words.
“If they try to follow us this way,” he pointed out, “we’ll kill the lot of them before they get across. A bullet a time and over they go. They won’t get here in time, though. The guard will have disconnected us and we shall be half a mile away even if they get hold of the engine driver and make him stop the train.”
“They won’t do that, sir,” the guard, holding on to an iron rod and looking up from his horizontal position, called out. “There’s a locked door between them and the engine. I shall be telephoning to the driver directly to put on steam. I should not be surprised if you are not safely in the chateau before they can leave the train…There goes the first of the couplings!”
They were beginning to wobble now. Charles half carried Patricia to the far end of the car and placed her by one of the cases.
“You crawl down behind that, young woman,” he enjoined, “and don’t go bobbing your head up to see who’s hit. Listen to me—and you, too, Blute—because I know the country here. If the train gets half a mile away before the gang are on the track it’s a cinch for us! We have a gate over the narrow road that runs level with the railway and an open entrance up the avenue to the chateau. Once inside there we’re safe. Now then, what about the caskets?”
“We can each carry one or drag it,” the chief of the guardians declared. “They’re no great weight. We’ll have to come back for the boxes.”
“As long as we get them across the road we can send down for them,” Charles said. “We must hide them inside the wood bordering the road.”
He knelt down by Patricia’s side. She came very close to him.
“There’s plenty of cover, Blute,” he called out. “Come farther back.”
Blute concluded his rapid orders to the four men and changed his position slightly.
“Look out!” he warned them. “We shall all go head over heels when that last coupling is loosened and the brake’s on.”
There was a sudden hissing of steam, a shriek from the metals. They were on the siding, very nearly jumping it. The van rocked from side to side as the brakes began to bite, then they slackened down to a crawl and came to a standstill. They rushed for the door which Blute had opened and jumped safely on to the track. The disappearing train was already well away and the engine driver had done even better than his instructions. He had put on speed to such an extent that, although one or two of the doors had opened and the forms of several men were visible hanging out as though they meant to jump, not one of them tried it. The most daring of their enemies had apparently rushed through the dining car and the kitchen and, leaning over the platform at the end of the carriage, had fired one abortive shot. The train was gathering speed every moment.
CHAPTER XXVI
“That’s trick number one for us,” Blute declared, springing lightly down on to the permanent way. “Two of you fellows come down here and the others pass the caskets to us.”
They promptly obeyed. Afterwards they found the gate leading from the railway line to the road opened with a latch and the gate up the avenue to the chateau was easily flung back. One by one they dragged the caskets and then the three cases across the rails, the bordering roadway and into a place of security behind some shrubs in the chateau park.
“It’s trick number one for us, all right,” Blute repeated, pausing to wipe his forehead, “but we’re not quite out of the wood yet. How many men did you say you have up there, Mr. Mildenhall?”
“Well, I haven’t been there for over twelve months,” Charles reflected. “There was an old housekeeper who looked after things—I took her over from the last proprietor. Then there were two indoor menservants, a youth who looked after the electricity and telephone—we’ve always done a lot of long-distance telephoning from here—three men in the garden and a woodman.”
“Any weapons?”
“Not much in that way, I’m afraid. There are two or three sporting guns. A number five shot from a highly charged cartridge out of a Purdy gun is not to be sneezed at! No rifles, I’m afraid, but I’m sure there are a couple of revolvers. The servants are mostly Swiss but a pretty decent lot as far as I can remember. Needham, the butler, is really in charge. I’m afraid they get very slack when I’m away for a time. I couldn’t get hold of any of the servants whom I remembered when I rang up but the chauffeur’s voice was familiar and he told me he knew all about the plane and would see that it was got ready. He promised, too, to have the cars looked over. I suggest that we three go straight on up to the chateau and leave the cases here for the present. We can send down some more men to help bring them up. I know we have one lorry at least and a large car which should carry the lot. You can start off when you like.”
Blute hesitated for a moment.
“We must have transport,” he reflected. “The only thing I’m bothered about is supposing the Three G’s get the train stopped and hurry back here.”
Charles pointed to the range of mountains ahead.
“They’ve got to get to the other side of those before they come to a town of any size,” he confided. “Even if they got the train stopped, there would be nothing to bring them back. It’s nothing but rough mountain country for fifty or sixty kilometres. There’s one military post but that wouldn’t do them any good.”
“We’ll do as you propose then,” Blute agreed. “Wait just a moment while I have a few words with the men.”
“It’s a lovely old place,” Patricia remarked as they drew nearer to the house on their upward climb. “I love the towers at the corner and the long sweep of the front.”
“It’s more French than Swiss, I’m glad to say,” Charles pointed out. “I don’t altogether like the look of the place, though,” he went on, glancing disparagingly around. “The grounds look very neglected and I can’t see a single gardener about. I fancy I can hear someone in the flying field, though, and there’s smoke enough from the chimneys. As soon as we’ve got our luggage up we must see what Madame can do for luncheon.”
“Have you a very good cook?” Patricia asked wistfully.
“Pretty fair so far as they go,” he answered. “I have never done a great deal of entertaining here. It was a very useful headquarters to write reports from and it is quite near several frontiers. Here we are!”
They crossed the paved courtyard; Charles pulled the huge iron bell chain, turned the great handle of the front door and pushed it open. There was a large but silent and gloomy hall. A man issued from the back regions and made his way towards them. He was dressed in dark livery but Charles looked at him puzzled.
“Who are you?” he asked.
The man stared at him for a moment, then he smiled a little superciliously.
“I was about to ask you the same question,” he confided. “Whom do you want to see?”
“I want to see Needham, my butler,” Charles replied. “My name is Mildenhall. The chateau belongs to me. I telephoned to say that I was coming.”
