“I should be glad to see the managing director, if he could spare me a few moments,” I said to the youth who waited upon me in answer to his question.
“He’s engaged, sir, at present,” the lad replied. “If you will take a seat, however, I don’t fancy he will be very long.”
I did as he directed, and in the interval1 amused myself by studying a large map of the Argentine Republic, which hung upon the wall. I had practically exhausted2 its capabilities3 when the door opened, and a tall, military-looking man emerged and passed out into the street.
“What name shall I say, sir?” inquired the clerk, as he descended4 from his high stool and approached me.
“Fairfax,” I replied, giving him my card. “I think the manager will know my name.”
The clerk disappeared to return a few moments later with the request that I would follow him. Preparing myself for what I fully5 expected would be a scene, I entered the director’s sanctum. It was a handsome room, and was evidently used as a Boardroom as well as an office, for there was a long table in the middle, surrounded by at least a dozen chairs. At the furthest end a gentleman of venerable appearance was seated. He rose as I entered, and bowed to me.
“In what way can I be of service to you, Mr. Fairfax?” he inquired, after I had seated myself.
“I am afraid there has been a mistake,” I answered, looking about me for Mr. Bayley. “I told the clerk that I desired to see the managing director.”
“You are seeing him,” he returned with a smile, “for I am he.”
“In that case I must have misunderstood the gentleman who called upon me two days ago,” I replied, with some surprise.
“Do I understand you to say that a gentleman from this office called upon you?”
“Yes, a Mr. Bayley, a tall, good-looking man, of between thirty-eight and forty years of age.”
The old gentleman stared, as well he might.
“But there is no Mr. Bayley here,” he said. “We have no one of that name in our employ. I fear the man, whoever he was, must have been playing a trick upon you. I sincerely trust he has done no damage. Might I ask what he called upon you about?”
“He called on me on behalf of your Company,” I answered. “He informed me that for some time past you have ascertained6 the gravest suspicions concerning the manager of your mines in the Argentine. He said that information had reached your ears to the effect that the man in question was in league with a notorious swindler in New York, and, though you could not bring any proved charge against him, you were equally certain that he was robbing you in order to fill his own pockets. He appeared to be most anxious to persuade me to go to the Republic at once in order that I might inquire into matters and report to you. I was to be away three months, and was to be paid five thousand pounds and my expenses for my trouble.”
“My good sir, this is really preposterous,” the old gentleman returned. “I can positively7 assure you that there is not a word of truth in his assertion. Our manager in the Argentine is an old and valued friend, and I would stake my life on his fidelity8. Nothing would induce us to think even of sending a detective out to spy upon him.”
“I am beginning to believe that I should like to meet Mr. Bayley again,” I remarked. “He has a fine imagination, and, from what you tell me, it seems that I should have looked a fool had I gone out to South America on such an errand.”
“It would have been exceedingly inconvenient9 not only for you, but also for us,” said the manager. “I shall report this matter at the Board meeting to-day. We must endeavour to discover who this man is, and also his reasons for acting10 as he has done. Should we hear anything further upon the subject, we will at once communicate with you.”
“I should be glad if you will do so,” I replied. “I should like to get this matter cleared up as soon as possible. There may be something behind it that we do not understand.”
I thanked him for the interview, and then took my departure, more puzzled by it than I had been by anything for a long time. When I reached my office I took the card from a drawer, which Mr. Edward Bayley had sent to me, and despatched it by special messenger to the office of the famous mining company. That afternoon another surprise was in store for me. Shortly after lunch, and when I was in the middle of a letter to Kitwater, a message was received through the telephone to the effect that the managing director of the Santa Cruz Mining Company, whom I had seen that morning, was on his way to call upon me.
“Something has evidently come to light,” I reflected. “Perhaps the mystery surrounding Mr. Edward Bayley is about to be cleared up, for I must confess I do not like the look of it.”
A quarter of an hour later the manager was ushered11 into my presence.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Fairfax,” he said. “I have come to ask you, if you will permit me, a few questions, and also to tell you that I think we have discovered who it is that is masquerading as the occupant of my position. You gave me this morning a rough description of the individual who called upon you, can you recall anything particular about his appearance. Any strange mark, for instance. Anything by which we should be able to swear to his identity?”
“I would swear to his identity anywhere, without a mark” I replied. “But since you do mention it, I remember that he had a small triangular12 scar upon his left cheek.”
“Then it is the same man after all,” said the manager. “That is certainly extraordinary. When our secretary spoke13 to me about him after you had left I had my doubts; now, however, they are quite removed. Why he should have called upon you in such a guise14 is a question I cannot for the life of me answer with any sort of satisfaction.”
“Perhaps you will be a little more explicit,” I said. “You have not told me yet how it is that you have been able to locate the gentleman in question. This morning you must remember you had no sort of remembrance of him.”
“In that case you must forgive me,” he replied. “As a matter of fact I was so much carried away by my excitement that I could think of nothing else. However, I have promised you the story, and you shall have it. Some years ago, eight or ten perhaps, we had a young man working for us in the Argentine as an overseer. He was in many respects a brilliant young fellow, and would doubtless have done well for himself in time, had he been able to go straight. Unfortunately, however, he did not do so. He went from bad to worse. At last he was caught in a flagrant piece of dishonesty, and was immediately discharged. When I tell you that that young man had a mark such as you described upon his cheek, you may be able to derive15 some idea of what follows.”
“Might it not be a pure coincidence?” I replied.
“Not in this case, I fancy,” he answered. “What makes me the more inclined to believe that it is the same individual, is the fact that our secretary met him in Leadenhall Street only a few days ago. He looked older, but had evidently prospered16 in the world. As a matter of fact, Warner described him as being irreproachably17 dressed, and turned out. I trust his good fortune was honestly come by; but I must own, from what I know of him, that I have my doubts.”
“But what possible reason could this individual have for calling upon me, and why should he have made me such an offer as I have described to you?”
The director shook his head. The question was evidently beyond him.
“I can assign no sort of reason for it,” he said, “unless he has some hope of being able to get you out of England for a time.”
“I don’t see how that could benefit him,” I replied. “I am connected with no case in which he has any sort of interest.”
“You never can tell,” the old gentleman replied. “From what I know of him, Gideon Hayle was always----”
“Gideon what?” I cried, springing to my feet. “Did I understand you to say Gideon Hayle?”
“That’s the name of the young man of whom I have been speaking to you,” he replied. “But what makes you so excited.”
“Because I can understand everything now?” I declared. “Good heavens! what an idiot I have been not to have seen the connection before! Now I know why Gideon Hayle tried to lure18 me out of England with his magnificent offer. Now I see why he set these roughs upon me. It’s all as plain as daylight!”
“I am afraid I do not quite understand,” said my companion in his turn. “But it is quite evident to me that you know more of Hayle’s past life than I do!”
“I should think I did,” I replied. “By Jove, what a blackguard the man must be! He robbed his two partners of enormous wealth in China, left them in the hands of the Chinese to be tortured and maimed for life, and now that he knows that I am acting for them in order to recover their treasure, he endeavours to put me out of the way. But you’ve not done it yet, Mr. Hayle,” I continued, bringing my fist down with a bang upon the table, “and what’s more, clever as you may be, you are not likely to accomplish such an end. You’ll discover that I can take very good care of myself, but before very long you’ll find that you are being taken care of by somebody else.”
“This is a strange affair indeed, Mr. Fairfax,” said the manager, “and it is evident that I have been of some assistance to you. I need not say that I am very glad, the more so because it is evident that our Company is not involved in any system of fraud. I will not disguise from you that I had my fears that it was the beginning of trouble for us all.”
“You may disabuse19 your mind of that once and for all,” I answered. “If there is any trouble brewing20 it is for our friend, Mr. Hayle. That gentleman’s reckoning is indeed likely to be a heavy one. I would not stand in his shoes for something.”
There was a brief and somewhat uncomfortable pause.
“And now allow me to wish you a very good-afternoon,” the old gentleman observed.
“Good-afternoon,” I replied, “and many thanks for the service you have rendered me. It has helped me more than I can say.”
“Pray don’t mention it, my dear sir, don’t mention it,” replied the kindly21 old gentleman, as he moved towards the door. “I am very glad to have been useful to you.”
When he had gone I sat down at my desk to think. I had had a good many surprises in my life, but I don’t know that I had ever been more astonished than I was that afternoon. If only I had been aware of Hayle’s identity when he had called upon me two mornings before, how simply everything might have been arranged! As a matter of fact I had been talking with the very man I had been paid to find, and, what was worse, had even terminated the interview myself. When I realized everything, I could have kicked myself for my stupidity. Why should I have suspected him, however? The very boldness of his scheme carried conviction with it! Certainly, Mr. Gideon Hayle was a foeman worthy22 of my steel, and I began to realize that, with such a man to deal with, the enterprise I had taken in hand was likely to prove a bigger affair than I had bargained for.
“Having failed in both his attempts to get me out of the way, his next move will be to leave England with as little delay as possible,” I said to myself. “If only I knew in what part of London he was staying, I’d ransack23 it for him, if I had to visit every house in order to do so. As it is, he has a thousand different ways of escape, and unless luck favours me, I shall be unable to prevent him from taking his departure.”
At that moment there was a tap at the door and my clerk entered the room.
“Mr. Kitwater and Mr. Codd to see you, sir.”
“Show them in,” I said, and a moment later the blind man and his companion were ushered into my presence.
Codd must have divined from the expression upon my face that I was not pleased to see them.
“You must forgive me for troubling you again so soon,” said Kitwater, as he dropped into the chair I had placed for him, “but you can understand that we are really anxious about the affair. Your letter tells us that you discovered that Hayle was in London a short time since, and that he had realized upon some of the stones. Is it not possible for you to discover some trace of his whereabouts?”
“I have not been able to do that yet,” I answered. “It will be of interest to you, however, to know that he called upon me here in this room, and occupied the chair you are now sitting in, three days ago.”
Kitwater clutched the arm of the chair in question and his face went as white as his beard.
“In this room three days ago, and sitting in your presence,” he cried. “Then you know where he is, and can take us to him?”
“I regret that such a thing is out of my power,” I answered. “The man came into and left this room without being hindered by me.”
Kitwater sprang to his feet with an oath that struck me as coming rather oddly from the lips of a missionary24.
“I see it all. You are in league with him,” he cried, his face suffused25 with passion. “You are siding with him against us. By God you are, and I’ll have you punished for it. You hoodwinked us, you sold us. You’ve taken our money, and now you’ve gone over and are acting for the enemy.”
I opened the drawer of my table and took out the envelope he had given me when he had called. For a reason of my own, I had not banked the note it contained.
“Excuse me, Mr. Kitwater,” I said, speaking as calmly as I could, “but there seems to be a little misunderstanding. I have not sold you, and I have not gone over to the enemy. There is the money you gave me, and I will not charge you anything for the little trouble I have been put to. That should convince you of my integrity. Now perhaps you will leave my office, and let me wash my hands of the whole affair.”
I noticed that little Codd placed his hand upon the other’s arm. It travelled down until their hands met. I saw that the blind man was making an effort to recover his composure, and I felt sure that he regretted ever having lost it. A moment later Codd came across the room to my table, and, taking up a piece of paper, wrote upon it the following words —
“Kitwater is sorry, I am sure. Try to forgive him. Remember what he has suffered through Hayle.”
The simplicity26 of the message touched me.
“Pray sit down a minute, Mr. Kitwater,” I said, “and let me put myself right with you. It is only natural that you should get angry, if you think I have treated you as you said just now. However, that does not happen to be the case. I can assure you that had I known who Hayle was, I should have taken very good care that he did not leave this office until you had had an interview with him. Unfortunately, however, I was not aware of his identity. I have encountered some bold criminals in my time. But I do not know that I have ever had a more daring one than the man who treated you so badly.”
I thereupon proceeded to give him a rough outline of Hayle’s interview with myself, and his subsequent treatment of me. Both men listened with rapt attention.
“That is Hayle all over,” said Kitwater when I had finished. “It is not his fault that you are not a dead man now. He will evade27 us if he possibly can. The story of the roughs you have just told us shows that he is aware that you are on the trail, and, if I know him at all, he will try the old dodge28, and put running water between you and himself as soon as possible. As I said to you the other day, he knows the world as well as you know London, and, in spite of what people say, there are still plenty of places left in it where he can hide and we shall never find him. With the money he stole from us he can make himself as comfortable as he pleases wherever he may happen to be. To sum it all up, if he gets a week’s start of us, we shall never set eyes on him again.”
“If that is so we must endeavour to make sure that he does not get that start,” I replied. “I will have the principal ports watched, and in the meantime will endeavour to find out where he has stowed himself away in London. You may rest assured of one thing, gentlemen, I took this matter up in the first place as an ordinary business speculation29. I am now going on for that reason and another. Mr. Hayle tried a trick on me that I have never had attempted before, and for the future he is my enemy as well as yours. I hope I have set myself right with you now. You do not still believe that I am acting in collusion with him?”
“I do not,” Kitwater answered vehemently30. “And I most humbly31 apologize for having said what I did. It would have served me right if you had thrown the case up there and then, and I regard it as a proof of your good feeling towards us that you consent to continue your work upon it. To-day is Friday, is it not? Then perhaps by Sunday you may have something more definite to tell us.”
“It is just possible, I may,” I returned.
“In that case I am instructed by my niece to ask if you will give us the pleasure of your company at Bishopstowe on that day. After the toils32 of London, a day in the country will do you no harm, and needless to say we shall be most pleased to see you.”
I remembered the girl’s pretty face and the trim neat figure. I am not a lady’s man, far from it, nevertheless I thought that I should like to renew my acquaintance with her.
“I shall be very pleased to accept Miss Kitwater’s invitation, provided I have something of importance to communicate,” I said. “Should I not be able to come, you will of course understand that my presence is required in London or elsewhere. My movements must of necessity be regulated by those of Mr. Hayle, and while I am attending to him I am not my own master.”
Kitwater asked me one or two more questions about the disposal of the gems33 to the merchants in Hatton Garden, groaned34 as I describe the enthusiasm of the dealers35, swore under his breath when he heard of Hayle’s cunning in refusing to allow either his name or address to be known, and then rose and bade me good-bye.
During dinner that evening I had plenty to think about. The various events of the day had been so absorbing, and had followed so thick and fast upon each other, that I had little time to seriously digest them. As I ate my meal, and drank my modest pint36 of claret, I gave them my fullest consideration. As Kitwater had observed, there was no time to waste if we desired to lay our hands upon that slippery Mr. Hayle. Given the full machinery37 of the law, and its boundless38 resources to stop him, it is by no means an easy thing for a criminal to fly the country unobserved; but with me the case was different. I had only my own and the exertions39 of a few and trusted servants to rely upon, and it was therefore impossible for us to watch all the various backdoors leading out of England at once. When I had finished my dinner I strolled down the Strand40 as far as Charing41 Cross Station. Turner was to leave for St. Petersburg that night by the mail-train, and I had some instructions to give him before his departure. I found him in the act of attending to the labelling of his luggage, and, when he had seen it safely on the van, we strolled down the platform together. I warned him of the delicate nature of the operation he was about to undertake, and bade him use the greatest possible care that the man he was to watch did not become aware of his intentions. Directly he knew for certain that this man was about to leave Russia, he was to communicate with me by cypher, and with my representative in Berlin, and then follow him with all speed to that city himself. As I had good reason to know, he was a shrewd and intelligent fellow, and one who never forgot any instructions that might be given him. Knowing that he was a great votary42 of the Goddess Nicotine43, I gave him a few cigars to smoke on the way to Dover.
“Write to me immediately you have seen your man,” I said. “Remember me to Herr Schneider, and if you should see----”
I came to a sudden stop, for there, among the crowd, not three carriage-lengths away from me, a travelling-rug thrown over his shoulder, and carrying a small brown leather bag in his hand, stood Gideon Hayle. Unfortunately, he had already seen me, and almost before I realized what he was doing, he was making his way through the crowd in the direction of the main entrance. Without another word to Turner, I set off in pursuit, knowing that he was going to make his bolt, and that if I missed him now it would probably be my last chance of coming to grip with him. Never before had the platform seemed so crowded. An exasperating44 lady, with a lanky45 youth at her side, hindered my passage, porters with trucks piled with luggage barred the way just when I was getting along nicely; while, as I was about to make my way out into the courtyard, and idiotic46 Frenchman seized me by the arm and implored47 me to show him “ze office of ze money-changaire.” I replied angrily that I did not know, and ran out into the portico48, only to be in time to see Gideon Hayle take a seat in a hansom. He had evidently given his driver his instructions, for the man whipped up his horse, and went out of the yard at a speed which, at any other hour, would certainly have got him into trouble with the police. I called up another cab and jumped into it, promising49 the man a sovereign as I did so, if he would keep the other cab in sight, and find out for me its destination.
“Right ye are, sir,” the cabman replied. “You jest leave that to me. I won’t let him go out of my sight.”
Then we, in our turn, left the yard of the station, and set off eastwards50 along the Strand in pursuit. Both cabmen were sharp fellows and evidently familiar with every twist and turn of their famous London. In my time I have had a good many curious drives in one part of the world and another, but I think that chase will always rank first. We travelled along the Strand, about a hundred yards behind the other vehicle, then turned up Southampton Street, through Covent Garden by way of Henrietta Street into Long Acre. After that I cannot pretend to have any idea of the direction we took. I know that we passed through Drury Lane, crossed High Holborn, to presently find ourselves somewhere at the back of Gray’s Inn. The buildings of the Parcels’ Post Depot51 marked another stage in our journey. But still the other cab did not show any sign of coming to a standstill. Leaving Mount Pleasant behind us, we entered that dingy52 labyrinth53 of streets lying on the other side of the Clerkenwell House of Detention54. How much longer was the chase going to last? Then, to my delight, the other cab slackened its pace, and eventually pulled up before a small public-house. We were so close behind it that we narrowly escaped a collision. I sprang out, and ran to the other vehicle in order to stop Hayle before he could alight.
“Wot’s up, guvner?” asked the cabman. “Don’t go a worritting of yourself. There’s nobody inside.”
He was quite right, the cab was empty!
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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capabilities
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| n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力 | |
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descended
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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inconvenient
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| adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的 | |
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acting
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ushered
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triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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prospered
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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irreproachably
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lure
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disabuse
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brewing
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kindly
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worthy
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ransack
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missionary
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suffused
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simplicity
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evade
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dodge
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speculation
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vehemently
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humbly
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toils
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| 网 | |
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gems
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groaned
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dealers
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pint
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machinery
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boundless
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exertions
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strand
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charing
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| n.炭化v.把…烧成炭，把…烧焦( char的现在分词 )；烧成炭，烧焦；做杂役女佣 | |
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votary
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| n.崇拜者；爱好者；adj.誓约的，立誓任圣职的 | |
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nicotine
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| n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱 | |
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44
exasperating
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| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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45
lanky
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| adj.瘦长的 | |
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idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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47
implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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portico
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| n.柱廊，门廊 | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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50
eastwards
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| adj.向东方（的），朝东（的）；n.向东的方向 | |
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51
depot
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| n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站 | |
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52
dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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53
labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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detention
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| n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下 | |
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