08 - Just Men of Cordova by Edgar Wallace

In The Just Men of Cordova (1917), a series of European financiers from London to Cordova are dying under mysterious circumstances, falling victim to an unidentified poison. Edgar Wallace, in his previous novel, introduced us to a group of vigilantes known as the Four Just Men, who are renowned for their ingenuity, persistence, lock breaking skills, and mastery of disguise. They operate in the shadowy realm beyond the law, their lethal justice instilling terror in their targets. But who are these men and who supports their cause? Edgar Wallace, a prolific author from the golden age of detective fiction, penned over 170 novels, including King Kong. With over 160 films based on his work, and a publishers claim that a quarter of all books read in England at the time were his, Wallaces influence is undeniable. - Summary by ASharma

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter eight of The Just Men of Cordoba by Edgar Wallace.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read by Atolsharma, Winnipeg, Canada.
Chapter eight, Colonel Black has a shock. Mister Sandford had
an appointment with Colonel Black. It was the final interview
before the break. The city was busy with rumors. A

(00:24):
whisper had circulated. All was not well with the financier.
The amalgamation on which so much depended had not gone through.
Black sat at his desk that afternoon, idly twiddling a
paper knife. He was more sallow than usual, the hand
that held the knife twitch nervously. He looked at his watch.

(00:44):
It was time Sandford came. He pushed a bell by
the side of his desk and a clerk appeared. Has
mister Sandford arrived, he asked. He has just come, sir,
said the man. Show him in. The two men exchanged
formal greetings, and Black pointed to a chair. Sit down, Sandford.
He said, curtly, now exactly how do we stand where

(01:07):
we did? Said the other, uncompromisingly. You will not come
into my scheme. I will not, said the other. Colonel
Black tapped the desk with his knife, and Sandford looked
at him. He seemed older than when he had last
seen him. His yellow face was seamed and lined. It
means ruin for me, he said, Suddenly. I have more

(01:28):
creditors than I can count. If the amalgamation went through,
I should be established. There are lots of people in
with me too. Ikey Trember, you know, sir Isaac. He's
a friend of er, the Earl of Verlande. But the
elder man was not impressed. It is your fault if
you are in a hole, said he. You have taken

(01:49):
on too big a job. More than that, you have
taken too much for granted. The man at the desk
looked up from under his straight brows. It is all
very well for you to sit there and tell me
what I should do, he said, and the shakiness of
his voice told the other something of the passion he concealed.
I do not want advice, sir Homily, I want money,

(02:12):
come into my scheme and amalgamate or or, repeated the
iron master quietly. I do not threaten you, said Black sullenly.
I warn you you are risking more than you know.
I'll take the risks, said Sandford, He got up on
to his feet. Have you anything more to say? Nothing,
then I'll bid you good bye. The door closed with

(02:35):
a slam behind him, and Black did not move. He
sat there until it was dark, doing no more than
scribble aimlessly upon his blotting pad. It was nearly dark
when he drove back to the flat he occupied in
Victoria Street and let himself in. There is a gentleman
waiting to see you, sir, said the man who came,
hurrying to help him out of his coat. What sort

(02:57):
of man. I don't know exactly, sir, but I have
got a feeling that he is a detective. A detective.
He found his hands trembling and cursed his folly. He
stood uncertainly in the center of the hall. In a minute,
he had mastered his fears and turned the handle of
the door. A man rose to meet him. He had
a feeling that he had met him before. It was

(03:19):
one of those impressions that it is so difficult to explain.
You wanted to see me, he asked, Yes, sir, said
the man, a note of deference in his voice. I
have called to make a few inquiries. It was on
the tip of Black's tongue to ask him whether he
was a police officer, but somehow he had not the
courage to frame the words. The effort was unnecessary, as

(03:40):
it proved, for the next words of the man explained
his errand I have been engaged, he said, by a
firm of solicitors to discover the whereabouts of doctor Eslely.
Black looked hard at him. There ought to be no
difficult he said, in that the doctor's name is in
the directory. That is so, said the man, And yet

(04:01):
I have had the greatest difficulty in running him to earth.
As a matter of fact, explained the man, I was
wrong when I said I wanted to discover his whereabouts.
It is his identity I wished to establish. I do
not follow you, said the financier. Well, said the man.
I don't know exactly how to put it. If you
know doctor Esley, you will recall the fact that he

(04:23):
was for some years in Australia. That is true, said Black.
He and I came back together, and you were there
some years, sir, Yes, we were there for a number
of years, though we were not together all the time.
I see, said the man. You went out together. I
believe no, replied the other, sharply we went at different periods.

(04:44):
Have you seen him recently? No, I have not seen him,
though I have frequently written to him on various matters.
Black was trying hard not to lose his patience. It
would not do for this man to see how much
the questions were irritating him. The man jotted down something
in his note, closed it and put it in his pocket.
Would you be surprised to learn, he asked quietly, that

(05:06):
the real doctor Esley, who went out to Australia died there.
Black's fingers caught the edge of the table, and he
steadied himself. I did not know that, he said. Is
that all you have to ask? He said? As the
man finished, I think that will do, sir, said the detective.
Can I ask you on whose behalf you are inquiring?

(05:27):
Demanded the colonel that I am not at liberty to tell.
After he had gone, Black paced the apartment deep in thought.
He took down from the shelf a continental bedecker and
worked out with a pencil and paper a line of retirement.
The refusal of Sandford to negotiate with him was the
crowning calamity. He crossed the room with a safe which

(05:49):
stood in the corner and opened it. In the inside
drawer were three flat packets of notes. He picked them
out and laid them on the table. They were notes
on the Bank of France, each for a thousand francs.
It would be well to take no risks. He put
them in the inside pocket of his coat. If all
things failed, they were the way to freedom. As for Esley,

(06:12):
he smiled, he must go anyway. He left his flat
and drove eastward to the city. Two men followed him,
though this he did not know. Black boasted that his
corporation kept no books, maintained no record, and this fact
was emphasized the night that the four had visited him unbidden.

(06:32):
Their systematic search for evidence, which they had intended to
use against him at a recognized tribunal, had failed to
disclose the slightest vestige of documentary evidence which might be employed. Yet,
if the truth be told, Black kept a very complete
set of books. Only they were in a code of
his own devising, the key of which he had never

(06:53):
put on paper, and which he only could understand. He
was engaged on the evening of the detectives visit and
placing even these ledgers beyond the reach of the four
He had good reason for his uneasiness. The Four had
been very active of late, and they had thought fit
to issue another challenge to Colonel Black. He was busy

(07:14):
from nine o'clock to eleven, tearing up apparently innocent letters
and burning them. When that hour struck, he looked at
his watch and confirmed the time. He had very important
business that night. He wrote a note to Sir Isaac
Tramber asking him to meet him that night. He had
need of every friend, every pull, and every bit of

(07:36):
help that could come to him. And of Chapter eight