Violet Decie said that she perfectly well understood what she had to do.
"Sartoris may try to see you again," Field continued. "If he does, do
not answer him. Pretend that you are still ignorant; do nothing to
arouse his suspicions. Perhaps it would have been better if I had told
you nothing of this, but I fancy that I can trust you."
"You can trust me implicitly," the girl said eagerly. "If it is to harm
that man----"
She said no more, and Field perfectly understood what her feelings were.
By no means displeased with his morning's work he started off in the
direction of Lincoln's Inn Fields. He was pleased to find that the firm
of George Fleming & Co. occupied good offices, and that the clerks
looked as if they had been there a long time. It was just as well not to
have a pettifogging lawyer to deal with. Mr. Fleming was in, but he was
engaged for a little time. Perhaps the gentleman would state his
business; but on the whole Field preferred to wait.
He interested himself for some little time behind the broad page of the
"Daily Telegraph," until at length an inner door marked "private" opened
and a tall man with grey hair emerged, with a crooked figure dragging on
his arm. Field looked over the paper for a moment, and then ducked down
again as he saw Carl Sartoris. Evidently the cripple had lost no time.
He was saying something now in a low and rasping voice to the lawyer.
"My dear sir, there shall be no delay at all," the latter replied. "I am
bound to confess that that deed has made all the difference. I always
told Sir Charles that that property was valuable. But he would never
see it, and if he had, where was the capital to work it? But why he
never told me that he had made the thing over to you----"
"Did he ever tell anybody anything that facilitated business?" Sartoris
laughed. "I daresay he forgot all about it, poor fellow."
Sartoris shuffled painfully out of the office with the help of the
lawyer, and got into a cab. A moment later and Field was in the inner
office with Mr. Fleming. He produced his card and laid it on the table
by the way of introduction.
"This is the first time I have been honoured by a detective in all my
long experience," the lawyer said as he raised his eyebrows. "I hope
there is nothing wrong, sir?"
"Not so far as any of your clients are concerned, sir," Field replied.
"As a matter of fact, I am the officer who has charge of the
investigation into the strange case of Sir Charles Darryll. And I am
pretty sure that the lame gentleman who has just gone out could tell you
all about it if he chose. I mean Mr. Carl Sartoris."
The lawyer again raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.
"I see you have no disposition to help me," Field proceeded. "But just
now Mr. Sartoris made a remark that gives me an opening. He came to you
to-day with a deed which, unless I am greatly mistaken, purports to be
an assignment of property from Sir Charles to Mr. Sartoris. And that
property is probably a ruby mine in Burmah."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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