XXV. AN UNEXPECTED ACCOMPLICE
Gurn was walking nervously up and down in his cell after this interview,when the door was pushed open and the cheery face of the warder Nibetlooked in.
"Evening, Gurn," he said; "it's six o'clock, and the restaurant-keeperopposite wants to know if he is to send your dinner in to you."
"No," Gurn growled. "I'll have the prison ordinary."
"Oh--ho!" said the warder; "funds low, eh? Of course, it's not for youto despise our dietary, but still, Government beans----" He came furtherinto the cell, ignoring Gurn's impatient preference for his room to hiscompany, and said in a low tone: "There, take that," and thrust abank-note into the hand of the dumbfounded prisoner. "And if you wantany more, they will be forthcoming," he added. He made a sign to Gurn tosay nothing, and went to the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes: I'lljust go and order a decent dinner for you."
Gurn felt as if a tremendous weight had been lifted from him; the cellseemed larger, the prison walls less high; he had an intuition that LadyBeltham was not deserting him. He had never doubted the sincerity of herfeelings for him, but he quite realised how a woman in her delicateposition might feel embarrassed in trying to intervene in favour of anyprisoner, and much more so in the case of the one whom the entire worldbelieved to be the single-handed murderer of her husband. But now LadyBeltham had intervened. She had succeeded in communicating with himthrough the medium of this warder. And almost certainly she would domuch more yet.
* * * * *
The door opened again, and the warder entered, carrying a long rushbasket containing several dishes and a bottle of wine.
"Well, Gurn, that's a more agreeable sort of dinner, eh?"
"Gad, I wanted it after all," said the murderer with a smile. "It was agood idea of yours, M. Nibet, to insist on my getting my dinner sent infrom outside."
Nibet winked; he appreciated his prisoner's tact; obviously he was notone to make untimely allusions to the warder's breach of discipline inconveying money to him so simply, but so very irregularly.
As he ate Gurn chatted with Nibet.
"I suppose it is you who will get Siegenthal's place?"
"Yes," said Nibet, sipping the wine Gurn had offered him. "I have askedfor the berth no end of times, but it never came; I was always told towait because the place was not free, and another berth must be foundfirst for Siegenthal, who was my senior. But the old beast would nevermake any application. However, three days ago, I was sent for to theMinistry, and one of the staff told me that some one in the Embassy, orthe Government, or somewhere, was taking an interest in me, and theyasked me a lot of questions and I told them all about it. And then, allof a sudden, Siegenthal was promoted to Poissy and I was given hisbillet here."
Gurn nodded: he saw light.
"And what about the money?"
"That's stranger still, but I understood all the same. A lady met me inthe street the other night and spoke to me by name. We had a chat thereon the pavement, for the street was empty, and she shoved somebank-notes in my hand--not just one or two, but a great bunch----, andshe told me that she was interested in me--in you----, and that ifthings turned out as she wished there were plenty more bank-notes wherethose came from."
While the warder was talking Gurn watched him carefully. The murdererwas an experienced reader of character in faces, and he speedilyrealised that his lady's choice had fallen on an excellent object. Thicklips, a narrow forehead, and prominent cheek-bones suggested a materialnature that would hesitate at nothing which would satisfy his carnalappetites, so Gurn decided that further circumlocution was so much wasteof time, and that he might safely come to the point. He laid his handfamiliarly on the warder's shoulder.
"I'm getting sick of being here," he remarked.
"I dare say," the warder answered uneasily; "but you must be guided byreason; time is going on, and things arrange themselves."
"They do when you help them," Gurn said peremptorily; "and you and I aregoing to help them."
"That remains to be seen," said the warder.
"Of course, everything has got to be paid for," Gurn went on. "One can'texpect a warder to risk his situation merely to help a prisoner toescape." He smiled as the warder made an exclamation of nervous warning."Don't be frightened, Nibet. We're not going to play any fool games, butlet us talk seriously. Of course you have another appointment with theworthy lady who gave you that money?"
"I am to meet her to-night at eleven, in the boulevard Arago," Nibetsaid, after a moment's hesitation.
"Good," said Gurn. "Well, you are to tell her that I must have tenthousand francs."
"What?" exclaimed the man, in utter astonishment, but his eyes shonewith greed.
"Ten thousand francs," Gurn repeated calmly, "and by to-morrow morning.Fifteen hundred of those are for you; I will go away to-morrow evening."
There was a tense silence; the warder seemed doubtful, and Gurn turnedthe whole of his will power upon him to persuade him.
"Suppose they suspect me?" said Nibet.
"Idiot!" Gurn retorted; "all you will do will be to make a slip in yourduty: I don't want you to be an accomplice. Listen: there will beanother five thousand francs for you, and if things turn out awkwardlyfor you, all you will have to do will be to go across to England, andlive there comfortably for the rest of your days."
The warder was obviously almost ready to comply.
"Who will guarantee me?" he asked.
"The lady, I tell you--the lady of the boulevard Arago. Here, give herthis," and he tore a leaf out of his pocket-book and, scribbling a fewwords on it, handed it to Nibet.
"Well," said the warder hesitatingly: "I don't say 'no.'"
"You've got to say 'yes,'" Gurn retorted.
The two looked steadily in each other's eyes; then the warder blenched.
"Yes," he said.
Nibet was going away, and was already almost in the corridor when Gurncalmly called him back.
"You will evolve a plan, and I will start to-morrow. Don't forget tobring me a time-table; the Orleans Company time-table will do."
* * * * *
The murderer was not disappointed in his expectations. The next morningNibet appeared with a mysterious face and eager eyes. He took a smallbundle from underneath his jersey and gave it to Gurn.
"Hide that in your bed," he said, and Gurn obeyed.
The morning passed without further developments; numerous warders cameand went in the corridor, attending to the prisoners, and Gurn could getno private talk with Nibet, who contrived, however, to come into hiscell several times on various pretexts and assure him with a nod or aword that all was going well. But presently, when walking in theexercise yard, the two men were able to have a conversation.
Nibet manifested an intelligence of which his outer appearance gave noindication; but it seems to be an established fact that the inventivefaculties, even of men of inferior mental quality, are sharpened whenthey are engaged in mischief.
"For the last three weeks," he said, "about a score of masons have beenworking in the prison, repairing the roof and doing up some of thecells. Cell number 129, the one next yours, is empty, and there are nobars on the window; the masons go through that cell and that window toget on to the roof. They knock off work soon after six o'clock. Thegate-keeper knows them all, but he does not always look closely at theirfaces when they go by, and you might perhaps be able to go out withthem.
"In the bundle that I gave you there is a pair of workman's trousers,and a waistcoat and a felt hat; put those on. At about a quarter to six,the men who went up on to the roof through the cell, come down by way ofthe skylights to the staircase that leads to the clerk's office, passthe office, where they are asked no questions, cross the two yards andgo out by the main gate. I will open the door of your cell a few minutesbefore six, and you must go into the empty cell next yours, slip up onto the roof and take care to hide behind the chimney stacks until themen have done w
ork. Let them go down in front of you, and follow behindwith a pick or a shovel on your shoulder, and when you are passing theclerk, or anywhere where you might be observed, mind you let the men goa yard or two in front of you. When the gate is just being shut afterthe last workman, call out quietly, but as naturally as you can, 'Holdon, M. Morin; mind you don't lock me in; I'm not one of your lodgers;let me out after my mates.' Make some joke of that sort, and when youare once outside the gate, by George, my boy, you'll have to vamoose!"
Gurn listened attentively to the warder's instructions. Lady Belthammust, indeed, have been generous and have made the man perfectly easy onthe score of his own future.
"In one of the pockets of the clothes," Nibet went on, "I have put tenhundred-franc notes; you asked for more, but I could not raise it: wecan settle that some other time."
Gurn made no comment.
"When will my escape be discovered?" he asked.
"I am on night duty," the warder answered. "Arrange your clothes on yourbed to make it look as if you were in bed, and then they will think Imight have been deceived. I go off duty at five; the next round is ateight. My mate will open the door of the cage, and by that time you willbe miles away."
Gurn nodded comprehension. Time did not permit of longer conversation.The bell had rung some minutes ago, proclaiming that the exercise timewas over. The two men hurried upstairs to cell number 127 on the thirdfloor, and the prisoner was locked in alone, while Nibet went about hisduty as usual.