at the cost of ordering another I obtained all thedetails I wanted. It was news to them, the shopman informed me, thatin some parts of India green was the danger colour and therefore taillamps had to show a green light. The incident made some impression onhim and he would be able to identify their customer--who paid inadvance and gave no address--among a thousand of his countrymen. Do Isucceed in interesting you, Mr. Drishna?"
"Do you?" replied Drishna, with a languid yawn. "Do I lookinterested?"
"You must make allowance for my unfortunate blindness," apologizedCarrados, with grim irony.
"Blindness!" exclaimed Drishna, dropping his affectation of unconcernas though electrified by the word, "do you mean--really blind--thatyou do not see me?"
"Alas, no," admitted Carrados.
The Indian withdrew his right hand from his coat pocket and with atragic gesture flung a heavy revolver down on the table between them.
"I have had you covered all the time, Mr. Carrados, and if I hadwished to go and you or your friend had raised a hand to stop me, itwould have been at the peril of your lives," he said, in a voice ofmelancholy triumph. "But what is the use of defying fate, and whosuccessfully evades his destiny? A month ago I went to see one of ourpeople who reads the future and sought to know the course of certainevents. 'You need fear no human eye,' was the message given to me.Then she added: 'But when the sightless sees the unseen, make yourpeace with Yama.' And I thought she spoke of the Great Hereafter!"
"This amounts to an admission of your guilt," exclaimed Mr. Carlylepractically.
"I bow to the decree of fate," replied Drishna. "And it is fitting tothe universal irony of existence that a blind man should be theinstrument. I don't imagine, Mr. Carlyle," he added maliciously, "thatyou, with your eyes, would ever have brought that result about."
"You are a very cold-blooded young scoundrel, sir!" retorted Mr.Carlyle. "Good heavens! do you realize that you are responsible forthe death of scores of innocent men and women?"
"Do _you_ realize, Mr. Carlyle, that you and your Government and yoursoldiers are responsible for the death of thousands of innocent menand women in my country every day? If England was occupied by theGermans who quartered an army and an administration with their wivesand their families and all their expensive paraphernalia on theunfortunate country until the whole nation was reduced to the verge offamine, and the appointment of every new official meant the callousdeath sentence on a thousand men and women to pay his salary, then ifyou went to Berlin and wrecked a train you would be hailed a patriot.What Boadicea did and--and Samson, so have I. If they were heroes, soam I."
"Well, upon my word!" cried the highly scandalized Carlyle, "whatnext! Boadicea was a--er--semi-legendary person, whom we may possiblyadmire at a distance. Personally, I do not profess to express anopinion. But Samson, I would remind you, is a Biblical character.Samson was mocked as an enemy. You, I do not doubt, have beenentertained as a friend."
"And haven't I been mocked and despised and sneered at every day of mylife here by your supercilious, superior, empty-headed men?" flashedback Drishna, his eyes leaping into malignity and his voice tremblingwith sudden passion. "Oh! how I hated them as I passed them in thestreet and recognized by a thousand petty insults their lordly Englishcontempt for me as an inferior being--a nigger. How I longed withCaligula that a nation had a single neck that I might destroy it atone blow. I loathe you in your complacent hypocrisy, Mr. Carlyle,despise and utterly abominate you from an eminence of superiority thatyou can never even understand."
"I think we are getting rather away from the point, Mr. Drishna,"interposed Carrados, with the impartiality of a judge. "Unless I ammisinformed, you are not so ungallant as to include everyone you havemet here in your execration?"
"Ah, no," admitted Drishna, descending into a quite ingenuousfrankness. "Much as I hate your men I love your women. How is itpossible that a nation should be so divided--its men so dull-wittedand offensive, its women so quick, sympathetic and capable ofappreciating?"
"But a little expensive, too, at times?" suggested Carrados.
Drishna sighed heavily.
"Yes; it is incredible. It is the generosity of their large nature. Myallowance, though what most of you would call noble, has proved quiteinadequate. I was compelled to borrow money and the interest becameoverwhelming. Bankruptcy was impracticable because I should have thenbeen recalled by my people, and much as I detest England a certainreason made the thought of leaving it unbearable."
"Connected with the Arcady Theatre?"
"You know? Well, do not let us introduce the lady's name. In order torestore myself I speculated on the Stock Exchange. My credit was goodthrough my father's position and the standing of the firm to which Iam attached. I heard on reliable authority, and very early, that theCentral and Suburban, and the Deferred especially, was safe to fallheavily, through a motor bus amalgamation that was then a secret. Iopened a bear account and sold largely. The shares fell, but onlyfractionally, and I waited. Then, unfortunately, they began to go up.Adverse forces were at work and rumours were put about. I could notstand the settlement, and in order to carry over an account I wasliterally compelled to deal temporarily with some securities that werenot technically my own property."
"Embezzlement, sir," commented Mr. Carlyle icily. "But what isembezzlement on the top of wholesale murder!"
"That is what it is called. In my case, however, it was only to betemporary. Unfortunately, the rise continued. Then, at the height ofmy despair, I chanced to be returning to Swanstead rather earlier thanusual one evening, and the train was stopped at a certain signal tolet another pass. There was conversation in the carriage and I learnedcertain details. One said that there would be an accident some day,and so forth. In a flash--as by an inspiration--I saw how thecircumstance might be turned to account. A bad accident and the shareswould certainly fall and my position would be retrieved. I think Mr.Carrados has somehow learned the rest."
"Max," said Mr. Carlyle, with emotion, "is there any reason why youshould not send your man for a police officer and have this monsterarrested on his own confession without further delay?"
"Pray do so, Mr. Carrados," acquiesced Drishna. "I shall certainly behanged, but the speech I shall prepare will ring from one end of Indiato the other; my memory will be venerated as that of a martyr; and theemancipation of my motherland will be hastened by my sacrifice."
"In other words," commented Carrados, "there will be disturbances athalf-a-dozen disaffected places, a few unfortunate police will beclubbed to death, and possibly worse things may happen. That does notsuit us, Mr. Drishna."
"And how do you propose to prevent it?" asked Drishna, with coolassurance.
"It is very unpleasant being hanged on a dark winter morning; verycold, very friendless, very inhuman. The long trial, the solitude andthe confinement, the thoughts of the long sleepless night before, thehangman and the pinioning and the noosing of the rope, are apt to preyon the imagination. Only a very stupid man can take hanging easily."
"What do you want me to do instead, Mr. Carrados?" asked Drishnashrewdly.
Carrados's hand closed on the weapon that still lay on the tablebetween them. Without a word he pushed it across.
"I see," commented Drishna, with a short laugh and a gleaming eye."Shoot myself and hush it up to suit your purpose. Withhold my messageto save the exposures of a trial, and keep the flame from the torch ofinsurrectionary freedom."
"Also," interposed Carrados mildly, "to save your worthy people a gooddeal of shame, and to save the lady who is nameless the unpleasantnecessity of relinquishing the house and the income which you havejust settled on her. She certainly would not then venerate yourmemory."
"What is that?"
"The transaction which you carried through was based on a felony andcould not be upheld. The firm you dealt with will go to the courts,and the money, being directly traceable, will be held forfeit as nogood consideration passed."
"Max!" cried Mr. Carlyle hotly, "you are not going to let this
scoundrel cheat the gallows after all?"
"The best use you can make of the gallows is to cheat it, Louis,"replied Carrados. "Have you ever reflected what human beings willthink of us a hundred years hence?"
"Oh, of course I'm not really in favour of hanging," admitted Mr.Carlyle.
"Nobody really is. But we go on hanging. Mr. Drishna is a dangerousanimal who for the sake of pacific animals must cease to exist. Lethis barbarous exploit pass into oblivion with him. The disadvantagesof spreading it broadcast immeasurably outweigh the benefits."
"I have considered,"
Four Max Carrados Detective Stories Page 9
