Raffles: Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman by E. W. Hornung (love books to read .txt) đ
- Author: E. W. Hornung
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âExcellent fillet!â said I, grossly. âSo you think this chap is as much in society as we were, do you?â
I preferred not to think so myself. We had cause enough for jealousy without that. But Raffles raised his eyebrows an eloquent half-inch.
âAs much, my dear Bunny? He is not only in it, but of it; thereâs no comparison between us there. Society is in rings like a target, and we never were in the bullâs-eye, however thick you may lay on the ink! I was asked for my cricket. I havenât forgotten it yet. But this fellowâs one of themselves, with the right of entrĂ©e into the houses which we could only âenterâ in a professional sense. Thatâs obvious unless all these little exploits are the work of different hands, which they as obviously are not. And itâs why Iâd give five hundred pounds to put salt on him to-night!â
âNot you,â said I, as I drained my glass in festive incredulity.
âBut I would, my dear Bunny. Waiter! another half-bottle of this,â and Raffles leant across the table as the empty one was taken away. âI never was more serious in my life,â he continued below his breath. âWhatever else our successor may be, heâs not a dead man like me, or a marked man like you. If thereâs any truth in my theory heâs one of the last people upon whom suspicion is ever likely to rest; and oh, Bunny, what a partner he would make for you and me!â
Under less genial influences the very idea of a third partner would have filled my soul with offence; but Raffles had chosen his moment unerringly, and his arguments lost nothing by the flowing accompaniment of the extra pint. They were, however, quite strong in themselves. The gist of them was that thus far we had remarkably little to show for what Raffles would call âour second innings.â This even I could not deny. We had scored a few âlong singles,â but our âbest shotsâ had gone âstraight to hand,â and we were âplaying a deuced slow game.â Therefore we needed a new partnerâand the metaphor failed Raffles. It had served its turn. I already agreed with him. In truth I was tired of my false position as hireling attendant, and had long fancied myself an object of suspicion to that other impostor the doctor. A fresh, untrammelled start was a fascinating idea to me, though two was company, and three in our case might be worse than none. But I did not see how we could hope, with our respective handicaps, to solve a problem which was already the despair of Scotland Yard.
âSuppose I have solved it,â observed Raffles, cracking a walnut in his palm.
âHow could you?â I asked, without believing for an instant that he had.
âI have been taking the Morning Post for some time now.â
âWell?â
âYou have got me a good many odd numbers of the less base society papers.â
âI canât for the life of me see what youâre driving at.â
Raffles smiled indulgently as he cracked another nut.
âThatâs because youâve neither observation nor imagination, Bunnyâand yet you try to write! Well, you wouldnât think it, but I have a fairly complete list of the people who were at the various functions under cover of which these different little coups were brought off.â
I said very stolidly that I did not see how that could help him. It was the only answer to his good-humored but self-satisfied contempt; it happened also to be true.
âThink,â said Raffles, in a patient voice.
âWhen thieves break in and steal,â said I, âupstairs, I donât see much point in discovering who was downstairs at the time.â
âQuite,â said Rafflesââwhen they do break in.â
âBut thatâs what they have done in all these cases. An upstairs door found screwed up, when things were at their height below; thief gone and jewels with him before alarm could be raised. Why, the trickâs so old that I never knew you condescend to play it.â
âNot so old as it looks,â said Raffles, choosing the cigars and handing me mine. âCognac or Benedictine, Bunny?â
âBrandy,â I said, coarsely.
âBesides,â he went on, âthe rooms were not screwed up; at Dorchester House, at any rate, the door was only locked, and the key missing, so that it might have been done on either side.â
âBut that was where he left his rope-ladder behind him!â I exclaimed in triumph; but Raffles only shook his head.
âI donât believe in that rope-ladder, Bunny, except as a blind.â
âThen what on earth do you believe?â
âThat every one of these so-called burglaries has been done from the inside, by one of the guests; and whatâs more Iâm very much mistaken if I havenât spotted the right sportsman.â
I began to believe that he really had, there was such a wicked gravity in the eyes that twinkled faintly into mine. I raised my glass in convivial congratulation, and still remember the somewhat anxious eye with which Raffles saw it emptied.
âI can only find one likely name,â he continued, âthat figures in all these lists, and it is anything but a likely one at first sight. Lord Ernest Belville was at all those functions. Know anything about him, Bunny?â
âNot the Rational Drink fanatic?â
âYes.â
âThatâs all I want to know.â
âQuite,â said Raffles; âand yet what could be more promising? A man whose views are so broad and moderate, and so widely held already (saving your presence, Bunny), does not bore the world with them without ulterior motives. So far so good. What are this chapâs motives? Does he want to advertise himself? No, heâs somebody already. But is he rich? On the contrary, heâs as poor as a rat for his position, and apparently without the least ambition to be anything else; certainly he wonât enrich himself by making a public fad of what all sensible people are agreed upon as it is. Then suddenly one gets oneâs own old ideaâthe alternative profession! My cricketâhis Rational Drink! But it is no use jumping to conclusions. I must know more than the newspapers can tell me. Our aristocratic friend is forty, and unmarried. What has he been doing all these years? How the devil was I to find out?â
âHow did you?â I asked, declining to spoil my digestion with a conundrum, as it was his evident intention that I should.
âInterviewed him!â said Raffles, smiling slowly on my amazement.
âYouâinterviewed him?â I echoed. âWhenâand where?â
âLast Thursday night, when, if you remember, we kept early hours, because I felt done. What was the use of telling you what I had up my sleeve, Bunny? It might have ended in fizzle, as it still may. But Lord Ernest Belville was addressing the meeting at Exeter Hall; I waited for him when the show was over, dogged him home to King Johnâs Mansions, and interviewed him in his own rooms there before he turned in.â
My journalistic jealousy was piqued to the quick. Affecting a scepticism I did not feel (for no outrage was beyond the pale of his impudence), I inquired dryly which journal Raffles had pretended to represent. It is unnecessary to report his answer. I could not believe him without further explanation.
âI should have thought,â he said, âthat even you would have spotted a practice I never omit upon certain occasions. I always pay a visit to the drawing-room, and fill my waistcoat pocket from the card-tray. It is an immense help in any little temporary impersonation. On Thursday night I sent up the card of a powerful writer connected with a powerful paper; if Lord Ernest had known him in the flesh I should have been obliged to confess to a journalistic ruse; luckily he didnâtâand I had been sent by my editor to get the interview for next morning. What could be betterâfor the alternative profession?â
I inquired what the interview had brought forth.
âEverything,â said Raffles. âLord Ernest has been a wanderer these twenty years. Texas, Fiji, Australia. I suspect him of wives and families in all three. But his manners are a liberal education. He gave me some beautiful whiskey, and forgot all about his fad. He is strong and subtle, but I talked him off his guard. He is going to the Kirkleathamsâ to-nightâI saw the card stuck up. I stuck some wax into his keyhole as he was switching off the lights.â
And, with an eye upon the waiters, Raffles showed me a skeleton key, newly twisted and filed; but my share of the extra pint (I am afraid no fair share) had made me dense. I looked from the key to Raffles with puckered foreheadâfor I happened to catch sight of it in the mirror behind him.
âThe Dowager Lady Kirkleatham,â he whispered, âhas diamonds as big as beans, and likes to have âem all onâand goes to bed earlyâand happens to be in town!â
And now I saw.
âThe villain means to get them from her!â
âAnd I mean to get them from the villain,â said Raffles; âor, rather, your share and mine.â
âWill he consent to a partnership?â
âWe shall have him at our mercy. He darenât refuse.â
Rafflesâs plan was to gain access to Lord Ernestâs rooms before midnight; there we were to lie in wait for the aristocratic rascal, and if I left all details to Raffles, and simply stood by in case of a rumpus, I should be playing my part and earning my share. It was a part that I had played before, not always with a good grace, though there had never been any question about the share. But to-night I was nothing loath. I had had just champagne enoughâhow Raffles knew my measure!âand I was ready and eager for anything. Indeed, I did not wish to wait for the coffee, which was to be especially strong by order of Raffles. But on that he insisted, and it was between ten and eleven when at last we were in our cab.
âIt would be fatal to be too early,â he said as we drove; âon the other hand, it would be dangerous to leave it too late. One must risk something. How I should love to drive down Piccadilly and see the lights! But unnecessary risks are another story.â
IIKing Johnâs Mansions, as everybody knows, are the oldest, the ugliest, and the tallest block of flats in all London. But they are built upon a more generous scale than has since become the rule, and with a less studious regard for the economy of space. We were about to drive into the spacious courtyard when the gate-keeper checked us in order to let another hansom drive out.
It contained a middle-aged man of the military type, like ourselves in evening dress. That much I saw as his hansom crossed our bows, because I could not help seeing it, but I should not have given the incident a second thought if it had not been for his extraordinary effect upon Raffles. In an instant he was out upon the curb, paying the cabby, and in another he was leading me across the street, away from the mansions.
âWhere on earth are you going?â I naturally exclaimed.
âInto the park,â said he. âWe are too early.â
His voice told me more than his words. It was strangely stern.
âWas that himâin the hansom?â
âIt was.â
âWell, then, the coastâs clear,â said I, comfortably. I was for turning back then and there, but Raffles forced me on with a hand that hardened on my arm.
âIt was a nearer thing than I care about,â said he. âThis seat will do; no, the next oneâs further from a lamp-post. We will give him a good half-hour, and I donât want to talk.â
We had been seated some minutes when Big Ben sent a languid chime over our heads to the stars. It was half-past ten, and a sultry night. Eleven had struck before Raffles awoke from his sullen reverie, and recalled me from mine with a slap on the back. In a couple of minutes we were in the lighted vestibule at the inner end of the courtyard of King Johnâs Mansions.
âJust left Lord Ernest at Lady Kirkleathamâs,â said Raffles. âGave me his key and asked us to wait for him in his rooms. Will you send us up in the lift?â
In a small way, I never knew old Raffles do anything better. There was not an instantâs demur. Lord Ernest Belvilleâs rooms were at the top of the building, but we were in them as quickly as lift could carry and page-boy conduct us. And there was no need for the skeleton key after all; the boy opened the outer door with
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