XX
UNDER THE HOODED MASK
What had happened? By way of what mysterious adventures had the corpseof sugar refiner Thomery reached that empty room in rue Lecourbe, whereJerome Fandor had come across it?
Two days previous, on the afternoon of Elizabeth Dollon's arrest,Monsieur Thomery was working in his study, when a servant came to tellhim that a lady wished to speak to him.
"Did she give you her name?" asked Thomery.
"No, monsieur, this person said her name would tell you nothing; but shewas sure monsieur would see her, for she would only detain him a minuteor two...."
Piles of papers were stacked on the great sugar refiner's study table:typists were laying numerous letters before him, which awaited hissignature. Thomery thought to himself:
"I have still a good half-hour's work before me ... deuce take thisimportunate visitor!" He was on the point of saying he could not see anyone, when the servant added:
"This person declares she comes with reference to Madame the PrincessDanidoff."
Though he was a man of business, Thomery was a gallant man also; andvery much in love; his approaching marriage with the Princess, which hadbeen kept secret, was now known. The name of Princess Danidoff settledthe question.
"Very well, let her come in!"
The manservant disappeared a minute, then ushered into the study a veryunassuming woman of uncertain age and quite ordinary looking.
Thomery rose to meet her, pointing pleasantly to one of the largearm-chairs in the room. The visitor was profusely apologetic.
"I am so exceedingly sorry, Monsieur Thomery, to disturb you at such anhour, when you must certainly have a great deal to occupy yourattention; but the matter I have come about will not wait, and I am sureit will interest you...."
This little person seemed very intelligent, and Thomery was favourablyimpressed by her manner, which was both simple and decided.
"Madame, I am listening to you. In what way can I be of service to you?"
"I am not here, monsieur," she protested, "to pester you with any wantsand wishes for myself. I am a diamond broker and ..."
She had not finished her sentence when Thomery, smiling but firm, rose,and said sharply:
"In that case, madame, I can guess the motive of your call...."
"But, monsieur ..."
"Yes!... That is so!... Ever since my approaching marriage has beenannounced, I have received, every day, a dozen visits from jewellers,goldsmiths, upholsterers, and so on ... I regret to have to tell youthat you will not be able to persuade me to buy ... that my betrothedhas received so many wedding presents that there is no room for more....I do not require one single thing...."
Although Thomery had spoken in a tone which did not admit of any reply,although he had risen the better to mark his intention of cutting shortthe call, the diamond broker had remained seated, leaning back in herarm-chair.... She gave no sign of being ready to go away.
"Consequently, madame," continued Thomery....
His visitor laughed.
"Monsieur, you have very quickly made up your mind that I have nothinginteresting to offer you! I have not come to offer you ordinaryjewels...."
It was Thomery's turn to smile slightly.
"I quite understand, madame, that you should think your merchandiseexceptional.... But once more ..."
The broker interrupted the sugar refiner with a movement of her hand.
"Do listen to me a moment, monsieur!... Though I am a diamond broker,diamonds are not what I have come to ask you to purchase ... it is aquestion of something quite different...."
She paused deliberately: Thomery gazed at her without saying a word.
"You know, monsieur," continued the broker, "that in such a business asmine, one is obliged to see a great many jewellers every day; well, inthe course of my peregrinations, I found at a jeweller's--you must allowme to withhold his name--some pearls, which I am certain you will findare a wonderful bargain...."
"For the last time, madame, I do not want a wonderful bargain!"
The agent smiled curiously.
"There are some things which simply do not allow themselves to berefused," she declared.... She now drew from her pocket a littlejewel-case; and, notwithstanding Thomery's unconcealed impatience,opened it, and selected two pearls which she held out to him.
"Do examine these jewels! You are going to tell me that they areperfectly beautiful, are you not, Monsieur Thomery?"
The diamond broker offered them so naturally that Thomery gave way. Heexamined the pearls: he was a connoisseur.
"In truth, madame, these pearls are superb; unfortunately I am notenough of an expert to buy them without taking competent advice, that isif I thought of acquiring them eventually, but I repeat, I have no wishto acquire such things!"
"Deuce take it!" thought Thomery. "This broker won't take 'no' for ananswer! Since I cannot rid myself of her by being pleasant, I shall makemyself disagreeable!"
But the would-be seller still insisted.
"Monsieur, you really cannot be a connoisseur, otherwise I am sure youwould not return these pearls to me."
"But, madame!..."
"And I am convinced that if Princess Sonia Danidoff had had them in herhand instead of you, she would have been greatly taken with them!"
The broker had emphasised her words so strangely that, suddenly, Thomeryhesitated.
What did this mysterious visitor mean? What was it she considered so"extraordinary" about the jewels she had just submitted to him?... Asuspicion flashed across his mind.
"Whence come these pearls, madame?"
But, at this question, the broker got up.
"Monsieur Thomery," declared she, "I should be very vexed with myselfwere I to make you lose your evening ... your time is precious; besides,in order to give you a proper answer to your question, I should have tomake certain of facts I only now guess at.... Still, I think thatwithout having told you anything definite, I have made you sufficientlyunderstand what is in my mind,... you will not now doubt the interestthat the Princess Sonia Danidoff would have, were she able to examinethese jewels...."
"Is that so?"
"Consequently, Monsieur Thomery, I am going to ask you if you willkindly show these pearls to the Princess; and then if you will be goodenough to let me know what decision you come to, jointly with her.... Ifyou were a buyer, I fancy I might let you have these jewels on quiteexceptional terms."
Thomery visibly hesitated.... He was looking at the pearls, which he wasstill holding in his hand, and he thought.
"One might swear that these are two of the pearls stolen from Sonia atmy ball!"
Thomery did not reply at once. The broker was looking at him with asmile; she seemed to guess his thoughts. Thomery, on his side, wasexamining the woman.
"Is she simply a police informer?" he asked himself. "One of these womenwho apparently are dealers, but are really in the pay of the police, andfrequent jewellers for the purpose of tracing stolen jewels?"
He was on the verge of asking her who she was, but he refrained.
If this woman had not presented herself under her true colours,evidently she wished to pass for an ordinary dealer. It was possiblethat she was really a receiver of stolen goods!
Thomery came to a decision.
"I shall have the privilege of seeing the Princess Danidoff to-morrowafternoon; will you therefore leave the pearls with me?... I will showthem to her. Should she express the slightest wish to possess them, Imight possibly come to terms with you...."
* * * * *
"Dearest, it is sweet of you to make no objection to the way in which Iobtained this jewel for you to see, and to choose for your own, if youwill.... The correct thing would have been to ask you to accompany me tosome well-known jeweller, instead of which, I frankly confess, thatthese pearls were offered to me on very advantageous terms. If theyplease you, it will give me the greatest pleasure to see them adorningyour graceful neck."
&
nbsp; Princess Sonia laughed.
"My dear, for Heaven's sake, don't worry about such a thing as that!...A pearl is not less beautiful because it comes from some unpretentiousjeweller's shop. I am too fond of jewels for their own sake, to troubleabout the casket that enshrines them!"
Thomery bowed, well pleased.
"Here then, dear Sonia, are the two pearls entrusted to me as samples... please, dearest, examine them carefully, very carefully ... and ifyou like them, tell me so frankly...."
The Princess took the two pearls from the betrothed, and, crossing thegreat drawing-room, she approached one of the bay windows, lifting thethin hangings that she might the better examine the pearls.
"They are marvellous!" she cried.
"Dear Sonia, you think these gems rarely beautiful?"
"Indeed I do! Their lustre is superb; their quality, their shape,perfect!... Why, my dear, these are the most splendid pearls I have everseen--with one exception--the only pearls to equal them are those thatwere stolen from me!... The loss of them has been a bitter grief ...they came to me, you know, from my dear mother!... I never thought tofind pearls of such quality again...."
"You consider these to be of as pure a quality then, dear?"
Sonia Danidoff continued to examine the two pearls.
"It is really extraordinary," she cried suddenly. "Do you know, my dear,there are certain peculiarities about their lustre,... yes ... I couldswear that these very pearls you are offering me are two of those stolenfrom me!..."
Thomery appeared to have been impatiently awaiting these very words.
"You really, truly believe, Sonia, that they resemble the pearls stolenfrom you that unlucky evening?"
"I repeat--they are identical!"
Thomery looked smilingly at Sonia.
"Well, then, my dear one, I do not think you are mistaken!... I have allsorts of reasons for supposing that they really are two of your ownpearls you are now holding in your hand...." And, then and there,Thomery told his fiancee all about the strange visit he had received theevening before, as well as his hope that he would be able to recoverthe stolen triple collar in its entirety.
"That intriguing dealer," said he finally, "must be a policeinformer.... In any case, I am persuaded that, before long, she willtake me to some receiver or other who is in possession of your pearlcollar."
"Oh, tell me you are not going among such people, all alone?" criedSonia, with a note of sharp anxiety in her voice.
"But, why not?"
"If they are, as you think, thieves?"
"Well?"
"Well! Don't you see, my dear, that if you go to buy the pearls, theywill count on your bringing a large sum of money with you!... Why, itwould be a most imprudent thing to do!..."
Thomery shrugged his shoulders.
"Really, that's nonsense, Sonia! If these assassins meant to set a trapfor me, they have a thousand other means of doing so ... besides, itwould be remarkably daring of them to advise me to show you thesepearls, and draw my attention to the question of their being stolenones!... No, Sonia, this dealer is not the emissary of a band of robbersand assassins: she is a police informer, who has taken precautions. Irun no dangerous risks by accompanying her! Reassure yourself on thatpoint!..."
But Sonia Danidoff was not reassured by Thomery's arguments.
"All that only frightens me!" said she.... "If you do not really thinkyou are running any risk, will you let me go with you?... My dear, wewill go together to identify those pearls, will we not?"
Thomery rose to take his leave, laughing and protesting.
"Why, dear Sonia, it would be in the highest degree improper on my part,were I to agree to such a proposition!... One of two things: eitherthere is no danger, and I should be very sorry that I had let you go outin such shocking weather; or, if there is danger, I should be stillmore distressed were I to drag you into it with me.... I do beg of you,Sonia, do not insist on it.... I am not a child!... And I will be verycareful--very wary!..."
* * * * *
Shortly after this, Thomery took leave of Sonia Danidoff. He wentstraight to the Cafe de la Paix, where he had arranged to meet thediamond broker....
She was punctual. She greeted Thomery with her most winning smile.
"I am persuaded, monsieur, that Madame Sonia Danidoff was interested bythe offer you made her?"
"Quite so," replied Thomery.... "Should we go to your jeweller's,without further loss of time?"
"If you really wish to do so, monsieur! Indeed it would be the bestthing to do...."
Thomery hailed a cab. He and the diamond agent entered it together, andshe gave the driver an address. Twenty minutes later they left the caband were standing before the house where the present possessor of thepearls was to be found. Thomery knew no more now about the person he hadcome to interview, than he did when he started: that is to say,practically nothing.
The diamond broker had cleverly evaded giving any direct answers to thesugar refiner's questions: she had confined herself to stating whatwould be the probable price demanded for the pearl collar--whichquestion interested Thomery least of all!
They mounted, in single file, a rather poor sort of staircase: on thesecond floor the woman stopped. A narrow door faced them.... The womanrang.... They waited....
"Someone is coming!" said the woman. "I hear footsteps."
The door was opened half-way.
"Who is it?" asked a man's voice.
"I, dear friend," answered the woman.
The door opened wide: the same voice said:
"Come in, monsieur."
Thomery had barely stepped inside the room, when the diamond broker, whowas close behind, flung a long silk scarf round his neck, and, pushinghis knee into his victim's back for a support, he attempted to give,with Herculean force, the famous stroke of Father Francis Vigozous;energetic, Thomery did not lose his presence of mind.... He knew that toresist such a pull by simple force was impossible.... Quickly he threwhimself backwards, thus giving to the strangling pull and falling on topof the woman, who had played this dastardly trick on him. From hisconstricted throat came a hoarse "Ah!" like a death rattle.
As he was falling, for one flashing second, it seemed as though he weregoing to escape from the vise which was crushing in his throat... then,out of the shadow, there had appeared the fantastic vision of a man in atight fitting sort of black jersey, which covered him from head tofoot.... His face was concealed by a hooded mask....
This man had leapt out of the shadow.
He held a dagger in his hand.
Before Thomery had time to make a movement, the masked man had piercedhis chest with a single stroke!... The sugar refiner was naught but aconvulsive corpse.
"Ah, well!" declared the so-called diamond broker, who had got to hisfeet and was kicking Thomery's body aside. "Ah, well, he is a deadweight this fellow!... By Jove, master, I fancied he was going to crushme, and that I should have to let him free!... You did well to come tothe rescue!"
The masked man remarked in an indifferent tone:
"It really does not matter in the slightest!... Tell me, does anyonesuspect?"
"No one, master. He came like a sheep to the slaughter."
"Princess Danidoff?"
"Ah, as for her--she must be waiting for the return of her belovedfriend.... I do not advise you to pay her a visit!"
"Be silent, chatter-box!" ordered the masked assassin sharply. "Get ridof your clothes.... We must hurry!... We have work to do!"
"This evening?"
"This evening!"
And, whilst the diamond broker rid himself rapidly of skirt and bodiceand regained his masculine appearance--for this diamond broker was aman--the masked assassin added:
"Nibet, you have played your part perfectly, and I will pay youto-morrow the sum we agreed on; but, I repeat, we have work before usthis evening--so, be quick!"
There was a short silence, then the bandit asked:
"You have arranged to put among
this fool's papers the rent receipts,which will enable the police to find this flat?"
"Yes, master!"
"Good! Now all we have to do, is to get away from this room, which weshall not see again ... until this evening at any rate!"