Читать книгу The Day, or The Passing of a Throne - Fred M. White - Страница 8

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Like a cat, and as noiselessly, Garzia crept from the flat and made his way down the flights of stairs. He did not ring for the lift, for he counted on the night watchman being asleep in his box, and considerately had no desire to disturb him. He smiled pleasantly to find the forecast correct, and he slid off in the darkness without a soul being any the wiser. Even though the streets were empty, Garzia took no risk, and he used every patch of shadow as if it had been cover on a battlefield. He came at length to the garage where he kept his car, a motor which he had excellent reasons for looking after himself. It was supposed to be a hobby of his but at any rate it avoided a curious chauffeur and enabled Garzia to get about in all hours of the day and night without having to make a lot of more or less plausible explanations.

He closed the tightly fitting door and switched on the light. Then he proceeded rapidly to don a full chauffeur's uniform and a cap that hid his dark hair. The addition of a pair of goggles changed him beyond all recognition.

He chuckled as he regarded himself in the looking-glass; then he took up a spray of brilliant red paint, and in a few moments had transformed his pale car into a crimson one. All this would wash off quite easily presently, and when the number-plate had been changed and fresh lamps added he felt ready to defy the keenest eye. Then he boldly started the car, and slid along noiselessly till Medhurst Gardens was reached. There was no occasion to give Marie Loxton the signal, for she was already waiting in the doorway for the arrival of the car. She had made no attempt to disguise herself, for there was no occasion. If anybody met them on the road she would merely be taken for a lady out on urgent business, who was being driven by her own chauffeur. They slid away almost noiselessly through the sleeping city, Lady Loxton from time to time indicating the direction by a wave of her arm. Their destination was not more than twenty miles, and this should be accomplished by four o'clock, when it would still be pitch dark. The rest was no great matter. It would not be a difficult thing to gain access to the hangar in which the aeroplane was lying, and, with any luck the prize would be safely housed in Garzia's garage before dawn.

So they hurried along the silent roads, encountering nobody besides an occasional country policeman. The night was dark and black as the throat of a wolf, but Garzia slung along easily for he was an accomplished driver. Lady Loxton laid her hand upon his arm presently, and the car stopped at the entrance to a narrow lane.

"You had better back her in here," the woman whispered. "We are very near to our destination. I know that Rosslyn's workshops are in a field at the bottom of the lane, and the hangar can't be very far off. Shut down the engine and follow me."

It was not easy work fumbling along the lane in the pitch darkness, but the journey was accomplished at length, and a white gate loomed like a ghost a little way ahead. Beyond was a range of buildings dark against the skyline, and towards these the two adventurers made their way. It all seemed to be plain sailing now till something snapped under Garzia's foot, then a gruff voice challenged, and the click of a trigger sounded ominously near. It was a moment of something more than danger, and indeed it spelt exposure and disgrace. If the man with the revolver held them up long enough for assistance to arrive, then their career would be at an end. Even the ready-witted Garzia was at a loss for the moment.

But not so the woman by his side. She grasped him tensely by the arm and hissed in his ear.

"Drop," she said, "on your hands and knees at once and get behind the fellow. He is about five yards straight in front of me, and I saw his outline for a second against a door. Get behind him, and kill him when the time comes. Leave him to me."

Garzia needed no second bidding. He dropped like a shot rabbit on the wet grass, and proceeded to stalk his prey. He heard Marie Loxton utter a cry of joy and relief, or, at any rate, so it seemed to the sentinel standing there. It was quite clear that the guardian was unaware of the fact that there were two trespassers, and under the fond illusion that he had only a woman to deal with.

"Oh I am so glad I have found somebody," said Marie Loxton in tones of relief. "I have never been so frightened in my life. I was on the way to see a friend of mine that was taken suddenly ill, and I was stupid enough to think that I could drive myself. I managed to steer my car into a ditch, and if you will be so kind—"

There was no occasion to say any more, for the man standing there gave a gasp as he dropped senseless from a murderous blow on the back of the head. Garzia bent over him coolly.

"He won't trouble anybody for an hour or two," he said. "That was very smart of you, Marie. Now come along, for there is not a moment to be lost. There is the hangar, and here is my pocket-lamp. Well, so much for the lock. Now shut the door while I find the switch and turn on the light. Here we are, and—"

The chuckling speech broke off suddenly, and a yell of rage came from Garzia's lips For all this toil and all these risks were wasted. The hanger was empty.

"Now what does all this mean?" Garzia hissed. "There isn't so much here as a box of matches. And from what I heard over the telephone to-night, the aeroplane must have been here an hour or two ago. I'd give five years of my life to know where Rosslyn is just now. He is a lucky beggar, anyhow."

Had Garzia only known! Hours before Rosslyn had retraced his steps in the direction Cannon-street with the full intention of knowing the worst. The cool air of the night chilled the fever in his blood, and he saw his duty clearly before him. He resolutely put Vera out of his mind, he would forget her altogether. He had only one object in view and that was to discover the hidden mystery in a busy city street. He went cautiously up the stairs presently. He was all ready, nor did he anticipate any kind of trouble. He would be able to find the switch and turn on the light.

But all that was done for him in the twinkling of an eye. He had a fleeting vision of Leroux and a big burley man whom the former addressed as Ludwig. Then he was carried to the floor, and a pair of handcuffs snapped upon his wrists.