Part 52 (1/2)

”We seem to have arrived just in time to prevent your arrest,” he said quietly. ”Perhaps you will be good enough to explain what has happened? At present we are rather in the dark.”

He spoke with his usual suavity, but there was a veiled menace in his voice which it was impossible to overlook. Savaroff scowled at me more truculently than ever. It was obvious that both of them were entirely ignorant of Sonia's part in the affair, and suspected me of some extraordinary bit of clumsiness. I prepared myself for some heavy lying.

”I know precious little more about it than you do,” I said coolly. ”I was getting things ready for you this morning, when I happened to look out of the window, and saw three men crawling towards the hut on their hands and knees. As one of them was wearing a policeman's uniform, I thought I had better cut and run. Well, I cut and ran. I made for the creek because I thought you might be there. You weren't; but there was a dinghy on the sh.o.r.e, which I suppose belonged to a small yacht that was anch.o.r.ed out in the channel. Anyhow, I took the liberty of borrowing it. I meant to row out into the river, and try to pick you up before they could get hold of a boat and follow me. If it hadn't been for these infernal coast-guards, I'd have managed it all right. I don't think they really had anything to do with the business, but they just happened to be pa.s.sing, and of course when the police shouted to them they cut in at once.” I paused. ”And that's the whole story,” I finished, ”as far as I know anything about it.”

They had all three listened to me with eager attention. Even the man with the auburn beard had kept on looking away from his steering to favour me with quick glances out of his hard blue eyes. I think I came through the combined scrutiny with some credit.

McMurtrie was the first to break the ensuing silence.

”Have you any idea how you have betrayed yourself? You can speak quite freely. Our friend Mr. von Brunig knows the position.”

I thought it best to take the offensive. ”I haven't betrayed myself,”

I said angrily. ”Somebody must have done it for me. I've not left the hut since I came down except for an occasional breath of air.”

”But earlier--when you were in London?” he persisted.

I shook my head. ”I have been down here a week. You don't imagine the police would have waited as long as that.”

I knew I was putting them in a difficulty, for by this time they must be all aware that Latimer was still on their track, and it was obviously conceivable that my attempted arrest might be due in some way to my connection with them; anyhow I saw that even Savaroff was beginning to regard me a shade less suspiciously.

”Have you brought any of the powder with you?” asked McMurtrie.

It struck me instantly that if I said yes, I should be putting myself absolutely in their power.

”I hadn't time to get any,” I answered regretfully. ”I had buried it outside the hut, and they came on me so suddenly there was no chance of digging it up. Now I have once done it, however, I can make some more very quickly.”

It was the flattest lie I have ever told; but I managed to get it off with surprising ease. It is astonis.h.i.+ng what rapid strides one can make in the art of perjury with a very little practice.

Savaroff gave a grunt of disappointment, and McMurtrie turned to von Brunig, who was frowning thoughtfully, and made some almost inaudible remark in German. The latter answered at some length, but he kept his voice so low that, with my rather sketchy knowledge of that unpleasant language, it was impossible for me to overhear what he was saying.

Besides, he evidently didn't intend me to, and I had no wish to spoil the good impression I had apparently made by any appearance of eavesdropping.

It seemed to me that my course lay pretty straight in front of me.

Latimer had all the information now he was likely to get, and I knew from Joyce's wire that he intended to act immediately. In addition to this, the running down of the cutter would be known to Scotland Yard as soon as ever the men who had been sent to arrest me could get to a telephone, and the river-police and coast-guards everywhere would be warned to keep a sharp look-out for von Brunig's launch. In an hour or two at the most something was bound to happen, and the way in which I could make myself most useful seemed to be in delaying the break-up and escape of the party as long as possible. If I had to be arrested, I was determined that the others should be roped in as well.

I had just arrived at this point in my meditations when McMurtrie and von Brunig came to an end of their muttered conversation.

The former turned back to me. ”You probably understand, Mr. Lyndon, that this unfortunate affair with the police alters our plans entirely. At present I am quite unable to see how they have found you out, unless you have betrayed yourself by some piece of unintentional carelessness. Anyhow, the fact remains that they know where you are, and that very probably they will be able to trace this launch.”

Savaroff nodded. ”As likely as not we shall have a shot across our bows when we get to Sheerness,” he growled.

McMurtrie, as usual, took no notice of his interruption. ”There is only one thing to do,” he said. ”Mr. von Brunig, who, as I have already told you, is interested in our syndicate, has offered to put his country house in Germany at our service. We must cross over to Holland before the police have time to interfere.”

”Do you mean now, at once?” I asked, with a sudden inward feeling of dismay.

McMurtrie nodded. ”We have to pick up a couple of friends at Sheppey first. After that we can run straight across to The Hague.”

The proposal was so obviously sensible that, without arousing his suspicion, I could see no way for the moment of raising any objection.

The great thing was to keep the ”syndicate” together, and to delay our departure until Latimer had had time to scoop the lot of us. Could anything provide him with a more favourable opportunity than the collection of the whole crowd in that remote bungalow at Sheppey? It was surely there if anywhere he would strike first, and I hoped, very feelingly, that he would not be too long about it. My powers of postponing our voyage to Holland appeared to have a distinct time-limit.