WE PLAN AN AMBUSH
FORREST had just concluded his story when the lights of Thetford gleamed
in our eyes. The time was 12.30. The last train was gone. The
inhabitants were all in bed, and there we were, stranded with a broken
car, and no means of putting it right. Forrest would not despair,
however, and after some difficulty we managed, with the assistance of
the local police, to knock up a man who was locally reputed to know all
about motors. He was a little surly at first, but the inducement I
offered him to make an attempt to put the transmission right, was
sufficient to dissipate his very natural disgust at being disturbed in
his beauty sleep. Fortunately his local reputation had reasonable
foundation. He was a very capable mechanician, and the way he set about
the job gave me great hopes that the car would run as well as ever when
he had done with it. And my expectations were gratified. In less than an
hour he had completed the repairs. I paid him and asked him to remain up
for ten minutes in case we had another breakdown, telling him that after
that period had elapsed, he would be at liberty to return to his bed.
Whether he waited the ten minutes or not I do not know, for by that time
we were halfway to Newmarket, flying through the darkness at a pace
which two months previously I would not have dared venture upon in broad
daylight. And right onward to St. Albans, we kept it up, reaching the
ancient town just as the birds began to twitter in the hedges at the
first grey light of early dawn. At St. Albans we stopped at the
police-station. A man was waiting at the door.
"Any news?" asked Forrest.
The man shook his head.
"You know where to bring it?" asked my companion.
The man nodded.
"Let us get on home," said Forrest to me.
As I wheeled my vehicle into my yard I thought I should drop. The strain
of that rush through the night, expecting every moment that something
would give way, had been tremendous, and the moment the tension was
relaxed I shook like an aspen leaf. When I tried to get in at my own
door I found I could not fit the latch-key, and was obliged to hand it
to the detective. He saw what was the matter with me, and the moment we
were inside, he led the way to my study, thrust me down into a chair and
mixed me a whisky-and-soda. I was never more grateful for a drink in my
life. It pulled me together, and in less time than I had conceived
possible, I felt as if I could have managed another seventy-five miles
without a halt.
The moment he saw my nerves were steady again, Forrest proposed that we
should get something to eat. I declared that I did not want anything.
"When you haven't time for sleep, the next best thing is to feed well if
you want to keep fit," he remarked. "Besides, I am as hungry as a hunter
has a right to be."
"That settles it," I laughed. "We shall have to forage for ourselves.
The servants are all asleep."
We found our way to the larder and made a hearty meal on a cold pie we
found there; and directly we had finished, we set out forthwith in the
direction of Mannering's home. As soon as we arrived opposite the house,
Forrest paused and gave a low whistle. It was answered immediately by a
man dressed as a labourer, who made his appearance from behind the hedge
opposite the house.
"Any one been here to-night, Laver?" asked Forrest.
"No one," the man answered. "The servants turned in about ten after
locking up. No signs of any one about the place since."
"That's all right," grunted Forrest. "We shall be ready for him when he
does come. Have you got the tools?"
The man was proceeding to scramble through the hedge when Forrest
checked him.
"Better stay where you are," he advised. "Keep out of sight, and if I
whistle, come at once."
"All right, sir," replied the man, as he handed through a gap in the
hedge a small chamois leather bag.
I had no idea as to what steps Forrest proposed to adopt in order to
effect the arrest, so I asked him, and he explained briefly his plan of
campaign.
"One can see," he remarked, "that Mannering feels so confident of the
completeness of his disguise that he will have no hesitation about
returning. I am reckoning, too, upon there being an element of truth in
the story he has told you about the construction of his motor, in which
case his own workshop would be the only place where he would be able to
refill his tank. We shall be able to decide that point in a very few
minutes. If we do find any plant for the production of liquid gases, we
can count upon catching our man within a very few hours."
"Unless he smells a rat, and makes for some convenient port and gets out
of the country," I remarked.
"That eventuality is provided against," remarked the detective. "His
description is in the hands of the police at every port in the kingdom,
and even if he changes the colour of his hair, I don't think he will
manage to get away. What I propose is, that we shall remain concealed in
his coach-house and await his return."
"How are we going to get in?" I inquired.
Forrest took a bunch of skeleton keys from the bag Laver had handed to
him and dangled them before his eyes.
"There's not a burglar in the kingdom is better provided," he remarked,
and set to work upon the lock forthwith.
The lock was an ordinary one, and his efforts were speedily successful.
The door swung open, and we entered eagerly a bare, stone-paved
coach-house. Opposite the door by which we had entered from the road was
a similar door, which gave upon the inner yard. On the left, a large
sliding door had been fixed in place of the wall which had divided the
coach-house from the stables. Relocking the door by which we had
entered, Forrest led the way to the door on the left. It was unfastened,
and as it swung back a cry of amazement sprang to my lips.
"Hush--sh--sh!" said the detective warningly.
But I could not have repressed the cry, for there before me stood a
replica of the car I had seen on two occasions. There was only one point
of difference at first apparent. The pirate car had been black. This one
was built of aluminium and gleamed silvery white. But although the lines
were very similar, I soon came to the conclusion that the car we saw
before us was not the one which the Pirate had used when engaged upon
his nefarious work. One glance at the tyres convinced me that they had
never been upon the road, and I fancied that the wheels were smaller and
the lines of the body finer altogether. I pointed these things out to
Forrest, who, while agreeing that this particular car could not have
been the one which had been responsible for holding up the "August
Personage" on the previous day, would not commit himself further.
We did not spend much time upon a close examination of the car, for the
other contents of the building claimed our attention. We found ourselves
in a long workshop. There were no windows in the walls, but the place
was amply illuminated by a skylight which ran along nearly the whole
length of the northern slope of the roof. On the right of the large door
by which we had entered the inner shop was a small room, which had
probably once served as a harness-room, for through this another door
gave on to the yard, though this exit was evidently never used, for the
door was fixed by screws. The contents were a couple of broken chairs,
and some coats and rugs hung upon hooks upon the walls, together with a
miscellaneous assortment of odds and ends upon a shelf. I gave merely a
cursory glance at the contents of this apartment, for my attention had
been attracted by a plant of machinery, which occupied the far end of
the large room. As it happened, I had once had an opportunity of
inspecting the laboratory of the Royal Institution, and I recognized at
once that Mannering had set up an installation for the preparation of
some one or other of the liquid gases. Without this experience, I doubt
whether it would have been possible for me to guess even the purpose for
which the plant had been devised. As it was, I had no hesitation in
discovering the receiver into which the liquid gas was distilled; and
when I let a little of the liquid with which it was filled run into a
glass which I found handy, and saw the air fall in a shower of tiny
snow-flakes as the stuff evaporated, I knew that Mannering had told me
the exact truth when he had informed me that liquid hydrogen supplied
the power for his new car.
Once satisfied on this point, I examined the other contents of the
place. I do not think there is any need to particularize all that we
discovered, even if my memory served me. Practically the workshop
contained a sufficient engineering equipment to build such a car as
stood in the centre, though I judged that there was no convenience for
the forging of the parts of the motor.
Still, as I pointed out to Forrest, there was nothing in all these
discoveries to negative the truth of the story Mannering had told me
about his being engaged in building a car which should serve to outpace
the Pirate car, but he would not listen to any theorising on the
subject.
"He can tell that story to the jury," he said, as he significantly drew
a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and clinked them together. Then he
proceeded to investigate the contents of the harness-room, while I went
back to the new car and began a careful examination of the engines. The
whole mechanism was, however, so novel to me, that I could only surmise
as to the method of its working. I did notice, however, that the driving
and steering gear varied very little from that of my own car, so far as
it was controlled by the levers and wheel, while the breaks seemed to be
particularly powerful. There was only seating accommodation for two, and
judging from the size of the tank which was fitted behind the seat, I
judged that Mannering contemplated runs over distances which would make
large demands upon his supply of liquid gas.
At the moment I made this discovery, I heard Forrest call to me in an
excited whisper, and going across to him, I found him contemplating with
keen interest a dirty piece of rope.
"Look here, Sutgrove," he said; "this is the piece of cord with which he
trussed me up on the occasion when he dropped me into the pond. Compare
it with this"--he kicked a coil which lay at his feet--"and tell me if
they are not identical."
I examined them both, and came to the conclusion that Forrest was
correct in his supposition. Next, mounting one of the chairs, he
proceeded to rummage amongst the rubbish piled on the shelf. A moment
later he observed triumphantly, albeit in subdued tones, "Another piece
of evidence," and descending from his perch, he handed me a box of
cartridges. A glance at the label had apparently been enough,
nevertheless, to make sure, he searched again in his pocket, and
produced the bullet which had proved fatal to the poor victim at
Towcester. He compared it with one of the cartridges, and gave a grunt
of content. "I fancy we shall soon obtain sufficient evidence to hang
him," he murmured. Then a shadow crossed his face. "What an infernal
dunderhead I have been not to suspect him before," he said, and turning
impatiently away, he replaced the box of cartridges on the shelf, before
renewing his systematic examination of the rest of the contents of the
room. The search revealed nothing further, and at length he desisted.
All the while we were keenly on the alert to detect any sound which
should tell us of the approach of Mannering's car. But the minutes
passed and grew into hours without a sign. It must have been about five
in the morning when we had entered the coach-house, and when I saw by my
watch that it was nearly ten, I began to think that in some way or
another Mannering had got warning of the danger that threatened him. I
suggested to Forrest that we might as well leave our hiding-place, but
he would not hear of it.
"I don't leave this building except in his company, unless I hear that
he has been captured elsewhere," he declared obstinately. "At the same
time, don't let me detain you."
I wanted badly to see Evie, whom I thought might be getting anxious
concerning me; but I hardly liked the idea of leaving Forrest to tackle
Mannering alone if he should return. However, my first desire triumphed,
so I persuaded Forrest to let me out of the door, promising to return
within as short a time as I could manage.
I hurried first to the Colonel's house, and had a brief interview with
the dear girl, telling her what had happened and what was likely to
happen in the near future. Next, I went to my own place, and had a
basket packed with a plentiful luncheon, not forgetting to provide a
couple of bottles of champagne, and thus provided I returned to the
coach-house after an absence of less than an hour.
When in response to my signal Forrest admitted me, his eyes twinkled
with satisfaction as he saw my burden.
"It is truly thoughtful of you," he remarked, as I lifted the lid of
the basket and revealed the contents. "I only hope our friend will not
spoil our picnic by arriving in the middle of it."
The better to avoid any such _contretemps_, we set about our meal
immediately with very good appetites. When we had finished, I do not
know how Forrest felt, but I was confoundedly drowsy. I tried all sorts
of tricks to keep my eyes open, but the quiet of the place, the
coolness, and the subdued light of the saddle-room, where Forrest
thought it best for us to remain, were too much for my powers of
resistance and I dropped off to sleep.
I must have slumbered for a couple of hours, if not three, when I was
suddenly awakened by a hand placed on my mouth, while a voice whispered
in my ear--
"Wake up, man--wake up! There's no time to lose."
I came to myself with a start. Forrest had hold of me, and was shaking
me violently. At the same moment I became aware of the throb of an
approaching motor.
Recognizing the sound, I turned to the detective.
"That's Mannering," I whispered.
"Yes," replied my companion. "I could swear to the sound anywhere."