Edgar Wallace

“ Reeder had expected. "I used to see a lot of Mr. Daver before then," said the driver. "In the old times I had a horse cab, and I was always driving him about. He used to work like a galley slave—on the farm in the morning, down in the town buying things in the afternoon. He was more like a servant than a master. He used to meet all the trains when visitors arrived— and they had a lot of visitors in those days, more than they have now. Sometimes he went up to London to bring them down. He always went to meet Miss Crewe when the young lady was at school." ”

“ How does one get down?"
He looked left and right. The beach was enclosed in a deep little bay, circled on one side by sheer cliff, on the other by a high reef of rock that ran far out to sea. Mr. Reeder pointed to the horizon.
"Sixty miles from here is France."
He had a disconcerting habit of going off at a tangent.
"I think I will do a little exploring this afternoon. The walk should freshen me."
They were returning to the house when he remembered the bathing-pool and asked to see it.
"I wonder Mr. Daver doesn't let it run dry," Margaret said. "It is an awful expense. ”

“ Mr. Dean and Olga Crewe passed out of the main gate, evidently bound for Siltbury. He rang the bell and, to his satisfaction, the aggrieved waitress came and took his order for tea.
"This is a nice place," said Mr. Reeder conversationally.
The girl's "Yes, sir" was snappy.
"I suppose," mused Mr. Reeder, looking out of the window, "that this is the sort of situation that a lot of girls would give their heads to get and break their hearts to lose?"
Evidently she did not agree.
"The upstairs work isn't so bad," she said, "and there's not much to do in the dining-room. But it's too slow for me. ”

“ Daver had undergone a considerable change. From being a harassed man of affairs, "more like a servant than a master," he had become a gentleman of leisure. The mystery of the Keep was a mystery no longer. He got Inspector Simpson on the telephone and conveyed to him the gist of his discovery.
"By the way," said Simpson at the finish, "the gold hasn't been sent to Australia yet. There has been trouble at the docks. You don't seriously anticipate a Flack 'operation,' do you?"
Mr. Reeder, who had forgotten all about the gold-convoy, made a cautious and noncommittal reply. ”

“ Reeder at last. "I think I will go back to the house and get my bathing-suit. Happily I brought one."
"I didn't know you were a swimmer," smiled the girl.
"I am the merest tyro in most things," said Mr. Reeder modestly.
He went up to his room, undressed and slipped into a bathing-suit, over which he put his overcoat. Olga Crewe and Mr. Daver had gone down to Siltbury. To his satisfaction, he saw the hotel car descending the hill road cautiously in a cloud of dust. ”

“ Siltbury was not greatly favoured by London visitors, the driver told him on the way back. The town had a pebbly beach and people preferred sand.
"There are some wonderful beaches about here," said the driver, "but you can't reach 'em."
They had taken the left-hand road, which would bring them eventually to the town, and had been driving for a quarter of an hour when Mr. Reeder, who sat by the driver, pointed to a large scar in the face of the downs on his right.
"Siltbury Quarries," explained the cabman. "They're not worked now; there are too many holes." ”

“ I was at a big hotel before I came here. I'm going to a better job—and the sooner the better."
She admitted that the money was good, but she had a longing for that imponderable quantity which she described as "life." She also expressed a preference for men guests.
"Miss Crewe—so called—gives more trouble than all the rest of the people put together," she said. "I can't make her out. First she wants one room, then she wants another. Why she can't stay with her husband, I don't know."
"With her——?" Mr. Reeder looked at her in pained surprise. "Perhaps they don't get on well together?" ”

“ The pool was oblong in shape; one end of it was tiled and obviously artificially created. The farther end, however, had for its sides and bottom natural rock. A great dome-shaped mass served as a diving-platform. Mr. Reeder walked all round, gazing into the limpid water. ”

“ The girl called a waitress toward her and had her glass and tableware shifted to the other side of the table. Mr. Reeder was rather pleased with himself.
Daver minced into the dining room as Mr. Reeder was peeling an apple.
"Good morning, Mr. Reeder. Have you got over your nightmare? I see that you have! A man of iron nerve. I admire that tremendously. Personally, I am the most dreadful coward, and the very hint of a burglar makes me shiver. You wouldn't believe it, but I had a quarrel with a servant this morning and she left me shaking! You are not affected that way? I see that you are not! ”

“ Reeder, almost humbly.
He went to the lounge and scribbled a note, while Margaret telephoned for the cab. It was growing dark when the closed landau drew up before the hotel and J. G. Reeder, who accompanied her, opened the door.
"There's a man inside," he said, dropping his voice to a whisper. "Please don't scream: he's an officer of police and he's going with you to London." ”

“ By the time he returned to Larmes Keep, the other guests had returned. The hall porter said they were expecting a "party" on the morrow, but as he had volunteered that information on the previous evening Mr. Reeder did not take it very seriously. He gathered that the man spoke in good faith, without any wish to deceive, but he saw no signs of unusual activity; nor, indeed, was there accommodation at the Keep for more than a few more visitors. ”

“ Reeder got down from the cab and climbed the barred gate on to the private roadway. The soil was chalky and the road had the appearance of having been recently overhauled. He mentioned this fact to the cabman and learned that Mr. Daver kept two old men constantly at work making up the road, though why he should do so he had no idea. ”

“ The porter was an old army man with a row of medals across his uniform jacket; his assistant was a chinless youth recruited from Siltbury. He apparently was the only member of the staff that did not live in one of the cottages. In the main, the women servants were an unpromising lot—tThe infuriated waitress was his only hope, although as likely as not she would talk of nothing but her grievances.
From where he sat he had a view of the lawn. ”

“ Unfortunately, I did not imagine that I should have need for such an instrument, and I am wondering if you could send somebody to London to bring it down for me?"
"With all the pleasure in life," said Daver, though his tone lacked heartiness. "One of the men——"
"I was thinking of Miss Belman," interrupted J.G. Reeder, "who is a friend of mine and would, moreover, take the greatest possible care of that delicate mechanism."
Daver was silent for a moment, turning this over in his mind.
"Would it not be better if a man ... ”

“ I could, of course, search the young lady's room and find the certificate for myself, but if you would care to help me, and fifty pounds has any attraction for you——"
She paused irresolutely and said she would see. Half an hour later she came into the hall with the news that she had been unsuccessful in her search. ”