Herman Cyril McNeile

“ MR. ROBINSON curbed a rising desire to throttle the old man. Never had his self-control been so severely tried as it was now with precious moments flying when every one was of value. But, true to his new policy, he kept every hint of irritation out of his voice as he answered.
“I shall have to have your promise also on that point, professor. For one year you will have to keep your discovery to yourself. That will be sufficient for my revenge.”
He realized that had he made no proviso of that sort it would have been enough to arouse the other's suspicions, for Professor Goodman was no fool. ”

“ Robinson was thinking among other things of the approaching death of the professor, which would scarcely have been comforting to the principal actor in the performance. And Professor Goodman—who might have been expected to be thinking of nothing but his approaching reunion with his wife—had, sad to relate, completely forgotten the lady's existence. His mind was engrossed with something quite different. For when a man who is undoubtedly mad—so mad, in fact, that in a fit of homicidal mania he has just throttled a man—gets you by the throat, you expect to experience a certain discomfort. ”

“ Three men were in the room with him now, and for a time he was inclined to curse himself for a fool. Better almost to have let the old man be burned again—and got away himself for help. But no man—certainly not Drummond—could have allowed such a thing to take place if it was in his power to prevent it. Besides, Freyder's face was an immense compensation.
Why were they torturing him? There could only be one reason—to compel him to do something which he didn't wish to do. And what could that be except reveal to Peterson the secret of his process? ”

“ Why he should imagine that Professor Goodman was Peterson it was impossible to say, but he undoubtedly did. Again and again he grunted the name as he shook the unfortunate scientist backward and forward, and for a while Mr. Robinson wondered cynically whether he should let him go on in his delusion and await results. He was almost certain to kill the old man, which might save trouble. At the same time there was still the possibility of some mistake in the process, which rendered it inadvisable to dispense with him for good quite yet. ”

“ Robinson smiled pityingly.
“MY dear professor,” he said, “I'm afraid that your life has been lived far apart from the realities of the world. Do you really suppose that such a trifle as that would have weighed for one instant with Sir Raymond Blantyre? However, I will get on with my explanation. It matters not how I discovered these things; I will merely say that for twenty years now I have dogged this man Peterson as his shadow. ”

“ But you do not expect to be pushed backward and forward as a child is pushed when you play with it—without discomfort or hurt. And, above all, you do not expect that madman to mutter urgently in your ear: “For heaven's sake—don't give your secret away. Delay him—at all costs. You're in the most deadly peril. Burn the house down. Do anything!”
Unless, of course, the madman was not mad.
BUT, however chaotic Professor Goodman's thoughts, they were like a placid pool compared to Drummond's. ”

“ It's a shame to keep you mystified any longer; I will explain everything. It was Peterson who made the original appointment with you, writing in Scheidstrun's hand. What he intended to do I know not; how he intended to murder you I am not prepared to say. But the instant I discovered about it, I realized that there was not a moment to be lost. So I took the liberty, my dear professor, of posing over the telephone as your secretary. I rang up Peterson and, speaking in an assumed voice, I postponed his appointment with you until the following day. ”

“ His principal desire at the moment was for breakfast and as that was evidently not on the program, all he could do was to inhale the aroma of eggs and bacon, and wonder why he'd been such a confounded fool as to take that telephone call.
The tramp of footsteps on the stairs roused him from his lethargy and he turned his head to look at the door. Two men were there with a stretcher, on which they were placing the professor. Then they disappeared, to return again a few moments later with another, which they put down beside his bed. ”

“ On each side of the car was a window covered with a muslin curtain. Two bunks, one on each side, stretched the full length of the car—and a central gangway, which had a little wash basin at the end nearest the engine, separated them.
ON one of these bunks lay Professor Goodman, breathing with the heavy stertorous sounds of the drugged. The men pitched him upon the other, as Mr. Robinson, who had followed them out, appeared at the door.
“You have your orders,” he remarked curtly. “If Drummond makes a sound—gag him. I shall be on board myself in about two hours.” ”

“ He believes that the secret for which he would have given untold gold has perished with you. He is angry, naturally, at what he considers a buffet of fate, but that is no use to me as a revenge. He must know that it was not fate, but I who wrecked his scheme. He must know that not only has he lost the secret forever, but that J have got it. There will be the revenge for which I have waited twenty years.” His eyes glistened, and he shook his fists in the air. “And then and not till then will it be safe for you to go back and join your wife.”
Professor Goodman leaped from his chair. ”

“ You and he hardly move in the same circles. Peterson, of course, is only one of the many names by which that arch-devil is known. He is a King of Criminals—a man without mercy—a black-hearted villain.” Mr. Robinson's voice shook with the intensity of his emotion. “And to that man Sir Raymond Blantyre went with a certain proposal. Do you know what that proposal was? It concerned you and your death. You were to be murdered before you gave your secret to the world.”
“The villain!” cried Professor Goodman, in a shaking voice. ”

“ Robinson smiled even more gently.
“As a scientist, dear brother, you should know the tiny dividing line between sanity and madness. One little link wrong in that marvelous mechanism of the brain, and the greatest thinker becomes but a babbling fool. Not that his best friends could ever have called poor Drummond a great thinker, but”—he paused to emphasize his words—“but, dear brother, he serves as a very good example of what might happen to one who is a great thinker.”
Professor Goodman shivered ”

“ Blackton's plan is to gain possession of the secret process by which a well-known chemist, Professor Goodman, has been able to manufacture flawless diamonds at a small cost.
Blackton, disguised as Professor Scheidstrun, a German geologist, gains an entrance into the Goodman laboratory, kidnaps the professor and blows up the place. But when he interviews the professor, in the guise of Mr. William Robinson, a wealthy scientist, he finds that there is an unforeseen hitch in the carrying out of his scheme. For the professor hasn't the notes of his process, and without them he can do nothing. ”

“ Robinson who was watching him narrowly.
“My dear professor,” he said coldly, “pray do not excite yourself unnecessarily. I have often thought that a society of murderers run on sound conservative lines would prove an admirable institution. After all, it is the majority who should be considered, and there are so many people who are better out of the way. However, to set your mind at rest,” he continued, “it may interest you to know that the foot which was buried in your boot did not belong to a living man. ”

“ Anything can happen on a boat where the whole crew are unscrupulous. And even if the possibility of his getting away by going overboard and swimming arose, it was out of the question for the professor. Besides, it was not a matter of great difficulty to lower a boat, and an oar is a nasty thing to be hit on the head with, when swimming. No—the only hope seemed to be that Professor Goodman should hold out, and that by some fluke he should get away. ”

“ It seems that the only way of setting my poor wife's mind at rest as soon as possible is for me to trust you. I will tell you my process.”
Mr. Robinson drew in his breath in a little whistling hiss, but his voice was quite steady as he answered.
“You have decided very wisely,” he remarked. “And since there is no time like the present I think we will have a bottle of champagne and some sandwiches to fortify us and then get on with the experiment at once.”
“As you will,” said the professor. “And then perhaps tomorrow you will let me go.”
Mr. Robinson glanced at his watch. ”

“ No chemical reaction takes place until the heat is applied.”
“And to make it perfectly certain you had better rive me the formula for each salt at the same time,” continued Mr. Robinson.
At first the old man's fingers trembled so much that he could hardly use the balance, but Mr. Robinson betrayed no impatience. And after a while the enthusiasm of the scientist supplanted everything else, and the professor became absorbed in his task. Entry after entry was made in Mr. Robinson's neat handwriting, and gradually the look of triumph deepened in his eyes. Success had come at last. ”

“ There was no object, he reflected, in unnecessarily alarming the old man; it saves bother to get an animal to walk to the slaughter house rather than having to drag it there. And he was likely to have all the dragging he wanted with Drummond, even though he was insane.
Professor Goodman, only half satisfied, sank back in his chair. Already the perspiration was running down both their faces from the heat of the furnace, but Mr. Robinson had no intention of leaving the room. ”

“ Only Mr. Robinson remained where he was, and the light from the still-glowing furnace glinted on the revolver which he held in his hand. This was no time for half measures; there was no telling what this powerful madman might do next. If necessary, though he did not want to have to do it, he would shoot him where he sat. But the spasm passed, and he lowered his revolver.
“Just so,” he remarked. “You might as well hit a steam roller as hit Drummond, once he's got hold. And, judging by his face, Simpson must have hit him hard and often before he died. Take him away ”

“ For a man of his age and sedentary method of life not to have broken down completely under the strain was nothing short of marvelous. And not only had he not broken down, but he'd thought out a scheme and got it to Drummond wrapped around a Gilette razor blade. It had taken a bit of doing to get the blade into his waistcoat pocket, and had his arms been bound to his body he couldn't have done it. But fortunately only his wrists were lashed together, and he had managed it. ”

“ Why would men invent processes for making diamonds, he reflected morosely. If only the dear old blitherer still peacefully sleeping in the opposite bunk had stuck to albuminized food, he wouldn't have been lying trussed up like a Christmas turkey. ”

“ Absurd, of course, but suppose—just suppose he could communicate with Ted! Things were so desperate that he could not afford to neglect even the wildest chance. Ted's father's yacht generally lay, as he knew, not far from outgoing steamers. He remembered sitting on deck with Phyllis and watching one of the Union Castle boats go by so close that he could see the passengers' faces on deck. What if he could shout or something? But Ted might not be on deck. ”

“ As long as Peterson thought you were alive he would have found you wherever you had hidden yourself. It was therefore of vital importance that he should think you dead—as he does now. Big issues, my dear professor, require big treatments.”
Illustration: They were somewhere amid the shipping in Southampton Water, Drummond discovered, by peering cautiously through a slit in the curtain of the car
HAVING delivered himself of this profound utterance, Mr. Robinson leaned back in his chair and gazed at his listener. Bland assurance radiated from his mutton-chop whiskers, but his mind was busy. ”

“ WITH a groan the other sank back into his chair. “Will you have a cigar?” went on Mr. Robinson easily, holding out his case. “You don't smoke? You should. Most soothing to the nerves. In the first place I must apologize for not having made things clearer to you before, but this slight contretemps with Drummond has kept me rather fully occupied. Now I want you to recall to your mind the interviews that you had with Sir Raymond Blantyre.”
“I recall them perfectly,” answered the professor, and Mr. Robinson noted with quiet satisfaction that he seemed to be less agitated. ”

“ He was taking no chances this time; not until the current was turned off and the furnace was cool enough to handle did he propose to rest. Then, once he was satisfied that the retort did contain diamonds, he would have some badly needed sleep in preparation for the work next night.
The yacht Gadfly was lying in Southampton water, and he had decided to go on board in the late afternoon. His two invalids would be carried on stretchers; an ambulance was even now in readiness below to take them to the coast. They would both be unconscious—a matter which presented but little difficulty to Mr. ”

“ Mr. Robinson concluded his sentence for him. “You went downstairs, you miserable fool, leaving him alone.” The man shrank back against the wall at the look in his chief's eyes. “I will deal with you later,” continued Mr. ”