Except for that involuntary twitch1 of the eyelids2, Superintendent3 Battle’simpassivity was unimpaired. If he had been surprised at Virginia’s recog-nition of Anthony, he did not show it. He and Lord Caterham stood to-gether and watched those two go out through the garden door. Mr. Fishalso watched them.
“Nice young fellow, that,” said Lord Caterham.
“Vurry nice for Mrs. Revel4 to meet an old friend,” murmured the Amer-ican. “They have been acquainted some time, presoomably?”
“Seems so,” said Lord Caterham. “But I’ve never heard her mention himbefore. Oh, by the way, Battle, Mr. Lomax has been asking for you. He’s inthe Blue Morning room.”
“Very good, Lord Caterham. I’ll go there at once.”
Battle found his way to the Blue Morning room without difficulty. Hewas already familiar with the geography of the house.
“Ah, there you are, Battle,” said Lomax.
He was striding impatiently up and down the carpet. There was oneother person in the room, a big man sitting in a chair by the fireplace. Hewas dressed in very correct English shooting clothes which neverthelesssat strangely upon him. He had a fat yellow face, and black eyes, as impen-etrable as those of a cobra. There was a generous curve to the big noseand power in the square lines of the vast jaw5.
“Come in, Battle,” said Lomax irritably6. “And shut the door behind you.
This is Mr. Herman Isaacstein.”
Battle inclined his head respectfully.
He knew all about Mr. Herman Isaacstein, and though the great finan-cier sat there silent, whilst Lomax strode up and down and talked, heknew who was the real power in the room.
“We can speak more freely now,” said Lomax. “Before Lord Caterhamand Colonel Melrose, I was anxious not to say too much. You understand,Battle? These things mustn’t get about.”
“Ah!” said Battle. “But they always do, more’s the pity.”
Just for a second he saw a trace of a smile on the fat yellow face. It dis-appeared as suddenly as it had come.
“Now, what do you really think of this young fellow — this AnthonyCade?” continued George. “Do you still assume him to be innocent?”
Battle shrugged7 his shoulders very slightly.
“He tells a straight story. Part of it we shall be able to verify. On the faceof it, it accounts for his presence here last night. I shall cable to SouthAfrica, of course, for information about his antecedents.”
“Then you regard him as cleared of all complicity?”
Battle raised a large square hand.
“Not so fast, sir. I never said that.”
“What is your idea about the crime, Superintendent Battle?” askedIsaacstein, speaking for the first time.
His voice was deep and rich, and had a certain compelling quality aboutit. It had stood him in good stead at board meetings in his younger days.
“It’s rather too soon to have ideas, Mr. Isaacstein. I’ve not got beyondasking myself the first question.”
“What is that?”
“Oh, it’s always the same. Motive8. Who benefits by the death of PrinceMichael? We’ve got to answer that before we can get anywhere.”
“The Revolutionary party of Herzoslovakia—” began George.
Superintendent Battle waved him aside with something less than hisusual respect.
“It wasn’t the Comrades of the Red Hand, sir, if you’re thinking of them.”
“But the paper—with the scarlet9 hand on it?”
“Put there to suggest the obvious solution.”
George’s dignity was a little ruffled10.
“Really, Battle, I don’t see how you can be so sure of that.”
“Bless you, Mr. Lomax, we know all about the Comrades of the RedHand. We’ve had our eye on them ever since Prince Michael landed inEngland. That sort of thing is the elementary work of the department.
They’d never be allowed to get within a mile of him.”
“I agree with Superintendent Battle,” said Isaacstein. “We must lookelsewhere.”
“You see, sir,” said Battle, encouraged by this support, “we do know alittle about the case. If we don’t know who gains by his death, we do knowwho loses by it.”
“Meaning?” said Isaacstein.
His black eyes were bent11 upon the detective. More than ever, he re-minded Battle of a hooded12 cobra.
“You and Mr. Lomax, not to mention the Loyalist party of Herzoslov-akia. If you’ll pardon the expression, sir, you’re in the soup.”
“Really, Battle,” interposed George, shocked to the core.
“Go on, Battle,” said Isaacstein. “In the soup describes the situation veryaccurately. You’re an intelligent man.”
“You’ve got to have a king. You’ve lost your king—like that!” He snappedhis large fingers. “You’ve got to find another in a hurry, and that’s not aneasy job. No, I don’t want to know the details of your scheme, the bare out-line is enough for me, but, I take it, it’s a big deal?”
Isaacstein bent his head slowly.
“It’s a very big deal.”
“That brings me to my second question. Who is the next heir to thethrone of Herzoslovakia?”
Isaacstein looked across at Lomax. The latter answered the question,with a certain reluctance13, and a good deal of hesitation14:
“That would be—I should say—yes, in all probability Prince Nicholaswould be the next heir.”
“Ah!” said Battle. “And who is Prince Nicholas?”
“A first cousin of Prince Michael’s.”
“Ah!” said Battle. “I should like to hear all about Prince Nicholas, espe-cially where he is at present.”
“Nothing much is known of him,” said Lomax. “As a young man, he wasmost peculiar15 in his ideas, consorted16 with Socialists17 and Republicans, andacted in a way highly unbecoming to his position. He was sent down fromOxford, I believe, for some wild escapade. There was a rumour18 of hisdeath two years later in the Congo, but it was only a rumour. He turned upa few months ago when news of the royalist reaction got about.”
“Indeed?” said Battle. “Where did he turn up?”
“In America.”
“America!”
Battle turned to Isaacstein with one laconic19 word:
“Oil?”
The financier nodded.
“He represented that if the Herzoslovakians chose a king, they wouldprefer him to Prince Michael as being more in sympathy with modern en-lightened ideas, and he drew attention to his early democratic views andhis sympathy with Republican ideals. In return for financial support, hewas prepared to grant concessions20 to a certain group of American financi-ers.”
Superintendent Battle so far forgot his habitual21 impassivity as to givevent to a prolonged whistle.
“So that is it,” he muttered. “In the meantime, the Loyalist party suppor-ted Prince Michael, and you felt sure you’d come out on top. And then thishappens!”
“You surely don’t think—” began George.
“It was a big deal,” said Battle. “Mr. Isaacstein says so. And I should saythat what he calls a big deal is a big deal.”
“There are always unscrupulous tools to be got hold of,” said Isaacsteinquietly. “For the moment, Wall Street wins. But they’ve not done with meyet. Find out who killed Prince Michael, Superintendent Battle, if you wantto do your country a service.”
“One thing strikes me as highly suspicious,” put in George. “Why did theequerry, Captain Andrassy, not come down with the Prince yesterday?”
“I’ve inquired into that,” said Battle. “It’s perfectly22 simple. He stayed intown to make arrangements with a certain lady, on behalf of Prince Mi-chael, for next weekend. The Baron23 rather frowned on such things, think-ing them injudicious at the present stage of affairs, so His Highness had togo about them in a hole-and-corner manner. He was, if I may say so, in-clined to be a rather—er—dissipated young man.”
“I’m afraid so,” said George ponderously24. “Yes, I’m afraid so.”
“There’s one other point we ought to take into account, I think,” saidBattle, speaking with a certain amount of hesitation. “King Victor’s sup-posed to be in England.”
“King Victor?”
Lomax frowned in an effort at recollection.
“Notorious French crook25, sir. We’ve had a warning from the S?reté inParis.”
“Of course,” said George. “I remember now. Jewel thief, isn’t he? Why,that’s the man—”
He broke off abruptly26. Isaacstein, who had been frowning abstractedlyat the fireplace, looked up just too late to catch the warning glance tele-graphed from Superintendent Battle to the other. But being a man sensit-ive to vibrations27 in the atmosphere, he was conscious of a sense of strain.
“You don’t want me any longer, do you, Lomax?” he inquired.
“No, thank you, my dear fellow.”
“Would it upset your plans if I returned to London, SuperintendentBattle?”
“I’m afraid so, sir,” said the superintendent civilly. “You see, if you go,there will be others who’ll want to go also. And that would never do.”
“Quite so.”
The great financier left the room, closing the door behind him.
“Splendid fellow, Isaacstein,” murmured George Lomax perfunctorily.
“Very powerful personality,” agreed Superintendent Battle.
George began to pace up and down again.
“What you say disturbs me greatly,” he began. “King Victor! I thought hewas in prison?”
“Came out a few months ago. French police meant to keep on his heels,but he managed to give them the slip straightaway. He would too. One ofthe coolest customers that ever lived. For some reason or other, they be-lieve he’s in England, and have notified us to that effect.”
“But what should he be doing in England?”
“That’s for you to say, sir,” said Battle significantly.
“You mean?—You think?—You know the story, of course—ah, yes, I cansee you do. I was not in office, of course, at the time, but I heard the wholestory from the late Lord Caterham. An unparalleled catastrophe28.”
“The Koh-i-noor,” said Battle reflectively.
“Hush, Battle!” George glanced suspiciously round him. “I beg of you,mention no names. Much better not. If you must speak of it, call it the K.”
The superintendent looked wooden again.
“You don’t connect King Victor with this crime, do you, Battle?”
“It’s just a possibility, that’s all. If you cast your mind back, sir, you’ll re-member that there were four places where a—er—certain royal visitormight have concealed29 the jewel. Chimneys was one of them. King Victorwas arrested in Paris three days after the—disappearance, if I may call itthat, of the K. It was always hoped that he would some day lead us to thejewel.”
“But Chimneys has been ransacked30 and overhauled31 a dozen times.”
“Yes,” said Battle sapiently32. “But it’s never much good looking when youdon’t know where to look. Only suppose now, that this King Victor camehere to look for the thing, was surprised by Prince Michael, and shot him.”
“It’s possible,” said George. “A most likely solution of the crime.”
“I wouldn’t go as far as that. It’s possible, but not much more.”
“Why is that?”
“Because King Victor has never been known to take a life,” said Battleseriously.
“Oh, but a man like that—a dangerous criminal—”
But Battle shook his head in a dissatisfied manner.
“Criminals always act true to type, Mr. Lomax. It’s surprising. All thesame—”
“Yes?”
“I’d rather like to question the Prince’s servant. I’ve left him purposelyto the last. We’ll have him in here, sir, if you don’t mind.”
George signified his assent33. The superintendent rang the bell. Tredwellanswered it, and departed with his instructions.
He returned shortly accompanied by a tall fair man with highcheekbones, and very deep-set blue eyes, and an impassivity of counten-ance, which almost rivalled Battle’s.
“Boris Anchoukoff?”
“Yes.”
“You were valet to Prince Michael?”
“I was His Highness’ valet, yes.”
The man spoke34 good English, though with a markedly harsh foreign ac-cent.
“You know that your master was murdered last night?”
A deep snarl35, like the snarl of a wild beast, was the man’s only answer. Italarmed George, who withdrew prudently36 towards the window.
“When did you see your master last?”
“His Highness retired37 to bed at half past ten. I slept, as always, in theanteroom next to him. He must have gone down to the room downstairsby the other door, the door that gave on the corridor. I did not hear himgo. It may be that I was drugged. I have been an unfaithful servant, I sleptwhile my master woke. I am accursed.”
George gazed at him, fascinated.
“You loved your master, eh?” said Battle, watching the man closely.
Boris’ features contracted painfully. He swallowed twice. Then his voicecame, harsh with emotion.
“I say this to you, English policeman, I would have died for him! Andsince he is dead, and I still live, my eyes shall not know sleep, or my heartrest, until I have avenged38 him. Like a dog will I nose out his murderer andwhen I have discovered him—Ah!” His eyes lit up. Suddenly he drew animmense knife from beneath his coat and brandished39 it aloft. “Not all atonce will I kill him—oh no!—first I will slit40 his nose, and cut off his earsand put out his eyes, and then—then, into his black heart, I will thrust thisknife.”
Swiftly he replaced the knife, and turning, left the room. George Lomax,his eyes always protuberant41, but now goggling42 almost out of his head,stared at the closed door.
“Purebred Herzoslovakian, of course,” he muttered. “Most uncivilizedpeople. A race of brigands43.”
Superindentent Battle rose alertly to his feet.
“Either that man’s sincere,” he remarked, “or he’s the best bluffer44 I’veever seen. And if it’s the former, God help Prince Michael’s murdererwhen that human bloodhound gets hold of him.”
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1
twitch
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| v.急拉，抽动，痉挛，抽搐；n.扯，阵痛，痉挛 | |
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2
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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3
superintendent
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| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
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4
revel
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| vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢 | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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6
irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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7
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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8
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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9
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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10
ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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11
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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12
hooded
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| adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的 | |
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13
reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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15
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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16
consorted
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| v.结伴( consort的过去式和过去分词 )；交往；相称；调和 | |
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17
socialists
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| 社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 ) | |
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18
rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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19
laconic
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| adj.简洁的；精练的 | |
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20
concessions
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| n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权 | |
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21
habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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23
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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ponderously
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crook
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| v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处) | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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27
vibrations
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| n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动 | |
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catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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30
ransacked
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| v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺 | |
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31
overhauled
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| v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越 | |
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sapiently
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assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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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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35
snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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36
prudently
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| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
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37
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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38
avenged
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| v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 )；为…报复 | |
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39
brandished
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| v.挥舞( brandish的过去式和过去分词 )；炫耀 | |
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40
slit
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| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
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41
protuberant
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| adj.突出的，隆起的 | |
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42
goggling
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| v.睁大眼睛瞪视， （惊讶的）转动眼珠( goggle的现在分词 ) | |
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43
brigands
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| n.土匪，强盗( brigand的名词复数 ) | |
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44
bluffer
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| n.用假像骗人的人 | |
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