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

"As I Expected,  She Had Not. I Sprang Into A Cab And Inquired At Two

Other Hotels,  And Then I Saw The Folly Of Trying To Catch Her Without

Outside Help,  And I Ordered The Fellow To Gallop To The Office Of The

Chief Of Police. I Told My Story,  And The Ass In Charge Asked Me To

Calm Myself,  And Wanted To Take Notes. I Told Him This Was No Time

For Taking Notes,  But For Doing Something. He Got Wrathy At That,  And

I Demanded To Be Taken At Once To His Chief. The Chief,  He Said,  Was

Very Busy,  And Could Not See Me. So I Showed Him My Silver Greyhound.

In Eleven Years I Had Never Used It But Once Before. I Stated,  In

Pretty Vigorous Language,  That I Was A Queen's Messenger,  And That If

The Chief Of Police Did Not See Me Instantly He Would Lose His

Official Head. At That The Fellow Jumped Off His High Horse And Ran

With Me To His Chief--A Smart Young Chap,  A Colonel In The Army,  And

A Very Intelligent Man.

"I Explained That I Had Been Robbed,  In A French Railway-Carriage,  Of

A Diamond-Necklace Belonging To The Queen Of England,  Which Her

Majesty Was Sending As A Present To The Czarina Of Russia. I Pointed

Out To Him That If He Succeeded In Capturing The Thief He Would Be

Made For Life,  And Would Receive The Gratitude Of Three Great Powers.

"He Wasn't The Sort That Thinks Second Thoughts Are Best. He Saw

Russian And French Decorations Sprouting All Over His Chest,  And He

Hit A Bell,  And Pressed Buttons,  And Yelled Out Orders Like The

Captain Of A Penny-Steamer In A Fog. He Sent Her Description To All

The City-Gates,  And Ordered All Cabmen And Railway-Porters To Search

All Trains Leaving Marseilles. He Ordered All Passengers On Outgoing

Vessels To Be Examined,  And Telegraphed The Proprietors Of Every

Hotel And Pension To Send Him A Complete List Of Their Guests Within

The Hour. While I Was Standing There He Must Have Given At Least A

Hundred Orders,  And Sent Out Enough Commissaires,  Sergeants De Ville,

Gendarmes,  Bicycle-Police,  And Plain-Clothes Johnnies To Have

Captured The Entire German Army. When They Had Gone He Assured Me

That The Woman Was As Good As Arrested Already. Indeed,  Officially,

She Was Arrested; For She Had No More Chance Of Escape From

Marseilles Than From The Chateau D'if.

"He Told Me To Return To My Hotel And Possess My Soul In Peace.

Within An Hour He Assured Me He Would Acquaint Me With Her Arrest.

"I Thanked Him,  And Complimented Him On His Energy,  And Left Him. But

I Didn't Share In His Confidence. I Felt That She Was A Very Clever

Woman,  And A Match For Any And All Of Us. It Was All Very Well For

Him To Be Jubilant. He Had Not Lost The Diamonds,  And Had Everything

To Gain If He Found Them; While I,  Even If He Did Recover The

Necklace,  Would Only Be Where I Was Before I Lost Them,  And If He Did

Not Recover It I Was A Ruined Man. It Was An Awful Facer For Me. I

Had Always Prided Myself On My Record. In Eleven Years I Had Never

Mislaid An Envelope,  Nor Missed Taking The First Train. And Now I Had

Failed In The Most Important Mission That Had Ever Been Intrusted To

Me. And It Wasn't A Thing That Could Be Hushed Up,  Either. It Was Too

Conspicuous,  Too Spectacular. It Was Sure To Invite The Widest

Notoriety. I Saw Myself Ridiculed All Over The Continent,  And Perhaps

Dismissed,  Even Suspected Of Having Taken The Thing Myself.

"I Was Walking In Front Of A Lighted Cafe,  And I Felt So Sick And

Miserable That I Stopped For A Pick-Me-Up. Then I Considered That If

I Took One Drink I Would Probably,  In My Present State Of Mind,  Not

Want To Stop Under Twenty,  And I Decided I Had Better Leave It Alone.

But My Nerves Were Jumping Like A Frightened Rabbit,  And I Felt I

Must Have Something To Quiet Them,  Or I Would Go Crazy. I Reached For

My Cigarette-Case,  But A Cigarette Seemed Hardly Adequate,  So I Put

It Back Again And Took Out This Cigar-Case,  In Which I Keep Only The

Strongest And Blackest Cigars. I Opened It And Stuck In My Fingers,

But,  Instead Of A Cigar,  They Touched On A Thin Leather Envelope. My

Heart Stood Perfectly Still. I Did Not Dare To Look,  But I Dug My

Finger-Nails Into The Leather,  And I Felt Layers Of Thin Paper,  Then

A Layer Of Cotton,  And Then They Scratched On The Facets Of The

Czarina's Diamonds!

"I Stumbled As Though I Had Been Hit In The Face,  And Fell Back Into

One Of The Chairs On The Sidewalk. I Tore Off The Wrappings And

Spread Out The Diamonds On The Cafe-Table; I Could Not Believe They

Were Real. I Twisted The Necklace Between My Fingers And Crushed It

Between My Palms And Tossed It Up In The Air. I Believe I Almost

Kissed It. The Women In The Cafe Stood Up On The Chairs To See

Better,  And Laughed And Screamed,  And The People Crowded So Close

Around Me That The Waiters Had To Form A Body-Guard. The Proprietor

Thought There Was A Fight,  And Called For The Police. I Was So Happy

I Didn't Care. I Laughed,  Too,  And Gave The Proprietor A Five-Pound

Note,  And Told Him To Stand Everyone A Drink. Then I Tumbled Into A

Fiacre And Galloped Off To My Friend The Chief Of Police. I Felt Very

Sorry For Him. He Had Been So Happy At The Chance I Gave Him,  And He

Was Sure To Be Disappointed When He Learned I Had Sent Him Off On A

False Alarm.

"But Now That I Had Found The Necklace,  I Did Not Want Him To Find

The Woman. Indeed,  I Was Most Anxious That She Should Get Clear Away,

For,  If She Were Caught,  The Truth Would Come Out,  And I Was Likely

To Get A Sharp Reprimand,  And Sure To Be Laughed At.

"I Could See Now How It Had Happened. In My Haste To Hide The

Diamonds When The Woman Was Hustled Into The Carriage,  I Had Shoved

The Cigars Into The Satchel,  And The Diamonds Into The Pocket Of My

Coat. Now That I Had The Diamonds Safe Again,  It Seemed A Very

Natural Mistake. But I Doubted If The Foreign Office Would Think So.

I Was Afraid It Might Not Appreciate The Beautiful Simplicity Of My

Secret Hiding-Place. So,  When I Reached The Police-Station,  And Found

That The Woman Was Still At Large,  I Was More Than Relieved.

"As I Expected,  The Chief Was Extremely Chagrined When He Learned Of

My Mistake,  And That There Was Nothing For Him To Do. But I Was

Feeling So Happy Myself That I Hated To Have Anyone Else Miserable,

So I Suggested That This Attempt To Steal The Czarina's Necklace

Might Be Only The First Of A Series Of Such Attempts By An

Unscrupulous Gang,  And That I Might Still Be In Danger.

"I Winked At The Chief,  And The Chief Smiled At Me,  And We Went To

Nice Together In A Saloon-Car With A Guard Of Twelve Carabineers And

Twelve Plain-Clothes Men,  And The Chief And I Drank Champagne All The

Way. We Marched Together Up To The Hotel Where The Russian Ambassador

Was Stopping,  Closely Surrounded By Our Escort Of Carabineers,  And

Delivered The Necklace With The Most Profound Ceremony. The Old

Ambassador Was Immensely Impressed,  And When We Hinted That Already I

Had Been Made The Object Of An Attack By Robbers,  He Assured Us That

His Imperial Majesty Would Not Prove Ungrateful.

"I Wrote A Swinging Personal Letter About The Invaluable Services Of

The Chief To The French Minister Of Foreign Affairs,  And They Gave

Him Enough Russian And French Medals To Satisfy Even A French

Soldier. So,  Though He Never Caught The Woman,  He Received His Just

Reward."

The Queen's Messenger Paused And Surveyed The Faces Of Those About

Him In Some Embarrassment.

"But The Worst Of It Is," He Added,  "That The Story Must Have Got

About; For,  While The Princess Obtained Nothing From Me But A Cigar-

Case And Five Excellent Cigars,  A Few Weeks After The Coronation The

Czar Sent Me A Gold Cigar-Case With His Monogram In Diamonds. And I

Don't Know Yet Whether That Was A Coincidence,  Or Whether The Czar

Wanted Me To Know That He Knew That I Had Been Carrying The Czarina's

Diamonds In My Pig-Skin Cigar-Case. What Do You Fellows Think?"

Iii

Sir Andrew Rose,  With Disapproval Written In Every Lineament.

"I Thought Your Story Would Bear Upon The Murder," He Said. "Had I

Imagined It Would Have Nothing Whatsoever To Do With It,  I Would Not

Have Remained." He Pushed Back His Chair And Bowed,  Stiffly. "I Wish

You Good Night," He Said.

There Was A Chorus Of Remonstrance,  And,  Under Cover Of This And The

Baronet's Answering Protests,  A Servant,  For The Second Time,  Slipped

A Piece Of Paper Into The Hand Of The Gentleman With The Pearl Stud.

He Read The Lines Written Upon It And Tore It Into Tiny Fragments.

The Youngest Member,  Who Had Remained An Interested But Silent

Listener To The Tale Of The Queen's Messenger,  Raised His Hand,

Commandingly.

"Sir Andrew," He Cried,  "In Justice To Lord Arthur Chetney,  I Must

Ask You To Be Seated. He Has Been Accused In Our Hearing Of A Most

Serious Crime,  And I Insist That You Remain Until You Have Heard Me

Clear His Character."

"You!" Cried The Baronet.

"Yes," Answered The Young Man,