‘Quick, Badger, you fool!’ said Bobby. ‘Pull one of my boots off! Don’t argue or ask questions! Haul it off somehow. Chuck it down in the middle there and crawl under that bed! Quick, I tell you!’ Steps were ascending the stairs. The key turned.
Nicholson – the pseudo Nicholson – stood in the doorway, candle in hand.
He saw Bobby and Frankie as he had left them, but in the middle of the floor was a pile of broken glass and in the middle of the broken glass was a boot!
Nicholson stared in amazement from the boot to Bobby.
Bobby’s left foot was bootless.
‘Very clever, my young friend,’ he said dryly. ‘Extremely acrobatic.’ He came over to Bobby, examined the ropes that bound him and tied a couple of extra knots. He looked at him curiously.
‘I wish I knew how you managed to throw that boot through the skylight It seems almost incredible. A touch of the Houdini about you, my friend.’ He looked at them both, up at the broken skylight, then shrugging his shoulders, he left the room.
‘Quick, Badger.’ Badger crawled out from under the bed. He had a pocket knife and with its aid he soon cut the other two free.
‘That’s better,’ said Bobby, stretching himself. ‘Whew! I’m stiff! Well, Frankie, what about our friend Nicholson?’ ‘You’re right,’ said Frankie. ‘It’s Roger Bassingtonffrench.
Now that I know he’s Roger playing the part of Nicholson I can see it. But it’s a pretty good performance all the same.’ ‘Entirely voice and pince-nez,’ said Bobby.
‘I was at Oxford with a B-b-b-bassington-ffrench,’ said Badger. ‘M-m-m-marvellous actor. B-b-b-bad hat, though. Bb-b-bad business about forging his p-p-pater’s n-n-n-name to a cheque. Old m-m-man hushed it up.’ In the minds of both Bobby and Frankie was the same thought. Badger, whom they had judged it wiser not to take into their confidence, could all along have given them valuable information!
‘Forgery,’ said Frankie thoughtfully. ‘That letter from you, Bobby, was remarkably well done. I wonder how he knew your handwriting?’ ‘If he’s in with the Caymans he probably saw my letter about the Evans business.’ The voice of Badger rose plaintively.
‘W-w-w-what are we going to do next?’ he inquired.
‘We’re going to take up a comfortable position behind this door,’ said Bobby. ‘And when our friend returns, which I imagine won’t be for a little while yet, you and I are going to spring on him from behind and give him the surprise of his life.
How about it. Badger? Are you game?’ ‘Oh! absolutely.’ ‘As for you, Frankie, when you hear his step you’d better get back on to your chair. He’ll see you as soon as he opens the door and will come in without any suspicion.’ ‘All right,’ said Frankie. ‘And once you and Badger have got him down I’ll join in and bite his ankles or something.’ ‘That’s the true womanly spirit,’ said Bobby approvingly.
‘Now, let’s all sit close together on the floor here and hear all about things. I want to know what miracle brought Badger through that skylight.’ ‘Well, you s-s-see,’ said Badger, ‘after you w-w-went off, I got into a bit of a mm-mess.’ He paused. Gradually the story was extracted: a tale of liabilities, creditors and bailiffs – a typical Badger catastrophe.
Bobby had gone off leaving no address, only saying that he was driving the Bentley down to Staveriey. So to Staverley came Badger.
‘I thought p-p-perhaps you m-m-might be able to let have a f-f-fiver,’ he explained.
Bobby’s heart smote him. To aid Badger in his enterprise he had come to London and had promptly deserted his post to go off sleuthing with Frankie. And even now the faithful Badger uttered no word of reproach.
Badger had no wish to endanger Bobby’s mysterious enterprises, but he was of the opinion that a car like the green Bentley would not be difficult to find in a place the size of Staverley.
As a matter of fact, he came across the car before he got to Staverley, for it was standing outside a pub – empty.
‘S-s-so I thought,’ went on Badger, ‘that I’d give you a little s-s-s-surprise, don’t you know? There were some r-r-rugs and things in the b-b-back and nobody about. I g-g-got in and pp-p-pulled them over me. I thought I’d give you the sssurprise of your life.’ What actually happened was that a chauffeur in green livery had emerged from the pub and that Badger, peering from his place of concealment, was thunderstruck to perceive that this chauffeur was not Bobby. He had an idea that the face was in some way familiar to him but couldn’t place the man. The stranger got into the car and drove off.