Books: The Mystery of the Four Fingers
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Fred M. White >> The Mystery of the Four Fingers
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"Though I have found out a good deal," he said, "I am still utterly at a
loss to know what these fellows have been up to. Of course, I quite
understand that there is some underhand business with regard to certain
coins--but then those coins are real gold, and it would not pay anybody
to counterfeit sovereigns worth twenty shillings apiece."
"You don't think so," Egan said, drily. "We shall be able to prove the
contrary presently. But hadn't you better wait, sir, till the critical
moment comes?"
"Very well," Venner laughed good-naturedly. "I'll wait and see what
dramatic surprise you have in store for me."
The powerful car sped over the roads heedless of police traps or other
troubles of that kind, and some time before the appointed hour for the
arrival of Blossett's train in London they had reached Victoria. It was
an easy matter to store the car in a neighboring hotel, and presently
they had the satisfaction of seeing Blossett swagger from a first-class
carriage with a heavy Gladstone bag in his hand. He called a cab and was
rapidly driven off in the direction of the city. Egan in his turn called
another cab, giving the driver strict injunctions to keep the first
vehicle in sight. It was a long chase, but it came to an end presently
outside an office in Walbrook. Blossett paid his man and walked slowly up
a flight of steps, carrying his bag. He paused at length before a door
which was marked "Private," and also placarded the information that here
was the business place of one Drummond, commission agent. Scarcely had
the door closed on Blossett than Egan followed without ceremony. He
motioned the other two to remain behind; he had some glib story to tell
the solitary clerk in the outer office, from whom he gleaned the
information that Mr. Drummond was engaged on some particular business and
could not see him for some time.
"Very well," he said; "I'll wait and read the paper."
He sat there patiently for some five minutes, his quick ears strained to
catch the faintest sound of what was taking place in the inner office.
There came presently the chink of metal, whereupon the watcher whistled
gently and his comrade and Venner entered the room. Very coolly Egan
crossed over and locked the door.
"Now, my young friend," he said to the astonished clerk, "you will oblige
me by not making a single sound. I don't suppose for a moment you have
had anything to do with this; in fact, from your bewildered expression, I
am certain that you haven't. Now tell me how long have you been in your
present situation."
"About three months," the clerk replied. "If you gentlemen happen to be
police officers--"
"That is exactly what we are," Grady smiled. "Do you find business
brisk--plenty of clients about?"
The clerk shook his head. He was understood to say that business was
inclined to be slack. He was so frightened and uneasy that it was
somewhat difficult to discern what he was talking about. From time to
time there came sounds of tinkling metal from the inner office. Then
Grady crossed the floor and opened the door. He stepped inside
nimbly, there was a sudden cry, and then the voice of the detective
broke out harshly.
"Now drop it," he said. "Keep your hands out of your pocket--there are
three of us here altogether, and the more fuss you make the worse it will
be for both of you. You know perfectly well who I am, Blossett; and we
are old friends, too, Mr. Drummond, though I don't know you by that name.
You will come with me--"
"But what's the charge?" Blossett blustered. "I am doing business with my
friend here quite in a legitimate way."
"Counterfeit coining," Grady said crisply. "Oh, we know all about it, so
you need not try to bluff it out in that way. I'll call a cab, and we can
drive off comfortably to Bow Street."
All the swaggering impudence vanished from Blossett. As for his
companion, he had not said a word from start to finish. It was about an
hour later that Venner and his companions were seated at lunch at a hotel
in Covent Garden, and Venner was impatiently waiting to hear what was the
charge which had laid Blossett and his companion by the heels. Grady
smiled as he drew from his pocket what appeared to be a brand new
sovereign.
"This is it," he said. "A counterfeit. You wouldn't think so to look at
it, would you? It appears to be perfectly genuine. If you will balance it
on your finger you will find that it is perfect weight, and as to the
finish it leaves nothing to be desired. And yet that coin is false,
though it contains as much gold as any coin that you have in your purse."
"Now I begin to understand," Venner exclaimed. "I have already told you
all about my discovery at the Empire Hotel, also what happened quite
recently at Merton Grange. I could not for the life of me understand what
those fellows had to gain by making sovereigns red-hot. Of course, I took
them to be real sovereigns--"
"Well, so they are practically," Egan said. "They contain absolutely as
much gold as an English coin of equal value. They are made from the metal
Fenwick managed to loot from the Four Finger Mine."
"What, do you know all about that?" Venner cried.
"We know all about everything," Grady said gravely. "We have been
tracking Fenwick for years, and it is a terrible indictment we shall have
to lay against him when the proper time comes. We shall prove beyond the
shadow of a doubt that he was one of the murderers of Mr. George Le Fenu
--but we need not go into that now, for I see you are anxious to know all
about the trick of the sovereigns. After Fenwick was compelled to abandon
the Four Finger Mine, he found himself with a great deal less gold than
he had expected. Then he hit upon the ingenious scheme which we are here
to expose. His plan was to make sovereigns and half-sovereigns, and put
them on the market as genuine coins. Now do you see what he had to gain
by this ingenious programme?"
CHAPTER XXIV
THE MOUTH OF THE NET
"I am afraid I am very dense," Venner said, "but I quite fail to see how
a man could make a fortune by selling for a sovereign an article that
cost him twenty shillings, to say nothing of the trouble and cost of
labor and the risk of being discovered--"
"As a matter of fact, the risk is comparatively small," Grady said. "It
was only by a pure accident that we got on the inside track of this
matter. You see, the coins are of actual face value, they are most
beautifully made, and, indeed, would pass anywhere. Let me tell you that
every sovereign contains a certain amount of alloy which reduces its
actual value to about eighteen and threepence. Now you can see where the
profit comes in. Supposing these men turn out a couple of thousand
sovereigns a day--no very difficult matter with a plant like theirs; and,
of course, the money can be disposed of with the greatest possible ease.
This leaves a profit of a hundred and seventy-five pounds a day. When I
have said so much, I think I have told you everything. Don't you admire
the ingenuity of an idea like this?"
It was all perfectly plain now--indeed, the mystery appeared to be
ridiculously simple now that it was explained.
"And what are you going to do now?" Venner asked.
Grady explained that the next step would be the arrest of Fenwick and his
gang at Merton Grange. For that purpose it would be necessary to enlist
the assistance of the local authorities. And in no case did the American
detectives purpose to effect the arrest before night. So far as Venner
was concerned, he was quite at liberty to accompany the Americans on
their errand; at the same time they let him infer that here was a
situation in which they preferred his room to his company.
"As you will," Venner smiled. "So far as I am concerned, I am going to
get back to Canterbury as soon as I can. With all your preparations you
have an exceedingly clever man to deal with, and it is just possible that
by this time Fenwick already knows that you have laid the messenger by
the heels. Men of that sort never trust one another, and it is
exceedingly probable that Blossett has been watched."
Grady and Egan admitted this possibility cheerfully enough. Doubtless
they had made plans which they did not care to communicate to Venner. He
left them presently, only to discover to his annoyance that he had just
missed a train to Canterbury, and that there was not another one till
nearly six o'clock. It was quite dark when he stepped out of the carriage
at Canterbury Station and stood debating whether he should walk as far as
the lodgings he had taken near Merton Grange, or call a cab. As he was
idly making up his mind, he saw to his surprise the figure of the
handsome cripple descending from the next carriage. He noted, too, that
the cripple did not seem anything like as feeble as before, though he
appeared to be glad enough to lean on the arm of a servant. At the same
moment Le Fenu was joined by Evors, who came eagerly forward and shook
him warmly by the hand. What these two were doing here, and what they had
in their minds, it was not for Venner to say. He wondered what they would
think if they knew how close he was, and how deeply interested he was in
their movements. He hung back in the shadow, for just then he did not
want to be recognised by Le Fenu.
"What a queer tangle it all is," he said to himself. "If I spoke to Le
Fenu, he would recognise me in a moment as an old friend of his father's.
I wonder what he would say to me if he knew I was his brother-in-law
--and Evors, too. Imagine their astonishment if I walked up to them at
this moment. Still, on the whole, I think I prefer to watch their
movements. If they are going to thrust their heads into the lion's mouth,
perhaps I may be able to stand by and render some assistance."
It was as Venner had anticipated, for presently Le Fenu and Evors
entered a cab and gave the driver directions to take them as far as
Merton Grange. Venner made up his mind that he could do no better than
follow their example.
The cab stopped at length outside the lodge gates, where Evors and Le
Fenu alighted, and walked slowly up the drive. It was rather a painful
effort for Le Fenu, but he managed it a great deal better than Venner had
anticipated. They did not enter the house by the front door--on the
contrary, they crept round a small side entrance, beyond which they
vanished, leaving Venner standing on the grass wondering what he had
better do next.
Meanwhile, Evors led the way down a flight of stairs till he emerged
presently in a corridor. With his companion on his arm he walked to the
little room at the end and boldly flung open the door.
The room was empty, a thing which both of them seemed to expect, for they
smiled at one another in a significant manner, and nodded with the air of
men who are quite pleased with themselves.
"You had better sit down," Evors said. "That walk must have tired you
terribly. I should be exceedingly sorry--"
"You need not worry about me," Le Fenu said in a clear, hard voice. "I am
a little tired, perhaps, but I have a duty to fulfil, and the knowledge
of it has braced me wonderfully. Besides, I am so much better of late,
and I am looking eagerly forward to the time when I shall be as other
men. Now go and fetch him, and let us get the thing done. But for the
fact that he is my mother's brother I would have had no mercy on the
scoundrel. Still, the same blood flows in our veins, and I am in a
merciful mood to-night."
Evors walked boldly out of the room and down the stairs into the
hall--then in a loud voice he called out the name of Mark Fenwick. The
dining-room door burst open and Fenwick strode out, his yellow face
blazing with passion in the light.
"So you are back again," he said hoarsely. "You are a bold man to thrust
your head into the lion's mouth like this."
"There are others equally bold," Evors said, coolly. "I am strong enough
and able enough to take you by that fat throat of yours and choke the
life out of you. You have a different man to deal with now--but there are
others to be considered, so I will trouble you to come along with me. The
interview had best take place in the little room at the end of the
corridor. You know the room I mean. Ah, I see you do."
Fenwick started. It was quite plain that Evors' hint was not lost on
him. Without another word he led the way up the staircase into the
little room. He started again and half turned when he caught sight of
the white, handsome face of Le Fenu. In all probability he would have
disappeared altogether, but for the fact that Evors closed the door and
turned the key.
Fenwick stood there, his yellow face scared and terrified. Cold as it
was, a bead of perspiration stood on his bulging forehead. He looked from
one to the other as if he anticipated violence. Le Fenu sat up in his
chair and laughed aloud.
"You are but a sorry coward after all," he said. "You have no need to
fear us in the slightest. We shall leave the vengeance to come in the
hands of others. And now sit down--though you are not fit to take a chair
in the company of any honest men."
"In my own house," Fenwick began feebly, "you are--"
"We will overlook that," Le Fenu went on. "It is our turn now, and I
don't think you will find our conditions too harsh. It is not so long
ago since my friend here was a prisoner in your hands, and since you
reduced him to such a condition of mind that he had abandoned hope and
lost all desire to live. It is not so long ago, either, since you dared
to make me a prisoner in my own house for your own ends. It was
fortunate for you that I chose to live more or less alone in London and
under an assumed name. But all the time I was looking for you, all the
time I was working out my plans for your destruction. Then you found me
out--you began to see how I could be useful to you, how I could become
your miserable tool, as Mr. Evors here did. You dared not stay at your
hotel--things were not quite ripe for you to come down here. Therefore
you hit upon the ingenious idea of making me a prisoner under my own
roof. But Fate, which has been waiting for you a long time, intervened,
and I became a free man again just at the very moment when Mr. Evors
also regained his liberty. Since then we have met more than once, and
the whole tale of your villainy is now plain before me. You might have
been content with the murder of my father and the blood money you
extracted from the Four Finger Mine, but that was not enough for
you--nothing less than the extermination of our race sufficed. It was no
fault of yours that I was not killed in the so-called accident that has
made me the cripple that I am. That was all arranged by you, as I shall
be able to prove when the proper time comes. I escaped death by a
miracle, and good friends of mine hid me away beyond the reach of your
arm. Even then you had no sort of mercy, even then you were not content
with the mischief you had wrought. You must do your best to pin your
crime to Mr. Evors, though that conspiracy cost my sister Beth her
reason. Of course, you would deny all these things, and I see you are
prepared to deny them now. But it is absolutely useless to add one lie
to another, because we know full well--"
"Stop," Fenwick cried. "What are you here for? Why do you tell me this?
A desperate man like myself--"
"No threats," Le Fenu said, sternly. "I am simply here to warn you. God
knows what an effort it is on my part not to hand you over to your
punishment, but I cannot forget that you are a blood relation of
mine--and, therefore, I am disposed to spare you. Still, there is another
Nemesis awaiting you, which Nemesis I need not mention by name. When I
look at your left hand I feel sorry for you. Bad as you are, the terrible
fate which is yours moves me to a kind of pity."
Le Fenu paused and glanced significantly at Fenwick's maimed hand.
The latter had nothing more to say; all his swaggering assurance had
left him--he sat huddled up in his chair, a picture of abject terror
and misery.
"You can help me if you will," he said hoarsely. "You are speaking of
Zary. That man is no human being at all, he is no more than a
cold-blooded tiger, and yet he would do anything for you and yours. If
you asked him to spare me--"
Fenwick broke off and covered his face with his hands. His shoulders
were heaving with convulsive sobs now, tears of self-pity ran through
his fingers. For the time being, at any rate, the man's nerve was
utterly gone. He was prepared to make any conditions to save his skin.
Agitated and broken as he was, his cunning mind was yet moving swiftly.
A little time ago, these two men would not have dared to intrude
themselves upon his presence, he had held them like prisoners in the
hollow of his hand; and now it seemed to him that they must feel their
position to be impregnable, or they would never have intruded upon him
in this bold fashion.
"I am not the man I was," he gasped. "It is only lately that my nerve
seems to have utterly deserted me. You do not know what it is to be
fighting in the dark against a foe so cold and relentless as Felix Zary.
When the first warning came I was alarmed. The second warning frightened
me till I woke in the night with a suffocating feeling at my heart as if
I were going to die. Against the third warning I took the most elaborate
precautions; but it came all the same, and since then I have been
drinking to drown my terror. But what is the good of that?--how little
does it serve me in my sober moments? As I said just now, Zary would do
anything for your family, and if you would induce him to forego that
dreaded vengeance which hangs over me--"
"Impossible," Le Fenu said coldly. "Zary is a fanatic, a dreamer of
dreams; he has a religion of his own which no one else in the world
understands but himself. He firmly and honestly believes that some divine
power is impelling him on, that he is merely an instrument in the hands
of the Maker of the universe. There have been other beings of the same
class in a way. Charlotte Corday believed herself to be the chosen
champion of Heaven when she stabbed the French monster in his bath.
Nothing I could say or do would turn Zary from what he believes to be his
duty. The only thing you can do is to go away and lose yourself in some
foreign country where Zary cannot follow you."
"Impossible," Fenwick said hoarsely. "I could not get away. If the man
possesses the powers he claims he would know where to find me, even if I
hid myself in the depths of a Brazilian forest. I tell you I am doomed. I
cannot get away from the inevitable."
Fenwick slipped from his chair and fairly grovelled in his anguish on
the floor. It was a pitiable sight, but one that moved the watchers with
contempt. They waited patiently enough for the paroxysm of terror to
pass and for Fenwick to resume something like the outer semblance of
manhood. He drew himself up at length, and wiped the tears from his
sickly yellow face.
"I cannot think," he said. "My mind seems to have ceased to act. If
either of you have any plan I shall be grateful to hear it. It seems
almost impossible--"
The speaker suddenly paused, for there came from below the unmistakable
sounds of high voices raised in expostulation. It occurred to Fenwick for
a moment that his subordinates were quarrelling among themselves; then
his quick ears discerned the sound of strange voices. He rose to his feet
and made in the direction of the door. A minute later a stealthy tap was
heard on the door, and a voice whispered, asking to be admitted. Evors
glanced at Le Fenu in an interrogative kind of way, as if asking for
instructions. The latter nodded, and the door opened. The man in the list
slippers staggered into the room, his red face white and quivering, his
whole aspect eloquent of fear.
"What is it?" Fenwick whispered. "What's the trouble? Why don't you speak
out, man, instead of standing there like that?"
The man found his voice at last, his words came thickly.
"They are here," he said. "The men from America. You know who I mean. Get
away at once. Wait for nothing. Those two devils Egan and Grady are
downstairs in the hall."
CHAPTER XXV
AN ACT OF CHARITY
Fenwick looked at the speaker as if he did not exactly comprehend what he
had said. The man's mind was apparently dazed, as if the accumulation of
his troubles had been too much for him. He passed his hand across his
forehead, striving to collect his thoughts and to find some way of facing
this new and unexpected peril.
"Say that again," he faltered. "I don't quite understand. Surely Egan and
Grady are in New York."
"They are both down in the hall," the man said, vehemently. "And, what's
more, they know that you are here. If you don't want to spend the night
in gaol, get away without any further delay."
Fenwick could only look about him helplessly. It seemed to him futile to
make further effort. Turn which way he would, there was no avenue open to
him. He looked imploringly in the direction of Charles Evors.
"I think I can manage it," the latter said. "Now, you fellow, whatever
your name is, leave the room at once and go downstairs and close the
door behind you."
The man slunk away, and, at a sign from Le Fenu, Evors closed the door.
Evors jumped to his feet and crossed the room to where a picture was let
into the panelling. He pushed this aside and disclosed a dark opening
beyond to Fenwick's astonished gaze. The latter stared about him.
"Now get through there," Evors said. "It is a good thing for you that I
know all the secrets of the old house. There are many panels and passages
here, for this used to be a favorite hiding-place for the fugitive
cavaliers in the time of Cromwell."
"But where does it go to?" Fenwick stammered.
Evors explained that the passage terminated in a bedroom a little
distance away. He went on to say that Fenwick would only have to press
his hand upon the wall and that the corresponding panel of the bedroom
would yield to his touch.
"It is the Blue Room," he said, "in which you will find yourself
presently. Wait there and I'll see what I can do for you. I fancy that I
shall be able to convey you outside the walls of the house without
anybody being the wiser."
Fenwick crept through the hole, and Evors pulled the panel across,
leaving the room exactly as it had been a few minutes before. He had
hardly done so when there was a sound of footsteps outside, and without
ceremony the American detectives came in. The occupants of the room had
had ample time to recover their self-possession, so that they could look
coolly at the intruders and demand to know what this outrage meant. The
Americans were clearly puzzled.
"I am sure I beg your pardon," Egan said, "but I understand that Mr.
Fenwick is the tenant of the house."
"That is so," Evors said. "Do you generally come into a gentleman's house
in this unceremonious fashion?"
"Perhaps I had better explain my errand," Egan said. "We are down here
with a warrant for the apprehension of Mark Fenwick, and we know that a
little time ago he was in the house. He is wanted on a charge of stealing
certain valuables in New York, and also for manufacturing counterfeit
coins. We quite expected to find him here."
"In that case, of course, you have perfect liberty to do as you please,"
Evors said. "I may explain that I am the only son of Lord Merton, and
that I shall be pleased to do anything to help you that lies in my power.
By all means search the house."
Grady appeared as if about to say something, but Egan checked him. It was
no time for the Americans to disclose the fact that they knew all about
the murder of Mr. George Le Fenu, and how Evors had been more or less
dragged into the business. Their main object now was to get hold of
Fenwick without delay, and take him back with them to London.
"Very well, sir," Egan said. "We need not trouble you any further. If
our man is anywhere about the house, we are bound to find him. Come
along, Grady."
They bustled out of the room, and presently they could be heard ranging
about the house. As the two friends discussed the situation in whispers
the door was flung open and Vera came in. Her face was aflame with
indignation--she was quivering with a strange unaccustomed passion.
"Charles," she cried. "I hardly expected to see you here."
"Perhaps you are equally surprised to see Evors," Le Fenu said. "We have
had an explanation--"
"I have already met Charles," Vera said. "But he did not tell me you were
coming down here. Still, all that is beside the point. There will be
plenty of time for full explanation later on. What I have to complain of
now is an intolerable outrage on the part of Mark Fenwick. He has
actually dared to intrude himself on the privacy of my bedroom, and
despite all I can say--"
"By Jove, this is a piece of bad luck," Evors exclaimed. "My dear Vera, I
had not the slightest idea that you were occupying the Blue Room. In
fact, I did not know that it was being used at all. I managed to send
Fenwick that way for the simple reason that there are two American
detectives downstairs with a warrant for his arrest. It was your
brother's idea to get him away--"
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