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here on his wayā€”elsewhere. And soā€”I took the chance. Now

thenā€”what are you going to give me?ā€

 

Mrs. Mallathorpe, whose nervous agitation was becoming more and more

marked, wrung her hands.

 

ā€œIā€™ve nothing to give!ā€ she cried. ā€œYou know very well heā€™s had the

management of everythingā€”I donā€™t know how things areā€“-ā€

 

ā€œStuff!ā€ exclaimed Esther. ā€œI know better than that. Youā€™ve a lot of

ready money in that desk thereā€”you know you drew a lot out of the bank

some time ago, and itā€™s there now. You kept it for a contingencyā€”the

contingencyā€™s here. Andā€”youā€™ve your ringsā€”the diamond and ruby

ringsā€”I know what theyā€™re worth! Come on, nowā€”I mean to have the whole

lot, so itā€™s no use hesitating.ā€

 

Mrs. Mallathorpe looked at the maidā€™s bold and resolute eyesā€”and then

at the papers. And she glanced from eyes and papers to a bright fire

which burned in the grate close by.

 

ā€œYouā€™ll give everything up?ā€ she asked nervously.

 

ā€œPut those banknotes that youā€™ve got in your desk, and those rings that

are in your jewel-case, on the table between us,ā€ answered Esther, ā€œand

Iā€™ll hand over these papers on the instant! Iā€™m not going to be such a

fool as to keep themā€”not I! Come on, now!ā€”isnā€™t this the chance youā€™ve

wanted?ā€

 

Mrs. Mallathorpe drew a small bunch of keys from her gown, and went over

to the desk which Esther had pointed to. Within a minute she was back

again at the table, a roll of bank notes in one hand, half a dozen

magnificent rings in the other. She put both hands halfway across and

unclasped them. And Esther Mawson, with a light laugh, threw the papers

over the table, and hastily swept their price into her handbag.

 

Mrs. Mallathorpeā€™s nerves suddenly became steady. With a deep sigh she

caught up the various documents and looked them quickly and thoroughly

over. Then she tore them into fragments and flung the fragments in the

fireā€”and as they blazed up, she turned and looked at Esther Mawson in a

way which made Esther shrink a little. But she was already at the

doorā€”and she opened it and walked out and down the stair.

 

She was halfway across the hall beneath, where the butler and one of

the footmen were idly talking, when a sharp cry from above made her then

look up. Mrs. Mallathorpe, suddenly restored to life and energy, was

leaning over the balustrade.

 

ā€œStop that woman, you men!ā€ she said. ā€œSeize her! Fasten her up!ā€”lock

the door wherever you put her! Sheā€™s stolen my rings, and a lot of money

out of my desk! And telephone instantly to Barford, and tell them to

send the police hereā€”at once!ā€

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE WOMAN IN BLACK

 

Nesta Mallathorpe, who had just arrived in Barford when Eldrick caught

sight of her, was seriously startled as he and Collingwood came running

up to her carriage. The solicitor entered it without ceremony or

explanation, and turning to the coachman bade him drive back to

Normandale as fast as he could make his horses go. Meanwhile Collingwood

turned to Nesta. ā€œDonā€™t be alarmed!ā€ he said. ā€œSomething is happening at

the Grangeā€”your mother has just telephoned to the police here to go

there at onceā€”there they areā€”in front of us, in that car!ā€

 

ā€œDid my mother say if she was in danger?ā€ demanded Nesta.

 

ā€œShe canā€™t be!ā€ exclaimed Eldrick, turning from the coachman, as the

horses were whipped round and the carriage moved off. ā€œShe evidently

gave orders for the message. Noā€”Prattā€™s there! Andā€”but of course, you

donā€™t knowā€”the police want Pratt. Theyā€™ve been searching for him since

noon. Heā€™s wanted for murder!ā€

 

ā€œDonā€™t frighten Miss Mallathorpe,ā€ said Collingwood. ā€œThe murder has

nothing to do with present events,ā€ he went on reassuringly. ā€œItā€™s

something that happened some time ago. Donā€™t be afraid about your

motherā€”there are plenty of people round her, you know.ā€

 

ā€œI canā€™t help feeling anxious if Pratt is there,ā€ she answered. ā€œHow did

he come to be there? Itā€™s not an hour since I left home. This is all

some of Esther Mawsonā€™s work! And we shall have to wait nearly an hour

before we know what is going on!ā€”itā€™s all uphill work to Normandale,

and the horses canā€™t do it in the time.ā€

 

ā€œEldrick!ā€ said Collingwood, as the carriage came abreast of the Central

Station and a long line of motorcars. ā€œStop the coachman! Letā€™s get one

of those carsā€”we shall get to Normandale twice as quickly. The main

thing is to relieve Miss Mallathorpe of anxiety. Now!ā€ he went on, as

they hastily left the carriage and transferred themselves to a car

quickly scented by Eldrick as the most promising of the lot. ā€œTell the

driver to go as fast as he canā€”the other carā€™s not very far in

frontā€”tell him to catch it up.ā€

 

Eldrick leaned over and gave his orders.

 

ā€œIā€™ve told him not only to catch him up, but to get in front of ā€˜em,ā€ he

said, settling down again in his seat. ā€œThis is a better car than

theirs, and we shall be there first. Now, Miss Mallathorpe, donā€™t you

botherā€”this is probably going to be the clearing-up point of

everything. One feels certain, at any rateā€”Pratt has reached the end of

his tether!ā€

 

ā€œIf I seem to bother,ā€ replied Nesta, ā€œitā€™s because I know that he and

Esther Mawson are at Normandaleā€”working mischief.ā€

 

ā€œWe shall be there in half an hour,ā€ said Collingwood, as their own car

ran past that in which the detectives and Byner were seated. ā€œThey canā€™t

do much mischief in that time.ā€

 

None of the three spoke again until the car pulled up suddenly at the

gates of Normandale Park. The lodge-keeper, an old man, coming out to

open them, approached the door of the car on seeing Nesta within.

 

ā€œThereā€™s a young woman just gone up to the house that wants to see you

very particular, miss,ā€ he said. ā€œI tellā€™d her that youā€™d gone to

Barford, but she said sheā€™d come a long way, and sheā€™d wait till you

come back. Sheā€™s going across the park thereā€”crossinā€™ yon path.ā€

 

He pointed over the level sward to the slight figure of a woman in

black, who was obviously taking a near cut up to the Grange. Nesta

looked wonderingly across the park as the car cleared the gate and went

on up the drive.

 

ā€œWho can she be?ā€ she said musingly. ā€œA woman from a long wayā€”to see

me?ā€

 

ā€œSheā€™ll get to the house soon after we reach it,ā€ said Eldrick. ā€œLetā€™s

attend to this more pressing business first. We should know whatā€™s afoot

here in a minute or two.ā€

 

But it was somewhat difficult to make out or to discover what really was

afoot. The car stopped at the hall door: the second car came close

behind it; Nesta, Collingwood, Eldrick, Byner, and the detectives poured

into the hallā€”encountered a much mystified-looking butler, a couple of

footmen, and the groom whose services Esther Mawson had requisitioned,

and who, weary of waiting for her, had come up to the house.

 

ā€œWhatā€™s all this?ā€ asked Eldrick, taking the situation into his own

hands. ā€œWhatā€™s the matter? Why did you send for the police?ā€

 

ā€œMrs. Mallathorpeā€™s orders, sir,ā€ answered the butler, with an

apologetic glance at his young mistress. ā€œReally, sir, I donā€™t

knowā€”exactlyā€”what is the matter! We are all so confused! What happened

was, that not very long after Miss Mallathorpe had left for town in the

carriage, Esther Mawson, the maid, came downstairs from Mrs.

Mallathorpeā€™s room, and was crossing the lower part of the hall, when

Mrs. Mallathorpe suddenly appeared up there and called to me and James

to stop her and lock her up, as sheā€™d stolen money and jewels! We were

to lock her up and telephone for the police, sir, and to add that Mr.

Pratt was here.ā€

 

ā€œWell?ā€ demanded Eldrick.

 

ā€œWe did lock her up, sir! Sheā€™s in my pantry,ā€ continued the butler,

ruefully. ā€œWeā€™ve got her in there because there are bars to the

windowsā€”she canā€™t get out of that. A terrible time we had, too,

sirā€”she fought us likeā€”like a maniac, protesting all the time that

Mrs. Mallathorpe had given her what she had on her. Of course, sir, we

donā€™t know what she may have on herā€”we simply obeyed Mrs. Mallathorpe.ā€

 

ā€œWhere is Mrs. Mallathorpe?ā€ asked Collingwood. ā€œIs she safe?ā€

 

ā€œOh, quite safe, sir!ā€ replied the butler. ā€œShe returned to her room

after giving those orders. Mrs. Mallathorpe appeared to beā€”quite calm,

sir.ā€

 

Prydale pushed himself forwardā€”unceremoniously and insistently.

 

ā€œKeep that woman locked up!ā€ he said. ā€œFirst of allā€”whereā€™s Pratt?ā€

 

ā€œMrs. Mallathorpe said he would be found in a room in the old part of

the house,ā€ answered the butler, shaking his head as if he were

thoroughly mystified. ā€œShe said you would find him fast asleepā€”Mawson

had drugged him!ā€

 

Prydale looked at Byner and at his fellow-detectives. Then he turned to

the butler.

 

ā€œCome on!ā€ he said brusquely. ā€œTake us there at once!ā€ He glanced at

Eldrick. ā€œIā€™m beginning to see through it, Mr. Eldrick!ā€ he whispered.

ā€œThis maidā€™s caught Pratt for us. Letā€™s hope heā€™s stillā€“-ā€

 

But before he could say more, and just as the butler opened a door which

led into a corridor at the rear of the hall, a sharp crack which was

unmistakably that of a revolver, rang through the house, waking equally

sharp echoes in the silent room. And at that, Nesta hurried up the

stairway to her motherā€™s apartment, and the men, after a hurried glance

at each other, ran along the corridor after the butler and the footmen.

 

Pratt came out of his stupor much sooner than Esther Mawson had reckoned

on. According to her previous experiments with the particular drug which

she had administered to him, he ought to have remained in a profound and

an undisturbed slumber until at least five oā€™clock. But he woke at

fourā€”woke suddenly, sharply, only conscious at first of a terrible pain

in his head, which kept him groaning and moaning in his chair for a

minute or two before he fairly realized where he was and what had

happened. As the pain became milder and gave way to a dull throbbing and

a general sense of discomfort, he looked round out of aching eyes and

saw the bottle of sherry. And so dull were his wits that his only

thought at first was that the wine had been far stronger than he had

known, and that he had drunk far too much of it, and that it had sent

him to sleepā€”and just then his wandering glance fell on some papers

which Esther Mawson had taken from one of his pockets and thrown aside

as of no value.

 

He leapt to his feet, trembling and sweating. His hands, shaking as if

smitten with a sudden palsy, went to his pocketsā€”he tore off his coat

and turned his pockets out, as if touch and feeling were not to be

believed, and his eyes must see that there was really nothing there.

Then he snatched up the papers on the floor and found nothing but

letters, and odd scraps of unimportant memoranda. He stamped his feet on

those things, and began to swear and curse, and finally to sob and

whine. The shock of his discovery had driven all his stupefaction away

by that time, and he knew what had happened. And his whining and sobbing

was not that of despair, but the far worse and fiercer sobbing and

whining of rage and terrible anger. If the woman who had tricked him had

been there he would have torn her limb from limb, and have glutted

himself with revenge. Butā€”he was alone.

 

And

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