Produced by Juliet Sutherland Dave Morgan and the PG OnlineDistributed Proofreading TeamTHE YELLOW STREAKBY VALENTINE WILLIAMSCONTENTSI THE MASTER OF HARKINGSII AT TWILIGHTIII A DISCOVERYIV BETWEEN THE DESK AND THE WINDOWV IN WHICH BUDE LOOKS AT ROBIN GREVEVI THE LETTERVII VOICES IN THE LIBRARYVIII ROBIN GOES TO MARYIX MR MANDERTONX A SMOKING CHIMNEYXI  SPEED THE PARTING GUESTXII MR MANDERTON is NONPLUSSEDXIII JEEKESXIV A SHEET OF BLUE PAPERXV SHADOWSXVI THE INTRUDERXVII A FRESH CLUEXVIII THE SILENT SHOTXIX MR MANDERTON LAYS HIS CARDS ON THE TABLEXX THE CODE KINGXXI A WORD WITH MR JEEKESXXII THE MAN WITH THE YELLOW FACEXXIII TWOS COMPANYXXIV THE METAMORPHOSIS OF MR SCHULZXXV THE READING OF THE RIDDLEXXVI THE FIGURE IN THE DOORWAYXXVII AN INTERRUPTION FROM BEYONDXXVIII THE DEATH OF HARTLEY PARRISHTHE YELLOW STREAKCHAPTER ITHE MASTER OF HARKINGSOf all the luxuries of which Hartley Parrishs sudden rise to wealthgave him possession Bude his butler was the acquisition in which hetook the greatest delight and pride Bude was a large and comfortablelooking person triplechinned like an archdeacon baldheaded except fora respectable and saving edging of dark down cleanshaven benign ofcountenance with a bold nose which to the psychologist bespoke bothambition and inborn cleverness He had a thin tight mouth which initself alone was a symbol of discreet reticence the hallmark of thetrusted family retainerBude had spent his life in the service of the English aristocracy TheEarl of Tipperary MajorGeneral Lord Bannister the Dowager Marchionessof Wiltshire and Sir Herbert Marcobrunner Bart had in turn watchedhis gradual progress from pantryboy to butler Bude was a man whosemaxim had been the French saying _Je prends mon bien où je letrouve_In his thirty years service he had always sought to discover and drawfrom those sources of knowledge which were at his disposal FromMacTavish who had supervised Lord Tipperarys worldfamous gardens hehad learnt a great deal about flowers so that the arrangement of thefloral decorations was always one of the features at Hartley Parrishs_soigné_ dinnerparties From Brun the unsurpassed _chef_ whom LordBannister had picked up when serving with the Guards in Egypt he hadgathered sufficient knowledge of the higher branches of the cuisine toenable Hartley Parrish to leave the arrangement of the menu in hisbutlers handsBude would have been the first to admit that socially speaking hispresent situation was not the equal of the positions he had held Therewas none of the staid dignity about his present employer which wasinborn in men like Lord Tipperary or Lord Bannister and which SirHerbert Marcobrunner with the easy assimilative faculty of his racehad very successfully acquired Below middle height thickset andpowerfully built with a big head narrow eyes and a massive chinHartley Parrish in his absorbed concentration on his business had notime for the acquisition or practice of the Eton mannerIt was characteristic of Parrish that seeing Bude at a dinnerparty atMarcobruaners he should have engaged him on the spot It took Bude aweek to get over his shock at the manner in which the offer was madeParrish had approached him as he was supervising the departure of theguests Waving aside the footman who offered to help him into hisovercoat Parrish had asked Bude pointblank what wages he was gettingBude mentioned the generous remuneration he was receiving from SirHerbert Marcobrunner whereupon Parrish had remarkedCome to me and Ill double it Ill give you a week to think it overLet my secretary knowAfter a few discreet enquiries Bude faithful to his maxim hadaccepted Parrishs offer Marcobrunner was furiously angry but beinganxious to interest Parrish in a deal sagely kept his feelings tohimself And Bude had never regretted the change He found Parrish anexacting but withal a just and a generous master and he was not longin realizing that as long as he kept Harkings Parrishs country placewhere he spent the greater part of his time running smoothly accordingto Parrishs schedule he could count on a life situationThe polish of manner the sober dignity of dress acquired from years ofacute observation in the service of the nobility were to be seen as atthe hour of five in the twilight of this bleak autumn afternoon Budemoved majestically into the loungehall of Harkings and leisurelypounded the gong for teaThe muffled notes of the gong swelled out brazenly through the silenthouse They echoed down the softly carpeted corridors to the librarywhere the master of the house sat at his desk For days he had beenimmersed in the figures of the new issue which Hornaways the vastengineering business of his creation was about to put on the marketThey reverberated up the fine old oak staircase to the luxurious LouisXV bedroom where Lady Margaret Trevert lay on her bed idly smilingthrough an amusing novel They crashed through the thickly padded baizedoors leading to the servants hall where at sixpence a hundredParrishs man Jay was partnering Lady Margarets maid against MrsHeever the housekeeper and Robert the chauffeur at a friendly gameof bridge And they even boomed distantly into the farawaybilliardroom and broke into the talk which Robin Greve was having withMary TrevertDamn exclaimed Greve savagely as the distant gonging came to hisearsIts the gong for tea said Mary demurelyShe was sitting on one of the big leather sofas lining the long roomRobin as he gazed down at her from where he stood with his back againstthe edge of the billiardtable thought what an attractive picture shemade in the halflightThe lamps over the table were lit but the rest of the room was almostdark In that lighting the thickly waving dark hair brought out the finewhiteness of the girls skin There was love and a great desire forlove in her large dark eyes but the clearcut features thewellshaped chin and the firm mouth the lips a little full spoke ofambition and the love of powerIve been here three whole days said Robin and Ive not had twowords with you alone Mary And hardly have I got you to myself for aquiet game of pills when that rotten gong goes Im sorry youre disappointed at missing your game the girl repliedmischievously but I expect you will be