The Talleyrand Maxim - J. S. Fletcher (best ebook reader ubuntu txt) š
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name of the devil did it mean? At any rate, he must see to himself. One
thing was certaināno search for Parrawhite must be permitted in
Barford.
That evening, instead of going home to dinner, Pratt remained in town,
and dined at a quiet restaurant. When he dined, he thought, and planned,
and schemedāand after treating himself very well in the matter of food
and drink, he lighted a cigar, returned to his new offices, opened a
safe which he had just set up, and took from a drawer in it a hundred
pounds in banknotes. With these in his pocket-book he went off to a
quiet part of the townāthe part in which James Parrawhite had lodged
during his stay in Barford.
Pratt turned into a somewhat mean and shabby streetāa street of small,
poor-class shops. He went forward amongst them until he came to one
which, if anything, was meaner and shabbier than the others and bore
over its window the name Reuben MurgatroydāWatchmaker and Jeweller.
There were few signs of jewellery in Reuben Murgatroydās windowāsome
cheap clocks, some foreign-made watches of the five-shilling and
seven-and-six variety, a selection of flashy rings and chains were
spread on the shelves, equally cheap and flashy bangles, bracelets, and
brooches lay in dust-covered trays on the sloping bench beneath them. At
these things Pratt cast no more than a contemptuous glance. But he
looked with interest at the upper part of the window, in which were
displayed numerous gaily-coloured handbills and small posters relating
to shippingāchiefly in the way of assisted passages to various parts of
the globe. These set out that you could get an assisted passage to
Canada for so much; to Australia for not much moreāand if the bills and
posters themselves did not tell you all you wanted to know, certain big
letters at the foot of each invited you to apply for further information
to Mr. R. Murgatroyd, agent, within. And Pratt pushed open the shop-door
and walked inside.
An untidily dressed, careworn, anxious-looking man came forward from a
parlour at the rear of his shop. At sight of Prattāwho in the course of
business had once served him with a writāhis pale face flushed, and
then whitened, and Pratt hastened to assure him of his peaceful errand.
āAll right, Mr. Murgatroyd,ā he said. āNothing to be alarmed aboutāIām
out of that line, nowāno papers of that sort tonight. Iāve a bit of
business I can put in your handsāprofitable business. Look here!āhave
you got a quarter of an hour to spare?ā
Murgatroyd, who looked greatly relieved to find that his visitor had
neither writ nor summons for him, glanced at his parlour door.
āI was just going to put the shutters up, and sit down to a bite of
supper, Mr. Pratt,ā he answered. āWill you come in, sir?ā
āNoāyou come out with me,ā said Pratt. āCome round to the _Coach and
Horses_, and have a drink and we can talk. Youāll have a better appetite
for your supper when you come back,ā he added, with a wink. Iāve a
profitable job for you.ā
āGlad to hear it, sir,ā replied Murgatroyd. āI can do with aught of that
sort, I assure you!ā He went into the parlour, said a word or two to
some person within, and came out again. āNot much business doing at
present, Mr. Pratt,ā he said, as he and his visitor turned into the
street. āGets slacker than ever.ā
āThen youāll do with a slice of good luck,ā remarked Pratt. āIt just
happens that I can put a bit in your way.ā
He led Murgatroyd to the end of the street, where stood a corner tavern,
into a side-door of which Pratt turned as if he were well acquainted
with the geography of the place. Walking down a narrow passage he
conducted his companion into a small parlour, at that moment untenanted,
pointed him to a seat in the corner, and rang the bell. Five minutes
later, having provided Murgatroyd with rum and water and a cigar, he
turned on him with a direct question.
āLook here!ā he said in a low voice. āWould a hundred pounds be any use
to you?ā
Murgatroydās cheeks flushed.
āIt āud be a fortune!ā he answered with fervour. āA hundred pound! Lorā
bless you, Mr. Pratt, itās many a year since I saw a hundred poundāof
my ownāall in one lump!ā
Pratt pulled out his roll of banknotes, fluttered it in his companionās
face, laid it on the table, and set an ashtray on it.
āThereās a hundred pounds there!ā he said, āItās yours to pick upāif
youāll do a little job for me. Easy job, too!āyouāll never earn a
hundred pounds so easy in your life!ā
Murgatroyd pricked up his ears. According to his ideas, money easily
come by was seldom honestly earned. He stirred uncomfortably in his
seat.
āSo long as itās a straight job,ā he muttered. āI donāt wantā-ā
āStraight enoughāas straight as itās easy,ā answered Pratt. āIt may
seem a bit mysterious, but thereās reasons for that. I give you my word
itās all rightāall a mere bit of diplomacyāand that nobodyāll ever
know youāre in itāthat is, beyond a certain stageāand that thereās no
danger to you.ā
āWhat is it?ā asked Murgatroyd, still uneasy and doubtful.
Pratt pulled the evening paper out of his pocket and showed Murgatroyd
the advertisement signed Halstead & Byner.
āYou see that?ā he said. āInformation wanted about Parrawhite. Do you
remember Parrawhite? He once served you with some papers in that affair
in which we were against you.ā
āI remember him,ā answered Murgatroyd. āIāve seen him in here now and
again. So heās wanted, is he? I didnāt know heād left the town.ā
āLeft last November,ā said Pratt. āAndāthere are folksāinfluential
folks, as you can guess, seeing that they can throw a hundred pounds
away!āwho donāt want any inquiries made for him in Barford. They donāt
mindāthose folksāhow many inquiries and searches are made for him
anywhere else, butānot here!ā
āWell?ā asked Murgatroyd anxiously.
āThis is it,ā replied Pratt. āYou do a bit now and then as agent for
some of these shipping lines. You book passages for emigrantsāand for
other people, going to New Zealand or Canada or Timbuctooānever mind
where. Now thenācouldnāt you rememberāIām sure you couldāthat you
booked a passage for Parrawhite to America last November? Come! Itās an
easy matter to remember is thatāfor a hundred pounds.ā
Murgatroydās thin fingers trembled a little as he picked up his glass.
āWhat do you want me to doāexactly?ā he asked.
āThis!ā said Pratt. āI want you, tomorrow morning, early, to send a
telegram to these people, Halstead & Byner, St. Martinās Chambers,
London, just saying that James Parrawhite left Barford for America on
November 24th last, and that you can give further information if
necessary.ā
āAnd what if it is necessary?ā inquired Murgatroyd.
āThenāin answer to any letter or telegram of inquiryāyouāll just say
that you knew Parrawhite by sight as a clerk at Eldrick & Pascoeās in
this town, that on November 23rd he told you that he was going to
emigrate to America, that next day you booked him his passage, for which
he paid you whatever it was, and that he thereupon set off for
Liverpool. See?ā
āItās all lies, you know,ā muttered Murgatroyd.
āNobody can find āem out, anyway,ā replied Pratt. āThatās the one
important thing to consider. Youāre safe! And if youāre cursed with a
conscience and itās tenderāwell, thatāll make a good plaister for it!ā
He pointed to the little wad of banknotesāand the man sitting at his
side followed the pointing finger with hungry eyes. Murgatroyd wanted
money badly. His business, always poor, was becoming worse: his shipping
agency rarely produced any result: his rent was in arrears: he owed
money to his neighbour-tradesmen: he had a wife and young children. To
such a man, a hundred pounds meant relief, comfort, the lifting of
pressure.
āYouāre sure thereās naught wrong in it, Mr. Pratt,ā he asked abruptly
and assiduously. āIt āud be a bad job for my family if anything happened
to me, you know.ā
āThereās naught that will happen,ā answered Pratt confidently. āWho on
earth can contradict you? Who knows what people you sell passages
toābut yourself?ā
āThereās the folks themselves,ā replied Murgatroyd. āSuppose Parrawhite
turns up?ā
āHe wonāt!ā exclaimed Pratt.
āYou know where he is?ā suggested Murgatroyd.
āNot exactly,ā said Pratt, āButāheās left this country for
anotherāfurther off than America. Thatās certain! Andāthe folks I
referred to donāt want any inquiry about him here.ā
āIf I am asked questionsālaterāam I to say he booked in his own name?ā
inquired Murgatroyd.
āNoāname of Parsons,ā responded Pratt. āHere, Iāll write down for you
exactly what I want you to say in the telegram to Halstead & Byner, and
Iāll make a few memoranda for youāto post you up in case they write for
further information.ā
āI havenāt said that Iāll do it,ā remarked Murgatroyd. āI donāt like the
looks of it. Itās all a pack of lies.ā
Pratt paid no heed to this moral reflection. He found some loose paper
in his pocket and scribbled on it for a while. Then, as if accidentally,
he moved the ashtray, and the banknotes beneath it, all new, gave
forth a crisp, rustling sound.
āHere you are!ā said Pratt, pushing notes and memoranda towards his
companion. āTake the brass, man!āyou donāt get a job like that every
day.ā
And Murgatroyd put the money in his pocket, and presently went home,
persuading himself that everything would be all right.
SMOOTH FACE AND ANXIOUS BRAIN
Byner watched Eldrick and Collingwood inquisitively as they bent over
Halsteadās telegram. He was not surprised when Collingwood merely nodded
in silenceānor when Eldrick turned excitedly in his own direction.
āThere!āwhat did I tell you?ā he exclaimed. āThereās been no murder!
The man left the town. Probably, Pratt helped him off. Couldnāt have
better proof than that wire!ā
āWhat do you take that wire to prove, then, Mr. Eldrick?ā asked Byner.
āTake it to prove!ā answered Eldrick. āWhy, that Parrawhite booked a
passage to America with this man Murgatroyd, last November. Clear
enough, that!ā
āWhat do you take it to prove, Mr. Collingwood?ā continued the inquiry
agent, as he turned to the barrister with a smile.
āBefore I take it for anything,ā replied Collingwood, āI want to know
who Murgatroyd is.ā
Byner looked at Eldrick and laughed.
āPrecisely!ā he said. āWho is Murgatroyd? Perhaps Mr. Eldrick knows.ā
āI do just know that heās a man who carries on a small watch and clock
business in a poorish part of the town, and that he has some sort of a
shipping agency,ā answered Eldrick. āButādo you mean to imply that
whatever message it is that heās sent to your partner in London this
morning has not been sent in good faith?ā
āI donāt imply anything,ā answered Byner. āAll I say isābefore I attach
any value to his message I, like Collingwood, want to know something
about the sender. He may have been put up to sending it. He may be in
collusion with somebody. Now, Mr. Eldrick, you can come in
hereāstrongly! I donāt want to be seen in this affairāyet. Will you go
and see Murgatroyd? Tell him his wire to Halstead & Byner in London has
been communicated to you here. Ask him for further particularsāand then
drop in on me at my hotel and tell me what youāve learnt. Iāll be found
in the smoking-room there any time after two-thirty onward.ā
Eldrickās intense curiosity in what was rapidly becoming a
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