June 9, 2025 • 22 mins
Imagine pulling over 26 miles outside Bordeaux and having your life transform forever. This is exactly what happens to Seymour Merriman. His ordinary halt spirals him into a whirlwind of mystery, illicit smuggling, chilling murder, and unexpected romance. With the clock ticking, two amateur sleuths scramble to solve the baffling enigma of alternating number plates and the dangerous dealings of the pit prop syndicate. If they fail, the notorious Inspector Willis from Scotland Yard will take over. Dive into this riveting narrative and see where the journey takes you.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter fifteen of The Pit prop Syndicate by Freeman Wills Crofts.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter fifteen
Inspector Willis listens in Inspector Willis was a good deal
exercised by the question of whether or not he should
have Archers shadowed. If the managing director conceived the slightest
(00:23):
suspicion of his danger, he would undoubtedly disappear, and a
man of his ability would not be likely to leave
many traces. On the other hand, Willis wondered whether even
Scotland yard men could shadow him sufficiently continuously to be
a real safeguard without giving themselves away. And if that happened,
he might indeed arrest Archer, but it would be good
(00:45):
bye to any chance of getting his confederates. After anxious thought,
he decided to take the lesser risk. He would not
bring assistance into the matter, but would trust his own
skill to carry on the investigation unnoticed by the distiller.
The The discovery of Archer's identity seemed greatly to strengthen
the probability that the secret telephone led to him. Willis
(01:06):
could not state this positively, and he felt it was
the next point to be ascertained. The same argument that
he had used before seemed to apply that, owing to
the difficulty of wiring, the point of connection must be
close to the depot. Archer's office was not more than
three hundred yards away, while his house, the Elms, was
over a mile. The chances were therefore in favor of
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the former. It followed that he must begin by searching
Archer's office for the other receiver, and he turned his
attention to the problem of how this could best be done.
And first, as to the lie of the offices, he
called it the electric generating station, and, having introduced himself
confidentially to the manager in his official capacity, asked to
(01:48):
see the man whose business it was to inspect the
lights of the distillery. From him, he had no difficulty
in obtaining a rough plan of the place. It appeared
that the offices were on the first floor, front along
the line Archer's private office occupying the end of the suite,
and the corner of the building nearest to the syndicate's wharf,
and therefore to Ferraby, the supervisor believed that it had
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two windows looking to the front and side, respectively, but
was not sure that afternoon, Inspector Willis returned to the
distillery and secret King himself in the same hiding place
as before, watched until the staff had left the building. Then,
strolling casually along the lane, he observed that the two
telephone wires which approached across the fields led to the
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third window from the farrabe end of the first floor row.
That'll be the main office, he said to himself, But
there will probably be an extension to Archer's own room.
Now I wonder, he looked about him. The hedge bounding
the river side of the lane ran up to the
corner of the building. After another hasty glance round, Willis
squeezed through, and from immediately below scrutinized the side of
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the window of the Managing Director's room. And then he
saw something which made him chuckle with pleasure. Within a
few inches of the arch tray of the window there
was a down spout, and from the top of the
window to the spout he saw stretching what looked like
a double cord. It was painted the same color as
the walls, and had he not been looking out specially,
he would not have seen it. A moment's glance at
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the foot of the spout showed him his surmise was correct.
Pushed in behind it and normally concealed by it, were
two insulated wires which ran down the wall from the
window and disappeared into the ground with the spout. Got
it first shot, thought the inspector, delightedly as he moved away,
so as not to attract the attention of any chance onlooker,
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another idea suddenly occurred to him, and after estimating the
height and position of the window, he turned and ran
his eyes once more over his surroundings. About fifty yards
from the distillery and behind the hedge fronting the lane
stood the cottage which Hilliard and Merriman had noticed. It
was in a bad state of repair, having evidently been
unoccupied for a long time. In the gable directly opposite
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the managing director's office was a broken window. Willis moved
round behind the house, and, once again producing his bent wire,
in a few moments, had the back door open. Slipping inside,
he passed through the damp, smelling rooms and up the
decaying staircase until he reached the broken window. From it,
as he had hoped, he found he had a good
view into the office. He glanced at his watch. It
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was ten minutes past seven. I'll do it to night,
he murmured, and quietly, leaving the house, he hurried to
Ferby station and so to Hull. Some five hours later
he left the city again, this time by motor. He
stopped at the end of the lane which ran past
the distillery, dismissed the vehicle and passed down the lane.
He was carrying a light folding ladder, a spade, a
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field telephone, a coil of insulated wire, and some small tools.
The night was very dark, the crescent moon would not
rise for another couple of hours, and a thick pall
of cloud cut off all light from the stars. A
faint wind stirred the branches of the few trees in
the neighborhood and sighed across the wide spaces of open country.
(05:06):
The inspector walked slowly, being barely able to see against
the sky the tops of the hedges which bounded the lane.
Except for himself, no living creature seemed to be abroad
arrived at his destination. Willis felt his way to the
gap in the hedge which he had used before, passed through,
and with infinite care, raised his ladder to the window
of Archer's office. He could not see the window, but
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he checked the position of the ladder by the measurements
from the hedge. Then he slowly ascended. He found he
had gaged his situation correctly, and he was soon on
the sill of the window, trying with his knife to
push back the hasp. This he presently accomplished, and then,
after an effort so great that he thought he would
be beaten, he succeeded in raising the sash. A minute
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later he was in the room. His first care was
to pull down the thick blinds of blue Holland with
which the windows were fitted. Then, tiptoeing to the door,
he noiselessly shot the bolt in the lock. Having thus
provided against surprise, he began his investigation. There in the
top corner of the side window were the wires. They
followed the miter of the window arch trave white enameled
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to match, and then, passing down for a few inches
at the outside of the moldings, ran along the picture
rail round the room, concealed in the groove behind it,
following in the same way the miter of the arch trave.
They disappeared through a door in the back wall of
the office. Willis softly opened the door, which was not locked,
and peered into a small store evidently used for filing.
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The wires were carried down the back of the arch
trave molding and along the top of the wainscotting, until
finally they disappeared into the side of one of a
series of cupboards which lined the wall opposite the door.
The cupboard was locked, but with the help of the
bent wire it soon stood open, and Willis, flashing in
a beam from his electric torch, saw with satisfaction that
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he had attained at least one of his objects. A
telephone receiver similar to that at the syndicate's depot, was within.
He examined the remaining contents of the room but found
nothing of interest until he came to the door. This
was solidly made and edged with rubber, and he felt
sure it would be almost completely sound proof. It was, moreover,
furnished with a well oiled lock. Pretty complete arrangement, Willis thought,
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as he turned back to the outer office. Here he
conducted another of his meticulous examinations, but unfortunately with a
negative result. Having silently unlocked the door and pulled up
the blinds, he climbed out on the window sill and
closed the window. He was unable to refasten the hasp,
and had therefore to leave this evidence of his visit,
though he hoped and believed it would not be noticed.
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Lifting down the ladder, he carried it to the cottage
and hid it Therein part of his task was done,
and he must wait for daylight to complete the remainder.
When some three hours later the coming dawn had made
objects visible, he again emerged, armed with his tools and
coil of insulated wire. Digging a hole at the bottom
of the down pipe, he connected his wires just below
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the ground level to those of the telephone. Then, inserting
his spade along the face of the wall from the
pipe to the hedge, he pushed back the adjoining soil,
placed the wires in the narrow trench thus made, and
trod the earth back into place. When the hole at
the downspout had been filled, practically no trace remained of
the disturbance, the ground along the inside of the hedge
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being thickly grown over with weeds and grass. He did
not think it necessary to dig a trench for the wire,
simply betting it beneath the foliage, But he made a
spade cut across the sward from the hedge to the
cottage door, sank in the wire, and trod out the cut.
Once he had passed the tiny cable beneath the front door,
he no longer troubled to hide it, but laid it
across the floors and up the stairs to the broken window.
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There he attached the field receiver, affixing it to his ear,
so as to be ready for eventualities. It was by
this time half past six and broad daylight, but Willis
had seen no sign of life, and he believed his
actions had been unobserved. He ate a few sandwiches, then,
lighting his pipe, lay down on the floor and smoked contentedly.
His case at last was beginning to prosper. The finding
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of Cockburn's murderer was, of course an event of outstanding importance,
and now the discovery of the telephone was not only
valuable for its own sake, but was likely to bring
in a rich harvest of information from the messages he
hoped to intercept. Indeed, he believed he could hardly fail
to obtain from this source a definite indication of the
nature and scope of the conspiracy. About eight o'clock he
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could see from his window a number of workmen arrive
at the distillery, followed an hour later by a clerical staff.
After them came Archer, passing from his car to the
building with his purposeful stride. Almost immediately he appeared in
his office, sat down at his desk, and began to
work until nearly midday. Willis watched him going through papers,
dictating letters, and receiving subordinates. That about two minutes to
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the hour, he saw him look at his watch, rise
and approach the door from the other office, which was
in Willis's line of vision behind the desk. He stooped
over the lock as if turning the case, and then
the watcher's excitement rose as the other disappeared out of
sight in the direction of the filing room. Willis was
not disappointed. Almost immediately he heard the faint call of
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the tiny buzzer, and then a voice, Archer's voice, he
believed from what he had heard in the hotel lounge,
called softly, are you there? There was an immediate answer.
Willis had never heard Benson speak, but he presumed that
the reply must be from him. Anything to report Archer queried.
No everything going on as usual, no strangers poking round
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and asking questions, and no traces of a visitor while
you were away. None good. It's probably a false alarm.
Beamish may have been mistaken. I hope so. But he
seemed very suspicious of that. Scotland yard man said he
was sure he was out for more than he pretended.
He thought he was too easily satisfied with the information
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he got, and that some of his questions were too
foolish to be genuine. Inspector Willis sat up sharply. This
was a blow to his dignity, and he felt not
a little scandalized. But he had no time to consider
his feelings. Archer was speaking again. I think we had
better be on the safe side. If you have the
slightest suspicion, don't wait to report to me. Why are
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at once to Henri at the clearing this message? Take
it down so there'll be no mistake. Six hundred four
foot props wanted if possible, Send next cargo got that
he will understand. It is our code for suspect danger.
Send blank cargoes until further notice. Then if a search
is made, nothing will be found because there won't be
anything to find. Very good. It's a pity to lose
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the money, but I expect you're right. We can't take
avoidable risks. Now about yourself, I see you brought no
stuff up last night, couldn't I had a rotten billious
attack I started, but had to go back to bed again.
Couldn't stand better? Yes? All right, now, thanks? Then you'll
bring the usual up to night, certainly, very well. Now
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what about ten forty five for tomorrow? Right? The switch snapped,
and in a few seconds the watcher saw Archer return
to his office, bend for a moment over the lock
of the door, then reseat himself at his desk. I've
got them now, he thought triumphantly. I've got them at
last to night. I'll take them red handed in whatever
they're doing, he smiled in anticipation. By jove, he went on,
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it was lucky they sent nothing up last night, or
they would have taken me red handed, and that might
have been the end of me. He was greatly impressed
by the excellence of the telephone scheme. There was nothing
anywhere about it to excite suspicion, and it kept Archer
in touch with the illicit undertaking, while enabling him to
hold himself absolutely aloof from all its members. If the
rest of the organization was as good. It was not
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surprising that Hilliard and Merriman had been baffled, But the
puzzle was now solved, the mystery at an end that night,
so Willis assured himself the truth would be known. He
reigned in his hiding place all day until indeed he
had watched the workers at the distillery leave and the
gray shadows of evening had begun to descend. Then he
hid the telephone and wire in a cupboard, stealthily left
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the house, and after a rapid glance round, hurried along
the lane towards Ferby. He caught the six stop five
seven train to Hall and in a few minutes was
at the police station. There he saw the Superintendent and,
after a little trouble, got him to fall in with
a plan which he had devised. As a result of
their conference. A large car left the city shortly before nine,
in which were seated Inspector Willis and eight picked constables
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and playing clothes. They drove to the end of Ferby Lane,
where the men dismounted and took cover behind some shrubs.
While the car returned towards Hull. It was almost but
not quite dark. There was no moon, but the sky
was clear, and the stars were showing brightly. A faint
air in which there was already a touch of chill,
sighed gently through the leaves, rising at intervals almost to
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a breeze, then falling away again to nothing. Lights were
showing here and there, yellow gleams from unshaded windows, signal
lamps from the railway navigation, lights from the river. Except
for the sound of the retreating car and the dull
roar of a distant train, the night was very still,
a night, in fact, pre eminently suitable for the inspector's purpose.
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The nine men moved silently down the lane at intervals
of a few minutes, their rubber shod feet making no
sound on the hard surface. Willis went first, and as
the others reached him, he posted them in the positions
on which he had previously decided. One man took cover
behind the hedge of the lane a short distance on
the distillery side of the wharf, another behind a pile
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of old material on the railway at the same place.
A third hid himself among some bushes on the open
ground between the railway and the river, while a fourth
crept as near to the end of the wharf as
the tide would allow, so as to watch approaches from
the water. When they were in position, Willis felt convinced
no one could leave the syndicate's depot for the distillery
without being seen the other four men. He led on
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to the distillery, placing them in a similar manner on
its Ferriby side. If by some extraordinary meny chance, the
messenger with the stuff should pass the first cordon, the second,
he was satisfied would take him. He left himself free
to move about as might appear desirable. The country was
extraordinarily deserted. Not one of the nine men had seen
a living soul since they left their motor, and Willis
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felt certain that his dispositions had been carried out in
absolute secrecy. He crossed the fence on to the railway
by climbing halfway up the ladder of a signal. He
was able to see the windows of the shed over
the galvanized fence. All were in darkness, and he wondered
if Benson had gone on his customary expedition into Hull
to satisfy himself on this point, he hid beneath a wagon,
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which was standing on the side close to the gate
in the fence. If the manager were returning by his
usual train, he would be due in a few minutes,
and Willis intended to wait and see. It was not
long before a sharp footfall told that some one was
coming along the lane. The unknown paused at the stile,
climbed over, and, walking more carefully across the rails, approached
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the door. Willis, whose eyes were accustomed to the gloom,
could make out the dim form of a man, showing
like a smudge of the intensified blackness against the obscurity beyond.
He unlocked the door, passed through, slammed it behind him,
and his retreating steps sounded from within. Finally, another door
closed in the distance, and silence once again reigned. Willis
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crawled out from beneath his truck and once more climbed
the signal ladder. The windows of Benson's office were now
lighted up, but the blinds being drawn, the inspector could
see nothing with them. After about half an hour, he
observed the same phenomenon as Hilliard and Merriman had witnessed.
The light was carried from the office to the bedroom,
and a few minutes later disappeared altogether. The ladder on
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which he was standing appearing to willis to offer as
good an observation post as he could hope to get.
He climbed to the little platform at the top, and,
seating himself, leaned back against the timber upright, and continued
his watch. Though he was keenly interested by his adventure,
time soon began to drag. It cramped on the little seat,
and he could not move freely for fear of falling off. Then,
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to his dismay, he began to grow sleepy. He had
of course been up all the previous night, and though
he had dozed a little during his vigil in the
deserted house, he had not really rested. He yawned, stretched
himself carefully, and made a determined effort to overcome his drowsiness.
He was suddenly and unexpectedly successful. He got the start
of his life, and for a moment he thought an
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earthquake had come. The signal post trembled and swayed, while
with a heavy metallic clang, objects moved through the darkness
near his head. He gripped the rail, and then he
laughed as he remembered that the railway signals were movable.
This one had just been lowered for a train. Presently
it roared past him, enveloping him in a cloud of steam,
which for an instant was lit bright as day by
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the almost white beam that poured out of the open
door of the engine fire box. Then the steam clearing,
there appeared a strip of faintly lit ground on either
side of the flying carriage roofs. It promptly vanished, red
tail lamps appeared leaping away. There was a rattle of
wheels over sighting connections, and with a rapidly decreasing roar,
the visitation was passed. For a moment there remained the
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quickly moving spot of lighted steam, then it too vanished.
Once again, the signal post swayed as the heavy mechanism
of the arm dropped back into the aw position, and
then all was once more still. The train had effectually
awakened Willis, and he set himself with a renewed vigor
to his task. Sharply, he watched the dark mass of
the shed with its surrounding enclosure. Keenly. He listened for
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some sound of movement within, but all remained dark and silent.
Towards one in the morning, he descended from his perch
and went the round of his men. All were alert,
and all were unanimous that no one had passed. The
time dragged slowly on. The wind had risen somewhat, and
clouds were banking towards the northwest. It grew colder, and
Willis fancied that there must be a touch of frost.
(18:55):
About four o'clock he went round his pickets for a
second time. He was becoming more more surprised that the
attempt had been delayed so long, and when some two
hours later the coming dawn began to brighten the eastern
sky and still no sign had been observed, his chagrin
waxed keen. As the light increased, he withdrew his men
to cover, and about seven o'clock, when it was no
longer possible that anything would be attempted, he sent them
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by ones and twos to await their car at the
agreed rendezvous. He was more disappointed at the failure of
his trap than he would have believed possible. What he
wondered could have happened. Why had the conspirators abandoned their purpose?
Had he given himself away. He went over in his
mind every step he had taken, and he did not
see how any one of them could have become known
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to his enemies, or how any of his actions could
have aroused their suspicions. No, it was not. He felt
sure that they had realized their danger. Some other quite
accidental circumstance had intervened to cause them to postpone the
transfer of the stuff for that night. But what extraordinary
hard luck for him. He had obtained his helpers from
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the superintendent only after considerable trouble, and the difficulty of
getting them again would be much greater. And not the
least annoying thing was that he, a London man, one
indeed of the best men at the yard, had been
made to look ridiculous in the eyes of these provincial police.
Dog Tired and hungry though he was, he set his
teeth and determined that he would return to the cottage
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in the hopes of learning the reason of his failure
from the conversation which he expected would take place between
Archer and Benson at a quarter to eleven that day.
Repeating therefore his proceedings of the previous morning, he regained
his point of vantage at the broken window. Again, he
watched the staff arrive, and again observed Archer enter and
take his place at the desk. He was desperately sleepy,
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and it required all the power of his strong will
to keep himself awake. But at last his perseverance was rewarded,
and at ten forty five exactly, he saw Archer bolt
his door and disappear towards the filing room. A moment later,
the buzzer sounded. Are you there? Once again came in
Archer's voice, following by the astounding phrase, I see you
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brought up that stuff last night. Yes, I brought up
two hundred and fifty, was Benson's amazing reply. Inspector Willis gasped,
he could scarcely believe his ears. So he had been
tricked after all, In spite of his carefully placed pickets,
in spite of his own ceaseless watchfulness, he had been
tricked two hundred and fifty of the illicit some things
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had been conveyed right under his and his men's noses,
from the depot to the distillery. Almost choking with rays
and amazement, he heard Archer continue, I had a lucky
deal after our conversation yesterday got seven hundred unexpectedly planted.
You may send up a couple of hundred extra tonight
if you like, right, I shall, Benson answered, and the
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conversation ceased. Inspector Willis swore bitterly as he lay back
on the dusty floor and pillowed his head on his hands.
And then, while he still fumed and fretted outraged, nature
asserted herself, and he fell asleep. He woke ravenously hungry
as it was getting dusk, and he did not delay
long in letting himself out of the house, regaining the lane,
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and walking to Faribe station. An hour later he was
dining at his hotel in Hull. End of chapter fifteen.
Chapter fifteen of The Pit prop Syndicate by Freeman Wills Crofts.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter fifteen
Inspector Willis listens in Inspector Willis was a good deal
exercised by the question of whether or not he should
have Archers shadowed. If the managing director conceived the slightest
(00:23):
suspicion of his danger, he would undoubtedly disappear, and a
man of his ability would not be likely to leave
many traces. On the other hand, Willis wondered whether even
Scotland yard men could shadow him sufficiently continuously to be
a real safeguard without giving themselves away. And if that happened,
he might indeed arrest Archer, but it would be good
(00:45):
bye to any chance of getting his confederates. After anxious thought,
he decided to take the lesser risk. He would not
bring assistance into the matter, but would trust his own
skill to carry on the investigation unnoticed by the distiller.
The The discovery of Archer's identity seemed greatly to strengthen
the probability that the secret telephone led to him. Willis
(01:06):
could not state this positively, and he felt it was
the next point to be ascertained. The same argument that
he had used before seemed to apply that, owing to
the difficulty of wiring, the point of connection must be
close to the depot. Archer's office was not more than
three hundred yards away, while his house, the Elms, was
over a mile. The chances were therefore in favor of
(01:28):
the former. It followed that he must begin by searching
Archer's office for the other receiver, and he turned his
attention to the problem of how this could best be done.
And first, as to the lie of the offices, he
called it the electric generating station, and, having introduced himself
confidentially to the manager in his official capacity, asked to
(01:48):
see the man whose business it was to inspect the
lights of the distillery. From him, he had no difficulty
in obtaining a rough plan of the place. It appeared
that the offices were on the first floor, front along
the line Archer's private office occupying the end of the suite,
and the corner of the building nearest to the syndicate's wharf,
and therefore to Ferraby, the supervisor believed that it had
(02:11):
two windows looking to the front and side, respectively, but
was not sure that afternoon, Inspector Willis returned to the
distillery and secret King himself in the same hiding place
as before, watched until the staff had left the building. Then,
strolling casually along the lane, he observed that the two
telephone wires which approached across the fields led to the
(02:31):
third window from the farrabe end of the first floor row.
That'll be the main office, he said to himself, But
there will probably be an extension to Archer's own room.
Now I wonder, he looked about him. The hedge bounding
the river side of the lane ran up to the
corner of the building. After another hasty glance round, Willis
squeezed through, and from immediately below scrutinized the side of
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the window of the Managing Director's room. And then he
saw something which made him chuckle with pleasure. Within a
few inches of the arch tray of the window there
was a down spout, and from the top of the
window to the spout he saw stretching what looked like
a double cord. It was painted the same color as
the walls, and had he not been looking out specially,
he would not have seen it. A moment's glance at
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the foot of the spout showed him his surmise was correct.
Pushed in behind it and normally concealed by it, were
two insulated wires which ran down the wall from the
window and disappeared into the ground with the spout. Got
it first shot, thought the inspector, delightedly as he moved away,
so as not to attract the attention of any chance onlooker,
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another idea suddenly occurred to him, and after estimating the
height and position of the window, he turned and ran
his eyes once more over his surroundings. About fifty yards
from the distillery and behind the hedge fronting the lane
stood the cottage which Hilliard and Merriman had noticed. It
was in a bad state of repair, having evidently been
unoccupied for a long time. In the gable directly opposite
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the managing director's office was a broken window. Willis moved
round behind the house, and, once again producing his bent wire,
in a few moments, had the back door open. Slipping inside,
he passed through the damp, smelling rooms and up the
decaying staircase until he reached the broken window. From it,
as he had hoped, he found he had a good
view into the office. He glanced at his watch. It
(04:24):
was ten minutes past seven. I'll do it to night,
he murmured, and quietly, leaving the house, he hurried to
Ferby station and so to Hull. Some five hours later
he left the city again, this time by motor. He
stopped at the end of the lane which ran past
the distillery, dismissed the vehicle and passed down the lane.
He was carrying a light folding ladder, a spade, a
(04:45):
field telephone, a coil of insulated wire, and some small tools.
The night was very dark, the crescent moon would not
rise for another couple of hours, and a thick pall
of cloud cut off all light from the stars. A
faint wind stirred the branches of the few trees in
the neighborhood and sighed across the wide spaces of open country.
(05:06):
The inspector walked slowly, being barely able to see against
the sky the tops of the hedges which bounded the lane.
Except for himself, no living creature seemed to be abroad
arrived at his destination. Willis felt his way to the
gap in the hedge which he had used before, passed through,
and with infinite care, raised his ladder to the window
of Archer's office. He could not see the window, but
(05:29):
he checked the position of the ladder by the measurements
from the hedge. Then he slowly ascended. He found he
had gaged his situation correctly, and he was soon on
the sill of the window, trying with his knife to
push back the hasp. This he presently accomplished, and then,
after an effort so great that he thought he would
be beaten, he succeeded in raising the sash. A minute
(05:50):
later he was in the room. His first care was
to pull down the thick blinds of blue Holland with
which the windows were fitted. Then, tiptoeing to the door,
he noiselessly shot the bolt in the lock. Having thus
provided against surprise, he began his investigation. There in the
top corner of the side window were the wires. They
followed the miter of the window arch trave white enameled
(06:12):
to match, and then, passing down for a few inches
at the outside of the moldings, ran along the picture
rail round the room, concealed in the groove behind it,
following in the same way the miter of the arch trave.
They disappeared through a door in the back wall of
the office. Willis softly opened the door, which was not locked,
and peered into a small store evidently used for filing.
(06:35):
The wires were carried down the back of the arch
trave molding and along the top of the wainscotting, until
finally they disappeared into the side of one of a
series of cupboards which lined the wall opposite the door.
The cupboard was locked, but with the help of the
bent wire it soon stood open, and Willis, flashing in
a beam from his electric torch, saw with satisfaction that
(06:55):
he had attained at least one of his objects. A
telephone receiver similar to that at the syndicate's depot, was within.
He examined the remaining contents of the room but found
nothing of interest until he came to the door. This
was solidly made and edged with rubber, and he felt
sure it would be almost completely sound proof. It was, moreover,
furnished with a well oiled lock. Pretty complete arrangement, Willis thought,
(07:20):
as he turned back to the outer office. Here he
conducted another of his meticulous examinations, but unfortunately with a
negative result. Having silently unlocked the door and pulled up
the blinds, he climbed out on the window sill and
closed the window. He was unable to refasten the hasp,
and had therefore to leave this evidence of his visit,
though he hoped and believed it would not be noticed.
(07:42):
Lifting down the ladder, he carried it to the cottage
and hid it Therein part of his task was done,
and he must wait for daylight to complete the remainder.
When some three hours later the coming dawn had made
objects visible, he again emerged, armed with his tools and
coil of insulated wire. Digging a hole at the bottom
of the down pipe, he connected his wires just below
(08:02):
the ground level to those of the telephone. Then, inserting
his spade along the face of the wall from the
pipe to the hedge, he pushed back the adjoining soil,
placed the wires in the narrow trench thus made, and
trod the earth back into place. When the hole at
the downspout had been filled, practically no trace remained of
the disturbance, the ground along the inside of the hedge
(08:22):
being thickly grown over with weeds and grass. He did
not think it necessary to dig a trench for the wire,
simply betting it beneath the foliage, But he made a
spade cut across the sward from the hedge to the
cottage door, sank in the wire, and trod out the cut.
Once he had passed the tiny cable beneath the front door,
he no longer troubled to hide it, but laid it
across the floors and up the stairs to the broken window.
(08:45):
There he attached the field receiver, affixing it to his ear,
so as to be ready for eventualities. It was by
this time half past six and broad daylight, but Willis
had seen no sign of life, and he believed his
actions had been unobserved. He ate a few sandwiches, then,
lighting his pipe, lay down on the floor and smoked contentedly.
His case at last was beginning to prosper. The finding
(09:06):
of Cockburn's murderer was, of course an event of outstanding importance,
and now the discovery of the telephone was not only
valuable for its own sake, but was likely to bring
in a rich harvest of information from the messages he
hoped to intercept. Indeed, he believed he could hardly fail
to obtain from this source a definite indication of the
nature and scope of the conspiracy. About eight o'clock he
(09:28):
could see from his window a number of workmen arrive
at the distillery, followed an hour later by a clerical staff.
After them came Archer, passing from his car to the
building with his purposeful stride. Almost immediately he appeared in
his office, sat down at his desk, and began to
work until nearly midday. Willis watched him going through papers,
dictating letters, and receiving subordinates. That about two minutes to
(09:50):
the hour, he saw him look at his watch, rise
and approach the door from the other office, which was
in Willis's line of vision behind the desk. He stooped
over the lock as if turning the case, and then
the watcher's excitement rose as the other disappeared out of
sight in the direction of the filing room. Willis was
not disappointed. Almost immediately he heard the faint call of
(10:10):
the tiny buzzer, and then a voice, Archer's voice, he
believed from what he had heard in the hotel lounge,
called softly, are you there? There was an immediate answer.
Willis had never heard Benson speak, but he presumed that
the reply must be from him. Anything to report Archer queried.
No everything going on as usual, no strangers poking round
(10:32):
and asking questions, and no traces of a visitor while
you were away. None good. It's probably a false alarm.
Beamish may have been mistaken. I hope so. But he
seemed very suspicious of that. Scotland yard man said he
was sure he was out for more than he pretended.
He thought he was too easily satisfied with the information
(10:52):
he got, and that some of his questions were too
foolish to be genuine. Inspector Willis sat up sharply. This
was a blow to his dignity, and he felt not
a little scandalized. But he had no time to consider
his feelings. Archer was speaking again. I think we had
better be on the safe side. If you have the
slightest suspicion, don't wait to report to me. Why are
(11:14):
at once to Henri at the clearing this message? Take
it down so there'll be no mistake. Six hundred four
foot props wanted if possible, Send next cargo got that
he will understand. It is our code for suspect danger.
Send blank cargoes until further notice. Then if a search
is made, nothing will be found because there won't be
anything to find. Very good. It's a pity to lose
(11:37):
the money, but I expect you're right. We can't take
avoidable risks. Now about yourself, I see you brought no
stuff up last night, couldn't I had a rotten billious
attack I started, but had to go back to bed again.
Couldn't stand better? Yes? All right, now, thanks? Then you'll
bring the usual up to night, certainly, very well. Now
(11:59):
what about ten forty five for tomorrow? Right? The switch snapped,
and in a few seconds the watcher saw Archer return
to his office, bend for a moment over the lock
of the door, then reseat himself at his desk. I've
got them now, he thought triumphantly. I've got them at
last to night. I'll take them red handed in whatever
they're doing, he smiled in anticipation. By jove, he went on,
(12:23):
it was lucky they sent nothing up last night, or
they would have taken me red handed, and that might
have been the end of me. He was greatly impressed
by the excellence of the telephone scheme. There was nothing
anywhere about it to excite suspicion, and it kept Archer
in touch with the illicit undertaking, while enabling him to
hold himself absolutely aloof from all its members. If the
rest of the organization was as good. It was not
(12:44):
surprising that Hilliard and Merriman had been baffled, But the
puzzle was now solved, the mystery at an end that night,
so Willis assured himself the truth would be known. He
reigned in his hiding place all day until indeed he
had watched the workers at the distillery leave and the
gray shadows of evening had begun to descend. Then he
hid the telephone and wire in a cupboard, stealthily left
(13:06):
the house, and after a rapid glance round, hurried along
the lane towards Ferby. He caught the six stop five
seven train to Hall and in a few minutes was
at the police station. There he saw the Superintendent and,
after a little trouble, got him to fall in with
a plan which he had devised. As a result of
their conference. A large car left the city shortly before nine,
in which were seated Inspector Willis and eight picked constables
(13:28):
and playing clothes. They drove to the end of Ferby Lane,
where the men dismounted and took cover behind some shrubs.
While the car returned towards Hull. It was almost but
not quite dark. There was no moon, but the sky
was clear, and the stars were showing brightly. A faint
air in which there was already a touch of chill,
sighed gently through the leaves, rising at intervals almost to
(13:49):
a breeze, then falling away again to nothing. Lights were
showing here and there, yellow gleams from unshaded windows, signal
lamps from the railway navigation, lights from the river. Except
for the sound of the retreating car and the dull
roar of a distant train, the night was very still,
a night, in fact, pre eminently suitable for the inspector's purpose.
(14:12):
The nine men moved silently down the lane at intervals
of a few minutes, their rubber shod feet making no
sound on the hard surface. Willis went first, and as
the others reached him, he posted them in the positions
on which he had previously decided. One man took cover
behind the hedge of the lane a short distance on
the distillery side of the wharf, another behind a pile
(14:32):
of old material on the railway at the same place.
A third hid himself among some bushes on the open
ground between the railway and the river, while a fourth
crept as near to the end of the wharf as
the tide would allow, so as to watch approaches from
the water. When they were in position, Willis felt convinced
no one could leave the syndicate's depot for the distillery
without being seen the other four men. He led on
(14:54):
to the distillery, placing them in a similar manner on
its Ferriby side. If by some extraordinary meny chance, the
messenger with the stuff should pass the first cordon, the second,
he was satisfied would take him. He left himself free
to move about as might appear desirable. The country was
extraordinarily deserted. Not one of the nine men had seen
a living soul since they left their motor, and Willis
(15:17):
felt certain that his dispositions had been carried out in
absolute secrecy. He crossed the fence on to the railway
by climbing halfway up the ladder of a signal. He
was able to see the windows of the shed over
the galvanized fence. All were in darkness, and he wondered
if Benson had gone on his customary expedition into Hull
to satisfy himself on this point, he hid beneath a wagon,
(15:39):
which was standing on the side close to the gate
in the fence. If the manager were returning by his
usual train, he would be due in a few minutes,
and Willis intended to wait and see. It was not
long before a sharp footfall told that some one was
coming along the lane. The unknown paused at the stile,
climbed over, and, walking more carefully across the rails, approached
(15:59):
the door. Willis, whose eyes were accustomed to the gloom,
could make out the dim form of a man, showing
like a smudge of the intensified blackness against the obscurity beyond.
He unlocked the door, passed through, slammed it behind him,
and his retreating steps sounded from within. Finally, another door
closed in the distance, and silence once again reigned. Willis
(16:22):
crawled out from beneath his truck and once more climbed
the signal ladder. The windows of Benson's office were now
lighted up, but the blinds being drawn, the inspector could
see nothing with them. After about half an hour, he
observed the same phenomenon as Hilliard and Merriman had witnessed.
The light was carried from the office to the bedroom,
and a few minutes later disappeared altogether. The ladder on
(16:42):
which he was standing appearing to willis to offer as
good an observation post as he could hope to get.
He climbed to the little platform at the top, and,
seating himself, leaned back against the timber upright, and continued
his watch. Though he was keenly interested by his adventure,
time soon began to drag. It cramped on the little seat,
and he could not move freely for fear of falling off. Then,
(17:04):
to his dismay, he began to grow sleepy. He had
of course been up all the previous night, and though
he had dozed a little during his vigil in the
deserted house, he had not really rested. He yawned, stretched
himself carefully, and made a determined effort to overcome his drowsiness.
He was suddenly and unexpectedly successful. He got the start
of his life, and for a moment he thought an
(17:26):
earthquake had come. The signal post trembled and swayed, while
with a heavy metallic clang, objects moved through the darkness
near his head. He gripped the rail, and then he
laughed as he remembered that the railway signals were movable.
This one had just been lowered for a train. Presently
it roared past him, enveloping him in a cloud of steam,
which for an instant was lit bright as day by
(17:48):
the almost white beam that poured out of the open
door of the engine fire box. Then the steam clearing,
there appeared a strip of faintly lit ground on either
side of the flying carriage roofs. It promptly vanished, red
tail lamps appeared leaping away. There was a rattle of
wheels over sighting connections, and with a rapidly decreasing roar,
the visitation was passed. For a moment there remained the
(18:11):
quickly moving spot of lighted steam, then it too vanished.
Once again, the signal post swayed as the heavy mechanism
of the arm dropped back into the aw position, and
then all was once more still. The train had effectually
awakened Willis, and he set himself with a renewed vigor
to his task. Sharply, he watched the dark mass of
the shed with its surrounding enclosure. Keenly. He listened for
(18:33):
some sound of movement within, but all remained dark and silent.
Towards one in the morning, he descended from his perch
and went the round of his men. All were alert,
and all were unanimous that no one had passed. The
time dragged slowly on. The wind had risen somewhat, and
clouds were banking towards the northwest. It grew colder, and
Willis fancied that there must be a touch of frost.
(18:55):
About four o'clock he went round his pickets for a
second time. He was becoming more more surprised that the
attempt had been delayed so long, and when some two
hours later the coming dawn began to brighten the eastern
sky and still no sign had been observed, his chagrin
waxed keen. As the light increased, he withdrew his men
to cover, and about seven o'clock, when it was no
longer possible that anything would be attempted, he sent them
(19:18):
by ones and twos to await their car at the
agreed rendezvous. He was more disappointed at the failure of
his trap than he would have believed possible. What he
wondered could have happened. Why had the conspirators abandoned their purpose?
Had he given himself away. He went over in his
mind every step he had taken, and he did not
see how any one of them could have become known
(19:40):
to his enemies, or how any of his actions could
have aroused their suspicions. No, it was not. He felt
sure that they had realized their danger. Some other quite
accidental circumstance had intervened to cause them to postpone the
transfer of the stuff for that night. But what extraordinary
hard luck for him. He had obtained his helpers from
(20:00):
the superintendent only after considerable trouble, and the difficulty of
getting them again would be much greater. And not the
least annoying thing was that he, a London man, one
indeed of the best men at the yard, had been
made to look ridiculous in the eyes of these provincial police.
Dog Tired and hungry though he was, he set his
teeth and determined that he would return to the cottage
(20:22):
in the hopes of learning the reason of his failure
from the conversation which he expected would take place between
Archer and Benson at a quarter to eleven that day.
Repeating therefore his proceedings of the previous morning, he regained
his point of vantage at the broken window. Again, he
watched the staff arrive, and again observed Archer enter and
take his place at the desk. He was desperately sleepy,
(20:44):
and it required all the power of his strong will
to keep himself awake. But at last his perseverance was rewarded,
and at ten forty five exactly, he saw Archer bolt
his door and disappear towards the filing room. A moment later,
the buzzer sounded. Are you there? Once again came in
Archer's voice, following by the astounding phrase, I see you
(21:04):
brought up that stuff last night. Yes, I brought up
two hundred and fifty, was Benson's amazing reply. Inspector Willis gasped,
he could scarcely believe his ears. So he had been
tricked after all, In spite of his carefully placed pickets,
in spite of his own ceaseless watchfulness, he had been
tricked two hundred and fifty of the illicit some things
(21:27):
had been conveyed right under his and his men's noses,
from the depot to the distillery. Almost choking with rays
and amazement, he heard Archer continue, I had a lucky
deal after our conversation yesterday got seven hundred unexpectedly planted.
You may send up a couple of hundred extra tonight
if you like, right, I shall, Benson answered, and the
(21:49):
conversation ceased. Inspector Willis swore bitterly as he lay back
on the dusty floor and pillowed his head on his hands.
And then, while he still fumed and fretted outraged, nature
asserted herself, and he fell asleep. He woke ravenously hungry
as it was getting dusk, and he did not delay
long in letting himself out of the house, regaining the lane,
(22:11):
and walking to Faribe station. An hour later he was
dining at his hotel in Hull. End of chapter fifteen.
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