The Bandbox Part 22

She pouted prettily. "Can't you let that be? No, of course not."

"Nor to bicker about it?"

She laughed a denial.

"Nor yet to conduct a guessing contest?"

"No."

"Then I've exhausted my allowance.... Well?"

"I came," she drawled, "for my hat."

"Your hat?" His eyes opened wide.

She nodded. "My pretty hat. You remember you promised to give it to me if n.o.body else claimed it."

"Yes, but ..."

"And n.o.body has claimed it?"

"No, but ..."

"Then I want my hat."

"But--hold on--give somebody a chance--"

"Stupid?" she laughed. "Isn't it enough that I claim it? Am I n.o.body?"

"Wait half a minute. You've got me going." He paused, frowning thoughtfully, recollecting his wits; then by degrees the light began to dawn upon him. "Do you mean you really did send me that confounded bandbox?"

Coolly she inclined her head: "I did just that, my dear."

"But when I asked you the same question on the Autocratic--"

"Quite so: I denied it."

"And you were in London that Friday, after all?"

"I was. Had to be, hadn't I, in order to buy the hat and have it sent you?"

"But--how did you know I was sailing Sat.u.r.day?"

"I happened to go to the steams.h.i.+p office just after you had booked--saw a clerk adding your name to the pa.s.senger-list on the bulletin-board.

That gave me the inspiration. I had already bought the hat, but I drove back to the shop and instructed them to send it to you."

"But, Alison! to what end?"

"Well," she said languidly, smiling with amus.e.m.e.nt at his bewilderment, "I thought it might be fun to hoodwink you."

"But--I fail to see the joke."

"And will, until I tell you All."

Her tone supplied the capital letter.

He shrugged helplessly. "Proceed ..."

"Well," she began with sublime insouciance, "you see, I'd been figuring all the while on getting the necklace home duty-free. And I finally hit upon what seemed a rather neat little plot. The hat was part of it; I bought it for the express purpose of smuggling the necklace in, concealed in its lining. Up to that point you weren't involved. Then by happy accident I saw your name on the list. Instantly it flashed upon me, how I could make you useful. It was just possible, you see, that those hateful customs men might be shrewd enough to search the hat, too.

How much better, then, to make you bring in the hat, all unsuspecting!

They'd never think of searching it in your hands! You see?"

His face had been hardening during this amazing speech. When she stopped he shot in a crisp question:

"The necklace wasn't in the hat when delivered to me? You didn't trust it to the shop people over night?"

"Of course not. I merely sent you the hat; then--as I knew you would--you mentioned it to me aboard s.h.i.+p. I got you to bring it to my room, and then sent you out--you remember? While you waited I sewed the necklace in the lining; it took only an instant. Then Jane carried the hat back to your steward."

"So," he commented stupidly, "it wasn't stolen!"

"Naturally not."

"But you threw suspicion on Iff--"

"I daresay he was guilty enough in intent, if not in deed. There's not the slightest doubt in my mind that he's that man Ismay, really, and that he s.h.i.+pped with us for the especial purpose of stealing the necklace if he got half a chance."

"You may be right; I don't know--and neither do you. But do you realise that you came near causing an innocent man to be jailed for the theft?"

"But I didn't. He got away."

"But not Iff alone--there's myself. Have you paused to consider what would have happened to me if the inspector had happened to find that necklace in the hat? Heavens knows how he missed it! He was persistent enough!... But if he had found it, I'd have been jailed for theft."

"Oh, no," she said sweetly; "I'd never have let it go that far."

"Not even if to confess would mean that you'd be sent to jail for smuggling?"

"They'd never do that to a woman...."

But her eyes s.h.i.+fted from his uneasily, and he saw her colour change a trifle.

"You know better than that. You read the papers--keep informed. You know what happened to the last woman who tried to smuggle. I forgot how long they sent her up for--five months, or something like that."

She was silent, her gaze evasive.

"You remember that, don't you?"

"Perhaps I do," she admitted unwillingly.