A Queen's Error Part 33

THE STRUGGLE IN THE TUNNEL

I was delayed two days in Bath by the inquest on the body of the German, the discovery of which in the old graveyard formed a nine days'

wonder in the old western city and then died out altogether.

It was a very barren inquiry, for it discovered nothing. The man was a stranger, no evidence was produced to show who he was, and as an unknown stranger he was buried again, not in the old graveyard, but in the new cemetery away among the hills.

There was only one piece of evidence which carried any interest with it, and that was the testimony of the doctor.

He stated that the man had been shot through the head and immediately killed; he produced the .450 revolver bullet which he had found in the head.

Furthermore, he added that the body had been buried at once, and by that means preserved from decay. It was practically incorrupt. It might have been buried there a month.

That was all, and all the coroner's ac.u.men, and all the researches of the police, could produce no more. Public opinion had to be satisfied with a very vague verdict.

There was only one point of interest left for me in the matter, and that was the bundle of bed-linen which was found buried in the grave.

That was proved beyond doubt to be the bed-linen of my old lady of Monmouth Street; it was plainly marked with the letter C, surmounted on the case of the pillow by a small coronet.

"Things is coming round in a most extraordinary way to corroborate your statement about the old lady, Mr. Anstruther," remarked Inspector Bull patronisingly. "I could 'ardly believe it. I don't know when I come across another case like it."

I don't suppose he did. It was an enigma which puzzled many wiser heads than his in the long run; but I think the part which astonished him most was to be discovering, bit by bit, that the story of my visit to the house in Monmouth Street, as related to him and his brother, the "tip-top London detective," was actually founded at any rate on _some_ fact!

The Don and I joyfully directed our respective servants to pack up for London at the conclusion of the inquest. Dolores had been sent back to Claridge's by her father, and placed under the care of Mrs. Darbys.h.i.+re the morning after the discovery in the old graveyard. He had very wisely decided to keep her away from the gruesomeness of the inquest, which pervaded the whole town.

Under the circ.u.mstances that little interview which I was so anxious that he should have with her to discover the state of her affections towards me, was postponed, and things remained just as they were.

Nevertheless, I think both Dolores and I were perfectly satisfied to wait for the formal declaration of her father's sanction, being happy in the consciousness of each other's love and steadfastness.

So the inquest being disposed of, we very gladly went off to the station beneath the great cliff to catch the afternoon express to town.

We were in ample time, and strolled up and down the platform, taking a last look at the town which had proved so fateful to us both.

Presently the great engine, the embodiment of modern steam power, swept into the station, and the Don's man at once secured a first-cla.s.s smoking compartment for us, with the aid of the guard, while Brooks looked after the luggage, the other man being a foreigner.

"I'm afraid I shall not be able to keep the whole compartment for you, gentlemen," said the guard civilly, as we took our seats; "but I'll put as few in as I can."

The old Don was the embodiment of politeness; he was the last person in the world to inconvenience any one on the railway or anywhere else, though he liked to have a carriage to himself when he could.

He told the guard so.

"I'll do my best, sir," replied the guard, with great _impress.e.m.e.nt_, as he pocketed Don Juan's five s.h.i.+llings. "You shall be inconvenienced as little as possible."

He locked the door and walked away, and I thought we should be left to ourselves.

The guard, however, had overestimated his powers.

The train was within a minute of starting when two pa.s.sengers, evidently in a great hurry, made their appearance at the window. One was an old gentleman with a white beard, wearing blue spectacles, and apparently half blind; the other a young st.u.r.dy man, evidently his son, for the elder leant on his arm, and was addressed by him as "father."

The son led the old man straight to our carriage, and called aloud for the guard on finding it locked.

"Now, guard!" he cried with authority, when the official made his appearance, "open the door; all the other carriages are full."

"If you wouldn't mind coming down a few carriages farther, sir,"

suggested our guard, "I can find you two good corner seats at once."

"Open this door at once," cried the gentleman furiously; "there is only half a minute to spare, and don't you see my father is an invalid?"

Don Juan emerged from his corner with a look of genuine concern upon his face.

"Let the gentlemen in at once, guard," he ordered. "I would not be the cause of inconvenience to them on any account. Come in, gentlemen, I beg."

The guard opened the door, and the two pa.s.sengers entered just as the stationmaster called out a remonstrance not to delay the train. The old gentleman sank back in his seat with a sigh of relief.

"I'm so glad we caught the train," he said breathlessly.

Brooks ran up at the last moment and handed our tickets to the collector, who had been waiting for them, as the train did not stop again until it reached Paddington.

As Brooks turned and touched his hat to us, it appeared to me that he started as he looked into the carriage, but the train was just off and the ticket collector almost pushed him into the next compartment to ours--a second, of course.

We puffed out of Bath, and I saw the last of its hills and stone houses for many a day; indeed, I don't think I have seen it since, except perhaps in the same way from a flying train. We were soon swallowed up by a great tunnel, and the Don and I subsided into thoughtfulness and the quiet enjoyment of our cigars.

Our fellow-travellers in the opposite corners maintained an absolute silence; they might have been two statues.

But in a few minutes we burst out again into the almost blinding daylight, and then it seemed to me that the appearance of the two men we were shut up with had undergone a change. It was, if not my fancy, a total change in the expression of their faces.

The idea seemed to fascinate me, and I kept my eyes fixed upon them both.

Presently, after a quick glance at his companion, the old man put his hand into the pocket of the thick travelling coat he wore and quickly pulled out a revolver; then in a voice which I knew again full well he addressed us both, at the same time covering Don Juan with his pistol.

"If you make the slightest movement, or speak without my permission, I shall fire."

I saw as I sat looking at them that the younger man had also produced a revolver, and was covering me.

Then the two moved nearer us into the two central seats of the compartment, for the convenience, as it proved, of talking to us.

Don Juan and I sat petrified with astonishment, whilst the elder man spoke again. I knew him from the first moment he had opened his lips, despite his disguise, to be the Duke of Rittersheim, or "Saumarez," as he had called himself.

"Don Juan d'Alta," he began, "I know you very well, and I don't suppose you have forgotten me."

"I know your voice, _Your Serene Highness_," responded the old Don, with a distinct accentuation of the t.i.tle.

"Very well," replied the Duke. "Then that knowledge will enlighten you to the extent that you will be aware that I want something of you."

Don Juan made no reply.

"I want," proceeded the Duke, "the key of the steel safe which you removed from 190 Monmouth Street, Bath, and sent to the Bank of England. I want also an order from you to the directors of the Bank of England, authorising them to give me access to the safe. My friend here has writing materials."

My glance turned to Don Juan, who was contemplating the Duke with a stony stare of contempt.