Mysterious Mr. SabinOppenheim, E. Phillips (Edward Phillips)
General
Mysterious Mr. Sabin
Oppenheim, E. Phillips (Edward Phillips)
Detective and mystery stories; Fiction
Wolfenden, with a discretion at which he afterwards wondered, did not at
once attract her attention. He hurried off to the smoking carriage
before which his servant was standing, and had his own belongings
promptly removed on to the platform. Then he paid a visit to the
refreshment-room, and provided himself with an extensive luncheon
basket, and finally, at the bookstall, he bought up every lady's paper
and magazine he could lay his hands upon. There was only a minute now
before the train was due to leave, and he walked along the platform as
though looking for a seat, followed by his perplexed servant. When he
arrived opposite to her carriage, he paused, only to find himself
confronted by a severe-looking maid dressed in black, and the guard. For
the first time he noticed the little strip, "engaged," pasted across the
window.
"Plenty of room lower down, sir," the guard remarked. "This is an
engaged carriage."
The maid whispered something to the guard, who nodded and locked the
door. At the sound of the key, however, the girl looked round and saw
Wolfenden. She lifted her eyebrows and smiled faintly. Then she came to
the window and let it down.
"Whatever are you doing here?" she asked. "You----"
He interrupted her gently. The train was on the point of departure.
"I am going down into Norfolk," he said. "I had not the least idea of
seeing you. I do not think that I was ever so surprised."
Then he hesitated for a moment.
"May I come in with you?" he asked.
She laughed at him. He had been so afraid of her possible refusal, that
his question had been positively tremulous.
"I suppose so," she said slowly. "Is the train quite full, then?"
He looked at her quite keenly. She was laughing at him with her eyes--an
odd little trick of hers. He was himself again at once, and answered
mendaciously, but with emphasis--
"Not a seat anywhere. I shall be left behind if you don't take me in."
A word in the guard's ear was quite sufficient, but the maid looked at
Wolfenden suspiciously. She leaned into the carriage.
"Would mademoiselle prefer that I, too, travelled with her?" she
inquired in French.
The girl answered her in the same language.
"Certainly not, Céleste. You had better go and take your seat at once.
We are just going!"
The maid reluctantly withdrew, with disapproval very plainly stamped
upon her dark face. Wolfenden and his belongings were bundled in, and
the whistle blew. The train moved slowly out of the station. They were
off!
"I believe," she said, looking with a smile at the pile of magazines and
papers littered all over the seat, "that you are an impostor. Or perhaps
you have a peculiar taste in literature!"
She pointed towards the _Queen_ and the _Gentlewoman_. He was in high
spirits, and he made open confession.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account