A Cabinet Secret Part 17

Turning from the dismal scene, I tried the door, to find, as I had expected, that it was locked. It was evident from this that though a decided change had come over my affairs, I was still a prisoner. The situation was both dispiriting and perplexing; my head, however, ached too much to allow me to worry over it for very long. I accordingly climbed back into my bunk and composed myself for sleep once more.

Success must have crowned my efforts, for when I woke again, the comparative steadiness of the vessel convinced me that the weather had taken a turn for the better. From a ray of sunlight that danced in and out through the port-hole, it was plain that clouds, which had hitherto covered the sky, had disappeared, and that there were hopes of better weather. My headache had almost left me, and I felt that if I could procure something to eat I should be almost myself once more. On looking at my watch I found to my annoyance that it had stopped at five minutes to six, so that I was unable to tell what the hour was. Once more I climbed out of the bunk, and this time seated myself upon the settee.

I had not been there many minutes before the sound of voices reached my ears. The speakers were in the saloon, so I gathered, and one of the voices sounded strangely familiar to me. I tried to locate it, but for a time was unable to do so. Then in a flash it occurred to me, and I wondered that I had not recognised it before. It was the voice of Senor Sargasta, the Countess's father, or at any rate her reputed father.

"I am still in their clutches," I said to myself, with something that was very like despair, as I realised the meaning of this new discovery, "but how on earth did they get me aboard this boat, and what are they going to do with me now that they have got me here?"

The question was beyond me, however. I was compelled to leave it unanswered.

A few seconds later I heard the sound of footsteps approaching my cabin.

Then the door was unlocked and opened, and the grey-haired, military-looking man, who had driven up with the Countess to the hotel in Paris, and who had been introduced to London society as her parent, entered the cabin. Behind him was the young Count Conrad, with the same supercilious smile upon his face.

"Good-morning, my dear Sir George," said the elder man, with one of his extraordinary bows. "I am rejoiced to find that your adventure of last night has had no ill effect upon you. Allow me to offer you a hearty welcome to this gallant vessel. I fear that she has not behaved herself altogether as she might have done since you have been on board, but the North Sea is at the best of times a discourteous host."

"So I am in the North Sea, am I?" said I to myself, as I registered that piece of information in my mind. Then I continued aloud, "You have played me a scurvy trick between you, and one that, if I ever get out of this, will be likely to cause you a considerable amount of trouble."

The smile widened on Conrad's face. Evidently he thought the possibility of my regaining my freedom was a very remote one.

"I am desolated to think that we should have so much inconvenienced you," Sargasta replied. "But, alas, we had no option. However, we must do our best to make your stay with us as pleasant as is compatible with the circ.u.mstances. Doubtless you are hungry after your long fast. If so, will you permit me to conduct you to the saloon, where you will find that a meal has been prepared for you."

"You give me my liberty on board, then?" I said, with some surprise.

"Since we are clear of the coast, and provided of course that you do not abuse it, we will do so to a certain extent," he replied. "Should you give us a cause to regret our decision, nothing will remain but for us to confine you to your cabin once more. Pray let me lead the way."

With a feeling of vague bewilderment, almost impossible to describe, I followed them into the saloon, where I discovered, as he had said, that a meal had been arranged for me. In spite of my sorry position, I found that I possessed an excellent appet.i.te and, in order that they might not think that they had overawed me, I fell to work upon the joint before me with an avidity that I flatter myself considerably surprised them. Meanwhile the steamer rolled incessantly, until it looked as if even the fiddles upon the table would be unable to keep my plate and gla.s.s in position. Fortunately, I am an excellent sailor, otherwise I am doubtful whether I should have been able to continue my meal. During its progress the older man had seated himself near me, as if to make sure that I did not cut my throat, or do myself any other mischief with the knife I held in my hand. When I had finished he pointed to the deck above.

"Perhaps you would like to take a little fresh air," he shouted politely, for the noise below was such that we could scarcely make each other hear. "If so, permit me to be your escort."

In reply, I bowed and followed him along the saloon to the small companion ladder which led to the deck above. It was a fine scene that met our gaze as we opened the door and stepped out. I have already said that the violence of the gale had abated somewhat, but there was still a sufficiently high sea running, to make it difficult to retain one's footing without holding on to something. After the stuffiness of my cabin, however, the pure air was vastly refreshing. As I stood in the hatch I took stock of the vessel. She could not have been more than fifteen hundred tons, and was as ancient a tub as could be safely trusted to put to sea. She was the possessor of an old-fashioned p.o.o.p, from which two bra.s.s-railed ladders led down on either side to the deck below. On the small bridge forrard I could catch a glimpse of the officer of the watch, pacing to and fro, but at the distance I was from him, it was impossible to say whether I was acquainted with him or not.

"Let us walk aft," bellowed the old gentleman in my ear.

I accordingly turned and staggered with him as far as the taffrail, then forward again to the sheltered side of the deck. Here a surprise, to which my discovery of the Countess in that suburban house was as nothing, was in store for me. You will realize what I mean when I say that, comfortably stretched out on deck-chairs on the lee side of the hatch were three men, who one and all uttered exclamations of astonishment on seeing me. As for me, I stood clutching the rails, and staring at them as if they were spirits from the grave come to mock at me. The man nearest to me was none other than the Commander-in-Chief, who had disappeared so mysteriously from Lord Beckingdale's residence on the night before the Aldershot review; next to him, with a rough sou'wester tied under his chin, was the Honourable Benjamin Castellan, Secretary of State for the Colonies, who had vanished shortly after I had said good-night to him in c.o.c.kspur Street, and whom I had thought never to see again; while furthest from me, and nearest the p.o.o.p ladder, a stubby grey beard covering his usually well-shaven chin, was my old friend, General Woller, who had apparently been caught up into s.p.a.ce at Paddington Station, after his return from audience at Windsor. The Colonial Secretary was the first to speak.

"Good Heavens, Manderville," he shouted, "is it you, or your ghost?"

"It is I, Manderville," I answered, as if the a.s.sertion were necessary.

"But you--we thought you were dead. How in the name of all that's wonderful, did _you_ get here?"

By this time they were all on their feet, holding on to the rail of the hatch by one hand, shaking my hand by the other.

"That's too long a story to tell you now," said the Commander-in-Chief.

"The question is, how did you get here?"

I could furnish them with no answer to that question, but referred them to the men who had kidnapped me. Meanwhile, the old Italian stood a few paces away, holding on to the rail and watching us. Even by this time I had not recovered from my surprise. In London we had all looked upon them as dead men, and now to find them my companions on a small steamer on the high seas, was almost too great a surprise.

"It seems beyond belief to find you here," I said, as we made our way back to the shelter of the companion hatch, where there was comparative silence. "The almost universal belief in England is that you have been murdered by Anarchists."

"We might as well have been," Woller replied gloomily. "Until Castellan came, I was alone upon this tub, and you can imagine the sort of life I led."

"I can imagine all sorts of things," I replied. "But I want to hear your story. The others have doubtless told you how completely your disappearance puzzled us, Woller? We traced you as far as Paddington, and then lost sight of you altogether. It was said that you had taken a cab in the station yard and had driven away in it, but no trace of the driver could ever be discovered, in spite of the large rewards we offered."

"No one saw me drive away from Paddington," he answered, "for the simple reason that I walked from the station. They must have mistaken me for some one else. The scheme which brought about my destruction was, I must admit, a singularly ingenious one, if there is any comfort to be derived from that fact, and yet it was simplicity itself. As you are aware, the train by which I left Windsor, after stopping at Slough, does not do so again, except for ticket collecting, until it reaches Paddington. I should here mention that before leaving London that morning for Windsor, I had received a note from my old friend, Mrs Marchingham, who is a great invalid, and whose son is at the Front, asking me if I could possibly spare the time to call upon her in order to wish her good-bye.

On receipt of her letter I telegraphed to her saying that I would make every endeavour to comply with her request. It would have been strange had I not, for we had been playfellows as children, and had always been on the most affectionate terms."

"One moment," I said, for an idea had struck me. "If you telegraphed to her, how was it that the Department did not make us aware of the fact?

We caused every enquiry to be made."

"Because I signed the telegram with my Christian name, and I am quite certain that no one recognised me at the Post-Office," he replied, and then continued his story.

"Well, as soon as I reached Paddington on my return from Windsor, I alighted from the train, and remembering that Exminster Terrace, where my old friend's residence is situated, is only a short distance from the station, I did not take a cab. On reaching the house, the front door was opened to me by a neat maid-servant, who informed me that Mrs Marchingham was at home, and was expecting me. I accordingly followed her upstairs to the drawing-room where I waited, while the maid informed me that she would acquaint her mistress of my arrival. I might here explain that the drawing-room is a double one, and that the portion into which I was shown was at the back of the house, and overlooked the garden. The double doors were closed and heavy curtains draped either side of the window. Having no thought of treachery, I was standing beside the fire, waiting for my old friend to make her appearance, when two men suddenly emerged from behind the curtains, and pointed revolvers at me. One was the young Count Reiffenburg, cousin to the famous Countess de Venetza, of Wiltshire House, the other I had never seen before. In answer to my demands to be informed what their conduct meant, they told me that I was their prisoner, that Mrs Marchingham was abroad, and that they were her tenants for the time being. The letter I had received was a forgery. Had there been the least chance of escape, or had it been possible for me to defy them, I should have done so, but one glance was sufficient to show me that the case was hopeless. That night I was drugged, and when I recovered my senses I found myself on board this vessel, though how I got here I cannot say. Such is the unvarnished record of my adventures."

Turning to the Colonial Secretary, I asked him to make me acquainted with his story.

"I am afraid that mine is rather more prosaic," he answered. "You will remember that on the night of my disappearance you and I walked together as far as c.o.c.kspur Street. There we stood talking upon the pavement for a short time, after which I wished you good-night and went down one of the side streets leading to Carlton House Terrace. I do not know whether you can recall the occurrence, but just before we bade each other good-night, an old woman pa.s.sed us?"

I admitted that I remembered the fact, whereupon he continued:

"That old woman's presence in the pa.s.sage had escaped my memory when I entered it. I had not advanced twenty paces, however, before I saw her turn and come towards me. I was quite prepared for her to beg, and I was not disappointed. She implored me to give her a trifle in order that she might obtain a lodging for the night. Producing a coin, I was about to hand it to her, when something was slipped over my head from behind, and tightened round my neck. In such cases thought is quicker than action, and in a flash I realized that I was being garrotted. I have a vague recollection of being picked up and carried into a house close by, and then my senses left me and I remembered no more until I found myself on board this ship. My astonishment at finding Woller here to greet me may be better imagined than described. One night we came to anchor off the coast, though at what particular spot I cannot say, and next morning we discovered that the Commander-in-Chief had become one of our party.

Now you had better ask him for his story."

I was about to do so when Sargasta who, as I have said, had all the time been standing near us, stated that it was time for us to return to our cabins. I wondered at the ready obedience that was given to his orders, but my wonderment did not last long, when a man stepped from a spot alongside the mizzen-mast and I saw that he carried a rifle in his hand.

We accordingly descended the companion ladder in single file, and once more entered the saloon. It was then that I discovered that two of our state cabins were on one side and two on the other, all of which when we were in them were kept securely locked.

When I was once more a prisoner in my cabin, I sat myself down upon the locker and endeavoured to appreciate my position. In whatever way one looked at it, it was far from being an enviable one. What our fate was to be it was difficult to see. Was it possible our captors intended to maroon us in some desolate region, or did they intend doing away with us altogether on the High Seas? In the latter case we should perish without a chance of helping ourselves, and our friends would remain in ignorance of our fate for ever. If we could only manage to communicate with the outside world, it might then be possible to capture the diabolical woman who was at the head of the affair. I felt that I could almost meet death complacently were I able to bring about that happy circ.u.mstance. When I thought of all that had happened to me through her agency, I was nearly beside myself with contempt for having allowed myself to be so easily trapped.

So old-fashioned was the vessel that when darkness fell, instead of the electric light, an oil lamp was inserted in the receptacle outside the door. It had not been there very long before the door was unlocked, and a man whom I had not before seen, informed me that supper was upon the table. Eager to meet my comrades once more, I hastened into the saloon to find the Commander-in-Chief seated on one side of the table with Conrad beside him. I was invited to take my place on the other side, next to that occupied by Senor Sargasta. The violence of the sea had abated considerably, though the use of the fiddles had still to be retained. I looked about me for a sign of the Colonial Secretary and Woller, but as they were not present, I came to the conclusion that our gaolers were adopting, what must have struck them as being a very necessary precaution, namely, dividing our party into two portions.

This proved to be the case, for from that time forward, we were not permitted to take either our meals or our exercise together. The Commander-in-Chief and I were to be companions; the Colonial Secretary and Woller following suite. By this course the danger of any rising on our part was reduced by one half, while the strain of guarding us was not nearly so great.

During the progress of the meal, scarcely a word was spoken. We waited upon ourselves, and it was only when something that did not happen to be on the table was required, that the man who had called me to the meal made his appearance. After supper was over, we were informed that we might go on deck if we pleased, and, needless to say, we eagerly embraced the opportunity. Having donned our hats, we once more made our way to the companion ladder.

It was a brilliant moonlight night; scarcely a cloud was to be seen in the sky, while the wind and sea were abating every hour. Arm-in-arm we began to pace the deck, at the same time noticing the fact that the man with the rifle was as usual stationed near the p.o.o.p-rail.

"It is evident that no precaution is to be omitted," said the Commander-in-Chief, with a bitter laugh. "I wonder what our friends in England would say if they could see us now?"

"I wonder what they would say," I replied, "if they knew who was at the bottom of it all? I suppose the Countess de Venetza is still giving her charming little dinners at Wiltshire House, and is still talking so regretfully of the losses England has sustained by reason of the disappearance of her prominent officials. Heaven send that Rotherhithe finds her out in time!"

"What do you mean?" my companion asked. "Why should he find her out?"

Then I remembered that Rotherhithe's engagement to the Countess had been announced since the Commander-in-Chief's disappearance, whereupon I made him acquainted with the facts of the case, and in doing so gave him a description of the dinner at Wiltshire House, which had been the preliminary to my capture.

"If we could only find some means of making the world aware of what we have discovered," he said, after a few moments' silence.

"That's what I was thinking this afternoon," I replied. "It appears to be impossible, however. If we were to throw a message overboard, it is a million to one against its being picked up or believed, while if we were in any way to attempt to attract the attention of a pa.s.sing vessel, we should in all probability be dead men before they could come to our a.s.sistance."

"Be careful not to speak too loud," said my companion. "That fellow at the rail possesses sharp ears. You may be sure he will report anything he may regard as suspicious in our conversation or behaviour."

"By the way," I said, "I have not yet been told how your capture was effected. Had the man I saw in the wood, and whose presence I reported to Beckingdale, anything to do with it?"

"I am quite sure he had," was the reply. "In point of fact I incline to the belief that he was the ringleader in the whole affair. Taken altogether, it was not a very brilliant piece of work, and I have never ceased to be angry with myself for having been taken in so easily. But that is our general complaint. In its simplicity, however, lay its greatest chance of success. I can see that now."