Ranson's Folly (Fiscle Part 3), Richard Harding Davis [best novel books to read TXT] 📗

For The House,  And Inspector Lyle Himself Was

Despatched To The Home Of Lord Edam,  Chetney's Father,  With A Warrant

For Lord Arthur's Arrest. I Was Thanked And Dismissed On My Own

Recognizance.

 

"This Morning,  Inspector Lyle Called On Me,  And From Him I Learned

The Police Theory Of The Scene I Have Just Described.

 

"Apparently,  I Had Wandered Very Far In The Fog,  For Up To Noon To-

Day The House Had Not Been Found,  Nor Had They Been Able To Arrest

Lord Arthur. He Did Not Return To His Father's House Last Night,  And

There Is No Trace Of Him; But From What The Police Knew Of The Past

Lives Of The People I Found In That Lost House,  They Have Evolved A

Theory,  And Their Theory Is That The Murders Were Committed By Lord

Arthur.

 

"The Infatuation Of His Elder Brother,  Lord Chetney,  For A Russian

Princess,  So Inspector Lyle Tells Me,  Is Well Known To Everyone.

About Two Years Ago The Princess Zichy,  As She Calls Herself,  And He

Were Constantly Together,  And Chetney Informed His Friends That They

Were About To Be Married. The Woman Was Notorious In Two Continents,

And When Lord Edam Heard Of His Son's Infatuation He Appealed To The

Police For Her Record.

 

"It Is Through His Having Applied To Them That They Know So Much

Concerning Her And Her Relations With The Chetneys. From The Police

Lord Edam Learned That Madame Zichy Had Once Been A Spy In The Employ

Of The Russian Third Section,  But That Lately She Had Been Repudiated

By Her Own Government And Was Living By Her Wits,  By Blackmail,  And

By Her Beauty. Lord Edam Laid This Record Before His Son,  But Chetney

Either Knew It Already Or The Woman Persuaded Him Not To Believe In

It,  And The Father And Son Parted In Great Anger. Two Days Later The

Marquis Altered His Will,  Leaving All Of His Money To The Younger

Brother,  Arthur.

 

"The Title And Some Of The Landed Property He Could Not Keep From

Chetney,  But He Swore If His Son Saw The Woman Again That The Will

Should Stand As It Was,  And He Would Be Left Without A Penny.

 

"This Was About Eighteen Months Ago,  When,  Apparently,  Chetney Tired

Of The Princess,  And Suddenly Went Off To Shoot And Explore In

Central Africa. No Word Came From Him,  Except That Twice He Was

Reported As Having Died Of Fever In The Jungle,  And Finally Two

Traders Reached The Coast Who Said They Had Seen His Body. This Was

Accepted By All As Conclusive,  And Young Arthur Was Recognized As The

Part 3 Title 1 (Ranson's Folly) Pg 124

Heir To The Edam Millions. On The Strength Of This Supposition He At

Once Began To Borrow Enormous Sums From The Money-Lenders. This Is Of

Great Importance,  As The Police Believe It Was These Debts Which

Drove Him To The Murder Of His Brother. Yesterday,  As You Know,  Lord

Chetney Suddenly Returned From The Grave,  And It Was The Fact That

For Two Years He Had Been Considered As Dead Which Lent Such

Importance To His Return And Which Gave Rise To Those Columns Of

Detail Concerning Him Which Appeared In All The Afternoon Papers.

But,  Obviously,  During His Absence He Had Not Tired Of The Princess

Zichy,  For We Know That A Few Hours After He Reached London He Sought

Her Out. His Brother,  Who Had Also Learned Of His Reappearance

Through The Papers,  Probably Suspected Which Would Be The House He

Would First Visit,  And Followed Him There,  Arriving,  So The Russian

Servant Tells Us,  While The Two Were At Coffee In The Drawing-Room.

The Princess,  Then,  We Also Learn From The Servant,  Withdrew To The

Dining-Room,  Leaving The Brothers Together. What Happened One Can

Only Guess.

 

"Lord Arthur Knew Now That When It Was Discovered He Was No Longer

The Heir,  The Moneylenders Would Come Down Upon Him. The Police

Believe That He At Once Sought Out His Brother To Beg For Money To

Cover The Post-Obits,  But That,  Considering The Sum He Needed Was

Several Hundreds Of Thousands Of Pounds,  Chetney Refused To Give It

Him. No One Knew That Arthur Had Gone To Seek Out His Brother. They

Were Alone. It Is Possible,  Then,  That In A Passion Of

Disappointment,  And Crazed With The Disgrace Which He Saw Before Him,

Young Arthur Made Himself The Heir Beyond Further Question. The Death

Of His Brother Would Have Availed Nothing If The Woman Remained

Alive. It Is Then Possible That He Crossed The Hall,  And,  With The

Same Weapon Which Made Him Lord Edam's Heir,  Destroyed The Solitary

Witness To The Murder. The Only Other Person Who Could Have Seen It

Was Sleeping In A Drunken Stupor,  To Which Fact Undoubtedly He Owed

His Life. And Yet," Concluded The Naval Attache,  Leaning Forward And

Marking Each Word With His Finger,  "Lord Arthur Blundered Fatally. In

His Haste He Left The Door Of The House Open,  So Giving Access To The

First Passer-By,  And He Forgot That When He Entered It He Had Handed

His Card To The Servant. That Piece Of Paper May Yet Send Him To The

Gallows. In The Meantime,  He Has Disappeared Completely,  And

Somewhere,  In One Of The Millions Of Streets Of This Great Capital,

In A Locked And Empty House,  Lies The Body Of His Brother,  And Of The

Woman His Brother Loved,  Undiscovered,  Unburied; And With Their

Murder Unavenged."

 

In The Discussion Which Followed The Conclusion Of The Story Of The

Naval Attache,  The Gentleman With The Pearl Took No Part. Instead,  He

Arose,  And,  Beckoning A Servant To A Far Corner Of The Room,

Whispered Earnestly To Him Until A Sudden Movement On The Part Of Sir

Andrew Caused Him To Return Hurriedly To The Table.

 

"There Are Several Points In Mr. Sears's Story I Want Explained," He

Cried. "Be Seated,  Sir Andrew," He Begged. "Let Us Have The Opinion

Of An Expert. I Do Not Care What The Police Think,  I Want To Know

What You Think."

 

Part 3 Title 1 (Ranson's Folly) Pg 125

But Sir Andrew Rose Reluctantly From His Chair.

 

"I Should Like Nothing Better Than To Discuss This," He Said. "But It

Is Most Important That I Proceed To The House. I Should Have Been

There Some Time Ago." He Turned Toward The Servant And Directed Him

To Call A Hansom.

 

The Gentleman With The Pearl Stud Looked Appealingly At The Naval

Attache. "There Are Surely Many Details That You Have Not Told Us,"

He Urged. "Some You Have Forgotten."

 

The Baronet Interrupted Quickly.

 

"I Trust Not," He Said,  "For I Could Not Possibly Stop To Hear Them."

 

"The Story Is Finished," Declared The Naval Attache; "Until Lord

Arthur Is Arrested Or The Bodies Are Found There Is Nothing More To

Tell Of Either Chetney Or The Princess Zichy."

 

"Of Lord Chetney,  Perhaps Not," Interrupted The Sporting-Looking

Gentleman With The Black Tie,  "But There'll Always Be Something To

Tell Of The Princess Zichy. I Know Enough Stories About Her To Fill A

Book. She Was A Most Remarkable Woman." The Speaker Dropped The End

Of His Cigar Into His Coffee-Cup And,  Taking His Case From His

Pocket,  Selected A Fresh One. As He Did So He Laughed And Held Up The

Case That The Others Might See It. It Was An Ordinary Cigar-Case Of

Well-Worn Pig-Skin,  With A Silver Clasp.

 

"The Only Time I Ever Met Her," He Said,  "She Tried To Rob Me Of

This."

 

The Baronet Regarded Him Closely.

 

"She Tried To Rob You?" He Repeated.

 

"Tried To Rob Me Of This," Continued The Gentleman In The Black Tie,

"And Of The Czarina's Diamonds." His Tone Was One Of Mingled

Admiration And Injury.

 

"The Czarina's Diamonds!" Exclaimed The Baronet. He Glanced Quickly

And Suspiciously At The Speaker,  And Then At The Others About The

Table. But Their Faces Gave Evidence Of No Other Emotion Than That Of

Ordinary Interest.

 

"Yes,  The Czarina's Diamonds," Repeated The Man With The Black Tie.

"It Was A Necklace Of Diamonds. I Was Told To Take Them To The

Russian Ambassador In Paris,  Who Was To Deliver Them At Moscow. I Am

A Queen's Messenger," He Added.

 

"Oh,  I See," Exclaimed Sir Andrew,  In A Tone Of Relief. "And You Say

That This Same Princess Zichy,  One Of The Victims Of This Double

Murder,  Endeavored To Rob You Of--Of--That Cigar-Case."

 

"And The Czarina's Diamonds," Answered The Queen's Messenger,

Part 3 Title 1 (Ranson's Folly) Pg 126

Imperturbably. "It's Not Much Of A Story,  But It Gives You An Idea Of

The Woman's Character. The Robbery Took Place Between Paris And

Marseilles."

 

The Baronet Interrupted Him With An Abrupt Movement. "No,  No," He

Cried,  Shaking His Head In Protest. "Do Not Tempt Me. I Really Cannot

Listen. I Must Be At The House In Ten Minutes."

 

"I Am Sorry," Said The Queen's Messenger. He Turned To Those Seated

About Him. "I Wonder If The Other Gentlemen--" He Inquired,

Tentatively. There Was A Chorus Of Polite Murmurs,  And The Queen's

Messenger,  Bowing His Head In Acknowledgment,  Took A Preparatory Sip

From His Glass. At The Same Moment The Servant To Whom The Man With

The Black Pearl Had Spoken,  Slipped A Piece Of Paper Into His Hand.

He Glanced At It,  Frowned,  And Threw It Under The Table.

 

The Servant Bowed To The Baronet.

 

"Your Hansom Is Waiting,  Sir Andrew," He Said.

 

"The Necklace Was Worth Twenty Thousand Pounds," Began The Queen's

Messenger,  "It Was A Present From The Queen Of England To Celebrate--

" The Baronet Gave An Exclamation Of Angry Annoyance.

 

"Upon My Word,  This Is Most Provoking," He Interrupted. "I Really

Ought Not To Stay. But I Certainly Mean To Hear This." He Turned

Irritably To The Servant. "Tell The Hansom To Wait," He Commanded,

And,  With An Air Of A Boy Who Is Playing Truant,  Slipped Guiltily

Into His Chair.

 

The Gentleman With The Black Pearl Smiled Blandly,  And Rapped Upon

The Table.

 

"Order,  Gentlemen," He Said. "Order For The Story Of The Queen's

Messenger And The Czarina's Diamonds."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ii

 

 

 

 

 

"The Necklace Was A Present From The Queen Of England To The Czarina

Of Russia," Began The Queen's Messenger. "It Was To Celebrate The

Occasion Of The Czar's Coronation. Our Foreign Office Knew That The

Russian Ambassador In Paris Was To Proceed To Moscow For That

Ceremony,  And I Was Directed To Go To Paris And Turn Over The

Necklace To Him. But When I Reached Paris I Found He Had Not Expected