CHAPTER XVI
FLIGHT
The half-expected had happened; bag and baggage had led his pursuershither; the fellow could now go back and report. After his bath, beforelying down, John Steele had partly dressed in the garments laid out forhim; now he threw the dressing-gown from his shoulders and hastily puton the rest of his clothes. He felt now only the need for action--to dowhat? Impatience was capped by the realization of his own impotence;Rosemary Villa was, no doubt, at that very moment, subjected to a closeespionage. He heard the man-servant in the garden, and unable torestrain a growing restlessness to know the worst, Steele mounted thestairs to the attic.
From the high window there he could see, around a curve in the Row, aloitering figure; in the other direction a neighboring house concealedthe byway, but he could reasonably conclude that some one also saunteredthere, sentinel at that end of the street. Quickly coming down to thesecond story, he began cautiously to examine from the windows thesituation of the house, in relation to adjoining grounds and neighboringdwellings.
To the right, the top of the high wall shone with the customary brokenbits of glass; the rear defenses glistened also in formidable fashion.He noted, however, several places where this safeguard against unwontedinvasion showed signs of deterioration; in one or two spots the jaggedfragments had been broken, or had fallen off. These slight breaks in thecontinuity of irregular, menacing glass bits, he fixed in mind by acertain shrub or tree. Against the rear wall, which was of considerableheight, leaned his neighbor's low conservatory, almost spanning it fromside to side.
"Sure, sir, I don't know whether it's breakfast or supper that's waitingfor you." Captain Forsythe's man had reappeared and stood now at the topof the landing looking in at him. "It's a sound sleep you've had."
John Steele glanced at the clock; the afternoon was waning. Why did nothis enemies force their way in, surround him at once? Unless--and thismight prove a momentary saving clause!--these people without were but anadvance guard, an outpost, awaiting orders. In this event Gillett wouldhastily be sent for; would soon be on his way---
"'Tis a rasher of real Irish bacon that is awaiting your convenience,sir."
The servant was now eying the visitor dubiously; John Steele wheeled, aperfunctory answer on his lips, and going to the dining-room swallowedhastily a few mouthfuls. From where he sat he could command a view ofthe front gate, and kept glancing toward it when alone. To go now,--orwait? The daylight did not favor the former course unless his pursuersshould suddenly appear before the locked gate, demanding admission.
He made up his mind as to his course then, the last desperate shift.Amid a turmoil of thoughts a certain letter he had had in mind to sendto Captain Forsythe occurred to him, and calling for paper and pen, hewrote there, facing the window, feverishly, hastily, several pages; thenhe gave the letter to the servant for the postman, whose special call atthe iron knocker without had just sounded. The letter would have servedJohn Steele ill had it fallen into his enemies' hands, but once in thecare of the royal mails it would be safe. If it were, indeed, thatperson at the gate, and not some one--
"One moment, Dennis!" The man paused. "Of course you will make sure itis the postman--?"
The servant stared at this guest whose demeanor was becoming more andmore eccentric. "As if I didn't know his knock!" he said, departing.
The afternoon waned; the shadows began to fall; John Steele's pulses nowthrobbed expectantly. He called for a key to the gate and moved towardthe front door; by this time the darkness had deepened, and, key inhand, he stepped out.
At first he walked toward the front on the gravel that the servant mighthear him, but near the entrance he paused, hesitating, to look out. Ashe remained thus, some one, who had been standing not far off, drewnear. This person steathily passed; in doing so he glanced around; butJohn Steele felt uncertain whether the fellow had or had not been ableto distinguish him in the gloom. John Steele waited, however, until theother moved a short distance on; then he retraced his own way quietly,keeping to the grass, toward the house; near it he swerved and in thesame rapid manner stole around the place until he reached the back wall.
There he examined his position, felt the top, then placed his fingers onthe wall. It was about six feet high, but seizing hold, he was about tospring into the air, when behind him, from the direction of the Row, alow metallic sound caught his attention. The front gate to the Forsythehouse had suddenly clicked; some one had entered,--not the servant; JohnSteele had seen him but a few moments before in the kitchen; some one,then, who had quietly picked the lock, as the surest way of getting in.
John Steele looked back; even as he did so, a number of figures abruptlyran forward from the gate. He waited no longer but drew himself up to alevel with the top of the wall. The effort made him acutely aware of hiswounded shoulder; he winced but set his teeth hard and swung himselfover until one foot came in contact with the iron frame of thegreenhouse next to the masonry. To crawl to the end of the lean-to,bending to hold to the wall, and then to let himself down, occupied buta brief interval.
As he stood there, trying to make out a path through shrubs and trees,he heard behind him an imperative knocking at the front door of CaptainForsythe's house; the expostulating tones of the serving-man; thehalf-indistinct replies that were succeeded by the noise of feethastening into the house.
For some time nothing save these sounds was wafted to the listener; thena loud disappointed voice, sounding above another voice, came from ahalf-opened window. John Steele stood still no longer; great hazard,almost certain capture, lay before him in the direction he was going;the street this garden led to would be watched; but he could not remainwhere he was. Already his enemies were moving about in the neighboringgrounds; soon they would flash their lights over the wall, woulddiscover him, unless--He moved quickly forward. As he neared the house,more imposing than Captain Forsythe's, a stream of light poured from awindow; through this bright space he darted quickly, catching a fleetingview of people within, several with their faces turned toward him. Closeto a side of the square-looking house, he paused, his heart beatingfast--not with fear, but with a sudden, fierce anger at the possibilitythat he would be caught thus; no better than a mere--
But needs must, when the devil drives; the devil was driving him nowhard. To attempt to reach the gate, to get out to Surrey Road,--littledoubt existed as to what awaited him there; so, crouching low, he forcedhimself to linger a little longer where he was. As thus he remainedmotionless, sharp twinges again shot through his shoulder; then, on asudden, he became unmindful of physical discomfort; a plan of actionthat had flashed through his brain, held him oblivious to all else; itoffered only the remotest chance of escape--but still a chance, which heweighed, determined to take! It had come to him while listening to themerry voices within the room near him talking of the gay dinner justended, of the box party at the theater that was to follow.
Already cabs were at the door; the women and the men, several of thelatter flushed with wine, were ready to go. A servant walked out andunlocked the gate and with light badinage the company issued forth. Asthey did so, John Steele, unobserved, stepped forward; in thesemi-darkness the party passed through the entrance into the street.Taking his place among the last of the laughing, dimly-seen figures,John Steele walked boldly on and found himself a moment later on thesidewalk of Surrey Road. He was aware that some one, a woman, hadtouched his arm, as if to take it; of a light feminine voice and anabrupt exclamation of surprise, of the quick drawing back of flutteringskirts. But he did not stop to apologize or to explain; walking swiftlyto one of the last cabs he sprang in.
"A little errand first, driver," he called out. "To--" and mentioned astreet--"as fast as you can." His tone was sharp, authoritative; itimplied the need for instant obedience, rang like a command. The manstraightened, touched his horse with his whip, and wheeling quickly theydashed away.
As they did so, John Steele thought he heard exclamations behind;looking through the cab window he saw, at th
e gate, the company gazingafter him, obviously not yet recovered from their thrill of surprisefollowing his unexpected action. He observed, also, two men on the otherside of the street who now ran across and held a brief altercation withone of the cabmen. As they were about to enter the cab several personsin the party apparently intervened, expostulating vigorously. It was notdifficult to surmise the resentment of the group at this attemptedsummary seizure of a second one of their cabs. By the time the men hadexplained their imperative need, and after further argument werepermitted to drive off, John Steele had gained a better start than hehad dared to hope. But they would soon be after him, post-haste; yes,already they were dashing hard and furiously behind; he lifted the lidoverhead, in his hand a sovereign.
"Those men must not overtake us, cabby. Go where you will! Youunderstand?"
The man did; his fingers closed quickly on the generous tip and oncemore he lashed his horse. For some time they continued at a rapid pace,now skirting the confines of the park, now plunging into a puzzlingtangle of streets; but wherever they went, the other cab managed alwaysto keep them in sight. It even began to creep up, nearer. From hispocket John Steele drew a weapon; his eyes gleamed ominously. Thepursuing hansom drew closer; casting a hurried glance over his shoulder,he again called up to the driver.
"It's no use, gov'ner," came back the reply. "This 'oss 'as been outlonger than 'is."
"Then turn the first dark corner and slow up a bit,--for only a second;afterward, go on your very best as long as you can."
Another sovereign changed hands and shortly afterward the vehicle dashedinto a side street. It appeared as likely a place as any for hispurpose; John Steele, hardly waiting for the man to draw rein, leapedout as far as he might. He landed without mishap, heard a whip snapfuriously, and darted back into a doorway. He had just reached it whenthe other cab drew near; for an instant he felt certain that he had beenseen; but the pursuers' eyes were bent eagerly ahead.
"This'll mean a fiver for you, my man," he heard one of them shout tothe driver. "We've got him, by--" A harsh, jubilant cry cut the air;then they were gone.
John Steele did not wait; replacing the weapon in his pocket he startedquickly around the corner; his cabman could not lead them far; theywould soon return. As fast as possible, without attracting undueattention, he retraced his way; passed in and out of tortuousthoroughfares; by shops from whence came the smell of frying fish; downalleys where squalor lurked. Although he had by this time, perhaps,eluded the occupants of the cab, he knew there were others keenly alertfor his capture whom he might at any moment encounter. To his fancyevery corner teemed with peril; he did not underestimate the resourcesof those who sought him or the cunning of him who was the chief amonghis enemies.
Which way should he move? At that moment the city's multitudinous blocksseemed like the many squares of an oriental checker-board; the problemhe put to himself was how to cross the city and reach the vicinity ofthe river; there to make a final effort to look for--What? A hopelessquest!
His face burned with fever; he did not heed it. A long, broadthoroughfare, as he walked on, had suddenly unfolded itself to his gaze;one side of this highway shone resplendent with the flaring lights ofnumerous stands and stalls displaying vegetables and miscellaneousarticles. A hubbub assailed the ear, the voices of hucksters andhawkers, vying with one another to dispose of their wares; like ants,people thronged the sidewalk and pavement near these temporary booths.
About to turn back from this animated scene, John Steele hesitated; theroad ran straight and sure toward the destination he wished to reach,while on either hand lay a network of devious ways. Amid theselabyrinths, even one familiar with the city's maze might go astray, andagain he glanced down the single main road, cutting squarely through allintricacies; noted that although, on one side, the lamps and the torchesflared high, revealing every detail of merchandise, and, incidentally,the faces of all who passed, the other side of the thoroughfare seemedthe more murky and shadowy by comparison.
He decided, crossed the street; lights gleamed in his face. He pushedhis way through the people unmolested and strode on, followed only bythe noise of passing vehicles and carts; then found himself walking onthe other side, apart from the headlong busy stream. A suspicion of misthung over the city; through it, people afar assumed shapes unreal; abovethe jagged sky-line of housetops the heavens had taken on that sicklyhue, the high dome's jaundiced aspect for London in autumn.
On!--on! John Steele moved; on!--on!--the traffic pounded, for the mostpart in the opposite direction; a vast, never-ending source of sound, itseemed to soothe momentarily his sense of insecurity. Time passed; hehad, apparently, evaded his pursuers; he told himself he might, afterall, meet the problem confronting him; meet and conquer. It would be ahard battle; but once in that part of the city he was striving to reach,he might find those willing to offer him shelter--low-born, miserablewretches he had helped. He would not disdain their succor; the endjustified the way. In their midst, if anywhere in London, was the oneman in the world who could throw a true light on the events of the past;enable him to---
Behind him some one followed; some one who drew ever nearer, with soft,skulking steps which now he heard--
"Mr. Steele!" Even as he wheeled, his name was called out.
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