CHAPTER XIV
Inspector Field took up his hat and gloves from the chair where he haddeposited them. He was satisfied, and more than satisfied with theinterview. In a short time he had achieved excellent results.
"We will not trouble Mrs. Richford any more at present," he said. "Itmay be some consolation to her to know that I agree with all herreasonings. But there is plenty of work to do."
Field bowed himself out, followed by Berrington. The latter asked whatthe inspector was going to do.
"In the first place I am going down to the Yard," Field explained. "I amthen going to get rid of my correspondence and have my dinner. Afterthat till it gets dark I propose to pursue what Lord Beaconsfield calleda policy of masterly inactivity for a time. Once it is really dark, Iintend to go as far as Wandsworth Common, and learn something of thegentleman who is lame and has a private hansom painted black. You see,sir, the scene of the story is changed. The next act must be played outat Wandsworth."
"You have some settled plan in your mind?" Berrington asked.
"Indeed I have not, sir. I may make no more than a few simple inquiriesand come home again. On the other hand, before morning I may find myselfinside the house. I may even return with the lame gentleman as myprisoner. It is all in the air."
"By Jove," Berrington cried. "I should like to go with you. As an oldcampaigner, and one with some little knowledge of strategy I may beuseful. Anything is better than sitting here doing nothing. Would youvery much mind, Inspector?"
Field regarded the brown, eager, clever face and steadfast eyes of thequestioner shrewdly.
"I shall be delighted, sir," he said heartily, "with one proviso--thatyou regard me as your senior officer and commander in this business.Military strategy is one thing, the hunting of criminals quite adifferent thing. I shall start from the Yard before ten o'clock, andeven then I shall not make my way to Wandsworth direct. We are dealingwith an exceedingly clever lot, and it is just possible that I may bewatched. Therefore I shall disguise myself, and you had better do thesame. Then you can meet me at eleven o'clock where you like."
"That's a bargain," Berrington said eagerly. "I'll go over to Wandsworthpretty early and try to see my police friend, Macklin. At eleven o'clockI shall be under the trees opposite Audley Place, waiting for you.Probably I shall assume the disguise of a sailor."
"Um, not a bad idea," Field remarked. "We will both be sailors just paidoff from a ship and with money in our pockets. Sailors, in thatcondition who have assimilated a fair amount of liquid refreshment, dostrange things. Oh, we shall be all right. Merchant seamen let us be,from the ship _Severn_, just home from South America. Good afternoon,sir."
"The police officer looked suspiciously at the figure."_Page 107._]
It was nearly ten before Berrington reached the rendezvous. He wasperfectly disguised as a sailor fresh from a tramp steamer, his clotheswere dirty and grimy, and the cap in his hand had a decided navalcock. So far as he could judge there were no lights visible at No. 100,opposite. He waited for Macklin to come along, which presently he did.The police officer looked suspiciously at the figure in a slumberingattitude on the seat, and passed before him.
"Now, then," he said sharply. "What are you doing here? Come out ofthat."
Berrington came unsteadily to his feet and blinked into the lane oflight made by the policeman's lantern. He was rather proud of hisdisguise and the way in which it was passing scrutiny.
"All right, Macklin," he said in his natural voice. "It's ColonelBerrington. Not quite the same sort of disguise that I tried to passinto the Madi Halfa camp with when you were on guard that night. Stillit took you in, didn't it?"
"It did indeed, sir," Macklin said, not without admiration. "And might Ibeg to ask what manner of game the Colonel of my old regiment is up toin London at this hour?"
"We need not go into details, Macklin," Berrington said. "Regard me asyour senior officer for a moment, and answer my questions withoutcomment. As I told you yesterday, I am interested in that houseopposite. Have you found out anything?"
"Nothing worth speaking about, sir," Macklin replied. "They seem to bejust respectable people who have plenty of money and very few visitors.Last night about half past eleven the old gentleman went out in a cab,and came back about half past two with a friend who had a big box on thetop of the cab. That's all I can tell you."
"Ah, perhaps that is more important than it seems," Berrington muttered."Anything to-day?"
"Nothing to-day, sir. Oh, yes, there is. The parlourmaid reported to theman who is doing day duty here this week that the house would be closedtill Saturday, and that the police were to keep an eye on the place atnight. Looks as if they've gone, sir."
Berrington swore quietly and under his breath. It seemed to him as if heand Field were going to have their trouble for their pains. No. 100 wasnot the kind of house where people are unduly economical on the score oflights, and there was not one to be seen.
"I should like to go and have a prowl around," Berrington said, after apause. "I suppose if I did, I shouldn't have any officious policeman toreckon with."
"Well, sir, I'm not quite sure," Macklin said dubiously. "Of course Iknow you to be a gentleman as wouldn't do anything in the least wrong,but there's my sergeant to consider. Still, as this is on my beat, noother officer is likely to see you."
"Good," Berrington exclaimed. "What time will you be back here again?"
Macklin calculated that he would reach the same spot again an hour or solater,--about eleven o'clock, to be exact. The hour tallied preciselywith the coming of Field, and in the meantime Berrington was free tomake what he could of the house opposite.
But there was precious little to be gained in that respect. The housewas all fastened up, there were shutters to the windows on the groundfloor; the garden was tried next, but there was no litter anywhere suchas might have been caused by a hasty removal. Clearly if the house wasclosed up it was only for a day or two, as the parlourmaid had told thepoliceman.
At the end of an hour Berrington was not a whit wiser than before.
He crossed over the road and there on a seat under the trees was asailor like himself. Field did not assume to be asleep but was pullingat a short clay pipe.
"Come and sit down, sir," he said. "I've just come. As I anticipated, Iam being watched. But I managed to give my shadowers quite a wrongimpression and I passed from the house, where I keep a few stockdisguises, under their very noses. They imagine that they are followingme up West by this time."
"I am afraid all the trouble has been wasted," Berrington saidirritably. "The birds have flown."
"Indeed, sir. And who did you get that valuable piece of informationfrom?"
"From my friend the policeman that I told you about. The house is shutup for a few days and the authorities have been informed of the fact. Ihave been all around the house and it is as silent as the grave."
"Well, that might be merely a blind, after all," Field said cheerfully."When did they go?"
"So far as I can gather from Macklin, they departed early this morning."
Field chuckled but said nothing. A little while later there was a thudof heavy boots on the pavement, and Macklin and his sergeant came,together. The latter was about to say something but Field produced hiscard and the effect was instantaneous.
"No, we don't want any assistance at all," the Scotland Yard officialsaid. "All you can do is to go about your work as if nothing was takingplace. You may notice something suspicious presently at No. 100, acrossthe road, but you are to ignore it. You understand?"
The sergeant nodded and touched his helmet; he understood perfectlywell. The two passed on together and the sham sailors crossed the road.Very quietly Field proceeded to the back of the house. It was a littledark here, and he guided himself by pressing his fingers to the walls.Presently he stopped, and a low chuckle came from his lips.
"Discovery the first, sir," he said. "Press your hand on the wall here.What do you notice?"
But Berr
ington noticed nothing beyond the fact that the wall was quitewarm. He said so, and the inspector chuckled once more. He seemed to bepleased about something.
"That should tell you a story, sir," he said. "That house is supposed tobe empty; nobody has been here since early this morning. If you willlook up, you will see that the blank wall terminates in a highchimney--obviously the kitchen chimney. This wall is quite hot, it isthe back of the kitchen fireplace--so obviously, if those people wentearly to-day there would be very little fire, in fact the range wouldhave been out long ago. And what do we find? A hot wall that tells of agood fire all day, a good fire at this moment, or these bricks wouldhave cooled down before now. If you listen you will hear the boilergently simmering."
It was all exactly as Field had said. Perhaps the servants had been sentaway for a day or two, indeed, it was very probable that they had. Butthere was the big fire testifying to the fact that somebody was in thehouse at that very moment.
"We are going to take risks," Field whispered. "If we are discovered weshall be given into custody as two drunken sailors, given into thecustody of your friend Macklin and his sergeant, from whom we shallprobably escape. You may be very sure that we shall not be charged, forthe simple reason that the people here don't want their names oranything about them to get into the papers; in fact, the less they seeof the police the better they will be pleased. Come along."
Field strode around to the kitchen window. The shutters were up, but notso in the larder, which had no bars, and was only protected by a squareof perforated zinc. The inspector took a tool from his pocket and withgreat care and dexterity, and without making the least noise, removedthe zinc from its place. Then a lantern flamed out.
"Come along," said Field, "we can easily get through here. We shall besafe in the kitchen, for we know that the maids are not in the house."
For the present everything was absolutely plain sailing. And as Fieldhad anticipated there was nobody in the kitchen and nobody in thecorridor leading to the better part of the house. All the same, a bigfire, recently made up, was roaring in the range, showing that the placewas not quite deserted. And yet it was as silent as the grave.
It was the same in the hall, and the same in the living-rooms, where nolights gleamed. From somewhere upstairs came a sound as if somebody wasgently filing some soft metal. The noise ceased presently to be followedby the rattle of a typewriter, or so it seemed. The two adventurersstood in the darkness of the dining-room listening; it seemed to them asif that rattle was getting closer. Field flashed a light into the room,but it was quite empty; the polished mahogany of the table reflected theflowers on it.
Then suddenly the rattle grew louder, and Field hid his light under theslide. As suddenly as his light had faded out, the dining-room glowed ina perfect bank of shaded yellow light, as if by magic the table stoodwith a perfect meal, a dainty cold supper with glass and silver andcrystal and gold-topped bottles upon it; the whole thing seemed a mostwonderful piece of conjuring. At the same instant there was the rattleof a latch-key in the front door. Field pulled his companion into thedarkness of the drawing-room doorway. A man came in, peeled off hiscoat, and entered the dining-room. Field gasped.
"What is the matter?" Berrington asked. "Do you know who it is?"
"Rather," Field replied, "I should say that I do. Why! that's no otherthan the Rajah of Ahbad! Well, if this doesn't beat all!"
The Slave of Silence Page 14
