CHAPTER XXXII
"Mr. Narkom!"
It was an hour later, and Cleek's voice broke the silence abruptly.He had taken out his notebook and had been scribbling in it for somelittle time, but now, as he spoke, he tore out the written leaf andpassed it over to the superintendent.
"Mr. Narkom, I refused, in the beginning, to give you the addressof the little house at which I was located. Here it is. Put it inyour pocketbook against future need, will you?"
"Yes, certainly. But cinnamon! old chap, what good is it to me nowwhen you've left the place?"
"You will understand, perhaps, when I tell you that Miss Lorne isits present occupant. It was for that I took it in the beginning.There may come a need to communicate with her; there may come a needfor her to communicate with you. There's always a chance, you know,that a candle may be put out when the wind blows at it from alldirections; and if anything should happen--I mean if--er--anythinghaving a bearing upon me personally that you think she _ought_to be told should come to pass--well, just go to her at once,will you?--there's a dear friend. That's the address (don't lose it)and full directions how to get there speedily. I am giving it toyou now, as we shall soon be in town again and I shall leave youdirectly we arrive there. I'm in haste to get back to Dollops and seeif between us we can't hit upon some plan, he and I, to get at thewhereabouts of Waldemar. That plain-clothes man of yours is likethe butler with the bottle of cider--he 'doesn't seem to get anyforrarder.'"
"Kibblewhite!" blurted out the superintendent, sitting up sharply."Well, of all the born jackasses, of all the mutton-heads in thisworld----"
"Well, he doesn't seem to be very bright, I must say."
"He? Lud! I wasn't talking about _him_; I was talking about myself.I had something to tell you to-day, and this blessed business droveit clean out of my head. Kibblewhite had the dickens and all of atime trying to get at that chap Serpice, as you may remember?"
"I do--in a measure. Succeeded in finding out, finally, that thecarriage he drove was one he hired from a liveryman by the month, Ithink was the last report you gave me; but couldn't get any furtherwith the business because Serpice took it into his head not to callfor the carriage again and made off, this Kibblewhite chap didn'tknow where, and appears never to have found a means of discovering."
"No; he didn't. But ten days ago he got word from the liverymanthat Serpice had just turned up and was about to make use of thecarriage again; and off Kibblewhite cut, hotfoot, in the hope ofbeing able to follow him. No go, however. By the time he arrivedat the stable Serpice had already gone; so there was nothing leftfor the poor disappointed chap to do but to go out on the hunt andsee if he couldn't pick him up somewhere in the streets."
"Which he didn't, of course?"
"Excuse me--which he _did_. But it was late in the afternoon andhe was coming back to the stable with the carriage empty. Also, itwas in the thick of the traffic at Ludgate Circus, and Kibblewhitewas so afraid the fellow might mix himself up in it and give himthe slip that he took a chance shot to prevent it. Nipping up theofficer on point, he made himself and his business known, and, ina winking, in nips the constable, hauls Mr. Serpice up sharp, andarrests him for driving a public vehicle without a license."
"Well played, Kibblewhite!" approved Cleek. "That, of course, meantthat the fellow would be arrested and have to give his address andall the rest of it?"
"So Kibblewhite himself thought; but what does the beggar do butturn the tables on him in the most unexpected manner by absolutelyrefusing to do anything of the kind, and, as he did _not_ have alicense, and would not call anybody to pay his fine, the magistratefinished the business by committing him to _jail_ for ten days indefault. And here's the thing I was ass enough to forget: His tendays' imprisonment was up this morning; Kibblewhite, in disguise,was to be outside the jail to follow him when he was discharged andsee where he went, and he told me to look for him to turn up at theYard before six this evening with a full report of the result ofhis operations."
"Bravo!" said Cleek, leaning back in his seat, with a sigh ofsatisfaction. "I've changed my mind about leaving you, Mr. Narkom;we will go on to the Yard together. As, in all probability, afterten days without being able to communicate with his pals or withWaldemar, our friend Serpice will be hot to get to them at onceand explain the cause of his long absence, the chances are thatKibblewhite will have something of importance to report at last."
He had, as they found out when, in the fulness of time, they arrivedat the Yard and were told that he was waiting for them in thesuperintendent's office, and in his excitement he almost threw itat them, so eager he was to report.
"I've turned the trick at last, Superintendent," he cried. "Thesilly josser played straight into my hands, sir. The minute he wasout of jail he made a beeline for Soho, and me after him, and therehe 'takes to earth' in a rotten little restaurant in the worst partof the district; and when I nips over and has a look inside, therehe was shakin' hands with a lot of Frenchies of his own kind, andthem all prancin' about and laughin' like they'd gone off theirbloomin' heads. I sees there aren't no back door to the place, andI knows from that that he'd have to come out the same way as hewent in, so off I nips over to the other side of the street andlays in wait for him.
"After about ten minutes or so, out he comes--him and another ofthe lot--moppin' of his mouth with his coat-sleeve, and off theystarts in a great hurry, and me after them. They goes first to abarber shop, where the man I was followin' nips in, has a shave, ahair-cut and a wash-up, while the chap that was with him toddles offand fetches him a clean shirt and a suit of black clothes. Inabout fifteen minutes out my man comes again, makin' a tolerablerespectable appearance, sir, after his barberin' and in his cleanlinen and decent clothes. Him and his mate stands talkin' andgrinnin' for a minute or so, then they shakes hands and separates,and off my man cuts it, westward.
"Sir, I sticks to him like a brother. I follers him smack acrossto the Strand and along that to the Hotel Cecil, and there the beggarnips in and goes up the courtyard as bold as you please, sends uphis name to a gent, the gent sends down word for him to be showedup at once, and in that way I spots my man. For when I goes up to theclerk and shows my badge and asks who was the party my johnniehad asked for, he tells me straight and clear: 'Gentleman he's makinga suit of clothes for--Baron Rodolf de Montravenne, an Austriannobleman, who has been stopping here for weeks!"
Cleek twitched round his eye and glanced at Narkom.
"'Things least hidden are best hidden,'" he quoted, smiling. "Thedear count knows a thing or two, you perceive. You have done verywell indeed, Kibblewhite. Here is your ten-pound note and many thanksfor your services. Good evening."
Kibblewhite took the money and his departure immediately; but so longas he remained within hearing distance--so long as the echo of hisdeparting steps continued to sound--Cleek remained silent, and thecurious crooked smile made a loop in his cheek. But of a sudden:
"Mr. Narkom," he said, quietly "I shan't be found in any of my usualhaunts for the next few days. If, however, you should urgently needme, call at the Hotel Cecil and ask for Captain Maltravers--andcall in disguise, please; our friend the count is keen. Rememberthe name. Or, better still, write it down."
"But, good God! Cleek, such a risk as that----"
"No--please--don't attempt to dissuade me. I want that man, and I'llget him if getting him be humanly possible. That's all. Thanks verymuch. Good-bye."
Then the door opened and shut, and by the time Mr. Narkom could turnround from writing down the name he had been given, he was quitealone in the room.