'I'll put it this way, then. Are you interested in Poe? If you were offered the authentic manuscript of one of his stories would you buy it?'
This sudden swoop to the practical put Arbor right again. There was a trace of a smile on his face.,
`Now I see, Mr Hadley,' he said to Dr Fell. `This tribunal, then, was called because of Sir William Bitton's stolen manuscript. I was a bit puzzled at first.' He smiled again, a mere wrinkle on his pudgy face. Then he considered. 'Yes, I should certainly buy a Poe item if it were offered to me.'
`H'm, yes. You know there has been a theft at Bitton's house, then?'
`Oh yes. And you, Inspector, know that I am stopping at Bitton's home. I should say,' Arbor corrected himself, impassively, `I was stopping there. To-morrow I shall remove
myself to the 'Savoy'.'
`Why?'
`Let's be frank, Mr Inspector. I am aware of what. Bitton thinks. I am not insulted. We must accept these little things. But I dislike awkwardness. You see; or don't you?'
`Do you know the nature of the manuscript that was stolen?'
`Perfectly. In point of fact, I had some intention of intending to buy it?
'He told you about it, then, did he?'
The flattish face was a polite mask of deprecation. `You know he didn't. But Bitton is like a child, if I may say so. I have heard him let fall enough mysterious hints at the dinner table for even his family to guess the nature of his find. However, I knew all about the manuscript before I left the States.'
He chuckled. It was the first human, sound Rampole had heard out of him.
`I dislike commenting on the infantile nature of some of these gentlemen, but I fear Doctor Robertson, who had been Bitton's confidant, was indiscreet'
Dr Fell thoughtfully took the handle of his stick, which was lying across the desk, and poked at the crossbow bolt. Then he glanced up amiably.
`Mr Arbor, would you have stolen that manuscript, if you were given the opportunity?'
Across the room Rampole saw the despairing expression on Hadley's face. But Arbor was not in the least perturbed.
'No, Inspector, I don't think I would,' he replied. `It would entail so much awkwardness, you see. And I dislike violating hospitality in that fashion. Don't misunderstand me. I have no moral scruples, and it might seriously be questioned as to whether Bitton has any right to it at all.'
`But suppose somebody offered to sell you that manuscript, Mr Arbor?'
Arbor took off his delicate eyeglasses and polished them with a white silk handkerchief. He was easy, smug, and half smiling now. The black eyebrows were wrinkled with amusement.
'Let me tell you a story, Inspector. The police should know; it, to support, my claim in case it is — ah — successful.' Before I came to England I went to Philadelphia and looked up Mr Joseph McCartney, of Mount Airy Avenue, who owns the property on which the manuscript was found. For the fact that it was found there I had the testimony of three honest labouring men. I laid my case with a tolerable degree of frankness before Mr McCartney. He was the owner. I informed him that if he would give me three months' written option on that manuscript, wherever it might be, I would hand him one thousand dollars in cash. There was also — another agreement. It specified that, if the manuscript proved to be what I wanted (the decision to rest with me), I should pay him four thousand dollars for a complete sale.'
'Actually, Mr Arbor, what is the manuscript worth?' Dr Fell asked, leaning forward.
`I should be willing to go as high as, say, ten thousand pounds.'
General Mason, who had been scowling and pulling at his imperial, interrupted. `But, my God! man, that's fantastic! No Poe manuscript… '
'I venture to predict,' Arbor said, placidly, `that this one would. It is the first analytic detective story in the history of the world. It antedates Poe's own Murders in the Rue Morgue. Dr Robertson informs me that even from an artistic point of view it surpasses Poe's other three Dupin crime tales…, I could name you offhand three fellow collectors who would go as high as twelve or fifteen. And I enjoy thinking what it would fetch at auction — where, I need not tell you, I intend to place it'
Dr Fell cleared his throat with a rumbling noise.
`How do you know this? Have you seen the manuscript?'
'I have the word of Dr Robertson, the greatest living authority on Poe. He only told me all this because — well, Inspector, my wine-cellar is considered excellent. And even Imperial Tokay is cheap at the price. Of course, he regretted his indiscretion next day; he had promised Bitton, and he begged me to take no action. I was sorry.'
`Then,' said Dr Fell, `it wasn't a mere matter of a find you were interested in? You were after this, manuscript to sell it?
'It was, my dear Inspector. The manuscript — wherever it is — happens to belong to me. I may remind you. Shall I, go on?'
By all means'
`My business with Mr McCartney was easily settled,' Arbor continued comfortably. `He seemed staggered. It was incredible to him that any written document could be worth five thousand dollars. I found in Mr McCartney a great reader of sensational fiction…. My next move — you follow it, Inspector?’
`You got yourself, invited to Bitton's house,' grunted Dr Fell.;
`Not exactly. I had a standing invitation there. As a rule, I do not stay with friends when I am in London. I own a cottage in the suburbs, at which I often stay in summer; and in winter I go to a hotel. But, you see, I had to be tactful. He was a friend.
`I could not, of course, say to him, 'Bitton, I think you have a manuscript of mine. Hand it over.' That would have been distasteful, and, I thought, unnecessary. I expected him to show me his find voluntarily. Then I would lead up to my subject by gradual degrees, explain the unfortunate ' circumstances, and make him a fair offer. '
`Now, Inspector — and gentlemen — that was difficult. You know Bitton? Ah. I knew him as a headstrong, stubborn, f and secretive fellow; rather a monomaniac on cherishing his discoveries. But I had not expected him to be quite so difficult. He did not speak of his find, as I had expected. For some days I hinted. I thought he was merely obtuse, and I fear my hints grew so outrageously broad that they puzzled even his family. But I am aware now that he must have known, and suspected me. He merely kept his mouth more tightly closed. It was distasteful to me — but I was coming to the point where I should have to claim my rights.' Under the law,' said Arbor, his leisurely voice growing suddenly harsh, `I was not required to pay him a penny for my property.!’
'The sale had not been concluded between you and Mc Cartney, had it?' inquired Dr Fell.;
Arbor shrugged. `Virtually. I had my option. Of course, I was not willing to hand over five thousand dollars on a manuscript I had never seen, even on the word of Dr Robertson; and a manuscript, besides, which might conceivably have been lost or destroyed by the time I came to claim it. However, to all intents and purposes it was mine.'
`Did you tell Bitton you were the owner, then?'
Arbor's nostrils tightened with anger. `Obviously not. Or would he have been so mad as to do what he did — seek the aid of the police when it was stolen?
`But before that. Consider the difficulty of my position. I began to see that, if I asked him outright, this — ah — this, lunatic might make all sorts of trouble. He would probably refuse, and question my rights. My rights could be proved; but it would mean delay and, all sorts of unpleasantness. He might maintain he, had lost the manuscript, and that would be worse.'
Mr Arbor's aura conveyed an acute spasm of anguish at this thought. General Mason coughed, and Dr Fell contrived to twist his moustache with a hand that hid his mouth.
`And at this juncture,' continued the other, `everything blew up. The manuscript was stolen. And I, you notice, I was the loser.
`Now, gentlemen.' He sat back and gazed about, fixing the eye of each in turn. `Now you will understand why I have gone into such thorough explanations, and why I wish to establish the ownership of that manuscript. Bitton undoubtedly thinks I stole it. I am not particularly concerned with what he thinks; but I cannot have the police thinking so.’
`I was away over the week-end during which the manuscript was stolen, and I arrived back only this morning. I was visiting Mr and Mrs Spengler, some friends of mine who live close to that cottage of my own I
