Wallace Intervenes

by Alexander Wilson

  ‘That does not matter. I am as distressed about the trouble which has befallen the baroness as you are, though I have done nothing to bring it upon her. I cannot fail to see that you are sincerely sorry for the harm you have done. What would you do to try and repair it?’

  ‘Anything,’ she whispered at once. ‘Oh, anything!’

  ‘Do you mean that? Would you dare the anger of the Marshal himself?’

  ‘Yes. He could kill me if he wished. Rather that than harm should overtake Sophie.’

  ‘You call her Sophie, do you? Were you so familiar with her?’

  ‘No, no. I should not call her that. I was only a servant. But I have become used to thinking of her as Sophie, and I spoke without thinking.’

  ‘I see.’ He was a little abstracted in his manner. An idea had occurred to him, and he was busily engaged in considering it from every angle. It all depended upon whether he could trust Hanni. Was she so sincerely repentant and desirous of making amends that she really would do anything to save the baroness? He reached a decision. ‘You, of course, are quite unsuspected?’ he asked.

  ‘Unsuspected,’ she repeated bitterly. ‘I have been thanked and rewarded for what I have done. The money I have thrown into that pool. I would now be lying there as useless, if you had not dragged me out. Oh! Why did you do it? Why did you?’

  She showed signs of becoming hysterical again.

  ‘Calm yourself, Hanni!’ he commanded sternly. ‘I am going to give you a chance of saving her.’

  There was a long pause; then:

  ‘How?’ she demanded in a tense whisper.

  ‘You are still the maid of the baroness, are you not? You are allowed to see her?’

  ‘I took some clothes to her this evening. Why do you ask?’

  ‘Do you think you can go and see her tomorrow night after dark? You can take a dress or something she may be expected to require for the following day.’

  ‘Yes,’ she replied eagerly. ‘I think I can do that.’

  ‘Perhaps they will insist on taking it from you and giving it to her. What then? It is necessary for my plan that you actually go to her and see her alone.’

  ‘They will let me go. Of that I am certain. They have no reason to suspect me.’

  ‘Then listen! Wrap your face up well as though you have the toothache. When you are alone with the baroness change clothing with her, and send her out in your place, making sure that she wraps up her face well. I will be waiting outside the prison with a car for her. Will you do this? Think well I am asking you to run a great risk. It is possible you may be severely punished.’

  ‘They may quite likely sentence me to death. But I will not mind dying to undo the harm I have done. Yes, I will do it.’

  ‘Excellent,’ he approved, ‘but do not worry about being killed. I will see that you are rescued before they can do that – if they go so far. The main thing is to get the baroness out of their clutches as soon as possible.’

  ‘You talk with great confidence,’ she commented. ‘Who are you?’

  ‘A friend of the Baroness von Reudath,’ he replied, adding: ‘And of yours now, I hope.’

  ‘How do you know that I will not betray you, as I have betrayed her?’

  ‘I always know when I can trust men or women,’ he told her quietly. ‘I am ready to put absolute trust in you.’

  A sob reached his ears out of the darkness. He smiled quietly to himself. He was confident he could rely upon this strangely complex being. The sob, he felt, gave him his final assurance. They discussed the details of the project, and she marvelled at the manner in which this stranger thought of all the eventualities and instructed her how to meet them. More than ever she wondered who he was, but he did not satisfy her curiosity. It was arranged that she should visit the prison in the morning before the trial began, and announce, when she was coming out, to the governor, or whoever she saw in authority, that the baroness had asked her to bring some things at ten o’clock that night ready for the following day and to take away certain articles she would have discarded. That was reasonable enough. Sophie was permitted to wear her own clothing and would probably not be disrobing before that hour. Hanni was to tell her in the morning the scheme that had been planned in order that she would be prepared. At ten o’clock Hanni would return, her face wrapped up, and complaining bitterly of toothache. She would insist upon being alone with her mistress, given some intimate reason as an excuse if any objection were raised. That she did not anticipate, however. She had been left alone with her that evening. Directly she was locked in she and the baroness would change clothes, and she was to make certain that the latter wrapped up her face well, and tell her to walk with her hand to her cheek as though in great pain. The baroness would be met as soon as she left the prison, and escorted to the car waiting for her.

  ‘After that,’ remarked Sir Leonard, smiling in the darkness, ‘I shall have to concoct plans for rescuing you.’

  ‘Make sure that the baroness is safely away first,’ urged the woman. She then proceeded to give Sir Leonard a great shock. ‘What about Fraulein Reinwald?’ she asked. ‘Can you do nothing for her?’

  ‘Why? Where is she?’ he asked in quick alarm.

  ‘In the same prison as the baroness. She is to be tried with her for treason tomorrow.’

  ‘Good God!’ exclaimed Sir Leonard. ‘Poor girl! What has she done?’

  ‘Nothing. Of that I am certain. But she was a companion of the baroness and in her confidence. Also she is a Hebrew.’

  ‘And what of the other girl?’ asked the shocked and startled man. ‘I mean Fraulein Meredith. Is she also in prison?’

  ‘No; she is English. The Supreme Marshal dare not go too far with English people. She has been certified insane like the other young man friend of the baroness and is under guard in the house. Tomorrow she is to be sent to the mental home where he is at.’

  ‘My God!’ muttered Sir Leonard to himself. ‘What a fiend the fellow is. It seems to me I shall be very busy during the next two or three days,’ he added aloud. ‘However, we must concentrate on saving the baroness first. Now go in and take those wet things off. It is a warm night, but you might get a chill.’

  ‘I shall hate entering that house,’ she declared vehemently. ‘It is full of police, whom now I detest from my heart. They are searching everywhere for evidence to produce against my poor mistress.’

  ‘Never mind them. Remember that you are about to wash out everything you have done of a nature treacherous to the baroness. You are going to prove that your betrayal was a mistake, and that your love and loyalty soars above all.’

  He helped her to her feet. Impulsively she bent down and kissed his hand, then was gone. He waited for a little while, after which he took off his shoes and socks, turned up his trousers, and waded into the pool. He reached the naiad and, after some fumbling, felt the hole in the plinth. At once he inserted his hand, feeling eagerly within. A moment later he withdrew a long envelope folded in two. Placing it in a pocket, he waded back to the bank. There he quickly dried his feet with his handkerchief and replaced his shoes and socks. A few seconds later he had left the fountain and was creeping silently round the side of the house towards the wall. He heard voices a little way in front of him, and saw the glow of cigarette ends. Two men were there taking the air. There might be others about. He redoubled his precautions, moving away from the smokers, yet on the alert lest they were approaching other prowlers. He reached the wall safely, however, walked slowly along searching the darkness for a tree which would enable him to scale the obstruction. There appeared no trees inside that part of the wall at all, and, finding himself perilously near a gate, he turned and retraced his steps. Suddenly he caught his foot painfully against something lying on the ground. He bent down to find, to his surprise, a ladder there half-concealed in the grass. A strange place to leave such an article, he reflected, but the very thing he required. Peering cautiously round, he raised it, and placed it against the wall with great care. Then
, for some moments, he stood looking back meditatively at the house. He was half-inclined to attempt to rescue Rosemary Meredith while he was there, but on consideration decided that it would be the height of folly. He did not know the geography of the house; had not the slightest idea where she was incarcerated. As the place was full of police, according to Hanni, the chances of his finding her and getting her away without capture were exceedingly remote. He dare not take the risk of losing his own liberty when so much was at stake, and Rosemary was in no actual danger. With a sigh he turned away. The whole affair was becoming distinctly complicated. Apart from the central figure, whom it was vital to rescue as soon as possible, there were now three others, and Hanni would make a fourth. He climbed the ladder and, sitting on the top of the wall, pushed it over. It fell with a thud to the ground, but he was certain did not make enough noise to be heard, unless there was somebody in the vicinity. Waiting a few minutes to make certain, he let himself down the other side, and went in search of his taxi.

  The driver grumbled at being kept waiting so long, but grew mollified at the promise of a large gratuity. Sir Leonard directed him to drive to the Unter den Linden. There he dismissed the man, keeping his promise so generously that he was overwhelmed with thanks. He entered a telephone booth, and rang up Gottfried.

  ‘My friend,’ he remarked on hearing the latter’s voice, ‘I am bored with life. Is it too late for me to come up and spend an hour with you?’

  ‘Come by all means,’ was the hearty and indeed eager reply. ‘I have a little party on here. We shall be glad to have you with us.’

  Sir Leonard frowned a little.

  ‘Ah! Then I shall not intrude. I will see you tomorrow.’

  ‘No, no, no!’ cried Gottfried urgently. ‘Come now! They are friends of yours.’

  Wallace went without further hesitation. Gottfried possessed a luxurious flat above his shop. He himself opened the door to Sir Leonard, and led him into an elegant sitting room. Two people rose on their entry. One was Cousins, still disguised as an acquisitive-looking Teuton. The other was Rosemary Meredith. Wallace eyed her without any apparent surprise.

  ‘How did you get here?’ he asked.

  ‘I have been a prisoner,’ she replied. ‘I managed to escape.’

  ‘That explains the ladder,’ he commented.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The Revelations of the Baroness

  He threw himself into the easy chair Gottfried pushed forward and contemplated the girl with a smile. ‘Your escape,’ he remarked, ‘means that there is one less to rescue. How did you manage it? You were certified insane, I know, and were to have been sent to the same asylum as Foster.’

  ‘That is true,’ the girl replied. ‘After the doctors had been – they gave me a terrible time subjecting me to a kind of third degree enquiry that drove me to the verge of hysterics – I was locked in my room, which is on the top floor of the house. I suppose it did not occur to them that I would or could escape from there. But as soon as it was dark I got out of one of the windows, climbed on to the sun blind and, from there, on to the roof which, as perhaps you know, is flat. It was an easy matter then to descend to the ground by way of the fire escape. Some distance from the house is a group of sheds used by the gardeners. I took a ladder from one, and used it to climb to the top of the wall. I had to let myself down at arm’s length the other side and drop, but I managed it.’

  ‘Good for you,’ approved Sir Leonard. ‘I found that ladder or rather it found me. I was wondering how I was going to scale the wall, when I walked into it.’

  ‘So you were in the house, sir?’ put in Gottfried.

  ‘Not in the house – in the grounds. I went there for the document hidden by the baroness.’

  ‘Did you get it, sir?’ asked Cousins eagerly.

  ‘I did,’ nodded Sir Leonard, patting his pocket.

  ‘Incidentally I prevented the woman Hanni from committing suicide and have enlisted her in our service.’

  There was a surprised silence for a few moments.

  ‘But she is a police spy,’ objected Rosemary.

  ‘She was. Apparently, however, she all along had a deep love for the baroness. At all events she had thrown the money paid her for her work into the pool and followed it in herself, when I happened along and dragged her out. She certainly made a very determined attempt to kill herself. Under ordinary circumstances the water is not deep enough to drown anybody, but she lay in it with her head under. I had rather a job with her at first, but when she realised that I was a friend of the baroness and was offering her a chance to redeem herself she listened to me eagerly enough.’ He explained at length the scheme he had arranged with Hanni in the hope of rescuing Sophie. The others followed attentively. ‘Of course,’ he concluded, ‘the chances are that it may fail. We must have an alternative.’

  ‘Are you quite certain, sir,’ asked Gottfried, ‘that this woman will go through with it? The risks to her are enormous.’

  ‘Quite so, but I am sure she’ll do it. She is only too eager to make amends for her treachery, and she won’t bother to count the cost. A girl who will make such a determined attempt to end her own life through remorse, will not hesitate, whatever the risk, at attempting something which will save her mistress from the fate overhanging her, especially when she considers herself responsible. But it is not altogether a plan with which I am satisfied. There are too many ifs about it. As I say, we must have an alternative. For that purpose, Gottfried, you will have to pull a few more influential strings. I want to see the inside of that prison. I want to make a thorough study of it from top to bottom in order that I can plan something a little more cast-iron in case Hanni’s job goes awry. And I’d like Cousins to see the place as well. Do you think you can possibly arrange for us to visit it tomorrow morning?’

  Gottfried rubbed his chin, looking very dubious the while.

  ‘I know the governor pretty intimately,’ he admitted, ‘and at any other time, it would have been fairly easy. Tomorrow, though, with the trial taking place there, it is certain that the strictest precautions will be observed. I know the guard is to be doubled and only the judges, attorneys and witnesses connected with the case are to be admitted. Instructions have even been given that the ordinary tradesmen who call daily are to deliver their goods and receive their orders outside the main gates.’

  ‘H’m!’ grunted Wallace. ‘I seem to have set you a pretty problem. Still, see what you can do. I must get inside that prison, even,’ he added with a smile, ‘if I have to go as a lawyer’s clerk.’ He looked quickly up at Gottfried. ‘What witness can they have?’ he asked.

  The manager of Lalére et Cie shrugged his shoulders, while an expression of contempt spread over his rugged countenance.

  ‘They have many,’ he returned, ‘all sworn to give false evidence of course. Von Strom intends granting the baroness what will appear a fair trial in order that he can point to his righteousness and justice afterwards if necessary, but he is taking care to provide witnesses who will swear the poor girl to her death.’

  ‘Do you really think she will be sentenced to death?’ asked Rosemary, regarding him with horrified eyes.

  ‘Without the slightest doubt, and so will Dora Reinwald.’

  ‘But what has she done? I have watched, as you know, and I am sure she is innocent of anything at all. She knows nothing of the secrets the baroness possesses.’

  ‘Neither do you as far as the German authorities are aware,’ Sir Leonard reminded her. ‘Yet, you, like Foster, have been certified insane, and were to have been confined in a mental home where you probably were to be kept until you died or the Supreme Marshal was ready to strike in accordance with the scheme Germany has concocted. It is obvious that von Strom has resolved to wipe out all who may have any knowledge of their schemes. The baroness, of course, because she is acquainted with everything, and has made no secret of her intention to denounce him. You and Dora Reinwald because you were her companions and friends and may have been
told, Foster for the reason that he is her lover. The trial, you say, Gottfried, is expected to last three days?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘How soon after the verdict’s given, do you think the execution or executions will be ordered to take place?’

  ‘Almost immediately I should imagine, sir. The press has been muzzled, and an official notification of the trial will be handed to the editors of all the big papers for publication after the baroness is dead. That is His Excellency’s little way. It prevents a great deal of trouble as well as criticism. It is not much use criticising or protesting when the victims are dead. But even in Germany it is impossible to keep matters of such importance secret for long. I should be prepared to bet, therefore, that the executions will take place on the morning after the sentence has been pronounced.’

  Rosemary shuddered; her face was suddenly deadly pale. Cousins leant across and patted her hand.

  ‘Don’t you worry!’ he urged. ‘Sir Leonard won’t let those girls be executed, and I shall do my little bit to help. “They rais’d them from that hellish pit, Despite the monster’s dev’lish plan!”’

  ‘So long as the baroness gets away in place of Hanni tomorrow night,’ mused Wallace, ‘all should be well. In the confusion that will afterwards take place, I think we ought to be able to rescue Dora and Hanni as well, another reason why we must know the prison. It seems to me,’ he went on quietly, ‘that even if the authorities have framed so many witnesses to bear testimony against the baroness, they would very much appreciate an additional two whose evidence bore the hallmark of truth.’

  The three stared at him, unable to comprehend the drift of his remarks.

  ‘I suppose they would, sir,’ observed Gottfried in puzzled tones, ‘but—’

  ‘Listen!’ enjoined his chief. ‘Tonight Cousins and I shed our Prussian personalities. We become Bavarians who recently spent an enjoyable holiday in Vienna and Budapest, and have now come to Berlin to finish it off by – er – making whoopee in the capital of your own country before returning home. In Budapest we met the baroness and became very friendly with her and Foster and the things we could tell – well, we’ll whisper them into your ear, my good Gottfried, directly your shop opens and we enter to buy perfume to be sent to the baroness – that sounds like a horrible play upon words but is not intended to be. You, being the good German citizen report at once our remarks to the Minister of Propaganda, who is quite a good friend of yours. If I am not mistaken he will immediately compel us to give evidence for the prosecution. Our tales, you see, will not be to the baroness’s advantage. Thus we enter the prison.’