New upstream version 7.8.1upstream/7.8.1

1 files changed, 468 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/nikola/data/samplesite/pages/dr-nikolas-vendetta.rst b/nikola/data/samplesite/pages/dr-nikolas-vendetta.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6175355
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nikola/data/samplesite/pages/dr-nikolas-vendetta.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,468 @@
+.. title: A BID FOR FORTUNE OR; DR. NIKOLA'S VENDETTA

+.. template: book.tmpl

+.. hyphenate: yes

+.. filters: filters.typogrify

+

+.. class:: subtitle

+

+By `GUY BOOTHBY <http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/3587>`__

+

+Author of "Dr. Nikola," "The Beautiful White Devil," etc., etc.

+

+.. figure:: /images/frontispiece.jpg

+   :class: bookfig

+

+.. topic:: The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Bid for Fortune, by Guy Boothby

+

+    This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

+    almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

+    re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

+    with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

+

+

+    Title: A Bid for Fortune

+    or Dr. Nikola's Vendetta

+

+    Author: `Guy Boothby <http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/3587>`__

+

+    Release Date: May 29, 2007 [EBook #21640]

+

+    Language: English

+

+    Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Mary Meehan and the

+    Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

+

+    Originally published by:

+

+    WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED

+    LONDON, MELBOURNE AND TORONTO

+    1918

+

+.. figure:: /images/illus_001.jpg

+   :class: bookfig

+

+PART I

+======

+

+PROLOGUE

+--------

+

+.. role:: smallcaps

+

+

+:smallcaps:`The` manager of the new Imperial Restaurant on the Thames Embankment went

+into his luxurious private office and shut the door. Having done so, he

+first scratched his chin reflectively, and then took a letter from the

+drawer in which it had reposed for more than two months and perused it

+carefully. Though he was not aware of it, this was the thirtieth time he

+had read it since breakfast that morning. And yet he was not a whit

+nearer understanding it than he had been at the beginning. He turned it

+over and scrutinized the back, where not a sign of writing was to be

+seen; he held it up to the window, as if he might hope to discover

+something from the water-mark; but there was nothing in either of these

+places of a nature calculated to set his troubled mind at rest. Then he

+took a magnificent repeater watch from his waistcoat pocket and glanced

+at the dial; the hands stood at half-past seven. He immediately threw

+the letter on the table, and as he did so his anxiety found relief in

+words.

+

+"It's really the most extraordinary affair I ever had to do with," he

+remarked. "And as I've been in the business just three-and-thirty years

+at eleven a.m. next Monday morning, I ought to know something about it.

+I only hope I've done right, that's all."

+

+As he spoke, the chief bookkeeper, who had the treble advantage of being

+tall, pretty, and just eight-and-twenty years of age, entered the room.

+She noticed the open letter and the look upon her chief's face, and her

+curiosity was proportionately excited.

+

+"You seem worried, Mr. McPherson," she said tenderly, as she put down

+the papers she had brought in for his signature.

+

+"You have just hit it, Miss O'Sullivan," he answered, pushing them

+farther on to the table. "I am worried about many things, but

+particularly about this letter."

+

+He handed the epistle to her, and she, being desirous of impressing him

+with her business capabilities, read it with ostentatious care. But it

+was noticeable that when she reached the signature she too turned back

+to the beginning, and then deliberately read it over again. The manager

+rose, crossed to the mantelpiece, and rang for the head waiter. Having

+relieved his feelings in this way, he seated himself again at his

+writing-table, put on his glasses, and stared at his companion, while

+waiting for her to speak.

+

+"It's very funny," she said. "Very funny indeed!"

+

+"It's the most extraordinary communication I have ever received," he

+replied with conviction. "You see it is written from Cuyaba, Brazil. The

+date is three months ago to a day. Now I have taken the trouble to find

+out where and what Cuyaba is."

+

+He made this confession with an air of conscious pride, and having done

+so, laid himself back in his chair, stuck his thumbs into the armholes

+of his waistcoat, and looked at his fair subordinate for approval. Nor

+was he destined to be disappointed. He was a bachelor in possession of a

+snug income, and she, besides being pretty, was a lady with a keen eye

+to the main chance.

+

+"And where *is* Cuyaba?" she asked humbly.

+

+"Cuyaba," he replied, rolling his tongue with considerable relish round

+his unconscious mispronunciation of the name, "is a town almost on the

+western or Bolivian border of Brazil. It is of moderate size, is

+situated on the banks of the river Cuyaba, and is considerably connected

+with the famous Brazilian Diamond Fields."

+

+"And does the writer of this letter live there?"

+

+"I cannot say. He writes from there--that is enough for us."

+

+"And he orders dinner for four--here, in a private room overlooking the

+river, three months ahead--punctually at eight o'clock, gives you a list

+of the things he wants, and even arranges the decoration of the table.

+Says he has never seen either of his three friends before; that one of

+them hails from (here she consulted the letter again) Hang-chow, another

+from Bloemfontein, while the third resides, at present, in England. Each

+one is to present an ordinary visiting card with a red dot on it to the

+porter in the hall, and to be shown to the room at once. I don't

+understand it at all."

+

+The manager paused for a moment, and then said deliberately,--"Hang-chow

+is in China, Bloemfontein is in South Africa."

+

+"What a wonderful man you are, to be sure, Mr. McPherson! I never can

+*think* how you manage to carry so much in your head."

+

+There spoke the true woman. And it was a move in the right direction,

+for the manager was susceptible to her gentle influence, as she had

+occasion to know.

+

+At this juncture the head waiter appeared upon the scene, and took up a

+position just inside the doorway, as if he were afraid of injuring the

+carpet by coming farther.

+

+"Is No. 22 ready, Williams?"

+

+"Quite ready, sir. The wine is on the ice, and cook tells me he'll be

+ready to dish punctual to the moment."

+

+"The letter says, 'no electric light; candles with red shades.' Have you

+put on those shades I got this morning?"

+

+"Just seen it done this very minute, sir."

+

+"And let me see, there was one other thing." He took the letter from the

+chief bookkeeper's hand and glanced at it. "Ah, yes, a porcelain saucer,

+and a small jug of new milk upon the mantelpiece. An extraordinary

+request, but has it been attended to?"

+

+"I put it there myself, sir."

+

+"Who wait?"

+

+"Jones, Edmunds, Brooks, and Tomkins."

+

+"Very good. Then I think that will do. Stay! You had better tell the

+hall porter to look out for three gentlemen presenting plain visiting

+cards with a little red spot on them. Let Brooks wait in the hall, and

+when they arrive tell him to show them straight up to the room."

+

+"It shall be done, sir."

+

+The head waiter left the room, and the manager stretched himself in his

+chair, yawned by way of showing his importance, and then said

+solemnly,--

+

+"I don't believe they'll any of them turn up; but if they do, this Dr.

+Nikola, whoever he may be, won't be able to find fault with my

+arrangements."

+

+Then, leaving the dusty high road of Business, he and his companion

+wandered in the shady bridle-paths of Love--to the end that when the

+chief bookkeeper returned to her own department she had forgotten the

+strange dinner party about to take place upstairs, and was busily

+engaged upon a calculation as to how she would look in white satin and

+orange blossoms, and, that settled, fell to wondering whether it was

+true, as Miss Joyce, a subordinate, had been heard to declare, that the

+manager had once shown himself partial to a certain widow with reputed

+savings and a share in an extensive egg and dairy business.

+

+At ten minutes to eight precisely a hansom drew up at the steps of the

+hotel. As soon as it stopped, an undersized gentleman, with a clean

+shaven countenance, a canonical corporation, and bow legs, dressed in a

+decidedly clerical garb, alighted. He paid and discharged his cabman,

+and then took from his ticket pocket an ordinary white visiting card,

+which he presented to the gold-laced individual who had opened the

+apron. The latter, having noted the red spot, called a waiter, and the

+reverend gentleman was immediately escorted upstairs.

+

+Hardly had the attendant time to return to his station in the hall,

+before a second cab made its appearance, closely followed by a third.

+Out of the second jumped a tall, active, well-built man of about thirty

+years of age. He was dressed in evening dress of the latest fashion, and

+to conceal it from the vulgar gaze, wore a large Inverness cape of heavy

+texture. He also in his turn handed a white card to the porter, and,

+having done so, proceeded into the hall, followed by the occupant of the

+last cab, who had closely copied his example. This individual was also

+in evening dress, but it was of a different stamp. It was old-fashioned

+and had seen much use. The wearer, too, was taller than the ordinary run

+of men, while it was noticeable that his hair was snow-white, and that

+his face was deeply pitted with smallpox. After disposing of their hats

+and coats in an ante-room, they reached room No. 22, where they found

+the gentleman in clerical costume pacing impatiently up and down.

+

+Left alone, the tallest of the trio, who for want of a better title we

+may call the Best Dressed Man, took out his watch, and having glanced at

+it, looked at his companions. "Gentlemen," he said, with a slight

+American accent, "it is three minutes to eight o'clock. My name is

+Eastover!"

+

+"I'm glad to hear it, for I'm most uncommonly hungry," said the next

+tallest, whom I have already described as being so marked by disease.

+"My name is Prendergast!"

+

+"We only wait for our friend and host," remarked the clerical gentleman,

+as if he felt he ought to take a share in the conversation, and then, as

+an afterthought, he continued, "My name is Baxter!"

+

+They shook hands all round with marked cordiality, seated themselves

+again, and took it in turns to examine the clock.

+

+"Have you ever had the pleasure of meeting our host before?" asked Mr.

+Baxter of Mr. Prendergast.

+

+"Never," replied that gentleman, with a shake of his head. "Perhaps Mr.

+Eastover has been more fortunate?"

+

+"Not I," was the brief rejoinder. "I've had to do with him off and on

+for longer than I care to reckon, but I've never set eyes on him up to

+date."

+

+"And where may he have been the first time you heard from him?"

+

+"In Nashville, Tennessee," said Eastover. "After that, Tahupapa, New

+Zealand; after that, Papeete, in the Society Islands; then Pekin, China.

+And you?"

+

+"First time, Brussels; second, Monte Video; third, Mandalay, and then

+the Gold Coast, Africa. It's your turn, Mr. Baxter."

+

+The clergyman glanced at the timepiece. It was exactly eight o'clock.

+"First time, Cabul, Afghanistan; second, Nijni Novgorod, Russia; third,

+Wilcannia, Darling River, Australia; fourth, Valparaiso, Chili; fifth,

+Nagasaki, Japan."

+

+"He is evidently a great traveller and a most mysterious person."

+

+"He is more than that," said Eastover with conviction; "he is late for

+dinner!"

+

+Prendergast looked at his watch.

+

+"That clock is two minutes fast. Hark, there goes Big Ben! Eight

+exactly."

+

+As he spoke the door was thrown open and a voice announced "Dr. Nikola."

+

+The three men sprang to their feet simultaneously, with exclamations of

+astonishment, as the man they had been discussing made his appearance.

+

+It would take more time than I can spare the subject to give you an

+adequate and inclusive description of the person who entered the room at

+that moment. In stature he was slightly above the ordinary, his

+shoulders were broad, his limbs perfectly shaped and plainly muscular,

+but very slim. His head, which was magnificently set upon his shoulders,

+was adorned with a profusion of glossy black hair; his face was

+destitute of beard or moustache, and was of oval shape and handsome

+moulding; while his skin was of a dark olive hue, a colour which

+harmonized well with his piercing black eyes and pearly teeth. His hands

+and feet were small, and the greatest dandy must have admitted that he

+was irreproachably dressed, with a neatness that bordered on the

+puritanical. In age he might have been anything from eight-and-twenty to

+forty; in reality he was thirty-three. He advanced into the room and

+walked with out-stretched hand directly across to where Eastover was

+standing by the fireplace.

+

+"Mr. Eastover, I feel certain," he said, fixing his glittering eyes upon

+the man he addressed, and allowing a curious smile to play upon his

+face.

+

+"That is my name, Dr. Nikola," the other answered with evident surprise.

+"But how on earth can you distinguish me from your other guests?"

+

+"Ah! it would surprise you if you knew. And Mr. Prendergast, and Mr.

+Baxter. This is delightful; I hope I am not late. We had a collision in

+the Channel this morning, and I was almost afraid I might not be up to

+time. Dinner seems ready; shall we sit down to it?" They seated

+themselves, and the meal commenced. The Imperial Restaurant has earned

+an enviable reputation for doing things well, and the dinner that night

+did not in any way detract from its lustre. But, delightful as it all

+was, it was noticeable that the three guests paid more attention to

+their host than to his excellent *menu*. As they had said before his

+arrival, they had all had dealings with him for several years, but what

+those dealings were they were careful not to describe. It was more than

+possible that they hardly liked to remember them themselves.

+

+When coffee had been served and the servants had withdrawn, Dr. Nikola

+rose from the table, and went across to the massive sideboard. On it

+stood a basket of very curious shape and workmanship. This he opened,

+and as he did so, to the astonishment of his guests, an enormous cat, as

+black as his master's coat, leaped out on to the floor. The reason for

+the saucer and jug of milk became evident.

+

+Seating himself at the table again, the host followed the example of his

+guests and lit a cigar, blowing a cloud of smoke luxuriously through his

+delicately chiselled nostrils. His eyes wandered round the cornice of

+the room, took in the pictures and decorations, and then came down to

+meet the faces of his companions. As they did so, the black cat, having

+finished its meal, sprang on to his shoulder to crouch there, watching

+the three men through the curling smoke drift with its green blinking,

+fiendish eyes. Dr. Nikola smiled as he noticed the effect the animal had

+upon his guests.

+

+"Now shall we get to business?" he said briskly.

+

+The others almost simultaneously knocked the ashes off their cigars and

+brought themselves to attention. Dr. Nikola's dainty, languid manner

+seemed to drop from him like a cloak, his eyes brightened, and his

+voice, when he spoke, was clean cut as chiselled silver.

+

+"You are doubtless anxious to be informed why I summoned you from all

+parts of the globe to meet me here to-night? And it is very natural you

+should be. But then, from what you know of me, you should not be

+surprised at anything I do."

+

+His voice dropped back into its old tone of gentle languor. He drew in a

+great breath of smoke and then sent it slowly out from his lips again.

+His eyes were half closed, and he drummed with one finger on the table

+edge. The cat looked through the smoke at the three men, and it seemed

+to them that he grew every moment larger and more ferocious. Presently

+his owner took him from his perch, and seating him on his knee fell to

+stroking his fur, from head to tail, with his long slim fingers. It was

+as if he were drawing inspiration for some deadly mischief from the

+uncanny beast.

+

+"To preface what I have to say to you, let me tell you that this is by

+far the most important business for which I have ever required your

+help. (Three slow strokes down the centre of the back, and one round

+each ear.) When it first came into my mind I was at a loss who to trust

+in the matter. I thought of Vendon, but I found Vendon was dead. I

+thought of Brownlow, but Brownlow was no longer faithful. (Two strokes

+down the back and two on the throat.) Then bit by bit I remembered you.

+I was in Brazil at the time. So I sent for you. You came. So far so

+good."

+

+He rose, and crossed over to the fireplace. As he went the cat crawled

+back to its original position on his shoulder. Then his voice changed

+once more to its former business-like tone.

+

+"I am not going to tell you very much about it. But from what I do tell

+you, you will be able to gather a great deal and imagine the rest. To

+begin with, there is a man living in this world to-day who has done me a

+great and lasting injury. What that injury is is no concern of yours.

+You would not understand if I told you. So we'll leave that out of the

+question. He is immensely rich. His cheque for £300,000 would be

+honoured by his bank at any minute. Obviously he is a power. He has had

+reason to know that I am pitting my wits against his, and he flatters

+himself that so far he has got the better of me. That is because I am

+drawing him on. I am maturing a plan which will make him a poor and a

+very miserable man at one and the same time. If that scheme succeeds,

+and I am satisfied with the way you three men have performed the parts I

+shall call on you to play in it, I shall pay to each of you the sum of

+£10,000. If it doesn't succeed, then you will each receive a thousand

+and your expenses. Do you follow me?"

+

+It was evident from their faces that they hung upon his every word.

+

+"But, remember, I demand from you your whole and entire labour. While

+you are serving me you are mine body and soul. I know you are

+trustworthy. I have had good proof that you are--pardon the

+expression--unscrupulous, and I flatter myself you are silent. What is

+more, I shall tell you nothing beyond what is necessary for the carrying

+out of my scheme, so that you could not betray me if you would. Now for

+my plans!"

+

+He sat down again and took a paper from his pocket. Having perused it,

+he turned to Eastover.

+

+"You will leave at once--that is to say, by the boat on Wednesday--for

+Sydney. You will book your passage to-morrow morning, first thing, and

+join her in Plymouth. You will meet me to-morrow evening at an address I

+will send you, and receive your final instructions. Good-night."

+

+Seeing that he was expected to go, Eastover rose, shook hands, and left

+the room without a word. He was too astonished to hesitate or to say

+anything.

+

+Nikola took another letter from his pocket and turned to Prendergast.

+"*You* will go down to Dover to-night, cross to Paris to-morrow morning,

+and leave this letter personally at the address you will find written on

+it. On Thursday, at half-past two precisely, you will deliver me an

+answer in the porch at Charing Cross. You will find sufficient money in

+that envelope to pay all your expenses. Now go!"

+

+"At half-past two you shall have your answer. Good-night."

+

+"Good-night."

+

+When Prendergast had left the room, Dr. Nikola lit another cigar and

+turned his attentions to Mr. Baxter.

+

+"Six months ago, Mr. Baxter, I found for you a situation as tutor to the

+young Marquis of Beckenham. You still hold it, I suppose?"

+

+"I do."

+

+"Is the father well disposed towards you?"

+

+"In every way. I have done my best to ingratiate myself with him. That

+was one of your instructions."

+

+"Yes, yes! But I was not certain that you would succeed. If the old man

+is anything like what he was when I last met him he must still be a

+difficult person to deal with. Does the boy like you?"

+

+"I hope so."

+

+"Have you brought me his photograph as I directed?"

+

+"I have. Here it is."

+

+Baxter took a photograph from his pocket and handed it across the table.

+

+"Good. You have done very well, Mr. Baxter. I am pleased with you.

+To-morrow morning you will go back to Yorkshire----"

+

+"I beg your pardon, Bournemouth. His Grace owns a house near

+Bournemouth, which he occupies during the summer months."

+

+"Very well--then to-morrow morning you will go back to Bournemouth and

+continue to ingratiate yourself with father and son. You will also begin

+to implant in the boy's mind a desire for travel. Don't let him become

+aware that his desire has its source in you--but do not fail to foster

+it all you can. I will communicate with you further in a day or two. Now

+go."

+

+Baxter in his turn left the room. The door closed. Dr. Nikola picked up

+the photograph and studied it.

+

+"The likeness is unmistakable--or it ought to be. My friend, my very

+dear friend, Wetherell, my toils are closing on you. My arrangements are

+perfecting themselves admirably. Presently, when all is complete, I

+shall press the lever, the machinery will be set in motion, and you will

+find yourself being slowly but surely ground into powder. Then you will

+hand over what I want, and be sorry you thought fit to baulk Dr.

+Nikola!"

+

+He rang the bell and ordered his bill. This duty discharged, he placed

+the cat back in its prison, shut the lid, descended with the basket to

+the hall, and called a hansom. The porter inquired to what address he

+should order the cabman to drive. Dr. Nikola did not reply for a moment,

+then he said, as if he had been thinking something out: "The *Green

+Sailor* public-house, East India Dock Road."

+

+

+------------------------

+

+You can read the rest of "A Bid For Fortune; Or, Dr. Nikola's Vendetta" at `Open Library <https://archive.org/stream/bidforfortunenov00bootiala#page/12/mode/2up>`__