The Crime Club

by W. Holt-White

  CHAPTER XIV

  LADY KATHLEEN'S MISSION

  In spite of Mme. Estelle's declaration that he should see Lady Kathleenthat night, and in spite of the conviction that Madame spoke thetruth, Westerham, strange to say, had not expected to find her in thegaming-house.

  As he entered the room of lights he had for a moment wondered forwhat reason he had been brought into such a place, but at the sametime, by some swift mental process, he had decided that the mysteriousgaming-house was but a step towards Lady Kathleen, and not the actualplace in which he was to meet her.

  For once his intuition had played him false and he was correspondinglytaken aback. The deathly pallor, however, which had spread acrossKathleen's face served to bring him to a swift realisation of thesituation. It was imperative that there should be no scene; mattersthen would be doubly painful.

  Westerham, therefore, instantly turned away and endeavoured to hidehimself amid the odd jumble of men who stood round the table watchingthe play.

  The chloroform still hung heavy in Westerham's brain, and at first hewas quite unable to get any connected trend of thought. But presentlyhis mental vision became clearer, and he was able to appreciate theextraordinary succession of events which had led up to this climax.

  Melun he had not seen since the night of the atrocious murder atWalter's Hotel--and therefore he had been unable to extract from himany information of that villainous and apparently purposeless deed.

  For what motive Melun might have in instigating such a crime, except itwere to frighten him from his championship of Lady Kathleen, Westerhamcould not say. Then had followed his extraordinary adventure in thehansom cab and Madame's enigmatic utterances when he recovered hissenses in the morning.

  And if the motive of the murder were obscure, the motive which inducedMelun and his accomplices to change his clothes while drugged wasdoubly hidden.

  What, moreover, could be the motive in bringing him to behold LadyKathleen in this gaming-house?

  This last problem troubled him more than the others, and he gavehimself up to considering it as he crouched down seeking to hidehimself in the midst of the motley crowd which swayed and jostled roundthe tables.

  Even as he debated this question with himself he took note of the menwho hemmed the table in. Every type of face presented itself--thefleshy cheeks of middle-aged Jews, of pale clerks and salesmen,prosperous-looking men who might have been commercial travellers, andhere and there a more refined-looking man in evening-dress.

  A few were still playing, but the majority were watching the play ofLady Kathleen, and it dawned on Westerham that she was waging a losingfight with the bank.

  Her face and figure were in extraordinary contrast to her surroundings.She was, besides, the only woman in the room.

  Draped in a long opera cloak from which her bare arms were thrust, shesat forward eagerly in her chair, her lips trembling, her eyes brightas stars.

  On either side of her sat a sturdy and rather roughly-dressed man, whotook no part in the play. Westerham imagined that they were employeesof Melun, stationed there for the purpose of ensuring Lady Kathleenagainst any molestation or insult.

  Such a protection was entirely unnecessary, for every man in the roomappeared to feel that he was in the presence of one who not onlyhad the right, but the power, to command respect. In spite of herincongruous surroundings, and in spite of her extraordinary occupationof the moment, the coarse faces by which she was surrounded surveyedher with a certain marked and almost sheepish deference.

  As the game went on and the croupier monotonously raked in the winningsof the bank, Westerham suddenly divined the motive which had inducedMelun to send him there to watch Lady Kathleen play.

  He did not know why she played, nor what the real stake might be,but one thing was obvious--that after he entered the room and shehad caught sight of his face her luck suddenly changed. She had beengreatly alarmed and distressed; so disconcerted, indeed, that for a fewminutes she apparently lost all track of the successful theory whichshe had been following. And Westerham knew well enough that if a goodplayer once becomes unnerved, his luck, for some strange reason, willchange with his mood, and no efforts, however bold or desperate, willavail him anything.

  It amazed Westerham beyond measure that Lady Kathleen could play such agame with so consummate a skill and so much evidence of experience. Hejudged that her father at some time or other had let her have a littlefling at Monte Carlo, and that profiting by such knowledge as she hadacquired there she had now been playing an inspired game for someincalculable stake.

  Westerham imagined, too, that it had probably been Melun's brutal fancyto drag the girl there on the promise that if she won against the bankhe would release her father from his torment; no other theory waspossible.

  And it made his heart grow cold with rage as he appreciated thefiendish cleverness with which Melun had engineered his entrance at acritical moment. Westerham had been made the innocent instrument ofutter disaster to Kathleen.

  So convinced did he become of this fact that he shouldered his waythrough the crowd, and leaning over Lady Kathleen's chair, whisperedinto her ear: "Don't be alarmed. I see you have been greatly upset.Please allow me to assist you."

  The man at her right hand scowled angrily, but Westerham turned to himwith an urbane smile. "As you do not seem to be playing," he said,"perhaps you will allow me to have your chair?"

  Nor had the man any option but to vacate his seat.

  Westerham's spirits rose as for the first time in his life he foundhimself seated by Kathleen's side, playing on her behalf, to win adesperate game.

  But the girl's inspiration was gone, and even his skill at this formof gambling availed him nothing. Time after time they lost untilpractically nothing remained of the great pile of money which had beenstacked on the table before Lady Kathleen when he had entered the room.

  The girl watched the money dwindle with terrified eyes, her facegrowing paler and paler until it was ashy white.

  Westerham sought to console her. "Don't despair," he whispered. "Ithink I have enough with me to see us through."

  When he had at first sat down to assist her she had stared at him withconsiderable astonishment. Now she appeared utterly confused.

  "I don't understand," she said in a low voice. "You have certainly doneyour best to help me, but I cannot see why you wish me to win."

  Westerham turned and looked her full in the eyes. "How long will itbe?" he asked in a low voice, "before you come to trust me?"

  He put his hand into his breast-pocket to take out the notes which hehad assured himself had not been removed while he lay insensible atMme. Estelle's.

  The notes were gone.

  It was impossible for him to help uttering an exclamation which drewKathleen's attention to him.

  "I have been robbed," he said.

  With a little sob Lady Kathleen rose from the table and steadiedherself with her hands on the back of her chair.

  At the same moment the door by which Westerham had entered openedagain, and there came in two gentlemen in evening-dress. A third manfollowed close behind them, and a rush of angry blood crept up the backof Westerham's neck as he recognised Melun.

  The room was quite hushed. The men about the table had been awed by thevast sum of money which the mysterious lady had staked and lost.

  As she moved a step forward as though to go they drew aside to give herfree passage, so that now she found herself face to face with the menwho had just entered.

  Looking over Lady Kathleen's head, Westerham saw the two men glancequickly at each other, their faces a complete study in well-bredastonishment. They bowed to Lady Kathleen, but said nothing. It wasMelun who brushed by them and spoke first.

  "This is a most unfortunate meeting," he said to Lady Kathleen, "andas a friend of your father I would suggest that nothing should bediscussed here."

  "What do you mean?" stammered Kathleen.

  "Nothing, nothing!" said Melun, hastily, "except that this is
no fitplace for you to remain in. Allow me to show you the way out at once."

  Westerham thrust himself between Kathleen and the two men who hadentered with Melun, and spoke to him in a low, fierce voice that couldnot be heard by the girl, but was perfectly audible to the others.

  "I agree with you, you miserable hypocrite," he said, "she will leavethis place at once."

  Melun waved his hand at him blandly. "Quite so," he said, "quite so. Wewill have a little talk outside, but there is no reason why we shoulddistress these gentlemen."

  "On the contrary," returned Westerham, "there is every reason.Gentlemen," he said, stepping up to the strangers, "I can see thatyou are well acquainted with this lady, who unfortunately came herewithout my knowledge, but whom I now regard as under my protection. Thesituation is, of course, extraordinary, and requires some explanation.If you will be so good, I shall be glad of your company for a fewmoments."

  Without more ado he pushed the baize-covered door open and first bowedLady Kathleen out. Melun followed, nervous and ill at ease. He had notlooked for so much determination on the part of Westerham.

  The two men in evening-dress glanced at each other again, and thenpassed out before Westerham as he held the door open for them.

  When the little party was grouped in the dimly-lit passage Westerhamwent over to Kathleen and touched her lightly on the arm.

  "Lady Kathleen," he said, in a formal voice, "you will greatly obligeme by stepping to the other end of the passage. I have something to sayto these gentlemen."

  Making a little inclination with her head, Lady Kathleen walked slowlyaway from them, leaving Westerham to confront Melun. And Westerham byno means minced matters.

  "Of you," he said in a voice full of scorn, "I will demand anexplanation by-and-by. Your motive in dragging Lady Kathleen here issufficiently obvious to me, but is probably not understood by thesegentlemen, whom you have carefully brought to witness her humiliation."

  Melun would have protested but Westerham cut him short.

  Westerham took out his card-case and offered a card to one of the menin evening-dress.

  "My name," he said, with a rather bitter little smile, "will probablyconvey nothing to you. If, however, you wish to know on what authorityI speak, kindly communicate with Lord Dunton, whom you doubtless know.He will assure you that I am entirely to be trusted, and that thefavour I am about to ask of you is fully justified.

  "For purposes of his own, this individual"--he indicated Melun--"hasbrought Lady Kathleen here for apparently no other reason in theworld than that her good name may be connected with a most unpleasantscandal. Believe me or not as you please, I can only assure you thatLady Kathleen was brought here against her will. Unpleasant thoughthese surroundings may be, they are unfortunately connected--intimatelyconnected--with Lord Penshurst's affairs. I ask you on his behalf, andon that of his daughter, to give me your word that what you have seenshall go no further."

  The elder man looked at Westerham shrewdly and made a little bow. Heliked the honesty of his face and the complete contempt with which hetreated Melun.

  "I give you my word of honour," he said, "and I make myself chargeablefor my friend as well, that until we hear from you further on thismatter we will make no mention of it at all."

  Having said this, he made a little bow and drew away, as though to endan awkward situation. The younger man bowed and did the same.

  Westerham thereupon walked to the end of the passage, where LadyKathleen waited for him, Melun following hard upon his footsteps.

  "Pardon me," said Westerham, facing about once more, "but yourassistance is not required. You will be kind enough to call on me atWalter's to-morrow morning, when I shall ask you for an explanation ofmany things. Till then I have no further need of you."

  Lady Kathleen listened to this curt speech of Westerham's in anindifferent way, as though all her senses were partially numbed.Still she gave him a quick little look that was not only a glance ofgratitude, but a look of inquiry. Plainly she herself was puzzled bythe attitude Westerham adopted towards the captain.

  However, she said nothing at all, nor did she attempt to break thesilence till the cab in which Westerham drove her back to DowningStreet was drawing close to Whitehall.

  Then, as she appeared to speak with a great effort, turning her facetowards Westerham and peering at him as though endeavouring to read histhoughts, she thanked him for his intervention.

  "Mr. Robinson," she said, "I am profoundly grateful for all that youhave done, though I confess I cannot understand it at all. If you speakto Melun in that way you must be his master, and if you are his masterit may in reality have been you who dragged me to that place to-nightto pit my poor little skill against Melun's bank for the sake of myfather's honour."

  "Heaven forbid that I should do such a thing," cried Westerham,fervently, "and Heaven forbid that you should believe me capable of anysuch villainy! I suspected that you had been drawn there on some suchpretext, but I assure you that I knew nothing of it. It is impossiblefor me to explain now what has happened since I saw you last. I canonly tell you that I have been almost as badly treated as yourself."

  As he spoke Lady Kathleen drew away from him with a slight shudder, asthough some recollection had suddenly come back to her.

  "The murder," she asked, "what of that? I am told that it happened inyour room?"

  "I am innocent of it in every way," said Westerham, earnestly. "Indeed,I have not yet discovered the motive of such a dastardly act. I can,however, make a guess, and the guess fills me with apprehension just asmuch for my safety as for yours.

  "Why will you not relent," he cried, "and make a confidant of me?Believe me that it is within my power to help you, and that I willgladly serve you in any way that you choose to dictate."

  Kathleen gave a little sob. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "don't distress me anyfurther. It is not my secret but my father's--besides, I am not surethat you do not know."

  Westerham thrust up the trap and ordered the cabman to stop.

  When he had stepped out he turned back and leant towards Kathleen."You do me a great wrong," he said. "But believe me, you cannotpossibly fight for ever against my determination to serve you. I amtold that the crisis is approaching."

  He had no notion what the words meant, but he desired to watch theireffect, and again he saw Lady Kathleen's face blanch.

  She stretched out both her hands as though to ward off a blow.

  "How near is it?" she asked in a faint voice.

  "Heaven knows," answered Westerham, "and it is quite impossible for meto help you unless you will tell me everything. When you need me, sendfor me at Walter's Hotel."

  Again Kathleen shuddered, and the cab drove on, leaving Westerhamstanding alone on the pavement lost in sorrowful thought.

  At Walter's he was received most ungraciously. He had not been backthere since the night of the murder, and his absence had caused greatdistrust. Though Inspector Rookley had informed the manager thatno suspicion attached to his guest, Mr. Robinson, his words hardlycoincided with the presence of the younger detective, who, having takena room there, never left the premises.

  Immediately on Westerham's return he communicated with his chief, andin half an hour Rookley came round from Scotland Yard.

  He sent his name up to Westerham and Westerham judged it as well tosee the man at once. The inspector came up to the little sitting-roomlooking grave and anxious. He also seemed a trifle nervous at broachingthe subject of Westerham's absence.

  "Really, you know, Mr. Robinson," he said, "you are hardly going theway to give us any confidence in you. Of course, I know that you havegreat influence at your back, but what the Prime Minister may care todo does not altogether affect us. It is quite possible that some ofthose who occupy high places may be mistaken, and it is as much forLord Penshurst's protection as for our own that we are compelled tokeep you 'under observation.'

  "You have escaped once, but you may not escape so easily a second time,and I must warn you that thes
e disappearances of yours have to benotified to the Commissioner himself. He is very much alarmed at thewhole course of events, and is determined to take action in spite ofLord Penshurst's protestations."

  "That seems to me," said Westerham, "an unwise thing to do."

  The detective grew a trifle alarmed. What he had said was onlypartially true, and he felt that he had gone too far.

  "Don't misunderstand me," he said. "Of course, within reason, we arebound to respect Lord Penshurst's wishes, but Scotland Yard is not apolitical association; it is a police force, and if we find crime beingintroduced into politics it is certainly our business to inquire intothe matter."

  "Do I understand you to suggest that Lord Penshurst would dabble incrime?" asked Westerham.

  The detective threw up his hands in horror.

  "Certainly not!" he said vehemently. "Certainly not! It is you westill suspect, not Lord Penshurst. Good gracious! Certainly not!"

  "You suspect me, I presume, to such an extent," replied Westerham,"that if I left this hotel I am pretty sure to be followed. Well,follow me," he added with a laugh, "and catch me if you can."

  And taking up his hat he walked out.

  He was perfectly right in his suspicions, and as he moved down theStrand and looked into the shop windows he was conscious that a bulkyman dogged his footsteps. The pursuit, however, rather sharpenedWesterham's wits than otherwise, and raised his spirits rather thandepressed them. It served to take his thoughts from the grim businesswhich was beginning to weigh him down.

  Westerham's notions of evading capture were somewhat immature, as itwas a new experience for him to find the police constantly upon histrack. Very little ingenuity, however, sufficed to rid him, at leastfor a time, of his pursuers.

  He strolled along Piccadilly and up the Burlington Arcade.

  He entered Truefit's, where he made a small and totally unnecessarypurchase.

  By this move he knew that he placed the detective who followed him inan awkward position.

  He was conscious that the man's face was pressed against the glass inan endeavour to keep him in sight. He did not enter the shop from thevery obvious fear of becoming too obtrusive.

  Westerham sauntered down the shop, and then, before the detective hadany chance of making even an attempt at pursuit, he slipped out intoBond Street and clambered on to a passing omnibus.

  As the heavy vehicle lumbered past the clubs in Piccadilly, Westerhamtook a long breath of relief, and startled the other passengersby laughing aloud. He went on to Victoria, where he made severalpurchases, including a second-hand kit-bag.

  Armed with this, he walked boldly into the Buckingham Palace Hotel andthere booked a room.

  Immediately after this he wrote a note to Lord Dunton, asking him tocall at once, for he was anxious that he should be warned in time ofthe visit the two men he had met at the gaming-house the night beforewould surely pay him.

  Little by little Westerham had begun to confide in Dunton. For in spiteof that youthful nobleman's apparent flightiness he was, as a matter offact, discretion itself and a very tomb for secrets.

  To his dismay, however, the messenger-boy whom he had dispatched withthe note returned with word that Lord Dunton had a couple of daysbefore run over to Paris, and that he was not expected back till thefollowing afternoon.

  This landed Westerham in a particularly awkward predicament. It wasimperative that he should see Melun as soon as possible, if only forthe purpose of threatening to give him into charge for murder. It wasonly, too, from Melun that he was likely to hear any news of LadyKathleen until Dunton returned to help him out of his difficulty.

  On the other hand, should he send for Melun, Melun was shrewd enoughto warn the police at once of Westerham's whereabouts. And this, ashis complete freedom of movement might become absolutely necessary,Westerham could not afford to risk.

  Twenty-four hours, then, he remained in the hotel, chafing againstthe delay, and pacing the floor of his room hour by hour in a vainendeavour to unravel the tangled skein of mystery in which he wasenmeshed.

  On the following day, as Dunton had not arrived by four o'clock,Westerham sent round to his rooms again, only to receive theheart-breaking news that Dunton was still absent. He despatched afurther and yet more urgent message to Dunton's rooms, and sat down towait again.

  It was half-past seven when Dunton leisurely descended from a hansomand strolled up the steps of the hotel.

  Westerham almost rushed forward to meet him, and grasping him by thearm dragged him into the smoking-room.

  There he made as complete a statement as he dared of all thathad happened in the past two days; and Lord Dunton opened hisinnocent-looking blue eyes very wide indeed.

  "By Jove," he said from time to time.

  "I should not tell you all this," Westerham concluded, "unless I wereabsolutely certain that I could trust you.

  "I have no idea who the men were that I saw at the Faro Club, but Idon't suppose that it will be long before they call."

  "I fancy that they have called already," said Dunton. "When I got backthis afternoon I found that cards had been left by Lord Cuckfield and achap by the name of Mendip. My man said that they came together, so Ipresume they are the Johnnies you mean. And I won't let the grass growunder my feet. I'll look them up to-night and tell them that they havegot to keep their mouths shut and to take you on trust.

  "By the way," added Dunton, "this business seems to grow 'curiouserand curiouser' as Alice would say. I should have been back before butsome unaccountable inclination made me break my journey at Rouen. I wasthere this afternoon, and who should I see but the heroine of all thismystery."

  "What!" shouted Westerham, utterly shaken out of himself, "not LadyKathleen?"

  "Lady Kathleen herself," answered Dunton.

  "Good God!" cried Westerham. "The crisis must be at hand indeed. Shehas been lured over there to her death."

  Dunton dropped his eyeglass and stared at his friend in amazement.Westerham was almost beside himself with anxiety and rage.

  "Don't sit staring there like a gibbering idiot," he almost yelled,"but give me some money. Quick! They have taken my notes, and I havepractically spent all my loose cash on the things I need here."

  Dunton began to fumble in his pockets. "You cannot expect a fellowto have much about him when he has just come back from Paris," hegrumbled. "Still, I think I can dig up twenty pounds or so."

  Westerham stood over him. "Come along! Come along!" he urged. "Everypenny you have got."

  With a queer smile Dunton emptied his pockets and poured the contentsinto Westerham's palms.

  "All right! All right!" he said. "Don't be in such a hurry. It's mostdisturbing."

  "You fool!" cried Westerham again. "Don't you understand that I haveonly ten minutes in which to catch the boat-train?"

  And without another word he bolted out of the room.