When the big Spaniard had withdrawn, the woman spoke in English which had hardly a fault, but with a voice that grated on the ear like an unresolved discord.
"Well, Mr. Arnold Messenger," said she, "it is our privilege to meet again!"
At this Messenger started imperceptibly, but answered quickly—
"Madame, I do not remember that we have met before."
"No?" she said, with emphasis, using a great fan of ostrich feathers cunningly. "Then you have lost your memory with your money—what a double misfortune!"
Now when she said this the man felt a twitch of every nerve in his body. That the woman knew his name was ill chance enough; but that she made no disguise whatever of the other knowledge threw him so thoroughly off his mental balance that he answered her with a lie which was as clumsy as it was useless.
"Madame," said he, with a great simulation of regret, "my memory I may recover; but the money is now in the Atlantic, though by what means you heard of it I cannot conceive."
"By what means!" said she. "Indeed, you do little credit to your reputation. Here is your life and a description of your recent achievements in a dozen papers—Spanish, French, and English. They say that you are the most cunning——"
"It's very good of them," said Messenger lightly, and feeling the ground more surely; "let us accept their opinion gratefully, and go on to speak of other things. I will begin by asking you a question: Why have you brought us here?"
"To have the pleasure of seeing the first rogue in Europe," she replied, with a slight laugh.
"Is your curiosity gratified?"
"Nay," said she, "you are not ill-looking, not by any means; and I think you must be clever. I am glad that you have come to no harm."
She said this with as much unconcern as though she were weighing the life of a fowl; but the man replied, with a shrug of his shoulders—
"I think it was well that you did; there are others in Ferrol who have not yet the pleasure of your hospitality; they may return any moment, and will know exactly where to seek us."
"And the money?" she exclaimed, with the same harsh laugh.
"The money is out in the sea," said Messenger doggedly.
"As the young man here will tell me, too, no doubt!" she continued, turning to Fisher, who had listened to the conversation with surprise at every word of it; and when she had looked at him with her sharp eyes, she added—"A pretty boy; but not clever, I fear. These things should not be heard by one so young."
Upon this she touched a bell at her side, and a Spanish servant, dressed in ceremonious black, instantly appeared.
"Conduct this gentleman to his room!" said she; and the man beckoned to Fisher, who followed him from the apartment without finding a word, since he was yet hoping that he would find in the place one who alone interested him of all those he had seen in Spain. But when he was gone, the woman bade Messenger sit, and took up her words at once.
"Well," said she, "I am sorry not to find you clever. It was not worthy of you to lie so clumsily, seeing how little it serves you. A falsehood should be the last resort of genius like yours. Had you not better tell me at once where the money is?"
"On what terms?" asked Messenger, with a slight betrayal of eagerness.
She leaned back upon her seat and looked straight at him.
"Your life,'* said she, "and, as you will wish it, that of the boy."
Messenger could sit no longer.
"Madame," said he, standing before her, and holding back his passion with effort, "we are wasting our time. You must have the poorest opinion of me to propose that. I refuse, of course."
It was a critical moment, as he felt. Though ostensibly alone, he could see the savage eyes of men peering through the woodwork at the far end of the chamber; and even from holes in the face of a portrait quite near to him a man was glancing. Whether or no the next moment would bring death to him he did not know; but suddenly he played his only card—though for one instant he had the idea of killing the woman as she sat, and trusting to the after-minutes for his opportunity. But she only looked at him with an infinite power of penetration; and her hand hovered upon the bell at her side.
"You are a bold man," said she presently. "I must really make up my mind about you."
"When you do that," said Messenger, "I counsel you to look all round. You cannot think that you and the nature of your profession are unknown to me, or that I have taken no precautions. My friend Jake Williams"—he remembered Kenner's story, luckily—"has already had some acquaintance with you in America. I expect him on the coast with fifty men every hour, and he will first seek me here."
She shrugged her shoulders, but her right hand still was dangerously near to the bell.
"Jake Williams, did you say?" she asked.
"No other," he answered.
"Ah!" said she, "then he is the man spoken of by the journals as Jake Kenner; and is he coming back?"
"Certainly," said he; "and as he knows a little of your past it might be troublesome if he missed us."
He said this slowly and impressively, as he hoped; but the woman, having heard his words, did not, to his surprise, give him any immediate answer.
In the silence which followed upon his speech, the deep breathing of the Spaniards was heard more clearly. He was perfectly aware of her thoughts as she sat, all drawn up in her chair, a black cape drawn over her shoulders, and her ravenous eyes seeing nothing but pictures which the mind gave her. He knew that she was weighing the measure of the risk which would follow upon his death; and was debating at the same time the possibility of finding the money without his aid. Had he been in her place he would have taken the bolder course unhesitatingly, and no man from the Semiramis would have lived an hour; but he could not forget that she was a woman, and women have caution rather than boldness in any work to which they may set their hands. When at last she spoke, her words ran well with his surmises.
"Well," said she, taking up the point as though there had been no pause, "it was wise of you to send the American to Ferrol. He and I have scores to settle; but, mon ami, is it not probable that he is already on his way to England in the custody of the police?"
"Perfectly possible," replied Messenger, who grasped the point instantly, "but that will make no difference to us; he will have delivered our letters to others."
"And the others will cry abroad that you are on this coast, with a million of money, or as much of it as you saved from the wreck, to protect you from me. What a clever idea!"
"It is not clever," said Messenger, shrugging his shoulders; "but it is our last card. If we sink, I am perfectly determined that you shall not have a shilling, unless——"
"Unless what?"
"Unless you help us. And I will make you this offer: I will pay you one-third of the whole sum got out of the wreck if you will put your men at our disposal for a week, and allow us in the meantime the shelter of this house. Pray think it out calmly. If we are out of the way, you may find the bullion; but the greater probability is that you will never find it. And if you should be so lucky, our friends, who will presently discover our absence, will immediately make the whole story