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.
‘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.’
Hugh laughed heartily.
‘Oscar,’ he said, ‘you’ve got to learn a lot about my sister. I can see that she is going to spend the rest of her life twisting you round her little finger.’
‘That’s what her little finger’s for, bless it!’ said the American.
They rose from the table.
‘Very well, Joan,’ said Hugh, ‘you’ve won!’
She danced with delight.
‘You’re a dear!’ she said to her brother, and kissed him. ‘And you’re a darling!’ she added to Miles and repeated the performance.
He took her in his arms and returned the caress with compound interest.
‘And what am I?’ asked the plaintive voice of Cousins.
‘You’re one of the nicest men I have ever met!’ she said with conviction.
‘Thank you!’ he replied, bowing. ‘But – er – don’t I get the doings?’
She looked at him half shyly, half smilingly.
‘Well, perhaps just a teeny one!’ she said, and glancing round to see that no servants were about, she kissed him gently on the forehead and ran from the room.
‘The touch of an angel’s wing,’ he murmured. ‘But you notice,’ he went on, ‘that granddad only gets a kiss on the forehead! Ah! To be young again!’
‘Go and have your dinner, Jerry!’ laughed Hugh. ‘Then as soon as you’re ready we’ll beard the lion in his den.’
‘A bear, not a lion, I reckon,’ said Miles; ‘and by the time we have finished with him, he’ll have the sorest head that any bear ever had!’
Cousins did not take very long to eat his dinner and, when he had finished, the injured men were taken out to the car, and put in the tonneau with him to look after them. Hugh, Joan, and Miles squeezed into the front seat. It was rather a tight fit, but Joan and Miles seemed to like it, and apparently, in their desire to allow Hugh room to drive, they crushed together into a remarkably small space, and he actually found more room than he needed. However, he made no comment, which shows that Hugh was a tactful person.
As they passed the gate post they saw that the knife was still sticking where it had been flung. Shannon pulled up, and Cousins got out of the car, and obtained the dangerous-looking weapon. He threw it on to the seat, and they drove on.
It did not take very long to reach Novar’s bungalow, and they arrived to find a car standing in the porch. Hugh pulled up just behind the other machine.
‘It looks as though he has visitors,’ he said.
‘No,’ said Cousins; ‘that’s his own car. I know the number remarkably well.’
Shannon, Miles, and Cousins got out and lifted the recumbent form of the fellow with the fractured skull on to the ground. He still showed no signs of returning consciousness, but the man with the broken jaw had regained his senses on the way. He was helped out also, while the other man was able to step out without any assistance. The three were taken to the veranda. Then Cousins came back.
‘Sit tight, Miss Shannon!’ he said. ‘And if anyone comes near you, call out!’
‘Very well,’ she promised, and he returned to the others. Hugh knocked loudly on the door, and after a moment’s delay, a servant came.
‘Sahib salaam do!’ said the former.
‘Jih, sahib!’ said the man, and held open the door for them to enter.
Hugh indicated that they would stay where they were, and the bearer went off to inform his master. After some minutes the heavy tread of Novar was heard from the corridor. Shannon turned and smiled at the others. Miles winked.
‘Jerry,’ he said, ‘there’s a switch there! Let us have all the light we can on this historical scene!’
Cousins switched on a powerful light, which illuminated the whole veranda, and at that moment the door opened, and Novar appeared before them.
‘Good evening,’ he said. ‘What can—’
Then he recognised his visitors, and a spasm passed across his face, but he recovered himself instantly.
‘This is a pleasure,’ he said, but the tone of his voice denied the assertion. ‘Come in!’
‘No, we won’t come in, thanks very much!’ said Hugh. ‘We just called to return some belongings of yours.’
‘Some belongings of mine?’ questioned Novar in a surprised tone.
‘Yes; they gave me a little trouble, but they’re nearly intact!’
‘I don’t understand you,’ said the astounded man. ‘When did I leave any possessions of mine with you?’
‘You didn’t leave them,’ replied Hugh. ‘You merely sent them along! I’m afraid they are not in such good condition as they were!’
‘What on earth do you mean?’ Novar’s face expressed a most remarkable mixture of emotions: surprise, doubt, distrust, fear, all were there.
‘You are a forgetful fellow!’ said Hugh chidingly. He was enjoying himself. ‘Perhaps you’ll remember when you see them.’
He stepped aside. Cousins and Miles did the same, and Novar’s horrified eyes beheld three Indians, whom he knew very well indeed. One had his arm in a sling, another had a bandage round his face – these two were sitting miserably on the floor. The other, with his head wrapped in bandages, was lying prone, and appeared to be asleep.
Novar leant, against the door post; his face had gone the colour of chalk and seemed to be more flabby than ever. His teeth clenched together and a hissing sound came from between them. For a moment there was a silence which was so pregnant with feeling that it seemed almost noisy. At last Hugh spoke again:
‘Well, aren’t you grateful?’ he asked.
Novar’s hand stole to his jacket pocket, but Miles made a slight movement, and a revolver gleamed in his hand.
‘Don’t be a fool, Novar!’ he said, and his voice sounded like steel. ‘There are three of us and when it comes to drawing a gun, I guess any one of us could pull three before you got your finger on the trigger of yours. You kinder look foolish sliding your hand about in that baby fashion.’
‘What are you all talking about?’ the other asked, almost pathetically. ‘Is this some elaborate practical joke?’
‘Don’t try to bluff, Novar!’ said Hugh sternly. ‘I told you you ought to learn to play poker, didn’t I? Here are your possessions! They all want medical attention. You had better have them seen to as soon as possible.’
‘But I’ve never seen these men in my life before!’ protested the Russian.
‘Gee! That’s mighty strange!’ said Miles sarcastically. ‘Did you give them their orders with your back turned towards them, or were you blindfolded?’
‘Gentlemen,’ said Novar, spreading his hands out in a gesture of hopelessness. ‘I give you my word that you have made some extraordinary mistake. Come inside, and let us talk this matter over!’
‘No, thanks!’ said Hugh. ‘I prefer to be on the outside of this house. We have done what we came to do – there are your goods; take them! And next time you send your emissaries to commit murder, be more subtle about it. We know you, Novar, and we’re not to be deluded. You had better go and talk this over with your friend Rahtz – that is if he has recovered from cholera yet!’
With that the three turned and walked down the steps and reentered the car. Hugh backed slowly up the drive, Cousins and Miles keeping their hands on their revolvers the while. Novar stood like a statue where they had left him, and gradually there came over his face a look of diabolical fury. With a glance of malignant scorn at the three miserable wretches in front of him, he turned suddenly and entered the bungalow, slamming the door behind him. He went straight to the telephone, and rang up Hudson.
As soon as they were outside the gates of Novar’s grounds, Miles and Joan sat in the tonneau, and Cousins joined Hugh in front: thus they proceeded home. They were well satisfied with their visit to Novar, but resolved to redouble their precautions against attack of any kind for the future. Joan went to bed fairly early, but the three men stayed up talking for a considerable time. Before they retired they made certain that every door in the house was securely locked and bolted, and with a final whisky and soda wandered off to their various rooms.
Hugh found it difficult to sleep that night and when he did eventually fall into a troubled slumber, it seemed to him that it was only a few minutes before he was awake again with a feeling that there was something wrong. He listened intently, but nothing was to be heard save the ticking of his clock on the mantelpiece, the luminous dial of which showed him that it was twenty minutes past two. He smiled to himself, and came to the conclusion that the events of the evening had reacted on his mind. Making himself as comfortable as he could, with his arm under the pillow in a favourite attitude, he tried to get to sleep again. Then suddenly he was sitting up, every nerve on the alert. He had distinctly caught the sound of soft footsteps.
Getting quietly out of bed, he put on his dressing gown and slippers and moved to the door. He had almost reached it, when there was a piercing scream, and the front door slammed. With a horrible dread in his heart he dashed into the corridor, at the same moment as Miles switched on the lights, and Cousins made his appearance.
‘My God! What was that?’ cried the latter.
‘It’s Joan! See to Joan!’ shouted Miles in agony.
Hugh was in his sister’s bedroom, and had switched on the lights in a second. One glance revealed to him an empty bed and the bedclothes thrown back. He called to the others and they entered. The door communicating with the bathroom was locked on the bedroom side, and there was no sign of the poor girl anywhere.
‘They’ve got her!’ groaned Hugh. ‘The fiends! They’ve got her!’
‘After them!’ cried Cousins. ‘Go and get the car out, Hugh! And you, Oscar, put on a dressing gown and shoes – hurry!’
The little man rushed away to garb himself, while Hugh dashed frantically to the garage. Miles hastily put on some shoes, and an overcoat. His face was white, his teeth clenched, and there was a look almost of madness in his eyes.
‘If one little hair of her darling head is hurt,’ he muttered, ‘I’ll tear the devils to pieces with my own hands.’