FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84  
85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   >>   >|  
a quilted handkerchief case. "There's something been sewn into the padding of this!" she said. "I can feel it. Can any one lend me pocket-scissors or a penknife?" The men gathered round as Celia's deft fingers ripped open the satin covering: a moment later she drew out a wad of folded paper and handed it to the chief. Fullaway and Allerdyke craned their necks over his shoulders as he unwrapped and spread the bits of paper out before them. And it was Fullaway who broke the silence with a sharp exclamation. "Bank-notes!" he said. "Russian bank-notes! And new ones!" CHAPTER XII THE THIRD MURDER Fullaway's exclamation was followed by a murmur of astonishment from Celia, and by a low growl which meant many things from Allerdyke. The chief turned the banknotes over silently, moved to his desk, and picked up a reference book. "I'm not very familiar with Russian money--paper or otherwise," he remarked. "How much does this represent in ours, now?" "I can tell you that," said Fullaway, taking the wad of notes and rapidly counting them. "Five hundred pounds English," he announced. "And you see that all the notes are new--don't forget to note that." "Yes?--what do you argue from it?" asked the chief, with obvious interest. "It proves--what?" "That these notes were given to this woman in Russia, recently--most likely in St. Petersburg," replied the American. "And, in my opinion, their presence--their discovery--proves more. It suggests at any rate that this woman, the dead maid, was a tool in the conspiracy to rob Miss Lennard and Mr. James Allerdyke, that this money is her reward, or part of it, and that the whole scheme was hatched and engineered in Russia." "Good!" muttered Allerdyke. "Now we're getting to business." "We shall have to get some evidence from Russia," observed the chief meditatively. "That's very evident. If the thing began there, or was put into active shape there--" "The Princess Nastirsevitch is on her way now," said Fullaway. He pulled out his pocket-book, and began searching amongst its papers. "Here you are," he continued producing a cablegram. "That's from the Princess--you see she says she's leaving for London at once, via Berlin and Calais, and will call upon me at my hotel as soon as she arrives. Now, that was sent off two days ago--she'd leave St. Petersburg that night. It's seventy-two hours' journey--three days. She'll be in London tomorrow evening." The chief sa
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84  
85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Fullaway
 

Allerdyke

 

Russia

 

London

 

exclamation

 
Russian
 
Princess
 

pocket

 
proves
 

Petersburg


American

 

business

 
scheme
 

hatched

 
tomorrow
 

muttered

 
engineered
 
replied
 

reward

 

conspiracy


suggests

 

Lennard

 

evening

 

opinion

 

presence

 

discovery

 

Berlin

 

Calais

 

journey

 

cablegram


leaving

 
seventy
 

arrives

 

producing

 

continued

 
evident
 

meditatively

 
observed
 

evidence

 
active

Nastirsevitch
 

papers

 
searching
 
pulled
 

spread

 

unwrapped

 
shoulders
 

folded

 
handed
 

craned