* The Flames, gov nor the blinkin , frozen flames! "
 
 THE RIDDLE OF THE 
 FROZEN FLAME 
 
 By 
 
 Mary E. and Thomas W. Hanshew 
 
 I L L U S T K A T i: D 
 
 BY 
 WALT E R D E M A K I 8 
 
 KX OITV NEW YOUK 
 
 DOUBLE DAY, PAGE & COMPANY 
 1920
 
 COPYRIGHT, IP20, P,T 
 DOUBLEDAY, PACK * COMPANY 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION 
 INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING TJIK SCANDINAVIAN
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. The Law 3 
 
 II. The Frozen Flames 13 
 
 III. Sunshine and Shadow .... 23 
 
 IV. An Evil Genius 31 
 
 V. The Spectre at the Feast ... 39 
 
 VI. A Shot in the Dark 52 
 
 VII. The Watcher in the Shadow . . 60 
 
 VIII. The Victim 68 
 
 IX. The Second Victim 76 
 
 X. And the Lady 84 
 
 XI. The Secret of the Flames . . 91 
 
 XII. " As a Thief in the Night " . . 102 
 
 XIII. A Gruesome Discovery . . . 109 
 
 XIV. The Spin of the Wheel .... 122 
 XV. A Startling Disclosure .... 131 
 
 XVI. Trapped! 139 
 
 XVII. In the Cell 149 
 
 XVIII. Possible Excitement . . . . 158
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XIX. What Took Place at "The Pig and 
 
 Whistle" 16!) 
 
 XX. At the Inquest 182 
 
 XXI. Questions and Answers . . . 197 
 
 XXII. A New Departure 207 
 
 XXIII. Prisoners 219 
 
 XXIV. In the Dark 229 
 
 XXV. The Web of Circumstance . . . 244 
 
 XXVI. Justice and Justification . . . 253 
 
 XXVII. The Solving of the Riddle . . . 268 
 
 XXVIII. " Toward Morning ..." 282
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 " The Flames, gor nor the blinkin Frozen 
 
 Flames !" : Frontispiece 
 
 FACING FAGL 
 
 "For one terrible, glorious moment he had held 
 
 her in his arms" 20 
 
 "You little white-livered sneak, he said in a 
 
 deep, rumbling voice" 44 
 
 " Nigel! My poor, poor Nigel! " .... 156
 
 OTHER CLEEK BOOKS 
 
 deck s Government 
 
 Cleek, the Man of Forty Faces 
 
 Cleek, The Master Detective 
 
 Cleek of Scotland Yard 
 
 Riddle of the Night, The 
 
 Riddle of the Purple Emperor, TJie
 
 THE RIDDLE OF THE 
 FROZEN FLAME
 
 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE LAW 
 
 MR. MAVERICK NARKOM, Superin 
 tendent of Scotland Yard, sat before the 
 litter of papers upon his desk. His brow 
 was puckered, his fat face red with anxiety, and 
 there was about him the air of one who has reached 
 the end of his tether. 
 
 He faced the man opposite, and fairly ground his 
 teeth upon his lower lip. 
 
 "Dash it, Cleek!" he said for the thirty -third 
 time, "I don t know what to make of it, I don t, 
 indeed! The thing s at a deadlock. Hammond re 
 ports to me this morning that another bank in 
 Hendon a little one-horse affair has been broken 
 into. That makes the third this week, and as usual 
 every piece of gold is gone. Not a bank note touched, 
 not a bond even fingered. And the thief or 
 thieves made as clean a get-away as you ever laid 
 your eyes on! I tell you, man, it s enough to send 
 an average person daft! The whole of Scotland
 
 4 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 Yard s been on the thing, arid we haven t traced em 
 yet! What do you make of it, old chap?" 
 
 "As pretty a kettle of fish as I ever came across," 
 responded Cleek, with an enigmatic smile. "And I 
 can t help having a sneaking admiration for the 
 person who s engineering the whole tiling. How he 
 must laugh at the state of the old Yard, wilh never a 
 clue to settle down upon, never a thread to pick up 
 and unravel! All of which is unbusinesslike of me, 
 I ve no doubt. But, cheer up, 111*111, I ve a piece of 
 news which ought to help mailers on a Kt. Just 
 came from the War Office, you know/ 
 
 Mr. Narkom mopped his forehead eagerly. The 
 action was one which Cleek knew showed the I every 
 nerve was tense. 
 
 "Well, out with it, old chap! Anylhirg 1o east 
 some light on the inexplicable thing. What did you 
 learn at the War Office?" 
 
 "A good many things after I had unravelled 
 several hundred yards of red tape to get at em," 
 said Cleek, still smiling. "Chief among them was 
 this: Much English gold has been discovered in 
 Belgium, Mr. Narkom, in connection wi h several big 
 electrical firms engaged upon work out there. The 
 Secret Service wired over that fact, and I got il iirst 
 hand. Now it strikes me there must be some con 
 nection between the two things. These bank 
 robberies point in one direction, and that is, that Ihe 
 gold is not for use in this country. Now let s hear
 
 The Law 5 
 
 the full account of this latest outrage. I m all ears, 
 as the donkey said to the ostrich. Fire away." 
 
 Mr. Narkom "fired away" forthwith. He was a 
 bland, round little man, ralher too fat for one s con 
 ceptions of what a policeman ought to be, yet with 
 that lightness of foot I hat so many stout people seem 
 to possess. 
 
 Cleek presented a keen contrast to him. His 
 broad-shouldered, well-groomed person would have 
 adorned any company. His head was well-set upon 
 his neck, and his features at this moment were small 
 and inclined to be aquilme. lie had closely set 
 ears that Jay will I;nck agniri \, his head, and his 
 hands were slim an-..! (-xco ( .:--;higly woll-kcpt. Of his 
 ago- well that, like himself, was an enigma. To-day 
 he might have been anything between thirty-five 
 and forty to-morrow probably he would be looking 
 nineteen. That was part of the peculiar birthright 
 of the man, that and a mobility of feature which 
 enabled him to alter his face completely in the pass 
 ing of a second, a gift which at least one notorious 
 criminal of history also possessed. 
 
 He sat now, playing with the silver-topped cane 
 between his knees, his head slightly to one side, his 
 whole manner one of polite and tolerant interest. 
 But Mr. Narkon knew that this same manner marked 
 an intensity of concentration which was positively 
 unique. Without more ado he plunged into the 
 details of his story.
 
 6 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 "It happened in this wise, Cleek," lie said, tapping 
 his fountain-pen against his blotter until little spouts 
 of ink fell out like jet beads. "This is at least the 
 ninth case of the kind we ve had reported to us within 
 the space of the last fortnight. The first robbery was 
 at a tiny branch bank in Purley, and the bag 
 amounted to a matter of a couple of hundred or 
 so sovereigns; the second was at Peckham on t he- 
 outskirts, you understand; the third at Harrow; the 
 fourth somewhere near Forest Hill, and the fifth 
 in Croydon. Other places on the South East side of 
 London have come in for their share, too, as for 
 instance Anerley and Sutton. This last affair took 
 place at Hendon, during the evening of Saturday 
 last the sixteenth, wasn t it? No one observed 
 anything untoward in the least, that is except one 
 witness who relates how he saw a motor car standing 
 outside the bank s premises at half past nine at 
 night. He gave no thought to this, as he probably 
 imagined, if lie thought of the coincidence at all, that 
 the manager had called there for something he had 
 forgotten in his office." 
 
 "And where, then, does the manager live, if not 
 over the bank itself?" put in Cleek at this juncture. 
 
 "With his wife and family, in a house some distance 
 away. A couple of old bank people a porter and his 
 wife who are both thoroughly trustworthy in every 
 way, so Mr. Barker tells me act as caretakers. But 
 they positively assert that they heard no one in the
 
 The Law 7 
 
 place that niglit, and no untoward happening oc 
 curred to their knowledge." 
 
 And yet the bank was broken into, and the gold 
 taken," supplemented Cleek quietly. "And what 
 then, Mr. Narkom? How was the deed done?" 
 
 "Oh, the usual methods. The skeleton keys of a 
 master crook obviously opened the door to the 
 premises themselves, and soup was used to crack the 
 safe. Everything was left perfectly neat and tidy 
 and only the bags of gold --amounting to seven hun 
 dred and fifty pounds were gone. And not a trace 
 ol a clue to give one a notion of who did the con 
 founded thing, or where they came from!" 
 
 " Hmm. Any finger-prints ? " 
 
 Mr. Narkom shook his head. 
 
 None. The thief or thieves used rubber gloves 
 to handle the thing. And that was the only leg given 
 us to stand upon, so to speak. For rubber gloves, 
 when they are new, particularly, possess a very 
 strong smell, and this still clung to the door-knob of 
 the safe, and to several objects near it. That was 
 how we deduced the rubber-glove theory of no 
 finger-prints at all, Cleek." 
 
 "And a very worthy deduction too, my friend," 
 responded that gentleman, with something of toler 
 ance in his smile. "And so you have absolutely 
 nothing to go by. Poor Mr. Narkom! The path 
 of Law and Justice is by no means an easy one to 
 tread, is it? Of course you can count upon me to
 
 8 The Riddle of the Frozen Flume 
 
 help you in every way. That goes without saying. 
 But I can t help thinking that this news from the 
 War Office with regard to English gold in Belgium 
 has something to do with these bank robberies, my 
 friend. The two things seem to hang together in my 
 mind, and a dollar to a ducat that in the long run 
 they identify themselves thus. . . . Hello! Who s 
 that?" as a tap sounded at the door. "I ll be off if 
 you re expecting visitors. I want to look into this 
 thing a little closer. Some time or other the thieves 
 are bound to leave a clue behind. Success breeds 
 carelessness, you know, and if they think that Scot 
 land Yard is giving the business up as a bad job, 
 they won t be so deuced particular as to clearing up 
 afterward. We ll unravel the thing between us, 
 never fear." 
 
 "I wish I could Iliink so, old chap!" said Mr. 
 Narkom, a trifle gloomily, as he cal); v -;l "Come in! 
 The door opened to admit Pelrie, very straight 
 and businesslike. "But you re no end of a help. 
 It does me good just to see you. What is it, 
 Petrie?" 
 
 "A gentleman to see you, sir," responded I he 
 constable in crisp tones. "A gentleman by name of 
 Merriton, Sir Nigel Merriton he said his name was. 
 Bit of a toff I should say by the look of ini. And 
 wants to see you partikler. He mentioned 3,Ir. 
 Cleek s name, sir, but I told im he wasn t in at I he 
 moment. Shall I show him up?"
 
 The Law 9 
 
 "Quite right, Petrie," laughed Cleek, in recogni 
 tion of this act of one of the Yard s subordinates; for 
 everyone was to do everything in his power to shield 
 Cleek s identity. "I ll slay if you don t mind, Mr. 
 Narkom. I happen to know something of this 
 Merriton. A fine upstanding young man, who, once 
 upon a time was very great friends with Miss Lome. 
 That was in the old Hawksley days. Chap s lately 
 come into his inheritance, I believe. Uncle dis 
 appeared some five or six years ago and legal time 
 being up, your.g Merriton has come over to claim his 
 own. The thing n,ac!r a nev,> paper s-cry for a week 
 when il happened, hut they never i oimd any trace of 
 the eld man. And now the young one is over here, 
 bearing the title, and I suppose living as master of the 
 Towers spooklike spot that it is! Needn t say who 
 I am, old chap, until 1 hear a bit. I ll just shift over 
 there by the window and read the news, if you don t 
 mind." 
 
 "Right you are." Mr. Narkom struggled into his 
 coat which he generally disposed of during private 
 office hours. Then he gave the order for the gentle 
 man to be shown in and Petrie disappeared forth 
 with. 
 
 But during the time which intervened before 
 Merriton s arrival, Cleek did a little "altering" in 
 face and general get-up, and when he did appear 
 certainly no one would have recognized the aristo 
 cratic looking individual of a moment or two before,
 
 10 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 in an ordinary-appearing, stoop-shouldered, rather 
 racy -looking tout. 
 
 "Ready," said Cleek at last, and Mr. Narkoni 
 touched the bell upon his table. Immediately the 
 door opened and Petrie appeared followed closely 
 by young Sir Nigel Merriton, whose clean-cut face 1 
 was grim and whose mouth was set forbiddingly. 
 
 And in this fashion was Cleek introduced to the 
 chief character of a case which was to prove one of 
 the strangest of his whole career. There was nothing 
 about Sir Nigel, a well-dressed man about town, to 
 indicate that he was to be the centre of an extra 
 ordinary drama, yet such was to be the case. 
 
 He was obviously perturbed, but those who sought 
 Mr. Narkom s counsel were frequently agitated; 
 for no one can be even remotely connected with 
 crime in one form or another without showing 
 excitement to a greater or lesser degree. And 
 so his manner by no means set Sir Nigel apart 
 from many another visitor to the Superintendent s 
 sanctum. 
 
 Mr. Narkom s cordial nod brought from the young 
 man a demand to see "Mr. Cleek," of whom he had 
 heard such wonderful tales. Mr. Narkoni, with one 
 eye on that very gentleman s back, announced 
 gravely that Cleek was absent on a government case, 
 and asked what he could do. He waved a hand in 
 Cleek s direction and said that here was one of his 
 men who would doubtless be able to help Sir Nigel in
 
 The Law 11 
 
 any difficulty he might happen to be in at the mo 
 ment. 
 
 Now, as Sir Nigel s story was a long one, and as 
 the young man was too agitated to tell it altogether 
 coherently, we will go back for a certain space of time, 
 and tell the very remarkable story, the details of 
 which were told to Mr. Narkom and his nameless 
 associate in the Superintendent s office, and which 
 was to involve Cleek of Scotland Yard in a case 
 which was laler to receive the title of the Riddle of 
 the Frozen Flame. 
 
 Much that he told I hem of his family history w r as 
 already known to Cleek, whose uncanny knowledge of 
 men and affairs was a by-word, but as that part of the 
 story itself was not without romance, it must be 
 told too, and to do so takes the reader back to a few 
 months before his present visit to the precincts of the 
 Law, when Sir Nigel Merriton returned to England 
 after twelve years of army life in India. A few days 
 he had spent in London, renewing acquaintances, re 
 visiting places he knew to find them wonderfully 
 little changed and then had journeyed to Merriton 
 Towers, the place which was to be his, due to the 
 extraordinary disappearance of his uncle a dis 
 appearance which was yet to be explained. 
 
 Ill luck had often seemed to clog the footsteps of 
 his house and even his journey home was not with 
 out a mishap; nothing serious, as things turned out, 
 but still something that might have been vastly so.
 
 12 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 His train was in a wreck, rather a nasty one, but 
 Nigel himself had come out unscathed, and much to 
 be congratulated, he thought, since through that 
 wreck he has become acquainted with what he firmly 
 believed to be the most beautiful girl in the world. 
 Better yet, he had learned that she was a neighbour 
 of his at Merriton Towers. That fact helped him 
 through what he felt was going to be somewhat of 
 an ordeal his entrance into the gloomy and ghost - 
 ridden old house of his inheritance.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE FROZEN FLAMES 
 
 m JTERRITON TOWERS had been called the 
 ^/ I loneliest spot in England by many of the 
 tourists who chanced to visit the Fen dis 
 trict, and it was no misnomer. Nigel, having seen 
 it some thirteen years before, found that his memory 
 had dimmed the true vision of the place considerably; 
 that where he had builded romance, romance was 
 not. Where he had softened harsh outlines, and 
 peopled dark corridors with his own fancies, those 
 same outlines had taken on a grimness that he could 
 luirdly believe possible, and the long, dark corridors 
 of his mind s vision were longer and darker and 
 lonelier than he had ever imagined any spot could be. 
 It was a handsome place, no doubt, in its gaunt, 
 gray, prisonlike way. And, too, it had a moat and a 
 miniature portcullis that rather tickled his boyish 
 fancy. The furnishings, however, had an appalling 
 grimness that took the very heart out of one. Chairs 
 which seemed to have grown in their places for 
 centuries crowded the corners of hallway and stairs 
 like gigantic nightmares of their original prototypes. 
 Monstrous curtains of red brocade, grown purple with 
 
 13
 
 14 The Riddle of the Frozen Flams 
 
 the years, seemed to hang from every window and 
 door crowding out the light and air. The carpel* 
 were thick and dark and had lost all sign of pattern. 
 in the dull gloom of the centuries. 
 
 It was, in fact, a house that would create ghost. 1 - . 
 The atmosphere was alive with that strange sen 
 sation of disembodied spirits which some very old 
 house-, seem to possess. Narrow, slit-like windows 
 in perfect keeping with the architecture and the 
 needs of the period in which it was built if not with 
 modern ideas of hygiene and health kept the rooms 
 dark and imisty. Wh*-!i Nigel first entered the place 
 through the great front door thrown open by the 
 solemn-faced butler, who he learned had been kept 
 on from his uncle s time, he felt as though he were 
 entering his own tomb. When the door shut he 
 shuddered as the light and sunshine vanished. 
 
 The first night he hardly slept a wink. His bed 
 was a huge four-poster, girt about with plush hang 
 ings like over-ripe plums, that shut him in as though 
 he were in some monstrous Victorian trinket box. A 
 post creaked at every turn he made in its downy 
 softnesses, and being used to the light, camp-like 
 furniture of an Indian bungalow he got up, took an 
 eiderdown with him, and spent the rest of the hours 
 upon a sofa drawn up beside an open window. 
 
 "That people could live in such places!" he told 
 himself, over and over again. "No wonder my poor 
 old uncle disappeared! Any self-respecting Chris-
 
 The Frozen Flames 15 
 
 tian would. There ll be some slight alterations made 
 i?i Merriton Towers before I m many days older, you 
 can bet your life on that. Old great-grandmother 
 four-poster takes her conge to-morrow morning. If 
 I must live here I ll sleep anyhow." 
 
 He settled himself back against the hard, horse 
 hair sofa, and pulled up the blind. The room was 
 instantly filled with gray and lavender shadows, 
 while without the Fens stretched out in unbroken 
 lines as though all the rest of the world were made up 
 of nothing else. Lonely? Merriton had known the 
 loneliness of Indian nights, far away from any signs 
 of civilization: the loneliness of the jungle when the 
 air was so still that the least sound was like the drop 
 ping of a bomb; the strange mystical loneliness which 
 comes to the only white man in a town of natives. 
 But all these were as nothing as compared to this. 
 He could imagine a chap committing suicide living 
 in such a house. Sir Joseph Merriton had dis 
 appeared five years before and no wonder! 
 
 Merriton lay with his eyes upon the window, 
 smoking a cigarette, and surveyed the outlook before 
 him with despairing eyes. AYhat a future for a chap 
 in his early thirties to face! Not a sign of habitation 
 anywhere, not a vestige of it, save at the far edge of 
 the Fens where a clump of trees and thick shrubs told 
 him that behind lay Withersby Hall. This, intuition 
 told him, was the home of Antoinette Brellier, the girl 
 of the train, of the wreck, and now of his dreams.
 
 16 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 Then his thoughts turned to her. Gad! to bring a 
 frail, delicate little butterfly to a place like this was 
 like trying to imprison a ray of sunshine in a leaden 
 box! . . . 
 
 His eyes, rivetted upon where the clump of trees 
 stood out against the semi-darkness of the ap 
 proaching dawn, saw of a sudden a light prick out 
 like a tiny flame, low down upon the very edge of the 
 Fens. One light, two, three, and then a very host 
 of hem flashed out, as though some unseen hand had 
 tor.; the heavens down and strewn their jewels broad- 
 ca. 1 -; over the marshes. Instinctively lie got to his 
 
 feet. YVhul on earth ? But even as his lips 
 
 formed the unspoken exclamation came yet another 
 light to join the others dancing and twinkling and 
 flickering out there across the gloomy marshlands. 
 
 What the dickens was it, anyhow? A sort of un 
 earthly fireworks display, or some new explosive 
 experiment? The dancing flames got into his eyes 
 like bits of lighted thistledown blown here, there, and 
 everywhere. 
 
 Merriton got to his feet and threw open another 
 window bottom with a good deal of effort, for the 
 sashes were old and stiff. Then, clad only in his 
 silk pyjamas, and with the cigarette charring itself 
 to a tiny column of gray ash in one hand, he leaned 
 far out over the sill and watched those twinkling, 
 dancing, maddening little star-flames, with the eyes 
 of amazed astonishment.
 
 The Frozen Flames 17 
 
 In a moment sleep had gone from his eyelids and 
 he felt thoroughly awake. Dashed if he wouldn t 
 throw on a few clothes and investigate. The thing 
 was so strange, so incredible ! He knew, well enough, 
 from Borkins s (the venerable butler) description 
 earlier in the evening, that that part of the marshes 
 was uninhabited. Too low for stars the things were, 
 for they hung on the edges of the marsh grass like tiny 
 lanterns swung there by fairy hands. In such a 
 house, in such a room, with the shadow of that old 
 four-poster winding its long fingers over him, 
 Merriton began to perspire. It was so devilish un 
 canny! He was a brave enough man in human 
 matters, but somehow these flames out there in the 
 uninhabited stretch of the marshes were surely 
 caused by no human agency. Co and investigate 
 he would, this very minute! lie drew in his head 
 and brought the window down with a bang that 
 went sounding through the gaunt, deserted old 
 house. 
 
 Hastily he began to dress, and even as he struggled 
 into a pair of tw 7 eed trousers came the sound of a soft 
 knock upon his door, and he whipped round as 
 though he had been shot, his nerves all a-jingle from 
 the very atmosphere of the place. 
 
 "And who the devil are you? " he snapped out in an 
 angry voice, all the more angry since he was con 
 scious of a slight trembling of the knees. The door 
 swung open a trifle and the pale face of Borkins
 
 18 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 appeared around it. His eyes were wide with fright, 
 his mouth hung open. 
 
 "Sir Nigel, sir. I card a dreadful noise like a 
 pistol shot it was, comin from this room! Any- 
 think the matter, sir?" 
 
 "Nothing, you ass!" broke out Merriton, fret 
 fully, as the butler began to show other parts of his 
 anatomy round the corner of the door. "Come in, 
 or go out, which ever you please. But i r or the Lord s 
 sake, do one or the other! There s a beastly draught. 
 The noise you heard was that window which pos 
 sibly hasn t been opened for a cenlury or two, groan 
 ing in pain at being forced into action again! Can t 
 sleep in this beastly room haven t closed my eyes 
 yet and when I did get out of that Victorian atroc 
 ity over there and take to the sofa by [he window. 
 why, the first thing I saw were those flames flicker 
 ing out across the horizon like signal-fires, or some 
 thing! I ve been watching them for the past twenty 
 minutes and they ve got on my nerves. I m goin 
 out to investigate." 
 
 Borkins gave a little exclamation of alarm and put 
 one trembling hand over his face. Merriton sud 
 denly registered the fact as being a symptom of the 
 state of nerves which Merriton Towers was likely to 
 reduce one. Then Borkins shambled across the room 
 and laid a timid hand upon Merriton s arm. 
 
 "For Gawd s sake sir dont!" he murmured in a 
 shaken voice. "Those lights, sir if you knew the
 
 The Frozen Flames 19 
 
 story! If you values your life at any price at all 
 don t go out, sir, and investigate them. Don t! 
 You re a dead man in the morning if you do." 
 
 "What s that?" Merriton swung round and looked 
 into the weak, rather watery, blue eyes of his butler. 
 "What the devil do you mean, Borkins, talkin a 
 lot of rot? What are those flames, anyway? And 
 why in heaven s name shouldn t I go out and inves 
 tigate em if I want to? Who s to stop me? " 
 
 "T, your lordship if I ever as any influence with 
 uman nature!" returned Borkins, vehemently. "The 
 story s common knowledge, Sir Nigel, sir. Them 
 there flames is supernatural. Frozen flames the vil 
 lagers calls em, because they don t seem to give out 
 no eat. That part of the Fens in unin abited and 
 there isn t a soul in the whole village as would ven 
 ture anywhere near it after dark." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because they never comes back, that s why, sir!" 
 said Borkins. " T isn t any old wives tale neither. 
 There s been cases by the score. Only a matter of 
 six months ago one of the boys from the mill, who was 
 somewhat the worse for liquor, said he was agoin ter 
 see who it was wot made them flames light up by 
 theirselves, and he never came back. And that 
 same night another flame was added to the number!" 
 
 "Whew! Bit of a tall story that, Borkins!" 
 Nevertheless a cold chill crept over Merriton s bones 
 and he gave a forced, mirthless laugh.
 
 20 Tlie Riddle of iJie Frozen Flame 
 
 "As true as the gospel, Sir Nigel!" said Borkins, 
 solemnly. "That s what always appens. Every time 
 any one ventures that way well, they re a-soundin 
 their own death-knell, so to speak, and you kin see 
 the new light appear. But there s never no trace of 
 the person that ventured out across the Fens at even 
 ing time. He, or she a girl tried it once, Lord save 
 er! vanishes off the face of the earth as clean as 
 though they d never been born. Gawd alone knows 
 what it is that lives there, or what them flames may 
 be, but I tells you it s sheer death to attempt to see 
 for yourself, so long as night lasts. And in the 
 morning well, it s gone, and there isn t a thing to 
 be seen for the lookin ! " 
 
 "Merciful powers! What a peculiar thing!" De 
 spite his mockery of the supernatural, Merriton could 
 not help but feel a sort of awe steal over him, at the 
 tale as told by Borkins in the eeriest hour of the whole 
 twenty-four that which hangs between darkness 
 and dawn. Should he go or shouldn t he? He was 
 
 a fool to believe the thing, and yet He certainly 
 
 didn t want to die yet awhile, with Antoinette Brel- 
 lier a mere handful of yards away from him, and all 
 the days his own to cultivate her acquaintance in. 
 
 "You ve fairly made my flesh creep with your 
 beastly story!" he said, in a rather high-pitched voice. 
 "Might have reserved it until morning after my 
 debut in this haunt of spirits, Borkins. Consider my 
 nerves. India s made a hash of em. Get back to
 
 The Frozen Flames 21 
 
 bed, man, and don t worry over my investigations. 
 I swear I won t venture out, to-night at any rate. 
 Perhaps to-morrow I may have summoned up 
 enough courage, but I ve no fancy for funerals yet 
 awhile. So you can keep your pleasant little rem 
 iniscences for another time, and I ll give you my 
 word of honour that I ll do nothing rash!" 
 
 Borkins gave a sigh of relief. He passed his hand 
 over his forehead, and his eyes rather shifty, rather 
 narrow, pale blue eyes which Merriton had instinc 
 tively disliked (he couldn t tell why) lightened sud 
 denly. 
 
 "Thank Gawd for that, sir!" he said, solemnly. 
 "You ve relieved my mind on that score. I ve always 
 thought your poor uncle, Sir Joseph Merriton 
 and those flames there might ave been the reason 
 for his disappearance, though of course - " 
 
 "What s that?" Merriton turned round and looked 
 at him, his brow furrowed, the whole personality of 
 the man suddenly awake. "My uncle, Borkins? 
 How long have these er lights been seen here 
 abouts? I don t remember them as a child." 
 
 "Oh, mostly always, I believe, sir; though they ain t 
 been much noticed before the last four years," re 
 plied Borkins. "I think yes come August next. 
 Four years was the first time my attention was 
 called to "em." 
 
 Merriton s laugh held a note of relief. 
 
 "Then you needn t have worried. My uncle has
 
 22 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 been missing for a little more than fire years, and that, 
 therefore, when he did disappear the flames obviously 
 had nothing to do with it!" 
 
 Borkins s wrinkled, parchment-like checks went a 
 dull, unhealthy red. He opened his mouth to speak 
 and then drew back again. Merriton gave him a 
 keen glance. 
 
 "Of course, how foolish of me. As you say, sir, 
 impossible ! " he stammered out, bowing backward 
 toward the door. "I ll be getting back to my bed 
 again, and leave you to finish your rest undisturbed. 
 I m sorry to ave troubled you. I m sure, sir, only I 
 was afraid something ad appened." 
 
 "That s all right. Good-night," returned Mer 
 riton curtly, and turned the key in the lock as the 
 door closed. He stood for a moment thinking,, 
 his eyes upon the winking, flickering points of light 
 that seemed dimmer in the fast growing light. " Now 
 why did he make that bloomer about dates, I won 
 der? Uncle s been gone five years and Borkins 
 knew it. He was here at the time, and yet why 
 did he suggest that old wives tale as a possible solu 
 tion of the disappearance? Borkins, my lad, there s 
 more behind those watery blue eyes of yours than 
 men may read. Hmm! . . . Now I wonder 
 why the deuce he lied to me?"
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 SUNSHINE AND SHADOW 
 
 HEX Merrilon shaved himself next morn 
 ing lie laughed at the reflection that the 
 mirror east back at him. For he looked 
 for all the world as though he had been up all night 
 and his knee was painful and rather stiff, as though 
 he had strained some ligament in it. 
 
 "Beastly place is beginning to make its mark on 
 me already! lie said, as he lathered his chin. "My 
 eyes look as though they had been stuck in with a 
 
 burnt cork, and the devil take my shaky hand! 
 
 And that railroad business yesterday helps it along. 
 A nice state of affairs for a chap of my age, I must say! 
 Scared as a kid at an old wives story. Borkins is 
 a fool, and I m an idiot. . . Damn! there s a bit 
 off my chin for a start. I hope to goodness no one 
 takes it into their heads to pay me a visit to-day." 
 
 His hopes, however, in this direction were not to 
 be realized, for as the afternoon wore itself slowly 
 away in a ramble round the old place, and through 
 the stables which in their day had been famous 
 the big, harsh-throated door-bell rang, and Merri- 
 ton, in the very act of telling Borkiris that he was 
 
 23
 
 24 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 officially "not in," happened to catch a glimpse of 
 something light and fluffy through the stained-glass 
 of the door, and suddenly kept his counsel. 
 
 A few seconds later Borkins ushered in two visitors. 
 Merriton, prepared by the convenient glass for the 
 appearance of one was nevertheless not unpleased to 
 see the other. For the names that Borkins rolled 
 off his tongue with much relish were those of "Miss 
 Brellier and Mr. Brellier, sir." 
 
 His lady of the thrice blessed wreck! His lady 
 of the dainty accent and glorious eyes. 
 
 His face glowed suddenly and he crossed the big 
 room in a couple of strides and in the next second was 
 holding Antoinette s hand rather longer than was 
 necessary, and was looking down into the rouguish 
 greeny-gray eyes that had captivated him only yes 
 terday, when for one terrible, glorious moment he 
 had held her in his arms, while the railroad coach 
 dissolved around them. 
 
 "Are you fit to be about?" he said, his voice ring 
 ing with the very evident pleasure that he felt at 
 this meeting with her, and his eyes wandering to 
 where a strip of pink court plaster upon her fore 
 head showed faintly through the screen of hair that 
 covered it. Then he dropped her hand and turned 
 toward the man who stood a pace or two behind her 
 tiny figure, looking at him with the bluest, youngest 
 eyes he had ever looked into. 
 
 "Mr. Brellier, is it not? Very good of you, sir.
 
 Sunshine and Shadow 25 
 
 to come across in this neighbourly fashion. Won t 
 you sit down?" 
 
 "Yes," said Antoinette, gaily, "my uncle. I 
 brought him right over by telling him of our adven 
 ture." 
 
 The man was tall and heavily built, with a wealth 
 of black hair thickly streaked with gray, and a trim, 
 well-kept "imperial" which gave him the foreign air 
 that his name carried out so well. His morning suit 
 was extremely well cut, and his whole bearing that of 
 the well-to-do man about town. Merriton registered 
 all this in his mind s eye, and was secretly very glad 
 of it. They were two thoroughbreds that was easy 
 to see. 
 
 And as for Antoinette! Well, he could barely 
 keep his eyes from her. She was lovelier than ever, 
 and clad this afternoon in all the fluffy femininity that 
 every man loves. Anything more intoxicatingly 
 delicious Merriton had never seen outside of his own 
 dreams. 
 
 "It was certainly ripping of you both to come," 
 he said nervously, feeling all hands and feet. "Never 
 saw such a lonely spot in all my life, by George, as 
 this house! It fairly gives you the creeps!" 
 
 "Indeed?" Brellier laughed in a deep, full-throated 
 voice. "For my part the loneliness is what so much 
 a}) peals to me. When one has spent a busy life 
 travelling to and fro over the world, m sieur, one 
 can but appreciate the peaceful backwaters which
 
 26 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 are so often to be found in this very dear, very 
 delightful England of yours. But that is not the 
 mission upon which I come. I have to thank you. 
 sir, for the great kindness and consideration you dis 
 played to my niece yesterday." 
 
 His English was excellent, and he spoke with the 
 clipped, careful accent of the foreigner, which Mer- 
 riton found fascinating. He had already succumbed 
 to something of the same thing in Antoinette. Hi 1 
 was beginning to enjoy himself very much indeed. 
 
 There was no need for thanks none at all. 
 "What is your opinion of the Towers, Miss Brellier?" 
 he asked suddenly, leaning forward toward her, anx 
 ious to change the con versa! ion. 
 
 She shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 "That is hardly a fair question to ask!" she re 
 sponded, "when I have been in it but a matter of five 
 minutes or more. But everything to me is enchant 
 ing! The architecture, the furnishings, the very at 
 mosphere 
 
 "Brrh! If you could have been here last night!" 
 He gave a mock shudder and broke it with a laugh. 
 "Why, a truly haunted house wasn t a patch on it! 
 If this place hasn t got a ghost, well then I ll eat my 
 hat! I could fairly hear em, dozens and dozens of 
 them, clinking and clanking all over the place. And 
 if you could see my room ! I sleep in a four-poster as 
 big as a suburban villa, and every now and again the 
 furniture gives a comfy little crack or two, like some-
 
 Sunshine and Shadow 27 
 
 one practising with a pistol, just to remind me that 
 my great-great-great-grandmother s ghost is sitting 
 in the wardrobe and watching over me with true 
 great-etc.-grandmotherly conscientiousness. 
 I say, do \ou ride? There ought to be some rippin 
 rides round here, if my memory doesn t fail me." 
 
 She nodded, and the conversation took a turn that 
 Sir Nigel found more than pleasant, and the time 
 passed most agreeably. 
 
 Merriton, only anxious to entertain his guests, 
 suddenly exploded the bomb which shattered that 
 afternoon s enjoyment for all three of them. 
 
 "By the way," he remarked, "last night, while I 
 was lying awake I saw a lot, of funny flames dancing 
 up and down upon the horizon. Seemed as though 
 they lay in the marshes between your place and mine, 
 Mr. Brellier. Borkins pulled a long story about em 
 with all the usual trimmin s. Said they were super 
 natural and all that. Ever seen em yourself? I 
 must say they gave me a bit of a turn. I m not keen 
 on spirits except in bottle form (which by the way 
 is a rotten bad pun, Miss Brellier,) but in India one 
 gets chockful of that sort of thing, and there never 
 seems to be any rational explanation. It leaves you 
 feeling funny. What s your opinion of em? For 
 seen em you must have done, as they seem to be 
 the talk of the whole village from what Borkins 
 says." 
 
 Antoinette s spoon tinkled in the saucer of the tea-
 
 28 The Riddle of tJie Frozen Flame 
 
 cup she was holding and her face went white. Brellier 
 shifted his eyes. A sort of tension had settled sud 
 denly over the pleasant room. 
 
 "I well, to tell you the truth, I can t explain eir, 
 myself!" Brellier said at last, clearing his throat with 
 signs of genuine nervousness. " They seem to be inex 
 plicable. I have seen them yes, many, many times. 
 And so has Toinette, but the stories afloat about 
 them are rather unpleasant, and like a wise man I 
 have kept myself free of investigation. I do hope 
 you ll do the same, Sir Nigel. One never knows, and 
 although one cannot always believe the silly things 
 which the villagers prattle about, it is as well to be 
 on the safe side. As you say, these things sometimes 
 lack a rational explanation. I should be sorry to 
 think you were likely to run into any unnecessary 
 danger." He bent his head and Merriton could 
 see that his fingers twitched. 
 
 "Borkins actually told me stories of people who 
 had disappeared in a mysterious manner and were 
 never found again," he remarked casually. 
 
 Brellier shrugged his shoulders. He spread out 
 his hands. 
 
 "Among the uneducated what would you? But 
 it is so, even since I myself have been in residence 
 at Withersby Hall something like three and a half 
 years there have been several mysterious dis 
 appearances, Sir Nigel, and all directly traceable to 
 a foolhardy desire to investigate these phenomena.
 
 Sunshine and Shadow 29 
 
 For myself, I leave well enough alone. I trust you 
 are going to do likewise? " 
 
 His eyes searched Merriton s face anxiously. There 
 was a worried furrow between his brows. 
 
 Merriton laughed, and at the sound, Toinette, 
 who had sat perfectly still during the discussion 
 of the mystery, gave a little cry of alarm and covered 
 her ears with her hands. 
 
 "I beg of you," she broke out excitedly, "please, 
 please do not talk about it! The whole affair 
 frightens me! Uncle will laugh I know, but I am 
 teriified of those little flames, Sir Nigel, more terri 
 fied than I can say ! If you speak of them any more, 
 I must go really ! Please, please don t dream of try 
 ing to find out what they are, Sir Xigel! It it 
 would upset me very much indeed if you attempted 
 so foolish a thing!" 
 
 Merriton s first sensation at hearing this was pleas 
 ure that he was capable of upsetting her over his own 
 personal welfare. Then the something sinister about 
 the whole story, which seemed to affect every one 
 with whom he came into touch, swept over him. A 
 number of otherwise rational human beings scared 
 out of their wits over some mysterious flames on the 
 edge of the Fens at night time, seemed, in the face of 
 this glorious summer s afternoon, to be little short of 
 ridiculous. He tried to throw the idea off but could 
 not. Toinette s pale face kept coming before him; 
 the sudden dropping of her spoon struck an un-
 
 30 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 pleasant chord in his memory. Brellier s attitude 
 merely added fuel to the fire and soon they rose to go. 
 Merriton following them to the door. 
 
 "Don t forget, then, Miss Brellier, that you are 
 booked to me for a ride on Thursday," lie said, 
 laughingly. 
 
 She nodded to him and gave his hand a little 
 squeeze at parting. 
 
 "I shall not forget, Sir Nigel. But you will 
 promise me," her voice dropped a tone or two, "you 
 will promise me that you will not try and find out 
 what those those flames are, won t you? I could 
 not sleep if you did." And they were gone. 
 
 Merriton stood awhile in silence, his brows puck 
 ered and his mouth stern. First Borkins, and then 
 Brellier, and now her! All of them begging him 
 almost upon their knees to forego a perfectly 
 harmless little quest of discovery. There seemed to 
 his mind something almost, fishy about it all. What 
 then \vere these "Frozen Flames"? What secret did 
 they hide? And what malignant power dwelt be 
 hind the screen of their mystery?
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 AN EVIL GENIUS 
 
 THUS, despite the bad beginning at Merriton 
 Towers the weeks that followed were filled 
 with happiness for Merriton. His acquaint 
 ance with Toinette flourished and that charming 
 young woman grew to mean more and more to the 
 man who had led such a lonely life. 
 
 And so one day wove itself into another with the 
 joy of sunlight over both their lives. He took to 
 going regularly to Withersby Hall, and became an 
 expected guest, dropping in at all hours to wile away 
 an hour or two in Toinette s company, or else to have 
 a quiet game of billiards with Brellier, or a cigar in 
 company with both of them, in the garden, while the 
 sun was still up. He never mentioned the flames to 
 them again. But he never investigated them either. 
 He had promised Toinette that, though he often 
 watched them from his bedroom window, at night, 
 watched them and wondered, and thought a good 
 deal about Borkins and how he had lied to him about 
 his uncle s disappearance upon that first night. 
 Between Borkins and himself there grew up a spirit 
 of distrust which he regretted yet did nothing to 
 
 31
 
 32 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 counteract. In fact it is to be feared thai he did his 
 best at times to irritate the staid old man who had 
 been in the family so long. Borkins did amuse him, 
 and he couldn t help leading him on. Borkins, 
 noting this attitude, drew himself into himself and his 
 face became mask-like in its impassivity. 
 
 But if Borkins became a stone image whenever 
 Merriton was about, his effusiveness was overpower 
 ing at such times as Mr. Brellier paid a visit to the 
 Towers. He followed both Brellier and his niece 
 wherever they went like a shadow. Jokingly one 
 day, Merriton had made the remark: "Borkins might 
 be your factotum rather than mine, Mr. Brellier; 
 indeed I ve no doubt he would be, if the traditions of 
 the house had not so long lain in his hands." He 
 was rewarded for this remark by a sudden tightening 
 of Brellier s lips, and then by an equally sudden smile. 
 They were very good friends these days Brellier 
 and Merriton, and got on very excellently together. 
 
 And then, as the days wore themselves away and 
 turned into months, Merriton woke up to the fact 
 that he could wait no longer before putting his luck 
 to the test so far as Toinette was concerned. He had 
 already confided his secret to Brellier, who laughed 
 and patted him on the back and told him that he had 
 known of it a long time and wished him luck. It 
 wasn t long after this he was telling Brellier the good 
 news that Toinette had accepted, and the two of them 
 came to tell him of their happiness.
 
 An Evil Genius 33 
 
 "So?" Mr. Brcllicr said quietly. "Well, I am 
 very, very glad. You have taken your time, mes 
 enfant ft, in settling this greatest of all questions, hut 
 perhaps you have been wise. ... I am very 
 happy for you, my Toinette, for I feel that your 
 future is in the keeping of a good and true man. 
 There are all too few in the world, believe me! . . . 
 
 " Toineile, a friend awaits you in the drawing-room. 
 Someone, I fear me, who will be none too pleased to 
 hear this news, but that s as may be. Dacre Wynne 
 is there, Toinette." 
 
 At the name a chill came over Merriton. 
 
 Dacre Wynne! And here! Impossible, and yet 
 the name was too uncommon for it to be a different 
 person from the man who always seemed somehow to 
 turn up wherever lie, Merriton, might chance to be. 
 Sort of a fateful affinity. Good friends and all that, 
 but somehow the things he always wanted, Dacre 
 Wynne had invariably come by just beforehand. 
 There was much more than friendly rivalry in their 
 acquaintanceship. And once, as mere youngsters of 
 seventeen and eighteen, there had been a girl, his girl, 
 until Dacre came and took her with that masterful 
 way of his. There was something brutally over 
 powering about Dacre, hard as granite, forceful, 
 magnetic. To Nigel s young, clean, wholesome mind, 
 little given to morbid imaginings as it was, it had al 
 most seemed as if their two spirits were in some 
 stifling stranglehold together, wrapt about and inter-
 
 34 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 twined by a hand operating by means of some un 
 known medium. And now to lind him here in his 
 hour of happiness. Was this close, uncomfortable 
 companionship of the spirit to be forced on him again? 
 If Wynne were present he felt he would be powerless 
 to avoid it. 
 
 "Do you know Dacre Wynne? " he asked, his voice 
 betraying an emotion that was almost fear. 
 
 Toinette Brcllier glanced at her uncle, hesitated, 
 and then murmured: "Yes I do. I didn t know 
 you did, Nigel. lie never spoke of you. I he 
 you see he wants me, too, Nigel, and I am almost 
 afraid to tell him about us. But I I have to see 
 him. Shall I tell him?" 
 
 "Of course. Poor chap, I am sorry for him. Yes, 
 I know him, Toinette. But I cannot say we are 
 friends. You see, I Oh, well, it doesn t mat 
 ter." 
 
 But how much Dacre Wynne was to matter to him, 
 and to Toinette, and to the public, and to far away 
 Scotland Yard, and to the man of mystery, Hamilton 
 Cleek, not they nor any one else could possibly 
 tell. 
 
 They went into the long, cool drawing room to 
 gether, and came upon Dacre Wynne, clad in riding 
 things, and looking, just as Nigel remembered he al 
 ways looked, very bronzed and big and handsome in a 
 heavy way. His back was toward them and his eyes 
 were upon a photo of Toinette that stood on a carved
 
 An Evil Genius 35 
 
 secretaire. He wheeled at the sound of their foot 
 steps and came forward, his face lighting with 
 pleasure, his hand outstretched. Then he saw 
 Merriton behind Toinette s tiny figure, and for a 
 moment some of the pleasure went out of his eyes. 
 
 "Hello," he said. "However did you get to this 
 part of the world? You always turn up like a bad 
 penny. . . . What a time you ve been Toinette !" 
 
 Merriton greeted him pleasantly, and Toinette s 
 radiant eyes smiled up into his bronzed face. 
 
 "Have I? "she said, with a little embarrassed laugh. 
 "Well, I have been out riding with Nigel." 
 
 "Oh, Nigel lives round here, does he?" said Wynne, 
 with a sarcastic laugh. "Like it, old man?" 
 
 "Oh, I like it well enough," retorted Merriton. 
 "At any rate I ll be obliged to get used to it. I ve 
 said good-bye to India for keeps, Wynne. I m settled 
 here for good." 
 
 Wynne swung upon his heel at the tone of Merri 
 ton s voice, and his eyes narrowed. He stood almost 
 a head taller than Nigel who was by no means short 
 and was big and broad and heavy-chested. Merriton 
 always felt at a disadvantage. 
 
 " So? You are going to settle down to it altogether, 
 then?" said Wynne, with an odd note in his deep, 
 booming voice. Toinette sent a quick, rather 
 scared look into her lover s face. He smiled back as 
 1 hough to reassure her. 
 
 "Yes," he said, a trifle defiantly. "You see,
 
 i36 TJie Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 Wynne, I ve come into a place near here. I m I m 
 hoping to get married soon. Toinette and I, you 
 know. She s done me the honour to promise to be 
 my wife. Congratulate me, won t you?" 
 
 It was like a blow full in the face to the other man. 
 For a moment all the colour drained out of his 
 bronzed cheeks and he went as white as death. 
 
 " I I certainly congratulate you, with all my 
 heart," he said, speaking in a strange, husky voice, 
 "Believe me, you re a luckier chap, Merrilon, than 
 you know. Quite the luckiest chap in the world." 
 
 He took out his handkerchief suddenly and blew 
 his nose, and then wiped his forehead, which, Merri- 
 ton noted, was damp with perspiration. Then he 
 felt in. his pockets and produced a cigarette. 
 
 "I may smoke, Toinette? Thanks. I ve had a 
 long ride, and a hard one. . . . And so you two 
 are going to get married, are you?" 
 
 Toinetle s face, too, was rather pale. She smiled 
 nervously, and instinctively her hand crept out and 
 touched Merri! oil s sleeve. She could feel him 
 stifi en suddenly, and saw how proudly he threw back 
 his head. 
 
 "Yes," said Toinette. "We re going to be mar 
 ried, Dacre. And I am oh, so happy! I know you 
 cannot help being pleased with that. And uncle, 
 too. He seems delighted." 
 
 Wynne measured her with his eyes for a moment. 
 Then he looked quickly away.
 
 An Evil Genius 37 
 
 "Well, Merriton, you ve got your own back for 
 little Ilosie Deverill, haven t you? Remember how 
 heart-broken you were at sixteen, when she turned 
 her rather wayward affections to me? Now the 
 tables have turned. Well, I wish you luck. Think 
 I ll be getting along. I ve a good deal of work to do 
 this evening, and I ll be shipping for Cairo, I hope, 
 next week. That s what I came to see you about 
 Tcinette, but I m afraid I am a little late." 
 
 "Cairo, Mr. Wynne?" Brellier had entered the 
 room and hi.s voice held a note of surprise. "We 
 shall iiii -s you 
 
 "Oil, yoif I get on all right without me, ray friend," 
 returned Wynne with a grim smile, and a look that 
 included all three of them in ils mock amusement. 
 "I m not quite so much wanted as I thought. Well, 
 Nigel, I suppose you ll be giving a dinner, the proper 
 stag party, before you become a Benedict. Sorry 
 I can t be here to join in the revels." 
 
 He put out his hand, Nigel took it, and wrung it 
 with a heartiness and friendship that he had never 
 before felt; but after all he had conquered! It was 
 he Antoinette was going to marry. His heart was 
 brimming over with pity for the man. 
 
 "Look here," he said. "Come and dine with me 
 at the Towers before you go, Wynne, old man. We ll 
 have a real bachelor party as you say. All the other 
 chaps and you, just to give you a sort of send off. 
 What about Tuesday? I won t have you say no."
 
 38 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 For a moment a look of friendship came into 
 Wynne s eyes. He gazed into Mcrriton s, and then 
 returned the hand-grasp frankly. It was almost as 
 though he understood this mute apology of Nigel s, 
 and took it at its proper value. 
 
 "Thanks, old boy. Very decent of you, I m sure. 
 Yes, I d like to have a peep at the other chaps before 
 I sail. Just for old times sake. I ve nothing special 
 doing Tuesday that I can t put off. And so I ll 
 come. So long." 
 
 "Good-bye," said Merriton, rather relieved at 
 Wynne s attitude and yet, in spite of himself, dis 
 trusting it. 
 
 "Good-bye, Toinette. . . . It s really good 
 bye thix time. And I wish you all the happiness 
 you deserve." 
 
 "Thank you." 
 
 He looked into her eyes a moment, and then with 
 a sudden sigh turned quickly away and went out of 
 the room. Brellier strode after him and wrung his 
 hand while the tw 7 o that were left clung lo each other 
 in silence. It was as though an unseen, sinister 
 presence had suddenly gone from the room. The 
 tension was lifted, and they could breathe naturally 
 again. 
 
 Standing together they heard the front door slam.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE SPECTRE AT THE FEAST 
 
 ERRITON, clad in his evening clothes and 
 looking exceedingly handsome, stood by 
 the smoking room door, with Tony We.-; I.., 
 short and thickset, wearing a suit that fitted badly 
 an J a collar which looked sizes too large for him (Mer- 
 riton had long given up hope of making him visit a 
 decent tailor) and waited for the sound of motor 
 wheels which would announce the arrival of further 
 guests. 
 
 It was the memorable Tuesday dinner, given in the 
 firs I place for Dacre Wynne, as a sort of send off be 
 fore he left for Cario. In the second Merriton in 
 tended to break it gently to the other chaps that he 
 was shortly to become a Benedict. 
 
 Lester Stark and Tony West, very loyal and proven 
 friends of Nigel Merriton, had arrived the evening 
 before. Dacre Wynne was coming down by the 
 seven o clock train, Dicky Fordyce, Reginald Lefroy 
 both fellow officers of Merriton s regiment, and 
 home on leave from India and mild old Dr. Bar 
 tholomew, whom everyone respected and few did 
 not love, and who was in attendance at most of the 
 
 39
 
 40 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 bachelor spreads in London and out of it, as being a 
 dry old body with a wit as fine as a rapier-thrust, 
 and a fund of delicate, subtle humour, made up the 
 little party. 
 
 The solemn front door bell of Merriton Towers 
 clanged, and Borkins, very pompous and elegant, 
 flung wide the door. Merriton saw Wynne s big, 
 broad-shouldered figure swathed in the black even 
 ing cloak which he affected upon such occasions, and 
 which became him mightily, and with an opera hat 
 set at the correct angle upon his closely-clipped d. irk 
 hair, step into the lighted hallway, and begin taking 
 off his gloves. 
 
 Tony West s raspy voice chimed out a welcome, 
 as Merriton went forward, his hand outstretched. 
 
 "Hello, old man!" said Tony. "How goes it? 
 Lookin a bit white about the gills, aren t you, eh? 
 . Whew! Merriton, old chap, that s my ribs, 
 if you don t mind. I ve no penchant for your bay 
 onet-like elbow to go prodding into em!" 
 
 Merriton raised an eyebrow, frowned heavily, and 
 by every other method under the sun tried to make 
 it plain to West that the topic was taboo. Where 
 fore W r est raised his eyebrows, began to make a hasty 
 exclamation, thought better of it, and then clapping 
 his hand over his mouth broke into whistling the 
 latest jazz tune, as though he had completely ex 
 tricated both feet from the unfortunate mire he had 
 planted them in but with very little success.
 
 TJie Spectre at the Feast 41 
 
 Wynne was a frowning Hercules as he entered the 
 pleasant smoke-filled room. Merriton s arm lay upon 
 his sleeve, and he endured because he had to that 
 was all. 
 
 "Hello!" he said, to Lester Stark s rather half 
 hearted greeting Lester Stark never had liked 
 Dacre Wynne and they both knew it. " You here as 
 well? Merriton s giving me a send-off and no mis 
 take. Gad! you chaps will be envying me this time 
 next week, I ll swear! Out on the briny for a de 
 cently long trip; plenty of pretty women on which 
 I m bankin of course" he gave Merriton a sudden, 
 searching look, "and not a care in the vrorld. And 
 the white lights of Cairo starin at me across the 
 water. Some picture, isn t it?" 
 
 "You may keep it!" said Tony West with a 
 shudder. "When you ve smclled Cairo, W^ynne, old 
 boy, you ll come skulkin home with your tail 
 between your legs. A rose by any other name w r ould 
 smell as sweet, but Cairo parts of it mind you 
 well, Cairo s the stinkin st rose I ever put my nose 
 into, that s all!" 
 
 "There are some things which offend the nostrils 
 more than odours ! " threw back Wynne with a black 
 look in Nigel s direction, and with a sort of slur in 
 his voice that showed he had been drinking more 
 than was good for him that night. "I think I can 
 endure the smells of Cairo after other things. Eh, 
 Nigel?" He forced a laugh which was mirthless and
 
 42 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 unpleasant, and Merriton, with a quick glance into 
 his friends faces, saw that they too had seen. Wynne 
 was in one of his "devil " humours, and all the fun and 
 joking and merriment in the world would never get 
 him out of it. His pity for the man suddenly died a 
 natural death. The very evident fact that Wynne 
 had been drinking rather heavily merely added, a 
 further distaste to it all. He wished heartily that he 
 had never ventured upon this act of unwanted friend 
 liness and given a dinner in his honour. Wynne was 
 going to be the spectre at the feast, and it looked 
 like being a poor sort of show after all. 
 
 "Come, buck up, old chap!" broke out Tony West, 
 the irrepressible. "Try to look a little less like a 
 soured lemon, if you can! Or we ll begin to think 
 that you ve been and gone and done something 
 you re sorry for, and are trying to work it off on us 
 instead. " 
 
 "Hello, here s Doctor Johnson," as the venerable 
 Bartholomew entered the room. "How goes it to 
 night, sir? A fine night, what? Behold the king of 
 the feast, his serene and mighty oh extremely mighty ! 
 highness Prince Dacre Wynne, world explorer and 
 soon to be lord-high-sniffer of Cairo s smells! Don t 
 envy him the task, do you?" 
 
 He bowed with a flourish to the doctor who 
 chuckled and his keen eyes, fringed with snow-white 
 lashes, danced. He wore a rather long, extremely un 
 tidy beard, and his shirt-front as always was crum-
 
 The Spectre at the Feast 43 
 
 pled and worn. Anything more unlike a doctor it 
 would be hard to imagine. But he was a clever one, 
 nevertheless. 
 
 "Well, my talkative young parrot," he greeted 
 West affectionately, "and how are you? . . And 
 who s party is this, anyhow? Yours or Merriton s? 
 You seem to be putting yourself rather more to the 
 fore than usual." 
 
 "Well, I ll soon be goin aft," retorted West with a 
 wide grin. "When old Nigel gets his innings. He s 
 as chockful of news as an egg is of meat." West was 
 OIK of the chosen few who had already heard of 
 Nigel s engagement, and he was rather like a, gossipy 
 old woman but his friends forgave it in him. 
 
 Merriton gave him a shove, and he fell back upon 
 Wynne, emitting a portentous groan. 
 
 " What the devil ? " began that gentleman, in a 
 testy voice. 
 
 Tony grinned. 
 
 "Nigel was ever thus!" he murmured, with up 
 lifted eyes. 
 
 "Shut up!" thundered Stark, clapping a hand over 
 West s mouth, and he subsided as the doorbell rang 
 again, and Borkins ushered in Fordyce and Lefroy, 
 two slim-hipped, dapper young gentlemen with the 
 stamp of the army all over them. The party thus 
 complete, Borkins gravely withdrew, and some fifteen 
 minutes later the great gong in the hallway clanged 
 out its summons. They streamed into the dining
 
 44 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 room, Doctor Bartholomew upon Tony West s fat lit 
 tle arm; Fordyce and Lefroy, side by side, hands in 
 pockets and closely cropped heads nodding vigor 
 ously; Merriton and Lester Stark sauntering one 
 slightly behind the other, and exchanging pleasan 
 tries as they went; and just in front of them, Dacre 
 Wynne, solitary, huge, sinister, and overbearing. 
 
 Wynne sat in the seat of honour on Merriton s 
 right. The rest sorted themselves out as they 
 wished, and made a good deal of noise and fun about 
 it, too. Down the length of the long, exquisitely 
 decorated table Merriton looked at his guests and 
 thought it wasn t going to be so dismal after all. 
 
 Champagne ran like water and spirits ran high. 
 They joyfully toasted Wynne, and later on the news 
 that Merriton imparted to them. In vain Dacre 
 Wynne s low spirits were apparent. lie must get 
 over his grouch, that vras all. Then once again the 
 spirit of evil descended upon ilie gathering and it was 
 Stark who precipitated its flight. "By the way, 
 Nigel," he asked suddenly, "isn t there some ghost 
 story or other pertaining to your district? Give us 
 a recital of it, old boy. Walnuts and wine and ghost 
 stories, you know, are just the right sort of thing 
 after a dinner like this. Tony, switch off the lights. 
 This old house of yours is the very place for ghosts. 
 Now let us have it." 
 
 "Hold on," Nigel remonstrated. "Give me a 
 chance to digest my dinner, and dash it all, the
 
 The Spectre at the Feast 45 
 
 thing s so deuced uncanny that it doesn t bear too 
 much laughing at either!" 
 
 "Come along!" Six voices echoed the cry. 
 "We re waiting, Nigel." 
 
 So Merriton had forthwith to oblige them. He, too, 
 had had enough to drink though drinking too 
 heavily was not one of his vices and his flushed face 
 showed the excitement that burned within him. 
 
 "Come over here by the window and see the thing 
 for yourselves, and then you shall hear the story," 
 he began enigmatically. 
 
 Nigel pushed back the heavy curtain and there, 
 in the darkness without it was getting on tow r ard 
 ten o clock gleamed and danced and flickered the 
 little flames that had so often puzzled him, and filled 
 his soul with a strange sort of supernatural fear. 
 Against the blackness beyond they hung like a 
 chain of diamonds irregularly strung, flickering 
 incessantly. 
 
 Every man there, save one, and that one stood 
 apart from the others like some giant bull who deigns 
 not to run with the herd gave an involuntary ex 
 clamation. 
 
 "What a deuced pretty sight!" remarked Fordyce, 
 in his pleasant drawl. "What is it? Some sort of 
 fair or other? Didn t know you had such things in 
 these parts." 
 
 "We don t." It was Merriton who spoke, rather 
 curtly, for the remark sounded inane to his ears.
 
 46 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 "It is no fair you ass, it s God knows what ! That s 
 the point of the whole affair. What arc those flames, 
 and where do they come from? That part of the 
 Fens is uninhabited, a boggy, marshy, ghostly spot 
 which no one in the whole countryside will cross at 
 night. The story goes that those who do well they 
 never come back." 
 
 "Oh, go easy, Nigel!" struck in Tony West with a 
 whistle of pretended astonishment. "Champagne 
 no doubt, but 
 
 "It s the truth according to the villagers, anyhow!" 
 returned Merriton, soberly. "That is how the story 
 goes, my lad, and you chaps asked me for it. Those 
 Frozen Flames it s the villagers name, not mine 
 they say are supernatural phenomena, and any one, 
 as I said before, crossing the place near them at night 
 disappears clean off the face of the earth. Then a 
 new flame appears, the soul of the johnny who has 
 
 < i 1 55 
 
 gone out . 
 
 "Any proof?" inquired Doctor Bartholomew 
 suddenly, stroking his beard, and arching his bushy 
 eyebrows, as if trying to sympathize with his host s 
 obvious half belief in the story. 
 
 Nigel wheeled and faced him in the dim light. 
 The pupils of his eyes were a trifle dilated. 
 
 "Yes, so I understand. Short time back a chap 
 went out fellow called Myers Will Myers. lie 
 was a bit drunk, I think, and thought he d have 
 a shot at makin the village busybodies sit up and
 
 The Spectre at the Feast 47 
 
 give em something to talk about. Anyhow, he 
 went." 
 
 "And he came back?" Unconsciously a little 
 note of anxiety had crept into Tony West s voice. 
 
 "No, on the contrary, he did not come back. They 
 searched for his body all over the marshes next day, 
 but it had disappeared absolutely, and the chap who 
 told me said he saw another light ccme out the next 
 night, and join the rest of em. . . . There, 
 there s your story, Lester, make what you like of it. 
 I ve done my bit and told it anyway." 
 
 .For a moment there was silence. Then Si ark 
 shook himself. 
 
 "Gad, what an uncanny story I Turn up the 
 lights someone, and dispel this gloom that seems to 
 have settled on everyone! What do you make of it?" 
 
 Suddenly Wynne s great, bulky figure swung free 
 from the shadows. There were red glints in his eyes 
 and a sneer curled his heavy lips. He sucked liis 
 cigar and threw his head back. 
 
 "What I make of it is a whole lot of old women s 
 damn silly nonsense!" he announced in a loud voice. 
 "And how a sensible, decent thinkin man can give 
 credence to the thing for one second beats me 
 completely! Nigel s head was always full of imagi 
 nations Cof a sort) but how you other chaps can listen 
 to the thing Well, all I can say is you re the rotten- 
 est lot of idiots I ve ever come across!" 
 
 Merriton shut his lips tightly for a moment, and
 
 48 TJie Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 tried hard to remember that this man was a guest in 
 his house. It was so obvious that Wynne was try 
 ing for a row, Doctor Bartholomew turned round 
 and lifted a protesting hand. 
 
 "Don t you think your language is a trifle or 
 overstrong, Wynne?" he said, in that quiet voice of 
 his which made all men listen and wonder why they 
 did it. 
 
 Wynne tossed his shoulders. His thick neck was 
 rather red. 
 
 "No, I m damned if I do! You re men here 
 or supposed to be not a pack of weak-kneed 
 women! . . . Afraid to go out and see what 
 those lights are, are you? Well, I m not. Look 
 here. I ll have a bet with you boys. Fifty pounds 
 that I get back safely, and dispel the morbid fancies 
 from your kindergarten brains by tellin you that the 
 things are glow-worms, or some fool out for a practi 
 cal joke on the neighbourhood which has fallen for 
 it like this sort of one-horse hole-in-t he-corner place 
 would! Fifty pounds? What say you?" 
 
 He glowered round upon each of them in turn, his 
 sneering lips showing the pointed dogs teeth behind 
 them, his whole arrogant personality brutally awake. 
 "Who ll take it on? You Merriton? Fifty pounds, 
 man, that I don t get back safely and report to you 
 chaps at twelve o clock to-night." 
 
 Merriton s flushed face went a shade or two redder, 
 and he took an involuntary step forward. It was
 
 The Spectre at the Feast 49 
 
 only the doctor s fingers upon his coat-sleeve that 
 restrained him. Then, too, he felt some anxiety that 
 this drunken fool should attempt to do the very thing 
 which another drunken fool had attempted three 
 months back. lie couldn t bet on another man s 
 chance of life, like he would on a race-horse! 
 
 "You ll be a fool if you go, Wynne," he said, as 
 quietly as his excitement would permit. "As my 
 guest I ask you not to. The thing may be all 
 rubbish possibly is- but I d rather you took no 
 chances. Who it is that hides on I there and kills his 
 victims or smuggles them away I don t know, but I d 
 rather you didn t, old chap. And I m not betting on 
 a fellow s life. Have another drink man, and forget 
 all about it." 
 
 Wynne took this creditable effort at. reconciliation 
 with a harsh guffaw. He crossed to Nigel and put 
 his big, heavy hands upon the slim shoulders, bend 
 ing his flushed face down so I ha! the eyes of both 
 were almost upon a level. 
 
 "You little, white-livered sneak," he said in a deep 
 rumbling voice that was like thunder in the still 
 room. "Pull yourself together and try to be a man. 
 Take on the bet or not, whichever you like. You re 
 savin up for the housekeepin I suppose. Well, 
 take it or leave it fifty pounds that I get back safe 
 in this house to-night. Are you on?" 
 
 Merriton s teeth bit into his lips until the blood 
 came in the effort at repression. He shook W r ynne s
 
 50 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 hands off his shoulders and laughed straight into 
 the other man s sneering face. 
 
 "Well then go and be damned to you!" he said 
 fiercely. "And blame your drunken wits if you come 
 to grief. I ve done my best to dissuade you. If 
 you were less drunk I d square the thing up and fight 
 you. But I m on, all right. Fifty pounds that you 
 don t get back here though I m decent enough to 
 hope I ll have to pay it. That satisfy you?" 
 
 "All right." Wynne straightened himself, took an 
 unsteady step forward toward the door, and it was 
 then thai, they all realized how exceedingly drunk 
 the man was. lie had come to the dinner in a state 
 of partial intoxication, which merely made him bad- 
 tempered, but now the spirits that he had partaken 
 of so plentifully was burning itself into his very brain. 
 
 Doctor Bartholomew took a step toward him. 
 
 "Dash it all!" he said under his breath and ad 
 dressing no one in particular, "he can t go like that. 
 Can t some of us stop him?" 
 
 "Try," put in Lester Stark sententiously, having 
 had previous experiences of Wynne s mood, so Doc 
 tor Bartholomew did try, and got cursed for his pains. 
 Wynne was struggling into his great, picturesque 
 cloak, a sinister figure of unsteady gait and blood 
 shot eye. As he went to the hall and swung open the 
 front door, Merriton made one last effort to stop him. 
 
 "Don t be a fool, Wynne," he said anxiously. 
 "The game s not worth the candle. Stay where you
 
 The Spectre at the Feast 51 
 
 are and I ll put you up for the night, but in Heaven s 
 name don t venture out across the Fens now." 
 
 Wynne turned and showed him a reddened, con 
 gested face from which the eyes gleamed evilly. 
 Merriton never forgot that picture of him, or the 
 sudden tightening of the heart-strings that he 
 experienced, the sudden sensation of foreboding that 
 swept over him. 
 
 "Oh go to hell!" Wynne said thickly. And 
 plunged out into the darkness.
 
 A SHOT IN THE DARK 
 
 THE church clock, some distance over Herne s 
 Hill which lies at the back of Merriton 
 Towers, broke the half silence that had fallen 
 upon the little group of men in the warm smoking 
 room with twelve sonorous, deep- throated notes. At 
 sound of them Merriton got to his feet and stretched 
 his hands above his head. A damper had fallen over 
 the spirits of his guests after Wynne had gone out into 
 the night on his foolish errand, and the fury against 
 him that had stirred Nigel s soul was gradually wear 
 ing oif. 
 
 "Well, Wynne said twelve, didn t he?" he re 
 marked, with a sort of half-laugh as lie surveyed the 
 grave faces of the men who were seated in a semi 
 circle about him, "and twelve it is. We ll wait 
 another half hour, and then if he doesn t come we ll 
 make a move for bed. He ll be playing some beastly 
 trick upon us, you may be sure of that. What a 
 horrible temperament the man has! He was sup 
 posed to be putting up with the Brelliers to-night- 
 old man Brellier was decent enough to ask him and 
 possibly he ll simply turn in there and laugh to him- 
 
 51
 
 ,- 
 
 A Shot in the Dark 53 
 
 self at the picture of us chaps sitting here in the 
 mornin* and wailin for his return!" 
 
 Doctor Bartholomew shook his white head with a 
 good deal of obstinacy. 
 
 "I think you re wrong there Nigel. Wynne is a 
 man of his word, drunk or sober. He ll come back, 
 no doubt. Unless something has happened to him." 
 
 "And this from our sceptical disbeliever, boys!" 
 struck in Tony West, raising his hands in mock 
 horror. "Nigel, m lad, you ve made an early con 
 version. The good doctor has a sneaking belief in 
 the story. How now, son? What s your plan of 
 action?" 
 
 "Half an hour s wait more, and then to bed," said 
 Merriton, tossing back his head and setting his jaw. 
 "I offered Wynne a bed in the first place, but he saw 
 fit to refuse me. If he hasn t made use of this op 
 portunity to turn in at the Brelliers place, I ll eat my 
 hal . What about a round of cards, boys, till the time 
 is up?" 
 
 So the cards were produced, and the game began. 
 But it was a half-hearted attempt at best, for every 
 one s ear was strained for the front-door bell, and 
 everyone had an eye half-cocked toward the window. 
 Before the half hour was up the game had fizzled out. 
 And still Dacre Wynne did not put in an appearance. 
 
 Borkins, having been summoned, brought in some 
 whisky and Merriton remarked casually: 
 
 "Mr. Wynne has ventured out to try and discover
 
 54 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 the meaning of the Frozen Flames, Borkins. He ll 
 be baek some time this evening or rather morning, 
 I should say, for it s after midnight and the other 
 gentlemen and myself are going to make a move for 
 bed. Keep your ears peeled in case you hear him. 
 I sleep like the very old devil himself, when once I do 
 get off." 
 
 Borkins, on hearing this, turned suddenly gray, 
 and the perspiration broke out on his forehead. 
 
 "Gone, sir? Mr. Wynne gone out there?" he 
 said in a stifled voice. "Oh my Gawd, sir. It s 
 it s suicide, that s what it is! And Mr. Wynne s 
 gone! . . . E ll never come back, I swear." 
 
 Merriton laughed easily. 
 
 "Well, keep your swearing to yourself. Borkins," 
 he returned, "and see that the gentlemen s rooms are 
 ready for em. Doctor Bartholomew has the one 
 next to mine, and Mr. West s is on the other side. 
 I gave Mrs. Dredge full instructions this morning. 
 . . . . Good-night, Borkins, and pleasant dreams." 
 
 Borkins left. But his face was a dull drab shade 
 and he was trembling like a man who has received a, 
 terrible shock. 
 
 "There s a case of genuine scare for you," re 
 marked Doctor Bartholomew quietly, drawing on 
 his pipe. ; That man s nerves are like unstrung 
 wires. Hardly ever seen a chap so frightened in all 
 the course of my medical career. He s either had 
 experience of the thing, or he knows something about
 
 A Shot in the Dark 55 
 
 it. Whichever way it is, he s the most terrified ob 
 ject I ve ever laid eyes on!" 
 
 Merriton broke into a laugh. But there was not 
 much merriment in it, rather a note of uneasiness 
 which made Tony West glance up at him sharply. 
 
 "Best place for you, old chap, is your bed," he said, 
 getting to his feet and laying an arm across Nigel s 
 shoulders. Livin down here does seem to play the 
 old Harry with one s nerves. I m as jumpy as a 
 kitten myself. Take it from me, Wynne will 
 return, Nigel, and when he does he ll see to it that we 
 all hear him. He ll probably break every pane of 
 glass in the place with a stone, and play a devil s 
 dance upon the knocker. That s his usual way of ex- 
 pressin his pleasure, I believe. Here, here s health 
 to you, old boy, and happiness, and the best of 
 luck." 
 
 That lilile ceremony being over, they turned in, 
 Doctor Bartholomew, his arm linked in Nigel s going 
 with him to his bedroom, and, in the half-dusk of the 
 spluttering candles, they stood together at the un 
 curtained window and looked out in silence upon the 
 flames, the Frozen Flames that Wynne had gone out 
 to investigate. For quite ten minutes they stood still. 
 Then the doctor stirred himself and broke into a little 
 laugh. 
 
 "Well, well," he said comfortably, "whatever our 
 friend Wynne is going to do, I don t really think we 
 need put any credence in the story that he won t
 
 56 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 return, Nigel. So you can go to bed in comfort on 
 that, can t you?" 
 
 Merriton nodded. Then he yawned and shut his 
 eyes. 
 
 "What s that? Credence in the story? Of course 
 not, Doctor. I m not such a fool as I may look. 
 Wynne s playing a game on us, and at this moment 
 he is probably seated in Brellier s study having a 
 laugh at the rest of us, wait in up for him anxiously, 
 like a lot of scared old women. Ileigho! I m tired 
 . You re interested in firearms, Doctor. Here s 
 my little pet, my sleepin companion, you under 
 stand, that has been with me through many a hot 
 campaign." He leaned over and took a little re 
 volver out of the drawer of the little cabinet that 
 stood by the bedside. The doctor, who had a re 
 markably fine collection of firearms, handled it with 
 practised hands, remarked upon its good points, 
 cocked the tiny thing, and then lifting his head looked 
 Nigel straight in the eyes. 
 
 "I see you keep it loaded, my boy," he said quietly. 
 
 Merriton laughed. 
 
 "Yes. Habit, I suppose. One needed a loaded re 
 volver in the jungle where every black man s hand 
 was against you. Nice little toy, isn t it?" 
 
 "Yes. Looks very business-like, too." 
 
 "It is. Twice now it has saved my life. I owe 
 it a good turn. . . . Well," laying the thing 
 down upon the top of the cabinet and turning to the
 
 A Shot in the Dark 57 
 
 doctor with a smile. "I suppose you ll be turning in 
 now. Pleasant dreams, old chap, and plenty of em. 
 If you hear anything of Wynne- 
 
 "I ll let you know," broke in the doctor, returning 
 the smile affectionately. "Good-night." 
 
 He turned and w r ent out through the door to his 
 own room, the next one along the hall. 
 
 Nigel, after hesitating a moment, strode over to 
 the window. It was still as black as a pocket out 
 side, for dawn was not due for some hours yet, and 
 against the darkness the flames still danced their 
 nightly revel. He shook his fist at them and then 
 broke into a harsh laugh as the thought of Dacre 
 Wynne came to him again. Dash the fellow! He 
 was always, in some way or another, intruding upon 
 his privacy, whether it was mental or otherwise. 
 Then, as he looked, it seemed as though a fresh flame 
 suddenly flashed out in the velvet darkness to the left 
 of the others. To his excited fancy it looked bigger, 
 brighter, newer! But that was impossible! The 
 Fens were uninhabited. 
 
 He watched the light for a moment or two, and 
 then suddenly, obsessed with a strange fear, strode 
 across the room and picked up the tiny revolver. 
 
 "Damn it! I m going silly!" he exclaimed angrily, 
 and throwing the window open took aim, his brain 
 on fire with the champagne and the excitement of the 
 evening. "Now let s see if you ll go, you infernal 
 little devil!"
 
 58 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 His finger touched the trigger, the thing spoke 
 softly that was one of its chief attractions for 
 Nigel and spat forth a little jet of flame. And as 
 it did so, his brain cleared like magic. He laughed 
 and shook himself as though out of a trance into which 
 he had fallen. The light was still there. What a 
 fool he w T as, potting at glowworms like a madman! 
 lie shut the window with a bang and started to un 
 dress, and then went over to the door as he heard the 
 doctor s voice outside. 
 
 "Thought I heard a shot, Nigel, what ?" 
 
 " You did. I m a silly ass and have been potting at 
 those beastly flames," returned Merriton, shame 
 facedly. "For Heaven s sake, don t tell the other 
 fellows. They ll think I ve gone loony. And for a 
 moment I believe I had. But there s no harm done." 
 
 "Potting at those flames!" The doctor s voice 
 was almost concerned. Then he shrugged his slioul- 
 ers. "Oh, well, there s nothing in it! I must say 
 I ve taken a chance shot now and again at a bird my 
 self from my bedroom before now. Still, get to bed, 
 Nigel, like a good fellow, and have some sleep. Here, 
 give me the pistol. You ll be potting at me before I 
 know where I am. I ll take it into my room, thank 
 
 you!" 
 
 "Right you are!" Merriton s laugh rang more nor 
 mally and the doctor nodded with pleasure. " Good 
 night, Doctor." 
 
 "Good-night."
 
 A Shot in the Dark 59 
 
 Then the door closed again, and the house dropped 
 once more inio stillness. In ten minutes Merriton 
 tumbled into bed. lie slept like a log. . . . He 
 hadn t seen the doctor drop that sleeping draught 
 into that last whisky while Tony West kept him 
 talking. That was why he slept. 
 
 Later on, however, his shame at his own foolish 
 ness in firing his pistol at mere flames of the night was 
 the cause of grave difliculty. For when he related 
 the story cf the whole affair to (leek s master mind 
 he left that out! And very nearly was it his own un 
 doing, for strange was to be the outcome of that shot 
 in the night.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE WATCHER IN THE SHADOW 
 
 >TJT if Men-item slept, the others of the little 
 party did not. After his door had closed 
 upon him they appeared from their rooms, 
 and met by arrangement once more in the study. 
 Doctor Bartholomew a little late at having waited 
 and listened for the outward result of his drug in 
 Nigel s comforting snore joined the group with an 
 anxious face. There was no laughter now in the 
 pleasant, heated smoking room. Every face there 
 wore a look that bordered closely upon fear. 
 
 "Well, Doctor," said Tony West, as he entered the 
 room, "what s the plan? I don t like Wynne s ab 
 sence, I swear I don t. It it looks fishy, somehow. 
 And he was in no mood to play boyish pranks on us 
 by turnin in at the Brelliers place. There s some- 
 thin else afoot. What s your idea, now? " 
 
 The doctor considered a moment. 
 
 "Better be getting out and form a search party," 
 he said quietly. "If nothing turns up well, Nigel 
 needn t know we ve been out. But there s more in 
 this than meets the eye, boys. Frankly, I don t like 
 it. Wynne s a brute, but he never liked practical 
 
 60
 
 The Watcher in the Shadow 01 
 
 joking. It s my private opinion that he would have 
 returned by now if something hadn t happened to 
 him. We ll wait till dawn, and then we ll go. Nigel 
 is good for some hours yet. Wynne always had a bad 
 effect on him. Ever noticed it, West? Or you s 
 Stark?" 
 
 The two men nodded. 
 
 "Yes," said Tony, "I have. I^Iany times. Nigel s 
 never the same fellow when that man s about. He s 
 he s got some sort of devilish influence over him, I 
 believe. And how he hates Nigel! See his eyes to 
 night? lie could have killed him, I believe specially 
 GS Nigel s taken his girl." 
 
 "Yes." The doctor s voice was rather grave. 
 "Wynne s a queer chap and a revengeful one. And 
 he was as drimk as a beast lo-:;i,-!it. . . Well, 
 boys, we ll sit down and wait awhile." 
 
 Pipes were go I out and cigarettes lighted. For an 
 hour hi the hot smoking-room the men sat, talking in 
 undertones and smoking, or dropping off into long 
 silences. Finally the doctor drew out his watch. 
 He sighed as he looked at it. 
 
 "Three o clock, and no sign of Wynne yet. We ll 
 be getting our things on, boys." 
 
 Instantly every man rose to his feet. The ten 
 sion slackened with movement. In comparative si 
 lence they stole out into the hall, threw on their coats 
 and hats, and then Tony West nervously slid the bolts 
 of the big front door. It creaked once or twice, but
 
 62 The Riddle of ttie Frozen Flame 
 
 no sound from the still house answered it. West 
 swung it open, and on the whitened step they 
 quietly put on their shoes. 
 
 The doctor switched on an electric torch and threw 
 a blob of light upon the gravelled pathway for them to 
 see the descent. Then one by one they went quietly 
 down the steps, and West shut the door behind them. 
 
 "Excellent! Excellent!" exclaimed Doctor Bar 
 tholomew, as the gate was reached with no un 
 toward happenings. "Not a soul knows we re gone, 
 boys. That s pretty certain. Now, then, out of the 
 gate and turn to the right up that lane. It ll take 
 us to the very edge of the Fens, I believe, and then 
 our search will commence." 
 
 He spoke with assurance, and they followed him 
 instinctively. Unconsciously they had made him 
 captain of the expedition. But no one had heard 
 them, he had said? If he had looked back once 
 when the big gate shut, he might have changed his 
 mind upon that score. With white face pressed 
 close against the glass of the smoking-room window, 
 which looked directly out upon the front path, stood 
 Borkins, watching them as though he were watching 
 a line of ghosts on their nightly prowl. 
 
 "Good Gawd!" he ejaculated, as he discerned their 
 dark figures and the light of the doctor s torch. 
 "Every one of em gone every one!" And then, 
 trembling, he went back to bed. 
 
 But the doctor did not look back, and so the little
 
 The Watcher in the Shadow 63 
 
 party proceeded upon its way in comparative silence 
 until the edge of the Fens was reached. Here, with 
 one accord, they stopped for further instructions, 
 Three torches made the spot upon which they stood 
 like daylight. The doctor bent his eyes down ward. 
 
 "Now, boys," he said briskly. "Keep your eyes 
 sharp for footprints. Wynne must have struck off 
 here into the Fens, it s the most direct course. He 
 wouldn t have been such a duffer as to walk too far 
 out of his way if he was bent upon going there at all 
 . Hello! Here s the squelchy mark of a man s 
 boot, and here s another! " 
 
 They followed the track onward, with perfect ease, 
 for the marshy ground was sodden and took every 
 footprint deeply. That some man had crossed this 
 way, and recently, too, was perfectly plain. The 
 footprints wavered a little that was all, showing that 
 the man who made them was uncertain upon his ft et~ 
 And Wynne had left the house by no means sober! 
 
 "It looks as though lie had come here after all!" 
 broke out Tony West, excitedly. "Why the track s 
 as plain as the nose on your face." 
 
 They zig-zagged their tedious way out across the 
 marshy grassland, their thin shoes squelching in the 
 bogs, their trousers unmercifully spattered with the 
 thick, treacley mud. They spoke little, their eyes 
 bent upon the ground, their foreheads wrinkled. On 
 and on and on they went, while the sky above them 
 lightened and grew murky with the soft cloudiness
 
 64 The Riddle of tJte Frozen Flame 
 
 of breaking dawn. The flames in the distance began 
 to pale, and the vast stretch of Fen district before 
 them was shrouded in a light fog, misty, unutterably 
 ghostlike and with the chill lonesomeness of death. 
 
 "Whew! Eeriest task I ve ever come across!" 
 ejaculated Stark with a grimace as he looked up for a 
 moment into the dull mist ahead. "If we re not all 
 down with pneumonia to-morrow, it won t be our 
 own faults! . . . Some distance, isn t it, Doc- 
 
 3 " 
 
 tor. 
 
 "It is," returned the doctor grimly. "What a 
 fool the man was to attempt it! . . . Here s 
 a footprint, and another." 
 
 Yes, and many another after that. They stag 
 gered on, wet, cold, uncomfortable, anxious. The 
 doctor was a little ahead of the rest of them, Tony 
 West came second, the others straggled a pace or 
 two behind. Suddenly the doctor stopped and gave 
 a hasty exclamation: 
 
 "Good Heavens above!" 
 
 They ran up to him clustering around him in their 
 eagerness, and their torches lent their rays to make 
 the thing he gazed at more distinguishable, while an 
 other mile away at least, the flames twinkled dimly, 
 and slowly went out one by one as though the finger 
 of dawn had snuffed them like candle-ends. 
 
 "What the devil is it?" demanded Tony West, get 
 ting to his knees and peering at the spot with nar 
 rowed eyes.
 
 The Watcher in the Shadow 65 
 
 "Charred grass. And the end of the footprints!" 
 It was the doctor who spoke in a queer voice sharp 
 with excitement. "There has been a fire here or 
 something. And Wynne went no farther, appar 
 ently. The ground about it is as marshy as ever, 
 and my own footprint is perfectly clear. . . . 
 What the dickens do you make of it, eh?" 
 
 But there was no answer forthcoming. Every 
 man stood still staring down at this strange tiling 
 with wide eyes. For what the doctor said was ab 
 solute truth. The footsteps certainly did end here, 
 and in a patch of charred grass as big round as a 
 small table. What did it mean? What could it 
 mean, but one thing? Somehow, somewhere, Wynne 
 had vanished. It was incredible, unbelievable, and 
 yet [here was the evidence of their own eyes. From 
 that spot onward the ground was wholly free of the 
 footprints of any man, woman, or child. Xo mark 
 disturbed the sodden mud of it. And yet right 
 here, where the grasses seemed to grow tallest, this 
 patch was burnt off and withered as though with sud 
 den heat. 
 
 Tony West straightened himself. 
 
 "If I didn t think the whole business was a pack of 
 lies spun into a bigger one by a lot of village gossips, 
 I d I d begin to imagine there was something in the 
 story after all!" he said, getting to his feet and look 
 ing at the white faces about him. "It s it s devilish 
 uncanny, Doctor!"
 
 66 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 "It is that." The doctor drew a long breath and 
 stroked his beard agitatedly. "It s so devilish un 
 canny that one hardly knows what to believe. If 
 this thing had happened in the East one might have 
 looked at it with a more fatalistic eye. But here 
 in England, no man in his senses could believe such 
 a fool s tale as that which Nigel told us to-night. 
 And yet Wynne has gone, vanished! Never a 
 trace of him, though we ll search still farther for a 
 while, to make sure!" 
 
 They separated at once, radiating out from that 
 sinister spot and searched and searched and searched. 
 Not a footprint was to be found beyond the spot, not 
 a trace of any living thing. There was nothing for 
 it but to go back to Merriton Towers and tell their 
 tale to Nigel. 
 
 "Old Wynne has gone, and no mistake," said 
 Tony West, as the men began slowly to retrace their 
 steps across the marshlands, their faces in the pale 
 light of the early morning looking white and drawn 
 with the excitement and strain of the night. "What 
 to make of it all, I don t know. Apparently old 
 Wynne went out to see the Frozen Flames and the 
 Frozen Flames have swallowed him up, or burnt him 
 up, one or the other." 
 
 "And yet I can t hold any credence in the thing, no 
 matter how hard I try!" said the doctor, shaking his 
 head gravely, as they trudged on through the mud 
 and mire. "And if Wynne isn t found well, there ll
 
 The Watcher in the Shadow 67 
 
 be the deuce to pay with the authorities. We ll have 
 to report to the police first thing in the morning." 
 
 "Yes, the village constable will take the matter up, 
 and knowing the story, will put entire faith in it, and 
 that s all the help we ll get from him! supplemented 
 West with a harsh laugh. "I know the sort. . . . 
 Here s the Towers at last, and if I don t make a mis 
 take, there s the face of old Borkins pressed against 
 the window!" 
 
 He ran ahead of the others and took the great stone 
 steps two at a time. But Borkins had opened the 
 door before he reached it. His eyes stared, his 
 mouth sagged open. 
 
 "Mr. Wynne, sir? You found im?" he a.<ked 
 hoarsely. 
 
 "No. No trace whatever, Borkins. Where s your 
 master?" 
 
 "Sir Nigel, sir? E s asleep, and snorin like a 
 grampus. This 11 be a shock to im sir, for sure. 
 Mr. Wynne -gone ? T ain t possible ! " 
 
 But Tony had pushed by him and thrown open the 
 smoking-room door. The warm, heated atmosphere 
 came to them comfortingly. He crossed to the table, 
 picked up a decanter and slopped out a peg of whisky. 
 This he drank off neat. After that he felt better. 
 The other men straggled in after him. He faced 
 them with set lips. 
 
 "Now," said he, "to tell Nigel."
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE VICTIM 
 
 DACRE WYNNE had vanished, leaving be 
 hind him no trace of mortal remains, and 
 only a patch of charred grass in the middle 
 of the uninhabited Fens to mark the spot. And Nigel 
 Merriton, whose guest the man was, must of neces 
 sity be told the fruitlessness of the searchers self- 
 appointed task. The doctor volunteered to do it. 
 
 Tony West accompanied him as far as Nigel s, and 
 then he suddenly recollected that Merriion had 
 locked it the night before. There was nothing for it 
 but to hammer upon the panels, or pick the lock. 
 
 "And he ll be sleeping like a dead man, if I know 
 anything of sleeping draughts," said the doctor, 
 shaking his head. "Got a penknife, West?" 
 
 West nodded. He whipped the knife out of his 
 pocket and began methodically to work at the worn 
 lock with all the precision of an experienced burglar. 
 But the action brought no smile to his lips, no little 
 mocking jest to help on the job. There was some 
 thing grim in the set of West s lips, and in the tension 
 of the doctor s slight figure. Tragedy had stalked 
 unnoticed into the Towers that evening and they had 
 
 C3
 
 The Victim G9 
 
 become enmeshed in the folds of its cloak. They felt 
 it in the cold clamminess of the atmosphere, in the 
 quiet peace of the long corridors. 
 
 Finally the thing was done. West turned the 
 handle and the door swung inward. The doctor 
 crossed to the bedside and took hold of the sleeping 
 man s shoulder. lie shook it vigorously. 
 
 "Nigel!" he called sharply once or twice. "Wake 
 up! Wake up!" 
 
 But Merriton never moved. The performance 
 was repeated and the call was louder. 
 
 Nigel! I say, wake up wake up! We ve news 
 
 P < 5 
 
 tor you . 
 
 The sleeping man slirred suddenly and wrenched 
 his shoulder a\va y. 
 
 "Let go OL me, Wynne, damn you!" he broke out 
 petulantly, his eyes opening. "I ve beaten you tin s 
 lime, anyhow, so part of our score is marked ou! 
 Let go, I say I I- Doctor Bartholomew! What in 
 Heaven s name s the matter? I ve been asleep, 
 haven t I? What is it? You look as though you had 
 seen, a ghost I" 
 
 He was thoroughly awake now, and struggled to a 
 sitting position. The doctor s face twisted wryly. 
 
 "I wish I had, Nigel," he said bitterly. "Even 
 ghosts would be better than nothing at all. We ve 
 been out searching for Wynne, and I 
 
 "Been cut?" 
 
 "Yes, across the Fens. We were anxious. Wynne
 
 70 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 didn t come back, you know, and so after we d got 
 you to bed we thought we d make up a search parly 
 among ourselves and look into the thing. But we 
 haven t found him, Nigel. He s vanished com 
 pletely!" 
 
 "Impossible!" 
 
 Merriton was out of bed now, still staring sleepily 
 at them. Something in the boyishness of him struck 
 a chord of sympathy in the doctor s heart. He alone 
 of all of them had guessed at the genuineness of 
 Nigel s fear for Wynne, he alone had seen into the 
 man s heart, and discovered the half-belief that 
 lurked there. 
 
 "I m afraid it s perfectly true," he said quietly, as 
 Merriton came to him and caught him by the arm, 
 his face white. "We followed his tracks across the 
 Fens it had been raining and it was extremely easy 
 to do until they suddenly ended in a patch of half- 
 charred grass. It was uncanny! We made a further 
 search to make sure, but nothing rewarded our 
 efforts. Dacre Wynne s gone somewhere, and those 
 devilish flames of yours will be counting another 
 victim to their lengthening list to-night. * 
 
 "Good God!" 
 
 Merriton s lips trembled, and his fingers dropped 
 from the doctor s arm. 
 
 "But I tell you it s impossible, man!" he broke 
 out suddenly. " The thing s beyond human credulity, 
 Doctor."
 
 The Victim 71 
 
 "Well, be that as it may, the fact remains 
 Wynne s gone," returned the doctor gloomily. "Of 
 course we must communicate with the police. That s 
 the next thing to do. We ll send over to make sure 
 Wynne isn t at the Brcllier s but I think there isn t 
 a chance of it myself. Where he did go beats me 
 completely!" 
 
 "And it fair beats me, too!" said Merriton, in a 
 shocked voice, beginning mechanically to struggle 
 into his clothes. "One of you might phone the 
 police though what they ll be able to do for us I 
 don t know. It s a orie-horse show in the village, and 
 the chap who s chief constable was the fellow who 
 told me of the other man that disappeared, and 
 seemed quite willing to accept a supernatural ex 
 planation. Still, of course, it s the thing to be 
 done, . . . And I actually saw, with my own 
 eyes, that new flame flash out!" 
 
 He said the last words in a sort of undertone, but 
 the doctor heard them, and twitched up an enquiring 
 eyebrow. 
 
 "You saw the new flame? Oh of course. And 
 you never mind. Our next move is to telephone 
 the police." 
 
 But what the police could do for them was so 
 pitifully small as to be absurd. Constable Haggers 
 was a man whose superstitious fear of the flames got 
 the better of his constabulary training in every way. 
 He said he would do what he could, but he would
 
 72 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 certainly attempt nothing until broad daylight . He 
 believed the story in every particular and .said that 
 it was well-nigh impossible to trace the vanished man. 
 "There had been others," was all he would say, "and 
 never a trace of em ave we ever seen!" 
 
 Telephoning the Brdliers was a mere matter of 
 minutes, and by that means Merriton made perfectly 
 sure that Wynne had not put in an appearance at 
 Wethersby Hall. Brellier himself answered the 
 phone, and said that he was just thinking that as 
 Wynne hadn t turned up yet, they must indeed have 
 been making a night of it at the Towers. 
 
 "However," he continued, "if you :-ay you all re 
 tired around about one o clock, and Wynne left you 
 soon after ten well, I can t think what has become 
 of him. 
 
 "He went out to investigate those devilish 
 flames!" remarked Merriton, as a rather shamefaced 
 explanation. Then he fairly heard the wires jump 
 with the force of Brellier s exclamation. 
 
 "Eh what? What s that you say? lie went out 
 to investigate the flames, Merriton? What fool let 
 him go? Surely you kno\v the story?" 
 
 "We did. And we did our best to dissuade him, 
 Mr. Brellier," replied Merriton wearily. "But he 
 went. You know Dacre Wynne as well as I do. He 
 was set upon going. But he has not come back, and 
 some of the chaps here set up a search-party to hunt 
 for him. They discovered nothing. Simply some
 
 The Victim 73 
 
 charred grass in the middle of the Fens and the end of 
 his footprints. ... So he didn t come round to 
 your place then? Thanks. I m awfully sorry to 
 Slave bothered you, but you can understand my 
 anxiety I know. I ll keep you posted as to any news 
 we get. Yes horrible, isn t it? So so beastly un 
 canny. 
 
 He hung up the receiver with a drawn face. 
 
 "Well, Wynne didn t go there, anyway," he said 
 to the group of men who clustered round him. "So 
 that s done with. Now we ll just have to possess our 
 souls in patience, and see what Constable Haggers 
 can do for us. I vote we tumble in for forty winks 
 before the sun gets too high in the heavens. It is the 
 mo.it reasonable thing to do in the circumstances." 
 
 The days that followed brought them little light 
 upon the matter. Wynne, it proved, was a man 
 apparently without relations, and devoid of friends. 
 The local police could make nothing of it. They had 
 had such cases before, and were perfectly willing to 
 let the matter rest where it was. Interest, once so 
 high, began to flag. The thing dropped into the 
 commonplace, and was soon forgotten, together with 
 the man who had caused it. 
 
 But Nigel was far from satisfied. That he and 
 Dacre Wynne were really enemies, who had posed as 
 friends made not a particle of difference. Dacre 
 Wynne had disappeared during the brief time that he 
 was a guest in Merriton s house. The subject did
 
 74 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 not die with the owner of Merriton Towers. He 
 spent many long evenings with Doctor Bartholomew 
 talking the thing over, trying to reconstruct it, probe 
 into it, hunt for new clues, new anything which might 
 lead to a solution. But such talks always came to 
 nothing. Every stone had already been turned, and 
 the dry dust of the highway afforded little knowledge 
 to Merriton. 
 
 Across the clear sky of his happiness a cloud had 
 gloomed, spoiling for a time the perfection of it. 
 He could not think of marriage while the mystery 
 of Dacre Wynne s death remained unsolved. It 
 seemed unthinkable. 
 
 Tony West told him he was getting morbid about 
 it, and to have a change. 
 
 "Come up to London and see some of your 
 friends," was West s advice. But Merriton never 
 took it. 
 
 Toinette seemed the only person who understood 
 how he felt, and the knowledge of this only served to 
 draw them closer together. She. too, felt that 
 marriage was for the time being unthinkable, and 
 despite Brellier s constant urging in that direction, 
 she held her ground firmly, telling him that they 
 preferred to wait awhile. 
 
 "I m going to solve the blessed thing, Toinette," 
 Nigel told her over and over again during these long 
 weeks and days that followed, "if I grow gray -headed 
 in the attempt. Dacre Wynne was no true friend of
 
 The Victim 75 
 
 mine, but he was my guest at the time of his dis 
 appearance, and I mean to find the reason of it." 
 
 If he had only known what the future held in store 
 for them both, would he still have clung to his pur 
 pose? Who can tell? 
 
 It was at night that the thing obsessed him worst. 
 When darkness had fallen Merriton would sit, evening 
 after evening, looking out upon that same scene that 
 he hail shown his companions that eventful night. 
 And always the flames danced on their maddening 
 way, mocking him, holding behind the screen of their 
 brilliancy the key to Dacre Wynne s inexplicable dis 
 appearance. Merritou would sit and watch them 
 for hours, and sometimes find himself talking to 
 them. 
 
 What was the matter with him? Was he going 
 insane? Or was this Dacre Wynne s abominable 
 idea of a revenge for having stolen Toinette s heart 
 away from him? To have died and sent his spirit 
 back to haunt the man he hated seemed to Merriton 
 sometimes the answer to the questions which con 
 stantly puzzled him.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE SECOND VICTIM 
 
 THE alterations at Merriton Towers were 
 certainly a success, from the builder s point 
 of view at any rate. White paint had helped 
 to dispel some of its gloominess, though there were 
 whose who said that the whole place was ruined 
 thereby. However, it was certainly an improvement 
 to be able to have windows that opened, and to look 
 into rooms that beckoned you with promises of cczy 
 inglenooks, and plenty of brilliant sunshine. 
 
 Borkins looked upon these improvements with a 
 censorious eye. He was one of those who believed in 
 **lettm things be"; to whom innovation is a crime, 
 and modernity nothing short of madness. To him 
 the dignity of the house had gone. But when it 
 came to Nigel installing a new staff of servants, the 
 good Borkins literally threw up his hands and cried 
 aloud in anguish. He did not hold with frilled 
 aprons, any more than he held with woman assuming 
 places that were not meant for them. 
 
 But if the maids annoyed Borkins, his patience 
 reached its breaking point when Merriton paying a 
 flying visit to town returned in company with a
 
 The Second Victim 77 
 
 short, thick-set person, who spoke with a harsh 
 cockney accent, and whom Merriton introduced as 
 his "batman", "Whatever that might be," said Bor- 
 kins, holding forth to Dimmock, one of the under- 
 grooms. James Collins soon became a necessary 
 part of the household machinery, a little cog in fact 
 upon which the great wheel of tragedy was soon to 
 turn. 
 
 Within a week he was completely at home in his 
 new surroundings. Collins, in fact, was the per 
 fect "gentleman s servant" and thus he liked always 
 to think himself. Many a word he and Borkins had 
 over their master s likes and dislikes. But invari 
 ably Collins won out. While every other servant 
 in the place liked him and trusted him, the sight of 
 his honest, red face and his ginger eyebrows was 
 enough to make Borkins look like a thundercloud. 
 
 The climax was reached one night in the autumn 
 when the evening papers failed to appear at their 
 appointed time. Collins confronted Borkins with 
 the fact and got snubbed for his pains. 
 
 "Ere you," he said he hadn t much respect for 
 Borkins and made no attempt to hide the fact 
 "what the dooce as become of his lordship s pypers? 
 Ave you bin avin a squint at em, ole pieface? 
 Jist like your bloomin cheek!" 
 
 "Not so much of your impidence, Mr. Collins," 
 retorted Borkins. "When you h addresses a gentle 
 man try to remember ow to speak to iin. I ve ad
 
 78 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 nothink whatever to do with Sir Nigel s evenin 
 papers, and you know it. If they re late, well, 
 wouldn t it be worth your while to go clown to the 
 station and ave a gentle word or two with one of the 
 officials there?" 
 
 "Oh well, then, old Fiddlefyce," retorted Collins, 
 with a good-natured grin, "don t lose yer wool over 
 it; you ain t got any ter spare. Is Lordship s been 
 a-arskin fer em, and like as not they ain t turned up. 
 Let s see what s the time? Arf-past eight." He 
 shook his bullet-shaped head. "Well, I ll be doin 
 as you say. Slap on me at and jacket and myke 
 off ter the blinkin stytion. What s the shortest w y, 
 Borkins, me beauty?" 
 
 Borkins looked at him a moment, and his face went 
 a dull brick colour. Then he smirked sarcastically. 
 
 "Like as not you re so brave you wouldn t mind 
 goin across the Fens/ he said. "Them there flames 
 wouldn t be scarin such a ero as Mr, James Collins 
 Oh no! You ll find it a mile or so less than the three 
 miles by road. It s the shortest cut, but I don t 
 recommend it. Owever, that lies with you. I ll 
 tell Sir Nigel where you re gone if e asks me, you 
 may be sure!" 
 
 "Orl right! Across the Fens is the shortest, you 
 says. Well, I ll try it ternight and see. You re 
 right fer once. I ain t afraid. It tykes more n 
 twiddley little bits er lights ter scare James Collins, 
 I tells yer. So long."
 
 The Second Victim 79 
 
 Borkins, standing at the window in the dining 
 room and peering through the dusk at Collins sturdy 
 figure as it swung past him down the drive, bit his lip 
 a moment, and made as if to go after him. 
 
 "No, I ll be dangcd if I do!" he said suddenly. "If 
 e knows such a lot, well, let im take the risk. I 
 warned im anyhow, so I ve done my bit. The 
 flames ll do the rest." And he laughed. 
 
 But James Collins did not come back, when he 
 ought to have done, and the evening papers arrived 
 before him, brought by the station-master s son 
 Jacob. Jacob had seen nothing of Collins, and Mer- 
 riton, who did not know that the man had gone on 
 this errand, made no remark when the hours went 
 slowly by, and no sign of Collins appeared. 
 
 At eleven o clock the household retired. Merriton, 
 still ignorant of his man s absence, went to bed and 
 slept soundly. The first knowledge he received of 
 Collins absence was when Borkins appeared in his 
 bedroom in the morning. 
 
 "Where the deuce is Collins?" Merriton said pet 
 tishly, for he did not like Borkins, and they both 
 knew it. 
 
 "That s exactly what I ave been tryin ter find out, 
 sir," responded Borkins, bravely. "E asn t been 
 back since last night, so far as I could make out." 
 
 " Laxt night? " Merriton sat bolt upright in. bed and 
 ran his fingers through his hair. "What the 
 dickens do vou mean?"
 
 80 TJie Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 "Collins went out last night, sir, to fetch your 
 papers. Leastways that was what lie said he was 
 goin for," responded Borkins patiently, "and so far 
 as I knows he asn t returned yet. Whether he 
 dropped into a public "ouse on the way or no I, I 
 don t know, or whether he took the short cut to the 
 station across the Fens isn t for me to say. But e 
 asn t come back yet, sir!" 
 
 Merriton looked anxious. Collins had a strong 
 hold upon his master s heart. lie certainly wouldn t 
 like anything to happen to him. 
 
 "You mean to say," he said sharply, " Lhat Collins 
 went out last night to fetch my papers from the sta 
 tion arid was fool enough to take the short cut across 
 the Fens?" 
 
 "I warned him against doin so," said Borkins, 
 "since e said Vd probably go that way. That no 
 Frozen Flames was a-goin ter frighten hn, an an 
 is language was most offensive. But I ve no doubt 
 
 > 4 " 
 
 e went. 
 
 "Then why the devil didn t you tell me last night?" 
 exclaimed Merriton angrily, jumping out of bed. 
 "You knew the the truth about Mr. Wynne s dis 
 appearance, and yet you deliberately let that man go 
 out to his death. If anything s happened to James 
 Collins, Borkins, I ll I ll wring your damned neck. 
 Understand?" 
 
 Borkins went a shade or two paler, and took a step 
 backward.
 
 The Second Victim 81 
 
 "Sir Nigel, sir I- 
 
 "When did Collins go?" 
 
 "Arf past eight, sir!" Borkins voice trembled a 
 little. "And believe me or not, sir, I did my best to 
 persuade Collins from doin such an extremely dan 
 gerous thing. I begged im not to think o doin it, 
 but Collins is pig- eaded, if you ll forgive the word, 
 sir, and he was bent upon get tin your papers. I 
 swear, sir, I ain t ad anythin ter do with it, and 
 when e didn t come back last night before I went to 
 bed I said to meself, I said, Collins as dropped into 
 a public ouse and made a a ass of hisseif, I said. 
 And thought no more about it, expectin he d be in 
 later. But is bed asn t been slept in, and there s no 
 sign of im anywhere." 
 
 Merriton twisted round upon his heel and looked 
 at the man keenly for a moment. 
 
 "I m fond of Collins, Borkins," he said abruptly. 
 "We ve known each oilier a long time. I shouldn t 
 like anything to happen to the chap while he s in 
 my service, that s all. Get out now and make 
 enquiries in every direction. Have Dmimock go 
 down to the village. And ransack every public 
 house round about. If you can t find any trace of 
 him his lips tightened for a moment, "then I ll 
 fetch in the police. I ll get the finest detective in 
 the land on this thing, I ll get deck himself if it 
 costs me every penny I possess, but I ll have him 
 traced somehow. Those devilish flames are taking
 
 82 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 too heavy a toll. I ve readied the end of my 
 tether!" 
 
 He waved Borkins out with an imperious hand, 
 and went on with his dressing, his heart sick. What 
 if Collins had met with the same fate as Dacrc Wynne? 
 What were those fiendish flames, anyhow, that men 
 disappeared completely, leaving neither sight nor 
 sound? Surely there was some brain clever enough 
 to probe the mystery of them. 
 
 "If Collins doesn t turn up this morning," he told 
 himself as he shaved with a very unsteady hand, "I ll 
 go straight up to London by the twelve o clock train 
 and straight to Scotland Yard. But I ll find him 
 damn it, I ll find him." 
 
 But no trace of James Collins could be found. He 
 was gone completely. No one had seen him, no 
 one but Borkins had known of his probable journey 
 across the Fens at night-time, and Borkins excused 
 himself upon the plea that Collins hadn t actually 
 said he was going that way. He had simply vanished 
 as Dacre Wynne had vanished, as Will Myers and all 
 that long list of others had vanished. Eaten up by 
 the flames and in Twentieth Century England! 
 But the fact remained. Dacre Wynne had disap 
 peared, and now James Collins had followed him. 
 And a new flame shone among the others, a newer, 
 brighter flame than any before. Merriton saw it 
 himself, that w T as the devilish part of it. His own 
 eyes had seen the thing appear, just as he had seen
 
 The Second Victim 83 
 
 it upon the night when Dacre Wynne had vanished. 
 But he didn t shoot at it this time. Instead, he 
 packed a small bag, ran over and said good-bye to 
 Toinette and told her he was going to have a day in 
 town, but told her nothing else. Then he took 
 the twelve o clock train to town. A taxi whisked 
 him to Scotland Yard.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 AND THE LADY 
 
 ND this was tlic extraordinary chain of events 
 which brought young Men-Ron into Mr. 
 Narkom s office that day while Cleek was 
 sitting there, and on being introduced as "Mr. Head 
 land" heard the story from Sir Nigel s lips. 
 
 As he came to the last "And no trace of either 
 body has ever been found," Cleek suddenly switched 
 round in his chair and exclaimed: 
 
 "An extraordinary rigmarole altogether!" Meet 
 ing Merriton s astonished eyes with his own keen 
 ones, he went on: "The flames, of course, are a plant 
 of some sort. That goes without saying. But the 
 thing to find out is what they re there for to hide. 
 When you ve discovered that, you ll have got half way 
 to the truth, and the rest will follow as a matter of 
 course. . . . What s that, Mr. Narkorn? Yes, 
 I ll lake the case, Sir Nigel. My name s Cleek 
 Hamilton Cleek, at your service. Now let s hear the 
 thing all over again, please. I ve one or two ques 
 tions I d like to ask." 
 
 Merriton left Scotland Yard an hour later, lighter 
 in heart than he had been for some time ever since, 
 
 84
 
 And the Lady 85 
 
 in fact, Dacrc Wynne s tragic disappearance had cast 
 such a gloom over his lii e s happiness. He had un 
 burdened his soul to Cieek absolutely. And Cleek 
 had treated the confession with a decent sort of 
 respect which was enough to win any chap over to 
 him. Merriton in fact had found in Cleek a friend as 
 well as a detective. He had been a little astonished 
 at his general get-up and appearance, but Merriton 
 had heard of his peculiar birthright, and fell that 
 the man himself was capable of almost anything. 
 Cerlainly he proved full of sympathetic under 
 standing. 
 
 Cleek understood the ground upon which he stood 
 wiih regard to his friendship with Dacre "Wynne. He 
 had, with a wonderful intuition, sensed the peculiar 
 influence of the man upon Nigel this by look and 
 gesture rather than by use of tongue and speech. 
 And Cleek had already drawn his own conclusions. 
 He heard of Nigel s engagement to Antoinette 
 Brellier, and of how Dacre Wynne had taken it, 
 heard indeed ail the little personal things which 
 Merriton had never told to any man, and certainly 
 hadn t intended telling to this one. 
 
 But that was C leek s way. He secured a man s 
 confidence and by that method got at the truth. A 
 bond of friendship had sprung up between them, and 
 Cleek and Mr. Narkom had promised that before a 
 couple of days were over, they would put in an ap 
 pearance at Fetchworth, and look into things more
 
 86 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 closely. It was agreed that they were to pose as 
 friends of Sir Nigel, since Cleek felt that in that \vay 
 he could pursue his investigations unsuspected, and 
 make more headway in the case. 
 
 But there was but one thing Nigel hadn t spoken 
 of, and that was the very foolish and ridiculous action 
 of his upon that fateful evening of the dinner party. 
 Only he and Doctor Bartholomew who was as 
 close-mouthed as the devil himself over some things 
 knew of the incident of the pistol-shooting, so far as 
 Merriton was aware. And the young man was too 
 ashamed of the whole futile affair and what it very 
 apparently proved to the listener that he had 
 certainly drunk more than was good for him -to 
 wish any one else to share in the absurd little secret. 
 It could have no bearing upon the affair, and if 
 Toinette got to hear of it, well, he d look all sorts of a 
 fool, and possibly be treated to a sermon a prospect 
 which he did not relish in the slightest. 
 
 As he left the Yard and lurried into the keen 
 autumn sunshine, he lifted his face to the skies and 
 thanked the stars that he had come to London after 
 all and placed things in proper hands. There was 
 nothing now for him to do but to go back to Merriton 
 Towers and as expeditiously as possible make up for 
 the day lost from Toinette. 
 
 So, after a visit to a big confectioners in Regent 
 Street, and another to a little jeweller in Piccadilly, 
 Merriton got into the train at Waterloo, carrying his
 
 And the Lady 87 
 
 parcels with a happy heart. He got out at, Fetch- 
 worth station three hours later, hailed the only hack 
 that stood there for he had forgotten to apprise 
 any one at the Towers of his quick return and drove 
 straightway to Withersby Hall. 
 
 Tomette was at the window as he swung open the 
 great gate. When she saw him she darted away and 
 came flying down the drive to meet him. 
 
 The contents of the various packages made her 
 happy as a child, and it was some time after they 
 reached the house that. Nigel asked some question 
 concerning her uncle. 
 
 Her face clouded ever so little, and for the first 
 time Nigel noticed that she was pale. 
 
 "Uncle has gone away for a few days," she replied. 
 "He said it was business what would you? But I 
 told him I should be lonesome in this great house, and 
 I I am so frightened at those horrible little flames 
 that twinkle twinkle all night long. I cannot sleep 
 when I am alone, Nigel. I am a baby I know, but I 
 cannot help it. It makes me feel so afraid!" 
 
 As was usual in moments of emotion with Toinette, 
 her accent became more pronounced. He stroked 
 her hair with a gentle hand, as though she were in 
 very truth the child she tried not to be. 
 
 "Poor little one! I wish I could come across and 
 put up here for the night. Hang conventions, any 
 way! And then too I have to make ready for some 
 visitors who will be down to-morrow or the next day."
 
 88 The Riddle of tfie Frozen Flame 
 
 "Visitors, Nigel?" 
 
 "Yes, dear. I ve a couple of friends coming to 
 spend a short time with me. Chaps I met in London 
 to-day." 
 
 "What did you go up for, Nigel really?" 
 
 He coloured a little, and was thankful that she 
 turned away at that moment to straighten the collar 
 of her blouse. He didn t like lying to the woman lie 
 was going to marry. But he had given his word to 
 deck. 
 
 "Oh," he said off-handedly. "I -I went to my 
 tailor s. And then stepped in to buy you that little 
 trinket and your precious chocs, and came along 
 home again. Met these fellows on my way across 
 town. Rather nice chaps one of em, anyhow. 
 1 sed to know some friends of friends of his, girl called 
 Ailsa Lome. And the other one happened to be 
 there so I asked him, too. They won t worry you 
 much, Toinette. They re frightfully keen aboui the 
 country, and will be sure to go out shoo! in , iiid 
 snuffin round like these town johnnies always do 
 when they get in places like this. . . . WelL as 
 Mr. Brellier isn t here I suppose I d better be making 
 my w r ay home again. Wish we were married, Toi 
 nette. There d be no more of these everlasting 
 separations then. No more nightmares for you, 
 little one. Only happiness and joy, and and heaps 
 of other rippin things. Never mind, we ll make it 
 soon, won t we?"
 
 And the Lady 89 
 
 She raised her face suddenly and her eyes met his. 
 There was a haunted look in them that made him 
 draw closer, his o\vn face anxious. 
 
 "What is it, dear? he said in a low, worried tone. 
 
 "Only Dacre Wynne. Always Dacre Wynne 
 these days," she replied unsteadily. "Do you know, 
 Nigel, I am a silly girl, I know, but somehow I dare 
 not think of marriage with you until everything is 
 finally cleared up, and his death or disappearance, or 
 whatever the dreadful affair was, discovered. I feel 
 iu some inexplicable way responsible. It is as if his 
 spirit were standing between us and our happiness. 
 Tell me 1 am foolish, please." 
 
 "You are more than foolish," said Nigel obedi 
 ently, and laughed carelessly to show her how he 
 treated the thing. But in his heart he knew her 
 feelings, knew them and fully understood. It was 
 exactly as he had felt about it also. The bond that 
 bound Dacre Wynne s life to his had not yet been 
 snapped, the mystery of his disappearance seemed 
 only to strengthen it. He wondered dully when he 
 would ever feel free again, and then laughed inwardly 
 a I himself for making a farce of the whole thing, 
 for building a mountain out of a stupid little molehill. 
 And Toinette was helping him. They were both 
 unutterably foolish. Anyhow, Cleek was coming 
 soon to clear matters up. He wished with all his 
 heart that he might tell Toinette, and thus relieve the 
 tension of her mind, but he had given his word to
 
 90 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 Cleck, and with a man of his type his word was 
 sacred. 
 
 So he kissed her good-bye and laughed, and went 
 back to Merriton Towers to prepare for their coming. 
 But the cloud had dropped across his horizon again, 
 and the sun w y as once more obscured. There was no 
 smile upon his lips as he clanged the great front door 
 to behind him.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE SECRET OF THE FLAMES 
 
 kETCinVORTH, as everybody knows, lies 
 in that part of the Fen district of Lincoln 
 shire that borders on the coast, and in the 
 curve of its motherhke arm Saltfleet Bay, a tiny 
 shipping centre with miniature harbour, drowses its 
 days in pleasant idleness. 
 
 And so it was that upon the morning of Cleek s 
 and Mr. Narkonfs arrival at Merriton Towers. 
 They came disguised as two idlers interested in the 
 surrounding country, after having satiated them 
 selves at the fountain of London s gaieties, and bore 
 the pseudonyms of "George Headland" and "Mr. 
 Gregory Lake" respectively. Cleek himself w r as 
 primed, so to speak, on every point of the landscape. 
 He knew all about Fetchworth that there was to 
 know saving the secret of the Frozen Flames, and 
 that he was expected to know very soon and the 
 traflic of Sallfleet Bay and its tiny harbour was an 
 open book to him. 
 
 Even Withers by Hall and its environs had had the 
 same close intensive study, and everything that was 
 to be learnt from guide-books, tourists enquiry 
 
 91
 
 92 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 offices and the like, was hidden away in the inner 
 most recesses of his remarkable brain. 
 
 Borkins, standing at the smoking-room window - 
 a favourite haunt of his from which he was able to see 
 without too ostensibly being seen noted their com 
 ing up the broad driveway, with something of dis 
 favour in his look. Merriton had given him certain 
 directions only the night before, and Borkins was a 
 keen-sighted man. Also, the little fat johnny at any 
 rate, didn t quite look the type of man that the Merri- 
 ton s were in the habit of entertaining at the Towers, 
 
 However, he opened the door with a flourish, and 
 told the gentlemen that "Sir Xigel is in the drorin - 
 room," whither he led them with much pomp. 
 
 ("leek took in the place at a glance. Noted the 
 wide, deep hallway; the old-fashioned outlines of the 
 house, smartened up freshly by the hands of modern 
 workmen; the set of each door and window that he 
 passed, and stowed away these impressions in the 
 pigeon-holes of his mind. As he proceeded to the 
 drawing-room he set out in his mind s eye the whole 
 scene of that night s occurrence as had been related 
 to him by Sir Nigel. There was the smoking-room 
 door, open and showing the type of room behind it; 
 there the hall-stand from which Dacre Wynne had 
 fatefully wrenched his coat and hat, to go lurching 
 out into oblivion, half-drunk and maddened with 
 something more than intoxication if Merriton had 
 told his story truly., and Cleek believed he had.
 
 The Secret of the Flames 93 
 
 It was, in fact, in that very smoking-room that the 
 legend which had led up to the tragedy had been 
 told. Hmm. There certainly was much to be 
 cleared up here while he was wailing for that other 
 business at the War Office to adjust itself. He 
 wouldn t find time hanging heavily upon his hands 
 there was no doubt of that, and the thought that this 
 man who had come to him for help was a one-time 
 friend of Ailsa Lome s, the one dear woman in the 
 world, added fuel to the fire of his already awakened 
 interest. 
 
 He greeted Merriton with all th" bored ennui of 
 the part he had adopted, during such time as he was 
 under Borkhis watchful eye. Even Mr. Narkom 
 played his par! creditably, and won a glance of 
 approval from Ins justly celebrated ally. 
 
 "Hello, old chap," said Cleek, extending a hand, 
 and screwing a monocle still far! her into his left eye. 
 "Awfully pleased to see you, doncherknow. Devil 
 ish long journey, what? Beastly fine place you ve 
 got here, I must say. What you think, Lake?" 
 
 Merriton gasped, bit his lip, and then suddenly 
 realizing who the gentleman thus addressing him 
 was, made an attempt at the right sort of reply. 
 
 "Er yes, yes, of course," he responded, though 
 somewhat at random, for this absolutely new crea 
 ture that Cleek had become rather took his breath 
 away. "Afraid you re very tired and all that. Cold, 
 Mr. er Headland?"
 
 94 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 Cleek frowned at the slight hesitation before the 
 name. lie didn t want to take charccs of any one 
 guessing Ids identity and Borkins was stiU half-way 
 within the room, aud probably had sharp ears. His 
 sort el man had! 
 
 "Not very," he responded, as the door closed be 
 hind the butler. "At least that is. Sir Nigel," 
 speaking in his natural voice -"it really was pretty 
 chilly coming down. Winter s scttii;g in fast, you 
 know. That your man?" 
 
 lie jerked his head in the direction of the closed 
 door, and twitched an enquiring eyebrovr. 
 
 Merriton nodded. 
 
 "Yes," he said, "that s Borkins. Looks a trust 
 worthy specimen, doesn t he? For my part I don t 
 trust him farther than I can see him, Mr. er Head 
 land (awfully sorry but I keep forgetting your name 
 somehow). He s too shifty-eyed for me. What 
 do you think?" 
 
 " Tell you better when I ve had a good look at him," 
 responded Cleek, guardedly. "And lots of honest 
 men are shifty-eyed, Sir Nigel, and vice versa. That 
 doesn t count for anything, you know. Well, my 
 dear Mr. Lake, finding your part a bit too much for 
 you? " he added, with a laugh, turning to Mr. Narkom, 
 who was sitting on the extreme edge of his chair, 
 mournfully fingering his collar, which was higher 
 and tighter than the somewhat careless affair which 
 he usually adopted. "Never mind. As the poet sings,
 
 The Secret of the Flames 95 
 
 All the world s a stage, and all the men and women, 
 etc. You re simply one of em, now. Try to re 
 member that. And remember, also, that the eyes of 
 the gallery are not always upon you. Sir Nigel, I ask 
 you, isn t our friend s make-up the perfection of the 
 er elderly man-about-town? " 
 
 Sir Nigel laughingly had to admit that it was, 
 whereupon Mr. Narkom blushed exceedingly, and 
 the ice was broken as deck had intended it should be. 
 
 They adjourned to the smoking-room, where a 
 huge log-fire burnt in the grate, and easy chairs in 
 vited. They discussed the topics of the day with 
 evident relish during such time as Borkins was in the 
 room, and smoked their cigars with the air of men to 
 whom the hours were as naught, and life simply a 
 chessboard to move their little pieces upon as they 
 willed. But how soon they were to cry checkmate 
 upon this case which they were all investigating, even 
 (."leek did not know. Then of a sudden he looked up 
 from his task of studying the fire wilh knitted brows. 
 
 "By the way," he said ofF-handedly, "I hope you 
 don t mind. My man will be coming down by the 
 next train with our traps. I never travel without 
 him, he s such a useful beggar. You can manage to 
 put him up somewhere, I suppose? I was a fool not 
 to have mentioned it before, but the lad entirely 
 slipped my memory. He helps me, too, in other 
 things, and there is always a good deal to be learned 
 from the servants hall, you know, Sir Nigel.
 
 96 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 You can manage with Dollops, can t you? Other 
 wise he can put up at the village inn." 
 
 Merriton shook his head decisively. 
 
 "Of course not, Mr. Headland. Wouldn t hear 
 of such a thing. Anybody who is going to be useful 
 to you in this case is, as you know, absolutely wel 
 come to Merriton Towers. He won t get much out 
 of Borkins though, I don t mind telling you." 
 
 "Hmm. Well that remains to be seen, doesn t it, 
 Mr. Narkom?" returned Cleek, with a smile. "Dol 
 lops has a way. And he knows it. I ll warrant 
 there won t be much that Borkins can keep from the 
 sharp little devil! Well, it seems to be getting dusk 
 rapidly, Sir Nigel, what about those flames now, eh? 
 I d like to have a look at em if it s possible." 
 
 Merriton screwed his head round to the window, 
 and noted the gathering gloom which the fire and the 
 electric lights within had managed to neutralize. 
 Then he got to his feet. There was a trace of ex 
 citement in his manner. Here was the moment he 
 had been waiting for, and here the master-mind which, 
 if anything ever could, must unravel this fiendish 
 mystery that surrounded two men s disappearances 
 and a group of silly, flickering little flames. 
 
 He turned from the window with his eyes bright. 
 
 "Look here," he said, rapidly. "They re just be- 
 ginnin to appear. See em? M.r. Cleek, see em? 
 Now tell me what the dickens they are and how they 
 are connected with Dacre Wynne s disappearance."
 
 The Secret of the Flames 97 
 
 Cleek got to his feet slowly, and strode over to the 
 window. In the gathering gloom of the early winler 
 night, the flames were flashing out one by one, here 
 and there and everywhere hanging low against 1he 
 grass across the bar of horizon directly in front of 
 them. Cleek stared at them for a long time. Mr. 
 Narkom coming up behind him peered out over his 
 shoulder, rubbed his eyes, looked again and gave out 
 a hasty "God bless my soul!" of genuine astonish 
 ment, then dropped into silence again, his eyes upon 
 Cleek s face. Sir Nigel, too, was watching that face, 
 his own nervous, a trifle distraught. 
 
 But Cleek stood there at the window with his hands 
 in his trousers pockets, humming a little tune and 
 watching this amazing phenomenon which a whole 
 village had believed to be witchcraft, as though the 
 thing surprised him not one whit : as though, in fact, 
 he was a trifle amused at it. \Vhich indeed he was. 
 
 Finally he swung round upon his heels and looked 
 at each of the faces in turn, his own broadening into 
 a grin, his eyes expressing incredulity, wonderment, 
 and lastly mirth. At length he spoke: 
 
 "Gad!" he ejaculated with a little whistle of as 
 tonishment. "You mean to tell me that a whole town 
 ship has been hanging by the heels, so to speak, upon 
 as ridiculously easy an affair as that?" He jerked 
 his thumb outward toward the flames and threw 
 back his head with a laugh. " Where is your general 
 knowledge which von learnt at school, man? Didn t
 
 98 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 they teach you any? What amazes me most is that 
 there are others forgive me- equally as ignorant. 
 Want to know what those flames are, eh?" 
 
 "Well, rather!" 
 
 "Well, well, just to think that you ve actually been 
 losing sleep on it! Shows what asses we human be 
 ings are, doesn t it? No offence meant , of course. As 
 for you, Mr. Narkom or Mr. Gregory Lake, as I 
 must remember to call you for the good of the cause 
 I m ashamed of you, I am indeed! You ought io 
 know better, a man of your years!" 
 
 "But the flames, Cleek, the flames!" There was 
 a tension in Merriton s voice that spoke of nerves 
 near to the breaking point. Instantly Cleek was 
 serious. He reached out a hand and laid it upon the 
 young man s shoulder. Merriton was trembling, 
 but he steadied under the grip, just as it was meant 
 that he should. 
 
 "See here," Cleek said, bluntly, "you oughtn t to 
 work yourself up into such a state. It s not good for 
 you; you ll go all to pieces one of these days. Those 
 flames, eh? Why I thought any one knew enough 
 about natural phenomena to answer that question. 
 But it seems I m wrong. Those flames are nothing 
 more nor less than marsh gas, Sir Nigel, evolved from 
 the decomposition of vegetation, and therefore only 
 found in swampy regions such as this. Whew ! and to 
 think that here is a community that has been bowing 
 down to these things as symbols from another world! "
 
 The Secret of the Flame* 99 
 
 "Marsh gas, Mr. " 
 
 "Headland, please. It is wiser, and will help 
 better to remember when the necessity arises," re 
 turned Cleek, with a smile. Yes, that is all they 
 are the outcome of marsh gas." 
 
 "But what is marsh gas, Mr. Headland?" Mer- 
 riton s voice was still strained. 
 
 Cleek motioned to a chair. 
 
 "Better sit down to it, my young friend," he said, 
 gently. "Because, to one who isn t interested, it is 
 an extremely dull subject. However, it is better 
 that you should know 7 as you don t seem to have 
 learnt it at school. Here goes: marsh gas, or me 
 thane as it is sometimes called, is the first of the 
 group of hydrocarbons known as paraffins. Whether 
 that conveys anything to you I don t know. But 
 you ve asked for knowledge and I mean you to have 
 it." He smiled again, and Merriton gravely shook his 
 head, while Mr. Narkom, dropping for the time being 
 his air of pompous boredom, became the interested 
 listener in every line oi his ample proportions. 
 
 Go on, old chap," he said eagerly. 
 
 "Methane," said Cleek, serenely, "is a colourless, 
 absolutely odourless gas, slightly soluble in water. 
 It burns with a yellowish flame which golden tinge 
 you have r.o doubt noticed in these famous flames 
 of yours with the production of carbonic acid and 
 water. In the neighbourhood of oil wells in America, 
 and also in the Caucasus, if my memory doesn t fail
 
 100 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 me, the gas escapes from the earth, and in some dis 
 tricts particularly in Baku it has actually been 
 burning for years as sacred fires. A question of 
 atmosphere and education, you see, Sir Nigel." 
 
 "Good Heavens! Then you mean to say that 
 those beastly things out there are not lit by any 
 human or superhuman agency at ail!" exploded Mer- 
 riton at this juncture. "And that they have nothing 
 whatever to do with the vanishing of Wynne and 
 Collins?" 
 
 Cleek shook his head emphatically. 
 
 "Pardon me," he said, "but I didn t say that. The 
 first part of the sentence I agree wilh eni irely. Those 
 so-called flames are lit only by the hand ol M^ In 
 finite. And the Infinite is always mysterious, Sir 
 Nigel. But as to whether they have any bearing 
 upon the disappearances of those two men is a horse 
 of another colour. We ll look into that later on. In 
 coal-mines marsh gas is considered highly dangerous, 
 and the miners call it fire-damp. But thai is by the 
 way. What enters into the immediate question is 
 the fact that there is a patch of charred grass upon 
 the Fens where you say the vanished man, Dacre 
 Wynne s footprints suddenly ended. Ilmm." 
 
 He stopped speaking suddenly, and getting up 
 again crossed over to the window. lie stood for a 
 moment looking out of it, his brows drawn down, 
 his face set in the stern lines that betokened concen 
 tration of thought.
 
 The Secret of the Flames 101 
 
 Mr. Narkom and Merriton watched him with some 
 thing of wonder in their eyes. To Merriton, at any 
 rate, who really knew so little of Clock s unique and 
 powerful mind, the fact of a policeman having such 
 extensive information was surprising in the extreme. 
 
 You don t think, then," he said, breaking the 
 silence that had fallen upon them, "that this er 
 mar.-.li gas could have caused the death of Wynne 
 and Collins? Burnt em. alive, so io speak?" 
 
 Clock did not move at this question. They 
 merely saw his shoulders twitch as though he didn t 
 wish to he bothered at the moment . 
 
 "Don t know," he said laconically, "and if that 
 were true, where are the bodies? . . . Gad! Just 
 a- I thought! Come here, gentlemen, this may in 
 terest you. See that flame lln-re! It s no more 
 natural marsh gas than I am ! There s human agency 
 all right, Sir Nigel. There s natural marsh gas 
 and there are other things as well. Those marsh 
 lights are being augmented. But for what purpose? 
 \\hat reason? That s the thing we ve got to find 
 out."
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 <4 AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT 
 
 \IIE arrival of Dollops lighted a spark of 
 great interest in the servants hall. The 
 newly engaged maids accepted him for his 
 youth and sharp manners, as an innovation which 
 they rather fancied than otherwise. Borkins alone 
 stood aloof. It seemed to the man that here, in 
 Dollops lithe, young form, in the very ginger of 
 his carrotty hair, in the stridency of this cockney 
 accent which Cleek had endeavoured to eradicate 
 without a particle of success was the reembodi- 
 ment of the older, shorter, more mature James 
 Collins. To hear him speak in that sharp, young 
 voice of his was to make the hair upon one s neck 
 prick in supernatural discomfort. It was as 
 though James Collins had come back to life again 
 in the form of this East Side youngster, who was 
 so extremely unlike his drawling, over-pampered 
 master. 
 
 But Dollops had been primed for his task, and set 
 to work at it with a will. 
 
 "Been in these ere parts long, Mr. Borkins?" he 
 queried as they all sat at supper, and he himself
 
 "yi,s- a Thief in the Night- 103 
 
 munched bread and butter and fish paste with a 
 vigour thai was lacking in only one quality manners. 
 
 Borkins sniffed, and passed up his cup to the house 
 keeper. 
 
 "Before you were born, I dessay," he responded 
 tartly. 
 
 "Is that so, Methuselah? Dollops gave a little 
 boyish giggle at sight of the butler s face. "Well, 
 se<-in as Tm gettin along in life, you must be a good 
 way pars I. the meridian, if yer don t mind my sayin 
 so. . . . Funny thing, on the way down I run 
 aeiot.-. a chap woi s visitin pals in this ere village, 
 and V pulls me the si ranges t yarn as ever a body 
 card. Summink to do wiv flames it were Frozen 
 Fhiuies or icicles or frost of some kind. But e was 
 so full up of mystery that there weren t no gettin 
 nuffin out er* im. Any one ere tell me the story? E 
 fair got me curiosity fired, e did!" 
 
 A glance laden with sinister meaning flew around 
 the table. Borkins cleared his throat as every eye 
 fastened itself upon him, and he swelled visibly be 
 neath his brass-buttoned waistcoat. 
 
 "If you re any wiser than you look, young man, 
 you ll leave well alone, and not go stickin your fingers 
 in other peoples pie!" he gave out sententiously. 
 "Yes, there is a story and a very unpleasant one, 
 too. If you use your eyes to-night and look out 
 of the smoking-room window as dusk conies on, 
 you ll see the Frozen Flame for ycrself, and won t
 
 104 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 want to be arskin me any fool questions about it. 
 One of the servants ere and a rude, unmannerly 
 London creetur V was too! disappeared a while ago, 
 goin out across the Fens after night-time when e 
 was warned not to. Never seen a sight of im since 
 though I m not mournin any, as you kin see!" 
 
 "(to on!" Dollops voice expressed incredulity, 
 amazement, and an awed interest thai rather fiat- 
 tered the butler. 
 
 "True as I m siftin ere!" he responded grimly. 
 "And before that a friend of Sir Nigel s a fine, big 
 upstandin man e were, name of Wynne went I he 
 same way. Got a little the worse for drink and 
 laughed at the story. Said Vd go out and inves 
 tigate for imself. E never come bud; From that 
 day to this!" 
 
 "Gawd s truf! Ow oriul! You won t find yer 
 umhle a ankerin after the fresh air come night 
 time!" broke in Dollops with a little shiver of ter 
 ror that was remarkably real. "I ll keep to me downy 
 thank you, an as you say, Mr. Borkins, leave well 
 enough alone. You re a wise gentleman, you are!" 
 
 Borkins, flattered, still further expanded. 
 
 "I won t say as all you cockney chaps are the same 
 as Collins," he returned magnanimously, "for it 
 takes all kinds ter make a world. If you feels in 
 clined some time, I ll walk you down to the Pig and 
 Whistle and you shall ave a word or two wish a chap 
 I know. E ll toll yer somcthink that ll make your
 
 "As a Thief in the Night- 105 
 
 "air stand on end. You jist trot along tcr me when 
 you re free, and we ll take a little stroll together." 
 
 Dollops countenance widened into a delighted 
 grin. 
 
 Later, Dollops, in the act of laying out Cleek s 
 clothes for dinner, while (/leek himself unpacked 
 leisurely and made the braces that held the mirror 
 of the dressing-table gay with multi-coloured ties, 
 gave out the news of his promised visit to the Pig and 
 Whistle with the august Borkins with something akin 
 to triumph. 
 
 "That s right, lad, that s right. Get friendly with 
 em!" returned ("leek with a pleased smile. "I ve 
 an idea we re going to have a pretty lively time down 
 here, if I m not much mistaken. Stick to that chap 
 Borkins as you would to glue. Don t let him get away 
 from you. Follow him wherever he goes, but don t 
 let the other servants in the place slip out from your 
 watchful eye, either. Those Frozen Flames want 
 looking into. I have grave suspicions of Borkins. 
 Hi.-; sort generally knows more than almost any other 
 sort, and he appeared to be sizing me up pretty 
 carefully. I shouldn t wonder at all, if he had an 
 idea already that I am not the man about town I 
 appear to be. It will be rotten luck if he has. 
 Time I got into my togs, boy. . . Here, just 
 hand me that shirt, will you?" 
 
 That night certainly proved an even more exciting 
 one than Cleek had prophesied. The household re-
 
 106 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 tired early, as country households are apt to do, but 
 Cleek, however, did not undress. He sat at his 
 window, which faced upon the Fens, watching the 
 trail of the flames dancing across the horizon of 
 night, arid trying to solve the riddle that he had come 
 to find the answer to. 
 
 He heard the church clock in the distance chime 
 out the hour of twelve; and si ill he sat on. The 
 peace of the quiet night stole over him, filling his 
 active brain with a restfulness that had been foreign 
 to it for some time in the stress of his busy life in 
 London. He felt glad he had taken up iliis case, if 
 only for the view of the countryside at night, Hie 
 stillness of the untrod marshes, and the absolute 
 absence of every living thing at this hour. 
 
 The clock chimed one, and he heeded it not. 
 Two half -past . Of a sudden he sat bolt: up 
 right, then got noiselessly to his feet and glided 
 across the floor to where his bed stood a nioi;:> irons 
 black object with heavy canopy and curtains, a relic 
 of the Victorianism in which this house was born. 
 He moved like a cat, absolutely without sound, fleet, 
 sure. His ringers found the coverlet and he tore it 
 down, tumbling the clothes and pushing down the 
 pillow so that it looked as if he himself lay there, 
 peacefully sleeping beneath the sheltering blan 
 kets. . . . Then, still noiseless, panther-like, he 
 
 slid his lithe figure under the bed Then 
 
 the noise came again. Just the whisper of footsteps
 
 "As a Thief in the Night- 107 
 
 in the wide hali, and then his door opened sound 
 lessly and for a moment the footsteps stopped. He 
 could feel a presence in the room. If it were Dollops 
 the lad would give some sign. If not- He lay still, 
 scarcely brea hing in the enveloping darkness. The 
 footsteps came again, soflly, sci lly padding across 
 the room toward him. lie saw the black shadows of 
 stockinged feet as they crossed the path of moonlight, 
 and sucked in his breath. Alan s feet! 
 Whose? . . . Then something shook the bed 
 stead with tremendous force, but without sound. 
 It was as if some object had been hurled forcibly into 
 its softness. The footsteps turned again, hurriedly 
 this time, and there was a sound of a deep-drawn 
 breath a breath full of pent-up, passionate hatred. 
 Then the figure ran lightly across the room, and as it 
 flashed for a moment through the bar of moonlight, 
 Cleek looked out from his safe hiding-place and 
 mic ! The eyes were narrowed in the ivory-tinted 
 face, the jaw heavy and undershot as a bull-dog s, 
 while a dark coloured mustache straggled untidily 
 across the upper lip. The moonlight, cruelly clear, 
 picked out the point of something sharp that shone 
 in one clenched hand, something that looked like a 
 knife that was a knife. 
 
 Then the figure vanished and the door closed 
 noiselessly behind him. 
 
 Hinm. So this question of the Frozen Flame was 
 as urgent as all that, was it? To attempt to murder
 
 108 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 him, here in the house of the Squire of Fetchworth. 
 He wriggled out of his hiding place, a little stiff from 
 the cramped position he had held, and guardedly lit 
 his candle. Then he surveyed the bed wilh set 
 mouth and narrowed eyes. There was a sharp 
 incision through the clothes, an incision quite three 
 inches long, that had punctured the pillow which lay 
 beneath them the pillow that had saved him his 
 life and buried itself in the mattress beneath. 
 Gad! a powerful hand that! He stood a moment 
 thinking, pinching up his chin the while. He had had 
 his suspicions of Borkins, but the face that he bad 
 seen in the moonlight was not the butler s face. 
 Whose, then, was it?
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 A GRUESOME DISCOVERY 
 
 U-IROUGH the long watches of the night Cleek 
 sat there thinking, his chin sunk in one hand, 
 his eyes narrowed down to pin-points, the 
 whole alert personality of the man vitally dominant. 
 No, he would not tell any one of the happening except 
 Dollops and Mr. Narkom. It would only invite 
 suspicion, throw the house into a stale of unrest which 
 was the very thing that he w r as anxious to avoid. As 
 dawn broke, and the danger for that night was past, 
 he got to his feet, plunged his face into cold water, 
 which cleared away the cobwebs, undressed, and then 
 tackled the question of the injured bedding. 
 
 The mattress could be turned that was easy 
 enough, and the slit would probably not be noticed. 
 The bedclothes, too, might be turned the other way 
 up, and with care the injured parts tucked in tightly 
 at the bottom. It would leave them a little short at 
 the top perhaps, but that couldn t be helped. Sus 
 picion must be allayed at all costs. Time enough to 
 bring the would-be murderer to justice when he had 
 solved the riddle in its entirety. There were two 
 pillows, so he took the damaged one, tore off its case, 
 
 109
 
 110 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 and tucked that away in his kit-bag, pushed the bag 
 under the bed, and then set about the remaking, with 
 some small success. At least for the time, the in 
 cisions in the blanket and sheets would not be 
 noticed, and in the morning he would invent some 
 excuse to have them changed. 
 
 The early morning cup of tea, brought at eight 
 by a dainty chambermaid in cap and starched 
 blue dress, supplied the need quite nicely. lie 
 nodded to her as she left the room, and then, when 
 the door closed, upset the cup on the coverlet, 
 letting the liquid soak through. Then he got up 
 and dressed himself with something like a smile upon 
 his lips. 
 
 At breakfast, a housemaid waited upon them, and 
 Cleek ate lustily, with the appetite that is born of 
 good health, and a mind at peace with the world. 
 Toward the end of the meal, however, Borkins came 
 in. He glanced casually over the group at the table, 
 let his eyes rest for a moment upon Cleek, and then 
 dropped an empty dish he was carrying. As he 
 stooped to recover it, all chance of seeing how the 
 appearance of the man who had so nearly met his 
 death last night affected him, was gone. He came up 
 again still the same, quiet, dignified Borkins of yore. 
 Not a gleam of anything but the most obsequious 
 interest in the task before him marred the tran 
 quillity of his features. If the man knew anything, 
 then he was a fine actor. But did he? That was
 
 A Gruesome Discovery 111 
 
 the question that interested Cleek during the re 
 mainder of the meal. 
 
 After it was over, Mr. Narkom and Sir Nigel went 
 off to the smoking room for a quiet cigarette before 
 setting to the real business of the day, and Cleek was 
 left to follow them at his leisure. Borkins was 
 pottering about the table as the two men left the 
 breakfast room, and Cleek stood in the doorway. 
 
 "Peaceful night, last night, eh, Borkiris?" he said 
 with a slight laugh. "That s the best of this blessed 
 country life of yours. Chap rests so well. Talk 
 al/out the simple life He broke off and 
 
 laughed again, watching Borkins pick up a clean fork 
 and carry it to the plate-basket upon the sideboard. 
 
 The man retained his perfect dignity and ease of 
 manner. 
 
 "Quite so, sir. Quite so. I trust you slept w, 11." 
 
 "Pretty well for a xtrange bed," returned Cleek 
 with emphasis, and turned upon his heel. "If you 
 see my man you might send him rJor g to me. I 
 want to arrange with him about suits that are coming 
 down from my tailor s." 
 
 "Very good, sir." 
 
 Cleek joined the two men with something akin to 
 admiration for the butler s impassiveness in his heart. 
 If he knew anything, then he was a past master in the 
 art of repression. On the other hand perhaps he 
 didn t and there was really no reason why he 
 should. Eavesdropping was a common enough
 
 The Riddle of tJie Frozen Flame 
 
 fault with the best of servants, and curiosity a failing 
 of most men. Borkins might be and possibly was 
 absolutely innocent of any knowledge of last night s 
 affair. And yet, how did the knowledge, that he was 
 not altogether what he seemed, leak out? It was a 
 puzzle to which, as yet, Cleek could find no answer. 
 
 Mr. Narkoni greeted Cleek enthusiastically when 
 he joined him. 
 
 "I m off on a tour of investigation in a few 
 minutes," he announced. "Petrie and Hammond 
 arrived last night, as you know, and are putting up at 
 the village inn. I m meeting them at the edge of 
 the Fens at ten o clock. Then we re going to have 
 a good look to see if we can find the bodies of the two 
 men who have vanished. You coming along?" 
 
 Cleek nodded, and the queer little one-sided smile 
 travelled up his cheek. 
 
 "Certainly, my dear Lake. I d be delighted. 
 Sir Nigel, of course, has other business to attend to. 
 It s ten minutes to ten now. If you re going you d 
 better step lively. Ah," as Dollops s figure ap 
 peared in the doorway, "if you ll excuse me, Sir 
 Nigel, I ll just have a word or two with my man." 
 His voice dropped several tones as he addressed the 
 boy and they moved away together. "Mr. Lake 
 and I are going out for a walk across the Fens. 
 Petrie and Hammond will be there at ten. I d like 
 you to join em. Better nip along now." 
 
 "Yessir."
 
 A Gruesome Discovery 113 
 
 "And Dollops" - he beckoned him back and 
 bent his head to the lad s ear, speaking in a voice that 
 none heard but the one it was intended for "keep a 
 sharp look-out. I had a narrow escape last night. 
 Someone tried to stab me in bed but he got my 
 pillow instead 
 
 " Gawdamercy, Guv nor ! 
 
 "Ssh. And there s no need to worry. I m still 
 here, you see. But keep your eyes and your ears 
 open, and if you see any strange men hanging around, 
 report to me at once." 
 
 Dollops s usually pale, freckled countenance went 
 a shade paler, and he caught at Cleek s arm as though 
 he were loath to let it go. 
 
 "But, sir," he whispered in a hoarse undertone, 
 "you won t go a-knocking about alone, will yer? 
 If anythin were to appen to you I I d go along 
 and commit that there harum-scarum wot the 
 Japanese are so fond o doin on the spot!" 
 
 Cleek could barely restrain a laugh. The whispered 
 conversation had taken the merest fraction of a 
 minute and, during it, he had had full view of the 
 green baize door which led down to the servants 
 quarters. Borkins had gone through it some time 
 before. Then he heard the butler s deep, measured 
 tones in the garden, and caught sight of him talking 
 to one of the grooms in the courtyard. He heaved 
 something like a sigh of relief. 
 
 Dollops left, and Cleek then rejoined the two
 
 114 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 men who stood talking together in low, earnest 
 tones. 
 
 "Now," said he, briskly, "if you re ready, Mr. 
 Lake, I am. Let us be oiF. Sir Nigel, I hope by 
 dinner time to have some sort of news to impart to 
 you, whether good or ill remains to be seen. By the 
 way, have you, in your employ, a dark, square-faced 
 individual, with close-set eyes and a straggling mous- 
 lac r.o? Rather undershot, too, I believe? It would 
 be interesting to me to know." 
 
 Merriton considered for a moment. 
 
 "Tell you the truth, Mr. Headland, I can t fit the 
 description in anywhere among the peoplo hero," he 
 said after a pause. "Dimrnock s fairish though 
 he has got a moustache, but it s a military one, and 
 Borkins is, of course, smooth shaven. The other men 
 are clean-shaved, too, except for old Doughty, the 
 head gardener, and he wears a full, gray beard. 
 Why?" 
 
 Cleek shook his head. 
 
 "Nothing important. I was only just wondering. 
 Now then, Lake, you ll be late if you loiter any longer, 
 and our er friends will be waiting. Good-bye, Sir 
 Nigel, and good luck. Lunch at one-fifteen, I take 
 it?" 
 
 He swung upon his heel and linked his arm with 
 Mr. Narkom s, then, taking his cap from a peg on the 
 hall stand, clapped it on his head and went down and 
 out to the task that awaited him, and a discovery
 
 A Gruesome Discovery 115 
 
 which was, to say the least of it, startling in the 
 extreme. 
 
 They walked for sonic time in comparative silence, 
 puffing at their cigarettes. Then of a sudden, Clock 
 spoke. 
 
 "I say, old man, you ll want to keep a close look 
 out upon your own personal safety," he said, abruptly, 
 wheeling round and meeting his friend full in the eyes. 
 
 "What d you mean, C Headland?" 
 
 "What I say. Someone s got wind of our real 
 purpose here. I have a grave suspicion that that 
 Liorkins was listening at my door last evening when 
 I was talking to Dollops. Later well, somebody or 
 other tried to get me in bed. But I was one too 
 many for him 
 
 "My dearCleek!" 
 
 "Mr. Lake, I beg of you not so loud!" ejaculated 
 Cleek. "There are ears everywhere, which you as a 
 policeman ought to know. Do remember my name 
 and don t go losing any sleep over me. I can take 
 care of myself, all right. But I had to do it pretty 
 energetically last night. A thoughtful visitor 
 stabbed the pillow I d placed in bed instead of my 
 humble self, and cut an incision three inches deep. 
 Hit the mattress, too!" 
 
 "Headland, my God !" 
 
 "Now, don t take on so. I tell you I can take care 
 of myself, but you do the same. No one in the house 
 knows a word about it, and I don t intend that they
 
 116 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 shall. The less said the better, in a case like this. 
 Only those Frozen Flames are trying to eat up some 
 thing that is either very serious or very money- 
 making. One thing or the other. . . . Hello, 
 here we are! Mornin Petrie; inornin Hammond. 
 All ready for the search I see." 
 
 The two constables, clad in plain clothes and 
 accompanied by Dollops, were holding in their hands 
 long pitchforks which looked more as if they were 
 ready for haymaking than for the gruesome lask 
 ahead of them all. Petrie carried upon his arm a roll 
 of rope. They swung into step behind the detectives, 
 across the uneven, marshy ground. 
 
 It was a chilly morning, and inclined to rain. 
 Across the flat horizon the mist hung in wraithlike 
 forms of cloudy gray, and the deep grass inlo which 
 they plunged their feet was beaded with dew. For a 
 time they walked on quietly until they had gone 
 perhaps a quarter of a mile. Then Cleek halted. 
 
 "Better separate here," he said, waving his arm 
 out across the sweep of flat country. Dollops, you 
 take the right with Petrie. Hammond, you d better 
 try the left. Mr. Narkom and I will go straight 
 ahead together. Any discovery made, just give the 
 usual signal." 
 
 They separated at once, their feet upon the thick 
 marshy ground leaving numberless footprints in 
 the moist rank grass, wiiich crushed under them 
 like wet hay. Their heads were bent, their eyes
 
 A Gruesome Discovery 117 
 
 fixed upon the ground, their faces bearing a look of 
 utter concentration. Cleek watched them moving 
 slowly across the wide, flat reaches of the Fens, stop 
 ping now and then to poke among the rank marsh- 
 grass, and prod into the earth, and then turned to 
 Mr. Narkom. 
 
 "Good fellows those three," he said with a smile. 
 "What move can you ask than that? Straight ahead 
 for us, Mr. Narkom, Sir Nigel tells me the patch 
 of charred grass lies in a direct line with the edge of 
 the Fens where we started our search. I m keen to 
 ha\e a look at it." 
 
 Mr. Narkom nodded, and walked on, poking here 
 and there with his stout walking stick. Cleek did 
 likewise. They rarely spoke, simply pushed and 
 poked and trod the grass clown; searching, searching, 
 searching, as had those 1 oilier men upon the night 
 of Dacre Wynne s disappearance. But they had 
 searched in vain for any clue which would lead to 
 the elucidation of the mystery. 
 
 Suddenly Cleek stopped. lie pointed a little 
 ahead of him with his walking stick. 
 
 There you are!" said he briskly. "The patch of 
 charred grass." lie strode up to it, stopped and 
 bent his eyes upon it, then suddenly exclaimed: 
 "Look here! Below at the roots the fresh grass is 
 springing up in little tender green shoots. That 
 patch ll disappear shortly. And"- - he stopped and 
 sucked in his breath, wheeling round upon Mr. Nar-
 
 118 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 kom "when you come to think of it, why shouldn t 
 it have grown up already? There s been t ime enough 
 since the man Wynne s disappearance to cover 
 up all those singed ends in a new growth. Can t 
 be that it s done on purpose, and yet why is it still 
 here?" 
 
 "Perhaps some sign or something," suggested Mr. 
 Narkom. 
 
 "Possibly, something of the sort. And if we have 
 signs then there must be something human behind all 
 this talk of supernatural agents," returned Cleek. 
 "Let us take it that this patch of charred grass hide* 
 something, or marks the way to something, some 
 thing buried underneath it, or lying near by. Eh 
 what s that?" 
 
 "That" was a cat-call ringing out across the misty 
 silences from the direction in which Dollops and 
 Petrie had gone. 
 
 "They ve found something!" cried out Mr. .Nar 
 kom, in a hoarse whisper of excitement. 
 
 "Obviously. Well, this other thing will wait. 
 We ll go after them." 
 
 The two of them hastened oil in the direction or 
 the repeated cat-call, and soon came upon Dollops 
 bending over something, his eyes rather scared, just 
 as Hammond arrived from the other direction in 
 answer to the summons. Petrie, too, appeared rat her 
 nervous. As Cleek came up to them, his eyes fell 
 upon the ground, and he stopped stock still.
 
 A Gruesome Discovery 119 
 
 "Gad! . . . Where did you find it?" 
 
 "Here, sir; half buried, but with the ead a- 
 stickin out!" returned Petrie. "Dollops and I 
 pulled it out and and ere it is." 
 
 Cleek glanced down at the body of a heavily 
 built man, elad in evening clothes, and already in an 
 ad vanced state of decomposition. "Looks like it was 
 thai chap Wynne," he said, in a matter-of-fact tone. 
 "Answers the description ail right. The other man 
 was short and red-headed. And the evening clothes 
 art 1 \veH cul from what I can see. Must have been a 
 handsome chap once. . . . Well, we ll have to 
 get I his very gruesome find back to the Towers as 
 quickly as possible. Got your oilskin with you, 
 Petrie?" 
 
 "Yessir!" Petrie miraculously produced the roll 
 from under his tunic and spread the sheet out. Then 
 they lifted up the body and wrapped it about so that 
 the covering hid the awfulness of it from view. Mr. 
 Narkom mopped his forehead with his handkerchief. 
 
 "Cinnamon, Cleek!" he ejaculated, breathlessly. 
 "Pretty awful, isn t it? Was it much hidden, Petrie? 
 Funny the other people didn t find it when they 
 searched!" 
 
 "No, sir plain as a pikestaff!" returned Petrie 
 importantly, for he felt the burden of responsibility 
 and hoped that this would mean promotion. Dollops, 
 who was by no means a regular member of the force, 
 simply looked at Cleek w r ith considerable pride fight-
 
 120 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 ing through the natural horror that the find had 
 given birth to. 
 
 "Funny thing!" broke in deck at this juncture. 
 "The only solution must be that the body was placed 
 there some time after death. . . . Leave it a 
 little longer, boys, and we ll have a further search in 
 this direction. We may come upon poor Collins in 
 a similar fashion though thank Heaven his dis 
 appearance didn t happen quite so long ago." 
 
 They took a few steps farther in the same direction 
 and stopped simultaneously. Before their eyes 
 lay the figure of Collins, in his discreet black clothes, 
 his red head against a tuffet of moss, and a bullet 
 wound in his temple. 
 
 "God!" said deck, softly, and sucked in his 
 breath. "Two of em. And like this! 
 Looks like a plant, doesn t it? Poor chap! 
 And yet Men-it on declared that he, as well as others, 
 had searched every inch of this ground over arid over 
 again. Seems fishy. To find em both here- so 
 close together. . . . Let s have a look at I he 
 other poor chap. . . . Ilmm. Bullet wound 
 through the right temple, too. Small-calibre revol 
 ver." 
 
 He bent down and examined the head carefully 
 through his magnifying glass, then got slowly to his 
 feet. 
 
 "Well, Mr. Narkom," said he, steadily, "nothing 
 to be done at present, but to get these bodies back to
 
 A Gruesome Discovery 
 
 the Towers. After that they can take em to the 
 village mortuary if they like. But I ve one or two 
 things I d like to ask you Merriton, and one or two 
 things I want to examine. Gad! it s a beastly task, 
 boys. That sheet s big enough, thank fortune! 
 Cross the pitchforks, Petrie, and make a sort of 
 stretcher out of them, that way. That s right. Now 
 then, forward. . . . Gad! what a morning!" 
 
 But if he had known just exactly what the rest of 
 that morning was to bring forth, indeed before lunch 
 was served at one-fifteen, he might have hesitated to 
 pas-j judgment upon it so soon. 
 
 Slowly the cavalcade wended its way across the 
 rank grass.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE SPIN OF THE WHEEL 
 
 ERRITON stood at the study window, look 
 ing out, and pulling at his cigar with an air 
 of profound meditation. Upon the hearih- 
 rug Doctor Bartholomew, clad in baggy tweeds, 
 stood tugging at his beard and watched the man s 
 back with kindly, troubled eyes. 
 
 "Don t like it, Nigel, my boy; don t like it at all! 
 he ejaculated, suddenly, in his close-clipped fashion. 
 "These detectives are the very devil to pay. Get 
 em in one s house and they re like doctors- in 
 cluding, of course, my humble self difficult to get 
 out. Part of the profession, my boy. But a beastly 
 nuisance. Seems to me I d rather have the mystery 
 than the men. Simpler, anyway. And fees, you 
 know, are heavy." 
 
 Merriton swung round upon his heel suddenly, his 
 brows like a thunder cloud. 
 
 "I don t care a damn about that," he broke out 
 angrily. "Let em take every penny I ve got, so 
 long as they solve the thing! But I can t get away 
 from it I just can t. Hangs over me night and day 
 like the sword of Damocles! Until the mystery of 
 
 122
 
 The Spin of the Wheel 123 
 
 Wynne s disappearance is cleared up, I tell you 
 Toinette and I can t marry. She feels the same. 
 And and we ve the house all ready, you know, 
 everything fixed and in order, except this. When 
 poor old Collins disappeared, too, I found I d reached 
 my limit. So here these detectives are, and, on the 
 whole, jolly decent chaps I find em." 
 
 Doctor Bartholomew shrugged his shoulders as if 
 to say, "Have it your own way, my boy." But what 
 he really did say was : 
 
 "What are their names?" 
 
 "Young chap s Headland George or John Head 
 land, I don t remember quite which. Other one s 
 Lake Gregory Lake." 
 
 "Il m. Good name that, Nigel. Ought to be 
 some brains behind it. But I never did pin my faith 
 on policemen, you know, boy. Scotland Yard s 
 made so many mistakes that if it hadn t been for that 
 chap ("leek, they d have ruined themselves al 
 together. Now, he s a man, if you like! Pity you 
 couldn t get him while you re about it." 
 
 The impulse to tell who "George Headland" 
 really was to this firm friend who had been more than 
 a father to him, even in the old days, and who had 
 made a point of dropping down upon him, informally, 
 ever since the trouble over Dacre Wynne s dis 
 appearance, took hold of Nigel. But he shook it off. 
 He had given his word. And if he could not tell 
 Toinette, then no other soul in the universe should
 
 124 TJie Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 know. So he simply tossed his shoulders, and, going 
 back to the window, looked out of it, to hide the some 
 thing of triumph which had stolen into his face. 
 
 Truth to tell, he was obsessed with a feeling that 
 something irax going to happen, arid happen soon. 
 The premonition, to one wiio was not used to such 
 things, carried all the more conviction. \Yith Cleek 
 on the track anything might happen. Cleek was a 
 man for whom things never stood still, and his amaz 
 ing brain was concentrated upon this problem as it 
 had been concentrated successfully upon others. 
 Merriton had a feeling that it was only a matter of 
 time. 
 
 Then, just as he was standing there, humming 
 something softly beneath his breath, the cavalcade, 
 headed by Cleek and ]NIr. Narkom, ralher grim and 
 silent, reached the gateway. Behind them \Ierri- 
 ton gave a sudden cry which brought the doctor to 
 his side behind them three men were carrying some 
 thing something bulky and large and wrapped in a 
 black oilskin tarpaulin. And one of the men was 
 Headland s servant, Dollops! He recognized that, 
 even as his inner consciousness told him that his 
 "something" was about to happen now. 
 
 "Gad! they ve found the body," he exclaimed, in a 
 hoarse, excited voice, fairly running to the front door 
 and throwing it open with a crash that rang through 
 the old house from floor to rafters, and brought 
 Borkins scuttling up the kitchen stairs at a pace that
 
 The Spin of the Wheel 125 
 
 was ill-befitting his age and dignity. Merriton gave 
 him a curt order. 
 
 "Have the morning-room door thrown open and 
 the sofa pulled out from against the wall. My 
 friends have been for a walk across the Fens, and have 
 found something. You can see them coming up the 
 drive. "What d you make of it?" 
 
 "Gawd! a haccident, Sir Nigel," said Borkins, in 
 a shaky voice. ; Adn t I better tell Mrs. Mummery 
 to put. the blue bedroom in order and ave plenty of 
 ot water? ..." 
 
 "Xo." Merriton was running down the front 
 steps and flung the answer back over his shoulder. 
 
 "Can t you use your eyes? It s a body, you fool a 
 
 i 11" 
 body! 
 
 Borkins gasped a moment, and then stood still, his 
 thin lips sucked in, his face unpleasant to see. He 
 was alone in the hallway, for Doctor Bartholomew s 
 fat figure was waddling in Merriton s wake. 
 
 He put up his fist and shook it in their direction. 
 
 "Pity it ain t your body, young upstart that you 
 are!" he muttered beneath his breath, and turned 
 toward the morning room. 
 
 Meanwhile Merriton had reached the solemn little 
 party and was walking back beside Cleek, his face 
 chalky, the pupils of his eyes a trifle dilated with 
 excitement. 
 
 "Found em? Found em both, you say, Mr. 
 Headland?" he kept on repeating over and over
 
 12G The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 again, as they mounted the steps together. "Good 
 God! "What a strange what a peculiar thing! I ll 
 swear there was no sight nor sign of them when I ve 
 tramped over the Fens dozens of times. I don t 
 know what to make of it, I don t indeed!" 
 
 "Oh, we ll make something of it all right," returned 
 Cleek, with a sharp look at him, for there was one 
 thing he wanted to find out, and he meant to do that 
 as soon as possible. "Two and two, you know, put 
 together properly, always make four. It s only the 
 fools of the world that add wrong. If you d had as 
 much practice as I ve had in dealing with humanity, 
 you d find it was an ever-increasing astonishment 
 to see the way things dovetail in .... Who s 
 this, by the way?" 
 
 He jerked his head in the direction of the doctor, 
 who had stopped at the foot of the steps and waited 
 for them to come up to him. 
 
 "Oh, a very old friend of mine, Mr. Headland. 
 Doctor Bartholomew. Has a very big practice in 
 town, but a trifle eccentric, as you can see at first 
 glance." 
 
 Cleek sent his keen eyes over the odd-looking 
 figure in the worn tweeds. 
 
 "I see. Then can you tell me how he finds time 
 to run down here at leisure and visit you? Seems to 
 me a man with a big practice never has enough time 
 to work it in. At least, that has been my experience 
 of doctors."
 
 The Spin of the Wheel U7 
 
 Merriton flushed angrily at the tone. He whipped 
 his head round and met Clock s cool gaze hotly. 
 
 "I know you re down here to investigate the case, 
 but I don t think there s any reason for you to start 
 suspecting my friends," he retorted, his eyes flashing. 
 "Doctor Bartholomew has a partner, if you want to 
 know. And also he s supposed to be retired. But 
 he carries on for the love of the thing. Best man 
 ever breathed remember that!" 
 
 Cleek smiled to himself at the sudden onslaught, 
 The young pepper-pot! Yet he liked him for ;!ie 
 Io <; al defence of his friend, nevertheless. There were 
 all too few creatures in the world who found it im 
 possible to suspect those whom they cared for, and 
 who cared for them. 
 
 "Sorry to have given any offence, I m sure," he 
 said, smoothly. "None was meant, right enough, 
 Sir Nigel. But a policeman has an unpleasant duty, 
 you know. He s got to keep his eyes and his ears 
 open. So if you find mine open too far, any time, 
 just tip me the wink and I ll shut em up again." 
 
 "Oh, that s all right," said Merriton, mollified, and 
 a trifle shamefaced at the outburst. Then, with an 
 effort to turn the conversation: "But think of 
 findin em both, Mr. er Headland! Were they 
 very awful?" 
 
 "Pretty awful," returned Clet-k, quietly; "eh, 
 Mr. Lake?" 
 
 "God bless my soul yes /" threw in that gentle-
 
 128 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 man, with a shudder. "Now then, boys, if you don t 
 mind lie took the attitude of a casual ac 
 
 quaintance with his two assistants who helped 
 to bear the burden. "Come along inside. This 
 way that s it. \Yhere did you say, Merriton? 
 Inlo the morning room? All right. Ah, Borkins 
 has been getting things ready, I see. That couch is a 
 broad one. Good thing, as there are two of em." 
 
 " Tiro of em, sir?" exclaimed Borkins, suddenly 
 throwing up his hands, his eyes wide with horror. 
 Mr. Narkom nodded with something of professional 
 triumph in his look. 
 
 "Two of em, Borkins. And the second one, if 
 I don t make any mistake, answers to the description 
 of James Collins eh, Headland?" 
 
 Clock gave him a sudden look that spoke volumes. 
 It came over him in a flash that Narkom had said too 
 much; that it wasn t the casual visitor s place to 
 know what a servant who was not there at the time 
 of his visit looked like. 
 
 "At least that s as far as I can make out from 
 what Sir Nigel told me of him the oilier day," he 
 supplemented, in an effort to make amends. "Now 
 then, boys, put em there on the couch. Poor things ! 
 I warn you, Sir Nigel, this isn t going to be a pleas 
 ant sight, but you ve got to go through with it, I m 
 afraid. The police 11 want identification made, of 
 course. Hadn t you better phone the local branch? 
 Someone ought to be here in charge, you know."
 
 The Spin of the Wheel 129 
 
 Merriton nodded. He was so stunned at the 
 actuality of these two men s deaths, at the knowledge 
 that their bodies lifeless, extinct were here in his 
 morning room, that he had stood like an image, 
 making no move, no sound. 
 
 "Yes yes," lie said, rapidly, waving a hand in 
 Borkins s direction. "See that it s done at once, 
 please. Tell Constable Roberts to come along with a 
 couple of his men. Very decent of these chaps to 
 give you a hand, Mr. Lake. That s your man, Dol 
 lops, isn t it. Headland? Well, hadn t he better take 
 em downstairs and give em a stifl whisky-and- 
 soda? I expect the poor beggars have need of it." 
 
 Cleek held up a silencing hand. 
 
 "Xo," he said, firmly. "Not just yet, I think. 
 They may be needed for evidence when the constable 
 comes. Now. . . . " He crossed over to where 
 the bodies lay, and gently removed the covering. 
 Merriton went suddenly white, while the doctor, 
 more used to such sights, bit his lips and laid a 
 steadying hand upon the younger man s arm. 
 
 "My God!" cried Sir Nigel, despairingly. "How 
 did they meet their death?" 
 
 Cleek reached down a finger and gently touched 
 a blackened spot upon Wynne s temple. 
 
 "Shot through the head, and the bullet penetrated 
 the brain," he said, quietly. "Small-calibre re 
 volver, too. There s your Frozen Flame for you, my 
 friend!"
 
 130 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 But lie was hardly prepared for the event that 
 followed. For at this statement, Merriton threw a 
 hand out suddenly, as though warding off a blow, 
 took a step forward and peered at that which had 
 once been his friend and enemy and Ihen gave 
 out a strangled cry. 
 
 "Shot through the head!" he fairly shrieked, as 
 Borkins came quietly into the room, and stopped 
 short at the sound of his master s voice. "I tell you 
 it s impossible impossible! It wasn t my shot, Mr. 
 Headland it couldn t have been!"
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 A STARTLING DISCLOSURE 
 
 CLEEK took a sudden step forward. 
 "What s that? What s that?" he rapped 
 out, sharply. " Your shot, Sir Nigel? This 
 is something I haven t heard of before, and it s likely 
 to cause trouble. Explain, please!" 
 
 But Merriton was past explaining anything just 
 then. For he had bowed his head in his hands and 
 was sobbing in great, heart-wrung sobs with Doctor 
 Bartholomew s arms about him, sobs tl at told of the 
 nerve-strain which gave them birlli, that told of the 
 tenseness under which he had lived these last weeks. 
 And now the thread had snapped, and all the broken, 
 jangling nerves of the man had been loosed and torn 
 his control to atoms. 
 
 The doctor shook him gently, but with firm fingers. 
 
 "Don t be a fool, boy don t be a fool!" he said 
 over and over again, as he waved the other away., 
 and, taking out a lit lie phial from his waistcoat pock 
 et, dropped a dose from it into a wine-glass and 
 forced it between the man s lips. "Don t make an 
 ass of yourself, Nigel. The shot you fired was 
 nothing the mere whim of a man, whose brain had 
 
 131
 
 132 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 been fired by champagne and who wasn t therefore 
 altogether responsible for his actions." 
 
 He whipped round suddenly upon Cleek, his faded 
 eyes, with their fringe of almost white lashes, flash 
 ing like points of light from the seamed and wrinkled 
 frame of his face. 
 
 "If you want to hear that foolish part of the story, 
 I can give it to you," he said, sharply. "Because I 
 happened to be there." 
 
 "You!" 
 
 "Yes I, Mr er Headland, isn t it? Ah, 
 thanks. But the boy s unstrung, nerve-racked. He s 
 been through loo much. The whole beastly Ihing 
 has made a mess of him, and he was a fool to 
 meddle with it. Nigel Merriton fired a shot that 
 night when Dacre \Vynne disappeared, Mr. Head 
 land; fired it after he had gone up to his room, a little 
 over-excited with too much champagne, a little over 
 wrought by the scene through which he had just 
 passed with the man who had always exercised such 
 a sinister influence over his life." 
 
 "So Sir Nigel was no good friend of this man 
 Wynne s, then?" remarked Cleek, quietly, as if he 
 did not already know the fact. 
 
 The doctor looked up as though he were ready to 
 spring upon him and tear him limb from limb. 
 
 "No!" he said, furiously, "and neither would you 
 have been, if you d known him. Great hulking 
 bully that he was! I tell you, I ve seen the man
 
 A Startling Disclosure 133 
 
 use Ms influence upon this boy here, until fine, up 
 standing chap that he is (and I ve known him and his 
 people ever since he was a baby) he succeeded in mak 
 ing him as weak as a hysterical girl and gloated over 
 it, too!" 
 
 Cleek drew in a quiet breath, and gave his shoul 
 ders the very slightest of twitches, to show that he was 
 listening. 
 
 "Very interesting, Doctor, as psychological studies 
 of the kind go," he said, smoothly, stroking his chin 
 and looking down at the bowed shoulders of the man 
 in Jie arm chair, with something almost like sorrow 
 in his eyes. "But we ve go I to gel down to brass 
 tacks, you know. This thing s serious. It s got to 
 be proved. If it can t, be well, it s going to be mighty 
 awkward for Sir Nigel. Now, let s hear the thing 
 straight out from the person most interested, please. 
 I don t like to appear thoughtless in any way, but 
 this is a serious admission you ve just made. Sir 
 Nigel, I beg of you, tell us the story before the con 
 stable comes. It might make things easier for you 
 in the long run." 
 
 Merriton, thus addressed, threw up his head sud 
 denly and showed a face marked with mental an 
 guish, dry-eyed, deathly white. lie got slowly to 
 his feet and went over to the table, leaning his hand 
 upon it as though for support. 
 
 "Oh, well," he said, listlessly, "you might as well 
 hear it first as last. Doctor Bartholomew s right,
 
 134 Tlie Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 Mr. Headland. I did fire a shot upon the night of 
 Dacre Wynne s disappearance, and I fired ii from 
 my bedroom window. It was like this: 
 
 "Wynne had gone, and after waiting for him to 
 come back away past the given time, ve all made 
 up our minds to go to bed, and Tony West a pal of 
 mine who was one of the guests- and the Doctor hen 1 
 accompanied me to my room door. Dr. Bartholo 
 mew had a room next to mine. In that part of the 
 house the walls are thin, and although my revolver 
 (which I always carry with me, Mr. Headland, since 
 I lived in India) is one of those almost soundless little 
 things, still, the sound of it reached him." 
 
 "Is it of small calibre?" asked Cleek, at this junc 
 ture. 
 
 Merriton nodded gravely. 
 
 "As you say, of small calibre. You can see it for 
 yourself. Borkins"- - he turned toward the man, 
 who was standing by the doorway, his hands hang 
 ing at his sides, his manner a trifle obsequious; "will 
 you bring it from, the left-hand drawer of my dressing 
 table. Here is the key." He tossed over a bunch of 
 keys and they fell with, a jangling sound upon the 
 floor at Borkins s feet. 
 
 "Very good, Sir Nigel," said the man and wiih- 
 drew, leaving the door open behind him, however, as 
 though he were afraid to lose any of the story that 
 was being told in the quiet morning room. 
 
 When he had gone, Merriton resumed :
 
 A Startling Disclosure 13,5 
 
 "I m not a superstitious man, Mr. Headland, but 
 that old wives tale of the Frozen Flames, and the 
 new one coming out every time they claimed another 
 victim, seemed to have burnt its way into my brain. 
 That and the champagne together, and then close 
 upon it Dacre Wynne s foolish bet to find out what 
 I he tilings were. When I went up to my room, and 
 after saying good-night to the doctor here, closed the 
 door and locked it, I then crossed to the window 
 and looked out at the flames. And as I looked 
 believe it or not, as you will- another flame sud 
 denly sprang up at the left of the others, a flame that 
 seemed brighter, bigger than any of the rest, a flame 
 thai bore with it the message: I am Dacre Wynne ." 
 
 ( leek smiled, crookedly, and went on stroking his 
 chin. 
 
 Rather a fanciful story that, Sir Nigel," he said, 
 "but go on. What happened?" 
 
 "Why, I fired at the thing. I picked up my re 
 volver and, in a sort of blind rage, fired at it through 
 I lie open window; and I believe I said something like 
 this: Damn it, why won t you go? I ll make you 
 go, you maddening little devil! though I know those 
 weren t the identical words I spoke. As soon as the 
 shot was fired my brain cleared. I began to feel 
 ashamed of myself, thought what a fool I d look in 
 front of the boys if they heard the story; and just 
 at that moment Doctor Bartholomew knocked at the 
 door."
 
 136 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 Here the doctor nodded vigorously as thought to 
 corroborate these statements, and made as if to speak. 
 
 Cleek silenced him with a gesture. 
 
 "And then what next, Sir Nigel?" 
 
 Merriton cleared his throat before proceeding. 
 There was a drawn look upon his face. 
 
 "The doctor said he thought he had heard a shot, 
 and asked me what it was, and I replied: Nothing. 
 Only I was potting at the flames. This seemed to 
 amaze him, as it would any sane man, I should think. 
 and as no doubt it is amazing you, Mr. Headland. 
 Amazing you and making you think, What, a fool 
 the fellow is, after all! Well, I showed the doctor 
 the revolver in my hand, and lie laughingly said that 
 he d take it to bed with him, in case I should start 
 potting at him by mistake. Then I got into bed, 
 after making him promise he wouldn t breathe a 
 word to anybody of what had occurred, as ihe others 
 would be sure to laugh at me; and that s all." 
 
 "H m. And quite enough, too, I should say," 
 broke in Cleek, as the man finished. "It sounds true 
 enough, believe me, from your lips, and I know you 
 for an honourable man; but what sort of a credence 1 
 do you think an average jury is going to place upon 
 it? D you think they d believe you?" He shook 
 his head. "Never. They d simply laugh at the 
 whole thing, and say you were either drunk or dream 
 ing. People in the twentieth century don t indulge 
 in superstition to that extent, Sir Nigel: or, at least,
 
 A Startling Disclosure 137 
 
 if they do, they let their reason govern their actions as 
 far as possible. It s a tall story at best, if you ll 
 forgive me for saying so." 
 
 Merriton s face went a dull, sultry red. His eyes 
 flamed. 
 
 "Then you don t believe me?" he said, impatiently. 
 
 Clock raised a hand. 
 
 "I don t say that for one moment," he replied. 
 " What I say is : Would a judge and jury believe you? 
 That is the question. And iny answer to it is, No. 
 You ve bad every provocation to take Dacre Wynne s 
 life, so far as 1 can learn, every provocation, that is, 
 that a man of unsound mentality who would stoop to 
 murder could have to justify himself in his own eyes. 
 Things look exceedingly black against you, Sir Nigel. 
 You can swear to this statement as far as your part 
 in it is concerned, Doctor Bartholomew?" 
 
 " Absolutely," said the doctor, though plainly 
 showing that he felt it was no business of the sup 
 posed Mr. Headland s. 
 
 Well, that s good. But if only there had been 
 another witness, someone who actually saw this thing 
 done, or who had heard the pistol-shot not that 
 I m doubting your word at all, Doctor it might 
 help to elucidate matters. There is no one you know 
 of who could have heard and not spoken?" 
 
 At this juncture Borkins came quietly into the 
 room, holding the little revolver in his right hand, 
 and handed it to Cleek.
 
 138 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 "If you please, sir," he said, impassively, and with 
 a quick look into Merriton s grave face, "7 heard. 
 And I can speak, if the jury wants me to, I don t 
 doubt but what my tale would be worth listenin 
 to, if only to add my hevidence to the rest. That 
 man there"- - he pointed one shaking forefinger at 
 his master s face, and glowered into it for a moment 
 "was the murderer of poor Mr. Wynne!"
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 TRAPPED ! 
 
 OU damned, skulking liar! 
 
 Merriton leapt forward suddenly, and it 
 was with difficulty that ( leek could restrain 
 him from seizing the butler round the throat. 
 
 "Gently, gently, my friend," interposed Cleek, 
 as he neatly caught Merriton s uplhrown arm. "It 
 won t help you, you know, to attack a possible wit 
 ness. We ve got to hear what this man says, to know 
 whether he s speaking the truth or not and we ve 
 got to go into his evidence as dearly as we go into 
 yours. . . . You re pcrfeclly right, Doctor, I 
 am a policeman, and I m down here for the express 
 purpose of investigating this appalling affair. The 
 expression of your face so plainly said, What right 
 has he to go meddling in another man s affairs like 
 this? that I was obliged to confess the fact, for the 
 sake of my self-respect. My friend here, Mr. Lake, 
 is working with me." At this he gave Borkins a keen, 
 searching look, and saw in the man s impassive coun 
 tenance that this was no news to him. "Now then, 
 my man, speak out. You tell us you heard that 
 
 139
 
 140 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 revolver-shot when your master fired it from his bed 
 room. Where are your quarters?" 
 
 "On the other side of the ouse, sir," returned 
 Borkins, flushing a trifle. "But I was up in me dress 
 ing gown, as I d some ow thought that something 
 was amiss. I d card the quarrel that, ad taken 
 place between Sir Nigel and poor Mr. Wynne, and 
 I d card im go out and slam the door be ind im. So 
 I was keeping me ears peeled, as you might say." 
 
 "I see. Doing a bit of eavesdropping, eh? asked 
 Cleek, and was rewarded by an angry look from under 
 the man s dark brows and a sudden tightening of the 
 lines about his mouth. "And what then?" 
 
 "I kept about, first in the bathroom, and then in 
 the all, keeping my ears open, for I d an idea lhat 
 one day things would come to a ead between em. 
 Sir Nigel had taken Mr. Wynne s girl and 
 
 "Close your lying mouth, you vile beast!" spat 
 out Merriton, vehemently, "and don t you dare to 
 mention her name, or I ll stop you for ever from 
 speaking, whether I hang or not!" 
 
 Borkins looked at Cleek, and his look quite plainly 
 conveyed the meaning that he wished the detective 
 to notice how violent Sir Nigel could be on occasions, 
 but if Cleek saw this he paid not the slightest heed. 
 
 "Speak as briefly as you can, please, and give as 
 little offence," he cut in, in a sharp tone, and Borkins 
 resumed : 
 
 "At last I saw Sir Nigel and the Doctor and Mr.
 
 Trapped ! 141 
 
 West come up the corridor together. I card eni 
 bid each other good-night, saw the Doctor go into 
 is room, and Mr. West return to the smoking- 
 room, and card Sir Nigel s key turn in is lock. After 
 that there was silence for a bit, and all I cars was is 
 moving about and muttering to imself, as though 
 e was angry about something. Then, just as I was 
 a-goin back to me own room, I card the pistol-shot, 
 and nips back again. I card im say, Got you you 
 devil! and then without wail in for anything else, I 
 runs down to the servants all, which is directly 
 belcw the smoking room where the other gentlemen 
 were talking and smoking. I peers out of the window, 
 upward for it s a half-basement, as perhaps you ve 
 noticed, sir and there, in the light of the moon, 
 I see Mr. Wynne s figure, crouched down against the 
 gravel of the front path, and makin funny sorts of 
 noises. And then, all of a sudden, e went still as a 
 dead man and e was a dead man. With that I 
 flies to me own room, frightened half out of me wits 
 for I m a peace-levin person, and easily scared, 
 I m afraid and then I locks mesclf in, sayin over 
 and over to meself the words, He s done it! He s 
 done it at last! He s murdered Mr. Wynne, he has! 
 And that s all I ave to say, sir." 
 
 * And a damned sight too much, too, you liar!" 
 threw in Merriton, furiously, his face convulsed with 
 passion, the veins on his temple standing out like 
 whipcords. "Why, the whole story s a fake. And
 
 142 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 if it were true, tell me how I could get Wynne s body 
 out of the way so quickly, and without any one hearing 
 me, when every man in that smoking room, from their 
 own w r ords, and from those of the doctor here, was 
 at that moment straining his ears for any possible 
 sound? The smoking room flanks straight on the 
 drive, Mr. er Headland He caught him 
 
 self up just in time as he saw Cleek s almost imper 
 ceptible signal, and then went on, his voice gaining 
 in strength and fury with every word: "I m not a 
 giant, am I? I couldn t have lifted Wynne alive and 
 with his own assistance, much less lift him dead when 
 he VI be a good sight heavier. Why, the thing s a 
 tissue of lies, I tell you a beastly, underhanded, 
 backbiting tissue of lies, and if ever I get out of this 
 thing alive, I ll show Borkins exactly what I think of 
 him. And why you should give credence to the story 
 of a lying servant, rather than to mine, I cannot see 
 at all. Would I have brought you here, you, a man 
 whose name And even in the excitement which 
 
 had him in its grip Nigel felt Cleek s will, power 
 ful, compelling, preventing his giving away the secret 
 of his identity, preventing his telling that it was the 
 master mind among the criminal investigators of 
 Europe which was working on this horrible affair. 
 
 He went on, still in a fury of indignation, but with 
 the knowledge of Mr. Headland s true name still 
 locked in his breast. "Did I bring you here as a 
 friend and give you every opportunity to work on
 
 Trapped ! 143 
 
 this strange business, to have you arraign me as a 
 murderer? Do not treat me as a suspect, Mr. De 
 tective. I am not on trial. I want this tiling cleared 
 up, yes; but I am not here to be accused of the murder 
 of a man who was a guest in my own house, by the 
 very man I brought in to find the true murderer." 
 
 "You haven t given me time to say whether I 
 accuse you or not, Sir Nigel/ replied Cleek, patiently. 
 "Now, if you ll permit me to speak, we ll take up this 
 man s evidence. There are gaps in it that rather 
 badly want filling up, and there are thin places which 
 I hardly think would hold water before a judge and 
 jury. But lie swears himself a witness, and there you 
 are. And as for believing his word before yours who 
 fired the shot, Sir Nigel? Did he, or did you? I am 
 a representative of the Law and as such I entered 
 your house." 
 
 Merriton made no reply, simply held his head a little 
 higher and clasped the edge of the table more firmly. 
 
 "Now," said Cleek, turning to the butler and fixing 
 him with his keen eyes. "You are ready to swear 
 that this is true, upon your oath, and knowing that 
 perjury is punishable by law?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." Borkins s voice was very low and 
 rather indistinct. 
 
 "Very well. Then may I ask why you did not im 
 mediately report this matter to the rest of the party, 
 or to the police?" 
 
 Something flashed across Borkins s face, and was
 
 144 The Riddle of t/ie Frozen Flame 
 
 gone again. He cleared his throat nervously before 
 replying : 
 
 "I felt on me honour to Sir Nigel, sir," he re 
 turned at length. "A man stands by his master, 
 you know if Vs a good one; and though we d ad 
 words before, I didn t bear im no malice. And I 
 didn t want the old ouse to come to disgrace." 
 
 "So you waited until things looked a little blacker 
 for him, and then decided to cast your creditable 
 scruples to 1he wind?" said Cleek, the queer little 
 one-sided smile travelling up his cheek. "I take it 
 that you had had what you term words since that 
 fatal date?" 
 
 Borkins nodded. He did not like this cross- 
 examination, and his nervousness was apparent in 
 voice and look and action. 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "H m. And if we put that to one side altogether 
 can you give me any reason why I should believe 
 this unlikely story in place of the equally unlikely one 
 that your master has told me knowing what I do?" 
 
 Borkins twitched up his head suddenly, his eyes 
 fear-filled, his face turned suddenly gray. 
 
 "I I What can you know about me, but that 
 I ave been in the employment of this family nearly 
 all my life?" he returned, taken off his guard by 
 Cleek s remark. "I m only a poor, honest workin 
 man, sir, been in the same place nigh on to twenty 
 years and
 
 Trapped ! 145 
 
 "And hoping you can hang on another twenty, I 
 dare say!" threw in Clock, sarcastically. "Oh, I 
 know more about you, my man, than I care to tell. 
 But at the moment that doesn t enter into the matter. 
 We ll take that up later. Now then, there s the re 
 volver. Doctor, you should be useful here; if you 
 will use your professional skill in the service of the 
 law that seems trying to embroil your friend. I want 
 you to examine the head wound, please the head 
 wound of the man called Dacre Wynne, and, if you 
 can, remove the bullet that is lodged in the brain. 
 Then we shall have a chance to compare it with those 
 remaining in Sir Nigel s revolver." 
 
 "I can t do it, Mr. Headland," returned Doctor 
 Bartholomew, firmly. "I won t lend myself to a 
 plot to inveigle this poor boy, to ruin his life 
 
 "And I demand it in the name of the Law." He 
 motioned to Petrie and Hammond, who through the 
 whole length of the inquiry had stood with Dollops, 
 beside the doorway. They came forward swiftly. 
 "Arrest Doctor Bartholomew for treating the Law 
 with contempt 
 
 "But, I say, Mr. Headland, this is a damned out 
 rage!" 
 
 Cleek held up a hand. 
 
 "Yes," he said, "I agree with you. But a very 
 necessary one. Besides" he smiled suddenly into 
 the seamed, anxious face of the man "who knows 
 but that bullet may prove Sir Nigel s innocence?
 
 146 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 Who knows but that it is not the same kind as lie 
 now in this deadly little thing here in my hand? It 
 lies with you, Doctor. Must I arrest him now, and 
 take him off to the public jail to await trial, or will 
 you give him a sporting chance?" 
 
 The doctor looked up into the keen eyes bent upon 
 him, his own equally keen. He did not know 
 whether he liked this man of the law r or not. Some 
 thing of the man s personality, unfortunate as had 
 been its revelation during this past trying hour, had 
 caught him in its thrall. He measured him, eye for 
 eye, but ("leek s never wavered. 
 
 "I ve r.o instruments," he said at last, hedging for 
 time. 
 
 "I have plenty upstairs. I have dabbled a little 
 in surgery myself, when occasion has arisen. I ll 
 fetch them in a minute. You will?" 
 
 The doctor stood up between the two tall police 
 men who had a hand upon either shoulder. His face 
 was set like a mask. 
 
 "It s a damned outrage, but I will," he said. 
 
 Dollops was gone like a flash. In the meantime 
 Cleek cleared the room. He sent Merriton off to the 
 smoking room in charge of Petrie and Hammond, 
 and Borkins with them though Borkins was to be 
 kept in the hallway, away from his master s touch 
 and voice. 
 
 Cleek, Mr. Narkom, and the doctor remained 
 alone in the room of death, where the doctor set to
 
 Trapped ! 1 17 
 
 his gruesome task. Outside, Constable Roberta s 
 burly voice could be heard holding forth in the hall 
 upon the fact that he d been after a poacher on Mr. 
 Jimmeson s estate over to Saltfleet, and wasn t 
 in when they came for him. 
 
 Arid the operation went quietly on. 
 
 . . . In the smoking room, with Hammond 
 and Petrie seated like deaf mutes upon either side of 
 him, Merriton reviewed the whole awful affair from 
 start to finish, and felt his heart sink like lead in his 
 breast. Oh, what a fool he had been to have these 
 m n down here! What a fool! To see them wil 
 fully trumping up a charge of murder against him 
 self was well, it was enough to make any sane man 
 lose hold on his reason. And Toinette! His little 
 Toinette! If he should be convicted and sent to 
 prison, what would become of her? It would break 
 her heart. And he might never see her again! A 
 sudden moisture pricked at the corners of his eyes. 
 God! never to call her wije ! . . . How long 
 were those beasts going to brood in there over the 
 dead? And was there not a chance that the bullet 
 might be different? After all, wasn t it almost im 
 possible that the bullet should be the same? His 
 was an unusual little revolver made by a firm in 
 French Africa, having a different sort of cartridge. 
 Every Tom, Dick, and Harry didn t have one 
 couldn t afford it, in the first place. . . . There 
 was a chance yes, certainly there was a chance.
 
 148 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 . . . . His blood began to hammer in his 
 veins again, and his heart beat rapidly. Hope went 
 through him like wine, drowning all the fears and 
 terrors that had stalked before him like demons from 
 another world. He heard, with throbbing pulses, 
 approaching footsteps in the hall. His head was 
 swimming, his feet seemed loaded with lead so that he 
 could not rise. Then, across the space from where 
 Cleek stood, the revolver in one hand and the tiny 
 black object that had nested in a dead man s brain in 
 the other, came the sound of his voice, speaking in 
 clear, concise sentences. He coufd see the doctor s 
 grave face over the curve of Mr. Narkom s fat 
 shoulder. For a moment the world swam. Then 
 he caught the import of what Cleek was saying. 
 
 The bullet is the same as those in your revolver, 
 Sir Nigel," he said, concisely. "I am sorry, but I 
 must do my duty. Constable Roberts, here is your 
 prisoner. I arrest this man for the murder of Dacre 
 Wynne!"
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 IN THE CELL 
 
 HAT followed was like a sort of nightmare 
 to Merriton. That he should be arrested 
 for the murder of Dacre Wynne reeled 
 drunkenly in his brain. Murderer! They were 
 casing him a murderer! The liars! The fools! 
 Calling him a murderer, were they? And taking the 
 word of a crawling worm like Borkins, a man without 
 honour and utterly devoid of decency, who could 
 stand up before them and tell them a story that was a 
 tissue of lies. It was appalling! \\hat a fiend incar 
 nate this man Cleek was! Coming here at Nigel s 
 own bidding, and then suddenly manipulating the 
 evidence, until it caught him up in its writhing coils 
 like a well-thrown lasso. Oh, if he had only let well 
 enough alone and not brought a detective to the 
 house. Yet how was he to know that the man would 
 try to fix a murder on him, himself? Useless for him 
 to speak, to deny. The revolver-shot and the cruel 
 little bullet (which showed there were others who 
 possessed that sort of fire-arm besides himself) 
 proved too easily, upon the circumstantial evidence 
 theory at all events, that his word was naught. 
 
 149
 
 150 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 He went through the next hour or two like a 
 man who has been tortured. Silent, but bearing the 
 mark of it upon his white face and in his haggard 
 eyes. And indeed his situation was a terrible and 
 strange one. He had set the wheels of the law in 
 motion; he himself had brought the relentless 
 Hamilton Cleek into the affair and now he was called 
 a murderer! 
 
 In the little cell where they placed him, away from 
 the gaping, murmuring, gesticulating knot of vil 
 lagers that had marked his progress to the police- 
 station for news flies fast in the country, especially 
 when there is a viper-tongue like Borkins s to wing it 
 on its way he was thankful for the momentary 
 peace and quiet that the place afforded. At least 
 lie could tJiinl think and pace up and down the 
 narrow room with its tiny barred window too high 
 for a man to reach, and its hard cam]) bedstead wilh 
 the straw mattress, and go through the whole miser 
 able fabrication that had landed him there. 
 
 The second day of confinement brought him a 
 visitor. It was Toinette. His jailer a rough- 
 haired village-hand who had taken up wilh [lie 
 "Force" and wore the uniform as though it belonged 
 to someone else (which indeed it had) brought him 
 news of her arrival. It cut him like a lash to see her 
 thus, and yet the longing for her was so great that 
 it superseded all else. So he faced the man with a 
 grim smile.
 
 In the Cell 151 
 
 "I suppose, Bennett, that I shall be allowed to see 
 Miss Brellier? You have made enquiries?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." Bennett was crestfallen and rather 
 ashamed of his duty. 
 
 " Any restrictions? " 
 
 Bennett hedged. 
 
 "Well if you please Sir Nigel that is 
 
 "What the devil are they, then?" 
 
 "Constable Roberts give orders that I was to stay 
 ere with you but I can turn me back," returned 
 Bennett, with flushing countenance. "Shall I show 
 the lady in?" 
 
 4 . -\ 5 J 
 
 I es. 
 
 She came. Her frock was of some clinging gray 
 material that made her look more fairy -like than 
 ever. A drooping veil of gray gauze fell like a mist 
 before her face, screening from him the anguished 
 mirrors of her eyes. 
 
 "Nigel! My poor, poor Nigel!" 
 
 "Little Toinette!" 
 
 "Oh, Nigel it seems impossible utterly! That 
 yon should be thought to have killed Dacre. You of 
 al! people! Poor, peace-loving Nigel! Something 
 must be done, dearest; something shall be done! 
 You shall not suffer so, for someone else s sin you 
 shall not!" 
 
 He smiled at her wanly, and told her how beautiful 
 she was. It was useless to explain to her the utter 
 futility of it all. There was the revolver and there
 
 152 TJie Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 the bullet. The weapon was his of the bullet he 
 could say nothing. He had only told the truth 
 and they had not believed him. 
 
 "Yes see, dear," he said, patiently, "they do not 
 believe me. They say I killed him, and Borkins 
 lying devil that he is has told them a story of how 
 the thing was done; sworn, in fact, that he saw it all 
 from the kitchen window, saw Wynne lying in the 
 garden path, dying, after I fired at him. Of course 
 the thing s an outrageous lie, but they re acting 
 upon it." 
 
 "Nigel! How dared he?" 
 
 "Who? Borkiris? That kind of a devil dares 
 anything. . . . How s your uncle, dear? He 
 has heard, of course?" 
 
 Her face brightened, her eyes were suddenly moist. 
 She put her hands upon his shoulders and tilted her 
 chin so that she could see his eyes. 
 
 "Uncle Gustave told me to tell you that he does not 
 believe a word of it, dearest ! " she said, softly. " And 
 he is going to make investigations himself. He is 
 so unhappy, so terribly unhappy over it all. Such a 
 tangled web as it is, such a wicked, wicked plot they 
 have woven about you ! Oh, Nigel dearest why did 
 you not tell me that they were detectives, these 
 friends of yours who were coming to visit? If you 
 had only said 
 
 He held her a moment, and then, leaning forward, 
 kissed her gently upon the forehead.
 
 In the Cell 153 
 
 "What then, p titc?" 
 
 "I would have made you send them away I 
 would! I would!" she cried, vehemently. "They 
 should not have come not if I had Yvired to them 
 myself! Something told me that day, after you were 
 gone, that a dreadful thing would happen. I was 
 frightened for you frightened! And I could not 
 tell why! I kept laughing at myself, trying to tease 
 myself out of it, as though it were simply what you 
 call it? the blues . And now this!" 
 
 lie nodded. 
 
 * And now this," he said, grimly, and laughed. 
 
 Bennett, hand upon watch, turned apologetically 
 at this juncture. 
 
 "Sorry, Sir Nigel," he said, "hut time s up. Ten 
 minutes is the time allowed a prisoner, and and I m 
 afeared the young leddy must go. It urts me to tell 
 you, sir, but you ll understand. Dooty is dooty ." 
 
 "Yes, doubtless, Bennett, though some people s 
 idea of it is different from others ," returned Merri- 
 ton, with a bleak smile. "Have no fear, Toinette. 
 There is still plenty of time, and I shall engage the 
 finest counsel in the land to stand for me. This knot 
 shall be broken somehow, this tissue of lies must have 
 a flaw somewhere. And nowadays circumstantial 
 evidence, you know, doesn t hold too much water in 
 a court of law. God bless you, little Toinette." 
 
 She clung to him a moment, her face suddenly 
 lightening at the tenor of his words so bravely
 
 154 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 spoken, with so little conviction behind them. But 
 they had helped her, and for that he was glad. 
 
 When she had gone, he sat down on the edge of his 
 narrow bed and dropped his face in the cup of his 
 hands. How hopeless it seemed. What chance had 
 he of a future now with Cleek against him? Cleek 
 the unraveller of a thousand riddles that had puzzled 
 the cleverest brains in the universe! Cleek would 
 never admit to having made a blunder this time 
 though there was a sort of grim satisfaction in the 
 knowledge that he had blundered, though he himself 
 was the victim. 
 
 . He sat there for a long time, thinking, 
 his brain w r caried, his heart like lead. Bennett s 
 heavily -booted feet upon the stone floor brought him 
 back again to realities. 
 
 "There s another visitor, sir," said he. "A gentle 
 man. Seen im up at the Towers, I ave. Name of 
 West, sir. Constable Roberts says as ow you may 
 see him." 
 
 IIow T kind of the constable, thought Nigel bitterly. 
 His mouth twisted into a wry smile. Then his eyes 
 lightened suddenly. Tony W r cst, eh? So all the 
 rats hadn t deserted the sinking ship, after all. 
 There were still the old doctor, who came, cheering 
 him up with kind words, bringing him books that he 
 thought he could read as though a man could read 
 books, under such circumstances and now Tony 
 West good old West!
 
 In the Cell 155 
 
 West strode in, his five-feet-three of manhood 
 looking" as I hough it were ready to throw the jailer s 
 six-feet-one out of the window upon request, and 
 seized Nigel s hand, wringing it furiously. 
 
 "Good old Nigel! Gad! but it s fine to see you. 
 And what fool put you in this idiotic predicament? 
 Wring his damned neck, I would. How are you, old 
 sport?" 
 
 Under such light badinage did "West try to conceal 
 his real feeling but there was a tremour of the lips that 
 spoke so banteringly. 
 
 Good old "West! A friend in a thousand, 
 
 Nice sort of place for the Squire of the Manor to 
 be disporting himself, isn t it?" returned Merriton, 
 fighting his hardest to keep his composure and reply 
 in the same light tone. "I I damn it, Tony, you 
 don t believe it, do you?" 
 
 West went red to the rim of his collar. He choked 
 with the vehemence of his response. 
 
 "Believe it, man? D you think I m crazy? 
 What sort of a fool would I be to believe it? Wasn t 
 I there, that night, with you? Wait until I give my 
 evidence in court. Bullet or no bullet, you re no 
 no murderer, Nigel; I d swear my life away on that. 
 There were others on worse terms with W r ynne than 
 you, old chap. There was Stark, for one. Stark 
 used to borrow money from him in the old days, you 
 know, until they had a devil of a shindy over an 
 I. O. U. and the friendship bu st. You d no more
 
 156 The Riddle of the Frozen Flaine 
 
 reason to kill him than Lester Stark, I swear. Or 
 me, for that matter." 
 
 "No, I d no reason to kill him, Tony. But they ll 
 take that quarrel we had over the Frozen Flame that 
 night, and bring it up against me in court. They ll 
 bring everything against me; everything that can 
 be twisted or turned or bullied into blackening my 
 name. If ever I get scot-free, I ll kill that man 
 Borldns." 
 
 West put up his hand suddenly. 
 
 "Don t," he said, quietly; "or they ll be putting 
 that against you, too. Believe me, Nigel, old boy, 
 the Law s the greatest duffer on earth. By the way, 
 here s a piece of news for you ! Heard it as I stopped 
 in at the Towers this morning. Saw that man 
 Headland, the detective. He told me to tell you, and 
 I clean forgot. But they found an I. O. U. on 
 Wynne s body, an I. O. LT. for two thou in Lester 
 Stark s name. Dated two nights before the party. 
 Looks a bit funny, that, doesn t it?" 
 
 Funny? Merriton felt his heart suddenly bound 
 upward, and as suddenly drop back in his breast like 
 lead. Glad that there was a chance for another pal 
 to come under the same brutal sway as he had? 
 What sort of a friend was he, anyway? But an 
 I. O. II. ! . . . And in Lester Stark s name ! He 
 remembered the black looks that passed between the 
 two of them that night, remembered them as though 
 they had been but yesterday. He jerked his chin up.
 
 Nigel! My poor, poor Xigel! "
 
 In the Cell 157 
 
 "What re they going to do about it?" 
 
 "Headland told me to tell you that he was going to 
 investigate the matter further. That you were to 
 keep up your heart. . . . Seemed a decent sort 
 of a chap, I must say." 
 
 Keep up his heart! . . . And there was a 
 chance of someone else taking his share of the 
 damnable thing, after all! . . . But Lester 
 Stark wouldn t kill. Perhaps not and yet, some 
 months ago he had told him to his face that he d like 
 to send Wynne s body to burn in hell ! . . . H m. 
 Wei 1 , he would have to keep his mouth shut upon 
 that conversation, at all events, or they d have poor 
 Stark by the heels the next minute. . . . But 
 somehow his heart had lightened. Cleek didn t 
 seem such a bad chap, after all. And they couldn t 
 hang him yet. anyhow. 
 
 For the rest of the long, dreary day the memory of 
 i hat I. O. II. with Lester Stark s name sprawled 
 across the bottom of it, in the dashing caligraphy that 
 he knew, danced before his mind s eye like a fleeting 
 hope, making the day less long.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 POSSIBLE EXCITEMENT 
 
 EANWHILE, Cleek, Mr. Narkom, and Dol 
 lops stayed on at the Towers for such time 
 as it would take to have the coroner s 
 inquest arranged, and Merriton brought up before 
 the local magistrate. 
 
 Mr. Narkom was frankly uneasy over the whole 
 affair. 
 
 "There s something fishy in it, Cleek," he kept 
 saying. "I don t like the looks of it. Taking that 
 innocent boy up for a murder which I feel certain he 
 never committed. Of course, circumstantial evi 
 dence points strongly against him, but 
 
 "He s better out of the way, at all events," inter 
 posed Cleek. "Mind you, I don t say the chap is 
 innocent. Men of Wynne s calibre have the knack 
 of raising the very devil in a person w r ho is under their 
 influence for long. And there s Borkins s story." 
 The queer little one-sided smile looped up his cheek 
 for a moment and was gone again in a twinkling. 
 He crossed to w r here Mr. Narkom stood, and put a 
 hand on his arm. "Tell me," he said, quietly, "did 
 you ever hear of a chap squirming and moaning and 
 
 158
 
 Possible Excitement 159 
 
 doing the rest of the things that the man said Wynne 
 was doing in the garden pathway, when a bullet had 
 got him clean through the brain? Something fishy 
 there, if you like." 
 
 " I should think so," replied Mr. Xarkora. " Why, 
 the chap would have died instantly. Then you think 
 Borkins himself is guilty?" 
 
 "On the contrary, I do not," returned Cleek, 
 emphatically. "If my theory s correct, Borkins is 
 not the murderer of Dacre Wynne. Much more likely 
 to be Nigel Merriton, for that matter. Then there s 
 the question of this I. O. U. that I found on the body. 
 Signed Lester Stark , and the doctor Gad! what a 
 loyal friend to have! told me that Lester Stark, 
 Merriton, and a lit Lie man called We.st were bosom 
 friends and club-mates." 
 
 "Then perhaps the man Stark killed him, after 
 all?" threw in Mr. Narkom at this juncture, and there 
 was a tinge of eagerness in his excited tones, which 
 made Cleek whirl round upon him and say, accusingly, 
 "Old friend, Merriton has won your heart as he has 
 won others . You re dead nuts on the youngster, and 
 J must say he does seem such a clean, honest, up 
 standing young fellow. But you re ready to con 
 vict any one of the murder of Dacre Wynne but 
 Merriton himself. Own up now; you ve a sneaking 
 regard for the fellow!" 
 
 Mr. Narkom reddened. 
 
 "Well, if you want the truth of it I have!" he
 
 160 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 said, finally, in an "I-don t-care-what-the-devil-you- 
 think" sort of voice. "He s exactly the kind of 
 chap I d like for a son of my own, and and dash 
 it! I don t like seeing him in the lock-up; and that s 
 the long and short of it!" 
 
 "So long as it s only the long arid short, and not the 
 end of it, it doesn t greatly matter," returned Cleek. 
 "Hello! Is that you, Dollops?" 
 
 "Yessir." 
 
 "Any news for me? Found that chap with the 
 straggling black moustache that tried to do me in the 
 other night? I ve not a doubt that you ve dis 
 covered the answer to the whole riddle, by the look 
 upon your face." 
 
 Dollops cautiously approached, looking over his 
 shoulder as though he expected any minute that the 
 cadaverous face of Borkins would peer in at him, or 
 that perhaps Dacre Wynne himself would rise from 
 the dead and shake an accusing finger in his face. 
 He reached Cleek and laid a timid hand upon the 
 detective s arm. Then he bent his face close to 
 Cleek s ear. 
 
 "Well, I ve an inklin* that I m well on to the 
 untyin of it, s help me if I ain t!" he whispered in 
 highly melodramatic tones. 
 
 Cleek laughed, but looked interested at once, 
 while Mr. Narkom prepared to give his best attention 
 to what the lad had to say. 
 
 "Traced the blighter wiv the straggling whiskers
 
 Possible Excitement 161 
 
 on is lip, anyway!" he said, triumphantly, casting 
 still another glance over his shoulder in the direction 
 of the door, and lowering his tones still further. 
 " Caught a glimpse of im long by the Saltfleet Road 
 this afternoon, Guv nor, and thinks I to myself, 
 You re the blinkin blighter wot tried to do the 
 Guv nor in, are you? Well, you wait, my lad! 
 There s a little taste of ell-sauce a-comin your way 
 wot ll make you sit up and bawl for yer muvver. 
 He d got on sailorin togs, Mr. Cleek, an a black at 
 pulled down low over one eye. Mate wiv im looked 
 like a real bad un. Gold rings in is ears e d got 
 like a bloomin lydy, an a blue sweater, and sailor s 
 breeches. Chin whiskers, too, wot were somethin 
 like rotten seaweed. Oh, a eavenly specimen of a 
 chap e were, I kin tell you!" 
 
 "On the Saltfleet Road, eh?" interposed Cleek, 
 rapidly, as the boy paused a moment for breath. 
 "So? My midnight friend is doubtless sailing for 
 foreign parts, as the safest place when coroner s 
 evidence begins to get too hot for him. And what 
 then, Dollops?" 
 
 "Couldn t find out much else, Mr. Cleek, cept 
 to trace the place where the beggar angs out, and 
 that s a bit of a shanty just off Saltfleet Bay, an a 
 stone s throw from what looks ter me very like a 
 boat-factory of some kind. Reckon the chap s 
 employed there, as, from a casual chat wiv a sailorin 
 Johnny in the bar parlour of the Pig and Whistle ,
 
 1G2 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 where I wuz a-linin of me empty stummick (detectin 
 is that imgry work, sir!) wiv a sossage an a pint o* 
 four-and-er- arf, this feller tells me that pretty near 
 everyone around here works there. I arsked im 
 wot they did, an e says, Make boats an fings, with 
 now an agin a little flurry in shippin ter break the 
 monotony. . . . Anyway, I traced the devil 
 wot nearly got you, Guv nor, and that s somefing. 
 And if I don t give im a taste of the appy ereafter. 
 well, my name s not Dollops." 
 
 Cleek laughed and laid a hand upon the lad s 
 shoulder. 
 
 "You ve done a lot toward unravelling the 
 mystery, Dollops, my lad," he said. "A regular 
 right-hand man you are, eh, Mr. Narkom? This 
 evening we ll hie us to the Saltfieet Road and see 
 what further the Pig and Whistle can reveal to us. 
 It ll be like the old times of the Twisted-Arm days, 
 boy, where every second held its own unknown and 
 certain danger. Give us an appetite for our break 
 fast, eh?" 
 
 He laughed again, a happy, schoolboyish laugh 
 which brought a positively shocked expression to 
 Mr. Narkom s round face. 
 
 "My dear Cleek ! " he expostulated. " Really, one 
 might think that you actually enjoyed this sort of 
 thing! One of these fine days, if you re not careful, 
 you ll be caught napping, and it ll take all Dollops s 
 and mv ingenuity to get vou out of the clutches.
 
 Possible Excitement 163 
 
 I do beg of you to be careful for Ailsa s sake, if not 
 for mine." 
 
 At mention of the name, for a second the whole 
 look upon Cleek s face altered. Something came 
 into his eyes that softened their keenness, something 
 settled down over his countenance, wiping away the 
 mirth and the grim lines together. He sighed. 
 
 "Heigho!" he said, softly, spinning round upon his 
 heel and surveying Mr. Narkom with a half-smile 
 upon his lips. "I will be careful, dear friend. I 
 promise. And I have given my word to her as 
 well. And that the life of Hamilton Cleek should be 
 so precious to any such angel as that -well, it fair 
 beats me , as Dollops would say. . . . I ll be 
 careful, all right. You may depend upon it. But 
 Dollops and I are going to have a little outing on our 
 own. We ll ransack the make-up box after lunch 
 and see what it can produce. And if we don t bring 
 back something worth hearing to you on our return 
 to-night, then I ll retire from Scotland Yard al 
 together and take a kindergarten class. 
 Gad! I feel sorry for young Merriton. But there s 
 no other course open to us at present but to keep him 
 where he is. Coroner s inquest takes place to 
 morrow afternoon, and a lot may happen in the 
 meantime." 
 
 Mr. Narkom gravely shook his head. 
 
 "Don t like the tiling at all, Headland," he 
 supplemented slowly, lighting a fresh cigarette from
 
 164 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 the stump of the other one, and blowing a cloud of 
 smoke into the air. "There s something here that 
 we haven t got at. Something big. I feel it." 
 
 "Well, you ll have that feeling further augmented 
 before many more days are over, my friend," re 
 turned Cleek, meaningly. "What did the letter from 
 Headquarters say? I noticed you got one this 
 morning, and recognized it by the way the stamp was 
 set on the envelope though I must say your secre 
 tary is more than discreet. It looked for all the world 
 like a love-letter, which no doubt your curious friend 
 Borkins thought it was." 
 
 But if Cleek appeared in fine fettle at the prospect 
 of a possible exciting evening with Dollops, Mr. 
 Narkoin s barometer did not register the same com 
 forting high altitude. He did not smile. 
 
 "Oh, it had to do with these continual bank 
 robberies," he replied with a sigh. "They re enough 
 to wear a man right out. Seem so simple, and all that, 
 and yet never a trace left. Fellowes reports that 
 another one took place, at Ealing. As usual, only 
 gold stolen. Not a bank-note touched. They ll 
 be holding us up in the main road, like Dick Turpin, 
 if the robbers are allowed to continue on their way like 
 this. It s damnable, to say the least! The beggars 
 seem to get olf scot-free every time. If this case 
 here wasn t so difficult and important, I d be off up to 
 London to have a look into things again. Frankly, 
 it worries me."
 
 Possible Excitement 165 
 
 Cleck lifted a restraining hand. 
 
 "Don t let it do anything so foolish as that to you, 
 old man," he interposed. "Give em rope to hang 
 themselves, lots of rope. This is just the opportunity 
 they want. Give orders for nothing to be done. 
 Let em have a good run for their money, and by-and- 
 by you ll have cm so they ll eat out of your hand. 
 There s nothing like patience in this sort of a job. 
 They re bound to get careless soon, and then will be 
 your chance." 
 
 "I wish I could feel as confident about it as you 
 do, returned 31 r. Narkom, with a shake of the head. 
 "Bui: you ve solved so many unsolvable riddles in 
 your time, man, so I suppose I ll just have to trust 
 your judgment, and let your opinion cheer me up. 
 Still. . . . Ah, Borkins! lunch ready? I must 
 say I don t like eating the food of a man I ve just 
 placed in prison, but I suppose one must eat. And 
 there are a few very necessary enquiries to be gone 
 into before the coroner s inquest to-morrow. The men 
 have been up from the local morgue, haven t they?" 
 
 Borkins, who had tapped discreetly upon the door 
 and then put in a sleek head to announce lunch, came 
 a little farther into the room and replied in the 
 affirmative. Save for a slight light of triumph which 
 seemed to flicker in his close-set eyes, and play 
 occasionally about his narrow lips, there was nothing 
 to show in his demeanour that such an extremely 
 large pebble as his master s conviction for murder had
 
 166 The Riddle of tJie Frozen Flame 
 
 caused the ripples to break on the smooth surface of 
 his life s tenor. 
 
 Cleek blew a cloud of smoke into the air and swung 
 one leg across the other with a sort of devil-may- 
 care air that was part of his Headland make-up in 
 this piece. 
 
 "Well," said he, off-handedly, "all I can say is, I 
 wouldn t like to be in your master s shoes, Borkins. 
 He s guilty not a doubt of it; and he ll certainly 
 be called to justice." 
 
 "You think so?" An undercurrent of eagerness 
 ran in Borkins s tone. 
 
 "Most assuredly I do. Not a chance for him 
 poor beggar. He ll possibly swing for it, too ! .Pleas 
 ant conjecture before lunch, I must say. And we ll 
 have it all cold if we don t look sharp about it, Lake, 
 old chap. Come along." 
 
 They spent the afternoon in dis 
 cussing the case bit by bit, probing into it, tearing it 
 to ribbons, analysing, comparing, rehearsing once 
 more the scene of that fateful night when Dacre 
 Wynne had crossed the Fens, and, according to every 
 one s but Borkins s evidence, had never returned. 
 By evening Mr. Narkom, note-book in hand, was 
 suffering with writer s cramp, and complained of a 
 headache. 
 
 As Cleek rose from this private investigation and 
 stretched his hands over his head, he gave a sudden 
 little lamrh.
 
 Possible Excitement 167 
 
 "Well, you ll be able to rest yourself as much as 
 you like this evening, Mr. Lake," he said, lightly, 
 trying the muscles of his right arm with his left hand, 
 and nodding as he felt them ride up, smooth and 
 firm as ivory, under his coat -sleeve. "I m not in 
 such bad fettle for an amateur, if anything in the 
 nature of a scrap comes along, after all. Though I m 
 not anticipating any fighting, I can assure you. 
 There s the morning s papers, and the local rag with 
 various lurid and inaccurate accounts of the whole 
 ghastly affair. Merriton seems to have a good many 
 friends in these parts, and the local press is strong in 
 his favour. But that s as far as it goes. At any 
 rate, they ll keep you interested until we come home 
 again. By the way, you might drop a hint to 
 Borkins that I shall be writing some letters in my 
 room to-night, and don t want, to be disturbed, and 
 that if he wants to go out, Dollops will post them for 
 me and see to my wants; will you? I don t want him 
 to suspicion anything." 
 
 Mr. Narkoin nodded. He snapped his note-book 
 to, and bound the elastic round it, as Cleek crossed 
 to the door and threw it open. 
 
 "I ll be going up to my room now, Lake," he said, 
 in clear, high tones that carried down the empty hall 
 way to whatever listener might be there to hear 
 them. "I ve sonic letters to write. One to my 
 fiancee, you know, and naturally I don t want to be 
 disturbed."
 
 168 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 "All right," said Mr. Narkom, equally clearly. 
 "So long." 
 
 Then the door closed sharply, and Cleek mounted 
 the stairs to his room, whistling softly to himself 
 meanwhile, just as Borkins rounded the corner of the 
 dining-room door and acknowledged his friendly nod 
 with one equally friendly. 
 
 A smile played about the corners of the man s 
 mouth, and his eyes narrowed, as he watched Cleek 
 disappear up the stairs. 
 
 "Faugh!" he said to the shadows. "So much for 
 yer Lunnon policeman, eh? Writin love-letters on 
 a night like this! Young sap ead!" 
 
 Then he swung upon his heel, and retraced his 
 steps to the kitchen. Upstairs in the dark passage 
 way, Cleek stood and laughed noiselessly, his 
 shoulders shaking with the mirth that swayed him. 
 Borkins s idea of u Lunnon policeman had pleased 
 him mightily.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 WHAT TOOK PLACE AT "THE PIG AND WHISTLE" 
 
 IT WAS a night without a moon. Great gray 
 cloud -brinks swamped the sky, and there was a 
 heavy mist that blurred the outline of tree and 
 fence and made the broad, flat stretches of the 
 marshes into one impenetrable blot of inky darkness. 
 
 Two men, in ill-fitting corduroys and soiled blue 
 jerseys, their swarthy necks girt about by vivid 
 handkerchiefs, and their big-peaked caps pulled well 
 down over their eyes, made their way along the nar 
 row lane that led from Merriton Towers to Salt- 
 fleet Bay. At the junction with Saltfleet Road, two 
 other figures slipped by them in the half-mist, and 
 after peering at then from under the screen of dark 
 caps, sang out a husky "Good-night, mates." They 
 answered in unison, the bigger, broader one whistling 
 as he swung along, his pace slackening a trifle so 
 that the two newcomers might pass him and get on 
 into the shadows ahead. 
 
 Once they had done so, he ceased his endless, ear- 
 piercing whistle and turned to his companion, his 
 hand reaching out suddenly and catching the sleeve 
 nearest him. 
 
 169
 
 170 Tlie Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 "That was Borkins!" he said in a muttered under 
 tone, as the two figures in front swung away into the 
 shadows. "Did you see his face, lad?" 
 
 "I did," responded Dollops, with asperity. "And 
 a fine specimen of a face it were, too ! If I were born 
 wiv that tacked on to me anatomy, I d drown meself 
 in the nearest pond afore I d ave courage to survive 
 it. ... Yus, it was Borkins all right, Guv nor, 
 and the other chap wiv him, the one wir the black 
 whiskers and the lanting jor 
 
 "Hush, boy! Not so loud!" Clock s voice cut 
 into the whispered undertone, a mere thread of sound, 
 but a sound to be obeyed. "I recognized him, too," 
 interrupted Cleek. "My friend of the midnight 
 visit, and the plugged pillow. I m not likely to for 
 get that face in a day s march, I can promise you. 
 And with Borkins! Well, that was to be expected. 
 of course. The next thing to consider is --whal the 
 devil has a common sailor or factory-hand to do \vith 
 a chap like Dacre Wynne? Or Merriton, for 1hat 
 matter. I never heard him say he d any interest 
 in factories of any kind, and I dare swear he hasn t. 
 And yet, what s this dark stranger as the fortune 
 tellers say doing, poking his nose into the affair, 
 and trying to murder me, just because I happen 
 to be down here to investigate the question of the 
 Frozen Flames? . . . Bit of a problem, eh, Dollops? 
 Frozen Flames, Country Squires, Dark Strangers 
 who are sailormen, and a butler who has been years
 
 At "The Pig and Whistle" 171 
 
 in the family service; there you have the ingredients 
 for quite a nice little mix-up. Now, I wonder where 
 those two are bound for? " 
 
 " "Pig and Whistle ," conjectured Dollops. " Least 
 ways, tha s where old Black Whiskers is a-makin 
 for. Got friend Borkins in tow as well ter-night, so 
 things ought ter be gittin interestin . Gawd! sir, 
 it you don t looka fair cut-throat I an t ever seen 
 one. 
 
 "Makes me blood run cold jist ter squint at yer, it 
 does! That there moustache ud git yer a fortin on 
 the , tage, I swear. Mr. Narkom d faint if e saw yer, 
 an I m not so certing I wouldn t do a bunk ineself, if 
 I met yer in a dark lane, so to speak. Ow yer does 
 the expression fair beats me." 
 
 Cleek laughed good-humouredly. The something 
 theatrical in his make-up was gratified by the ad 
 miration of his audience. He linked his arm through 
 the boy s. 
 
 Birthright, Dollops, birthright!" he made an 
 swer, speaking in a leisurely tone. "Every man has 
 one, you know. There is the birthright of princes 
 he sighed. "Your birthright is a willing soul and an 
 unwavering loyalty. Mine? A mere play of fea 
 ture that can transform me from one man into an 
 other. A poor thing at best, Dollops, but .... 
 Hello! Lights ahead! What is it, my pocket 
 guide-book?" 
 
 "Pig and Whistle ," grunted Dollops in a husky
 
 172 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 voice, glad of an excuse to hide his pleasure at Cleek s 
 appreciation of his character. 
 
 "IFm. That s good. The fun commences. Don t 
 forget your part, boy. We re sailoring men back 
 from a cruise to Jamaica and pretty near penniless. 
 Lost our jobs, and looking for others. Told there was 
 a factory somewhere in this part of the world that 
 had to do with shipping, and have walked down from 
 London. Took six days, mind: don t forget that. 
 And a devilish long walk, too, I reckon! But that s 
 by the way. Your name s Sam Sam Robinson. 
 Mine Bill Jones . . . Our friends are ahead of 
 us. Come along." 
 
 Whistling, they swung up to the brightly lit little 
 public-house, set there upon the edge of the bay. 
 Here and there over the imrufHed surface of the waters 
 to the left of them, a light pricked out, glowing against 
 the gloom. Black against the mouth of the harbour, 
 as though etched upon a smoky background, a 
 steamer swayed uneasily with the swell of the water 
 at her keel, her nose touching the pier-head, a chain of 
 lights outlining her cumbersome hulk. Men s voice s 
 made the night noisy, and numerous feet scuttled to 
 and fro over the cobbles of the dockyard to where a 
 handful of fishing boats were drawn up, only their 
 masts showing above the landing, with here and there 
 a ghostly wraith of sail. 
 
 Cleek paused a moment, drinking in the scene with 
 his love of beauty, and then assumed his role of the
 
 At "The Pig and Whistle" 173 
 
 evening. And how well he could play any role he 
 chose! 
 
 He cleared his throat, and addressed his compan 
 ion in broad cockney. 
 
 "Gawd s truf, Sainmie!" he said. "If this fair 
 don t look like a bit of ome. Ain t spotted the 
 briny for a dog s age. Let s ave a drink." 
 
 Someone turned at his raucous voice and looked 
 back over the curve of a huge shoulder. Then he 
 went to the doorway of the little pub., and raised a 
 hand, with two fingers extended. Obviously it was 
 soi :e sort of sign, for in an instant the noise of voices 
 dropped, and Cleek and Dollops slouched in and up to 
 the crowded bar. Men made room for them on either 
 side, as they pushed their way in, eyeing them at first 
 with some suspicion, then, as they saw the familiar 
 garments, calling out some hoarse jest or greeting in 
 their own lingo, to winch ("leek cheerfully responded. 
 
 A little to the right of them stood Borkins, his cap 
 still pulled low over his eyes, and a shabby overcoat 
 buttoned to the neck. Cleek glanced at him out of 
 the tail of his eye, and then, at sight of his companion, 
 his mouth tightened. He d give something to mea 
 sure that cur muscle for muscle, strength for strength! 
 The sort to steal into a man s room at night and try to 
 murder him ! The detective planted an arm brown 
 and brawny and with a tattooed serpent winding its 
 way round the strong wrist to the elbow (oh, wonderful 
 make-up box!) on the edge of the marble bar, and
 
 174 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 called loudly for a drink. His very voice was raw 
 and husky with a tang of the sea in it. Dollops s nasal 
 twang took up the story, while the barmaid a red 
 headed, fat woman with a coarse, hard face, who was 
 continually smiling looked them up and down, 
 and having taken stock of them set two pewter 
 tankards of frothing ale before them, took the money 
 from Cleek, bit it, and then with a nod dropped it into 
 the till and came back for a chat. 
 
 "Strangers, ain t you?" she said,, pleasantly, lean 
 ing on the bar and grinning at them. 
 
 "Yus." Cleek s voice was sharp, emphatic. 
 
 "Thought so. Sea-faring, I take it?" 
 
 "Yus," said Cleek again, and gulped down the rest 
 of his ale, pushing the tankard toward her and nod 
 ding at it significantly. 
 
 She sniffed, and then laughed. 
 
 "Want another, eh? Ain t wastin many words, 
 are yer, matey? Go s the little un?" 
 
 "Meaning me?" said Dollops, bridling. "None of 
 yer blarney ere, miss ! Me an my mate s been on a 
 walkin tooer come up from Lunnon, we ave." 
 
 "You never did!" 
 
 Admiration mingled with disbelief in the barmaid s 
 voice. A little stir of interest went round the 
 crowded, smoky room and someone called out: 
 
 "Lunnon, ave yer? Bin walkin a bit, matey. 
 Wot brought yer claim ere? An what re sailor 
 men doin in Lunnon, any ow?"
 
 At "The Pig and Whistle" 175 
 
 "Wot most folks is doin nowadays lookin for a 
 job!" replied Cleek, as he gulped down the second 
 tankard and pushed it forward again to be replen 
 ished. "Come from Southampton, we ave. Got a 
 parss up to Lunnon, cause a pal told us there d be 
 work at the factories. But there weren t no work. 
 Gawd s truf ! What re sailor-men wantin wi clortii- 
 makin and ammering tin-pots? Them s the only 
 jobs we wuz offered in Lunnon. I don t give a curse 
 for the plyce. . . . No, Sammy an me we says 
 to each other" he took another drink and wiped his 
 mouth with the back of his hand " we says this ain t 
 no plyce for us. We d just come over fruni Jamaica 
 
 "Go on! Travellin in furrin parts was you!" this 
 in admiration from the barmaid. 
 
 and we ain t seein oursel s turning inter land 
 lubbers in no sich spot as that. Pal told us there was 
 a arbour down ere abahts, wiv a factory wot a 
 sailor-man might git work at an still old is self- 
 respec . So we walked ere." 
 
 "Wot energy!" 
 
 Black Whiskers as Dollops had called him broke 
 in at this juncture, his thin mouth opening in a grin 
 that showed two rows of blackened teeth. 
 
 Cleek twitched round sharply in his direction. 
 
 "Yus wasn t it? An , funny enough, we ve 
 plenty more energy ter come! . . . But what 
 the ell is this factory work ere, any ow? An any 
 chawnce of a couple of men gittin a bit er work to
 
 17G Tfie Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 keep the blinkin wolf from the door? Who ll tell 
 us?" 
 
 A slight silence followed this, a silence in which man 
 looked at man, and then back again at the ginger- 
 headed lady behind the bar. She raised her eye 
 brows and nodded, and then went off into little gig 
 gles that shook her plump figure. 
 
 A big man at deck s left gave him the answer. 
 
 "Factory makes electric fittin s an such-like, an 
 ships em abroad," he said, tersely. "Happen you 
 don t unnerstan the business? Happen the niar- 
 ster won t want you. Happen you ll ave ter move 
 on, I m a-thinkin ." 
 
 "Happen I won t!" retorted ("leek, with a loud 
 guffaw. 
 
 "S welp me, you chaps, ain t none uv you a-goin 
 ter lend a and to a mate wot s out uv a job? What s 
 the blooming mystery? An where s the bloomin 
 boss?" 
 
 "Better see im in the mawning," supplemented 
 Black Whiskers, truculently. "He s busy now. 
 Works all night sometimes, e does. But there s u 
 vacancy or two, I know, for factory ands. Bin a bit 
 of riotin an splittin uv state secrets. But the fellers 
 wot did it are gorn now " he laughed a trifle grimly 
 "won t never come troublin ere again. Pretty 
 strict, marster is. But good work and good pay." 
 
 "And yer carnt arsk fer more, that s wot I ses!" 
 threw in Dollops in his shrill voice.
 
 At "The Pig and Whistle" 177 
 
 Now Oleek, all this time, had been edging more 
 and more in the direction of Borkins and his sinister 
 companion who were standing a little apart, but 
 nevertheless were interested spectators of all that 
 went on. 
 
 Having at last obtained his object, he cast about 
 for a subject of conversation and picked the barmaid 
 whose rallies met with the approval of the entire 
 company, and who was at that moment carrying on 
 a spirited give-and-take conversation with the re 
 doubtable Dollops. 
 
 .Bit of a sport, ain t she, guv nor?" Cleek re 
 marked to Borkins, with a jerk of his head in the 
 woman s direction. The butler whirled round and 
 fixed him with a stare of haughty indignation. 
 
 "Here, you keep your fingers off your betters!" he 
 retorted angrily, for Cleek had dug a friendly elbow 
 into his ribs. 
 
 "Oh, orl right! Xo offence meant! Thought per 
 haps you wuz the boss, by the look of yer. But 
 doubtless you ain t nuffink ter do wiv the factory at 
 all. Private gent, I take it." 
 
 "Then you take it wrong!" retorted Borkins, 
 sharply. "And I have something ter do with the 
 factory, if you wants ter know. Like ter show your 
 good manners, I might be able to get you a job 
 an one for the little un as well, though I don t care 
 for Londoners as a rule. There s another of em up 
 at the place w T here I lives. I m ead butler to Sir
 
 178 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 Nigel Merriton of Merriton Towers, if you re anxious 
 to know who I am." His chest swelled visibly. 
 "In private I dabbles a little in other things. And 
 I ve influence. You men can keep your mouths 
 shut?" 
 
 "Dumb as a blinkin dorg!" threw in Dollops, who 
 was close by Cleek s side, and both men nodded 
 vigorously. 
 
 "Well, then, I ll see what I can do. Mind you, I 
 don t promise nothink. I ll think it hover. Better 
 come to me to-morrow. Make it in the evening 
 for there s a h inquest up at the Towers. My 
 master s been copped for murderin his friend, and 
 I ll ave to be about, then. Ow ll to-morrow evening 
 suit?" 
 
 Cleek drew T a long breath and put out his hand. 
 Then, as if recalling the superior station of the man 
 he addressed, withdrew it again and remarked: 
 "You re a real gent, you are! Any one d know you 
 was wot they calls well-connected. Ter-morrow it is, 
 then. We ll be ere and grateful for yer elp. 
 Wot s this abaht a murder? Fight was it? I m 
 appy at that sort of thing myself." 
 
 He squared up a moment and made a mock of box 
 ing Dollops which seemed to please the audience. 
 
 "That s the stuff, that s the stuff, matey!" called 
 out a raw-boned man who up to the present had re 
 mained silent. "You re the man for us, I ses! An 
 the little un, too."
 
 At "The Pig and Whistle" 179 
 
 "Reckon I can give you a taste of fightin that ll 
 please you," remarked Borkins in a low voice. "Yes, 
 
 Mainer s right. You re the man for us 
 
 Good-night, all. Time s up. I m oil ." 
 
 "Good-night," chorused a score of voices, while 
 the fat barmaid blew a kiss off the tips of her stubby 
 fingers, and called out after him: "Come again soon, 
 dearie." 
 
 Cleek looked at Dollops, and both reali/ed the im 
 portance of getting back to the Towers before the 
 arrival of Borkins, in case that worthy should think 
 (as was far from unlikely) of spying on their move 
 ments, and checking up on Cleek s progress in 
 letter writing. It was going to require some quick 
 work. 
 
 "Well, Sammy, better be movin back to our 
 shelterin roof an all the comforts of ome," began 
 Cleek almost at once, and gulping down the last of 
 lus fourth tankard and slouching over to the doorway. 
 A chorus of voices stopped him. 
 
 "Where you sleepin ?" 
 
 "Under the ay stack about arf a mile from ere," 
 replied Cleek glibly and at a venture. 
 
 The barmaid s brows knitted into a frown. 
 
 "Aystack?" she repeated. "There ain t no 
 ay stack along this road from ere to Fetch worth. 
 Bit orf the track, ain t yer?" 
 
 Cleek retrieved himself at once. 
 
 "Ain t there? Well, wot if there ain t? The
 
 180 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 place wot I calls a aystack an wot Lmmoners calls 
 a aystack too is the nearest bit of shelter wot comes 
 your way. Manner of speakin , that s all." 
 
 "Oh! Then I reckon you means the bam about a 
 quarter of a mile up the road toward the village?" 
 The barmaid smiled again. 
 
 "That s it. Goodnight." 
 
 "Good night," chorused the hoarse voices. 
 
 The night outside was as black as a pocket. 
 
 "Better cut along by the fields, Dollops," whis 
 pered Cleek as they took to their heels up the rough 
 road. "Got to pass him. This mist will help us. 
 That was a near shave about the haystack. I nearly 
 tripped us up there. Awful creature, that woman!" 
 
 "Looks like a jelly-fish come loose," threw in 
 Dollops with a snort. There s ole Borkins, sir, 
 straight ahead. Ere in through this gap in this 
 edge and then across the field by the side of im. . . . 
 Weren t such a rough night after all, was it, sir?" 
 
 Cleek sighed. One might almost have thought 
 that he regretted the fact. 
 
 "No, Dollops," he said, softly, "it was the calmest 
 night of its kind I ve ever experienced. But we ve 
 gleaned something from it. But what the devil has 
 Borkins got to do with this factory? What ever it is 
 he s in it right up to the neck, and we ll have to dig 
 around him pretty carefully. You ll help me, 
 Dollops, won t you? Can t do without you, you 
 know."
 
 At "The Pig and Whistle" 181 
 
 "Orlways, sir orlways," breathed Dollops, in a 
 husky whisper. "Where you goes, I m a-hikin 
 along by yer side. You ain t ever going ter get rid of 
 me." 
 
 "Good lad!" and they redoubled their pace.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 AT THE INQUEST 
 
 THURSDAY dawned in a blaze of sunshine, 
 and after the bleak promise of the day before 
 the sky was a clear, sapphire-blue. 
 " What a day ! And what a mission to waste it on ! " 
 sighed Cleek next morning, as he finished breakfast 
 and took a turn to the front door, smoking his ciga 
 rette. "Here s murder at the very door of this ill- 
 fated place. And we ve got to see the tiling out!" 
 
 He spun upon his heel and went back again into the 
 gloomy hall, as though the sight of the sunshine 
 sickened him. His thoughts were with Merriton, 
 shut away there in the village prison to await this day 
 of reckoning, with, if the word should go against 
 him, a still further day of reckoning ahead. A day 
 when the cleverest brains of the law schools would be 
 arrayed against him, and he would have to go through 
 the awful tragedy of a trial in open court. What was 
 a mere coroner s jury to that possibility. 
 
 Then too, perhaps in spite of evidence, they might 
 let the boy off. There was a chance in that matter 
 of the I. O. IL, which he himself had found in the 
 pocket of the dead man, and which was signed in 
 
 182
 
 At the Inquest 183 
 
 the name of Lester Stark. Stark was due at 
 the inquest to-day, to give his side of the affair. 
 There was a possible loop-hole of escape. Would 
 Nigel be able to get through it? That was the 
 question. 
 
 The inquest was set for two o clock. From eleven 
 onward the great house began to fill with expectant 
 and curious visitors. Reporters from local papers, 
 and one or two who represented the London press, 
 turned up, their press-cards as tickets of admittance. 
 Petrie was stationed at the door to waylay casual 
 strangers, but any who offered possible light upon the 
 matter, eye-witnesses or otherwise, were allowed to 
 enter. It was astonishing how many people there 
 were who confessed to having "seen things" con 
 nected with the whole distressing affair. By one 
 o clock almost everyone was in place. At a quarter 
 past, Toinette Brellier arrived, dressed in black and 
 with a heavy veil shrouding her pallor. She was 
 accompanied by her uncle. 
 
 Cleek met them in the hall. Upon sight of him 
 Toinette ran up and caught him by the arm. 
 
 "You are Mr. Headland, are you not?" she 
 stated rather than asked, her voice full of agitation, 
 her whole figure trembling. "My name is Brellier, 
 Antoinette Brellier. You have heard of me from 
 Nigel, Mr. Headland. I am engaged to be married 
 to him. This is my uncle, with whom I live. Mr. 
 Headland Mr. Brellier."
 
 184 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 She made the introduction in a distrait manner, 
 and the two men bowed. 
 
 "I am pleased to meet you, sir," said Brellier, in his 
 stilted English, "but I could wish it were under 
 happier circumstances." 
 
 "And I," murmured Cleek, taking in the trim 
 contour and the keen eyes of this man who was to 
 have been Merriton s father-in-law if things had 
 turned out differently. He found he rather liked his 
 looks. 
 
 "There is nothing one can do?" Brellier s voice 
 was politely anxious, and he spread out his hands in 
 true French fashion then tugged at his closely 
 clipped iron-gray beard. 
 
 "Anything that you know, Mr. Brellier, that 
 would perhaps be of help, you can say in the wit 
 ness box. We are looking for people who know any 
 thing of the whole distressing tragedy. You can 
 help that way, and that way alone. For myself," he 
 shrugged his shoulders, "I don t for an instant be 
 lieve Sir Nigel to be guilty. I can t, somehow. And 
 yet if you knew the evidence against him !" 
 
 A sob came suddenly from Toinette, and Brellier 
 gently led her away. It was a terrible ordeal for her, 
 but she had insisted on coming fearing, hoping that 
 she might be of use to Nigel in the witness box. By 
 the time they reached the great, crowded room, with 
 its table set at the far end, its empty chairs, and the 
 platform upon which the two bodies lay shrouded in
 
 At the Inquest 185 
 
 their black coverings, she was crying, though plainly 
 struggling for self possession. 
 
 Brellier found her a chair at the farther side of the 
 room, and stood beside her, while near by Cleek saw 
 the figure of Borkins, clad in ordinary clothes. He 
 tipped one respectful finger as Brellier passed him, 
 and greeted him with a half-smile, as one of whom he 
 thoroughly approved. 
 
 Then there was a little murmur of expectancy, as 
 the group about the doorway parted to admit the 
 prisoner. 
 
 He came between two policemen, very pale, very 
 haggard, greatly aged by the few days of his ordeal. 
 There were lines about his mouth and eyes that were 
 not good to see. He was thinner, older. Already 
 the gray showed in the hair about his temples. He 
 walked stiffly, looking neither to right nor left, his 
 head up, his hands handcuffed before him; calm, dig 
 nified, a trifle grimly amused at the whole affair 
 though what this attitude cost him to keep up no one 
 ever knew. 
 
 Toinette uttered a cry at sight of him, and then 
 shut her handkerchief against her mouth. His face 
 quivered as he recognized her voice, then, looking 
 across the crowded room, he saw her and 
 smiled. 
 
 The jury filed in one after the other, twelve stout, 
 hardy specimens of the country tradesman, with a 
 local doctor and a farmer or two sprinkled among the
 
 186 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 lump to leaven it. The coroner followed, having 
 driven up in the latest thing in motor cars (for he was 
 going to do the thing properly, as it was at the 
 country s expense). Then the horrible proceedings 
 began. 
 
 After the preliminaries, which followed the usual 
 custom (for the coroner seemed singularly devoid of 
 originality) the bodies were uncovered, and a murmur 
 of excited expectancy ran through the crowd. With 
 morbid curiosity they pressed forward. The re 
 porters started to scribble in their note-books, a 
 little pale and perturbed, for all their experience oi 
 such affairs. One or two of the crowd gasped, and 
 then shut their eyes. Brellier exclaimed aloud in 
 French, and for a moment covered his face with his 
 hands; but Toinette made no murmur. For she had 
 not looked, would not look upon the grim terrors that 
 lay there. There was no need for that. 
 
 The coroner spoke, attacking the matter in a busi 
 nesslike fashion, and leaning down from his slightly 
 elevated position upon the platform, pointed a 
 finger at the singed and blackened puncture upon the 
 temple of the thing that was once Dacre Wynne. lie 
 pointed also to the wound in the head of Collins. 
 
 "It is apparent to all present," he began in his 
 flat voice, "that death has been caused in each case 
 by a shot in the head. That the two men were killed 
 similarly is something in the nature of a coincidence. 
 The revolver that killed them was not the same in
 
 At the Inquest 187 
 
 both cases. In that of Mr. Wynne we have a bullet 
 wound of an extremely small calibre. We have, in 
 deed, the actual bullet. We also have, so we think, 
 the revolver that fired the shot. In the case of James 
 Collins there has been no proof and no evidence of 
 any one whom we know being concerned. Therefore 
 we will take the case of the man Dacre Wynne first. 
 He was killed by a revolver-shot in the temple, and 
 dentil was or should have been instantaneous. 
 We will call the prisoner to speak first." 
 
 He lifted a revolver from the table and held it in 
 the 1 ollow of Ills big palm. 
 
 "This revolver is yours?" he said, peering up under 
 his shaggy eyebrows into Merriton s face. 
 
 <S Ti " 
 
 It IS. 
 
 "Very good. There has been, as you see, one shot 
 fired from it. Of the six chambers one is empty." 
 lie reached down and picked up a small something 
 and held it in the hollow of the other hand, balancing 
 one against the other as he talked. "Sir Nigel, I ask 
 you. This we recognize as a bullet which belongs to 
 this same revolver, the revolver which you have 
 recognized and claimed as your own. It is identical 
 with those that are used in the cartridges of your 
 revolver, is it not?" 
 
 Merriton bent his head. His eyes had a dumb, 
 hurt look, but over the crowded room his voice 
 sounded firm and steady. 
 
 "It is."
 
 188 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 "Then I take it that, as this bullet was extracted 
 from the head of the dead man, and as this revolver 
 which you gave to the police yourself, and from which 
 you say that you fired a shot that night, that you are 
 guilty of his murder. Is it not so?" 
 
 "I am not guilty." 
 
 "H m." For a moment there was silence. Over 
 the room came the sound of scratching pencils and 
 pens, the shuffle of someone s foot, a swift intake of 
 the breath no more. Then the coroner spoke 
 again. 
 
 "Tell us, then," he said, "your version of what 
 took place that night." 
 
 And Merriton told it, told it with a ring in his 
 voice, his head high, and with eyes that flashed and 
 shone with the cause he was pleading. Told it with 
 fire and spirit; and even as the words fell from his 
 lips, felt the sudden chill of disbelief that seemed to 
 grip the room in its cold hand. Not a sound broke 
 the recital. He had been given a fair hearing, at all 
 events, though in that community of hard-headed, 
 unimaginative men there was not one that believed 
 him save those few who already knew the story to 
 be true. 
 
 The coroner stopped fitting his fingers together as 
 the firm voice faltered and was finally silent, and shot 
 a glance at Merriton from under his shaggy brows. 
 
 "And you expect us to believe that story, Sir 
 Nigel; knowing what we do about the bad blood
 
 At the Inquest 189 
 
 between you and the dead man, and having here the 
 evidence of our own eyes in this revolver bullet?" 
 
 "I have told the truth. I can do no more." 
 
 "No man can," responded the coroner, gravely, 
 "but it is that which I must admit I query. The 
 story is so far-fetched, so utterly impossible for a 
 rationally minded being 
 
 But you must admit that he was not a rationally 
 minded being that night!" broke in a quick voice 
 from across the room, and everyone turned to look 
 into Doctor Bartholomew s seamed, anxious face. 
 4 Under the influence of drink and that devil incar 
 nate, Dacre Wynne, a man couldn t be answerable 
 for- 
 
 "Silence in the Court!" rapped out the coroner, 
 and the good doctor was forced to obey. 
 
 Then the inquiry went on. The prisoner was told 
 lo stand down, amid a chorus of protesting voices, 
 for, though the story was disbelieved, everyone who 
 had come in contact with Merriton had formed an 
 instant liking for him. No one wished to see him 
 condemned as guilty save those few who seemed 
 determined to send him to the gallows. 
 
 Three or four possible witnesses were called, but 
 nothing of any importance was gleaned from them:, 
 then Borkins was summoned to the table. As he 
 pushed past Toinette s chair from the knot of 
 villagers which surrounded him, his face was white, 
 and his lips compressed. He took his stand in front
 
 190 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 of the jury and prepared to answer the questions 
 which were put to him by the coroner. That man s 
 method seemed to have changed since his questioning 
 of Sir Nigel and he flung out his queries like a rapid- 
 fire gun. 
 
 Borkins came through the ordeal fairly well, all 
 things considered. He told his story of what he had 
 said he had seen that night, in a comparatively steady 
 voice, though he was of the type that is addicted 
 to nervousness when appearing before people. 
 
 Cleek, at the back of the court, with Mr. Narkom 
 on his right and Dollops on his left, waited for that 
 one weak spot in the evidence, and saw with a smile 
 how the coroner lit upon it. His opinion of that 
 worthy went up considerably. 
 
 "You say you heard the man Wynne groaning and 
 moaning on the garden pathway after he was shot, 
 and then practically saw him die?" 
 
 "I did, sir." 
 
 "And yet, a man killed in that fashion, hit in that 
 particular portion of the temple, always dies in 
 stantaneously. Isn t that rather strange?" 
 
 Borkins went red. 
 
 "I have nothing to say, sir. Simply what I 
 heard." 
 
 "H m. Well, certainly the evidence does dovetail 
 in, and the doctors may have been wrong in this in 
 stance. We can look into that evidence later. 
 Stand down."
 
 At the Inquest 191 
 
 Borkins stood down with something like a sigh of 
 relief, and pushed his way back into his place, his 
 friends nodding to him and congratulating him upon 
 the way he had given his evidence. 
 
 Then Tony West was called, and told all that he 
 had to tell of his knowledge of the night s happenings 
 in a rather irritated manner, as though the whole 
 ihing bored him utterly, and he couldn t for the life 
 of him make out why any one even dreamed that old 
 Nigel had murdered a man. He told the coroner 
 something of this before he finished, and as he re 
 turned to his place a murmur of approval went up, 
 His manner had taken the public fancy, and they 
 would have liked to hear more of him. 
 
 But there was another piece of evidence to be 
 shown, and this took the form of a scrap of creased 
 white paper. 
 
 It was waved aloft in the coroner s hand, so that 
 everyone could see it. 
 
 "This," said the coroner, "is an I. O. U. found 
 upon the dead man, for two thousand pounds, and 
 signed with the name of Lester Stark. An im 
 portant piece of evidence, this. Will Mr. Stark 
 kindly come forward? " 
 
 There was a rustle at the back of the court, and 
 Stark pushed his way to the front, his face rather red, 
 his eyes a trifle shame-faced. As he came, Merritoa 
 was conscious of a quickening of his pulse, of a leap of 
 his heart, though he loathed himself afterward for
 
 192 TJie Riddle of tlic Frozen Flame 
 
 the sensation. His eyes went toward Toinette, and 
 he saw that she was looking at him, with all the love 
 that was in her soul laid bare for him and all to 
 see. It cheered him, as she meant it should. 
 
 Then Stark took his place upon the witness stand. 
 
 "This I. O. U. belongs to you, I take it?" said the 
 coroner, briskly. 
 
 "It does, sir." 
 
 " And it was made out two days before the prisoner 
 met his death. The signature is yours?" 
 
 Stark bowed. His eyes sought Nigel s and rested 
 upon the pale, lined face with every appearance of 
 concern. Then he looked back at the coroner. 
 
 "Dacre Wynne lent me that money two days be 
 fore he came down to visit Merritou. No one knew 
 of it, except he and I. We had never been good 
 friends in fact, I believe he hated me. My mother 
 had been well, kind to him in the old days, and I 
 suppose he hadn t forgotten it. Anyhow, there was 
 family difficulty. My my pater left some con 
 siderable debts which we found we were obliged to 
 face. There was a woman oh, I needn t go into 
 these family things, in a place like this, need I? ... 
 Well, if I must I must. But it s a loathsome job 
 at best. . . . There was a woman whom iny 
 father kept. When he died he left her two thou 
 sand pounds in his will, and he hadn t two thousand 
 pounds to leave when his debts were cleared up. 
 We we had to face things. Paid everything off,
 
 At the Inquest 193- 
 
 and all that, and then, at the last gasp, that woman- 
 came and claimed the money. The lawyer said she 
 was within her rights, we d have to fork out. And 
 I couldn t lay my hands upon the amount just then, 
 because it had taken pretty nearly all we had to clear 
 the debts off." 
 
 "So you borrowed from Mr. Wynne?" 
 
 "Yes, I borrowed from Dacre Wynne. I d sooner 
 have cut my right hand off than have done it, but I 
 knew Merriton was going to be married, and I 
 wouldn t saddle him with my bills. Don t look at 
 me like that. Nigel, old chap, you know I couldn t! 
 Tony West has only enough for himself, and I didn t 
 want to go to loan sharks. So the mater suggested 
 Dacre Wynne. I went to him, in her name, and ate 
 the du.-t. it was beastly but he promised to stump 
 up. And he did. I m working now on a paper, to try 
 and pay as much off as I can, and a cousin is keep 
 ing the mater until I can look after her myself. We ve 
 taken a little place out Chelsea way. That s all." 
 
 "H m. And you can show proof of this, if the 
 jury requires it?" put in the coroner, at this junc 
 ture. 
 
 "I can here and now." He thrust his hand into 
 his pocket and drew out a sheaf of papers, tossing 
 them in front of the coroner, who, after a glance at 
 their contents, seemed to be satisfied that they gave 
 tlie answer he sought. 
 
 "Thank you. . . . And you have no re-
 
 194 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 volver, Mr. Stark, even if you had reason for killing 
 Mr. Wynne?" 
 
 Stark gave a little start of surprise. 
 
 "Reason for killing him? You re not trying to 
 intimate that / killed him, are you? Of all the 
 idiotic things ! No, I have no revolver, Mr. Coroner. 
 And I ve nothing more to say." 
 
 "Then stand down," said the coroner, and Lester 
 Stark threaded his way back to the chair he had 
 occupied during the proceedings, rather red in the 
 face, and with blazing eyes and tightly set lips. 
 
 A stream of other witnesses came and gave their 
 stories. Brellier told of how he had been rung up 
 by Merriton to ask if there were any news of Wynne s 
 arrival at the house. Told, in fact, all that he ad 
 mitted to know of the night s affair, and ended up 
 his evidence with the remark that "nothing on earth 
 or in heaven would make him believe that Sir Nigel 
 Merriton was guilty of murder." 
 
 Things were narrowing down. There was a rest 
 lessness about the court; time was gettimg on and 
 everything pointed one way. After some discussion 
 with the jury, the foreman of it, a stout, pretentous 
 fellow, rose to his feet and whispered a few hurried 
 words to the coroner. That gentleman wiped his 
 forehead with a silk handkerchief and looked about 
 him. It had been a trying business altogether. He d 
 be glad of his supper. He got to his feet and turned 
 to the crowded room.
 
 At the Inquest 195 
 
 "Gentlemen," he said, "in all this evidence that 
 has been placed before us I find not one loop-hole of 
 escape for the prisoner, not one opening by which 
 there might be a chance of passing any other verdict 
 than that which I am compelled to pass now; save 
 only in the evidence of Borkins, who tells that the dead 
 man groaned and moaned for a minute or two after 
 being shot. This, I must say, leaves me in some 
 doubt as to the absolute accuracy of his story, but 
 the main facts tally with what evidence we have 
 and point in one direction. There is only one re- 
 voher in question, and that revolver of a peculiar 
 make and bore. I have shown you the instrument 
 here, also the bullet which was extracted from the 
 dead man s brain. Is there no other person who 
 would wish to give evidence, before I am compelled 
 to pronounce the prisoner Guilty and cave him 
 to the hands of higher Courts of Justice? If there 
 is, I beg of you to speak, and speak at once. Time 
 is short, gentlemen." 
 
 His voice ceased, and for a moment over the room 
 there was silence. You could have heard a pin drop. 
 Then came the scraping of a chair, a swiftly-muttered, 
 "I will! I will! I have something to say!" in a 
 woman s voice shrill with emotion, and Toinette 
 Brellier stood up, slim and tall in her black frock, 
 and with the veil thrown back from her pale face. 
 She held something in her hand, something which 
 she waved aloft for all to see.
 
 190 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 "I ... I have something to say, Mr. Cor 
 oner," she said in a clear, high voice. "Something 
 to show you, also. See!" She pushed her way 
 through the crowd that opened to admit her, gaping 
 at her as she came rapidly to the coroner s table 
 and held out the object. It was a small-sized re 
 volver, identical in every detail to that which lay 
 upon the coroner s table. "That," she said clearly, 
 her voice rising higher and higher, as she looked into 
 Merriton s face for a single instant and smiled wanly, 
 "that, Mr. Coroner, is a revolver identical with the 
 one which you have there. It is the same make, the 
 same bore everything! " 
 
 "So it is!" For a moment the coroner lost his 
 calm. He lifted an excited face to meet her eyes, 
 "Where did you get it, Miss Brellier?" 
 
 "From the top drawer of the secretaire in the little 
 boudoir at Withersby Hall," she said calmly, "where 
 it has always lain. You will find a snot missing. 
 Everything the same, Mr. Coroner; everything the 
 same!" 
 
 "It belongs to some member of your household, 
 Miss Brellier?" 
 
 She took a step backward and drew a sharp 
 breath. Then her eyes were fixed upon Merriton s 
 face. 
 
 "It belongs to me,* she said.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 
 
 MURMUR of amazement went round the 
 room, like the sound of rising wind. The 
 coroner held up his hand for silence. 
 
 "You say it is yours. Miss Brellier? This this 
 is renlly most remarkable most remarkable! The 
 revolver is of French make, is it not? You bought it 
 abroad?" 
 
 "I did. Just before I first came to England. I 
 had been travelling through Tunis before that, and 
 well, one doesn t like to be without these things. 
 Sir Nigel s revolver came from India, I believe- 
 through the agents of a French firm, the makers." 
 
 But The coroner s voice was low-pitched, 
 
 incredulous, "are you trying to tell us you fired a 
 shot that night, Miss Brellier?" 
 
 She shook her head, smiling. 
 
 "No that would be impossible. But my re 
 volver has always lain in that little secretaire, and 
 I have never had cause to use it since I have been 
 on this side of the Channel. I was in bed early that 
 night, with a headache. My uncle will tell you 
 that. He took me to my room and spent the rest 
 
 197
 
 198 TJie Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 of the evening in his study, as you have already 
 heard from him. No, I cannot say I murdered 
 Dacre Wynne. Though I would say that or any 
 thing to save Nigel. But I didn t discover that 
 this little revolver of mine had ever been fired until 
 yesterday, when I happened to go to my secretaire 
 for a letter which I had locked away in that par 
 ticular drawer. Then I took it up and chanced to 
 examine it I don t know why. Perhaps because 
 it was the same as Nigel s, I " she choked sud 
 denly, and bit at her lips for control. Is there not 
 a loophole here, sir, by which Sir Nigel might be 
 saved? Surely it must be traced wuo used this re 
 volver, who fired the shot from it?" 
 
 Her voice had risen to a piteous note that brought 
 the tears to many eyes in that crow T ded room. The 
 coroner coughed. Then he glanced enquiringly over 
 at Brellier, who had risen from his seat. 
 
 "You have something to say about this, Mr. 
 Brellier?" 
 
 Brellier made a clicking sound with his tongue. 
 
 "I m afraid my niece has been wasting your time, 
 sir," he said quietly, "because I happen to have 
 used that little instrument myself five months ago. 
 We had a dog who was hurt you remember Franco. 
 Toinette? And if you carry your mind back you 
 will also recollect that, he had eventually to be shot, 
 and that I was forced to perform that unpleasant 
 operation myself. He was dear to me, that dog; he
 
 Questions and Answers 199 
 
 was how do you call it? a true pal . It hurt me 
 to do this thing, but I did it. And with that revolver 
 also. It was light. Toinette must have forgotten 
 that I mentioned the matter to her. 
 
 "I am afraid this can have no bearing upon the 
 case though the dear God knows that I would do 
 all I could to bring this terrible thing to an end, if it 
 lay in my power. That s is all, I think." 
 
 He bowed, and sat down again, beckoning his 
 niece back to her seat with a little frown. She cast 
 a piteous look up into the coroner s face. 
 
 "i m sorry." she said brokenly; "I had forgotten 
 about that. Of course, it is true, as my uncle said. 
 But I was so anxious so anxious ! And there seemed 
 just a chance. You understand?" 
 
 "I do, Miss Brellier. And I am sorry that the evi 
 dence in this case is of no use to us. Constable, take 
 the prisoner away to await higher justice. I must 
 suy that I think no other verdict upon the evidence 
 brought forward could possibly be passed upon the 
 prisoner than I have passed to-day. I m sorry, 
 Sir Nigel, but one must do one s duty, you know 
 . . . . We ll be getting back to the office, Mr. 
 Murkford." He beckoned to his clerk, who rose in 
 stantly and followed him. "Good afternoon, gentle 
 men." 
 
 . . . . And so the whole wearisome proceedings 
 were at an end and Cleek had spoken no word of 
 that would-be assassin who had come upon him in
 
 200 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 the dark watches of the night and sought his life. lie 
 noted that Borkins looked at him in some surprise, 
 but held his counsel. Borkins knew more than he 
 had said upon his oath this day; of that Cleek was 
 certain. Well, he would bide his time. There were 
 other ways to work besides the open-handed fashion 
 of the coroner s court and the policeman s uniform. 
 He was due to meet Borkins that night and discuss the 
 possibilities of being taken on to work at the electrical 
 factory. Something might come out of that some 
 thing must come of that. It was impossible that 
 the thing should be left as it was, and an innocent 
 boy he was certain of Merriton s innocence, in 
 spite of the evidence against him should be hanged. 
 
 As he stepped out into the growing twilight ("leek 
 touched Mr. Narkom on the arm and then ran over 
 to the van into which the prisoner was stepping, his 
 guardians of the law upon either side of him, his IV. ce 
 white, his shoulders bowed. Toinette stood a few 
 steps distant, the tears chasing themselves down her 
 face and the sobs drowning her broken words of com 
 fort to him. He seemed barely to notice her, but 
 at sight of Cleek he flung himself round, and gave a 
 harsh laugh. 
 
 "And a damn lot of good you ve done me, for all 
 your fine reputation!" he said snceringly, his face 
 reddening. "God! that there should be such fools 
 allowed to hold the law in their hands! You ve 
 made a mistake this time, Mr. Cl "
 
 Questions and Ansivers 201 
 
 "One moment!" Cleek held up a silencing hand 
 as the name almost escaped Merriton s lips. "Officer, 
 I m from Scotland Yard. I d like a word with the 
 prisoner alone, if you don t mind, before you take 
 him away. I ll answer for his safety, I promise . . . 
 Keep your heart up, boy; I ve not done yet!" This 
 in a low-pitched voice, as the two men dropped away 
 from either side. "I ve not done by a long shot. 
 But evidence has been so confoundly against you. 
 I d hopes of that I.O.U., but the whole thing was so 
 simply explained and there were the proofs, you 
 know. Still, there was no telling how the story 
 would come out. But it was so obviously true. . . . 
 Only, keep up your heart, lad; that s what I wanted 
 to I ell you. I d swear on my oath you weren t guilty. 
 And I ll prove it yet!" 
 
 Something like a sob broke in Merriton s voice. 
 He held out an impetuous hand. 
 
 "Fin sorry, sir," he said jerkily, "but it s a devilish 
 ordeal. What a life I ve led this past week! If 
 you only knew could only realize! It tears a 
 man s nerves to atoms. I ve almost given up 
 hope- 
 
 Cleek took the hand and held it. 
 
 Never do that, Merriton, never do that," he said 
 softly. "I ve been through the mill myself once 
 years ago now, but the scar still stays and it ll be a 
 bit more red hell for the present. But if there s any 
 saving you, any proving this thing right up to the
 
 202 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 hilt, I ll do it. That s all I wanted to say. Good 
 bye, and buck up. I m going to speak to the little 
 girl now, and cheer her up, too. You ll hear every 
 thing as it comes along." 
 
 He squeezed the hand, manacled so grimly to the 
 other, and smiled a smile brimming over with hope 
 and promise. 
 
 "God bless you, Mr. Headland," Merriton re 
 plied, and as Cleek beckoned to the two policemen, 
 took his stand between them and entered the closed 
 vehicle. The door shut, the engine purred, and 
 the car shot away up the road toward the local 
 police-station, leaving the man and the girl staring 
 after it, the same mute sorrow and sympathy shining 
 in both pairs of eyes. 
 
 As it disappeared round a corner, Toinette turned 
 to Cleek, her whole agonized heart in her eyes. 
 
 "Mr. Headland!" she broke out with a gush of 
 tears. "Oh, ni sieur, if you did but know could 
 but understand all that my poor heart suffers for that 
 innocent boy! It is breaking every minute, every 
 hour. Is there nothing, nothing that can be done 
 to save him? I d stake my very life on his inno 
 cence!" 
 
 Cleek let his hand rest for a moment upon 1he 
 fragile shoulder, and looked down into the pallid face. 
 
 "I know you would," he said softly, "for even I 
 know and understand what the love of a good woman 
 may do to a man. But, tell me. That story of the
 
 Questions and Answers 203 
 
 revolver your revolver. You can vouch for it? 
 Your uncle did kill the dog Franco with it? You 
 can remember? Forgive me for asking, or question 
 ing for a moment the evidence which Mr. Brellier 
 has given, but I am anxious to save that boy from 
 the hands of the law, and for that reason no stone 
 must be left unturned, no secret kept silent. Carry 
 
 your mind back to that time, and tell me if that is 
 
 i " 
 true. 
 
 She puckered her brows together as if in perplexity 
 and tapped one slim, perfectly-manicured finger 
 against her white teeth. 
 
 "Yes," she said at last; "yes, it was every bit of it 
 true every bit, Mr. Headland. For the moment, 
 in that room of terror, I had forgotten poor Franco s 
 death. But now yes, I can remember it all fully. 
 My uncle spoke the truth, Mr. Headland I can 
 promise you that." 
 
 Cleek sighed. Then: 
 
 "But it was your revolver he used, Miss Brellier? 
 Try to remember. He said that he told you of it 
 at the time. Can you recollect your uncle telling 
 you that he used your revolver to shoot the dog with, 
 or not? That is what I want to know. * 
 
 She shrugged her shoulders and spread out her 
 hands. 
 
 "It is so difficile. I am trying to remember, and 
 the matter seemed then so trivial ! But there is no 
 reason to doubt my uncle, Mr. Headland, for he
 
 204 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 loves Nigel dearly, and if there was any way in which 
 he could help to unravel this so terrible plot against 
 him Oh! I am sure he must have told me so, surd 
 There would be no point in his telling an untruth over 
 that. " 
 
 "And yet you can not recall the actual remark 
 that your uncle made, Miss Brellier?" 
 
 "No. But I am sure, sure that what he said was 
 true." 
 
 Cleek shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "Then, of course, you must know best. Well, we 
 must try and find some other loophole. I promised 
 Merriton I d speak a few words to you, Miss Brellier, 
 just to tell you to keep up heart though it s a diffi 
 cult task. But everything that can be done, unll be 
 done. And if you should happen to hear that I 
 have thrown up the case, and gone back to London, 
 don t be a bit surprised. There are other ways, other 
 means of helping than the average person dreams of. 
 Don t mention anything I have said to you to any 
 body. Keep you own counsel, please, and as a token 
 of my regard for that I will give you my word that 
 everything that can be done for Merriton will be. 
 Good-bye." 
 
 He put out his hand and she laid her slim one in it. 
 For a moment her eyes measured him, scanning liis 
 face as though to trace therein anything of treachery 
 to the cause which she held so dear. Then her face 
 broke into a wintry smile.
 
 Questions and Answers 205 
 
 "I have a feeling, Mr. Headland," she said softly, 
 that you are going to be a good friend to us, Nigel 
 and me. It is a woman s intuition that tells me, and 
 it helps me to bear the too dreadful suspense under 
 which we are all now labouring. You have my word 
 of honour never to speak of this talk together, and to 
 keep a guard on my tongue for the future, if it is to 
 help Nigel. You will let me know how things go on, 
 Mr. Headland?" 
 
 "That I cannot for the present tell. It will de 
 pend entirely upon how events shape themselves, Miss 
 Brell er. You may hear soon you may not hear 
 at all. But I believe in his innocence as deeply as 
 you do. Therefore you must be content that I shall 
 do my best, whatever happens. Good-bye." 
 
 He gave her fingers a soft squeeze, held them a 
 moment and then, dropping them, bowed and swung 
 upon his heel to join Mr. Narkom, who was standing 
 near by, the last of the group of interested spectators 
 of that afternoon s ghastly business. Dollops stood 
 a little back from them, awaiting his orders. 
 
 "We ll have some supper at the village pub, my 
 dear Lake," said Cleek in a loud, clear voice that 
 carried to every corner of the deserted garden, "and 
 then come back to the Towers long enough to pack 
 up our traps and clear out of this haunted house 
 altogether. The case is one too many for me, and I m 
 chucking it." Mr. Narkom opened his mouth to 
 speak, but his colleague gave him no opportunity.
 
 206 The Riddle of lite Frozen Flame 
 
 "It s abit too fishy for my liking," lie went on, "when 
 the only clues a man s got to go on are a dancing 
 flame and a patch of charred grass which, by the 
 way, never struck me as particularly interesting at 
 the best of times and when evidence points so 
 strongly toward young ^Ten-item s guilt. All 1 can 
 say is, Jet s go. That s the ticket for inc." 
 
 "And for me also, old man!" agreed Mr. Narkom, 
 emphatically, following (leek s lead though rather 
 in the dark. "It s back to London for me, whenever 
 you re ready." 
 
 "And that ll be as >oon as Dollops can pack my 
 things and get em off to the station."
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 A NEW DKPAKTUKR 
 
 question of packing was a very small 
 matter altogether, and it was barely seven 
 o clock when, this finished, Cleek and Mr. 
 Narkom had collected their coals and hats from the 
 hatstand, given Borkins tin- benefit of their very 
 original ideas as to closing up the house and clearing 
 oul of it as soon as possible, each of them slipped a 
 sovereign into his hand, and were standing talking a 
 short while at the open front door. The chill of the 
 evening crept into the house in cold breaths, turning 
 the gloomy hall into a good representation of a family 
 vault. 
 
 "All I can say," said (.leek, chewing a cigar, his 
 hands in his trousers pockets, and his feet rocking 
 from toe to heel, "is get out of it , Borkins, as soon as 
 you can. I don t mind teilin you, I m jolly glad to 
 be clearin out myself. It s been a devilish uii- 
 caimy business from first to la<t, and not much to 
 my taste. Now, / like a decent, robbery or a nice, 
 quick-fingered forger that wants a bit of huntin up. 
 ^ on know, even detectives have their particular
 
 208 The Riddle of tJie Frozen Flame 
 
 favourites in the matter of crime, Borkins, and a 
 beastly murder isn t exactly in my line." 
 
 Borkins laughed respectfully, rubbing his hands 
 together. 
 
 "Nor mine, sir," he made answer. Though I 
 must say you gentlemen avcn t been a bit what I 
 imagined detectives to be. "When you first come 
 down, you know, I spotted something different about 
 you, and 
 
 "Ought to be on the Force yourself!" supple 
 mented Cleek. 
 
 "Arid not such a bad callin neither!" returned 
 Borkins with a grin. "But I knew you wasn t what 
 you said you was, in a manner of speakin . And if 
 it adn t been for all this unpleasantness, it would 
 ave bin a nice little change for yer, wouldn t it? 
 Sorry to see the last of you, sirs, I am that. And 
 that young gentleman of your n. But I must say 
 I m glad to be done of the business." 
 
 Cleek blew a cloud of smoke into the air. 
 
 "Oh, you ll have another dose of it before you re 
 entirely finished!" he responded. ""When the case 
 comes on in London. That s the ticklish part of the 
 business. We ll meet there again, I expect, as Mr. 
 Lake and I will be bound to give our evidence 
 which is a thankless task at the best of times. . . . 
 Hello! Dollops, got the golf-clubs and walking-sticks? 
 That s a good lad. Now we ll be off to old London 
 again eh, Lake? Good-bye, Borkins. Best of luck."
 
 A New Departure 209 
 
 "Good-bye, gentlemen." 
 
 The two men got into the taxi Dollops had pro 
 cured for them, while that worthy hopped on to the 
 seat beside the driver and gave him the order to "Nip 
 it for the eight o clock train for Limnon, as farst as 
 you kin slide it, cabby!" To which the chauffeur 
 made some equally pointed remark, and they were 
 off. 
 
 But Borkins either did not realize that the eight- 
 o clock train for London was a slow one, or though 
 that it was the most convenient for the two gentle 
 men most interested, because he did not give a 
 thought to the matter that that particular train 
 stopped at the next station, some three miles away 
 from Fetch worth. And even if he had and could 
 have seen the two tough-looking sailormen who 
 descended from the first-class compartment there 
 and stepped on to the tiny platform among one or 
 two others, foe would never have dreamed of as 
 sociating them with the Mr. Headland and his man 
 Dollops who had such a short time ago left the 
 Towers for London. 
 
 Which is just as well, as it happened, for it was 
 with Borkins that Cleek and Dollops were most con 
 cerned. Upon the probability of their friendship 
 with the butler hung the chance of their getting work. 
 They had left Mr. Narkom to go up to London and 
 keep his eyes open for any clues in the bank robberies 
 case, and had promised to report to him as soon as
 
 210 The Riddle of ike Frozen Flame 
 
 possible, if there were anything to be gleaned at the 
 factory. Mr. Narkoin hud expressed his doubts 
 about it, had told Cleek that he really did not see how 
 any human agency could possibly get Nigel Merriton 
 off, with such appalling evidence to damn him. And 
 what an electrical factory could have to do with 
 it . . . ! 
 
 " You forget the good Borkins s connection with 
 the affair," returned Cleek, a trifle sharply, "and 3-011 
 forget another thing. And that is, that I have found 
 the man who attempted my life, and m.^ai eventually 
 to come to grips with him. That is the o il.v , ason 
 why I did not speak at the inquest tlvs afi . noon. 
 I am going to bide my time, but I ll have the beggar 
 in the end. If working for a time at an electrical 
 factory is going to help on matters, then work there 
 I m going to, and Dollops with me. 
 
 "If there should be need of me, don t forget that 
 I am Bill Jones, sailorman, once of Jamaica, now of 
 the Factory, Saltfleet. And stick to the code. A 
 wire will fetch me." lie hopped out upon the plat 
 form just here, in his cut-throat" make-up a little 
 hastily done, for the lime between the stations had 
 been short but excellent, nevertheless; then as Mr. 
 Narkoin gripped his hand, he put his head into the 
 carriage again. 
 
 "My love to Ailsa if you see her, and tell her all 
 goes well with me, like a good friend!" whispered 
 Cleek, softly.
 
 A Neir Departure 211 
 
 Mr. Narkom nodded, waved his hand, and then 
 the two navvies swung away from the train, gave up 
 their tickets to the porter having procured third- 
 class as well as first for just this very arrangement 
 and after enquiring just how far it was to Salttleet 
 Bay, and learning that it was a matter of "two mile 
 and a arf by road, and a couple o mile by the fields/ 
 strode off through the little gate and on to the high 
 road. Just how adventurous their cjuest was going 
 to turn out to be even they did not fully realize. 
 
 They reached the outskirts of the bay, just as a 
 clock in the church tower half a mile away struck out 
 nine, in deep-throated, >onorous tones. 
 
 To the right of them the " Pig and Vfhistle" flaunted 
 its lights and its noise, its hilarious laughter and its 
 coarse-thrown jests, (leek sighed as he turned to 
 ward it. 
 
 "Now for it, boy," he said softly, and then started 
 to whistle and to laugh alternately, making his way 
 across the cobbles to the brightly-lit little pub. 
 Someone ran to the doorway and peered out at sound 
 of his voice, trying to penetrate, the darkness and dis 
 cover who the stranger might be thus gaily em 
 ployed. 
 
 ( leek sang out a greeting. 
 
 "Good evenin to yer, matey! This ers s Bill 
 Jones and is pal. Ow. I ll tyke the ighroad, and 
 you ll tyke the laow road! and I ll be in Scotland 
 afore yer . . . . Ere, Sammie, me lad, come
 
 212 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 along o me an warm yer witals. I could drink the 
 sea strite I could!" 
 
 He heard the man in the doorway laugh, and then 
 he beckoned to him to come along. And so they 
 entered the "Pig and Whistle," and were greeted 
 enthusiastically by the red-headed barmaid, while 
 many voices went up to greet them, showing that 
 already they had got on the right side of the men who 
 were to be their fellow- workers. 
 
 "Gen leman ere yet?" queried Cleek, jerking his 
 thumb in the direction whore Borkins had stood the 
 night before. "I ve what you calls an appointment 
 wiv irn, yer know. And. . . . Ere the blighter 
 is! Good cvenin , sir. Pleased ter see yer again, 
 though lookin a bit pale abaht the gills, if yer don t 
 mind my say in so." 
 
 "And so would you be, if you d been through the 
 ordeal I ave this afternoon," snapped out Borkins 
 in reply. "It s a beastly job a-tellin people what 
 yer seen and eard. It is indeed!" 
 
 : "Arder ter tell em wot you aren t seen an card, 
 all the syme, matey," threw in Cleek. "Done that 
 meself, I as bit of sleight-o - and what they d 
 pulled me up for out Whitechapel way when I was 
 a kid. Seein the master ternight, ain t we, sir?" 
 
 Borkins slopped down his tankard of beer and 
 wiped his mouth before replying. 
 
 "Seen him already," he answered with a touch of 
 asperity, "and told im about you both, I ave.
 
 "E says you re ter go up to the foreman termorrow, 
 say I sent you. Say the master as passed you, 
 that ll be all right. Couple o quid a week, and the 
 chance of a rise if you re circumspect and keeps yer 
 mouth closed." 
 
 "That s my gyme all right, guv nor!" struck in 
 Dollops shrilly, clapping his tankard down upon the 
 bar with a loud bang. "Close as oiiscs we are, 
 guv nor. An me mate s like a hoyster." 
 
 "Well, mind you remember it!" retorted Borkins 
 sharply. "Or it ll go badly with the pair of you. 
 That s fixed, then, ain t it? What s yer names 
 again? I ve forgotten." 
 
 "Bill Jones, an im s Sammic Robinson," replied 
 Cleek quickly. "I m much obliged to yer, sir. 
 Any one know where we kin get a shake-down for the 
 night? Time enough ter look for lodgin s termorrer." 
 
 It was the barmaid s turn to speak, and she rested 
 her rather heavy person against the bar and touched 
 Clock s shoulder. 
 
 "Mother, she as lodgers, dearie," she said in a 
 coaxing voice. You kin come along to us, and stay 
 right along, if you re comfortable. Nice beds we 
 ave, and a good ot dinner in the middle uv the day. 
 You kin take yer breakfast with us. Better come 
 along to er ternight." 
 
 "Thanks, I will," grunted Cleek in reply, and dug 
 Dollops in the ribs, just to show him how pleased he 
 was with the arrangement.
 
 214 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 And so the evening passed. The lodgings were 
 taken, the charge being moderate for the kind of 
 living that men in their walk of life were used to. and 
 the next morning found them both ensconced at 
 their new work. 
 
 The overseer proved to be a big, burl} man, v. ho, 
 having received the message from "the gentleman 
 at the inn," immediately set them to work on the 
 machinery. The task was simple; they had merely 
 to feed the machine with so much raw material, and 
 the other men and machines did the rest. Bnt what 
 pleased them more, they were put to work side by 
 side. This gave Cleek a good opportunity of passing 
 remarks now and then to Dollops and telling him to 
 take note of things. 
 
 The factory was a smallish place, with not too large 
 a payroll, and Cleek gleaned from that first morning s 
 work that it, was run solely for the purpose of making 
 electrical fittings. 
 
 ""Where do they ship em to, matey?" he asked his 
 next-door neighbour, a pleasant-faced chap about 
 twenty-three or four. 
 
 "Over ter Belgium. Big Firm there what buys from 
 the master." 
 
 "Oh?" So they were trading with Belgium, were 
 they? That was interesting. " Well, then. *ow the 
 dickens do they send em out?" 
 
 "Boats, idiot!" The man s voice was full of 
 contempt for the nincompoop who couldn t use his
 
 A New Departure 15 
 
 head. Above the clang of the machinery deck s 
 voice rose a trifle higher. 
 
 "Well, any fellow would know that /" he said with 
 a laugh. "But. what I means is, what sort er boats? 
 Big tins. I should sy, i er stuff like this." 
 
 The man looked about him and bent his head. His 
 voice dropped a note or two. 
 
 "F?,s7zm boats, "he said softly, and could be made to 
 say no more, in spite of the scornful laugh with which 
 ("leek greeted this news. 
 
 Fishing boats? . . . Il m. That was devil 
 ish peculiar. Sending out electrical fittings to 
 Belgium in fishing boat* . Funny sort, of a way to do 
 trade 4 , though no doubt it was quite permissible up 
 lo a point. Well, he must glean something more 
 out of tliis good fellow before the day was over. 
 
 A glass of beer at the * Pig and Whistle" after dinner 
 worked wonders with the man s tongue. He was not 
 a favourite, so free drinks did not often come his way. 
 After the second glass lie seemed almost ready to sell 
 his soul lo this amicable newcomer, but Cleek was 
 wise, and bided his time. lie didn t mean to fleece 
 his man of the information in sight and sound of his 
 fellows. So he simply talked of the topics of the day, 
 discussed the labour question from a new view 
 point and then, as they strolled back together to 
 the factory, just as the whistle began to blow that 
 told the hands the dinner-hour was over, Cleek fired 
 his first ,>liot.
 
 216 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 "See ere, matey," he began confidentially, "you re 
 a decent sort of bloke, you are! Tell us a bit more 
 about them there fishin boats wot you spoke uv. 
 I m that interested, I ve been fair eaten up with 
 curiosity. Yer didn t mean the master of this plyce 
 goes and ships electrical fittin s and such-like out to 
 Belgium in fishin boats strite, eh?" 
 
 "Yus." Jenkins nodded. That s exactly what 
 I do mean. Seems sort er funny, don t it? And I 
 reckon there s somethin a bit fishy about the whole 
 thing. But I keep me mouth shut. That over 
 seer s the very devil imself. Happen you ll larn ier 
 do likewise. Two chaps who were ere larst thought 
 they d be a bit smarty like, and told irn they were 
 goin ter tell all they knew though God knows what 
 it was! I ain t been able to learn much, and haven t 
 tried neither. But they went zip! like that! 
 Never saw em no more, and nothin come of it. . . c 
 Best to keep your mouth shut, mate. In this ere 
 place, any ow." 
 
 "Oh," said Cleek off-handedly, "I m not one to 
 blab. You needn t be afraid o that. By the way, 
 who s the chap with the black mustache a-stragglin 
 all over is fyce? An the narsty eye? Saw im with 
 Borkins, the man wot engaged me night before 
 last." 
 
 "That wasn t Borkins, me beauty/ returned 
 Jenkins with a laugh. That ain t his name. "Ow 
 did you come ter think of it? That fellow s name s
 
 A New Departure 217 
 
 Piggott. And the other man? We calls im Dirty 
 Jim, because e does all the dirty work for the boss; 
 but is real name s Dobbs. And if you takes my 
 word for anything, pal, you won t go rubbiri im up 
 the wrong way. E s a fair devil!" 
 
 H m! "Dirty Jim," otherwise Jim Dobbs. And 
 he was in the employment of this very extraordinary 
 firm for the purpose 01 doing its " dirty work." Well, 
 there seemed a good deal of employment for him, if 
 that was the case. And Borkins was not Borkins in 
 this part of the world. 
 
 Cleek stepped back to his work a little thought 
 ful, a little absent-minded, until the frown upon 
 his forehead caused Dollops lo lean over and 
 whisper anxiously, "Nothin the matter, is there, 
 sir?" 
 
 lie shook his head rapidly. 
 
 "No, boy, no. Simply thinking, and smelling a 
 rat somewhere." 
 
 "Been smellin of it meself this parst two hours," 
 returned Dollops in a sibilant whisper. His eye 
 shone for a moment with the light of battle. "Got 
 sumnimk ter tell you," he whispered under cover of 
 the noise. "Summink wot ought ter interest 
 yer, I don t fink. Ave ter keep till evenin . Eh, 
 Bill?" 
 
 "Right you are, matey." Cleek s voice rose 
 loudly as the overseer passed, pausing a moment to 
 watch them at work. "Nice job this, I must sy.
 
 218 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 Arfter me own Varl, strite it is. Soon catch on to it , 
 don t yer?" 
 
 "Ra-ther /" returned Dollops significantly. 
 
 The overseer, with a shrug of the shoulders, moved 
 on.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 PRISONERS 
 
 IT WAS iioi, until the evening was fairly far ad 
 vanced \li;-i\ (h-. 1 opportunity of speaking to 
 Dollous alone was aifordeu (leek. He took it 
 when the "Pig and Whistle" wa* niied to overflowing, 
 ai i handy a num who worked at the faeiory was 
 not inside i : _ or sanding out>ide near the li lie quay, 
 holding llit 1 usual evening s confab on the affairs of 
 the day. ( !<<. k faugh I hold oi Dollops as he was 
 making his \va\ hito the lit le }>ar. 
 
 "Conic tVr n I urn up (he road, matey," he said 
 loudly. "ITs a line cNX-iiin wol mykes yer omesick 
 t er a sight \ii yer own fireside. Ave another drink 
 later. uiebt>e. Coiiie on." 
 
 Dollops linked arms with him. and, smoking and 
 talking, the, two men went off up the dark lane which 
 led from the quayside, and of a night-time was as black 
 as a pocket, deck s torch showed them the pathway, 
 and as they walked they talked in rapid whispers. 
 
 Now, lad. let s hear all you ve got to say!" he 
 rapped out at length, as the distance grew between 
 themselves and the crowded little pub, and they 
 were safely out of earshot. 
 
 219
 
 220 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 Dollops gulped with pent-up excitement. 
 
 "Lor! sir, there s summink wrong, any ow; I ve 
 discovered that much ! " he broke on t enthusiastically. 
 "Chummed up with ole Black Whiskers I did, and 
 promised im a and ternight at twelve o clock ter 
 do some loadin on ter the fishin boats wot s on 
 their way ter Belgium. You re a nice-seemin sort 
 er lad, he tole me after we d bin chat tin fer ten 
 minutes or so. Want ter make a bit of extra money 
 by oldin of your tongue? I was on it like a knife. 
 Ra-///T / I ses. Orl right, ses e. Come along 
 ter the quayside ternight at twelve o clock. There s 
 a bit uf loadin up ter be done, an only a few uv the 
 men are required. I don t choose none wot I don t 
 cotton to. You ll cotton ter me all right, matey, 
 I ses, with a sort uv a larf that seemed ter tickle im. 
 I m as close as the devil imself. Any think yer 
 doesn t want me ter see. just tip me the wink. I 
 will that, ses e, and then went off. An so ere I am, 
 sir, fixed up for a busy evenin along uv ole Black 
 Whiskers. An if I don t learn summink this night, 
 well, my name ain t Dollops!" 
 
 "Good lad!" said Cleek, giving the boy s arm a 
 squeeze. :< That s the way to do it! And is that all 
 you ve got to tell me? I ve done a bit myself, and 
 chummed up with a chap called Jenkins, the tall, thin 
 man who works on the left of me, and he s let me into 
 the secret of the fishing boat business. But he s 
 a close-mouthed devil. Either doesn t know any-
 
 Prisoners 
 
 thing, or won t toll. I m not quite sure which. But 
 he wasted a good deal of valuable breath endeavour 
 ing to teach me to keep my mouth shut. Gad! I d 
 give something to have a few moments alone 
 with your friend Black Whiskers! There s a 
 ripped pillow-case in my portmanteau which ought 
 to interest him. And what else did you learn, 
 Dollops?" 
 
 "Only that what they ships is electric tubin s ter 
 perfect flexible electric wirin s wot is used for in 
 stallations, sir," returned Dollops. "That s what 
 most of the things were wot I set eyes on after workin - 
 hours, stacked up all ready ter be loaded on ter the 
 boats. Long, thin things they were, an ought ter 
 be easy work, judgin from their contents. But 
 why they make all this mystery about it fair beats 
 me /" 
 
 "And me into the bargain, Dollops," interposed 
 Cleek, with a little sigh. "But there s an old saying, 
 that there s no smoke without fire, and ordinary 
 people don t make such a devilish fuss about others 
 knowing their business if they re on the straight. 
 What all this has got to do with the Frozen Flame 
 business I must confess somewhat puzzles me to 
 discover. But that it lias something to do with it is 
 proved by that fishy character Borkins, and the 
 amiable attempt of his friend to murder so humble a 
 person as myself. Now it s up to me to find the 
 missing link in the chain. . . . Hello! here s a
 
 222 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 gap in the hedge here. Looks like it had been made 
 on purpose. Let s go and investigate." 
 
 He whipped his little torch round and the circle of 
 light flashing over the ground, revealed to their 
 searching eyes something vastly unexpected in such 
 a place and yet which, after all, seemed to fit into a 
 place where so much mystery and secretiveness was 
 in the air. They themselves, disguised as such rough 
 characters, fitted into the strange picture, which 
 struck Cleek, even in spite of his many peculiar cases, 
 as very much out of the ordinary. 
 
 A gap in the hedge there was, right enough. And 
 through the gap someone must have been working 
 here a very short time before a square of turf, cut 
 carefully out and laid upon one side, revealed to 
 their astonished eyes a wooden trap-door, exactly 
 suggestive of the pirates den of a child s imagination, 
 and with a huge iron ring fastened to the centre of it. 
 
 Cleek whistled inaudibly, and turning round upon 
 Dollops a happy light in his eyes and a smile, almost 
 of amusement on his lips. 
 
 "Gad!" he exclaimed softly. "Game to try this, 
 Dollops. I am going to have a shot at it myself." 
 
 "But you ain t got no firearms on yer, sir, in case 
 o h accidents," returned the literal minded Dollops, 
 "and no man in is senses \vould attempt to go down 
 that thing without em." 
 
 "Well, I ve been called a lunatic before this, lad. 
 And going down it I am, this minute. And if you ve
 
 Prisoners 223 
 
 the least qualms at following me, you can just watch 
 up here and warn me with the old signal if you hear 
 any one coming. But I m going down, to find out 
 where this thing leads to, and a dollar to a ducat it ll 
 lead to a good deal that means the unravelling of a 
 riddle. The fellow who tangled the threads in the 
 first place has a head any one might admire. But 
 what I want to know is what he s taking all this 
 trouble for. Coming, Dollops?" 
 
 Dollops sent a reproachful look into Cleek s face 
 and sniffed audibly. 
 
 "Of course I m comin , guv nor," he made answer. 
 "D yer think I d be such a dirty blighter as ter let 
 you go dahn there p raps ter your very death 
 alone? Not me, sir. Dollops is a-follerin wherever 
 you lead, and if you chooses ell itself, well, e s ready 
 ter be roasted and fried in the devil s saucepan, so 
 long as e keeps yer company." 
 
 Without waiting for the end of this gallant, if 
 rather prolonged speech Cleek knelt down, set his two 
 hands upon the iron ring and pulled for all he was 
 worth. But the ease with which the door lifted 
 came as something of a surprise. It came up 
 silently, almost sending Cleek over backward, as 
 indeed it would have done a man with less poise, but 
 he easily recovered himself. He and Dollops cau 
 tiously approached the edge, and in the half-light 
 which the moon shed upon it (they did not use Cleek s 
 torch) saw that a flight of roughly-made clay steps
 
 224 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 led down into darkness below. They sat back upon 
 their heels and listened. Not a sound. 
 
 "Coining?" whispered Cleek in a low, tense whis 
 per. 
 
 "Yes sir." Dollops was beside him in an instant. 
 Cleek took the first step carefully, and very slowly 
 descended into the darkness, with Dollops close be 
 hind him. Down and down they went, and on 
 reaching the bottom, found the place opened out 
 into a sort of roughly -made tunnel, just as high as a 
 man s head, which ran on straight into the darkness 
 in front of them. 
 
 "Gawd! gives yer the fair creeps, don t it?" 
 muttered Dollops as they stood in the gloom and 
 tried to take their bearings. " What yer goin ter do, 
 sir?" 
 
 "Find out where it leads to if there s time," 
 whispered Cleek rapidly. "We ve got to find out 
 what these human moles are burrowing in the earth 
 like this for. I d give a good deal to know. Hear 
 anything?" 
 
 "Not a blinkin sound, sir." 
 
 "All right. We ll try the torch, and if any one 
 turns up we ll have to run for it. Now." He touched 
 the electric button, and a blob of light danced out 
 upon the rough clay floor, revealing as it swung in 
 Cleek s swift fingers the whole circumference of the 
 place from ground to ceiling. 
 
 "Cleverly made," muttered that gentleman in
 
 Prisoners 225 
 
 an admiring whisper. "It reminds me of the old 
 Twisted Arm days, Dollops, and the tunnels that 
 ran to the sewers. Remember?" 
 
 "I should just jolly well think I do, guv nor! 
 Them were days, if yer like it! Never knew next 
 minute if yer were goin ter see daylight again." 
 
 "And this little adventure of ours seems a fair 
 imitation of them!" returned Cleek, with a noiseless 
 laugh. "Let s move a bit farther on and get our 
 bearings. Hello! here s a little sort of cupboard 
 without a door. And . . . look at those sacks 
 standing there against that other side in that little 
 cut-out place, Dollops. Now I wonder what the 
 devil they contain. Talk about the Catacombs! 
 They aren t in it with this affair." 
 
 Dollops crept up noiselessly and laid a hand upon 
 one of the great sacks that stood one upon the other 
 in three double rows, and tried to feel the contents 
 with his fingers. It gave an absolutely unyielding 
 surface, as though it might be stuffed with concrete. 
 
 : * Ard as a ship s biscuit, sir," he ejaculated. 
 "Now I wonder what the dickens? 
 
 His voice trailed off suddenly, and he stood a mo 
 ment absolutely still, every nerve in his slim young 
 body taut as wire, every muscle rigid. For along the 
 passage not so very far in front of them, from where 
 it seemed to terminate came the thud of men s feet 
 upon the soft clayey ground. The torch went out in 
 an instant. In another, Cleek had caught Dollops s
 
 226 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 arm and drawn him into the narrow aperture, where, 
 with faces to the wall, they stood tense and rigid, 
 listening while the steps came nearer and nearer. 
 They waited in the darkness, as men in the Bonnet 
 Rouge days must have waited for the stroke of 
 Madame Guillotine. 
 
 . The footsteps came forward leisurely. 
 The intruders could hear the sound of muffled voices. 
 One, brief, concise, clipping its words short, and with 
 a note of cool authority in the low tones; the other 
 Dollops huddled his shoulders closer and contrived to 
 whisper "Black Whiskers" before the two men came 
 abreast of them. Strange to be walking thus com 
 fortably in the dark! Either they were sure of their 
 way that it didn t matter about having a light, or 
 else they were afraid to use a torch. 
 
 "You will see that it is done, Dobbs, and done 
 properly to-night?" sounded the brisk tones of 
 " Black Whiskers " companion. And then the reply : 
 "Yes, it ll be done all right. We re sending em off 
 at one o clock sharp. Loadin at twelve. No need 
 to worry about that, sir." 
 
 "And these two newcomers? You can vouch for 
 their reliability to keep their mouths shut,. Dobbs? 
 We wouldn t have chanced taking them on if we 
 hadn t been so short-handed, but . . you re 
 sure of them, eh?" 
 
 They could hear "Dirty Jim s" ugly little chuckle. 
 It seemed laden with sinister purpose.
 
 Prisoners 227 
 
 "They re sound enough, master, I promise yer!" 
 he made reply. "Ugliest-lookin pair er cut-throats 
 yer ever laid yer peepers on. Seen dirtier business 
 than this, I dare swear. And Piggott s on to the 
 right kind, all right. Good man, Piggott." 
 
 The two came opposite them, and stopped a mo 
 ment, as though they might be wishing to investigate 
 the contents of the sacks that stood nearby, hidden by 
 the enveloping darkness. The tension under which 
 Cleek and the youthful Dollops laboured was tre 
 mendous. Not daring to breathe they stood there 
 hugging the wall, their every muscle aching with the 
 strain, and then the two strangers walked on again, 
 still talking in low, casual voices, until the} 7 had 
 reached the end of the passage where the steps 
 started abruptly upward. Then a patch of light 
 showed suddenly. 
 
 "Steps here; be careful. They re none too easy," 
 came the cautious voice of Black Whiskers. "I ll go 
 up first, so s you kin follow in my steps. What s 
 this? The door been left open, eh? I ll avc a few 
 words with that chap Jenkins afore I m many days 
 older. I ll larn im to disobey is orders! Any one 
 might come along ere and drop in casual-like! . . . 
 The unreliable swine!" 
 
 The light grew 7 less and less as the bearer of it 
 climbed the rude stairs, and finally vanished al 
 together. And as it disappeared Dollops clutched 
 Cleek s arm, his breath coming in little gasps.
 
 228 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 "The door, sir " he gasped. "If they close that, 
 we re Arid even as he spoke there came a 
 
 sound of sliding bolts and a thump which told the 
 truth only too well. 
 
 "Did you ear, sir?" he almost moaned. 
 
 The trap door had been closed.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 IX THE DARK 
 
 jETTER men than they might have quailed 
 in such a predicament. Here they were, at 
 ten o clock at night, shut in an underground 
 passage that led heaven only knew where, and with, 
 to say the least of it, small chance of escape. They 
 might stay there all night, but the morning would 
 probably bring release and discovery. It was a 
 combination which brought to them very mixed 
 emotions. 
 
 Black Whiskers, should he be their rescuer might 
 at once assume an entirely different role would 
 most likely do so, in fact. There was a grim ele 
 ment in this game of chance which they would just 
 as soon had been absent. 
 
 Well, here they were, and the next thing would be 
 to try their hands at escape on their own account. 
 Perhaps the trap-door hadn t been tightly fastened 
 down. It was a chance, of course. 
 
 "We ll try the trap-door end first, lad," said Cleek. 
 "If that doesn t work we ll have a go at the other, but 
 somehow you must get to the docks by midnight. 
 You may learn the whole secret there, and it would 
 
 229
 
 230 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 be the worst luck in the world if you missed the 
 chance; you mustn t. Come on." 
 
 "I seconds that motion," threw in Dollops, though 
 in a somewhat forlorn voice. "I kin just imagine 
 what it must be like to be a ghost tied up in a fambly 
 vault, an it fills me with a feelin of sympathy for 
 them creeturs wot I never felt before. Like a bloom 
 ing messlinoleum this is!" 
 
 "Mausoleum, you grammatical wonder!" re 
 sponded Cleek, and even in his anxiety he could not 
 refrain from a laugh. 
 
 "Well, mausoleum or muskiloleum makes no 
 difference to me, sir. What I wants ter know is 
 ow do we get out of this charmin little country seat? 
 Try the trap-door, you ses. Right you are!" 
 
 He was up the rough steps like a shot, forgetful of 
 the fact that, though the door might be closed, there 
 might also be others strolling along in that secluded 
 spot. Cleek came up now, behind him, and with a 
 caution of silence steadied himself upon the step be 
 low, and pressed his shoulder up against the heavy 
 door. He pushed and shoved with all his might, 
 while Dollops aided with every ounce of strength in 
 his young body. 
 
 The door responded not one whit. Black Whiskers 
 had done his work well and thoroughly, possibly as an 
 object-lesson to the absent Jenkins. And Jenkins, 
 by the way, was the name of Cleek s new-found 
 friend of the factory. H m. That was cause for
 
 In the Dark 231 
 
 thought. Then Jenkins was more "in the know" than 
 he had given him credit for. Possibly Black Whis 
 kers knew already of their conversation at dinner 
 time. He d have to close down on that source of 
 information, at any rate if they ever got out of this 
 business alive. 
 
 These thoughts passed through Cleek s brain even 
 while his shoulders and his strength were at work 
 upon the unresponsive door. Only failure marked 
 their efforts. At last, breathless and exhausted from 
 the strain, Cleek descended the steps again. He 
 listened, and, hearing nothing, signalled Dollops to 
 follow him. 
 
 "They must have got in somewhere, and here s 
 hoping it wasn t through this trap-door," he said 
 evenly. "We ll see about it anyway. Unless they 
 were as careful with the door at the other end. It s 
 a sporting chance, Dollops my lad, and we ve got to 
 take it. I ll use my torch unless we hear anything. 
 Then we ll have to trust to luck. Heaven alone 
 knows how far this blessed affair runs on. We ll 
 reach London soon, if we go on like this!" 
 
 "Yus, and find ourselves in Mr. Narkom s office, 
 a-burrowin under is Tghness desk!" finished 
 Dollops, with a little giggle of amusement. "And 
 e wouldn t arf be astonished, would e, sir? . . . 
 Crumbs ! but the chaps wot made this bloomin tube 
 did their job fair, didn t they? It goes on for 
 ever. . . . Whew! I m winded already."
 
 232 Tfie Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 "Then what you ll be by the end of this affair, 
 goodness knows, my lad!" responded Cleek, over his 
 shoulder. He was pressing on, hugging the wall, his 
 eyes peering into the gloom ahead. "It seems to be 
 continuing for some time. Hello ! here s a turning, 
 and the question is, shall we go straight on, or turn?" 
 
 "Seems as if them two blighters came round a 
 turnin , judging from the nearness of their voices, 
 sir," said Dollops, with entire sense. 
 
 Cleek nodded. 
 
 "You re right. . . . More sacks. If I wasn t 
 so anxious to get out of this place so that you 
 shouldn t be late for your appointment with our 
 friend Black Whiskers, I d chance my luck and have 
 a look what was in em. But there s no time now. 
 We don t know how long this peculiar journey of 
 ours is going to last." 
 
 They pressed on steadily along the rough, rmk-ly 
 made floor, on and on and on, the little torch showing 
 always the few feet in front of them, to safeguard 
 them against any pitfalls that might be laid for the 
 unwary traveller. It seemed hours that. Ihey walked 
 thus, and their wonder at the elaborateness of this 
 extraordinary tunnel system grew. There were 
 turnings every now and again, passageways branch 
 ing off from the main one in to other patches of un 
 broken gloom. And it was a t icklish job at. best . At 
 any moment someone might round the next corner 
 and come upon them, and then the game would be
 
 In the Dark 233 
 
 up with a vengeance. At Dollops s suggestion they 
 followed always the turnings upon the right. 
 
 "Always keep to the right, sir, and you ll never go 
 far wrong that s what they teaches you in Lunnon. 
 An that s what I always follows. It s no use gittin 
 lost. So best make a set rule and foller it." 
 
 "Well, at any rate there s no harm in doing so," 
 responded Cleek a little glumly. "We don t know 
 the way out and we might as well try one plan as 
 another. Seems pretty well closed up for the night, 
 doesn t it? It certainly is a passage and if the door at 
 the other end is impassable after all this wandering, 
 I ll, I ll I don t know." 
 
 "Carn t do no good by worritin , sir. Just ave to 
 carry on that s all we kin do," responded Dollops, 
 with some effort at comfort. There s summink in 
 front of us now. Looks like the end of the blinkin 
 cage , don t it? Better investigate afore we it it too 
 hard, sir." 
 
 "You re right, Dollops." 
 
 Cleek stepped cautiously forward into the gloom, 
 lighting it up as he progressed, the rays of his tiny 
 torch always some five feet ahead of him. And the 
 end it proved to be, in every sense of the word. For 
 here, leading upward as the other had done, was a 
 similar little flight of clay -hewn steps, while at the 
 top of them Cleek gave a long sigh of relief showed 
 a square of indigo, a couple of stars and escape at 
 last.
 
 234 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 "Thank God!" murmured Cleek, as they mounted 
 the rough steps and came out into the open air, with 
 the free sky above them and a fine wind blowing that 
 soon dispelled the effects of their underground 
 journey. "Gad! it s good to smell the fresh air 
 again eh, Dollops? Where on earth are we? I 
 say look over there, will you?" 
 
 Dollops looked; then gasped in wonder, astonish 
 ment, and considerable awe. 
 
 "The Flames, guv nor the blinkin Frozen 
 Flames!" 
 
 Cleek laughed. 
 
 "Yes. The Flames all right, Dollops. And nearer 
 than we ve seen em, too! We must be right in 
 the middle of the Fens, from the appearance of 
 those lights, so, all told, we ve done a mil ,? or more 
 underground, which isn t so bad, my lad, wh^n you 
 come to look at the time." He brought out his 
 watch and surveyed it in the moonlight. "Il in. 
 Ten past eleven. You ll have to look sharp, boy, if 
 you re to get to the docks by twelve. We ve a good 
 four miles walk ahead of us, and what was- that?" 
 
 "That" was the sound of a man s feet coming 
 swiftly toward them; they had one second to act, 
 and flight over this marshy ground, filled with pit holes 
 as it was, was impossible. No; the best plan was to 
 stay where they were and chance it. 
 
 "Talk, boy talk" whispered Cleek, and began a 
 hasty conversation in a high-pitched, cockney voice,
 
 In the Dark 235 
 
 to which Dollops bravely made answer in the best 
 tone he could muster under the circumstances. 
 
 Then a voice snapped out at them across the small 
 distance that separated them from the unseen 
 stranger, and they stiffened instinctively. 
 
 "What the hell are you doing here?" it called. 
 "Don t you know that it s not safe to be in this dis 
 trict after nightfall? And if you don t well, a 
 pocketful of lead will perhaps convince you!" 
 
 From the darkness ahead of them a figure followed 
 the voice. Cleek could dimly discern a tall, slouchy- 
 sho,adered man, clad in overalls, with a cap pulled 
 down close over his eyes, and in the grasp of his right 
 hand a very businesslike-looking revolver. 
 
 Cleek thought for a moment, then plunged bravely 
 in. 
 
 "Come up from the passage, sir," he responded 
 curtly. "Loadin up ternight, and some fool locked 
 t other end before me and my mate ere ad finished 
 our work. Ad to come along this w y, or else spend 
 the rest of the night dahn there, and we re due for 
 loadin the stuff at the docks at midnight. Master ll 
 be devilish mad if e finds us missin ." 
 
 It was a chance shot, but somehow chance often 
 favours the brave. It told. The man lowered his 
 revolver, gave them a quick glance from head to toe, 
 and then swung upon his heel. 
 
 "Well, better clear out while there s no danger," 
 he returned sharply. "Two other men are on the
 
 236 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 watch-out for strangers. Take that short cut 
 there" he pointed to the left "and skirt round to 
 the road. Quarter of a mile ll bring you. Chaps at 
 your end ought to see to it that none of the special 
 hands stray up this way. It s not safe. Good 
 night." 
 
 " Good-night," responded Cleek cheerily. : Thank 
 you, sir;" and, taking Dollops s arm, swung of? in I he 
 direction indicated, just as quick as his feet could 
 carry him. 
 
 They walked in silence for a time, their feet making 
 no sound in the marshy ground, when they were well 
 out of earshot Cleek spoke in a low tone. 
 
 "Narrow shave, Dollops!" 
 
 "It was that, sir. I could fair feel the razor 
 aclippin a bit off me chin, so ter speak. Avin .some 
 nice adventures this night, ain t we, guv nor?" 
 
 "We certainly are." Cleek s voice was absent- 
 minded, for his thoughts were working, and already 
 he was beginning to tie the broken threads of Hie 
 skein that he had gathered into a rough cord, with 
 here and there a gap that must and should be 
 filled. It was strange enough, in all conscience. 
 Here were these underground tunnels leading, "if 
 you kept to the right," from a field out Saltfleet way, 
 to the very heart of the Fens themselves. And what 
 went on here in these uninhabited reaches of the 
 marshland? Nothing that could be seen by day 
 light, for he had traversed every step of them, and
 
 In the Dark 237 
 
 gained no information for his pains. Therefore 
 there could be no machinery, or anything of that sort. 
 II in. It was a bit of a facer, true; but of one thing 
 he was certain. Somehow, in some way, the Frozen 
 Flames played their part. That factory at Salt fleet 
 and the fishing boats and the Fens were all linked 
 up in one inexplicable chain, if one could only find the 
 key that unlocked it. And what was a man doing 
 oui: there at night, with a revolver? What business 
 was he up to? And he had said there were two others 
 on the look-out, as well. 
 
 C v ek pulled out a little blackened clay pipe, which 
 was part of his make-up as Bill Jones, and, plugging 
 it with tobacco, began to smoke steadily. Dollops, 
 casting a sideways glance at his master, knew what 
 this sign meant, and spoke never a word, until they 
 had left the Fens far behind them and were well 
 on their way toward the docks, and the "appoint 
 ment" with Black Whiskers at twelve o clock. Then : 
 
 "Notice anything, Dollops?" Cleek asked, slewing 
 round and looking at the boy quizzically. 
 
 "How do you mean, sir?" 
 
 "Why, when you got to the top of those little steps 
 and came out into the Fens." 
 
 "Only the Frozen Flames, sir. Why?" 
 
 "Oh, nothing. It ll keep. Just a little thing I 
 saw that led me a long way upon the road I m trying 
 to travel. You ll hear about it later. Time s getting 
 on, Dollops, my lad. You re due with your friend
 
 238 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 Black Whiskers in another ten minutes and we re 
 about that from the dockyard. Wonder if there d 
 be any chance of me lending a hand?" 
 
 Dollops thought a moment. 
 
 "You might try, sir twould do no arm, anyway," 
 he said after a pause. "Pertickler as you re my 
 mate, so ter speak. Ought ter be able to work it, 
 I should think, . . . Look. Who s a-comin 
 now? If it ain t ole Black Whiskers im.self!" 
 
 And Black Whiskers it was, to be sure. He 
 lounged up to them, hands in pockets, hat pulled 
 well down over his eyes, a sinister, ugly figure. lie 
 had an "air" and it was by no means a pleasant one. 
 
 "Hullo, youngster!" he called out in a harsh voice. 
 "Been seem the country eh? Better fer you and 
 yer mate if yer keeps yer eyes well on the ground in 
 this part uv the world. Never meddle in someone 
 else s business. It don t pay." His voice lowered 
 suddenly, and he jerked a thumb back over his 
 shoulder. "Mate on the square with you, I s pose? 
 Comin along now?" 
 
 "Bet yer life I am!" responded Dollops heartily, 
 giving him a significant wink. "Course I ain t said 
 nuffin ter ole Bill abaht what you tole me, but I 
 know Vs a cute un. No flies on ole Bill, guv nor, 
 give yer me oath on that. What abaht it, now? 
 Shall us bring him along too? Just as you ses, 
 guv nor, seein as you re the boss, but Vs a strong 
 fellow is my mate and is mouth s like a trap."
 
 In the Dark 239 
 
 Black Whiskers switched round in his slouchy 
 walk, where he had fallen in step beside Dollops, 
 leaving Cleek on the boy s right hand, and gave the 
 mate" a searching look under black brows. In the 
 darkness, with just a thread of moonlight to make 
 patterns upon the black waters and etch out the out 
 line of mast and funnel and hull against the indigo, 
 Cleek recognized that look, and set his mouth grimly. 
 He d seen it once before, upon that night, when this 
 man had stolen into his room and tried to knife him. 
 
 "Where re you oft to, matey? With all your fine 
 secrets? I d like to know!" he said jokingly, digging 
 Dollops in the ribs, and giving a loud guffaw. "Some 
 girl, I suppose." 
 
 "Somethin uv more account than women, I kin 
 tell ye!" threw in Black Whiskers roughly. " E s 
 going ter help me with a little work overtime is 
 what e ll get fer it. If yer willin ter lend a and, 
 overtime you ll get, too. But you ll keep yer mouth 
 shut, or clear. One or t other. It s up ter you ter 
 choose." 
 
 Cleek laughed. 
 
 "Call me a fool, matey but not a damned fool!" 
 he said pleasantly. "Bill Jones knows what side is 
 bread s buttered on, I kin tell yer! Soft job like this 
 one wot we ve nicked on ter ain t goin ter slip 
 through is fingers fer a little tongue- waggin . I m 
 on, mate." 
 
 "Righto."
 
 240 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 "What s the job?" 
 
 "Loadin up boats for cargo." 
 "Oh! . . . Contraband, eh, matey?" 
 "That s none uv yer business, my man, and as long 
 as yon remembers that, you ll old yer job; no more, 
 no less." 
 
 "Beg pardon, I m sure. But I bin in the same sort 
 uv thing meself out in Jamaica. Used ter smuggle 
 things through the customs. Nifty business it were, 
 too, and I almost got caught twice. But I slipped it 
 somehow. Just loadin is our game, then?" 
 
 "Jivl loadin / responded Black Whiskers sig 
 nificantly. "Ere we are. Now then, get ter work. 
 See them tubings over there? Well, they ve got to 
 be carried over to that fishin -smack drawn up against 
 the dock. There s six of em goin tcrnight, and 
 we ve got ter be quick. Ain t as easy as it looks, 
 mate, but that s not your business neither. Get 
 ter work!" 
 
 They got to work forthwith, and turned to the 
 pile of electrical tubings which was built up against 
 the side of the dock wall, twice as high as a man s 
 head. A pale lantern swung from the edge of the 
 same wall, above them, hanging suspended from a 
 nail; another hung on the opposite side from a post. 
 By the light of these two lamps they could see a knot 
 of men assembled in the centre of the dockyard, 
 talking together in low whispers, while down below, 
 at the water s edge, rocked a fleet of fishing boats
 
 1 7i the Dark 241 
 
 awaiting their mysterious cargo. One could hear 
 the men stirring restlessly and shifting sail as they 
 waited for the task to begin. 
 
 Then the word was given in a low, vibrant voice, 
 and they went to work. 
 
 "Easy job this, matey," whispered Dollops as he 
 and Cleek advanced upon the stack of tubings and 
 each started to lift one down. "I . . . Gawd s 
 truf ! ain *t it eavy! Lorlumme! Now, w r hat in 
 blazes ?" 
 
 Cleek put up a warning finger, and shouldered the 
 thing. Heavy it certainly was, though of such fine 
 metal that its weight seemed incredible. And when 
 one knew that these things carried electric 
 wiring. . . . Or did they? . . . Never was 
 made an electric wire that was as heavy as that. 
 
 Cleek carried one 1 of these tubings to the dock s 
 edge, with the aid of Dollops handed it over into 
 the hands that were outstretched to receive it, and 
 went back for another one. Back and forth and 
 back and forth they went, lifting, carrying, delivering, 
 until one boat was loaded, and another one hove into 
 sight in its place. He watched the first one s slow 
 progress out across the murky waters for a moment, 
 making a pretense of mopping his forehead with his 
 handkerchief meanwhile. It was loaded below the 
 water-mark! It hung so low in the water that it 
 looked a mere smudge upon the face of it, a ribbon of 
 sail flapping from its slender mast.
 
 242 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 Electrical tubings, eh? Faugh! a pretty story 
 that. . . . 
 
 Two boats were filled, three, four. ... A 
 fifth came riding up under the very nose of the last, 
 and settled itself with a rattle of chains and bumping 
 of sides against, the quay. That, too, was loaded to 
 its very edge, and took its way slowly out beneath 
 their eyes. The sixth took its place after its 
 fellows. 
 
 For a moment or two the sweating men ceased in 
 their work, and stood wiping their faces or leaning 
 against the dock wall, talking in low whispers. 
 
 Cleek and Dollops stood at the quayside, listening 
 to the water lapping against the iron girders, and 
 straining their eyes to catch a last glimpse of the 
 fleet of fishing boats. Of a sudden from out the 
 blackness others appeared. Old Black Whiskers 
 gave a muttered order, and like a well-drilled army 
 the men were ready again, this time flocking to the 
 side of the quay as the boats rode up, and waiting for 
 them, empty-handed. Cleek turned to the nearest 
 one, and spoke in a low-toned voice. 
 
 "What now, matey? I m new at this gyme." 
 
 "Oh unloadin . Usual thing. Faulty gang. . 
 Don t never seem as though the factory kin get the 
 proper gauge fer those tubin s. All the time I bin 
 ere nigh on to two years it s bin the same. 
 Every lot goes out, some comes back again with a 
 complaint. Funny thing, ain t it?"
 
 In tlie Dark 243 
 
 "Yus," responded Oleek shortly. "Damn 
 funny." It certainly was. Unless ... he 
 sucked in his breath and his lips pursed themselves 
 up to whistle. But no sound came. 
 
 And the work of unloading began.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 THE WEB OF CIRCUMSTANCE 
 
 iOR a few days there was no more overtime 
 to be earned by Cleek or Dollops, so that 
 they were free to spend their evening as they 
 wished, and though the "Pig and Whistle" got its fair 
 share of their time for the sake of appearances- 
 there were long hours afterward, between the tasi. 
 tattered remnants of the night and the day s dawning, 
 when they did a vast amount of exploration. 
 
 That they made good use of this time was proved 
 by the little note-book that rested in Clock s pocket, 
 and in which a rough chart of the country and the 
 docks was drawn though there were still some 
 blanks to be filled in while opposite it was a rude 
 outline of the secret passage into which tlu-y had 
 blundered three nights before. 
 
 "Got to explore that hole from end to end, Dol 
 lops," said Cleek on the fourth evening, as they 
 struck off together toward that gap in the hedge, 
 soon after the clock in the village had chimed out ten, 
 and the little bar of the "Pig and "Whistle" was slowly 
 emptying itself of its habitues, "I ve the main route 
 fairly correct, I think, and a rough idea of where 
 
 244
 
 The Web of Circumstance 245 
 
 those sacks stood, and where we took to cover when 
 Black Whiskers was showing the master of this under 
 world domain through it. Happen to have learnt the 
 chap s name yet?" 
 
 Dollops nodded. 
 
 " Yessir. Brent it is, Jonathan Brent, or so one of 
 the men tells me. Says he s never seed ini, though; 
 nobody ardly ever does, from all accounts e give 
 me. Ole Black Whiskers and our silent-footed friend 
 Borkins is the main ones wot does is work for im." 
 
 "H m. Well, that s something gleaned, anyway. 
 Of course we may be able to find out who he really is, 
 but the chances are small. Men like this chap don t 
 go giving away anything more than they can help. 
 They lie low and let their paid underlings stand 
 the racket if it happens to come along. I kno\v 
 the type. I ve come cross it before. Well, here we 
 are. Now for it but this time I happen to have 
 brought along a revolver." 
 
 lie crept through the hedge and crouching behind 
 it ran to the spot where they had found the open 
 trap-door upon that memorable occasion three 
 nights before. There was nothing to be seen. The 
 ground presented an absolutely unbroken appearance, 
 so far as they could make out in the moon s rays. 
 
 "Clever devils!" snapped out Cleek, in angry 
 tribute. "We ll have to use artificial light after all; 
 but keep your torch light on the ground. It won t do 
 for any one to spot us just now."
 
 246 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 For perhaps a moment or two they explored the 
 ground inch by inch, crawling round in the long 
 grass upon their hands and knees, until a little tuft 
 of brow r n earth sticking up through a piece of turf, 
 like the upturned corner of a rug, showed them what 
 they were looking for. With infinite care Clock 
 lifted up the square of turf and set it upon one side. 
 The sight of the flat dark surface of the trap-door 
 rewarded them. He ran his fingers along the two 
 sides of it, and discovered a bolt, shot this, and then 
 catching the iron ring once more in his hands, swung 
 the top upward and laid it back upon the grass. 
 
 A minute more found them once more in the 
 cavernous, breathless depths. Cleek handed the 
 torch to Dollops. 
 
 "You hold that while I do a bit of sketching," he 
 said, fidgeting in his coat-pocket for his fountain-pen. 
 He then snapped open the flap of the note-book and 
 began to sketch rapidly as they moved forward. 
 Cleek was an adept in drawing to scale. The 
 thing took shape as they continued their progress, 
 keeping this time to the left instead of to the right. 
 Cleek paced off the distance and slopped every 
 now and then to check up results. 
 
 The place was as silent as the grave. Obviously no 
 one was about here upon these nights when there 
 was no loading and unloading going on. In that, at 
 least, chance had been a good friend to them. They 
 were going io make the most of it. Through little
 
 The Web of Circumstance 247 
 
 runways, narrower than the main route, and so low 
 that they had to bend their necks to get along in 
 safety, they went, measuring and examining. Every 
 few yards or so they w r ould come upon another little 
 niche, stacked high with sacks of a similar hardness 
 to those others back there at the beginning of their 
 journey. Cleek prodded one with his finger hesita 
 ted, then slipping out a penknife, slit a fragment of 
 the coarse sacking and inserted his thumb. . . 
 
 He pulled it out with a look of astonishment upon 
 his face. 
 
 Hello, hello!" he exclaimed. "So that s it, is it? 
 Gad! This is the approved hiding-place! Then 
 those tubings Dollops, just a little more of this 
 wearisome search, just a few telephone calls to be 
 made, and I belieive I shall have untied at least one 
 part of this strange riddle. And when that knot is 
 unfastened, it will surely lead me to the rest. . . . 
 Go on, boy." 
 
 They went on, stepping carefully, and hesitating 
 now and again to listen for any sound of alien foot 
 steps. But the place might have been the grave for 
 any sign of human habitation that there was. They 
 had it to themselves that night, and made the most of 
 it. 
 
 For some time they walked on, taking the road 
 that most appealed to them, and in the maze must 
 surely have retraced their own footsteps. Of a sud 
 den, however, they broke into a sort of rough stone
 
 248 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 passage, with concrete floor that ran on for a few 
 yards and ended at. a flight of well-made stone steps, 
 above which was a square of polished oak, worm- 
 eaten, heavily-carved, and surely not of this gen 
 eration s make or structure. 
 
 "Now, what the dickens. . . . ?" began deck, 
 and stopped,. 
 
 Dollops surveyed it with his head on one side. 
 
 "Seems ter me, sir," he began, after a pause, 
 "that this yere s the gcnuyne article. "One of them 
 old passages what people like King Charles and 
 Bloody Mary an a few other of them celebrities you 
 sees at Madame Tussord s any day in the week, 
 used to ide in when things were a-gettin too Vt for 
 em. That s what this is." 
 
 "Your history s a bit rocky, but your ideas are all 
 right," returned Cleek with a little smile, as he stood 
 looking up at the square of black oak above them.. 
 "I believe you re right. Dollops. It must have 
 given the later arrivals a big start in that tunnelling 
 business, or else they ve been at it, or both. There 
 must be years work in this system of passageways. 
 It is marvelous. But if it s a genuine old secret pas 
 sage, those stairs will probably lead up into a house, 
 and let s try em. If the house they lead into is 
 the one I think it is . . . Well, we ll be un 
 ravelling the rest of this riddle before the night is on I !" 
 
 So saying, he fairly leapt up the little flight of 
 stone stairs, and then let his fingers glide over the
 
 The Web of Circumstance 249 
 
 smooth polished face of the oak door, pushing, prob 
 ing, pressing it, a frown puckering his brows. 
 
 "If this is a genuine old secret hiding-place," 
 he remarked, "then according to all the rules of the 
 game there ought to be some sort of a spring this side 
 to open it, so that the hidden man might be able to 
 gel out again when he wanted to. But where? 
 Faugh! My fingers must be losing their cunning, 
 and Ah, here it is! Bit of wood gives way here, 
 Dollops. Just a gentle pressure, and here we are!" 
 
 And here they were, indeed, for as he spoke, the 
 door slid back into the flooring out of sight, and they 
 found themselves looking up into a room which was 
 lighted by a single gas-jet, which barely illumined 
 it, but which, when Cleek poked his head up above 
 the flooring and took a casual survey of the place 
 proved to be no less a place than the back kitchen of 
 Merriton Towers ! 
 
 He brought his head down again with a jerk, 
 touched the spring in the edge of oak -panelling at 
 the left of him, and let the door swing back across the 
 opening once more; and not till it had slipped into 
 place with a little click did he turn upon Dollops. 
 
 "Merriton Toicers!" he ejaculated finally. "Mer 
 riton Towers! Now, if young Merriton really is a 
 a party to this thing that is going on down here in 
 the bowels of the earth, why Dash it, it s going to 
 prove an even worse case against him than we knew! 
 A chap who plays an underhanded game like this
 
 250 Tlie Riddle of the Frozen Flaine 
 
 doesn t niind what lie walks over to attain his ends. 
 But . . . Merriton Towers . . . !" 
 
 He stopped speaking suddenly, sucked in his 
 breath, his face turned very grim. Dollops broke 
 the silence that fell, a tremour of excitement in his 
 low-pitched voice. 
 
 " Yus but it s the back-kitchen, sir," he threw out 
 eagerly, like all the rest of them anxious if possible 
 to shield the man who seemed to have won so many 
 hearts. "And the back-kitchen don t spell Sir 
 Nigel, sir. It s Borkins wot s at the bottom of that. 
 and 
 
 "Maybe, maybe," interposed (leek, a trifle hastily, 
 but the grim look did not leave his face. "But if 
 anything as curious as all this affair turns up in the 
 evidence it won t help the boy any, that is a certainty. 
 . . . Merriton Towers!" 
 
 He swung upon his heel and quickly retraced his 
 steps, until the little stone passageway was left be 
 hind them, and a few feet ahead loomed up another 
 of those queer turnings, which led who knew 
 where? 
 
 "We ll take it on chance," said ("leek as they 
 paused, while he marked it in his chart, "and follow 
 our noses. But I confess I ve had a shock. I never 
 thought never even dreamt of Merriton Towers 
 being connected with this smuggling or, whatever it 
 is, Dollops! And if I hadn t been down in that very 
 kitchen upon a voyage of discovery the other day,
 
 The Web of Circumstance 251 
 
 I d have had more reason to disbelieve the evi 
 dence of ray own eyes. The light was on, too. 
 Lucky for us we didn t pop our heads up at the 
 moment when someone was there. But then the 
 .servants are all gone. Borkins is keeping the house 
 open until after the trial. So it w r as Borkins who 
 was using that light, that s pretty obvious; and our 
 necks have been spared by an inch or two less than 
 1 had imagined. We must hurry; time s short, 
 and there s a good deal to be got through this night, 
 I can tell you!" 
 
 "Y^ssir." said Dollops, not knowing what else 
 to say, for Cleek was keeping up a sort of running 
 monologue of his ideas of the case. "Don t think 
 much uv this ere passage, anyway, do you?" 
 
 "No narrower than the rest. But it may end 
 just where we want to go. Journeys end in lovers 
 meetings the poet sings, but not this land of a 
 journey no, not exactly. We ll find the hang 
 man s rope at the end of this riddle, Dollops, or I m 
 very much mistaken; and I ve an uncomfortable 
 idea as to who will swing in the noose." 
 
 For some time after that they pressed on in silence. 
 Here and there along the passage the walls opened 
 out suddenly into little cut-out places filled as ever 
 with their built-up sacks. Each time Clcek passed 
 them he chuckled aloud, and then once more his 
 face would become grim. For some moments they 
 groped along in the gloom, their heads bent, to
 
 Tlie Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 prevent them bumping the low mud ceiling, their 
 lips silent, but in the hearts of each a sort of dull 
 dread. Merriton Towers! Borkins, perhaps. But 
 what if Borkins and Merriton had been working 
 hand-in-glove, and then, somehow or other, had had 
 a split? That would account for a good deal, and 
 in particular the man s attitude toward his master. 
 Cleek s brain ran on ahead of his feet, his 
 brows drew themselves into a knot, his mouth was 
 like a thin line of crimson in the granite-like mask 
 of his face. 
 
 Of a sudden he stopped and pointed ahead of him. 
 Still another flight of stairs met their eyes, but they 
 were of newer, more recent make, and composed of 
 common deal, unvarnished and mudstained with the 
 marks of many feet up and down their surface. 
 
 Cleek drew a deep breath, and his face relaxed. 
 
 "The end of the journey, Dollops," he said softly. 
 
 Then, without more ado, he mounted the stairs, 
 and laid his shoulder to the heavy door.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 JUSTICE AND JUSTIFICATION 
 
 THE court room was crowded on every side. 
 There was barely space for another person 
 to enter in comfort, and when the news went 
 round in the street that Sir Nigel Merriton, late of 
 the army, was being tried for his life, and that things 
 were going pretty black against him, all London 
 seemed to turn out with a morbid curiosity to hear 
 the sentence of death passed. 
 
 Petrie, stationed at the door, spent most of his 
 time waving a white-gloved hand, and shaking his 
 head until he felt that it would shortly tumble off 
 his neck and r.oll away upon the pavement. Mr., 
 Narkom had given him instructions that if any one 
 of "any importance in the affair in question" should 
 turn up, he was to admit him, but to be adamant in 
 every other case. And so the queue of morbid- 
 minded women and idle men grew long and longer, 
 and the clamour louder and louder, until the tempers 
 of the police on guard grew very short, and the 
 crowd was handled more and more firmly. 
 
 The effect of this began to tell. Slowly it thinned 
 out and the people turned once more into the Strand P . 
 
 253
 
 2,34 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 sauntering along with their heads half the time over 
 their shoulders, while Petrie stood and mopped his 
 face and wondered what had become of Mr. Cleek, 
 or if he had turned up in one of his many aliases, and 
 he hadn t recognized him. 
 
 "Like as not that s what s happened," he told 
 himself, stuffing his thumbs into his policeman s belt 
 and setting his feet apart. "But what gets over 
 me is, not a slight ave I seen of young Dollops. And 
 where Mr. Cleek is. . . . Well, that there 
 young feller is bound to be, too. Case is drawin 
 to a close, I reckon, by this time. I wouldn t be in 
 that young lord s shoes!" 
 
 He shook his head at the thought, and fell to con 
 sidering the matter and in a most sympathetic frame 
 of mind if the truth be told. 
 
 Ilalf-an-hour passed, another sped by. The crowd 
 now worried him very little, and judging from one 
 or two folk that drifted out of the court room, with 
 rather pale faces and set mouths, as though they had 
 heard something that sickened them, and were 
 going to be out of it before the end came, Petrie began 
 to think that that end was approaching very near. 
 
 And he hadn t seen Mr. Cleek go into the place, 
 or Dollops either! Funny thing that. In his phone 
 message that morning, Mr. Cleek had said he would 
 be at the court sharp at one, and it was half-past two 
 now. Well, he was sorry the guv nor hadn t turned 
 up in time. He d be disappointed, no doubt, and
 
 Justice and Justification 255 
 
 Jw >.- " " * ; 
 
 after all the telephoning and hunting up of direc 
 tories that he himself had done personally that very 
 morning, Mr. Cleek would be feeling rather "off rt" 
 if he turned up too late. 
 
 Petrie took a few steps up and down, and his eyes 
 roamed the Strand leisurely. He came to a sudden 
 halt, as a red limousine the red limousine he knew 
 so well whirled up to the pavement s edge, stopped 
 in front of him with a grinding of brakes, a door 
 flashed open, and he heard the sound of a sharp order 
 given in that one unmistakable voice. Mr. ("leek was 
 there, followed by Dollops, close at his heels, mid 
 looking as though they had torn through hell itself to 
 get there in time. 
 
 Petrie took a hurried step forward and swung back 
 the big iron gate still farther. 
 
 "In time, Petrie?" fleck asked breathlessly. 
 
 "Just about, sir. Near shave, though, from what 
 I see of the people a-comin out. Eard the case ad 
 gone against Sir Nigel, sir poor chap. Ere, you, 
 Dollops 
 
 But Dollops was gone in his master s wake, in his 
 arms a huge, ungainly bundle that looked like a 
 stove-pipe wrapped up in brown paper, gone through 
 the court-room door, without so much as passing the 
 time of day with an old pal. Petrie felt distinctly 
 hurt about it, and sauntered back to his place with 
 his smile gone, while Cleek, hurrying through the 
 crowded court room and passing, by the sheer power
 
 256 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 of his name, the various court officials who would 
 have stopped him, stopped only as he reached the 
 space before the judge s bench. Already the jury 
 were filing in, one by one, and taking their seats. 
 The black cap lay beside Mr. Justice Grainger s 
 spectacles, a sinister emblem, having its response in 
 the white-faced man who stood in the dock, awaiting 
 t.he verdict upon his life. 
 
 Cleek saw it all in one glance, and then spoke. 
 
 "Your Lordship," he said, addressing the judge, 
 who looked at him with raised eyebrows, "may I 
 address the court?" The barristers arose, scan 
 dalized at the interruption, knowing not whether 
 advantage for prosecution or defence lay in w r hat 
 this man had to say. The clerk of the court stood 
 aghast ready to order the court officers to eject the 
 interloper who dared interrupt the course of the 
 majestic law. All stood poised for a breathless 
 moment, held in check by the power of the man 
 Cleek, or by uncertainty as to the action of the judge. 
 
 A tense pause, and then the court broke the 
 silence, "You may speak." 
 
 "Your Lordship, may it please the court," said 
 Cleek, "I have evidence here which w r ill save this 
 man s life. Idemand to show it to the court." 
 
 The barristers, held in check by the stern practice 
 of the English law, which, unlike American practice 
 does not allow counsel to becloud the issue wilh 
 objection and technical argument, remained motion-
 
 Justice and Justification 257 
 
 less. They knew Cleek, and knew that here was the 
 crisis of the case they had presented so learnedly. 
 
 "This is an unusual occurrence, sir," at last spoke 
 the judge, "and you are distinctly late. The jury 
 lias returned and the foreman is about to pronounce 
 the verdict. What is it you have to say, sir? " 
 
 "Your Lordship, it is simply this." Cleek threw 
 back his head. "The prisoner at bar lie 
 pointed to Merriton. who at the first sound o1 
 Cleek s voice had spun round, a sudden hope finding 
 birth in his dull eyes, " is innocent! I have absolute 
 proof. Also lie switched round upon his heel 
 and surveyed the court room, "I beg of your Lord 
 ship that you will immediately give orders for no 
 person to leave this court. The instigator of the 
 crime is before my eyes. Perhaps you do not know 
 me, but I have been at work upon this case for some 
 time, and am a colleague of Mr. Narkom of Scotland 
 Yard. My name is Cleek Hamilton Cleek. T 
 have your permission to continue?" 
 
 A murmur went up round the crowded court room. 
 The judge nodded. He needed no introduction to 
 Cleek. 
 
 "The gentlemen of the jury will be seated," 
 declared the court, "the clerk will call Hamilton 
 Cleek as a witness." 
 
 This formality accomplished, the judge indicated 
 that he, himself, would question this crucial eleventh- 
 hour witness.
 
 258 Tlie Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 "Mr. Cleek," he began, "you say this man is 
 innocent. We will hear your story." 
 
 Cleek motioned to Dollops, who stood at the back 
 of the court, and instantly the lad pushed his way 
 through the crowd to his master s side, carrying the 
 long, ungainly burden in his arms. Meanwhile, at 
 the back of the room a commotion had occurred. 
 The magic name of that most magical of men- 
 Hamilton Cleek, detective had wrought what 
 (leek had known it would. Someone was pushing 
 for the door with all the strength that was in him, 
 but already the key had turned, and Hammond, as 
 guardian, held up his hand. 
 
 Cleek knew but for the time said nothing 
 and the crowd had hidden whoever it was from the 
 common view. He simply motioned Dollops to lay 
 his burden upon the table, and then spoke once more. 
 
 "M Lud," he said clearly, "may I ask a favour of 
 the court? I should be obliged if you would call 
 every witness in this matter here simultaneously. 
 Set them out in a row, if you will, but call them 
 now. . . . Thanks." 
 
 The judge motioned to the clerk, and through the 
 hushed silence of the court the dull voice droned out: 
 "Anthony West, William Borkins, Lester Stark, 
 Gustave Brellier, Miss Antoinette Brellier, Doctor 
 Bartholomew. . . ." And so on through the whole 
 list. As each name was called the owner of it came 
 forward and stood in front of the judge s high desk.
 
 Justice and Justification 259 
 
 "A most unusual proceeding, sir," said that 
 worthy, again settling the spectacles upon his nose 
 and frowning down at Cleek; "but, knowing who 
 you are " 
 
 "I appreciate you Lordship s kindness. Now 
 then, all there?" Cleek whirled suddenly, and 
 surveyed the strange line. "That s good. And at 
 least every one of them is here. No chance of 
 slipping away now. Now for it." 
 
 He turned back to the table with something of 
 suppressed eagerness in his movements, and a low 
 murmur of excitement went up round the crowded 
 courtroom. Rapidly he tore off the wrappings from 
 the long, snake-like bundle, and held one of the ob 
 jects up to view. 
 
 "Allow me to draw your attention to this," he 
 said, in a loud, clear voice, every note of which 
 carried to the back of the long room. "This, as you 
 possibly know, sir, is a piece of electric tubing made 
 for the express purpose of conveying safely delicate 
 electric wirings that are used for installations, so 
 that they may not be damaged in transit from the 
 factory to the agent who sells them. You would 
 like to see the wirings, I know For answer he 
 
 whipped open the joints of one of the tubes, set it 
 upon end, and from inside the narrow casing came 
 a perfect shower of golden sovereigns clattering to 
 the floor and across the table in front of the aston 
 ished clerk s eyes.
 
 260 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 The judge sat up suddenly and rubbed his eyes. 
 
 "God bless my soul!" he began, and then sub 
 sided into silence. The eyes of young Sir Nigel 
 Merriton nearly leapt from their sockets with aston 
 ishment; and every man in the crowd was gaping. 
 
 Cleek laughed. 
 
 Rather of a surprise, I must admit; isn t it?" he 
 said, with a slight shrug of the shoulders. "And no 
 doubt you re wondering what all this has to do with 
 the case in hand. Well, that ll come along all in 
 good time. Golden sovereigns, you see, carefully 
 stacked up to fill the little tubing to its capacity 
 and thousands of eni done the same, too! There s 
 a perfect fortune down there in that factory a I 
 Saltfleet! Mr. Narkom," he turned round and 
 surveyed the Superintendent with mirthful eyes, 
 * what about these bank robberies now, eh? I told 
 you something would crop up. You see it has. 
 We ve discovered the hiding-place of the gold and 
 the prime leader in the whole distressing affair. 
 The rest ought to be easy." He whipped round 
 suddenly toward the line of witnesses, letting his 
 eyes travel over each face in turn; past Tony West s 
 reddened countenance, past Dr. Bartholomew s 
 pale intensity, past Borkins, standing very straight 
 and white and frightened-looking. Then, of a sud 
 den he leapt forward, his hand clamped down upon 
 someone s shoulder, and his voice exclaimed trium 
 phantly :
 
 Justice and Justification 281 
 
 "And here the beauty is! * 
 
 Then, before the astonished eyes of the crowd of 
 spectators stood Mr. Gustavc Brellier, writhing and 
 twisting in the clutch of the firm fingers and spitting 
 forth fury in a Flemish patois that would have 
 struck Cleek dead on the spot if words could kill. 
 
 A sudden din arose. People pressed forward, the 
 better to see and hear, exclaiming loudly, condemn 
 ing, criticising. The judge s frail old hand brought 
 silence at last, and Antoinette Brellier came forward 
 from her place and clutched Cleek by the arm. 
 
 It cannot be, Mr. -deck!" she said piteously. 
 1 tell you my uncle is the best of men, truly! He 
 could never have done this thing that you accuse him 
 of and 
 
 "And the worst of devils! That I can thoroughly 
 endorse, my dear young lady," returned Cleek with 
 a grim laugh. "I am sorry for you very. But at 
 least you will have consolation in your future hus 
 band s release. That should compensate you. 
 Here, officer, take hold of this man. We ll get down 
 to brass tacks now. Take hold of him, and hold him 
 fast, for a more slippery snake never was created. 
 All right, Sir Nigel; it is all right, lad. Sit down. 
 This is going to be a long story, but it s got to be 
 told. Fetch chairs for the witnesses, constable. 
 And don t let any of em go yet. I want em to 
 hear this thing through." 
 
 In his quick, easy manner he seemed suddenly to
 
 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 have taken command of the court. And, knowing 
 that he was Hamilton Cleck, and that Cleek would 
 use his own methods, or none, Mr. Justice Grainger 
 took the wisest course, and let him alone. 
 
 When all was in readiness, Cleek settled down to 
 the story. He was the only man left standing, a 
 straight slim figure, full of that controlled power and 
 energy that is so often possessed by a small but 
 perfect machine. He bowed to the judge with 
 something of the theatrical in his manner, and then 
 rested one hand upon the clerk s table. 
 
 "Now, naturally, you are wanting to hear the 
 story," he said briskly, "and I ll make it as brief as 
 possible. But I w r arn you there s a good deal to be 
 told, and afterward there ll be work for Scotland 
 Yard, more work than perhaps they ll care about ; 
 but that is another story. To begin with, the jury, 
 rriy lord, was undoubtedly, from all signs, about to 
 convict the prisoner upon a charge of murder a 
 murder of which he was entirely innocent. You 
 have heard Merriton s story. Believe me, every 
 word of it is true circumstantial evidence to the 
 contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 "In the first place, Dacre Wynne was shot through 
 the temple at the instigation of thai man there," he 
 pointed to Erellier, standing pale and still between 
 two constables, "foully shot, as many others had 
 been similarly done to death, because they had ven 
 tured forth across the Fens at night, and were likely
 
 Justice and Justification 263 
 
 to investigate this man s charming little midnight 
 movements, further than he cared about. To 
 creatures of his like human life is nothing compared 
 \o what it can produce. Men and women are a 
 means to an end, and that end, the furtherance of 
 his own wealth, his own future. The epitome of 
 prehistoric selfishness, is it not? Club the next 
 man that comes along, and steal from his dead body 
 all that he has worked for. Oh, a pretty sort of a 
 tale this is, I promise you! 
 
 What s that, my lord? What has the Frozen 
 Flame to do with all this? Why, the answer to that 
 is as simple as A. B. C. The Frozen Flames, or that 
 most natural of phenomena, marsh-gas of which I 
 won t weary you with an explanationarose from 
 that part of the Fens where the rotting vegetation 
 was at its worst. What more natural, then, than 
 that this human fiend should endeavour to shape 
 even this thing to his own ends? The villagers had 
 always been superstitious of these lights, but their 
 notice had never been particularly called to them 
 before the story of the Frozen Flames had been 
 carefully spread from mouth to mouth by Brellier s 
 tools. 
 
 "Then one man, braver than the rest, ventured 
 forth and never came back. The story gained 
 credence, even with the more educated few. 
 Another, unwilling to conform to public opinion, did 
 likewise. And he, too, went into the great unknown.
 
 264 TJie Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 The list of Brellier s victims supposed, of course, to 
 be burnt up by the Frozen Flames grew fairly 
 lengthy in the four years that he has been using 
 them as a screen for his underhanded work. A 
 guard and I ve seen one of the men myself during a 
 little midnight encounter that I had with him went 
 wandering over thai part of the district armed will) a 
 revolver. The first sight of a stranger caused him 
 to use liis weapon. Meanwhile, behind the screen 
 of the lights the bank robbers were bringing in 
 their gold by motor and hiding the sacks down in a 
 network of underground passageways that I also 
 discovered and traversed. They ran, by deviou.-.? 
 ways, both to a field in Saltfleet conveniently near 
 the factory, and by another route up to the back 
 kitchen of Merriton Towers. 
 
 "You ll admit that, when I discovered this to be 
 the case, I felt pretty uneasy about Sir NiY-. i s 
 innocence. But a still further search brought to 
 light another passage, which ran straight into I he 
 study of Withersby Hall, occupied by the Brelliers, 
 and was hidden under the square rug in front of the 
 fireplace. A nice convenient little spot for our 
 friend here to carry on his good work. Just a few 
 words to say that he didn t want to be disturbed in 
 his study, a locked door, a rug moved, and there 
 you are! lie was free from all prying eyes to in 
 vestigate the way things were going, and to person 
 ally supervise the hiding of the gold. While outside
 
 Justice and Justification 
 
 upon the Fens men were being killed like rats, be 
 cause one or two of them chose to use their intelli 
 gence, and wanted to find out what the flames 
 really were. They found out all right, poor devils, 
 and their widows waited for them in vain. 
 
 "And what does he do with all this gold, you ask? 
 \Yhy, ship it, by using an electrical factory where ho 
 makes tubings and fittings and a good deal of 
 mischief, to boot. The sovereigns are hidden as 
 you have seen, and are shipped out at night in 
 fishing boats, loaded below the water mark I ve 
 helped with the loading myself, so I know en 
 route for Belgium, where his equally creditable 
 brother, Adolph, receives the tubes and invariably 
 ships them back as being of the wrong gauge. Look 
 here He stopped speaking for a moment and, 
 
 stepping forward, lifted up another tubing from the 
 table, and unfastened it at one of the joints. Then 
 he held it up for all to see. 
 
 "See that stuff in there? That s tungsten. 
 Perhaps you don t all know what tungsten is. Well, 
 it s a valuable commodity that is mined from the 
 earth, and which is used expressly in the making of 
 electric lamps. Our good friend Adolph, like his 
 brother, has the same twist of brain. Instead of 
 keeping the tubes, he returns them with the rather 
 thin excuse that they are of the wrong gauge, and 
 fills them with this tungsten, from the famous 
 tungsten mines for which Belgium holds first place in
 
 266 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 the world. And so the stuff is shipped in absolutely 
 free of duty, while our friend here unloads it, sup 
 plies the raw material to one or two firms in town, 
 trading under the name of Jonathan Brent (you see 
 I ve got the whole facts, Brellier), and uses some 
 himself for this factory, which is the blind for his 
 other trading ideas. Very clever, isn t it? " 
 
 The judge nodded. 
 
 "I thought you would agree so, my Lord. Even 
 crime can have its clever side, and more often than 
 not the criminal brain is the cleverest which the 
 world produces. 
 
 "Where was I? Ah, yes! The shipping of the 
 stuff to Belgium. You see, Brellier s clever there. 
 He knows that the sudden appearance of all 
 this gold at his own bank would arouse suspicions, 
 especially as the robberies have been so frequent, so 
 he determines that it is safer out of the country, and 
 as the exchange of British, gold is high, he makes 
 money that way. Turns his hand to everything, in 
 fact." He laughed. "Bui now we re turning our 
 hands to him, and the Law will have its toll, penny 
 for penny, life for life. You ve come to the end of 
 your resources, Brellier, when you engaged those two 
 strange workmen. Or, better still, your accomplice 
 did it for you. You didn t know they were Cleek 
 and his man, did you? You didn t know that on 
 that second night after we d worked there at the 
 factory for you, we investigated that secret passage
 
 Justice and Justification 267 
 
 In the field outside Saltfleet Road? You didn t 
 know that while you walked down that passage in 
 the darkness with your man Jim Dobbs -or Dirty 
 Jim/ to give him the sobriquet by which he is known 
 among your employees that we were hidden against 
 the wall opposite to that first little niche where the 
 bags of sovereigns stood, and that though I hadn t 
 seen you something in your voice struck a note of 
 familiarity in my memory? You didn t know that, 
 then? Well, perhaps it s just as well, because I 
 might not be here now to tell this story, and to hand 
 you over to justice."
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 THE SOLVING OF THE RIDDLE 
 
 FOR the sake of le bon dieu, man, cease your 
 cruel mockery!" said Brellier, suddenly, in 
 a husky voice, as the clerk rose to quell the 
 interrupted flow of oratory, and the court banged 
 his mace for quiet. 
 
 "You didn t think of the cruel mockery of God s 
 good world, which you were helping so successfully 
 to ruin!" continued the detective, speaking to the 
 court but at Brellier, each word pointed as a barb, 
 each pause more pregnant with scorn than the spoken 
 words had been. "You didn t think of that, did 
 you? Oh, no! You gave no thought to the ruined 
 home and the weeping wife, the broken-hearted 
 mother and the fatherless child. That was outside 
 your reckoning altogether. And, if hearsay be true 
 (and in this case I believe it is) you even went so far 
 as to kill a defenceless woman who had been brave 
 enough to wander out across that particular part 
 of the Fens just to see what those flames really 
 were. And yet, your lordship, this man howls for 
 mercy." 
 
 He paused a moment and passed a hand wearily 
 
 268
 
 The Solving of the Riddle 269 
 
 over his forehead. The telling of the tale was not 
 easy, and the expression of Toinette Brellier s tear- 
 Tiiisted eyes added to the difficulty of it. But he 
 knew he must spare no detail ; in fairness to the man 
 who stood in the dock, in fairness to the Law lie 
 served, and in whose service lie had unravelled this 
 riddle which at first had seemed so inexplicable. 
 
 Then the judge spoke. 
 
 "The court must congratulate you, Mr. Cleek," 
 he said in his fine, metallic voice, "upon the very ex 
 cellent and intricate work you have done on this case. 
 Believe me. the Law appreciates it, and I, as one of 
 its humble exponents, must add my admiration to the 
 rest. Permit me, however, to ask one or i ro 
 questions. In the first place, before we proceed 
 further with the case, I should like you to give me any 
 explanation that you can relative to the matter of 
 what the prisoner here has told us with regard to 
 the story of the Frozen Flame. This gentleman has 
 said that the story goes that whenever a new viciim 
 had been claimed by the flames, that he completely 
 vanishes, and that another flame appears in amongst 
 its fellows. The prisoner has declared this to be 
 irue; in fact, has actually sworn upon oath, that he 
 has seen this thing with his own eyes the night that 
 Dacre Wynne was killed. I confess that upon hear 
 ing this, I had my strong suspicions of his veracity. 
 Can you explain it any clearer?" 
 
 Cleek smiled a trifle whimsicallv, then he nodded.
 
 270 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 "I can. Shortly after I made my discovery of 
 the secret passage that led out upon the Fens the 
 entrance to it, by the way, was marked by a patch 
 of charred grass about the size of a small round table 
 (you remember, Dollops, I asked you if you noticed 
 anything then?), that lifted up, if cue had keen 
 enough eyes to discover it, and revealed the trap 
 door beneath Dollops and I sel out on another 
 tour of investigation. We were determined to take a 
 sporting chance on being winged by Ihe watchful 
 guards and have a look round behind, those flames 
 for ourselves. We did this. It happened thai we 
 slipped the guard unobserved, having knowledge, you 
 see, of at least part of the whole diabolical scheme, 
 and getting within range of the flames without dis 
 covery, or, for that matter, seeing any one about, we 
 got down on our hands and knees and dug into the 
 earth with our penknives." 
 
 "What suggested this plan to you?" 
 
 ("leek smiled and shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "Why, I had a theory, you see. And, like you, I 
 wanted to find out if Merriton were telling the truth 
 about that other light he had seen or not. This 
 was the only way. Marsh-gas was there in plenty, 
 though there is no heat from the tiny flames, as you 
 know, from which fact, no doubt, our frier. d Brellier 
 derived the very theatrical name for them, but the 
 light of which Merriton spoke I took to be something 
 bigger than that. And I had noticed, too, that here
 
 The Solving of the Riddle 271 
 
 and there among the flames danced brilliant patches 
 that seemed, well more than natural. So our pen 
 knives did the trick. Dollops was digging, when 
 something suddenly exploded, and shot up into our 
 faces with a volume of gassy smoke. We sprang 
 back, throwing our arms up to shield our eyes, and 
 after the fumes had subsided returned to our task. 
 The penknife had struck a bladder filled with gas, 
 which, sunk into the ground, produced the larger 
 lights, one of which Sir Nigel had seen upon the 
 night that Wynne disappeared. Even more clever, 
 isn t it? I wonder whose idea it originally was." 
 
 He spun round slowly upon his heel and faced 
 the line of seated witnesses. His eyes once more 
 travelled over the group, face to face, eye to eye, 
 until he paused suddenly and pointed at Borkins s 
 chalk-white countenance. 
 
 "That s the man who probably did the job," he 
 said casually. "Brellier s righthand man, that. 
 With a brain that might have been used for other 
 and better things." 
 
 The judge leaned forward upon his folded elbows, 
 pointing his pen in Borkins s direction. 
 
 "Then you say this man is part and parcel of the 
 scheme, Mr. Cieek?" he queried. 
 
 "I do. And a very big part, too. But, let me 
 qualify that statement by saying that if it hadn t 
 been for Borkins s desire for revenge upon the man 
 he served, this whole ghastly affair would probably
 
 272 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 never have been revealed. Wynne would liave 
 vanished in the ordinary way, as Collins vanished 
 afterward, and the superstitious horror would have 
 gone on until there was not one person left in the 
 village of Fetch worth who would have dared to ven 
 ture an investigation of the flames. Then the work 
 at the factory would have continued, with a possibly 
 curtailed pay-roll. No need for high-handed pirates 
 armed with revolvers then. That was the end the 
 arch-fiend was working for. The end that never 
 came." 
 
 "H m. And may I ask how you discovered all 
 this, before going into the case of Borkins?" put in 
 the judge. 
 
 Cleek bowed. 
 
 "Certainly," he returned. "That is the legal 
 right. But I can vouch for my evidence, my lord. 
 I received it, you see, at first-hand. This man 
 Borkins engaged both the lad Dollops and myself 
 as new hands for the factory. We therefore had 
 every opportunity of looking into the matter per 
 sonally." 
 
 " Gawdamercy ! I never did ! " ejaculated Borkins, 
 at this juncture, his face the colour of newly-baked 
 bread. "You re a liar that s what you are! A 
 drorin an innocent man into the beastly affair. I 
 never engaged the likes of you!" 
 
 "Didn t you?" Cleek laughed soundlessly. "Look 
 here. Remember the man Bill Jones, and his little
 
 The Solving of the Riddle 273 
 
 pal Sammie Robinson, from Jamaica?" He writhed 
 his features for a moment, slipped his hand into his 
 pocket, and producing the black moustache that had 
 been Dollops s envy and admiration, stuck it upon 
 his upper lip, pulled out a check cap from the other 
 pocket, drew that upon his head, and peered at 
 Borkins under the peak of it. "What-o, matey / 
 he remarked in a harsh cockney voice. 
 
 "Merciful Eavens!" gasped out that worthy, 
 covering his eyes with his hands, one more incredul 
 ous witness of Cleek s greatest gift. "Bill Jones it 
 is! Gawd! are you a devil?" 
 
 No, just an ordinary man, my dear friend. But 
 you remember now, eh? Well, that does away with 
 the need of the moustache, then." The clerk of the 
 court, only too familiar with Cleek s disregard of legal 
 formality, frowned at this violation of dignity and 
 raised his mace to rap for order and possibly to rep 
 rimand deck for his theatrical conduct but at that 
 moment the detective pulled off the cap and mous 
 tache as though well pleased with his performance. 
 Cleek turned once more to the judge. 
 
 "My lord," he said serenely, "you have seen the 
 man Bill Jones, and the impersonator of Sammie 
 Robinson is there," he pointed to Dollops. "Well, 
 this man Borkins or Piggott, as he calls himself 
 when doing his private work engaged Dollops 
 and me, in place of two hands in the factory who had 
 been given to too much tongue-wagging, and in con-
 
 274 The Riddle of ike Frozen Flame 
 
 sequence had met with prompt punishment, Cod 
 alone knows what it was! We worked there for 
 something just under a fortnight. Dollops, with 
 liis usual knack for making friends in the right direc 
 tion, chummed up to one of the men whom I have 
 already named Jim Dobbs. lie finally asked him 
 to come and help with the loading up of the boats, 
 and gave him the chance of making a little overtime 
 by simply keeping his mouth shut as to what went 
 on. I managed to get on the job too, and we did 
 it three times in that fortnight and a jolly difficult 
 task we found it, I don t mind saying. But I felt 
 that evidence was necessary, and while in the employ 
 of the master we carried on many investigations. 
 And still in his service I made this rough map of the 
 varied turnings of the secret passage, and the places 
 to which they led. You can get a better idea of the 
 ground if you glance at it." lie handed it up to the 
 high desk, and paused a moment as the judge sur 
 veyed it through his spectacles. "The passage at 
 Merriton Towers, and also at Withersby Hall so 
 conveniently placed near that particular part of the 
 Fens, and therefore chosen by Brellier for his work- 
 are both of ancient origin, dating back, I should say, 
 to the time of the civil war. 
 
 "Whose idea it was to connect the two passages 
 up I could not say, or when Borkins got into the pay 
 of Brellier and played false to a family that he had 
 served for twenty years. But the fact remains.
 
 The Solving of the Riddle 275 
 
 The two passages are linked up, and then continued 
 at great labour in another direction to that field 
 which lies oil the Saltfleet Road and just at the back 
 of the factory. And thus was made n convenient 
 little subway for the carrying on of nefarious trans 
 actions of tiie kind which we have discovered." 
 
 "And how did you discover that Brellier was the 
 Master in question?" put in the judge at this 
 juncture. 
 
 "He happened to come to the factory one day 
 while we were at work upon our machines. Someone 
 said, Crickey! Ere s the Master! Funny for iin, 
 to be prowlin round at this hour of the day night s 
 more to is liki:iY I could hardly contain myself 
 when I saw who it was even though I had already 
 discovered the passage to Withersby Hall. I had 
 not yet, realized that Jonathan Brent and Brellier 
 were one and the same, though I discovered that the 
 former had a perfectly legitimate office in London in 
 Leadenhall Street. But when I saw him I knew. 
 After that I wasted no time. Since then we ve been 
 having a pretty scramble to get safely away without 
 giving any clues to the other men, and to put Scot 
 land Yard upon their track. They re down there now, 
 and have got every man of em I dare swear (and I 
 hope they are keeping my friend Black Whiskers for 
 me to deal with). That is the cause of my lateness 
 at the hearing of the case. You can fully under 
 stand how impossible it was to be here any earlier."
 
 276 The Riddle of tJw Frozen Flame 
 
 The judge nodded. "Your statement against 
 this man Borkins ?" 
 
 "Is as strong a one as ever was made," said Clcek. 
 "It was Borkins who in a fit of malicious rage, no 
 doubt conceived the idea of interfering with his 
 master s work to the extent of inventing the means 
 to have Sir Nigel Merriton wrongly eonvieted of the 
 murder of Dacre Wynne. You have seen the 
 revolver, the peculiar make of which caused it to be 
 the chief evidence in this gruesome tragedy. Here is 
 the genuine one." 
 
 He drew the little thing from his pocket, and 
 reaching up placed it in the judge s outstretched 
 hand. That gentleman gave a gasp as he laid eyes 
 upon it. 
 
 "Identical with this one, which belongs to the 
 prisoner!" he said almost excitedly. 
 
 "Exactly. The same colonial French make, you 
 see. This particular one belongs, by the way, to 
 Miss Brellier." 
 
 " M isa Brellier! " 
 
 Something like a thrill ran through the crowded 
 courtroom. In the silence that followed you could 
 have heard a pin drop. 
 
 "That is correct. She will tell you that she al 
 ways kept it in an unused drawer in her secretaire 
 locked away with some papers. She had not looked 
 at it for months, until the other day when she 
 happened to examine one of those papers, and
 
 The Solving of the Riddle 277 
 
 therefore went to the drawer and unlocked it. The 
 revolver lying there drew her attention. Knowing 
 that it was the same as the one owned by her fiance, 
 Sir Xigel Merriton, and figuring so largely in this 
 case, she took it out and idly examined it. One of 
 [.lie bullets was missing! This rather aroused her 
 curiosity, and when I questioned her afterward about 
 il, when the inquest was over, and she had brought 
 it forward and shown it to the coroner, who 
 quite naturally after the explanation given by Mr. 
 Brellier, gave it back to her as having no dealings 
 with the case, she told me that she could not abso 
 lutely recollect her uncle telling her that he had killed 
 the dog with it. A small thing but rather im 
 portant." 
 
 "And you say that this man Borkins arranged this 
 revolver so as to point to the prisoner s guilt, Mr. 
 Cleek?" asked the judge. 
 
 I say that the man Dacre Wynne was actually 
 killed with that identical revolver which you hold in 
 your hand, my lord. And the construction I put 
 upon it is this: Borkins hated his master, but the 
 long story of that does not concern us here, and upon 
 the night of the quarrel he was listening at the door, 
 and, hearing how things were shaping themselves, 
 began, as he himself has told you in his evidence, to 
 think that there would soon be trouble between Sir 
 Nigel and Mr. Wynne, if things went on as they had 
 been going. Therefore, when he was told that Mr.
 
 278 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 Wynne had gone out across the Fens in a drunken 
 rage, to investigate the meaning of the Frozen 
 Flames, the idea entered Borkins s mind. lie knew 
 his master s revolver, had seen it slipped under his 
 pillow more often than not of an evening when Sir 
 Nigel went to bed. Here Borkins saw his life s 
 opportunity of getting even. He knew, too, of Miss 
 Brellier s revolver must have known, else why should 
 this particular instrument be used upon this particu 
 lar night, in place of the usual type of revolver which 
 Brellier s guards carried, and by which poor Collins 
 undoubtedly met his death? So we will take it that 
 he knew of this little instrument here, and upon 
 hearing of Wynne s proposed investigations, he 
 dashed to the back kitchen of the Towers which 
 was rarely used by the other servants, as being, so 
 one of them told me, so dark and damp that it 
 fair gave em the creeps. Therefore Borkins had 
 his way unmolested, and it did not lake him long. 
 knowing the turnings of the underground passage 
 as he did from constant use to communicate with 
 Withersby Hall. To which guard lie told his tale 1 
 do not know, but, since we have taken the whole 
 crowd we ll find out later. Anyway, he must have 
 told someone else of his desire for private vengeance. 
 And the thing worked. When poor Wynne met his 
 death, it was at the point of a pistol which had lain 
 unused in the secretaire at Withersby Hall for some 
 little time. I have not been able to find the actual
 
 The Solving of the Riddle 279 
 
 spot where the body of Wynne and, later on, that of 
 Collins was first concealed, but I have no doubt that 
 they were brought from that spot to be discovered by 
 i is. It was very necessary for the body of Wynne to 
 he discovered, since the bullet in his brain was 
 fired from Miss Brellier s revolver. It was all 
 part of the plot against Sir Nigel. How bitter was 
 that plot, is evidenced by the removal of the bodies to 
 the place they were discovered on the Fens no very 
 pleasant job for any man." 
 
 ("leek whirled suddenly upon Borkins, who stood 
 with bent head and pallid face, biting his lips and 
 twisting his hands together, while Cleek s voice 
 broke the perfect silence of the court. But thus 
 taken by surprise, he lifted his head, and his mouth 
 opened. 
 
 The judge raised his hand. 
 
 "Is this true, my man? he demanded. 
 
 Borkins s face went an ugly purplish-red. For a 
 moment it looked as though he were going to have an 
 apoplectic fit. 
 
 " Yes damn you all yes ! " he replied venomously. 
 "That s how I did it though Gawd alone knows 
 how he come to find it out! But the game s up now, 
 and it s no more use a-lyin ." 
 
 "Never a truer word spoken," returned Cleek, with 
 a little triumphant smile. "I must admit, your 
 Lordship, that upon that one point I was a little 
 shaky. Borkins has irrefutably proved that my
 
 280 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 theory was correct. I must say I am indebted to 
 him." Again the little smile looped up one corner of 
 his face. "And I have but just a little bit more of 
 the tale to tell, and then I must leave the rest of 
 it in your infinitely more capable hands. 
 
 The reason why I mistrusted the story 
 of the revolver? Why, upon examination, that in 
 strument belonging to Miss Brellier was a little too 
 clean and well-oiled to have been out of use for a mat 
 ter of five months or so. The worthy user of it had 
 cleaned and polished it up, so as to be sure of its ac 
 tion, and re-oiled it. So the dog story was exploded 
 almost at its birth. The rest was easy to follow up. 
 and knowing the position of things between Borkins 
 and his master (from both sides, so to speak), I began 
 to put two and two together. Borkins lias, this mo 
 ment, most agreeably told me that my answer to the 
 sum is correct. But things worked in well for him. I 
 must say. That Sir Nigel should actually fire a shot 
 upon that very night was a stroke of pure luck for the 
 servant who hated him. And it made his chance of 
 fabricating the whole plot against Sir Nigel a good 
 deal easier. Whether he would have stolen the 
 revolver had that shot at the Frozen Flames for 
 which Sir Nigel has been so sorely tried never been 
 fired, I cannot say, but that doubtless would have 
 been the course he would have taken. Luck 
 favoured him upon that dreadful night but now that 
 luck has changed. His own action has been his
 
 The Solving of the Riddle 281 
 
 undoing. If he had not given vent to this feeling of 
 hatred that he cherished in his heart for a master 
 who was of such different stuff of which he himself 
 was made, the whole infernal plot might never 
 have been revealed. And yet, -who can tell? 
 
 "My lord and gentlemen of the jury, the tale is 
 told. Justice has been done an innocent man, and 
 the rest of its doing lies in your capable hands. I 
 ask your permission to be seated." 
 
 His voice trailed off into silence, and across the 
 court a murmur arose, like the hum of some giant 
 airplane growing gradually nearer and nearer. A 
 sorl of strangled sob came from the back of Cleek s 
 chair, and he turned his head to smile into Toinette s 
 wet eyes. In their depths gratitude and sorrow were 
 inexplicably mingled. His hand went out to her; she 
 ran toward him from her place, and in spite of judge 
 and jury, in spite of the order of the law, knelt down 
 there at his side and pressed her warm lips against 
 his hand.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 TOWARD MORNING. . . ." 
 
 flower in Cleek s buttonhole was jauntily 
 erect, his immaculately garbed figure fitted 
 in perfectly with every detail of the whole 
 scene of which he was a part. He looked and was 
 the exquisitely turned-out man-about-lown. Only 
 his eyes told of other things, and they, as the or 
 gans welled to the sounds of the wedding march 
 lighted up with something that spoke of the man 
 within rather than the man without. He turned 
 from his position al the altar (where he was ful 
 filling his duties as best man to Sir Nigel Merriton) 
 and glanced back over the curve of his shoulder 1o 
 where a girl sat, bending forward in the empty pe\v, 
 her face alight, her eyes, beneath the curving iuit- 
 brim, swimming with tears. . . . She nodded as 
 he saw her, and smiled, the promise of their future 
 together curving the sweet lips into gracious, 
 womanly lines. Behind her, on guard as usual, and 
 gay in a gorgeous garment of black-and-white 
 checks, white waistcoat and flaming scarlet button 
 hole, sat Dollops, faithfully watching while Cleek 
 assisted at the ceremony that was uniting two souls
 
 "Toward Morning . . ." 283 
 
 in one, and casting aside forever the smirch of a name 
 thai must rankle in the heart of her who had owned 
 it in common with the man who had so nearly 
 wrought her soul s desolation. 
 
 . Then it was all over. The organ swelled 
 once more with its tidings of joy; upon her husband s 
 arm Toincite passed down the tiny aisle, tears running 
 down her cheeks unchecked, and mingling witli the 
 smiles that chased each other like sunbeams across her 
 happy face. Cleek was at the porch waiting for them 
 as they came out. lie reached forth a hand to each. 
 
 "Good luck- and God bless you both," he said. 
 "Tin s is a fitting end, Merriton, and a new and 
 glorious beginning." 
 
 " And every moment of it, every second of it we owe 
 to you, Mr. Cleek," returned Sir Nigel, in a deep, 
 happy voice. "Time alone can show our grati 
 tude--! can t." 
 
 Cleek bowed, and his hand went out suddenly to 
 Ailsa Lome, who had stolen up beside him, went out 
 and caught her hand and held it in a grip that hurt. 
 " I know, boy. And one day in the glad future I shall 
 call upon you who knows? to attend a similar 
 ceremony on my behalf, and in which Mr. Narkom 
 here has promised to act as best man with Dollops 
 to bolster him up if he should be attacked with 
 nerves. Now be off with you and be happy. 
 We ll see you later at the Towers, Merriton. Good 
 bye to you both."
 
 284 The Riddle of the Frozen Flame 
 
 The door closed, the engine started, Dollops sprang 
 back and they were off. The boy turned suddenly, 
 looked at Cleek and Ailsa standing there in the sun 
 shine of the little porch, at Mr. Narkom chuckling 
 quietly behind them, and- remarked: 
 
 "Gawd! Dunno which is the best weddings or 
 funerals! Strite I don t. Yer snivels at boi e like 
 a blinkin fool wiv a cold in is ead. And when it 
 comes to your time, Guv nor! well, if yer don t let me 
 myke a third at the funnymoon, I ll commit hurry - 
 skurry on yer wery doorstep! . . . An jolly 
 good riddance ter bad rubbish, too!" 
 
 THE END 
 
 THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK
 
 000129661 5