The detective brightened perceptibly."Ah, yes--the magazines! Yes, yes, indeed! publicity is unavoidable, unavoidable, Mr.Cleggett! But this box, now--"The great detective interrupted himself to laugh again, a triflecomplacently, Cleggett thought.
"I will not mystify you, Mr.Cleggett, about the box.Mystification is one of the tricks of the older schools of detection.I never practice it, Mr.Cleggett.With me, the detection of crime is a business--yes, a business.I will tell you presently how the box came into my possession.""It IS in your possession?" Cleggett felt a dull pang of the heart.If the box of Reginal Maltravers were in the hands of Logan Black he could at least trade the other oblong box to Loge for it, and thus save Lady Agatha.But in the possession of Wilton Barnstable, the great detective--! Cleggett pulled himself together; he thought rapidly; he recognized that the situation called, above all things else, for diplomacy and adroitness.He went on, nonchalantly:
"I suppose you are aware of the contents of the box?"The other laughed again as if Cleggett had made an excellent jest; there was something urbane and benign in his manner; it appeared as if he regarded the contents of the box of Reginald Maltravers as anything but serious; his tone puzzled Cleggett.
"Suppose I bring the box on board the Jasper B.," suggested the great detective."It interests me, that box.I have no doubt it has its story.And perhaps, while you are telling me some things about it, I may be able to give you some information in turn."There was no mistaking the fact that the man, whether genuinely friendly or no, wished to appear so.
"Have it brought into my cabin," said Cleggett, "and we will discussit."
A few minutes later Wilton Barnstable, Cleggett, Lady Agatha, MissPringle, and two of Wilton Barnstable's men sat in the cabin of the Jasper B., with the two oblong boxes before them--the one which had contained Loge's incriminating diary, and the one which had caused Lady Agatha so much trouble.
In the light of the cabin the three detectives were revealed as startlingly alike.Barton Ward and Watson Bard, Barnstable's twoassistants, might, indeed, almost have been taken for Barnstable himself, at a casual glance.In height, in bulk, in dress, in facial expression, they seemed Wilton Barnstable all over again.But, looking intently at the three men, Cleggett began to perceive a difference between the real Wilton Barnstable and his two counterfeits.It was the difference between the face which is informed of genius, and the countenance which is indicative of mere talent.
"Mr.Cleggett," began Wilton Barnstable, "as I said before, I will make no attempt to mystify you.I was a witness to the attack upon your vessel.Mr.Ward, Mr.Bard, and myself, in fact, had determined to assist you, had we seen that the combat was going against you.We lay, during the struggle, in the lee of your--your--er, schooner!--in the lee of your schooner, armed, and ready to bear a hand.We have our own little matter to settle with Logan Black.Why Logan Black should desire possession of this particular box, I am unable to state.Nevertheless, at the moment when he was leading his assault upon your starboard bow, two of his men, who had made a detour to the stern of your vessel, had clambered stealthily aboard, and were quietly pushing the box over the side into the canal.They let themselves down into the water, and swam towards the mouth of the canal, pushing it ahead of them.We followed in our rowboat, Mr.Ward, Mr.Bard, and myself, at a discreet distance.We let them push the box as far south as the Annabel Lee.And then--"He paused a moment, and smiled reminiscently.Barton Ward and Watson Bard also smiled reminiscently, and the three detectives exchanged crafty glances.
"Then, to be brief, we took the box away from them.They were so ill-advised as to struggle.They are in irons, now, on board the Annabel Lee.
"But what I cannot understand, Mr.Cleggett, is why these men should risk so much to make off with an empty box.""An empty box!" cried Cleggett.
"Empty!" echoed Lady Agatha and Miss Pringle, in concert.
The detective wrenched the cover from the box of Reginald Maltravers.
"Practically empty, at any rate," he said.
And, indeed, except for a few wads of wet excelsior, there was nothing in the box of Reginald Maltravers.
"Where, then," cried Lady Agatha, "is Reginald Maltravers?" "Where, indeed," said Wilton Barnstable, "is Reginald Maltravers?" "Where, then," cried Miss Pringle, "are my plum preserves?""Where, indeed?" repeated Wilton Barnstable.And Barton Ward and Watson Bard, although they did not speak aloud, stroked their mustaches and their lips formed the ejaculation, "Where, indeed?""We will tell you everything," said Cleggett.And beginning with his purchase of the Jasper B.he recounted rapidly, but with sufficient detail, all the facts with which the reader is already familiar, weaving into his story the tale of Lady Agatha and the adventures of Miss Pringle.Wilton Barnstable listened attentively.So did Barton Ward and Watson Bard.The benign smile which was so characteristic of Wilton Barnstable never left the three faces, but it was evident to Cleggett that these trained intelligences grasped and weighed and ticketed every detail.
While Cleggett narrates, and Wilton Barnstable and his men listen, a word to the reader concerning this great detective.
