color leaped to
her cheeks. Any one happening to watch their arrival would put them down
as ordinary visitors. Evelyn Forbes was just a charming young woman,
plainly but expensively dressed; Theydon an attentive cavalier, and
Winter a prosperous city man, probably with a taste for coursing and
pheasant shooting.
Subtly observant, indeed, would be the theorist who gathered from their
demeanor that they had just emerged practically unscathed from a
situation rife with the elements of tragedy.
Nevertheless, Winter kept a sharp eye on Theydon after Evelyn Forbes had
run up the steps of the hotel, and was relieved at seeing that he could
walk without assistance.
"Keep nothing back," he said under his breath as they followed the girl
with sedater pace. "These women must be frightened into complete
obedience. Did Furneaux get hold of Forbes?"
Theydon nodded.
"That's right. Don't talk. I can pretty well guess what took place. But,
look here. Who's Handyside--a mere acquaintance?"
Another nod.
"You just contrived to pick him up, and used him as an excuse for coming
to Eastbourne? I see. That removes a troublesome pawn off the
chessboard."
"But it doesn't," wheezed Theydon. "He ought to be here. Can't make
out--what has become of him."
"He will turn up--an American, isn't he? I thought so. The indications
were slight but certain--features, walk, figure. You can buy clothes,
but the genuine citizen of God's own country is as distinct a type as a
Highlander--all wool and a yard wide."
Inside the hotel they came on Evelyn Forbes talking to the manager. She
hailed them at once.
"Mother has gone to Beachy Head," she cried. "She and her friends are
expected home about six o'clock. Shall we have some tea? There is no use
in following her. She will be starting back before we could get there."
"Mrs. Forbes is quite well, I hope?" put in Winter, casually.
"Yes, sir, in the best of health," said the manager, indicating, with a
flourish of both hands, that nothing else was to be expected as to the
condition of any among the numerous patrons of the Royal Devonshire
Hotel.
Evelyn asked that tea should be served in her mother's sitting room.
When they were screened by the closed door Winter examined Theydon's
throat. Beyond a slight swelling and external soreness, the cricoid
cartilage--known to the multitude as Adam's apple--was seemingly
uninjured, while Theydon himself now made light of the blow, though a
certain hoarseness was perceptible in his voice, and he deemed it
advisable to speak in a low-pitched tone.
Evelyn Forbes listened with ill-repressed bewilderment while he related
the day's doings. At first, she hardly grasped the significance of the
story, but Winter's occasional questions and comments, and a
parenthetical sentence or two introduced by Theydon for her benefit,
quickly revealed the astounding nature of the plot of which her father
was the chief object.
At this crisis she displayed a self-control and reticence which were
admirable. She seemed to realize intuitively that any gaps in the
recital could be filled in later, whereas it was all-important that the
detective should be made acquainted as speedily as possible with the
developments brought about by the morning's fuller disclosures.
As for Winter, he was keenly interested in Furneaux's behavior at the
moment of Forbes's departure from Innesmore Mansions. Glancing at his
watch, he rose when Theydon's revelations came to an end.
"I'll just go and ring up the Yard," he said. "There may be news. When
Furneaux starts off in full cry it is a wary fox that escapes him. I
only wish you and I had traveled from Victoria in company, Mr. Theydon;
Wong Li Fu would now have been in custody. However, we'll get him. If,
as I imagine, he is making for London in that car, there is even a
chance of intercepting him in the suburbs. I'll see to it."
Left alone with Evelyn Forbes, Theydon suddenly grew tongue-tied. This
man who could invent all manner of glib conversation for the characters
in his novels now cudgeled his brains vainly for something to say that
would dwell in her memory when they parted. And he knew why a cloud was
thus effectually befogging his wits. He had only seen Evelyn three times
in as many days, had spoken to her but twice, yet was hopelessly and
irrevocably in love with her.
He, who had so often and so thrillingly described the grand passion of a
man's life, had now fallen a victim to it, only to feel how unutterably
ridiculous and impossible was the wild longing that had sprung up in his
heart. Here, by his side, wistfully sympathetic and friendly in manner,
sat the "one woman in the world," yet he felt awkward and constrained,
and took refuge in a vague expression of anxiety on behalf of Handyside,
a man who at least might be trusted to extricate himself safely from the
labyrinth of Eastbourne!
The girl, of course, attributed these disjointed remarks to physical
suffering. In reality, he was contrasting her wealth and his own
comparative poverty, and bidding himself fiercely not to be a vain fool!
"Don't you think you ought to call in a doctor?" she inquired, tenderly.
"No, no," he hastened to assure her. "The effects of the blow are
passing rapidly. In another hour I shall hardly feel it at all. I'm
afraid, Miss Forbes," he ventured to add, "that when this piratical gang
is broken up, as certainly will be the case now that the English police
are tackling it, you will associate our brief acquaintance with the only
dark days in your existence."
"Why do you say that?" she demanded.
"Because I am bound to admit that if I had not dined at your house on
Monday evening, many, if not all, of the amazing events of the past
thirty-six hours could not have happened."
"I don't agree with you--not one little bit," she protested
emphatically. "Why, the detective-man himself said that the Young
Manchus have been searching ever since the beginning of the year for
proof of Dad's connection with the revolutionaries, and he was candid
enough to tell us that if it hadn't been for you that horrid Wong Li Fu
would have got me into the car. No, Mr. Theydon, our meeting has proved
most fortunate for me. Suppose I had really been captured! Would he have
gagged me and taken me away to some lonely place, where I would be kept
a prisoner, or even killed?"
Theydon had no desire that her mind should dwell on such a harrowing
topic. He shuddered to think of her fate if ever she fell into the hands
of the miscreants who had not scrupled to murder Mrs. Lester. She
evidently regarded the crime in No. 17 Innesmore Mansions as the sequel
to some political disturbance in far-off Shanghai. It had not occurred
to her that a hapless woman had been done to death merely as a warning
to her father of the fate in store for him and his if he did not yield
to the demand of the reactionary party in China, and deliver over to
their vengeance some hundreds of the leading men in that distressed
country.
"I doubt whether Wong Li Fu and his associates would have dared to offer
you any real violence," he said. "At the worst, I suppose, they might
have retained you as a hostage."
"A hostage for what?"
"For their claim against Mr. Forbes."
"But what has he done? He has never been in China."
"He is a power in the financial world. If the reform party cannot borrow
money the movement will collapse. At any rate that is what the Manchus
believe, and they will strain every nerve to effect their purpose."
"But why did they kill poor Mrs. Lester?"
Theydon felt that he was getting into deep water. This clear-sighted
girl would soon have the various threads of the enigma in her hands, and
then she could not fail but discover the true meaning of Edith Lester's
death.
"That phase of the problem has yet to be solved," was his noncommittal
reply.
Winter rejoined them somewhat hurriedly. He looked puzzled and rather
irritated.
"Furneaux has made an arrest," he said. "A Chinaman, described as Len
Shi, is lodged in the cells at Bow Street, on a charge of being
concerned in the Innesmore Mansions murder. Furneaux is out, and that is
all they know at the Yard. What I cannot understand is why no inquiry
has been made by telephone or otherwise concerning Miss Forbes's flight
to Eastbourne."
The words had hardly left his mouth when the bell of a telephone on the
table jangled. The coincidence was so peculiar that Winter laughed.
"Some other person shares my opinion, I fancy," he said. "May I answer,
Miss Forbes?"
"Please do," said the girl, and the chief inspector lifted the receiver
from its hook.
"Trunk call from London; you're through," announced the hotel operator.
After a slight pause, an agitated voice said: "Is that you, Evelyn?"
"Miss Forbes is here," said Winter. "Who is speaking?"
"Her father," was the reply.
"Oh, I'm Chief Inspector Winter of Scotland Yard. Your daughter is quite
safe, Mr. Forbes. Mr. Theydon and I accompanied her from London. She
will speak to you in an instant. Would you mind telling me what happened
at one o'clock, when my colleague, Mr. Furneaux, jumped on to your car
and went in pursuit of some one?"
"First, is Mrs. Forbes there, too?"
"She is out with a picnic party on Beachy Head. We expect her back
before six o'clock. I propose bringing her and Miss Forbes to London
tonight. They will be safer in your house than in Eastbourne, as you
will probably agree when you hear what a narrow escape your daughter had
this afternoon from being kidnaped by Wong Li Fu."
"Great Heavens! Evelyn in danger from that scoundrel!"
"Yes. But all is well, believe me. Owing to Mr. Theydon's promptitude
and pertinacity, Wong Li Fu's scheme was defeated. Your daughter will
make everything clear. Give me the barest summary of events after your
departure from Innesmore Mansions, and I'll get out of the way."
"We pursued a car which led us a pretty dance nearly as far as St.
Albans. It seems that Mr. Furneaux, looking out of the window of Mr.
Theydon's flat while Theydon and I were going downstairs, saw a Chinaman
watching us from a closed car standing in the cross street at the end of
the garden. He gave chase instantly, but as soon as the man realized
that he had attracted notice he tried to escape. At least, that was Mr.
Furneaux's first impression. Later, he convinced himself that the
supposed spy was little more than a red herring drawn across the trail,
and that the man's real motive was to take me out of London, or waylay
or detain me in some fashion, since it was manifestly impossible that my
presence in the Mansions should be known to any one. I see now, of
course, what the project was. If, as I gather from you, an attempt was
to be made to capture my daughter on arriving at Eastbourne, it was
all-important for the conspirators that I should not know of her absence
from home until after the arrival of the train, so that I could not
communicate with the hotel and take measures to protect her. But that
explanation was hidden from Mr. Furneaux, and the first glimpse of it
vouchsafed to me was when I reached my office and was horrified to learn
that she had gone away without my knowledge. However, in a desperate
matter like this, I must not waste time by describing my agony and
foreboding. As I have said, by some phenomenal method of reasoning
beyond my comprehension, Mr. Furneaux did arrive at a sound conclusion.
I suppose he was alive to the ridiculous aimlessness of the race across
country. My car is powerful and speedy, but the Chinaman had a
thoroughly up-to-date conveyance, too, and drove without paying the
least heed to traffic conditions."
"There was only one man, then?"
"Yes. Didn't I make that clear? Perhaps not. But there can hardly be any
doubt that this fellow was alone, and acting as a sort of scout or
vedette. We had the utmost difficulty in following him along Oxford
Street, and I am sure that my chauffeur has been reported by a score of
constables on point duty for exceeding the speed limit and disregarding
signals to halt. To come to the material facts, the chase took us up the
Edgware road. We tore along at a tremendous rate after passing the Welsh
Harp. Overhaul the fellow we could not, until on the outskirts of St.
Albans, when he deliberately slowed up, as though to allow us to pass.
Mr. Furneaux flew at him like a terrier grappling a rat, but the man
made no resistance. He is undoubtedly a Chinaman, though attired in a
chauffeur's livery, and he could handle a car in first-rate style, too.
His pidgin English was difficult to understand, and Mr. Furneaux shared
my view that he did not try to render himself intelligible. We gathered
that he was obeying his master's orders in trying the car, a new one,
before purchase, but Furneaux bundled him off to the nearest police
station, borrowed handcuffs and brought him back to London, leaving the
car in a garage at St. Albans. That is a bald but accurate summary of
the facts. I dropped Mr. Furneaux and his prisoner at Bow Street and was
on the way to my city office, when I suddenly felt faint for want of
food, as I ate hardly any breakfast this morning, and only drank a cup
of coffee in Mr. Theydon's place. So I returned to the Carlton, where I
met a friend, a business associate, who remained for a chat while I had
a meal. This trivial accident prevented me from telephoning to my house,
though, naturally, I had no misgivings as to my daughter's well-being.
Even then I was detained unduly, because my friend and I went to another
office in the city, and two more hours elapsed before I reached my own
place. Then, and not until then, did I hear of Evelyn's journey and its
cause."
"Thank you, Mr. Forbes," said Winter quietly. "We seem to have made a
forward move today. Before calling Miss Evelyn to the phone I want to
tell you that in disobeying your orders to remain at home she did my
department a good turn. Wong Li Fu and I were brought face to face. He
is not a myth."
"My word might be regarded as sufficient proof of that fact."
"Certainly, Mr. Forbes, if given earlier," was the inevitable retort.
"But here is your daughter. She can plead her cause far better than I."
Evelyn took the woman's way. To defend she attacked.
"Dad, dear," she complained, "why didn't you give me your confidence? If
I had had the least notion of the dreadful things that were going on I
should certainly have telephoned to Eastbourne before starting. But
don't you see the diabolical cleverness of the scheme? The telegram
arrived just in time to allow me to catch the 1:25 p. m. train, and
rendering it idle to think of making a trunk call if I would obey an
urgent message from my mother. Then again, when I reached Eastbourne,
why should I suspect a foreign-looking gentleman who said Dr. Sinnett
had sent his car to take me to the hotel? There isn't a Dr. Sinnett in
Eastbourne at this date, but how was I to know that? Of course, both you
and I have suffered a good deal, each in a different way, but all is
well that ends well, and I shall have such a lot to tell you when we
meet tonight.... What time? I don't know yet. I'll wire or phone when
mother returns and we settle about the train. Goodby, darling! See you
don't go anywhere alone until I come back."
For some reason Winter's manner was not so placid as usual. He looked so
obviously perplexed and troubled that Theydon, searching for a cause,
suddenly remembered that the chief inspector was a great smoker.
"Won't you have a cigar?" he said; "that is, unless Miss Forbes has any
objection?"
"Me!" cried the girl. "I don't object in the least."
But the Royal Devonshire Hotel's best Havana did not wholly banish the
frown from Winter's forehead. More than once he glanced at his watch and
consulted a time table. At last he voiced one of his anxieties.
"What can have become of that American?" he said. "He knew what hotel
you were making for?"
"Oh, yes," cried the others in chorus.
They laughed. Quite a cheerful air possessed two members of the little
party, at any rate.
"Perhaps he has forgotten the name?" went on Evelyn.
"Americans never forget the names of hotels, or railway stations, or
steamers," said Winter. "The average Englishman can tell you what will
win the Derby, but the average American will be a good deal more
accurate concerning next Saturday's mail steamer.... So, I frankly
confess it--that man's prolonged absence supplies a riddle which I can't
answer. What do you say if we give a look along the front? He may be
shy, though I told the hall porter that any inquirer was to be shown up
at once."
No; Mr. Handyside was not to be seen on Eastbourne's spacious marine
promenade. A couple of well-dressed men caught sight of Winter, and
decided that they had instant and urgent business elsewhere, But he only
smiled. His quarry that day was not the swell mobsman, but much more
dangerous game.
Lightning darted from a summer sky when the picnic party returned from
Beachy Head in three cars, but without Mrs. Forbes.
Evelyn was hardly anxious at first. The hall porter informed her who the
occupants of the cars were, and she watched the lively and chattering
groups forming on the pavement and breaking up again to enter the hotel
and dress for dinner.
At last, realizing that her mother was not among them, she singled out a
lady whom she knew, and asked for an explanation. The lady, a Mrs.
Montagu, was very much surprised.
"But, my dear Evelyn," she said, "didn't you yourself send for your
mother?"
The girl blanched. Some premonition of evil gripped her very heart.
"What do you mean?" she said, and the other woman could not help noting
the distress in her voice.
"If you didn't send, who did?" came the immediate response. "We were
just going to have tea when a gentleman, a stranger, came and asked for
Mrs. Forbes. We saw him arrive in a car which halted at the foot of the
path--nearly a quarter of a mile away. Your mother answered, and he said
that you were in Eastbourne, and had sent him to bring you to the hotel.
He said the car belonged to a Doctor Somebody, but he himself looked
like a foreigner."
A few others had gathered around, attracted by Evelyn Forbes's pallor
and distress; Winter, too, had drawn near, and it was he who said:
"Did you see this stranger who brought the message?"
"O yes, plainly," said Mrs. Montagu.
"Had he a scar down the left side of his face?"
"Yes."
Then Evelyn Forbes, for the first time in her vigorous young life,
fainted. Her mother was in the power of Wong Li Fu. All the terrors
which imagination had painted in her own behalf were redoubled as to her
mother's fate. Her brain reeled. Merciful oblivion came. Theydon and
Winter were just able to catch her before she fell like a log.