Grand Hotel, Rome, _December 27_.
Dear Mr. Randolph,
I find myself in a difficult position, but I am going to take the bull
by the horns and write to you of certain things which seem to me of
importance. I trust to your friendship and your knowledge of my feelings
and desires towards Molly to excuse me if you consider that I am being
officious. You will understand when I have explained that I cannot hope
to make her see the matter in its true light; but you, as a man and her
father, will do so, and will comprehend that my motive is for her
protection.
I have thanked you already for answering my letter, in which I begged
that you would let me know in which part of Europe Molly was travelling,
and she has told me that she wrote you of our meeting at Pau. I reached
there a couple of days sooner than she and Miss Kedison did. In fact, I
saw their arrival in the famous automobile of whose adventures you must
have heard much. The minute my eyes lighted upon the _chauffeur_ I felt
an instinctive distrust of the man, and I have learned through
experience not to disregard the warnings of my instinct. It has served
me more than one good turn in the street when the markets were wobbling.
Now I have been a good deal chaffed about a resemblance to Sherlock
Holmes, the great detective of fiction, but I acknowledge and am proud
of that resemblance. I venture to think that it is not wholly confined
to externals. A certain detective instinct was born in me. It began to
show itself when I was a little boy at school, and since then I have
trained and cultivated it, as a kind of higher education of the brain.
In several instances I have been able to expose frauds, which, but for
the purely impersonal, scientific interest I took in the affairs, might
have remained undetected. In these experiments I have made enemies of
course; but what matter?
The interest I feel in the case I am about to lay bare to you is not, I
confess, purely impersonal. But I hope under the circumstances you will
think none the less of me for that.
My first distant glimpse of the man Brown created, as I have said, an
unfavourable impression upon my mind. I thought that he had a swaggering
air of conceit and self-importance extremely unbecoming in a man of his
class. He had the air of thinking himself equal to his betters, which is
a dangerous thing in a person entrusted with the care of ladies. My
impression was confirmed by some of the tales which Molly told me of her
automobile experiences, not only quite unconscious that they militated
against her _chauffeur_, but apparently believing them to his credit. I
began to fear that the fellow was one to take advantage of the trust
placed in him by two unprotected women, whom he doubtless has guessed to
be well provided with money. My definite suspicions went at first no
further than this, though there was a kind of detective premonition in
my mind that more might remain to be found out. I might have confined
myself to tacit disapproval, however, or a word of advice to Molly, and
perhaps one stern warning to the man, had I not gone into the golf club
at Pau on our last day there. To my intense astonishment I saw Brown on
the links attempting to get members to play with him by passing himself
off as a gentleman. He wore good clothes, and acted his part fairly
well--well enough, perhaps to deceive the unobservant. But he is not the
sort of person I should ever mistake for a gentleman. I went up to him,
and very quietly ordered him off the links, threatening to expose him
publicly. But he whined for mercy, and I, in a moment of weak good
nature, let him off, on his promise to go at once. I inquired, however,
of the steward what name he had given on seeking admittance, and was
startled to find that he had passed himself off as the Honourable John
Winston, his late master and the owner of the car which Molly is now
using. As I had bound myself to keep silence, I did not betray him, but
the fact just discovered confirmed my distrust of the man as a dangerous
and unscrupulous person.
For Molly's sake I felt that I must begin investigation, so as to be
able in the end to expose Brown and let her see him in his real
character; but for several reasons not necessary to trouble you with it
was essential to proceed with extreme caution.
It was unbearable to me, knowing even the little I did know at that time
of the man's character to allow Molly and Miss Kedison to go wandering
over the country alone with him. I feared that he might compromise them
in some way, or even resort to blackmail, and with this danger before my
mind, I offered to accompany the ladies on their car to the Riviera. I
made the suggestion to Miss Kedison, not to Molly, and hinted to her
something concerning my motives, cautioning her at the same time that
silence was vitally important until I could give her leave to speak. You
may think that I was taking a good deal on myself; but I have a great
regard for you, as well as an unfortunately deep affection for Molly,
and as I have made many intimate friends among the highest in the land,
all over the Continent, as in England, I felt that my presence in the
car might be especially helpful.
During the first day or two of our journey I caught Brown in several
audacious lies. He was insolent to me, evidently afraid that I meant to
lose him his berth, and inclined to be so familiar with the ladies,
Molly particularly, that my suspicions of him were roused to fever heat.
I began to see that his ambitions tended higher than I had at first
supposed, and--I hope you will forgive my frankness--I should not be
surprised if some day before long Molly should have a startling
awakening.
I questioned her carefully as to what Brown had said to her of his late
master's movements, and it appeared that, according to the _chauffeur_,
the Honourable John Winston had returned to England, leaving Brown to
hire out and drive his automobile. This seemed strange to me, and I
asked myself if it were possible that the fellow could have contrived to
steal the car, and be using it for his own purposes, taking the money
derived from its hire for himself. One thing which encouraged this
deduction was the extremely low rent asked for the vehicle and the small
wages demanded by Brown. But it was at Toulon that a still more sinister
idea was forced into my mind by a startling incident to which I will
draw your attention.
You will very likely have heard from Molly that owing to a side-slip
which might have happened to anyone in driving an automobile, we had an
upset by the roadside, and in common politeness I was compelled to obey
Miss Kedison's request to remain with her at a small village, some miles
from Toulon, while Molly went on to see a doctor about an injury to her
wrist, Brown being her attendant. When Miss Kedison and I arrived at
Toulon on the car next day, it was decided to stay the night there
rather than go on so late. I saw Brown, who was working outside the
hotel at the automobile, take money out of his pocket to pay a man who
had been helping him with the repairs. Something small dropped on the
ground as he did so, unknown to Brown. When he had moved away, I stooped
and picked it up. It was a French pawn-ticket for a pledged watch, dated
the previous night. I determined, in the interest of my investigations,
to visit the pawnbroker's, which I did; and giving up the ticket, said I
had called to redeem the pledge. Imagine my sensations when I saw a
magnificent gold repeater, with the monogram "J. W." upon it in small
diamonds. The conclusion was obvious, for the watch was not one which
would be given by a master even to the most valued servant. I paid
something like two hundred and sixty francs to redeem the repeater, and
justified such a proceeding to myself by the argument that the watch had
assuredly been stolen, and that my action was the most certain way of
preserving it for the owner and earning that owner's gratitude, _if he
still existed_. Those last four words, which I have underscored, will
enlighten you as to the doubts now materialising in my mind. In fact, I
believe this _chauffeur_ a man _capable of anything_.
On returning to the hotel, with the Honourable Mr. Winston's watch in my
pocket, I made a few inquiries as to Brown's behaviour the night before;
I learned that he had appeared in the _salle a manger_ for dinner, in an
irreproachable evening suit which _in some way_ he must have obtained
from his master. Perhaps I ought not to repeat what else I learned, as I
do not like to tell tales out of school, but I think it is only right
you should know that Molly allowed this impostor to sit at the table
with her, as if he had been an equal instead of a servant.
I positively dared not let Miss Kedison into the secret of what had
happened, but I hinted to her that I had had good reason to think less
well of Brown even than before. It was arranged that we should induce
Molly to hurry on to Cannes, where Lady Brighthelmston (pronounced
"Brighton"), the mother of my friend the Honourable John Winston, was
supposed to be staying. I wished to find out from her when she had last
heard from her son, and if she were absolutely assured of his present
safety. I also intended to show her the watch, and put her in possession
of all the deductions and details I had been able to pick up. This once
done, Brown's exposure by Lady Brighthelmston and subsequent dismissal
by Molly would be only a question of hours.
Unfortunately, however, Lady Brighthelmston had left Cannes for Rome
when we arrived; nevertheless, one more proof of the _chauffeur's_
duplicity came into my hands there. A letter which had been left in the
rack for the Honourable John Winston, by his mother, was secretly _taken
out by Brown_. And the fact that Lady Brighthelmston was expecting her
son to join her on his automobile does not look as if poor Jack were in
England and had voluntarily left his car with the _chauffeur_.
Altogether the affair appears ominous for my friend, and the thought
that Molly and Miss Kedison are perpetually at the mercy of this
unscrupulous wretch, in a strange country, is maddening to me as it will
be to you when you receive this letter. When they left the Riviera for
Italy, I was obliged to remain behind for a day with a sick friend, but
followed as soon as possible on my Panhard. Owing, however, to
unforeseen events and one or two small accidents, I was delayed, and
unable to catch them up as I had intended. Finally, as Brown was
probably hurrying on with the express intention of making it impossible
for me to overtake the party, I determined to abandon my car and proceed
by rail to Rome, their destination. My idea was to reach that city
before they could do so, and see Lady Brighthelmston as I had planned to
do at Cannes, so that the police could be ready if necessary to arrest
Brown immediately on his arrival. I arrived on the day expected and
called at the hotel to which Lady Brighthelmston's letters were to be
forwarded from Cannes. But on account of the unusual cold and bad
weather, she had suffered from neuralgia, and had gone on with her
friends, after less than a week's stay, to Naples, with the idea that
she might visit Sicily later.
Having gone so far, I am not to be turned back. I love Molly far too
well to desert her, and some day, when she finds out all I have done for
her sake, perhaps she will appreciate me better than she has up to the
present. I cannot tell her myself, but it may be that you will think fit
to let her know. I mean to follow Lady Brighthelmston to Naples, or even
farther if it be necessary, for writing the information I have to give
might do more harm than good to everyone concerned. I must be on the
spot; but very unluckily I cannot be there for some days to come. The
weather in Rome is really awful, and I have contracted something which I
am afraid is influenza. With the best intentions, I cannot go to the
rescue until the doctor gives me leave. I shall probably still be here
when Molly arrives. Meanwhile, my dear Mr. Randolph, I have thought best
to put you on your guard.
Yours faithfully and sincerely,
J. F. Payne.