CHAPTER VI
THE SECRET OF THE NEW ARMOUR-PLATES
"I wonder if that fellow is aware of his danger?" remarked Ray, speakingto himself behind the paper he was reading before the fire in New StoneBuildings, one afternoon not long after we had returned from Scotland.
"What fellow?" I inquired.
"Why Professor Emden," he replied. "It seems that in a lecture at theLondon Institution last night, he announced that he had discovered a newprocess for the hardening of steel, which gives it no less than eighttimes the resisting power of the present English steel!"
"Well!" I asked, looking across at my friend, and then glancing at Vera,who had called and was seated with us, her hat still on, and a charmingfigure to boot.
"My dear fellow, can't you see that such an invention would be of theutmost value to our friends the Germans? They'd use it for thearmour-plates of their new navy."
"H'm! And you suspect they'll try and obtain Emden's secret--eh?"
"I don't suspect, I'm confident of it," he declared, throwing aside thepaper. "I suppose he's a bespectacled, unsuspicious man, like allscientists. _The Times_ is enthusiastic over the discovery--declaringthat the Admiralty should secure it at once, if they have not alreadydone so. It's being made experimentally at Sheffield, it seems, and hasbeen tried in secret somewhere out near the Orkneys. Admiralty expertsare astounded at the results."
"Who is Emden?" I asked. "Just look at 'Who's Who?' It's by your elbow,old chap."
Ray proceeded to search the fat red book of reference, and presentlyexclaimed:
"It seems he's a Fellow of the Royal Society, a very distinguishedchemist, and a leading authority on electro-metallurgy and ferro-alloys.He has improved upon the Kjellin furnace as installed at Krupp's atEssen, and at Vickers, Sons, and Maxim's at Sheffield, and by thisimprovement, it seems, has been able to invent the new steel-makingprocess."
"If he has improved upon any of the machinery or processes at the Kruppworks," remarked Vera, glancing across at me, "then, no doubt, ourfriends across the North Sea will endeavour to filch the secret fromhim."
"Yes," I agreed, "he certainly ought to be warned of his danger. As soonas Hartmann sees the announcement in the papers, there's certain to be adesperate attempt to get hold of the secret."
"That mustn't be allowed, my dear fellow," Ray exclaimed. "With suchsteel as this the British Navy will have a splendid and distinctadvantage over that of our friend 'William the Sudden.' This is a greatand important secret which England must keep at all hazards."
"Certainly," declared Vera. "Really, Ray, you ought to see ProfessorEmden and have a chat with him."
"His address is given at Richmond," was my friend's reply, "but I haveto go up to Selkirk early to-morrow, and shall be away nearly a week."
"Then shall I run down and see him this evening?" I suggested. Andagreeing with my idea, he wrote the address for me. Then we made a cupof tea for Vera, who always delighted in the rough-and-ready bachelordomof a barrister's chambers. Afterwards Ray took his fiancee home to heraunt's, while I went back to my rather dismal lodgings in GuilfordStreet, Russell Square.
At nine o'clock that evening I rang at a pleasant, good-sized, modernhouse, which overlooked the beautiful Terrace Gardens and the riverlying deep below at Richmond--a house which, perhaps, commanded thefinest view within twenty miles of London.
The door was upon that main road which leads from the town up to the"Star and Garter," but the frontage faced the Gardens. The dark-eyedmaid who opened the door informed me that the Professor was at home,and took my card upstairs. Then, a few moments later, I was ushered upto a cosy den, the study of a studious man, where I found thedistinguished scientist standing in expectation, with his back to thefire.
He was a strange-looking man of sixty-five, his hair unusually white andslightly bald on top. Tall beyond the average, he wore a moustache andslight pointed beard, while his countenance seemed very broad in theforehead tapering to a point. His face was, indeed, almost grotesque.
I commenced by apologising for my intrusion, but explained that I hadcalled on a purely confidential matter. When the door was closed, and wewere alone, I said:
"My mission, Professor, is a somewhat curious one"; and I went on toexplain our fears that German secret agents might obtain knowledge ofthe new process to which he had referred at the London Institution onthe previous night.
For a moment he stroked his pointed white beard thoughtfully. I detectedthat he was as eccentric as he was curious-looking. Then, with a lightlaugh, he replied:
"Really Mr.--Mr. Jacox, I can't see your motive, or that of yourfriends, in thus interfering in my private affairs!"
"But is not this splendid discovery of yours of national importance?" Iprotested. "Will it not give us an enormous advantage over our enemies?Therefore, is it not more than probable that you have already attractedthe attention of these spies of Germany?"
"My dear sir," he laughed, "I tell you quite frankly that I don'tbelieve in all these stories about German spies. What is there inEngland for Germany to discover? Nothing; they know everything. No, Mr.Jacox, I'm an Englishman, a patriot, and I still believe in England'spower. We have nothing whatever to fear from Germany."
"Your theory is hardly borne out by facts, Professor," I said,proceeding to tell him of our discovery at Rosyth, and how we hadoutwitted the spies regarding the new submarine, and also the airship atLochindorb.
But the strange-looking old scientist, distinguished as he was, onlylaughed my fears to scorn.
"I'd like to see any German trying to learn my secret," he saiddefiantly.
"Then I would urge you to take every precaution. These agents employedby the German Secret Police on behalf of the General Staff are bold andunscrupulous."
"And do you allege that there are actually German spies in England?"asked the strange man.
"Most certainly. We have in England and Scotland more than five thousandfixed agents, men of almost every nationality except German, and inevery walk of life, from humble labourers to men and women in goodpositions, all of whom are collecting information at the order of theGerman travelling agents, who visit them from time to time, collecttheir reports, and pay them their salaries. French, Swiss, and Italiansare mostly employed," I said. "At the present time my friend Raymond hasunder observation a German band, seven young fellows all army officers,who are playing in the streets of Leeds, and at the same time making asecret map of the water-mains of that city, in order that when 'the Day'of invasion comes, the enemy will be able to suddenly deprive a denselypopulated area of water."
"But have you any actual proof of this?" he inquired.
As he spoke the door opened, and there entered a pretty dark-haired girlof twenty-two, wearing a light skirt and a pale pink evening blouse.
"Oh, dad!" she exclaimed, halting suddenly, "I'm sorry I didn't know youhad a visitor."
"I shan't be a moment, Nella dear," the curious-looking old man said,and after a quick, inquisitive glance at me the girl withdrew.
"Well," exclaimed the Professor, with a smile, "I'm really very obligedto you for troubling to come here to warn me, but I think, my dear sir,that warnings are quite unnecessary. I haven't the slightest fear thatany attempt will ever be made to secure my secret"; and he roseimpatiently.
"Very well," I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "I have warned you,Professor Emden. The Government will not admit the presence of spiesamongst us, and for that reason we are now collecting indisputableevidence."
"Ah!" he laughed, "and you want me to help you, eh? Well, sir, I don'tbelieve in a word of this scare--so I must decline that honour."
"And you will take no unusual precaution to keep the truth out of thehands of our enemies, eh?"
"I leave it to Joynson's of Sheffield," he said. "They've paid me alarge sum down and a royalty for the secret of my process, and it isscarcely likely that they'll allow it to fall into other hands, is it?"
"They will not, but you, a private individual, may,
" I said.
"I think not," he laughed, and a moment later I descended the stairs,passing his pretty daughter Nella on the way out.
That night I called on Ray at Bruton Street, but he was out at thetheatre with Vera. At half-past eleven they called as they went back tothe girl's aunt's, and as they sat before the fire, Vera with heropera-cloak thrown back revealing a pretty pale blue corsage a trifle_decollete_, I reported the non-success of my mission.
"He's a pig-headed old ass!" I declared. "One of millions of others inEngland. They close their eyes to the dangers of this horde of spiesamong us, and will only open them when the Germans come marching up thestreet and billet themselves in their houses. But he's a strange man,Ray, a very strange man," I added.
"You're right, Mr. Jacox," the girl declared. "Instead of teaching boyshow to scout and instructing young men in the use of popguns, we shouldstrike first at the root of all things. Cut off the source of thissecret information which daily goes across the North Sea. Such hideboundpatriots as the Professor are a peril to the nation!"
"If he refuses to help himself, Jacox, we must protect him ourselves,"Ray declared. "I leave it to you and Vera to keep an open eye until Ireturn from Selkirk next Monday. I'm bound to go down and see my sister.She seems very ill indeed."
And so a very important and delicate affair was thus placed in my hands.
Vera Vallance announced herself ready and eager to assist me, and thatnight I walked back to Bloomsbury much puzzled how next to act.
That the Germans would attempt to secure the secret of the new steel wasabsolutely certain. But to us, success meant the keeping of it toBritain, and the armouring of our new _Dreadnoughts_ with a resistingpower eight times that of our enemies.
Next day I journeyed down to Sheffield and called upon the manager ofMessrs. Joynson and Mackinder, the great steel-makers, who, as you know,hold the contracts for making the armour-plates of our improved_Dreadnoughts_. He told me how the firm had just constructed six of thenew Emden electrical furnaces, and had also taken over the wonderful newprocess which the Professor had invented.
He then courteously took me across to that portion of the great grimyworks, with its wonderful steel melting and refining furnaces, to wherethe Emden process was about to be carried out.
"I suppose you have no fear of the new method being learnt by any ofyour rivals--by any German firm, for instance?" I asked.
"Not in the least," laughed the manager, a bluff, grey-bearded man,speaking in his broad Hallamshire dialect; "we take good care of that.Each workman only does a part, the whole of the process being only knownto myself. It wouldn't do for us to give Professor Emden forty thousandpounds for the secret and then allow it to fall into foreign hands. TheGermans would, of course, give anything for it," he added. "Emden is apatriotic Englishman even though he is very eccentric, and if he likedhe could have got almost anything he cared to ask from Krupp's."
"That's just the point," I said; and then, as we walked back to theoffice, I explained my fears. But, like the Professor himself, he onlylaughed them to scorn. So that evening I again returned to London filledwith anxiety and disappointment.
Just before eleven that same night I strolled past the house of HermannHartmann, in Pont Street, vaguely wondering what I could do to prevent atheft which must, I knew, shortly be committed. In all probability theingenious Hartmann already had a secret agent in Joynson's works, buteven if he had, he would certainly not be able to discover the secret.I had quite satisfied myself upon that point.
No, the peril lay in the Professor himself--the strange old pig-headedpatriot.
Scarcely had I passed Hartmann's house, the exterior of which I knew sowell, when I heard the front door close and saw a man coming down thesteps. As he walked in my direction I halted beneath a lamp to light acigarette, and by so doing I obtained a glimpse of his face as hepassed.
He was a young, good-looking, smartly dressed man, with dark eyes andhair and a rather sallow complexion. I put him down to be an Italian,but I had never set eyes upon him before. No doubt he was one ofHartmann's travelling agents--a man who went up and down Englandvisiting the fixed spies of Germany, or "letter-boxes," as they areknown in the bureau of secret police in Berlin--collecting their reportsand making payments for information or services rendered.
Knowing so much of the ways of the German secret agent, curiosityprompted me to follow him. He strolled as far as the corner of SloaneStreet and Knightsbridge, and then boarded a motor-bus as far asPiccadilly Circus. Thence he walked to the German beer-hall, theGambrinus, just off Coventry Street, where he joined a tall, thin,grey-moustached man, an Italian like himself, who was seated awaitinghim. I idled across to a table close by, called for beer, and satsmoking a cigarette and straining my ears to catch their conversation,which was in Italian, a language I know fairly well.
I discovered the following facts. The thin-faced man was calledGiovanni, while the elegant young fellow was Uberto, and they werediscussing the arrival of somebody. Giovanni seemed dubious aboutsomething, while the man who had left Hartmann's seemed enthusiastic.
After a quarter of an hour Uberto glanced at his watch, made some remarkto his companion, and they rose and went out together, driving in ataxicab westward, I following in another, which I fortunately foundjust in time. Through Kensington we went, over Hammersmith Bridge,through Barnes, and across the Common.
Then I realised we were going to Richmond.
The chase grew exciting. Before me I could see the red back-lamp of thetaxi as it sped forward, and half an hour later we were crossingRichmond Bridge, where, a short distance along the road to Twickenham,they suddenly swung round to the left into St. Margaret's and pulled upbefore a good-sized detached house which stood back in its own grounds,in which were several big trees. The thoroughfare was, I noted, calledBrunswick road.
My taxi-driver proved himself no fool. I had told him to follow;therefore, unable to pull up sharply, he swept past, and did not stopuntil we were round the bend in the quiet suburban road and thus out ofsight.
I ordered him to remain, and, alighting, strolled back past the house inquestion. About its dark exterior was a distinct air of mystery. Thepair had entered, and the taxi was awaiting them. The house was anold-fashioned one, solid and substantial in character, and apparentlythe residence of some prosperous City man; yet I wondered why its ownershould have visitors at that hour. Surely great urgency had compelledthe pair to come all the way from Piccadilly Circus to consult him.
But a surprise was in store for me.
After lurking about in the shadows with that expert evasiveness which Ihad now acquired, I presently saw the pair make their exit, but, to mysurprise, they were accompanied out to the kerb by a woman--apparentlya lady in black evening dress, the bodice of which was cut low.
About her shoulders she had wrapped a pale blue shawl, and as the youngUberto entered the taxi I heard her exclaim in Italian:
"_Addio!_ To-morrow at one then, at Prince's."
As she moved I saw her countenance by the light of the cab lamp, ahandsome, well-cut face, typical of a woman of Piedmont, for she hadspoken in a dialect unmistakably that of Turin. The Turinese are moreFrench than Italian, and are as different in both temperament andlanguage from those of the south as the people of the Ardennes differfrom those of Paris.
Both men shook hands with her warmly, bade her "_Addio_," and enteringthe taxi, drove away back to London, while I stood still watching.
And as I gazed I saw as she walked back to the house, in the doorway,silhouetted against the light, an old man coming forward towards her.
"_Dio!_" she cried, half in alarm at seeing him. Then in Italian, sheadded, "Why do you risk being seen, you imbecile? Why didn't you keepwhere you were?"
Then the door closed, and seeking my taxi I also returned to Bloomsbury.
But that incident had aroused a good deal of doubt and suspicion withinme. Who was that handsome young Italian woman whom the spies had visitedat that late hour?
And, above all, who was that man with whom she hadbeen annoyed for showing himself?
Next day proved conclusively that some crooked business was in progress,for while I sat alone eating my lunch in a corner of the big room atPrince's Restaurant in Piccadilly, I was amazed to see the well-dressedyoung Italian--the man whom I had seen emerge from Hartmann's in PontStreet, enter with no other person than Nella Emden.
Surely the spies had already made considerable progress! My indignationwas such that I could have walked over to the table where the pair hadseated themselves, and denounced that elegant Italian as a spy of theKaiser. But I foresaw that by patience I might yet discover more thatwould be of interest.
From my corner I watched the pair unnoticed. The girl was certainlyextremely good-looking, young, and by her manner I could see that shewas shy at being with a male companion alone in a public restaurant. He,on his part, was exercising over her all the fascination of his nation.Once or twice I saw him smile covertly across behind me, and when I hadan opportunity to glance round I realised, to my surprise, that the manwhom he had called Giovanni was lunching with the handsome Italian womanfrom St. Margaret's.
It seemed that they were watching the young pair. For what reason, Iwondered?
I remained on the alert, but that day discovered nothing more, though Ifollowed the young pair back to Richmond and saw the Italian partaffectionately from Nella Emden near her father's house.
For some days I prosecuted an unceasing vigil, for already I hadrecognised the seriousness of a secret falling into the enemies' handswhich would undoubtedly give them the advantage in the coming struggle.
One afternoon Vera Vallance met me at Waterloo Station, and together wewent down to Richmond, where I showed her the Professor's house, andtogether we waited for the coming of Nella. Vera, enthusiastic as ever,and ingenious at keeping observation, followed the girl, while in fearof being recognised I went back to London.
Next day she called at New Stone Buildings, smart, neat, and altogethersweet and winning.
"Well, Mr. Jacox," she said, seating herself by my fire, "I had acurious experience after I left you yesterday afternoon. Nella wentfirst by tram to Twickenham, and near the Town Hall there met the youngItalian, who had a companion--Hartmann himself!"
"Hartmann!" I gasped. "Then our suspicions are surely well grounded!"
"Of course they are," she said. "I at once drew back, fearing that ourclever friend of Pont Street should notice me. Fortunately he did not,therefore I was able to watch and ascertain where they went--to thehouse in St. Margaret's where you saw that Italian woman. Theyapparently stayed there to tea, for about half-past five the young mancame out and walked in the direction of Richmond Bridge. I, however,remained behind, and though I waited for hours, until long after dark,neither Hartmann nor the girl made their reappearance. But at nine avery remarkable incident occurred."
"What?" I inquired eagerly.
"Three men came along the road in the darkness carrying something. Whenthey drew near me and turned into the gate of the house, I stood aghast.Upon their shoulders was a coffin!"
"A coffin!" I echoed, staring at her.
"Yes. And though I waited until midnight, Hartmann did not come forth,neither did the Professor's daughter. What do you make of it?" sheasked, looking into my eyes.
I admitted that the affair was a mystery, and suggested that we mightascertain whether Nella had returned to her home.
"Yes," she said. "Go down to Richmond and see."
This I did without delay. I watched the house during that afternoon, andjust at dusk saw the dark-eyed maid-servant emerge to post a letter. Ifollowed her up the hill to the pillar-box, and by the application of acouple of half-crowns obtained some information.
"No, sir," replied the girl, "Miss Nella's not come home. The master'sin a great state about her. She went out for a walk yesterday afternoon,and though he's been to the police, nobody seems to have seen her."
"She was her father's assistant in his experiments, I've heard?"
"Yes, sir, she was. Ever since poor Mrs. Emden died, two years ago,she's been her father's right hand."
"Had she a lover?"
"Well"--and the girl hesitated. "We in the kitchen have our suspicions.Davis the cook saw her last Sunday walking over in Teddington with adark young man, who looked like a foreigner. But," she added, "why doyou want to know all this?"
"I'm trying to trace the young lady," I said, in the hope that she wouldbelieve me to be a detective. "Tell me," I urged; "does the Professormake any experiments at home?"
"Oh yes, sir; his laboratory is up on the top floor--fitted up with anelectric furnace and lots of funny appliances."
"Has he any friends who are foreigners?" I inquired.
"Not that I know of," was the girl's reply. And I thought she regardedme rather strangely. Why, I could not conceive. Her name was AnnieWhybrow, she told me, and then, unable to detain her longer I allowedher to re-enter the house.
Vera's story of the coffin being taken into that mysterious house inBrunswick Road, combined with the non-return of the pretty Nella, wascertainly mystifying.
I returned to London, saw Vera, and we resolved to wire to Ray atSelkirk asking him to return to London as soon as possible.
That night, and the next, I haunted the usual resorts of foreigners inthe West End, the underground Cafe de l'Europe, the Spaten beer-hall inLeicester Square, the Cafe Monico, the Gambrinus, and other places, inorder to discover the young Italian. On the second evening I wassuccessful, for I saw him in the Monico, and on inquiring of a man Iknew, I learnt that his name was Uberto Mellini, that until recently hehad lived in Paris, and that at the present moment he was staying in ahouse in Dean Street, Soho.
At midnight, when I returned to Bloomsbury, I found Vera and Rayanxiously awaiting me. The latter had only arrived in London fromScotland an hour before, and his fiancee had evidently told him of thecurious events which had transpired and the sinister mystery surroundingthe young girl's disappearance.
"I can see no reason for it at all," he declared, when we commenced todiscuss the situation. "It's quite plain that our friends the enemy areactively at work, but surely the fact that Nella is missing would putthe Professor upon his guard. This young Italian Mellini is evidently anew importation, and has pretended to form an attachment for Nella forsome ulterior object."
"Certainly," I said. "But what do you make of the incident of thecoffin?"
"There has been no funeral from that house in Brunswick Road?"
"Not as far as I can gather."
"The Registrar of Deaths would be able to inform us," he saidreflectively. "We must inquire."
Next day all three of us returned to Richmond, and while Ray and Veracrossed the bridge to the opposite side of the Thames to find theRegistrar's office, I lingered and watched in the vicinity of theProfessor's house.
I waited for many weary hours in the wet--for rain fell the wholeday--but Ray did not return, which caused me considerable misgivings. Iwas compelled to resort to all sorts of subterfuges in order not toattract attention; but as my friend had directed me to remain and watch,I waited patiently at my post.
Just after the street lamps were lit, a telegraph messenger arrived, andten minutes after he had gone the girl Annie came out with hat andjacket on, and turning to the left hurried in my direction.
As she passed I spoke to her, and, recognising me, she explained thatshe was going for a cab to convey the Professor to the station.
"Miss Nella is at Liverpool," she added excitedly. "The master has had awire from her, asking him to go there at once. She's very ill, it seems.The poor master is greatly excited. He's just telephoned to the policesaying that Miss Nella has been found."
And then the girl hurried away, down the hill to the foot of the bridge,where there was a cab-stand.
Nella at Liverpool! What could possibly have occurred?
Later on I watched the Professor, carrying only a handbag, enter a caband drive rapidly to t
he station, while Annie returned to the house andclosed the front door.
It was then about six o'clock, and I had been watching there for nearlyeight hours. Therefore I decided to go in search of Ray, who was over atSt. Margaret's, and who, I thought, would most probably be watching thehouse to which the coffin had been taken.
In this I was not mistaken, for I found him idling at the end of thatquiet, dark suburban road. He was on the alert the instant he recognisedme, and in a few rapid sentences I told him what had occurred.
It puzzled him greatly.
"I've ascertained that Hartmann is back at Pont Street," he said. "Butwhy the coffin should be in yonder house is still a mystery. TheRegistrar has had no intimation of any death in Brunswick Road for thepast eight months. I've, however, found the local undertaker, who saysthat a plain coffin was ordered for a gentleman and that they dulydelivered it. They did not see the body, being told that the funeral wasto be undertaken by a big West End firm, and that the body was to beconveyed for burial somewhere near Leicester."
"Have you found out anything further regarding the occupants of thehouse?"
"No, only that it was taken furnished by a gentleman a month ago--aforeigner whose description exactly tallies with that of Hartmann--foran old man and his daughter--both Italians. They've kept themselves verymuch to themselves, therefore the neighbours know practically nothingabout their business."
"Well, Nella Emden was enticed in there. I'm certain of that," I said."Yet the fact that she's in Liverpool rather negatives my first theoryof foul play," I added.
"Yes. But we must still remain watchful. Vera has gone to make someinquiries for me over at Mortlake. I expect her back in half an hour.You return and keep a watchful eye upon the Professor's place. One neverknows what crooked business may be on hand!"
So back I went, and through the whole evening waited there, chilled tothe bone, in vain expectancy.
I had noticed from Ray's manner that he had become very suspicious. Hesomehow scented the presence of spies at times when, I confess, I feltcalm and reassured. And his natural intuition was seldom, if ever,wrong.
The church bells across the river had chimed midnight, the Professor'sservants had put out the lights and retired, and the thoroughfare wasnow deserted. Hungry and tired out, I was contemplating relaxing myvigil when Ray suddenly turned a corner and joined me, sayingbreathlessly:
"Uberto and his friend are coming up the hill with another man. Vera andI have seen them call at Brunswick Road, and they are now on their wayhere. We must keep a strict watch. Something is up!"
We separated, and concealing ourselves in the basements of the housesopposite, we witnessed that which caused our heart-beats to quicken.
The three men came along in silence in the night, for they evidentlywore rubber heels on their boots. The constable was then some distancedown the hill, therefore they passed him.
As they approached the house, the man whom I had heard addressed asGiovanni hurried forward, and slipping suddenly into the narrow frontgarden, approached the kitchen window. Inserting something between thesashes, he pushed back the latch, carefully drew back the blind, and waswithin the house almost before the two others had entered the garden.
Then, without a sound, the pair followed him. Indeed, the three spieshad entered the premises so quickly that we could scarcely believe ourown eyes.
"The police!" whispered Ray. "We must get the constable. Slip down thehill and tell him. We'll make a fine capture this time!"
Down the hill I sped, and five minutes later was back with theconstable, having briefly explained to him our suspicions.
"I don't know anything about German spies, sir, but whoever's inside isliable for burglariously entering, and we'll have 'em," whispered theofficer.
Silently we entered just as the spies had done, passing through thekitchen, and up the stairs. The laboratory was at the top of the house Iknew, and was always kept locked. Therefore we crept forward, withoutthe slightest sound.
Once or twice, we listened. The spies were absolutely silent--welltrained to that sort of nocturnal investigation, no doubt.
As Ray and I got to the door of the big room, which, by the light of theflash-lamp used by the intruders, we could see was fitted with all sortsof appliances, we witnessed through the crack that they had secured anumber of specimens of metals and were all three at that moment engagedin drilling a hole in the big dark green safe standing in the corner.
"Now," whispered the constable, "let's rush them." And with a loud shoutwe dashed in upon them, revolvers in hand.
In an instant we were in total darkness. Deep curses in Italian sounded,and I heard a desperate struggle taking place. Somebody grabbed at me,but it was our friend the constable. Then, by the red flash of arevolver which somebody fired, I distinguished the flying form of one ofthe intruders through the doorway.
Next second, in the darkness, I felt a man brush past me, and instantlyI closed with him. We fell together, and as I gripped the fellow'sthroat he ejaculated a loud imprecation in Italian. Then we rolled overin desperate embrace, but as I forced him beneath me, shouting to theconstable, whose lantern had been knocked from his hand and broken, Isuddenly felt a crushing blow upon the skull. I saw a thousand stars,and then the blackness of unconsciousness fell upon me.
* * * * *
When I again grew cognisant of what was going on about me, I foundmyself lying in bed in the Richmond Cottage Hospital with apleasant-faced nurse bending eagerly over me. It was still night, forthe gas was burning.
She asked how I felt, remarking that I had received a nasty crack, andhad lain there unconscious for three whole days.
Presently I felt the presence of some one else near me, and graduallymade them out to be Ray and Vera.
At first they would tell me nothing, but after the doctor had seen me,Ray in his cheery way said:
"Yours was a bit of hard luck, old fellow. The blackguards all gotaway--all three of them. But we were just in time, for in that safe werethe memoranda of the Professor's experiments which, together with thespecimens of the new metal that could have been analysed, would haveundoubtedly placed the secret of the new steel in the hands of theGerman Admiralty!"
"Then we really prevented them?" I said eagerly, feeling the bandagesabout my head.
"Just in the very nick of time, old man," he replied. "And we did more.We managed to save Miss Nella."
"How?" I inquired eagerly.
"She's here. She'll tell you herself." And next moment I saw herstanding before me with the Professor.
"Yes, Mr. Jacox," the girl said. "I have come to thank you. I was firstapproached by the young Italian while crossing Richmond Bridge one day,and later on he introduced me to his sister, who lived in St.Margaret's. On the afternoon when I was induced to go there I was givensomething in my tea which at once rendered me unconscious. When Irecovered, I found myself lying in a coffin secured to rings inside,while a villainous old man, a bearded German, and an Italian woman wereabout to screw down the lid. I screamed, but they took no notice, untilin fear I fainted. Ah! shall I ever forget those horrible moments? I wasalone, helpless in the hands of those fiends, all because I had allowedmyself to become attracted by a stranger! They held me there for days,trying to learn from me the secret of my father's discovery. But I wouldtell them nothing. Ah! how I suffered, believing every hour that theywould close down that lid. Then the brutes, finding me defiant, andbelieving that no one was aware of their existence, hit upon anotherdevice--sending a false telegram to my father from Liverpool, and thustaking him away from the house in order to be afforded a clear field fortheir investigations. Of this I, of course, knew nothing until yourfriends entered the house forcibly with the police and found me stillimprisoned--ah! yes! ready for death and burial."
And then the strange old Professor, stepping forward, seized my handwarmly in his, saying:
"To you and your two good friends, Mr. Jacox, the country owes a greatand deep debt
of gratitude. I was foolish in disregarding your timelywarning, for my dear daughter very nearly lost her life, because theblackguards knew she had assisted me in my experiments and had made thenotes at my dictation, while Britain very nearly lost the secret uponwhich, in the near future, will depend her supremacy at sea."