On the day following that upon which she arrived in Paris, Grace Duvall
sallied forth, determined to find out two things--first, the position
occupied by Alphonse Valentin in the affair of the kidnapping; secondly,
the identity of the man who had stolen the box of cigarettes from
Valentin's room, and gone with them to the house in the Avenue Kleber.
The latter incident seemed trivial enough, at first sight; yet she
reasoned that no one would risk arrest on the score of burglary, to
steal anything of such trifling value, without an excellent reason.
She had a short conference with Monsieur Lefevre, before she left the
house, and told him of the events of the previous night. The Prefect
seemed greatly interested.
"Could you identify the man who stole the cigarettes?" he asked.
"Easily. I had a splendid view of his face."
"Then go to Mr. Stapleton's house and take a look at all the servants.
You may find him among them."
"I had intended to do so, this morning."
The Prefect smiled. "I do not know what your investigations will lead
to, but they seem promising. I have a dozen men working on the case; yet
so far they have not made the least progress. Their efforts, however,
are directed toward finding the child. They are searching the city with
the utmost care. We believe that by discovering the missing boy, we
shall also find the persons who committed the crime."
"Have you no one under suspicion?"
"No one. The nurse, Mary Lanahan, is of course being closely watched;
also the chauffeur, Francois. My men report, however, that he gave them
the slip for an hour, last night. I have an idea that he may prove to be
the one who took the cigarettes."
"Can you imagine any reason for his having done so?"
"I confess, my child, that I cannot. It seems utterly absurd; unless,
indeed, there was something else concealed in the box."
"What?"
The Prefect laughed. "I cannot imagine. But if you can identify the
man, we shall no doubt find out. As for the matter of Alphonse Valentin,
we have already had him under observation. So far as we can learn, he is
merely a chauffeur, out of work, who seems to be somewhat in love with
the nurse."
"Then his actions have not been suspicious, during the past week?"
"Not in the least. He has hung around the Stapleton house for several
days, asking for news of the Lanahan woman; but that is all. We
attribute his actions to a natural anxiety over her illness."
Grace left the house, by no means satisfied with the progress she was
making. Her interview with Mary Lanahan, and subsequent visit to the
scene of the crime, told her nothing she had not already known. Her
greatest disappointment, however, came when she had Mrs. Stapleton bring
in Francois, ostensibly to question him about his part in the affair.
She saw at once that he was not the man who had broken into Alphonse
Valentin's room on the night before. This man had been heavily bearded
and tall. Francois was smooth shaved and rather short. Mrs. Stapleton
assured her that none of her servants resembled in the least her
description of the burglar. She left the house, greatly dissatisfied,
after satisfying herself that this was the case.
Her visit to the house of Alphonse Valentin that afternoon was
productive of no greater results. The man was out. The woman who opened
the door--the same one who had admitted her the previous
evening--regarded her with ill-concealed suspicion, and informed her
that she had no idea when her lodger would return. Grace left,
determined to try again the following day.
Throughout the whole evening she hung about the Stapleton house, hoping
again to see the man with the heavy beard who had disappeared within the
night before; but he did not put in an appearance. Grace began to feel
discouraged. She thought of her lilac bushes, at home, of Aunt Lucy
feeding the chickens, of the dogs, the sweet call of the wood robins
among the poplar trees on the lawn, and half wished that she had stayed
at home and left to Richard the apparently hopeless task of finding the
abductors of little Jack Stapleton.
What, after all, could she hope to do, where the entire police force of
Paris had failed? The thing was absurd. Monsieur Lefevre had overrated
her abilities. She heard the sound of church bells, striking the hour of
ten, and decided to go home and forget the whole affair until tomorrow.
Tomorrow--the day Richard must arrive! How she longed to be with him!
This stupid interruption of their honeymoon seemed peculiarly cruel, now
that over a week had elapsed since they had seen each other. She
wondered if she would meet him, the next day. Then she thought of her
changed appearance, of her hair, dyed a jet black, and worn in a new and
to her mind unbecoming fashion, of her darkened complexion, her
extremely French costume, her heavy veil, and laughed. If Richard did
see her, here in Paris, when he fully believed her to be peacefully
tending her flower beds at home, he would never believe the evidence of
his senses.
She was strolling toward the Champs Elysees, lost in thought, when
suddenly she heard the soft throbbing of a high-powered motor car, as it
came up the street behind her. She turned and glanced toward it; but the
brilliant glare of the electric headlights blinded her. She could see
nothing, except that the car was moving very slowly.
Suddenly it stopped, almost abreast of her, and a tall man leaped to the
sidewalk. Before she had an opportunity so much as to glance in his
direction, he came swiftly up behind her, threw his arm about her neck,
and choked her into unconsciousness. Her last sensation was of being
lifted bodily into the already moving car, and then the feeling of rapid
motion, quickly blotted out by the coming of insensibility.
When she returned to consciousness, it was broad daylight. She lay upon
a small wooden bed, in a low-ceilinged little room, the only furniture
of which was a small chest of drawers and a chair. Upon this chair sat a
large man, his face so thoroughly hidden by a mask that his features
were quite unrecognizable. He was regarding her with keen scrutiny.
"Oh--what--where am I?" she gasped.
The man hesitated for a moment, then slowly spoke. "Where you are,
mademoiselle, is of no importance. Attend to what I have to say."
Grace made no reply. There seemed nothing that she could say. She sat up
and gazed at the man, half dazed. Her head swam. She felt that she had
been drugged.
"Ten days ago," the man went on, in a cold and menacing voice, "the
child of Monsieur Stapleton was taken from his nurse in the Bois de
Boulogne. You are trying to find that child."
"But--" Grace made a movement of protest.
"It is useless to deny it. You have been watched."
Grace gasped in silence.
"I desire to send a message to the boy's father, and I have chosen you
to take it to him. I have selected you, because to send one of my own
men would doubtless result in his arrest. That is why you have been
brought here."
"The--the child is safe?" asked Grace.
"Perfectly. You shall see for yourself." He motioned to the window.
Grace rose, and looked out. The view comprised a bit of garden,
surrounded by bushes. She could see nothing beyond--nothing that would
enable her in any way to identify the place. On the tiny plat of grass
in the garden sat a child--a little girl, playing with a small black and
white spaniel. Her dark hair was drawn tightly beneath a pink sunbonnet.
Her dress, her whole appearance, was that of a peasant child.
Grace turned from the window, bewildered. "I see nothing," she said,
"except a little girl--"
"That is the child of Monsieur Stapleton," the man said. "Now attend to
the message."
She sat down again, wondering.
"Tell the boy's father this: He will leave his house tomorrow evening,
in his automobile, at eight o'clock. He will bring with him, in a
package, the sum of five hundred thousand francs--one hundred thousand
dollars. He will have with him, in the automobile, no one but himself
and his chauffeur. He will leave Paris by the Porte de Versailles, and
drive along the road to Versailles at a speed of twelve miles an hour.
Somewhere upon that road, among the many automobiles that will pass him,
will be one, from which a blue light will flash, as it approaches him.
It will also slow up. He will toss the package of bank notes into that
car, and drive on. If the package contains the sum of five hundred
thousand francs, he will find his child at his house, upon his return.
If not, or if these instructions are not carried out to the letter--if
there is any attempt made at pursuit--the child will not be there, and
you can tell him that he will be given but one more chance. After that,
the boy will die."
The man in the mask made this gruesome statement with the utmost
coolness.
Grace listened, aghast at the cruelty of his words, and at the same time
struck by the extreme ingenuity of the plan. To catch the perpetrators
of the crime, under these circumstances, seemed impossible. A rapidly
moving automobile--one of a hundred. An instant's flash of a blue light
in passing--the tossing into the car of the money--and it would speed
away into the darkness, beyond any hope of detection. Should Mr.
Stapleton have others in his car--should he have his car followed by a
second, containing armed men, the occupants of the kidnapper's machine
would no doubt refuse to give the signal, and nothing would be
accomplished. It would be impracticable to line the road, for a possible
distance of twenty miles, with gendarmes, nor could their presence
accomplish anything, beyond putting the kidnappers on guard, and
preventing the carrying out of the plan.
The weakest point in the whole scheme seemed, to Grace at least, the
delivery of the child to Mr. Stapleton, provided he paid the money
demanded. Just how that was to be accomplished, without subjecting the
person who brought the boy to arrest, she did not see. A moment's
reflection, however, showed her that a stranger might be employed, at
any point, who for a few francs would agree to take the child to the
house. She turned to the man before her with feelings not devoid of
admiration.
"How can Mr. Stapleton know that you will do as you say?"
The man shrugged his shoulders. "That is a chance he must take. If he
does not believe that the child will be delivered to him, provided he
pays the money, he had better not pay it. But if he does his part, I
shall do mine--and this I swear by the memory of my mother!"
Grace shuddered. A wretch of this sort, talking about the memory of his
mother! "Very well," she said quietly, "I will take your message."
"Good! You will not leave here, of course, until it is dark--tonight.
You will be blindfolded, and conducted to some point in the city. From
there, you can make your way to Monsieur Stapleton's house." He rose,
and went toward the door. "Make no attempt to escape. It will be
useless. Any attempts on the part of the police to interfere with the
plan I have outlined will result in nothing. Food will be sent in to you
at once. Good morning."
It was close to ten o'clock that night, as nearly as Grace could judge,
when she was led a considerable distance blindfolded, to a closed
automobile, and driven away. She could form no idea of her whereabouts.
The car continued on its way, for over an hour. Once she attempted to
snatch the bandage from her eyes; but a hand was placed upon her arm by
another occupant of the machine, and a low voice warned her to desist.
After an interminable ride, the car suddenly stopped, and she felt the
man at her side slip away from her and open the door. Instantly she
snatched the bandage from her eyes. The man had disappeared. She stepped
to the sidewalk, and looked about. She was standing upon a brightly
lighted street, which seemed somehow familiar to her. The man on the box
of the cab glanced down at her with a look of curious interest. She saw
his face clearly, in the light of the street. It was the heavily bearded
man whom she had seen take the box of cigarettes from the room of
Alphonse Valentin two nights before.
Grace stood with the bandage which had encircled her eyes, still in one
hand. Suddenly she saw a dark figure uncoil itself from the rear of the
car, and drop noiselessly to the pavement as the machine started off.
She gave a low cry of surprise. The man came up to her, a grim smile
upon his face. It was Alphonse Valentin.