Part 14 (1/2)
”And now-this,” he said, grimly, and laughed.
Bennett, hand upon watch, turned apologetically at this juncture.
”Sorry, Sir Nigel,” he said, ”but time's up. Ten minutes is the time allowed a prisoner, and-and-I'm afeared the young leddy must go. It 'urts me to tell you, sir, but-you'll understand. Dooty is dooty.”
”Yes, doubtless, Bennett, though some people's idea of it is different from others',” returned Merriton, with a bleak smile. ”Have no fear, 'Toinette. There is still plenty of time, and I shall engage the finest counsel in the land to stand for me. This knot shall be broken somehow, this tissue of lies must have a flaw somewhere. And nowadays circ.u.mstantial evidence, you know, doesn't hold too much water in a court of law. G.o.d bless you, little 'Toinette.”
She clung to him a moment, her face suddenly lightening at the tenor of his words-so bravely spoken, with so little conviction behind them. But they had helped her, and for that he was glad.
When she had gone, he sat down on the edge of his narrow bed and dropped his face in the cup of his hands. How hopeless it seemed. What chance had he of a future now-with Cleek against him? Cleek the unraveller of a thousand riddles that had puzzled the cleverest brains in the universe! Cleek would never admit to having made a blunder this time-though there was a sort of grim satisfaction in the knowledge that he had blundered, though he himself was the victim.
... He sat there for a long time, thinking, his brain wearied, his heart like lead. Bennett's heavily-booted feet upon the stone floor brought him back again to realities.
”There's another visitor, sir,” said he. ”A gentleman. Seen 'im up at the Towers, I 'ave. Name of West, sir. Constable Roberts says as 'ow you may see him.”
How kind of the constable, thought Nigel bitterly. His mouth twisted into a wry smile. Then his eyes lightened suddenly. Tony West, eh? So all the rats hadn't deserted the sinking s.h.i.+p, after all. There were still the old doctor, who came, cheering him up with kind words, bringing him books that he thought he could read-as though a man could read books, under such circ.u.mstances-and now Tony West-good old West!
West strode in, his five-feet-three of manhood looking as though it were ready to throw the jailer's six-feet-one out of the window upon request, and seized Nigel's hand, wringing it furiously.
”Good old Nigel! Gad! but it's fine to see you. And what fool put you in this idiotic predicament? Wring his d.a.m.ned neck, I would. How are you, old sport?”
Under such light badinage did West try to conceal his real feeling but there was a tremour of the lips that spoke so banteringly.
Good old West! A friend in a thousand.
”Nice sort of place for the Squire of the Manor to be disporting himself, isn't it?” returned Merriton, fighting his hardest to keep his composure and reply in the same light tone. ”I-I-d.a.m.n it, Tony, you don't believe it, do you?”
West went red to the rim of his collar. He choked with the vehemence of his response.
”Believe it, man? D'you think I'm crazy? What sort of a fool would I be to believe it? Wasn't I there, that night, with you? Wait until I give my evidence in court. Bullet or no bullet, you're no-no murderer, Nigel; I'd swear my life away on that. There were others on worse terms with Wynne than you, old chap. There was Stark, for one. Stark used to borrow money from him in the old days, you know, until they had a devil of a s.h.i.+ndy over an I.O.U. and the friends.h.i.+p bust. You'd no more reason to kill him than Lester Stark, I swear. Or me, for that matter.”
”No, I'd no reason to kill him, Tony. But they'll take that quarrel we had over the Frozen Flame that night, and bring it up against me in court. They'll bring everything against me; everything that can be twisted or turned or bullied into blackening my name. If ever I get scot-free, I'll kill that man Borkins.”
West put up his hand suddenly.
”Don't,” he said, quietly; ”or they'll be putting that against you, too. Believe me, Nigel, old boy, the Law's the greatest duffer on earth. By the way, here's a piece of news for you! Heard it as I stopped in at the Towers this morning. Saw that man Headland, the detective. He told me to tell you, and I clean forgot. But they found an I.O.U. on Wynne's body, an I.O.U. for two thou'-in Lester Stark's name. Dated two nights before the party. Looks a bit funny, that, doesn't it?”
Funny? Merriton felt his heart suddenly bound upward, and as suddenly drop back in his breast like lead. Glad that there was a chance for another pal to come under the same brutal sway as he had? What sort of a friend was he, anyway? But an I.O.U.!... And in Lester Stark's name! He remembered the black looks that pa.s.sed between the two of them that night, remembered them as though they had been but yesterday. He jerked his chin up.
”What're they going to do about it?”
”Headland told me to tell you that he was going to investigate the matter further. That you were to keep up your heart.... Seemed a decent sort of a chap, I must say.”
Keep up his heart!... And there was a chance of someone else taking his share of the d.a.m.nable thing, after all!... But Lester Stark wouldn't kill. Perhaps not-and yet, some months ago he had told him to his face that he'd like to send Wynne's body to burn in h.e.l.l!... H'm. Well, he would have to keep his mouth shut upon that conversation, at all events, or they'd have poor Stark by the heels the next minute.... But somehow his heart had lightened. Cleek didn't seem such a bad chap, after all. And they couldn't hang him yet, anyhow.
For the rest of the long, dreary day the memory of that I.O.U. with Lester Stark's name sprawled across the bottom of it, in the das.h.i.+ng caligraphy that he knew, danced before his mind's eye like a fleeting hope, making the day less long.
CHAPTER XVIII
POSSIBLE EXCITEMENT