The Sins of Séverac Bablon | Page 5

foot of a bronze statuette
of Pandora!
"The list is closed!" called the spokesman. "Doors!"
Open came the doors at his command, and revealed to those who could
see outside, a double rank of evening-dress bandits.
"The company," he resumed, "will pass out in single file to the white
drawing-room. Mr. Rohscheimer--will you lead the way?"
In sullen submission out went Rohscheimer, and after him his
guests--or, rather, his wife's guests--until that whole brilliant company
was packed into the small white room. Someone had thoughtfully
closed the shutters of the windows giving on Park Lane, and securely
screwed them; so that, when the last straggler had entered, and the door

was shut, they were in a trap!
"Listen, everybody!" came Haredale's voice. "Keep cool! You fellows
by the door--get your shoulders to it!"
At his words, the men standing nearest to the door turned to execute
these instructions, and were confronted by the following type-written
notice pinned upon the white panels:--
"A detailed subscription list will appear in the leading papers
to-morrow, and it will doubtless relieve and gratify subscribers to learn
that the revolvers were not loaded!"
There was little delay after that. Within sixty seconds the door was
open; within three minutes the wires were humming with the
astounding news.
Tom Sheard, his work completed, was about to leave the Gleaner office,
when--
"Sheard!" shouted the news editor from an upper landing. "Amazing
business at Rohscheimer's in Park Lane! Robbery! Brigands! Terrific!
Off you go! Taxi!"
And off went Sheard without delay.
He entered Park Lane, to find that part of the thoroughfare adjacent to
the financier's house packed with vehicles of all sorts and sizes.
Women in full dress, pressmen, policemen, loafers, were pouring out
and rushing in to Mr. Rohscheimer's residence! Never before was such
a scene witnessed at that hour of the night in Park Lane.
As he passed under the awning, pressing his way towards the steps, he
encountered an excited young gentleman who wore a closed opera hat,
but was evidently ignorant of his interesting appearance. This young
gentleman he chanced to know, and having rectified the irregularity in
his toilet, from him he secured some splendid copy.

"You see, I just dropped in to take a look round, and as I strolled up a
mob of jokers jumped out of a cab just in front of me, and we all
crawled in together, sort of thing. I happened to notice a footman going
upstairs and two of the jokers I spoke about behind him. They were
laughing, and so forth, and he was just on the first landing, when they
nabbed him from behind--positive fact!--and threw the chap down on
his face! I'm thinking it's a poor kind of joke when the other two
fellows jolly well nobble me! Before I know what's up, I'm pushed into
an anteroom or somewhere, and I hear these chaps banging the front
door and running upstairs! I should have sung out like steam, only
they'd handcuffed me wrong way round and tied a beastly cork
arrangement in my mouth!
"Just before I burst a blood-vessel it occurred to me that I might as well
keep quiet; so I sat on the floor listening; but I didn't hear anything for
what seemed like an hour! Then there was a mob of fellows came
downstairs--and the door opened. They seemed to slip out in twos and
threes from what I could gather, and by the time they'd nearly all gone
a perfect pandemonium broke out, upstairs and down!
"The servants--who'd all been locked in the cellar--got out first. Then
Haredale came bounding downstairs, and, luckily for me, heard me
kicking at the door. Then everybody was rushing about! Rohscheimer
was bawling in the telephone! Some other chap was rushing for a
doctor--for Adeler, who got knocked on the head in the library. Now
here's the wretched police arresting everybody who looks as though
he'd been in the Army! That's all the beastly description anyone can
give! They suspected Dick Langley the minute they saw him, because
he's got a military appearance! And I shouldn't be surprised to hear that
they'd arrested every fellow in the Guards' Club!
"Here's the thing, though: they've all got clean away! With about forty
thousand pounds' worth of jewellery! It's a preposterous sort of thing,
isn't it?"
Sheard agreed that it was the most preposterous sort of thing
imaginable; and, leaving his excited acquaintance, he set out to seek
further particulars. But very few were forthcoming.

As to the manner in which the clique had obtained admission, that
called for little explanation. They had simply presented themselves,
armed with invitations, singly and in small parties, whilst dancing was
in progress, and in a house open to such mixed society had been
admitted without arousing suspicion.