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Page 59
"There are the keys, quite safe!--and by the way, this is my second
visit here this morning, Mr. Cavanagh," said the manager, with whom
I was upon rather intimate terms. "A foreign lady who has recently
become a customer of the bank deposited some valuable jewels here
this morning--less than an hour ago, in fact."
"Indeed," I said, and my mind was working rapidly. "The lady who
came in the large blue car, a gray-haired lady?"
"Yes," was the reply, "did you notice her, then?"
I nodded and said no more, for in truth I had no more to say. I
had good reason to respect the uncanny powers of Hassan of Aleppo,
but I doubted if even his omniscience could tell him (since I had
actually gone down into the strong-room) whether when I emerged I
had the keys, or whether my visit and seeming acceptance of his
orders had been no more than a subterfuge!
That the Hashishin had some means of communicating with me at the
Astoria was evident from the contents of the note which I had
received, and as I walked in the direction of the hotel my mind
was filled with all sorts of misgivings. I was playing with fire!
Had I done rightly or should I have acted otherwise? I sighed
wearily. The dark future would resolve all my doubts.
When I reached the Astoria, Bristol had not arrived. I lighted a
cigarette and sat down in the lounge to await his coming. Presently
a boy approached, handing me a message which had been taken down
from the telephone by the clerk. It was as follows--
Tell Mr. Cavanagh, who is waiting in the hotel, to take what I am
expecting to his chambers, and say that I will join him there in
twenty minutes.
INSPECTOR BRISTOL.
Again I doubted the wisdom of Bristol's plan. Had I not fled to
the Astoria to escape from the dangerous solitude of my rooms? That
he was laying some trap for the Hashishin was sufficiently evident,
and whilst I could not justly suspect him of making a pawn of me
I was quite unable to find any other explanation of this latest move.
I was torn between conflicting doubts. I glanced at my watch. Yes!
There was just time for me to revisit the bank ere joining Bristol
at my chambers! I hesitated. After all, in what possible way could
it jeopardize his plans for me merely to pretend to bring the keys?
"Hang it all!" I said, and jumped to my feet. "These maddening
conjectures will turn my brain! I'll let matters stand as they
are, and risk the consequences!"
I hesitated no longer, but passed out from the hotel and once more
directed my steps in the direction of Fleet Street.
As I passed in under the arch through which streamed many busy
workers, I told myself that to dread entering my own chambers at
high noon was utterly childish. Yet I did dread doing so! And as
I mounted the stair and came to the landing, which was always more
or less dark, I paused for quite a long time before putting the
key in the lock.
The affair of the accursed slipper was playing havoc with my nerves,
and I laughed dryly to note that my hand was not quite steady as I
turned the key, opened my door, and slipped into the dim hallway.
As I closed it behind me, something, probably a slight noise, but
possibly something more subtle--an instinct--made me turn rapidly.
There facing me stood Hassan of Aleppo.
CHAPTER XXIV
I KEEP THE APPOINTMENT
That moment was pungent with drama. In the intense hush of the
next five seconds I could fancy that the world had slipped away
from me and that I was become an unsubstantial thing of dreams.
I was in no sense master of myself; the effect of the presence of
this white-bearded fanatic was of a kind which I am entirely unable
to describe. About Hassan of Aleppo was an aroma of evil, yet of
majesty, which marked him strangely different from other men--from
any other that I have ever known. In his venerable presence,
remembering how he was Sheikh of the Assassins, and recalling his
bloody history, I was always conscious of a weakness, physical and
mental. He appalled me; and now, with my back to the door, I stood
watching him and watching the ominous black tube which he held in
his hand. It was a weapon unknown to Europe and therefore more
fearful than the most up-to-date of death-dealing instruments.
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