by Headon Hill
CHAPTER X--_A Duty Call_
General Sadgrove was not the man to embark on an undertaking withoutclearing the ground of doubtful points, and he drove home by way of NewScotland Yard, where, firmly refusing his reasons for wanting to know,he extracted the information that there was no such officer as"Inspector Chantrey" on the police roster. On arrival at GrosvenorGardens he first sought and obtained a private interview with his wife,and astonished her by imparting the projected visit to Prior's Tarrant.
"You are at the old work, Jem; I can see it in your eye," she said afterone glance at her husband's stern, introspective face. "Is theredanger?"
"To me possibly; to another certainly," the General responded. "In fact,Madge, it is touch and go whether I can save a man's life. I do not knowyet if he is a good man, but his life is an important one."
"Then of course I will go with you," said Mrs. Sadgrove, guessing whosethat life was from Alec Forsyth's early call. "The Shermans, dearpeople, will be delighted to stay in a duke's historic mansion, even ifthe invitation is a little irregular, for are they not Americans? I willgo to the morning-room and break it to them."
"Without a hint of what is brewing, mind," said the General, andvanished into his own den. He sat for a while in thought, and presentlyrang the bell. It was answered by a tall Oriental in native costume andturban, who made low obeisance, but listlessly, as though bored todeath. As he straightened himself, however, his coal-black eyes, raiseddeferentially to his master's, blazed into sudden fire.
"Allah be praised! The black tribe walks again!" he cried in hisvernacular, reading the sign as easily as Mrs. Sadgrove had done.
"Yes, Azimoolah, the black tribe walks. We go to pit cunning againstcunning and right against wrong, you and I, as in the days when we rodethe jungle-paths under the Indian moon," the General replied in the sametongue. "Art glib of speech and handy with those iron arms of thine, asin the old times when we earned our pensions beyond the black water?"
"Try me, sahib--only try me," came the quick answer. "I have feared thatI was growing fat and soft in this city of laziness, where the tame_polis_ use not the ways known to you and me, O leader of midnightpursuits. But that look in your eye brings back the old heart-hunger. Iwant a quarry, sahib, fleet of foot and strong of arm and wily oftongue, to match with all those of thine and mine. Show me such an one,sahib."
"So will I, Azimoolah--not one, but twenty quarries, maybe, whom it willtax all our ancient skill to defeat," said the General, with a frostysmile for his follower's eagerness. "Take heed while I give orders."
The conclave that ensued lasted until luncheon, at which it was noticed,though not remarked upon, by Mrs. Sadgrove that Azimoolah Khan did notas usual station himself behind his master's chair. The General, too,made no reference to his retainer's absence, but plunged at once into atotally unfounded explanation of the wholesale invitation to Prior'sTarrant. The Duke of Beaumanoir, he averred, wished to be kind to hisyoung kinswoman, Sybil Hanbury, by asking her down while Alec Forsythwas there, and as that was impossible without a chaperon, he, theGeneral, had suggested a small house-party with Mrs. Sadgrove and Mrs.Sherman to play propriety.
Mrs. Sherman evinced unfeigned delight at the prospect, her only anxietybeing as to the length of the visit. Her husband, the Senator, with hisprecious charge of Treasury Bonds, was due in a week, and she would wishto be in London to receive him on arrival. Leonie, too, who did not seemto share her mother's enthusiasm for accepting the ducal hospitality,pressed the point with some pertinacity. The General, however, was equalto the occasion.
"No dates were mentioned," he said, looking his guests guilelessly inthe face. "But as his Grace alluded to the pleasure with which heanticipated making the Senator's acquaintance, I presume he takes it forgranted that your husband will go straight to Prior's Tarrant fromLiverpool."
Mrs. Sherman and Leonie exchanged glances, as though to say that thatsettled the matter, as indeed, from their point of view, it did. SenatorLeonidas Sherman was the kindest of husbands and the most indulgent offathers; but if he had landed in England and found that he had beendeprived of the chance of staying with a duke, he would have made thingshum for all concerned.
"Beaumanoir, having lived in your country, has a warm corner in hisheart for all Americans," said the General. "And talking of Americans,my dear," he proceeded, addressing his wife, "I shouldn't like to beuncivil to Mrs. Talmage Eglinton. As we are all going out of town, whatdo you say to returning her call this afternoon? If you are nototherwise engaged, I will order the carriage for four o'clock."
When the General--who never in his life had paid a duty call withoutgrumbling--spoke like that Mrs. Sadgrove knew what was expected of her,and did it. She had not the faintest inkling of his reasons for suddenpoliteness to a pushing woman whom they all disliked. In the old days,when she had gone out into camp with her husband, and had sat silent inthe tent amid the coming and going of troopers and mysterious spies, shehad always divined when a great _coup_, resulting in the death orcapture of some notorious malefactor, was vexing his brain. She hadwatched the spreading of the net without troubling him with questionsabout the meshes. So now, though inwardly disquieted by thisrecrudescence of the professional instinct, she abstained from worryinghim, confident that the veteran would achieve his purpose as ruthlesslyas the zealous young captain of thirty years ago.
Without demur the ordering of the carriage was agreed to, and when itcame round at the appointed hour the Sadgroves were reinforced by Mrs.Sherman and Leonie, who, at a hint from the General, had been induced toaccompany them. During the drive the General fidgeted a good deal aboutthe pace at which his fine pair of bays was being driven, and once ortwice checked the coachman; but his wife, who had learned to noticetrifles, observed also that he frequently consulted his watch, andconcluded that his anxiety was not entirely on the score of his cattle.Of this she was assured when, as the equipage turned into the courtyardof the hotel, he replaced his watch with a scarcely audible sigh ofrelief. What was it for which they were neither too late nor too early,she wondered.
At the bureau they were informed that Mrs. Talmage Eglinton was at home,and the party, having been handed over to a bell-boy, passed on--withthe exception of the General, who lagged behind for a moment.
"You have a gentleman staying in the hotel of the name of Ziegler, haveyou not--Clinton Ziegler?" he inquired of the clerk. "Ah, thank you--Iwas not mistaken then. Do you happen to know if he is in his rooms atpresent?"
The answer was that Mr. Ziegler was certain to be in, as he was aninvalid and never went out. Oh yes; he saw people--a good many, butalways in his own apartments, and he never frequented the public rooms.His suite was in the same corridor as that of Mrs. TalmageEglinton--next to it, in fact. No; the gentleman and lady were notfriends, or even acquainted, the clerk believed. At any rate, they hadarrived at different times, and he had never heard of any connectionbetween them.
Thanking his informant, the General hurried after the others and caughtthem up in time to be ushered with them into Mrs. Talmage Eglinton'sluxurious reception-room. The handsome widow, beautifully gowned, andalready apprised by speaking-tube that visitors were coming up, receivedthem with effusion, and made no effort to conceal her surprise when theGeneral appeared in the wake of the ladies. She rallied him on hisnew-found politeness, and openly avowed that he must have some secretobject in seeking her good-will.
The General, disclaiming anything unusual in his conduct, bore the flowof badinage meekly, but under his gray mustache he muttered:
"Confound the woman! She is clever, or else Jem Sadgrove has blundered."
The conversation drifted into the usual channels of small talk, and bythe time the General joined in he had assimilated one important fact inconnection with his surroundings. The suite of apartments in which hewas doing the penance of a duty call was a split suite. There was a doorat the end of the room, across which a fairly heavy writing-table wasplaced, denoting that the door was not in use, as naturally it woul
dhave been if the room beyond had been one of those rented by Mrs.Talmage Eglinton. The discovery and his own deduction caused an oddlittle crease at the corner of the General's mouth, and he seized theearliest opportunity to put in his word.
"I've got some news for you, Mrs. Talmage Eglinton. You are about to bethe recipient of a very high honor."
"Really! But this is extremely interesting," was the reply, accompaniedby a flash of scrutiny, quickly changed to a charming smile. "Pray don'tkeep me in suspense, General. Am I to go for a cruise in the royalyacht, or dine with the Lord Mayor?"
"The Duke of Beaumanoir is going to ask you down to his country-place atPrior's Tarrant," said the General, imperturbably ignoring herpersiflage. "I was with him this morning, and I gathered that you'llhave your invitation in the course of the day. We're all going down. TheDuke is Alec's new boss, don't you know, and he has taken a liking tothe lot of us."
He carefully avoided his wife's eyes and those of his guests as he burstthis amazing bombshell, thereby depriving himself of the sight of a tossof Leonie's pretty head and of the raising of two pairs of elderlyeyebrows. His hostess had his sole attention, and she repaid it fully.For the first time in his experience of her Mrs. Talmage Eglintonchanged color and seemed at a loss for words. He helped her out, andhimself too, with the same old lie, and his manner was perfect--justthat of the simple old soldier:
"The Duke dotes on Americans, don't you know. Says he was introduced toyou by my nephew outside Beaumanoir House the day he landed, and when itcame out in conversation that we knew you, he insisted on your beingasked. Thought it would please Alec, don't you know."
The last sentence was spoken carelessly, as though it was anafterthought, but it had an effect that all the skill at Mrs. TalmageEglinton's disposal could not hide--an effect transient only, but somarked that the three other women in the room, coldly hostile as theywere, did not fail to note it. The flush which had tinged her cheek onhearing of the invitation deepened, and a softer light gleamed for amoment in her fine eyes.
But whether the General's explanation was deemed adequate, or whethershe intended to accept the invitation, there was no present means ofknowing. For the sedate calm of the afternoon call was suddenlyinterrupted by a tremendous uproar beyond the closed door that wasblocked by the writing-table--a babel of confused voices and theshuffling of feet. The ladies looked at one another in alarm, Mrs.Talmage Eglinton fully sharing the agitation of her visitors. Indeed,she rose and glided swiftly towards the closed door, and then, as thoughrecollecting that it was not available, made for the principal entranceof her suite.
The General rose and followed her into the corridor, the commotion beingso great as to excuse his doing so. In fact, the sounds from the nextroom were so appalling as to suggest that his protection might benecessary against some broken-out lunatic, and out in the corridor itwas evident that some such idea prevailed among the hotel attendants. Acluster of them had already collected at the door of the adjoiningapartments, and more were arriving.
"What is all this disturbance?" Mrs. Talmage Eglinton inquired of one ofthem, and the General, close behind, discerned a tremulous note in herindignation.
The man she accosted did not know, but another, who had been inside thesuite, at that moment pushed his way out and overheard the question.
"It's nothing really serious, madam," he said. "An Indian Prince who hadapplied for rooms was being shown round, when he took a fancy to enterthat suite--occupied by Mr. Clinton Ziegler. The Prince is in there now,and nothing will induce him to leave peaceably, as he can't be made tounderstand that the rooms are engaged. He doesn't appear to know muchEnglish, but I am going for one of the curry cooks, who will doubtlessbe able to interpret for us."
"No need to waste time in fetching the cook," interposed the General. "Ispeak most of the Indian dialects, and I dare say I can get him toquit."
"You'd better be careful, then, sir," said the attendant. "He prettynearly strangled Mr. Ziegler's secretary when he tried to put him out."
Disdaining the warning and accepting the implied permission, the Generalelbowed his way into the invaded territory, from which, after a coupleof minutes, he emerged with a tall Asiatic who was wreathed inapologetic smiles, and talking volubly in an unknown tongue. Theintruder was dressed in a gorgeously embroidered purple vestment, and inhis snowy turban blazed a diamond the size of a pigeon's egg. From thedoorway of the invaded suite a couple of pale, fierce faces glared foran instant, and then the door was shut.
"It's all right," the General announced to the assembled spectators, whoby this time included Mrs. Sadgrove and the Shermans. "This is hisHighness the Thakore of Bhurtnagur, and he didn't mean to be rude. Justa little misunderstanding of his legal rights outside his ownjurisdiction. He says he'll look for rooms at some other hotel, as hecan't have those he wants here."
A murmur of relief went up from the embarrassed attendants, who withgreat deference proceeded to escort the swarthy potentate to thecarriage which it was understood was waiting for him. At the same timeMrs. Sadgrove held out her hand to Mrs. Talmage Eglinton, and, decliningthat lady's not too pressing offer of tea, sailed away to thestair-head, accompanied by Leonie and her mother. The General was thelast to make his adieus, and he made them, oddly enough, much morecordially than the women-folk.
"Pleasant thing, a short parting," he ejaculated, as he bent over thefair American's jeweled hand. "We shall meet in a day or two at Prior'sTarrant, eh?"
Mrs. Talmage Eglinton smiled sweetly up at the rugged face of theveteran man-hunter.
"Come, General, you can't expect me to give myself away like that," shesaid. "I shan't make up my mind until I get the invitation. You might bea bad, bold dissembler, you know, just taking a rise out of me; and thenwhat a fool I should look if I had said that I was going to stay withthe Duke."
"I might be a dissembler, but you couldn't look a fool--under anycircumstances," replied the General gallantly, as he turned away.
Mrs. Talmage Eglinton stood watching the erect figure march down thecorridor, and suddenly called after him:
"When does the Duke himself go into the country, General?"
The erect figure wheeled as on a pivot, and the answer came back withouta second's pause.
"To-night, by the 8.45 from St. Pancras. Alec Forsyth goes down withhim."
