_ CHAPTER V
There was a clicking sound, and the glare of a dark-lantern struck my blinking eyes.
"Pick up the candle, sir," said the tranquil voice from behind the light.
I obeyed readily enough. Fate was downright cruel to us. Not a dozen feet away was liberty; and now we were back at the beginning again, with the end nowhere in sight.
"Shall I light it, sir?" I asked, not to be outdone in the matter of formal politeness.
"Yes, sir, doubtless you will need it."
I struck a match and touched the candle-wick.
"Burglar?" said I. (For all my apparent coolness, my heart-beats were away up in the eighties!)
The girl snuggled close to my side. I could feel her heart beating even faster than mine.
"Burglar?" I repeated.
"Indeed, no, sir,"--reproachfully. "Mine is a political job."
"A political job?"--thunderstruck.
"Yes, sir; I am an inspector of cellars,"--grimly. "I couldn't get around to this here cellar earlier in the day, sir, and a fellow's work _must_ be done."
Here was a burglar with the sense of humor.
"What can I do for you?" I asked blandly.
"Firstly, as they say, you might tell me what you and this lady _are_ doing in this lonesome cellar."
"Say 'sir,' when you address me."
"Yes, sir."
"The lady and I were playing hide-and-seek."
"Nice game, sir,"--grinning. "Were you trying to hide under the coal?"
"Oh, no; I was merely exploring it."
"Say 'sir,' when you address me."
"Sir."
"You're a cool hand, sir."
"I am gratified to learn that our admiration is mutual. But what are _you_ doing here?"
"I was ascertaining if the law was properly observed, sir," shaking with silent laughter.
"But what puzzles me," I went on, "is the fact that you could gather the gems in that garb." For I was positive that this was the Galloping Dick every one was looking for.
"I don't understand a word you say, sir. I'm an inspector of cellars, sir, not a jeweler. So you and the lady was playing hide-and-seek? Come, now, _what_ is your graft? Is _all_ the push here to-night?"
"That depends,"--cursing under my breath that I wore a gown which hampered my movements. For, truth to tell, I was watching him as a cat watches a mouse.
"Well, sir, we of the profession never interferes with gentlemanly jobs, sir. All I want of you is to help me out of here."
"I am not a burglar."
"Oh, I understand, sir; I understand completely. A gentleman is always a gentleman, sir. Now, you can return to that coal-bin. I was just about to make for it when you lit that candle."
"Why not leave by the cellar-doors?"
"I have my reasons, sir; most satisfactory reasons, sir. _I_ prefer the window. Get along!"--his tones suddenly hardening.
I got along.
"The lady may sit down, sir," he said courteously.
"Thank you, I will," replied the girl, plumping down on an empty winecase. (She afterward confessed that if she had not sat down on the box, she would have sat down on the cellar-floor, as a sort of paralysis had seized her knees.)
I stepped into the coal-bin, and rested the candle on the little shelf for that purpose. I was downright anxious to see the fellow safely away. There wasn't room in that cellar for the three of us. His presence doubly endangered us and multiplied the complications. I was in no position to force the gems from him. A man who has ten thousand dollars' worth of jewels on his person doesn't stop at shooting; and I possessed a healthy regard for my skin. I opened the window and caught it to the ceiling by a hook I found there.
"There is a stout screen, my man."
"Take this, sir, and cut it out,"--handing me a pair of wire-clippers, holding his lantern under his arm meanwhile. The muzzle of the revolver, during all this time, never wavered in its aim at my head.
I went to work at the screen, and presently it fell inward.
"Is that satisfactory?"--with impressive irony.
"You are the most _perfect_ gentleman that _I_ ever see, sir!"
The girl laughed hysterically.
"Now what?" The fun was beginning to pall on me.
"Step out of the bin and stand aside. Sit down by the lady. Maybe she's a bit frightened."
I obeyed him to the letter.
"Thanks!" With the agility of a cat he leaped up and wriggled through the window. He turned. "Good night, sir. Sometime maybe I'll do the same for you, sir."
"Go to the devil!" I snarled.
"My, my! What a temper, sir! I wouldn't have thought it of you, and a nice lady in speaking distance!"
He disappeared.
The girl laid a hand on my arm.
"You have acted very sensibly, Mr. Comstalk. If you had not, it is quite certain he would have shot you."
"It would have been a good thing for me if he had. He has gone, and the jewels have gone with him. I hadn't the least chance; the wretch! He probably came disguised as a plumber, and nobody suspected him."
"But if he possessed the ten of hearts, why should he have left this way?"
"Possibly my idea was only an imitation of his. There must have been at least a dozen tens of hearts. My dear young lady, I would give a good deal if you were well out of this. I believed my plan was for the best, and instead I have simply blackened the case against us. I have been too adventurous. The situation looks very serious just now. Of course, in the long run, we shall clear ourselves; but it will take some fine arguing to do it, and possibly half a dozen lawyers."
"It is a terribly embarrassing predicament; but since we started out together, we'll hang together." She held out her hand to me. "It will be fun to extricate ourselves with full honors."
"You're a brick!" And I pressed her hand tightly.
"Now, I wonder why the burglar didn't try those cellar-doors?" she murmured.
"By Jove, I'll soon find out! Come on. There's hope yet."
This time we reached the stone steps without interference. I gave the candle to the girl, cautiously put a shoulder against one of the doors, and gave a gentle heave. It was not locked. Through the thin crack I looked out upon the bright world of moonshine and crystal. Instantly I permitted the door to settle into its accustomed place. I readily understood the burglar's reasons. Seated upon a box, less than a dozen feet away, and blissfully smoking one of the club's cigars, sat a burly policeman. So _they_ had arrived upon the scene!
"What is it?" asked the girl, as I motioned her to retreat.
"The worst has come: the police!" dramatically.
"Gracious heavens, _this_ is frightful! We shall never get out now. Oh dear! Why did I ever come? It will be in the papers, with horrid pictures. We ought not to have left the ball-room. Our very actions will tell heavily against us. Awful!"
"Now, don't you worry. They will not take any notice of you, once they set eyes upon me. _Homo sum_! They are looking for _me_. There's only one superfluous ten of hearts. I have it."
"But I shall be found with you, and the stupid police will swear I am an accomplice." She wrung her hands.
"But no jewels will be found upon us," I argued half-heartedly.
"They will say we have already disposed of them."
"But the real burglar--"
"They will say that he came into the cellar at our bidding."
This girl was terribly reasonable and direct.
"Hang it! I know Teddy Hamilton, the M. F. H. He'll go my bail, and yours, too, for that matter. Come, let's not give up. There _must_ be some other way out."
"I wish I might believe it. Why _did_ I come?"--a bit of a wail stealing into the anger in her voice.
"This is Tom Fool's Night, and no mistake," I assented ruefully.
"But I am a bigger fool than you are; I had an alibi, and a good one."
"An alibi? Why on earth, then, did you follow me? What is your alibi?"
"Never mind now. We should still be in this miserable cellar,"--briefly. "What a night! I am so ashamed! I shall be horribly compromised."
"I'll take the brunt of it all. I'm sorry; but, for the love of Heaven, don't cry, or I shall lose what little nerve I have left."
"I am not crying!" she denied emphatically. "My inclination is to shriek with laughter. I'm hysterical. And who wouldn't be, with police officers and cells staring one in the face? Let us be going. That policeman outside will presently hear us whispering if we stand here much longer."
There was wisdom in this. So, once again I took the candle, and we marched back. There wasn't a single jest left in my whole system, and it didn't look as if there was ever going to be another supply. We took the other side of the furnace, and at length came to a flight of wooden stairs, leading somewhere into the club. It was our last chance, or we should indeed be obliged to stay all night in some bin; for it would not be long before they searched the cellars. If this flight led into the kitchen, we were saved, for I could bluff the servants. We paused. Presently we ascended, side by side, with light but firm step. We reached the landing in front of the door without mishap. From somewhere came a puff of air which blew out the candle. I struck a match viciously against the wall---and blundered into a string of cooking-pans! It was all over, the agony of suspense!
Blang! Rumpity-bumpity-blang-blang!
I have heard many stage thunders in my time, but that racket beat anything and everything this side of siege-guns.
Instantly the door opened and a policeman poked his head in. Before I had time to move, he grabbed me by the arm and yanked me--into the ballroom! The girl and I had made a complete circuit of the cellars, and had stumbled into the ball-room again by the flight opposite to that by which we left it. Cheerful prospect, wasn't it? The adventure had ceased to have any droll side to it.
"Aha!" cried the base minion of the law. "_Here_ you are, then! Hello, everybody! Hello!" he bawled.
Caught! Here we were, the Blue Domino and myself, the Grey Capuchin, both of us in a fine fix. Discovery and ejection I could have stood with fortitude and equanimity; but there was bad business afoot. There wasn't any doubt in my mind what was going to happen. As the girl said, there would be flaring head-lines and horrid pictures. We were like to be the newspaper sensation of the day. Arrested and lodged in jail! What would my rich, doting old uncle say to that, who had threatened to disinherit me for lesser things! I felt terribly sorry for the girl, but it was now utterly impossible to help her, for I couldn't help myself.
And behold! The mysterious stranger I had met in the curio-shop, the fellow who had virtually haunted me for six hours, the fellow who had masqueraded as Caesar, suddenly loomed up before me, still wearing his sardonic smile. At his side were two more policemen. He had thrown aside his toga and was in evening dress. His keen glance rested on me.
"Here he is, Mr. Haggerty!" cried the policeman cheerfully, swinging me around.
A detective! And Heaven help me, he believed me to be the thief! Oh, for Aladdin's lamp! _