The Broken Thread

by William Le Queux

I willmeet you in the coffee-room at ten o'clock, and you can introduce him tome."

  At ten o'clock on the morning following these occurrences which appearedof such evil portent, Gilda Tempest, daintily clad in a light gown ofsoft material in which chiffon seemed to predominate, walked into thecoffee-room of the hotel and took her seat at a table, laid for three,next to a window which commanded a view of the Promenade des Anglais.The doctor had planned the arrangement of this table with thatprescience which characterised all his movements. She had not beenseated many minutes, and was sipping some coffee--the coffee that, inspite of modern facilities, seems to be only obtainable on the continentof Europe, when Sir Raife Remington entered the room. He crossed to thetable at which Gilda was seated and greeted her.

  To his pleasure and astonishment she said, heartily: "Good morning. SirRaife. Won't you take a seat at our table? I expect my uncle,presently, and he will be very pleased to see you. First of all, let methank you for the loan of your keys. It was so distressing, I could notfind my keys anywhere, and, in desperation, I thought of your kind offerto help me if I needed it."

  Raife laughed heartily, and, taking a seat opposite to her, said:"Please don't thank me for a small thing like that. I meant, moreespecially, I would like to help you in something big, as the Americanswould say--something real large, should the occasion arise."

  Gilda appeared positively radiant on this bright, sunny morning, and hersoft, pleasing voice thrilled him as she said: "Did you get the keysback? I sent them to your room by the chambermaid, and, do you know,one of them just fitted the little trunk I wanted to open. It containedthis gown I'm wearing, and I've put it on in recognition of yourkindness to me in my distress."

  Again he laughed, saying: "Oh, yes, I got the keys all right!"

  Then, with a strange, strained tone in her voice, she said: "Here comesmy uncle."

  Wherever Doctor Danilo Malsano entered people turned to look. Hisstriking personality was of such a nature that it seemed more than everstrange that he could move about so easily, unobserved, when he wascarrying out his nefarious schemes.

  Raife rose from his chair as the doctor approached the table, and,gracefully, Gilda introduced: "My uncle, Doctor Malsano--Sir RaifeRemington."

  With Saxon rigidity Raife bowed, but the older man with a warmth andgraciousness extended his hand, compelling acceptance. Raife took theold man's hand, and the contact caused him to shudder.

  They took their seats at the table and the incongruous trio indulged inthe vague generalities that are frequently associated with abreakfast-table. This was not a _dejeuner a la fourchette_. By commonconsent, coffee and dainty Vienna bread, with perfect butter,constituted the meal.

  Raife could not fail to notice that Gilda's radiance had subsided, and,in the presence of her uncle, a subdued conventionalism had superseded.

  Once more, in spite of his brief sense of complete trust in this girl,who had not only entered but monopolised the moments of his life,whether awake or asleep--once more the fateful words of his dying fatherrang in his ears.

  "Beware of the trap--she--that woman."

  He was roused from this reverie by the doctor's words, uttered with acordiality and accompanied by a smile that ill accorded with thesinister chuckles of the previous night.

  Doctor Malsano, taking wax impressions in the dead of the night of thekeys of his niece's wooer, was a different person from the cheery oldgentleman who said: "You are staying with your mother, who is a widow, Iunderstand, Sir Raife?"

  "Yes," responded Raife. "My mother is with me here. She takesbreakfast in her room. Since my father's death she is fragile anddelicate."

  "Ah, yes! I heard of your father's death. Let me see. He wasmurdered, wasn't he? Murdered by some blackguard of a burglar?"

  Gilda winced. The doctor's face was earnestly sympathetic.

  Raife replied: "Yes, he was murdered by some blackguard of a burglar.Thank God, the burglar died too."

  The doctor crooned rather than spoke. "We won't talk of sad things onthis bright, sunny morning. Nice is charming, isn't it, and so full ofsmart people? The Baroness von Sassniltz is staying here--in thishotel, I'm told."

  "Yes," responded Raife, "she is a friend of my mother's, and sometimesstays with us at Aldborough Park."

  "Aldborough Park! Dear me, I've heard of that some time. It's a fineold Tudor place near Tunbridge Wells, isn't it?"

  Raife said: "Yes. It's a fine old place. It belongs to me. There havebeen happy days at Aldborough, but yet I cannot help thinking that somepeople seem to thrive on the misery of others."

  "That's true," the doctor crooned again, "It's sad, but it's true."

  Then, cheerfully, Raife said; "I hope, doctor, that you and Miss Tempestwill honour me with a visit there some day soon, and we'll try and makemerry again. If we can, we'll forget that villainous assassin."

  Again Gilda winced, and, dropping her serviette, stooped to pick it up,thus hiding a scarlet flush that suffused her cheeks.

  Without replying to the invitation and, with a suddenness that appearedto be anent nothing, Doctor Malsano said:

  "Oh, Sir Raife, I've forgotten to express my thanks to you for thecharming talisman you have presented to my niece, which I see she iswearing around her neck!"

  Raife and Gilda both started at this extraordinary sally. Neither knewthat the doctor was aware of the gift. The slight gold chain to whichthe talisman was attached was barely visible, whilst the figure of Isiswas entirely screened from view. It heaved on Gilda's palpitatingbreast, behind the bodice of her charming and dainty morning gown.Without apparently heeding the embarrassment of the young couple, heproceeded:

  "There is a delightful mysticism about Egyptian mythology that charmsme. Let me see, Isis was a goddess, wasn't she? To be sure she was agoddess, and the record of her does not always make pleasant reading."

  Raife gazed steadfastly at this mysterious man, and marvelled at themeaning of his cryptic utterances, which came from him graciously, andwith a smile that was bland, until the swivel eye destroyed theillusion.

  Gilda was trained to the startling nature of her uncle's methods, andcollected her senses rapidly, remarking: "Yes, wasn't it kind of Raife--Sir Raife I mean, to give it to me. I told him you would be pleased."

  Raife was more mystified than ever. She had not said anything of thekind to him. And what was the meaning of that lapse--the omission ofthe title in speaking before her uncle? Truly, the depths of thesepersonalities were unfathomable. In spite of it all he had sworn totrust Gilda and remain her friend. He was a Reymingtoune and he wouldkeep his word. Apart from that, he loved her, and love remains as blindto-day as when Cupid became fully fledged and wore wings.

  The revolutions of an excited mentality are rapid, and a thought flashedthrough Sir Raife Remington's mind. Who was that mysterious-looking,slouch-hatted, and cloaked Apache type of person, who bade him wait forGilda when she was late for her appointment? Was he a secret agent ofDoctor Malsano? What would be the outcome of this hotbed of mystery?It mattered not. Only one thing mattered. He loved this frail,beautiful young girl. He had sworn to trust her and to be her friend.

  CHAPTER NINE.

  FOILED BY THE WORK OF A MODERN DETECTIVE.

  The sunlit day that followed the breakfast at the little table laid forthree, was full of happiness for Raife. He rapidly planned a motor-carride. There were many details to be arranged. Lady Remington must bepropitiated. The conventionalities of the South are less exacting thanthose of the North, but some of them must be observed. Lady Remingtonaccepted the specious circumstances invented by Raife, and DoctorMalsano and his niece, Gilda Tempest, were duly introduced to herladyship. The presentation was a characteristic presentment ofdifficulties overcome by an astuteness that youth can assume when loveis the guide to the occasion. _Il dottore_ displayed a suavity that wascharming to Lady Remington, and Raife snatched the opportunity for thosesmall attentions that accompany a youthful courtship. A
ll that hadsavoured of mystery disappeared when the car bounded over the whiteroads that clamber over the hill and mountain sides of the sunnyMediterranean shore. To those two young hearts it was Elysium. Adiscreet Italian chauffeur paid those few attentions necessary to thewell-ordered mechanism of a modern motor-car, and smiled once or twicewhen it occurred to him that so much happiness could not exist without atragedy--somewhere-sometime. A bend in the steep road, a precipitousdeclivity with a loose stone wall on either side, and a gloriousprospect of blue sea, and rich coloured landscape, brought the happyparty to one of those meeting grounds, where perfectly trained waitersand caterers for human comfort assort themselves.

  Joyously they alighted, and Raife proceeded to plan the arrangements