The events which led to the presence of Mr. Nicol Brinn at so opportune
a moment were--consistent with the character of that remarkable man--of
a sensational nature.
Having commandeered the Rolls Royce from the door of the Cavalry Club,
he had immediately, by a mental process which many perils had perfected,
dismissed the question of rightful ownership from his mind. The fact
that he might be intercepted by police scouts he refused to entertain.
The limousine driven by the Hindu chauffeur was still in sight, and
until Mr. Nicol Brinn had seen it garaged, nothing else mattered,
nothing else counted, and nothing else must be permitted to interfere.
Jamming his hat tightly upon his head, he settled down at the wheel,
drawing up rather closer to the limousine as the chase lay through
crowded thoroughfares and keeping his quarry comfortably in sight across
Westminster Bridge and through the outskirts of London.
He had carefully timed the drive to the unknown abode of Fire-Tongue,
and unless it had been prolonged, the more completely to deceive him,
he had determined that the house lay not more than twenty miles from
Piccadilly.
When Mitcham was passed, and the limousine headed straight on into
Surrey, he decided that there had been no doubling, but that the house
to which he had been taken lay in one of these unsuspected country
backwaters, which, while they are literally within sight of the lights
of London, have nevertheless a remoteness as complete as secrecy could
desire.
It was the deserted country roads which he feared, for if the man ahead
of him should suspect pursuit, a difficult problem might arise.
By happy chance Nicol Brinn, an enthusiastic motorist, knew the map
of Surrey as few Englishmen knew it. Indeed, there was no beauty spot
within a forty-mile radius of London to which he could not have driven
by the best and shortest route, at a moment’s notice. This knowledge
aided him now.
For presently at a fork in the road he saw that the driver of the
limousine had swung to the left, taking the low road, that to the right
offering a steep gradient. The high road was the direct road to Lower
Claybury, the low road a detour to the same.
Nicol Brinn mentally reviewed the intervening countryside, and taking a
gambler’s chance, took the Rolls Royce up the hill. He knew exactly
what he was about, and he knew that the powerful engine would eat up the
slope with ease.
Its behaviour exceeded his expectations, and he found himself mounting
the acclivity at racing speed. At its highest point, the road, skirting
a hilltop, offered an extensive view of the valley below. Here Nicol
Brinn pulled up and, descending, watched and listened.
In the stillness he could plainly hear the other automobile humming
steadily along the lowland road below. He concentrated his mind upon
the latter part of that strange journey, striving to recall any details
which had marked it immediately preceding the time when he had detected
the rustling of leaves and knew that they had entered a carriage drive.
Yes, there had been a short but steep hill; and immediately before
this the car had passed over a deeply rutted road, or--he had a sudden
inspiration--over a level crossing.
He knew of just such a hilly road immediately behind Lower Claybury
station. Indeed, it was that by which he should be compelled to descend
if he continued to pursue his present route to the town. He could think
of no large, detached house, the Manor Park excepted, which corresponded
to the one which he sought. But that in taking the high road he had
acted even more wisely than he knew, he was now firmly convinced.
He determined to proceed as far as the park gates as speedily as
possible. Therefore, returning to the wheel, he sent the car along the
now level road at top speed, so that the railings of the Manor Park,
when presently he found himself skirting the grounds, had the semblance
of a continuous iron fence wherever the moonlight touched them.
He passed the head of the road dipping down to Lower Claybury, but forty
yards beyond pulled up and descended. Again he stood listening, and:
“Good!” he muttered.
He could hear the other car labouring up the slope. He ran along to the
corner of the lane, and, crouching close under the bushes, waited for
its appearance. As he had supposed, the chauffeur turned the car to the
right.
“Good!” muttered Nicol Brinn again.
There was a baggage-rack immediately above the number plate. Upon this
Nicol Brinn sprang with the agility of a wildcat, settling himself upon
his perilous perch before the engine had had time to gather speed.
When presently the car turned into the drive of Hillside, Nicol Brinn
dropped off and dived into the bushes on the right of the path. From
this hiding place he saw the automobile driven around the front of the
house to the garage, which was built out from the east wing. Not daring
to pursue his investigations until the chauffeur had retired, he sought
a more comfortable spot near a corner of the lawn and there, behind a
bank of neglected flowers, lay down, watching the man’s shadowy figure
moving about in the garage.
Although he was some distance from the doors he could see that there
was a second car in the place--a low, torpedo-bodied racer, painted
battleship gray. This sight turned his thoughts in another direction.
Very cautiously he withdrew to the drive again, retracing his steps
to the lane, and walking back to the spot where he had left the Rolls
Royce, all the time peering about him to right and left. He was looking
for a temporary garage for the car, but one from which, if necessary,
he could depart in a hurry. The shell of an ancient barn, roofless and
desolate, presently invited inspection and, as a result, a few minutes
later Colonel Lord Wolverham’s luxurious automobile was housed for the
night in these strange quarters.
When Nicol Brinn returned to Hillside, he found the garage locked
and the lights extinguished. Standing under a moss-grown wall which
sheltered him from the house, from his case he selected a long black
cigar, lighted it with care and, having his hands thrust in the pockets
of his light overcoat and the cigar protruding aggressively from the
left corner of his mouth, he moved along to an angle of the wall and
stared reflectively at the silent house.
A mental picture arose of a secret temple in the shadow of the distant
Himalayas. Was it credible that this quiet country house, so typical of
rural England, harboured that same dread secret which he had believed to
be locked away in those Indian hills? Could he believe that the dark
and death-dealing power which he had seen at work in the East was now
centred here, within telephone-call of London?
The fate of Sir Charles Abingdon and of Paul Harley would seem to
indicate that such was the case. Beyond doubt, the document of which
Rama Dass had spoken was some paper in the possession of the late Sir
Charles. Much that had been mysterious was cleared up. He wondered why
it had not occurred to him from the first that Sir Charles’s inquiry,
which he had mentioned to Paul Harley, respecting Fire-Tongue, had been
due to the fact that the surgeon had seen the secret mark upon his arm
after the accident in the Haymarket. He remembered distinctly that his
sleeve had been torn upon that occasion. He could not imagine, however,
what had directed the attention of the organization to Sir Charles, and
for what reason his death had been decided upon.
He rolled his cigar from corner to corner of his mouth, staring
reflectively with lack-lustre eyes at the silent house before him. In
the moonlight it made a peaceful picture enough. A cautious tour of the
place revealed a lighted window upon the first floor. Standing in the
shadow of an old apple tree, Nicol Brinn watched the blind of this
window minute after minute, patiently waiting for a shadow to appear
upon it; and at last his patience was rewarded.
A shadow appeared--the shadow of a woman!
Nicol Brinn dropped his cigar at his feet and set his heel upon it. A
bitter-sweet memory which had been with him for seven years arose
again in his mind. There is a kind of mountain owl in certain parts
of northern India which possesses a curiously high, plaintive note. He
wondered if he could remember and reproduce that note.
He made the attempt, repeating the cry three times. At the third
repetition the light in the first floor window went out. He heard the
sound of the window being gently opened. Then a voice--a voice
which held the sweetest music in the world for the man who listened
below--spoke softly:
“Nicol!”
“Naida!” he called. “Come down to me. You must. Don’t answer. I will
wait here.”
“Promise you will let me return!”
He hesitated.
“Promise!”
“I promise.”