Albert Gate Mystery — The Release, part 1

CHAPTER XIII THE RELEASE

"Now, who talks first?"

Brett cried, once the door was fairly closed behind them.

"I do," burst forth Fairholme.

"My story will not take long to tell, and if I do not get it off my chest, I shall simply explode."

"We must not have any more tragedies," said Brett, "so proceed."

"Well, thanks to your foresight, I found the two servants and your ex-policeman waiting for me on the platform at Charing Cross.

As I only carried a handbag, I had no trouble with the Customs, and we walked straight out of the station.

In less than five minutes we were standing outside the building which contained the invalid lady's flat.

Your agent told me that, so far as he knew, there were no other persons in the place except the tenant and her two servants, an elderly French or Italian married couple.

Our collective wits could not devise a plausible pretext for gaining access to the lady, so I determined to settle the business in the brutal British fashion.

We marched quietly up the stairs to the second storey, and your assistant pointed out the right door.

There were only two flats on that landing, and the other one was apparently empty.

Your man had made a somewhat important discovery since he wrote to you.

This empty flat had been taken by the agent who acted for the parties opposite, and although the place was not tenanted, the landlord was, of course, satisfied, as the rent had been paid in advance.

This seemed to indicate that the place was left vacant simply to prevent the others from being overlooked."

Brett marked his appreciation of Fairholme's sagacity by a nod, and the earl continued-- "I rang the bell and promptly put my ear to the keyhole.

It seemed to me that a couple of doors were hastily closed, and then someone slowly approached.

The outer door was opened and a man's head appeared.

I could only see his face and a portion of his left shoulder, because the chain was on the door, and the opening was not more than eight or ten inches.

Speaking in broken English he said--'Vat you vant?'

His accent showed that he was a Frenchman.

"I answered in my best French, 'I wish to see madame, your mistress, at once.'

"'It is impossible,' he said in the same language, and simultaneously he tried to shut the door in my face.

I shoved my foot against the jamb and prevented him.

At the same instant my own servant and I--as, if there was to be trouble, I thought it best to keep the others out of it--applied our utmost force to the door and succeeded in snapping the chain.

It might have been a tough job, as you know that to force a way through anything that yields slightly and yet holds fast is much more difficult than to smash a lock or a couple of bolts.

Luckily the flats were jerry built, so the chain broke, and so suddenly that the Frenchman was pitched violently backwards.

We nearly fell after him.

The ex-policeman was a splendid chap.

His first idea was to jump towards the switch of the electric lights and turn on every lamp in the place.

"I shouted, 'Talbot, are you there?

It is I, Fairholme.'

"I got no answer, but a woman darted out of a room which proved to be the kitchen, screamed something which I could not catch, and handed a revolver to the Frenchman, who was just struggling to his feet.

That was where my prize-fighting butler came in useful.

Before you could say 'Wink' he gave the man an upper-cut that settled him effectually for the next minute.

Almost with the same movement he caught the woman a slap over the ear that upset her nerves considerably.

She had a revolver in her hand too.

It fell to the floor, and Smith, your servant, seized both weapons.

"The ex-policeman called out--'I do not think we are making any mistake, sir.

They would not act after this manner if they were on the square.'

"I must say it seemed to me that so far it was we who had been acting in an extraordinary way, but there was no time to discuss the ethics of the case then.

Whilst my butler and Smith took care of the couple, your assistant and I hastily examined three rooms.

They were empty, save for a small quantity of furniture.

The fourth door resisted our efforts, so, of course, we burst it open.

And the first thing that met our eyes was poor old Jack lying on his back on the bed, and glaring at us in a way that made me think at first he was mad."

"I should think so," interrupted Talbot.

"I would like to see your face if you were trussed up as I was--not able to speak a word--and a fiendish row going on in the passage outside."

"You were gagged," questioned Brett, "and your wrists and ankles were secured to the four corners of the bed, your limbs being distended in the form of an X?"

Fairholme glanced round admiringly.

"Of course," he cried delightedly, "I knew you would guess it.

That is the pleasant way these Turks have of securing their prisoners."

"It is an awfully uncomfortable one," said Talbot.

"My joints are still stiff at the mere recollection of it.

I have lain in that way, Mr. Brett, for countless hours.

Occasionally the brutes would allow me to change my posture, but the moment anyone came to the door I was strapped up in an instant and a gag slipped into my mouth.

What used to make me so furious was the knowledge that if only I got the chance of a second I could have broken that Frenchman's neck and escaped, but he and his wife always took such precautions that I never had the liberty to do more than reach with some difficulty the food that they gave me.

However, I must not interrupt."

"I really have not much more to say," went on Fairholme.

"You may be sure it did not take me long to release Talbot, and what do you think his first words were when he slowly sat up in bed and tried if his legs would bend?"

"I cannot guess," said Brett.

"He said: 'Have they got the diamonds?'

"I answered 'Yes.'

"'But it was impossible,' he said.

'They could not have mastered all those policemen.'

"'But they did,' I replied, and then and there, before he would budge an inch, he made me tell him the whole story.

Just as I had ended we heard a scuffle in the passage.

We went out, though Jack was hardly able to walk at first.

It was Smith wrestling with the woman, who was a regular wild cat, and who would, even then, have done us any mischief in her power.

There was nothing for it but to tie her hands behind her back, and then fasten her securely in a chair.

After this was done we took counsel as to our next movements."

"Wait a little," said Brett.

"How many rooms were there in the flat?

You have accounted for four."

"I forgot," said Fairholme.

"The place had six rooms.

The small apartment in which Jack was confined was a sort of dressing-room, and the bedroom beyond looked out into the well of the block of flats.

They had carefully nailed the blind of this dressing-room, so that not even a chance puff of wind could blow it aside and reveal its secret to anyone in the flats on the opposite storey or higher.

The remaining room was empty.

Your friend the policeman subsequently searched the place from top to toe, but he found nothing.

The only document of any importance was an address on a card which he discovered in the Frenchman's pocket."

"Ah," said Brett, "what was that address?"

"Here it is."

The earl produced a small piece of pasteboard on which was scribbled, "Monsieur Jean Beaujolais, chez Monsieur Henri de Lisle, 41, Rue Bonnerie, Paris."

"That is important," said the barrister.

"Why did you not wire it to me last night?"

"I had a reason," said the earl eagerly, "but that comes in with Jack's part of the story."

And he turned towards Talbot, who, thus summoned to the stage, began to explain matters.

"I understand, Mr. Brett," he said, "that you are accurately acquainted with all that transpired until the moment when I entered the Albert Gate mansion on that remarkable night?"

"That is so," said Brett.

"Well, when Inspector Sharpe met me at the door on my arrival he told me that his Excellency Mehemet Ali, with three strange gentlemen and the junior members of the commission, awaited me in the dining-room.

I went in and was surprised to find the three visitors, for during the preceding month not a single stranger had entered the house save a member of the Government and one or two important officials of the Foreign Office, who came with me out of sheer curiosity to see a collection of remarkable diamonds.

"The strangers bowed politely when I was introduced.

Two of them spoke neither French nor English, but the third man spoke French fluently.

He had, by the way, a somewhat peculiar accent, different from that to which I was accustomed in the Turks.

It was softer, more sibilant, and impressed me as that of a man who was accustomed to speak Italian.

He was a good-looking chap, about my height and build, and were it not for his brown skin, one would not have regarded him as a Turk.

One side of his face was deeply scarred with a sword-cut, but, if anything, this did not detract from his appearance, and it gave a manly aspect to an otherwise effeminate face."

Brett could not help smiling involuntarily.

"Are you sure it was a sword-cut?"

"It certainly looked like one."

"And his skin was very brown?"

"Oh, quite.

Indeed it was a shade deeper than that of most Turks.

I

have seen very many of them.

Although dark-featured, they are often pallid enough in reality, and their deep-hued complexion is due more to their black hair and eyebrows than to the mere colour of the skin."

Brett smiled again.

"I think," he said, "I will show you the same gentleman in a somewhat different aspect.

But proceed."

"The explanation given to me by Mehemet Ali was both extraordinary and disconcerting, especially at such a late hour.

He told me that the three gentlemen to whom I had been introduced--I am sorry, by the way, that I cannot remember their names, as they were all Mohammeds, or Rasuls, or Ibrahims, and the dramatic events of the night subsequently drove them from my mind--had been sent post haste from Constantinople on a special mission.

They had only reached London that night, and they bore with them a special mandate, signed by the Sultan himself, directing Mehemet Ali to hand over the diamonds to their charge, and to at once return with his assistants to Yildiz Kiosk.

"There could be no questioning the authenticity of the Sultan's instructions.

The document was in his own handwriting, was endorsed with his private seal, and conveyed other distinguishing marks which rendered his Excellency assured on this important point.

He told me that he was compelled to obey implicitly, and were it possible he would have started from London that night.

This, however, was out of the question, but he had not lost a moment in sending for me and acquainting me with his Majesty's wishes.

"You will readily perceive that the affair placed me in an awkward predicament.

I was, so to speak, representing the British Government in the matter, and the Foreign Office had pledged itself, through our Ambassador at Constantinople, to undertake all the precautions for safeguarding the diamonds with which you are acquainted.

It seemed to me that notwithstanding the urgency of the Sultan's order, I should not be doing my duty to permit the transfer to be made in such an irregular manner.

So I said quite plainly that the matter could not be settled that night.

They must all wait until the morning, when I would consult my Department, and Mehemet Ali, together with his aides, could leave for Constantinople by the evening train, after my superiors had been acquainted with the Sultan's wishes.

"Turks are difficult people to understand.

It seemed to me that my decision gave some satisfaction to Mehemet Ali, who was undoubtedly very much upset by the queer manner in which he had been deposed from his important trust.

At once an animated discussion took place."

"In French?"

interrupted Brett.

"No; in Turkish."

"Did the gentleman with the sabre-cut on his face take any part therein?"

"Not in the least.

He sat and smoked cigarettes in the most unconscious manner possible, leaving his two associates to carry on the conversation."

As the barrister appeared to have no further question to ask at the moment, Talbot continued-- "Several times Mehemet Ali appealed to me to change my mind and formally ratify the transfer at once.

I was quite firm in my refusal, and did not hesitate to describe the Sultan's demands as ridiculous.

I was rendered more determined, if anything, in this attitude by a growing certainty in my mind that his Excellency himself approved of my attitude.

Ultimately, it seems, they hit upon a compromise.

The whole party would remain together all night in a sort of dual control, and then the change of guardianship would take place next day in accordance with my views as to what was right and proper.

I must admit I was intensely relieved when this decision was arrived at.

Looking back now over the events of the night, I can perceive that from that moment the gang who effected the murders and the robbery had me in their power, for they had completely succeeded in allaying my suspicions, and I can only plead in extenuation of my shortsightedness that Mehemet Ali himself, and the other gentlemen with whom I had been acquainted during the past month, were willing accessories to the arrangement."

"I do not see," said Brett, "that you have the slightest cause to reproach yourself.

You acted quite properly throughout, and I am sure that when all the facts are known your status at the Foreign Office will be improved rather than diminished by this incident."

The other man's face flushed with pleasure as he heard these words.

"Thank you," he replied simply.

"I certainly took every precaution that suggested itself to me.

Subsequently I was the victim of circumstances.

The French-speaking Turk, as I have told you, took no part whatever in the negotiations, and when he became aware of the _modus operandi_ determined upon----" "By the way," said Brett, "how did he become aware of it?"

"Oh, Mehemet Ali told him in French."

"Didn't that strike you as curious?"

"Most certainly it did.

But the scoundrel explained it afterwards by telling me that although a Turkish subject, he had lived in Algiers and France since he was a child, and had quite forgotten his mother tongue.

But he was employed in a confidential position in the Turkish Embassy at Paris, owing not only to family influence, but to his intimate acquaintance with the French language."

"Ah!"

said Brett, "Monsieur Henri Dubois has a ready wit."

"What!"

cried Edith, who naturally enough was following each word with the utmost interest, "do you already know his name?"

"Not only his name," replied Brett, "but his identity, Miss Talbot.

You shall see him in another skin and without the sword-cut.

It is possible, however, that before we meet, this distinguishing mark may be replaced by a fractured skull or a bullet wound."

Fairholme suddenly clenched his right fist and examined his knuckles, his unconscious action causing the others to laugh.

"Is he a Frenchman, then?"

said Talbot.

"Unquestionably--a most modern product."

"And his name is Dubois?"

"Yes."

"All right.

In future I will allude to him by his proper title.

Well, Monsieur Dubois strolled towards me with the easy confidence of a man who was sure of himself.

"'This affair bores me,' he said.

'I see no reason why I, who am in no way concerned with the Sultan's collection of precious stones, should sit up all night keeping guard over them with these very earnest gentlemen here.

I am going to my hotel.

I have sent my portmanteau to the Carlton.

Will you honour me by driving there and telling me something about your wonderful London as we go?'

"The man looked at me with a meaning in his eyes that conveyed quite plainly the intimation-- "'We can talk quietly in the cab, and I can explain much that is at present hidden.'

Unfortunately I fell in with his suggestions.

"We crossed the dining-room together.

We were searched by the police in the hall, much to his apparent surprise, and then we drove off through St. George's Place.

"He at once aroused my curiosity by telling me sensational details of a widespread plot to dethrone the Sultan.

An essential part of the conspiracy was to obtain possession of the diamonds before they had been cut, as they were an heirloom from the Prophet, and it would be a terrible thing in the eyes of the more fanatical section of the Mohammedans if they were tampered with in any way.

"This sounded reasonable enough, as the same story had been dinned in my ears for several weeks.

"He made out that for reasons of State the Sultan had decided to change the Minister Plenipotentiary charged with secret mission to London.

"Altogether he talked so candidly, and with such an air of treating the whole business as the bugbear of a timid monarch, that I really believed him.

"At last we reached the Carlton.

We got out and he paid the cabman, who drove off round the corner; then my new acquaintance explained to me that he placed no greater trust in his fellow-countrymen than did their ruler.

Therefore he had led them to believe he was staying at that hotel, whereas he had in reality taken up his abode in the flat of a French family with whom he was acquainted.

If I would come with him for a moment he promised to place me in possession of certain documents which would render easy my explanations to the Foreign Office next morning.

"I accompanied him without hesitation, secure in the knowledge that a strong force of police guarded my charge at Albert Gate, both inside and outside the house.

We went to the mansions where he said he lived.

The place had a perfectly respectable exterior, and is situated, as you know, in a reputable thoroughfare.

We ascended to the second floor, entered the flat, and were ushered by a middle-aged Frenchwoman into a sort of sitting-room.

"Dubois turned to a writing-desk and unlocked a drawer.

"'Here are the documents I promised you, Mr. Talbot,' he said; but, to my amazement, he whipped out a revolver and held it within two feet of my breast.

"'If you move, or attempt to cry out, you are a dead man!'

he cried.

"At the same instant a door behind me opened and some three or four persons entered.

I was so furious at the trick that had been played upon me that I disregarded his threat and sprang at him, but he did not fire.

Flinging the revolver behind him on the writing-table he closed with me.

Before I well knew what had happened I was tied hand and foot, gagged, and placed helpless in a chair.

A few minutes later, after a muttered consultation between my captors, I was taken to the room in which Fairholme found me, and I never left the place until nearly nine o'clock last night.

"It was a most ghastly experience.

I would sooner die than go through it again.

"If ever I get within measurable distance of Monsieur Henri Dubois I promise you that I will repay him with interest some of the agony he inflicted on me.

I never thought I should hate a man as I hate that Frenchman.

I do not want to kill him.

I want to torture him!"

This was the first sign that Talbot had given of the anger that filled his soul.

For a moment no one spoke.

Edith stifled a sob, and Sir Hubert Fitzjames broke the tension by swearing as vehemently as ever did the army in Flanders.

"You have suffered," said Brett quietly, "but not in vain.

It is only by the manner in which these blackguards treated you that we have obtained so much knowledge.

Your capture was a necessary part of their scheme.

I

wonder now that after you had served their purpose they did not kill you.

It was not out of pity, believe me.

The fact that you were spared confirms me in the opinion that the Albert Gate murders were a gigantic blunder, never contemplated by the expert criminal who planned the theft.

But continue.

What happened afterwards?"