Presently she came down again.
"The woman is better and able to talk. But the doctor says that for
many reasons it would be as well to get her to a hospital at once."
"Very well," said the Inspector. "Perhaps your friend will go and
get a four-wheel cab?"
I took the hint and went out. There were plenty of cabs near
St. Pancras, and I was back with one in about five minutes.
Wrapped in a blanket and a rug, which we brought down from the
Indian's room, the doctor, myself, and Stromberg carried the woman,
rescued from a lingering death, out of the house, and got her into
the cab without attracting the attention of anyone but a small boy
who was delivering newspapers. The doctor drove away with his
patient, and we returned to the house, Dorcas taking the Inspector
upstairs to see the cage and the Indian's apartment.
At a quarter to eight a man arrived to see Stromberg and made a
communication to him.
"That's all right," exclaimed the Inspector, and calling Dorcas, he
told her that the Indian had just sent a telegram to Barraclough.
"It won't be delivered till ten minutes past eight. I'll go up to
the receiving office and arrange for that mistake in the address. I
shall be there by eight o'clock, which is the time they open. Stop
here till I come back."
In an hour Stromberg returned radiant. He had the telegram:
"Don't go house. See me at once old place. Important. M."
"That's all right," said Dorcas. "Now I want to send another telegram
to Barraclough." Dorcas tore a leaf from her pocket-book and wrote:
"All over. Come Crescent, ten to-night."
"I understand," said the Inspector. "I'll send it at once. In the
meantime the men who are trying to track the Indian, will, I hope,
succeed. They will bring him straight to the Yard to me. You had
better be there this afternoon at three. There's only one thing
that may upset _your_ plan. Suppose Barraclough comes here this
afternoon, lets himself in, and finds the woman gone."
"I've thought of that," said Dorcas. "But is he likely to in the
daylight? It is easy to make him alter his determination if he does.
Put a special policeman on with instructions to keep his eye on the
door, and directly he sees anyone going towards it let him stroll
up. Barraclough won't risk letting himself in with a latchkey under
the eyes of a policeman. He'll go away again and come after dark
and then we shall be ready for him."
"You're right," said the Inspector. "I'll have the policeman put on.
But there's one thing more--we know what we _want_ Barraclough to
do, but how about the broken-open door--that will rouse his
suspicions at once?
"Send some workmen you can trust to put it right again. He's not
likely to examine it very closely."
"I'll send the workmen at once. You'll have to stay and let them in.
A couple of hours will see them through. But who is going to stay
here to let _us_ in?"
"You'll want help to-night," replied Dorcas. "Send a plain clothes
officer with the men--he can stay on in charge of the house."
"Yes, that will do--and now--Au revoir."
"What is this mysterious plan of yours?" I said to Dorcas, when
the Inspector had gone.
"Oh, I only wanted to see what Barraclough wanted with those old
clothes. Now, I'm going to lie down for an hour in the Indian's
room--I'm tired. You had better go home."
"Aren't you going to let me see the end of it?" I asked eagerly.
"Certainly, if you wish it. I shall be back here at seven
o'clock--come then."
* * * * * * *
At seven o'clock that evening, I rang cautiously at No. ---,
Burton Crescent. The Inspector opened the door to me.
"Mrs. Dene's upstairs," he said, "front room, first floor."
I went upstairs, found the door open and started back in
astonishment. Dorcas was there, sitting on one of the small tables
which had been brought down from the Indian's room, and in the
corner sitting cross-legged and smoking a cigarette was Mr. Aleem
Mohammed. Near him was a man, who was, I concluded the plain
clothes officer from the Yard.
Dorcas beckoned me out on to the landing.
"You see, we've got Aleem," she said.
"Yes, how did you manage it?"
"The Yard promptly ran him down and brought him to Stromberg. The
man, seeing his game is up, has given us every information.
Stromberg has promised that if he helps us to-night he may get
off lightly."
"What has he told you?"
"All we wanted to know. He is a man whom Barraclough employed in
South America, and brought over here with him when he came.
Barraclough made wealth rapidly in South America, and in fact
accumulated a vast fortune equal to two or three millions of money,
but he made the foundation of that fortune by unscrupulous means.
Once in possession of money his natural ability enabled him to
conduct his operations with skill, and his later successes were
legitimate enough. But Aleem knew him in his shady days, so he tells
us, and he didn't mean to be left in South America.
"About a fortnight ago Barraclough went to him--he had a little flat
in Great Russell Street--and offered him £5,000 if he would consent
to get a house and take charge of a woman who was drinking herself
to death. The rest you know. Aleem swears that he only got the house
and the things Barraclough ordered him to, and that he has never
interfered in any way with the woman."
"But who got her here?"
"Barraclough himself--but that we have learned from the woman
herself. Stromberg interviewed her at the hospital. Her name is
Judkins. Twenty years ago she married John Judkins, a clever but
improvident clerk in the employ of a firm of financiers in the City.
Judkins got into debt and difficulties and one day disappeared, and
she never saw him again until lately.
"She managed as well as she could for herself, and being a handsome
woman did fairly well. One evening some weeks ago she was at the
Empire when she heard a gentleman behind her call out 'Hullo,
Judkins!' She turned and saw two gentlemen in evening dress greet
each other. The name Judkins caused her eagerly to scrutinise the
features of the elder of them. She recognised him in a moment as
her husband----"