The house next door was smart and well kept, therefore I resolved to make inquiry there.
Of the tall, thin, old man-servant who answered my ring, I inquired the name of the occupant of Althorp House.
"Well, sir," he replied, "there hasn"t been an occupant since I"ve been in service here, and that"s ten years last March. An old lady lived there, I"ve heard--a rather eccentric old lady. They"ve tried to let it furnished, but n.o.body has taken it. It is said that the old lady left instructions in her will that the furniture was to be left just as it was for twenty years after her death. I expect the place must be fine and dirty! An old woman goes there once every six weeks or so, I believe, just to open the doors and let in a little air. But it"s never cleaned."
"And n.o.body has been over it with a view to renting it?"
"Not to my knowledge, sir."
"There"s never been anybody going in or out--eh?"
"Well, I"ve never seen them, sir," was the man"s reply.
"But there have been people coming and going, have there not?"
The man hesitated for a moment, apparently slightly puzzled at my question.
"Well, sir, to tell the truth, there"s been a very funny story about lately. It is said that some of the old woman"s relatives have returned, and they"ve been seen going in and out--but always in the middle of the night."
"What sort of people?" I asked quickly.
"Oh! two men and a woman--so they say. But of course I"ve never seen anybody. I"ve asked the constables on night duty, and they"ve never seen any one, or they would, no doubt, have reported it."
"Then who has seen them?"
"I really don"t know. I heard the gossip over in the Royal Oak. How it originated, or whether it had any foundation in fact, I can"t find out."
"I see the board has fallen down."
"Yes, that"s been down for a couple of months or more--blown down by the wind, I suppose."
"You haven"t heard cabs stopping outside at night, for instance?"
"No, sir. I sleep at the back, and should therefore not hear."
I could see that he was a little uncertain as to the reason of my inquiries, therefore I made an excuse that having been struck by the appearance of the house so long neglected my curiosity had been aroused.
"You"ve never heard of cabs stopping there at night?" I asked, a few moments later.
"Well, this morning the cook, who sleeps upstairs in front, funnily enough, told me a curious story of how in the night a taxi stopped and a gentleman got out and entered the house. A few minutes later another man came forth from the house, paid the taxi-driver, and he moved off. But," laughed the man-servant, "I fancy cook had been dreaming. I"m going to ask the constable when he comes on duty to-night if he saw any strangers here."
I smiled. The man whom the cook saw had evidently been myself.
Then, after a further chat, I pressed half-a-crown into his ready palm and left.
My next visit was to the estate agents in Pall Mall, where, presenting myself as a possible tenant, the clerk at whose table I had taken a seat said--
"Well, sir, Althorp House is in such a bad, neglected state that we do not now-a-days send clients to view it. Old Mrs. Carpenter died some thirteen years ago, and according to her will the place had to be left undisturbed, and let furnished. The solicitors placed it in our hands, but the property until the twenty years have elapsed, is quite untenantable. The whole place has now gone to rack and ruin. We have a number of other furnished houses which I will be most delighted to give you orders to view."
In pretence that I wanted a house I allowed him to select three for me, and while doing so learnt some further particulars regarding the dark house in Porchester Terrace. As far as he knew, the story of Mrs.
Carpenter"s relatives taking secret possession was a myth.
The caretaker had been withdrawn two years ago, and the place simply locked up and left. If burglars broke in, there was nothing of value for them to take, he added.
Thus the result of my inquiries went to confirm my suspicion that the ingenious pair of malefactors had taken possession of the place temporarily, in order to pursue their nefarious plans.
There was a garden at the rear. Might it not also be the grave wherein the bodies of their innocent victims were interred?
That afternoon, at four, I met Jack Marlowe in White"s, and as we sat in our big arm-chairs gazing through the windows out into the sunshine of St. James"s Street, I asked him whether he would be prepared to accompany me upon an adventurous visit to a house in Bayswater.
The long-legged, clean-shaven, clean-limbed fellow with the fairish hair and merry grey eyes looked askance for a moment, and then inquired--
"What"s up, old man? What"s the game?" He was always eager for an adventure, I knew.
"Well, the fact is I want to look around a house in Porchester Terrace, that"s all. I want to search the garden when n.o.body"s about."
"Why?"
"In order to satisfy myself about something."
"Become an amateur detective--eh, Owen?"
"Well, my curiosity has certainly been aroused, and I intend to go to the house late to-night and look round the garden. Will you come?"
He was one of the best of good fellows, overflowing with good humour and good nature. His face seemed to wear a perpetual smile of contentment.
"Of course. But tell me more," he asked.
"I will--afterwards," I said. "Let"s dine together somewhere, and turn in at the Empire afterwards. We don"t want to get to Bayswater before midnight, as we mustn"t be seen. Don"t dress. I"ll bring an electric torch."
"I"ve got one. I"ll bring mine also," he replied, at once entering into the spirit of the adventure. "Only you might tell me what"s in the wind, Owen," he added.
"I"ll tell you afterwards, old chap," I promised.
And then we separated, agreeing to meet at eight at a well-known restaurant which we often patronized.
That night, when the curtain fell at the Empire, we both went forth and strolled along to St. James"s Street to get a drink at the club.
The later we went forth on our nocturnal inquiry, the better.
I recollected that look of terror and astonishment on Forbes"s countenance when his gaze had met mine outside the bank--a look which showed that he had believed me to be safely out of the way. He had never dreamed I was still alive! Hence it seemed to me certain that the pair of malefactors, having secured the money, would at once make themselves scarce. How, I wondered, could they have known of Jack Marlowe, unless they had watched us both in secret, as seemed most likely.
That they would not return again to that house of horror in Bayswater seemed certain.
Towards one o"clock we took a taxi off the stand outside White"s and drove to Porchester Terrace, alighting some distance from our destination. We pa.s.sed the constable strolling slowly in the opposite direction, and when at last we gained the rusty iron gate we both slipped inside, quietly and un.o.bserved.
The street lamp in the vicinity lit up the front of the dingy house, therefore fearing observation from any of the servants next door, we moved noiselessly in the shadow of the bushes along the side of the premises, past a small conservatory, many panes of gla.s.s of which were broken, and so into the darkness of the small back garden, which seemed knee-deep in gra.s.s and weeds, and which, from its position, hemmed in by blank walls, could not be overlooked save from the house itself.
All was silence. The scene was weird in the extreme. In the distance could be heard the faint hum of the never-ceasing traffic of London.
Above, showed the dark windows of that grim old place wherein I had so nearly lost my life.