CHAPTER XXXIII

I was not summoned to Sir Eustace’s presence until late in the

afternoon. Eleven-o’clock tea and a substantial lunch had been

served to me in my own apartment, and I felt fortified for further

conflict.

Sir Eustace was alone. He was walking up and down the room, and

there was a gleam in his eye and a restlessness in his manner which

did not escape me. He was exultant about something. There was a

subtle change in his manner towards me.

“I have news for you. Your young man is on his way. He will be here

in a few minutes. Moderate your transports—I have something more

to say. You attempted to deceive me this morning. I warned you that

you would be wise to stick to the truth, and up to a certain point

you obeyed me. Then you ran off the rails. You attempted to make

me believe that the diamonds were in Harry Rayburn’s possession.

At the time, I accepted your statement because it facilitated my

task—the task of inducing you to decoy Harry Rayburn here. But, my

dear Anne, the diamonds have been in my possession ever since I

left the Falls—though I only discovered the fact yesterday.”

“You know!” I gasped.

“It may interest you to hear that it was Pagett who gave the show

away. He insisted on boring me with a long pointless story about

a wager and a tin of films. It didn’t take me long to put two and

two together—Mrs. Blair’s distrust of Colonel Race, her agitation,

her entreaty that I would take care of her souvenirs for her. The

excellent Pagett had already unfastened the cases through an excess

of zeal. Before leaving the hotel, I simply transferred all the

rolls of films to my own pocket. They are in the corner there. I

admit that I haven’t had time to examine them yet, but I notice

that one is of a totally different weight to the others, rattles

in a peculiar fashion, and has evidently been stuck down with

seccotine, which will necessitate the use of a tin-opener. The case

seems clear, does it not? And now, you see, I have you both nicely

in the trap. . . . It’s a pity that you didn’t take kindly to the

idea of becoming Lady Pedler.”

I did not answer. I stood looking at him.

There was the sound of feet on the stairs, the door was flung open,

and Harry Rayburn was hustled into the room between two men. Sir

Eustace flung me a look of triumph.

“According to plan,” he said softly. “You amateurs _will_ pit

yourselves against professionals.”

“What’s the meaning of this?” cried Harry hoarsely.

“It means that you have walked into my parlour—said the spider to

the fly,” remarked Sir Eustace facetiously. “My dear Rayburn, you

are extraordinarily unlucky.”

“You said I could come safely, Anne?”

“Do not reproach her, my dear fellow. That note was written at my

dictation, and the lady could not help herself. She would have been

wiser not to write it, but I did not tell her so at the time. You

followed her instructions, went to the curio-shop, were taken

through the secret passage from the back room—and found yourself

in the hands of your enemies!”

Harry looked at me. I understood his glance and edged nearer to

Sir Eustace.

“Yes,” murmured the latter, “decidedly you are not lucky! This

is—let me see, the third encounter.”

“You are right,” said Harry. “This is the third encounter. Twice

you have worsted me—have you never heard that the third time the

luck changes? This is my round—cover him, Anne.”

I was all ready. In a flash I had whipped the pistol out of my

stocking and was holding it to his head. The two men guarding Harry

sprang forward, but his voice stopped them.

“Another step—and he dies! If they come any nearer, Anne, pull the

trigger—don’t hesitate.”

“I shan’t,” I replied cheerfully. “I’m rather afraid of pulling

it, anyway.”

I think Sir Eustace shared my fears. He was certainly shaking like

a jelly.

“Stay where you are,” he commanded, and the men stopped obediently.

“Tell them to leave the room,” said Harry.

Sir Eustace gave the order. The men filed out, and Harry shot the

bolt across the door behind them.

“Now we can talk,” he observed grimly, and coming across the room,

he took the revolver out of my hand.

Sir Eustace uttered a sigh of relief and wiped his forehead with

a handkerchief.

“I’m shockingly out of condition,” he observed. “I think I must

have a weak heart. I am glad that revolver is in competent hands.

I didn’t trust Miss Anne with it. Well, my young friend, as you

say, now we can talk. I’m willing to admit that you stole a march

upon me. Where the devil that revolver came from I don’t know. I

had the girl’s luggage searched when she arrived. And where did

you produce it from now? You hadn’t got it on you a minute ago?”

“Yes, I had,” I replied. “It was in my stocking.”

“I don’t know enough about women. I ought to have studied them

more,” said Sir Eustace sadly. “I wonder if Pagett would have known

that?”

Harry rapped sharply on the table.

“Don’t play the fool. If it weren’t for your grey hairs, I’d throw

you out of the window. You damned scoundrel! Grey hairs, or no grey

hairs, I——”

He advanced a step or two, and Sir Eustace skipped nimbly behind

the table.

“The young are always so violent,” he said reproachfully. “Unable

to use their brains, they rely solely on their muscles. Let us talk

sense. For the moment you have the upper hand. But that state of

affairs cannot continue. The house is full of my men. You are

hopelessly outnumbered. Your momentary ascendency has been gained

by an accident——”

“Has it?”

Something in Harry’s voice, a grim raillery, seemed to attract Sir

Eustace’s attention. He stared at him.

“Has it?” said Harry again. “Sit down, Sir Eustace, and listen to

what I have to say.” Still covering him with the revolver, he went

on: “The cards are against you this time. To begin with, listen to

_that!”_

_That_ was a dull banging at the door below. There were shouts,

oaths, and then a sound of firing. Sir Eustace paled.

“What’s that?”

“Race—and his people. You didn’t know, did you, Sir Eustace, that

Anne had an arrangement with me by which we should know whether

communications from one to the other were genuine? Telegrams were

to be signed ‘Andy,’ letters were to have the word ‘and’ crossed

out somewhere in them. Anne knew that your telegram was a fake.

She came here of her own free will, walked deliberately into the

snare, in the hope that she might catch you in your own trap.

Before leaving Kimberley she wired both to me and to Race. Mrs.

Blair has been in communication with us ever since. I received the

letter written at your dictation, which was just what I expected.

I had already discussed the probabilities of a secret passage

leading out of the curio-shop with Race, and he had discovered the

place where the exit was situated.”

There was a screaming, tearing sound, and a heavy explosion which

shook the room.

“They’re shelling this part of the town. I must get you out of

here, Anne.”

A bright light flared up. The house opposite was on fire. Sir

Eustace had risen and was passing up and down. Harry kept him

covered with the revolver.

“So you see, Sir Eustace, the game is up. It was you yourself who

very kindly provided us with the clue of your whereabouts. Race’s

men were watching the exit of the secret passage. In spite of the

precautions you took, they were successful in following me here.”

Sir Eustace turned suddenly.

“Very clever. Very creditable. But I’ve still a word to say. If

I’ve lost the trick, so have you. You’ll never be able to bring

the murder of Nadina home to me. I was in Marlow on that day,

that’s all you’ve got against me. No one can prove that I even knew

the woman. But you knew her, you had a motive for killing her—and

your record’s against you. You’re a thief, remember, a thief.

There’s one thing you don’t know, perhaps. _I’ve got the diamonds._

And here goes——”

With an incredibly swift movement, he stooped, swung up his arm

and threw. There was a tinkle of breaking glass, as the object went

through the window and disappeared into the blazing mass opposite.

“There goes your only hope of establishing your innocence over the

Kimberley affair. And now we’ll talk. I’ll drive a bargain with

you. You’ve got me cornered. Race will find all he needs in this

house. There’s a chance for me if I can get away. I’m done for if

I stay, but so are you, young man! There’s a skylight in the next

room. A couple of minutes’ start and I shall be all right. I’ve

got one or two little arrangements all ready made. You let me out

that way, and give me a start—and I leave you a signed confession

that I killed Nadina.”

_“Yes,_ Harry,” I cried. “Yes, yes, yes!”

He turned a stern face on me.

“No, Anne, a thousand times, no. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I do. It solves everything.”

“I’d never be able to look Race in the face again. I’ll take my

chance, but I’m damned if I’ll let this slippery old fox get away.

It’s no good, Anne. I won’t do it.”

Sir Eustace chuckled. He accepted defeat without the least emotion.

“Well, well,” he remarked. “You seem to have met your master, Anne.

But I can assure you both that moral rectitude does not always

pay.”

There was a crash of rending wood, and footsteps surged up the

stairs. Harry drew back the bolt. Colonel Race was the first to

enter the room. His face lit at the sight of us.

“You’re safe, Anne. I was afraid——” He turned to Sir Eustace. “I’ve

been after you for a long time, Pedler—and at last I’ve got you.”

“Everybody seems to have gone completely mad,” declared Sir Eustace

airily. “These young people have been threatening me with revolvers

and accusing me of the most shocking things. I don’t know what it’s

all about.”

“Don’t you? It means that I’ve found the ‘Colonel.’ It means that

on January 8th last you were not at Cannes, but at Marlow. It means

that when your tool, Madame Nadina, turned against you, you planned

to do away with her—and at last we shall be able to bring the crime

home to you.”

“Indeed? And from whom did you get all this interesting information?

From the man who is even now being looked for by the police? His

evidence will be very valuable.”

“We have other evidence. There is some one else who knew that

Nadina was going to meet you at the Mill House.”

Sir Eustace looked surprised. Colonel Race made a gesture with his

hand. Arthur Minks _alias_ the Rev. Edward Chichester _alias_ Miss

Pettigrew stepped forward. He was pale and nervous, but he spoke

clearly enough:

“I saw Nadina in Paris the night before she went over to England.

I was posing at the time as a Russian Count. She told me of her

purpose. I warned her, knowing what kind of man she had to deal

with, but she did not take my advice. There was a wireless message

on the table. I read it. Afterwards I thought I would have a try

for the diamonds myself. In Johannesburg, Mr. Rayburn accosted me.

He persuaded me to come over to his side.”

Sir Eustace looked at him. He said nothing, but Minks seemed

visibly to wilt.

“Rats always leaving a sinking ship,” observed Sir Eustace. “I

don’t care for rats. Sooner or later, I destroy vermin.”

“There’s just one thing I’d like to tell you, Sir Eustace,” I

remarked. “That tin you threw out of the window didn’t contain the

diamonds. It had common pebbles in it. The diamonds are in a

perfectly safe place. As a matter of fact, they’re in the big

giraffe’s stomach. Suzanne hollowed it out, put the diamonds in

with cotton wool, so that they wouldn’t rattle, and plugged it up

again.”

Sir Eustace looked at me for some time. His reply was characteristic:

“I always did hate that blinking giraffe,” he said. “It must have

been instinct.”