The Loot Of Cities by Arnold Bennett

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Episode Transcript

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Story one of the Loot of Cities. This is a LibriVox recording. All
LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
please visit LibriVox dot org. Recordingby David Wales. The Loot of Cities
by Arnold Bennett. Story one,The Loot of Cities, Chapter one,

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The Fire of London. You arewanted on the telephone, Sir mister Bruce
Bowering, managing director of a consolidatedmining and Investment Corporation Limited capital two millions
in one pound shares which stood attwenty seven and six, turned and gazed
querilously across the electrically spaces of hissuperb private office. Had the confidential clerk,

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who addressed him mister Bowing in shirtsleeves before a Florentine mirror, was
brushing his hair with the solicitude ofa mother who has failed to rear most
of a large family. Who isit? He asked, as if that
demand for him were the last straw, but one nearly seven on Friday evening,

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he added, martyrrized, I thinka friend, Sir. The middle
aged financier dropped his gold mounted brushand waded through the deep pile of the
oriental carpet, passed into the telephonecabinet and shut the door. Hello,
he accosted the transmitter, resolved notto be angry with it. Hello,
are you there? Yes, I'mbowing. Who are you? Nah?

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The faint, unhuman voice of thereceiver whispered in his ear ner clock.
I'm a friend. What name?No name? I thought you might like
to know that a determined robbery isgoing to be attempted to night at your
house in Lound Square, a robberyof cash, and before nine o'clock nor,

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I thought you might like to know, ah, said mister bowring to
the transmitter. The feeble exclamation wasall he could achieve at first in the
confined, hot silence of the telephonecabinet. This message, coming to him
mysteriously out of the vast unknown ofLondon, struck him with a sudden sick
fear that perhaps his wondrously organized schememight yet miscarry, even at the final

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moment. Why that night of allnights, and why before nine o'clock?
Could it be that the secret wasout? Then? Any further interesting details?
He inquired, bracing himself to anassumption of imperturbable and gay coolness.
But there was no answer, andwhen, after some difficulty, he got

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the exchange girl to disclose the numberwhich had wrung him up, he found
that his interlocutor had been using apublic call office in Oxford Street. He
returned to his room, donned hisfrock coat, took a large envelope from
a locked drawer and put it inhis pocket, and sat down to think
a little. At that time,mister Bruce Bowing was one of the most

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famous conjurers in the city. Hehad begun ten years earlier with nothing but
a silk hat, and out ofthat empty hat had been produced, First
the Hooplaw limited a South African goldmine of numerous stamps and frequent dividends,
then the Hooplaw number two limited amine with as many reincarnations as Buddha,

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and then a dazzling succession of minesand combination of mines. The more the
hat emptied itself, the more itwas full, and the emerging objects,
which now included the house in LoungeSquare and a perfect dream of a place
in Hampshire, grew constantly larger,and the conjurer more impressive and persuasive and

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the audience more enthusiastic in its applause. At last, with a unique flourish
and a new turning up of sleevesto prove that there was no h deception,
had come out of the hat.The cmice, a sort of incredibly
enormous union jack, which enwrapped allthe other objects in its splendid folds.

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The shares of the cmice were affectionatelyknown in the Kafer circus as solids.
They yielded handsome, though irregular dividends, earned chiefly by flotation and speculation.
The circus believed in them, and, in view of the annual meeting of
shareholders to be held on the followingTuesday afternoon, the conjurer in the chair

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and his hat on the table,the market price, after a period of
depression, had stiffened. Mister Bowring'smeditations were soon interrupted by a telegram.
He opened it and read, cookdrunk again, will dine with you Devonshire
seven thirty impossible here have arranged aboutluggage. Marie. Marie was mister Bowring's

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wife. He told himself that hefelt greatly relieved by that telegram. He
clutched at it, and his spiritsseemed to rise at any rate. Since
he could not now go near LoundSquare, he could certainly laugh at the
threatened robbery. He thought, whata wonderful thing providence was, after all.
Just look at that, he saidto us clerk, showing the telegram,

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with a humorous affectation of dismay.Tat tut, said the clerk,
discreetly sympathetic towards his employer, thusvictimized by debauched cooks. I suppose you
are going down to Hampshire to nightas usual, Sir mister Bowring replied that
he was, and that everything appearedto be in order for the meeting,

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and that he should be back onMonday afternoon, or at the latest very
early on Tuesday. Then with afew parting instructions, and with that eagle
glance round his own room and intocircumjacent rooms which a truly efficient head of
affairs never omits. On leaving businessfor the weekend, mister Bowring sedately yet

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magnificently departed from the noble registered officeof the CMIC. Why didn't Marie telephone
instead of wiring, he mused,as his pair of grays whirled him and
his coachman and his Footman off tothe Devonshire two. The Devonshire Mansion,

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a bright edifice of eleven stories inthe Foster and Dixie style constructional ironwork by
Homan, lifts by waygood decorations byWearing and terra cotta by the Rood,
is situate on the edge of HydePark. It is a composite building.
Its foundations are firmly fixed in thetube railway. Above that comes the wine

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cellar ridge, then the vast laundry, and then a row of windows scarcely
level with the street, a sportingclub, a billiard room, a grill
room, and a cigarette merchant whoseends an opulas. On the first floor
is the renowned Devonshire Mansion restaurant.Always in London there is just one restaurant

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where, if you are an entirelycorrect person you can get a decent meal.
The place changes from season to season, but there is never more than
one of it at a time.That season had happened to be the Devonshire.
The Chef of the Devonshire had inventedtripe suppers trips a la Moude de

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Can, and these suppers seven andsix had been the rage. Consequently,
all entirely correct. People fed asa matter of course at the Devonshire,
since there was no other place fitto go to. The vogue of the
restaurant a favorably affected the vogue ofthe nine floors of furnished suites above the

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restaurant. They were always full,and the heavenward attics, where the servants
took off their smart liveries and becamehuman, held much wealth. The vogue
of the restaurant also exercised a beneficialinfluence over the status of the KitKat Club,
which was a cock and hen clubof the latest pattern, and had

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its house on the third floor.It was a little after half past seven
when mister Bruce Bowing haughtily ascended thegrand staircase of this resort of opulence and
paused for an instant near the immensefireplace at the summit. September was inclement
and a fire burned nicely. Toinquire from the head waiter whether missus Bowring

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had secured a table, but Mariehad not arrived. Marie, who was
never late, uneasy and chagrined,he proceeded under the escort of the head
waiter to the glittering saw. Louiscatoors, and selected because of his morning
attire. A table half hidden behindan onyx pillar. The great room was

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moderately full of fair women and possessivemen, despite the month. Immediately afterwards,
a youngish couple, the man handsomerand better dressed than the woman,
took the table on the other sideof the pillar. Mister Bowring waited five
minutes. Then he ordered soul mornazand a bottle of ruminis comti, And
then he waited another five minutes.He went somewhat in fear of his wife

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and did not care to begin withouther. Can't you read? It?
Was the youngish man at the nexttable, speaking in a raised voice to
a squinting lackey with a telegraph formin his hand. Solid's solids, my
friend, sell solids to any amounttomorrow and monday. Got it? Well,
send it off at once. Quiteclear, my lord, said the

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lackey, and fled. The youngishman gazed fixedly but absently at mister Bowering,
and seemed to see through him tothe tapestry behind mister Bowring to his
own keen annoyance reddened, partly toconceal the blush and partly because it was
a quarter to eight, and therewas the train to catch. He lowered

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his face and began upon the soul. A few minutes later, the lackey
returned, gave some change to theyoungish man, and surprised mister Bowring by
advancing towards him and handing him anenvelope, an envelope which bore on its
flap the legend kitcat Club. Thenote within was scribbled in pencil in his
wife's handwriting. And ran just arrived, delayed by luggage, and too nervous

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to face the restaurant, and ameating a chop here alone. The place
is fortunately empty. Come and fetchme as soon as you're ready, mister
Bowring sighed angrily. He hated hiswife's club, and this succession of messages
telephonic, telegraphic and calligraphic was exasperatinghim. No answer, he ejaculated,

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and then he beckoned the lackey closer, who's that gentleman at the next table
with the lady. He murmured,I'm not rightly sure, sir, was
the whispered reply. Some authorities sayhe's the strong man at the hippodrome,
while others affirm he's a sort ofAmerican millionaire. But you addressed him as

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Malloyd. Just then I thought hewas the strong man, sir, said
the lackey, retiring my bill.Mister Bowering demanded fiercely of the waiter,
and at the same time the youngestgentleman and his companion rose and departed.
At the lift, mister Bowring foundthe squinting lackey in charge. You're the

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liftman too, to night, sir, I am many things. The fact
is the regular liftman has got acouple of hours off, being the recent
father of twins Well Kit cat Club. The lift seemed to shoot far upwards,
and mister Bowring thought the lackey hadmistaken the floor, but on gaining
the corridor, he saw across theportals in front of him the remembered gold

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sign Kit Cat Club member's own.He pushed the door open and went in
three Instead of the familiar vestibule ofhis wife's club, mister Bowering discovered a
small ante chamber, and beyond througha doorway half screened by a portier.
He had glimpses of a rich,rose lit drawing room in the doorway.

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With one hand raised to the portier, stood the youngish man who had forced
him to blush in the restaurant.I beg your pardon, said mister Bowering
stiffly. Is this the Kitcat Club? The other man advanced to the outer
door, his brilliant eyes fixed onmister Bowring's. His arm crept round the
cheek of the door and came backbearing the gold sign. Then he shut

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the door and locked it. No, this isn't the Kitcat Club at all,
he replied, It is my flat. Come and sit down. I
was expecting you. I shall donothing of the kind, said mister Bowering
disdainfully. But when I tell youthat I know that you are going to
DeCamp tonight, mister Bowring, theyoungish man smiled affably to camp. The

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spine of the financier suddenly grew flaxed. I use the word, who the
devil are you? Snapped the financier, forcing his spine to rigidity. I
am the friend on the telephone.I specially wanted you at the Devonshire tonight,
and I thought that the fear ofa robbery at Lound Square might make

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your arrival here more certain. Iam he who devised the story of the
inebriated cook and favored you with atelegram signed Marie. I am the humorist
who pretended in a loud voice tosend off telegraphic instructions to sell solids in
order to watch your demeanor under thetest. I am the expert who forged

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your wife's handwriting in a note fromthe KitKat. I am the patron of
the cross eyed menial who gave youthe note, and who afterwards raised you
too high in the lift. Iam the artificer of this gold sign,
an exact duplicate of the genuine onetwo floors below, which induced you to

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visit me. The sign alone costme nine and six. The servant's livery
came to two pounds fifteen. ButI never consider expense when by debt of
a generous outlay I may avoid aviolence. I hate violence. He gently
waved the sign to and fro thenmy wife. Mister Bowring stammered in a

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panic. Rage is probably at LoundSquare, wondering what on earth has happened
to you. Mister Bowing took breath, remembered that he was a great man,
and steadied himself. You must bemad, he remarked, quietly,
opened this door at once, perhaps, the stranger judicially admitted, perhaps a

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sort of madness. But do comeand sit down. We have no time
to lose. Mister Bowing gazed atthat handsome face, with the fine nostrils,
large mouth and square clean chin,and the dark eyes, the black
hair and long black mustache, andhe noticed the long, thin hands decadent

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he decided nevertheless, And though itwas with the air of indulging the caprice
of a lunatic, he did infact obey the stranger's request. It was
a beautiful Chippendale drawing room that heentered. Near the hearth, to which
a morsel of fire gave cheerfulness,were two easy chairs, and between them
a small table. Behind was extendeda fourfold draft screen. I can give

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you just five minutes, said misterBowing, magisterially, sitting down, They
will suffice. The stranger responded,sitting down. Also, you have in
your pocket, mister Bowing, probablyyour breast pocket, fifty Bank of England
and os for a thousand pounds each, and a number of smaller notes amounting
to another ten thousand. Well,I must demand from you the first named

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fifty. Mister Bowing in the silenceof the roselit drawing room. Thought of
all the Devonshire mansion, with itsendless corridors and innumerable rooms, its acres
of carpets, its forests of furniture, its gold and silver and its jewels,
and its wines, its pretty womenand possessive men. The whole humming

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microcosm founded on a unanimous pretense thatthe sacredness of property was natural law.
And he thought how disconcerting it wasthat he should be trapped there, helpless,
in the very middle of the vastpretense, and forced to admit that
the sacredness of property was a purelyartificial convention. By what right do you

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make this demand, he inquired,bravely sarcastic, By the right of my
unique knowledge, said the stranger,with a bright smile. Well, listen
to what you and I alone know. You are at the end of the
tether. The consolidated is at thesame spot. You have a past consisting
chiefly of nineteen fraudulent flotations. Youhave paid dividends out of capital till there

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is no capital left. You havespeculated and lost, You have cooked balance
sheets to a turn, and ruinedthe eye sight of auditors with dust.
You have lived like ten lords.Your houses are mortgaged, You own an
unrivaled collection of unrecepted bills. Youare worse than a common thief. Excuse

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these personalities, my dear good Sirmister Bowering interrupted, grandly, permit me
what is more serious? Your selfcompetence has been gradually deserting you, at
last perceiving that some blundering person wasbound soon to put his foot through the
brittle shop of your ostentation and treadon nothing, and for seeing for yourself

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an immediate future consisting chiefly of holloway. You have, by a supreme effort
of your genius, borrowed sixty thousandpounds from a bank on CMI see script
for a week, and you havearranged you and your wife to melt into
thin air. You will affect toset out as usual for your country place

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in Hampshire. But it is Southamptonthat will see you tonight, and Ave
will see you tomorrow. You mayrun over to Paris to change some notes,
but by Monday you will be onyour way to Frankly, I don't
know where, perhaps Mata Adale.Of course, you take the risk of
extradition, but the risk is preferableto the certainty that awaits you in England.

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I think you will elude extradition.If I thought otherwise, I would
not have had you here tonight,because once extradite, you might begin to
amuse yourself by talking about me.So it's blackmail, said mister bowering grim
The dark eyes opposite to him sparkledgaily. It desolates me, the young

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man observed, to have to commityou to the deep with only ten thousand,
but really not less than fifty thousandwill requite me for the brain tissue
which I have expended in the studyof your interesting situation. Mister Bowring consulted
his watch. Come now, hesaid, huskily, I'll give you ten
thousand. I flatter myself. Ican look facts in the face, and

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so I'll give you ten thousand.My friend answered the spider. You are
a judge of character. Do youhonestly think I don't mean precisely what I
say to sixpence? It is eightthirty. You are, if I may
be allowed the remark, running itrather fine. And suppose I refuse to

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part mister Bowing upon reflection, whatthen, why I have confessed to you
that I hate violence. You wouldtherefore leave this room unmolested, but you
wouldn't step off the island. MisterBowring scanned the agreeable features of the stranger.
Then, while the lifts were ascendingand descending, and the wine was

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sparkling, and the jewels flashing,and the gold clinking, and the pretty
women being pretty in all the fourquarters of the Devonshire, mister Bruce Bowing
in the silent parlor, counted outfifty notes on to the table. After
all, it was a fortune thatlittle pile of white on the crimson polished

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wood, bon Voyage, said thestranger. Don't imagine that I am not
full of sympathy for you. Iam. You have only been unfortunate,
bon Voyage. No, by heaven, mister Bowring almost shouted, rushing back
from the door and drawing a revolverfrom his hip. Pop, it's too
much. I don't mean to,but confound it. What's a revolver for?

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The youngish man jumped up quickly andput his hands on the notes.
Violence is always foolish, mister Bowring. He murmured, will you give them
up? Or won't you? Iwon't The stranger's fine eyes seemed to glint
with joy in the drama. Thenthe revolver was raised, but in the

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same instant a tiny hand snatched itfrom the hand of mister Bowring, who
turned and beheld by his side awoman. The huge screen sank slowly and
noiselessly to the floor, in thesurprising manner peculiar to screens that have been
overset. Mister Bowring cursed an accomplice, I might have guessed, he grumbled.

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In final disgust. He ran tothe door, unlocked it, and
was no more seen. Four.The lady was aged twenty seven or so,
of meeting height, and slim,with a plain, very intelligent and
expressive face, lighted by courageous grayeyes, and crowned with loose, abundant,

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fluffy air. Perhaps it was thefluffy hair, Perhaps it was the
mouth that twitched as she dropped therevolver. Who can say, But the
whole atmosphere of the rose lit chamberwas suddenly changed. The incalculable had invaded
it. You seem surprised, missFincastle, said the possessor of the bank

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notes, laughing gaily. Surprised,echoed the lady controlling that mouth, My
dear mister Thorold, when strictly asa journalist, I accepted your invitation,
I did not anticipate this sequel.Frankly I did not. She tried to
speak coldly and evenly on the assumptionthat a journalist has no sex during business

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hours. But just then she happenedto be neither less nor more a woman
than a woman always is. IfI have had the misfortune to annoy you
thorough that threw up his arms ingallant despair, Annoy is not the word,
said Miss Fincastle, nervously smiling.May I sit down? Thanks.

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Let us recount you arrive in Englandfrom somewhere as the son and heir of
the late Ahasuras Thorold, the NewYork operator who died worth six million dollars.
It becomes known that while in Algiersin the spring, you stayed at
the hotel Saint Jam's, famous asthe scene of what is called the Algiers

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mystery, familiar to English newspaper readerssince last April. The editor of my
journal therefore instructs me to obtain aninterview with you. I do so.
The first thing I discover is thatthough an American, you have no American
accent. You explain this by sayingthat since infancy you have always lived in
Europe with your mother. But surelyyou do not doubt that I am Cecil

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Thoroled, said the man. Theirfaces were approximate over the table, of
course, not I merely recount.To continue, I interview you as to
the Algerian mystery and get some newitems concerning it. Then you regale me
with tea and your opinions, andmy questions grow more personal. So it

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comes about that, strictly on behalfof my paper, I inquire what your
recreations are, and suddenly you answer, ah, my recreations. Come to
dinner to night, quite informally,and I will show you how I amuse
myself. I come, I dine. I am stuck behind that screen and

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told to listen, and the millionaireproves to be nothing but a blackmailer.
You must understand, my dear lady. I understand everything, mister Thoroled,
except your object in admitting me tothe scene. Oh whem, cried Thorole,
vivaciously. A freak of mine,possibly due to the eternal and universal

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desire of man to show off beforewoman. The journalist tried to smile,
but something in her face caused Thoroughto run to a Chiffonier drink this,
he said, returning with a glass. I need nothing. The voice was
a whisper oblige me. Miss Fincastledrank and coughed. Why do you do

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it? She asked, sadly,looking at the notes. You don't mean
to say, Thorough burst out thatyou are feeling sorry for mister Bruce Bowing.
He has merely parted with what hestole and the people from whom he
stole stole. All the activities whichcenter about the stock exchange are simply various

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manifestations of one prime evil instinct.Suppose I had not had not interfered,
no one would have been a pennythe better off, except mister Bruce Bowring.
Whereas as you intend to restore thismoney to the Consolidated, said Miss
Fincastle, eagerly. Not quite.The Consolidated doesn't deserve it. You must

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not regard its shareholders as a setof innocent, shorn lambs. They knew
the game. They went in forwhat they could get. Besides, how
could I restore the money without givingmyself away. I want the money myself,
but you are a millionaire. Itis precisely because I am a millionaire
that I want more. All millionairesare like that. Oh, I'm sorry

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to find you a thief, misterThorold, a thief. No, I
am only direct, I only avoidthe middleman. At dinner, Miss Fincastle,
you displayed somewhat advanced views about property, marriage and the aristocracy of brains.
You said that labels were for thestupid majority, and that the wise

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minority examined the ideas behind the labels. You label me a thief, but
examined the idea, and you willperceive that you might as well call yourself
a thief. Your newspaper every daysuppresses the truth about the city, and
it does so in order to live. In other words, it touches the
pitch. It participates in the game. Today it has a fifty line advertisement

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of a false balance sheet of theconsolidated at two shillings, a line that
five pounds part of the loot ofa great city will help to pay for
your account of our interview this afternoon, our interview tonight. Miss Fincastle corrected
him stiffly, and all that Ihave seen and heard. At these words,

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she stood up, and as heso thoroled gazed at her, his
face changed. I shall begin towish, he said slowly, that I
had deprived myself of the pleasure ofyour company this evening. You might have
been a dead man had you doneso. Miss Finncasile retorted, and observing

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his blank countenance, she touched therevolver. Have you forgotten already, she
asked tartly. Of course it wasn'tloaded, he remarked, of course,
I had seen to that earlier inthe day. I'm not such a bungler.
Then I didn't save your life.You force me to say that you
did not, and to remind youthat you gave me your word not to

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emerge from behind the screen. However, seeing the motive, I can only
thank you for that lapse. Thepity is that it hopelessly compromises you,
me, exclaimed Miss Finncastle. Youcan't you see that you are in it
in this robbery. To give thething a label, You were alone with
the robber. You suckered the robberat a critical moment, accomplice, mister

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bowing himself, said, my dearjournalist. The episode of the revolver empty,
though the revolver was seals yours,Miss Fincastle laughed rather hysterically, leaning
over the table with her hands onit. My dear millionaire, she said
rapidly, you don't know the newjournalism to which I have the honor to

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belong. You would know it betterhad you lived more in New York.
All I have to announce is that, compromised or not, a full account
of this affair will appear in mypaper tomorrow morning. No, I shall
not inform the police. I ama journalist, simply. But a journalist
I am. And your promise whichyou gave me before going behind the screen,

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your solemn promise that you would revealnothing. I was loath to mention
it. Some promises, mister Thorold. It is a duty to break,
and it is my duty to breakthis one. I should never have given
it had I had the slightest ideaof the nature of your recreations. Thorold
still smiled, though faintly. Really, you know, he murmured, this

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is getting to still little serious.It is very serious, she stammered,
and then Thorold noticed that the newjournalist was softly weeping. Five. The
door opened. Miss Kitty Satorius,said the erstwhile liftman, who was now
in plain clothes and had mysteriously ceasedto squint. A beautiful girl, a

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girl who had remarkable loveliness and wasaware of it. One of the prettiest
women of the Devonshire, ran impulsivelyinto the room and caught Miss Fincastle by
the hand. My dearest Eve,your crying. What's the matter, Lecky,
said Thorold, aside to the servant. I told you to admit no
one. The beautiful blonde turned sharplyto Thorold. I told him I wished

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to enter, She said, imperiously, half closing her eyes. A yes,
Sir, said Lecky. That wasit. The lady wished to enter.
Thorold bowed it was sufficient, Hesaid, that will do. Lecky,
Yes, sir, But I say, Lecky, when next you address
me publicly, try to remember thatI am not in the peerage. The

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servant squinted, certainly, sir,and he retired. Now we are alone,
said Miss Sartorius. Introduce us Eveand explain. Miss Fincastle, having
regained self control, introduced her dearfriend, the radiant star of the Regency
Theater and her acquaintance, the millionaire. Eve didn't feel quite sure of you,

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the actress stated, and so wearranged that if she wasn't up at
my flat by nine o'clock, Iwas to come down and reconnoiter. What
have you been doing to make Evecry? Unintentional? I assure you,
Thorold began. There's something between youtwo, said Kitty Sartorius sagaciously, in

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significant accents. What is it?She sat down, touched her pick,
your hat, smoothed her white gown, and tapped her foot. What is
it now, mister Darold, Ithink you had better tell me. Thorough
raised his eyebrows and obediently commenced thenarration, standing with his back to the
fire. How perfectly splendid, Kittyexclaimed, I'm so glad you cornered mister

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Bowring. I met him one nightand I thought he was horrid. And
these are the notes well of allthe Thorold proceeded with his story. Oh
but you can't do that, Eve, said Kitty, suddenly serious. You
can't go and split. It wouldmean all sorts of bother your wretched newspaper.
Would it be sure to keep youhanging about in London, and we

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shouldn't be able to start on ourholiday tomorrow. Eve and I are starting
on quite a long tour tomorrow,mister Thorold, we begin with ostend.
Indeed, said Thorold, I too, am going in that direction soon.
Perhaps we may meet, I hope, so. Kitty smiled, and then
she looked at Eve Fincastle. Youreally mustn't do that, Eve, she

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said, I must. I must, Miss Vincastle insisted, clinching her hands.
And she will, said Kitty tragically, after considering her friend's face.
She will, and our holiday's ruined. I see it, I see it
plainly. She's in one of herstupid conscientious moods. She's fearfully advanced and

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careless and unconventional in theory, Eveis. But when it comes to practice,
mister Thorold, you have just goteverything into a dreadful knot. Why
did you want those notes so veryparticularly I don't want them so very particularly
well. Anyhow, it's a mostpeculiar predicament. Mister Bowring doesn't count,

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and a disconsolidated thing of me isn'tany the worse off nobody suffers who oughtn't
to suffer. It's your unlawful gain. That's wrong. Why not pitch those
wretched notes in the fire? Kittylaughed at her own playful humor. Certainly,
said Thorold, and with a quickmovement he put the fifty trifles in
the grate, where they made abluish yellow flame. Both the women screamed

(34:14):
and sprang up. Mister Thorold,Mister Thorold, he's adorable. Kitty breathe
the incident. I venture to hopeis now closed, said Thorold, calmly,
but with his dark eyes sparkling.I must thank you both for a
very enjoyable evening. Some day,perhaps I may have an opportunity of further

(34:36):
explaining my philosophy to you. Endof chapter one, Story one of the
Loot of Cities by Arnold Bennett.This libribox recording is in the public domain.
Story one, The Lute of Cities, Chapter two, a comedy on

(34:59):
the go. It was five o'clockon an afternoon in mid September, and
a couple of American millionaires they aboundedthat year did millionaires sat chatting together on
the wide terrace which separates the entranceto the cursall from the promenade some yards
away against the balustrade of the terrace. In the natural, unconsidered attitude of

(35:23):
one to whom short frocks are amatter of history, certainly a but very
recent history, stood a charming andimperious girl. You could see that she
was eating chocolate while meditating upon theriddle of life. The elder millionaire glanced
at every pretty woman within view,excepting only the girl, but his companion

(35:45):
seemed to be intent on counting thechocolates. The immense crystal dome of the
Cursall dominated the Gold coast, andon either side of the great building were
stretched out in a straight line tells. The restaurants, the cafes, the
shops, the theatres, the concerthalls, and the pawnbrokers of the City

(36:07):
of Pleasure ostend. At one extremityof that long array of ornate white architecture,
which resembled the icing on a bridecakemore than the roofs of men,
was the palace of a king.At the other were the lighthouse and the
railway signals, which guided into thecity. The continuously arriving cargoes of wealth,

(36:29):
beauty, and desire. In frontthe ocean gray and lethargic idly beat
up a little genteel foam under thepromenade for the wedding of pink feet and
stylish bathing costumes. And after ahard day's work, the sun, by
arrangement with the authorities during August andSeptember, was setting over the sea,

(36:51):
exactly opposite the superb portals of thecursaw. The younger of the millionaires was
Cecil Thurled. The other, aman one fifty five or so, was
Simeon Rancher, father of the girlat the balustrade, and president of the
famous dry Goods Trust of Exciting Memory. The contrast between the two menlike only

(37:13):
in extreme riches, was remarkable.Cecil still youthful, slim, dark,
languid of movement, with delicate features, eyes almost Spanish and an accent of
purest English, and ranger with hisnasal twang, his stout frame, his
rounded bluish red chin, his littleeyes, and that demeanor of false briskness,

(37:37):
by means of which aging men seekto prove to themselves that they are
as young as ever they were.Simeon had been a friend and opponent of
Cecil's father in former days. ThoseTwain had victimized each other for colossal sums.
Consequently, Simeon had been glad tomeet the son of his dead and

(37:59):
ends antagonists, and in less thana week of ostend repose, despite a
fundamental disparity of temperament, the formidablePresident and the Europeanized Wanderer had achieved a
sort of intimacy, an intimacy whichwas about to be intensified. The difference
between you and me is this cecilwas saying, you exhaust yourself by making

(38:22):
money among men who are all benton making money in a place specially set
apart for the purpose. I amusemyself by making money among men who,
having made or inherited money, arebent on spending it in places specially set
apart for the purpose. I takepeople off their guard. They don't precisely

(38:43):
see me coming. I don't rentan office and put up a sign,
which is equivalent to announcing that therest of the world had better look out
for itself. Our codes are thesame, but is not my way more
original and more diverting. Look atthis place. Half the wealth of Europe
is collected here. The other halfis that truvy. The entire coast reeks

(39:06):
of money. The sands are goldenwith it. You've only to put out
your hand, so so ejaculated Rainshaw, quizzical, how show me? Ah,
that would be telling. I guessyou wouldn't get much out of Simion,
not as much as your father did. Do you imagine I should try?

(39:27):
Said Cecil gravely. My amusements arealways discreet, but you confess you
are often bored. Now on WallStreet, we are never bored, Yes,
Cecil admitted, I embarked on these, uh, these enterprises, mainly
to escape boardom you ought to marry, said Rainshaw pointedly. You ought to
marry my friend. I have myyacht, no doubt, and as she's

(39:52):
a beauty and feminine too, butnot feminine enough, you ought to marry.
Now, I'll mister Rainshaw pause.His daughter had suddenly ceased to eat
chocolates and was leaning over the balustradein order to converse with a tall young
man whose fair, tanned face andwhite hat overtopped the carved masonry and were

(40:14):
thus visible to the millionaires. Thelatter glanced at one another and then glanced
away, each slightly self conscious.I thought mister Volorie had left said Cecil.
He came back last night, Rainshawreplied curtly, and he leaves again
tonight. Then then it's a matchafter all, Cecil ventured, who says

(40:37):
that was Simeon's sharp inquiry, thebirds of the air whisper it one heard
at every corner three days ago.Rainshow turned his chair a little towards Cecil's.
You'll allow, I ought to knowsomething about it, he said,
Well, I tell you it's alie. I'm sorry I mentioned it.
Cecil apologized, Not at all,said Simeon, stroking his chin. I'm

(41:00):
glad you did, because now youcan just tell all the birds of the
air direct from me that in thisparticular case, there isn't going to be
the usual alliance between the beauty anddollars of America and the aristocratic blood of
Great Britain. Listen right here,he continued, confidentially, like a man

(41:21):
whose secret feelings have been inconveniencing himfor several hours. This young spark mind,
I've nothing against him, asked meto consent to his engagement with Geraldine.
I tell him that I intend tosettle half a million dollars on my
daughter, and that the man shemarries, must cover that half million with
another. He says he has athousand a year of his own pounds,

(41:45):
just nice for Geraldine's gloves and candy, and that he is the heir of
his uncle, Lord Lowry, andthat there is an entail, and that
Lord Lowry is very rich, veryold, and very unmarried, but that
being also very peculiar, he won'tcome down with any money. It occurs

(42:05):
to me to remark, suppose LordLowry marries and develops into the father of
a man child, where do youcome in, mister vo Lorry, Oh,
Lord Lowry, Mary impossible? Laughable. Then Geraldine begins to worry at
me, and her mother too,and so I kind of issue an ultimatum,

(42:25):
namely, I will consent to anengagement without a settlement if on the
marriage Lord Lowry will give a noteof hand for half a million dollars to
Geraldine payable on his marriage. See. My lord's nephew goes off to persuade
my lord and returns with my lord'sanswer in an envelope sealed with the Great

(42:46):
Seal. I open it and Iread this is what I read to mister
s Rainshow American draper Sir, asa humorist, you rank high. Accept
the admiration of your obedience. ServantLowry, the millionaire laughed. Oh it's
clever enough, said Rainshaw. It'svery English and grand dashed. If I

(43:07):
don't admire it all the same,I've requested mister vol Lari, under the
circumstances, to quit this town.I didn't show him the letter. No,
I spared his delicate feelings. Imerely told him Lord Lowry had refused,
and that I would be ready toconsider his application favorably any time when

(43:28):
he happened to have half a milliondollars in his pocket. And Miss Geraldine,
she's flying the red flag. Butshe knows when my back's against the
wall. She knows her father.She'll recover Great Scott. She's eighteen and
he's twenty one. The whole affairis a high farce. And moreover,
I guess I want Geraldine to marryan American after all, And if she

(43:52):
elopes, Cecil murmured, as ifto himself, gazing at the set features
of the girl, who was nowalone once more OBEs. Rainshaw's face reddened
as his mood shifted suddenly from indulgentcynicism to profound anger. Cecil was amazed
at the transformation, until he rememberedto have heard long ago that Simeon himself

(44:14):
had eloped. It was just afancy that flashed into my mind, Cecil
smiled diplomatically. I should let itflash out again if I were you,
said Rainshaw with a certain grimness,And Cecil perceived the truth of the maxim
that a parent can never forgive hisown fault in his child. Two.

(44:35):
You've come to sympathize with me,said to Geraldine Rainshaw, calmly, as
Cecil, leaving the father for afew moments, strolled across the terrace towards
the daughter. It's my honest,kindly face that gives me away, he
responded, lightly. But what amI to sympathize with you about? You
know what, the girl said briefly. They stood together near the balustrade,

(44:58):
looking out over the sea into thegrim and eye of the sun, and
all the afternoon activities of Ostend weresurging round them. The muffled sound of
musical instruments from within the kursaul,the shrill cries of late bathers from the
shore, the toot of a tramwayhorn to the left, the roar of
a siren to the right, andeverywhere, the ceaseless hum of an existence

(45:20):
at once gay, feverish, andfutile. But Cecil was conscious of nothing
but the individuality by his side.Some women, he reflected, are older
at eighteen than they are at thirtyeight, and Geraldine was one of those.
She happened to be very young andvery old at the same time.
She might be immature, crude,even gawky in her girlishness, but she

(45:45):
was just then in the first flushof mentally realizing the absolute independence of the
human spirit. She had force,and she had also the enterprise to act
on it. As Cecil glanced ather intelligent, expressive face, he thought
of her playing with life as achild plays with a razor. You mean,

(46:06):
he inquired, I mean that fatherhas been talking about me to you.
I could tell by his eyes.Well, your directness unnerves me,
he smiled. Pull yourself together,then, mister thurtle, to be a
man. Will you let me treatyou as a friend? Why? Yes,
she said, if you'll promise notto tell me I'm only eighteen.

(46:28):
I am incapable of such rudeness,Cecil replied. A woman is as old
as she feels. You feel atleast thirty. Therefore you are at least
thirty. This being understood, I'mgoing to suggest as a friend that if
you and mister Volkslowry are perhaps pardonablycontemplating any extreme step, extreme step,

(46:51):
mister Thorold, oh, anything rash, And suppose we are, Geraldine demanded,
raising her chin scornfully and defiantly anddangling her parasol. I should respectfully
and confidentially advise you to refrain,be content to wait, my dear middle
aged woman. Your father may relent, and also I have a notion that

(47:15):
I may be able to help us. Possibly, you are real good,
said Geraldine coldly. But what gaveyou the idea that Harry and I were
meaning to something? In your eyes? Your fine daring eyes, I read
you as you read your father.You see, well, then, mister

(47:37):
Thurld, there's something wrong with myfine daring eyes. I'm just the last
girl in all America to do anythingrash. Why if I did anything rash,
I'm sure I should feel ever afterwards, as if I wanted to be
excused off the very face of theearth. I'm that sort of girl.

(47:57):
Do you think I don't know thatfar will give way? I guess he's
just got to. With time andhammering, you cannot sense into the head
of any parent. I apologize,said Cecil, both startled and convinced.
And I congratulate mister Volkes Lowry.Say you like Harry, don't you?
Oh very much? He's the idealtype of Englishman. Geraldine nodded, sweetly

(48:22):
and so obedient. He does everythingI tell him. He is leaving for
England to night, not because fatherasked him to, but because I did.
I'm going to take mother to Brusselsfor a few days shopping lace.
You know that will give father anopportunity to meditate in solitude on his own
greatness. Tell me, mister Thorold, do you consider that Harry and I

(48:45):
would be justified in corresponding secretly?Cecil assumed a pose of judicial gravity.
I think you would, he decided. But don't tell anyone, I said
so, not even Harry. Sheran off into the cursall, saying she
must seek her mother. But insteadof seeking her mother, Geraldine passed straight

(49:07):
through the concert hall, where athousand and one wondrously attired women were doing
fancy needlework to the accompaniment of aband of music, into the maze of
corridors beyond, and so to therear entrance of the coursall on the Boulevard
van Isam. Here she met misterHarry vol Lourie, who was most obviously

(49:29):
waiting for her. They crossed theroad to the empty tramway waiting room and
entered it and sat down, Andby the mere act of looking into each
other's eyes, these two, thestiff, simple, honest faced young englishmen
with Oxford written all over him,and the charming child of a civilization equally
proud but with fewer conventions, suddenlytransformed the little bureau into a cupid's bower.

(49:55):
It's just as I thought you,darling boy, Geraldine began to talk
rapidly. Father's the least bid inthe world. Scared, and when he's
scared, he's bound to confide insomeone, And he's confided in that suite,
mister Thurled and mister Thorold has beenrequested to reason with me and advise
me to be a good girl.And wait, I know what that means.

(50:19):
It means that father thinks we shallsoon forget each other. My poor
Harry and I do believe it meansthat father wants me to marry mister Thurld.
What did you say to him,dear the lover demanded, peel trust
me to fool him, Harry.I simply walk round him. He thinks
we're going to be very good andwait patiently, as if father ever would
give way until he was forced.She laughed disdainfully. So we're perfectly safe,

(50:45):
so long as we act with discretion. Now, let's clearly understand today's
Monday. You return to England tonight, Yes, and I'll arrange about the
license and things. Your cousin Maryis just as important as the license,
Mary said Geraldine. Primly she willcome. You may rely on her being
at ostend with me on Thursday.Very well. In the meantime, I

(51:08):
behave as if life were blank.Brussels will put them off the scent.
Mother and I will return from thereon Thursday afternoon. That night there is
a soiree donsand at the cursaal Motherwill say she is too tired to go
to it, but she will haveto go all the same. I will
dance before all men till a quarterto ten I will even dance with mister

(51:30):
Thorold. What a pity I can'tdance before father, But he's certain to
be in the gambling rooms then winningmoney. He always is at that hour,
at a quarter to ten, Iwill slip out and you will be
here at this back door with acarriage. We drive to the quay and
just catch the eleven o five steamer, and I meet your cousin Mary on

(51:52):
a Friday morning. We are married, and then then we shall be in
a position to talk to father.He'll pretend to be furious, but he
can't say much because he eloped himself. Didn't you know I didn't, said
Harry, with a certain dryness.Oh yes, it's in the family.
But you needn't look so starched,my English lord. He took her hand.

(52:15):
You sure your uncle won't disinherit youor anything horrid of that kind?
He can't, said Harry, Whata perfectly lovely country England is, Geraldine
exclaimed. Fancy the poor old thingnot being able to disinherit you. Why
it's just too delicious for words?And for some reason or other he kissed

(52:36):
her violently. Then an official enteredthe bureau and asked them if they wanted
to go to Blankenburg, because ifso, the tram was awaiting their distinguished
pleasure. They looked at each otherfoolishly and sidled out, and the bureau
ceased to be Cupid's bower. Three. By Simeon's request, Cecil dined with

(52:58):
the rain Shoers that night at theContinental. After dinner, they all sat
out on the balcony and sustained themselveswith coffee while watching the gay traffic of
the dish, the brilliant illumination ofthe coursaul, and the distant lights on
the invisible but murmuring sea. Geraldinewas in one of her moods of philosophic

(53:19):
pessimism, and would persist in dwellingon the uncertainty of riches and the vicissitudes
of millionaires. She found a textin the famous Bowering case, of which
the newspaper contained many interesting details.I wonder if he'll be caught, she
remarked, I wonder, said Cecil, what do you think, father?
I think you'd better go to bed. Simeon replied, the chit rose and

(53:44):
kissed him dutiously good night. Shesaid, aren't you glad the sea keeps
so calm, Why can you askmister Vulclarie crosses tonight, and he's a
dreadfully bad sailor. Come along,mother, mister Thorold. When mother and
I return from Brussels, we shallexpect to be taken for a cruise in
the Clara Belle. Simeon sighed withrelief upon the departure of his family,

(54:07):
and began a fresh cigar. Onthe whole his day had been rather too
domestic. He was quite pleased whenCecil, having apparently by accident, broached
the subject of the Dry Goods Trust, proceeded to exhibit a minute curiosity concerning
the past, the present, andthe future of the greatest of all the

(54:28):
rain Shore enterprises. Are you thinkingof coming in, Simeon demanded at length,
bricking up his ears. No,said Cecil, I'm thinking of going
out. The fact is I haven'tmentioned it before, but I'm ready to
sell a very large block of sharesthe deuce you are, Simeon exclaimed,
And what do you call a verylarge block, well, said Cecil.

(54:52):
It would cost me nearly half amillion to take them up now dollars pounds
sterling twenty five thousand at ninety fiveand three eight, Rainshaw whistled two bars
of follow me from the bell ofNew York. Is this how you amuse
yourself? At ostend, he inquired. Cecil smiled, this is quite an

(55:14):
exceptional transaction, and not too profitableeither. But you can't dump that lot
on the market. Simeon protested,Yes I can, said Cecil, I
must, and I will. Thereare reasons you yourself wouldn't care to handle
it, I suppose, the presidentof the trust pondered, I'll handle it

(55:35):
at ninety three and three eights.He answered quietly, Oh, come,
that's dropping two points, said Cecil, shocked. A moment ago, you
were prophesying a further rise. Rainshow'sface gleamed out momentarily in the darkness as
he puffed at his cigar. Ifyou must unload, he remarked, as
if addressing the red end of thecigar. I'm your man at ninety three

(55:59):
and Cecil argued, but Simeon Rainshowernever argued it was not his method.
In a quarter of an hour,the younger men had contracted to sell twenty
five thousand shares of one hundred dollarseach in the United States. Dry goods
trust at two points below the currentmarket quotation and six and five eight points

(56:20):
below par The hoot of an outgoingsteamer sounded across the city. I must
go, said Cecil. You're ina mighty hurry, Simeon complained. Four
five minutes later, Cecil was inhis own rooms at the Hotel de la
Plage. Soon there was a discreetknock at the door. Come in,
lucky, he said. It washis servant who entered. The small thin

(56:45):
man with very mobile eyes and ofno particular age, who in various capacities
and incarnations, now as liftman,now as financial agent, now as no
matter what, assisted Cecil in hisdiversions. Mister vau Lowry really did go
by the boat, sir good,and you have given directions about the ought.

(57:07):
The affair is in order, andyou've procured one of mister Rainshaw's Homburg
hats. It is in your dressingroom. There was no mark of identification
on it. So in order tosmooth the difficulties of the police when they
find it on the beach, Ihave taken the liberty of writing mister Rainshow's
name on the lining. A kindlythought, said Cecil, you'll catch the

(57:30):
special GSN steamer direct for London atone a m that will get you into
town before two o'clock tomorrow afternoon.Things have turned out as I expected,
and I've nothing else to say toyou. But before leaving me, perhaps
you'd better repeat your instructions with pleasure, sir, said Lecky Tucy afternoon.

(57:51):
I call it Cloak Lane and intimatethat we want to sell dry good shares.
I ineffectually try to conceal a secretcause for alarm, and I gradually
disclose the fact that we are veryanxious, indeed to sell really a lot
of dry good shares. In ahurry, I permit myself to be pumped,
and the information is wormed out ofme that mister Simeon Rainshower has disappeared,

(58:15):
has possibly committed suicide, but thatat present no one is aware of
this except ourselves. I express doubtsas to the soundness of the trust,
and I remark on the unfortunateness ofthis disappearance. So soon after the lamentable
panic connected with the lately vanished BruceBowings and his companies. I send our

(58:37):
friends on change with orders to seewhat they can do, and to report.
I then go to Berton Lane andrepeat the performance there without variation.
Then I call at the City officeof the Evening Messenger and talk privily in
a despondent vein with the financial editorconcerning the trust. But I breathe not

(58:59):
a word as to mister Rainshaw's disappearance. Wednesday morning, the rot in dry
goods has set in sharply, butI am now very foolishly disposed to haggle
about the selling price. Our friendsurge me to accept what I can get,
and I leave them saying that Imust telegraph to you. Wednesday afternoon,

(59:21):
I see a reporter of the MorningJournal and let out that Simeon Rainshow
has disappeared. The journal will wireto all stand for confirmation, which confirmation
it will receive Thursday morning. Thebottom is knocked out of the price of
dry goods shares. Then I amto call on our other friends at Throgmorton
Street and tell them to buy bybye. In London, New York,

(59:45):
Paris, everywhere, go in peace, said Cecil. If we are lucky,
the price will drop to seventy five. I see mister Thorold, said
Geraldine Rainshow that you are about toask me for the next dance. It
is yours. You are the Queenof Diviner's, Cecil replied, bowing.

(01:00:06):
It was precisely half past nine onThursday evening, and they had met in
a corner of the pillard and theBalcony de Salda dance in the Cursaal behind
the concert hall. The slippery,glittering floor was crowded with dancers, the
men in ordinary evening dress, thewomen very variously attired, save that nearly

(01:00:27):
all wore picture hats. Geraldine wasin a white frock high at the neck
with a large hat of black velvet, and amidst that brilliant, multi colored,
light hearted throng, lit by theblaze of the electric chandeliers and swayed
by the irresistible melody of the Doctrinanwaltz. The young girl, simply dressed

(01:00:49):
as she was, easily held herown So you've come back from Brussels,
Cecil said, taking her arm andwaist. Yes, we arrived just in
time for dinner. What have youbeen doing with father? We've seen nothing
of him, ah, said Cecil, mysteriously. We've been on a little
voyage and like you, we've onlyjust returned in the Clara Belle. He

(01:01:13):
nodded. You might have waited,she pouted. Perhaps she wouldn't have liked
it. Things happened, you knowwhy? What do tell me? Well?
You left your poor father alone,and he was moping all day on
Tuesday. So on Tuesday night Ihad the happy idea of going out in
the yacht to witness a sham nightattack by the French Channel Squadron on Calais.

(01:01:37):
I caught your honored parent just ashe was retiring to bed, and
we went. He was only tooglad, but we hadn't left the harbor
much more than an hour and ahalf when our engines broke down. What
fun and that night too, Yes, wasn't it. The shaft was broken,
so we didn't see much of anynight attack on Calais. Fortunately,

(01:02:00):
the weather was all that the weatherought to be when a ship's engines break
down. Still, it took usover forty hours to repair. Over forty
hours. I'm proud we were ableto do the thing without being ignominiously towed
into port. But I fear yourfather may have grown a little impatient.

(01:02:20):
Though we had excellent views of Ostandand Dunkirk and the passing vessels were a
constant diversion. Was there plenty toeat? Geraldine asked, simply, oh,
ample, then father wouldn't really mind. When did you land about an
hour ago? Your father did notexpect you to night. I fancy he
dressed and went straight to the tables. He has to make up for a

(01:02:44):
night lost, you see. Theydanced in silence for a few moments,
and then suddenly Geraldine said, willyou excuse me? I feel tired.
Good night. The clock under theorchestra showed seventeen minutes to ten instantly.
Cecil queried instantly, and the girladded, with a hint of mischief in

(01:03:07):
her voice as she shook hands.I look on you as quite a friend
since our last little talk, Soyou will excuse this abruptness, won't you.
He was about to answer when asort of commotion arose near behind them.
Still holding her hand, he turnedto look why, he said,
it's your mother. She must beunwell. Missus Rainshaw, as stout and

(01:03:30):
robed as always in tight sumptuous black, sat among a little bevy of chaperone's.
She held a newspaper in trembling hands, and she was uttering a succession
of staccato, oh oh, whileeveryone in the vicinity gazed at her with
alarm. Then she dropped the paperand, murmuring, Simeon's dead sank gently

(01:03:53):
to the polished floor just as Ceciland Geraldine approached. Geraldine's first and distinctive
move was to seize the newspaper,which was that day's Paris edition of the
New York Herald. She read theheadlines in a flash strange disappearance of Semi
and rainshow suicide feared takes advantage ofhis family's absence. Heavy drop and dry

(01:04:15):
goods shares at seventy two and stillfalling six. My good, Rebecca,
I assure you that I am alive. This was mister Rainshaw's attempt to calm
the hysteric sobbing of his wife,who had recovered from her short swoon.
In the Little Retreat of the Personwho sold the Tauchnitzes pictured postcards and French

(01:04:39):
novels between the main corridor and thereading rooms. Geraldine and Cecil were also
in the tiny chamber. As forthis, Simeon continued to kicking the newspaper.
It's a singular thing that a mancan't take a couple of days off
without upsetting the entire universe. Whatshould you do in my place? Thoroughed

(01:04:59):
this the fault of your shaft.I should buy dry good shares, said
Cecil, and I will. Therewas an imperative knock at the door,
and an official of police entered.Michel Lein shure the same. We have
received telegrams from New York Alundre todemand if you are dead. I am

(01:05:19):
not. I still live. ButMonsieur's hat has been found on the beach.
My hat, it carries Mensieur's name. Then it isn't mine, Sir,
may Commandant, I tell you itisn't mine, Sir, don't be
angry. Simeon. His wife pleadedbetween her sobs. The exit of the

(01:05:42):
official was immediately followed by another summonsfor admission, even more imperative. A
lady entered and handed to Simeon acard, Miss Eve Fincastle, the Morning
Journal my paper. She began.You wish to know if I exist,
madam, said Simeon. I ofMiss Fincastle caught sight of Cecil. Thorold
paused and bowed stiffly. Cecil bowed. He also blushed. I continue to

(01:06:09):
exist, Madam, Simeon proceeded,I have not killed myself, but homicide
of some sort is not improbable ifin short, Madam, good night,
Miss Fincastle, with a long searching, a silent look at Cecil departed.
Bolt that door, said Simeon tohis daughter. Then there was a third

(01:06:29):
knock, followed by a hammering.Go away, Simeon commanded open the door,
pleaded a muffled voice. It's Harry, Geraldine whispered solemnly in Cecil's ear.
Please go and calm him. Tellhim, I say it's too late
to night. Cecil went astounded.What happened to Geraldine? Cried the boy
extremely excited in the corridor. Thereare all sorts of rumors, is she

(01:06:54):
ill? Cecil gave an explanation,and in his turn asked for another one.
You look unnerved, he said,what are you doing here? What
is it? Come have a drinkand tell me all, my young friend,
And when over kognac he had learntthe details of a scheme which had
no connection with his own. Heexclaimed, with the utmost sincerity. The

(01:07:17):
minx, the minx, What doyou mean? Inquired Harry, Volkslowry.
I mean that you and the minkshave had the nearest possible shape of ruining
your United careers. Listen to me. Give it up, my boy.
I'll try to arrange things. Youdelivered a letter to the father in law
of your desire a few days ago. I'll give you another one to deliver,

(01:07:41):
and I fancy the result will bedifferent. The letter which Cecil wrote
ran, thus, dear Rainchor Iinclose check for a hundred thousand pounds.
It represents parts of the gold thatcan be picked up on the gold coast
by putting out one's hand. Soyou will observe that it stated the day
after the next settling day of theLondon Stock Exchange, I contracted on Monday

(01:08:05):
last to sell you twenty five thousandshares of a certain trust at ninety three
and three eighths. I did notpossess the shares then, but my agents
have to day bought them for meat an average price of seventy two.
I stand to realize therefore rather morethan half a million dollars the round half
million mister va Lowry happens to bringyou in his pocket. You will not

(01:08:29):
forget your promise to him that whenhe did so, you would consider his
application favorably. I wish to makeno profit out of the little transaction,
but I will venture to keep thebalance for out of pocket expenses, such
as mending the Clarabelle shaft. Howconvenient it is to have a yacht that
will break down when required. Theshares will doubtless recover in due course.

(01:08:54):
And I hope the reputation of thetrust may not suffer, and that,
for the sake of old times,would my father, you will regard the
episode in its proper light and bearme no ill will yours sincerely, see
Thorold. The next day, theengagement of mister Harry Nigel Selincourt vau Lurry

(01:09:14):
and Miss Geraldine Rainshaw was announced totwo continents. End of story one,
Chapter two, Story one of theLoot of Cities by Arnold Bennett. This
libripox recording is in the public domain. Story one, The Loot of Cities,

(01:09:38):
Chapter three, A bracelet at Bruges. The bracelet had fallen into the
canal, and the fact that thecanal was the most picturesque canal in the
old Flemish city of Bruges, andthat the ripples caused by the splash of
the bracelet had disturbed reflections of wondrousBelfrey's towers, steeples, and other unique
examples of Gothic architect Victor did nothingwhatever to assuage the sudden agony of that

(01:10:04):
disappearance, for the bracelet had beengiven to Kitty Sartorius by her grateful and
lordly manager, Lionel Belmont Usa,upon the completion of the unexampled run of
the Dalmonical Doll at the Regency Theater, London, and its diamonds were worth
five hundred pounds, to say nothingof the gold. The beautiful Kitty and

(01:10:28):
her friend e Fencastle, the journalists, having exhausted ostend, had duly arrived
at Bruges in the course of theirholiday tour. The question of Kitty's jewelry
had arisen at the start. Kittyhad insisted that she must travel with all
her jewels, according to the customof the theatrical stars of great magnitude.

(01:10:48):
Eve had equally insisted that Kitty musttravel without jewels, and had exhorted her
to remember the days of her simplicity. They compromised. Kitty was al to
bring the bracelet, but nothing elsesave the usual half dozen rings. The
ravishing creature could not have persuaded herselfto leave the bracelet behind, because it

(01:11:10):
was so recent a gift, andstill new and strange and heavenly to her.
But since prudence forbade even Kitty tolet the trifle lie about in hotel
bedrooms, she was obliged always towear it, and she had been wearing
it this bright afternoon in early October, when the girls, during a stroll,
had met one of their new friends, Madame Lawrence, on the world

(01:11:32):
famous Quis de Rosere, just atthe back of the Hotel de Ville and
the Hall. Madame Lawrence resided permanentlyin Bruges. She was between twenty five
and forty five, dark, withthe air of continually subduing, a natural
instinct to dash, and well dressedin black. Equally interested in the peerage

(01:11:54):
and in the poor. She hadmade the acquaintance of Eve and Kitty at
the Hotel de la Gramps, whereshe called from time to time to induce
English travelers to buy a genuine BrugesLaise, wrought under her own supervision by
her own paupers. She was Belgianby birth, and when complimented on her
fluent and correct English. She gaveall the praise to her deceased husband and

(01:12:18):
English barrister. She had settled inBruges, like many people settled there,
because Bruges is inexpensive, picturesque andinordinately respectable. Besides an English church and
chaplain, it has two cathedrals andan episcopal palace with a real bishop in
it. What an exquisite bracelet?May I look at it? It was

(01:12:41):
these simple but ecstatic words, spokenwith Madame Lawrence's charming foreign accent, which
had begun the tragedy. The threewomen had stopped to admire the always admirable
view from the little key, andthey were leaning over the rails when Kitty
unclasped the bracelet for the inspection ofthe widow the next instant. There was
a PLoP and affrighted exclamation from MadameLawrence in her native tongue, and the

(01:13:08):
bracelet was engulfed before the very eyesof all three. The three looked at
each other, none plussed. Thenthey looked around, but not a single
person was in sight. Then,for some reason which doubtless psychology can explain,
they stared hard at the water thoughthe water there was just as black

(01:13:28):
and foul as it is everywhere elsein the canal system of Bruges. Surely
you've not dropped it, Eve Fincastleexclaimed, in a voice of horror.
Yet she knew positively that Madame Lawrencehad the delinquent. Took a handkerchief from
her muff and sobbed into it,and between her sobs she murmured, we
must inform the police. Yes,of course, said Kitty, with the

(01:13:51):
lightness of one to whom a fivehundred pound bracelet is a bacatel. They'll
fish it up in no time.Well, Eve decided, you go to
the police at once. Kitty andMadame Lawrence will go with you because she
speaks French, and I'll stay hereto mark the exact spot. The other
two started, but Madame Lawrence,after a few steps, put her hand

(01:14:14):
to her side. I can't,she sighed, Pale. I'm too upset.
I cannot walk. You go withmiss Sartorius, she said to Eve,
and I will stay, and sheleaned heavily against the railings. Eve
and Kitty ran off, just asif it was an affair of seconds,
and the bracelet had to be savedfrom drowning, but they had scarcely turned
the corner thirty yards away when theyreappeared in company with a high official of

(01:14:40):
police, whom, by the mostlucky chance in the world, they had
encountered in the covered passage leading tothe Place de bouge. This official,
instantly enslaved by Kitty's beauty, provedto be the very mirror of politeness and
optimism. He took their names andaddresses, in a full description of the
bracelet, and informed them that atthat place the canal was nine feet deep.

(01:15:02):
He said that the bracelet should undoubtedlybe recovered on the morrow, but
that as a dusk was eminent,it would be futile to commence angling that
night. In the meantime, theloss should be kept secret, and to
make all sure, a succession ofgendarmes should guard the spot during the night.
Kitty grew radiant and rewarded the gallantofficer with smiles. Eve was satisfied,

(01:15:28):
and the face of Madame Lawrence worea less mournful you, And now
said Kitty to Madame. When everythinghad been arranged and the first of the
gendarmes was duly installed at the exactspot against the railings. You must come
and take tea with us in ourwinter garden, and to be gay smile,
I insist, and I insist thatyou don't worry. Madame Lawrence tried

(01:15:53):
feebly to smile. You are verygood natured, she stammered, which was
decidedly true. Rue two. Thewinter garden of the Hotel de la Grande
Place, referred to in all thehotel's advertisements, was merely the inner court
of the hotel, roofed in byglass at the height of the first story.

(01:16:14):
Caine flourished there in the shape ofthe lounge chairs, but no other
plant. One of the lounge chairswas occupied when, just as the carolan
in the belfry at the other endof the place began to play Guno's Nazareth,
indicating the hour of five o'clock,the three ladies entered the winter garden.
Apparently the toilettes of two of themhad been adjusted and embellished as for

(01:16:36):
a somewhat ceremonious occasion. Lo criedKitty Sartorius when she perceived the occupant of
the chair, the millionaire mister Thorold. How charming of you to reappear like
this, I invite you to tea. Cecil Thorold rose with appropriate eagerness.
Delighted, he said, smiling,and then explained that he had arrived from

(01:17:00):
must End about two hours before andhad taken rooms in the hotel. You
knew we were staying here, Eveasked, as he shook hands with her.
No, he replied, but I'mvery glad to find you again,
are you? She spoke languidly abouther color heightened, and those eyes of
hers sparkled. Madam Lawrence, Kittycherup. Let me present mister cecil Thorold.

(01:17:23):
He is appallingly rich, but wemustn't let that frighten us. From
a mouth less adorable than the mouthof Miss Sartorius. Such an introduction might
have been judged lacking in the elementsof good form, But for more than
two years now Kitty had known thatwhatever she did or said was perfectly correct.
Because she did or said it.The new acquaintances laughed amiably, and

(01:17:47):
a certain intimacy was at once established. Shall I order tea, dear,
Eve suggested, No, Dear,said Kitty quietly. We will wait for
the count. The count demanded,ces the Comte de rect Kitty explained,
he is staying here a French nobleman. Doubtless, yes, said Kitty,

(01:18:08):
and she added you will like him. He is an archaeologist and a musician,
oh and lots of things. IfI am one minute late, I
entreat pardon, said a fine tenorvoice at the door. It was the
Count. After he had been introducedto Madame Lawrence and Cecil Thorold had been
introduced to him, Tea was servednow. The Comte de Brac was everything

(01:18:30):
that a French count ought to be. As dark as Cecil thurled and even
handsomer. He was a little olderand a little taller than the millionaire,
and a short pointed black beard exquisitelytrimmed, gave him an appearance of staid
reliability which Cecil lacked. His bowwas a vertebrate poem, his smile a

(01:18:51):
consolation for all misfortunes, and hemanaged his hat, stick, gloves,
and cup with the dazzling assures ofa conjurer. To observe him at afternoon,
Tea was to be convinced that hehad been specially created to shine gloriously
in drawing rooms, winter gardens,and table d'hotes, And he was one

(01:19:13):
of those men who always do theright thing at the right moment, who
are capable of speaking an indefinite numberof languages with absolute purity of accent.
He spoke English much better than MadameLawrence, and who can and do discourse
with ve and accuracy on all sciences, arts, sports, and religions.

(01:19:34):
In short, he was of Phoenixof account. And this was certainly the
opinion of Miss Kitty Sartorius and ofMiss Eve Fincastle, both of whom reckoned
that what they did not know aboutmen might be ignored. Kitty and the
Count, it soon became evident,were mutually attracted. Their souls were approaching
each other with a velocity which increasedinversely as the square of the lessening distance

(01:20:00):
between them, and Eve was watchingthis approximation with undisguised interest and relish.
Nothing of the least importance occurred savethe Count's marvelous exhibition of how to behave
at afternoon tea, until the refectionwas nearly over, and then, during
a brief pause in the talk,Cecil, who was sitting to the left

(01:20:21):
of Madame Lawrence, looked sharply roundat the right shoulder of his tweed coat.
He repeated the gesture a second,and yet a third time. What
is the matter with the man,asked Eve Fincastle. Both he and Kitty
were extremely bright, animated, andeven excited. Nothing. I thought I
saw something on my shoulder, that'sall, said Cecil. Ah, it's

(01:20:45):
only a bit of thread, Andhe picked off the thread with his left
hand and held it before Madame Lawrence. See it's a piece of thin black
silk knotted. At first I tookit for an insect. You know how
queer things look out the corner ofyour eye. Pardon He had dropped the
fragment onto Madame Lawrence's black silk dress. Now it's lost. If you will

(01:21:09):
excuse me, kind friends, saidMadame Lawrence, I will go. She
spoke hurriedly and as though in mentaldistress. Poor thing Kitty Storius exclaimed.
When the widow had gone, shestill dreadfully upset, and Kitty and Eve
proceeded jointly to relate the story ofthe diamond bracelet, upon which hitherto they

(01:21:30):
had kept silence, though with difficulty. Out of regard for Madame Lawrence's feelings,
Cecil made almost no comment. Thecount with the sympathetic excitability of his
race, walked up and down thewinter garden, as severating earnestly that such
clumsiness amounted to a crime. Thenhe grew calm and confessed that he shared

(01:21:54):
the optimism of the police as tothe recovery of the bracelet. Lastly,
he complimented Kit on her equable demeanorunder this affliction. Do you know,
count, said Cecil Thorold. Later, after they had all four ascended to
the drawing room overlooking the grand place. I was quite surprised when I saw
a tea that you had to beintroduced to Madame Lawrence. Why so,

(01:22:16):
my dear mister Thorold, the Countinquired suavely. I thought I had seen
you together at Ostend a few daysago. The Count shook his wonderful head.
Perhaps you have a brother, Cecilpaused, No, said the Count,
but it is a favorite theory ofmine that everyone has his double somewhere
in the world. Previously, theCount had been discussing Plantchett. He was

(01:22:40):
a great authority on the supernatural,the subconscious, and the subliminal. He
now deviated gracefully to the discussion ofthe theory of doubles. I suppose you
aren't going out for a walk,dear before dinner, said Eve to Kitty.
No, dear, said Kitty positively. I think I shall, said
Eve, and her glance at CecilThoroled intimated in the plainest possible manner that

(01:23:05):
she wished not only to have acompanion for a stroll, but to leave
Kitty and the count in dual solitude. I shouldn't if I were you,
miss fincastle, Cecil remark with calmand steadied blindness. It's risky here in
the evenings, with these canals exhalingmy asthma, and mosquitoes and bracelets and

(01:23:26):
all sorts of things. I willtake the risk, thank you, said
Eve in an icy tone, andshe haughtily departed. She would not cower
before Cecil's millions. As for Cecil, he joined in the discussion of the
theory of doubles three on the nextafternoon, but one policemen were still fishing
without success for the bracelet and raisingfrom the ancient ducked, long buried odors

(01:23:53):
which threatened to destroy the inhabitants ofthe key. When Kitty Sartorius had hinted
that perhaps the authorities might see theirway to drawing off the water from the
canal. The authorities had intimated thatthe death rate of Bruges was already as
high as convenient. Nevertheless, thoughnothing had happened, the situation had somehow

(01:24:14):
developed, and in such a mannerthat the bracelet itself was in danger of
being partially forgotten. And of allplaces in Bruges, the situation had developed
on the top of the renowned Belfry, which dominates the grand plots in the
particular and the city in general.The summit of the Belfry is three hundred
and fifty feet high, and itis reached by four hundred and two winding

(01:24:38):
stone steps, each a separate menaceto life and limb. Eve Fencastle had
climbed those steps alone, perhaps inquest of the view at the top,
perhaps in quest of spiritual calm.She had not been leaning over the parapet
more than a minute before Cecil Thoroldhad appeared, his field glasses slung over

(01:24:58):
his shoulder. They had been gunto talk a little, but nervously,
and only in snatches. The windblew free up there among the forty eight
bells, but the social atmosphere wasoppressive. The Count is a most charming
man. Eve was saying, asif in defense of the Count he is,
said, cecil I agree with you. Oh no you don't, mister

(01:25:20):
Thorold, Oh no you don't.Then there was a pause, and the
twain looked down upon Bruges, withits venerable streets, its grass grown squares,
its waterways, and its innumerable monumentsspread out maplike beneath them in the
mellow October sunshine. Citizens passed alongthe thoroughfare in the semblance of tiny dwarfs.

(01:25:44):
If you didn't hate him, saidEve, you wouldn't behave as you
do. How do I behave?Then Eve schooled her voice to an imitation
of jocularity. Oh, Tuesday eveningand all day yesterday. You couldn't leave
them alone, you know you couldn't. Five minutes later, the conversation had
shifted. You actually saw the braceletfall into the canal, said cecil.

(01:26:08):
I actually saw the bracelet fall intothe canal, and no one could have
got it out while Gidey and Iwere away, because we weren't away half
a minute. But they could notdismiss the subject of the Count, And
presently he was again the topic naturallyIt would be a good match for the
Count for any man, said Eve. But then it would also be a

(01:26:30):
good match for kitty. Of course, he is not so rich as some
people, but he is rich.Cecil examined the horizon with his glasses,
and then the streets near the GrandPlace. Rich is he? I'm glad
of it. By the way,he's gone to Ghent for the day,
hasn't he. Yes, he wentby the nine twenty seven and returns by

(01:26:50):
the four thirty eight. Another pause, well, said Cecil, at length,
handing the glasses to eifein castle,kindly glanced at there, follow the
line of the Rue Saint Nicolas.You see the cream colored house with the
enclosed courtyard. Now do you seetwo figures standing together near the door,
a man and a woman, thewoman on the steps. Who are they?

(01:27:15):
I can't tell very well, saidEve. Oh yes, my dear
lady, you can, said Cecil. These glasses are the very best.
Try again, They look like theComte de vec and Madame Lawrence. Eve
murmured, But the Count is onhis way from Ghent. I see the
steam of the four thirty eight overthere. The curious thing is that the
Count entered the house of Madame Lawrence, to whom he was introduced for the

(01:27:40):
first time the day before yesterday atten o'clock this morning. Yes, it
would be a very good match forthe Count. When one comes to think
of it, it usually is thatsort of man that contrives to marry a
brilliant and successful actress. There he'sjust leaving, isn't it. Now Let
us descend and listen to the recitalof his day's doings in Ghent. Shall

(01:28:01):
we you mean to insinuate? Eveburst out in sudden wrath, that the
Count is an adventurer, and thatMadame Lawrence, Oh, mister Thurough,
She laughed condescendingly. This jealousy istoo absurd. Do you suppose I haven't
noticed how impressed you were with Giddyat the Devonshire mansion that night, and

(01:28:27):
again at Ostend, and again here. You are simply carried away by jealousy,
and you think, because you area millionaire, you must have all
you want. I haven't the slightestdoubt that the Count by anyhow, says
he, So let us go downand hear about Ghent. His eyes made
a number of remarks, indulgent,angry, amused, protective, admiring purpose

(01:28:50):
hious puzzled too subtle for the mediumof words. They groped their way down
to earth in silence, and itwas in silence that that crossed the Grand
Blass. The Count was seated onthe terrassea in front of the hotel,
with a liqueur glass before him,and he was making graceful and expressive signs
to Kitty Sartorius, who leaned hermarvelous beauty out of a first story window.

(01:29:15):
He greeted Cecil thorough and Eve withan equal grace. And how is
Kent? Cecil inquired, Did yougo to Ghent? After all? Count
Eve put in la Comte d Brac, looked from one to another, and
then instead of replying, he sippedat his glass. No, he said,
I didn't go. The rather curiousfact is that I happened to meet

(01:29:35):
Madame Lawrence, who offered to showme her collection of lace. I had
been an amateur of lace for someyears, and really, Madame Lawrence's collection
is amazing. You have seen it? No, you should do so,
I'm afraid I have spent most ofthe day there. When the Count had
gone to join Kitty in the drawingroom, Efe and Castle looked victoriously as

(01:29:58):
Cecil, as if to demand ofhim, will you apologize, my dear
journalist, Cecil remarked, simply,you gave the show away. That evening,
the continued obstinacy of the bracelet,which still refused to be caught,
began at last to disturb the birdlikemind of Kitty Sartorius. Moreover, the

(01:30:19):
secret was out, and the wholetown of Bruges was discussing the episode and
the chances of success. Let usconsult planchet said the Count. The proposal
was received with enthusiasm by Kitty.Eve had disappeared. Planchette was produced,
and when asked if the bracelet wouldbe recovered, it wrote, under the

(01:30:40):
hands of Kitty and the Count,a trembling yes. When asked by whom
it wrote a word which faintly resembledPavrek, the Count stated that he should
personally commence dragging operations at sunrise.You will see, he said, I
shall succeed. Let me try thistoy. May I cease the last blandly,

(01:31:01):
And upon Kitty agreeing, he addressedplanchet in a clear voice, Now,
Planchette, who will restore the braceletto its owner, and Planchette wrote
Thoroled, but in characters as firmand regular as those of a copy book.
Mister thurld Is, laughing at us, observed the count imperturbably bland.

(01:31:24):
How horrid you are, mister Thorold, Kitty exclaimed. Four of the four
persons more or less interested in theaffair, three were secretly active that night
in and out of the hotel.Only Kitty Sartorius, chief mourner for the
bracelet, slept placidly in her bed. It was towards three o'clock in the

(01:31:44):
morning that a sort of preliminary crisiswas reached from the multiplicity of doors which
ventilate its rooms. One would imaginethat the average foreign hotel must have been
designed immediately after its architect had beento see Palais Royal farce, in which
every room opens into every other roomin every act. The Hotel de la

(01:32:06):
Grande Place was not peculiar in thisrespect. It abounded in doors. All
the chambers on the second story overthe public rooms fronting the place communicated one
with the next, but naturally mostof the communicating doors were locked. Cecil
Thorold and a comte de Brac hadeach a bedroom and a sitting room on

(01:32:28):
that floor. The count's sitting roomadjoined Cecil's, and the door between was
locked and the key in the possessionof the landlord. Nevertheless, at three
a m. This particular door openednoiselessly from Cecil's side, and Cecil entered
the domain of the count. Themoon shone, and Cecil could plainly see

(01:32:49):
not only the silhouette of the belfryacross the place, but also the principal
objects within the room. He noticedthe table in the middle, the large
easy to turned towards the hearth,the old fashioned sofa, But not a
single article did he perceive which mighthave been the personal property of the count.

(01:33:10):
He cautiously passed across the room throughthe moonlight to the door of the
count's bedroom, which apparently to hisimmense surprise, was not only shut but
locked, and the key in thelock on the sitting room side silently unlocking
it. He entered the bedroom anddisappeared in less than five minutes. He

(01:33:30):
crept back into the count's sitting room, closed the door and locked it.
Odd, he murmured reflectively, buthe seemed quite happy. There was a
sudden movement in the region of thehearth, and a form rose from the
armchair. Cecil rushed to the switchand turned on the electric light. Eve
Thincastle stood before him. They facedeach other. What are you doing here

(01:33:56):
at this time, Miss Fincastle,he asked sternly. You can talk freely.
The Count will not awaken. Imay ask you the same question.
Eve replied with cold bitterness. Excuseme, you may not. You are
a woman. This is the Count'sroom. You are in error, she
interrupted him. It is not theCount's room, it is mine. Last

(01:34:19):
night I told the Count I hadsome important writing to do, and I
asked him as a favor to relinquishthis room to me for twenty four hours.
He very kindly consented. He removedhis belongings, handed me the key
of that door, and the transferwas made in the hotel books. And
now, she added, May Iinquire, mister Thorold, what you are

(01:34:42):
doing in my room? I Ithought it was the count's Cecil faltered decidedly,
at a loss for a moment inoffering my humblest apologies. Permit me
to say that I admire you,Miss Fincastle. I wish I could return
the compliment, Eve exclaimed, andshe repeated, with almost plaintive sincerity,

(01:35:03):
I do wish I could cecil raisedhis arms and let them fall to his
side. You meant to catch me, he said. You suspected something.
Then the important writing was an invention, and he added, with a faint
smile. You really ought not tohave fallen asleep. Suppose I had not
wakened you. Please don't laugh,mister Thorold. Yes I did suspect.

(01:35:28):
There was something in the demeanor ofyour servant Lucky that gave me the idea
I did mean to catch you.Why you a millionaire should be a burglar?
I cannot understand. I never understoodthat incident at the Devnger mansion.
It was beyond me. I amby no means sure that you didn't have
a great deal to do with theRanger affair at ostend, but that you

(01:35:50):
should have stooped to slander is theworst. I confess you are a mystery.
I confess that I can make noguess at the nature of your present
scheme, and what I shall donow that I have caught you, I
don't know. I can't decide.I must think if, however, anything

(01:36:11):
is missing tomorrow morning, I shallbe bound in any case to denounce you.
You grasp that, oh, Igrasp it perfectly, my dear journalist,
Cacil replied, And something will notimprobably be missing. But take the
advice of a burglar and a mysteryand go to bed. It is half
past three, and Eve went,and Cecil bowed her out, and then

(01:36:34):
retired to his own rooms, andthe Count's apartment was left to the moonlight.
Five. Planchet is a very safeprophet, said Cecil to Giddy Sartorius
the next morning, provided it hasfirm guidance. They were at breakfast.
What do you mean? I meanthat Planchet prophesied last night that I should

(01:36:56):
restore to you your bracelet? Ido. He took the lovely gigaw from
his pocket and handed it to Kitty. How did you find it, you
dear thing? Kitty stammered, tremblingunder the shock of joy. I fished
it up out of the mire bya contrivance of my own. But when,
oh, very early, at threeo'clock a m. You see,

(01:37:19):
I was determined to be first inthe dark. Then I had a light.
Don't you think I'm rather clever Kitty'sscene of ecstatic gratitude. It does
not come into the story, Sufficeit to say that not until the moment
of its restoration did she realize howprecious the bracelet was to her. It

(01:37:40):
was ten o'clock before Eve descended.She had breakfast in her own room,
and Kitty had already exhibited to herthe prodigal bracelet. I particularly want you
to go up the belfry with me, miss Fincastle, Cecil greeted her,
and his tone was so serious andso urgent, that she consented. They
left, playing waltzes on the pianoin the drawing room, and now a

(01:38:04):
man of mystery. Eve questioned,when they had toiled to the summit and
saw the city and its dwarfs beneaththem, We are in no danger of
being disturbed here, Cecil began.But I will make my explanation, the
explanation which I certainly owe you,as brief as possible. Your compete,
Vac is an adventurer. Please don'tbe angry, And you are, Madame

(01:38:28):
Lawrence, is an adventuress. Iknew that I had seen them together.
They work in concert, and forthe most part make a living on the
gaming tables of Europe. Madame Lawrencewas expelled from Monte Carlo last year for
being too intimate with a croupier.You may be aware that at a roulette
table one can do a great dealwith the aid of the croupier. Madame

(01:38:49):
Lawrence appropriated the bracelet on her own, as it were. The Count he
may be a real count, foranything. I know heard first that enterprise
from the lips of Miss Sartorius.He was annoyed, angry because he was
really a little in love with yourfriend, and he saw golden prospects.

(01:39:10):
It is just this fact, theCount's genuine passion for Miss Sartorius, that
renders the case psychologically interesting to proceed, Madame Lawrence became jealous. The Count
spent six hours yesterday in trying toget the bracelet from her and failed.
He tried again last night and succeeded, but not too easily, for he

(01:39:32):
did not re enter the hotel tillafter one o'clock. At first I thought
he had succeeded in the daytime,and I had arranged accordingly, for I
did not see why he should havethe honor and glory of restoring the bracelet
to its owner Lucky, and Ifixed up a sleeping draft for him.
The minor details were simple. Whenyou caught me this morning, the bracelet

(01:39:57):
was in my pocket and in itsstead, I had left brief note for
the perusal of the Count, whichhas had the singular effect of inducing him
to de camp. Probably he hasnot gone alone. But isn't it amusing
that since you so elaborately took hissitting room, he will be convinced that
you are a party to his undoing. You his staunchest defender. Eve's face

(01:40:23):
gradually broke into an embarrassed smile.You haven't explained, she said, how
Madame Lawrence got the bracelet. Comeover here, Cecil answered, Take these
glasses and look down at the Quyde Rosire. You see everything plainly.
Eve could in fact see on thequay the little mounds of mud which had

(01:40:43):
been extracted from the canal in thequest of the bracelet, Cecil continued.
On my arrival in Bruges on Monday, I had a fancy to climb the
belfry. At once I witnessed thewhole scene between you and Miss Saturius and
Madame Lawrence through my glasses. Immediatelyyour backs were turned. Madame Lawrence,
her hands behind her and her backagainst the railing, began to make a

(01:41:06):
sort of rapid drawing up motion withher forearms. Then I saw a momentary
glitter. Considerably mystified. I visitedthe spot after you had left it,
chatted with a gentarme on duty,and got round him. And then it
dawned on me that a robbery hadbeen planned, prepared, and executed with
extraordinary originality and ingenuity. A long, thin thread of black silk must have

(01:41:32):
been ready tied to the railing,with perhaps a hook at the other end.
As soon as Madame Lawrence held thebracelet, she attached the hook to
it and dropped it. The silk, especially as it was the last thing
in the world you would look for, would be as good as invisible when
you went for the police. Madameretrieved the bracelet, hid it in her

(01:41:54):
muff, and broke off the silk. Only in her haste she left a
bit of silk tied to the railingthat fragment I carried to the hotel.
All along, she must have beena little uneasy about me. And that's
all except that I wonder you thoughtI was jealous of the Count's attentions to
your friend. He gazed at heradmiringly. I'm glad you're not a thief,

(01:42:17):
mister Thorold, said eve Well.Cecil smiled. As for that,
I left him a couple of louisfor fairs, and I shall pay his
hotel bill. Why there were notesfor nearly ten thousand francs with the bracelet
ill gotten gains. I am surea trifle, but the only reward I

(01:42:38):
shall have for my trouble, Ishall put them to good use, he
laughed, serenely. Gay end ofstory one, Chapter three, Story one
of the Loot of Cities by ArnoldBennett. This Librimox recording is in the

(01:43:00):
public domain. Story one, TheLoote of Cities, Chapter four A solution
of the Algiers mystery and the Launch. I am unaware of the precise technical
term, sir, but the launchawaits you. Perhaps I should have said
it is alongside the reliable Leckey hatedthe sea, and when his master's excursions

(01:43:23):
became marine, he always squinted moreformidably and suddenly than usual, and added
to his reliability a certain quality ofironic bitterness. My overcoat please, said
Cecil Thorold, who was in eveningdress. The apartment, large and low,
was paneled with bird's eye maple divansran along the walls, and above

(01:43:46):
the divan's orange curtains were drawn.The floor was hidden by the skins of
wild African animals. In one cornerwas a Steinway piano with the score of
the Orchid open on the music stand. In another lay a large flat bowl
filled with blossoms that do not bloomin England. The illumination, soft and

(01:44:08):
yellow, came from behind the corniceof the room, being reflected therefrom downwards
by the green colored ceiling. Onlyby a faintly heard tremor of some gigantic
but repressed force, and by avery slight unsteadiness on the part of the
floor. Could you have guessed thatyou were aboard a steam yacht and not

(01:44:29):
in a large, luxurious house.Lecky, having arrayed the millionaire in overcoat,
muffler, crushed hat and white gloves, drew aside a portiere and followed
him up a flight of stairs.They stood on deck, surrounded by the
mild but treacherous Algerian night. Fromthe white double funnels, a thin smoke
oozed on the white bridge. Thesecond mate, a spectral figure was testing

(01:44:56):
the engine room signals, and thesharp noise of the bell seen to desecrate
the mysterious silence of the bay.But there was no other sign of life.
The waiting launch was completely hidden underthe high bows of the Clarabelle.
In distant regions of the deck,glimmering beams came oddly up from below,
throwing into relief some part of aboat on its davits or a section of

(01:45:19):
a mast. Cecil looked about himat the serried lights of the Boulevard Carnot
and the riding lanterns of the vesselsin the harbor. Away to the left
on the hill, a few gleamsshowed a Mustafa Superiere, where the great
English hotels are, and ten milesfurther east, the lighthouse on Cape Matifou

(01:45:41):
flashed its eternal message to the Mediterranean. He was on the verge of feeling
poetic. Suppose anything happens while youare at this dancer. Lecky jerked his
thumb in the direction of a smallsteamer which lay moored scarcely a cable's length
away under the eastern jetty ooose.He jerked his thumb again in exactly the

(01:46:02):
same direction. His tone was stillpessimistic and cynical. You'd better fire our
beautiful brass cannon, Cecil replied,have it fired three times, I shall
hear it well enough. Up atMustafa, He descended carefully into the launch
and was whisked puffingly over the darksurface of the bay to the landing stage,

(01:46:25):
where he summoned a Fiatra Hotel SaintGems. He instructed the driver,
and the driver smiled joyously. Everyonewho went to the Hotel Saint James was
rich and lordly and paid well becausethe hill was long and steep and so
hard on the poor Algerian horses.Two, Every hotel of but Mustapha Superia

(01:46:46):
has the finest view, the finesthygienic installation, and the finest cooking in
Algeria. In other words, eachis better than all the others. Hence,
the Hotel Saint James could not becalled first among equals, since there
are no equals, and one mustbe content to describe it as first among

(01:47:08):
the unequaled. First, it undoubtedlywas, and perhaps will be again.
Although it was new, it hadwhat one visitor termed that indefinable thing cachet.
It was frequented by the best people, namely the richest people, the
idlest people, the most arrogant people, the most bored people, the most

(01:47:30):
titled people that came to the southernshores of the Mediterranean in search of what
they would never find and escape fromthemselves. It was a vast building planned
on a scale of spaciousness only possiblein a district where commercial crises have depressed
the value of land. And itstood in the midst of a vast garden

(01:47:51):
of oranges, lemons and medlars.Every room and there were three stories and
two hundred rooms faced south. Thiswas charged for in the bill. The
public rooms, oriental and character,were immense and complete. They included a
dining room, a drawing room,a reading room, a smoking room,

(01:48:11):
a billiard room, a bridge room, a ping pong room, a concert
room with resident orchestra, and aroom where assuas and negroes and other curiosities
from the native town might perform beforeselect parties. Thus it was entirely so
sufficient and lacked nothing which is necessaryto the proper existence of the best people.

(01:48:34):
On Thursday nights throughout the season,there was a five franc dance in
the concert hall. You paid fivefrancs and ate and drank as much as
you could while standing up at thesupper tables arrayed in the dining room.
On a certain Thursday night in earlyJanuary, this Anglo Saxon microcosm, set

(01:48:54):
so haughtily in a French colony betweenthe Mediterranean and the Jurajura Mountains, with
the Sahara behind, was at itsmost brilliant. The hotel was crammed,
the prices were high, and everybodywas supremely conscious of doing the correct thing.
The dance had begun somewhat earlier thanusual, because the eagerness of the

(01:49:15):
younger guests could not be restrained,and the orchestra seemed gayer, and the
electric lights brighter, and the toilettesmore resplendent. That night, of course,
guests came in from the other hotels. Indeed, they came in to
such an extent that to dance inthe ballroom was an affair of compromise and
ingenuity, and the other rooms wereoccupied too. The bridge players wrecked nod

(01:49:40):
of terpsichor, the cheerful sound ofping pong came regularly from the ping pong
room, the retired Indian judge wasgiving points as usual. In the billiard
room and in the reading room,the steadfast intellectuals were studying the world and
the Paris New York Herald. Andall was in English and American, pure

(01:50:01):
Anglo Saxon in thought and speech andgesture, save the manager of the hotel,
who was Italian, the waiters whowere anything, and the wonderful concierge
who was everything. As Cecil passedthrough the imposing suite of public rooms,
he saw in the reading room,posted so that no arrival could escape her

(01:50:21):
eye, the elegant form of MissusMcAllister, and by way of a wild,
impulsive freak, he stopped and talkedto her, and ultimately sat down
by her side. Missus McAllister wasone of those englishwomen that are to be
found only in large and fashionable hotels. Everything about her was mysterious, except

(01:50:43):
the fact that she was in searchof a second husband. She was tall,
pretty, dashing, daring, welldressed, well informed, and perhaps
thirty four. But no one hadknown her husband or her family, and
no one knew her country, orthe origin of her income, or how
she got herself into the best clicksin the hotel. She had the air

(01:51:04):
of being the merriest person in Algiers. Really she was one of the saddest,
for the reason that every day lefther older and harder and less likely
to hook well to hook a millionaire. She had met Cecil Thorold at the
dance of the previous week and hadclung to him so artfully that the Coteries

(01:51:25):
talked of it for three days,as Cecil well knew, and to night
he thought he might as well asnot give missus mc allister an hour's excitement
of the chase, and the Coteriesanother three days employment. So he sat
down beside her and they talked.First she asked him whether he slept on
his yacht or in the hotel,and he replied sometimes in the hotel and

(01:51:47):
sometimes on the yacht. Then sheasked him where his bedroom was, and
he said it was on the secondfloor, and she settled that it must
be three doors from her own.Then they discussed bridge, the fiscal inquiry,
the weather, dancing, food,the responsibilities of great Wealth, Algerian
railway, traveling, can gambling,Mister Morley's Life of Gladstone, and the

(01:52:12):
extraordinary success of the hotel. Thus, quite inevitably they reached the subject of
the Algiers mystery. During the season, at any rate, no two guests
in the hotel ever talked small talkfor more than ten minutes without reaching the
subject of the Algiers mystery. Forthe hotel had itself been the scene of

(01:52:33):
the Algiers mystery, and the Algiersmystery was at once the simplest, the
most charming, and the most perplexingmystery in the world. One morning,
the first of April in the previousyear, an honest john bull of a
guest had come down to the hoteloffice and laying a five pound note before

(01:52:53):
the head Clark had exclaimed, Ifound that lying on my dressing table.
It isn't mine. It looks goodenough, but I expected someone's joke.
Seven other people that day confessed thatthey had found five pound notes in their
rooms, or pieces of paper thatresembled five pound notes. They compared these

(01:53:14):
notes, and then the eight wentoff in a body down to an agency
on the Boulevard de la Republique,and without the least demur, the notes
were changed for gold. On thesecond of April, twelve more people found
five pound notes in their rooms,now prominent on the bed, now secreted,
as for instance, under a candlestickcecil himself had been a recipient.

(01:53:38):
Watches were set, but with noresult whatever. In a week nearly seven
hundred pounds had been distributed amongst theguests by the generous invisible ghosts. It
was magnificent, and it was verysoon in every newspaper in England and America.
Some of the guests did not carefor it, thought it queer and

(01:53:59):
uncanny and not nice, and theseleft. But the majority cared for it
very much, indeed, and remainedtill the utmost limit of the season.
The rainfall of notes had not recommencedso far in the present season. Nevertheless,
the hotel had been thoroughly well patronizedfrom November onwards, and there was
scarcely a guest but who went tosleep at night hoping to descry a fiver

(01:54:25):
in the morning advertisement, said somepurpiscacious individuals. Of course, the explanation
was an obvious one. But themanager had indignantly and honestly denied all knowledge
of the business. And moreover,not a single guest had caught a single
note in the act of settling downfurther, the hotel changed hands and that

(01:54:46):
manager left. The mystery therefore remaineda delightful topic always at hand for discussion.
After having chatted, Cecil thorough andmissus mc allister danced two dance,
and the hotel began audibly to wonderthat Cecil could be such a fool.
When at midnight he retired to bed, many mothers of daughters and daughters of

(01:55:10):
mothers were justifiably angry, and consoledthemselves by saying that he had disappeared in
order to hide the shame which musthave suddenly overtaken him. As for missus
mc allister, she was radiant safelyin his room. Cecil locked and wedged
the door and opened the window.Looked out from the balcony at the starry

(01:55:30):
night. He could hear cats playingon the roof. He smiled when he
thought of the things missus mc allisterhad said, and of the ardor of
her glances. Then he felt sorryfor her. Perhaps it was the whiskey
and soda of which he had justdrunk that momentarily warmed his heart towards the
lonely creature. Only one item ofher artless gossip had interested him a statement

(01:55:54):
that the new Italian manager had beenill in bed all day. He emptied
his pockets, and standing on achair, he put his pocket book on
the top of the wardrobe, whereno Algerian marauder would think of looking for
it. His revolver he tucked underhis pillow. In three minutes he was
asleep. Three he was awakened bya vigorous pulling and shaking of his arm,

(01:56:17):
and he, who usually woke wideat the least noise, came to
his senses with difficulty. He lookedup. The electric light had been turned
on. There's a ghost in myroom, mister thoroled, you'll forgive me,
but I'm so. It was missusMcAllister, disheveled and in white,
who stood over him. This isreally a bit too thick, he thought,

(01:56:39):
vaguely and sleepily, regretting his impulsiveflirtation of the previous evening. Then
he collected himself and said sternly,severely that if missus McAllister would retire to
the corridor, he would follow.In a moment, he added that she
might leave the door open if shefelt afraid. Missus McAllister retired, sobbing

(01:57:00):
and cecil arose. He went firstto consult his watch. It was gone,
a chronometer worth a couple of hundredpounds. He whistled, climbed onto
a chair, and discovered that hispocket book was no longer in a place
of safety on the top of thewardrobe. It had contained something over five
hundred pounds in a highly negotiable form. Picking up his overcoat, which lay

(01:57:25):
on the floor, he found thatthe fur lining a millionaire's fancy, which
had cost him nearly one hundred andfifty pounds, had been cut away and
was no more to be seen.Even the revolver had departed from under his
pillow. Well, he murmured,this is decidedly the grand manner. Quite
suddenly it occurred to him, ashe noticed a peculiar taste in his mouth,

(01:57:47):
that the whisky and soda had containedmore than whisky and soda. He
had been drugged. He tried torecall the face of the waiter who had
served him. Eyeing the window andthe door, he argued that the thief
had entered by the former and departedby the latter. But the pocket book,
he mused, I must have beenwatched. Missus McAllister stripped Now of

(01:58:10):
all dash and all daring could beheard in the corridor, can she?
He speculated for a moment, andthen decided positively in the negative. Missus
McAllister could have no design on anythingbut a bachelor's freedom. He assumed his
dressing gown and slippers and went toher. The corridor was in darkness,

(01:58:30):
but she stood in the light ofhis doorway. Now, he said,
this ghost of yours, dear lady, you must go first. She whimpered,
I daren't. It was white,but with a black face. It
was at the window cecil, gettinga candle, obeyed, and having penetrated
alone into the lady's chamber, heperceived to begin with that a pane had

(01:58:51):
been pushed out of the window bythe old noiseless device of a sheet of
treecled paper. And then, examiningthe window more closely, he saw that
outside a silk ladder depended from theroof and trailed in the balcony. Come
in without fear, he said tothe trembling widow. It must have been

(01:59:11):
some one with more appetite than aghost that you saw, perhaps an Arab.
She came in, femininely, trustingto him, and between them they
ascertained that she had lost a watch, sixteen rings, an opal necklace,
and some money. Missus mc allisterwould not say how much money. My
resources are slight, she remarked,I was expecting remittances. Cecil thought,

(01:59:35):
this is not merely in the grandmanner. If it fulfills its promise,
it will prove to be one ofthe greatest things of the age. He
asked her to keep cool, notto be afraid, and to dress herself.
Then he returned to his room anddressed as quickly as he could.
The hotel was absolutely quiet, butout of the depths below came the sound

(01:59:58):
of a clock striking four. Whenadequately but not esthetically attired, he opened
his door again. Another door nearby also open, and Cecil saw a
man's head. I say, drawledthe man's head. Excuse me, but
have you noticed anything? Why?What? Well? I've been robbed?

(02:00:19):
The Englishman laughed awkwardly, apologetically,as though ashamed to have to confess that
he had been victimized much, Cecilinquired, two hundred or so, No
joke, you know? So haveI been robbed? Said Cecil. Let
us go downstairs cut a candle.These corridors are usually lighted all night.

(02:00:40):
Perhaps our thief has been at theswitches, said the Englishman, say our
thieves, A Cecil corrected, Youthink that there was more than one?
I think there were more than halfa dozen, Cecil replied. The Englishman
was dressed, and the two descendedtogether, candles in hand, forgetting the
lone lady. But the lone ladyhad no intention of being forgotten, and

(02:01:02):
she came after them, almost screaming. They had not reached the ground floor
before three other doors had opened,and three other victims proclaimed themselves. Cecil
led the way through the splendid saloons, now so ghostly in their elegance,
which only three hours before had beenthe illuminated scene of such polite revelry.

(02:01:24):
Ere he reached the entrance hall,where a solitary jet was burning. The
assistant concierge, one of those officialswho seemed never to sleep, advanced towards
him, demanding in his broken English, what was the matter? There have
been thieves in the hotel, saidCecil, wakened the concierge. From that
point events succeeded each other in asort of complex rapidity. Missus mc allister

(02:01:48):
fainted at the door of the billiardroom and was laid out on a billiard
table with a white ball between hershoulders. The head concierge was not in
his narrow bed in the alcove bythe main entrance, and he could not
be found, nor could the Italianmanager be found, though he was supposed
to be ill in bed, northe Italian manager's wife. Two stablemen were

(02:02:11):
searched out from somewhere, also acook, and then the Englishman who had
lost two hundred or so went forthinto the Algerian night to bring a gent
thme from the post at the RueDedi Cecil Thorold contented himself with talking to
people as in ones and twos,and in various stages of incorrectness. They

(02:02:31):
came into the public rooms, nowbrilliantly lighted. All who came had been
robbed. What surprised him was theslowness of the hotel to wake up.
There were two hundred and twenty guestsin the place. Of these, in
a quarter of an hour, perhapsfifteen had arisen. The remainder were apparently
oblivious of the fact that something veryextraordinary and something probably very interesting to them

(02:02:57):
personally, had occurred and was occurring. Why it's a conspiracy, sir,
It's a conspiracy, that's what itis, besided the Indian judge. Gang
is a shorter word, Cecil observed, and a young girl in a macintosh
giggled. Sleepy employees now began toappear, and the rumor ran that six

(02:03:18):
waiters and a chambermaid were missing.Missus McAllister rallied from the billiard table and
came into the drawing room, wheremost of the company had gathered. Cecil
yawned at the influence of the drugwas still upon him. As she approached
him and weakly spoke. He answeredabsently, he was engaged in watching the

(02:03:40):
demeanor of these idlers on the faceof the earth. How incapable they seemed
of any initiative, and yet withwhat magnificent Britannic phlegm they endured the strange
situation. The talking was neither loudnor impassioned. Then the low, distant
sound of a cannon was heard,once, twice thrice. Silence ensued.

(02:04:03):
Heavens sighed Missus mc allister, swayingtowards Cecil. What can that be?
He avoided her, hurried out ofthe room and snatched somebody else's hat from
the hat racks in the hall.But just as he was turning the handle
of the main door of the hotel, the Englishman who had lost two hundred
or so returned out of the Algeriannight with an inspector of police. The

(02:04:26):
latter courteously requested Cecil not to leavethe building, as he must open the
inquiry ouvrere lonquette at once. Cecilwas obliged regretfully to comply. The inspector
of police then commenced his labors.He telephoned no one had thought of the
telephone for assistance, and asked theCentral Bureau to watch the railway station,

(02:04:49):
the port and the stage coaches.He acquired the names and addresses of Tulimunda.
He made catalogs of articles. Helocked all the servants in the ping
pong room. He took down narrativesbeginning with Cecils, and while the functionary
was engaged with Missus McAllister Cecil quietlybut firmly disappeared. After his departure,

(02:05:14):
the affair loomed larger and larger inmere magnitude, but nothing that came to
light altered as leading characteristics a wholesalerobbery had been planned with the most minute
care and knowledge, and executed withthe most daring skill. Some ten persons,
the manager and his wife, achambermaid, six waiters and the concierge

(02:05:34):
seemed to have been concerned in theenterprise, excluding missus McAllister's Arab and no
doubt other assistants. The guests suddenlyremembered how superior the concierge and the waiters
had been to the ordinary concierge andwaiter. At a quarter past five o'clock,
the police had ascertained that a hundredrooms had been entered, and horrified

(02:05:57):
guests were still descending. The occupantof many rooms, however, made no
response to a summons to awake.These, it was discovered afterwards, had
either like Cecil, received a sedativeunawares, or they had been neatly gagged
and bound. In the result,the list of missing valuables comprised nearly two
hundred watches, eight hundred rings,one hundred and fifty other articles of jewelry,

(02:06:21):
several thousand pounds worth of furs,three thousand pounds in coin, and
twenty one thousand pounds in bank notes, and other forms of currency. One
lady, a doctor's wife, saidshe had been robbed of eight hundred pounds
in Bank of England notes, buther story obtained a little credit. Other
tales of enormous loss, chiefly bywomen, were also taken with salt.

(02:06:46):
When the dawn began at about sixo'clock, an official examination of the facade
of the hotel indicated that nearly everyroom had been invaded by the balcony to
window, either from the roof orfrom the ground, But the flagstones of
the terrace and the beautifully asphalted pathwaysof the garden disclosed no trace of the

(02:07:06):
plunderers. I guess your British habitof sleeping with the window open don't cut
much eyes to day, anyhow,said an American from Indianapolis to the company.
That morning, no omnibus from thehotel arrived at the station to catch
the six thirty train, which takestwo days to ramble to Tunas and to

(02:07:27):
Biskra, and all the liveried porterstalked together in excited Swiss German. Four
my compliments to Captain Black, saidcecil thorowed, and repeat to him that
all I want him to do isto keep her in sight. He needn't
overhaul her too much. Precisely,sir Lucky bowed. He was pale,
and you had better lie down.I thank you, sir, but I

(02:07:50):
find a recumbent position inconvenient. Perpetualmotion seems more agreeable. Cecil was back
in the large low room, paneledwith bird's eye maple below him. The
power of two thousand horses drove throughthe nocturnal Mediterranean swell his Clarabelle of a
thousand tons. Thirty men were awakeand active on board her, and twenty

(02:08:15):
slept in the vast, clean forecastowith electric lights blazing six inches above their
noses. He lit a cigarette,and, going to the piano, struck
a few chords from the orchid,but since the music would not remain on
the stand, he abandoned that attemptand lay down on a divan to think.
He had reached the harbor from thehotel in twenty minutes, partly on

(02:08:37):
foot at racing speed and partly inan Arab cart, also at racing speed.
The Clara Belle's launch awaited him,and in another five minutes the launch
was slunk to her dabbots and theClarabelle under way, he learned that the
small and sinister vessel, the PerequetBear of Oran, which he and his

(02:08:58):
men had been watching for several days, had slipped unostentatiously between the southern and
eastern jetties, had stopped for afew minutes to hold converse with a boat
that had put off from the neighborhoodof Lower Mustapha, and had then pointed
her head northwest, as though forsome port in the province of Oran or

(02:09:18):
in Morocco. And in the ringsof cigarette smoke, which he made Cecil
seemed now to see clearly the wholebusiness. He had never relaxed his interest
in the affair of the five poundnotes. He had vaguely suspected it to
be part of some large scheme.He had presumed, on slight grounds a

(02:09:39):
connection between the peruquet Verre and theItalian manager of the hotel nay More.
He had felt sure that some greatstroke was about to be accomplished, But
of precise knowledge of satisfactory theory ofdefinite expectation, he had had none until
Missus McAllister, that unconscious and manhunting agent of destiny had fortunately awakened him

(02:10:07):
in the nick of time. Hadit not been for his flirtation of the
previous evening, he might still beasleep in his bed at the hotel.
He perceived the entire plan. Thefive pound notes had been mysteriously scattered,
certainly to advertise the hotel, butonly to advertise it for a particular and
colossal end, to fill it fulland overflowing with fat victims. The situation

(02:10:31):
had been thoroughly studied in all itsdetails, and the task had been divided
and allotted to various brains. Everyroom must have been examined, watched,
and separately plotted against the habits andidiosyncrasy of every victim. Must have been
individually weighed and considered nothing, notrifle could have been forgotten. And then

(02:10:54):
some supreme intelligence had drawn the threadstogether and woven them swiftly into the pattern
of a single night, almost asingle hour, and the lute cecil could
estimate it pretty accurately, had beentransported down the hill to Mustapha Inferia,
tossed into a boat, and soto the perroquet vert, And the peroque

(02:11:16):
vert, with lute and looters onboard, was bound probably for one of
those obscure and infamous sports of Oraor Morocco, Teney, Mostaganem Benirsar Malia,
or the city of Oar, orTangier itself. He knew something of
the Spanish and Maltese dens of Oranand Tangier, the clearing houses for stolen

(02:11:39):
goods of two continents, and theimpregnable refuge of scores of ingenious villains.
And when he reflected upon the grandeurand immensity of the scheme, so simple
in its essence and so leisurely inits achievement, like most grand schemes,
when he reflected upon the imagination whichhad been necessary even to conceive it,

(02:12:01):
and the generalship which had been necessaryto its successful conclusion, he murmured admiringly.
The man who thought of that anddid it may be a scoundrel,
but he's also an artist, anda great one. And just because he
a cecil thurled was a millionaire andpossessed a hundred thousand pound toy which could

(02:12:22):
do nineteen knots an hour and costfifteen hundred pounds a month to run,
he was about to defeat that greatartist and nullify that great scheme, and
incidentally, to retrieve his watch,his revolver, his fur and his five
hundred pounds. He had only tofollow and to warn one of the French
torpedo boats which are always patrolling thecoast between Algiers and Ran, and the

(02:12:46):
bubble would burst. He sighed forthe doomed artist, and he wondered what
that victimized crowd of European loungers wholounged sadly round the Mediterranean in winter and
sadly round Northern Europe in summer haddone in their languid and luxurious lives that
they should be saved after all,from the pillage to which the great artist

(02:13:09):
in theft had subjected them. ThenLecky re entered the stateroom. We shall
have a difficulty in keeping the parrokeetverin sight, sir, what exclaimed Cecil?
That tub that coffin You don't meanshe can do twenty knots exactly,
sir, coffin, it I meanshe is sinking, Cecil ran on deck,

(02:13:33):
Dawn was breaking over Matafu, anda faint, cold gray light touched
here and there the heaving sea.His captain spoke and pointed ahead, right
ahead, less than a mile away, to Parrokeetvert was sinking by the stern,
and even as they gazed at her, a little boat detached itself from
her side in the haze of themorning mist, and she sank, disappeared,

(02:13:56):
vanished amid a cloud of escaping.They were four miles northeast of Cape
Caccine. Two miles further westward,a big Dominion liner bound direct for Algiers
from the New World, was approachingand had observed the catastrophe, for she
altered her course. In a fewminutes, the Clarabelle picked up the boat

(02:14:18):
of the paroquet Vert. It containedthree Arabs five. The tale told by
the Arabs, two of them werebrothers, and all three came from Oran
fully sustained cecil Thorol's theory of thespoliation of the hotel. Naturally, they
pretended at first to an entire innocenceconcerning the schemes of those who had charge

(02:14:39):
of the parroquet Vert. The twobrothers, who were black with coal dust
when rescued, swore that they hadbeen physically forced to work in the stokehold.
But ultimately all three had to admita knowledge of things which was decidedly
incriminating and all three got three yearsimprisonment. The only part of the algiers

(02:15:00):
this mystery, which remained a mystery, was the cause of the sinking of
the Paraquetvert. Whether she was thoroughlyunseaworthy, she had been picked up cheap
at Melilla, or whether someone noton board had deliberately arranged her destruction,
perhaps to satisfy a Moorish vengeance,was not ascertained. The three Arabs could

(02:15:20):
only be persuaded to say that therehad been eleven Europeans and seven natives on
the ship, and that they alone, by the mercy of Allah, had
escaped from the swift catastrophe. Thehotel underwent an acute crisis, from which,
however, it is emerging. Forover a week a number of the

(02:15:41):
pillaged guests discussed a diving enterprise ofsalvage, but the estimates were too high
and it came to nothing. Sothey all Cecil included, began to get
used to the idea of possessing irrecoverableproperty to the value of forty thousand pounds
in the Mediterranean. A superb businessand telegraphed remittances was done. For several

(02:16:03):
days, the fifteen beings who hadaccompanied the parroquet bear to the bottom were
scarcely thought of, for it wasalmost universally agreed that the way of transgressors
is and ought to be hard.As for Cecil Thirled, the adventure,
at first, so full of thepromise of joy, left him melancholy,

(02:16:26):
until an unexpected sequel diverted the channelof his thoughts. End of Story one,
Chapter four, Story one of theLoot of Cities by Arnold Bennett.
This Liverribox recording is in the publicdomain. Story one the Loot of Cities,

(02:16:48):
Chapter five. In the Capital ofthe Sahara, Missus McAllister turned with
sudden eagerness and alarm towards Cecil Thirled. The crowd on the lawn in front
of the railings was so dense thatonly heads could be moved, and she
said, excitedly, I'm sure Icould see my ghost across there, she
indicated, with her agreeable snub nose, the opposite side of the course,

(02:17:11):
your ghost, Cecil question, puzzledfor a moment by this extraordinary remark.
Then the Arab horsemen swept by ina cloud of dust and of thunder,
monopolized the attention of the lawn andthe grandstand, and the elite of Biskra
crammed thereon, and therein they hadone more lap to accomplish for the pre

(02:17:31):
de Lavilla. Biskra is an oasisin the desert and the capital of the
Algerian Sahara, two days journey bytrain from Algiers over the Jujura Ranges.
It is the last outpost of theAlgerian State Railways. It has one hundred
and sixty thousand palm trees, butthe first symptom of Biskra to be observed

(02:17:52):
from the approaching first glass carriage isthe chimney of the electric light plant.
Besides the one hundred and sixty thousandpalm trees, it possesses half a dozen
large hotels, five native villages,a fort, a huge barracks, a
very ornamental town hall, shops forphotographic materials, a whole street of dancing

(02:18:13):
girls, the finest winter climate inall Africa, and a gambling casino.
It is a unique thing in oases. It completely upsets the conventional idea of
an oasis as a pool of waterbordered with a few date palms and the
limitless desert all around. Nevertheless,though Biskra as much resembles Paris, as

(02:18:35):
it resembles the conventional idea of anoasis. It is genuine enough, and
the limitless desert is in fact allaround. You may walk out into the
desert and meet a motorcar maneuvering inthe sand. But the sand remains the
sand, and the desert remains thedesert, and the Sahara, more majestic

(02:18:56):
than the sea itself, refuses tobe cheapened by the new matic tires of
a Mercedes, or the blue raysof the electric light, or the feet
of English, French and Germans wanderingin search of novelty. It persists in
being August. Once a year,in February, biscr becomes really and excessively
excited, and the occasion is itsannual two day race meeting. Then the

(02:19:22):
tribes and their chieftains, and theirhorses and their camels arrive magically out of
the four corners of the desert andfill the oasis, and the English,
French and Germans arrive from the Mediterraneancoast with their trunks and their civilization and
a crowd. The hotels till bedsin Biskra are precious beyond rubies and under

(02:19:43):
the tropical sun East and west meetmagnificently in the afternoon on the racecourse to
the north of the European Reserve,and the tribesmen, their scraggy stige trailing
superb horse claws are arranged in hundredsbehind the motor cars and lad landaus,
with the party Mutuel in full swingtwenty yards away, and the dancing girls,

(02:20:05):
the renowned oulad niles covered with goldcoins and with muslim in high crude,
violent purples, greens, vermilions,shriek and whinny on their benches,
just opposite the grand stand, wherethe Western women, arrayed in the toilettes
of wirth, dussat and redfern,quiz them through their glasses and fringing.

(02:20:28):
All is a crowd of the adventurersand rascals of two continents, the dark
and the light. And in thebackground the palms wave eternally in the breeze,
and to the east the Aures mountains, snow capped, rise in hues
of saffron and pale rows like stagemountains against the sapphire sky. And to

(02:20:50):
the south a line of telegraph poleslessens and disappears over the verge into the
inmost heart of the mysterious and unchangeableSahara. It was amid this singular scene
that missus mc allister made to Cecilthorough her bizarre remark about a ghost.
What ghost? The millionaire repeated,when the horsemen had passed. Then he

(02:21:11):
remembered that on the famous night,now nearly a month ago, when the
Hotel Saint James at Algiers was literallysacked by an organized band of depredators and
valuables to the tune of forty thousandpounds disappeared, missus mc allister had given
the first alarm by crying out thatthere was a ghost in her room.

(02:21:33):
Ah, he smiled easily, condescendinglyto this pertinacious widow who had been pursuing
him so fruitlessly for four mortal weeks, from Algiers to Tunis, from Tunis
back to Constantine, and from Constantinehere to Biskra. All Arabs looked more
or less alike, you know,But yes, he said again, they

(02:21:54):
all look alike to us, likeChinaman. Considering that he himself, from
his own yacht, had witnessed thetotal loss in the Mediterranean of the vessel
which contained the plunder and the fleeingband of thieves. Considering that his own
yacht had rescued the only three survivorsof that shipwreck, and that these survivors

(02:22:16):
had made a full confession and hadonly two days since been duly sentenced by
the criminal court at Algiers, hedid not feel inclined to minister to missus
McAllister's feminine fancies. Did you eversee an Arab with a mole on his
chin, asked missus McAllister. No, I never did. Well, My

(02:22:37):
Arab had a mole on his chin, and that is why I am sure
it was he that I saw aminute ago over there. Now he's gone.
Now the competing horseman appeared round thebend for the last time. The
dancing girls winnied in their high trouble, the crowd roared, and the pri
de la Ville was won and lost. It was the final race on the

(02:22:58):
card, and in the melee whichfollowed, Cecil became separated from his adorer.
She was to depart on the morrowby the six a m train.
Urgent business, she said she hadgiven up the chase of the millionaire.
Perhaps she's out of funds for thing, he reflected. Anyhow, I hope
I may never see her again.As a matter of fact, he never

(02:23:22):
did see her again. She passedout of his life as casually as she
had come into it. He strolledslowly towards the hotel through the perturbed crowd
of Arabs, Europeans, carriages,camels, horses, and motor cars.
The mounted tribesmen were in a stateof intense excitement and were continually burning powder
in that mad fashion which seems toafford a peculiar joy to the Arab's soul.

(02:23:46):
From time to time a tribesman wouldbreak out of the ranks of his
clan, and, spurring his horseand dropping the reins on the animal's neck,
would fire revolvers from both hands ashe flew over the rough ground.
It was unrivaled horsemanship, and Ceciladmired immensely the manner in which, at
the end of the frenzied performance,these men, drunk with powder, would

(02:24:09):
wheel their horses sharply while at fullgallop and stop dead. And then,
as one man who had passed himlike a hurricane, turned paused and jogged
back to his tribe, Cecil sawthat he had a mole on his chin.
He stood still to watch the splendidfellow, and he noticed something far
more important than the mole. Heperceived that the revolver in the man's right

(02:24:33):
hand had a chaste. But Ican't swear to it, Cecil mused,
But if that isn't my revolver stolenfrom under my pillow at the Hotels and
Gansalgiz on the tenth of January last. My name is Norval and not thurled,
and the whole edifice of his ideasconcerning the robbery at the Hotel de

(02:24:54):
Paris began to shake. That revolverought to be at the bottom of the
Mediterranean, he said to himself,and so ought missus mc allister's man with
the mole, according to the acceptedtheory of the crime and the story of
the survivors of the shipwreck of theParaquet. There he walked on, keeping
the man in sight. Suppose hemurmured, Suppose all that stuff isn't at

(02:25:18):
the bottom of the Mediterranean, afterall. A hundred yards further on he
happened to meet one of the whiteclad native guides attached to the Royal Hotel
where he had lunched. The guidesaluted and offered service, as all the
bescrug guides do on all occasions.Cecil's reply was to point out the man
with the mole. You see him, Hatmat said, Cecil, make no

(02:25:41):
mistake, find out what tribe hebelongs to, where he comes from,
and where he sleeps in Bithcra,and I will give you a sovereign.
Meet me at the casino to nightat ten Mahatmagrin an honest grin and promised
to earn the sovereign. Cecil stoppedan empty Landau and drove hurriedly to the
station to meet the afternoon train fromCivilization. He had arrived at Biskra that

(02:26:05):
morning by road from El Cantara,and Lecky was coming by the afternoon train
with the luggage. On seeing him, he gave that invaluable factotum some surprising
orders. In addition to Lecky,the millionaire observed among the passengers descending from
the train two other people who wereknown to him, but he carefully hid
himself from these ladies. In threeminutes, he had disappeared into the nocturnal

(02:26:31):
twhirl and uproar of Biskra, solelybent on proving or disproving the truth of
a brand new theory concerning the historicsack of the Hotel Saint James. But
that night he waited in vain forMahotmut at the packed casino, where the
Arab chieftains and the English gentlemen alike, in their tremendous calm, were losing
money at Petty Cheveaux with all theimperturbability of stone statues two. Nor did

(02:26:58):
Cecil see anything else Mahatma during thenext day, and he had reasons for
not making inquiries about him at theRoyal Hotel. But at night, as
he was crossing the deserted market,Mahatmat came up to him, suddenly out
of nowhere and grinning the eternal,honest, foolish grin said in his odd
English, I have found him.Where come, said Mahatmat, mysteriously.

(02:27:22):
The Eastern guide loves to be mysterious. Cecil followed him far down the carnivalesque
street of the ouled Nails, wheretom toms and nameless instruments of music sounded
from every other house, and inthe primera dancess of the Sahara showed themselves
gorgeously behind grills like beautiful animals andcages. Then Mahatmut entered a crowded cafe,

(02:27:48):
passed through it and pushing aside asuspended mat at the other end,
bad Cecil proceed further. Cecil touchedhis revolver, his new revolver to make
of its company, and proceeded further. He found himself in a low oriental
room, lighted by an odorous Englishlamp with a circular wick, and furnished

(02:28:09):
with a fine carpet and two bedroomchairs certainly made in curtain rode Shoreditch,
a room characteristic of bistra. Onone chair sat a man. But this
person was not Missus mc allister's manwith the mole. He was obviously a
Frenchman by his dress, gestures andspeech. He greeted the millionaire in French

(02:28:30):
and then dropped into English, excellentlygrammatical and often idiomatic, English spoken with
a strong French accent. He wasrather a little man, thin gray and
a vivacious Give yourself the pain ofsetting down, said the Frenchman. I'm
glad to see you. You maybe able to help us. You have
the advantage of me, Cecil replied, smiling. Perhaps, said the Frenchman,

(02:28:56):
you came to bis Gray yesterday,mister Thorold with the intention of staying
at the Royal Hotel, where roomswere engaged for you. But yesterday afternoon
you went to the station to meetyour servant, and you ordered him to
return to Constantine with your luggage andto await your instructions there. Then you
took a hand bag and went tothe Casino hotel, and you managed,

(02:29:16):
by means of diplomacy and of moneyto get a bed in the sale mange.
It was all they could do foryou. You gave the name of
Collins. Biscer therefore is not officiallyaware of the presence of mister Cecil Thirled,
the millionaire, while mister Collins isfree to carry on his researches,

(02:29:37):
to appear and to disappear as itpleases him. Yes, Cecil remarked,
you have got that fairly right.But may I ask, oh, let
us come to business at once,said the Frenchman, politely, interrupting him.
Is this your watch? He dramaticallypulled a watch and chain from his
pocket. It is, said Cecilquietly. He refrained from embroidering the affair

(02:30:00):
with exclamations. It was stolen frommy bedroom at the hotel Saint Gems with
my revolver, some fur and aquantity of money. On the tenth of
January. You are surprised to findit is not sunk in the Mediterranean thirty
hours ago. I should have beensurprised, said Cecil. Now I am
not, and why not now becauseI have formed a new theory. But

(02:30:24):
have the goodness to give me thewatch? I cannot, said the Frenchman,
graciously, not at present. Therewas a pause. The sound of
music was heard from the cafe.But my dear sir, I insist,
Cecil spoke positively. The Frenchman laughed. I will be perfectly frank with you,
mister Thorold. Your cleverness in forminga new theory of the great robbery

(02:30:46):
merits all, my candor. Myname is Sylvain, and I am head
of the detective force of Algier's Chaffede la crite. You will perceive that
I cannot part with the watch withoutproper formality. Mister Thorold, the robbery
at the Hotel Saint jams was awork of the highest criminal art. Possibly

(02:31:07):
I had better tell you the natureof our recent discoveries. I always thought
well of the robbery Cecil observed,and my opinion of it is rising.
Pray continue according to your new theory, mister Thorold. How many persons were
on board the baracae Vert when shebegan to sink, Three, said Cecil
promptly, as though answering a conundrum. The Frenchman beamed, you are admirable,

(02:31:33):
He exclaimed, yes, instead ofeighteen, there were three. The
wreck of the paroquet Bet was carefullypre arranged. The visit of the boat
to the paraquet Bear off Mustapha ina ferriere was what you call, I
believe, a plant. The stolengoods never left dry land. There were
three Arabs only on the paraquet Bet, one to steer her and the other

(02:31:56):
two in the engine room. Andthese three were very careful to get themselves
saved. They scuttled their ship insideof your yacht and of another vessel.
There is no doubt, mister Thurled. The Frenchman smiled, with a hint
of irony, that the thieves werefully old corone of your doings on the
Clara Belle. The shipwreck was donedeliberately with you and your yacht for an

(02:32:20):
audience. It was a masterly stroke. He proceeded, almost enthusiastically for it
had the effect not merely of drawingaway suspicion from the true direction, but
of putting an end to all furtherinquiries. Were not the goods at the
bottom of the sea and the thievesdrowned, what motive could the police have
for further activity? In six months? Naye, three months, all the

(02:32:43):
notes and securities could be safely negotiatedbecause no measures would have to be taken
to stop them. Why take measuresto stop notes that are at the bottom
of the sea. But the threesurvivors who are now in prison, Cecil
said, their behavior, their lyingneeds some accounting for quite simple. The
Frenchman went on, They are inprison for three years. What is that

(02:33:07):
to an Arab? He will sufferit with stoicism. Say that ten thousand
francs are deposited with each of theirfamilies. When they come out they are
rich for life. At a costof thirty thousand francs, and the price
of the ship, say another thirtythousand, the thieves reasonably expected to obtain

(02:33:28):
absolute security. It was a heroicidea, said Cecil. It was,
said the Frenchman, but it hasfailed evidently. But why can you ask?
You know as well as I do. It has failed, partly because
there were too many persons in thesecret, partly because of the Arab love
of display on great occasions, andpartly because of a mole on a man's

(02:33:52):
chin. By the way, thatwas the man I came here to see,
Cecil remarked. He is arrested,said the Frenchman curtly, and then
he sighed. The booty was notguarded with sufficient restrictions. It was not
kept in bulk. One thief probablysaid, I cannot do without this lovely
watch, and another said, whata revolver, I must have it.

(02:34:15):
Ah, the Arab, the Arab, the Europeans ought to have provided for
that. That is where they werefoolish, The idiots, the idiots,
he repeated angrily. You seem annoyed, mister Thorold. I am a poet
of these things. It annoys meto see a fine composition ruined by bad
construction. In the fifth act,however, as chief of the Syrite,

(02:34:39):
I rejoice you have located the thievesand the plunder. I think I have.
Certainly I have captured two of thethieves and several articles the bulk lies
that he stopped and looked around misterThorold. May I rely on you?
I know perhaps more than you thinkof your powers. May I rely on
you, ay said Cecil, youwill hold yourself at my disposition during tomorrow

(02:35:05):
to assist me with pleasure. Thenlet us take coffee in the morning.
I shall have acquired certain precise informationwhich at the moment I lack. Let
us take coffee. Three. Onthe following morning, somewhat early, while
walking nearer Messid, one of thetiny outlying villages of the oasis, Cecil

(02:35:26):
met E Fincastle and Kitty Sartorius,whom he had not spoken with since the
affair of the bracelet at Bruges,though he had heard from them and had
indeed seen them at the station twodays before. Ethincastle had fallen rather seriously
ill at mentone, and the holidayof the two girls, which should have

(02:35:46):
finished before the end of the year, was prolonged. Financially, the enforced
leisure was a matter of trifling importanceto Kitty's Sartorius, who had insisted on
remaining with her friend, much tothe disgust of her lune and manager.
But the journalist's resources were less royal, and Eve considered herself fortunate that she

(02:36:07):
had obtained from her newspaper some specialdescriptive correspondence in Algeria. It was this
commission which had brought her and Kittywith her in the natural course of an
Algerian tour to Biskra. Cecil wascharmed to see his acquaintances, for Eve
interested him, and Kitty's beauty,it goes without saying, dazzled him.

(02:36:30):
Nevertheless, he had been, asit were, hiding himself, and in
his character as an amateur of theloot of cities, he would have preferred
to have met them on some morningother than that particular morning. You will
go with us to Siddy Oak Bah, won't you to day? Said Kitty,
after they had talked a while.We've secured a carriage and I'm dying
for a drive in the real truedesert. Sorry I can't, said Cecil.

(02:36:56):
Oh but Eve and Castle began andstopped. Of course you can,
said Kitty, imperiously. You mustwe leave tomorrow. We're only here for
two days for Algiers and France,another two days in Paris, and in
London, my darling, London andwork. So it's understood. It desolates

(02:37:16):
me, said Cecil, But Ican't go with you to City oak Ba
to day. They both saw thathe meant to refuse them. Ah,
that settles it. Then Eve agreedquietly. You're horrid, mister Thorold,
said the bewitching actress. And ifyou imagine for a single moment we haven't
seen that you've been keeping out ofour way, you're mistaken. You must

(02:37:39):
have noticed us at the station.Eve thinks you've got another of your No,
I don't, kitty, said Evequickly. If Miss Fencastle suspects that
I've got another of my, Evepaused humorously. Miss Fencastle is right,
I have got another of my Ithrow myself on your magnanimity. I am
staying Ambiscrus under the name of Collinsand my time, like my name,

(02:38:03):
is not my own. In thatcase, Eve remarked, we will pass
on, and they shook hands,with a certain frigidity on the part of
the two girls. During the morning, Monsieur Sylvain made no sign and Cecil
lunched in solitude at the d'arif adjoiningthe casino. The races being over Streams

(02:38:24):
of natives with their tents and theirquadrupeds were leaving Biscra for the desert.
They made an interminable procession, whichcould be seen from the window of the
d'aryf coffee room. Cecil was idlywatching this procession when a hand touched his
shoulder. He turned and saw GentanMonsieur Colonne. Questioned oft the Gentarmes Cecil

(02:38:46):
assented, voolievous avois lo'blacon se demais souverer. Monsieur Cecil obediently followed and
found in the street Monsieur Sylvain,well wrapped up and seated in an open
carriage. I have need of you, said Monsieur Sylvain. Can you come
at once? Certainly, in twominutes they were driving away together into the

(02:39:09):
desert. Our destination is city Oakbach, said the Monsieur Sylvain, A curious
place. The road so called ledacross the Biscre river so called, and
then in a straight line eastwards.The river had about the depth of a
dinner plate. As for the road, in some parts it not only merely
failed to be a road, itwas nothing but virgin desert intact at its

(02:39:33):
best, it was a heaving andtreacherous mixture of sand and pebbles, through
which, and not over which thetwo unhappy horses had to drag Monsieur Sylvain's
unfortunate open carriage. Monsieur Sylvain himselfdrove. I am well acquainted with this
part of the desert, he said. We have strange cases sometimes, and

(02:39:54):
when I am on important business,I never trust an Arab by the way
you have a revolved I do notanticipate danger. But I have one,
said Cecil, and it is loaded. Cecil took the weapon from his hip
pocket and examined it. It isloaded, he said. Good, exclaimed
the Frenchman, and then he turnedto the Gentan, who was sitting as

(02:40:16):
impassively as the leaps and bounds ofthe carriage would allow on a small seat
immediately behind the other two, anddemanded of him in French whether his revolver
also was loaded. The man gavea respectful affirmative. Good, exclaimed Monsieur
Sylvain again, and launched into adescription of the wondrous gardens of the Conte

(02:40:37):
Landan, whose walls, on theconfines of the oasis they were just passing
straight in front could be seen ashort line of palm trees waving in the
desert breeze under the desert sun,and Cecil asked what they were City Oakba,
replied Monsieur Sylvain. The hundred andeighty thousand palms of the desert city

(02:40:58):
of City Oakba near to you,no doubt, But we shall travel twenty
kilometers before we reach them. Theeffect of nearness is due to the singular
quality of the atmosphere. It isa two hours journey. Then do we
return in the dark, Secil inquired. If we are lucky, we may
return at once and arrive at Biskraddusk. If not well, we shall

(02:41:22):
spend the night at City Ilkba.You object not at all a curious place,
observed Monsieur Sylvain. Soon they hadleft behind all traces of the oasis
and were in the real, truedesert. They met and passed native equipage
and the strings of camels, andfrom time to time on either hand,

(02:41:43):
at short distances from the road couldbe seen the encampments of wandering tribes.
And after interminable joltings, in whichMonsieur Sylvain, his guest, and his
gendarmes were frequently hurled at each other'sheads with excessive violence, the short line
of palm tree began to seem alittle nearer and to occupy a little more
of the horizon, and then theycould descry the wall of the city.

(02:42:07):
And at last they reached its gate, and the beggars squatting within its gate
to send Monsieur Sylvain ordered his subordinate. The man disappeared, and a Monsieur
Sylvain and the cecil drove into thecity. They met several carriages of bescrus
visitors just setting forth on their returnjourney. In insisting that city Oakba was

(02:42:28):
a curious place, Monsieur Sylvain didnot exaggerate. It was an eastern town
of the most antique sort, builtsolely of mud, with the simplicity,
the foulness, the smells, andthe avowed and the secret horrors which might
be expected in a community which hasnot altered its habits in any particular for

(02:42:50):
a thousand years. During several monthsof each year, it is visited daily
by Europeans. Its mosque is theoldest Mohammedan building in Africa. Therefore,
no respectable tourist dares to miss it, and yet it remains absolutely uninfluenced by
European notions. The European person musttake his food with him, he is

(02:43:11):
allowed to eat it in the gardenof a cafe which is European as far
as its sign and its counter,but no further. He could not eat
it in the cafe itself. Thiscafe is the mark which civilization has succeeded
in making on Sidi Ukba in tencenturies. As Cecil drove with Monsieur Savain

(02:43:33):
through the narrow, winding street,he acutely felt the east closing in upon
him, and since the sun wasgetting low over the palm trees, he
was glad to have the detective byhis side. They arrived at the wretched
cafe. A pair horse vehicle withthe horses heads towards Uzkra was waiting at
the door. Unspeakable lanes feted,winding, sinister, and strangely, people

(02:44:00):
led away in several directions. MonsieuSavain glanced about him. We shall proceed,
he murmured, cheerfully. Follow me, and they went into the mark
of civilization, and saw the counterand a female creature behind the bar,
and through another door a glimpse ofthe garden beyond. Follow me, murmured
Monsieur Savain again, opening another doorto the left into a dark passage.

(02:44:26):
Straight on, there is a roomat the other end, they vanished in
a few seconds. Monsieur Sylvain returnedinto the cafe. Four Now in the
garden were Eve Fincastle and Kitty Sartoriustying up some wraps preparatory to their departure
for biscrut. They caught sight ofCecil Thorold and his companion entering the cafe.

(02:44:48):
They were surprised to find the millionairein see the oakba after his refusal
to accompany them through the back doorof the cafe. They saw Cecil's companion
reappear out of the passage. Theysaw the creature behind the counter stoop and
produce a revolver and then offer itto the Frenchman with a furtive movement.
They saw that the Frenchman declined itand drew another revolver from his own pocket

(02:45:13):
and winked. And the character ofthe wink given by the Frenchman to the
woman made them turn pale under thesudden knife like thrust of an awful suspicion.
The Frenchman looked up and perceived thegirls in the garden, and one
glance at Kitty's beauty was not enoughfor him. Can you keep him here
a minute? While I warn misterThorold, said Eve. Quickly. Kitty

(02:45:35):
Sartorius nodded and began to smile onthe Frenchman. She then lifted her finger
beckoningly. If millions had depended onhis refusal, it is doubtful whether he
would have resisted that charming gesture.Not for nothing did Kitty Sartorius receive one
hundred a week at the Regency Theater. In a moment, the Frenchman was

(02:45:56):
talking to her, and she hadenveloped him in a golden mist of enchantment.
Guided by a profound instinct, Everan up the passage and into the
room where Cecil was awaiting the returnof his Monsieur Sylvain. Come out,
she whispered, passionately, as ifbetween violent anger and dreadful alarm. You
are trapped, you with your schemes, trapped, he exclaimed, smiling,

(02:46:22):
not at all, I have myrevolver. His hand touched his pocket.
By jove, I have not,it's gone. The miraculous change in his
face was of the highest interest.Come out, she cried. Our carriage
is waiting in the cafe. KittySartorius was talking to the Frenchman. She
stroked his sleeve with her gloved hand, and he the Frenchman, still held

(02:46:45):
the revolver, which he had displayedto the woman of the counter. Inspired
by the consummate and swiftly aroused emotionof that moment, Cecil snatched at the
revolver. The three friends walked hastilyto the street, jumped into the carriage,
and drove away. Already, asthey approached the city gate, they
could see the white tower of theRoyal Hotel at Biskra shining across the desert

(02:47:09):
like a promise of security. Thewhole episode had lasted perhaps two minutes,
but they were minutes of such intenseand blinding revelation as Cecil had never before
experienced. He sighed with relief ashe lay back in the carriage. And
that's the man, he meditated,as sounded, who must have planned the

(02:47:30):
robbery of the hotel, Saint James. And I never suspected it. I
never suspected that his gendarme was asham. I wonder whether his murder of
me would have been as leisurely andartistic as his method of trapping me.
I wonder, well, this timeI have certainly enjoyed myself. Then he
gazed at eve Fencastle. The womensaid nothing for a long time, and

(02:47:54):
even then the talk was of trifles. Five eve Fincastle had gone up on
to the vast flat roof of theRoyal Hotel, and Cecil, knowing that
she was there, followed. Thesun had just set, and Biscra lay
spread out below them. In therich evening light, which already eastwards had
turned to sapphire, they could stillsee the line of the palm trees of

(02:48:18):
city Okba, and in another direction, the long, lonely road to Figue,
stretching across the desert like a ropewhich had been flung from heaven on
the waste of sand. The Arasmountains were black and jagged. Nearer immediately
under them was the veriest life ofthe great oasis, and the sounds of

(02:48:39):
that life human speech, the rattleof carriages, the grunts of camels in
the camel enclosure, the whistling ofan engine at the station, the melancholy
whales of hawkers ascended softly in thetwilight of the Sahara. Cecil approached her,
but she did not turn towards him. I want to thank you,
he started. She made no movement. And then suddenly she burst out.

(02:49:03):
Why do you continue with these shamefulplots and schemes? She demanded, looking
always steadily away from him. Whydo you disgrace yourself? Was this another
theft, another blackmailing, another affairlike that? It oth stand? Why?
She stopped, deeply disturbed, unableto control herself. My dear journalist,

(02:49:24):
he said quietly. You don't understand, Let me tell you. He
gave her his history from the nightsummons by missus mc allister to that same
afternoon. She faced him. Oh, I'm so glad, she murmured.
You can't imagine. I want tothank you for saving my life, he
said again. She began to cry. Her body shook. She hid her

(02:49:48):
face, but he stammered awkwardly.Oh, it isn't I who saved your
life, she said, sobbing passionately. I wasn't beautiful enough. Only Kitty
could have done it. Only abeautiful woman could have kept that. Man.
I know all about it, mydear girl. Cecil silenced her disavowal.
Something moved him to take her hand. She smiled sadly, not resisting.

(02:50:11):
You must excuse me, she murmured, I'm not myself tonight. It's
because of the excitement. Anyhow,I'm glad you haven't taken any loot this
time, but I have, heprotested. He was surprised to find his
voice trembling. What this He pressedher hand tenderly that she looked at her

(02:50:31):
hand lying in his as though shehad never seen it before. Eve,
he whispered. About two thirds ofthe lute of the Hotels and JEMs was
ultimately recovered not at City Oak Bah, but in the cellars of the Hotels
and JEMs itself. From first tolast, that robbery was a masterpiece of

(02:50:52):
audacity. Its originator, the Sooisdescant Monsieur Sylvaine, head of the Algiers
Detective Force, is still at largeend of a story one apart five Story

(02:51:13):
one of the Loot of Cities byArnold Bennett. This LibriVox recording is in
the public domain Story One, TheLoot of Cities, Chapter six Low twas
a gala night Paris, and notmerely Paris, but Paris on fete,
Paris decorated, Paris idol, Parisdetermined to enjoy itself and succeeding brilliantly.

(02:51:37):
Venetian masts of red and gold linedthe gay pavements of the Combe Boulevais and
The'auvenue de l'operas, and suspended fromthese in every direction, transverse and lateral,
hung garlands of flowers whose petals wereof colored paper, and whose hearts
were electric globes that, in theevening would burst into flame. The effect

(02:52:00):
of the city's toilette reached the extremeof opulence, for no expense had been
spared. Paris was welcoming monarchs,and had spent two million francs in obedience
to the maxim that what is worthdoing at all is worth doing well.
The Grand Hotel, with its eighthundred rooms full of English and Americans,
at the upper end of the Avenuede Polars, looked down at the Grand

(02:52:24):
Hotel de Luvera, with its fourhundred rooms full of English and Americans,
at the lower end of the Avenuede l'a peris. These two establishments had
the best views in the whole city, and perhaps the finest view of all
was that obtainable from a certain secondfloor window of the Grand Hotel, precisely
at the corner of the Boulevard desCapucines and the Rue Auberis. From this

(02:52:46):
window one could see the boulevards inboth directions, the operas and the Place
de l'auperas, the Avenue de l'aoperas and the Rue de Catrasattambre, and
the multitudinous life of the vivid thoroughfares, the glittering cafes, the dazzling shops,
the painted kiosks, the lumbering omnibuses, the gliding trams, the hooting

(02:53:09):
automobiles, the swift and careless cabs, the private carriages, the suicidal bicycles,
the newsmen, the toy sellers,the touts, the beggars, and
all the holiday crowd somber men andradiant women, chattering, laughing, bustling,
staring, drinking under the innumerable tricolorand garlands of paper flowers. That

(02:53:31):
particular view was a millionaire's view,and it happened to be the temporary property
of Cecil Thirld, who was enjoyingit and the afternoon sun at the open
window with three companions. Eve Fencastlelooked at it with the analytic eye of
the journalist, while Kitty Sartorius,as was quite proper for an actress,

(02:53:52):
deemed it a sort of frame forherself. As she leaned over the balcony
like a Juliet on the stage.The third guest in Cecil's sitting room was
Lionel Belmont, the Napoleonic Anglo Americantheatrical manager in whose crown Kitty herself was
the chief star. Mister Belmont,a big, burly, good humored,

(02:54:13):
a shrewd man of something over forty, said he had come to Paris on
business, but for two days thebusiness had been solely to look after Kitty
Sartorius and minister to her caprices.At the present moment, his share of
the view consisted mainly of Kitty,in the same way Cecil's share of the
view consisted mainly of Eve Fencastle.But this at least was right and decorous.

(02:54:37):
For the betrothal of the millionaire thejournalist had been definitely announced, Otherwise
Eve would have been back at workin Fleet Streak a week ago. The
gala performance is to night, isn'tit, said Eve, gazing at the
vast and superbly ornamented opera house.Yes, said Cecil, what a pity
we can't be there. I shouldso have liked to see the young queen

(02:55:00):
in evening dress. And they saythe interior decorations nothing simpler, said,
Cecil, if you want to go, dear, let us go. Kitty.
Sartorius looked around quickly. Mister Belmonthas tried to get seats and cant
haven't you Bell? You know thewhole audience is invited. The invitations are
issued by the Minister of Fine Artsstill in Paris. Anything can be got

(02:55:24):
by paying for it, Cecil insisted. My dear young friend, said Lionel
Belmont. I guess if seats wereto be had, I should have struck
one or two. Yesterday. Iput no limit on the price, and
I reckon. I ought to knowwhat theater prices run to over at the
Metropolitan and New York. I've seena box change hands at two thousand dollars
for one night. Nevertheless, Cecilbegan again, and the performance starting in

(02:55:50):
six hours from now. Lionel Belmontexclaimed, not much, but Cecil persisted.
Seeing the herald today, Belmont questioned, no, well, listen,
this will interest you. He drewa paper from his pocket and read seats
for the Opera Guala. The trafficin seats for their gala performance at the
Opera during the last royal visit toParis aroused considerable comment, and not a

(02:56:15):
little dissatisfaction. Nothing, however,was done, and the traffic in seats
for tonight's spectacle, at which thePresident and their Imperial majesties will be present,
as it is said, amounted toa scandal. Of course, the
offer so suddenly made five days agoby Madame Fedice and Mademoiselle Malva, the

(02:56:35):
two greatest living dramatic sopranos, totake part in the performance, immediately and
enormously intensified interest in the affair.For never yet have these two supreme artists
appeared in the same theatre on thesame night. No theatre could afford the
luxury. Our readers may remember thatin our columns and in the columns of

(02:56:56):
the Figaro, there appeared, atfour days weeks ago an advertisement to the
following effect a box also two orchestrastalls for the opera Gaila, to be
disposed of. Owing to illness applyone fifty five rue de la pay.
We sent for several reporters to answerthat advertisement. The first was offered a
stage box for seven thousand, fivehundred francs and two orchestra stalls in the

(02:57:20):
second row for twelve hundred and fiftyfrancs. The second was offered a box
opposite the stage on the second tierand two stalls in the seventh row.
The third had the chance of fourstalls in the back row and a small
box just behind them. The fourthwas offered something else. The thing was,
obviously therefore a regular agency. Everybodyis asking how were these seats obtained

(02:57:46):
from the Ministry of Fine Arts orfrom the m vite echo answers how.
The authorities, however, are statedto have interfered at last, and to
have put an end to this buyingand selling of what should be an on
distinction. Bravo, said Cecil,and that so Belmont remarked, dropping the
paper. I went to one fiftyfive Rue de la pay myself yesterday and

(02:58:11):
was told that nothing whatever was tobe had, not at any price.
Perhaps you didn't offer enough, saidCecil. Moreover, I noticed the advertisement
does not appear to day. Iguess the authorities have crumpled it up.
Still, Cecil went on monotonously.Look here, said Belmont, grim and
a little nettled. Just to cutit short, I'll bet you a two

(02:58:33):
hundred dollar dinner at Payod's that youcan't get seats for to night, not
even two, let alone four.You really want to bet well, drawled
Belmont with a certain irony, slightlyimitating Cecil's manner. It means something to
eat for these ladies, I acceptsaid Cecil, and he rang the bell

(02:58:54):
two lecky. Cecil said to hisvalet, who had entered the room,
I want you to go to numberone fifty five Rue de la pay and
find out on which floor they aredisposing of seats for the operat tonight.
When you have found out, Iwant you to get me four seats,
preferably a box. Understand. Theservant stared at his master, squinting violently

(02:59:16):
for a few seconds. Then hereplied, suddenly, as the light had
just dawned on him, exactly,sir, you intend to be present at
the gate of performance. You havesuccessfully grasped my intention, said Cecil.
Present my card. He scribbled aword or two on a card and gave
it to the man and the price. Sir, you still have that blank

(02:59:37):
check on the credillione that I gaveyou yesterday morning. Use that, yes,
sir. Then there is the questionof my French, sir, my
feeble French, A delicate plant,my friend Belmont put in, I will
accompany you as interpreter. I shouldlike to see this thing through. Lecky
bowed and gave up squinting in threeminutes, for they had only to go

(03:00:01):
round the corner. Lionel Belmont andLecky were in a room on the fourth
floor of one fifty five Rue dela Pay. It had the appearance of
an ordinary drawing room, save thatit contained an office table. At this
table sat a young man French.You wish messieurs, said the young man
have the goodness to interpret for me, said Lecky to the Napoleon of Anglo

(03:00:24):
Saxon Theaters, mister Cecil Thorold ofthe Devonshire Mansion, London, the Grand
Hotel Paris, the Hotel Continental Romeand the Izare Palace Hotel Cairo, presents
his compliments and wishes a box forthe gala performance at the Opera to night.
Belmont translated, while Lecky handed thecard, owing to the unfortunate indisposition

(03:00:48):
of a minister and his wife,replied the young man gravely, having perused
the card, it happens that Ihave a stage box on the second tier.
You told me yesterday, Belmont began. I will take it, said
Lecky in a sort of French,interrupting his interpreter. The price and the
pen. The price is twenty fivethousand francs gem and ni, Balmont,

(03:01:11):
exclaimed an American. This is Paris, and no mistake, Yes, said
Leckey, as he filled up theblank check. Paris still succeeds in being
Paris. I have noticed it before, mister Belmont, if you will pardon
the liberty, The young man openeda drawer and handed to Lecky a magnificent
guilt card signed by the Minister ofFine Arts, which Lecky hid behind his

(03:01:35):
breast. That signature of the minister'sgenuine Belmont asked the young man, I
answer for it, said the youngman, smiling imperturbably. The deuce you
do, Belmont murmured. So thefour friends dined at Payads at the rate
of about a dollar and a halfa mouthful, and the mystified Belmont,
who was not in the habit ofbeing mystified and so felt it, had

(03:01:58):
the ecstasy of paying the bill.Three. It was nine o'clock when they
entered the magnificent precincts of the operahouse. Like everybody else, they went
very early. The performance was notto commence until nine thirty in order to
see and be seen to the fullestpossible extent. A week had elapsed since
the two girls had arrived from Algiersin Paris under the escort of Cecil Thirled,

(03:02:22):
and in that time they had notbeen idle. Kitty Sartorius had spent
tolerable sums at the best modistes inthe Rue de la Pay and the establishments
at the Rue de la Chose d'antine, while Eve had bought one frock a
dream, needless to say, andhad also been nearly covered with jewelry by

(03:02:43):
her betrothed that afternoon. Between thebet and the dinner, Cecil had made
more than one mysterious disappearance. Hefinally came back with a diamond tiara for
his dear journalist. You ridiculous thing, exclaimed the dear journalist, kissing him.
It thus occurred that Eve, usuallyso severe an aspect, had more
jewels than she could wear, whileKitty, accustomed to display, had practically

(03:03:09):
nothing but her famous bracelet. Eveinsisted on appooling the lot and dividing equally
for the gala. Consequently, theparty presented a very pretty appearance, as
it ascended the celebrated grand staircase ofthe Oparah, wreathed to night in flowers.
Lionel Belmont, with Kitty on hisarm, was in high spirits,

(03:03:31):
uplifted, joyous, But Cecil himselfseemed to be a little nervous, and
this nervousness communicated itself to Eve Fincastle, or perhaps Eve was rather overpowered by
her Tiara. At the head ofthe staircase was a notice requesting every one
to be seated at nine twenty five, previous to the arrival of the President
and the Imperial guests of the Republic. The row of officials at the control

(03:03:56):
took the expensive guilt card from CecilExis Hammond. It returned it and bowed
low with an intimation that he shouldturn to the right and climb two floors,
and the party proceeded further into theinterior of the great building. The
immense corridors and foyers and stairs werecrowded with a collection of the best known
people in Paris. It was agathering of all the renowns. The garish,

(03:04:20):
gorgeous Opinah seemed to be changed thatnight into something new and strange.
Even those shabby old harradines. Thebox openers. The ouvres wore bows of
red, white and blue, andsmiled effusively in expectation of tips inconceivably large
chimp, exclaimed the box opener,who had taken charge of Cecil's party,

(03:04:43):
as she unlocked the door of thebox. And well might she exclaim for
the box number seventy four, nopossible error, was already occupied by a
lady and two gentlemen who were talkingrather loudly in French. Cecil undoubted turned
pale, while Lionel Belmont laughed withinhis mustache. These people have made a

(03:05:05):
mistake, Cecil was saying to theovres, when a male official in evening
dress approached him with an air ofimportance. Pardeau, monsieur, you are,
monsieur Cecil thorold, I am,said Cecil. Will you kindly follow
me? And monsieur the director wishesto see you. You are expected,
evidently, said Lionel Belmont. Thegirls kept apart, as girls should in

(03:05:28):
these crises between men. I havea ticket for this box, Cecil remarked
to the official, and I wishfirst to take possession of it. It
is a precisely that point which Monsieurthe director, which is to discuss with
Monsieur rejoined the official ineffably suave.He turned with a wonderful bow to the

(03:05:48):
girls and added, with that politenessof which the French alone have the secret.
Perhaps in the meantime these ladies wouldlike to see the view of the
Avenue de l'operas from the balcony.The illuminations out begun in the effect of
Sidney charming. Cecil bit his lip. Yes, he said, to Belmont
take them so, while Lionel Belmontescorted the girls to the balcony, there

(03:06:11):
to discuss the startling situation and towatch the imperial party drive up the resplendent,
fairy like and unique avenue. Cecilfollowed the official. He was guided
along various passages and round unnumbered cornersto the rear part of the colossal building.
There, in a sumptuous bureau,the official introduced him to a still

(03:06:33):
higher official, the director, whohad a decoration and a long white mustache.
Monsieur said, this latter, Iam desolated to have to inform you
that the Minister of Fine Arts haswithdrawn his original invitation for box number seventy
four tonight, I have received nointimation of the withdrawal. Cecil replied,

(03:06:56):
no, because the original invitation wasnot issue to you. You, said
the director, excited and nervous.The Minister of Fine Arts instructs me to
inform you that his invitation to meetthe President and their imperial majesties cannot be
bought and sold. But is itnot notorious that many such invitations have been

(03:07:16):
bought and sold? It is unfortunatelytoo notorious. Here. The director looked
at his watch and rang a bellimpatiently. Then why am I singled out
The director gazed blandly at Cecil.The reason perhaps is best known to yourself,
said he, and he rang thebell again. I appear to incommode

(03:07:39):
you, Cecil remarked, and permitme to retire. Not at all,
I assure you, said the director. On the contrary, I am a
little agitated on account of the nonarrival of Mademoiselle Malva. A minor functionary
entered, she has come, no, Monsieur Ledrichter, and it is nine
fifteen polic The functionary departed. Theinvitation to box number seventy four preceded the

(03:08:05):
director, commanding himself was sold fortwo thousand. Francs, allow me to
hand you notes for the amount,dear monsieur, But I page twenty five
thousand, said Cecil, smiling.It is conceivable. But the Minister can
only concern himself with the original figure. You refuse the notes, Oh,

(03:08:26):
by no means, said Cecil,accepting them. But I have brought here
to night three guests, including twoladies. Imagine my position. I imagine
it, the director responded. Butwho will not deny that the Minister is
always the right to cancel an invitation. Seats ought to be sold a subject
to the contingency of that right beingexercised. At that moment, still another

(03:08:48):
official plunged into the room. Sheis not here yet, he sighed,
as if in extremity. It isunfortunate. Cecil sympathetically put in, it
is more than unfortunate, Dear Monsieur, said the director, gesticulating, it
is unthinkable. The performance must beginat nine thirty, and it must begin

(03:09:09):
with the garden scene from Faust inwhich Mademoiselle Malva takes Marguerite. Why not
change the order, Cecil suggested,impossible. There are only two other items.
The first act of Longham with MadameFelie and the ballet Sylvia. We
cannot connence with the ballet. Noone ever heard of such a thing.

(03:09:30):
And do you suppose that Felie willsing before Malva, not for millions,
not for a throne. The etiquetteof sopranos is stricter than that of courts.
Besides, to night, we cannothave a German opera preceding a French
one. Then the President and theirmajesties will have to wait a little till
Malva arrives. Cecil said, theirmajesties wait. Impossible, impossible, echoed

(03:09:58):
the other official, aghast. Twomore officials entered, and the atmosphere of
alarm, of being scotched, ofbeing up a tree of incredible height,
the atmosphere which at that moment permeatedthe whole of the vast region behind the
scenes of the Parreto Warat, seemedto rush with them into the bureau of
the Director and to concentrate itself there. Nine twenty And as she couldn't dress

(03:10:22):
in less than fifteen minutes, youhave sent to the Hotel de Louvera,
the director questioned, despairingly. Yes, Monsieur le director. She left there
two hours ago. Cecil coughed,I could have told you as much.
He remarked, very distinctly, what, cried the director. You know Mademoiselle
Malva. She is among my intimatefriends, said Cecil smoothly. Perhaps you

(03:10:46):
know where she is. I havea most accurate idea, said Cecil.
Where I will tell you when Iam seated in my box with my friends.
Cecil answered, dear monsieur, pantedthe director, tell us at once,
I give you my word of honorthat you shall have your box.
CiCi bowed certainly, he said,I may remark that I had gathered information

(03:11:09):
which led me to anticipate this difficultywith the Minister of Fine Arts. But
to Malva Malva, where is shebe at ease? It is only nine
twenty three, and Mademoiselle Malva isless than three minutes away and ready dressed.
I was observing that I had gatheredinformation which led me to anticipate this

(03:11:31):
difficulty with the Minister of Fine Arts, and accordingly I took measures to protect
myself. There is no such thingas absolute arbitrary power, did director,
even in a republic, and Ihave proved it. Mademoiselle Malva is in
a room number four two nine atthe Grand Hotel across the road. Stay,
as she will not come without thisnote. He handed out a small

(03:11:54):
folded letter from his waistcoat pocket.Then he added, adiar, monsieur Director,
you have just time to reach thestate entrance in order to welcome the
presidential and Imperial party. At ninethirty Cecil and his friends were ushered by
a trinity of subservient officials into theirbox, which had been mysteriously emptied of

(03:12:16):
its previous occupants. And at thesame moment, the monarchs, with monarchical
punctuality, accompanied by the President,entered the Presidential box in the middle of
the grand tier of the superb auditorium. The distinguished and dazzling audience rose to
its feet, and the band playedthe national anthem. You fixed it up?

(03:12:37):
Then, Belmont whispered, under thecover of the national anthem. He
was beaten after all, Oh yes, said he slightly. A trivial misconception,
nothing more, And I have madea little out of it too,
indeed much, no, not much, two thousand francs. But you must
remember that I have been less thanhalf an hour in making them. The

(03:13:01):
curtain rose on the garden scene fromFaust for my dear, said Eve.
When a woman has been definitely linkedwith a man, either by betrothal or
by marriage, there are moments,especially at the commencement, when she assumes
an heir and a tone of absoluteexclusive possession of him. It is a

(03:13:22):
wonderful trick which no male can successfullyimitate. Try how he will. One
of these moments had arrived in thehistory of Eve Fincastle and her millionaire lover.
They sat in a large, desertedpublic room, all gold, of
the Grand Hotel. It was midnightless a quarter and they had just returned
somewhat excited and flushed from the gloriesof the gala performances. During the latter

(03:13:46):
part of the evening. Eve hadbeen absent from Cecil's box for nearly half
an hour. Kitty Sartorius and thatlionel Belmont were conversing in an adjoining salon.
Yes, said Cecil, are youquite sure that you love me?
Only one answer is possible to sucha question. Cecil gave it. Oh,
that is all very well. Evepursued with equal gravity and charm.

(03:14:11):
But it was really tremendously sudden,wasn't it. I can't think what you
see in me, dearest, mydear eve Cecil observed holding her hand.
The best things, the most enduringthings, very often occur. Suddenly.
Say you love me, she persisted, So he said it this time.
Then her gravity deepened, though shesmiled. You've given up all those those

(03:14:35):
schemes and things of yours, haven'tyou, she questioned, Absolutely, he
replied, my dear, I'm soglad. I never could understand. Why
listen, he said? What wasI to do? I was rich,
I was bored. I had nogreat attainments. I was interested in life
and in the arts, but notdesperately, not vitally. You may perhaps

(03:14:58):
say I should have taken up forilanthropy. Well I'm not built that way.
I can't help it. But I'mnot a born philanthropist, and the philanthropist
without a gift for philanthropy usually doesvastly more harm than good. I might
have gone into business, Well,I should only have doubled my millions while
boring myself all the time. Yetthe instinct which I inherited from my father,

(03:15:20):
the great American instinct to be alittle cleverer and smarter than someone else,
drove me to action. It waspart of my character, and one
can't get away from one's character.So finally I took to these rather original
schemes, as you call them.They had the advantage of being exciting and

(03:15:41):
sometimes dangerous, and though they wereoften profitable, they were not too profitable.
In short, they amused me andgave me joy. They also gave
me you. Eve smiled again,but without committing herself. But you have
abandoned them now completely, she said, Oh yes, he answered, then
what about this Sopara affair? Tonight? She sprang the question on him

(03:16:05):
sharply. She did her best tolook severe, but the endeavor ended with
a laugh. I meant to tellyou, he said, But how how
did you know? How did youguess? You forget that? I am
still a journalist, she replied,and still on the staff of my paper.
I wished to interview Malva tonight forthe journal, and I did so.
It was she who led out things. She thought I knew all about

(03:16:28):
it, and when she saw thatI didn't, she stopped and advised me
mysteriously to consult you for details.It was the scandal at the Gala performance
last autumn that gave me an actionfor making a corner in seats at the
very next gala performance that should everoccur in the Paris Opaarah, Cecil began

(03:16:48):
his confession. I knew that seatscould be got direct from more or less
minor officials at the Ministry of FineArts, and also that a large proportion
of the people invited to these performanceswere prepared to sell their seats. You
can't imagine how venal certain circles arein Paris. It just happened that the
details and date of to night's performancewere announced on the day we arrived here.

(03:17:13):
I could not resist the chance.Now you comprehend as sundry strange absences
of mine. During the week,I went to a reporter on the Ecco
de Paris, whom I knew andwho knows everybody, and we got out
a list of the people likely tobe invited and likely to be willing to
sell their seats. We also openednegotiations at the ministry. How on earth

(03:17:35):
do these ideas occur to you?Asked Eve, now can I tell?
Cecil answered, it is because theyoccurred to me that I am. I
you see well, In twenty fourhours, my reporter and two of his
friends had interviewed half the interviewable peoplein Paris, and the Minister of Fine
Arts had sent out his invitations,and I had obtained the refusal of over

(03:17:58):
three hundred seats at a total costof about seventy five thousand francs. Then
I saw that my friend, theincomparable Malva, was staying at the Ritz,
and the keystone idea of the entireaffair presented itself to me. I
got her to offer to sing.Of course, her rival Falise could not
be behind her. In a patrioticdesire to cement the friendliness of two great

(03:18:22):
nations, the gala performance of blossomedinto a terrific boom. We took a
kind of office in the Rue dela Pay. We advertised very discreetly.
Every evening, after bidding you goodnight, I saw my reporter and Lecky
and arranged the development of the campaign. In three days we had sold all
our seats except one box, whichI kept for something like two hundred thousand

(03:18:46):
francs. Then this afternoon you merelybought the box from yourself, exactly,
my love. I had meant thesurprise of getting a box to come a
little later than it did. Sayat dinner. But you and Belle Almont
between you forced it on, andthat is all not quite. The minions

(03:19:07):
of the Minister of Fine Arts wereextremely cross, and they meant to revenge
themselves on me by depriving me ofmy box. At the last moment,
however, I got wind of that, and by the simplest possible arrangement with
Malva, I protected myself. Thescheme, my last bachelor flinging, Eve,
had been a great success, andthe official world of Paris has been

(03:19:28):
taught a lesson which may lead toexcellent results. And you have cleared one
hundred and twenty five thousand francs.By no means. The profits of these
undertakings are the least part of them. The expenses are heavy. I reckon
the expenses will be nearly forty thousandfrancs. Then I must give Malva a
necklace, and that necklace must costtwenty five thousand francs. That leaves sixty

(03:19:52):
thousand clear, said Eve, saysixty two thousand. Why I was forgetting
an extra two thousand made this eveningand your other schemes, Eve continued her
cross examination. How much have theyyielded? The Devonshire House scheme was a
dead loss, My dear, Whydid you lead me to destroy that fifty

(03:20:16):
thousand pounds waste not want not?There may come a day when we shall
need that fifty thousand pounds. Andthen, don't be funny, said Eve.
I am serious, very serious.Well oast end and mister Rainshaw yielded
twenty one thousand pounds net bruges andthe bracelet yielded at nine thousand, five
hundred francs. Algiers and biscras resultedin a loss of Oh, never mind

(03:20:41):
the losses, Eve terrupted. Arethere any more gains? Yes? A
few at Rome last year I somehowmanaged to clear fifty thousand francs. Then
there was an episode at the chancelleryat Berlin. And tell me the total
gains, my love, said Eve. The gross gains cecil consulted a pocket
book a trifle, he answered,of between a thirty eight and forty thousand

(03:21:07):
pounds, my dear cecil. Thegirl said, call it forty thousand a
million francs and give me a check, do you mind. I shall be
charmed, my darling. And whenwe get to London, he finished,
I will hand it over to thehospitals. Anonymously. He paused, gazed
at her, and kissed her.Then Kitty Sartorius entered a marvelous vision with

(03:21:31):
Belmont in her wake. Kitty glancedhesitatingly at the massive and good humored Lionel.
The fact is, said Kitty,and paused, we are engaged at
lionelth you aren't surprised our warmest congratulations, Cecil observed, No, we can't
truthfully say that we are staggered.It is in the secret nature of things

(03:21:54):
that a leading lady must marry hermanager, a universal law that may not
be transs. Moreover, said Evelater in Cecil's private ear as they were
separating for the night. We mighthave guessed much earlier. Theatrical managers don't
go scattering five hundred pounds bracelets allover the place, and merely for business

(03:22:16):
reasons. But he only scattered one, My dear Cecil murmured, yes,
well, that's what I mean.End of Story one, Chapter six,
Story two of The Loot of Citiesby Arnold Bennett. This liverbox recording is

(03:22:39):
in the public domain. Story twomister penfound two burglars, the story of
his walk with them, The chainof circumstances leading to the sudden and unexpected
return of mister and missus Pinfound fromtheir continental holiday, was in itself curious
and even remarkable, but it hasnothing to do with the present arrative,

(03:23:00):
which begins with the actual arrival ofmister and missus Pinfound before the portal of
their suburban residence Number seven Monster Gardens, at a quarter before midnight on the
thirtieth of August. It was adetached house with a spacious triangular garden at
the back. It had an airof comfort, of sobriety, of good

(03:23:20):
form of success. One divined bylooking at it that the rent ran to
about eighty pounds, and that thetenant was not a man who had to
save up for quarter days. Itwas a credit to the street, which,
upon the whole, with its nobletrees and its pretty curve, is
distinctly the best treat in Fulham,and effect Number seven in every way justified

(03:23:41):
the innocent pride of the Penfounds.I can feel cobwebs all over me,
said missus Pinfound crossly, as theyentered the porch, and mister Penfound took
out his latch key. She washungry, hot and tired, and she
exhibited a certain pettishness, a pettishnesswhich mister Penfound, whenever it occurred,
found a particular pleasure in soothing.Mister Penfound himself was seldom ruffled. Most

(03:24:09):
men would have been preoccupied with thediscomforts of the arrival, but not George
Penfound. Mister Penfound was not,and had never been, of those who
go daily into the city by aparticular train and think the world is coming
to an end if the newsagent failsto put the newspaper on the doorstep before
eight a m. Mister Penfound hadlived. He had lived adventurously, and

(03:24:31):
he had lived everywhere. He hadslept under the stars and over the throbbing
screws of ocean steamers. He knewthe harbors of the British Empire, and
the waste places of the unpeopled West, and the mysterious envearons of foreign cities.
He had been first made of atramp, steamer, wood sawyer in
Ontario, ganger on the Canadian PacificRailway, clark At, a randmine,

(03:24:56):
and land agent in California. Itwas the life last occupation that had happened
to yield the eighty thousand dollars,which rendered him independent and established him so
splendidly at the age of forty inFulham, the place of his birth.
Thin, shrewd, clear and kindly. His face was the face of a
man who has learnt the true philosophyof life. He took the world as

(03:25:20):
he found it, and he foundit good to such a man, an
unexpected journey, even though it endedat a deserted and unprepared home, whose
larder proved as empty as his stomachwas really nothing. By the time mister
Penfound had locked up the house,turned out the light in the hall,
and arrived in the bedroom, MissusPenfound was fast asleep. He sat down

(03:25:41):
in the arm chair by the window, charmed by the gentle radiance of the
night, and unwilling to go tobed. Like most men who have seen
the world, he had developed theinstincts of a poet and was something of
a dreamer. Half an hour,or it might have been an hour poets
are oblivious of time had passed wheninto mister Penfoun's visions there entered a sinister

(03:26:03):
element. He straightened himself stiffly inthe chair and listened, smiling. By
jove he whispered, I do believeit's a burglar. I'll give the beggar
time to get fairly in and thenwe'll have some fun. It seemed to
him that he heard a few clickingnoises at the back of the house,
and then a sound as if somethingwas being shoved hard the dining room window.

(03:26:26):
He said, in a few minutesit became perfectly evident to his trained
and acute ear that a burglar occupiedthe dining room, and accordingly he proceeded
to carry out other arrangements. Removinghis boots, he assumed a pair of
soft woolen house slippers, which layunder the bed. Then he went to
a chest of drawers and took outtwo revolvers. Handling these lovingly, he

(03:26:48):
glanced once at his sleeping wife,and shod in the silent woolen, passed
noiselessly out of the room. Bystepping very close to the wall so as
to put a slight strain as possibleupon the woodwork, he contrived to descend
to the half landing without causing asound. But on the half landing itself
there occurred an awful creek, acreek that seemed to reverberate into infinite space.

(03:27:15):
Mister Penfound stopped a second, but, perceiving the unwisdom of a halp,
immediately proceeded. In that second ofconsternation, he had remembered that only
two chambers of one revolver and onechamber of the other were loaded. It
was an unfortunate mischance should he returnand load fully? Oh, preposterous.

(03:27:35):
He remembered with pride the sensation whichhe had caused one night ten years before
in a private shooting saloon in Paris. Three shots to cripple one burglar.
For him, it was a positiveextravagance of means, and he continued down
the stairs cautiously but rapidly, feelinghis way. The next occurrence brought him

(03:27:56):
up standing at the dining room door, which was open. He heard voices
in the dining room. There werethen two burglars. Three shots for two
burglars. Pooh ample, this waswhat he heard. Did you drink out
of this glass? Jack? Not? I? I took a pole out
of a bottle, so did I. Well. There was a pause.

(03:28:18):
Mister Penfound discovered that by putting aneye to the crack at the hinges,
he could see the burglars who hadlighted one gas jet and were sitting at
the table. They were his firstburglars, and they rather shocked his preconceived
notions of the type. They hadn'tthe look of burglars. No bluish chins,
no lowering eyes, no corduroy,no knotted red handkerchiefs. One,

(03:28:41):
the younger, dressed in blue sergewith linen collar and a soiled pink necktie,
might have been a city clerk ofthe lower grade. He had light,
bushy hair and a yellow mustache.His eyes were large and pale blue,
his chin weak. Altogether, misterPinfound decided that had he seen the
young man elsewhere than in that diningroom, he would never have suspected him

(03:29:05):
to be a burglar. The otherwas of middle age, neatly dressed in
dark gray, but with a ruffian'sface and dark hair cut extremely close.
He wore a soft felt hat ata negligent poise, and was smoking a
cigarette. He was examining the glassout of which mister Pinfound had but recently
drunk whiskey. Look here, Jack, the man in gray, said to

(03:29:28):
his companion, you haven't drunk outof this glass, and I haven't,
but someone's drunk out of it.It's wet. The young man paled and
with an oath, snatched up theglass to look at it. Mister Penfound
noticed how suddenly his features writhed intoa complicated expression of cowardice, cunning,
and device. He no longer doubtedthat the youth was an authentic burglar.

(03:29:50):
The older man remained calm. Thishou's so empty as we thought. My
boy, there's someone here. Yes, gentlemen, there is, remarked mister
Penfound, quietly, stepping into theroom with the revolver up raised in each
hand. The young man dropped theglass, and after rolling along the table,
it fell on the floor and broke, making a marvelous noise in the

(03:30:13):
silence. Well I'm blowed, exclaimedthe burglar in gray, and turned to
the window. Don't stir, putyour hands up and look slippy. I
mean business, said mister Penfound steadily. The burglar in gray made two hasty
steps to the window. Mister Penfoundrevolver spoke. It was the one in
his left hand, containing two shots, and with a muffled howl, the

(03:30:35):
burglar suddenly halted, cursing with painand anger. Has up both of you,
repeated mister Penfound imperturbably. A fewdrops of blood appeared on the left
wrist of the older burglar, showingwhere he had been hit. With evident
pain. He raised both hands tothe level of his shoulders. The left
hand clearly was useless. It hungsideways in a peculiar fashion. The youthful

(03:31:00):
criminal was trembling like a spray ofmaidenhair, and had his hands high up
over his head. Mister Penfound joyfullyreflected that no London burglar had ever before
found himself in such a ridiculous positionas these two, and he took a
genuine artistic pleasure in the spectacle.But what to do next? The youth
began to speak with a whine likethat of a beggar. Silence, said

(03:31:24):
mister Pinfound impressively, and proceeded withhis cogitations a revolver, firm and steady
in each hand. The shot hadevidently not wakened his wife, and to
disturb her, now from a refreshingand long needed sleep in order to send
her for the police would not onlybe unchivalrous, it would disclose a lack
of resource, a certain clumsiness ofmanagement in an affair which mister Pinfound felt

(03:31:50):
sure he ought to be able tocarry neatly to an effective conclusion. Besides,
if a revolver shot in the househad not wakened his wife, what
could wake her? He could notgo upstairs to her and leave the burglars
to await his return. Then anidea occurred to mister Pinfound. Now,
my men, he said, cheerfully, I think you understand that I am

(03:32:11):
not joking, and that I canshoot a bit, and that whatever the
laws of this country, I doshoot. He waved the muzzle of one
revolver in the direction of the grayman's injured wrist. Margiere guv'nor the owner
of the risk, peterre strapful,I shall pay faint then, I know
it hurts. The man's face wasquite with pain. But mister Pinfound had

(03:32:33):
seen too many strange sights in hislife to be greatly moved by the side
of a rascal with a bullet inhis anatomy. To proceed, you will
stand side by side and turn around. The young gentleman will open the window,
and you will pass out into thegarden. March slower, slower,
I say, hope the burglars werenow outside, while mister Pinfound was still

(03:32:56):
within the room. He followed them, and in doing so stumbled over a
black bag which lay on the floor. Fortunately, he recovered himself instantly.
He noticed lying on the top ofthe bag a small bunch of skeleton keys,
some putty, and what looked likea thong of rawhide. He also
observed that three small panes of theFrench window had been forced inwards. Turn

(03:33:20):
to your left, go down thepathway, and halt when you come to
the side gate, and don't hurry, mind you. They obeyed, without
speaking even to each other. MisterPinfound had no fear of their disobedience.
He was within two yards of theirheels, and he said to himself that
his hands were superbly steady. Itwas at this point that mister Pinfound began

(03:33:41):
to feel hungry, really hungry.The whiskey had appeased the cravings of his
stomach for a short time, butnow its demands were imperious. Owing to
the exigencies of the day's journey.He had not had a satisfying meal for
thirty hours, and mister Pinfound,since settling down, had developed a liking
for regular meals. However, therewas nothing to be done at present.

(03:34:05):
He therefore proceeded with and safely accomplishedhis plan of driving the burglars before him
into the street. Here, hethought, we shall soon be seeing a
policeman, or some late bird whowill fetch a policeman, And he drove
his curious team up Munster Park Gardenstowards Fulham Road, that interminable highway,
once rural, but rural no longer. The thoroughfares seemed to be absolutely deserted.

(03:34:31):
Mister Penfound could scarcely believe that London, even in the dead of night,
could be so lonely. The gaslamps shone steady in the still warm
air, and above them the starstudded sky with a thin sickle moon,
at which, however a beautiful asit was, mister Pinfound could not look.
His gaze was fixed on the burglarsas he inspected their backs. He

(03:34:54):
wondered what their thoughts were. Hefelt that in their place he should have
been somewhe amused by the humor ofthe predicament, But their backs showed no
signs of feeling, unless it werethat of resignation. The older man had
dropped his injured arm with mister Pinfound'stacit consent, and it now hung loose
by his side. The procession movedslowly eastward along Fulham Road. The two

(03:35:18):
burglars first silent, glum and disgusted, and mister Pinfound with his revolvers close
behind, still no policeman, nowayfarer. Mister Pinfound began to feel a
little anxious, and his hunger wasinsufferable. This little procession of his could
not move forever. Something must occur, and mister Pinfound said that something must

(03:35:41):
occur quickly. He looked up atthe houses with a swift glance, but
these dark faces of brick, allwith closed eyelids, gave him no sign
of encouragement. He thought of firinghis revolver in order to attract attention,
but remembered in time that if hedid so, he would have only one
shot left for his burglars, aninsufficient allowance in case of contingencies. But

(03:36:05):
presently, as the clock of FulhamParish Church struck three, mister Pinfound beheld
an oasis of waving palms and coolwater in this desert. That is to
say, he saw in the distanceone of those coffee stalls which just before
midnight mysteriously dotted themselves about London,only to disappear again at breakfast time.

(03:36:26):
The burglars also saw it and stopped, almost involuntarily. Get on now,
said mister Pinfound, gruffly, andstopped five paces past the coffee stall.
The air yesther wind the young burglar, I remarked the old burglar coolly.
As mister Penfound approached the coffee stall, he observed that it was no ordinary

(03:36:48):
coffee stall. It belonged to thearistocracy of coffee stalls. It was painted
a lovely deep crimson, and onthis crimson, amid of flowers and scrolls,
had been inscribed the names of thedelicacies within tea coffee, cocoa roll,
sandwiches, toast sausages, even baconand eggs. Mister Penfound's stomach called

(03:37:09):
aloud within him at the rumor ofthese good things. When the trio arrived,
the stall keeper happened to be bendingover a tea urn, and he
did not notice the halt of theprocession until mister Pinfound spoke. I say.
Mister Penfound began holding the revolvers aboutthe level of his top waistcoat button,

(03:37:30):
and with his eyes fixed on theburglars, I say teer coffee,
asked the stall keeper, shortly lookingup. Neither that is at present,
replied mister Pinfound sweetly. And thefact is I've got two burglars here to
what where? Mister Pinfound then explainedthe whole circumstances, And I want you

(03:37:50):
to fetch a couple of policemen.The stall keeper paused a moment. He
was a grim fellow, so misterPinfound gathered from the corner of his eye.
Well that's about the best stories Iever heard, the stallkeeper said.
He you want me to fetch apoliceman. Yes, and I hope you'll
hurry up. I'm tired of holdingthese revolvers and I'm to leave my stall,

(03:38:11):
am I certainly? The stall keeperplaced the first finger of his left
hand upright against his nose. Well, I just ain't then what he take
me for. I'm bloomin owl.Look, yeah, mister no kid.
Now, every night some jokers triesto get me away from my stall so
they can empty it and run off. But I ain't been in this line
nineteen year for nothing. Now yougo and take your tail and your pistols

(03:38:35):
and your bloomin burglars somewhere else hereas you please, said mister Pinfound,
with dignity only I'll wait here tilla policeman comes or someone. You will
then learn that I have told youthe truth. How soon will a policeman
be along? Might be an hour, maybe be more. There ain't likely
to be no other people till fourthirty or thereabouts. That's when my trade

(03:38:58):
begins. Pinfound was annoyed. Hishunger, exasperated by the exquisite odors of
the stall, increased every second,and the prospect of waiting an hour,
even half an hour, was appalling. Another idea occurred to him, Will
you, he said, to thestall keeper, kindly put one of those
sausages into my mouth. I daren'tloose these revolvers. Not tell us aize

(03:39:22):
your money, hunger maid. MisterPinfound humble, and he continued, will
you come round to take the moneyout of my pocket? No? I
won't. I don't leave as herecounter. I know your dodges very well.
I will wait steady on, Governor, you aren't the only chap that's
hungry. Mister Penfound turned sharply atthe voice. It was the elder burglar

(03:39:45):
who spoke, and the elder burglarhad faced him and was approaching the stall
regardless of revolvers. Mister Pinfound noticeda twinkle in the man's eye, a
faint appreciation of the fact that thesituation was funny, and mister Penfon gave
way to a slight smile. Hewas being disobeyed flatly, but for the
life of him he could not shoot. Besides, there was no occasion to

(03:40:09):
shoot, as the burglar was certainlymaking no attempt to escape. The fellow
was brave enough, after all.Two slabs and a pint of thick,
he said to the stall keeper,and was immediately served with a jug of
coffee and two huge pieces of breadand butter, for which he flung down
tuppence. Mister Pinfound was astounded.He was too astounded to speak by the

(03:40:31):
coolness of this criminal. Look here, the elder burglar continued, quietly,
handing one of the pieces of breadand butter to his companion in sin,
who by this time had also creptup. You can put down them revolvers
and tuck in till the peeler comesalong. We know when we're copped,
and we aren't gone to skip youtuck in, governor, give it a

(03:40:52):
name, said the stall keeper,with an eye to business. Mister pinfound,
scarcely knowing what he did or whyhe did it, put down one
revolver, and then the other,fished a shilling from his pocket, and
presently was engaged in the consumption ofa ham, sandwich and coffee. You're
a cool one, he set atlength, rather admiringly to the elder burglar.

(03:41:13):
So are you, said the elderburglar, and he and mister pinfound
both glanced somewhat scornfully at the otherburglar, undersized, cringing pale, never
been caught before, asked mister pinfoundpleasantly, what's that got to do with
you? The retort was gruff,final a snub, and mister pinfound felt
it as such. He had thecurious sensation that he was in the presence

(03:41:37):
of a superior spirit, a strongerpersonality than his own. Here, the
policeman, remarked the stall keeper casually, and they all listened and heard the
noise of regular footfalls away round adistant corner. Mister pinfound struggled inwardly with
a sudden overmastering impulse, and thenyielded. You can go, he said
quietly to the elder burglar. SoClara, before the policeman seiz you.

(03:42:01):
Straight, the man said, lookinghim in the eyes to make sure there
was no joking. Straight, myfriend, here shake. So it happened
that mister Penfound and the elder burglarshook hands. The next instant, mister
Penfound was alone with the stall keeper. The other two, with the celerity
born of practice, had vanished intothe night. Did ye ever see such

(03:42:24):
a man? Said mister Penfound tothe stall keeper, putting the revolvers in
his pocket and feeling strangely happy asone who has done a good action.
I don't kid me, was thecurt reply. It was all a plant.
Want anything else? Because I'm not? You? Best go? Yes,
I do, said mister Penfound,for he had thought of his wife.

(03:42:45):
He spent sevenpence in various good things, and was just gathering his purchases
together when the policeman appeared. Goodnight, officer, he called out blithely
and set off to run home asthough for his life. As he re
entered the bedroom at nam seven,his wife sat up in bed, a
beautiful but accusing figure. George,he said, Where have you been,

(03:43:07):
my love? He answered, I'vebeen out into the night to get you
this sausage and this cake and thissandwich. Eat them they will do you
good. End of story two,Story three of The Loot of Cities by

(03:43:28):
Arnold Bennett. This LibriVox recording isin the public domain. Story three Midnight
at the Grand Babylon One, Well, said the doctor. You say I've
been very secretive lately. Perhaps Ihave. However, I don't mind telling
you, just you, fellows,the whole history of the affair that has
preoccupied me. I shan't assert thatit's the most curious case in all my

(03:43:54):
experience. My experience has been prettyvaried and pretty lively, as you know,
and the cases are curious in suchdifferent ways. Still, a poisoning
business is always a bit curious,and this one was extremely so. It
isn't often that a person who meansto commit murder by poison calls in a
physician to assist him and deliberately usesthe unconscious medico as his tool. Yet

(03:44:20):
that is exactly what happened. Itisn't often that a poisoner contrives to hit
on a poison which is at onceoriginal, almost untraceable and to be obtained
from any chemist without a doctor's prescription. Yet that too is exactly what happened.
I can assure you that the entireepisode was a lesson to me.

(03:44:41):
It opened my eyes to the possibilitieswhich lie ready to the hand of a
really intelligent murderer. In this twentiethcentury, people talk about the masterpieces of
poisoning in the Middle Ages. Oooh, second rate. They didn't know enough
in the Middle Ages to achieve anythingwhich a modern poisoner with genius would deem
first rate. They simply didn't knowenough. Another point in the matter,

(03:45:07):
which forcibly struck me was the singularusefulness of a big London hotel to a
talented criminal. You can do preciselywhat you please in a big hotel,
and nobody takes the least notice.You wander in, you wander out,
and who cares. You are onlyan item in a crowd, and when
you have reached the upper corridors,you are as lost to pursue an observation

(03:45:31):
as a needle in a haystack.You may take two rooms, one after
the other, in different names andin different parts of the hotel. The
servants and officials will be none thewiser, because the second floor knows not
the third, nor the third thefourth. You may oscillate between those two
rooms in a manner to puzzle InspectorAnderson himself. And you are just as

(03:45:54):
secure in your apartments as a medievalbaron in his castle. Yes, Yes,
and more. On that night therewere over a thousand guests in the
Grand Babylon Hotel. There was aball in the gold rooms, and a
couple of banquets. And in themidst of all that diverse humanity, unperceived,

(03:46:15):
unsuspected, a poignant and a terribledrama was going on. And things
so occurred that I tumbled right intoit. Well, I'll tell you two.
I was called into the Grand Babylonabout nine p m. Sweet number
sixty three, second floor, nameof Russell. The outer door of the
suite was opened for me by awell dressed woman of thirty or so,

(03:46:37):
slim, with a face expressive andintelligent rather than handsome. I liked her
face. I was attracted by hislook of honesty and alert, good nature,
Good evening, doctor, she said. She had a charming low voice
as she led me into a highlyluxurious drawing room. My name is Russell,
and I wish you to see ayoung friend of mine who is not

(03:46:58):
well. She hesitated, and aturned to an old, bald headed man
who stood looking out of the windowat the twilight panorama of the Thames.
My friend's solicitor, mister Dancer.She explained. We bowed mister Dancer and
I nothing serious, I hope,I remarked. No, no, said
Miss Russell. Nevertheless, she seemedto me to be extremely nervous and anxious

(03:47:22):
as she preceded me into the bedroom, a chamber quite as magnificent as the
drawing room. On the bed laya beautiful young girl. Yes you may
laugh, you fellows, but shewas genuinely beautiful. She smiled faintly as
we entered. Her features had anashy tint, and tiny drops of cold

(03:47:43):
perspiration stood on the forehead. However, she certainly wasn't very ill. I
could see that in a moment,and I fixed my conversational tone accordingly.
Do you feel as if you couldto breathe freely? But that if you
did it would kill you? Iinquired, after I had examined her,
and she nodded, smiling again.Miss Russell also smiled, evidently pleased that

(03:48:07):
I had diagnosed the case so quickly. My patient was suffering from a mild
attack of a pseudo angina, nothingworse. Not angina pectores, you know
that's usually associated with old age.Pseudo angina is a different thing. With
a weak heart. It may becaused by indigestion. The symptoms are cardiac

(03:48:30):
spasms, acute pain in the chest, a strong disinclination to make even the
smallest movement, and a state ofmental depression, together with that queer fancy
about breathing. The girl had thesesymptoms, and she also had a headache
and a diacritism of the pulse twopulsations instead of one, not unusual.

(03:48:52):
I found that she had been eatinga too hearty dinner and that she had
suffered from several similar attacks in theimmediate past. Had a doctor in before,
I asked, Yes, said MissRussell, but he was unable to
come tonight. And as your houseis so near, we sent for you.
There is no danger whatsoever, noreal cause for anxiety. I summed

(03:49:13):
up. I will have some medicinemade up instantly. Trinaitan demanded to Miss
Russell. Yes, I answered,a little astonished at this readiness. Your
regular physician prescribed it. I shouldexplain to you that trinatan is nothing but
nitroglycerin in a non explosive form.I think it was trinitan. Miss Russell

(03:49:35):
replied, with an appearance of doubtfulness. Perhaps you will write a prescription and
I will dispatch a messenger at once. I should be obliged, doctor,
if you would remain with us untilIf you would remain with us decidedly,
I said, I will remain withpleasure, but do accept my assurance,
I added, gazing at her face, so anxious and apprehensive that there is

(03:49:58):
no cause for alarm. She smiledand concurred, but I could see that
I had not convinced her, andI began to suspect that she was not,
after all, so intelligent as Ihad imagined. My patient, who
was not now in any pain,lay calmly with closed eyes. Three,
do not forget the old bald headedlawyer in the drawing room. I suppose

(03:50:24):
you are often summoned to the GrandBabylon. Sir, living as you do,
just around the corner, he remarkedto me, somewhat pompously. He
had a big nose and a habitof staring at you over his eye glasses
with his mouth wide open. Afterhaving spoken, we were alone together in
the drawing room. I was waitingfor the arrival of the medicine, and

(03:50:45):
he was waiting for my don't knowwhat he was waiting for. Occasionally,
and not often, I responded,I am called more frequently to the majestic
over the way. Ah ah,just so, just so, he murmured.
I could see that he meant tobe polite in his high and dry
antique legal style, and I couldsee also that he was very bored in

(03:51:07):
that hotel drawing room. So Iproceeded to explain the case to him,
and to question him discreetly about mypatient and Miss Russell. You are,
of course aware, sir, thatthe young lady is Miss Spanton, Miss
Adelaide's Spanton, He said, whatnot? The Spanton precisely, sir,

(03:51:28):
the daughter of Edgar Spanton and mylate client, the great newspaper proprietor.
And this Miss Russell, Miss Russell, was formerly Miss Adelaide's governess. She
is now her friend and profoundly attachedto the young lady, a disinterested attachment,
so far as I can judge,though naturally many people will think otherwise.

(03:51:50):
Miss Adelaide is of a very shyand retiring disposition. She has no
other friends, and she has nonear relatives save for Miss Russell. She
is, sir, if I mayso phrase it, alone in the world.
But Miss Spanton is surely very wealthy. You come to the point,
sir, if my young client reachesher twenty first birthday, she will be

(03:52:11):
the absolute mistress of the whole ofher father's fortune. You may have noticed
in the public press that I sworehis estate at more than three millions.
And how far is Miss Spanton fromher twenty first birthday? I demanded The
old lawyer glanced at his watch.Something less than three hours at midnight.

(03:52:31):
She will have legally entered on hertwenty second year, I see, I
said. Now, I can understandMiss Russell's anxiety, which refuses to be
relieved even by my positive assurance.No doubt, Miss Russell has worked herself
up into a highly nervous condition.And may I inquire what will happen?

(03:52:52):
I mean, what would have happened? If Miss Spanton had not reached her
majority, the entire estate would havepassed to a cousin, a mister Samuel
Grist of Melbourne. I dare sayyou know the name. Mister Gris is
understood to be the leading theatrical managerin Australia. Speaking as one professional man
to another, Sir, I mayventure to remark that mister Gris's reputation is

(03:53:16):
more than a little doubtful. Youmay have heard many transactions and adventures.
Ah Still, he is my lateclient's soul surviving relative. Except Miss Adelaide,
I have never had the pleasure ofmeeting him. He confines himself exclusively
to Australia this night, then,I laughed, will see the end of

(03:53:37):
any hopes which mister Grist may haveentertained. Exactly, Sir the Lawyer agreed.
It will also see the end ofMiss Russell's immediate anxieties upon my word.
Since mister Spanton's regrettable death, shehas been both father and mother to
my lonely young client. A practicalwoman, Sir, Miss Russell, and

(03:53:58):
the excessiveness of her apprehends, ifI may so phrase, it must be
excused. She has begged me toremain here till midnight in order that I
may witness to Miss Spanton's vitality,and also in order to obtain Miss Spanton's
signature to certain necessary documents. Ishould not be surprised her if she requested

(03:54:20):
you also to remain. She isnot a woman to omit precautions. I'm
afraid I can't stop till twelve,I said. The conversation ceased, and
I fell into meditation. I donot mind admitting that I was deeply impressed
by what I will call the romanticquality of the situation. I thought of
old Spanton, who had begun withsomething less than nothing and died virtually the

(03:54:45):
owner of three daily papers and twentyfive weeklies and monthlies. I thought of
Spantan's Limited and their colossal offices spreadinghalf round Salisbury Square. Why I even
had a copy of the extra specialedition of the Evening Gazette in my pocket.
Do any of you fellows remember Spantinstarting the Evening Gazette. He sold

(03:55:07):
three hundred thousand the first day.And now old Spantin was dead, you
know, he died of drink.And there was nothing left of the Spantin
blood except this girl lying there onthe bed, and the man in Australia,
and all the Spantin editors, andthe spanin sub editors, and the
spantin artists, and the spantin reportersand compositors, and the spent in rotary

(03:55:30):
presses, and the spent in papermills, and the spanin cyclists were slaving
and toiling to put eighty thousand ayear into this girl's purse. And there
she was, feeble and depressed andsolitary, except for Miss Russell and the
man in Australia, perhaps hoping thatshe would die. And there was Miss

(03:55:50):
Russell worrying and fussing and apprehending andfearing, and the entire hotel oblivious of
the romantic I could almost say patheticsituation. And then I thought of miss
Spanton's future, burdened with those threemillions, and I wondered if those three
millions would buy her happiness. Hereis the medicine, doctor, said Miss

(03:56:13):
Russell, entering the drawing room hurriedlyand handing me the bottle with the chemist's
label on it. I went withher into the bedroom. The beautiful Adelaide's
Spanton was already better, and sheadmitted as much. When I administered the
medicine, two menems of a onepercent solution, of trinitrin, otherwise nitroglycern,

(03:56:33):
the usual remedy for pseudo angina.Miss Russell took the bottle from my
hand, corked it and placed iton the dressing table. Shortly afterwards,
I left the hotel. The lawyerhad been right in supposing that Miss Russell
would ask me to stay, butI was unable to do so. I
promised, however, to return inan hour, all the while insisting that

(03:56:56):
there was not the slightest danger forthe patient four. It was ten thirty
when I came back second floor.I said carelessly to the lift boy,
and he whirled me upwards. TheGrand Babylon lifts traveled very fast. Here
you are, sir, he murmuredrespectfully, and I stepped out. Is
this the second floor? I asked, suddenly, beg pardon. I thought

(03:57:20):
you said seventh, sir. It'stime you were in bed, my lad,
It was my retort, and Iwas just re entering the lift when
I caught sight of Miss Russell inthe corridor. I called to her,
thinking she would perhaps descend with me, but she did not hear, and
so I followed her down the corridor, wondering what was her business on the
seventh floor. She opened a doorand disappeared into a room well. I

(03:57:45):
heard a sinister voice exclaim within theroom, and then the door was pushed
too. It was not latched,I did say the seventh I called to
the lift boy, and he vanishedwith his machine. The voice within the
room startled me. It gave mefuriously to think, as the French say,
with a sort of instinctive, unpremeditatedaction. I pressed gently against the

(03:58:09):
door till it stood ajar about aninch, and I listened. It's a
confounded, mysterious case to me.The voice was saying that that dose the
other day didn't finish her. We'rerunning it a dashed sight too close.
Here. Take this, it's alreadylabel and everything substitute the bottles. I'll
run no risks this time. Onedose will do the trick inside half an

(03:58:31):
hour, and on that I'll betmy boots very well, said miss Russell,
quite calmly. It's pure trenatan,is it? You're the coolest customer
that I ever struck. The voiceexclaimed in an admiring tone. Yes,
it's pure trenatin. Beautiful convenient stuff. Looks like water, no taste,

(03:58:52):
very little smell and so volatile thatall the doctors on the medical Council couldn't
trace it at a post mortem.Besides, the doctor described a solution at
trinenton, and you got it fromthe chemist. And in case there's a
rumpus, we can shove the mistakeon to the chemist's dispenser and a fine
old row he'll get into. Bythe way, what's the new doctor like?

(03:59:13):
Oh so so? Said Miss Russellin her even tones. It's a
good thing on the whole. Perhapsthat I arranged that carriage accident for the
first one. The hard, sinistervoice remarked, one never knows. Get
along now at once, and don'tlook so anxious. Your face belies your
voice. Give us a kiss tomorrow, said Miss Russell. I hurried away

(03:59:37):
as it were, drunk, overwhelmedwith horror and amazement, and turning a
corner so as to avoid discovery.Reached the second floor by the staircase.
I did not wish to meet MissRussell in the lift. My first thought
was not one of alarm for Adelaide'spanton. Of course, I knew I
could prevent the murder, but ofprofound sorrow that Miss Russell should have proved

(04:00:00):
to be a woman so unspeakably wickedI swore never to trust a woman's face
again. I had liked her face. Then I dwelt on the chance,
the mere chance, my careless pronunciationa lift boy's error, which had saved
the life of the poor millionaire girl. And lastly, I marveled at the
combined simplicity and ingenuity of the plot. The scoundrel upstairs of possibly Samuel Grist

(04:00:26):
himself, had taken the cleverest advantageof Misspenton's tendency to pseudo angina. What
could be more clever than to poisonwith the physician's own medicine. Very probably
the girl's present attack had been inducedby an artful appeal to her appetite.
Young women afflicted as she was,are frequently just a little greedy. And

(04:00:48):
I perceived that the villain was correctin assuming that nitroglycerin would never be traced
at a post mortem, save inthe smallest possible quantity, just such a
quantity as I had myself prescribed.He was also right in his assumption that
the pure drug would infallibly kill inhalf an hour. I pulled myself together,

(04:01:09):
and, having surreptitiously watched Miss Russellinto Sweet number sixty three. I
followed her. When I arrived atthe bedroom, she was pouring medicine from
a bottle. A maid stood atthe foot of the bed. I am
just giving the second dose, saidMiss Russell, easily to me. What
a nerve, I said to myselfand aloud, by all means. She

(04:01:33):
measured the dose and approached the bedwithout a tremor Adelaide's panton opened her mouth.
Stop, I cried firmly. We'lldelay that dose for half an hour.
Kindly give me the glass. Itook the glass from Miss Russell's passive
fingers, and I would like tohave a word with you now, Miss
Russell, I added. The maidwent swiftly from the room. Five.

(04:01:56):
The old bald headed lawyer had gonedown to the hotel smoking saloon for a
little diversion, and we faced eachother in the drawing room, Miss Russell
and I. The glass was stillin my hand, and the new doctor
is so so eh, I remarked, what do you mean? She faltered.

(04:02:16):
I think you know what I mean, I retorted, I need only
tell you that, by a sheerchance, I stumbled upon your atrocious plot.
The plot of that scoundrel upstairs.All you had to do was to
exchange the bottles and administer pure trinitaninstead of my prescribed solution of it,
and Miss Spanton would be dead inhalf an hour. The three millions would

(04:02:39):
go to the Australian cousin, andyou would doubtless have your reward, say
a cool hundred thousand, or perhapsmarriage. And you were about to give
the poison when I stopped you.I was not, she cried, and
she fell into a chair and hidher face in her hands, and then
looked, as it were, longinglytowards the bedroom. Missus is in no

(04:03:01):
danger, I said, sneeringly.She will be quite well tomorrow. So
you were not going to give thepoison after all, I laughed. I
beg you to listen, doctor,she said, at length, standing up,
I am in a most invidious position. Nevertheless, I think I can
convince you that your suspicions against meare unfounded. I laughed again, but

(04:03:22):
secretly I admired her for acting thepart so well. Doubtless, I interjected
sarcastically in the pause. The manupstairs is Samuel Grist, supposed to be
in Australia. It is four monthsago since I, who am Adelaide,
Spanton's sole friend, discovered that hewas scheming her death. The skill of

(04:03:43):
his methods appalled me. There wasnothing to put before the police, and
yet I had a horrible fear ofthe worst. I felt that he would
stop at nothing, absolutely at nothing. I felt that if we ran away,
he would follow us. I hada presentiment that he would infallibly succeed,
and I was haunted by it dayand night. Then an idea occurred

(04:04:05):
to me. I would pretend tobe his accomplice, and I saw suddenly
that that was the surest way,the sole way of defeating him. I
approached him, and he accepted thebait. I carried out all his instructions,
except the fatal instructions. It isby his orders and for his purposes,
that we are staying in this hotelHeavens to make certain of saving my

(04:04:30):
darling, Adelaide. I have evengone through the force of promising to marry
him. And do you seriously expectme to believe this? I asked coldly.
Should I have had the solicitor here? She demanded, If I had
really meant meant you? She sobbedmomentarily and then regained control of herself.

(04:04:52):
I don't know, I said,but it occurs to me that the brain
that was capable of deliberately arranging amurder to take place in the press of
the doctor might have some hidden purposein securing also the presence of the solicitor
at the performance. Mister Griss isunaware that the solicitor is here. He
has been informed that mister Dancer ismy uncle and favorable to the to the

(04:05:16):
she stopped, apparently overcome. Ohindeed, I ejaculated, adding, and
after all, you did not meanto administer this poison. I suppose you
meant to withdraw the glass at thelast instant. It is not poison,
she replied, not poison. No, I did not exchange the bottles.

(04:05:37):
I only pretended to. There seemsto have been a good deal of pretending,
I observed. By the way,May I ask why you were giving
this stuff, whether it is poisonor not, to my patient. I
do not recollect that I ordered asecond dose for the same reason that I
pretended to change the bottle for thebenefit of the maid whom we saw just

(04:06:00):
now in the bedroom. And whyfor the benefit of the maid because I
found out this morning that she isin the pay of Grist. That discovery
accounts for my nervousness tonight about Adelaide. By this time the maid has probably
told mister Gris what has taken place, and and I shall rely on your
help if anything should happen. Doctor. Surely, surely you believe me,

(04:06:24):
I regret to say, Madam.I answered that I find myself unable to
believe you at present. But thereis a simple way of giving credence to
your story. You state that youdid not exchange the bottles. This liquid,
then, is the medicine prescribed byme, and it is harmless.
Oblige me by drinking it. AndI held the glass towards her. She

(04:06:46):
took it fool, I said tomyself. As soon as her fingers had
grasped it, she will drop iton the floor, and an invaluable piece
of evidence will be destroyed. Butshe did not drop it on the floor.
She drank it in one gulp andlooked me in the eyes and murmured,
now, do you believe me?Yes, I said, and I

(04:07:07):
did. At the same moment,her face changed color and she sank to
the ground. What if I drunk, she moaned. The glass rolled on
the carpet unbroken. Miss Russell had, in fact drunk a full dose of
pure trinitrine. I recognized all thesymptoms at once. I rang for assistance.
I got a stomach pump, Igot ice, and sent for ergot

(04:07:30):
and for aptropine. I injected sixminims of the injectus Ergotini hypodermica. I
despaired of saving her, but Isaved her after four injections. I need
not describe to you all the details. Let it suffice that she recovered.
Then you did exchange the bottles.I could not help putting this question to

(04:07:54):
her as soon as she was ina fit state to hear it. I
swear to you that I had notmeant to. She whispered, in my
nervousness. I must have confused them. You have saved Adelaide's life, I
have saved yours anyway, I said, But you believe me, yes,
I said. And the curious thingis that I did believe her. I

(04:08:15):
was convinced, and I am convinced, that she did not mean to exchange
the bottles. Listen, she exclaimed, we could hear big Ben striking twelve
midnight, I said. She clutchedmy hand with a swift movement. Go
and see that my Adelaide lives,she cried, almost hysterically. I opened
the door between the two rooms andwent into the sleeping chamber. Miss Panton

(04:08:39):
is dozing quietly, I said.On my return, Thank god. Miss
Russell murmured, and then old baldheaded mister Dancer came into the room,
blandly, unconscious of all that hadpassed during his sojourn in the smoking room.
When I left the precincts of theGrand Babylon at one o'clock, the

(04:09:00):
guests were beginning to leave the goldrooms. In the great courtyard was a
scene of flashing lights and champing horsesand pretty laughing women. What a queer
place a hotel is, I thought. Neither mister Griss nor the mysterious maid
was seen again in London. Possiblythey consoled each other. The beautiful Adelaide's
pantin under my care and is completelyrestored to health. Yes, I am

(04:09:26):
going to marry her. No,not the beautiful Adelaide, you duffers.
Besides, she is too young formy middle age. But miss Russell,
her Christian name iss ethel Do younot like it. As for the beautiful
Adelaide, there is now a viscountin the case end of story three.

(04:09:54):
Story four of The Loot of Citiesby Arnold Bennett. This libribox recording in
the public domain. Story four thepolice Station. Lord Trent has several times
remarked to me that I am aphilosopher, and I am one. I
have guided my life by four rules. To keep my place, to make

(04:10:15):
others keep theirs, to save halfmy income, and to beware of women.
The strict observance of these rules hasmade me, in my station a
successful and respected man. Once,and only once, I was lax in
my observance, and that single laxityresulted in a most curious and annoying adventure,

(04:10:35):
which I will relate. It wasthe fourth rule that I transgressed.
I did not beware of a woman. The woman was Miss Susan Barry,
lady's maid to the Marchioness of Cockfosters. The Cockfoster's family is a very old
one. To my mind, itstraditions are superior to anything in the peerage

(04:10:56):
of Great Britain. But then Imay be prejudiced. I was brought up
in the Cockfoster's household, first atCockfoster's Castle in Devon, and afterwards at
the well known townhouse at the southeastcorner of Eaton Square. My father was
valid to the old Marquis for thirtyyears. My mother rose from the position
of fifth housemaid to be housekeeper atthe castle, without ever having been definitely

(04:11:20):
assigned to the situation. I became, as it were, by gradual attachment
ballot to Lord Trent, eldest sonof the Marquess, and, as gay
and good natured a gentleman as ever, drank brandy and soda before breakfast.
When Lord Trent married to Miss EdnaStuyvesant, the American heiress, and with

(04:11:41):
some of her money, bought andfurnished in a superb manner a mansion near
the northwest corner of Eaton Square,I quite naturally followed him across the square
and soon found myself, after hislordship and milady, the most considerable personage
at number four four one. Eventhe butler had to mind and dispeasing cues
with me. Perhaps it was thispre eminence of mine which led to my

(04:12:05):
being selected for a duty which Inever cared for, and which ultimately I
asked his Lordship to allow me torelinquish. Of course he did so that
duty related to the celebrated Cockfoster's emeralds. Lady Trent had money over a million
sterling, as his Lordship himself toldme, but money could not buy the

(04:12:26):
Cockfoster's emeralds, And having seen these, she desired nothing less. Fine with
her ladyship to desire was to obtain. I have always admired her for that
trait in her character. Being anAmerican, she had faults, but she
knew her own mind, which isa great thing. And I must admit

(04:12:46):
that on the whole she carried herselfwell and committed few blunders. She must
have been accustomed to good servants.In the matter of the emeralds. I
certainly took her side. Strictly speaking, they belonged to the old Marchioness.
But the Marchioness never went into society. She was always engaged with temperance,
propaganda, militant Protestantism and that sortof thing, and consequently never wore the

(04:13:11):
emeralds. There was no valid reason, therefore, why Lady Trent should not
have the gratification of wearing them.But the Marchioness, I say with respect,
was a woman of peculiar and decidedviews. She had, in fact
fads, and one of her fadswas the emeralds. She could not bear
to part with them. She saidshe was afraid something might happen to the

(04:13:35):
precious heirlooms. A prolonged war ensuedbetween the Marchioness and my Lady, and
ultimately a compromise was effected. MyLady won permission to wear the emeralds whenever
she chose, but they were alwaysto be brought to her and taken back
again by Susan Barry, in whomthe Marchioness had more competence than in any

(04:13:56):
one else in the world. Consequently, whenever Milady required the emeralds, word
was sent across the square in theafternoon, Susan Barry brought them over,
and Susan Barry removed them at nightwhen Milady returned from her ball or reception.
The arrangement was highly inconvenient for SusanBarry, for sometimes it would be

(04:14:18):
very late when Malady came home.But the Martionis insisted, and since Susan
Barry was one of those persons whoseemed to take a positive joy in martyrrizing
themselves. She had none of mypity. The nuisance was that someone from
our house had to accompany her acrossthe square. Eaton Square is very large,

(04:14:41):
probably the largest in London, butI may be mistaken on such a
trivial point. Its main avenue isshut in by trees, and at two
a m it is distinctly not theplace for an unprotected female in charge of
valuable property. Now, the marshCionas had been good enough to suggest that

(04:15:03):
she would prefer me to escort hermaid on this brief nocturnal journey. I
accepted the responsibility, but I didnot hide my dislike for it. Knowing
something of Miss Barry's disposition, Iknew that our household would inevitably begin as
sooner or later, to couple ournames together, and I was not deceived.

(04:15:24):
Such was the situation when one nightit was a whit Monday, I
remember, and about a quarter pastone Lord and Lady Trent returned from an
entertainment at a well known mansion nearSaint James's Palace. I got his lordship
some whiskey in the library, andhe then told me that I might go
to bed, as he should notretire for an hour or so. I

(04:15:46):
withdrew to the little office off thehall and engaged in conversation with the second
footman who was on duty. Presently, his Lordship came down into the hall
and began to pace about. Itwas a strange habit of his, smoking
a cigarette. He caught sight ofme, Saunders, He said, I
told you you could go to bed, Yes, my lord, why don't

(04:16:07):
you go? Your Lordship forgets theemeralds. Ah, yes, of course,
he laughed. I motioned to thefootman to clear out. You don't
seem to care for that job,Saunders. His Lordship resumed, quizzing me.
Surely, Barry is a charming companionin your place. I should regard
it as excellent fun. But Ihave often told you that you have no
sense of humor. Not all menlaugh at the same jokes, my lord,

(04:16:32):
I observed, as a matter offact, in earlier and wilder days,
his Lordship had sometimes thrown a bookor a boot at me for smiling
too openly at the wrong place.The conversation might have continued further, for
his Lordship would often talk with me, but at that moment Susan Barry appeared
with the bag containing the case inwhich were the emeralds. Lady Trance's own

(04:16:55):
maid was with her, and thetwo stood talking for an instant at the
foot of the stairs while Lady Trent'smaid locked the bag and handed the key
to Barry. Heaven knows how longthat simple business would have occupied had not
the voice of Milady resounded from thefirst floor, somewhat excitedly, calling for
her maid, who vanished with ahurried good night. His lordship had already

(04:17:18):
departed from the hall. May Irelieve you of the bag, Miss Barry,
I asked, Thank you, misterSaunders, she replied, but the
marchionis prefers that I myself should carryit. That little dialogue passed between us
every time the inerals had to bereturned. We started on our short walk,
Miss Berry and I, proceeding towardsthe main avenue which runs through the

(04:17:41):
center of the square east and west. It was a beautiful moonlit night.
Talking of moonlit nights, I mayas well make my confession at once.
The fact is that Miss Barry hadindeed a certain influence over me in her
presence. I was always conscious offeeling a pleasurable elation, an excitement of
perturbation, which another man might haveguessed to be the beginning of love.

(04:18:06):
I, however, knew that itwas not love. It was merely a
fancy. It only affected me whenI was in her company. When she
was absent, I could regard herin my mind's eye as she actually was,
namely a somewhat designing young woman withdark eyes and too much will of
her own. Nevertheless, she had, as I say, a certain influence

(04:18:30):
over me, and I have alreadyremarked that it was a moonlit night.
Need I say more. In spiteof what I had implied to Lord Trent,
I did enjoy the walk with SusanBarry. Susan Barry took care that
I should. She laid herself outto fascinate me, turning her brunette face
up to mine with an air ofdeference, and flashing upon me the glance

(04:18:52):
of those dark, lustrous eyes.She started by sympathizing with me in the
matter of the butler. This wasI now recognize very clever of her,
for the butler had always been asore point with me. I began to
think be good enough to remember themoonlight and the trees, that life with
Susan Barry might have its advantages.Then she turned to the topic of her

(04:19:15):
invalid sister, Jane Mary, whowas lame and lived in lodgings near Sloane
Street and kept herself with a littleaid from Susan by manufacturing artificial flowers.
For a month past, Miss Barryhad referred regularly to this sister, who
appeared to be the apple of hereye. I had no objection to the
topic, though it did not speciallyinterest me. But on the previous evening

(04:19:40):
Miss Barry had told me, witha peculiar emphasis, that her poor dear
sister often expressed a longing to seethe famous Cockfoster's emeralds, and that she
resided quite close too. I didnot like that. Tonight, Miss Barry
made a proposition which alarmed me,Mister Saunders. She said, insinuatingly,

(04:20:03):
you are so good natured that Ihave almost a mind to ask you a
favor. Would you object to walkinground with me to my sisters. It
is only a few minutes away,so that I could just give her a
peep at these emeralds. She isdying to see them, and I'm sure
the Marchioness wouldn't object. We shouldnot be a quarter of an hour away.
My discretion was aroused. I oughtto have given a decided negative at

(04:20:27):
once, but somehow I couldn't whileSusan was looking at me. But surely
your sister will be in bed,I question, Oh no, with a
sigh. She has to work verylate, very late, indeed, And
besides, if she is I couldtake them up to her room. It
would do her good to see them, and she has few pleasures. The

(04:20:49):
Marchioness might not like it, Isaid, driven back to the second line
of fortification. You know your mistressis very particular about these emeralds. The
Marchiona need never know, Susan Barrywhispered, putting her face close up to
mine. No one need know exceptjust us. To the accent which she

(04:21:10):
put on those three words, justus two was extremely tender. I hesitated.
We were already at the end ofthe square and should have turned down
to the left towards Cockfoster's house.Come along, she entreated, placing her
hand on my shoulder. Well,you know, I muttered, but I
went along with her towards Sloane Street. We passed Eaton Place, really,

(04:21:36):
missus Barry, I began again collectingmy courage. Then there was a step
behind us, and another hand wasplaced on my shoulder. I turned round
sharply. It was a policeman.His buttons shone in the moonlight. Your
name is Charles Saunders, he saidto me, and yours Susan Barry,
to my companion. True, Ireplied, for both of us have a

(04:22:00):
warrant for your arrest. Our arrest, yes, on the charge of attempting
to steal some emeralds, the propertyof the Marquess of Cockfoster's. Impossible,
I exclaimed, Yes, He sneered, that's what they all say. But
the emeralds are here in this bag. I know they are, he said,
I've just copped you in time,but you've been suspected for days.

(04:22:22):
The thing is ridiculous, I said, striving to keep calm. We are
taking the emeralds back to Lady Cockfoster's. And then I stopped. If we
were merely taking the emeralds back toLady Cockfoster's, that is, from one
house in Eaton Square to another housein Eaton Square, What were we doing

(04:22:42):
out of the square? I glancedat Susan Barry. She was as white
as a sheet. The solution ofthe puzzle occurred to me at once.
Susan's sister was an ingenious fiction.Susan was a jewel thief working with a
gang of jewel thieves, and herrequest that I would accompany her to this
mythical sister was part of a planfor stealing the emeralds. At whose instance

(04:23:07):
has the warrant been issued? Iasked the Marquess of Cockfoster's. My suspicions
were only too well confirmed. Idid not speak a word to Susan Barry.
I could not. I merely lookedat her. You'll come quietly to
the station, the policeman said,certainly, I replied, As for us,
the matter can soon be cleared up. I am Lord Trence's ballot number

(04:23:30):
four four one Eton square, andhe must be sent for Oh must he?
The constable jeered, Come on,perhaps you'd prefer a cab. A
four wheeler was passing. I myselfhailed the sleepy cabman, and we all
three got in. The policemen prudentlytook the bag from Susan's nerveless hands.

(04:23:52):
None of us spoke. I wastoo depressed, Susan was probably too ashamed,
and the constable was no doubt tooboard. After a brief drive,
we drew up. Another policeman openedthe door of the cab, and over
the open portal of the building.In front of us, I saw the
familiar blue lamp with the legend MetropolitanPolice in white letters. The two policemen

(04:24:15):
carefully watched us as we alighted,and escorted us up the steps into the
station. Happily, there was noone about. My humiliation was abject enough
without that, Charles Saunders, aprisoner in a police station, I could
scarcely credit my senses. One becomesused to a police station in the newspapers,

(04:24:37):
but to be inside one that isdifferent, widely different. The two
policemen took us into a bare room, innocent of any furniture save a wooden
form, a desk, a chair, some printed notices of rewards offered,
and an array of handcuffs and revolverson the mantelpiece in the chair, with
a big book in front of himon the desk. At the inspector in

(04:25:00):
charge. He was in his shirtsleeves. A hot night, he said,
smiling to the policeman. I silentlyagreed. It appeared that we were
expected. They took our full names, our addresses, and occupations, and
then the inspector read the warrant tous. Of course, it didn't explain
things in the least I began tospeak. Let me warn you, said

(04:25:23):
the inspector, that anything you saynow may be used against you at your
trial, my trial. Can Iwrite a note to Lord Trent, I
asked, Nettle, yes, ifyou will pay for a cab to take
it. I threw down half acrown and scribbled a line to my master,
begging him to come at once.The constable must search you, the

(04:25:44):
inspector said. When this was doneand the first policeman had disappeared with the
note, I will save him thetrouble, I said proudly, and I
imped my pockets of a gold watchand chain, a handkerchief, two sovereigns,
a sixpence and two half pennies,a bunch of key's, my master's
linen book, and a new necktie, which I had bought that very evening.

(04:26:04):
Of which articles the inspector made aninventory, which is the key of
the bag, asked the inspector.The bag was on the desk in front
of him, and he had beentrying to open it. I know nothing
of that. I said, nowyou, Susan Barry, give up the
key, the inspector said, sternly, turning to her for answer. Susan

(04:26:25):
burst into sobs and flung herself againstmy breast. The situation was excessively embarrassing
for me. Heaven knows, Ihad sufficient reason to hate the woman,
But though a thief, she wasin distress, and I must own that
I felt for The Constable stepped towardsSusan. Surely, I said, you
have a female searcher, A femalesearcher. Ah, yes, smiled.

(04:26:48):
The inspector suddenly swabbed, is shehere, Constable, Not now, sir,
she's gone. That must wait.Then take them to the cells.
Sorry, sir, all the cellsare full bank holiday drunks. The inspector
thought a moment, lock him upin the back room. He said,
that'll do for the present. Perhapsthe mail prisoner may be getting an answer

(04:27:10):
to his note soon after that.They'll have to go to Byne Street or
Marlborough. The Constable touched his helmetand marched us out. In another moment,
we were ensconced in a small room, absolutely bare of any furniture except
a short wooden form. The constablewas locking the door when Susan Barry screamed
out, you are going to lockus up here together in the dark.

(04:27:33):
Why what do you want? Didn'tyou hear the cells are full? I
was profoundly thankful they were full.I did not fancy a night in a
cell. I want a candle,she said fiercely. He brought one,
or rather half of one, stuckin a bottle, and placed it on
the mantelpiece, and then he leftus again. I say the situation was

(04:27:53):
excessively embarrassing for myself, I saidnothing. Susan Barry dropped on the form,
and, hiding her face in herhands, gave way to tears without
any manner of restraint. I pitiedher a little, but that influence which
previously she had exercised over me wasgone. Oh, mister Saunders, she

(04:28:15):
sobbed. What how we do?And as she spoke, she suddenly looked
up at me with a glance offeminine appeal. I withstood it, miss
Berry, I said severely. Iwonder that you can look at me in
the face. I trusted you asa woman, and you have outraged that
trust. I never dreamed that youwere that, that you were an adventuress.

(04:28:37):
It was certainly a clever plot,and but for the smartness of the
police, I should, in myinnocence, have fallen a victim to your
designs. For myself, I amgrateful to the police. I can understand
and excuse their mistake in regarding meas your accomplice. That will soon be
set right, for Lord Trent willbe here. In the meantime, of
course, I have been put toconsider humiliation. Nevertheless, even this is

(04:29:03):
better than having followed you to yoursisters. In your sister's lodging, I
might have been knocked senseless or evenmurdered. Moreover, the Emeralds are safe.
She put on an innocent expression,playing the injured maiden. Mister Saunders,
you certainly do not imagine Miss Barry. No protestations. I beg Let

(04:29:26):
me say now that I have alwaysdetected in your character something underhand, something
crafty, I swear, she beganagain. Don't trouble I interrupted her.
I silly, for I shall notbelieve you. This night will certainly be
a warning to me. With thatI leaned my back against the mantelpiece and
abandoned myself to gloomy thought. Itwas a moment for me of self abasement.

(04:29:51):
I searched my heart, and Isorrowfully admitted that my predicament was primarily
due to disobeying that golden rule.Be one of women. I saw now
that it was only my absurd fancyfor this wicked creature which had led me
to accept the office of guarding thoseemeralds during their night passage across Eaton Square.
I ought to have refuse in thefirst place, for the job was

(04:30:15):
entirely outside my functions. Strictly,the butler should have done it. And
this woman in front of me,this Susan Barry, in whom the old
Marchioness had such unbounded trust, soshe belonged to the confraternity of jewel these,
a genus of which I had oftenread, but which I had never
before met with What audacity such peoplemust need in order to execute their schemes.

(04:30:42):
But then the game was high.The Cockfoster's emeralds were worth, at
a moderate estimate, twelve thousand pounds. There are emeralds and emeralds. The
value depends on the color. Thesewere the finest Columbian stones of a marble
tent, and many of them wereabsolutely without a flaw. There were five

(04:31:04):
stones of seven carrots each, andthese alone must have been worth at least
six thousand pounds. Yes, itwould have been a great hall, a
colossal hall. Time passed, Thecandle was burning low, and there was
no sign of Lord Trent. Iwent to the door and knocked, first
gently, then more loudly, butI could get no answer. Then I

(04:31:27):
walked about the room, keeping aneye on Susan Barry, who had I
freely admit the decency to avoid mygaze. I was beginning to get extremely
tired. I wished to sit down, but there was only one form.
Susan Barry was already upon it,and as I said before, it was
a very short form. At last, I could hold out no longer.

(04:31:49):
Taking my courage in both hands,I sat boldly down at one end of
the form. It was a reliefto me. Miss Barry's sighed. There
were not six inches between us.The candle was low in the socket.
We both watched it. Without asecond's warning. The flame leapt up and
then expired. We were in thedark. Miss Barry screamed, and afterwards

(04:32:14):
I heard her crying. I myselfmade no sign. Fortunately, the dawn
broke almost immediately. By this timeI was getting seriously annoyed with Lord Trent.
I had served him faithfully, andyet at the moment of my genuine
need, he had not come tomy sucker. I went again to the
door and knocked with my knuckles.No answer. Then I kicked it.

(04:32:37):
No answer. Then I seized thehandle and violently shook it. To my
astonishment, the door opened. Thepoliceman had forgotten to lock it. I
crept out into the passage, softlyclosing the door behind me. It was
now quite light. The door leadingto the street was open, and I
could see neither constables nor inspector.Went into the charge room it was empty.

(04:33:02):
Then I proceeded into the street.On the pavement, a piece of
paper was lying. I picked itup. It was the note which I
had written to Lord Trent. Aworkman happened to be loitering along a road
which crossed the street at right angles. I called out and ran to him.
Can you tell me? I asked, why all the officers have left
the police station? Lug here.Maybe, he says, you got onme.

(04:33:26):
You've been making a night of it, and that's what you have.
But seriously, I said. ThenI saw a policeman at a distant corner.
The workman whistled, and the policemanwas obliging enough to come to us.
Here. The car wants in awhile. The police had left the
police station. The workman said,what police station? The constable said,
sharply, why this one down herein this side street, I said,

(04:33:49):
pointing to the building. As Ilooked at it, I saw that the
lamp which I had observed on theprevious night no longer hung over the doorway.
The constable laughed, good humoredly.Get away home, he said.
I began to tell him my story. Get away home, he repeated,
gruffly this time. Or I'll runyou in, all right, I said,

(04:34:12):
huffily, and I made as ifto walk down the other road.
The constable and the workmen grinned toeach other and departed. As soon as
they were out of sight. Ireturned to my police station. It was
not a police station. It wasmerely a rather large and plain fronted empty
house which had been transformed into apolice station for one night only by means

(04:34:36):
of a lamp, a desk,two forms, a few handcuffs, and
some unparalleled cheek. Jewel thieves theywere, but Susan Barry was not among
them. After all, Susan Barryprobably had an invalid sister named Jane Mary.
The first policeman, the cabman,the second policeman, the inspector.
These were the jewel thieves, andSusan Barry and I, and of course

(04:35:00):
the Marchioness had to been the victimsof as audacious and brilliant a robbery as
was ever planned. We had beenrobbed openly, quietly, deliberately, with
the aid of a sham police station. Our movements must have been watched for
weeks. I gave my meed ofadmiration to the imagination, the skill,
and the Saint Foix which must havegone to the carrying out of this schoop.

(04:35:23):
Going back into the room where SusanBarry and I had spent the night
hours, I found that wronged womansweetly asleep on the form, with her
back against the wall. I darednot wake her, and so I left
her for the present to enjoy somemuch needed repose. I directed my steps
in search of Eaton Square. Havingclosed the great door of my police station

(04:35:47):
at length, I found my whereabouts, and I arrived at number four four
one at five o'clock precisely. Themorning was lovely. After some trouble,
I roused a housemaid, who letme in. She seemed surprised, but
I ignored her. I went straightupstairs and knocked at my master's door.
To wake him had always been adifficult matter, and this morning the task

(04:36:08):
seemed more difficult than ever. Atlast he replied sleepily to my summons,
it is I Saunders, your lordship. I'll go to the devil. Then
I must see your lordship instantly,very seriously, now what I'll come in
a minute. And I heard himstirring, and the voice of Lady Trent.

(04:36:29):
How should I break the news tohim? What would the marchionist say
when she knew twelve thousand pounds worthof jewels is no trifle not to mention
my gold watch, my two sovereignsmust expense, and two half pennies,
and also the half crown which Ihad given to have the message despatched to
his lordship. It was the halfcrown that specially rankled Lord Trent appeared at

(04:36:52):
the door of his room, arrayedin his crimson dressing gown, while Saunders,
what in the name of my lord? And then I told him the
whole story. He smiled, helaughed, he roared. I dare say,
it sounds very funny, my lord, I said, But it wasn't
funny at the time. And LadyCockcaster's won't think it very funny, oh

(04:37:12):
won't she? She will? Noone will enjoy it more. She might
have taken it seriously if the emeraldshad been in the bag, but they
weren't. Not in the bag,my lord. No. Lady Trent's maid
ran off with the bag, thinkingthat your mistress had put the jewels in
it, but she had not.Lady Trent came to the top of the

(04:37:33):
stairs to call her back as soonas she found the bag gone. But
you and Barry were out of thehouse, so the emerald stayed here for
one night. They are on LadyTrent's dressing table at the present moment.
Go and get a stiff whiskey,Saunders, you need it, and then
may I suggest that you should returnfor the sleeping berry. By the way,
the least you can do is tomarry her Saunders. Never, my

(04:37:56):
Lord, I said, with decision, I have medals sufficiently with women.
End of story four. Story fiveof the Loot of Cities by Arnold Bennet.
This libribox recording is in the publicdomain. Story five the Adventure of

(04:38:18):
the Prima Donna. Many years ago, the fear of dynamite stalked through the
land. An immense organization of anarchists, whose headquarters were in the United States,
had arranged for a number of simultaneousdisplays in London, Glasgow and Quebec.
As is well known now, theParliament House at Quebec and the guess

(04:38:40):
works at Glasgow were to be blownup, while the program for London included
Scotland Yard, most of Whitehall,the House of Commons, the Tower and
four great railway stations thrown in.This plot was laid bare, stopped and
made public, and except a numberof people who happened quite innocently to carry
black bags, no one was putto the slightest inconvenience. The dynamite scare

(04:39:04):
was deemed to be at an end, but the dread organization was in fact
still active, as the sixty policemenwho were injured in what is called the
Haymarket massacre explosion at Chicago on Mayfour, eighteen eighty six, have dire
occasion to know. Everyone who reachedthe papers is familiar with the details of

(04:39:26):
the Haymarket massacre. Few people,however, are aware that a far more
dastardly outrage had been planned to intimidateLondon a few days later, through the
agency of a courageous woman. Thisaffair, too was unmasked in its turn,
but for commercial and other reasons,it was kept from the general public.
The scheme was to blow up theopera house at Covent Garden on the

(04:39:49):
first night of the season. Hadthe facts got abroad, the audience would
probably have been somewhat sparse on thatoccasion. But the facts did not get
abroad, and the house was crowdedin every part for the famous Prima donna
Luisa Vazzi, since retired, wassinging Marguerite in faust, and enthusiasm about

(04:40:11):
her was such that though the populartenor had unaccountably thrown up his engagement,
the price of stalls rose to thirtythree shillings. The police were sure of
themselves, and the evening passed offwith nothing more explosive than applause. Nevertheless,
that night, after the curtain hadfallen and Louise Visilla had gathered up

(04:40:32):
all the reason of the tribuse ofadmiration which had been showered upon her,
there happened the singular incident which itis our purpose to record. Vissilla,
wrapped in rich furs. It wasmidnight and our usual wintry May, was
just leaving the stage door for hercarriage, when a gentleman respectfully accosted her.
He was an English detective on specialservice, and Visia appeared to know

(04:40:57):
him. It will be desirable foryou to run no risk, madame,
he said, So far as weknow, all the principles have left the
country in alarm. But there arealways others. Messia smiled. She was
then over thirty, in the fullflower of her fame and beauty, tall,
dark, calm, mysterious. Shehad the firm yet gentle look of

(04:41:18):
one who keeps a kind heart underthe regal manner induced by universal adoration.
What have I to fear, shesaid, vengeance? The detective answered,
simply, I have arranged to haveyou shadowed in case you will do nothing
of the kind. She said,The idea is intolerable to me. I
am not afraid, the detective argued. But in vain it shall be as

(04:41:44):
you wish, Madam, he said. Ultimately, Messia got into her carriage
and was driven away. The pairof chestnuts traveled at a brisk trot through
the dark, deserted streets of Sohotowards the west end. The carriage had
crossed Regent Street and was just enteringBerkeley Square when a hansom coming at a
gallop along Strutton Street on the wrongside of the road, collided violently with

(04:42:07):
Vassia's horses at the corner. Atthe same moment, another carriage, a
brougham, came up and stopped.A gentleman jumped out and assisted in disengaging
Vassia's coachman and footman from the medleyof harness and horseflesh. This done,
he spoke to Vissia, who,uninjured, was standing on the footpath.

(04:42:29):
One of your chestnuts will have tobe shot, he said, to raising
his hat. May I place myown carriage at your disposal. Messia thankfully
accepted his offer, where too,he inquired upper Brook Street? She answered,
but you are sure I do notinconvenience you curiously enough, he said,
I live in upper Brook Street myself, and if I may accompany you,

(04:42:52):
you are more than kind, shesaid, and they both entered the
brougham, and the gentleman, havingfirst thoughtfully taken the number of the pecant
cabby and given some valuable advice toVassiea's coachman, the brougham disappeared at a
terrific pace, but it never wentwithin half a mile of Upper Brook Street.
It turned abruptly to the north,crossed Oxford Street, and stopped in

(04:43:15):
front of a large house in aremote street near Paddington Station. At the
same instant, the door of thehouse opened and a man ran down to
the carriage. In a moment,Vissio, with a cloth wrapped around her
head, was carried struggling into thehouse, and the brougham departed. The
thing was done as quickly and silentlyas in a dream. The cloth was

(04:43:37):
removed at length, and Vissia foundherself in a long, bare room furnished
only with chairs and a table.She realized that the carriage accident was merely
part of a plot to capture herwithout fuss and violence. She was incapable
of fear but she was extremely annoyedand indignant. She looked round for the
man who enticed her in to hisproem. He was not to be seen.

(04:44:02):
His share of the matter was over. Two other men sat at the
table. Vissia stared at them inspeechless anger. As to them, they
seemed to ignore her. Where's thechief, said one to the other.
He will be here in three minutes. We are to proceed with the examination.
Time is short. Then the twomen turned to Vissia, and the

(04:44:22):
elder spoke. You will be anxiousto know why you are here, he
said. She gazed at him scornfully, and he continued, You are here
because you have betrayed the anarchist cause. I am not an anarchist, she
said, coldly. Admitted, buta week ago a member of our society
gave you a warning to keep awayfrom the opera house tonight. In a

(04:44:44):
so warning you he was false tohis oath. Do you refer to Saltea
the tenor, She asked, Ido you perceive we have adherents in high
places? Saltea then warned you,and you instantly told the police that was
your idea of gratitude? Did Saltylove you? I decline to be cross
examined. But it is immaterial.We know that he loved you. Now

(04:45:10):
it is perilous for an anarchist tolove. I do not believe that Salty
is one of you, she brokein. He is not, the man
said, quietly, is dead.He was in the way in spite of
herself. She started, and bothmen smiled cynically. The point is this,
the elder man proceeded. We donot know how much Salty told you.

(04:45:32):
It is possible that he may haveblurted out other and more important schemes
than this of the opera house,which is failed. Have you anything to
say? Nothing, She answered,Ah, we expected that. Now let
me point out that you are dangerousto us. That there is only one
possible course open to you. Youmust join us. Join you, she

(04:45:56):
exclaimed, and then laughed. Yes. The man said, I repeat,
there is no alternative, none,whatever. You must take the oath.
And if I refuse, the manshrugged his shoulders, and, after a
suggestive pause, murmured, well,think of saltea. I do refuse,
she said. A door opened atthe other end of the room, and

(04:46:18):
a third man entered. The chiefsaid, the younger of the men at
the table, he will continue theexamination. The newcomer was comparatively youthful,
under thirty, and had the lookof a well born Italian. He gave
a glance at the sea, stoodstill, and then approached the table and
sat down. This is Louise Visia, the first speaker said, and rapidly

(04:46:41):
indicated how far he had gone.There was a long silence. Thanks brothers,
the chief said, by a strangecoincidence, I know this lady,
this woman, and I feel convincedthat it will be better in the interests
of our cause if if I examinedher alone. He spoke with authority,
and yet with a certain queer hesitation. The two men silently but with obvious

(04:47:04):
reluctance, rose and left the room. When they were alone, the great
singer and the chief fronted each otherin silence. Well, said Vissia,
madam. The Chief began slowly andthoughtfully. Do you remember singing in Milan
ten years ago? You were atthe beginning of your career then but already

(04:47:25):
famous. His voice was rich andcuriously persuasive. Without wishing to do so,
Vissia nodded an affirmative. One night, you were driving home from the
opera, and there was a riotgoing on in the streets. The police
were everywhere. People whispered of asecret revolutionary society among the students of the
university. As for the students,after a pitched battle near the cathedral,

(04:47:49):
they were flying. Suddenly, lookingfrom your carriage, you saw a very
youthful student who had been struck onthe head, fall down in the gutter,
and then get up up again andstruggle. You stopped your carriage.
Save me, the youth cried,save me, Signorina. If the police
catch me, I shall get tenyears imprisonment. You opened the door of

(04:48:11):
your carriage, and the youth jumpedin quick under the rug. You said
quietly. You did not ask meany questions. You didn't stay to consider
whether the youth might be a dangerousperson. You merely said, quick under
the rug. The youth crept underthe rug. The carriage moved on slowly,
and the police, who shortly appeared, never thought of looking within it

(04:48:33):
for a fugitive young anarchist. Theyouth was saved for two days. You
had him in your lodging, andthen he got safely away to the coast
and sold by ship to another country. Do you remember that incident, madame,
I remember it well, she answered. What happened to the youth?
I am he? The chief saidyou, she exclaimed, I should scarcely

(04:48:56):
have guessed, but for your voice. You are changed. In our profits,
one changes quickly. Why do youremind me of that incident? She
asked. You saved my life,then I shall save yours. Now is
my life really in danger unless youjoined us? Yes, she laughed incredulously
in London. Impossible. He madea gesture with his hands. Do not

(04:49:22):
let us argue on that point,he said, gravely. Go through that
door. He pointed to the doorby which he himself had entered. You
will find yourself in a small garden. The garden gate leads to a narrow
passage past some stables, and sointo the street. Go quickly and take
a cab. Don't return to yourown house. Go somewhere else, anywhere

(04:49:42):
else, and leave London early tomorrowmorning. He silently opened the door for
her. Thank you, she said. His seriousness had affected her. How
shall you explain my departure to youryour friends and in my own way?
He replied, Only when a manhas deliberately betrayed his cause, There is

(04:50:03):
only one explanation betrayed his cause.She repeated the phrase wonderingly, Madam,
He said, do you suppose theywill call it anything else? Go at
once. I will wait half anhour before summoning my comrades. By that
time they will have become impatient.Then you will be safe, and I
will give them my explanation, andthat will be He put her right hand

(04:50:26):
to his lips, and then stopped. Good Bye, Madam, he said,
without replying to the question, weare quits. I kiss your hand.
Almost reluctantly. Louise Vesil went forth, and as she reached the street,
she felt for the first time thatit was indeed a fatal danger from
which she had escaped. She reflectedthat the Chief had imposed no secrecy upon

(04:50:51):
her, made no conditions, andshe could not help but admire such a
method of repaying a debt. Shewondered what his explanation to his comrade as
would be. Half an hour later, when Vissia was far away, it
was the sound of a revolver shot. The other two plotters rushed into the
room which the prima Donna had left, and found all the explanation which the

(04:51:12):
Chief had vouchsafed end of story fiveStory six of The Loot of Cities by
Arnold Bennett. This libribox recording isin the public domain. Story six.
The episode in room two two two. The date was the fifth of November,

(04:51:37):
a date easy to remember, notthat I could ever fail to recall
it, even without the aid ofthe associations which cluster round Guy Fawkes.
It was a Friday, and yetthere are people who affect to believe that
Friday is not a day singled outfrom its six companions for mystery, strangeness,
and disaster. The number of theroom was a two two, too,

(04:52:00):
as easy to remember as the date, not that I could ever fail
to recall the number. Also,every circumstance in the affair is fixed in
my mind, immovably and forever thehotel I shall call by the name of
the Grand Junction Terminus Hotel. Ifthis tale were not a simple and undecorated
record of fact, I might,with impunity choose for its scene any one

(04:52:25):
of the big London hotels, inorder by which a detail to give a
semblance of veracity to my invention.But the story happens to be absolutely true,
and I must therefore, for obviousreasons, disguise the identity of the
place where it occurred. I wouldonly say that the Grand Junction Railway is
one of the largest and one ofthe best managed systems in England or in

(04:52:48):
the world, and that these qualitiesof vastness and of good management extend also
to its immense terminus hotel in thenorth of central London, the a of
Anserye. I have observed that professionalwriters invariably refer to a hotel as a
Caravanserye is full every night in theweek except Friday, Saturday and Sunday,

(04:53:11):
and every commercial traveler knows that excepton these nights, if he wishes to
secure a room at the Grand Junction, he must write or telegraph for it
in advance, and there are fourhundred bedrooms. It was somewhat late in
the evening when I arrived in London. I had meant to sleep at a
large new hotel in the Strand,but I felt tired, and I suddenly,

(04:53:34):
on the spur of the moment,decided to stay at the Grand Junction
if there was space for me.It is thus that fate works. I
walked into the hall, followed bya platform porter with my bag. The
place seemed just as usual, theperfection of the commonplace, the business like
and the unspiritual. Have you aroom, I asked the young lady in

(04:53:56):
black, whose yellow hair shone gailyat the office window under the electric light.
She glanced at her ledgers in theimpassive and detached manner which hotel young
ladies with yellow hair invariably affect,and ejaculated number two two one. Pity
you couldn't make it all twos,I ventured, with timid jocularity. How

(04:54:18):
could I guess the import of whatI was saying? She smiled, very
slightly, with a distant condescension.It is astonishing the skill with which a
feminine hotel clerk can make a masculineguest feel small and self conscious. Name,
she demanded. Edge fourth floor,she said, writing out the room
ticket and handing it to me.In another moment, I was in the

(04:54:41):
lift. Number two two one wasthe last door, but one at the
end of the eastern corridor of thefourth floor. It proved to be a
double bedded room, large, exquisitelyugly, but perfectly appointed in all matters
of comfort. In short, itwas characteristic of the hotel. I knew
that every bedroom in that corridor,and every bedroom in every corridor, presented

(04:55:06):
exactly the same aspect. One instinctivelyfelt the impossibility of anything weird, anything
bizarre, anything terrible entering the precinctsof an abode so solid, cheerful,
orderly and middle class. And yet, but I shall come to that presently.
It will be well for me torelate all that I did. That

(04:55:27):
evening, I washed, and thenI took some valuables out of my bag
and put them in my pocket.Then I glanced round the chamber, and,
amongst other satisfactory details, noticed thatthe electric lights were so fixed that
I could read in bed without distressingmy eyes. I then went downstairs by
the lift and into the smoke room. I had dined on board the Express,

(04:55:49):
and so I ordered nothing but acafe NOI and a packet of Virginian
cigarettes. After finishing the coffee,I passed into the billiard room and played
a hundred up with the marker toshow that my nerves were at least as
steady as usual. That night.I may mention that although the marker gave
me fifty and beat me, Imade a break of twenty odd, which

(04:56:11):
won his generous approval. The gameconcluded, I went into the hall and
asked the porter if there were anytelegrams for me. There were not.
I noticed that the porter, itwas the night porter, and he had
just come on duty, seemed tohave a peculiarly honest and attractive face.
Wishing him good night, I retiredto bed. It was something. After

(04:56:33):
eleven I read a chapter of misterWalter Crane's The Bases of Design, and
having turned off the light, sankinto the righteous slumber of a man who
has made a pretty break of twentyodd and drunk nothing but coffee. At
three o'clock I awoke, not witha start, but rather gradually. I

(04:56:53):
know it was exactly three o'clock becausethe striking of a notoriously noisy church clock
in the neighbors was the first thingI heard, But the clock had not
wakened me. I felt sure thatsomething else, something far more sinister than
a church clock, had been theorigin of disturbance. I listened. Then

(04:57:14):
I heard it again. It Itwas the sound of a groan in the
next room, someone indisposed either inbody or mind. I thought lightly,
and I tried to go to sleepagain, but I could not sleep.
The groans continued and grew more poignant, more fearsome. At last, I
jumped out of bed and turned onthe light. I felt easier when I

(04:57:37):
had turned on the light. Thatman, whoever he is, is dying.
The idea, as it were,sprang at my throat. He is
dying, Only a dying man,only a man who saw death by his
side and trembled before the apparition couldgroan like that. I put on some
clothes and went into the corridor.The corridor seemed to stretch away into illimitable

(04:58:00):
distance, and far off, milesoff, a solitary electric light glimmered.
My end of the corridor was ahaunt of gloomy shadows, except where the
open door allowed the light from mybedroom to illuminate the long, monotonous pattern
of the carpet. I proceeded tothe door next my own, the door
of number two two two, andput my ear against the panel. The

(04:58:25):
sound of groans was now much moredistinct and more terrifying. Yes, I
admit that I was frightened. Icalled no answer, what's the matter?
I inquired, no answer? Areyou ill? Or are you doing this
for your own amusement. It waswith a sort of bravado that I threw
this last query at the unknown occupantof the room. No answer. Then

(04:58:48):
I tried to open the door,but it was fast. Yes, I
said to myself. Either he's dyingor he's committed a murder and is feeling
sorry for it. I must fetchthe night porterer. Now, hotel lifts
are not in the habit of workingat three a m. And so I
was compelled to find my way alongendless corridors and down flights of stairs,

(04:59:08):
apparently innumerable. Here and there.An electric light sought, with its yellow
eye to pierce the gloom. Atlength, I reached the hall, and
I well recollect that the tiled floorstruck cold into my slippered but sockless feet.
There's a man either dying or veryill. And number two two too,
I said to the night porter.He was reading the evening news and

(04:59:30):
appeared to be very snug in hisbasket chair. Is that so, sir,
he replied, yes, I insisted, I think he's dying. Hadn't
you better do something? I'll comeupstairs with you, he answered, readily,
and without further parley We began theascent. At the first floor landing,
the night porter stopped and faced me. He was a man about forty

(04:59:52):
five. Every hall porter seems tobe that age, and he looked like
the father of a family. Itif you think he's dying, sir,
I'll call up the manager, Mistertom do, I said. The manager
slept on the first floor, andhe soon appeared, a youngish man in
a terra cotta Jaeger dressing gown,his eyes full of sleep, yet alert

(05:00:14):
and anxious to do his duty.I had seen him previously in the billiard
room. We all three continued ourprogress to the fourth floor, arriving in
front of number two two two.We listened intently, but we could only
hear a faint, occasional groan.He's nearly dead, I said. The
manager called aloud, but there wasno answer. Then he vainly tried to

(05:00:36):
open the door. The night porterdeparted and returned with a stout pair of
steel tongs. With these and thenatural ingenuity peculiar to hotel porters, he
forced open the door and we enterednumber two two two. A stout,
middle aged man lay on the bed, fully dressed in black. On the
floor near the bed was a silkhat. As we approached, the great

(05:01:00):
body seemed to flutter, and thenit lay profoundly and terribly still. The
manager put his hand on the man'shead and held the glass of his watch
to the man's parted gray lips.He is dead, said the manager.
Hum I said, I'm sorry you'vebeen put to any inconvenience, said the
manager, and I'm much obliged toyou. The cold but polite tone was

(05:01:22):
a request to me to re entermy own chamber and leave the corpse to
the manager and the night porter.I obeyed. What about that man,
I asked the hall porter early thenext or rather the same morning. I
had not slept a wink since threeo'clock, nor had I heard a sound
in the corridor. What man,sir? The porter said, you know,

(05:01:45):
I returned, rather angrily, theman who died in the night number
two two two. I assure you, sir, He said, I haven't
the least notion what you mean.Yet his face seemed as honest and open
as ever. I inquired at theoffice for the manager, and after some
difficulty, saw him in his privateroom. I thought I'd just see about

(05:02:06):
that man. I began. Whatman? The manager asked, exactly as
the porter had asked. Look here, I said, as I was now
really annoyed. It's all very wellgiving instructions to the hall porter, and
I can quite understand you want tothink kept as quiet as possible. Of
course, I know that hotels havea violent objection to corpses. But as

(05:02:29):
I saw the corpse and was ofsome assistance to you, excuse me,
said the manager. Either you orI must be completely mad, and he
added, I don't think it ismyself. Do you mean to say,
I remarked, with frosty sarcasm,that you didn't enter room two to two
with me this morning at three am. And find a dead man there?

(05:02:52):
I mean to say just that?He answered, Well, I got
no further. I paid my billand left, But before leaving I went
and carefully examined the door of numbertwo two two. The door plainly showed
marks of some iron instrument. Here, I said to the porter as I
departed, except this half crown fromme, I admire you. I had

(05:03:15):
a serious illness extending over three months. I was frequently delirious, and nearly
every day I saw the scene inroom number two two two. In the
course of my subsequent travels, Ionce more found myself late one night at
the Grand Junction Terminus Hotel. MisterEdge said the night porter. I've been

(05:03:36):
looking out for you for weeks andweeks the manager's compliments, and he would
like to see you in his roomagain. I saw the youngish alert manager,
mister Edge. He began at once. It is probable that I owe
you an apology. At any rate, I think it right to inform you
that on the night of the fifthof November, the year before last,

(05:03:56):
exactly twelve months before your last visithere, at man died in room number
two two two at three a m. I forgot the circumstance when you last
came to see me in this room. It seems queer, I said coldly
that you should have forgotten such acircumstance. The fact is, he replied,
I was not the manager at thattime. My predecessor died two days

(05:04:19):
after the discovery of the corpse inroom two two two, and the night
porter is he too a new man, Yes, said the manager. The
porter, who with the late managerfound the corpse in room two two too,
is now in Hanwell lunatic asylum.I paused, perhaps in awe.

(05:04:40):
Then you think I said that Iwas the victim of a hallucination on my
previous visit here? You think Ihad a glimpse of the world of spirits
on these matters, said the manager, I prefer to think nothing. End
of story six, Story seven ofThe Loot of Cities by Arnold Bennett.

(05:05:06):
This libribox recording is in the publicdomain. Story seven Saturday to Monday.
So at length I yielded to repeatedinvitations and made up my mind to visit
the Vernons again. And it wasin June. I had not been for
nearly two years. The last visitwas in the month of August. I
remembered it too well that year,that month, that day. Under the

(05:05:30):
most favorable circumstances, it needs enterpriseand energy for a Londoner to pay a
week in visit to a friend's housein the country, no matter how intimate
the friend. And the Vernons,though charming and full of good nature,
were not really very intimate friends ofmine. There is always an element of
risk in the affair. I willgo further and say an element of a

(05:05:51):
preliminary unpleasantness. It means the disarrangementof regular habits. It means packing one's
bag and lugging it into a hand. It means a train journey. It
often means a drive. At theother end, it means sleeping in a
strange bed and finding a suitable hookfor one's razors drop the next morning.
It means accommodating oneself to a newsocial atmosphere and the expenditure of much formal

(05:06:17):
politeness. And suppose some hitch occurs, some trifling contretemp to ruffle the smoothness
of the hours, where are you? Then you are bound to sit tight
and smile till Monday, and atparting to enlarge on your sorrow that the
visit is over all the while feelingintensely relieved, and you have got nothing

(05:06:38):
in exchange for your discomfort and inconvenience, save the satisfaction of duty done a
poor return. I venture to addyou know you have wasted a weekend and
irrecoverable weekend of eternity. However,I boarded the train at Saint Pancras in
a fairly cheerful mood, and Itried to look on the bright side of

(05:07:00):
life. The afternoon was certainly beautiful, and the train not too crowded.
And I derived some pleasure too fromthe contemplation of a new pair of American
booths, which I had recently purchased. I remembered that Missus Vernon used to
accuse me of a slight foppishness inthe matter of boots, at the same
time wishing audibly in his hearing thatJack would give a little more attention to

(05:07:26):
the lower portions of his toilette.Jack was a sportsman and her husband and
I thought of their roomy and comfortablehouse on the side of the long slope
to Bedbury, and of their orchard, and the hammocks under the trees in
the orchard, and of tea andcakes being brought out to those hammocks,
and of the sunsets over the delectablemountains. We always call them the Delectable

(05:07:48):
Mountains because they are the identical hillswhich Bunyan had in mind when he wrote
The Pilgrim's Progress, And of Jack'seasy drawl, and Missus Vernon's chatter,
and the barking of the dogs andthe stamping of the horses in the stable,
and I actually thought, this willbe a pleasant change after London.
I do hope they won't be awkwardand self conscious, I said to myself,

(05:08:11):
and I also must try not tobe. You see, I was
thinking of that last visit and whatoccurred during it. I was engaged to
be married then to a girl namedLucy Wrenn. Just as I had arrived
at the Vernon's house and their dogcart, the highly rural postman came up
in his cart, and, afterdelivering some letters, produced still another letter

(05:08:33):
and asked if any one of thename of Bostik was staying there. I
took the letter. The address wasin Lucy's handwriting. I had seen her
only on the previous night, andof course she knew of my visit.
I read the letter standing there inthe garden near the front door, and
having read it, I laughed loudlyand handed it to missus Vernon, saying

(05:08:55):
what do you think of that fora letter? In the letter, Lucy
said that she had decided to jiltme. She didn't use those words,
oh no, and that on thefollowing day she was going to be married
to another man. Yes, thatwas a tearful visit I paid to the
Vernons that August. At first Ididn't know what I was doing. They

(05:09:15):
soothed me, calmed me. Theydid their best. It wasn't their fault,
after all. They suggested I shouldrun back to town and see Lucy.
Jack offered to go with me.Jack I declined. I declined to
do anything. I ate hearty meals. I insisted on our usual excursions.
I talked a lot. I forcedthem to pretend that nothing had happened,

(05:09:37):
And on Monday morning I went offwith a cold smile. But it was
awful. It stood between me andthe Vernons for a long time, a
terrible memory. And when next MissusVernon encountered me in London, there were
tears in her eyes and she wasspeechless. Now you will understand better why,
I said to myself with much sincerity. I do hope they won't be

(05:10:00):
awkward and self conscious, and Ialso must try not to be. As
the train approached Bedbury, I hadqualms. I had qualms about the advisability
of this visit to the Vernons.How could it possibly succeed with that memory
stalking like a ghost in the gardennear the front door of their delightful and
hospitable house. How could then werumbled over the familiar bridge, and I

(05:10:26):
saw the familiar station yard, andthe familiar dog cart, and the familiar
Dalmatian dog, and the familiar whitemare that was rather young and skittish.
When Lucy jilted me, that maremust be rising. Seven, now,
I thought, and settled down inlife, I described to missus Vernon,
waiting on the platform to welcome mewith the twins. Alas I had forgotten

(05:10:48):
the twins, those charming and fraillittle girls, always dressed alike invariably on
my previous visits. I had broughtsomething for the twins, a toy,
a box of sweets, a coupleof bed necklaces. Never once had I
omitted to lay my tribute on thealtar of their adorable infancy. And now
I had forgotten. And my forgetfulnesssaddened me, because I knew that it

(05:11:12):
would saddened them. They would expect, and they would be disappointed. They
would taste the bitterness of life.My poor little DearS, I thought,
as they smiled and shouted to seemy head out of the carriage window.
I feel for you deeply. Thisbeginning was a bad one, like all

(05:11:32):
men who have suffered without having deservedto suffer. I was superstitious, and
I felt that the beginning augured.Ill I resigned myself even before the train
had quite stopped, to a constrainedand bored week end with the Vernons.
Well, I exclaimed, with anaffectation of jollity descending from the carriage.
Well, responded Missus Vernon with thesame affectation. It was lamentable, simply

(05:11:59):
lamentable. Well, the way inwhich that tragic memory stood between us and
prevented either of us from showing atrue, natural, simple self to the
other. Missus Vernon could say little, I could say little, And what
we did say was said stiffly,clumsily. Perhaps it was fortunate on the
whole that the twins were present.They, at any rate, were natural

(05:12:22):
and self possessed. And how oldare you now, I asked them.
We are seven, they answered politelyin their high, thin voices. Then
you are like the little girl's familyin Wordsworth poem. I remarked. It
was astonishing how this really rather goodjoke fell flat. Of course, the
twins did not see it, butMissus Vernon herself did not see it,

(05:12:45):
and I too, thought it atthe moment inexpressibly feeble. As for the
twins, they could not hide theirdisappointment. Always before I had handed them
a little parcel immediately, either atthe station if they came to meet me,
or at the house door if theydid not. And to day I
had no little parcel. I couldperceive that they were hoping against hope.

(05:13:08):
Even yet I could perceive that theywere saying to each other with their large
expressive eyes. Perhaps he has putit in his portmanteau. This time,
he can have forgotten us. Icould have wept for them. I was
in that state, but I couldnot, for the life of me tell
them outright that I had forgotten thecustomary gift, and that I should send

(05:13:30):
it by post on my return.No, I could not do that.
I was too constrained, too illat ease. So we all climbed up
into the dog cart, Missus Vernonand I in front, and the twins
behind, with the portmanteau to makewake, and the white mare set off
with the bound and the Dalmatian barkedjoyously, and we all pretended to be

(05:13:51):
as joyous as the dog. Where'sJack? I inquired, Oh, said
Missus Vernon, as though I hadstartled her he had to go to Bedbury
Sand to look at a couple ofgreyhounds. It would have been too late
on Monday. I'm afraid he won'tbe back for tea. I guess instantly
that with the average man's cowardice,he had run away in order to escape
meeting me. As I entered thehouse, he had left that to his

(05:14:15):
wife, no doubt, he hopedthat by the time he returned, I
should have settled down and the firstawkwardness and constraint would be passed. We
said scarcely anything else, Missus Vernonand I during the three mile drive,
and it was in silence that wecrossed the portal of the house. Instead
of having tea in the orchard,we had it in the drawing room,

(05:14:37):
the twins being present, and thetea might have been a funeral feast.
Well, I thought I anticipated acertain mutual diffidence, but nothing so bad
as this. If they couldn't bebrighter than this, why in Heaven's name
did they force me to come down? Missus Vernon was decidedly in a pitiable
condition. She felt for me somuch that I felt for her. Come

(05:15:00):
along, DearS, she said tothe twins after tea was over, and
the tea things cleared away, andshe took the children out of the room.
But before leaving she handed me anote in silence. I opened it
and read, be as kind toher as you can. She has suffered
a great deal. Then ere Ihad time to think. The door which

(05:15:21):
missus Vernon had softly closed, wassoftly opened, and a woman entered.
It was Lucy once, Lucy Wrenn. She was as beautiful as ever,
and no older, But her facewas the face of one who had learnt
the meaning of life. Till thatmoment, I had sought everywhere for reasons
to condemn her conduct towards me,to intensify its wickedness. Now suddenly I

(05:15:45):
began to seek everywhere for reasons toexcuse her. She had been so young,
so guileless, so ignorant. Ihad been too stern for her.
I had frightened her. How couldshe be expected to know that the man
who had so planted me was worthless? She had acted as she did,
partly from youthful foolishness and partly fromtimidity. She had been in a quandary.

(05:16:10):
She had lost her head, Andso it had occurred that one night.
That night in August, she hadkissed me falsely with a lie on
her lips, knowing that her jiltingletter was already in the post. What
pangs she must have experienced. Then, Yes, as she entered the room
and gazed at me with her blueeyes, my heart overflowed with genuine sorrow

(05:16:32):
for her. Lucy. I murmured, you are in mourning, Yes,
she said, didn't you know?As Missus Vernon said nothing, he is
dead. And she sank down bythe side of my chair and hid her
face, and I could only seeher honey colored hair. I stroked it.
I knew all her history and thatsupreme moment, without a word of

(05:16:53):
explanation. I knew that she hadbeen self deceived, that she had been
through many an agony, that shehad always loved me, and she was
so young, so young, Ikissed her hair. How thankful I am,
breathes Missus Vernon afterwards. Suppose ithad not turned out well. Jack

(05:17:15):
Vernon had calculated with some skill whenhe came back the constraint the diffidence was
at an end end of story sevenStory eight of The Loot of Cities by
Arnold Bennett. This liverbox recording isin the public domain. Story eight,

(05:17:38):
A Dinner at the Louver. Thereal name of this renowned West End restaurant
is not the Louverra. I havechristened it so because the title seems to
me to suit it very nicely,and because a certain disguise is essential.
The proprietors of lou Louverra, itbelongs to an esteemed firm of caterers,
would decidedly object to the upling ofthe name of their principal establishment with an

(05:18:03):
affair so curious and disconcerting as thatwhich I am about to relate, and
their objection would be perfectly justifiable.Nevertheless, the following story is a true
one, and the details of itare familiar to at least half a dozen
persons whose business it is, forone reason or another, to keep an
eye upon that world of crime andpleasure, which is bounded on the east

(05:18:25):
by Bow Street and on the leftby Hyde Park Corner. It was on
an evening in the last week inMay that I asked Rosy Marden to dine
with me at the Louver. Iselected the Louverra well, knowing that from
some mysterious cause, all popular actressesprefer the Louverra to other restaurants, although
the quality of the food there isnot always impeccable. I am not in

(05:18:48):
the habit of inviting the favorites ofthe stage to dinner, especially favorites who
enjoy a salary of seventy five poundsa week, as Rosy Marten did and
does. But in the present caseI had a particular object in view.
Rosie Martin was taking the chief femininerole in my new light comedy, then
in active rehearsal at the Alcazar Theaterin Shaftsbury Avenue. We had almost quarreled

(05:19:12):
over her interpretation of the big scenein the second act, which differed materially
from my own idea of how thescene ought to go. Diplomacy was necessary.
I prided myself on my powers asa diplomatist. I knew that if
I could chat with miss Rosie inthe privacy of a table for two at

(05:19:33):
a public restaurant, there is noprivacy more discreet, I could convert her
to my opinions on that second act. Have you engaged a table upstairs?
Was her first inquiry. As withthe assistance of a stout and gorgeous official,
I helped her to alight from herbrougham at the portico of the house.
She looked lovely, and half thestreet was envying me. But unfortunately

(05:19:56):
Rosie's looks have nothing to do withthe tabe. Let me therefore dismiss them
as a dangerous topic. No,I said, but I expect there'll be
plenty of room. Plenty of room, she exclaimed, with a charming scorn
and a glance which said, thisyoung man really has a great deal to
learn about the art of entertaining ladiesat the louver. I admit that I

(05:20:19):
had. Oh yes, I insisted, with bravado. Plenty ask the booking
clerk, she commanded, and withall her inimitable grace, she sank like
a fatigued sylph into one of theeasy chairs that furnished the entrance hall,
and drew her cloak round her shoulders. The booking clerk, in faultless evening

(05:20:40):
dress with a formidable silver chain encirclinghis neck, stood at the foot of
the grand staircase, which was verygrand. The booking clerk politely but coldly
informed me that he had not atable upstairs. He said that every table
had been booked since a quarter toseven. Well, I suppose we must
be content with downstairs, but Imuch prefer the balcony, said Rosie when

(05:21:03):
I told her, And Rosie wasobviously cross. My dinner was beginning ominously.
I returned to the booking clerk,who was then good enough to tell
me that he had no table downstairseither. I felt rather an ass but
I never permit my asininity to gotoo far. I assumed an attitude of
martial decision and ordered one of thepages to get me a hansom. We

(05:21:27):
will dine at the Savoy, Isaid, very loud. Every official in
the neighborhood heard me. Rosie smiled, whether at the prospect of the Savoy
or at my superb indignation, Iknow not. Just as we were emerging
into the street, the booking clerk, his silver chain clinking, touched me
on the shoulder. I can letyou have a table upstairs now, sir,

(05:21:49):
said he. A party that engagedone has not arrived. I thought
they wouldn't let us run away tothe Savoy, I remarked to Rose soda
voce and satisfaction. I had triumphed, and the pretty creature was a witness
of my triumph. What name sir, asked the clerk John delf. I
replied His gesture showed that he recognizedthat name, and this pleased me too.

(05:22:14):
Had not my first farcical comedy runone hundred and sixty nights at the
Alcazar, it was only proper thatmy reputation should have reached even the clerks
of restaurants. Another official recognized MissRosie's much photographed face, and we passed
up the staircase with considerable eclaw.You manage that rather well, said Miss
Rosie, dimpling with satisfaction, aswe sat down in the balcony of the

(05:22:38):
grand hall of the Louver. Thedinner was not beginning so ominously, after
all. I narrate to these preliminaryincidents to show how large a part is
played by pure chance in the gravestevents of our lives. I ordered the
ten and sixpenny dinner. Who couldoffer to the unique Rosemartin a five ship

(05:23:00):
or a seven and sixpenny repast whenone at half a guinea was to be
obtained? Not I. The mealstarted with anchovies, which Rosie said she
adored. She also adored Nougat,Cremdamoth and other pagan gods as Rosie put
the first bit of anchovy into heradorable mouth. The yellow Hungarian band at

(05:23:21):
the other end of the crowded hallstruck up the Ragovsky march, and the
whole place was filled with clamor Whypeople insist on deafening music as an accompaniment
to the business of eating? Icannot imagine. Personally. I like to
eat in peace and quietude, butI fear I am an exception. Rosie's
eyes sparkled with pleasure at the soundof the band, and I judged the

(05:23:45):
moment opportune to ascertain her wishes onthe subject of wine. She stated them
in her own imperious way, andI signaled to the waiter. Now I
had precisely noticed, or I fancied, I noticed an extraordinary obsequiousness in this
waiter, an obsequiousness surpassing the usualobsequiousness of waiters. I object to it,

(05:24:08):
and my attitude of antagonism naturally servedto intensify it. What's the matter
with the fellow, I said toRosie after I had ordered the wine.
He's very good looking, isn't hewas her only reply, as she gazed
absently at the floor below us.Crowded with elegant diners, and the waiter
was indeed somewhat handsome, a lighthaired man, and like all the waiters

(05:24:33):
at the louver, a foreigner witha deficient knowledge of English. I expect
he's lost on his bets to day, Rosy added, They all bet,
you know, and he's after arousing tip to make up. Oh is
that it, I said, wonderingat the pretty creature's knowledge of the world.
And then I began to talk aboutmy play in my best diplomatic manner,

(05:24:53):
inwardly chafing at the interruption of thatweird yellow Hungarian orchestra, with which
Bitter Irony had hung over the railingsof its stand a placard bearing the words
by Desire. The meal proceeded brilliantly. My diplomacy was a success. The
champagne was a success. We arrivedat the sorbette that I see in sweet

(05:25:17):
product, which in these days ofenormous repast, is placed half way through
the meal in order to renew one'sappetite for the second half. Your modern
chef is the cruel tyrant of thestomach and shows no mercy. The fair
haired waiter's hand distinctly trembled as heserved the sorbets. I looked at mine
for some moments, hesitating whether ornot to venture upon it. I am

(05:25:41):
a martyr to indigestion. It's delicious, said Rosy, more delicious than the
second act of your partner's Then Imust risk it, I replied, and
plunge the spoon into the half frozengreenish mass. As I did so,
I caught sight of our waiter,who was leaning against the service table at
the corner of the balcony. Hisface was as white as a sheet.

(05:26:03):
I thought he must be ill,and I felt sorry for him. However,
I began to swallow the sorbet,and the sorbet was, in truth
rather joice. Presently, our waiterclutched at the sleeve of another waiter who
was passing, and whispered a fewwords in his ear. The second waiter
turned to look at me and replied. Then our waiter almost ran towards our

(05:26:26):
table. Excuse me, sir,he murmured, indistinctly, rolling the arm.
Are you not count vandernoff? Iam not, I replied briefly.
He hesitated, his hand wavered towardsthe sorbet, but he withdrew it and
departed. Mon Dieu, I heardhim exclaim weakly under his breath. Possibly
he's been taking me for an aristocraticcompatriot of his own, I said to

(05:26:48):
Rosy. And that explains the obsequiousness. You were wrong about the bedding.
I laughed, but I felt illat ease, and to cover my self
consciousness, I went on eating thesorbet very slowly. I must have consumed
nearly a third of it when Ibecame conscious of a movement behind me.
A mysterious hand shot out and snatchedaway the sorbet. Sir, I protested,

(05:27:12):
looking round, A tall, Youngishman in evening dress but wearing his
hat, stood on my left.Sir, what in the name of your
pardon? Answered the man in alow, hurried voice. I could not
guess his nationality. Let me begyou to leave here at once and come
with me. I shall do nosuch thing, I replied. Waiter,

(05:27:33):
call the manager, But our waiterhad disappeared. It is a matter of
life and death, said the manto whom to you. The man removed
his hat and looked appealingly at MissRosie. Don't let's have a scene in
here, said Rosie with her worldlywisdom, and impelled by the utter seriousness
of the man, we went out. I forgot the bill, and no

(05:27:56):
one presented it. I solemnly askyou to take a little drive with me,
said the man. When we hadreached the foyer. I have a
carriage at the door. Again,why, I demanded, he whispered,
you are poisoned. I am savingyour life. I rely on your discretion.
My spine turned chilly, and Iglanced at Miss Rosie. I will

(05:28:18):
come with you, she said.In five minutes we had driven to a
large house in Golden Square. Wewere ushered into a lavishly furnished drawing room,
and we sat down. Rosy's lipswere set. I admired her demeanor
during those moments. The man whosaid he was saving my life, poured
some liquid from a pile into aglass and handed it to me. Ameteks

(05:28:41):
are useless. Drink this. Inan hour you will feel the first symptoms
of illness. They may be severe, though that is improbable since you ate
only a portion of the stuff.In any event, they will not last.
Tomorrow you will be perfectly well.Let me advise you to go to
bed at once. My carriage isat your service and the service of this

(05:29:03):
lady, he bowed. I drankthe antidote. Thanks for all these surprises,
I said coldly. But does itnot occur to you that some explanation
is due to me, he pondered. A minute, I will explain,
he replied. It is your right. I will explain in two words.
You have heard of Count Bandanoff attachedto the Russian embassy in London. You

(05:29:25):
may have seen in the papers thatthe Count has been appointed by the Czar
to be the new governor of Helsingfors, the Finnish capital, I nodded.
You are aware, he continued,suavely, of the widespread persecutions in Finland,
the taking away of the constitution,the Russianizing of all offices, the
censorship of the press. This persecutionhas given rise to a secret society,

(05:29:49):
which I will call the Friends ofFinnish Freedom. Its methods are drastic.
Count Bandanoff was known to be violentlyantagonistic to finish freedom. He dines often
at the louver. He had engageda table for tonight. The waiter in
charge of that table was, likemyself, a member of the society,

(05:30:10):
but unfortunately, rather a raw hand. The Count quite unexpectedly did not arrive
at the louver tonight. The waiter, however, took you for the count.
The sorbet which I snatched out ofyour hand was need I say more,
poisoned, poisoned. The affair wascarefully arranged, and only a pure
accident could have upset it. Thataccident occurred, what was it? The

(05:30:36):
Count's coupe was knocked over by anomnibus in Piccadilly two hours ago, and
the Count was killed. There wasa pause. Then he will never be
governor of Helsingfors, I said,Heaven helps the right. The man answered,
you English love freedom. You cannotguess what we in Finland have suffered.

(05:30:56):
Let me repeat that I rely onyour discretion. We left Miss Rosie
and I and the kind hearted girldelivered me safely into the hands of my
housekeeper. I was ill, butI soon recovered. A few days later.
I met Miss Rosie at rehearsal.Did you notice, she said to
me with an awed air, Ourtable was number thirteen that night. End

(05:31:21):
of story eight, End of theLoot of Cities by Arnold Bennett