CONCERNING THE VELVET HAND
ON the rising ground half-way between Wimborne and Poole, in Dorsetshire,
up a narrow by-road which leads to the beautiful woods, lies the tiny
hamlet of Idsworth, a secluded little place of about forty inhabitants,
extremely rural and extremely picturesque.
Standing alone half-way up the hill, and surrounded by trees, was an
old-world thatched cottage, half-timbered, with high, red-brick chimneys,
quaint gables and tiny dormer windows--a delightful old Elizabethan house
with a comfortable, homely look. Behind it a well-kept flower garden,
with a tree-fringed meadow beyond, while the well-rolled gravelled walks,
the rustic fencing, and the pretty curtains at the casements betrayed the
fact that the rustic homestead was not the residence of a villager.
As a matter of fact it belonged to a Mr. John Maltwood, a bachelor, whom
Idsworth believed to be in business in London, and who came there at
intervals for fresh air and rest. His visits were not very frequent.
Sometimes he would be absent for many months, and at others he would
remain there for weeks at a time, with a cheery word always for the
labourers on their way home from work, and always with his hand in his
pocket in the cause of charity.
John Maltwood, the quiet, youngish-looking man in the gold pince-nez, was
popular everywhere over the country-side. He did not court the society of
the local parsons and their wives, nor did he return any of the calls
made upon him. His excuse was that he was at Idsworth for rest, and not
for social duties. This very independence of his endeared him to the
villagers, who always spoke of him as "one of the right sort."
At noon on the day following the dinner at Hill Street, Walter
Fetherston--known at Idsworth as Mr. Maltwood--alighted from the station
fly, and was met at the cottage gate by the smiling, pleasant-faced woman
in a clean apron who acted as caretaker.
He divested himself of his overcoat in the tiny entrance-hall, passed
into a small room, with the great open hearth, where in days long ago the
bacon was smoked, and along a passage into the long, old-world
dining-room, with its low ceiling with great dark beams, its
solemn-ticking, brass-faced grandfather clock, and its profusion of old
blue china.
There he gave some orders to Mrs. Deacon, obtained a cigarette, and
passed back along the passage to a small, cosy, panelled room at the end
of the house--the room wherein he wrote those mystery stories which held
the world enthralled.
It was a pretty, restful place, with a moss-green carpet, green-covered
chairs, several cases filled to overflowing with books, and a great
writing-table set in the window. On the mantelshelf were many autographed
portraits of Continental celebrities, while on the walls were one or two
little gems of antique art which he had picked up on his erratic
wanderings. Over the writing-table was a barometer and a storm-glass,
while to the left a cosy corner extended round to the fireplace.
He lit his cigarette, then walking across to a small square oaken door
let into the wall beside the fireplace, he opened it with a key. This had
been an oven before the transformation of three cottages into a week-end
residence, and on opening it there was displayed the dark-green door of a
safe. This he quickly opened with another key, and after slight search
took out a small ledger covered with dark-red leather.
Then glancing at some numerals upon a piece of paper he took from his
vest pocket, he turned them up in the index, and with another volume open
upon his blotting-pad, he settled himself to read the record written
there in a small, round hand. The numbers were those upon the back of the
old _carte-de-visite_ which had interested him so keenly, and the
statement he was reading was, from the expression upon his countenance,
an amazing one.
From time to time he scribbled memoranda upon the scrap of paper, now and
then pausing as though to recall the past. Then, when he had finished, he
laughed softly to himself, and, closing the book, replaced it in the safe
and shut the oaken door. By the inspection of that secret entry he had
learnt much regarding that man who posed as a doctor in Pimlico.
He sat back in his writing-chair and puffed thoughtfully at his
cigarette. Then he turned his attention to a pile of letters addressed to
him as "Mr. Maltwood," and made some scribbled replies until Mrs. Deacon
entered to announce that his luncheon was ready.
When he went back to the quaint, old-fashioned dining-room and seated
himself, he said: "I'm going back by the five-eighteen, and I dare say I
shan't return for quite a month or perhaps six weeks. Here's a cheque
for ten pounds to pay these little bills." And he commenced his solitary
meal.
"You haven't been here much this summer, sir," remarked the good woman.
"In Idsworth they think you've quite deserted us--Mr. Barnes was only
saying so last week. They're all so glad to see you down here, sir."
"That's very good of them, Mrs. Deacon," he laughed. "I, too, only wish I
could spend more time here. I love the country, and I'm never so happy as
when wandering in Idsworth woods."
And then he asked her to tell him the village gossip while she waited at
his table.
After luncheon he put on a rough suit and, taking his stout holly stick,
went for a ramble through the great woods he loved so well, where the
trees were tinted by autumn and the pheasants were strong upon the wing.
He found Findlay, one of the keepers, and walked with him for an hour as
far as the Roman camp, where alone he sat down upon a felled tree and,
with his gaze fixed across the distant hills towards the sea, pondered
deeply. He loved his modest country cottage, and he loved those quiet,
homely Dorsetshire folk around him. Yet such a wanderer was he that only
a few months each year--the months he wrote those wonderful romances of
his--could he spend in that old-fashioned cottage which he had rendered
the very acme of cosiness and comfort.
At half-past four the rickety station fly called for him, and later he
left by the express which took him to Waterloo and his club in time for
dinner.
And so once again he changed his identity from John Maltwood, busy man of
business, to Walter Fetherston, novelist and traveller.
The seriousness of what was in progress was now plain to him. He had long
been filled with strong suspicions, and these suspicions had been
confirmed both by Enid's statements and his own observations; therefore
he was already alert and watchful.
At ten o'clock he went to his gloomy chambers for an hour, and then
strolled forth to the Vauxhall Bridge Road, and remained vigilant outside
the doctor's house until nearly two.
He noted those who came and went--two men who called before midnight, and
were evidently foreigners. They came separately, remained about half an
hour, and then Weirmarsh himself let them out, shaking hands with them
effusively.
Suddenly a taxicab drove up, and from it Sir Hugh, in black overcoat and
opera hat, stepped out and was at once admitted, the taxi driving off.
Walter, as he paced up and down the pavement outside, would have given
much to know what was transpiring within.
Had he been able to glance inside that shabby little back room he would
have witnessed a strange scene--Sir Hugh, the gallant old soldier,
crushed and humiliated by the man who practised medicine, and who called
himself Weirmarsh.
"I had only just come in from the theatre when you telephoned me," Sir
Hugh said sharply on entering. "I am sorry I could make no appointment
to-day, but I was at the War Office all the morning, lunched at the
Carlton, and was afterwards quite full up."
"There was no immediate hurry, Sir Hugh," responded the doctor with a
pleasant smile. "I quite understand that your many social engagements
prevented you from seeing me. I should have been round at noon, only I
was called out to an urgent case. Therefore no apology is needed--by
either of us." Then, after a pause, he looked sharply at the man seated
before him and asked: "I presume you have reconsidered your decision,
General, and will carry out my request?"
"No, I have not decided to do that," was the old fellow's firm answer.
"It's too dangerous an exploit--far too dangerous. Besides, it means
ruin."
"My dear sir," remarked the doctor, "you are viewing the matter in quite
a wrong light. There will be no suspicion providing you exercise due
caution."
"And what would be the use of that, pray, when my secret will not be mine
alone? It is already known to half a dozen other persons--your
friends--any of whom might give me away."
"It will not be known until afterwards--when you are safe. Therefore,
there will be absolutely no risk," the doctor assured him.
The other, however, was no fool, and was still unconvinced. He knew well
that to carry out the request made by Weirmarsh involved considerable
risk.
The doctor spoke quietly, but very firmly. In his demands he was always
inexorable. He had already hinted at the disaster which might fall upon
Sir Hugh if he refused to obey. Weirmarsh was, the general knew from
bitter experience, not a man to be trifled with.
Completely and irrevocably he was in this man's hands. During the past
twenty-four hours the grave old fellow, who had faced death a hundred
times, had passed through a crisis of agony and despair. He hated
himself, and would even have welcomed death, would have courted it at
his own hands, had not these jeers of the doctor's rung in his ears. And,
after all, he had decided that suicide was only a coward's death. The man
who takes his own life to avoid exposure is always despised by his
friends.
So he had lived, and had come down there in response to the doctor's
request over the telephone, resolved to face the music, if for the last
time.
He sat in the shabby old arm-chair and firmly refused to carry out the
doctor's suggestion. But Weirmarsh, with his innate cunning, presented to
him a picture of exposure and degradation which held him horrified.
"I should have thought, Sir Hugh, that in face of what must inevitably
result you would not risk exposure," he said. "Of course, it lies with
you entirely," he added with an unconcerned air.
"I'm thinking of my family," the old officer said slowly.
"Of the disgrace if the truth were known, eh?"
"No; of the suspicion, nay, ruin and imprisonment, that would fall upon
another person," replied Sir Hugh.
"No suspicion can be aroused if you are careful, I repeat," exclaimed
Weirmarsh impatiently. "Not a breath of suspicion has ever fallen upon
you up to the present, has it? No, because you have exercised foresight
and have followed to the letter the plans I made. I ask you, when you
have followed my advice have you ever gone wrong--have you ever taken one
false step?"
"Never--since the first," replied the old soldier in a hard, bitter tone.
"Then I urge you to continue to follow the advice I give you, namely, to
agree to the terms."
"And who will be aware of the matter?"
"Only myself," was Weirmarsh's reply. "And I think that you may trust a
secret with me?"
The old man made no reply, and the crafty doctor wondered whether by
silence he very reluctantly gave his consent.