CHAPTER XVIII
I PART WITH THE BOULE CABINET
The coroner's inquest was held next day, and my surmise proved to becorrect. The police had discovered practically no new evidence; none,certainly, which shed any light on the way in which Drouet and PhilipVantine had met death. Each of the witnesses told his story much as Ihave told it here, and it was evident that the jury was bewildered bythe seemingly inextricable tangle of circumstances.
To my relief, Drouet's identity was established without any help fromme. The bag which he had left on the pier had been opened at therequest of the police and a card-case found with his address on it.Why he had sent in to Vantine a card not his own, and what hisbusiness with Vantine had been, were details concerning which thepolice could offer no theory, and which I did not feel called upon toexplain, since neither in any way made clearer the mystery of hisdeath.
An amusing incident of the inquest was the attempt made byGoldberger to heckle Godfrey, evidently at Grady's suggestion.
"On the morning after the tragedy," Goldberger began sweetly, "youprinted in the _Record_ a photograph which you claimed to be that ofthe woman who had called upon Mr. Vantine the night before, and whowas, presumably, the last person to see him alive. Where did you getthat photograph?"
"It was a copy of one which Drouet carried in his watch-case,"answered Godfrey.
"Since then," pursued Goldberger, "you have made no further referenceto that feature of the case. I presume you found out that you weremistaken?"
"On the contrary, I proved that I was correct."
Goldberger's face reddened, and his look was not pleasant.
"'Prove' is rather a strong word, isn't it?" he asked.
"It is the right word."
"What was the woman's connection with the man Drouet?"
"She had been his mistress."
"You say that very confidently," said Goldberger, his lips curling."After all, it is merely a guess, isn't it?"
"I have reason to say it confidently," retorted Godfrey quietly,"since the woman confessed as much in my presence."
Again Goldberger reddened.
"I suppose she also confessed that it was really she who called uponMr. Vantine?" he sneered.
"She not only confessed that," said Godfrey, still more quietly, "butshe told in detail what occurred during that visit."
"The confession was made to yourself alone, of course?" queriedGoldberger, in a tone deliberately insulting.
Godfrey flushed a little at the words, but managed to retain hisself-control.
"Not at all," he said. "It was made in the presence of Mr. Lester andof another distinguished lawyer whose name I am not at liberty toreveal."
Goldberger swallowed hard, as though he had received a slap in theface. I dare say, he felt as though he had!
"This woman is in New York?" he asked.
"I believe so."
"What is her name and address?"
"I am not at liberty to answer."
Goldberger glared at him.
"You _will_ answer," he thundered, "or I'll commit you for contempt!"
Godfrey was quite himself again.
"Very well," he said, smiling. "I have not the slightest objection.But I would think it over, if I were you. Mr. Lester will assure youthat the woman was in no way connected with the death either ofDrouet or of Mr. Vantine."
Goldberger did think it over; he realised the danger of trying topunish a paper so powerful as the _Record_, and he finally decided toaccept Godfrey's statement as a mitigation of his refusal to answer.
"That is only one of the details which Commissioner Grady hasmissed," Godfrey added, pleasantly.
"That will do," Goldberger broke in, and Godfrey left the stand.
I was recalled to confirm his story. I, also, of course, refused togive the woman's name, explaining to Goldberger that I had learned itprofessionally, that I was certain she had been guilty of no crime,and that to reveal it would seriously embarrass an entirely innocentwoman. With that statement, the coroner was compelled to appearsatisfied.
Grady did not go on the stand; he was not even at the inquest. Infact, since the first day, he had not appeared publicly in connectionwith the case at all; and I had surmised that he did not care to beidentified with a mystery which there seemed to be no prospect ofsolving, and from which no glory was to be won. The case had beenplaced in Simmonds's hands, and it was he who testified on behalf ofthe police, admitting candidly that they were all at sea. He had madea careful examination of the Vantine house, he said, particularly ofthe room in which the bodies had been found, and had discoveredabsolutely nothing in the shape of a clue to the solution of themystery. There was something diabolical about it; something almostsupernatural. He had not abandoned hope, and was still working on thecase; but he was inclined to think that, if the mystery was eversolved, it would be only by some lucky accident or through theconfession of the guilty man.
Goldberger was annoyed; that was evident enough from the nervous wayin which he gnawed his moustache; but he had no theory any more thanthe police; there was not a scintilla of evidence to fasten the crimeupon any one; and the end of the hearing was that the jury brought ina verdict that Philip Vantine and Georges Drouet had died from theeffects of a poison administered by a person or persons unknown.
Godfrey joined me at the door as I was leaving, and we went down thesteps together.
"I was glad to hear Simmonds confess that the police are up a tree,"he said. "Of course, Grady is trying to sneak out of it, and blamesome one else for the failure--but I'll see that he doesn't succeed.I'll see, anyway, that Simmonds gets a square deal--he's an oldfriend of mine, you know."
"Yes," I said, "I know; but we're all up a tree, aren't we?"
"For the present," laughed Godfrey, "we do occupy that undignifiedposition. But you don't expect to stay there forever, do you,Lester?"
"Since my theory about the Boule cabinet exploded," I said, "I havegiven up hope. By the way, I'm going to turn the cabinet over to itsowner to-morrow."
"To its owner?" he repeated, his eyes narrowing. "Yes, I thoughthe'd be around for it, though I hardly thought he'd come so soon. Whodoes it happen to be, Lester?"
"Why," I said, a little impatiently, "you know as well as I do thatit belongs to Armand & Son."
"You've seen their representative, then?" he queried, a little flushof excitement which I could not understand spreading over his face.
"He came to see me yesterday. I'd like you to meet him, Godfrey. Heis Felix Armand, the 'son' of the firm, and one of the most finishedgentlemen I ever met."
"I'd like to meet him," said Godfrey, smiling queerly. "Perhaps Ishall, some day; I hope so, anyway. But how did he explain theblunder, Lester?"
"In some way, they shipped the wrong cabinet to Vantine. The rightone will get here on _La Provence_ to-morrow," and I told him indetail the story which Felix Armand had told me. "He was quite upsetover it," I added, "His apologies were almost abject."
Godfrey listened intently to all this, and he nodded withsatisfaction when I had finished.
"It is all most interesting," he commented.
"Did M. Armand happen to mention where he is staying?"
"No, but he won't be hard to find, if you want to see him. He's atone of the big hotels, of course--probably the Plaza or the St.Regis. He's too great a swell for any minor hostelry."
"What time do you expect him to-morrow?"
"Sometime in the afternoon. He's to call for me as soon as he getsVantine's cabinet off the boat. Godfrey," I added, "I felt yesterdaywhen I was talking with him that perhaps he knew more about thisaffair than he would admit. I could see that he guessed in an instantwho the owner of the letters was, and what they contained. Do youthink I ought to hold on to the cabinet a while longer? I couldinvent some pretext for delay, easily enough."
"Why, no; let him have his cabinet," said Godfrey, with an alacritythat surprised me. "If your theory about it has been exploded, what'sthe use of hangin
g on to it?"
"I don't see any use in doing so," I admitted, "but I thought perhapsyou might want more time to examine it."
"I've examined it all I'm going to," Godfrey answered, and I toldmyself that this was the first time I had ever known him to admithimself defeated.
"I have a sort of feeling," I explained, "that when we let go of thecabinet, we give up the only clue we have to this whole affair. It islike a confession of defeat."
"Oh, no, it isn't," Godfrey objected. "If there is nothing more to belearned from the cabinet, there is no reason to retain it. I shouldcertainly let M. Armand have it. Perhaps I'll see you to-morrow," headded, and we parted at the corner.
But I did not see him on the morrow. I was rather expecting a callfrom him during the morning, and when none came, I was certain Ishould find him awaiting me when I arrived at the Vantine house, incompany with M. Armand. But he was not there, and when I asked forhim, Parks told me that he had not seen him since the day before.
I confess that Godfrey's indifference to the fate of the cabinetsurprised me greatly; besides, I was hoping that he would wish tomeet the fascinating Frenchman. More fascinating, if possible, thanhe had been on Monday, and I soon found myself completely under hisspell. There had been less delay than he had anticipated in gettingthe cabinet off the boat and through the customs, and it was not yetthree o'clock when we reached the Vantine house.
"I haven't seen Mr. Godfrey," Parks repeated, "but there's othershere as it fair breaks my heart to see."
He motioned toward the door of the music-room, and, stepping to it, Isaw that the inventory was already in progress. The man in charge ofit nodded to me, but I did not go in, for the sight was anything buta pleasant one.
"The cabinet is in the room across the hall," I said to M. Armand,and led the way through the ante-room into the room beyond.
Parks switched on the lights for us, and my companion glanced withsurprise at the heavy shutters covering the windows.
"We put those up for a protection," I explained. "We had an idea thatsome one would try to enter. In fact, one evening we _did_ find awire connecting with the burglar-alarm cut, and, later on, saw someone peering in through the hole in that shutter yonder."
"You did?" M. Armand queried quickly.
"Would you recognise the man, if you were to meet him again?"
"Oh, no; you see the hole is quite small. There was nothing visibleexcept a pair of eyes. Yet I might know them again, for I neverbefore saw such eyes--so bright, so burning. It was the night thatGodfrey and I were trying to find the secret drawer, and those eyesgleamed like fire as they watched us."
M. Armand was gazing at the cabinet, apparently only half listening.
"Ah, yes, the secret drawer," he said. "Will you show me how it isoperated, Mr. Lester? I am most curious about it."
I placed my hand upon the table and pressed the three points whichthe veiled lady had shown us. The first time, I got the order wrong,but at the second trial, the little handle fell forward with a click,and I pulled the drawer open.
"There it is," I said. "You see how cleverly it is constructed. Andhow well it is concealed. No one would suspect its existence."
He examined it with much interest; pushed it back into place, andthen opened it himself.
"Very clever indeed," he agreed. "I have never seen another so wellconcealed. And the idea of opening it only by a certain combinationis most happy and original. Most secret drawers are secret only inname; a slight search reveals them; but this one...."
He pushed it shut again, and examined the inlay around it.
"My friend and I went over the cabinet very carefully and could notfind it," I said.
"Your friend--I think you mentioned his name?"
"Yes--his name is Godfrey."
"A man of the law, like yourself?"
"Oh, no, a newspaper man. But he had been a member of the detectiveforce before that. He is extraordinarily keen, and if anybody couldhave found that drawer, he could. But that combination was too muchfor him."
M. Armand snapped the drawer back into place with a little crash.
"I am glad, at any rate, that it _was_ discovered," he said. "I willnot conceal from you, Mr. Lester, that it adds not a little to thevalue of the cabinet."
"What is its value?" I asked. "Mr. Vantine wanted me to buy it forhim, and named a most extravagant figure as the limit he was willingto pay."
"Really," M. Armand answered, after an instant's hesitation, "I wouldnot care to name a figure, Mr. Lester, without further consultationwith my father. The cabinet is quite unique--the most beautiful,perhaps, that M. Boule ever produced. Did you discover Madame deMontespan's monogram?"
"No. Mr. Vantine said he was sure it existed; but Godfrey and I didnot look for it."
M. Armand opened the doors which concealed the central drawers.
"_Voila!_" he said, and traced with his finger the arabesque justunder the pediment. "See how cunningly it has been blended with theother figures. And here is the emblem of the giver." He pointed to atiny golden sun with radiating rays on the base of the pediment, justabove the monogram. "_Le roi soleil!_"
"_ Le roi soleil!_" I repeated. "Of course. We were stupid not tohave discerned it. That tells the whole story, doesn't it? What isit, Parks?" I added, as that worthy appeared at the door.
"There's a van outside, sir," he said, "and a couple of men areunloading a piece of furniture. Is it all right, sir?"
"Yes," I answered. "Have them bring it in here. And ask the man incharge of the inventory to step over here a minute. Mr. Vantine lefthis collection of art objects to the Metropolitan Museum," Iexplained to M. Armand, "and I should like the representative of themuseum to be present when the exchange is made."
"Certainly," he assented. "That is very just."
Parks was back in a moment, piloting two men who carried between theman object swathed in burlap, and the Metropolitan man followed themin.
"I am Mr. Lester," I said to him, "Mr. Vantine's executor; and thisis M. Felix Armand, of Armand & Son, of Paris. We are correcting anerror which was made just before Mr. Vantine died. That cabinetyonder was shipped him by mistake in place of one which he hadbought. M. Armand has caused the right one to be sent over, and willtake away the one which belongs to him. I have already spoken to themuseum's attorney about the matter, but I wished you to be presentwhen the exchange was made."
"I have no doubt it is all right, sir," the museum man hastened toassure me. "You, of course, have personal knowledge of all this?"
"Certainly. Mr. Vantine himself told me the story."
"Very well, sir," but his eyes dwelt lovingly upon the Boule cabinet."That is a very handsome piece," he added. "I am sorry the museum isnot to get it."
"Perhaps you can buy it from M. Armand," I suggested, but the curatorlaughed and shook his head.
"No," he said, "we couldn't afford it. But Sir Caspar might persuadeMr. Morgan to buy it for us--I'll mention it to him."
The two men, meanwhile, under M. Armand's direction, had beenstripping the wrappings from the other cabinet, and it finally stoodrevealed. It, too, was a beautiful piece of furniture, but even myuntrained eye could see how greatly it fell below the other.
"We shall be very pleased to have Mr. Morgan see it," said M. Armand,with a smile. "I will not conceal from you that we had alreadythought of him--as what dealer does not when he acquires somethingrare and beautiful? I shall endeavour to secure an appointment withhim. Meanwhile...."
"Meanwhile the cabinet is yours," I said.
He made a little deprecating gesture, and then proceeded to have thecabinet very carefully wrapped in the burlap which had been aroundthe other one. I watched it disappear under the rough covering withsomething like regret, for already my eyes were being opened to itsbeauty. Besides, I told myself again, with it would disappear thelast hope of solving the mystery of Philip Vantine's death. Howevermy reason might protest, some instinct told me that, in some way, theBoule cabinet was connected with
that tragedy.
But at last the packing was done, and M. Armand turned to me and heldout his hand.
"I shall hope to see you again, Mr. Lester," he said, with acordiality which flattered me, "and to renew our very pleasantacquaintance. Whenever you are in Paris, I trust you will not fail tohonour me by letting me know. I shall count it a very great privilegeto display for you some of the beauties of our city not known toevery one."
"Thank you," I said. "I shall certainly remember that invitation.And meanwhile, since you are here in New York...."
"You are most kind," he broke in, "and I was myself hoping that wemight at least dine together. But I am compelled to proceed to Bostonthis evening, and from there I shall go on to Quebec. Whether I shallget back to New York I do not know--it will depend somewhat upon Mr.Morgan's attitude; we would scarcely entrust a business so delicateto our dealer. If I do get back, I shall let you know."
"Please do," I urged. "It will be a very great pleasure to me.Besides, I am still hoping that some solution of this mystery mayoccur to you."
He shook his head with a little smile.
"I fear it is too difficult for a novice like myself," he said. "Itis impenetrable to me. If a solution is discovered, I trust you willinform me. It is certain to be most interesting."
"I will," I promised, and we shook hands again.
Then he signed to the two men to take up the cabinet, and himselflaid a protecting hand upon it as it was carried through the door anddown the steps to the van which was backed up to the curb. It waslifted carefully inside, the two men clambered in beside it, thedriver spoke to the horses, and the van rolled slowly away up theAvenue.
M. Armand watched it for a moment, then mounted into the cab whichwas waiting, waved a last farewell to me, and followed after the van.We watched it until it turned westward at the first cross-street.
"Mr. Godfrey's occupation will be gone," said Parks, with a littlelaugh. "He has fairly lived with that cabinet for the past three orfour days. He was here last night for quite a while."
"Last night?" I echoed, surprised. "I was sure he would be hereto-day," I added, reflecting that Godfrey might have decided to havea final look at the cabinet. "He half-promised to be here, but Isuppose something more important detained him."
The next instant, I was jumping down the steps two at a time, for acab in which two men were sitting came down the Avenue, and rolledslowly around the corner in the direction taken by the van.
And just as it disappeared, one of its occupants turned toward me andwaved his hand--and I recognised Jim Godfrey.