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THE HARLESDEN MURDER 1
BY THE BARONESS ORCZT,
Author of 'The Emperor's Candlesticks,
Etc.
. !
fOOPTBIGHT.J 1
CHAPTER XVIII.— (Continued.)
Mr Bamford knew and felt Glassing
ton's presence behind that glass door.
His dignity, his pride in his work were
on their mettle. Moreover, he thought
that this noble earl, with at least one
ugly stain upon his escutcheon, was
taking it off in a very high-handed man
ner with him; he also knew the value
of an adversary's irritation and loss
of temper for the extracting of usetul
information; and he aireaay say , ;
his calm haughtiness Lord Fulford had ,
more than once frowned and angrily bit
ten his lips. , .
'There are many ways,' retorted tlie
latter, 'in which a young man of rank
and wealth can spend a few hours or
peculiar. It would be distinctly in Lord
account for time so spent.'
'Undoubtedly. But you will admit'
that the circumstances are somewhat
T+. romild he distinctly in Lord
Heslington's interest if he would con
descend to give us some hint, which we f
would endeavor to Verify, as to the em- 1
ployment of his time during that
night.'
'That is out of the question. Be is
not accountable to anyone for his ac
tions.' , ,
'I am exceedingly sorry to hear
that,' said Mr Bamford, quietly.
. 'Why?' .. '
'In Viscount Heslington's interest,
that is all.' ,
'You mean that the police are de
termined to take the case up against ,
him?' . ?' „ |
'That is .precisely what ldo mean.
'You have applied for a warrant
against him?'
. 'Not vet '
'You intend to do so?'
'That is a point which I am not at
liberty to discuss. Let me add that we
are exceedingly loth to take any dras
I j.* ? ? ? ? +Via*t nnnnam t.llfl
LIC 10t?itOUX««Sr w*vj
families of our hereditary legislators.
To save a great deal of unnecessary pub
licity, for instance, I am quite willing
to lend my hand to certain irregulari
ties,, which are contrary to precedent. I
trust that you, my lord, will appreciate
my motive, and will_ agree with me, in
desiring; that daylight should be shed
upon this sombre mystery.'
'?Such is undoubtedly my desire.'
'If therefore the employment of Vis
count Heslington's time, on the night
iii question, i& known to you, and. vou
are willing to tell me that he is able
to grove ail. alibi, 1 am equally ready
to have - the alibi quietly verified, and
no one need mention Lord Hesling
ton's name in connection with the Har
lesden murder again.'
'And failing this alibi, sir F' asked1
Lord Fulford. . i-
'Failing such an alibi, my lord, you
will pardon my saying that I do not;
quite s!e the purport of your visit.' v'
? -iou win arrest my sou oa »-cuargts j
of murder?' - . . , ' . . -
Mr Bamfprd's silence .was sufficiently
eloquent. - Lord Fulford, who also had j
in no way 'departed from his calm !
polit-s attitude, resumed after a slight^!
.pause. ' 1
'You will pardon my making the sug- i
gestion, that yeur actions in this mat- !
ter are distinctly contradictory. Sou
have practically told me now, that un
less my sSn can prove an alibi, you hold
that he went that night to Mrs Butt's
house and there murdered 'her. Now it
is impossible for my son either to prove
or even to 'plead an alibi.'
A sound — was it an exclamation ? —
'came from beyond the glass door. Mr
Bamford coughed loudly inlhis endeavor
?to disguise -these .outwards and audible
signs of Glassington's astonishment. But
Lord Fulford — absorbed in his own af
fairs — had evidently heard nothing, for
he proceeded quietly:
» ''At the same time, it is surely not
unknown to your far-seeing department
that I,: too, ivent to Harlesden on that
selfsame night, that I, too, had the in
tention of seeipg my late servant, and
that I, too, might have valuable testi
mony to place in the hands of the
police?' ' ?
This 'time, if. .there W3s another ex
clamation of astonishment behind: that
glass ooor, it was effectually veiled by
Sir Bamford , saying quietly'^ but loud-,
ly : ' ' - . ? -
'Your journey to ; Harlesden, my
lord, was/ as you justly surmise, un
officially known to the polite. TSfc
had, however, no conclusive proof of
it.'
'I give you that proof now. I took
the North-Western' ' train to Willesden
from Victoria at 10.19 p.m. I walked
'frojin Willesden Junction to iPorts
mouth 'Terrace, Harlesdenj' intending
to knock - at Mrs Butt's door. It wis.
then a little after ll— I was about to'!
turn into the narrow road at the end
of which stands her house, when I
saw — very vaguely, for the road is very
[ badly lighted—a tall young* ? man,
carrying an overcoat over bis arm,
and wearing a Glengarry cap- /be came
out of Mrs Butt's houBe, and walked
rapidly away in -the direction Of 'the
railway station,, but took a different
turning to thei one by which I has just
come. I could not distinguish either
his face, or his figure very clearly— -the
roads are very dark in the suburbs of
Londonj a'ud he walked' and disappear
ed very rapidly. It was a mere flash,
and less than two minutes afterwards
I knocked at Mrs';Butt;s door ; I did
so repeatedly, however, without get
ting any answ;er. . It would be very
difficult for me to tell you what
thoughts crossed my mind at the
time; but as I paused on the door
step, a little doubtful of -what I should
do, I saw something white lying
against the railings. Quite mechani
cally x picKeu ib up ; 10 was a leucer —
apparently dropped by Mrs Butt's late
visitor. I;, cannot toll you what in
stinct prompted 'me to glance at the
contents of ' the' letter? and then to
j put it away. Perhaps it was' a. pre
' sentiment of all thAt has happened
since. In -any case I ' have this proof
by me of my actual presence in Harles
den that night. Perhaps; you will,
find in it that which may lead you to
discover the perpetrator of the crime.
In any case vou have means in your
power which I have not, to find out
both' the writer and the recipient of
that letter. I assure you that neither
description applies to my son.'
Mr Bamford /had listened 'quietly
and impassively,- while; Lord Fulford ]
spoke. It would have been impossible 1
to guess by Jds immovable face what '
his thoughts .were upon the subject. No ;
doubt he called into play all the power 1
he possessed of reading the counten- j
anoes of his .fellow men. 'Upon his'
1 penetration, his sharp insight, the whole'
; issue of the mysterious case now de- ;
pended. He hoped inwardly that Glass- j
ing'5on through the glass door had ob- [
tained a good view of Lord. Fulford as ;
I he spoke. . He knew that he could :
trust the old. detective's sagacity, or ;
rather the instinct which was akin to i
that of the bloodhound, and which ren- j
dered1 Glassington's services so invalu- [
able to his chief. .{
But Lord Fulford had paused now; '?
he had taken from his breast
pocket a pocket book, from
which he extracted a letter,'
written in the small, cramped band
writing fashionable in France, and
upon the usual, thin, foreign notepaper.
This he held in his hand, evidently
waiting for Mr Bamford to speak.
'?Do I understand, my lord, that you
consider your statement to -me as ab
solutely official ?' asked the chief ^of the
detective department at last.
;'Of course,' said Lord Fulford, with
a shade of impatience. 'In what other
war could, I have made it?'
''And you are ready to place this let
ter in our hands?'
'Certainly.'
As there was too great a, distance
between the two men to allow of the j
letter passing from hand to hand, and
as Lord Fulford made not the slightest
attempt to rise and pass it to 3Ir
Jiamiord. the latter was compelled to
do the rising. He took the letter, and
as he returned to his own chair, he re
marked quietly: ^
'You are no doubt a war© that it is
every man's duty, under such circum
stances as you have described, to place
any object which might prove of the ut
most importance in the investigation
of crime immediately in the hands of
the police.'
'I, am perfectly aware of that.'
?'And yet yon kept this letter — let me
see? How many days?'
'Nearly a fortnight. Well?'
'Might I venture to ask why?'
' For the simple reason,' said Lord
Fulford. with withdrawing hauteur,
?that I did not wish to be in any way
mixed ' up wth affairs of the police.' ,
He did not add that in his heart1
there had arisen since* that night an
awful aching doubt, the doubt that
the figure which he had only vaguely
distinguished, flying like Cain in the
gloom, might have been that of his
son, and, tortured by this doubt 'he
had bidden, -the letter,: for ? fear it.
should prove' an awful Nemesis. He
/lifl siiA -Hint. - h/irrihlrv »RiiK
picions had .tortured him, that he —
the father — had mistaken 'his son's
silence for guiltj that he — the father— ;
had failed to - understand the - noble;
self-sacrifice, the chivalry of that si
lence, ^d bad, at tunes, even at
dead of night, glanced furtively at
these, few and meaningless lines, writ
I ten on official foreign paper, in ' a
I cramped French hand, and vainly ,ask
j ed of them to allay his horrible fears. .
He did not add that he never would
have dared to try and. find out who:
the writer of the epistle might be,, lest
he. should also learn who had been'
its recipient^ and , perhaps change
mere suspicion into awful certainty.
'That feeling, said Mr Bamford,
coldly, 'which, oddly enough, is- shar-
ed by bo many people m this country,
was in your case, my lord, a vfery un
fortunate one. W© shall hate the i
right to ask/a more definite reason 1
why this letter and your statement
were not in, our bands before to-,
day?' . '
'I have given you a reason ; a .suf- ,
ficient one, I think '
iiApd: now are we to understand:
that you have conquered that feeling?'
asked . the detective, with a thought of
sarcaSm. . -?
''Now matters are different. My
nnfsonal fnplinirc dn not. mmp jnin
play any longer. My son is in actual
danger of filing- a victim to an un- ?
pardonable blunder, and I desire to
save him /further annoyance.'' . ; ^ ,
. 'You are, of course, prepared to
repeat your statement in court, when-:
ever the occasion may idemand?' i
'I am entisely at your disposal as
a witness in .' the case '
'And you are, therefore, equally
prepared to explain the reason of your
strange and late visit to -Mrs Bntt'6
house on - that particular night?':.; 1 ?
; It. was without any hesitation, and.
with' a firm, . clear voice, i that Lord
Fulford repeated ;
'T am entirely at your disposal.'
'Then there remains nothing, fur-'
ther for the present, my lord,' con
cluded Mr Bamford, . after a slight
pause, 'but for me to thank you for
your courtesy in calling on me to-day.
My only regret is that your visit
should have been so tardy. You will,
of course, not .leave England -for . the
present, I take it?'
' 'Not for the present ' »
'And Lord Heslington5''
'1 cannot speak for my sorife move
ments. . You nave my promise to ap*:
pear in this matter 'It may be of
interest to yoiir staff to ' know that 1
am preparOT to pay the sum of
£10,000 for . the appreheiu ion, leading
to the ultimate conviction, of Mrs
Hiitf'o mnri^orar ' . . ? ? ?- ;??, ?.«
' 1 thank you, my lord, on . behalf -of ?
my men, whose enthusiasm willAatur
ally be whetted by your munificent:
offer.'
After a final exchange of courfcesies,
Lord Fulford rose at last and took
his leave. A constable ; accwnpanied
him to his brougham, while Mr /Sam
ford remained at his' desk, . .absorbed/
in thought,, with,. 'the foreign letter;
spread ; out 'before; ,bim. - - ? . '/
'What do you make of it, ?-3Iassing-
ton-?' he' ' said,, at:
:But) tiiere;VAas
other side of ; the ^glass , doorl t Mr?
Bamford called' again. i]
'Glassingtonj Sur^ly^yoy Jiaven't
gpine po|#^lemfr.
It is in Freii^. -T'am 'tra^apag ias.
I read. I don't know if yoii spea^r
French.
half -of the letter lias been destroyed *
So there is neither date ? nor .' 'the
faintest indication whence this epistle
emanates. But these are its contents
Sir, — We have duly received your,
?honored letter, and will commuhi
cate with you in reference to the
matter contained therein, as soon as
we have 'completed our preliminary
investigations. ~ -
Accept, sir, the assuranceuof our
earnest consideration:. '
Jacques Menhault, Secretarj
' 'Bald and meaningless enough, in
all {conscience. Is it. all a got-up af
fair, and does the noble earl play a
game so deep that he will lose him
self in its mazes? Glassingtonl Why
ia.the world don't you come when you
are called-?' ; r ;
But fctill there was^no reply, 4iitd at
last, impatiently, Mr ' Bamfprd push^J
his chair aside, and looked, in through
the glass door.
Glassington was sitting in a -iair,;.
his long legs stretched out\ ad in
finitum in front .Of him;' his. hands
buried in his : pockets, .bis chin ; -lost
in the folds of his necktie, deeply ab
sorbed in thought. ?; ''-''1
' CHAPTER XIX. ' ; : j
Mr Bamford knew that .it was worse/
than useless to interfere with Glas
sington, when he did not choose to be
communicative. He went back, there^l
fore, qjiietly to his desk, and tried to
go on with some other 'work, and to
dismiss from his mind for the present
all thoughts of tbe Harlesden murder/
case, an-TNthe unexpected move on the
part of the Earl of Fulford.
But, strive how he would, this , sud
den complication, the unexplainable
attitude of his late visitor haunted,
him persistently, and after a few vain
attempts at . work, he pushed pen
and paper aside, and, burying his
head in his hands, he allowed, himself
the luisury to think. .. . .
Half an hour later there was
shuffling noise behind the glass door,
and presently Glaesington stood before
him, with a deep scowl .upon his face,
his hands still buried in his pockets, '
and a patent air of irascible illtem
per, which, warned Mr Bamford that,
the interview would be a stormy one.-.
'Well, Glassingfcon, what about it?'
the chief ventured to say at last, as
the old detective seemed disinclined
to gay the first word.
'Well, the department has made a
fool of itself, . that's all' muttered
Glass ington between his clenched
teeth.
..'Now,, then, please, _? sir, say: no
thing,' he continued, although Mr
Bamford had not made the faintest at
tempt at speech. 'If you were to be
gin now with the usual, 1 warned' !
you,' and 'I told you so,' I think I
should — I should — well, I don't know,
as a matter of fact, what I should
do; but as a preliminary act I would -j
certainly throw up this case at once;
apd. I need not tell you,' he added
gruffl, 'that, as I have made a jolly
tangle of it all not one now can-. .
clear up the case, except myself/'
'I am perfectly aware of that, Glas- .
sington,' said Mr Bamford, meekly.
'Well, now, sir, for argument's .
sake, perhaps you'll tell me what your
idea is of the case, as it now stands.'' - :
'1 haven't any other for the pre*
sent, I am afraid, except that it is,
as you say, a jolly muddle, and that
the department will in tbe. course- of
the nest few days be hopelessly rated
by all its usual detractors.'
'All the usual rigmarole will once
more be echoed in the papers:^ 'Why
not import French talent^' ~You sir,
for one, I thinkj will find your posi
tion practically untenable,' added the
old djetective ^ with grim .satisfaction. {
/ 'You are forgetting yourself, Glas
1 siucrfnTi 3) a/lmnTiicliofl : -fJio' Wkinf dufflr
'Oh, I am — ain I? Very well. I
should think you ' will', be jolly glad, '?/
then,i to be .rid of on old fool, who
makes the most confounded blunders
ever perpetrated . by. . .amateur _ jdetec
tives, and who, moreove^, does siofr
know bow to curb bis tongue,'' re
torted Glassmgton, moving towards
the door, -. '
?''Now then, my man,' ^ said the
chief with unwonted firmness and
authority , 'this is !not tbe time for
petty squabbling \and exhibitions of
temper You are furious at the pre
sent moment?, and I don't wonder at
it. No one likes to blunder — if, in
deed, there has been a blunder, which
is still very far from being proved.
Butj though I have do wish to use the \
feminine argument of *1 warned you,J
as you suggest, yet I am bound, r
duty to the other members of my staff,
to remind you that you and'you alone
are responsible for the present state
of the case, and that if you were to
withdraw from it at this juncture 'Vou
would commit the most unpardonable,
unwarrantable breach of duly which m
has ever come under my notice If '1
there has been a blunder, no one bat a
you should have the task of remedying f „
it.' , c£!
A little astonished at his chifiFa un- \'gp
wonted severity, Glassmgton lietorted, . r
a littl«) mollified. , I i
'You think, then,( then I jam not , -5
quite such a filial as'^H^Iiave seemed?^ t
You are prepared to -give mea free ^
hand once more, and to let 'me carry'' '?
this case throughj' after all that Jias
happened?' 1 ^ ' s /
'Von hmnm nmtn u-pll jmV «niul VSiSPS
man, what my opinion 'is of your ca^
pabilities,-'. said MrcBamf ord : kindly.
dassington shook bis head 'obstinate-,?3|. , '
ly- ,
j 'That is not sufficient, ^sir; _you know 1 . J
me well .enough. J cainofc work^if JL &
am not ^iven a free hand/-' a*
'Who said you *were not to betfeiven » J A
a free band9^' * / s, £
1,Do you mean to sajy, iir, that after j*
I have made such a confouudefl^fool ot j-' ( -
myself, you are thinking Aaf jettmg^tnei ']y- ,???.
do as I likexabout%the case? That -you : f
are going to trust ane to «ee-. it ' *'
throu^iP I.canido it. of «ounrej'^{he f ,'i
added, drawing £ip his . long, loose'fig-^
ure with ' conscious ^pride ; I didn IjF*
expect that you would trust ...me.V \ ^ f
'Now that we have Settled f-' „
point to your satisfaction and to 'mine,'* - , J-y
replied Mr Batoford, with a smile ''let
us waste no more time about arguing, „ ij'
Tell me what -is your idea, and , what,' vm
?your opirnon should.be JburAiext^move ' ' '
'Lo be continued -to-morrow4^ ' * 1 '
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