The Red Room

you, Holford."

  "Nothing can amaze me in this crooked affair," I declared. "You soughtmy aid in an endeavour to discover who killed Professor Greer, yet,having gained my confidence, you at once abused it!" I cried, withbitter reproach.

  "That is your present opinion," he said, with a keen, crafty look.

  "An opinion based upon your actions towards me!" I exclaimed hotly.

  "My dear Holford," he said, "now let us speak quite frankly, as man toman." And he bent towards me in an eager attitude. "I put it to youwhether, in the circumstances--not overlooking the fact that ScotlandYard has refused you assistance--to forget what you saw that nightupstairs in the laboratory, to place it aside as though you neverwitnessed it, is not the best plan?"

  "Ah, you wish still to hush up the tragedy!" I cried. "The reason is,of course, quite obvious."

  "You misinterpret my words. I wish to avoid bringing scandal uponinnocent folk," Kirk replied quickly. "You once gave me a pledge ofsecrecy, and you broke it. Will you give me another?"

  "And if I gave it," I asked, not without some hesitation, "would theseprecious friends of yours give me back my wife?"

  "I cannot answer for others. Personally, I will do all I can to assistyou," was his somewhat evasive reply.

  "Why do you wish to extract this promise from me?" I demandeddubiously.

  "Because--well, because you must give it. You _must_ remain silent,Holford. It is imperative!"

  "You really ask too much of me," I laughed sarcastically. "I know theghastly truth. You showed it to me of your own accord--you yourselfdrew me into this dark, mysterious affair, and now you coolly demand mysilence, because you are, I suppose, interested in the money realised bythe sale of Professor Greer's secret."

  "Ethelwynn Greer makes the same demand as myself," he said calmly."Surely you don't believe that the girl has participated in anyshamefully obtained profits?"

  "The girl saw her father dead, and now refuses to admit it," Iresponded.

  "How do you know that she did?" he asked. "What actual evidence haveyou upon that point, beyond my word--repeated from the story told to meby Antonio?"

  "Ah! so Antonio is changing his tale in order to fit the new order ofevents--is he?"

  "Well," Kirk said, after a brief pause, "that there is a new order ofevents--as you put it--I admit. Yet, whatever they may be, yoursilence, Holford, as well as mine, is imperative. You hear that!" headded, looking straight into my face.

  "To hear and to heed are scarcely synonymous," I remarked in anger. Iwas incensed with this man who refused to give me any satisfactionconcerning Mabel, and yet commanded my silence.

  Was it not a very curious feature of the affair, I reflected, thatEthelwynn had ingeniously approached me, offering me news of Mabel inreturn for my undertaking to make no further inquiry into her father'ssecret death? How much did Langton know, and what was the extent of theknowledge of that friend of his, the specialist in diseases of thethroat and nose?

  For a few moments I sat in silence, longing for the return of the bogusProfessor, the man whom I had followed through Edinburgh and Glasgow,yet who had so very cleverly escaped my vigilance.

  I was anxious to meet him, and to see what kind of man he could be. Asan impostor he was, it seemed, shameless and bold beyond human credence.

  How many thousands had Edwards and Sutton paid to him for that greatsecret that was not his own?

  Antonio, suave and cringing, suddenly put his head in at the door,asking:

  "Did you ring, signore?"

  "No!" I cried, rising angrily, "Mr. Kirk did not ring. I supposeyou've been listening outside--eh? You are one of the accomplices inthe murder of your master--and by Heaven, you shall pay for it! IfScotland Yard will not help me, then I'll take the law into my own handsand give the public an illustration of the red-tape and the uselessnessof the police!"

  "The signore is a little excited!" was the man's quiet remark to Kirk.

  "Excited, by Heaven!" I cried. "I'll be fooled no longer by any ofyou--band of assassins that you are! You ask me to believe that blackis white, and tell me that my own eyes deceive me. But I'll be evenwith you yet--mark me!"

  "Pray calm yourself, Holford," said Kirk, shifting his position slightlyand still leaning easily against the table, "No good can be served byrecrimination."

  The man's cunning was unequalled; his ingenuity almost superhuman. OnceI had held him in awe, but now, knowing the truth, that I heldinformation which it was his earnest desire to suppress, I felttriumphant.

  "I admit," he said, still speaking calmly, as Antonio disappeared andshut the door--"I admit that there are certain ugly facts--very uglyfacts which are difficult to forget, but is it not better to be mercifulto the innocent and living than to revenge the dead?"

  "You desire to seal my lips, my dear sir," I said. "Why don't you speakquite plainly?"

  "Yes," he admitted, "I make that appeal to you because--well, forseveral very strong reasons--Ethelwynn's future being one."

  "And what, pray, need I care for that girl's future, now that mine hasbeen wrecked by the devilish machinations of you and your gang?" Icried in bitter anger.

  "Your denunciation is quite uncalled for, Holford!" he exclaimed.

  "It is not," I protested. "You know where my wife is, and you refuse totell me!" was my quick answer.

  "Please don't let us discuss that further," he urged. "The point iswhether you will, or you will not, regard all you saw in this house acouple of months ago as entirely confidential."

  "Why?"

  "For reasons which you shall know later. I regret that I cannot explainat this moment, because I should be breaking a confidence," heresponded. "But," he added, looking at me very seriously, "a life--awoman's life--depends upon your silence!"

  I hesitated a moment.

  "Ah, I see!" I cried. "Then the girl conspired to encompass herfather's end, and is now in fear of the impostor!"

  "I must leave you to your own opinion," he said, with a shrug of histhin shoulders. Then, turning away to the window, he thrust his handsinto his pockets, and, with that cosmopolitan air of his, he hummed averse of that catchy song of the boulevards he so often sang.

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.

  I AM FACED WITH ANOTHER DIFFICULTY.

  The careless manner in which Kirk seemed to treat the grave issue of mylife enraged me. This man, who in Chiswick posed as shabby andbroken-down, was certainly no ordinary person. He was a shrewd, cleveradventurer, possessed of resources that had even astonished Sir MarkEdwards. He had entrapped me, for some hidden reason of his own, andnow he held me in a hateful bondage.

  But with the vivid recollection of Mabel upon me, I resolved to defythis enemy of mine at all costs. I was only awaiting the return of thefalse Professor to unmask the pair, to call a constable, and to givethem both in charge.

  What the result would be, I cared not. I should, however, at least beafforded an opportunity to make revelations in the police-court whichthey would find it somewhat awkward to refute. Surely by doing this Ishould be performing a work of public benefit? The pair were cleverswindlers, reaping the harvest from that secret discovered by theunfortunate man who had been purposely killed.

  "You appear, Mr. Kirk, to consider me an absolute fool!" I said,interrupting his song.

  "I do, my dear Holford, I do. You have acted against your owninterests, and even now you are spitting against the wind."

  "You desire my silence, yet you offer me nothing in return!" I said.

  "Oh, you want payment!" he cried. "My dear sir, you have only to nameyour own price. We shall not quarrel over it, I can assure you."

  "No," I said angrily, "I desire no blood-money, even though it is tosave Ethelwynn Greer. I have all along suspected her of some complicityin the affair, although on the night you removed her to that house inFoley Street she accused you of the crime!"

  He started quickly and turned to me, his countenance slightly paler.

  "Repe
at that," he said quietly.

  I did so. I told him how I had followed him to Foley Street, of thescreams and words I had heard while standing in the fog outside thehouse.

  "H'm. So you think I'm guilty of the crime, eh?" he said simply.

  "I repeat the girl's allegation against you," I said. "And yet thissame girl now declares that the Professor is not dead!" Then I added:"He was dead when we were together in the laboratory, was he not? Come,speak plainly!"

  "Certainly he was!"

  "And men do not come to life again when once dead, do they?"

  "But this is an unusual case, I tell you. He--"

  "However unusual, you cannot alter the laws of life and death," Ideclared.

  "Well, my dear Holford, how I wish I could reveal to you one simpletruth. It would astound you, no doubt, but it would at the same timealter your opinion of me."

  "Oh, of course," I laughed bitterly. "You're not so black as you'repainted--you who have conspired to hold my wife aloof from me--you whofor aught I know have told her some infamous tale which has caused herto look upon me with doubt and horror! I have recently learnt that shewas acquainted with this man who calls himself Ernest Greer, and that,before she left my roof, she received word in secret from him."

  "Your wife's affairs are surely of no interest to me, Holford," said thegrey-faced old scoundrel. "I am merely putting forward to you a simplematter of business--in a word, making a proposal for yourconsideration."

  "A proposal which I will never accept--_never_, you understand!" Iadded with emphasis.

  "Not if I appeal to you on behalf of Ethelwynn, on behalf of a girlwhose very life is dependent upon your silence?" he asked earnestly.

  "The punishment for murder is death," was my hard response.

  He regarded me steadily, without speaking. I saw that he realised mysteadfastness of purpose, and that I meant to reveal the truth to allthe world.

  "But," he cried at last, "you surely will not act as a fool, Holford! Itold you on the night we first sat together of the great issues thatdepended upon your silence, and I repeat it now."

  "Why did you entice me into this complicated tangle of crime andmystery?" I demanded quickly. "Tell me that."

  "Because--well--" And he hesitated. "Because I--I was a fool--I admitit frankly. I ought never to have approached you. Three days later Iregretted it deeply."

  "Regretted it because you found, to your surprise, that you had no foolto deal with!" I cried.

  "No; because I had made a mistake in another direction. But--but,hark?"

  I listened and heard a footstep outside on the stairs.

  "The Professor!" Kirk exclaimed. "He has returned. I'll introduceyou."

  I rose from my chair, my teeth set together, my hand gripping the edgeof the table.

  An instant later the door opened, and I stood boldly face to face withthe impostor.

  Kirk, with that calm suavity of manner that so annoyed and irritated me,introduced us.

  But I bowed coldly to the well-dressed, elderly impostor, a man withkeen, deep-set eyes, and a short, scrubby grey beard, asking of mycompanion:

  "Is this farce really necessary, Mr. Kirk, when I know the truth?"

  The new-comer looked askance at his accomplice, who gave him a quick,meaning look.

  "Ah! my dear Mr. Holford!" exclaimed the bogus Professor, "I've beenmost anxious to meet you for a considerable time. This is a greatpleasure."

  "And one which I most heartily reciprocate," was my hard reply. "I'vebeen endeavouring to find you for a long time. I followed you inEdinburgh, in Glasgow, and later on in Birmingham."

  "Then surely it is a rather happy circumstance that we have met to-day?"he said, rather fussily.

  "Happy for me, but perhaps unhappy for you!" I replied, with a drylaugh.

  "Why?"

  "Because I now intend to expose your very clever plot. The secret youhave sold to Sir Mark Edwards does not belong to you at all, but toProfessor Ernest Greer, the man who was killed in the room yonder--inhis own laboratory!"

  His lips grew paler and set themselves hard. I saw in his dark eyes anexpression of fear. He held me in terror--that was quite plain.

  "Holford, you are mistaken," declared Kirk.

  "In what way?" I demanded.

  "Professor Ernest Greer stands before you!"

  "No!" I cried. "This man is the impostor--the impostor who wrote to mywife, and enticed her from her home."

  "I wrote to Mrs. Holford, certainly," was the fellow's cool reply. "Butwithout any evil intent; of that she will herself assure you."

  "Where is she?"

  "You will, no doubt, see her before very long, and she will explain thereason of her absence."

  "Ah!" I said, "you adventurers dare not tell me the truth with your ownlips. Remember, I saw the Professor lying dead in this house. Youcannot induce me to believe that my eyes deceived me!"

  "And yet you see the Professor alive before you now!" declared Kirk witha triumphant laugh.

  But I made a gesture of disgust, declaring that I refused to be fooledfurther.

  "You are not being fooled, Mr. Holford," asserted the man in a calm,distinct voice, as he opened the door and called to Antonio.

  The grave-eyed man-servant entered in a few seconds, and as he did sothe new-comer said: "Antonio, will you please tell this gentleman who Iam?"

  "You are my dear master, signore--the Signor Professor Ernest Greer."

  "I already know, Antonio, that you're a clever liar," I cried, "so youcan retire."

  "The Signorina Ethelwynn has just arrived, signore," remarked the highlyrespectable manservant.

  "Ah! then tell my daughter to come up?" he cried. "She will no doubtsatisfy Mr. Holford that I am no impostor."

  "Miss Ethelwynn saw her father lying dead, as I did; how, therefore, canshe identify you as her deceased parent? Have you a half-brother, orsome relation strongly resembling you?"

  "No, I have not," was his quick reply. "I am simply Professor ErnestGreer, whom a thousand persons living can identify."

  At that moment the fair-haired girl neatly attired in fur jacket,tailor-made skirt, and toque entered, and, with a spring, fell into theimpostor's arms and kissed him.

  That piece of acting was, without doubt, perfect. Yet I stood aside andsmiled. Had not Kirk previously admitted to me that his earnestendeavour was to secure my silence?

  "Am I your father?" asked the dark-eyed man of Ethelwynn, standing withhis hand upon her shoulder.

  "Of course you are, dear dad! Why?"

  "Because this gentleman will not believe it!" he laughed.

  "This is my father, Mr. Holford," the girl declared, turning to me.

  "But did not you, with your own eyes, see your father dead in hislaboratory?" I asked seriously. "Are you not being misled, as thesemen are trying to mislead me?" I suggested.

  She hesitated, glancing towards the man who posed as the Professor asthough expecting him to reply for her.

  "No," I went on, "this is a conspiracy--a plot to place this man in adead man's shoes. And you know it, Miss Ethelwynn."

  "I tell you he's my father!" the girl persisted. "Cannot you believeus?"

  "Not without some independent proof," I said. This persistence angeredme.

  "Then what proof do you require?" asked the man. "Shall I call thepark-keeper at Clarence Gate? He has known me and seen me every day fora number of years."

  "Call him, if you wish," I said, though, truth to tell, I did not intendto be longer fooled by the ingenious machinations of Kirk and his gang.

  Antonio was sent to find the park-keeper, who, in due time, appeared,carrying his gold-laced hat in his hand.

  "You've known Professor Greer a long time?" I asked the white-headedman.

  "Several years, sir," was his quick reply.

  "And do you recognise this gentleman as the Professor?" I asked.

  "Certainly, sir; I saw him pass in at the gate this morning.
He's cutoff his beard, and that makes a bit of difference to a man, you know!"

  He laughed.

  "You have no hesitation in identifying him, eh?" I asked. "You'll beable to swear to him in a court of law?"

  "Yes, sir, in any court of law. The Professor's been very kind to me,once or twice; therefore it isn't likely that I forget either his faceor his voice."

  This bewildered me. Was it possible that this impostor was theProfessor's twin brother? I felt confident that Kirk was continuingsome very ingenious conspiracy. Was not his suggestion to me that Ishould forget the tragedy sufficient proof of double dealing?

  I thanked the park-keeper, who withdrew with Antonio, whereupon Kirkasked me whether I was not satisfied.

  "No," I said, "and I shall never be satisfied until I discover theidentity of the man who killed Professor Greer."

  "But Professor Greer stands before you!" declared Ethelwynn; "nobodykilled him!"

  "So you wish me to believe," I said with a smile, "but as