The Devil's Cocktail (13 page)

‘That's a good notion,' put in Miles. ‘Novar and Co. will be on the lookout for all letters, and they're bound to have people in the post office in their pay.'

‘Well, that's decided,' said Hugh, with a sigh of relief. ‘I'll leave you to discover the best way to shake off anybody who starts to follow you, Cousins.'

‘Trust me to do that,' said the little man confidently.

One of them, a young man in the semi-European dress affected by so many Indians, was sitting in a chair, his drawn countenance denoting that he was in pain; the other standing by his side was watching Novar with a look of fear. And at the moment the latter was not a pleasant sight. His flabby, usually good-humoured face was as dark as thunder, and his eyes flashed with the vehemence of his
words, while every now and again his lips were drawn back in a snarl that made him look like a wild beast.

‘Fools! Imbeciles! Idiots!' he stormed. ‘You may have done irreparable mischief by this altogether uncalled-for assault. In the devil's name—why did you do it?'

‘I have told you, sahib,' said the man who was standing. ‘Sayed here as usual followed the little man when he left the house. He was close behind him all the way into the Lawrence Gardens, and then he lost him—'

‘Dolt!' snapped Novar. ‘Well, go on!'

‘He made many efforts to find him, but it was of no use, so he returned to me. You had given us instructions that if ever we suspected either Shannon sahib or the small man of doing something by means of which they may have gained information, we were to knock them down and search them. We consulted for a long time before deciding. We saw the tall Englishman and his sister and the American sahib return one after the other, but the servant did not come till late. In that time he could have done much harm, so when he entered the gate, I sprang on him with a knife, but he eluded me, and fired. A bullet hit Sayed, as you see, and he is badly hurt.'

Apparently not knowing enough expletives in Hindustani, the Russian broke out into a string of his own. For several minutes he walked up and down the room swearing to himself, and then turned once more and confronted the two Indians.

‘You've made absolute fools of yourselves,' he said. ‘The man was probably out for mere harmless amusement, and you've raised suspicions that we wanted to avoid. Obviously in the first place he found out that he was being tracked and I told you to be careful not to let either of them suspect they were being watched. Then to take the risk of attacking him without any adequate reason, and to
make such a mess of it, and above all to assault him inside his own grounds—' He raised his hands above his head as though he were about to dash them into the faces of the two men who cringed before him. At that moment the fellow in the chair gave a low moan and crumpled up in a dead faint.

‘Where was he hit?' demanded Novar.

‘In the right side I think, sahib.'

Novar, assisted by the other, examined the wounded man, and found that a bullet had entered apparently just below the ribs, and was probably imbedded there.

‘This is a nice thing,' growled the Russian. ‘He'll have to be seen by a doctor and what explanation are you going to make? The devil! Were there ever such fools? Help me to lift him on to that couch!'

They placed the sufferer on the couch, and Novar sent the other Indian to get water and try to bring him round. He himself went to the telephone and rang up Rahtz.

‘Have you gone to bed yet?' he inquired, when he was through.

‘Just going,' was the reply,

‘Then don't! A
contretemps
has occurred and I'd like you to jump into your car, and come here!'

‘What has happened?'

‘Tell you when you arrive! Be as quick as you can!' He rang off.

In ten minutes there was the sound of a car drawing up outside, and as Rahtz left the driving seat, Novar came out of the house to meet him. He took him straight into his study, and explained what had happened. Rahtz listened, and then he, too, swore, but he did not appear to be so affected as Novar had been.

‘After all, the only harm that can possibly come of the business,' he said, ‘is that Shannon will arrive at the conclusion that the people he has come to watch have discovered it and are watching him. If he
is out here on behalf of the British Secret Service, he is a very poor member of it.'

‘You should never underrate your opponents,' said Novar.

‘Bah!' returned the other. ‘He is not worth considering.'

‘I'm not so sure. At any rate this affair tonight will make him suspect that there is somebody about who regards him as dangerous, and what is more, he will immediately recognise that Cousins also must be known to us as a secret agent.'

‘Of course it is very annoying and idiotic,' said Rahtz, ‘that this should have happened, but they will never suspect you or me.'

‘Why not? They know our nationality!'

‘Quite so! We have never made the slightest effort to hide it; in fact have many times talked about it, and in that lies our greatest security. These obtuse Britishers will search for Russians who are hiding their race under the guise of Britons.'

‘I hope you are right,' said Novar doubtfully.

‘I'm sure I am! Was Cousins wounded?'

‘No; I don't think so. From what Mushtaq told me I should think that he must have been expecting an attack since he got out of the way and fired so rapidly.'

Rahtz looked thoughtful.

‘I don't like the look of that, or of the fact that he knew he was followed and gave Sayed the slip. We shall have to watch these gentry more carefully than ever after this. Perhaps it would be better to leave it to Kamper.'

Novar shook his head.

‘Kamper cannot watch them both and all the time.. Besides if he is recognised it'll mean very short shrift for him.'

Rahtz nodded.

‘Still he's quite the best man we have out here, and if there is
anything to be discovered about Shannon and his pretended manservant, he'll discover it. I suppose there is no news from the postal department?'

‘No; so far only three letters of Shannon's have been intercepted and they were perfectly harmless. Now what is to be done about Sayed? He is badly wounded and must have a doctor, and if he does all sorts of inquiries will be made. The police out here are very interested in cases of shooting and stabbing, you know.'

‘They shouldn't have come here – the fools!' growled Rahtz. ‘If they had gone to their own homes and reported it as an attack by Hindus, it would have been put down as due to the communal feeling.'

‘I'm glad you take the matter so coolly,' said Novar, rather impatiently.

‘There is no reason for taking it in any other way. It is very unnecessary and irritating, but that's all.'

‘Come along and see Mushtaq!'

When they entered the dining room, they found that Sayed had recovered consciousness, and his companion had done his best to make him a little comfortable.

‘Well, you're a nice pair of bunglers,' said Rahtz gruffly. ‘You've behaved like a couple of madmen!'

Mushtaq started to explain all over again.

‘I don't want to hear your excuses,' interrupted the other. ‘Since you did attack Cousins, why the devil didn't you make a better job of it. As it is,' he added callously to the wounded man, ‘it's rather a pity he didn't finish you off! It would have saved a heap of trouble.'

‘Talking like that won't get us anywhere,' put in Novar. ‘What is to be done with him?'

Rahtz thought deeply for a moment with a scowl on his face, then:

‘I've got it!' he said. ‘There's a small hospital of sorts near my place, and I know the doctor in charge. I'll take Sayed there, and say that I found him lying wounded in the Lawrence Gardens, and that as it is obviously a case of Hindu–Muslim trouble he had better keep it quiet. Now, you two,' he added to the Indians; ‘all you know is that you were fired at by a Hindu in the Gardens – you wouldn't recognise him again as it was too dark! Do you understand?'

They both nodded. Novar took Rahtz aside.

‘Supposing that Shannon and Cousins report the matter; what then?' he asked.

‘It's the very thing they will not do, as you know. Besides, I'll see that not a whisper gets outside that hospital!'

A few minutes later the wounded man was helped into the car, and Rahtz drove away.

Cousins took extraordinary precautions in order not to be followed to Bombay, when he left with Hugh's bulky despatch for the Chief. Shannon was now the proud possessor of a small, speedy car, and on the evening of mail day, he took Cousins for a run in the direction of the Cantonments and then doubled round on to the Grand Trunk road and headed for Amritsar. They soon left all motor traffic behind and, with the exception of occasional bullock carts and tongas, had the road to themselves on the thirty-three mile run to the Sikh city.

Cousins had been busy in the tonneau with a box of grease paints, a looking-glass and a few other odds and ends, and when Hugh stopped the car on the outskirts of Amritsar a fresh complexioned little man, with a dark pointed beard turning grey, stepped from the car and hailed a tonga.

‘Splendid!' said Hugh admiringly. ‘If there is a spy on the train he'll never recognise you in that make-up!'

The tonga drove up, and Cousins transferred a small suitcase and
his roll of bedding – which had been hidden under a rug on the floor of the car – to the vehicle.

‘Our faithful watchers will be much intrigued when you arrive back without me,' he said. ‘Goodbye!'

‘Goodbye!' said Hugh. ‘Be very careful!'

He turned the car and drove away. Cousins was conveyed to the station where he had a wait of three hours before the mail train for Bombay was due. However, he left his luggage in charge of a ticket collector, and had a leisurely dinner in the first-class refreshment room. He then booked a berth in the name of ‘Mr Sutton' – Sutton being his home – and sat down in the waiting room to wait with exemplary patience for the train.

It ran slowly into the station at last, and he found his compartment – a coupé – which he was to share with a frank-faced, boyish-looking Englishman, who turned out to be a subaltern of a famous line regiment on his way home for a spell of leave. The young man was delighted to be going to England, and his jolly chat and high spirits kept Cousins very entertained on the tedious journey to Bombay. He saw nobody he could regard with suspicion, and the great seaport was reached without incident.

Leaving his belongings in the cloakroom at the station, Cousins went straight to the ship and asked to see the Captain. He found it rather a difficult matter, but when he sent a message on board to the effect that he was on private Government business, he was shown to the Captain's cabin, where that important personage was awaiting him.

‘I'm afraid I cannot give you more than five minutes, Mr—?' He looked inquiringly at Cousins.

‘It doesn't matter about my name, sir,' said the latter briskly. ‘I am a member of the British Intelligence Department, and I am here
to ask you to convey, under your personal care, a despatch to Sir Leonard Wallace.'

The Captain, who was a genial man of about fifty, looked surprised, then smiled.

‘In other words you want to make a secret agent of me, eh?' he said.

‘Put it that way if you like, sir; but the information contained in the despatch is extremely important, and we dare not risk sending it through the ordinary channels.'

‘Where is the despatch?'

Cousins took it from the breast pocket of his jacket, and held it out to the other, who read the superscription, and examined the seals.

‘H'm!' he grunted. ‘I suppose you can show me some proof of your authority. You see, one has to be very careful in a mar like this.'

In reply Cousins undid his waistcoat, and opening his shirt, disclosed a belt made of soft leather in which were two or three pockets with buttoned flaps. Opening one of these he drew out a folded parchment, which he handed to the Captain. The latter unfolded and read it, then returned it with a look of interest at his visitor.

‘Thank you!' he said. ‘I shall be only too delighted to carry your package home for you. To whom am I to deliver it?'

‘You will be met at Marseilles, probably by one of the King's Messengers. At all events whoever asks you for the despatch will produce ample authority.'

The Captain rose and, taking the large official envelope across to a safe hidden behind a curtain, he locked it away, and returned to his desk.

‘You would like a receipt, of course?' he asked.

‘Please!'

When Cousins had put the receipt in his pocket, the Captain held out his hand.

‘I am glad to be of service to you,' he said.

‘And I thank you for your courtesy, sir,' replied the little man. ‘You understand, of course, that nobody knows that you have that packet!'

‘Nobody will know,' replied the bronzed sailor. ‘Goodbye!'

Cousins left the ship, and waited about on the wharf until she sailed.

When two days later he arrived back in Lahore and drove to the bungalow in a tonga, having once more resumed his normal appearance, it was immediately reported to Novar and Rahtz, who had been much intrigued by his disappearance, that he had returned with a suitcase and a roll of bedding. This caused a good deal of conjecture to the Russians, who felt uneasy over the business.

‘My friend,' said Novar to the other, ‘if this man can disappear so simply and leave no trace, depend upon it we have a much more dangerous proposition in him and his master than we thought. They obviously know that they are watched.'

‘Oh, nonsense!' replied Rahtz. ‘It was the foolishness of the driver of your car, which enabled Shannon to slip away on the Cantonment road.'

‘Our shadowers have twice been slipped now,' Novar reminded him.

On the night of Cousins' return there was a big dance at the Club, to which Joan and Hugh went. By this time they had made many friends, some of them being very nice people, and as soon as Hugh walked into the gentlemen's cloakroom he was greeted on all sides. One man, a small, straight fellow, with a dark, rugged face, and a large military moustache, welcomed him with particular warmth.

‘Come and have a drink!' he invited, in a hoarse voice. ‘I haven't seen you lately.'

‘Presently!' said Hugh. ‘I must see my sister settled first!'

The other laughed.

‘There will be plenty of men to see to Miss Shannon's comfort,' he said.

‘I prefer to see to it myself,' said Hugh, and leaving the room, he met Joan who had just emerged from the ladies' retiring room. He found a couple of cane chairs and a table in a corner and escorted her to them. Immediately they were joined by a tall, willowy girl with a bored expression on her face, and a most affected air.

‘You two are always together,' she said languidly, dropping into the chair Hugh pushed forward for her. ‘Do you always intend keeping the men from your sister, Mr Shannon?'

Although she knew Hugh was a captain, she never, under any circumstances, gave him his proper title, probably because her fiancé, the man who had spoken to Shannon in the cloakroom, had risen to the
temporary
rank of captain during the war and was never now known by any other title than plain mister. She was the type of girl who considered that she first, and her fiancé second, should be the centre of interest always; she expected every other man to take a back seat when he was present, and she loved to bask in his imagined importance. He was entirely the right man for her, for he also looked upon himself as a born leader, and was surprised when people did not hang on his words with the respect and deference which he considered was his right.

‘I've no desire to keep anyone from my sister, Miss Palmer,' said Hugh.

‘Well, you are always hovering over her like a sentry,' replied Miss Palmer disdainfully. ‘That sort of thing might be all right for England, but things are different in India.'

‘I like Hugh to hover over me, as you call it,' said Joan.

‘But, my dear, it's not done. Anybody would think he was a lover, instead of a brother.'

‘I prefer to have a brother, thank you!'

Miss Palmer laughed in a tired way.

‘Are you afraid of the men out here?' she asked.

‘Of course not!'

‘You can always choose your own friends, you know. I do, and I'm naturally most particular. One can't know everyone!' She laid emphasis on the ‘know'.

At that moment a nice-looking boy came up, and asked Joan for a dance. The latter smiled, and a moment later was fox-trotting happily with her young partner. Miss Palmer sniffed.

‘A nice boy,' she remarked, ‘but he's so young, and in such a subordinate position. It does not do to encourage people like that too much.'

‘Most people have to start in a subordinate position, Miss Palmer,' said Hugh. ‘And I'd rather that boy danced with my sister than a good many of the senior men – that fellow, for instance!'

He indicated Hudson, who was passing on the other side of the room.

‘Mr Hudson!' she exclaimed, almost in horror. ‘Why, he's a most charming man! Do you know that he draws over two thousand rupees a month?'

‘I wouldn't mind if he drew twenty thousand, my opinion would remain the same.'

‘How perfectly ridiculous you are!' she said. ‘I don't suppose that Mr Hudson would bother about your opinion. You see he occupies rather an important position, and after all, you are only an assistant in an obscure college, aren't you?'

She expected to irritate him, but when he laughed with wholehearted enjoyment she bit her lip with annoyance.

‘Shall we dance?' he suggested.

‘No; I don't want to dance just yet, thanks!'

‘Snubbed!' thought Hugh to himself and smiled again.

At that moment the Deputy Commissioner came up. Miss Palmer put on her best smile; surely he must be coming to ask her to dance, it was rather more than she had expected, but after all only her due. Apparently he thought differently, for he merely bowed slightly to her, and held out his hand to Hugh.

‘How are you, Shannon?' he said. ‘Can you spare me five minutes some time this evening?'

‘Of course!' replied Hugh.

‘Good! I'd like to have a chat with you. By the way, remind Miss Shannon that she promised me a dance tonight, will you? I'll come and find her myself later on,' he added, and with a nod, and another formal bow to Miss Palmer, he passed on.

‘Will you excuse me?' said Hugh, turning to Miss Palmer. ‘I promised Groves to go and have a drink with him.'

‘Tell him I am waiting here, will you?' she said, an angry spot on either cheek.

‘With pleasure!' he murmured, and wandered away.

He found Groves in the bar in the centre of a crowd of cronies.

‘You've been a long time,' the dark man said. ‘What is yours? A peg?'

‘Thanks. A small one! I've been talking to Miss Palmer. She told me to tell you that she is waiting for you.'

‘Isn't she dancing?'

‘No. I asked her, but she said she didn't want to dance just yet.'

‘She wants her Basil,' said one of the other men, and Groves joined in the laugh which followed.

Hugh gritted his teeth. He wondered what he would have done, if he had been engaged, and any man had spoken of
his
fiancée in a tone like that.

‘I won't be very long,' said Groves.

For ten minutes Hugh listened to the conversation, which was mainly about girls. Opinions were expressed to which he was unused, and his companions began to sicken him. They discussed people with a familiarity that was almost indecent, and spoke of marriage as a necessity that must be regarded from the point of view of one's future welfare. Girls who were daughters of men with not very important positions were talked of as ‘nice little things' to have a bit of fun with, but there the line must be drawn.

At last with a feeling of nausea Hugh made an excuse and wandered away. Groves followed him.

‘Must do a little dancing,' he said. ‘Women expect it, although it doesn't appeal to me much.'

Hugh was puzzled regarding Groves. He spoke without any trace of the Eurasian about him, but he was so dark, admitted being born in India and spoke Hindustani so perfectly, that it certainly seemed that there was a trace of the mixture somewhere. Yet, whenever he spoke of the half-breeds, he expressed the most utter contempt, and derided them at every possible opportunity. But Miles had said that Eurasians always made a point of running their own people down, unless they were so dark that they knew they gave themselves away. And Groves was not too dark – many Englishmen who had spent their lives in India were as brown as he. Hugh, with a growing contempt in his heart, decided in his own mind that the man was – more than doubtful.

He drifted away from him and paid his respects to various people. He had been looking for some of the friends whom he really
appreciated, but tonight he seemed to be unlucky. Time and again he was compelled to speak to women whose whole object in life appeared to be a desire to pull their neighbours to pieces. They criticised other women's gowns, spoke openly of their family affairs, discussed how much each man they noticed earned, and how much he allowed his wife. These women comprised the usual social stratum of Lahore, and were typical of most towns in India; and their men-folk, in their own way, were as mean, intolerant and despicable in the expression of their opinions as were their wives. Hugh began to look with horror and loathing upon an existence which appeared to sap all that was best and sweetest out of life, and transformed it into a hideous, grasping, money-making, place-seeking travesty. Above these people, however, there was a society which had the freshness, and the charity, the purity and the toleration of the best circles at home, and that, Hugh knew, circled round the Governor. He had never met the gentleman who controlled the affairs of the Punjab, but he had met many of the people who were in the confidence of His Excellency, and he knew them to have all the attributes of the true, straight Englishman. Sir Reginald Scott, then so ably administering affairs as Governor, would have none but the very ablest, the very finest and the most honourable men round him. And those men had wives who were imbued with their own spirit, and would glorify the name of Great Britain anywhere.