But Langdon"s ample confessions had clearly revealed Philip"s att.i.tude, and the unscrupulous scoundrel was willing now to dare all in his attempt to gain a fortune.
While he was dining a telegram was handed to him:
"You forgot to send your address, but Mr. Abingdon gave it to me.
So grieved you are detained. What about blue atom?
"EVELYN."
Did ever woman invent more tantalizing question than that concluding one? What was a blue atom? No doubt, creation"s scheme included blue atoms, as well as black ones and red ones. But why this reference to any particular atom? He tried the words in every possible variety of meaning. He gave them the dignity of capitals. BLUE ATOM. They became more inexplicable.
In one respect they were effective. They spoiled his dinner. He had steeled himself against every possible form of surprise, but he was forced to admit that during the next three days he must succeed in persuading Evelyn Atherley that Philip Anson was alive, and engaged in important matters in Yorkshire. That was imperative--was his scheme to be wrecked by a blue atom?
Moreover, her query must be answered. His promise to write was, of course, a mere device. It would be manifestly absurd to send her a typewritten letter, and, excellently as he could copy Philip"s signature, he dared not put his skill as a forger to the test of inditing a letter to her, no matter how brief. Finally he hit upon a compromise. He wired:
"Stupid of me to omit address. Your concluding sentence mixed up in transmission. Meaning not quite clear. Am feeling so lonely.
"PHILIP."
Then he tried to resume his dinner, but his appet.i.te was gone.
In postal facilities, owing to its position on a main line, York is well served from London. At 9 P. M. two letters, one a bulky package and registered, reached him.
The letter was from Mr. Abingdon. It briefly acknowledged his telegram, stated that a man in the Athenaeum, who knew Sir Philip Morland, had informed him, in response to guarded inquiries, that the baronet was exceedingly well off, and called attention to some important leases inclosed which required his signature.
The other note was from Evelyn. It was tender and loving, and contained a reference that added to the mystification of her telegram.
"In the hurry of your departure yesterday," she wrote, "we forgot to mention Blue Atom. What is your opinion? The price is high, certainly, but, then, picture the joy of it--the only one in the world!"
And, again, came another message:
"I referred to Blue Atom, of course. What did the post office make it into?
"EVELYN."
Blue Atom was a.s.suming spectral dimensions. He cursed the thing fluently. It was high priced, a joy, alone in solitary glory. What could it be?
He strolled into the station, and entered into conversation with a platform inspector.
"By the way," he said, casually, "have you ever heard of anything called a blue atom?"
The man grinned. "Is that another name for D. T."s, sir?"
Grenier gave it up, and resolved to postpone a decision until the next morning.
By a late train Philip"s portmanteau arrived. It was locked, and the key reposed in the safe. Green, it ultimately transpired, solemnly opened the safe in the presence of the housekeeper and butler, locked it again without disturbing any of the other contents, and handed the key to the butler, who placed it in the silver pantry.
In the solitude of his room, Grenier burst the lock. The rascal received one of the greatest shocks of his life when he examined the contents--a quant.i.ty of old clothing, some worn boots, a ball of twine, a bed coverlet, a big, iron key, the tattered letters, and a variety of odds and ends that would have found no corner in a respectable rag shop.
He burst into a fit of hysterical laughter.
"Ye G.o.ds and little fishes!" he cried. "What a treasure! The Clerkenwell suit, I suppose, and a woman"s skirt and blouse. Old-timers, too, by their style. His mother"s, I expect. He must have been fond of his mother."
At that moment Jocky Mason, beetle-browed and resentful, was reading a letter which reached his lodgings two hours before his arrival, in an envelope bearing the ominous initials--O. H. M. S.
It was from the Southwark Police Station.
"SIR: Kindly make it convenient to attend here to-morrow evening at 8 P. M. Yours truly,
"T. BRADLEY, Inspector."
The following day it was Mason"s duty to report himself under his ticket-of-leave, but it was quite unusual for the police to give a preliminary warning in this respect. Failure on his part meant arrest.
That was all the officials looked after.
"What"s up now?" he muttered. "Anyway, Grenier was right. This gives me a cast-iron alibi. I"ll acknowledge it at once."
His accomplice, hoping to obtain sleep from champagne, consumed the contents of a small bottle in his bedroom, while he scanned the columns of the local evening papers for any reference to a "Seaside Mystery" on the Yorkshire coast.
There was none. Anson"s body had not been recovered yet.
Before going to bed, he wound Philip"s watch. He examined it now with greater interest than he had bestowed on it hitherto.
Although silver, it appeared to be a good one. He opened the case to examine the works. Inside there was an inscription:
"Presented to Philip Anson, aged fifteen years, by the officers and men of the Whitechapel Division of the Metropolitan Police as a token of their admiration for his bravery in a.s.sisting to arrest a notorious burglar."
Beneath was the date of Mason"s capture.
"Where was I ten years ago?" he mused.
He looked back through the soiled leaves of a sordid record, and found that he was then acting in a melodrama ent.i.tled "The Wages of Sin."
And the wages of sin is death! The drama insisted on the full measure of Biblical accuracy. Altogether, Grenier lay down to rest under unenviable conditions.
He dreamed that he was falling down precipices, and striking sheets of blue water with appalling splashes. Each time he was awakened by the shock.
But he was a hardy rogue where conscience was concerned, and he swore himself to sleep again. Rest he must have. He must arise with steady head and clear brain.
He was early astir. His first act was to send for the Yorkshire morning papers. They contained no news of Philip Anson dead, but the local sheet chronicled his arrival at York.
This was excellent. The banker would see it. A few printed lines carry great weight in such matters.
Then he signed the leases, dispatched them in a typewritten envelope and telegraphed:
"Doc.u.ments forwarded this morning. Please meet wishes expressed in letter."
"Surely," he reflected, "Abingdon will not give another thought to my proceedings. Philip Anson is not a boy in leading strings."
He wired to Evelyn: