Speaker 1: Chapter twenty three of The Double by Edgar Wallace. This
Speaker 1: LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read by Atulsharma, Winnipeg, Canada,
Speaker 1: Chapter twenty three. He was not particularly startled, He was
Speaker 1: not even surprised. He gave Dick the impression that nothing
Speaker 1: in the world had ever succeeded in agitating him. Good afternoon, sir.
Speaker 1: His voice was soft and deferential. He had a queer,
Speaker 1: little droop of his head that was almost like a bow.
Speaker 1: This is a beautiful place to me. The river is
Speaker 1: even more interesting than the sea. Look at that tug
Speaker 1: in those barges, like a swan with a number of
Speaker 1: ugly ducklings. One wonders what sort of a life these
Speaker 1: bargemen live. When you have finished being philosophical, Henry, will
Speaker 1: you tell me why you are in London, and what
Speaker 1: poor mister Cornford is doing in the meantime, to say
Speaker 1: nothing of miss Dane. The bath chairman looked at him reproachfully.
Speaker 1: Mister Cornfort is in bed, he said, in a hushed voice.
Speaker 1: I fear he may never use the bath chair again.
Speaker 1: As bad as that, eh said Dick cheerfully. While you
Speaker 1: can't live forever Henry was pained and miss Dane. Henry
Speaker 1: shook his head. She is in town, sir, making inquiries
Speaker 1: about something she lost in London, an inconsiderable trinket, but
Speaker 1: very precious to her. Young girls have their peculiar fancies,
Speaker 1: mister stains, and it is difficult to plumb the minds
Speaker 1: of youth. Dick was amused, a little irritated too. He
Speaker 1: had a feeling that this man was secretly laughing at him.
Speaker 1: And who was looking after mister Cornfort? He demanded. Henry's
Speaker 1: face fell three trained nurses, he said, in a hushed voice.
Speaker 1: Dick looked round at the arched entrance to Scotland Yard.
Speaker 1: Is she in there? I believe so, sir, But that
Speaker 1: isn't the place she would go to make inquiries about
Speaker 1: lost property. It is for along, he pointed. Henry followed
Speaker 1: the direction of his finger and seemed interested in the
Speaker 1: low roof building the gesture indicated, Is that so, sir?
Speaker 1: He asked interestedly. I'm afraid miss Dane has only a
Speaker 1: rudimentary acquaintance with police procedure. I have an idea that
Speaker 1: her loss was of such importance that she was seeking
Speaker 1: an interview with the Chief Constable Dick gaped at him
Speaker 1: with the chief Constable bork. Henry nodded, she is a
Speaker 1: peculiar young lady who invariably makes it her business to
Speaker 1: go to the fountain head. Dick examined the man carefully,
Speaker 1: but the blue eyes met his scrutiny with the least
Speaker 1: effort at evasion. You speak rather nicely for a bath chairman,
Speaker 1: said Dick. What were you before you engaged in this profession? Henry,
Speaker 1: for a moment, looked embarrassed and coughed behind his gloved hand.
Speaker 1: Dick noticed that as he raised his hand, his action
Speaker 1: was stiff, and that he winced. He wondered what had
Speaker 1: happened to his arm In my youth, I was a
Speaker 1: professional prize fighter, he said, and Dick was staggered. It
Speaker 1: is rather difficult to believe that a man of my
Speaker 1: meager physique could ever have had any success in such
Speaker 1: an arduous profession, said Henry, speaking with the greatest precision,
Speaker 1: And in order to tone down the shock, I would
Speaker 1: explain to you that I was also a teacher of
Speaker 1: mathematics at a very honorable university. I found pugilism was
Speaker 1: more lucrative, though it was somewhat disastrous to my scholastic career,
Speaker 1: a lightweight, asked Dick. Unconvinced, a featherweight, said Henry gravely.
Speaker 1: I am the only man who ever knocked out Digger
Speaker 1: Bill Ferrers. He fell asleep in the thirteenth round and
Speaker 1: was never the same man. Afterward, Dick looked at the
Speaker 1: man suspiciously. Was his leg being pulled by this mild
Speaker 1: dragger of bath chairs? Before he could ask a question,
Speaker 1: he saw Mary Dane come into view. She was walking quickly,
Speaker 1: but checked her place at the sight of the detective.
Speaker 1: Henry regarded their meeting with great imperturbability. Dick had the
Speaker 1: suspicion that he was mildly amused. I suppose Henry told
Speaker 1: you the news about mister Cormfort. Is he dead? Asked
Speaker 1: Dick brutally, and she looked at him reproachfully. How brutal
Speaker 1: you are? Of course he isn't. The poor old man
Speaker 1: is in bed and you've come up to Scotland Yard
Speaker 1: to make an inquiry about h whatever Henry told you
Speaker 1: it was, She interrupted, calmly enough, Please don't cross examine
Speaker 1: me on the King's Highway. I think your mister Bork
Speaker 1: is rather a darling. I will convey your views to him,
Speaker 1: said Dick. She was looking at him thoughtfully, biting that
Speaker 1: red netherlip of hers. And then thank you, Henry. You
Speaker 1: needn't wait. Mister Staines is taking me to tea at Sollinger's.
Speaker 1: Let's walk through the park. I like parks, so I understand,
Speaker 1: said Dick. He looked back over his shoulder. Henry was
Speaker 1: still standing where they had left him, his contemplative eye
Speaker 1: on the river. Where is his bath chair? He demanded.
Speaker 1: I should have thought that he would at least have
Speaker 1: brought that interesting mustard colored vehicle to town. He looks
Speaker 1: almost naked without it. I should have loved to see
Speaker 1: you both being held up by a traffic cop. Your
Speaker 1: being rather unpleasant this afternoon, she said. I never use
Speaker 1: bath chairs. I am taking you away from your work,
Speaker 1: which is selfish of me. But I'm not feeling a
Speaker 1: bit penitent. You are my work, he said, and my worry.
Speaker 1: He did not provoke her to a reply. They crossed
Speaker 1: a whitehall into the park gates, and their walks slowed
Speaker 1: to a saunter, which is a pace appropriate to parks.
Speaker 1: How is the ghost, she asked, as they lounged along
Speaker 1: the edge of the lake. Not so well, said Dick.
Speaker 1: He has given up his bath chair and is taken
Speaker 1: to bed. You mean, mister Cornfort, how absurd you are?
Speaker 1: I meant the gun laying ghost. Did they nearly get you?
Speaker 1: My dear? I was worried ill that night. I hope
Speaker 1: you will never feel as I did. It was horrid.
Speaker 1: What made you think there was a spring gun in
Speaker 1: the house? Instinct? She said, and he knew that she
Speaker 1: was speaking the truth. I suppose when a woman feels
Speaker 1: as I do toward a man, her intelligence is sharpened
Speaker 1: to a point where instinct gets a chance of operating.
Speaker 1: I thought I would die as I sat by that
Speaker 1: telephone waiting to hear your voice. Dick, you're not taking
Speaker 1: any more chances. As a matter of fact, I am.
Speaker 1: She stopped dead and looked at him, her lips parted,
Speaker 1: her eyes wide with fear. What do you mean, mister
Speaker 1: Derrick is coming back to live here and he has
Speaker 1: asked me to sleep on the premises. She said nothing,
Speaker 1: but slowly resumed her walk. When do you go in tomorrow?
Speaker 1: I think Tommy hasn't said when he's returning. And then
Speaker 1: as he remembered, he is probably in town. She shook
Speaker 1: her head. No. I told him I was coming back tonight,
Speaker 1: and aren't you? She hesitated. Henry rather wanted to see
Speaker 1: a theater, and I promised him he should, And then
Speaker 1: she went off at a tangent. I like your inspector
Speaker 1: Bork superintendent. Is he well? Whatever he is, he's a nice,
Speaker 1: fat darling of a man. He was very severe at first,
Speaker 1: but we became quite good friends. What did you see
Speaker 1: him about? I lost a bangle? She said? Why do
Speaker 1: you make me lie? I saw him about the bomb throwing.
Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, he wrote to me and
Speaker 1: asked me to come to see him. I suppose you
Speaker 1: know the Municipality of Eastbourne has offered a reward of
Speaker 1: two hundred pounds. Dick nodded he had seen the announcement
Speaker 1: in the paper. Moreover, that evening of his in Eastbourne
Speaker 1: had kept him fully occupied since he came back to town.
Speaker 1: Dick tried to question her about several matters in which
Speaker 1: she was interested, but very skillfully she headed him off,
Speaker 1: and they reached a great department store without his being
Speaker 1: any the wiser. She had some purchases to make. She
Speaker 1: told him and went by the elevator to the fourth floor,
Speaker 1: and he waited at the entrance of the Inquiry bureau.
Speaker 1: He knew this department very well. Here letters could be
Speaker 1: written and received, there were half a dozen writing tables
Speaker 1: for the use of customers, and the room was fairly
Speaker 1: well filled, mainly by women. He had often speculated upon
Speaker 1: the value of such a department as this to the
Speaker 1: criminally minded man or woman. He knew at least one
Speaker 1: unpleasant case that had its focal point in a pigeon
Speaker 1: hole behind the polished mahogany counter. Presently, he saw Mary
Speaker 1: Dane come in and go to one of the girl
Speaker 1: attendants and ask a question. The attendant shook her head,
Speaker 1: made a rapid search of a pigeon hole, and came
Speaker 1: back with another head shake. Then Mary saw him, smiled
Speaker 1: and waved her hand in greeting. How dreadful, she said,
Speaker 1: with mock humility. When she came up to him, You
Speaker 1: have caught me in the act clandestine correspondence. Why do
Speaker 1: you peep? Is it because you're a detective? I wasn't peeping,
Speaker 1: said Dick indignantly. I happened to be near the entrance
Speaker 1: and I saw you. I didn't leave you. At the entrance,
Speaker 1: she said severely. Now stay here and don't move. I
Speaker 1: am going to buy certain garments. He waited for ten
Speaker 1: minutes for a quarter of an hour, but she did
Speaker 1: not return. Then he made an inquiry of the shop walker. Yes, sir,
Speaker 1: I remember the lady. She went down to the first
Speaker 1: floor to the lady's undergarments. Dick waited another quarter of
Speaker 1: an hour. There was no sign of the girl. He
Speaker 1: was turning to go when he saw coming toward him
Speaker 1: the counter attendant of the inquiry bureau. Excuse me, you
Speaker 1: were with miss Dane, weren't you, Yes, he said, wondering.
Speaker 1: The cable just came through over the phone. She had
Speaker 1: a slip of paper in her hand. Will you be
Speaker 1: seeing miss Dane? I hope. So she went back, took
Speaker 1: an envelope from the counter and slipped the paper in
Speaker 1: and handed it to him. Dick put the message in
Speaker 1: his pocket and went down in search of the girl.
Speaker 1: She was not on the floor where he expected to
Speaker 1: find her, and he ascended again to the place where
Speaker 1: she had left him. He was a patient man, but
Speaker 1: nobody short of an angel could wait an hour without
Speaker 1: feeling a sense of irritation. At last, in no pleasant temper,
Speaker 1: he decided to go. He was passing out of one
Speaker 1: of the big spring doors on to the street when
Speaker 1: a commissionaire came running up to him. You're mister Stains,
Speaker 1: aren't you. A young lady left a message for you.
Speaker 1: She said she'd been called away, and mister, somebody whose
Speaker 1: name I've forgotten is Ill Cornfort, said Dick. That's the name, sir,
Speaker 1: said the commissionaire. She asked me if I knew you,
Speaker 1: and of course I do, because you've been here before
Speaker 1: on business. He grinned. But Dick was not in a
Speaker 1: smiling temper. He was annoyed with Mary, more than irritated
Speaker 1: with himself. She had acquired the habit of making him
Speaker 1: feel extremely foolish, and he was in a savage mood
Speaker 1: when he swung into Scotland Yard and collided with the
Speaker 1: portly figure of mister Bork, who had stopped hazardously at
Speaker 1: the corner of the corridor to light a cigar. You're
Speaker 1: a little over two hours late, snapped Bork as he
Speaker 1: retrieved his injured corona. Don't apologize for I'd forgotten the appointment.
Speaker 1: We've arrested a man at Bexhill for throwing the bomb,
Speaker 1: but he looks like proving an alibi. It was undoubtedly
Speaker 1: his car, but there seems no doubt that he sold
Speaker 1: it at junk price the week before last. What did
Speaker 1: Mary Dane want? Blurted Dick. Mary Dane work scratched his
Speaker 1: second chin. Let me see now, what did she want? Oh? Yes,
Speaker 1: it was about the bomb throwing. Rather a nice girl,
Speaker 1: that eh. He looked at Dick shrewdly clever too. What
Speaker 1: a criminal she'd make, do you think? Began Inspector Staines
Speaker 1: never replied the other promptly too, brain wearing I'll see
Speaker 1: you in the morning. He was gone before Dick could
Speaker 1: fire in another question. Undoubtedly the superintendent was peeved, as
Speaker 1: he had every right to be, for Inspector Staines was
Speaker 1: considerably over two hours late for his appointment, and moreover,
Speaker 1: he had spoiled a very good cigar and of Chapter
Speaker 1: twenty three,