CHAPTER XIX. JANE FINN
“MY train got in half an hour ago,” explained Julius, as he led the wayout of the station. “I reckoned you’d come by this before I left London,and wired accordingly to Sir James. He’s booked rooms for us, and willbe round to dine at eight.”
“What made you think he’d ceased to take any interest in the case?” asked Tommy curiously.
“What he said,” replied Julius dryly. “The old bird’s as close as anoyster! Like all the darned lot of them, he wasn’t going to commithimself till he was sure he could deliver the goods.”
“I wonder,” said Tommy thoughtfully.
Julius turned on him.
“You wonder what?”
“Whether that was his real reason.”
“Sure. You bet your life it was.”
Tommy shook his head unconvinced.
Sir James arrived punctually at eight o’clock, and Julius introducedTommy. Sir James shook hands with him warmly.
“I am delighted to make your acquaintance, Mr. Beresford. I have heardso much about you from Miss Tuppence”--he smiled involuntarily--“that itreally seems as though I already know you quite well.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Tommy with his cheerful grin. He scanned thegreat lawyer eagerly. Like Tuppence, he felt the magnetism of theother’s personality. He was reminded of Mr. Carter. The two men, totallyunlike so far as physical resemblance went, produced a similar effect.Beneath the weary manner of the one and the professional reserve of theother, lay the same quality of mind, keen-edged like a rapier.
In the meantime he was conscious of Sir James’s close scrutiny. When thelawyer dropped his eyes the young man had the feeling that the other hadread him through and through like an open book. He could not but wonderwhat the final judgment was, but there was little chance of learningthat. Sir James took in everything, but gave out only what he chose. Aproof of that occurred almost at once.
Immediately the first greetings were over Julius broke out into a floodof eager questions. How had Sir James managed to track the girl? Why hadhe not let them know that he was still working on the case? And so on.
Sir James stroked his chin and smiled. At last he said:
“Just so, just so. Well, she’s found. And that’s the great thing, isn’tit? Eh! Come now, that’s the great thing?”
“Sure it is. But just how did you strike her trail? Miss Tuppence and Ithought you’d quit for good and all.”
“Ah!” The lawyer shot a lightning glance at him, then resumed operationson his chin. “You thought that, did you? Did you really? H’m, dear me.”
“But I guess I can take it we were wrong,” pursued Julius.
“Well, I don’t know that I should go so far as to say that. But it’scertainly fortunate for all parties that we’ve managed to find the younglady.”
“But where is she?” demanded Julius, his thoughts flying off on anothertack. “I thought you’d be sure to bring her along?”
“That would hardly be possible,” said Sir James gravely.
“Why?”
“Because the young lady was knocked down in a street accident, and hassustained slight injuries to the head. She was taken to the infirmary,and on recovering consciousness gave her name as Jane Finn. When--ah!--Iheard that, I arranged for her to be removed to the house of adoctor--a friend of mine, and wired at once for you. She relapsed intounconsciousness and has not spoken since.”
“She’s not seriously hurt?”
“Oh, a bruise and a cut or two; really, from a medical point of view,absurdly slight injuries to have produced such a condition. Her state isprobably to be attributed to the mental shock consequent on recoveringher memory.”
“It’s come back?” cried Julius excitedly.
Sir James tapped the table rather impatiently.
“Undoubtedly, Mr. Hersheimmer, since she was able to give her real name.I thought you had appreciated that point.”
“And you just happened to be on the spot,” said Tommy. “Seems quite likea fairy tale.”
But Sir James was far too wary to be drawn.
“Coincidences are curious things,” he said dryly.
Nevertheless Tommy was now certain of what he had before only suspected.Sir James’s presence in Manchester was not accidental. Far fromabandoning the case, as Julius supposed, he had by some means of his ownsuccessfully run the missing girl to earth. The only thing that puzzledTommy was the reason for all this secrecy. He concluded that it was afoible of the legal mind.
Julius was speaking.
“After dinner,” he announced, “I shall go right away and see Jane.”
“That will be impossible, I fear,” said Sir James. “It is very unlikelythey would allow her to see visitors at this time of night. I shouldsuggest to-morrow morning about ten o’clock.”
Julius flushed. There was something in Sir James which always stirredhim to antagonism. It was a conflict of two masterful personalities.
“All the same, I reckon I’ll go round there to-night and see if I can’tginger them up to break through their silly rules.”
“It will be quite useless, Mr. Hersheimmer.”
The words came out like the crack of a pistol, and Tommy looked up witha start. Julius was nervous and excited. The hand with which he raisedhis glass to his lips shook slightly, but his eyes held Sir James’sdefiantly. For a moment the hostility between the two seemed likely toburst into flame, but in the end Julius lowered his eyes, defeated.
“For the moment, I reckon you’re the boss.”
“Thank you,” said the other. “We will say ten o’clock then?” Withconsummate ease of manner he turned to Tommy. “I must confess, Mr.Beresford, that it was something of a surprise to me to see you herethis evening. The last I heard of you was that your friends were ingrave anxiety on your behalf. Nothing had been heard of you forsome days, and Miss Tuppence was inclined to think you had got intodifficulties.”
“I had, sir!” Tommy grinned reminiscently. “I was never in a tighterplace in my life.”
Helped out by questions from Sir James, he gave an abbreviated accountof his adventures. The lawyer looked at him with renewed interest as hebrought the tale to a close.
“You got yourself out of a tight place very well,” he said gravely. “Icongratulate you. You displayed a great deal of ingenuity and carriedyour part through well.”
Tommy blushed, his face assuming a prawnlike hue at the praise.
“I couldn’t have got away but for the girl, sir.”
“No.” Sir James smiled a little. “It was lucky for you she happenedto--er--take a fancy to you.” Tommy appeared about to protest, but SirJames went on. “There’s no doubt about her being one of the gang, Isuppose?”
“I’m afraid not, sir. I thought perhaps they were keeping her there byforce, but the way she acted didn’t fit in with that. You see, she wentback to them when she could have got away.”
Sir James nodded thoughtfully.
“What did she say? Something about wanting to be taken to Marguerite?”
“Yes, sir. I suppose she meant Mrs. Vandemeyer.”
“She always signed herself Rita Vandemeyer. All her friends spoke ofher as Rita. Still, I suppose the girl must have been in the habit ofcalling her by her full name. And, at the moment she was crying out toher, Mrs. Vandemeyer was either dead or dying! Curious! There are oneor two points that strike me as being obscure--their sudden changeof attitude towards yourself, for instance. By the way, the house wasraided, of course?”
“Yes, sir, but they’d all cleared out.”
“Naturally,” said Sir James dryly.
“And not a clue left behind.”
“I wonder----” The lawyer tapped the table thoughtfully.
Something in his voice made Tommy look up. Would this man’s eyes haveseen something where theirs had been blind? He spoke impulsively:
“I wish you’d been there, sir, to go over the house!”
“I wish I had,” said Sir Jame
s quietly. He sat for a moment in silence.Then he looked up. “And since then? What have you been doing?”
For a moment, Tommy stared at him. Then it dawned on him that of coursethe lawyer did not know.
“I forgot that you didn’t know about Tuppence,” he said slowly. Thesickening anxiety, forgotten for a while in the excitement of knowingJane Finn was found at last, swept over him again.
The lawyer laid down his knife and fork sharply.
“Has anything happened to Miss Tuppence?” His voice was keen-edged.
“She’s disappeared,” said Julius.
“When?”
“A week ago.”
“How?”