CHAPTER XV.
HOW WE SUCCEEDED.
On looking back upon that dreadful fortnight, I almost wonder how Imanaged to live through it. Indeed, had it not been for Walworth'sindomitable energy and the corresponding spirit it provoked in me, Isometimes doubt if I should have come through it in possession of mysenses. The anxiety and the constant dread of failure were the worstparts of it, and the last haunted me, day and night, withoutcessation.
Every day popular excitement, fanned by the newspapers, was growinggreater in London. As more became known of the Beautiful White Devil'sextraordinary career, the interest taken by the public in the caseincreased, until it was generally admitted that at the finalexamination it would be wellnigh impossible to gain admittance to thecourt. As, however, my duty on that occasion would lie elsewhere, Idid not trouble myself very much about that.
At last the Wednesday preceding the fatal Thursday dawned. This wasthe last day permitted us in which to perfect our arrangements. I hadbeen warned by Walworth that he would call upon me late in the eveningto make his final report, and at his particular request I arrangedthat my sister Janet should be present. I wrote her a note to thateffect, and at eight o'clock precisely she drove up to the door. Whenwe were alone in my room together, I said:
"Janet, it is Walworth's wish that you should be present at ourinterview. Have you made up your mind definitely? Remember, there isyet time for you to draw back if you wish to do so."
She drew herself up proudly and looked me in the face.
"There will be no drawing back as far as I am concerned," she said."No! if you and Alie leave England and will take me, I will go withyou gladly. Why should I not? I have no one left now to consider, andwithout you both my life would be too lonely."
"Janet, dear; what can I say to you?" I answered. "But there, you knowhow I feel about your generosity, don't you?"
"I do! So let's say no more about it."
Just then there was a ring at the bell, and a few moments later my manushered in a decrepid old gentleman of about seventy years of age,who, immediately the door had closed behind him, straightened hisback, allowed his cheeks to fill again, and declared himself to be theever-cautious Walworth. He bowed to Janet, shook hands with me, andthen said:
"I couldn't call in the capacity of either Mr. Maximillien Stragaus ormy old friend Samuel Baker again, you see! So I adopted this disguise.By the way, it may surprise you to learn that every one who enters orleaves this house is watched and followed. If you go to the window youwill see a man leaning against the lamp post on the other side of thestreet. He is a police agent. But let us proceed to business."
"With all my heart," I said. "I'm sick with longing to know how ourpreparations are proceeding!"
"Nothing could be more satisfactory," he answered. "The case, as youwell know, will not be called on till the afternoon. The instant it_is_ over the man I cabled to America for, and in whom I have the mostperfect trust, will drive a pair of vicious horses, purchasedyesterday, out of a livery stable yard in the direction in which thevan will travel. When he sees it ahead of him he will act in such amanner as to lead people to suppose him to be drunk; he will alsobegin to lash his animals, who will certainly run away. He is one ofthe finest whips living, and will drive those horses crash into theteam of the van, and by so doing will, we sincerely trust, cause suchdamage as will delay their arrival for at least half an hour. In themeantime our own van will be in readiness, and the instant the case isover will drive into the yard, and after the necessary preliminaries,all of which I have personally worked out and arranged, the prisonerwill be put into it, the door locked, and the van will then drive offto us. We shall be awaiting its arrival; you, madam, in your nurse'sdress, and you, Dr. De Normanville, as I shall prepare you to act thepart of a middle-aged naval man whose one hobby in life is yachting.Arriving at the house we shall carry the patient, wrapped up to theeyes, to an invalid carriage in the front street, and drive off to thestation, there to catch the afternoon express for Portsmouth. I havesecured a Pullman car; the house is also engaged, and has been partlyfurnished in order to deceive the neighbours: I have settled that theinvalid carriage shall be at the door earlier than it will be wanted,and the yacht, which I have chartered for six months, will be inreadiness to get under weigh the instant we're aboard!"
"And what will become of the van and horses?"
"The horses will be taken away from the yard within an hour of ourdeparture. The van can remain there as long as it pleases. We willhope by the time they find it we shall be far away from England."
"And does Alie understand your arrangements?" asked Janet.
"Perfectly. I called at the gaol this morning, disguised as asolicitor's clerk, saw her, and told her all. You need have no fearfor her, she will play her part to perfection."
"Then everything is settled, I suppose, and there is nothing for us todo but to wait patiently for to-morrow?"
"Nothing but that! Now, with your permission, I will be going. I don'tsuppose I shall see you again till we meet at the house."
"Good-bye, and God bless you, Walworth, for all you have done."
After he had left us Janet and I sat talking late into the night, andwhen we separated at her bedroom door, it was with a heartfelt wishthat "good luck" might attend us on the morrow.
Next morning the long hours seemed as if they would never pass. All mypersonal arrangements had been made some days before, and my luggagesent off to the yacht at Portsmouth, labelled "Captain R. Wakeman," sothere was absolutely nothing at all for me to do to kill the time tillwe were due at the house. At twelve o'clock, sharp to the minute,Janet and I had lunch, and at half-past, set off in differentdirections, taking particular care to see that we were not followed.
We reached the house almost simultaneously and were received at thedoor by an irreproachable maid-servant, who did not seem in the leastsurprised to see us. Walworth we found in a room at the back, thistime irreproachably got up as an old family butler. My sister wasalready dressed in her nurse's apparel, and very sweet and womanly shelooked in it. In the passage, outside the one room which had been madehabitable, was a curious sort of stretcher, the use of which I couldnot determine.
"That is the bed place upon which we shall carry your poor invalidwife out to the carriage," said Walworth. "You see it is quite readyfor use."
"I see. And when am I to make my toilette? I have brought the clothesyou mentioned with me, in this parcel."
"That's right. I was half afraid you might bring a hand-bag, whichwould have had to be left behind and would very possibly have beenrecognised. Now I think you had better come into the other room andlet me make you up at once."
I followed him, and when I emerged again a quarter of an hour later, Imight very well have stood for a portrait of a representativemiddle-aged English naval man on the retired list. My hair was irongray, as also were my close cropped beard and moustache; the very cutof my clothes and the fashion of my neck cloth seemed to set forth mycalling as plain as any words could speak. In this get-up I had notthe least fear that any one would recognise me. By this time it wasnearly two o'clock, and the case was to commence at half-past.
"Is everything prepared?" I asked Walworth, for about the hundredthtime, as we adjourned to the sitting-room.
"Everything," he answered, with the same patient equanimity. "Comeinto the yard and see them harness the horses."
I followed him out into the back regions, where we found two stalwartpolicemen busily occupied attaching a couple of horses to an enormousBlack Maria. They touched their hats to me with as little concern asif the business they were engaged to carry out was one of the verysmallest importance. Somehow their stolidity did not seem reassuringto me, and I accordingly called Walworth on one side.
"Are you perfectly sure you can trust these men?" I asked anxiously.
"Absolutely," he answered. "I know them of old, and I can tell you weare extremely lucky to get them. Besides, they know that if they getthe prisoner safely a
way they will each receive a thousand pounds. Ifthey don't they get nothing. Don't be afraid. You may dependimplicitly on them. Now come inside. I have had the telephone put inthe house on purpose for this moment, and we must watch it."
We returned to the sitting-room and waited. The minutes seemed long ashours, and so horrible was the suspense that I began to conjure up allsorts of calamities. Perhaps I may be laughed at for owning myselfsuch a coward, but let the pluckiest man living try the ordeal I wasthen passing through, and see if he would be braver. No! I was in acondition of complete terror, and I'll own it!
Suddenly, with a noise that echoed down the empty corridor and bracedus to action like a trumpet call, the telephone bell rang out. BothWalworth and I jumped to our feet at the same instant and appropriatedthe ear trumpets. Then a tiny voice inside the instrument saidmysteriously:
"The case is adjourned and the crowd is dispersing."
With a step as steady and a voice as firm as if he were ordering hiscarriage for an airing in the Park, Walworth went to the back door, Ifollowing close at his heels. He gave a signal and then crossed theyard to the gates, which he began to open.
"Are you ready?" he cried to the men.
"Quite ready," the taller of the pair answered, climbing on the box.
"Papers and everything handy?"
"Aye, aye, sir," said the guard on the seat at the back.
"Very well then, go ahead, and good luck go with you!"
The gates were thrown open and the van rolled out into thehalf-deserted street.
"Now come with me," cried Walworth, "and see if the carriage is at theother door."
We went inside, passed through the house, and out to the front. Yes!The peculiar-shaped hospital car, with the door opening at the end toadmit the stretcher, was already pacing up and down. By this time Icould do nothing, my teeth were chattering in my head with simpleterror.
"Come, come," said Walworth, observing my condition, "you mustn't letyourself go like this. Let me give you a drop of spirit."
He took a flask from his pocket and poured me out half a tumbler ofwhiskey. I drank it off neat and, I am prepared to assert, did nottaste it any more than if it had been so much water. He offered alittle to Janet, who sat in the corner in a listening attitude, andwhen she refused it, screwed on the top again and replaced it in hispocket.
Again we sat in dumb, almost terrified expectancy. Times out of numberI thought I heard the van roll into the yard, and sprang to my feet,only to find that it was some cart passing in the street. Itsnon-arrival in the time we had given it found me almost too frightenedto think coherently. I conjured up all sorts of catastrophes in mymind. I saw the horses fall, the driver tumble from his box, I saw ourpolicemen suspected and the plot found out. Then suddenly in themiddle of it all I heard the roll of wheels, they came closer andcloser, then they stopped, the gates were thrown open, and a second ortwo later the van rolled into the yard. Before I could have countedten the guard was down from his perch, the gates were closed again,the door of the van was opened, and Alie ran down the steps. Then,forgetting those about us, I rushed out and took her in my arms. ButWalworth would have no delay.
"Come inside quickly," he said. "There is not a second to lose! Theymay be after us already!"
We followed him into the house, and then for the first time I saw thatAlie had dressed herself in the van for the part she had to play.Throwing herself down upon the stretcher, she pulled the coverletacross her, donned a wig with corkscrew curls, drew a veil over herface, and announced herself ready. Janet picked up her reticule,smelling salts, shawls, fans, etc.; the maid brought an armful ofrugs; I took one end of the stretcher, Walworth the other, and so wewent down the steps to the carriage. Then the invalid was hoisted in,Janet and I stepped in and seated ourselves beside her, Walworthsprang onto the box beside the coachman, and away we went for Waterlooas fast as our spirited horse could trot.
Not a word was spoken all the way, and in less than ten minutes we hadrattled up the causeway and were disembarking our precious load uponthe platform. As the porters came crowding around us, I thought this afitting opportunity for assuming the role I had elected to play. Socalling upon two of them to take up "Mrs. Wakeman" and be very carefulnot to shake her, I led the way toward the Pullman which had beenspecially reserved for us. Walworth, in his capacity of familyservant, had mounted guard at the door, and, when we were inside, wentoff to his own carriage. A minute later the guard waved his flag, thewhistle sounded, and the train steamed slowly out of the station. Sofar we were safe. But oh! what an awful risk we had run.
Fortunately the train by which we were travelling was an express, anddid not stop anywhere until it reached Eastleigh; so that as soon aswe were under weigh Alie could remove her wig and bedclothes, and situpright.
"Alie," I whispered, taking her hand and looking into her beautifuleyes, "can you believe that, so far, you are safe?"
"Hardly," she said. "But we must not relax any of our precautions. Bythis time the police will have learned the truth, and I shouldn't beat all surprised if the train is searched at Eastleigh. They'recertain to telegraph in every direction to stop us."
"But surely they won't suspect _us_?"
"I hope not, but we must not make too sure." Here she crossed thecarriage and took my sister's hand. "Janet, what could George have beenthinking of to allow you to run this risk? Why did you do it?"
In reply Janet patted her hand, and looked affectionately into herface.
"If you really want to know the reason, it was because we both loveyou."
"You are too good to me," Alie answered, her dear eyes swimming withtears, "far too good."
"Hush, you must not say that. Let us be thankful that our venture hasprospered as it has done."
Mile after mile sped by, and soon we had passed Winchester and weredrawing close to Eastleigh. Then Alie resumed her wig and veil, and,having done so, laid herself down once more upon her couch. Closer andcloser we came, till presently we entered the station itself, and,with a great rattle and roar of brakes, drew up at the platform. Thenensued the usual scurrying of passengers, the "by your leave" ofporters with trucks of luggage, after that the gradual subsidence ofbustle, and in three minutes all was ready for proceeding upon our wayonce more. But just as the guard was about to give his signal thestation master stayed his hand. Next moment an inspector of police,accompanied by a sergeant and two or three constables appeared uponthe scene and began slowly to inspect the various carriages. I leanedout of the window and watched them, outwardly calm, but inwardlytrembling. Every moment they were drawing nearer to our carriage. Ilooked behind me. Janet was seated by Alie's side slowly fanning her.From them I turned and glanced down the platform again. The policewere already at the next carriage and in a minute would be at my door.What should I do? What should I say? But I dared not think. I felt Imust leave it all to chance. A moment later the inspector arrived, andwas about to turn the handle.
"Excuse me," I said, pretending to mistake his meaning, "but thiscarriage is engaged! I think you will find room in the nextcompartment."
"I'm not looking for a seat," the officer replied, civilly enough,"I'm looking for an escaped criminal."
"Hush! Hush! My good sir, not so loud for mercy's sake," I whispered,as if in an ecstacy of fear. "I have my wife inside dangerously ill.She must not be frightened."
"I beg your pardon, sir," he answered. "I'm sorry I spoke so loud!"Then, as I moved aside to admit him: "Don't trouble, sir, I don'tthink I need come in, thank you!"
"I'm glad of that," I replied. "And pray who is this escapee you arelooking for?"
"The woman there has been such a talk about lately, 'The BeautifulWhite Devil.' She managed to effect an escape on the way to HollowayGaol this afternoon. But I am keeping the train. I must get on! Goodafternoon and thank you, sir!"
"Good afternoon."
I sat down with an inarticulate expression of my gratitude to Heaven,and, a minute or so later, the train continued its journey, not
tostop again until we were in Portsmouth town.
When we arrived at the docks, Walworth and I carried Alie down thesteps to the wharf, and as soon as this was accomplished my faithfulfriend went off in search of the launch which, it had been arranged,should meet and take us out to the yacht, then lying in the harbour.When he had discovered it, we lifted our precious burden on board, andsteamed out to where our craft lay. Ten minutes later we had Alieaboard and safely in her own cabin, and were proceeding down theSolent under a full head of steam. _Our rescue was accomplished._
The yacht was a large one, of perhaps three hundred tons; she was alsoa good sea boat, and, what was better still, a fast one. By nightfallwe had left the Isle of Wight behind us, and brought Swanage almostabeam. Then we stood further out into the Channel and in the gatheringdarkness lost sight of land altogether. At seven o'clock we dinedtogether in the saloon--the skipper, an old shellback whom Walworthhad picked up, sitting down with us. At first he seemed a littlesurprised at Alie's sudden convalescence, but when I informed him thatit was nothing but nerves, he accepted the explanation and said nomore.
After the meal was over we left the rather stuffy cabin and went ondeck. It was a glorious night. In the west a young moon was droppingon to the horizon, the sea was as smooth as a mill pond, and the airjust cool enough to make exercise pleasant. Leaving Walworth and Janetto fight the battle of our escape over and over again on the port sideof the deck, we paced the starboard, only to find ourselves aft at ourfavourite spot, the taffrail.
"George, dear," said Alie softly, when we had been standing there afew moments. "What a lot has happened since we last stood like this,looking out across the sea."
"Yes, darling; a great deal has indeed occurred to us both," Ianswered. Then, after a little pause, "Alie, do you know if you hadnot escaped to-day I should never have been able to forgive myself,for remember it was I who was the means of bringing you home."
"You must not say that!"
"But I must say it; it is true."
"Then I will forgive you on one condition! Will you make a bargainwith me?"
"What is it?"
"That--that----" Here a little fit of modesty overcame her. "That weput into Madeira and you marry me there."
"Alie, darling, do you mean it?" I cried, delighted beyond all measureat the proposal.
"Of course I mean it."
"But would it be safe, think you?"
"Perfectly! They will never dream of looking for us there. You mustallow the skipper to understand that it is a runaway match. That willremove his scruples, and make it all plain sailing."
"And you will really be my wife then, Alie?"
"Have I not already been bold enough to ask you to marry me?"
"Then, please God, we will put into Madeira and do as you suggest!"
And that's how it was settled!