The man spread out his hands.
“Who can tell?” he said. “He dined here to-night in a private room.”
A private room! Well, that was something, at any rate!
“You do not know his name or where he comes from?” I asked.
The man shook his head, glancing nervously towards the interior of the restaurant.
“The other gentleman?” I asked.
“I do not know his name, sir,” the man declared with emphasis. “He has been here once or twice, but always alone.”
I put the half-sovereign in my pocket and drew out a sovereign. The man stretched out an eager hand which he suddenly dropped. He pointed down the street. The swing door of the restaurant remained closed, but over the soiled white curtain I also could see the face of the proprietor peering out.
“It is the second turn to the left,” the man said to me.
“And if you want that sovereign made into five,” I said carelessly, “my name is Captain Rotherby, and I am going from here to Claridge’s Hotel.”
I walked down the street and left him looking after me. At the corner I glanced around. The proprietor and the commissionnaire were talking together on the pavement.
XXV. PRIVATE AND DIPLOMATIC
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The following evening I dined alone with my brother, who was, for him, in an unusually cheerful frame of mind. He talked with more interest of life and his share in it than he had done—to me, at any rate—since the tragedy which had deprived him of a home. Toward the end of dinner I asked him a question.
“Ralph,” I said, “how could I meet the Chinese ambassador here?”
He stared at me for a moment.
“Why, at any of the diplomatic receptions, I suppose,” he said, seeing that I was in earnest. “He is rather a pal of Freddy’s. Why don’t you ring up and ask him?”
“I will, the moment after dinner,” I answered.
“Why this sudden interest in Orientalism?” Ralph asked curiously.
“Curiously enough, it is apropos of these Deloras,” I answered. “I called to-day, but only found the girl in. The man I saw later with a Chinaman whom I believe to be the ambassador.”
“What is the girl like?” my brother asked.
“Charming!” I answered. “I am writing Aunt Mary to invite her down to Feltham. The difficulty seems to be to get hold of Delora.”
“So you’ve written Aunt Mary, eh?” Ralph remarked, looking up at me. “Austen, I believe you’re gone on the girl!”
“I believe I am,” I admitted equably. “So would you be if you saw her.”
Ralph half closed his eyes for a moment. It was a clumsy speech of mine!
“Seriously, Austen,” he continued, a few moments later, “have you ever thought of marrying?”
“Equally seriously, Ralph,” I answered, “not until I met Felicia Delora.”
“Felicia Delora!” my brother repeated. “It’s a pretty name, at any rate. I suppose I must go and see her myself.”
“Wait for a day or two, Ralph,” I begged. “She is a little upset just now. Her uncle seems to be neglecting her for some precious scheme of his.”
“I wonder if, by any chance, you are in earnest, Austen?” my brother asked.
“I should not be surprised,” I admitted.
“It’s an interesting subject, you know,” Ralph continued gravely. “Considering my accident, and other things which we need not allude to, I think we may take it for granted that there’s no chance of my ever having an heir. It’s our duty to look ahead a little, you know, Austen. There isn’t any manner of doubt that some time between now and the next ten years you will have to take up my place. I only hope you won’t make such a hash of it.”
“Don’t talk rubbish, Ralph!” I answered.
“It isn’t rubbish,” he said firmly. “You go and talk to my doctor if you don’t believe me. However, I hadn’t meant to say anything about this to-night. Your mentioning the girl put it into my head. I want you, of course, to know that I am not forgetful of my responsibilities. Your two thousand a year may do you very well as a bachelor, but you are heir apparent to the title now, and if you should think of marrying, the Fakenham estates are yours, and the house. They bring in between six and seven thousand a year, I think,—never less.”
“It’s very good of you, Ralph,—” I began.
“It’s nothing of the sort,” he answered. “It’s your rightful position. The Fakenham estates have been held by the heir apparent for generations. Tell me a little about this Miss Delora.”
“I’ll bring her to see you presently, Ralph,” I answered.
“You are in earnest, then?” he remarked, with a smile.
“I believe so,” I answered.
He looked at me once more, searchingly.
“There is something on your mind, Austen,” he said,—“something bothering you. I believe it is about these Deloras, too. Is there something about them which you can’t understand, eh?”
“There is, Ralph,” I admitted. “You saw what Dicky said. They are people of consequence in their own country, at any rate, yet over here the man seems to behave like a hunted criminal.”
“Dicky also said,” Ralph remarked, “that the man was intrusted with some business over here for his government. Nasty underhand lot, those republics of the Southern Hemisphere. I dare say he is driven to be a bit mysterious to carry the thing through.”
“I shall know more about it soon, I hope,” I answered. “I’ll go and ring Freddy up, if you don’t mind, now.”
Ralph nodded.
“I’m off to my room, at any rate, old chap,” he said. “Groves is going abroad for a month’s holiday, and he has brought some papers for me to look through. See you some time to-morrow.”
I made my way into the little sitting-room which belonged to the suite of rooms my brother had placed at my disposal. There I rang up Lord Frederic Maynard, my first cousin, and a junior member of the government. The butler told me that Lord Frederic was dining, but would doubtless speak to me for a moment. In a minute or two I heard his familiar voice.
“Freddy,” I said, “I want to meet the Chinese ambassador.”
“Eleven till one to-night here,” he answered. “What the devil do you want with him?”
“Do you mean that he is coming to your house to-night?” I asked.
“Exactly,” Freddy answered. “We’ve a political reception, semi-diplomatic. I saw our old friend only yesterday, and he reminded me that he was coming.”
“You’re a brick, Freddy!” I answered. “I’ll be round.”
“You have not answered my question,” he reminded me.
“I’ll tell you later,” I answered, and rang off.
I was at Maynard House very soon after eleven, and, after chatting for a little while with my hostess, I hung around near the entrance, watching the arrivals. About midnight His Excellency the Chinese ambassador was announced, and I felt a little thrill of exultation. I was right! The tall, powerful-looking man whom I saw bowing over my cousin’s hand was indeed the person whom I had seen with Delora a few hours ago. I ran Freddy to ground, and presently I found myself also bowing before His Excellency. He regarded me through his horn-rimmed spectacles with a benign and pleasant expression. I had been in the East, and I talked for a few moments upon the subjects which I thought would interest him.
“Your Excellency, I dare say, is well acquainted with London,” I remarked, apropos of something he said.
“I know your great city only indifferently,” he answered. “I am always anxious to take the opportunity of seeing more of it.”
“Last evening, for instance,” I remarked, “Your Excellency was, I think, exploring a very interesting neighborhood.”
“Last evening,” he repeated. “Let me think. No, not last evening, Captain Rotherby! I was giving a little dinner at my own house.”
I looked at him for a moment in silence. There was nothing to be learned from his ex
pression.
“I thought,” I said, “that I saw your Excellency in a street near Shaftesbury Avenue, leaving a small foreign restaurant,—the Café Universel. Your Excellency was with a man named Delora.”
Very slowly the ambassador shook his head.
“Not me!” he said. “Not me! I did dine with the younger members of the Legation in Langham Place. What name did you say?”
“A man named Delora,” I repeated.
Once more the ambassador shook his head, slowly and thoughtfully.
“Delora!” he repeated. “The name is unknown to me. There are many others of my race in London now,” he continued. “The costume, perhaps, makes one seem like another to those who look and pass by.”
I bowed very low. It was the most magnificently told lie to which I had ever listened in my life! His Excellency smiled at me graciously as I made my adieux, and passed on. Despite my disappointment, I felt that I was now becoming profoundly interested in my quest. The evidence, too, was all in favor of Delora. It seemed, indeed, as though this undertaking in which he was involved might, after all, be connected with other things than crime!
XXVI. NEARLY
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It was past one o’clock in the morning when I returned to the hotel, yet the porter who admitted me pointed toward the figure of a man who stood waiting in the dimly lit hall.
“There is a person here who has been waiting to see you for some hours, sir,” he said. “His name is Fritz.”
“To see me?” I repeated.
The man came a step forward and saluted. I recognized him at once. It was the commissionnaire at the Café Universel.
“It is quite right,” I told the porter. “You had better come up to my rooms,” I added, turning to Fritz.
I led the way to the lift and on to my sitting-room. There I turned up the electric lights and threw myself into an easy-chair.
“Well, Fritz,” said I, “I hope that you have brought me some news.”
“I have lost my job, sir,” the man answered, a little sullenly.
“How much was it worth to you?” I asked.
“It was worth nearly two pounds a week with tips,” he declared, speaking with a strong foreign accent.
“Then I take you into my service at two pounds ten a week from to-night,” I said. “The engagement will not be a long one, but you may find it lucrative.”
The man fingered his hat and looked at me stolidly.
“I am not a valet, sir,” he replied.
“If you were I should not employ you,” I answered. “You can make yourself very useful to me in another direction, if you care to.”
“I am very willing, sir,” the man declared,—“very willing indeed. I have a wife and children, and I cannot afford to be out of employment.”
“Come, then,” I said. “The long and short of it is this. I want to discover the whereabouts of the man who was with the Chinaman at your restaurant last evening.”
The man looked at me with something like surprise in his face.
“You do not know that?” he said.
“I do not,” I admitted. “Your business will be to find out.”
“And what do I get,” the man asked, “if I do discover the staying place of that gentleman?”
“A ten-pound note,” I answered, “down on the nail.”
A slow smile suffused Fritz’s face.
“I will tell you now,” he said. “You have the ten pounds, so?”
“I have it ready,” I answered, rising to my feet. “Come on, Fritz, you are a brave fellow, and I promise you it shall not end at ten pounds.”
“You are serious?” Fritz persisted. “This is not a joke?”
“Not in the least,” I assured him. “Why should you think so?”
The smile on the man’s face broadened.
“Because,” he said, “that gentleman—he is staying here, in this very hotel.”
For a moment I was silent. The thing seemed impossible!
“How on earth do you know that, Fritz?” I asked.
“I will tell you,” Fritz answered. “There was a night, not long ago, when he did come to the restaurant with the Chinese gentleman. They talked for a long time, and then I was sent for into the private room where they were taking dinner. The gentleman he wrote a note and he gave it to me. He said, ‘You will take a hansom cab and you will drive to Claridge’s Hotel. You will give this to the cashier, and he will hand you a small parcel which you will bring here.’ I told him that I could not leave my post, but he had already seen the proprietor. So I came to this very hotel with that note, and I did take back to the restaurant a small parcel wrapped in brown paper.”
“Fritz,” I said, “sit down in that easy-chair and help yourself to whiskey and soda. I am sorry that I have not beer, but you must do the best you can with our own national drink. Take a cigar, too. Make yourself quite comfortable. I am going downstairs to the reception office. If I find that what you have told me is true, there will be two five-pound notes in my hand for you when I come back.”
“So!” Fritz declared, accepting my hospitality with calm satisfaction.
I descended into the hall of the hotel and made my way to the reception office. The one clerk on duty was reading a novel, which he promptly laid aside at my approach. It occurred to me that my task, perhaps, might not prove so easy, as Delora would scarcely be staying here under his own name.
“I wanted to ask you,” I said, “if you have a gentleman here named Delora.”
The man shook his head.
“There is no one of that name in the hotel, sir,” he answered.
“I scarcely expected that there would be,” I remarked. “The fact is, the gentleman whom I want to find, and whom I know is or was staying here, is using another name which I have not heard. You know who I am?”
“Certainly, Captain Rotherby!” the man replied. “You are Lord Welmington’s brother.”
“You will understand, then,” I said, “that if I ask questions which seem to you impertinent, I do so because the matter is important, and not from any idle curiosity.”
“Quite so, sir,” the man answered. “I shall be pleased to tell you anything I can.”
“This gentleman of whom I am in search, then,” I answered, “he would have arrived probably last Wednesday evening from the Continent. I do not know what name he would give, but it would probably not be the name of Delora. He is rather tall, pale, thin, and of distinctly foreign appearance. He has black eyes, black imperial, and looks like a South American, which, by the bye, I think he is. Does that description help you to recognize him?”
“I think so, sir,” the man answered. “Do you happen to know whether, by any chance, he would be a friend of the Chinese ambassador?”
“I should think it very likely,” I answered. “He is staying here, then?”
“He was staying here until a few hours ago, sir,” the man answered. “He came in about ten o’clock and went at once to his rooms, sent for his bill, and left the hotel in a great hurry. I remember the circumstance particularly, because he had said nothing about his going, and from the manner of his return and his hasty departure it is quite clear that he had not expected to leave so soon himself.”
I was a little staggered. It seemed hard luck to have so nearly succeeded in my search, only to have failed at the last moment. It was maddening, too, to think that for all these hours I had been in the same hotel as the man whom I so greatly desired to find!
“Tell me, did he leave any address?” I asked.
“None whatever, sir,” the man answered. “Our junior clerk here asked him where he would wish letters to be forwarded, and he replied that there would not be any. I think he said that he was leaving for abroad almost at once, but would call before he sailed in case there were any letters or messages for him.”
“Tell me under what name he stayed here?” I asked.
“Mr. Vanderpoel,” the man told me.
“He was qu
ite alone, I suppose?” I asked.
“Absolutely,” the man answered. “He had a few callers at different times, but he spent most of his time in his rooms. If you are particularly anxious to discover his whereabouts,” the clerk continued, “the night porter who would have started him off is still on duty.”
“I should like very much to speak to him,” I said.
The clerk touched a bell, and the porter came in from outside.
“You remember Mr. Vanderpoel leaving this evening?” the clerk asked.
“Certainly, sir,” the man answered. “He went at about eleven o’clock.”
“Did he go in a cab?” the clerk asked.
“In a four-wheeler, sir,” the porter answered.
“Do you remember what address he gave?”
The porter looked dubious for a moment.
“I don’t absolutely remember, sir,” he said, “but I know that it was one of the big railway stations.”
The clerk turned to me.
“Is there anything else you would like to ask?” he inquired.
I shook my head.
“No, thanks!” I answered. “I am afraid there is nothing more to be learned.”
The porter went back to his duties, and I bade the clerk good night. Up in my room Fritz was waiting anxiously.
“You were right and wrong,” I announced. “Mr. Delora has been staying here and left to-night.”
“He has gone!” Fritz exclaimed.
“He left at eleven o’clock,” I answered. “He saw me, and I suppose he knew that I was looking for him. Here’s half your money, anyhow,” I continued, giving him a five-pound note. “The next thing to do is to find out where he has gone to. I think you could help here, Fritz.”
“What must I do?” the man asked.
“First of all,” I said, “go to the big railway hotels and try and find out from one of the porters—you Germans all stick together—whether any one arrived in a four-wheel cab at between eleven and twelve this evening, whose description coincides with that of Mr. Delora. I reckon that will take you most of to-morrow. When you have finished come to me at the Milan Court, and let me know how you have got on.”
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