An Artist in Crime Part 21

"Mr. Barnes, you have no proof of your a.s.sertion. You suspect that I did what you say, but you do not know it. As I told you just now, it is possible for a bare suspicion to lead one astray."

"Perhaps, but I do not think that I am far wrong in this instance."

"We will not discuss it. Let us return to the ruby. You told Mr. Van Rawlston, so he tells me, that you knew in advance that this crime was about to occur. Did you know the person who would take the pin?"

"To be perfectly frank with you, Miss Remsen, I expected that Mr.

Mitchel would take it. I think now that he did take it. Do you wish me to continue the investigation? It may lead to your friend's losing his wager, whereas you have the right to notify the police that your gem has been returned to you. That would make our work on the case useless, and a.s.sure him of winning his bet."

Mr. Barnes's object here was ingenious. He thought that if the girl accepted his suggestion, he would thus be a.s.sured that she still suspected Mr. Mitchel. Thus he would reach her true opinion of the case.

Her answer was.

"I cannot do that. It would certainly be to give up my hope of recovering the stone. I am sure that Mr. Mitchel has not taken it. If I am wrong, and he has done so without trusting me, why then he has made a mistake, and must suffer by it. I am sure, however, it will prove otherwise. So do the best you can, if you please."

"You may rely upon it that my best energies shall be devoted to this work. I wish you good-morning."

About six o'clock that same afternoon, Mr. Barnes sent his card up to Mr. Mitchel, at the Lafayette, in Philadelphia. A few minutes later he was shown into that gentleman's room, and found him in bed.

"Delighted to see you, Mr. Barnes. You are very kind to come and see me.

For doing so, I am almost willing to forgive you for the wrong which you have done me."

"Wrong? What wrong?"

"Do you remember the day you came to see me at the Fifth Avenue, about the b.u.t.ton which you had found? You asked me to show you the seventh of my own set. I agreed on condition that you would not annoy the lady."

"Well!"

"You broke your promise--that is all."

"In what way?"

"In the first place you bribed her maid to tell her a lie, and leave her, so that one of your spies could take her place. Secondly, your spy did take her place. The result of which was that Miss Remsen could not re-engage her old maid, and has had much trouble to get another as good."

"I did not foresee, when I made that promise, that such an emergency would arise as did later."

"Very true! But I did, and I warned you that you would gain nothing by making the promise, since you would only find my own story verified by your visit."

"Well, I am very sorry, and will say that it shall not occur again."

"But, Mr. Barnes, it has occurred again."

"How so?"

"Why, she cannot leave her home at any time, without being dogged by your spies."

Mr. Barnes bit his lip in chagrin to find how well this man was acquainted with his plans, but he replied unhesitatingly,

"This time you are wrong. I promised you not to annoy Miss Remsen in connection with the particular case of which we were then speaking. My men have shadowed her in connection with another affair."

"What other affair?"

"Abduction."

"Abduction? Absurd! Who on earth has Miss Remsen abducted?"

"The girl Rose Mitchel."

"And who, pray, is the girl Rose Mitchel? The daughter of the murdered woman?"

"Perhaps. That is what I intend to discover. She pa.s.sed however, as your daughter."

"Ah! Now can you prove that she is not?"

"No."

"Very good. Then, so far as your information goes, Rose Mitchel who pa.s.sed as my daughter, was removed from a certain house, to a certain other house, to you unknown." He paused a moment as though to enjoy Mr.

Barnes's discomfiture, then continued: "She was taken, so you suspect, but cannot prove, by Miss Remsen. Now, then, if Miss Remsen, my affianced wife, takes a girl who is my own child from one house to another, where is the abduction so long as I make no complaint?"

"Let us drop this nonsense, Mr. Mitchel. You know very well that that child was removed for a purpose, else she would not be hidden away. If Miss Remsen had a hand in this, she was aiding you to baffle detective investigation, and that was an illegal act. Therefore we have the right to watch her, in order to discover what we can."

"Very well, then we will grant you that privilege. Much good may it do you. But as to the removal of the child, that was done because your spy Lucette had discovered where she was, and I did not choose to have her annoyed."

"What makes you so certain that this Lucette was my spy, as you term it?"

"Well, I don't mind telling you that, though perhaps I am showing my hand a little. Let us go to the beginning. In the first place you knew about my bet, and I knew that you knew that much. From that starting-point what more natural than for me to suppose that you would begin by having me shadowed. To be sure of this, I made a few trips on the elevated road, a structure peculiarly applicable for such a test, with the result of course that I soon became pretty well acquainted with your a.s.sistant. Whenever I had nothing else to do, I would amuse myself getting away from him. You gave me occupation for several hours I a.s.sure you. But to come to Lucette. I guessed that the next step in your game would be to supply spy number two, who would take up the trail wherever spy number one would lose it. I began to look for this second man. See, I admit that I did not count upon a woman. You beat me there, or almost did. I don't suppose you told the girl to let me see her face, eh?" Mr.

Barnes made no reply, though to himself he said, "Just as I told the fool." Mr. Mitchel went on: "At last one day, just as I was getting on a train, a smart-looking young woman came out of the waiting-room and followed me aboard. Purely from habit I walked through the train to the first coach. I ride in that because it is the coolest in summer and the least draughty in winter. Now there were several cross seats empty in the coaches through which I pa.s.sed, and as the young woman behind me did not take one, but followed me through the train, I became suspicious.

When she sat down opposite to me, of course I studied her face. I hardly ever forget a face after I have made a mental note of it. The rest was simple. She was sharp enough not to get off the train when I did, and I dismissed her from my mind. Thus I suppose she was enabled to follow me to the Irving Place house. But of course I recognized her at once when I saw her at Miss Remsen's."

"Did I understand you to say that this Rose Mitchel is your daughter?"

"I don't know what you understood, but I did not say so. I spoke of her just as you did, 'Rose Mitchel, who pa.s.sed as my daughter.'"

"Well, then, is she your daughter?"

"I decline to answer."

"Why do you do so?"

"I must decline to reply to that also."

"Do you not see, Mr. Mitchel, you are simply making your actions more and more suspicious?"

"My dear Mr. Barnes, I do not care a straw how much suspicion I arouse, so long as I am not confronted by any proof. Whenever you think you have any proof against me, come to me and I will endeavor to refute it."

"Very well. You have asked me to discover who stole Miss Remsen's ruby.

I have already done so."

"Mr. Barnes, you are a genius. Who is it?"

"Yourself."