Then the band would begin to play.

2. If Jones were transferred on board the Duke's yacht and sequestrated, the matter at once became _criminal_, and the prospect of long years of mental distress and dread lest the agile Jones should break free stood before him like a nightmare.

3. It was impossible to make the Duke believe that Jones was Jones and that Rochester was dead.

The only thing to be done was to release Jones, soothe him, bribe him and implore of him to get back to America as quick as possible.

This being clear before the mind of Simms, he at once proceeded to act.

"It is not so much the question of your letting him out," he said, "as of his escaping. And now I must say this. My professional reputation is at stake and I must ask you to come with me to Curzon Street and put the whole matter before the family. I wish to have a full consultation."

The Duke demurred for a moment. Then he agreed and the two men left the club.

At Curzon Street they found the Dowager Countess and Venetia Birdbrook about to retire for the night. Teresa, Countess of Rochester, had already retired, and, though invited to the conference, refused to leave her room.

Then, in the drawing-room with closed doors, Simms, relying on the intelligence of the women as a support, began, for the second time, his tale.

He convinced the women, and by one o'clock in the morning, still standing by his guns after the fashion of the defenders of Bundlecund, the Duke had to confess that he had no more ammunition. Surrendered in fact.

"But what is to be done?" asked the distracted mother of the defunct.

"What will this terrible man do if we release him?"

"Do," shouted the Duke. "Do--why the impostor may well ask what will we do to him."

"We can do nothing," said Venetia. "How can we? How can we expose all this before the servants--and the public? It is all entirely Teresa's fault. If she had treated Arthur properly none of this would ever have happened. She laughed and made light of his wickedness, she--"

"Quite so," said Simms, "but, my dear lady, what we have to think of now is the man, Jones. We must remember that whilst being an extremely astute person, inasmuch as he recovered for you that large property from the man Mulhausen, he seems honest. Indeed, yes, it is quite evident that he is honest. I would suggest his release to-morrow and the tendering to him of an adequate sum, say one thousand pounds, on the condition that he retires to the States. Then, later, we can think of some means to account for the demise of the late Earl of Rochester or simply leave it that he has disappeared."

The rest of this weird conclave remains unreported, Simms, however, carrying his point and departing next day, after having seen his patients, for Sandbourne-on-Sea, where he arrived late in the afternoon.

When the hired fly that carried him from Sandbourne Station arrived at the Hoover establishment, it found the gate wide open, and at the gate one of the attendants standing in an expectant att.i.tude glancing up and down the road as though he were looking for something, or waiting for somebody.

CHAPTER XXIII

SMITHERS

Hoover, leading the way downstairs, shewed Jones the billiard-room on the first floor, the dining-room, the smoke-room. All pleasant places, with windows opening on the gardens. Then he introduced him to some gentlemen. To Colonel Hawker, just come in from an after breakfast game of croquet, to Major Barstowe, and to a young man with no chin to speak of, named Smithers. There were several others, very quiet people, the three mentioned are enough for consideration.

Colonel Hawker and Major Barstowe were having an argument in the smoking-room when Hoover and Jones entered.

"I did not say I did not believe you," said Barstowe, "I said it was strange."

"Strange," cried the Colonel, "what do you mean by strange--it's not the word I object to, it's the tone you spoke in."

"What's the dispute?" asked Hoover.

"Why," said Barstowe, "the Colonel was telling me he had seen pigs in Burmah sixteen feet long, and sunflowers twenty feet in diameter."

"Oh, that story," said Hoover; "yes, there's nothing strange in that."

"I'll knock any man down that doubts my word," said the Colonel, "that's flat."

Hoover laughed, Jones shivered.

Then the disputants went out to play another game of croquet, and Jones, picking up with Smithers, played a game of billiards, Hoover going off and leaving them alone.

After playing for about five minutes, Smithers, who had maintained an uncanny silence, broke off the game.

"Let's play something better than this," said he. "Did you know I was rich?"

"No," said Jones.

"Well, I'm very rich--Look here," he took five sovereigns from his pocket and shewed them with pride. "I play pitch and toss with these,"

said he. "Hoover doesn't mind so long as I don't lose them. Pitch and toss with sovereigns is fine fun, let's have a game?"

Jones agreed.

They sat on the divan and played pitch and toss. At the end of ten minutes, Jones had won twenty pounds.

"I think I will stop now," said Smithers. "Give me back that sovereign I lent you to toss with."

"But you owe me twenty pounds," said Jones.

"I'll pay you that to-morrow," said Smithers; "these sovereigns are not to be spent, they are only for playing with."

"Oh, that doesn't matter," said Jones, handing back the coin, and recognising that, penniless as he was, here was a small fund to be drawn upon by cunning, should he find a means of escape. "I'm rich. I'm worth ten millions."

"Ten million sovereigns?"

"Yes."

"Golden ones, like these?"

"Yes."

"I say," said Smithers, "could you lend me one or two?"

"Yes, rather."

"But you mustn't tell Hoover."

"Of course I won't."

"When will you lend me them?"