“You’re—the—Doctor—I—saw—downstairs—aren’t you?” he said innocently.
The detective set his jaw. He started off on a new tack.
“Does this belong to you?” he said suddenly, plucking from his pocket
the battered gold watch that Beresford had found and waving it before
the Unknown’s blank face.
The Unknown stared at it a moment, as a child might stare at a new toy,
with no gleam of recognition. Then—
“Maybe,” he admitted. “I—don’t—know.” His voice trailed off. He fell
back against Bailey’s arm.
Miss Cornelia gave a little shiver. The third degree in reality was
less pleasant to watch than it had been to read about in the pages of
her favorite detective stories.
“He’s evidently been attacked,” she said, turning to Anderson. “He
claims to have recovered consciousness in the garage, where he was tied
hand and foot!”
“He does, eh?” said the detective heavily. He glared at the Unknown.
“If you’ll give me five minutes alone with him, I’ll get the _truth_
out of him!” he promised.
A look of swift alarm swept over the Unknown’s face at the words,
unperceived by any except Miss Cornelia. The others started obediently
to yield to the detective’s behest and leave him alone with his
prisoner. Miss Cornelia was the first to move toward the door. On her
way, she turned.
“Do you believe that money is irrevocably gone?” she asked of Anderson.
The detective smiled.
“There’s no such word as ‘irrevocable’ in my vocabulary,” he answered.
“But I believe it’s out of the house, if that’s what you mean.”
Miss Cornelia still hesitated, on the verge of departure.
“Suppose I tell you that there are certain facts that you have
overlooked?” she said slowly.
“Still on the trail!” muttered the detective sardonically. He did not
even glance at her. He seemed only anxious that the other members of
the group would get out of his way for once and leave him a clear field
for his work.
“I was right about the Doctor, wasn’t I?” she insisted.
“Just fifty per cent right,” said Anderson crushingly. “And the Doctor
didn’t turn that trick alone. Now—” he went on with weary patience, “if
you’ll _all_ go out and close that door—”
Miss Cornelia, defeated, took a candle from Bailey and stepped into the
corridor. Her figure stiffened. She gave an audible gasp of dismayed
surprise.
“Quick!” she cried, turning back to the others and gesturing toward the
corridor. “A man just went through that skylight and out onto the
roof!”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
MURDER ON MURDER
“Out on the roof!”
“Come on, Beresford!”
“Hustle—you men! He may be armed!”
“Righto—coming!”
And following Miss Cornelia’s lead, Jack Bailey, Anderson, Beresford,
and Billy dashed out into the corridor, leaving Dale and the frightened
Lizzie alone with the Unknown.
“And _I’d_ run if my legs would!” Lizzie despaired.
“Hush!” said Dale, her ears strained for sounds of conflict. Lizzie,
creeping closer to her for comfort, stumbled over one of the Unknown’s
feet and promptly set up a new wail.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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