Kate plus 10
knocked him down? But perhaps there never was such a time,” he said,
searching the other’s face.
“I no more want to discuss my affairs, than you want to discuss
yours,” said the Colonel gruffly; “here is the proposition,” he
thumped the table, “do you take it?”
Michael shook his head.
“I won’t be rude to you,” he said, “because you are an older man and
because you are going to end your life rather miserably in a very
short time.”
He saw the man wince.
“I am not saying that with the object of offending you,” Michael
continued. “I am just telling you what is the truth. Suppose you get
away from here, how are you going to make your escape from England? By
this time every port is closed to you.”
“I will tell you how we are going to get out of England,” said
Gregori, “we are going to leave by the only route possible, by ship
from London.”
“By ship from London?” it was the surprised voice of the girl.
“We have done a little planning on our own, Kate,” said Gregori with a
grin; “this is our last job. We didn’t tell you because we didn’t
think it was worth while upsetting you. Everything was arranged last
week.”
“Without my knowledge,” she said.
He nodded.
“What do you say, Pretherston? It is your last chance.”
“It isn’t my last chance,” said the other cheerfully.
“What do you mean?”
“That you will find out,” said Michael with a sudden sternness. “I
warn you that your time is very short.”
“Your time will be shorter,” said Gregori with a sinister smile.
“We will give him half-an-hour to think over it,” suggested Jacques;
“put him in the engine room.”
The engine room was the uncomfortable little shed which had been built
on to the mixing shop to accommodate a dynamo. It was now empty save
for a truckle bed on which one of the gang had slept. Padlocked iron
doors led to the mixing room and to the outer world, but to make
doubly sure, Garon volunteered to stand outside the building and keep
guard. Michael was thrust into the little room and the door slammed
upon him.
“Now,” said Gregori when they were back again in the office, “we have
to decide and decide quickly. If we can be sure that this fellow is
alone he has got to be killed.”
“Killed?” said Kate. “Oh, no, no!”
He turned on her with a snarl.
“This is our job. You keep out of this, Kate,” he said. “I tell you it
must be done, for all our sakes.”
“The first thing,” said the Colonel, “is to get the gold away.”
“It will be loaded on to the trucks to-morrow morning,” said Gregori,
“and we had better keep this fellow alive until it is gone.”
“Are we using our own trucks?”
Gregori shook his head.
“Oh, no,” he said, “that would be too dangerous. I have hired ten,
from a man in Eastbourne who is used to handling machinery. He has no
idea what sort of factory this is and I have told him it is a
preparation of lead we are shipping to the docks. Young Stockmar will
meet the convoy in London. Our own men are on board the ship and will
load the stuff.”
“It is a bit risky,” said Colling Jacques shaking his head, “sending
all that money through London without a guard.”
“It would be more risky to guard it,” said the other calmly, “our only
chance lies in not rousing the suspicion of the contractor who has
promised to come down himself to superintend the carriage to the
docks. His people won’t be allowed to handle any of it and I have told
him especially that it is dangerous to touch the packages--now, Kate,
you must be sensible about this business of Pretherston.”
She shrugged her shoulders and leant back against the window-sill, her
hands behind her.
“I suppose it is necessary,” she said in her cool even tone and the
Colonel heaved a sigh of relief.
“Gad, that’s the way to look at it, my girl,” he said admiringly. “I
knew you wouldn’t fail us.”
She said nothing.
“You said there were ten shares,” she asked presently, “do you count
me--as one who is sharing?”
“You stand in with me, my dear,” said the Colonel, patting her on the
shoulder, “don’t you be afraid. I have never denied you anything, have
I?”
She shook her head.
“I have never been aware that you denied me anything,” she said
absently.
“When is this--” she could not find words to complete the sentence.
“Pretherston,” said Gregori,--“oh, we can’t do anything yet. I think
you will agree, Colonel. We must make absolutely sure that he is not
being followed and that he has not half the Metropolitan police force
within call. I shall do nothing at all till to-morrow night.”
She inclined her head.
“I see,” she said simply and then, “I think I will go to my room.”
They had made her comfortable quarters in what had been once the
foreman’s office. She passed through the great sheds slowly and
stopped for a moment to look at the powerful engine which stood near
the closed doors, a tiny feather of steam at its safety valve, then
she went into her room.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE COLONEL WAS A GENTLEMAN AT
THE LAST
It was ten o’clock the following morning before any of the gang saw
the girl. She had spent a sleepless night revising her philosophies
and arranging the future as she saw it.
Mulberry who had put away his rifle and was appearing in the capacity
of an urbane general-manager greeted Kate with a nod.
He was superintending the transference of the ingots to the waiting
trolleys which stood on the road at the top of the chalk pit and were
approached by a zig-zag path which had been cut in the face of the
bluff by the original owner of the property.
Later Mr. Mulberry climbed up the path to interview the stout
contractor.
“I will pay you in advance,” said Mr. Mulberry beaming benevolently
and producing a wad of notes from his pocket book. “You have full
instructions as to where these packages are to go?”
“Yes, sir,” said the man. “To the Thames Docks and I am to hand them
over to the gentleman who engaged me the day before yesterday.”
“Mr. Stockmar,” said Mulberry.
“That is the name, sir. Are these things valuable?”
Mulberry shook his head.
“Scientifically they are of the greatest value, commercially they are
of no value. You have probably heard of dioxide of lead, the heaviest
metal that the earth holds?”
“I can’t say that I have, sir,” said the contractor frankly. “I am not
much of a scientist.”
“It is a very useful element,” lied Mr. Mulberry glibly, “in the
creation of paper. It is highly inflammable but not explosive so long
as it is handled by experts like my men here,” he waved his hand to
the procession of swarthy labourers who were coming up the hill, each
bearing a package on his shoulder.
“They are Italians, aren’t they, sir?”
Mr. Mulberry nodded.
“They are the only people who can handle this chemical,” he explained.
“I see, sir,” said the master carman wisely, “some of these foreigners
are wonderful chaps with chemicals.”
He looked down into the hollow.
“Mighty nice young lady that, sir,” he said respectfully, not knowing
whether Kate, who had just emerged from the building and was wandering
aimlessly across the yard, was an employee or a friend.
“Oh, yes, that is my confidential secretary,” said Mr. Mulberry.
“Mighty nice, if I may be allowed to say so, very lady-like.”
“Yes, yes,” said Mr. Mulberry.
He lingered long enough to see the last packages laid on the floor of
the last truck, shook hands with the contractor with great affability
and strode nonchalantly down the slope and none to see him would have
imagined that he had just entrusted nearly three million pounds’ worth
of gold, to the tender mercies of a chance carman.
He was half way down the first of the slopes when he met Kate coming
up.
“Kate,” he said in a low voice, “if you are going up to the top and
that fellow asks you who you are, you must tell him you are my
confidential secretary. I hope you don’t mind, I had to explain you.”
She nodded and continued her slow walk until she came to the road. The
cars were now buzzing preparatory to making a start. The contractor,
whom she had met before, gave her a cheery nod.
“Have you a piece of paper?” she asked.
“I’ve a card, miss,” he said.
“That will do,” she said; “lend me your pencil.”
She wrote a few lines and handed them to the man.
“I am the managing director’s confidential secretary,” she said.
“I know, miss,” replied the man.
He looked at the card with a frown.
“You are to take the trucks first of all to this address and see the
gentleman whose name I have written.”
“But I was told to go straight to the docks.”
She smiled and nodded.
“I know,” she said, “but my chief thinks you had better go here. His
lordship will either accompany you to their destination or he may
store your chemicals for the night.”
He looked at the address.
“The Earl of Flanborough,” he read; “suppose he isn’t there, miss?”
This was a contingency which she had overlooked.
“Ask for Lady Moya Felton--that is his daughter,” she said; “you had
best see her first in any circumstances.”
“I see, miss,” said the man a little impressed. “I know his lordship.
I have often seen him at Seahampton.”
“Now I think you had better go,” said Kate, “before you receive any
fresh instructions.”
The man chuckled, swung himself into the seat of the second car beside
the driver and first one and then the other of the great lorries,
moved slowly down the white road. She watched them until the last one
had passed the crest of the hill, then she slowly descended the
zig-zag path.
She met Gregori in the doorway.
“Where have you been, Kate?” he demanded.
“I have been to see the loot off,” she said flippantly.
“The less you are seen, the better,” he grumbled. “I told that ass,
Mulberry, not to let the man catch a glimpse of you. Don’t go in, I
want to talk to you.”
He was ill at ease and evidently found it difficult to make a
beginning.
“You know, Kate, I am very fond of you,” he said.
“You have every reason to be.”
“I still have,” he said.
“I am not so sure of that,” she interrupted, “but go on.”
“What do you mean by that?” he asked suspiciously.
“Go on,” she demanded; “where does your fondness lead?”
“It leads to your marrying me,” he said; “your uncle does not object
and we will be married as soon as we reach South America.”
“South America!” she stared at him. “So that is our destination, is
it?” she said slowly. “And I am to marry you when we arrive, by
arrangement with my uncle?”
“That’s about the size of it,” replied Gregori.
“And suppose I make other arrangements?”
“There are no other arrangements you can make,” he said with easy
confidence; “the fact is, Kate, that you have to drop these high and
mighty manners of yours. We stood them very well because it paid us to
stand them, I suppose. But we are all in the same boat--and shall be
literally.” He laughed aloud at the sally. “You hold some queer views,
you know, and we can’t afford to let you run loose.”
She jerked up her head and turned abruptly away and would have left
him but he caught her by the arm and pulled her back.
“When I say you must marry me,” he said, “I mean just what I say.”
“Have I a voice in this arrangement?” she asked, slowly disengaging
her arm.
“You have a voice in it if you agree. You have no voice if you cut up
rough.”
“I see,” she said. “I will think about it. This is not a decision
which I can arrive at in a minute.”
She went to her room and locked the door.
At five o’clock that evening her uncle came for her.
“Have you been to sleep?” he asked.
It was curious, she thought, how the manner and even the tone of these
men had changed in the past few hours. She was so used to an attitude
of deference, almost sycophantic, which they ordinarily displayed,