Part 18 (1/2)
”My own affair was simple enough. Observe how it succeeded. Now give me the details.”
”You shall have them. Doubtless you remember the fact that I was paying my first visit to Lord Beckingdale's new house. I had stayed at his old residence before it was burnt down, but had never been there since the restoration. That will be sufficient to account for my ignorance of its general plan. On the night of which I am speaking, I was located, as you will recollect, in the South Wing. Where Beckingdale's own quarters were I have no idea, and, as you may suppose, since then I have had no opportunity of finding out. I forget whether I mentioned the fact to you that I had brought a new man down with me. Poor old Simmons no longer felt equal to his work, and in consequence I had been compelled to engage a new man--a thing I hate doing. The fresh importation, however, seemed a very quiet and respectable fellow, and he had just completed his first month's service with me, when my visit to Aldershot was arranged. On the evening in question I was tired, and dismissed him as quickly as possible. I don't think my head had been upon the pillow for more than five minutes before I was fast asleep. How long I slept I have no idea, I only know that I suddenly awoke to find my servant standing beside my bed, looking as if he himself had been hastily aroused from sleep.
”'What is it?' I asked as soon as I was able to say anything. 'What brings you here at this hour of the night?'
”'A message from his Lords.h.i.+p, sir,' the man replied in a low voice.
'His servant called me up to come and tell you that his Lords.h.i.+p would be glad if you would go to him as soon as possible in his study. A messenger has arrived from London with most serious intelligence. The other gentlemen have been roused, and his Lords.h.i.+p begs that you will not lose a moment in joining them. He would ask you to be as quiet as possible, in order that the ladies may not be alarmed.'
”'Have you any idea what the news is?' I enquired, as I got out of bed, for I thought it was just possible that Beckingdale's servant might have said something to him when giving him the message.
”'No, sir,' he replied; 'I have no notion, except that it is very serious. His Lords.h.i.+p's man, sir, went so far as to say that all London is in an uproar.'
”Without more ado I sprang from my bed and commenced dressing. In a very few minutes I was sufficiently presentable to proceed on my errand.
”'Where did you say Lord Beckingdale is?' I asked, as we prepared to leave the room.
”'In his study, sir,' the man replied. 'If you will allow me I will take you to him.'
”Bidding him step quietly so that the rest of the household should not be disturbed, I followed him from the room, and down the pa.s.sage in the direction of the hall. A faint glimmer of light illumined the pa.s.sage, so that we were able to make our way along it without the a.s.sistance of a lamp or candle. Having reached the gallery, my man did not descend by the stairs to the hall below, but branched off down a side pa.s.sage into a portion of the house I had not yet penetrated. Having pa.s.sed along another corridor, we approached a door before which he paused. Still with the utmost respect, he opened it very quietly, and bowed as if for me to enter. Never for a moment suspecting such a thing as treachery, I did so, and, a moment later, had received a blow on the head, and was lying upon the floor, insensible. I can leave you, Manderville, to estimate the daring of the trick that had been played upon me. I have no doubt that it was with the deliberate intention of taking part in it that that wretched valet had entered my service. Little did I think, when I congratulated myself upon having secured him, that he was ultimately to bring about my ruin.”
”But do you mean to tell me that, while we were all asleep, the very man whom I had seen watching the house from the plantation, and against whom I had warned Beckingdale, had entered it and taken possession of one of the rooms, in order to kidnap his most important guest?”
”I do mean it,” he replied. ”Improbable, impossible, though it may appear, it was certainly the case.”
”And what happened to you afterwards? Remember the house was guarded by the police, and that, as soon as your disappearance was made known, the country for miles around was scoured in search of you.”
”It was not of the least use, for I did not leave the place until two days later,” he replied. ”As a matter of fact, for more than forty-eight hours I lay concealed, wis.h.i.+ng myself dead, between the roof and the ceiling of that quaint old summer-house on the little knoll at the further end of the lake. How they got me there I cannot say, but that I was there and was prevented from making my presence known, even though my friends searched the room below for me, is as true as I am talking to you now. Then, when the search must have lost some of its energy, I was brought down in the dead of the night, carried through the wood, and placed in a conveyance of some sort, which immediately drove away with me. Shortly before daybreak we arrived at a house standing a good distance back from the road. From what I could see of it, it was a ramshackle old place, but the man who owned it, or at any rate the individual who came out to meet us, seemed to be on familiar terms with my guards. He helped them to escort me into the house, and, if I am not mistaken, he himself locked the door of the small room in which I was to be confined for the next twenty hours. At the end of that time, still powerless to help myself, I was once more brought downstairs and placed in the cart. Again we drove off, and, for six hours, I suffered every imaginable torture. My hands and feet were tightly bound, and my mouth was secured so that I could not utter a cry for help. The cords used lacerated my wrists and ankles, while my head ached from the violence of the blow it had received on the night of my abduction. At last the cart stopped, and one of the men sprang out. A voice asked a question in Italian, then there was the sound of some one moving away, after which not a word was spoken for upwards of half-an-hour. At the end of that time the man who had absented himself returned and said in English, ”It is all right.” An interval of whispering followed, and then I was lifted out and placed upon the ground.
”'Not a word as you value your life,' said a voice, which I recognised as belonging to Count Reiffenburg. 'If you speak, you're a dead man.'
”Another man took his place beside me and we entered a small field, crossed it, and then pa.s.sed through a thick pine wood, which in its turn led up to some sandhills, whence we could see the moonlit waters of the Bay. A fis.h.i.+ng-boat was being put out, and towards it my captors hurried me. Where the place was or whither they were taking me, I could not imagine, nor did I dare to offer any expostulation. I merely took my seat in the boat and waited to see what would happen. A quarter of an hour or so later, under the influence of a steady breeze, we were outside the Bay, making for the open sea. As the sun was in the act of rising, we saw a steamer heading in our direction. It proved to be this vessel, and when we were alongside, I was immediately transferred to her, Reiffenburg returning to the sh.o.r.e. You must picture for yourself my surprise at finding Woller and Castellan aboard her. Now you know my story. If any one had told me a month ago that I should figure in such an affair, I should not have believed them.”
”Another ill.u.s.tration of the old saying that the unexpected always happens,” I replied.
”If we are fortunate enough to see our friends again, we shall have some extraordinary stories to tell,” said the Commander-in-Chief. ”The question is, however, shall we ever see them again?”
”That remains to be proved,” I answered. ”We must put our wits to work to see what can be done.”
The words had scarcely left my lips, before young Reiffenburg appeared upon the scene and abruptly informed us that our promenade was at an end, and that it behoved us to return to our cabins, in order that our companions, who had just finished their meal, might take our places. We followed his instructions, and made our way slowly to the saloon below, half hoping that we should have a chance of exchanging a few words with our friends. They were not there, however, having been ordered to their cabins so that we should not meet. There was nothing for it, therefore, but to bid each other good-night, and to retire to our respective state-rooms with as good grace as possible.
Next morning, after breakfast, we were allowed on deck again for an hour, also after luncheon, and again in the evening. During the progress of the latter meal I was struck by the expression on the Commander-in-Chief's face. It was as if he were suffering from a severe attack of suppressed excitement. He fidgeted uneasily in his seat, and seemed to experience great difficulty in eating the food set before him.
This excitement found vent while we were in the companion ladder on our way to the deck above. Half-way up he took me by the arm and said in a hoa.r.s.e whisper--
”My G.o.d! Manderville, quite by chance to-day, I have discovered the most diabolical plot ever hatched by mortal man.”
”Then be careful,” I returned, ”that they do not suspect you of knowing it. Wait until we are safely out of ear-shot before you say anything to me on the subject.”
When we reached the deck we found the sentry on guard as usual. We accordingly walked aft, and had paced the p.o.o.p two or three times before I would permit the Commander-in-Chief to unfold his tale. Then leaning upon the taffrail, and looking at the white streak of our wake, I asked him what he had discovered.