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Page 140
"The practice is quiet," said I, "and I have an
accommodating neighbor. I should be glad to come."
"And to start to-morrow morning?"
"If necessary."
"Oh yes, it is most necessary. Then these are your
instructions, and I beg, my dear Watson, that you will
obey them to the letter, for you are now playing a
double-handed game with me against the cleverest rogue
and the most powerful syndicate of criminals in
Europe. Now listen! You will dispatch whatever
luggage you intend to take by a trusty messenger
unaddressed to Victoria to-night. In the morning you
will send for a hansom, desiring your man to take
neither the first nor the second which may present
itself. Into this hansom you will jump, and you will
drive to the Strand end of the Lowther Arcade,
handing the address to the cabman upon a slip of
paper, with a request that he will not throw it away.
Have your fare ready, and the instant that your cab
stops, dash through the Arcade, timing yourself to
reach the other side at a quarter-past nine. You will
find a small brougham waiting close to the curb,
driven by a fellow with a heavy black cloak tipped at
the collar with red. Into this you will step, and you
will reach Victoria in time for the Continental
express."
"Where shall I meet you?"
"At the station. The second first-class carriage from
the front will be reserved for us."
"The carriage is our rendezvous, then?"
"Yes."
It was in vain that I asked Holmes to remain for the
evening. It was evident to me that he thought he might
bring trouble to the roof he was under, and that that
was the motive which impelled him to go. With a few
hurried words as to our plans for the morrow he rose
and came out with me into the garden, clambering over
the wall which leads into Mortimer Street, and
immediately whistling for a hansom, in which I heard
him drive away.
In the morning I obeyed Holmes's injunctions to the
letter. A hansom was procured with such precaution as
would prevent its being one which was placed ready for
us, and I drove immediately after breakfast to the
Lowther Arcade, through which I hurried at the top of
my speed. A brougham was waiting with a very massive
driver wrapped in a dark cloak, who, the instant that
I had stepped in, whipped up the horse and rattled off
to Victoria Station. On my alighting there he turned
the carriage, and dashed away again without so much as
a look in my direction.
So far all had gone admirably. My luggage was waiting
for me, and I had no difficulty in finding the
carriage which Holmes had indicated, the less so as it
was the only one in the train which was marked
"Engaged." My only source of anxiety now was the
non-appearance of Holmes. The station clock marked
only seven minutes from the time when we were due to
start. In vain I searched among the groups of
travellers and leave-takers for the lithe figure of
my friend. There was no sign of him. I spent a few
minutes in assisting a venerable Italian priest, who
was endeavoring to make a porter understand, in his
broken English, that his luggage was to be booked
through to Paris. Then, having taken another look
round, I returned to my carriage, where I found that
the porter, in spite of the ticket, had given me my
decrepit Italian friend as a traveling companion. It
was useless for me to explain to him that his presence
was an intrusion, for my Italian was even more limited
than his English, so I shrugged my shoulders
resignedly, and continued to look out anxiously for my
friend. A chill of fear had come over me, as I
thought that his absence might mean that some blow had
fallen during the night. Already the doors had all
been shut and the whistle blown, when--
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