The Gloved Hand Read online

  CHAPTER XI

  SWAIN'S STORY

  "I hate to wake you, Lester," Godfrey said, smiling, "but it's nearlyfour o'clock. Dr. Hinman will be here before long, and if you're goingto hear Swain's story, you'll have to be getting up."

  I sat up in bed at once, all trace of sleepiness vanished.

  "How is he?" I asked.

  "He seems to be all right. He's been up for some time. I haven't saidanything to him about last night--I wanted the doctor to see himfirst; besides, I thought you ought to be present."

  "I'll be down right away," I said, and twenty minutes later, I foundGodfrey and Swain sitting together on the front porch. As Swainreturned my greeting, I was relieved to see that his eyes were nolonger fixed and staring, but seemed quite normal.

  "Mrs. Hargis has your breakfast ready," said Godfrey, "and I thinkI'll join you. Will you come, Mr. Swain?"

  "No, thank you," Swain replied. "I had my breakfast only about anhour ago. I'll just sit here, if you don't mind."

  "All right," said Godfrey, "we won't be long," and together we wentback to the dining-room.

  Mrs. Hargis was there, and greeted us as though stopping out till dawnand breakfasting at four o'clock in the afternoon were the mostordinary things in the world. A copy of the _Record_ was lying, asusual, on the table, and a black headline caught my eye:

  WORTHINGTON VAUGHAN MURDERED

  * * * * *

  RICH RECLUSE STRANGLED TO DEATH AT HIS HOME IN THE BRONX

  * * * * *

  I glanced at Godfrey in surprise.

  "Yes," he said, reddening a little, "I was just in time to 'phone thestory in for the last edition. I called the doctor first, though,Lester--you must give me credit for that! And it was a beautifulscoop!"

  "What time did you get up?" I asked.

  "About noon. I sent down the full story for to-morrow morning's paperjust before I called you."

  "Any developments?"

  "None that I know of. Of course, I haven't heard Swain's story yet."

  "Godfrey," I said, "it seems to me that this thing is going to lookbad for Swain--I think Goldberger suspects him already. A good dealdepends upon his story."

  "Yes, it does," Godfrey agreed.

  We finished the meal in silence. It was not a long one, for I, atleast, was anxious to get back to Swain. As we rejoined him on theporch, Dr. Hinman's car came up the drive. He got out and shook handswith us. As he greeted Swain, I saw him glance anxiously into hiseyes--and saw also that the glance reassured him.

  "You're feeling better to-day," he said, sitting down by Swain's side.

  "Yes," said Swain quietly, "I'm feeling all right again."

  "How is Miss Vaughan, doctor?" I asked.

  Swain jerked round toward the doctor.

  "Is Miss Vaughan ill?" he demanded.

  "She had a shock last night," answered the doctor, slowly; "but she'sgetting along nicely. She'll have to be kept quiet for a few days."

  I was looking at Swain curiously. He was rubbing his headperplexedly, as though trying to bring some confused memory to thesurface of his mind.

  "I seem to remember," he said, "that Miss Vaughan fainted, and that Ipicked her up." Then he stopped and stared at us. "Is her fatherdead?"

  "Yes," I said, and he fell to rubbing his head again.

  I glanced at Hinman, and he nodded slightly. I took it for assurancethat Swain might be questioned. Godfrey, who had gone indoors to getsome cigars, came back with a handful. All of us, including Swain,lighted up.

  "Now, Swain," I began, "I want you to tell us all that you remember oflast night's happenings. Both Mr. Godfrey and Dr. Hinman are in myconfidence and you may speak freely before them. I want them to hearyour story, because I want their advice."

  There was a pucker of perplexity on Swain's face.

  "I've been trying, ever since I woke up this morning, to straightenout my remembrance of last night," he began, slowly; "but I haven'tsucceeded very well. At least, everything seems to stop right in themiddle."

  "Go ahead," I said, "and tell us what you do remember. Maybe it willgrow clearer as you recall it, or maybe we can fill in the gaps. Beginat the moment you went over the wall. We know everything that happenedup to that time. You remember that clearly, don't you?"

  "Oh, yes," said Swain. "I remember all that," and he settled back inhis chair. "Well, after I went down the ladder, I found myself in aclump of shrubbery, and beyond that was a path. I knew that the arbourwhere I was to meet Miss Vaughan was in the corner of the grounds atthe back next to Mr. Godfrey's place, so I turned back along the wall,leaving the path, which curved away from it. It was very dark underthe trees, and I had to go slowly for fear of running into one ofthem. But I finally found the arbour. I struck a match to assuremyself that it was empty, and then sat down to wait. Once or twice Ifancied I heard some one moving outside, but it was only the windamong the trees, I guess, for it was fully half an hour before MissVaughan came."

  I could see how his hand was trembling on the arm of his chair, and hepaused a moment to collect himself.

  "What Miss Vaughan told me," he went on, at last, and I saw that ofthe details of the meeting he did not intend to speak, "convinced methat her father was quite mad--much worse than I had suspected. Iknew, of course, that he was a student of the supernatural, but sincethe coming of this yogi...."

  "This what?" Hinman interrupted.

  "A yogi," Swain answered, turning toward him, "is, as nearly as I canmake out, a sort of high priest of Hinduism. He knows all its secrets,and is supposed to be able to do all sorts of supernatural things.This fellow who lived with Mr. Vaughan is a yogi. Mr. Vaughan was hisdisciple."

  "Where did the yogi come from?" Godfrey asked.

  "I don't know. I don't think Miss Vaughan knows. He arrived, with hisattendant, about six months ago; and since then things have gone frombad to worse. There has been crystal-gazing and star-worship andnecromancy of all sorts. I confess I didn't understand very much ofit," he added. "It was all so wild and weird; but it ended not only inMr. Vaughan's becoming a convert to whatever religion it is the yogipractises, but in a determination that his daughter should become apriestess of the cult. It was from that she wished me to help her toescape."

  He stopped and again rubbed his head slowly.

  "As I tell it," he went on, at last, "it sounds absurd andunbelievable; but as she told it, there in the darkness, with thosestrange rustlings round us, it sent the chills up and down my spine.Perhaps those Orientals _do_ know more about the supernatural than wegive them credit for; at any rate, I know that Miss Vaughan had beenimpressed with the yogi's power. It fascinated and at the same timehorrified her. She said he had a hideous snake, a cobra, which hepetted as she would pet a kitten...."

  His voice broke off again, and he wiped the perspiration from hisforehead. I myself felt decidedly nervous. Godfrey threw away hiscigar, which had broken in his fingers.

  "At any rate," Swain went on, "I was so upset by what she told me thatI could think of nothing to do except to beg her to come away with meat once. I remembered my promise to you, Mr. Lester, but I was sureyou would approve. I told her about you--that it was into your handsthe letter had fallen. She said she had seen you looking at her from atree and had known at a glance that she could trust you. You didn'ttell me you were in a tree," he added.

  "Yes," I said, awkwardly. "I was just taking a little look over thelandscape. Rather foolish of me, wasn't it?"

  "Well, it was mighty fortunate, anyway. She had written the letter,but she had no idea how she was going to get it to me."

  "You mean she couldn't go out when she wanted to?" demanded Godfrey.

  "I gathered from what she told me," said Swain, his face flushing withanger, "that she has been practically a prisoner ever since the yogiarrived. Besides, even if she had succeeded in mailing the letter, i
twouldn't have reached me until too late."

  "In what way too late?"

  "Her father seems to have had a sudden turn for the worse yesterday;he became almost violent in insisting that she consent to his plan. Hetold her that the life of his own soul as well as of hers dependedupon it. He threatened--I don't know what. The yogi talked to herafterwards. He, of course, believed, or pretended to believe, as herfather did; moreover, he told her that her father would certainlysuffer a serious mental shock if she refused, perhaps a fatal one. Indespair, she finally agreed, on the condition that she be given threedays in which to prepare herself. If she did not hear from me in thattime, she had made up her mind to consent."

  Swain stopped again, and I lay back in my chair, wondering if suchthings were possible in this twentieth century, here within theboundaries of Greater New York! My brain reeled at the absurdity of it!

  "Vaughan was undoubtedly suffering from mania," said Dr. Hinman, in alow voice. "The symptoms, as Mr. Swain describes them, are unmistakable."

  "It was that argument I used," said Swain. "I told her that, since hewas clearly mad, she must, in self-defence, place herself beyond hisreach. But she refused to leave him. Then, I argued, in kindness tohim she must have him committed to some institution where he would betaken care of, and where he might, in time, regain his sanity. I toldher that it would be criminal folly to permit him to remain longerunder the influence of the yogi. She had to agree with me; and shefinally consented to sign an affidavit to the facts as I have toldthem, and a petition asking that a commission be appointed to examineher father. You were to have drawn up the papers to-day, Mr. Lester,and I was to have taken them to her for signature to-night."

  "That would have settled the matter," said Godfrey, thoughtfully."It's too bad it wasn't settled in that way. What else happened, Mr.Swain?"

  "Miss Vaughan had grown very nervous, with all this discussion, and atlast she sprang to her feet and said she must go, or her father woulddiscover her absence. We rose to leave the arbour, and at thatinstant, a white-robed figure sprang to her side, seized her and toreher away from me. I was too startled for an instant to resist; then,as I started toward them, Marjorie pushed me back.

  "'Go! Go!' she cried. 'It is my father!'

  "But he stopped me. In a voice shaking and husky with rage, he warnedme that if I entered the place again, my life would be forfeit. Ican't repeat the horrible things he said. I could see his eyesgleaming like a wild beast's. He cursed me. I had never been cursedbefore," and Swain smiled thinly, "and I confess it wasn't pleasant.Then he led his daughter away.

  "I stood staring after them. I didn't know what to do. I felt like amadman myself. I sat down and tried to collect my thoughts. I saw thatsome new plan must be made--that there was no hope of meeting Marjorieagain. I was sick with fear for her; I thought of following to thehouse and compelling her to come with me at once. And then, suddenly,I saw two eyes gleaming at me. They were not human eyes--they were tooclose together--and they were swaying gently back and forth in theair, about a foot from the ground. I gazed at them, fascinated, andthen I heard a soft, low whistle, followed by a faint hissing, as theeyes fell forward.

  "In a flash, I knew what it was--the cobra; I knew why it wasthere--Vaughan had said my life was forfeit. I sprang up with ashriek, dashed along the seat to the door and out into the darkness. Istruck my head against something--a tree, I suppose; but I kept on,and reached the wall and got over it somehow--it is all confused,after that. I seem to remember hearing Marjorie scream, and findingher lying beside her father, who was dead--but I can't put thingstogether," and he rubbed his head helplessly.

  "I'll put them together for you," said Godfrey. "When you ran into thetree, you suffered a partial concussion. It's lucky it wasn't total,or Toto would have got you!"

  "Toto?"

  "That, I believe, is the cobra's name," explained Godfrey, with asmile; "unless, of course, there are two of them." And he told Swainin detail of the events which had followed.

  Swain listened with staring eyes. I did not blame him. Indeed, I feltthat my own eyes were staring a little, though I already knew thestory. But Godfrey, with a gift of narration born of long newspaperexperience, told it in a way that made its horror salient and left onegasping.

  "There is one question I want to ask you, Swain," he said, inconclusion, "and I want you to think carefully before you answer it.During your altercation with Mr. Vaughan, did you at any time touchhim?"

  "Touch him? No, of course not," and Swain shook his head decidedly.

  "You are sure of that?" asked Godfrey earnestly.

  "Perfectly sure," said Swain, looking at him in astonishment. "I wasnever within three feet of him."

  Godfrey sprang to his feet with a gesture of relief.

  "I seem to need a cocktail," he said, in another tone. "Isn't that theprescription for all of us, doctor?"

  "Yes," assented Hinman, smiling, "and, after that, complete change ofsubject!"