Chapter Four
Gideon Morse still had the small steel-blue automatic pistol in his hand. He was actually smiling, and humming a little tune when he turned and saw Juanita and myself coming out of the alcove.
In a flash his hand dropped the pistol into the pocket of his dinner jacket and his face changed.
"Santa Maria!" he said in Spanish, and then, "Juanita, Sir Thomas Kirby!"
"You remember you gave me an appointment tonight, Mr. Morse," I stammered.
"Of course, of course, then----"
He said no more, for with a little gasp Juanita sank into a heap on the floor. We had loosened hands directly the millionaire turned towards us and I was too late to catch her.
Morse was at her side in an instant. "The bell," he said curtly, and I ran to the side of the room and pressed the button hard and long.
These money emperors of the world are well served! In a second, so it seemed, the room was full of people. The young secretary, a couple of maids, a dark foreign-looking man in a morning coat and a black tie whom I took to be the valet, and finally a gigantic fellow in tweeds with a battered face as big as a ham, and arms which reached almost to his knees.
The maids were at the girl's side in a moment, applying restoratives. Morse rose, just as another door opened and in sailed a stout elderly lady in a black evening dress with a mantilla of black lace over her abundant and ivory white hair. Morse said something to her in Spanish and I wished I had been Arthur Winstanley to understand it. Then I felt my arm taken and Morse drew me away.
"It is nothing serious," he said. "Just a little shock." As he said it ,he made a slight gesture with his head.
It was enough. The secretary, the valet, and the huge, rough-looking man in tweeds faded away in an instant, though not before I had seen the latter spot the broken mirror, and a ferocious glint come into his eyes. Nor did he look surprised.
Juanita began to come to herself and she was tenderly carried away by the women. Gideon Morse accompanied them and spoke in a rapid whisper to the distinguished old lady, who, I knew, must be the Señora Balmaceda.
The two of us were left alone, and for my part I sank into an adjacent chair quite exhausted in mind, if not in body, by the happenings of the last ten minutes. Up to the present -- I will say nothing of the future -- I had never lived so fast or so much in such a short space of time; and you have to get accustomed to that sort of thing really to enjoy it!
"I'm afraid your visit has been somewhat exciting," said my host, in his musical, level voice. His eyes were as dark and inscrutable as ever, but nevertheless, I saw that the man was badly shaken. He took a slim, gold cigarette case from his waistcoat pocket and his hand trembled. Moreover, under the tan of his skin he was as white as a ghost -- there was a curious grey effect.
I laughed. "I confess to having been a little startled. Your secretary brought me in here and I was talking to Miss Morse in the conservatory when----" I hesitated for a moment.
He saved me the trouble of going on. "I guess," he said, "you and I had better have a little drink now," and he went to the wall.
I don't pretend to know how the service was managed. I suppose there was a sergeant-major somewhere in the background who drilled the host of personal and hotel attendances who ministered to the wants of Gideon Morse. At any rate, this time no one entered apart from one of the hotel footmen, and he brought the usual tray of cut-glass bottles, etc.
Morse mixed us both a brandy and soda and I noticed two things. First, his hand was steady again; secondly, the brandy was not decanted but came out of a bottle, on which was the fleur-de-lys of ancient, royal France, blown into the glass.
There was a twinkle in his eye when he saw I had spotted that. "Yes," he said, "there are only three dozen bottles left, even in the Ritz. They were found in a bricked-up cellar of the Tuileries," and he tossed off his glass with relish.
So did I. Cleopatra's pearls were not so expensive.
"Now look here, Sir Thomas," Morse said, sitting down by me and drawing up his chair, "you've seen something tonight of a very unfortunate nature. You've seen it quite by accident. If news of it got about, if it were even whispered through a certain section of London, then the very gravest harm might result, not only to me but to many other persons also."
"My dear sir, I have seen nothing. I have heard nothing. You may place implicit reliance on that," and I held out my hand to him, which he took in a firm grip.
"Thank you, Sir Thomas," he replied simply. "It was a question..." he hesitated for the fraction of a second, and I knew he was lying, "it was a question of impudent blackmail. I had expected something of the sort and was prepared. You saw how the cowardly hound ran away."
"Quite so, Mr. Morse. Of course a man in your position must be subject to these things occasionally."
"Ah, you see that," he said briskly, and I knew he was relieved. "You are a man of the world, and you see that. Well, I am thankful for your promise of silence. I am the more annoyed, though, that Juanita should have been present at a scene which, though really burlesque, must have seemed to her one of violence."
I had my own opinion about the burlesque nature of the incident, but I made haste to reassure him.
"Of course," I said, "it must have been distressing for any lady, but it was the suddenness that upset her, and I'm sure Miss Morse's nerves are far too good for it to have any permanent effect."
"Yes," he answered, and in his voice there was a caress, "I can explain it all to Juanita, and the memory of this evening will soon go from her."
Again I had my own private opinion, which I forbore to state. Personally, I had very little doubt but that Juanita would remember this evening as long as the darling lived! It would not be my fault if she didn't. But I saw that this was no moment to tell him that I loved her. Perhaps, if Juanita and I had been granted five minutes more in the conservatory before the disturbance, and I had said all I meant, and heard from her all I hoped, I would have spoken then. As it was I could not, though in my own mind I was certain she cared for me.
We were silent for a few moments, and then Gideon Morse seemed to recall himself from private thought.
"I had nearly forgotten!" he said. "You specially wanted to see me tonight, Sir Thomas, and you've very kindly waited in order to do so."
Then I remembered the errand on which I had come, and pulled myself together mentally. I liked Morse. He was of tremendous importance to me, and yet at the same time it behoved me to be wary. Already I was certain that he was playing a game with me in the matter of Mark Antony Midwinter, whose name I kept rigidly to myself. I knew I must play my cards carefully.
Please understand me. I don't for a moment mean that I felt Morse was my enemy, or opposed to me in any way. Far from it. I knew he liked me and wouldn't do me a bad turn if he could help it. At the same time I was perfectly sure that if necessary he would use me like a pawn in a mysterious game that I couldn't fathom -- and I didn't mean to be used like a pawn if I could help it. My hope and ambition was to serve him, but I wanted a little reserve of power also, for reasons I need not indicate.
"Yes," I said, "I telephoned you."
"And you mentioned a certain word which rather puzzled me."
"I did. 'Towers' was the word."
"I believe we are going to meet at The Towers at Cerne in Norfolk," said Mr. Morse. "Sir Walter Stileman told me that you were to be of the shooting party in September."
At that I laughed frankly. Really he was a little underestimating me.
He grinned and understood in a second. "Tell me, Sir Thomas, exactly what you do mean," he said.
"Well, you know I am a newspaper proprietor and editor."
"Of the best written and most alive journal in London!"
I bowed, and produced from an inside pocket Master Bill Rolston's astonishing piece of copy.
"An unknown journalist who was introduced to me today," I said, "brought a piece of news which would be of absorbing interest to the country -- if
it were published and if it were true. Perhaps you would like to read this."
I handed him the typewritten copy and prepared to watch his face as he read it, but he was too clever for that. He took it and perused it, walking up and down the room, and I began to realize some of the qualities which had made this man one of the powers of the world.
More especially so when he came and sat down again, his face wreathed in smiles, though I could have sworn fury lurked in the depths of his black eyes.
"Well, now," he said, "this is interesting, very interesting indeed. I am going to be quite frank with you, Sir Thomas. There's an amount of truth in this manuscript that would cause me colossal worry if it were published at present. Another thing it would do would be to upset a financial operation of considerable magnitude. Personally, I should lose at the very least a couple of million sterling, though that wouldn't make any appreciable difference to my fortune; but a lot of other people would be ruined and for no possible benefit to anyone in the world except yourself and the Evening Special."
"Thank you," I said, "that's just why I came. Of course nothing will be published, though I'm quite in the dark as to the nature of the whole thing."
"I call that generous, generous beyond belief, Sir Thomas, for I know it is the life of a newspaper to get hold of exclusive news. I would offer you a large sum not to publish this story did I not know that you would indignantly refuse it. I am a student of men, my young friend, if I may be allowed to call you so, and even if you were a poor man instead of being a rich one as ordinary wealth goes, I would never make such a proposition."
I glowed inwardly as he said it. It was a downright compliment, coming from him under the circumstances, at which anyone would have been warmed to the heart. For here was a great man, a Napoleon of his day, one who, if he chose, could upset dynasties and plunge nations into war. Yet, as I knew quite well, Gideon Mendoza Morse wasn't a member of the great financial groups who control and sway politics. In a sense he was that rare thing, a pastoral millionaire. He owned vast tracts of country populated by lowing steers for the food of the world. In the remote mountains of Brazil, indigenous workers toiled to wrest precious metals and jewels from the earth for his advantage. But from the feverish plotting of international finance I knew him to stand aloof.
"I very much appreciate your remarks," was what I told him, "and you may rest assured that nothing will transpire."
"Thanks. But all the generosity mustn't be on your side. You shall have your scoop, Sir Thomas, if you will wait a little while."
"I am entirely at your service."
"Very well then," he said, and his manner grew extraordinarily cordial, "let's put a period to it. I hope that, from today, I and my daughter are going to see a great deal of you -- a great deal more of you than hitherto. You know how we are" -- he gave a little annoyed laugh----"run after in London; and what a success Juanita has had over here. What I hope to do is to form a little inner circle of friends, and you must be one of them ... if you will?"
How my luck held, I thought. Here, offered freely and with open hands, was the only thing I wanted. I am glad to think that I found a moment in which to be sorry for Arthur and dear old Pat Moore.
"It's awfully good of you," I stammered.
He made a little impatient gesture with his hand. "Please don't talk nonsense," he said. "And now about the towers on Richmond Hill. I have told you that I cannot explain fully until September. I will tell you, though, that your clever little journalist -- what, by the way, did you say his name was?"
"Rolston."
"Of course. Rolston has ferreted out much that I wished to conceal, but he isn't entirely on the right track. I am, Kirby, at the bottom of the whole thing, and I have spent goodness knows how much to keep that quiet."
He lit another cigarette, leant back in his chair and laughed like a boy.
"I've bribed, and bribed, and bribed, I've managed to put pressure, actually to put pressure on the British Government. I've employed an untold number of agents. In short I've exercised the whole of my intellect, and the pressure of almost unlimited capital to keep my name out of it. And now, you tell me, some young journalist has found out one thing at least that I was determined to conceal until September next. The plans of men and mice gang oft agley, Kirby! This little man of yours must be a sort of genius. I hope there are no more people like him prowling about Richmond Hill."
I was quite certain that there was not another Bill Rolston anywhere, and I amused Morse immensely by detailing the circumstances of the young, red-haired man's arrival in Fleet Street. I never realized till now how human and genial the great Gideon Mendoza Morse could be, for he even expanded sufficiently to offer to toss me a thousand pounds to nothing for the services of Julia Dewsbury!
I saw my way with Juanita becoming smoother and smoother every moment.
It was growing late, nearly one o'clock, when Morse insisted on having some bisque soup brought in.
"I think we both want something really sustaining," he said. "Please begin, and I'll just run up and see my sister-in-law, Señora Balmaceda, and find out if Juanita is all right."
He left the room, and, happy that all had gone so well, I sipped the incomparable white essence, and gave myself up to dreams of the future.
I was to see Juanita often. In September, at Sir Walter Stileman's, Morse was to take me into his fullest confidence. That could only mean one thing. Within a little less than three months he would surely give his consent to my marriage with his daughter. Another opportunity like this of tonight, and Juanita and I would be betrothed. It would be delightful to keep our secret until the shooting began. I would follow her through the events of the season, watch her mood, hear her extolled on every side, knowing all the time she was mine. A vision came to me of Cowes week, the gardens of the Royal Yacht Squadron, Juanita on board of my own yacht "Moonlight."
I think I must have fallen asleep, when I started into consciousness to find myself staring into the great broken mirror over the mantelpiece to find that Mr. Morse had returned and was smiling down on me.
"She's all right, thank heavens," he said, "and has been asleep for a long time. And now, as you seem sleepy too, I'll bid you goodnight, with a thousand thanks for your consideration."
It was nearly two o'clock I noticed when I stepped out into the cool air of Piccadilly and walked the few yards to my flat. I must have been asleep for quite a long time, and dear old Morse had forborne to waken me.
I peculiarly remember my sense of well-being and happiness during that short walk. I was in a glow of satisfaction. Everything had turned out even better than I had expected. What did the scoop for the paper matter after all? Nothing, in comparison with the more or less intimate relations in which I now stood with Gideon Morse. I was to see Juanita constantly. She was almost mine already, and fortune had been marvellously on my side.
Of course there would be obstacles; there was no doubt of that. I was no real match for her. But the obstacles in the future were as nothing to those that had been already surmounted. I began to smile with conceit at the diplomatic way in which I had dealt with the great financier. Not for a single moment, as I put my key into the latch, did I dream that I had been played with the utmost skill, tied myself irrevocably to silence, and that horrible trouble and grim peril even now walked unseen by my side.
When I got into the smoking room I found things just as usual. I had hardly lit a last cigarette when the door opened and Preston entered.
"Good heavens!" I said, "I never told you to wait up for me, Preston. There was not the slightest need. You ought to have been in bed hours ago."
"So I was, Sir Thomas," he said looking at me in a surprised sort of way, and I noticed for the first time that he was wearing a grey flannel dressing gown and slippers.
"What do you mean?"
"Until the telephone message came, Sir Thomas."
"What telephone message?"
"Why, yours, Sir Thomas."
"I never
telephoned. When do you mean?"
"Not very long ago, Sir Thomas," he said, "I didn't take particular notice of the time. Somewhere between one o'clock and now."
I was on the alert at once, though I could not have particularly said why. "Are you quite sure that it was I who phoned?"
"But, yes," he answered, "it was your voice, Sir Thomas. You said you were speaking from the office."
"From the Evening Special? I've not been there since late afternoon. And when have I ever been there so late? There's never more than one person there all night long until six in the morning. It's not a morning paper as you know."
Preston seemed more than ever bewildered as I flung this at him. "All I can say is, Sir Thomas," he said, "that I heard your voice distinctly and you said you were at the office."
"What did I say exactly?"
"About the young gentleman, Sir Thomas, the young gentleman who has come to stay for a time. Your instructions were that he should be wakened and told to come to Fleet Street without the least delay. You also said a taxicab would be waiting for him, by the time he was dressed, to drive him down."
"And he went?"
"Certainly, Sir Thomas, he was in his clothes quicker than I ever see a gentleman dress before, had a glass of milk and a biscuit, and the cab was just coming as I went down with him and opened the front door."
I rushed out of the room, down the corridor and into that which had been placed at Rolston's disposal. It was as Preston said, the lad was gone. The bed was tumbled as he had left it, but a portmanteau full of clothes, some hair brushes and a tooth brush on the washstand remained. Clearly Rolston believed he was obeying orders.
Preston had followed me out of the smoking room and stood at the door, a picture of uneasy wonder. Let me say at once that Preston had been with me for six years, and had been under-butler at my father's house for I don't know how many more. He is the most faithful and devoted creature on earth and, what is more, as sharp as a needle. He, at any rate, had no hand in this business.
"There's something extraordinarily strange about this," I said. "I assure you I have never been near the telephone during the whole night. I dined with Lord Arthur in Soho, and the rest of the evening I have been spending at the Ritz Hotel with Mr. Gideon Morse. You've been tricked, Preston."
"I'm extremely sorry, Sir Thomas," he was beginning when I cut him short.
"It's not in the least your fault, but are you certain the voice was mine?"
He frowned with the effort at recollection. "Well, Sir Thomas," he said, "if you hadn't told me what you have, I believe I could almost have sworn to it. Of course, voices are altered on the telephone, to some extent, but it's extraordinary how they do, in the main, keep their individual character."
He spoke the truth. I, who was using the telephone all day, entirely agreed with him. "Well, Preston, it was a skilful imitation, and not my voice at all."
"If you will excuse me, Sir Thomas," he replied, "your voice is a very distinctive one. It's not very easily mistaken by anyone who has heard your voice once or twice."
"That only makes the thing the more mysterious."
"The more easy, I should say, Sir Thomas. It must be far less difficult to imitate an outstanding voice with marked peculiarities than an ordinary one."
He was right there, it hadn't occurred to me before. "But who in the office would dare to imitate my voice?"
"That, of course, I could not say, Sir Thomas. But we've only the word of the unknown person who rang me up that he was speaking from the office. For all we know he might have been in the next flat."
That again was a point and I noted it. "I'm not going to waste any time," I said. "I'll go down to the office at once and see if I can find out anything."
He helped me on with my coat and within five minutes of my entering, I was again in Piccadilly.
Already the long ribbon of road was beginning to be faintly tinged with grey. The dawn was not yet, but night was flitting away before his coming. Save for an occasional policeman and the rumble of heavy carts piled with sweet-smelling vegetables and flowers for Covent Garden, the great street was empty.
I passed the Ritz Hotel with a tender thought of one who lay sleeping there, and hurried eastwards. I had nearly got to the Circus when a taxi swung out of the Haymarket and I hailed the man. He was tired and sleepy, had been waiting for hours at some club or other, but I persuaded him, with much gold, to take me, and we buzzed away toward the street of ink.
Here was activity enough. The later editions of the morning papers were being vomited out of holes in the earth by hundreds of thousands. Windows were lighted up everywhere as I turned down a side street leading to the river and came to my own offices.
I unlocked the door with my pass key and almost immediately I was confronted by Johns, the night-watchman, who flashed his torch in my face and inquired my business. I was pleased to see the man alert and at his post and asked who was in the building.
"Only Mr. Benson, Sir Thomas. It's his week for night duty."
I went up and very considerably surprised, not to say alarmed, young Mr. Benson, who had the photograph of a lady propped up on a desk before him and was obviously indicting an amorous epistle.
I put him through the most searching possible cross-examination, until I was quite sure that he had never telephoned to my flat. I knew him for a truthful, conscientious fellow, without a glimpse of humour or the slightest histrionic talent. Johns, whom I called from below, was equally emphatic. Certainly no taxi had arrived here during the last three hours, nor had William Rolston come near the office.
I returned to Piccadilly, utterly baffled and without a single ray of light in my mind.