"I say you are joking, or else, as I said just now, you are as mad as a hatter."
"Admitting I am mad, will you take the story?"
"No, but I"ll prevent you committing the crime."
"How?"
"By giving you in charge. By informing on you."
"You can"t do it. Until such a crime is committed, no one would believe it could be committed. You have no witnesses to our conversation here, and I will deny every a.s.sertion you make. My word, at present, is as good as yours. All you can do is to ruin your chance of fortune, which knocks at every man"s door. When I came in, you were wondering what you could do to put the _Sponge_ on its feet. I saw it in your att.i.tude. Now, what do you say?"
"I"ll give you 25 for the story on its own merits, although it is a big price, and you need not commit the crime."
"Done! That is the sum I wanted, but I knew if I asked it, you would offer me 12 10_s_. Will you publish it within the month?"
"Yes."
"Very well. Write out the cheque. Don"t cross it. I"ve no bank account."
When the cheque was handed to him, Gibberts thrust it into the ticket- pocket of his ulster, turned abruptly, and unlocked the door. "Good- bye," he said.
As he disappeared, Sh.o.r.ely noticed how long his ulster was, and how it flapped about his heels. The next time he saw the novelist was under circ.u.mstances that could never be effaced from his memory.
The _Sponge_ was a sixteen-page paper, with a blue cover, and the week Gibberts" story appeared, it occupied the first seven pages. As Sh.o.r.ely ran it over in the paper, it impressed him more than it had done in ma.n.u.script. A story always seems more convincing in type.
Sh.o.r.ely met several men at the Club, who spoke highly of the story, and at last he began to believe it was a good one himself. Johnson was particularly enthusiastic, and every one in the Club knew Johnson"s opinion was infallible.
"How did _you_ come to get hold of it?" he said to Sh.o.r.ely, with unnecessary emphasis on the personal p.r.o.noun.
"Don"t you think I know a good story when I see it?" asked the editor, indignantly.
"It isn"t the general belief of the Club," replied Johnson, airily; "but then, all the members have sent you contributions, so perhaps that accounts for it. By the way, have you seen Gibberts lately?"
"No; why do you ask?"
"Well, it strikes me he is acting rather queerly. If you asked me, I don"t think he is quite sane. He has something on his mind."
"He told me," said the new member, with some hesitation--"but really I don"t think I"m justified in mentioning it, although he did not tell it in confidence--that he was the rightful heir to a property in----"
"Oh, we all know that story!" cried the Club, unanimously.
"I think it"s the Club whiskey," said one of the oldest members. "I say, it"s the worst in London."
"Verbal complaints not received. Write to the Committee," put in Johnson. "If Gibberts has a friend in the Club, which I doubt, that friend should look after him. I believe he will commit suicide yet."
These sayings troubled Sh.o.r.ely as he walked back to his office. He sat down to write a note, asking Gibberts to call. As he was writing, McCabe, the business manager of the _Sponge_, came in.
"What"s the matter with the old sheet this week?" he asked.
"Matter? I don"t understand you."
"Well, I have just sent an order to the printer to run off an extra ten thousand, and here comes a demand from Smith"s for the whole lot. The extra ten thousand were to go to different newsagents all over the country who have sent repeat orders, so I have told the printer now to run off at least twenty-five thousand, and to keep the plates on the press. I never read the _Sponge_ myself, so I thought I would drop in and ask you what the attraction was. This rush is unnatural.
"Better read the paper and find out," said Sh.o.r.ely.
"I would, if there wasn"t so much of your stuff in it," retorted McCabe.
Next day McCabe reported an almost bewildering increase in orders. He had a jubilant "we"ve-done-it-at-last" air that exasperated Sh.o.r.ely, who felt that he alone should have the credit. There had come no answer to the note he had sent Gibberts, so he went to the Club, in the hope of meeting him. He found Johnson, whom he asked if Gibberts were there.
"He"s not been here to-day," said Johnson; "but I saw him yesterday, and what do you think he was doing? He was in a gun-shop in the Strand, buying cartridges for that villainous-looking seven-shooter of his. I asked him what he was going to do with a revolver in London, and he told me, shortly, that it was none of my business, which struck me as so accurate a summing-up of the situation, that I came away without making further remark. If you want any more stories by Gibberts, you should look after him."
Sh.o.r.ely found himself rapidly verging into a state of nervousness regarding Gibberts. He was actually beginning to believe the novelist meditated some wild action, which might involve others in a disagreeable complication. Sh.o.r.ely had no desire to be accessory either before or after the fact. He hurried back to the office, and there found Gibberts" belated reply to his note. He hastily tore it open, and the reading of it completely banished what little self-control he had left.
"Dear Sh.o.r.ely,--I know why you want to see me, but I have so many affairs to settle, that it is impossible for me to call upon you.
However, have no fears; I shall stand to my bargain, without any goading from you. Only a few days have elapsed since the publication of the story, and I did not promise the tragedy before the week was out. I leave for Channor Chase this afternoon. You shall have your pound of flesh, and more.--Yours,
"BROMLEY GIBBERTS."
Sh.o.r.ely was somewhat pale about the lips when he had finished this scrawl. He flung on his coat, and rushed into the street. Calling a hansom, he said--
"Drive to Kidner"s Inn as quickly as you can. No. 15."
Once there, he sprang up the steps two at a time, and knocked at Gibberts" door. The novelist allowed himself the luxury of a "man," and it was the "man" who answered Sh.o.r.ely"s imperious knock.
"Where"s Gibberts?"
"He"s just gone, sir."
"Gone where?"
"To Euston Station, I believe, sir; and he took a hansom. He"s going into the country for a week, sir, and I wasn"t to forward his letters, so I haven"t his address."
"Have you an "ABC"?"
"Yes, sir; step inside, sir. Mr. Gibberts was just looking up trains in it, sir, before he left."
Sh.o.r.ely saw it was open at C, and, looking down the column to Channor, he found that a train left in about twenty minutes. Without a word, he dashed down the stairs again. The "man" did not seem astonished. Queer fish sometimes came to see his master.
"Can you get me to Euston Station in twenty minutes?"
The cabman shook his head, as he said--
"I"ll do my best, sir, but we ought to have a good half-hour."
The driver did his best, and landed Sh.o.r.ely on the departure platform two minutes after the train had gone.
"When is the next train to Channor?" demanded Sh.o.r.ely of a porter.