The Old Man in the Corner
CHAPTER XII
THE LIVERPOOL MYSTERY
"A title--a foreign title, I mean--is always very useful for purposes ofswindles and frauds," remarked the man in the corner to Polly one day."The cleverest robberies of modern times were perpetrated lately inVienna by a man who dubbed himself Lord Seymour; whilst over here thesame class of thief calls himself Count Something ending in 'o,' orPrince the other, ending in 'off.'"
"Fortunately for our hotel and lodging-house keepers over here," shereplied, "they are beginning to be more alive to the ways of foreignswindlers, and look upon all titled gentry who speak broken English aspossible swindlers or thieves."
"The result sometimes being exceedingly unpleasant to the real _grandsseigneurs_ who honour this country at times with their visits," repliedthe man in the corner. "Now, take the case of Prince Semionicz, a manwhose sixteen quarterings are duly recorded in Gotha, who carried enoughluggage with him to pay for the use of every room in an hotel for atleast a week, whose gold cigarette case with diamond and turquoiseornament was actually stolen without his taking the slightest trouble totry and recover it; that same man was undoubtedly looked upon withsuspicion by the manager of the Liverpool North-Western Hotel from themoment that his secretary--a dapper, somewhat vulgar littleFrenchman--bespoke on behalf of his employer, with himself and a valet,the best suite of rooms the hotel contained.
"Obviously those suspicions were unfounded, for the little secretary, assoon as Prince Semionicz had arrived, deposited with the manager a pileof bank notes, also papers and bonds, the value of which would exceedtenfold the most outrageous bill that could possibly be placed beforethe noble visitor. Moreover, M. Albert Lambert explained that thePrince, who only meant to stay in Liverpool a few days, was on his wayto Chicago, where he wished to visit Princess Anna Semionicz, hissister, who was married to Mr. Girwan, the great copper king andmulti-millionaire.
"Yet, as I told you before, in spite of all these undoubted securities,suspicion of the wealthy Russian Prince lurked in the minds of mostLiverpudlians who came in business contact with him. He had been at theNorth-Western two days when he sent his secretary to Window andVassall, the jewellers of Bold Street, with a request that they wouldkindly send a representative round to the hotel with some nice pieces ofjewellery, diamonds and pearls chiefly, which he was desirous of takingas a present to his sister in Chicago.
"Mr. Winslow took the order from M. Albert with a pleasant bow. Then hewent to his inner office and consulted with his partner, Mr. Vassall, asto the best course to adopt. Both the gentlemen were desirous of doingbusiness, for business had been very slack lately: neither wished torefuse a possible customer, or to offend Mr. Pettitt, the manager of theNorth-Western, who had recommended them to the Prince. But that foreigntitle and the vulgar little French secretary stuck in the throats of thetwo pompous and worthy Liverpool jewellers, and together they agreed,firstly, that no credit should be given; and, secondly, that if a chequeor even a banker's draft were tendered, the jewels were not to be givenup until that cheque or draft was cashed.
"Then came the question as to who should take the jewels to the hotel.It was altogether against business etiquette for the senior partners todo such errands themselves; moreover, it was thought that it would beeasier for a clerk to explain, without giving undue offence, that hecould not take the responsibility of a cheque or draft, without havingcashed it previously to giving up the jewels.
"Then there was the question of the probable necessity of conferring ina foreign tongue. The head assistant, Charles Needham, who had been inthe employ of Winslow and Vassall for over twelve years, was, in trueBritish fashion, ignorant of any language save his own; it was thereforedecided to dispatch Mr. Schwarz, a young German clerk lately arrived, onthe delicate errand.
"Mr. Schwarz was Mr. Winslow's nephew and godson, a sister of thatgentleman having married the head of the great German firm of Schwarz &Co., silversmiths, of Hamburg and Berlin.
"The young man had soon become a great favourite with his uncle, whoseheir he would presumably be, as Mr. Winslow had no children.
"At first Mr. Vassall made some demur about sending Mr. Schwarz with somany valuable jewels alone in a city which he had not yet had the timeto study thoroughly; but finally he allowed himself to be persuaded byhis senior partner, and a fine selection of necklaces, pendants,bracelets, and rings, amounting in value to over L16,000, having beenmade, it was decided that Mr. Schwarz should go to the North-Western ina cab the next day at about three o'clock in the afternoon. This heaccordingly did, the following day being a Thursday.
"Business went on in the shop as usual under the direction of the headassistant, until about seven o'clock, when Mr. Winslow returned from hisclub, where he usually spent an hour over the papers every afternoon,and at once asked for his nephew. To his astonishment Mr. Needhaminformed him that Mr. Schwarz had not yet returned. This seemed a littlestrange, and Mr. Winslow, with a slightly anxious look in his face, wentinto the inner office in order to consult his junior partner. Mr.Vassall offered to go round to the hotel and interview Mr. Pettitt.
"'I was beginning to get anxious myself,' he said, 'but did not quitelike to say so. I have been in over half an hour, hoping every momentthat you would come in, and that perhaps you could give me somereassuring news. I thought that perhaps you had met Mr. Schwarz, andwere coming back together.'
"However, Mr. Vassall walked round to the hotel and interviewed the hallporter. The latter perfectly well remembered Mr. Schwarz sending in hiscard to Prince Semionicz.
"'At what time was that?' asked Mr. Vassall.
"'About ten minutes past three, sir, when he came; it was about an hourlater when he left.'
"'When he left?' gasped, more than said, Mr. Vassall.
"'Yes, sir. Mr. Schwarz left here about a quarter before four, sir.'
"'Are you quite sure?'
"'Quite sure. Mr. Pettitt was in the hall when he left, and he asked himsomething about business. Mr. Schwarz laughed and said, "not bad." Ihope there's nothing wrong, sir,' added the man.
"'Oh--er--nothing--thank you. Can I see Mr. Pettitt?'
"'Certainly, sir.'
"Mr. Pettitt, the manager of the hotel, shared Mr. Vassall's anxiety,immediately he heard that the young German had not yet returned home.
"'I spoke to him a little before four o'clock. We had just switched onthe electric light, which we always do these winter months at that hour.But I shouldn't worry myself, Mr. Vassall; the young man may have seento some business on his way home. You'll probably find him in when yougo back.'
"Apparently somewhat reassured, Mr. Vassall thanked Mr. Pettitt andhurried back to the shop, only to find that Mr. Schwarz had notreturned, though it was now close on eight o'clock.
"Mr. Winslow looked so haggard and upset that it would have been cruelto heap reproaches upon his other troubles or to utter so much as thefaintest suspicion that young Schwarz's permanent disappearance withL16,000 in jewels and money was within the bounds of probability.
"There was one chance left, but under the circumstances a very slightone indeed. The Winslows' private house was up the Birkenhead end of thetown. Young Schwarz had been living with them ever since his arrival inLiverpool, and he may have--either not feeling well or for some otherreason--gone straight home without calling at the shop. It was unlikely,as valuable jewellery was never kept at the private house, but--it justmight have happened.
"It would be useless," continued the man in the corner, "and decidedlyuninteresting, were I to relate to you Messrs. Winslow's and Vassall'sfurther anxieties with regard to the missing young man. Suffice it tosay that on reaching his private house Mr. Winslow found that his godsonhad neither returned nor sent any telegraphic message of any kind.
"Not wishing to needlessly alarm his wife, Mr. Winslow made an attemptat eating his dinner, but directly after that he hurried back to theNorth-Western Hotel, and asked to see Prince Semionicz. The Prince wasat the theatre with his secretary, and probably would no
t be home untilnearly midnight.
"Mr. Winslow, then, not knowing what to think, nor yet what to fear, andin spite of the horror he felt of giving publicity to his nephew'sdisappearance, thought it his duty to go round to the police-station andinterview the inspector. It is wonderful how quickly news of that typetravels in a large city like Liverpool. Already the morning papers ofthe following day were full of the latest sensation: 'Mysteriousdisappearance of a well-known tradesman.'
"Mr. Winslow found a copy of the paper containing the sensationalannouncement on his breakfast-table. It lay side by side with a letteraddressed to him in his nephew's handwriting, which had been posted inLiverpool.
"Mr. Winslow placed that letter, written to him by his nephew, into thehands of the police. Its contents, therefore, quickly became publicproperty. The astounding statements made therein by Mr. Schwarz created,in quiet, businesslike Liverpool, a sensation which has seldom beenequalled.
"It appears that the young fellow did call on Prince Semionicz at aquarter past three on Wednesday, December 10th, with a bag full ofjewels, amounting in value to some L16,000. The Prince duly admired, andfinally selected from among the ornaments a necklace, pendant, andbracelet, the whole being priced by Mr. Schwarz, according to hisinstructions, at L10,500. Prince Semionicz was most prompt andbusinesslike in his dealings.
"'You will require immediate payment for these, of course,' he said inperfect English, 'and I know you business men prefer solid cash tocheques, especially when dealing with foreigners. I always providemyself with plenty of Bank of England notes in consequence,' he addedwith a pleasant smile, 'as L10,500 in gold would perhaps be a littleinconvenient to carry. If you will kindly make out the receipt, mysecretary, M. Lambert, will settle all business matters with you.'
"He thereupon took the jewels he had selected and locked them up in hisdressing-case, the beautiful silver fillings of which Mr. Schwarz justcaught a short glimpse of. Then, having been accommodated with paper andink, the young jeweller made out the account and receipt, whilst M.Lambert, the secretary, counted out before him 105 crisp Bank of Englandnotes of L100 each. Then, with a final bow to his exceedingly urbane andeminently satisfactory customer, Mr. Schwarz took his leave. In the hallhe saw and spoke to Mr. Pettitt, and then he went out into the street.
"He had just left the hotel and was about to cross towards St. George'sHall when a gentleman, in a magnificent fur coat, stepped quickly out ofa cab which had been stationed near the kerb, and, touching him lightlyupon the shoulder, said with an unmistakable air of authority, at thesame time handing him a card:
"'That is my name. I must speak with you immediately."
"Schwarz glanced at the card, and by the light of the arc lamps abovehis head read on it the name of 'Dimitri Slaviansky Burgreneff, de laIIIe Section de la Police Imperial de S.M. le Czar.'
"Quickly the owner of the unpronounceable name and the significant titlepointed to the cab from which he had just alighted, and Schwarz, whoseevery suspicion with regard to his princely customer bristled up in onemoment, clutched his bag and followed his imposing interlocutor; as soonas they were both comfortably seated in the cab the latter began, withcourteous apology in broken but fluent English:
"'I must ask your pardon, sir, for thus trespassing upon your valuabletime, and I certainly should not have done so but for the certainty thatour interests in a certain matter which I have in hand are practicallyidentical, in so far that we both should wish to outwit a clever rogue.'
"Instinctively, and his mind full of terrible apprehension, Mr.Schwarz's hand wandered to his pocket-book, filled to overflowing withthe bank-notes which he had so lately received from the Prince.
"'Ah, I see,' interposed the courteous Russian with a smile, 'he hasplayed the confidence trick on you, with the usual addition of so manyso-called bank-notes.'
"'So-called,' gasped the unfortunate young man.
"'I don't think I often err in my estimate of my own countrymen,'continued M. Burgreneff; 'I have vast experience, you must remember.Therefore, I doubt if I am doing M.--er--what does he callhimself?--Prince something--an injustice if I assert, even withouthandling those crisp bits of paper you have in your pocket-book, that nobank would exchange them for gold.'
"Remembering his uncle's suspicions and his own, Mr. Schwarz cursedhimself for his blindness and folly in accepting notes so easily withoutfor a moment imagining that they might be false. Now, with every one ofthose suspicions fully on the alert, he felt the bits of paper withnervous, anxious fingers, while the imperturbable Russian calmly strucka match.
"'See here,' he said, pointing to one of the notes, 'the shape of that"w" in the signature of the chief cashier. I am not an English policeofficer, but I could pick out that spurious "w" among a thousand genuineones. You see, I have seen a good many.'
"Now, of course, poor young Schwarz had not seen very many Bank ofEngland notes. He could not have told whether one 'w' in Mr. Bowen'ssignature is better than another, but, though he did not speak Englishnearly as fluently as his pompous interlocutor, he understood every wordof the appalling statement the latter had just made.
"'Then that Prince,' he said, 'at the hotel--'
"'Is no more Prince than you and I, my dear sir,' concluded thegentleman of His Imperial Majesty's police calmly.
"'And the jewels? Mr. Winslow's jewels?'
"'With the jewels there may be a chance--oh! a mere chance. These forgedbank-notes, which you accepted so trustingly, may prove the means ofrecovering your property.'
"'How?'
"'The penalty of forging and circulating spurious bank-notes is veryheavy. You know that. The fear of seven years' penal servitude will actas a wonderful sedative upon the--er--Prince's joyful mood. He will giveup the jewels to me all right enough, never you fear. He knows,' addedthe Russian officer grimly, 'that there are plenty of old scores tosettle up, without the additional one of forged bank-notes. Ourinterests, you see, are identical. May I rely on your co-operation?'
"'Oh, I will do as you wish,' said the delighted young German. 'Mr.Winslow and Mr. Vassall, they trusted me, and I have been such a fool. Ihope it is not too late.'
"'I think not,' said M. Burgreneff, his hand already on the door of thecab. 'Though I have been talking to you I have kept an eye on the hotel,and our friend the Prince has not yet gone out. We are accustomed, youknow, to have eyes everywhere, we of the Russian secret police. I don'tthink that I will ask you to be present at the confrontation. Perhapsyou will wait for me in the cab. There is a nasty fog outside, and youwill be more private. Will you give me those beautiful bank-notes? Thankyou! Don't be anxious. I won't be long.'
"He lifted his hat, and slipped the notes into the inner pocket of hismagnificent fur coat. As he did so, Mr. Schwarz caught sight of a richuniform and a wide sash, which no doubt was destined to carry additionalmoral weight with the clever rogue upstairs.
"Then His Imperial Majesty's police officer stepped quickly out of thecab, and Mr. Schwarz was left alone."