In the Fog Read online

screen as though it were stretched along theback of a divan, the hand of a man and the lower part of his arm. Iwas as startled as though I had come across a footprint on a desertedisland. Evidently the man had been sitting there since I had come intothe room, even since I had entered the house, and he had heard theservant knocking upon the door. Why he had not declared himself I couldnot understand, but I supposed that possibly he was a guest, with noreason to interest himself in the Princess's other visitors, or perhaps,for some reason, he did not wish to be observed. I could see nothing ofhim except his hand, but I had an unpleasant feeling that he had beenpeering at me through the carving in the screen, and that he still wasdoing so. I moved my feet noisily on the floor and said tentatively, 'Ibeg your pardon.'

  "There was no reply, and the hand did not stir. Apparently the manwas bent upon ignoring me, but as all I wished was to apologize for myintrusion and to leave the house, I walked up to the alcove and peeredaround it. Inside the screen was a divan piled with cushions, and on theend of it nearer me the man was sitting. He was a young Englishman withlight yellow hair and a deeply bronzed face.

  "He was seated with his arms stretched out along the back of the divan,and with his head resting against a cushion. His attitude was one ofcomplete ease. But his mouth had fallen open, and his eyes were set withan expression of utter horror. At the first glance I saw that he wasquite dead.

  "For a flash of time I was too startled to act, but in the same flash Iwas convinced that the man had met his death from no accident, that hehad not died through any ordinary failure of the laws of nature. Theexpression on his face was much too terrible to be misinterpreted. Itspoke as eloquently as words. It told me that before the end had come hehad watched his death approach and threaten him.

  "I was so sure he had been murdered that I instinctively looked on thefloor for the weapon, and, at the same moment, out of concern for myown safety, quickly behind me; but the silence of the house continuedunbroken.

  "I have seen a great number of dead men; I was on the Asiatic Stationduring the Japanese-Chinese war. I was in Port Arthur after themassacre. So a dead man, for the single reason that he is dead, does notrepel me, and, though I knew that there was no hope that this man wasalive, still for decency's sake, I felt his pulse, and while I kept myears alert for any sound from the floors above me, I pulled open hisshirt and placed my hand upon his heart. My fingers instantly touchedupon the opening of a wound, and as I withdrew them I found them wetwith blood. He was in evening dress, and in the wide bosom of hisshirt I found a narrow slit, so narrow that in the dim light it wasscarcely discernable. The wound was no wider than the smallest blade ofa pocket-knife, but when I stripped the shirt away from the chest andleft it bare, I found that the weapon, narrow as it was, had been longenough to reach his heart. There is no need to tell you how I felt as Istood by the body of this boy, for he was hardly older than a boy, orof the thoughts that came into my head. I was bitterly sorry for thisstranger, bitterly indignant at his murderer, and, at the same time,selfishly concerned for my own safety and for the notoriety which I sawwas sure to follow. My instinct was to leave the body where it lay, andto hide myself in the fog, but I also felt that since a succession ofaccidents had made me the only witness to a crime, my duty was to makemyself a good witness and to assist to establish the facts of thismurder.

  "That it might possibly be a suicide, and not a murder, did not disturbme for a moment. The fact that the weapon had disappeared, and theexpression on the boy's face were enough to convince, at least me, thathe had had no hand in his own death. I judged it, therefore, of thefirst importance to discover who was in the house, or, if they hadescaped from it, who had been in the house before I entered it. I hadseen one man leave it; but all I could tell of him was that he was ayoung man, that he was in evening dress, and that he had fled in suchhaste that he had not stopped to close the door behind him.

  "The Russian servant I had found apparently asleep, and, unless he acteda part with supreme skill, he was a stupid and ignorant boor, and asinnocent of the murder as myself. There was still the Russian princesswhom he had expected to find, or had pretended to expect to find, in thesame room with the murdered man. I judged that she must now be eitherupstairs with the servant, or that she had, without his knowledge,already fled from the house. When I recalled his apparently genuinesurprise at not finding her in the drawing-room, this latter suppositionseemed the more probable. Nevertheless, I decided that it was my duty tomake a search, and after a second hurried look for the weapon among thecushions of the divan, and upon the floor, I cautiously crossed the halland entered the dining-room.

  "The single candle was still flickering in the draught, and showed onlythe white cloth. The rest of the room was draped in shadows. I picked upthe candle, and, lifting it high above my head, moved around the cornerof the table. Either my nerves were on such a stretch that no shockcould strain them further, or my mind was inoculated to horrors, forI did not cry out at what I saw nor retreat from it. Immediately at myfeet was the body of a beautiful woman, lying at full length upon thefloor, her arms flung out on either side of her, and her white face andshoulders gleaming dully in the unsteady light of the candle. Around herthroat was a great chain of diamonds, and the light played upon theseand made them flash and blaze in tiny flames. But the woman who worethem was dead, and I was so certain as to how she had died that withoutan instant's hesitation I dropped on my knees beside her and placedmy hands above her heart. My fingers again touched the thin slit of awound. I had no doubt in my mind but that this was the Russian princess,and when I lowered the candle to her face I was assured that thiswas so. Her features showed the finest lines of both the Slav and theJewess; the eyes were black, the hair blue-black and wonderfully heavy,and her skin, even in death, was rich in color. She was a surpassinglybeautiful woman.

  07 At my feet was the body of a beautiful woman]

  "I rose and tried to light another candle with the one I held, butI found that my hand was so unsteady that I could not keep the wickstogether. It was my intention to again search for this strange daggerwhich had been used to kill both the English boy and the beautifulprincess, but before I could light the second candle I heard footstepsdescending the stairs, and the Russian servant appeared in the doorway.

  "My face was in darkness, or I am sure that at the sight of it he wouldhave taken alarm, for at that moment I was not sure but that this manhimself was the murderer. His own face was plainly visible to me in thelight from the hall, and I could see that it wore an expression of dullbewilderment. I stepped quickly toward him and took a firm hold upon hiswrist.

  "'She is not there,' he said. 'The Princess has gone. They have allgone.'

  "'Who have gone?' I demanded. 'Who else has been here?'

  "'The two Englishmen,' he said.

  "'What two Englishmen?' I demanded. 'What are their names?'

  "The man now saw by my manner that some question of great moment hungupon his answer, and he began to protest that he did not know the namesof the visitors and that until that evening he had never seen them.

  "I guessed that it was my tone which frightened him, so I took my handoff his wrist and spoke less eagerly.

  "'How long have they been here?' I asked, 'and when did they go?'

  "He pointed behind him toward the drawing-room.

  "'One sat there with the Princess,' he said; 'the other came after Ihad placed the coffee in the drawing-room. The two Englishmen talkedtogether and the Princess returned here to the table. She sat there inthat chair, and I brought her cognac and cigarettes. Then I sat outsideupon the bench. It was a feast day, and I had been drinking. Pardon,Excellency, but I fell asleep. When I woke, your Excellency was standingby me, but the Princess and the two Englishmen had gone. That is all Iknow.'

  "I believed that the man was telling me the truth. His fright hadpassed, and he was now apparently puzzled, but not alarmed.

  "'You must remember the names of the Englishmen,' I urged. 'Try tothink. When you announced th
em to the Princess what name did you give?'

  "At this question he exclaimed with pleasure, and, beckoning to me,ran hurriedly down the hall and into the drawing-room. In the cornerfurthest from the screen was the piano, and on it was a silver tray. Hepicked this up and, smiling with pride at his own intelligence, pointedat two cards that lay upon it. I took them up and read the namesengraved upon them."

  The American paused abruptly, and glanced at the faces about him. "Iread the names," he repeated. He spoke with great reluctance.

  "Continue!" cried the Baronet, sharply.

  "I read the names," said the American with evident distaste, "and thefamily name of each was the same. They were the names of two brothers.One is well known to you. It is that of the African