May 16, 2025 • 16 mins
When the British Consulate in Leghorn falls victim to a puzzling burglary, and an enigmatic English yacht pays an unexpected visit, it sparks an enthralling journey of espionage and hidden criminal machinations. This thrilling tale sweeps the reader from London to Scotland, and finally to the oppressed lands of Finland, under the harsh rule of imperial Russia. Our protagonist is a man of exceptional acumen, a precursor to the likes of Double O Seven, who finds himself pushed to his limits as he navigates this web of intrigue and deception to uncover the truth. - Summary by Nicholas Clifford
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter sixteen of The Tsar Spy. This LibriVox recording is
in the public domain. Recording by Tom Weiss. The Tsar
Spy by William le Queue, Chapter sixteen marked men Captain Durnford.
I inquired of the hall porter of the club next morning.
(00:23):
Not here, sir, but he slept here last night, I remarked,
I have an appointment with him. The man consulted the
big book before him and answered, Captain Durnford went out
at nine twenty seven last night, sir, but has not returned. Strange,
I thought, But although I waited in the club nearly
an hour, he did not put in an appearance. I
(00:45):
called again at noon and he had not come in,
and again at two o'clock, but he had not even
then made his appearance. Then I began to be anxious.
I returned at the hotel, resolved to wait for a
few hours longer. He might have altered his mind and
gone to Eastbourne in search of Muriel. Yet had he
done so, he would surely have telegraphed to me. About
(01:09):
four o'clock, as I was passing through the big hall
of the hotel, I heard a voice behind me utter
a greeting in Italian, and turning in surprise, found Olinto
dressed in his best suit of black, standing hat in hand.
In an instant I recollected what Jack had told me
and regarded him with some suspicion. Signor commentantour, he said,
(01:31):
in a low voice, as though fearing to be overhead.
May I be permitted to speak in private with you? Certainly,
I said, and I took him in the lift up
to my room. I have come to warn you, Signor,
he said, when I had given him a seat. Your
enemies mean harm to you. And who are they? Pray,
I asked, biting my lips the same I suppose who
(01:53):
prepared that ingenious trap in Lambeth. I am not here
to reveal to you who they are, Signor, only to
warn you to have a care of yourself, was the
Italian's reply. Look here, Olinto, I exclaimed, determinedly, I've had
enough this confounded mystery. Tell me the truth regarding the
assassination of your poor wife up in Scotland. Ah, Signor,
(02:17):
he answered, sadly in a changed voice. I do not know.
It was a plot. Some one represented me, but he
was killed. Also. They believed they had struck me down.
He added with a bitter laugh. Poor Armida's body was
found concealed behind a rock on the opposite side of
the wood. I saw it, ah, he cried, shudderingly. Then
(02:39):
you are ignorant of the identity of your wife's assassin.
Entirely tell me one thing, I said, Did Armida possess
any trinket in the form of a little enameled cross,
like a miniature cross of Cavalier? Yes, I gave it
to her. I found it on the floor at the
mansion house where I was engaged as odd wait for
(03:00):
a banquet. I know I ought to have given it
up to the Lord Mayor's servants, but it was such
a pretty little thing that I was tempted to keep it.
It probably had fallen from the coat of one of
the diplomatists dining there. I was silent. The faint suspicion
that Oberg had been at that spot was now entirely removed.
(03:20):
The only clue I had was satisfactorily accounted for. Why
do you ask, Signor commandantour? He added, because the cross
was found at the spot and was believed to have
been dropped by the assassin, I said, the police had
it seemed succeeding in discovering the unfortunate woman after all,
(03:41):
and had found that she was his wife. You know
a man named lythecourt, I asked a few moments later,
Now tell the truth in this affair, Olinto Our interests
are mutual, are they not? He nodded, after a moment's hesitation.
And you know also a man named Archer, who is
sometimes known as Hornby or Woodruff, as well as a
(04:03):
friend of his called chatter see senor, he said, I
have met them all, to my regret. And have you
ever met a Russian, a certain Baron Oberg and his
niece elm Heath? His niece? She isn't his niece? Then?
Who is she? I demanded? How do I know? I
have seen her once or twice. But she's dead, isn't she?
(04:26):
She knew the secret of those men, and they intended
to kill her. I tried to prevent them taking her
away on the yacht, and I would have gone to
the police. Only I dare not why well, because my
own hands are not quite clean, he answered, after a pause,
his eyes fixed upon mind the while. I knew they
(04:46):
intended to silence her, but I was powerless to save her.
Poor young lady. They took her on board Lifecourt's yacht,
the Iris, and they sailed for the Mediterranean. I believe
then the name and appearance of the yacht was a
altered on the voyage, and it became the Lola, I said,
no doubt, he smiled. The Iris was a steamer of
(05:07):
many names, and had I believed, been painted nearly all
the colors of the rainbow at various times. It was
a mysterious vessel. But she exists no more. They scuttled
her somewhere up in the Baltic I've heard, And who
is this o bird? I inquired, urging him to reveal
to me all he knew concerning him. He stands in
(05:28):
great fear of the poor young lady, I believe, for
it was at his instigation that Lifecourt and his friends
took her on that fatal yachting cruise. And what was
your connection with them? Well? I was Lifecourt's servant, was
his reply. I was stoward on the Iris for a
year until I supposed they thought that I began to
see too much, and then I was placed in a
(05:50):
position ashore. And what did you see? More than I
cared to tell? Signor. If they were arrested, I should
be arrested too, you see. But I mean to solve
this mystery, Olinto, I said fiercely, for I was in
no trifling mood. I'll fathom it if it cost me
my life. If the signor saws it himself, then I
(06:12):
cannot be charged with revealing the truth, was the man's
diplomatic reply. But I fear that they are far too wary.
Armida has lost her life. Surely that is sufficient incentive
for you to bring them all to justice. Of course,
but if the law falls upon them, it will also
fall upon me. I explained the terrible affliction to which
(06:35):
my love had been subjected by those heartless brutes. Whereupon
he cried enthusiastically. Then she is not dead. She can
tell us everything, But cannot you tell us? No? Not
all the secret she knows has never been revealed. They
feared she might be incautious, and for that reason Oberg
made the villainous suggestion of the yachting trip. She was
(06:57):
to be drowned accidentally. Of course, she is in Petersburg now.
I left her a week ago in Russia a signor.
For her sake, don't allow the young lady to remain there.
The baron is all powerful. He does what he wishes
in Russia, and the more merciless he is to the
people he governs, the greater rewards he receives from the Czar.
(07:20):
I have never been in Russia, but surely it must
be a strange country. Signor Well, I said, sitting upon
the edge of the bed and looking at him, Are
you prepared to denounce them if I bring the Signorita
Heath here to England? But what is the use if
we have no clear proof? Was his evasive reply. I
could see plainly that he feared being himself implicated in
(07:43):
some extraordinary plot, the exact nature of which he so
steadfastly refused to reveal to me. We talked on for
fully half an hour, and from his conversation I gathered
that he was well acquainted with elma Ah Signor. She
was such a pleasant and kind hearted young lady. I
always felt very sorry for her. She was in deadly
(08:05):
fear of them because they were thieves. I hazarded Ah worse.
But why did they induce you to entice me to
that house in Lambeth? Why did they so evidently desire
that I should be killed by accident, he interrupted, correcting me,
always by accident, and he smiled grimly. Surely you know
(08:26):
their secret motive, I remarked at the time, I did not,
he declared. I acted on their instructions, being compelled to,
for they hold my future in their hands. Therefore I
could not disobey. You knew too much. Therefore you were
marked down for death, just as you are now. And
who is it who is now seeking my life? I
(08:48):
inquired gravely. I only returned from Russia yesterday. Your movements
are well known, answered the young Italian. You cannot be
too careful. Woodruff has been in Russia with you, has
he not, I replied in the affirmative, whereupon he said
I thought so, but was not quite sure and chatter.
I inquired, where is he in London and the life courts.
(09:12):
He shrugged his shoulders with a gesture of ignorance, adding
the Signorita Muriel returned to London from Eastbourne this morning.
Where can I find her, I inquired eagerly. It is
of the utmost importance that I should see her. She
is with the relation a cousin. I think at Bassett Road,
notting Hill. The house is called Homewood. You have seen her? No,
(09:35):
I heard she had returned and her father is still
in hiding from Chatter. He is still in hiding, But
Chatter is his best friend. That is curious, I remarked,
recollecting the hurried departure for Ranat they've made it up.
I suppose they never quarreled, to my knowledge. Then why
did lythecourt leave Scotland so hurriedly on Chatter's arrival? You
(09:59):
know all about the affair, of course, he nodded, saying
with a grim smile. Yes, I know. The party up
there must have been a very interesting one. If the
police could have made a raid on the place, they
would have found among the guests certain persons long wanted.
But the arrival of Chatter and the flight of life
(10:19):
Court had an ulterior object. Chatter had never been Lifecourt's enemy.
But I can't understand that, I said, Why should Lifecourt
have attacked Chatter, rendered him unconscious and shut him up
in the cupboard in the library. Was it Lifecourt who
did that? He asked dubiously. I think not. It was
(10:39):
another of the guests who was Chatter's bitterest enemy. But
Philip lithecourt took advantage of Lufracus in order to make
believe that he had fled because of Chatter's arrival. Ah,
he added, you haven't any idea of their ruses. They
are amazing, so it seems, I said, nevertheless, only half
convinced that the Italian was telling me the truth. If
(11:02):
it was really as he had said, that the arrival
of Chatter and the flight was merely a blind then
the mystery was again deepened. Then who was the man
who attacked Chatter? I asked, Only Chatter himself knows it
was one of the guests, That is quite evident. And
you say that the flight had been pre arranged, I remarked, yes,
(11:23):
with a distinctive motive, he said. Then, after a pause,
he added, with a strange, earnest look in his dark eyes,
pardon me, signor commandentour, If I presume to suggest something,
will you not? Certainly? What do you suggest? That you
should remain here in this hotel and not venture out
(11:44):
for fear of something unfortunate happening to me? I laughed,
I'm really not afraid, o'linto, I added, you know I
carry this, and I drew out my revolver from my
hip pocket. I know, Signor, he said anxiously, but you
might not be afforded opportunity for using it. When they
lay a trap, they bait it. Well. I know there
(12:05):
are a set of the most ingenious scoundrels in London.
It is very evident. Yet I don't fear them in
the least, I declared, I must rescue the Signorita heath.
But Signor, have a care for yourself, cried the Italian,
laying his hand upon my arm. You are a marked man.
Ah do I not know, he exclaimed breathlessly. If you
(12:26):
go out, you may run right into well, the fatal accident.
Never fear olinto, I said, reassuringly. I shall keep my
eyes well open. Here in London, one's life is safer
than anywhere else in the world, perhaps certainly safer than
in some places I could name in your own country, Ah,
at which he grinned. The next moment, he grew serious
(12:49):
again and said, I only warn the signor that if
he goes out, it is at his own peril. Then
let it be so, I laughed, feeling self confident that
no one could lead me into any trap. I was
neither a foreigner nor a country cousin I knew London
too well. He was silent and shook his head. Then,
(13:10):
after telling me that he was still at the same
restaurant in Westbourne Grove, he took his departure, warning me
once more not to go forth. Half an hour later,
disregarding his words, I strode out into the strand and
again walked round to the Junior. The short wintry day
had ended, the gas lamps were lit, and the darkness
(13:30):
of night was gradually creeping on. Jack had not been
to the club, and I began now to grow thoroughly uneasy.
He had parted from me at the corner of the Strand,
with only a five minutes walk before him, and yet
he had apparently disappeared. My first impulse was to drive
to notting Hill to inquire of Muriel if she had
(13:51):
news of him. But somehow the Italian's warning words made
me wonder if he had met with foul play. I
suddenly recollected those two two men who had passed by
as we had talked, and how that the features of
one had seemed strangely familiar. Therefore, I took a cab
to the police station down at Whitehall and made inquiry
(14:12):
of the inspector on duty in the big Bear office
with its flaring gas jets in wire globes. He heard
me to the end, then, turning back the book of
occurrences before him, glanced through the ruled entries. I should
think this is the gentleman, sir, he said, and he
read to me the entry as follows. P C. Four
(14:32):
six two A reports that at two o seven a m.
While on duty outside the National Gallery, he heard a
revolver shot followed by a man's cry. He ran to
the corner of Suffolk Street, where he found a gentleman
lying upon the pavement suffering from a serious shot wound
in the chest and quite unconscious. He obtained the assistance
(14:55):
of PC's two eighteen A and three forty three A,
and the gentleman, who was not identified, was taken to
the charing Cross Hospital, where the house surgeant expressed a
doubt whether he could live. Neither PCs recollect having noticed
any suspicious looking person in the vicinity. John Percival, Inspector,
(15:16):
I waited for no more, but rushed round to the
hospital in the cab and was five minutes later taken
along the ward where I identified poor Jack lying in bed,
white faced and unconscious. The doctor was here a quarter
of an hour ago, whispered the sister, and he fears
he is sinking. He has uttered no words, I asked, anxiously,
(15:38):
made no statement none. He has never regained consciousness, and
I fear, sir, he never will. It is a case
of deliberate murder, the police told me early this morning.
I clenched my fists and swore a fierce revenge for
that dastardly act. And as I stood beside the narrow bed,
I realized that what Olinta who had said regarding my
(16:01):
own peril was the actual truth. I was a marked man.
Was I never to penetrate that inscrutable and ever increasing mystery.
End of chapter sixteen, Recording by Tom Wess
Chapter sixteen of The Tsar Spy. This LibriVox recording is
in the public domain. Recording by Tom Weiss. The Tsar
Spy by William le Queue, Chapter sixteen marked men Captain Durnford.
I inquired of the hall porter of the club next morning.
(00:23):
Not here, sir, but he slept here last night, I remarked,
I have an appointment with him. The man consulted the
big book before him and answered, Captain Durnford went out
at nine twenty seven last night, sir, but has not returned. Strange,
I thought, But although I waited in the club nearly
an hour, he did not put in an appearance. I
(00:45):
called again at noon and he had not come in,
and again at two o'clock, but he had not even
then made his appearance. Then I began to be anxious.
I returned at the hotel, resolved to wait for a
few hours longer. He might have altered his mind and
gone to Eastbourne in search of Muriel. Yet had he
done so, he would surely have telegraphed to me. About
(01:09):
four o'clock, as I was passing through the big hall
of the hotel, I heard a voice behind me utter
a greeting in Italian, and turning in surprise, found Olinto
dressed in his best suit of black, standing hat in hand.
In an instant I recollected what Jack had told me
and regarded him with some suspicion. Signor commentantour, he said,
(01:31):
in a low voice, as though fearing to be overhead.
May I be permitted to speak in private with you? Certainly,
I said, and I took him in the lift up
to my room. I have come to warn you, Signor,
he said, when I had given him a seat. Your
enemies mean harm to you. And who are they? Pray,
I asked, biting my lips the same I suppose who
(01:53):
prepared that ingenious trap in Lambeth. I am not here
to reveal to you who they are, Signor, only to
warn you to have a care of yourself, was the
Italian's reply. Look here, Olinto, I exclaimed, determinedly, I've had
enough this confounded mystery. Tell me the truth regarding the
assassination of your poor wife up in Scotland. Ah, Signor,
(02:17):
he answered, sadly in a changed voice. I do not know.
It was a plot. Some one represented me, but he
was killed. Also. They believed they had struck me down.
He added with a bitter laugh. Poor Armida's body was
found concealed behind a rock on the opposite side of
the wood. I saw it, ah, he cried, shudderingly. Then
(02:39):
you are ignorant of the identity of your wife's assassin.
Entirely tell me one thing, I said, Did Armida possess
any trinket in the form of a little enameled cross,
like a miniature cross of Cavalier? Yes, I gave it
to her. I found it on the floor at the
mansion house where I was engaged as odd wait for
(03:00):
a banquet. I know I ought to have given it
up to the Lord Mayor's servants, but it was such
a pretty little thing that I was tempted to keep it.
It probably had fallen from the coat of one of
the diplomatists dining there. I was silent. The faint suspicion
that Oberg had been at that spot was now entirely removed.
(03:20):
The only clue I had was satisfactorily accounted for. Why
do you ask, Signor commandantour? He added, because the cross
was found at the spot and was believed to have
been dropped by the assassin, I said, the police had
it seemed succeeding in discovering the unfortunate woman after all,
(03:41):
and had found that she was his wife. You know
a man named lythecourt, I asked a few moments later,
Now tell the truth in this affair, Olinto Our interests
are mutual, are they not? He nodded, after a moment's hesitation.
And you know also a man named Archer, who is
sometimes known as Hornby or Woodruff, as well as a
(04:03):
friend of his called chatter see senor, he said, I
have met them all, to my regret. And have you
ever met a Russian, a certain Baron Oberg and his
niece elm Heath? His niece? She isn't his niece? Then?
Who is she? I demanded? How do I know? I
have seen her once or twice. But she's dead, isn't she?
(04:26):
She knew the secret of those men, and they intended
to kill her. I tried to prevent them taking her
away on the yacht, and I would have gone to
the police. Only I dare not why well, because my
own hands are not quite clean, he answered, after a pause,
his eyes fixed upon mind the while. I knew they
(04:46):
intended to silence her, but I was powerless to save her.
Poor young lady. They took her on board Lifecourt's yacht,
the Iris, and they sailed for the Mediterranean. I believe
then the name and appearance of the yacht was a
altered on the voyage, and it became the Lola, I said,
no doubt, he smiled. The Iris was a steamer of
(05:07):
many names, and had I believed, been painted nearly all
the colors of the rainbow at various times. It was
a mysterious vessel. But she exists no more. They scuttled
her somewhere up in the Baltic I've heard, And who
is this o bird? I inquired, urging him to reveal
to me all he knew concerning him. He stands in
(05:28):
great fear of the poor young lady, I believe, for
it was at his instigation that Lifecourt and his friends
took her on that fatal yachting cruise. And what was
your connection with them? Well? I was Lifecourt's servant, was
his reply. I was stoward on the Iris for a
year until I supposed they thought that I began to
see too much, and then I was placed in a
(05:50):
position ashore. And what did you see? More than I
cared to tell? Signor. If they were arrested, I should
be arrested too, you see. But I mean to solve
this mystery, Olinto, I said fiercely, for I was in
no trifling mood. I'll fathom it if it cost me
my life. If the signor saws it himself, then I
(06:12):
cannot be charged with revealing the truth, was the man's
diplomatic reply. But I fear that they are far too wary.
Armida has lost her life. Surely that is sufficient incentive
for you to bring them all to justice. Of course,
but if the law falls upon them, it will also
fall upon me. I explained the terrible affliction to which
(06:35):
my love had been subjected by those heartless brutes. Whereupon
he cried enthusiastically. Then she is not dead. She can
tell us everything, But cannot you tell us? No? Not
all the secret she knows has never been revealed. They
feared she might be incautious, and for that reason Oberg
made the villainous suggestion of the yachting trip. She was
(06:57):
to be drowned accidentally. Of course, she is in Petersburg now.
I left her a week ago in Russia a signor.
For her sake, don't allow the young lady to remain there.
The baron is all powerful. He does what he wishes
in Russia, and the more merciless he is to the
people he governs, the greater rewards he receives from the Czar.
(07:20):
I have never been in Russia, but surely it must
be a strange country. Signor Well, I said, sitting upon
the edge of the bed and looking at him, Are
you prepared to denounce them if I bring the Signorita
Heath here to England? But what is the use if
we have no clear proof? Was his evasive reply. I
could see plainly that he feared being himself implicated in
(07:43):
some extraordinary plot, the exact nature of which he so
steadfastly refused to reveal to me. We talked on for
fully half an hour, and from his conversation I gathered
that he was well acquainted with elma Ah Signor. She
was such a pleasant and kind hearted young lady. I
always felt very sorry for her. She was in deadly
(08:05):
fear of them because they were thieves. I hazarded Ah worse.
But why did they induce you to entice me to
that house in Lambeth? Why did they so evidently desire
that I should be killed by accident, he interrupted, correcting me,
always by accident, and he smiled grimly. Surely you know
(08:26):
their secret motive, I remarked at the time, I did not,
he declared. I acted on their instructions, being compelled to,
for they hold my future in their hands. Therefore I
could not disobey. You knew too much. Therefore you were
marked down for death, just as you are now. And
who is it who is now seeking my life? I
(08:48):
inquired gravely. I only returned from Russia yesterday. Your movements
are well known, answered the young Italian. You cannot be
too careful. Woodruff has been in Russia with you, has
he not, I replied in the affirmative, whereupon he said
I thought so, but was not quite sure and chatter.
I inquired, where is he in London and the life courts.
(09:12):
He shrugged his shoulders with a gesture of ignorance, adding
the Signorita Muriel returned to London from Eastbourne this morning.
Where can I find her, I inquired eagerly. It is
of the utmost importance that I should see her. She
is with the relation a cousin. I think at Bassett Road,
notting Hill. The house is called Homewood. You have seen her? No,
(09:35):
I heard she had returned and her father is still
in hiding from Chatter. He is still in hiding, But
Chatter is his best friend. That is curious, I remarked,
recollecting the hurried departure for Ranat they've made it up.
I suppose they never quarreled, to my knowledge. Then why
did lythecourt leave Scotland so hurriedly on Chatter's arrival? You
(09:59):
know all about the affair, of course, he nodded, saying
with a grim smile. Yes, I know. The party up
there must have been a very interesting one. If the
police could have made a raid on the place, they
would have found among the guests certain persons long wanted.
But the arrival of Chatter and the flight of life
(10:19):
Court had an ulterior object. Chatter had never been Lifecourt's enemy.
But I can't understand that, I said, Why should Lifecourt
have attacked Chatter, rendered him unconscious and shut him up
in the cupboard in the library. Was it Lifecourt who
did that? He asked dubiously. I think not. It was
(10:39):
another of the guests who was Chatter's bitterest enemy. But
Philip lithecourt took advantage of Lufracus in order to make
believe that he had fled because of Chatter's arrival. Ah,
he added, you haven't any idea of their ruses. They
are amazing, so it seems, I said, nevertheless, only half
convinced that the Italian was telling me the truth. If
(11:02):
it was really as he had said, that the arrival
of Chatter and the flight was merely a blind then
the mystery was again deepened. Then who was the man
who attacked Chatter? I asked, Only Chatter himself knows it
was one of the guests, That is quite evident. And
you say that the flight had been pre arranged, I remarked, yes,
(11:23):
with a distinctive motive, he said. Then, after a pause,
he added, with a strange, earnest look in his dark eyes,
pardon me, signor commandentour, If I presume to suggest something,
will you not? Certainly? What do you suggest? That you
should remain here in this hotel and not venture out
(11:44):
for fear of something unfortunate happening to me? I laughed,
I'm really not afraid, o'linto, I added, you know I
carry this, and I drew out my revolver from my
hip pocket. I know, Signor, he said anxiously, but you
might not be afforded opportunity for using it. When they
lay a trap, they bait it. Well. I know there
(12:05):
are a set of the most ingenious scoundrels in London.
It is very evident. Yet I don't fear them in
the least, I declared, I must rescue the Signorita heath.
But Signor, have a care for yourself, cried the Italian,
laying his hand upon my arm. You are a marked man.
Ah do I not know, he exclaimed breathlessly. If you
(12:26):
go out, you may run right into well, the fatal accident.
Never fear olinto, I said, reassuringly. I shall keep my
eyes well open. Here in London, one's life is safer
than anywhere else in the world, perhaps certainly safer than
in some places I could name in your own country, Ah,
at which he grinned. The next moment, he grew serious
(12:49):
again and said, I only warn the signor that if
he goes out, it is at his own peril. Then
let it be so, I laughed, feeling self confident that
no one could lead me into any trap. I was
neither a foreigner nor a country cousin I knew London
too well. He was silent and shook his head. Then,
(13:10):
after telling me that he was still at the same
restaurant in Westbourne Grove, he took his departure, warning me
once more not to go forth. Half an hour later,
disregarding his words, I strode out into the strand and
again walked round to the Junior. The short wintry day
had ended, the gas lamps were lit, and the darkness
(13:30):
of night was gradually creeping on. Jack had not been
to the club, and I began now to grow thoroughly uneasy.
He had parted from me at the corner of the Strand,
with only a five minutes walk before him, and yet
he had apparently disappeared. My first impulse was to drive
to notting Hill to inquire of Muriel if she had
(13:51):
news of him. But somehow the Italian's warning words made
me wonder if he had met with foul play. I
suddenly recollected those two two men who had passed by
as we had talked, and how that the features of
one had seemed strangely familiar. Therefore, I took a cab
to the police station down at Whitehall and made inquiry
(14:12):
of the inspector on duty in the big Bear office
with its flaring gas jets in wire globes. He heard
me to the end, then, turning back the book of
occurrences before him, glanced through the ruled entries. I should
think this is the gentleman, sir, he said, and he
read to me the entry as follows. P C. Four
(14:32):
six two A reports that at two o seven a m.
While on duty outside the National Gallery, he heard a
revolver shot followed by a man's cry. He ran to
the corner of Suffolk Street, where he found a gentleman
lying upon the pavement suffering from a serious shot wound
in the chest and quite unconscious. He obtained the assistance
(14:55):
of PC's two eighteen A and three forty three A,
and the gentleman, who was not identified, was taken to
the charing Cross Hospital, where the house surgeant expressed a
doubt whether he could live. Neither PCs recollect having noticed
any suspicious looking person in the vicinity. John Percival, Inspector,
(15:16):
I waited for no more, but rushed round to the
hospital in the cab and was five minutes later taken
along the ward where I identified poor Jack lying in bed,
white faced and unconscious. The doctor was here a quarter
of an hour ago, whispered the sister, and he fears
he is sinking. He has uttered no words, I asked, anxiously,
(15:38):
made no statement none. He has never regained consciousness, and
I fear, sir, he never will. It is a case
of deliberate murder, the police told me early this morning.
I clenched my fists and swore a fierce revenge for
that dastardly act. And as I stood beside the narrow bed,
I realized that what Olinta who had said regarding my
(16:01):
own peril was the actual truth. I was a marked man.
Was I never to penetrate that inscrutable and ever increasing mystery.
End of chapter sixteen, Recording by Tom Wess
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