A Bid for Fortune by Guy Boothby (best motivational books TXT) 📕

/> I took it out of my pocket and handed it to him. He then placed it on the table side by side with the letter, and through a magnifying-glass scrutinized both carefully. Having done so, he asked for the envelope in which it had arrived. Mr. Wetherell had thrown it into the waste-paper basket, but a moment's search brought it to light. Again he scrutinized both the first envelope and the letter, and then compared them with the second cover. "Yes, I thought so," he said. "This letter was written either by Nikola, or at his desire. The paper is the same as that he purchased at the stationer's shop we visited."

"And what had we better do now?" queried Wetherell, who had been eagerly waiting for his opinion.

"We must think," said the Inspector. "In the first place, I suppose you don't feel inclined to pay the large sum mentioned here?"

"Not if I can help it, of course," answered Wetherell. "But if the worst comes to the worst, and I cannot rescue my poor girl any other way, I would sacrifice even more than that."

"Well, we'll see if we can find her without compelling you to pay anything at all," the Inspector cried. "I've got an idea in my head."

"And what is that?" I cried; for I, too, had been thinking out a plan.

"Well, first and foremost," he answered, "I want you, Mr. Wetherell, to tell me all you can about your servants. Let us begin with the butler. How long has he been with you?"

"Nearly twenty years."

"A good and trustworthy servant, I presume?"

"To the last degree. I have implicit confidence in him."

"Then we may dismiss him from our minds. I think I saw a footman in the hall. How long has he been with you?"

"Just about three months."

"And what sort of a fellow is he?"

"I really could not tell you very much. He seems intelligent, quick and willing, and up to his work."

"Is your cook a man or a woman?"

"A woman. She has been with me since before my wife's death--that is to say, nearly ten years. You need have no suspicion of her."

"Housemaids?"

"Two. Both have been with me some time, and seem steady, respectable girls. There is also a kitchen maid; but she has been with me nearly as long as my cook, and I would stake my reputation on her integrity."

"Well, in that case, the only person who seems at all suspicious is the footman. May we have him up?"

"With pleasure. I'll ring for him."

Mr. Wetherell rang the bell, and a moment later it was answered by the man himself.

"Come in, James, and shut the door behind you," his master said.

The man did as he was ordered, but not without looking, as I thought, a little uncomfortable. The Inspector I could see had noticed this too, for he had been watching him intently ever since he had appeared in the room.

"James," said Mr. Wetherell, "the Inspector of Police wishes to ask you a few questions. Answer him to the best of your ability."

"To begin with," said the Inspector, "I want you to look at this envelope. Have you seen it before?"

He handed him the envelope of the anonymous letter addressed to Mr. Wetherell. The man took it and turned it over in his hands.

"Yes, sir," he said, "I have seen it before; I took it in at the front door."

"From whom?"

"From a little old woman, sir," the man answered.

"A little old woman!" cried the Inspector, evidently surprised. "What sort of woman?"

"Well, sir, I don't know that I can give you much of a description of her. She was very small, had a sort of nut-cracker face, a little black poke bonnet, and walked with a stick."

"Should you know her again if you saw her?"

"Oh yes, sir."

"Did she say anything when she gave you the letter?"

"Only, 'For Mr. Wetherell, young man.' That was all, sir."

"And you didn't ask if there was an answer? That was rather a singular omission on your part, was it not?"

"She didn't give me time, sir. She just put it into my hand and went down the steps again."

"That will do. Now, Mr. Wetherell, I think we'd better see about getting that money from the bank. You need not wait, my man."

The footman thereupon left the room, while both Mr. Wetherell and I stared at the Inspector in complete astonishment. He laughed.

"You are wondering why I said that," he remarked.

"I must confess it struck me as curious."

"Well, let me tell you I did it with a purpose. Did you notice that young man's face when he entered the room and when I gave him the letter? There can be no doubt about it, he is in the secret."

"You mean that he is in Nikola's employ? Then why don't you arrest him?"

"Because I want to be quite certain first. I said that about the money because, if he is Nikola's agent, he will carry the information to him, and by so doing keep your daughter in Sydney for at least a day longer. Do you see?"

"I do, and I admire your diplomacy. Now what is your plan?"

"May I first tell mine?" I said.

"Do," said the Inspector, "for mine is not quite matured yet."

"Well," I said, "my idea is this. I propose that Mr. Wetherell shall obtain from his bank a number of gold bags, fill them with lead discs to represent coin, and let it leak out before this man that he has got the money in the house. Then to-night Mr. Wetherell will set off for the water-side. I will row him down the harbour disguised as a boatman. We will pick up the boat, as arranged in that letter. In the meantime you must start from the other side in a police boat, pull up to meet us, and arrest the man. Then we will force him to disclose Miss Wetherell's whereabouts, and act upon his information. What do you say?"

"It certainly sound feasible," said the Inspector, and Mr. Wetherell nodded his head approvingly. At that moment the Marquis entered the room, looking much better than when we had found him on the preceding night, and the conversation branched off into a different channel.

My plot seemed to commend itself so much to Mr. Wetherell's judgment, that he ordered his carriage and drove off there and then to his bank, while I went down to the harbour, arranged about a boat, and having done so, proceeded up to the town, where I purchased a false beard, an old dungaree suit, such as a man loafing about the harbour might wear, and a slouch hat of villainous appearance. By the time I got back to the house Mr. Wetherell had returned. With great delight he conducted me to his study, and, opening his safe, showed me a number of canvas bags, on each of which was printed L1,000.

"But surely there are not L100,000 there?"

"No," said the old gentleman with a chuckle. "There is the counterfeit of L50,000 there; for the rest I propose to show him these."

So saying, he dived his hand into a drawer and produced a sheaf of crisp bank-notes.

"There--these are notes for the balance of the amount."

"But you surely are not going to pay? I thought we were going to try to catch the rascals without letting any money change hands."

"So we are, do not be afraid. If you will only glance at these notes you will see that they are dummies, every one of them. They are for me to exhibit to the man in the boat; in the dark they'll pass muster, never fear."

"Very good indeed," I said with a laugh. "By the time they can be properly examined we shall have the police at hand ready to capture him."

"I believe we shall," the old gentleman cried, rubbing his hands together in delight--"I believe we shall. And a nice example we'll make of the rascals. Nikola thinks he can beat me; I'll show him how mistaken he is!"

And for some time the old gentleman continued in this strain, confidently believing that he would have his daughter with him again by the time morning came. Nor was I far behind him in confidence. Since Nikola had not spirited her out of the country my plot seemed the one of all others to enable us to regain possession of her; and not only that, but we hoped it would give us an opportunity of punishing those who had so schemed against her. Suddenly an idea was born in my brain, and instantly I acted on it.

"Mr. Wetherell," I said, "supposing, when your daughter is safe again, I presume so far as once more to offer myself for your son-in-law, what will you say?"

"What will I say?" he cried. "Why, I will tell you that you shall have her, my boy, with ten thousand blessings on your head. I know you now; and since I've treated you so badly, and you've taken such a noble revenge, why, I'll make it up to you, or my name's not Wetherell. But we won't talk any more about that till we have got possession of her; we have other and more important things to think of. What time ought we to start to-night?"

"The letter fixes the meeting for ten o'clock; we had better be in the boat by half-past nine. In the meantime I should advise you to take a little rest. By the way, do you think your footman realizes that you have the money?"

"He ought to, for he carried it up to this room for me; and, what's more, he has applied for a holiday this afternoon."

"That's to carry the information. Very good; everything is working excellently. Now I'm off to rest for a little while."

"I'll follow your example. In the meantime I'll give orders for an early dinner."

We dined at seven o'clock sharp, and at half-past eight I went off to my room to don my disguise; then, bidding the Marquis good-bye--much to the young gentleman's disgust, for he was most anxious to accompany us--I slipped quietly out of my window, crossed the garden--I hoped unobserved--and then went down to the harbour side, where the boat I had chartered was waiting for me. A quarter of an hour later Wetherell's carriage drove up, and on seeing it I went across and opened the door. My disguise was so perfect that for a moment the old gentleman seemed undecided whether to trust me or not. But my voice, when I spoke, reassured him, and then we set to work carrying the bags of spurious money down to the boat. As soon as this was accomplished we stepped in. I seated myself amid-ships and got out the oars, Mr. Wetherell taking the yoke-lines in the stern. Then we shoved off, and made our way out into the harbour.

It was a dull, cloudy night, with hardly a sign of a star in the whole length and breadth of heaven, while every few minutes a cold, cheerless wind swept across the water. So chilly indeed was it that before we had gone very far I began to wish I had added an overcoat to my other disguises. We hardly spoke, but pulled slowly down towards the