The Profiteers Part 40

"I am faint," he cried. "Give me some wine."

Wingate filled two tumblers with champagne and gave one to each. The effect upon Phipps was remarkable. The colour came back into his cheeks, his tone gathered strength.

"What do you mean?" he echoed, "Worth our while?--Why the devil don't they bring the man in? You'll see!"

"Inspector s.h.i.+elds will no doubt insist upon coming in," Wingate replied.

"I gather from his visit that he is on the right track at last. But listen. If I am going to be arrested on a charge of abduction and manslaughter, as seems exceedingly probable, I am not going to leave my job half done. An English jury may call it murder if I shoot you two as you sit. I'll risk that. If I am going to get into trouble for one of you, I'll make sure of the lot."

His voice carried conviction. The two men stared at him. Rees, who had been gnawing at a crust of bread, swallowed thickly, drained his gla.s.s and staggered to his feet.

"You wouldn't dare!" he scoffed.

"You underestimate my courage," Wingate a.s.sured them with a smile. "See, I will speak to you words which I swear are as true as any to which you have ever listened. I hear the footsteps of the inspector. If you fail for a single second to corroborate the story which I shall tell him, I shall shoot you both and possibly myself. Look at me, both of you. You know I have the courage to do it. You know I _shall_ do it.--That's all."

There was a knock at the door. Grant opened it and stood on one side.

"Inspector s.h.i.+elds has called," he announced. "I thought you might like to have a word with him, sir."

CHAPTER XXIII

The inspector blinked for a moment. The appearance of the room, with its closely drawn curtains and air of dissipation, was certainly strange.

Wingate advanced to meet him.

"You called to see Lord Dredlinton, I believe, Inspector," he began. "My name is Wingate. I am friend of the family."

"I understood that Lord Dredlinton was here," the inspector announced, looking around.

"I am sorry to say," Wingate informed him gravely, "that a very terrible thing has happened. Lord Dredlinton died suddenly in this room, only a few minutes ago. His body is upon the sofa there."

The imperturbability of the inspector was not proof against such an amazing statement.

"Good G.o.d!" he exclaimed. "Was he ill?"

"Not that we know of," Wingate replied. "The doctor, who is on his way here, will doubtless be able to inform us upon that point, I have always understood that his heart was scarcely sound."

The inspector, as he stepped forward towards the couch, with Wingate a yard or two in front of him, for the first time recognised the two men who sat at the table, looking at him so strangely. Rees' hands were in his pockets, his tie had come undone, his hair was ruffled. He had all the appearance of a man recovering from a wild debauch. Phipps'

waistcoat was unb.u.t.toned, and his eyes, in the gathering light, were streaked with blood.

"Mr. Rees!" the inspector exclaimed. "And Mr. Phipps! Here? Why, I've a dozen men all over the country looking for you two gentlemen!"

There was a dead silence. Wingate's hand had stolen into his pocket, in which there was a little bulge, Rees seemed about to speak, then checked himself. He glanced towards Phipps,--Phipps, whose hands were clasped together as though he were in pain.

"The wanderers returned," Wingate explained, with a smile. "Lord Dredlinton, as you know. Inspector, has been very much worried by the supposed disappearance of his fellow directors. They turned up here last night unexpectedly. It seems that they have been all the time up in the North of England, making some investigations connected with the energies of their company. Their sudden return was naturally a great relief to Lord Dredlinton. We all celebrated---perhaps a little too well. Since then I am afraid we must also plead guilty," Wingate went on, "to a rather wild night, which has ended, as you see, in tragedy."

The inspector bent down and examined Lord Dredlinton's body.

"The doctor is on his way here," Wingate continued. "He will inform us, no doubt, as to the cause of death. Lord Dredlinton looked very exhausted many times during the night--or rather the morning--"

"I am to understand," s.h.i.+elds interrupted quietly, "that, overjoyed by the return of his friends, Lord Dredlinton, Mr. Phipps, Mr. Rees and yourself indulged forthwith in a debauch? A great deal of wine was drunk?"

"A great deal," Wingate admitted.

"Supper, I see, has been served here," the inspector went on, "and you have played cards."

"Poker," Wingate a.s.sented. "Lord Dredlinton preferred bridge but we rather overruled him."

s.h.i.+elds turned towards the two men, who had been silent listeners. In his face there seemed to be some desire for corroboration.

"You two gentlemen were present when Lord Dredlinton died?" he asked.

"We were," Phipps replied, after a moment's hesitation.

"We believed that it was a faint," Rees observed. "Even now it seems impossible to believe that he is dead."

"Dead!--My G.o.d!" Phipps repeated, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Nothing else transpired during the evening," the inspector continued, "likely to have proved a shock to his lords.h.i.+p?"

"Nothing," Phipps declared hoa.r.s.ely. "We must have been playing for a great many hours."

"I am a strong man," Rees added, "and the youngest of the party, but I too--feel faint."

"It seems a little strange, Mr. Wingate," s.h.i.+elds remarked, turning towards him, "that you yourself show not the slightest signs of fatigue."

Wingate smiled grimly.

"I neither drink nor smoke to excess," he explained, "and as a rule I keep regular hours. Perhaps that is why, if I choose to sit up all night, I am able to stand it."

There was a knock at the door and Grant presented himself. To all appearance he was, as ever, the perfect butler. It was only Wingate who saw that quick, questioning look, the hovering of his hand about his pocket; who knew that, if necessary, there was no risk which this man would not run.

"The doctor has arrived, sir," he announced.

"You had better show him in," Wingate replied. "And, Grant."

"Yes, sir?"

"It would be as well, I think, to let her ladys.h.i.+p be informed that Lord Dredlinton is ill--very ill."

The man bowed and stood on one side as the doctor entered. The latter paused for a moment in astonishment as he looked upon the scene. Then he moved towards one of the windows and threw it up.

"If Lord Dredlinton has been sitting for long in an atmosphere like this," he observed drily, "it's enough to have killed him."

He glanced around with an air of distaste at Phipps and Rees, at the debris of the presumed debauch, and stooped over the body stretched upon the sofa. His examination lasted barely a minute. Then he rose to his feet.