Doctor Nikola (Windsor Magazine, 1896)/Chapter 8

O say that I was only surprised at Nikola's sudden entry into the Benfleets' drawing-room would be to put too tame a construction upon my feelings altogether. I don't know how it was, but Nikola's appearance at any time always seemed to take one by surprise. And curiously enough I was not alone in this feeling; more than one person of my acquaintance has since owned to having experienced the same sensation. What it was about the man that produced it, it would be difficult to say. It may have been something peculiar in his face. At any rate this much is certain, it would be impossible for Nikola to say or do a commonplace thing. When he addressed you you instinctively felt that you must answer him plainly and straightforwardly or not at all; a monosyllabic reply was not suited to the man. It struck you almost unconsciously that he was entitled to your best service, and whether he was worthy or not he invariably got it. I have seen Nikola take in hand one of the keenest and, at the same time, most obstinate men in China, ask of him a favour which it would have been madness to expect the man to grant, talk to him in his own quiet but commanding fashion, and in less than ten minutes have the matter settled and the favour granted.

One other point struck me as remarkable in this curious individual's character, and that was the fact that he always seemed to know, before you spoke, exactly what sort of answer you were going to return to his question, and as often as not he would anticipate your reply. In my own case I soon began to feel that I might have spared myself the trouble of answering at all.

Having entered the room he crossed to where Gladys sat and, bowing as he took her hand, wished her good-evening. Then turning to me he said, accompanying his remark with one of his indescribable smiles—

“My dear Bruce, I am rejoiced to see you looking so well. I had expected to find a skeleton, and to my delight I am confronted with a man. Do you think you are anything like fit to travel again?”

“I am ready as soon as you are,” I answered, but not without a sinking in my heart as I looked across at Gladys and realised that the moment had indeed come for parting.

“When do you want me?” I asked.

“At once,” he answered. “You must be ready in a few minutes. Can you manage it? You can?—that's right. Now I should like to have a little talk with Mr. Benfleet, if he will permit me, and then we must be off.”

He went out of the room, accompanied by Mrs. Benfleet, and for ten minutes or so Gladys and I were left alone.

I will give you no description of what happened during that last interview. Such a parting is far too sacred to be described. It is enough to say that when it was over I joined Nikola in the veranda and left the house. With the shutting of the front door behind us all the happiness of my life seemed to be put away from me. For nearly five minutes I walked by Nikola's side in silence, wondering whether I should ever again see those to whom I had just said good-bye. Nikola must have had some notion of what was passing in my mind for he turned to me and said confidentially—

“Cheer up, Bruce! we shall be back again before you know where you are, and remember you will then be a comparatively rich man. Miss Medwin is a very nice girl, and if you will allow me to do so I will offer you my congratulations.”

“How do you know anything about it?” I asked in surprise.

“Haven't I just seen Mr. Benfleet?” he answered.

“But surely he didn't tell you?”

“It was exactly what I went in to see him about,” said Nikola. “You are my friend, and I wanted to try and make things as smooth for you as I could. To tell the truth I am glad this has happened; it will make you so much the more careful There's nothing like love—though I am not a believer in it as a general rule—for making a man look twice before he leaps.”

“It is very good of you to take so much trouble about my affairs,” I said warmly.

“Not at all,” he answered. “I am under a great obligation to you, and besides, there can be no question of trouble between two men situated as we are. But now let us hasten along as quickly as we can. I have a lot to talk to you about, and we have many preparations to make before to-morrow morning.”

“But where are we going? This is not the way back to the house in which I was taken ill.”

“Of course not,” said Nikola. “We're going to another place—the property of an Englishman of my acquaintance. There we shall change into our Chinese dresses again, and, having done so, make our way back to the place you speak of.”

“This, then, will probably be our last walk for some considerable time in European costume?”

“For many months at any rate.”

After this we again walked some time without speaking, Nikola revolving in his mind his interminable intrigues, I suppose, I thinking of the girl I had left behind me. At last we reached the house to which we had been directing our steps, and, on knocking upon the door, were at once admitted. It was a tiny place, situated in a side street leading out of a busy thoroughfare. The owner was an Englishman, whose business often necessitated his taking long journeys into the interior; he was a bachelor, and, as I gathered from Nikola, by no means particular as to his associates, nor, I believe, did he bear any too good a reputation in Pekin. Before I had been five minutes in his company I had summed the man up exactly, and could understand why Nikola had chosen him. That he was afraid of Nikola was self-evident, and that Nikola intended he should be was equally certain. To cover his nervousness the man, whose name was Edgehill, affected a jocular familiarity which intensified rather than concealed what he was so anxious to hide.

“You're looking very so-soish, Mr. Bruce,” he said when I was introduced to him; then, with a leer, “The old thing, I suppose?”

“I have been down with fever,” I answered.

“I don't wonder at it,” he replied. “This beastly country would do its best to make an Egyptian mummy turn up his toes. But never fear, you'll pull through yet.”

I thanked him for this assurance, and then turned to Nikola, who had seated himself in a long cane chair, and, with his finger-tips pressed together, was staring hard at the ceiling. Something seemed to have ruffled his feathers. When he spoke it was distinctly and very deliberately, as if he desired that every word he uttered should be accepted by the person to whom it was addressed at its full value.

“And so, Mr. Edgehill, after my repeated warnings you have told your Chinese friends that I was your visitor?”

The man stepped back as if he had received a blow, his face flushed crimson and immediately afterwards became deathly pale. He put out his hand to the wall behind him as if to prevent himself from falling, while I also noticed that he breathed with such a long gasp that the glasses on the sideboard beside him rattled against each other.

“Your two Chinese friends,” said Nikola, slowly and distinctly, “must have placed a great value upon the information with which you were able to furnish them if they were willing to pay so high a price for it.”

The man tried to speak, but without success. All his bounce had departed; now he was only a poor trembling coward who could not withdraw his eyes from that calm but cruel face that seemed to look him through and through.

Then Nikola's manner changed and he sprang to his feet with sudden energy.

“You dog!” he cried, and the intensity of his tone cut like a knife. “You pitiful hound! So you thought you could play Judas with me, did you? How little you know Dr. Nikola after all. Now listen, and remember every word I say to you, for I shall only speak once. To-morrow morning at six o'clock you will saddle your horse and set off for Tientsin. Arriving there you will go to Mr. Williams, whose address you know, and will tell him that I have sent you. You will say that you are to remain in his house, as his prisoner, for one calendar month; and if you dare to communicate with one single person concerning me or my affairs during that or any other time, I'll have your throat cut within half an hour of your doing so. Can it be possible that you think so little of me as to dare to pit your wits against mine? You fool! When you get out of my sight go down on your knees and thank Providence that I haven't killed you at once for your presumption. Do you remember Hanotat? Well take care my friend that you do not come to his end. You have been warned remember. Now go and prepare for your journey. I will communicate with Williams myself. If you are not in his house by breakfast-time on Thursday morning it will save you expense, for you will never eat another.

Not a word did the man utter in reply, but left the room directly-he was ordered to do so.

When he had gone I turned to Nikola, for my astonishment exceeded all bounds, and said—

“How on earth did you know that he had given any information about us?”

In reply Nikola stooped down and picked up from the floor two small stubs. On examination I discovered that they were the remains of two Chinese cigarettes. When I had examined them he went across the room to a small curtained shelf from which projected the neck of a brandy bottle. Three glasses, all of which had been used, stood by the bottle, which was quite empty. Having pointed out these things to me he went back to his chair and sat down.

“Edgehill,” he explained, “doesn't drink brandy, except when he has company; even then he takes very little. When I left the house this evening to fetch you I noticed that that bottle was more than three parts full, and I am quite certain that there were no ends of Chinese cigarettes upon the floor, because I looked about. What is more, two men were watching the house from across the way as I went down the street. The man's manner when he let us in added another link to the chain of evidence, and his face, when I asked him the first question, told me the rest. Of course it was all guess-work; but I have not learned to read faces for nothing. At any rate you saw for yourself how true my accusation turned out to be.”

“But what do you think the man can have told them?” I asked. “And who could the people have been who questioned him?”

“He cant have told them very much,” Nikola replied, “because there wasn't much to tell; but who the men could have been I am quite unable even to conjecture. I distrust them on principle, that's all.”

“But why did you send him to Williams?”

“To keep him out of the way of further mischief until we have had a fair start; also because I wanted to teach him a lesson. I may have occasion to use him at some future date, and a little bit of discipline of this sort will do him no harm. But now let us change the subject. I have something else I want to talk to you about. First see that there is no one at the door, and then bring your chair nearer to mine.”

I tip-toed over to the door, and when I had reached it waited for a moment and then opened it suddenly. There was no one outside, so I came hack again and drew my chair nearer to Nikola's. He had taken a letter from his pocket and was evidently going to read it. Before he did so however he said in a low

“This communication is from Prendergast. It was brought to me by special messenger at midday to-day. If you will give me your attention I will read it to you. It is dated from Tientsin, and runs as follows:—

“'To Dr. Nikola, Pekin.

“'Dear Sir,—I have to inform you that on Thursday week last I received a telegram from Mr. Williams of this place bidding me come to him at once in order to negotiate some important business on your behalf. I had hardly received your wire before Mr. Eastover called upon me to say that he was also in receipt of a telegram to the same effect. Understanding that no time must be lost, within two hours of receiving the messages we were on board the steamer James Monaghan, en route for Tientsin.

“'That place we reached in due course, and immediately reported our arrival to your agent, Mr. Williams, from whom we learned the nature of the work upon which we were to be employed. Its danger was quite apparent to us, and at first, I must own, the difficulties that surrounded it struck me as insurmountable. The Chief Priest of the Hankow Temple is a well-known personage, and very popular. His private life may almost be said to be nil. He never moves out without a troop of people about him, while to attempt to get at him in his own town would only be to bring a mob of howling devils round our ears and ruin the whole enterprise. I immediately placed myself in communication with Chung-Yein, who fortunately was in Hankow at the time. It was through his agency we discovered that the priest—who, as you know, has resigned his office in the temple—was in the act of setting out upon a long journey.

“'As soon as I learned this I instructed Chung-Yein to endeavour to elicit the route. He did so, and informed me that the man proposed travelling by way of Hang-Chu and Fon-Ching to Tsan-Chu, thence up the Grand Canal by way of Tsing-Hai to Tientsin, whence it was said he was going to make his way on to Pekin. I examined a chart of the country very carefully, and also conferred with Mr. Williams and Mr. Eastover, who both agreed with me that any action which might be necessary should be contrived and carried out at Tsan-Chu, which, as you know, is a town a little below where the point of the canal, running to Nans-Shing, joins the Yun-Liang-Ho river.

“'This settled, the next thing to be done was to endeavour to discover how the abduction of the priest could be effected. To suit your purposes we saw that it must be arranged in such a fashion that no scandal could possibly ensue. He would have to be abducted in such a manner that his followers would suppose he had left them of his own accord. But how to do this was a problem very difficult to work out. The man is old and exceedingly suspicious. He has a reputation for trusting nobody, and he invariably acts up to it. Unless therefore we could invent some really plausible excuse he would be almost impossible to catch, and foreseeing this I again called in Chung-Yein to my assistance. At any cost, I told him, he must manage to get into the priest's service, and once there to begin to ingratiate himself with his master to the very best of his ability. The time was so short that we dared not wait to cultivate an opportunity, but had to work in our chances as they rose to suit ourselves.

“'At great risk Chung-Yein managed to get himself appointed a member of the priest's travelling party. Once this was done his peculiar abilities soon brought him under his master's notice, and that end having been achieved the rest was easy.

“'Within three days of his arrival the household was broken up and the priest, with a numerous retinue, commenced his journey. By the time they had travelled a hundred miles Chung-Yein was on very familiar terms with him; he discovered many means of adding to the priest's comfort, and during the march he was so assiduous in his attentions that his master began to place more and more trust in him. When they reached Fon-Ching he was advanced to the post of secretary, and then the plot which I had arranged was ready to be put into execution.

“'Little by little Chung-Yein dropped into his master's willing ears the news of a fortune which he assured him might be obtained with very little risk. The avaricious old man swallowed the bait only too readily, and when he had digested the letters which the astute Chung read him from time to time, and which were supposed to have been written by his cousin Quong-Ta, from Tsan-Chu, he was as good as caught.

“'After eight days of continuous travelling the company arrived at the entrance to the canal. Eastover and I had left Tientsin by this time and had travelled post haste down to meet them. Once they were fairly installed at the principal inn Chung Yein came to see me. He had arranged everything most carefully it appeared, even to the extent of having it circulated among his fellow servants that after leaving Tsan-Chu the high priest intended dispensing with their services and going on alone. It now only remained for us to arrange a meeting with him and to have some means prepared whereby we might convey him across country over the forty odd miles that separated Tsan-Chu from Chi-Kau-Ho, where a junk was already waiting to receive him. While Eastover undertook the arrangement of this part of the business I drew up the plan which was to give us possession of the priest's person.

“'Chung Yein was to represent to him that he was the unhappy possessor of a cousin who was a noted freebooter. By virtue of his evil habits he had accumulated great riches, but finding himself now only just beyond the finger-tips of the law he was most anxious to purchase a friend who would stand by him in case of evil happening.

“'The greedy old priest, intending to ask a large share of the plunder for the favour accorded, consented to bestow his patronage upon the youth, and when he was brought to understand that his share of the transaction would amount to something like six thousand taels, his anxiety to obtain possession of the coin became more and more intense. He discussed the matter with Chung Yein over and over again, and finally it was decided that that night they should proceed together to a certain house in the village, where he should interview the culprit and also receive his share of the gains.

“'As soon as I was made conversant with what had been arranged I pushed forward my plans, engaged a man to impersonate the cousin, and by the time dusk had fallen had everything in readiness. Relays of ponies were stationed at intervals along the road to the coast, and the skipper of the junk only waited to have his passenger aboard to weigh anchor and be off.

“'At eight o'clock, almost to the minute, the priest, disguised, and accompanied by Chung Yein, appeared at the door.

“'They were admitted by the counterfeit cousin, who conducted them forthwith to the back of the house. Once in the room, negotiations were commenced, and the priest lost no time in severely reprimanding the young man for the evil life he had hitherto been leading. Then, that he might the better be able to understand what a nefarious career it had been, he demanded a glimpse of the profits that had accrued from it. They included a bag of dollars, a good selection of gold leaf, a quantity of English money and a small bag of precious stones. All of these things had been prepared at considerable cost for his inspection.

“'His old eyes twinkled greedily as they fell upon this goodly store, and his enthusiasm rose as each successive bag was opened. When at last the contents of the bag of stones were spread out before him he forgot his priestly sanctity altogether in his delight and stooped to examine them. As he did so Chung Yein sprang forward, clapped a chloroformed sponge against his nose, while the spurious cousin pulled his heels from under him and threw him on his back upon the floor in the twinkling of an eye.

“'The anæsthetic did its work well, and in less time than it takes to tell the old gentleman was in our power. Ten minutes later he. was safely tied up in a chair and was being deported as fast as his bearers could conduct him to Chi-Kau-Ho.

“In the meantime Chung Yein had returned to the inn, where he paid off the retinue and informed them that their master had received a sudden summons and had started up the canal for Tientsin alone. Then Eastover and myself mounted our ponies and followed the worthy priest to the sea.

“'Chi-Kau-Ho, which, as you know, is a place of abject poverty, and is only visited by junks bringing millet from Tientsin in exchange for fish, was the very place for our purpose. Fortunately it was high tide, and for that reason we were able to get our burden on board the junk without very much difficulty. At other times it is impossible for a boat drawing any depth of water at all to come within seven miles of the village. The bar, as doubtless you are aware, is exceedingly difficult to negotiate.

“'As soon as we had handed over the man to the skipper of the boat we returned to the shore. An hour later the junk set sail, and by the time you receive this letter the high priest of Hankow will in all probability be somewhere among the pirates of Along Bay. As his captors on board the junk have no respect for his creed, and he has no money upon his person to bribe them to set him ashore again, I think he will find it difficult to get back to the mainland. But to prevent anything of the sort occurring I have told the owner of the junk that if, on the 21st day of August, six months ahead, he conveys him to Michel Dugenne, who by that time will be in Formosa, he will receive £100 English in exchange for his person. I think this will suit your purpose.

“'As to our own movements, they were as follows:—

“'Leaving Chi-Kau-Ho we chartered a junk for ourselves and proceeded up the coast to Pea-Tang-Ho, thence on pony back to Tientsin, at which place we arrived two days since. Chung Yein I have rewarded with 2000 dollars, and he is now on his way, as fast as he can travel, to Hong-Kong. He intends, I believe, to make for Singapore, where he will reside till all chance of trouble has blown over. I have taken the precaution to register his address in case we should require his services again. Should you desire to see either Mr. Eastover or myself, we will remain in Tientsin for a fortnight longer. After that Eastover purposes crossing to Japan, while I return to Hong-Kong.

“'Trusting that the manner in which we have conducted this dangerous affair will be to your satisfaction.—I have the honour to subscribe myself, your obedient servant, .'

“Now,” said Nikola as he folded up this precious document, “the coast is clear, and for the future I intend to be the High Priest of Hankow. During the time you have been ill I have been making a number of important inquiries, and I think I know pretty well the kind of course I shall have to steer. To-morrow morning I intend that we shall enter the Llamaserai, where it will be imperative that we have all our wits about us. A change in our dress will also be necessary, particularly in mine. The priest is a comparatively old man, and I must resemble him as nearly as possible.”

“It will be a difficult character to support for so long. Do you think you are capable of it?”

He looked at me with one of his peculiar smiles.

“There was a time in my life,” he said, “when I used to be a little uncertain as to my powers; since then I have taught myself to believe that if a man makes up his mind there is nothing in this world he cannot do. Yes, I shall manage it. You need have no fear on that score.”

“I have no fear,” I answered truthfully. “I have the most implicit confidence in you.”

“I am glad to hear it,” said Nikola, “for you will want it all. Now let us rest for a while. At five o'clock we must begin to dress; at six I have to see that Edgehill starts off for Tientsin.”

Without more ado therefore we procured blankets and stretched ourselves out upon the floor. In less than five minutes I was asleep, dreaming that I was helping the priest of Hankow to abduct Nikola from the Llamaserai, where he had gone to deposit the stick that Wetherell had given him.

When I woke it was to hear horse-hoofs clattering out of the yard. It was broad daylight, and on looking about me I discovered that Nikola was not in the room. Presently he entered.

“Edgehill has departed,” he said with a queer expression upon his face. “I have just seen him off. Somehow I think it will be a long day before he will attempt to play tricks with Dr. Nikola again.”