THE FATAL CIGARETTE-CASE

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1683, 1 June 1904, Page 9

THE FATAL CIGARETTE-CASE

King anti I had been dining early at the Girondins, a small restaurant in the purlieus of Soho/ known only to a select few. Wo had dined early for the simple reason that, when one attempts to regard breakfast as a needless luxury of the effete moneyed clashes, and luncheon as a meal only suitable to people of debased and vitiated tastes, there is ample time between, say, seven o'clock on Tuesday and halfpast six on Wednesday evening to become conscious of at least a due appreciation .of the flesh-pots of Egypt, or more particularly of the Girondins. King had had three passes for the Lyric Theatre given him by a journalistic friend, or at least so he chose to account for their existence; one we had bartered for a packet of cigar ettes, the other two wo reserved for use. It was a bitterly cold night, and King had no overcoat ; as a matter of fact, he lrad parted from it early in the week, and we had lived riotously for three days on the proceeds. Mine was still dragging put a shabby genteel existence, and contained ' in the side pocket a ’battened leather cigarette-case of common design, in which were the remnants of the packet. It hung behind King as we sat, so I asked him to hand over the case. He rummaged first in one pocket, then in the other, and finally produced it.; We lighted up, and haying paid our bill, strolled off to the theatre. T We had not, howeye#, gone more than twenty paces when a, man darted out of the restaurant and camo running up the street after us, calling to us to stop. ' -The light of thn street lamp shone on liis- face, and I recognised him as the swarthy, rather unwashed individual who haft occupied the next tdble to us. • “Sen or, I Insist, . ho said, case/- lio frog&B • iiave it in your edat pocket.*’ . “I am stir# I’ve got nothing or the sort,” said 1.. The man’s manner was aggressive, not to say threatening, so I didn’t feel over civilly inclined towards him. . ■ •'“Senior; X insist,” He said. ‘ You can insist till you’re blue in the face,” I retorted, with, I admit, but scant courtesy; ‘'‘but you’ll find it

mo a comfortable to insist at the other end of the street. I’ve no use for the woreli”’ re to me my case.” He was working himself up into a perfect fury, mm. p.obably foi-getting what he was d ung, laid his hand forcibly on my a. ill. -•ho. e is one obvious reply to a movement of that sort, when the scene is an ill lit Soho slum, where knives are by ■no means invariably of the usual pocket 'dimensions. i gave a twist and an upward jerk ivith my elbow. It caught my gentlem:.n' fairly under the chin, and lie sui: ~-md iiito the gutter. face was nob a pleasant, sight as he; reso, rubbing himself, for the .fall h ill been a-heavy one; but when King •so - far fo; got himself as to laifgh, the ivl'.o i.ecame an incarnate, livid demon.,; Now,” said I, “if you feel able to spo.'u 'quietly and civilly, I don’t mind show mg you my cigarette-case, to .prove to you that you are in the w.ong.’

I produced the thing as I spoke, in all Niod,iu.y of its shabby black leathe and cheap nickel frame.

"There,” said £, triumphantly, confer us of a pleasing virtuous glow at being for once in the right. The man's only answer was an inarticulate, hoarse cry, and a quick grab at vhe case as it lay in my open palm. “Steady,” said I, closing my hand on the thing. “The kerbstone is pretty hard, do you want to try it again?” “Git,” said King, abruptly, and suiting the action to the word, he took the fellow by .the shoulders, ran him Jbyiskly down the street f.or a yard or so, and shot him forward, ivith a powerful upward swing of the right boot. After that we proceeded leisurely on our way. “Now. why,” uaid I, . “why should that individual take so much trouble to annex a cigarette case, which in its more aristocratic day cost but Is 3d? The desire to steal I can understand, and a good big diamond, with a few priceless rubies ,■ thrown in, might tempt even me from the narrow path of rectitude; but a shabby old case that the most friendly relation wouldn’t lend you twopence on ——J” Tire evening was still in its infancy when we arrived at the theatre and went to our places in the upper boxes. The place was crowded and very lioty so after much deliberation as to ways and means, we determined to expend the rest of our available capital in a much-needed drink.

While we were standing in the bar King touched my elbow. I looked up, and three yai’ds from us stood our irascible gentleman of the Girondins. He was evidently keeping his eve on our movements, although he made no further' attempt to speak to us or even acknowledge our presence in any way. Just to see what the man’s game really \tas, we moved off into the corridor, as if to leave the building ; we had not gone ten yards, however, be-' foi-e the fellow came slinking put after us.

I remembered noticing in the restaurant that he was accompanied by a young woman, also dark complexioned, but dressed with a certain air of distinction. I reminded King of this, and we determined to try and discover her among the audience. Waiting till we were about half-way down the pasthe man being about ten jiaces behind us, we suddenly wheeled round and faced him as he turned the corner. Ho made no attempt to stop us as we retraced our steps, hut seemed rather to try and avoid observation by holding his head well down and making way for us.

The curtain rose on the second act as we resumed our places; but look where we would,' neither, the man nor the gii'l was visible. When the piece was over, we started for a walk home to our rooms in Great 'Ormond-street. I was struggling into my coat, and as I did so, I felt something hard in my breast-pocket. Wondering what it might be, I pulled it out. It was my cigarette case! With an exclamation I fumbled .in the other pocket, and lo and behold! there was its twin brother, identical in every way. The same worn blaek leather, the same cheap metal frame with the brass showing through where it had been rubbed, “Well, I'm blest !” ejaculated King. “How the deuce!” said I. “Why, I’ye got that unfortunate blackguard’s case, after all, N and I knocked him down,” I added, ruefully. “'But how in the name of all that’s beautiful, did the beastly thing get into my pocket?” “I’ve got it,” said King, “lou know when you asked me to get the cigarettes at dinner?” “Yesl” '

“Well, that other fellow’s coat was hanging on the peg next to yours. I remember noticing it. I expect that when I turned round—we were talking at the time, if you rememfber —I must have dived my hand into the wrong coat, and the case being, exactly like vours, we never noticed it.” “•No wonder the chap was annoyed. Still, 1 it’s rather an absurd fuss to have made about such a trumpery thing. If we find him, or, rather, if lie follows us l suppose I shall have to apologise and hand it back;'

Cf Yes! either that, or give it to the man at the Girondins next time we dine.”

We went along Long-acre, turned up northwards across Holborn, and wore well into ‘Southampton-row, smoking my own cigarettes, be it understood, this time, when wo saw a woman, who was walking quickly a little way ahead of us, raise her hand to “her breast and stagger as if about to fail. She swayed to and fro and made a desperate effort to reach the railings. We ran up; but' before we could catch hold of her she had slipped to the ground. King bent over her to lift her up. “Hullo!” said lie. “it’s the lady of the Girondins, 1 expect— —” “Jump!” I yelled, before lie could say any more, and hit out with all my strength. What had happened •was this that as we bent over the woman I heard a footstep behind me, and instinctively turned round, just in time to see the owner of the cigarette case with liis arm upraised and something glittering in the lamplight. I hit up at his descending wrist, and he dropped the knife with a groan of pain, but not before the point of it had got well home into the upper muscle of my forearm. • “Collar him!” I said, clapping my hand to my arm. King has played football for a crack team before now, and the work was mere child’s play to him. “Where shall wo go?” he asked, panting a little, for the foreigner was a heavy-built man. Let’s take them back to our rooms and see what they’ve got to say for themselves. I don’t want to go to a beastly police station.” I assented, and turned to the woman, who had now risen to her feet, and was regarding us with a scared, white face, though with a certain look of sullen

defiance in her eyes. “Will you accompany u,s to the house?” I asked “It’s not far from here. Or shall we leave you and take this man by himself ?” “T will come,” she said, shortly. (Accordingly we all set off. King and the man leading, I, iu virtue of my damaged arm, escorting the woman, but keeping a keen look-out for trouble ahead. Once in our rooms with the gas turned up, King locked'the door., We annexed the sitting-room of an affluent friend, who occupied the drawing-room floor for the occasion, Jay the way. “Now,” said I, having placed a chair for the girl, who, as I saw by the better light of the room, was by no means ill-looking, “now, perhaps, you’ll be good enoi.g. i to explain yoursali. First of all you chase me out of a restaurant and practically assault me in the street, then you follow me to the theatre, and last, but by no means least, you, with your accomplice, deliberately lay a trap, in the hopes of knifing myself and my friend. Be good enough to remember that you are in London, and that there are jioliceinen in call; not in Barcelona or Naples, or wherever you hail from. “It is perfectly true that I have case similar to my own, which may or may not be your property; but a man doesn’t run the risk of being hung for the sake of a wretched thing like that.” —and I laid the case on the table. “I only discovered that I had made a mistake on leaving the theatre. That case there is exactly similar to my own, and I confess that at first I thought it was my )-operty. However, I think that any further explanation should come from you. Since you have let .a considerable quantity, of blood out of

»*s.

my arm, and so far I have only deprived you of three cigarettes,. which I and my friend smoked on——— ’ • “Merciful Heavens!” The cry seemed to tear the heart of the man, and his swarthy skin turned ashen. \ “Senor* Senor, for the love of grace, tell you have not smoked any of the littlee Say you jest at me. I will give you ten, twenty, thirty of your golden sovereigns , here —now. on the spot, if you will return me that case . and its contents complete.” ~ _ ~ King swore under Ins breath. “What the deuce are cigarettes for if not to smoke?” he asked. < “You have smoked them!” screamed the Spaniard. “You have wasted these cigarettes for a mere momentary pleasure. 3>o you. know what you have . done ? You have burnt the work of months, the labour of weeks and veeks of toil and struggle night and day. You have ruined the greatest scheme V “Silence,” hissed the girl in Fiench. “Humph!” said King. ‘There seems to libe something at the hack o this. Thirty pounds for a nandtul ot cigarettes and a case worth halt nothing, an attempt at murder lor its recovery, and the result of months of work spoilt by smoking two or three of them. , . , » “I think I’ll have a look at one ot them/’ he continued, opening the case. 'He selected one haphazard and held it ' close to the uncovered gas 3 e t, turning it about to inspect it more closely. He rolled it round and round very slowly between his fingers, to all appearance a very ordinary cigarette ot one of the cheaper brands, without so much as the maker's stamp upon it. Suddenly- he gave an exclamation ot surprise. , , , . The outside of the paper had almost - instantaneously become covered with writing- in palish blue characters, which darkened as the heat of the gas flame affected them.. I leaned across to have a look for myself. There was the crash of an overturned chair, the click of a lock, and before .we could " either of us recall our presence ol mind, i the Spaniard had grabbled the case com taming the few remaining cigarettes and was leaping down the stairs half a flight at.a time. He had dashed out of the front-door and slammed it- behind him before I could reach the first landing. Tlie bruto lmd flcd 3 leaving his accomplice behind him. 'Rather crestfallen, we returned to the room. The girl was still sitting as we had left’ her. “Senors,” she said, raising her white face, “Senors, let me go, and I will tell you the truth. Garcia he who has just gone—and myself, we are ol Southern Spain. We are not loved, as you say, by the authorities in our . home. We, with many others, wish to alter affairs. To this end there are many societies. We are here in your city to carry out the instructions of our society, to which we are bound by ties of life and death, and. whose commands we are bound to dbey. Communication with our leaders is, as you may imagine, Senors, both difficult and dangerous. "Wo had just determined on a new as we thought, safe plan. Those cigarettes in that case each bore a portion of a message written in invisible ink. When you. Senor” turning to King, “held one to the beat of tlio gas the writing became plain. One or two alone could not do much harm; it is only the contents of the whole case that would render the message clear. That you have rendered impossible. , <c Now, Senors, you will let me go. I am doing no harm to your country. It is against people in my own land that I work.” I looked at King, and King looked at me. I crossed the room and held the door open. /; “And you will burn that? indicating the cigarette. King threw it into the fire. She bowed, gracefully to each of us, with a little pathetic smile. M am much obliged. o«ood-mglit, Senors,” and passed out.