The Black Box Part 32

Quest glanced around the place.

"I think," he said, "that the Professor's statement now removes any doubt as to Craig's guilt. You are sure the house has been closely watched, Inspector?"

"Since I received certain information," French replied, "I have had half-a-dozen of my best men in the vicinity. I can a.s.sure you that no one has entered or left it during the last twenty-four hours."

They made their way to the piazza steps and entered by the front door. The house was an ordinary framework one of moderate size, in poor repair, and showing signs of great neglect. The rooms were barely furnished, and their first cursory search revealed no traces of habitation. There was still the broken skylight in the room which Lenora had occupied, and the bed upon which she had slept was still crumpled. French, who had been tapping the walls downstairs, called to them. They trooped down into the hall. The Inspector was standing before what appeared to be an ordinary panel.

"Look here," he said, glancing out of the corner of his eye to be sure that Laura was there, "let me show you what I have just discovered."

He felt with his thumb for a spring. In a moment or two a portion of the wall, about two feet in extent, slowly revolved, disclosing a small cupboard fitted with a telephone instrument.

"A telephone," the Inspector remarked, pointing to it, "in an unoccupied house and a concealed cupboard. What do you think of that?"

The Professor shook his head.

"Don't ask me," he groaned.

French took the receiver from its rest and called up the exchange.

"Inspector French speaking," he announced. "Kindly tell me what is the number of the telephone from which I am speaking, and who is the subscriber?"

He listened to the reply and asked another question.

"Can you tell me when this instrument was last used?... When?... Thank you!"

The Inspector hung up the receiver.

"The subscriber's name," he told them drily, "is Brown. The number is not entered in the book, by request. The telephone was used an hour ago from a call office, and connection was established. That is to say that some one spoke from this telephone."

"Then if your men have maintained their search properly, that some one,"

Quest said slowly, "must be in the house at the present moment."

"Without a doubt," the Inspector agreed. "I should like to suggest," he went on, "that the two young ladies wait for us now in the automobile. If this man turns out as desperate as he has shown himself ingenious, there may be a little trouble."

They both protested vigorously. Quest shrugged his shoulders.

"They must decide for themselves," he said. "Personally, I like Lenora, who has had less experience of such adventures, to grow accustomed to danger.... With your permission, Inspector, I am going to search the front room on the first floor before we do anything else. I think that if you wait here I may be able to show you something directly."

Quest ascended the stairs and entered a wholly unfurnished room on the left-hand side. He looked for a minute contemplatively at a large but rather shallow cupboard, the door of which stood open, and tapped lightly with his forefinger upon the back part of it. Then he withdrew a few feet and, drawing out his revolver, deliberately fired into the floor, a few inches inside. There was a half stifled cry. The false back suddenly swung open and a man rushed out. Quest's revolver covered him, but there was no necessity for its use. Craig, smothered with dust, his face white as a piece of marble, even his jaw shaking with fear, was wholly unarmed. He seemed, in fact, incapable of any form of resistance. He threw himself upon his knees before Quest.

"Save me!" he begged. "Help me to get away from this house! You don't belong to the police. I'll give you every penny I have in the world to let me go!"

Quest smiled at him derisively.

"Get up," he ordered.

Very slowly Craig obeyed him. He was a pitiful-looking object, but a single look into Quest's face showed him the folly of any sort of appeal.

"Walk out of the room," Quest ordered, "in front of me--so! Now, then, turn to the right and go down the stairs."

They all gave a little cry as they saw him appear, a trembling, pitiful creature, glancing around like a trapped animal. He commenced to descend the stairs, holding tightly to the banisters. Quest remained on the landing above, his revolver in his hand. French waited in the hall below, also armed. Laura gripped Lenora's arm in excitement.

"They've got him now!" she exclaimed. "Got him, sure!"

On the fourth or fifth stair, Craig hesitated. He suddenly saw the Professor standing below. He gripped the banisters with one hand. The other he flung out in a threatening gesture.

"You've given me away to these bloodhounds!" he cried,--"you, for whom I have toiled and slaved, whom I have followed all over the world, whom I have served faithfully with the last breath of my body and the last drop of blood in my veins! You have brought them here--tracked me down! You!"

The Professor shook his head sorrowfully.

"Craig," he said, "you have been the best servant man ever had. If you are innocent of these crimes, you can clear yourself. If you are guilty, a dog's death is none too good for you."

Craig seemed to sway for a moment upon his feet. Only Lenora, from the hall, saw that he was fitting his right foot into what seemed to be a leather loop hanging from the banisters. Then a wild shout of surprise broke from the lips of all of them, followed by a moment of stupefied wonder. The whole staircase suddenly began to revolve. Craig, clinging to the banisters, disappeared. In a moment or two there was a fresh click.

Another set of stairs, almost identical to the first, had taken their place.

"The cellar!" Quest shouted, as he rushed down the stairs. "Quick!"

They wrenched open the wooden door and hurried down the dark steps into the gloomy, unlit cellar. The place was crowded with packing-cases, and two large wine barrels stood in the corner. At the farther end was a door.

Quest rushed for it and stood on guard. A moment later, however, he called to Laura and pressed his revolver into her hand.

"Stand here," he ordered. "Shoot him if he tries to run out. I'll search in the packing-cases. He might be dangerous."

The Professor, out of breath, was leaning against one of the pillars, his arm pa.s.sed around it for support. Lenora, with Quest and French, searched hastily amongst the packing-cases. Suddenly there was a loud crack, the sound of falling masonry, followed by a scream from Laura. French, with a roar of anger, rushed towards her. She was lying on her side, already half covered by falling bricks and masonry. He dragged her away, just in time.

"My G.o.d, she's fainted!" he exclaimed.

"I haven't," Laura faltered, trying to open her eyes, "and I'm not going to, but I think my arm's broken, and my side hurts."

"The fellow's not down here, anyway," Quest declared. "Let's help her upstairs and get her out of this devil's house."

They supported her up the steps and found a chair for her in the hall. She was white almost to the lips, but she struggled bravely to keep consciousness.

"Don't you bother about me," she begged. "Don't let that blackguard go!

You find him. I shall be all right."

The Inspector swung open the telephone cupboard and called for an ambulance. Then Quest, who had been examining the staircase, suddenly gave a little exclamation.

"He's done us!" he cried. "Look here, French, this is the original staircase. There's the leather loop. I know it because there was a crack on the fourth stair. When we rushed down the cellar after him, he swung the thing round again and simply walked out of the front door. d.a.m.n it, man, it's open!"

They hurried outside. French blew his whistle. One of the plain-clothes men came running up from the avenue. He was looking a little sheepish.

"What's wrong?" French demanded.

"He's gone off," was the unwilling reply. "I guess that chap's given us the slip."

"Speak up," French insisted.

"The only place," the man went on, "we hadn't our eyes glued on, was the front door. He must have come out through that. There's been a motor truck with one or two queer-looking chaps in it, at the corner of the avenue there for the last ten minutes. I'd just made up my mind to stroll round and see what it was up to when Jim, who was on the other side, shouted out. A man jumped up into it and they made off at once."