The Golden Face: A Great 'Crook' RomanceLe Queux, William
General
The Golden Face: A Great 'Crook' Romance
Le Queux, William
Detective and mystery stories
On arrival at Zurich, I was not long in rejoining my companions, for
we had a rendezvous at the Savoy, when I learnt that Zuccari was
staying at the Dolder Hotel, up on the Zurichberg above the Lake.
"A man named Hauser is calling upon him this evening," Madame told me.
"We must watch."
This we did. More respectably dressed than when in Naples, I was
smoking my after-dinner cigar in the handsome hall of the Dolder Hotel
when a tall, well-set-up man, whose fair hair and square jaw stamped
him as German-Swiss, inquired of the hall porter for Signor Zuccari,
and was at once shown up to the banker's private sitting-room, where
they remained together for nearly an hour.
As I sat waiting impatiently below, I wondered what was happening.
I had already reported our movements to Rayne, who had, in a telegram,
expressed great surprise that the Deputy should have left Italy and
gone to Zurich--of all places.
Zuccari, on descending the stairs with his friend Hauser, confronted
me face to face, but it was apparent that he did not recognize me.
Hence I took courage and, later on, engaging a room, moved to the same
hotel. Next morning I saw the banker meet the man Hauser a second
time, and together they took a long walk on the outskirts of the town
above the Lake.
From the concierge I extracted certain valuable information in
exchange for the hundred-franc note I slipped into his hands. It
seemed that the banker Zuccari frequently visited that hotel, and on
every occasion the man Hauser came to Zurich to see him.
"They are conducting some crooked business--that is my belief,
m'sieur!" the uniformed man told me in confidence.
"Why do you suspect that?" I asked quickly.
"Well," he said confidentially, "Isler, the commissary of police, who
is now at Berne, once pointed him out to me and said he was a friend,
and believed to be one of the accomplices, of Ferdinando Morosini, the
notorious jewel-thief who was caught in Milan six months ago and sent
to fifteen years at Gorgona."
At the mention of jewel theft I at once pricked up my ears.
"Then Hauser may be a receiver of stolen jewels, eh?" I whispered.
"I would not like to say that, m'sieur, but depend upon it he is a
person to be gravely suspected. What business he has with the banker I
cannot imagine."
I knew Morosini by repute. I had heard Rayne mention him, and no doubt
he was a member of the gang who had blundered and fallen into the
hands of the police. Was it in connection with this incident that I
had been sent to Italy to make inquiries?
I told Madame when alone what I had discovered, whereat she smiled.
"I expect you have discovered the truth," she said. "We must let
Rudolph know at once."
To telegraph was impossible, therefore I sat down and wrote a long
letter, and then I waited inactive but anxious for a reply.
It came at last. He expressed himself fully satisfied, but urged me to
continue my investigations regarding the handsome wife of the
Marchese.
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