"I don't like the look of it at all, Des," said his brother shaking his head, "but first we must make sure that there has been no misunderstanding about Miss Mackwayte. You say your housekeeper was already here when you came back from the Dyke Inn. She may have seen her. Let's have old Martha in!"Between fright, bewilderment and indignation at the invasion of the house, old Martha was, if anything, deafer and more stupid than usual. After much interrogation they had to be satisfied with her repeated assertion that "she 'adn't seen no young lady"and allowed her to hobble back to her kitchen.
The two brothers stared at one another blankly. Francis was the first to speak. His eyes were shining and his manner was rather tense.
"Des," he asked; "what do you make of it? From what Strangwise let fall in the library here tonight, it seems probable that Miss Mackwayte, instead of coming here to see you as she was told--or she may have called during your absence--went to the Dyke Inn and saw Nur-el-Din. The muffed cry you heard at the inn suggests foul play to me and that suspicion is deepened in my mind by the fact that Matthews found Nur-el-Din at the Dyke Inn, as he reported to me by telephone just now; but he says nothing about Miss Mackwayte. Des, I fear the worst for that poor girl if she has fallen into the hands of that gang!"Desmond remained silent for a moment. He was trying to piece things together as best as his aching head would allow. Both Nur-el-Din and Strangwise were after the jewel. Nur-el-Din believed that afternoon that Strangwise had it, while Strangwise, on discovering his loss, had seemed to suggest that Barbara Mackwayte had recovered it.
"Either Strangwise or Nur-el-Din, perhaps both of them," said Desmond, "must know what has become of Miss Mackwayte."And he explained his reasoning to Francis. His brother nodded quickly.
"Then Nur-el-Din shall tell us," he answered sternly.
"They've arrested her?" asked Desmond with a sudden pang.
"Yes," said Francis curtly. But too late to prevent a crime being committed. When Matthews and his party arrived. they found Nur-el-Din in the very act of leaving the inn. The landlord, Rass, was lying dead on the floor of the tap-room with a bullet through the temple. That looks to me, Des, as though Nur-el-Din had recovered the jewel!""But Rass is a compatriot of hers," Desmond objected.
"But he was also an inconvenient witness of her dealings with Strangwise," retorted Francis. "If either Nur-el-Din or Strangwise have regained possession of the Star of Poland, Des, Ifear the worst for Barbara Mackwayte. Come in!"The corporal stood, saluting, at the door.
"Mr. Matthews on the telephone, sir!"
Francis hurried away, leaving Desmond to his thoughts, which were not of the most agreeable. Had he been wrong in thinking Nur-el-Din a victim? Was he, after all, nothing but a credulous fool who had been hoodwinked by a pretty woman's play-acting? And had he sacrificed Barbara Mackwayte to his obstinacy and his credulousness?
Francis burst suddenly into the room.
Des," he cried, "they've found Miss Mackwayte's hat on the floor of the tap-room... it is stained with blood..."Desmond felt himself growing pale:
"And the girl herself," he asked thickly, "what of her?"Francis shook his head.
"Vanished," he replied gravely. "Vanished utterly.
Desmond," he added, "we must go over to the Dyke Inn at once!"