Adventure stories; Detective and mystery stories; London (England) -- Fiction
"We know nothing about your business," I said slowly, and, taking my
cue, my friend nodded in support. "You must do really what strikes you
as the best; but," and the inspector's eyes glittered, expecting some
concession or admission, "don't--don't ask us any questions," I added
sweetly, "for that is beyond your duty and outside your place."
With a muffled curse Naylor turned on his heel and despatched a
messenger for the cab he had mentioned. Then he summoned two or three
other constables, handed them certain documents, and whispered to them
quickly certain instructions. Afterwards a four-wheeler drove up, and
giving our words that we would make no effort to escape, the three of us
stepped inside, and began that long and tedious journey to Bow Street.
The most weary rides, however, come to an end some time--and so did
this. At length the police station was reached, and we all walked
boldly into the charge office, where the warrant was read over to us, to
which we made no reply, of course; and, pending our formal remand by a
magistrate, I begged and obtained permission that we should be both
placed in the same cell. In answer to the usual question: Did we wish
to communicate with any legal advisers or friends? both Casteno and I
said: "Yes." After a whispered consultation we decided on this plan of
action. I sent this telegram:
"Cooper-Nassington, _House of Commons, SW_.
"Casteno and I have been arrested on extraordinary charge of robbery
with violence, and lodged at Bow Street. Please see hunchback and
explain error, and do your best to secure our immediate release.--Hugh
Glynn."
"It will not, then, be my fault if the round-table conference fails to
come off," I reasoned. But at the bottom of my heart, I own, I felt
strangely disturbed at the turn affairs had taken. I could not rid
myself of some curious suspicion that Lord Fotheringay and his friends
had got some new trick to work, and that, after all, we might be now,
quite unconsciously, riding for a nasty fall.
Casteno himself elected to appeal to Lord Cyril, and after we had been
both searched and had all our valuables taken from us he was permitted
to take a sheet of notepaper and to write as follows:--
"_Bow Street Police Station_.
"Dear Lord Cyril,--The matter is too serious for me to stand on any
ceremony with you, and, therefore, I write quite straightforwardly to
you, to report what you will doubtless hear in the course of your
official duties--that Mr Hugh Glynn, the Secret Investigator, and
myself have been arrested, and are now detained at the above address on
some trumped-up charge of stealing certain manuscripts from my father on
Worcester Racecourse.
"This action of the authorities, of course, quite precludes all chance
of our meeting you and Colonel and Miss Napier and Lord Fotheringay at
Stanton Street to-night. I put it to you now quite pointedly whether it
is to the welfare of England that this interview should not take place?
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