by Guy Boothby
CHAPTER XI
For some moments Godfrey stood looking at the man who had come down fromtown to arrest him, as if he were stunned. Though he had half expectedit, now that the blow had fallen he seemed scarcely able to appreciatehis position. At last, with an effort, he recovered his self-possession.
"You may be able to imagine what a very unhappy mistake this is for me,"he said to the detective. "But I have no wish to complain to you; youare only doing your duty. Where is it you desire to take me?"
"We must go up to town to-night," said the man, civilly enough. "As youmay remember, sir, the adjourned inquest is to be held to-morrowmorning, and it will be necessary for you to be present."
"In that case we had better catch the 6.10 train from Detwich. It is anexpress and gets to Euston at eight. Is your cab waiting, or shall Iorder one of my own carriages to take us?"
"I told the man to wait," the other replied. "He is a station cabman."
"In that case, if you will allow me, I will tell my servant to put up afew things for me. I suppose I shall be allowed to take them?"
"There is no objection to it."
Godfrey rang the bell, and, when the butler appeared in answer to it,bade him tell his man that he intended going up to London at once, andthat he wanted his bag prepared without a moment's delay. Then, with afine touch of sarcasm, he added: "Tell him also that I shall not requiremy dress clothes."
The detective smiled grimly. It was a joke he could appreciate; he alsoliked the other's pluck in being able to jest at such a time.
"That's the thing with these swells," he said to himself. "They neverknow when they're beaten."
"In the meantime," said Godfrey, "I suppose you will permit me to saygood-bye to my family? I will give you my word, if you deem itnecessary, that I will make no attempt to escape."
"I will trust you, sir," said the man. "I know it's hard lines on you,and I want to make it as pleasant for you as I can, provided, ofcourse, you don't get me into hot water."
"I will endeavour not to do that," said Godfrey. "And now I'll go to thedrawing-room. If you think it necessary you can wait in the hall."
"No, sir, thank you. I am quite comfortable here," said the man; "but Ishouldn't make the interview longer than I could help if I were you.These things are always a bit trying for the ladies. I know it, becauseI've seen it so often."
Having ordered a glass of brandy and water for him, the man's favouritetipple, and handing him an illustrated paper, Godfrey left him andreturned to the drawing-room. He had an agonizing part to play, and hewanted to spare his women folk as much pain as possible. As he enteredthe room they looked up at him with startled faces.
"What is it, Godfrey? What is it?" asked his mother, while the two girlswaited for him to speak.
"It is a man from London who has come down to see me with regard to themurder," Godfrey began, scarcely knowing how to break the news to them."It appears that the authorities are desirous of seeing me prior to theinquest to-morrow, and so I am going up to-night."
"Godfrey," cried his mother, springing to her feet and running towardhim, "I see it all. They have arrested you on a charge of murder! Oh, myboy, my boy, I can not let you go! They shall not take you away."
"It is only a matter of form, mother," he said, soothingly. "On the faceof yesterday's evidence, they could do nothing else. All well, I shallbe down again to-morrow. It is only a little temporary inconvenience;for my lawyer, who is one of the cleverest men of his profession, feelscertain that he can disprove the charge."
"It is monstrous even to suspect you of it," said Kitty. "If they onlyknew you, they would not dare even to hint at such a thing."
Molly said nothing. But he knew what her thoughts were.
"I must send a note to your father, dear," he said. "He anticipated thisand made me promise to communicate with him directly it should come topass."
He thereupon went to a writing-table in the corner of the room and wrotea hurried note to Sir Vivian, after which he rang the bell and gaveorders that it should be taken to the Court without a moment's delay.
"Now," he said, when he had examined his watch and found that it wasnearly half-past five, "I must bid you good-bye. Do not be anxious aboutme. I am proudly conscious of my own innocence, and I feel sure that, bythis time to-morrow, the public will be aware of it also."
But his mother was not to be comforted. She clung to him with the tearsstreaming down her cheeks, as if she could not let him go.
"Mother dear," said Kitty, "you must be brave. Think of Godfrey, anddon't send him away more unhappy than he is."
"I will be brave," she said, and drew his face down to hers and kissedhim. "Good-bye, my dear boy. May God in His mercy bless you and send yousafely back to us!"
When Kitty had kissed him, she drew her mother back into the ingle nookin order that Godfrey and Molly might say good-bye to each other inprivate.
Then Godfrey took Molly in his arms.
"Good-bye, my own dearest," she said. "I shall pray for you continually.Night and day you will be in my thoughts."
He could not answer her, but kissed her passionately. Then, disengaginghimself from her embrace, he left the room.
Returning to the library, he informed the detective that he was at hisdisposal, at the same time telling him that, if they desired to catchthe 6.10 at Detwich, they had no time to lose.
"We had better be going, then," said the man, and leaving the librarythey proceeded into the hall. Godfrey's bag had already been placed inthe cab, and the gray-haired old butler, Williamson, was standing at thefoot of the stairs holding the door open.
"Good-bye, Williamson," said Godfrey. "I know that I can safely leaveeverything in your hands."
"You can, sir," the man replied, simply; and then for the first time inhis life he allowed himself to become familiar with his master, andlaying his hand on his arm he added, "May God bless you, sir, and sendyou back to us soon!"
Then the cab rolled away down the drive, and Godfrey's journey to prisonhad commenced.
For the greater part of the drive into Detwich neither of them spoke.One had too much upon his mind to be in the humour for conversation,while the other, who was sorry for his prisoner, and who knew agentleman when he saw one, had no desire to thrust himself upon him inhis trouble. As it happened when they reached the station they foundthat they had some minutes to spare. They accordingly strolled up anddown the platform, while they awaited the coming of the express. On itsarrival they secured an empty compartment, and settled down for thejourney to London. When Euston was reached they took a cab and drovedirect to Bow Street, where Godfrey Henderson, of Detwich Hall, Detwich,was formally charged with the wilful murder of Teresina Cardi, artist'smodel. The usual forms having been complied with, he was placed in asomewhat superior apartment in another portion of the building. Then thekey was turned upon him, and for the first time in his life was aprisoner.
Early next morning it was announced that two gentlemen had arrived tosee him. They proved to be Sir Vivian Devereux and Mr. Codey, thelawyer.
"My dear lad, this is indeed a sad business," said Sir Vivian, as theyshook hands. "I can not tell you how sorry I am for you. But, thankGod, we know you to be innocent and are determined to prove it."
They sat down, and the lawyer, who had been looking round the room,which doubtless he had seen on many previous occasions, began to ply himwith questions, which Godfrey answered to the best of his ability. Whenthey had withdrawn, he was left to himself until the time arrived forhim to set off for the coroner's court. When he did so, it was in a cabwith a couple of stout policemen beside him to see that he made noattempt to escape. On reaching it, he found that it was packed tooverflowing. Victor Fensden was there, seated in the space reserved forthe witnesses, but Sir Vivian noticed that he avoided meeting Godfrey'seyes. With one exception, the proceedings proved comparatively tame. Itwas only when the hall porter referred to Godfrey's haggard appearancewhen he returned to the hotel on the Thursday night, that ther
e wasanything approaching excitement. He deposed that Mr. Henderson, who hadbeen staying at the hotel, and whom he now recognised as being in Court,returned to the hotel on the night of the murder between a quarter-pastand half-past twelve. He, the porter, was immediately struck by hisstrange appearance. In reply to a question put by a juror, he repliedthat he looked very much as if he had been upset by something; his facewas deadly white, and he had an anxious, what he should call frightened,look in his eyes. At the other's request, he had procured him somebrandy, and, as he had had some trouble next morning with the headwaiter about it, the fact was the more vividly impressed upon hismemory. The cabman who had driven them from the Strand to Burford Streetwas next called. In answer to questions put to him, he stated that, whenhe was hailed by the person now in court, the deceased woman seemed veryreluctant to enter the cab. But the other had at last prevailed upon herto do so, and he had driven them to the house in the street in question.He had identified the body, and could swear as to the identity of theperson in court. The police-constable, who had passed a few minutesbefore he bade Teresina good-night, was next examined. He rememberedseeing them together, and thought it a strange place for a gentleman tobe in at such a time. His attention was drawn to them because the girlwas crying, while the gentleman seemed somewhat excited. Feeling that,as he was not appealed to, he had no right to interfere, he passed ondown the street. In answer to the coroner's inquiry, he was unable tosay whether or not the man entered the house.
Ten minutes later a verdict of wilful murder against Godfrey Hendersonwas returned, and he was committed for trial on the coroner's warrant.
Instead of returning to Bow Street from the coroner's court, Godfrey wasnow driven to Holloway Prison, where he was placed in an ordinary cell.His spirits by this time had fallen to as low an ebb as it would bepossible for those of a human being to reach. What had he done todeserve this cruel fate? He was not conscious of ever having done anyone an injury; he had always done his best to help his fellow-men. Why,therefore, was he brought so low? He thought of Molly, and pictured herfeelings when she should hear that he was committed for trial. He couldimagine his mother's despair and could almost hear poor, sorrowing Kittyvainly endeavouring to comfort her.
During the afternoon Sir Vivian and Mr. Codey came to see him again. Theformer was very plainly distressed; the latter, however, regardedmatters in a somewhat more stoical light. He had seen the same thingsso many times before, that he had become in a certain measure hardenedto it. In all the cases upon which he had hitherto been engaged,however, he had never had one in which the prisoner was a countrygentleman, besides being an artist of considerable repute. "You must notgive way, Mr. Henderson," he said, kindly. "There's plenty of time yetfor us to prove your innocence. Doubtless, when this is all over and youare free once more, you will regard it as a very unpleasant experience,certainly, but one which might very easily have been worse. Now, withyour permission, I will tell you what I have done. In the first place,we must endeavour to find the real murderer. Only a trained hand coulddo this, so I have engaged a man with whom I have had a great manydealings in the past. He is a private detective of an unusual kind, andhas a knack of securing information which neither the Government men northe private agents seem to possess. He will be expensive, but I supposeyou will have no objection to paying him well for his services, if he issuccessful, as I trust he will be."
"You may be quite sure I shall have no objection," said Godfrey. "Lethim get me out of this scrape, and I'll pay him double, even treble,his usual charges."
"Oh, he won't bleed you as much as that," returned the lawyer. "He isbelow now, and if you care to see him, I will obtain permission for himto come up."
The necessary authority being forthcoming, Codey presently returned,accompanied by a burly, rosy-cheeked individual, who might very wellhave been the landlord of a well-to-do country inn or a farmer in aprosperous way of business. A more jovial countenance could scarcelyhave been discovered, had one searched England through for it. Merely tolook at it was to be made to feel happy, while to hear his laugh was tobe put in a good humour for the remainder of the day. He was dressed ina suit of tweeds, more than a trifle pronounced as to colour, a knittedblue waistcoat covered his portly, bow-windowed presence, while he worea spotted blue and white tie, decorated with a large diamond pin. Hisfeet and hands were enormous, and when he laughed--which he did on everyavailable opportunity--his whole figure seemed to quiver like a blancmange.
"This is Jacob Burrell, Mr. Henderson," said the lawyer, when the doorhad closed on them. "I have told him that you wish him to take up yourcase, and he is prepared to do so without delay."
"I am exceedingly obliged to you, Mr. Burrell," said Godfrey. "Mr. Codeyhas told me of your cleverness. If you can discover who it was whoactually murdered the poor girl, you will not only relieve me from aposition of considerable danger, but you will lay me under aneverlasting obligation to yourself."
"I'll do the best I can, sir," said the man, jovially, rubbing his handstogether, as if he regarded the whole affair as a huge joke. "As Mr.Codey may have told you, I have unravelled pretty tangled skeins in myday, and it won't be my fault if I don't do the same here. Now, sir, Mr.Codey, who knows my ways of work, has given me an outline of the case,but if you don't mind, I should like to put a few questions to you on myown account."
"Ask me whatever you please," said Godfrey, "and I will answer to thebest of my ability."
Burrell seated himself opposite Godfrey, placed one enormous hand oneither knee, and looked the other full in the face.
"Now, sir, in the first place, when you had your old studio in London,before you inherited your present estate, and when you first engaged thegirl, can you remember who were your intimate friends? I mean, thefriends who were in the habit of dropping into your studio prettyfrequently, to smoke their pipes, and perhaps to take a friendly glass?"
Godfrey considered for a moment.
"I had not very many friends in those days," he answered at last. "I wasa hard worker, and for that reason didn't encourage men to waste mytime. Besides, I was only a struggling artist, and couldn't afford toentertain very much."
"But there must have been some men who came in. Think, sir, and try torecollect. It's an important point."
"Well, of course, there was my friend, Mr. Fensden, who practicallylived with me. He used my studio whenever he had anything to do."
"He is the gentleman who gave the damaging evidence against you onMonday, is he not?"
"He is! Then there was a Mr. Bourke, a leader writer on the DailyRecord."
"I know Mr. Bourke," said the detective. "We may dismiss him from thecase at once."
"Then there was an artist named Halliday, who occasionally dropped in,but he is now in Dresden."
"When did he go?"
"Nearly two months before I went abroad myself," Godfrey answered. "Ithink I have given you the list of my friends. I can remember no more."
"Now, sir, that box, in which the hands were sent, had you ever seen itbefore?"
"No," said Godfrey; "I am quite certain I had not."
"When you came home from Egypt, did you make any purchases in Naples?"
"None at all. I was only there one night."
"Now, sir, I am given to understand that your friend, Mr. Fensden,induced you to go abroad for the reason that he feared you were fallingin love with your model. On what sort of terms was Mr. Fensden himselfwith the girl in question?"
"On very friendly terms," said Godfrey.
"Was he in love with her, do you think?"
"I am certain he was not," Godfrey replied, shaking his head. "I do notthink he would ever be in love with anybody."
"And you are quite sure that he saw nothing of the girl from the day hebade her good-bye in your studio, until Monday, when he inspected herdead body in the mortuary?"
"I am sure of it," Godfrey answered.
"And when did he return to England, for I understand he has been abroaduntil lately?"
"On Thursday morning. I met him at the Mahl Stick Club an hour or twoafter his return from Paris."
"Now, sir, one other question, and the last. The girl, I understand,told you that she was married, and refused to say to whom. I have had anopportunity of examining the wedding-ring from her finger. Somewhat tomy surprise, I found that it was of Austrian make. Now, how does it comeabout that a girl living in Naples should be married with an Austrianwedding-ring? It was, moreover, an expensive one. What I want to knowis, was the young woman ever in Vienna?"
"Never, to the best of my belief," said Godfrey. "At any rate she nevertold me so."
"Now, sir, there's one point I want to clear up, and when I have donethat, I sha'n't be at all certain that I haven't got the key to thewhole mystery. Is it only a singular coincidence, do you think, thatTeresina Cardi, your old model, wore a wedding-ring of Austrian make,and that the box in which her hands were sent to you the other dayshould bear the label of a well-known Vienna firm?"
He chuckled and rubbed his hands together, as he put this question toGodfrey.
"It certainly seems singular," said the latter; "but why should not thering have been purchased in Naples, even if it were of Austrian make?"
"There is not the least reason why it should not, but the coincidence isworth remarking. Now, sir, I shall leave you to think over what I havesaid. I shall telegraph to Naples and Vienna, and meanwhile endeavour tofind out who it was handed the box in at Euston. Allow me to wish yougood-day, gentlemen."
They returned his salutations, after which he went away, leaving onelittle ray of hope behind him.
"A most remarkable man that!" said Codey, appreciatively, when the doorwas once more closed. "He will follow the trail now like a sleuth-hound.In the meantime, Mr. Henderson, I can not promise you anything veryhopeful for to-morrow. I shall apply to the magistrate for a remand inorder to give Burrell more time to look about him. I shall keep in touchwith him, you may be sure. I have retained Alfred Rolland as counsel foryou. He and I have often worked together, and I don't think you couldhave a better man."
"I place myself in your hands unreservedly," said Godfrey. "Do whateveryou think best, and spare no expense. I have others besides myself tothink of in this matter."
"You have indeed, poor souls!" said Sir Vivian. "I shall go downto-night, and try to reassure them, and come up again first thing in themorning."
When they left him, half-an-hour later, Godfrey sat himself down on hisbed and resigned himself to his own miserable thoughts. What enemy hadhe who hailed from Vienna? He could think of no one among the circle ofhis acquaintances who had ever been there. Certainly no one who would belikely to do him such an irreparable wrong. After that he thought of hisdear ones at home, and broke down completely. His supper was sent awayuntouched. He felt as though he could not have swallowed a mouthful,even had his life depended on it. At last he retired to bed, but not torest. When he rose next morning, he felt older by a dozen years.
"This will never do," he said to himself. "If I go on like this, peoplewill begin to think from my appearance that I am guilty. No, they shallsee that I am not afraid to look any man in the face."
Then the door was unlocked, and he was informed that it was time to setoff for the magistrate's court.
