"Well, you see, sir, Mr. Morley was a detective at one time, and he always finds out what he desires."
"True enough," put in Steel, "Joe Bart is very clever."
"He appears to have been extremely so in this case," said Giles dryly.
"Morley told me," continued Mark, "that Miss Denham knew he suspected her of the murder, and she would not let him see her. If she knew he had come to look her up that she would run away thinking he came to have her arrested. He asked me to tell her to come to a rendezvous near the Abbey without mentioning his name. I thought this was reasonable enough, and wrote a letter."
"And I went with Anne," said Olga. "Where did you go?"
"When you left us I told her that Morley had a message from her father.
She said nothing to me denying the relationship, but she was afraid of Morley. I told her that he had promised not to do her any harm. She was still doubtful. Then Morley appeared. He had been close at hand, and he explained that Denham was very ill. He wished to see Miss Denham and make reparation for his wickedness. There was no time to be lost, Morley said, and he asked her to come at once. She hesitated for a time, and then went with Morley. She told me to wait till the Princess Olga came back and tell her this."
"Why did you not?"
"Because Morley whispered that I was not to do so. I went away in another direction."
"Then why do you tell now?" asked Ware bluntly.
"I wish to be revenged on Denham," said Dane fiercely. "He treated me like a dog, and he shall be bitten by me. Curse him!"
Olga walked to the door. "I shall go now," she said, seeing that Dane was becoming excited and fearing a scene. "You can tell Mr. Steel and Mr. Ware everything, Mark. When Denham is caught and Anne is free, you shall come to Vienna with me. My father shall take you into his service," and with this she held out her hand to him in a regal manner.
Dane kissed it as though it had been the hand of a queen, and when she was out of the room, turned to the two men with a shining face.
"I am ready to tell you everything," he said.
"And betray those who have done you a kindness," muttered Steel. "You would not be an Irish-American if you didn"t. I know the type."
Quite unaware of this uncomplimentary speech, Dane glanced into a near mirror and ran his slim hand through his hair. He cast such a complacent look at his reflection that Giles could not forbear a smile. The man was a compound of treachery, courage, and vanity. He had some virtues and not a few vices, and was one of those irresponsible creatures who develop into Anarchists. But that the Scarlet Cross Society had attracted his talents in the direction of a kind of coast piracy, he would without doubt have been employed in blowing up kings or public buildings. Giles thought with a grim smile that if Olga took this creature to Austria, Prince Karacsay would have some work to keep him in order. Dane was not the man to settle to a dull, respectable existence or to earn his bread without a little excitement. A dangerous man, and the more dangerous from his enormous vanity and utter want of moral principle.
Having made Steel promise not to arrest him, nor to make any use of his revelations to endanger his own liberty, Dane cheerfully proceeded to betray those he had sworn secrecy to. Wicked as was the gang, and evil as was the purpose of its formation, Giles could not help feeling a contempt for the traitor. There should be honor amongst thieves, thought Ware. But Dane did not believe in the proverb, and explained himself quite complacently.
"I met Denham--as he usually called himself many years ago in Italy--at Milan," said Dane; "he had a house there. His daughter--let us call Miss Anne his daughter, although I am glad to hear she is not--lived with him. She was then about fifteen and was at school at a convent. She and I got on very well. I adored her for her beauty and kindness of heart. I was starving for want of money, as my remittances had not arrived from America. Denham took me in. I made myself useful, so there was no charity about the matter."
"Still, he took you in," suggested Giles, "that was kind."
"A kindness to himself," retorted Dane. "I tell you, sir, Denham wanted what he called a secretary and what I called a tool. He found such a one in me. I don"t deny that I did all his dirty work, but I had some feeling of grat.i.tude because he rescued me from starvation."
"You contradict yourself, Dane."
"No, sir, I do not," replied the man, with true Irish obstinacy, "but I"m not here to argue about my conduct but to tell you facts."
"Facts we wish to know," said Steel, taking out his note-book.
"And facts I tell," cried Dane vehemently, then resumed in a calmer tone. "Miss Anne was all day at school. Denham never let her know what a devil he was. He was always kind to her. She thought him a good man.
Then thinking she might get to know too much, he sent her to a convent for education and removed to Florence. There he called himself George Franklin. He told me that he expected to get money by taking that name."
"Then he admitted that he was not George Franklin," said Giles.
"He never admitted anything. At one time he would say that his real name was George Franklin, at another declare he was really Alfred Denham. But he had so many names in the course of his career," added Dane, with a shrug, "that one more or less did not matter. Besides, he was such a liar that I never believed anything he said."
"Not even about the Powell money?"
"Oh, yes, I believed that. He was always swearing at some girl who stood between him and the money. He mentioned her name once. I was with him in England at the time, and set to work to find out. I learned all about Miss Kent and her engagement to you, Mr. Ware."
"And you know all about the Powell money?"
"Yes. I got the truth out of Denham at last, but he never told Miss Anne; nor did he ever mention Miss Kent"s name in her presence; nor did he ever say to me that Miss Anne was not his child. I never thought for a moment she was Franklin"s daughter. And for the matter of that," added Dane carelessly, "I did not know if he was really Denham or Franklin himself."
"But Miss Anne knew nothing of all this?" asked Giles.
"Absolutely nothing. After she went to the Milan convent, Denham would not let her come back to him again. He was afraid lest she should learn what he was and wished to preserve her good opinion. She went out as a governess, and only rarely came home."
"And how did Denham earn his living?"
"Oh, he invented the Scarlet Cross Society. He bought a yacht, and steamed to England from Genoa. For years we put in at different ports, robbed houses and stowed the goods on board. Then we returned to Italy and sold them."
"A clever dodge," murmured Steel. "So that is why the goods were never traced."
"That is why," said Dane, with great coolness. "There was a Jew who took a lot of what we brought. He sold them in the East. But it is too long a story to tell at present. Denham sometimes went to England and sometimes stopped in Florence. When he was away I stayed in his house as George Franklin."
"I see. He wished to prove an _alibi_."
"That"s it," said Dane. "He intended to get that money sometime, and wished that when inquiries were made about George Franklin that it could be proved he was in Florence all the time."
"And then when Powell did die?"
"Denham knew as soon as possible. He had a spy in Australia, and had a cablegram sent to him. Then he arranged a pretended death to get rid of Miss Anne. He did not want her to come into his new life. He treated her well, however, for he left her money, and intended to give her an income when he got the money. Another man was buried in place of Denham and he went to England, where he reappeared as George Franklin to claim the money."
"As Wilson, you mean, to kill the girl who stood between him and the fortune," said Steel, raising his eyes.
Dane shook his head. "I know nothing of that," he said. "From the day Denham left Florence my a.s.sociation with him has severed. I saw Miss Anne, told her about the death of her father, and then went to America.
Denham did not pay me my annuity, and I came back to be revenged. I saw him, but he denies having killed the girl. He says he does not know who committed the murder. I have been earning my bread as I best can, waiting for revenge."
"But you had only to threaten to make all this public to make Denham give you what you wished."
"No." Dane looked uneasy. "The fact is he and some one else have a hold over me. I need not tell you what it is, but I had to be silent."
"But now that you speak he has still the hold."
"Yes. But I intend to ruin myself in order to ruin him," cried Dane fiercely, and rose to his feet. "Well, gentlemen, that is all I can tell you at present. I shall go."
To Giles" surprise, Steel made no objection. "You"ll come and see me again?" he said, opening the door for Dane.
"a.s.suredly," replied that young gentleman, and departed.
Giles looked amazed at this permission to depart being given by the detective. "I should have thought it would be to your interest to keep Dane here," he said. "He has not told us everything yet."
"No," replied Steel, closing his book with a snap, "there is one very interesting detail he has not told us. But the next time we meet I"ll get it out of him. Here," he touched the book, "there is enough to go on with. I"ll go down to the Priory and see the sick Mr. Denham."