Ranson's Folly (Fiscle Part 3) by Richard Harding Davis (dar e dil novel online reading TXT) 📕

Shoved The Case Carefully Into A Corner. 'Your Bag Slipped Off On The

Floor,' She Said. 'If You've Got Any Bottles In It,  You Had Better

Look And See That They're Not Broken.'

"And I Give You My Word,  I Was Such An Ass That I Did Open The Case

And Looked All Through It. She Must Have Thought I Was A Juggins. I

Get Hot All Over Whenever I Remember It. But,  In Spite Of My Dulness,

And Her Cleverness,  She Couldn't Gain Anything By Sending Me Away,

Because What She Wanted Was In The Hand-Bag,  And Every Time She Sent

Me Away The Hand-Bag Went With Me.

"After The Incident Of The Dressing-Case Her Manner Changed. Either

In My Absence She Had Had Time To Look Through It,  Or,  When I Was

Examining It For Broken Bottles,  She Had Seen Everything It Held.

"From That Moment She Must Have Been Certain That The Cigar-Case,  In

Which She Knew I Carried The Diamonds,  Was In The Bag That Was

Fastened To My Body,  And From That Time On She Probably Was Plotting

How To Get It From Me.

"Her Anxiety Became Most Apparent. She Dropped The Great-Lady Manner,

And Her Charming Condescension Went With It. She Ceased Talking,  And,

When I Spoke,  Answered Me Irritably,  Or At Random. No Doubt Her Mind

Was Entirely Occupied With Her Plan. The End Of Our Journey Was

Drawing Rapidly Nearer,  And Her Time For Action Was Being Cut Down

With The Speed Of The Express-Train. Even I,  Unsuspicious As I Was,

Noticed That Something Was Very Wrong With Her. I Really Believe That

Before We Reached Marseilles If I Had Not,  Through My Own Stupidity,

Given Her The Chance She Wanted,  She Might Have Stuck A Knife In Me

And Rolled Me Out On The Rails. But As It Was,  I Only Thought That

The Long Journey Had Tired Her. I Suggested That It Was A Very Trying

Trip,  And Asked Her If She Would Allow Me To Offer Her Some Of My

Cognac.

"She Thanked Me And Said,  'No,' And Then Suddenly Her Eyes Lighted,

And She Exclaimed,  'Yes,  Thank You,  If You Will Be So Kind.'

"My Flask Was In The Hand-Bag,  And I Placed It On My Lap And,  With My

Thumb,  Slipped Back The Catch. As I Keep My Tickets And Railroad-

Guide In The Bag,  I Am So Constantly Opening It That I Never Bother

To Lock It,  And The Fact That It Is Strapped To Me Has Always Been

Sufficient Protection. But I Can Appreciate Now What A Satisfaction,

And What A Torment,  Too,  It Must Have Been To That Woman When She Saw

That The Bag Opened Without A Key.

"While We Were Crossing The Mountains I Had Felt Rather Chilly And

Had Been Wearing A Light Racing-Coat. But After The Lamps Were

Lighted The Compartment Became Very Hot And Stuffy,  And I Found The

Coat Uncomfortable. So I Stood Up,  And After First Slipping The Strap

Of The Bag Over My Head,  I Placed The Bag In The Seat Next Me And

Pulled Off The Racing-Coat. I Don't Blame Myself For Being Careless;

The Bag Was Still Within Reach Of My Hand,  And Nothing Would Have

Happened If At That Exact Moment The Train Had Not Stopped At Arles.

It Was The Combination Of My Removing The Bag And Our Entering The

Station At The Same Instant Which Gave The Princess Zichy The Chance

She Wanted To Rob Me.

"I Needn't Say That She Was Clever Enough To Take It. The Train Ran

Into The Station At Full Speed And Came To A Sudden Stop. I Had Just

Thrown My Coat Into The Rack,  And Had Reached Out My Hand For The

Bag. In Another Instant I Would Have Had The Strap Around My

Shoulder. But At That Moment The Princess Threw Open The Door Of The

Compartment And Beckoned Wildly At The People On The Platform.

'Natalie!' She Called,  'Natalie! Here I Am. Come Here! This Way!' She

Turned Upon Me In The Greatest Excitement. 'My Maid!' She Cried. 'She

Is Looking For Me. She Passed The Window Without Seeing Me. Go,

Please,  And Bring Her Back.' She Continued Pointing Out Of The Door

And Beckoning Me With Her Other Hand. There Certainly Was Something

About That Woman's Tone Which Made One Jump. When She Was Giving

Orders You Had No Chance To Think Of Anything Else. So I Rushed Out

On My Errand Of Mercy,  And Then Rushed Back Again To Ask What The

Maid Looked Like.

"'In Black,' She Answered,  Rising And Blocking The Door Of The

Compartment. 'All In Black,  With A Bonnet!'

"The Train Waited Three Minutes At Arles,  And In That Time I Suppose

I Must Have Rushed Up To Over Twenty Women And Asked,  'Are You

Natalie?' The Only Reason I Wasn't Punched With An Umbrella Or Handed

Over To The Police Was That They Probably Thought I Was Crazy.

"When I Jumped Back Into The Compartment The Princess Was Seated

Where I Had Left Her,  But Her Eyes Were Burning With Happiness. She

Placed Her Hand On My Arm Almost Affectionately,  And Said,  In A

Hysterical Way,  'You Are Very Kind To Me. I Am So Sorry To Have

Troubled You.'

"I Protested That Every Woman On The Platform Was Dressed In Black.

"'Indeed,  I Am So Sorry,' She Said,  Laughing; And She Continued To

Laugh Until She Began To Breathe So Quickly That I Thought She Was

Going To Faint.

"I Can See Now That The Last Part Of That Journey Must Have Been A

Terrible Half-Hour For Her. She Had The Cigar-Case Safe Enough,  But

She Knew That She Herself Was Not Safe. She Understood If I Were To

Open My Bag,  Even At The Last Minute,  And Miss The Case,  I Would Know

Positively That She Had Taken It. I Had Placed The Diamonds In The

Bag At The Very Moment She Entered The Compartment,  And No One But

Our Two Selves Had Occupied It Since. She Knew That When We Reached

Marseilles She Would Either Be Twenty Thousand Pounds Richer Than

When She Left Paris,  Or That She Would Go To Jail. That Was The

Situation As She Must Have Read It,  And I Don't Envy Her Her State Of

Mind During That Last Half-Hour. It Must Have Been Hell.

"I Saw That Something Was Wrong,  And,  In My Innocence,  I Even

Wondered If Possibly My Cognac Had Not Been A Little Too Strong. For

She Suddenly Developed Into A Most Brilliant Conversationalist,  And

Applauded And Laughed At Everything I Said,  And Fired Off Questions

At Me Like A Machine-Gun,  So That I Had No Time To Think Of Anything

But Of What She Was Saying. Whenever I Stirred,  She Stopped Her

Chattering And Leaned Toward Me,  And Watched Me Like A Cat Over A

Mouse-Hole. I Wondered How I Could Have Considered Her An Agreeable

Travelling-Companion. I Thought I Would Have Preferred To Be Locked

In With A Lunatic. I Don't Like To Think How She Would Have Acted If

I Had Made A Move To Examine The Bag,  But As I Had It Safely Strapped

Around Me Again,  I Did Not Open It,  And I Reached Marseilles Alive.

As We Drew Into The Station She Shook Hands With Me And Grinned At Me

Like A Cheshire Cat.

"'I Cannot Tell You,' She Said,  'How Much I Have To Thank You For.'

What Do You Think Of That For Impudence?

"I Offered To Put Her In A Carriage,  But She Said She Must Find

Natalie,  And That She Hoped We Would Meet Again At The Hotel. So I

Drove Off By Myself,  Wondering Who She Was,  And Whether Natalie Was

Not Her Keeper.

"I Had To Wait Several Hours For The Train To Nice; And As I Wanted

To Stroll Around The City I Thought I Had Better Put The Diamonds In

The Safe Of The Hotel. As Soon As I Reached My Room I Locked The

Door,  Placed The Hand-Bag On The Table,  And Opened It. I Felt Among

The Things At The Top Of It,  But Failed To Touch The Cigar-Case. I

Shoved My Hand In Deeper,  And Stirred The Things About,  But Still I

Did Not Reach It. A Cold Wave Swept Down My Spine,  And A Sort Of

Emptiness Came To The Pit Of My Stomach. Then I Turned Red-Hot,  And

The Sweat Sprung Out All Over Me. I Wet My Lips With My Tongue,  And

Said To Myself,  'Don't Be An Ass. Pull Yourself Together,  Pull

Yourself Together. Take The Things Out,  One At A Time. It's There,  Of

Course,  It's There. Don't Be An Ass.'

"So I Put A Brake On My Nerves And Began Very Carefully To Pick Out

The Things,  One By One,  But,  After Another Second,  I Could Not Stand

It,  And I Rushed Across The Room And Threw Out Everything On The Bed.

But The Diamonds Were Not Among Them. I Pulled The Things About And

Tore Them Open And Shuffled And Rearranged And Sorted Them,  But It

Was No Use. The Cigar-Case Was Gone. I Threw Everything In The

Dressing-Case Out On The Floor,  Although I Knew It Was Useless To

Look For It There. I Knew That I Had Put It In The Bag. I Sat Down

And Tried To Think. I Remembered I Had Put It In The Satchel At Paris

Just As That Woman Had Entered The Compartment,  And I Had Been Alone

With Her Ever Since,  So It Was She Who Had Robbed Me. But How? It Had

Never Left My Shoulder. And Then I Remembered That It Had--That I Had

Taken It Off When I Had Changed My Coat And For The Few Moments That

I Was Searching For Natalie. I Remembered That The Woman Had Sent Me

On That Goose-Chase,  And That At Every Other Station She Had Tried To

Get Rid Of Me On Some Fool-Errand.

"I Gave A Roar Like A Mad Bull,  And I Jumped Down The Stairs,  Six

Steps At A Time.

"I Demanded At The Office If A Distinguished Lady Of Title,  Possibly

A Russian,  Had Just Entered The Hotel.