Stranleigh's Millions/The Unrecorded Abduction

by Robert Barr

 

IV
THE UNRECORDED ABDUCTION

I

Lord Stranleigh! One moment, if you please."

The young man knew he was being followed through the deserted streets of London, yet during the walk he had never once turned round since he left the imposing portico of the Corinthian Club, just as the great clock in the tower of the Parliament building boomed forth the hour of two in the morning. He surmised that his stealthy follower was no spy, but some poor wretch who wanted money. If the beggar had accosted him as he came down the steps of the Corinthian, Stranleigh would have bestowed upon him half-a-crown, for he always gave a donation to him who asked for it, and was thus the despair of the Charity Organisation Society. He contributed liberally to that useful body, but the arguments of its secretary against indiscriminate giving seemed to have little effect on his lordship, whose right hand instinctively sought his trousers pocket in presence of distress of any kind. It had been suggested to him that this generosity, without inquiry, to whomsoever beseeched, did a great deal of harm, pauperising the unfit, and it was further intimated to him, with some diffidence, it is true, because his subscription was a lavish one, that it would be better to increase this sum, and refer all beggars to the Society when they solicited aid. Lord Stranleigh fell in with the proposal, and doubled his benefaction, but the Society learned with regret that his retail almsgiving, as it might be called, went on as before. He never thought of investigation, or of referring a tattered wretch to the Charity Organisation Society while there was one coin to jingle against another in his pocket.

Step by step the unknown had followed him from the club towards his own house, and as several times they passed through dark, secluded portions of the West End, where there was an excellent opportunity of accosting, with no policeman in sight, Stranleigh reasoned from this that the man was new at the game, and diffident, so he resolved to increase his contribution to five shillings. When he crossed Piccadilly, at this hour deserted of its omnibuses, strangely silent save for the clip-clip footfalls of horses in the hurrying hansom cabs, or the purr of an electromobile, and still no word from the follower, sympathy for his reluctance rose, and he determined to give a golden sovereign. Then, just at his own door, the man summoned courage to speak.

"Lord Stranleigh! One moment, if you please."

The man who takes from his pocket a full purse after two o'clock in the morning, in a deserted side-street of London, runs considerable personal risk, and cannot be accounted overwise, even by his most ardent admirers, but Stranleigh had seldom been molested as he took his walks abroad at all hours of the day and night, and even when, upon occasion, he had encountered a band of roughs, he was known to have won them over by a certain charm of manner and speech which was as new to them as it was disconcerting. They called him a "toff," and always found him very generous, if they did not attempt violence, when, to their dismay, they learned there was a science in the use of fists which more than counterbalanced their superiority in strength and numbers. Upon occasion, at the most interesting point of the battle, he would spring back and say in tones of such sincerity that every ruffian who heard him knew he was speaking the truth:

"Thanks, you chaps, but cut your sticks at once. The police are coming. Run for all you're worth," and when the police arrived on the deserted scene of the conflict, they smiled when they saw Lord Stranleigh, whom most of them knew, and were well aware that it was useless to ask him which way the hooligans had fled, for he would never give information, even if he had received a black eye, which was very seldom. These proclivities of Stranleigh's are deplorable, and must be censured by every good citizen, forming, as they do, another argument in favour of the abolition of the House of Lords.

"I'll give you more than a moment; I'll give you a sovereign," said his lordship, as he turned round. "You're new at the begging business, I take it."

"Yes, my lord, I am."

Lord Stranleigh rarely betrayed evidence of emotion, but on this occasion he drew in his breath sharply as he met the gaze of the man who had followed him. The ornamental twin street lamps which stood before the door of Stranleigh House shone full upon the person who had spoken to him. The singularly greenish pallor of the skin, the extraordinary emaciation of the face, so great that the cheek-bones seemed almost protruding, the ghastly smile revealing two rows of teeth, gave the head the appearance of a grinning skull. In an instant Stranleigh saw that this was no beggar: he was well-dressed, and spoke with the accents of a gentleman. He slipped the sovereign back into his trousers pocket.

"Lord save us, man, you shouldn't be out in the night air at this time of the morning. You should be in bed."

"I know that, my lord, but you stopped late at the Corinthian Club, and it was vitally necessary—vitally necessary for myself, I mean—that I should secure the privilege of a few minutes' conversation with you."

"Have you been waiting all this time outside the Corinthian Club?"

"Since half-past nine to-night, my lord."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Why did you not send in your card? I could have seen you in the Strangers' Room."

"Would you have done so, my lord?"

Stranleigh did not reply to the inquiry. He was a truthful man, even in small matters, and although invariably courteous, he refused to tell a lie even when politeness called for it, so instead of answering the question, he propounded another.

"May I ask who you are, sir?"

"My name is Bronson Marlow, and until my health gave way I was connected with University College in London. I'm a B.A. of Oxford, and a D.Sc. of Cambridge. I am a member of the Scientific Society's Club, and would invite you there, only it closes rather earlier than the sporting Corinthian."

"Yes, we burn the midnight electricity a bit at the Corinthian, and I fear not to such good purpose as you do at the Scientific Society. You seem to think I would not have admitted you to the Club; may I remove that impression by inviting you into my own house?"

"I am very grateful to you, Lord Stranleigh."

"What was your College at Oxford, Mr. Marlow?"

"I'm a Balliol man."

"Ah. I was at the House, myself, but did little to raise its reputation for scholarship. Come in, if you please."

Stranleigh pulled out his latch-key, but the moment his foot-falls sounded on the steps, the door was flung open, showing a brilliantly lighted hall.

"I say, Perkins," censured his master, "there was no necessity for sitting up to this hour. I carry a latch-key, you know. Anything to eat in the diggings, Perkins?"

"Yes, my lord. Cold chicken and 'am in the breakfast room, my lord; sandwiches various, veal-and-'am pie, cold roast beef, leg of lamb, patés various, and I can get you a Welsh rarebit, or grill a chop if you like, my lord."

"Oh, you don't need to trouble about chop or rarebit. There's enough already to banish sleep for the rest of the night. What is there to drink?"

"Bottled beer, ale and stout, my lord; a decanter of whisky, syphons of soda, and assorted minerals."

"What is your favourite tipple, Mr. Marlow? Make your choice," said the young man, jauntily.

"You seem to be very well provided, and the man must be hard to please who goes thirsty in the midst of such a supply."

"We have many more shots in the locker. Name your poison, as they say out West."

"My doctor orders me to drink champagne, but that's merely because he doesn't know what's wrong with me, and is marking time."

"Perkins, open a bottle of '78; I should like a glass of fizz myself."

They went together into the breakfast room. Stranleigh had become almost accustomed to the ghastly appearance of his unexpected guest. Shrewdly he was studying the man while appearing not to do so. They sat down together at the table, and Perkins opened the bottle of champagne. Stranleigh's scrutiny was satisfactory, as his conversation soon showed.

"Your club is closed for the night, and perhaps your residence is not in this neighbourhood. May I offer you a room?"

"You are very kind. Lord Stranleigh, but I could not think of imposing on your hospitality. Indeed, I feel I have already trespassed too long."

"Oh, that's all right," cried Stranleigh, airily. "Perkins, just prepare a room where it is quiet, over the court-yard. See that everything necessary is at hand, and then go to bed yourself."

When Perkins had disappeared, Stranleigh continued:

"My great object is to get Perkins off, otherwise we shall have him hanging round till daybreak. And now, Marlow, would you prefer to tell me what is on your mind before we retire, or will it keep till morning?"

"I should rather tell you now, if you don't object."

"Oh, I don't object. I'm a 'till-daylight-doth-appear' chap when I've good company. I was merely thinking you looked a little tired."

"This champagne is so excellent, my lord, that I feel I should be libelling it if I confessed to fatigue. I suppose you think I'm in the last stages of consumption."

"You're not looking very well, but I hope it's nothing so bad as that."

"It isn't, and I may add that it is nothing infectious, otherwise I should never have presented myself to you. I have come to my present condition through experimenting with the air that surrounds us, and I became so interested in my discoveries that I failed to notice what an effect they were producing upon my health."

"Have you not consulted a physician?"

"Oh, yes, several of them. They are much interested in me: in fact, I feel that I am not Professor Marlow to them at all, but merely a very puzzling specimen of humanity. But you will be wondering, my lord, why it is that I come to you without any letter of introduction when, perhaps, I might have obtained such a document. It all came about through my overhearing a conversation that was not intended for my ears. I dislike to enact the part of eavesdropper, but this was a case in which I found myself helpless. A discussion which at first I thought was merely an ordinary after-dinner conversation between two members of the Club, suddenly developed into something important, revolving around your name, and from there on to the end of it, it would have been more embarrassing had I revealed myself than inconvenient if I stayed where I was. Of course, this being a private conference, I should not have thought of revealing its nature to you were it not that everything said about you was such that you might be gratified to hear. As the talk went on, I resolved to meet you if possible, and although I learned from what I heard that a letter of introduction was quite inefficient, yet I also gathered that there was a method by which your acquaintance might be made if a person had but a little tact and courage, or perhaps you would call it cheek. This method I have just put into operation with such success that I am now sitting opposite to you, with my legs under your mahogany, enjoying a most excellent repast."

Lord Stranleigh laughed, and raised his champagne glass.

"Well, here's to our better acquaintance," he said. "What you say shows how little a man really knows himself. I had never imagined I was a human Port Arthur, to be approached by such military-like strategy, and finally captured by courage and tact. I had supposed myself one of the most accessible men in London."

"My lord, you are surrounded by people whose business it seems to be to frustrate the ambition of the public to make your acquaintance."

"Ah, they frustrate only those who desire to get money out of me. The greed of the public appears to be insatiable, so since the newspapers made such a to-do about my supposed great luck in various financial campaigns, it has become necessary to my peace and comfort that I should construct a wire entanglement that renders the access of strangers difficult, but is not intended to prevent my making interesting acquaintanceships, as, for instance, yours, Professor." The young man bowed to his guest, and continued: "You have at least succeeded in arousing my curiosity regarding the conversation you heard. If nothing was said that I might not listen to, perhaps you will be good enough to tell me who the men were, and what they had to do with me."

Now Marlow, being a man of science, perhaps might have prefaced the remarks that followed by discoursing on the amiable habit which nature has of setting an antidote where she places a poison. In India, wherever the deadly hooded cobra lurks, there also roams the mongoose, the only animal that dares attack this malignant reptile, and attack it with success. In America, wherever the rattlesnake abounds, there is sure to be a bottle of whisky somewhere in the neighbourhood. Professor Marlow, quite unknown to himself, was acting the part of the mongoose to a financial cobra just raising its head to strike, and of this stroke Lord Stranleigh would have been the victim.

The capable Professor, innocent, unsuspicious, kindly, went on to relate complimentary things that had been said of Lord Stranleigh which he thought it would please that young man to hear, neither of them in the least dreaming that they were planting dynamite under one of the shrewdest schemes of spoliation that unscrupulous brains had ever concocted in the City of London.

"As I told you," Bronson Marlow went on, "I am a member of the Scientific Society's Club. London, as you know, is full of clubs, each organised for a definite object; social, political, literary, sporting, scientific, or what-not. It is a remarkable thing that there filter into all clubs certain men who to outward appearance have not the least qualification for membership, and this anomaly the Scientific Society's Club has not escaped. One of our prominent members is a gross, fat man, named Isador Isaacstein, who, whatever his attainments may be, is quite innocent of even a smattering of science."

"I have heard of him," said Stranleigh. "He is a financier of more or less prominence in the city of London. He came from Frankfort, I believe, and keeps a branch establishment there, or perhaps Frankfort is his main fighting ground."

"Why, you seem well versed in Stock Exchange biography," said the Professor with surprise.

"As a matter of fact, I am not; but I am familiar with the unobtrusive Isador through the fact that a friend of mine, Jack Hazel, has for some weeks been urging me to join the board of directors of some company that Mr. Isaacstein is promoting."

"Do you mean the Honourable John Hazel?"

"Yes."

"Now, that's an odd coincidence, because he is another member of our club who knows nothing of science."

"You've mistaken in that, Professor. Jack knows the science of bridge, the science of billiards, the science of horse-racing, and is at present endeavouring to learn the science of the Stock Exchange. Jack must be one of the most scientific members your club shelters."

"It was not to promote such science that the club was originally founded; but be that as it may, the Honourable Mr. Hazel is the man I heard speaking so well of you."

"Jack's a good fellow, whose only blemish is a chronic need of money, but I think he would give me a most flattering letter of recommendation if I were ever on the outlook for a job, and I am pleased to hear that Jack spoke in my favour, the more so because I have been compelled to refuse what he asked, declining either to meet Isador or to take part in his company promotion. How did you happen to overhear the conversation between Jack and Isador?"

"It was like this. The least-frequented spot in our club is the strangers' smoking-room. There is a deep recess on either side of the fireplace at the end of the room. In one of these bays a writing-table is situated, and in the other a very comfortable sofa. It usually happens that an electric light is burning over the writing-table, while the sofa on the other side of the fireplace is in darkness. Two nights ago, not feeling very brisk, I retired to the strangers' smoking-room, laid down on this sofa, and fell into a doze. I was awakened by voices I recognised, and knew that Mr. Hazel and Mr. Isaacstein, who had been dining at the club together, had come in for cigars, liqueurs, and coffee, as sometimes happens when the regular smoking-room is overcrowded. I gathered from what I heard that they were waiting for a stranger who had been unable to dine with them, but was coming later, and they referred to this man as Mackeller."

"Ah, another friend of mine. Peter, I suspect. What on earth was Peter doing in that gallery? By Jove, I remember now! It was Jack Hazel who first sent him to me with a letter of introduction which, I think, I refused to read, but I am glad at least I listened to Mackeller, who is one of the best. I liked him from the first. I hope he spoke favourably about me?"

"He didn't speak of you at all," said the Professor. "He listened to eulogies, but said nothing one way or the other. He seemed a glum sort of man."

"Oh, that's Peter. He would think a good deal and say very little. Did they wish him to join Isador's company?"

"No, they wanted him to bring pressure on you, which he absolutely refused to do, with more emphasis than politeness."

Stranleigh laughed.

"There's no doubt of his identity! But I'm interrupting you—go on."

"Before Mackeller came in Isaacstein had been urging the Honourable John Hazel to give him a cordial letter of introduction to you, but Hazel said you never read them and would pay no attention to one if you did. The financier seemed very confident that if Hazel merely put the weapon in his hand, he would use it successfully, and this confident belief Hazel combated, demurring at giving the letter for the double reason that it would do no good and might irritate you and turn you against him."

"Oh, Jack's too sensitive. He was quite right in saying a note would be useless, but wrong in supposing I should take offence. I'd know that the letter had been obtained by pressure, but nothing could change my friendship for Jack; he's a good fellow."

"That taught me the first part of the information I was to gain, namely, Lord Stranleigh of Wychwood was difficult of access, and a letter of introduction, even from a friend, would be of no assistance. The next lesson showed me why there was such a universal desire for Lord Stranleigh's acquaintance.

"‘You cannot enlist Stranleigh's interest by telling him your million-pound company is going to make a hundred per cent. the first year. He's got so much money already that he doesn't know what to do with it, and would not trouble to cross the street for your added million.'

"‘Lord!' said I to myself, lying there on the sofa, 'this is the sort of man I should like to meet,' and then unconsciously, but very obligingly, your friend Hazel showed how it might be done, and that he knew what he was talking about is proved by the fact that I am sitting here."

"Why, the rogue would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass. Am I so transparent, then, that any onlooker can see through me? Proceed, I beg of you."

"I suppose," said the Professor, "that we are all easier seen through than we imagine, and we should therefore content ourselves if the report made by our friends is in our favour, as is the case with you, my lord. The Honourable John Hazel went on to say that there were two methods by which you could be spurred on to action. The surest plan was an appeal to your sympathy. The touch of gold might find you adamant, but the appeal of distress found you as impressionable as wax. He instanced Bendale's Stores capitalised at I don't know how many millions, and said the foundation of this far-reaching organisation, this constantly-growing business, was the tears of an old woman in a ragged shawl."

"Oh, hang it all," protested Stranleigh, "that's not true. The woman wasn't old, merely middle-aged. She was a native of my part of the country, you see; daughter of one of my father's lodge-keepers. A fellow couldn't allow anyone, practically a member of his own household, to be trampled upon by the heartless City of London, now, could he?"

"I, being one of the trampled, naturally agree with you, Lord Stranleigh. Anyhow, that was the instance Hazel gave, and Isaacstein seemed the more envious and desirous of having your name on his prospectus, because he said it was your name that had influenced the public to buy shares in Bendale's Stores. He said the public bit like trout in may-fly time, from which I take it that Isaacstein is a fisher."

"The public did bite," said Stranleigh, "but were not bitten. The Bendale Stores were worth the money asked, for they pay eleven per cent. on the capital. My name on the prospectus had nothing to do with it. But, good or bad, my name isn't going on one of Isador's prospectuses, whether my sympathy is appealed to or not. What was the second method of setting me in motion ? A man may as well understand his own machinery."

"The second method, Hazel said, was not without danger. Briefly stated, it was to step on your toes; in other words, to get you angry, then, Hazel said, although you would show no anger, you would fight to the last ditch."

This seemed to amuse Lord Stranleigh.

"I don't see how that would help them," he said, "even if it were true."

"They didn't, either. Hazel said you had no respect for his business ability."

"Neither have I. If he doesn't quit the Stock Exchange soon he'll find himself so deeply involved that even the Bank of England can't get him out."

"But he said you regarded Mackeller as both honest and capable."

"Quite so."

"He stated that on one occasion he had given Mackeller a letter of introduction to you, and although you didn't read the document you took to Mackeller at once, and Hazel appeared to doubt that a similar result would take place in Isaacstein's case. So it was arranged that as you had both confidence in Mackeller's business abilities and a liking for the man himself; he should be asked to approach you regarding the project, and work the sympathy vein or the business vein, depending on which proved to be the line of least resistance."

"I see. And what did Mackeller say?"

"Mackeller would have nothing to do with the scheme one way or other, and absolutely refused even to mention it to you."

"Good man. I told you Mackeller was to be depended on."

"With that the conference broke up, giving me an opportunity to escape from my imprisonment. Of course, if there had been anything secret or disreputable about the meeting I should not have mentioned it, but nothing was said which might not have been uttered in your own presence. Hazel spoke in the most eulogistic terms of you, and although Mackeller said nothing in particular, it was quite evident that he felt the same way towards you. I learned from this talk that you were incredibly rich, and, in spite of that, a kind-hearted man. So, I said to myself, if I can get Lord Stranleigh to look at me, I think I may perhaps make a successful appeal to him."

"Well, my good man, you won't make a successful appeal to-night."

"Won't I?"

"No, you're about done out, and, bless my soul, it's nearly four o'clock. It will be daylight in a few minutes. You must go to bed. We'll breakfast at twelve o'clock. I've just one more question to ask you. You don't wish me to join the board of any City company, I hope?"

"Oh, no."

"Scientific research, perhaps?"

"Well, yes, something along that line."

"That's all right. If it makes you sleep any better, I may tell you at once that if your project is at all feasible, I'll agree. Indeed, whether I think it feasible or not, I am very certain to fall in with your views, so come along and I'll show you your room. The heavy curtains will keep out the daylight, even at noon, and your room will be as dark as a photographic chambre noire."

 

II

Lord Stranleigh and Professor Marlow were not the only two who sat up till four o'clock that morning. It was the privilege of the Honourable John Hazel to be the guest of Isador Isaacstein in his gaudy, sumptuous residence in the West End: a house furnished with Oriental splendour. Previous to the conference with Mackeller in the Scientific Society's Club, Isaacstein had seen the Honourable John every day, and often two or three times a day. After Mackeller's curt refusal to act in any way that would please Isaacstein, the latter was plainly more angry than Hazel had ever known him to be before. When Mackeller had taken his departure, the two strolled out of the club; Isaacstein too enraged to trust himself with speech. The Honourable John was scarcely in better temper, for he was deeply disappointed at the outcome, and he thought Mackeller not only ungracious, but ungrateful, because it was through Hazel's instrumentality that he in the first instance met Lord Stranleigh, who put his feet on the road to great financial success, and now, when asked in return to use his influence, not his money, he had given a flat refusal without even troubling to understand the scheme that was proposed. The Honourable John poured maledictions on the heads of all Scotchmen, especially those of the north who wore "Mac's" to their names. He said to Isador that it was the general supposition you could get anything out of a Scotchman if you did not touch his pocket, but they were uncivil, disobliging brutes, who took everything they could and gave nothing in return.

"Oh," cried Isaacstein, with hot-tempered impatience, "you swells are all alike."

"What do you mean by 'you swells'?"

"You, and Mackeller, and Stranleigh."

"Mackeller isn't a swell; he's a bally Scotch barbarian, with the manners of a gillie."

"Well, he seems to have more influence with Lord Stranleigh than you possess."

"I never said I had influence with Stranleigh."

"Then what am I paying you good money for?" cried Isaacstein with an oath.

"Why, I've done my best. I've written letter after letter to him, as you know, and although he replies politely enough, he hasn't done what I wished him to do. I'll give you a letter of introduction to him, just as I did Mackeller, if you think it will do any good, but simply because I tell you I'm sure it won't, then you round on me."

Once more Isaacstein delivered his opinion of the Honourable John in language terse and profane. The young man dared not resent it, much as his clenched fists ached to meet the manly brow of Isador, for the latter had spoken the brutal truth about the money advanced.

"Shall I write you a letter of introduction?" he asked, mildly.

For answer the magnate commanded him to go to a district hotter than London is, even in the summer, hailed a hansom, stepped inside, and drove off with no word of farewell. The Honourable John stood there for a moment, shrugged his shoulders, lit a cigarette, and walked along to the Corinthian Club, which was a much more comfortable establishment than the Scientific Society's Club. He hoped to meet Lord Stranleigh there, and in that case might reluctantly touch him for a loan. He knew he would get the money, but did not like Stranleigh's way of laughing as he handed it over. Strangely enough, he was sensitive to Stranleigh's gentle laugh, while the cursing of the City magnate left him unscathed. He did not find Stranleigh at the Corinthian, but encountered some liquid refreshment that made the outlook more rosy than it had appeared in the earlier part of the evening. Isador would be better-humoured in the morning. After all, he was too shrewd a business man to continue long in ill-humour merely because an obstacle blocked his path. Isaacstein was certain to think of some ingenious plan during the night, and next day the Honourable John would be sure to hear from him. Thus he consoled himself, hoping that the golden fount had not dried up, evaporated by Isadoras heated language.

But next day came, and no message from the magnate. Hazel was deeply in debt, yet that did not worry him in the least. Landlord or tailor could wait, but there were several obligations which came under the category of honour. A certain horse had not done what was expected of him on the racecourse, and this unforeseen default had left the Honourable John under a debt of honour which must be liquidated.

The second day no word came from Isaacstein, and after lunch Hazel called upon him at his office in the City, but was not admitted. The chief clerk said that Mr. Isaacstein was working night and day on the affair of the Honduras Central Rubber Company, which was to be put upon the market in a few weeks, and until that flotation was finished, Mr. Isaacstein was compelled to refuse himself to anyone who was not connected with the promotion.

"But, hang it all," cried Hazel, "I've seen him every day for months on that very project. Here, take in my card."

The chief clerk himself took in the card, and presently returned, accompanied by Mr. Isaacstein's secretary, who was much more suave and polite than his master, but no less definite than the head clerk in stating that Mr. Isaacstein could not receive the Honourable John Hazel at the present moment.

"Has he found someone, then, to be President of the company in place of Lord Stranleigh?"

The secretary smiled.

"I am not at liberty to say anything further than that Mr. Isaacstein has abandoned all thought of Lord Stranleigh's co-operation."

As the Honourable John still hesitated—he was in desperate straits, and it was useless to tell the secretary that—the secretary was obliging enough to say:

"Mr. Isaacstein will not be at his house until midnight. Don't say I suggested it, but if I were you I should telephone to him, say between half-past eleven and twelve. It is possible he might see you for a short time before he goes to bed, but there is not the slightest use of calling upon him in the City for the next fortnight or three weeks."

With this Hazel was forced to content himself, and he turned away from Isaacstein's busy office a very dejected man. At the Corinthian he spent the rest of the afternoon and evening playing bridge, and, contrary to the popular belief regarding a man down on his luck, he won a considerable sum of money, but not nearly enough for the necessity that held him in its grip.

"Hello!" cried one of the losers, pushing back his chair as he glanced at the clock. "It's midnight, and I promised to be home by ten. I'll take my revenge another night, Hazel."

"Midnight?" cried the Honourable John. "I have an appointment at midnight, and forgot all about it;" so he, too, rose, and made for the telephone booth.

He rang up Isaacstein, who finally answered.

"This is John Hazel. I called at your office in the City to-day, and you pretended you were too busy to see me."

"What did you want to see me about?" asked Isador in no very cordial tones.

"Why, I want to know how the Honduras Central Rubber Company is getting on."

"What business is that of yours? You're not an investor."

"Why, my dear Isaacstein, you disappoint me. I expected that with two clear days to yourself, you would have evolved a scheme that would settle all our difficulties. You're not nearly as ingenious as I thought."

"I am ingenious enough," cried Isador, "if I can only get the men to carry out my plans. I've made up my mind that you are no good. You talk a lot, but you don't do anything."

"I do my best, and that's all that can be expected of a man. It's impossible for me, or you either, to force Stranleigh into your company if he's made up his mind not to join your board. If you've got anything feasible, I'll carry it out if it can be carried out."

"Oh, yes, you're a wonderful man to promise!"

"I'll not only promise, but I'll perform, unless the thing's impossible."

There was an interval so long that Hazel began to think the Exchange had cut him off.

"Are you there?" he called.

"Yes; wait a moment. Oh well, jump into a hansom and come up here. I'll give you one more trial."

"All right!" and with that Hazel rang off.

As he passed the billiard-room door, Stranleigh called to him.

"Come in and have a game, Johnny."

"Thanks, Stranleigh; I can't to-night. I'm busy. How late are you stopping at the club?"

"I don't know, but I'll wait till two o'clock if you say you're coming back."

"I'll be back before then. So long!" and with that the Honourable John made for the portico of the club, telling the hall porter to call a cab for him. As he stood there he caught a glimpse of an appalling face for a fraction of a second. His was the expression of a man who had been dead several days, and yet walked. The ghostly face turned towards him and gave him a ghostly glance, then disappeared into the darkness. The Honourable John shuddered.

"Great heavens!" he said to himself, "such a sight is enough to bring ill-luck to a man!" and in this, curiously enough, the Honourable John was right. That face was even more sinister than it seemed, so far as Mr. Hazel's affairs were concerned. Jack remembered, with a laugh, that he had seen the man before at the Scientific Society's Club, but somehow in the daylight he did not appear so gruesome. It was the sudden emerging of the countenance into the light, and its equally sudden withdrawal, that affected Jack's nerves.

It was nearly one o'clock when Hazel reached the door of the mansion he sought. Not a light shone from any of the windows of the great house, and he feared that his host had gone to bed. It was just the ill-mannered kind of thing Isaacstein would delight in—invite a man to his house, and then shut the door upon him. However, when Hazel rang, the door was at once opened, and he entered.

He found the courteous Isador voraciously devouring supper, a jug of champagne at his elbow, partly filled with ice, as is the habit in some parts of the Continent.

"Waiting for you, my boy," cried Isaacstein. "Draw up a chair. If you don't see what you want, ring for it."

The Honourable Jack knew that Isador's champagne was excellent, whether taken out of a bottle, or from a jug, and besides, he realised that he was hungry, for bridge is an absorbing game.

"I suppose you're after money," said the genial Isador, with that fine tact which always characterised him.

"I wanted to hear how your company is getting on," evaded the Honourable Jack, inwardly cursing him.

"Oh, don't you worry about the company, my boy. Help yourself to the fizz."

"Well, having your permission to ring for what I want, I'll take the liberty of calling for a bottle, with the ice placed outside instead of inside. All a matter of custom, you know."

Isador laughed.

"Right you are, my boy. Every man to his taste."

"How about the company?"

"Oh, the company's all right. Don't you bother about the company. I'll look after that."

"Who is to be chairman of your board of directors in place of Stranleigh?"

"You'll see when the prospectus comes out."

"A man of title?"

"Yes, and a hanged sight better title than your uppish friend Stranleigh."

"If that is true, I can guess his name if you give me a dozen tries."

"There's more than a dozen men in this country better than Lord Stranleigh. They come high, but we must have them. The investing public is composed of snobs, mostly."

"So I've heard you say before, and you ought to know. Still, if you're satisfied with your new man, I've nothing to say."

"Oh, I'm satisfied all right enough."

"I understood from your talk over the telephone that you had evolved a new scheme in which I could be of some assistance."

"Oh, you want the cash, don't you?"

"Frankly, I do. I suppose to a man like you, who works purely for love, that seems odd."

Isaacstein laughed uproariously, and brought his fist down on the table.

"You're not such a bad fellow, if I did damn you up and down the other night. Well, I had a plan yesterday, but things happened this morning that make it unnecessary. Of course, when I say I've got a better man than Lord Stranleigh, I'm bluffing. His name would draw more money out of the British Public's pockets than anybody I know, short of the King. The other night I was fearfully disappointed, because you led me to believe that Mackeller could do the trick."

"So he could, but I told you I didn't know whether he would or not, and it turned out he wouldn't."

"Drink up your champagne, my boy, and don't let us talk any more about it."

"I'll drink the champagne, of course, but I want to talk about it. It isn't business to tell you that I'm up a tree, but I am. That information will make you inclined to drive a hard bargain, but I give you fair warning, I can get the money by going to Lord Stranleigh."

"Then why the deuce don't you go?"

"That's my business. I don't want to go. I'd rather loot it out of you, and then I'd have no qualms of conscience. I may also add that I could probably procure cash by asking Mackeller. In spite of his brusqueness the other night, he knows that I put him on the way to fortune. He'd be beast enough to say that he gave me the money, and didn't loan it, but I'd get the coin all right. I'm certain of that; so you see, although I'm up a tree, there are two methods by which I can reach the ground again."

"How much money do you want?"

"If the job is an important one, I must have ten thousand pounds."

Isador put his thumbs in the armholes of his waistcoat, arched his brows, rounded his mouth, and gave utterance to a long whistle. Then he said:

"Ten thousand pounds are not picked up in the gutter, my boy."

"Oh, I don't know," replied Hazel, looking fixedly at him.

"Now, what do you mean by that remark?" roared Isador, again bringing his fist down on the table, but this time in anger.

"Perhaps I should have said I am willing to go into the gutter for it if the money is there. Does that satisfy you?"

The financier scowled at him for a few moments, then he said, in his usual tone of voice:

"If you will do what is wanted, I will give you ten thousand pounds."

"Is it anything they can put me in jail for?"

"Certainly not."

"Then I'll do it. Spin it out, and let me have another bottle of champagne, please. I hate to ask, but you told me to. I fear that the gutter is going to be a little muddy, so I wish to be prepared. I want to brace myself up for the wallow."

"Right you are. That's the way I like to hear a man talk. Now, I've spent the two days since I saw you getting information about your friend Lord Stranleigh, and have learned a number of things that probably you don't know. For instance, are you aware that his yacht has been dry-docked, and won't be out for a month yet?"

"What! in the middle of summer? No, I didn't know that."

"Yes. He went to America on the Adriatic. He would have taken his own yacht if it had been in commission. He ordered new turbine engines put in."

"Really, that's very interesting; but what has it to do with the rubber company?"

"Do you know that the King of Spain has invited Lord Stranleigh to Cadiz to see the Naval Review there on the 25th, 26th, and 27th of this month?"

"No, I didn't know that."

"Then, of course, you don't know that Lord Stranleigh is going overland, and that he detests railway travel when he can get to his destination in something that floats?"

"Well, go on."

"I have in my possession, through the kindness of the Spanish Consul, an invitation to that Review made out in the name of the Honourable John Hazel."

"The deuce you say!"

John Hazel drank a whole glass of champagne at a gulp. He was beginning to feel the slush of the gutter round his feet.

"Go on," he said.

"I have engaged a yacht at Southampton—The Lady of the Lake. Perhaps you know her?"

"No, I don't."

"Well, Lord Stranleigh's yacht is called The Woman in White, taken from Wilkie Collins's novel. The Lady of the Lake, taken from Sir Walter Scott, should be a better title, don't you think?"

"Literature isn't my strong point, Mr. Isaacstein; and please remember I'm here on business."

"That's right. The Lady of the Lake is large and very comfortable, but her engines are oldfashioned, and were put in before the days turbines were thought of. It will take you very nearly a week to make the voyage from Southampton to Cadiz."

"Oh, I'm going there on the yacht, am I?"

"Just as you choose, of course. You may tell your friends that you've had a bit of luck on the Stock Exchange—which will be true enough, by the way. You will say that a friend has been so kind as to lend you his yacht—which is also correct. We're having no lies in this business at all, nothing to injure the sensitive conscience of a member of the aristocracy——"

"Oh, d——n it all, shut up! Go on."

Isador indulged in a sneering laugh.

"You will say you have been invited to the Review by the Spanish Government, and that also will be a fact. Any objection to making the excursion, Mr. Hazel?"

"Go on, if you please."

"That's all. The yacht will be well found; the captain is a careful man who will not exceed the speed limit, even if the boat were capable of doing so. There are no police traps between here and Cadiz, so you needn't fear the prison you spoke of. You will find plenty of champagne in the lockers, and the best of cigars in the cupboard of the sideboard; cigarettes galore, ample provisions"—here Isador leaned across the table, glaring at his uneasy guest—"and I shall put aboard a French chef as good as the one Lord Stranleigh keeps; so good that he'll never miss the cook he leaves in Stranleigh House."

"I see," murmured John Hazel. "Lord Stranleigh is to be my guest, then?"

"Yes; you'll save him a railway journey, and as he delights in the sea he won't mind the voyage being a day or two longer than would be the case with a faster vessel."

"No, he wouldn't mind that. Is anything else expected of me?"

"Nothing, dear Mr. Hazel, except that I should like you to see personally to the provisioning of the yacht, so that everything will be to your satisfaction; and, as in this house, if there's anything you want, all you have to do is to ring for it. Of course, when I say, see personally, I mean only that you'll take the trouble to look over the list of her equipment, and anything you suggest will be added."

The Honourable John Hazel poured himself out another glass of champagne.

"I suppose I may put into any convenient port so that Lord Stranleigh may telegraph to London or receive letters while we are en route? The Lady of the Lake is a slow boat, you say."

"After The Lady of the Lake leaves Southampton, Mr. Hazel, her next port of call will be Cadiz. That is part of our contract."

 

"Then Lord Stranleigh will be one week away from England, during which time he can communicate with nobody, and nobody can communicate with him?"

"Precisely."

"And what devilment will you be up to meanwhile? How do you intend to use the interval you are willing to pay ten thousand pounds for, my friendly financier?"

Mr. Isaacstein waved his hands back and forward in the air before his face.

"That has nothing to do with you, Mr. John Hazel. What you asked for was a job that had no risk and no police traps. There it is: take it or leave it, and the compensation is ten thousand pounds."

"Will you pay me the money to-morrow?"

"No, I won't."

"Suppose I did this, and attempted to collect for it. How would you advise me to set about the collection?"

"You don't need to set about it. The moment you have done what I ask of you, I'll pay the money."

"You expect me, then, to trust you?"

Isador shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows, but seemed in no way offended at the implied lack of confidence.

"Somebody must trust somebody in transactions of this kind," he said.

"You believe, then, that there is honour among thieves?"

"Well, I don't know that I should go so far as to say that, Mr. Hazel. You've had a good deal of money from me, and I've never had any return for it, yet you are called the Honourable John. No, I shouldn't say that all thieves feel that sense of honour you speak of; still, I can vouch for one, and say that whatever I promise to pay, I'll pay. You will get the ten thousand pounds if you do the job. If you don't, you won't.

"In plain words, you mean, Mr. Isaacstein, that if you paid the money down you think I would not give value for it?"

"No, I don't believe anything of the kind, Mr. Hazel. I believe that one difficulty after another would come up. You would say, as you have already said with your transactions concerning Lord Stranleigh, that you had done your best. The money would be gone; you couldn't repay me, but you would declare your willingness to return the ten thousand as soon as you got it. You never would get it, so there would be the end."

"But suppose Stranleigh is invited by somebody else?"

"That's easily found out. It's to-morrow now," said the magnate, looking at his watch. "It's nearly two o'clock. We've been gassing here for more than an hour, and yet have accomplished nothing."

Good Lord! it isn't so late as that? I promised Lord Stranleigh I'd return to the Corinthian Club. He's waiting there for me now. Where's your telephone?"

"Be careful what you say to him," cautioned Isaacstein, whose head was quite clear. There was yet a good deal of undrunk champagne in his jug. Hazel had been rather deluging himself, but there was still no thickness in his speech and no uncertainty in his walk when he arose. "Tell him you've got a business conference on which may bring you in a good deal of money within the next few days, and apologise for not returning to the Club."

"All right, all right," replied Hazel, with a gesture of impatience. "I know how to talk to Stranleigh."

A servant conducted him to the telephone, rang up the Club, got his lordship, and handed the receiver to Hazel.

"That you, Stranleigh?"

"Yes. Fine time of night this to ring a man up. I thought you were returning to the Club?"

"I thought so, too, but I have an important business conference on that may result rather to my own advantage."

He heard Stranleigh laughing, and that irritated him, but with the financier's warning still ringing in his ears, he took care not to show his resentment.

"By the way, Stranleigh, if this deal comes off, I'll be in funds, and I want to take a little trip down to Spain."

"Oho! Are you invited to the Naval demonstration at Cadiz?"

"Yes. Are you going?"

"I think so."

"Well, Stranleigh, why not take your yacht and let us both go together?"

"Sorry, old chap, but the yacht is out of commission; won't be ready for a month or more yet. You see, I learned that the turbine blades of the Lusitania, if placed on end, will extend for a hundred and eighty-nine miles or thereabouts. This made me dissatisfied with my present turbine engines, so I am having The Woman in White fitted up with the very latest pattern of the Honourable Parsons steam turbines. I think of challenging the Lusitania for the blue ribbon of the ocean, and then, my dear boy, I'd be delighted if you came along."

"Very good. You can count on me."

"I'll remind you of your promise if the Lusitania dare take up my challenge. Good-night. It's nearly two o'clock, and I must be off."

Lord Stranleigh left the Club shortly after, and was followed by the man with the awesome face, the silent pair in the silent streets looking like one of those weird allegorical German pictures, Youth followed by Death."

As Hazel returned from the telephone a servant met him in the hall and conducted him to an Oriental divan, where he found Isaacstein lolling back among the cushions, smoking a fat cigar, with a small table and a cup of coffee before him. There were various liqueurs and coffee on the table reserved for the Honourable John.

"I shan't mix my drinks," said Hazel. "No coffee, no liqueurs for me. I'll stick to champagne."

"Right you are, my boy. This is Liberty Hall. You do just what you please when you're within my walls."

Hazel repeated the conversation that had taken place between him and Stranleigh over the telephone. The finacier nodded approval.

"Now, if you carry it all off like that," he said, "you'll have ten thousand pounds in your bank account before many days are past. You didn't tell him too much or too little, and you paved the way for your invitation on board The Lady of the Lake, That was a very good move your asking him to take his yacht to Cadiz—a very good move indeed. Now, I think we've settled everything."

"Begging your pardon, we haven't. We haven't even begun to settle it."

"Oh, really?"

"No. I must be told exactly what you intend doing when I have kidnapped Stranleigh. What trick will you play in London?"

"Don't talk like a fool, Hazel. You're not kidnapping Stranleigh. You're inviting him to take a voyage on the yacht that has been lent you. He accepts of his own free will; or he refuses, as the case may be. It's a perfectly legitimate and friendly transaction."

"Friendly? Yes, confoundedly friendly. I'm under no delusions on that score, but I wish to know the extent of your intentions towards him. What token of friendship are you going to bestow upon Lord Stranleigh when he's sailing the Bay of Biscay with me?"

"Have you got Lord Stranleigh's letters to you in your pocket?" asked the other abruptly.

"Yes."

"Hand them over to me. I want to read them, and while I am doing so you make up your mind whether you wish to know my affairs as well as your own. You're taking no risk. I'm the man that runs into danger; and, if you accept my advice, you'd better not know what's to be done; then you can say with that clear conscience of yours, if anything goes wrong afterwards, that you were kept in the dark."

Hazel handed to him a packet of letters. Isaacstein slipped off the rubber band, and one by one perused them carefully. Hazel sipped his champagne, smoked his cigar, and narrowly watched his host. When the latter had finished his reading he put the rubber band on the packet again, and said:

"You'd better let me have these."

"Oh, I don't know about that."

"I do. You give me these letters in return for the money I've advanced. That leaves us square."

"Very well; they're of no use to me. I've thought over the situation, as you advised, and I'm determined to know exactly what you are going to do."

Isador shrugged his shoulders, placed the letters in an inside pocket, and said, carelessly:

"I have not the least objection to telling you. You think, I suppose, that I intend to break into Lord Stranleigh's treasury while he's away?"

"I'm sure you're up to some devilment, and I'm resolved to find out just how deep it is."

"I suppose," returned the financier, "that if it's deep enough you can go to Lord Stranleigh and sell me out? You can get more from him than I've offered you."

"There is this in the way of your amiable suggestion, Mr. Isaacstein. If I did go to Lord Stranleigh, he'd merely laugh at me. He does not believe I am shrewd enough either to save him, or to help myself. No, Stranleigh wouldn't pay ten thousand pounds for anything I could do for him, therefore you are quite safe. I will not waste time in protesting, though I would not sell you out because I am practically selling out Stranleigh, but I am showing you what is much more to the point—that if I attempted to betray you there are no buyers. Now are you satisfied?"

"Yes, that's the way I like to hear a man talk. That's business. On my part I give you my word that Lord Stranleigh will not be injured in the least. What I intend to do is this, and if you help me to carry it out, your recompense will not stop at the ten thousand pounds, be assured of that, for there is a lot of money in my plan."

Hazel's eyes glittered.

"Let's hear about it," he said.

"The moment you've got Lord Stranleigh out at sea the prospectus of the Honduras Central Rubber Company will be offered to the public. Capital, one million pounds, chairman of the board of directors, Lord Stranleigh of Wychwood."

"Ah," said Hazel, with a long-drawn breath. "What good will that do you? As soon as Stranleigh sets foot on land he will telegraph that he has nothing to do with the concern, and then, it seems to me, the police may take a hand."

"Before Lord Stranleigh reaches the land I, Isador Isaacstein, will have contradicted the announcement in the prospectus. I shall be in Frankfort on the day the advertisement appears in all the newspapers and the prospectus is in the hands of the brokers. Two days will have passed before my disclaimer appears. I shall telegraph from Frankfort that Lord Stranleigh's name appearing on the prospectus is the result of a mistake. I will show how that mistake occurred, admit that I had hoped and endeavoured to get Lord Stranleigh's co-operation, and wind up by maintaining that the Honduras property is worth many times what is asked for it."

"If you do all that, then what good can result from your unauthorised use of Lord Stranleigh's name?"

"My dear boy, you don't understand City finance. This is what will happen. The moment Stranleigh's name appears on the prospectus we'll have our million subscribed several times over. The money will be all in our hands. Very well. When I announce that Lord Stranleigh's name had no right on that prospectus the stock will immediately fall. My emissaries in London will buy it up."

"But, my dear sir, you will have received the money under false pretences, and will be compelled to return the money."

"Oh, I know that, I know that. But, don't you see, people will become panic-stricken. They won't wait for the slow process of the law which is to give them back their money, and they'll at once believe that no money will be refunded. A great majority of them will fling their stock instantly on the market, determined to realise whatever they can on it. That stock my people will purchase, and at once those who sold are out of the running. They have no further claim. Those who, stand by their legal rights shall, of course, have their money returned in full. I expect, as a result of the appeal, to receive at least working capital to develop the Honduras property, and perhaps several hundred thousand pounds extra as the difference between the twenty-five shillings I get for each pound share, for I am going to float the stock at a premium of five shillings in the pound. Nothing catches your gullible public like that. If you offer them pound shares at fifteen shillings they won't touch them, but offer them pound shares at twenty-five shillings and they fall over each other to get at the stock. They argue that it must be a good thing, otherwise we would not dare put it at a premium when floating the company. Well, as I was saying, the difference between the two-and-six at which we'll buy those shares for which twenty-five shillings have been paid will result anywhere from a hundred thousand pounds to half a milion. Lord Stranleigh's name will have been withdrawn, and when he lands he will find that there is nothing to be done. He won't be hurt, and so he'll do nothing. The money will have been returned at once to those who demand it, whereas those who sold in a panic will, as I have said, be out of the running, and even if they were not, there is no method by which Lord Stranleigh could get hold of their names. The lists will all be in my possession."

"Don't you be too sure, Mr. Isaacstein, that Stranleigh won't do something. He'll be back in London by the first train from Cadiz, and if you are a wise man you will crawl into a hole and pull the hole in after you. It won't be healthy for you to remain in London once Stranleigh gets back."

Isador laughed heartily.

"I'm not afraid of Lord Stranleigh," he said. "When he returns he will find everything has been done strictly according to law, and aside from that I shall guarantee to those who have lost money through selling their stocks that the first dividends of the new company will be used to recoup them, for, as rubber is going up in price steadily, we are certain to pay a hundred per cent. the first year. Indeed, I shall satisfy Lord Stranleigh himself that this will be done. In one of his letters that you have given me there is a sentence which might be construed to mean that he intends to join our company. He speaks highly of the rubber prospects in the automobile trade alone. My secretary will accept the blame for making the mistake upon the prospectus, and I can show that I made amends the very moment I learned that Stranleigh's name had been used, and I rather hope that when his lordship is convinced that I have done everything in my power, he may yet join us. I shall offer him a seat on the board, or even the presidency of the board, so that he may be certain all my promises will be carried out."

"Well, if you act straight," said Hazel, doubtfully, "I don't see that much harm can come by luring Stranleigh away for a week, and now the only point to be settled is the question of payment. I must have a certain amount of money before five days are past, otherwise I shall be in deep trouble; be turned out of my clubs, and all that. It is no use telling me to wait till after the Cadiz reviews"

"You can have the money to-morrow, if you like," said Isador. "You write to Lord Stranleigh, inviting him to go to Cadiz with you. He will either accept or refuse. If you bring me a letter from him, saying he will go, I'll give you my cheque for five thousand pounds, the other half to be paid when you two reach Cadiz."

"You'll have to do better than that, Mr. Isaacstein. You must give me a cheque for two thousand pounds now, and the three thousand pounds when I bring you a letter from Stranleigh."

"But supposing you don't bring it? Suppose he refuses, what about my two thousand pounds?"

"You'll have to chance that. I don't think he'll refuse, judging from his conversation over the telephone. His own yacht is out of commission, and I'm quite sure he wouldn't care to put himself under obligations to anyone else by accepting the loan of a steamer. The only thing I fear is that he may charter a yacht for himself, but I'll see him as soon as possible this morning, and, if once he promises to go with me, he is quite certain to keep his word."

"You drive a hard bargain, Hazel, but that's all right. I don't object to dealing with a man who knows what he wants. I can't give you the two thousand just now, but if you come to my office at four o'clock this afternoon, and tell me Lord Stranleigh has accepted your invitation, I'll hand over the cheque for two thousand."

"You mean you'll give me then the cheque for five thousand?"

"No, I don't. You write him a letter, and when you bring me that letter I'll give you the other three thousand."

"But you'll pay me the two thousand this afternoon?"

"Yes, if you say he promises to go with you. But you must put down in writing and sign exactly what you promise to do, and if you try to play any tricks with me I'll see that you are expelled from your clubs all right enough."

The Honourable John Hazel demurred at placing his signature to any document which, if made public, would ruin him, but on this the financier was firm, and after much discussion the instrument was drawn up, signed by Hazel, and witnessed by the servant who waited upon them. The Honourable John Hazel must have the money and could not stop at trifles.

It was broad daylight when he emerged from the mansion of Isaacstein, and its owner chuckled as he filed away the document. He might well laugh at the threat of what Lord Stranleigh would do, for he had not the slightest intention of carrying out any part of the scheme he had outlined to John Hazel. He would not send to even one of the newspapers an explanation that the use of Stranleigh's name was unauthorised. The effective and long-continued stringency on the Stock Exchange had brought Isador Isaacstein face to face with bankruptcy. Nothing short of a miracle could now save him. In the bank was a remnant of the eight hundred thousand pounds he had possessed two years and a half before, and only barely enough to enable him to make a dash for a criminal fortune such as he had planned. He knew that the property in Honduras was worthless. It had come to him through an insolvency. He would not go to Frankfort as he had said, but would remain in London until he and his accomplices had secured the loot. If Lord Stranleigh's name possessed the financial magic he attributed to it the million capital would probably be oversubscribed from five to ten times the amount asked for, and even after the division he might find himself in the possession of more than he had lost. With this he would make for Persia by a route so well planned that he could baffle pursuit, even if the hounds of the law were set on in time. Once there he could buy safety. If the flotation of the company was to be a success, it would mature within two days. A week would pass before Stranleigh reached Cadiz, and then it would be two days before he set foot in London. By that time Isador would be safe, and the Honourable John Hazel might whistle for the remaining five thousand pounds.

 

III

At noon Lord Stranleigh and Professor Marlow sat down to breakfast. In the daylight Marlow's emaciated face did not look so ill-favoured as at night, or else Lord Stranleigh was becoming accustomed to it. When the meal was finished, the young man took his guest to a balcony overlooking the courtyard and seated him in an easy-chair. He lit a cigar, leaned back, and said:

"Now, Professor, tell me what's the trouble with you?"

Before Bronson Marlow could answer, Perkins opened the door to the balcony and said:

"The Honourable John Hazel to see you, my lord."

"Oh, hang! I can't see him just now, Perkins. Tell him I'm busy, that I've got a conference on, and can see nobody."

"He has been here twice before, my lord."

"Oh, has he? The Honourable Jack has been up early for once in his life. All right, say that if he returns at two o'clock I'll see him. Go on, Professor."

"Well, to begin, may I ask you if you know what ether is?"

"Some stuff you buy at a chemist's."

"Yes, it's a volatile compound, (C₂H₅)₂O."

"Dear me," laughed Stranleigh, "I had no idea it was that sort of thing, but now that I know all about it, continue."

"With that ether, my lord, we have nothing to do, so I need not trouble you with its chemical composition. The ether I speak of is the substance, so called for want of a better name, that fills the space between the atoms of air. It is this fluid which renders wireless telegraphy possible, for it, and not the air itself, transmits the electric impulses from the sender to the receiver. One might liken a streak of ether to a telegraph wire, insulated from other streaks of ether by infinitesimally minute particles of air. These ethereal wires seem to run, not in circles round the earth, as one might suppose, but in parallel lines, which finally impinge against the earth, or against the waves of the sea, unless they are situated at a great height, and this is the cause of Mr. Marconi's difficulty up-to-date in getting a message over more than a section of the earth's surface."

"Wait a moment. Professor; I am not sure that I follow your technical explanation, but I want first to ask you a practical question, and so reach at once the end, rather than trouble with the beginning of your remarks. Have you discovered a new system of wireless telegraphy?"

"Yes."

"Then I should warn you that I am a large stock-holder in Mr. Marconi's company. You are thus speaking, as it were, to a rival, and I should prefer not to hear any of your secrets."

The professor was given time for reflection, because once more Perkins intruded, in spite of the slight frown of impatience that marked Stranleigh's brow.

"The Honourable John Hazel, my lord, says that he is very busy, and cannot return at two o'clock. He must be in the City at that hour. He has written you a note, and says if you will just scribble 'yes' or 'no' on it, he will be satisfied, and expects to see you at the club this evening."

The recipient of the message tore off the envelope and read:

 

"Dear Stranleigh, As I told you over the telephone, I've made a rich strike in the City, and am going to lead the simple life hereafter. A man for whom I have done some good turns on 'Change has lent me his yacht, which is as large as yours, and, he says, fully as comfortable, although, of course, not nearly so fast. I am going to Cadiz in her, and will be delighted if you come along. I shall invite anyone else you wish, or make up a party if you like, or we'll go alone together. Just scrawl a word or two on the end of this sheet, and I shall know what to do."

 

Stranleigh wrote: "All right, Jack, I'm with you, on condition I'm allowed to pay half the expenses. I don't want a crowd unless you do, and will be quite happy in your company. Dine with me to- night at the Corinthian, eight o'clock, and we will settle details. Ever yours, Stranleigh," and these words, heedlessly dashed off, caused Jack Hazel's bank account to swell by five thousand pounds be fore closing time, but to get the amount in one instalment instead of two, he was compelled to deliver this document to Mr. Isaacstein.

"There, that settles the Honourable Jack till eight o'clock to-night. He's a persistent beggar after all, and has more determination than I thought. I feared the City would demoralise him, but it doesn't seem to have done so. He's made a strike, he tells me, and is going to live happy ever after. I'm very glad to hear it, for Jack's a good sort when he has plenty of money. Now, Professor, what's the decision?"

"The decision is what it has been from the moment I first saw you. I want to keep this as secret as possible, until my instruments are perfected, but I'll tell you all about it if you'll listen."

"Fire away, then."

"It occurred to me that if these lines of ether, and these particles of air could be broken up, as it were, or smashed together, and the electrical impulse started in this turmoil, the current of electricity would run along, not one wire of ether, but all the others that impinge on this broken up section of the atmosphere, and so we would overleap, as it were, the curvature of the earth, and thus send the message where we liked. Do you understand?"

"Good heavens! Marlow, don't waste time trying to make me understand. I'm willing to take your word for it. You can invent a dozen systems of wireless telegraphy before you'll get the particulars of one of them through my thick skull. Did you succeed in smashing up the air?"

"No, but I accomplished my purpose in another way. I withdrew the particles of air, thus leaving the room full of pure ether, and I found that this answered the purpose intended."

"Do you propose to sell out to Marconi, or to form a separate company?"

"That is a future question. You see, I haven't been able to test the invention over a large space. It works all right in a restricted area, but of course its usefulness will be shown if a message can be sent across the Atlantic without the necessity for those high towers."

"I see. Well, what you want is a room in New York, and another in London fitted up with your machinery. I suppose you've fixed an installation here, so I suggest that you get on one of the fastest steamers, and establish another installation in New York City, then you could test the scheme in five minutes. I'll supply all the capital necessary, as I promised."

"I'm afraid of the newspaper men in New York. They seem to ferret out everything. I should rather try it somewhere else, say on the African coast."

Lord Stranleigh jumped to his feet as excited as a boy, and snapped his fingers in the air.

"By Jove, I've got it! What you need is a sea voyage. The note I received from Jack Hazel a minute ago invites me to be his guest on a yacht from Southampton to Cadiz. We shan't start for a week or two, and you will have ample time to make what preparations you need. Where is your experimenting room?"

"I haven't any, since I left London University College. I worked there in the laboratory at night."

"Very well; I'll put a suite of rooms at your disposal in this house. Buy everything you want, and fit them up immediately. I'll have them cleared out at once, then we will establish a similar room on Jack's yacht, and if you can send messages between the yacht in southern Spanish waters and this house in central London, you may be pretty sure your invention is practicable."

"Are there going to be many people aboard the yacht?"

"No, only Jack, myself, and you, if you will come, and of course you'll need an operator, and I think for your sake we'll take the best doctor we can. Thus we'll make up a bridge table, and that will please Jack, in spite of his resolve to lead the simple life. How does my proposal strike you?"

"It strikes me most favourably, my lord, and I cannot express to you my gratitude, but somehow your enthusiasm has shunted me off the line of rails on which I was travelling."

"Then let's get back on the main line again."

"It's about my health. Of course this invention is of no use to me if I am called upon to attend my own funeral."

"Certainly, certainly. I beg your pardon, Professor. I'm an unfeeling beast. I had forgotten for the moment that you are not as stalwart as I'd like to see you. I shan't interrupt again. Go on."

"What I was going to ask you to do, my lord, was to guarantee me the sum of five hundred pounds annually, taking my invention for security, until I learn whether I can cure myself or not."

"I don't ask any security but your own word. Here I am interrupting again. Not five hundred pounds a year, but a thousand, at least. I'll place in the bank this afternoon, to your order, five thousand pounds. That tides us over five years. Now, what is your malady, and what is the cause of it?"

"I don't know what my malady is, but the cause of it is this. In my eagerness to complete the invention, I lived in a room that was filled with ether almost pure. I found difficulty in breathing, and sometimes came near to fainting, but always revived after a breath of the open air. I hadn't the sense to do what I should do now, which is to set my air-extracting machine at work in a room that I did not need to enter, placing the telegraphic apparatus there, and working it from the adjoining apartment. I was like a man jumping into a reservoir of poisoned air, and jumping out again before he was done for. The result you see. It all depends on whether my malady has been caused merely by absence of air, or whether the ether is in itself poisonous, and is still working in my system."

"What is this poison composed of?"

"I don't know. That is what I must find out."

"Then you intend to stop experimenting until you have cured yourself?"

"No, not necessarily. Indeed, I think it would be well to have something to occupy my mind while I was undergoing treatment. If you lend money enough to make the room secure, I could still, with an assistant, keep on perfecting the apparatus, and with this plan that you propose regarding the yacht, I think we could settle the long distance question; but, on the other hand, there is some danger of premature disclosure in the circumscribed dimensions of a vessel at sea, where everyone becomes rather bored and inquisitive if the voyage is long continued."

"I don't see much danger in that. It isn't as if we carried a crowd of passengers such as is transported by an Atlantic liner. You can go down to Southampton, and fit up two or three rooms for yourself on the yacht; rooms at the end of a corridor where you can secure the door with a Yale lock, the keys of which will be in the possession only of yourself, myself, and your assistant. As you are by way of being an invalid, your assistant can pose as your attendant, and if you are a good deal in your own room, rather than up on deck, your absence on that account will not be noticed. You name the doctor you want to come with us, and I'll pay him any fee he asks. If Jack Hazel makes any objections, why then I'll charter a yacht for ourselves, and decline his invitation, but I am sure he will interpose no obstacle. He's too good-hearted a chap, and I'll tell him an invalid friend of mine wishes to fit up three or four rooms in such a manner that his cure will be facilitated. Why, hang it all, even your apparatus won't arouse suspicion, for electricity is a well-known remedial agency."

At this point the conversation was interrupted by the third entrance of Perkins.

"Mr. Peter Mackeller, my lord."

"Oh, I must see Peter. Ask him to wait for five minutes. Bring him here five minutes from now."

When Perkins retired, Stranleigh said:

"I'm going to introduce you to a man of whom I advise you to make a confidant. He is the only person in London I would trust with everything I possess. He's as close-mouthed as the Sphinx, and you may depend upon it that if he can't assist you, he will give no hint, even to his closest friend, of what you say to him. Should you intend to float a company to work your invention, Peter is just the man to undertake that business for you if he will. I can assist you with your invention so far as money is concerned, but when it comes to forming a company, I could not very well help to establish a rival to Mr. Marconi, who is not only a great inventor, but a most charming man personally. Indeed, it would be rather an interesting situation if you and Peter formed a company which Marconi and I were compelled to smash."

"I'm not a fighter," said Marlow, "and it is unlikely that Marconi and I will find much difficulty in coming to terms. I shall be delighted to take Mr. Mackeller into our confidence after so strong a recommendation from you. Indeed, I formed a very high opinion of him when, that other evening at the club, I heard him refuse even to use his influence with you on any terms the financier could offer."

"Then that's all right. Peter is a mining engineer, but he understands every intricacy of company law, and could instruct many a solicitor. He has learned his lesson, not in a lawyer's office, but in the bitter school of experience which the City of London furnishes. Ah, here he is. Good morning, Peter."

"Good afternoon, Lord Stranleigh."

Stranleigh laughed.

"It is afternoon, isn't it, to an energetic man like you, but I have just breakfasted, so it is still morning. Mackeller, let me introduce to you Professor Bronson Marlow, late of the University of London. Peter, I am going off on a voyage; pleasure this time. I have promised the King of Spain to attend the Naval Review down at Cadiz. I expect to be away a fortnight or three weeks. Now, could you occupy this house while I'm gone?"

"Why?"

"Because it's ever so much more comfortable than your rooms."

"My rooms fit me very well."

"Besides, I desire you to look after my affairs, and the ends of the strings are all here. My secretary will tell you where everything is."

"Yes, in that case I'll come here if you wish."

"And I'd like to receive a telegraphic message from you every morning."

"Oh, is the yacht fitted with wireless?"

"Yes, and the operator will be residing in this house. Are you a stockholder in the Marconi company?"

"No."

"Then that's all right. This is a rival invention which owes its existence to the ingenuity of the Professor here. He is naturally very anxious that nothing should be said of it at the present time, and I have assured him you are as close as a fireproof safe. Tell him all about it, Professor."

As Stranleigh had anticipated, Jack Hazel made no objections at all, but rather welcomed every suggestion his friend made.

"The yacht is yours," he said. Do with it what you please."

 

IV

The Lady of the Lake pulled out of Southampton Harbour a little after five o'clock on as delightful a summer evening as one could wish in which to go down to the sea in ships. The sky was cloudless; Southampton Water lay as smooth and polished as a mirror, reflecting the molten globe of the westering sun. Lord Stranleigh and Professor Bronson Marlow walked the deck together. Marlow, despite the shaky nature of his physical man, was enjoying every moment of the time, like a schoolboy let loose from his tasks. He had always been so poor, and always so busy, that the delights of travel meant for him merely the area round London, whose boundaries were achieved by a free-wheel bicycle from Saturday to Monday. He had never seen even the Isle of Wight, which was now looming up before them, and Stranleigh pointed out Netley Hospital and the other sights of this inland sheet of water on either shore.

Just excuse me for a moment," said Stranleigh, walking rapidly forward to the bridge, where he said to the Captain: "Could you just oblige me with a few toots on the whistle? I wish to attract the attention of an old friend of mine on shore."

The whistle roared forth its salute, and Stranleigh, leaning over the bulwarks, waved aloft his yachting cap. They were passing a comfortable cottage, standing in grounds of its own, and on the verandah sat an old man with a long telescope across his knees, as if he were officially on guard. A tall white flag-pole at the end of the cottage, rigged up something like the mast of a ship, flew the ensign of the British Marines. The old man raised his telescope to his eye and directed it towards the yacht and the man raising his cap. An instant later he undoubtedly recognised the cause of the whistling, for he rose actively, tucked the telescope under his arm, waved his own cap, then hurried to the tall white pole and dipped the flag, which courtesy the yacht answered in kind. Seeing the interest in Marlow's face, Stranleigh said:

"That's an old friend of mine. He once commanded a pirate ship for me, and has retired there on his share of the swag. Oh, I'm not joking, Professor. You little knew what company you were to keep when you sought my society. I captured that old chap on the high seas, contrary to all laws, marine, national, or international. Had a great time with the captain, who threatened to put me in irons, but we are now the best of friends. I'll tell you that story some night before we reach Cadiz."

As they paced the deck again the Honourable John came up from the saloon. Stranleigh saw that his friend wore an anxious, almost haggard, look, and he greeted him with laughter.

"Cheer up, Johnny!" he cried. "I see that the anxiety of the ship-master has come over you. I once felt like that myself, but I grew accustomed to it. Why, you look as if you contemplated casting away this boat and collecting the insurance. I was just telling my friend here that I was once a pirate, but, like many successful criminals, I have reformed now that I've captured the loot; so I hope you won't take to robbery on the high seas. This seems a pretty slow boat, so you can't get away if pursued. I had the advantage of you as a pirate, because I sailed then what was about the swiftest craft on the ocean. But, nonsense apart, what's worrying you, Johnny? Anything in which I can help?"

"Oh, no," said Hazel, with an attempt at geniality; "I am just a little concerned regarding the chef. He's said to be exceedingly good, but I want the first dinner to make a favourable impression, and I know what a sybarite you are at the table."

"That's a slander, Johnny. I'm the easiest man to provide for that ever stepped aboard a yacht. Give me a bit of salt junk—if that's the right term—some hard tack, and a tankard of rum that smells of tar, and you've got me as contented as little Jack Horner with his Christmas pie. If, now that you're rich, you wish to live the simple life, as you said, come to me and take lessons."

The Honourable John Hazel, in spite of the effort he made, found some difficulty in clearing his perturbed brow. Several things that Lord Stranleigh said, quite unconsciously, had touched him on the raw. He was learning that the way of the transgressor is hard, even before the transgression is discovered. He went forward, and mounted the bridge with the Captain, leaving the other two to pace the deck together.

"Has the doctor made any examination of you yet?"asked Stranleigh.

"No, I have merely been introduced to him. He stared rather hard at me, but said nothing. I suppose, like everyone else, he jumps to the conclusion that it's consumption, but he will find my lungs all right when he tests them."

"I'm no physician," said Stranleigh, "but I'll tell you my theory. Whether you succeed in analysing ether or not, I'll wager you it isn't poisonous. You see, we're breathing it all the time, and it doesn't appear to hurt us."

"We're breathing nitrogen, too," said the Professor, "yet if you inspired nothing else, it would kill you in a very short time."

"It would kill you," argued Stranleigh, "not by poisoning you, I take it, but by the mere absence of oxygen. You don't call nitrogen poisonous, do you?"

"No."

"Well, neither is ether; and I'm willing to bet you a ten-pound note on it. My prescription is plenty of fresh air, and if my tip is accepted, you should walk this deck every moment there is an opportunity; throw your shoulders back, hold your head high, chest in toward the throat, and draw breaths as long as the mast. If you do that, you'll be a new man before we reach England again, and there's no charge for either the prescription or the medicine."

Marlow drew a deep breath, without thinking, at once following the advice he had received.

"I hope so," he said.

The dinner that night was a triumph, and Stranleigh congratulated his host on acquiring such a jewel of a cook. Wine, coffee, liqueurs, and cigars were of the best. The doctor proved to be most agreeable, and although the Honourable John Hazel and Professor Marlow did not seem to be unduly elated by the good cheer, the others spent an enjoyable evening, and turned in to beds that were as comfortable and as steady as if they were on land.

Stranleigh thought he had just got between the sheets when he was awakened by a very slight tapping at his door.

"Who is there?" he cried.

"It is I," came the thin voice of the Professor.

Stranleigh turned on the electric light.

"Come in!" he shouted; and Marlow entered.

"What's the matter? Are you ill?" asked Stranleigh, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"No. You don't need the electric light. Draw your curtains. It's morning."

"Morning? Nonsense! What hour is it?"

"Half-past seven. I have received a despatch from Mackeller."

"Maledictions on his early rising!" cried his lordship, with indignation. "If the man thinks I've left him in my house to rouse me at half-past seven in the morning, he's mistaken. You can't send an electric spark through and paralyse him, I suppose? If anything from Mackeller comes at this untimely hour of the morning, tell the operator to put a little salt on it, and keep it until ten o'clock at least. Half-past seven? Blow Mackeller! He ought to be a farm labourer."

"Well, it's my fault, Lord Stranleigh. I thought this was so serious that you should see it at once. It may be that you'll need to turn in to the nearest port and get back immediately to London."

"Lord save us! What's the matter? Give it to me," cried Stranleigh, growing serious at once. As Stranleigh read the typewritten message his brows lowered, and a glow of dull anger burned in his eyes.

"In each of the newspapers this morning," he read, "there is a full-page advertisement of the Honduras Central Rubber Company, whose shares to the extent of a million pounds are offered to the British public. The name of Lord Stranleigh of Wychwood figures in large type as chairman of the board of directors, and there is printed in the prospectus an alleged extract from a letter of yours dated 16th of last month, stating that with the rise of the automobile industry all over the world this company is certain of a most successful career. I happen to know that Isador Isaacstein was endeavouring to promote a company of this kind. Isaacstein's reputation in the City is none too good, but his name does not appear on this prospectus. I have roused up your secretary, who tells me that he knows nothing of your consenting to join such a venture, and that he has written letters from you refusing to have anything to do with it. He has shown me the copy of a letter in which the extract in the prospectus actually occurs. This letter was written on the date mentioned to the Honourable John Hazel, and as I understand you are a guest of Mr. Hazel's, he may perhaps explain to you how this letter came into the hands of people for whom it was not intended. So far as I am able to learn at this early hour, all the names of the board of directors are people of respectability, and some of them are rich. Selwyn's Bank is given as the banking firm of the new company, and, as you know, this is a financial house of the very highest standing in the City. The whole prospectus seems not only genuine, but most attractive, and the one pound shares are offered at twenty-five shillings each, which shows that its promoters are confident about getting the money. Nevertheless, I thought it best to acquaint you with the fact that your name is blazoned abroad as the leading spirit of this company, and I await your instructions. It is still three hours till the bank opens, and up to that time nothing can be done."

"By Jove!" said Stranleigh, just above his breath; then again he murmured "By Jove!" and a third time "By Jove!" The tidings he had read were so unexpected, and for the moment his own position appeared so hopeless, that the blow temporarily suspended the young man's originality of expression. He stepped out of bed into a pair of slippers, threw a dressing-gown over his shoulders, and spoke in a whisper, as if all the ship were listening and he did not intend them to hear.

"Thanks, Marlow. You've more than repaid me, my boy, for anything I can ever do for you. Let's get into the operator's room," and so they crept like a pair of conspirators into the passage protected by the Yale lock.

Entering the operator's room they found a youth seated on a stool before a telegraphic instrument, whose wires went through the partition into the next chamber.

"Are you still in touch with London?"

"Oh, yes, sir," answered the operator.

"Now, Marlow, pray that we don't get out of range until my message reaches Mackeller."

"Shall I go on deck and ask the captain to stop the steamer?"

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" cried Stranleigh, in tones so eerie that somehow Marlow gathered that they were in a trap of some kind, and that nothing of this was to be breathed in the outer air. Stranleigh's face was transformed by a look of intensity such as the other had not considered so easy-going a countenance capable of.

"Take this message, Mackeller. The use of my name is quite unauthorised. Get into communication as soon as possible with the head of my company solicitors. See him, if possible, before the bank opens, but whether you see him or not be at the chief office of Selwyn's Bank as soon as the doors are unlocked, and tell Alexander Corbett, the manager, that he is to hang on to every penny of money paid in until you have time to get a legal injunction compelling him to do this. He is a gruff man, but rigidly honest, and you can trust him to do all in his power. Pay over to him five hundred pounds or so, and take out that amount of stock in the new company. This will give you a legal standing to bring down the law on these scoundrels. Ask Mackeller if he is getting that."

"Yes," answered the operator after a few minutes.

"Then go on. The cheques paid in will all be crossed, therefore must be put into some bank, and I am certain that bank will not be Selwyn's, for I am sure that these scoundrels intend to withdraw all the money as soon as they can and make off with it. My reason for thinking this is that Isaacstein, who is undoubtedly at the back of this, knows perfectly well that as soon as I announce the use of my name as unauthorised he must return in full every subscription sent in under a misapprehension. Don't imagine that you are dealing with unscrupulous financiers. You have against you simply thieves and robbers; therefore, perhaps the first thing you should do is to communicate with the authorities at Scotland Yard, for Scotland Yard is open night and day, even if my solicitor and Corbett cannot be got at for some time. Take this despatch down to Scotland Yard and impress upon the police the necessity for very prompt and secret action. Furthermore, tell them that in case they make a mistake, and arrest the wrong man, I shall indemnify them for any penalty that ensues and reward them for their activity. It isn't Selwyn's Bank which must be watched, but the offices of the new company, it is there that the bulk of the cheques will come in, so Scotland Yard must be on the alert, and either intercept the letters sent to these offices or make certain that the thieves do not get away with the plunder. I think it important that every bank in London should be notified, so that the paper may not be negotiable. For reasons that I cannot go into at the present moment, it is impossible for me to put into an English port and reach London. Send to the Press Association a letter for to-morrow's newspapers disclaiming my connection with the company, saying I advise everyone who has sent a cheque to the Honduras Company to telegraph to the bank on which it is drawn stopping payment. Try to induce the police to arrest Isador Isaacstein on any pretence whatever, and hold him as long as they can. They'll find they'll need him very soon, and, as I said before, I'll stand the racket if a mistake is made. Now ask the London operator to repeat this whole message, and, Mackeller, you go down to Scotland Yard as quickly as you can. Oh, yes, I had forgotten; get that statement of mine out in time for the first edition of all the evening papers. The Central News, the Press Association, or any of those companies, will help you to a simultaneous delivery of the news all over the country."

Lord Stranleigh sat there, on the edge of the operator's bunk, until the whole message was repeated back to him, then he arose, stretched his arms above his head, and yawned.

"I think," he said, "I'll go back and enjoy a little more sleep."

"Why don't you rouse up the Honourable John Hazel, and ask him to put into the nearest port? You see, our apparatus may break down at any moment, or we may find ourselves cut off from London. With so much at stake, I think you ought to return."

Stranleigh's smile was enigmatical.

"You are a simple-minded man. Professor, and yet you lay on the sofa and heard the Honourable John assure Isador Isaacstein that he would do anything in his power to rope me into this very company."

"Good heavens, you don't suspect that John Hazel has kidnapped you?"

"No, I don't suspect that."

"I'm glad to hear you say so."

"Marlow, I don't suspect; I know."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Absolutely nothing. An active person like yourself, Professor, is prone to under-estimate the power of inertia."

"Won't you tell him what you know?"

"And spoil our nice voyage to Cadiz? Never."

"Don't you ever intend to mention it to him?"

"I see no need of doing so. I'm sorry Jack has done this, but a person so well off as I am is not in a position to judge and condemn a man who is constitutionally short of cash. My hope is that he secured Isador's money before he left Southampton. If he didn't, I fear his chances of enrichment are slim." Stranleigh yawned again, and murmured:

 

"’Tis the voice of the sluggard,
I heard him complain,
You have waked me too soon,
I must slumber again."

 

Ta-ta, Professor. Burn all these despatches. I'll see you at ten o'clock breakfast if you can wait till that hour," and Stranleigh went back to bed.

There were no more despatches up to five o'clock that afternoon, yet the yacht was still in touch with London, but the operator there said Mackeller had not returned, and he was held at his post, not knowing what moment he might be called upon either to send or receive a message. Up to dinner-time no news came. The second dinner was quite the peer of the first, and on this occasion Jack Hazel was much more his old self, telling many good stories at which Lord Stranleigh laughed heartily, proclaiming that no one could tell an anecdote so well as Jack Hazel.

After a smoke and coffee on deck, Stranleigh said the sea air made him sleepy, and he would turn in early. The Professor had retired directly he rose from the dinner-table. Jack and the doctor remained over their liqueurs. Even as they went along the passage Stranleigh heard the steady, rapid tap-tap of the typewriter.

Secure behind the locked door, Stranleigh entered the operator's room and sat down once more on the edge of the bunk. Several sheets of typewriting were ready for him.

"This has been the busiest day of my life," began the record, and Stranleigh laughed.

"I knew that bull-dog Mackeller would enjoy every instant of the time."

"The police refused to arrest Isaacstein, as I had no evidence to show connecting him with the company. They, however, acted very promptly at the offices in the City, and took in charge every person there at ten o'clock, thus intercepting and impounding all the letters which began to arrive about noon. The news became known on the Stock Exchange almost immediately after the opening, and the first editions of the evening papers were full of the sensation. About noon the manager arrested at the offices of the Honduras Company turned King's evidence on Isaacstein, and a warrant was issued for his arrest, when it was found that the bird had flown. The extra specials state that he has been arrested in Berlin by the German police, but this cannot be true, for he has not had time to reach Berlin yet. Some very suspicious documents containing the signature of the Honourable John Hazel have been found during the search through Isaacstein's offices and house. I think you should tell him this, and advise him to remain in Spain, or get over into Morocco. I have just had news from Scotland Yard that Isaacstein has been arrested, but it is not at Berlin. You will be glad to know that no one will lose any money."

"Hang it all," cried Lord Stranleigh, real distress in his voice, "how can I tell poor old Jack. Mackeller is a capable man, but a callous beast to put such a task on my shoulders."

He fell into a deep meditation for a few minutes, then roused himself as one waking from a sleep.

"This is a nasty business," he said to the Professor, "and I'm not just sure how I should act. Of course, you understand the situation. I've been induced to come aboard this yacht by the Honourable John Hazel, whom I regarded as a friend. I don't know whether or not he knew that my name was to be used by Isaacstein in my absence, but he must have been paid to get me out of the way. I very much doubt if he was aware of the bare-faced swindle Isaacstein contemplated. He probably thought that I was finnicky in a refusal of my name, and, doubtless, supposed the Honduras Central Rubber Company was a legitimate commercial venture. Well, I can't push Johnny into a corner and enact the part of Mr. Stiggins. Now, Professor, do you mind if I desert you?"

You mean leave the steamer?"

"Yes."

"Certainly not, if it's your wish to do so. Of course, when Mr. Hazel learns what has happened in London he can make no objection to putting you ashore."

"I should rather," said Stranleigh rising, "that he put me ashore without knowing what has happened in London. When I meet you in England I shall try to make some recompense for what you have done for me."

"I am already more than overpaid. Lord Stranleigh," said the Professor, shaking hands.

Stranleigh went up on deck and found the Honourable John Hazel sitting at a small table which held a bottle of brandy and some liqueur glasses.

"Hello, Johnny, has the doctor turned in?"

"Yes, he went down a few moments ago. I thought you had turned in too."

"No, I'm still in the ring, as one might say. I wished to consult the doctor, but it can stand over, as I've quite made up my mind to be my own physician in this case."

"What's wrong?"

"I've taken a most unaccountable aversion to the food on board this yacht."

"Really? Why, I think our chef does admirably. You yourself complimented him."

"Oh, I don't pretend to be consistent. Nevertheless, I've made up my mind to go to Paris and order a meal more to my taste. Would you kindly ask the Captain which is our nearest French port?"

"You don't intend to leave us?" said Hazel, moistening his lips and then helping himself to a sip of brandy.

"I'm afraid I must, Jack."

"Sorry," said Hazel, rising and going forward. He returned with the Captain.

"We're off the northern Brittany coast, my lord," said the master of the yacht, "and our nearest port is Morlaix. The coast, as you know, is a dangerous one, and I should not like to attempt Morlaix Harbour at night without a pilot. We should have to stand off even in daylight and put you ashore in one of the ship's boats. Nothing larger than four hundred tons can enter Morlaix Harbour."

"Morning will suit me very well. I wish you would give orders, Captain, to whoever is on duty at that hour, to have me called at half-past six. I think there is an express for Paris from Morlaix at eight o'clock or thereabouts, but to make sure I'd better be ashore by seven. Good-night, Captain."

"Good-night, my lord."

Stranleigh rose from the wicker-chair, stretched himself, and yawned. The Honourable John watched him narrowly.

"Good-night, Jack," he said. "I suppose half-past six is too early for you, and you can't come ashore with me in a small boat?"

"Oh, yes, I can. Won't you have a tasse of brandy?"

"No, thanks."

"Better take a liqueur, or something. Shall we open a bottle of champagne?"

"No, I don't care for anything more to-night."

"Well, I'll see that breakfast is ready for you at ten minutes to seven."

"Don't trouble, Johnny, that's too early for me. I shall breakfast ashore, and perhaps you will keep the yacht waiting long enough to breakfast with me."

"Very good."

Lord Stranleigh went down the companion-way, leaving an apprehensive man sitting in the wicker chair, who took another liqueur glass of cognac to steady his nerves.

It was with a sigh of relief that Lord Stranleigh found himself in Morlaix with the Honourable John by his side, the boatman being told to wait. They walked to the Hotel de l'Europe and learned that the express for Paris left at eight minutes past eight.

"Were you ever in Morlaix before, Johnny?" asked Stranleigh.

"No."

"Over there is an interesting fountain, called the Fontaine des Anglais, and it marks the spot where six hundred Englishmen were treacherously surprised in their sleep and killed. That was in the year 1522. One of their comrades betrayed them for foreign gold. What do you think of that, Johnny?"

"Rather a beastly thing to do," replied Hazel, staring at him.

"Johnny, what was my price?"

Hazel's face had suddenly become as pale as the Professor's. He made no reply.

"What I really want to know is this. Were you paid cash down, as I hope, or were you to receive the money when the job was done, as I fear?"

"I have broken my contract by setting you ashore, Lord Stranleigh," said Hazel, finding his voice at last.

"Yes, I am sure of that. I am glad you put me ashore of your own free will. Your action wipes the slate clean so far as I am concerned. Does this yacht belong to Isaacstein, or did he merely charter it?"

"He told me he had chartered it, but I learn from the captain that it is his own, acquired from one of his victims. Still, Lord Stranleigh, all that Isaacstein wanted was the use of your name for a day. He himself was going to write to the newspapers, informing them that you had nothing to do with the company. He assured me that not only would nobody lose money, but that all investors would receive at least a hundred per cent. in profits the first year."

"And you believed that, Jack? Well, you are a simpleton. It is quite true that nobody is going to lose any money, but that is not Isaacstein's fault. The company was brought out yesterday with a great flourish of trumpets, and full-page advertisements in the papers, but it was smashed by Mackeller before noon; and through the prompt action of the police all the letters were intercepted, while Isaacstein's accomplices were arrested at the office of the company. Isaacstein fled on the two o'clock express from Victoria, and at six o'clock last night was arrested in Boulogne by the French police."

"Good God! How do you know all this? Or are you just romancing?"

"Now, what I want to warn you about, Jack, is this. The police, in searching Isaacstein's office, have come upon a number of documents signed by you. Did you write anything that connects you with this fraudulent company?"

"No, those documents must be letters of mine asking for money, and receipts signed when I got it. There was one rather embarrassing paper I had to sign, which was my promise that I'd kidnap you on the yacht."

"I don't suppose that can do any harm., Jack, unless I put the law in motion, which I will not. But Mackeller seemed to think it was serious, and asked me to warn you that it was better to remain out of England for a while."

"Then you've been in communication with him by wireless telegraphy?"

"Precisely. You can give the Professor what despatches you want sent to Mackeller, and he'll forward them. You'd better keep in touch with him, and learn what is going on, and I'd take his advice if I were you. If he says make for the Morocco coast instead of Cadiz, you'd better do it."

"All right," replied the Honourable John.

Stranleigh reached Paris at 6.5 that evening, and at eight o'clock was enjoying a dinner of his own selection at his favourite restaurant. In the interval he had read the English morning papers of that day. They were all unanimous in awarding great praise to the police for promptness and efficiency in their successful action against the Honduras swindle, and one journal, whose main stock-in-trade was exposure of the aristocracy, and the sins of society, drew a touching picture of that butterfly of fashion, Lord Stranleigh of Wychwood, enjoying himself in a luxurious yacht, while ever-faithful, ever-vigilant Scotland Yard prevented his name from being dragged in the financial mire of rascally company promotion.

"Now that," said his lordship, as he finished the article, "is what I call real eloquence."