CHAPTER XVIII.THE DEADLY FAN.
Both Frank and Jack were startled to know that some of the men of the league of which they had been speaking before the appearance of the strange woman were so near. Instantly Merriwell understood how it was that the woman had known so well what they had been talking about. Although those men had seemed to pay little or no attention to the two young Americans, it was almost certain that some of them had been listening attentively to the words which fell from the lips of Frank and Jack.
Now these men scowled blackly at the Man of Mystery, speaking rapidly to each other in French. Every word was understood by Frank, and he knew they were talking of having Mr. Noname arrested and shut up till his insanity could be determined.
“You are in danger, sir,” said Merry, speaking to the strange man.
“Not the least,” was the quiet declaration.
“You hear what they are saying?”
“Yes.”
“They talk of having you arrested.”
“But they will not do it.”
“Why not?”
“Because they do not dare.”
“Do not dare?”
“No. They realize that I know too much about them. The only danger is that one of them may drive a knife into my back as I sit here.”
Although he said there was such danger, the Mystery paid not the slightest attention to the men behind him. He sat there as if he felt himself quite secure from harm. Frank believed this was a display of courage, and he admired the man for it.
Jack Diamond was somewhat bewildered. At last he began to understand the full extent of the peril which beset Frank Merriwell, even though he could not see why harm could have come to Frank if the woman had carried out her intention of tapping him on the wrist with her fan. The men about continued to threaten. Mr. Noname spoke in a calm tone of voice, which was loud enough for them to hear.
“The day that I am arrested I will make an exposure that will startle all France. I know the names of the men who are behind the work that is being done. I can tell their methods of work. If I speak, Dreyfus will leave Devil’s Island within a month!”
“Hush!” whispered Jack. “Yow are drawing terrible danger on yourself! You will be the next man doomed by the league!”
The unsmiling face of Mr. Noname expressed a great deal.
“They may pronounce my doom, but no earthly power can cut short the thread of my life till my work is complete. I fear them not. However, they may well beware of me. I am not here to meddle in their affairs, but I am the guardian angel of Frank Merriwell, and woe to them if harm comes to him!”
The Frenchmen could not help hearing all this. They muttered among themselves, standing in a group. The entertainment continued on the stage, but the hour was late, and soon the theater would close for the night. There was to be but one “turn” more. Some of the men went away. Three of them sat down at a table, from which some women had departed. They talked in low tones, occasionally glancing toward the trio at the adjoining table.
“They have left three on guard,” said the Mystery, although he had not turned his head, and it was impossible to tell how he knew this. “We shall be watched. They will shadow you to-night, Frank Merriwell, and you must have a care. They are desperate now, and it is impossible to tell when or how you may be struck.”
“But I have yet four days of the ten days of grace.”
“You have nothing!”
“How is that? Ten days always expire between the falling of the red star and the death of the doomed one.”
“That may be true in the past.”
“But now——”
“You are not certain of another hour!”
“Why not?”
“Why not! You know that this night the Black Brothers would have destroyed you but for the coming of the police!”
“That was because they had me in their power, and they were enraged by their failure to find in my possession what they sought.”
“That may have been the reason, then. It is probable that they believe you still have the missing paper in your possession.”
“Which I have not.”
“They do not know that; you could not make them believe it.”
“And so——”
“It is plain they have decided to cut you off without delay. The masked woman was sent here to do that.”
“How could she do it?”
“She attempted it!”
“Tell me how.”
“With this fan!”
“That fan? Why, she simply sought to tap me on the wrist with it.”
“That would have been enough.”
“You talk in riddles. Make yourself plain.”
“Indeed, he talks like a madman!” thought Diamond.
“With this very fan more than one victim of the league has been destroyed!” asserted the Man of Mystery.
Frank restrained any impatience he may have felt, although the man seemed beating about the bush in a baffling manner.
“How could that be?” he asked.
“You know in what peculiar manner the victims have died. On none of them has been found a mark of violence.”
“I know.”
“Yet you have believed they were murdered?”
“Yes.”
“That being the case, the crime must have been carried out in a remarkable manner.”
“Of course.”
“I took no interest in the Anti-Dreyfus League and the Black Brothers till I discovered that you had become involved, through your meeting with Edmond Laforce, the Duke of Benoit du Sault. Immediately on learning that, I began my investigations, and I have learned many startling things. How I learned them, it matters not. Let it suffice to say that I have ways of obtaining knowledge—ways unknown to other men. You did not know I was near, to guard you, when you were in great peril.”
“No; I thought you had disappeared completely, along with Martin Brattle.”
“Brattle has disappeared, but he will turn up again, if you remain here long enough.”
“Do you know where he has gone?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“To London.”
Frank started.
“To London?” he cried. “Why has he gone there?”
“Elsie Bellwood is there.”
“And he—the dastardly wretch!—he has gone there to—to——”
“Have no fear; he will not accomplish his purpose.”
“Why not? How do you know?”
“Because I have sent one of my agents to London.”
“One of your agents?”
“Yes. I have many agents, for I have plenty of money to hire shrewd men to work for me. I enjoy spending my money. I have more than a score of men in my employ here in Paris, and they are shrewd men, too.”
A light began to dawn on Frank Merriwell. If Mr. Noname spoke the truth, it showed how he became possessed of so much astonishing information. With a score of spies in his employ, he could pry into affairs which would be sealed to the efforts of a single individual. But Merry was thinking of Elsie Bellwood, and her danger, if Martin Brattle had returned to London.
The Man Without a Name seemed to read his thoughts, for he said:
“Fear not. I sent one of my most trusted agents along with Brattle. Every effort of the rascal will be baffled, for I have given instructions to protect Elsie Bellwood, at any cost. He is to see that no harm comes to her, even if he has to hire a hundred men to guard her, without her knowledge, night and day.”
Diamond was listening, with astonishment unbounded. Who was this wonderful man, who did not hesitate at any expense, and who could afford to employ hundreds of men for such a purpose?
The whole yarn seemed crazy enough, and still the Virginian was impressed, despite himself. And Frank Merriwell felt that Mr. Noname spoke nothing but the solemn truth. Believing this, he breathed easier for the safety of Elsie.
“If what you say is true,” said Diamond, “you should be able to destroy Martin Brattle, and bring his evil work to an end. Why don’t you do it?”
The Mystery gazed fixedly at Jack for some moments, and then answered:
“No matter how much power I possess, I have never yet destroyed a human life. I am waiting till Brattle brings about his own destruction, which he will do as surely as we are sitting here at this moment.”
Frank thought of Sport Harris, and others who had wrought their own destruction, and the belief that evil-doing brings its just deserts grew upon him. Diamond seemed to feel rebuked. He sat back on his chair, biting his lips.
“Now,” said Mr. Noname, “I will complete telling you about this fan.”
He lifted it from the table, and the eyes of all three were turned upon it.
“This,” he declared, “is the instrument by which Frank Merriwell was to be removed from the world!”
“But how?” urged Merry.
“Look here—see me press on the fan like this, as I hold it in this manner. Now, look near that end, which is toward you, and you will discover protruding from the side of the fan a tiny needle-point. Look close. Do you see it?”
They saw it.
“Now, I release the pressure here,” continued the Man of Mystery, “and that point disappears, having slid back into its socket.”
This was true.
“When the woman reached out to tap Frank Merriwell on the wrist, she pressed on the fan to cause the needle-point to project. If she had struck him, she would have pricked his flesh with that point.”
“Go on!” urged Merry breathlessly, his face growing pale as he anticipated what was coming.
“The point of that needle is covered with a strange and subtle poison. Your blood would have been inoculated with it. From that moment, unless the piece of flesh about the needle-prick had been cut out, and the wound cauterized, the poison would have been working in your system. You would have heeded the wound on your wrist very little, or not at all, for it would not have swelled, or seemed troublesome. After a time, you would have felt pains in the region of your heart. Then it would have been too late for any earthly power to save you!”
“Good God!” gasped Jack Diamond, overcome by his feelings. “Can such a thing be true?”
“It is true,” affirmed the Mystery.
“Then, for Heaven’s sake, Frank, let’s get out of France as quickly as we can! If the prick of a needle will cause death, there is no telling when we may be done to death!”
Jack Diamond’s agitation was not strange, under the circumstances. It would have been far more remarkable if he had shown no agitation.
Frank sat there, staring at that fan. For the first time, he fully realized how close to death he had been, and his face was a trifle pale.
“You are absolutely positive of what you say?” he finally asked.
“Do you doubt?” asked the Man of Mystery. “If I have not told you the truth, why is that needle hidden in the fan?”
“Why, indeed?”
Frank did not doubt any longer.
“Give me the fan!” he exclaimed. “I want it! I want to keep it, along with other curiosities I have gathered in various parts of the world.”
“You are not yet out of France. You seem to feel that you will leave the country. Are you going at once?”
“What do you mean? Am I going to run away?”
“You realize your danger. There is nothing to keep you here longer. Why shouldn’t you go?”
“Do you urge me to go?”
“I urge you to do nothing. Follow your own desires.”
“I must have time to think it over. I do not fancy being driven out of the country in such a manner! If there was a show of making a fight——”
“But you see now what dangers beset you. In a moment, when you know not, death may descend upon you. Your enemies believe you are dangerous to them. You cannot convince them otherwise.”
“Come, Frank!” urged Diamond. “You know I am not a coward, but this business is altogether too much. You can’t fight such sneaking and dastardly foes. A brave man hates to retreat, but foolish persistence is not bravery.”
Frank actually laughed aloud.
“This is the first time on record that Jack Diamond ever gave anybody such counsel,” he declared. “If he were in my shoes, I’ll wager he would be stubborn enough to stick right here, no matter what came.”
“Oh, no!” cried Jack. “I can fight an enemy that comes out into the open, but I want nothing of the kind that skulks and sneaks.”
“What will you do?” asked Mr. Noname, his eyes fixed on Frank’s face.
“Think it over till to-morrow,” was the answer. “Give me the fan.”
“No; I shall keep it.”
Frank was disappointed.
“It is a thing I should prize.”
“I may need it.”
“For what?”
“Evidence.”
“Against whom?”
“That woman.”
“Then you expect to see her again?”
“Perhaps so; perhaps not. Who can tell? However, when I have all the evidence I want, I may place it before the police. Just now, it would not do, for they would call me a madman, and shut me up.”
“I haven’t a doubt of it.”
“While it is known there exists an Anti-Dreyfus League, the public at large will not believe the league will resort to dishonorable means and crime in order to keep the captive fast on Devil’s Island. If any man were to tell the whole truth about the organization, he would be called a raving maniac, and placed in a cell without delay.”
Frank was much disappointed, for he longed to possess that fan, which would be a great and valuable addition to his collection of curious things gathered in various parts of the world. He knew that Mr. Noname spoke the truth, however, and he understood why the man wished to secure and retain as much evidence against the league as possible.
“Besides,” said the Mystery, “they will try to recover this fan. If you were to have it in your possession, it might add to your peril.”
“Then let it alone, Frank!” exclaimed Jack. “You do not want it! You are in danger enough!”
“That’s true,” confessed Merry. “I fancy I’ll have my hands full to look out for myself.”
“The theater is about to let out,” said Mr. Noname. “It will be well for you to leave before the crowd does. In the crowd, something might happen to Mr. Merriwell between this table and the street.”
Jack grasped Frank’s arm.
“Let’s go at once!” he said.
Frank arose quietly.
“Good night,” he said, speaking to Mr. Noname. “When shall I see you again?”
“No person can tell,” was the answer. “I do not know. I will keep the fan. Farewell.”
It was plain the Mystery spoke of the fan in order that the men near might hear, and know it was not in the possession of Frank. Mr. Noname seemed to fear no peril to himself. When they were outside the theater, Jack again urged Frank to leave France without delay.
“Let’s not talk about it any more to-night,” said Merry. “I am tired.”
“Tired!” exclaimed the Virginian. “Good gracious! I don’t see how you can think of that now! What has happened is enough to make anybody forget fatigue. Why, while you remain in France, you cannot feel safe for a moment! On the street, or in your room at the hotel, you are in danger of being assassinated! It is horrible!”
Frank realized the full dimensions of the peril.
“It’s rather too much sport,” he confessed. “I didn’t bargain for anything of the sort.”
“It will not be from a lack of courage, if you leave France,” urged Jack. “Why should you remain here to be killed? You can do no good by staying here longer.”
“Perhaps not.”
“Of course you cannot. How can you?”
“We have planned to stay longer.”
“That makes no difference. I have seen enough of Paris, and so have Browning and Rattleton. We did have a splendid time in England, but now——”
“You were the most eager to get away from England.”
“You know why, Frank. I explained it all to you. Since leaving there, I have tried to forget Juliet Reynolds. I find I can’t forget so easily.”
“And now you are ready to go back to her?”
“I did not say that.”
“But you meant it. I am afraid you are hard hit, Jack.”
“I’m afraid so, too, Merry; and, still, I know I’d never be happy if I were to win her, and marry her. I must keep away from her, that is all. It’s my only salvation.”
“Can you?”
“I can, and will!”
“That is a good resolution.”
“But it is not what we were talking about. You have explained why you had a secret from the rest of us, and I understand it now, but I do not understand your desire to remain longer in Paris.”
“Did you ever know Frank Merriwell to turn his back on danger?”
“No; but this is different. What have you to gain by continuing the fearful risk? Nothing.”
“Look here, Diamond, I may have nothing to gain, but there is one thing I fear if I leave France now.”
“What is it?”
“I fear I shall never forgive myself for doing so.”
“Better never forgive yourself than to be murdered.”
“I don’t know. I’d rather be dead than to always feel myself a coward.”
This brought a fierce protest from Jack, who declared there would be nothing cowardly in going away. Over this point they argued for some time, till Merry again protested that he was too tired to talk further about it that night.
“Jack,” he said, “I want you to promise me something.”
“Name it.”
“I want you to promise to say nothing about what has happened. You are not to let Browning or Rattleton know the particulars.”
“Why? Why shouldn’t they know now? I think it is your duty to tell them, Frank.”
“It will disturb them, without doing the least good. Why should they be alarmed needlessly? No. Yet a little while longer you must be silent. I will say when you may tell everything.”
It was not easy to induce Jack to make the promise, but Merry succeeded, at length.
Rattleton and Browning were in bed, and asleep, when the hotel was reached. Under the door of Frank Merriwell’s room, a sheet of paper had been thrust. On the paper was written:
“The end draws near!”
“The end draws near!”
“The end draws near!”