Except, perhaps, that he used slightly less hair-oil than most, he seemed just the ordinary man about town as he sat in his dressing-gown one fine summer morning and smoked a cigarette. His rooms were furnished quietly and in the best of taste. No signs of his nefarious profession showed themselves to the casual visitor. The appealing letters from the Princess whom he was blackmailing, the wire apparatus which shot the two of spades down his sleeve during the c.o.o.n-can nights at the club, the thimble and pea with which he had performed the three-card trick so successfully at Epsom last week--all these were hidden away from the common gaze. It was a young gentleman of fashion who lounged in his chair and toyed with a priceless straight-cut.
There was a tap at the door, and Masters, his confidential valet, came in.
"Well," said Lionel, "have you looked through the post?"
"Yes, Sir," said the man. "There"s the usual cheque from Her Highness, a request for more time from the lady in t.i.te Street with twopence to pay on the envelope, and banknotes from the Professor as expected. The young gentleman of Hill Street has gone abroad suddenly, Sir."
"Ah!" said Lionel, with a sudden frown. "I suppose you"d better cross him off our list, Masters."
"Yes, Sir. I had ventured to do so, Sir. I think that"s all, except that Mr. Snooks is glad to accept your kind invitation to dinner and bridge to-night. Will you wear the hair-spring coat, Sir, or the metal clip?"
Lionel made no answer. He sat plunged in thought. When he spoke it was about another matter.
"Masters," he said, "I have found out Lord Fairlie"s secret at last. I shall go to see him this afternoon."
"Yes, Sir. Will you wear your revolver, Sir, as it"s a first call?"
"I think so. If this comes off, Masters, it will make our fortune."
"I hope so, I"m sure, Sir." Masters placed the whisky within reach and left the room silently.
Alone, Lionel picked up his paper and turned to the Agony Column.
As everybody knows, the Agony Column of a daily paper is not actually so domestic as it seems. When "--Mother--" apparently says to "--Floss--,"
"Come home at once. Father gone away for week. Bert and Sid longing to see you," what is really happening is that Barney Hoker is telling Jud Batson to meet him outside the Duke of Westminster"s little place at 3 a.m. precisely on Tuesday morning, not forgetting to bring his jemmy and a dark lantern with him. And Floss"s announcement next day, "Coming home with George," is Jud"s way of saying that he will turn up all right, and half thinks of bringing his automatic pistol with him too, in case of accidents.
In this language--which, of course, takes some little learning--Lionel Norwood had long been an expert. The advertis.e.m.e.nt which he was now reading was unusually elaborate:
"Lost, in a taxi between Baker Street and Shepherd"s Bush, a gold-mounted umbrella with initials "J. P." on it. If Ellen will return to her father immediately all will be forgiven. White spot on foreleg.
Mother very anxious and desires to return thanks for kind enquiries.
Answers to the name of Ponto. _Bis dat qui cito dat._"
What did it mean? For Lionel it had no secrets. He was reading the revelation by one of his agents of the skeleton in Lord Fairlie"s cupboard!
Lord Fairlie was one of the most distinguished members of the Cabinet.
His vein of high seriousness, his lofty demeanour, the sincerity of his manner, endeared him not only to his own party, but even (astounding as it may seem) to a few high-minded men upon the other side, who admitted, in moments of expansion which they probably regretted afterwards, that he might, after all, be as devoted to his country as they were. For years now his life had been without blemish. It was impossible to believe that even in his youth he could have sown any wild oats; terrible to think that these wild oats might now be coming home to roost.
"What do you require of me?" he said courteously to Lionel, as the latter was shown into his study.
Lionel went to the point at once.
"I am here, my lord," he said, "on business. In the course of my ordinary avocations"--the parliamentary atmosphere seemed to be affecting his language--"I ascertained a certain secret in your past life which, if it were revealed, might conceivably have a not undamaging effect upon your career. For my silence in this matter I must demand a sum of fifty thousand pounds."
Lord Fairlie had grown paler and paler as this speech proceeded.
"What have you discovered?" he whispered. Alas! he knew only too well what the d.a.m.ning answer would be.
"_Twenty years ago_," said Lionel, "_you wrote a humorous book._"
Lord Fairlie gave a strangled cry. His keen mind recognised in a flash what a hold this knowledge would give his enemies. _Shafts of Folly_, his book had been called. Already he saw the leading articles of the future:
"We confess ourselves somewhat at a loss to know whether Lord Fairlie"s speech at Plymouth yesterday was intended as a supplement to his earlier work, _Shafts of Folly_, or as a serious offering to a nation impatient of levity in such a crisis...."
"The Cabinet"s jester, in whom twenty years ago the country lost an excellent clown without gaining a statesman, was in great form last night...."
"Lord Fairlie has amused us in the past with his clever little parodies; he may amuse us in the future; but as a statesman we can only view him with disgust...."
"Well?" said Lionel at last. "I think your lordship is wise enough to understand. The discovery of a sense of humour in a man of your eminence----"
But Lord Fairlie was already writing out the cheque.
LV. THE EXPLORER
As the evening wore on--and one young man after another asked Jocelyn Montrevor if she were going to Ascot, what? or to Henley, what? or what?
she wondered more and more if this were all that life would ever hold for her. Would she never meet a man, a real man who had done something?
These boys around her were very pleasant, she admitted to herself; very useful, indeed, she added, as one approached her with some refreshment; but they were only boys.
"Here you are," said Freddy, handing her an ice in three colours. "I"ve had it made specially cold for you. They only had the green, pink and yellow jerseys left; I hope you don"t mind. The green part is a.r.s.enic, I believe. If you don"t want the wafer I"ll take it home and put it between the sashes of my bedroom window. The rattling kept me awake all last night. That"s why I"m looking so ill, by-the-way."
Jocelyn smiled kindly and went on with her ice.
"That reminds me," Freddy went on, "we"ve got a nut here to-night. The genuine thing. None of your society Barcelonas or suburban Filberts. One of the real Cob family; the driving-from-the-sixth-tee, inset-on-the-right, and New-Year"s-message-to-the-country touch. In short, a celebrity."
"Who?" asked Jocelyn eagerly. Perhaps here was a man.
"Worrall Brice, the explorer. Don"t say you haven"t heard of him or Aunt Alice will cry."
Heard of him? Of course she had heard of him. Who hadn"t?
Worrall Brice"s adventures in distant parts of the empire would have filled a book--had, in fact, already filled three. A glance at his flat in St. James" Street gave you some idea of the adventures he had been through. Here were the polished spurs of his companion in the famous ride through Australia from south to north--all that had been left by the cannibals of the Wogga-Wogga River after their banquet. Here was the poisoned arrow which, by the merciful intervention of Providence, just missed Worrall and pierced the heart of one of his black attendants, the post-mortem happily revealing the presence of a new and interesting poison. Here, again, was the rope with which he was hanged by mistake as a spy in South America--a mistake which would certainly have had fatal results if he had not had the presence of mind to hold his breath during the performance. In yet another corner you might see his favourite mascot, a tooth of the shark which bit him off the coast of China. Spears, knives and guns lined the walls; every inch of the floor was covered by skins. His flat was typical of the man--a man who had done things.
"Introduce him to me," commanded Jocelyn. "Where is he?"
She looked up suddenly and saw him entering the ballroom. He was of commanding height and his face was the face of the man who has been exposed to the forces of Nature. The wind, the waves, the sun, the mosquito had set their mark upon him. Down one side of his cheek was a newly healed scar, a scratch from a hippopotamus in its last death-struggle. A legacy from a bison seared his brow.
He walked with the soft, easy tread of the python, or the Pathan, or some animal with a "pth" in it. Probably I mean the panther. He bore himself confidently, and his mouth was a trap from which no superfluous word escaped. He was the strong, silent man of Jocelyn"s dreams.
"Mr. Worrall Brice, Miss Montrevor," said Freddy, and left them.
Worrall Brice bowed and stood beside her with folded arms, his gaze fixed above her head.
"I shall not expect you to dance," said Jocelyn, with a confidential smile which implied that he and she were above such frivolities. As a matter of fact, he could have taught her the Wogga-Wogga one-step, the Bimbo, the Kiyi, the Ju-bu, the Head-hunter"s Hug and many other cannibalistic steps which, later on, were to become the rage of London and the basis of a revue.
"I have often imagined you as you kept watch over your camp," she went on, "and I have seemed myself to hear the savages and lions roaring outside the circle of fire, what time in the swamps the crocodiles were barking."