said."The only service I beg of you is that of complete and absolute silence.It was the German's life or mine. He attacked me murderously with aknife, and what I did was--God knows!--only in self-defence. Yet--yetthe public must know nothing. It is for fear of you, that you mightlearn the truth and expose the affair to the Press, that I have lived inperpetual anxiety, travelling constantly from place to place, in thehope that you would still regard me as the impostor. While you believedthat, I had nothing to fear. My daughter has, indeed, threatened tocommit suicide if the public are told that I killed the man who tried tosteal my secret. To her, your silence means love and life!"
"Yes, Mr. Holford," declared the girl anxiously; "Leonard does not knowthe truth. If he did, he would surely discard me as the daughter of amurderer. Indeed, I could never again hold up my head. I believeimplicitly in my dear father's version of the affair--yet his enemiessurely would not! Will you, at least, give me your promise?" sheimplored.
I hesitated. I was not altogether clear upon many points.
"When I have seen my wife and consulted with her I will give you ananswer, Miss Greer," I said. "I admit that what I have learnt to-dayhas held me in surprise and removed many doubts from my mind."
Kirk was explaining how the tiny golden doll, the little charm which hadbeen discovered after the tragedy, had been traced through thewell-known jeweller in Bond Street who made it, to the Professor aspurchaser; and how Greer had admitted buying it for the purpose ofgiving to Ethelwynn to hang upon her bracelet. But he had lost it onthe previous day. Therefore it was not a clue to the assassin, as wehad at first suspected.
Just then the grave-eyed Antonio reopened the door, bowing, andannouncing to his master that the motor-cab was at the door.
Thereupon Professor Greer shook my hand, with a parting appeal to me topreserve silence.
"You will, no doubt, meet your wife ere long, and she will explain muchwhich is to you still a mystery. Remember that her devotion to you wasthe cause of her absence. She believed that you were in danger. Thatstory was told her to keep her away from you, and thus draw you off theinquiry in which we feared you might be only too successful. Adieu, Mr.Holford! When I return, in a week's time, I hope you will come and havea further chat with me. In the meantime, I can only beg you to forgiveme for being the unwilling means of causing you either horror,annoyance, or anxiety."
And, with a hurried good-bye to the others, he turned and left the room.
"A point upon which I require elucidation," I said, turning to Kirk, "isthe reason why you and those other men were so inquisitive regarding thenew Eckhardt tyre."
"Why I called to see the tyre was simple enough," he said. "MaxLeftwich was posing as the inventor of the tyre in question, and therebytrying to disguise his real profession of German secret agent. But as Ihad come across him in Berlin three years before in the guise of a smallmoney-lender, I doubted his inventive genius. I came to you in order toexamine the Eckhardt tyre, and I satisfied myself that Leftwich's tyrewas a mere worthless imitation. My assistants also came to your garagefor the same purpose, just as I predicted they would. Leftwich hadopened a depot in Charing Cross Road for the sale of motor accessories,and the `improved Eckhardt tyre' was one of the inventions he claimed tobe his."
"But you also had a further motive?" I suggested.
"Certainly, Holford," was his quick reply. "I confess that I hadwatched you for a year, and I felt that I could rely upon you. I wishedto enlist your services as one of my assistants, and to initiate youinto work for which the Government would pay well. It would assuredlyhave been worth your while to leave your business to the care of yourmanager, Mr. Pelham, and take service in the department of which I holdcontrol. But, remember, when I asked you to come here, even I wasdeceived. I believed that my friend Greer, with whom I had had a slightquarrel a few weeks before, was dead. When I found what had reallyoccurred, I saw that the only danger lay in your discovering the truth.Hence all that tangled chain of subterfuges."
"But surely the Professor might, even now, be charged with murder--or atleast with manslaughter!" I remarked.
"My father may, Mr. Holford, if you do not preserve his terriblesecret!" cried Ethelwynn. "Upon you alone depends all the future!"
Once again I demanded the truth concerning Mabel and news of herwhereabouts, but all Kirk would tell me was what Greer had alreadysaid--only a promise that we should meet, and that when we did she wouldmake full and ample explanation.
I returned to Bath Road utterly bewildered, and, seated with Gwen,related to her the whole facts from the first, just as I have hererecounted them.
She sat staring at me open-mouthed.
"But where is Mabel?" she cried in alarm. "The Professor and the othershave returned from abroad, yet she is still absent. Will they accordyou no satisfaction?"
"None!" I replied with a weary sigh. "I don't know, after all, whetherto accept what has been related to me, or whether to disbelieve it."
"The fact that the police refused to inquire into your story, Harry,seems sufficient proof that this man Kirk is a powerful and influentialperson. Indeed, does it not tend to confirm the story that theProfessor did not die, and that he really killed the German inself-defence?"
I admitted that it did. And then I made up my mind that, as Kirk wouldgive me no satisfaction concerning Mabel, I, on my part, would declineto enter into any bond of secrecy.
My wife was worth far more to me than any international complication.What was Germany's wrath at being foiled in her dastardly attempt toobtain the secret of the new steel, to Mabel's honour and her love?
Two lagging days had gone by.
Kershaw Kirk had called in the evening about seven o'clock, but Irefused to see him. I sent word by Annie that I was out driving a car.
"Tell Mr. Holford to come in and see me the instant he returns. I mustspeak to him at the earliest possible moment," he had said. And thiswas the message which the maid had brought to me when the astuteofficial of the British Government had left.
Just before ten I entered Kirk's close little den. He was seated in hisbead slippers and old velvet coat, while behind him stood the greyparrot, which screeched loudly as Miss Kirk opened the door to admit me.
Seated opposite him, near the fire, was Leonard Langton, pale-faced andgrave.
"Ah, Holford!" cried Kirk, springing from his chair, sharp-eyed andalert. "I called on you some time ago. I wanted to--to make anannouncement to you," he added, with a slight catch in his voice, Ithought.
"Of what?"
He took from his table a long telegram. I recognised that it was fromthe Continent by the fact that it was on green "tape" pasted upon aform. Attached to it was a square, dark red label, bearing the words,"Government telegram: with priority."
"Read that!" he said simply.
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.
THE PROBLEM SOLVED.
I scanned it through--then held my breath. It was from Angouleme, inCentral France, and signed by somebody named Croxton, evidently a personin the secret employ of our Government. The telegram was a jumble ofcipher figures and letters, but above, written in ink, were theirequivalents in plain English. The message read:
"Details are as follow: Professor Greer left Paris by the `Rapide' at9:29 last night for Bordeaux. He occupied a first-class compartmentalone, and at Poitiers was seen by the _chef du train_ asleep. Soonafter passing Moussac, towards Angouleme, two men in the adjoiningcompartment were startled at hearing three pistol shots in rapidsuccession. They looked out, and saw a man open the carriage door andleap from the train. The train was stopped by pulling thecommunication-cord, whereon the Professor was found dead on the floor ofthe carriage. His assailant had evidently entered the carriage atRuffec, the junction for La Rochelle. The passengers instituted asearch back along the line towards Moussac, where they found themurderer lying in a ditch with his neck broken. Both bodies have beenbrought here to Angouleme, and by papers upon the assassin he has beenidentifie
d as a German named Henke, lately living at Hillside Cottage,Epping. Have had the body photographed, and sending you print foridentification. Am making arrangements for sending the late Professor'sbody to London. Wire further instructions."
"What does this mean?" I gasped.
"We know the man Henke," Kirk replied. "He was a German secret agent,who has lately been engaged with a number of others in making a completesurvey north of London. He was brother-in-law to Leftwich. It was hewho entered the house in Sussex Place to make certain that his relativewas dead, and who, on finding Ethelwynn there, attacked her so savagely,believing he had killed her. Finding that he had not, he evidentlyfollowed the Professor, and, alas! avenged Leftwich's death."
"Then the poor