Читать книгу The Councillors Of Falconhoe - Fred M. White - Страница 9

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Had he wished it Jelicorse might have remained in the Foreign Office after the Armistice. The imperturbable little man in the eyeglass, with his wide knowledge of languages and human nature, had done great things during those terrible years, but now that things had gone back to the normal the dreary routine and red tape had no attractions for him and he resigned. For a time he regretted this step and its consequent cutting off of a regular and steady income, the more so because his own resources were severely crippled by the crushing burden of income tax and other handicaps which are painfully familiar to most of us to-day. No doubt it would all come right in time, but meanwhile Jelicorse had to live, and after letting his small family property on a long lease he was only too glad to join forces with his tried friends Enderby and Farncombe, who were exactly in the same position. They had found what they wanted on the coast of North Devon, where they could work in comfort and without being spied upon by curious people, and where Enderby, the man of practical science, worked at his many inventions. There at Falconhoe Manor they had their wonderful helicopter 'plane, which was to make a sensation whenever Enderby chose to take the public into his confidence. They had their complete set of wireless, both telegraphic and telephonic, by means of which they were in touch with friends and confederates in most of the capitals of Europe. There were months at a time when they did not move beyond the grounds of Falconhoe, but there were other times when they were scouring half Europe on some diplomatic errand, on behalf of the Foreign Office, in connection with the French Government, and, in fact, the heads of the Entente nations. There were many perilous corners to turn yet before the nations sat down in amity together again, and, wherever an ugly intrigue showed its head within two thousand miles of London, then the Councillors of Falconhoe were invariably called in. Nobody knew this, though signs were not wanting that certain factions in Europe were on the track of the secret. For instance, Barrados knew. How exactly he obtained his information, Jelicorse did not know, and he did not very much care. Still, it was annoying to think that one of the men whom it was most necessary to keep in the dark should have hit upon the trail. However, he had been foolish enough to boast about it in Jelicorse's own hearing, and forewarned is forearmed.

There were other occasions when the Councillors embarked on private business, and these excursions into the unknown were highly remunerative, so that, on the whole, the triple partnership promised to restore the Councillors to that financial prosperity, the lack of which had forced them into their present path. And now big things were looming on the horizon, and before long the Councillors would find themselves with their hands full. Meanwhile, Jelicorse was at a loose end for a day or two, his colleagues were down in Devon, where he proposed to join them at the end of the week.

He was sitting in the dining-room of his lodgings in Mount-street one afternoon, awaiting the coming of Niel Nelson. Just before the latter arrived the afternoon post came in. There was nothing of any great importance from the official point of view, so that Jelicorse turned to those envelopes which were apparently of a more social and friendly nature. The first envelope he slit contained a note from Lady Peggy Pevensey.

"Dear Hilary (she wrote),—

"I am sorry to have kept you waiting, but I had more trouble in getting that little bit of information than I had expected. However, by patience and perseverance, I have managed to worm out the truth, without arousing our dear Inez's suspicions. I didn't like doing it a bit, but still, I promised you, and here is the information that you require. Of course, I ought to have been furious to discover that Inez obtained the thing we know of from the Duke of Lombaso. In other words, the young man who deigns to honour me with his (official) affections is actually carrying on an intrigue with another girl who is one of my friends. But, somehow, I am not so angry as I should be, because I have a feeling that there is no harm in it. I cannot tell you any more, except that the ornament in question is a sort of mascot, and I don't believe that it has finally passed out of the Duke's possession. Why you want this information, and why you have gone out of your way to make all this mystery about it is past my small understanding, but there you are, and make the best of it.

"However, you have been very kind to me, and I am more than grateful. But don't forget your invitation to Falconhoe. In fact, I have already anticipated it. The Duke went off a few days ago, and we parted exceedingly good friends, without any embarrassment on either side. And that is what comes of being members of a caste of Vere de Vere. In a humbler walk of life I suppose I should have said good-bye to him with my thumb in my mouth. However, you have succeeded in postponing the evil day, and I cannot sufficiently thank you. I suppose I shall have to marry him some time or another, if I am to save the family from absolute ruin. I never yet heard of a duke in a workhouse, though I can imagine dear old daddy bearing his misfortunes as his ancestors did about the time of Charles I. But because there hasn't been a duke in a workhouse, I don't see why there should never be. However—

"You will be surprised to hear that Inez is still here, and that she hopes to join us at Windy Bay—in fact, we took the small car over the day before yesterday, and spied out the promised land. What a lovely spot it is, and that dear little whitewashed post-office where we arranged to take rooms for a week is absolutely ideal. We are looking forward to quite a good time there, so please get back to Falconhoe as quickly as possible, and telegraph me as soon as you arrive there. Mind you, I shall expect to hear all about the great adventure which you are planning for us, and I have already given dear old daddy a hint or two as to what is going to happen. He just shakes his head and says he doesn't know what we modern girls are coming to. So that's that."

It was at that precise moment that Niel Nelson put in an appearance. He came in cheerfully enough, and quite happy with a prospect at last of being able to do something to restore his fallen fortunes. At any rate, he had cast off the garb of a waiter for ever, and professed himself to be entirely at Jelicorse's disposal.

"Well, here I am," he said cheerfully. "I have managed to redeem my wardrobe from the care of mon oncle, and that leaves me with just sufficient money to get down to Falconhoe."

"Oh, you needn't worry about that," Jelicorse said. "You are now in the employ of the Councillors of Falconhoe, at a salary of four hundred a year, and all expenses paid. Now sit down and have a cigarette, and let us talk things over. Now I am going to ask you a very delicate question. After the revolution in Russia broke out, did you ever hear anything directly or indirectly about your mother? You know what I mean."

Nelson drew a long deep breath.

"I hate even to think about it, Jelicorse," he murmured. "You know what happened to the Czar and his family... well, there is little doubt that that is exactly what took place with regard to my mother and her servants in the castle near Moscow. There is no doubt they were all brutally murdered—"

"And robbed, I presume? Of course, you can't tell me what became of all the property?"

"No, but I can guess," Nelson said grimly. "Of course, everything was confiscated for the benefit of the Soviet Republic. I suppose no Princess outside royal blood ever had such a collection of jewels as my mother. She trusted her own people implicitly, and I have no doubt that all those gems were actually in the castle at the time of the tragedy. It seems an unfeeling thing to say, but if those had been saved I should be a wealthy man to-day. But please don't let us talk about it."

"Very well," Jelicorse said, having gained his point. "You will understand later on why I raised the question. And now I want you to begin work at once. I want you to go round, just about teatime, to a little restaurant in Genoa-street, Soho—I think the name of the place is the Martini—I want you to sit there, smoking a cigarette and having a cup of tea and reading your paper. I can't describe the men you will meet, because they probably will be disguised, and they won't know you till you speak."

"But what am I to say?" Nelson asked.

"Well, nothing, in a manner of speaking. They will come and take their seats in the little alcove, at the back of the restaurant, and you will be at the next table, the only other table, in fact. Possibly somebody else may be sitting beside you, but that doesn't matter very much. If the right men turn up, they will presently begin to talk about birds. Directly one of them speaks of a black eagle, then you interrupt. You ask him if the black eagle is a bird ever seen in Europe. You can, of course, apologise for interrupting the conversation, and say that you are interested in the subject in an amateur kind of way. One of the men you are after will probably make some reply, and I want you to remember carefully exactly what he says. It may be a long conversation—on the other hand, it may only consist of a few words. And when the speaker has finished all he has to say he will turn his back upon you, and after that the sooner you are back here the better."

"By Jove," Nelson smiled. "Sounds like a chapter out of a sensational story."

"And so it is," Jelicorse said drily. "The most sensational story that Europe has heard since 1914. Now, off you go, and after you come back we will have some dinner, and catch the evening mail to Exeter. To-morrow we foregather at Falconhoe, and there we stay till the signal comes. That is all for the moment."

Niel Nelson wandered out into the street, turning over this strange mission in his mind. It was not the first time that he had come under the influence of the three mystics who now formed the Councillors of Falconhoe. During the war he had helped Jelicorse more than once, and he was only too anxious to be of further assistance. And if there were big things moving, then there was a lure before him that he would not have missed.

He came presently to his destination, a mean little eating-house in Soho, in which was a fair sprinkling of shabby-looking foreigners, drinking, and smoking, and playing their eternal dominoes. As he glanced into the alcove at the top end of the room he saw three or four of those unsavoury exiles seated at the nearer table, whilst the other one at the far end of the alcove was empty. He pushed his way towards the table and took his seat quietly, facing the wall. He had hardly settled down over a cup of coffee and the evening paper, when two men passed him, and flung themselves down at the upper table. They were both foreigners, thin and tall and bearded, and it seemed to Nelson that they were in disguise, but of that he could not be sure, and he knew that he would not even have suspected it but for the hint which Jelicorse had given him. They began to speak in more or less indifferent English, and Nelson thrilled as he heard birds mentioned.

"I tell you it is a fact," the taller of the two men said. "I have seen, and I know. The black eagle is a migratory bird, which accounts for the fact that it is occasionally seen all over Europe. I have seen it myself, Michael."

"Excuse me, sir," Nelson said as coolly as he could. "You will pardon my interfering, but I am interested in the great game birds. Is it actually a fact that the black eagle occasionally flies over Europe on its way to the north?"

The stranger fixed Nelson with a piercing stare.

"That is so, monsieur," he said slowly. "I have seen it myself. And you may take it from me that the black eagle flies eastward. He is flying eastward at this moment."

With that, the dark man turned his back almost offensively, as it seemed to Nelson, and the latter heard no more. Obviously the conversation was finished, and five minutes later Nelson finished his coffee and sauntered slowly out.