The Evil Shepherd

The Evil Shepherd, by E. Phillips
Oppenheim

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Title: The Evil Shepherd
Author: E. Phillips Oppenheim

Release Date: May, 2004 [EBook #5743] [Yes, we are more than one
year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on August 21, 2002]
Edition: 10
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EVIL
SHEPHERD ***

THE EVIL SHEPHERD BY E. PHILIPS OPPENHEIM
CHAPTER I
Francis Ledsam, alert, well-satisfied with himself and the world, the
echo of a little buzz of congratulations still in his ears, paused on the
steps of the modern Temple of Justice to light a cigarette before calling
for a taxi to take him to his club. Visions of a whisky and soda--his
throat was a little parched --and a rubber of easy-going bridge at his
favourite table, were already before his eyes. A woman who had
followed him from the Court touched him on the shoulder.
"Can I speak to you for a moment, Mr. Ledsam?"
The barrister frowned slightly as he swung around to confront his
questioner. It was such a familiar form of address.
"What do you want?" he asked, a little curtly.
"A few minutes' conversation with you," was the calm reply. "The
matter is important."
The woman's tone and manner, notwithstanding her plain,
inconspicuous clothes, commanded attention. Francis Ledsam was a
little puzzled. Small things meant much to him in life, and he had been

looking forward almost with the zest of a schoolboy to that hour of
relaxation at his club. He was impatient of even a brief delay, a
sentiment which he tried to express in his response.
"What do you want to speak to me about?" he repeated bluntly. "I shall
be in my rooms in the Temple to-morrow morning, any time after
eleven."
"It is necessary for me to speak to you now," she insisted. "There is a
tea-shop across the way. Please accompany me there."
Ledsam, a little surprised at the coolness of her request, subjected his
accoster to a closer scrutiny. As he did so, his irritation diminished. He
shrugged his shoulders slightly.
"If you really have business with me," he said, "I will give you a few
minutes."
They crossed the street together, the woman self-possessed, negative,
wholly without the embarrassment of one performing an unusual action.
Her companion felt the awakening of curiosity. Zealously though she
had, to all appearance, endeavoured to conceal the fact, she was
without a doubt personable. Her voice and manner lacked nothing of
refinement. Yet her attraction to Francis Ledsam, who, although a
perfectly normal human being, was no seeker after promiscuous
adventures, did not lie in these externals. As a barrister whose success
at the criminal bar had been phenomenal, he had attained to a certain
knowledge of human nature. He was able, at any rate, to realise that
this woman was no imposter. He knew that she had vital things to say.
They passed into the tea-shop and found an empty corner. Ledsam
hung up his hat and gave an order. The woman slowly began to remove
her gloves. When she pushed back her veil, her vis-a-vis received
almost a shock. She was quite as good-looking as he had imagined, but
she was far younger--she was indeed little more than a girl. Her eyes
were of a deep shade of hazel brown, her eyebrows were delicately
marked, her features and poise admirable. Yet her skin was entirely
colourless. She was as pale as one whose eyes have been closed in

death. Her lips, although in no way highly coloured, were like streaks
of scarlet blossom upon a marble image. The contrast between her
appearance and that of her companion was curiously marked. Francis
Ledsam conformed in no way to the accepted physical type of his
profession. He was over six feet