Thomas Wentworth

“ If this was a trap, Wentworth could not believe it. He tossed his cane upon the bed and picked the woman from the closet floor, carrying her to the bed as easily as if she had been a child. Seating her upon the bed, he deftly removed her bindings and stood off in the center of the room to observe what he had found. Her face, with the gag removed, was a trifle hard even as her fury died away. Yet it was a face that would be considered very attractive by most men. ”

“ Wentworth began speaking Hindustani to his servant, while he continued to hold the receiver of the telephone to his ear. The tall native threw back his shoulders, and an indignant rage showed in his glittering, black eyes. He spoke gutturally in reply to what he had heard. If a bad man wished to disturb his master while he was telephoning, he, Ram Singh, would go out into the hall and cut that bad man into small pieces. ”

“ The demon of despotism raised up an agent in the person of Earl of Strafford. Thomas Wentworth, a man of wealth, talents, energy, and indomitable courage; a man who had, in the early part of his career, defended the cause of liberty; who had even suffered imprisonment sooner than contribute to an unlawful loan, and in whom the hopes of the liberal party were placed. But he was bribed. His patriotism was not equal to his ambition. ”

“ Therefore, also obviously, you know something which he wishes to silence forever by death."
"But I don't know any such thing."
"A man may know many things," replied Wentworth, smiling, "which he does not know he knows."
A door slammed in the house — the first break in the silence. Softly Wentworth went to the door and placed his ear against it, but he could hear nothing. He dared not leave the still-weak Selwyn there upon the floor, yet he wanted nothing better than to dart from the room, to merge himself into the shadows of the gloomy house and to fight the man who was below. ”

“ X," Wentworth said a trifle quickly, but without any emotion. "You will be dead in another second if you continue."
Wentworth's voice had not been raised in the slightest above normal, but the words were spoken with so much quiet assurance that Mr. X lowered his pistol a little and flashed one swift glance about the room.
"Is bluff the only weapon you have left, my friend?" he asked. "I am afraid that you cannot bluff me."
"Then let me show you something that will surprise you," Wentworth said.
From the mantelpiece the tall and indolent man raised Madame Pompé's tiny handkerchief. ”

“ WENTWORTH, HENRIETTA MARIA, Baroness Wentworth (1657?–1686) , mistress of the Duke of Monmouth, born in all probability towards the close of 1657, was the only child of Sir Thomas Wentworth, baron Wentworth (1613–1665) [q. v.] , by Philadelphia (d. 4 May 1696) , daughter of Sir Ferdinando Carey. On the death of her grandfather, Sir Thomas Wentworth, fourth baron Wentworth of Nettlestead and first earl of Cleveland [q. v.] , she succeeded to the barony of Wentworth. The early years of Lady Wentworth appear to have been passed at the family manor of Toddington in Bedfordshire. ”

“ Only a stab of light was necessary for Wentworth to find the bolt which held the door of the imitation safe. For the moment he had lost his sense of direction in the complete darkness. No man can kiss a lady in the dark and remain oriented. If he can, he doesn't know how to kiss.
Gently Wentworth pulled back the bolt and opened the door a very little. Light was burning in the study which appeared to be empty, but through the crack he could not see the entire room. He listened and, hearing nothing, took a chance by throwing the door wide and swiftly stepping into the room. ”

“ Wentworth slipped soundlessly from the bed to his feet and approached the closet door, cane in hand. His eyes showed his keen interest and even his pleasure. The case was becoming more and more puzzling. Little things, but strange things, were adding themselves to it. Big things and direful things might be upon him at any moment. Such situations were to him as wine to other men. Again the sound occurred. Something alive was behind the locked door. ”

“ Circling the deck for the last time, Richard Wentworth came to a sudden halt as he rounded a corner and caught sight of the passenger who stood by the railing. Tall and strongly built, Wentworth's athletic stride ended with such abruptness as to indicate a man whose mind and body worked in perfect unison. ”

“ In the dark hall Wentworth silently stretched himself upon the floor close to the wall by the library door and advanced his head so that he could see into the room and hear as much as possible. He was in such a position that he could withdraw his head instantly; and a head close to the floor was less apt to be detected than if it were at the height of a man.
He struggled to recognize the voice and almost thought he did so, but could not be sure. The fact that the man was Dr. Quornelle did not prove that he was the great criminal. ”

“ He did not expect to find his man. But when dealing with such an audacious person he felt that precautions were necessary. Undoubtedly Mr. X had escaped by the emergency stairs, there having been no time to call an elevator to the top of the building.
To follow him would have been difficult and Wentworth had something else in view.
Ram Singh was squatting on the floor when his master returned to the front room. In his hand the native held the great knife which he had drawn out of the floor. Mimi, restless and nervous, stood beside her mistress. Madame Pompé smoked with apparent indifference. ”

“ The room was empty. Madame Pompé was gone, and she had taken with her the wicker wine basket containing the incriminating evidence of her spoken words. It seemed as though Mr. X was striking back successfully at Wentworth, defeating him, driving him into a corner.
Almost desperate, Wentworth decided instantly that it was necessary for him to run away. For Nita's sake he could not remain to continue the fight any longer.
With Ram Singh he darted into the hall and found the electric switch. He turned it. There was no light. He came to the front door which opened upon the elevator. ”

“ Several guests were waiting for the elevator amid the twelve red fires. Commissioner Kirkpatrick stood in the middle of the room and regarded the hundreds of reflections, red fires and female forms, without showing any surprise or emotion. He turned directly toward the gilded woman and looked at her as he would have gazed at a statue. Strange female forms did not mean any more to him than they did to Richard Wentworth.
"Mr. Mack," he said dryly to the little man who was standing nervously beside him, "those women will die if they keep their pores covered with that stuff too long. ”

“ A portrait of Wentworth belonged in 1779 to Thomas Noel, viscount Wentworth, and was engraved for the ‘Antiquarian Repository’ (1808, iii. 59) ; another belonged in 1866 to Mr. F. Vernon-Wentworth of Wentworth Castle (Cat. First Loan Exhib. No. 178) . Wentworth's first wife died without issue at Calais about 1554, and he married secondly, in 1555 or 1556, her cousin Anne or Agnes, daughter of Henry Wentworth of Mountnessing, Essex. She escaped from Calais in December 1557, and was imprisoned in the Fleet on 16 Aug. ”

“ The elevator hall was also dark, and no light came up the elevator shaft. He pressed the bell to call the car. No car responded. Faint sounds of confusion ascended to him through the empty shaft. It seemed as though the electric current, both for power and light, had been cut off from the entire building.
For Wentworth to gain the street it would be necessary to descend twenty flights of stairs through a pitch black building. On every landing a man might be lurking behind a partly opened door, waiting with pistol raised or with strangling cord looped. ”

“ Wentworth chuckled as if he were remembering something. "Such a woman can only have one relation for any man. Madame Pompé is our criminal's 'good time girl,' and that is the reason that I am telling you all this, Sparks." ”

“ The leg kicked a little, and Wentworth swept the hanging clothes to one side with his cane. On the floor of the closet a woman lay crumpled. Her hands were tied behind her by means of a stocking, and a man's large handkerchief was an effective gag which stopped her speech. She was a young woman, magnificently and femininely formed as was plainly shown by the clinging and expensive evening gown which she wore. Her face was marred by the gag, but her eyes blazed fury under a great mass of golden hair. ”

“ Wentworth smiled a trifle. "Angry?" he asked.
"A woman never likes to be fooled," she returned. "But I wish we could be friends."
"Give me some reasons for it," he suggested.
Swiftly she rose and went to some black portieres which hung over the entrance to the hall. She swept them aside. As though satisfied that nobody was eavesdropping, she dropped the portieres back into place and returned to her chair.
Their chairs were close together. Slowly she turned sidewise and looked up into his face while she bent forward until her lips were almost touching his. ”

“ Even the street noises were cut off from the little laboratory at the back of the house. Then Wentworth felt the slightest of quivers in the body of Selwyn. He continued his efforts without pause and felt a very gentle, but natural breath. He reached for the pulse and could detect a faint heart beat. Still he continued to work. He knew that it was like cranking a car when the self starter fails. Sometimes the engine turns over a few times and stops again. ”

“ Fancy that beastly creature barging in on us! He must have been mad. I don't blame you for running away... You are all alone and want me to come over?... Will I come? I most certainly shall — just as soon as I get rid of some bothersome people... Oh, in about an hour. Somebody is coming into the room and I can't talk any more. Till we meet!"
Wentworth grinned at the inspector as he handed the telephone back to the butler. ”

“ Wentworth took the envelope from the Hindu and looked at the inspector who had entered behind the policemen and with whom he had been talking a few minutes previously.
"If the police interfere with my private life too much," Wentworth remarked a bit acidly, "I shall ask them to go and find some other quarters."
"I am sorry," the inspector apologized. "This is a very serious case and we are all on our toes."
"Toes can be stepped on," said Wentworth sharply and smiled, instantly changing to his very attractive self. "Come over here, inspector, and let's see what the messenger boy has brought me. ”

“ Lastly there was the matter of the dead man in the elevator. Who he was, Wentworth did not know, but he felt quite confident that he was connected with Mortimer Mack and with Dan Grogan in their gigantic plot to entrap New York City. Leaving Nita in the steel box, Wentworth bent over the dead man. He found nothing of interest in the pockets, but drew a heavy pistol from the dead man's hip pocket— where it had been too low for him to seize quickly enough when unexpectedly confronted by Wentworth in the elevator. ”

“ At the end of the corridor Grogan turned into a room. Wentworth followed him and found the room to be fitted out as a small office such as a man might use for his own personal affairs. But a secret means of escape was recognized by Wentworth after a single glance around. Another high, steel safe stood against the far wall, which must, he judged, abut upon the next apartment building.
Wentworth remembered the similar safe at the top of the elevator shaft and he remembered, too, the old iron box of a safe which sank through the floor of the back room in Grogan's Restaurant. ”

“ Wentworth approached the safe and began to twist the dial of the combination. He knew that Ram Singh was watching from above but, unfortunately, the addict continued to stand in the doorway, from which position he could not be seen through the hole in the floor above. Wentworth could have called his servant, who would unhesitatingly have dropped through the hole to come to his assistance, but would certainly have received the first bullet from the man's pistol. Although Wentworth could then have fired the next shot and ended the matter, he would not sacrifice his servant to save himself. ”

“ Wentworth? You seem always to be some place or going somewhere."
"I am going after the greatest, living criminal, my dear inspector, a man who will shock the world if we do not stop him in a very few hours. There seems to be no limit to his audacity — nor to his cruelty." ”

“ X stated.
"Unless you can strike over the telephone, I am afraid that you have not the courage to strike at all," was Wentworth's quiet taunt.
"I shall have much pleasure in striking both over the telephone and in person," replied Mr. X. "I should advise you not to forget the other lady while you wait the few minutes that will be required for me to arrive."
The telephone connection was broken at the other end before Wentworth could reply. He looked at Madame Pompé. She was nervously smoking. A light breeze came through the open window, causing the candles on the mantelpiece to flicker. ”

“ The Governor, he said, would come to the telephone in two or three minutes. Wentworth thanked the secretary and looked again at his watch.
"How much more time is there?" asked Molly tremulously. This time she had noticed the direction of Wentworth's eyes.
"Plenty of time," he answered calmly, but he did not look at her. "We will win. Don't fear!"
There was a knock upon the door of the apartment. Ram Singh came out of the bedroom and moved across the living room toward the front door, but stopped at a word from his master. ”