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<v Speaker 1>Chapter twenty seven of The Double by Edgar Wallace. This

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<v Speaker 1>LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read by A Toolsharma, Winnipeg, Canada,

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<v Speaker 1>chapter twenty seven. It was at that moment that a

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<v Speaker 1>police officer burst into the room. I think they've settled

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<v Speaker 1>men's he said. Mary uttered an exclamation of horror. Daddy,

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<v Speaker 1>that was the way he went. Where is he asked Dick.

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<v Speaker 1>He's in the kitchen next door. I think he's been shot.

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<v Speaker 1>In a minute, Dick was by the wounded man's side.

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<v Speaker 1>Mins lay on his back. He was unconscious and his

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<v Speaker 1>coat was soddened with blood. Let me see, please, it

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<v Speaker 1>was Mary. She knelt by the man, removed his coat

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<v Speaker 1>and vest, and made a quick examination of the wound.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think it is really bad. Will you get

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<v Speaker 1>one of your people to ring for the ambulance? With quick,

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<v Speaker 1>skillful fingers, she bandaged the wound, and Dick, watching her,

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<v Speaker 1>realized that he was seeing a repetition of the scene

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<v Speaker 1>that had been enacted on the night Lordy Brown had

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<v Speaker 1>been found in the room upstairs. But how did this happen?

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<v Speaker 1>If you look at the pantry, I think you'll understand,

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<v Speaker 1>she said in a low voice. Dick went into the

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<v Speaker 1>inner room adjoining the kitchen, which, though it was designated

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<v Speaker 1>with the name of pantry, was in fact a small

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<v Speaker 1>bed sitting room. It was plainly furnished, and Dick saw

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<v Speaker 1>that the bed, which ordinarily must have stood in the corner,

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<v Speaker 1>was drawn to the center of the room. The carpet

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<v Speaker 1>had been rolled away, and a small aperture showed in

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<v Speaker 1>the stone floor. He put down the light of his

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<v Speaker 1>lamp and saw that the butler's pantry was immediately above

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<v Speaker 1>Deryck's wine cellar. There must have been a time when

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<v Speaker 1>the cellar was common to both houses. He remembered now

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<v Speaker 1>that there was no basement to Tommy's residence, a circumstance

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<v Speaker 1>which struck him as peculiar when the fact was first

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<v Speaker 1>brought to his notice. While he was making his inspection,

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<v Speaker 1>the girl joined him. That is the way we came in,

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<v Speaker 1>she said, Mins led us through your house quite a

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<v Speaker 1>number of times. At his questioning look, she shook her head. No,

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<v Speaker 1>we only used that underground passage, poor Min's. But why

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<v Speaker 1>on earth he knew, mister Walter Derrick, she said quietly.

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<v Speaker 1>They were once fellow servants in Cape Town. Then Dick

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<v Speaker 1>remembered the butler's confidence. Walter Derreck is really our friend

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<v Speaker 1>up stairs, She went on, you call him Cornfort. The

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<v Speaker 1>other Walter Derrick is Hermann. Levinsky said, Dick, I guess

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<v Speaker 1>that I was certain of it tonight when I found

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<v Speaker 1>them at the door after he had made his quick

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<v Speaker 1>shoot up. We're stupid fellows, both of us, myself for

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<v Speaker 1>not arresting him and he for imagining that I hadn't

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<v Speaker 1>noticed that there were no wet footsteps on either step.

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<v Speaker 1>It said, as plainly as though it had been printed,

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<v Speaker 1>that he had not been out in the rain and

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<v Speaker 1>therefore could not have come in from the rain. There

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<v Speaker 1>was another casualty besides Min's, he learned immediately afterward. At

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<v Speaker 1>the first faint sound of shooting, the detectives in the

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<v Speaker 1>mews had closed toward the garage door. Immediately after they

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<v Speaker 1>did so, the wicket door had opened, and an excited

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<v Speaker 1>voice had called them inside. Two men had hardly dashed

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<v Speaker 1>through the opening before the door was closed upon them.

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<v Speaker 1>While one was searching for the bolt that unfastened the gate,

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<v Speaker 1>they heard the sound of the machine moving. At the

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<v Speaker 1>end of the mews was a third officer who had

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<v Speaker 1>attempted to bar the way and had been knocked sprawling

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<v Speaker 1>for his pains. Walter is not at his hotel. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>there's only one chance of catching him before he does

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<v Speaker 1>a little more mischief, and that is to phone the

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<v Speaker 1>Sussex police. Do you think he'll make for keiehy nodded Mary.

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<v Speaker 1>So do I I have an idea he has everything planned.

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<v Speaker 1>I've seen him twice creeping in a large motor boat,

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<v Speaker 1>but I've never been able to trace where he keeps it.

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<v Speaker 1>And then Dick asked a question that had been puzzling

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<v Speaker 1>him ever since he had come into the case. Why

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<v Speaker 1>on earth didn't you go to the police right away?

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<v Speaker 1>She shook her head. That question is very easily answered.

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<v Speaker 1>It was the one thing we couldn't do, although we

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<v Speaker 1>could do it now. You don't realize that mister Cormfort,

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<v Speaker 1>as you call him, is an escaped convict. He was

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<v Speaker 1>under life sentence in Rhodesia for murder. Dick was staggered.

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<v Speaker 1>But my dear girl, he said, at last he must

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<v Speaker 1>be re arrested. I think that is inevitable, replied this

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<v Speaker 1>amazing girl. The Sussex police were difficult to reach, and

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<v Speaker 1>when they had spent three quarters of an hour in

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<v Speaker 1>getting through the proper authority. There are two divisions to Sussex,

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<v Speaker 1>and either would have been the wrong one. They learned

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<v Speaker 1>that Keighley was not in the Sussex area. He was,

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<v Speaker 1>in point of fact, in Surrey. We shall waste another

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<v Speaker 1>hour before we reached the Surrey people, said Dick. We

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<v Speaker 1>will go on to Keighley. By this time Borg had arrived.

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<v Speaker 1>The Big Man seemed singularly unimpressed when he learned of

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<v Speaker 1>what had happened. We shall want a fast car, began Dick.

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<v Speaker 1>I have it on the corner, said Mary. My dear boy,

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<v Speaker 1>how do you imagine I got to Brighton from Loundest

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<v Speaker 1>Square three minutes ahead of Tommy and you? And how

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<v Speaker 1>do you suppose I've beaten your train time and time again?

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<v Speaker 1>Who drives? Asked Dick, and she smiled. He had never

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<v Speaker 1>moved as fast in his life as he moved. That night.

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<v Speaker 1>Mary sat at the wheel, her eyes fixed on the

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<v Speaker 1>road ahead. The country seemed to fly past them. Once.

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<v Speaker 1>Dick stirred uneasily, but Henry's voice reassured him. My daughter

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<v Speaker 1>is rather a good driver, he said. She has won

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<v Speaker 1>three endurance trials in Africa. In an incredibly short space

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<v Speaker 1>of time, they came to the lodge gates of Keighly,

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<v Speaker 1>and Dick heaved a sigh of relief, for the last

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<v Speaker 1>two miles of the journey had been made with the

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<v Speaker 1>aid of the dimmest of headlights. Anyway, he would have

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<v Speaker 1>heard us, she said. As they got down, the three

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<v Speaker 1>plain clothes officers who also occupied the car were volubly

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<v Speaker 1>thankful that their perilous journey was over. Silently, and in

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<v Speaker 1>single file, they passed up the dark drive to the house,

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<v Speaker 1>keeping close to the hedges that fringed the gravel path.

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<v Speaker 1>There was no light in the house and no sign

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<v Speaker 1>or evidence that it was occupied. Dick was in no

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<v Speaker 1>doubt that the man was here. He had stopped to

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<v Speaker 1>examine the gravel on the path with the aid of

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<v Speaker 1>his lamp, and had seen fresh wheel tracks drawn up

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<v Speaker 1>near the portico. They found the car, its lights extinguished,

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<v Speaker 1>its radiator still burning hot. Then, as they stood talking

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<v Speaker 1>in low tones, a light appeared simultaneously behind three shaded

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<v Speaker 1>windows on the ground floor the drawing room. Dick noted

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<v Speaker 1>mentally and waited. Another light glowed in the semicircular transom

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<v Speaker 1>above the front door. Dick waited and saw the door

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<v Speaker 1>open slowly. Mister Walter Derreck stood on the doorstep. He

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<v Speaker 1>was in his shirt sleeves, one hand was heavily bandaged.

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<v Speaker 1>Come in please. He was the jovial Walter that Dick

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<v Speaker 1>had known the day he was introduced at Brighton. I

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<v Speaker 1>saw your lights and I heard your engine. Have you

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<v Speaker 1>got the decrepit mister Cornfort with you? You haven't. What

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<v Speaker 1>a pity do I see Miss Mary Dane or miss

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<v Speaker 1>Mary de Villiers, and my dear old friend Henry the chairman.

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<v Speaker 1>He turned his back upon his visitors and walked ahead

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<v Speaker 1>of them into the drawing room. That pistol is quite

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<v Speaker 1>unnecessary de Villiers, he said, with a portentous smile. But

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<v Speaker 1>that admonition had no effect upon Henry. His long barreled

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<v Speaker 1>automatic covered the man. Now, I suppose you're going to

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<v Speaker 1>arrest me on what charge? He asked the question quite casually,

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<v Speaker 1>as though it were a subject which barely interested him. Murder,

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<v Speaker 1>without a doubt, will be one charge, said Dick. There

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<v Speaker 1>is also a charge of fraudulent impersonation, but I think

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<v Speaker 1>we shall have you on the murder. Derek shrugged his

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<v Speaker 1>broad shoulders a black mailer and a poor simpleton, an

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<v Speaker 1>unworthy cause for an execution. There I fear you will

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<v Speaker 1>have a difficulty inspector. If I am a murderer, must

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<v Speaker 1>I also be a bungler? I could have got you

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<v Speaker 1>two or three times, Henry. Apparently you credit me with

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<v Speaker 1>a taste for the spectacular. The bomb I presume you

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<v Speaker 1>suspect me of that would certainly have been an excellent

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<v Speaker 1>way of disposing of an unpleasant little party. Do you

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<v Speaker 1>mind shutting the door? There's a draft. One of the detectives,

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<v Speaker 1>at a signal from Dick, closed the door. Another Dick

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<v Speaker 1>placed on the far side of the room, near the windows.

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<v Speaker 1>I am unarmed, as I say de Villiers, this is

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<v Speaker 1>sheer melodrama, said Dereck, glancing at the South Africans automatic.

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<v Speaker 1>What happens now? Something had already happened to the man.

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<v Speaker 1>He seemed to be in pain, His face was haggard,

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<v Speaker 1>and his geniality was perhaps the hardest pose he had

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<v Speaker 1>ever assumed. Are you hurt? Derrick shook his head. Nothing

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<v Speaker 1>very much, he said, airily. What shall I get for

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<v Speaker 1>all this? Seven years? After all? Impersonation is a very

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<v Speaker 1>small thing. I shall want you for the murder of

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<v Speaker 1>Lordy Browne, said Dick, and the man smiled. No human

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<v Speaker 1>eye ever saw me kill Lordie or any other kind

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<v Speaker 1>of brown, he said. The fellow was a burglar in

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<v Speaker 1>my house. He was armed. I had every justification for

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<v Speaker 1>killing him, even supposing I shot him. I am going

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<v Speaker 1>to suggest that you have no evidence that I killed brown.

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<v Speaker 1>I am also going to suggest that your friend mister

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<v Speaker 1>Henry de Villiers and his daughter were also in the

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<v Speaker 1>house that night and might be as guilty as I.

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<v Speaker 1>I am sufficiently well acquainted with the law, Inspector Staines

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<v Speaker 1>to know that you haven't got sufficient evidence to hang

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<v Speaker 1>a cab. Dick knew this equally well. I salute you

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<v Speaker 1>was my benefactor. Derek flashed a grin in Dick's direction.

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<v Speaker 1>That shot of yours did me a marvelous service. I

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<v Speaker 1>note that you were a little baffled by my statement,

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<v Speaker 1>but you will understand later. Have you any other charge

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<v Speaker 1>to lay against me? Bomb throwing that you cannot prove?

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<v Speaker 1>I simply state that I was not the culprit. There

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<v Speaker 1>is one other little matter, mister Hermann Levinsky, said Dick quietly,

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<v Speaker 1>and that is the slow murder a cashier shot in

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<v Speaker 1>cold blood and his money stolen. There was a thumb

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<v Speaker 1>print on that pistol. A week after the killing, you

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<v Speaker 1>sailed for South Africa in the name of Cleave. Again,

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<v Speaker 1>that crooked smile. Where is the proof against me? There

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<v Speaker 1>the proof is easily supplied. A print of your thumb

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<v Speaker 1>will be quite sufficient evidence to convict you. The man

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<v Speaker 1>was still smiling, and then slowly he unwrapped the bloody

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<v Speaker 1>bandage from his hand. A lucky shot for me, he said,

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<v Speaker 1>and Dick looked and winced. His chance. Bullet had removed

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<v Speaker 1>all proof. End of Chapter twenty seven.