The Lone Wolf - Louis Joseph Vance (year 7 reading list txt) š
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after that I was terribly afraid. I could feel myself goingātaking
leave of my sensesāand I knew I must act if we were not to follow that
otherā¦ God! what a death!ā
He paused, shuddered, and drew the back of his hand across his eyes
before continuing: āSo I cut off the ignition and volplaned. Hereāmy
hand. So-o! All right, eh?ā
āOh, Iām all right,ā Lanyard insisted confidently.
But his confidence was belied by a look of daze; for the earth was
billowing and reeling round him as though bewitched; and before he knew
what had happened he sat down hard and stared foolishly up at the aviator.
āHere!ā said the latter courteously, his wind-mask hiding a smileāāmy
hand again, monsieur. Youāve endured more than you know. And now for
mademoiselle.ā
But when they approached the girl, she surprised both by shivering,
sitting up, and obviously pulling herself together.
āYou feel better now, mademoiselle?ā Vauquelin enquired, hastening to
loosen her fastenings.
āIām betterāyes, thank you,ā she admitted in a small, broken
voiceāābut not yet quite myself.ā
She gave a hand to the aviator, the other to Lanyard, and as they
helped her to the ground, Lanyard, warned by his experience, stood by
with a ready arm.
She needed that support, and for a few minutes didnāt seem even
conscious of it. Then gently disengaging, she moved a foot or two away.
āWhere are weādo you know?ā
āOn the South Downs, somewhere?ā Lanyard suggested, consulting
Vauquelin.
āThat is probable,ā this last affirmedāāat all events, judging from
the course I steered. Somewhere well in from the coast, at a venture;
I donāt hear the sea.ā
āNear Lewes, perhaps?ā
āI have no reason to doubt that.ā
A constrained pause ensued. The girl looked from the aviator to Lanyard,
then turned away from both and, trembling with fatigue and enforcing
self-control by clenching her hands, stared aimlessly off into the mist.
Painfully, Lanyard set himself to consider their position.
The Parrott had come to rest in what seemed to be a wide, shallow,
saucer-like depression, whose irregular bounds were cloaked in fog. In
this space no living thing stirred save themselves; and the waste was
crossed by not so much as a sheep track. In brief, they were lost.
There might be a road running past the saucer ten yards from its brim
in any quarter. There might not. Possibly there was a town or village
immediately adjacent. Quite as possibly the Downs billowed away for
desolate miles on either hand.
āWellāwhat do we do now?ā the girl demanded suddenly, in a nervous
voice, sharp and jarring.
āOh, weāll find a way out of this somehow,ā Vauquelin asserted
confidently. āEngland isnāt big enough for anybody to remain lost in
itānot for long, at all events. Iām sorry only on Miss Shannonās
account.ā
āWeāll manage, somehow,ā Lanyard affirmed stoutly.
The aviator smiled curiously. āTo begin with,ā he advanced, āI daresay
we might as well get rid of these awkward costumes. Theyāll hamper
walkingārather.ā
In spite of his fatigue Lanyard was so struck by the circumstances that
he couldnāt help remarking it as he tore off his wind-veil.
āYour English is remarkably good, Captain Vauquelin,ā he observed.
The other laughed shortly.
āWhy not?ā said he, removing his mask.
Lanyard looked up into his face, stared, and fell back a pace.
āWertheimer!ā he gasped.
XXVII DAYBREAKThe Englishman smiled cheerfully in response to Lanyardās cry of
astonishment.
āIn effect,ā he observed, stripping off his gauntlets, āyouāre right,
Mr. Lanyard. āWertheimerā isnāt my name, but it is so closely
identified with myāahāinsinuative personality as to warrant the
misapprehension. I shanāt demand an apology so long as you permit me to
preserve an incognito which may yet prove somewhat useful.ā
āIncognito!ā Lanyard stammered, utterly discountenanced. āUseful!ā
āYou have my meaning exactly; although my work in Paris is now ended,
thereās no saying when it may not be convenient to be able to go back
without establishing a new identity.ā
Before Lanyard replied to this the look of wonder in his eyes had
yielded to one of understanding.
āScotland Yard, eh?ā he queried curtly.
Wertheimer bowed. āSpecial agent,ā he added.
āI might have guessed, if Iād had the wit of a goose!ā Lanyard affirmed
bitterly. āBut I must admitā¦ā
āYes,ā the Englishman assented pleasantly; āI did pull your legādidnāt
I? But not more than our other friends. Of course, itās taken some
time: I had to establish myself firmly as a shining light of the swell
mob over here before De Morbihan would take me to his hospitable bosom.ā
āI presume Iām to consider myself under arrest?ā
With a laugh, the Englishman shook his head vigorously.
āNo, thank you!ā he declared. āIāve had too convincing proof of your
distaste for interference in your affairs. You fight too sincerely,
Mr. Lanyardāand Iām a tired sleuth this very morning as ever was! I
would need a weekās rest to fit me for the job of taking you into
custodyāa week and some able-bodied assistance!ā¦ But,ā he amended
with graver countenance, āI will say this: if youāre in England a week
hence, Iāll be tempted to undertake the job on general principles. I
donāt in the least question the sincerity of your intention to behave
yourself hereafter; but as a servant of the King, itās my duty to
advise you that England would prefer you to start life anewāas they
sayāin another country. Several steamers sail for the States before
the end of the week: further details I leave entirely to your
discretion. But go you must,ā he concluded firmly.
āI understandā¦ā said Lanyard; and would have said more, but couldnāt.
There was something suspiciously like a mist before his eyes.
Avoiding the faces of his sweetheart and the Englishman, he turned
aside, put forth a hand blindly to a wing of the biplane to steady
himself, and stood with head bowed and limbs trembling.
Moving quietly to his side, the girl took his other hand and held it
tightā¦.
Presently Lanyard shook himself impatiently and lifted his head again.
āSorry,ā he said, apologeticāābut your generosityāwhen I looked for
nothing better than arrestāwas a bit too much for my nerves!ā
āNonsense!ā the Englishman commented with brusque good-humour. āWeāre
all upset. A drop of brandy will do us no end of good.ā
Unbuttoning his leather surtout, he produced a flask from an inner
pocket, filled its metal cup, and offered it to the girl.
āYou first, if you please, Miss Shannon. NoāI insist. You positively
need it.ā
She allowed herself to be persuaded, drank, coughed, gasped, and
returned the cup, which Wertheimer promptly refilled and passed to
Lanyard.
The raw spirits stung like fire, but proved an instant aid to the badly
jangled nerves of the adventurer. In another moment he was much more
himself.
Drinking in turn, Wertheimer put away the flask. āThatās better!ā he
commented. āNow Iāll be able to cut along with this blessed machine
without fretting over the fate of Ekstrom. But till now I havenāt been
able to forgetā-ā
He paused and drew a hand across his eyes.
āIt was, then, Ekstromāyou think?ā Lanyard demanded.
āUnquestionably! De Morbihan had learnedāI knowāof your bargain with
Ducroy; and I know, too, that he and Ekstrom spent each morning in the
hangars at St. Germain, after your sensational evasion. It never
entered my head, of course, that they had any such insane scheme
brewing as thatāelse I would never have so giddily arranged with
Ducroyāthrough the Sļæ½retļæ½, you understandāto take Vauquelinās
placeā¦. Besides, who else could it have been? Not De Morbihan, for
heās crippled for life, thanks to that affair in the Bois; not
Popinot, who was on his way to the Santļæ½, last I saw of him; and never
Bannonāhe was dead before I left Paris for Port Aviation.ā
āDead!ā
āOh, quite!ā the Englishman affirmed nonchalantly, āWhen we arrested
him at three this morningācharged with complicity in the murder of
Roddyāhe flew into a passion that brought on a fatal haemorrhage. He
died within ten minutes.ā
There was a little silenceā¦.
āI may tell you, Mr. Lanyard,ā the Englishman resumed, looking up from
the motor, to which he was paying attentions with monkey-wrench and
oil-can, āthat you were quite off your bat when you ridiculed the idea
of the āInternational Underworld Unlimited.ā Of course, if you hadnāt
laughed, I shouldnāt feel quite as much respect for you as I do; in
fact, the chances are youād be in handcuffs or in a cell of the Santļæ½,
this very minuteā¦. But, absurd as it soundedāand wasāthe
āUnderworldā project was a pet hobby of Bannonāsāwhoād been the brains
of a gang of criminals in New York for many years. He was a bit touched
on the subject: a monomaniac, if you ask me. And his enthusiasm won De
Morbihan and Popinot over ā¦ and me! He took a wonderful fancy to me,
Bannon did; I really was appointed first-lieutenant in Greggsā
steadā¦. So you first won my sympathy by laughing at my offer,ā said
Wertheimer, restoring the oil-can to its place in the tool-kit;
āwherein you were very wiseā¦. In fact, my personal feeling for you is
one of growing esteem, if youāll permit me to say so. Youāve most of
the makings of a man. Will you shake handsāwith a copperās nark?ā
He gave Lanyardās hand a firm and friendly grasp, and turned to the girl.
āGood-bye, Miss Shannon. Iām truly grateful for the assistance you gave
us. Without you, weād have been sadly handicapped. I understand you have
sent in your resignation? Itās too bad: the Service will feel the loss
of you. But I think you were right to leave us, the circumstances
consideredā¦. And now itās good-bye and good luck! I hope you may be
happyā¦. Iām sure you canāt go far without coming across a highroad or
a village; butāfor reasons not unconnected with my professionāI prefer
to remain in ignorance of the way you go.ā
Releasing her hand, he stepped back, saluted the lovers with a smile
and gay gesture, and clambered briskly to the pilotās seat of the
biplane.
When firmly established, he turned the switch of the starting mechanism.
The heavy, distinctive hum of the great motor filled that isolated
hollow in the Downs like the purring of a dynamo.
With a final wave of his hand, Wertheimer grasped the starting-lever.
Its brool deepening, the Parrott stirred, shot forward abruptly. In
two seconds it was fifty yards distant, its silhouette already blurred,
its wheels lifting from the rim of the hollow.
Then lightly it leaped, soared, parted the mists, vanishedā¦.
For some time Lanyard and Lucy Shannon remained motionless, clinging
together, hand-in-hand, listening to the drone that presently dwindled
to a mere thread of sound and died out altogether in the obscurity
above them.
Then, turning, they faced each other, smiling a trace uncertainly, a
smile that said: āSo all that is finished! ā¦ Or, perhaps, we dreamed
it!āā¦
Suddenly, with a low cry, the girl gave herself to Lanyardās arms; and
as this happened the mists parted and bright sunlight flooded the
hollow in the Downs.
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