CHAPTER XIII
A DISTINGUISHED CALLER
It was shortly after I reached the office, next morning, that theoffice-boy came in and handed me a card with an awed and reverent airso at variance with his usual demeanour that I glanced at the squareof pasteboard in some astonishment. Then, I confess, an awed andreverent feeling crept over me, also, for the card bore the name ofSereno Hornblower.
That name is quite unknown outside the legal profession of the threegreat cities of the east, New York, Boston and Philadelphia; forSereno Hornblower has never held a public office, has never made apublic speech, has never responded to a toast, has never served on apublic committee, has never, so far as I know, conducted a case incourt or addressed a jury--has never, in a word, figured in thenewspapers in any way; and yet his income would make that of anyother lawyer in the country look like thirty cents.
For Sereno Hornblower is the confidential attorney of most of our"best families." He has held that position for years, and it is saidthat no case placed unreservedly in his hands ever resulted in apublic scandal. He accepts clients with great care; he hassteadfastly refused the business of Pittsburgh millionaires,remunerative as it was certain to be; but he seems to take a sort ofpersonal pride in keeping intact the reputations of the old families,even when their scions embark in the most outrageous escapades. Ifyou are descended from the Pilgrims or the Patroons, Mr. Hornblowerwill ask no further recommendation.
His reputation for tact and delicacy is tremendous; and yet those whohave found themselves opposed to him have never been long inrealising that there was a most redoubtable mailed fist under thevelvet glove. Altogether a remarkable man, whose memoirs would makeabsorbing reading, could he be persuaded to write them--which isquite beyond the bounds of possibility. I had never met him eitherprofessionally or personally, and it was with some eagerness that Itold the office-boy to show him in at once.
Sereno Hornblower did not look the part. His reputation led one toexpect a sort of cross between Uriah Heep and Sherlock Holmes, butthere was nothing secretive or insinuating about his appearance. Hewas a bluff and hearty man of middle age, rather heavy-set,fresh-faced and clean-shaven, and with very bright blue eyes--evidentlya man with a good digestion and a comfortable conscience. Had I met himon Broadway, I should have taken him for a ripe and finishedcomedian. There was about him an air which somehow reminded me ofJoseph Jefferson--perhaps it was his bright blue eyes. It may havebeen this very appearance of bluff sincerity and honest downrightnesswhich accounted for his success.
We shook hands, and he sat down and plunged at once, without aninstant's hesitation, into the business which had brought him.Looking back at it, understanding as I do now the delicate nature ofthat business, I admire more and more that bluff readiness; thoughthe more I think of it, the more I am convinced that he had thoughtout definitely beforehand precisely what he was going to say. The manwho can carry through a carefully premeditated scene with an air ofcomplete unpremeditation has an immense advantage.
"Mr. Lester," he began, "I understand that you are the administratorof the estate of the late Philip Vantine?"
"Our firm is," I corrected.
"But you, personally, have been attending to his business?"
"Yes."
"He was a collector of old furniture, I believe?"
"Yes."
"And on his last trip to Europe, from which he returned only a fewdays ago, he purchased of Armand & Son, of Paris, a Boule cabinet?"
I could not repress a start of astonishment.
"Are you acting for Armand & Son?" I queried.
"Not at all. I am acting for a lady whom, for the present, we willcall Madame X."
The thought flashed through my mind that Madame X. and the mysteriousFrenchwoman might be one and the same person. Then I put aside theidea as absurd. Sereno Hornblower would never accept such a client.
"Mr. Vantine did buy such a cabinet," I said.
"And it is in your possession?"
"There is at his residence a Boule cabinet which was shipped him fromParis, but, only a few hours before his death, Mr. Vantine assured methat it was not the one he had purchased."
"You mean that a mistake had been made in the shipment?"
"That is what we supposed, and a cablegram from Armand & Son hassince confirmed it."
Mr. Hornblower pondered this for a moment.
"Where is the cabinet which Mr. Vantine did buy?" he asked at last.
"I have no idea. Perhaps it is still in Paris. But I am expecting arepresentative of the Armands to call very soon to straighten thingsout."
Again my companion fell silent, and sat rubbing his chin absently.
"It is very strange," he said, finally. "If the cabinet was still atParis, one would think it would have been discovered before my clientmade inquiry about it."
"There are a good many things which are strange about this wholematter," I supplemented.
"Would you have any objection to my client seeing this cabinet, Mr.Lester?"
It was my turn to hesitate.
"Mr. Hornblower," I said, finally, "I will be frank with you. Thereis a certain mystery surrounding this cabinet which we have not beenable to solve. I suppose you have read of the mysterious deaths ofMr. Vantine and of an unknown Frenchman, both in the same room at theVantine house, and both apparently from the same cause?"
He nodded.
"Do you mean that this cabinet is connected with them in any way?" heasked quickly.
"We believe so; though as yet we have been able to prove absolutelynothing. But we are guarding the cabinet very closely. I should notobject to your client seeing it, but I could not permit her to touchit--not, at least, without knowing why she wished to do so. You willremember that you have told me nothing of why she is interested init."
"I am quite ready to tell you the story, Mr. Lester," he said. "It isonly fair that I should do so. After you have heard it, if you agree,we will take Madame X. to see the cabinet."
"Very well," I assented.
He settled back in his chair, and his face became more grave.
"My client," he began, "is a member of a prominent American family--amost prominent family. Three years ago, she married a Frenchnobleman. You can, perhaps, guess her name, but I should prefer thatneither of us utter it."
I nodded my agreement.
"This nobleman has been both prodigal and unfaithful. He hasscattered my client's fortune with both hands. He has flaunted hismistresses in her face. He has even tried to compel her to receiveone of them. I am free to confess that I consider her a fool not tohave left him long ago. At last her trustees interfered, for herfather had been wise enough to place a portion of her fortune intrust. They paid her husband's debts, placed him on an allowance, andnotified his creditors that his debts would not be paid again."
I had by this time, of course, guessed the name of his client, sincethese details had long been a matter of public notoriety, and, I needhardly say, listened to the story with a heightened interest.
"The allowance is a princely one," Mr. Hornblower continued, "but itdoes not suffice Monsieur X. No allowance would suffice him--the moremoney he had, the more ways he would find of spending it. So he hasbecome a thief. He has taken to selling the objects of art with whichhis residences are filled, and which are really the property of myclient, since they were purchased with her money. About two weeksago, my client returned to Paris from a stay at her chateau inNormandy to find that he had almost denuded the town house.Tapestries, pictures, sculptures--everything had been sold. Amongother things which he had taken was a Boule cabinet, which had beenused by my client as her private writing-desk. The cabinet was a mostvaluable one; but it is not its monetary value which makes my clientso anxious to recover it."
He paused an instant and cleared his throat, and I realised that hewas coming to the really delicate part of the story.
"Monsieur X. had had the decency," he went on, more slowly, "to, ashe thought, retain his wife's private papers.
He had caused thecontents of the various drawers to be dumped out upon a chair. Butthere was one drawer of which he knew nothing--a secret drawer, knownonly to my client. That drawer contained a packet of letters which myclient is most anxious to regain. Of their nature, I will saynothing--indeed, I know very little about them, for, after all, thatis none of my business. But she has given me to understand that theirrecovery is essential to her peace of mind."
I nodded again; there was really no need that he should say more.Only, I reflected, a faithless husband has no reason to complain ifhis wife repays him in the same coin!
"My client went to work at once to regain the cabinet," continued Mr.Hornblower, plainly relieved that the thinnest ice had been crossed."She found that it had been sold to Armand & Son. Hastening to theiroffices, she learned that it had been resold by them to Mr. Vantineand sent forward to him here. So she came over on the first boat,ostensibly to visit her family, but really to ask Mr. Vantine'spermission to open the drawer and take out the letters. His deathinterfered with this, and, in despair, she came to me. I need hardlyadd, that no member of her family knows anything about this matter,and it is especially important that her husband should never evensuspect it. On her behalf, I apply to you, as Mr. Vantine's executor,to restore these letters to their owner."
I sat for a moment turning this extraordinary story over in my mind,and trying to make it fit in with the occurrences of the past twodays. But it would not fit--at least, it would not fit with my theoryas to the cause of those occurrences. For, surely, Madame X. wouldscarcely guard the secret of that drawer with poison!
"Does any one besides your client know of the existence of theseletters?" I asked, at last.
"I think not," answered Mr. Hornblower, smiling drily. "They are notof a nature which my client would care to communicate to any one. Infact, Mr. Lester, as you have doubtless suspected, they arecompromising letters. We must get them back at any cost."
"As a matter of fact," I pointed out, "there are always at least twopeople who know of the existence of every letter--the person whowrites it and the person who receives it."
"I had thought of that, but the person who wrote these letters isdead."
"Dead?" I repeated.
"He was killed in a duel some months ago," explained Mr. Hornblower,gravely.
"By Monsieur X.?" I asked quickly.
"By Monsieur X.," said Mr. Hornblower, and sat regarding me, his lipspursed, as an indication, perhaps, that he would say no more.
But there was no necessity that he should. I knew enough of Frenchlaw and of French habits of thought to realise that if those lettersever came into possession of Monsieur X., the game would be entirelyin his hands. His wife would be absolutely at his mercy. And thethought flashed through my mind that perhaps in some way he hadlearned of the existence of the letters, and was trying desperatelyto get them. That thought was enough to swing the balance in hiswife's favour.
"I am sure," I said, "that Mr. Vantine would instantly have consentedto your client opening the drawer and taking out the letters. And, ashis executor, I also consent, for, whoever may own the cabinet, theletters are the property of Madame X. All this providing, of course,that this should prove to be the right cabinet. But I must warn you,Mr. Hornblower, that I believe two men have already been killedtrying to open that drawer," and I told him, while he sat therestaring in profound amazement, of my theory in regard to the death ofPhilip Vantine and of the unknown Frenchman. "I am inclined tothink," I concluded, "that Vantine blundered upon the drawer whileexamining the cabinet; but there is no doubt that the other man knewof the drawer, and also, presumably, of its contents."
"Well!" exclaimed my companion. "I have listened to many astonishingstories in my life, but never one to equal this. And you know nothingof this Frenchman?"
"Nothing except that he came from Havre on _La Touraine_ lastThursday, and drove from the dock direct to Vantine's house."
"My client also came on _La Touraine_--but that, no doubt, was a merecoincidence."
"That may be," I agreed, "but it is scarcely a coincidence that bothhe and your client were after the contents of that drawer."
"You mean...."
"I mean that the mysterious Frenchman may very possibly have been anemissary of Monsieur X. Madame may have betrayed the secret to him inan unguarded moment."
Mr. Hornblower rose abruptly. He was evidently much disturbed.
"You may be right," he agreed. "I will communicate with my client atonce. I take it that she has your permission to see the cabinet; and,if it proves to be the right one, that she may open the drawer andremove the letters."
"If she cares to take the risk," I assented.
"Very well; I will call you as soon as I have seen her," he said. "Inany event, I thank you for your courtesy," and he left the office.
He must have driven straight to her family residence on the Avenue;or perhaps she was awaiting him at his office; at any rate, he calledme up inside the half hour.
"My client would like to see the cabinet at once," he said. "She isin a very nervous condition; especially since she learned that someone else has tried to open the drawer. When will it be convenient foryou to go with us?"
"I can go at once," I said.
"Then we will drive around for you. We should be there in fifteen ortwenty minutes."
"Very well," I said, "I'll be ready. I shall, of course, want to takea witness with me."
"That is quite proper," assented Mr. Hornblower. "We can have noobjection to that. In twenty minutes, then."
I got the _Record_ office as soon as I could, but Godfrey was notthere. He did not come on usually, some one said, until the middle ofthe afternoon. I rang his rooms, but there was no reply. Finally Icalled up the Vantine house.
"Parks," I said, "I am bringing up some people to look at thatcabinet. It might be just as well to get that cot out of the way andhave all the lights going?"
"The lights are already going, sir," he said.
"Already going? What do you mean?"
"Mr. Godfrey has been here for quite a while, sir, fooling with thatcabinet thing."
"He has!" and then I reflected that I ought to have guessed hiswhereabouts. "Tell him, Parks, that I am bringing some people up tosee the cabinet, and that I should like him to stay there and be awitness of the proceedings."
"Very well, sir," assented Parks.
"Everything quiet?"
"Oh, yes, sir; there was two policemen outside all night, and Rogersand me inside."
"Mr. Hornblower's carriage is below, sir," announced the office-boy,opening the door.
"All right," I said. "We are coming right up, Parks. Good-bye," and Ihung up and slipped into my coat.
Then, as I took down my hat, a sudden thought struck me.
If the unknown Frenchman was indeed an emissary of Monsieur X.,Madame might be acquainted with him. It was a long shot, but worthtrying! I stepped to my desk, took out the photograph which Godfreyhad given me, and slipped it into my pocket. Then I hurried out tothe elevator.