<h2 id="id01083" style="margin-top: 4em">CHAPTER XXIV</h2>
<h5 id="id01084">THE MOUTH OF THE NET</h5>
<p id="id01085" style="margin-top: 2em">"I am afraid I am very dense," Venner said, "but I quite fail to see how
a man could make a fortune by selling for a sovereign an article that
cost him twenty shillings, to say nothing of the trouble and cost of
labor and the risk of being discovered—"</p>
<p id="id01086">"As a matter of fact, the risk is comparatively small," Grady said. "It
was only by a pure accident that we got on the inside track of this
matter. You see, the coins are of actual face value, they are most
beautifully made, and, indeed, would pass anywhere. Let me tell you that
every sovereign contains a certain amount of alloy which reduces its
actual value to about eighteen and threepence. Now you can see where the
profit comes in. Supposing these men turn out a couple of thousand
sovereigns a day—no very difficult matter with a plant like theirs; and,
of course, the money can be disposed of with the greatest possible ease.
This leaves a profit of a hundred and seventy-five pounds a day. When I
have said so much, I think I have told you everything. Don't you admire
the ingenuity of an idea like this?"</p>
<p id="id01087">It was all perfectly plain now—indeed, the mystery appeared to be
ridiculously simple now that it was explained.</p>
<p id="id01088">"And what are you going to do now?" Venner asked.</p>
<p id="id01089">Grady explained that the next step would be the arrest of Fenwick and his
gang at Merton Grange. For that purpose it would be necessary to enlist
the assistance of the local authorities. And in no case did the American
detectives purpose to effect the arrest before night. So far as Venner
was concerned, he was quite at liberty to accompany the Americans on
their errand; at the same time they let him infer that here was a
situation in which they preferred his room to his company.</p>
<p id="id01090">"As you will," Venner smiled. "So far as I am concerned, I am going to
get back to Canterbury as soon as I can. With all your preparations you
have an exceedingly clever man to deal with, and it is just possible that
by this time Fenwick already knows that you have laid the messenger by
the heels. Men of that sort never trust one another, and it is
exceedingly probable that Blossett has been watched."</p>
<p id="id01091">Grady and Egan admitted this possibility cheerfully enough. Doubtless
they had made plans which they did not care to communicate to Venner. He
left them presently, only to discover to his annoyance that he had just
missed a train to Canterbury, and that there was not another one till
nearly six o'clock. It was quite dark when he stepped out of the carriage
at Canterbury Station and stood debating whether he should walk as far as
the lodgings he had taken near Merton Grange, or call a cab. As he was
idly making up his mind, he saw to his surprise the figure of the
handsome cripple descending from the next carriage. He noted, too, that
the cripple did not seem anything like as feeble as before, though he
appeared to be glad enough to lean on the arm of a servant. At the same
moment Le Fenu was joined by Evors, who came eagerly forward and shook
him warmly by the hand. What these two were doing here, and what they had
in their minds, it was not for Venner to say. He wondered what they would
think if they knew how close he was, and how deeply interested he was in
their movements. He hung back in the shadow, for just then he did not
want to be recognised by Le Fenu.</p>
<p id="id01092">"What a queer tangle it all is," he said to himself. "If I spoke to Le
Fenu, he would recognise me in a moment as an old friend of his father's.
I wonder what he would say to me if he knew I was his brother-in-law
—and Evors, too. Imagine their astonishment if I walked up to them at
this moment. Still, on the whole, I think I prefer to watch their
movements. If they are going to thrust their heads into the lion's mouth,
perhaps I may be able to stand by and render some assistance."</p>
<p id="id01093">It was as Venner had anticipated, for presently Le Fenu and Evors
entered a cab and gave the driver directions to take them as far as
Merton Grange. Venner made up his mind that he could do no better than
follow their example.</p>
<p id="id01094">The cab stopped at length outside the lodge gates, where Evors and Le
Fenu alighted, and walked slowly up the drive. It was rather a painful
effort for Le Fenu, but he managed it a great deal better than Venner had
anticipated. They did not enter the house by the front door—on the
contrary, they crept round a small side entrance, beyond which they
vanished, leaving Venner standing on the grass wondering what he had
better do next.</p>
<p id="id01095">Meanwhile, Evors led the way down a flight of stairs till he emerged
presently in a corridor. With his companion on his arm he walked to the
little room at the end and boldly flung open the door.</p>
<p id="id01096">The room was empty, a thing which both of them seemed to expect, for they
smiled at one another in a significant manner, and nodded with the air of
men who are quite pleased with themselves.</p>
<p id="id01097">"You had better sit down," Evors said. "That walk must have tired you
terribly. I should be exceedingly sorry—"</p>
<p id="id01098">"You need not worry about me," Le Fenu said in a clear, hard voice. "I am
a little tired, perhaps, but I have a duty to fulfil, and the knowledge
of it has braced me wonderfully. Besides, I am so much better of late,
and I am looking eagerly forward to the time when I shall be as other
men. Now go and fetch him, and let us get the thing done. But for the
fact that he is my mother's brother I would have had no mercy on the
scoundrel. Still, the same blood flows in our veins, and I am in a
merciful mood to-night."</p>
<p id="id01099">Evors walked boldly out of the room and down the stairs into the
hall—then in a loud voice he called out the name of Mark Fenwick. The
dining-room door burst open and Fenwick strode out, his yellow face
blazing with passion in the light.</p>
<p id="id01100">"So you are back again," he said hoarsely. "You are a bold man to thrust
your head into the lion's mouth like this."</p>
<p id="id01101">"There are others equally bold," Evors said, coolly. "I am strong enough
and able enough to take you by that fat throat of yours and choke the
life out of you. You have a different man to deal with now—but there are
others to be considered, so I will trouble you to come along with me. The
interview had best take place in the little room at the end of the
corridor. You know the room I mean. Ah, I see you do."</p>
<p id="id01102">Fenwick started. It was quite plain that Evors' hint was not lost on
him. Without another word he led the way up the staircase into the
little room. He started again and half turned when he caught sight of
the white, handsome face of Le Fenu. In all probability he would have
disappeared altogether, but for the fact that Evors closed the door and
turned the key.</p>
<p id="id01103">Fenwick stood there, his yellow face scared and terrified. Cold as it
was, a bead of perspiration stood on his bulging forehead. He looked from
one to the other as if he anticipated violence. Le Fenu sat up in his
chair and laughed aloud.</p>
<p id="id01104">"You are but a sorry coward after all," he said. "You have no need to
fear us in the slightest. We shall leave the vengeance to come in the
hands of others. And now sit down—though you are not fit to take a chair
in the company of any honest men."</p>
<p id="id01105">"In my own house," Fenwick began feebly, "you are—"</p>
<p id="id01106">"We will overlook that," Le Fenu went on. "It is our turn now, and I
don't think you will find our conditions too harsh. It is not so long
ago since my friend here was a prisoner in your hands, and since you
reduced him to such a condition of mind that he had abandoned hope and
lost all desire to live. It is not so long ago, either, since you dared
to make me a prisoner in my own house for your own ends. It was
fortunate for you that I chose to live more or less alone in London and
under an assumed name. But all the time I was looking for you, all the
time I was working out my plans for your destruction. Then you found me
out—you began to see how I could be useful to you, how I could become
your miserable tool, as Mr. Evors here did. You dared not stay at your
hotel—things were not quite ripe for you to come down here. Therefore
you hit upon the ingenious idea of making me a prisoner under my own
roof. But Fate, which has been waiting for you a long time, intervened,
and I became a free man again just at the very moment when Mr. Evors
also regained his liberty. Since then we have met more than once, and
the whole tale of your villainy is now plain before me. You might have
been content with the murder of my father and the blood money you
extracted from the Four Finger Mine, but that was not enough for
you—nothing less than the extermination of our race sufficed. It was no
fault of yours that I was not killed in the so-called accident that has
made me the cripple that I am. That was all arranged by you, as I shall
be able to prove when the proper time comes. I escaped death by a
miracle, and good friends of mine hid me away beyond the reach of your
arm. Even then you had no sort of mercy, even then you were not content
with the mischief you had wrought. You must do your best to pin your
crime to Mr. Evors, though that conspiracy cost my sister Beth her
reason. Of course, you would deny all these things, and I see you are
prepared to deny them now. But it is absolutely useless to add one lie
to another, because we know full well—"</p>
<p id="id01107">"Stop," Fenwick cried. "What are you here for? Why do you tell me this?<br/>
A desperate man like myself—"<br/></p>
<p id="id01108">"No threats," Le Fenu said, sternly. "I am simply here to warn you. God
knows what an effort it is on my part not to hand you over to your
punishment, but I cannot forget that you are a blood relation of
mine—and, therefore, I am disposed to spare you. Still, there is another
Nemesis awaiting you, which Nemesis I need not mention by name. When I
look at your left hand I feel sorry for you. Bad as you are, the terrible
fate which is yours moves me to a kind of pity."</p>
<p id="id01109">Le Fenu paused and glanced significantly at Fenwick's maimed hand.
The latter had nothing more to say; all his swaggering assurance had
left him—he sat huddled up in his chair, a picture of abject terror
and misery.</p>
<p id="id01110">"You can help me if you will," he said hoarsely. "You are speaking of
Zary. That man is no human being at all, he is no more than a
cold-blooded tiger, and yet he would do anything for you and yours. If
you asked him to spare me—"</p>
<p id="id01111">Fenwick broke off and covered his face with his hands. His shoulders
were heaving with convulsive sobs now, tears of self-pity ran through
his fingers. For the time being, at any rate, the man's nerve was
utterly gone. He was prepared to make any conditions to save his skin.
Agitated and broken as he was, his cunning mind was yet moving swiftly.
A little time ago, these two men would not have dared to intrude
themselves upon his presence, he had held them like prisoners in the
hollow of his hand; and now it seemed to him that they must feel their
position to be impregnable, or they would never have intruded upon him
in this bold fashion.</p>
<p id="id01112">"I am not the man I was," he gasped. "It is only lately that my nerve
seems to have utterly deserted me. You do not know what it is to be
fighting in the dark against a foe so cold and relentless as Felix Zary.
When the first warning came I was alarmed. The second warning frightened
me till I woke in the night with a suffocating feeling at my heart as if
I were going to die. Against the third warning I took the most elaborate
precautions; but it came all the same, and since then I have been
drinking to drown my terror. But what is the good of that?—how little
does it serve me in my sober moments? As I said just now, Zary would do
anything for your family, and if you would induce him to forego that
dreaded vengeance which hangs over me—"</p>
<p id="id01113">"Impossible," Le Fenu said coldly. "Zary is a fanatic, a dreamer of
dreams; he has a religion of his own which no one else in the world
understands but himself. He firmly and honestly believes that some divine
power is impelling him on, that he is merely an instrument in the hands
of the Maker of the universe. There have been other beings of the same
class in a way. Charlotte Corday believed herself to be the chosen
champion of Heaven when she stabbed the French monster in his bath.
Nothing I could say or do would turn Zary from what he believes to be his
duty. The only thing you can do is to go away and lose yourself in some
foreign country where Zary cannot follow you."</p>
<p id="id01114">"Impossible," Fenwick said hoarsely. "I could not get away. If the man
possesses the powers he claims he would know where to find me, even if I
hid myself in the depths of a Brazilian forest. I tell you I am doomed. I
cannot get away from the inevitable."</p>
<p id="id01115">Fenwick slipped from his chair and fairly grovelled in his anguish on
the floor. It was a pitiable sight, but one that moved the watchers with
contempt. They waited patiently enough for the paroxysm of terror to
pass and for Fenwick to resume something like the outer semblance of
manhood. He drew himself up at length, and wiped the tears from his
sickly yellow face.</p>
<p id="id01116">"I cannot think," he said. "My mind seems to have ceased to act. If
either of you have any plan I shall be grateful to hear it. It seems
almost impossible—"</p>
<p id="id01117">The speaker suddenly paused, for there came from below the unmistakable
sounds of high voices raised in expostulation. It occurred to Fenwick for
a moment that his subordinates were quarrelling among themselves; then
his quick ears discerned the sound of strange voices. He rose to his feet
and made in the direction of the door. A minute later a stealthy tap was
heard on the door, and a voice whispered, asking to be admitted. Evors
glanced at Le Fenu in an interrogative kind of way, as if asking for
instructions. The latter nodded, and the door opened. The man in the list
slippers staggered into the room, his red face white and quivering, his
whole aspect eloquent of fear.</p>
<p id="id01118">"What is it?" Fenwick whispered. "What's the trouble? Why don't you speak
out, man, instead of standing there like that?"</p>
<p id="id01119">The man found his voice at last, his words came thickly.</p>
<p id="id01120">"They are here," he said. "The men from America. You know who I mean. Get
away at once. Wait for nothing. Those two devils Egan and Grady are
downstairs in the hall."</p>
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