Part 14 (1/2)

A tall cadaverous-looking man opened the door and entered. As his eye fell upon us, he paused on the threshold.

”I beg your pardon,” he said. ”I-I'm afraid I'm in the wrong-”

”Not at all-come in and sit down,” said Holmes, cordially. ”That is if you are our friend and partner, Cato-Darlington couldn't wait-”

”Couldn't wait?” said Cato.

”Nope,” said Holmes. ”He was very much annoyed by the delay, Cato. You see he's on bigger jobs than this puny little affair of Bar, LeDuc's, and your failure to appear on schedule time threw him out. Pearls aren't the only chips in Darlington's game, my boy.”

”Well-I couldn't help it,” said Cato. ”Bar, LeDuc's messenger didn't get down there until five minutes of six.”

”Why should that have kept you until eight?” said Holmes.

”I've got a few side jobs of my own,” growled Cato.

”That's what Darlington imagined,” said Holmes, ”and I don't envy you your meeting with him when he comes in. He's a cyclone when he's mad and if you've got a cellar handy I'd advise you to get it ready for occupancy. Where's the stuff?”

”In here, said Cato, tapping his chest.

”Well,” observed Holmes, quietly, ”we'd better make ourselves easy until the Chief returns. You don't mind if I write a letter, do you?”

”Go ahead,” said Cato. ”Don't mind me.”

”Light up,” said Holmes, tossing him a cigar, and turning to the table where he busied himself for the next five minutes, apparently in writing.

Cato smoked away in silence, and picked up Holmes's copy of the Salmagundi Magazine which lay on the bureau, and shortly became absorbed in its contents. As for me, I had to grip both sides of my chair to conceal my nervousness. My legs fairly shook with terror. The silence, broken only by the scratching of Holmes's pen, was becoming unendurable and I think I should have given way and screamed had not Holmes suddenly risen and walked to the telephone, directly back of where Cato was sitting.

”I must ring for stamps,” he said. ”There don't seem to be any here. Darlington's getting stingy in his old age. h.e.l.lo,” he called, but without removing the receiver from the hook. ”h.e.l.lo-send me up a dollar's worth of two-cent stamps-thank you. Good-bye.”

Cato read on, but, in a moment, the magazine dropped from his hand to the floor. Holmes was at his side and the cold muzzle of a revolver pressed uncomfortably against his right temple.

”That bureau cover-quick,” Raffles cried, sharply, to me.

”What are you doing?” gasped Cato, his face turning a greenish-yellow with fear.

”Another sound from you and you're a dead one,” said Holmes. ”You'll see what I'm doing quickly enough. Twist it into a rope, Jim,” he added, addressing me. I did as I was bade with the linen cover, s.n.a.t.c.hing it from the bureau, and a second later we had Cato gagged. ”Now tie his hands and feet with those curtain cords,” Holmes went on.

Heavens! how I hated the job, but there was no drawing back now! We had gone too far for that.

”There!” said Holmes, as we laid our victim out on the floor, tied hand and foot and as powerless to speak as though he had been born deaf and dumb. ”We'll just rifle your chest, Cato, and stow you away in the bath-tub with a sofa-cus.h.i.+on under your head to make you comfortable, and bid you farewell- not au revoir, Cato, but just plain farewell forever.”

The words were hardly spoken before the deed was accomplished. Tearing aside poor Cato's vest and s.h.i.+rt-front, Raffles placed himself in possession of the treasure from Bar, LeDuc & Co., after which we lay Darlington's unhappy confederate at full length in the porcelain-lined tub, placed a sofa-cus.h.i.+on under his head to mitigate his sufferings, locked him in, and started for the elevator.

”Great Heavens, Raffles!” I chattered, as we emerged upon the street. ”What will be the end of this? It's awful. When Sir Henry returns-”

”I wish I could be there to see,” said he, with a chuckle.

”I guess we'll see, quick enough. I leave town to-morrow,” said I.

”Nonsense,” said Holmes. ”Don't you worry. I put a quietus on Sir Henry Darlington. He'll leave town to-night, and we'll never hear from him again-that is, not in this matter.”