lord merehaven followed lechmere eagerly down the steps of the club. he was anxious and excited now as any schoolboy with the prospect of a last holiday before him. the diplomatist became merged in the mere man. he plied lechmere with questions.
"i think that we had better have a cab," said the latter. "in the first instance we have to go as far as general maxgregor's rooms. after that we will proceed to the residence of countess saens. yes, you are quite right. it was i who supplied the police with the information that led up to this sensational arrest."
"pity you had not done it before," merehaven spluttered, as he jammed his top hat in the door of the hansom. "it would have saved a wonderful lot of trouble."
lechmere demurred. he had known for some time a great deal of the past of the woman who was known to society as countess saens. as a matter of fact he had bided his time, little dreaming how soon it would be necessary to make use of his information.
"i think i told you before who the woman was," he said. "or was it general maxgregor? anyway, it does not in the least matter. for my part, i rather regret the necessity for putting this woman out of the way. it is far better to keep such people[308] under observation and thus keep in touch with one's enemies. but i could see no other way."
"but you won't frighten her into speaking," merehaven said.
"of course we shan't. she has too much pluck for that. i want to get her out of the way because it is desirable to search her house for the missing papers without suspicion of our designs. and we are going to find the papers there sure enough."
"surely you must be mistaken," merehaven protested. "if the countess still has the papers, she would have handed them over to count gleikstein, who would have made profit over them. she would have given us no quarter like he is doing now."
"i did not say that the countess had the papers," lechmere said drily. "i said they were in the house, which is quite a different matter. but here we are at maxgregor's."
maxgregor was out as the hall porter-valet robert told lechmere. but the latter did not seem in the least disappointed. he proceeded up the stairs to the general's rooms, intimating that robert had better follow him. the man did so wondering, but he had no anxiety for himself yet. lechmere wanted to go into the general's bedroom, he also wanted to see the suit of dress clothes worn by the general on the night of his return from lady merehaven's reception. with some little demur robert produced the garments in question from a wardrobe. lechmere smiled with an air of easy triumph as he produced a flat packet of papers from the dress coat pocket.
"exactly as i expected," he murmured to lord merehaven. "this is the dress suit worn by the king when he was smuggled into your house by[309] the queen and her tiring woman on the night of the reception. as i have told you before, maxgregor escaped in the king's clothes. in these clothes was the deed of abdication ready for signature as handed to the king by mazaroff. if you will open that packet you will see whether i am wrong or not."
lechmere was not wrong, it was the deed of abdication right enough. very grimly lord merehaven placed it in a position of safety. it was a strong weapon that lechmere had afforded for his next interview with count gleikstein.
"i felt quite certain that we should find it," lechmere said. "and now let us proceed a stage further. where is general maxgregor's telephone, robert?"
robert explained that the telephone was in the next room. the servant seemed a little easier in his mind as he led the way to the sitting-room. then lechmere closed the door and looked at the man keenly.
"you are going to do something for me, robert," he said. "be so good as to call up no. 99996 belgravia. ah, i see that the number is well known to you. i have every reason to believe that you have called up that number many times before. now listen to me and do exactly what i tell you or you may make the acquaintance of the inside of a gaol before long. you are going to help me to find certain papers which, though you may not be a party to stealing them, you know all about them and their value and the like."
"i am sure that i don't know what you mean, sir," robert said sulkily.
"then it will be necessary for me to refresh your memory, robert. i mean those papers that you[310] were discussing the other night with annette—the night you had the champagne supper at countess saens's house. the papers returned by the policeman, you know, found by him in piccadilly. you and annette were going to sell them and buy a boarding-house in brook street with the proceeds. i think it would be far better for you to recollect, robert."
the valet-porter collapsed without further signs of fight. there was nothing of the born conspirator about him. he was no more or less than a tolerably dishonest london servant. he was quite ready to do anything that mr. lechmere asked him.
"then call up 99996 and ask for annette," lechmere said curtly. "say that you must see her at once here without the slightest delay. no occasion to explain the reason. then you can hang the receiver up quietly as if you were cut off, so that the young woman has no time to ask questions. after that you will come with me in my cab. it won't be gallant conduct so far as annette is concerned but i can't help that. you can make the best of your explanations later on."
"what do you want that fellow for?" merehaven asked, as robert proceeded to carry out his instructions.
lechmere replied that he had no need whatever of robert's services, but that he had not the smallest intention of leaving him there to sound the note of alarm over the telephone directly they had gone. lord merehaven had not seen this point, it would have escaped him. but lechmere was not in the habit of leaving his pawns unaccounted for like that. he listened close by the telephone till he heard the small distant voice of annette saying that she would[311] come round at once, then he jerked up the receiver and rang off connection sharply.
"now come along," he said. "by the time we reach the residence of countess saens, annette will be well on her way here, indeed we shall probably pass her in the cab. for the sake of our friend robert it will be necessary to take a four-wheeler this time. come along."
lechmere proved to be perfectly correct as to the meeting of annette on her way to keep the appointment. the cab pulled up not too close to the countess' residence and lechmere alighted, bidding lord merehaven wait until he returned. as he expected, the house was in the hands of the police pending the arrival of the owner's agent, who had been telegraphed for. the inspector in charge was an old acquaintance of lechmere's and seemed glad to see him.
"bit of a sensation, this, roscoe," lechmere said guardedly. "but one never knows, do they?"
roscoe smiled with the air of a man who was used to these surprises. he intimated that this was going to be a big business, there would be a formal remand applied for, and after that the foreign police proposed to take a hand in the matter.
"have you had the house searched yet?" lechmere asked. "no? well, you'd better get a warrant. as a matter of fact the countess is a brilliant political spy and there may be things here well worth the inspection of the british government. don't say i didn't give you the tip. i suppose you don't mind my going over the house. i may see something worth noting."
roscoe had no objection whatever. lechmere made an elaborate pretence of inspecting the room[312] and then he strolled up to the servants' quarters in a casual way. this was annette's room sure enough. lechmere remembered peretori's description well enough to recollect that. and on the wall high up was a plaster cast of a crucifix with a figure extended upon it. lechmere listened a moment to make quite sure that nobody was about, then he climbed up with the aid of a chair. as he had expected, the back of the cast was hollow and in the cavity was a bundle of papers. without the slightest feeling of excitement he untied the tape that fastened them, glanced his eyes over the contents, and walked down stairs again. he nodded to roscoe as he passed out.
"nothing so far as i can see," he said. "don't forget to apply for a search warrant."
he dismissed the four-wheeler in the street and told robert curtly to go about his business. he had no further use for the valet-porter. the task was done.
"well?" merehaven asked eagerly. "well? one can judge nothing from your face."
"good thing for me," lechmere said imperturbably. "but what do you think of this? there are your papers."
and merehaven was only too glad to admit that lechmere was right.
