_ CHAPTER XIII
Instead of finding his master resting from his fatigue, as Mrs. Traynor had said, François discovered the new arrival very much awake. He was sitting in front of Helen's bureau, eagerly perusing a bundle of private letters tied with blue ribbon, which he had taken from a drawer. As the door opened, he jumped up quickly, as if detected committing a dishonorable action; but, when he saw who it was, his face relaxed and he gave a grim nod of recognition.
"Lock the door!" he said in a whisper. "It won't do to have anyone come in here now."
The valet turned the key, and, dropping entirely the obsequious manner of the paid menial, threw himself carelessly into a chair. Taking from his pocket a richly chased silver cigarette box, loot from former houses where he had been employed, he struck a match on the highly polished Circassian walnut chair, and proceeded to enjoy a smoke.
His companion looked at him anxiously.
"Well?" he demanded hoarsely. "Is it all right? What do they say? Does anyone suspect?"
The Frenchman gracefully emitted from between his thin lips a thick cloud of blue smoke, and broke into a laugh that, under the circumstances, sounded strangely hollow and sinister.
"Suspect?" he chuckled. "Why should they suspect? Are you not ze same man who went away--ze same build, ze same face, ze same voice, ze same in every particular--except one. Zat you have not--
non--you have not ze education, ze fine manners, ze
savoir faire of monsieur." With that expressive shrug of the shoulder, so characteristic of his nation, he added: "
Mais que voulez vous? We must do ze best we can."
His listener struck the brass bed-post savagely with his heavy fist. With a burst of profanity he broke out:
"Yes, damn him! He had all the advantages. I had none. But it's my turn now. I want all that's coming to me."
"Hush!" exclaimed the valet, raising his finger warningly. "Zey may hear. Everything will be all right. We must be very careful. You must not talk. You must avoid people. Let them think you sick, or strange, or crazy, anything you like. But keep away from zem, or else they soon discover that 'Handsome Jack,' ze penniless adventurer, is quite a different person from ze accomplished and wealthy Monsieur Kenneth Traynor."
"We can't expect to keep the game up long," interrupted the big fellow moodily.
"We won't have to," replied his companion calmly. "Just enough time to squeeze ze orange dry--that's all----"
Handsome looked up quickly. Savagely he retorted:
"Of which juice you and Keralio want a goodly share, don't you?"
The valet's greenish eyes flashed.
"Of course I do, and, what's more, I mean to get it." Changing his free, careless tone to one tense with significance and menace he went on: "Don't be a fool, Monsieur Handsome. Who put you up to this snap, but me? Who knows what you did to monsieur out there on ze
veldt, better than me? Dead men tell no tales, but live ones do. Don't forget that! If you want to keep clear of ze electric chair, you'll keep your mouth shut, and play fair."
The gambler listened, his mouth twitching nervously, his eyes glowing with sullen hatred.
"What do you and Keralio want? I gave you the diamonds--what more do you expect?"
The valet laughed scoffingly.
"You gave him ze diamonds. Why? You were d----d glad to be rid of zem. We can't do anything with zem now. We may have to wait months or years before we can venture to cut zem up and dispose of zem.
Non, monsieur! If zey appeared on ze market now, ze news would be flashed
immédiatement to every corner of ze globe, and your career and mine would come to a quick end.
Voila!"
"Don't forget Keralio!" said Handsome, with a sneer.
"
Eh, bien? Has he not earned it, Signor Keralio? Is it not because of his courage and daring that you are here--ze master in this house? Who but Keralio would have had ze nerve to carry ze thing through?"
Handsome shrugged his shoulders. Cynically he said:
"Oh, I don't know. It seems to me that Keralio is safe under cover, while here I am, disporting myself in the limelight, with every eye turned on me. I guess I prefer Keralio's job to mine----"
The valet's eyes flashed vindictively as he retorted:
"Could your puny brain have conceived this scheme which will make us all rich? Keralio outlined ze whole plan to me directly he heard of your existence. On our reaching Cape Town, after finding you starving on ze
veldt, I cabled him ze news. A few hours later he told me exactly what to do. He knew you would do it. How, I do not know. He is no ordinary man, Keralio. When I first saw you out zere, unkempt, in rags, starving, I could have dropped dead from surprise. It never occurred to me that you might be useful. But Keralio knew. He knows everything. He also knew that you would accept his leadership, that you would quickly get rid of monsieur, and secure ze diamonds. Was it not his idea that you set fire to ze ship? And who set fire to ze ship,
s'il vous plait, when you refused? Who but your very humble servant. And a hard, dangerous job, it was, too--catch me ever wanting to do it again!"
"Not half so bad as mine. He put up a terrible fight before I threw him overboard."
"Who--monsieur?"
"Yes--he fought like a wildcat, and he was fast getting the best of me, when I managed to give him a rap on the head. That quieted him, and over he went." With an exclamation of disgust, he added: "It was a d----d nasty job. I'm sorry I ever went into it----"
"Sorry--you fool?
Sapristi! Just think of this wonderful opportunity. You have ze keys to his vaults, you have control of his bank accounts." Lowering his voice, and, with a significant leer on his face, he added "and you have--his wife!"
Handsome grinned, and the valet went on:
"
Précisément! Madame is cold and haughty, like all zese American women. It's not exactly my taste, but she's pretty and dainty, and----"
"Who are all these other people," interrupted the miner, "that man Steell----"
"Yes, that is so. You must know everyone. You must make a study of each, so as to avoid making bad breaks. Monsieur Steell is a lawyer. He's in love with madame's sister, Miss Ray. You've known him all your life, went to school with him, and all that sort of thing. Say 'yes' to everything he says. That's your cue at present. Talk as little as you can, and agree with everybody. The man you must talk with most is Monsieur Parker. He is president of the mining company. Happily he's rather shortsighted, so he won't notice anything. He's the man to whom you'll have to explain ze loss of ze diamonds. He'll be here to-night for dinner, so you'd better get your story ready."
"What can I say?"
"Say that in ze panic your belt worked loose, you had to dive into ze water. When you were dragged into ze lifeboat the belt was gone, do you understand?"
"Yes--but will they believe it?"
"They must believe it. There'll be an awful fuss, of course, but they'll get over it. No suspicion can attach to you."
"He's coming to-night--this man Parker?"
"Yes, to-night. He'll be here for dinner. He----"
Before the valet could complete the sentence there was a knock on the door and Helen outside called out:
"May I come in?"
Instantly the valet jumped up and assumed once more his deferential demeanor. The gambler hurriedly shut the bureau drawers and put on the blue spectacles.
The door opened and Helen entered.
Alert as the Frenchman was, he was not quick enough to quite conceal from the wife that his present obsequious manner had been suddenly assumed for her benefit directly she had entered the room. She had overheard voices, as she reached the landing, and the abrupt manner in which these sounds had ceased was not entirely natural. It had also seemed to her that the valet's tone had had a ring of familiarity about it which she had never known it to have before. Could it be possible that they were discussing matters which were to be kept from her? If so, her husband already had secrets in which not she but his valet shared. She recalled Keralio's cynical smile, as he had whispered: "Husbands only tell their wives half." Perhaps he had spoken the truth. Perhaps at this very moment she was degraded, insulted in her womanhood by a man who was secretly unloyal to her. The very thought went through her like a knife-thrust. All her life, every hour she had devoted to her husband. Even now she did not like to even harbor a shade of distrust, but his strange behavior since his return, this earnest conversation behind closed doors with a menial she despised and distrusted--all this could not but add to her anxiety. Calmly, she asked:
"Have you finished with François, dear? We need him downstairs."
The valet himself answered the question:
"
Oui, madame. I was just coming."
Bowing politely, he turned on his heel, and, with a significant glance at Handsome, which his mistress did not notice, he left the room. Helen glanced at the bed, which was undisturbed. Surprised, she exclaimed:
"Why, I thought you were going to lie down!"
He shook his head. Shifting uneasily on his feet, and, without looking up, he answered:
"No--I can't sleep. I'm too nervous. I'll sleep to-night."
Advancing farther into the room she went up him and put her arm affectionately round him. Sympathetically she said:
"You'll feel better in a few days, dear. Just rest and take things easy. I won't hear of your going to the office for a week at least. All the business you and Mr. Parker have you can transact here. By the way, dear, you haven't even mentioned the most important thing of all--have you brought back the diamonds?"
Instead of replying at once to her question, he turned quickly and pulled down the blind.
"You don't mind, do you?" he said. "The light hurts my eyes."
"Of course not," she replied. Sitting down near him she went on: "Tell me--have you got the diamonds? How beautiful they must be! How I should love to see them!"
When finally he turned and confronted her she could see his face only indistinctly, as the drawing of the blind had left the room almost in darkness. His voice was strained and tense as he replied huskily:
"I have not got the diamonds!"
Helen almost started from her seat.
"You have not got them!" she exclaimed. "Where are they, Ken?"
"They are lost!"
"Lost?" she echoed, stupefied.
"Yes--lost."
"Oh, how terrible!" she faltered.
This, then, was the secret of his strange manner, his depression and nervousness. He had lost the diamonds. He had returned home to announce to the eagerly awaiting stockholders that over a million dollars' worth of property had suddenly been swept away. His feeling of personal responsibility must have been awful. No wonder he was not himself. It was enough to unnerve any man. Of course he was not to blame, but the world is so merciless. He would have to bear the censure, even when he was perfectly innocent. How she regretted that he had ever undertaken so heavy a responsibility. Timidly, not wishing to embarrass or annoy him, she said:
"How did it happen, dear?"
For a moment he made no answer, but just sat and stared at her. What little light entered between the shade and the window frame fell full on her face, lighting up the fine profile, the delicately chiseled mouth, throwing off golden glints from her artistically arranged hair. From her face his eyes wandered greedily down to her snow-white neck, her slender, graceful figure, her beautifully molded arms. Certainly, he mused to himself, his brother was an epicure in love. This woman was dainty enough to tempt a saint.
"How did it happen?" she asked again.
"It was in the first rush from the burning ship," he said hoarsely. "I was asleep when the fire broke out. It happened at two o'clock in the morning. The diamonds were in the belt which each night I unfastened and put under my pillow. It was more comfortable to do that than to wear it. When the first alarm came I forgot everything--except my own safety. I rushed pell-mell on deck. It was a nasty night. We didn't know where we were, or how grave the situation was. Outside the wind was howling furiously, the siren was blowing dismally, the panic-stricken passengers and sailors were fighting like wildcats. I lost my head along with the rest. I had reached the lifeboat when suddenly I remembered the belt. I felt at my waist. It was not there. I remembered I had left it under the pillow. I was horror-stricken. Great beads of perspiration broke from every pore. The people were fighting to get into the boat; I fought to get out and back to my stateroom. Suddenly someone knocked me on the head. I lost consciousness. When I came to we were miles away from the wreck, drifting on the ocean in an open boat, and the
Abyssinia was nowhere to be seen."
Helen made an exclamation of sympathy.
"Poor soul--how terrible you must have felt! Thank God, you escaped with your life! We ought to feel grateful for that. Suppose I had been compelled to tell Mary that you were drowned. It would have killed her--you know that. Do you remember what you told her when you went away?"
He stared at her, not understanding.
"Told who?" he said cautiously.
"Mary."
"Oh, yes--Mary--of course--you mean your sister----"
Helen looked at him in amazement, then in alarm. Could the wreck have affected his mind? Laughingly she retorted:
"Ray? Of course not. How foolish you are, Kenneth. Don't you remember that your old nurse came to see you before you sailed?"
He nodded and coughed uneasily, moving restlessly about in his chair, as if to hide his embarrassment. These questions were decidedly unpleasant. Inwardly he wished François was present to help him out.
"Mary? Oh, yes, I remember--of course--of course----"
The look of anxiety in the young woman's face deepened. His memory failed him completely. Changing the subject she said quickly:
"There's something else I wish to mention to you, dear. It is about Signor Keralio----"
He started quickly to his feet. How came his brother's wife to know the name of the arch-plotter, the man who had sentenced her own husband to death? Was it possible that she knew more? Was she aware of his real identity? Was her present amiability of manner merely simulated? Was she waiting her time before calling in the police and exposing him as an impostor?
"Keralio?" he echoed hoarsely. "What about Keralio?" Making a step forward he exclaimed savagely: "Has he squealed? Is the game up? He's to blame, not I!"
Impulsively, instinctively, Helen sprang from her chair and fell back with a startled exclamation. Now thoroughly alarmed, more than ever convinced that the shipwreck had affected his brain, her one solicitude was to keep him quiet until she could get a doctor. Soothingly she said:
"Of course, dear; of course. We won't speak of Signor Keralio now. He's not worth discussing anyhow."
He watched her closely for a moment, as if trying to see if she were deceiving him, but her face was frank and serene. Suddenly, taking hold of her hand, which she abandoned willingly enough in his, he murmured:
"You mustn't mind what I say. I'll soon be all right. I'm a bit mixed up. My mind's been queer ever since that awful night."
"Perhaps you would prefer if we had no one to dinner. I could easily give some excuse and put them all off."
His first impulse was to promptly accept this suggestion, yet what was the good? If he did not meet them to-day he must do so to-morrow. It was best to get it over with. The quicker he got to know the people the easier it would be for him. If he seemed to avoid meeting them, it might only arouse suspicion. Shaking his head, he said:
"No, dear. That's all right. I'm glad they're coming. It will liven things up."
Helen's face brightened. It was the first cheerful remark he had made.
"That's what I think. You must forget what you have gone through. After all it's not so bad, but it might be a lot worse. Mr. Parker will feel badly about the stones, of course, because he had counted on making capital out of the advertising they would receive. But who knows? Perhaps it's all for the best. They may find other stones even more valuable."
A sudden knock at the door interrupted them.
"Come in," called out Helen.
The maid appeared.
"Mr. Parker is downstairs, m'm."
"Good gracious! Here already for dinner. What time is it?"
"Seven o'clock, m'm."
"All right. I'll be down immediately."
The girl went away and Helen turned to her companion.
"Now, hurry, dear, won't you? Dinner is ready. The guests are arriving. Dress quickly and come down."
He still held her hand.
"You're not angry with me?" he whispered.
"Why should I be angry?"
"Because of the diamonds."
"No, indeed--it was you I wanted, not the diamonds."
Drawing her to him, he kissed her. But her lips were cold. There was no response to his ardor. She could not herself have explained why. She felt no inclination to respond to his caresses, which at any other time she would have returned with warmth. With a slight shade of impatience she broke away.
"We have no time for that now, Kenneth. Our guests are waiting."
"That's right," he replied, with a smile that did not escape her. "We've no time now. But the night is still before us."
"Will you come soon?"
"Yes--I'll be right down." _