The Secret Of Chimneys Part 12

But George refused to be drawn.

'Prince Michael's sympathies were entirely pro-British,' he repeated.

Superintendent Battle did not press the point.

'Lord Caterham, I understand that this is what occurred yesterday. You met Prince Michael in town and journeyed down here in company with him. The Prince was accompanied by his valet, a Herzoslovakian named Boris Anchoukoff, but his equerry, Captain Andra.s.sy, remained in town. The Prince, on arriving, declared himself greatly fatigued, and retired to the apartments set aside for him. Dinner was served to him there, and he did not meet the other members of the house party. Is that correct?'

'Quite correct.'

'This morning a housemaid discovered the body at approximately 7.45 AM. Dr Cartwright examined the dead man and found that death was the result of a bullet fired from a revolver. No revolver was found, and no one in the house seems to have heard the shot. On the other hand the dead man's wrist.w.a.tch was smashed by the fall, and marks the crime as having been committed at exactly a quarter to twelve. Now what time did you retire to bed last night?'

'We went early. Somehow or other the party didn't seem to "go", if you know what I mean, Superintendent. We went up about half past ten, I should say.'

'Thank you. Now I will ask you, Lord Caterham, to give me a description of all the people staying in the house.'

'But, excuse me, I thought the fellow who did it came from outside?'

Superintendent Battle smiled.

'I dare say he did. I dare say he did. But all the same I've got to know who was in the house. Matter of routine, you know?'

'Well, there was Prince Michael and his valet and Mr Herman Isaacstein. You know all about them. Then there was Mr Eversleigh -'

'Who works in my department,' put in George condescendingly.

'And who was acquainted with the real reason of Prince Michael's being here?'

'No, I should not say that,' replied George weightily. 'Doubtless he realized that something was in the wind, but I did not think it necessary to take him fully into my confidence.'

'I see. Will you go on, Lord Caterham?'

'Let me see, there was Mr Hiram Fish.'

'Who is Mr Hiram Fish?'

'Mr Fish is an American. He brought over a letter of introduction from Mr Lucius Gott - you've heard of Lucius Gott?'

Superintendent Battle smiled acknowledgment. Who had not heard of Lucius C. Gott, the multimillionaire?

'He was specially anxious to see my editions. Mr Gott's collection is, of course, unequalled but I've got several treasures myself. This Mr Fish was an enthusiast. Mr Lomax had suggested that I ask one or two extra people down here this weekend to make things seem more natural, so I took the opportunity of asking Mr Fish. That finishes the men. As for the ladies, there is only Mrs Revel - and I expect she brought a maid or something like that. Then there was my daughter, and of course the children and their nurses and governesses and all the servants.'

Lord Caterham paused and took a breath.

'Thank you,' said the detective. 'A mere matter of routine, but necessary as such.'

'There is no doubt, I suppose,' asked George ponderously, 'that the murderer entered by the window?'

Battle paused for a minute before replying slowly.

'There were footsteps leading up to the window, and footsteps leading away from it. A car stopped outside the park at 11.40 last night. At twelve o'clock a young man arrived at the Jolly Cricketers in a car, and engaged a room. He put his boots outside to be cleaned - they were very wet and muddy, as though he had been walking through the long gra.s.s in the park.'

George leant forward eagerly. 'Could not the boots be compared with the footprints?'

'They were.'

'Well?'

'They exactly correspond.'

'That settles it,' cried George. 'We have the murderer. This young man - what is his name, by the way?'

'At the inn he gave the name of Anthony Cade.'

'This Anthony Cade must be pursued at once, and arrested.'

'You won't need to pursue him,' said Battle.

'Why?'

'Because he's still there.'

'What?'

'Curious, isn't it?'

Colonel Melrose eyed him keenly.

'What's in your mind, Battle? Out with it.'

'I just say it's curious, that's all. Here's a young man who ought to cut and run, but he doesn't cut and run. He stays here and gives us every facility for comparing footmarks.'

'What do you think, then?'

'I don't know what to think. And that's a very disturbing state of mind.'

'Do you imagine -' began Colonel Melrose, but broke off as a discreet knock came at the door.

George rose and went to it. Tredwell, inwardly suffering from having to knock at doors in this low fashion, stood dignified upon the threshold, and addressed his master.

'Excuse me, my lord, but a gentleman wishes to see you on urgent and important business, connected, I understand, with this morning's tragedy.'

'What's his name?' asked Battle suddenly.

'His name, sir, is Mr Anthony Cade, but he said it wouldn't convey anything to anybody.'

It seemed to convey something to the four men present. They all sat up in varying degrees of astonishment.

Lord Caterham began to chuckle.

'I'm really beginning to enjoy myself. Show him in, Tredwell. Show him in at once.'

Chapter 12.

ANTHONY TELLS HIS STORY.

'Mr Anthony Cade,' announced Tredwell.

'Enter suspicious stranger from village inn,' said Anthony. He made his way towards Lord Caterham with a kind of instinct rare in strangers. At the same time he summed up the other three men in his own mind thus: '1, Scotland Yard. 2, local dignitary - probably chief constable. 3, hara.s.sed gentleman on the verge of apoplexy - possibly connected with the Government.'

'I must apologize,' continued Anthony, still addressing Lord Caterham. 'For forcing my way in like this, I mean. But it was rumoured round the Jolly Dog, or whatever the name of your local pub may be, that you had had a murder up here, and as I thought I might be able to throw some light upon it I came along.'

For a moment or two, no one spoke. Superintendent Battle because he was a man of ripe experience who knew how infinitely better it was to let everyone else speak if they could be persuaded upon to do so, Colonel Melrose because he was habitually taciturn, George because he was in the habit of having notice given him of the question, Lord Caterham because he had not the least idea of what to say. The silence of the other three, however, and the fact that he had been directly addressed, finally forced speech upon the last-named.

'Er - quite so - quite so,' he said nervously. 'Won't - you - er - sit down?'

'Thank you,' said Anthony.

George cleared his throat portentously.

'Er - when you say you can throw light upon this matter, you mean -?'

'I mean,' said Anthony, 'that I was trespa.s.sing upon Lord Caterham's property (for which I hope he will forgive me) last night at about 11.45, and that I actually heard the shot fired. I can at any rate fix the time of the crime for you.'

He looked round at the three in turn, his eyes resting longest on Superintendent Battle, the impa.s.sivity of whose face he seemed to appreciate.

'But I hardly think that that's news to you,' he added gently.

'Meaning by that, Mr Cade?' asked Battle.

'Just this. I put on shoes when I got up this morning. Later, when I asked for my boots, I couldn't have them. Some nice young constable had called round for them. So I naturally put two and two together, and hurried up here to clear my character if possible.'

'A very sensible move,' said Battle noncommittally.

Anthony's eyes twinkled a little.

'I appreciate your reticence, Inspector. It is Inspector, isn't it?'

Lord Caterham interposed. He was beginning to take a fancy to Anthony.

'Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard. This is Colonel Melrose, our chief constable, and Mr Lomax.'

Anthony looked sharply at George. 'Mr George Lomax?'

'Yes.'

'I think, Mr Lomax,' said Anthony, 'that I had the pleasure of receiving a letter from you yesterday.'

George stared at him. 'I think not,' he said coldly.

But he wished that Miss Oscar were here. Miss Oscar wrote all his letters for him, and remembered who they were to and what they were about. A great man like George could not possibly remember all these annoying details.

'I think, Mr Cade,' he hinted, 'that you were about to give - er - explanation of what you were doing in the ground last night at 11.45?'

His tone said plainly, 'And whatever it may be, we are not likely to believe it.'

'Yes, Mr Cade, what were you doing?' said Lord Caterham with lively interest.

'Well,' said Anthony regretfully, 'I'm afraid it's rather a long story.'

He drew out his cigarette case. 'May I?'

Caterham nodded, and Anthony lit a cigarette, and braced himself for the ordeal.

He was aware, none better, of the peril in which he stood. In the short pace of twenty-four hours, he had become embroiled in two separate crimes. His actions in connection with the first would not bear looking into for a second. After deliberately disposing of one body, and so defeating the aims of justice, he had arrived upon the scene of the second crime at the exact moment when it was being committed. For a young man looking for trouble, he could hardly have done better.

'South America,' thought Anthony to himself, 'simply isn't in it with this!'

He had already decided upon his course of action. He was going to tell the truth - with one trifling alteration, and one grave suppression.

'The story begins,' said Anthony, 'about three weeks ago - in Bulawayo. Mr Lomax, of course, knows where that is - outpost of the Empire - "What do we know of England who only England know?" all that sort of thing. I was conversing with a friend of mine, a Mr James McGrath -'

He brought out the name slowly, with a thoughtful eye on George. George bounded in his seat and repressed an exclamation with difficulty.

'The upshot of our conversation was that I came to England to carry out a little commission for Mr McGrath, who was unable to go himself. Since the pa.s.sage was booked in his name, I travelled as James McGrath. I don't know what particular kind of offence that was - the superintendent can tell me, I dare say, and run me in for so many months' hard if necessary.'

'We'll get on with the story, if you please, sir,' said Battle, but his eyes twinkled a little.

'On arrival in London I went to the Blitz Hotel, still as James McGrath. My business in London was to deliver a certain ma.n.u.script to a firm of publishers, but almost immediately I received deputations from the representatives of two political parties of a foreign kingdom. The methods of one were strictly const.i.tutional, the methods of the other were not. I dealt with them both accordingly. But my troubles were not over. That night my room was broken into, and an attempt at burglary was made by one of the waiters at the hotel.'

'That was not reported to the police, I think?' said Superintendent Battle.

'You are right. It was not. Nothing was taken, you see. But I did report the occurrence to the manager of the hotel, and he will confirm my story, and tell you that the waiter in question decamped rather abruptly in the middle of the night. The next day, the publishers rang me up, and suggested that one of their representatives would call upon me and receive the ma.n.u.script. I agreed to this, and the arrangement was duly carried out on the following morning. Since I have heard nothing further, I presume the ma.n.u.script reached them safely. Yesterday, still as James McGrath, I received a letter from Mr Lomax -'

Anthony paused. He was by now beginning to enjoy himself. George shifted uneasily.

'I remember,' he murmured. 'Such a large correspondence. The name, of course, being different, I could not be expected to know. And I may say,' George's voice rose a little, firm in a.s.surance of moral stability, 'that I consider this - this masquerading as another man in the highest degree improper. I have no doubt, no doubt whatever that you have incurred a severe legal penalty.'

'In this letter,' continued Anthony, unmoved, 'Mr Lomax made various suggestions concerning the ma.n.u.script in my charge. He also extended an invitation to me from Lord Caterham to join the house party here.'

'Delighted to see you, my dear fellow,' said the n.o.bleman. 'Better late than never - eh?'

George frowned at him.