III

VISITORS

"The affair promises to be quite interesting," he confided to the paper-knife, with which he was spearing tiny holes in the blotter of the pad. "Peac.o.c.k Alley at five--but there are a few matters that come first."

He went straight to the safe, unlocked it, took out the photograph, the cipher message, and the handkerchief, carried these to the table and placed them in a large envelope, which he sealed and addressed to himself. Then with it, and the three American Beauties, he pa.s.sed quickly into the corridor and to an adjoining apartment. There he rang the bell vigorously and long.

He was still ringing when a dishevelled figure, in blue pajamas and a scowl, opened the door.

"What the devil do you--" the disturbed one growled.

"S-h-h!" said Harleston, his finger on his lips. "Keep these for me until tomorrow, Stuart."

And crowding the roses and the envelope in the astonished man's hands, he hurried away.

The pajamaed one glared at the flowers and the envelope; then he turned and flung them into a corner of the living-room.

"h.e.l.l!" he said in disgust. "Harleston's either crazy or in love: it's the same thing anyway."

He slammed the door and went back to bed.

Harleston, chuckling, returned to his quarters; retrieved from the floor a leaf and a petal and tossed them out of the window. Then, being a.s.sured by a careful inspection of the room that there were no further traces of the roses remaining, he went to bed.

Two minutes after his head touched the pillow, he was asleep.

Presently he awoke--listening!

Some one was on the fire-escape. The pa.s.sage leading to it was just at the end of his suite; more than that, one could climb over the railing, and, by a little care, reach the sill of his bedroom window. This sill was wide and offered an easy footing. If the window were up, one could easily step inside; or, even if it were not, the catch could be slipped in a moment.

Harleston's window, however, was up--invitingly up; also the window on the pa.s.sage; it was a warm night and any air was grateful.

He lay quite still and waited developments. They came from another quarter: the corridor on which his apartment opened. Someone was there.

Then the k.n.o.b of his door turned; he could not distinguish it in the uncertain light, yet he knew it was turning by a peculiarly faint screech--almost so faint as to be indistinguishable. One would not notice it except at the dead of night.

The door hung a moment; then cautiously it swung back a little way, and two men entered. The moon, though now low, was sufficient to light the place faintly and to enable them to see and be seen.

For a brief interval they stood motionless. They came to life when Harleston, reaching up, pushed the electric b.u.t.ton.

"What can I do for you, gentlemen?" he asked, blinking into their levelled revolvers.

They were medium-sized men and wore evening clothes; one was about forty-five and rather inclined to stoutness, the other was under forty and rather slender. They were not masked, and their faces, which were strange to Harleston, were the faces of men of breeding, accustomed to affairs.

"You startled us, Mr. Harleston," the elder replied; "and you blinded us momentarily by the rush of light."

"It was thoughtless of me," Harleston returned. He waved his hand toward the chairs. "Won't you be seated, messieurs--and pardon my not arising; I'm hardly in receiving costume. May I ask whom I am entertaining."

"Certainly, sir," the elder smiled. "This is Mr. Sparrow; I am Mr.

Marston. We would not have you put yourself to the inconvenience, not to mention the hazard from drafts. You're much more comfortable in bed--and we can transact our business with you quite as well so; moreover if you will give us your word to lie quiet and not call or shoot, we shall not offer you the slightest violence."

"I'll do anything," Harleston smiled, "to be relieved of looking down those unattractive muzzles. Ah! thank you!--The chairs, gentlemen!" with a fine gesture of welcome.

"We haven't time to sit down, thank you," said Sparrow. "Time presses and we must away as quickly as possible. We shall, we sincerely hope, inconvenience you but a moment, Mr. Harleston."

"Pray take all the time you need," Harleston responded. "I've nothing to do until nine o'clock--except to sleep; and sleep is a mere incidental to me. I would much rather chat with visitors, especially those who pay me such a delightfully early morning call."

"Do you know what we came for?" Marston asked.

"I haven't the slightest idea. In fact, I don't seem to recall ever having met either of you. However--you'll find cigars and cigarettes on the table in the other room. I'll be greatly obliged, if one of you will pa.s.s me a cigarette and a match."

Both men laughed; Sparrow produced his case and offered it to Harleston, together with a match.

"Thank you, very much," said Harleston, as he struck the match and carefully pa.s.sed the flame across the tip. "Now, sirs, I'm at your service. To what, or to whom, do I owe the honour of this visit?"

"We have ventured to intrude on you, Mr. Harleston," said Marston, "in regard to a little matter that happened on Eighteenth Street near Ma.s.sachusetts Avenue shortly before one o'clock this morning."

Harleston looked his surprise.

"Yes!" he inflected. "How very interesting."

"I'm delighted that you find it so," was the answer. "It encourages me to go deeper into that matter."

"By all means!" said Harleston, pushing the pillow aside and sitting up.

"Pray, proceed. I'm all attention."

"Then we'll go straight to the point. You found certain articles in the cab, Mr. Harleston--we have come for those articles."

"I am quite at a loss to understand," Harleston replied. "Cab--articles!

Have they to do with your little matter of Eighteenth and Ma.s.sachusetts Avenue several hours ago?"

"They are the crux of the matter," Marston said shortly. "And you will confer a great favour upon persons high in authority of a friendly power if you will return the articles in question."

"My dear sir," Harleston exclaimed, "I haven't the articles, whatever they may be; and pardon me, even if I had, I should not deliver them to you; I've never, to the best of my recollection, seen either of you gentlemen before this pleasant occasion."

"My dear Mr. Harleston," remarked Sparrow, "all your actions at the cab of the sleeping horse were observed and noted, so why protest?"

"I'm not protesting; I'm simply stating two pertinent facts!" Harleston laughed.

"We will grant the fact that you've never seen us," said Marston, "but that you have not got the articles in question, we," with apologizing gesture, "beg leave to doubt."

"You're at full liberty to search my apartment," Harleston answered.

"I'm not sensitive early in the morning, whatever I may be at night."

"The letter is easy to conceal," was the reply, "and the safe yonder is an _impa.s.se_ without your a.s.sistance."