E. Phillips Oppenheim

“ He raised himself a little in the bed.
“Norman Greyes,” he said, “is one of those men whom it is hard to kill. A fool walks to his death. Norman Greyes wears the aura of defiance. They have tried during the last few weeks. One of the finest marksmen in England missed him with a rifle at a hundred yards. He is a reckless motorist; yet he drove a car with safety when the steering-wheel collapsed. Nevertheless, if he had stayed in Devonshire, we should have had him. They tell me that he is in London.” ”

“ Rimmington withdrew from his pocketbook a halfsheet of paper and passed it to me. I read it slowly, word for word:
Things here have come to their natural end. The last fortnight has been productive, but there is danger in any further prosecution of our energies. There is only one man who stands in the way of my return to London. ”

“ I drove on to the county police station and left a message for the inspector. He came over to see me that evening, solemn, ponderous and unimpressed.
“I suspect some farmer's lad was out after rabbits, sir,” his decision
I showed him my hat.
“Farmers' lads,” I pointed out, “don't as a rule shoot rabbits with a rifle which carries a bullet that size.”
He scratched his head. The matter was certainly puzzling, but apparently without absorbing interest to him.
“Them lads be powerful mischievous!” he sighed. ”

“ A third man, who seemed to rise up from underneath our car, tore along and jumped in behind, and they shot forward, traveling at a most astonishing pace.
Rimmington shouted to our chauffeur through the tube, with the idea of pursuing them. We started forward with a series of horrible bumps, and came almost immediately to a standstill. We sprang out. Both our back tires had been stabbed through with some sharp instrument. In the distance, the other car had rounded the corner, and with screaming siren, was racing away for London. ”

“ I am naturally suspicious of people who keep a close account of my personal movements.”
She stood for a moment looking at me through her gold-rimmed spectacles in a dazed, incredulous sort way. Then she turned and left the room. I never saw her again.
It was that very same afternoon, on my return from the village, where I had gone to mail a letter with my own hands, that I found a gray limousine touring-car covered with mud, outside my front door, and Adams announced that a gentleman was waiting to see me in the study. To my surprise and infinite satisfaction, it was Rimmington. ”

“ You can play golf round London, and get on with your book. You are far safer there than you would be in an unprotected neighborhood like this. But apart from that altogether, we want you up there. This wave of crime in New York had ceased. Paris, to, is quieter. The Chief is profoundly impressed with the belief that it is because operations are being transferred to London. ”

“ I am beginning to realize however, that even the hardest and cruelest woman cannot escape from the tendencies of her sex. In all the duels I have previously had with her, she has carried herself with cold and decorous assurance. ”

“ Your husband has, I gather, been engaged in operations in New York of a delicate nature. The world of finance has always its secrecies. He appears now, however, to have brought his operations to a close. ”

“ I was trying to tell myself that I had killed a man before.
“That half-ounce cost me one hundred pounds,” he said. “Men scour the world for it. You can handle the powder freely. There is no danger until it gets into the system.”
“And then?”
“It makes a helpless invalid of the strongest for at least two years.”
Norman Greyes Continues:
I HAVE come to the conclusion that in future I shall do well to avoid Janet Stanfield. As the cold, mechanical assistant of a master of crime, she interested me. I have even devoted a chapter of my forthcoming book to an analysis of her character. ”

“ New York is a curious place, and I understand—er—that the financial operations in which your husband has been concerned, although profitable, may have made him enemies. He traveled back to England, indeed, under an assumed name. ”

“ See that the woman you know of, too, is carefully watched. She may be as loyal as she seems, but there are moments when I have had my doubts. If N. G. can be disposed of— “Interesting,” I remarked, “very! To whom was the letter addressed?”
“To a firm of leather-brokers in Bermondsey,” Rimmington replied, “and it was written on the notepaper of a firm of hide-brokers in New York.”
“The letter is from our friend, right enough,” I decided. “There have been two attempts upon my life within the last two days and I have just sent away a secretary who was keeping a careful note of my doings.” ”

“ I said.
“There be some rascal about, for sure!” the man gasped, gazing fearfully toward the gorge.
“As he can see us,” I pointed out, “and we certainly shall never be able to see him, I think we'll make for the road.”
Adams complained sometimes of rheumatism when I walked him too fast, but on this occasion he was a hundred yards ahead of me when we reached the lane. On our homeward way he was voluble.
“There be James Adams, my nephew,” he said, “and William Crocombe, who do farm them lands. They be harmless folk, if ever such were. Some lad, I reckon got hold of a rifle.” ”

“ Rimmington replied as he accepted a cigar and lit it. “You read the papers, I suppose?”
“Regularly.”
“You've seen what a hell of a time they've been having round New York? Eleven undiscovered murders in ten days, and several million dollars stolen. The New York police have been working steadily for some time, and made their coup last week. They made half a dozen arrests, but the head of the gang escaped.”
“A known person?” ”

“ My heart gave a little jump. I could not tell whether the sensation I experienced had more in it of joy or of fear.
“Is he safe?” I asked.
“Safe?” Mr. Younghusband repeated a little vaguely. “Why not?” ”