The Whisper on the Stair/Chapter 35
He was characteristically his lazy, lounging self now, hands—ostensibly, of course, he seemed to have hands—thrust deep into his pockets, a courteous, nonchalant smile upon his lips, his face turned so that the livid scar that disfigured one cheek was invisible at the angle. He lounged up to Jessica, seemingly oblivious to the rest of the party.
“Having a party, I see," he remarked pleasantly. “Good idea; I feel rather hungry myself.” She shrank back from him, not daring to meet his eyes, and yet unable to move a step back. She said nothing; just stood there, the pallor of her cheeks contrasting piteously with the splendor of her hair, her eyes gone dead of a sudden.
“You remember you have an appointment with me to-day,” Teck reminded her. “It’s something of a surprise to see you here, you know. I thought⸺”
“You thought she was waiting for you, safely caught in her cottage in the woods, didn’t you, Iggy?” said Val, stepping in between them. With a grateful glance at Val, Jessica stepped aside, glad to have someone else distract Teck’s attention.
“What is that to you?” asked Teck maliciously, still courteous, still mild and smiling. “Miss Pomeroy’s movements⸺”
“Miss Pomeroy’s movements interest me, Iggy. Peculiar, isn’t it?” smiled Val. “Sorry if my presence here seems to upset any of your plans; but of course you can make others, can’t you? That’s one of the best things you do.”
“Oh, one can always change one’s plans, you know,” assented Teck carelessly.
“Well, if it’s all the same to you, Iggy, you can change yours right now,” said Val, still smiling as pleasantly as Teck himself. There was an undercurrent of menace in his tone, however, that Teck caught and read aright.
He glanced straight into Val’s eyes before answering, hesitating a moment, picking his words, evidently.
“Do you propose to do the changing?” he asked innocently, but his tone was flinty.
“I do,” announced Val. “I propose to change your plans so much that you’ll wish you never had seen me⸺”
“If you must know, my friend, I wish that now,” put in the big man.
“Well, then, if I’m your friend, you’d better take the advice of a friend and get out right now,” said Val dangerously.
“Surely you’re not afraid of me,” mocked Teck. “Why, what harm can I, a poor creature without⸺”
“Never mind that stuff,” broke in Val rudely. “I’ve heard it before, and it won’t get you anywhere with me.” Teck turned to Jessica once more.
“Will you come with me, Jessica?” he asked politely.
And then an amazing thing happened. Jessica raised her eyes and looked directly into his. It was not a quick, frightened glance. It was a long, full, deep glance, as though to assure herself that the menace and fascination those eyes had held for her were there no longer. For a full fifteen seconds, without speaking, she looked into his eyes, and at the end of that time he had the grace to drop his own. He knew in that instant that, somehow, he had lost his power over her.
“No, I won’t go with you, Ignace,” she said in a low tone, but each word was clipped off short with decision and distinctness. “I won’t go with you ever again. I don’t want to see you again, ever.”
She turned to Val. “Are you ready to come?” she asked.
“Righto!” he said.
Without another glance at Teck, leaving him standing there in the center of the room as though he were a piece of the furniture, they walked out.
Once on the sidewalk they entered the flivver and turned once more in the direction of the still smoking Chamberlin. On the other side of the street Val, noticed Horseface sitting in a high-powered automobile, watching them carefully. As they looked back they saw Teck standing in the doorway of the restaurant, gazing after them.
He followed slowly, as they did not have far to go to get to the crowd that stood along the sea wall in front of the burning ruin. Val parked the car at the curb, and the party got out.
“Now where?” asked Jessica.
“Well, we have to throw them off our trail in some way,” meditated Val. “Teck’ll be here in a minute. And there was Horseface with a big machine outside the restaurant. You can rest assured they’ll take steps to keep us in sight. I suppose the Rat’s around here somewhere, too—looking us over.” He paused for a moment, thinking rapidly. He was not afraid of Teck and his men, yet it would be better if they could get out to where the treasure was hidden without being followed by them. He didn’t want to have a fight with them while the women were there.
“I have it,” he announced at length. He glanced at the large crowd, which now numbered perhaps five thousand persons. “Let’s push into the crowd and lose ourselves. They won’t be able to keep track of us in there⸺” he pointed with a flick of his hand at the mass along the wall.
“Teck’ll watch our car, expecting us to come back to it. Well, we won’t come back to it at all, see. We’ll stay in the crowd for ten or fifteen minutes, and then we can ooze out of it and make for the street car to Hampton. From Hampton we can walk over to Mount Monroe easily—it can’t be very far.”
“It isn’t,” assented Jessica. “I think you’ve hit on the way to do it.”
Ten minutes later they mixed thoroughly with the crowd that swirled in the direction of the trolley car, and in another moment they were seated inside.
“There,” said Jessica, “I think we’ve thrown them off now.” They glanced around them and saw nobody they could recognize in the crowd. There was a clanging of the bell, the track was cleared of the people who were crossing, and the car started on its way. The trolley turned the corner and was lost to sight.
The Rat, who had been hidden in the crowd, turned and ran for Phœbus. At the automobile opposite the restaurant he found Horseface and Teck.
“Dey just got on de car fer Hampton,” he announced.
“All right,” said Teck. “Let's go."
They entered the big car. There was a sullen muttering of the engine, and the large, blunt nose of the machine was turned in the direction of Hampton. Horseface pressed a button and the car plunged ahead, singing on its way.