The Four Faces

Four Faces, The

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Title: The Four Faces A Mystery
Author: William le Queux
Release Date: January, 2006 [EBook #9795] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on October 17, 2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE FOUR FACES
A MYSTERY
BY
WILLIAM LE QUEUX
AUTHOR OF "THE DEATH DOCTOR," "FATAL THIRTEEN" "LYING LIPS," ETC. ETC.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
CURIOSITY IS AROUSED II. THE ANGEL FACES III. A HAMPSTEAD MYSTERY IV. IN FULL CRY V. HUGESSON GASTRELL AT HOME VI. THE HOUSE IN GRAFTON STREET VII. OSBORNE'S STORY VIII. MORE SUSPICIONS IX. THE SNARE X. NARRATES A CONFESSION XI. CONCERNS MRS. STAPLETON XII. THE BROAD HIGHWAY XIII. THE BARON XIV. IN THE MISTS XV. THE MODERN VICE XVI. SECRETS OF DUSKY FOWL XVII. IS SUSPICIOUS XVIII. CONTAINS ANOTHER SURPRISE XIX. "IN THE PAPERS" XX. PRESTON AGAIN XXI. A CHANNEL MYSTERY XXII. THE THIN-FACED STRANGER XXIII. RELATES A QUEER ADVENTURE XXIV. IN STRANGE COMPANY XXV. THE GLITTERING UNDERWORLD XXVI. "THAT WOMAN!" XXVII. THE FOUR FACES XXVIII. THE FACES UNMASKED CONCLUSION

THE FOUR FACES
CHAPTER I
CURIOSITY IS AROUSED
"I confess I'd like to know somethin' more about him."
"Where did you run across him first?"
"I didn't run across him; he ran across me, and in rather a curious way. We live in Linden Gardens now, you know. Several of the houses there are almost exactly alike, and about a month ago, at a dinner party we were givin', a young man was shown in. His name was unknown to me, so I supposed that he must be some friend of my wife's. Then I saw that he was a stranger to her too, and then all at once he became very confused, inquired if he were in Sir Harry Dawson's house--Sir Harry lives in the house next to ours--and, findin' he was not, apologized profusely for his mistake, and left hurriedly."
"Anyone might make a mistake of that kind in some London houses," the second speaker said. "What is he like? Is he a gentleman?"
"Oh, quite."
"And for how long have you leased him your house in Cumberland Place?"
"Seven years, with option of renewal."
"And you mean to say you know nothing about him?"
"I won't say 'nothin',' but I know comparatively little about him. Houston and Prince, the house agents, assure me they've made inquiries, and that he is a rich young man whose uncle amassed a large fortune in Tasmania--I didn't know fortunes were to be made in Tasmania, did you? The uncle died six months ago, Houston and Prince tell me, and Hugesson Gastrell has inherited everything he left. They say that they have ascertained that Gastrell's parents died when he was quite a child, and that this uncle who has died has been his guardian ever since."
"That sounds right enough. What more do you want to know?"
"It somehow seems to me very strange that I should have come to know this man, Gastrell, without introduction of any kind--even have become intimate with him. On the day after he had come to my house by accident, he called to fetch a pair of gloves which, in his confusion on the previous evenin', he had left in the hall. He asked if he might see me, and then he again apologized for the mistake he had made the night before. We stayed talkin' for, I suppose, fully half an hour--he's an excellent talker, and exceedingly well-informed--and incidentally he mentioned that he was lookin' for a house. From his description of what he wanted it at once struck me that my Cumberland Place house would be the very thing for him--I simply can't afford to live there now, as you know, and for months I have been tryin' to let it. I told him about it, and he asked if he might see it, and--well, the thing's done;