THE NOVELIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 1905, 25 May 1888, Page 29

THE NOVELIST.

TERRIBLY FULFILLED.

him to omit before retiring to rest. The house was a corner one, turning a dead wall to the side street which ran out of the square. Turning down this street, he stopped at a low door at the further extremity of the house, having a massive iron handle and a small keyhole. Taking a key from his pocket, he turned it in the lock, twisted the handle round, and, exerting his strength, drew the door towards him. It was then to be seen that this door, though to outward view consisting of nothing stronger than wood, was of massive steel within — was, in fact, a thief-proof door. The idea was an original one. Our brethren who follow the honourable profession of burglary find, we are told, little difficulty in dealing with matters of this nature, however skilfully constructed and widely advertised, if only they can be secure from interruption. The mere fact that safes and strong-room doors are always to be found imide a building affords to the burglar this very security. Once within and alone, with the long hours of night before him, he can go about his work in a leisurely and scientific fashion, with at least a fair chance of success. But it had occurred to the auctioneer that if the door weie made to open directly upon the street, it would be extremely difficult for the most daring and experienced cracksman to prosecute to a successful conclusion, at the momentary risk of detection, a labour of several hours, requiring the employment of numerous tools. Besides which, the police being aware of the existence of the door, the constable on the beat was accustomed to examine it carefully whenever he passed ; so that if any attempt to force it had been made since the last inspection he could not fail to detect the fact immediately. The auctioneer stepped through the doorway and. shut the door behind him. Striking a match, he lit the candle in a small lantern which he carried ; and it was then evident that, supposing our burglar to have forced the outer door, he would so far have found little to reward his pains, for a Second strong door at some distance from the first required to be opened also. This done, the interior of the safe was seen. It was a small

Chapter 11. Mr Cross' Hobby. !E auctioner looked at his watch. Past 3 o'clock in the morning. He went into the hall, put on his hat, softly opened the front door, and went out. He was going to make. a visit of inspection which no amount of

distress would have induced

room, about 10ft square, , entirely without access to the house, the walls and vaulted ceiling strongly constructed of stone. It's only furniture was a small table and chair, and a nest of drawers clamped to the wall. Close by this, reaching from the floor to the spring of the arch,' was what appeared to be a dingy, full-length portrait of a gentleman of the time of Charles 11, in a taraished gilt frame. On inspection this picture looked as if painted on panel, but if sounded with the I knuckles it was found to be of a different material — solid metal. Most men, especially rich men, have a hobby. Mr Cross had two. They were, first, diamonds ; secondly, mechanics. His trade was not of the ordinary class ; and he, with one or two other firms, had practically a monopoly of it in London. He dealt only in precious stones, jewellery, valuable pictures, and such-like articles. To his rooms, pawnbrokers sent their unredeemed pledges of this kind for sale by public auction, as the law directs. Where' it was necessary, under the terms of a will, to dispose of family plate and jewellery, the executors were generally advised to retain the services of Mr Cross. Should the more valuable and less bulky effects of the Right Honourable the Earl of Englethorpe ever come to the hammer, as sometimes appeared to that nobleman to be a not quite impossible occurrence, it was by no means unlikely — such is the irony of fate — that Mr Cross would wield the fatal hammer. In this way it happened that the auctioneer, being brought into business contact with dealers in precious stones, enjoyed opportunities of gratifying his passion for diamonds at a cost which would have astounded the general public, who are accustomed to shop-window prices. During some 20 years, he had expended in this way over £30,000, and had destined his collection to form a parure for his daughter on her marriage, which should at least equal that of any duchess in the three kingdoms. And it contributed not a little to his grief, that the possibility of her ever coming to wear those diamonds seemed to be but a very remote one. For the protection of the fruits of his first hobby, his second had come into play. In his youth, when the choice of a trade or profession had been offered to him by his father — also an auctioneer with a large business — he had elected to be a mechanical engineer. He had accordingly been apprenticed to an eminent firm, and had gone through the drudgery exacted from all, without distinction of class or means, who enter that profession, in which there is no royal road to learning. He had developed such ingenuity and ability, that there would have been no difficulty about a future partnership, when his father died suddenly. It was highly advisable that the business, a large and lucrative one, should be carried on. Young Cross, with that decision of character which marked him through life, instantly determined to abandon engineering and adopt his father's trade, which prospered in his hands until it reached its present dimensions. But he never wasted anything; and he turned his mechanical knowledge and skill to such purpose by way of recreation, that amongst other sources of wealth he was the owner of several valuable patents of his own invention. He had a small workshop and forge fitted up in the rear of his house, and here he was accustomed often to occupy himself in the evening and early morning. It was his only amusement; for of books he was wont to say, and believe, that they were but the brains of other men, and of little use to a man who had brains of his own. His next proceedings will show how he had turned his mechanical genius to account for the safe keeping of his diamonds. Any person opening the drawers in the nest would have found them full of old papers, and would also have found that they would not come entirely out of their places. Opening, however, the third drawer from the top, the auctioneer pulled at it strongly, until it came out with a sharp snap, exposing the opening into which it fitted. The back of this drawer was a movable flap, working on hinges, and retained in its place by a powerful spring, so that it required a considerable exertion of strength to extract the drawer from the nest. Putting his hand into the aperture, Mr Cross grasped an iron semicircular handle which fitted into a niche in the wall at the back of the drawers, and drew it towards him. As he did so, the seeming picture glided noiselessly away, leaving its frame surrounding a dark opening. Through this he passed into what was in effect a huge inner safe ; a closet about 4ft square by 6ft in height, lined throughout with inch-thick steel, and within that again with 4in of fireresisting composition contained in an iron skin. The sliding door was steel, very thick and massive, fastening with half-a-dozen spring catches, moving in a groove 4in in depth, and absolutely impervious to any one not acquainted with the machinery. Every portion of this latter apparatus had been devised and constructed by the auctioneer with his own hands, and placed in position by him after the safe— made to his order by a famous maker — had been set up. The rest was a mere matter of stone-masonry, completed by ordinary workmen under his own eye; so that the secret was with him I alone. Even now the whole has not been revealed. Prior to withdrawing the semicircular _ handle, it was necessary to turn it to the right, from a perpendicular to a horizontal position. Unless this were done, the act of pulling out the handle set in motion a clockwork which at the end of 30 seconds released a heavy counterpoise, the effect of which was to close the sliding door of the inner safe smartly, and to throw out of gear the.. machinery which worked it. It could j then only be opened by means of a second mechanical arrangement, connected with another handle which was concealed behind a block of stone in the wall near the roof. It is evident that any person entering the* safe after opening the door, unless in possession of the second part of this secret, would be effectually trapped. His comrades, if any, would be unable to deliver him, and he would have to abide an ignominious capture. This device the auctioneer considered superior to any system of spring-guns of suchlike vulgarities, which are almost, as likely to injure the owner as the thief. Against each side of the safe were piled ordinary deed-boxes, containing the various securities representing the bulk of his fortune; but against the side opposite to the door was an

iron box weighing perhaps five Inmdred^ weight, and clamped firmly to,the floor^ The auctioneer knelt down, 'aiicLwith » small key fastened to the handle of the larger one, opened the box,, disclosing * number of jewel-trays. As he, lifted them, out one after the other, the. light of. the lantern twinkled upon the rare and valuable ] gems, of all sizes and shapes, which, lay loose upon the satin cushions. He looked at them long and earnestly, counting them o?er and over again, and flashing the more precious o£ them to and fro against the light. "Ay!" he muttered— " all for, her— for little Amy. What use in them now? It's., all over — all over and done with for ever." But again came the thought that if Amy were to became a widow, she might wear the diamonds after all. He closed and locked the box, rose from his knees, and went back to the nest . of drawers outside. As he. forced the handle into its place the picture, reappeared, and the sliding door, shut to with a click, Pushing back the movable flap, he insinuated the drawer into its place, replaced the, paper* taken from it, and closed it. Then, closing the inner strong door, he stepped again into the street, shutting the outer door after him, and, having satisfied himself jibat it was securely closed, went into 'the 1 house and to bed, where he slept heavily, being quite tired out,- until nearly 10 o'clock in the morning. " '" Despite his vigils of the night before, Mr Cross was tolerably punctual to his 11 o'clock appointment at the rooms occupied by Captain Ferrard and his wife' in Duke street. That gentleman received him with smooth looks and fair words, for it was by no means his cue to be the first to (juarrel. So he courteously hoped that Mr Cross was well, invited him to a seat, making no allusion . to the fact that this was the first time they h'atf met since the marriage, and then left his ' visitor to state the 'reason of his call. " I'm a plain business man, sir," said the auctioneer, after a moment or two ; " and I've got little time to spare, so I'll come to the point at once. It seems, from what my daughter told me last night, that you and she don't get on quite so well together as. you should." » " Ay, ay ! " said the captain carelessly., The demon within him was being aroused, . He had not the slightest intention of allow- , ing this tradesman to lecture him. The latter waited for some further remark, but none came. " That isn't as it should be between man and wife, you know," said he at last,.somewhat nonplussed. , , " I'll be as plain with you, Mr Cross, as you can possibly be with me," said the cap- 1 , tain, turning round suddenly so as to faces his visitor. ■ "My wife has been complaining;, to you, it seems. Well, I suppose we have our trifling disagreements, like other couples, and scarcity of money does not tend to sweeten the temper — does it 1 I quite agree with you that this is not as it should be ; but, then, how few things are 1 . Am I to , suppose that it is only on this subject that you wish to speak to me ? " 11 Don't be hasty," replied Mr Cross. " I'm not saying it's your fault, nor anybody's fault. I come to you in a friendly way, not to have words about it. I've been thinking the matter over a good deal since last night, and I've come to fancy things might somehow be arranged between us, after all." Ferrard pricked up his ears." * " Very good of you to say so," he said politely. " I don't say that I've quite thought it out, and I don't say what I will do, you under , stand, or what I won't. But no doubt there a good deal of truth in your remark about . money and temper. I'm a rough, crossgrained sort of fellow, and perhaps I may have been too quick over this, affair. I'm afraid I wasn't too civil to you day; and you must own you were a bit aggra vating too. I only want my,, girl to be happy." ' ■ ," 1 assure you, Mr Cross," Eaid the car> tain, with engaging frankness, "that in that respect we are entirely at one. I have, every desire for your daughter's happiness, and, I may add, for my own— of course in a secondary degree. But I have already pointed out to you, and you have been good enough to agree with me, that good temper and easy circumstances are intimately allied; and I think you will also admit that bad tempei and happiness are entirely incompatible. And, considering our respective tastes and habits, £500 a, year can scarcely be considered affluence." For all his desire to be conciliatory he could not entirely repress the slight sneei which pervaded his tone and manner. The auctioneer looked steadily and gravely at him as he replied : " I dare say we shall find some, way of getting rid of the inconvenience, sir. But I'm due in the city long before this, so I'll only say that I hope we shall be , bett.ei acquainted, and we can't be that without seeing more of one another. What do you say to a bit of dinner at my house on Thursday and staying the night ? Then you and I can talk this little matter over by ourselves, between man and man. I'm going out of town for a week on Friday ; and if jou don't mind, I'll arrange for Amy to meet me at London Bridge and keep me company — she looks as if a whiff of the sea wouldn't hurt her— and then, you know, you could think over any proposal I might make to you alone and quietly, and tell me what you say to it when we come back." The captain's heart leaped within him at these proposals. Pressing claims were at this moment hanging over him, which it seemed that he might now be able to, meet, He could ask no fairer opportunity for captivating his father-in-law, and so tumin&his dearth into plenty. So he responded to the invitation with great heartiness, professed himself delighted at the prospect of so pleasant a trip for his wife, and they shook hands and parted. Mr Cross stood on the door-sfcep for a moment, deep in thought. His mind sadly misgave him. He mistrusted his power of dealing with this cool, sarcastic, easy-man,-, nered vagabond as he would have dealt with one of his own class. He shook his head as he walked away. If the man would but die! That night, feeling weary and worn out, he thought he would indulge in a little tinkering of some soit in his workshop— to him a

never-failing source of relaxation. For some time past he had been engaged in making a duplicate set of keys for, the doors of the strong room' and the iron box which! held the diatnonds, as a useful precaution in case the originals should be lost or mislaid. So, after dinner, he put on his leathern apron and again set to work, pipe in mouth. When he had finished the work he paid the usual evening visit to his diamonds, using the new keys. With a touch or two of the small file which he carried in his hand, he found that they fitted perfectly. Amy had been the same day to her father in the city, all anxiety to learn the result of the interview, as her husband declined to tell her anything. Mr Cross had, as we know, but little to tell ; he could only bid her, as before, keep a good heart, and it would all come right. He informed her of the arrangements' which had been made for Thursday and Friday next, named the hour at which she was to meet him at London Bridge, and sent her away a little perplexed, but rejoicing greatly at the prospect of the trip, and trusting implicitly in her father's wisdom. (To be continued.')