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Page 63
"Carter!"
But there was no reply.
"Good; he's gone!"
Dexter sat down facing Bristol.
"I have lost my hand in this game, Mr. Bristol," he said genially,
"and had some narrow squeaks of losing my head; but having gone so
far and lost so much I'm going through, if I don't meet a funeral!
You see I'm up against two tough propositions."
Bristol nodded sympathetically.
"The first," continued Dexter, "is you and Cavanagh, and English
law generally. My idea--if I can get hold of the slipper again--
oh! you needn't stare; I'm out for it!--is to get the Antiquarian
Institution to ransom it. It's a line of commercial speculation I
have worked successfully before. There's a dozen rich highbrows,
cranks to a man, connected with it, and they are my likeliest
buyers-sure. But to keep the tone of the market healthy there's
Hassan of Aleppo, rot him! He's a dangerous customer to approach,
but you'll note I've been in negotiation with him already and am
still, if not booming, not much below par!"
"Quite so," said Bristol. "But you've cut off a pretty hefty chew
nevertheless. They used to call you The Stetson Man, you used to
dress like a fashion plate and stop at the big hotels. Those days
are past, Dexter, I'm sorry to note. You're down to the skulking
game now and you're nearer an advert for Clarkson than Stein-Bloch!"
"Yep," said Dexter sadly, "I plead guilty, but I think here's
Carneta!"
Bristol heard the door of the outer office open, and a moment later
that upon which his gaze was set opened in turn, to admit a girl
who was heavily veiled, and who started and stood still in the
doorway, on perceiving the situation. Never for one unguarded
moment did the American glance aside from his prisoner.
"The Inspector's dropped in, Carneta!" he drawled in his strident
way. "You're handy with a ball of twine; see if you can induce
him to stay the night!"
The girl, immediately recovering her composure, took off her hat
in a businesslike way and began to look around her, evidently in
search of a suitable length of rope with which to fasten up Bristol.
"Might I suggest," said the detective, "that if you are shortly
quitting these offices a couple of the window-cords neatly joined
would serve admirably?"
"Thanks," drawled Dexter, nodding to his companion, who went into
the outer office, where she might be heard lowering the windows.
She was gone but a few moments ere she returned again, carrying a
length of knotted rope. Under cover of Dexter's revolver, Bristol
stoically submitted to having his wrists tied behind him. The end
of the line was then thrown through the ventilator above the door
which communicated with the outer office and Bristol was triced up
in such a way that, his wrists being raised behind him to an
uncomfortable degree, he was almost forced to stand upon tiptoe.
The line was then secured.
"Very workmanlike!" commented the victim. "You'll find a large
handkerchief in my inside breast pocket. It's a clean one, and
I can recommend it as a gag!"
Very promptly it was employed for the purpose, and Inspector
Bristol found himself helpless and constrained in a very painful
position. Dexter laid down his revolver.
"We will now give you a free show, Inspector," he said, genially,
"of our camera obscura!"
He pulled down the blinds, which Bristol noted with interest to be
black, but through an opening in one of them a mysterious ray of
light--the same that he had noticed from Fleet Street--shone upon
that point in the ceiling where the arrangement of mirrors was
attached. Dexter made some alteration, apparently in the focus of
the lens (for Bristol had divined that in some way a lens had been
fixed in the reflector above the bank window below) and the disc
of light became concentrated. The white-covered table was moved
slightly, and in the darkness some further manipulation was
performed.
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