The Four Faces

Four Faces, The

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Title: The Four Faces A Mystery
Author: William le Queux
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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