Without a word she glided from the room (page 47)
THE OTHER MAN
BY
EDGAR WALLACE
Illustrations by T. J. FOGARTY
NEW YORK
DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
1911
COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY
DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
Published May, 1911
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I N. H. C.
II A Business Consultation
III In Which a Certain Momentous Question is Asked
IV Which Relates to a Newspaper Suicide
V Count Poltavo Offers His Services
VI A Stranger Comes to Burgos
VII Some Disappearances
VIII The Ambassador Takes a Hand
IX Introducing T. B. Smith
X The Anticipators
XI At Bronte's Bank
XII Murder
XIII Hyatt
XIV Sir George Dines
XV The Dancing Girl
XVI Mary Brown
XVII Deportation
XVIII In the "Journal" Office
XIX The Book
XX At the Admiralty
XXI Poltavo Strikes
XXII The Convict from Ceuta
CHAPTER I
N. H. C.
It was a bad night in London, not wild orturbulent, but swathed to the eyes like an Easternwoman in a soft grey garment of fog. It engulfedthe walled canyons of the city through which thetraffic had roared all day, plugged up the maze ofdark side streets, and blotted out the open squares.Close to the ground it was thick, viscous,impenetrable, so that one could not see a yard ahead,and walked ghostlike, adventuring into a strangeworld.
Occasionally it dispersed. In front of the operahouse, numbers of arc-lights wrought a waveringmist-hung yellow square, into which a constantline of vehicles like monstrous shiny bugs emergedfrom the outer nowhere, disgorged their contents,and eclipsed again. And pedestrians in gayprocessional streamed across the ruddy glistening patchlike figures on a slide.
Conspicuous in the shifting throng was a boy,ostensibly selling violets, but with a keen eye uponthe arriving vehicles. Suddenly he darted to thecurb, where an electric coupe had just drawn up.A man alighted heavily, and turned to assist ayoung woman.
For an instant the lad's attention was deflected bythe radiant vision. The girl, wrapped in avoluminous cloak of ivory colour, was tall and slim,with soft white throa