ROBERT BARR Ultimate Collection: 20 Novels & 65+ Detective Stories. Robert BarrЧитать онлайн книгу.
'Captain, you must not trifle with me. The man who engaged you is still aboard?'
'Oh, no, sir; he has never been aboard.'
'Do you mean to tell me that the second man who came on your launch at the Pont de Neuilly is not the American who engaged you?'
'No, sir; the American was a smooth-faced man; this man wore a black beard.'
'Yes, a false beard.'
'I did not know that, sir. I understood from the American that I was to take but one passenger. One came aboard with a small box in his hand; the other with a small bag. Each declared himself to be the passenger in question. I did not know what to do, so I left Paris with both of them on board.'
'Then the tall man with the black beard is still with you?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Well, captain, is there anything else you have to tell me? I think you will find it better in the end to make a clean breast of it.'
The captain hesitated, turning his cap about in his hands for a few moments, then he said,—
'I am not sure that the first passenger went overboard of his own accord. When the police hailed us at Denouval—'
'Ah, you knew it was the police, then?'
'I was afraid after I left it might have been. You see, when the bargain was made with me the American said that if I reached Havre at a certain time a thousand francs extra would be paid to me, so I was anxious to get along as quickly as I could. I told him it was dangerous to navigate the Seine at night, but he paid me well for attempting it. After the policeman called to us at Denouval the man with the small box became very much excited, and asked me to put him ashore, which I refused to do. The tall man appeared to be watching him, never letting him get far away. When I heard the splash in the water I ran aft, and I saw the tall man putting the box which the other had held into his handbag, although I said nothing of it at the time. We cruised back and forward about the spot where the other man had gone overboard, but saw nothing more of him. Then I came on to Meulan, intending to give information about what I had seen. That is all I know of the matter, sir.'
'Was the man who had the jewels a Frenchman?'
'What jewels, sir?'
'The man with the small box.'
'Oh, yes, sir; he was French.'
'You have hinted that the foreigner threw him overboard. What grounds have you for such a belief if you did not see the struggle?'
'The night is very dark, sir, and I did not see what happened. I was at the wheel in the forward part of the launch, with my back turned to these two. I heard a scream, then a splash. If the man had jumped overboard as the other said he did, he would not have screamed. Besides, as I told you, when I ran aft I saw the foreigner put the little box in his handbag, which he shut up quickly as if he did not wish me to notice.'
'Very good, captain. If you have told the truth it will go easier with you in the investigation that is to follow.'
I now turned the captain over to one of my men, and ordered in the foreigner with his bag and bogus black whiskers. Before questioning him I ordered him to open the handbag, which he did with evident reluctance. It was filled with false whiskers, false moustaches, and various bottles, but on top of them all lay the jewel case. I raised the lid and displayed that accursed necklace. I looked up at the man, who stood there calmly enough, saying nothing in spite of the overwhelming evidence against him.
'Will you oblige me by removing your false beard?'
He did so at once, throwing it into the open bag. I knew the moment I saw him that he was not the American, and thus my theory had broken down, in one very important part at least. Informing him who I was, and cautioning him to speak the truth, I asked how he came in possession of the jewels.
'Am I under arrest?' he asked.
'But certainly,' I replied.
'Of what am I accused?'
'You are accused, in the first place, of being in possession of property which does not belong to you.'
'I plead guilty to that. What in the second place?'
'In the second place, you may find yourself accused of murder.'
'I am innocent of the second charge. The man jumped overboard.'
'If that is true, why did he scream as he went over?'
'Because, too late to recover his balance, I seized this box and held it.'
'He was in rightful possession of the box; the owner gave it to him.'
'I admit that; I saw the owner give it to him.'
'Then why should he jump overboard?'
'I do not know. He seemed to become panic-stricken when the police at the last lock ordered us to return. He implored the captain to put him ashore, and from that moment I watched him keenly, expecting that if we drew near to the land he would attempt to escape, as the captain had refused to beach the launch. He remained quiet for about half an hour, seated on a camp chair by the rail, with his eyes turned toward the shore, trying, as I imagined, to penetrate the darkness and estimate the distance. Then suddenly he sprung up and made his dash. I was prepared for this, and instantly caught the box from his hand. He gave a half turn, trying either to save himself or to retain the box; then with a scream went down shoulders first into the water. It all happened within a second after he leaped from his chair.'
'You admit yourself, then, indirectly responsible for his drowning, at least?'
'I see no reason to suppose that the man was drowned. If able to swim he could easily have reached the river bank. If unable to swim, why should he attempt it encumbered by the box?'
'You believe he escaped, then?'
'I think so.'
'It will be lucky for you should that prove to be the case.'
'Certainly.'
'How did you come to be in the yacht at all?' 'I shall give you a full account of the affair, concealing nothing. I am a private detective, with an office in London. I was certain that some attempt would be made, probably by the most expert criminals at large, to rob the possessor of this necklace. I came over to Paris, anticipating trouble, determined to keep an eye upon the jewel case if this proved possible. If the jewels were stolen the crime was bound to be one of the most celebrated in legal annals. I was present during the sale, and saw the buyer of the necklace. I followed the official who went to the bank, and thus learned that the money was behind the cheque. I then stopped outside and waited for the buyer to appear. He held the case in his hand.'
'In his pocket, you mean?' I interrupted.
'He had it in his hand when I saw him. Then the man who afterwards jumped overboard approached him, took the case without a word, held up his hand for a cab, and when an open vehicle approached the curb he stepped in, saying, "The Madeleine." I hailed a closed cab, instructed the cabman to follow the first, disguising myself with whiskers as near like those the man in front wore as I had in my collection.'
'Why did you do that?'
'As a detective you should know why I did it. I wished as nearly as possible to resemble the man in front, so that if necessity arose I could pretend that I was the person commissioned to carry the jewel case. As a matter of fact, the crisis arose when we came to the end of our cab journey. The captain did not know which was his true passenger, and so let us both remain aboard the launch. And now you have the whole story.'
'An extremely improbable one, sir. Even by your own account you had no right to interfere in this business at all.'
'I quite agree with you there,' he replied, with great nonchalance, taking a card from his pocket-book, which he handed to me.
'That is my London address; you may make inquiries, and you will find I am exactly what I represent myself to be.'
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