Part 22 (2/2)

”The next thing that happened,” said Raffles, in his most leisurely manner, ”was the descent of Bunny like a bolt from the blue.”

”Had he gone in with you?”

”No; he came in after me as bold as blazes to say that a couple of common, low detectives were waiting for me down below in the square!”

”That was very kind of 'im,” snarled Levy, pouring a murderous fire upon my person from his little black eyes.

”Kind!” cried Raffles. ”It saved the whole show.”

”It did, did it?”

”I had time to dodge the limbs of the law by getting out another way, and never letting them know that I had got out at all.”

”Then you left them there?”

”In their glory!” said Raffles, radiant in his own.

Though I must confess I could not see them at the time, there were excellent reasons for not stating there and then the delicious plight in which we had really left Levy's myrmidons. I myself would have driven home our triumph and his treachery by throwing our winning cards upon the table and simultaneously exposing his false play. But Raffles was right, and I should have been wrong, as I was soon enough to see for myself.

”And you came away, I suppose,” suggested the money-lender, ironically, ”with my original letter in your pocket?”

”Oh, no, I didn't,” replied Raffles, with a reproving shake of the head.

”I thought not!” cried Levy in a gust of exultation.

”I came away,” said Raffles, ”if you'll pardon the correction, with the letter you never dreamt of writing, Mr. Levy!”

The Jew turned a deeper shade of yellow; but he had the wisdom and the self-control otherwise to ignore the point against him. ”You'd better let me see it,” said he, and flung out his open hand with a gesture of authority which it took a Raffles to resist.

Levy was still standing with his back to the fire, and I was at his feet in a saddle-bag chair, with my yellow beaker on the table at my elbow. But Raffles remained aloof upon his legs, and he withdrew still further from the fire as he unfolded a large sheet of office paper, stamped with the notorious address in Jermyn Street, and displayed it on high like a phylactery.

”You may see, by all means, Mr. Levy,” said Raffles, with a slight but sufficient emphasis on his verb.

”But I'm not to touch-is that it?”

”I'm afraid I must ask you to look first,” said Raffles, smiling. ”I should suggest, however, that you exercise the same caution in showing me that part of your quid pro quo which you have doubtless in readiness; the other part is in my pocket ready for you to sign; and after that, the three little papers can change hands simultaneously.”

Nothing could have excelled the firmness of this intimation, except the exggravating delicacy with which it was conveyed. I saw Levy clench and unclench his great fists, and his canine jaw working protuberantly as he ground his teeth. But not a word escaped him, and I was admiring the monster's self-control when of a sudden he swooped upon the table at my side, completely filled his empty gla.s.s with neat whiskey, and, spluttering and blinking from an enormous gulp, made a lurch for Raffles with his drink in one hand and his plated pistol in the other.

”Now I'll have a look,” he hiccoughed, ”an' a good look, unless you want a lump of lead in your liver!”

Raffles awaited his uncertain advance with a contemptuous smile.

”You're not such a fool as all that, Mr. Levy, drunk or sober,” said he; but his eye was on the waving weapon, and so was mine; and I was wondering how a man could have got so very suddenly drunk, when the n.o.bbler of crude spirit was hurled with most sober aim, gla.s.s and all, full in the face of Raffles, and the letter plucked from his grasp and flung upon the fire, while Raffles was still reeling in his blindness, and before I had struggled to my feet.

Raffles, for the moment, was absolutely blinded; as I say, his face was streaming with blood and whiskey, and the prince of traitors already crowing over his vile handiwork. But that was only for a moment, too; the blackguard had been fool enough to turn his back on me; and, first jumping upon my chair, I sprang upon him like any leopard, and brought him down with my ten fingers in his neck, and such a crack on the parquet with his skull as left it a deadweight on my hands. I remember the rasping of his bristles as I disengaged my fingers and let the leaden head fall back; it fell sideways now, and if it had but looked less dead I believe I should have stamped the life out of the reptile on the spot.

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