The Spider

by Fergus Hume

THE SEARCH.

While Vernon desperately tried to wrench open the front door Towton, with the quick foresight of an old soldier, ran back into the drawing-room and lifted the window sash. In less than two minutes he was outside and hastened to release his companion. Luckily, in his hurry Hest had been unable to extract the key from the lock, so a swift turn of the wrist soon removed the barrier. Vernon and the Colonel set off hot-footed in pursuit of the fugitives, and as they plunged into the fog caught a glimpse of Gail and his wife hurrying into the hall with scared faces, doubtless attracted by the ominous sound of the pistol-shot. But there was no time to explain as every moment was of value, and the two men put their hearts into the chase.

The sudden autumnal fog which had so unexpectedly descended had turned the atmosphere to thick wool, so that it was difficult to breathe, let alone to see. On all sides the gloomy mists shut in the prospect, and after racing vaguely for some minutes down the silent road, the pursuers halted by mutual consent to listen for possible flying footsteps. Not a sound struck on their ears; it might have been the middle of the night, so dense was the darkness and so silent the whole neighbourhood. They could not tell in which direction the two scoundrels had fled, and on the face of it pursuit was absolutely useless.

"We might make for the railway station," suggested the Colonel; "They may have gone there."

Vernon shook his head. "I doubt it. Maunders is too cunning and Hest too desperate to think of taking the train to Waterloo. But, in any case, I'll send a wire to the stationmaster asking him to detain them. Maunders can be recognised from having no hat."

"There are many men who wear no hat nowadays," said Towton dismally, "it is not a distinguishing mark worth much. But how the dickens are we to find a telegraph office in this fog?"

Vernon looked around and noted a weak flare of light illuminating the darkness. Followed by his companion, he walked towards it and found that it came from the windows of a grocer's shop at the corner of the road. Entering quickly, he asked for the nearest telegraph office, and learned to his great satisfaction that it was at the chemist's two or three doors down. The worthy grocer looked somewhat alarmed at the entrance of two gentlemen without hats, for, in their haste, Vernon and his friend had forgotten to take them. But they gave the tradesmen no time to ask questions, and by closely skirting the shops round the corner managed to find that of the chemist. Here Vernon sent a wire to the stationmaster at Waterloo instructing him to detain two men, one dark and one fair, without a hat, who might possibly arrive by an early train. He added a meagre description of their dress, so that the telegram proved to be somewhat lengthy.

"But I fear it is useless," said Vernon as they left the shop and had handed the wire to the startled chemist. "They won't take the train, I'm certain, and even if they do my description is not clear enough, unless the Waterloo stationmaster happens to be singularly intelligent."

"We can but hope for the best, and we have done all we can," said Towton in a decided tone. "What's to be done now?"

"We must return to Siddons Villa, both to get our hats and to see Gail."