Upon his cold, stiff hands were thin rubber gloves, such as surgeons
wear during operations. They told their own tale. He wore them so as
to obviate leaving any finger-prints. Upon his waistcoat there was a
large damp patch which showed where Sir Henry's bullet had struck him.
Old Edgson stood beside his young master, hushed and awed.
"He's evidently an expert thief," remarked Raife, as he gazed upon the
dead assassin's calm countenance. The eyes were, closed and he had all
the composed appearance of a sleeper. "Have they searched him?"
"I don't know, sir," replied the old man.
"Then I will," Raife said, and, thereupon, commenced to investigate the
dead man's pockets.
The work did not take long. From the breastpocket of his jacket he drew
out a plain envelope containing three five-pound notes, as well as a
scrap of torn newspaper. The young fellow, on unfolding it, found it to
be the "Agony" column of the _Morning Post_, in which there was, no
doubt, concealed some secret message. There were, however, a dozen or
so advertisements, therefore which of them conveyed the message he was
unable to decide. So he slipped it into his pocket until such time as
he was able to give attention to it.
In the dead man's vest-pocket he found the return half of a first-class
ticket from Charing Cross to Tunbridge Wells, issued four days
previously, while in one of the trousers-pockets were four sovereigns,
some silver, and in the other a bunch of skeleton keys, together with a
small, leather pocket-case containing some strange-looking little steel
tools, beautifully finished--the last word in up-to-date instruments for
safe-breaking.
Raife, holding them in his hand, carried them to the window and examined
them with keen curiosity. It was, indeed, a neat outfit and could be
carried in the pocket without exciting the least suspicion. That the
unknown assassin was an expert thief was quite clear.
Old Edgson was impatient to return to the house.
"Perhaps her ladyship may be wanting me, sir," he suggested. "May I go,
sir?"
"Yes, Edgson," replied the young man. "Tell my mother, if you see her,
that I'll be back presently."
And the old servant, with his mechanical bow, retired, leaving his young
master with his father's murderer.
Raife gazed in silence upon the face of the dead stranger. Then,
presently, speaking to himself, he said:
"I wonder who he is? The police will find out, no doubt. He's probably
known, or he would not have been so careful about his finger-prints. By
jove!" he added, "if I'd met him in a train or in the street I would
never have suspected him of being a criminal. One is too apt to judge a
man by his clothes."
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