Mercia halfway through a rippling medley of sharps and naturals stopped with a jerk, her white fingers poised daintily above the keys.
"What was that?" she said in a puzzle voice to herself. What had seemed just like an unmistakable bump had just sounded in the next room. She thought something must have fallen over but one can never tell with a half a dozen servants busy about the house. They make such queer noises at times, shifting furniture about and doing the myriad things that only servants seem to find necessary to do.
"That you dad?" she called. And no answering hail came from the next room.
"Dad are you there?" she called again rising from her stool. And there was silence in the study.
Mercia ran in. Her father was lying prone on the floor, his face buried in the thick pile of the carpet almost suffocating.
"mummy come quickly," she cried through the door.
"Dad has fainted quickly phone the doctor.
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The man they couldn't Arrest Dain's identity discovered by Tansy
Dain read all about the affair while traveling to his office. He got back from his Brighton engagement some time after midday and went on from Victoria by tube. He slipped unobtrusively into an end seat and began to read. He wasn't at all elated, or even concerned about the test performance of his new gun sights he has already satisfied himself as to their complete perfection before even getting into communication with the Admiralty.And then a ghost of a smile played on the corners of his mouth as he took out his pocket-book. The train had stopped at a station and had filled up. There were strap-hangers pressing against his knees ; one succeeded in treading on his feet-- a man with a villainously dirty countenance and ghastly cast in his eye.Dain looked up in mild remonstrance."sorry guv," said the unwashed one and took a fresh grip on his strap.Dain smiled a frosty acknowledgement and resume his attention to his pocket-book.
The man they couldn't Arrest Plotting the murder of Valmon Dain
"What are you looking so peeved about?" he inquired truculently. "He can't do us no good while he stays alive, cab he?""Not that I'm aware of," said Lyall. "But at the same time, you'll admit there are difficulties. I don't even know that this is the man we're looking for."well, perish my bones!" snorted Tansy. "I saw him with my own eyes, didn't I? saw him pull out his book and write the names down. saw him turn over the pages with 'eaps of other cases wrote down on 'em ; saw him take the names out of the paper and stick 'em down under the silver Arrow. And blimey!----- I saw the writing' , too! You can't get away from that!""Y-yes, I know," said Lyall defensively. "But you also said his name was Dent, and that he has an office in kingsway. That, I know for a positive fact, is untrue.""Is it? Well, maybe you know more about him than I do."There was something more than a note of grievance in Tansy's voice. there w
The man they couldn't Arrest Dain awaiting Williard Lyall's arrival
It was not until nearly ten o'clock that evening that Valmon Dain completed his preparation for the reception of Willard Lyall.He had been working steadily through the afternoon in his workshop out at Hendon. It was a fairly large room, high and airy and was built on to the main building as a sort of an annexe with wide benches on three sides. The bench at the top end was fitted out essentially as a chemical laboratory. Back at the other end, against the door were his writing desk and technical library for Valmon Dain recorded the results of each tiny phase of an experiment as he arrived at it. There were ten great shelves of monumentally scientific times, each a standard work of reference on some aspect of Dain's own activities. In front of them was his desk----a roll top.Dain was sitting at it, writing ; the clock hands neared the hour of ten. His pen jotted neatly over the letter-card. "TO THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER,
The man they couldn't Arrest Williard Lyall arrived
suddenly he stiffened. The little disc had blazed to light ."Ah! our visitor is at the garden gate," he said gently . He folded his arms on the desk and his head lolled forward. To all appearances, Valmon Dain had fallen asleep in his chair. But one eye steady and unwinking, stared at the little box on the table waiting for the white light to flash out, telling him that Willard Lyall was at the laboratory door.A face peered in at the window, a face that slid cautiously inch by inch into full view behind the glass. It was Lyall. There was a frown of disappointment on his forehead ; he had not expected to find Dain still up.But the frown gave way to a slow smile of satisfaction when he saw all that was in the room. Fate seemed to have played Dain right into his hands.With a quick All-embracing look, he inspected the interior of the workshop. The face moved from the window, and for a tense, long-drawn-out minutes the
The man they couldn't Arrest Lyall self suicide
His deep-voiced command rumble through the silent room, but Dain did not move. To the casual eye he was far away in the dream realms of exhausted sleep..Lyall waited a moment or two and then poke him gently in the ribs with the gun-barrel."Valmon Dain----wake up!" he said again, and his voice held something of the relentlessness of the killer in it.Dain stirred uneasily and mumbled something drowsily. Lyall prodded him again, and he raised his head blinking. He started to yawn and peered round, seeming surprised to find himself in the ferocity of the laboratory lights.Then his eyes encountered Lyall. He seemed to see him suddenly and with comic unexpectedness. His yawn stopped slowly. For a moment, his puzzlement increased. a deep wrinkle cutting a black furrow across his forehead. Then he relaxed with a smile half sheepish , half amused."Oh!, it's you, is it?" he said. "Lord, how you did startle me! And how
The man they couldn't Arrest Lyall self suicide 2
Lyall cut in with a rasp of anger. "cut that out! I've not come here to listen to damnfool sermons from such a model of saintly rectitude as you. I get my living in the way that best suits me! you're fighting for time, you hound. that's all you're doing . you've got a warning through with one of your confounded Inventions. you----"Dain held up his hand in gentle depreciation..I assure you there is not another soul in this house except ourselves who is aware of your presence here," he said. "I think I am intelligent enough to be able to look after myself. I have no need of outside protection. my knowledge of your movements is such that, had I wished I could have had the house surrounded by special police from the Yard---- hours before you were due to arrive. At least you will admit that." "I'm admitting all that!" snarled Lyall savagely. "And I want to know how it's done! That's what am here for, talking to you instead of putting a bullet thr
The man they couldn't Arrest Lyall self suicide 3
"it's not for me to be brave. That's for you. Have told you a dozen times. you never spoke a truer word in your life than when you said it was going to be a case of suicide.""Bah! You can't get my nerves on the jump. I've been in the game too long. Do you think you're going to get away with it by ranting a sermon at me or trying to pump me up with fear? Not in this life, Valmon Dain." "What do you want? mercy? It would be useless to you.""Lyall stood back, breathing heavily."Mercy?" he stormed. "I don't want mercyIt isn't yours to give. mercy is mine, I-----""Mercy is neither yours nor mine, Mr Lyall. The police are already informed.""The police!-----What?" he gasped."Are already informed. At least, they will be by the time the morning Dawns. The Yard was communicated with by the last post tonight. A simple letter-carded, undated, unsigned. just such a card as I have dispa
The man they couldn't Arrest Left it too late
Delbury of Scotland Yard, was a machine made model of all that is just and proper in a force the discipline of which is second only to that of the fighting services. Three minutes to eight every morning of his life saw him swinging off his tram in the shadow of Big Ben. The next three minutes saw him walking the three hundred steps from the tramline to the entrance under the great gloomy arch. The clamorous strokes of eight o'clock saw him hanging his hat up on his own private peg. His subordinates dubbed him 'Old Punctuous," a nickname bestowed on him by his unimpressed Irish second in command. Shaughnessy had only arrived ten minutes before his chief. But in that time he had scrambled through an immense amount of work. A trifle excited and not a little perturbed he met Delbury at the door."Chief, there's the devil of a stew been brewing overnight," he said hurriedly. "I've been getting a line on it, but we're a bit patchy on information yet. Murder job.
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