The Riddle of the Spinning Wheel

  CHAPTER XXV

  THE MAN IN THE BLACK MASK

  They reached the motor only just in the nick of time, for already thedarkness behind them was rent with cries of "There they are! Head themoff!--there they are!" making the night hideous with the noise of them,and the stampede of feet seemed to grow more dense with every minute.

  Cleek flung his unconscious burden in the car, leaped in after it, andtapped the chauffeur upon the shoulder.

  "Extinguish your lamps and make for Aygon Castle--as quick as you can!"he gave out in the sharp staccato of excitement. "And the quicker thebetter! There's trouble here, and if those men catch up with us to-nightI'll not answer for the lady's safety."

  "Yessir."

  Then with a whizz and a whirr the car was off, rocketing down the laneand taking the corners upon two wheels, so that Cleek had hardly abreath left in his body, and the rush of air that swept them as theysped away began to revive the unconscious form of Catherine Dowd who layupon the seat beside him.

  A drop of brandy, rather uncertainly administered because of thedarkness and the jolting of the car, revived her still more, and inanother moment she had opened her eyes and let them dwell upon his face.In the darkness they glowed like two lamps. And her face was veryfrightened.

  "My God! Not Ross!" she broke out uncertainly, shutting her handstogether across her breast in her agitation. "Then--who are you?"

  "Who knows?" he responded with a touch of gallantry. "It was yourmistake in the first place, remember, not mine. A friend in need,perhaps, who has been able to save you from the consequences of a veryfoolish action. You know what those men were doing?"

  She shook her head dumbly.

  "Then you will learn to-morrow from the lips of a man whom you havelearned to distrust, because he has proved more than a match for youalready. That is so, isn't it? Your Mr. Deland up at the Castle. Fromwhat I heard, you have broken parole, and to do that----"

  "You won't tell?--oh, surely you won't tell!" she gave out in a low,wrung voice. "How you could mimic Ross Duggan as you did is beyond me.But you stole my confidence, and I demand its return: that you tellnothing of to-night to a living soul. Will you promise me that?"

  He paused a moment and looked down at her with frowning brows. Then hisface cleared.

  "Very well, then. That is a bargain. But I don't think you realize justhow near to actual danger you ran to-night in your mad pursuit of RossDuggan. What made you think I was he?"

  "I don't know. Only I had followed him from the Castle down the lane,and then lost sight of him at the edge of the little burn which skirtsthat particular valley. And then I saw--you. And somehow, to myuntrained eyes in the darkness, you looked like him--perhaps I was soanxious to find him that I willed myself unconsciously to think that youwere he--but be that as it may, I made the profound mistake, and--nowthe mischief is done with a vengeance. What shall I do now? What _shall_I do?"

  "Return to Aygon Castle, my dear young lady, by the route by which youleft it, and leave things in Higher Hands than yours," Cleek returnedgravely, as they whizzed past in the darkness, the motor thrumming apurring accompaniment to his low-pitched voice. "Never urge a criminalto flee from justice, for as surely as he remains alive justice willfind him--and make him pay the penalty all the more severely for hispains! Justice must be done in a civilized country, my dear young lady;that is what we pay our taxes for--to uphold those same judges who willmete out justice in a proper, unprejudiced fashion."

  "But Ross--you think he is guilty?"

  "Who knows? Time alone will tell. And his innocence will be betterproved if he is not urged to fly away from the outcome of his actions. Imust ask you, too, a favour. Rather, I must exact a promise. Pleaseleave Ross Duggan alone until after to-morrow."

  "And then?"

  "If I know aught of anything, he will be beyond the power of yourassistance--and perhaps not in need of it," he replied quietly. "Here isthe Castle. Slip in, now, through that wicket-gate that the tradesmenuse, I believe, and get back to the house as quickly as you can. I'llgive your orders to the chauffeur."

  She got out unsteadily, and then stood looking up at him, her eyesglowing darkly in the frame of her pale, serious face.

  "And you won't tell me who you are? Something--somehow--seems familiarabout you, but I cannot place it. You won't help me?"

  He shook his head.

  "Better let this night's doings be buried in the Limbo of ForgottenThings, dear lady," he said, his hand resting for a moment upon hershoulder. "And if you know not who the sharer of your--er--adventure maybe, surely it is better that way. Good-night and good-bye. You will keepyour promise?"

  She gave him a sudden inscrutable look from beneath her dark brows.Then she flung up her head.

  "Of course. Thank you for what you have done."

  "That is nothing. Good-night."

  "Good-night."

  Like a shadow she was fleeing up the wide drive, her feet barely makingany sound upon it; then, even as she disappeared from view, Cleek turnedswiftly to the chauffeur who sat in the front seat of the car, goggleshiding his eyes from view, and clapped him upon the shoulder.

  "Well done, Dollops, well done!" he rapped out with a soft laugh. "Ithought it was you the minute my peepers rested upon your Cockneycountenance, you little bundle of indefatigability! How did you do it?You caught my meaning, of course? Deuced keen of you, I must say!"

  Dollops grinned, and slipped his goggles into his pocket.

  "Yus," he returned, with a vigorous nod. "I caught the signal orl right.'_Listen_,' you said, didn't you, Guv'nor? So I listens, and then Imakes a little plan all on my lonesome. 'The Guv'-nor's up to summink,'says I ter me, 'an' I'll lay 'e wants me ter tyke a little 'and.' And soI ups and makes fer the road, and there I find the shuvver a-waitin' inthis 'ere little snortin' machine."

  "He was there, then, was he?"

  "Large as life and twice as nat'ril. 'Now, then, me lad,' I says terme, 'git on the right side o' 'im, an' if yer can't git on the rightside, git on the wrong side, s' long as yer gits 'im out of 'is seat.'But a couple er bob to a Scotsman is as big as a legacy, sir, an' I soonputs 'im strite wiv a message from 'is missis. 'Snoop along an' send awire ter town,' says I, _Comin' later in the day, wait fer me_, an'address it ter the Commander-in-Chief of the Generil Post Office,Lunnon.' An' he looks at me an' swallows the gaff like as it wereplumduff. I could 'er larfed, sir--strite I could! And I gives 'im thetip ter get a drink, and before I'd finished speakin', 'e'd gorn!"

  "Good lad! good lad!" Cleek's laugh was merry if low-pitched. The Londonaddress of the telegraph message tickled his sense of humour immensely."And what did you do then?"

  "Drove dahn the road a little just ter keep me 'and in, and then, when I'eard you call out ter the lydy, and knew you wuz in danger, sir--why, Islipped in the clutch and come rocketing toward yer as farst as Icould."

  "Oho! And you were nearer than the lady had arranged, then?"

  Dollops drew a long breath before replying; and his voice was solemn.

  "That little distance of a quarter of a mile might 'ave done for yerentire--an' I weren't tykin' no risks," he replied heavily. "An' ifanyfink was to 'appen to _you_, sir--well, it's me fer the river 'foreyou kin wink an eyelash. Dollops ain't a-stayin' 'ere wiv you on theuvver side of the sky, sir, an' don't you myke no mistake abaht _that_.Where you goes, I goes, too--if it's to 'eaven or 'ell. An' I'm thinkin'I knows the w'y the ayngels'll tyke _you_."

  "Well, they're not taking me yet, dear lad, so don't worry your gingerhead about it!" returned Cleek, with a little gulp of emotion for sostaunch an adherent as this wisp of Cockneydom who stood before him."But it's friends like you and women like Miss Lorne that keep a manstraight and strong and true, and don't let him turn down the wrong pathinstead of the right. Come, now, there's still more work to be done. Mr.Narkom will be waiting, and I told him midnight under the big gate. Slipup the driveway and see if you can see him while I go round by Rhea'sgate and see how the coast lies."

/>   Dollops disappeared forthwith, and it was but a moment or two later thathe returned in company with the Superintendent looking a littleround-eyed and scared until he saw Cleek standing in the shadow of thebig gate, and going up to him flung an arm about his shoulders.

  "You've frightened me into forty fits and out of 'em again," he criedwith a little sigh of relief, "for I'd made up my mind that somethinghad happened, and was on the way down here to see if you'd kept yourappointment, and if you hadn't--well, every man-jack of 'em at the housewould have made an all-night search for you, till we'd found you,Cleek."

  "And now that you have, you bundle of fussydom, you see I am still allof a piece and, as Dollops says, as large as life and twice as natural,"returned Cleek with a smile. "Gad, but there's not much moon about now,is there? And it will be dark work climbing----"

  "But you intend to do this mad thing, Cleek?"

  "Certainly, my friend. And it's not the maddest I've done this night--bya long chalk. I'll tell you all about it later on, when there's moretime and less chance of being overheard. Now, then, step softly, youtwo. If there's any one there, we don't want to let 'em think an army'sapproaching. You gave Inspector Petrie the word if we needed him? ThatI'd ring Rhea's bell in case of immediate help required?"

  "Of course. And that one toll would mean one man, and _two_ tolls,three; and three tolls, as many as they could spare from the duty ofguarding the house and letting no one go out or in."

  "And they've already let almost every inmate of the place roam about attheir leisure this night--to prove their trustworthiness!" threw inCleek, with a short laugh. "A fine lot of disciplinarians up in thispart of the world, I must say--though of course the country's difficult,and you want about fifty men up here to one in London. I'll have a wordwith the Inspector before I leave--with your permission, Mr. Narkom."

  "Certainly."

  "We'll get along now, Dollops. You stand here under the gate, and keepwatch _toward_ the Castle; Mr. Narkom, you stand here, and guard theroad-end, and make the usual signal of a night owl's hoot if you see anyone approaching. I'll slip on my rubber sand-shoes to grip with, andshin up in a moment."

  And suiting the action to the word, that was practically what he diddo--though the climb up there in the darkness was certainly more thanmomentary. For with no light and very little moon it was a moredifficult task than Cleek had anticipated, and he had to tread carefullyto avoid slipping on the narrow shelves of stone and iron that girt itabout.

  Up, up, up he went, like some dark fly crawling across the face of thenight, and to those watching below, their hearts in their mouths atsight of his perilous progress (which at times they could not follow forthe pitchy darkness, and knew not if he were safe or not), those momentsseemed hours indeed.

  But Cleek had been in tighter corners and more difficult places thanthis in the course of an adventurous lifetime, and the poise andsureness of the man were amazing. Up, and along the stone parapet hewent, sliding face toward the stone wall of it, until he could lean backa little and look up at Rhea standing out against the midnight sky likea monstrous splotch of black ink in a lake of indigo-blue. The bronzebell swung beneath him. He knelt cautiously upon one knee, preparatoryto whipping out his electric torch, and even as he did so, heard thesound of other footsteps stealing round from the _other_ side and comingtoward him with the soft tread of a cat.

  Instantly he stopped short--stock-still, as though made out of marble,and leaned back against the parapet while those sliding, soft, creeping,cat-like footsteps came steadily on. He became conscious of a blackshape, slim as a woman's, against the midnight sky, that moved withpanther-like precision across the face of the parapet. He could actuallyhear that other person's laboured breaths, and as the Thing steadilyapproached felt it fan against his cheek.

  If Cleek had been in a less precarious position the soul of the manwould have relieved itself by laughing outright. For the situationseemed almost funny. But this was no time for humour. The moment hestirred and made himself known, upon that moment the creature--whoeverand whatever it was--would pounce upon him, and dash them both down tosure death upon the stones below, and in full sight of theSuperintendent's watching eyes. But what to do if he stayed where hewas? Detection was certain in any case. There remained only a moment ofmoments before it actually would come. And in that moment, to beprepared for--what?

  The creature came on steadily, picking its way stealthy as a cat acrossthe rugged stone parapet upon which Rhea stood, until it stopped a fewinches away from him, face averted, one tense hand clinging to the verystone to which Cleek also clung. Then slowly it turned, knelt upon oneknee, reached down a long hand toward the bar from which the greatbronze bell swung, made as if to find a foot-hold with one slim blackfoot, and--Cleek's hand shot out over that other hand, and Cleek's voicewhispered in its ear:

  "Damn you! what are you doing here?"

  _With a low-pitched exclamation of fury, the man closedwith him and fought like some mad thing_]

  Instantly all was pandemonium! For the man--for man it was--sprang roundquickly, showing the lower half of a white face to Cleek's watchingeyes, and then with a low-pitched exclamation of fury closed with himand fought like some mad thing, spitting out furiously and clawing andscratching with his free hand to gain hold of the other.

  Cleek realized the danger even as he met it, and knew what it ultimatelymeant. But the thing had to be done. And in the doing he had wound onefoot round a stave of iron which rose up out of the parapet to form thebase of Rhea's bronze throne, and so steadied himself for the nonce.But it was a difficult task indeed to free himself from this clutching,scratching, biting Thing, and it took all his powers of resistance tocombat him successfully.

  "Stop it--damn you!--stop it!" he gave out furiously, in an angrywhisper which at least reached Mr. Narkom's ears, and sent thenight-owl's hoot creeping eerily out over the silence of that blacknight to tell Cleek that he would come to the rescue if necessary. AndCleek hooted back. He couldn't do this thing alone--it was too much forhim. The space upon which they wrestled was a mere foot and a half inbreadth, and at any moment one or both of them might pitch down into thedarkness to certain death.

  He peered into the man's fury-ridden face, trying to distinguish thefeatures of it, but the upper half was covered with a black mask throughwhich the eyes gleamed like slits of fire, and the strength of himseemed superhuman, to say the least of it. It was merely a matter ofmoments now--something would have to be done--when, of a sudden, the manleapt away from him, reached down an arm again, and--lithe as acat--swung himself down upon the perilously narrow ledge of the greatbronze bell. Here was Cleek's chance. In an instant his hand had shotout toward the man's leg and caught it in a vice, while with the otherhe steadied himself by a firm hold of the wrought-iron stave that hadsaved him a moment or two before.

  The creature spat out his vindictiveness in a string of Italian oaths,and Cleek, paying not the slightest attention to him, merely hung ontighter to the ankle and prayed for help. Another few moments of thisstrain and--the fight would be lost. His arm muscles were strained totheir utmost, his whole body upon the rack. He sent forth the summons ofthe night-owl again and again, and was rewarded by the sound beneath himof a hasty exclamation from the Superintendent, a muttered "My Gawd!"from the hoarse throat of that little bit of Cockneydom who had servedhim and saved him many times before, and then the whispered words,"Comin', Guv'nor--there in a tick!" came with their ring of comfort, andhe exerted himself to the last ounce to retain his hold of the biting,clutching furious Thing that lay twisting itself, save for thatunfortunate leg in Cleek's grasp, upon the narrow confines of the ledgeof Rhea's bell.

  .... The moments seemed like hours, and Cleek had all but let go, with astrained wrist and a dislocated finger which was giving him agony, whenhe saw the dark shape approaching him, and knew that his rescuer hadcome.

  "In the nick of time, lad," he breathed, as he released his hold infavour of Dollops. "God knows who the beggar is, but he
's like awild-cat. My hand's done in completely. Hold him and, if you can, gethim back again upon this ledge. The pair of us will be too much for him,I vow! Then we'll have to hold on and ring the great bell for help. It'sthe only way. But we must unmuffle the clapper first. Here--your torch!Gad! _that's_ what the blighter's doing, is he? Unmuffling it forhimself!... I say, my Dago friend, keep quiet a little, will you?--oryou'll find yourself in the next world in the space of another minute.This isn't a table-top, you know. And there's about two inches betweenyourself and eternity. And if _you're_ ready to go, I'm not!"

  The creature thus addressed pulled itself up uncertainly, stillmuttering in Italian, and as Dollops's hold slid from ankle to knee,from knee to thigh, and then--like a flash--to arm and shoulder, inproper jiu-jitsu grip, whirled round upon them, something white showingin the clenched fingers of one hand, and ground his teeth at them, asthough he would eat them alive.

  "Curse you!--damn you! What are you doing here, hell-hogs!" he spat outin a low, vehement voice. "My friends will be here any minute--and thenyour game will be up!"

  "But not before yours has beaten it by a moment or two," gave back Cleekrapidly, in a low-pitched voice. "Here!--give me that thing in yourhand. I'm anxious to see what it is that muffled the bell sosuccessfully last night. And if you don't stand still while I'm takingit, my lad here will hurl you down into perdition. Now, then--give itup.... Got him, Dollops?... Hi! there, Mr. Narkom! I want you to takehold of that rope on the right-hand side of the gateway--and pull it forall you're worth. We've got to have help to secure this thing in man'sguise we've fallen foul of, and got to have it quick!"

  And so it came about that the silence of that still night was broken ofa sudden by deep-throated pealing as Rhea's great bronze bell gavetongue. Once--twice--three times, until those above it were well-nighdeafened with the sound, and those below and beyond it knew, by thatprearranged signal, that they were wanted--and wanted at once.

  Instantly the night became hideous with shouting voices and runningsteps. The door-keeper hurried out of his cottage with lantern lit, andmade his way toward them; constables appeared from every corner of thegrounds; meanwhile, Cleek, with the crackling paperish thing that hadmuffled the bell in his hand, and the other lending what support toDollops he could give in holding the man down, called out theirrequirements in the sharp staccato of excitement.

  "A net, boys--quick! or a great-coat--anything! Only spit out yourtorches and hold it firm-stretched, and we're going to throw somethingdown to you which will want a lot of holding, for it's as slippery as aneel," he gave out sharply. "Now, then--are you ready? Mr. Narkom, seethat the lights are strong enough; I don't want him 'missing fire' andlanding with a broken neck until we've done with him. Ready, Dollops?One--two--three----"

  Came a scratching and a fighting and a furious sound of rending materialas the man wriggled to be free of those three detaining hands that heldhim. Then of a sudden a startled gasp, a muttered oath, and--a flyingblack shape came hurtling down in the darkness to that little circle oflight where the upturned, expectant faces of the constables showed inRembrandt-like light and shadow, and--the shape landed in the folds ofthe outstretched great-coat with a _thwack_, and was muffled up in it ina moment, kicking and clawing and scratching furiously as the thickfolds went over his head.

  Ten men removed him from it eventually and set him upon his feet, justas Dollops, slithering and sliding down from the dangerous height, withhis heart in his mouth for his master's safety with that injured hand ofhis, landed with a _plomp_ upon the soft ground, and gave Cleek the handthat had helped him all the way down that perilous journey, until he,too, was in safety at last.

  "Gawd's troof, Guv'nor!" he ejaculated, as he whipped out hishandkerchief and bound it tightly and professionally over the finger anddown on to the strained wrist. "You're 'urt proper, ain't you? That wasa narrer squeak, I don't fink!... That's better, ain't it? I weren'ta-goin' ter let yer git orf without that bit of bandages to 'elp thepain, not if we loses the blinkin' murderer 'isself! Let's 'ave a lookat the chap, sir."

  Cleek's good hand swung up across the boy's shoulder.

  "Thank you," he said simply. "Hello! here's Mr. Narkom. Yes, let's havea look at the blighter, men, before you carry him off to the lock-up.I'm interested to know what he looks like beneath that mask of his. Justto get a line on his features, you know."

  Speaking, he went up to the group of constables and, flashing out historch, sent its spotlight upon the man's scowling face.

  And it was just as he did this that Dollops let out a yell of amazement,and stared at him--mouth open, eyes wide.

  "Gawblimey! and pink sossidges!" he exclaimed, whirling round upon Cleekin astonishment, "if this 'ere ain't the giddy limit! Why, that's oleDirty Dick the Dago 'isself!"

  "And this," said Cleek, as he glanced down at the crumpled bit ofparchment which he still held, and smiled into Mr. Narkom's seriousface, "is the missing will, or I'm a Dutchman! Quite a little bit ofexcitement for one night's entertainment, I must say! Who says anythingabout killing two birds with one stone? Men, I'm coming along with youto the lock-up. It's a bit late in the evening, or early in the morning,to be more literal, but I'm going to have a conversation with yourprisoner which is going to elucidate many things for me. Mr. Narkom, Ishould advise you to go back to bed and take a rest. To-morrow is likelyto be a heavy day."

  Then, smiling, but still a trifle pale, Cleek swung into step withDollops behind the little cavalcade which was wending its way slowlythrough the great gateway and out upon the road beyond--toward the goalof many imaginings and the proper elucidation of the riddle at last.