Complete works of peter.., p.491
Complete Works of Peter Cheyney. Illustrated, page 491
Etienne smiled. "That's rather an unusual accomplishment," he said. He looked the man over with more interest. There was something in the good-humored, hungry-looking face which appealed to him. It occurred to him instantly that it would be amusing to tell this chance acquaintance of his present difficulty, and see if he, with his knowledge of horses, could offer any solution. He drew his cigarette case from his pocket and gave the horsey man a cigarette.
"Look here," said MacGregor, as the other puffed gratefully, "I am engrossed at the moment with a rather unusual problem, which concerns the number of teeth in the mouth of a certain horse. The horse is in the stable at Garron Manor, and is guarded night and day, and I am afraid that any attempt I might make to get into the stable would be thwarted. Now if you've got any ideas on the subject I shall be glad to have them."
"Ah," said the horsey-looking gentleman, gazing ahead at the blue horizon. "Now, that's very interestin' that is, an' might I ask what manner of horse this horse is, sir. What does he look like?"
Etienne described Greensleeves as nearly as possible. When he had finished the horsey-looking gentleman came to a standstill rather suddenly, and, putting his hands into his breeches pockets, faced MacGregor.
"My name is James Tope, sir; Jimmy I'm usually called, an' if you'll be good enough to tell me where I could see you in, say, three or four hours' time, I think I might be able to produce an idea, so to speak."
"I'm staying at the Green Man at Saffcot," answered MacGregor. "You'd better meet me there at 4 o'clock. Come and have tea?"
Mr. Tope grinned. "That'll be very welcome, sir," he said. "I think I'll get back to Newmarket and find out one or two things, after which I'll join you at tea, which, as I have said, will be very welcome, especially if it's a meat tea!"
So saying, Mr. Tope with a grin raised his forefinger half way to his very horsey bowler hat and turned back in the direction of Newmarket. MacGregor, his round face illuminated by its usual cherubic smile, watched the tall figure as it strode away. For some reason for which he could not account he had a decided feeling that Mr. Tope would and could assist him in solving the Greensleeves mystery.
THREE hours after Etienne and Mr. Tope took tea together at the Green Man Inn, Mr. Tope had gathered a fund of information with reference to Greensleeves, in and about Newmarket. Apparently, Suan Chi Leaf proposed to run the horse in a race in the near future, and in the meantime was taking the utmost care that there was no possibility of anyone approaching Greensleeves. The horse was taken out for exercise each day, accompanied, as Etienne had seen, by a veritable crowd of attendants and guards, and as Mr. Tope so aptly pointed out, no opportunity could be found on these occasions to examine the horse's mouth.
Etienne found his hopes, which had risen slightly after his meeting with Mr. Tope, rapidly disappearing.
"It looks as if we are as far away as ever, Tope," he said gloomily. "If we can't get at the horse during exercise, and we can't get at him when he's in the stable, what can we do?"
Mr. Tope drank his fifth cup of tea.
"Well, sir," he said, "I've had a look round at Garran Manor. There's only one entrance—through the main gates, and the wall which surrounds the grounds is quite high; also, there's a lot of shrubbery about the place inside. Now, I had a little idea, sir, an' if you could let me have, say, twenty pounds, I think that tomorrow night we might have a look at Greensleeves!"
Etienne listened to Mr. Tope. Then he produced the twenty pounds, and watched that gentleman as he swung off down the Newmarket-road, after which Mr. MacGregor repaired to the saloon bar of the Green Man and stood himself a large whisky and soda with much glee.
NEXT night, shortly before midnight, Mr. Etienne MacGregor, accompanied by Mr. Tope and three of Mr. Tope's particularly intimate friends, who had been recruited by him during the afternoon, also a horse and cart, containing boards, ropes and other implements, and a travelling loose-box, drawn by another horse, travelled slowly across the downs in the direction of Garran Manor. They arrived shortly after one o'clock, and the all-clear having been signalled by Mr. Tope, who, with the inevitable straw in his mouth, had gone on ahead, the cavalcade drew up beneath the shadow of some giant oaks which stood near the high wall surrounding the Manor.
Mr. Tope then took charge, and under his direction all sorts of activities took place, and the boards, ropes and other implements having been brought out and assembled to the satisfaction of Mr. Tope, the five conspirators withdrew into the shadow of the trees and discussed the plan of action once more in order to avoid the possibility of a mistake.
Then, with a parting word, Etienne quietly ascended the gangway formed by the planks, which ran over the high wall and into the Manor grounds, and carefully crept forward to the edge of the shrubbery, from which position he could look across the lawn at the stable door which directly faced him. It was a fine night, and he could see plainly the man on guard outside the stable doors, in his shirt sleeves, smoking his pipe. Five minutes afterwards a hand was laid on Etienne's shoulder, and a bridle slipped into his hand.
"'Ere you are, Guv'nor," wheezily whispered one of Mr. Tope's friends, "and don't fergit—directly you 'ear the whistle make for the entrance gate. There's a guard of three men there. Don't be in too much of an 'urry."
"Right," whispered Etienne, and the man crept away. Etienne crouched in the shadows. Then to his ears came the sound of a soft whistle. At the same time a shout echoed across the grounds. Etienne saw the man at the stable door start forward, and then fall as Mr. Tope hit him across the back of the head with a sand-bag.
Then, as Suan Chi Leaf's additional guard commenced to make for the stables, Etienne flung himself across the horse's back and set off at a half gallop for the entrance gates. As he rode across the lawn he glimpsed Suan Chi Leaf, in a dressing gown, and the rest of his men chasing after him. As he neared the gates Etienne checked his horse, just as a dozen hands stopped his progress. Etienne dismounted with an exclamation of disgust.
"Just my luck," he said. "I thought the gates would be opened."
The men stood round him in a threatening half circle. They made way as Suan Chi Leaf appeared. The Chinaman lit a cigarette, and smiled amiably at Etienne.
"My condolences on the failure of your little plot, Mr. MacGregor," he said. "As I notice that you have not had time to remove the hood and cloths of my horse Greensleeves, it is obvious that you have not yet examined his mouth, and that you are, therefore, still in ignorance of the little details which you have taken so much trouble to endeavour to ascertain. Smith, take the horse back to the stable, and open the gate for this gentleman. Good-night, Mr. MacGregor. I am afraid that you will have a rather lonely walk back to Newmarket. Good-night—my best wishes go with you!"
Suan Chi Leaf grinned cynically as Etienne, with a shrug of his shoulders and a disappointed expression, passed through the gates.
AT 3 o'clock on the next afternoon Mr. Jimmy Tope, his hat carefully cocked over one eye, and the straw in his mouth set at a jaunty angle, rang the bell of the entrance gates of Garron Manor, and the gates being opened passed through.
Mr. Tope, with the expression of a man who has done his duty nobly and well, handed the bridle of the horse he was leading to the astonished gatekeeper, together with a note addressed to "Suan Chi Leaf, Esq."
Then, with a cheery nod, he turned on his heel, and whistling the latest fox-trot walked off.
Suan Chi Leaf, sitting with his mother in the pleasant conservatory, was rather surprised to receive the note. He was even more surprised when he opened it and read it. As his eyes scanned the last lines and the signature the note dropped from his hand, and he gazed straight before him, his features distorted with rage. Mrs. Lotus Leaf picked up the note and read:—
My Dear Old Suan,—
I return herewith your horse Greensleeves by my trusty retainer Mr. Tope, who is, believe me, some expert on horses. The credit of this business belongs to him. Knowing how carefully the stable was guarded, he suggested that Greensleeves might be provided with a double, and the horse that your men so carefully stopped me on last night was a brown horse of the same size as Greensleeves, carefully painted with white stockings by friend Mr. Tope. Whilst you were all so keenly chasing me to the gates (which we knew would be shut), dear old friend, Tope and his merry men were getting the real Greensleeves out of the stable and over the bridge which we fixed up over the wall behind the shrubbery. I have this morning sent Rudder, Foal and Rudder the information they required, and everything in the garden is lovely! My best wishes to yourself and your charming mother. Let me know when Greensleeves is running. Both Mr. Tope and myself would like to back him. My felicitations!
Yours, Etienne MacGregor.
And perhaps it was just as well that Mrs. Lotus Leaf said what she did say in Chinese!
VI. — THE YELLOW KAFFIR
As published in The Age , Melbourne, Australia, 19 May 1928
ETIENNE MACGREGOR gazed moodily into the fire and bit savagely on the mouthpiece of his pipe. For once, his usual cheerful expression had vanished, and there was a determined look about his mouth which showed plainly that the matter that was troubling him was of an unusually serious nature.
Where was the "Yellow Kaffir"? This—the sixth—question asked by his late uncle's lawyers six days ago was yet unanswered, and Etienne knew that unless the answer was forthcoming within the next twelve hours he could give up all hope of inheriting his uncle's large fortune.
Certain facts had been easily ascertained. The "Yellow Kaffir" was a large diamond, not very valuable, but valuable enough, with a yellow flaw in its lustre, which had given it its unusual name. The diamond had been owned by his uncle, but where it was or where some clue to its whereabouts could be obtained Etienne had not the slightest idea.
In the previous questions which he had successfully answered there had been often some indication which had set him on the right track, or else some step taken by Suan Chi Leaf or his wily mother, Mrs. Lotus Leaf, to keep Etienne from finding the solution to a question had served as a clue which his quick intelligence had seized and acted on.
His eyes wandered to the mantelpiece and the squat Chinese idol which was placed in the centre. The idol had been sent to him a few days before by Rudder, Foal and Rudder, who had informed him that it was one of the few articles which his uncle had directed should be handed over to him.
At first Etienne had hoped that it might prove some indication as to the whereabouts of the Yellow Kaffir, but an examination had proved that the idol was carved out of some heavy stone, and there was no inscription or writing upon it as Etienne had hoped. Last night an attempt had been made to break into the house in Mortimer-street in which Etienne had his rooms, but the attempt had been frustrated owing to the quickness of the policeman on duty. He wondered if Suan Chi Leaf was behind the attempted burglary—and if so, why?
On previous occasions the Chinese had been too obvious in their intentions to prevent Etienne finding the answers to the riddles set him by Rudder, Foal and Rudder, but during the last week there had been no sign of Suan Chi Leaf or his myrmidons, a fact which caused Etienne some uneasiness. He wondered if the Yellow Kaffir were in the possession of Suan Chi Leaf, and if that cynical gentleman, sure in the knowledge that Etienne could not supply the answer to the question, was lying low until the seven days which MacGregor was allowed in which to answer were up.
Where was Suan Chi Leaf? This was the next point which troubled Etienne. The flat of Mrs. Lotus Leaf in Oxford-street was closed, and the tenant gone. The Three Leaves Club in Limehouse, another headquarters of the nefarious pair, had been raided. Fletter's Detective Agency, a reliable firm, who had been used before by Etienne, had up to the moment failed to trace either Suan Chi Leaf or his mother.
Etienne got up, and commenced to pace up and down the room. It seemed to him that he was beaten this time, and that the risks he had previously taken in answering former questions had been in vain. His luck, which had been so good in the past, had deserted him, he thought, and he was considering resigning himself to the inevitable, when with a suddenness which made him start the telephone rang. He took off the receiver and answered.
"That you, Mr. MacGregor?" said a voice. "This is Fenway speaking—Fletter's head man. I've been after Mr. Suan Chi Leaf for the last five days, and think that I've got a line on him at last. I picked up one of his men this evening and followed him down to Hounslow. I lost him on the edge of the Heath, but unless he intended to take a very long walk for the sake of his health there could be only one place to which he could be going—the old Mill House, which stands well in the centre of the Heath. I thought I'd better telephone and tell you."
Etienne, after a word with the man, hung up the receiver. There was only one thing for him to do. He must at once go to Hounslow and investigate the old Mill House. Anything was better than inaction. And there was just a chance—a slim chance—that Suan Chi Leaf might be there, and that he might have the Yellow Kaffir.
He opened a drawer and slipped a heavy automatic pistol into his pocket, and then hurried round to the garage in Portland-street where his motor-bicycle was kept. Five minutes afterwards, with the throttle wide open, he was speeding through the night towards Hounslow.
FROM the thicket in which he had hidden his motor-cycle Etienne could discern dimly the outline of the old Mill House, which stood on the most lonely and unfrequented part of the Heath. At first the place had seemed to be in complete darkness, but as he moved away from the thicket he could see a dim light burning in one of the upper windows. He approached cautiously, and discovered that the window was immediately above the old water wheel which stood on one side of the house. There was not a sound to be heard as he moved forward and investigated. The front door of the old house was secured, and there seemed little chance of obtaining admission, either by this or by the back door, which besides being locked, seemed by the feel of it to be secured also with bolts. Then, as his glance alighted on the old water wheel, the idea came to him that he might climb up the spokes of the wheel, and gain access to the house through the dimly-lit window. He had not much difficulty in carrying out his project. The water wheel was fixed, and Etienne, young and fit, was easily able to climb up the wheel struts.
Standing right at the top of the wheel he was just able to reach the window-sill of the room above him. With a muttered prayer that the window would be unlatched, he drew himself up, and after some difficulty, managed to seat himself on the window ledge. The window was latched, but the frame was old and twisted, and Etienne was easily able to insert his penknife blade between the sashes, and push back the catch. Then he pushed open the window, and cautiously climbed through.
He found himself in what was evidently a small bedroom. Dusty and roughly furnished, it was lit only by an oil lamp, which flickered uncertainly. The room had evidently been occupied quite recently, for a shaving-brush on the washstand was still damp. Etienne's quick eyes noticed something bright on the floor near the window. He picked it up, and found that it was an ordinary safety razor blade. Carelessly he threw it back onto the floor.
He crept over to the door and listened. There was not a sound to be heard. Outside the door a passage led off to the left, but his eyes could see nothing in the inky darkness. He pulled the door carefully behind him, and commenced creeping softly down the passage. His eyes becoming accustomed to the darkness saw that the passage was branching off to the left, where it ran into a flight of stairs which led to the lower regions of the house. He reached the head of the stairs, and was about to descend when he felt himself gripped from behind. He struggled furiously, but soon realised that he was outnumbered.
His legs were seized and held tightly, whilst two other men half carried, half dragged him along the passage and back into the dimly-lit bedroom. Etienne realised that resistance was useless, and lay quietly on the bed on which he had been flung. He wondered what his fate was to be. The three men who had captured him appeared to be roughs of the worst type, and he imagined that any resistance on his part would simply result in his being badly knocked about. The men said nothing, but one of them produced a length of rope and Etienne's wrists and ankles were securely bound. This done, the leader of Etienne's assailants produced a dirty pipe from his pocket, which he proceeded to light.
"You better go an' tell the Guv'nor," he said to one of the others. "Tell 'im we've got this chicken trussed up all right."
The man grinned and went off. Presently Etienne heard footsteps approaching along the passage, and almost before the door was opened he knew that it was Suan Chi Leaf. The Chinaman stood just inside the door and smiled at the bound figure on the bed.
"Ah, Mr. MacGregor," he said cynically. "I am sorry to see you in such an uncomfortable condition. This time the luck appears to be with me, and having got you safely down here we may now consider ourselves at liberty to go and get the Yellow Kaffir. I assure you that in the process we shall do no damage at all to your flat, and that nothing else will be disturbed."
"What the devil do you mean?" said MacGregor. "The Yellow Kaffir isn't at my flat, as you jolly well know."
Suan Chi Leaf grinned.
"Indeed it is, Mr. MacGregor. Don't you think that it was a wonderful idea. I am afraid that I cannot take credit for it—it was my mother's—a very clever woman, Mrs. Lotus Leaf. She suggested that as you had been so successful on previous occasions in finding things, that the safest place to hide the Yellow Kaffir from you was in your own flat. And that is where it is. For myself, I kept carefully out of the way until tonight, when knowing that you would be disappointed and despondent, and not in your usual condition of mental keenness, I got one of my men to ring you up and tell you that he was one of Fletcher's operatives. I knew that would bring you down here post haste, thus giving us the opportunity to visit your flat in peace and reclaim the Yellow Kaffir."
