He turned into his rooms, and stood in front of the mantelpiece taking off his gloves. It was as he was about to lay them down on the table that an envelope caught his eye, addressed to him in an unknown handwriting. Mechanically he picked it up and opened it. Inside was a single half-sheet of notepaper, on which a few lines had been written in a small, neat hand.
“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, young man, than a capability for eating steak and onions, and a desire for adventure. I imagine that you possess both: and they are useful assets in the second locality mentioned by the poet. In Heaven, however, one never knows—especially with regard to the onions. Be careful.”
Drummond stood motionless for a moment, with narrowed eyes. Then he leaned forward and pressed the bell.
“Who brought this note, James?” he said quietly, as his servant came into the room.
“A small boy, sir. Said I was to be sure and see you got it most particular.” He unlocked a cupboard near the window and produced a tantalus. “Whisky, sir, or cocktail?”
“Whisky, I think, James.” Hugh carefully folded the sheet of paper and placed it in his pocket. And his face as he took the drink from his man would have left no doubt in an onlooker’s mind as to why, in the past, he had earned the name of “Bulldog” Drummond.
II
In Which He Journeys to Godalming and the Game Begins
I
“I almost think, James, that I could toy with another kidney.” Drummond looked across the table at his servant, who was carefully arranging two or three dozen letters in groups. “Do you think it will cause a complete breakdown in the culinary arrangements? I’ve got a journey in front of me today, and I require a large breakfast.”
James Denny supplied the deficiency from a dish that was standing on an electric heater.
“Are you going for long, sir?” he ventured.
“I don’t know, James. It all depends on circumstances. Which, when you come to think of it, is undoubtedly one of the most fatuous phrases in the English language. Is there anything in the world that doesn’t depend on circumstances?”
“Will you be motoring, sir, or going by train?” asked James prosaically. Dialectical arguments did not appeal to him.
“By car,” answered Drummond. “Pyjamas and a toothbrush.”
“You won’t take evening clothes, sir?”
“No. I want my visit to appear unpremeditated, James, and if one goes about completely encased in boiled shirts, while pretending to be merely out for the afternoon, people have doubts as to one’s intellect.”
James digested this great thought in silence.
“Will you be going far, sir?” he asked at length, pouring out a second cup of coffee.
“To Godalming. A charming spot, I believe, though I’ve never been there. Charming inhabitants, too, James. The lady I met yesterday at the Carlton lives at Godalming.”
“Indeed, sir,” murmured James non-committally.
“You damned old humbug,” laughed Drummond, “you know you’re itching to know all about it. I had a very long and interesting talk with her, and one of two things emerges quite clearly from our conversation. Either, James, I am a congenital idiot, and don’t know enough to come in out of the rain; or we’ve hit the goods. That is what I propose to find out by my little excursion. Either our legs, my friend, are being pulled till they will never resume their normal shape; or that advertisement has succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.”
“There are a lot more answers in this morning, sir.” Denny made a movement towards the letters he had been sorting. “One from a lovely widow with two children.”
“Lovely,” cried Drummond. “How forward of her!” He glanced at the letter and smiled. “Care, James, and accuracy are essential in a secretary, The misguided woman calls herself lonely, not lovely. She will remain so, as far as I am concerned, until the other matter is settled.”
“Will it take long, sir, do you think?”
“To get it settled?” Drummond lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair. “Listen, James, and I will outline the case. The maiden lives at a house called The Larches, near Godalming, with her papa. Not far away is another house called The Elms, owned by a gentleman of the name of Henry Lakington—a nasty man, James, with a nasty face—who was also at the Carlton yesterday afternoon for a short time. And now we come to the point. Miss Benton—that is the lady’s name—accuses Mr. Lakington of being the complete I.T. in the criminal line. She went even so far as to say that he was the second most dangerous man in England.”
“Indeed, sir. More coffee, sir?”
“Will nothing move you, James?” remarked his master plaintively. “This man murders people and does things like that, you know.”
“Personally, sir, I prefer a picture-palace. But I suppose there ain’t no accounting for ’obbies. May I clear away, sir?”
“No, James, not at present. Keep quite still while I go on, or I shall get it wrong. Three months ago there arrived at The Elms the most dangerous man in England—the I.T. of I.T.S. This gentleman goes by the name of Peterson, and he owns a daughter. From what Miss Benton said, I have doubts about that daughter, James.” He rose and strolled over to the window. “Grave doubts. However, to return to the point, it appears that some unpleasing conspiracy is being hatched by I.T., the I.T. of I.T.S., and the doubtful daughter, into which Papa Benton has been unwillingly drawn. As far as I can make out, the suggestion is that I should unravel the tangled skein of crime and extricate papa.”
In a spasm of uncontrollable excitement James sucked his teeth. “Lumme, it wouldn’t ’alf go on the movies, would it?” he remarked. “Better than them Red Indians and things.”
“I fear, James, that you
