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after that I was terribly afraid. I could feel myself goingâtaking
leave of my sensesâand I knew I must act if we were not to follow that
other⊠God! what a death!â
He paused, shuddered, and drew the back of his hand across his eyes
before continuing: âSo I cut off the ignition and volplaned. Hereâmy
hand. So-o! All right, eh?â
âOh, Iâm all right,â Lanyard insisted confidently.
But his confidence was belied by a look of daze; for the earth was
billowing and reeling round him as though bewitched; and before he knew
what had happened he sat down hard and stared foolishly up at the aviator.
âHere!â said the latter courteously, his wind-mask hiding a smileââmy
hand again, monsieur. Youâve endured more than you know. And now for
mademoiselle.â
But when they approached the girl, she surprised both by shivering,
sitting up, and obviously pulling herself together.
âYou feel better now, mademoiselle?â Vauquelin enquired, hastening to
loosen her fastenings.
âIâm betterâyes, thank you,â she admitted in a small, broken
voiceââbut not yet quite myself.â
She gave a hand to the aviator, the other to Lanyard, and as they
helped her to the ground, Lanyard, warned by his experience, stood by
with a ready arm.
She needed that support, and for a few minutes didnât seem even
conscious of it. Then gently disengaging, she moved a foot or two away.
âWhere are weâdo you know?â
âOn the South Downs, somewhere?â Lanyard suggested, consulting
Vauquelin.
âThat is probable,â this last affirmedââat all events, judging from
the course I steered. Somewhere well in from the coast, at a venture;
I donât hear the sea.â
âNear Lewes, perhaps?â
âI have no reason to doubt that.â
A constrained pause ensued. The girl looked from the aviator to Lanyard,
then turned away from both and, trembling with fatigue and enforcing
self-control by clenching her hands, stared aimlessly off into the mist.
Painfully, Lanyard set himself to consider their position.
The Parrott had come to rest in what seemed to be a wide, shallow,
saucer-like depression, whose irregular bounds were cloaked in fog. In
this space no living thing stirred save themselves; and the waste was
crossed by not so much as a sheep track. In brief, they were lost.
There might be a road running past the saucer ten yards from its brim
in any quarter. There might not. Possibly there was a town or village
immediately adjacent. Quite as possibly the Downs billowed away for
desolate miles on either hand.
âWellâwhat do we do now?â the girl demanded suddenly, in a nervous
voice, sharp and jarring.
âOh, weâll find a way out of this somehow,â Vauquelin asserted
confidently. âEngland isnât big enough for anybody to remain lost in
itânot for long, at all events. Iâm sorry only on Miss Shannonâs
account.â
âWeâll manage, somehow,â Lanyard affirmed stoutly.
The aviator smiled curiously. âTo begin with,â he advanced, âI daresay
we might as well get rid of these awkward costumes. Theyâll hamper
walkingârather.â
In spite of his fatigue Lanyard was so struck by the circumstances that
he couldnât help remarking it as he tore off his wind-veil.
âYour English is remarkably good, Captain Vauquelin,â he observed.
The other laughed shortly.
âWhy not?â said he, removing his mask.
Lanyard looked up into his face, stared, and fell back a pace.
âWertheimer!â he gasped.
XXVII DAYBREAKThe Englishman smiled cheerfully in response to Lanyardâs cry of
astonishment.
âIn effect,â he observed, stripping off his gauntlets, âyouâre right,
Mr. Lanyard. âWertheimerâ isnât my name, but it is so closely
identified with myâahâinsinuative personality as to warrant the
misapprehension. I shanât demand an apology so long as you permit me to
preserve an incognito which may yet prove somewhat useful.â
âIncognito!â Lanyard stammered, utterly discountenanced. âUseful!â
âYou have my meaning exactly; although my work in Paris is now ended,
thereâs no saying when it may not be convenient to be able to go back
without establishing a new identity.â
Before Lanyard replied to this the look of wonder in his eyes had
yielded to one of understanding.
âScotland Yard, eh?â he queried curtly.
Wertheimer bowed. âSpecial agent,â he added.
âI might have guessed, if Iâd had the wit of a goose!â Lanyard affirmed
bitterly. âBut I must admitâŠâ
âYes,â the Englishman assented pleasantly; âI did pull your legâdidnât
I? But not more than our other friends. Of course, itâs taken some
time: I had to establish myself firmly as a shining light of the swell
mob over here before De Morbihan would take me to his hospitable bosom.â
âI presume Iâm to consider myself under arrest?â
With a laugh, the Englishman shook his head vigorously.
âNo, thank you!â he declared. âIâve had too convincing proof of your
distaste for interference in your affairs. You fight too sincerely,
Mr. Lanyardâand Iâm a tired sleuth this very morning as ever was! I
would need a weekâs rest to fit me for the job of taking you into
custodyâa week and some able-bodied assistance!⊠But,â he amended
with graver countenance, âI will say this: if youâre in England a week
hence, Iâll be tempted to undertake the job on general principles. I
donât in the least question the sincerity of your intention to behave
yourself hereafter; but as a servant of the King, itâs my duty to
advise you that England would prefer you to start life anewâas they
sayâin another country. Several steamers sail for the States before
the end of the week: further details I leave entirely to your
discretion. But go you must,â he concluded firmly.
âI understandâŠâ said Lanyard; and would have said more, but couldnât.
There was something suspiciously like a mist before his eyes.
Avoiding the faces of his sweetheart and the Englishman, he turned
aside, put forth a hand blindly to a wing of the biplane to steady
himself, and stood with head bowed and limbs trembling.
Moving quietly to his side, the girl took his other hand and held it
tightâŠ.
Presently Lanyard shook himself impatiently and lifted his head again.
âSorry,â he said, apologeticââbut your generosityâwhen I looked for
nothing better than arrestâwas a bit too much for my nerves!â
âNonsense!â the Englishman commented with brusque good-humour. âWeâre
all upset. A drop of brandy will do us no end of good.â
Unbuttoning his leather surtout, he produced a flask from an inner
pocket, filled its metal cup, and offered it to the girl.
âYou first, if you please, Miss Shannon. NoâI insist. You positively
need it.â
She allowed herself to be persuaded, drank, coughed, gasped, and
returned the cup, which Wertheimer promptly refilled and passed to
Lanyard.
The raw spirits stung like fire, but proved an instant aid to the badly
jangled nerves of the adventurer. In another moment he was much more
himself.
Drinking in turn, Wertheimer put away the flask. âThatâs better!â he
commented. âNow Iâll be able to cut along with this blessed machine
without fretting over the fate of Ekstrom. But till now I havenât been
able to forgetâ-â
He paused and drew a hand across his eyes.
âIt was, then, Ekstromâyou think?â Lanyard demanded.
âUnquestionably! De Morbihan had learnedâI knowâof your bargain with
Ducroy; and I know, too, that he and Ekstrom spent each morning in the
hangars at St. Germain, after your sensational evasion. It never
entered my head, of course, that they had any such insane scheme
brewing as thatâelse I would never have so giddily arranged with
Ducroyâthrough the Sïżœretïżœ, you understandâto take Vauquelinâs
placeâŠ. Besides, who else could it have been? Not De Morbihan, for
heâs crippled for life, thanks to that affair in the Bois; not
Popinot, who was on his way to the Santïżœ, last I saw of him; and never
Bannonâhe was dead before I left Paris for Port Aviation.â
âDead!â
âOh, quite!â the Englishman affirmed nonchalantly, âWhen we arrested
him at three this morningâcharged with complicity in the murder of
Roddyâhe flew into a passion that brought on a fatal haemorrhage. He
died within ten minutes.â
There was a little silenceâŠ.
âI may tell you, Mr. Lanyard,â the Englishman resumed, looking up from
the motor, to which he was paying attentions with monkey-wrench and
oil-can, âthat you were quite off your bat when you ridiculed the idea
of the âInternational Underworld Unlimited.â Of course, if you hadnât
laughed, I shouldnât feel quite as much respect for you as I do; in
fact, the chances are youâd be in handcuffs or in a cell of the Santïżœ,
this very minuteâŠ. But, absurd as it soundedâand wasâthe
âUnderworldâ project was a pet hobby of Bannonâsâwhoâd been the brains
of a gang of criminals in New York for many years. He was a bit touched
on the subject: a monomaniac, if you ask me. And his enthusiasm won De
Morbihan and Popinot over ⊠and me! He took a wonderful fancy to me,
Bannon did; I really was appointed first-lieutenant in Greggsâ
steadâŠ. So you first won my sympathy by laughing at my offer,â said
Wertheimer, restoring the oil-can to its place in the tool-kit;
âwherein you were very wiseâŠ. In fact, my personal feeling for you is
one of growing esteem, if youâll permit me to say so. Youâve most of
the makings of a man. Will you shake handsâwith a copperâs nark?â
He gave Lanyardâs hand a firm and friendly grasp, and turned to the girl.
âGood-bye, Miss Shannon. Iâm truly grateful for the assistance you gave
us. Without you, weâd have been sadly handicapped. I understand you have
sent in your resignation? Itâs too bad: the Service will feel the loss
of you. But I think you were right to leave us, the circumstances
consideredâŠ. And now itâs good-bye and good luck! I hope you may be
happyâŠ. Iâm sure you canât go far without coming across a highroad or
a village; butâfor reasons not unconnected with my professionâI prefer
to remain in ignorance of the way you go.â
Releasing her hand, he stepped back, saluted the lovers with a smile
and gay gesture, and clambered briskly to the pilotâs seat of the
biplane.
When firmly established, he turned the switch of the starting mechanism.
The heavy, distinctive hum of the great motor filled that isolated
hollow in the Downs like the purring of a dynamo.
With a final wave of his hand, Wertheimer grasped the starting-lever.
Its brool deepening, the Parrott stirred, shot forward abruptly. In
two seconds it was fifty yards distant, its silhouette already blurred,
its wheels lifting from the rim of the hollow.
Then lightly it leaped, soared, parted the mists, vanishedâŠ.
For some time Lanyard and Lucy Shannon remained motionless, clinging
together, hand-in-hand, listening to the drone that presently dwindled
to a mere thread of sound and died out altogether in the obscurity
above them.
Then, turning, they faced each other, smiling a trace uncertainly, a
smile that said: âSo all that is finished! ⊠Or, perhaps, we dreamed
it!ââŠ
Suddenly, with a low cry, the girl gave herself to Lanyardâs arms; and
as this happened the mists parted and bright sunlight flooded the
hollow in the Downs.
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