CHAPTER XII
GODFREY IS FRIGHTENED
I was still staring about me, that mocking laughter in my ears, whenGodfrey joined me.
"He got away, of course," he said coolly.
"Yes, and I heard him laugh!" I cried.
Godfrey looked at me quickly.
"Come, Lester," he said, soothingly, "don't let your nerves run awaywith you."
"It wasn't my nerves," I protested, a little hotly. "I heard it quiteplainly. He can't be far away."
"Too far for us to catch him," Godfrey retorted, and, torch in hand,proceeded to examine the window-sill and the ground beneath it."There is where he stood," he added, and the marks on the sill wereevident enough. "Of course he had his line of retreat blocked out,"and he flashed his torch back and forth across the grass, but theturf was so close that no trace of footsteps was visible.
We went slowly back to the house, and Godfrey sat down again to acontemplation of the cabinet.
"It's too much for me," he said, at last. "The only way I can findthat drawer, I'm afraid, is with an axe. But I don't want to smashthe thing to pieces--"
"I should say not! It would be like smashing the Venus de Milo."
"Hardly so bad as that. But we won't smash it yet awhile. I'm goingto look up the subject of secret drawers--perhaps I'll stumble uponsomething that will help me."
"And then, of course," I said, disconsolately, "it is quite possiblethat there isn't any such drawer at all."
But Godfrey shook his head decidedly.
"I don't agree with you there, Lester. I'll wager that fellow who waslooking in at us could find it in a minute."
"He seemed mighty frightened lest you should."
"He had reason to be," Godfrey rejoined grimly. "I'll have anothertry at it to-morrow. One thing we've got to take care of, and that isthat our friend of the burning eyes doesn't get a chance at itfirst."
"Those shutters are pretty strong," I pointed out. "And Parks is nofool."
"Yes," agreed Godfrey, "the shutters are pretty strong--they mightkeep him out for ten minutes--scarcely longer than that. As forParks, he wouldn't last ten seconds. You don't seem to understand theextraordinary character of this fellow."
"During your period of exaltation last night," I reminded him, "youreferred to him as the greatest criminal of modern times."
"Well," smiled Godfrey, "perhaps that _was_ a little exaggerated.Suppose we say one of the greatest--great enough, surely, to walk allaround us, if we aren't on guard. I think I would better drop a wordto Simmonds and get him to send down a couple of men to watch thehouse. With them outside, and Parks on the inside, it ought to befairly safe."
"I should think so!" I said. "One would imagine you were gettingready to repel an army. Who is this fellow, anyway, Godfrey? You seemto be half afraid of him!"
"I'm wholly afraid of him, if he's who I think he is--but it's a mereguess as yet, Lester. Wait a day or two. I'll call up Simmonds."
He went to the 'phone, while I sat down again and looked at thecabinet in a kind of stupefaction. What was the intrigue, of which itseemed to be the centre? Who was this man, that Godfrey shouldconsider him so formidable? Why should he have chosen Philip Vantinefor a victim?
Godfrey came back while I was still groping blindly amid this maze ofmystery.
"It's all right," he said. "Simmonds is sending two of his best mento watch the house." He stood for a moment gazing down at thecabinet. "I'm coming back to-morrow to have another try at it," headded. "I have left the gauntlet there on the chair, so if you feellike having a try yourself, Lester...."
"Heaven forbid!" I protested. "But perhaps I would better tell Parksto let you in. I hope I won't find you a corpse here, Godfrey!"
"So do I! But I don't believe you will. Yes, tell Parks to let me inwhenever I come around. And now about Rogers."
"What about him?"
"I rather thought I might want to grill him to-night. But perhaps Iwould better wait till I get a little more to go on." He paused for amoment's thought. "Yes; I'll wait," he said, finally. "I don't wantto run any risk of failing."
We went out into the hall together, and I told Parks to admitGodfrey, whenever he wished to enter. Rogers was still sitting on thecot, looking so crushed and sorrowful that I could not help pityinghim. I began to think that, if he were left to himself a day or twolonger, he would tell all we wished to know without any grilling.
I confided this idea to Godfrey as we went down the front steps.
"Perhaps you're right," he agreed. "I don't believe the fellow isreally crooked. Something has happened to him--something inconnection with that woman--and he has never got over it. Well, weshall have to find out what it was. Hello, here are Simmonds's men,"he added, as two policemen stopped before the house.
"Is this Mr. Godfrey?" one of them asked.
"Yes," said Godfrey.
"Mr. Simmonds told us to report to you, sir, if you were here."
"What we want you to do," said Godfrey, "is to watch the house--watchit from all sides--patrol clear around it, and see that no oneapproaches it."
"Very well, sir," and the men touched their helmets, and one of themwent around to the back of the house, while the other remained infront.
"Perhaps if they concealed themselves," I suggested, "the fellowmight venture back and be nabbed."
But Godfrey shook his head.
"I don't want him to venture back," he said. "I want to scare himoff. I want him to see we're thoroughly on guard." He hailed apassing cab, and paused with one foot on the step. "I've already toldyou, Lester," he added, over his shoulder, "that I'm afraid of him.Perhaps you thought I was joking, but I wasn't. I was never moreserious in my life. The _Record_ office," he added to the cabby, andjingled away, leaving me staring after him.
As I turned homeward, I could not but ponder over this remarkable andmysterious being with whom Godfrey was so impressed. Never before hadI known him to hesitate to match himself with any adversary; but now,it seemed to me, he shunned the contest, or at least feared it--feared that he might be outwitted and outplayed! How great acompliment that was to the mysterious unknown only I could guess!
And then I shivered a little as I recalled that mocking and ironiclaughter. And I quickened my step, with a glance over my shoulder;for if Godfrey was afraid, how much more reason had I to be! It waswith a sense of relief, of which I was a little ashamed, that Ireached my apartment at the Marathon and locked the door.
Just before I turned in for the night, I heard from Godfrey again,for my telephone rang, and it was his voice that answered.
"I just wanted to tell you, Lester," he said, "that your guess wasright. The mysterious Frenchman came over on _La Touraine_, landingat noon yesterday. He came in the steerage, and the stewards knownothing about him. What time was it he got to Vantine's?"
"About two, I should say."
"So he probably went directly there from the boat, as you thought.That accounts for nobody knowing him. The steamship company isholding a bag belonging to him. I'll get them to open it to-morrow,and perhaps we shall find out who he was."
"But, Godfrey," I broke in, "how about this other fellow--the manwith the burning eyes? He's getting on my nerves!"
"Don't let him do that, Lester!" he laughed. "We're in no danger solong as we are not around that cabinet! That's the storm centre! Ican't tell you more than that. Good-night!" and he hung up withoutwaiting for me to answer.