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Page 85
DRY SHERRY
Pratt wasted no time in cursing Mrs. Murgatroyd. There would be plenty
of opportunity for such relief to his feelings later on. Just then he
had other matters to occupy him--fully. He tore the indignant letter to
shreds; he hastily thrust the bank-notes into one pocket and drew his
keys from another. Within five minutes he had taken from his safe a
sealed packet, which he placed in an inside pocket of his coat, and had
left his office--for the last time, as he knew very well. That part of
the game was up--and it was necessary to be smart in entering on another
phase of it.
Since Eldrick's visit of the previous day, Pratt had been prepared for
all eventuality. He had made ready for flight. And he was not going
empty-handed. He had a considerable amount of Mrs. Mallathorpe's money
in his possession; by obtaining her signature to one or two documents he
could easily obtain much more in London, at an hour's notice. Those
documents were all ready, and in the sealed packet which he had just
taken from the safe; in it, too, were some other documents--John
Mallathorpe's will; the letter which Mrs. Mallathorpe had written to him
on the evening previous to her son's fatal accident; and the power of
attorney which Pratt had obtained from her at his first interview after
that occurrence. All was ready--and now there was nothing to do but to
get to Normandale Grange, see Mrs. Mallathorpe, and--vanish. He had
planned it all out, carefully, when he perceived the first danger
signals, and knew that his other plans and schemes were doomed to
failure. Half an hour at Normandale Grange--a journey to London--a
couple of hours in the City--and then the next train to the Continent,
on his way to regions much further off. Here, things had turned out
badly, unexpectedly badly--but he would carry away considerable, easily
transported wealth, to a new career in a new country.
Pratt began his flight in methodical fashion. He locked up his office,
and left the building by a back entrance which took him into a network
of courts and alleys at the rear of the business part of Barford. He
made his way in and out of these places until he reached a
bicycle-dealer's shop in an obscure street, whereat he had left a
machine of his own on the previous evening under the excuse of having it
thoroughly cleaned and oiled. It was all ready for him on his arrival,
and he presently mounted it and rode away through the outskirts of the
town, carefully choosing the less frequented streets and roads. He rode
on until he was clear of Barford: until, in fact, he was some miles from
it, and had reached a village which was certainly not on the way to
Normandale. And then, at the post-office he dismounted, and going
inside, wrote out and dispatched a telegram. It was a brief message
containing but three words--"One as usual"--and it was addressed Esther
Mawson, The Grange, Normandale. This done, he remounted his bicycle,
rode out of the village, and turned across country in quite a different
direction. It was not yet ten o'clock--he had three hours to spare
before the time came for keeping the appointment which he had just made.
At an early stage of his operations, Pratt had found that even the
cleverest of schemers cannot work unaided. It had been absolutely
necessary to have some tool close at hand to Normandale Grange and its
inhabitants; to have some person there upon whom he could depend for
news. He had found that person, that tool, in Esther Mawson, who, as
Mrs. Mallathorpe's maid, had opportunities which he at once recognized
as being likely to be of the greatest value to him. The circumstances of
Harper Mallathorpe's death had thrown Pratt and the maid together, and
he had quickly discovered that she was to be bought, and would do
anything for money. He had soon come to an understanding with her; soon
bargained with her, and made her a willing accomplice in certain of his
schemes, without letting her know their full meaning and extent: all,
indeed, that she had learned from Pratt was that he had some
considerable hold on her mistress.
But it is dangerous work to play with edged tools, and if Pratt had only
known it, he was running great risks in using Esther Mawson as a
semi-accomplice. Esther Mawson was in constant touch with her mistress,
and Mrs. Mallathorpe, afraid of her daughter, and not greatly in
sympathy with her, badly needed a confidante. Little by little the
mistress began to confide in the maid, and before long Esther Mawson
knew the secret--and thenceforward she played a double game. Pratt found
her useful in arranging meetings with Mrs. Mallathorpe unknown to Nesta,
and he believed her to be devoted to him. But the truth was that Esther
Mawson had only one object of devotion--herself--and she was waiting and
watching for an opportunity to benefit that object--at Pratt's expense.
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