Chapter 11

A Modern Judas

Being directed to the library by Mrs. Bickles, the gentleman who hid his identity under the letter "D." soon made his appearance, and closing the door softly, stood in front of Olive and Teddy with his hat in one hand and in the other a walking stick wrapped up in brown paper. Mr. Dentham looked despicably mean as he stood there with his pinched white face and his closely cropped head of red hair. Neither the lady nor gentleman were impressed with his appearance and exchanged glances during a silence which Olive was the first to break.

"I presume this is from you?" she said, handing him the note written on blue paper.

"Yes, mum," replied Dentham, casting a flickering look on it from under his white eyelashes. "I saw the advertisement about Mr. Adrian Lancaster and came to see about it."

"What do you know about Mr. Lancaster?" asked Teddy sharply.

Dentham shot a sudden glance of suspicion at the young man, and then assumed a cringing, fawning air which made Teddy long to kick him.

"Not much, sir," he replied in his silky voice, "but I do know a little."

"Tell us what you know," said Olive quickly.

Having laid down his hat and the brown paper parcel, Dentham's hands were free, and he made use of the opportunity of rubbing them slowly together, speaking meanwhile in a deprecating tone.

"I think, mum, there was some mention of a reward."

"The reward will be forthcoming if your information prove to be of any use."

"And the amount, mum?" began the valet, still washing his hands with invisible soap and water.

"Will depend entirely on the information," replied Olive disdainfully.

Dentham looked at her stealthily, and scratched his chin with one lean finger, evidently debating in his own mind if it would not be better to make terms before parting with his information. Teddy saw this was his feeling, and, although as a rule a good-tempered fellow, felt thoroughly enraged at the mean spirit displayed by this unpleasant-looking individual.

"Come, my man," he said sharply, "do you hear what the lady says? Tell us what you know about Mr. Lancaster and you will be paid accordingly."

"How much, sir?" demanded Dentham in a tone of covert insolence, whereat Rudall completely lost his temper, and was about to step forward with no very amicable intent, when Olive stopped him.

"If your information is worth anything, I will give you fifty pounds," she said quickly; "half before you leave this room, and half when Mr. Lancaster is found."

The eyes of the spy sparkled, as he had not anticipated being paid so well. He was not certain of the whereabouts of Adrian Lancaster, but he knew what he had to tell would certainly gain him twenty-five pounds, so he was quite content to sell his information for that sum.

"Very well, mum," he said with a pleased smile, "I'm sure I'm agreeable—I'll tell you all I know, but first, mum, will you look at this?"

He took the stick out of the brown paper and handed it to Olive, who flushed violently as she examined it.

"It's Adrian's!" she cried.

"Jove! so it is," remarked Teddy, taking it from her, "here are his initials on the band."

"I knew I was right, mum," said Dentham with a gratified grin. "When I saw him looking at your advertisement about Mr. Lancaster, I said to myself, this is his stick, 'cause the letters of the name are the same."

"Who was looking at the advertisement?"

"Doctor Roversmire, mum."

Olive gave a cry, and her face grew pale as she clasped Rudall's arm.

"I knew he had something to do with it," she said in a terrified whisper. "Go on, tell me everything from the first."

"Very well, mum," replied Dentham, and began his story without further delay.

"My name is Dentham, mum, and I am servant to Doctor Roversmire, who lives at Hampstead. I always thought him queer, as he lived such a quiet life and behaved in such a strange way. He said he had come home from India, and when he engaged me, said I was to attend to my business of looking after him and make no remarks, so as he paid me well, I didn't mind. He stayed in a great deal, sometimes going away for a few days, and the longest time he was away was six months ago, when he was away some weeks—I don't know where he was."

"I can tell you," interrupted Olive quickly, "he was here, in this house, as he was a friend of my father's."

"He never said where he was, mum, and as I had been told not to ask questions, I did not know what he was up to. When he came back he never went out for longer than a few hours, and used to send me to bed while he sat up waiting. I don't know what he waited for as no one ever came near the house, and I couldn't find out what his little game was. At last, about three weeks ago, I was on my way to bed when I heard the murmur of voices. I couldn't make it out at all, but as I couldn't go in and see and it was none of my business, I went to bed. The next morning I found my master had passed all the night in the sitting-room and was quite upset; he used to be quiet enough, but ever since that night he has been quite changed—so excited—like—I found that stick and took it to my own room."

"What right had you to do that?" asked Teddy sharply.

Dentham wriggled and looked down.

"Well, sir, to tell the truth, sir, I thought as my master was a forger, or a coiner, or a burglar, and that his visitor was a pal of his, so I thought if I kept the stick I might find out something about his goings on."

"Did Doctor Roversmire ask about the stick?" demanded Olive.

"Yes, mum, several times; said it had been given to him by a friend of his, but of course I knew it hadn't."

"And how did you connect the stick with the disappearance of Mr. Lancaster?" asked Teddy, who was more upset by the story than he cared to show.

"Well, sir, master is always looking at the papers after the morning on which I found the stick. About a week ago, after reading the Telegraph, he asks for a Bradshaw and said he was going out of town; when he left the room, I looked at the Bradshaw and saw he had looked up the trains to Marlow; then I thought something in the paper might have put it into his head to go there. I found your advertisement, mum, and seeing you were at Marlow, knew I was on the right track; then the letters on the stick were those of Mr. Adrian Lancaster's name, who was being advertised for, so I wrote to you and that's all."

"You are a very ingenious gentleman indeed," said Teddy grimly, when this recital ended, "quite an amateur detective. Well, Miss Maunders, what do you think of this story?"

Olive had resumed her seat and was leaning her head on her hand, deep in thought. She started when Teddy addressed her and looked up quickly.

"It seems to me that Adrian went to that house," she said quickly, "as the stick is certainly his and could only have been left there by him—there is no doubt he was Doctor Roversmire's visitor—why, I do not know, as he was quite unacquainted with the doctor and with the fact that I knew him. At all events, it is plain he was there on the night in question, but here all trace seems lost—did he stay there, or did he go away again?"

"He stayed," said Dentham solemnly.

"How do you know?" asked Rudall. "Did you see him in the house afterwards, or hear any noises to lead you to suspect that Mr. Lancaster might be concealed there?"

Dentham shook his head.

"No, I neither saw nor heard anything," he replied quickly, "but it was a wet night when he came, and after I found the walking-stick I searched for his footmarks. I traced them more or less clearly from the garden-door up to the window of the room in which I heard the voices. He must have left the same way if he left at all; but all the footmarks pointed towards the house, and none away from it, so I'm certain he did not go away."

"You're quite a detective," said Teddy, with a smile, "and, certainly, your explanation is a very ingenious one, so let us assume, for the sake of argument, that Mr. Lancaster did not leave the house—so far so good. Now the next question is, did he leave the room?"

"No," asserted Dentham again.

"Why not?" asked Olive.

"Because I was lying awake listening to the voices, and although I could not make out what they were saying, yet if either my master or Mr. Lancaster had left the room, I should easily have heard them doing so."

Teddy Rudall looked puzzled.

"Well, if Lancaster did not leave the house nor the room, he must be concealed in it—or else have vanished into thin air, which is, of course, impossible."

"I'm not so certain about that," said Olive, looking up, "remember what we were talking about."

Teddy shrugged his shoulders contemptuously.

"Occult science, theosophy, and disintegration," he said glibly. "Oh! nonsense—all that stuff is humbug."

"I believe my master's a devil," asserted Dentham, suddenly, with a scared look.

Both the others stared at him in silent astonishment, but there was a look of apprehension on Olive's face that showed that she shared to some extent in the ideas of the servant.

"How so?" demanded Teddy, with a disbelieving smile.

"Because I've left him in the room, sir, and locked all the windows before leaving; sometimes I've come back and found him gone, with the windows still locked, and the shutters up. He couldn't have got out of the windows, and he couldn't clear by the door, because I was generally in the passage, and would have seen him. Now, sir," finished Dentham, triumphantly, "where did he go to?"

"I think the true explanation is this," said Rudall, quietly. "He has some secret chamber or exit in the walls of this special room to which you refer. Have you examined the walls?"

"No, sir."

"Then, depend upon it, my theory is a correct one," said Teddy, in a complacent tone, "there's a sliding panel or a masked door, which either leads to the outside of the house, or to some secret room. I think the latter, because if he had let Mr. Lancaster out by the secret way we should have heard from him long ago. My opinion is that he is keeping Adrian concealed in the hidden room I refer to."

"But why?" asked Olive, quietly.

"You, yourself, gave me the explanation," said Rudall, quickly; "it is a case of revenge, I fancy. Now in order to find out anything we must search this room."

"But how, sir?" asked Dentham. "Master never goes away from the house, and we can't look if he's there."

"Oh! I can manage that," said Olive, decisively. "I'll get my father to write a letter asking him to come down to Marlow—during his absence we can search the room; if we find anything we can demand an explanation, and, at all events, I shall certainly make him tell me why Adrian called to see him on that night."

"Yes, I think that will be the best thing to be done," said Teddy, thoughtfully. "Well, Miss Maunders, we had better go down at once to Marlow, and get your father to write the necessary letter. As for you," he added, turning to Dentham, "go back to Hampstead, and keep a watch on your master. Don't arouse his suspicions, but if he tries to clear out wire us at once."

"And the money, mum?" said Dentham in a whining tone, as Olive arose to her feet.

She took out her purse, and handed him two ten-pound notes and one five-pound in silence.

"Your information is well worth it," she said quietly, as he took them with a servile smile, "and if we find Mr. Lancaster in the house of Doctor Roversmire, I will double the reward."

"Don't be too generous, Miss Maunders," said Teddy, suspiciously. "We know nothing definitely yet. Now we must go to Paddington at once, as there's no time to lose."

Olive consented with alacrity, and they left the house, secured a hansom, and were soon on their way to the railway station, leaving Mrs. Bickles to the solitude of the town house, and Dentham with twenty-five pounds in his pocket, very well satisfied with his day's work.