CHAPTER XIV
THE VEILED LADY
There were three persons in the carriage. Mr. Hornblower sat with hisback to the horses, and two women were on the opposite seat. Bothwere dressed in black and heavily veiled, but there was about themthe indefinable distinction of mistress and maid. It would bedifficult to tell precisely in what the distinction consisted, but itwas there. Mr. Hornblower glanced behind me as I entered.
"You spoke of a witness," he said.
"He is at the Vantine house," I explained, and sat down beside him.
"This is Mr. Lester," he said, and the veiled lady opposite him, whomI had known at once to be the mistress, inclined her head a little.
Those were the only words spoken. The carriage rolled out to Broadwayand then turned northward, making such progress as was possible alongthat crowded thoroughfare. I glanced from time to time at the womenopposite, and was struck by the contrast in their behaviour. One satquite still, her hands in her lap, her head bent, admirablyself-contained; the other was restless and uneasy, unable to controla nervous twitching of the fingers. I wondered why the maid shouldseem more upset than her mistress, and decided finally that heruneasiness was merely lack of breeding. But the contrast interestedme.
At Tenth Street, the carriage turned westward again, skirtedWashington Square, turned into the Avenue, and stopped before theVantine house. Mr. Hornblower assisted the women to alight, and I ledthe way up the steps. But as we reached the top and came upon thefuneral wreath on the door, the veiled lady stopped with a littleexclamation.
"I did not know," she said, quickly. "Perhaps, after all, we wouldbetter wait. I did not realise...."
"There are no relatives to be hurt, madame," I interrupted. "As forthe dead man, what can it matter to him?" and I rang the bell.
Parks opened the door, and, nodding to him, I led the way along thehall and into the ante-room. Godfrey was awaiting us there, and I sawthe flame of interest which leaped into his eyes, as Mr. Hornblowerand the two veiled women entered.
"This is my witness," I said to the former. "Mr. Godfrey--Mr.Hornblower."
Godfrey bowed, and Hornblower regarded him with a good-humouredsmile.
"If I were not sure of Mr. Godfrey's discretion," he said, "I shouldobject. But I have tested it before this, and know that it can berelied upon."
"There is only one person to whom I yield precedence in the matter ofdiscretion," rejoined Godfrey, smiling back at him, "and that is Mr.Hornblower. He is in a class quite by himself."
"Thank you," said the lawyer, and bowed gravely.
During this interchange of compliments, the woman I had decided wasthe maid had sat down, as though her legs were unable to sustain her,and was nervously clasping and unclasping her hands; even hermistress showed signs of impatience.
"The cabinet is in here," I said, and led the way into the innerroom, the two men and the veiled lady at my heels.
It stood in the middle of the floor, just as it had stood since thenight of the tragedy, and all the lights were going. As I entered, Inoticed Godfrey's gauntlet lying on a chair.
"Is it the right one, madame?" I asked.
She gazed at it a moment, her hands pressed against her breast.
"Yes!" she answered, with a gasp that was almost a sob.
I confess I was astonished. I had never thought it could be the rightone; even now I did not see how it could possibly be the right one.
"You are sure?" I queried incredulously.
"Do you think I could be mistaken in such a matter, sir? I assure youthat this cabinet at one time belonged to me. You permit me?" sheadded, and took a step toward it.
"One moment, madame," I interposed. "I must warn you that in touchingthat cabinet you are running a great risk."
"A great risk?" she echoed, looking at me.
"A very great risk, as I have pointed out to Mr. Hornblower. I havereason to believe that two men met death while trying to open thatsecret drawer."
"I believe Mr. Hornblower did tell me something of the sort," shemurmured; "but of course that is all a mistake."
"Then the drawer is not guarded by poison?" I questioned.
"By poison?" she repeated blankly, and carried her handkerchief toher lips. "I do not understand."
I knew that my theory was collapsing, utterly, hopelessly. I darednot look at Godfrey.
"Is there not, connected with the drawer," I asked, "a mechanismwhich, as the drawer is opened, plunges two poisoned fangs into thehand which opens it?"
"No, Mr. Lester," she answered, astonishment in her voice, "I assureyou there is no such mechanism."
I clutched at a last straw, and a sorry one it was!
"The mechanism may have been placed there since the cabinet passedfrom your possession," I suggested.
"That is, perhaps, possible," she agreed, though I saw that she wasunconvinced.
"At any rate, madame," I said, "I would ask that, in opening thedrawer, you wear this gauntlet," and I picked up Godfrey's gauntletfrom the chair on which it lay. "It is needless that you should takeany risk, however slight. Permit me," and I slipped the gauntlet overher right hand.
As I did so, I glanced at Godfrey. He was staring at the veiled ladywith such a look of stupefaction that I nearly choked with delight.It had not often been my luck to see Jim Godfrey mystified, but hewas certainly mystified now!
The veiled lady regarded the steel glove with a little laugh.
"I am now free to open the drawer?" she asked.
"Yes, madame."
She moved toward the cabinet, Godfrey and I close behind her. At lastthe secret which had defied us was to be revealed. And with itsrevelation would come the end of the picturesque and romantic theorywe had been building up so laboriously.
Instinctively, I glanced toward the shuttered window, but thesemi-circle of light was unobscured.
The veiled lady bent above the table and disposed the fingers of herright hand to fit the metal inlay midway of the left side.
"It is a little awkward," she said. "I have always been accustomed tousing the left hand. You will notice that I am pressing on threepoints; but to open the drawer, one must press these points in acertain order--- first this one, then this one, and then this one."
There was a sharp click, and, at the side of the table, a piece ofthe metal inlay fell forward.
"That is the handle," said the veiled lady, and, without an instant'shesitation, while my heart stood still, she grasped it and drew out ashallow drawer. "Ah!" and, casting aside the ridiculous gauntlet, shecaught up the packet of papers which lay within. Then, with aneffort, she controlled herself, slipped off the ribbon which held thepacket together, and spread out before my eyes ten or twelveenvelopes. "You will see that they are only letters, Mr. Lester," shesaid in a low voice, "and I assure you that they belong to me."
"I believe you, madame," I said, and with a sigh of relief that wasalmost a sob, she rebound the packet and slipped it into the bosom ofher gown. "There is one thing," I added, "which madame can, perhaps,do for me."
"I shall be most happy!" she breathed.
"As I have told Mr. Hornblower," I continued, "two men died in thisroom the day before yesterday. Or, rather, it was in the room beyondthat they died; but we believed it was here they received the woundswhich caused death. It seems that we were wrong in this."
"Undoubtedly," she agreed. "There has never been any such weirdmechanism as you described connected with that drawer, Mr. Lester. Atleast, not since I have had it. There is a legend, you know, that thecabinet was made for Madame de Montespan."
She was talking more freely now; evidently a great load had beenlifted from her--perhaps I did not guess how great!
"Mr. Vantine suspected as much," I said. "He was a connoisseur offurniture, and there was something about this cabinet which told himit had belonged to the Montespan. He was examining it at the time hedied. What the other man was doing, we do not know, but if we couldidentify him, it might help us."
"You have
not identified him?"
"We know nothing whatever about him, except that he was presumably aFrenchman, and that he arrived on _La Touraine_, two days ago."
"That is the boat upon which I came over."
"It has occurred to me, madame, that you may have seen him--that hemay even be known to you."
"What was his name?"
"The card he sent in to Mr. Vantine bore the name of Theophiled'Aurelle."
She shook her head.
"I have never before heard that name, Mr. Lester."
"We believe it to have been an assumed name," I said; "but perhapsyou will recognise this photograph," and I drew it from my pocket andhanded it to her.
She took it, looked at it, and again shook her head. Then she lookedat it again, turning aside and raising her veil in order to see itbetter.
"There seems to be something familiar about the face," she said, atlast, "as though I might have seen the man somewhere."
"On the boat, perhaps," I suggested, but I knew very well it was noton the boat, since the man had crossed in the steerage.
"No; it was not on the boat. I did not leave my stateroom on theboat. But I am quite sure that I have seen him--and yet I can't saywhere."
"Perhaps," I said, in a low voice, "he may have been one of thefriends of your husband."
I saw her hand tremble under the blow, but it had to be struck. Andshe was brave.
"The same thought occurred to me, Mr. Lester," she answered; "but Iknow very few of my husband's friends; certainly not this one. Andyet.... Perhaps my maid can help us."
Photograph in hand, she stepped through the doorway into the outerroom. The maid was sitting on the chair where we had left her; herhands clenched tightly together in her lap, as though it was only bysome violent effort she could maintain her self-control.
"Julie," said the veiled lady, in rapid French, "I have here thephotograph of a man who was killed in this room most mysteriously afew days ago. These gentlemen wish to identify him. The face seems tome somehow familiar, but I cannot place it. Look at it."
Julie put forth a shaking hand, took the photograph, and glanced atit; then, with a long sigh, slid limply to the floor, before eitherGodfrey or I could catch her.
As she fell, her veil, catching on the chair-back, was torn away;and, looking down at her, a great emotion burst within me, for Irecognised the mysterious woman whose photograph d'Aurelle hadcarried in his watch-case.