A Bid for Fortune · Part II · Chapter 2 3 (3/3)

“What was this second person like?” asked the Inspector.

“Well, I can hardly tell you⁠—that is to say, I can hardly give you a good enough description of him to make you see him as I saw him. He was tall and yet very slim, had black hair, a sallow complexion, and the blackest eyes I ever saw in a man. He was clean-shaven and exquisitely dressed, and when he spoke, his teeth glittered like so many pearls. I never saw another man like him in my life.”

“Nikola for a thousand!” I cried, bringing my hand down with a thump upon the table.

“It looks as if we’re on the track at last,” said the Inspector. Then turning to Mr. Goddard again: “And may I ask now what excuse they made to you for wanting these things!”

“They did not offer any; they simply paid a certain sum down for the hire of them, gave me their address, and then left.”

“And the address was?”

“83, Charlemagne Street. Our van took the things there and fetched them away last night.”

“Thank you. And now one or two other questions. What name did the hirer give?”

“Eastover.”

“And when they left your shop how did they go away?”

“A cab was waiting at the door for them, and I walked out to it with them.”

“There were only two of them, you think?”

“No. There was a third person waiting for them in the cab, and it was that very circumstance which made me anxious to have my things brought back as soon as possible. If I had been able to, I should have even declined to let them go.”

“Why so?”

“Well, to tell you that would involve a story. But perhaps I had better tell you. It was in this way. About three years ago, through a distant relative, I got to know a man named Draper.”

“Draper!” I cried. “You don’t mean⁠—but there, I beg your pardon. Pray go on.”

“As I say, I got to know this man Draper, who was a South-Sea trader. We met once or twice, and then grew more intimate. So friendly did we at last become, that I even went so far as to put some money into a scheme he proposed to me. It was a total failure. Draper proved a perfect fraud and a most unbusiness-like person, and all I got out of the transaction was the cases of curios and weapons which this man Eastover hired from me. It was because⁠—when I went out with my customers to their cab⁠—I saw this man Draper waiting for them that I became uneasy about my things. However, all’s well that ends well, and as they returned my goods and paid the hire I must not grumble.”

“And now tell me what you know of Draper’s present life,” the Inspector said.

“Ah! I’m afraid of that I can tell you but little. He has been twice declared bankrupt, and the last time there was some fuss made over his schooner, the Merry Duchess.”

“He possesses a schooner, then?”

“Oh, yes! A nice boat. She’s in harbour now, I fancy.”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Goddard. I am obliged to you for your assistance in this matter.”

“Don’t mention it. I hope that what I have told you may prove of service to you.”

“I’m sure it will. Good day.”

“Good day, gentlemen.”

He accompanied us to the door, and then bade us farewell.

“Now what are we to do?” I asked.

“Well, first, I am going back to the office to put a man on to find this schooner, and then I’m going to take an hour or two’s rest. By that time we shall know enough to be able to lay our hands on Dr. Nikola and his victim, I hope.”

“God grant we may!”

“Where are you going now?”

“Back to Potts Point,” I answered.

We thereupon bade each other farewell and set off in different directions.

When I reached Mr. Wetherell’s house I learned from the butler that his master had fallen asleep in the library. Not wishing to disturb him, I enquired the whereabouts of my own bedroom, and on being conducted to it, laid myself down fully dressed upon the bed. So utterly worn out was I, that my head had no sooner touched the pillow than I was fast asleep. How long I lay there I do not know, but when I woke it was to find Mr. Wetherell standing beside me, holding a letter in his hand. He was white as a sheet, and trembling in every limb.

“Read this, Mr. Hatteras,” he cried. “For Heaven’s sake tell me what we are to do!”

I sat up on the side of the bed and read the letter he handed to me. It was written in what was evidently a disguised hand, on common notepaper, and ran as follows:⁠—

“This is to inform you that your daughter is in very safe keeping. If you wish to find her you had better be quick about it. What’s more, you had better give up consulting the police, and suchlike, in the hope of getting hold of her. The only way you can get her will be to act as follows: At eight o’clock tonight charter a boat and pull down the harbour as far as Shark Point. When you get there, light your pipe three times, and someone in a boat near by will do the same. Be sure to bring with you the sum of one hundred thousand pounds in gold, and⁠—this is most important⁠—bring with you the little stick you got from China Pete, or do not come at all. Above all, do not bring more than one man. If you do not put in an appearance you will not hear of your daughter again.