The Devil's Cocktail (23 page)

‘I'm telling you the absolute truth now,' groaned Hudson, and
the wretchedness depicted on his face carried conviction.

‘Do you mean to say that you are being blackmailed by somebody?'

‘In a sense; yes!'

‘Well, be a man and report it to the police!'

‘I can't – I only wish I could. If the police knew they would—' He stopped suddenly and bit his lip as though realising that he had said too much.

‘I see,' said Hugh quietly. ‘Sometime in your past life you did something, shall we say, illegal? These people, whoever they are, found out all about it, and thus got you into their power. Now they compel you to do all they decree with the threat of exposure hanging over your head. Is that it?'

‘Yes!'

‘And you won't tell me who these people are?'

‘No; I can't – I can't!'

‘Very well! I won't press you! And they persuaded you to get Miss Gregson to come to Lahore to slander me?'

‘Yes!'

‘Think again, Hudson!' said Hugh sternly. ‘How did they know of the existence of Miss Gregson?'

Hudson's wretched-looking eyes gazed at him in quick alarm.

‘I told them about her – and you,' he said slowly.

‘Quite so! And suggested the plot?'

Hudson nodded.

‘You – you made me hate you!' he said, almost in a whisper.

‘Because I protected my sister from a skunk,' remarked Hugh bitterly.

He rose from his seat once more.

‘Well, I've made a certain promise, Hudson,' he said, ‘and I'll keep it. But, if a word of warning from me is any good, I advise
you to get away from your fellow conspirators as soon as you possibly can, or you'll find yourself in the queerest street you've ever imagined.'

He strode to the door, and turned. Hudson's eyes followed him.

‘I've spared you today,' went on Hugh, ‘but, if you cross my path again, God help you!'

He went out, and stopped dead. A car had just drawn up, and Novar was getting out. As the latter saw Hugh, his face blanched, and he looked at him like a man who had received a shock.

‘Hullo, Shannon!' he said, with an attempt at unconcern. ‘Have you been in to see Mr Hudson?'

‘Yes,' said Hugh. ‘And I presume you are here for the same object?'

‘Well, yes I am!' said Novar looking at him searchingly.

‘I'm afraid you'll find him a bit limp,' said Shannon. ‘He doesn't seem to be very well today!'

Novar frowned.

‘What is the matter with him?' he inquired.

‘I really couldn't say! By the way, that reminds me, how is your friend Rahtz?'

For a moment the two men looked straight into each other's eyes.

‘He is improving, I am delighted to say,' said Novar at last.

‘I'm glad to hear that. I must call and see him, as soon as he is able to receive visitors.'

‘I daresay that will be in a day or two,' replied Novar.

‘Of course, you've been already,' said Hugh; ‘but you and Mr Rahtz are such old friends, are you not?'

Again the Russian looked at him, as though striving to penetrate right into the inner recesses of his mind.

‘We are rather – er – friendly,' he admitted.

Hugh smiled.

‘Have you ever played poker, Mr Novar?' he asked,
à propos
of nothing.

‘Poker! Good gracious, no! Why do you ask?' inquired the other in surprise.

‘I thought not,' said Hugh calmly. ‘People who play it, and play it well, get what is known as the poker face. Cheerio!'

And with this remarkable observation, Hugh climbed into his car and drove away.

Novar watched him until he was out of sight, a worried frown upon his brow. Then he knocked hastily upon the door of Hudson's office. There was no reply, so without further ado he entered.

A quarter of an hour later, he emerged, and entering his car was driven rapidly to Rahtz's bungalow. In spite of the serious condition of the latter, Novar remained with him for some time, and when he eventually came forth, there was a look on his face that promised ill for some one. He drove away as though in a great hurry. As he disappeared, a small man emerged from among some bushes, and cautiously made his way into the road where a bicycle was leaning against a tree.

‘Well, the afternoon has not been wasted altogether,' said Cousins to himself. ‘First Kamper and then Novar, and from the look of the latter I should think that war has been declared!
Bella
!
Horrida bella
!'

Hugh and Miles made two attempts on successive days to see Rahtz, only to be told on both occasions that he was too ill to receive visitors. They had a long chat with Mrs Rahtz on the second day, and came away wondering what she knew. She had been very nice to them, and spoke as though she was quite convinced that her husband had had a sharp attack of enteric, and they were both persuaded that she had little, if any, idea of his antagonism to Shannon and the cause of it.

They were soon aware that war had been declared in very earnest against them. On the day after Hugh's visit to Hudson he had a narrow escape from colliding with a brick wall, owing to the steering-gear of his car becoming loose. On examination he found that it had been tampered with, and resolved to lock the garage up at night. The next evening he was out with Joan and Miles when a large touring car swung round a corner in front of them, and missed them by inches, chiefly owing to Hugh's presence of mind and his skilful manipulation of the wheel. Miles, too, had conclusive proof
that he was also a marked man, for he was attacked by three men with lathis when walking home from the Club after a bridge party one night, and it was only the unexpected approach of a car with powerful headlights that saved him. Things were becoming exciting indeed, and when Cousins was also attacked, but got away through deeming discretion the better part of valour, as he put it, Hugh and Miles tried to persuade Joan to leave Lahore and visit some friends in Delhi until all danger was passed. She, however, refused to go, and no amount of persuasion could influence her.

Every precaution the three men could think of was taken; none of them ever went unarmed, and Cousins added to his domestic duties by hovering round the kitchen while meals were being served, in order to guard against any attempts from outside to poison the food. They considered Joan to be in almost as much danger as themselves and she was never permitted to go anywhere without one or the other of them being with her. Naturally this duty almost entirely devolved upon Miles, to the satisfaction of the two of them.

At last things came to a head. A few evenings before the meeting Hugh walked to the gate of the bungalow just before dinner to watch for the American and Joan, who had gone out in the car and were rather late. He was standing leaning against the gate post, when something whizzed by him, and stuck quivering in the woodwork. It was a long, ugly knife! He swung round, drew his revolver, and tried to pierce the darkness with his eyes. But there was not a sound for some minutes. To his hypersensitive mind every second seemed to be laden with peril, even the woodland creatures appeared to have become silent in expectation of tragedy. All his world was in fact at a standstill as though watching with bated breath for the attack which it knew was imminent. Hugh Shannon was a brave man, but there is something fantastic and unnerving in waiting in the dark,
knowing one is surrounded by enemies, being unable to see them, and yet every moment expecting a knife to fly through the gloom and pierce one. As he stood there, every nerve, every faculty strained to its utmost, he felt a creepy sensation in his spine.

Presently he moved gently towards the place from which the knife must have been thrown, then, suddenly, there came a rush of feet. A shadow loomed in front of him, and without hesitation, he fired, but at the same moment his arm was struck up, and he was grappled, apparently by two men from behind, presently aided by two others who attacked him in front. The revolver was wrested from his grasp and flung away, but Hugh, exerting all his magnificent strength, fought like a veritable Titan. Back and forth the combatants swayed and not a word was uttered by any of them, the only sounds that disturbed the stillness being the crunch of feet and the laboured breathing of the five men. Hugh twisted and tore, doubled up and butted at his opponents, but they clung like leeches, and do what he would he could not shake them off, until at last, with a superhuman effort he freed his right arm, and laid about him with a will. Two men went down and were immediately up again, but he had been given the opportunity of freeing himself from the other two, and with a mighty heave he threw one right over his shoulders, and shook the other off.

They were in front of him now and he retreated until he was standing with his back to the gate post. Then again two flew at him with knives raised to strike; the first he hit with all his force on the point of the jaw, and with a queer groan the fellow dropped and lay motionless; the other Hugh caught by the wrist, which he bent until there was a snap and a howl of agony. In a flash the remaining two were upon him again.

‘Cousins!' he shouted.

‘I'm here!' replied a voice close by. And the ideal valet, who had heard the sound of a scuffle while standing by the kitchen, and had
come to investigate, joined in the fray with a vigour that showed the state of his feelings.

Hugh's assailants were thrown into confusion by this unexpected attack, and drew back for a fraction of a second, and in that infinitesimal space of time Hugh collected all his strength into one huge blow, which landed between the eyes of the man nearest him, and the latter crumpled up and fell without a groan. The other fellow, whom Cousins was pummelling with a will, then tore himself away and fled. And at that moment the whole place was lit up with a brilliant radiance, the car turned into the drive and, with a jarring of brakes, came to a standstill.

‘Holy Mike!' exclaimed the voice of Miles. ‘Have you fellows been practising for the world's heavyweight championship?'

And indeed, the headlights of the car revealed a strange sight. The two men whom Hugh had hit lay on the ground, one completely unconscious with a lump the size of a duck's egg between his eyes; the other groaning in a state of semi-sensibility with a fractured jaw. Another man was sitting at the side of the road nursing a broken right arm, and intermingling his groans with curses. Hugh's clothes were torn, his hair tousled, and an ugly bruise disfigured his left cheek, while he stood looking down at his victims, with his fists clenched and breathing deeply. Cousins completed the picture. He was standing with his hands in his pockets and not a hair out of place, surveying the stricken field with an air of curiosity tinged with disappointment.

Joan jumped from the car and ran to her brother's side.

‘Are you hurt, dear?' she asked anxiously.

‘No; a bit blown that's all,' he smiled, and stooped to pick up his revolver which he saw lying by the side of the road.

‘Gee!' exclaimed Miles, joining them. ‘You and Jerry seem to have had quite a pleasant evening.'

Cousins uttered a sound expressive of disgust.

‘I only arrived on the scene when he was polishing them off,' he said. ‘There were four; the other fellow got away!'

The American looked at Shannon, and his eyes expressed his admiration.

‘Great snakes!' he ejaculated. ‘I'd have given a whole lot to see you in action, Hugh.'

‘Better get inside,' said the latter curtly. ‘Obviously the enemy are desperate. Cousins, go and get the servants and tell them to carry these two into the house! The other fellow can walk!'

Miles looked at the figure of woe sitting by the roadside.

‘What's getting him?' he asked.

‘I'm afraid he has a broken arm,' said Hugh. ‘Come along!' he added to the man in his own language.

The fellow got up without a word, and followed his captor to the bungalow, all his spirit gone. Joan watched them go with glowing eyes.

‘Your brother's a real he-man, Joan,' said Miles quietly, with a note of intense respect in his voice.

‘Hugh always was like that,' she said. ‘But, Oscar, how long is this terrible business going on? I am so frightened for you all, dear. It would kill me if – if I lost Hugh, or you!'

He took her hand and patted it gently.

‘Don't you worry any, little girl!' he said. ‘You're not going to lose Hugh, or me either!'

Presently Cousins returned with the two bearers, and the cook. Loud were the exclamations of the three servants as they saw the prone men, but Cousins gave them no time for wonder. He made the two bearers take one fellow, while he and the cook lifted the other between them and carried him to the bungalow, followed by Miles and Joan in the car.

While Hugh was changing his clothes and having a
much-needed
and refreshing wash, Cousins got some lint and bandages and proceeded to do all he could for the injured prisoners, assisted by Joan and the American. He made a rough splint and, starting on the man with the broken arm, set the injured bone and bound it up, then tied up the fractured jaw of the second, and bathed and bandaged the head of the third.

‘This fellow will be a good many hours, perhaps days, before he resumes acquaintance with the world,' he said. ‘Shannon has a punch like the kick of a mule, and I believe he has fractured this sinner's skull. My word! 'Twas a goodly blow!' he added with satisfaction.

Joan shuddered. Presently Hugh reappeared looking practically himself again except for the red weal on his cheek. The injured captives were put into Miles' dressing room, and locked up for the time being. Cousins remained in the dining room, while dinner was being served, in order to take part in the discussion about the disposal of the three.

‘Of course, the ordinary thing to do is to hand them over to the police,' said Hugh, ‘but that would mean having to answer an uncomfortable lot of questions, and I don't want to have to do that yet. Besides, they are only instruments. We can't keep them here though; that is out of the question, especially as they may need a doctor.'

‘May!' exclaimed Cousins. ‘Why, my dear chap, they'll keep a doctor busy for many weeks!'

‘I'm sorry I had to be so drastic,' said Hugh regretfully, ‘but it couldn't be helped, and if I hadn't disabled them, they would have got me.'

‘Why the dickens didn't you shout for me sooner?' asked the little man in tones of reproach.

Shannon smiled.

‘It didn't occur to me at first,' he said. ‘By the way, did any of you pull that knife out of the gate post?'

‘What knife?' asked Miles.

‘I was waiting for you and Joan there, when they opened the proceedings by throwing a knife at me; it stuck in the post!'

‘Oh, Hugh,' said Joan tearfully, ‘do be careful! Why did you go out when you knew it was so dangerous?'

‘I didn't expect them to attack so close to the bungalow,' said Hugh. ‘I'll be more careful in future.'

‘They attacked Mr Cousins!'

‘Yes but I am convinced that they were acting contrary to orders then.'

‘Well I guess they weren't tonight,' said Miles. ‘I bet they were waiting on the off-chance of getting you, or one of us, and you obliged them by walking right along. But, golly,' he added with a chuckle, ‘they got an honest to goodness surprise.'

‘I can't understand how I avoided their knives when they were all on top of me,' said Hugh. ‘I was jolly lucky!'

‘Don't let us talk about it any more,' said Joan with a shudder.

Hugh smiled at her and tackled a cutlet.

‘We haven't decided yet what to do with the prisoners,' he said between mouthfuls.

‘Look here!' said Miles, waving his glasses to emphasise his point – he never wore them in the house now. ‘This is obviously the work of Novar; Rahtz is too sick, and Hudson, from what you told us, Hugh, is merely a tool. I suppose Novar still thinks he is unsuspected. I guess it's high time we gave him a hint that he's not so darn secure as he thinks he is!'

‘I'm beginning to feel the same,' said Cousins. ‘It certainly can't put us in any more danger anyhow.'

‘That's true enough,' remarked Hugh; ‘but how does it dispose of our present problem?'

‘I suggest that we take his men right along, and give them back to him with our compliments! That'll give him the necessary hint, and relieve our minds of injured prisoners, doctors and all the worry!'

Hugh and Cousins laughed outright. The suggestion appealed to them immensely. But Joan did not see it from their point of view.

‘You will be running into danger again,' she said.

‘Not on your life, dear,' replied Miles earnestly. ‘We'll all three go, and I guess Novar doesn't keep an armed guard at his house. Even if he does he's not such a fool as to declare himself so openly.'

‘Why not, when he finds out that you know what he is? And he will have you all together – just what he wants!'

‘My dear girl,' said Hugh reprovingly, ‘we are out here to do a certain job, you know, and we've got to do it. It's not like you to raise objections.'

‘I know you've got your duty to do, but this is not duty. It seems to me that it is running an unnecessary risk.'

‘Joan, darling,' said Miles soothingly, ‘there is no risk at all. You see, we have the advantage of giving him a surprise. If he were expecting us, I guess it would be a different matter. Besides,' he added, ‘you know that I'm the last man in this world to take risks.'

She laughed at that.

‘Oscar,' she said, ‘you're a humbug! Very well, if you must, you must, I suppose, and I've no right to interfere. But I make one stipulation!'

‘What is that?' asked Hugh.

‘That you take me with you!'

The three men looked inquiringly at each other, then Hugh shook his head.

‘I don't think that would be wise,' he said.

‘Ah! Then there is danger?'

‘Not at all, but I don't want you to be mixed up in an unsavoury business like this.'

‘And you'd all go out and leave me in the house alone? I should hate to be left all by myself now that these things are happening.'

‘There's a whole lot in that, Hugh,' said Miles seriously. ‘And Joan can keep well in the background.'