CHAPTER XII.
THE FIRST OF MAY.
Arriving in Thursday Island, one of the hottest and quaintest littlespots on earth, I was fortunate enough to catch a British India mailboat in the act of starting for Brisbane. I accordingly had my luggageconveyed to her and was soon comfortably installed aboard her. Thevoyage from Torres Straits, along the Queensland coast, inside theGreat Barrier Reef, though it boasts on one hand a rugged and almostcontinuous line of cliffs marked with such names as Cape Despair andTribulation, and upon the other twelve hundred miles of treacherousreef, is quite worth undertaking. I explored the different ports ofcall, and, on reaching Brisbane, caught the train for Adelaide,embarked on board a P. and O. mail boat there, and in less than sixweeks from the time of booking my passage was standing in the porch ofmy own house in Cavendish Square, had rung the bell, and was waitingfor the front door to be opened to me.
It was a cold winter's afternoon; an icy blast tore through the Squareand howled round the various corners, so that all the folk whoseinclement destinies compelled them to be abroad were hurrying along asif their one desire were to be indoors and by their fires againwithout loss of time.
Presently my old housekeeper opened the door, and, though I hadtelegraphed to her from Naples to expect me, pretended to be sooverwhelmed with surprise at seeing me as to be incapable of speechfor nearly a minute. I managed to get past her at last, however, andwent into what, in the days of my practice, had been my consultingroom. The fire was burning brightly, my slippers were toasting beforeit, my writing table was loaded with books and papers as usual, and acomfortable easy chair was drawn up beside it. Everything was exactlyas I had left it fourteen months before, even to the paper knife stillresting in a half cut book, and a hastily scrawled memo upon theblotting pad. There was something almost ironical about this state ofstagnation when I thought of the changes that had occurred in my ownlife since last I had used that knife and written that memorandum. Itold the old housekeeper to let me have my dinner at the usual hour,and having done so, asked her the news of the Square. Her reply wasnot important.
"James [her husband] an' me, sir," she said, "'ad the rheumatiz at thebeginning of the winter, the young postman with the red whiskers 'avegot married to the parlour maid as burnt herself so bad three yearsback, at number 99, and the little gal with the golden curls acrossthe way fell down the airey and broke her leg two months ago come nextFriday."
Such was the chronicle of the most important occurrences in that quietLondon Square during my absence.
After dinner I returned to my study, wrote two or three letters, andthen drawing my chair up to the fire, sat down to think. Outside thewind howled and the rain dashed against my windows, but my thoughtswere very far away from Cavendish Square; they were flying across theseas to an island, where lived a woman whom I had come to love betterthan all the world. Closing my eyes, I seemed to see the yacht lyingin the little harbour under the palm clad hills; I went ashore,threaded my way through the tangled mass of jungle, and passed up thepath to the bungalow on the hillside. There I found Alie moving abouther rooms with all her old queenly grace; then like a flash the scenechanged, and we were back on the yacht's deck in the typhoon. I sawthe roaring seas racing down upon us, heard the wind whistling andshrieking through the straining cordage, noticed the broken bulwarks,and by my side, Alie in her oilskins, with her sou-wester drawn tightabout her head, clinging to the rail with every atom of her strength.But all that was past and over, and now for twelve months--nay, to beexact, eleven,--I was to be the staid, respectable London householderI had been before I visited the East. After that--but there, what wasto happen after that, who could tell?
After a while the termination of my pipe brought my reverie to an end,so I took up a file of papers from the table and fell to scanning thelast few numbers. Suddenly a headline caught my eye and rivetted myattention. It was a clipping from a Hong Kong paper, and read asfollows:
"THE BEAUTIFUL WHITE DEVIL AGAIN."
"After a silence of something like four months the Beautiful White Devil has again done us the honour of appearing in Eastern waters. On this occasion, however, her polite attentions have been bestowed upon Singapore, from which place she has abducted, with singular cleverness, a young English doctor, whose acquaintance she had made in Batavia, and with him a certain well-known resident by name Ebbington. These two affairs were managed with that dexterity which the Beautiful White Devil has taught us to expect from her, the sequel, however, we have yet to learn. Surely, and we say it for the fiftieth occasion, it is time some definite steps were taken by Government to bring about the capture of a woman who, while being a picturesque and daring enough subject for a novel, has been a continual menace and danger to the commerce of the East for a greater number of years than the editorial chair cares to reckon."
I cut the paragraph out and, having placed it in my pocket-book,turned to the next issue published a week later. Here I found anotherquarter column devoted to her exploits. This one was also from theHong Kong paper and ran as follows:
"THE BEAUTIFUL WHITE DEVIL'S LATEST AND GREATEST EXPLOIT."
"Last week we described what may be considered two of the cleverest and most daring exploits in the whole of the Beautiful White Devil's extraordinary career. We refer to the abduction of an English doctor, travelling in the East in order to study Asiatic diseases, and a well-known figure in Singapore society, Mr. Arthur James Ebbington, whose bay pony, Cupid, it will be remembered, won the Straits Settlement's Cup last year. The whereabouts of these two gentlemen have not yet, so we learn, been discovered, but to compensate for that we have to chronicle another, and perhaps more serious, act of violence on the part of this notorious character. The facts of the case are as follows:
"On Saturday morning last the mail steamer _Bramah_ left Singapore for Hong Kong, having on board a number of distinguished passengers, including the new admiral of the China Station, Sir Dominic Denby, his flag lieutenant, Mr. Hoskin, and a prominent new government official for Hong Kong, Mr. Barkmansworth. There were also among the passengers six gentlemen of unassuming appearance, who, as far as could be judged, seemed to be total strangers to each other. The names they booked under were, as we find by a perusal of the shipping company's books, Matherson, Calderman, Burns, Alderney, Braham, and Balder.
"The first described himself as a missionary, the second was presumably a tourist, the third a tea merchant, the fourth an English newspaper correspondent, the fifth an American mill owner, and the sixth an Indian civilian on furlough. On Sunday morning early, the officer of the watch sighted a sail some few points off the starboard bow. From all appearances it was a large schooner yacht, flying a distress signal. On nearer approach it was seen that she had suffered considerable damage, her topmasts appearing to have been carried completely away.
"On inquiring her name it was elicited that she was the schooner yacht _Sagittarius_, belonging to the Royal Cowes Yacht Squadron, and owned by Lord Melkard, the well-known Home Rule Peer, who was supposed, at the time, to be cruising in these waters. Suspicion being thus entirely diverted, Captain Barryman brought his steamer as close as was prudent and signalled to the yacht to send a boat, which request was immediately complied with. Meanwhile, however, the attention of the officers on the bridge being rivetted on the yacht, two of the men before enumerated, Matherson the missionary, and Balder the Indian civilian, contrary to rules, made their way on to the bridge and implored the captain and chief officer to stand by the smaller vessel, which they declared to be sinking. Then without warning, on receiving a signal from below, these two, to all appearances eminently peaceable gentlemen, drew revolvers from their pockets and covered the astonished officers. The remaining members of the gang by this time had
posted themselves at the entrances to the first and second saloons, the engine-room, and the fo'c's'le, and refused to allow anyone to come on to or to leave the deck.
"When the boat came alongside Mr. Barkmansworth, the official before described, who had just had his bath and was completing his toilet in his cabin, was called up from below and ordered to descend into her. After some argument, and a considerable amount of threatening, he complied with the request and was pulled over to the yacht. Once there, he was seized, stripped to the skin, dragged up to a triangle, and remorselessly flogged. He was then sent bleeding and almost unconscious back to the steamer, where he was immediately placed under the doctor's care. On the return of the boat alongside, the six desperadoes, who had all the time been mounting guard, as before described, entered it and were conveyed to the yacht, which immediately steamed off in a southwesterly direction.
"That this last insult to the Powers-that-Be will have the result of inducing them to take more effective action against this notorious woman is too much to expect. But with a reckless confidence somewhat unusual to us, we are now pinning our faith on the newly arrived naval authority, the more so as he was himself a witness of the whole disgraceful affair. We can only point out one fact, and that is, that unless this woman be soon brought to justice, travelling by mail boat in Eastern waters will be a thing of the past. When steamers are stopped, and well known and respected government officials publicly flogged in mid-ocean, it is evident that affairs are coming to too atrocious a pass altogether."
Putting this criticism into my pocket-book with the other, I took aglimpse at my locket and went to bed.
Next morning, immediately after breakfast, I donned the orthodox tophat and frock coat and set off to walk to South Kensington to callupon my sister Janet--who, by the way, was a widow, her husband havingdied of malarial fever when with his regiment on the west coast ofAfrica.
I found her in the morning-room in the act of writing a note ofwelcome to me. She greeted me with all her old sisterly affection, andwhen she had done so, made me sit down before the fire and tell herall my adventures.
"We have heard the most wonderful tales about you," she said, with asmile. "How you were captured by a sort of female Captain Kidd offabulous beauty, who carried you off to an island in the Pacific,where you were made to dig sufficient gold to pay your ransom."
"Indeed?"
"It has been recopied into all sorts of papers," she continued. "ButI've no doubt it was a mass of mere fabrication. Own the truth now,wasn't it?"
"Every bit," I answered candidly. "I have been very much annoyed bythose stupid newspaper paragraphs. It is just like the rabid cravingof the age for sensationalism. But before I go any further, Janet, Iwant to tell you something. I am going to be married."
"You! George! Why, you always used to say you had made up your mindnever to do anything so foolish."
"So I did; but you see I have changed my mind."
"So it would appear. And now, who is she? Tell me where you met herand all about her."
This was what I dreaded, but it had to be met and faced.
"Well, in the first place, her name is Alie. She is twenty-seven yearsof age and an orphan. Her father was a captain in the English navy,but is now dead. She is very sweet, very accomplished, and verybeautiful; and I feel sure, Janet, if only for my sake, you will offerher a hearty welcome when she comes home."
"You know me well enough to be sure of that, don't you, dear oldGeorge? And is anything settled yet? How soon does she come home? andwhen are you going to be married?"
"To your first question I can only answer, as soon after the first ofMay as possible. On the first Alie will arrive in England. Now willyou wish me happiness, Janet?"
"With all my heart and soul. But I am dying to know more; tell mewhere you met her, and indeed all about your adventures; remember, youhave been away a whole year."
I told her as much as I thought prudent without revealing Alie'sidentity, and when my story was ended, we sat chatting on till lunchtime.
When I left the house in the afternoon, I knew I had insured a kindreception for Alie when she should arrive in England.
Now I must skip the greater part of a year and come to the middle ofthe last week in April, just three days, in fact, before I knew Imight expect my darling. It would be impossible for me to tell you howI spent the time. I don't think I know myself. I was in such a feverof impatience that each minute seemed an hour, each hour a day, andeach day a year. And the nearer the time came the greater became myimpatience. I even scanned the shipping lists with feverishearnestness, though I knew they could not possibly tell me anything Iwanted to know.
At last the evening of the 30th of April arrived, a warm spring nightwith the promise of a lovely morrow. I kept myself busily occupiedafter dinner, and went to bed counting the hours till morning shouldappear. But try how I would I could not sleep--the memory of the joythat awaited me on the morrow kept me wide awake, devising plans forAlie's happiness. Slowly the hours went by. I heard one, two, three,four, and five o'clock strike, and still sleep would not come to me.At last I could stand it no longer, so I rose, dressed myself, andwent out into the silent Square. Then I set myself for a walk, takingcare, however, to return home in time to receive my letters from thepostman. They were three in number, two from friends, the third acircular, but not one from Alie. The disappointment was almost morethan I could bear. But I put it behind me, and resolved to wait forthe next delivery, which would take place about an hour afterbreakfast. Again the postman came round the Square--but this time hehad nothing at all to deliver when he reached my door. Once more I wasdisappointed.
The morning rolled slowly on and lunch time came and went without anycommunication. The early afternoon delivery brought me no news, and bytea time I had almost lost hope. Could Alie have forgotten her promiseor had she met with an accident which prevented her from coming? Thelatter thought redoubled my anxiety.
But I had her own assertion that she would be in England on the firstof May and I had never known her fail to keep her word. Just as thatthought passed through my brain there was a ring at the bell, and afew seconds later my man brought up a telegram on a salver. Withfingers trembling with eagerness I tore the envelope open and read thefollowing message:
Arrived this morning. Bundaberg House, Surbiton. Come quickly.
ALIE.
That little slip of paper transformed my dismal world into a secondheaven. There and then I ran out of the room, gave the telegraph boyin the porch half a crown for his trouble, seized my hat and stick,hailed a hansom, and bade the cabman drive me with all possible speedto Waterloo. The man was a smart whip, and as he possessed a goodhorse we covered the ground in grand style. When we reached thestation I paid him off, purchased my ticket, and ran on to theplatform just in time to catch the 6.15 express. Punctually at fiveand twenty minutes to seven I left the train again at Surbiton, andproceeding into the station yard called another cab.
"Do you know Bundaberg House?" I asked the man, as I took my place inthe vehicle.
He shook his head and called to one of his mates.
"Where's Bundaberg House, Bill?"
"Out on the Portsmouth Road nearly to Thames Ditton," was the reply."That big house with the long brick wall next to Tiller's."
"I know now, sir!" said the man, climbing on to his box.
"Very well, then! An extra shilling if you hurry up," I cried, andaway he went.
At the end of a short drive we pulled up before a pair of massive irongates. A passer by threw them open for us and we drove in, passedround a shrubbery, and pulled up at the front door. I paid the cabmanoff and then, having watched him drive down and through the gatesagain, rang the bell. Next moment the door opened and a trim maidservant, without inquiring my name, invited me to enter. The frontdoor opened on to a nicely built and furnished hall and from it Ipas
sed into a handsome drawing-room. It was empty but, before I hadtime to look round, the folding doors on the other side were thrownback and Alie entered the room.
I must leave you to imagine our greeting. I can only say that it sendsa tremor through me to this day to remember it. I know that while Iheld Alie, who seemed more beautiful than ever, in my arms shewhispered:
"You are still of the same mind, George?"
"Doesn't this look as if I am, darling?" I whispered. "Yes, I love youmore fondly than ever, and I have come to-night to claim thefulfilment of your promise."
"You have been very patient, George!"
"It was because I loved and believed in you, Alie!" I replied. "Butcome, darling, I want my answer."
"And you shall have it," she said softly. "There it is!"
As she spoke she raised her beautiful white hand and pointed to thering I had given her, saying as she did so, "It has never left myfinger since you placed it there!"
"My best of girls," I cried, raising the little hand to my lips andkissing it fondly, "I am the very happiest man in the world. And now Imust hear all your doings; tell me how you got home!"
"There is little to tell," she answered. "I followed your route viaThursday Island, Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. I stayed in thelatter place for nearly a month, and while there advertised for acompanion. The result was Mrs. Barker, a nice, amiable little person,whom you will shortly see. When we reached Naples I happened to see anadvertisement concerning this furnished house in an English paper,telegraphed about it, received an answer in Paris, engaged it, andarrived here this morning."
"And how did you leave the settlement? And, by the way, where is Mr.'Beelzebub'?"
"The settlement was very well when I came away. They were busybuilding the new Communal Hall I used to talk to you about. And poorold Bel is left at the bungalow. I was afraid he might excite remarkand possibly draw suspicion upon me."
"Alie, do you think you are safe in London?" I cried in alarm, all myold fears rushing back upon me at the mention of that one word_suspicion_. "What ever should I do if any one suspected you?"
"You need have no fear on that score, dear," my intrepid sweetheartanswered, "there is no one in England who could possibly recognize me,and the only people in the whole world who could do so are Vesey ofHong Kong, the Sultan of Surabaya, the Rajah of Tavoy, Barkmansworth,and that lieutenant and midshipman. The first is dead; the secondnever leaves his own territory, the third is in bad odour with theEnglish Government just at present and little likely to come home.Barkmansworth is, I presume, still in Hong Kong, and the lieutenantand his junior are with their ship in the China Sea."
"All the same, I shall not be satisfied until we are safely out ofEurope again, Alie."
"You say _we_, then you mean to come away with me, George?"
"Of course, with whom else should I go? Hark! somebody is coming!"
"It is Mrs. Barker, my duenna. Now we must be matter of fact folk oncemore."
As she spoke, Mrs. Barker, a dapper little lady with silver gray hairand a very pleasant expression, entered the room.
"Let me introduce Dr. De Normanville to you," said Alie, rising fromher chair and going forward to meet her. "Dr. De Normanville, Mrs.Barker."
I bowed and Mrs. Barker did the same, then we went in to dinner. Whathappened during that very pleasant meal, how Mrs. Barker foundoccasion to require something from her bedroom afterwards, and so leftus alone in the drawing-room together, I need not relate; suffice itthat when I got home about twelve o'clock I was the happiest, and, atthe same time, the most nervous, man in England.
Next morning I called for Janet and, willy nilly, carried her offthere and then to call on Alie. We found her walking in her garden,which led down to the river, and I must be excused if I say that,proud as I was of my darling, I was infinitely prouder as I noticedthe look of astonishment and admiration that came into Janet's facewhen she was introduced to her. Alie's radiant beauty and charmingmanners were irresistible, and before they had been together half anhour the two women were on the best of terms. It was Alie's earnestdesire that we should remain to luncheon, and she herself walked tothe railway station with us when we at last took our departure.
"Now, what do you think of my sweetheart?" I asked, as we steamed outof the station.
"I think that she is a very beautiful and charming girl," was mysister's immediate reply, "and, if I know anything of my sex, she isas good as she's beautiful."
This pleased me, as you may be sure, and when Janet went on to tell methat she had invited Alie and Mrs. Barker to spend a few days withher, and that the visit would commence the following afternoon, myopinion of my sister's kindness became even more exaggerated thanbefore.
And so that week went by, and another after it, till Alie hadthoroughly settled down among us and nearly all the preparations forour wedding were complete. By that time, you may be sure, she had wongolden opinions on every side. On each occasion that I saw Janet shewas more and more profuse in her praises of her, until I had really totell her that unless she moderated them a little I should soon becomeinsufferably conceited about my good fortune.
One morning, when I was beginning to think of getting up, thefollowing note was brought to me with my shaving water. It was from mysister, and had evidently been written the previous evening:
SOUTH KENSINGTON, MONDAY EVENING.
DEAR OLD GEORGE:
I have succeeded in inducing Alie and Mrs. Barker to prolong their visit to me until Saturday. On Wednesday evening we hope to witness the new play at Drury Lane. Alie, you know, has never seen a spectacular melodrama. We shall of course want a gentleman to escort us. Would you care for the position, or must we look elsewhere? On that occasion we dine at 6.30, and, unless I hear from you to the contrary, I shall lay a place for you.
In haste. Your affectionate sister, JANET.
Need it be said that I accepted? or that on Wednesday evening I wasproud of my charges as they took their seats in the box Janet had beenat some pains to secure?
The house was packed from pit to gallery, and I noticed that more thanone glass was levelled at the beautiful girl who took her place atJanet's side in the front of the box. Alie herself, however, seemedquite unconscious of the admiration she excited, and throughout thepiece kept her eyes fixed upon the stage with never failingearnestness. What the play was I have not the very vaguestrecollection.
In the middle of the first act I noticed that three gentlemen enteredthe box opposite us, and from the vociferous nature of their applause,gathered that they had evidently been dining, not wisely, but toowell. After a while their glasses were so continually brought to bearon our box that I began to feel myself, foolishly enough, becomingexcessively annoyed. The face of one of them struck me as familiar,and during the next interval, seeing that they had left their box, Imade an excuse and went out to endeavour to discover who he was andwhere I had seen his face before. For a little while I wasunsuccessful in my search, then, just as the next act was commencing,I turned a corner and almost ran into their arms. The man whose face Ihad been puzzling about was furthest from me, but I knew himinstantly. _It was Barkmansworth!_ My heart seemed to stand still withterror, and when I recovered my wits he was gone.
What was I to do? I dared not tell Alie before my sister and Mrs.Barker, and yet I knew, if Barkmansworth had recognised her, not aninstant must be lost in getting her out of harm's way. For a moment Istood in the vestibule feeling more sick and giddy than I have everfelt before or since, and all the time trying vainly to think how toact. Then, when I took my seat again and saw that the occupants of thebox opposite had left, I resolved to put off all consideration of thematter for that evening and to call and tell Alie first thing in themorning. Oh, that little bit of indecision! How fatal were itsconsequences!
When I had conveyed my fair charges home I made a severe headache anexcuse, and bidding them good-night, set off on foot for my own abode.But my bra
in was too full of anxiety to entertain any idea of bed, so,turning off from the direct route, I wandered down to the Green Parkand on to the Embankment, thence through Lincoln's Inn Fields toOxford Street, and so round to Cavendish Square. By the time I letmyself into my house it was nearly three o'clock and a beautifulmorning. Passing along the hall, I went into my consulting room andlit the gas. A letter lay upon the table, addressed in my sister'shandwriting, and marked "Immediate." With a sickening fear in myheart, I tore it open and read:
DEAR GEORGE:
Come to me at once, without an instant's delay. Alie has been arrested.
Your frantic sister, JANET.
The blow had fallen! My little shirking of an unpleasant duty hadruined the woman I loved. Oh, how bitterly I reproached myself for mydelay in reporting my discovery. But if I had hesitated then, I didnot do so now. A second or two later I had let myself out again andwas off, as fast as I could go, on my way back to South Kensington.