I saw Keyes." "Scratch it," I urged him. "Blot it out. Make your I a blank, which shouldn't--" I bit if off, deciding it ild be undiplomatic, and glanced at my wrist. "It's minutes past seven. Where were you that morn g, on your horse or off?" >"On."
, "Then you'd better mount, to have it the same, t's be particular--jump on! There he comes!" I admit the Cossack knew how to get on top of a j. He was erect in the saddle quicker than I would : had a foot in a stirrup, and had his gaze directed end of the stretch on the bridle path where it
136 Rex Stout
came out of the trees. I also admit the chestnut horse looked fine from up there. It was rangy but not gangly, with a proud curve to its neck, and, as Hefferan had said, it had a good set of springs. I strained my eyes to take in the details of the rider's face, but at that distance it couldn't be done. The blue of the jacket, yes, and the yellow of the breeches, and the hunched shoulders, but not the face.
No sound came from Hefferan. As the rider on the bridle path neared the end of the open stretch I strained my eyes again, hoping something would happen, knowing as I did what he would find confronting him when he rounded the sharp bend at the finish of the stretch--namely, four mounted cops abreast.
Something happened all right, fast, and not on my list of expectations. The chestnut was out of sight around the bend not more than half a second, and then here he came back, on the jump, the curve gone out of his neck. But he or his rider had had enough of the bridle path. Ten strides this side of the bend the horse swerved sharp and darted off to the left, off onto the grass in one beautiful leap, and then dead ahead, due east toward Fifth Avenue, showing us his tail. Simultaneously here came the quartet of mounted cops, like a cavalry charge. When they saw what the chestnut had done their horses' legs suddenly went stiff, slid ten feet in the loose dirt, and then sashayed for the bound onto the grass, to follow.
Yells were coming from a small mob that had run out of the forest which hid the tool shed. And Hefferan left me. His horse's ham jostled my shoulder as it sprang into action, and divots of turf flew through the air as it bounded down the slope to join the chase. The sound of gunshots came from the east, and that finished me. I would have given a year's pay, anything up
Curtains for Three 137
a kingdom, for a horse, but, having none, I lit out nyway.
Down the slope to the bridle path I broke records, at on the other side it was upgrade, and also I had to ige trees and bushes and jump railings. I was mak ; no detours to find crossings, but heading on a bee ne for the noises coming from the east, including tiother found of shots. One funny thing, even busy as was trying to cover ground, I was hoping they ouldn't hit that chestnut horse. Finally the border of |e park was in sight, but I could see nothing moving, lough the noises seemed to be louder and closer, ght ahead was the stone wall enclosing the park, unsure which way to turn for the nearest en ice, I made for the wall, climbed it, stood panting, surveyed.
I was at Sixty-fifth and Fifth Avenue. One block up, a park entrance, the avenue was so cluttered ; it was blocked. Cars, mostly taxis, were collecting � both fringes of the intersection, and the pedestrians i hadn't already arrived were on their way, from all tions. A bus had stopped and passengers were out. The tallest things there were the horses. I the impression that there were a hell of a lot of s, but probably it wasn't more than six or seven, ey were all bays but one, the chestnut, and I was 1- to see that it looked healthy as I cantered up the cement toward the throng. The chestnut's saddle i empty.
I was pushing my way through to the center when I in uniform grabbed my arm, and I'll be damned if Seer Hefferan didn't sing out, "Let him come, that's Wolfe's man Goodwin!" I would have been glad > thank him cordially, but didn't have enough breath
138 Rex Stout
yet to speak. So I merely pushed on and, using only my eyes, got my curiosity satisfied.
Victor Talbott, in blue jacket and yellow breeches, apparently as unhurt as the chestnut, was standing there with a city employee hanging onto each arm. His face was dirty and he looked very tired.
XV
"You will be glad to know," I told Wolfe late that afternoon, "that none of these bills we are sending to our clients will have to be addressed care of the county jail. That would be embarrassing."
It was a little after six, and he was down from the plant rooms and had beer in front of him. I was at my typewriter, making out the bills.
"Broadyke," I went on, "claims that he merely bought designs that were offered him, not knowing where they came from, and he can probably make it stick. Dorothy has agreed on a settlement with Pohl and will press no charge. As for Dorothy, it's hers now anyway, as you said, so what the hell. And Safford and Audrey can't be prosecuted just for going to ride in the park, even if they omitted it in their statements just to avoid complications. By the way, if you wonder why they allocated fifteen per cent of our fee to a stable hand, he is not a stable hand. He owns that riding academy, by gum, so Audrey hasn't sold out cheap at all--anything but. They'll probably be married on horseback."
Wolfe grunted. "That won't improve their chances any."
"You're prejudiced about marriage," I reproached him. "I may try it myself someday. Look at Saul,
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down like a tent but absolutely happy. Speak; of Saul, why did you waste money having him and
i phoning and calling on New York tailors?" "It wasn't wasted," Wolfe snapped. He can't stand accused of wasting money. "There was a slim ace that Mr. Talbott had been ass enough to have costume made right here. The better chance, of e, was one of the cities he had recently visited, the best of all was the one farthest away. So I phoned Los Angeles first, and the Southwest ncy put five men on it. Also Saul and Orrie did things. Saul learned, for instance, that Mr. "Mfs room at the hotel was so situated that, by using ; and a side entrance, he could easily have left and led at that time of day without being recogl." Wolfe snorted. "I doubt if Mr. Cramer even iered that. Why should he? He had taken that eman's word that he had seen Mr. Keyes on a 8, alive and well, at ten minutes past seven." 3"Good here," I agreed. "But, assuming that it might s been the murderer, not Keyes, the cop had seen t on a horse, why did you immediately pick Talbott sit?"
*I didn't. The facts did. The masquerade, if there one, could have helped no one but Mr. Talbott, s an alibi for that moment at that spot would have useless for any of the others. Also the greeting nged at a distance with the policeman was an fttial of the plan, and only Mr. Talbott, who often s with Mr. Keyes, could have known there would be popportunity for it."
jpOkay," I conceded. "And you phoned Pohl to find where Talbott had been recently. My God, Pohl helped on it! By the way, the Southwest icy put an airmail stamp on the envelope contain 140 Rex Stout
ing their bill, so I guess they want a check Their part of the charge is reasonable enough, but that tailor wants three hundred bucks for making a blue jacket and a pair of yellow breeches."
"Which our clients will pay," Wolfe said placidly. "It isn't exorbitant. It was five o'clock in the afternoon there when they found him, and he had to be persuaded to spend the night at it, duplicating the previous order."
"Okay," I conceded again. "I admit it had to be a real duplicate, label and all, to panic that baby. He had nerve. He gets his six-o'clock call at his hotel, says to wake him again at seven-thirty, beats it to the street without being seen, puts on his act, and gets back to his room in tune to take the seven-thirty call. And don't forget he was committed right from the beginning, at half-past six, when he shot Keyes. From there on he had to make his schedule. Some nerve."