CHAPTER XXV
"A TALE UNFOLDED"
It was an hour later in Lady Brenton's drawing room, and the principalsin this strange drama were assembled together. They were filled withcuriosity to hear how this man, the greatest detective the Yardpossessed, had contrived to elucidate the mystery; a mystery which theyfelt sure would have remained unsolved forever had he not chanced totake up the case. It would have certainly ended in the death of theyoung girl who now sat smiling and happy by the side of her lover.
Cleek looked round at his attentive audience and flung back hisshoulders as though he would cast the burden of this riddle forever fromthem.
A smile came to his clean-cut lips, a triumphant light shone in hiseyes, and for a moment, as he stood there, the little group about himcould not fail to note the power of the man. He turned to Lady Margaretand reached out his hand to her.
"I am glad, more glad than I can say, that you are safe," he said,gravely, as her eyes met his, "for I felt myself in a measureresponsible for having unconsciously driven you into the very centre ofthe danger."
"_You_, Mr. Headland?" The exclamation came involuntarily from her lips.
Cleek smiled.
"Yes," he said, serenely. "I am the man who did it, Lady Margaret.Lieutenant Deland and George Headland are one and the same person. See."For a second his features writhed, twisting themselves into thesemblance of the dapper lieutenant, and then before the astonishedcircle could speak a word, Mr. Headland stood before them again. "Yousee," he went on, smiling at the amazed faces of those who did not knowof his amazing birthright gift, "it is convenient sometimes, in theinterests of the law, to change one's personality. I have changed mineoften, and will no doubt continue to do so still oftener. It was I whodrove you to Cheyne Court that night, and therefore it is right that Ishould save you from--other things--now. That is fair enough, isn't it?
"You have been the victim of a plot laid in Paris by James Blake, actingin conjunction with the envoys of the Hindoo priests. From them you willalways have to be on guard.
"The story of the theft of the Eye of Shiva will be handed down fromgeneration to generation, and if it were not making too great asacrifice, I would advise you to send them a message through the Indiangovernment, and let them make terms with you. They would probably gladlygive you many other jewels in order to regain the sacred Eye."
Lady Margaret nodded enthusiastically.
"Oh, if you think they _would_!" she said with a little catch of thebreath. "I will do it at once. When I was in that dreadful vault, I saidI would give anything just to be free again. Now I am willing to pay.The priests shall have their Purple Emperor. It has already causedenough trouble in the world."
Cleek nodded his approval.
"You are a very wise young lady," said he, "and you will be the gainerin the end; of that I am sure. The Purple Emperor had always broughtdisaster in its wake, and, the story goes, will continue to do so untilit is returned to its proper resting place in the empty eye-socket ofShiva. But time is short and I must go on with my story. If it boresyou, simply tell me, but----"
"_Bores_ us, Mr. Headland?" exclaimed Lady Brenton, excitedly. "When allour hearts are bound up in it? I can hardly wait to hear the end."
Cleek smiled.
"Then you shall not, dear lady," he responded, seating himself.
"Well, in the first place, I soon found that there was a connectionbetween the murder of Miss Cheyne and that of her old servant ElsieMcBride. This Elsie McBride was the ole clo' woman I mentioned beforewho was murdered for apparently no reason whatever in the neighbourhoodof Drury Lane. And that connection was the Cheyne Court jewels. SamBlake formerly an actor himself I believe, no doubt by chance saw thephotograph of Miss Cheyne, which she had given her servant on hermarriage. From that time onward Blake the younger plotted and planned tofind some scheme by which he could enter the house and eventually securethe jewels. Some scheme, that is, which didn't include his brotherJames. The fact of this stranger who visited the shop only wanting oldwoman's clothes and the theft of wigs pointed to the need of a disguise.When I found that the finger-prints of the impostor at Cheyne Courtcoincided with those of the dagger with which the old woman was killed,I knew I was on the right track. Then the smell of jasmine, which clungto everything, puzzled me. It is, as you are all doubtless aware, afavourite scent in the native bazaars of India, and for that reason Isuspected the priests of Shiva when I knew them to be in theneighbourhood. For a time I even believed that it was one of theirnumber that I saw cross the lawn of Cheyne Court on the night of thefirst murder until I met _you_, Miss Wynne. Then the smell of thejasmine and your footprints told me that you were there on that night,as well as on the night of the second murder. Did you then suspect yourbrother of having committed both murders, that you tried to bribe thebutler, John? What were you doing at Cheyne Court the night when thereal Miss Cheyne was shot?"
He fixed his piercing eyes on Miss Jennifer, who had risen from herseat, her lips white and trembling.
"What do you mean?" she said in a low, tense voice. "I don't understand!Are you some wizard or----"
"Not quite such a fool of a policeman as you might once have thought,"he responded, quietly. "I saw you cross the lawn that night, though Iknow you had no hand in the murder itself. Can you not tell us thereason of your presence there?"
"I followed Edgar," said Miss Wynne, speaking unwillingly enough, a waveof scarlet surging over her face at the significance of the words. "Isaw him go up to the door, and I slipped in. It was open--unlatched,that is. But Miss Cheyne was furious at his appearance and I heard herdrive him out again and lock the door afterward. Knowing her, I wasafraid of her tongue if I should dare to reveal myself, so I crept away,and directly it was quiet, I got out into the grounds. I heard the shot,but did not attach any importance to it. Indeed, when later I heard thewheels of your motor driving away I put it down to a burst tire. It wasnot until a week or so later when Bobby told me he was in trouble withheavy racing debts that I thought of Miss Cheyne again. Then in sheerdesperation I thought I would ask her to lend me a little money. Andthat was the opening of the mystery to me, for I knew directly I saw herthat a trick was being played; that it was not Miss Cheyne herself. Isoon found out that it was a man by the trick of throwing----"
"Throwing!" interrupted Lady Brenton suddenly. "How could you tell bythrowing, Miss Wynne?"
"I tossed her the roll of papers I had brought," said Miss Wynne,quietly. "And she brought her knees together instead of spreading themapart to make a lap as any woman would. It was then I guessed the truth.I taxed him with it, and the man revealed himself then as Sammy Blake,the tipster. I was helpless then, because Bobby was in this very man'spower----"
Her voice broke a little and Cleek slid his fingers into one of hispockets and drew forth something which he held up for her to see.
"By reason of these, eh?" he interposed, stretching out a soiledenvelope toward her. A little cry broke from her lips, and Bobby Wynne,springing to his feet, gasped in relieved amazement.
"My I. O. U.'s," he cried, exultantly, as Cleek handed them to him. "Healways promised to give them to me, but he never did."
"I found them in his pocketbook," said Cleek, then turned once more toMiss Jennifer and gave her an understanding nod.
"You need hardly say that you succeeded in getting money from Blake," hesaid, "for not even your whole garden full of hyacinths would haveproduced the L50 you gave your brother. That was the first thing thatput me on the right track."
She stared at him in astonishment.
"How did you know?" she said, quickly. "But you are perfectly right. Ihad to account for the money somehow, and so I told him I had sold myflowers. And I blackmailed Blake! It was an awful thing to do but I wasdesperate. And I never thought of any harm coming to Lady Margaret, forhe swore that she was in London, waiting for Sir Edgar at the HotelCentral. That is why I wired, afterward, so as to make up for it----"
"Wired?" cried Sir Edgar. "Do you m
ean to tell me it was you who sent meon that wild-goose chase to London?"
"I did not know it was that," she retorted a trifle angrily. "I thoughtit would get you into safety and give you back to her."
"But the telegram was an old one."
She blushed at the note in his voice, and looked at him defiantly.
"Yes," she said. "I sent it, and then--changed my mind. I got it backagain before it reached you by intercepting the boy and bribing him withhalf a crown and the truth that I had sent it and then regretted itafterward. I had--my reasons!"
Sir Edgar looked away, as she lowered her head.
"But your good sense got the better of you later on, eh? And so you sentit along by a private messenger? I see----"
She lifted her head and looked at him very squarely in the eyes.
"Yes," she said. "I changed my mind again."
A moment's silence followed, then Bobby Wynne spoke.
"But I never knew a thing about Blake's impersonation, Jen," he said,apologetically, "and I never guessed you'd go so far as to blackmailfor me! I--I'm a bit of a rotter I know, but I'd never have let you do_that_!"
"I know you wouldn't," she responded with a sudden smile as she lookedat the boy's pale, shamed face. "You see," turning to the others, "Ipromised father always to look after him so that when I found a letterfrom Blake, telling Bobby to meet him at Cheyne Court, what else could Ido but follow and go inside for the second time? I got into the house,but I was too late. I heard the sound of quarrelling though I couldn'ttell if it were Bobby or not. So I hid myself on the landing until thevoices stopped suddenly. I didn't dare to move, but I heard someone runupstairs right past where I had hidden myself in the landing linencupboard. Then I got out and looked from the window. In the lane I sawLady Brenton and recognized her gold scarf. What's more I saw Sir Edgar,too, and that frightened me! Then I went down myself and peeped in thedining room----"
She broke off with a little shudder of terror and Lady Margaret bentover and squeezed her hand impulsively.
"I could see the figure of Blake in his woman's clothes lying in thechair. I was just about to go over to him when a woman came through thewindow. She snatched up a revolver from the desk beside the window andshot straight at Blake.
"'You shan't do us, you devil, so don't you think it!' she cried, andthrew the revolver down at Blake's side. I nearly died of fright for Irecognized it as one that Miss Cheyne had treasured. It had belonged toSir Edgar's father, she told me so herself once."
"It must have been Blake's own," interrupted Sir Edgar, in tones of deepconviction, "for I had the other one. Miss Cheyne threatened me with ita month ago, and I snatched it away and brought it home with me. But goon, Miss Wynne please."
"Just as I was examining it," continued Miss Wynne, ignoring theinterruption in her eagerness to continue, "the man came in, andrecognized me. I knew him to be one of the confederates of Blake and hesaid that he had seen Bobby kill the real Miss Cheyne but he would keepsilent if I paid him. Outside in the lane I found Edgar--Dr. Verrall."She glanced shyly up at the pale young doctor, as if asking permissionto finish her tale, and when he nodded emphatically, she continuedspeaking in a low, colourless voice: "He had heard the shots, and wasabout to investigate, but when he saw me, he was so afraid lest I shouldbe seen and brought into the matter, that he turned back down the laneto see if the coast was clear. I should have escaped even then had itnot been for that gold scarf which I suddenly remembered I had left onthe landing. I ran back for it, and it was then that that youngassistant of yours caught me." She broke off, her story evidentlyfinished.
"But who was the other woman?" put in Sir Edgar, as Jennifer sank backin her chair, apparently exhausted by the recital.
"I think," said Cleek, softly, "that Lady Margaret would probably knowher."
"Aggie, the woman who waited on me," the girl cried. "Why, of course,that accounts for it. She came down into the cellar frightfully excitedand did nothing but drink and drink. That was how the Hindoo, the otherman I mean, was able to get me out of the vault. She had dropped offinto a drunken stupor and nothing seemed to arouse her."
"I never thought of your being in the house," said Miss Wynne, as shelooked piteously at Lady Margaret; "please forgive me! You don't knowhow desperate I was for money."
"It's all right," replied Lady Margaret, impulsively. "I don't thinkthey would have hurt me, only when I discovered the trick, they did notknow what to do. Thank Heaven I am safe out of it." She stretched out animpulsive hand to the other girl and their fingers met silently.
But Lady Brenton was eager to get on with the story.
"How did you come to discover where Margaret had been taken?" she askedCleek who had sat silent during all this recital, listening to it withoccasional nods as though he had heard it all already. "To think that Ilet that devil sit in my drawing room while all the time he was keepingher a prisoner----"
"I owe that to Dollops," said Cleek, with a friendly little nod to thatworthy. "While making my investigations in the house, John and the womanAggie caught me foul and made me a prisoner. They threatened indeed tokill me if I did not reveal where I had hidden Lady Margaret, which, ofcourse, showed that she had been removed from the vault by someoneunknown to them. At that time I was as much in the dark as theythemselves, but a strong gleam of sunlight revealed caught in the windowframe two little shreds, one of gold, the fatal gold scarf again, andone of tweed, smelling strongly of jasmine. I guessed then that she waseither in the hands of Gunga Dall or of the Hindoo priests, and I wasright.
"Afterward, when I found the animals down in the vaults and came uponthe circus with no animals in it--not the temptation of a L5 note wouldprocure me a look at one--I knew their purpose. It remained then but tosee that they were not removed that night, and also to keep guard overthe caravan, which you may be sure I did....
"Suspicion pointed to so many people--even including yourself, LadyBrenton," he added with an odd little smile at the lady's start ofsurprise.
"Would it astonish you very much to know that you yourself were reallyin Cheyne Court on the nights of both murders?"
A little gasp of amazement came from the listeners and Lady Brentonlooked up with blanched face and dilated eyes.
"Impossible!" she cried in quivering tones.
"No, you were the lady in the scarlet satin cloak," said Cleek.
"Dear," said Ailsa, interposing suddenly as Lady Brenton's pale faceflamed with an angry colour, "it is all right. I understand now, youwere walking in your sleep, and you took my scarlet opera-cloak--the onewe had had such a talk over; don't you remember? When you commenced toworry over Sir Edgar and poor Miss Cheyne, you just wandered out in yoursleep and visited the spot in the working out of your dreams."
"I saw you, Mother," said Sir Edgar with an emphatic nod of the head, asthe good lady stared first at one face and then another in heramazement at this turn of events, "and it brought us both undersuspicion."
"It certainly brought you under suspicion, Dr. Verrall," said Cleek,suddenly, "for what with your footsteps in the lane, and the fact thatthe prussic acid bottle had been tampered with in Dr. Wynne's surgery!But that's over and done with now, thank goodness, and I don't imaginethat there is any more to tell. But if I am not mistaken, there's ashower of congratulations to be presented to both you and Sir Edgar, eh?Well, send me an invitation to the wedding, Doctor, and I'll come nomatter what happens, just to see Miss Jennifer in bridal white with_that_ look in her eyes."
Then Cleek's eyes turned to Lady Margaret and Sir Edgar, who weresitting with hands frankly clasped as though there were no one butthemselves in the whole universe.
Cleek nodded at Lady Brenton.
"Love's young dream," he said, softly. "What's that, my young friend?"as Bobby Wynne crossed over to him suddenly and reached out a boyishhand. "Want to shake hands with me? Of course, of course. Anything I'vebeen able to do has been a great pleasure, I assure you. But here's apiece of advice for you. Don't indulge too much in the
racing habit,for it grows and, like pitch, is inclined to stick a trifle too closely.Hard work's the best antidote for it, and if you're willing and ready,I've a friend who is looking out for a young political secretary thismoment--one who is honest and trustworthy and _straight_. It's a chance.Want to take it?"
There was a sort of sob in the boy's voice. "Want to? Well, just give mea chance, sir. I swear I'll stick to it, and show you I'm worthy of yourfriendship. The only bet I intend to make in the future is a straighttip, and that is that I won't fail you--ever!"
Cleek gripped the slim young fingers firmly and nodded his head three orfour times.
"Good boy!" he said, softly. "That's the talk. And you'll be able toshow that foolish young sister of yours that her love for you has beenworth having, after all. I'll drop you a line as soon as things arefixed up.
"But I must be off now, for time flies, and there is other work to bedone.... Ailsa, am I to have the great pleasure of escorting you back tothe Cottage?"
She jumped to her feet at this, laughing and happy.
"Of course," she said, softly, "who else?" And Lady Brenton, with asudden little nod of comprehension, smiled.
"Then there are--other congratulations to be given," she said, softly."Well, well, I'm glad to hear that. Come here, dear, and let me kiss youbefore you go."
Cleek glanced at Mr. Narkom and Mr. Narkom looked back at Cleek, forthey two had been in the secret for a long time. Cleek's hand sought theSuperintendent's arm and gave it a friendly squeeze.
"Some day, old friend," he said, softly, "and when that day _does_ dawn,well, none other shall best man me but yourself--the--the best friend afellow ever had."
Mr. Narkom gulped uncomfortably as though there were something stickingin his throat. For all his position as chief keeper of law and order, hewas a sentimentalist at heart.
"Brothers, Cleek," he responded in a husky whisper. "Better be movingon, hadn't we? I've to get back to the Yard this afternoon if possible."
Cleek nodded.
"Yes, better be moving on. Coming, Ailsa? Ready, Dollops? All right,then, we'll be off. Good morning, good people, and good-bye. The riddleis solved, I think, and our task is over."
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