“Oh, Lord!” he said irritably, “this is not the kind of job I like particularly.”
“Have a little patience,” said Black. “You don’t expect me to call cabs in Chelsea and give my directions for half a dozen people to hear. You don’t seem to realize, Ikey, that you and I are being very closely watched.”
“Well, they could be watching us now,” said Sir Isaac with truth.
“They may be, but the chances are that nobody will be near enough when we give directions to the driver as to our exact destination.”
Even Sir Isaac did not catch it, so low was the voice of Black instructing the driver.
Through the little pane at the back of the cab Black scrutinized the vehicles following their route.
“I don’t think there is anybody after us at present,” he said. “It isn’t a very important matter, but if the information came to the Four that their plans were being checkmated it might make it rather awkward for us.”
The cab passed down the winding road which leads from the Oval to Kennington Green. It threaded a way through the traffic and struck the Camberwell Road. Halfway down, Black put out his head, and the cab turned sharply to the left. Then he tapped at the window and it stopped.
He got out, followed by Sir Isaac.
“Just wait for me at the end of the street,” he said to the driver.
He handed the man some money as a guarantee of his bona fides, and the two moved off. The street was one of very poor artisan houses, and Black had recourse to an electric lamp which he carried in his pocket to discover the number he wanted. At last he came to a small house with a tiny patch of garden in front and knocked.
A little girl opened the door.
“Is Mr. Farmer in?” said Black.
“Yes, sir,” said the little girl, “will you go up?”
She led the way up the carpeted stairs and knocked at a small door on the left. A voice bade them come in. The two men entered. Seated by the table in a poorly-furnished room, lit only by the fire, was a man. He rose as they entered.
“I must explain,” said Black, “that Mr. Farmer has rented this room for a couple of weeks. He only comes here occasionally to meet his friends. This,” he went on, motioning to Sir Isaac, “is a great friend of mine.”
He closed the door, and waited till the little girl’s footsteps on the stairs had died away.
“The advantage of meeting in this kind of house,” said the man called Farmer, “is that the slightest movement shakes the edifice from roof to basement.”
He spoke with what might be described as a “mock-culture” voice. It was the voice of a common man who had been much in the company of gentlemen, and who endeavoured to imitate their intonation without attempting to acquire their vocabulary.
“You can speak freely, Mr. Farmer,” said Black. “This gentleman is in my confidence. We are both interested in this ridiculous organization. I understand you have now left Mr. Wilkinson Despard’s employment?”
The man nodded.
“Yes, sir,” he said, with a little embarrassed cough. “I left him yesterday.”
“Now, have you found out who the fourth is?”
The man hesitated.
“I am not sure, sir. It is only fair to tell you that I am not absolutely certain. But I think you could gamble on the fact that the fourth gentleman is Mr. Horace Gresham.”
“You didn’t say that,” said Black, “until I suggested the name myself.”
The man did not flinch at the suspicion involved in the comment. His voice was even as he replied:
“That I admit, sir. But the other three gentlemen I knew. I had nothing to do with the fourth. He used to come to Mr. Despard’s late at night, and I admitted him. I never saw his face and never heard his voice. He went straight to Mr. Despard’s study, and if you knew how the house was portioned out you would realize that it was next to impossible to hear anything!”
“How did you come to know that these men were the Four?” asked Black.
“Well, sir,” said the other, obviously ill at ease, “by the way servants generally find things out—I listened.”
“And yet you never found out who the leader was?”
“No, sir.”
“Have you discovered anything else of which I am not aware?”
“Yes, sir,” said the man eagerly. “I discovered before I left Mr. Despard’s employ that they’ve got you set. That’s an old army term which means that they’ve marked you down for punishment.”
“Oh, they have, have they?” said Black.
“I overheard that last night. You see, the meeting generally consisted of four. The fourth very seldom turned up unless there was something to do. But he was always the leading spirit. It was he who found the money when money was necessary. It was he who directed the Four to their various occupations. And it was he who invariably chose the people who had to be punished. He has chosen you, I know, sir. They had a meeting, the night before last. They were discussing various people, and I heard your name.”
“How could you hear?”
“I was in the next room, sir. There’s a dressing-room leading out of Mr. Despard’s room, where these conferences were held. I had a duplicate key.”
Black rose as if to go.
“It almost seems a pity you have left that Johnnie. Did they ever speak about me?” asked Sir Isaac, who had been an attentive listener.
“I don’t know your name, sir,” said the servant deferentially.
“No, and you jolly well won’t,” answered the baronet promptly.
“I hope, gentlemen,” said the man, “that now I have lost my employment you’ll do whatever you can to find me another place. If either of you gentlemen want a reliable
