The Chestermarke Instinct - J. S. Fletcher

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for an hour or so."

      Neale obeyed—more because he was under order than because he was hungry. He was too much bothered, too full of vague fears, to think of his midday dinner. He took the glass which Joseph handed to him, and picked a couple of biscuits out of the box. And at the first sip Gabriel spoke again.

      "Neale!" he said. "You've been here five years, so one can speak confidentially. There's something wrong—seriously wrong. Securities are missing. Securities representing—a lot!"

      Neale's face flushed as if he himself had been charged with abstracting those securities. His hand shook as he set down his glass, and he looked helplessly from one partner to another. Joseph merely shook his head, and poured out another glass of sherry for himself: Gabriel shook his head, too, but with a different expression.

      "We don't know exactly how things are," he continued. "But there's the fact—on a superficial examination. And—Horbury! Of all men in the world, Horbury!"

      "I can't believe it, Mr. Chestermarke!" exclaimed Neale. "Surely, sir, there's some mistake!"

      Joseph brushed crumbs of biscuit off his beard and wagged his head.

      "No mistake!" he said softly. "None! The thing is—what's best to do? Because—he'd have laid his plans. It'll all have been thought out—carefully."

      "I'm afraid so," assented Gabriel. "That's the worst of it. Everything points to premeditation. And when a man has been so fully trusted——"

      A knock at the door prefaced the introduction of Shirley's head. He glanced into the room with an obvious desire to see what was going on, but somehow contrived to fix his eyes on the senior partner.

      "Lord Ellersdeane, sir," he announced. "Can he see you?"

      The two partners looked at each other in evident surprise; then Gabriel moved to the door and bowed solemnly to some person outside.

      "Will your lordship come in?" he said politely.

      Lord Ellersdeane, a big, bustling, country-squire type of man, came into the room, nodding cheerily to its occupants.

      "Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Chestermarke," he said. "I understand Horbury isn't at home, but of course you'll do just as well. The Countess and I only got back from abroad night before last. She wants her jewels, so I'll take 'em with me, if you please."

      Gabriel Chestermarke, who was drawing forward a chair, took his hand off it and stared at his visitor.

      "The Countess's—jewels!" he said. "Does your lordship mean——"

      "Deposited them with Horbury, you know, some weeks ago—when we went abroad," replied Lord Ellersdeane. "Safe keeping, you know—said he'd lock 'em up."

      Gabriel turned slowly to Joseph. But Joseph shook his head—and Neale, glancing from one partner to the other, felt himself turning sick with apprehension.

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       Table of Contents

      Gabriel Chestermarke, after that one look at his nephew, turned again to the Earl, politely motioning him to the chair which he had already drawn forward. And the Earl, whose eyes had been wandering over the pile of documents on the senior partner's desk, glancing curiously at the open door of the strong room, and generally taking in a sense of some unusual occurrence, dropped into it and looked expectantly at the banker.

      "There's nothing wrong?" he asked suddenly. "You look—surprised."

      Gabriel stiffened his already upright figure.

      "Surprised—yes!" he answered. "And something more than surprised—I am astonished! Your lordship left the Countess's jewels with our manager? May I ask when—and under what circumstances?"

      "About six weeks ago," replied the Earl promptly. "As a rule the jewels are kept at my bankers in London. The Countess wanted them to wear at the Hunt Ball, so I fetched them from London myself. Then, as we were going off to the Continent two days after the ball, and sailing direct from Kingsport to Hamburg, I didn't want the bother of going up to town with them, and I thought of Horbury. So I drove in here with them one evening—the night before we sailed, as a matter of fact—and asked him to lock them up until our return. And as I said just now, we only got home the night before last, and we're going up to town tomorrow, and the Countess wants them to take with her. Of course, you've got 'em all right?"

      Gabriel Chestermarke spread out his hands.

      "I know nothing whatever about them!" he said. "I never heard of them being here."

      "Nor I," affirmed Joseph. "Not a word!"

      Gabriel looked at Neale, and drew Lord Ellersdeane's attention to him.

      "Our senior clerk—Mr. Neale," he said. "Neale—have you heard of this transaction?"

      "Never!" replied Neale. "Mr. Horbury never mentioned it to me."

      Gabriel waved his hand towards the open door of the strong room.

      "Any valuables of that sort would have been in there," he remarked. "There is nothing of that sort there—beyond what I and my nephew know of. I am sure your lordship's jewels are not there."

      "But—Horbury?" exclaimed the Earl. "Where is he? He would tell you!"

      "We don't know where Mr. Horbury is," answered Gabriel "The truth may as well be told—he's missing. And so are some of our most valuable securities."

      The Earl slowly looked from one partner to another. His face flushed, almost as hotly as if he himself had been accused of theft.

      "Oh, come!" he said. "Horbury, now, of all men! Come—come!—you don't mean to tell me that Horbury's been playing games of that sort? There must be some mistake."

      "I shall be glad to be assured that I am making it," said Gabriel coolly. "But it will be more to the purpose if your lordship will tell us all about the deposit of these jewels. And—there's an important matter which I must first mention. We have not the honour of reckoning your lordship among our customers. Therefore, whatever you handed to Horbury was handed to him privately—not to us."

      Joseph Chestermarke nodded his head at that, and the Earl stirred a little uneasily in his chair.

      "Oh, well!" he said. "I—to tell you the truth, I didn't think about that, Mr. Chestermarke. It's true I don't keep any account with you—it's never seemed—er, necessary, you know. But, of course, I knew Horbury so well—he's a member of our golf club and our archæological society—that——"

      "Precisely," interrupted Gabriel, with a bow. "You came to Mr. Horbury privately. Not to the firm."

      "I came to him knowing that he was your manager, and a man to be thoroughly trusted, and that he'd have safes and things in which he could deposit valuables in perfect safety," answered the Earl. "I never reflected for a moment on the niceties of the matter. I just explained to him that I wanted those jewels taken care of, and handed them over. That's all!"

      "And—their precise nature?" asked Gabriel.

      "And—their value?" added Joseph.

      "As to their nature," replied the Earl, "there was my wife's coronet, her diamond necklace, and the Ellersdeane butterfly, of which I suppose all the world's heard—heirloom, you know. It's a thing that can be worn in a lady's hair or as a pendant—diamonds, of course. As to their value—well, I had them valued some years ago. They're worth about a hundred thousand pounds."

      Gabriel turned to his desk and began to arrange

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