*CHAPTER III.*
*CROSSED SWORDS.*
Hafid came into the library and pulled to the big bronze gates of theorchid-house like the portals of a floral paradise. There were flowershere: stephanotis climbing round the carved mantel, ropes of orchidsdangling from the electroliers, in one corner a mass of maiden-hair ferndraped the wall. Even the pictures in their Florentine frames wereroped with blossoms.
Frobisher glanced beyond the carved and twisted gates with a peculiarsmile after Angela had departed. His luncheon guests were late. Helooked more like a mischievous bird than usual. There was an air ofpleased anticipation about him as of a man who is going to witness abrilliant comedy.
There came to him a tall man with a heavy moustache and an unmistakablemilitary swagger. If Frobisher resembled a parrot, Lefroy was mostunmistakably a hawk. He passed in society generally as a cavalryofficer high in favour of his Majesty the Shan of Ganistan; more thanone brilliant expedition against the hill-tribes had been led by him.But some of the hill-men could have told another tale.
"Well, Lefroy," Frobisher exclaimed, genially. "This is a pleasure, agreater pleasure than you are aware of. Mr. Manfred, take a seat."
Lefroy's secretary bowed and sank into a deep chair. His face wasabsolutely devoid of emotion, a blank wall of whiteness with two eyes asexpressionless as shuttered windows. Most people were disposed toregard Manfred as an absolute fool. The hill-men at the back ofGanistan muttered in their beards that he was, if possible, worse thanhis master.
Lefroy reached for a cigar, lighted it, and looked around him. Thewhite-faced Manfred seemed to have lapsed into a kind of waking sleep. Amore utter indifference to his surroundings it would be hard to imagine.Yet he was a kind of intellectual camera. He had never been inFrobisher's library before. But a year hence he could have entered itin the dark and found his way to any part of the room with absolutecertainty.
"I came to see you over that central Koordstan Railway business," Lefroysaid.
"Precisely," Frobisher smiled. "I might have guessed it. As anEnglishman--though you have so picturesque a name--you are anxious thatEngland should receive the concessions. In fact, you have alreadypromised it to our Government."
Lefroy made a motion as who should move a piece on a chess-board.
"That is one to you," he said. "Yes, you are quite right. Whereasyou?"
"Whereas I am interested on behalf of the Russian Government. I triedour people here two years ago, but they refused to have anything to dowith me."
"Refused to trust you, in point of fact."
Frobisher laughed noiselessly. The wrinkled cunning of his face and thenoble expanse of his forehead looked strange together.
"Quite right," he said. "They refused to trust me. Any man who knowsmy record would be a fool to do so. But in that instance I wasperfectly loyal, because it was my interest to be so. Still I bowedwith chastened resignation and--immediately offered my services toRussia. Then you slipped in and spoilt my little game."
"There is half a million hanging to the thing, my dear fellow."
"Well, well! But you have not won yet. You can do nothing till youhave won the Shan of Koordstan to your side. Whichever way he throwshis influence the concession goes. And He of Koordstan and myself arevery friendly. He dines here to-night."
Lefroy started slightly. He glanced at Frobisher keenly under hisshaggy brows. The latter lay back smoking his filthy clay with dreamyecstasy.
"Yes," he went on, "He dines here to-night to see my orchids. My dearfellow, if you and Manfred will join us, I shall be delighted."
Lefroy muttered something that sounded like acceptance. Manfred cameout of his waking dream, nodded, and slipped back into consciousunconsciousness again.
"That picturesque and slightly drunken young rascal has a passion fororchids," said Frobisher. "It is the one redeeming point in hischaracter. But you know that, of course. You haven't forgotten thegreat coup so nearly made with the Cardinal Moth."
"The plant that was burnt at Ochiri," Lefroy said uneasily.
"The same. What a wax the old man was in, to be sure! Ah, my dearLefroy, we shall never, never see a Cardinal Moth again!"
"If I could," Lefroy said hoarsely. "Your chances with the Shan ofKoordstan wouldn't be worth a rap. With that orchid I could buy the manbody and soul. And the plant that was stolen from us at Turin is deadlong ago. It must be, such a find as that couldn't possibly have beenkept quiet."
"I'll bet you a thousand pounds that orchid is alive," Frobisher saiddryly.
Lefroy sat up straight as a ramrod. The waxed ends of his big moustachequivered. He turned to Manfred, anxiety, anger, passion, blazing like abrief torch in his eyes. Manfred seemed to divine rather than know thathe was under that black battery, and shook his head.
"I fail to see the point of the joke," Lefroy said.
Frobisher signed to Hafid to throw back the gates. Lefroy was on hisfeet by this time. He breathed like one who has run fast and far.Manfred followed him with the air of a man who is utterly without hopeor expectation.
"There!" Frobisher cried with a flourish of his hand. "What is that yousee beyond the third tier of ropes? Ah, my beauty, here comes anotherlover for you!"
Lefroy's black eyes were turned up towards the high dome of theorchid-house. Other tangled ropes and loops of blossoms met his gazeand held it as he glanced in the direction indicated by Frobisher. Andthere, high up above them all he could see the long, foamy, pink mass ofblooms with the red moths dancing and hovering about them like things oflife.
"The Cardinal Moth," he screamed. "Manfred, Manfred, curse you!"
He wheeled suddenly round in a whirl of delirious passion, and struckManfred a violent blow in the mouth. The secretary staggered back, athin stream of blood spurted from his split lip. But he said nothing,manifested no feeling or emotion of any kind. With a handkerchief hestaunched the flow with the automatic action of a marionette.
"The Cardinal Moth," Frobisher said as genially as if nothing hadhappened. "The gem has but recently come into my possession. It willbe a pleasant surprise for our friend the Shan to-night."
Just for an instant it looked as if Lefroy were about to transfer hisspleen from Manfred to his host. But Frobisher had been told enoughalready. The cowardly blow said as plainly as words could speak thatFrobisher had obtained the very treasure that Lefroy was after. Heimagined that his secretary had played him false. And, moreover, heknew that Frobisher knew this.
"You've got it," he said. He seemed to have a difficulty in swallowingsomething. "But you could not bring yourself to part with it. Youcouldn't do it."
"My good Lefroy, every man has his price, even you and I. My belovedMoth may not be a very good trap, but I shall find it a wonderfullyefficient bait."
"I dare say," Lefroy returned moodily. "Can I examine the flowercloser?"
"Certainly. Hafid, bring the extending steps this way. Be careful ofthose ropes and tangles. An active man like you could climb up the staysand bracket to the roof."
Lefroy was a long time examining the flower. He was torn by envy andadmiration. When he came down again his face was pale and his handstrembled.
"The real thing," he said, "the real, palpitating, beautiful thing. Butthere is blood upon it."
"Born in blood and watered with the stream of life. No, I am not goingto tell you where I got it from. And now, my dear Lefroy, what will youtake for your Koordstan concessions?"
Lefroy said nothing, but there was a gleam in his downcast eyes. Thenpresently he broke into a laugh that jarred on the decorous silence ofthe place.
"The game is yours," he said. "White to play and mate in three moves.Still there may be a way out. And, on the other hand, you must be verysure of your game to show me that. Lord, I'd give twopence to have youalone in a dark corner!"
He rose abruptly, turned on his heel, and made for the door, follow
ed bythe white automaton with the bleeding lip. He could hear Frobisher'sdiabolical chuckle as the big bronze gates closed behind him. It wasperhaps the most silent meal ever partaken of at Frobisher's. He wasglad at length to see the last of his luncheon guests.
Once in the streets Lefroy's manner changed. He looked uneasy anddowncast.
"I'm sorry I hit you, Manfred," he said. "But when I caught sight ofthat infernal plant I felt sure that you had sold me. But even youcouldn't have carried the thing off quite so coolly as that. Andyet--and yet there can't be two Cardinal Moths in existence."
"There are not," Manfred said impatiently. "That is the same one I hopedto have had in my possession to-night. Didn't Frobisher say it hadrecently fallen into his hands?"
"I recollect that now. Manfred, I'm done. And yet I regarded it as acertainty."
"You were a great fool to strike me just now," said Manfred,thoughtfully, and without resentment. "Why? Because the blow toldFrobisher that he had gained possession of the very thing you wereafter. It was as good as telling him that you thought I had betrayedyou. To-night when the Shan dines----"
Lefroy grasped Manfred's arm with crushing force.
"He isn't going to dine with Frobisher to-night," he whispered. "Weshall dine there, but his Majesty will be unfortunately detained owingto sudden indisposition. In other words, he will be too drunk to leavehis hotel. Let's go into your lodgings and have a brandy and soda. I'vegot a plan ready. There is just a chance yet that I may succeed."
Manfred let himself into a house just off Brook Street. In a modestroom upstairs, a box of cigars, some spirits, together with a silver jugof water, and a box of sparklets were put out. On the round table layan early edition of an evening paper that Manfred opened somewhateagerly for him. He glanced over a late advertisement in the personalcolumn and shook his head.
"It is as I thought," he said. "See here. 'The butterflies have goneaway and cannot be found. My poor friend has broken his neck and I havegone on a journey'--That is addressed to me, Lefroy. It is a messagefrom my man that somebody has stolen the Cardinal Moth, and that myman's confederate has met with a fatal accident. Also it seems likelythat there will be a fuss over the business, so that my correspondenthas gone somewhere out of the way. We will look for some account of thetragedy presently; it is sure to be in this paper. Now tell me what youpropose to do."
Lefroy poured a brandy and soda down his throat without a singlemovement of his larynx.
"I'm in a devil of a mess," he said frankly. "I made certain of gettingthe Cardinal Moth."
"So did I. But that is a detail. Go on."
"I wanted money badly. The concession seemed to be as good as mine.With the Moth as a bribe for the Shan it would have been all LombardStreet to a green gooseberry. So I lodged the charter with a notoriousmoney-lending Jew in Fenchurch Street, and got twenty thousand pounds onaccount."
"My dear Lefroy, you hadn't got the concession to lodge!"
"No, but I had the man's letters, and I had the draft contract. So Iforged the Charter, hoping to exchange it for a more broad and liberalone later on, and there you are!"
"And where will you be if you stay in the country forty-eight hourslonger?"
"I understand," Lefroy said grimly. "But there is a chance yet. TheShan does not go to Frobisher's dinner this evening and we do. You aresuddenly indisposed and sit out. At a given signal I make a diversion.Then you hurry into that orchid-house and steal the flower."
"The thing is absolutely impossible, my dear fellow!"
"Not at all. There is a much smaller Moth growing side by side with thelarger one. I found that out to-night. You have only to snap off asmall piece of cork and unwind the stems. Then you hurry off to myplace with it and put it amongst my orchids. The old man does notexpect anything beyond a small plant; those we had before were babiescompared to the one yonder. Then we get the Shan round the next day andgive him the vegetable. I shall have the concession ready. And it'sany money Frobisher never knows how he has been done."
"I'll make the attempt if you like," Manfred said without emotion. "Wecan discuss the details in the morning. And now let me see whathappened to my man. There is sure to be an account in this paper."
Manfred came upon it at length:
"Mysterious Occurrence in Streatham.
"Yesterday evening Thomas Silverthorne, caretaker at Lennox Nursery,Streatham, was aroused by hearing a noise in the greenhouse attached tothe house. Silverthorne had not gone to bed; indeed, only a few hoursbefore his employer had died, leaving him alone in the house. Onentering the greenhouse the caretaker discovered the body of a man lyingon the floor quite dead. Silverthorne thinks that it was the dull thudof the body that aroused him. Some plants in the roof had been pulleddown--rare orchids, according to Silverthorne, who, however, is nogardener--but there was no means to show how the unfortunate man gotthere, as there is no exit from the greenhouse to the garden. The manwas quite dead, and subsequent medical examination showed that he hadbeen strangled by a coarse cloth twisted tightly round his throat;indeed, the marks on the hempen-cloth were plainly to be seen. Aninquest will be held to-morrow."
"Well, what do you think of it?" Lefroy asked.
Manfred pitched the paper aside in a sudden flame of unreasoningpassion.
"Accursed thing!" he cried. "It is the curse that follows the pursuitof the Cardinal Moth. It is ever the same, always blood, blood. If Ihad my way----"
"Drop it," Lefroy said sternly. "Remember what you have got to do."
Manfred grew suddenly hard and wooden again.
"I have passed my word," he said. "And it shall be done, though I wouldrather burn my hand off first."