the morning dragged slowly and wilfrid began to think that shelton had forgotten about his patient. it was maddening to wander about the house wasting precious time, when perhaps the blow had already fallen at oldborough. more than once wilfrid was tempted to make his way to the city where he could discuss his affairs with russell and uzali.
and what had happened to the latter? how was he getting on after his cruel treatment of the previous evening? and what was russell doing all this time? wilfrid was debating the matter seriously when, about midday, a motor car drove up and dr. shelton, accompanied by a colleague, got out. shelton raised his brows interrogatively at wilfrid, who shook his head.
"no change," the latter murmured. "he is just as you left him, hovering between life and death. i don't wish to be inconvenient but i shall be very glad if you will release me as soon as possible. i have urgent business in the city which is going to rack and ruin without me."
"give us half an hour," shelton said. "we are going to try an experiment—a desperate one i admit—but there seems nothing else to do in the circumstances. but, if you can get back by two o'clock to keep an eye upon things till the nurse i have written for arrives, i shall be greatly obliged."
wilfrid yielded with as good grace as possible. he began to feel reckless and desperate. he paced up and down outside the house smoking one cigarette after another until shelton appeared again.
"i don't think we need detain you any longer," the latter said. "our operation has been partially successful and i am leaving mr. flower with my colleague at present. there has been serious brain trouble, and i very much doubt if my patient will ever be the same again. if you can manage to return by two o'clock for an hour, i think i shall then be able to dispense with your services."
wilfrid waited to hear no more. he had already laid his plans. in the first place, he would call upon fowler & co., who had written regarding the bill, which threatened destruction to his home and future. he might perhaps obtain some information from them, though time was growing short and there remained barely a day and a half in which to satisfy these blood-suckers and breathe freely once more. a reference to the post office directory gave wilfrid the information he was in need of, and a hansom conveyed him to london wall where the offices of fowler & co. were situated. the place was dingy, the office small and dirty. for a moment wilfrid hesitated whether to go in or not, when he suddenly paused and looked into a shop-window as if fearful of being seen, for on the steps of the office stood cotter in close conversation with a small, slight man, whose keen dark eyes bespoke a foreign origin. it was plain enough to wilfrid now. cotter had come down on business connected with the very security which was likely to be wilfrid's ruin. the two men parted by and by and wilfrid crossed the road, his mind fully made up what to do.
a shabby-looking clerk in the outer office announced the fact that mr. fowler was not engaged. without waiting for any reply wilfrid crossed to the inner office and opened the door. surely enough, seated at a desk, was the little man with whom cotter had been talking so earnestly a few minutes before.
"my name is dr. mercer," wilfrid said bluntly. "you are mr. fowler, i understand. i came to see you in regard to a security which i gave to a firm called darton & co. for one hundred and seventy-five pounds. this security will fall due to-morrow and i am anxious to get it renewed."
the man shrugged his shoulders and took up his pen.
"my dear sir, i am very busy this morning," he said. "if you cannot meet the security, why, there is an end of it. i am sorry, but business is business, and of course you know the consequences if the bill is not taken up to-morrow."
"i am aware of that," wilfrid said impatiently. "but what i want to know is, where do you come in? what connexion have you with darton & co.? and why should they turn over my liability to you? these are simple questions."
they were simple but mr. fowler had some difficulty in answering them. he changed colour slightly and his dingy hands fingered a bell on the table before him.
"oh, you needn't be afraid," wilfrid said contemptuously. "i am not going to do you any harm, but i came here for certain information and i mean to have it. is my credit so good that you could afford to speculate in a bill of mine? but perhaps i had better come to the point. where is the security?"
mr. fowler laughed somewhat unpleasantly. he was more at his ease. he pointed over his shoulder to a safe in the wall.
"the security is all right, sir," he said. "the point is, do you want to take it up? if you have the money with you the thing could be arranged quite amicably."
there was a sneer underlying these words which brought the blood into wilfrid's face. the man was laughing at him. here was a chance to test the truth of what fowler was saying. wilfrid took a bulky packet of letters from his pocket and laid them on the table before him.
"i didn't come here to offer you a cheque," he said, "because it occurred to me you might refuse it. but i suppose you have no objection to banknotes."
fowler was taken aback. the grin died away from his cunning features.
"oh, certainly," he muttered, "certainly."
"then produce the security and let us have done with it."
fowler arose reluctantly to his feet and rummaged among a mass of papers in the safe. but the security was not forthcoming, which was exactly what wilfrid had foreseen. with some show of disappointment fowler returned to his desk muttering that he had left the security at home. wilfrid gravely restored the bundle of papers to his pocket. he was not displeased at having forced the money-lender to show his hand. his suspicions had become certainties. cotter had come down on purpose to take the security away. he rose carelessly from his seat.
"very well," he said, "it doesn't in the least matter, but you must understand i can't call again. you know my address in oldborough. i shall be there to-morrow morning, and if you send a representative to meet me i shall be prepared to pay you off. i don't think i need detain you longer."
with a curt nod wilfrid left the office and made his way to uzali's flat. he was informed that the malay was in bed, but had left instructions that if dr. mercer called he was to be shown up at once. he found uzali propped up by the bedclothes and looking not much the worse for his adventure.
"oh, i shall be right enough to-morrow," he said cheerfully. "it is very unfortunate that i should have got into trouble last night. i daresay you wonder what it is all about?"
"my dear sir, i am consumed with curiosity," wilfrid said. "and when you have told me all your adventures i will tell you mine, which were thrilling enough in all conscience."
"that is a bargain," uzali smiled. "but there is one thing you must tell me first. is our friend samuel flower still alive? did anything happen to him last night?"
"oh, he is still alive," wilfrid said dubiously. "but how long he is likely to last is another matter. and now, if you will promise not to get unduly excited, i will tell you everything that has happened since i put you in the cab. you will be interested."
uzali listened with rapt attention to what wilfrid had to say. he even expressed his satisfaction at the knowledge that things were no worse with samuel flower.
"so far, so good," he said. "and now, perhaps, i had better tell you my story. it is shorter than yours and not so dramatic. in the square i fell foul of those countrymen of mine, never doubting for a moment but that they would recognize me and my authority. perhaps they took me for some imposter, perhaps they lost their heads in the darkness. anyway, they attacked me in a most murderous fashion before i had the slightest chance of explaining; hence the fact that you found me in the square nearly done for. mind you, if this had happened a week ago i would not have interfered, but have allowed matters to take their own course. but now things are different. they have changed altogether."
it was a long time before uzali spoke again. he lay there with his eyes closed as if asleep or dreaming.
