The Astonishing Adventure of Jane SmithWentworth, Patricia
General
The Astonishing Adventure of Jane Smith
Wentworth, Patricia
Adventure stories; Cousins -- Fiction; Detective and mystery stories
“I will wait,” he said briefly, and walked past Blotson into the hall.
“I am Mr. Luttrell,” he explained, and Blotson’s resentment diminished
very slightly. After a moment’s hesitation he threw open the study door
and ushered Anthony into the room.
“If Lady Heritage is in the house she will see me,” said Anthony. “If
she is out I should like to see Miss Molloy or, failing her, Mr. Ember.”
He walked to the window and stood there looking out until Blotson
returned.
“Lady Heritage is out, sir, and Miss Molloy is out. Mr. Ember was in
just now, but he must have stepped out again.”
“I will wait,” said Anthony for the second time.
When Blotson had gone, he stood quite still, following out a somewhat
uneasy train of thought. As the minutes passed, uneasiness merged into
anxiety.
Jane ran the whole way to the walled garden. Once inside its door she
made herself walk in order to get her breath. When she came into the
potting-shed she knew just what she was going to do, and set about doing
it in a quiet, businesslike way. From a stack of pots she took about
half a dozen, broke all but two of them, and gathered the sherds into
the lap of her dress. She put the two unbroken pots on the top of the
sherds. Then she took a sharp pruning-knife from the shelf, opened the
trap-door, and went down the steps.
As soon as she came into the main corridor she began to put down the
broken sherds, taking care to make no noise. She laid a trail of them up
to the laboratory turning, and then all along the turning itself,
disposing them in the middle of the fairway in such a manner as to
ensure that they should not fail to be seen by any one flashing a light
along the passage. She put the last two or three sherds in a little pile
about a yard short of the arch leading to the slanting passage with the
well in it. As she bent down there she heard Belcovitch maintaining an
impassioned Slavonic monologue within the laboratory.
She stood in the archway, threw her two unbroken pots against the
opposite wall with all her might, and then ran back down the well
passage until it turned.
Everything happened just as she knew that it would happen.
Belcovitch stopped talking and swore. It was a polysyllabic curse, very
effective. Then the steel gate was flung open, and in three languages
Mr. Belcovitch demanded of the silence an account of what was happening.
His voice ran away into a hollow echo, and died miserably.
Jane heard him stamp back into the chamber, cursing, and return. This
time he flashed a light before him. Flattened against the wall, Jane saw
its glow reflected from the side of the passage in which she was.
Belcovitch had seen the sherds and was exclaiming and muttering. She
heard him pass the arch.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account