[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
crossed the public gardens and went through the gardens to the post office to
send a telegram.
I must tell you here that since my meeting with Mr Baxter, the young Marquis's
tutor, I had been thinking a great deal about him, and the more I thought the
more certain I became that we had met before. To tell the truth, a great
distrust of the man was upon me. It was one of those peculiar antipathies that
no one can explain. I did not like his face, and I felt sure that he did not
boast any too much love for me.
As my thoughts were still occupied with him, my astonishment may be imagined,
on arriving at the building, at meeting him face to face upon the steps. He
seemed much put out at seeing me, and hummed and hawed over his
"Goodafternoon" for all the world as if I had caught him in the middle of some
guilty action.
Returning his salutation, I entered the building and looked about me for a
desk at which to write my wire.
There was only one vacant, and I noticed that the pencil suspended on the
string was still swinging to and fro as it had been dropped. Now Baxter had
only just left the building, so there could be no possible doubt that it was
he who had last used the stand. I pulled the form towards me and prepared to
write. But as I did so I
noticed that the previous writer had pressed so hard upon his pencil that he
had left the exact impression of his message plainly visible upon the pad. It
ran as follows:
LETTER RECEIVED. YOU OMITTED REVEREND. THE TRAIN IS LAID, BUT A NEW ELEMENT
OF DANGER HAS ARISEN.
A BID FOR FORTUNE OR DR. NIKOLA'S VENDETTA
A BID FOR FORTUNE OR DR. NIKOLA'S VENDETTA
44
It was addressed to "Nikola, Green Sailor Hotel, East India Dock Road,
London," and was signed "Nineveh".
The message was so curious that I looked at it again, and the longer I looked
Page 42
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
the more certain I became that
Baxter was the sender. Partly because its wording interested me, and partly
for another reason which will become apparent later on, I inked the message
over, tore it from the pad, and placed it carefully in my pocketbook. One
thing at least was certain, and that was, if Baxter were the sender, there was
something underhand going on. If he were not, well, then there could be no
possible harm in my keeping the form as a little souvenir of a rather curious
experience.
I wrote my own message, and having paid for it left the office. But I was not
destined to have the society of my own thoughts for long. Hardly had I reached
the Invalids' Walk before I felt my arm touched. To my supreme astonishment I
found myself again confronted by Mr Baxter. He was now perfectly calm and
greeted me with extraordinary civility.
"Mr Hatteras, I believe," he said. "I think I had the pleasure of meeting you
on the sands a few days ago.
What a beautiful day it is, isn't it? Are you proceeding this way? Yes? Then
perhaps I may be permitted the honour of walking a short distance with you."
"With pleasure," I replied. "I am going up the cliff to my hotel, and I shall
be glad of your company. I think we met in the telegraph office just now."
"In the post office, I think. I had occasion to go in there to register a
letter."
His speech struck me as remarkable. My observation was so trivial that it
hardly needed an answer, and yet not only did he vouchsafe me one, but he
corrected my statement and volunteered a further one on his own account. What
reason could he have for wanting to make me understand that he had gone in
there to post a letter? What would it have mattered to me if he had been
there, as I suggested, to send a telegram?
"Mr Baxter," I thought to myself, "I've got a sort of conviction that you're
not the man you pretend to be, and what's more I'd like to bet a shilling to a
halfpenny that, if the truth were only known, you're our mysterious friend
Nineveh."
We walked for some distance in silence. Presently my companion began to talk
again this time, however, in a new strain and perhaps with a little more
caution.
"You have been a great traveller, I understand, Mr Hatteras."
"A fairly great one, Mr Baxter. You also, I am told, have seen something of
the world."
"A little very little."
"The South Seas, I believe. D'you know Papeete?"
"I have been there."
"D'you know New Guinea at all?"
"No. I was never near it. I am better acquainted with the Far East China,
Japan, etc."
Suddenly something, I shall never be able to tell what, prompted me to say:
A BID FOR FORTUNE OR DR. NIKOLA'S VENDETTA
A BID FOR FORTUNE OR DR. NIKOLA'S VENDETTA
45
"And the Andamans?"
The effect on my companion was as sudden as it was extraordinary. For a moment
he staggered on the path like a drunken man; his face grew ashen pale, and he
had to give utterance to a hoarse choking sound before be could get out a
word. Then he said:
"No no you are quite mistaken, I assure you. I never knew the Andamans."
Now, on the Andamans, as all the world knows, are located the Indian penal
establishments, and noting his behaviour, I became more and more convinced in
my own mind that there was some mystery about Mr
Baxter that had yet to be explained. I had still a trump card to play.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]